USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 79
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On October 22, 1914, Fred Doenges was united in marriage to Magde- lena Friedgen, daughter of the Reverend Friedgen, founder of the German Presbyterian church at Connersville. Mr. and Mrs. Doenges have a pleasant home in Connersville and take an earnest interest in the general social activities of the city.
GEORGE E. MANLOVE.
George E. Manlove, one of the well-known and prominent retired farm- ers of Fayette county, now living at Connersville, was born in Posey town- ship, this county, January 25, 1845, the son of William and Margaret (Munger ) Manlove.
William Manlove was the first white child born in Posey township, and his wife was born near Dayton, Ohio. William Manlove was the son of George Manlove, a native of North Carolina, who grew to manhood in that state and came to Fayette county, Indiana, in the year 1811. The trip from the North Carolina home was made with horses and wagon, a number of other families from that section coming to the Hoosier territory at the same time to seek homes in the then far west. Mr. Manlove settled in section 28, township 15, range 12 east, and entered the whole section. The tract at that time was covered with heavy timber and he later sold the place. There were many Indians in this region at that time and they caused the settlers much trouble and annoyance. Mr. Manlove left this part of the state and went south to the Ohio river, where he remained until 1815, when he returned to the township, and here the son William was born that same year, he being the first white child born in that section, so far as is known. In returning from a trip to Cincinnati, George Manlove developed a case of cholera and died in the year 1831. His wife, Mary Caldwell Manlove, whom he mar- ried in North Carolina, died in Rush county, Indiana.
COUNTRY HOME OF GEORGE E. MANLOVE.
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Conditions of living in the settlement at that time were of the crudest sort and the early settlers suffered many hardships. They had to depend upon themselves for nearly all the necessities of life, and much of their liv- ing was obtained from the forest and the streams. Their homes were of the rudest kind and very few comforts were obtainable by even the best of the families. Yet, withal, a hardy race was developed, and many of the men and women who lived their early lives as pioneers in this Indiana county, became successful and worthy members of society. They had to do with the primeval conditions and to them was left the development of the terri- tory and the formation of the future government. Their task was a hard one, yet they met the many difficulties with a determination that was worthy of their best efforts. Townships and counties had to be organized, schools and churches established, and business enterprises undertaken. Their work was well done and the finished product, as shown in the splendid farms, beautiful homes, and thriving towns and cities of Fayette county, is the result of the work done by the people of those early days.
George and Mary Manlove were the parents of nine children, John, William, Joseph, Joseph C., Lydia, Hannah, James, David and George. John grew to manhood in his home county and later became a resident of Hamilton county, Indiana : Joseph died when he was but a small child ; Joseph C. and James lived in Tipton counties; Hannah became the wife of Hugh Dicky and made her home in Tipton county; Lydia married James McClure and made her home at Salem, Iowa, and David and George lived in Rush county, Indiana.
William Manlove received his education in the primitive school held in the old log school house. He was ever a student and received much of his education through his own efforts, coming to be considered a well-educated man for those days. He taught school in the county and met with much success in the work. He continued to live at home until he was twenty years of age, when he married and located on a farm which he had pur- chased, one mile west of the old homestead. That eighty-acre farm he developed and there he made his home until 1876, when he purchased another farm, farther south, to which he added until he became the owner of eight hundred and fifty acres of splendid land. There he engaged in general farm- ing and stock raising and became well known throughout the county. Politically, he was, as a young man, identified with the Whig party and later with the Republican party. He always took a deep interest in local affairs and was a man in whom all had confidence and for whom all entertained a
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feeling of respect. While he was not a seeker after office, he had much to do with the civic life of his district.
William and Margaret Manlove were the parents of the following chil- dren: Oliver, George E., John L., Emory and Mary L. Oliver Manlove married Elizabeth Scott and was for many years a successful teacher, farmer and mechanic. His death occurred some years ago. John L. Manlove is now living on the old home place in Posy township. He married Mary Ella Scott, who now is deceased. Emory Manlove, who owns a part of the old home place, is now living at Connersville. He married Emily Johnson. Mary L., the widow of Calvin Myers, now lives south of Bentonville.
George E. Manlove received his early schooling in the home schools and later attended the Dublin high school. He was reared on the old home farm, where as a lad he assisted his father with the work. He remained at home until 1877, when, in January of that year, he was united in mar- riage to Malinda Wallace, of Wayne county, daughter of James and Nancy (Cluckner) Wallace. Her father was a native of Indiana, having been born south of Milton, and her mother was born in the state of Pennsylvania. The father of James Wallace was John Wallace, a native of Scotland, who mar- ried Mary Banks. John Wallace left his native land in his young manhood and came to the United States, coming on out to Indiana and locating on a farm two and one-half miles south of Milton, where he entered three hun- dred and twenty acres of land and where he married and established his home.
John and Mary Wallace were the parents of the following children : Oliver, Cyrus, Stephen, James, John, William, Preston, Sallie, Richard, Emily, Allen and one who died in infancy. Oliver Wallace lived for many years on a farm near the old home place. Stephen Wallace died at the age of twenty-one years. Cyrus and John Wallace were farmers in their home county. William, Preston and Richard Wallace were residents of Wabash county. Emily Wallace married James Williams, a farmer living south of Milton, and Allen Wallace died in Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Wallace were prominent in the activities of their home community and were highly respected in that community.
James Wallace was born on Febrary 17, 1821, and died in the year 1880. His wife was born on July 20, 1829, and died in the year 1903. They were members of the Christian church and took much interest in church work and in the general social life of the county. They were the parents of three children, Alonzo, Malinda and Clara. Alonzo Wallace was born on July 30, 1850. He was united in marriage to Phoebe Caldwell and they lived on the home place until the time of their deaths some years ago.
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Malinda Wallace married George E. Manlove and Clara Wallace married Albert Griffin and lives southeast of Connersville.
To George E. and Malinda (Wallace) Manlove have been born two children, Bertha and Ortha. The former is the wife of Homer Florea, a successful farmer and stockman of this county. They have one child, a daughter, Hazel. Ortha is the wife of Ray Thornburg, a well-known farmer, stockman and automobile dealer. living south of Bentonville. They are the parents of one child, a daughter, Ethel. Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Manlove located on a farm in section 33, Harrison township, where for thirty years Mr. Manlove was successfully engaged in general farming and stockraising. In the year 1905, he retired from the more active duties of life and moved to Connersville, where he and his wife now live in their beautiful home at 1307 Central avenue.
While on his farm of three hundred and fourteen acres George E. Man- love devoted much attention to the breeding and raising of live stock, and was particularly interested in Shorthorn cattle, Poland-China hogs and draft horses. He was always a lover of good horses and at various times owned some fine ones, his success as a stockman being widely known throughout the district. Mr. Manlove is now one of the directors of the Central State Bank at Connersville and is a man of much influence. He and his wife have many friends in Connersville, as well as throughout the county. The records of the Manlove family have been traced back to 1665.
WILLIAM R. PORTER.
William R. Porter, a well-known and substantial farmer of Conners- ville township, this county, and the proprietor of a fine farm about three miles southwest of Connersville, in that township, was born on a farm in that same vicinity, December 7, 1850, and has lived in this county all his life, with the exception of a few years spent in Wabash county, this state, during the days of his young manhood. He is the son of Clark and Elizabeth ( Reed) Porter, both of whom were born in Connersville township and who spent all their lives there, substantial and influential farming people.
Clark Porter was born on the same farm as was his son, mentioned above, in 1817, a son of Joshua Porter and wife, who settled in that community among the earliest settlers of Fayette county and there spent the rest of their lives, useful pioneers. On that pioneer farm Clark Porter spent all his life,
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one of Fayette county's best-known citizens. He acquired a good piece of property and was quite well circumstanced at the time of his death, which occurred in 1894, he then being seventy-seven years of age. His widow survived him about four years, her death occurring in 1898. Slie was born in the same neighborhood as was her husband, a bit more than three miles southwest of Connersville, a daughter of Thomas and Susanna (Pollard) Reed, well-known among the pioneers of that community. Thomas Reed came to this country from Ireland and entered a quarter of a section of land in section 34 of Connersville township, this county, getting the land from the government for one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. His tract was covered with timber, much of which was fine walnut, and upon locating there he cleared a small tract and put up a log cabin, the floor of which was the earth, and he and his wife started keeping house there with tables and seats hewed out of logs. Later he built a better log house, this latter having a plank floor, and afterward added to the same another room built of brick. There he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring about 1850. To Clark Porter and wife were born seven children, five of whom, Wallace, Thomas R., Clark, William R. and Robert M., grew to maturity, and three of whom, Thomas R., William R. and Robert M., are still living.
William R. Porter received his schooling in the schools in the neighbor- hood of his old home and remained at home until he was eighteen years of age, when, in 1868, he and one of his brothers went to Wabash county, where, in the vicinity of LaGro, they began farming a place of eighty acres which their father had bought there, land that had been entered by their mother's brother, Thomas Reed. Later Clark Porter bought another eighty adjoining that place, and William R. Porter remained there farming with his brother for a couple of years or more, at the end of which time he returned to the old home farm in this county and there remained until his marriage in the spring of 1876, when he and his wife located on the farm where they are now living, three miles southwest of Connersville, and there have ever since made their home. The farm which Mr. Porter bought at the time of his marriage, a tract of ninety acres, was a bit of natural meadow and he was spared the difficulties of clearing the same. He has made all the improvements on the place and has one of the best farm plants in that part of the county, includ- ing a neat and commodious dwelling, and he and his family are very pleasantly situated. Mr. Porter has done well in his farming operations and as he prospered bought seventy-six acres adjoining his original place on the west and anotlier tract of eighty acres, a part of Grandfather Reed's old farm, and is now the owner of two hundred and forty-six acres of excellent land.
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Mr. Porter is an ardent Prohibitionist and for years has taken an active and earnest interest in the affairs of that party, attending the state and national conventions of the same and in many ways doing his part in promoting the principles of the party.
In the spring of 1876, William R. Porter was united in marriage to Alice Martin, who was born at Bentonville, this county, a daughter of Ezra and Caroline (Dale) Martin, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume, and to this union five children have been born, namely : Martin D., who married Lottie Guffin and lives on a farm adjoining that of his father on the west; Clarence E., who is a photographer at Connersville ; William G., who is at home; Grace, who married Charles Schuler, of Con- nersville, and has had four children, two, Esther and Dorothy, living, and two who died when about two years of age, and Ernest, who is employed in a foundry at Connersville. Mr. and Mrs. Porter are members of the Chris- tian church and take a proper part in church affairs. Mr. Porter is a mem- ber of the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
HARRY H. SMITH.
Harry H. Smith, superintendent of the Fayette county infirmary, or "county farm," is a native of the state of Missouri, but has been a resident of Indiana since the days of his infancy. He was born in Maysville, Mis- souri, February 18, 1872, son of Carey and Eva (Hamers) Smith, the former of whom was born in Mississippi and the latter in Missouri, but both of whom were reared in Indiana, where they spent most of their lives.
Carey Smith was but a child when his parents moved from his native Mississippi and came to Indiana, locating in Indianapolis, where he grew to manhood and where he married Eva Hamers, who was born in Missouri and who was but a child when her parents, Andrew and Eliza Hamers left that state and came to Indiana, locating in Madison county, near Anderson. Fol- lowing their marriage Carey Smith and wife went to Missouri, locating at Maysville, where they made their home for two years and where the subject of this sketch was born. Carey Smith was a stonecutter by trade and upon his return to Indianapolis from Missouri engaged in that vocation there and was thus engaged at that place until his death in 1875. His widow married John McCormack and moved to Cadiz, in Henry county, this state, where she spent the rest of her life, her death occurring in 1912.
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Harry H. Smith was about three years of age when his father died and the most of his youth was spent in Tipton county, where, when old enough to do so, he became engaged in farm work. When seventeen years of age he came to Fayette county and began to work on farms in Connersville in Jack- son townships and was thus engaged until his marriage in 1895, when he and his wife began keeping house on the Welch farm near Alquina, presently moving thence to a farm in Columbia township, where Mr. Smith farmed until about 1899, when they moved to a farm about one and one-half miles west of Connersville, later moving to Jackson township, where they lived until Mr. Smith received the appointment from the board of county com- missioners in March, 1914, to the position of superintendent of the county farm, since which time they have occupied the administration building at the infirmary. Since Mr. Smith's appointment to the position of superintendent of the infirmary, the county has erected new buildings on the old county farm and in other ways has greatly improved conditions at the institution, which is now regarded as one of the best-equipped and most capably conducted county infirmaries in the state. Mr. Smith is a Republican and for years has taken an active interest in local political affairs.
On October 2, 1895, Harry H. Smith was united in marriage to Clara Stevens, who was born near Orange, this county, a daughter of William and Ellen (Stephen) Stevens, both members of pioneer families in this part of the state. William Stevens was born at Laurel, in the neighboring county of Franklin, in 1853, a son of Abner and Elizabeth Stevens, who lived in or near Laurel until their children were grown, after which they came to this county and located on a farm west of Alpine. Abner Stevens was a member of one of the first families that settled in this part of the state. One of his aunts was stolen by the Indians when three or four years of age and grew up among Indians. She married a red man and spent her life among the members of the tribe which had brought her up. When Abner Stevens came over into Fayette county his son, William, accompanied him and here William Stevens married Ellen S. Stephen, who also had been born at Laurel, about a year after his birth, a daughter of Levi and Elizabeth Stephen, who had moved to this county about the time the Stevens family came over, the Stephen family also locating west of Alpine. After their marriage William Stevens and wife made their home on a rented farm in Orange township until about 1890, when they bought a small farm in that same township and there Mrs. Stevens died about ten years later. William Stevens now lives with one of his daughters, Mrs. Leona Eddy, near the line between Orange
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and Columbia townships. Mrs. Smith grew up in Orange township and was living in Columbia township at the time of her marriage.
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith seven children have been born, Austin, Pearl, deceased, Carl, Dorothy, Elma, Elbert and John. Austin died on September 30, 1915, he then being eighteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Christian church and Mr. Smith is a member of the local lodges of the Red Men, of the Haymakers and of the Loyal Order of Moose, in the affairs of which several organizations he takes a warm interest.
FRED P. COLLYER.
Fred P. Collyer. proprietor of the well-known Pen View greenhouses at Falmouth and one of the most skillful and successful florists in this part of the state, was born on a farm one and one-half miles southeast of Fairview, this county, October 16, 1882, and has lived in Fayette county all his life. He is a son of Alfred and Hattie (Quenzer) Collyer, the former of whom was born in Franklin county and the latter in Falmouth, who are now living at Falmouth, where Mr. Collyer has for years been actively engaged in the mercantile business. In a biographical sketch relating to him, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out a history of both the Collyer and the Quenzer families covering the period in which the families have been represented in this county and it is therefore not necessary to go into that genealogical detail in connection with the presentation of the story of the life and career of the subject of this sketch.
Fred Collyer spent the early part of his life on the farm and when his father engaged in the mercantile business at Falmouth on May 3, 1900, he entered the store with him and was thus engaged in business at Falmouth until he left the store to engage in his present line in 1912. During the period which he spent in the store Fred Collyer helped his father to build up an extensive business, which the elder Collyer is still continuing there. In August, 1912, Fred Collyer started his greenhouses at Falmouth, which, under the name of the Penn View greenhouses have become more than locally famous and which are one of the first points to attract the attention of visitors to Falmouth, for the fine plant is far ahead of those usually found in towns of that class, or, indeed, in towns of much greater pretensions than Falmouth.
Though practically inexperienced as a florist when he undertook his ambitious enterprise, Mr. Collyer has made a success of his greenhouses from
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the very start. He started with a space of one hundred feet by twenty feet under glass, that portion of his plant now known as the north greenhouse, and two years later added a couple of additional greenhouses, now having ten thousand feet in all under glass. Mr. Collyer's original plan was to raise vegetables for the winter trade and flowers for the summer and he has adhered pretty generally to this plan, furnishing both vegetables and flowers for the Connersville market and also shipping considerable quantities of both to the Cincinnati markets. One of his summer-grown crops during the past season consisted of twelve thousand chrysanthemums and the products of the Penn View greenhouses have attained a wide reputation throughout the territory reached by the enterprising proprietor. Mr. Collyer is energetic and public-spirited and since becoming a resident of Falmouth seventeen years ago, has done much to advance the general interests of that village. He is a member of the local lodges of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Improved Order of Red Men and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest.
B. F. THIEBAUD.
B. F. Thiebaud, president of the Farmers and Merchants Trust Com- pany of Connersville, former county superintendent of schools, former treas- urer of Fayette county, former publisher of the Connersville Courier, former president of the Connersville school board and formerly and for years one of the best-known and most successful school teachers in Fayette county, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life. He was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Vevay, in Switzerland county, December 28, 1853, a son of Justi Thiebaud and wife, well-known residents of that community at that time.
Reared on the home farm in Switzerland county, B. F. Thiebaud received his early schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and after leaving school taught school for two or three winters there, thus earning sufficient money to secure his entrance at the university at Valparaiso, from which institution he was graduated in 1880. Upon leaving college, Mr. Thiebaud came to Fayette county and resumed teaching, being appointed principal of the Bentonville schools, a position he held for four years, at the end of which time he was made principal for the schools at Orange. After three years of such service in the Orange schools Mr. Thiebaud was appointed principal of the Maplewood high schools and served in that capacity for two
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years, at the end of which time he was elected superintendent of schools of Fayette county. He served for one term in that office and then was appointed principal of one of the ward schools at Connersville. A year later he was appointed principal of the Connersville high school and in 1892 was elected treasurer of Fayette county. He entered upon the duties of that office in 1893 and served for four years, at the end of which time he re-entered the ranks of Fayette county's teaching corps and for a short time was thus engaged at the Columbia township high school, relinquishing that position to become connected with the office of the F. T. Roots flour-mill, where he remained for a year, later resuming school work, accepting the appointment as principal of the Harrisburg high school. A year later Mr. Thiebaud joined the ranks of Fayette county's newspaper men and for two years was engaged as publisher of the Connersville Courier.
In 1902 when the Farmers and Merchants Trust Company was organ- ized at Connersville Mr. Thiebaud was one of the chief factors in that organization and was elected secretary of the company. In 1917 he was elected president. In addition to his years of active service in the school room, Mr. Thiebaud for years also was connected with the schools of Con- nersville in an executive capacity, for twelve years serving as a member of the city school board, during a part of which time he served as president of the board, and was a member of the building committee that had in charge the erection of the new high-school building. In other ways also he has contributed of his time and energies in behalf of movements having to do with the betterment of local conditions and to the extension of the city's cultural activities, and is president of the Fayette County Chautauqua Association, in the organization of which he was one of the prime factors and in the affairs of which he has ever taken an active interest. He was chairman of the building committee which had in charge the erection of the Fayette County Centennial Hospital at Connersville and from the very inception of the movement which led to the establishment of that useful institution was one of the most active and influential promoters of the same. Mr. Thiebaud and his wife are the donors of a perpetual annual scholarship to Earlham College, given to the Connersville high school in 1915 in memory of their daughter, Marguerite, a graduate of the Conners- ville high school, of Earlham College, and a graduate student at Brynmawr College at the time of her death in 1914-an extended and fitting reference to which scholarship is made in the chapter relating to schools in the his- torical section of this work.
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