USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 58
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JOHN C. ENGLE.
This representative citizen of Francesville, Pulaski county, residing in White Post township, is a substantial farmer who has been honored by his fellow citizens by election as a representative to the state legislature. (For a sketch of the history of his family see that of Daniel Engle, his father, on another page of this work).
John C. Engle was born March 25, 1849, in Dearborn county, Indiana, near Hubbell's Corners, where his grandfather Hubbell lived for many years. When he was seven years of age the family moved to Pulaski county, this state, and here he was reared among the pioneers of White Post township. Besides attending the common district school he also took a course at a com- mercial college at Indianapolis, defraying his expenses by his own efforts. For a short time after quitting school he was engaged in shooting game for the market, all the country surrounding his home being exceptionally a good- hunting ground, -- ducks, geese, prairie chickens, quail and other game being plentiful. From their boyhood he and his brother Joseph A. were engaged in this line of industry, and usually could procure an abundance. John C. began shooting for the markets in the employment of a regular hunter and
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game-buyer from New York in order to supply the market of that city, and they built up a business whose great magnitude it is difficult to imagine under present conditions, since the marshes have been drained. In the winter Mr. Engle would trap mink and muskrats.
After a few years thus spent profitably in the chase Mr. Engle went to Indianapolis and found employment in a stave factory, as a bookkeeper, of which establishment his uncle, L. Walter, was the owner. Two years after- ward he returned to White Post township and settled on forty acres of land which he had inherited from his mother and which had been entered by his grandfather Hubbell. This place he has improved and here he has erected a comfortable dwelling. By his industry and economy he has accumulated capital sufficient to enable him to add to this tract until he now owns one hundred and twenty acres, all of which is well drained and in a fine state of cultivation. He has demonstrated his capability in the management of a farm.
November 7, 1872, Mr. Engle married Miss Harriet J. Byers, of White Post township. She was born October 28, 1851, in Clinton county, Indiana, a daughter of Abner and Lorinda (Stewart) Byers. Her father, a native of Pennsylvania, was of the old Pennsylvania-Dutch stock. Of her grandpar- ents, Ephraim and Catherine (White) Byers, a notice is given in the sketch of Lewis W. Hubbell. Abner Byers, who moved to Clinton county, this state, with his father, married Lorinda Stewart, and continued to live on the homestead of his father, which was a good farm for the pioneer days. Later he moved to a point a mile and a half east of Frankfort, where he had a fine farm of a hundred acres. At length he removed to White Post township, Pulaski county, settling upon a tract of two hundred and forty acres, which he had bought of his brother, Jacob Byers. This place he improved and made one of the finest farms in the vicinity, and he lived there until he moved to Francesville, where he was postmaster for four years, under President Cleveland's administration. After this he returned to Clinton county and purchased a home near Frankfort, improved it and here he now resides, at the age of seventy-two years. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and politically is a stanch Democrat. His children were named Eliza, Har- riet, Ellen, Julia, Hannah and Phoebe.
Mr. and Mrs. Engle are the parents of Harry A., Bessie E., Robert R., Paul C. and Ira Gladys.
In his political views Mr. Engle is a Populist, and was one of the organ- izers of the Populist party in this county, in 1892. From 1896 to 1898 he was a joint representative to the state legislature of Indiana, where he proved efficient as a legislator. He became a Populist only after much study, and he is active and influential in the political field. He is a man of strong con-
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victions, rigid honesty and good business ability. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, holding his membership in Monon Lodge, No. 208, at Francesville, of which body he has been secretary and junior warden. In all his relations, whether in business, society or politics, Mr. Engle stands high.
DANIEL ENGLE.
This venerable retired citizen of Francesville, Indiana, was one of the pioneers of Pulaski county. He is of sturdy Swiss ancestry. His father, John C. Engle, was born seventy-five miles from Basle, Switzerland, in 1800, and came to America with his father in 1811. There were a family of six children who left Switzerland in the family party. These were John G., Annie, Ralph, Jacob, Johanna, and one daughter who died on the voyage and was buried in the ocean. They were four months on the voyage. The family settled in Hamilton county, Ohio, and the grandfather of our subject bought eighty acres of land, where Cincinnati now is, and the rec- ords in that city still show this purchase. After a time he sold out and set- tled in Jackson township, Dearborn county, on land in the woods which he entered. He cleared up a farm and made a home, and there he lived out his days and died at an advanced age. His son, John C. Engle, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He became a farmer, and married Peggie Biddle, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of John Biddle, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. John Biddle was a carriage-maker by trade and married a Miss Mason, who was related to the Lawrence family of Pennsylvania. The founder of the Lawrence family in America was a wealthy man of Basle, Switzerland, who owned extensive mills on the Rhine, and who, fearing the breaking out of war in Switzerland, deposited a large part of his fortune in England for safety, and sent his two sons and one daughter to America, where he intended to join them; but he died in Switzer- land, leaving his vast estate in that country unsettled, and the money in England unclaimed. Some attempt has been made to gather the records and facts in the case, but nothing has ever come of it. John Biddle's chil- dren were named George, Daniel, Joseph, Isaac, Jacob, John, Susannah and Margaret. His second wife died childless.
After marriage, John C. Engle settled in Jackson township, Dearborn county, Indiana, where he inherited seventeen acres of his father's estate. He lived on this land three years, then sold it and bought fifty-three acres, heavily timbered, which he cleared and improved, making a good home. He added to it until he had one hundred and twenty acres, and became a sub- stantial farmer. He died in 1847, aged about forty-seven years, having
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broken his constitution by hard work. He was a member of the Lutheran church, was one of its trustees, and helped build its pioneer house of wor- ship. The church was built of hewn logs and was large for the time,-thirty feet square, erected by the combined efforts of twelve pioneer families of that section, and it was used as a place of worship for many years.
The children of John C. Engle and wife were Daniel, Mary, Elizabeth, Susannah, Margaret, Catherine, Barbara, John, William and Thomas. In political opinion Mr. Engle was a Jacksonian Democrat. He was a very hard-working and industrious man, straightforward and upright, and of a stanch moral character, and rearing his children to excellent habits. He was much respected and quite influential, and acted as interpreter at court for the German settlers, as he could speak and write both German and English.
Daniel Engle was born in Jackson township, in Dearborn county, Indi- ana, February 3, 1826. He received limited education in a subscription school, kept in a typical pioneer log school-house, with slabs for seats and desks. He began while yet young to work hard upon the farm, where he grew to manhood. He married when he was twenty-three years old, in Dear- born county, Indiana, Catherine Hubbell, daughter of Merritt and Hettie (Hubbell) Hubbell, and settled on the home farm. Two years afterward he settled on the Hubbell homestead, his wife receiving thirty-six acres for her share. Here he built a two-story frame house, and he added to the land until he had a good farm of sixty acres. He lived here in comfort until 1856, when he moved to Pulaski county, Indiana, and settled in White Post township, on eighty acres of land. He built a hewed-log house, and added to his possessions until he had two hundred acres of good farming land.
Mr. Engle has been married four times. By his first wife, Catha- rine née Hubbell, there was one son, John C. The wife died in Dearborn county, Indiana, and he married there her sister, Silvie Shane, widow of Washington Shane. This wife bore him one son, Joseph A., and three who died when small children. Mrs. Engle, by her first marriage, was the mother of four children, named Hettie, Mary, Rachel and David, who died aged twenty-one years. This wife died in Pulaski county, Indiana, and he mar- ried the third time, Martha Wren. There were no children by this marriage. She died and he married Sarah Emrick, widow of George Emrick, who bore him no children. By her first marriage she was the mother of Schuyler and William Emrick. George Emrick was a well known farmer of White Post township, and he was a soldier in the civil war.
Mr. Engle has always been an industrious and hard-working man. He still owns a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, his old homestead in White Post township, while he has lived retired at Francesville for the past twelve years.
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When he was about twenty-one years of age, in 1846, Mr. Engle, his uncle, John Miller, and David Miller, his son, walked from Dearborn county, Indiana, to Pulaski county, this state, and his uncle John, on the way, en- tered land in White Post township. They were four days on the march, and each man carried a rifle. There were thousands of deer, and they killed all they needed for food. On the way back Mr. Engle stopped and worked three weeks in Montgomery county, his wages being three shillings per day. He worked for a large farmer, Bert Bonnell, by name, and beat him husking corn. Mr. Bonnell said that he had never seen a man who could more than keep in sight of him at that work. The race was across a large field one mile, and Mr. Engle beat Mr. Bonnell by just three ears! The next year (1847) Mr. Engle came with his uncle, John Miller, to Pulaski county, Mr. Miller settling on the land, and Mr. Engle lived with him nearly one year, helping him to make his rails and build his cabin. They came up from Cin- cinnati on a steamboat. At Evansville, on the Ohio river, Mr. Engle saw the " Prairie Queen," a steamboat with sixty Indians, returning from the far west to the Mississinawa river, a branch of the Wabash.
Mr. Engle is a Democrat. He was formerly a Lutheran, but is now connected with the Methodist church. He is a Mason, and in all public re- lations has been prominent and influential.
JOHN A. KUHN.
There is much truth in the statement that "what a man wants most to be, he can be." If he desires most to make a success in a business way, and devotes his whole mind, heart and energy to the achievement of that end, the chances are that he will obtain a fair share of business prosperity. When the mind, time and interests are divided, it cannot be expected that the result will be the same as under the condition cited. Having realized this, . John Albert Kuhn planned his life accordingly, and though less than thirty years of age, he is enjoying the first fruits of his wisdom and forethought.
A native of Pulaski county, and a son of Matthias Kuhn, whose bi- ography is printed in this work, John Albert Kuhn was born on the old family homestead in Van Buren township August 18, 1871. He obtained a fair education in the district schools and by practical experience mastered agriculture in all of its branches. Leaving home when he arrived at his ma- jority, he found employment with Thomas Shanley for some time, working by the day, after which he went to Chicago, and for two months or more was employed in a livery barn. In the fall of 1893 he came to his present homestead, a fine farin of one hundred and forty acres. After remodeling the house and adding a wing, and after building a barn and making other
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substantial improvements, Mr. Kuhn has thoroughly equipped the farm with comfortable and necessary appointments, and now manages it with much greater facility.
His marriage to Elizabeth Cecelia Burns, daughter of Martin and Bridget (Glen) Burns, was solemnized October 25, 1893. Mrs. Kuhn was born in Fulton county, Indiana, October 22, 1872, and by her marriage has become the mother of three children: An infant girl, born February 22, 1895; Xavier Martin, April 16, 1896; and Mary Josephine, October 11, 1897. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn are Roman Catholics.
JOSEPH MICHAEL KUHN.
Though but thirty years of age, Joseph Michael Kuhn has accomplished more, and is better off, in this world's goods, than many of his friends and neighbors who have seen twice as many years. Doubtless he inherited from his sturdy, thrifty German ancestors the keen business acumen, energy and determination which are numbered among his marked traits of character.
Matthias Kuhn, the father of our subject, now a resident of Winamac, Pulaski county, is represented elsewhere in this work, a full history of his family and ancestors being given. Joseph Michael Kuhn was born Novem- ber 23. 1868, on the old homestead owned by his father, in Van Buren town- ship, this county. Like all of his brothers, he was early made acquainted with work of various kinds, and by the time that he arrived at his majority was fully competent to undertake the management of a large farm. His father gave him one hundred acres of land on section II of his native town- ship, and at the end of two years the young man exchanged it for a place of one hundred and twenty acres on section 4, later buying an adjoining forty
acres. Thus his fine quarter section of land, situated in one body, is one of the best in the county, and the numerous substantial improvements which have been placed upon it by the present owner have greatly increased its value. A small house stood on the farm at the time that he removed here, but this has been supplanted by a modern dwelling, built by Mr. Kuhn in 1894. The following year he erected a good barn, and he has constructed the needed fences and ditches. In addition to these possessions, he owns forty acres of land in Wayne township, Fulton county. Active in local affairs and interested in the prosperity of his home district, he takes little part in general politics, aside from voting the Democratic ticket.
A marriage ceremony was performed November 20, 1889, by which Miss Catherine Ellen Good became the wife of Mr. Kuhn. She was born Novem- ber 7, 1862, a daughter of Jonas Good, and granddaughter of Jonas Good, Sr., who was one of the first settlers in Pulaski county. The eldest son of
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our subject and wife is named for his grandfathers, Jonas Matthias. He was born December 13, 1890, and the younger children are Robert Emanuel, born May 16, 1892; Joseph Leo, February 16, 1894; Estella Jane, October 15, 1895, and Cleophas Otto, September 25, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn are identified with the Catholic church.
WILLIAM WENTZ.
Though more than a score of years have been added to the past since William Wentz was called to his eternal reward, his name is well remem- bered by his former associates and numerous friends, and his memory is ten- derly cherished in the hearts of those who loved and esteemed him during his busy and useful life.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Wentz removed to Starke county, Indiana, at an early day, and thence came to Pulaski county, where he was destined to make his home thereafter. Locating in Harrison township, west of the railroad, he resided there for a short time, and then removed to the homestead on sec- tion 32, where he was living when the summons of death came to him. He was very industrious and ambitious, was a man of quiet, domestic tastes, having few interests aside from his home and family, though discharging every duty which rested upon him as a citizen. He died at his home, in 1877, when in the fifty-first year of his age.
In his early manhood, Mr. Wentz had married Rachel Burson, a sister of Judge George Burson, and four children blessed this union. Silas, the eldest, married Charity Estes, and they became the parents of Laban, Eleanor, Grace, Samuel and Rupert; Elizabeth, the second child of our subject, died when young; Fianna married George Frain; and Rachel, the youngest, wedded Charles Cook and has two children, Charles and Mora.
After the death of his first wife William Wentz was united in wedlock to Mrs. Mary Ann Williams, widow of Luther Williams. Her parents were Levi Morris and Rebecca Jane (Hartley) Crane, the former born in Ohio, and for years a resident of Fulton county, Indiana, where he died, and the latter born March 16, 1828. Mrs. Wentz was born in the Buckeye state, August 25, 1840, and when in her twentieth year, in 1859, she became the wife of Luther Williams. Their son, Benjamin Franklin, now of Starke county, Indiana, married Sarah Jane Dougherty, and has one child, Luther Andrew. To the union of William Wentz and wife five children were born: Charles Chester, the eldest, died when about twelve months old; Hettie Louisa, born October 8, 1867, is the wife of William Cain, a railroad employe, residing at Huntington, Indiana, and they have three children, Ruby Blanche, Gladys May and William Elmer; George Morris, born March
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3, 1871, married Rosie Sutton and has a son, Lloyd, their home being in Royal Center, Indiana; Berl, born February 28, 1872, and May, born May 31, 1874, are living with their mother on the old homestead, which belonged to their father. The young man, who is a successful and enterprising farmer, is carrying on the work of the place, while Miss May is tenderly caring for her mother, who, for the past six years has been a sufferer with palsy. After the death of Mr. Wentz she became the wife of Stephen Gunther, who died several years ago. She is well known and esteemed in this com- munity, where so much of her life has been passed, and her children are favorites and very popular with the young people of the community.
PERRY A. WILSON.
Perry Abijah Wilson comes of one of the pioneer families of Pulaski county, and for more than half a century the Wilsons have been con- nected with the development and progress of this section of the state. Leonard Wilson, father of Perry A., was a native of Ohio, and was a minister in the Christian church. A man of excellent education and a dili- gent student of the Bible, he exerted a powerful influence for good wher- ever he dwelt, and won the love and veneration of every one who knew him. In the early part of the '4os he came to this state and engaged in farming, in conjunction with his ministerial work, also engaging to some extent in shoemaking, which trade he had learned when young. For several years prior to his death, June 10, 1863, he was in the United States mail service, carrying the mail between Francesville, where he lived, and Winamac. Before the outbreak of the war he was a Demo- crat of the Jackson school, but when the great civil conflict was immi- nent he voted for Lincoln. Fraternally a Mason, he was buried with the beautiful rites of that order.
The companion and helpmate of Leonard Wilson throughout his mature life was Thirzah Almira Shigley before their marriage. Born on a farm twelve miles west of Xenia, Ohio, September 3, 1831, she accom- panied her parents to Pulaski county in 1844, and resided on a farm in sec- tion 17, Jefferson township. She is still living, and makes her home with her son, Perry A., her eldest child. Milo, the second son, born June 16, 1863, resides at Monticello, Indiana. He married, first, Barbara Adams, and, secondly, Lowell Hancock, and his children are: Harry, Grace, Cecil and Glenn. After the death of Leonard Wilson, his widow became the wife of Isaac Hosier, and had one son, Lily, named for the Rev. Mr. Lily. Her father, William L. Shigley, born January 8, 1806, probably in Pennsyl- vania, removed to Ohio, and thence to Indiana in 1844, his attention being
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given to farming. On the 26th of March, 1826, he married Cynthia Ann Simpson, who was born March 21, 1808. Their eldest child, Phoebe Jane, born March 3, 1827, married Philip H. Davis, now of Brookston, and had four children, Isabella and William, and Mary and Charles, deceased. Robert, born July 6, 1828, married Polly Holdman and moved to Iowa. He had several children: Alonzo, Aaron, Melissa, Albert and Tiny Thirzah. Electa, born October 28, 1829, married Vansant Morgan. Thirzah, the mother of our subject, was the next in order of birth. Cynthia Ann, born April 15, 1833, became the wife of St. Clair Raines and lives in Salem township. Their children are Phineas Addison, Florence, Cleary, Elizabeth, James, Jemima, William and Sadie. After the death of Mr. Raines his widow wed- ded Mr. Cisna Carl. The sixth child of William L. Shigley was born Sep- tember 6, 1837, and married Sarah Lancaster. William, who lives near Lafayette, was born March 6, 1839. Hester Mary, born May 24, 1841, be- came the wife of Joseph Earle, and their children are Elizabeth P., Augustina and Columbus Freeman. Martha H., born February 16, 1843, died when three weeks old. James was born June 16, 1852, and married.
The birth of Perry A. Wilson took place October 26, 1857, on a farm in Salem township, Pulaski county. After he had finished his common-school education, he pursued a ten-weeks' course in a normal school, after which he engaged in teaching. His first pedagogic labors were in Franklin township, in what was called the Hunter school, during the winter of 1875-6. As his father had died when he was but six years old, he was thrown upon his own resources earlier than common, and from his fourteenth year worked on farms, while at sixteen he assumed the management of a homestead of ninety acres. In the fall of 1875 he purchased forty acres of land on section 27, Jefferson township, and commenced its improvement. While young he began learning a trade with Harrison Wilson, of Francesville, finishing it later. For some time he traveled, his home being in Lafayette and Logans- port in the meantime. During a period of eleven years, when he was a citi- zen of the last mentioned place, lie worked continuously at his trade, taking large contracts, and often employing six or eight men. He bought lot No. 60, of an addition to Logansport, June 22, 1892, which property he traded for his present fine farm of eighty acres, formerly owned by M. L. Morris. The place is situated in section 29, Monroe township, and is well improved, all but three acres, perhaps, being cleared and suitable for cultivation. Since Mr. Wilson's arrival here, March 17, 1898, he has instituted some substantial changes for the better, and under his management the homestead is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable in the county.
The first marriage of P. A. Wilson took place September 27, 1881, the lady of his choice being Mary Melvina, daughter of Osburn and Mary Sout.
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She was born in this county October 3, 1863, and died August 11, 1889. Their eldest child, Darcy Albertus, who is yet at home, was born in Logans- port, September 30, 1882; Ethel Tracy, born in Jefferson township, Novem- ber 2, 1884; and a baby girl born July 27, 1889, died August 19, 1889. The lady who now bears the name of our subject was Miss Priscilla Jane Meginnis in her girlhood, her parents being James H. and Martha Jane (Miller) Megin- nis. She was born November 15, 1857, near Decatur, Illinois, came to Logansport with her parents in the spring of 1869, and on the 28th of Sep- tember, 1893, she was united in marriage with Mr. Wilson. Three children have blessed their union, all born in Logansport, -Iva May, born September 26, 1894; Gladys, born November 9, 1895, died June 23, 1896; and Russell Thorp, born August 29, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are members of the Christian church, and loyally support religious and philanthropic enterprises. In his political faith he is a Prohibitionist, as he believes that the suppres- sion of the liquor traffic is of paramount importance to all other political and national issues.
CHARLES WESLEY KUHN.
One of the pioneer families, very influential in the development of Pu- laski county, is that to which Charles Wesley Kuhn belongs. He was born April 14, 1869, on the parental homestead in Van Buren township, Pulaski county, and has spent his entire life in this vicinity. Everything tending to promote the welfare of this locality receives his earnest support, and none of our citizens are held in higher respect.
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