USA > Indiana > Blackford County > Biographical memoirs of Blackford County, Ind. : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography embellished with portraits of many well known residents of Blackford County, Indiana > Part 65
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Mr. and Mrs. Cline have been presented with eight children, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Orlo Leland, Sep- tember 9, 1862 ; Albert Bradbury, November I, 1863; Edgar Hastings, February 21, 1866, died February 15, 1873; Lora Vale, September 20, 1867; Lillie Dale, August 5, 1869; Winfield Clarence, August 21, 1871, died February 6, 1875; Charley Norton, January 29, 1875; and Edith Thayer, April 19, 1880. Orlo Leland, a graduate of De- pauw University, and a former teacher in the high schools of Hartford City, married Har- riet Abbott, who is a graduate of the public schools of Hartford City, and a former teacher, and is located in Marion, Grant county, Indiana, where he has achieved an enviable reputation as an attorney, being a member of the well-known firm of Custer & Cline. Albert Bradbury married Josephine Phillips, daughter of Rev. N. H. Phillips, and is engaged in the lumber and hardware business in Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, and is one of Bluffton's substantial citizens. Lillie Dale, a graduate of Depauw Univer- 31
sity, and formerly a teacher in the high schools of Indianapolis, is married to Prof. John E. Higdon, a man of education and culture, a graduate of Depauw University and a prominent teacher in the high schools of Indianapolis, being assistant teacher in the department of mathematics. Lora Vale, a graduate of the high school of Hartford City, Indiana, and also a former teacher in the high schools of Hartford City, Indiana, is married to Prof. Finley Geiger, a gradu- ate of the Indiana State University at Bloom- ington, and also of the law school, and af- terward a teacher in the public schools, and the present county superintendent of schools of Blackford county, Indiana. Prof. and Mrs. Geiger, with Mr. Cline's younger chil- dren, live in a pretty suburban residence on North Walnut street, Hartford City, In- diana. Charley Norton, a young man of sterling good qualities, and a graduate of the high schools of his native city, is a stu- dent in the Indiana Medical College, of In- dianapolis. Edith Thayer, the youngest mem- ber of Mr. Cline's family, having graduated with honor from the high school of Hart- ford City, Indiana, and attended the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indi- ana, is engaged in teaching in the public school of her native city, and is classed with the successful teachers of her time. The moth- er of these children departed this life on the 9th of April, 1889. In her death the husband sustained the loss of a faithful, loving wife and companion, while the children lost a loving mother and wise counsellor. The Cline family is well known throughout the city and county, and enjoys the respect and confidence of their acquaintances in the com- munity.
By application to business, industry and economy Mr. Cline has acquired a compe-
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tence and has retired from agricultural pur- suits, giving time to keep informed in pub- lic events. He has decided opinions and the courage of his convictions in expressing them. In the matter of religion he is lib- eral in all the term implies, being what the world calls a free thinker. Tenacious in the support of his own opinions, he is charitable toward those who differ from him, and with- holds no credit due religious or fraternal in- stitutions for any good influence they may have upon the community. The only secret society with which his name was ever iden- tified was the Order of the Sons of Temper- ance, an organization long since disbanded, but the principles of which he still earnestly and uncompromisingly advocates. £ While he feels that he has made no brilliant achieve- ments in the world, he also feels that the world is not any worse for his having lived in: it.
FRANCIS M. CAPPER.
Francis M. Capper, farmer and stock raiser of Harrison township, is a native of Ohio, and dates his birth from the 6th day of May, 1851. He first saw the light of day near the present thriving little city of Van Wert, where his father, Michael Capper, settled at an early period in the history of the western part of the Buckeye state. The elder Capper, also a native of Ohio, was born in the year 1812, in the county of Carroll, and came of an old and highly respectable Vir- ginia family. 'The subject's grandfather, David Capper, emigrated from Virginia to Carroll county in pioneer times and bore an active part in the development of that section of the state, dying there a number of years ago. Michael Capper married, in the county of Carroll, Margaret A. Barnhouse, and
shortly thereafter emigrated to what was then the wilderness of Van Wert, cutting his road most of the way through a dense forest in which but little work Lad been done by the pioneer woodmen. He entered one hun- dred and sixty acres of government land, and after erecting a diminutive log cabin of the most primitive pattern, went to work with a will to remove the forest growth, much of which in due time fell before the sturdy strokes of his ax. Within the coursx of a few years he had a goodly arca prepared for the plow and he lived long enough to see one hundred and forty acres cleared of trees and stumps and under successful tillage, be- sides placing thereon improvements which made his farm one of the most valuable in the county of Van Wert. Michacl and Mar- garet Capper were the parents of nine chil- dren, namely : John, Hannah, David, Nancy, Mary, Sarah, Isabelle, Francis M. and Mar- garet, all living except David. Michael Cap- per continued to reside in Van Wert county from his arrival there in the fall of 1840 until called away by death on the 18th of March, 1897. He was a true type of the rugged, patient pioneer, did well his part in life and died as he had lived, a faithful and devoted member of the Methodist church with which he became identified in early manhood.
Francis M. Capper was reared on the old homestead in Van Wert county, and such educational advantages as the indifferent country schools of the times afforded were his for a few years during his minority. The first building in which he obtained his pre- liminary knowledge was an insignificant frame structure situated on his father's farm and the methods of his first teacher were in keeping with the house and surroundings. By reason of his services being in demand on the farm, his school days were considera-
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bly limited, consequently he is not what might be termed an educated man as far as scholastic training is concerned. How- ever by coming in contact with his fellow men and making the best of his opportuni- ties he became the possessor of a fund of practical knowledge which has enabled him to meet successfully the duties of a very active life.
Mr. Capper remained with his parents until his thirtieth year, when, in 1880, he came to Blackford county, Indiana, and pur- chased the farm in Harrison townshipavhich has since been his home. Prior to the above date, September 10, 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Fenter, by whom he had three children : Gertrude, Ina D. and Ila B., the last two twins. Ila is the wife of Jacob Kutler, the other two being unmar- ried.
Mr. Capper's original purchase consisted of seventy-nine acres lying in section 28, of which sixteen acres were in cultivation at the time of his taking possession. At the present time all but seven acres is improved and the farm, though not as large as some in the township, is a valuable tract of land, rendered so by the vast amount of well-di- rected labor put upon it by the progressive owner. Mr. Capper is a good farmer, and has never failed to make his place return a handsome income. In connection with till- ing the soil he realizes a liberal return every year from live stock, in the raising of which his success has long since been assured. Politically Mr. Capper is a Republican, earnest in the support of his party, but never stooping to the questionable methods of the professional partisan. He is a member of the Baptist church and aims to make his daily life and conduct exponents of the religion he professes.
JACOB LISTENFELTZ.
Prominent among the successful farmers of llarrison township is Jacob Listenfeltz, whose native home is Germany, where his birth occurred on the 12th day of April, 1824. His father was Conrad Listenfeliz and his mother before her marriage was Susan Peteman. Both were natives of the Fatherland where for many generations the ancestors of both branches of the family lived.
Conrad and Susan Listenfeltz reared the following children : Daniel, a farmer of Har- rison township; Peter, also a resident of Harrison township; Conrad lives in Marion, Indiana; Catherine, wife of Aaron Allman, of Camden, this state, and Jacob, who, by the way, is the first of the family in order of birth.
Conrad Listenfeltz and family came to the United States in 1828, settling first in New Jersey, thence, six years later, moved to Warren, Ohio, where they made their home until 1839. In that year Mr. Listen- feltz emigrated westward until reaching Blackford county, Indiana, where he decided to locate, choosing a home site consisting of eighty acres in the township of Harrison, which he purchased from the government at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. He cleared a farm and from time to time added to the original tract until at the time of his death, in 1861, he was the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of as valua- ble lands as lies within the boundaries of Blackford county.
The subject of this sketch was a youth of fifteen when the family came to Harrison and with the exception of the time spent in the west his life, since 1839, has in the main been passed within the limits of the
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township. He assisted in clearing the farm and early developed a strength of muscle and determination of purpose which have proved of great value in his various undertaking's in subsequent years. In 1851, in company with a number of companions as daring as himself, he went to the gold fields of Cali- fornia, making the long and tiresome jour- ney to that far away land by water, going down the Mississippi to New Orleans, thence by sail to San Francisco, the entire trip con- suming a little more than three months' time and fraught with many interesting and ex- citing incidents.
On reaching California Mr. Listenfeltz at once made his way to the mining regions and during a period of three years he trav- ersed the larger part of the state, prospecting, mining and turning his hand to various kinds of labor, all of which proved reasonably suc- cessful. Becoming tired of the rough life of the miner, he finally concluded to return to civilization ; accordingly, in 1854, he came back to Indiana and purchased his present home place in the township of Harrison.
Mr. Listenfeltz has been one of the town- ship's most progressive men, and few have done as much as he towards promoting the growth and development of the country. He cleared and improved a good farm, as- sisted in organizing schools and churches and for nearly half a century his name has been identified with every enterprise calculated to benefit the community or awaken an interest in the moral improvement of the body politic. He has been twice married, the first time to Miss Lucinda Duffy, who bore him three children : Peter A., Amanda and Susan, al! living but the last named.
By his second wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Bell, Mr. Listenfeltz has nine children, namely : Robert, Katharine, Eliza,
Daniel, deceased, Eliza J., Violet, Arthur, Isaac and Viola.
In all that goes to make good citizenship Mr. Listenfeltz is first and foremost. A kind and obliging neighbor, public spirited and in- telligent, he stands for what is best in Amer- ican life and none occupies a higher place in the estimation of the people of his township. In politics he is a pronounced Democrat, and lin religion a member of the Society of Friends, with which sect he has been identi- fied for over forty years. His life co. responds to the pure and simple faith of that excellent people and nobody has ever called in question the purity of his motives or uttered a sentence derogatory to his char- acter.
JOSEPH HUDSON.
Joseph Hudson, farmer and stock raiser, is an Ohio man and the son of John and Bar- bara (Dirk) Hudson, both parents natives of Virginia. In an early day John Hudson moved to Holmes county, Ohio, settling near the town of Worcester, where he lived until 1845, at which time, accompanied by his family, he came to Blackford county, In- diana, and purchased eighty acres of un- improved land in the township of Jackson. He began life in his new home by hastily erecting a small log cabin containing one room, after which he worked under many difficulties in clearing a part of his swampy land and fitting it for cultivation. After spending a few years upon his original pur- chase and finding it exceedingly difficult to make headway there, he disposed of the land and bought the place in Harrison township now owned and occupied by his son, whose name introduces this article. Some years
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later John Hudson went back to his former home in Ohio and it was in that state that he met with injuries in a railroad accident which afterwards resulted in his death. He died at the home of Joseph in 1876, aged sixty-seven years. John and Barbara Hud- son were the parents of eleven children, namely : Mary A., widow of Isaac Court- wright: Jacob resides in Jay county, In- diana; Benjamin, a farmer, living in Harri- son township; Joseph; Nancy, wife of George Simonton; Lydia, wife of J. M. Tarner; Caroline, wife of J. M. Kurtyer; Emmeline; William resides in Kansas, and two died in infancy.
The subject of this sketch was born May 18, 1836, in Holmes county, Ohio, and reached his ninth year when the family came to the county of Blackford. His youthful experiences included much hard work on the farm, varied in winter seasons by attend- ing the indifferent subscription schools common to the part of the country during the formative stage of its development. When seventeen years old he began working for himself as a farm hand at meager wages and it was while thus employed that he con- tributed the greater part of his earnings to the support of the family. From seventeen until twenty-four years of age he labored at any kind of honest employment to which he could turn his hands, the meantime care- fully laying aside a part of his wages for the purpose of engaging in farming when a favorable opportunity should present it- self.
In 1860 Mr. Hudson and Miss Mary A. Porter became man and wife and imme- diately thereafter they began housekeeping on a farm in Harrison township, which was cultivated for some years upon the shares. After farming rented lands until 1875 Mr.
Hudson purchased his present farm and from that time to the present he has carried on agricultural pursuits with encouraging re- sults, being now one of the progressive and well-to-do men of the township, where so many of his years have been passed. He owns one hundred and twenty-three acres, which, under his successful management, has been brought to a high state of cultiva- tion, much having been reclaimed by a fine system of tile drainage, of which there are in excess of one thousand rods in various parts of the place. He carried on farming by systematic methods, understands well the nature of soils and by proper rotation of crops never fails to obtain most satisfac- tory results from his labors. His buildings, fences and other improvements bear evi- dence of his skill and the general appearance of the premises bespeak for the proprietor a taste and progressiveness worthy of emu- lation.
Mr. Hudson is a Democrat in politics and in religion subscribes to the pure simple faith as accepted by the society of Friends. He is upright and honorable in all his. deal- ings, believing in the ultimate universal tri- umph of the gospel of the Nazarene and en- deavors day by day to shape his life accord- ing to the standard laid down in the Golden Rule.
By his first marriage, noted in a pre- ceding paragraph, Mr. Hudson had three children : Alonzo, deceased ; Martha, and one that died in infancy. His first wife dying, he afterwards, in 1866, married Martha A. Porter, sister of his former companion, who departed this life, the mother of three chil- dren, of whom two are living, namely : Nancy and Lily M. In 1873 Mr. Hudson was united in marriage to Catherine Duffy, a union blessed with five children, the fol-
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lowing of whom survive: Isaiah, Emma T., James C. Again, in 1895, the death angel entered the household and for the third time removed the wife and companion, Mrs. Hudson being called from earth that year.
SETH S. SIMONTON.
Seth S. Simonton, one of the enterpris- ing and successful farmers of Harrison township, is a son of Thomas Simonton, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1798. The father of Thomas was also named Thomas, and he came to America prior to the Revolution, at the age of seventeen. He served in the war of the Revolution, and was in the battle of Brandywine and other engagements; he lived and died in Pennsylvania at an ad- vanced age. Thomas, the father of our sub- ject, was raised on a farm in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, and at the age of seventeen he found employment on the barges plying between Pittsburg and New Orleans, which he followed for seven years.
In 1822 he moved to Ohio and settled near Carrollton, in Carroll county, where he found employment as a laborer until his marriage, when he engaged in farming until 1831. At this time, with his wife and four children, he removed close to New Phila- delphia and found work in an iron foundry, where he remained until 1842, when he came to Blackford county and purchased eighty acres of land in section 14. This land was situated where Orrin Garrett now resides. For this land he paid two dollars and twenty-five cents per acre. It was covered with heavy timber, and the first thing to do was to build himself a home. He erected a log cabin, 18x20 feet, and here he lived until his death, in 1863, at the age of sixty-five.
He was twice married; his first wife was Elizabeth Oswalt, by whom he had ten chil- dren, as follows: Polly A., who married John Sparks and lives in Sumner, Missouri ; Francis married John Twibell and lives near Saline county, Kansas; Sarah, widow of Jacob Baker; Seth, our subject; Timothy, who was killed while digging a well; Thomas, of South Bend, Indiana; Eliza- beth, wife of John Shull, of Sumner, Mis- souri; Martha, wife of Good Oliver, of Washington county, Kansas; Mclia, wife of Daniel Conkleton, of Washington county, Kansas, and Jacob, who lives in Montpelier. His second wife was Nancy, widow of Sam- uel Shull, and to this marriage five children were born, viz .: George, who resides in Michigan; Cicily, wife of Ezekial Gilham; Jane, wife of William Stout, of Hartford City; Margaret, deceased, who married Ed- ward Ervin, and Amon, who lives in Pearl, Michigan. Mr. Simonton was one of those progressive, enterprising men of pioneer days of Blackford county. He served for many years as one of its early constables, and taking a deep interest in education, he organized and helped to start many of the schools of that day. Many of the carly roads he helped lay out and build. In his re- ligious views he was a believer in and a member of the Christian church.
Our subject was born in Carroll county, Ohio, February 23, 1829, and was in his fourteenth year when his father came to Blackford county. He was raised upon the old homestead and got his education in the old log schools, and he recalls walking one winter two and a half miles to attend the winter session. He remained on the old place until the age of twenty-three, when he commenced renting land. Three years later he purchased eighty acres in Wells county.
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This land was wild and had no improve- ments on it and he built a log cabin and re- mained on it for eighteen months, when he returned to 'Harrison township and found employment, working out by the month; this he did for four years, when he pur- chased, in 1862, the fr en where he now lives. When he purchased this farm it had but seven acres cleared and a log cabin, but he has placed upon it all the present improve- ments and cleared it and it is to-day one of the finest farms in the county. On Febru- ary 8, 1862, Mr. Simonton enlisted in Com- pany G, One Hundred and Fifty-third In- diana Volunteer Infantry, and served until Septeml .... 4, 1865, doing service with his command in Kentucky. For forty years he has been a member of the Christian church, and for twenty-five years has been one of its prominent ministers. Mr. Simonton has been three times married. His first wife was Margaret Blunt, to whom he was mar- ried in 1853, the fruits of this union being two children, William W., who died in 1880, and Elizabeth, wife of Anson Chandler, of Kansas. His second wife was Eliza Shan- non and by this marriage three children were born as follows: Alice L., deceased, Margaret, and Annie, who died in infancy. On June 21, 1868, he married Miss Annie Downhour and by this union they are the parents of one son, Albert S., who married Alta D. Thomas, in 1892, and they are the parents of three children, Minnie I., Clar- ence W. and Clara D.
ANDREW JACKSON TOWNSEND.
Standing a fair representative of the more progressive and enterprising agricult- tiralists of the county, Mr. Townsend well deserves attention at the hands of him who
·attempts to consider, from the historical standpoint, the men who are conducting the multifarious interests of this section of the state, as the old century passes and the new one presents questions not heretofore con- sidered, but whose solution demands the brightest minds. Mr. Townsend represents one of the oldest families of the county, his birth having occurred in Washington township, on the 9th of February, 1854. More complete mention of the family will be found in connection with the memoir of the venerable James S. Townsend, uncle of . Andrew. One of several brothers was Alvah Townsend, father of Andrew, who is still residing in Washington; he was born in New Jersey and was married in this county to Miss Elzara Shields, a native of Ohio. The boyhood of Andrew was spent on the home farm with but little out of the ordinary course, he re- maining with his father till past twenty- four years of age. He chose for his com- panion Miss Rebecca Miles, daughter of Al- fred and Lucinda (Gillaspie) Miles, to whom he was united on the 6th of November, 1877. His father having deeded him a tract of land near his present home, he devoted con- siderable time and effort to its improvement, among other features being a new house. However, soon after his marriage he se- cured the tract that comprises the present homestead, which at the time had but about fourteen acres cleared. This immediate section of the country is flat and in its orig- inal condition of comparatively little value, but, now that it has been thoroughly drained, which process required a great deal of labor and expense, covering a period of several years before the system was completed, it is in many respects the most desirable and excellent part of the country.
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Mr. Townsend took an active interest in securing this general improvement, as his own tract was covered with ponds, and it was necessary in order to improve his own farm. This farm he sold, in 1892, securing his present homestead of seventy-five acres. He has cleared about twenty acres, and bv tiling extensively has it in an excellent state of cultivation. His estate is really divided into two neat farms, each having its com- plement of buildings. The home place is an especially desirable one, located as it is, in a neat grove of natural trees. Mr. Townsend devotes his entire attention to the operation of his farm, the principal feature of which is the growing of grain, and this is usually converted into stock of his own breeding.
His family consists of eight children, born in the following order : Lucy, wife of John Bosworth, who has management of one of the farms; Elmore, George Norman, Ger- trude, Frank, Trepolia, Thomas and Mary.
In politics Mr. Townsend is a Demo- crat in his predilections, but is not offensive- ly partisan, as he confines his party acts and votes to local matters. Through his sound sense and popularity l: has been frequently called upon to serve on various committees and to sit in the conventions of his party, in whose interests he is quite active in all campaign work. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of Hartford Tent, No. 50, Knights of the Maccabees. While not being pro- nounced in his religious views he recognizes the value of church influence, contributing by his presence and means.
WILLIAM J. JOHNSON.
William J. Johnson, superintendent of the Diamond Flint Glass Company, of Hart- ford City, is a native of England, born in
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