USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Dekalb County, Indiana, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of old families > Part 98
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William G. Erick was born on August 7. 1867, and is the son of Enos W. and Sarah C. (Hoffmyer) Erick. Enos W. Erick was a native of Penn- sylvania who, at the age of six years, was brought first to Huntington county. Indiana, by his father, Peter Erick, who was the third man to locate in Huntington county, where he followed blacksmithing as a vocation. He was also a minister of the Gospel, to which he devoted his attention all his active life and was a preacher at Spencerville, this county, for ten years. He was a man of marked intellectual attainments, a forceful public speaker, who exerted a marked influence on the lives of all with whom he came in contact. Enos W. and Sarah C. Erick were the parents of seven children, namely : One who died in infancy; Sylvester G., who died in Oklahoma : Beeks, who was for many years engaged in the mercantile business at Spencerville, but now resides at Fort Wayne; Ethel, deceased : Libbie B .; Dea, who was acci- dentally killed, and William G.
William G. Erick received his education in the common schools of Middlebury, Indiana, completing his studies in the high school there He then went to White Pigeon, Michigan, where he engaged in the mercantile
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Business, in which he continued for four years, returning at the end of that time to Spencerville, where for a while he was employed by his brothers in their store. Going then to New Paris, Indiana, he carried on a general store Rf there for about eighteen months and then returned to Spencerville, but soon afterwards went to Hamilton, this state, where for a year he also conducted a mercantile business and then returned to Spencerville, where he opened a store and where he has remained until the present time. He has been gratify- ingly successful in this enterprise and has enjoyed his full share of the public patronage in his line, his evident desire to please and his courteous treatment of his customers gaining for him a well reserved popularity.
On August 6. 1891, Mr. Erick was married to Mabel Murray, daughter of James H. and Margaret (Langley) Murray, who are referred to specifi- cally in a later paragraph. To Mr. and Mrs. Erick were born two children, Murray E., born November, 1892, and W. Beeks, born in July, 1894.
Politically, Mr. Erick has been a life-long supporter of the Demo- cratic party and is the present trustee of Spencer township, in fact he is the first and only trustee of this township, from the fact that in 1909, owing to differences in school matters, Concord township was divided, the new division being called Spencer. Mr. Erick takes a justifiable pride in éducational mat- ters and had the high school of this township commissioned. He is actively interested in furthering every movement which will advance the best interests of his fellow citizens, who have appreciated his earnest efforts in behalf of the community.
Fraternally, Mr. Erick is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias, in the work of which he takes an appreciative in- terest. Mr. Erick possesses a pleasing personality and is easily approachable. Strong and forceful in his relations with his fellow men, he not only makes his presence felt, but has also gained the good will and commendation of both his intimate associates and the general public, retaining his reputation among them for integrity and high character and never losing that dignity which is the birthright of the true gentleman.
James H. Murray, father of Mrs. William G. Erick, was born in Seneca county, Ohio, on November 7, 1839, the son of James and Nancy R. (Herin) Murray, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Pennsyl- vania. James C. Murray followed farming all his life and remained in his native state, where his death occurred when Mrs. Erick's father was but nine months old. To him and his wife were born four children, namely: David H., Mary and Thomas are all deceased, and James H.
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The latter received his education in the common schools of his native state and came to Indiana with his mother and settled near Leo, where on attaining mature years he took up farming. After remaining there for five years he came to Spencerville in 1860 and here became identified with milling interests, and remained identified with this for about fifty years. He is now retired from active business pursuits and is living in Spencerville.
In 1873 he married Margaret Langley, whose parents were natives of Virginia, and to them were born two children, Mabel, the wife of William G. Erick, and Winifred, who married Dr. B. O. Snook, of Spencerville. Politically, Mr. Murray is a Democrat, while, fraternally, he is a member of the blue lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons at Spencerville.
JACOB F. SNYDER.
The record of Jacob F. Snyder, a leading farmer of Smithfied town- ship, is that of an enterprising gentleman who worthily upholds an honored family name and whose life, for many years, has been very intimately asso- ciated with the material prosperity and moral advancement of the locality where he resides, and during the most progressive periods of the history of this vicinity. He has always been found on the right side of questions look- ing to the development of the same, and he has at the same time won an enviable reputation for honesty and wholesome living.
Jacob F. Snyder was born in 1862 in Seneca county, Ohio, and is a son of Carolus and Lovina ( Kistler) Snyder, the father a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and the mother born in Seneca county, Ohio. When Jacob F. was about six months old the parents moved to Allen county, In- diana, locating in Cedar Creek township, and on the parental farm there the subject remained until twenty-four years of age, having during the early years assisted his father in the cultivation of the homestead and securing a good practical education in the public schools of that community. His par- ents spent the remainder of their years on the Allen county farm and died there, having, because of their high personal qualities and industry, earned and retained the respect of the entire community. About 1886 Mr. Snyder was married and soon afterwards came to DeKalb county and rented farm land in Smithfield and Franklin townships, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits during the following twenty years as a renter, occupying only three
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farms during that period. In the fall of 1905 Mr. Snyder bought ninety- one acres of land in the northeast quarter of section 24, Smithfield township, and five years later he bought forty acres additional a short distance north- east of his first holdings and in Franklin township. He has made his home on the Smithfield township farm continuously since first locating there, and has achieved a splendid success in its operation. Practical and up-to-date in his ideas and methods, he has left no stone unturned in his efforts to bring success out of his enterprise, and that he has accomplished the desired re- sult is evidenced by the high standing he occupies among the agricultural element of his section of the county. He gives every detail of his farm work his personal attention, raising all the crops common to this locality and giving due attention to rotation of crops and other important features of successful farming. He has a neat and attractive residence, commodious and well ar- ranged barns, while the well-kept fences, highly cultivated fields and the general appearance of the place indicates the owner to be a man of intelli- gence and sound judgment. In addition to the cultivation of the soil Mr. Snyder gives a proper share of his attention to the breeding and raising of live stock, in which also he has been very successful.
In 1886 Mr. Snyder married Ida A. Harwood, who was born in Allen county, Indiana, the daughter of Edward and Louisa (Spencer) Harwood, both parents also natives of Allen county and members of pioneer families of that locality. Mrs. Snyder died on May 11, 1901, leaving three sons and a daughter, Orange, Elmer, Dora and Lester. Orange, who lives in Franklin township, married Ruby Wolfe, and they have a son, Frank; Elmer, who lives in Smithfield township, married Mina Enzor, and they have a son, Perry; Dora and Lester are at home. In December, 1901, Mr. Snyder mar- ried Estella Grats, a native of .Allen county, this state, and a daughter of Silas and Alice ( Wherley ) Grats. She was reared in Allen county, where her father, who has been a life-long farmer, still lives. Her mother died there in March, 1913. To Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have been born three children, Mildred, Milford and Velma. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are earnest and faithful members of the United Brethren church, giving their support not only to all the interests of this society, but also to every movement which promises to be of material, social, educational or religious benefit to the com- munity. They move in the best social circles and because of their genial qualities and the success which they have attained they have earned and re- tained the sincere regard and respect of all who know them.
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HENRY D. SHOEMAKER.
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-of-door life known to the tiller of the soil has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self reliance which characterizes true man- hood, and no truer blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, 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 of our nation's great warriors, renowned states- men and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm and were in- debted largely to its early influence for the distinction which they attained. From the farm came the Shoemakers, one of the honored and representative families of DeKalb county, of whom Henry D. Shoemaker, one of Smithfield township's most progressive agriculturists, is a worthy member.
Henry D. Shoemaker, who for a number of years has been one of the most extensive farmers and influential citizens of Smithfield township, was born on August 27, 1858, in this township, and is the son of E. R. Shoe- maker, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, therefore his ancestral . history will not be referred to further at this point. Henry D. Shoemaker was reared on the parental farmstead and in his youth attended the district schools of the locality, his vacation periods being spent in farm work. Later he attended the college at Valparaiso, Indiana, securing a good, practical edu- cation and then, returning to the vocation to which he had been reared, he has continuously applied himself to it since with the most pronounced success. Mr. Shoemaker is giving his attention to the operation of three hundred and sixty acres of land in Smithfield township, besides one hundred and sixty acres belonging to the family that is rented. He has an unusual well equipped farmstead, the detailed description of which would occupy more space than is permissible in a work of this character. The equipment includes a blacksmith outfit, an arrangement for slaughtering and fine, big bank barns which are in every respect a credit to the owner. Mr. Shoemaker's home is pleasant, attractive and conveniently arranged, and the surroundings are in keeping with the residence. The farm owned by Mr. Shoemaker is a credit to him and reflects credit on his sound judgment and good taste. Mr. Shoe- maker has a splendid record as a business man, and for many years has made it a business rule to run no accounts, and give no promises to pay in the
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future, every transaction being strictly cash, and this has undoubtedly been one of the secrets of the eminent success which he has realized in his affairs. Progressive in his disposition, public spirited in his attitude toward the civic and community affairs, obliging in his relations with his neighbors, he has gained the confidence and respect of all who know him and is numbered among the truly representative men of DeKalb county.
In 1892 Henry D. Shoemaker was united in marriage with Mahala Bachtel, the daughter of Henry Bachtel, and they have one son, Russell, born November 15, 1895. He is a man who would win his way in any locality or station where fate might place him, for he has sound judgment, coupled with great energy and business tact, together with upright principles, all of which make for success wherever and whenever they are rightfully and persistently applied.
SAMUEL L. WIDNEY.
The name borne by the honored subject of this review is one which has been long and intimately identified with the history of DeKalb county, its identification with the annals of this favored section of the Hooseir state dating back to the early epoch in which was initiated the development of the industrial and civic interests of DeKalb county. He has here passed his long and useful life, and as its shadows begin to lengthen from the west he finds himself favored in being surrounded with hosts of friends and enabled to enjoy the rich fruits of his former years of earnest toil and endeavor.
Samuel L. Widney was born in Newville township, DeKalb county, Indiana, on June 26, 1839, and is the son of John P. Widney, who is referred to elsewhere in this work. When he was but three years old the family moved to near St. Joe, where his father had traded the Newville farm for one hundred and thirty-four acres of raw land. The new place was densely covered with timber except a small tract which had been slashed, that is, the timber cut and piled up in winrows to be dried and burned. The only attempt toward the construction of a dwelling had been the erection of the frame of a plank house, in which not a nail had yet been driven. The frame work was of poplar wood and the planks were afterwards fastened on with wooden pegs. That was in 1842 and in this house the family lived until 1858, when they built a commodious and comfortable new residence. Even at that period all lumber came rough and all dressing was required to be done by
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hand. The house that was built in 1842 was an up-to-date building for that period, having the first brick chimney built in that part of the country, at the foot of which was an old-fashioned fireplace, with the customary accessories of that day, including a crane, reflector and other pioneer baking and cooking facilities. When the family bought a cook stove in 1847 it was a great cur- iosity in the new settlement and many came to see it. In other ways the Widneys followed the pioneer customs of the period, doing their own spin- ning and weaving and enduring the hardships and privations of frontier life.
Samuel Widney attended the subscription schools in early childhood and in1 1851, when the family moved to Auburn because his father had become county clerk, the subject completed his schooling in that city. In 1860, at the age of twenty years, Mr. Widney married Mary A. Moore, a daughter of James and Ellen (Hemphill) Moore, her birth having occurred in Richland county, Ohio, in 1837. In 1842 she accompanied her parents to DeKalb county, they locating southeast of Auburn in Jackson township. Soon after his marriage Mr. Widney returned to the farm near St. Joe and there en- gaged in operating that land. He was an industrious and intelligent farmer. giving close attention to all the details of his work and being progressive in his ideas he was somewhat in advance of his neighbors in many respects, especially in relation to the proper rotation of crops in order to conserve the fertility of the soil. During all his active years he devoted his main attention to general farming, although to some extent he engaged in the raising of Shorthorn cattle, in which he was successful. Eventually he became the owner of three hundred and thirty-three acres of splendid land, one hundred and twenty acres of which he had cleared from the virgin forest by his own efforts. Sixty acres of the original farm north of St. Joe had been given him by his father at his marriage, but he soon bought forty acres more, for which he went in debt. When that tract was paid for he continued to buy more land as opportunity offered and at length was enabled to realize the returns on his investment in both labor and money. After many years of arduous toil Mr. Widney retired from farm work and resided in St. Joe until 1912, but in that year he sold his home in the latter place and returned to the farm, where he now resides with his son.
To Samuel -L. and Mary Widney were born five children, namely : Marion died at the age of four months; Byron E. lives on a part of his father's farm near St. Joe: he married Rosetta Sechler, and they have a daughter, Edith, who is the wife of Ross Abel; Viola is the wife of D. L. Carpenter and lives on the farm north of St. Joe that was her father's from
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1860 ; she is the mother of three sons, Deral, Carl and Paul; Otto L. married Bernice Vandergraft, of Adrian, Michigan, and is now living at Hicksville, Ohio, where he is engaged in the general merchandise business; he has no children of his own, but has adopted two little girls, Dorothy and Ruth; Iva, who died in 1905, was the wife of Clarence Hart and lived at St. Joe. Re- ligiously, Mr. Widney is a member of the Methodist Protestant church at St. Joe, of which he is a trustee and in which he has taken an active interest for many years, being a generous supporter of its various interests. Mrs. Widney died on October 20, 1905, their daughter, Iva, having preceded her in death on the 7th of that same month, and Mr. Widney's father also died on the IIth of that month, there being thus three deaths among his immediate blood relatives within two weeks, a daughter, wife and father. It is scarcely necessary to revert in detail to the experiences of Mr. Widney in his boy- hood days, for the tale of the scenes and conditions of the pioneer period has been often told. Modern facilities were notable for their absence and the pioneers were self dependent to an extent that seems almost impossible of realization to the younger generation of the present time. Mr. Widney stands today as one of the venerable and sturdy pioneers of the county, and it is gratifying that his life history can be perpetuated by outlining his useful and honorable career as a man and as a public-spirited citizen.
OLIVER PERRY ELDRIDGE.
Self-assertion is believed by many people to be absolutely necessary to success in life, and there are good reasons for the entertainment of such a belief. The modest man very rarely gets what is due him. The selfish, ag- gressive man elbows his way to the front, takes all that is in sight and it some- times seems that modesty is a sin, with self-denial the penalty. There are, however, exceptions to all rules and it is a matter greatly to be regretted that the exceptions to the conditions are not more numerous. One notable excep- tion is the case of the honorable gentleman whose life history we here present, who possesses just a sufficient amount of modesty to be a gentleman at all times and yet sufficient persistency to win in the business world and at the same time not appear over bold. As a result of these well and happily blended quali- ties Mr. Eldridge has won a host of friends in DeKalb county, where he is well known to all classes as a man of influence, integrity and business ability.
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Oliver Perry Eldridge was born in Richland township, DeKalb county, December 18, 1869, the son of Thomas J. and Mahala Jane (Keenan) Eld- ridge, natives of Ohio, their marriage having occurred at Fremont, that state. On coming to. Indiana they first located temporarily in Noble county. In 1864 they bought a farm in Richland township, DeKalb county, to which they moved in 1866. The father followed agricultural pursuits during his lifetime. To them were born six children : Ida, Edward, Eva and Benjamin E., all de- ceased, and Anna M. and Oliver P. Prior to taking up farming, in which he is still actively engaged, Oliver P. Eldridge received a good education in the DeKalb county public schools. He began operations on the home farm and is now the owner of one hundred and ninety-one acres of good farm land, eighty acres of which are in Richland township.
Oliver Perry Eldridge was, on September 22, 1898, united in marriage to Pauline Wiehmueller, daughter of John and Barbara (Beauchley) Wieh- mueller. They are natives of Germany and came to this country when the subject's wife was but five years old. To Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge have been born four children, Dennis, Ralph C., Helen Juanita and Thomas.
HUGH MERVIN WIDNEY.
Today the farmer is coming into his own. Once he seemed to be at the mercy of every other occupation and profession, all of whom were exploit- ing him, while he drew from his acres a bare living and little more. But in those days there was a surplusage of farm population as compared with the city. Now the city has drawn so many within its portals that there is a practical scarcity of farmers to supply the demands made upon them, im- proved implements and inventions have lessened the farmer's toil, and those who live in the rural districts today are reaping a rich reward for their labors and winning the envy instead of the contempt of the city dwellers. Among the residents of DeKalb county who have reaped abundantly and in satisfac- tory measures from Mother Earth is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch, who as farmer and fruit raiser is meeting with splen- did success from his fine farm in Concord township. He is well educated and has gained a wide reputation, especially as a lecturer on agricultural, horticultural and kindred topics, and today is numbered among the leading and progressive citizens of his township.
Hugh Mervin Widney was born in DeKalb county. Indiana, on March
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24, 1866, and is the son of O. H. and Emily F. (Maxwell ) Widney. Oliver H. Widney was born on November 12, 1841, near Newville, DeKalb county, and was the son of John G. and Jane (Lynn) Widney. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the district schools at Orangeville, after- wards studying in the schools of Auburn and at Newville Academy. He engaged in teaching school for a while, but in young manhood gave his at- tention to the clearing of a farm of seventy acres, which he developed from swamps to one of the best farms in his community. In 1877 he traded this farm to his father for the old homestead on the St. Joe river near the town of St. Joe. There he successfully carried on his agricultural pursuits, pos- sessing a fine farm of one hundred and thirty-four acres. On August 7, 1862, Oliver H. Widney enlisted as a private in Company H, Eighty-eighth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he took part in some arduous service during that fall, participating in the battle of Perrysville. On December 15th of that same year, he was discharged because of physical disability and remained at home until he had regained his health, when, on July 18, 1863, he again enlisted as first sergeant of Company B. One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he did valiant and courageous service until March 14, 1864, when he received his dis- charge. He later became a member of John C. Kern Post No. 144, Grand Army of the Republic. In politics he was a Republican up to the year 1870, after which he affiliated with the Democratic party. On November 3, 1864, O. H. Widney married Emily Maxwell, of Concord township, this county, and they became the parents of two children, Hugh Mervin, the subject of this sketch, and Lenore, who was born on May 18, 1881. Mr. Widney was a man of prominence and influence in his community and rendered good service to his county as a member of the board of county commissioners for two terms.
Hugh M. Widney secured his elementary education in the common schools and was reared to the life of a farmer, which vocation he followed for a while after attaining mature years, but turned his attention to the lum- ber business, in which he was successfully engaged for a time, first in the retail business and later as a wholesaler and manufacturer. He then again returned to the farm for a time, but later engaged in the lumber and hard- ware business at St. Joe, which, however, he later disposed of and again turned his attention to farming, which now occupies his attention. He owns a splendid tract of land in Concord township, and here he makes the raising of fruit a specialty. For twenty years he has given thoughtful and intelligent
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