A twentieth century history of Marshall County, Indiana, Volume II, Part 17

Author: McDonald, Daniel, 1833-1916
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 388


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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39


Mr. Wise was born in Center township of Marshall county, Indiana. December 19, 1868. His father, Samuel Wise, claimed Pennsylvania as the commonwealth of his nativity, from whence he removed to Summit county, Ohio, during his boyhood days, and he was there reared and married. In 1855 he established his home on a farm in Center township, Marshall county, and he lived and labored in Marshall county until his death at the age of sixty-six years, being at that time a resident of German township. He, too, was active in the political life of his community, but held no office. Mrs. Wise bore the maiden name of Catherine Kepler and was born in Summit county, Ohio, where she also gave her hand in


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marriage to Samuel Wise, and they became the parents of ten children. three of whom died in infancy, and the remaining seven grew to years of maturity. The mother is now living in Bremen, Indiana.


Adam E. Wise, her sixth child and fourth son in order of birth, spent the early years of his life in German township, receiving his ele- mentary education in its district schools. When a lad of sixteen years he received a license to teach, and entered upon the duties of that pro- fession in the following year, and during his five years of teaching he also embraced the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1891. He attended school at Valparaiso during the summer months, and spent one year in the law department of the university there, while his legal studies were later continued under the preceptorship of Judge Hess, of Plymouth. On the 30th of April, 1892, he enrolled his name among the legal prac- titioners of Plymouth, and since that time he has been accorded a promi- nent position at the Marshall county bar.


On the Ist of September, 1889, Mr. Wise was united in marriage to Margaret Ewald, of Marshall county, and a daughter of Valentine and Amelia (Kaufman) Ewald. Four sons and one daughter have been born of this union, Lochren W., Devere A., Walter A., Amelia Catherine, and Ewald Russell. Mr. Wise is prominent also in fraternal circles, holding membership relations with the Masonic order of Plymouth, with the Odd Fellows of this city, with the Eagles and Owls of South Bend, and with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Woodmen of the World, the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters and the Modern Maccabees. He served as Great Finance Keeper of Indiana for the Maccabees during a period of twelve years, and has been a very active and prominent worker in the order.


CHRISTIAN ENDERS. Of the stanch and hardy pioneers who settled in the wilds of St. Joseph county, Indiana, during an early epoch in its history none were more worthy than the father of Christian Enders, William Enders, who came from his native land of Germany and allied his interests with its early pioneers, continuing one of the prominent agriculturists of Madison township until his death at the age of fifty- three years. His widow, Barbara (Clinger) Enders, also a native of the fatherland, has reached the age of seventy-four years. Of their family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, all attained to years of maturity.


Christian Enders, their second child and eldest son, was born on his father's farm in Madison township, St. Joseph county, Indiana, February 6, 1866, and there he attained to manhood's estate and received his educa- tional training. For two years after reaching the age of maturity he worked for others, and it was in 1892 that he became a resident of Mar- shall county, at once purchasing the farm he now owns in North township, section 35, and for two years thereafter his sister served as his house- keeper. His estate consists of one hundred and twenty acres of rich and well improved land, and the improvements which now adorn the place, including a pleasant residence and large barn, have all been placed there by him. He is one of the representative citizens of Marshall county, well known and honored in the community in which he resides.


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In 1894 Mr. Enders was united in marriage to Nora Rouch, who was born and reared in Randolph county, Indiana, as was also her father, Frank Rouch, but his parents were from Germany. They have had three children, Ralph, Willie and Rowland. Mr. Enders stanchly upholds the principles of the Republican party and maintains an earnest interest in . the public life of his community.


DR. J. KASZER, physician, Plymouth, Indiana, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, April 7, 1856, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Rieger) Kaszer, both natives of Germany, who came to America previous to their marriage.


Dr. Kaszer is the fifth of a family of six children: four sons and two daughters. He received his elementary schooling in Pittsburg, and was thrown entirely upon his own resources at the age of sixteen, by the death of his parents. In charge of a factory in Pittsburg for several years, he took advantage of the opportunity to pursue a course of study ; working morning and evening, and studying during the middle of the day. He received his diploma, from a local academy, in 1882, and later entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons-now affiliated with the Uni- versity of Illinois-where he studied medicine and was graduated in 1886. Following this he located for practice in Chicago, where he re- mained for one year and then went to Mexico. Here he remained for one year, then returned to Chicago to resume his practice. In 1891 he removed to Plymouth and has been practicing continuously since that date.


In 1889, Dr. Kaszer was united in marriage to Miss Alice S. Marble, who was born in Chester, Vermont; was educated in her native state; and came West with her parents, when she was sixteen years old.


Dr. Kaszer is a member of the Marshall County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society, and the American Medical Society. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., at Plymouth. In politics, Dr. Kaszer is a Republican, and was, from 1894 until 1896, local coroner.


IRA J. KREIGHBAUM, a merchant of Tyner, displays in his business life the spirit of enterprise and progress which are characteristic of the age and which have led to the rapid upbuilding of the Middle West. He was born in West township, this county, December 26, 1866. His father, Andrew Kreighbaum, now deceased, was a blacksmith and farmer and lived in Center township. He was born in Ohio, July 22, 1831, and was there reared. When a young man he came to Marshall county with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kreighbaum. The paternal grandfather of our subject was likewise a native of the Buckeye state, and on removing to Indiana purchased a farm in West township, Marshall county, of about three hundred acres. He cleared a part of the land, improved it and lived upon it until his death, his labors transforming it into a good farm prop- erty and the fields returning to him rich crops as a reward for his care and industry. He was a life-long Democrat and was interested in mat- ters of community progress, doing what he could for the upbuilding and development of this region.


It was following his arrival in Marshall county that Andrew Kreigh- baum was married in West township to Miss Lavina Long, a native of


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HISTORY OF MARSHALL COUNTY.


Pennsylvania, where she was reared. The family of which she was a representative came of German lineage. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Kreighbaum were born four children, two sons and two daughters: Mahala, James, ' Mandy and Ira J. The elder son, however, is now deceased. All were born in West township, where the family home was maintained for many years, the father following the occupation of black- smithing for a long period in Center and in West townships. He was known all over the county and his excellent work secured him a liberal patronage. He afterward removed to Tyner in 1878 and there conducted a blacksmith's shop until his death, which occurred about eleven years later, March 14, 1889. He, too, gave his political allegiance to the Democracy and was a stalwart advocate of the party. His wife died in Tyner, Indiana, November 6, 1879. At the time of hostilities between the North and the South he was a "war Democrat" and served for three years as a loyal defender of the Union cause with an Indiana regiment. He proved a faithful defender of the Stars and Stripes and lived for many years to enjoy the fruits of that long and bitter struggle, which resulted in the establishment of a stronger Union than ever before.


Ira J. Kreighbaum was reared upon the home farm and pursued his education in the schools of Center and of Polk townships. He fol- lowed farming up to the time that he went into business in Tyner in 1896. There he remained for two years, after which he removed to Teegarden, Indiana, where he also remained in business for two years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Tyner, where he has since been located and is well known as one of the leading merchants of the town, carrying a well selected line of goods and receiving a liberal patronage by reason of his straightforward dealing, his enterprising methods and his earnest desire to please his customers.


On the 20th of July, 1890, Mr. Kreighbaum was married to Miss Lucinda Jamison, a native of North township, where she was reared, her father being Jacob Jamison, one of the pioneer farmers of that town- ship. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Kreigbaum has been blessed with three children, a son and two daughters, Edna, William and Lelah. All were born in Tyner and the family have a pleasant home there, which was erected by Mr. Kreighbaum. His political views are in harmony with the principles of Democracy but he has never sought nor desired office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business, in which he is meeting with creditable success. However, in matters of citizenship he is never remiss, but, on the contrary, gives loyal co- operation to many movements for the public good, and as a man, a merchant and a citizen is held in high regard by his fellow-townsmen.


JOHN F. GRISE. In the neighboring county of St. Joseph the name of Grise is enrolled among its earliest pioneers and leading citizens, and from there, the county of his nativity, John F. Grise came to Bremen in 1902 and at once became identified with its leading business interests as the proprietor of a large mercantile store in which are sold buggies, harness, gasoline engines, threshing machines, etc. This is one of the leading industrial concerns of Bremen, as well as Marshall county, and


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it is instrumental in a large measure in promoting the commercial activity of this community.


On both the paternal and maternal sides John F. Grise is a repre- sentative of two of the oldest and best known families of St. Joseph county, Indiana. His parents, George H. and Mary A. (Kettring) Grise, were natives respectively of Stark county, Ohio, and St. Joseph county, but in an early day in its history George H. Grise removed to St. Joseph county and became prominently identified with its agricultural interests. His farm is in Madison township. Both are yet living and are honored old residents of the community. John F., the second in order of birth of their five children, was born in St. Joseph county on the 7th of November, 1867, and in its township of Madison he grew to mature years and received his educational training. When the time came to enter the battle of life for himself he took up agriculture and was thus engaged until he became identified with the mercantile interests of Bremen in 1902, but he still maintains his residence on the farm.


On the 6th of October, 1889, Mr. Grise married Estella, a daughter of Uriah Nichols, of Marshall county, Indiana, and their four children are Luella F., George R., Leah May and Violet Lucille. Mr. Grise has fraternal relations with the Knights of Maccabees, Tent No. 18, and is a Democrat politically. He and his wife are prominent members and active in the work of the United Brethren church.


HARLEY A. LOGAN, of Plymouth, Indiana, was born when the town was young, on the south side of the river, in the house now owned by Amos Fuller, on the 6th day of April, 1864.


At the age of eighteen he began studying law in the office of Judge Capron, where he remained until 1889, meanwhile serving four years in the railway mail service, and also a period in the Plymouth postoffice. When Judge Capron was elected to the bench in 1890, he went into the law office of Packard & Drummond and now occupies the same office practicing law.


Mr. Logan served as chairman of the Democratic Central Com- mittee, as city attorney for four years, and in May, 1904, was elected mayor of the city and re-elected in November, 1905, and will hold the office until January, 1910. He also occupies the position of county attorney, having been appointed in January, 1905.


His father, James W. Logan, came to this county from Rush county, Indiana, in 1836, with the grandfather, Henry Logan, who was one of the early ministers of this county. The family of his mother, Anna ( Brooke) Logan, were also early settlers of the county.


On November 20, 1890, he was married to Luella How, daughter of David How and Mary (Cummins) How, and one daughter was born to them, Ruth, who was sixteen years of age on November 5, 1907.


JOHN R. JACOBY, one of the representative citizens and leading farmers of Marshall county, residing on section 35, Center township, was born within a half mile of his present residence, and in this same vicinity has spent his entire life. He was born on the 17th of July, 1859, a son of Christian and Nancy (Ray) Jacoby. Christian Jacoby was born


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in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, May 28, 1831, a son of John and Elizabeth (Brown) Jacoby, both of whom were also born in Schuylkill county. The family trace their ancestry to the fatherland of Germany, from whence came the great-grandfather of John R. Jacoby, and settled in Pennsylvania, and from there he removed to Marion county, Ohio, where he subsequently died. His son, also named John, was the father of the following children: Margaret, deceased; William, deceased; John, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Anna, deceased; Catherine, deceased ; Christian, Abigail, Peter and Leah, deceased. In 1847 the family jour- neyed to Wisconsin by way of the water route from Huron, Ohio, and from there they came to Marshall county, Indiana. John Jacoby pur- chased land two and a half miles east of Plymouth, becoming the owner of the entire section 35, and he became the founder of the family in Marshall county. His death occurred in 1862, aged sixty-eight years, and seven weeks later his wife died, aged seventy-one years. He was one of the founders of the St. John or Jacoby Reformed church, and deeded an acre of ground on which to erect the house of worship and its cemetery. He was a Democrat in his political affiliations.


Christian Jacoby was but a lad of sixteen years when the family home was established in Marshall county, and here he has ever since resided, and was identified with its agricultural interests until his retire- ment in 1907 and his removal to Plymouth. He is a prominent member of the Reformed church. In 1855 Mr. Jacoby married Nancy Ray, who was born in Union county, Indiana, April 28, 1834, a daughter of John and Phoebe (Goble) Ray, the former of whom was born in Butler county, Ohio. The Rays are of Scotch origin, and the founder of the family in the United States was John Ray, who came from his native land when twenty-one years of age. John Ray, Jr., came to Marshall county, Indiana, in 1835, and located in section 3, Center township, where his death occurred in 1859, at the age of fifty-five years. His wife was forty-four years of age when called to the home beyond, dying in 1851. She bore him three children: Serena, who married John Jacoby; Sarah Ann, wife of Jacob Sult, and Nancy, who became the wife of Christian Jacoby. For his second wife Mr. Ray married Nancy Campbell, and they had two children, Minerva and John Franklin. Mr. Ray was a member of the Presbyterian church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Christian Jacoby were born four children, two of whom died in childhood, and of the two now living Filena Olive, the daughter, married Obadiah Greiner.


John R. Jacoby, the only surviving son, was reared on the old home farm in Center township, and farming has been his life occupation. He received a fair educational training in the public schools of his neighbor- hood, and he remained in the parental home and co-operated with his father in farming until he was past twenty-five years of age. Soon after his marriage he located on his present homestead, his estate now consist- ing of one hundred and thirty acres of fertile and well improved land, with only about fifteen acres of timber, and a large modern frame resi- dence now adorns the farm. Mr. Jacoby has purchased a beautiful modern residence on Center street, No. 1000, in the city of Plymouth, Indiana, and this will be his future home.


In 1884 Mr. Jacoby married Miss Clara Balsley, a daughter of


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Jacob C. and Catherine Balsley, of German township, Marshall county, the birthplace of Mrs. Jacoby. They have one child, Nita Olive, ten years of age. Mr. Jacoby is a member of the Jacoby or St. John's Con- gregation of the Reformed Church, which is located near his residence and of which he is the secretary and also the secretary of the church cemetery. His fraternal relations connect him with the Modern Wood- men of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.


M. D. L. WHITEMAN. Among the many thousands of men who bravely marched forth to defend the Union and maintain the supremacy of the Stars and Stripes during the period of the Civil war none more deserved the honors that came to them than M. D. L. Whiteman, and for many years he has held a representative place among the citizens of Marshall county. When he was a lad of twenty years he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and First Ohio Volunteer Infantry, as a pri- vate, and served for three years. In that time he was promoted from the ranks to third sergeant and was commissary sergeant when honorably discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1865. He participated in all the battles in which the Army of the Cumberland took part, and carried the regimental flag from the battle of Resaca, May 14, 1863, to the battle of Jonesboro, south of Atlanta, including Sherman's campaign. For a short time during his military career he was confined in a hospital, and returning to his Ohio home at the close of hostilities, he remained there until his removal to Marshall county, Indiana, in 1869, purchasing and removing to the farm which he now owns in section 24, North township. His estate consists of two hundred and thirty acres of rich and well cultivated land, but he now rents most of the land.


Mr. Whiteman is a native son of Seneca county, Ohio, born on the Ist of November, 1839, to Humphrey and Sarah ( Gueisbert) White- man. The father was also born in Seneca county, where he was a farmer and lumberman for many years, and his death occurred in the Buckeye state at the age of sixty-two years. He was a son of Samuel Whiteman, who removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio and was of German descent. Mrs. Whiteman was born in Maryland and was of German parentage, although her mother was of Scotch-Welsh origin. There were eleven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Whiteman, six sons and five daughters, but two of the number died in infancy and the remainder attained to mature years.


M. D. L. Whiteman, their third child and third son, spent the early years of his life in his native county of Seneca, and soon after his return from the war, in 1865, he was married to Helen McHenry, who died leaving four children, Schuyler, Sylvia, Effie and Eva. In 1873 Mr. Whiteman wedded Drusilla Penrod, and their four children are Dor- sey D., Lina Pearl, Elsie Fern and Dessie. Mr. Whiteman is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, active in the work of the party, and he has attained to the rank of a Master Mason in the Masonic Order, Lodge No. 353, at Lakeville.


EDWARD HECKAMAN. During an early epoch in the history of Marshall county there came to reside within its borders a persevering


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and honorable son of Germany, Jacob Heckaman, and taking up his abode in German township he assisted in the making of the history of that community and for many years carried on his agricultural labors on the land which he secured from the government. It was there also that his son, John Heckaman, was born and grew to mature years. In about 1870 he transferred his residence to the town of Bremen, where he served as a justice of the peace for twenty years or more and for a similar period was the assessor of German township. His death occurred in 1896, aged sixty-one years. He became well and favorably known in the county where he had so long lived and labored, ever performing his full share in the work of its growth and upbuilding, and his loyalty and faithfulness in citizenship won him the love and high esteem of his fellow townsmen. Mr. Heckaman married a native daughter of Germany, Catherine Wyraugh, but during her girlhood days she came from her native land to the United States and grew to mature years in German township, Marshall county. She is now a resident of Bremen. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Heckaman, three of whom died when young, one in early manhood, and four are now living.


Edward Heckaman, the third child and second living son, was born in German township, Marshall county, Indiana, five miles southeast of Bremen, October 9, 1862, and on the old homestead farm there he spent the first eight years of his life, having since resided in Bremen. During three years he was a student in the German Lutheran school of this city, and his educational training was completed in the Bremen public schools. For fifteen years after leaving the school room Mr. Heckaman was employed by the firm of J. R. Dietrick & Company as a salesman and buyer, and at the close of that period, in 1900, he entered upon his con- nection with the Union State Bank in the capacity of assistant cashier. After four years as an assistant he was made the cashier, and he has since occupied this high official position.


Mr. Heckaman married, May 13, 1886, Matilda M., a daughter of John and Hannah Link, of Bremen, and they have one living son, Loren Link. Mr. Heckaman has taken active part in the political as well as the business life of his city, voting with the Democratic party, and for four years he served as a member of the city council and for three years as the city treasurer. He is a member of the Lutheran church.


JAMES A. GILMORE, the cashier of the First National Bank of Plym- outh, was born in York, Livingston county, New York, June 29, 1840, a son of John Gilmore, a native also of the Empire state, born in Wash- ington county. He followed the tilling of the soil as a life occupation, and in the commonwealth which gave him birth he spent his entire life and passed to his final reward. Mrs. Gilmore bore the maiden name of Margaret Skelley, and her birth also occurred in Washington county, of New York. In their family were five children, three sons and two daughters, all of whom grew to years of maturity and three are now living.


James A. Gilmore, the third child and eldest son in order of birth, was born in Livingston county, but at an early age removed to Genesee county, where he spent his boyhood days. The common-school education


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which he received in its schools was supplemented by a two years' course at Alfred University, of Alfred, New York. Beginning then the active battle of life for himself, he followed farming for a few years and then moved to Warsaw, Indiana, where he was in the mercantile business and was also the agent in that city for about three years of the Adams Express Company. At the close of his residence in that city in 1873 he came to Plymouth and entered upon his duties as acting cashier in the First National Bank. After two years he was made the regular cashier in that prominent and well known financial institution, and for thirty-four years he has continued to discharge the duties incumbent upon him in that capacity. The capital stock of the First National Bank of Plymouth is sixty-five thousand dollars, and the president of the institution is Marcus A. O. Packard, of Chicago. The bank has a surplus and undi- vided profits amounting to sixty-one thousand dollars. Mr. Gilmore had had no experience in the banking business when he came to Plymouth and took charge of the bank, but he has rapidly forged his way to the front and to a prominent position among the leading business men of Marshall county. During a period of fifteen years he served as the treasurer of Plymouth, and for three years he served as a member and the treasurer of the school board.




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