History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 103

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648

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He was married February 25, 1884, to Emma J. Bonnell, who was born in southern Indiana, the daughter of Robert Burns and Sarah B. (Wall) Bonnell. Mr. and Mrs. Bonnell were the parents of six children : Mary A., born November 12, 1856; Naomi, born February 2, 1859; Jacob W., born April 1, 1862; Emma J., born February 25, 1864; Robert, born March 13, 1867, and George Marcus, born February 10, 1869.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Ludwig was Clark Bonnell, who was born November 18, 1790, and died in 1868. Clark Bonnell was a shoemaker and followed his trade in various places in southern Indiana. He married Elsie Wycoff, who died in 1835. He was a son of Aaron and Rachel ( Clark) Bonnell. Aaron Bonnell was born March 4, 1759, very likely in Essex county, New Jersey. He was a brother-in-law of Judge Othmiel Looker, a dis- tinguished pioneer, who settled near Harrison, Ohio, in 1801. Aaron Bonnell entered the northwest quarter of section eighteen, due north of the present site of Harrison. He improved this quarter section and lived there until his death. He came to Miami county in 1805 with his brothers, Paul and Benjamin, and his married sisters, Rhoda and Abigail. They were all the children of Benjamin and Rachel Bonnell, who came from England and set- tled in New Jersey, where they reared their family. Benjamin Bonnell was drowned in East river, crossing from New York to Brooklyn, November 10, 1798, ten others also being drowned at the same time. The accident was caused by a number of casks of rum rolling to one side of the boat and overturning it. His wife died in 1812.

Sarah B. Wall, the mother of Mrs. Ludwig, was the daughter of John and Mary (Biddinger) Wall. Her father was born in 1796 and her mother in 1801. They were married August 26, 1819. In their later years they lived between Harrison, Indiana, and Mt. Carmel. John Wall was a soldier in the War of 1812.

To Mr. and Mrs. Albert C. Ludwig have been born seven children, Rolf R., who was born December 8, 1884, and died February 24, 1885;

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Clinton A., born October 20, 1886; Carl F., born November 3, 1888; Ida H., born April 3, 1891; M. Alice, born December 17, 1892; Helen M., born January 4, 1905, and Ruth E., born January 30, 1908.

Albert Ludwig and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which they give their hearty support. Mr. Ludwig is a conscien- tious, upright man of excellent morals and is well liked and highly respected by all who know him.

SAMUEL H. ASHTON.

That stanch strain of English blood which still predominates in our veins is undoubtedly the explanation of the solid character of our government. Now a great cosmopolitan people, it is well to bear in mind that the men who framed the constitution, who won our political freedom, and who laid, brick upon brick, the firm foundation for that marvelous structure, the United States of America, were men of English ancestry. It is the thought of these strong, broad minded men which steadies us when the skies look black and disaster threatens our institutions. We know that they are still to be relied on, that they have built wisely, and that their structure will hold firm against any wind that blows.

Such a man is the subject of this little appreciative article. Samuel H. Ashton was born in Whitewater township, Franklin county, Indiana. December 12, 1839. He was a son of Dr. William A. and Sarah (Heap) Ashton. Doctor Ashton was educated in England, receiving a thorough training in the medical science of his day. At the age of twenty he married Mary Wood, and many years afterward moved to America. Settling in Cincinnati, Ohio, he practiced his profession and continued his studies, as the physician must who would keep abreast of his science, and was graduated from the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati. Doctor Ashton also was engaged in the manufacture of window shades and oilcloth, discontinuing this business in 1856. In 1862 he moved to the farm now owned by his son, where he spent the rest of his life. Doctor Ashton was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was the father of Margaret, John, William A., Jane, Mary, Eliza, James, Mary Ann, Lida and Samuel H., the latter of whom is the only child still living. Doctor Ashton's father was John Ashton, also a native of Manchester, England, who, after the death of his wife, emigrated to America, where he lived a retired life in the home of John Whitley Ashton in Rhode Island, his death occurring at the age of eighty-four years. He was the father of four sons and three daughters.

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Samuel Ashton received a common school education in the schools of Cincinnati, District No. II. He was an exemplary pupil, and the training received was solid and practical. However, the higher education was then an exception, some of our nation's greatest men receiving only common school educations in those days.

At the age of twenty-one, on December 12, 1860, Mr. Ashton married Jane Whitehead, who was born August 20, 1842, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Heap) Whitehead. One child was born to this union, Ida May, who died in infancy, leaving behind her a pleasant memory to hallow the lives of her parents. James Whitehead's father, Thomas Whitehead, was born near Olden, England. Mrs. Ashton's mother was the daughter of Thomas Heap, a sturdy pioneer who settled in Whitewater township in 1824. and who was counted among those who were most directly instrumental in bringing prosperity to the township. Thomas Whitehead was the father of Mary, Sarah Ann, Elizabeth, Jane, Thomas and James.

So we see that Mr. Ashton comes of a stock which stands him in good stead. He resided in Cincinnati, Ohio, until 1862. During his residence in that city he followed the occupation of bricklaying and worked three years in his father's factory. His work was always performed conscientiously and he was held in high respect by all who knew him. In 1862 Mr. Ashton moved to his farm near Mt. Carmel, Ohio. This farm consists of one hundred and eleven acres of productive land, and the numerous fine buildings on it testify to the industry and progressive spirit of its owner.

Mr. Ashton is a man who stands for the best in our civilization and carries the sincere respect of his community. He is a Republican and takes a good citizen's interest in the political affairs of his state and nation.

TYLER MCWHORTER.

There are so many of the descendants of those who first came to this part of the country still living in this county that it is no exception to find persons who trace their lineage unbroken for many generations, from the time their forefathers left the old country to the time their fathers settled in this community. One of those who has a very interesting family history is Tyler McWhorter, whose grandfather settled in this county about 1790. The farm on which his grandfather settled is still in possession of the family.

Tyler McWhorter was born in this county September 25, 1850, the son of Samuel and Phoebe ( Moss) MGWhorter. Samuel McWhorter was born

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in Franklin county, his wife being born in Union county. Tyler McWhorter was one of six children by Samuel McWhorter's first wife. These children were as follow: William, Francis, Henry, Mary, John and Tyler.

Samuel McWhorter, who was the father of Tyler Mcwhorter, was the son of Tyler and Anna McWhorter, who came to this county from Pennsyl- vania about the year 1790. The elder McWhorter entered one hundred and sixty acres, which Samuel McWhorter helped later to clear, also assisting in building the log house which still stands on the farm, and which is used as a wash house. Tyler moved to the banks of Yellow river, where he lived until his death. Samuel McWhorter was twice married, his first wife being the daughter of John and Elizabeth Moss, of Ohio, and who later moved to Franklin county, where they lived until their deaths. His second wife was Elizabeth Landis, the widow of Thomas Ellis. Elizabeth was born June 9, 1814, and lived to be ninety-two years of age. By this marriage there was one child, a son, whom they called Perry. At his death, Samuel Mc- Whorter owned one hundred and seventy acres.

Tyler McWhorter was educated in the common schools of this county and after leaving school assisted his father in the farming of the home place, which consisted at that time of one hundred and sixty acres. He helped to improve the place and most of the improvements of today are the result of his efforts. On April 23, 1874, he was married to Josephine Hays, who was born in this county June 17, 1852, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Shaddinger) Hays. Her mother came from South Carolina and was born May 27, 1830. Her father was born at Fairfield, Indiana, May 27, 1830.

The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Tyler McWhorter were William and Keziah Hays, of New Jersey, who came to this state and located on one hundred and sixty acres which they entered as settlers. They later retired to Fairfield, where they lived until death.

The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Tyler McWhorter were Joseph and Sarah (Burk) Shaddinger, who were born in Pennsylvania, later moving to South Carolina, thence to Franklin county, Indiana, where they settled on a farm, still in the possession of their grandson, L. H. Hays. They lived at this place until the death of Mr. Shaddinger, when Mrs. Shaddinger moved to Clarksburg, Indiana, where she lived until death.

The father of Mrs. Tyler McWhorter was a farmer in this community for a number of years on the same farm now occupied by his son, Leonidas H. He had five children, whose names were as follow: Josephine, Leoni- das H., Charles F., Laura and Sarah.

To Mr. and Mrs. Tyler McWhorter,were born five children, as follow :

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Charles, Samuel, Nettie, Loren and Elizabeth. Mr. McWhorter attends the German Baptist church, to which his parents belonged, while his wife is at- tached to the Methodist Episcopal church. The McWhorter family from the very earliest have exerted a splendid influence in this community and Tyler McWhorter has always been held in the highest esteem by those who know him.

JOHN G. METZLER.

Although he was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, John G. Metzler has been a resident of Franklin county for the past score of years. His father was a farmer and he has followed in the footsteps of his worthy ancestor, now owning one hundred acres of land, on which he carries on general farm- ing and stock raising. Mr. Metzler deserves much credit for his success, since he started in with practically nothing, and by his own industry and perseverance has succeeded in acquiring his present well-improved farm.

John G. Metzler, the son of Valentine and Elizabeth (Weigley) Metzler, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, March 5, 1860. His father was born in Germany in the month of September, 1834, and died in Franklin county at the age of sixty-five. Valentine Metzler and his wife were the parents of ten children : Mary A., John, Elizabeth, Balser, Peter, Catherine, Mary, Caroline, Emma and Margaret. Of these children Mary A. and Elizabeth are deceased, and Peter and Catherine are twins. The father of these children came to America when he was about seventeen years of age and farmed for many years in Hamilton county, Ohio. Later he settled in Franklin county, where he bought eighty acres of land, on which he lived until his death. His wife died in 1894. All the members of the family are Catholics.

John G. Metzler received his elementary education in the schools of Hamilton county, Ohio. After his parents moved to Franklin county he assisted his father with the work on the farm until he was married. He then started farming for himself in Whitewater township and soon was able to purchase his present farm of one hundred acres. By dividing his attention between grain and stock raising, he has been enabled to make a comfortable living for himself and family.

Mr. Metzler was married February 17, 1894, to Sophronia Wilhelm, and to this union have been born seven children, all of whom are still single and living at home, with the exception of Peter, who is deceased. The living children are Joseph, John, Elizabeth, Regina, Frank and Tressa.

The father of Mrs. Metzler was born in France and came to America

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when he was twenty years of age, settling at St. Leon, Dearborn county, Indiana. He married Regina Andres, and to this union were born thirteen children : Sophronia, Caroline, Peter, Ferdinand, Anna Barbara, John, Eliza- beth, Joseph, Mary, Edward, Philip, Frank and Regina Anna. All of these children are still living with the exception of Mary, Caroline, Philip and Anna Barbara. John Wilhelm, the father of Mrs. Metzler, was a substantial farmer of this county and owned two hundred and seventy-nine acres in Whitewater township. He and all of his family were loyal members of the Catholic church.

Mr. Metzler gives his support to the Democratic party, but confines his political activities to the casting of his ballot for the candidates of his party, his close application to the duties of the farm giving him little time for partisan activities. The family are all devout members of the Catholic church at Cedar Grove, and are zealous in their support of their church.

REV. CHARLES A. CLEVER.

From the earliest history of the Christian church the pulpit has been one of the most potent factors in civilization. A minister of the Gospel is found in every enlightened community throughout the civilized world, and it cannot be gainsaid that the influence of the church has done more for progress for the past twenty centuries than has any other single agency. There are churches scattered all over this fair land of ours and there are few people who do not have access to a church, although, unfortunately, all do not avail them- selves of the opportunity thus presented. One of the ministers who has been identified with the history of Franklin county, Indiana, for nearly twenty years is the Rev. Charles A. Clever, who has had charge of the Catholic church at Cedar Grove for the past score of years.

Rev. Charles A. Clever, the son of John and Cecelia (Traub) Clever, was born in Baden, Germany, June 8, 1861. His father, who was of French descent, was a soldier in the German uprising of 1848 and for meritorious service in that war was awarded a medal by the government. John Clever and his wife never came to America. They were the parents of three sons, Job. John and Charles A., of this county.

Rev. Charles A. Clever received part of his education in the schools of his native land, and after coming to America completed his schooling at St. Meinrad College, Spencer county. Indiana. Early in his life he decided to

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prepare himself for the priesthood, and in the excellent Catholic school at St. Meinrad he completed his theological studies and was ordained by his bishop.

Father Clever read his first mass at Evansville, Indiana, and was stat- ioned in that city for eight months. He was next transferred to Bardford, Indiana, where he remained for nine years. He was assigned to his present parish at Cedar Grove, Franklin county, Indiana, in 1896, and took charge of the work at that place on August 2, of that year. He has worked faithfully and hard in the interests of his parish during the many years which he has labored with his people, and his beneficent influence always has been a most potent factor for good. Father Clever is an active member of and worker in the order of the Knights of Columbus, the national organization which includes Catholics in every state in the Union.

MRS. CATHERINE HIRSCH.

One of the well beloved women of Franklin county, Indiana, is Mrs. Catherine Hirsch, who came to Franklin county, Indiana, in 1886, and has since made her home in Whitewater township. Her worthy husband has been deceased for more than twenty-five years, and during this time she has not only actively managed the farm which her husband left, but has been able to add to her land holdings. She is a woman of lovable character and is highly esteemed by everyone who comes in touch with her. Mrs. Catherine Hirsch, the daughter of Martin and Catherine (Berger) Lacher, was born April 21, 1848, in Lorraine, at that time a province of France. Her parents were both natives of that country, her father being a son of Christopher and Catherine (Miller) Lacher. Christopher Lacher and his wife had two sons, John and Martin, the latter of whom was the father of Mrs. Hirsch.

Martin Lacher, the father of Mrs. Hirsch, was reared in Germany and came to America in 1847, shortly after his marriage to Catherine Berger, a daughter of Peter Berger. They landed at New Orleans and soon came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and settled in Cincinnati, where they lived two years. Then Martin Lacher moved with his family to Hamilton county, Ohio, where he lived eight years. He returned to Cincinnati in 1864, and remained there until his death, May 16, 1867. His widow survived him until May 23, 1893.

To Martin and Catherine (Berger) Lacher were born six children: Margaret, who lives in Cedar Grove, Indiana; Mrs. Hirsch, the immediate

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subject of this interesting genealogical sketch; Peter L., who is successfully engaged in the grocery business at Carthage, Ohio; John, who resides at Cheviot, Ohio; Joseph S., deceased, and John H. A., who is a retired traveling salesman living at Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Mrs. Hirsch was reared in Cincinnati and on a farm in Hamilton county, Ohio. She received a school education of but one year's term, being forced to then assist his father at home on the farm, and after her marriage to Anthony Hirsch, July 4, 1870, settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. Anthony Hirsch was born July 28, 1846, in Germany, a son of Balser and Elizabeth (Bartholomew) Hirsch, natives of Germany and loyal members of the Catholic church. Balser Hirsch and his wife reared five children, Lewis, Peter, Catherine, Theresa and John Anthony, the husband of Mrs. Hirsch.

John Anthony Hirsch was educated in Germany and came to America when he was twenty-two years of age, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a stone mason by trade and followed this occupation for six years after he came to America. He then opened a grocery, saloon and meat market in Cincinnati and conducted it for twelve years. On May 6, 1886, he bought seventy-four acres of land in Whitewater township, Franklin county, Indiana, and shortly afterwards moved on the farm and lived there until his death, December 5, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Hirsch reared a family of six children : Margaret E., who is still single and living with her mother; Peter L., of Cedar Grove, Indiana, who married Catherine Wuesterfield and has one daughter, Celesta; August J., who is still at home; William F., who married Josephine Wipple; George E., of St. Louis, Missouri, who married Millie Ruehl and has one son, George, Jr .; Theresa, who married Winfred Scott Harrison and has one child, Adele. They reside in Muncie, Indiana.

John Anthony Hirsch was a loyal member of the Catholic church, as are all members of the family. . He was a charter member of St. Anthony's Benevolent Society in Cincinnati, Ohio, and took an active interest in the work of that organization as long as he lived in the city. Since her husband's death, Mrs. Hirsch has bought fifty-five acres of land joining the farm left her by her husband. She has given personal supervision to the management of the farm and has proved herself to be a woman of exceptional business ability. She has reared her children to lives of usefulness and honor and has the satisfaction of seeing them taking their places as valuable members of society. No greater good than this can any woman do and thus Mrs. Hirsch is eminently entitled to the high esteem and respect with which she is regarded by all who know her.

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HERMAN ROBERT MULLER.

It is probable that Herman Robert Muller, a farmer of Whitewater town- ship, Franklin county, Indiana, is the only person in the county who was born in Budapest. He came to America with his parents when he was six years old, lived in Cincinnati for several years and later located in Franklin county. He came from a distinguished family in his native land, his father and grandfather having been men of unusual education and ability. Since locating in this county, Mr. Muller has engaged in general farming and stock raising and is regarded as a valuable citizen of the community in which he resides.

Herman Robert Muller, the only son of Robert Muller and wife, was born in Budapest, Austro-Hungary, July 9, 1872. His parents came to America in 1879 and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his mother, Augusta Kuhler Muller, died in less than a year after arrival on American soil, leaving the husband, son and two daughters, Caroline and Helen, to cherish her memory.

After a few years the father married Sophia Fena, and with his family went to Arkansas, where he engaged very extensively in bee culture. Coming back to Cincinnati he took a position as bookkeeper for the Cincinnati Freie Presse, a German daily newspaper, and in 1890 became liquidating clerk in the customs department of the United States revenue service at Cincinnati. While engaged in this position, he bought a small farm near New Trenton, in this county, where he engaged in the poultry business, which, however, proved too great a strain on his fast failing health, and he again returned to Cincinnati, where he died February 27, 1902. He was a very diligent student of many topics, notably political economy, finance, history and languages, being a linquist of unusual ability, speaking fluently seven languages.

Herman Robert Muller was educated in the public schools of Cin- cinnati, and took up the study of architecture in a private art school which he attended Saturdays and evenings. He then took a course in the Nelson Business College, and after graduating became bookkeeper for the John Auel Carriage Company. After a short time his health became so poor that he was forced to leave indoor work, and hired to a farmer in Clermont County, Ohio, where he got his first lessons in agriculture, which proved to be his choice of occupation later in life. He came to Franklin county after his father had been here for some time, and remained here until after his marriage to Kathryn Widan, second daughter of Frederick and Caroline Widan, on February 20, 1895, after which he moved upon a farm in Dear-

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born county, where the son, Florin William, was born in 1897. In 1900 he moved to the farm which he now occupies in Whitewater township, and which he rented for three years, at the end of which. time he purchased it outright. Here the daughter, Caroline, was born in 1904.

The knowledge gained at the art school as well as in the business college served him well in the management of his farm, enabling him more rapidly to build up the worn-out soil, improve buildings and fences, as well as to improve his herd of dairy stock, in which he takes much pride, this fine herd consisting of business Jerseys.

Mr. Muller's success, while not especially brilliant in a financial way, is entirely due to his own labors, and those of his wife, as they had only ambition and strength to begin with and nothing more was given them later. Mrs. Muller is a member of the Lutheran church, in the local beneficences of which she takes much interest. Mr. Muller belongs to no church, but is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, and takes an active interest in the affairs of that popular fraternal organization. Both Mr. and Mrs. Muller take a proper concern in local movements looking to the advancement of the general welfare of the community and are rightly regarded as among the leading and most influential social factors of the prosperous neighborhood in which they reside.

JAMES HAINING.

There are a few citizens of Franklin county, Indiana, who were born in England and among this number James Haining, a prosperous farmer of Whitewater township, occupies a prominent place. He came to this country at the opening of the Civil War and for the first few years worked in Penn- sylvania. He came to Indiana about 1866 and after his marriage in 1871 located in Franklin county, where he has since continued to reside. He has made a success of farming and stock raising and now owns one hundred and sixty-four acres of excellent land in Whitewater township.

James Haining, the son of James and Mary (Dixon) Haining, was born in Yorkshire, England, July 24, 1841. His father was a son of William Haining and one of seven children, the others being Isabel, Ann, Mary, Will- iam. Joseph and Thomas.

James Haining, the father of James, Jr., with whom this narrative deals, was a lifelong farmer in England. Four children were born to James Hain- ing. Sr .. and wife, James, Jr., of Franklin county, Indiana; William, who served his adopted country in the Civil War in a Pennsylvania regiment and

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 103

Author: Reifel, August J Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1648

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648