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 87
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" Time did not pause in its onward flight, Welcome the day or welcome the night. Take the eye's vision, as well as its hue, Wrinkles for dimples more plentifully strew. Take from the cheek the last of its bloom, Only the faded belong to the tomb. Withered and sere like the autumn leaf, Ripe, full of grain, like the harvest sheaf,
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Lord, I'm gathered safe into the fold, Welcome be silver instead of gold."
Thomas H. Tomlinson, Auditor of De Kalb County, Ind., is a native of Ireland, and was born at Arklow, Wicklow County, Sept. 14, 1837, a son of James and Mary Tomlinson. Before he was three years of age his father died, and thus at a very early age he was obliged to battle with the world. When he was ten years of age, in 1847, he came with his mother to the United States and settled in Wilmington Township, De Kalb Co., Ind., near the present site of Butler. When a mere boy he worked out as a day laborer, and thus maintained and edu- cated himself. In 1862, at Butler, he enlisted in the Union army as a private in Company A, Eighty-eighth Indiana In- fantry, and served till the close of the war. He was mustered out in 1865. After his return home he taught school during the winter and worked as a farm hand the rest of the year. In November, 1882, he was elected, on the Democratic ticket, Auditor of De Kalb County for a term of four years. He is well qualified for the position, and makes an efficient officer. In the spring of 1866 Mr. Tomlinson was married to Mary E. Freman, who died in September, 1877, leaving three children -Martha I., Laura A. and George. In November, 1879, he was married to Mary Teutsch. They have one daughter- Dette Leola.
Eugene Trout, of the firm Long & Trout, liverymen, Auburn, was born in Union Township, De Kalb County, Ind., Sept. 16, 1858. He was the adopted son of George W. Trout, deceased, a pioneer of De Kalb County, and one of the first business men of Waterloo. He was reared and educated in Waterloo. He engaged in the livery business two years before coming to Auburn in 1882, and here was employed two years to superin- tend Casebeer & Matheny's livery stable. He then clerked a few months, and in September, 1884, formed a partnership with Edgar E. Long in the livery business. Mr. Trout was mar- ried May 12, 1881, to Frankie Buss, daughter of William Buss, of Smithfield Township. They have two children-George W., aged three years, and Cyrus B., aged one year. He is a member of the Knights of Honor.
Fay J. Van Auken, Surveyor of De Kalb County, Ind., was born at Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Feb. 8, 1852. He came to Indiana with his parents, Jacob and Nancy Van Auken, in the autumn
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of 1860, they settling near Pleasant Lake, Steuben County. When he was eighteen years of age he came to De Kalb County and taught in the district schools. He obtained a scientific education by attending the Union High School at Angola, and the Wesleyan College at Hillsdale, Mich., defraying his ex- penses by teaching. In December, 1873, he was appointed by the Commissioners of De Kalb County, Surveyor, to fill a vacancy, and in 1874 was elected on the Democratic ticket to the same office, and re-elected in 1876 and 1878. In 1880 he was the nominee of the Democratic party for Sheriff of De Kalb County, but being so young, and running against an older and very popular man was defeated by a majority of ninety- six votes. In 1882 he was again nominated Surveyor and was elected by a majority of 451, and re-elected in 1884 by about the same majority. In May, 1873, Mr. Van Auken was mar- ried to Maggie Williams, of Auburn. They have had six chil- dren, but five are living-Ray, Roy, Maud, Frank B. and Jay J., Jr. A daughter, May, died May 1, 1880. Mr. Van Auken is a prominent Mason, and is a member of De Kalb Lodge, No. 214, William Hacker Chapter, No. 63, Angola Council, No. 27, and Apollo Commandery, No. 19, at Kendallville. He has been Master of his lodge, was twice elected High Priest of his chapter, and has filled the office of Warder in his commandery.
J. C. Veley, manufacturer and dealer in lumber, Auburn, Ind., was born near Butler, De Kalb Co., Ind., Feb. 27, 1840, a son of Aaron and Eleanor (Nelson) Veley, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ohio. His mother came to In- diana in 1835 and his father In 1836, and here they were mar- ried and settled on a farm. J. C. remained on the farm with his parents till twenty-one years of age, when he became en- gaged in riving staves in Butler, having in his employ a large number of men. He carried on this business till 1874, when he came to Auburn and purchased a saw-mill and has since manufactured both hard and soft wood lumber, shipping it to home and foreign markets. July 26, 1864, he was married to Nancy J., daughter of Rev. John McCurdy, an old settler of Butler. They have one daughter-Meta. Mr. and Mrs. Veley are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a de- mitted member of Forest Lodge, No. 229, F. & A. M.
Jacob Walborn is the eldest son of Jacob and Mary (Apple) Walborn, natives of Pennsylvania, who removed in early life
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to Ohio, and in the spring of 1864 to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Keyser Township, where the father died Dec. 4, 1868, and the mother still lives. Of a family of thirteen chil- dren, all lived till maturity and nine are still living. When twenty years of age our subject began to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he worked about twenty years. He came with his parents to De Kalb County and located in Auburn, where he engaged in contracting and building, putting up some of the finest stores and dwellings in the place. He has a farm in Keyser Township, to which he has given considerable atten- tion. On the retirement of George Hazard as President of the First National Bank of Auburn, he was elected to fill the va- cancy and served two years, bringing the bank from its preca- rious condition to a substantial footing. After disposing of his stock in the First National Bank he assisted in organizing and is one of the stockholders of the Farmers' Bank of Auburn. He is a member of the School Board, and is now serving as its Secretary. He was married in Champaign County, Ohio, to Lettitia Briggs, a native of Pennsylvania. They have two daughters-Amanda R., wife of L. T. Rice, and Clara R. Mr. and Mrs. Walborn are members of the Lutheran church.
William J. Walsworth is a native of New York, born in Gene- see County, Jan. 12, 1827. When he was eight years old his par- ents, Levi and Mary (Latson) Walsworth, moved to Sandusky County, Ohio, where they remained four years, and in the fall of 1838 moved to De Kalb County, Ind., and the following Jan- uary settled on a tract of wild land four miles east of Auburn. They made a home and resided there till their death. The mother died June 14, 1849, and the father July 16, 1880. They had a family of seven children ; five are living-Sarah E., wife of Charles Piatt ; George J., Wesley P., Matilda E., wife of Jerry D. Likens, of Nebraska“; and William J. Our subject remained at home till twenty-four years of age, when he was married and settled on the farm where he now lives. At that time it was a heavily timbered tract of land, and by his own in- dustry and good management he has brought it to its present advanced state of cultivation. His residence and farm build- ings are all in good repair, and are large and commodious. He has been an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, and has assisted liberally all projects of public interest. He was elected Assessor of Union Township, and served one term. He was married Jan.
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15, 1850, to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Fiesher. They have two children-Mary E., wife of C. C. Boyer, and Amos B. Mr. and Mrs. Walsworth are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, of which he has been Class-leader and Trustee. In politics he is a Republican.
Rev. Stephen Brown Ward, one of the early settlers of De Kalb County, Ind., was born in Randolph, Portage Co., Ohio, July 22, 1816, a son of Josiah and Mindwell (Harris) Ward. His parents died before he was four years of age and he was bound to William Jones of Randolph, with whom he lived till his nineteenth year, and had acquired a fair education in the public schools, and by private study, having followed a system- atic course of reading. In 1839 he married Miss Laura Ather- ton Brooks, a daughter of Dr. G. Brooks, of Bath, Ohio. After his marriage he lived in Randolph and Columbia, Ohio, till 1842, when Jan. 22, he removed to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled on a tract of land he had previously purchased in Wilmington Township. He was converted at the age of six- teen years and joined the Congregational church, but in 1841, while living in Columbia became a member of the Baptist church, and was licensed to preach. After coming to De Kalb County, while engaged in improving his land, he had appoint- ments in different parts of the county, traveling through the woods on foot or horseback, often riding twenty and thirty miles a day. In the summer of 1847 he was regularly ordained a minister and since that time has given the greater portion of his attention to preaching the Gospel and pastoral work, till within the last five years when his age has obliged him to re- tire to a more quiet life. He moved to Auburn in 1852. He has probably performed more marriage ceremonies and at- tended more funerals than any other minister in De Kalb County. In the winter of 1857-'8 he represented his district in the Indiana State Legislature. To Mr. and Mrs. Ward have been born three children-Vesta M., wife of Dr. D. J. Swarts ; Harris D., a merchant of Kendallville, Ind., and Mary A., widow of John H. Ehlers, late a druggist of Auburn.
John Morris Widney, of the firm of Lewis & Widney, Au- burn, Ind., was born in Concord Township, De Kalb County, Nov. 6, 1855, a son of John P. and Mary H. Widney. He lived with his parents till his majority, when he began farming for himself in Union Township. He received a good educa-
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tion, finishing it at the Auburn High School. He followed ag- ricultural pursuits five years and in the fall of 1880 came to Auburn and became associated with Abner Lewis in the lum- ber business ; firm name Lewis & Widney. They carry a com- plete stock of lumber, lath, shingles, lime, tiling and building material. Mr. Widney was married May 15, 1884, to Lulu M. Carpenter, of Antwerp, Ohio.
Moses B. Willis, dealer in books, stationery and notions, Au- burn, was born in Salina, Oneida Co., N. Y., Nov. 8, 1839, a son of Henry and Emeline (Hewitt) Willis. In 1843 his par- ents moved to Indiana and settled in Richland Township, De Kalb County, where he was reared on a farm, receiving his ed- ucation in the district schools, with the exception of two terms at the high school at Orland, Steuben County, and two at Auburn, De Kalb County. In the winters of 1859 and 1860 he taught two terms in Jackson and Fairfield townships. In Sep- tember, 1861, he enlisted in Company K, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry for three years, and served a few days over four years, having veteranized in February, 1864. He enlisted as a private, but was appointed Third Sergeant, and April 17, 1863, was promoted to Second Lieutenant. Owing to the depleted con- dition of his regiment he was not mustered in as Lieutenant, but Jan. 16, 1865, he was commissioned Captain, the regiment having been filled up with recruits. He was mustered out in September, 1865. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, where he was slightly wounded, siege of Corinth, in the march from Corinth to Battle Creek, Tenn., where they remained about a month, and then joined the race between Generals Buell and Bragg to Louisville. Afterward participated in the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge and others. After the battle at Mission Ridge his regiment was stationed at Chattanooga on guard duty, where they remained till their discharge, and during their stay at Chattanooga, on June 17, 1865, he was detailed as a niember of a general court- martial for the trial of several cases, and served as president of the court until detailed by order of General Thomas, on June 26, 1865, to act as Inspector of the Second Brigade. First Sep- arate Division, Army of the Cumberland, which position he filled until the brigade was broken up, when he again returned to and took charge of his company, with which he remained until they were mustered out. After his return home he fol-
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lowed agricultural pursuits in Richland Township till the spring of 1875, when he went to Waterloo and engaged with his father and brother in the notions business, retiring from the firm in the fall of 1877, when he came to Auburn and became established in his present business. He was married Nov. 9, 1865, to Miss E. J., daughter of L. D. Britton, of Corunna. They have three children-Marion B., Lewis H. and Nettie B. Politically he is a Republican. He and his wife and daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Henry A. Winslow, a native of Stark County, Ohio, was born Aug. 10, 1847. In 1852 he came with his mother to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Richland Township, living with her about one year. He was then taken and reared by his Uncle, Urias Thomas, with whom he lived till he was twenty- one years of age. He received a common-school education, attending the Auburn and Waterloo high schools. He began teaching in 1867, and taught about twelve years during the winter season, but worked on the farm in the summer. He was an efficient and successful teacher, and always popular with his pupils. Abandoning teaching, he turned his attention wholly to agricultural pursuits, at which he has been very successful. His farm contains sixty acres of choice land. Aug. 20, 1868, he was married to Cynthia M. Thomas, the sixth daughter of John and Anna Thomas, early settlers of De Kalb County, settling in Union Township in 1843. To Mr. and Mrs. Winslow has been born one son-Justus A.
George Wolfe was born in Stark County, Ohio, Sept. 9, 1821, a son of John and Elizabeth (Zahner) Wolfe, his father a na- tive of Maryland and his mother of Pennsylvania. They were among the first settlers of Columbiana County, Ohio, where they were married. They subsequently moved to Stark County, and there spent the remainder of their lives. Nine children were born to them ; all lived till maturity. George Wolfe was reared and educated in his native county, and was there married March 16, 1843, to Eliza Fisk, a native of New York. In 1847 they moved to De Kalb County, Ind., where Mrs. Wolfe died in August, 1855. Two of their five children are living. He was again married Jan. 18, 1857, to Sarah Lutz, a native of Stark County, Ohio. One of their two children is living. Mr. Wolfe was a prosperous man, and accumulated a fine farm of 100 acres, valued at $75 an acre. He was a promi-
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nent and influential man in the township, and served as Justice of the Peace twenty-nine consecutive years, besides holding other local offices of trust. In politics he was a strong sup- porter of Democratic principles. Mr. Wolfe died Feb. 27, 1885, at the age of sixty-three years, five months and eighteen days.
Oliver H. Widney, son of John P. and Jane (Linn) Widney, was born Nov. 12, 1841, near Newville, De Kalb Co., Ind. He was reared on a farm, and in early life attended the district school at Orangeville. After moving to Auburn he attended school at that place, completing his education at the Newville Academy, after which he taught school for some time. When a young man he cleared a farm of seventy acres, bringing it from a swampy state to be one of the best farms in his neigh- borhood. This farm he traded in 1877 to his father for the old homestead on the St. Joe River, near the town of St. Joe. He has been moderately successful in his farming pursuits, now owning a good farm of 134 acres which he has gained by his own perseverance and industry. He was married Nov. 3, 1864, to Emily F. Maxwell, a resident of Concord Township. They have two children-H. Mervin, born March 24, 1866, and Lenore, born May 18, 1881. Aug. 7, 1862, Mr. Widney enlisted as a private in Company H, Eighty-eighth Indiana Infantry. He was at Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Louisville, Ky., thence after General Bragg, through Kentucky, and participated in the battle of Perryville, Oct. 8, 1862. He was discharged at Nashville, Dec. 15, 1862, having been sick the greater part of the time while in the army, and returned home almost a living skeleton. He remained at home till he recovered, when he again enlisted, July 18, 1863, as First Duty Sergeant of Com- pany D, One Hundred and Eighteenth Indiana Infantry, and was in the battles of Walker's Ford, Dec. 2, 1863, Bull's Gap, in October, 1863, and Tazewell, East Tenn., in January, 1864, and was discharged March 4, 1864. Mr. Widney is serv- ing his first term as County Commissioner. He has been re-elected to serve a second term. He is a member of John C. Carnes Post, No. 144, G. A. R., and has served as Junior or Senior Vice-Commander since the organization of the post, being at the present time Senior Vice-Commander. In politics he was reared a Republican, but since 1870 has affiliated with the Democratic party. His parents were married in Pennsyl- vania in the winter of 1835-'36, and in 1836 came to this county, locating near Newville. They settled on the farm where our subject now resides in 1843. The father is at present living at Belleville, Ohio. The mother died at Auburn in October, 1851, while John P. Widney was Clerk of the De Kalb County Circuit Court.
CHAPTER XXIV.
WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP.
POSITION .- GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY .- FIRST SETTLE- MENT .- EARLY INCIDENTS .- PIONEERS .- FIRST ELECTION .- IN THE WAR .- PIONEER LIFE OF JOHN N. MILLER .- FIRST MARRIAGE. - STORY OF DAN COATS .- THE " HARD WIN- TER."-ORGANIZATION AS A TOWNSHIP .- EARLY TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS. - POPULATION. - PROPERTY AND TAXATION .- AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. - BUTLER. - EARLY HISTORY AND SUBSEQUENT PROGRESS .- BUSINESS DIRECTORY .- PRO- FESSIONAL .- BANK .- NEWSPAPERS .- SCHOOLS .- RELIGIOUS. -SOCIETIES .- BIOGRAPHICAL.
Wilmington Township lies in the east central portion of the county, and is bounded as follows: on the north by Franklin Township, on the east by Stafford, on the south by Concord, and on the west by Union. It is crossed east and west by the air-line of the Michigan Southern Railroad, and northeast and south west by the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific, the two roads meeting at Butler in the northeastern part. Agriculturally it is about second-class land, yet portions are excellent, especially along Big Run, a considerable stream running through the township. Wilmington is said to be the best township in De Kalb County for fine oak timber, and second only to Jackson for grass growing.
In 1835 no white man had yet invaded the soil of Wilming- ton Township. The following year the first log cabin was erected by Byron Bunnell ; Mr. Lonsberry's house was next. and George Egnew's next. In 1837 the county was organized and township lines were established, these three cabins falling within the borders of Wilmington. Two of these cabins were located on what is now called the Newville and Auburn road, and one was called at an early day the Bunnell place ; the Lonsberry place adjoined it on the north. In the early part of 1837 Ira Allen came in and pitched a cloth tent on an oak hill on the east side of the township. In that tent he remained perhaps a
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month or two until he put up what was in those times a commo- dious house, composed of oak logs hewed square and notched down closely. When he came in he was a very large, stout, muscular man, apparently with an iron constitution. He finally became broken down with rheumatism. As an instance of the hardships and exposures that probably brought on this afflic- tion, we will relate an incident.
Sometime in October, 1837, Mr. Allen went out to hunt his cattle of which he had a number, and after finding them far out in the apparently interminable woods and swamps to the north and west, he started home with them. On the way one of his work oxen mired down. After laboring hard in the mud and water for some time (the other cattle. in the mean time getting scattered in the woods again) he started for his tent, but failed in reaching it and lay out through the cold and frosty night, wet and muddy as he was. The next day John N. Miller, an early settler of the same township, while making his way through the wilderness to the land he had entered, heard some one hail him away out where he was not looking for a human being, and on going where the voice came from, he found Mr. Allen and his boys laboring to get the ox out of the mire, it having lain there all night and until the afternoon of the next day. They had forgotten to bring an ax, and had to cut a pry by bending down a sapling and cutting it off with a pocket-knife, while the fibers of the wood were thus strained. Getting this pry under the beast, they finally raised him from his sunken condition, but had to roll him several times over be- fore he could find firm footing.
The commodious block-house erected by Mr. Allen was long used as a meeting-house as well as a dwelling, and here in an early day was held many a prayer-meeting, or Sunday worship.
Others who came in 1837 were: Lot B. Coe, William P. Means, Charles Handy, Dr. Sawyer and several more. By this time the newcomers began to feel pretty good ; they were get- ting neighbors within two or three miles of each other, and could hear their dogs bark, as well as hear the wolves howl every night. The sturdy yeomen battled their way through thick and thin to get a living for their families, and had to en- dure all the privations of a frontier life. Charles Handy was the first blacksmith in the township, and settled at what is now called Handy's corners. He rendered the pioneers much ser-
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vice by making shoes and shoeing a horse all round for 50 cents. Think of this, ye blacksmiths of the present day, and weep !
Amos Lonsberry was the first white child born in the town- ship. At the close of 1837 twenty-two families were settled within the borders of Wilmington.
The first election was held at Ira Allen's, on the farm since owned by William Crooks. Says a pioneer : " As our town- ship was in limited circumstances as to population, and most of them had the ague, and it took two of them to make a shadow, and even then they could not go to the polls, we had to apply to Stafford Township to help us fill up the board, and both townships held their elections together at the above place and elected the several officers. Among them were: William P. Means, for County Assessor, and Mr. Lonsberry, for School Commissioner. I don't recollect the balance of the officers that were elected in those days; we had not much use for 'squires or constables, but I think Ariel Walden was elected Associate Judge of the court for this county. The first Justice of the Peace elected was a Mr. Pearsons. Constables were not needed. There was nothing to quarrel about, and nobody to quarrel with; everything moved off nicely, and all were as happy as clams. Year by year emigration kept pouring in until we soon became a populous township, second to none in the county." Concord, the first settled, had the largest popu- lation until 1842.
In 1856 the township had quite a " boom " on account of the construction of the air line of the Michigan Southern Railroad, and the consequent growth of Butler, at first called Norristown. This railroad being completed opened up a market for surplus agricultural products. This brought in grain and produce buyers, and the farmers began to realize prices better than they had ever obtained at Fort Wayne. The consequent prosperity enabled Wilmington's farmers generally to improve their farms, build frame houses and barns, and drain their fields.
During the war Wilmington was an eminently loyal town- ship, being among the first to respond to the call for three months' men, and every call that was made by the Government was promptly met by her quota. The draft was never resorted to in this township.
The construction of the second railroad across its territory
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in 1872 gave a new and lasting impulse to the prosperity of the people ; and with the substantial growth of the town of Butler, the township has attained an enviable position among its sisters in De Kalb County.
As before stated, John N. Miller, afterward of Auburn, was one of the very first settlers in Wilmington. We give a few incidents of his pioneer life, quoting from Mr. Widney's narra tive :
" In the winter of 1836-'7 I took a job of chopping of Mr. Lytle, who had sold out where he first settled and had entered the tract of land since owned by the late William Pryor in Staf- ford Township. The job was on the river bottoms, where the timber was very heavy-huge oaks and elms, with enormous tops, being rather too plenty to get along fast; and as I had to take down all the timber and cut it up ready for logging. I received only four or five dollars (I do not now remember dis- tinctly the wages), and was to take my pay in potatoes, pork, beans, etc. For potatoes I paid $1 per bushel; for pork 16 cents per pound ; and other things in proportion. The price of chopping was low, and that of the articles of pay high ; yet I could not do better, as provisions must be had.
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