USA > Indiana > Wells County > Biographical memoirs of Wells County, Indiana : embracing a comprehensive compendium of local biography, memoirs of representative men and women of the county whose works of merit have made their names imperishable, and special articles by Hugh Dougherty [et al.] > Part 15
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WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
natural capacity for hard work, he has al- ways made the most of his opportunities, at the same time laid well his plans for the future, and ever labored with something better in view. Forseeing what should be done and doing it in the right time, together with the ability to mould circumstances to suit his purposes, have been the secrets of the success which has marked Mr. Hunsick- er's career since he became head of the flour- ishing enterprise which he now operates.
As a citizen he stands deservedly high in public esteem, being interested in the prog- ress of his adopted city, and doing all within his power to promote its material, social and moral welfare. Like all progressive men, he takes a lively interest in politics, but has never been known as an active partisan or aspirant for public position. He votes the Democratic ticket in state and national af- fairs, but in matters purely local pays little attention to the dictates of party leaders. Mr. Hunsicker is an enthusiastic Odd Fel- low, having passed all the chairs in the subor- dinate lodge and encampment, besides be- longing to the Pythian brotherhood and a charter member of the Order of Red Men. Mrs. Hunsicker is a leading worker in the Rathbone Sisters, also the Rebekah degree, I. O. O. F., which she has represented in the grand lodge, and holds a prominent po- sition in the Woman's Relief Corps of Bluff- ton. Both are well known in society circles and are among the city's most intelligent and estimable people.
THE SWAIM BROTHERS.
So closely interwoven were the lives of' David H. and William Thomas Toy Swaim
that the history of one is practically the his- tory of both. Their relations during child- hood and youth, their school life and later their associations in a business way made their mutual interests complete. They are natives of Wells county, Indiana, born in the town of Ossian, David H. on the 17th of September, 1858, and William T. T. on the Ist day of April, 1861. They were reared to young manhood in the above vil- lage and only left there when ready to em- bark in business pursuits, meanwhile attend- ing the public schools, in which they re- ceived an intellectual discipline of no incon- siderable importance. Their parents were William and Hannah (Toy) Swaim, for many years well known and highly respect- ed residents of the community in which they lived. The father enlisted in an Indiana regiment at the breaking out of the late Civil war and received at the battle of Champion Hill, Mississippi, a mortal wound which resulted in his death on the 17th of June, 1863. His widow survived him a number of years, departing this life Febru- ary 28, 1895. After the father's death the mother, desirous of procuring for her chil- dren the best educational advantages ob- tainable, moved. from the farm to Ossian, where in due time the brothers entered upon their school work. They continued their studies there until completing the prescribed course in 1879, in the spring of which year David H. became assistant to Superintend- ent P. A. Allen, in a select school which the two jointly conducted the year following. In 1880 the brothers entered Fort Wayne College, but before the end of the first year David withdrew in order to accept the posi- tion of assistant in a school at Ossian, Thomas remaining until he was graduated
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in the latter part of the year following. Sub- sequently, 1881-2, David served as superin- tendent of the Ossian schools and during that time Thomas was employed as assistant in the schools of Bluffton, both earning en- viable reputations as educators. Having
decided upon the legal profession as their life work, they entered, in the fall of 1882, the law department of Michigan University at Ann Arbor, where they continued their studies until completing the full course,
degree of B. L. In September, 1884, they both graduating two years later with the
moved with their mother to Bluffton and, forming a partnership under the name of Swaim & Swaim, began the practice of their
They soon took high rank with the leading profession under most favorable auspices.
members of the Bluffton bar, built up a large and lucrative business in the courts of Wells and neighboring counties and con- tinued the practice until May, 1888, when they withdrew from the law and, in partner- ship with Asbury Duglay, purchased the
Bluffton Chronicle. The Swaim brothers embarked upon the sea of journalism with a full appreciation of the difficulties which it entailed, coupled with a well defined pur- pose of making the enterprise a success as far as success under the circumstances could be attained. Briefly stated, the history of the paper of which the Swaim brothers be- came managers in the above year is as fol- lows : In 1853 the People's Press, a Repub- lican organ, was established in Bluffton, by John Wilson and Michael Karnes, who em- ployed as editor a Mr. Knox, a newspaper man of considerable experience and a fair writer. Subsequently James Branigan and James Gorrell served as editors and under their management the paper continued to
make its periodical appearance until 1857, when the plant was purchased by T. N. Kellogg and a Mr. Bixler, Nelson Kellogg taking charge of the editorial work. Messrs. Kellogg and Bixler ran the paper with fair hands of W. J. Bright, who changed the success until 1861, when it passed into the name to the Wells County Union, under which title it was issued until the stringent financial condition of the times caused its temporary suspension. After a time the
who, as editor and proprietor, labored enterprise was revived by Cephas Hogg,
against many obstacles until succeeded by J. H. Smith, under whose management the name of the paper was changed in 1866 to the Wells County Standard, the editorial
department the meanwhile being in charge of James Sewell. Subsequently A. Callon and J. Sewell became owners and in 1869 the title was a third time changed, the name of Bluffton Chronicle being substituted and S. Davenport becoming editor. Under the latter firm the Chronicle was issued un- til 1873, when the publication again sus- pended, but after a short period J. W. Ruck- man took charge of the plant and in due time established it upon a self-supporting basis. He managed the enterprise quite successfully until 1877, when he sold out to J. F. Pearson, who in turn disposed of the office to C. A. Arnold, under whose control the paper continued to grow in influence and public favor until 1878. In that year George Arnold & Son became proprietors and during their ownership the paper was greatly improved in its editorial and mechanical makeup. Its circulation large- ly increased, the advertising patronage was quite liberal and as a political organ it was influential in shaping the policy of the Re-
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publican party in the county and contributed much to the success of the ticket in local af- fairs. The Messrs. Arnold in 1888 dis- posed of the Chronicle to Swaim Brothers & Duglay, as already stated, and under the management of the latter firm the paper took on new life and more than at any other period of its history became a power' for good in the community. In August, 1891, Mr. Duglay died, after which event the Swaims purchased his interest in the plant and became sole proprietors. William T. T. Swaim died October 6, 1895, and after his death David became sole owner and manager of the enterprise. Since assuming sole control he has greatly enlarged the pa- per, changing it from a nine-column folio to a seven-column quarto, besides purchas- ing new engines and presses and supplying the office with all the latest and most ap- proved appliances used in the "art preserva- tive." The Chronicle is a model of typo- graphic art and within the last ten years its circulation and advertising patronage have so increased that it is now one of the best paying newspaper properties in northern Indiana. In its literary makeup it is de- signed to vibrate with the public pulse and be a reflex of the current thought of the day; politically it is staunchly Republican and, being recognized as the official organ of the party in Wells county, its influence in directing and controlling thought relative to leading issues has brought it prominently to the notice of the party throughout the state. As editorial writer Mr. Swaim is clear, forceful, elegant, at times trenchant, and in discussing the great questions of the day is a formidable but courteous antagon- ist. As' a family newspaper the Chronicle enjoys a large measure of popularity and its
periodical visits are eagerly looked for- ward to by its many patrons in Wells county and elsewhere. On all matters of public policy it occupies no neutral · ground, but fearlessly advocates honest convictions re- gardless of consequences. Its moral tone is of a high standard and while it is a me- dium through which the production of local writers as well as other correspondence is given publicity, nothing objectionable is permitted to appear in its columns. It is designed to answer the purpose of an edu- cational factor and such it has indeed be- come, as its contents, both political and gen- eral, tend to improve the mind and cultivate the taste rather than to appeal to passion and prejudice as is the manner of too many local sheets. Mr. Swaim has displayed commendable enterprise in the field of journalism, not only by improving the Chronicle and bringing it up to its present standard of excellence, but by giving to the public an additional paper, The Evening News, a bright daily, the first number of which made its appearance in 1893. Since that time the News has been regularly is- sued from the Chronicle office and that it is appreciated by the public is attested by the large and constantly increasing patronage which has marked its history from the first number to the present time. David H.
Swaim is a public spirited man in all the term implies and personally as well as through the medium of the press is doing much to foster the industrial development and intellectual growth of the city and coun- ty besides exercising à potent influence in elevating the moral sentiment of the com- munity. He is a wide awake, broad minded man of the day, deeply- interested in what- ever concerns the general welfare and ready
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at all times to lend his influence and mater- ial aid to any movement with this object in view.
David H. Swaim was married Septem- ber 15, 1885, to Miss E. May Gorrell, daughter of James and Mary Ann Gorrell, of this county. Mrs. Swaim was born April 14, 1861, graduated from the Ossian schools in 1880, and later became a teacher in the schools of Bluffton, where she labored successfully until the year of her marriage. She is a devoted member of the First Meth- odist Episcopal church of Bluffton and for a number of years has been a teacher in the Sunday school. On the 8th of June, 1890, David H. Swaim was appointed postmaster of Bluffton and discharged the duties of the position with his accustomed energy and business methods for a period of three years and two months, proving a capable and courteous official and fully meeting the high expectation of his friends and the public generally. He also subscribes to the Meth- odist creed, having united with the church while prosecuting his legal studies at Ann Arbor. Mr. and Mrs. Swaim are the par- ents of two children, Helen, born Novem- ber 19, 1888, and Roger Gorrell, born March 6, 1897.
JOHN MINNICH.
John Minnich, who was born November II, 1835, in Clark county, Ohio, is a son of Jacob Minnich, born July 24, 1814, in Ohio, Jacob being born after his father's death. The family was originally from the state of Pennsylvania. Jacob is yet living, at the age of eighty-eight years, and went through
a siege of smallpox this last spring. The first wife of Jacob Minnich was Christiana Ebersole, a native of Ohio, but 'whose par- ents came from Virginia. Jacob married his first wife in Ohio, settled there and commenced farming, later removed his- family to Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, settling in September, 1841, on the farm where he now lives. His wife, Christiana, died in February, 1855, leaving- six children, as follows: John; Phoeba, the wife of Peter Wright, a resident of Sum- mitville, Indiana; Sarah, deceased; Mary, the wife of Madison Irving, a resident of Warren, Indiana; Peter, a resident of War- ren, Indiana; Michael lives on the old home farm. Jacob Minnich moved from Clark county, Ohio, by wagon, it taking eight days to make the trip of about one hundred and ten miles. He had made a trip to Indi- ana and built a log cabin on his land before removing his family, though it had neither fire place nor door when he returned to it. Soon after arriving he was taken sick and was not out of the house until February of the next year. The subject was then only six years old. But luckily James McIntyre- had come with them and they managed to keep "soul and body together." His horses were out all winter without any kind of shelter save the brush and timber of the woods. They had at the time two head of horses, the same number of cattle and two dogs. At night the dogs were kept under the house through fear of the wolves, which were very plentiful in the country at that time. When the family removed from Ohio, they brought with them two barrels of flour, which furnished all the bread they had until they had cleared the ground, planted and raised a crop of corn, and after-
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WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
wards of wheat. In the spring the father was able to work again, and they managed to get out sixty acres of a corn crop. They were allowed to plant a piece of land on Mr. Batson's place, in return for the labor of burning the brush off it, raised corn enough the; first year for their own use and had some to spare. They kept adding a little to the amount cleared until finally the whole farm was cleared up. Their meat they ob- tained from the forest ; the usual manner of securing it was to secretly approach the deer along the river in a canoe at night, during the summer time, having the light in the canoe blinded by a board. Under such cir- cumstances the deer would stand and stare at the boat, their shining eyes making an easy mark for the hunter's rifle. The early settlers could usually also get plenty of good honey from wild bees in the fall of the year. John went to school in a log cabin, which had a stick chimney about six feet wide, with greased paper for window lights. He attended his last term of school when he was twenty-one years of age. The most of the schools which he attended were sub- scription schools, supplemented later by a few terms in the public school, which had then become better established. John re- mained at home with his father until he was twenty-two years of age, when, on Novem- ber 6, 1857, he was married to Mary M. Huffman. She was born in Ohio March 6, 1838, and is a daughter of John Huffman, a native of Ohio, and Susan (Myers) Huff- man. They were married in Ohio and came to Indiana in the fall of 1846, settled in Huntington county and remained there until John's death. Susan is yet living at the home of John Minnich at the age of eighty- six years. John Huffman was the father of
seven children, all of whom are yet living : Mary M. married John Minnich; Louis 's a resident of Mt. Zion, Indiana; George H. is ex-sheriff of Wells county, Indiana; Rachel is the wife of Robert Campbell, a farmer of Liberty township; Martha is the wife of Sylvester Gephart; Elijah is now a resident of Mt. Zion, Indiana, and Jacob resides on the old home place in Hunting- ton county, Indiana. After their marriage John Minnich and his wife lived for two years in a house on his father's farm. In March, 1860, they moved onto the place where he now lives, having purchased two or three years previously the eighty acres which constituted the farm. On March 8 he began the clearing of his land and the first year he got out seven acres of a crop, breaking up the land with a borrowed yoke of oxen, feeding them on potatoes while doing the work; he did some plowing for the owner for the use of the animals.
During their first years on this farm Mrs. Minnich spun her own flax and wove the cloth for the use of the family. She did not purchase a dress from a store for six years. Steadily they toiled on, clearing and improving the farm little by little. Mr. Minnich had to haul wheat to the market in Huntington, which was more than twenty miles away, and over the roughest and muddiest roads conceivable, and after getting it there forty cents a bushel was the selling price. About twenty-two bushels of wheat was the limit for a load for a good team to haul to Huntington in those days. Huntington and Wells counties had no rail- roads at that time and the wheat and other products as well were transported to the general market at Toledo, Ohio, by way of the Wabash canal, which passed through
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WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
Huntington. The first salt that was brought into the community cost thirteen dollars per barrel. It took three days to go to mill, as they had to go to Camden, in Jay county, where they had steam power. On one oc- casion Samuel Batson and John Minnich started to the mill at noon on Sunday and did not get back home until Thursday noon following. Mr. Minnich now has one hun- dred and fifty-eight acres of fine land, with eleven producing oil wells, which brought him a profit of about sixty dollars per month during the last year. He is a lover of farm stock, preferring Poland China hog's and shorthorn cattle. He has not farmed any for the last seven years, having been laid up with rheumatism. He has been gardening for about eighteen or nineteen years, marketing his produce at Montpelier, Indiana, where Perman, Johnson & Com- pany get all his stock. He has devoted the most of his life to farming. During the war he worked at the carpenter's trade and made money enough to pay for an additional eighty acres of land. He also ran a black- smith shop for twenty years, but does not now try to do work of that kind. He is the father of four children : Louis, born Novem- ber 6, 1864, married Mamie J. Colbert, lives on his father's farm and has one son, Park F .; Jacob, born May 5, 1871, married Jennie E. Anderson, lives in Liberty township and has two children, Edna M. and Lillian C .; Oliver was born April II, 1879, married Maud Shadles and now resides in Chester township, Wells county. Indiana; they have one child, Don W .; an infant son died un- named. They also reared and provided for three other children not their own.
Mr. Minnich and wife are members of the German Baptist church and are active
Christian workers. After the oil interest had been developed on his farm, he divided the income received in royalty, giving one- half of it in equal amounts to his children. In politics, Mr. Minnich was formerly a Re- publican, but is now a Democrat. He be- lieves, however, in voting for principle .: John Minnich and his wife are essentially Indiana pioneers. Coming to the state with their parents when the section in which they settled was an almost unbroken wilderness, in which, at night, the howling of the preda- tory wolf was a frequent and familiar sound; when the roaming droves of deer in the forests furnished the few settlers with meat for their families and the hardy settler, with unerring eye, would course the wild. honey bee to his native hive in the cavity of some forest tree. Growing to manhood and womanhood amid all these early scenes, they were familiar with all the customs and modes of living in those pioneer days. After their marriage they moved onto land in the woods and were subject to all the vicissi- tudes and hardships which attended the earliest settlers in the country. Mrs. Min- nich was familiar with the use of the flax brake, the spinning wheel and the reel, and liand cards, for rolling the wool before spin- ning, which were implements of daily house- hold use in the family for several years. Mr. Minnich made the old fashioned spin- ning wheel and the reel which his wife had spun the wool on and they have these old relics in their home yet.
But all this is changed; they have lived to see the country, which at that time had no roads, except bridle paths and tracks cut through the timber, crossed and recrossed by railroads and macadamized highways traversing a highly improved and finely cul-
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tivated country in every direction. Where there were towns at that time, there are now cities, and towns and villages now dot the country where there were forests and swamps. The log cabin, with its huge chimney and greased-paper windows, has given way to fine brick buildings dedicated to learning, and the spinning wheel, with the reel, etc., have been relegated to the at- tics of the palatial homes that have taken the place of the cabins on the farms and are now spoken of as antique.
The actors in these scenes have also changed; instead of the buoyancy and in- spiration of youth with which they were then filled, their heads are now silvered by age and their forms are bent with the in- firmity of years. But they have done well their part in life, their labors have been blessed with a competency, and, surrounded by loving children and friends, and esteem- ed by all who know them, they confidently await the inevitable change.
Mr. and Mrs. Minnich have in their possession an old parchment sheepskin deed, bearing the signature of President Martin Van Buren and dated August 20, 1838, one year after the great panic of 1837.
AARON FLEMING.
The gentleman whose name appears above is one of the brave, indomitable spirits to whom the present generation is indebted for the transformation of the wilderness of Indiana to a domain of civilization and en- lightenment. Endowed by nature with strong characteristics that have made him efficient in the mission he was to fulfill, he has done much to confer the blessings of
progress upon this part of the state and is today one of the oldest living settlers in the county of Wells. Aaron Fleming is a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the 4th day of July, 1817. His father, Absalom Fleming, was born in Maryland and the mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Wright, was a native of Virginia. These parents moved in an early day to Jefferson county, Ohio, where they became acquainted and married and some time thereafter they changed their residence to the county of Wayne. Absalom Flem- ing followed tilling the soil for a livelihood, but being poor in this world's goods was obliged to rear his family on rented land. As soon as the subject was old enough to be of practical service he was obliged to assist his father and as the greater part of his early life was spent in a comparatively new coun- try, he enjoyed no educational advantages worthy of mention before learning to read and write. Actuated by a sense of duty most commendable, he labored diligently for his parents and otherwise looked after their interests until reaching an age when young men are expected to sever home ties and branch out in the world for themselves. On attaining his majority he engaged with a man who moved to Indiana and the month of October, 1838, witnessed his arrival in the new and sparsely settled county of Wells. Pleased with the country, he soon purchased one hundred acres of land in Rock Creek township and paid for the same in due time out of his wages of one hundred dollars per year, which he saved with most rigid econ- omy. In order to meet the payments as they became due he was obliged to deny himself many privileges peculiarly dear to young men, doing without suitable raiment and
AARON FLEMING.
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withdrawing himself entirely from the so- cial gatherings which in those days af- forded such an agreeable break in the dull monotony of pioneer life. After spending some time in Wells county he returned to Ohio, where better wages for farm labor could be obtained. He spent one year in his native county, during which time he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Bell Kirk- patrick and the following year moved to his new home, erected a rude log cabin and ad- dressed himself to the task of clearing and developing a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Fleming set up their first domestic establishment in a very modest way. Their house, which con- sisted of a single room, was sparsely fur- nished with articles of his own manufacture, including a few roughly-made chairs, a bed- stead of the most primitive pattern and a box which answered the purpose of a table. The first year Mr. Fleming cleared three acres of ground, which were planted in corn, potatoes and other vegetables, and while the little crop matured he continued his labors in the woods early and late until by the following spring there was a goodly area in readiness for tillage. After living on this place for a period of nine years and clearing with his own hands over fifty acres of ground, he sold the farm for twelve hundred dollars and purchased one hundred and fifty-one acres in the township of Lan- caster. Subsequently he added to the latter at intervals until he became one of the larg- est land owners in that part of the county, his real estate at this time amounting to four hundred and seventy-seven acres, which with other property in his possession represents a fortune considerably in excess of thirty thousand dollars.
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