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 86
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William Snyder, one of the leading blacksmiths of Auburn, Ind., was born in Morrow County, Ohio, June 17, 1841, the eldest son of John and Mary (Helt) Snyder ; the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Germany. They were early settlers of Morrow County, and in 1844 moved to De Kalb County, Ind., and a year later to Allen County where the fath- er died in 1849, and the mother still lives. Their family con- sisted of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, ten of whom are living, one son having died in the defense of his country. William Snyder was reared in Allen County, and when seventeen years of age came to De Kalb County and learned the trade of a blacksmith. After the breaking out of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company E, Eighty-eighth Indiana
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Infantry, and served three years, participating in eleven active engagements, the more important being Perryville, Stone River and Chickamauga. He was discharged June, 1865, and re- turned to Allen County where he remained till Feb. 8, 1866; then he was married, and moved to De Kalb County and lived four years at Spencerville. In 1873 he removed to Auburn where he has since lived and has built up a large trade. He is a skillful workman and does a general business in repairing. His shop is located on Eighth street and is convenient to the business center of the town. He has a pleasant residence and a good farm of forty acres of choice land in De Kalb County, Ind. His property he has earned by industry and frugality, his father dying when he was but eight years of age. He was married Feb. 4, 1866, to Elizabeth Garland, a native of Zanes- ville, Ohio, born May 20, 1847 ; and to them have been born five children-Edward, born Nov. 14, 1866, and died July 12, 1873 ; James, born July 19, 1868; Maggy, born June 21, 1870; Lilly, born May 20, 1874 ; Sarah, born Feb. 10, 1876.
Jacob Somers is the eldest son of John and Elizabeth Somers, natives of Chester County, Pa. In 1830 they emigrated to Shelby County, Ohio, and in 1841 to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled on the farm now owned by our subject, entering a tract of 200 acres. The father died July 5, 1873, and the mother July 19, 1877. They had a family of eight children, seven of whom are living. Jacob Somers received but limited educa- tional advantages, his services being required on the farm. Af- ter the death of his parents he bought the homestead of the heirs, and to it has added till he now owns 185 acres in the home farm and 244 acres in another tract. He has made his property by his own industry, starting out in life with no means and receiving very little assistance.
John M. Somers, attorney at law, of the firm Somers & Roby, Waterloo, is a native of Steuben County, Ind., born Dec. 13, 1851, a son of John Y. and Betty (Pearson) Somers. His father was a native of New Hampshire, and in 1845 settled in Steu- ben County where he died in 1854. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was wounded at New Orleans. The mother is living in Steuben County. After his father's death John M. lived with his guardian, Dennis Hamlin. When eleven years of age he entered the office of the Waterloo City Press, and with the exception of teaching two terms of school in Illinois,
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remained there till twenty-three years of age. While in the office he began the study of law. He had access to Judge Mc- Bride's library and devoted his evenings to reading. He after- ward was in the office of James I. Best, one of the Supreme Court Commissioners and one of the leading attorneys of the State, two years, and while there was admitted to the bar. June 4, 1880, he commenced practice in Waterloo. Nov. 15, 1882, he formed his present partnership. He is a close student, and has been a successful practitioner, and promises to be one of the brightest lights of the profession. He is the City Attorney of Waterloo, and has held the office of Town Clerk. March 2, 1880, he was married to Laura N. Chamberlain, a daughter of J. N. Chamberlain, M. D. She died Aug. 27, 1884. Mr. Som- ers is a member of Waterloo Lodge, No. 221, I. O. O. F., and · is Noble Grand of his lodge.
Joseph Stafford was born near Hayesville, Richland Co., Ohio, Oct. 2, 1843, a son of John and Maria (Enos) Stafford. When two years old his parents moved to a farm in Highland County, Ohio, and in 1849 to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Jackson Township. His father died in 1855, and in 1859 he began working for farmers by the month. Aug. 9, 1862, he en- listed as a private in Company D, Eighty-eighth Indiana Infan- try, and in December, 1863, was promoted to Corporal. He served till June 15, 1865, when he was discharged at Indianapo- lis. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Crab Orchard, Stone River, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, White Oak Ridge, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Pumpkin Vine Creek, Dalton, Peach Tree Creek, siege of Atlanta, Sherman's march to the sea, siege of Savannah and Bentonville. While at Goldsboro, N. C., March, 1865, he was taken with smallpox, and was in the hospital six weeks, joining his regiment near Alexandria. He was present at the grand review of the army at Washington in May, 1865. During the year 1866 he worked on the old homestead, and in the spring of 1867 began to work at the mason's trade at Kendallville. The following August he came to Auburn, where he has since followed the trade. He was married Dec. 25, 1874, to Alice, daughter of George Ensley, of Auburn. They have two chil- dren-Flora May and Clara Edith. Mr. Stafford is a member of Mentor Lodge, No. 591, I. O. O. F., and DeLong Post, No. 67, G. A. R. In 1879 he was elected Marshal of Auburn, but resigned after holding the office a short time.
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John C. St. Clair was born in Union County, Pa., March 3, 1823, the eldest son of Samuel and Susannah (Cline) St. Clair. He remained in his native county till maturity, learning in his youth the trade of a carpenter. In 1850 he came to De Kalb County a single man and worked at his trade two years. In 1852 he was married to Caroline McEntarffer, daughter of George and Catherine McEntarffer, early settlers of this county. After his marriage he settled on a farm near Waterloo, where he cleared and improved sixty acres of land. He lived on that farm till 1862, and then sold it and bought a tract of 160 acres of heavily timbered land on section 15, Union Township. To this he has added till he now owns 380 acres of valuable land. Cedar Creek flows across the farm, thus affording good water for his stock. His residence, which was built in 1874, is a large two story brick, situated on a knoll and commands a fine view of the surrounding country. His barn and other farm buildings are commodious and comfortable. Mr. St. Clair commenced life for himself a poor young man, but by industry and frugality he has accumulated a competency. He has a family of five children-Catherine, wife of H. P. Stroh ; A. M .; J. H .; Susan, wife of Charles H. Pomort; and George W. In politics he is a Democrat. He has filled the offices of Assessor and has been three times elected Trustee of Union Township, and in 1876 was elected Sheriff of the county, serving two years.
Captain Almon R. Stevens, merchant tailor, Waterloo, Ind., was born in Brookfield, Fairfield Co., Conn., April 8, 1830, a son of Amos and Flora (Warner) Stevens, natives of Connecti- cut. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. His maternal grandfather, Benj. R. Warner, held a commission in the war of 1812. His father was by trade a a carriage maker. He died in 1874. The mother died in 1878. Their family consisted of one son and two daughters. Our subject learned the tailor's trade in his youth. In 1850 he went to Troy, N. Y., and worked there and in other towns as a journeyman till after the breaking out of the Rebellion, at that time living in Utica, N. Y. In the spring of 1862 he raised a company of volunteers and was commissioned Captain of Company H, One Hundred and Seventeenth New York Infantry. They were stationed near Washington till April, 1863, when they were sent to Norfolk, thence to Suffolk to meet Longstreet, and participated in several skirmishes ; were then
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ordered to Folley and Morris Islands under General Gilmore, and participated in the capture of Fort Wagner. The com- mand was then ordered North, and arrived in time to engage in the battle of Cold Harbor, where their loss was heavy. They were also in front of Petersburg, and when on the first advance Captain Stevens was wounded in the right arm, the ball burying itself in the bone. He was sent to the hospital at Fort Monroe, a three day's journey, and the fatigue and dis- comfort of the journey nearly cost him his life. As soon as he recovered sufficiently to travel he was sent to Utica, N. Y., and thence to the Officers Convalescent Hospital, Annapolis, Md. While there he received a letter from Roscoe Conklin, requesting him to come immediately to Washington, but re- plied that there was an order prohibiting officers from coming to Washington without an order from the Secretary of War. He soon after received a telegram from Dana to report in Washington at once, and another from Conklin that it was all right. He was appointed one of the Election Commissioners and was sent to the armies of the James and Potomac and to North Carolina where troops from his own county were stationed, and in November returned home to vote, taking his docu- ments with him. Soon after he was ordered back to Fort Monroe, where he again had his arm examined, thinking the bone had become diseased. In the meantime he received per- mission to visit his company on the James, and soon after was appointed by General Curtis, Inspector General of the First Brigade, Tenth Army Corps, and served as such until the win- ter of 1863-'64 when his brigade was sent to Fort Fisher. While on the second expedition and soon after the Fort was taken, he was (though the youngest Inspector in the Division) promoted to Inspector General of the First Division, Tenth Army Corps, which position he held till mustered out of service at the close of the war, when he again commenced working at his trade. In July, 1869, he removed to Waterloo, Ind., and became established in the tailoring business, and has built up a prosperous business and is considered one of the best tailors in the county.
Henry P. Stroh, son of William and Sarah (Husselman) Stroh, was born on the old homestead in Union Township, May 9, 1849. He was reared on the farm, reciving a common- school education, completing it at the Northwestern College,
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Plainfield, Ill. After leaving school he assisted his father on the farm one season, and then was employed as brakeman on the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad four months. He was then transferred to the Lafayette, Muncie & Bloomington Road and ran a construction train nine months, when he re- turned to the Wabash Road and remained till the following summer. Typhoid fever then claimed him as its victim, and for several weeks he was unable to work. After his recovery he went to Texas and thence to Montana. He subsequently returned to Indiana, and April 12, 1883, was married to Cath- erine St. Clair, daughter of John and Catherine. St. Clair. After his marriage he settled on a farm of forty acres in Union Township, where he has a pleasant home and is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising, making a specialty of Norman and Clydesdale horses.
William Stroh, one of the early settlers of Union Township, was born in Dauphin County, Pa., Jan. 22, 1815, the third son of Henry and Catherine (Ulrich) Stroh, natives of Pennsylva- nia. His parents were early settlers in Wayne County, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. In 1843 he came to De Kalb County, Ind., and bought 160 acres of timber land, but little of which had been cleared. Two years later his parents followed him to the county and made his house their home the remainder of their lives. His father died in 1846, and his mother in January, 1874, aged eighty-six years. Their family consisted of eight children, four of whom are living. William Stroh came to this county a poor man, but by perseverance outlived all his difficulties and came off conqueror. At one time he had but three cents in money, but soon after col- lected $100 from a man in Ohio, and that was the beginning of better times. He has been a successful stock-raiser, having some of the finest grades in the county. He has been a promi- nent man in the county, and has held several positions of trust and responsibility, among others those of Supervisor and School Trustee. He was married in Ohio to Sarah Hussel- man. To them were born nine children, six of whom are living-Adam, Catherine, Henry, Emeline (wife of William Maxwell), Mary (wife of Alvin St. Clair), and Fanny. Mrs. Stroh died in 1860, and in 1868 Mr. Stroh married Mary A. Roby, widow of Daniel Roby, by whom she has four children -Joel, Andrew, Salome, wife of Carl Rish, and Amos. The
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latter is a minister in the Evangelical church, stationed at Rochester, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Stroh are members of the Evangelical church, of which he has been Class-leader fifteen years.
Solomon Stough, M. D., the oldest practicing physician of De Kalb County, is a native of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, born Feb. 14, 1820, a son of Dr. Samuel and Susan (Kinsley) Stough, his father a native of Virginia and his mother of Pennsylvania. Rev. John Stough, his grandfather, was the first Lutheran minister to cross the Allegheny Mountains. His father, now a resident of Kansas, in the ninety-sixth year of his age, was a prac- ticing physician over sixty years. He is a graduate of the old Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and was one of the most prominent and able physicians of his day. He was twice married. His first wife, the mother of our subject, died in 1836. She was a true Christian, an affectionate wife, loving and devoted mother, and was universally loved by all who knew her. She was the mother of eight children. The second wife, Elizabeth Colepenny, died in 1845. Five of her seven children are living. Our subject in his early life attended Kenyon College. He early began the study of medicine in his father's office, and in 1843-'44 attended lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago. He was subse- quently appointed Censor at Fort Wayne Medical College, from which he graduated in 1847. The Doctor has been in active practice over fifty years, and has won the reputation he now has by close study and hard work. The opinion of no physician is respected more highly than his, and many of the younger practitioners consult with him when they are called to any difficult or complicated case. The medical fraternity as well as those whom he has treated have the utmost confidence in his judgment, and it will be difficult to fill his place in many of the hearts and homes of De Kalb County. Dr. Stough left Ohio in 1845 and came on horseback to Indiana. His first night in the county was spent with Judge Parker, and in the morning when it was proposed to divide the expense, the Doc- tor gave Mr. Parker 614 cents, all the money he had. The country was then a vast wilderness. The people were poor, the greater part of their money being from the sales of corn and deer skins. Roads were few, and the few were rough and seldom traveled, and the doctor of the pioneer period was
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forced to undergo hardships and privations unknown to the young practitioners of to-day. Dr. Stough is a member of the De Kalb and Steuben County Medical Society. He was mar- ried Aug. 26, 1846, to Elizabeth, daughter of Hugh Wood, of New York. Of their six children five are living-Martha, wife of Silas St. Clair, of Chicago, Ill .; Morgiana, wife of Thomas Ward, of Birmingham, Mich .; Alphonso, a commission mer- chant of Chicago ; Belle, wife of S. H. Schmuck, of Cleveland, Ohio; J. H., a physician of Louisburg, Kan. Mrs. Stough died Jan. 22, 1862, and Dr. Stough subsequently married Elizabeth S. Corkner. They have three children-Ernest S., Edith May and Solomon. Politically Dr. Stough affiliates with the Re- publican party.
David J. Swarts, M. D., was born near Jeromeville, Ashland Co., Ohio, June 30, 1832, a son of David and Catherine (Smith) Swarts. He remained on the farm with his parents till nineteen years of age, when he was sent by them to Vermillion Academy, Hayesville, Ohio, and remained there two and a half years. In 1856 he began the study of medicine with Drs. Robinson & Fire- stone, of Wooster, Ohio, remaining with them till the fall of 1858, when he entered the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in March, 1860. He located at Reedsburg, Ohio, but in November, 1860, removed to Auburn, Ind., where he has built up a large and lucrative practice. In June, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundredth Indiana Infantry, and at the organization of the company was commissioned First Lieutenant. The following October he re- signed his commission and was commissioned Assistant Surgeon of the regiment, and served till mustered out in June, 1865. He participated in most of the battles of the Fifteenth Army Corps, under General John A. Logan, including Pigeon Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, siege of Atlanta, siege of Vicks- burg, Mission Ridge, Black River, siege of Jackson, Lovejoy Station, Bentonville and many others. In 1862, before his en- listment, while associated with Dr. J. N. Chamberlain, was with him employed as one of the county physicians. In 1880 he was again appointed, and is still serving in that capacity. He is also the present Secretary of the County Board of Health. Dr. Swarts was married Aug. 28, 1862, to Vesta M., daughter of Rev. Stephen B. Ward, of Auburn. She was born in Lorain County, Ohio, April 26, 1841, and came with her parents to De
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Kalb County in 1842. She received her early education in Auburn, completing it at Northeastern Indiana Academy, Orland, Steuben County, in 1858, and from that time till her marriage was identified with the teachers of De Kalb County, and for some time was Superintendent of the Auburn schools. In 1863 and 1864 she was connected with the general hospitals at Louisville, Ky. In 1878 she began the study of medicine with her husband, and in August, 1880, upon examination she was admitted to the junior class of the medical department of the University of Michigan, and attended and completed that course for the session of 1880-'81, and March 1, 1882, graduated from the Fort Wayne College of Medicine. Since then she has been engaged in practice with her husband. They have two sons-Harris J., born Aug. 24, 1866; Williard Ward, born July 14, 1872.
William Swartz, one of the pioneers of De Kalb County, was born in Sugar Creek Township, Wayne Co., Ohio, March II, 1830, a son of David and Catherine (Ishler) Swartz. His par- ents emigrated from Lebanon County, Pa., in an early day, and crossing the Allegheny Mountains with teams, located in Wayne County, Ohio, where they lived till 1848, when they moved to De Kalb County, Ind., and located on sections 9 and 10, Union Township, and made a fine farm out of a tract of heavily tim- bered land where they lived the rest of their lives. The mother died in 1865 and the father in 1866. They were mem- bers of the United Brethren church, and were loved and esteemed by all who knew them. William Swartz was eighteen years of age when his parents moved to De Kalb County, and from that time till his marriage assisted his father in clearing his frontier farm. Although he commenced life with limited means, he has been successful, and now has eighty acres of fine land, valued at $75 an acre. Mr. Swartz was married in Stark County, Ohio, in 1853, to Elizabeth, daughter of William and Rebecca Welch. Her father was drowned in Lake Erie, when she was two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have had ten children, seven of whom are living-Adeline, wife of Josiah Kosht ; Angelia, Isora, Tarring, Lulu Bell, Melvin and Jennie. In politics Mr. Swartz affiliates with the Democratic party.
E. H. Taylor, one of the most prominent men of Union Town- ship, was born in Stark County, Ohio, Dec. 19, 1818. His father, John Taylor, was a native of England, and came to America
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with his parents when a child, and was reared and educated in Somerset County, Pa. He married Margaret Shaffer, of Ger- man descent, and soon after moved to Stark County, Ohio, where he worked at his trade (carpenter), and opened a farm in the new country. He subsequently sold his farm in Stark County, with the intention of moving West, but, not liking the country, bought land in Summit County, Ohio, where he lived ten years, and in 1847 moved to De Kalb County, Ind. He was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church, and a man whose opinion was always valued on matters of interest to the public. He was a Justice of the Peace twenty consecutive years, and his advice was always to have " peace " with as little strife as possible. The wife of his youth died in Stark County, Ohio, in 1833. They had a family of ten children, nine of whom are living. In 1835 Mr. Taylor married Elizabeth Stokely, widow of Joseph Stokely. She had a family of three children. Mr. Taylor died in 1870, and Mrs. Taylor in 1861. The subject of our sketch was reared on a pioneer farm and received his education in the primitive log-cabin school-house. As soon as old enough his services were required on the farm, and he was able to attend school only at intervals. In the spring of 1847 he left Ohio and started with teams for De Kalb County, Ind. There were no bridges, and the mud made the roads almost impassable the greater part of the way. He bought eighty acres of heavily timbered land in Franklin Township, and after getting it to a state of cultivation bought 192 acres more, mak- ing one of the best farms in the township. He followed agri- cultural pursuits, and also dealt extensively in stock, selling to the Government from the time of the war till 1877. In 1870 he built a residence in Waterloo, and is now living a quiet life, en- joying the fruits of his many years of hard labor. In politics Mr. Taylor was first an old-line Whig and subsequently a mem- ber of the Republican party. He has held several local offices of trust, such as Assessor, Collector, etc., and in the fall of 1858 was nominated County Treasurer, but was defeated by sixty- nine votes, his opponent being a Republican, running on an In- dependent ticket. In 1859 he was nominated County Clerk, but was defeated by only four votes. In 1874 he was nomi- nated by the Republican party as Representative to the Legis- lature and was elected by four votes, but was defeated by fraud of one of the Board. Mr. Taylor was married in the spring of
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1843 to Elizabeth Smith, a native of Akron, Ohio. They had a family of six children, but two of whom are living-Frances, wife of James A. Matson, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Florence E., wife of Jasper Waterman, of Waterloo. Mrs. Taylor died Feb. 2, 1882. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a most estimable woman.
John Thomas was born in Brown Township, Columbiana Co., Ohio, Nov. 4, 1806. Of a family of eight children, compris- ing five sons and three daughters, he was the third from the eldest. His father died when he was but sixteen years old, and consequently it became his duty to take charge of the fam- ily, which he did for a number of years. In 1832 he became acquainted with Miss Anna Hoover, to whom he was married November 4, 1832, she being the fourth daughter of the late Judge John Hoover, of Stark County, Ohio. From Stark County he and his estimable wife moved to Carroll County, where they resided till September, 1843, when they made their final removal, to De Kalb County, Ind., arriving here the 3d of October. The country then was nearly an unbroken forest, but with hard labor and a firm determination, large fields were put under cultivation from which ample harvests were gath- ered. They lived together in peace and harmony till 1861, when his amiable partner was called away to the immortalities of the spirit world from which no traveler returns. Dec. 13, 1863, he was married to Mrs. Rebecca Fisher, the second daughter of John Hoover, living with her till his death, Feb. 28, 1883, aged seventy-six years, three months and twenty-four days. He left a widow and six children. He was a kind father and a provident husband. Never at variance, but al- ways at peace with his neighbors, his enemies were few, but his friends were many. In his early years he belonged to the Baptist church, but later joined the Dunkard church. The funeral services were held in Auburn in the Baptist church, and were conducted by Rev. Barden and Elder Ward.
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