USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 29
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home is situated in Prairie township. He is a Republican in politics. So- cially he has become a member of the Knights of Pythias.
December 9, 1868, Lafayette Mullen married Isalemah Keys, daughter of James H. and Letitia (Stone) Keys. (See sketch of James H. Keys else- where in this work.) Mrs. Mullen was born in Pine township, Warren county, in 1850, and by her marriage to our subject has become the mother of four children: Cora Belle, born September 3, 1869, is now the wife of Alonzo Hoppes; James Harvey was born July 21, 1871, and his twin brother, Charles T., died when five months old; Ella May, born Septem- ber 27, 1873, is the wife of William McClure.
ALBERT W. CLEVELAND.
This well-known citizen of Rensselaer is a man to whom Jasper county owes much. One of the most beautiful spots in Jasper county, Indiana, is his two-acre plat, a short distance north of the depot, in this city, where he raises all kinds of fruit and has a greenhouse in which are flowers of all de- scriptions. Mr. Cleveland was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, October 5, 1834, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. He was married March 25, 1859, to Miss Mary Frazee, who was born in the same county, February 18, 1839. Soon after their marriage Mr. Cleveland wished to engage more ex- tensively in the dairy business, and in 1868 came to Jasper county, where the land was better adapted to the dairy purpose, and was also to be obtained cheap. He bought two hundred acres of unimproved land a short distance north of this city, and planted trees, erected suitable buildings, and other- wise improved it, making it a most desirable property. They lived here many years, prospering in their business, but at length sold the farm and came to Rensselaer, where they purchased a home and resided many years. However, they both liked farm life and the cultivation of plants and trees, and that this love of nature might be indulged three-quarters of a section of land in Milroy township was purchased. A large part of this purchase was swamp land, and our subject at once set about its improvement. Fences were constructed, ditches made, buildings erected, and in a surprisingly short space this became one of the finest stock farms in this section. After several years spent in carrying on this large farm, this worthy couple decided on taking life more pleasantly, disposed of their country home and purchased their present property of about two acres, situated a short distance from the depot in Rensselaer. This land also was without improvement of any de- scription, and here they planted small fruits, orchards, etc., giving ample scope for the display of their taste and ability in the line of horticulture.
Mr. Cleveland has a natural adaptability for horticulture, and under his
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management trees, bushes and vines bear abundant quantities of the most delicious fruit. So well is this fact known that the entire product meets with ready sale and is in constant demand, bringing him no small profit. In larger fruits he has apples, pears, plums, and peaches, and in smaller fruits, all variety of berries, grapes, and currants. It seems almost impos- sible that in so few years a place can be so transformed from apparent deso- lation to a state of thrift and abundance. A leading feature of this minia- ture farm is the greenhouse, over which Mrs. Cleveland has charge. She is a florist by nature as well as education, and to her taste and good manage- ment is due the finest greenhouse in Jasper county. Among the flowers are some of the choicest variety, in whose cultivation Mrs. Cleveland takes great pride, and from the sale of which she realizes a liberal remuneration for her pleasant labor. It is said, " He is a public benefactor who makes two blades of grass to grow where but one grew before; " and .in this respect can Mr. Cleveland and his most estimable wife be considered as indeed conferring a blessing on mankind.
PHILIP DELLINGER.
Happy is the man who is reared amid the beauties of nature, growing vigorous and strong in mind and body, nourished by healthful country food, breathing pure air, and from his infancy feeling that freedom and independ- ence which come to the farmer, above all others. Moreover, it is a well- known fact that from the farm have come the majority of the men who have made this nation great, -great as a political factor in the sisterhood of nations, great in intellectual power, and great in the world of commerce.
Among those who have been influential in the upbuilding of Pulaski county, the Dellingers occupy a prominent place. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a Pennsylvanian and a tailor by trade, which occupation he followed throughout his life. He was a Lutheran, and in politics a Dem- ocrat. His wife, Mary Shine, was a native of Germany, a daughter of Jacob and Annie Catherine Shine, and sister of Jacob Shine, of Hancock county, Ohio, whose wife was a Miss Katie Masters, and whose children were Jacob, Christopher, Annie, George, John, Katie and Chase. Another brother, Philip, was twice married, his children being Henry, Sarah, Elizabeth, Jerome, Lucy and Rose; and his home was likewise in Hancock county. Katie, a sister, became the wife of Jacob Miller, of Ohio, and their children were Orlando, Augustus, Mary Ann, Kittie Ann, Philip, Christian, Levina and Jemima. Mary (Shine) Dellinger, the paternal grandmother of the sub- ject of this sketch, was a small child when she came to this country. Her first husband, Mr. Dellinger, died a few years after their marriage, and then
Philip Dellinger
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she became the wife of Joseph Somers. Their daughter Sarah married Jacob Shear, of Marshall county, Indiana, and the latter's child, Sarah, wedded a Mr. Rhodes, of the same county. Mrs. Mary Shine Dellinger Somers died at the home of our subject's mother, in 1870, at the age of seventy-four years. Her mother, Mrs. Annie Catherine Shine, whose death took place February 9, 1867, was within three months of one hundred and two years of age.
George Washington Dellinger, father of our subject, was born in Penn- sylvania, April 12, 1829, and was but five years of age when he was taken to Hancock county, Ohio. He learned the cooper's trade, rented land, and owned forty acres in Eagle township, Hancock county, and after his marriage came to Pulaski county. In the fall of 1865 he bought one hundred and eighty acres of the Dipert estate, eighty acres of which was in section 35, Tippecanoe township, and the remainder in sections I and 12, Harrison township. The ambitious plans of the young man were frustrated by his untimely death, February 2, 1866. He was with a party of neighbors, among them John and Silas Smith, engaged in cutting timber, when a tree fell and a limb struck him and killed him instantly. Religiously he was a German Lutheran, and in politics a Democrat, as was his father. He was placed to rest in the graveyard at Pleasant Hill, in Fulton county.
The marriage of George W. Dellinger and Mary Catherine Wilch was solemnized March 3, 1855. Mrs. Dellinger was of German ancestry. A daughter of John Tobias and Margaret Elizabeth (Young) Wilch, she was born in Washington county, Maryland, near the Pennsylvania state line, June 14, 1843. In 1851 she removed with her parents to Stark county, Ohio, settling on a farm about five miles from Canton, and six years later they located on an eighty-acre farm in Union township, Hancock county. The eldest brother of Mrs. Dellinger, John Tobias Wilch, died at the age of four years. The next, Johannas, died at eighteen months. Peter, who married Elizabeth Cornwell, has eight children, namely: Mary, George, John, Albert, Emma, Charles, Frank and Elizabeth, and their home is in Schuyler, Nebraska. Philip Wilch, of Dunkirk, Ohio, married Mary Long, and their children are Frank, Ollie and Nellie. Elizabeth died at the age of four years, and John at two years. George Washington, of Arlington, Ohio, mar- ried Lydia Vanatta, and their children are John, Elizabeth, Emma, Katie, Arminta, George, Edward, Olive, James, Bessie and Earl. Susetta married Charles Shine, of section 2, Harrison township, and their children are Albert Preston, .William, Jacob Franklin, George, Catherine, Mollie, Philip, Charles, Amy and Lulu. Christopher, deceased, lived at Dunkirk, Ohio, married Harriet Warner, and their children were Otto, Lily and George.
To George Washington and Mary Catherine Dellinger three sons and two daughters were born. The mother deserves great credit for the effort which 51
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she made to keep her children together after the death of their father, as for several years she had but little assistance from any of them, the eldest being but nine or ten years old at the time of the sad accident. The mother continued to dwell upon the old home place until 1893, when she went to Kewanna, remaining in that town until February, 1895, since which time she has resided in Winamac, and has aided in running the Burton Hotel, of which her son, John Tobias, has been the proprietor for a year and a half. He was born May 5, 1856, in Hancock county, Ohio, and has always lived with his mother. Mary Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Mrs. Dellinger, was born February 27, 1859, married Abram Bruce, and became the mother of two sons: Arthur Claude and Chester Floyd. Millie, born May 13, 1861, is the wife of Franklin Finley, who owns a farm on section 12, Harrison township, and their children are Gertrude, Daisy Belle and Nevada Estella. George Washington, born August 27, 1864, was married November 1, 1892, to Lucy Ann, daughter of David and Mary (Durr) Gring, who was born in Hancock county, Ohio, March 28, 1871. Their children are: Hulda Catharine, born September 22, 1893, and George W., born March 23, 1897
Philip Dellinger, next to the youngest of his parents' family, was born January 1, 1863, in Hancock county, Ohio, and was brought to this county when young. Deprived of the loving care and guidance of his father, he was doubly kind and dutiful to the widowed mother and aided her in every possi- ble manner, turning over to her all of his small earnings until he was in his twentieth year. About that time he began taking contracts for the construc- tion of ditches, and gave his time and energy to that line of work for four- teen years. For one year he was associated with Jonathan Masters, and employed as many as fifteen men at a time, his contracts being princi- pally in Harrison and Tippecanoe counties, and some being in Fulton coun- ty. In 1896 Mr. Dellinger was honored by being elected to the important position of county sheriff. Assuming the duties of his office August 27, 1897, he served to the satisfaction of all concerned, and was re-elected upon the expiration of his term. This is not the first time that he acted in an official capacity, as in 1893 he was a clerk in the state legislature at Indianapolis, where he made an excellent record. Like his forefathers, he adheres to the doctrines of the Democratic party.
The marriage of our subject and Miss Clara B. Hatfield was solem- nized August 18, 1897. She was born July 5, 1867, and is a daughter of Henry and Marie (Bolinger) Hatfield. The young couple have an attractive home in Winamac, and their friends are legion throughout the county and wherever they are known.
In the fraternities Mr. Dellinger is prominent and highly respected. He was initiated in the mysteries of Masonry in the lodge at Winamac, has taken
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the second degree in the chapter, and it is his intention to advance as rapidly as possible, eventually becoming a member of the Scottish Rite and Shrine. Besides he is identified with the Winamac lodge of Odd Fellows and is con- nected with the Modern Woodmen of America.
JOHN J. HARMON.
John J. Harmon, whose ancestral history is written in connection with the sketch of his brother, W. L. Harmon, appearing elsewhere in this work, is one of the progressive and industrious farmers of Newton county, and was born April 20, 1856, in Randolph county, Missouri. He was seven years of age when he came with his family to the township in which he now resides and where he grew to manhood. He began life on his own responsibility when twenty-one years of age and now owns a farm of four hundred acres of land in sections 4 and 5, four miles south and two miles east of Pine Village, where he is also engaged extensively in stock-raising. He is now (July, 1899), building a residence in Attica, where he proposes to make his home.
Mr. Harmon was married November 6, 1879, to Miss Frances R. Wag- ner, a daughter of William and Margaret E. (Turman) Wagner, of Medina township. Mr. Harmon and his wife have four children, namely: Pearl A., Floy Theodocia (attending school at Attica, Indiana), Annie M. and Oscar P.
In his political belief Mr. Harmon is a Republican and is a warm sup- porter of the principles of his party. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Harmon has been a member since she was thirteen years old. He is a man of intelligence and ability and well merits the high esteem in which he is held by all who know him.
HIRAM F. LEAR.
This prominent citizen of Wolcott, White county, Indiana, was born in Culpeper, Virginia, January 21, 1821, and is descended from illustrious an- . cestors. His paternal grandfather, John Lear, was of English birth, but took up arms in the defense of American liberty. He, together with John Sanders and George Washington, carried the body of General Braddock to the rear, at his death, while his comrades, the " Virginia Blues," saved the day. General Braddock's sister, living in England, sent to each of the three ten pounds sterling and a new cockade. Mr. Lear has seen the one owned by his grandfather, which is now in the Culpeper court-house in Virginia.
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The maternal grandparents were of English descent and named Spicer, and through them he claims to be descended from Pocahontas.
His father, Nathaniel M. Lear, was born in Fork Erie, Virginia, and lived there until 1837, when he moved to Belmont county, Ohio, and seven years later to Union township, White county, Indiana. He farmed here for two years and then moved to Parke county, where he purchased eighty acres of land near Rockville. He died on this farm in 1867, at the age of seventy- two years. He was twice married,-first to Miss Mariah Spicer, who was born in Virginia, and died at the age of twenty-five years. Mr. Lear can re- member being taken to her funeral when he was twenty-two months old, so strong an impression did it make on his youthful mind. She left three chil- dren: John, who died at Monticello; Hiram, our subject; and Joseph, who re- sides near Bethany, Missouri. The father was married in 1825, to Mary Spicer, a sister of his first wife. She died in 1840. Twelve children were the result of this marriage, of whom we chronicle the following items : Julia is the wife of Jordon Crane, of Nebraska ; Sarah is the widow of Bart. Bunnel, of Wolcott ; Albert and Frank are dead; Elizabeth is the wife of John Cox, of Rockville, Indiana ; Caroline is the wife of Daniel Cox, of Rockville ; William is deceased ; Mary Jane is the wife of James McClane, of Brooklyn, Indiana ; and the others died in infancy.
When Hiram Lear was sixteen years old he accompanied his parents from Virginia to Belmont county, Ohio, and later to White county, Indiana. He remained at home, near Monticello, until he had attained his twenty-first birthday, when his father gave him a Spanish milled dollar and bade him make his fortune. He secured work of neighboring farmers, first of Thomas Bunnell, near Monticello, for whom he worked for ten dollars a month, later for M. Kenton, at twelve dollars a month. Then he and his brother John rented eighty acres in the vicinity of Chalmers, and followed agricultural pursuits there for several years. In 1844 he started by himself and entered his first forty acres in 1855, at Winamac. He added another forty each year until he had four hundred acres five miles from Wolcott. Afterward he bought one hundred and twenty acres, at five dollars an acre, and kept add- ing to this until he owned eight hundred acres. He has given to each son a farm and still retains the old home of two hundred and forty acres, besides two hundred acres near Chalmers. He has done general farming and raised large numbers of stock, having from fifty to one hundred head of cattle and two hundred sheep, but he has now retired from the stock business and does only general farming. From 1853 to 1859 he was engaged in the general mercantile business at Monon, Indiana, with William Watson as partner, but his interest is now centered in his farm property.
Mr. Lear was married in 1857, in Big Creek township, to Margaret A.
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Burns, a daughter of John and Malinda (Forgeson) Burns, who came to this county from Germany in 1833. She was born July 4, 1831, and has been a helpmate in every sense of the word. She is a most prepossessing lady and has a host of warm friends here. They have a large family of children, viz. : Frank, of Monticello; Charles, on the Big Creek farm; Thomas, James and Fay are on farms adjoining their father; Zora is deceased, as is also Sam- uel; Bert is a student; David died in infancy; Jennie is at home, as are Bes- sie and Hugh. Mr. Lear is a Republican in politics, but has never devoted his time to the cause of his party. He was formerly a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of Rensselaer. He was born in a Method- ist family but reared in a Quaker atmosphere, having been practically adopted by a Quaker family for three years. These teachings developed a fine sense of justice that is one of his dominating qualities, and has enabled him to quiet many a neighborhood quarrel. He has a strong personality that is felt throughout the entire community.
DANIEL RANSOM FREEMAN.
One of the pioneers of Pulaski county whom it is a genuine pleasure to meet is he of whom the following lines are written. He is an entertaining conversationalist and relates many interesting stories of the early days in this locality. Like all of the heroic souls who are the forerunners of prosperity and civilization, his life has been devoted to labor of the most arduous kind, while his recompense is seemingly small in proportion to the efforts he has put forth. His posterity, and his fellow-men in general, however, are reap- ing the rich rewards and are profiting by the sacrifices which he has made; and this generation and many to come will regard him with gratitude. .
Family tradition says that the Freemans originated in England, three brothers of the name coming to America together, one, the ancestor of Dan- iel R., locating in Massachusetts. Many members of this family have been noted for exceptional size, some attaining the height of six feet and four inches " in their stockings." The grandfather of our subject, Daniel Horr Freeman, lived and died in the Bay state. He was a farmer and also fol- lowed shoemaking. Of his children the names of Truman, Sylvia and Asa are remembered; but Asa was the only one who came to the west.
Asa Freeman, father of our subject, was born December 19, 1792, on his parents' homestead near Seekonk plains, Massachusetts. After his mar- riage he removed to New York state, and thence with his family and brother- in-law, William Bates, went to Darby Plains, Union county, Ohio. Mr. Bates remained there, but Mr. Freeman proceeded within a short time to Marion county, Ohio, and there carried on an eighty-acre farm, which he pur-
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chased. In the fall of 1854 his sons Daniel R. and Frederick came to Pulaski county, Indiana, where they entered three eighty-acre tracts of land for the father, and a quarter-section apiece for themselves, and all of this property was afterward improved by them.
The entire Freeman household were desirous of making a permanent settlement here, and in the early part of 1855 Daniel R. Freeman was sent to secure a habitation. He made a bargain with Perry Campbell for his quarter-section farm, on section 21, Monroe township, paying down one hundred dollars in gold, and at the time that the rest of the family arrived, the remainder of the price, eleven hundred and fifty dollars in cash, was paid to Mr. Campbell. A log house and stable stood on the place, fifteen acres were under cultivation, and twenty-five acres had been fenced. The father, who, as may be judged, was a man of excellent business ability, and fairly well off for those days, seemed to the poor people of this locality quite a magnate, for, besides paying cash for his farm, he drove through with eight horses, two wagons and a carriage, shipping his household goods and farm- ing tools by train. He later sold the two hundred and forty acres of state land previously mentioned, but remained on the old Campbell farm until his death, October 2, 1876. While a resident of Ohio he served as a magis- trate, and throughout his life he was a stanch ally of the Democratic party. He was a man of large physique, sometimes weighing as much as two hun- dred and eighty pounds. All local enterprises found a sincere friend in him, and the local Christian church had no more loved and valued member for many years.
The first wife of Asa Freeman was a Miss Lucy Bates, a native of Massa- chusetts. Their daughter Lucy died in childhood, and their son William, born in 1820, was killed by the cars, in Ohio, in 1862. He had been married twice, his second wife, Hester Haines, surviving him, and she is still living in Ohio. They were the parents of three daughters, and the only child of Mr. Freeman's union with Elizabeth Achman, his first wife, was one son, Asa P. The second wife of Asa Freeman bore the maiden name of Harriet Farnum. She was born in Woodstock, Vermont, and about 1817 went to Marion county, Ohio, with her brother Erastus, and in the Buckeye state met and married Mr. Freeman. She died on the 4th of. August, 1859, aged fifty-four years. Her father, Douglas Farnum, came from one of the early Vermont families, and in 1822 he removed to Marion county, Ohio, where he was subsequently killed by a falling tree.
The eldest child of Asa and Harriet Freeman was named in honor of his maternal grandfather, Douglas Farnum. He was born in Marion county, November 5, 1825. and is now a farmer of Hardin county, same state. He married Christiana Haines and their children are: Isaac, Truman, Hattie,
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Annie and Dora. Alvin Hannibal Freeman, the third child of Asa Freeman and wife, was born in April, 1829, was a farmer and blacksmith in Marion county, and died many years ago. He wedded Louisa Rush and had four children: Emma, Dora and Charles lived to maturity; and Sarah died at the age of seven years. Asa Horr Freeman married Sarah Hornback and is deceased. His children included Iona, Hampton, Clara and Josephine. Frederick Freeman, born in February, 1836, is the president of the Citizens' Bank, of Prospect, Ohio. He married Nettie Matthews and their children are John and Jennie. Noah Robinson Freeman, born November 11, 1838, is a general merchant of Winamac. For a wife he chose Mary Helena, daughter of Rudolph Hoch. She was born December 13, 1843, and died February 22, 1892. They were married August 19, 1860, and their first child, Eli Grafton, was born May 12, 1861. He married Johanna, daughter of Peter Guss, and has six children, namely: Daisy, L. G., Ruby, Ethel, Elsie and Noah. He is now a resident of Whitfield county, Georgia. Doug- las Franklin, born September 10, 1862, died April 25, 1864. Frank, born March 20, 1864, married Etta Riggles and is the father of four children, Mabel, Ella, Otto and Claude. He is a constable and a general mechanic and workman of Winamac. Hattie, born February 24, 1866, married Will- iam Mellott, a teacher, and resides at Marion, Indiana. Their children are three in number: Ralph, Edna and Frederick. Ruby, born February 15, 1868, is a merchant in Landess, Indiana. His wife was formerly Ruth Beard- sley, and their children are Carrie and Jessie. Hardy, born January 16, 1870, died October 4, 1870. Lu, born September 24, 1871, enlisted in Troop I, Third United States Cavalry, during the late Spanish-American war, and at the battle of San Juan Hill was severely wounded. It was believed that he would not recover, but the brave young hero has now regained much of his former health and strength. Ab, born October 11, 1873, is associated with his father in business. Rosy, born February 9, 1875, was married to Fred E. Lukins, at Alexandria, Indiana, June 23, 1897. Elsie, born Decem- ber 9, 1877, is engaged in teaching in the public schools of Marion. Noah Robinson, Jr., was born October 15, 1878, and is employed in his father's store. The younger children are: Mollie Emily, born October 12, 1881; Grace, May 2, 1883; and Norma Helena, November 12, 1885.
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