USA > Indiana > Lake County > Encyclopedia of genealogy and biography of Lake County, Indiana, with a compendium of history 1834-1904 > Part 39
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Mr. Einspahr was not a year old when the voyage to the new world was undertaken, and he was about fourteen or fifteen when he became a resi- dent of West Creek township. During his active lifetime he has witnessed this beautiful agricultural region improved from a bare prairie or marsh into
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the most productive part of the county. Within his remembrance the coun- try was largely unfenced, and Lowell, now a beautiful town of sixteen hun- dred. contained only two stores. Wolves were also plentiful during his boy- hood. Every two weeks during the season it was the custom to haul their grain to the Chicago market, and Fred always accompanied thie wagon each time. Mr. Einspahr is a more than ordinarily well educated man, having been trained in both the German and English languages. He began earning wages at the age of fourteen years, giving the money to his parents. And when he started out for himself at the age of twenty-one he had not five dollars to his name. He went to Chicago and was a coachman for two years, and then in the ice business one year. after which he returned to Lake county and took up his permanent career as a farmer.
November 17. 1878, he married Miss Dorathea Frederick, and during their felicitous marriage union, lasting twenty-two years, nine children were born, all of whom are living at the present time, as follows: Christena, who finished the eighth grade of school and can read and speak the German language, has, since her mother's death, taken full charge of the home, and is a young lady who has many friends and acquaintances throughout the township: Peter F., who finished the eighth grade and is a farmer in West Creek township, married Miss Lottie B. Hayden and has a little daughter. Mabel Lucy ; Wilhelmina, who is in the eighth grade of school; Frederick J .. in the eighth grade ; Laura, who graduated in 1902 from the grammer schools at the age of thirteen ; Anna, in the sixth grade : Clara, in the fourth ; Irvin, in the first : and Martha, who is the baby of the home.
The full review of the life of Mrs. Einspahr is given in the following published obituary : Dorathea Frederick was born near Blue Island, Illinois. August 17, 1859, and died at her home in West Creek township after a brief illness. December 17. 1900, at the age of forty-one years and four months. In infancy she came with her parents from Blue Island to Dyer, Indiana. November 17, 1878, she was united in marriage to Frederick Einspahr. To this union nine children, three boys and six girls, were born ; all of which survive their mother, their dearest and truest friend on earth. At the age of fifteen years she joined the Lutheran church, and ever lived the life of the true Christian : being ever ready to assist in any good work, ever thinking more of the happiness of others than of her own. She was a true
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and faithful wife; a kind and indulgent mother and an obliging neighbor, and will be greatly missed and sincerely mourned by the whole community in which she lived. The seventeenth day of the month seemed to be the day upon which the epochs in her life were to occur, for upon that day of the month she was born. married and died : rather a strange fatality. She leaves her husband, nine children, two brothers: John Frederick, of Dyer, Indiana, and Peter Frederick, of Lowell, Indiana ; and four sisters : Mrs. Joseph Sons, of Dyer. Indiana, Mrs. John Harms, of Dalton, Illinois, Mrs. Albert Ger- ritsen, of Fernwood, Illinois, and Mrs. William Einspahr, of West Creek, Indiana; an aged mother-in-law, together with a large circle of friends. to mourn the departure of a true, noble and loving wife, mother and friend, to that higher sphere of life. Her funeral occurred from the German Metho- dist church in West Creek township, Thursday, December 20. at 2 p. m. Rev. Dismyer, of Crown Point, preached the funeral discourse. She was laid away in the cemetery near the church. there to rest in quiet slumber until the morning of the first resurrection, then to come forth into immortal life to enjoy the companionship of the dear friends she has left behind throughout an endless eternity. To the sorely bereaved family the Tribune extends its sincere sympathy.
Mr. and Mrs. Einspalır began on the old homestead. which he had purchased from the other heirs. He went in debt, but by industry and honest toil and careful economy cleared off all incumbrances and gained a con- fortable and valuable estate. His farm of eighty-five acres lies in West Creek township, and he is looked upon as one of the most progressive farmers of the community. By his upright life before God and man he has won the respect and confidence of all who know him, and can bear his part with dignity and honor wherever he goes. As a Republican voter he cast his first ballot for R. B. Hayes. He has represented his township in the county conventions of the party at various times. He has been road superintendent time and again for twenty years. He fraternizes with Council No. 13 of the Order of Foresters at Lowell, and he and the family attend the German Methodist church.
JAMES J. KELSEY.
The pioneers of the country, those who blazed the way to civilization and made the wilderness to bloom and blossom like the rose, are as a class
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rapidly passing away, and it is a pleasure to be able to record while some of them are yet living their achievements and their place in society and the world. Mr. Kelsey is one of this worthy class of citizens in northwestern Indiana, and has passed many years in this vicinity and in eastern Illinois.
He was born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1842, and is the second of the three children, being the only son, of John D. and Eunice (Johnson) Kelsey. His sister Mary is still living. being the widow of Otis Townsend and a resident of Duluth, Minnesota. John D. Kelsey was born in Vermont about 1809, and died in 1876. He was a farmer by occupa- tion He was reared to young manhood in Vermont, thence moved to Penn- sylvania, some years later to New York, and then to Lake county, Indiana, where he passed away. He had enjoyed a common school education in his youth, and was a man of superior intelligence and capability. In politics he was a Whig and then a stalwart Republican, with pronounced anti-slavery sentiments. Fraternally he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife were members of the Christian church. His remains are buried in the Lowell cemetery.
Mr. Kelsey lost his mother when he was three years of age, and it was about the same time when the family moved to New York state, where he was reared to the age of eighteen. Part of his education was obtained in an old-fashioned hewn-log cabin school with slab seats resting on four wooden pins. and with the desk for the big boys and girls a broad board running part way round the room and resting on pins driven into the wall. The room was heated by a box stove, for which the big boys by turn cut the wood used as fuel. His pen was a goosequill, and he conned his lessons from Davies arithmetic, the Rhetorical reader, and the Sanders speller, and the school was supported on the subscription plan. From these facts it will be seen what a change has been wrought in educational matters since Mr. Kelsey's youth.
Mr. Kelsey began life at the bottom of the ladder. He worked out at nine dollars per month in order to earn money with which to bring his par- ents to Indiana. And when they arrived at Cedar Lake in this county they had twenty dollars only. He began working at wages as low as fifty cents a day, from which it is seen that he has made great progress in this county. His father rented a farm in West Creek township in the spring of 1860, and
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the son began with him and remained there two years, and then his father gave him his time. He did not have enough to buy his winter clothing, and he began to earn wages by chopping wood. From Lake county he went to Momence, Illinois, where he found employment in a distillery, and then hired out to a farmer at thirteen dollars a month. This continued until August. 1862. at which date he joined Company K. One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Infantry, and was in service as a part of the Army of the Tennessee until February. 1863. Part of the time he served as guard for the provision train. and for about a month was in the hospital at Keokuk, Iowa. On re- ceiving his honorable discharge he returned home and resumed his farming operations.
September 18. 1863. he married Miss Nancy J. Kile, and their three children, two sons and one daughter, are all living, as follows: Laura E. is the wife of A. B. Chipman, whose history is given elsewhere in this volume. Merritt, the elder son, is the popular liveryman at Lowell, where he has a splendid business and a pretty home ; by his wife, Catherine Stubbs, he has two daughters. Vernal Nancy, in the seventh grade of the public schools, and Ethel Pauline. Leroy Elkin, the younger son, is a machinist. residing in Lowell. and he married Miss Mary Ponto, by whom there is a son. Cecil Glenn.
Mrs. Kelsey was born in Yellowhead township. Kankakee county, Illinois, January 3, 1842, being a daughter of Reason C. and Nancy Jane (Hayden) Kile, and she was reared and educated in that county. She is a kind and loving wife and mother and has always stood by her husband in his life work. The first land that they purchased was one hundred and forty acres in Yellowhead township, and Mr. Kelsey went in debt for it. but with characteristic energy and with the aid of his good wife and children paid off every dollar. And to that original tract he has subsequently added. first one hundred and twenty acres, and then one hundred and eighty-two acres. all of which lies in Yellowhead township, and the improvements on the old homestead are of the very best. This is an admirable record for a man who began life without twenty dollars to his name, and he has prospered de- servedly. At one time he was paying as high as sixteen per cent interest on luis indebtedness.
Mr. Kelsey and his wife came to Lowell in 1899 and purchased a pretty
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and comfortable residence where they are living a retired life. He is a Re- publican in politics, and cast his first vote for the Rail-Splitter President Abe Lincoln, since which time he has always supported that party's prin- ciples. For twelve years he served as a public school director in Kankakee county. Fraternally he is a member of Burnham Post No. 226, G. A. R. He and his wife are kind, loving people, respecters of Christianity, and have many friends in Lowell and in Kankakee county.
The following paragraphs, which appeared in the local press, indicate further facts anent the life and character of Mrs. Kelsey's parents :
Reason C. Kile died at his home one and one-half miles northeast of Sherburnville, on Friday, February 10, 1899. The funeral was held at the residence on Sunday, and interment took place at West Creek. Mr. Kile was born August 10. 1817. in Knox county. Ohio. He came to Kankakee county in 1837, and located on section 36. Yellowhead township, where he cleared a farm, and remained there about seven years. He then removed to the location which was his home when he died. He was married in 1840 to Miss Nancy Hayden, daughter of Nehemiah Hayden, one of the pioneer settlers of Lake county, Indiana. Five children came from this union, three of whom are still living-Nancy, wife of James J. Kelsey; Mary Ellen, wife of George W. VanAlstine; and Flora, wife of William Hatton. Mr. Kile commenced for himself without anything, but through industry and economy has acquired a competency.
Mrs. Nancy Jane Kile died at her home in Yellowhead township, Kan- kakee county, Illinois, last Sunday morning, after a prolonged illness of about four years, her malady being in the form of a gradual decline, but for the past four weeks before her death she was confined to her bed and was as helpless as a babe. The best of care and attention was bestowed upon her by relatives and friends during her long period as an invalid. The fun- eral services were held from the West Creek Methodist church Monday fore- noon at 10 o'clock, at which services a very large concourse of relatives and friends were in attendance, and the expressions of sorrow and sympathy were sincere and heartfelt for the bereaved. The services were conducted by Elder John Bruce. The remains were laid to rest in the West Creek cemetery, Funeral Director Clifford Stowell conducting this part of the 27
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service. Edgar, Jake, Lute, John. Cyrus and William Hayden, brothers of the deceased, acted as pall-bearers.
Nancy Jane Hayden was born in the state of Pennsylvania. April 27, 1823, and when but a child her parents, Nehemiah and Harriet Hayden, moved to Knox county, Ohio, where she spent her early childhood. In 1836 she came with her parents to Lake county, Indiana. they being among the first pioneer settlers of this county. She was united in marriage to Reason C. Kile. To this union five children were born, three of whom are living, namely: Nancy, wife of James Kelsey. Mary E .. wife of George VanAlstine, and Flora, wife of William Hatton. After her marriage to Mr. Kile in 1841 they settled on the farm near Sherburnville, which has been the home of the deceased until death, preceded by a long and severe ill- ness, took her away on October 19, 1902, at the age of 79 years. 5 months and 22 days. Mrs. Kile was well known and highly esteemed by all. Her many relatives and friends mourn her loss.
CHARLES A. BORGER.
Prominent and influential in the business and public life of Hobart. Charles A. Borger is now engaged in the manufacture of harness there, and is also a member of the town board, and while successfully conducting his private business affairs he is at the same time ably assisting in getting com- munity interests which affect the entire town. His wide acquaintance and the esteem in which he is uniformly held renders it imperative that his life his- tory be given a place in this volume.
He was born in Hanover township, Lake county, October 5. 1860, and is a son of John and Metta (Meyer) Borger. the former born in Hanover. Germany, and the latter in Bremen, Germany. It was after their emigra- tion to the new world that they were married, the wedding ceremony being performed in Lake county. They then took up their abode in Hanover town- ship, and the father carried on agricultural pursuits until his life's labors were ended in death. when he was but fifty-six years of age. He had been a resident of the county since 1842 and during the greater part of that period was a factor in agricultural circles. His wife died when but fifty-four years of age. They were the parents of nine children. all born in Lake county.
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and eight of the number are still living, Mr. C. A. Borger being the fourth son and fifth child.
Upon the home farm in Hanover township, Charles A. Borger spent the days of his boyhood, remaining with his mother until nineteen years of age, when he entered upon an apprenticeship to the harness-maker's trade in Dyer. Indiana. He served for a term of four years and then went to Chi- cago, where he worked for one year. On the expiration of that period he came to Hobart in 1885 and here began the manufacture of harness. He received a little aid from his parents in the beginning of his business career. In 1893 he built his present place of business, which is a two-story brick structure, in which he is now conducting one of the leading productive in- dustries of the city. He has secured a liberal patronage, owing to the ex- cellence of the goods which he manufactures and to his honorable treatment of his patrons.
Mr. Borger was married in October. 1885, the lady of his choice being Miss Henrietta Batterman, who was born January 3. 1864. in Will county, Illinois, being a sister of E. Batterman, who is represented elsewhere in this work. They are the parents of two daughters, Sena and Edna. Sena was born July 3. 1886: she graduated in the class of 1903 in the Hobart township high school, and is now one of Lake county's successful teachers, at Miller's Station. Edna was born March 15, 1893. and is in the sixth grade of the Hobart schools. Mr. Borger exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party and has firm faith in its prin- ciples and in their ultimate triumph. He is now a member of the town board. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 333. with the Knights of Pythias Lodge. No. 458, and with the Knights of the Maccabees. Tent No. 65, and also a member of the Masonic fraternity, No. 357. He enjoys the warm esteem of his brethren of these orders, for he is true to their teaching and the beneficent principles upon which they are founded. He has in his business career made consecutive progress, and his course has been marked by desirable accomplishment, but when he started out in life for himself he possessed little capital, nor did he receive any ad- vantages from influential family connection. He has worked persistently and has gained prosperity as the result of earnest labor, in which keen discrimina- tion and sound business judgment have formed a part.
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MRS. KATHARINA EINSPAHR.
The women of a community are ofttimes thie most enterprising factors in its activity, and extend their influence far beyond their supposedly legiti- mate sphere of work. There is no citizen of West Creek township more highly esteemed for enterprise and worth in the business and industrial de- partments of Lake county as well as for large qualities of heart and mind, than Mrs. Einspahr, who resides on the fine estate in this township which she and her husband by indefatigable labor and honest industry and wise management built up to extensive and valuable proportions.
This worthy representative of the ladies of West Creek township was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. June 26, 1852, being the eldest of three children, all daughters, and her two sisters being: Christine, wife of George Walker, a retired resident of Chicago, and who has one child: and Mary, wife of James Nott, engaged in real estate business in Chicago. The par- ents of these three daughters were T. Baldanzer and Maggie (Albus) Frank. Her father was born in Frankfort on the Rhine in 1823, and died in 1887. He was educated in the German tongue, and followed farming throughout life. In 1857 he set sail from Germany with his family, the port of departure being Bremen, and, on account of the heavy storms which the sailing vessel encountered, they were three months and nine days in reaching this side of the Atlantic. He at once brought the family out to Blue Island, Illinois, where he began his active career as a farmer, poor but honest, and at his death could say that he had always made his own way and had enjoyed the high regard of his neighbors and friends. For a time he was a watchman in the Union Depot at Chicago, and he died in that city. He was a Republi- can in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. His wife was born in Nassau, Germany, in 1817, and died in 1895, having lived, after her husband's death, with her daughter.
September 20, 1871, Miss Katharina Frank was married to Mr. August Einspahr, and the ten children born of this union are all living at the present writing, as follows: Fred, who is a farmer of Odebolt, Iowa, and is mar- ried : William, a prosperous farmer of West Creek township, and a married man; August, a farmer of the same township; Maggie, wife of Otto Sutton. one of the prosperous men of West Creek township whose histories appear in this volume; Martin, who resides with his mother and conducts the farm;
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Emil, who is a farmer of the same township: Emma, wife of Joseph Carl, who is in a greenhouse at Crown Point; Walker, a farmer of West Creek township: Alfred, who makes his home with his mother; and Katie, the youngest, who is in the sixth grade of school.
Mr. Einspahr was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, May 2, 1843. and died February 11, 1894. He was ten years old when he accompanied his parents to America, their residence from the first being at Blue Island. Illinois. IIe was thus trained and educated in both the German and Eng- lish languages. His parents were Frederick and Anna K. Einspahr, both deceased. Mr. Einspahr gave almost a year of loyal service as a soldier to the Union during the Civil war, and then received his honorable discharge. After his marriage he and his wife began life on eighty acres of land in West Creek township, the property being incumbered with twenty-two hundred dollars' debt. But they were industrious, shrewd managers, and had carly learned the lesson of making both ends meet, so that it was not long before the indebtedness was cleared off and they were free to add more to their estate.
Mr. Einsphar was a stanch Republican, and all his sons follow his ex- ample. He was a solid man, reliable and of unflinching integrity, and all men respected him for his sterling worth. Ile and his wife were both mem- bers of the German Methodist church. Since her husband's death Mrs. Ein- spalır has erected her comfortable residence in the township, and has super- vised the placing of the many improvements and the tiling of the land. She is a lady who is held in the highest esteem by all her acquaintances, and her hospitable home is a place of rest and comfort for all who enter therein.
HENRY BRANDT.
Henry Brandt, the prosperous and well known farmer and stockman of West Creek township, belongs to that fine class of German-American citizens who have been such praiseworthy factors in the upbuilding of the material and intellectual resources of Lake county. He is a native son and a life-long resident of the county, and therefore his interest in the county is deep-rooted and sincere. The history of his career shows that he has accomplished a more than ordinary success, and it may be said that in every relation of life he has merited the esteem of his fellow citizens.
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Mr. Brandt was born in Lake county, April 2, 1856, and is the fifth in a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters, born to Dietrich and Ana ( Bischop) Brandt. Eight of this family of sons and daughters are still living, as follows: John, who is a farmer of Benton county, Iowa; Mary, wife of David Locker, a farmer of Greeley county, Nebraska; Will- iam, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa, and married; Henry: Anna, wife of George Sautter, a Nebraska farmer; Lena, wife of William Bahr, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa : Emma, wife of Casper Gross, a tile manufacturer of Benton county, Iowa; and Herman, a farmer of Lyon county, Iowa.
Dietrich Brandt, the father of these children, was born near the free city of Bremen, in Hanover, Germany, was educated in the German lan- guage, and followed farming pursuits throughout the active part of his life. He was married in Germany, and three of their children were born in the fatherland. About the year 1848 he decided to come to America to seek his fortune, and he accordingly embarked his own on board a sailing vessel at Bremen, and after thirty-six days arrived in New York. He came out to Lake county, thus being among the early settlers, and purchased one hun- dred and sixty acres of rather wild land. The first home was a log cabin, and the hazel bushes were standing thick around and over the present highly cultivated place. He was a successful man in his work, and besides provid- ing well for his family he accumulated two hundred and ninety acres in West Creek township, his estate containing some of the choicest land in the com- munity. He was a Republican in politics, and he and his wife were members of the Evangelical church in West Creek township. he having assisted in the building of the church edifice. His death occurred about 1880, and his wife, who was also born in the vicinity of Bremen, passed away in 1893.
Mr. Henry Brandt received an education in the English public schools of West Creek township, and from his earliest years of active labor to the present time has been identified successfully with farming and stock-raising pursuits. He remained at home with his parents until he had reached his majority, and when he started out independently he was possessed of a capi- tal of fifteen hundred dollars.
January 18, 1882, he married Miss Emma Sastrow, and of this happy marriage eight children have been born, seven of whom are living. Ernest, the oldest, received his diploma for completion of the common school course
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in 1900, and is at home; Elsie, a graduate of the class of 1902, has also taken music : George is a graduate in 1903: Dora is in the fifth grade; and Harry, the youngest, is in the second grade of school. Mrs. Brandt was born in Cook county, Illinois. June 28, 1860, being a daughter of Charles and Henrietta ( Steiner) Sastrow. She has one sister, Carrie, wife of Will- iam Brandt. Her parents came from Prussia, her father being a native of Pomerania and her mother of Holstein, and her father is still living, being a resident of Lyon county, Iowa.
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