Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 46

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 46
USA > Indiana > Noble County > Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical > Part 46

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).

TROY TOWNSHIP.

FREDERICK B. BARBER, born in Wyoming County, N. Y., in 1828, was the son of Harlow and Elsie Barber, natives of Connecticut. At the age of ten he was brought to this township by his parents, with whom he lived, at- tending the pioneer schools and helping on the farm until nineteen years of age, when he returned to his native county and engaged in lumbering for four years, then came back, and in company with his brother, E. L., and three others,

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started overland for California, returning after an absence of six years, by the way of the Isthmus and New York, arriving at home in the fall of 1858. From the profits of his trip he purchased his present home, on which was a small im- provement, but which he has converted into a well-improved farm of 180 acres. In 1875, he removed with his family to Larwill, to care for his aged father, and remained with him until his death in July, 1881. He was married November 30, 1858, to Lucy J. Barns, daughter of Fielding Barns, and to their union were born five children. This lady died in July, 1878, and in 1879 our sub- ject married his present wife, Mrs. Maxia Noble, also a daughter of Fielding Barns.

LEVI BELCH was born in Bedford County, Penn., in 1824, and was the son of John and Margaret Belch, natives of Pennsylvania, but of German de- scent. The father died when our subject was but a small boy, and in 1838 the mother moved with her only son to Oswego, Kosciusko County, Ind., and in 1841 to the farm in this township, which they have since made their home. The land was in its primitive state when they first entered upon it, but by un- ceasing toil it has been redeemed and made a pleasant home. The mother for years spun the flax and wool for their clothing. Indians were their neighbors, and wild deer, turkeys, etc., were very plentiful. Our subject was married in 1849, to Rebecca Firestone, native of Ohio, and daughter of Samuel and Eliz- abeth Firestone, natives of Maryland, and of German and Irish descent. By this marriage there were nine children, eight living, three sons and five daugh- ters. The subject's mother is now living with him, at the age of eighty-one years, and enjoying favorable health. Mr. Belch and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and he is an active home politician.

JAMES BLAIN was born in Highland County, Ohio, in 1823, and is the son of Alexander M. and Mary (Logan) Blain, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Irish descent. They removed, in 1841, to that part of Noble County, Ind., now incorporated in Etna Township, this county. Our subject remained with his parents until he was of age, and the December following married Jane Scott, daughter of John and Elizabeth Scott, natives respectively of Kentucky and Tennessee, and of Irish and Scotch descent. The Scotts located in what is now Etna Township, in 1836. For the first few years of his married life, our sub- ject farmed on rented land ; then in the fall of 1847, he moved into a log cabin on the farm in this township, which he has since made his home. He had at his start in life but $50 in cash, but having secured a good education, he taught school nine successive winters, after coming to this State, and with his earn- ings therefrom, and with industry and economy on his farm, has secured a com- fortable home, consisting of 160 acres of well-tilled land, furnished with all the necessary buildings of frame. He is located on the banks of New Lake, which supplies him with an abundance of fish. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1874, and has served faithfully the past eight years. He is the father of twelve children, eight of whom are still living, and he and wife have been mem- bers of the Baptist Church for over thirty years.

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GEORGE W. CUMMINS (deceased), was born in New York State in 1807; at the age of ten accompanied his parents to Delaware County, where he was employed in using the ax a great portion of his time ; assisted in clear- ing up three farms in Ohio, and in July, 1853, located with his family on Sec- tion 22, this township, which was then a wilderness. By hard work and economy he wrought out a model farm of 160 acres, and during his later years dealt largely in live stock. In April, 1834, he married Catherine Faulkner, daughter of Joshua and Esther Faulkner, and to their union were born ten children, of whom eight are yet living. His eldest son, George, enlisted in 1862, in Com- pany B, Seventy-fourth Indiana. Volunteer Infantry, but died after being out but a short time. Seth W. (brother of George), also enlisted at the same time in the same company, and was honorably discharged in June, 1865. Our sub- ject was Republican in politics, and was a warm supporter of all home enter- prises. After experiencing all the privations incident to pioneer life, his last days were passed in retirement, peace and plenty, and the year 1876 closed his useful career. His widow, at the age of sixty-eight, resides with her young- est son, Orin L., who was but two years of age when he reached this township. Since then he has grown to manhood, and taken a prominent part in public affairs. At the age of twenty-six, he was elected Township Trustee, and then re-elected, receiving the largest majority ever polled in the township. In his adjustment of accounts, at the close of his second term, he turned over to the Treasurer upward of $200 interest money, minus the amount expended for the erection of tombstones over the graves of the poor, who died during his admin- tration. In the spring of 1880, he married Loretta Brown, daughter of Henry Brown. In 1882, he was elected Road Superintendent. Within the past few years, he has dealt in real estate, and of the 1,400 acres of land he has owned and sold in the vicinity of his home, not one has ever had a mortgage fore- closed upon it.

JACOB R. ELDER was born in Seneca County, Ohio, February 14, 1827, and was the son of G. W. and Sarah Elder, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Irish and German descent. In 1838, the family came in ox teams to Section 17, this township, attempted the erection of a log house, 18x22 feet, but for want of help failed, and were forced to put up a smaller cabin. On the arrival of other settlers, however, they were enabled to complete the first structure. They reclaimed from the forest 160 acres of land, and succeeded in building up a comfortable home, reared a family of eight children, and there took their departure from this world in 1859 and 1864, aged fifty-seven and seventy years respectively. The subject was the eldest of the family, and re- mained with his father until his majority, and then began working out by the month on his own account, and pursued this course for eight years. He then purchased forty acres in this township, and soon after was married to Leah Coyle, daughter of William and Elizabeth Coyle, natives of Pennsylvania. There were born to this union three children-one son and two daughters. After

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clearing a part of his farm he sold it, made a few changes, and finally settled on his present farm of eighty acres, which by enterprise and industry he has transformed into a pleasant home. Mr. Elder is a follower of the Democratic standard, and has cheerfully assisted in every laudable undertaking in the township.

ABRAHAM ELDER was born in Seneca County, Ohio, in 1834, and was the son of George W. and Sarah Elder, respectively of German and Irish extraction. The parents came to this township in the fall of 1838, and were among the first settlers, and redeemed from the forest the farm now owned by C. F. Marchand, which they made their home till their death. Abraham Elder was married November 19, 1855, to Mary Harpster, daughter of Henry Harp- ster, who located in the forest here in 1849, and carved from it a farm. After his marriage, our subject worked his father-in-law's farm till 1874, when he moved upon the farm where he now lives, which was entered by Joel Rhine. He greatly improved the place and erected new and substantial buildings, and now has a comfortable homestead of 140 acres. He had born to him three children, only one of whom is now living-Delbert S. Mr. Elder has served as Justice of the Peace three years, under appointment from the County Com- missioners, and he is an active Democrat. He is a Freemason and Granger, and an enterprising citizen, being foremost in assisting worthy undertakings. His father, George W. Elder, was one of the twelve men who served on the first jury impaneled in this county.

JAMES C. ELLIOTT, deceased, was born in Greenbrier County, Va., December 17, 1806, one of seven children of Archibald and Phebe (Jameson) Elliott, of Scotch parentage. Our subject removed with his parents to Frank- lin County, Ohio, in 1819, and a few years later to Delaware County. He was a farmer and also a shoemaker. April 15, 1830, he married Candace Strong, who was born August 27, 1809, and died January 24, 1850. The fall of 1850, he came to this township, bought forty acres of land on Section 14, returned home and married, April 14, 1851, Lydia S. Cunningham, who was born April 10, 1821, and in the summer of 1852 moved to his place in this township, which he had increased to 120 acres, where he passed his days till his death, February 11, 1879, followed by his widow January 26, 1881, both members of the Presbyterian Church. They were the parents of five children, viz .: Candace M., born February 24, 1852; Charles, born August 21, 1853; Phebe E., born February 15, 1855; Samuel C., born November 30, 1858, and died May 25, 1866; Emma J., born September 20, 1860. All the children living are residents of Columbia City, and received their educa- tion in Whitley County. The eldest, Candace M., married John R. Douglas October 21, 1873. This gentleman died September 7, 1881. They were the parents of one son, Ralph C., who died in infancy. Charles married Miss Ermina Trumbull February 5, 1880. He moved, the succeeding March, to Audubon County, Iowa, where his wife died February 2, 1881, leaving one

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daughter, Florence E., who died when eight months old. In March, 1881, he returned to Whitley County, and since then has resided in Columbia City, engaged in undertaking and marble dealing in partnership with J. L. Ferguson. Phebe and Emma are both single.

R. J. ELLIOTT was born in Greenbrier County, Va., in 1818, and when but a child was taken by his parents to Franklin County, Ohio, where he passed his life till twenty-six years of age. The third week after his marriage, in 1844, he and wife came to this township, and entered upon the possession of a farm of eighty acres he had purchased on a previous visit, and which was then in a state of nature, but has since been nicely cleared, and to which 120 have since been added. His wife, to whom he was married September 3, 1844, was Catharine Jones, daughter of Washington and Sarah Jones, natives of Pennsylvania, and of English and German descent. By this union there were born three sons and three daughters. The subject is the son of Archibald and Phebe Elliott, natives of Virginia, and of Scotch and Irish descent.

THOMAS A. ELLIOTT was born in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1820, the son of Archibald and Phebe Elliott, who were natives of Virginia, and who removed to Ohio in 1819, where they spent the greater portion of their lives. Our subject began working on his own account by hiring out to farmers in various parts, till, in 1842, he came to this township, bought forty acres of land, deadened a few acres, returned to Ohio, and December 15, of the same year, married Sarah Watters, daughter of John and Sarah Watters, natives of Maryland and of Irish descent. He again hired out for awhile at $12 per month, then came to his land in this township, the possesor of 122 cents cash and a few cattle and sheep. He put'up a cabin, and moved in when it was without a door or stove, and but part of a fire-place, and his wife and child had to go to bed while the chimney was being completed. The family had many difficulties to contend with, but their property now comprises a farm of 130 acres of well-improved land, acquired through hard work and close economy and shrewd trading. Our subject was the father of eight children, five of whom are yet living. He has served in the Republican ranks, and has held the office of Township Trustee and several minor offices. He and wife joined the Presbyterian Church in 1843, and have been faithful followers of that faith ever since.

S. J. W. ELLIOTT was born in Franklin County, Ohio, August, 1823, the youngest of the eight children born to Archibald and Phebe Elliott. March 5, 1848, he married Nancy Finley born in Delaware County, Ohio, and daughter of William and Margaret Finley, natives of Virginia, and of Irish descent. There were born from this union seven children, of whom six are living. In 1855, our subject disposed of his home farm in Ohio and removed with his family to this township, and located on a farm of 160 acres, which he has since increased to 370 acres, besides presenting to several of his children a comfortable home. Our subject was formerly a Whig, but on the

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formation of the Republican party he joined its standard, and has since fol- lowed it closely. He is a strong anti-secret society man, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.

G. H. GRANT was born in Sandusky County, Ohio, in 1834, and is the son of James and Eliza (Beard) Grant, natives of New York and Maryland. When a child he was taken by his parents to Geauga County, Ohio, and thence, in 1839, brought to this township, where at intervals he went to the first school in Troy, taught by Miss Clarissa Blanchard, in a round-log house with a fire- place that burned wood from four to eight feet in length. He remained with his father on the forest farm till twenty-two years old, and then, with $100, went to Iowa and farmed two years, then entered land in Kansas, but returned to this township in 1859, and went into the lumber business. running one of the first saw-mills built in Troy, and successfully conducting it till 1877, when he went to farming on a piece of land containing eighty acres, which he had pur- chased in 1865-66, and which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and furnished with good buildings. In 1856, he married Minerva Barnes, daughter of Fielding Barnes, a native of Kentucky. By this union he has had six children, three of whom are yet living. Although never an aspirant for office he has been selected by his townsmen to fill various trusts, and has served as Assessor two terms and Trustee one term. He is an Odd Fellow and quite prominent as a citizen.

CHANCY GOODRICH was born in this township October 7, 1839, the son of Price and Julia A. (Black) Goodrich, and was reared on the home farm till fifteen, when he began working with his father at brick-laying, and has continued at the trade ever since, erecting some of the best and largest build- ings in this and adjoining counties, and superintending the construction of all the principal buildings in Columbia City, besides a number of dwellings for one hundred miles around, and by industry and thrift has provided himself with a comfortable home. In his early life, he was renowned as a hunter and fisher- man, and the abundance of game at that time afforded him sport of the first order. In 1861, he married Rhoda Noble, daughter of Z. T. Noble, who was among the early settlers of this township. To their union have been born two sons and one daughter. Mr. Goodrich for twenty years taught singing-school during the winter, and at intervals during the summer. In polities, he is a Democrat, and takes much interest in local and other elections, and has always been foremost in aiding home industries and enterprises.

G. W. HALDERBAUM was born in Holmes County, Ohio, February 18, 1842, the son of Adam and Anna Halderbaum, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. The father moved to Wabash County, Ind., in 1849, and thence to Richland Township, this county, some years later, with his family, where our subject passed the remainder of his boyhood days. When but nine- teen years old, August 11, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, Eighty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged in June, 1865,

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having participated in fourteen hard fought battles, among them Chaplin Hill, Stone River, Lookout Mountain and Chickamauga, and accompanied Sherman to the sea and thence to Richmond. After his return, he engaged for two years in selling nursery stock through this and Marshall Counties, then engaged in farming, and for the past seven years has been dealing in general agricultural implements and machinery at Larwill. He was married May 9, 1867, to Mary Shoemaker, daughter of Solomon and Mixinda Shoemaker, natives of Ohio, and to this union have been born two sons and one daughter. Through his industry and enterprise he has placed his family in comfortable circumstances and continues to do a thriving trade. He is quite an active politician in the Republican ranks.

ANDREW KENNER was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, May 25, 1834, and was the son of John G. and Christina M. Kenner, natives of the same country. In 1853, they emigrated to Hancock County, Ohio, started farming, and two years thereafter the father died, leaving a wife by a second marriage and five children, Andrew being the eldest of two, now living, by the first marriage. After the death of his father, our subject wooked a few years by the month, and then, in 1858, took passage for California, via New York and the ocean, landing in San Francisco and going 500 miles into the interior, stopping at Yreka, and farming for nearly four years. Thence he went to Idaho, where he followed mining and packing a few years. He then started across the continent, in July, 1864, and brought up at Columbia City, this township, where he purchased, with his earnings, the farm of 160 acres where he now lives. He was married, in October, 1865, to his brother John's widow, Mrs. Mary Kenner, daughter of Price Goodrich. This lady died in 1874, and our subject then married Jane Smith, native of Ohio, and daughter of John W. Smith, who came to this township about 1841. Mr. K. is the father of eight children ; is active in home politics and is a member of the I. O. O. F. His time is devoted to farming and the rearing of stock.

CHARLES F. MARCHAND was born in Switzerland, December 23, 1833, and when but two years old was brought to this country by his parents, who located in Holmes County, Ohio. At the age of twenty-one he rented a farm in Wayne County, his parents going with him, and remained there four years; thence they went to Van Buren County, Iowa; then to Appanoose County, same State, where he engaged in lumbering and ran a saw-mill for four years. Starting with nothing, he, nevertheless, realized $1,000, which he invested in real estate in Wayne County, Ohio, to which place he returned, and then, in 1860, came to this township, locating in 1864 on a part of the farm he now occupies. Here he has been lumbering, farming and dealing in live-stock. He has accumulated property consisting of 500 acres in this town- ship and 260 in La Grange County, besides Lima Village property. He was married in 1855 to Lodema Truman, daughter of Benjamin and Betsey Tru- man, natives of New York, and they have had four sons born to them. Mr.

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Marchand was the son of Frederick and Sophia Marchand, natives of Switzer- land, but of French descent. The father was a soldier under Bonaparte when he crossed the Alps. The latter part of his life he passed with our subject, and was survived by his wife, who is aged seventy-eight years, and is also living with Charles F. Mr. M. is a Mason, an active participant in the public affairs of his township and a leader in home enterprises.

BERRY MARRS (deceased), was born in Shelby County, Ohio, March 2, 1832, and was the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Marrs, natives of Kentucky and Virginia respectively. In 1854, he married Sarah Russell, of Shelby County, Ohio, the daughter of Samuel and Delilah Russell, natives of Penn- sylvania, and of English extraction. To this union there were born two sons -Dennis R. and Samuel A. Berry Marrs came to this township in 1856, and started his home upon land purchased by his father in 1837, and succeeded in turning it into a cheerful home. He began in a log cabin, and in its stead there now stands a substantial brick dwelling. In the fall of 1862, he enlisted in Company B, Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged June 3, 1865. He participated in the battle of Chickamauga, where he was wounded in the forearm, when he was sent to the hospital, and afterward detailed to the care of the sick and wounded. On his return, he re- sumed farming, which he continued until his decease in March, 1879. He was a member of the I. O. O. F., and he and wife attendants of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The first industry practiced by his father, Mr. Samuel Marrs, was the cutting of cane for pipe-stems, which he sold to the Indians ; and a few years later sold eggs at 3 cents per dozen. He came to this town- ship in 1837 and purchased 713 acres of wild land, and is now still living here, enjoying good health at the advanced age of eighty-four, having been born in 1798.

JONATHAN SATTISON was born in Lebanon County, Penn., in 1815, and was one of six children born to Adam and Elizabeth Sattison, natives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. When nine years of age, his parents moved to Northumberland County, and then, three years later, moved to Niagara County, N. Y., where they cleared a farm, and there passed the remainder of their days. At the age of twenty-one, our subject began work on his own account, and in the fall of 1838 started West with $120 in search of a home. At this time he entered eighty acres of his present farm, and went back and forth on foot between it and his home in the fall of each year, making a little improvement each trip, till 1842. July, 1843, he was married to Mary Hofstater, daughter of George Hofstater, and a native of New York, and by this union had four children, two of whom are living-George H. and Scott. Mrs. Sattison died October 8, 1873, and Mr. Sattison was married to a widow, Mrs. Polly Beard, in March, 1875. She was the daughter of Michael Ensley, a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Beard came to the township in 1843, settled on and cleared a farm, and reared seven children, five of whom

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are still living. Mr. Sattison has shown much enterprise and industry since his advent into the township; his farm is all that could be desired, and he is active in advancing all home industries. Mrs. Sattison is a member of the Christian Church.

D. M. SELLERS was born in Licking County, Ohio, in 1811, the eldest of six children born to William and Sarah Sellers, natives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. He was married in November, 1837, to Miss Mary A. Prosser, a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter of John and Sarah Prosser, of Pennsylvania, and of Irish and German descent. Our subject became the father of nine children by this union, of whom seven are living. In 1845, Mr. Sellers sold his property in his native county, and moved with his family to this township, locating on the wild 105-acre farm where he yet resides, hav- ing redeemed it and subjected it to a course of thorough cultivation. During the early days of Troy Township, Mr. Sellers served as Trustee a number of terms. He had two sons in the recent war, William H., out over three years, and John W .; and he is always foremost in the advancement of the interests of his township on all occasions.

JOHN SNODGRASS, a retired farmer, was born in Clark County, Ohio, October 22, 1807, and there lived till nearly twenty-eight years of age. His father having died in 1826, he was compelled to take charge of home affairs, which he did till 1833, when he was married, March 7, to Ann Cowan, daughter of Thomas and Jane Cowan, natives of Pennsylvania and Ireland, respectively. In 1834, he started West, stopping awhile in Elkhart and in Kosciusko Counties, and in 1837 moved on his farm in this township, and has been living there now more than forty-five years. His farm of 164 acres is now in a fine condition. At the first election, in 1840, Mr. Snodgrass was chosen Town Trustee, and during his term in office assisted to lay out the first public road in the township; to this office he has been since elected a number of times. He has always been active in the Democratic ranks, and has served as County Com- missioner to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. Mr. Snodgrass was the father of nine children, seven sons and two daughters. Three of the sons served as soldiers in the late war. Thomas is now sleeping at Little Rock, Ark., and John died at Indianapolis, Ind .; Joseph served during the latter part of the war, and is now a farmer in this township. Our subject was the son of John and Jane Snodgrass, natives of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch and Irish descent. They had a family of nine children, our subject being the only one living. He well remembers the soldiers of 1812, one of his brothers being among them. In the fall of 1881, Mr. Snodgrass was awarded, at the Old Settlers' Meeting in Troy Township, a gold-headed cane, in recognition of the fact of his being the oldest settler of Troy.

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Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana : historical and biographical, Part 46

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