USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial History of Grant County Indiana > Part 108
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In the fall of 1872 Mr. and Mrs. Sheedy moved from Fayette county to Grant county, Indiana, and afterwards bought 40 acres in Liberty township, one mile west of his present farm. He resided on and farmed that place for two years, then bought 80 acres more, one mile east of the original 40, and moved to it. From time to time he added to his purchases until he now owns 300 acres. He sold the original 40 acres some time in the early nineties. Mr. Sheedy put up all the improvements on his present farm and became a well known raiser of stock, principally hogs and horses. He retired from his farm in the fall of 1913, and bought a fine residence on Walnut street, in Fairmount, into which he moved.
Mr. Sheedy first married Rebecca A. Heck, of Fayette county. Their four children, three of whom are now living, are as follows: James who graduated from the Danville Normal College and is now principal of a school in Rush county; Frank, a farmer; Ralph, de- ceased; and Thomas, at home. The mother of these children died June 4, 1884. Mr. Sheedy then married Henrietta Gordon, in August, 1884. Mrs. Sheedy was born in Liberty township of Grant county, in 1858, grew up and was educated in the common schools of Lib- erty township. She and Mr. Sheedy are active members of the Christian church. He is affiliated with Rigdon Lodge No. 428, I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife are members of the Rebekah Lodge. In politics he has been a Democrat.
THURLOW W. SHUGART. To assume that the activities of the above deserve recognition in "The Centennial History of Grant County" seems the quintessence of presumption: hence the dedication of this space to his parents. T. W. S.
Bennet and Gulie (Jay) Shugart, of "Willow Lodge." Affaire d' amour! of a pair of youthful Friend lovers-matrimonial culmina- tion-1877. This Friend bridegroom was the eldest son of Friend parents, Rev. Cornelius and Harriet (Coleman) Shugart, becoming a member of the family in 1854. Cornelius Shugart was the son of Friend parents, John and Sarah (Ratliff) Shugart. These, in turn, were of Friend origin. Harriet Shugart's parents, Elias and Rachel Coleman, were Friends of Friend descent. The bride in question was the daughter of Denny and Anna (Coggeshall) Jay, both Friends, and was born in 1858. Denny Jay's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Jay, were also Friends, of Friend descent. Anna Jay was the daughter of Nathan and Gulie E. Coggeshall, Friends who, also, were of Friend stock.
Cornelius Shugart was a Friends minister. In addition to this,
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he was a teacher of several years' experience, at one time a member of the legislature of Indiana, and the owner of over four hundred acres of Franklin and Mill township land, 370 acres of which are in possession of his direct descendants. He was, also, an M. D., but never began practice, as other fields seemed more lucrative and other- wise desirable.
Denny Jay also was a prosperous farmer, owning until his decease a large and fertile farm in Mill and Franklin townships. Seldom has an individual acquired and merited, among his friends and business associates, a name for honest integrity of more substantial proportions than did he.
With such ancestry it is not to be wondered that these two home- makers considered the personal knowledge of Christianity for each member of the family the paramount issue of the home. Into this home came four children: Nellie Bly, the wife of Charles W. Davis of near Marion; Thurlow Weed; Harriet, wife of Rev. Harold Cooper, Sedalia, Missouri; and Edith Cornelia of Vermilion Grove, Illinois.
Believing education essential for the greatest degree of efficiency in life, personal inconvenience and sacrifice, when pitted against pos- sible accruing advantages, were of only momentary consideration to these parents. Cherished educational ambitions for the first-born, Nellie, were unrealized only because of her ill health. She completed the grades, however, and for a time was a student in Marion high school. Possessing a natural and cultivated optimism rarely evidenced, she did not let her limited education become a barrier to usefulness. Thurlow W., as did all the other children of the family, received his primary training in the district school. Upon graduation from Fair- mount Academy he entered Earlham College, from which institution he was graduated with an A. B. degree. This was followed by a teaching experience of two years, during the first of which he was principal of the Ridgeville, Indiana, high school. Harriet and Edith Cornelia, pursuing together their unruffled girlhood life, were gradu- ated from the grades, following which "Old F. A." (Fairmount Acad- emy) became the scenes of now sacred memories. Together they were graduated from this institution. The year following they pursued a post graduate course, when kindly fate intercepted and Harriet became a happy bride-a pastor's wife. With such ancestral and family influences and an inbred affectionate disposition still softened by divine love, where was one more fitted for such a station? The post-graduate course in Fairmount Academy and two years' teaching in a rural school merely whetted Edith Cornelia's intellectual appe- tite; consequently collegiate work was pursued. From Earlham Col- lege she received the degree of A. B. and later did graduate work in Chicago University. At present she is principal of the Friends Acad- emy at Vermilion Grove, Illinois.
The reputation of Bennet and Gulie Shugart as reform sympa- thizers and supporters is more than county-wide. They have bestowed especial effort upon temperance and W. C. T. U. lines of activities. Since 1884 Bennet Shugart has declared consistently and continuously, at every opportunity, including the biennial early November one, for the dissolution of the National Government's partnership with the legalized liquor traffic. He was at one time his party's candidate for congress and is at present district chairman of the Prohibition party. Gulie Shugart has for twenty-three years been president of the Deer Creek W. C. T. U. and for thirteen years president of the Grant County Women's Christian Temperance Union.
While the ambition of this home has been to place "first things
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first," untiring effort has been expended to become "chargeable to no man." Improved agriculture per se has not been worth while, but per se non is ever desired and fostered. "Willow Lodge" comprises an acreage of 210 acres of Franklin and Liberty township land, eighty acres belonging to the son, the remainder also being operated by him. He has for two years been chairman of Grant County Farmers' Insti- tute Association, and is at present serving his second term as trustee of Fairmount Academy. In politics he stands "pat" against legalized vice.
Bennet and Gulie Shugart are the grandparents of one boy, Thur- low Kelso Davis, a lad of seven summers, the son of Charles W. and Nellie Davis.
WILLIAM W. WHITE. Through a good many years of successful management, the late William W. White prospered to such an extent that in his later years he was no longer obliged to devote all his ener- gies to the business of making a living, and for some time prior to his passing he occupied a place in the class of retired agriculturists, with his home located in East Converse. There he was the owner of a beauti- ful rural estate of a little more than ninety-six acres, and had a com- fortable dwelling with all the facilities for a comfortable and easy life.
William W. White was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on March 2, 1845, and died at his home in East Converse. He was a son of George W. and Rachel (Wilson) White, and the father died in Franklin county, his widow passing away in Union county of this state. They were the parents of eight children, but two of whom are now living. Sarah A. is the wife of Thomas McCord, and Rosanna is the wife of Charles L. Davis.
When William W. White was ten years old the family left Franklin county and moved to Union county. It was there that he grew to manhood and received most of his education. His schooling was lim- ited to attendance during the winter, while during the open months of the year he remained at home and gave his labors to the cultivation of the farm. He continued at home in the management of the farm until he was twenty-six years of age, and then he married Minerva Corner. They became the parents of one child, who died at the age of seventeen. After the death of his first wife, Mr. White moved out to Kansas, and there he married Ellen C. Hill, who was born in New York state, and at the age of four years went with her parents to Illinois. She was reared and educated in the public schools of Illinois, and afterwards went out to Kansas. One son was born of this second marriage,-William C. White, born August 8, 1883. He was educated in the common schools and in 1903 married Hallie Smith, and they are the parents of three daughters. Mrs. White is a birthright mem- ber of the Friends church.
Mr. White was long affiliated with Beacon Lodge No. 320, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and with his wife was a member of Rebekah Lodge No. 85, of which he was past noble grand. In his politics he was a Republican, and he served faithfully as a member of the township advisory board. A good citizen in the best sense of the term, Mr. White's passing was a distinct loss to the community wherein he made his home, and he is mourned by many who knew him for his many excellent traits of character.
CHARLES CARTER NELSON. When Charles C. Nelson married Miss Mary Ferguson, and opened a home for himself, it was "the union of two of the oldest and most prominent families," as both Nelson and
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Ferguson are old-time family names in Grant county. Mr. Nelson is a son of Martin and Alivia (Coulter) Nelson, and Mrs. Nelson's line- age is given in the A. J. Ferguson family article. The two families lived in Monroe township and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were married June 12, 1897, and until 1910 their residence was at the Martin Nelson fam- ily homestead, which had been acquired by them.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have two sons: Andrew Martin, who carries the name of each grandfather, and Philip Paul. Their daughter, Doro- thy, died when three years old. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Nelson united with Howe Christian church, and after taking up their residence in Marion their membership was transferred to the First Christian church. It used to be the boast that there were more Nelson Democrat voters than in any other Grant county family, and C. C. Nelson desires to be known as "dyed in the wool" Democrat.
C. C. Nelson has one brother, Milo Orlando Nelson, who is a farmer, and there are two sisters: Mrs. Elizabeth Luranah Strange (see sketch of J. B. Strange) and Mrs. Lucy Jane Stout, the wife of George H. Stout. Another sister, Mary Barthena Nelson, died in childhood. C. C. Nelson is the youngest of the family. Since the death of his father, Martin Nelson, February 3, 1910, his mother has called his house her home-has her own furnished room, but she divides her time among all her children and belongs to the old-fashioned type of woman- hood, the kind that can turn her hand to anything. While she was in active life on a farm she knew how to make the most of everything, and now that her days are passing in comfort she cannot be idle, must have something to occupy her hands as well as her mind. Mrs. Nelson knows all about butter making, and gilt-edge prices were given for her product.
Martin Nelson, father of C. C. Nelson, was a son of Martin and Lucy (Futrell) Nelson, and his brothers were Stephen, Winburn, Michael and Benoni, while his sisters were Mahala, Luranah and Jane. Only Benoni Nelson of that generation survives. Mrs. Alivia Nelson. mother of C. C. Nelson, was a daughter of James and Jane Coulter, and her two brothers were Cyrus R. and Stephen Coulter. Her sisters were Mary, Arabella, Isadora and Jeretta. Besides Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Isadora Wilson, Mrs. Jeretta Neitz and Cyrus R. Coulter still repre- sent the family. It will be seen that family names are handed down from one generation to another in these pioneer Nelson ancestral fam- ilies. Nearly all of Mr. Nelson's ancestors were agriculturists, and some of them were specialists.
While C. C. Nelson lived in the country he devoted his attention to live stock, feeding out a great many cattle, and for several years conducted annual cleaning up auctions at the farm, thereby putting everything on the market before it depreciated in value on his hands. He was among the first Monroe township farmers to ride out in an automobile, and for a few years held an automobile agency. On com- ing to town it was to engage in the hardware trade, and the Farmers' Friend hardware store in the Colonial building is well known to the trade. Mr. Nelson has acquired valuable realty at Nos. 513-515 South Adams street, and in the near future the Farmers' Friend hardware store will be in his own business property, store room and ware rooms all under one roof, the building to be completed in the summer of 1914, and hardware and farm implements will still be the specialty.
January 1, 1914, Mr. Nelson became county commissioner from the second district, and the duties of the office will still bring him much into contact with farmers-the class of trade to which he caters. Were it left to Mrs. Nelson, the family would live in the country. The two boys are being given school advantages, and Andrew Martin has entered
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business college, fitting himself to be useful in the Farmers' Friend hardware store. Mr. Nelson is an active member of the Jefferson Club, and the family is perhaps permanently located in town.
FRANKLIN STREIB, who is numbered among the successful agricul- turists and representative citizens of Washington township, is the owner of one hundred and sixty-five acres of excellent farming land in sections 6 and 7, and has spent his entire career in this locality. A farmer since youth, through industry and well directed effort he has made a place for himself among the men of independent means in his section, and his connection with matters of public interest has given him the reputation of being a public spirited citizen ever ready to co-operate with others in advancing the welfare of Washington town- ship and its people. Mr. Streib is a native of this township, and was born July 29, 1867, a son of Jacob and Caroline (Bowers) Streib.
Mr. Streib belongs to an old honored family, which was founded in this country by his great-grandfather, John Streib, a native of France who was reared in Germany and became a soldier in the army of the great Napoleon. After the campaign that resulted in the disastrous retreat from Moscow, in which he was captured and nearly lost his life, Mr. Streib immigrated to America, and located in Rockingham county, Virginia. There was born his son, Jacob Streib, who was married in old New England and migrated to Preble county, Ohio, later to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1839 to the Mississinewa coun- try, where he settled down to agricultural pursuits among the sturdy pioneers. He developed a farm of one hundred and sixty acres from the dense timber which covered this section in early days, and for nearly thirty years was successfully engaged in farming. In his later years he sold his farming interests and opened a grocery establishment in Marion, where he continued to reside until his death, at the remarkable age of ninety-seven years. Jacob Streib married Susannah Klingenpiel, and they had a family of six children, as follows: Sarah, who married Christian Buhl, of Richmond, Indiana; Catherine, who married Thomas O'Hara, also of that place; Sophia, who married Edward Guinan, a musician of Marion and the leader of the first band there; George, who fought as a soldier during the war between the United States and Mexico; Susan, who married William Ross and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Jacob.
Jacob Streib, the father of Franklin Streib, was born June 17, 1831, in Rockingham county, Virginia, and was reared to manhood on the pioneer homestead place in Grant county, Indiana, where he received one hundred and twenty acres of his father's property. He became a pioneer in the cattle business, engaging in selling stock to western feeders, subsequently built the first stock scales in this part of Indiana, carried on extensive business operations with the Federal government during the Civil war, and was known as one of the largest stock growers, farmers and land-owners in Grant county. He accumu- lated a property of eight hundred and fifteen acres, and at the time of his retirement, in 1890, gave each of his sons a handsome property, from that time leading a quiet life in Marion, in which city he died August 11, 1904. A man of many sterling traits of character, he' was widely known, and the universal .esteem which was granted him was evidence of the confidence in which he was held by his fellow citizens. He was married December 27, 1853, to Miss Caroline Bowers, of Rich- mond, Indiana, and they became the parents of five sons, Jacob Monroe, John Thomas, George W., Franklin and William H. The mother of these sons passed away July 23, 1899.
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Franklin Streib received his early education in district school No. 3, and this was supplemented by attendance at the Lafontaine high school in Wabash county. He was reared to pursuits of an agricul- tural nature, and continued on the home farm until reaching the age of twenty-four years, at which time he was married and received a tract of one hundred and two acres from his father. To this he added by purchase, in the spring of 1907, an eighty-acre tract in section 7, and all of his land is now under cultivation with the exception of twenty acres in timber. He is also engaged in stock raising, being constantly engaged in buying and selling stock of all kinds. He keeps two teams of horses for his farm work, uses modern machinery and methods, and is ever ready to give a trial to innovations of a progres- sive nature. In the spring of 1905 Mr. Streib erected a handsome nine- room frame house, and in addition has substantial barns and outbuild- ings, and these all being painted drab present a pleasing and attractive appearance.
In 1891 Mr. Streib was married to Miss Elzora Wagoner, daughter of William Wagoner, of Pleasant township, and to this union there has been born one daughter, Vesta Marie, who is now a student in the Marion high school. In politics Mr. Streib is a Democrat, but his only official service has been as superintendent of gravel roads. With his family he attends the Range Line Christian church.
PETER GOTSCHALL. Franklin township, of Grant county, has no citi- zen more highly respected or more entitled to the confidence and esteem of his community than Peter Gotschall, who has lived in this county for more than half a century, and has seen all its development except the very first pioneer work. He came here in 1853, on September 16th, and has always taken a public spirited attitude towards every move- ment for the benefit of his locality.
Peter Gotschall was born in Carroll county, Ohio, June 25, 1838, a son of John and Mary (Poland) Gotschall. The parents were both natives of Loudoun county, Virginia, the father born April 8, 1797, and the mother, January 9, 1795, and each came alone to Loudoun county, where they met and married. The mother's father was Na- thaniel Poland. Their marriage was celebrated in Carroll county in 1816, and the mother passed away March 21, 1845. The father subse- quently moved from Ohio to Illinois, and later drove an ox team through to California, where he died April 18, 1880. He was the father of thir- teen children, ten sons and three daughters, twelve of whom grew to maturity. Adam Gotschall enlisted in the Civil war and died at the end of one year's service. Of the large family of children, three are still living in 1913. Margaret is the wife of Henry Walton, of Illinois; and Isaac is a farmer in Carroll county, Ohio.
Peter Gotschall was reared to the age of sixteen years in Carroll county, and then in 1853 moved to Grant county, Indiana. His early career was spent on a farm, working for wages by the year, and he worked from the time he was eight years of age until he was twenty- one, at which latter time he was possessed of a capital of one hundred dollars. His wife was given ninety-eight acres by her father.
On September 19, 1858, he married Miss Pollie Drucemiller, who was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, and came to this locality with her parents, where she was married. Mr. and Mrs. Gotschall began life poor, and had to rent land at first. They secured one hundred acres, and continued to rent until they managed to get all the land cleared up, and by progressive industry and thrift finally were on the high road to prosperity. Mr. Gotschall was drafted for service in the Civil
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war on September 21, 1864, and was out until November 2nd, of the same year. He is the father of ten children, six of whom are now living : Franklin, William, John, Elvina, wife of William Heck, Jacob, and Nellie M., widow of Frank Lord. Mrs. Gotschall died March 12, 1911.
Mr. Gotschall is a worthy member of the Methodist church, in politics is a Democrat, but has never held any public office. He is the owner of eighteen lots and an interest in one hundred acres of land, and has enjoyed a quiet yet satisfactory prosperity, which has enabled him to provide well for his family, and to insure his own comforts in later years.
NELSON WOLFE. Some of the best farmers of Grant county have come back to the soil after years spent in other lines of activity, satis- fied that in the occupation of their forefathers is to be found the most profit by the man of industry, energy and ambition. In this connection it will not be inappropriate to briefly sketch the career of Nelson Wolfe, of Washington township, whose success in agricultural matters has proven that he made no mistake when he returned to this vocation after being engaged for a period in other pursuits. As the owner of 1751/2 acres of land, located in sections 9, 10 and 20, he is one of the substantial men of his community, and the interest he has shown in all that affects his locality's welfare places him among the men whose public spirit is doing so much to add to Washington township's prestige. Mr. Wolfe was born June 3, 1854, in Preble county, Ohio, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Paulus) Wolfe.
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Daniel Wolfe, the paternal grandfather of Nelson Wolfe, was a native of Virginia, and for many years prior to the Civil War was a large planter and slave-holder. From the Old Dominion State he moved to Maryland, and subsequently migrated to Preble county, Ohio, and there his death occurred when he was in advanced age. Jacob Wolfe was born in Maryland, and as a lad removed with his parents to Preble county, Ohio, there being reared, educated and married. On attaining his majority he adopted farming as his life work, and in 1877 came to Randolph county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his life in tilling the soil, and died in 1890. He married Sarah Paulus, who was born in Ohio in 1849, and they became the parents of fourteen children, as follows: Gideon, Sarah, Henry and Carolina, who are all deceased; Nelson; Lydia, who married Mr. Walker and is now a widow; Jane, who married Mr. Gebhart and resides in Preble county, Ohio; Daniel, a resident of Granville, Ohio; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Katzenberger of Greenville, Ohio; John, of Randolph county, Indiana; Lucy, now Mrs. Tryon of that county; Ida, residing at home with her mother; Clara, now Mrs. White, of Utica, Ohio; and Alice, now Mrs. Hinsley, of Randolph county, Indiana.
Nelson Wolfe received his educational training in the public schools of Preble county, Ohio, and left home at the age of seventeen years to embark upon a career of his own as a carpenter. He continued in this line for several years, two years of which were spent in Illinois, and in 1874 came to Indiana and engaged in the sawmill business, in which he was employed until 1883. He had been married in 1881, and in 1883 was able to purchase from his earnings forty acres of land from his father-in-law, which was the nucleus for his present property, seventy-six acres being subsequently added at the time of his wife's father's death. His land now consists of eighty acres in section 10, seventy-six acres in section 9, and about twenty acres in section 16, and all of this is in a high state of cultivation. That Mr. Wolfe is a capable farmer is shown by the fact that he annually raises more than
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3,000 bushels of corn, and has thirty-six acres planted at this time (1913) ; in 1912 he raised 800 bushels of oats on fourteen acres, and now has seventeen acres planted in that grain; his crop of hay in 1912 exceeded forty tons. Mr. Wolfe raises from twenty to thirty bushels of wheat per acre, and in 1913 has fourteen acres planted therein. In addition he has large pasture lands, on which graze twenty-nine head of cattle, thirty-two head of sheep and nine head of horses, all of this stock being sleek, well-fed and content. The property has been improved by the erection of substantial barns and outbuildings, while the frame residence, built in 1900, contains eight rooms and is fitted with every modern convenience and comfort. Mr. Wolfe believes in the use of modern farming machinery and up-to-date methods, and the success which has rewarded his efforts is a strong argument therefor. He has gained substantial position and independence through the exer- cise of thrift and able management and his career exemplifies what may be accomplished by the man of industry and perseverance.
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