USA > Indiana > Carroll County > History of Carroll County Indiana, its people, industries and institutions > Part 35
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Born and reared on the farm in Carroll county, W. H. Lesh is the only member of the family born on his grandfather's old homestead. Mr. Lesh lived on the farm until 1895, having in the meantime received a liberal education in the common schools and at Valparaiso University.
In December, 1883, W. H. Lesh was married to Susan C. Houston, the daughter of Benjamin F. Houston, and a native of Henry county, Missouri, her father having been a native of Ohio who emigrated to Missouri and there enlisted for service in the Union army. Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lesh, one child, Dwana May. is deceased; Bessie A. is the wife of Okall Vorhees, of Mishawaka, Indiana, and Benjamin B. is serving as deputy county treasurer.
Mr. Lesh has not been engaged in farming since 1895. After having taken up the livery business at Flora, Indiana, in which he remained until 1903, he took up the real-estate and loan business, serving in the meantime as justice of the peace. He continued at this business until his election as
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treasurer of Carroll county, November, 1912. He had been previously nominated in the Democratic county convention held in June of that year. Mr. Lesh took the office of county treasurer on January 1, 1913, for a term of two years.
W. H. Lesh is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias. Mr. and Mrs. Lesh and family are members of the Presbyterian church.
CALVIN C. ORAHOOD.
Calvin C. Orahood, the subject of the following biographical sketch, followed educational work for a number of years, and after a thorough investigation of the merits of the insurance business, decided upon that line for his vocational work, and is duly entitled to his successful achievement.
Calvin C. Orahood, general insurance man, Camden, Indiana, was born on January 17, 1857, in Logan county, Ohio, and is a son of Walter and Rebecca J. Orahood. His early youth was spent on his father's farm in Ohio, and he came with his parents to Camden in 1872, where he obtained his elementary education in the public schools, afterward attending Indiana State University. After completing his education, Mr. Orahood taught for seven years in the public schools of Carroll county, which work he discon- tinued in order that he might engage in the insurance business, in which he saw great possibilities.
The present successful business, which Mr. Orahood has built from the ground up, is a witness to the fact that he made no mistake in his judg- ment. Politically, Mr. Orahood is a strong believer in Republican policies. while his religious belief lies with the Lutheran church, in which he officiates as one of the deacons, and has been superintendent of the Sunday school for the past twenty years, contributing liberally to both church and Sunday school work. Fraternally, he belongs to Mt. Zion Lodge No. 211, Free and Accepted Masons. His present insurance business covers fire, live stock and general insurance.
Walter Orahood, father of the subject of this sketch, was born, reared. educated and married in Logan county, Ohio. His wife was Rebecca (Skid- more ) Orahood. They came to Indiana in 1864. locating in Rock Creek township. this county, moving later to Jackson township. Mr. Orahood was connected with the Vandalia railroad for over twenty years, but gave this employment up in order that he might follow agricultural pursuits. He
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moved to a farm in Deer Creek township, and later to Jefferson township, Carroll county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Orahood earned all he owned through his own efforts. Politically, he was a loyal Democrat, and both he and his wife were members of the Bap- tist church. They were the parents of four children, two of whom are deceased. The two living in 1915 are Ira D. Orahood, who resides at Chicago, and Calvin C.
Calvin C. Orahood was united in marriage on March 6, 1879, with Anna E. Baker, daughter of Peter Baker. She was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Sterling, Illinois, from where she moved to Camden, Indiana, in 1870, with her parents. This union has been blest with three children, Edwin W., born on March 6, 1881, and was graduated from the Camden high school, after which he was graduated in pharmacy at Purdue Univer- sity, and is now a successful druggist at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was married to Maude Fowler. The other two children were Marie and Floyd D., both of whom died in infancy.
Having spent so many years of his life in Carroll county, Mr. Orahood has so interwoven his life and business with the citizenship of Camden and the surrounding territory that he has become a leading and prominent factor.
JOHN S. ARMITAGE.
John S. Armitage was born in Alexandria, Huntington County, Penn- sylvania, September 19, 1825, and moved to Logansport, Indiana, in IS 5, and from there to Delphi, in 1837. His father was a contractor on the Wabash and Erie canal. In 1846 he enlisted in Company G, at Logans- port, in the First Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in the Mexican War. The company left for the seat of war, in April, 1846, went to Madi- son, and from there by steamer to New Orleans, where it crossed the Gulf to Mexico. At the close of the war, the company was discharged at New Orleans, and the soldiers paid their way home, after receiving seven dollars per month. Mr. Armitage was one of the men who went to the gold fields of California in 1849. After several years spent on the Pacific coast, he returned and was married to Mrs. Emaline (Connelly) Burns, who died on February 10, 1893. Mr. Armitage has been an active member of the Old Settlers' Society, and served as president two years. He is now eighty-nine years old, and enjoying good health.
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ELI BEARD.
Representing one of the oldest and best-known families of Clay town- ship, and a man of enterprising spirit and sterling worth, the venerable Eli Beard is well entitled to notice among the substantial farmers of Carroll county. He has lived a long and useful life in this county, having been brought here when an infant by his parents.
Eli Beard is a native of Darke county, Ohio, born on June 7, 1835. His parents were John and Sophia ( Moore) Beard, who moved to Carroll county in 1835 and settled south of Pyrmont, in Clay township. They lived here for a short time, purchasing eighty acres of land from Mr. Murphy and eighty acres from Mr. Wagoner. A part of this land has been in the possession of the Beard family ever since. John and Sophia ( Moore) Beard had nine children, namely: John M. is deceased; Permilla married John Welder, and both are deceased; Sarah was the wife of William Nice, but both are deceased; Mary Jane, who married Mr. Mooney, is deceased, as is her husband; Rachel and her husband, who was Mr. St. John, are deceased: Jermina and her husband, who was Mr. Bates, are also deceased; William is · deceased; Alexander lives in Oklahoma, and Eli is the subject of this sketch. John Beard, the father of these children, was a farmer and passed away in the prime of life. His wife, however, lived to a ripe old age and died in Texas.
Eli Beard received only a common-school education in the public schools of Clay township. He lived at home with his parents until October 4, 1857, when he was married to Mary Jane Hughes, a daughter of John and Eliza- beth Hughes, the former of whom was born in Adams county, Ohio, and the latter in Carroll county, Indiana. John Hughes was the son of William Hughes, a native of Ohio, who served in the War of 1812. The family came to Carroll county at a very early date, when the county was still wild, the journey from Ohio to Indiana being made on horseback. William Hughes lived to become a very old man, dying at the age of past ninety years, near Delphi. John Hughes was a stanch Democrat. By his mar- riage to Elizabeth Rowabaugh there were born three children, namely: Mrs. Eli Beard; John Wesley Hughes, who died in infancy, and William H., who lives in Clay township. Eli died in August, 1914. The mother of these children died in 1843, and, after her death, John Hughes married Eliza Bugher, who bore him several children as follow: Newton, George, Martin, Isabelle, Levina (deceased), Snyethance, Ida, Tabitha and John J. (deceased).
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Mrs. Mary Jane ( Hughes) Beard was born on April 25, 1837, at Delphi, Indiana.
To Mr. and Mrs. Eli Beard have been born seven children, four of whom are living: Sophia is the wife of Joseph Bohm, of Flora, Indiana; John L. lives in Ockley; Minerva died at the age of three years; Edward T. is a farmer of Tippecanoe county and served as county recorder in Car- roll county for eight years, being at the time a resident of Clay township, but later removing to Tippecanoe county ; Russell died at the age of twenty- five years, being a school teacher by profession; David O. is a resident of Indianapolis; Florence married Jacob McManus and died on March 20, 1905.
Eli Beard owns two hundred acres of well-improved land. which includes the farm upon which he was reared. He has lived in Clay town- ship continuously since he was brought to the county in 1835, at which time he was only six months old. The house in which Mr. Beard and his family lived was erected in 1861 by himself. Since 1901 Mr. Beard has lived retired.
Fraternally, Eli Beard is a member of Mount Olive Lodge No. 48, Free and Accepted Masons at Delphi. He is a stanch Democrat and has been more or less active in politics all his life, although he has never filled office. Mr. and Mrs. Beard spent two winters in California and the last three winters in Florida.
WILLIAM B. COBLE.
William B. Coble, who is one of the most extensive landowners of Adams township, Carroll county, Indiana, and who is now living retired after having spent a most active and useful life in agriculture, is one of the oldest citizens of the township and a native not only of Carroll county, but of Jefferson township, where he lives. Year by year he has added to his holdings in farm property until now, at the advanced age of eighty years, he owns, together with his wife, six hundred and seventy-two acres of fine farming land in this county.
Mr. Coble was born in Carroll county, Indiana, on July 19, 1835. and is the son of David and Mary ( Brady) Coble, the former of whom was born near Dayton, Ohio, on September 10, 1810, and who died in Jeffer- son township, Carroll county, Indiana, in 1873, at the age of sixty-three years. Mary (Brady) Coble, to whom David Coble was married when twenty-five years old. was the daughter of William and Jane (Davis)
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WILLIAM B. COBLE AND FAMILY.
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Brady. The Bradys claimed relationship with Jefferson Davis, the president of the Southern Confederacy. Mary Brady was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, although her parents were natives of Maryland. She died on August 24, 1837, when still a young woman, leaving two children, William B., the subject of this sketch, and Jefferson R., who died in Missouri. After her death, David Coble married Deborah Hobson, the daughter of Benjamin Hobson, a native of North Carolina. She died on October 19, 1880, at the age of sixty-four years, having borne her husband seven children, Eliza, Nelson J., Sarah Jane, Daniel, John, Riley, and Manford. Eliza is the wife of Asbury Gosley. Nelson J., who served his country during the Civil War, died shortly thereafter. Sarah Jane, deceased, was the wife of Henry Heiny. Daniel married Louise Peterson and lives in Adams township. He has three children, Reilly, who married George Finley, lives in Indianapolis. Manford is deceased.
The late David Coble, who had farmed for his father when a boy, later bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Jefferson township, Carroll county, to which he added until, at the time of his death in 1873, he owned two hundred and forty acres. Before the organization of the Republican party, he was identified with the Whig party, but thereafter voted the Repub- lican ticket.
William B. Coble, having received a common-school education, began life on his own responsibility in 1857, at the time of his marriage. He first rented from his father a farm in Adams township, but during the fol- lowing years bought eighty acres of land in Adams township, which he leased. He then farmed his father-in-law's farm for five years and after that moved onto his own eighty acres of land, farming this for six years. Recently he purchased fifty-three acres, most of which he cleared and to which he made valuable improvements, including the erection of buildings, drainage and fencing. In the meantime he bought one hundred and twenty acres more land and afterward two tracts of eighty and eighty-nine acres, making in all four hundred and thirty-eight acres, which he himself owned. In addition, Mr. Coble's wife owns two hundred and thirty-four acres, so that together they own six hundred and seventy-two acres.
William B. Coble was married, on March 15, 1857, to Sarah Crowel, the daughter of Abraham and Catherine (Million) Crowel, natives of the Buckeye state. Mrs. Coble was born in Miami county, Ohio, on January 15, 1839. Her father, who was a farmer by occupation, a Democrat in politics and a member of the Dunkard church, emigrated from Ohio to Jefferson
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township, Carroll county, Indiana, where he spent the rest of his life. He was twice married, the first time to Catherine Million, by whom he had eight children, and the second time to Anna Newman, by whom he had seven children.
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Coble have had six children, namely: Law- son, who is a farmer in Adams township, married Tina Shawhan and they have one child; Mayard Harry was killed when sixteen years old; Arthur married Nettie Fidler and lives near Rockfield; they have three children; Martha Emma, who lives at home with her parents, married David Show- hand and they have one child; Abraham, who married Grace Gibson and has five children, lives on a farm east of his father; Ella May, who married James Tyner, lives on her mother's farm, near Lockport.
Mr. and Mrs. Coble are members of the Christian church. Mr. Coble is a Prohibitionist in politics and served for several terms on the advisory board of Adams township. He is known throughout the community where he lives, not only as a successful farmer, but as an upright, honorable, highly respected man and citizen.
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WILLIAM M. CAMPBELL.
William M. Campbell, who is the scion of a pioneer family of Carroll county, a former teacher in the Carroll county public schools, a trustee of Clay township for four years, and who is now prominent in Masonic circles in Carroll county, is a native of the township where he lives, having been born on August 29, 1873.
Mr. Campbell is the son of Albert M. and Mary J. (Smith) (Garst) Campbell, the former of whom was born on September 14, 1837. in Clay township. He was the son of Moses and Rebecca ( Mooney ) Campbell, both of whom died in Clay township, the former at the age of sixty-three and the latter at the age of fifty-five. Both were members of the Christian church. Moses Campbell had immigrated to Carroll county, Indiana, from Ohio, and was among the early settlers of Clay township. By his marriage to Rebecca Mooney, there were born seven children, Albert M .; James C .. who served three years and six months in the Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry and died at the age of seventy years in 1905; Mary, who married Peter Herron and lives near Buck Creek in Tippecanoe county; Anna, the widow of John Smith of Ifrankfort; N. C., who resided in Madison town- ship until his death in 1908, served three years under General Sherman in
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Company C, Seventy-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Martha, when last heard from was living in the West; Daniel, who lives in the state of Wash- ington.
William M. Campbell's mother was born at Romney, Indiana, in 1843, the daughter of Richard Smith, who was a native of New Jersey and who immigrated to Romney, Indiana, at a very early date. He had five children, only one of whom is living, Lewis. who was killed at Haines Bluff during the Civil War; Rachel, who married John M. Beard, both now deceased: Mary J., who was first married to Joseph Garst and. later, to Albert M. Campbell; Louisa, who married Thomas Gwinn, both now deceased, and John M., who lives in Joplin, Missouri.
The late Albert M. Campbell was twice married, first to Rebecca Shelley, and to them was born one daughter, who married John Hufford. After the death of Mrs. Rebecca Campbell, Albert Campbell was married to Mary J. (Smith) Garst, the widow of Joseph Garst. By her first marriage, she had three children, Addie, who died in infancy; Elizabeth, who married William Fetterhoff, of Clay township, and Deborah, who married Matthew A. Clark, of Pratt, Kansas. To the union of Albert M. Campbell and Mrs. Mary J. Garst, three children were born, George, who died at the age of eight years; William M., the subject of this sketch, and Roscoe A., who lives at Pratt, Kansas.
William M. Campbell received the rudiments of an education in the common schools of Clay township. Later, he was a student at the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute for six terms and then taught for seven years in the schools of Clay township.
On April 13, 1904, Mr. Campbell was married to Cora Burkhalter, the daughter of Paul and Mary (Gheres) Burkhalter, the former of whom was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1846, and who was married to Mary Gheres, June 3, 1873. To them were born four children, all of whom are living: Irvin, who lives on the home farm, married Cynthia Mellinger and has one daughter, Ruth; Cora, the wife of Mr. Camp- bell; Charles W., who lives near Frankfort, and Ida, the wife of William Snyder, of Indianapolis. Mrs. Paul Burkhalter died on May 29, 1915. She was a member of the Reformed church, as is also her husband who survives her. He is the son of William and Eliza (Fatzinger) Burkhalter, both of whom were natives of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. Paul Burk- halter owns one hundred and sixty acres of well-improved land in Clay township, but has been living retired since 1907.
Mr. Campbell's father died on December 6, 1914, and his mother died
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on August 31, 1898. Both were members of the Baptist church. At the time of their death, they left their two sons comfortably situated. William M. owns a large and fertile farm and is a well-known cattle feeder and shipper.
From 1904 until 1908, Mr. Campbell served as trustee of Clay town- ship, having been elected as a Republican. Mrs. Campbell is a member of the Reformed Lutheran church and Mr. Campbell is a member of the Baptist church. He is a member of the York Rite Masons of Delphi and belongs to the Blue lodge at Rossville, Indiana.
JOHN J. DRAPER.
It is eminently proper to determine the success of a man by the estima- tion in which he is held by his fellow citizens. They have an opportunity to know all about him and especially how he conducts himself in the rela- tions of society and are therefore competent to pass opinion upon the merits and demerits. In this connection it is not too much to say that John J. Draper, a former commissioner from the third district of Carroll county, has attained a career of unusual distinction in the political life of Carroll county. Moreover, he is a large landowner in Democrat township, popular, especially in the neighborhood where he lives.
John J. Draper is a native of Democrat township, born on April 25, 1855, the son of Stephen and Martha (Floyd) Draper, both of whom emi- grated from Ohio to Iowa, where in 1851 or 1852 they purchased a farm and stayed for three years. They then removed to the Hoosier state and lived for a time in Carroll county and Clinton county. Mrs. Martha (Floyd) Draper died when her son, John J., was only thirteen years old. A short time afterward he left home and worked out for neighboring farmers for a period of fifteen years. Subsequently, he went in partnership with his brother, William. This arrangement continued for eighteen years, during which time they were engaged in farming and stock raising.
Stephen and Martha (Floyd) Draper had seven children, four girls and three boys, four of whom are living. The names of the Draper chil- dren are as follow : Nancy married John Shank; Sarah Catherine, the wife of James Jackson; John J., the subject of this sketch; William; Hattie, who died in Cutler; Ellen, who married Oscar Rantschler, of Clinton county, and Charles, deceased.
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On April 16, 1885, John J. Draper was married to Matilda Hinkle, the daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Cook) Hinkle, who had come to Indiana from Pennsylvania after their marriage, although they lived in Carroll county in their later years only. Joseph and Nancy (Cook) Hinkle had twelve children, three of whom are deceased. J. W. resides in South Bend; William E. is a prosperous farmer of Democrat township; Anna lives with her brother, William E .; J. C. is a resident of Davenport, Iowa; Joseph M. died in Logansport: Matilda is the wife of John Draper, the subject of this sketch; Anderson B. died at Walkerton; Ida May is the wife of Dr. W. A. Trobaugh: Wilson B. lives in Davenport, Iowa; Elizabeth is the wife of William McCarty, of Frankfort; Sadie is the wife of Fletcher McDaniels, of Indianapolis; Effie died at the age of twenty years.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Draper purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land covered with swamp and woods and added to this tract until, at the end of eighteen years, they had two hundred and forty acres apiece.
Mr. and Mrs. John J. Draper have had one child, Cecil Leo, born on August 2, 1887, who is a graduate of the local high school and who spent three years as a student of the law course at Bloomington and three years at Ann Arbor, Michigan.
In 1902 John J. Draper was elected commissioner of Carroll county and served altogether eight years. until 1910. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Delphi and has been prominent in fraternal circles in this section of Carroll county.
ISAAC HEINY.
Among the representative citizens of Jefferson township, Carroll county, Indiana, is Isaac Heiny, a retired farmer who enjoys the admiration and respect, in no small degree, of his neighbors and fellow citizens. As a self- · made man he is a splendid example of what may be accomplished by hard and conscientious work and strict attention to business. He owns one hun- dred and sixty-six acres of well-improved land and occupies a magnificent farm house, which he himself erected.
Mr. Heiny is a native of Jefferson township, Carroll county, Indiana, having been born on January 21, 1843. He is the son of Henry and Magda- lena (Schock ) Heiny, the former, the eighth child of Samuel and Barbara
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(Stern) Heiny, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on September 18, 1809, and who died on June 30, 1898, at the home of his son, Isaac, the subject of this sketch. Henry Heiny was the last survivor of his father's family and lived to be the eldest in the family. Magdalena Schock, the daughter of Jacob and Susan ( Whistler) Schock, who was married to Henry Heiny, April 21, 1832, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, October 6. 1811, and died on April 10, 1892.
Henry and Magdalena (Schock) Heiny had thirteen children, as fol- low: Anna, born on November 1, 1832, in Wayne county, Indiana, died on September 16, 1833; Susanna, November 1, 1833, in Wayne county, died on January 3, 1847; Barbara, July 13, 1836, in Wayne county, married James A. Pruitt on March 17, 1857; Magdalena, October 5, 1838, in Carroll county, died on October 17, 1838; Esther, October 31, 1839, in Carroll county, married John Patten on January 30, 1859, Mr. Patten dying March 12, 1909, and she died in 1915; Elizabeth, November 8, 1840, Carroll county, married Isaac Marquess on September 25, 1859; Isaac is the subject of this sketch; Benjamin, November 21, 1844, died on February 17, 1865; Abraham, June 9, 1847, in Carroll county, died on June 27, 1878; Mary Ann, January 25, 1849, in Carroll county, married, October 6, 1870, to John Million, who was born in Miami county, Ohio, on July 9, 1847; Henry, Jr., March 13, 1851, in Carroll county, married Sarah Fisher on June 7. 1877, in Delphi, Indiana; Jacob, September 12, 1852, died on August 30, 1853, and Samuel, November 5, 1854, in Carroll county, died on August 31, 1855.
The late Henry Heiny was a blacksmith by trade, having served his apprenticeship under his brother, Abraham, in Wayne county, Indiana. After removing to Carroll county, he divided his time between farming and blacksmithing.
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