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 53
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ness-like manner for a period of five years, besides serving two years as deputy assessor. Mr. Wasson's second marriage has been blessed with one child, a son, John L., who was born on the 21st day of August, 1893.
JAMES WASSON.
For over sixty years the name of Wasson has been familiar throughout the county of Wells, belonging as it does to one of the old- est and most highly esteemed families in this part of the state. The history of the family here has been closely entertwined with the history of the county, especially that part embraced within the present limits of Lancaster township, where the subject's father settled as early as 1841. The Was- son family is of Irish origin. Alexander Wasson, the grandfather of James, was born and reared in the Emerald Isle and there married and reared a family. Among his children was a son by the name of George, who grew to maturity in his native country and married Sarah Ash. About the year 1829 George Wasson emigrated to the United States and settled in Wayne county, Ohio, where he took a lease to clear a cer- tain amount of land, after which he worked by the day at different vocations, principally farming. In the fall of 1841 he moved to Wells county, Indiana, and entered a quarter section of land in what is now the township of Lancaster, being one of the first settlers in this part of the country. Subsequently he purchased an eighty-acre tract now owned by the widow of John Wasson and, erecting a little log cabin, eighteen by twen- ty feet in size, containing a single room, be- gan in good earnest the work of carving out
a home, an undertaking of great magnitude considering the almost impenetrable forests which up to that time but few white men had penetrated. For a year or two Mr. Wasson's humble home and the few acres of cleared land surrounding it looked like a mere niche in the dense wilderness and the difficulties and privations which the family endured were numerous and trying. By long continued toil, the forest gradually fell before the woodman's sturdy blows, the swamp lands were reclaimed by artificial drainage and in the course of time a fine farm and a comfortable home rewarded the efforts so heroically and patiently put forth. Mr. Wasson became a successful agricultur- ist and added to his possessions until at one time he owned in the township of Lancaster two hundred and forty acres of excellent land, every foot of which was earned by the labor of his own hands. He was a splendid manager, seldom failed to carry to successful completion anything which he attempted, and in due time accumulated a sufficiency of this world's goods to en- title him to a place in the front ranks of the county's well-to-do farmers and successful men of affairs. He was a man of strong personality and made his presence felt in this community, being respected for his honesty and integrity as well as for the enterprising manner with which he managed his business interests. He was an active member of the United Presbyterian church and carried his religion into his secular con- cerns, proving by a life singularly free from fault the high practical value of applied Christianity. He lived a strenuous but use- ful life, and died in 1855, in the hope of a blessed immortality, leaving a widow and five children, the former following him to
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the grave in 1895 at the advanced age of ninety years. The following are the names of the sons and daughters born to George and Sarah Wasson: John, Eliza J., widow of Uriah Nash, Isabella, James and Thomas M., all but the oldest living.
James Wasson, the fourth of the above children, was born April 2, 1841, in Wayne county, Ohio, and was about six months old when his parents moved to their new home in the wilds of northeastern Indiana. He literally grew up in the woods and his earli- est recollections are of the modest cabin home, the primeval forest by which it was surrounded and the wild, free life, unhamp- ered by artificial restraint and unretarded by conventional usage. When a small boy he became experienced in all manner of wood- craft, and by wielding the ax and other im- plements used in the early day, developed a strong physique which enabled him to per- form with alacrity and ease his share of the farm work. His educational training was such as the indifferent subscription schools of the day could impart and at best he was permitted to attend these backwoods col- leges only a few months in the winter time until his eighteenth year.
Mr. Wasson was in the full strength of vigorous young manhood when the war cloud darkened the national horizon and feeling it a duty encumbent upon him to aid the government in its extremity, he joined, in 1862, Company G, One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry, which a short time thereafter was attached to the army under General Rosecrans. Subsequently he served under Generals Nelson and Thomas and took part in a number of campaigns which those three commanders conducted, receiving his first baptism of fire on the 20th
day of March, 1863, at Milton, Tennessee, in an engagement with a Confederate force under General Morgan. In this battle he was struck in the leg by a musket ball, which necessitated his lying in the hospital for nearly two months. When sufficiently recov- ered he rejoined his command, after which he saw much active service in the Tennessee campaign, participating in numerous en- gagements, the most noted being the battle of Chickamauga, where he was again wounded, this time receiving a ball in the shoulder from the effects of which he was a long time recovering. With many of his comrades, he fell into the enemy's hands at Chickamauga and from there was taken to Richmond, Virginia, where he remained a prisoner until his exchange, forty days later. After his release Mr. Wasson received hos- pital treatment at Annapolis, Maryland, un- til his wound was partially healed, after which he was sent to Indianapolis, thence came home on furlough until the middle of February, 1864. Returning to Indianapo- lis, he remained in the barracks there about one month and then went to Camp Chase, near Columbus, Ohio, where he remained until the following June, when he was hon- orably discharged from the service with a record of which any soldier might well feel proud.
On quitting the army Mr. Wasson re- turned home, but the condition of his in- juries was such as to preclude the possibility of manual labor ; accordingly he entered that fall a school at Bluffton, taught by Prof. J. S. McClery, which he attended one term with the object in view of fitting himself for teaching. The following winter he had charge of the Daily school in Lancaster township and the next fall again found him
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prosecuting his studies at Bluffton under the direction of competent instructors. So suc- cessful had been his first attempt at teaching that he was chosen his own successor the following year and during the ensuing eight years he devoted his time largely to educational work, meeting with the most encouraging success. Meanwhile he made his home with his brother on the old home- stead, assisting to the extent of his ability with the work of the farm, besides doing considerable clearing and making various improvements on his own land.
On the 16th day of November, 1870, Mr. Wasson and Miss Sarah E. Sweeny were united in the bonds of matrimony. Mrs. Wasson was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on the 12th day of February, 1845, the daughter of Robert and Sarah Sweeny, both parents natives of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Sweeny moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio a number of years ago, and spent the remainder of his days in the county of Wayne, following agricul- ture and carpentry for a livelihood. He died July 30, 1858, his wife's death occurring in the year 1860. They had a family of thir- teen children, namely: William, deceased; Mary, deceased ; Margaret, widow of David Clark; Robert C .; Alexander R., deceased ; Edith, deceased ; John W. ; Alfred, deceased ; Matilda, wife of J. P. Harris ; Mariah, wife of Ezra D. McIntyre; Joseph, a soldier in the late Civil war, killed in the battle of Shiloh; Sarah E., wife of Mr. Wasson, and Rachael, deceased. Mrs. Wasson was educated in the schools of her native county and at the age of nineteen began teaching, which work she continued about six years in the counties of Wayne and Knox. Having a sister living in Wells
county, Indiana, she came here in 1868 on a visit and during the ensuing three years taught in the schools of Lancaster township, meantime meeting the gentleman who af- terwards became her husband. A fact wor- thy of note in this connection is that the dis- trict in which Mrs. Wasson taught, their oldest son taught three terms in the same district, and Mr. Wasson three terms in the same school house; still later the youngest son took charge of a school in the district, but resigned by reason of ill health before the expiration of the term. Mrs. Wasson is a lady of culture and wide reading and as a teacher earned a reputation which placed her in the front rank of the county's suc- cessful educators. In the matters of do- mestic economy she is equally skilled and in all that constitutes a high type of American womanhood she stands on a plane which the the majority do not reach.
In the year 1871, Mr. Wasson moved to his present place in Lancaster township, and by industry and systematic management has made it one of the most productive as well as one of the most beautiful and attrac- tive farms of its size in the county. By the labor of his own hands he cleared and re- duced to a fine state of tillage fifty acres, be- sides enhancing the fertility of the entire farm by a thorough system of tile drainage. His first dwelling, a frame structure, erected in 1874, was destroyed by fire in 1895 and in the fall of the latter year he built his pres- ent residence, also a frame building of beau- tiful design and well supplied with the com- forts and conveniences of life. In 1889 he built a large barn, thirty by forty-eight feet in area and correspondingly high, a substan- tial and commodious structure which will answer the purposes for which intended as
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long as the present owner sees fit to utilize it. Mr. Wasson is a progressive farmer and stock raiser, as the present fine con- ditions of his place and the handsome for- tune now in his possession abundantly at- test. In the domain of citizenship he is easi- ly the peer of any of his fellows, taking an active part in the material advancement of his township and county and maintaining a lively interest in all enterprises looking to the moral good of the community. In poli- tics he is pronounced in his allegiance to the Democratic party and few men are as well informed as he upon current events and the great public questions of the day. In 1874 he was elected trustee of Lancaster town- ship, and as such served three and a half years to the satisfaction of all concerned, having previously served four years as assessor. Fraternally he is a member of the G. A. R. post at Bluffton and religiously subscribes to the creed of the United Brethren denomination. He and his entire family belong to this church, the wife and one son being teachers in the Sunday school, Mr. Wasson holding a place on the official board of the local congregation with which he is identified.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Wasson consists of three children, the oldest of whom is Maggie A., now the wife of Frank Garton; she was born December 18, 1871, and has three offspring, Holdie, Harry and ¿ James Donald; George R., was born July 6. 1875, and is still a member of the home circle, being a teacher of recognized ability and one of the popular young men of the township in which he lives; Irvin W., born November 23, 1878, has also taught school, but at the present time devotes his attention to agricultural pursuits, owning a fine farm
of eighty acres in the township of Lancas- ter. He is a married man, his wife, whose maiden name was Etta Sowards, being a native of this county ..
As stated in a preceding paragraph, Mr. Wasson is a representative of one of the oldest families of Wells county and few men can claim a longer residence in Lancaster township than himself. Sixty-two years have dissolved in the mists of the past since he was brought to Indiana, years fraught with momentous consequences, in chat they have witnessed the most signal in- dustrial developments and the most won- derful advances in civilization the world has ever known. In his own community he has been no passive spectator of these changes, but in numerous ways has been an influen- tial factor in bringing them about. What his hands have found to do, he has done with his might, while his strong brain and resourceful nature have contributed not a little to the moral and intellectual improve- ment of those with whom he has had re- lations. He is a splendid type of the sym- metrically developed western man, and a no- table example of intelligent and enterprising American citizenship.
CALVIN KUNKEL.
Wells county has every reason to feel proud of the large and eminently respecta- ble class of people who constitute her agri- cultural element. In each of the several townships are broad minded, energetic men whose names have added honor to the com- munities in which they live and perform their allotted work besides giving additional luster to the reputation which Wells enjoys
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among her sister counties of the state. Holding worthy prestige in this class and deserving of specific mention in these pages is the well known gentlemen to a brief epit- ome of whose life these lines are devoted. Calvin Kunkel is an Indianian by adoption, having been born in Crawford county, Ohio, on the Ist day of February, 1846. His father, Michael Kunkel, was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother, whose family name was Mason, first saw the light of day in Ohio. Michael Kunkel became a resident of the latter state when a young man and was married in the county of Crawford. Four children resulted from this union, namely : Samuel, who lives in Wells county ; Sophia, the deceased wife of John Weesner; Lovisa, deceased; and Calvin whose name introduces this article. For his second wife, Michael Kunkel married Mary Ann Klineight, who bore him five children: John O .; Horton; Matilda, now Mrs. Thomas Sowders; Rebecca, wife of Henry Masterson, and William.
Michael Kunkel continued to live the life of a farmer in Crawford county until 1848 when he disposed of his interests there and moved his family to Adams county, Indiana, where he purchased eighty acres of land which he cleared and reduced to cul- tivation. Later he sold his place and bought one hundred and twenty acres in Lancaster township, Wells county, where the subject now lives, the country at the time being new and but little developed. Owing to a doubt as to where the road would eventually run, he built his house as he thought in the most suitable place, which accounts for its distance from the highway at the present time. Mr. Kunkel worked hard, cleared a good farm and, while not becoming wealthy,
he provided well for his family and suc- ceeded in accumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in very com- fortable circumstances. He lived on the place where he originally settled until about two years prior to his death, when he retired from active life and moved to the city of Bluffton, where he purchased a good resi- dence property. Some years after his death, which occurred in Bluffton, his widow mar- ried Ephraim High and the two still live at the county seat.
Calvin Kunkel was reared on the place which he now owns and cultivates and, be- ing one of the oldest of the family, was obliged, when a mere youth, to assume no inconsiderable share of the labor necessary to keep the domestic machinery in motion. Owing to this responsibility, he was not permitted to attend school as much as he de- sired, his educational discipline being limited to a few months of each winter sea- son from about his eighth year to the early teens. He assisted his father with the farm work until his marriage, which was solem- nized in the month of March, 1868, with Miss Sarah Plummer, and then moved to his father-in-law's place and began the pur- suit of agriculture upon his own respon- sibility. After a short time there he took up his residence in the town of Ossian and entered the employ of Dr. J. I. Metts, with whom he remained about five years, during which time he purchased the several inter- ests in the old Plummer estate. Moving to the latter place, he cultivated it during the ensuing three years, but at the expiration of that period again took service with Dr. Metts and continued in his employ during the five years following. When his father moved to Bluffton, Mr. Kunkel rented the
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home farm which, with his own ninety-five acres of cultivable land, gave him all he could do in the way of agriculture. Subse- quently he sold his farm of ninety-five acres for twenty-five hundred dollars and pur- chased of his step-mother the old homestead which for various reasons he now desired to own. He now has a beautiful farm of eigh- ty acres, seventy of which are in cultivation. While his place is not as large as some in the neighborhood, it is doubtful if there is a farm of the same area in the township which shows greater evidence of thrift and pros- perity. Mr. Kunkel is well situated to enjoy life, in that his home is unencumbered and he can look the world in the face with the satisfaction of owing no man. His comfort- able surroundings and everything else in his possession have been earned by the joint ef- forts of his good wife and himself and today that he has made a success of life, seeing that he began the struggle with no property other than a horse and a single set of harness, is to state what is cheerfully conceded by those at all acquainted with his circumstances.
Mr. Kunkel is recognized as possessing a strong sense of truth and justice and in every relation with his fellow men he has en- deavored to shape his life according to these principles. Industry is the key with which he unlocked the door to prosperity and his success has been commensurate with the energy and good judgment manifested in all of his undertakings. He has labored dili- gently to provide the necessary creature comforts for those dependent upon him, at the same time obtaining from life much sat- isfaction, being optimistic in his ideas and al- ways inclined to look on the sunny side of things. Mr. Kunkel is a man of consider- able personal force and impresses all with
whom he comes in contact as a gentleman by nature and training, consequently enjoy- ing in full measure the confidence and es- teem of his fellow citizens. The family of which he is a representative is one of the old- est and most highly respected in this part of the country, and thus far in life he has done nothing calculated in the slightest de- gree to bring discredit upon the good name and reputation which his ancestors for so many years bore. His integrity has never been questioned and, wherever known, the word of Calvin Kunkel is as good as his signature to a written obligation.
Mr. Kunkel is a member of the Masonic lodge at Ossian and in politics supports the Democratic party. He has no political as- piration and is by no means narrow or in- tolerant in his views, respecting the opinions of others as he expects his own to be re- ceived in good faith. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and holds the office of trustee in the local society to which he belongs; he is also a worker in the Sunday school and nothing but sickness or unavoidable circumstances are permitted to prevent his attendance at the house of God during seasons of worship. Mrs. Kunkel is the daughter of John Plum- mer, one of the pioneer settlers of Wells county, and in every way is fitted to be the companion and helpmeet of the husband whose name she so worthily bears. She is the mother of five children, all living but the oldest, who died in infancy; John E. mar- ried a Miss Tillman and at the present time holds an important clerical position in a large' business house in the city of Marion ; his wife has borne him two children, one of the name of Marine, who makes her home with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Kun-
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kel, and the other, a son, that died when about one year old. The mother of these children is also deceased. Charles W., the third of the family, married Miss Cora Wise and is a farmer and stock raiser of Jefferson township, this county. Frank is also a mar- ried man and a resident of Wells county, his wife being formerly Miss Bessie Bender. He was a soldier in the Spanish-American war and saw two years of active service in the Philippines. Nellie, the youngest of the family, has never left the home fireside.
ADOLPHUS CARRYSOT.
As the first blow is usually conceded to be half the battle, so beginning right is the surest precursor of success in life. The right start almost invariably makes the best finish. The truth of these statements is well exemplified in the case of the subject of this sketch, Adolphus Carrysot, of Lan- caster township, Wells county. His eyes first opened on the light of day in Switzer- land, August 22, 1848. Henry L. and Mary Ann (Girod) Carrysot were his parents and they and all of their ancestors were natives of the beautiful little mountain republic. Henry was by trade a shoemaker and' fol- lowed that calling in his native land. In 1854 the family emigrated to America and located in Mount Eaton, Wayne county, Ohio, where the father found employment on a farm at the munificent salary of ten dollars per month, a somewhat slender allowance on which to support a family. In July of that same year, while at work in the harvest field, he was overcome by the heat. rendered unconscious and died from the ef-
fects of what is popularly termed "sun- stroke," before he could be removed from the wheat field. He left a widow and three little children, whose condition was really pitiable. Only a few months in America, unfamiliar with the language of the country and without any knowledge of the ways or customs of the people, the outlook was in- deed gloomy to the sorrowing mother with her three helpless little orphans, the oldest of whom was less than six years old. The sorrow of parting with her little ones was little less than the misery entailed by the original loss and she determined at all haz- ards to keep them together. The field of woman's work in those days was far nar- rower than it is at present, but she found employment, at a slender income, but suf- ficient to supply actual necessities for herself and children. She was young, comely, in- telligent and attractive, and when Peter Bourlier solicited the favor of her hand in marriage, she accepted him for her chil- dren's sake and upon his promise to prove a kind father to them. The children of the first marriage were Adolphus, the subject hereof, of whom more particular mention will be found hereafter ; Mary L. died at the age of thirteen years; Eugene, deceased ; Paulina died in infancy.
At the time of the second marriage the new husband moved the family to Holmes county, near Millersburgh, and there they lived until Adolphus was twelve years old. Mr. Bourlier then sold out and moved the family to Williams county, where the sub- ject grew to manhood. Meanwhile he had attended school during the winter months until he was fifteen years old. He was an apt pupil, readily gained and retained knowledge and has a much better education
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than others with better opportunities. His first worldly possessions were two calves, presented to him by his stepfather when he was sixteen years of age. They represent- ed the total amount of compensation he was to receive for one year's work. With these he made his start in life. It was an excellent beginning for a boy and was a sure precur- sor of the success he has attained. For his next year's work he got a colt, and after sell- ing the calves he bought a colt with the pur- pose of having a team, but having the op- portunity of selling one at a good figure he secured enough cash with which to pur- chase his stepfather's team and at the age of eighteen years began farmng on his own account. When twenty years of age he made his first investment in real estate. He purchased forty acres of land adjoining his step-father's farm, incurring an indebted- ness of nine hundred dollars. He chopped wood during the winter months and culti- vated his step-father's farm in summer, year by year steadily increasing his supply of ready money. After four years and after having cleared about half of his land, he got a chance to sell the place, receiving more money than he had ever owned up to that time. He immediately invested in another farm, going in debt two thousand dollars, and after two years sold that at a good profit. Having an ambition to be a mer- chant, he went to Archibald, Ohio, and, in partnership with his brother-in-law, A. L. Pierson, branched out in the grocery busi- ness. Six months sufficed to convince him that his talents were not intended for that vocation. He closed out and engaged in . threshing grain the remainder of that sea- son.
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