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 59
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William H. H. Tucker passed his boyhood and youth as was cus- tomary with farmers' sons of his day and locality, dividing his time between attendance at the district schools in the short winter terms, while assisting his father in clearing, grubbing and general farm work in the summer months. When he was but twenty-one years of age the management of the estate of his father devolved upon him, but so thor- ough had been his training and of such a high character was his ambi- tion and ability that he was able to uninterruptedly continue the work that had been started by his father. As the years passed, he added to his acreage and made numerous improvements on the property, develop- ing one of the handsome farms of his section, but when advancing years came on he was ready to turn over the heavy duties of management to younger hands and to retire to the peaceful quietude of his comfort- able home. Mr. Tucker was known as an excellent farmer and good judge of stock, and was uniformly successful in all of his ventures.
On October 6, 1859, Mr. Tucker was married to Mary E. Grimes, who was born September 21, 1843, near Liberty, Union county, Indiana, daughter of George W. and Mary (Snyder) Grimes. George W. Grimes was born and educated in Tennessee, near Greenville, and shortly after his marriage came to Union county, Indiana. In 1856 he came to Cass county, and here spent the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits.
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Mr. and Mrs. Grimes were the parents of ten children: William and Sarah J., who are deceased; Nancy A., widow of Peter Bird, who has three children-Monroe, George A. and Mary Ellmore; John W. and Mrs. Elizabeth Martin, both deceased; Mary E., who married Mr. Tucker; George R., deceased; James P., a resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana; Mrs. Eliza J. Evans, of Linden, Indiana; and Thomas B., of LaFayette, Indiana. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Tucker, as follows: Mary C., who married David Lichty, both being deceased; Nettie S., deceased, who was the wife of Joseph Whinnery, and had one child-Naomi S., now the wife of George Vanstenburg; Sherman L., who married Anna Fidler and has two children-LeRoy and Mabel; the Rev. James G., a Methodist Episcopal minister, who married Ota Corlis, and has one child-John C .; William Albert, who married Estella Bellman, and has two children-Verna Mae and Albert B .; and Ernest, who married Amy Snell, who died without issue.
Mr. Tucker was for many years active in Republican politics and was frequently elected to public offices of trust and responsibility, large majorities giving evidence of his widespread popularity. In 1912 he cast his fortunes with the young Progressive party, the policies and can- didates of which have since received his support. With his family, he attends the United Brethren church.
M. H. HUFFMAN. As the efficient and successful manager of the Stutesman farm, one of the fine places of the county, lying in section 27 and section 28 of Tipton township, M. H. Huffman carries on the re- sponsible duties of a farmer, and is one of the best known men thus occupied in Cass county. Like many another successful and prosperous man, he began his business career with a period of school teaching, but for the past fifteen years he has been identified with the rural industry and interests of Cass county, and while the county lost a capable and conscientious educator, it gained one of its most able agricultural men instead. A man of the highest integrity, his record in all departments of life has been an honorable one and in every way well up to standard. Men of his stamp have ever constituted much of the bone and sinew of the country, and wherever found will be accorded the esteem which they so well deserve.
M. H. Huffman was born on July 26, 1874, in Hamilton county, Indiana, and is the son of A. J. and Martha (Boyer) Huffman. The father was formerly a resident of Madison county, Indiana, and his occupation during his active career was that of farming. He never resided in Cass county, but ended his days in Hamilton county. He was a Union soldier in the Civil war, seeing much service throughout, and making a valiant record first in the Indiana Infantry, the Thirty-ninth, and later in the Eight Indiana Cavalry. His service continued through- out the war, and he arose to the rank of lieutenant in his cavalry troop, winning distinction for valor in the field on a number of occa- sions. The five children of the family who are now living are as fol- lows: Linnie, Albert, John, M. H., and Dollie.
Mr. Huffman attended the common schools of his native community, after which he took a preparatory course at Mount Morris, Illinois, be- coming well equipped for the duties of a teacher in that place. His
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career in the educational field continued for three years, one year of that time finding him employed in Cass county, but he abandoned the vocation wherein he had already made a successful record and turned his attention to farming.
In 1897 he was united in marriage with Miss Carrie Stutesman, a daughter of Albertus and Mary Jane (Peterbaugh) Stutesman, and six children have been born of their union: Leland B .; Esther J .; Lawrence; Ralph; Russell and John Paul. Mr. Huffman and his fam- ily are communicants and supporters of the Church of the Brethren at Pipe Creek, and are prominent in other circles in their community.
GEORGE STRECKER, who died in Logansport, Indiana, on September 16, 1902, was a native of Wittenburg, Germany, born there on March 22, 1840. As a boy in Germany he attended the German Lutheran Parochial schools, and there also learned the trade of a baker. He was sixteen years old when he emigrated to America, even at that early age being impressed with the ideas that he would here find better opportunities for material advancement than would be his in the Fatherland. He had an uncle living in Crawfordsville, In- diana, and that circumstance caused him to make Indiana his objective point when he arrived in New York. For six years he made Crawfords- ville his home, there working at his trade and becoming acquainted with business methods in America, and in 1862 he returned to Germany, returning to the United States at the end of a year. This time he located in Jackson, Michigan, and for two years he worked at his trade in that city. In 1865 he came to Logansport, Indiana, working here for Mr. Coulson for one year.
During all these years of work he had saved carefully from his weekly stipend, and when he was about twenty-six or twenty-seven he concluded that he had saved sufficient to warrant him in establishing a home of his own. In his boyhood home he had been reared in the neighborhood which also held the family of Wilhelm Schue, and in this family was a comely daughter, Rosina, who had been the sweetheart of the boy before he left home. In 1866 she came to America and on October 16th of that year she met and married George Strecker at Buffalo, New York. They came at once to Logansport, and in Novem- ber, 1866, they bought a bakery shop at No. 324 Fourth street. The building at that time was not more than a dilapidated old store build- ing, and Mr. Strecker tore down the old structure, rearing a new one in its place, for doing which he received eight years' rent free from the owner of the property. Above the shop Mr. and Mrs. Strecker made their home. In December, 1868, he sold out his interest and in the spring of 1869 bought a bakery at Fourth street and Broadway, and there they conducted a thriving business for two years. He then sold again and bought the property at Fourth and Market streets, on which he erected a fine new building, which stands today as originally reared by him. Here for a period of eight years Mr. Strecker conducted a bakery, after which he sold the shop, but retained the ownership of the building, and with his wife and children returned to Germany, with the possible thought of making that their future home. The call of America proved too strong for them however, and at the end of a year
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and a half the family returned to Logansport, and once more resumed the bakery business at the old place at Fourth and Market streets. Later Mr. Strecker built another store at Twelfth and Spear streets, where they conducted a splendid business for seventeen years, the family occupying an apartment over the shop.
In 1895 Mr. Strecker established his sons in business and retired from active participation in the work himself, but he continued, however, to take a keen interest in business, and when he felt so inclined would enter into the work with all the vim and energy of his early days. His resi- dence in Logansport was continuous with the single exception of a three year period which the family spent in Andrews, Indiana, where they were engaged in the hotel business, this break occurring in the early part of their residence at Twelfth and Spear streets.
The splendid success which Mr. Strecker achieved in his business is especially worthy of commendation, and is a fit example for the youth of America, many of whom accomplish less with greater advantages and facilities at hand in early youth than Mr. Strecker possessed. A boy of sixteen in a strange land, unable to speak the language, and without a penny at his command, he made rapid strides in the business field, and when he died at the age of sixty-two he was possessed of considerable wealth and a thriving business, which his sons are carrying on at the present time. Energy, determination and a characteristic German thriftiness all entered into the making of his splendid prosperity, and he was known to be one of the shrewdest investors to be found in the com- munity. While he had the reputation of being what is called a "close figurer" in business dealings, yet he was known to be kind and charitable at heart, and no worthy cause ever lacked his support. His chiefest characteristics were honesty, industry and unostentatious charity. He was a German Lutheran in his religion and a Republican with regard to his political faith. He died on September 16, 1902.
Mr. and Mrs. Strecker had seven children, as follows: Henry, who died in infancy; George, now in business in Logansport; Rose, now Mrs. Edward Battenberg, of Bloomington, Illinois; Charles, whose home is in Logansport; Amelia, married to William Schroeder, and who died January 6, 1909; Kathrin and Daisy. Mrs. Strecker, the widowed mother, still lives in Logansport, and enjoys the friendship of a large circle of the best people of the city. She is a German Lutheran and a member of that church.
GEORGE STRECKER, JR., was born in Logansport, Indiana, on November 12, 1868, and was here reared and educated in the public schools. He is the son of George and Rosina (Schue) Strecker, both native born Germans, of whom more extended mention is made in another sketch dedicated to the late George Strecker, to be found in other pages of this historical and biographical work. Further detail with regard to the parentage and ancestry of the subject are there- fore not deemed requisite in this connection, and the account is carried forward with a direct relation of his life thus far in a brief and concise manner.
When he had completed the curriculum of the public schools of Logansport, George Strecker, Jr., attended Hall's Business College for
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a term. He subsequently learned the baker's trade with his father, and when that worthy gentleman retired, the son succeeded him in the old established business. In the course of time Mr. Strecker sold out and re-established himself in business on various occasions, until in the year 1894, when he permanently located in business at No. 8 Front street. Here he opened a bake shop with one oven, and while the capac- ity of the shop was small, by judicious management of the shop, and carrying on both a wholesale and retail business, his trade reached a point in 1895 that made necessary the securing of more spacious quar- ters. Then he located at No. 508 Broadway, operating one oven to September, 1902, when he moved to No. 520-22 Broadway, built by his father and there his retail establishment has since been located. In order to successfully meet the constant increase in his trade, a large brick bakery was built at the corner of Canal and McKeen streets, 90x 165 feet. This plant operates three ovens and has seven wagons in con- stant use, supplying not only Logansport, but the surrounding towns for miles around. Twenty-five hands are required in the operation of the bakery in all its departments, and it is recognized as one of the stable industries of the city.
Mr. Strecker is a prominent member of various fraternal orders in Logansport, among them the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is an adherent of the new Progressive, or Bull Moose faction, in politics, and takes an active part in the polit- ical activities of the city.
On November 26, 1896, Mr. Strecker was united in marriage with Leona Hoffman, the daughter of George Hoffman, of Logansport, and three children have been born to them; Harry Strecker, deceased; Paul Strecker and George Strecker III.
MERRITT W. BURLEY. Probably there is no better known family within the limits of Cass county than that of Burley, whose members have been identified with the agricultural interests of this section for ' more than eighty-five years, as well as with other matters which have added to the importance of the community. A worthy representative of this name is found in Merritt W. Burley, of section 27, Jefferson township, who has contributed his share to the material welfare of the county and is widely known as an able farmer and stock raiser. Mr. Burley was born December 8, 1860, in Burley's Hollow, Cass county, Indiana, and is a son of Joseph A. and Hattie (Burkett) Burley.
John Burley, the great-grandfather of Merritt W. Burley, was a resident of Virginia, where he followed the occupation of a boatman on the Ohio and Shenandoah rivers, near to Harpers Ferry, and while in pursuit of his vocation he met his death by accidental drown- ing near the Ferry. He married Margaret Harper, who was sole heir to Harper's Ferry, and they became the parents of three sons, one of them being Thornton Burley, the grandfather of Merritt W. Bur- ley. Margaret (Harper) Burley was thrice married. Her second husband was named Simes and her third husband was of the name of Downs.
Thornton Burley was very young when he was apprenticed or bound out to a harness maker in Ohio, and there he learned the har-
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ness making trade. He was young when he married Polly Connors in that state, and in 1827 they came to Indiana, locating in what is known to this day as Burley's Hollow, where Mr. Burley continued to reside until his death, which took place at the remarkablel age of ninety-eight. He was the father of seven children by his first mar- riage: Edgar, Thornton, Joseph A., William, Marshall, Mary and Jane A. Burley. His second wife was Nancy Rohen, and she bore him one child, Ella Burley.
Joesph A. Burley was born in Ohio, and he was two years old when he was brought to Cass county by his family. Here he grew to manhood, was twice married, and made his home for twenty-five or thirty years, when he moved to White county and lived there until the death of his second wife, at which time he returned to Cass county and here spent the remainder of his life. He was the father of one child by his first wife, who was Hattie Burkett, and that child was Merritt W. Burley of this review. His second wife was Emma Swine- hart and to them six children were born, as follows: Charles E., Harry, Joseph S., Harvey C., Jennie and Eben W. Burley.
Merritt W. Burley was a small child when taken to Logansport and there he secured the advantages offered by the public and high schools. Succeeding this, he took a course in Hull's Business College, from which he was graduated in bookkeeping and for some years thereafter was connected with various establishments in that capacity. About twenty years ago, however, Mr. Burley returned to the soil and has since met with marked success in his farming and stock raising operations.
His well developed land, situated on section 27, has been made valu- able by the introduction of numerous improvements, including a mod- ern home, a substantial barn, and other attractive outbuildings. Modern methods have always found favor in his eyes. He employs the latest machinery and finds that his high-powered automobile is adapted not only to pleasure trips, but is also a great help in his- busi- ness. His fair and honorable dealings have won him many friend- ships, and the esteem and confidence in which he is held everywhere is ample evidence of his integrity.
On March 21, 1892, Mr. Burley was united in marriage with Miss Iva Binney, a daughter of Levi Binney, a well known citizen of Cass county. They have no children. Until the campaign of 1912 Mr. Burley supported Republican candidates and principles, but at that time transferred his allegiance to the new Progressive party.
GEORGE G. HUBLER. One of the old and honored families of Cass county is that of Hubler, which for many years has been identified with the agricultural interests of Deer Creek township. Among the repre- sentatives of the younger generation of this name, one who is worthily maintaining the family reputation for industry and progress is George G. Hubler, who is managing his father's farm of 120 acres, located on the Pound stone road, not far from Young America. Mr. Hubler's success as an agriculturist may be accredited to his energy and in- dustrious habits, and to the fact that he is thoroughly conversant with conditions in this locality, having been a resident of the township all of
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his life. He was born on this farm, June 19, 1880, and is a son of William and Nellie (Risher) Hubler. His father, a native of Pennsyl- vania, left the Keystone State as a young man and migrated to Cass county, where he is now living a somewhat retired life. He has been successful in his business operations and is accounted one of the sub- stantial men of his community. Mr. Hubler was married in Cass county to Nellie Risher, a native of Ohio, and they have been the par- ents of eight children, of whom four survive, namely: Charles O., Mrs. Cora Frier, George C. and Mrs. Ethel McClosky.
George C. Hubler began his training as an agriculturist as soon as he was able to do his share of the homestead chores, and was thoroughly acquainted with all the duties of the farmer by his father. He con- tinued to work during his school period, his education being secured in Young America, and when he had completed his studies gave all of his attention to the home place. On attaining his majority, the man- agement of the farm was turned over to him, and he has justified the confidence reposed in his ability by bringing the land to a high state of cultivation, making numerous improvements, and achieving a full measure of success along all lines of agricultural work. He carries on general farming and stock raising, doing some dairying and raising diversified crops. He brings to his work a thorough and practical knowl- edge of the needs of the soil, and relies upon modern scientific methods rather than upon the hit-or-miss style of former days. Sober and industrious, he has gained a wide friendship among his fellow-citizens, and everywhere is known as one in whom the agricultural interests of the community have an excellent representative.
On March 12, 1907, Mr. Hubler was united in marriage with Miss Grace Ulerich, daughter of John B. and Saralı (Keever) Ulerich, who came from Lancaster county, Ohio, to Cass county at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Ulerich had seven children, namely: Joseph, George, Edward, Grace, Andrew, Mary and Amanda. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hubler has been blessed by the birth of three interesting children : William, Ruth and Edward. Mr. Hubler is a popular mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias and of the local lodge of the Masonic fraternity. With his wife he at- tends the United Brethren church. They have many friends in social circles of Young America, and their comfortable home is a center of refinement and hospitality.
ARTHUR S. BOYER. The contracting and building business in Cass county has found in Arthur S. Boyer one of its most successful adherents and operators, and for the past ten years he has been identified with that field of activity in a most striking manner. His operations have long since extended beyond the confines of Cass county, and he employs an average force of twenty men in carrying forward the work of his contracts. He is one of the substantial business men of Logansport and the county, and it is such as he who have been most effective in the development of this section of the state to its present splendid con- dition. Born in the town of Walton, Cass county, Indiana, on March 19, 1875, Arthur S. Boyer is one of the three children born to George W. and Mary E. (Masters) Boyer.
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Concerning the parentage of the subject, it may be said here that George W. Boyer is one of the oldest native born citizens of Cass county, Indiana, his birth having occurred at Walton on January 12, 1848. He is the son of Peter Boyer, a native of the state of Virginia, who came to Cass county in 1840, and here followed farming for the remainder of his life. In 1847 that worthy gentleman married Mary Small, who was a native product of Ohio and came with her parents to this county in 1842. Four sons and three daughters were born to Peter and Mary Boyer, and of that number but three are living today. George W. Boyer was one of these, and he passed his youth and early manhood with his parents. During those years he received the educa- tional benefits conferred by the early schools of that time. He learned the carpenter's trade, and has, for the most part, followed that work ever since. To his marriage with Mary E. Masters, daughter of James W. and Martha J. Masters, solemnized on March 20, 1873, three chil- dren have been born: Arthur S., the subject of this brief review, born March 19, 1875; Annie R., now Mrs. Shaver, of Walton, Indiana, born on December 6, 1879; and Lanford P., born July 12, 1882, a carpenter at Logansport.
Mr. Boyer is a Methodist in his religious belief, a Prohibitionist in politics, and socially is a member of the A. F. & A. M.
Arthur S. Boyer was reared in Tipton township, and there received his early education in the district schools. He began to learn the carpenter's trade when he was sixteen years old under the able in- struction of his father, and continued with him for two years, when the family moved to Logansport. There Mr. Boyer finished learning his trade with the Thompson Lumber Company and in 1902 established himself in business as a carpenter contractor. Mr. Boyer has since continued successfully in the business, which he has conducted on an increasing scale, and today his operations extend far beyond the limita- tions of Cass county. He employs a force of some twenty men and his annual business aggregates some $40,000.
On March 20, 1895, Mr. Boyer was united in marriage with Sarah E. Congdon, of Logansport, and they have one son, Clarence A. Boyer. Mr. and Mrs. Boyer are members of the Wheatland Avenue Methodist Episcopal church, and he is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masons. He was twice senior warden, three times worthy master and seven years secretary of Tipton Lodge No. 33, A. F. & A. M., and has long enjoyed the confidence and es- teem of a large circle of friends and acquaintances in and about Logans- port, where he is known for one of the sound and reliable business men of the city and a citizen of distinctive order and merit.
HON. MARCUS W. COLLETT who served four years as a distinguished member of the Indiana state senate, and is president of the Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Logansport, may justly be num- bered with the representative men of Cass county. For a number of years agricultural industries claimed a large part of his atten- tion and business enterprises were financed and carried on through his well-applied energy, his whole life having been one of activity and of both public and private usefulness and accomplishment. Largely
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it has been a peaceful one but his courage and patriotism were tested before his boyhood was over, and warfare and danger surrounded him during the closing years of the Civil war, in which he proudly wore a uniform of Union blue and did it credit. Mr. Collett was born in Miami county, Indiana, February 6, 1847, one of the four children (of whom three are still living) of William and Susanna (Color) Col- lett. The mother died in 1855, and the father afterwards married Mary Brower, by whom he became the parent of four children, all of whom are living. William Collett passed away in 1881, and was fol- lowed to the grave by his widow in 1912. He was a farmer by vocation, an occupation which he followed throughout life, was a Republican in his political views, and a German Baptist, or "Dunkard," by religion. He started life with no means, but by hard and industrious labor, con- stant thrift and well directed energy, accumulated a fair competency.
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