USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 6
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The ancestors of John Frain were stanch members of the German Lu- theran church, and he was reared in that creed, while his wife's relatives were Methodists. Some of their children are identified with the Christian church, but, without exception, the entire Frain family is always found on the side of righteousness, education and whatever tends toward the bettering and elevat- ing of humanity. Prior to the civil war Mr. Frain was a Whig, and since
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the organization of the Republican party he has been loyal to its teachings. His word is considered as good as his bond, and his name is a synonym for integrity, justice and honor.
NATHAN RAWN.
Nathan Rawn, a soldier in the civil war, is a man to whose enterprising and progressive disposition the state of Indiana is deeply indebted for much of her present prosperity. It was our subject who braved the displeasure and deep-seated prejudice existing among the early settlers against tiling, and he converted a tract of undesirable, low, swampy land into a farm of great productiveness, and is among the leading farmers in Pulaski county, Indiana, whose opinion is respected and followed by his less experienced neighbors.
He was born February 23, 1839, on a farm in Greenfield township, Fairfield county, Ohio, a son of Joseph and Mary (Fisher) Rawn. Joseph Rawn, Sr., his grandfather, is supposed to have been a native of Penn- sylvania, but a descendant of the Rahn family of Germany. The spelling of the name was changed by those living in this country to Rawn. He reared a family of twelve children, eleven sons and one daughter, among whom were Samuel, Jacob, Peter, Isaac, Nathan and Joseph.
Joseph Rawn, the father of our subject, was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, whence he emigrated when a young man to Fairfield county, Ohio. Here he met and married Miss Mary Fisher, making his home in that county during the remainder of his life and rearing his family on his farm. He was not a large man, weighing only about one hundred and forty-five pounds, while his measure would probably reach five feet, six inches. He was a Republican in politics and in religion a devout member of the Method- ist Episcopal church, whose earnest endeavor it was to pattern his life by its teachings. He was in his seventy-first year when the final summons came to him at his Ohio home, in January, 1883. He was laid to rest at Lithop- olis, Ohio. His wife, a daughter of John Fisher, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and she was in her seventy-first year at the time of her death, which occurred June 28, 1890. She was buried beside her husband in the cemetery at Lithopolis. The children born of this union were ten in num- ber, viz: Nathan, our subject; Sarah Ann, wife of William Wilson, a farmer in the state of Ohio; Mary Elizabeth, deceased, whose husband, Edward Coffman, had control of the canal-boats in Ohio, where he lived; Joseph Havens, deceased, who was a farmer in Jefferson county, Kansas, and mar- ried Caroline Hostler; John, a farmer in Ohio, who was twice married, first to Caroline Morehart, then to Elizabeth Foor; Henrietta, who married John
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Shulky, a farmer in Ohio, now deceased; Ellen, unmarried; Martha, de- ceased, married Elijah Morehart, a farmer of Ohio; Jacob, deceased, who was also married; and Francis Marion, a drayman, who married a Miss Foor and lives in his native state.
John Fisher, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of Virginia, while the family trace their origin to Germany. Emigrating to the state of Ohio, they were among the earliest settlers of the Western Reserve. John Fisher was a man of powerful build, and had many experiences with the Indians, who infested the country at that time. They often threatened his life, but were afraid to engage in a fight for fear he would get the advantage of them. On one occasion an Indian leveled his gun and took careful aim at him, but did not shoot; this was repeated twice, and the Indian, fearing he would miss and have to engage in a fight with him, at length withdrew without firing. Many years afterward he came to Mr. Fisher and told him of the circumstance and why he was afraid to fire. Mr. Fisher was married to Miss Barbara Meyers, by whom he had a large number of children, namely: Sarah, unmarried; Mary, mother of subject; Barbara, wife of Jacob Hoover, a farmer; Eve, wife of Mintorn Lake, a farmer; Rachel, Mrs. Andy Shell, of Ohio; Phoebe, wife of John Hannah, a farmer of Nebraska; John, a buggy and wagon manufacturer of Kansas; Joseph, a buggy dealer of Attica, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Lake, a farmer of Illinois; and Abraham, who was killed during the battle of Stone river in the civil war.
When twenty-two years of age, Nathan Rawn left his father's home and went to Hancock county. He engaged in farm work during the summer of 1861, and in August of that year enlisted in Company A, Forty-ninth Ohio Infantry Volunteers, under Captain Albert Longworthy. He was discharged December 31, 1863, and re-enlisted June 1, 1864, in the same company. He served through the entire service, and was discharged at Victoria, Texas, November 30, 1865. He never lost a day while in the army, and his vigor- ous constitution enabled him successfully to withstand the hardships of a soldier's life, although the four years' privations left him far less vigorous than he would otherwise be.
The war ended, he returned to Miami county, where he farmed one year and then moved upon the farm of Samuel Coffman, where he tended one hundred and five acres until 1874, when he purchased his present farm. This is the southwest quarter of section 2, Indian Creek township, and was for- merly owned by F. M. Churchman. It had no improvements of any kind, and the house and other buildings were erected in 1874 by Mr. Rawn. In addition to farming he also deals in stock, and has built up his land until it is second to none in this section. When he bought it it was covered by water, and it was his first effort to tile it and drain off the water, making it 38
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fit for cultivation. This step led to much unpleasantness for a time, as many of the neighbors looked askance at the project and viewed it with dis- favor as a new-fangled idea which would lead to disastrous results. Undis- mayed by their opposition he continued with his work, and had the extreme satisfaction not only of owning one of the most fertile farms in the locality, but also of seeing his strongest opponents adopt the plan, many of them fol- lowing his example and reclaiming waste land.
Nathan Rawn was married February 11, 1866, to Laura Coffman, daugh- ter of Samuel and Jane (Allen) Coffman. She was born January 29, 1846, in Fairfield county. The children who blessed their home are: Mary Jane, born November 11, 1866, was married November 11, 1884, to Joseph Felker, by whom she has one child, Verna M., who lives with her parents; Alice, who was born September 13, 1868, married John Bowers March 6, 1888, and is the mother of four children, -Harry, born April 6, 1889; Myrtle, born February 11, 1891; Arthur, born February 6, 1893, and Ray, born August 21, 1898; Nora Rawn, the third child, was born July 4, 1870, and married Henry March, September 6, 1888: they have three children, -Charles, born in June, 1889, Carl, born June 18, 1891, and Rosie, born in November, 1893.
Mr. Rawn is a member of Star City Post, G. A. R. He is also a zeal- ous worker in the Presbyterian church, of which he is a member, and a man who is respected and esteemed by everyone.
JOHN H. KINNEY.
Numbered among the progressive and successful farmers of White county, is John H. Kinney, who is a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, where he was born May 17, 1840. He spent his boyhood in this county, and at the age of twelve years came west with his parents, locating, in 1851, in Princeton township, White county, Indiana, where he assisted his father on the home farm until 1874 and then began farming on his own responsi- bility. He bought eighty acres of land adjoining the parental homestead, to which he added one hundred and sixty acres and subsequently traded the same for four hundred and eighty acres, one and one-fourth miles northwest of Remington. This he still retains, together with his present home, in Wolcott, which was erected at a cost of one thousand five hun- dred dollars.
Mr. Kinney was married October 1, 1862, near Seafield, to Miss Eliza- beth Ann Templeton, daughter of James and Rachel Templeton, natives of Virginia, and a cousin of Lee Templeton, of Fowler. Mrs. Kinney was born in Shelby county, Indiana, May 3, 1843, and came to White county with
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her parents in early youth. Four children were born of this marriage: Mary Catherine, wife of James H. Davis, who reside on our subject's farm; Lucy Ellen, deceased; William C., who is in the hardware business in Wol- cott; and John E., deceased. Mr. Kinney is a devout member of the Christian church, and in his political views is a Republican.
William Kinney, father of our subject, was born Septemper 23, 1819, in Pickaway county, Ohio, where he remained until 1851, then removing to Princeton township, White county, one and a half miles southeast of Wol- cott. Here he entered two hundred and forty acres of wild prairie land, afterward adding eighty acres more, and with the help of our subject he farmed this property until 1875, when he came to Wolcott and retired from active labor. He married Miss Mary Ann Phebus, who was born in Picka- way county, Ohio, in 1721, and died there about 1844. The second wife of William Kinney was Miss Lucinda Walston, daughter of William Walston, a native of Kentucky. Of the first marriage four children were born: John H., our subject; twins, who died in infancy, unnamed; and Catherine, also deceased. Of the second union there were born the following: Nancy, wife of Henry Hern, who lives three miles northeast of Wolcott; Mary A., now residing at Wolcott; Rebecca Jane, who married Moses Dobbins, a sketch of whom occurs elsewhere in this volume; and Arminta, deceased.
The paternal grandparents of our subject were John and Catherine (Ike) Kinney, natives of Pennsylvania and early settlers of Pickaway county, Ohio. The maternal grandfather was Samuel Phebus.
SIMON PHILLIPS.
A retired farmer and auctioneer of Rensselaer, Mr. Phillips is well and favorably known throughout the entire county of Jasper, as well as in many of the surrounding counties. He was born in Darke county, Ohio, February 8, 1823, and is a son of Valentine and Abigail (Crawford) Phillips. His father was a native of Maryland, but at an early day moved to Ohio, where he was a pioneer farmer. In 1826 he moved his family to Rush county, Indiana, where he died in 1840. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, as were two of his brothers, John and Simon, the latter a captain of one of the regiments. Abigail (Crawford) Phillips also died in Rush county, in 1845, leaving three children, John, Susan and Simon.
The grandfather of our subject was one John Phillips, the history of whose life reads like pages from some romance. He was born in Wales and was receiving an education to fit him for the priesthood in the Catholic church. While attending the duties of his profession he met his affinity in
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the person of Miss Catherine Cassady. She was a lovely and attractive woman, and the beauty of form and features, combined with an amiable disposition, exercised such a witchery over the young student that he became a victim to the goddess of love. His feelings were reciprocated by the young lady, and they agreed that they could never endure to be separated, even by the church they both loved. Such a sacrifice could not be the will of an all wise God. Accordingly the young lady came to America, to be followed in due time by her lover, where they were happily married, and it is not thought that either of them regretted their action. He was a good, true man and a brave soldier of the Revolution, in which war he was wounded by a bayonet thrust. With such ancestry, it is not surprising that our subject should have fought his own battles in life and come out the victor.
Mr. Phillips was but three years old when his parents moved to Rush county, this state. He was brought up on the farm and had to work hard, while the opportunities for securing an education were very limited. The winter term of school, which he sometimes attended, was of three months' duration, and to reach the school-house he had to walk three miles. The building itself was of the most primitive kind-a log house, with a huge fire- place in one end, a puncheon floor, slab seats and windows made by leaving a section of log out of one side of the building, and by covering the aperture thus made with oiled paper, to keep out the cold. Added to all this, the books for the little children were such as would be dry and difficult reading for the more advanced pupils of to-day. In such surroundings our subject received his education, which he added to by reading and observation until he became a well posted man on all general topics. When he came to Jasper county, there were only six houses in the village of Rensselaer, and he has watched the development and growth with an affectionate interest. He first settled on a farm in Hanging Grove township, where he remained until 1850 when he bought a farm of eighty acres, three miles east of Rensselaer, and opened a stone quarry in the vicinity. He then disposed of that eighty and bought another adjoining Rensselaer and the block where he now lives. He took an active interest in the advancement of the community and at one time was captain of the vigilance committee, and looked carefully after horse thieves and other evil-doers. He has been quite an extensive stock trader and a successful one, while he is the most popular auctioneer in this vicinity, and always has a number of sales to look after.
Mr. Phillips was married in October, 1850, to Miss Nancy, a daughter of Alexander and Charity Irwin. She was called to her reward in 1882. The children born to them were as follows: William, deceased; Elza, de- ceased; Abigail (Mrs. Charles A. Roberts); Emma, the wife of Stephen Barnes, of Fowler, has two children, Elsie and Nona; Robert, deceased; Simon, de-
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ceased; Nancy is the wife of Frank Vanetta and has two children, Lorene and Marion; Frederic; Agnes, deceased; and Augustus.
Mr. Phillips was the first town marshal of Rensselaer, and in 1856 was elected sheriff of the county, before this and Newton counties were divided. In 1882 he was appointed keeper of the poor-house, which position he re- tained for five years. Although he was raised in the Democratic faith, he is a stanch Republican, and has supported each and every Republican candidate for the presidency since General Fremont was in the race against Buchanan. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Order of the Eastern Star. He commands the respect and esteem of all, by reason of his upright conduct, as well as his kindly, benevolent nature.
ISAIAH WEYAND.
This gentleman is one of the prosperous and enterprising farmers of Pulaski county, and is deserving of great credit for his success in business life, as it is all due to his well directed efforts and energy. A native of Ohio, he was born on a farm near Caledonia, in Marion county, June 18, 1831, a son of Daniel and Eliza (Beckley) Weyand. His paternal grandfather, Henry Weyand, was a native of England, and during his boyhood was brought by his parents to America, where he followed the occupation of farming. His children were Peter, Jonathan, Daniel, Mrs. Shaeffer and Mrs. Spiker. The maternal grandfather of our subject was John Beckley, a native of Germany. With his parents he emigrated to the New World, becoming a resident of Pennsylvania. In 1836, however, he took up his residence in Cass county, Indiana, and followed farming, owning two hundred and forty acres of land. His death occurred there about 1855. His children were George, John, David, Isaac, Thomas, Margaret, Eliza, Sally and Polly.
Daniel Weyand, the father of our subject, was born May 11, 1807, in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and when twenty-one years of age removed to Marion county, Ohio, where he was married. He learned and followed the hatter's trade in Sunbury, that state, and was also the owner of an eighty-acre farm there. About 1837 he came to Indiana, settling in Boone township, Cass county, where he became the owner of four hundred acres of land, of which he placed two hundred and forty acres under the plow. It was all in its primitive condition at the time of the purchase, but he suc- ceeded in transforming much of it into rich fields. He was a very energetic and industrious man, although of moderate stature, being five feet and six inches in height and weighing one hundred and fifty pounds. In politics he was a Democrat, and filled the offices of school trustee and postmaster of Center, Indiana. Religiously he was connected with the Christian church.
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He died in March, 1894, and his remains were interred in the Kline grave- yard at Royal Center. His wife, who was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1810, died October 9, 1886. Their children were as follows: Isaiah was the eldest. Israel, born November 13, 1832, died at the age of forty years. Enoch Beckley, born September 11, 1834, now resides in Vernon county, Missouri. He married Phoebe Jane Grant, and after her death wedded Mattie McGee. His children, all born of the first marriage, were Harriet, Eliza, Lottie, Alice, Leonard, Emma, Ella and Nettie. John Henry, born September 28, 1836, and now a resident of Cass county, Indi- ana, married Sarah Burton, and their children are Julietta, Granville, Flor- ence and Bertha. Simon Peter, born May 9, 1839, died January 14, 1889. Isaac Spiker, born March 21, 1841, and now a resident of South Dakota, married Margaret Needles, who died leaving two children. George Washing- ton, who was born in Royal Center, January 31, 1844, is now an undertaker there; he married Mina Cramer, and their children are Morris, Addie, Ham- ilton, and several who died in early childhood. Lucy, born June 20, 1847, died on the 2d of August of the same year and was the youngest of the family.
Isaiah Weyand remained at his parental home until he had attained his majority and then started for California, March 16, 1852, attracted by the discovery of gold. He was accompanied by Charles .Anderson, William Shingles, Isaac Grant and John Fickler, and together they crossed the plains, to Eldorado county in the Golden state. There Mr. Weyland engaged in min- ing for a time and also conducted a dairy. He traveled all over the north- ern part of the state, and on the 14th of January, 1865, started for home, making the journey by the isthmus route and New York.
He then turned his attention to farming, and after renting land for two years purchased a part of his present farm, in Franklin township. To the first forty acres he has added from time to time as his financial resources have increased until he now owns two hundred and forty acres, constituting one of the fine farms of the county. Of this, one hundred and sixty acres is under a high state of cultivation, and the well tilled fields yield to the owner a golden tribute in return for the care and labor he bestows upon them. In 1878 he erected his present comfortable residence and in 1891 built a large barn. All the other accessories and conveniences of the model farm are here found and the place indicates the careful supervision of a pro- gressive and enterprising owner.
On the 2 Ist of December, 1866, Mr. Weyand was united in marriage to Miss Dilena Elizabeth Grant, who was born in Brown county, Ohio, May 15, 1847, and when three years of age was taken to Cass county, Indiana, by her parents, William and Mary (Martin) Grant. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Weyand
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have been born the following children: Armilda Angeline, born December 2, 1866, was married in September, 1888, to John Andrew Dougherty, and their children are: Reuben Button, born March 23, 1889; Ralph, Arthur, S. O., L. C., Mary Agatha and Roy. William Daniel, born April 13, 1868, was married November 29, 1891, to Mary Overpeck, who was born March 14, 1874, and their children are: Tressie May, who was born October 18, 1892, and Otis Dale, born March 28, 1895. Sophronia Leah, who was born April 24, 1869, died October 12, 1877. Johnson Overton, who was born Novem- ber 18, 1871, died while bathing in the Tippecanoe river, June 24, 1888. Lois Eliza, born April 25, 1877, is a successful teacher, who had charge of the Johnson school, in Franklin township, for eleven terms, and has also taught in the Maple Leaf school, in the Winamac Normal, and at Danville for one term. Lafayette Dipin, born July 14, 1879; Boyd Elgy, born May II, 1883, and Ivy Launty, born February 26, 1885, are all at home. Harry Austin, the youngest of the family, was born July 28, 1886, and died Janu- 16, 1889.
The family is one of prominence in the community, and the members of the household enjoy the warm regard of many friends. For more than thirty years the parents have resided upon their present farm, and thus have long been identified with the community. Mr. Weyand has led an active and useful life, and through his well directed efforts has acquired a most credit- able success, and won a place among the leading farmers of his county. For many years Mr. Weyand has been connected with the Masonic fraternity. He was made a Mason in California in 1856 or 1857, and after becoming a resident of Pulaski county retook the obligations in Winamac Lodge, No. 262, with which he is now affiliated. Both Mr. and Mrs. Weyand have been for years consistent and valued members of the Christian church.
MAXIMILIAN JOSEPH VON AUW.
The family of which the subject of this sketch is a sterling representa- tive belongs to the aristocracy in Germany, and at one time was wealthy and very influential. Its history can be traced to 1632, to Benzingen, Switzer- land, whence some of its members removed to Hesse-Darmstadt at an early period.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was Robert Von Auw, who had but two children, -Adrian and Reinholdt. The latter, born August 28, 1811, in Eberfeldt, Germany, received an excellent education, and was a man of much more than ordinary ability. For some years he held a position as bookkeeper and as manager of coal mines, and at one time he was the pro- prietor of a large book-store. During the stormy days of the revolution of
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1848 he unfortunately published a small pamphlet which was deemed to be of a seditious nature, and his property was confiscated to the crown. In spite of this harsh treatment, which was felt by his friends to be unwarranted, he remained loyal to the government, and, though he was thenceforth obliged to work for others on a salary, he harbored little resentment. He was a man of fine physique, about five feet, ten inches in height and weighing in the neighborhood of two hundred pounds. Religiously he was identified with the German Lutheran church, and died in that faith, November 29, 1864.
In his young manhood Reinholdt Von Auw married Dorothea Fromman, who was born November 14, 1818, in the same town as was the husband. In 1874 she came to the United States and made her home with her son, Maximilian. She was called to her reward in Mansfield, Ohio, December 30, 1887. The eldest child of Reinholdt and Dorothea Von Auw was Caroline, born July 26, 1835. She became the wife of George Hoffmeister, of Hesse- Cassel, Germany, and had several children,-Sophie, Leonard, Tony and others, -all living at this time, while their mother entered the silent land a score of years ago. Bernhardt, born in August, 1838, married a Miss Nowak and resided in Darmstadt until his death, January 10, 1865. Edmund, born June 1, 1844, never married, and died in April, 1872, in Hamburg, just on the eve of his emigration to America. Laura, born June 26, 1843, lives in the Fatherland and is unmarried. Robert, born August 21, 1846, was a baker by trade, and died in 1895, in Cleveland, Ohio. The wife of his youth was Philomena Metzger, and their children were Emma and Reinholdt, and by the second marriage there were four children, -Sophia, Minnie, Robert and Herman. Henry, born March 15, 1848, is married and is a resident of Cologne, Germany. Otto, born September 17, 1858, is unmarried and makes his home in Cleveland, Ohio, he having come to the United States in 1871. The mother of these children was one of eleven sons and daughters, who came from one of the honored old families of Darmstadt. For many years their father served as secretary of the supreme court of that city, hold- ing that very responsible and lucrative position in a manner which reflected great credit upon him.
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