USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 94
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Frank Albright was married on August 23, 1897, to Estella Myers, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Dahuff) Myers, the former born near South Bend, St. Joseph county, Indiana, in 1847. He was a successful farmer until 1882, when he came to Steuben county, Indiana, and here has also fol- lowed that vocation. His wife was born in Steuben county, this state, on the farm about two miles from Ashley. They were the.parents of four children, Estella, who became the wife of Frank Albright; Harry, Howard and Schuy- ler, who are all deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Albright have been born six children, namely : One who died in infancy, Earl S., Cora, Mabel, Vesta and Ebon. Politically Mr. Albright is affiliated with the Democratic party, being progressive in his ideas and keeping in close touch with the trend of modern events, so that he is considered a man of marked influence in his
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locality. A good farmer, a kindly neighbor, devoted husband and affectionate father, he has won a warm place in the hearts of those who know him and is numbered among the solid and substantial citizens of Smithfield township.
JOHN C. KOCH.
Among the honorable and influential citizens of DeKalb county, Indiana, is the subject of this review, who has here maintained his home for many years, winning a definite success by means of the agricultural industry, to which he has devoted his attention during the years of an active business life. His career has been without shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil, and thus he has ever commanded the confidence and esteem of his fellow men.
John C. Koch is a native of DeKalb county, Indiana, where he has spent his entire life. He was born on July 10, 1881, the son of Christian and Margaret R. (Shull) Koch, the former of whom also was born.in DeKalb county. His father, Gottlieb Koch, who was a native of Ohio, came to Indiana in an early day, settling on the farm now owned by the subject of this sketch, having entered the land from the government. To the clearing and improvement of this farm he devoted his early years and succeeded to a de- gree not fully appreciated by one who has never seen the land, for it is now numbered among the choice farms of this locality. The subject's father fol- lowed farming during all his active years and was long numbered among the well known and influential citizens of this locality. He had two children, the subject of this sketch and an older sister, Gertrude, who became the wife of William Smith, of Allen county, this state. He owned one hundred and twenty acres of land and was numbered among the successful farmers of DeKalb county.
The subject of this sketch attended the common schools of Spencer town- ship during his youth and upon the completion of his education he took up the vocation of teaching, which he followed for five years. He then returned to the line of work to which he had been reared, that of agriculture, and has continuously followed this calling to the present time, operating, as before stated, the farm which his grandfather entered from the government. Mr. Koch carries on a diversified system of agriculture, raising all the crops com- mon to this locality and also gives some attention to the raising of live stock. which he has found to be a valuable adjunct to successful farming. The com- fortable and spacious residence. the commodious and well arranged barns,
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well kept fences and other up-to-date features about the place indicate that the owner is a man of good judgment and modern ideas, and in the opera- tion of his farm he is not slow to adopt new plans and methods when their feasibility has been demonstrated by experience to be better than old ways.
On October 19, 1901, Mr. Koch married Betty Webb, the daughter of John and Matilda (Getz) Webb, the former of whom was a native of Allen county, Indiana, where his forebears had been early settlers. The latter's parents came from Germany to this country, making their settlement in Allen county, where they were numbered among the solid and substantial citizens of their community. To Mr. and Mrs. Koch have been born three children : Otis, born in 1902; Virgil, born in 1905, and Marguerite, born in 1908.
Politically, Mr. Koch is a staunch supporter of the Republican party, in the success of which he is actively interested. He is known to all who have formed his acquaintance to be a man of genuine worth and integrity, scrupu- lously honest in all his dealings with his fellow men, and he and his family are highly respected and have hosts of friends throughout the community where they live.
CHARLES A. CAMPBELL.
The subject of this sketch has early in life realized the fact that success never smiles upon the idler or dreamer, and he has accordingly followed sich an aphorism, being numbered among the enterprising citizens of the township of his residence. Having spent all his life in the community, he is well known and by all is held in the highest esteem because of the commendable qualities which he has exhibited thus far.
Charles A. Campbell was born on September 3. 1866, on the farm on which he now lives in section 29, Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indi- ana, and is the son of John and Cornelia ( Hemstreet ) Campbell. John Camp- bell was born in Summit county, Ohio, and came to DeKalb county in 1847 when he was twelve years of age. He for awhile farmed with his father and later bought the place where the subject of this sketch now lives. He was the trustee of Smithfield township a part of one term. He was an active Republican and his death, which occurred in 1904, was considered a distinct loss to the community. He was the father of four children: Jennie, who was married in 1882 to Leander Stamuts, an expert machinist, who died in 1900: they had one daughter. Glenn, who now lives in Waterloo; Sarah mar-
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ried, in 1882, George Parnell, a farmer, who later in life engaged in the lum- ber business and now lives in North Carolina. They have three children, John, Charles and Harry; Scott was married in 1902, and engaged in the mercantile business in Ohio. He is the father of two children, Edwin and Clifton. The subject's mother was a native of Huron county, Ohio, and came to DeKalb county, Indiana, in 1843, settling on the Hemstreet farm, where her death occurred in 1909.
The subject of this sketch has spent all but seven years of his life on his present farm. In 1887 he entered a homestead in North Dakota, but in 1895 he returned to the home farm and bought the same in 1909 from the heirs. He is now the owner of one hundred and two acres of splendid land, about ten acres of which is in timber, the balance being under cultivation, well drained and in excellent condition. All the buildings on the place are well improved, the barn being large and commodious, the residence being neat and attractive, and the appearance of the place indicates the owner to be a man of excellent taste and sound judgment.
On July 31, 1898, Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Sophia Schwitzer, the daughter of Gottlieb and Elizabeth ( Metzger ) Schwitzer. To this union have been born five children : Josh, Herman, Ruth, John and June. Gottlieb Schwitzer was born in Germany on June 15, 1828, coming to America when quite young, and first locating at Massillon, Ohio, where he worked inaking braids and trinmmings for soldiers' uniforms. After spending some time in that employment, he moved to DeKalb county, Indiana, locating on a farm three and one-half miles from Waterloo, in Smithfield township, which he bought. He was active as a farmer and successful in his business affairs up to the time of his death, which occurred on June 13, 1889. His wife was a native of Ohio, who came to DeKalb county in 1850, at the age of seven years, her people-settling in Fairfield township on a farm where she lived until her marriage with Mr. Schwitzer. She is also deceased. Mrs. Campbell's paternal grandmother came from Germany with Gottlieb Schwitzer, their mar- riage occurring in this country, and she died on the home place near Waterloo at the age of seventy-one years. To Mr. and Mrs. Schwitzer were born four children, George, Sophia, Edwin and Anna. George, who married Nora Stomm, lives on a farm in Fairfield township and has four children, Charles, Anna. Willard and Wilber; Edwin, who married Edith Bickel 'and lives on , the home place three and one-half miles from Waterloo, has three children, Wilson, Raymond and Lloyd; Anna is unmarried and lives on the old home
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place. Personally, Mr. Campbell is a pleasant man to know, hospitable in his home, straightforward in his business relations and a man in whom all repose the utmost confidence who have occasion to know him. He has taken a broad view of men and things and gives his earnest support to every movement calculated to advance the best interests of the community along moral, educa- tional, social or material lines, and therefore he is deserving of being num- bered among the representative men of the community which has for so many years been honored by his citizenship.
HERMAN M. HAMMAN.
To contemplate, however briefly, a successful career is always pleasant and profitable, in that it brings to view the great fundamental principles which form the true basis of character and exemplifies the practical intelli- gence and judgment, fertile resource and wise foresight which constitute such peculiar power and make the one in whom combined a master of himself, of his circumstances and his destiny.
Herman M. Hamman was born on February 2, 1872, in Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, and is the son of Daniel F. and Harriett E. (Martin) Hamman, who are represented elsewhere in this work. The subject was reared on his father's farm and lived there until his marriage in 1899. when he engaged in farming, where he now lives in section 3. Smith- field township. He has a well improved and up-to-date farm and has achieved a splendid record as an agriculturalist. In 1895 Mr. Hamman bought a threshing outfit and for eighteen years has followed this business during the season. In January, 1914, Mr. Hamman bought the Frank Hamman tile mill, which he will locate on his home farm. Progressive in his ideas, practical in his methods and observing the strictest rules of integrity in his dealings with his fellow men, Mr. Hamman has gained and retains to a marked degree the confidence and good will of all who know him.
In 1899 Herman M. Hamman was married to Amanda Myers, who was born and reared in Franklin township, the daughter of Levi Meyers, and to them have been born three children: Magel Adell, born May 17, 1900, died November 6, 1900; Russell, born on February 2, 1902, and Howard, born on October 16, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Hamman move in the best social circles of the community in which they reside, and because of their genial dispositions
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and upright lives they have earned and retain to a marked degree the esteem of all who know them.
A. S. POWERS.
The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the readers of this volume, for he has for many years been a potent factor in the development and progress of DeKalb county, and as the proprietor of the DeKalb County Herald he is deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by all classes owing to his public spirit, integrity and fidelity to duty. By dint of industry and marked innate ability he has forged to the front among his contempor- aries and made his influnece felt throughout this portion of the state He is popular among the laboring classes and the common people because he has been associated from youth with the men who have had to strive for what they have secured of wealth and fame, and in their struggles he still takes a lively interest The DeKalb County Herald wields a powerful influence in molding public opinion and it holds high rank with the clean, trenchant, wide-awake, modern journals of the present day, ably managed in every de- partment and a success from a financial standpoint
A. S. Powers was born in Clay county, Kansas, on April 27, 1876, and is the son of Charles Henry and Nancy ( Diamond) Powers, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Pennsylvania. Charles H. Powers moved from his native state to Kansas, where he remained for some time and then returned east, locating in Allen county, Indiana, where he followed farming, which was his life's vocation and in which he was quite successful, so that he is now retired from active business pursuits. To him and his wife were born three children, George A., A. S., the immediate subject of this sketch, and Dale.
A. S. Powers received his education in the common schools of Allen county, and in young manhood he entered a printing office, where he learned the "art preservative" and of which he has been a devoted follower since that time. He has for a number of years been the publisher and editor of the DeKalb County Herald at Butler and, as before stated, has wielded a potent influence for the development and welfare of the community with which he has identified himself. Personally, Mr. Powers is a man of strong character and genial disposition and he has, since becoming a citizen of DeKalb county, formed a wide acquaintance and gained a host of warm personal friends.
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On May 17, 1900, Mr. Powers married Bessie Stewart, the daughter of Daniel and Sylvia (Curtiss) Stewart. Mrs. Powers' father was an old railroad man, being one of the first engineers on the Wabash railroad. He was a man of steady habits and good character. To Mr. and Mrs. Powers have been born three children: Eloise, born in 1903: Burdetta, born in 1907, and Marcella, born in 1913.
Politically, Mr. Powers has been a life-long supporter of the Demo- cratic party, in the success of which he has been deeply interested, but he has never been an aspirant for public office, preferring to devote his time and attention to the advancement of his business interests. Fraternally, he is an appreciative member of the Knights of Pythias, in which order he takes an intelligent interest.
NELSON CHANEY.
In the early days the Middle West was often a tempting field to energetic, ambitious, strong-minded men, and Indiana was filled with them during the time she was struggling up to a respectable position in the sisterhood of states. There was a fascination in the broad field and great promise which this newer region presented to activity and which attracted many men and induced them to brave the discomforts of the early life here for the pleasure and gratifica- tion of constructing their fortunes in their own way and after their own methods. The late Nelson Chaney, for a long lapse of years one of the most substantial and prominent citizens of DeKalb county, became identified with this favored section of the country at an early date and from the first wielded a potent influence. He gave to the world the best of an essentially virile. loyal and noble nature and his standard of honor was absolutely inflexible He was a citizen of high civic ideals, and ever manifested his liberality in con- nection with measures and enterprises tending to advance the general welfare of the community honored by his residence. He was the architect of his own fortune and upon his career rests no blemish, for he was true to the highest ideals and principles in business, civic and social life. Ile lived and labored to worthy ends and as one of the sterling citizens and representative men of his locality in a past generation his memory merits a tribute of honor on the pages of history.
Nelson Chaney, whose death occurred at his home in Richland township. DeKalb county, Indiana, on April 21, 1913, was born in Harrison county. Ohio, on August 15, 1827. In early years the family moved to Ashland.
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Ohio, where he received his education and was reared to manhood. In 1853, desiring larger opportunity for advancement and for the exercise of those qualities which so especially fitted him for the life of a pioneer, he came to DeKalb county and purchased a tract of land in the woods. To the clearing of this land and the development and cultivation of a farm he applied him- self with such energy and perseverance that in due time his farm became known as one of the best in the entire locality, and on this place he resided continuously up to the time of his death. His career was a long, busy and useful one, fraught with much good to himself and family, and his memory will long be revered by all who have had occasion to come in contact with him on life's highway. Though successful in his material affairs, he never allowed the pursuit of wealth to warp his kindly nature ; but preserved his faculties and the warmth of his heart for the broadening and helpful influences of human life, being to the end a kindly, congenial friend and gentleman whom it was a pleasure to meet. He reached the advanced age of eighty-five years, having lengthened out his life far beyond the Psalmist's allotted three score and ten, until he was permitted to witness the vicissitudes of the most remarkable epoch in the world's history, in all of which he was an interested spectator. and, indeed, played no inconspicuous part in pushing forward the wheels of civilization in his own locality. There is no doubt but that his long life was due to his sterling character, his conservative habits and his pure thinking. He was even-tempered, patient, scrupulously honest in all his relations in life, hospitable and charitable and his many kindly deeds were actuated from his largeness of heart more than from any desire to gain the plaudits of his fellow men. However, his record is too familiar to the readers of this work to re- quire any fulsome encomium here, his life speaking for itself in stronger terms than any phrases the writer could employ. In all that constituted true manhood and good citizenship he was a worthy example and none stood higher than he in the esteem and confidence of the circles in which he moved.
On June 15, 1855, Nelson Chaney was united in marriage with Mary Ann McCague, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1833, and whose death occurred on January 15, 1884. Soon after her birth her parents moved to Holmes county. Ohio, and in the fall of 1848 they came to DeKalb county, Indiana. Soon after her marriage to Mr. Chaney they moved onto the farm on which the remaining years of their life were spent, and which was not at that time improved to any considerable extent. In 1866 Mrs. Chaney embraced Christ as her Saviour and, with her husband. joined the United Brethren church at Shower's Corners, of which she and her
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husband were faithful and honored members until their deaths. She was in the truest sense of the word a helpmate to her husband, encouraging him by her counsel and assisting him by her labor to create a home in the wilderness where they might rear their family of children. To her relatives, and friends she left a priceless legacy of her life-a legacy of endurance, courage, patience, faith, hope and love. Her life was nobly lived and beautifully closed, and her record spoke of the sublime courage born of faith. and hope.
To Nelson and Mary Ann Chaney were born eight children, one of whom died in infancy, and a son, Nelson Milford, was killed by a train at Auburn at the age of nineteen years. The other children, all surviving, are: William, at home ; Irvin, at Rock Island, Illinois ; Mrs. J. W. Sheffer, of Auburn, this county ; Mrs. E. C. Walker, of Fort Wayne, Indiana : Mrs. William Bowman, of Corunna, this county, and Mrs. A. B. Raub, who remains at home.
MONTE L. GREEN.
Success in this life comes to the deserving. It is an axiom, demonstrated by all human experience, that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it. plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who inherits a large estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a successful man. He that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value is successful in proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the man who starts in the world unaided and by sheer force of will, controlled by correct principles, forges ahead and at length reaches a position of honor among his fellow citizens achieves success such as representatives of the two, former classes can neither understand nor appreciate. To a considerable extent the subject of this sketch is a creditalle representative of the class last named, a class which has furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the stability of our government and its institutions.
Monte L. Green, president of the Garrett Savings, Loan and Trust Com- pany, is a native of the state of Missouri, where he was born on January 26, 1870, and is the son of Jesse H. and Louisa B. (Beach) Green, the latter pos- sessing considerable literary ability. Both these parents were born in Indiana. the father at Moore's Hill, and the mother in Henry county. After their mar- riage they moved to Spencer, Indiana. Jesse H Green was for over thirty years a railway postal clerk, his last assignment being on the Cincinnati South- ern railroad. He finally reitred from active service, having removed to Bel-
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levue, Kentucky, where he now resides. His wife died in Bellevue, Kentucky, on April 23, 1905. To him and his wife have been born two children, Glenn Arden, deceased, and Monte Lee. Fraternally, Jesse H. Green is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, his membership being consonant from the fact that on April 15, 1861, at the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion, he en- listed for service in the navy at New York City, and then, on the expiration of his period of enlistment, in 1864, he enlisted in the Twenty-fifth Indiana Battery of Light Artillery. He thus served during the entire period of the war and his record as a soldier was a creditable one in every respect. Mr. Green is a man of strong character and stands well with all who know him.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the public schools of Indianapolis, graduating from the German Annex high school in that city. He then went to Cincinnati, where he took a course in a business college, and then engaged in the carriage business, which, in associated lines, commanded his attention for twenty years. He came to Auburn in 1907 and for eight months was associated with W. H. McIntyre. He then bought the interests of some local stockholders in the Savings, Loan and Trust Company, of which he was elected vice-president, severing all connection with this institution early in 1913. In 1908, with associates, he organized the Savings, Loan and Trust Company at Garrett, of which he is now president and to which he is giving his entire time and attention. This company was organized in Novem- ber, 1908, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, which was in- creased to forty thousand dollars when Mr. Green disposed of his interests in the Auburn Savings, Loan and Trust Company. The present officers are as follows: President, Monte L. Green ; first vice-president, J. N. Ritter ; second vice-president, Dr. J. A. Clevenger ; secretary, Miss Laura A. Shutt, these persons, with Fred W. Knott, of Auburn, composing the board of directors. This institution has already gained a strong hold on the good. will of the com- munity and is filling a long-felt want in the locality. In the year 1912 he was president of the Auburn Commercial Club and is now the secretary of the Garrett Business Men's Association.
Mr. Green has been twice married, first to Josephine Pohlman, the daughter of John W. and Beatrice Pohlman, both of whom are deceased. Mrs. Josephine Green died January 11, 1906, in Springfield, Ohio, leaving two sons, Arden D. and Lyman Dale. These boys were born in Kenton county. Kentucky, and are at home with their father. Subsequently, Mr. Green was married to Helen Samme Ralston, the daughter of A. J. and Hadessa (George) Ralston, of Auburn, Indiana, who are mentioned elsewhere in this
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work. To the last marriage, while living in Auburn, has been born one child, Alzein Louise. The family reside in a comfortable home on the northeast corner of Cowen and Dennis street, Garrett, to which property they moved in April, 1913, having traded homes with County Recorder Warner McNabb. deceased.
Politically, Mr. Green occupies an independent attitude, voting for the men and measures which he considers the best calculated to advance the best interests of the people. He has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs, especially as relating to educational matters, and while a resident of Ludlow, Kentucky, he served as president of the school board. Religiously, he is a member of the Presbyterian church, in the prosperity of which he is deeply interested. His fraternal affiliations are with the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to the blue lodge, of which he is a past master, the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, the council of Royal and Select Masters, and the com- mandery of Knights Templar, while he is also a thirty-second-degree Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the Mystic Shrine. At the time of writing this sketch he is serving as worthy patron in the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Green's career has been characterized by hard work and conscientious en- deavor, and he owes his success to no train of fortunate incidents or fortui- tous circumstances. It is the reward of application of mental qualifications of a high order to the affairs of business, that have enabled him to recognize and grasp opportunities that have presented themselves. His integrity has ever been unassailable, his honor unimpeachable, and he stands high in the opinion of all who know him.
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