USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 91
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for this great and growing section of the commonwealth and, acting in ac- cordance with the dictates of faith and judgment, he reaped in the fullness of time the generous benefits which are the just recompense of indomitable in- dustry, spotless integrity and sound enterprise.
DAVID A. HAMMAN.
Among the strong and influential citizens of DeKalb county the records of whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, the gentleman whose name appears above occupies a prominent place and for years he has exerted a beneficial influence in the locality where he resides. His chief characteristics are keenness of perception, a tireless energy, hon- esty of purpose and motive, and every-day common sense, which have enabled him not only to advance his own interests, but also contribute to the moral and material advancement of the community.
David A. Hamman, whose comfortable residence and well improved farm lies in the southeast quarter of section 23, Smithfield township, was born in this township on January 14, 1877, and the son of Daniel Hamman, who is represented specifically elsewhere in this work, hence further refer- ence to the subject's ancestry will not be made at this point. Mr. Hamman was reared under the parental roof and secured a good practical education in the common schools of the locality. He remained at home until his marriage in 1899, when he engaged in farming on his own account at the place where he now lives, which comprises eighty acres of splendid land. He also bought a twenty-acre tract adjoining on the east in 1904, and to this splen- did farm he has given his undivided attention, his efforts being rewarded with splendid harvests from year to year. He does not specialize in any par- ticular line of agriculture, but raises all the crops common to this locality and to some extent handles live stock, while in everything that pertains to the science to which he gives his efforts he has achieved a record as a man of good judgment, wise discretion and energetic methods. Mr. Hamman keeps closely in touch with twentieth-century ideas relative to agriculture and is not slow to adopt new methods when their practicability has been demonstrated.
In 1899 Mr. Hamman was married to Suranda Walker, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Walker, who also are represented elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Hamman was born and reared in Smithfield township and is a lady of
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many fine qualities of head and heart. To them have been born two chil- dren, Lester and Mabel.
Fraternally, Mr. Hamman is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and, with his wife, he also belongs to the Pythian Sisters, Mrs. Hamman being also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Hamman is a man of versatile talent, being not only a successful agriculturist in all its phases, but is also an expert carpenter, builder and house mover, in which he is busily engaged, really having more work offered him than he can attend to. In all that the word implies, he is progressive and is numbered among the wide-awake, active and influential citizens of his com- munity, his support being unreservedly given to every movement looking for the betterment of the people educationally, morally or materially, and in conse- quence of his large-hearted attitude toward civic and public affairs he enjoys the high regard of the entire community.
CLARENCE A. BOWMAN.
One of the progressive and representative farmers of Smithfield town- ship, DeKalb county, Indiana, is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this review. His has been an eminently active and useful life, but the limited space at the disposal of the biographer forbids more than a casual mention of the leading events in his career, which, in our opinion, will suffice to show what earnest and intelligent endeavor and honesty of purpose rightly applied and persistently followed will lead to-unqualified success.
Clarence A. Bowman was born in Cass county, Michigan, on October 28, 1881, and is the son of Archie and Alice ( Kelley) Bowman, who are specifically represented elsewhere in this work. He grew up on his father's farm, securing a good. practical education, which he afterwards supple- mented by a two years' course in an agricultural college in Lansing. Michigan, graduating with the class of 1901. At the age of twenty-one years he began farming on his own account on a splendid tract of land in section 35. Smith- field township. DeKalb county, Indiana, which had been bought in early days by his maternal grandfather. Cyrus Bowman, and to the cultivation and improvement of this land he has continuously devoted his time and attention since. Mr. Bowman is an enthusiastic. up-to-date farmer, taking a deep interest in whatever pertains to progress in his chosen calling, not hesitating
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to adopt new methods where he sees their advantage over old ones. To this end he has taken short courses in scientific farming at Purdue and also at Auburn, and is now chairman of the Farmers' Institute at Waterloo. He gives careful and personal attention to every detail of his farm work and is eminently entitled to the success which is his.
On May 21, 1905, Mr. Bowman was united in marriage with Dora Lutz, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Hamman) Lutz, who were natives respectively of Ohio and Indiana, and are mentioned elsewhere in the pages of this work. To this union has been born one daughter, Thelma, who first saw the light of day on May 28, 1907.
Fraternally, Mr. Bowman is an active member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Gleaners, in the workings of which orders he is deeply interested. Mr. and Mrs. Bowman move in the best circles in their community, and none are more popular or held in higher esteem for their uprightness of character and genial attributes than they.
HERBERT CLYDE WILLIS.
A man's reputation is the property of the world, for the laws of nature have forbidden isolation. Every human being either submits to the con- trolling influence of others or wields an influence which touches, controls. guides or misdirects others. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the way along which others may follow with like success. The reputation of Herbert Clyde Willis, one of the leading journalists of DeKalb. county, having been nnassailable all along the highways of life, according to those who have known him best, it is believed that a critical study of his career will be of benefit to the reader, for it has been not only one of honor but of usefulness also.
Herbert Clyde Willis, editor of the Waterloo Press, one of the influential and popular journals of DeKalb county, was born on December 15, 1871, at Waterloo, and is a son of Frank W. and Josephine ( Dickinson) Willis. These parents are mentioned specifically elsewhere in this work, therefore further space will not be given to the subject's ancestral history at this point. Herbert C. Willis was reared at Waterloo, where he attended the grade and high school and secured a good, practical education. In the summer of 1884 he began learning the printing trade, being at that time a lad of about twelve years of age. His time outside of school hours was mainly devoted to this
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HERBERT C. WILLIS
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work and during the last year of school he and one other person did all the job work and got out the paper regularly and in good shape. He has thus learned the printing business in every detail from the ground up, having served his apprenticeship under old-time conditions, and printing the first papers on the old Washington hand press when he was so small he had to stand on a box to run the ink rollers across the type. Mr. Willis continued working for his father and made every effort to learn all details of the business After two years apprenticeship, he was given one cent for each "stick-ful" of type set, in which way he made from ten to twelve cents a day, or about fifty cents a week, and, boy as he was, he was greatly pleased at the progress he was making. In 1891, after his graduation from high school, he took a tour of the Southwest, and on his return entered the employ of his father, with whom he remained until February, 1896, when the plant was totally destroyed by fire. Mr. Willis had saved some money and now invested that with his- father, with whom he became a partner, and from then on until his father's death, in 1913, they remained associated in business, the subject taking the greater part of the burden of management from his father's shoulders during later years. Since his father's death, the subject has purchased his interest and is now sole owner of the plant. He publishes the Waterloo Press, one of the best local newspapers in DeKalb county, which has become a welcome visitor in many homes, and also does a lot of business in catalog and blank book work and various office forms, deriving considerable business from other points outside of this county, as far away as Indianapolis. He also carries a large stock of books, and stationery, with which he supplies local trade. He has all along the line exercised good judgment in his business affairs and has met with a well deserved success in everything to which he has turned his hand, earning not only material prosperity, but also the high esteem of those who are acquainted with his life work.
It would seem that Mr. Willis' business affairs were enough to demand his entire time and attention, but he has found time to interest himself in other affairs and has shown a versatility of talent which has been complimentary to him. At the age of eighteen years he became a charter member of Com- pany I, Third Regiment of the Indiana Legion, which is now identical with the Indiana National Guard, and was in that association for over six years. At the expiration of his term he was out of the service about a year, then re- enlisted in the Indiana National Guard, being appointed sergeant-major on Col. A. W. Bowman's battalion staff. He participated in the putting down of the rioting at Hammond in 1894, when there was some actual fighting and
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occasion for great self-control and forbearance on the part of the troops. His military record was highly complimentary to him in every respect.
Politically a Republican, Mr. Willis has at all times exerted a strong in- fluence for his party, in whose councils he has been a conspicuous figure and he has been a hard fighter all along the line for principles for which he stands and for his friends to whom he has ever been loyal. He is the present efficient chairman of the Republican county central committee. Mr. Willis was one of the organizers of the Waterloo High School Alumni Association, which has a membership of over two hundred. He has been a member of the Presby- terian church for twenty-five years, and served efficiently as superintendent of the Sunday school, which he has been largely instrumental in building up to one of the best schools in the county.
On June 24, 1896, Mr. Willis married Martha L. Gonser, who was born April 6, 1871, on a farm near Auburn, then owned by her father, but which is now the county farm. She is the daughter of Moses and Louisa (Wright) Gonser, her father having been a native of Pennsylvania, coming to DeKalb county in pioneer days. He first lived on the farm west of Auburn until he sold it to the county, not long after Mrs. Willis was born, and he then located along the county line in the southern part of Steuben county. He was county commissioner for the latter county, and was a man in good circumstances and of influence in his community and county. His wife, whose maiden name was Louisa Wright, was a native of New York, born on the banks of Lake Ontario, and in an early day came to DeKalb county with her parents. Her father conducted a general store in Fairfield township in the early days and had a large trade with the Indians, having also an "ashery," where he made potash from wood ashes, a common procedure in that early day. Mr. Gonser died in 1905. and his widow now lives in Steuben county, this state. Mrs. Willis received her elementary education in the common schools and then at- tended the Tri-State Normal School at Angola, where she graduated and then for a time taught district school. Afterwards she entered Earlham College. at Richmond, Indiana, where she graduated in 1893, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Coming to Waterloo, she became principal of the high school here, retaining this position two years, and during that period began her acquaintance with Mr. Willis, though their families had been singularly close in an earlier generation. To Mr. and Mrs. Willis have been born two children, Louise, born September 7, 1897, and Herbert G., born November 21. 1904. Because of his earnest life and successful career, as well as his genial disposition and companionable nature, Mr. Willis has won a large acquaint- ance and many warm friends in the county and is now numbered among its representative citizens.
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FRANKLIN P. MYERS.
The following is the sketch of a plain honest man of affairs, who by correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of his patrons has made his influence felt in DeKalb county and won for himself distinctive prestige in the agricultural circles of Smithfield township. He would be the last man to sit for romance or become the subject of fancy sketches, nevertheless his life presents much that is interesting and valuable and may be studied with profit by the young, whose careers are yet to be achieved. He is one of those whose integrity and strength of character must force them into an admirable notoriety which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their contemporaries and their posterity and leave the impress of their in- dividuality deeply stamped upon the community.
Franklin P. Myers is a native of the county in which he now lives, hay- ing been born in Smithfield township on March 9, 1858, and is the son of Jacob and Barbara (Snyder) Myers. Jacob Myers was born in Germany, the son of Frederick and Barbara Myers, who brought their family to this country when Jacob was but an infant. They settled first in Seneca county. Ohio, where Jacob was reared to manhood and there he married Mollie Tal- bert, to which union were born six children; of these, Sydney and Joe are deceased ; Henry lives in Michigan : Eliza Ann lives near Mendon, Michigan : Sarah Jane is deceased and Barbara Ellen lives at Burr Oak, Michigan. The mother of these children died in Ohio and Jacob Myers moved to Wood county, that state, where he married Barbara Snyder, who was born in Penn- sylvania, of Dutch parentage, and who was brought to the state of Ohio by her parents. About 1850, or possibly a little earlier. Jacob Myers came to DeKalb county on horseback and bought a farm of eighty acres located north- west of Hudson in the southwestern part of Steuben county, the farm being at that time but little improved. Later he brought his family to that farm and some time during the fifties he bought a farm of one hundred and twelve acres lying three miles south of Hudson in Smithfield township. DeKalb county, to which place he moved and subsequently bought other lands in that neighborhood until he became the owner of three hundred and sixty acres. He was a diligent worker, knowing no such word as idleness, and by his inde fatigable efforts brought his farm to a fine standard of improvement and cultivation, much of the clearing being done by moonlight. He would lay the bottom rails of a line of fence during the day in order to get the line and
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would finish the fence by night. Much of his land was bought cheap, and from that he sold off the timber, using good judgment and wise discrimination in the management of his affairs and thus became well-to-do, honestly earn- ing the prosperity which he later enjoyed. To his union with Barbara Sny- der were born the following children: Susan, Franklin P., John, Jesse, Ida, Amos, George, Maggie, Amanda, and Lovina, who died in infancy. Prior to her marriage to Mr. Myers, the mother of these children had been married to a Mr. Hardman. Jacob Myers spent the remainder of his life in Smith- field township, where his death occurred about ·1883, and he was survived a number of years by his widow, whose death occurred in 1894.
Franklin P. Myers was reared on the home farm, securing his education in the schools of the locality and when about sixteen years of age moved to a farm which his father had bought just east of his first purchase, and there the subject lived until his marriage in 1882. He then went to farming on eighty acres of land owned by his father in Fairfield township, where he remained four years, at the end of which period he came to Smithfield township and bought thirty-eight acres of land from his father-in-law, to which he subse- quently added twenty-six acres adjoining in section 19. To the cultivation of this land he has devoted himself and has achieved success as the result of . his close application to his own affairs and sound judgment and good common sense exercised in the management of the place. He has carried on a general line of farming, raising all the crops common to this locality and also gives some attention to live stock. His pleasant and attractive residence, substan- tial and well-arranged barn, and the well-kept condition of the farm indicates him to be a man of good taste and who understands the business to which he is applying himself.
On November 30, 1882, Mr. Myers married Delilah Stofer, who was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on February 12, 1858, the daughter of Eli Stofer, by whom she was brought to Fairfield township, this county, in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. Myers were born three children : Clark Wilson, born July 5, 1885 : Glenn Lloyd, born September 18, 1889: Maydie Pearl, born May 7. 1895. On April 2, 1908, Clark Myers married Orpha McEndarfer, daughter of Byron McEndarfer, and they have a daughter, Iris. On February 18, 1912, Glenn married Alta Urey, the daughter of John Urey, and they live in Fairfield township on the Urey farm; they have one son, Wilson Wayne Myers .. Mr. Myers has not been selfish in his life, but has given a due share of his attention to the interests of the community with which he has been identified for so many years, giving his support at all times to every movement
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which has promised to be of material benefit to the community. He stands for the highest standard of citizenship, and in this he has set a worthy example, for his life has been such as to earn the commendation of all who · know him.
Rev. Eli Stofer, father of Mrs. Myers, was born on April 21, 1836, in Columbiana county. Ohio, the son of Samuel and Mary Anne (Wolfe) Stofer, the father a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the mother of Fayette county, that state. Eli Stofer was reared on a farm in Columbiana county, Ohio, and at the age of twenty, in 1856, was there mar- ried to Elizabeth Weaver, who was born in Columbiana county, the daughter of Isaac and Catherine ( Shively ) Weaver. Her death occurred on January 18, 1914. Isaac Weaver was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania. In 1864 Mr. Stofer moved to DeKalb county, Indiana, settling in Fairfield township, and in 1874 moved to the southwest quarter of section 19, in Smithfield township, where he owned fifty-four acres of land, practically all he can care for in his later years, being now seventy-eight years old. About a year after his marriage Mr. Stofer united with the Mennonite church, his wife joining that society two years later. Her parents had reared her in the Dunkard church and her change to the Mennonite church was en- tirely voluntary on her part. About four years after coming to Indiana, he helped organize a Mennonite church near his home, and about 1870 he was ordained a minister in that denomination, with which he has been identified very closely ever since.
To Rev. and Mrs. Stofer were born seven children :. Oliver lives near Garrett and has two children by his first wife, Warren and Grace, and three by his second marriage, Goldie, Orpha and Thurlow. His second wife died about 1897; Delilah Stofer became the wife of F. P. Myers, the immediate subject of this sketch; Amanda J., widow of Jacob Kalb, lives at Ashley and has two children, Myrtle and Shirley ; Edwin O. died at Warsaw, Indiana, in 1907, leaving a widow and two children, Ruth and Paul; John, who is em- ployed in the railroad shops at El Paso, Texas, married Della Spiegelmeier. and they have two children living and one dead; Mary Catherine is the wife of William Kessler, who lives across in Fairfield township about a mile west of her father's homestead; Ella became the wife of Alva Brand, and after . his death she married Edward Zerbragg, and they live in Ashley. Rev. and Mrs. Stofer have been married fifty-eight years, and the almost six decades of their union have been years of unalloyed happiness, their faces today showing the peaceful life they have led. for there is a serenity pictured there
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which is born of a sound faith in the Infinite. On the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding, their children and children's children visited them in honor of their father and ancestor whose character has been such as to reflect honor on his family. They have six children living, fourteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. They are indeed a worthy old couple and this volume would be incomplete without this specific reference to them.
CHRISTIAN BRECBILL.
The history of DeKalb county would be lacking should the record of Christian Brecbill be omitted, for he is one of its leading citizens, being a man of splendid attributes and always ready to assist his neighbors in the battle of life and do what he can toward the general good of the county. A man of excellent endowments and upright character, he is a valued factor in local affairs and commands unequivocal confidence and esteem, being loyal to the upbuilding of this locality and ever vigilant in his efforts to further the interests of the county along material, civic and moral lines.
Christian Brecbill, whose splendid farm is located on section 28. Smith- field township, was born October 18, 1845, near Lake Toon, Switzerland, and is a son of Christian and Margaret (Amstutz) Brecbill, being their only child. When he was but one year old the father died of typhoid fever and his mother followed her husband to the other world three weeks later. In 1855, when he was but ten years of age, the subject of this sketch came to America and located in DeKalb county, Indiana, where he obtained employment on the farm known as the Buss farm in Richland township. He had come here in the company of his grandmother, Barbara Amstutz, who resided on the Buss farm until her death, at the age of eighty-five years. Here the subject worked for about two years and then went to the Amstutz farm, two miles from Waterloo, where he remained until his marriage in 1866, after which he moved to the Bachtel farm near Waterloo, where he remained a year. He was then for a like period on the Si Jackman farm, from whence he moved to the farm on which he now lives. During the first sixteen years of his oc- cupancy here he rented the place and then purchased it. The purchase price was six thousand five hundred dollars, on which he paid two hundred dollars down, and that was borrowed. He had a hard up-hill fight, but was deter- mined to succeed, and eventually his efforts were abundantly rewarded. The
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farm comprises one hundred and sixty acres of as good land as can be found in DeKalb county, and to the cultivation of it Mr. Brecbill has given intelli- gent direction, carefully conserving the fertility of the soil and making many permanent and substantial improvements, which have added to its appearance and increased its value. The buildings are all modern and up-to-date in their style and character, the machinery used is of the most improved pattern, and in every detail of the farm work Mr. Brecbill has exhibited a progressive and enterprising spirit that has had its reward in increased profits at a mini- mum of labor and expense. Progress has been the watchword which has been the key to Mr. Brecbill's success, and among his fellow agriculturists he is eminently entitled to precedence because of his methods and the success to which he has attained. He is in the largest sense of the word a self-made man and because of this fact he appreciates the success of others, being broad- minded and altruistic in his views of men and things and standing shoulder to shoulder with his fellow men in the effort to advance the general welfare of the community.
On October 30, 1866, Mr. Brecbill was united in marriage with Margaret Elizabeth Brand, the daughter of William and Matilda ( Kline) Brand. William Brand, who was a native of Ohio, came to DeKalb county in 1852, settling on the Brand farm three miles west, of Waterloo, where he bought eighty acres of timber land, for which he paid one hundred and fifty dollars. He cleared the most of this land and improved it, developing it into a fine and up-to-date farm. To the cultivation of this tract he gave his attention and also gave some attention to the threshing business and worked at the carpen- ter trade as opportunity offered. His death occurred on June 3, 1889. He was an active supporter of the Democratic party and a faithful member of the Christian church. His wife, who was also a native of Ohio, died on the same farm on June 7, 1882. To them were born the following children : John C., George W., Hiram, Margaret. Henry, Darlin W., Emma and Albertus, of whom Margaret Elizabeth and Emma are the only survivors. Mrs. Brecbill's paternal grandfather was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to the United States and, coming to DeKalb county, located on a farm south of Auburn, to the operation of which he devoted himself until his death, which occurred there. To Mr. and Mrs. Brecbill have been born four chil- dren, namely : William, Mrs. Rosia Durst, Scott, deceased, and Mrs. Nellie Buchanan. Mr. and Mrs. Durst live in Auburn, where he is a clerk in a hardware store. William, who is married, owns nineteen and a quarter acres of land near his father. Mr Brecbill is a fine type of a self-made man, a
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