USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 100
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JOHN D. VAN METER.
What soul-inspiring tales are interwoven in the histories of Franklin county's families. What romances that read like long forgotten tales of the days of chivalry. When one reads these tales of the grandfathers and grand- mothers of Franklin county's noted families, it makes one pause in wonder- ment, so strange and romantic do they seem. Franklin county's history just teems with interest to the lover of history and to the lover of romance also. The antecedents of John Van Meter, of Blooming Grove, were pioneers of the venturesome type. The history of this family is very interesting.
John D. Van Meter was born in Fayette county, Indiana, December 2, 1843, a son of Joel and Sarah (Skinner) Van Meter, both of whom were natives of Virginia.
Joel Van Meter, father of John D. Van Meter, came from an old Vir- ginia family, who left their native state and came to Indiana at a very early date. When the Van Meters came to this county, they stopped at the Old Lady Templeton's hotel, one of Indiana's early hostelries. Joel Van Meter was educated in the primitive schools of that early time. He moved to Blooming Grove township in 1844, locating two and one-half miles south of Blooming Grove. He bought a tract of land from a Mr. Rittenhouse, on which he lived until 1884. With his son, John, Mr. Van Meter cleared most of the land on his farm, which was a stupendous task in those days,
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as the virgin forests still stood including mighty trees that had stood for ages. Joel Van Meter was an industrious man, full of the vigor of the pioneer and possessing the bodily strength that is derived from hard work in the open. Mr. Van Meter raised the first span of mules of Franklin county, and owned the first carriage built in Brookville, Indiana. This carriage was built by Charles Smith and Jack Lind, who were early craftsmen in that line. Joel Van Meter was brought up in the religious teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he and his family devoutly followed the teachings of that church throughout their lives. During the latter years of Mr. Van Meter's life he lived with his son, John D. Van Meter. He died in this county, secure in the respect of his fellowmen.
The paternal grandfather of John D. Van Meter was Isaac Van Meter, who was of the very earliest families in Virginia. One of Isaac Van Meter's brothers was captured by the Indians and carried away. He remained with the Indians for eighteen years, and was later discovered living with them near Sandusky, Ohio. In the meantime he had married a squaw. He was persuaded to return to his father, but becoming dissatisfied with his new life, he returned to his tribe with whom he continued to live the rest of his life. At the time this boy was captured by the Indians, he was playing with his two brothers a slight distance from the cabin. When the Indians approached, the two larger boys escaped and the other was captured as he was climbing a fence. Prior to this event, a Mr. Werley, maternal grand- father of Joel Van Meter, was scalped by the Indians in the same neighbor- hood in Virginia, where the above event took place.
John D. Van Meter was educated in Franklin county and helped his father on the farm during his early youth. At the age of twenty-one he started to farm on his own responsibility, first leasing a part of the home farm, on which he stayed for five years, after which he combined his activities with his father on the home place, remaining there for some years. He then moved to Blooming Grove township and in 1912 moved to the village of Blooming Grove to live. The first show that Mr. Van Meter witnessed in his early manhood, and one he often refers to with pleasure, was the P. T. Barnum show, at that time exhibiting Tom Thumb, a diminutive person twenty-two inches high, aged twenty-one years. Mr. Van Meter still retains the ownership of his farm and is also interested in the tile factory at Bloom- ing Grove.
On February 2, 1865, John D. Van Meter was married to Lue Clements, of Metamora, a daughter of Jessie and Elizabeth Clements. Her parents were both natives of Indiana.
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The paternal grandparents of Mrs. John D. Van Meter were John and Anna (Zewlie) Clements, both of whom were natives of Indiana, John Clements. having been born on August 6, 1807. They lived in this state until they died.
The maternal grandparents of Mrs. John D. Van Meter were Emmanuel and Elizabeth (Jump) Swift, natives of Indiana, who came at a very early date to Franklin county, locating in Fairfield township.
Jesse Clements, father of Mrs. John D. Van Meter, came to Franklin county when he was about thirty years of age. At thirty-six years of age he was married, his wife at that time being twenty-five years of age. He had early learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed the greater part of his life. He acquired a farm which he rented, preferring to work at his trade of carpenter. When about seventy years of age he moved to Connersville, Indiana, where he died at the age of eighty years.
To Mr. and Mrs. John D. Van Meter have been born two children, Jennie V. and Robert J. Mr. Van Meter and family are devout members of the Methodist-Episcopal church. Mr. Van Meter is an active participant in all public affairs. He has served as supervisor and member of the advisory board of his township. His fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Pythias, to which order he is devotedly attached. Mr. Van Meter loves to discuss the old times in this county and recalls the familiar names of those who were here when he was a boy. Among these were George Slaughter, James Slaughter, John J. Swift, Joseph Abbot, William Price, Sallie Blackledge, the Bainbridges and Yocums, James Evert, John Skinner, Joseph Redman, Enoch Bright, John Van Meter, Soloman Williams, Oliver Allen, William Newman and John Naylor.
PETER GEILING.
It is rather the rule than the exception, that most of the farmers of Franklin county are farmers by inheritance. In many instances, the fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers of farmers now living here, were their predecessors on the farms they now occupy. But there are a number of exceptions to this rule, particularly in the case of Peter Geiling, of Blooming Grove township, whose father was a shoemaker and whose grandfather was a blacksmith.
Peter Geiling was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, July 27, 1862.
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His parents were John and Magdalina ( Homan) Geiling, both of whom were natives of Germany.
The maternal grandparents of Peter Geiling came to this country and located in Cincinnati, Ohio. They then came to Dearborn county, Indiana, where Mr. Homan followed his trade of blacksmith. Mr. Homan died in Dearborn county and his wife died at her son's home in Oak Forest, Indiana.
John Geiling, father of Peter Geiling, was born in Germany, where he received his early education and learned the trade of shoemaking. He came to America before his marriage and lived for a short time in New York city. He then came to Indiana and located in St. Joe, and from this place he moved to Franklin county, settling on a place on Pipe creek. He followed his trade at different times during his residence here, going from house to house making shoes, which was the custom in those days with most tradesmen. He purchased several small tracts of land of forty acres. He later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he died, and his wife lived with the children, her death having occurred in Connersville, Indiana. John Geiling at one time served in the German army. To John Geiling and wife were born the following children, Peter, Henry, Rose, now Mrs. Zoller, and Gertrude, now Mrs. Kreidler, of Denver, Colorado.
Peter Geiling was educated at St. Mary's and Oak Forest schools. He engaged in farming in Fairfield township, working on various farms. He went to Union county, where, for three years, he was employed on the David Fry farm, after which, for two years, he was employed on various farms in Springfield township, in Franklin county. On March 5, 1902, he bought a farm which he still occupies in Blooming Grove township, located just east of the town of Blooming Grove. This farm consisted of one hun- dred and twenty-eight acres, six of which Mr. Geiling later disposed of. Mr. Geiling made many improvements since taking possession of this farm, having built the present residence in 1905 and remodeled the barns and erected several smaller buildings. He devoted his land to general lines with a limited amount of live stock raising.
On February 27, 1895, he was married to Missouri Klipple, a sister of George Klipple who is a prominent citizen of this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Geiling have been born two children, Hazel, living at home, and Herbert Earl (deceased). Mr. Geiling and family are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are prominent in all the local ministra- tions of that denomination. Mr. Geiling is widely and favorably known throughout the county and enjoys the friendship of all who know him.
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JOHN A. WAGGONER.
Although Mr. Waggoner has passed to fairer and brighter fields his memory is still fresh in the minds of his friends and neighbors who received his cheerful greetings from day to day, and to many of whom he was a preceptor and guide, often taking the helm in troubled hours and guiding them into peaceful waters. Straightforward and unassuming, he stamped his name upon the affairs of Franklin county with an imperishable die, as he played no small part in its affairs and was at all times a credit to himself and to the honorable name of the family which he bore. No account of the affairs of Franklin county, Indiana, would be complete without including the deeds and good qualities of this honorable gentleman.
John A. Waggoner was born in Blooming Grove township, in Franklin county, Indiana, on the farm adjoining that on which his widow now lives. His birth occurred February 16, 1855, and was a son of Abram and Emily (Miller) Waggoner. He was one of a family of five children, the others being: William D., Lot, Elizabeth and Simeon.
Abram Waggoner was the youngest son of John Waggoner, one of the earliest settlers of Franklin county. John Waggoner was born in Germany about 1770, and when still a child came to this country with his parents. His father served in the War of the Revolution. John Waggoner grew to manhood in Virginia and there married Elizabeth Greene, whose father was a cousin of General Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame. John Wag- goner and his wife emigrated from Virginia in the early days, crossing the mountains with pack horses to Franklin county, Indiana. They settled first at Yellow Bank, near Metamora. This was about the time of the War of 1812. Mr. Waggoner was a blacksmith, and was one of the first to follow the trade in Franklin county, where he worked at it for some time, after which he removed to Rush county, Indiana, where he again continued his vocation. In 1839 he sold out and removed to Columbus, Van Buren county, Iowa, where his death occurred soon afterward, and his wife passed away about the same time. While he followed blacksmithing as a life business, at the same time he purchased land in Rush county, this state, and his sons, of whom he had eight, assisted in clearing the. farm while he worked at his trade.
John A. Waggoner's father, Abram, was born in Rush county, Indiana, June 26, 1830, and was the youngest of a family of eight sons mentioned above: Their names in order of birth were : James, John, Lot, Noalı, Michael, Samuel, Thomas and Abram. Abram was about ten years of age when
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the family removed to Iowa. His parents dying soon afterward, he was sent back to Indiana, and for two years made his home with an elder brother, Lot, later residing at the home of his maternal uncle, James Greene. For nine years immediately preceding his marriage, he worked on the farm of James McElwain in Blooming Grove township, which is now owned by his nephew, Lot Waggoner. On January 12, 1854, Abram Waggoner was married to Emily Miller, who was a daughter of Abraham Miller, one of the pioneers of Franklin county. The Miller and Waggoner families were neighbors, their homes being one-half mile apart. After his marriage, Mr. Waggoner removed to Wabash county, Indiana, where he purchased a tract of timber land. After clearing his land and developing a farm he sold out his holdings and returned to Franklin county, where he bought the farm on which he lived until death. This purchase was made from his father-in-law. After a married life of nearly forty years Mrs. Waggoner passed away in December, 1893. Abram Waggoner attended school only three months after he reached the age of twelve years. However, he taught himself at home to read and write and became a well-informed man. In his political sympathies he was a Republican.
John A. Waggoner, as did so many others of the successful and repre- sentative men of Franklin county, Indiana, received his early education in the township schools. Early in life he began the tillage of the soil on the place where his widow now lives and remained on this place until his death. It is a highly fertile holding of eighty-seven acres and the majority of the improvements were added by his father.
In 1876 Mr. Waggoner married Mary E., who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, and was a daughter of William and Mary (Hayward) Rose, the father a native of Union county, Indiana, and the mother of Fairfield township, Franklin county. Her paternal grandparents were William S. and Rebecca (Dubois) Rose, both of whom were among the pioneer settlers of Union county, Indiana. Her maternal grandparents were Jacob and Rebecca (Crandel) Hayward, who were also among the first white settlers in Fair- field township, this county. Mrs. Waggoner's father was a farmer through- out his entire life. She was one of a family of five children, the others being Dora, Herman, Rebecca and Jacob. To Mr. and Mrs. Waggoner were born three children, Bertha, who is now the wife of Corda Thompson; Mamie, deceased, and Ella.
We can contemplate nothing finer, nothing nobler than the life of that genuine aristocrat, John A. Waggoner. He was one of the true aristocrats, as he was the scion of a family which, realizing full well that opportunity
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lies at home, continued in the same locality for generations, aiding largely to mold the thought and influence the actions of their fellow citizens in such a way that the results are inevitably moral and intellectual enlightenment, as well as peace and plenty for all.
JOHN SHERWOOD.
It is a noteworthy fact that the majority of the persons now actively engaged in the occupation of farming in this state are native born, which fact also is true of the farmers of Franklin county, Indiana. Franklin county has splendid farms and splendid farmers, too. One man alone or even a few men do not constitute the cornerstone on which rests the fame of a community, and the fame of an agricultural community must naturally lie in the superiority of her citizens as farmers. The farmers of this county have striven with and overcome great obstacles until they have made Franklin county radiant with fertile fields. One of the aggregate of splendid Franklin county farmers who has achieved distinction in the occupation of farming is John Sherwood, well known throughout the county.
John Sherwood was born in Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1864, a son of James and Margaret (Rodgers) Sherwood. James Sherwood was born in Ohio and his wife was a native of Franklin county, Indiana.
The paternal grandparents of John Sherwood were natives of Mary- land, who came to Indiana and located on a farm just west of Blooming Grove. They were among the first settlers in this county and at the time of their arrival Franklin county was largely a dense wilderness. They cleared a section of land which probably embraced one hundred and sixty acres, on which they remained during the rest of their lives.
The maternal grandparents of John Sherwood were Isaac Rodgers and wife, who came from Ohio to Franklin county, Indiana, where they engaged in farming, and died in this county.
James Sherwood, father of John Sherwood, of this county, was educated in the district schools of Blooming Grove township, and after leaving school, followed the common occupation of farmer. He later moved to Rush county, Indiana, where he remained for some time, later moving to Sullivan county, Indiana, then returning to Franklin county, where he remained the balance of his life.
John Sherwood came to Franklin county with his father. when he was but six years of age. He secured the major portion of his schooling in this
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county, attending the schools in Highland township. After attaining man- hood :he. started to. farming, which he has followed to this day. In 1906 he bought the place on which he now lives, consisting of eighty acres, which he devotes to general farming and stock raising. His farm is a model of modern convenience and while not the largest farm in the county, it is in proportion one of the best.
In 1899, Mr. Sherwood was married to Rosa Younts, and to this union there have been born two children, Herbert and Alden. Mr. Sherwood and family are active members of the Baptist church and are prominent in the social sphere of their neighborhood.
Mr. Sherwood is deeply interested in all public questions, his interest having always been an unobtrusive one. He has a broad conception of the public needs, especially those of his home county.
WILLIAM E. ASHLEY.
It is fortunate that the sons of our Civil War veterans came of such fundamentally sound fighting stock. An overwhelmingly large proportion of them today are prominent in civic and political life, men into whose willing hands was confided the task of reconstruction after the awful calamity of the sixties. They are found on every hand, competent and energetic and among the worthy sons of veterans in Franklin county William E. Ashley stands forth prominently.
William E. Ashley, the son of George and Mary (Dittman) Ashley, was born September 6, 1867, in Dearborn county, Indiana, and is one of a family of seven children born to his parents, the others being Elizabeth, Clara, Henry, Rachel, Sarah and Rebecca. Of these children Elizabeth died in 1895. She was the wife of William Ashby. Clara became the wife of Daniel Lake, who is now deceased, and she makes her home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry married Dora Goble and is living in Dearborn county, Indiana. Rachel was the wife of William Cleaver and died in 1883. Sarah married Samuel Kinman, and lives in Franklin county. Rebecca was the wife of Everett Coner, and died in 1900.
The paternal grandfather of William Ashley, who bore the same name, was born in England, and came to America with his brother, Robert. They located in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they engaged in the grist-mill business, their mill being propelled by wind power. Later in life William Ashley mar-
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ried and moved to Dearborn county, Indiana, where he purchased one hun- dred acres of land, and there he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1878. He was also a wagon-maker by trade, and after moving to Dear- born county, he followed his vocation, while his children operated the farm. He had a family of eight children, Thomas, Joshua, Joseph, George, Charles. Elizabeth, Maria and Nancy, all of whom are now deceased with the excep- tion of Maria, who is living in California, and Charles, who is a resident of Dearborn county, Indiana.
George Ashley, the father of William E. Ashley, received his education in the common schools of his home township, in Dearborn county, and made the tilling of the soil his life work, following that occupation all his active life with the exception of the time he was at the front in the service of his country during the Civil War. He served faithfully for three years as a soldier in an Indiana regiment. He married Mary Dittman, the daughter of Andrew and Dorothy Dittman, and his death occurred in 1869. he being accidentally killed while hunting, his gun exploding when he was climbing a fence.
William E. Ashley received a good common school education in the schools of his home neighborhood, and feeling himself well equipped for the life of a farmer he settled in Hamilton county, Ohio, for the first three years after his marriage, but left there and moved to Franklin county, Indiana, locating on the farm which he now occupies. For the first two years after coming to Franklin county he rented this land and afterwards bought it. A few years later, in 1903, he added eighty adjoining acres to the one hundred and seven of his original holdings, and here he carries on a general system of diversified farming and stock raising.
Mr. Ashley was married on February 14. 1894, to Louisa Gant, the daughter of George and Mary Ann ( Ashton) Gant, and to this union three children were born: George, born September, 1903: Frank, born July 13, 1907, and Ruth, born November 28, 1908.
George Gant. the father of Mrs. Ashley, was a farmer in Springfield township, Franklin county, where he owned two hundred and forty acres of land. He was born in Whitewater township, and died April 10, 1900, his widow surviving him until May 10, 1905. George Gant and wife were the parents of three children, Ella, Claudia and Louisa. Ella became the wife of Robert Russell, and is living in Pulaski county, Indiana. Claudia is the wife of William Beesley, and lives in Hamilton, Ohio. The father of George Gant, Larkin Gant, was a native of South Carolina, but lived most of his life at Cincinnati, which at that period bore no resemblance to the city it is
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today. It is a matter of note that he had a fine yoke of oxen, for which he was offered forty acres of land located in what is now the heart of the city of Cincinnati, but did not accept the offer.
Mr. Ashley is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and politically adheres to the principles of the Democratic party. He is thoroughly up-to-date in his farming methods and regards his vocation not only as a means of livelihood, but as a business and worthy of business-like methods. That he takes the correct viewpoint is evident from the appearance of the sleek, well-fed stock, the bulging granaries and the carefully-built and admirably-kept buildings. He meets more than half way any proposition which is for the betterment of himself and his neighbors, and is sternly opposed to anything savoring of evil or deceit, his name properly standing foremost in the ranks of Franklin county's representative men, emi- nently entitled to a place here in the biographical section of the history of the county in which he seems quite content to spend the remainder of his life.
CHARLES F. GOODWIN.
A review of the life of the late Charles F. Goodwin reveals a busy, happy and healthful career, one which is truly inspirational. In business he was just, considerate and courteous ; in short, he was here, as in all else, the full embodiment of all that is conveyed by the word "gentleman." On his scarf at all times glistened the jewel of his college fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and, despite his forty-six years, that to so many means the loss of the associations of youth, he eagerly looked forward to its reunions. Whatever promised to advance the material, intellectual, aesthetic or moral interest of his surroundings, received the fullest support of his purse, his mind, his in- fluence and his labor. As an evidence of his pride in his birthplace, may be mentioned the great pleasure which the construction of the Brookville Bank building afforded him as an ornament to the town. As a trustee of his church and of DePauw University, he gave the same careful attention to detail that characterized his private affairs.
The Goodwin family are descendants of one of the early families of Virginia. A certain Thomas Goodwin, born of Quaker parents, sometime between 1730 and 1740, owned a plantation in Maryland, which he cultivated by the aid of slaves. After his second marriage, he moved to Pennsylvania. He had a son, Thomas, who was born April 27, 1767. and in 1788 married
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Catherine Rees, who was born October 7, 1768, and was a daughter of David and Lydia Rees, natives of Wales. After several years' residence in Penn- sylvania, Thomas Goodwin, Jr., removed his family to Cincinnati, Ohio, and later to the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio. About 1830 they came to Brookville, Indiana.
Samuel Goodwin, the eldest son of Thomas Goodwin, Jr., and wife, was born at what is now Brownville, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, April 12, 1789, and came to Franklin county, Indiana, in 1816. He was married in Lebanon, Ohio, to Eunice Pearson, who was born in 1796 and died at that place in 1814. On March 19, 1815, he married, for his second wife, Mrs. Eleanor (Wiles) Moon and in 1816 they came to Brookville, Indiana, resid- ing in that town, but owning adjoining land, which they farmed. They were leading members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Brookville and their hospitality was always extended to traveling preachers. When the Methodists were working to establish Asbury College at Greencastle, Indi- ana (now known as DePauw University), Samuel Goodwin purchased the first perpetual scholarship and had the distinction of sending the first out- of-town student to that institution. All of his sons received college educa- tions and two of them later became presidents of universities. Samuel Goodwin, after a life of marked distinction, died June 26, 1851, his wife dying May 18, 1873.
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