Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 33

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 33
USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 33

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).

MICHAEL WAUTZ, deceased, was born in Adams County, Penn., De- cember 1, 1809, and when a boy came with his parents to Preble County,

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Ohio, and was there reared to manhood, receiving only a limited education. In December, 1832, he married Miss Mary Smyres, who was born April 13, 1814, in Adams County, Penn. In 1836, Mr. Wautz came to this county and entered 240 acres of land on Section 31, in what is now Cleveland Township, and then returned to Ohio, and that fall he sent out his brother-in-law, David Smyres, to make some improvements, deaden trees, etc. In 1837, Mr. Wautz received his land patent, signed by President Van Buren, and in 1838 came with his family to his possessions in this county. There were three children in his family at that time, and seven were born to him in this State-ten in all-viz. : Sarah, Abraham, Ann R., Amanda, William J., Nelson, Martin, Albert P., Peter E. and Callista E. He brought with him a blind horse and a yoke of oxen-no money-and he saw many hardships and privations, and there are few of the old settlers who were better or more favorably known than Mr. Wautz. He was a Democrat and a member of the Lutheran Church. He accumulated much property and was liberal in his donations to religious, educational and other worthy objects. He died April 22, 1881, his wife hav- ing departed some years before. Frederick Wautz, brother of the above gen- tleman, came to Cleveland Township with his wife, who was Catharine Wysung, and family, in 1845. They were industrious and well-to-do people, and had a family of seven children. Frederick died September 19, 1879, and was a good man and useful citizen. Albert P. Wautz, son of Michael, was born in Cleve- land Township, February 20, 1853. He was reared on his father's farm, receiving a good common-school education. He married Miss Sarah A. Ward, October 14, 1878. She was born in this township September 12, 1861. Albert P. owns 180 acres of the old homestead, and is well posted on farming, stock raising and the affairs of the day, and is a young man of prominence and ability.

RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.

JOHN R. ANDERSON was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, October 7, 1816, the son of Samuel and Rebecca (Rose) Anderson, natives of Ireland and New Jersey, respectively, and of Scotch and German extraction. Our subject was left an orphan at an early age, and went to school and worked on a farm in his native county till twenty years old, when he came West, arriv- ing in this county, with Andrew Compton and family, in 1837. He soon after entered the land, where he now lives, and engaged to work one year for $90, with which he made another entry. The winter of 1838 he returned to Mus- kingum County, Ohio, and attended school, and the winter of 1839 attended school in Kosciusko County, and the spring following built a cabin on his farm. October 21, 1841, he married Lucinda Witt, daughter of David and Deborah Witt, and by this union had ten children, six of whom are living. Our sub-

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ject was present at the organization of Richland Township, and there cast his first vote ; and has been called since to fill all the offices in the early history of the township. Subject's son, Joseph E., served as Sergeant in Company E. Forty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing; was honorably discharged and re-enlisted as a recruit for the 100-day call. Our subject and Mr. William Rice are the only two living of those who voted at the first election in the township.

W. N. ANDREWS, druggist, was born in Portage County, Ohio, October 13, 1828, the son of Samuel L. and Harriet (Shurtleft) Andrews, natives of Connecticut and Massachusetts, respectively, and of Welsh and Scotch descent. They were early settlers in the State where our subject was born. In May, 1839, they moved to La Grange County, this State, where they purchased a farm; but, being all attacked with the ague, except the father, they sold out and came to this township the October following. For the second time a farm was entered in the forest, a cabin erected, and six chil- dren reared, and the farm is now a pleasant home. Our subject assisted in the building of the first schoolhouse in this township, and was one of its stu- dents under the tuition of Miss Zella Adams. When nearly twenty, he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and worked thereat for seven or eight years ; then taught school, at intervals, for four years. In 1862, he entered the drug store of Mason & Greg, at Columbia ; in 1864, started and conducted a store at Auburn for Mr. Greg ; and a year later, engaged with Meyer Brothers, Fort Wayne, with whom he remained till 1877, when he and W. J. Tyree opened the store he is now conducting. Our subject has been twice married- in 1850 to Rebecca Hoover, and in 1852 to Rebecca A. Richey, daughter of George Richey, a native of Ireland. By his last union he has had born to him six daughters, five of whom are living. Mr. Andrews is an active business man and is Postmaster of Larwill.

HENRY BAILEY is a native of the " Buckeye " State, his birth occur- ring in Coshocton County in 1836. His parents, James and Elizabeth Bailey, were natives of Delaware and Pennsylvania respectively, and of English and Dutch descent. Henry Bailey remained on the home farm, working and at- tending school until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began for himself, and in 1861 removed to Van Wert County, Ohio, and purchased a half-interest in a saw-mill, to which he gave his attention for three years, removing in 1865 to Coshocton County, where he purchased a farm, but in 1868 he sold out and came to Richland Township, locating on a fine farm of 160 acres, where he still remains. Mr. Bailey was married in June, 1863, to Miss Ruth A. Richey, daughter of M. F. and Sarah Richey, both natives of Ohio, and of English and Irish descent. They have but one child-Homer Bailey. Mr. and Mrs. Bai- ley are of the Baptist faith, Mr. Bailey contributing largely toward the support of that denomination in Larwill. Mr. Bailey is one of the most energetic and enterprising of men, being influential in the establishment of the first tile-mill in

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the county, shipping the first tile and laying the first tile ditch in the township. He does not aspire to political eminence, but devotes his time to stock-raising and home improvements, and all objects devoted to the public good, we find in him an able coadjutor.

HARLOW BARBER (deceased) was born in Goshen, Litchfield Town- ship, Conn., May 8, 1798, and was the son of Jared and Eunice (Holcomb) Barber, natives of New England. He was a mason by trade, and his wife aided him in the support of his family by weaving. In his childhood, he had been removed by his parents to a farm in Genesee County, N. Y., which he assisted in clearing up, and near by which was a mound, known as Barber Hill. When grown, he went to Georgia for a year and assisted an uncle, an extensive cattle dealer. Returning home, he married, October 14, 1824, Elsie Case, daughter of Truman Case, and born in Berkshire County, Mass., October 22, 1803. He then located on the south side of Barber Hill and farmed until 1838, when he came to Troy Township, this county, and located on Section 14, where he built a round-log cabin, which is still standing as one of the pioneer land- marks, and has been occupied as a residence the better part of the time since. He cleared up this land, and in 1852 sold out and bought the farm now owned by his son, F. B., and this he, a few years later, sold, and located near Larwill, where he farmed a number of years, and as age crept on, he moved into town, and spent the remainder of his days in retirement. His wife, Elsie, died in 1832, from consumption, the mother of five sons, four now living. He took his second wife about 1834, his first wife's sister and his uncle's widow, who bore him two children. After establishing for himself a good record, he died July 11, 1881, from dyspepsia, at the age of eighty-three. His wife survives him at the age of ninety-six, and is living, hale and hearty, with her step-son, W. E. Barber.

E. L. BARBER was born in Genesee County, N. Y., August 28, 1831, and came with his parents to this county at the age of eight. Being not over- strong, his early days were spent in catching small game and keeping depreda- tory birds and animals away from the crops on his father's farm. After a visit to a step-sister for a couple of years, he went to Miami County, Ohio, to live with Dr. E. H. Sutton, as a student of medicine, and worked for his board, and did odd jobs to supply himself with clothing. Here be stopped three years, and the last winter taught school. In the spring, he passed some time in the dis- secting-room, and then attended a private school at Fort Wayne the rest of the summer. On his return home, he taught geography from outline maps ; then made a trip to New York, taught geography again on his return, and then took a third interest in a dry goods store in Larwill. In 1852, he organized a com- pany and started overland for California, and there remained seven years, en- gaged in mining most of the time. In 1859, he returned home to take care of a brother very low with consumption. The following spring, he began selling goods from a wagon, and in 1861 started as a general dealer in the town then

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known as Huntsville. He did business for some time in Etna, and then sold his store-building and removed his stock to present place, where he is continuing the same trade. During his residence in Larwill, he served as Postmaster seven years. He was married, in 1868, to Rachel Jameson, and became the father of five children-one daughter and three sons of whom are now living.

JAMES BAYMAN was born in Miami County, Ohio, in 1811, and was the son of John and Mary Bayman, both natives of Virginia, and of French de- scent. When the subject was three years old his mother died, and a few years later his mother was married to David Whitman, of Darke County, Ohio, in which county our subject spent his boyhood in working on a farm. In the fall of 1836, he married Hannah Hole, daughter of William and Elizabeth Hole, natives of Virginia. The same year, he entered eighty acres in Wells County, and the following year moved upon it, brought it out of the woods transformed to a perfect farm, and in 1852 sold and removed to this township; located on wild land, which he thoroughly improved, increased to 320 acres, gave a por- tion of it to his sons, and now has a comfortable home of 117 acres. He is the father of eleven children, of whom six sons and three daughters are now living. His son Alexander was with Gen. Sherman in his famous march to the sea, having enlisted, in the fall of 1862, in Company K, Eighty-eighth Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry. His second son enlisted February 11, 1865, and was out till the close of the war.

S. BENTON was born in Pasquotank County, N. C., in 1822, and at the age of eight years was brought by his parents to Wayne County, this State. He was married in August, 1843, to Anna Guard, and the October following moved to Etna Township, this county now, but then a part of Noble County. His forest farm consisted of eighty acres, and he had $50 in cash with which to start life in a new country without roads or home markets. He stopped with Mr. James Long until he had time to erect a cabin, into which he moved the thirteenth day after his arrival. It had a paper window, but no door nor fire- place. Nevertheless, by industry, he has created for himself a comfortable home, and therein has reared his family. He has vivid recollections of the Indians of that day, and of the plenitude of deer, turkeys and other game. His nearest market was Fort Wayne, and to that point he carried his produce and bought his groceries, and the trip took from three to four days. By trapping and wild animals, he was enabled to pay his taxes through the sale of their pelts. His energy was rewarded subsequently by his fellow-citizens calling upon him to fill several minor offices of the township, including that of Viewer of Roads. He has been twice married, and is the father of eight children, six of whom are still living. His first wife died in 1873, at the age of fifty-two. August 20, 1875, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, widow of Henry Smith, and they are the parents of six children. Mr. Benton is a Freemason, and an honored citi- zen of Larwill, at which place he now resides.

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D. J. BOWMAN, hardware merchant, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in 1833, and is the son of David and Margaret Bowman, natives of Pennsylva- nia, and of German descent. He was reared on a farm, and came with his parents to Washington Township, Noble Co., Ind., in 1846. He assisted his parents in clearing from the forest a farm, and at the age of twenty started for himself, making a purchase for $200, on one year's time, of some wild land, which, through hard work and saving habits, he succeeded in paying for. In 1858, he married Miss Helen E. Jones, daughter of Eli Jones, and then sold his farm and bought eighty acres in Section 32, Etna Township, this county, which he redeemed from the forest and converted into a pleasant home. He worked for a number of years at the carpenter's trade, and in August, 1862, enlisted in Company K, Eighty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged in June, 1865, having been under Gen. Sherman's com- mand nearly the whole time. He is quite active as a politician, and has filled the position of Township Assessor one term. He and his wife have one child, and are members of the Baptist Church, he also being a member of Ma sonic Lodge, No. 377. Subject moved to Pierceton in 1871 or 1872, served a few years as clerk in a hardware store, then eighteen months in a dry goods store, and in 1881 came to Larwill, and started his present large hardware establishment.

ALEXANDER BUNTAIN, deceased, when but an infant child accom- panied his parents from Virginia-his native State-to Highland County, Ohio. He was born in 1813, and resided in Ohio until about the year 1841, when he came to this township and began improving land, owned by his father. He married, in September, 1841, Miss Mary T. Buck, and shortly afterward settled on the farm he had cleared, and for many years lived happily. At his death, which occurred in September, 1870, the community mourned the loss of an old and valued citizen. Mr. Buntain served in the capacity of Township Trustee two terms, and was the father of six children, all of whom are living but one. Mrs. Buntain is the daughter of John and Catharine Buck, who came from Madison County, Ohio, to this township, and located in 1839, on the farm now owned by Henry Bailey. Mrs. Buntain is yet living on the home- stead farm.

JOHN BUNTAIN, deceased, was born in Highland County, Ohio, in 1817, and was a son of John and Elizabeth Buntain, natives of Virginia, of Irish descent. The subject was reared on a farm, and in 1842 came to this township, and began improving some land previously purchased by his father. He built a cabin, and in 1843 married Lydia A. Trimble, daughter of Abner and Mary Trimble, natives of Madison County, Ohio. Here they experienced the vicissitudes of pioneer life, and reared their family, four children having re- sulted from their union, three boys and one girl. Mr. Buntain was a highly respected and industrious man, owning a well-improved farm of 160 acres at the time of his death, which occurred in October, 1878. Mrs. Buntain came to this county with her mother three years prior to her marriage with Mr. Bun-

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tain. Their eldest son John R. enlisted in 1864 in Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was in the battles of Resaca and Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Franklin, Tenn., Nashville, and Gum Swamp, N. C. He was honorably discharged in September, 1865.

JOHN BURNS was born in Utica, N. Y., January 18, 1814, the son of Abraham and Hannah Burns, natives of New York and Vermont. He was taken while yet a child by his parents to Monroe County, N. Y., then to Oak- land County, Mich., where, from fourteen years upward, was reared to the use of the ax, maul and wedge. When twenty-one, he started out for himself, working by the job, and in the winter of 1835 erected for himself a cabin on a small forest farm. August 28, 1836, he married Mary E. Letson, born in Orleans County, N. Y., September 29, 1820, and removed with her parents, William and Lovina (Howe) Letson, to Oakland County, Mich., in 1835. The spring following his marriage, he sold his farm, and came to this township and entered land on Section 29. In 1837, he moved in, having but 25 cents in his pocket, which soon went for postage on a letter from home. He went through all the privations of pioneer life, but has cleared his land and reared a family of eleven children, nine of whom are still living. He assisted in laying out the main roads in the township, and was on the first jury impaneled in the county. His wife became a member of the M. E. Church in 1844, and died in that faith in September, 1875, aged fifty-five years. Our subject also joined the same church with wife, and at the same time.

S. B. CLEVENGER was born in Warren County, Ohio, December 18, 1818, and was one of ten children born to Samuel and Sarah (Bunnel) Cleven- ger, who were natives of New York and of English and French extraction. They moved to Butler County, Ohio, when our subject was but a child, and thence to Crawfordsville, Ind., in 1833, and three years later our subject went to Cincinnati to learn stone-cutting ; after three years, he went to Eaton, Ohio, where he worked twenty-two years; thence to Wabash County, Ind., where he engaged in farming till 1868, when he came to Larwill and began in the hard- ware trade, which he continued till two years ago, when he retired from busi- ness. He was married, in 1844, to Susan A. Halderman, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Halderman, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and of Ger- man descent, and to this union were born four sons and two daughters. His eldest son, John H., at the age of eighteen, enlisted, in the fall of 1862, at Wabash, in Company D, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. At the age of four, our subject gave his parents a pledge that he would never touch a drop of liquor or taste an onion, and this vow has never been violated. His recollections of the privations suffered by the pioneers of the State are very vivid, and his reminis- cences of its early history copious and entertaining. He has been a prosperous business man and a conscientious one, and he and wife are members of the Universalist Church.

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RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.

D. B. CLUGSTON, merchant, was born in New York in 1832, and is the son of Asher and Catharine (Rittenhouse) Clugston, natives of New Jersey, and of Scotch and German descent. They came to Larwill, this township, in 1865, and about six months later Mr. Clugston died of consumption, aged sixty-three. Mrs. C. is yet enjoying good health at the age of seventy-one, and is residing with her son, our subject, in Larwill. D. B. Clugston went to school till he was thirteen years old, and then entered a dry goods store, where he remained three years, and then returned to his father's farm in Delaware County, Ohio, on which his parents had located about 1845, and were then living, and there remained until twenty-four years of age. He then took a trip to the West, seeking a future home, but returned eastwardly and settled in Larwill in 1857, and entered upon mercantile pursuits-for the first five years in company with E. L. McLallen, now of Columbia City. At present, he is at the head of three mercantile establishments-at South Whitley, Columbia City and at Larwill- and carries a stock valued at $50,000 or over, although he began with quite limited means. In 1858, he married Miss Margaret McLallen, daughter of Henry McLallen, and to this union were born three sons and three daughters. He is an advanced Mason, being a Knight Templar, and never fails to assist in the advancement of laudable enterprises for the advancement of home industries.

S. J. COMPTON was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, July 5, 1835, the son of Andrew and Mary A. Compton, natives of New Jersey and Ohio respectively, and of English descent. They came to this township in the fall of 1837, entered 320 acres, and reared a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters. The father died in October, 1852, but the mother is still living on the homestead farm, in good health, at seventy-five years of age. At the age of seventeen our subject began life on his own account as farmer. Octo- ber, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Forty-fourth Regiment Indiana Volun- teer Infantry, was mustered in as Sergeant, and was honorably discharged January, 1864, as Second Lieutenant. He participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Stone. River, Chickamauga and others. In 1858, he mar- ried Rachael Bishop, daughter of Robert and Phoebe Bishop, natives of Indiana and Ohio respectively, and of English extraction, and to this union were born four children, of whom two daughters are living. Through industry and energy he has built himself a fine home. He is a Freemason, and in politics a Republican.

A. L. COMPTON was born in this township June 16, 1843, the son of Andrew and Mary A. Compton, natives of New Jersey and Massachusetts. They came to this township in the fall of 1837, and located in the forest on Section 21, which they have converted into a delightful home of 332 acres. The father died in 1852, aged forty-four years, and the mother is still living on the old homestead at the advanced age of seventy-five years. Their children were ten in number. Our subject was but nine years old at his father's death, and until a grown man he remained with his mother, going to school in winter

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and working on the farm in summer. In 1872, he married Ellen Griffith, the daughter of John and Margaret Griffith, and to their union have been born one son and two daughters. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and by industry and economy has secured for himself a tidy and productive farm of 129 acres.

JOSEPH W. COMPTON was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, in May, 1843, the son of C. H. and Jemima Compton, natives of New York and Vir- ginia and of English descent. In the sixth year of his age our subject was brought by his parents to this township, where from the woods they have cleared up a pleasant home of eighty acres. In his eighteenth year our sub- ject enlisted in Company E, Forty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, going out as a private ; early in 1863, he was promoted to Sergeant, and the year following to Fourth Sergeant. He took part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Stone River, etc. At Shiloh he was slightly wounded, and in going from Chattanooga to Athens, Tenn., had his arm broken by the cars running off the track. He was honorably discharged September 14, 1865, as a veteran. In 1871, he purchased his present home of eighty acres, which he has brought to a fine state of cultivation. He was married, March 29, 1867, to Elvena Croy, daughter of Daniel and Ann Croy, and to him have been born one son and three daughters. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Masonic order.

JESSEE CORDILL was born in Monroe County, Tenn., July 13, 1822, son of John and Esther (Beck) Cordill, natives respectively of Virginia and North Carolina. At the age of six, he was taken by his parents to Alabama, thence to Wayne County, Ind., and then to Cleveland Township, this county, in 1838, where they settled in the forest. Our subject remained with his par- ents until 1849, when he started in life with $350. April, 1850, he married Sarah Norris, born in Muskingum County, Ohio, September, 1829, daughter of William Norris, who came to this township in September, 1843. To their union five children were born, of whom two sons and one daughter are still living. Soon after the marriage he purchased 120 acres of land in Richland, on which he has ever since resided. He now owns 160 acres, with good improvements. Their first log cabin was replaced by a good frame house in 1856, and in May, 1877, it and contents were destroyed by fire, and on its site now stands a sub- stantial brick mansion, erected at a cost of $2,000. Our subject's first vote was cast for James K. Polk, but he now votes for principles and not for party. He passed through all the vicissitudes of pioneer life, and what he now has was gained through honest industry and commendable prudence.

DANIEL CROY was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, December, 1822, the son of Jacob and Catherine Croy, and there lived until of age. He started in life empty-handed, and worked at jobs and by the month for nine years, and then began farming. He entered eighty acres of his present farm in this town- ship in 1845, and in 1850, with his family, moved in. He built a round-log

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Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 33

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