USA > Indiana > Carroll County > History of Carroll County Indiana, its people, industries and institutions > Part 38
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William J. and Mary (Shrader) Snoddy removed to Tippecanoe county after their marriage, settling on the farm where both died. William J. Snoddy was one of the pioneer settlers of Tippecanoe county. He was the son of John Snoddy, a native of Ireland, who settled in Pennsylvania after coming to America. Mary (Shrader) Snoddy's parents were natives of Germany, who settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Samuel W. Snoddy was educated in the district schools of this section and attended the high school at Dayton. He lived at home with his parents until January 1, 1865, when he was married in Rossville, Clinton county, Indiana, to Rosana McLurg, a daughter of John and Jennie (Robinson) McLurg. Mrs. Snoddy's parents were of Scotch descent, but were natives of Knox county, Ohio. They had eight children, of whom five, Amanda, Belle, Mary, Jennie and Mrs. Snoddy are deceased. Josephine lives in Cali- fornia; James also lives in California; John lives in Frankford, Clinton county, Indiana. Mrs. Snoddy's parents lived and died in Ohio.
By his marriage to Rosana McLurg, Mr. Snoddy had four children, three daughters and one son, all of whom are living. Flora lives at home. as do also Belle and Mary; Edwin lives in Chicago. .
In 1905 Mr. Snoddy retired from active labor. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of well-improved land, which he purchased in the spring of 1889, since which time he has lived in this county. He also owns six hun- dred and forty acres of land in Wisconsin, and his daughter owns forty acres in California. For some time after his marriage, Mr. Snoddy lived in Kokomo and then moved to a farm in Jasper county, where he remained for fifteen years. Later he lived near Frankfort, Indiana, for six years and then in Benton county for about one year and one-half. He moved to Car-
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roll county in 1889. Mrs. Samuel N. Snoddy, who was a member of the Presbyterian church, died on April 7, 1913.
The venerable Samuel N. Snoddy is a stanch Democrat. The Snoddy family are all members of the Presbyterian church and have always been active in religious work.
FRANK RICHTER.
Frank Richter, a successful farmer of Deer Creek township, Carroll county, where he owns eighty acres of well-improved land, is a native of Jackson township, Carroll county, born on August 3, 1859, and is the son of Martin V. and Mary Ann (Brown) Richter, the former of whom was born at Staunton, Augusta county, Virginia, in 1835. Martin V. was the son of John and Margaret ( Rees) Richter. John Richter was born near the Rhine river in Germany. He came to America and settled in Virginia when a young man and was there married. After his marriage, the family removed to Carroll county and settled in Deer Creek township, near the Milroy home in 1837. He was a millwright by trade, having learned the trade in his native country. He died in 1850 and his wife lived to be seventy years old. They had five children. Augusta married William Mullen and at her death left one son, Samuel Mullen, who now lives in Albany, Oregon; Christian, John and Henry are deceased; Martin V. died in 1907. Both of Mr. Ritcher's grandparents were members of the Methodist church at Cam- den.
Frank Ritcher's mother was a native of Deer Creek township. His parents were married in Jackson township and had four children, three daughters and one son. Malissa died at the age of two years; Frank is the subject of this sketch; Effie E., who was born in 1866, married William Wright and bore him one daughter, Eva, the wife of Everett Garrison, of Flora, Indiana, and she died in 1914; Sarah G., who is the wife of R. F. Flora, is the fourth child.
Mr. Ritcher's father was a farmer by occupation. He spent all of his life in Jackson township. As a Democrat he served several terms as a mem- ber of the Jackson township advisory board. He owned one hundred acres of well-improved land, on which he made many improvements.
Born and reared in Jackson township, Frank Richter received his edu- cation in the Maple Grove school at Jackson township. After finishing his
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education he accepted a position as deputy sheriff under the administration of James W. Sines, who served as sheriff from 1900 to 1904.
On November 10, 1894, Mr. Richter was married to Emma A. Stoops, the daughter of George W. and Angeline ( Voorhees) Stoops. Mrs. Rich- ter's father was born in Deer Creek township and her mother in Ohio. The mother had come to Deer Creek township, Carroll county, with her parents. Her father was a cooper by trade. Mrs. Richter's father died on the home now owned by Mr. Richter and her mother still lives.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Richter have had two children. Edith V. and Arthur B. Edith V. was born on February 14, 1897, and is at home with her parents. Arthur B. was born on December 21, 1903.
Mr. Richter bought his present farm in 1910. It is located in section I. in Deer Creek township, and comprises eighty acres. He raises a high grade of stock on the farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Richter attend church regularly. Mrs. Richter and the daughter are members of the Methodist church. Mr. Richter votes the Democratic ticket.
ELMER C. AYRES.
Elmer C. Ayres, a prosperous farmer of Carroll county, is a native of Democrat township, where he was born on February 9, 1888.
Mr. Ayres is the son of John and Emma ( Hamm) Ayres, the former of whom was born in Democrat township and the latter of whom was born in Monroe township, Carroll county. They were married in Monroe township and had, as the fruit of their marriage, seven children, all of whom are living. Esta is the wife of Grover Foster, of Bringhurst; Elmer C. is the subject of this sketch; Basil, George, Maud, Minnie and Ancil all live at home with their parents.
John Ayres owns one hundred and fifty acres in Monroe and Democrat townships. The land is all well improved and very productive. Mr. Ayres. raises a high grade of live stock. Mrs. John Ayres is a member of the Bap- tist church in Flora.
Elmer C. Ayres was educated in the common schools of Bringhurst and was graduated in the spring of 1902. Subsequently he attended high school at Flora and was graduated from the Flora high school in 1906.
Three years later, September 8, 1909, Mr. Ayres was married to Edna Gillam, a daughter of Arthur W. and Eva (Stone) Gillam, the former of
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whom was born on the farm now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Ayres, and the latter of whom was born in Bringhurst. They were married in Carroll county and had, as the fruit of their marriage, seven children, one of whom died in infancy. The other children are: Edna, the wife of Mr. Ayres; Ruth, Olive, Lena, Floy and Elmer, all of whom live at home with their parents. Arthur W. Gillam has been engaged in farming, but is now living retired in Monroe township near Flora. Both he and his good wife are members of the Methodist church at Zion. Mr. Gillam owns one hundred and fifty-nine acres of land in Deer Creek township and, besides this, twelve acres with a good barn and house.
Elmer C. Ayres farms his father-in-law's home farm of one hundred and fifty-nine acres. Mr. Gillam makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred big-type Poland China hogs and has been very successful.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Ayres are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Flora. Mr. Ayres is a young man who is just getting well started in life, and he enjoys the confidence of all his neighbors who know him as an industrious, intelligent and cordial farmer and citizen.
D. L. HOSTLER.
Both by birth and marriage, D. L. Hostler, a well-known farmer of Democrat township, Carroll county, Indiana, where he owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, is connected with some of the oldest and most highly respected families of Carroll county.
Mr. Hostler is a native of Juniata county, Pennsylvania, born on Feb- ruary 24, 1854. He is the son of Daniel and Margaret (Cook) Hostler, both of whom were natives of Juniata county, Pennsylvania. Daniel Host- ler was the son of Frederick Hostler, who was of German descent. Mar- garet Cook, the mother of D. L. Hostler, was the daughter of Hugh and Hanna Cook, who were pioneer settlers of Carroll county. Daniel and Margaret (Cook ) Hostler settled in Carroll county, Indiana. in 1866, with their family. At that time Daniel Hostler operated a saw-mill on what was called the "lower bend." Subsequently he operated the Adams grist-mill for three years and then moved to Lexington, Indiana, where he conducted a general store for a few years. He finally moved to Cutler, where he and his wife conducted a boarding house until Mrs. Hostler's death. Daniel Hostler operated this boarding house the rest of his life, surviving his wife
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but a short time. They were the parents of seven children, five daughters and two sons. Of the daughters, Mollie married Milton Shedell, of Logans- port; Alice is the wife of Noah Plank, of Cutler; Tillie is the wife of John Hamilton, of Frankfort; Lula is the wife of William Rice, of Cass county, and Lennie is deceased. Of the sons, D. L. is the subject of this sketch, and John is deceased.
D. L. Hostler lived at home until twenty-three years of age, when he began working for William H. Weaver, of Democrat township. He was employed by Mr. Weaver for eleven years, or until his marriage to Addie Douglas Weaver, a daughter of Mr. Weaver. Mrs. Hostler's mother, before her marriage to William H. Weaver, was Martha A. Long.
William H. Weaver was born in Butler county, Ohio, and was the son of Samuel and Ruth ( McNeil) Weaver. The latter was a native of Bed- ford county, Pennsylvania, and died in 1881. The former accompanied his parents to Indiana when a young man. They settled on what is known as the "lower bend" of Wild Cat creek in the woods. For a great many years William H. Weaver and his father, Samuel, were in the woolen-mill busi- ness at Cutler. After William H. Weaver's marriage to Martha A. Long, they rented land for a time and then purchased one hundred and sixty acres where Orth Quinn now lives, known as the old Campbell farm. From there they moved to near Prince William, where Mr. Weaver farmed for his father for six or seven years.
Of the twelve children born to William H. and Martha A. (Long) Weaver six grew to manhood and womanhood and five are now living. William H. Weaver, who was elected as a Democrat, represented Carroll county in the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly in the session of 1880. Samuel Weaver, the father of William H. Weaver, was born on November 6, 1806, in Butler county, and represented Carroll county in the Legislature of 1849. William H. Weaver's grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and lost considerable land as a consequence of that terrible conflict. The Weavers have been well known in this county for their interest in the milling business. William H., however, deserted milling for farming and owned, at the time of his death, about three hundred and thirty-five acres of land. Samuel Weaver built the first woolen-mill on Wild Cat creek and later built mills at both Prince William and Cutler.
Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Hostler have been the parents of one child, Ruth Hortense, who is the wife of Samuel R. Dyer. a farmer of Democrat town- ship. They have two children, Gretchen Eloise and Gene Phyllis.
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Both Mr. and Mrs. Hostler are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Hostler is a deacon in the church. Politically, he is identified with the Democratic party.
ROBERT LOGAN COCHRAN.
One of the older residents of Adams township, Carroll county, Indiana, is Robert Logan Cochran, who is a native of Burke county, North Carolina. having been born in July, 1830. He is the son of John and Mary ( McGil- ยท lard) Cochran, both of whom were born and reared in North Carolina. The grandparents had emigrated from the northern part of Ireland (County Antrim) to North Carolina.
When Robert Logan Cochran was a mere lad, he emigrated with his parents from North Carolina to Pleasant Run, Tippecanoe township, Carroll county, Indiana. They made the trip overland by wagon and settled for the first time in section 10, in 1836. In the fall of that year they took up some canal land, which was purchased from the state. Mr. Cochran's parents lived the remainder of their lives in this township, the father dying at the age of seventy-seven and the mother at the age of eighty-two. They were the parents of six children, Benjamin. John, Samuel, William, James and Robert. all of whom are deceased except the subject of this sketch.
Robert Logan Cochran received a good common-school education in the pioneer schools of Adams township. In 1858 he was married to Sarah Ingels and to them was born one son, Nathan, a railroad man now living in St. Louis. Mr. Cochran was married a second time in 1862 to Catherine Roller, and to them have been born three children : Mary, who was married on April 20, 1892, to James Caughell and has one son, James Logan, who was born on December 30, 1892. He was educated in the district schools of Adams township and in the Burnettsville high school, from which he was graduated in 1911. He spent one year at Indiana University and one year at Valparaiso University. He has taught school in this township for the past four years and is at present the instructor in the seventh and eighth grades at Burnettsville. James Logan Caughell is a Republican in politics. James Caughell, the father of James Logan, was killed on June 6, 1892, in the tile works near where Mr. Cochran now lives. Bessie, the second child of Robert Logan Cochran and wife, is the widow of Thomas Caughell and lives in White county. Peter Jacob, the third child, died in infancy. Mrs.
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ROBERT L. COCHRAN.
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Catherine (Roller) Cochran died on January 25, 1892. She was a member of the Brethren church.
Robert Logan Cochran has always lived in Adams township since com- ing here from North Carolina and has never voted outside of the township. He has traveled extensively, having visited Iowa four different times. He owns sixty-nine acres of land where he lives and one hundred acres in White county. The home farm is well improved. At one time Mr. Cochran fol- lowed the stonemason's trade and did a great deal of contract work. Alto- gether he followed this trade for about twenty-seven years. He has seen a wonderful transformation in this fertile agricultural country. When he first came to Carroll county, deer were plentiful and wolves roamed the woods. All of this is past now, and in their place may be found fertile fields, teeming with the grain of the golden harvest. Mr. Cochran is perhaps the only man now living in Carroll county who, in his boyhood days, wore buckskin trou- sers, the leather of which was tanned from native deerskin. Although a stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Cochran has never cared to hold office and has never been especially active in political affairs. Few men, however, are better known in this section of Carroll county than Robert Logan Coch- ran, and certainly none is more favorably known than he.
CURTIS J. MAXSON.
Curtis J. Maxson, who owns the old Maxson homestead of one hundred acres in Tippecanoe township, Carroll county, is a native of Prairie town- ship, White county, Indiana, having been born on December 22, 1848.
Mr. Maxson is the son of Simeon and Milinda (Sleeth) Maxson, the former of whom was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, and the latter in Greene county, Ohio. They were married in Greene county, and in 1840 emigrated to White county, where they purchased land and where they farmed for a number of years. In 1861 they removed from White county to Carroll county. Simeon Maxson died in 1893 and his wife died two years pre- viously. Both were members of the Methodist church. Of the six sons born to Simeon and Milinda (Sleeth) Maxson one died in infancy and four served in the Union army during the Civil War. These four sons were John, Alvin, Rev. O. N. and A. E. John died when about sixty years old at Frankfort, Indiana; Alvin died in Tacoma, Washington, in 1913; O. N.,
(27)
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who is a Methodist minister, lives in Florida; A. E. lives at Puyallup, Pierce county, Washington; Curtis J. is the subject of this sketch.
Curtis J. Maxson was educated in the common schools of White county and at the Battleground Collegiate Institute, which he attended for some time. Mr. Maxson lived at home with his father and mother until their death and then took over the old homestead, comprising one hundred acres of land, which he has managed ever since. Mr. Maxson is a devoted mem- ber of the Methodist church, and a Republican in politics.
Mr. Maxson is a bachelor, and his niece, Lena R. Maxson, keeps house for him. He has made a specialty of thoroughbred Duroc-Jersey hogs and has been very successful in raising them for the market.
JOHN W. SHAFFER.
John W. Shaffer, a well-to-do farmer of Carroll county, is a native of Deer Creek township, born on September 30, 1890. He is the son of Ethan and Nancy Melvina (Maxwell) Shaffer, the former of whom was born in February, 1846, in Pennsylvania, and who came overland to Deer Creek township, Carroll county, with his parents in pioneer times.
Ethan Shaffer inherited fifty acres of land and later purchased one hundred and sixty acres from his father. This comprised the old home- stead, and here he lived until February 2, 1892. He had received a common- school education; was a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Nancy Melvina (Maxwell) Shaffer was the daughter of William and Ruth (Miller) Maxwell, who were natives of Miami county, Ohio, but who emigrated to Carroll county in pioneer times. They had seven children, of whom Angeline is deceased; Alonzo lost his life in the explosion of the "Sultana," after his discharge from prison, having served two years in the Twenty-fourth Indiana Battery; John lives near Ockley, Carroll county, Indiana, and served in the Forty- third Infantry during the Civil War; Grandeson served in the Forth-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry and is now deceased; Martha is the wife of Jacob Dickinson, of Madison township; Nancy Melvina, born on March 6. 1851, is the widow of the late Ethan Shaffer, of Delphi; Rastus died in infancy; Emma, the twin sister of Rastus, died at the age of nineteen.
Ethan and Nancy Melvina (Maxwell) Shaffer have had five children, all of whom are living, as follow: Grace is the wife of William Martin,
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of Madison township; Audrey lives with her mother in Delphi; Lottie is the wife of William Ashba, of Deer Creek township; Ray lives in Deer Creek township; and John W. is the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Shaffer's maternal grandfather, William Maxwell, died in August, 1894, and his maternal grandmother, Mrs. William Maxwell, in November, 1902. They had come to Carroll county at an early date.
John W. Shaffer was educated in the public schools of Carroll county, and in 1908 was graduated from the Delphi high school.
On April 8, 1913, Mr. Shaffer was married to Bessie Hall, a daughter of Stephen and Lucinda Hall, the former of whom was employed in the railway service. Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer have one son, Richard, born on January 26, 1914.
Mr. and Mrs. Shaffer, with their infant son, live on the old homestead and are engaged in general farming.
Fraternally, Mr. Shaffer is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 86, at Delphi. Mrs. Shaffer is a member of the Baptist church and is active in religious work.
WILLIAM L. PULLEN.
Self-made men, men who have achieved success by reason of their personal qualities and who have left the impress of their individuality upon the political history of their place of residence, unwittingly build monuments more enduring than marble obelisk or granite shaft. Such a man is William L. Pullen, a prosperous farmer of Democrat township, where he owns eighty acres of land, a former sheriff of Carroll county, and a former member of the Carroll county council. Mr. Pullen served as sheriff from 1904 until 1909, and was a member of the county council from 1911 to 1914.
William L. Pullen was born on December 27, 1857, in Rockbridge county, Virginia, and is a son of John and Harriet H. (Hall) Pullen, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, the Old Dominion state having been the home of the Pullens for many generations. The Hall family has also lived in Virginia for many generations.
John Pullen was the owner of one hundred and ninety-six acres of land in Rockbridge county, and he and his wife spent their entire lives in the Old Dominion state. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom only four are living : William, the immediate subject of this sketch; Sarah, the wife of W. S. Shorter, of Rockbridge county, Virginia; John, a resident
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of Democrat township, Carroll county, Indiana, and Anna Victoria, the wife of J. W. Glenn, of Rockbridge county, Virginia. The deceased children were as follow: Frances, the wife of J. J. Deacon; Lula, Anna, Rebecca, James and three others who died in infancy.
William L. Pullen remained at home on the farm until he reached the age of twenty-five years, when he was married to Mary Ellen Ayres, on June 1, 1882. Mary Ellen Ayres was a daughter of Thomas and Magda- lene Ayres, both natives of Rockbridge county, Ohio. In 1883 Mr. Pullen and his family came to Cutler, Indiana, remaining there until March, 1884, when he removed to Bringhurst, where he lived only a short time, moving back to Cutler, where he was employed by Warren Adams, working in the latter's mill and on his farm until Mr. Adams' death. Mr. Pullen was actively engaged in farming until he was elected to the sheriff's office in 1904. In the meantime he had purchased property in Cutler, and in Septem- ber, 1909, he purchased the farm upon which he now lives.
Fraternally, William L. Pullen is a member of Cutler Lodge No. 571, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a Republican in politics and has been active in the councils of his party ever since coming to this county. Few men are better known in Carroll county than William L. Pullen, and certainly none is more highly respected than he. He has been twice called upon by his fellow citizens to fill positions of trust and responsibility, and that he worthily discharges the duties involved in public office is well proved by the fact that after he had served two terms as sheriff he was elected to the Carroll county council.
JAMES K. HUMES.
James K. Humes, who, for thirteen years, was a teacher in the public schools of Carroll county, who has served as assessor of Democrat town- ship for the past twenty-three years and who is now a farmer by occupation, owning ninety-seven acres of land, three and one-half miles southeast of Cutler on the Butcher pike, is a native of Clinton county, Indiana, born near Frankfort, January 1, 1845. He is the grandson of John Humes, who fought under Gen. William Henry Harrison in the battle of Tippecanoe.
Mr. Humes is a son of Thomas and Catherine (Jennings) Humes, the former of whom was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1815, and who came with his parents, John Humes and wife, to Indiana, when a mere lad in 1830. They settled on the Wild Cat prairie, not far from Dayton, renting
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a farm where Thomas worked for a man by the name of Eton for a period of six years. Finally, John Humes entered forty acres of land in Clinton county and settled on the farm. About this time Thomas Humes entered eighty acres of land near New London, in Clinton county, and, when twenty- seven years old, was married to Catherine Jennings. At the time of his marriage there were only two or three acres of the farm cleared and only a small cabin erected. They lived on that farm until James K. Humes was six or seven years old and then sold out and moved to Delphi, where they lived for two years. Subsequently, they rented a farm in Burlington town- ship, this county, where they lived for four years and then moved to Demo- crat township and purchased two hundred and forty acres, upon which they spent the balance of their lives, having at the time of their deaths two hun- dred acres of land.
Thomas and Catherine (Jennings) Humes were the parents of seven children, of whom Margaret J. married Samuel Wasson, of Democrat town- ship, both now being deceased; James K. is the subject of this sketch; Thomas Jackson lives in Freedom, Oklahoma; William Hamilton, John Mil- ton, John Milton, Franklin Pierce and Amanda Elizabeth are deceased. The last named was the wife of James Radcliffe, of Cutler, who is also deceased. By his marriage, secondly, to Jane Cupp, Thomas Humes had one child, Luella, who is also deceased. By his marriage, thirdly, to Ruth Ann Herr, there were born two children, Irvin and Manson, both of whom lived in Democrat township.
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