USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 66
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WILLIAM HENRY GRUBE.
Another of the enterprising and successful farmers of DeKalb county, who traces his ancestry back to the fatherland, is the gentleman whose name initiates this sketch, a man who has succeeded in his life work for no other cause than that he has worked persistently and along proper lines, and he has not only succeeded in his chosen vocation of agriculture, but has also won a reputation for honesty and fair dealing.
Wliliam Henry Grube was born November 25, 1842, in Massillon, Stark county, Ohio. His parents were of German descent, and his father, Peter Grube, was married to Elizabeth May in 1835. They came to America in 1836 from Ulmet, a town in Bavaria. On the voyage across the Atlantic
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heavy winds blew their sailing vessel along the coast of Africa, but after troublesome repairs were made, they again headed for the "new world." Having to depend wholly upon the winds, the voyage took almost three months, at the end of which time they sailed into New York harbor. They resided in New York City for about a year and a half, and then started to the then West. They traveled by stage coach to Massillon, Ohio, which was then a small village. Here they lived until 1843, and while living there three children were born, Katherine, Jacob and Henry. The little sister died be- fore they left Massillon. From their home in the Buckeye state they again took up the Western trail, this time by wagons drawn by oxen, through woods and swamps, until they arrived at what is now Stafford township, DeKalb county. On this journey Henry was but a baby, so they had wrapped him up in a little bundle, and when they came to a rough stretch of corduroy road this precious bundle fell out of the wagon, but they fortunately happened to look down in time to rescue the baby from under the wagon wheels. This. was only one of the many narrow escapes Mr. Grube has had during his suc- cessful career.
A clearing was soon made in the wilderness and a log cabin was built on the seventy-four-acre tract of forest land bought from the government. Then came the laborious work of clearing, that cultivation might be instituted. In those days Mr. Grube's father would walk ten miles to Hicksville, the nearest village, with wheat and would carry back big sacks of flour to his home. His mother was busy from morning until night helping roll logs and grub up the roots, briars and brush. While they were living here two other chil- dren were born, a girl, Elizabeth, and later a boy, Peter. While living in Stafford, Jacob, one of Mr. Grube's brothers, died, which left but three of the children, Elizabeth, Henry and Peter, to help in the arduous labor.
The subject lived in Stafford township on the old homestead until he was eighteen years old. He spent his time helping his father in the farm work. and in the winter he took his slate and copybook and trudged through the woods to school. He was thus engaged until he was ahout fifteen years of age, when he went up into the pine woods of Michigan, where he worked for three years, cutting logs and breaking rollways on the Muskegon river. This was a dangerous occupation, and the subject's life was threatened many times while he was working there. After returning home from the pine woods. he worked by the month on different farms in Illinois, Missouri and Kansas for several years, and finally, returning home, bought a horsepower threshing machine and worked almost the entire year round, threshing for his neigh- borhood for thirteen years.
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In 1880 Mr. Grube was married to Mary Haas, a Canadian girl, who had come with her parents to the United States and lived on a farm south of Butler. They moved on to an eighty-acre farm three miles east of Butler and lived in a little log cabin during the summer months, later buying the old Henry Shoub place across the creek. Here two children were born, Charles in 1882 and Cleve in 1888. Cleve is now twenty-five years of age, and is actively identified with the Democratic party, following his father's example in the bestowing of his franchise. At present he is farming one hundred and ten acres of his own land, together with one hundred and sixty acres of his father's farm. He was married, January 2, 1913, to Garnet Brink. daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Brink, of Butler, Indiana.
The subject and wife lived on the Shoub place until 1897, when they moved on to a farm one mile and a half east of Butler, where they still reside. Two years later the youngest boy, Andrew, was born. He is now fourteen years old and is attending the Butler high school. In 1900 Charles attended the Ohio Northern University for one year, and then went to Lafayette to at- tend school with the intention of becoming a civil engineer. In 1903 he was on the train going to Indianapolis to play on the Purdue football team, when the train was wrecked, and he, together with twenty other Purdue boys, was killed. His death was a great shock to the family and friends.
The following summer Mr. Grube took a trip through the West with the Knights Templar in a special car. He is also a Shriner and has been a mem- ber of the Odd Fellows for forty-three years. Mr. Grube displays a deep interest in everything which helps to develop his town, and is at present aiding in the building of a new I. O. O. F. hall. He is one of the directors of the First National Bank.
S. H. NUGEN.
Among the progressive men of Jackson township. DeKalb county, iden- tified long with educational interests, whose rare business acumen, public spirit and unquestioned integrity render him eligible to rank as one of the representative citizens of his community, is the gentleman whose name ap- pears above, the present efficient trustee of his township. He is essentially a man of the people, broad-minded, capable and possessing an equipoise of at- tributes that stamp him as a natural leader of his fellows, but, being entirely unassuming, he would never consent to such a title or believe that he, in any way, merited the plaudits of any one.
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S. H. Nugen was born on February 2, 1857, in Jackson township, De- Kalb county, the son of John and Rebecca ( Hughes) Nugen, he a native of Ireland and she of Miami county, Ohio. He was among the early settlers in DeKalb county, haing settled in its almost unbroken wilderness in the early forties. He located on section 4 in Jackson township and was here mar- ried. To John and Rebecca Nugen were born six children, as follows: Mrs. Mary K. Bolinger is deceased; Christopher died while serving in the army; Mrs. Sarah A. Harris is deceased; Jamie is deceased; John, who was still living at last accounts ; S. H.
S. H. Nugen laid the foundation of a good education in the common schools of those days and then engaged in agricultural pursuits, working for. others until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he was enabled to purchase eighty acres in his own right, his present splendid farm being the same land that he bought when a young man. He immediately proceeded about the strenuous task of clearing the land and building a home, and on October 1. 1885, he was married to Emma Bartels, daughter of Augustus. and Minnie ( Kruse) Bartels, natives of the fatherland.
To the subject and wife have been born eight children, namely: Roy C. is now teaching in one of the graded schools of the city of Auburn ; Dorcie R. is attending school in Valparaiso, where he is preparing to enter the medical profession ; John A. is a graduate of the Auburn high school and has taught one term; Harry is deceased ; Lelah is an alumna of the Auburn high school. from which she graduated in 1913: Frank attended the high school and is now farming for his father ; Hazel is in her second year in the Auburn high school : Harold is attending the district school.
In 1892 Mr. Nugen was elected assessor for his township and served for five years, after which he was chosen by the voters of his community for the responsible position of trustee, his incumbency in that office dating from 1908. He has brought to the position a native ability enriched by a deep interest in educational matters, this interest seemingly being an inborn trait of all the members of his family.
Mr. Nugen is now engaged in general farming, being the owner of two hundred and sixty-eight acres of good land, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation, making all of the improvements on the place. He was for fifteen years a stock shipper and buyer, dealing in hogs, cattle and sheep. and also threshed for several years in his early life.
Politically, the subject has always given his vote to the Democratic party, while, fraternally, he affiliates with the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 91, of Auburn. He is also a member of the Grangers.
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SOLOMON S. CASEBERE.
One of the progressive farmers and highly respected citizens of DeKalb county, Indiana, is Solomon S. Casebere, who has ever taken high rank. Possessing energy and determination, he has been very successful in making everything he undertakes result to his advantage, and his success in his chosen calling is attested by the fact of his having started in an humble manner and is now the owner of valuable real estate, having accumulated the same by his own efforts.
Solomon S. Casebere is a native son of DeKalb county, having been born in Troy township on January 22, 1860, and is a son of George W. and Elizabeth ( Kniseley) Casebere, both of whom were natives of Ohio. George W. Casebere came to DeKalb county in an early day, locating near Fish creek, where he spent the remainder of his life, enjoying the respect and con- fidence of the community in which he lived. To him and his wife were born the following children: Leander H., of Bryan, Ohio: Solomon S., the im- mediate subject of this sketch: Marshall, who moved to Wisconsin and there died ; Mrs. Aleta Burkhart, who lives on the old homestead in Williams county, Ohio.
Solomon S. Casebere received his education in the common schools of his community and also attended the schools of Butler. He was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation which he has consistently followed to the present time, and in which he has achieved a most pronounced success. His farm comprises one hundred and fifty acres of as good land as can be found in Stafford township, and here he carries on a general line of work, including stock raising. He gives his attention to every detail of his farm work and has realized gratifying returns for his labor. He raises all the crops com- mon to this locality and also gives some attention to the raising of live stock, in which he is also very successful. At one time Mr. Casebere investigated Western country and with his wife moved to the northern part of South Da- kota, where they remained about two years, at the end of that period return- ing to their old home in DeKalb county.
On January 28, 1883, Mr. Casebere was married to Flora Dunkle, the daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Lobschear) Dunkle, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ohio. To this union were born three children : Lester, who is a farmer in Stafford township, is the father of three children, Donald. Raymond and Hellen; Mrs. Mabel Lyon, who lives on a farm in Wilmington township, is the mother of a son, Russell : Homer H., a farmer
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in Stafford township, married Princess Thomas, the daughter of Fred A. and Blanche Thomas, and they have one daughter, Mabel.
Politically, the subject of this sketch is allied with the Republican party, while his religious relations are with the Christian church, to which his chil- dren also belong. He has served as trustee of Stafford township for four years to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens, and his record through- ont his life's history has been one of which he has just reason to be proud. Successful in his own affairs, he has also taken an intelligent and commend- able interest in the affairs of his community, supporting all movements for the public welfare and standing always for that which he believes to be right. He and his wife move in the best social circles of the community and are popular among their acquaintances.
WILLIAM C. MILLER.
In the course of an honorable career, that has been attended by abund- ant success, the gentleman whose name heads this paragraph, one of the best known and representative citizens of DeKalb county, has shown what an earnestness of purpose and right principles properly applied ean accomplish. Realizing early in life that the idler and dreamer never attain the goal sought. he went to work with a will and by persistent efforts rose gradually to an honorable place in the community, having gained a splendid reputation as an educator and later making an admirable record as an agriculturist.
William C. Miller was born April 26, 1882, in Stafford township, De- Kalb county, Indiana, the son of Joseph H. and Ida ( Wyckoff ) Miller. Joseph Miller was born in the Keystone state on March 1, 1850, and came to Indiana in 1875, locating on a farm in Dekalb county. He married Ida Wyckoff in 1881, she having been born May 20, 1860, in DeKalb county. They are at present living on the old farm. To them have been born three children, the subject, and Glen and Ray, who are living at home.
On December 26, 1005. William C. Miller was united in the bonds of matrimony to Ida L. Kramer, daughter of Michael and Kathrene ( Christoffel) Kramer. The father of the subject's wife was born in Germany and her mother was a native of the Hoosier state. To the subject and wife has been born one child, Charles Russell, whose birth occurred on September 8. 1906.
The subject of this sketch received a good education in the common
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schools of DeKalb county, this being supplemented by a course in the Butler high school. During the ten years from 1900 to 1910 Mr. Miller taught in the public schools of Stafford township and one year in the Butler schools. He purchased his farm of seventy-seven acres in 1905, and is now very suc- cessfully engaged in general farming. He has a nice home and has erected substantial outbuildings, making his place one of the very best in the county.
The Democratic party has been the recipient of Mr. Miller's support and franchise, while, fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Lodge No. 282, of Butler, and Encampment No. 160, also of Butler.
WILLIAM P. ENDICOTT.
The career of William P. Endicott happily illustrates the fact that if a young man possesses the proper attributes of mind and heart, with the ability to direct the same in proper channels, he can attain for himself not only material success but gain an honored place among the factors that shape the destinies of communities. His life proves that true success in this world depends upon personal efforts and consecutive industry in the pursuit of some specific and honorable purpose; it also demonstrates that the road to positions of affluence among men, whatever the relation of life may be, is open to all who may possess the courage to tread its pathway, besides serving as an incentive to the young of the present generation, teaching by incon- trovertible facts that true excellence in any worthy undertaking is ambition's legitimate answer.
William P. Endicott, a successful lawyer at Butler, Indiana, was born on March 28, 1881, near Galveston, Cass county, Indiana. and is a son of Abner M. and Orlie A. (Odell) Endicott, both of whom are natives of In- diana, and who are respected farming people in the community where they live. The subject on the paternal side is descended from sterling old Eng- lish ancestry and in him are exhibited the characteristics which have made his progenitors respected and esteemed in their respective communities. To the subject's parents were born the following children: Mrs. Nellie McCool, Mrs. Lida Hyatt, Mrs. Grace Kepner, Ernest, William P. and Thomas H.
William P. Endicott secured his education in the public schools, being a graduate of the Galveston high school, and he then entered the law depart- ment of the Indiana State University at Bloomington, where he took the full legal course. In January, 1910, he was admitted to the bar of Cass
WILLIAM P. ENDICOTT
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county, and in the following April was admitted to the DeKalb county bar and at once located at Butler, and engaged in the practice of his profession. As a lawyer Mr. Endicott has evinced a familiarity with legal principles and a ready perception of facts, together with the ability to apply one to the other which has won him the reputation of a sound, safe practitioner. His zeal for a client has never led him to urge argument not in harmony with the law, and in all the important litigation with which he has been connected, no one has ever charged him with anything that would bring discredit upon himself or cast a reflection upon his profession, and today he is an able representative of the legal fraternity in his county.
Politically, the subject of this sketch gives his support to the Progressive party, while fraternally he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has attained to the Royal Arch degree, and to Lodge No. 158, Knights of Pythias, of Butler, of which he is vice-chancellor. He is also first vice-president of the Commercial Club of Butler and has been a potent factor in advancing the material and civic interests of this enterprising com- munity.
On August 2, 1909, Mr. Endicott married Nellie Davisson, of Miami county, Indiana, and they have one daughter, Anna May. Mr. Endicott is a most genial and companionable gentleman and has a host of warm and admiring friends among the residents of his adopted city. All who come within the range of his influence are profuse in their praise of his admirable qualities, and the high regard in which he is held, not only professionally but socially, indicates the possession of attributes and characteristics that fully entitle him to the respect and admiration of his fellow men.
EDWARD M. BRUMBACK.
Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free, out-door life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterize true manhood, and no truer bless- ing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the health- ful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and the majority
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of the nation's great warriors, renowned statesmen and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm and were indebted largely to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained.
Edward M. Brumback was born on April 5, 1853, in Fairfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, and is the son of Jesse M. and Jane (Showers) Brumback. Jesse M. Brumback was born in Huron county, Ohio, on April 2, 1823, a son of Daniel and Sarah (Culp) Brumback. He remained with his parents until his majority, when he engaged in farming in his native coun- ty, where he remained until October, 1846, when he came to DeKalb county. Indiana, locating in Fairfield township, where he began the clearing of one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land. His means were limited, but by industry and good management he was successful and eventually ac- quired the ownership of over three hundred acres of land, a part of which he gave to his son, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Brumback was married on April 7, 1850, to Melissa J. Showers, the daughter of Solomon Showers, of Richland township, DeKalb county, though she was born in Michigan. To them were born three children, namely: Celia R., the wife of John F. Wal- ters, of Kendallville, Indiana; Edward M., the immediate subject of this sketch, and Cornelia J., who died in infancy. The mother of these children died on March 9, 1855, and on November 2, 1856, Mr. Brumback married Lucinda Gloid, a native of Richland county, Ohio, and the daughter of Sam- uel and Rebecca (Smith) Gloid. In politics Mr. Brumback was a Democrat and served his fellow citizens in public capacity, having been a justice of the peace for a short time, and in 1862 was elected county clerk, in which position he served three years.
The subject of this sketch attended the common schools of his home vicinity and also attended the high school at Auburn. He was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation to which he has devoted himself throughout his active life. He is the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Richland township, on which he resides and on which he is engaged in general farming and stock raising, and he also has an interest in the old home place. He carries on a general line of farming and his home place em- braces some of the best improvements in the locality, his buildings of all; kinds being first class and in excellent repair, everything about the premises indicating the close attention and progressive spirit manifested by the pro- prietor in the prosecution of his labors. Mr. Brumback is a good business man and is well read and widely informed, keeping in touch with the lead- ing questions of the day and abreast of the times on all matters in which the $ 1
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public is likely to be interested. Personally, he is held in high esteem by his neighbors and fellow citizens, his character and integrity having ever been above criticism, while his relations with his fellow men are such as to win for him the friendship of all who know him. Politically, he gives his support to the Democratic party, though he is too busy a man to aspire to public office.
On March 5, 1891, Mr. Brumback was united in marriage to Lottie Smith, a lady of charming personality, who is held in the highest esteem by all who know her. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary ( McLain) Smith, he a native of Carroll county, Ohio, and she front Columbiana county, Ohio. They moved from eastern Ohio to western Ohio, and then, in 1870, came to Sedan, DeKalb county, Indiana. Later they went to Nebraska, where he died.
DANIEL THOMAS.
The specific history of the great Middle West was made by the pioneers; it was emblazoned on the forest trees by the strength of sturdy arms and a gleaming ax, and written on the surface of the earth by the track of the primitive plow. There were strong men and true who came to found the empire of the West-those hardy settlers who builded their rude domiciles, grappled with the giants of the forest, and from the sylvan wilds evolved the fertile and productive fields which have these many years been furrowed and refurrowed by the plowshare. The trackless prairie was made to yield its tribute under the effective endeavors of the pioneer, and slowly but surely were laid the steadfast foundations upon which has been builded the mag- nificent superstructure of an opulent and enlightened commonwealth. To establish a home amid such surroundings, and to cope with the many priva- tions and hardships which were the inevitable concomitants, demanded an in- vincible courage and fortitude, strong hearts and willing hands. All those were characteristics of the pioneers, whose names and deeds should be held in perpetual reverence by those who enjoy the fruits of their toil, and among that number is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch and who for many years has been numbered among the most prominent citizens of DeKalb county. 1 .
Daniel Thomas was born in Stark county, Ohio, on October 30, 183r. : the son of David and Anna ( Bachay ) Thomas. The father was a 'native of Pennsylvania, while his motheriwas born in the little; republic of Switzerland !! from whence she came to this country with her parents at the age of twefyto
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one years. They settled first in Stark county, Ohio, where they remained until 1849, when they came to DeKalb county, Indiana, where they followed farming. David Thomas, who was reared in Pennsylvania, came to Stark county in young manhood, was there married and then came with his family to DeKalb county, settling in Richland township, where he remained until his death, after which his widow moved to Auburn, where she died. They were the parents of the following children: John, Sarah, Daniel, Levi, Susan. Anna, David and Solomon, of whom the only survivors are Daniel and Solomon ..
Daniel Thomas received his education in the district schools of DeKalb county, and was reared to the life of a farmer, which vocation he never for- sook, following it with great energy and considerable success up to the time of his retirement from active pursuits in 1892, when he moved to the town of Corunna, where he now resides.
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