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 44
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After his marriage Mr. Kistler engaged in the hardware business, and he is the owner of the hardware stock on Chicago street, in Roval Center, there carrying on a general hardware business. He has experienced a pleasing measure of success in the business and enjoys a comprehensive trade throughout the township.
Mr. and Mrs. Kistler are earnest members of the Baptist church in Royal Center, and he is a trustee of the church. His political affiliations are with the Prohibition party, whose firm adherent he has long been.
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He is one of the stable and dependable citizens of the town and township, and enjoys the respect and esteem of a wide circle of friends in the community where he has spent all his life thus far. Affable and friendly, he is more than ordinarily popular, and his upright and .honorable character has secured him a place in the public mind which is in every way worthy of him and his always estimable family.
WILLIAM D. LUTES. Farm life and merchandising constituted the business of William D. Lutes for a good many years, until in 1903, when he was appointed postmaster at Royal Center, an office which he has con- tinued to fill in a manner most satisfactory to all concerned. His whole life has been spent in Cass county, and no more loyal citizen will be found within its borders than he.
Born in Fulton county, Ohio, on October 7. 1837, Mr. Lutes is the son of Henry and Mary (Donut) Lutes. The father and mother were both natives of Pennsylvania, and they came as children to Wayne county, Ohio, where they grew to years of maturity, and it was there they were married. Soon after their marriage they settled in Williams county, Ohio, later moving to Fulton county, where they established their home in German township and lived there for twenty-three years. Late in life they moved to Kosciusko county, Indiana, where they passed their remain- ing days. Henry and Mary Lutes reared a family of four children, three of whom were living in 1912. William D., the eldest, is the subject of this review ; Eliza J. is deceased ; M. W. is engaged in farming in Kosciusko county, Indiana, and Ellen is the wife of Simon Wheltstone, of Kosciusko county, Indiana.
William D. Lutes was reared on a farm in Fulton county, Ohio, the home of his parents at that time. and there he attended the district schools. He later became a student in the high school of West Unity, after which he engaged in teaching and continued to be occupied with that most laudable branch of public service for four years thereafter. On April 14, 1859, the young man was united in marriage with Miss Mary Peddcoard, of Fulton county, Ohio, where she had been born and reared, her natal day being December 22, 1841. They came to Indiana in April. the same week in which their marriage was celebrated, and established their new home in the state which has since been the scene of their activities. They first located in Harrison township, some six miles west of Warsaw, and there they bought land and began to farm. For six years they remained on that place, after which they sold out and moved to Atwood, Indiana, where for ten years Mr. Lutes was engaged in the merchandise business with more or less success. He then sold his stock of goods and returned to the farm, locating in Boone township and continuing for four years. In 1879 he moved to Royal Center, and in 1896 he gave up his farming activities for a second time and turned his attention to the boot and shoe business. He was successful and prosperous in that business and continued in it until 1903, which year marked his appointment to the position of postmaster at Royal Centre. His work in this respect has been all that could be desired, and the department has been well kept up under his regime. He is assisted in the work of the office by his daughter, Lida.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lutes, concerning whom
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mention is made as follows: John W. is engaged in the merchandise business at Logansport, Indiana. J. O. is a farmer, and is located in Wisconsin. Lillian is married to Charles Fry, of Star City, Indiana. N. F. is also engaged in farming in Wisconsin ; Lida, as mentioned above, is assistant postmaster at Royal Center. She is a graduate of the com- mercial department at Valparaiso, Indiana. William H. is assistant cashier of the Thomas State Bank of Royal Center.
The Lutes family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Lutes is a trustee of that body. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masons, and he is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 585, A. F. & A. M., in which he is past master. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 694, at North Jud- son, Indiana. Politically, he gives his support to the cause of Republi- canism, and he has always been active in the ranks of the party in his district.
Mr. Lutes has acquired a considerable property in and about Royal Center and Hammond, Indiana, and is regarded as one of the well-to- do men of this community. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances in his home town, and his acquaintance extends well through the county as well, where his many excellent traits of mind and character are appreciated and acknowledged.
W. J. GOODRICH conducts a lumber, tile and cement business in Royal Center, in which place he was born on April 3, 1876. He is the son of Hiland E. and Mary Jane (Vickers) Goodrich. The father was born near Washington, Ohio, in the vicinity of Columbus, on a farm, and was there reared. The mother was born in Maryland, near Harper's Ferry, and is the daughter of English parents, who came from Mary- land to Indiana, bringing their daughter with them. They made the trip by canal, and settled on a farm near Star City. In this community Hiland and Mary Jane (Vickers) Goodrich were married, and they spent their lives within the county. They became the parents of six children, three of whom are now living. The names of the six, in the order of their birth, with brief comments concerning them, are as fol- lows: Alice O., the wife of J. J. Schmidt, living in Royal Center; Hiram E., in Boone township; W. J., the subject of this brief review ; Alba, who died at the age of four years; Dudley, who died at the age of twenty-one; and George, who died when twenty-seven years old.
W. J. Goodrich received a common school education, finishing with the Park high school, after which he took a course in a business college in Logansport, Indiana. After finishing his business training he went to Florida, remaining there for six months, after which he returned home and remained on the farm until the death of his father two years later, in 1899. He still continued to make his home at the old place, remaining with his mother until she died in 1909, aged seventy-seven years, secure in the regard and esteem of all who knew her.
On February 14, 1910, W. J. Goodrich was married to Miss Anna H. Frimel, the daughter of Frank Frimel, of Jefferson township, in Cass county, and to them one child has been born: Wilma Jane Goodrich.
Mr. Goodrich is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 62, and he is a Democrat in his political faith. He is president of the town
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council, and takes an important part in all the activities of the com- munity which tend to its growth and advancement.
He owns sixty-two and a half acres of land in Boone township and has twenty acres in Royal Center, in what is known as the Goodrich addition. His activities in the lumber, tile and cement business are carried on quietly and steadily, and constitute one of the leading in- dustries in Royal Center.
ANDREW J. CONN, well known in Royal Center, Indiana, as a farmer and in the operation of a buggy and harness business, was born in Boone township, Cass county, Indiana, on June 19, 1862, and in the vicinity of his present home has passed his life thus far. He is the son of George and Helen (Hendee) Conn, the father a native of Pennsyl- vania, from which state he inigrated to Indiana in its early manhood. The mother was a native Canadian and came from that country with her parents. George Conn was in some respects a pioneer of Cass county, and he it was who ran the first sawmill in Boone township, which he operated with oxen. He died when the subject was a lad of three years. He had been three times married, and was the father of thirteen children, ten of them being the children of Helen Hendee, the mother of the subject. Seven of the number are living today, and they are here named as follows: Jess, living in Rushville, Indiana ; Law- rence, of Boone township; Reuben, in Long Beach, California ; Eunice, the wife of William Batty, living in Pulaski county ; George, a retired farmer of Royal Center; Andrew J., of this review; and Hannah, the widow of William Kramer, of Royal Center.
Andrew J. Conn was educated in the district schools and remained at home until he married. He was twenty years old when he took upon himself the responsibility of a home and family and on January 4, 1882, he married Anna C. Humes, the daughter of William and
Humes. For three years he remained on a farm and then gave up agri- cultural life to engage in the mercantile business in Royal Center, where he continued for twenty-five years. At the end of that time, he retired from active business, sold out and invested in farming property in and about Royal Center. He is the owner of a goodly portion of town property, and has five hundred and twenty acres of land, with one hundred and sixty acres lying about a half mile south of Lucerne. He also has one hundred and twenty acres in Van Buren township, in Pulaski county, and two hundred and forty acres near Winnemac, also in Pulaski county. These properties are the fruits of his quarter century of unceasing toil and they have been acquired, not in a day nor a year, but little by little, each passing year adding something to his accumu- lations. What he has done has been accomplished without aid from any source whatsoever, only his native industry and business wisdom contributing to his ultimate success.
Mr. Conn is the father of eight children, of whom mention is made briefly as follows: Mabel, the wife of Verne Seward, of Royal Center; Alice, living in Logansport, Indiana; Maggie, the wife of Clarence Fultz, of Boone township; Jesse, a railroad man, living in Logansport ; Andrew J., Jr., at home; Forest, a baker in Royal Center; and Marr, living at home.
"BROAD LANDS GRANGE, " RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. MELVIN TUCKER
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جديديريد
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Mr. Conn is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 66, and of the Knights of Pythias, No. 462, Royal Center. He is a Democrat in his political faith, but is not more active than the demands of good citizenship require. He occupies a position of promi- nence and popularity in his native community, where he has long been known for his sterling character and many splendid traits that have contributed so much to the prosperity of the town and township of which he has long been a resident.
MELVIN TUCKER. Since the year 1845 the Tucker family has been residents of Cass county. During this period of nearly eighty years, the members of three generations have contributed their industry and their character to the material development and the civic welfare of this section of Indiana. The family have been chiefly identified with agricul- ture, and it was on the land that they have depended for their material prosperity.
Mr. Melvin Tucker, who represents the third generation in the county, is present trustee of Harrison township, and has spent practically all of his life in his present home vicinity. He began his career without any capital to speak of, and through his own good management has acquired a prominent position in Harrison township.
Melvin Tucker was born in Harrison township, Cass county, June 10, 1862. His father was named Abraham, and his grandfather was Michner Tucker. The maiden name of his mother was Margaret Witters, a daughter of David Witters. The grandfather, with his son Abraham, and other members of the family, came to Cass county in 1855. His first settlement was on what is known as the Jacob Yantice farm. Land was to be had then from the public domain, by paying the government price of about $1.00 per acre, and the grandfather acquired a large amount of land either from the government or private purchase. Through his own industry and that which he hired, he was instrumental in clearing up a large tract and putting it in condition for agriculture. Abraham Tucker, the father, spent all of his life as a farmer, in this county, and died in September 4, 1903, after nearly seventy years of residence in Cass county. The mother passed away in October, 1895, and both parents now rest in Zion cemetery of Harrison township.
Melvin Tucker was reared in Harrison township, where he attended the public schools, and there by practical experience he prepared him- self for an active career as a farmer. On the twenty-second of March, 1887, he married Miss Anna Backus, a daughter of Richard and Rose (Fitzsimmons) Backus. Her father died about 1874 and her mother in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Tucker are the parents of one child, Mollie, who was born November 26, 1888, and who is the wife of Harvey Clary. In 1889, soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Tucker moved to the farm which they still occupy. They found the land with practically no improve- ments, and a number of years in their early married life were devoted to the hard industry which makes successful farming. There were no buildings on the plaec when they came to it, and the present equipment of home, barns, fences and drain field, and all other facilities are the result of the good management and effective work of Mr. Tucker, who
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has always been loyally aided by his wife. Their homestead consists of one hundred and forty-one acres.
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, coming from one of the pioneer families, have in their possession three of the old parchment deeds which were executed under the hands of President Martin Van Buren and they bear the fol- lowing dates: March 30, 1837; April 10, 1837; April 10, 1837, and these old souvenirs are valuable heirlooms in their home.
Fraternally Mr. Tucker is affiliated with Royal Center Lodge, No. 585, A. F. & A. M., and has passed through all the chairs of Lucerne Lodge, No. 680, I. O. O. F. His fellow citizens have honored him with the office of council trustee, a place of responsibility, which he is filling with characteristic ability and efficiency.
Mr. and Mrs. Tucker's beautiful estate is called "Broad Lands Grange" and lies fronting the south, and this home is ever open to their many friends.
WILLIAM H. FELTIS. Among the well known, prosperous and highly esteemed citizens and farming men of Boone township, none enjoys a more pleasing status in the eyes of the community than does William H. Feltis, a native Ohioan, but a resident of Cass county, Indiana, since 1884. Mr. Feltis was born in Crawford county, Ohio, on January 13, 1860, and is the son of Edward and Eliza (Cassady) Feltis.
Edward Feltis was born in Wexford county, Ireland, and was the son of William Feltis, a native Scot, who settled in Ireland. Edward Feltis came to the United States and located in Crawford county, Ohio, and from there he moved to Wyandot county, where he passed his re- maining days, death claiming him in 1872. He married Eliza Cassady in Crawford county, Ohio, and she died at the home place in Wyandot county on December 8, 1903. Six children were born to the worthy people mentioned above, five of that number yet living. They are: William H., of this review; John J., of Wyandot county, Ohio; Nettie, the wife of Lewis Muncie: Jennie, who married John Williams; and Cora, the wife of Joseph Eckelbery.
William H. Feltis was reared on the Crawford county farm and edu- cated in the district schools, in which he continued until he was eigh- teen years of age, or thereabouts. He then worked on the farm by the month, and in 1884 he came to Cass county, Indiana, where he again secured work as a farm hand. In 1885 he went to Benton county, Indiana, there working at farm work for the space of four years, his identification with that county covering a period of something like fifteen years. On June 1, 1901, Mr. Feltis moved to the farm which he now occupies, and he has a farm of one hundred and forty acres, devot- ing himself to general farming and stock raising.
On March 25, 1891, Mr. Feltis was united in marriage with Miss Sarah A. Goble, who was born in Hancock county, Indiana, on April 21, 1869. She was educated in the district schools of her native county and came to Jasper county, Indiana, in company with her parents in 1884. She is the daughter of F. M. and Emily (Winslow) Goble, the former of whom was born in Henry county, Indiana, on December 6, 1833, and died in August, 1910. The mother died on September 7, 1905. She was born in North Carolina in 1842 and
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came to Indiana when she was a girl, locating in Henry county. She was married in Raysville county, Indiana, soon after which her hus- band enlisted in the Twenty-second Indiana Light Artillery and served to the close of the war. He was a member of the G. A. R. Mrs. Feltis was one of the eight children of her parents, the others being: Martha ; Flora, the wife of William Hammond, of North Dakota; Mary, who mar- ried John Thornton; Tina, the wife of John Blaze; Edward; Albert; Louie, the wife of Oscar Hurley, of North Dakota.
Mr. and Mrs. Feltis became the parents of seven children, as fol- lows : Murle M., born July 10, 1893, a graduate of the common schools ; Gladys M., born July 13, 1895; Leona M., born on March 7, 1897; George D., born on January 1, 1899; William H., born April 11, 1900; Jerry O., born October 3, 1903, and Junie A., born on June 16, 1905.
Mr. Feltis is progressive in his political tendencies and is one of the leading citizens of his town and township. His family is one that is highly esteemed in the community it claims as its home, and all are giving promise of filling useful places in society as they come into the duties of life.
SAMUEL A. WILLIAMSON. Royal Center has numbered among her citizenship more than a few wealthy retired farmers who have settled down to enjoy the remainder of their lives, content with what they have been able to accumulate in the earlier part of their careers. Among such wise and happy men may be mentioned Samuel A. William- son, one of the well-to-do men of Boone township, in which he made his home for a number of years. He was born in Boone township on September 28, 1858, and is the son of Moses T. and Mary J. (Callahan) Williamson.
Concerning the father of the subject, it may be said at this point that Moses T. Williamson was born in the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio, in the year 1816, and came with his father, Samuel Williamson, into Carroll county, Indiana, in 1829, and there his parents passed their remaining days. Moses T. lived with them until he had reached man's estate, and in 1840 he determined to start out upon an independent career. He accordingly entered a piece of land from the government, with his brother taking up one hundred and sixty acres. This bit of government land formed the nucleus of a much larger holding in later years, and at one time he owned more than a section of land in Cass and White counties, all but eighty acres lying in Boone township. He passed his life on his farm, and was one of the well known men of the county. He was a stanch Republican, always up and doing in the interests of the party, and took a prominent part in its activities all his life. Five children were born to these parents, all of whom still survive, and concerning whom the following brief mention is made: Joseph E. is engaged in farming in Idaho; Elizabeth A. is the wife of John F. Troutman, of Logansport, Indiana; James E. is engaged in teaching in California; and William Andrew, a Kansas farmer. Samuel A., the subject of this review, is the youngest of the five.
The common schools of Boone township gave to Samuel A. William- son such education as he received, and he remained at home with his father until he had reached man's estate. He tried his skill at school
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY
teaching and was thus engaged during one term in Miami township and one in Boone, but he found farm life more pleasing to him and gave up teaching, returning to the farm with his father. On April 5, 1888, he was married to Miss Rosella J. Hughes, the daughter of William and Mary E. Hughes. The young man erected a dwelling house on the farm of his father, and there he and his family lived until five years ago, when he moved into town, since when they have made their home in Royal Center. Mrs. Williamson was born in Jefferson town- ship, near Lake Cicott, and her parents were natives of Ohio and Penn- sylvania. They were farming people and gave their lives to that industry. The father died some years ago. They were the parents of six children, of which number five are now living, as follows: Josephine, Ella, Mrs. Williamson, John Schuyler, who lives with his widowed mother; Etta, who died single, and William.
To Mr. and Mrs. Williamson were born six children, four of whom are yet living : Arthur C. is at home on the farm; Grace E. is dead, as is also Edna M .; Iva L. is the wife of J. Marcus Bliss, of Logansport, Indiana; William M. is in the high school; and Ruth O., a student in the common schools of the home community. Edna M. married Lloyd P. Plotner, of Royal Center, and they had one child, Grace C., who makes her home with the subject, Mrs. Williamson. Mrs. Plotner died Novem- ber 30, 1907.
Mr. Williamson is the owner of some especially valuable farming property in the township, aggregating about three hundred acres, as well as considerable other property in Royal Center. He took the census report of 1910 for Royal Center and for the twelve northeast sections of Boone township. Mr. Williamson is a Republican in his political faith, and his churchly affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is a trustee, and of which his wife is also a member, as well as others of his family.
JOHN W. CLINE, well known among the residents of Boone township, in Cass county, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, on September 30, 1860, and is the son of Joshua and Matilda (Glick) Cline. When John W. Cline was six years old his father died, and his mother married a second time, in September, 1875. Conditions in the home were not the most favorable to the young lad after the advent of a second father, and he was but little more than seven when he began to make his own way, working for his board and clothes. He went to school some, but his education was of a most meager character, and when he was seven- teen years old he began to draw wages, after which he continued to work on a farm until he was twenty-five years old. When he was twenty- seven, in 1887, Mr. Cline married Laura A. Boyer, of Fairfield county, Ohio. They lived in Ohio for a year after their marriage, then came to Cass county, Indiana, and some little time later Mr. Cline made the purchase of an eighty-acre farm. He went in debt for the place, but with the help of his faithful wife they were soon able to clear away the indebtedness, and they eventually made a fine place of the farm.
Mr. and Mrs. Cline have one son, George W., born on November 12, 1892. He is a graduate of the Royal Center high school. They are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of Royal Center, and Mr. Cline
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is a member of Royal Center Lodge No. 585, A. F. & A. M., in which he is past master. He is also a member of Myrtle Lodge No. 567, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is master, past grand, and a member of the grand lodge. He is a Prohibitionist in his political faith, but has never been an office holder. General farming and stock raising occupy his attention for the most part, and he is regarded as one of the most wholesome and substantial citizens in his community.
WILLIAM H. BINGAMAN. The business interests of Royal Center have in a number of ways felt the influence and activity of William H. Bingaman in recent years, and he is today regarded as one of the successful men of the town, wherein he has conducted a hardware busi- ness since 1890. It is true, he established himself in his present connec- tion in a time when he possessed neither money nor a great deal of credit, but his careful methods, progressive ideas and general steadfastness of character have placed him in a position where he today can command an ample supply of both those commodities.
A native son of Boone township, Cass county, William H. Binga- man was born in December, 1860, and his parents were Jacob and Emily (Kistler) Bingaman. The father was a native of Carroll county, In- diana, and the mother was born and reared and passed her life in Boone township. When Jacob Bingaman was a boy he came to Cass county, and here he grew to young manhood and married. He was ever a quiet and home loving man, but one who never shirked his civic duty, and he served Boone township as trustee for three terms, giving praise- worthy service in that office as long as he was associated with it. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and derived a deal of quiet pleasure from his identification with the lodge and his associa- tion with his fellows as a result of his membership. He died on July 4, 1910, his good wife having preceded him some time before. They were the parents of two children, John M. and William H., the subject of this brief review. The former died on April 30, 1912, in the state of Penn- sylvania, where he had made his home for the past twenty years. He married and had a family.
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