USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 61
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For many years Dr. Fanning has had a keen interest in political affairs and is now an ardent and enthusiastic supporter of the Progressive party. Religiously, he is a member of the Church of Christ, while his fraternal re- lations are with the Free and Accepted Masons, Modern Woodmen of America and Lodge No. 158, Knights of Pythias.
In 1888 Dr. Fanning married Florence B. Agler, the daughter of Hiram and Laura Agler, of Butler. Dr. Fanning is an enthusiast in his chosen call- ing, a close student, an original thinker and an untiring investigator. He avails himself of every legitimate means to keep in touch with the trend of modern medical thought and is familiar with the leading authorities, having a fine professional library in which he spends much of his time when not re-
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sponding to the calls of his numerous patrons. In him are combined two facts which have been the main contributing elements of his success : thorough prep- aration and a deep interest in the profession, qualities which are absolutely essential to advancement in a calling requiring such proficiency and skill as the healing art. His knowledge of the kindred sciences of medicine and sur- gery is broad and comprehensive and in his professional labors he has shown himself amply qualified to cope with the intricate problems that continually confront the practitioner in his efforts to prolong life and restore health. Per- sonally, he is genial and unassuming and easily makes friends and enjoys a wide and loyal acquaintance throughout the county.
WILLIAM H. HINMAN.
Among the prosperous business men of DeKalb county, Indiana, the sub- ject of this review occupies a deservedly conspicuous place and the following brief outline of his career and tribute to his worth should be perused by those whose lifework is yet a matter of the future. Honorable in all his dealings, considerate of the rights of others and a man whose influence has ever been on the side of right, his life has been fraught with good to his fellows and the world made better by his presence.
William H. Hinman is a native of DeKalb county, Indiana, having been born in Smithfield township on December 2, 1858. His parents were Morgan O. and Mary Jane (Yard) Hinman. Morgan O. Hinman was born July 20, 1832, between Akron and Middlebury, Ohio, the son of Orron and Eliza- beth ( Haynes) Hinman. Long before the advent of railroads through this section of the country and when Morgan Hinman was but a lad of thirteen years, his father had come to DeKalb county, Indiana, and bought two farms, one located at Haynes' Corners, north of Garrett, and the other in Smithfield township, near the Cedar Lake church. He returned to his Ohio home and prepared to bring his family here, but his death occurred before they started. He left a widow and six children, four daughters and two sons. A year later the widow and her children came to DeKalb county, establishing the family home on the Haynes' Corners farm, where she spent the remainder of her days. Morgan Hinman was fourteen years old when the family came here, and, being the oldest son and next to the oldest child, he became prac- tically the head of the family, remaining with his mother until his marriage.
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About 1857 he erected a rude cabin on the Smithfield township farm, which had no floor and was a typical home of that period. He married about that time Mary Jane Yard, born June 13, 1835, in Devonshire, England, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Yard. She was eighteen years of age at the time of the family's emigration to America, her birthday having occurred while on the ocean, on which trip the family spent eighteen weeks. Her family was among the early settlers near Garrett, and all the members of this family now living here are well known and respected citizens of their re- spective communities. Mary Elizabeth Yard and her brother were engaged in teaching school here in the early years, and thus performed their part in the early progress and advancement of the community. After his marriage he went ahead clearing and draining his farm, which he developed into a fine tract of land, and when the Air Line division of the Lake Shore railroad was projected through this locality, he engaged in clearing off timber for the right-of-way of this road. His first purchase of land was forty acres of the old homestead, but later he also bought the interests of two sisters in his father's estate, thus becoming the owner of eighty acres of fine land. Event- ually he sold that place, which is now known as the Ben Farrington farm, and about 1865 he moved to the Myers farm, two miles south and one and one-half miles west of Corunna, where he remained until about 1881, when he moved to Dixon county, Nebraska, buying a farm at Wakefield. There his wife died, February 1, 1905, and subsequently he moved to Oklahoma. locating in Garfield county, four miles south of Enid, where his death oc- curred on May 12, 1908.
The subject of this sketch was reared to manhood on the farm south- west of Corunna, DeKalb county, Indiana, and until attaining his legal majority he worked out by the month. During his youth he had obtained a fair education in the public schools, and thus by the time he had attained man- hood's years he had formed a very definite idea of life's responsibilities and of its serious aspects. After his majority he was for four years engaged in farming on his grandmother's place at Haynes' Corners, and then spent a year engaged in a like pursuit in Smithfield township. He then went to Nebraska, where he resided about a year prior to his father's removal to that state. Eventually he returned to DeKalb county, Indiana. and after his marriage in 1883, he bought forty acres of land just east of Cedar Lake, Smithfield township, where he lived about seven years. He then moved into Waterloo, and for a year was employed in a furniture store. About 1895 Mr. Hin- man started a wagon shop, which he has conducted continuously since, erect-
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ing a building on the lot where he is now located and equipping it with every appliance necessary for wagon repairing and work in kindred lines. About five years ago Mr. Hinman also put in a line of agricultural implements, and in this enterprise, as well as in the former, he has been very successful, being now numbered among the leading business men of his city. About 1907, Mr. Hinman sold the forty acres which he had first purchased here and bought fifty-six acres near Cedar Lake, and in the fall of 1913 he bought the Smalley farm, and now is the owner of one hundred and twelve acres of as good land as can be found in DeKalb county. In 1908 Mr. Hinman bought a nice home on Union street, in Waterloo.
On February 1, 1883, Mr. Hinman was united in marriage with Zella Smalley, who was born in Richland township, DeKalb county, Indiana, the daughter of Jonathan and Loretta (Farrington) Smalley, who are referred to later in this sketch. To Mr. and Mrs. Hinman has been born one daugh- ter, Leone, who is now the wife of Lee Wise, of Auburn, and they have two children, Thelma and Lois.
Fraternally, Mr. Hinman is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while he and his wife belong to the Order of the Eastern Star and the Daughters of Rebekah. Re- ligiously, they are earnest members of the Christian church, to which they consistently give a liberal support, and in every phase of Christian endeavor they have stood for the best type of life. Mr. Hinman is a quiet, unob- trusive man of steady habits and good character, and he has performed his full part according to the dictates of an honest conscience. Because of his sturdy integrity and his business success he is deserving of the honorable position which he holds in the community.
As mentioned before, the father of Mrs. Hinman was Jonathan Smalley. son of Chester and Esther Smalley, he having been born in Crawford county Ohio, on the 5th of April, 1837. With his parents, he came to DeKalb county, Indiana, in September, 1856, the family settling in the dense wikler- ness which then covered the western part of the county. Jonathan assisted his father in the making of the new home, helping to build the log cabin which was their first habitation. The nearest town to them was seven miles distant and the nearest railroad twenty-five miles. In the winter of 1858-1859 Jona- than Smalley united with the Christian church. He was married to Loretta A. Farrington, a member of the same church, of which they both always were faithful members. Three children were born to this marriage: Mrs. Zella Hinman, of Waterloo; Albert B., who was killed in a sawmill explosion
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in December, 1888, and Bolland D., of Auburn. In 1866 Mr. Smalley bought a tract of unimproved land in Smithfield township, DeKalb county, which he cleared and developed into a fine farm, erecting a comfortable home and good buildings. Here he and his wife spent the rest of their days, he passing away December 22, 1912, and she preceding him to the great beyond on November 13, 1912.
ARTHUR CARYDEN WOLFE.
It is a generally acknowledged fact that journalism is one of the most important factors in twentieth-century life, exerting as it does an influence on practically every department of society. This relation is just as actual and potent in the smaller cities and towns as in the large cities, and he who directs the policy of a newspaper, or wields the pen which expresses that policy. exerts a personal control over local thought and action not equalled by any other profession. Among the newspaper men of DeKalb county who have. by their progressive attitude toward local affairs, contributed in a very definite way to the advancement of the community, is the gentleman whose name ap- pears above and who is successfully publishing the News at Ashley.
Arthur Caryden Wolfe, third son of John Manuel and Sarah Elizabeth ( Frazier ) Wolfe, was born at Antwerp, Paulding county, Ohio, April 9, 1876. Being one of ten children, he was forced by necessity to leave school after finishing the eighth grade, and his education was finished while learning the printing trade, under Col. James H. Fluhart, publisher of the Continental ( Ohio ) Vezes. Colonel Fluhart outlined a course of study, furnished the books and acted in the double capacity of tutor and employer for a period of six years, beginning in October, 1891. The Colonel was a grand type of man, possessing a fine sense of honor, and was also a man who would rather be right than President of the United States. He was a college graduate and taught school prior to the Civil war, in which latter service he won both honors and distinction, wearing the regalia of a colonel when the war closed. It was under Colonel Fluhart that Mr. Wolfe was inspired with the idea of becoming publisher of a country newspaper, for Mr. Fluhart was an ideal pioneer publisher, his young apprentice often sharing hardships, which have since proved invaluable to him in his work.
Mr. Wolfe first became interested in the printing business while residing with his parents in Chicago, Illinois, where, after school hours and during school vacations, he was a "newsie." His first armful of daily papers came
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from the office of the South Chicago Calumet, after which several of the down-town papers were sold by him, pilgrimages often being made to the down-town streets, where he sold to many of the hurrying people on the main thoroughfares. The battles with the other newsboys for "corner rights" but added to his knowledge of humanity and broadened his ideas as to the "common rights of others." O. C. LaBoe, a reporter on the Daily Calumet, interceded in his behalf and "Newsie Wolfe" was granted the right to sweep the offices and composing room at a dime per night. The scattered type in the composing room and his manifest interest in the types lead "Shorty" Burk, a compositor, to teach "Newsie Wolfe" the news case, and subsequently, when the Wolfe family returned to Ohio to reside, he kept asking Editor Fluhart for a "job," until that kind, benevolent old gentleman finally consented for him to become an apprentice, under the condition that he was to study such books as would be furnished and endeavor to become, to use the exact phrase of Mr. Fluhart, "mentally equipped to become a great editor." Mr. Wolfe lays no claim to being the great editor as indicated ; but he does consider that the editor of even a country newspaper has a great re- sponsibility. He endeavors to be consistent and not to betray his trust nor take advantage of his position in the community by perverting his columns to a wrong use.
Mr. Wolfe published weekly papers at Deshler, Ohio, Columbus Grove, Ohio, and Montgomery, Michigan, after working in various offices as printer and local editor, buying the Ashley News in 1910 of J. L. Gillespie, the founder. The Ashley News was started in 1909, after J. F. Coss, publisher of the Ashley Times, became involved in a suit over a deal of his newspaper property, when the Times was discontinued. The subscription list of the News was very small. only containing two hundred names when purchased by Mr. Wolfe, but today it contains nearly eight hundred and fifty names- which gives one some idea of Mr. Wolfe's ability as a newspaper man.
Mr. Wolfe was united in marriage October 10, 1897, at Continental, Ohio, to Julia Irene, daughter of Irene and Emma ( Hull) Harbaugh. To this union seven children were born, one dying in infancy. The six living children are: Emma Elizabeth, Edward Keith, Lester Kenneth, Leota Avis, Arthur Charles and John Manuel.
The Ashley News is equipped with modern power machinery and up-to- date printing material throughout, which is free from incumbrance. The volume of business done each year is about four thousand dollars, which' would indicate that the Vezes office is at least getting the business rightly belonging to it in its field.
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HENRY E. COE.
Among the men of earnest purpose and useful life whose record has been not only creditable to themselves, but has dignified the community in which they have resided, the subject of this sketch holds high rank, and in the pedagogical profession, to which his lifetime has been devoted, he has achieved a record next to none of his contemporaries.
Henry E. Coe was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio, September 24, 1853. the son of William L. and Ann (Crooks) Coe. William L. Coe was a native of New England, his ancestors being of English descent, the lineage being traced back to the fourteenth century in the mother country. The sub- ject's mother was born in Trumbull county. Ohio, and is of Scotch-Irish extraction. William L. Coe removed from his New England home to Cuya- hoga county, Ohio, and was there married to Ann Crooks, who accompanied him on their removal to DeKalb county in 1858, the subject of this sketch at that time being but five years old. The family settled in Union township. where the father followed day laboring and where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1887. His wife died in 1882. The subject received his education in the public schools of Union township, the high school at Waterloo and Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, after which he en- gaged in teaching in the district schools of this county. After following teaching in the graded schools for a while, Professor Coe became principal of the high school at Waterloo, and was later principal for four years of the high school at Auburn. Then followed one year as principal of the schools at Orland, Indiana, after which he returned to Auburn, where he taught for four years, at the end of which period he was elected superintendent of the Butler schools. After three years' efficient and appreciated service in this capacity he was elected county superintendent of the schools for a two- year term, and then, by the same board, was elected to the regular four-year term. A noteworthy testimonial to Professor Coe's ability and standing in the community is the fact that, though Republican in his political views, he was elected by a Democratic board. He served fourteen years as county superintendent, at the end of which period he was called back to Butler to take charge of the schools of that place, and where he is still actively engaged. A well-educated, symmetrically developed man, Professor Coe takes a deep interest in his profession, keeps in touch with the most advanced thought relative to pedagogical matters, and as an educator has a reputation which extends far beyond the borders of his own county. A public speaker of
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recognized ability, Professor Coe has made many forceful and effective ad- dresses on educational and kindred topics, and is a welcome member of any circle which he enters.
On November 16, 1875, Henry E. Coe was united in marriage to Hattie .A. Reed, the daughter of Isaac and Harriet E. (Hackley) Reed. Isaac Reed was a soldier in the Civil war and was killed in a charge of Union troops at Atlanta. He was a native of Pennsylvania, as was his wife, and was an early settler of DeKalb county. To Professor and Mrs. Coe have been born five children, viz: Jessie, the wife of Spencer Bair of St. Paul, Minnesota: Robert, of Burhank, California; Bernard H., deceased ; George. of Auburn; and Earl, who is attending Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. Politically, the subject of this sketch is a Republican, while fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His religious connections are with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a con- sistent member and an earnest supporter. Genial and unassuming in man- ner, Professor Coe has a wide acquaintance throughout DeKalb county, and enjoys a large circle of warm and loyal personal friends.
FRANK W. OLINGER.
Among those persons who have, by virtue of their strong individual qualities, earned their way to high standing in the estimation of their fellow citizens, having by sheer force of character and persistency won their way from an humble beginning to a place of influence and prominence in the com- munity, where they are active in business affairs, the subject of this sketch is entitled to specific mention in a volume of the character of the one at hand.
Frank W. Olinger was born in Keyser township, DeKalb county, Indi- ana, a short distance west of Auburn, on March 4, 1870, and he is a son of John S. and Lucy (Yard) Olinger. The subject's paternal grandparents were David B. and Rebecca (Swihart ) Olinger. David B. Olinger was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, on June 17, 1813, and died near Auburn, Indiana, on December 19, 1896, at the age of eighty-three years. He was descended from good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock. He emigrated from Maryland to Stark county, Ohio, where, on February 18, 1836, he married Rebecca Swihart, and there, on February 21, 1837, their only child, John S., was born. They remained in Stark county until August, 1846, when they came to Indiana. They drove through, the journey being one characterized by hardships, poor
FRANK W. OLINGER
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roads, bridgeless streams, and other conditions which made the journey a tiresome and ofttimes dangerous experience. Upon their arrival here they located two and a half miles east of Auburn, where David bought eighty acres of timber land, on which not a stick had been cut. For a time the family lived on a near-by tract, on which was a small cabin, with the roof so low that they could reach it from the ground. Ahont a year later they moved to the Henry Shull place, north of Auburn, where they lived about three years, moving from there to the Brandon farm, two miles west of Auburn, where they remained ten or twelve years. Then Mr. Olinger bought eighty acres just south of that tract, on which he built a house, that being about two years prior to the outbreak of the Civil war, and there David Olinger made his per- manent home. His first wife died on February 20, 1870, and on October 10, 1878, he married Margaret Kiestrick, who died on the 12th of October, 1891. After her death he lived with his son, John S. Olinger. For about twenty-five years David B. Olinger served his community as justice of the peace and was honored and esteemed by all who knew him.
John S. Olinger was a lad of ten years when his parents brought him to DeKalh county, and he was thus an eye-witness of the early development of this section of the country. When he came here Indians were still roaming the forests and deer were as numerons as sheep are today. Living conditions were primitive in the extreme for the first few years, and in the gigantic task of clearing the land, developing farms and making public improvements he had an active part. He was reared to the life of a woodsman and his own first land was acquired through his skill in woodcraft, for by cutting the timber from forty acres he was given a forty-acre tract in payment for his labor. In 1862, John S. Olinger enlisted in Company A, One Hundredth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, his regiment being assigned to the Western Army. He proved a faithful and courageous soldier, but after about ten months' service he was honorably discharged because of physical disability. His illness so incapacitated him that he was practically unable to work for about a year afterward. He then bought forty acres of land north of Garrett, a part of which he cleared, and then sold that tract and bought forty acres located about one and a half miles farther east, of which about an acre had been cleared and on which was a log honse. He cleared the re- mainder of that land, which he cultivated for a few years, and then sokl it and bought forty acres a mile and a half west of Auburn, which, like the pre- veding place, had but a small portion cleared. However, a trifling matter
(40)
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like that offered to him no discouragement, and he soon had the tract cleared and in cultivation. He has lived on that place now for forty-five years and has made of it one of the best farms in his section of the county. In addition to his labors as a farmer and woodsman, Mr. Olinger worked much at the carpenter's trade during his active years.
On April 18, 1861, John S. Olinger married Lucy Yard, who was born at Exmouth, England, on June 9, 1842, the daughter of John and Mary (Simmons) Yard. Her parents, who were highly educated and well-to-do, were principals of an academy in England, but emigrated to this country in an early day, probably in 1852. They first located in Cleveland, where they remained a short time, coming then to DeKalb county and locating a mile north of Garrett, where they bought a farm and made their permanent home, their original tract comprising about sixty acres. Though Mr. Yard was handicapped by having the use of only one hand, he was a man of energy and good business ability and eventually became quite well-to-do. To John S. and Lucy Olinger were born six children, namely: Salome died in infancy ; David B. died at the age of ten years; Frank W. is the immediate subject of this review; Cora E. is the wife of George M. Ditmars and they live two miles south of Auburn; Mitchell H. is a barber and lives at Garrett; Nettie May is the wife of Bert Lockwood and they live on her father's farm, one and a half miles west of Auburn. The mother of these children died on January 29, 1908, at the age of sixty-five years, having been an invalid for many years. Despite her sufferings, she ever remained cheerful and patient, evincing and expressing an unfailing trust in an all-wise Providence. She was reared in the Church of England, or the Episcopal church, but later identified herself with the Lutheran church, of which she was an earnest and faithful member. John S. Olinger is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Farmers' Alliance. He is a man of unquestioned integrity and consistent life and. because of his right living, his kindly nature and his success in life, he enjoys a high standing in the community honored by his citizenship.
Frank W. Olinger remained with his parents on the home farm until he had attained his majority. In November, 1908, he moved into Auburn, buy- ing a good residence property on South Jackson street. He was associ- ated with John Clark in the furniture business until he accepted the nomina- tion for sheriff in the fall of 1912, being nominated by the Republican party for that office, but, owing to the Democratic landslide of that year, he went down to defeat together with the rest of the ticket. On March 14, 1913, Mr.
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Olinger engaged in the lumber business at Auburn, in partnership with Ora Brandon, and to this business he is now giving his undivided attention. They carry a complete line of all kinds of lumber, together with general building supplies and, owing to their excellent business methods and evident desire to please their customers, they are enjoying their full share of patronage. In September, 1911, Mr. Olinger bought a beautiful home at the corner of Thirteenth and Main streets, which he has improved and where he now resides.
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