USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 37
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He was married, May 2, 1897, to Miss Lena Balgemann, and of this
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union three children have been born. Martha, Hilda and Lydia. Mrs. Volt- mer was born in Kankakee county. Illinois, and was reared in that state, lier parents both being alive and residents of the county of Kankakee.
Mr. Voltmer and his brothers own two hundred and seventy-nine acres of good land in West Creek township, and he is classed as a prosperous agriculturist and a stable citizen of the county, being always interested in anything that will advance the interests of Lake county. He is a Republican in politics, and cast his first vote for James G. Blaine, since which time he has zealously upheld the principles of his party. He and his wife are mem- bers of the German Lutheran church in Kankakee county, Illinois, and con- tribute of their means to all benevolences worthy of their consideration.
JOHN BRYANT.
Numbered among the early settlers and prominent farmers of Lake county, John Bryant well deserves representation in this volume, for in business life he has been active. diligent and trustworthy, and in citizenship has championed the various measures which have led to the substantial im- provement and upbuilding of this portion of the state. He was born in Rich- land county. Ohio. July 20, 1833. and comes of the same family to which William Cullen Bryant, the poet. belonged. His grandfather was David Bryant, a native of New Jersey. His father. Elias Bryant, also a native of New Jersey, accompanied his parents on their removal to Washington county. Pennsylvania, when he was twelve years of age, and there he was reared and educated. He was also married in that county, and afterward removed to Knox county, Ohio, about 1820. He followed farming in the Buckeye state until the fall of 1835, when he came to Lake county, Indiana, settling at Pleasant Grove. in Cedar Creek township. He was one of the first settlers here. and he entered land from the government for which lie paid a dollar and a quarter per acre. This he placed under the plow, trans- forming the raw tract into richly cultivated fields, and there he carried on general farming until his death, which occurred September 10, 1850, when he was sixty-six years of age. He was a zealous and active member of the Presbyterian church, in which he served as a deacon. He gave his political support to the Whig party and during the early years of his residence in Lake county was a school director. He contributed to the pioneer progress
Yours Truly John Bryant
Mary A Bryant
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of the county, and his enterprise and energy made him a valued citizen of the frontier district. He married Miss Ann Vance, who was born in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, and was a daughter of Robert Vance, one of the pioneer settlers of that state and a native of Ireland. Mrs. Bryant died in Lake county, Indiana, February 6, 1847, when fifty-five years of age. By her marriage she became the mother of six sons, of whom four grew to manhood, while one died in infancy in Ohio and the other was killed by a rattlesnake bite when thirteen years of age. Arthur V., now in his eighty- second year, resides in Lafayette, Indiana. David died in 1900, at the age of seventy-six years. Robert, seventy-seven years of age, is extensively engaged in farming in Porter county, Indiana.
John Bryant is the youngest of the family. He pursued his education in one of the primitive log schoolhouses found in the frontier settlements, attending through the winter months until eighteen years of age. In the summer seasons he worked upon the home farm, gaining practical knowl- edge and broad experience concerning the best methods of promoting agri- cultural interests. In 1852 he crossed the plains to California with a horse team, traveling north of Salt Lake City on the old Kit Carson route. He went first to Grizzly Flats, in Eldorado county, and there on the 15th of August, 1852, he was taken ill. The only shelter he had until the following December was a pine tree, and he was not able to do any work until the following March, when he took a contract to build a ditch to lead the water to what was called the dry diggings. After executing this contract he began prospecting and was engaged in prospecting and mining until December, 1856, when he went into the valleys, where he remained until 1857. He then returned to the east by way of the Panama and Aspinwall route to New York, spending two days on the island of Cuba while en route.
Mr. Bryant continued his journey to Lake county. He went to Hebron to visit his brothers David and Robert, and afterward engaged in farming until 1858, also bought and sold stock. In January, 1859, he came to Lowell. where he engaged in merchandising with his brother, Arthur V., this part- nership continuing for two years, at the end of which time John Bryant purchased his brother's interest, and soon afterward traded the store for eighty acres of land in Cedar Creek township. He removed to the farm and continued the work of cultivation and improvement there until 1865.
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when he sold that property and bought another farm, whereon he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1869. In that year he purchased a stock of merchandise at Hebron, where he remained in business until 187.4. when he sold his property there and returned to his farm in Cedar Creek township, making it his home until 1880, when he also sold there. He located then upon the farm which is now his home. In February, 1882, he again went to California, this time making the journey by rail, to visit his relatives who had crossed the plains with him in 1852-thirty years before. He remained in the Golden state until April, when he returned to Lowell, and in May of the same year he removed to South Chicago and engaged in the grocery business, in which he continued for about three years. On the expiration of that period he again came to Lowell and resumed farming, which he has since followed. He has a valuable tract of land of one hun- dred and seventy acres, and the land is arable and highly cultivated, while many substantial improvements have been made on the farm and indicate his enterprising, progressive spirit.
On the 21st of February, 1860, Mr. Bryant was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Lawrence, a daughter of George W. and Julia C. (Haskins) Lawrence. Mrs. Bryant was born in Michigan. December 28, 1840, and was brought to Lake county when only two years old. She died September 25, 1893. and her many excellent traits of character caused her death to be deeply regretted by many friends as well as her immediate family. To Mr. and Mrs. Bryant had been born six children: Bertha A., born February 20, 1861, is the widow of C. C. Phelps, and has been for a number of years a clerk in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad office at South Chicago. Luella C., born .August 22, 1862, also resides at South Chicago. Marie Vance, born July 21. 1867. is now filling the position of stenographer with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at South Chicago. John D., born at Hebron, April 13, 1871, died March 6, 1874. Winefred Clair, born in Lowell, January 17, 1875, died on the 6th of September of that year. Julia A., born September 17. 1876, is the wife of Ernest Hummel, a son of Ernest Hummel, Sr., city treasurer of Chicago.
Mr. Bryant has been a life-long Republican, active in the work of his party and deeply interested in its success, yet never seeking or desiring office as a reward for party fealty. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity at
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Lowell. Lodge No. 378, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at South Chicago. Lodge No. 245. and he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. His has been an eventful. useful and interesting life history, for he has been familiar with pioneer experiences in Indiana and in the far west, and his mind is stored with many interesting reminiscences of his sojourn in the Golden state during the early days of its mining development.
WILLIAM WALLACE ACKERMAN.
William Wallace Ackerman, whose farming interests, capably managed and carefully conducted, result in bringing to him splendid success, is now living retired in Lowell. He has attained the advanced age of seventy-seven years and in the evening of life is enabled to enjoy a comfortable com- petence won through his diligence and honorable dealing. He was born in Oakland county, Michigan, February 24. 1827, and represents an old family of Holland-Dutch ancestry that was established in New York in colonial days. His paternal grandfather. James Ackerman. was born in Truxton. New York. and became one of the pioneer residents of Michigan. John H. Ackerman, the father. was a native of Dutchess county, New York, and there spent his early boyhood days. He, too, was one of those who lived in Oakland when it was a frontier district, accompanying his parents on their removal to the west. After arriving at years of maturity he married Ani Wallace, who was born in New York and was a daughter of William Wal- lace, a native of Connecticut. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Ackerman was celebrated in the Empire state. and they located in Oakland county, Michigan, about 1822. spending their remaining days there. His first home was a typical pioneer house in the midst of an undeveloped region. where the work of progress and improvement had scarcely been begun, and J. H. Ackerman did his full share in paving the way for the further develop- ment of the county. He died at the age of sixty-three years, having long survived his wife. who passed away in 1829. He was twice married, his second union being with Miss Amelia Kyes, and to this marriage were born seven children, while of the first marriage there were three children.
William Wallace Ackerman is the youngest and the only one living of the family born to John H. and Ann ( Wallace) Ackerman. He was but a year and a half old when his mother died. He started out in life for himself
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at the age of eleven years, going to Erie county, Ohio, where he worked at any employment that he could secure. There he remained until his nine- teenth year, when his patriotic spirit was aroused and he offered his services to the country then engaged in war with Mexico. He enlisted in Com- pany G. Third Ohio Regiment, under Colonel Samuel R. Curtis, and was with the command for fourteen months as a private. On the expiration of that period, as the country no longer needed his aid, he returned to his home in Ohio, where he remained until the fall of 1848, when he came to Lake county, Indiana.
Here Mr. Ackerman located a land warrant in West Creek township and began the development and improvement of a farm. Later he sold that property and bought another farm in the same township. Upon the second place he made excellent improvements, but eventually he sold that and again purchased a farm in West Creek township, which he still owns. Thus he has improved three farms in the township, and his labors have resulted beneficially in the agricultural development and progress of this portion of the state.
Mr. Ackerman was united in marriage in April. 1853, to Miss Mary Pulver, who died leaving a family of seven children : John H. and Alonzo D., both deceased; Theodore L .: William H., who has also passed away: Ida Ann; Jasper L .: and Charles D. On the 9th of November, 1867. Mr. Ackerman was again married, his second union' being with Betsey Sanders Graves, the widow of William F. Graves and the daughter of William and. Emma (Harris) Sanders. She was born in West Creek township, Lake county, Indiana. May 8, 1844, and her parents were pioneer settlers of Lake county, coming to this state from Erie county, Ohio, in 1838. They settled in West Creek township, where they reared their family of twelve children, three of whom were born in this county. Mrs. Ackerman is the tenth child and third daughter, and was reared in the place of her nativity and has spent her entire life in Lake county. She had one son by her first marriage. William M1. Graves, and by the second marriage there are four children : Linden S., now deceased: Vessie E .; Zada M .; and Zella A. Zada is a graduate of the high school and has engaged in teaching for over three years. Vessie E. is the wife of S. A. Mulliken, of Chicago. Zella is also a graduate of the Lowell high school, was a student in Valparaiso College and was a
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teacher in the Valparaiso kindergarten, and on June 15, 1904, was married to Otto DeRoy Mitchell, a druggist in Eaton, Indiana. The following chil- dren are of the first marriage of Mr. Ackerman: Theodore S. is extensively engaged in the raising of cattle in South Dakota, where he owns a large ranch: Jasper is filling the position of auditor in White county, Indiana; Charles D. is a builder and contractor of Los Angeles, California; and Ida is the wife of S. S. Brandon, of Mobile, Alabama ; while William M. Graves, the son of Mrs. Ackerman, is a resident of Lowell.
Mr. Ackerman is the owner of four hundred acres in West Creek town- ship and also has property in Lowell. The farm is well improved, and he continued its cultivation until 1881, when he removed to Lowell and engaged in the agricultural implement business, continuing in commercial pursuits for eight years. In 1889 he was appointed postmaster under President Harrison, and filled that position for four years. Since the expiration of his term he has lived retired from active business, save the supervision of his property. Mr. Ackerman has always been a supporter of the Republican party since its organization, and was county ditch commissioner for several years, during which time he did much toward improving the county through the extension of its ditches. This drained the land and, therefore, greatly increased its value. He takes an active and helpful part in all measures which are of practical benefit in the community, and is widely and favorably known throughout the county. He and his wife and children belong to the Christian church. His career has ever been honorable and straightforward. so that he enjoys in large measure the respect and confidence of his fellow-men.
MRS. SUSANN MOREY.
The ladies of the nation play a most conspicuous part in the true, authentic record of a state and county as well as nation, and in the leading records of the citizens of West Creek township none is more worthy of representation that Mrs. Morey. She was born in Boscawen, New Hamp- shire, March 2, 1826, the third in a family of four children, one son and three daughters, born to Dr. Thomas and Sukey (Gerrish) Peach. Mrs. Morey is the only survivor. Her father, Dr. Thomas Peach, who was a physician and surgeon, was a native of the old Bay state, Massachusetts, and was born in 1784, fifteen years before the death of General Washington, and died
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February 8. 1882. During the early years of his life he resided and was reared on a farm. He received a good practical education for those times, and between the years of twenty and thirty of his life he sought the medical profession. He studied under the direction of Dr. McKinster, of Newbury, Vermont. where his parents had moved when he was about seven years of age. He practiced according to the allopathic school, and was reasonably successful, most of his practice being in New Hampshire. He was a surgeon in the war of 1812.
It was about 1858 when he emigrated to West Creek township, and here he resided till his death. Politically he was a Republican, and in a religious sense he and his wife were members of the Congregational church and ardent supporters of the doctrines of his church. He was very emphatic in his advocacy of temperance, and was one of the prime movers in the great tem- perance reform. His remains are interred in the Lake Prairie cemetery. where a beautiful stone marks his last resting place. His wife was a native of Boscawen, New Hampshire, and born June 15. 1797, and died December 6. 1871. She traced her ancestry to England, as Gerrish is an English name.
Mrs. Susann Morey was born, reared and educated at Boscawen, New Hampshire. Her home was contiguous to the home of the celebrated Daniel Webster. She attended the academy at Boscawen and was a teacher in her native state. She wedded Ephraim Noyes Morey. November 26. 1846, and four children, two sons and two daughters, were born, and three are living at present. The eldest is Thomas Morey, a resident and farmer of Moun- tain View, Missouri, who received a common school education, and married Miss Eliza Ann Peach, by whom he has five living children. Mary is the wife of W. H. Michael, a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, and whose personal history also appears in these pages. William H. Morey, the third living child, is principal of the Lowell high school. He received his primary training in the common schools and was a student at the normal at Terre Haute, Indiana, after which he took a course in law personally and was admitted to the bar of his native county of Lake. He graduated in the teachers' and scientific course at Valparaiso. He is well known as an edu- cator of this county. He married. December 27. 1898, Miss Rhoda L. Smith, and two daughters were born to this marriage, Emeline Gertrude and Helen Alice. Mrs. William Morey was born in Greenville, Illinois, January 18,
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1870, and is a daughter of T. Newton and Emeline (Castle) Smith, her father still living. Her mother was a native of Darke county, Ohio. Mrs. W. H. Morey was educated in the common schools, and she and her husband reside on the old homestead with his mother, and they are members of the Lake Prairie Presbyterian church and he has been chosen superintendent of the Sunday school at different times.
Mr. Morey, the deceased husband of Mrs. Susann Morey, was born in Lisbon. New Hampshire, June 6, 1819, and died March 9. 1902. He was reared in the early part of his life as an agriculturist, but was afterwards engaged in construction work for different railroads in the states of Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and then on the Pittsburg and Fort Wayne Railroad as far as Crestline. Ohio, and was reasonably successful. He located in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1857, and was there till the war opened. He purchased one hundred and forty-five acres of rather wild land in West Creek township when this county was in its virgin condition. There was hardly a fence to be seen, and Lowell was a mere hamlet. He erected all the buildings on the farm, and the lumber from which the house was built was hauled from Michigan. Politically he was a stalwart Republican, and lie and his wife were devout members of the Congregational church. When Mr. Morey died the township of West Creek lost a valuable citizen and an upright and honorable man.
Mrs. Morey yet resides on her homestead, aged more than three- quarters of a century, and her mental faculties are still clear and bright. She is known in her community as a kind and warm-hearted mother and friend. and her cordial and genial manner of greeting the stranger and friend makes her home a welcome haven of rest. She is possibly the oldest living citizen in West Creek township to-day. This authentic review of father and mother Morey will be read and cherished by many hundreds of the people of Lake county, and will be held sacred by their children when they themselves have passed to the great beyond.
JAMES GUYER.
Among her native sons that Pennsylvania has furnished to Lake county is numbered James Guyer, now engaged in the livery business in Hobart. He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, his natal day being Decem-
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ber 30. 1841, and he is the eldest son of Andrew and Mary Ann (Royce) Guyer, who came to the west when James was but eight years of age. They settled in Calhoun county, Michigan, and he was reared upon the home farm, working in the fields during the summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended the public schools. At the age of eighteen he left the parental roof, in order that he might earn his own living and went to Branch county, Michigan, where he learned the trade of brick-making. He was there em- ployed at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861. He had watched with interest the progress of events in the south, and when an attempt was made to overthrow the Union his patriotic spirit was aroused and he enlisted as a member of Company H, Eleventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He thus served for about two years, and was then honorably dis- charged on account of disability, but in the meantime he had participated in some important battles.
After being mustered out Mr. Guyer returned to Branch county, Mich- igan, where he remained for about six months, and then went to Nashville, Tennessee, where he was employed by the government as a painter, working in that way until 1865. He then again came to the north, locating at Cold- water, Michigan, where he was engaged in the manufacture of brick for about two years. He next located at LaPorte. Indiana, where he conducted a similar industry, and since that time he has traveled quite extensively. visiting Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and various parts of In- diana. He came to Hobart in 1872 and established a brick manuafcturing industry, doing the first work where the National Fire Proofing Company plant is now located. He was there for about four years, after which he went to Lowell, Indiana, and afterward to Michigan. Later he returned to this state and in 1893 he again came to Hobart, where he established the livery barn that he now conducts.
In 1869 Mr. Guyer was married to Miss Sarah Ann Hutchins, who was born in Ohio, and there are four children of this union: Mary, deceased ; Burton : William ; and Philip, who has also passed away. Mr. Guyer is con- nected with Hobart Post No. 411, G. A. R., of which he is now commander, and he is likewise a faithful follower of the teachings of the Masonic fra- ternity, belonging to Earl Lodge No. 357, F. & A. M. In his political views he is a Democrat. He is quite well known in this county, and he possesses
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many traits of character which have gained for him the regard and friendship of his fellow-men.
GEORGE BOYD.
George Boyd, of Ross township. is of the second generation of the family who have been so conspicuous in the agricultural history of Lake county from its early history to the present. He is himself one of the younger class of farmers of his township, and is of the energetic and progressive sort that takes farming out of its ruts and empirical methods of the past and furnishes it a smooth course and adapts scientific processes to soil culture. Mr. Boyd has also taken his place among the public-spirited citizenship of the county, and to social, material and intellectual progress gives his interest and co-operation.
Mr. George Boyd is the eldest son of Eli M. and Agnes ( Hyde) Boyd. the former of whom has lived in Lake county ever since 1848 and is one of the old and well known farmers and useful citizens, having been identified with the making of Lake county in many of its present essential features. The son George was born in Ross township, Lake county, October 9. 18;7. He was educated in the common schools of Ross township and at the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso, finishing his literary training at Northwestern University, at Evanston. He then engaged in farming in his native township, and has continued at it with great success to the present time. He does general farming and stockraising, operating a farm of three hundred acres, a part of the large estates of the Boyd brothers.
Mr. Boyd is a leading young Republican of his township, and as far as his business interests permit concerns himself with public affairs both of national and local importance. He was married, February 5. 1901, to Miss Addie Guernsey, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Guernsey, well-known citizens of this county. Two children have been born to them, Lenore and Lucile.
JOHN STARK.
Lake county can boast of no finer class of citizens than the German- Americans who have settled in such number within its boundaries, and. whether born in the fatherland or children of German-born parents, these men and women have proved their substantial and solid qualities in all the relations of life. The farming communities have been especially benefited
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by them, and without their industry and excellent management it is doubtful if this county could so rapidly have progressed to a front rank in the agri- cultural communities of the state. One of the most representative of the men with the blood of German parents coursing in their veins is Mr. John Stark, of West Creek township, who belongs to a family which has been identified with Lake county since its pioneer epoch. His father and mother, like so many others, came to the county years ago, poor but honest, and with their industry accumulated a good estate before their years of activity were past.
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