USA > Indiana > Clinton County > History of Clinton County, Indiana : With historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families, Volume II > Part 42
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Mr. Peter was born on the old homestead in Clinton county, January 19. 1869. He is a son of Franklin Peter who was born in Butler county, Ohio, near the city of Oxford, in 1829. From there he came to Indiana in 1832. He was a son of Henry Peter, who was born September 3. 1804. in Pennsyl- vania : he was a son of William Peter, Jr., also a native of that state, born 1779. The latter was a son of William Peter, Sr., born in 1756, a son of Rudolph Peter, one of three brothers, natives of Switzerland, who emigrated to the United States, here founding the Peter family which is now very numerous. They emigrated here in the year 1743, locating in Pennsylvania. Rudolph was a hatter by trade, having bought land which he paid for by making fine wool hats. The Peter family have always been Lutherans in their religious faith, and noted for their piety as well as industry. It was their custom to have their children baptised when one month old.
Franklin Peter, father of our subject, moved with his parents in 1832
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to Indiana, making the trip by wagon, establishing their home under a huge oak tree upon their arrival in the new country. But being thrifty they had a good home in due course of time. The following children were born to Henry Poter and wife: Daniel, Th, Leah, Franklin, Susan, Edward and Hannah. They are all now deceased but Eli who lives at Ashland, Oregon, and is now eighty-two years old, and Fiward Peter who now resides at Mul- berry. Ind. : Franklin Peter, reared on the farm, married Eliza Bryan, July 8, 1855. She was a daughter of Simeon Bryan, who was born November 30, 1796. Eliza ( Bryan) Peter died July 23. 1912, one hundred and four- teen years after the birth of her father. Simeon Bryan married Emily Slipher, a daughter of Daniel Slipher one of the old settlers of Clinton county. Franklin and Eliza Peter had seven children, four of whom are now living, namely : Mrs. Emily F. Gable, wife of Robert W. Gable : Mar- cella is the wife of Peter Rothenberger : Ella is the wife of Perry .A. Rothen- berger ; Anise W., of this sketch: Ezra B., Victoria A. and Ivy are all three deceased. The death of the father occurred January 31, 1889 at the age of sixty years. He devoted his life to farming and religiously was a member of the Lutheran church, in which he was an elder for some time. Politically he was a Republican.
Anise W. Peter was reared on the home farm and he received his educa- tion in the public schools. He has devoted his life to general farming and has succeeded all along the line. He has remained on the home farm which consists of eighty acres which he has kept under a fine state of cultivation and improvement. He raises a great deal of grain and livestock, and he has kept the home and outbuildings well repaired. He raises fancy poultry which are admired by all who see them, specializing on Light Brahmas and Columbian Wyandottes. He has taken many premiums at various exhibits. His fine poultry finds a very ready market over a wide territory, and he is one of the . most widely known poultry men in this section of the state. This is part of the thirty-two hundred acres which our subject's great grandfather Peter entered from the government.
Politically, Mr. Peter is a Republican, and he belongs to the Lutheran church, being an active worker in the church and Sunday school.
Mr. Peter was married November 12, 1890 to lda .1. Glick, who was born in Madison township, Clinton county, and reared and educated here. She is a daughter of Allen Glick, a well known citizen here in the pioneer period of the county. He was a native of Ohio, and came to Indiana when young, and married in Tippecanoe county, to Rebecca Lecklitner, and to them
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five daughters and two sons were born, namely: Dora, who married George Bryan, Mrs. Emma Sense, is a widow: Mrs. Ida A. Peter, wife of our sub- ject ; Laura A. who has remained single; Maude O. is the wife of Orville Rothenberger ; Lloyd and Floyd are twins.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peter, namely : Maurice Vernon, born September 14, 1896; Edna Ruth, bom November 4, 1902: Genieve Lucile having died in infancy. Mr. Peter was among the first of the community to give a name to his farm which is now known as "The North View Farm."
CHALMER L. SMITHI.
The biographical annals of Clinton county would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of the progressive farmer of Madison township whose name foris the caption of this paragraph, who is one of the county's worthy native sons. Mr. Smith had the sagacity in youth to see that better opportunities waited for him right here on his native heath than otherwhere, consequently his life labors have been confined to this locality rather than in distant and precarious fields, and, judging from the success he has achieved here he was fortunate in coming to this decision-to remain at home, the best place in the world, as all will agree.
Chalmer L. Smith, owner of Grand View Farm, is a scion of two of our sterling pioneer families, both having been prominent in the affairs of the county for several generations. Ile was born in Ross township, Clinton county, August 4. 1871, and is a son of Edward and Sarah E. (Fickle) Smith. The father was a native of Ohio where he remained until he was eighteen years of age then west to Illinois and was living there at the out- break of the Civil war. He did not enter the service until the war was nearly over, having enlisted in February, 1865, in the One Hundred and Forty- eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until September of the same year when he was honorably discharged, with the rank of corporal. He was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1847, and was a son of James Smith. also a native of the Buckeye state, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Edward Smith later came to Clinton county, Ind .. and here married Sarah E. Fickle, daughter of Isaac and Ann (Thompson) Fickle, mention of whom is made at length on other pages of this volume. The death of Edward Smith oc- curred at the age of forty-four years, May 16. 1891. The death of his wife
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occurred on March 6, 1895. at the age of forty-eight years. Five children were born to them, namely: Lorenzo V., of Bluffton, Ind. : Chalmer L .. of this sketch; Elva F., of Mulberry: James M., of Washington township, this county : Robert E., of Clark. Hill, Ind. The father was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he belonged to the United Presbyterian church, at Mt. Pleasant.
Chalmer L. Smith was reared on the home farm in his native township and he received a common school education. When twenty-one years of age he married Erma Lake nee Daggy, daughter of George Daggy, who died when forty-two years old. Mr. Daggy was born in Virginia. His wife, a Miss Minerva Poundstone, was a native of this county. Her death occurred at the age of forty-four years, leaving five children, namely: Mrs. Ida Timons, Willard D., Mrs. Ada Stein, of Carroll county, Indiana, and Mrs. Smith of this sketch.
Mr. Smith owns a small but productive and valuable farm of sixty-two acres which he moved to in 1899. He has a good home and every thing about the place is kept in shipshape. He has worked hard and is very comfortably fixed. His dwelling is on an eminence from which an inspiring view of the surrounding country may be had.
The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Ethel May, born September 21, 1898: Gladys Opal, born October 19, 1906.
Politically. Mr. Smith is a Republican. He is a member of the United Brethren church, and of the Sons of Veterans at Mulberry.
HENRY D. BEISEL.
The people who constitute the bone and sinew of this country are not those who are unstable and unsettled; who fly from this occupation to that ; who do not know how to properly discharge the duties of citizenship until they are told, and who take no active and intelligent interest in affairs affect- ing schools, churches and public institutions. The backbone of this country - is made up of families who have made their own homes, who are alive to the best interests of the community in which they reside. Such is the Beisel family of Clinton county, one of the best known of the present generation being Henry D., an extensive land owner and successful farmer and sock man of Ross township.
MR. AND MRS. II. D. BEISEL
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Mr. Beisel wa born on the old homestead in the above named township and county, February 7. 1855. He is a son of Solomon K. Reisel, who was born in Lehigh cour , Pen., where he spent his early days, finally coming to Clinton county, lang one of the well klient early settlers here. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his grandfather was born in Germany from which country he emigrated to America and settled in the old Keystone state where he esta I hed the family home. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Ang- line Bear, born in Lehigh county, Penn., a daughter of Jacob Bear, also a native of that state. Solomon K. Beisel grew up in his native county and was educated and married there. Here they developed a good farm through th ir industry. Seven ch Wren were born to them: llenry D., of this sketch; Mary, married to Matthias Troxel; Benjamin, liv- ing in Union township . Peter J. ; Sarah the wife of Selby Lewis living on the old home farm; Rosa, the wife of E. L. Shaw of Ross township; Minnie the wife of B. Strange of Owen township : Flora, who died in youth. The father of these children died at the age of seventy-three years. Politically, he was a Republican, and religiously, a member of the Reformed church. He was a man of magnificent physique, noted for his industry and honesty, liked by everybody.
Henry D. Beisel was reared on the home farm and educated in the rural schools of his district. In his early life he worked in saw mills and farmed, until 1882, when he was married to Anna M. Beal, for a number of years a popular teacher in the schools of this county. She was a daughter of the late llarvey Beal, long a prominent citizen of Clinton county. He was mar- ried four times and became the father of twenty children.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Beisel : Bertice, living in Minne- apolis and engaged in railroading ; Ervin N. living on a farin in Union town- ship; Morris living on a farm in Owen township; Inez, the wife of Dr. L. Lutz living in Michigan : Edith, graduated from the Rossville high school with the class of 1013, living at home ; Bessie, now a pupil in the local high school. These child; . were all given good educational advantages, and the sons are well situated in life. The death of Mrs. Beisel occurred at the age of forty- eight. She was a woman of many praiseworthy traits of character and was an earnest church worker. In 1907 Mr. Beisel married Mrs. Alice M. Saidla, a daughter of Enoch Thompson, now deceased. She had two sons by her former marriage, Bert, of Darlington, and John, living in Chicago.
Mr. Beisel has devoted his life to general farming and stock raising.
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also feeds large numbers of cattle and hogs annually. He makes a specialty of blooded coach horses which are greatly admired, and he has taken nearly seventy-five premiums at fairs and exhibitions over the country, his horses and colts generally winning blue ribbons in coach and general purpose classes. Ile is an excellent judge of horses and knows how to handle them. He owns in all four hundred acres in Clinton county. comprising three farms. Two hundred and twenty acres constitute his farm in Union township: he has eighty acres in Ross township, eighty in Owen township and there are fifteen acres surrounding his home. His land is all well improved, productive and under a high state of cultivation. He has a beautiful modern home, large barns and convenient outbuildings of all kinds. Everything about his place denotes thrift, good management and industry. He is entitled to a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished, for he started in life poor and has forged to the front through his individual efforts.
He is a member of the Presbyterian church, an elder in the same and has long been active in church work. He is a genial, obliging, hospitable gentle- man whom it is a pleasure to meet. He is a Republican in politics.
LEWIS ROTHENBERGER.
Like many of the most enterprising and esteemed citizens of Clinton county the Rothenbergers came from Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. It seems that a few courageous men of that county found their way to this when Indiana was first being settled, and, being pleased with the prospect here, induced their friends to make a similar overland journey westward across the great Alleghanies ; they in turn told their friends and relatives of the splendid new country they had found, and so for generations this has been going on until today it is surprising how many of our citizens came directly from the old county in the Keystone state or are descendants of those who did come from there.
Lewis Rothenberger, farmer of Madison township, is of the second generation of people from Lehigh county, but he himself was born on the old homestead in Madison township, in 1869. He is a son of Christian Rothenberger who immigrated when a young man to Clinton county in 1848, locating in Madison township. He was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, April 21, 1824. IIe is a son of George and Sarah (Wentz) Rothenberger.
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN.A.
His father was also a native of Pennsylvania. On October 24, 1852 he married Marietta Leibenguth, a daughter of Peter and Hannah (App) Leibenguth. She was born December 3, 1831 in Northampton county, Penn- sylvania. The following children were born to our subject's parents: Frank P., Josiah, Flora E., Peter, Lydia M., Perry A., Lewis, Ida A., Sarah H. and Mary J. The father of these children was a great fisherman in his day. In the fall of 1881 he went fishing, accompanied by some of his neighbors, and caught eight hundred pounds of fish on the Wild Cat river. He belonged to the Lutheran church and politically he was a Democrat. Ile was at one time supervisor of his township. Ile came to this county a poor man, but by industre ind economy he secured a competency. He lived to be seventy- five years of age. His widow survives, being now eighty-three years old. She lives in the town of Mulberry where she has a fine home and she enjoys good health. She is a woman noted for her charity, hospitality and old- time Christianity, and also for her good memory.
Lewis Rothenberger was reared on the old home farm and he was edu- cated in the rural schools of his neighborhood. When fourteen years old he went to live with his brother Josiah. He was married on February 14, 1892 to Cora Snyder, who was born in Lehigh county, Pa., and came to Indiana with her parents at the age of eight years. She is a daughter of Edwin Snyder, who was born in Lehigh county, Pa., where he spent his earlier years. Mrs. Rothenberger was born October 5, 1868. Her mother was Hannah Rex, before her marriage, a daughter of Jacob Rex, now deceased. Eight chil- dren were born to Edwin Snyder and wife, namely : Oliver E. died at the age of twenty-one years ; Cora, wife of our subject ; Mrs. Mary Hedrick, of Flora, Ind .; Aaron lives in Nevada : Albert lives in Crawfordsville, Ind. ; Ada lives in Monticello Ind .; Rev. Howard S. lives in Kingston, New York : Samuel is engaged in farming in Clinton county. The parents of these children were members of the Lutheran church.
Lewis Rothenberger has devoted his life successfully to general farming. He is owner of a valuable place of eighty-three acres in Madison township, where he is carrying on general farming and stock raising. He has a good nine-roomed house installed with a furnace and acetylene light plant, a large barn thirty-six by sixty-eight feet and such modern farming implements as , his needs require.
Three children have been born to our subject and wife: Orpha Maude, born December 21, 1802. She is a graduate from the Academic department of Weidners Institute at Mulberry, Ind., in 1911, and also from Junior Col-
CLINTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
lege of Weidner Institute; Neva Hannah, born April 22, 1895. She also is a graduate from the Academic department of Weidner Institute in 1913 and is also attending college at present ; Laura May, born February 25. 1807. died December 10. 1898. Mr. Rothenberger also has some experience with carpenter, blacksmith and cement tools, doing nearly all his own work and some for his neighbors in that line. He has between one hundred and twenty- five and one hundred and fifty barrels of cement used on his farm and is expecting to use more.
Politically, Mr. Rothenberger is a Democrat. TTe is a member of the Fair Haven Evangelical Lutheran church, near Mulberry. Ind., and for years has been active in church and Sunday school work.
PETER ROTHENBERGER.
To a great extent the prosperity of the agricultural sections of our great country is due to the honest industry, the sturdy perseverance and the wise economy which so prominently characterizes the foreign element, both those who have come direct from the European nations and their American born children, this being especially true of those of German blood. All will agree, after so much as a mere cursory glance over our forty-eight states, that these people have entered very largely into our population. By comparison with their "old country" surroundings they have readily recognized the fact that in the United States lie the greatest opportunities for the man of ambition and energy. And because of this many have broken the ties of home and native land and have entered earnestly upon the task of gaining in the new world a home and a competence. Among this class were the ancestors of Peter Rothenberger, one of the most substantial citizens and progressive agri- culturists of Madison township. Clinton county, although he himself was born in America, thus has avoided many of the trials of his forebears in getting a foothold in a land where the customs and language are strange. He seems ยท to have inherited many of the thrifty and sterling traits of his father and grandfather and has forged to the front in the face, not infrequently, of ob- stacles of so lige proportions as to have entirely broken the spirit of men of less sterner fiber. His life history might be studied and emulated with profit by the youth of this county who are ambitious to make good, successful citizens.
Mr. Rothenberger was born on the old homestead in Clinton county,
CLINTON COUNTY, INDELN.A.
Indiana, August 12, 1860, near the town of Mulberry. He is a son of Christian Rothenberger, also born in the old Keystone state, of a worthy German family, The father of our subject grew up in his native community. and when a young man he came to Clinton county, Indiana, making the long journey on horseback, bringing two other horses with him. Here be per- chased land, which he developed by his thrift into a good farm, and here he married Mary E. Livengood, a daughter of Peter Livengood, an early pioneer, he having located here in 1836. His family consisted of ten children, an equal number of sons and daughters, namely: Frank P., Josiah, Flora, Peter, Ma- linda, Perry A., Lewis, and Alma. The death of the father occurred at the age of seventy-five years. His widow survives at the advanced age of eighty- three years. She lives in Mulberry, and is beloved by all who know her, hav- ing always been noted for her fine Christian character. She talks most in- terestingly of the early days. She has lived to see the log cabins of the pion- eers replaced by modern dwellings and the great woods give way to well im- proved farms, and the automobile take the place of the ox cart. She has lived to see her children prosperous and respected by all who know them.
Peter Rothenberger grew to manhood on the farm where he worked when a boy and he received a common school education. On October 18, 1883, he married Marcella Peter, who was born in Madison township, where she was reared and educated. She was a daughter of Franklin Peter, who was born in Pennsylvania and who died in 1889 at the age of sixty years. The mother's death occurred at the age of seventy-four years. They were an carly family of this township. They were the parents of the following living chil- dren: Mrs. Emily F. Gable, Marcella, wife of our subject ; Ella, is the wife of Perry A. Rothenberger ; Anise W. lives on the homestead.
Five children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Clarence, married Susan Hurst and is engaged in farming; Ada, married C. Martin and they live in Madison township; Orvill, married Maude Glick; Ina is the wife of John Engle, Bassie is the wife of S. O. Brand. These children were all given good educations, are well situated in life and are well thought of by their friends and acquaintances.
Peter Rothenberger has devoted his life to farming and stock raising on a large scale. He now owns three fine farms, his home place consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, and his two other excellent places, all in Clin- ton county, bring the total up to three hundred and forty acres. His land is well improved, has been brought up to a high state of productiveness and is among the most valuable in the county. He is one of the best judges of live- stock in the county, and no small part of his handsome competency has been
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derived in the judicious handling of livestock. He has a large, well furnished and attractive home and numerous substantial outbuildings. Politically he is a Democrat and in religious matters belongs to the Lutheran church, to which his family also belong. He is highly esteemed by all for his honesty.
RALPH O. LANE.
It is a great privilege to be able to spend our lives on the old home place. "The roof that heard our earliest cry," as the poet Tennyson wrote. has a charm and fascination for us which we cannot find elsewhere, and no matter where on earth our restless footsteps may wander we ever long to be back beneath the old roof-tree of our parents. However, this is not always the privilege of man. For many reasons, often through necessity, we leave our childhood home and seek our fortune in other countries, and seldom ever revisit the hearthstone around which we played as a child. So those who, like Ralph O. Lane, owner of Maple Lawn Stock Farm, in Perry township. Clinton county, are fortunate enough to spend their lives at their birthplace, are to 1 . envied. No doubt he fully appreciates the privilege, and he has labored hard to keep the old place well tilled and well improved so that it has retained rather than lost its original strength of soil, and the home has been well preserved.
Mr. Lane was born in this township and county on October 14. 1871. He is the scion of a prominent old family of this locality. He is a son of Jesse Lane, who was a native of Ohio, and a son of Judge Joseph Lane. The family is of English descent, and the first emigrant settled in Delaware. Later the family removed westward to Ohio, thence on to Indiana. Judge Lane was one of the first settlers in this section of the state. Here he built his log cabin and cleared a place for his crops and he became influential in the early history of the community. The first election in the township was held at his log cabin. He was born in Delaware in the year 1800. He took a leading part in the early development of the county, and was one of the charter members of the Methodist church here. He lived to be seventy-four years of age. His house was a favorite stopping place for the circuit riders who came to this locality to preach at the local Methodist church. The Judge was three times married.
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CLINTON COUNTY, INDIAN 1.
Jesse Lane, father of our subject, grew up on the old home place, and, being a pioneer boy, found plenty of hard work to do in assisting in developing the farm. He received a meager education in the log cabin schools of his day. In early manhood he married Prudence White, and to them twelve children were born: Alfred, Joseph, died in infancy; Edgar, Ollie (deceased), B. W., Dan H., Mrs. May Dimbar, Judson, Mrs. Nettie Dimbar (deceased), Catherine, Ralph O., of this sketch: and Adelia. Mr. Lane married for his second wife Rachael Morehead, and to them was born one daughter, Lottie. Mr. Lane's third wife was Anna Burden, who sur- vives her husband. Jesse Lane devoted his life to general farming and stock raising, and was a breeder of fine horses, principally Clydesdales. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and his home was headquarters for the preachers of this denomination when in this locality ; in fact, it was a home where the latch string was always on the outside to his many friends.
Ralph O. Lane was reared on the old home place and there worked during the crop season when he became of proper age. During the winter months he attended the district schools. When twenty-three years old, he married Icy Lackey, daughter of Eli Lackey, a pioneer of Clinton county, now deceased. . The mother is still living, making her home in Colfax.
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