USA > Indiana > Carroll County > History of Carroll County Indiana, its people, industries and institutions > Part 33
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ticing his profession at Peru, Indiana; Nellie, a graduate of the common schools, is the wife of F. F. Hunt, of Kokomo, Indiana; Hugh married Queen Woodington, and they live on his father's farm in Carrollton town- ship, and Chester, a graduate of the Flora high school, employed as a clerk in the Myer clothing store, married Delilah Brower, and they live in Flora.
Mr. and Mrs. Wagoner are faithful and earnest members of the Pres- byterian church. As a Democrat, Mr. Wagoner was elected as a member of the board of county commissioners in 1896. the year in which Bryan made his first race for the presidency. In 1898 Mr. Wagoner was renom- inated and re-elected, serving altogether six years and one month as com- missioner of the county.
In November, 1904, the Wagoner family moved to Flora, Mr. Wag- oner having suffered a stroke of paralysis in January previously. Although he has been totally disabled for a period of eleven years, he retains his early . mental vigor and is in full possession of all his mental faculties. He has been an indulgent father and a kind and loving husband, as well as an upright and honorable citizen.
WILLIAM H. ROBINSON.
Students interested in the history of Carroll county do not have to make long and searching investigation to discover that William H. Robin- son, a prosperous farmer of Madison township, is one of the foremost citi- zens of the county. His labors have been a potent force in making this section a rich agricultural community. For many years he has carried on general farming and has gradually improved his magnificent farm of one hundred and fifty-three and one-half acres in section 20, of Madison town- ship, which he purchased from the McCord heirs. While he has prospered as a farmer, he has also found time and ample opportunities to assist in the material development of the county. His grandfather was the first white settler in Carroll county, Indiana, having come to the county on December 31, 1824.
William H. Robinson was born on April 22, 1848, in Deer Creek town- ship, Carroll county, Indiana. He is the son of Samuel H. and Agnes J. (McCord) Robinson, the former of whom was born near Dayton. Mont- gomery county, Ohio, November 24, 1816. and the latter, born in Carroll county, Indiana, on June 30, 1828. Samuel H. Robinson was the son of
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM H. ROBINSON.
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Henry Robinson, a native of Kentucky who emigrated first to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he lived for a few years until coming to Carroll county, Indiana. Here he lived the remainder of his life, building and improving a pioneer grist-mill. Henry Robinson's wife, before her marriage, was Elizabeth Coleman, who bore her husband five children, Abner, Coleman, Samuel H., Sarah and Elizabeth. Henry Robinson died on July 4, 1845, and his remains are buried in the Baum cemetery.
Samuel H. Robinson and Agnes J. McCord were married on November 27, 1845. They had only one son, William H., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Agnes J. (McCord) Robinson, who died on April 29, 1848, was a member of the Presbyterian church. Her husband, who had worked in his father's mill until he was about twenty-six years old, then engaged in farming. He died on February 13, 1888.
William H. Robinson was educated in the common schools of Carroll county, Indiana. He attended Indiana State University at Bloomington for one year and, after finishing his education, purchased one hundred and fifty-three and one-half acres from the McCord heirs. The farm had been already improved by a Mr. Conley. Mr. Robinson has further improved the farm by the erection of an addition to the barn and by clearing over one-half of the land, which was also drained and fenced. He is a general farmer and stockman and has been very successful in agriculture.
Mr. Robinson was' married on April 4, 1877, to Harriet E. Trobaugh, a daughter of William and Sarah Ann (Ferrier) Trobaugh, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and who came with his parents to Carroll county, Indiana, in pioneer times. By his first marriage, which was to Sarah Ann Ferrier, there were born five children, namely: Harriet E .; Anna, unmarried, who lives in Delphi; Samuel F., of Chicago; Charles, of Indian- apolis; Laura, the wife of David Beard, of Indianapolis. By the second marriage of Mr. Trobaugh there were born two children, Roy, the night telegraph operator for the Monon railroad at Delphi, and Harry, assistant agent of the interurban railroad at Delphi. William Trobaugh now lives in south Delphi. His wife, the mother of Mrs. Robinson, died on June 13, 1875. She was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth ( Tweed) Ferrier, who had eight children, as follow: "Pauline, born on April 12, 1828; Caroline, March 17, 1831; Sarah Ann, August 18, 1833; George E., May 10, 1836; Samuel Tweed, January 30, 1839; Daniel F., November 26, 1840; Mary J., March 27, 1846; Elizabeth E., February 5, 1850.
Of these children, Samuel Tweed Ferrier enlisted in Company A, Second Indiana Cavalry, and served throughout the Civil War. Daniel T.
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enlisted in Company K, Second Indiana Cavalry, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Gainesville. He was confined in Andersonville prison for a time, but made his escape from prison when the prisoners were being moved from Andersonville to Florence, South Carolina. He was afterward cap- tured with two companions, but again escaped and rejoined his regiment. He received a medal for gallant conduct on the field of battle at Gainesville.
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Robinson have had eight children, six of whom are living, Fannie, Kate, Stella, Ruth, Agnes, Charles, Mabel and Jessie. Fannie, born on June 13, 1880, and who is the wife of Dr. J. R. Carney, of Pyrmont, has borne her husband one child, Meredith. Kate, born on January 25, 1883, is the wife of Charles Weil, of Deer Creek township. Stella, born on August 6, 1884, is the wife of Renn Chapman, of Chenoa, McLean county, Illinois, and they have one son, Donald. Ruth, born on May 31, 1886, died on August 21, 1905. Agnes, born on August 28, 1887, is the wife of John McCouch, who lives north of Delphi in Deer Creek township. They have two children, Lucille and Dorothy Irene. Charles, born on October 19, 1892, died on February 16, 1893. Mabel, born on August 29, 1894, and Jessie, born on December 19, 1899, are at home.
Mrs. Robinson is a member of the Presbyterian church at Delphi. Mr. Robinson is a stanch Republican, although he has never taken an active part in politics. Nevertheless, he is a highly respected citizen in the county where he lives.
ELIAS E. LANDIS.
There is no positive rule for achieving success, yet in the life of the successful man there are always lessons which may well be followed. The man who is successful is the one who can foresee his opportunities. The essential conditions of life are ever the same, the surroundings of individ- uals differing in a minor degree. When one man passes another on the highway of life, reaching his goal before others, who perhaps started out before him, it is because he has the power to use advantages which come within the purview of those who compete against him. Today among the successful young business men of Flora, Indiana, is Elias E. Landis, a young man who is succeeding because he is using the native talents with which he was endowed.
Elias E. Landis, a well-known hardware merchant of Flora, Indiana,
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was born on January 12, 1880, in Carroll county, Indiana. He is the son of David and Hannah E. ( Eikenberry) Landis, the former of whom was born in Carroll county, Indiana, the son of Jacob Landis, who married a Miss Hamilton. Jacob Landis was a farmer and an active and devout mem- ber of the German Baptist church. By his marriage to Miss Hamilton there were seven children: Daniel, deceased; Henry, of Flora; Heil, of Monroe township: William, of Illinois; David, the father of Elias E .; Ira, of North Dakota, and Emily, the wife of a Mr. Woods, of Indianapolis.
David Landis was reared in Carroll county, Indiana, and received his education here. He grew to manhood on his father's farm and was married to Hannah E. Eikenberry, also a native of Carroll county, and the daughter of Christopher and Susannah (Overholser) Eikenberry. The father of Mrs. David Landis was born in Virginia and her mother in Preble county, Ohio. Not only is David Landis a successful farmer of this county, but he is also a well-known minister in the German Baptist church. By his mar- riage to Hannah E. Eikenberry there were twelve children born, of whom two died in infancy and a daughter died later in life. Nine are living at the present time. Golda, the wife of Grant Renicker; Ora G., who married Addie Duddleston; Elias E., the subject of this sketch; Harley, a graduate of the common schools, who married Bright Alberts; Ira C., a graduate of the common school and the Camden high school, who was a teacher in this county for some time and is now principal of one of the ward schools at Riverside, California; Susie and Lenna, who live at home; Howard, a grad- uate of the Camden high school, who married Stella Yerkes, and Eva, who is at home.
Reared on the farm and educated in the common schools of Carroll county, Elias E. Landis was later graduated from the Camden high school. He taught a district school for two years and then spent one year in Indiana State University at Bloomington, after which he taught for two more years in the district school. He was principal of the high school for two years at Culver, Indiana, after which he came to Flora. in 1906, and served for one year as assistant principal. During the next three years he was princi- pal of the Flora high school and for the next four years was superintendent of the schools of Flora.
Mr. Landis had an interest in the hardware business while he was superintendent of the local schools. He quit teaching in order to engage actively in the hardware business.
On June 19, 1907, Elias E. Landis was married to Kathryn DeMoss, who was born and reared in Marshall county, Indiana. Kathryn DeMoss
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was a graduate of the Plymouth high school and was a teacher in the dis- trict schools of Marshall county and in the Culver school of Marshall county, as well as the grade school at Camden, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Landis are the parents of three children, Leonore, born on March 30, 1909; Robert, December 25, 1911, and Richard D., July 25, 1915.
The Landis family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Flora. Mr. Landis is a member of the official board of the church and is superintendent of the Sunday school.
ABRAM W. EIKENBERRY.
Abram W. Eikenberry, a well-known retired farmer and merchant, of Flora, Indiana, is a native of Carroll county. born in Burlington township, July 12, 1849. Mr. Eikenberry is the son of Joel and Hannah (Overholser) Eikenberry, the former of whom was the son of John and Susan (Frantz) Eikenberry, both of whom came to Carroll county, Indiana, from Virginia. entering land in Monroe township as early as 1835. John Eikenberry and his wife lived in this county until their deaths.
Joel Eikenberry was a lad eight years old when he came to Carroll county. His father having entered a tract of land in Monroe township, now owned by Harvey Thomas, Joel assisted in clearing away a spot where a log cabin was built and where the family was reared. The only surviving member of the family of John and Susan (Frantz) Eikenberry, who had six children, five sons and one daughter, is John F. Eikenberry, of Butler county, Iowa. Reared in a pioneer community, Joel Eikenberry attended the pioneer log cabin school and worked at home on the farm during the summer months. He was married to Hannah Overholser, September 22, 1843. To this union were born the following children: Daniel, Susan P., Abram W. and John, all of whom are deceased except Abram W.
Abram W. Eikenberry was also reared on the pioneer farm and received his education in the public schools of Burlington township. He attended school until he reached his majority and, on October 16, 1870, was married to Clarinda H. Gwinn, who was born on May 25, 1852, on an adjoining farm. During their childhood they had been playmates and had attended the same school. Clarinda H. Gwinn was the daughter of John C. and Martha J. (Runyon) Gwinn.
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After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Eikenberry moved to a tract of land given to them by their parents. In February, 1873, Mr. Eikenberry traded this farm for one hundred and four acres in section 4, of Burlington township, which he owned for many years. After living on the farm for six years the family came to Flora, Indiana, and in December, 1878, Mr. Eikenberry engaged in the hardware and implement business with W. M. Landis, under the firm name of Landis & Eikenberry. After two years he sold out, but was, at various times, engaged in the hardware and imple- ment business until 1905, when he finally disposed of the business.
Mr. and Mrs. Eikenberry have been the parents of three children, two of whom died in infancy. The living child is Elmer M., born on December 9, 1872. He was educated in the Flora public schools and was graduated in the first class from the Flora high school. Afterward he attended school at the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. He married Mabel A. Wasson and has four daughters, Faun, Helen, Joyce and Brucell. Faun is a graduate of the high school and Helen is now a student in the high school. Abram W. Eikenberry is one of the directors in the Bright National Bank, at Flora, of which Elmer M. is a stockholder. Faun is assistant cashier of the bank.
Mr. and Mrs. Abram Eikenberry are active in church work. Mr. Eikenberry has served for many years as superintendent of the Sunday school and has seen it grow from a very small attendance to a very large one. Abram W. Eikenberry is a wide reader of good literature, an interest- ing conversationalist, a kind and considerate man. He is well known throughout Carroll county.
WILLIAM F. TIMMONS.
Inseparable from merit is the career of a man who has devoted so much of his life to the laying of the foundation for a useful future of so many individuals. The worth of William F. Timmons is better known in his home town than could possibly be set forth in the pages of this history.
William F. Timmons, farmer, Delphi, Indiana, was born on August 22, 1852, in Adams township, Carroll county, and is a son of Perry and Isabelle (Crowel) Timmons. He grew to man's estate under his father's roof on a farm in his native township, receiving his early education at the district schools. attending later Burnettsville Academy and Valparaiso University, after which he taught fourteen terms of school in .Adams and Rock Creek
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townships, which vocation he gave up in order that he might follow agri- culture, and is the present owner of a splendid tract of three hundred and nine acres, located in Rock Creek and Adams townships; where he gives his attention to the breeding of a good grade of stock of all kinds. Politically, Mr. Timmons has always been a loyal supporter of the Democratic party, taking an active interest in politics, serving as assessor of Adams township for two terms, and was the nominee for sheriff and county commissioner on two occasions. Fraternally, his membership is with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Rockfield, Indiana, of which he is past grand; he is a member of the encampment, and is past chief patriarch, and a member of the grand lodge, having joined in 1878. He is one of the directors of the Rockfield Bank, and a stockholder of the Rockfield Telephone Company.
Perry Timmons, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Ohio, and his wife, Isabelle (Crowel) Timmons, was born near Dayton, in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, each coming with their parents to Indiana about 1830, and locating in Adams township, this county, where they grew up together, and were married. They settled down to an agricultural life in Adams township, and became thrifty farmers. Mr. Timmons started without any worldly goods, beginning his career as a day laborer, and at the time of his death, owned two hundred and forty acres of good land. He was a Demo- crat in politics all his life, his death occurring on December 30, 1858. The children born to this union were as follow: Melissa; William F .; Margaret J .; Sarah E., who was married to William J. Wakeland, of Adams town- ship; Perry S., who died in March, 1915. The Timmons family, who emi- grated to Ohio, were natives of Delaware.
William F. Timmons was united in marriage on September 8, 1881, with Cora I.ontz. daughter of Henry and Catherine Lontz. She was born on May 5, 1864, in Adams township, receiving her education at the district schools. To this union eight children have been born, as follow: Ruby is at home; Chloe is the wife of Albert Shaffer. and lives in Adams town- ship; Turpie was graduated from the Rockfield high school, and then taught three terms of school, after which she was married and became a resident of Rockfield; Don is single, and follows farming on the home place; Cath- erine was graduated from the Delphi high school, after which she took a business course, and is at present filling the position of stenographer and bookkeeper for the Voorhees Lumber Company, at Logansport. Indiana ; Edith was graduated from the Delphi high school, was a student at the State Normal School and is now teaching in Rock Creek township; Ruth is also
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a graduate of the Delphi high school, and Florence is a student of the Rock- field high school.
Mr. Timmons is descended from an old family, who have long been residents of Carroll county. He possesses, to a marked degree the qualities which win and retain the friendship of a large number of people.
WILLIAM M. ECKERLE.
The present age has seen a most wonderful transformation in industrial methods and processes. Many of the handicrafts have been abandoned and machines have been substituted to do the work formerly done by skilled hand labor. Some trades, however, are still necessary to every community, and one of them is that of the blacksmith and horseshoer. William M. Eckerle, a well-known citizen of Flora, Indiana, is a skilled blacksmith and a most highly-esteemed citizen of Flora and vicinity.
William M. Eckerle was born in Union county, Indiana, March 29, 1874, and is a son of Leopold and Nancy ( Mallory) Eckerle, the former of whom was a native of Baden, Germany, who had two years' experience in his native land as a blacksmith and horseshoer. He came to America at the age of nineteen, landing in New York City. From there he made his way to Cincinnati, Ohio, where, for three years, he worked as a blacksmith, sav- ing his money in the meantime. Becoming dissatisfied with life in the Queen City, he worked at different places until he finally settled at Beechy Mire, near Richmond, Indiana, where, encouraged by responsible farmers. he established a blacksmith shop. After remaining in that community for nine years he had saved enough money to buy eighty acres of unimproved land in Cass county, Indiana, to which he subsequently removed. He died in Flora, Indiana. July 23, 1914. By his marriage to Nancy Mallory there were born eight children, six of whom are now living: P. F., a resident of Lanark, Carroll county, Illinois, where he is a banker and minister in the Conservative church: C. E., of Oak Park, Illinois, is in the employ of the Co-operative Company, of Chicago, Illinois: Anna, the wife of Allen Sny- der. of Cass county. Indiana; William M .. the immediate subject of this review : Rose A., the wife of E. L. Colvin, a clothing merchant of Flora. Indiana, and Mary. the wife of Dennis Murphy, of Cass county, Indiana.
Reared mostly in Cass county, Indiana, Mr. Eckerle attended the pub- lic schools in his neighborhood and received a good common-school educa-
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tion. At the age of twenty years he took up the work of blacksmithing, buying a half interest in his father's shop at the of twenty-five, and remain- ing in the partnership until he was thirty years old, at which time he bought . out his father's interests in the shop, conducting the business alone.
In October, 1898, William W. Eckerle was married to Lizzie E. Wit- ter, who was born in Monroe township, Carroll county, Indiana, and edu- cated in the common schools. Mr. and Mrs. Eckerle are the parents of one son, George Leopold, born on November 4, 1911.
Mr. and Mrs. Eckerle are members of the Conservative church, of Flora. Politically, Mr. Eckerle is identified with the Republican party.
JOHN T. GEE.
There is no county in the state of Indiana which has not been honored in the characters and careers of her farmers. In every section of the state may be found men who have become leaders in agriculture, men who have succeeded in this vocation because of their superior intelligence, natural endowment and force of character. It is always profitable to study such lives, weigh their motives and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activities and higher excellence on the part of others. These reflec- tions are suggested by the career of the venerable John T. Gee, retired farmer of Madison township, Carroll county, Indiana, who has forged to the front ranks of the farmers of Carroll county and who, by well-applied industry, intelligent management and careful saving, has accumulated a large competence in farm property.
Mr. Gee is a native of Carroll county, Indiana, born on December 21, 1834. He is the son of the late Andrew Gee, a native of Ohio, who immi- grated to Democrat township, Carroll county, Indiana, in 1829, making the trip overland in a covered wagon. Andrew Gee was one of the committee which gave Democrat township its name. After establishing a home in the wilderness here, he took up farming and owned a considerable body of land in the township. He was a Democrat in politics. The late Andrew Gee was the father of twelve children, Moses, Nancy, Andrew, John T., Benjamin, Alfred, Ellen, Amos, Elizabeth, William, James and Charles.
John T. Gee received a common-school education and, when a young man old enough to begin life on his own responsibilities, he engaged in making shingles and cutting hoop-poles. After making some money in
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JOHN T. GEE AND FAMILY.
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this way, he went to California, where, for some time, he was engaged in mining. He also spent five years in Oregon and then returned to Car- roll county and purchased two hundred acres of land, which he cleared and upon which he erected farm buildings. Since that time, he has bought two hundred and forty acres more and now owns altogether four hundred and forty acres. Upon all of this land Mr. Gee has made substantial improvements.
Mr. Gee's first wife, Anna Martin, to whom he was married in 1879, was a native of White county, Indiana. She died the following year after marriage and he was next married to Isabelle Schnepp, who was born in Washington township, Tippecanoe county, the daughter of David and Susanne (Hughes) Schnepp. Mrs. Gee's parents were natives of Ohio, her father having come to Carroll county when a lad, accompanying his parents in a covered wagon to the great Hoosier state. Mrs. Gee's parents were married in Deer Creek township and were farmers all of their lives. Mrs. Gee was the fourth child in the family and is one of three children now living. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Gee were married on November 24, 1886, and to them have been born two children, Aouda and Oscar. By his first marriage, Mr. Gee had four children: One who died in infancy; Edward, of Altoona, Pennsylvania: Samuel and Charles, both of Madison township.
FLAVIUS J. AYRES.
Flavius J. Ayres, a prosperous farmer of Democrat township, Carroll county, Indiana. who resides on rural route No. 2, out of Cutler. Indiana, and who owns eighty acres of land in Democrat township, was born on December 2, 1867, in the township where he lives.
Flavius J. Ayres is the son of John W. and Caroline (Tinkle ) Ayres, the former of whom was born in the Old Dominion state, the son of Will- iam and Mary Ayres. William Ayres spent practically all of his life in his native state, but in his declining years came to Carroll county, where he lived until his death. John W. Ayres was reared on the farm in the Old Dominion state and. after having reached maturity, immigrated to Indiana and located in Carroll county. At the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted in the Third Indiana Cavalry and served in Company H until the end of the war. At the close of the war he returned to Carroll county and took up farming.
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