USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of DeKalb County, Indiana : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns and biographies of representative citizens : Also a condensed history of Indiana > Part 72
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limited circumstances when he came to the county, but he has by industry and good management accumulated a competency for his old age, owning 160 acres of finely cultivated land. He was married in October, 1835, to Susannah Daily, and to them have been born eleven children, seven of whom are living- Eliza, Ephraim, Daniel D., William, Eunice, Leander J., and Isaac M., all married but Ephraim. Mr. Diehl and his wife are members of the Evangelical Association.
James Gaff, section 6, Stafford Township, was born in Stark County, Ohio, Dec. 24, 1818, a son of David and Ruth (Certes) Gaff. When he was seventeen years of age his parents moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and in 1848 he came to De Kalb County, and settled in Troy Township on the land which is now his farm. With the exception of five acres from which he hired the trees chopped, he has cleared and brought under cul- vation 105 acres of timber land. He owns 272 acres of valu- able land which is now carried on by his son Frank. He was married Feb. 26, 1842, to Mary Haverstock, daughter of Tobias and Peggy Haverstock. Her father was opposed to her mar- riage and they left home and were married in Mount Eaton, Wayne Co., Ohio. Her father then refused to give her her clothes and she was obliged to wear the ones she wore till she could make more. Their first years of married life were filled with disappointments and adverse circumstances, but they finally overcame all obstacles and secured for themselves a good home. The days were spent in working for others and the nights till midnight in clearing and improving his own farm, his wife assisting in clearing away the brush. To Mr. and Mrs. Gaff have been born nine children, but four of whom are living --- Margaret, David, Amanda and Frank. One son, Hiram, was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, and was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, from the effects of which he died at Evans- ville, Ind., soon after. Another son, Orlando, died at the age of nineteen years. Their children are all married and have good homes of their own. Margaret married David Jennings, of Indiana, and has two children-James and Zella. David married Melvina Jennings, and has six children-Mary, Nellie, James, Charles, Frank, and an infant. He lives in Elkhart, Ind. Frank married Julia Christophle, and has one child-Dora. Amanda married James Shull, of Butler, and has one child --- Milton. In religious faith, Mr. and Mrs. Gaff adhere to the
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United Brethren church. He has been Constable of his town- ship four years.
Daniel Greenwalt, section 31, Stafford Township, was born in Berks County, Pa., June 26, 1837, a son of Jacob and Trafna (Correll) Greenwalt, and grandson of John Correll. His par- ents came to De Kalb County in 1847, and settled in Concord Township, and the next spring his father bought the farm now owned by Catherine Greenwalt, where the father died in July, 1882, and the mother February, 1883. There was a family of three children, but two of whom, Daniel and Catherine are liv- ing. Lovina is dead. Daniel and his sister are unmarried and live together on the old homestead, which contains forty acres of good land. He recently sold a farm of forty-seven acres in Wilmington Township. He enlisted in the war of the Rebell- ion in Company F, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, and served three years and four months. He participated in the battles of Stone River and Perryville. He was wounded at the battle of Stone River and has never recovered from its effects, and draws a pension of $15 a month. The greater part of his term of service he was detailed to duty in the hospital at Evansville. Mr. and Mrs. Greenwalt are members of the Disciples church. Mr. Greenwalt is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
Peter Grube, section 16, Stafford Township, is a native of Bavaria, Germany, born Dec. 26, 1804. He was married in December, 1835, to Elizabeth May, also a native of Bavaria, born Nov. 23, 1811. In the spring of 1836 they came to the United States and lived the first two years in New York City, and in August, 1838, moved to Stark County, Ohio, and in August, 1844, to De Kalb County, Ind. The second year after coming here he left his wife, with two small children and went to Hicksville, where he worked at fifty cents a day to buy flour for his family. When he reached New York he had but $II, and at one time had but fifty cents, but by hard work and per- severance he has accumulated a competency for his old age, owning at present 215 acres of choice land. When he bought his first eighty acres he paid $50 cash, and the rest in eight years at 6 per cent. interest, it being school land. His son Peter now has charge of the farm, his health not permitting him to perform the duties necessary on so large a farm. His wife died Dec. 22, 1868. To them were born five children, but three of whom are living-Henry, Elizabeth, now Mrs. Can-
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non, and Peter. Kate and Jacob are deceased. Mr. Grube has been a man of almost unlimited endurance. He has often walked to Auburn and return, a distance of twenty-nine miles, in one day, reaching home by four o'clock in the afternoon. He worked on his farm in the daytime and at weaving in the evening.
William Henry Grube, section 9, Stafford Township, was born in Massillon, Ohio, in October, 1843, a son of Peter Grube, of this township. He was reared a farmer, having but limited educational advantages, and after reaching manhood worked at farming by the month several years. He then bought a Can- ton, Ohio, thresher, and during the summer threshed seven years, working in the pineries of Michigan in the winter. He now owns a fine farm of III acres, and is a successful farmer and stock-raiser. He was married May 20, 1881, to Mary Haas, daughter of Michael Haas. They have one child-Charles, aged three years, and one child died in infancy. Mr. Grube has been a member of the Odd Fellows' order fifteen years.
John Jacob Gunsenhouser, farmer and stock-raiser, section 6, Stafford Township, is a native of Switzerland, born May 28, 1806, and in 1816 came with his father, John Gunsenhouser, to the United States and settled in Lancaster County, Pa., and in 1823 moved to Stark County, Ohio. In 1836 he came to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled on the northeast quarter of sec- tion 7, Troy Township, in the woods, where they were sur- rounded by wild animals and Indians. He entered over 400 acres of land and went to work to clear and cultivate a farm, having many hardships to endure and many obstacles to over- come. He has sold the greater part of his land, owning at present but forty-nine acres in his home farm, but in addition to this owns village property in Newville. He tells many amusing incidents and many thrilling accounts of his life in the woods, of the hardships and privations to be undergone, and the pleasures to be found in the chase. He was a true pioneer, and has assisted in a large degree in developing and improving De Kalb County. He was married June 14, 1827, to Mary Strole, daughter of Nicholas and Elizabeth Strole. To them have been born eleven children-Olive, Elizabeth, Mary A., Henry, Jacob, Nancy, Isaac, Ursula, Sarah, George and Will- iam (twins). One son, John, enlisted in Company F, Forty- fourth Indiana Infantry, and was appointed its Captain. He
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was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, and left a widow and four children.
John Hollinger, deceased, was a native of Huntingdon County, Pa., born Sept. 16, 1812. He received a common-school educa- tion, and was reared a farmer, a vocation he always followed. In 1816 his parents moved to Stark County, Ohio, and there he grew to manhood and married, March 26, 1835, Elizabeth Borg- ner, and to them were born eight children, six of whom are living-George, Jacob, Mary, Isaac, Samuel and Daniel. John and Sarah are deceased. In 1846 they moved to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Stafford Township where the father died Oct. 7, 1883. The farm is now carried on by Samuel and Daniel, enterprising and industrious young men. It contains 140 acres of choice land, and the residence and farm buildings are large and commodious. Mr. Hollinger united with the Evangelical Reformed church Oct. 13, 1832, but after coming to De Kalb County he and his wife united with the Lutheran church.
Peleg Hull, farmer and stock-raiser, section 5, Stafford Town- ship, was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, June 12, 1830, a son of Christopher Hull, a native of Allegany County, N. Y., who moved to Mercer County, Pa., in 1822, and thence to Trumbull County, Ohio, and in 1836 to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Wilmington Township where he died about 1844. Peleg is the sixth of a family of eleven children, five of whom are living -James, Hiram, Peleg, Benjamin F. and Phebe. James and Benjamin live in Kosciusko County, Ind .; Hiram, in Muskegon County, Mich., and Phebe, in Martin County, Minn. Six brothers were in the war of the Rebellion. John was killed at Stone River ; Amos was killed at Chickamauga ; Benjamin F. was wounded and captured at Richmond, Ky., was paroled and subsequently sent to Johnson's Island to guard rebel pris- oners. Hiram served in the Twenty-first Michigan Infantry, and Peleg and Amos, in Company H, Thirtieth Indiana Infan- try. Peleg participated in the battles of Shiloh, Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga, Big Shanty, Kenesaw Mountain, Fall's Church, siege of Atlanta, Franklin, Flint River, and others of less im- portance. Since his return from the war he has engaged in agricultural pursuits, and now owns a fine farm of sixty acres. He was married April 18, 1865, to Maria Wannamaker, daugh- ter of Samuel Wannamaker. To them have been born four 50
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children, but two of whom are living-Anna and George. Mr. and Mrs. Hull and their daughter are members of the Disciples church.
Lucius C. Loveland, section 31, Stafford Township, postoffice, Newville, is a native of Defiance County, Ohio, born June 3, 1844, the eldest son of Luther and Mary M. (Clemmer) Love- Iand, the former a native of Connecticut, born in 1816, and the latter of Virginia, born in 1815. He is a descendant of Thomas Loveland who settled in Glastonbury, Conn., in 1670. His great-grandfather, Pelatiah Loveland, was a blacksmith, and made the nails with which to shingle the first frame barn in that town. Two of his brothers were soldiers in the Revolu- tionary war. He was married Dec. 7, 1774, to Mollie Goodale, and the second time, Oct. 27, 1816, to Eunice Butler. He died in 1823. He reared a family of thirteen children ; the youngest son, the grandfather of our subject, Luther Loveland, was born March 18, 1793, and was married May 15, 1814, to Lucy Wickam, and in 1824 moved to Lorain County, Ohio. His family consisted of nine children, six sons and three daughters. Luther Loveland, our subject's father, came to the Maumee River in 1834, and to Hicksville, Defiance Co., Ohio, in 1837, where he bought 160 acres of land on section 7. He sowed the first crop of wheat in the township, on unplowed ground, where the town of Hicksville now is, for A. P. Edgerton, and made a harrow with wooden teeth to harrow it. He was married in 1840, and had a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters. Lucius C. Loveland learned the tinner's trade when twenty-two years of age, and carried on that business eleven years. In the fall of 1866 he came to DeKalb County and worked at his trade in Newville two years, and in 1868 removed to Hicksville. He was hurt by a falling tree when about eighteen years of age, and was obliged to have the lower part of his right leg amputated. In1 1871 he was elected Treas- urer of Hicksville Township, and served five years, and in 1873 was elected Justice of the Peace, and served six years. During this time he was Clerk of Hicksville corporation, and served one year on the Village Council. In 1876 he, with his father and John Crowl, built the Anchor Mills at Hicksville. In 1879 he exchanged his interest in the mill for the farm where he now lives, which was entered in 1836 by A. Walden. He was elected Justice of the Peace of Stafford Township in 1880, and served
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
three and a half years, when he resigned. He is a prominent member of the Odd Fellows' order. He was married Dec. 22, 1864, to Margaret J. Shroll, of DeKalb County, Ind. To them have been born nine children; eight are living-Frank S., Luther J., Cora and Ora (twins), Maud M., Ray P., Maggie, Mary F. and George. Maggie fell in a ditch and was drowned April 26, 1880, aged two years.
Samuel Miller, farmer and stock-raiser, section 16, Stafford Township, was born on the old homestead, on the same section where he now resides, Feb. 24, 1844, a son of Jacob F. Miller, of Edgerton, Ohio, an early settler of De Kalb County. Ind., entering eighty acres of land where our subject now lives. He is a baker by trade, but is now living a retired life, at the age of eighty-four years. Samuel Miller was reared a farmer, a vocation he has always followed. He was educated in his na- tive county, attending the district schools. He has been suc- cessful in his business pursuits and now has a fine farm of 151 acres. He was married in January, 1867, to Elizabeth Eck, and to them have been born five children-Joseph N., Ida E., Mary L., Daniel D. and an infant daughter.
Edward Scoville, one of the old pioneers of Stafford Town- ship, resides on section 29, where he owns fifty-two acres of valuable land. He was born in Ontario County, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1813, a son of Enoch Scoville, a native of Connecticut, and grandson of Michael Scoville, a hero of the Revolution and the French and Indian wars. In 1827 he accompanied his parents to Trumbull County, Ohio, and in February, 1838, came to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Stafford Township, where he rented land two years. He then moved to Newville Township, where he had previously entered land on section 4, and in 1857 bought and moved to the farm where he now lives. He has been one of the hardest working men in the county, and has helped to clear and log over 100 acres of land. He has run a threshing-machine several years, and run the first separator in De Kalb County. He has never sought official honors, but has served as Constable and Supervisor several terms. He was married Oct. 15, 1835, to Lydia Culp, and to them were born six children, but two of whom are living-William H. and Warren E. They are members of the Disciples church.
William H. Scoville, section 20, Stafford Township, is a native of this township, born May 10, 1840, a son of the pioneer, Ed-
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ward Scoville. He was educated in his native township and reared a farmer, a vocation he has followed for a livelihood. He owns ninety-eight acres of valuable land, and is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He, in addition to raising stock, buys and ships it to the Western markets. For the past twelve years he has been selling farm implements and ma- chinery, wagons, reapers and mowers, having a salesroom and warehouse in Butler, but canvassing throughout the county. He is agent for the Champion Reaper and Binder, which is considered the best in the market, and his sales of this machine are more than any other. He has met with good success in this branch of his business, being a good salesman and an hon- orable, upright gentleman. He was married Jan. 16, 1859, to Mary Dickerhoff, daughter of Jacob Dickerhoff. To them have been born seven children-L. Ellen, George E., William E. (deceased), Ida D., Charles R., Letitia and Ross.
Warren E. Scoville, son of Edward and Lydia (Culp) Scoville, resides on section 29, Stafford Township, where he has charge of the old homestead of his parents. He was born in Stafford Township, Sept. 10, 1850, and was reared and educated in his native county, attending the common-schools of his district. He is an enterprising and industrious young man, and one of the representative farmers of his township. Reared a farmer, he understands all the details of agricultural life and is making a success of that vocation. He was married Oct. 9, 1877, to Hattie Joslyn, a native of Cortland County, N. Y., born Feb. 3, 1858, daughter of Clark Joslyn, deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Scoville have been born two children, but one of whom is liv- ing-Frank. Mrs. Scoville is a member of the Disciples church.
John Shoub, section 7, Stafford Township, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, Jan. 31, 1827. His father, Henry Shoub, was a native of Switzerland, and came to the United States in 1816. While on shipboard crossing the ocean, he made the acquaint- ance of Elizabeth Huffman, and they were married soon after reaching America. They settled in Wayne County, Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives. John Shoub was reared and educated in his native county, remaining with his parents till manhood. In 1849 he came to De Kalb County and remained till the spring of 1850, when he returned to Ohio, and April 13, 1851, was married to Mary A. Strole, daughter of
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Thomas Strole, an early settler of Stafford Township. The First eighteen months after their marriage they lived in Wayne County, Ohio, and then moved to De Kalb County in the spring of 1853 and bought forty acres of the land where he now lives, at that time regarded as swamp land, and sold by the State to him as such. He now owns eighty acres of finely cul- tivated land, and is engaged in general farming and stock-rais- ing. He takes great interest in the public welfare of his county, but never seeks official honors, although he served one term as County Commissioner. To him and his wife have been born three children-Thomas H., Sarah E. and Alice E. Sarah E. married Hugh H. Maxwell, and has one child -- May. Alice married Walter S. Maxwell, and has two children-Lloyd L. and Mary D. Thomas is an intelligent, enterprising young man, and is in the employ of D. Appleton & Co., Publishers. Mr. and Mrs. Shoub are members of the Disciples church.
John Smith, section 30, Stafford Township, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, May 9, 1830, a son of John and Susannah (Light- foot) Smith, the former a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent, and the latter a native of Maryland, of English descent. When he was four years old his father died, and when seven years old he began to take care of himself, working for his board and clothes till fifteen years old. He then worked a year for his guardian for $40 and three months schooling, and during harvest overworked and for two years had the ague. When twenty years of age he began to learn the carpenter's trade, which he has followed the greater part of his life. In Decem- ber, 1859, he came to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Jack- son Township where he lived till December, 1866, when he moved to the farm where he now lives in Stafford Township. He owns sixty acres of good land, all well improved. He was married Sept. 2, 1862, to Frances Donaldson, daughter of Henry and Jane (Laird) Donaldson, her mother a sister of the Laird Brothers, tobacconists of Covington, Ky., from whom she heired quite a fortune, but owing to the dishonesty of the admin- istrators never received any of it. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born eight children-Catherine I., Henry W., Jennie, Myrtle (deceased), Leora, Warden B., Albert P. and Cassius C. Henry married Clara Swaysgood. Catherine married Benjamin Seigler, and has one child-Leora. Jennie married Daniel Bearer. Mr. Smith has been a member of the
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Methodist Episcopal church since twenty years of age. Mrs. Smith is a member of the Lutheran church. Their daughters are members of the Methodist church.
George B. Soule, section 6, Stafford Township, is a native of Schoharie County, N. Y., born April 15, 1831, son of George Soule, of Franklin Township. When he was five years of age his parents moved to Lenawee County, Mich., and in 1847 to Steuben County, Ind. In 1852 they moved to Kent County, Mich., being the third family to settle in Solon Township, and in 1857 came to De Kalb County, and settled in Franklin Township. George B. Soule was reared a farmer, and also in his youth learned the carpenter's trade of his father, at which he has worked in connection with his agricultural pursuits· He has assisted in the development of several counties, and has experienced all the phases of pioneer life. He lived in Frank- lin Township till 1869, and then went to Montcalm County, Mich., where he lived ten years, and in 1879 returned to De Kalb County. He owns a good farm in Montcalm County and one in Franklin Township, this county. In 18 he moved to Stafford Township where he has since lived. He was married in the fall of 1851 to Matilda Lent, daughter of James Lent. To them have been born four children, but two of whom are living -Mary and Laura. A son, Frank, was drowned in Montcalm County, Mich., aged fourteen years. Mary married Franklin Hoy, and has three children-Daisy, Mertie, and Lillie. Laura married Homer Maurice, and has three children - Wilmer, Hattie and George. Both daughters reside in Montcalm County. In politics Mr. Soule is a Republican. He served as Justice of the Peace in Franklin Township one year and is holding the same position in Stafford Township.
Henry Tinstman, farmer and stock-raiser, section 7, Stafford Township, is a native of Beaver County, Pa., born Aug. 26, 1826, son of Mark Tinstman. He worked with his father, who was a miller, till eighteen years of age, and then learned the wagon-maker's trade at which he worked fifteen years, when he began the manufacture of pumps which he followed fifteen years. When he was quite small his parents moved to Carroll County, Ohio, and in the spring of 1855 he moved to Elkhart County, Ind., and in the fall of 1864 to Butler, De Kalb County, where he lived till the fall of 1866, when he settled on the farm where he has since lived. He owns 109 acres of valuable land
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which he has improved and now has under a fine state of cul- tivation. He was married Jan. 2, 1848, to Leah Fisher, daughter of Jonathan Fisher. To them have been born twelve chil- dren, but three of whom are living-John W., Adam H., and Alonzo E. The eldest two are brick and stone masons and plasterers of several years' experience, and are conversant with every detail of their business. John William married Sarah K. Gunsenhouser, and has one child-Warren Clyde. Adam H. married Maville C. Arford, and has had three children, but one of whom is living-Arthur Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Tinstman and their sons, John and Alonzo, are members of the United Brethren church.
Stewart Paterson Wartenbe, section 29, Stafford Township, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, March 29, 1823, a son of Joseph and Nancy (Smith) Wartenbe, and grandson of Will- iam Wartenbe, an early settler of Muskingum County. In 1834 his parents moved to Defiance County, Ohio, and later to De Kalb County, Ind. They experienced all the privations and inconveniences of pioneer life, often being without food or water, except what was found in the swamps. Since he was seventeen years of age he has had charge of the family, and although so young he nobly did his duty, and has the con- sciousness of having done his best to minister to the comfort of those he loved. His father died in 1854, and his mother has since made her home with him, and is now in the eighty-fourth year of her age. He has been a good manager, industrious and frugal, and has now a competency with which to enjoy life. He owns 136 acres of choice land, all well improved, and is one of the most successful stock-raisers in the township. He learned the carpenter and joiner's trade in his youth and lol- lowed it several years in connection with farming. He was married Feb. 3, 1859, to Mrs. Cordelia Webster, daughter of Rev. Samuel Wanemaker, and widow of Mr. Webster. To them have been born two children-Corwin G. and Charles S. Corwin married Mary Ellen Joslyn and has one child-Clara. Mrs. Wartenbe has one child by her first marriage-Wallace C. Mr. and Mrs. Wartenbe are members of the Disciples church at Newville.
Hazzard Webster, deceased, was a native of Rhode Island, born Jan. 31, 1805, and when a small boy accompanied his par- ents to Trumbull County, Ohio, where he lived till eighteen
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years old, when he started for the West and traveled over thirteen States and Territories, spending three years in the Galena, Ill., lead mines. He was married March 18, 1831, to Laura Ackley, and to them were born seven children, but three of whom are living-Betsey, Mary and Lucretia. Sarah, Han- nah, Asel and John are deceased. The latter was killed at the battle of Stone River when fighting in defense of his country. Mr. Webster came to De Kalb County in the fall of 1836 with a colony of fifteen wagons. His first house in the county was made of poles covered with bark, with a puncheon floor, 14x 16 feet in size. The first night in the county fifteen persons staid in his house. They were obliged to undergo many hardships, as life in a new country was not all sunshine; neither was it all shade, and they had many hours of pleasure. Mrs. Webster was a doctress, and was often called from home and obliged to cross the St. Joseph River when her horse nearly swam. Twice she has been carried across the river on a man's back. In 1849 Mr. Webster crossed the plains to California, stopping two days in Salt Lake City. He died in California Feb. 6, 1850. Mrs. Webster is living with her daughter, Mrs. N. T. Fuller, and is in the seventy-sixth year of her age.
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