Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 29

Author: Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926; Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: 428, 502 p. : ill., ports. ;
Number of Pages: 962

USA > Indiana > Whitley County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 29

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).

R. TUTTLE, one of the old settlers of Whitley County, was born in New York in 1816, and was the son of Wolcott and Polly (Sanford) Tuttle, also na- tives of that State. The mother died in New York, and in 1830 the father came West, locating on a farm in Sandusky County, Ohio. On this farm our subject was reared till 1837, when he came with his brother Horace to La Grange County, this State, and two years later removed to this county and erected a cabin on some wild land in this township, which they cleared up and worked for ten years. They then came to Columbia City and engaged in mer- cantile business and in running a hotel, which latter they continued till 1860, when they were burned out; and the mercantile firm was continued till 1863, when Horace died. Since then our subject has been engaged in the boot and shoe trade-now in connection with a nephew, C. W. Tuttle. In 1881, our subject bought the Columbia City Flouring Mill, which he operates also in con- nection with C. W. Tuttle. Mr. R. Tuttle has served as Township Trustee, and also several terms in the City Council; he has done much toward the ad-

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vancement of the county and town, has always been identified with every move- ment looking toward public improvement, and is one of Columbia's most res- pected citizens.

C. W. TUTTLE is a son of Horace and Letitia (Caldwell) Tuttle, of New York. The father was an early settler in Whitley County, coming here in 1839 with his brother Ranson, and assisting in promoting the farming and mercantile interests of Columbia City and township. He died in 1863, and his wife in November, 1862. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are still living, viz .: Randolph, in the West ; our subject; Margaret E. Lavey, of Huntington ; Franklin P., in Colorado, and Laura M. The sixth, William S., died in Texas, aged twenty-seven years. Our subject is a native of Columbia Towuship, and has been engaged in mercantile pursuits all his life. He is now connected with his uncle, Ranson, in the boot and shoe trade, and in managing the Columbia City Flouring Mills. The mill has a capacity of five run of stone, and is well and favorably known throughout the country. Mr. Tuttle enlisted August, 1862, in Company K, Eighty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and took part in the battle at Perryville, Ky. He married Miss Allie B. Nesler in December, 1869, and is the father of two children-Ranson E. and Laura B. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and is looked upon as one of the most promising young business men of Whitley County.

CHRISTIAN D. WAIDLICH was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, December 12, 1824, and is one of twelve children born to John D. and Mary Waidlich, who lived and died in Germany. The father was a very prominent and highly educated man, for many years in the employ of the German gov- ernment as professor in educational matters, respected and esteemed by all. He died in 1854 or 1855, and his widow died in 1862. Both were devoted members of the Lutheran Church. Christian D. is the third son of his par- ents ; was educated and learned the cabinet-maker's trade in his native coun- try. His eldest brother, a blacksmith, came to America in 1840, and wrote home such glowing descriptions of the country that Christian and his brother were induced to emigrate in the spring of 1842, being thirty-six days on the ocean. They landed in New York, and from there went to Franklin County, Penn., where Christian engaged in carpentering until 1845, when he decided to. go West, and located in Columbia City, where he worked at his trade until 1856, when he entered into a partnership in the dry goods and grocery busi- ness; he has since his arrival been actively identified with the business interests of the city, and from a penniless boy has raised himself to a position of influ- ence and wealth ; at present he is a stock-owner of the Eel River Woolen Mills, of which corporation he is Vice President. Since the war, Mr. Waid- lich has been a Republican, and has filled the office of Town Trustee at differ- ent times. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., also the O. F. Encampment. He was married in 1847 to Ann Moore. In the summer of 1852, she passed away, leaving two children-William H. (deceased) and Mary E., now Mrs.

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Harley. Mr. Waidlich was again married, in 1854, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Myers) Bixby, who is yet living. Both Mr. and Mrs. W. are members of the Luther- an Church.

DR. WILLIAM WEBER, son of Michael and Anna (Falter) Weber, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, June 16, 1839. Together with his parents, he emigrated to America in 1840, and, after a voyage of sixty days, arrived in New York, and from there proceeded to Seneca County, Ohio, where Mrs. Weber's relatives lived, removing from there to Huntington County, Ind., where the parents engaged in farming, and where Mr. Weber yet lives. Mrs. Weber died of cholera in 1853. Mr. W. has since married Barbara Smith, a widow lady, who is yet living. Dr. William Weber is one of eleven children, seven of whom are living ; was reared on a farm, and received a good common school and seminary education, graduating from Bryant & Stratton's Mercantile Col- lege in November, 1865. He engaged in teaching until 1867, when he began the study of medicine under Dr. W. B. Lyons, of Huntington, where he remained three years. He attended a course of medical lectures at the Winona Medical College at Cincinnati in 1867-68. He graduated from the Detroit Medical College in 1869, and from Winona Medical College in 1871. He then located in Columbia City, where he has since been a successful practitioner in his pro- fession. In May, 1875, he was married to Mary E. Myers, who is the mother of four children-Flora E. (deceased), Edward A., Floyd W. and Levi R. The parents are members of the Lutheran faith, and the Doctor is Democratic in pol- itics, and a member of the Town Board of Trustees, and an eminently success- ful and highly respected citizen.

J. C. WIGENT was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., March 21, 1840. His father, Urial Wigent, a farmer, married Ruhannah Clark in New York, and moved to De Kalb County, Ind., in 1845, and from there to Union Town- ship, Whitley County, where he was killed by an accident in 1874. His widow is yet a resident of Union Township. They were parents of nine children, five of whom are still living, the subject of our sketch being the third child. He lived on the farm of his parents until twenty-one years of age. In October, 1861, he enlisted in the Fifth Battery, Indiana Volunteers, commanded by Capt. Simonson. He was mustered into service some time after, and soon went to the front, participating in the battles of Champion Hill, Murfreesboro, Stone River, Chickamauga, and in all the engagements and skirmishes of the Atlanta campaign, including Resaca, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro, etc. Mr. Wigent was honorably discharged at the close of the war as a non-commissioned officer. He returned to Whitley County after the war, and engaged in farming for more than a year. He then spent a few months in the West; returned to Indiana and engaged in the grocery business at Fort Wayne. In 1873, he moved to Coesse and, while there, was elected County Recorder of Whitley County, on the "People's Ticket," serving until 1878; then engaged in the abstract business. Mr. Wigent possesses the only set of abstract books in the

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county, and, besides looking up titles to property, practices law when it con- nects with his business. He is a Republican, and a member of the A., F. & A. M. He was married, October 22, 1868, to Miss Ida M. Spore, at Nor- walk, Ohio. Of four children born to them, there are now living Roy W., Warren R. and Claud U.

J. G. WILLIAMS, banker, is a native of Delaware County, Ohio, his birth occurring May. 17, 1832. He is one of four children born to Elijah and Margery (Place) Williams, who were natives, respectively, of Virginia and New York, and of Irish and Welsh descent. Elijah Williams was a tanner by trade, but in connection with that followed farming. He died in 1857, pre- ceded by his wife in 1852. Both were honored and esteemed members of the Baptist Church. J. G. Williams was raised and educated in his native county, and for two years preceding his removal to Indiana was engaged in clerking for Adam Wolfe. In December, 1854, he came to Columbia City, and entered the employ of Wolfe & Foust, both of whom are his present partners. The greater part of the following fifteen years he was in the employ of Mr. Wolfe, in different parts of Ohio and Indiana, engaged in banking and merchandising. A part of this time, he, on his own responsibility, was a member of a banking firm in Muncie, Ind., and for six years was engaged in the produce trade at Bluffton, Wells Co. The fall of 1875, he removed to Columbia City, and became a partner in the Columbia City Bank, under the firm name of F. H. Foust & Co., and he has remained here engaged in banking ever since. While a partner in the bank of Muncie in 1867, Mr. Williams was called to Columbia City in the interests of his old employers, and during his absence, his partner, like many others before and since, engaged in grain speculation to such an extent as to compromise the honor of the bank and cause its failure. Mr. Williams could, in all honor to himself, have taken advantage of the bankrupt law then in force, and thus have saved a great many hundred dollars. Instead, however, he assumed his share of the debts, besides losing his capital, and, with honor to himself and fidelity to his creditors, has since been gradually paying off the obligations. By shrewd business management and hard labor, he has done this, besides securing a solid financial position in the bank of which he is now a member. Mr. Williams was married in December, 1854, in Eaton, Preble Co., Ohio, to Miss Josephine Bruce. He is a Republican in political principle, and a member of the I. O. O. F., also the O. F. Encampment.

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COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP.

EDWARD B. BEESON was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Octo- ber 28, 1837, and was the eldest of four children born to Henry B. and Cath- arine Beeson, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and Germany, and both died when our subject was but seven years of age, who was then bound out till he was fourteen. He came to Columbia City in 1856, and here learned the blacksmith trade under B. F. Beeson. After serving his apprenticeship, he read law for two years under Myers & Cotton, and afterward with James S. Collins. April 15, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Seventeenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, then called the Whitley County Volunteers. He was in the battles of Chickamauga, Shiloh, and many others, and was mustered out August 28, 1865. February 22, 1866, he married Miss Miranda Compton, of Muskingum County, Ohio, but a resident of Whitley. They are members of the Church of God, and also of the Patrons of Husbandry, of which latter Mr. Beeson is the Deputy for this county.

HERMAN H. BEESON, son of William and Hannah (Hamby) Beeson, was born in Stark County, Ohio, September 25, 1831. In 1843, his parents came to Columbia City, then a town of but five houses, and here his father engaged in farming until 1845, when he was taken ill and died. Our subject was then apprenticed to the blacksmith trade, at which he served three years, and then he went into the employ of the New York & Erie Railway Company, and on this and other roads was engaged for twenty-eight years, and then retired to his farm in this township in 1877. He was married, February 20, 1855, to Lucinda Foight, and has had a family of eleven children, as follows: Samuel, Elizabeth E., Benjamin F., Eliza B., Frances M., Lucinda B., Satiah P., Henry H., John W., Heber A. and Lydia L., of whom six are still living.

JOHN BRAND was born March 13, 1822, in the village of Steinbach, Bavaria, and is one of four children born to Peter and Jacobina (Roderstein) Brand. The father was a shepherd in Germany, and the mother of good fam- , ily, many of her relatives holding high offices under the empire, and she was disinherited for marrying Mr. Brand. They came to America in 1831, lived five years at various points in Pennsylvania, and then settled in Ohio. In early life, our subject worked on a canal, and later on a farm for several years. He then turned to brick-making in summers and brewery work in winter, and so continued till 1851, when he married Mary A. Loudensleger. In October, 1858, he came to Columbia City, and now owns the largest brick-kiln in the county, and in 1881 made 1,200,000 brick, all of which were disposed of in the county. He has a family of eight children, viz .: Catharine, John W., George F., Laura A., Clara L., Alma E., Charles C. and Maud Q. John and George are engaged in the drug business at Churubusco. Mr. Brand is a Free-

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mason and an Odd Fellow, and has held several offices in eachı fraternity, and Mrs. Brand is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

DAVID BROWN was born near Canton, Stark County, Ohio, March 27, 1817, the son of David and Sarah (Brothers) Brown, natives of Pennsylvania. Our subject moved to Hancock County, Ohio, in 1839, where he resided three years, and then came to this township, and for a number of years worked at wood-chopping, rail-splitting and land-clearing, and thinks he has cleared at least 300 acres. Previous to moving in, he had bought forty acres, a part of what is now the Poor House Farm. About 1852, he disposed of this and bought the 100-acre farm he now occupies. His early neighbors were red men, of whom there were about 700 in the county. May 28, 1839, he was married to May Cook, of Stark County, Ohio, and to their union have been born nine children, viz .: Andrew J., John C., Joseph, William H., David, Catharine, Harriet, Melinda and Hannah. The second son, John C., enlisted in the Seventy-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry ; was in a number of engagements, and was killed at the battle of Mission Ridge, while trying to capture a confederate flag.

DANIEL D. BROWN, born in Stark County, Ohio, February 12, 1824, is one of twenty-one children born to Daniel and Elizabeth (Houser) Brown, nine of whom are still living. At the age of nineteen, our subject began life for himself. He had lived in Hancock and Williams Counties, Ohio, prior to 1853, when he came to this township and purchased a farm northwest of Co- lumbia City, which he improved to a considerable extent, disposed of and then bought 195 acres south of the town, where he is engaged in farming and in conducting a dairy. In 1848, he married Rebecca Brenner, who came from Germany at the age of three years, and resided in Hancock County, Ohio. They have a family of eight children, as follows : Levi, Harriet (married and living in Sumner County, Kan.), Alvin (married and living in Whitley County), Peter, Emma J., Ellen, John and Louis.

JOSEPH COOK, son of Henry and Catharine Cook, was born in Canton, Stark Co., Ohio, April 18, 1819. Mr. Cook came to Whitley County in the spring of 1845, and arrived here with only $5 in cash, and that unpassable. He began as a day-laborer, working for his neighbors at clearing land, chopping wood and splitting rails. He thinks, " without a doubt," he has " cleared at least one hundred acres of land." His best day's wood-chopping was six cords, for which he received 75 cents; best day's rail-splitting, 730. Previous to his moving here permanently, he had entered forty acres Government land, and in 1850, purchased the farm on which he now lives, which he has all cleared and put under cultivation. In 1844, he married Harriet Bronson, and they have five children-Winfield S., Victor E., Eliza I., Anna and Clara. The eldest, Winfield S., is also a farmer.

C. H. CREAGER, one of the first settlers of Whitley County, was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, August 16, 1821. His parents came to the

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county in 1836, when the roads were mere Indian trails and almost impassable from mud. On their way to this point, the Creagers were obliged to abandon one wagon in the north part of Huntington County, and our subject, in seek- ing for help, lost his way in the woods and spent his first night in this county in the open air, without even a fire. and with two inches of snow on the ground. Mr. Creager first settled in Cleveland Township, and for fifteen years worked out, and then bought a farm for himself which he worked, and ran a saw-mill at the same time. In 1860, he was elected County Commissioner, and re- elected in 1863, being the only candidate elected on the Democratic ticket. In 1840, he married Susanna Obenchain, who bore him seven children, and died in 1862. In 1863, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Melter, and to this union have been born four children, viz .: Joseph I., Oscar B., Angeline and Armenta.

LEWIS C. DOWELL was born in Holmes County, Ohio, July 3, 1838, and is one of a family of ten children born to Lewis and Christina (Long) Dowell, eight of whom are still living. His father was born in Virginia, and his mother in Maryland. Our subject received a medium common school edu- cation, and remained with his parents till he reached his majority, when he turned his attention to the carpenter's trade, which he soon abandoned and went to farming. His parents came to this township December 25, 1850, and purchased a farm of 120 acres, of which his father cleared about 100 acres and then disposed of it, and, in 1861, he and his father purchased the farm on which he now resides. He was married August 4, 1863, to Miss Mary Brown, of Noble County, and to their union have been born six children, named as fol- lows-Phoebe J., Jacob L., Martha I., Elzadie, Charles A. and Warren E. Mr. Dowell is a member of the Church of God, northwest of Columbia City.

W. H. DUNFEE was born in Adams County., Penn., April 10, 1822. He is a cabinet-maker, and came with his parents to Ohio in 1831, and with them lived till 1845, when he came to Fort Wayne, and worked at his trade till the spring of 1847, when he came to and settled in Columbia City. In 1854, he was elected Sheriff of Whitley County as a Democrat, and re-elected in 1856. He had previously been chosen County Assessor, and afterward served two terms as Township Assessor, when he retired to private life. When Mr. Dunfee came to the county Columbia City was little else than a cross-road settlement, and the surrounding country a vast body of woods. March 5, 1848, he married Catherine Jones, of Columbia City, and to them have been born eight children, four of whom are living. They were respectively named as fol- lows : Laura V., Sophia E., Henrietta R., William J., Albert E., Harry H. and Flora C.

GEORGE EBERARD, SR., a Whitley County pioneer, was born in Huntingdon County, Penn., September 15, 1806. His father, a farmer, emi- grated to Stark County, Ohio, in 1820, and our subject worked on the home farm until twenty-four years old. April 14, 1829, he married Catharine Sny-

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der, of Stark, who died February 22, 1870, in the sixty-fourth year of her age, and of her marriage life the forty-second. July 23, 1872, he married Mary C. Killian, his present wife. After his first marriage he carried on a distillery for sixteen years. In 1852, he came to Whitley, and at that time and subse- quently purchased 2,300 acres of land, 1,500 of which he has divided among his children. He was always an industrious man, and accumulated his wealth by hard work, stock-raising and good management, and is now retired to enjoy the fruits of his labor. By his first wife he was the father of eight children, six still living and married, viz. : Annie, Harry, John, George, Elizabeth and Catharine. He is a member of the Reformed Church, and has, in his time, built two church edifices, one in Ohio and one in Whitley, contributing one- seventh of the money for the same, and has also donated the land for what is known as the Eberhard Graveyard.

JOHN EBERHARD, son of George Eberhard, Sr., was born in Stark County, Ohio, November 7, 1832. He has a farm of 440 acres, and is engaged also in rearing, buying and selling live stock. He is very fairly educated, though a considerable part of his schooling was obtained at the log schoolhouses of his early days. He came with his parents to Whitley County in 1852, and the greater part of his life has been spent in hard work, clearing land, etc. He was married September 22, 1857, to Catharine Markel, a native of Ger- many, who died January 26, 1867, leaving four children, named Josiah, Henry, John J. and Lavinia. He was married to his present wife, Elizabeth Brown, of Whitley County, August 16, 1868, and by this union has had born to him a family of three children, viz. : Minnie L., Sarah A. and Mandila. Mr. Eberhard, like the other members of his father's family, belongs to the Reformed Church.

GEORGE EBERHARD, JR., was born in Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio, September 7, 1834, and is a son of George Eberhard, Sr .; is a farmer and stock-raiser, as was his father, and came to this township with his parents in 1852, where he now owns three farms, comprising 384 acres. He has also been engaged in steam threshing, and in 1863 had the misfortune to lose an arm while occupied at that business, but still keeps a machine and does his own threshing and that of some of his neighbors, yet does not make it a busi- ness. He was married, October 7, 1855, to Barbara Nible, and to this union have been born eleven children, viz .: Eli, Catharine, Franklin, George, Fanny, Daniel, Ellen, Mary A., Melissa A., Laura and Barbara. Of these, Eli and Catharine are married and reside in Whitley County. Our subject and wife are members of the Reformed Church.

CHRISTIAN KOURT was born in Switzerland January 13, 1829. His parents, Christian and Susanna Kourt, came to America and settled in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1833, where they died in 1855. Our subject's education was quite limited, his whole schooling consisting of twenty-one and a half days. He began working for himself at the age of twenty-four, and fol-

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lowed farming. In 1836, he came to Whitley County, and now has a farm of 115 acres in this township. He was married to Mary A. Fridiger, of Licking County, Ohio, March 24, 1854, and has had a family of nine children, named as follows: Elizabeth, John, Christian, Mary and Sarah (twins), Caroline, Henry, Ida and Julia A. The eldest of these, Elizabeth, is married and resides in Whitley County. Our subject and wife are members of the German Re- formed Church.

WILLIAM M. HUGHES, youngest child of Charles W. and Mary (Rivers) Hughes, was born in Columbia City February 10, 1850. His parents were natives of Virginia and came to this county in 1842. His father was a farmer by occupation, but in 1844 was appointed Auditor of Whitley County, and served nine months in that office. A short time after, he was chosen Probate Judge, and held that office for three years. In 1847, he was elected Treasurer of Whitley County, and held the office for three years. After a short retirement he was again called to the office, and in 1856 was elected Recorder. After the expiration of his office, he withdrew from public life, and engaged for a short time in dealing in stock. He was competent to fill any office and always ready to assist the needy. He died January 26, 1864, after a long and useful life. William M. Hughes, our subject, is a farmer and is owner of 248 acres of finely cultivated land. He was married, March 23, 1871, to Jennie C. Yountz, and has a family of three children, viz .: Charles W., Virginia and Mary.

ELIAKIM MOSHER, one of the earliest settlers of Whitley County, was born in Oswego County, N. Y., August 29, 1830, and was one of a family of six children born to Benona and Cynthia (Pierce) Mosher, who came here in 1841, and settled on the farm where our subject now resides. The father hewed into the forest, erected a log house and moved in March 3, 1841, and began clearing the farm. The nearest neighbors were Indians, but they proved themselves friendly and were a great help to the family. Our subject well remembers the removal of the Indians from the county and many incidents connected with them prior to that time. His father died when he was fourteen years of age, and in consequence he did not receive a very good educa- tion, and yet, although a farmer, he can turn his hand to various employments. His farm comprises 160 acres, of which 100 are under cultivation. December 25, 1852, he married Catharine Mowrey, who died January 19, 1870, leaving a family of eight children, viz., Adam B., Francis S., Charlie F., Michael H., Clara J., Abram H., Julia A. and Clarinda. November 21, 1871, our subject married his present wife, Mrs. Rhua Grimes. He is a member of the Method- ist Church of Columbia City.

SANFORD T. MOSHER was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., Novem- ber 5, 1827, and was one of eight children born to Peter and Mary (Birch) Mosher, five of whom are still living. Our subject was fairly educated, and came with his parents to this county in October, 1840, and settled on forty

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Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 29

Author: Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926; Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900 Publication date: 1882 Publisher: 428, 502 p. : ill., ports. ; Number of Pages: 962

Author: Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852-1926; Blanchard, Charles, fl. 1882-1900
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: 428, 502 p. : ill., ports. ;
Number of Pages: 962