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 22
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Mr. Ullman was united in marriage July 6, 1891, to Miss Martha Marsh, of Ashland, Ohio, and their union has been blessed with one child, Howard, who was born in 1895. The parents are members of
the Methodist church at Bluffton, and Mr. Ullman is both a Freemason and a Knight of Pythias and in the latter order has filled all the offices.
In the social circles of Bluffton Mr. and Mrs. Ullman are leading and conspicuous figures and are greatly esteemed for their many amiable qualities. They have made friends innumerable, who are warm and true, and they do not all reside in Bluffton.
SAMUEL H. PALMER.
This native-born agriculturalist of Wells county, Indiana, had his nativity April 15, 1845, in Jackson township, on the farm now occupied by. William Banter. Samuel Palmer, the father of Samuel A., was a native of Virginia, born December 27, about the year 1809, and was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth ( Risoner) Palmer, also natives of the Old Dominion. Jacob Palmer removed from Virginia, with his family, in 1828 and settled in Perry county, Ohio, near Thornville, and there Samuel attained his majority and in April, 1832, married Sarah Fox, a resident of Perry county, Ohio, who bore him ten children, of whom the following are living: Jacob and Mary, Samuel H., Susannah and Sarah J. In 1839 the Palmer family came to Wells county, Indiana, and settled in Jackson township, where they resided for forty years and then sold to William Banter. While on this farm Mr. and Mrs. Palmer had born to them eight children, two of whom died in early life, and on February 16, 1879, the faithful wife was called away in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, which she
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and her husband had joined the first year of their marriage.
September 1, 1881, Samuel Palmer mar- ried for his second wife Lucy Stout, who still survives. Of the posterity of Samuel Palmer there are still living two sons, three daughters, thirty-eight grandchildren, for- ty-eight great-grandchildren, and one great- great-grandchild. There are also living in Wells county a host of relatives of Sam- uel H. Palmer, whose ancestors settled in the same neighborhood and were largely in- strumental in redeeming the country from the wilderness. "Uncle Sam" Palmer, as he is familiarly called by his friends and neigh- bors, will be ever remembered for his nu- merous good deeds and prolonged longevity, as well as for his patriotism during the per- iod of the late Civil war.
Samuel H. Palmer attended the Banter school until eighteen years old, and at twen- ty began work for himself. He married Miss Elizabeth Lee, who was born June 5, 1845, a daughter of Jonathan R. and Susan (Banter) Lee, and for the following ten years lived on the parental farm; he then located on his father's old homestead, where he lived about eighteen years, and then pur- chased twenty acres of the farm on which he at present lives from which at the time not a tree had been felled with the excep- tion of a sufficient number to furnish logs for a dwelling. The property cost him two hundred dollars, for which he went in debt one hundred dollars, trading a horse in or- der to raise the funds necessary for the first payment. A brother of Mrs. Elizabeth (Lee) Palmer presented the young couple with a forty-acre tract adjoining the twenty acres they had purchased and in February, 1891, Mr. Palmer purchased forty more
acres, so that he now owns one hundred acres, all in one body, on which there are five producing oil wells, but the attention of Mr. Palmer is principally confined to gen- eral farming and stock raising. In 1891 Mr. Palmer built a fine barn, and two years later erected one of the handsomest dwell- ings in Jackson township.
Samuel H. Palmer and wife have been blessed with seven children, namely: Rosel- la, who was born February 12, 1866, and died October 1, 1872; John W., born Aug- ust 17, 1868, married Miss Cora Stephen- son, who bore him one child, Mabel, who, since the age of eighteen months, has been reared by its grandfather, Samuel H. Palm- er, the mother having been called away by death ; John W. married for his second wife Lorinda Cruse, who has borne four chil- dren, Fred, Elizabeth, Leland and Violet (deceased) ; Susanna was born February 3, 1872, is now the wife of Ervin Risinger and the mother of four children, Alta B., de- ceased, John, deceased, Oscar and Samuel D .; Hettie V. was born March 10, 1875, is married to Chancey Elwood and is the mother of three children, Howard, Harvey and Homer; the fifth child and sixth child of Samuel H. were twins, born November 4, 1877, and were named Hanford E. and Manford E., of whom Manford E. died May 14, 1878, and Hanford E. August 22, 1879; Nellie, the youngest, was born Sep- tember 17. 1883. For several years Mrs. Palmer has been a member of the Universal- ist church and in politics Mr. Palmer is an active Democrat, having represented his party in a congressional convention at An- derson, Indiana. He has also served sev- eral times as a delegate to congressional conventions, and likewise was elected a del-
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egate to the last state convention, but de- clined to attend.
JONATHAN R. LEE.
Jonathan R. Lee, one of the oldest res- idents of Wells county, now living a life of honorable retirement, is a native of Miami county, Ohio, born on the 2nd day of De- cember, 1822. His father, William Lee, an early settler of Ohio, was a native of Vir- ginia, as was also the mother, whose name before marriage was Martha Little. These parents were married in Virginia and for a few years thereafter lived in that state, Mr. Lee following the shoemaker's trade for a livelihood. Thinking to better his financial condition further west, William Lee moved to Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, where he ran a shoe shop about five years and at the expir- ation of that time engaged in agricultural pursuits in the county of Clark. About the year 1847 he took up his residence in the newly settled county of Delaware, Indiana, where he entered a tract of land and began the work of clearing a farm. After a few years there he disposed of his place and pur- chased land in the county of Wabash, where in due time he cleared a large farm and be- came well-to-do financially. Subsequently he sold out and moved to Huntington coun- ty where he lived the remainder of his days, dying on his farm, a short distance east of the city of Huntington, after reaching a good old age. His first wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died in Piqua, Ohio, and later he entered into the marriage rela- tion with Margaret Haney, who survived him a number of years.
To William and Martha Lee were born four children, namely : Margaret, de- ceased; Jane, widow of Abram Seamore; Jonathan R., and Martha, who died in child- hood. By his second wife Mr. Lee was the father of six children, five of whom are liv- ing at the present time: William; Samuel; Ezra; Catherine, widow of Daniel Haney ; Jonas, the oldest of the second family, has been dead a number of years; Jacob, died in the Civil war, and Susannah, also dead.
The early life of Jonathan R. Lee was spent on a farm in Clark county, Ohio, and it was there that he received his educational training in the subscription schools, attend- ing the same until about fifteen years old. He then accompanied his parents to Indiana and for a number of years thereafter his life was closely identified with the pioneer per- iod of Delaware county. He assisted his father to build a small log cabin on the lat- ter's place and though but a lad of fifteen did his full share in cutting down timber, piling logs and other hard work necessary to clear land and fit it for cultivation. He also met with many interesting incidents peculiar to life in the backwoods, one of which was the killing of a large deer, with a gun which his father had forbidden him to take from the house, thinking such weapons dangerous in the hands of a lad unexperi- enced in their use.
Mr. Lee grew up a strong and vigorous young man and was able to do his full share of clearing, cutting wood and other hard work long before attaining his majority. In 1842, when twenty years old, he was united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss Susana Banter, of Virginia, and immediately there- after commenced farming on rented land in
MRS. JONATHAN R. LEE.
JONATHAN R. LEE.
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Delaware county, where he spent the first two years of his married life. At the end of that time he bought forty acres of unim- proved land in Wells county, for which he agreed to pay the sum of one hundred and fifteen dollars, going in debt for the greater part of the amount. Erecting a small log cabin of the most primitive pattern, eighteen by twenty feet in size, he and his good wife set up their domestic establishment, cheered by a sense of ownership such as their pre- vious experience had not brought to them. He then addressed himself to the larger task of clearing his place and by dint of hard work, frequently prolonged far into the night, prepared for cultivation the first spring about six acres, which were planted in corn. Between attending his crop and clearing, during the following summer he increased the area of cultivable ground so that by fall he was enabled to sow quite a number of acres in wheat which in due sea- son yielded bountiful returns. Meantime from the sale of such products as could be spared and by trading in live stock he great- ly reduced the debt on his farm and it was not long until the place was entirely free of incumbrance. Six years after locating in Wells county he was able to purchase other land and from that time on he continued to add to his real estate until he became the owner of about four hundred acres, the greater part of which was brought to a high state of cultivation. After his boys married and left home and Mr. Lee by reason of ad- vanced age was no longer able to run his farm, he divided the estate among his eight children, giving to each forty acres and re- taining eighty acres for his own use. As a farmer he early took high rank in his town- ship, having always been a man of progres- 12
sive ideas and sound judgment in matters pertaining to the pursuit of agriculture. He also achieved an enviable reputation as a raiser of fine horses and in this way made the greater part of his wealth; there was always a great demand for his horses, as they were of superior breeds and well cal- culated for draft and general farming pur- poses. Later in life he devoted considerable attention to the raising of fine hogs, in which he was also successful, adding very materially to his income from this source alone.
After a happy married life of a half cen- tury's duration, Mrs. Lee entered into rest on the 17th day of March, 1894. She was a most faithful and loving companion and true helpmeet to her husband during the long period they lived together, ministering to him in times of suffering, encouraging him when the world looked dark, and con- tributing to his success in the days of his prosperity. She bore him eight children, all of whom are living at this writing ( 1902) : their names are William, a prosperous farmer of Jackson township, this county ; Elizabeth, wife of Samuel H. Palmer, also a resident of Jackson; Margaret, widow of the late Philip Elkin and, since the latter's death a number of years ago, her father's devoted companion, especially since the death of Mrs. Lee; she is the mother of one son, Daniel K., who was nine months old when his father died, but since that time he has made his home 'with his grandfather whose interests he now looks after with the most filial regard; he married Miss Emma Kiser ; Lucy J., the next in order of birth, married Meredith Capper, a farmer and stockraiser of Pulaski county; John, a teacher, married Miss Montry C. Kilan-
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der; George W. is a resident of Jackson township; Sarah A. is the wife of Thomas Morris and lives at Mt. Zion, this county ; the youngest member of the family is Mary, now the wife of George McFarland, a well known resident of the county of Wells. All the children of Mr. Lee are honorable, up- right citizens of integrity of character and occupy enviable positions in the several com- munities in which they have resided.
Mr. Lee has passed the eightieth mile- stone on life's journey, but is remarkably active for one of his age, being able to get about with comparative ease, also retaining to a marked degree the possession of his mental powers. His coming here and the settlement of this township were almost co- eval events and to much of its growth and prosperity it is indebted to him. He has been a western man in the broad sense of the term, and is one of the few left to tell the story of the struggles, adversities and final successes of the pioneers to whom the people of the present day owe such a deep debt of gratitude. Forty years ago Mr. Lee, with his good wife, joined the Universalist church and commenced the Christian life that has characterized him ever since. Born and reared a Democrat, he faithfully upheld the traditions and doctrines of that political faith until the organization of the Green- back party when he gave his allegiance to the latter, firmly believing the financial pol- icy which it advocated to be for the best in- terest of the American people. Of late years he has paid little attention to politics, voting for men and principle rather than at the dic- tates of party leaders. Throughout his en- tire career he has tried to live up to his ideal of right, in view of which fact there is noth- ing in the future that he need fear.
WILLIAM POULESS.
A thoroughly practical and experienced agriculturist of Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, and today one of its most respected citizens, William Pouless comes from Highland county, Ohio, where he was born December 28, 1836, a son of John and Hannah (Barnes) Pouless, the former a na- tive of Kentucky and the latter of Pennsyl- vania, Hannah being a daughter of John Barnes, also a native of the Keystone state. John and Hannah Pouless were married in Highland county, Ohio, where he followed the cooper's trade until his death, which oc- curred when William Pouless, whose name opens this biography, was but three years of age. Mrs. Hannah Pouless was left a widow with six children, named as follows : Phebe, who is now a widow and is living with her son-in-law, John McAfee; Jacob, now a resident of Grant county ; William, named at the opening of this paragraph; Effie E., Betsie and Christina, both deceased. Mrs. Hannah Pouless accepted for her sec- ond husband Joseph Saum, but both have died, with no issue to their union.
William Pouless was educated in the dis- trict schools of Highland county, Ohio, and of Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, having come with his mother to the latter place in 1851. The mother settled here on the farm now owned by the son, William. and here passed the remainder of her life, dying about 1892.
At the age of twenty-one years William Pouless began the cultivation and the gen- eral care of his step-father's farm, and was recompensed for his toil and care by being awarded one-third of the crops. He con- tinued thus to manage the farm for his
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mother and step-father until he was forty- five years of age and on June 26, 1882, William Pouless married Miss Mary J. Walters, who was born about 1847, a daugh- ter of Josuah and Catherine Walters, the father a native of Ohio and an old settler in Wells county, Indiana, and the mother a native of Perry county, Ohio.
After his marriage William Pouless pur- chased fifty-eight acres of the home place, and now owns a neat and well-kept farm of one hundred and ten acres. To pay for this land Mr. Pouless has to thank only himself, as it was through his individual labor and exertion that the money was earned with which to pay for it. He has now cleared up seventy acres and has improved the place with a comfortable and modern dwelling, substantial barns and other necessary out- buildings and has all the cleared space un- der a high state of cultivation. He pays a great deal of attention to stock raising, breeding shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs in preference to other breeds. In addi- tion to general farming and stock, raising, Mr. Pouless is engaged in oil producing, having six good wells on his premises which net him steadily at least one hundred dollars per month. It may thus readily be seen that Mr. Pouless holds a prominent place among the substantial residents of his township and county.
Mrs. Pouless is affiliated with the Union chapel of the Methodist Protestant church, and in his fraternal relations Mr. Pouless holds membership with Salamonie Lodge No. 392, I. O. O. F., at Warren, Indiana. In politics Mr. Pouless is a Democrat, but takes little interest in party matters, save that he warms up considerably about the time that a campaign opens. A true patriot,
Mr. Pouless enlisted in October, 1865, in Company C, Thirty-fifth Indiana Volun- teer Infantry, and served under General Thomas in Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, thrice crossing the gulf of Mexi- co; but because of disability he was honor- ably discharged before the close of the year.
Mr. Pouless has as a relic of "ye olden times," an old arithmetic, published in the year 1793, probably the oldest book in Wells county. Mr. and Mrs. Pouless in the good- ness and kindness of their hearts have taken three little homeless children and reared them as their own.
CHARLES H. FORD.
This thriving young farmer and oil pro- ducer of Wells county, Indiana, was born in Dayton, Ohio, April 17, 1873. Thomas Ford, father of Charles H., was born in Ireland about 1832 and when twenty-one years old came to America, found employ- ment as a tanner at Dayton, Ohio, located his home near that city and for twenty years was in the employ of the same individual, but during that period twice made visits to his native island.
About the same time that Thomas Ford came from Ireland there also came Miss Catherine Delahanty, and the two formed an acquaintanceship in Dayton, which re- sulted in their marriage. The young couple continued their residence in the city named until 1874, when they came to Wells county, Indiana, and settled on the one- hundred-and-sixty-acre farm now owned by their son, Charles H., but which now com- prises eighty acres only. On this farm
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Thomas Ford passed the remainder of his life, dying February 2, 1892. His widow, now about seventy years of age, is at present a resident of Hartford City, Indiana, and is the mother of eight children, named as fol- lows: Thomas A., a resident of Dayton, Ohio; W. J., who lost his life by coming in contact with a "live" electric wire in Hart- ford City, Indiana; Mary C., deceased wife of Thomas Monahan, of Bluffton, Indiana ; John E., deceased; Anna, deceased ; Jennie, wife of Michael Timmons, of Hartford City; Michael J., a Catholic clergyman, now in Logansport, Indiana, and Charles H., whose name opens this biography.
Charles H. Ford was educated in the Dundee school of Blackford county, Indi- ana, which he attended until about eighteen years of age, when he removed with his par- ents to Hartford City, in the same county, where he was employed in various occupa- tions for about six years.
February 16, 1898, Mr. Ford married Miss Elizabeth A. Nolen, who was born November 27, 1872, a daughter of John and Ann (Orrark) Nolen, natives of Ohio. In the latter state her parents continued to reside until death called the father away, when the widow with her family moved to Hartford City, Blackford county, Indiana, where Mrs. Ann Nolen still resides. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ford has been blessed with one child, Catherine A., who was born April 30, 1899.
After marriage Mr. Ford settled on the old home farm, where he has charge of one hundred and sixty acres of arable land, and on which farm there are eight flowing oil wells, producing about five hundred barrels per month, although they have turned out as much as thirteen hundred barrels per month.
Mr. Ford has erected for his occupation a very handsome dwelling and is now con- structing a commodious and substantial barn. He and wife are members of St. John's Catholic church of Hartford City, and in politics Mr. Ford is a Democrat, al- though in local matters he prefers to support the candidates whom he feels to be capable of filling an office satisfactorily, rather than a candidate who has no merit other than that of being a Democrat.
O. B. BEVINGTON.
O. B. Bevington was born in Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, November 6, 1860. He is a son of R. A. Bevington, born May 25, 1819, in Pennsylvania, and who died March 24, 1897. His maternal parent was Catherine (Shadle) Bevington, born in the year 1827, a native of Pennsyl- vania, who died March 24, 1887. R. A. Bevington, a few years after his first mar- riage, came to Wells county, Indiana, at a very early day, entered land and cleared up a farm, and remarried, his second wife be- ing Lucy Gill. He then removed into Hunt- ington county, Indiana, where he died. To his first union eleven children were born, six of whom are yet living: Clorinda, the wife of Samuel Knott, a resident of Jack- son township; Melissa, the wife of Peter Runkle, of Jackson township, Wells county ; Sarah, who is the wife of Dr. Harrold, a resident of Blackford county, Indiana; O. B., of Montpelier, Indiana; Henrietta, the wife of Daniel Alspach, and Oscar, now a resident of Fairmount, Indiana. The de- ceased children of the first marriage are:
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Emaline E., who was the wife of Isaac Ilodson; Martha, Ira and Catherine.
The subject attended the public schools of Jackson township until he was about fourteen years old, when he went to work with his father and remained until he was twenty-four years of age, receiving his board and clothes for his labor. After his mother's second marriage he left home. He then began working by the day for Daniel Alspach, and afterward by the month for Walter Perry, with whom he remained one summer. He then went to Delaware county, Indiana, where he remained from fall until the holidays. He then came to R. A. Bev- ington's, remaining one year, when he went to Fulton county, Ohio, and was there for about six years. He then came back to In- diana, working by the day and month for about one and a half years, when he married Eva L. Good, a daughter of John Good. She died January 19, 1898. After his mar- riage, Mr. Bevington moved onto the old homestead, where he remained for about seven years, when he constructed buildings and removed to a farm on which he now lives. After living on this place for about three months he married Elvina Davis, born April 20, 1878, a daughter of John and Mary (Bailey) Davis, both natives of Huntington county, Indiana, the father now deceased. Mr. Bevington is a general stock farmer and has engaged in the breeding and handling of cattle, hogs and horses. In the line of swine he prefers the Poland China breed and is an admirer of shorthorn cattle. He has five fine producing oil wells on his farm, which seem to be holding up well, yielding him a profit of about fifty dollars per month. He has devoted his entire life to farming and farm interests. He is the
father of two children, one of whom is liv- ing: Martha, born December 16, 1900, died April 12, 1901, and Russell B., born April 12, 1902.
Mr. Bevington was formerly a Republi- can in politics, but is now a Prohibitionist. Both he and wife are members of the Wes- leyan Methodist church in Warren, Indiana, and are exemplary representatives of that worthy denomination. O. B. Bevington is a worthy example of the citizenship which is the product of our common district schools and the sturdy farm life, belonging to that class who naturally take up the vo- cation of the farm for their life work, and thus become a part of that important and influential element of our population which is the bone and sinew of the country and to whom the nation is indebted for the bound- less prosperity which is ours and of which we boast.
LEW L. DEHAVEN.
L. L. DeHaven, the present energetic and able assistant superintendent of the Bluffton water-works plant, is a son of Walter B. and Dorothy ( Pleasinger) De- Haven, and was born in Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, April 17, 1867, this city having always been his home. He was edu- cated in the graded and high schools of Bluffton, which he attended during the win- ter seasons of each year, and in the summer season worked in a store, in the meanwhile acquiring a thorough knowledge of ma- chinery. In July, 1886, he was appointed to his present position as assistant superintend- ent of the Bluffton water-works, and so at-
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tentive and faithful has he been in the per- formance of the duties pertaining to this position that his salary has several times been increased without solicitation on his part. Since Mr. DeHaven has been the in- cumbent of this office the works have been enlarged from 45x20 feet to 60x104 feet ; there were then two forty-horse-power'boil- ers and one pump, three and one-half miles of line pipe and thirty-seven fire hydrants; there are now two one-hundred-horse-power boilers, a new duplex pump with a capacity of three and a half million gallons per day, a compound air compresser with a capacity of one and a half million, and one well twenty-five feet in diameter, to which has been added another 35x80 feet; there have been put in ten eight-inch holes, two hun- dred feet deep, from which the water is forced by air compressors, and there are now fifteen miles of pipe and eighty-six fire hydrants. The plant is, self-sustaining and is one of the finest in any city in the state of the size of Bluffton. During the past six- teen years there have been one hundred and sixty-five fires in the city, the greater num- ber of which occurred in winter, but under the supervision of Mr. DeHaven the works have been adequate for all emergencies.
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