Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 104

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034

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Jacob Streib, the father of George W. Streib, Jr., was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, June 17, 1831, and was reared on the home place, receiving 120 acres thereof on reaching his majority. He engaged in the cattle business, buying stock and selling it to western feeders, built the first stock scales in this section, did a large business with the United States Government during the Civil War, and was known as one of the largest stock growers in Grant county. He accu- mulated 815 acres of land, and upon his retirement, in 1890, gave each of his sons a farm, and from that time led a retired life in Marion until his death, August 11, 1904. He was widely known and highly esteemed. and his death removed from his community one of its best citizens. Mr. Streib was married December 27, 1853, to Caroline Bowers, of Rich- mond, Indiana, and they became the parents of five sons: James Monroe, John Thomas, George W., Franklin and William H. The mother passed to her final rest July 23, 1899.

George W. Streib, Jr., was educated in district school No. 3, attend- ing school for three months during each winter, while the remainder of the year was spent in assisting his father on the home place. At the age of nineteen years he began operations of his own, although

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he remained with the elder man until reaching his majority, when he received eighty acres of the home place, and this property he im- proved. At the time of his father's death he received sixty-five acres from the estate, and in the fall of 1910 purchased forty acres across the road, nowing owning 145 acres in section 8 and forty acres in section 7, Washington township, all of this land being improved with the exception of forty acres in timber. With his three brothers, he owns and operates a traction engine, thresher, sawmill and corn shred- der, does his own threshing and shredding, and saws a great deal of lumber. That Mr. Streib has been successful in his farming opera- tions may be seen from the record of his crops in the year 1912, which were as follows: corn, 1,500 bushels; oats, 1,475 bushels; and hay, forty tons. In 1913, at the same time of this writing, he has forty acres in wheat, thirty-five acres in corn and thirty-eight acres in oats. He sells forty hogs annually and keeps twenty head of high-grade cattle . and ten head of Norman and Belgian horses, and is also interested to some extent in poultry raising. He is possessed of all the practicality of the old-time farmer, but has ever been ready to adopt new measures and methods, and the success which has rewarded his labors gives ample evidence of his industry, application and good management. In the spring of 1911 he remodeled his residence, which now includes eleven rooms with bath, concreter porch, and hot and cold water, and is surrounded with a well-kept lawn and neat picket fence. His large red barn was built in 1893, and in the fall of 1912 he completed his granary, both of these buildings being furnished with concrete cellars. Mr. Streib has started a young orchard, and a row of shade trees com- pletes the attractiveness of this modern country home.

In 1886 Mr. Streib was married to Miss Lena Lobdell, daughter of Robert Lobdell, of Washington township, and to this union there have been born five children: Florence, who met an accidental death at the age of six years; Oliver, who married Blanche Renbarger, daughter of Ellsworth Renbarger; Robert, who resides at home and assists his father; Marie, who is in her second year in the Marion High school; and Paul, who is in his first year in that institution. The members of this family are all connected with the Eighth Street Christian church, of Marion. Mr. Streib is a stanch Democrat in his political affiliations, while his fraternal connection is with the Junior Order of American Mechanics, in which he has numerous friends.

MOSES T. BRADFORD. One of the old and honored residents of Wash- ington township, who has lived in this vicinity for upwards of sixty- eight years and has, during this time, been an important factor in the wonderful growth and development of this part of Grant county, is Moses T. Bradford, the owner of 160 acres of land in his home tract in section 17, and eighty-three acres in section 4. Mr. Bradford has been an agriculturist all of his life, and although of late years he has been somewhat retired from active pursuits still takes a keen and intelli- gent interest in the movements which are forwarding his locality's interests and continues to be one of the influential men of the section in which he has spent so many years. He was born December 6, 1845, on the old Bradford home in Washington township, now owned by O. M. Creviston, and is a son of Daniel and Louisa (Romine) Bradford.

George Bradford, the paternal grandfather of Moses T. Bradford, was born in Virginia, migrated from the Old Dominion to Ohio, and in his latter years came to Grant county and located near Fairview church, where he passed away after a long and useful life. Daniel Brad- ford was also born in Virginia, and accompanied his father in his

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migration from Ohio to Indiana, and during the early 'forties entered the present Creviston farm in Washington township from the govern- ment. With his young wife he rode overland from Ohio on horse-back, and settled in the woods in true pioneer style, and for years made his home in a little log cabin while he was clearing his land. He became a successful and highly esteemed citizen, and was known as one of the solid, reliable men of the township. He and his wife were the parents of six children, of whom one died in infancy, the others being: George, who enlisted in the Union army at the outbreak of the Civil War, and lost his life at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee; Mary Matilda, now Mrs. Johnson of Anderson, Indiana; Emma Elizabeth, who married Mr. Ebbert, and died in Illinois; Moses T .; and Jesse, who died at Monument City, Indiana.

Moses T. Bradford received his education in the old log schoolhouse in district No. 1, which was equipped with slab seats and puncheon floors, and although his advantages were somewhat limited he was an earnest and industrious scholar and managed to secure a good, prac- tical education during the short winter terms. The rest of the year he spent in helping his father in the difficult work of clearing the home farm from the heavy timber, and thus he was reared amid pioneer sur- roundings, being trained to habits of thrift, economy and industry. He remained with his father until he was twenty-three years of age, at which time he was married and purchased seventy-six acres of his present land at forty dollars an acre. To this he has since added from time to time, until he now has 160 acres in this tract, valued at $150 an acre. In 1906 he bought his eighty-three acre farm, for seventy dollars an acre, and on this unimproved property he erected a modern home and barn. The barn on the home place was erected in 1876, a large red structure, well suited to the usages to which it is put, and in an excellent state of repair. The family home was built in 1881, contains eight rooms, is comfortable and commodious, and is surrounded by a well-kept lawn, flourishing evergreens, and a substantial iron fence. The barn yard is kept as a lawn. Mr. Bradford has not engaged exten- sively in farming of late years, although in 1912 he raised, 1,000 bushels of corn, cut thirty tons of hay and marketed twenty-five hogs. The greater part of his time, however, has been devoted to raising fine stock, and at this time he has thirteen head of Polled Angus and Shorthorn cattle, and six head of Belgian horses, among the latter being "Sam." valued at $300. The house and barn are supplied with a generous water supply by a windmill pump and drilled well. Among other things, Mr. Bradford is caring for a growing orchard of apples and young fruits. Mr. Bradford has been successful because he has been indus- trious, energetic and persevering, and not because of any happy chance. From earliest boyhood he has known the value of hard work, and his career has been one of benefit to himself and to his fellow-men.

On November 8, 1868, Mr. Bradford was married to Miss Sarah E. Creviston, daughter of Daniel Creviston, an old pioneer settler of Grant county, and a native of Ohio. Four children have been born to this union : Anna Dell, who died at the age of three years; Layton. who resides at home with his parents; Lydia A., the wife of Otto Thomp- son, of Huntington county, Indiana, who has two children, Sherwood and Ethel: and Verley, farming the eighty-three acre tract, who mar- ried Effie Mae Hollowell, and has two children, Maurice T. and Helen E. In his political views, Mr. Bradford is a Republican, and for three years served as superintendent of the Huntington pike. With his family he attends Morris Chapel of the Methodist Episcopal church.

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MR. AND MRS. VERLEY R. BRADFORD AND FAMILY AND THEIR HOME, WASHINGTON TOWN

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VERLEY R. BRADFORD. Among the younger men of Washington township who are successfully carrying on agricultural pursuits in this prosperous community is Verley R. Bradford, a member of an old and honored family whose members have been identified with the interests of this locality for more than seventy years. Mr. Bradford has been a life-long resident of Washington township, where he was born April 30, 1882, on his father's farm, and is a son of Moses T. and Sarah E. (Creviston) Bradford.

George Bradford, the great-grandfather of Verley R. Bradford, was born in Virginia, and emigrated from that State to Ohio some time after his marriage, subsequently removing to Grant county, Indiana, and locating near Fairview church, where he passed the remainder of his life in farming. Daniel Bradford was also a native of the Old Do- minion, and accompanied his father to Ohio, from whence he came overland on horse-back to the timber land of Grant county, Indiana, and during the early 'forties located on and entered from the govern- ment what is now the O. M. Creviston farm in Washington township. Like his father he was engaged in tilling the soil, and became a sub- stantial and highly esteemed citizen of his community. He was mar- ried in Ohio to Miss Louisa Romine, and they became the parents of six children : one who died in infancy; George, who died in the Union service at the battle of Nashville, Tennessee, during the war between the North and the South; Mrs. Mary Matilda Johnson, now a resident of Andrews, Indiana; Mrs. Emma Elizabeth Ebbert, who died while a resident of Illinois; Moses T., the father of Verley R. Bradford; and Jesse, who died at Monument City, Indiana.

Moses T. Bradford, father of V. R. Bradford, was educated in the old pioneer log school in the vicinity of the Creviston farm, where he was born December 6, 1845. He there grew to manhood, receiving a good training in agricultural matters, and on attaining his twenty- third year was married and embarked upon a career of his own. As the years passed he accumulated a large property, and although now living somewhat retired is still well known among the agriculturists of his community as an excellent farmer and capable breeder of stock. He now owns eighty-three acres of land in section 4, this being now cultivated by his son, Verley R., and his home tract in section 17, which consists of 160 acres, all of this property being under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Bradford is a Republican and a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On November 8, 1868, Mr. Brad- ford was married to Miss Sarah E. Creviston, daughter of Daniel Creviston, an old pioneer of Grant county, and a native of Ohio, and to this union there have been born four children: Anna Dell, who died at the age of three years; Layton, who resides at home with his parents; Lydia A., the wife of Otto Thompson, of Huntington county, Indiana, and the mother of two children,-Sherwood and Ethel; and Verley R.

Verley R. Bradford secured his education in district school No. 4, in Washington township, and, reared to agricultural pursuits, began farming for himself in 1906. At that time he purchased seventy-seven acres of land, for which he went partly into debt, but this indebtedness has since been cleared off, and the land is now valued at $125 an acre. Of this property fifteen acres are in timber. In addition Mr. Brad- ford farms eighty-three acres belonging to his father, and in 1912 his labors resulted in the raising of 1,000 bushels of corn, 965 bushels of oats and twenty tons of hay. Like his father he is interested to some extent in livestock, and at this time has seven head of high-grade cat- tle. In 1911, at a cost of nearly $1,000, Mr. Bradford erected a large

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modern barn, 38x50 feet, the timbers for which were cut from his property. This structure is so commodious that it can accommodate over twenty head of livestock, can store thirty tons of hay, and still have ample room for carriages, implements and machinery. The gran- ary has a capacity of 1,500 bushels, and with the barn is painted white, the buildings presenting an especially attractive appearance. The resi- dence and barn are supplied with flowing water from a windmill pump. Mr. Bradford has always been an adherent of the use of mod- ern methods in his work, and the satisfactory results which he has obtained from his operations should be a strong and convincing argu- ment in their favor. He is known as a young man of push and energy, and his numerous friends will testify to his universal popularity.

On November 8, 1905, Mr. Bradford was united in marriage with Miss Effie Mae Hollowell, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Hollowell, of Huntington county, Indiana. She was born September 26, 1882, in Huntington county, Wayne township, and here she received her educa- tion, graduating from the common school at the age of fourteen. She then entered Bangor high school, from which she graduated. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bradford have been born two children : Maurice Thomas, born February 18, 1907, and now attending school; and Helen Elizabeth, born December 29, 1909, bright and interesting children who are being carefully reared to fill honorable positions in the world. Like his father, Mr. Bradford is a Republican in politics, but has found no time to engage actively in public affairs. With his wife, he attends the Methodist Episcopal church.

ROBERT L. POE. The Poe farm is situated six miles and a half south- west of Marion on the Roseburg Pike. This family has been identified with Grant county since the first decade of settlement and develop- ment, and Mr. Poe and family are thoroughly representative of the finer and better qualities of old-time Grant county stock.

Robert L. Poe was born in Wayne county, Indiana, July 24, 1839, a son of Gabriel P. and Elizabeth (Lloyd) Poe. Gabriel P. Poe, the father, and his wife were both natives of Guilford county, North Car- olina, where they were born, reared, educated and married. About 1822 they came west to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1842 moved up into Grant county, locating on the farm known and owned by Charles F. Boxell. They started for the west, but went only a short distance, before they concluded to return, and then settled in Franklin township on what is now known as the Sam Burrier farm, which was their home until 1855. On February 13, 1855, the family located on the farm owned by William Cook, and they remained there until 1871, when the father moved to the place now occupied by his son Robert L. On this farm the father passed away in 1872, and the mother died in 1878. They were the parents of eight children, only one of whom is now' living, Robert L. William D., a brother, died November 26, 1913, aged 79 years.

Robert L. Poe was a little more than three years old when the family came to Grant county, so that he has spent practically all his lifetime in the limits of this county. The public schools hardly deserved the name during the time he was growing up, and in consequence his edu- cation was very limited and he is one of the few men still living in Grant county who attended school in a log school house. Mr. Poe was married December 6, 1866, to Hannah Cabe, who was born in Randolph county, Indiana, December 12, 1850, and was educated in the public schools. Her parents were Thomas and Letitia (Stratton) Cabe, who came to Randolph county, from Ohio, and later settled in Grant county,

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about 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Poe remained on the old Poe homestead for four years after their marriage, and then went to making a home for themselves. Six children were born to them, whose names are: Louis O. Poe, a farmer in Franklin township; Eli T., who married Sarah Miller, and lives in Franklin township; William J. and Martha E., twins, the former of whom married Anna M. Small, and the latter married Oliver Small; Washtella, wife of William Edward; and Sandy W., who mar- ried Cora C. Small. In politics Mr. Poe is a Republican, and has filled the post of supervisor in his township. He has a comfortable home, and with his wife resides there, enjoying the comforts of a well spent life.

LEWIS O. CHASEY. A variety of service has characterized the life of Lewis O. Chasey thus far, embracing educational, military and agri- cultural activities, in all of which he has given an excellent account of himself and warranted to the fullest measure the high esteem that is accorded to him as a citizen of Franklin township and the proprietor of what is known as Fairview Farm. Mr. Chasey was born in Franklin township, on December 28, 1877, and is the son of Elmer Chasey and his wife, Sarah (Lloyd) Chasey.

Concerning the parents of the subjeet, it may be said that Elmer Chasey was born in Wabash county, Indiana, and there reared, and that he came to Grant county when he was about the age of eighteen years. He was educated in the public schools of his native county, and his marriage occurred some little time after he had located in Grant county. The lady of his choice was born and reared in Grant county, and since the death of her husband, who passed away on May 1, 1911, she has lived nine miles southwest from Marion in Franklin township. They were the parents of five children : Lewis O., of this review; Minnie B., who is the wife of Horace Kurtz, of Wabash county, Indiana; Mary A., the wife of George Stoddard of Marion; Benjamin H., who married Opal Pierce and lives in Marion, Indiana; and Hallie, who is unmarried, and makes her home with her mother.

Lewis O. Chasey was reared in Franklin township, as has been pre- viously stated, and after finishing the common schools of his community, he entered the Fairmount Academy, following the teachers' normal course of instruction, and when he had completed this course he gave his attention to the teaching profession. For four years he was em- ployed in that capacity in Grant county in the public schools, but gave up that work to enlist in Company A of the One Hundred and Six- tieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He served one year in the Spanish- American war with his regiment, and after three months in Cuba, was discharged at Savannah, Georgia, with the others of his regiment, on April 26, 1899. He returned thereupon to Indiana, coming to Grant county, and here, on August 18, 1901, he was united in marriage with Laura Harris, a daughter of B. C. Harris, of Marion, Indiana. She was a graduate of the Fairmount Academy, in the normal course, although she never put to use in a public way the training she there received. To them four children have been born : Pennina; Beatrice; Hugh, and Hal. Mrs. Chasey is a member of the Friends' Church, and she is rearing the children in that simple faith. Mr. Chasey devotes himself to his farming activities, thirty acres of which he owns, and in addition he operates one hundred acres of rented land. His success has been a pleasing one, and he stands well forward among the capable men of the community. Mr. Chasey is a Republican in his political faith, but takes no especial interest in the activities of the party and has never sought office in his community. His citizenship, however, is undeniably of the right sort, and he wields an excellent influence in his community,

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where he has spent his entire life and where he has a wide circle of stanch friends.

JOHN J. HOWARD. As president of the Van Buren Bank, organized in 1901, John J. Howard occupies a position of no small importance in his community, and his achievements in this and other lines of enter- prise have won him a reputation for business perspicacity that is well merited. Many and varied are the lines of activity that have claimed his attention and in all he has made good in a material way. His identity with the Van Buren Bank dates from the time of the organization of the concern in 1901, and bids fair to continue indefinitely.

John J. Howard was born March 8; 1868, in Delaware county, on the farm home of his parents, who were Isaiah J. and Sophie A. (Moomaw) Howard, natives of Ross county, Ohio. The parents are living today in Hartford City, Indiana, aged respectively eighty-two and seventy-eight years. For the first few years of the life of the Van Buren Bank the father was associated with his son, but has since discontinued all active business interests. He was a minister of the German Baptist church, who migrated from Ohio to Washington township, in Delaware county, in April, 1865, there buying a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He later added another tract of similar acreage, and he is today the owner of the entire lot, of two hundred and forty acres, as well as his comfortable home in Hartford City. Mr. Howard has filled various ministerial posts in the years of his service, and in former days supplied the pulpits by riding horseback over the woodland trails. . He was a pioneer preacher in the truest sense of the term, and gave his best to the service of the church in his earlier years. Although he has been virtually retired from the ministry for many years, he yet preaches on occasions. It is characteristic of the man that he gave his services without recompense or earthly reward, being content to devote himself to his farm during the week, and on Sunday would preach to gatherings wherever they might be conveniently located. These worthy people reared a fine family of nine children, concerning whom brief mention is here entered : Mrs. Alice White is a resident of Hartford City, Ind .; Mrs. Ella Jane Allen lives in Huntington; Sarah Elizabeth died in Summitville in 1895; William D. is a merchant at Cadiz, Indiana; Peter S. is a Van Buren farmer and stockman of some prominence; John J., of this review ; MeCrylus F. is a resident of Hartford city; Joseph R. is a lumber merchant at Bridgeport, Illinois, but prior to his becoming associated with that business was connected with the Van Buren Bank for some years. Edward S. is cashier of the bank. It should be men- tioned here that William. D. taught school for nineteen years, having secured his education in the Normal School and the State University at Bloomington, and that the two daughters who are now married, also gave several of their younger years to school teaching, they also having been given excellent educational advantages.

John Howard was educated in the common schools of Delaware county, and he continued at home until he was twenty-two years of age. He was trained in the business of farming, and would have doubtless made a real success of that enterprise had he elected to continue in it. But he early engaged in the timber, grain and seed business as a merchant at Summitville, Indiana, continuing there from 1890 to 1901, and during four years of this period he was successfully engaged in the manufacture of brick, and the remainder of the time was devoted to grain, lumber, seeds and live stock, with a three year period at the end when he was interested actively in real estate, loans and insurance. He grad. ually disposed of his various holdings, and in 1901 came to Van Buren,

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where he associated himself with his father, brother and others in estab- lishing the Van Buren Bank.

The building in which the bank is housed was built by the Howards, and in August, 1901, the bank was organized, with a capital stock of $25,- 000. Edward S. Howard is cashier, and the board of directors is com- posed of John J. Howard, Edward S. and P. S. Howard. The annual deposits of the bank vary between $200,000 and $225,000, and as one of the well conducted and conservative financial institutions of the county, it has an excellent standing. The bank handles fire insurance also, and represent some of the best old companies. P. S. Howard, who is a stock- holder in the bank and a member of its directorate as mentioned above, is a farmer and stockman of Van Buren, and he operates successfully a farm of one hundred and twenty-eight acres.

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Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 104

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034