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 71
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
SILAS G. LEAVENGOOD.
One of the prominent young farmers of Union township, Wells county, Indi- ana, is Silas G. Leavengood, a native of this township, born December 21, 1871,
548
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
and a son of Peter C. and Martha A. (Zimmerlee) Leavengood. Jacob Leaven- good, great-grandfather of Silas G., was a native of Germany and prior to the war of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain brought his wife to America and settled in Union township, Pennsyl- vania. They were in somewhat indigent circumstances, and, in accordance with the custom of the time, Jacob and his broth- ers and sisters were "apprenticed" or bound out to work until they had earned sufficient money to pay for their passage across the ocean. Jacob Leavengood and his brother Daniel enlisted in the Ameri- can army and in one of the sanguinary conflicts with the Indian auxiliaries of the British forces Daniel lost his life. Jacob Leavengood and his wife then fled across the Susquehanna river and sought a more densely populated district, in which they passed the remainder of their lives. Christian Leavengood, grandfather of Silas G., was apprenticed to the black- smith's trade and before his marriage had become master of his own shop. He moved from Pennsylvania to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1830, having purchased a tract of land in the woods. He readily ac- commodated himself to the surroundings, learning to sleep in deserted Indian wig- wams and to endure many other hard- ships and inconveniences, but lived to see the heavy timber cleared away and a fine farm substituted, and there passed the re- mainder of his life. Peter C. Leaven- good was reared in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, but was united in marriage in Hunt- ington county, Indiana, March 28, 1868. He had purchased his farm in Union township in 1849, and on this he passed
away March 20, 1889. The union of Peter C. and Martha A. (Zimmerlee) Leaven- good was graced with five children, name- ly : Malinda E. died in 1878, aged nine years ; Delphina; Silas G .; Salome A., now the wife of Frederick Platt, of Union township, and Celesta O.
Silas G. Leavengood was reared to ag- ricultural pursuits on his father's farm, but was given every opportunity to attend school in the winter seasons, when farm duties did not require all his attention. He ably and dutifully assisted his father until the time came about for his own mar- riage, when he chose for his bride Miss Lydia Roudebush, a native of Union town- ship, to whom he was married October I, 1893.
Peter C. Leavengood was one of the most substantial citizens of Union town- ship and was greatly honored by all who knew him. Of the Zimmerlee family, Jacob, the father of Mrs. Peter C. Leaven- good, was born in Virginia, yet little is known touching his ancestry, save the fact that his parents died when he was a boy, and he then made his home with a brother- in-law, Jacob Miller, until his own mar- riage. At the age of fourteen he came to Wells county with this brother-in-law and was here employed by the latter to drive a team between Bluffton and Cin- cinnati, and in this occupation he was en- gaged at the time of his marriage, Decem- ber 25, 1845, with Miss Clara Brown, of Wilkes county, North Carolina. This lady is of German descent and a daughter of Elisha and Elizabeth (Redding) Brown. At the time of this marriage Mr. Zim- merlee had but about five dollars, but four years later he purchased on credit forty
549
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
acres of land in Union township, and in order to pay for this land he worked out by the month, while his wife stayed at home and kept herself busy at weaving, thus adding to their mutual income. Af- ter the land had been paid for, Mr. Zim- merlee cleared, sold it and purchased the farm now .owned by Thomas Powell, on which he lived until his death. His widow survived him about eighteen years, dying at seventy-six years of age. Mr. Leavengood still resides on the old farm, a part of which constitutes the farm of Silas G.
DANIEL FISHER.
Probably there cannot be found in Un- ion township a more venerable man and ven- erated and respected citizen than Daniel Fisher, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Crites) Fisher, of Pennsylvania birth and German extraction. Daniel Fisher, how- ever, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and the date of his nativity was June 14, 1826. His paternal grandfather was the founder of the family in America, having landed in New York when a young man. Henry Fisher married a Miss Crites in Tus- carawas county. The lady was also of Ger- man parentage and bore her husband ten children, viz: John, Daniel, Joseph, George, Henry, Solomon, Anna, Elizabeth, Lydia and one that died in infancy. Of the three members of this family who still survive, Daniel is the only one living in Wells coun- ty, Indiana. Although his father was a poor man when he settled in Ohio, he was a man of indomitable will and untiring industry, and at his death, which took place in the
Buckeye state, he was worth at least twenty thousand dollars.
Daniel Fisher was reared to farm life and was educated in the common schools; being an apt scholar and possessing a reten- tive memory, he succeeded in securing a good education and at the age of twenty- one years, on quitting school, he began learn- ing the cooper's trade, at which he worked one year, when, having saved sufficient funds, he came to Wells county and entered eighty acres of wooded land on the site now occupied by Jesse Crites. He returned to Ohio and remained at his trade two years longer.
Mr. Fisher was united in marriage in 1850, with Miss Sophia A. Myers and the young couple lived on the farm alluded to for seven years, when Mrs. Fisher was called to rest July 17, 1857, leaving to mourn her loss, beside her husband, three children, named Henry, Elizabeth and Margaret A. At the death of this, his first helpmate, Mr. Fisher returned to the home of his father in Ohio and remained on the old homestead, until his second marriage, which took place March 25, 1859, to Miss Sarah J. Shull. In April, 1859, he returned with his wife to Wells county, Indiana, and resumed the oc- cupancy of his original farm, on which he resided until 1862, when he sold it and bought one hundred and twenty acres of his present farm, to which he has since added forty acres, having now a compact farm of one hundred and sixty acres of as good land as can be found in Wells county.
To the second marriage of Mr. Fisher have been born nine children, eight of whom are living: Emmett, Matilda, Clara C., George A., Rachel, Elmer, Ellsworth, Daniel B. and Della M. Mr. Fisher and all the
-
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
550
members of his family, save one, belong to the church of God, in which he has officiated as deacon and elder for several years. Mrs. Fisher died August 25, 1890, after being an invalid, confined to her bed for twenty-four years, and an almost constant sufferer from rheumatism.
In politics Mr. Fisher is a stalwart Re- publican and has been a zealous supporter of the party ever since its foundation, having probably cast more presidential votes than any other man in Wells county, at least in Union township, including candidates nom- inated by both Whigs and Republicans. Mr. Fisher thinks for himself and is possessed of strong convictions, but is not obtrusive and is a kindly neighbor, and has lived to witness Union township developed from a genuine wilderness into a blooming garden. His only neighbor, in fact, when he first settled here, was Jesse Crites, each owning a horse and wagon, and when necessary to go to mill, the two would hitch the animals together, thus making a double team, and while one of them carried an ax with which to hew a road through the woods, the other would drive the horses.
LAWSON POPEJOY.
The Popejoy family of Wells county, Indiana, and pioneers of Union township, came from Ohio in the winter of 1840, about fifteen years prior to the adoption of the state's present constitution. Chris- tophertian Popejoy, the father of Lawson Pope- joy, was a native of Virginia, whence he removed to Kentucky and later to Ohio, where he married Nancy Bowers, a na- tive of the last named state, and who was
his first wife. Their children who reached maturity were named, in order of birth, as follows: Eliza A., Susan, Margaret, Law- son, Joseph, Edward C., and two who died young.
Lawson Popejoy was born in Fayette county, Ohio, March 26, 1838, and was about two and a half years of age when his parents settled in the northeast quar- ter of section 24, Harrison township, Wells county, Indiana, which quarter sec- tion the father entered from the govern- ment. The land was covered with a dense forest of timber and since becoming the property of the Popejoy family has had but three owners. The father of Lawson Popejoy cleared up their tract from its primeval condition, working night and day to accomplish his purpose, and there made his home until his death. In religion he was a licensed local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church, as well as class leader for many years, and in politics was a stanch Democrat.
Lawson Popejoy, until twenty-two years of age, lived on his father's farm, in the meanwhile attending a subscription school, later a public school and still later became a teacher in the schools of his township. He began his business career by working out by the job at splitting rails, ditching, clearing off timber and at such other work as aided the neighbors in de- veloping the country and in making it worthy of being the abode of civilized man, such as it is today, of which class of work he has done his full share. Through his labor he accumulated six hundred dollars, and then married Miss Orpha Davis, daughter of Elias Davis and a native of Wells county.
55I
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
At his marriage Mr. Popejoy rented the homestead in partnership with his brother, Edward C., but a few years later purchased the property, and still later sold it and bought his present farm of ninety- six acres. To the marriage of Lawson and Orpha (Davis) Popejoy have been born the following named children, who still live to adorn the home of the parents : Louisa, Alice, Hattie, Sherman and Law- son.
In politics Mr. Popejoy is a Democrat and has served as assessor of Harrison township six years and as township treas- urer four years, leaving the treasury in first-class condition in 1876, and in 1878 was nominated for county treasurer, to which he was elected and in 1880 re-elect- ed, thus serving a continuous period of four years. In 1883 Mr. Popejoy erected his present brick residence, of which he at once took possession and which he has since occupied. He and wife are widely known throughout Wells county and are highly respected for their amiable personal traits of character and their upright lives. They are good neighbors, charitable of thought and action, and Mr. Popejoy is especially public spirited and ready at all times to aid with his funds and his influ- ence all those improvements which tend to elevate their condition and advance the happiness of his fellow citizens.
ANDREW J. HAFLICH.
Agriculture, the source of all wealth, finds in Wells county, Indiana, a represent- ative in the truest sense of the word in the person of Andrew J. Haflich, a resident of
Union township and one of the present county commissioners. He was born in Crawford county, Ohio, October 31, 1843, and came to Wells county, Indiana, with his parents, Isaac and Catherine (Fletcher) Haflich, when he was but eight years of age. The family settled in Rock Creek township on a farm, in the cultivation of which young Andrew J. was early called upon to assist, and was thus, to a great extent, deprived of opportunities to secure an education in youth. However, he secured a robust and healthy physical constitution through his labors on the homestead, and at the time secured a thorough knowledge of the noble and honor- able calling of agriculture. He was suffi- ciently well educated, however, to become a teacher in a rural school, although he did not follow that vocation as a profession. He continued his labors on the home farm until he had attained his majority, when he started in business on his own account. April I, 1865, he married Miss Amanda Beil, who came with: her father, Jacob Beil, from Ohio when the daughter was quite young, and set- tled in Rock Creek township, Wells county, where she was educated and where she after- wards taught school for several terms. To them have been born ten children, of whom nine still survive and are named Ida, Sylvia, Reuben, Jacob, Mary, Viola, Bessie, Eva and Hattie.
At marriage, Andrew J. Haflich rented the Haflich homestead, which he cultivated and lived upon until April, 1872, when he purchased seventy acres of the farm he now occupies, but which was then without im- provements of any kind. This he has since cleared, ditched and improved in all respects, thus developing one of the finest homesteads in Union township.
Mr. and Mrs. Haflich are faithful work-
552
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
ers in the Methodist Episcopal church at Uniondale, of which Mr. Haflich is a trustee and Mrs. Haflich a steward. Mr. Haflich in past time served as superintendent of the Sunday school, and is now assistant superin- tendent, while Mrs. Haflich is a teacher.' In politics Mr. Haflich has been a life-long Democrat and at the present hour is one of the leading men of his party in Wells county. His experience as a politician is extended and varied, and his managing ability has been tested in many a hard-fought campaign. In primaries and in conventions his voice is always listened to with profound respect and his advice eagerly sought and followed. Al- though he has never felt any special desire for office holding, he has nevertheless felt it to be his duty as a matter of patriotism to respond to the party call to serve in any capacity, and hence it is that he is now fill- ing his second term as county commissioner from the third district of Wells county. His duties have been performed during over six years as a member of the board of commis- sioners in such a manner as not only to re- dound to his personal credit, but to be a sub- ject of hearty congratulation by the Demo- cratic party.
As a farmer Mr. Haflich has treated his vocation from an intellectual as well as a practical standpoint. From his earliest days he has recognized the all-important bearing agriculture has upon the fate of any nation, and is well aware of the fact that an agricultural people is the happiest and, as a whole, the wealthiest on the face of the earth. As a citizen Mr. Haflich is useful and public spirited, is widely known and re- spected, and his family share with him the unfeigned esteem of the entire population of Union township.
WILLIAM ELICK.
The Elick family of Union township are of German descent and are among the most respected citizens of the township, in which they settled when William Elick was an infant. He was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, October 28, 1856, a son of Frederick and Mary (Wetzel) Elick, the former of whom, when a small boy, was brought from Germany to America by his parents, who ultimately settled in Ohio, where Frederick was reared to man- hood and was married. In 1856 Frederick Elick brought his bride and infant son to Rock Creek township, Wells county, and there the father followed the calling of farmer and blacksmith until his death, which occurred when William was but a boy, while that of his mother occurred some fourteen years ago. They were the parents of sixteen children, of whom four- teen are still living.
William Elick was reared on his father's farm and was thoroughly trained in all the details of agricultural pursuits. He received a common school education and when twenty-one years old began working out by the month. He was in- dustrious and economical and was united in marriage July 25, 1880, to Miss Eliza- beth Rarar, who was born in Rock Creek township, of Pennsylvania parentage. This union has been crowned by the birth of three children, of whom two have been called away, the only survivor being Jen- nie Elsie, who was born in 1890.
At his marriage Mr. Elick rented a farm for a short time and then engaged in the manufacture of tile, near Markle, a business he followed about eight years,
553
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
when he resumed farming, in which he has met with the most flattering success.
Fraternally Mr. Elick is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Markle, of which he is a past chancellor and which he has represented in the grand lodge of the order. In politics he is one of the substantial Democrats of Union township and under the auspices of his party has served his fellow citizens as justice of the peace for six years. Very few of his decisions have ever been ap- pealed from and when he pronounces judg- ment it is as a rule considered to be final. Although an unassuming and modest gen- tleman, who never thrusts himself for- ward or in any respect makes himself of- ficious in the affairs of others, he has won the respect of all his neighbors, who have the most implicit confidence in his judg- ment and integrity.
From what has been already written concerning William Elick, the reader will readily infer that he is what is usually termed "a self-made man," and that he is the "architect of his own fortune." He was but in moderate circumstances at the time of his marriage, but he now stands among the well-to-do and influential resi- dents of Union township, all he has being the result of his own honest labor and skillful management. He cannot be too highly complimented for the excellent manner in which he has played his part in life's drama nor congratulated too strong- ly upon the success which has attended him. Still upon the entrance of the prime of life, Mr. Elick gives promise of many years of usefulness among his friends and neighbors and with them of developing the resources and industries of Union
township and Wells county, being possess- ed of the courage and intelligence that fully fit him for this task.
ALBERT ORMSBY.
The Ormsby family of Union township, Wells county, Indiana, were originally from Ireland, George Ormsby, the grandfather of the subject, having come from the Emerald Isle to America when about twenty-one years of age, settling in Mahoning county, Ohio. There he married a Scotch lady and then made a visit to Ireland, remained there about three years, and then returned to his home in Ohio, where he died at the age of ninety- seven and a half years.
Albert Ormsby was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, January 4, 1832, a son of Joseph and Martha (Wolfcale) Ormsby. Joseph Ormsby was reared a farmer and, although he had but a common school edu- cation, was an eloquent orator and an earn- est advocate of the principles of the Demo- cratic party. Joseph and Martha Ormsby were both born in Mahoning county, Ohio, lived there all their days and died there at the respective ages of sixty-seven and sixty-three years. To Joseph and Martha Ormsby there were born ten children, of whom seven still survive, although Albert is the only repre- sentative of the family living in Wells coun- ty, Indiana.
Albert Ormsby worked on his father's farm until twenty-one years old, attending the district school in the meanwhile. After reaching manhood's estate he began work- ing out by the month, but continued to live on the home farm until he was twenty-five.
554
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
August 27, 1856, Mr. Ormsby was united in marriage with Miss Mary Goldner, daugh- ter of a highly respected couple of Mahoning county, Ohio, and quite well educated in the German and English languages. In April, 1857, Mr. and Mrs. Ormsby came to Indi- ana and made their first stopping place at Ossian, Wells county. Shortly afterward they moved into a cabin one mile north of the present site of Uniondale, where Mr. Ormsby purchased an eighty-acre tract of . land, to which he has since added forty acres.
The hard labor of clearing off the super- abundance of timber that incumbered these acres was almost all performed by Mr. Orms- by himself, but he has developed one of the finest farms of its dimensions in the town- ship of Union and is well satisfied with the result of his efforts.
Mr. and Mrs. Ormsby have had born to them two children, viz : Lois A., who is the wife of Cyrus Wert, of Union township, and Llewellyn Hays Ormsby, who operates the homestead. The family attend the Luth- eran church at Uniondale, of which the par- ents are both members, Mrs. Ormsby hav- ing been a communicant since girlhood and of which Mr. Ormsby has been a deacon for twenty-four years, and one of the first elders. The parents take a deep interest in this church and its progress and contribute most freely to its financial support. In his politi- cal affiliations Mr. Ormsby is a Democrat, and although ever active in his work for his party and punctual in casting his vote for its candidates, he is never officious, nor has he ever sought office. He has always been an industrious citizen and, as will have been seen by the foregoing paragraphs, has earned by his own labor nearly all he is now worth. He and his wife are greatly re-
spected by their neighbors for their many good qualities and personal merits and their social standing is with the best people of Union and surrounding townships.
JONATHAN SEAMAN.
This is an age in which the farmer stands pre-eminently above any other class as a producer of wealth. He not only takes advantage of time, but also of the winds, the warm air, the bright and wholesome sunshine and the refreshing rains, and applying his own hands and skill to nature's gifts, creates grain, hay, live stock, etc., all of which are necessi- ties to the world's inhabitants. The com- mercial world has come to recognize him as an important factor and has surround- ed him with conveniences not thought of one hundred years ago. The inventor has put his shoulder to the wheel and given him the self-binder, the riding plow, the steam thresher and many other labor-sav- ing devices and the farmer has not been slow to see the advantage of such im- provements, of which he has availed him- self.
Jonathan Seaman, a son of Joseph and Mariah (Bailey) Seaman, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, February 13, 1843. His father was born in Pennsyl- vania, of German parentage, and at an early age was left an orphan. He was taken in charge by an uncle, with whom he lived until a young man of nineteen years, when he came to Trumbull county, Ohio. He was without means when he first came west and, being entirely de-
555
WELLS COUNTY, INDIANA.
pendent upon his own resources, he at once set to work to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked until his mar- riage to Miss Mariah Bailey, a native of Ohio. Immediately after his marriage he bought forty acres of land in Trumbull county, for which he paid one thousand dollars, the full amount of his savings. He soon sold this farm and moved to Union township, Wells county, Indiana, in 1856, and began looking about for a farm. He decided on the farm now owned by H. H. Lassiter, but which was not then in its present well groomed condition, for farms in those days were little less than forests. The subject's father erected the buildings which are the present home of the Lassiter family, but since their first erection they have been remodeled and made more comfortable. Here he lived until the death of his wife, but after a short time he again married and removed with his second wife to Zanesville, Wells county, Indiana. He was one of the lead- ing Democrats of Union township and served as trustee of the township and also as township assessor. To him were born four sons and five daughters, four of whom are living: Jonathan; Mary, wife of Lewis Raver; Eliza, wife of Noah Blosser, and Adaline, wife of Jacob Keiser.
Jonathan Seaman came to Wells county as a boy and worked on his father's farm, at the same time attending the com- mon schools and receiving an education which was good for the time. At about the age of twenty-one years he was mar- ried to Miss Elizabeth McBride, who was of Scotch-Irish descent, being the daugh- ter of Robert McBride. She was born in Rush county, Indiana, and had received
such education as was at that time pos- sible. In 1863 they moved to their farm, where they resided until the spring of 1902, when he bought the Christmore farm. He formally owned one hundred and twenty acres, but sold forty acres to Ed Platt, thus reducing his farm to eighty acres, which he still cultivates. One son was born to them, but the young par- ents were not long permitted to enjoy the little blossom given into their care and in 1864, only a year after he first smiled into a fond mother's face, little Burwell was again taken to his home beyond the cares of earth. Being left without children, Mr. and Mrs. Seaman fostered Edward Platt, whom they soon grew to look upon as their own. These prominent people are members of the Evangelical church and have spent much time in the work of the congregation. Mr. Seaman is at present one of the trustees of the church and dis- charges his duties in an honorable and upright manner and to the entire satis- faction of the parishioners. The Demo- cratic party has always received his vote and in the affairs of his party he has been instrumental in their advancement in many ways. He served one term as trustee of Union township, during which time he took an active interest in educational af- fairs and was instrumental in obtaining the advancement of a sum of money suffi- cient to build several new school-houses which were erected under his direction and supervision. He is well and favorably known among the residents of the town- ship and county in which he resides and is looked upon as one interested in the ad- vancement of the interests of his com- munity.
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.