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 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
326
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
party when it comes to local affairs. He is a man of good judgment, unswerving in- tegrity and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him. His life has been a busy one, and while at times he feels that he has not accomplished a great deal, when he comes to traverse the past again in memory, he cannot help but feel that, for the oppor- tunities afforded him, he has done much. He lives in the consciousness of having faith- fully discharged every duty assigned to him as a worthy man and good citizen.
Mr. Watson has in his possession an old parchment sheepskin deed, bearing the sig- nature of President Van Buren and executed February 12, 1838.
WILLIAM A. KUNKEL.
William A. Kunkel was born in Lancas- ter township, Wells county, Indiana, Janu- ary 31, 1868. He remained on the farm with his parents until the age of sixteen years was reached, attending the public schools and rounding out his education at the Bluffton high school, from which he graduated at the age of eighteen years, when he began looking about for an opportunity to acquire practical knowledge of business life through personal contact. Securing employment with a Bluffton clothing firm, he remained with them but a short time, the opportunities in that class of business being not sufficiently encouraging to come up to his ambitions. His next engagement was with the engineer of the Clover Leaf Rail- road as a rodman, in which his duties were of a responsible character. After returning from a day's work with a crew of men, he
was one day retained in the office to attend to some reports of considerable importance bearing upon the work in progress upon the road. So thorough and satisfactory was his work in this respect that Mr. Kunkel was thereafter retained in the offices of the com- pany, discharging his duties in a manner · eminently satisfactory and at the same time developing remarkable business qualities which soon resulted in his promotion to the office of chief clerk to H. T. Porter, resident engineer to the Clover Leaf Railroad. Dur- ing this period of employment Mr. Kunkel had acquired considerable knowledge of civil engineering, being an apt and observant pu- pil, and this resulted later in the tender of a position in charge of an engineer corps engaged on the road, which was accepted, the young man at the same time being ac- corded the honor of being assistant to the resident engineer. Resigning this import- ant position in October, 1889, at twenty-one years of age, he became deputy surveyor of Wells county, the year following being elect- ed to the office of county surveyor on the Democratic ticket, his popularity being shown in his re-election to the same office in 1892. During his term of office there was made in the county over six hundred thousand dollars worth of improvements, principally upon the highways, which re- main as an evidence of the business ability of the young man.
Meanwhile the petroleum developments had begun in the Hoosier state .and the young man was attracted to them by reason of the great inducements held out for quick returns to fortunate investors, and while in the county surveyor's office he, with other parties, dabbled to some extent in pro- duction of Trenton rock oil in different por-
327
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
tions of the surrounding country. The fall of 1890 marked his induction into the oil business, though for the first four years his operations were not the most successful, owing to the lack of time in connection with his official duties to properly attend to his own business. In the fall of 1894 he gave his entire attention to his producing inter- ests, and during the next two years did a great deal of wildcatting, opening up several pools in Wells county, among them the Ogle pool, his investments netting him some profitable returns. In 1896 he accept- ed a responsible position with the Cudahy oil interests, having charge of the right of way and pipe line departments, holding that position until May, 1898, when he was given complete charge of the field producing inter- ests of the pipe lines of the Cudahys, re- taining this position one year after the en- tire Cudahy properties were sold to the Standard Oil Company, since which time he has been in the producing business in the Indiana field for himself. He is now stock- holder and director in the Midway, Senior, and Illinois and Indiana Oil Companies and a number of other oil properties in Indi- ana.
Mr. Kunkel is a member of the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and a charter member of the Elks Lodge No. 796, also Bluffton Commercial Club.
Mr. Kunkel was married June 24, 1891, to Miss Minnie A. Morgan, of Bluffton, Indiana, and to them three children have been born, William A., Jr., Kenneth M. and Marjorie. Mr. Kunkel makes his home in Bluffton, and in that place is regarded as one of the most prominent and progressive citizens.
LOT McCULLICK.
Lot McCullick was born in Chester township, Wells county, Indiana, April 24, 1855. The parents of Lot emigrated to and were married at an early date in Ches- ter township, Wells county, where his father is still living at the ripe old age of seventy- five years. The subject attended school in Chester township until he was about seven- teen years of age and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-five. The year preceding his marriage he received one- third of the crops which he raised on his father's farm. December 25, 1879, the sub- ject was married to L. M. Ashbaugh, who was born in Ohio, December 9, 1855, the daughter of Andrew and Martha Ashbaugh, both of whom are now deceased.
Lot, after his marriage, settled in Ches- ter township about one mile from where he now lives, renting a farm where he remained about one year. He then moved onto Mr. Bell's farm in Chester township and re- mained there for about two years. He then rented the Mollie Hall farm for money rent, where he remained for one year and then re- moved to the Kilander place in Chester township and was there for one year. In 1855 he removed to Harland county, Ne- braska, where he remained for about two years, going then to Thomas county, Kan- sas. After remaining there about eight months, he returned to his first love, Ches- ter township, moving onto the place where he now lives and owns a fine farm of fifty acres of good land. The one well on his place proves its value as oil territory, but the possibilities in that line of his farm are yet undeveloped. When the subject was twenty-two years of age he made a trip into
328
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
and through the state of Minnesota for eleven months. He is a wide-awake, general stock farmer. He is the father of seven chil- dren, five of which are still living : Harry, born October 7, 1880, now an oil pumper in Grant county ; Ollie, born July 26, 1883, at home, graduated this year from the common schools; an infant, deceased, born July 12, 1884; Clarence, born in Thomas county, Kansas, September 24, 1886; Edna, born January 17, 1891; Mary, born August 17, 1894.
In a religious way the family of the sub- ject are connected with the Christian church. In politics he is a Democrat and an active worker in the party. Mr. McCullick was elected trustee of Chester township in 1900 and has also held the office of justice of the peace for four years. He is a sample of the bright, energetic and restless American farmer, a class who honor the profession of husbandry.
FRANK W. MOSURE.
The office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to put upon record the verdict establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In touching upon the life history of the subject of this sketch the writer aims to avoid ful- some encomium and extravagant praise ; yet he desires to hold up for consideration those facts which have shown the distinction of a true, useful and honorable life-a life char- acterized by perseverance, energy, broad charity and well-defined purpose. To do
this will be but to reiterate the dictum pro- nounced upon the man by the people who have known him long and well.
Frank W. Mosure is the son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Krill) Mosure and was born at Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, Febru- ary 8, 1861. Jonathan Mosure was a na- tive of Ohio, but in the early 'fifties came to Indiana and located in Bluffton. He was a blacksmith and, in partnership with John Shoemaker, ran a blacksmith shop, the one now owned by Josiah Freeser. He followed that occupation until 1865 and then moved to Vera Cruz, where he followed his trade and in connection therewith ran a buggy and carriage factory. He remained thus'en- gaged for about twenty years, when he sold out and retired to a forty-acre farm which he had purchased in Adams county, where he still resides. He is widely known and by all is highly esteemed. To him and his wife have been born six children, as follows: Frank is the immediate subject; John A. is a farmer and resides in Adams county ; Ed- ward is a blacksmith at Newville, Indiana ; Ella is the wife of William Spade, a farmer living in Adams county ; Mary is the wife of William Selby, of Adams county; Lulu is unmarried. All these children were given the benefit of a good common school edu- cation and have grown into strong and sturdy manhood and womanhood, an honor to their parents.
Frank W. Mosure remained at the home at Bluffton until he was four years old, when he was taken to Vera Cruz, where he has since continued to make his home. He received a very good education, attending first the village school and later the county normal at Bluffton. In 1882 he commenced teaching school, an occupation which he fol-
FRANK MOSURE.
-
329
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
lowed for two terms, and then entered Union Christian College. He pursued his studies in that institution for one year and also attended Antioch College for two terms. His studies had all been directed towards his intended induction into the ministry, which he subsequently realized, being ordained as a minister of the Christian church and tak- ing up special work as an evangelist. He was devoted to his work and maintained an active connection with the pulpit until 1901. In 1892 he was elected to the office of justice of the peace and served until 1900, dis- charging the duties of the office in such a manner as to win the hearty commendation of all. He was also commissioned a notary public and is still serving in that capacity. During his ministry he was active in his efforts to carry the gospel tidings of salva- tion to all within his reach and the good. he has done in the world can be only definitely measured in "that last great day." Of a pleasing personal presence, ready command of language, enthusiastic in his work, he wielded a powerful influence and was the means of inducing many to forsake the ways of sin and follow in the footsteps of the man of Nazareth.
Mr. Mosure was united in marriage on the Ist of March, 1884, to Miss Rosa Geh- ring, of Fort Wayne, Indiana. She possesses a good common school education and has proven to her husband a faithful and de- voted companion. To this union has been born one child, Dessie, the date of her birth being January 25, 1890. In politics Mr. Mosure is a firm and uncompromising Democrat, but aside from the exercise of his right of franchise he takes no very active part in political matters. He is now actively engaged in the real estate business and is
known as one of Wells county's most active and energetic business men and is achieving for himself an enviable reputation for ster- ling honesty and a desire to do by others as he would be done by. His support has ever been given to all measures for the public good, he is a man of broad humanitarian principles, of earnest purpose and upright life, and does all in his power for the uplift- ing of his fellow men and the promotion of the moral welfare of his community.
WILLIAM RALSTIAN.
The years of the Civil war are often re- ferred to as "the days which tried men's souls." The men who went to the front to fight for the preservation of the Union, know that these years were indeed what they are characterized to be in the above saying. But not all of those who were soldiers of the great Civil war were obliged to go through the fiery ordeal. Some saw active, constant service almost from the moment of enlistment until peace was declared. Others, more fortunate, were only permitted to ac- quire a knowledge of military tactics and of camp life, without even a remote ac- quaintance with the odor of rebel powder. It will be readily seen by a perusal hereof that William Ralstian, of Geneva, Indiana, was not one of the latter species of soldier.
Mr. Ralstian is a native of Lawrence county, Ohio, where he was born in Septem- ber, 1844. His father was James Ralstian, of Adams county, Ohio; his mother's maid- en name was Mary A. Grubb, a native of the same state. After marriage they settled in Lawrence county, where William and his
330
IVELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
brothers and sisters were born and where they continued to reside until the death of the father, James Ralstian, which occurred about 1854, when the subject of this sketch was ten years old. James and Mary Ral- stian were the parents of seven children, only two of whom are still living. Alexander, Angaline, Adaline and Ellison died com- paratively early in life, Smith passing away later. Of the seven children, only William and his brother Augustus, a resident of New Cordin, are the survivors.
For some time after the death of her hus- band Mrs. Ralstian remained a widow, car- ing for her children to the best of her ability and sending them to the public schools of their native county. About the time William was thirteen years of age his mother married again, taking for her husband a man named Washington Katon. The family, about 1857, moved to Jay county, Indiana, but the mother did not remain long. She returned to Ohio, leaving the two older boys, William and Smith, to make their home in Indiana. William was entrusted to the guardianship of Wm. McDowell, a man who seems to have been kind and indulgent, for his ward was permitted, most of the time, to work out by the month. This he continued to do until October 6, 1861, when the call for volun- teers caused him to enroll himself among the defenders of his country. He enlisted as a private in Company A, Forty-seventh Regi- ment Indiana Volunteers. This was the regiment of Col. Jas. R. Slack and at differ- ent times during the war the youthful volun- teer served under Captains Mclaughlin, Sturges and Huff. The five months follow- ing his enlistment were devoted to the ac- quisition of that knowledge which is con- sidered essential to the trained soldier. The
Ist of March, 1862, found the regiment well to the front and a few days later it was con- fronting the enemy in battle array. From that time on to the cessation of hostilities the gallant Forty-seventh knew nothing of peace or quietness and experienced but little of rest or repose. Ardent, active, untiring and in- trepid, young Ralstian, but little more than seventeen years of age, never shirked or lag- ged behind. As may be seen by the list of battles, the regiment was always in the thick of the fight and the youthful Ralstian was with it in every engagement. Here is the list of battles : Fort Thompson, March 14, 1862; Riddles Point, Mississippi, March 18, 1862; Fort Pillow, May 19 to 23 and June 3 to 5, 1862; Brown's Plantation, August II, 1862; Fort Pemberton, March II to 16, 1863; Port Gibson, Mississippi, May I, 1863; Champion Hill, May 16, 1863; siege of Vicksburg, May 22 to July 4, 1863 ; Jack- son, Mississippi, July 7 to 16, 1863; Grand Gulf, October, 1863; Alexander, May 5, 1864; Marksville Prairie, May 16, 1864; Atchafalaya, Louisiana, July 28, 1864; Fort Spanish, Alabama, April I to 5, 1865 ; Fort Blakely, April 2 to 9, 1865; Mobile, April 12, 1865. After an experience upon many fields of carnage, such as seldom falls to the lot of men during the period of a long life, William Ralstian, yet scarce twenty-one years old, was mustered out of the service. While there was yet a shot to be fired he had re- mained, serving four long and trying years, only ceasing to be a soldier when his coun- try had no further use for his services in that capacity. His honorable discharge from the service was placed in his hand at Baton Rouge in the fall of 1865.
Returning home to Adams county, after sojourning a short time in Indianapolis, the
1
331
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
sword became a plow-share, the bayonet, a pruning hook. In other words, the bone and sinew and muscle that for four years had been devoted to the suppression of rebellion were now turning to the more agreeable calling of industry. From 1865 to 1871 he actively engaged in the usual work of that period on the farm, including the clearing of land, making rails and erecting new fences. Those who had predicted that the soldier boys who had been schooled in war for four long years could never again con- tent themselves with the monotony of peace, were woefully mistaken. Hundreds of thousands like William Ralstian-the best soldiers that ever brought victory to an army -quietly settled down to the habits of peace with all the easy grace of men who had only been off the farm for a brief vacation.
On March 18, 1871, William Ralstian was married to Miss Frances Fields, the daughter of Andrew and Clarissa Fields, both natives of Tennessee who had moved to Adams county, Indiana, where Frances was born. Mr. and Mrs. Fields are still living, making their home with their daughter and her husband, and are the oldest settlers of Adams county now living, Mr. Fields being eighty years old, his wife, seventy-six years. They are the parents of eleven children, five of whom are still living: William is a resi- dent of Oklahoma; Joseph resides in Stur- ges, Michigan; Sarah is the wife of Daniel Shoemaker, of Portland, Indiana; Frances is the wife of William Ralstian; Lydia A. is the wife of John Updegraph ; Hilinda, Alex- ander, Daniel, Julia, Andrew and Lovinda are dead.
By his labors of the farm and his pay from the government in the field Mr. Ral- stian had saved enough money at the time
of his marriage to pay for an eighty-acre tract of land, which he improved and on which he erected a residence. There he now resides, enjoying all of the happiness that good health, contentment and domestic fe- licity can bring. When this tract was bought only about ten acres were improved land, his first home upon it being a cabin, erected by himself, eighteen by twenty-four feet. With this home, a team of horses, a cow and a few pigs the young couple started to make their fortune. Now, seventy of the eighty acres are cleared and forty acres more of cleared land have been added to the tract, making a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. Upon this they have six producing oil wells which are daily adding to their stock of wealth. Mr. Ralstian now devotes his en- tire time to the cultivation of this farm and to the rearing of fine stock. All his life, ex- cept while in the army, he has devoted to farming, in every branch of which he has been eminently successful.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralstian are the parents of ten children, six of whom are now living. The oldest, Ruetta, was born December 28, 1871, is married to Joseph Wilson, of Adams county, and they are the parents of three children, Ora, Ottie and William; Emmet was born July 15, 1874, and mar- ried Ida Runyon; they also live in Adams « county and are the parents of three children, Edith, Wesley and Mary. The other chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Ralstian are Anthony, born March 18, 1877, died September 18, 1878; Amanda, born February 17, 1879, died January 7, 1881; Andrew, born No- vember 19, 1880, died September 6, 1881; Luther, born September 28, 1882; Clifton, born September 16, 1884; Alice, born Janu- ary 18, 1886; Blanche, born December 31,
332
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
1888; Alta M., born March 15, 1890, died December 10, 1894. Luther, Clifton, Alice and Blanche all live with their parents.
Mrs. Ralstian is a member of and a zealous, active worker of the Friends church of White Oak. She is very solicitous as to the spiritual welfare of her family and never loses an opportunity of doing good in the in- terest of Christianity and for the welfare of humanity. Mr. Ralstian is an active mem- ber of John C. Porter Post No. 83, G. A. R., Geneva. He is a firm believer in the prin- ciples of the Republican party, and a liberal contributor to the dissemination and ad- vancement of those principles. In every walk of life he has acquitted himself most creditably. As a soldier, husband, father and citizen he has proven himself a man of whom any community may well be proud.
GEORGE F. McFARREN.
The history of a county or state, as well as that of a nation, is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have con- ferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by those of its representative citizens and yields its tributes of admiration and respect to those whose works and actions consti- tute the record of a state's prosperity and pride. Among the prominent citizens of Wells county who are well known because of the part they have taken in public affairs is George F. McFarren, of Bluffton.
Mr. McFarren was born in Salamonie township, Huntington county, Indiana, May 30, 1844. His parents were Jacob and Rachel McFarren, of the same township.
Jacob was a prosperous, intelligent, well in- formed farmer, who was careful to see that his son received a good education. The early life of G. F. McFarren was spent upon the farm where he was born, employing his time when not in school in the usual farm work and making diligent use of his time in the winter months with his studies. In 1857 his parents moved to Wells county where he continued to pursue his studies in the pub- lic schools, eventually qualifying himself for teaching. He taught several terms with gratifying success, never relinquishing his diligence in the pursuit of his own studies. Before he gave up the calling he was recog- nized as one of the ablest mathematicians in Wells county.
In 1865 Mr. McFarren entered the Iron City Commercial College, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he took the regular course and became an expert bookkeeper. On returning to Bluffton he was offered, in 1866, the position of deputy county auditor, which he accepted and discharged the duties of the position with marked ability. How- ever, the enforced sedentary habits of an of- ficial position were not suitable to a person of his active temperament and he decided to embark in the mercantile business. He es- tablished a grocery store in Bluffton and conducted it with such signal ability as to secure the patronage of the best people and to extend far beyond the expectations of his most sanguine friends. This he continued until 1880, when, having in view an en- trance into another branch of business, he sold out and at a fair profit. At that time an old building stood on the corner of Main and Market streets. Finding the property could be purchased at reasonable figures, he bought it, tore down the old structure and
333
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
replaced it with a large brick block that at present adorns that corner. In this building he established himself in the clothing busi- ness, in which he has continued ever since, each succeeding year finding him with an in- creased patronage. Success seems to have attended every effort he has made in life. Some may attribute his achievements to good luck. Those who know best place the credit where it is justly due. Nothing is undertaken by him that is not first figured out according to well-established mathe- matical principles.
George F. McFarren was twice married. On December 25, 1866, he was joined in the holy bonds of wedlock to Miss Martha J. Miller, and to this union one daughter was born, Winnettie M., May 9, 1869. She is a graduate of the Bluffton high school in the class of 1886, and is now the wife of William S. Smith, of Bluffton. June 14, 1874, Mrs. Martha (Miller) McFarren de- parted this life. When time had assuaged his sorrow Mr. McFarren was, on the 28th of December, 1875, again united in mar- riage, this time to Miss Martha J. Bennett, born in Bluffton, September 1, 1849. She was the daughter of Robert C. and Harriett Bennett, who were among the early pioneers of Wells county. To this union were born two sons, Harry, April 2, 1877, the junior member of the firm of G. F. McFarren & Son, and Earl, born May 15, 1884.
When the Wells County Bank was being organized George F. McFarren was a stock- holder, became a director and is still retained as a member of the board. In the Adams and Wells county oil fields he invested largely and profitably. Politically he is a Democrat, but neither active nor partisan. He is a careful observer of the trend of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.