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 21

Author: Powell, Jehu Z., 1848-1918, ed; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago (Ill.), pub
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 662


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 21


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of the Presbyterian church. With their family, Mr. and Mrs. Keiser consistently attend the Presbyterian church. Mr. Keiser is a Democrat and is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 314, and the M. W. of A., No. 7244, in Walton, Indiana.


HARVEY O. BIRD. The younger farming men of Cass county have wrought worthily and well in carrying forward the splendid work of de- velopment that was put in motion by their fathers and grandsires in years gone by, and it will hardly be denied that the greater part of the real prosperity of the county and the wealth of the communities have resulted from the application and energy of these sturdy farmers and honest and admirable citizens. Among the more prosperous and com- fortably situated agriculturists of Cass county, of whom there are indeed many, H. O. Bird of Walton is one who is deserving of especial men- tion in this historical and biographical work dealing with the county of Cass in Indiana. He was born in Deer Creek township, this county, on February 27, 1887, and is the son of J. W. and Essie (Rhinehart) Bird, of whom the former is now deceased. J. W. Bird was born in Ohio, where he devoted himself to farming and was very prominent in the community that represented his home for years before he identified himself with the fortunes of Cass county. He was the father of seven living children, named as follows: Francis A .; Harriet, who married a Mr. Walter Barnes; Benjamin F .; Harvey O., of this review; Charles R .; Eva J., and Ruby.


Harvey O. Bird in boyhood attended the Crockett school in his com- munity, and during his vacation seasons applied himself diligently to the work of the home farm, as was required of him. He was nineteen years of age when on February 22, 1906, he married Ercie Banks, the daughter of Harry and Lorinda (Rush) Banks, and one son, Clark Bird, has been born to them.


Mr. and Mrs. Bird are members of the Christian church and have an active part in the work of the church in its various departments. Po- litically Mr. Bird is identified with the Republican party, and takes the interest of a good citizen in all affairs of a political and civic nature in his community, where he has a prominent place of which he is well deserving.


LOUIS KAUFMAN. Located on the township line between Washington and Tipton townships is situated the ninety-acre farm belonging to Louis Kaufman, a veteran agriculturist of Cass county, whose residence here covers a period of almost a half a century. His energies have always been devoted to his farming interests, and he is known as an honorable, upright business man, whose sterling worth has gained him high regard. Mr. Kaufman was born at Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, April 27, 1858, and is a son of Henry and Anna (Wiegand) Kaufman. His father, a native of Germany, left the Fatherland in young manhood, and settled in Montgomery county, Ohio, where he carried on agricultural pursuits, as he did also in Darke county, where he subsequently moved. About the year 1865 he came to Washington township, Cass county, Indiana, here continuing to follow farming until his death. He was a successful busi- ness man of his day and locality, took a keen and intelligent interest


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in the needs of his township, and succeeded in winning the respect and esteem of those about him. He and his wife were the parents of five children : George, Elizabeth, Martha, Louis and Catharine.


Louis Kaufman secured his education in the public schools of Mont- gomery and Darke counties. Ohio, mostly in Cass county, Indiana, and during the summer months worked on his father's farm, assisting him materially in his work and gaining a thorough knowledge of the multi- tudinons subjects on which a good farmer should be informed. He was about six years of age when he accompanied his parents to Washington township, and continued to remain under the parental roof until his marriage, when he embarked upon a career of his own. He had been a thrifty and industrious youth, and had carefully saved his earnings, so that he was able to make a payment on a farm in Washington township of seventy-five acres. This he sold and purchased his present farm, which is situated about nine miles southeast of Logansport, on the Wash- ington-Tipton township line. Here he settled down to clear and cultivate the soil, each year seeing further advancement made, until he now has the full ninety acres, except eight acres of timber, under the plow. He carries on general farming and also devotes some attention to stock rais- ing, and his success has been such as to make him one of the substantial men of his community. He has erected commodious buildings, with mod- ern conveniences, for in this matter, as well as in others, he believes in the use of up-to-date methods and ideas. His machinery is of the latest and most highly improved manufacture and his entire property is a model of neatness and order.


October 10, 1896, Mr. Kaufman was united in marriage to Miss Anna Lebert, who is deceased. He was married to Miss Augustina Schwalm, September 7, 1898, and to this union there have been born two children: Wilbur and Helena, and both are in the eighth grade in the public school, and both are taking music. With his family, he is connected with the Presbyterian church, where he has been liberal in his support of religious and charitable movements. He is independent in politics, casting his vote for the man best fitted for the party. IIe has also stanchly supported measures which he has felt will advance his community, taking a keen interest in those things which vi- tally affect it. Thus he has become a potential force in his locality, where he is looked to for counsel, advice and leadership. The pretty home- stead of Mr. and Mrs. Kaufman is known as "Hill View Farm."


OSCAR B. FERGUSON. Upwards of half a century ago the father of Oscar B. Ferguson settled in Cass county, and at a time when the most primitive conditions existed throughout this region, set himself to the herculean task of hewing a farm and a home out of the pristine wilder- ness that prevailed. Only those who have seen something of the hard- ships of such an undertaking are capable of making any adequate estimate of the courage, energy and perseverance that these sturdy peo- ple brought to bear in the taming of the wilderness and in the eventual evolving of a home from the conditions then existing. When Oscar Ferguson came into possession of the place it had passed beyond the stage of storm and stress peculiar to the early years, but he has done his full duty in carrying it forward to its present state of cultivation and


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giving it the appearance of fruitfulness and prosperity that it now wears. The place comprises one hundred and thirty acres on the bound- ary line pike and its owner is properly regarded as one of the pros- perous and successful men of the community.


Born in Adams township, in Cass county, Indiana, December 13, 1865, Mr. Ferguson is the son of James P. and Mariah V. (Dillman) Ferguson. They were farming people of Adams township, where they passed their lives for the most part, and became the parents of six chil- dren, as follows: Oscar B., of this review; Lnman N., now deceased; Henry D .; Sylvia M .; Cora D. and Maud E. The father, James P. Fer- guson, was the son of Richard and Phoebe Ferguson. The thickly tim- bered district in which he settled in his young manhood has, as intimated above, since that time given place to fertile hills and valleys, and during the years when the transformation was being slowly wrought, he reared the goodly family just mentioned.


Oscar B. Ferguson as a boy attended the Thomas school near his home, and later, through the wisdom of his father, who recognized the studious qualities which his son evidenced, he was permitted to attend Logansport Seminary and the Central Normal at Danville, Indiana, so that he secured educational advantages in advance of what the average youth of his day received. He married Miss Arria R. Bowyer, the daughter of Charles G. and Isabelle (Craighead) Bowyer, but no chil- dren have been born to them. In the goodness of their hearts, however, they took a little girl, Mary M. Enyart, to rear and educate, and it can be truthfully asserted that little Mary will have a home of sweet influ- ence and religious training, as well as high moral teaching. Mrs. Fer- guson's father, Charles Granles Granville Bowyer, was a descendant of the well known Bowyer family of Virginia, and he was born in 1837 and died on the 18th day of February, 1912. She was one of the seven children of her parents, the others being: Mary D., Mavilla B., and Vesta J., all deceased; May B., Willard N., and Ellis. The surviving children are all filling places of usefulness in the various spheres to which they have been called.


Mr. Ferguson is prominent in his membership in the Masonic fra- ternity at Walton Lodge No. 423, and in the Knights of Pythias, Powell Lodge No. 62, Logansport, Indiana. He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star as is his wife, and both are popular and prominent in social circles of their community, where they are held in the highest esteem and regard by all who share in their acquaintance. Mr. Fer- guson has always taken a wholesale interest in civic activities in the community, and in politics has voted with the Republican party, but has never been an office seeker at any time in his life, content with the duties of citizenship, but averse to the responsibilities of official life. The beautiful estate of Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson is known as "Loenst Lawn," and it is the abode of hospitality and good cheer. They are citizens who take great interest in church work and are members of the Disciples of Christ church at Walton, Indiana. They take great interest in the Sunday school also.


OLIVER J. PIERSON. Cass county's history has been developed by the men who first settled here, and more pages are constantly being added


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by: those whose lives are now being enacted. The agricultural sec- tions of this county are extensive, in fact it may be called a farming county, so that a large number of its residents are engaged in tilling the soil and raising stock, with benefit to themselves and profit to their communities. An excellent example of the progressive, up-to-date Cass county farmer is found in the person of Oliver J. Pierson, of Wash- ington township, the owner of forty-two and one-half acres of land, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. Although not a native of Cass county, Mr. Pierson can lay claim to being an "old set- tler," as he was but one year old when brought to this section. Here he has continued to be identified with agricultural matters to the pres- ent time, in the meanwhile establishing himself firmly in the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens by upright living and honorable deal- ing. Mr. Pierson was born September 25, 1867, in White county, In- diana, and is a son of Matthew H. and Mary A. (Jenness) Pierson.


Matthew H. Pierson was born in Preble county, Ohio, from whence he migrated in young manhood to White county, Indiana, in which local- ity he was married and had one child. He subsequently came to Cass county, in 1868, and here was engaged in agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his active career, fairly winning the regard of his neighbors and accumulating a competency. He and his wife became the parents of six children : Oliver J .; Mrs. Carrie Small; Mrs. Gertrude Ramer; Emma, the wife of Adelbert Flanigan, who had one child,- Estella D., who is living with Mr. Pierson; Mae, who married Benjamin F. Crockett, and has two children,-Gilbert P. and Herbert P .; and Mrs. Maud Toney.


Oliver J. Pierson was reared to agricultural pursuits, and secured his education in the common schools. His entire life has been spent in farming, and at the age of twenty-four years he became the possessor, through purchase, of his present land. He has brought his property to a high state of cultivation through the use of modern methods, and in addition to producing large crops devotes some attention to the raising of valuable livestock. He has made a study of soil conditions, rotation of crops, and kindred subjects necessary to scientific treatment of his land, and as a result is known as one of his township's foremost agri- culturists. In addition to his Cass county property he is the owner of valuable holdings in the state of Texas.


On August 30, 1892, Mr. Pierson was married to Miss Effie E. Mar- tin, daughter of John T. and Caroline (Martin) Martin, and to this union there has been born one son: Donald M. Mr. Pierson's fraternal connection is with the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp 7244, at Walton, Indiana, in which he was venerable counsel and in which he numbers many friends. With his family, he attends the Presbyterian church.


SAMUEL W. ULLERY, who was long connected with the business in- terests of Logansport, where he was known for one of the most reliable and enterprising merchants of the city, was born at Covington, Ohio, on January 17, 1813, and was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Fager) Ullery, both of German descent.


Jacob Ullery was born in Maryland and there reared, moving to


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Ohio in young manhood and there passing the remainder of his days. He was a farmer and it was in the many details of farm life that Samuel W. Ullery passed his younger days. He attended the district schools, securing in his somewhat intermittent period of study, a limited education, but that handicap was insufficient to deter him from his purpose, which was to succeed in some established business. His busi- ness career he began as a hardware merchant in his native town, but in 1848 moved to Greenville, Ohio, where he conducted a similar business until 1866. Three years later he came to Logansport, Indiana, and under the firm name of S. W. Ullery & Company, with William M. Wilson as his partner, he embarked in the hardware business again. In 1886, Mr. Wilson withdrew from the firm, upon which G. L. Ullery, a son of the head of the firm, became a partner under the firm title of S. W. Ullery & Son, a name that endures to the present time, although both father and son are now deceased.


Samuel Ullery was a prosperous man, although his prosperity was never of a spasmodic order. He made constant, steady progress in the business world, his achievements being ever wrought through the appli- cation of his powers of keen discernment and practical business sense, together with the abundant energy which characterized his life. In the early years of its life, the business was conducted in a retail way, but gradually developed into a wholesale establishment, though still con- tinuing its retail trade.


Mr. Ullery was one of the organizers and a director of the State National Bank of Logansport, and also for a time was vice-president of the bank. Upon the reorganization of the National Bank of Logansport, he became one of its stockholders.


In all his many business relations and dealings, Mr. Ullery's reputa- tion as an honorable, straightforward business man was never ques- tioned. As a private citizen he commanded the respect and confidence of his fellow men. He was a Republican in politics, although never an aspirant for public office.


In 1849, he married Sarah Kessler, and for thirty-six years there continued a most ideal marriage relation, broken by the death of Mrs. Ullery. They were the parents of two children: G. Lincoln, who died June 20, 1901, and Juniata, the only survivor of the family, and the wife of George P. Bliss, the present manager of the firm of S. W. Ullery & Son, of whom extended mention is made in other pages of this work. Mr. Ullery died on June 1, 1899.


GEORGE P. BLISS. Since 1897, George P. Bliss has been connected in an important capacity with the hardware business of S. W. Ullery & Son, and in recent years became manager of the company, which position he now holds. Born at Bluffton, Wells county, Indiana, on May 5, 1852, he is the son of Jeoffry Bliss, who was engaged in the busi- ness of making fanning mills during the early part of his business life, and later was identified with mercantile pursuits, at Bluffton, where he passed away.


George P. Bliss remained at home until he was about fifteen years old, and attended the public schools of his native community. He also assisted his father in the making and painting of the fanning mills, and


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.


later secured work as a clerk in a local store. For some time he worked in the private bank of John Studebaker & Company, and still later, he was for a number of years employed as a bookkeeper. In the following years he was variously engaged in a number of places, fourteen years being passed in a flouring mill at Toledo, and something like five years in Cleveland. When the Clover Leaf Railroad was yet a narrow gauged track to St. Louis, Mr. Bliss was engaged as paymaster of the road for about four years, after which he served for a matter of two years as cashier of a bank at Markle, Indiana.


In 1897, Mr. Bliss came to Logansport in the capacity of clerk and bookkeeper in the wholesale and retail hardware concern of S. W. Ullery & Son, and ever since has been identified with the firm. Upon the death of the junior Mr. Ullery, Mr. Bliss became manager of the estab- lishment, and he is yet serving in that important position.


On November 18, 1896. Mr. Bliss was united in marriage with Juanita Ullery, and they have one son, Harold P. Bliss. Mr. Bliss is a member of the Country Club and the Logansport Commercial Club, and is a director of the latter organization. He is a Republican, and with his wife attends the First Presbyterian church of Logansport, of which she is a member.


HERMAN E. MARTIN. Among the enterprising agriculturists of Cass county who have been progressive in inaugurating improvements on their properties, and have shown their ability and progressiveness by taking advantage of modern inventions to increase their capability and decrease the cost of production, Herman E. Martin, of Washington township, holds a place in the foremost ranks. Coming of an agricultural family, which for years have contributed its members to the tilling of the soil, he has made a place for himself among the substantial men of his community, and his finely cultivated tract of one hundred and fifty- eight acres, located on the Ramer and Martin road, about nine miles from Logansport, eloquently testifies to his ability as a farmer.


Mr. Martin was born on the farm which he now occupies, March 14, 1859, and is a son of Franz and Caroline (Sine) Martin. Like most of the farmers' sons of his community, Mr. Martin secured his educa- tion in the district schools during the winter months, his summers being devoted to helping his father in the cultivation of the homestead, a part of which he assisted in clearing. On attaining his majority, he worked on the farm at home, and also worked at the carpenter's trade, which he had picked up in his youth, and thus earned the means to invest in a tract of eighty acres in Tipton township. On this land he labored industriously and with a fair amount of success for a period of eleven years, carefuly saving his earnings. At the end of that time he disposed of his Tipton township land, and bought his father's old home- stead, which he has continued to operate to the present time. Mr. Martin is a self-made man in the truest and best sense of the word. Giving his closest attention to the smallest details of his work, at all times being willing to experiment with new innovations, and constantly seeking methods which would advance his interests, he has been able to add materially to his property, and to make it one of the most valuable of its size in this part of the county. General farming has received the


"PINE LAWN," RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. HERMAN E. MARTIN


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greater part of his attention, and he has also spent some time in raising stock, and his crops have been large and prosperous, while his cattle bring top-notch prices in the markets. While he has at all times seized every opportunity to advance his interests, he has always done so in an honorable manner, never taking an unfair advantage of others, and for this reason has won the respect and confidence of his fellow- citizens.


Mr. Martin was elected trustee of Washington township in 1900, and served four years in that important office. At the present time he is chairman of the county council. The members of the Cass county coun- cil at the present time are Messrs. Herman E. Martin, John Warner, Alva Crook, Dr. Z. U. Loop, Daniel Woodhouse, William Farrell and Allen Snyder. Mr. Martin is also a member of the board of trustees of the Presbyterian church.


Mr. Martin was married December 25, 1882, to Miss Melissa Stough, a daughter of Samuel and Maria (Garman) Stough of Cass county. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Martin, the following children were born : Edith Myrle, who married Rev. Alexander E. Cameron, and re- sides in Morning Sun, Iowa, where he is pastor of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Cameron was educated in the University of Chicago, while his wife was graduated from the public schools at the age of fourteen, and spent one year in the Logansport high school and later was a student at the Marion Normal College. For two terms she was a successful teacher in her own county before her marriage. She and her husband are the parents of three children : Colin E., Frances M., and Paul P. Ralph Emerson, second of the family, received his diploma from the public schools and was a student in the Marion Normal. He died Febru- ary 19, 1907. A member of the Presbyterian church, he was a young man of model habits and character, and was greatly beloved by all. Chester Monfort, third, finished the public schools, and is now a practical farmer associated with his father. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and cast his first ballot for William J. Bryan. Hazel Eunice, the fourth, married Evan G. Marquardt, of Toledo, Ohio, where he is a hardware merchant. They have a little daughter named Carolyn. Mrs. Marquardt after attending the public schools spent two years in the Oberlin Musical Conservatory as a student of both instrumental and vocal, and is an accomplished young woman, highly capable of presid- ing over her home and has active membership in the Presbyterian church. Inez Helen, who attended the public schools and graduated from the Logansport high school, was a student in the Eastern College of Music at Manassas, Virginia, and is now engaged in teaching music, and is likewise a member of the Presbyterain faith. Armeda Marie is a gradu- ate of the public schools, and is proficient in music, being also a member of the same church as her parents. Homer Carlton, after leaving the public schools spent two years in the Logansport high school and is now taking a course from the Scranton School of Correspondence; Raymond Stough is a student of the eighth grade, and Doris Esther, the youngest of the family, is in the sixth grade of the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have made it their ambition to give their children the best of educational advantages, and have thus fitted them for the higher places of usefulness in the world.


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Mrs. Martin was born in Cass county, September 21, 1859, the third in a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, and five of the Stough family are living in 1913. The father, born in Pennsylvania, sprang from good old German stock, and when a young man came west to the state of Indiana, where he was married. By vocation he was a brick and stone mason, and had the distinction of erecting the first Lutheran church in Walton, Indiana. In this connection it should be stated that Mr. Martin's father erected the first Presbyterian church in Washington township. Mr. Stough was a Democrat in politics and was the first superintendent of the Lutheran Sunday school in Walton, and was known throughout that community as one of the best vocalists and a great lover of music. Mrs. Stough, the mother of Mrs. Martin, was born in Pennsylvania, and died at the age of seventy-four, while her husband passed away when seventy-seven years old. Mrs. Martin was educated in the common schools and with a fine endowment of character, a pleas- ing personality, she has ably filled her part of wife and mother to this happy Cass county home. She is a devout member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. and Mrs. Martin's hospitable home, which is always open to welcome many friends, is known as "Pine Lawn."


JOHN H. PERSINGER. The real history of the Civil war is written deepest on the hearts of those who participated in that mighty conflict. The sacrifices of the volunteers did not cease when peace was declared, for none of them came out of the war as they had entered it. Those who were fortunate enough to escape bullet, shell and imprisonment, were for years troubled by the seeds of disease, while shattered nerves will be the mementos of others as long as life lasts. The brave, gallant, dash- ing and laughing youths who left their homes to fight for the flag of their country, returned to those homes, when they did return, saddened, sor- rowed men, old in experience if not in years. The country owes a debt of gratitude to the "boys in blue" which it can never repay, and for this reason the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic still inspire respect and veneration even after the passage of more than a half cen- tury of years. Cass county sent its full quota of brave, hard-fighting men to the front when secession reared its gory head, and among these none had a more honorable record than John H. Persinger, whose ser- vice covered more than four years. Mr. Persinger is now a resident of Tipton township, where he is engaged in agricultural pursuits, and throughout his life has performed the duties of peace in the same able, cheerful and faithful manner that characterized his actions when serv- ing in the ranks under the "Stars and Stripes."




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