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 93
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States in 1847, and in 1854 moved to Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Oberlin have had nine children, seven of whom are living- Alice, Inez, George, Charles, Clyde, Pearl and Carl. Alice married James Cantlebury, and has two children-Frederick and Nora. Inez married Curtis McBride, and has two children -Winona and Leroy.
Frederick W. Oberlin is a native of Massillon, Ohio, born Sept. 21, 1826, a son of Adam Oberlin. When he was an in- fant his parents moved to a farm, and there he was reared, having early to help on the farm, and very limited educational advantages, as the school was some ways from their home. In 1847 he came to De Kalb County and settled in Franklin Town- ship, where he followed agricultural pursuits several years, and at the same time ran a Massillon thresher for the farmers. He subsequently moved to Butler, where he kept a grocery three years. He owns the brick business block on the west side of Broadway, now occupied by a grocery and bakery. Mr. Ober- lin was married in September, 1851, to Mary Slentz, who died in 1866. They had a family of seven children, five of whom are living-Lovina, Sarah E., Melinda, Jeremiah and Harriet. One son, James, died at the age of twenty-seven years. June 7, 1867, Mr. Oberlin married Mrs. Martha A. Miers, daughter of Joseph Favorite, and widow of Jacob Miers. They have one child-Mary Jane. Mrs. Oberlin has one son-Joseph F. Miers.
Abner F. Pinchin, attorney at law, Butler, Ind., was born Sept. 28, 1822, near the old fort in Ticonderoga, N. Y., a son of John Pinchin, a native of Massachusetts, of English descent. His grandfather was a soldier in the war of the Revolution; his father in the war of 1812, and he in the war of the Rebell- ion. When he was eight years of age he went to Vermont to live with a sister, and remained there till 1838, when he re-
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moved with his sister to Huntington County, Ind., and thence the same fall to Troy Township, De Kalb County. In the fall of 1840 he returned to his native county and learned the black- smith's trade. In 1842 he went to Racine, Wis., and was em- ployed in the construction of the harbor, on which he dug the first shovel of dirt. In 1844 he returned to De Kalb County, and in 1856 went to Hamilton, Steuben County, where he be- gan the study of law and was admitted to the bar in August, 1856. He has resided in Butler since 1865, and has built up a good practice. Mr. Pinchin was married Feb. 9, 1845, to Amelia P. Aldrich, who died in 1855, leaving two children, both now deceased, Sept. 19, 1855, he married Harriet Knisely. But two of the four children born to them are living-Emma O. and Abner E. From 1861 till 1863 Mr. Pinchin was a re- cruiting officer in the service of the United States, and during that time enrolled about 1,000 names. In December, 1863, he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indi- ana Infantry, and March 7, 1864, was commissioned First Lieu- tenant. He remained with the regiment till January, 1865, when he was detailed Ambulance officer, and as such was mustered out. He participated in the battles of Resaca, At- lanta, Franklin, Tenn., and Nashville. At the battle of Frank- lin the rebels were in greatly the majority, but determined effort on the part of the Union forces won the day. The army reports at Washington, D. C., give A. F. Pinchin the credit of gaining the battle of Franklin. The supply of ammunition was run out and he volunteered to make the attempt to pass through the ranks and to the rear for more, but before he reached headquarters he was wounded, but revived, had the ammunition sent to the front and the ranks supplied, and they were able to repel the attacks. His bravery and determination inspired the soldiers, and with renewed effort Franklin was won by the Union forces.
Augustus Porter, section 1, Wilmington Township, was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Oct. 4, 1815, a son of Augustus Porter, a ship-carpenter, who worked at his trade in winter and in the summer attended to his farm. Our subject received a good education, attending the High Schools of Norwalk and Clarksfield, Ohio. He then taught seven or eight winters, working on the farm in the summer. During the summer of 1837 he chopped wood at 25 cents a day. In 1838 he came to
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Indiana and lived in Steuben County till 1840; then returned to Huron County, Ohio, and thence in 1841 to Williams County, Ohio, and in 1854 returned to Steuben County, Ind. In 1856 he again went to Williams County, Ohio, and in 1870 returned to Steuben County, and in November, 1873, moved to De Kalb County, and lived in Butler Township one year.' In November, 1874, he moved to the farm in Wil- mington Township, where he has since lived. In addition to superintending his farm he is engaged in securing soldiers' claims, bounties, pensions, and back pay. He is doing a good business, but has met with a number of losses through sharp- ers, amounting to $7,000. He owns eighty acres of good land, and has given his son fifty acres. Mr. Porter has experienced all the phases of pioneer life, in both Williams and Steuben counties. The first year he lived in Williams County he cleared a small patch of ground, raised a crop of corn and fattened hogs for market, but found that the nearest one was seventy miles away, so he killed his hogs and salted them with salt that cost him $5 a barrel. The next year he exchanged his meat for labor, getting 2 cents a pound for it. The nearest postoffice, mill, and trading point were twenty miles away. They raised the produce and vegetables required for the family, and paid their taxes and bought their groceries with furs and deer skins. Mr. Porter has held the offices of Postmaster, Justice of the Peace, and Notary Public. He was married March 10, 1845, to Ra- chel, daughter of Daniel and Isabel McLaughlin. They have had seven children, but two of whom are living -- Clark and Grace. One daughter, Jane, married John Crise, and died at the age of thirty-one years.
Julius Proctor, farmer on section 12, Wilmington Township, was born in Huron County, Ohio, Jan. 3, 1819. His father, Oliver Proctor (deceased), was a native of Canada, who settled in Huron County, Ohio, in 1816. Julius Procter was reared a farmer and obtained his education in the old log-cabin subscrip- tion schools. In the fall of 1846 he came to this county, set- tling on his present farm, at that time being all woods. There was but one house where Butler now stands. It was made of hewed logs, and is now occupied by Tim Otis. Mr. Proctor was married May 29, 1841, in his native county, to Matilda Brainard (deceased), whose parents settled where Butler now stands in 1840, and built the house mentioned above. To Mr.
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and Mrs. Proctor were born five children, of whom only two survive-William Edward and John B. One son, Charles, was a soldier in the late war, in Company L, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry, and participated in eleven hard- fought battles, besides several skirmishes. His death occurred March II, 1871. Mr. Proctor also served in the late war in Company L, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Indiana Infantry, for seven months, he being one of the oldest volunteers from this county. He was crippled while in the service, for which he draws a pension.
George Pugsley , Justice of the Peace and farmer, section 29, Wilmington Township, was born Jan. 28, 1838, a son of Joseph Pugsley, a native of England, who .came to America in 1845 and located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Mr. Pugsley was reared a farmer but obtained by his own exertion a good edu- cation, attending the seminaries at Chagrin Falls and Twins- burg, Ohio. When seventeen years of age he began teaching and has taught every winter save three since that time. Many began at A, B, C, and continued under his instruction at the same school until they were qualified to teach and became among the best teachers of the county. He came to Indiana in April, 1860, and settled on his present farm, which was very heavily timbered. He has cleared his land, doing all the work himself, and now has a good farm under excellent cultivation. Mr. Pugsley has been four times elected Justice of the Peace in his township and is now serving the fourth term. He was married in March, 1860, to Caroline Bailey, daughter of Cyrus Bailey. To them have been born ten children, nine of whom are living-Cora L., Mary E., Reuben J., Eugene E., George E., Emma J., Walter G., William H., Laura E. and an infant son. Mrs. Pugsley and three daughters, Cora L., Mary E. and Emma J., are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
James Revett is a native of Kinning Hall, County of Norfolk, England, born Aug. 14, 1806, a son of James Revett. He came to America in the fall of 1824 and located in Canada. He was a British soldier in Canada and Nova Scotia. In January, 1829, he came to the United States and lived in Pennsylvania a num- ber of years, having a shoe shop in Bradford County the most of the time. In September, 1845, he came to De Kalb County and located three miles south of the present site of Butler. Not being able to get any work at his trade he worked on
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Henry Fusselman's millrace at 50 cents a day, from daylight till starlight, and then had to carry water a half a mile and make porridge for his sick family. For several years he en- gaged in farming, and many times has hauled his grain to Fort Wayne and there sold it for 53 cents a bushel, half cash and half trade, and spent all the cash to feed his team on the way home. In 1855 he moved to Butler and began to work at his trade which he followed successfully several years, and now lives retired from active business life. He was married April 13, 1834, to Sarah M. Haskins, daughter of Aris Haskins. At their golden wedding in 1884, 250 people were in attendance, and they received many valuable presents. They have had nine children ; but four are living-Eliza J., Abigail E., Thomas and Minerva Anna. James died at the age of thirteen years, John D., aged ten months; Matilda, aged twenty-five years ; and George E., March 9, 1879. In 1861 Mr. Revett and his son George enlisted in the war for the Union. At Donelson Mr. Revett was wounded and now draws a pension. George participated in all the engagements of the Forty-fourth Indiana, and although wounded at Shiloh, had his wound dressed and remained with his regiment. He was a brave soldier, but died from the effects of his exposure during the war. Mr. Revett is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has a gold-headed mahogany cane presented him by his brethren in the order. Mrs. Revett has been a hard-working woman, al- ways doing her share to assist in the maintenance of the family. She is a native of New York, of English descent, her great- grandfather, Benjamin Haskins, coming to America in an early day and settling in Massachusetts, where her grandfather, Richard Haskins, was born.
Frank Reynolds, farmer, section 12, Wilmington Township, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, May 4, 1833, a son of James and Mary (McLellan) Reynolds, his father a native of Delaware and his mother of Greene County, Pa. His mother was a granddaughter of Colonel Mclellan, who was killed by an In- dian while camping by a spring. Some years after a son of Colonel Mclellan met the Indian and was rowing with him across the river, when he learned the facts and attempted to kill him, but the Indian escaped by jumping into the river. Mr. Reynolds was reared and educated in his native county, and in 1849 came to De Kalb County, Ind., and taught school
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the following winter. The next spring he returned to Ohio, with the intention of going to California, but his friends pur- suaded him to abandon the idea. In 1854 he came with his father's family to De Kalb County and settled near Auburn. He subsequently lived some years in Troy Township, and in 1872 moved to Wilmington Township and settled on the farm where he now lives. He was married Aug. 7, 1856, to Lucy A. Wannamaker, a native of Trumbull County, Ohio, born Jan. 8, 1834, a daughter of Elder Samuel Wannamaker. To them have been born four children-William W., deceased ; Laura M., wife of Hon. W. W. Darby, of Bryan, Ohio; Frank E. and Alzein M. Mrs. Reynolds's father came to De Kalb County in 1844, and settled in Stafford Township, where he fol- lowed agricultural pursuits, and at the same time preached for the Christian church. He had a family of six children-Charles H., deceased ; Lucinda, Cordelia, Maria, Lucy A. and Laura A. Mr. Wannamaker died in the spring of 1880. Mr. Reynolds has traveled over the most of the States and Territories. In 1879 he took a trip South, visiting Washington, Richmond, Cincinnati and several of the Southern cities, and in 1882 went to California, going by the Southern and returning by the Cen- tral route. He and his wife are members of the Christian church.
Jesse W. Rose, a pioneer of De Kalb County, was born in Trum- bull County, Ohio, March 29, 1818, a son of John Rose, a native of Maryland, who settled in Trumbull County in 1816, and in 1836 moved to De Kalb County, settling în Stafford Township, in the dense woods. A colony of twenty-six persons came from Trumbull County, reaching De Kalb County Oct. 4. John Rose entered 320 acres of land on section 19, and by the next spring had enough of it cleared to raise some grain and vegetables. Their nearest market was Fort Wayne or Defiance. Two years later Rev. Ladd Thomas opened a small grocery in the colony, bringing his goods from Fort Wayne on horseback. He at- tended to their material wants during the week, and on Sunday administered to their spiritual needs. Indians were numerous, but peaceable and quiet. The chief, John Brown, was a fre- quent visitor to the Rose family. Our subject was one of the most energetic young men in the colony. He had a good team and was often called on to assist at log-rollings and house-rais- ings. He has done as much to make De Kalb County what it
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is as any of the early settlers. He has been very prominently identified with all public interests, and has held several posi- tions of trust and responsibility. But a few days after attain- ing his majority he was elected Constable and served four years. He has served as Clerk ten years, and Treasurer two years. He was married March 21, 1858, to Marilla A., daughter of Stephen W. Hackley. They had one child, now deceased. An adopted daughter, Martha, is now the wife of Samuel H. Tyson, and has two children-Rose and Herbert. Mrs. Rose died Feb. 1, 1880. She was a member of the United Brethren church, and a sincere, earnest Christian. None who applied to her for food or assist- ance was turned away. Her presence was comforting in the sick-room, and in any time of trouble her quiet ministrations were beneficial and cheering. Her death was a loss to the community and to her family that cannot be estimated.
William A. Rose, farmer, section 28, Wilmington Township, was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, March 5, 1842, a son of James Rose, who moved his family to De Kalb County in 1846 and settled in Wilmington Township, and in 1866 moved to Moore County, Minn., where he died in 1874. William A. Rose was reared and educated in De Kalb County. He enlisted in the war of the Rebellion, in Company F, Forty-fourth Indiana In- fantry, as private, and was promoted through the various grades to Second Lieutenant. He participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga and others, serv- ing four years. Feb. 11, 1864, while home on a furlough, he was married to Celestine C. Matthews, a daughter of Nathan Mat- thews, who settled on section 27, Wilmington Township, in 1841. Five children have been born to them; but three are liv- ing-Grace, Bertha and Frank. Mr. Rose moved to his present farm in July, 1880. He has fifty-three acres of valuable land, with a good residence and farm-buildings, and is one of the prosperous farmers of Wilmington Township. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Thomas Rudd, dealer in fresh and cured meats, canned goods and oysters, Butler, Ind., was born in Bellevue, Ohio, April 30, 1854, a son of John W. and Mary (Wolcott) Rudd, natives of Devonshire, England, who emigrated to America in 1852 and settled in Ohio, where his father died in 1863. He then lived with a family named Chamberlain till sixteen years of age, 64
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three years of the time in Monticello, Jones Co., Iowa. When sixteen years of age he began clerking for a man in a meat market, and in April, 1880, came to Butler and established his present place of business. He is a genial, courteous tradesman, and has built up a good trade. He keeps constantly on hand all kinds of goods in his line, and this added to his reasonable prices insures his success. Mr. Rudd was married Nov. 5, 1874, to Mary Link, of North Monroeville, Ohio. They have had two children-Robert, deceased, and Frederick. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Royal Arcanum, Bellevue, Ohio. He is a member of the Board of Town Trustees.
Prof. Thomas J. Sanders, A. M., was born in Wayne County, Ohio, Jan. 18, 1855, of humble but honorable parents. Of his ancestors on his father's side, though most probably of English descent, nothing is known certainly further back than his grand- father, who was a native of Pennsylvania. They are charac- terized by that vigor of body and mind, strength of passion, inflexibility of will, and boldness of character of those born to command. On his mother's side his ancestry can be distinctly traced through six or seven hundred years to the old English stock, tall in stature, and possessing great physical and mental power and fertility of resources. The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm, enduring many privations mid practices of rigid economy and earnest toil. At the age of six- teen he resolved, though he knew not how, to push his educa- tion to the highest possible point. Having completed the work in the old " Stratton " school, he prosecuted his studies through many discouragements and sacrifices in the Smithville High · School and the Canaan and Burbank academies. He then entered the classical department of Otterbein University, Wes- terville, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1878, and in the summer of 1880 graduated from the Ohio Central Normal School, Worthington, Ohio. He isat present (1885) taking the post-graduate course, department of philosophy, in the Univer- sity of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio. Was recently elected first life member of the Otterbein University Historical Society, and has just received from the State of Indiana a life license to teach. Previous to his graduation he taught two terms of dis- trict school, and assisted in the academies and High School where he attended. Soon after his graduation from the uni- versity he became Principal of the Edon, Ohio, public schools,
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which position he filled for three years. Subsequently he was called to the Principalship of the West Unity, Ohio, public schools, and after serving one year was elected Superintendent of the Butler public schools, which position he has since filled. In teachers' institutes and associations he is an able and enthu- siastic instructor. He is an earnest and faithful worker in the Sunday-school, engages heartily in all moral reforms, addresses public gatherings, and delivers scientific lectures. Prof. San- ders is a thorough, efficient instructor, a strict disciplinarian, and while he commands the love and esteem of his pupils by his ready co-operation and interest in their plans, inspires them to do good work, and assures them of his own competency to aid them. He has brought the schools of Butler to a high degree of excellence, and conducts them on the most approved methods of normal instruction. He believes that constant acquisition should be the law of the teacher's life ; that no one can become a good teacher who is not a good student, and that it is the animus or spirit of the teacher that gives him his chief value. Says Prof. John Ogden, of Washington, D. C .: "He is a grand student. He combines thought and study with teaching ; in other words, he studies his work. He teaches more than he knows, as every good teacher does; i. e., the pupils get more from his example than from his precept. Virtue goes out from him by contact, for he is an unconscious teacher-a good man." Prof. Sanders was married June 2, 1878, to Gertrude E., daughter of Rev. Charles A. Slater, of Bur- bank, Ohio, also a graduate of Otterbein University. They have one son, Ernest Avery, born June 28, 1881. They are members of the United Brethren church.
John M. Scoville, of the firm Masters & Scoville, dealers in coal and produce, was born in Lorain County, Ohio, July 19, 1841, a son of Ira B. and Harriet (Dennison) Scoville. In 1848 his parents moved to Ashland County, Ohio, and two years later to Medina County, returning to Ashland County in 1852, and in 1858 moved to Williams County. Mr. Scoville received a good education, remaining with his parents till manhood. He enlisted in the war of the Rebellion, Sept. 1, 1861, in Company H, Thirty-eighth Ohio Infantry, and served nearly four years, re-enlisting as a veteran in December, 1863 ; was mustered out July 25, 1865. He enlisted as a private and rose to the rank of Sergeant. He participated in the battles of Corinth, Perryville,
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Stone River, Jonesboro, Atlanta and others. After the war he settled in Pioneer, Ohio, and subsequently moved to Muir, Mich. He came to De Kalb County, Ind., and engaged in the produce business with E. P. Masters, and in January, 1884, added coal. Mr. Scoville was married Sept. 14, 1865, to Lydia R., daughter of Joshua Bear. They have had four children ; three are living-Charles L., George S. and Nellie V.
Andrew Smith, section 36, Wilmington Township, was born in Trenton, Oneida Co., N. Y., May 10, 1814, a son of David Smith, a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., who moved with his family to Wayne County, Ohio, in the fall of 1814. His grandfather, David Smith, was a soldier in the war of the Rev- olution, and was taken prisoner by the British, and with others was to have been put to death. The night before the day set for their execution he and a comrade plead with the door- keeper to give them a little air, and he opened the door slightly and Mr. Smith knocked him down, and then, with about half the prisoners, escaped. David Smith, Jr., was a soldier in the war of 1812. Our subject was reared in Ohio, and in 1845 came to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in the thick woods on the site of his present farm. He cleared a small patch and built a cabin 18 x 20 feet, in which he lived nine years. He now owns 160 acres of valuable land, on which are good farm build- ings. He was married Feb. 4, 1839, to Elizabeth Meacham, who died eighteen months after her marriage. Jan. 1, 1844, he married Susanna Rice, and to them were born three children ; but two are living-George R. and Murray A. Marshall B. is deceased. Mrs. Smith died, and Dec. 23, 1862, Mr. Smith mar- ried Luthera A. Sutherland, who at her death left one son- Andrew M. Sept. 27, 1881, Mr. Smith married Maggie (An- thony) Corey, widow of Jackson Corey. Mrs. Smith has been married three times. Her first husband was John Kiser; they had three children-Lucinda, now Mrs. Wiles ; Sarah F., now Mrs. Andrews, and George H. Mrs. Smith is a native of Jeffer- son County, N. Y., and was left an orphan when a child. She was reared by Abram Beecher, and with him came to De Kalb County in 1836. They lived in a tent ten days and were obliged to keep candles burning all night to keep the wolves away, but even then they would prowl around and growl. The Indian chiefs Popquah and Mashawness visited them often. The lat- ter was 110 years old when the tribe left the settlement.
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Samuel E. Stafford, engineer, Lake Shore & Michigan South- ern Railroad, Butler, Ind., was born in Ashland County, Ind., July 4, 1844, a son of John Stafford, a native of Pennsylvania, but an early settler of Ashland County. In 1852 his parents moved to De Kalb County, Ind., and settled in Jackson Town- ship, where he was reared. He enlisted in the war of the Re- bellion in Company H, Thirtieth Indiana Infantry, and partici- pated in the battles of Atlanta, Franklin, Nashville and others, and at the close of the war was sent with his regiment to Texas, where they remained six months. After his return home he worked on the farm a year and then worked six years at the mason and plasterer's trades. In November, 1872, he entered the employ of the Michigan Southern Railroad Company, and has served them faithfully and well. Since that time he has changed his residence from Elkhart to Butler, alternating be- tween the two several times, coming to Butler the last time in 1884. He has a pleasant residence in Butler. He was mar- ried Jan. 16, 1868, to Elizabeth Henderson, a native of Jackson Township, born Oct. 5, 1846, a daughter of Samuel Henderson, a pioneer of the township. They have five children-Frank M., Jessie M., Charles H. Effie L. and Gertrude M. Mr. Staf- ford is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engin- eers and of the Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Stafford is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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