USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 86
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
Politically. Mr. Hoffelder has been a life-long Democrat, and in 1888 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners and was re elected to this office, thus serving six years. Mr. Hoffelder's record as a county commissioner is one of which he has good reason to be proud. When he entered upon the duties of his office but little real system prevailed in the conduct of the county affairs. Bridges over the county were cheap an l flimsy and were rapidly wearing out, new ones being needed. Mr. Hoffelder had traveled over Germany while a soklier in the army there and had also seen considerable of the country since coming to America and knew pretty well what good bridges should be like. The commissioners determined to revolutionize the methods of doing business and to this end they insisted on expert advice and exact and complete specifications, competition on bids and inspection of the work being done, which should be approved before being paid for. All these things tended to not only secure a better quality of work. but also saved the county many thousands of dollars. For this work alone Mr. Hoffelder deserves the everlasting regard and commendation of his fel- low citizens.
In 1873 Mr. Hoffelder married Frances Miller, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Francis Antone and Magdalene ( Schmidt ) Miller. Her parents were natives of Germany who came to America and settled in Smithfield township. DeKalb county, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Hoffelder have been born six children : Francis Charles, who lives near the Barker church in Smithfield township, married Louise Dapp, and they have five children, Helene, Esther. John. Francis and Agnes : Catherine died at the age of sixteen years ; John A. lives with his father: Lena is also at home: Frances is the wife of Emil Schiffle, who lives north of the Barker church in Smithfield township, and they have five children, Carl, Adolph. Raymond, deceased. John and Frances : Mary .A. is the wife of Fred Brooks, of Cleveland, where he is a successful engineer, and they have one child. Mary : Peter H. is at home with his father.
Mr. Hoffelder and his family are earnest, faithful and prominent mem- bers of the Catholic church, to the support of which they contribute liberally. Mrs. Frances Hoffelder died January 29, 1895, and in 1897 Mr. Hoffelder married Mrs. Mary S. ( May) Gfeller, the widow of Frederick Gfeller, de- ceased. Mr. Hoffelder and the members of his family are popular in the circles in which they move and are highly respected by all who know them. Mr. Hoffelder has attained success in spite of most discouraging circumstances. Coming to a new country with no knowledge of its language, he was not
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able to speak English until after fifty years of age, but he now is able to con- verse with considerable freedom and speaks well. He has had a splendid ca- reer, including three months' service in the German army, during which he took part in the war of 1866, in which his country separated from the Haps- burgs of Austria, and resulted in the welding of the various states comprising the present German empire under the Hohenzollerns. Personally, Mr. Hof- felder is a warm and true friend. Fearlessness is one of his marked charac- teristics and he hesitates not to do what he considers his whole duty regardless of the consequences. Above all, he has been a man of unquestionable integrity and unblemished honor and he will do nothing which will lower himself in his own esteem or that of others. His standard is high and he has always endeavored to live so that his example may be imitated by the young men of the rising generation. Ever ready to contribute of his means and influence to all objects for the material, charitable or religious welfare of the community, he is considered one of the most enterprising and progressive men of the lo- cality, and in a large sense he is and always has been a true benefactor of his fellow men.
JOHN MATTHIAS SHOUDEL.
In placing the name of the late John Matthias Shoudel before the reader as one who stood for many years in the front rank of the enterprising men of affairs and a leader in agricultural circles of DeKalb county, Indiana, whose influence tended to the upbuilding of the locality of his residence and the advancement of the affairs of his county, simple justice is done a. bio- graphical fact, recognized throughout the community by those at all familiar with his history and cognizant of the important part he acted in the circles with which he was identified. His career presents a notable example of those qualities of mind and character which overcome obstacles and win suc- cess, and he was eminently deserving of the high place he held in the hearts of those with whom he was associated.
John Matthias Shoudel was born in 1814 in Bavaria, Germany. and was the son of John Shoudel. He was reared and educated in his native land, and there, on reaching mature years, he married Magdalena Miller, a native of the same locality and a daughter of John Miller. Mr. Shoudel learned the trade of a weaver in his native land and also gave some attention to farming. In 1854. desiring larger opportunities for advancement, he came to the
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United States. After spending a few months in New York he went to Chicago, and while living there, in 1855, he sent for his family, who had remained in the fatherland. He was employed on the docks in Chicago, but in 1857 he joined, with four others, Frank Miller, John Miller, Xavier Schmidt and Frederick Schmidt, and they brought their families to DeKalb county, where they bought forty acres of land, for which they paid three hundred dollars, and then they divided the land between them, eight acres each. This land was located in section 15, Smithfield township, and had not been disturbed by human hand since the red men left it. Mr. Shoudel at once cleared a spot on which he erected a log cabin, and applied himself to the strenuous task of felling the timber and getting the land in shape for ·cultivation. His first winter's efforts amounted to two acres of cleared land. and during that season the main diet of the family consisted of corn bread and wild game, of which latter there was an abundance. Eventually Mr. Shoudel was able to buy a yoke of steers, and after a while he secured a second yoke. which greatly facilitated his labors. He managed well, was wisely economical and at length was able to buy forty acres more land, and with this as a nucleus his affairs assumed a promising aspect. Industry, persistence and good management were the essential qualities which contributed to his success and he was able to buy more land from time to time until at the time of his death he was the owner of two hundred acres of splendidly improved farm land. John Matthias Shoudel died in 1880, and was survived a few years by his widow, whose death occurred in 1886.
In the affairs of the community Mr. Shoudel took a leading part and no movement of any moment was launched without his assistance and co-opera- tion. When St. Michael's Catholic church was instituted here during the eighties, Mr. Shoudel was one of the thirteen persons who requested the bishop of the diocese to establish the church, and for many years he was one of the leading members of the parish. He was one of the oldest men in the community, and to him many looked for advice and counsel in their temporal affairs, and he ever proved worthy of their confidence. His integrity and fidelity were manifested in every relation of life, and his plain, ruggedl hon- esty, his open-hearted manner. undisguised and unaffected. is to his descend- ants a sweet and lasting memory.
To John Matthias and Magdalena Shoudel were born the following chil- dren : Baltzer, Michael L., Matthias, Agnes and John, the latter dying at the :age of twenty-two years.
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
HENRY M. SHOWALTER.
Among the substantial men whose labor and influence have long given mpetus to the agricultural interests and general material improvements of DeKalb county in year- gone by and who today occupy high places in the esteem of the community in which they live is the worthy gentleman whose name introduces this article. While he has been busy tilling the soil and raising a good grade of live stock, he has not neglected his duties as a citizen and neighbor, but has been a forceful factor m all that concerns the public good. It is to such men as he that our modern advanced civilization is due and such men are worthy of the esteem that is accorded them by all and their records are worthy of perpetuation.
Henry M. Showalter was born near Strasburg. Tuscarawas county. Ohio, on June 1. 1844. the son of Noah and Elizabeth ( Moore ) Showalter. who were natives of Ohio. They were reared and married in that state, coming to Dekalb county in 1848 and settling on a tract of land in Franklin township, where the father successfully followed agriculture for a number of years Later, about 1876, he moved to Wilmington township. where he settled on a farm and spent the remainder of his life To him and his wife were born three children, Nancy Ellen . deceased ). Henry M. and James W.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of Franklin township, and also in the public schools of Butler and Waterloo. He then engaged in teaching school four terms, in which he gained a high reputation as a successful instructor. During the following two years he was connected with saw mills, at the end of which time he returned to the home farm, to the cultivation of which he has devoted himself continuously since and in which he has met with pronounced success. He not only successfully con- ducted the affairs connected with farming, and made many permanent and substantial improvements on the place, but a number of years ago he began the importation of heavy draft horses and Shetland ponies. He was one of the pioneers in this business and at one time was the heaviest importer in the United States of Shetland ponies, of which he has sold many thousands. He has handled these ponies for twenty-six years and is still actively engaged in the enterprise. He has improved the breed so far as is possible by selection. and his patronage has extended over nearly all the states of the middle West and in many distant parts.
On October 16, 1873. Mr. Showalter married Wilhelmenia, the daughter
AMShowalter
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
of Belthaser and Rufina Margarette (Wittman) Dingledine. Both of these parents were born in Wittenburg, Germany, and upon emigrating to the United States settled in Holmes county, Ohio. They were the parents of one child, Mrs. Showalter. By a former marriage Mr. Dingledine was the father of eleven children. To Mr. and Mrs. Showalter have been born four chil- dren : Maud, who is the wife of Clark Brown, of Butler, and they have three children, Wanda Margarette, Ralph S. and Lulu Virginia. Lulu is the wife of Winfred Powers Keep and they have one child. Edwin H. Myrtle is de- ceased. Frederick W. is at home with his parents.
In local public affairs Mr. Showalter has long taken a prominent part. having a deep interest in everything that pertains to public welfare, and he served one term efficiently as a member of the advisory board. Politically, he is a Republican and has long been active in his party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free.and Accepted Masons, belonging to the blue lodge, the council of Royal and Select Masters, the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, the commandery of Knights Templar, and to the Scottish Rite, in which he has at- tained to the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and of the subordinate lodge and encampment of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Showalter has been very successful in everything to which he has given his attention, and has acquired interests aside from those with his farm, being a stockholder and vice-president of the First National Bank of Butler. Mr. Showalter's life has been an unusually active and useful one, and though the limited space at the disposal of the writer permits no more than a casual mention of the leading events in his career, sufficient has been said to show that earnest endeavor and honesty of purpose, rightly applied and persistently followed, will lead to unqualified suc- cess. Mr. Showalter is influential in local affairs and is looked upon as thor- oughly in sympathy with any movement looking toward the betterment and advancement in any way of his community, where he has always been regarded as a man of sterling honesty and worthy of the utmost confidence and respect. which his fellow citizens have been free to accord.
MICHAEL L. SHOUDEL.
No other people that go to make up our cosmopolitan civilization have better habits of life than those who came originally from the great German empire. These people are distinguished for their thrift and honesty, and
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
these two qualities alone in the inhabitants of any country will in the end make that country great. When with these two qualities is coupled the other quality of sound sense, a strong German characteristic, there are afforded such qualities as will enrich any land and place it at the top of the countries of the world in the scale of elevated humanity. Of this excellent people came Michael L. Shoudel, who for many years has been one of the well known farmers of DeKalb county, Indiana. He comes of a race that produced the famous "Iron Chancellor," the greatest statesman, all things considered, that ever walked this terrestrial sphere. He comes of a race that is famous for its original investigations in the problems of civilized life, such men as Goethe and Heckel, to say nothing of a coterie of the greatest musicians of all lands and climes. The Germanic blood is found in the veins of the great- est men and women of this and former generations and the Shoudel family may well be proud of their descent from such a race. The subject of this brief sketch is easily the peer of any of his fellow citizens in all that con- stitutes right living and correct citizenship. He is a close and intelligent observer, has read much, and takes pains to keep himself well informed upon current events. He is quiet in demeanor. a thinker, and a man of deeds rather than words. He is essentially a man of the people because he has large faith in humanity and is optimistic in his views.
Michael L. Shoudel, who for many years has been one of the best known and influential citizens of Smithfieldl township. DeKalb county, In- diana, was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1844. He is a son of Matthias and Magdalena (Miller) Shondel, whose personal sketch appears elsewhere in this work, therefore further mention of the subject's antecedents will not be made at this point. Michael L. Shoudel was about eleven years of age when the family emigrated to the United States, locating in Chicago in 1865. Two years later they came to the little patch of wild land in Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, where they made a start in their struggle for financial independence in a strange land. Here the subject of this sketch performed his full share of the strenuous toil incident to the clearing of the land and putting it in shape for cultivation, and he distinctly recalls having plowed a six-acre field which required ten days' work with a yoke of oxen, for the ground was full of roots and stumps and progress was exceedingly slow and wearing on both men and beasts. Soon after his marriage in 1872. Mr. Shoudel commenced farming on his own account on forty acres of land which he had received from his father, and as he was prospered in his under- taking he bought more land from time to time, until he now owns two
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hundred and eighty acres of as fine land as can be found in DeKalb county. He is up-to-date and progressive in his methods of work and has achieved a , distinctive success in his vocation. He has been a hard worker continually from his first initiation into the pioneer struggle and indeed in that carly day at one time they would have returned to Chicago if they could have done so. but they had not been able to make much progress and were not financially able to make the trip. so they struggled on and the struggle became a triumph. Mr. Shondel, although about seventy years old, is still active physi- cally and is able to perform a good day's labor on the farm. He has never been sick much and has always been active in anything to which he has ap- plied his efforts. He has been an eye-witness and a participant in the wonder- ful growth which has characterized this section of the state and remembers well when Waterloo consisted of but three stores, a saloon, a hardware store, a dry goods store and a few buildings, and when the court house at Auburn was a very primitive and poorly furnished affair. Mr. Shoudel had but limited educational opportunities, never having attended school a day until after six- teen years of age. He then started in the primer and in fifty-eight days was in the third reader. The second winter he again attended school and worked hard to gain knowledge and has been a continual reader throughout his life and is today considered a man of wide and unusual information on many subjects. One of his leading qualities is his persistency in his application to any task to which he applies himself and this has enabled him to conquer where many others would have failed. In the public and civic life of the com- munity Mr. Shoudel has for many years been an influential factor and has always exerted his influence in favor of such movements as have tended to advance the best interests of the community.
In 187= Mr. Shoudel married Joanna Reinig, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, the daughter of Frank and Joanna ( LaFroise ) Reinig. She came to America late in 1872 with her mother, her father having already emigrated to this country. Here they applied themselves to agricultural operations, as had their fellow citizens, the Shoudels, Millers and Smiths. To Mr. and Mrs. Shoudel have been born eleven children, six boys and five girls, namely : John, who lives on the Hezekiah Leas farm, married Margherita Hoff, and they have four children, Albert, Clara, Michael and Esther: Annie is the wife of Frederick Gfeller, who lives south of the Catholic church, and they have eight children, Freddie, Dora, Matthias, Mary, Celia. Joseph, Herman and a baby girl: George, who married Marie Hoff, lives on one of his father's farms near Summit, and has two children, Agnes and a baby boy : Michael is unmar-
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ried and helps his father run the farm and also operates a threshing machine : Matthias, who is also unmarried, is at home: Kate is the wife of Andrew Shiffli, who lives two and one-half miles east of his father on the Shoner farm, and is the father of two children, Agnes and Wilford; Lena, Mary, Caroline, Joseph and Frank are all unmarried and at home with their parents. The subject and his wife also reared Fred Elliott, who was born November 26, 1880, the son of George and Caroline (Rennig) Elliott, the latter having given up her life at the birth of her son. Fred Elliott died on September 8. 1910. Mr. Shondel and the members of his family are all connected with the Catholic church, in the prosperity of which they are deeply interested and to the support of which they contribute liberally. Mr. Shondel is a man whom to know is to respect and admire, for, having started in a lowly capacity, he gradually forged to the front and by faithful effort and prompt discharge of every duty devolving upon him he finally acquired a comfortable competency and has won and retains the good will and regard of all who know him. He has ever tried to do the right as he has seen and understood the right and as a representative citizen of his community he is eminently entitled to represen- tation in a work of the character of the one at hand.
JOSEPH HOHL.
The people who constitute the bone and sinew of this country are not those who are unstable and unsettled, who fly from this occupation to that, who do not know how to vote until they are told, and who take no active and intelligent interest in affairs affecting their schools, churches and property. The backbone of this country is made up of families who have made their homes ; who are alive to the best interests of the community in which they reside ; who are so honest that it is no trouble for their neighhors to know it. and who attend to their own business and are too busy to attend to that of others: who work on steadily from day to day, taking the sunshine with the storm and who rear a fine family to a comfortable home and an honest life. Such people are always welcome in any country and in any community. They are wealth producers and this country is blessed with many of them, among whom is the subject of this sketch.
Joseph Hohl was born in 1855 in Rhinepfalz, Germany, and is a son of Sebastian and Mary ( Miller) Hohl, the latter being born in January, 1827. Sebastian Hohl died in his native land in 1866, aged about forty years. He
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was a man of eminent respectability and standing in his native community. The subject was reared in his German home, where he remained until twenty-eight years of age. In February, 1883, he was united in marriage to Anna Leidner, a native also of Rhinepfalz, and a daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Boltz) Leidner. In 1883 Mr and Mrs. Hohl came to America. locating at once in DeKalb county, Indiana, being employed in Frank Ham- man's tile and brick yard in Smithfield township. In 1894 Mr. Hohl bought the farm where he now lives, comprising seventy-seven and one-half acres in section 15, Smithfield township, on which he has since resided and which he has developed into an ideal agricultural homestead. He has made many permanent and substantial improvements, not the least of which was moving the home out nearer to the public road and remodeling it, the building of a new and commodious bank barn and other improvements of a like nature. which have contributed to the general appearance and value of the farm. About 1903 Mr. Hohl bought another farm of seventy-four acres and one- half cornering on the southwest his first tract, the railroad track running between, and he is also the owner of another farm northwest of the last named tract, owning one hundred and sixty acres in all. To all of this land Mr. Hohl gives his undivided attention and in its operation he has met with the most pronounced success. He raises all the crops common to this locality and also gives some attention to the breeding and raising of live stock. these two things going hand in hand and each contributing to the success of the other. Starting in a strange land with but little capital and slight experience in farming, Mr. Hohl has achieved a success of which any man can be justifia- bly proud. All that he has has been attained by the hardest kind of work, combined with grit and wisdom, good common sense and sound judgment, which have guided him in all his efforts. Mr. Hohl has contributed largely to her husband's success, encouraging him by her efforts and advising him wisely in his dealings, and together they have accumulated a gratifying portion of this world's goods.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hohl were born the following children: Matthias, born in 1884, and lives on a farm near his father, married Elizabeth Dapp, and they have two children, Henry and Alvin; Joseph, born in November. 1885, died at the age of thirteen years; Mary, born in September, 1888, lives at home: Lonis, born in February, 1890, died at the age of seven years ; Frank, born in 1892, lives at home : the next in order of birth was an infant daughter, who died very early in life : Joseph, born on August 16, 1899. died at the age of thirteen years, and an infan daughter died in March, 1901.
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DEKALB COUNTY, INDIANA.
Mr. Hohl is an honest, straightforward man in all of his dealings, conscien- tious in his work on the farms, and it is with pleasure that this brief synopsis of his life and tribute of his worth as a factor in the affairs of his locality is given a place in this work.
Mr. and Mrs. Hohl are earnest and faithful members of St. Michael's Catholic church, of which they are regular attendants and to which they con- tribute liberally of their means. Politically, Mr. Hohl votes with the Demo- cratic party.
ELMER GOODWIN.
There can be no impropriety in scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public, personal and business relations. So in this biographical work will be found mention of worthy citizens of all vocations, and at this juncture we offer a resume of the career of one of the substantial and highly esteemed representatives of the agricultural interests of Grant township, DeKalb county, where he has not only attained a high degree of success in his chosen field of labor and enterprise, but also established an imperishable reputation for uprightness in all the relations of life.
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