USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 17
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in Northampton county, Pennsylvania. ) Elias Peter, born August 21, 1817; baptized September 21, 1817. Witnesses: Henry Jacoby and Salomi, his wife. Reuben Peter, born December 1, 1820; baptized April 1, 1822. Wit- nesses: Daniel Schmidt and Mary, his wife. Joseph Peter, born February 18, 1823. Witnesses to baptism: Ludwig Gewel and Elizabeth, his wife. Elizabeth Peter, born September 20, 1824. Witnesses to baptism: John Jacoby and Elizabeth, his wife. William Peter, Sr., died in Ross township, Clinton county, Indiana, July 23, 1837, at about the age of fifty-seven years."
Daniel Peter, one of the above named sons, received the limited common- school education of his day and came west with his parents to Butler county, Ohio, in the fall of 1817. He came to Indiana in 1831, to inspect the land, and became a farmer and lumberman. The following year, 1832, he accom- panied his parents to Clinton county, this state, and in 1833 settled on two hundred and forty acres of land in Perry township, Tippecanoe county, which was given him by his father. He cleared up his farm from the woods, and built a dam on the middle fork of Wild-cat creek, on his property. That was in 1833 or '34, and this mill, both saw and grist, was the second inill in Perry township. The gristmill was a very primitive affair. The stones were "nigger-heads " which they found in the vicinity and dressed up, mak- ing fairly good millstones. The flour was bolted by hand. Mr. Peter did a good business for those days. He hauled his flour and lumber to Michigan City and Chicago and there exchanged it for salt and other merchandise, which he sold to his neighbors. These trips would occupy several days and were made with huge Pennsylvania wagons drawn by horses, and at night he would camp out by the roadside. Chicago and Michigan City were the only points where merchandise could be obtained. Daniel Peter was a promi- nent and successful pioneer. and had the respect of all who knew him. He married Mary Burkhalter, and theirs was the second marriage in Perry town- ship, Tippecanoe county. She was born September 9, 1812, in. Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Peter and Catherine (Beery) Burkhalter. Peter Burkhalter moved from Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, to Butler county, Ohio, and thence with the Peter family to Tippecanoe county, Indiana. (Further mention of him will be found in the sketch of William Burkhalter in this work.)
Daniel Peter and wife were the parents of ten children, -seven sons and three daughters. The following record is copied from the family Bible: " William, born May, 1834; Eliza Ann, July 13, 1835; Henry, September 25, 1836; Catherine, May 5, 1838; Elizabeth, July 29, 1839; Daniel, Decem- ber 12, 1840; Eli, February 8, 1842; Nicholas, September 8, 1843; Calvin, November 25, 1848, and Irwin, December 6, 1855 "-all born at the home- stead where Horace Hoffman now lives in Perry township.
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Mr. and Mrs. Peter were members of the German Reformed church and were liberal supporters of the same. Also they contributed liberally to the support as well as erection of the different churches in the township. Mr. Peter donated a tract of land, from his farm, for a Methodist church. This was a hewed-log house and in it the meetings of the pioneer Methodists were held for many years. In early life Mr. Peter was a Democrat, but became a Republican upon the organization of that party. He had two sons in the civil war, Daniel V. and Eli. The former was in the Tenth Indiana Volun- teer Battery, in the three-years service, and the latter, also in the three-years service, was a member of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and died of measles, in hospital at Columbus, Ohio, in 1865.
Mr. Peter was a substantial pioneer farmer and business man, noted for his integrity and upright character, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. The substantial brick residence on his farm he built in 1859.
Calvin Peter, whose post-office address is Monitor, Indiana, and whose birth is above recorded, is a worthy representative of this well known family and ranks as one of the respected citizens of Perry township. He was reared on his father's farm and received his education in the common schools, and has been engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life. At about the age of thirty years he was married, in Perry township, Tippecanoe county, to Miss Loretta Weaver, their marriage being consummated on the 9th of September, 1879. Loretta Weaver was born in Tippecanoe county, in the township of Per- ry, September 9, 1861, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Barnhart) Weaver, and her father, also a native of this township, was a son of John and Catherine (Horner) Weaver. John Weaver was a Pennsylvanian. He married, in Ohio, Catherine Horner, and they were among the early pioneers of Perry town- ship, Tippecanoe county, their settlement being on the north fork of Wild-
cat creek, where he engaged in farming. Their children were Samuel, Charles, Joseph, Mary R., Rebecca and Hannah, who lived to reach adult years. Mr. Weaver had a good farm of two hundred acres, which he cleared from the woods adjoining the village of Pettit. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and was an industrious, hard-working pioneer. He died on his farm at the age of sixty-nine years, February 18, 1873. Samuel Weaver and wife, married January 18, 1855, settled on the John Weaver homestead, lived there a few years and thence removed to Kosciusko county, Indiana. At the end of the next three years they returned to the home farm, a portion of which he finally inherited. After living there a number of years he moved to Berrien county, Michigan, where he died at about the age of fifty-one years. He was a member of the United Brethren church, and was a man well known for his kindness of heart and his honest, straightfor-
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ward manner in all the relations of life. His children were Alpheus A., Alice L., Loretta, Elder E. and Orphie.
Mr. Calvin Peter and wife soon after marriage settled on their present farm, which is a part of his father's homestead, and here he has eighty acres of choice land well improved. By industry and good management he has prospered, and he enjoys the reputation of being one of the practical farmers of his locality. His children are Earl W., Otis C., Elsie L. and Iva Jean. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and politically he is a Republican.
In conclusion, we refer briefly to Mrs. Calvin Peter's grandfather, John Barnhart. He was of sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, born in Pennsyl- vania, and was by trade a carpenter. He married, in Ohio, Barbara Swil- ger, who was likewise of Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, and born in Ohio. They continued to live there for some years, until the fall of 1849, when they came over into Indiana and settled at Dayton, Tippecanoe county, and in this county they passed the rest of their days. Mr. Barnhart died in Lafayette, at the age of seventy-four years, January 16, 1873, a member of the United Brethren church and a man of sterling integrity. His children were Henry, Jerre, William, Mary Levina and Elizabeth.
JACOB SHEFFER.
One of the youngest soldiers of Indiana who saw actual service and was engaged in some of the most serious battles and campaigns of the civil war, was Jacob Sheffer, afterward the popular and efficient treasurer of Warren county. He enlisted when barely fourteen years of age, in Company H, One Hundred and Sixteenth Regiment of Indiana Infantry Volunteers, for six months, being mustered into the army in August, 1863, and faithfully stood at the post of duty as long as his country had need of his services. At the expiration of his first term of enlistment he re-entered the service, this time as a private of Company G, One Hundred and Fiftieth Indiana ·Infantry, and continued until after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, in the meantime being a participant in the Shenandoah valley campaign, fighting all day in the battle of Blue Springs, Tennessee, taking an active part in the notable engagement of Cumberland Gap and many others. He is now an honored member of W. B. Fleming Post, of West Lebanon, of which he has officiated as treasurer. In his political affiliations he is a stalwart Republican, and was elected on that ticket in 1887 to the responsible posi- tion of county treasurer, in which office he made a most creditable record, both for himself and for his constituents. Socially, he is a Mason, joining the blue lodge in 1898.
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One of the respected pioneers of Warren county was Nicholas Sheffer, the father of our subject. He was born July 1, 1796, in Pennsylvania, and came to Warren county in 1828. He had grown to man's estate in Pennsyl- vania and had there married Matilda Davis. With his wife and one child he settled in Washington township upon his arrival in this section, and soon afterward entered a quarter section of land in Jordan township. That prop- erty he greatly improved, and spent many years of his life there, devoting his energies to the cultivation of the farm. His death occurred at his home at that place, April 22, 1852. His wife survived him over thirty years, her demise taking place July 5, 1883. Twelve children were born to this worthy couple, and of the entire number only the subject of this article continues to reside in Indiana. O. H. is a citizen of Colorado Springs, Colorado ; Mrs. Cynthia Benge lives in Oregon; Frank is a resident of Santa Ana, California ; William is in Danville, Illinois ; Nicholas Vance makes his home in California ; George K. is in Champaign county, Illinois ; Mrs. Ruth J. Hopkins and Rebecca are deceased ; and three others died in childhood. The father served as sheriff of this county from 1841 to 1846.
Jacob Sheffer was born in Jordan township, this county, May 26, 1849, and was educated in the public schools of the vicinity. From his early years he was made familiar with all kinds of farm work, and has followed this calling during his mature years. He raises a fine grade of live stock and owns a fertile, valuable farm, located in Washington township. He has made a success in business by strict attention to his own affairs, and that he possesses the esteem and confidence of his neighbors cannot be doubted.
In 1873 Mr. Sheffer married Delphine Schlosser, whose father, Elias Schlosser, was a pioneer of Washington township, but both he and his wife have passed to the silent land. Mrs. Sheffer is a native of this county. The elder son of our subject and wife is Wilmer, who married Miss L. Brutt, and resides in Washington.
MICHAEL BLIND,
A prosperous farmer in Medina township, Warren county, was born on the farm where he now resides, November 1, 1835. His parents were John and Catherine (Wagner) Blind, the former of whom was a native of Germany, born December 24, 1793. He came to America before 1820, cn a sailing vessel, and was nine months and two weeks reaching his destination, which was near Chillicothe, Ohio. He worked three years to pay his passsage to this country and lived in Ohio until 1833, when, with his wife and three children -Mary, John and Catharine-he journeyed by team to Warren county, Indi- ana, and settled on the farm where his son Michael was born. He purchased
Michael Blind.
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eighty acres of government land on section 14, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and on this place built a log house and here he resided until his death, January 22, 1862. His wife departed this life July 16, 1882, when over eighty-four years of age. Both parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Six children were born to them: John (see sketch of Charles O. Blind); Mary, who became the wife first of John Moore, second of James W. Moore, and is deceased; Catherine, who mar- ried David James and is deceased; Charlotte, who married Elbert G. Hick- man, and Margaret, who was the wife of John Boyer, are also deceased, our subject, Michael Blind, being the only survivor of the family.
When he was only eighteen years of age our subject assumed the man- agement of the farm under his father's direction, and after the death of the latter he purchased the interest of the other heirs in the homestead and has spent his entire life on the same place where he was born. He has one of the best farms in Medina township, embracing two hundred and forty acres of land four miles east of Pine Village, of which sixty-two acres are in timber. He has already been extensively engaged in stock-raising and gen- eral farming, and is one of the wealthy and prominent men of the township. His early education was limited, being such as could be obtained in the prim- itive log school-house of those early days, but by reading and observation he has become well informed and is an intelligent and progressive citizen. In politics he is a stanch supporter of the Republican party and contributes liber- ally to the good of the cause. Mr. Blind has never married. The engrav- ing accompanying this sketch was made from a picture taken when Mr. Blind was twenty-six years old.
MOSES C. GRAFT.
Moses C. Graft, deceased, was born in Butler county, Ohio, October 17, 1813, and in his youth acquired a fair education, whereby he was qualified to follow the profession of teaching. He was thus engaged in educational work for a time, but during the greater part of his life carried on agricultural pur- suits. When a young man he left the county of his nativity, and removed to Tippecanoe county, where he was married the same year, in Sheffield town- ship, in 1838, to Miss Mary A. Baker, a sister of Robert Baker, of Dayton, Indiana. Mr. Graft then located on a farm, which he had purchased previous to his removal to this state. It was largely covered with timber, but with characteristic energy he began to clear and develop the land and in course of time the forest was replaced by waving fields of grain. He made a good home, planted three orchards, and added to his land by additional purchase until he was the owner of two hundred and thirteen acres. He was very dili- 10
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gent, and his untiring industry and capable management made him one of the substantial and prosperous agriculturists of the community.
Unto Mr. Graft by his first marriage were born the following children: David, born November 29, 1839; Susan A., born August 30, 1841; Rachel A., born December 3, 1843; Rebecca A., born December 9, 1845; Cyrus A., born May 6, 1848; Lucy A,, born November 12, 1850; William A., born August 12, 1853; and Ida A., born August 1, 1856. The mother of this family died May 19, 1857, and Mr. Graft was again married January 15, 1858, when Martha M. Boyles became his wife. She was born July 15, 1830, in Greene county, Ohio, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Jones) Boyles. Her father was born in Lexington, Kentucky, July 13, 1805, and was a son of Daniel Boyles. The grandfather of Mrs. Graft was of English descent, fol- lowed farming in Butler county, Ohio, for many years, and died in Lebanon, that state. His children were James Wesley, who died in childhood; McHatton; Samuel; Melinda, who married Rev. Owen; and Ellen, who died in childhood.
The father of Mrs. Graft early removed from Lexington, Kentucky, and cast his lot with the pioneer settlers of Butler county, Ohio. He acquired a good, practical education, made farming his life work, and in Butler county was married, October 1, 1829, to Elizabeth Jones, who was born December 21, 1807, near Chillicothe, Ohio, a daughter of Erasmus and Mary Jones. After his marriage Samuel Boyles located on a farm near Lebanon, Ohio, and came to Indiana about 1838, locating in Sheffield township, Tippecanoe county, upon a farm of one hundred acres, which had been partially cleared. He completed the work of preparing this for the plow, and in time developed a good farm. He prosecuted his labors with energy and diligence, and his work was crowned with success, so that he was numbered among the sub- stantial citizens of the community. He was a member of the Methodist church, and in early life served as class-leader. In politics he was a Repub- lican, and during the period of the civil war was a stanch advocate of the Union cause. He was at all times a loyal citizen, and promoted many enterprises for the public good. His children were Martha M., born July 15, 1830; Mary J., born November 20, 1832; Erasmus McHatton, born Decem- ber 17, 1834; Daniel J., born March 10, 1836; Elizabeth A., born February 10, 1838; Samuel G. W., born December 7, 1840; Jonathan R., born July II, 1843; Rachel M., born December 9, 1845; Brinton A., born January 18, 1847; and Barton J., born January 1, 1850. Mrs. Graft had three brothers who were loyal soldiers of the government during the civil war, and one brother aided his country in the recent war with Spain.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Graft located at the Graft homestead, where they resided until 1889, when they purchased property in Dayton.
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Mr. Graft then put aside business cares and rested in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. He had acquired a goodly property of two hundred and thirteen acres of valuable farming land, and a substantial two-story brick residence in Dayton, where his widow now resides. He was a man of sterling worth and integrity of character and an excellent citizen who advocated all measures for the public good. In politics he was a Republican, and in religious belief was a Methodist, his wife also belonging to the same church. He died August 19, 1890, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mrs. Graft is now living in her pleasant home in Dayton. She is a lady of much character, and is an active and leading member in the Methodist church.
JOHN GLADDEN.
John Gladden, of Dayton, Indiana, is one of the pioneers and representa- tive citizens of Tippecanoe county, who has reared a respected family. He was born March 12, 1819, in Montgomery county, Ohio, son of William and Magdalena (Yost) Gladden.
The Gladdens are of English descent. In England both the Gladden and Ingram families lived on leased land for generation after generation, it being a long established custom to lease for a term of ninety-nine years. Richard Gladden, the grandfather of John, came from England to this coun- try, with an older sister, when he was seventeen years old. This sister married an Ingram. Their coming to America was previous to the Revolu- tionary war, and in that war young Richard was a participant for six years. He was in early life a farmer, but later gave his attention to the milling business, which he followed successfully for a number of years. He was twice married, both his wives being natives of Virginia. The first wife died leaving a son, James. By the second wife, whose maiden name was Cather- ine McKnight, there were two children-Joseph and William. After his second marriage Mr. Gladden moved from Virginia out to the " Western Reserve," and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, fifteen miles west of Dayton, where he improved a farm and where he passed the rest of his life and died, his age at death being eighty-nine years. In politics he was an old-line Whig. William Gladden, his son and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, and was between eighteen and nineteen years old when he removed with his father to Ohio. His educational advantages were limited to the common schools, and on reaching manhood he engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Magda- lena Yost, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of Anthony and Catherine (Brock) Yost. Mr. Yost was of German birth and was brought to this coun- try by his parents when he was a child, their settlement being in the " Old
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Dominion." Subsequently he removed to Ohio and cleared up a large farm in Montgomery county and there made a good home. His children were John, Polly, Jacob, Abraham, Sarah, Anthony, Susie, William and Magda- lena. In Montgomery county he and his wife spent the rest of their lives and died, his age at death being over eighty years. They were members of the Dutch Reformed church, and were people who stood high in the pioneer community in which they lived. After marriage William Gladden settled in Montgomery county, on a small farm, and about eight years later moved to Preble county, Ohio, where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land and made a good home. In September, 1834, he again turned his face westward, this time his objective point being Tippecanoe county, Indiana, to which place he brought his family. He selected a location four miles southeast of Lafayette, where he purchased one hundred and eighty acres of partially improved land, for which he paid one thousand dollars. The fol- lowing year, 1835, he contracted a malarial disease, then prevalent in this part of the state, and died. He was a Democrat in politics, and was a man of sturdy, upright character, respected and esteemed by all who knew him. Following are the names of his children : Elizabeth, Richard, John, Joseph, William, Harrison, Jacob, Catherine and Sarah J.
John Gladden, the direct subject of this review, was about fifteen years old when he came with the other members of the family to Indiana, the journey, one hundred and ten miles, being made by wagon and requiring nine days. They drove their stock, and at night camped wherever darkness over- took them. Young John assisted in driving the stock and was just at an age to appreciate the novelty of this trip. Reared, as he was, on the frontier, his educational advantages were limited, being confined to a few months' attendance, during the winter, in the common schools. His father dying the year following their settlement in Indiana, and the family being large, John was thrown upon his own resources. The first year he worked for his board and one hundred dollars in money; the next winter he lived at home and went to school; and for his second year's work he received his board and one hundred and thirty-five dollars. He continued to work out as a farm hand until he was twenty-six years old, but never received more than one hundred and thirty-five dollars per year. He was economical and careful, however, and at the time of his marriage, at the age of twenty-seven, he had saved one thousand dollars. After his marriage he rented land on Wildcat prairie, Tippecanoe county, and lived there fifteen months, or until after the death of his wife. Six years later he married again, and settled one mile south of Dayton, where he lived thirty-two years, until 1890, when he retired from the active duties of the farm and has since made his home in Dayton. He has always been an industrious, economical and careful man,
·
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and by his industry and good management succeeded in accumulating enough of this world's goods to make him comfortable in his declining years. He has a pleasant home in Dayton, where he is surrounded by his many friends and is enjoying life in quiet retirement.
Mr. Gladden was first married in December, 1847, in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, to Miss Mary Youel, a native of Franklin county, Ohio, and a daughter of John Youel, a pioneer of that county. Mr. Youel was a native of Virginia, of Scotch descent; a member of the Presbyterian church and a man of the strictest integrity. He died at the age of sixty-five years. Mrs. Mary Gladden left no living children, her death occurring, as above stated, in less than two years after marriage. For his second wife Mr. Gladden wedded Mary Kellenbarger, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, and a daughter of Peter Kellenbarger. Mr. Kellenbarger came of Pennsylvania- Dutch stock; removed from Ohio to Indiana and settled in Dayton, Tippe- canoe county, where he bought a farm, and where he lived until death, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a veteran of the war of 1812. After the death of his second wife Mr. Gladden married Amanda Gipe, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Michael and Magdalena Gipe; the Gipes being of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock and early settlers of Indiana. Mr. Gladden's living children are by his second wife, née Mary Kellenbarger, and are Lizzie J. and William C.
Mr. Gladden is a member of the Presbyterian church and is a man of many estimable traits of character, a friend to temperance and all moral reforms. To know him is to respect and esteem him.
GEORGE F. KEIPER.
The subject of this sketch was born in Lafayette, Indiana, March 26, 1866, and is therefore in his thirty-third year. His father was Dr. Christian Butz Keiper and his mother Mary Ann (Flemming) Keiper. His ancestry on both sides of the house is distinctively German. His great-grandfather was Christian Frederic Flemming, a native of Neufchatel, in the kingdom of Saxony, Germany. His great-grandmother was Susana Maria Flemming. Among their numerous children was Christian Godfrey Flemming, his mater- nal grandfather, who was born in Neufchatel, Germany, on the 1st of Janu- ary, 1790, and was there baptized in the Lutheran church and reared in that faith. He traveled a great deal in France, and was attached to the army of Napoleon Bonaparte, during which time he killed cattle for the soldiers, and then learned the trade, which he followed up to the time of his death. In 1824 he determined to emigrate to America, fearing military service in the German army. He bade his mother goodbye, and with tears in her eyes she
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