USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County Indiana : From its earliest settlement to the present time with biographical sketches and reference to biographies previously compiled, Volume II > Part 12
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On June 6, 1900, Mr. Sellers was married to. Miss Mattie Gibbons, formerly a resident of Sheldon, Illinois.
WILLIAM B. ENYART. A citizen who has left his impress on the business interests of Logansport, and whose activities entitle him to rank with the solid, substantial men of the city, is William B. Enyart, for thirty-five years the proprietor of a bottling establishment here. He belongs to that class of business men who have found time from their personal operations to give to the public needs, and at various times has been elected to positions of trust and responsibility, in which he has proven himself able and conscientious. Now, at an age when most men are willing to turn over their interests to men of the younger generation, he still conducts the management of his enterprise with unabated activity and energy, giving to its smallest details the close attention that has been the secret of its success. Mr. Envart has spent his entire career within the confines of Cass county, with the exception of the time when he was serving as a soldier in the Union ranks, during the Civil war. He was born in Clay township, September 19, 1845, and is a son of Israel and Temperance (Foy) Envart.
Benjamin and Sarah (Miller) Enyart, the grandparents of William B. Envart, came to Cass county in 1834, settling in Clay township, where for many years they kept a tavern known to all the old settlers as "Four-Mile House." The grandfather, who died in December, 1845,
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
was detailed as a teamster during the War of 1812. In religious belief he was an old-fashioned Methodist. Israel Enyart was born in Janu- ary, 1821, and was reared to hard work, clearing, grubbing and doing general farm labor, and the limited education he acquired was secured in the little log schoolhouse, having but few chances during his entire life to receive schooling. He lived with his people until he reached man- hood, and then went to farming on Mill Creek, near Kewanee. Two years later he bought a tract of land on section 21, Clay township, where the balance of his career was spent. During his later life he joined the church, and died a Christian. His chief characteristics were honesty and liberality, and whatever he possessed was always ready for his neighbors' use. Mr. Enyart married Temperance Foy, whose people came to Cass county from Virginia in 1835, and to this union there were born six children : William B. ; Mary Elizabeth, who is deceased ; Hiram Wilson, also deceased ; Sarah A., who is now Mrs. Alexander Davidson ; and Lavina and Asbury Newton, who are both deceased. Mr. Enyart died Jannary 12, .1892, and his widow followed him to the grave in August, 1896.
William B. Enyart was reared on the old home farm, and secured his education in the comnion schools. When just past eighteen years of age, November 2, 1863, he enlisted in Company H, Seventy-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which organization he participated in numerous engagements, including Athens, Decatur, Ala- bama, although the latter part of his military career was spent in doing garrison duty. He received his honorable discharge, after a brave and faithful service, December 11, 1865, and returned to the pursuits of peace, learning the plasterer's trade, at which he worked for fourteen years. In 1884 he turned his attention to the bottling business, and this he has carried on to the present time, having built up an excellent trade through the exercise of native integrity, high ability and honor- able dealing. For some years he was in partnership with a Mr. Cham- bers, under the firm style of Enyart & Chambers, but is now associated with his son. Known as a thoroughly reliable business man, whose operations have been of a strictly legitimate nature, he has gained the confidence and respect of all who have done business with him. He has invested in realty to some extent, and is at this time the owner of some paying property in Cass county as well as city real estate in Logans- port. Mr. Enyart is a Republican in his political views, and in 1902 was a member of the common council from the Fourth ward. In 1904 he was again elected to that office, serving in all four years, and in 1906 was the successful nominee of his party for the office of county sheriff. Two years later, however, he was defeated for re-election with the other members of his ticket. He is a popular comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his fraternal connections are with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Loyal Order of Moose.
On March 10, 1873, Mr. Envart was married to Miss Louisa Tip- pett, a native of Cass county, Indiana, who died some years later, leav- ing four children: Charles M., who is associated in business with his father; Nora S., who married Frank Etnire; Carrie B., and Frank L.
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Mr. Enyart was married (second) February 11, 1886, to Kate May, a native of Pulaski county, Indiana.
JOHN S. KLINE is a pioneer of pioneers in the state of Indiana, where for sixty-nine years he has made his home, and this residence is the more notable when it is known that he is living today in the identical spot where his family settled when they migrated from Ohio in 1844, bringing him as a boy of seven years. Few men in any part of the country can boast a continued residence of almost seventy years in one spot, or indeed in one single community. His life has been a busy and active one, and he has taken an industrious part in the industry of the township, which has long been and still is that of farming.
The natal day of John Samuel Kline was August 27, 1837, and his birth occurred at Eaton, Ohio, where the family had long lived. He was the son of William Kline, who served as a soldier throughout the War of 1812, and who after settling in Miami township, devoted his remaining days to the business of farming. He died at the age of sixty-two, and his widow, who in her maiden days was Isabel Snodgrass, died at Logans- port, when she was ninety-three years old. They were the parents of six children, concerning whom brief mention is made as follows: Jacob M., who married Miss Marietti Baldwin; William T., married Miss Letitia Sizor; Mary became the wife of Peter Heffley; Margaret mar- ried Frank Swigart ; Henry married Miss Ella Leas; and John S., who is the immediate subject of this brief sketch.
In 1844 the Kline family migrated from their native state, making the trip into Indiana overland, the wagon route being most popular in those early days, and eleven days were consumed in the journey, which would not be made in a few hours. The father secured land in Miami township, and they settled down to country life, occupying a little log house that already graced their home farm. Here John S. Kline was reared and educated. With the passing years he took a wife, Mary Etnire, the daughter of Abraham Etnire. She was a native of Canton, Ohio, and she died on September 20, 1864. The present Kline residence was begun by William Kline, the father, prior to his death, which oc- curred in 1855, and was completed by John S. Mr. Kline, early in his career, bought eighty acres of land, to which he has added from time to time until today he has a farm comprising one hundred and thirty and a half acres.
Two children were born to John S. and Mary Kline, Joseph Slaton and Charles. The latter died in 1904, but the other son, who is known as Slate Kline, still shares the home place with his father. He is now fifty-one years of age, and is his father's business partner. Slate Kline has been twice married. His first wife, who was Cora Scott, died in 1902, and he later married Anna Williams. They have one child, Victor S. Kline, now three months old. To the marriage of Slate Kline with Cora Scott were born three children, named as follows: Hattie, now the wife of Blaine Swigart, and living near Strathmore, Canada, on a farm; Mary, who is engaged in teaching school; and Charles who has finished high school and intends to take up farming. The other son of John S. Kline, Charles Kline, who died in 1904, left one son, Kenneth, who is now of age and resides with his mother at Los Angeles, California.
family
- Lo meno Hofy M. Colli
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
The Kline family are members of the Baptist church and their politics are those of the Republican party, whose stanch adherents they are in all things. They are among the best known and most estimable people in the township, and enjoy a high standing in the community.
ROBERT M. ELLIOTT. While the soil of Cass county is very fertile, water plentiful and easily obtained and weather conditions nearly ideal, good crops cannot be raised unless the land is properly worked and sci- entifically conditioned, and the high standard set by the agriculturists of the county is therefore of great credit to them. Many of the leading farmers of this county have lived here all of their lives, thus becoming thoroughly familiar with the character of the soil and climate, and in this way being able to direct their operations along lines that will insure success, and in this class stands Robert M. Elliott, of Clay township, the owner of 110 acres of well cultivated land. Mr. Elliott was born June 18, 1864, in Cass county, and is a son of Alfred and Emily (Williamson) Elliott. His father, a native of Montgomery county, Indiana, came to Cass county in 1849, and here erected a frame house, the first one of this character to be built in the county. His subsequent life was devoted to tilling the soil, and he was uniformly successful in his operations, at the time of his death, in 1900, being considered one of the substantial men of his community. His widow still survives him, at the age of sev- enty-three years, and makes her home on the old farm. They were the parents of six sons and two daughters.
Robert M. Elliott acquired his education in the district schools of his native locality, and was reared to the work of the home farm, his boyhood being divided between agricultural work in the summer months and attending school in the winter terms. Thus he acquired a good edu- cation and a sturdy body, well fitting him for the duties he was to be called upon to discharge in later life. He continued to remain under the parental roof until 1894, in which year he was married to Miss Eleanor G. McDowell, a daughter of John McDowell, who brought his family to Cass county from Ohio.
Mrs. Robert Elliott is a native of Cass county, Indiana, born Oc- tober 7, 1869, and a daughter of John and Amanda (Dritt) McDowell. There were three daughters in the family-Mrs. Elliott, eldest; Adria, wife of James Cassel, a resident of Logansport, and proprietor of The Star Laundry, has three children; Elizabeth, wife of Wiley Sharp, also of Logansport, has four children. John McDowell was of Scot- tish lineage but was born in Stark county, Ohio. He served as a soldier in the Rebellion and was a stanch Republican politically. Mrs. McDowell was of German lineage and was born near Lancaster, Penn- sylvania. She died September 14, 1912. Both he and wife were mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. He died April 27, 1889.
At the time of his marriage, Mr. Elliott began farming on a tract of sixty-five acres, located in Clay township which was the property of Mrs. Elliott's parents and subsequently purchased this, and some time later he added to this an additional tract of forty-five acres, and on this latter property erected all the buildings. He also owns a fine tract of land in Sanilac county, Michigan, has bank stock in Logans- port, and other good securities. In addition to general farming,
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
he has been engaged in dairying to some extent, and his opera- tions have succeeded because of his untiring industry, his thorough knowledge of his business, and the intelligent manner in which he has directed all of his actions. He is a thorough believer in the efficacy of scientific methods and uses modern machinery and appliances in his work. Among his associates Mr. Elliott is known as a man of the highest business integrity, whose success has been gained through no chicanery or questionable methods. He has for some years been a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he has numerous friends. In politics, he has always given his support to Democratic pol- icies and candidates, and from 1901 to 1904 served very acceptably as a member of the board of county commissioners of Cass county.
Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have one daughter: Esther E., who is living with her parents. She graduated from the public schools in the class of 1910 and attended two and one-half years in the city schools of Logans- port and has also taken musical instruction. The members of the family are affiliated with the Presbyterian church.
Mrs. Elliott was educated in the public schools of Cass county. She has nobly filled her sphere as wife and mother and her pretty home is her haven. The beautiful estate of Mr. and Mrs. Elliott lies on the highest point of ground in northern Cass county and is known as "The Summit Lodge."
JOHN MCDOWELL, a highly respected citizen of Clay township, died at his home on Saturday, April 27, 1889. He had suffered for years with lung trouble, but only during the past two years was he compelled to quit work. He contracted a deep cold while serving a second term on the petit jury which hurried his end. The deceased was a man of good character, upright in all his dealings, and well liked by all who knew him. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Putman and the remains were interred at Mt. Hope cemetery.
Mr. McDowell was born in Stark county, January 24, 1840, and was therefore forty-nine years of age. His father moved to this county while Jolin was yet a boy. He has three brothers living: Silas Mc- Dowell, of Noble township; Butch McDowell, of Silver Lake, and Isaac McDowell, of Illinois. He has also three sisters, but one of whom is living, Mrs. C. E. Metzger, who resides in Clay township.
Mr. McDowell was married to Miss Amanda Dritt in March, 1868. To this union three daughters have been born, who with their mother survive to mourn their loss.
ROBERT GUTHRIE was born on April 2, 1850, in Cass county, Indiana, and received his education in the common schools of the county and in the Logansport Seminary. He is the son of William and Margaret (Japp) Guthrie.
William Guthrie was the son of John and Elizabeth Guthrie, and was born in the city of Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, in the year 1795. The son of wealthy parents. he was graduated from the University of Edinburgh, and soon after, on the demise of his father, finding that the law of primogeniture and entail was against him and stung by a sense of outraged justice, he turned his back on the home of his youth and
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emigrated to the United States. He settled in Switzerland county, Indiana, in about the year 1825, and here he engaged in general farming.
He married Margaret Japp, the daughter of Thomas and Agnes Japp, who was born in the year 1812 on the river Doon, in Scotland. Orphaned in infancy, she emigrated to America with foster parents in the year 1819, and with them settled in Switzerland county. Here she became acquainted with William Guthrie. Their acquaintance ripened into friendship and culminated in their marriage in 1828. To their union thirteen children were born.
Mr. Guthrie continned his farming operations in Switzerland county until 1848, when with his wife and nine children, he moved to Cass county, settling in the wilderness along the shores of Rock creek seven miles south of the then village of Logansport, and here began that Herculean task that required stout hearts and willing hands,-the build- ing of a new home in the wilderness. The children who then graced the family home were John, William, Agnes, Thomas, Jane, Alexander, Ann, Joseph and James, having previously lost their son Isaac by death, and here, surrounded by primeval forests and confronted with all the hard- ships and privations incident to pioneer life, the family was blessed with three more children,-Elizabeth, another who died in infancy unnamed, and Robert, the subject of this sketch.
Here in this new home William Guthrie spent the remainder of his life,-a life largely given over to the clearing away and subduing of the forests, and devoted to the best interests, the upbuilding and the onward march of civilization. To him and such as him we owe our gratitude. He died on September 9, 1855. In 1857 his widow married again, Richard Downham becoming her husband, and they continued to reside upon the farm until 1864, when she accompanied her husband to the west, but returned again in 1873, widowed for the second time in her life. She spent her declining years in Cass county, dying on July 2, 1880.
Robert Guthrie upon leaving school accepted a position as salesman in his brother's clothing house in Logansport, but in the following year took up the study and practice of law, being admitted to the bar in June, 1876. Soon, however, he gave way to the allurement of the wilds and embarked in the lumber business in which he continued with varying success until September 20, 1883, when he was married to Miss Laura A. Funston. Five children were born to this union: May Anna, John Roy, Alta Lola, Edna Elizabeth, and Jane Nora. Mrs. Guthrie was born on January 28, 1860, in Clark county. Ohio, and was the only daughter of William and Rebecca (Black) Funston. She moved to Cass county with her parents on March 9, 1865, and the family settled on a farm in Noble township. She was educated in the common schools of Cass county.
Subsequent to his marriage, Mr. Guthrie gave up the Inmber busi- ness and settled on a farm in Harrison township, which place he con- tinned to operate until April, 1896, when he located in Logansport and engaged in the real estate and insurance business. afterward accepting a position with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in which capacity he served until November 17, 1903, when he moved with his family to a farm in Noble township. Here he is still employed in the peaceful occu- pation of farming, truck gardening and horticulture.
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In 1908 the ex-students and teachers of East Sandridge organized a pioneer school reunion association, the first of its kind in Cass county, and Mr. Guthrie was elected president of that organization. His address delivered at the reunion the following year is here presented in full :
Fellow students: When I look into your faces and survey these surroundings, I am forcibly reminded of those beautiful lines which read like this: "How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, when fond recollections present them to view." We are brought back here today, not only in remembrance, but we are brought face to face, as it were, with the scenes of our childhood. Brought back once more to Sandridge; back to this old familiar school-house playing ground. A place made sacred by memories of the past. For here it was you spent so many of your childhood days. 'Twas here you skipped and played in childish glee, and here again you toiled o'er lessons hard ; then played your games of ball, of tag, and blindman's buff. 'Twas here you
planned the spelling bee, the bob sled ride, or the social party at a patron's house. And now to think you're here again! to look each other in the face and grasp each other by the hand. No wonder recollections of the past come crowding to our mind. And now what of Sandridge ? Sandridge holds a warm place in the hearts of many. Sandridge throughout all the years that she has existed as a place of learning has maintained a reputation for being one of the very best common schools in all this broad land. And the reason for this may be found in the fact that in the very beginning she was surrounded by a loyal, peace loving, honest and honorable constituency. And the children of those sturdy pioneers who came here to receive instructions in the funda- mental principles of an education emulating the examples set by their fathers, though none have risen to preeminence among men, yet, upon the whole, they have made honored and respected citizens. Men and women who have gone into the world and have fought and are still fight- ing the great battles of life, and discharging the duties of citizenship in a way that has been a credit to themselves, a credit to the school and a credit to the great commonwealth of Indiana.
And now, fellow students at East Sandridge, I am glad to be with you here today ; for I see among you those who have passed the zenith of their lives, who years ago, as boys and girls while the flush of youth was yet upon their cheeks and the fire of ambition shone in their eyes, roamed these woods and fields; who coasted down, and played upon this ridge of sand. You are here today, fellow students, to engage in reminiscence and recreation; to once more commingle your voices in commemoration of those happy days gone by; God bless you all.
An original poem by Mr. Guthrie, eutitled "Early Recollections" is here presented as written :
Somewhat back from Rockcreek's swampy, muddy banks, Midst prickly ash and wild hawthorn, With its clapboard roof and latch string door, Stood the old log cabin where I was born.
Its broad and ample fireplace
Was built from sticks and mud and clay
And round its cheerful glowing hearth
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
We worked and played and sang each day. How well do I remember Those awful swamps and sloughs,
For when we'd walk around a while
Water came in our shoes.
And when we'd take a ramble At the surrounding woods to peep
Some ancient frog behind a log
Would say "Knee deep, knee deep."
Then when the August sun shone forth
And the leaves began to dry The way we'd have the ague chills Was enough to make one cry.
My father settled in those swamps,
From across the deep blue sea.
But how he lived and reared us kids
Seems passing strange to mne.
But he was wise and very learned
1 From delving into lore.
I've often thought he had some coin
Brought from Scotland's shore. However that may be he loved that land Which then was but a jest,
But now it don't require a sage To tell that it's the best.
But many changes have taken place
Since the day that I was born; Where once was naught but woods and swamps Grow fields of ripening corn.
WILLIAM H. STOUGHTON. Probably there is no class of people who so quickly grasp anything new and progressive like the modern farmer. Although residing away from the hustle and the bustle of the city, a considerable distance from the manufacturing centers, it is really sur- prising to note how familiar the agriculturist is with improvements that relate to his vocation. It is in this way, and in this way only, that the farmer of today is able to attain to a full measure of success, for this success comes only as a result of full and prosperous crops, which, in turn, come only from treatment of the land by modern methods. Among the progressive farmers of Cass county, who have recognized the value of using up-to-date measures in their work, William H. Stoughton, of Noble township, holds a prominent position. He is a native of Cass county, and was born February 22, 1858, a son of Ira and Nancy (Mathews) Stoughton.
Ira Stoughton was born in New York, and was married October 17, 1852, to Nancy Mathews, a native of Indiana. They settled down on a farm in Cass county, and their children were all born here, as follows: Horace, September 24, 1853; Mary E., January 8, 1856; William H .; and Elsie J., June 18, 1873. Horace was married first to Martha E. Helvey, deceased, who was the mother of four children; Arthur G .; Lutie, who died at the age of six years; Leora, who married in Novem-
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
ber, 1900, Edward Smith, a farmer of Roann, Indiana, who has one child .- Arthur M .; and a child who died in infancy. Mr. Stoughton married for his second wife Ollie Miller, of Ohio, and they have had one child, who died at an early age. Mary E. Stoughton was married April 7, 1880, to Allen G. Benton, of Cass county. Elsie J. Stoughton was married May 15, 1902, to Harry A. Jamison, who is connected with the Vandalia line of the Pennsylvania system.
William H. Stoughton was educated in the common schools of Noble township, and his entire career has been devoted to farming and stock raising. On March 9, 1880. he was married to Miss Hattie E. Michael, of Cass county, daughter of Charles and Incy A. (Bowyer) Michael, who were long residents of Cass county. Mrs. Stoughton was educated in the schools of this county. In the fall of 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Stongh- ton went West, and for about five years were residents of Southern Illi- nois. While there, October 30, 1884, a son, Ira Ray, was born to them. They subsequently lived for about nine years in Southwestern Kansas, and then moved on to Texas. They were living in the Lone Star State in 1900, when the terrible flood caused such damage to the city of Galves- ton. and it appears as though only a dispensation of Providence saved their lives. At the time the storm began, Mrs. Stoughton was at home with her son, and as the hurricane increased she became alarmed and with great difficulty managed to make her way to the home of a neigh- bor. They had not yet reached their refuge, when a terrific blast struck the little home which they had just left, completely demolishing it, with all the other buildings on the place, casting its timbers some thirty rods distant, and driving great beams so deep in the ground that later they could not be extracted by the utmost exertions of a strong man. There is no doubt but that Mrs. Stoughton and her son would have been killed had they remained in their own home. In the mean- time. Mr. Stoughton, who had started home when the storm began to threaten to become serious, was overtaken by the terrific hurricane some seven miles from home, and there was compelled to remain, himself suf- fering greatly, as well as being in an agony of anxiety as to the welfare of his loved ones, whom he was powerless to help.
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