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 50
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Mrs. Leffel, daughter of Isaiah W. and Martha T. Krider, was born in Fulton county, Indiana, September 26, 1864. She removed with her father's family to Cass county when four year sold, where she lived continuously until her death, excepting three years spent in Logansport. She was educated in the country schools and at the old Fort Wayne College and De Pauw University. She was married to Edman A. Leffel October 13, 1886. For three years she fought a courageous battle with disease but the grim monster at last was con- queror and at 8:15 o'clock on the morning of October 28, 1907, her redeemed spirit left the emaciated body and went home to heaven.
Mr. Leffel and his son reside in their beautiful home, which is known as "The Pines." Mr. Leffel is a member of the Masonic order at Twelve Mile, Lodge No. 673. He attends the Methodist church, as did also his wife, and he is a liberal contributor to religious and charitable movements.
ROBERT C. HYATT is one of the well known farmers of Galveston, Indiana, where he has lived practically all his life. He is the son of William Henry and Mary J. (Jackson) Hyatt, concerning whom fur- ther mention is made in the sketch of William R. Hyatt, the brother of the subject of this review.
The district schools of Galveston and vicinity furnished practically all the schooling that Robert Hyatt received. He alternated his school attendance with the regular work of the farm as a boy, and so well did he utilize his opportunities for study that he was able to teach in the country schools of Howard and Cass counties. He gave up the work to devote his entire time to farming and has since then been making splendid progress in that line of industry. His farm is a fertile and well developed place of some eighty acres, and yields him, under his careful management, a bountiful income. It is located on the Graves road, about a mile north of Galveston, and is one of the well-kept places of the township.
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Mr. Hyatt is still a young man, his birth having occurred in Ripley county, Indiana, on January 23, 1870, and his accomplishments thus far are well worthy of him. He was postmaster in Galveston for six years, in which office he gave the most efficient service to the patrons of the department. In his farming he gives the preference to stock raising, in which he has been very successful.
Mr. Hyatt was married on Christmas day, 1895, to Minnie Mc- Williams, and they have one child-William Russell. The political affiliations of Mr. Hyatt are with the Republican party, and fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and also a member of Galves- ton Lodge No. 244, F. & A. M. He and his wife are members of the United Brethren church.
PLINY A. GRAVES occupies one of the fine farms of Cass county, situated some two and a half miles north of Galveston on what is known as the Graves road, and comprising one hundred and thirteen and a half acres of the most fertile and productive soil in the county. He has lived all his life in this community, his birth having taken place on his father's farm about a half mile distant from his present property. He was born on the 12th day of November, 1870, and is the son of James F. and Rebecca (Stanley) Graves. The father was born in Decatur county, on the 3d of July, 1837, and came to Cass county with his parents in 1849, and in 1856 located on the land where his son, Pliny A., now lives. He later bought a farm of his own and married, establishing a home there, and he and his wife became the parents of four children, of which number the two eldest-Charles and Lenora-are deceased.
Pliny A. Graves, the youngest child of his parents, attended the Graves school, so called, and later finished his schooling at Galveston. He worked on the farm with his father between schools seasons, continuing at home until he married in 1896, on the 26th of February. He married Eva, the daughter of Joseph and Almena (Misener) Lutz, who came from Pennsylvania, and were of Dutch ancestry. The father was a mere boy when he came from his native state to Indiana, and here passed the greater part of his life, devoted to farming. He was born on January 7, 1827, and died in 1903. Mr. Lutz came to Cass county in 1856, took up forty acres of government land and set about clearing it. In 1859 he moved on his own farm. To this worthy pioneer is accorded the credit for making one of the first roads ever built in this township. He built a cabin in the forest for his family, performing all the work himself, and lived a life of usefulness in Cass county until the day of his death. He was the father of eight children, as follows: Lucinda ; Mary E .; Elizabeth ; Frank J .; Stephen A .; Valla, deceased; William C .; Eva M. ; and Minnie.
Mr. and Mrs. Graves have three children, of whom brief mention is here made. Nina, the eldest, died at the age of fourteen years, and is buried at Galveston ; she was born on February 17, 1897; Carmen, born August 9, 1905 ; and Josie R., born March 14, 1907.
Mrs. Graves is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which she is especially prominent and active in all departments of its work.
Mr. Graves is known for one of the substantial men of the community,
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and is most successful as a farmer and stock raiser, enjoying the friend- ship of a wide circle of acquaintances in and about Galveston, and occupying a secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community at large, in which he was born and reared.
WILLIAM E. COUNTRYMAN for a number of years past has successfully engaged in raising the general crops of the locality and in producing a number of cattle and other live stock. His record in business and in citizenship has been marked with a most solid integrity, and honorable in his dealings and esteemed among his fellow citizens, he is one of the foremost men of Jackson township.
William E. Countryman was born on the homestead farm in Jackson township, section 13, on November 9, 1860, the son of Isaiah and Sarah (Crull) Countryman. His father came from Highland county, Ohio, being eighteen years of age when he located in Jackson township. The four children in the parents' family were named Lucetta, now deceased ; John A., William E. and Jennie Gore.
The schooling with which Mr. Countryman was prepared from first to last was received in the Cass county schools, after which he took up the work of the farm and was his father's assistant for some years. Since then he has acquired proprietorship of the old J. T. Howard farm, sec- tion 9, Jackson township, and is now conducting it successfully for the raising of stock.
Mr. Countryman was married June 26, 1861, to Miss Sarah Haward, a daughter of J. T. and Elizabeth (Bickell) Haward. Her father came to Indiana from Clarke county, Ohio, where he was born and reared. Mr. and Mrs. Countryman are the parents of two children: Maud is a graduate of the grade and high schools and has been a successful teacher; she now resides at home; Claude H. is also through school and is still with the home people. Mr. Countryman is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and is a member of the Universalist church.
DAVID A. AMAN, one of the best known farming men in Cass county, in which he has lived for the past sixty years, was born in Ohio, in December, 1847, and is the son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Myers) Aman. The father, Andrew Aman, came from Germany with his wife, where both were born and reared, and settling in Ohio, they reared a family of eight children, all of whom are now deceased with the excep- tion of the two youngest born, John and David of this review. The others were named: Jacob, Michael, William, George, Andrew and Mary E.
When David Aman was about four years old the family migrated to Logansport, Indiana, and there they made their home. The father rented land in Washington township and occupied himself with farming for the remainder of his life. David Aman attended school when he might, but the greater part of his time and energies were devoted to the farm during his boyhood days, and when he reached man's estate he took up farming upon his own responsibility. When he married he acquired a farm of some ninety acres, upon which he lived during the years in which he was rearing his family, and when his five children
I
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had reached years of maturity he sold that place and divided the pro- ceeds among them. Later he bought his present ninety acres upon which he is spending the closing years of his life. He has all his life been accustomed to toil and has lived a quiet, wholesome life, but one that has been characterized by an influence for good that is always to be found in the unpretentious activities of a man of his stamp.
In 1871, April 11th, Mr. Aman married Mary E. Hunter, and to them five children have been born. Rose, the eldest, died as the wife of Frank Kerry, leaving one child, Olliver Kerry. Hattie married Walter Mckibben, and they became the parents of two children, Ethel and Everett; she at present time is the wife of Harvey Gotschall. Ella, the third born child of David Aman and his wife, married Edgar Phil- lip, and they had two children, Edith and Russell. Alvin W. married Grace Sperry, and they have four children. Bessie is the fifth born child of the Aman family, and is the wife of Harvey Snyder.
JOHN GALBREATH is one of the old established farming men of Gal- veston, where he has lived for twenty-eight years. He is the owner of a well cared for and productive farm of eighty acres which has repre- sented his home here for many years, and he is regarded as one of the substantial farmers of the township.
Born on December 11, 1834, in Darke county, Ohio, Mr. Galbreath is the son of Joseph and Eliza (Bricker) Galbreath. The father came to Indiana from Ohio, his native state, in 1839 and settled in the vicinity of Warsaw, bringing with him his family. He reared ten children in his home, the first in order of birth being John, the subject of this review : the others are : Martin, Charlotte, Nancy, Jane, William, Frank, Samuel, Lafayette and Byron.
John Galbreath was reared on a farm and attended the country schools in his boyhood. While yet in his teens he was occupied for some time in teaching in the district schools of his county, but when he was thirty-four he married and returned to farm life. He married Annie Wagner, who was born on March 15, 1840, near Bellefontaine, Ohio, where she lived until her marriage. She was the daughter of Isaac and Nancy (Firestone) Wagner, the father a native of Xenia, Ohio, and the mother of an old Virginia family. Isaac Wagner passed his life in Bellefontaine as a farmer.
Four children were born to John Galbreath and his wife, of whom the following mention is made: Fay, the first born, married Philip Noel, and they have two children, Claude and Vivian. Ida is unmar- ried, and is engaged as a teacher in the public schools of Columbia City. Ada is the wife of Lonis Graham, and to them four children have been born : Victor L., Wahnita, Helena and Ruth. Minnie, the fourth born and youngest of the family, is the wife of John Burrows, now deceased.
Mr. Galbreath has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for many years, and affiliates with the Universalist church. He is a man of the most estimable character and one who has won and held the confidence and high regard of all who have come to know him in the years which he has passed in Jackson township as a citizen and farmer.
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WILLIAM A. PATTERSON, who has gained some prominence as a farmer and stock-raiser in Jackson township, was born on the old Patterson homestead in Jackson township, Cass county, on the 23d of February, 1849, and is the son of James and Catherine (Sprinkle) Patterson. The father, James Patterson, came from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, in 1841, and later made his way to Cass county, where he passed his remain- ing days. He was a farmer, and reared a family of six children, as fol- lows: Mrs. Amanda Weaver; William A. of this review; Elmyra, now deceased ; Benjamin, also dead; Mrs. Louisa Steward, who has three children, Sadie, Oney and Mary; and George W., who married Mary Crull lives in Galveston, and they have six children, as follows: Frank ; Reed ; John; Pearl; Myrl and Burr.
William Patterson worked on the home farm during these years in which he attended the country schools, and when he was eighteen years of age he commenced to "shift for himself," as the old familiar saying has it. He was without capital at that time, and as he resolved to farm, he rented a place, which served him well until he was able to purchase a place of his own. He now has a fine place of one hundred and twenty acres of the most fertile land in Cass county, as well as another place of some one hundred and fifty acres of equally desirable land. He has prospered with the passing years, and is regarded as being a wise and skillful farmer.
In 1875 he married Miss Juniatta Van Buskirk, the daughter of Elisha and Martha (James) Van Buskirk. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Patterson : Harry, the eldest, is deceased; Benjamin: Sarah, the wife of B. F. Conwell ; Anna, married William Stine; Grace, living at home ; and Charles O., who married Miss Edith Shope, and has three children, Edgar, Felma and Elma. The Pattersons have no church affiliations, being rather inclined to the attitude of free thought, and subscribing to no set religious belief. They are highly esteemed among the best citizens of the community, and are in every way worthy of the position they hold.
GEORGE W. SEYBOLD, directing head of the great mercantile estab- lishment of Seybold Dry Goods Company, has been connected with the dry goods business in Logansport for more than forty years. Com- mencing in the humblest position, he mastered its many details, and continued in the business until he attained at length a commanding position among the enterprising dealers in Logansport, and has been able to hold it amid the strong competition which increasing capital and trade has brought to the city. His success has been due alone to his energetic character and business capacity, for he began life without pecuniary assistance or the aid of family or other favoring influences. Mr. Seybold was born at Dayton, Ohio, April 30, 1850, and is a son of John G. and Ursula (Munger) Seybold, and a grandson of John G. and Jacobenia (Fulmer) Seybold.
John G. Seybold, the father, was born September 11, 1824, in Mont- gomery county, Ohio, near the city of Dayton, and was there reared to manhood. Early in life he turned his attention to agricultural pur- suits, and this has been his vocation throughout life, with the excep- tion of four years when he was engaged in the brewing business in
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Dayton. He was married July 19, 1849, to Ursula Unger, and in 1864, with his family, came to Cass county, Indiana, locating on what is known as the Seybold farm, south of Logansport. There he owns 300 acres of finely improved land, and no citizen in his section stands higher in general esteem. Mr. Seybold has always ardently sup- ported Republican principles. His wife was born in Germany, and as a young woman accompanied her parents to the United States, the family settling in Ohio, where she met and married Mr. Seybold. Eleven children were born to this union, namely: George W., Sarah J., Rosetta, J. Byron, Mary A., Joseph A., Henry Sylvester, Charles, Oscar M., Ira and Clara.
George W. Seybold was one year old when his parents removed to Darke county, Ohio, and when fourteen years of age was brought to Cass county, Indiana. Here he spent several months in the district schools to complete his education, and also attended Hall's Business College, after graduating from which he returned to the home farm in Washington township, there assisting his father until he was twenty- two years of age. At that time he became a clerk in the store of Jacob Wiler, at a salary of $3.50 per week, and, as his board was $4.50 per week, he was compelled to use a part of his scanty savings while learn- ing the business. Coming to the store a country boy, unsophisticated and unlearned, with a knowledge of naught but hard work and close attention to business, he was derided by his fellow-workers for his countrified ways, and laughed at for the hard work he made of every- thing. The youth was possessed of good common sense, however, passed these criticisms by for what they were worth, and at the end of the first year had the satisfaction of seeing the vindication of his labor, for his wages by that time had grown to $50.00 per month. He continued four and one-half years with Mr. Wiler, and then went to LaFayette as manager of the branch store of Wise & Wiler, where he remained seven months, then returning to Logansport to enter business on his own account. With a carefully saved capital of $900, the country youth of but five years before managed to secure $4,000 worth of goods on credit, and with this established himself in business as the proprietor of a dry goods store in November, 1877, at No. 313 Market street. Dur- ing the seven years that he remained there he entered so deeply into the confidence and esteem of the people that his little place of busi- ness became one of the most popular in the city. In 1884 he admitted one of his brothers, J. Abner Seybold, to a working partnership, and in that year the business was removed to 317-319-321 Market street, where it has continued ever since. This has become the most impor- tant store of its kind in Logansport, and one of the leading ones in northern Indiana. It is operated as a department store, occupying three stories and a basement, the latter as a storeroom, this department feature having been inaugurated in 1897. About the year 1888 Oscar M. Seybold, another brother, was admitted to partnership, and he con- tinued to be connected with the firm until his death, June 6, 1911. A stock valued anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000, in dry goods, carpets, house furnishings, etc., is carried, and a business of approximately $225,000 is done annually. In January, 1904, the business was incor- porated under the style of Seybold Dry Goods Company with a capital
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stock of $60,000. Mr. Seybold has never known the time, from when he first entered business, that he has not been able to meet his obliga- tions as they have matured, and never has his credit been questioned. The rules that have spelled for success in his case have been hard work, intelligently directed, good native business qualifications and the mastering and constant attention to the many details of his business. It is but natural that this business, being of his own creation, should enlist the greater part of his attention, but a man of such abilities can- not escape being drawn into other large enterprises, and it has been so in Mr. Seybold's case. He was one of the organizers of the Logans- port State Bank, and on its establishment, in May, 1893, was chosen its president, a capacity in which he acted for four years, when he retired to accept the vice presidency, as other business interests would not permit him to give his attention to the office. He directed its policies in such an able manner that he popularized its coffers, won the confidence of the banking public, and made the institution one of the foremost in northern Indiana. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and in politics may be said to be a Republican with progressive tendencies.
Mr. Seybold was married August 30, 1882, to Miss Alice R. Whit- more, of Logansport.
Henry Sylvester Seybold was born in Darke county, Ohio, son of John G. and Ursula (Unger) Seybold, August 23, 1862. He accom- panied his parents to Cass county in 1864, and was reared on the home farm, securing his education in the district schools and Hall's Business College. When twenty-one years of age he started helping his father on the farm for wages, but after six years, in 1891, became a clerk in his brother's store in Logansport, and in 1904 was admitted to partnership in the business, with which he has since been connected. He was married June 26, 1895, to Miss Nellie Bevan, and they had two children : Theresa, who died aged two and one-half years, and Howard.
FRANK R. MORRISON. One of the best known and most popular men in Galveston is Frank R. Morrison, postmaster here for the past eight years, and actively engaged in the painting business. His genial and wholesouled nature has won him innumerable friends in the years of his residence here, and his position in the community is one of the most pleasing order. He is a native son of the state of Wisconsin, born in Richland Center, Richland county, that state, on the 28th of July, 1872, and is a son of F. M. and Maria (Hoskins) Morrison, the former of whom was born in Darke county, Ohio. They have reared a fine family of four children, namely : Mrs. Aura Shelley; Frank R. of this review ; Mrs. Anna McKibbin ; and Mrs. Mabel Armstrong.
Frank R. Morrison in his boyhood and youth attended the common schools of his native community, after which he was employed as a clerk in a store for some years. When he was about twenty-two years old the calm and quiet of his country existence began to pall upon the man, young and vigorous and full of fire and life, and he went to the western states, spending something like two years in the strenuous life of the ranchman, after which he returned to Galveston, where he had become established prior to his departure for western adventures, and here he
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became engaged in the painting business. Trying it out as a venture, . Mr. Morrison found the enterprise a lucrative one, and he continued to conduct a thriving trade in the work. Mr. Morrison was appointed postmaster at Galveston, receiving his appointment under President Roosevelt, and he is still in charge of that office, the duties of which he has discharged in the most painstaking and efficient manner, and winning the confidence of all who know him in his official capacity.
On May 30, 1900, Mr. Morrison married Miss Gertrude Doran and they have one son, Harry. Mr. Morrison is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, while he and his wife are members of the Methodist church. The family is one that is both popular and prominent in local social circles, and their home is a center of hospitality in Galveston.
JOHN MARTIN. Any history of Cass county would indeed be incom- plete that did not make mention of John Martin, who has passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey, and who for many years was identified with the agricultural interests of Deer Creek township. Mr. Martin's career has ever been one in which business activity has been blended with unbending honor and unflinching integrity, and success has come to him as the result not only of indefatigable industry, but also of honorable and straightforward dealing. His career is one worthy of emulation by aspiring youths who would reach positions of independ- ence in a material way and justly command the respect of their fellow men. Although now living retired from active pursuits, enjoying the fruits of his years of labor, Mr. Martin still displays a lively interest in the welfare of his community and contributes in no small manner to the advancement of Deer Creek township.
John Martin was born June 13, 1828. in Butler county, Ohio, near Hamilton, and is a son of John and Margaret (Ward) Martin. His father, a farmer by vocation, brought the family to Carroll county, Indiana, there being ten children, of whom John is the only survivor. John Martin secured his education in the common schools of Carroll county, and assisted his father until the latter's death, at which time he embarked upon a career of his own. He came to Cass county in 1844, settling in Deer Creek township, where he bought a small tract of land, and to this he added from time to time until he was the owner of 150 acres. This he continued to operate until his retirement, in 1906, since which time he has lived in his comfortable residence at Galveston. Mr. Martin was successful in his general farming and stock raising operations, and his success was gained through no questionable methods. On the contrary, he was known as a man who would never take advantage of another's needs, but, having succeeded himself, was ever ready to lend to others an assisting hand. Highly esteemed by all who know him, the uniform regard in which he is held is a tribute to an upright life. For years he has been a valued member of the Masonic fraternity, and is connected religiously with the Methodist Episcopal church, the move- ments of which he has always liberally supported.
On September 30, 1850, Mr. Martin was united in marriage with Miss Mary Campbell, daughter of James and Martha (Bryant) Camp- bell. One child has been born to this union: Lamartine, residing on
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