USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 33
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 33
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Sarah. The father removed from the state of his nativity to Pennsylvania, subsequently went to Virginia and later to Belmont county, Ohio. About 1866 he went to Nodaway county, Missouri, where he passed the residue of his life, dying at the age of seventy-five years.
William Sims, our subject, was born in Maryland, August 30, 1834, and when two years of age went with his parents to Pennsylvania. He was about ten years of age when they removed to Ohio, and there he remained until sixteen years old, when he began steamboating, being employed in that way on the Ohio and Muskingum rivers for two years. He next worked on the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad for one year, and when but nineteen years of age came to Indiana, after which he spent two years at farm work on the Eel river.
In Clay township, Miami county, in August, 1856, Mr. Sims was united in marriage to Miss Salome Studebaker, a native of Ohio and a daughter of William and Salome (Crull) Studebaker. Her father was of sturdy Pennsyl- vania-Dutch stock and located in Cass county, Indiana, among its pioneer settlers. In the fall of 1854 he removed to Clay township, Miami county, taking up his residence in the midst of the forest, where he cleared a consid- erable tract of land and developed a good farm. He gave all his children land which he had entered from the government, thus enabling them to make a good start in life. He was a worthy and respected citizen, and died at the advanced age of eighty-one years. His children were two sons and a daugh- ter,-John, Henry and Salome.
At the time of his marriage Mr. Sims located on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres about a mile from his present home. The land was in its primitive condition, but he possessed the tenacity of purpose so characteristic of the Scottish race, and never faltered in the work of clearing and develop- ing the ground until it was all under a high state of cultivation. He has since added to his landed possessions, which now aggregate three hundred and twenty-nine acres, the farm being one of the finest in the locality. The buildings are modern and substantial, the latest improved machinery is found there, and all the accessories and conveniences of the model farm are in evi- dence on the premises. He has always carried on agricultural pursuits with the exception of a short period spent in Montana.
In 1864 he crossed the plains in company with Dr. Baldwin, Solomon Bossard and Daniel Walters, the last named being afterward killed by a half-
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breed Indian. The party took three yoke of oxen, shipped them from Delphi, Indiana, to St. Joseph, Missouri, and thence drove across the country to Vir- ginia City, where they arrived on the 9th of August, 1864, having left St. Joseph on the 15th of April. They encountered many Indians along the . way but had no trouble with them. They saw many buffaloes and other large game and experienced many of the hardships incident to travel over the plains in those days. For four years Mr. Sims engaged in gold-mining and met with excellent success, bringing home with him the gold that enabled him to get a good start in his agricultural work. He was in Virginia City when the famous vigilance committee organized to enforce law and order, and while he was there two men were hung; and he also saw a party of fifty " vigilants " start on horseback to try a man.
To Mr. and Mrs. Sims have been born seven children: John, Philena, Nancy, Nettie, Charles, George and Tilden. The family is one of promi- nence in the community where they have so long made their home, and their circle of friends is an extensive one. Mrs. Sims is a member of the German Baptist church. Mr. Sims is a Democrat in his political affiliations, voting for that party on matters of state and national importance, but at local elec- tions, where no issue is involved, casts his ballot for the man whom he regards as best qualified for office. His life record is that of a practical business man, and, unclouded by shadow of wrong or dishonorable dealing, it commends him to the confidence and regard of all.
H ON. NATHAN OLIN ROSS .- The annals of the legal profession of Indiana would be incomplete were the history of this worthy member of the bar omitted, for any reason. He is one of the pioneers of the state, as well, and for almost sixty years has been a resident of Peru, Miami county. During this period he has been actively engaged in the practice of law and for a quarter of a century he has maintained an additional office in Logans- port, where his business frequently calls him. Though now nearly eighty years of age, his mind is as clear and keen as ever, and he is considered an authority not only upon law and kindred topics but also upon the history of this portion of the state.
The father of our subject was William O. Ross, a native of Connecticut
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and of Scotch extraction. In his young manhood he went to Kentucky, where he met and married a pretty girl, Elizabeth Wilson by name. She was a daughter of the " Blue-grass" state, but her father, Moses Wilson, was a son of the Emerald Isle. In 1821 Willam O. Ross removed with his family to Decatur county, Indiana, and settled upon a farm near Greensburg. For that time he was well-educated, and after his arrival in the Hoosier state he studied law and became more or less engaged in practice in the local courts. He lived in several counties of this state ere he died, his last place of resi- dence being in Wabash. To himself and first wife ten children were born, and by his later marriage he had four children.
Hon. Nathan O. Ross, the eldest child in his father's large family, was born in Boone county, Kentucky, September 14, 1819. While he was a mere boy the duties and cares of life began to rest heavily upon his youthful shoulders and he was his father's main reliance. The lad had inherited a strong desire for learning and a marked preference for legal affairs. When he had exhausted the resources of the district schools he determined that he would have something better in the way of an education, and, in proof of his eagerness to attain his desire, we may cite the fact that he walked from his father's house in La Porte to Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he became enrolled as a student in Wabash College. The next two years were spent by him in that institution, and at the end of that time, in 1838, he removed with the family to a tract of wild land in the vicinity of the town of Wabash. In order that their father might have his time to devote to the practice of law, young Ross and his brothers set about clearing this property. In the summer he worked on the farm and the following winter taught school for one term. The second winter he split rails all day long, his task being two hundred rails per day, and at night, by the aid of the bright glow of the hick- ory-bark fire, he poured over such volumes of legal lore as his father pos- sessed. As may be imagined, the young student, wearied by his long and hard day's work, often fell asleep over his self-imposed task, but he persist- ently clung to his idea of becoming a lawyer.
Judge Ross was licensed to practice in 1839. The first case that he pleaded was that of a negro, his father being counsel for the opposite party, a white man. The earnestness and eloquence of the young lawyer, together with the justice of his side, won the suit for him. The same year he became a permanent resident of Peru, Indiana, where he was greatly honored and
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esteemed. In 1848 he was elected to the state legislature and again in 1865. The following year he was the Democratic candidate for congress, his oppo- nent being the late Hon. D. D. Pratt. He made a sturdy fight, but, as the district had had a Republican majority of about four thousand votes in the previous election, the matter was hopeless, as far as he was concerned, from the first. Though he has always taken a warm interest in the success of the Democratic party, he has not been a politician in the ordinary sense of the term, but has given his chief attention to his professional duties. In 1873 he became counsel for the Pan Handle Railroad, a position he has since continued to fill with ability. As frequent trips to the county-seat of Cass county were thus necessitated, owing to its position on one of the divisions of the road, he opened an office in Logansport, and is about as well and favorably known in that city as in his home town.
In 1841 the Judge married Miss Mary Minerva Ewing, who was summoned to the silent land in 1875. Of the ten children who blessed their union, five are still living. (See sketch of one of our subject's sons, George E., printed elsewhere in this work.) Since 1837 the Judge has been a member of the Presbyterian church. Genial and sympathetic in nature, upright and honor- able in all his actions, small wonder is it that his friends are innumerable, and that his name is a synonym for noble Christian inanhood among his associates and acquaintances of a life-time.
G EORGE M. FORD, engaged in the pump business at No. 312 Fifth street, Logansport, Indiana, is one of the energetic and up-to-date men in his line. For eight years previous to his going into business for himself he was in the employ of George Linton, of Logansport, in whose establish- ment he learned the trade of pump-maker and became proficient in every- thing that pertains to the business, putting in pumps, making repairs, han- dling supplies, etc .; and since 1891 he has been doing a prosperous business of his own.
Mr. Ford was born in Kosciusko county, Indiana, March 29, 1853, and is a son of William Ford. The latter was a native of the Buckeye state, and was very young when, in the early part of the first half of the present century, he emigrated to Indiana and settled on a farm in Kosciusko
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county, where he was subsequently married. He entered the federal service during the war of the Rebellion, died in the army, and is buried at White- side Farm, Tennessee. The mother of our subject, who was by maiden name Miss Emeline Clark, was born in Ohio, in 1832, daughter of Jesse Clark, and died in 1891.
The only surviving child of William and Emeline Ford is George M., who was reared on a farm, leaving it in 1871 and removing to Logansport with his mother. Here he was at first employed in roof-painting, which business he followed six seasons. At the end of that time he returned to the farm and the next four years was engaged in agricultural pursuits. It was at the close of this period that he came again to Logansport and entered the employ of George Linton, as above stated, with whom he remained until he engaged in his present business.
Mr. Ford was married in Eel township, Cass county, Indiana, in Sep- tember, 1876, to Alice M., daughter of Alexander Gray, and she died March 28, 1896, leaving no children.
OHN E. SMITH. - Indians were still numerous in the neighborhood when J
John E. Smith became a resident of Howard county, their village being located about two miles from his present home, which is on section nine- teen, Center township. The land was wild, forests still stood in their native strength, and the work of progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun. He has therefore witnessed the greater part of the growth and development of the country.
Mr. Smith was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, near Crawfords- ville, November 25, 1830, and is a son of Peter and Melinda (Elmore) Smith, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of North Carolina. Mrs. Smith was a daughter of John Elmore, who was born in North Carolina and was a pioneer of Montgomery county, where he reared his family and died at the advanced age of eighty years. Peter Smith also carried on agricultural pursuits and located in Montgomery county in the days of its early develop- ment. He died in 1837 at the age of fifty years, and his wife died about ten years later. Both were members of the Methodist church. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Smith married Jefferson Mason, by whom she had
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two sons and one daughter, but Franklin Mason is the only one now living. By her first marriage she had five sons: John E., Ephraim E., William E., Henry E. and Joseph. Only John E. and William E. are now living.
The subject of this review remained in the county of his nativity until fifteen years of age, and for three months in the year pursued his studies in the subscription schools of the neighborhood. He was bound out to his uncle, William B. Smith, the oldest resident of Howard county, and lived with him for six years, when, having attained his majority, he started out in life for himself. He had a good suit of clothes and five dollars in money, and from his father's estate he received five hundred dollars. With this he began business on his own account. With the five hundred dollars he pur- chased eighty acres of land in Harrison township, Howard county, four miles from Kokomo.
In 1853 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Minerva Ellen Canine, daughter of Cornelius and Dosie (Vanise) Canine. They began their domestic life upon her father's farm, where they resided for sixteen years, Mr. Smith caring for her parents until their death. He then purchased the old farm in Montgomery county, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, paying for it sev- enty-five dollars per acre. A year later he sold it for eighty dollars per acre, cash. In 1867 he returned to Howard county, and in order to educate his children made his home in Kokomo for a time, there engaging in the grocery business for three years. In 1868 he purchased his present farm, two miles northeast of the courthouse, containing two hundred and forty acres of land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. He also owns a number of lots in the north part of Kokomo. Throughout the greater part of his life he has carried on farming and stock-raising, and the enterprise and energy which are so characteristic of the man have brought him very gratifying success.
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born four sons and five daughters, one of whom died in infancy. The others are Mary Melins and William, who died of diphtheria in childhood; Annie A., widow of J. M. Jessup, who died in 1889, leaving two children, Elsie and Earl; Joseph H., who married Minnie Lewis and has one son, Clyde; Alice A., who became the wife of James Short, by whom she had one child, Ruby, and after his death became the wife of Frank Lightfoot, by whom she has one child, Frank M., who resides at home and operates the farm; Mary Josephine, wife of Daniel Smith, by
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whom she has one child, William; Isaac Newton, of Kokomo, who married Maud Benson and has one child, Merl.
The parents are faithful members of the Presbyterian church, and since 1860 Mr. Smith has been a member of the Odd Fellows society. He has filled all the chairs in the subordinate lodge and also belongs to the encamp- ment and to the national lodge. In politics he is a Democrat in his support of national and state issues, but at local elections, where no issue is involved, he votes for the man whom he believes best fitted for office, regardless of party affiliations. He has never sought or desired office, preferring that his energies shall be devoted to his business interests, and his honorable dealing and unabating industry have brought him a handsome property.
F ETER GLASSBURN. - One of the fine farms of Clay township, Miami county, comprising over three hundred acres of rich and arable land, is the property of Peter Glassburn, who for a half century has resided in this locality. He located amidst the green woods and a log cabin was his first home. Now he has a commodious and substantial residence, near by are good barns and other outbuildings, and these in turn are surrounded by waving fields of grain which indicate the thrift and enterprise of the owner. The work of developing and improving the farm has all been performed by the owner, who ranks among the practical and progressive agriculturists of the county.
Mr. Glassburn was born near Covington, in Alleghany county, Virginia. on the 19th of April, 1821, a son of Frederick and Mary (Persinger) Glass- burn. The Glassburns were of German lineage and through more than a century the family has resided in America. The first of the name to cross the Atlantic was David Glassburn, the grandfather of our subject, who left his native land to try his fortune in the New World, and located in Alle- ghany county. He was married there to a lady of Irish birth, and then gave his attention to agricultural pursuits. Their children were: David, John, George, Samuel, Peter. Mary, Elizabeth, Rachel and Frederick. The grandfather was one of the heroes who fought for the independence of the nation, and three of his sons, Peter, Samuel and George, served their coun- try in the war of 1812. The first named was wounded in battle and his death
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resulted therefrom, and William Glassburn was in a battle with the Indians at Point Pleasant, Virginia, where he was shot through the body. He lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and twelve years, and our subject remembers seeing the scar of his wound.
Also a native of Alleghany county, Virginia, Frederick Glassburn, the father of our subject, followed farming as a life work. Near his childhood's home he married Miss Mary Persinger, who was born in Botetourt county, Virginia, a daughter of Andrew Persinger, who was of German descent, and carried on farming among the hills of the Old Dominion. He lived to be more than eighty years of age, and his children were Zebulon, Martin, Aaron and Mary. About 1834 Frederick Glassburn removed to Johnson county, Indiana, and cast his lot with its pioneer settlers, making his home there until his death, which occurred when he was of the age of about sixty years. He had seven children, namely: Samuel, Andrew, David, Peter, Joseph, Ellen and Martha.
The educational privileges afforded Peter Glassburn in his youth were somewhat meager. In his early boyhood he accompanied his parents to Indiana, the first location being made in Hamilton county, whence they removed to Johnson county. He shared with the family in all the hardships and privations of pioneer life and assisted in the arduous task of developing new land and transforming it into a good farm, but this proved of practical ben- efit to him when he began farming on his own account. For a time he carried on agricultural pursuits in Johnson county, and in 1850 settled on his present farm in Miami county, which he had located in May, 1848, -a tract of eighty acres covered with a dense growth of timber. One by one the trees were cut
down, fields were plowed and crops planted. As his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his land until his farm now comprises more than three hundred acres. All this has been accumulated through his own efforts, and it required very earnest, persistent work to hew the farm out of the forest and add to his possessions until he won a place among the substantial citizens of the county. He not only cleared away the trees and plowed the virgin soil, but also mauled the rails for his first fence and carried on the work of improvement in many other directions. He has always been a lover of the forest, keenly appreciative of its beauty, and still has upon his farm a fine body of native timber which he "keeps to look at."
Mr. Glassburn was married in Johnson county to Miss Catharine Bishop,
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who was born in Alleghany county, Virginia, in 1827, a daughter of Abra- ham and Mary Bishop, also natives of the same state, whence they removed to Johnson county, Indiana, at an early day. There the father developed a good farm and made his home until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-two years. His children were Henry, Catharine, Margaret, Rebecca, Sarah, Mary, Harriet, Nancy and Emeline. Four children graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Glassburn: Alfred, Mary A., Minerva and Jasper.
In his political views Mr. Glassburn is a Democrat and bimetalist. He served as constable of his township from 1855 until 1876 and was a most efficient officer, as is indicated by his long term of service. He is a man of sterling worth, whose word is as good as his bond, and his fidelity to duty in every relation of life is one of his marked characteristics. Through his long residence in the county, he has witnessed much of its growth and develop- ment and well deserves mention among the honored pioneers whose depth of character and resolution in facing the hardships of pioneer life have been the means that have placed Indiana among the foremost of her sister states of the Union.
D AVID DARLAND was born on the farm on which he now lives, in Jack- son township, Cass county, Indiana, November 13, 1856. His father, Samuel Darland, a native of Ohio, was born in the year 1825. Coming over into Indiana, he located first in Clinton county and about 1854 removed to Cass county and settled on this land, which he had purchased from the gov- ernment about 1848, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Here he made a little clearing amid the heavy timber and in true pioneer style built his one-room cabin, which for a time served them for a home, its location being on the site of the present farm residence. Here he reared his family and devoted his energies to the clearing and cultivation of his land. A public- spirited and enterprising man, he helped to lay out and build the roads and organize the school districts, build school-houses, etc., in his township. He died in 1879. He and his wife, née Elizabeth Clarke, were the parents of five children namely: Martha A., David, John H., William R. and Albert.
David Darland has spent his whole life on the farm above referred to. His early education was received in a log school-house; he assisted his father in conducting the farming operations, and after his father's death took entire
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charge of the farm, which comprises one hundred and forty acres and is now owned by our subject and his brother, William R.
A Democrat in politics, Mr. Darland has for several years shown con- siderable interest in local affairs, and has been honored with official position. He was in 1890 elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of township trustee of Jackson township, and served as such five years. Also he has been road supervisor and filled other minor offices.
DAM REIMBOLT .- Among the faithful and trusted employes of the
A Pan Handle Railroad Company is found the subject of this sketch, Adam Reimbolt, an engineer on the Chicago division, with headquarters at Logansport.
He is a native of Ohio and is of German descent, his birth having occurred at Tiffin April 15, 1853, and his father, Frank Reimbolt, being a native of the province of Alsace. Alsace at the time of his birth was a part of the French nation, that being in 1822. In 1834, a boy of eleven years, he landed in America and located at Tiffin, Ohio, where he grew up and was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Catherine Hoot. They became the parents of ten children, viz .: Michael, a blacksmith of Toledo, Ohio; Henry, a car pen- ter of Bascom, Ohio; Joseph, a stationary engineer, is a resident of Wiscon- sin; Frank, whose present whereabouts are unknown, was a Union soldier in the Civil war; John, a blacksmith of Toledo, Ohio; Adam, whose name heads this sketch; George, of Tiffin, Ohio; Christ, of Fostoria, Ohio; Jacob, who is a resident of New Riegel, Ohio; and Barbara, the wife of Mart Blazer, of Seneca county, Ohio. Frank Reimbolt has reared his children to habits of industry on his farm near Tiffin and taught them the principles of honesty and integrity. He was a plain farmer who lived well and who enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. He died in 1889.
Adam Reimbolt, the immediate subject of this review, saw little or noth- ing of the home fireside or of the school-room after he was fifteen years old. At that age he hired to a man by the name of Martin Luce, to feed cattle at twenty dollars a month. He remained with this employer, in the neighbor- hood of Henpeck, Ohio, for two years, when he decided to try army life. Accordingly he enlisted in the Nineteenth Regiment, United States regulars,
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which was stationed in the south most of the time during his term of enlistment, being at New Orleans, East Mississippi, and at Fort Elliott in the Indian Territory. This fort Mr. Reimbolt helped to build, and it was there that his term of enlistment expired and that he received his discharge.
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