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 34
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distant. The postage on a letter at that time was eighteen cents, and pennies were a great deal harder to pick up then than now.
The district schools furnished Nathan M. Scott his education. They were open only three months in the year, but he con- tinued his attendance upon them until he was twenty-two years of age. When not in school he had plenty of work to do on the farm. In the spring of 1864 he attended school at Liber College, near Portland, Indi- ana, and it was his purpose to again attend in the fall. He entered the school in Sep- tember, but on October 13, 1864, he entered the United States service as a volunteer, en- listing in the Fifty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered out in the fall of 1865 and on coming home was preparing to enter college again when he was taken down by typhoid fever. By the time he recovered the term had pro- gressed so far he did not care to enter, so he secured a school and taught that winter. From that time until 1873 he taught school in the winter and attended school as a stu- dent during the months of spring and fall.
October II, 1873, Mr. Scott was united in marriage to Miss Tacy J. Lewis, born May 8, 1855, in Jay county, Indiana, a daughter of Lorenzo and Elizabeth (Haines) Lewis, who were both natives of Monroe county, Ohio, the former born Oc- tober 28, 1828, the latter July 4, 1830. Lor- enzo Lewis's parents were Emery and Rach- ael (Thomas) Lewis, of Welsh ancestry, and his wife's parents were Timothy and Hannah (Tomlinson) Haines, of English ancestry. They were all old residents of Pennsylvania, and Hannah lived to see the fifth generation. To Lorenzo Lewis and his wife six children were born, all of whom
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are yet living, viz: Tacy J., wife of the subject; Emery G., a resident of Jay county; Hilinda, wife of Solomon Grable; Edwin W. resides in Jay county. The parents of these children, in 1850, moved to Jay county, where they re- mained until their deaths; Elizabeth died April 4, 1870; Lorenzo survived her eight years, payng the debt of nature May I, 1878.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Scott located on the farm where they now reside. He taught one term of school after his marriage, but has since devoted his time entirely to his farm. In 1873 he was elected justice of peace and served one term of four years, since which time he has held no of- ficial position whatever. To him and his wife two children have been born, viz: Elveretta, born February 5, 1875; W. Tarl- ton, born August 13. 1878, took a commer- cial course in the Eastern Indiana Univers- ity at Muncie. Both still reside with their parents. Elveretta is a graduate of Penn- ville high school and is quite proficient in music, to which accomplishment she has de- voted much time.
Nathan M. Scott is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Notting- ham township. It is a fine, well improved farm, one hundred and twenty acres of which is under cultivation and it is managed and operated by him and his son. In 1894 he built a large, substantial and commodious barn. He devotes his attention to general farming, raising grain and breeding and feeding live stock. His favorite stock is Duroc hogs and shorthorn cattle and with these, of late years, he keeps his farm well stocked. He is a member of the Friends church, and Mrs. Scott had been brought up
in that faith. In politics he is a Republican and active in the interests of his party. To vote for a good man or a number of them is always a real pleasure to him and he never misses an opportunity of exercising his right of franchise. He has been a delegate many times to different conventions, always in the interest of some friend, and in 1872 was elected justice of the peace. He is a member of Lew Dailey Post, G. A. R., at Bluffton, and never loses an opportunity to benefit a veteran of the Civil war. All of his leisure time is employed in reading and, having an exceptionally good memory, his mind is a storehouse of knowledge of many kinds. While frustrated somewhat in the design of securing a first-class education, he is much better informed than many who boast of far more learning. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have in their possession an old parchment deed bear- ing the signature of President Van Buren and executed November 10, 1840.
JOHN BOOHER.
John Booher, deceased, was born June I, 1816, in Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, where he grew to manhood. From the place of his birth he came to Jefferson county, Ohio, spending his boyhood on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He married Phoebe J. Blazer, a descendant of New Jer- sey stock. His wife was a daughter of ยท Joseph Blazer, of New Jersey, the marriage taking place in 1884 in Jefferson county, Ohio, where he settled down to the voca- tion of a farmer. After twelve years of marriage, in 1856 his wife, Phoebe Jane, died, leaving three living children of the five which had been born to their union:
1
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William, born January 1, 1840, in Jefferson county, Ohio; Nancy Ann, deceased ; John A., born December 25, 1850; Mary M., the wife of Francis M. Carter, a farmer in sec- tion 22, Jackson township; they have three living children, John, Nancy and Ida; Joseph, the fifth child and youngest son of John and Phoebe J. Booher, was buried with his mother in the same grave. John Booher was married a second time, taking for his wife Joanna Rouse, a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, born April 26, 1833, this second marriage taking place about the year 1857. In 1862 they removed to Wells county, Indiana, and settled on the farm he now occupies, which was then owned by Jack Studebaker, from whom he rented for a period of eleven years, clearing up a large portion of the land the meantime. He then moved onto the farm now owned by Ira Spaulding, and was there about two years, when he moved onto the farm now owned by Mary Turner, remaining there nearly two years. John and his sons, William and John, Jr., then purchased of Eli Arnold eighty acres of land, the farm on which the father died and where the sons, William and John, yet live, each holding a one-third in- terest. This land was purchased in 1873. About 1877 they moved onto his land, which was then all in the woods and had no improvements in the way of buildings ex- cept a log cabin. They purchased another forty acres of Tommie Arnold and William also later purchased an additional forty acres. Since the father's death the sons have owned the old home place, with forty acres adjoining.
The death of John Booher occurred August 12, 1900, and that of Joanna, his second wife, September 29, of the same
year. To the second marriage of the sub- ject six children were born: Lisander, now a resident of section 22, married Catherine Jones, a daughter of Oliver Jones, and they have four children living, Oliver E., John L., James H. and an infant son; George, now residing on the old Page and Faust farm, married Ida Jones, and they have three sons, Carl, Charles W. and Carey S .; An- nie married W. H. Jones, lives on the Riggs place and has one son, Oscar ; Eli makes his home with William and John on the old home place.
William and John Booher, who jointly own and farm the old home place, are gen- eral stock farmers as well. They prefer as breeds of stock Poland China hogs and shorthorn cattle. Their farm is in oil ter- ritory, and has on it eleven productive wells which yield a profit of from seventy-five to one hundred and thirty dollars per month. They, however, devote their time to farming and farm interests.
In politics the sons are all Republicans, as was their father before them. They be- lieve, however, in the principle, as did he, of according the largest liberty in matters of opinion, and allow others to vote as they please, not assuming to question the mo- tives of others, and only asking for them- selves, in all matters pertaining to duty as citizens, the same liberty of thought and action.
John Booher is a type of the thousands who, seeing no chance in the older com- munities of the states in which they were born, grew to manhood and were married, to provide for a growing family and finally attain that possession dear to every ambitious American husbandman, a home and farm of his own, pressed on further west to a newer
I
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state and cheaper lands. Here while rent- ing and farming, and helping to clear the land owned by others, he, in common with so many of his contemporaries, succeeded by economy and the labor of himself and family in purchasing unimproved land and, while fulfilling all his duties as an honored citizen and neighbor, wrested from the un- broken forest a homestead whereon his sons may worthily emulate and follow his ex- ample. The early progenitors of the Booher boys of Wells county came from the father- land, Germany, and the brothers are pos- sessed of that economical, thrifty spirit which characterizes German farmers.
JOHN WILLIAMS.
Among the enterprising agriculturists of Wells county the subject of this review has long held worthy prestige. His finely cultivated farm and the evidence of pros- perity which every foot of his land presents attest his efficiency as a master of his voca- tion, while the universal esteem in which he is held is evidence of his great personal popularity with the people of his township. Paternally Mr. Williams is descended from an old Virginia family and on the mother's side traces his lineage to the state of New Jersey. His grandparents, William and Elizabeth Williams, were born and reared in the Old Dominion state, but a number of years after their marriage migrated to Ohio, settling near the present city of New Lan- caster. By occupation William Williams was a tiller of the soil and as such accumu- lated a comfortable fortune in the state of his adoption. Among his children was a
son by the name of Thomas who was a youth of eighteen when the family moved to Ohio. When a young man Thomas entered the marriage relation with Miss Mary Ann Taylor, of New Jersey, the daughter of Joseph and Beulah Taylor, who settled in the county of New Lancaster, Ohio, in an early day. After his marriage Mr. Williams located in Greene county, thence moved to the county of Montgomery, where he lived until 1856, when he disposed of his interests in Ohio and took up his residence in Wells county, Indiana, settling on the farm in Nottingham township now owned by Marion France. The country at that time was a wilderness and until he could erect a cabin of his own Mr. Williams and Owen Clevenger, whose family accompanied his own, lived on the same place and had things in common. When a house was finally pre- pared, Mr. Williams moved to his own land, an eighty-acre tract, on which up to that time nothing in the way of improvement had been attempted. The neighbors were few and far between and the usual vicissitudes and privations of pioneer times were experi- enced before the farm was cleared and a comfortable era of living inaugurated. Mr. Williams succeeded in preparing two acres for cultivation the first year and later hired considerable of the timber removed until in due time the greater part of the place was in readiness for the plow. Within a short time Mr. Williams left his original purchase and moved on what is now known as the White- man place, where he lived for a period of eleven years, making many substantial im- provements the meanwhile. He invested his means in one hundred and twenty acres ad- joining the old place on the north, and from time to time purchased other tracts until he
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finally became the owner of real estate to the amount of three hundred and forty acres, nearly all of which was reduced to tillage. After living for a number of years on the Whiteman farm, he returned to his old home place and spent the remainder of his life there, dying on the 15th day of July, 1898. Mrs. Williams entered into rest before her husband, departing this life in the year 1882. Six children were born to Thomas and Mary A. Williams, three of whom are living, namely : John, whose name intro- duces this review ; James and Edward. The deceased are Eliza, Thomas and Joseph.
Thomas Williams was a man of excel- lent character and every enterprise to which he addressed himself appeared to prosper. He was successful in the accumulation of property and as a farmer ranked with the most enterprising agriculturalists in the county of Wells. At different times he de- voted much attention to the live stock busi- ness, buying and shipping cattle and horses, also raising these and other domestic ani- mals, in which his success was most en- couraging. As a neighbor and citizen no man in the community was more univer- sally respected and in every relation of life his character and conduct were always above the shadow of anything dishonorable.
John Williams, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born October 13, 1847, in Montgomery county, Ohio, and when a lad of nine years was brought by his parents to the new home in Wells county, Indiana. His youthful experience on the farm was such as to develop not only a strong phy- sique, but also to foster a spirit of indepen- dence, which enabled him while still a mere lad to lay plans for the future and to labor zealously for the accomplishment of the
same. His naturally quick mind and keen powers of perception were strengthened by study in the common schools, which he at- tended at intervals during his minority, and on reaching the age of twenty-one he en- gaged in the pursuit of agriculture, renting land of farmers living in the neighborhood. He continued to live at home until his mar- riage, which was solemnized on the 20th of February, 1870, with Miss Viretta Ewell, of Henry county, Indiana, and for one year thereafter he cultivated a farm in Notting- ham township belonging to a gentleman by the name of Frederick Guysell. At the expiration of that time he built a small log house on the farm which he now owns and moving into the same addressed himself manfully to the task of clearing his land and laying the foundation of the comfortable fortune which has since come into his pos- session. But little work had been done on his place before Mr. Williams purchased it and to remove the timber and reduce the soil to tillage required an amount of labor which taxed his energy and endurance to the utmost limit. He succeeded, however, in transforming the place into one of the most valuable and attractive homes in the township and by the exercise of sound judg- ment and shrewd business tact gradually ac- cumulated a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in independent circum- stances for the remainder of his life. He has made agriculture a study and appreciat- ing the economy of time and the value of little thing's has so managed his affairs as to reap the greatest possible results from his labors. Living in the midst of the oil dis- trict he has encouraged the development of this great industry by every means within his power and at the present time has four
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producing wells, which yield him handsome returns. He has not been unmindful of the value of good live stock as a source of in- come and like the majority of enterprising agriculturists makes this one of the most important features of his farm.
Mr. Williams has supported the Repub- lican party ever since attaining his majority, and while interested in its success he can hardly be called a politician in the sense in which the term is generally understood. In a broader sense, however, he is a politician in that he is deeply interested in good govern- ment and uses his influence to have the best men in his party nominated for office. Mr. Williams is not a church member himself, but believes in religion and contributes lib- erally to the local Christian church to which his wife and daughters belong. Interested in the material and industrial growth of his township and county, he encourages all en- terprises with those ends in view, and his position among the public spirited men of the community is recognized and appreciated . by all. His career since beginning life for himself has been most satisfactory and his reputation as a kind and obliging neighbor and wide-awake, up-to-date citizen is sec- ond to that of none of his compeers.
Mrs. Williams is the daughter of John and Matilda Ewell, natives of West Vir- ginia, and early settlers of Henry county, Indiana. She has borne her husband six children, five living, the oldest of whom is Thomas, one of the county's most efficient and popular educators. After completing the common school course, he entered the state normal at Terre Haute and later be- came principal of the graded schools of Not- tingham township. After filling this posi- tion one year, he took charge of the schools
at Creggsville for the same length of time, then accepted the principalship of the Wash- ington Park school, Bluffton, his present field of labor. He married Miss Libbie Hines and is the father of two children, Hubert and Lavern; John, the second son, was graduated from the common schools of Nottingham township, married Miss Mary Miller, and at the present time is a resident of Marion, this state. The other members of the family are Minnie, Zonetta and Charley, all three still under the parental roof.
JOHN S. SHEPHERD.
This public-spirited and highly respected resident of Nottingham township, Wells county, Indiana, was born in Darke county, Ohio, October 15, 1847, a son of John S. and Susan (Hartpence) Shepherd. John E., a native of Pennsylvania, was a son of Dennis and Esther Shepherd, also of the Keystone state. He was taken to Butler county, Ohio, when a small boy, and subse- quently to Darke county, in the same state, and in these two counties he reached man- hood's years. In the latter county John S. married Miss Hartpence, a native of New Jersey, the ceremony taking place at Ithaca, where he at once engaged in the mercantile business and followed it until 1847, when he was elected county recorder and removed to Greenville. He was re-elected to suc- ceed himself, and remained in the city until the spring of 1870, when he went to Adams county, Indiana, and settled on the farm now occupied by his youngest son, F. J.
John S. Shepherd had traded a half lot in Ithaca for one hundred and sixty acres.
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of land in Adams county, but before remov- ing thither purchased an additional tract of one hundred and eighty acres, making a to- tal of three hundred and forty, nearly all of which was under a good state of cultiva- tion prior to his death, which occurred at the home of his son, John S., July 18, 1893. His wife, Susan, had preceded him to the grave, dying November 10, 1882, leaving him nine children, viz: W. H .; W. W., de- ceased; Thomas M., who died in the army ; Sarah E., who is married to Charles W. Hartsell; John S., the subject proper of this sketch; Andrew, who died in childhood; F. J .; Mary M., wife of Joseph French, and Anna S:
John S. Shepherd attended the public schools of Greenville, Ohio, until twenty-one years of age, when he rented his father's farm, in 1870. April 16, 1871, he married Miss Mary J. Weist, who was born in Pick- away county, Ohio, October 17, 1849, a daughter of Josiah and Catherine (Rose) Weist. Josiah Weist was born in Penn- sylvania, but located in Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1850, whence he came to Indiana and settled on land which had been entered by his father, Peter Weist, who had pre- ceded him. Catherine died on their home- stead, and Josiah then went to live with his youngest child, who is also named Josiah and who resides in Vera Cruz, Indiana.
Josiah and Catherine (Rose) Weist had a family of nine children, who were named, in order of their birth, as follows: Mary, now Mrs. J. S. Shepherd; Sarah A .; John W., deceased; Lewis A., deceased; Sylves- ter M., deceased; Alice L., married to J. D. Kreps; George; Emma and Josiah.
John S. Shepherd, for three years after marriage, continued to live on his father's
farm, and then came to Nottingham town- ship, Wells county, Indiana, and located on the Amos Warren farm, where he lived for about two years. In the spring of 1877 he took charge of the poor or county farm, held the position for two years, then moved to Bluffton and conducted a photograph gal- lery for two years. In 1884 Mr. Shepherd settled on the farm he at present occupies, and which comprises ninety-four acres, which he had purchased in 1879, having, with the laudable aid of his wife, earned sufficient money to pay for the place. When Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd began housekeeping they had a cooking stove; they converted a store box into a cupboard, and the father of Mrs. Shepherd presented the young couple with four chairs and a table. Mrs. Shepherd had worked out to earn the means with which to buy a bed and some dishes, and Mr. Shepherd's mother gave them sixteen chick- ens. They also had a cow, and with the eggs and the milk which they sold, and what they consumed themselves, they managed to get along the first year without any great hardship, and at the close of the year had raised eighty chickens. The second year the eggs laid by the hens were disposed of for sixty-seven dollars and ten cents, Mrs. Shepherd also selling turkeys that netted her sixty-five dollars. When Mr. Shepherd set- tled upon his farm there were about thirty- five acres cleared, but now he has eighty acres from which the superfluous timber has been removed; he has also thoroughly ditched the place and has made all the im- provements, which are fully up-to-date. The farm now comprises one hundred and seven- ty-four acres, eighty of which are in Adams county. Mr. Shepherd is also the owner of eight producing oil wells, from which he has
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derived about one thousand dollars from the lessees as his half interest, while V. L. Reed, of Mount Zion, owns the other half. Re- cently, Mr. Shepherd has converted his place into a pasture farm, on which he breeds Red Polled cattle and Shropshire and Oxford Down sheep. He also owns the old home farm in Greenville, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd are members of the Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Shepherd is a Democrat, and under the auspices of his party has served for two years as treasurer of Bluff- ton, and has twice made the race for the office of county treasurer.
A. T. STUDABAKER.
America is indebted to no one race or nationality for so many of the sterling quali- ties which characterize Americans of today as much as it is to the German emigrants who came to this country during the early settlement of the colonies. Few of them had much in the way of material wealth, but they were well supplied with industry and thrift, an ambition to better their condition and a steadfast firmness of purpose that noth- ing could overcome. Once believing them- selves to be right, no persuasion, argument or coercive force could divert them from the course they had determined upon. This national characteristic is often severely criticised, is frequently referred to as "pig- headedness," but there is little doubt that that trait of American character so notice- able and so highly commended as "sta- bility" comes from this very source. That which is denounced as "pig-headedness" in the early German settler is commended as
"firmness" and "stability" in his descend- ant of the third or fourth generation.
The subject of this sketch, A. T. Studa- baker, of Harrison township, Wells county, Indiana, is one of those same descendants. If the name did not tell of it, or if he was not able to trace his genealogy to that source, the determination, firmness and steadfastness of purpose which he discloses in every walk of life would pronounce him, beyond all cavil, as of this same German descent. For years he has been the only voter of his pre- cinct who at each successive election casts a Prohibition ticket. . It is not in casting a Prohibition ticket that the German descent is disclosed in him; it is shown in the per- sistence with which he clings to his opin- ions, the tenacity with which he adheres to his views in the face of all opposition and in a cause that to others appears absolutely hopeless. He believes he is right, and he will stay right, even though the heavens fall.
A. T. Studabaker is the son of William and Sarah (Thompson) Studabaker and was born in Darke county, Ohio, July 18, 1830. His grandfather was Abraham Studabaker, a descendant of an old German family that came to America and settled in one of the colonies long before the Revolutionary war. He was a man of mature years and recog- nized influence at the breaking out of the war of 1812 and took an active part in the agita- tion that made it necessary for the strug- gling but dauntless colonies, for a second time, to grapple with their old oppressor. He was a sincere patriot and took an active part in public affairs during that interesting per- iod. William Studabaker was born in Warren county, Ohio, February 7, 1807. When he was one year of age his parents moved to Darke county, Ohio, where Gettysburg now
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