USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 54
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two substantial houses there and occupied one of them for five years. He operated the village mill for about eight months, but for the past twenty years has dwelt upon his original homestead in Grant township, retaining one of the houses in Goodland, also. For three years he has served as a member of the local school board, and while a resident of his native state was a justice of the peace for some time. Politically his preference is the Democratic party, and fraternally he has served as noble grand in the order of Odd Fellows.
In 1857 Mr. Shelland was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Wisley, who was born in New York state September 6, 1839, a daughter of Joseph and Sophronia (Wright) Wisley. The father, who died in 1877, was a contractor and builder, aud also followed the occupation of a miller and an undertaker during his career. He was a man highly esteemed, an ardent worker in the Baptist church, and heartily in sympathy with all that tends to uplift human- ity. His elder son, German, aided him in his business, while the other son, Charles, enlisted in the Union army and served through the civil war, being wounded, but surviving. The daughters were: Ellen, Mrs. Emily Carl, Mrs. Elvira Waterman, Mrs. Elizabeth Boorn, and Mary, who first married H. H. Green, and later, H. Murray, The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Shelland,-Grace, Benjamin and Lola, are unmarried and are living at home.
GEORGE LONG.
The family of Longs, which is ably represented in Steuben township, Warren county, by the gentleman whose name commences this sketch, was an old and honored one in Pennsylvania, and from that state drifted, by de- grees, westward. George Long, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was born in the Keystone state, but, with the other members of his family, was an early settler of Greene county, Ohio.
Solomon Long, the father of our subject, was born in Greene county, Ohio, in 1808, and was reared to man's estate there. In 1830, when he was in his twenty-second year, he came to Warren county, Indiana, and entered land in what is now known as Kent township, then a part of Mound township. About a year subsequently to his arrival here he married Rachel Stary, whose father, Daniel Stary, was one of the worthy pioneers of the same township, Kent. The property on which Mr. Long took up his residence was a heavily timbered tract, and for many years he was kept busily at work clearing his land and otherwise improving it. He made a model homestead at last, and in 1839 he disposed of the place and removed to Steuben township, where he dwelt until his death, in 1873. His first wife, Rachel, died in 1834, when her son and only child, George, was a babe of eighteen months. The father
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afterward married Cassandra Lowe, by whom he had eleven children, and all but three of the number survive at this writing (1898). Solomon Long was in all respects a model husband and father, citizen, neighbor and friend, and, though he had enjoyed but meager educational advantages, was a man of broad mind and general information. Self-made and self-educated, he was esteemed and respected by all who knew him. In early days he was a Whig, and later he identified himself with the Republican party.
As the oldest child of the pioneer, Solomon Long, George Long of this sketch found that he was expected to assume the duties of a man years before he had attained to his majority, for there were many mouths to be fed in the household, and thus he became his father's friend, companion and ally in all his endeavors. The birth of George Long had occurred in Kent township, in 1833, and such education as he managed to obtain was gained in the typical log-cabin school-house of the period. The privilege, limited as it was, of attending school, even under those discouraging conditions, was not his to any great extent, for he was constantly needed on the farm, and he was not one to neglect what appeared to be his duty. He remained with his father until he decided to have a home of his own, and has devoted his energies to agri- culture exclusively, all his life. It was in the centennial year that he removed to his present homestead in Steuben township-a valuable and desirable piece of farm property. His first presidential ballot was cast in 1856, for John C. Fremont, and since that time he has been a stalwart Republican, his sons following in his footsteps in this regard.
It was in the year 1859 that Mr. Long was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Salts, a daughter of John Salts, who was a native of Ohio. Mr. Long was bereft of his devoted wife, who died in February, 1896. Four of their five children survive, namely: John S., Charles U. S., Leura and George Harley. Mary died at the age of eleven years. Mrs. Long was a consistent and devout member of the Free Methodist church, to which denomination Mr. Long likewise belongs.
WINFIELD S. ROWE.
To the farmer our country is indebted more than to any other class for the high place which she holds among the great nations of the earth to-day. He has developed and is constantly developing new territories and rendering the wilderness and desert fit places for habitation, while the products of his toil flood all the channels of commerce and provide food and employment to countless multitudes.
Winfield S. Rowe, born April 27, 1849, in Kankakee county, Illinois, is of the fifth generation of the Rowe family in the United States. His par-
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ents, William and Mary A. (Ten Eyck) Rowe, were both reared to maturity in New York, their native state, were married there, and, after the birth of their three elder children, emigrated to Illinois. Locating in Will county, they remained there for seven years, the father working for wages, as he was practically without means. Later he bought wild land in Kankakee county and improved a farm, and in 1868 he purchased a homestead in Benton county, Indiana. The following year he settled here, and when he died, in 1888, at the ripe age of eighty-five years, he was well-to-do, his prosperity being. the direct result of long years of industry and well directed energy. He was fortunate in possessing a strong physique, as the labors of breaking prairie and clearing away forests required his whole strength, and few men could have accomplished the great tasks which he carried through success- fully. Originally a Democrat, he was a strong Abolitionist, and in 1856 he joined the ranks of the Republican party. Religiously, he was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife died in 1856, leaving twelve children, namely : Cornelius, a resident of Illinois; Elizabeth, Mrs. J. McIlvane; John, who died at the age of seventeen years; George, who was wounded at Spring Hill, Tennessee, and died from the effects of his injuries; Catherine J., wife of J. Dycus; Rue A., wife of J. C. Flint; Ellen, Mrs. T. F. Monte; Mrs. Orilla Stevens; Celesta, Mrs. H. Houton; W. S .; Sarah M., Mrs. F. Walstrom; and William, of Laporte, Texas.
In his boyhood Winfield S. Rowe assisted his father in the hard labor of improving farms, and early mastered every department of agricultural work. In October, 1878, he married Miss Florence Mann and settled on the home- stead in Union township, Benton county, where he has since resided. This property was formerly owned by his father, and it came into our subject's possession by his purchasing the interests of the other heirs. He has laid considerable tile, has planted trees, and in various ways has added to the beauty and value of the farm. He raises live stock of all kinds, and has been very successful in his financial investments and enterprises. He is an ardent Republican, has occupied minor offices, has been the trustee for this township for four and a half years, but has not been an aspirant to political honors. Socially he belongs to Goodland Lodge, No. 445, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; and is connected with Goodland Lodge, No. 346, In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows.
The wife of our subject was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, a daughter of John and Eliza (Bloom) Mann, who are both living in their country home in the county named, where the father settled about 1834. Mrs. Mann is identified with the United Brethren church. Mrs. Rowe is their eldest child, and the others are : Alexander and Warren, of Illinois; Fred; Walter; John, who died at the age of five months; Herman, James,
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Elvina and Maria. The father of Mrs. John Mann, David Bloom, of Penn- sylvania, removed to Illinois in 1835, and during the gold excitement on the Pacific coast he made two trips to California in search of the precious mineral. He died in Kankakee county. To the marriage of W. S. Rowe and wife five children were born, namely: Mabel I., Helen W., Hartley, Nellie, and John W. They are bright, intelligent young people, of whom their parents have just occasion to be proud.
WILLIAM H. SAYLER.
Rev. William H. Sayler, of Rensselaer, is one of a large family of for- mer well known citizens of Jasper county, Indiana, and a son of Henry Say- ler, of Newton township, one of five brothers of advanced age now living in the county. Henry Sayler was born in 1814, in Marion county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and united his life and fortune to Catherine Klinefelter, a native of Pennsylvania. She died in 1846, leaving two sons, -William H. and David L.,-the latter of whom followed his mother to her eternal home when fourteen years of age. The father chose as his second wife Elizabeth Dunbar, and in May, 1848, brought his family to this county and entered a farm in the eastern part of Newton township, upon which he still resides. Eight children were the result of the second marriage, four of whom,-two sons and two daughters-Benjamin L., Catherine, Hamlin L. and Martha A.,-are still living. The deceased are Mary Jane, Harriet, Clara and Micha. This wife died October 27, 1895, at the advanced age of seventy-two years and nine months. Mr. Sayler has resided in this county for over a half cen- tury, and has always been among our most industrious citizens until advanc- ing age rendered such labor impossible. He is an honorable, upright man and for many years has been connected with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Rev. William H. Sayler was born in Marion county, Ohio, on March 22, 1844, and was but a child when his father removed to this county. He was reared to manhood on his father's farm and was educated in the public school. October 1, 1861, he enlisted in the Forty-eighth Indiana Regiment, Company K. and served during the entire war. He was in the battle of Shiloh. siege of Corinth, and battle of Iuka, the latter encounter taking place on the 19th of September, 1862, and one hundred and sixteen out of four hundred and twenty men in the regiment being killed or wounded! From there they went to Corinth and fought three days. They then went to Holly Springs and took part in Sherman's campaign against Vicksburg, thence to Memphis, Tennessee, and then to Helena, Arkansas. Two months later they were transported down the Mississippi and joined Grant's army in the rear of Vicksburg, making a landing at Milliken's Bend. They assisted in constructing
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the famous canal at this point, took part in the battles at Raymond on May 13, 1863, Jackson on the 14th, at Champion Hills on the 16th and Black- water. In the last encounter they lost thirty-three men in killed and wounded. The regiment was actively engaged in the trenches during the siege of Vicks- burg, and took part in the assault on the 22d of May, losing thirty-eight men. They then moved up the river to Memphis and across the country to Hunts- ville, Alabama, where, in January, 1864, they re-enlisted as a veteran regi- ment and returned home on a furlough, reaching Indianapolis on the 6th of February, 1864, with three hundred and sixty-nine men. At the expiration of the thirty days' furlough, Mr. Sayler returned with his regiment to Hunts- ville, Alabama, and subsequently took part in the battles of Lookout mount- ain, Missionary Ridge and other encounters. At the siege of Atlanta he was but a short distance from General McPherson when that general was killed, and saw the body soon afterward. The regiment was with Sherman on his march to the sea, at the siege of Savannah, and the charge on Fort McAllister, Proceeding to Raleigh, North Carolina, they received the news of Lee's surrender, marched on to Washington, where they took part in the grand parade and were mustered out in Louisville, Kentucky., July 15, 1865. Dur- ing all this length of service Mr. Sayler was never off duty, even for a single day, and escaped without a wound, although in the thickest of the fight. Many times his escape seemed marvelous, as men fell all around him and his own clothes received nine bullets during the charge at Vicksburg.
Upon his return to private life Mr. Sayler was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia Frazee, a daughter of John and Maria Frazee. Mrs. Sayler's parents came to Marion county, Indiana, about 1848, but owing to the ill health of her mother they returned to Ohio. In 1861 they again took up their residence in this county, settling in Marion township, but later removed to Saline county, Missouri, where the mother died December 21, 1883. The father died in March, 1896, in his seventy-fourth year. All of their chil- dren, with the exception of Mrs. Sayler, are now residents of Missouri. They are Cornelia, Stephen, Ida E., Minnie H. and Edgar S. Mr. and Mrs. Sayler have been most sadly afflicted in the loss of their children. The first died in early infancy, and the five born to them in after years were all taken from them in the short space of ten days by that dread disease, diph- theria. This bright group ranged in age from three to thirteen years, and the bereaved parents were well nigh prostrated by their grief, their only comfort being the knowledge that their bright blossoms would be spared the chill winds of adversity, and were awaiting their coming in the garden of the Lord. Mr. Sayler spent a number of years in farming and then studied for the ministry, being ordained a minister of the Free-will Baptist church in 1886. His first charge was at Troy Grove, Illinois, where he remained
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two years. Following that he was at Elburn two years; Rutland, Wisconsin, three years; Grand View, Nebraska, two years; the churches at Buffalo Val- ley and Summit, Kansas, one year, and Kenesaw and Elm Island, Nebraska, two years. His health now gave way as the result of his constant applica- tion to the duties of his calling, and, with his wife, he returned to Rensse- laer, where he has been recruiting his wasted energies with such good results that he is again thinking of taking up his duties as a minister of Christ's gospel. During his years of preaching he has baptized and received into the church two hundred and fifty people; given consolation and hope at one hundred and twenty funerals, and pronounced the marriage ceremony for one hundred couples. He is an easy, graceful speaker, and wins his way at once to the hearts of his audience.
JOSEPH S. VANATTA.
Mr. Vanatta is the county surveyor of Benton county. He was born in southern Illinois, March 12, 1855, a son of Peter R. and Margaret A. (Croth- ers) Vanatta, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Ohio: they were married in Indiana in 1853, and removed to southern Illinois, and after a few years returned to Thorntown, Boone county, Indiana. Soon afterward they removed to Lafayette, where the father conducted a classical academy for many years. Many of the old men of Lafayette to-day remem- ber Mr. Vanatta as their teacher in early life. He was a graduate of Prince- ton College and of Union Theological Seminary, in early manhood entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church, but the last forty years of his life were devoted to the interests of the American Bible Society. This was his employment when failing health compelled his retirement. Two years later, or in 1885, he passed away at Lafayette, where he had lived for twenty-five years.
The Vanatta family is of Holland Dutch origin, established in America. in colonial times. The mother's family has also been identified with Amer- ican interests for many generations. Since her husband's death her time has been spent with her children. Her family is of English origin.
Mr. Vanatta, whose name heads this sketch, was educated at Purdue University and the Northern Indiana Normal School, being a graduate of the class of 1876, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He engaged at once in the profession of teaching, in which he has ever since continued, with but few interruptions. This profession he has followed in the counties of Tippecanoe, Benton and Newton, both in graded and high schools.
He is prominently connected with the social orders of K. of P., M. W. of A., A. O. U. W. and Royal Arcanum, and he has been a member of the 31
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Presbyterian church from childhood. Mrs. Vanatta is a Methodist. Politic- ally he is a Republican; he was elected to the office of county surveyor in 1894, and re-elected in 1896. His official duties require most of his time, and he has not been engaged in teaching since his election to the office of :surveyor.
He was married in 1882 to Miss Mellie Taylor, a daughter of R. M. Taylor, of Ellenburg, New York, where she was educated and grew ยท to womanhood. Her parents reside near Plattsburg, New York.
The only brother of our subject is John C., who is a banker at Brooks- ton, White county, Indiana; and his only sister is Mrs. Mattie Wilson, wife of W. O. Wilson, of Chicago. They were married in Lafayette in 1892 and moved to Iowa, where he engaged in merchandising, and then removed to Chicago, where he is now engaged in the live-stock commission business.
JOHN W. RANDALL.
John Willoughby Randall, the highly esteemed and popular proprietor of Hotel Kentland, at Kentland, and a clerk in the supply division of the United States post-office department at Washington, D. C., was born in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, January 19, 1847, his parents being Richard and Alice (Con- ner) Randall. The latter was a sister of John B. Conner, state statisti- cian of Indiana and one of the proprietors of the Indiana Farmer, published at Indianapolis. He at one time owned and published the Kentland Gazette and served one term as postmaster of Kentland.
Richard Randall was a printer and published and founded the first paper printed in Jennings county, Indiana. He published the Law Reporter at Louisville, Kentucky, and later in life he held a position in the Methodist book-publishing house at Cincinnati, Ohio. He died in 1858. Mrs. Ran- "dall's second husband was William DeMotte, and after her marriage to that gentleman she resided in Johnson county, Indiana, until his death, when she went to live with her children, and passed away in April, 1897, at the advanced age of eighty years. When fourteen years old she became united with the Methodist Episcopal church and continued in that faith until her death. Mr. Randall was a member of the same church.
To Mr. and Mrs. Randall eight children were born, of whom the follow- ing mention is made: Pleasant Wiley learned the trade of a printer, served in the civil war as a private in the Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, published a paper at Versailles, Indiana, and then followed railroading, holding the posi- tion of conductor on the Madison, Indiana, branch of the Pennsylvania Rail- way. He now resides in Columbus, Indiana. Martha Jane is the widow of Alfred Perrine and resides in New York city. William Henry was a printer,
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and during the civil war was an adjutant of the Twelfth Indiana Regiment. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1871, leaving a wife and family. John W. is our subject. Charles Wesley, a printer at Providence, R. I., was a soldier in the Twelfth Indiana Regiment. Alfred L. is a printer and assistant foreman in the government printing-office at Washington, D. C. He formerly resided at Providence, Rhode Island, and was president of the typographical union there. He was a leading factor in the founding and publishing of a news- paper that was run in opposition to the other papers in that city which would not employ union printers. Lizzie Alice married Alonzo King and lives at North Vernon, Indiana. Two other children died in infancy.
John W. Randall attended the public schools of Cincinnati and early in life served an apprenticeship in a printing office. In 1861, although only a boy of but fifteen years, he offered his services as a soldier. The mustering officer said he could go as a drummer, but young Randall answered that he did not want a drum but a musket. The officer, however, would not accept him until he had obtained permission from his mother, which he finally did, after much begging. His three older brothers were already fighting for the Union, and in October, 1861, our subject enlisted and was mustered into service November 19 as a member of Company H, Fifteenth Kentucky Vol- unteer Infantry. He participated in a number of notable battles, was wounded at Stone river, Tennessee, January 1, 1863, and again at Chatta- hoochie river, July 9, 1864, and was promoted to the rank of a corporal on February 27, 1863. He was mustered out January 14, 1865, at Louisville, Kentucky, having served three years, two months and five days, and he was not yet eighteen years old!
After returning home Mr. Randall was employed as a printer in the newspaper office of his uncle at North Vernon, and in 1868 he came to Kentland, where for four years he worked in the Gazette office, with the exception of one year which he spent in a newspaper office in Monticello. In 1876 he entered the railway mail service and served on the run between Logansport, Indiana, and Keokuk or Burlington, Iowa, for eight years, when he was removed for political reasons, the mail-service employes not being under civil service at that time. Mr. Randall next clerked in a grocery store, and in the fall of 1888 was elected sheriff of Newton county and re-elected in 1890. While in that office he also owned an interest in the Kentland Enterprise. From 1892 to 1896 he was engaged in the dry-goods business, and in the fall of 1895 he took charge of the Kentland Hotel, which is con- sidered the best in the county; he still conducts the same.
In his political views Mr. Randall is a stanch Republican and in April, 1897, while in Washington, D. C., attending his mother during her last ill- ness, he was appointed, without any solicitation on his part, but through the
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influence of his congressman, to his present position in the postoffice depart- ment. He has attended all district, county and state conventions for many years, and besides the offices mentioned he served two years as a member of the town council, during which time the water-works were put in operation in Kentland. Socially, he is a charter member and past chancellor of Damon Lodge, No. 72, and belongs to the Uniformed Rank, K. of P., and is a member of the Odd Fellows order.
On May 18, 1871, Mr. Randall was united in marriage to Miss Anna Liza Ade, daughter of John Ade, and two children have been born to them: Emma Esther, who was married September 26, 1895, to P. F. Sparrow and resides in Logansport, Indiana; and Adah F., who lives at home.
FREDERIC WAYMIRE.
Mr. Waymire, a successful farmer of Jordan township, Jasper county, was born in Warren county, Indiana, March 13, 1858. He grew to manhood in the place of his birth, remaining at home until twenty-two years of age, and in 1880 was married and began farming on his own account. Three years later he sold his property and bought land in Benton county, Indiana, which he improved, and occupied for twelve years. He then rented his farm and returned to Jasper county, where he bought the place on which he now resides, six miles south of Rensselaer, on which he has built a good house and barn, has planted an orchard and made many other valuable improve- ments. In addition to general farming Mr. Waymire has given considerable attention to raising and selling stock.
Mr. Waymire has always been an ardent Republican and takes an active interest in political matters, being a delegate to many county and state con- ventions, and is now serving a term as county commissioner. He is one of the influential men of his community and a most worthy citizen. To him and his wife the following children have been born, namely : Pearl, Ethel, Nel- lie, Omar, Grace, Mabel E. and Minnie.
Mrs. Waymire, whose maiden name was Serepta Eastburn, was born in Benton county, Indiana, in May, 1858, a daughter of Cary and Jane (John- son) Eastburn. Her grandfather, Benjamin Eastburn, was a native of Eng- land, who emigrated to this country and settled in Warren county, where he carried on farming. His son Cary was a well known farmer and a Repub- lican in politics, who died in 1888. His wife is still living, on the old home- stead. She was the daughter of Thomas Johnson, of Ohio, who came at an early day to Benton county, Indiana, where he entered land and improved a good farm. He was one of the men who helped to lay out the city of La- fayette and was prominent in his community. He left a large estate to his
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