History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 141

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

USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 141

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The museum of Mr. Dickerson is undoubtedly one of the finest, not only in Indiana, but in the Middle West as well. As a result of this life- time study of prehistoric man, he has worked out a theory as to the origin of man and his development through the countless ages since man first ap- peared on the earth. In the spring of 1915 he issued a volume embodying the results of his studies along this line, and this book, which he calls "Arti- sans and Artifacts of Vanished Races," sums up his investigations of more than half a century. It is profusely illustrated with cuts, some of which are to be found in this history of Franklin county.

Mr. Dickerson has been engaged in the newspaper business for many years as editor and circulating manager. He edited the Laurel Review in the nineties and has now, for several years, been on the staff of the Brook- ville Democrat.

JOHN C. HONECKER.

It is very interesting to note that so many of the enterprising citizens of Franklin county, Indiana, are descendants of German parentage. In fact, some townships of the county have a preponderance of citizens of German ancestry ; but it is to be noted that wherever they are found they always rank high among the successful farmers or business men. John C. Honecker, a farmer of Brookville township, is a representative of this large class of excellent citizens, and his career as a farmer and stock raiser has been such as to place him among the best farmers of his township and county.

John C. Honecker, the son of Louis and Christina (Dears) Honecker, was born in Brookville township September 16, 1874. His father was born in Hesse, Germany, in 1833, while his mother was born in the Fatherland in 1840. Louis Honecker and wife were the parents of four children: Anna, deceased ; John C., of Brookville township: Joseph J., who is a United States ornithologist and lives in the state of Washington; and Theresa, the wife of George Seiple, also a resident of the state of Washington.

Louis Honecker, the father of John C., came to Franklin county, In- diana, from Germany with his parents, George and Elizabeth Honecker, when he was six years of age. His parents died in Brookville township

(90)

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about 1877. George Honecker was a carpenter and farmer, and his son, Louis, follows the same dual lines of activity. Louis Honecker became the owner of a fine farm of two hundred and forty-six acres and lived on this farm until his death, in 1902. His wife passed away in 1899. In politics, he was always a stanch Democrat, while in religious belief, he gave his unswerving support to the Catholic church.

John C. Honecker is now living on the old homestead, which he owns. He was reared on the farm and educated in the parochial and public schools of the county. He has never married. He has his farm in a high state of cultivation and raises all of the crops peculiar to this section of the state. He also gives due attention to stock raising, feeding as much stock as he can from the produce of his own farm.

John C. Honecker is a Democrat in politics, as was his father before him. He also gives his hearty support to the Catholic church and is inter- ested in all of its activities. He has much natural talent along artistic lines and has done some painting, which has brought him more than a local reputation. His brother, Joseph, and sister, Theresa, are also artists of recognized ability. Mr. Honecker is a man of quiet and unassuming de- meanor, kindly in disposition and charitable towards the faults of others. He is a worthy representative of a family which has been identified with the history of the county for three-quarters of a century, and his life, in every respect, measures up to a high standard of good American citizenship.

RICHARD LEE HEAD.

One of the most public-spirited and enterprising business men of Brook- ville is Richard Lee Head, who has been a resident of this city since 1908. Born and reared in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, he has lived in various parts of the country and has had more interesting experiences than fall to the lot of the average man. He is essentially a man of affairs and his business interests extend in many different directions and in many different states. However, he prefers to live in Brookville, although his financial interests are elsewhere.

Richard Lee Head, the son of William Samuel and Sarah Ann (Coul- ter) Head, was born at Latrobe, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 3. 1859. His father was born in Maryland in 1832 and his mother at Youngstown, Pennsylvania. in 1842. His parents both died in Latrobe.

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Pennsylvania, in 1892 and 1907, respectively. They reared a family of eight children, two others dying in infancy. Those who reached maturity were: John B., judge of the superior court of Pennsylvania; Mary A., wife of William Johnson, of Bristow, Virginia; James C., vice-president of the First National Bank, of Latrobe, Pennsylvania; William, assistant superintendent of the motor power of the Texas & Great Northern railroad, at Palestine, Texas; Richard Lee, of Brookville ; Hattie, a Benedictine Sister in the con- vent at Bristow, Virginia, which she built with her own money; Raymond C., general manager of the Postal Card Photograph Galleries, of Washing- ton, D. C .; and Julia I., a Sister of Mercy in a convent in Pittsburgh.

William Samuel Head, the father of Richard L., built the first house in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1851. He was a general merchant there for a quarter of a century and eventually turned his business over to his son. He and his brother, Joseph A. Head, started the First National Bank of Latrobe, and it is still under the control of the family. William S. Head was inter- ested in the wire and steel mills at Latrobe and also in the paper mills. As a matter of fact, he invested in every industry that came into the city.

The paternal grandparents of Richard L. Head were John Head and wife, both of whom were born in Maryland, of English and Scotch-Irish descent, respectively. The maternal grandparents of Richard L. Head were Col. William A. and Sarah Coulter, natives of New York state and West- moreland county, Pennsylvania, respectively. Colonel Coulter was in the Civil War and served under General Grant. He was wounded in the first battle of Bull Run, recovered, and again went to the front. He was wounded a second time in the battle of Chancellorsville, dying shortly afterwards. He had been a merchant at Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Richard L. Head attended a private academy at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, until he was nine years of age and then spent four years in the Jesuit College at Montreal. He followed this with four years in St. Mary's College in Maryland, commonly known as the "cradle of bishops." He graduated from the latter institution in 1884. He then spent one year in the law school of the University of Michigan, after which he went to Jackson, Michigan, and was in the law office of Pringle & Price for three years.

Mr. Head has never been actively engaged in the practice of law since that time. He went to the Pacific coast and remained there nine years, investing in railroads, mines and other ventures. Returning to his old home in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he engaged in banking and other enterprises there for five years. He then traveled in the East for five years and spent four years in Boston as a manufacturer of wire netting. He organized the Bos-

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ton Bed and Spring Factory. In 1901 Mr. Head came to Cincinnati and located there, and in 1908 he came to Brookville, where he has since made his home. He is connected with the automobile business in Detroit and makes frequent trips to that city.

Mr. Head was married September 5, 1896, to Jessie Turner. She was born at Cynthiana, Kentucky, and is the daughter of John and Elizabeth Turner and the great-granddaughter of Mary Gould, who was acknowl- edged to be the belle of Boston. Her father, John Turner, was a mural decorator, whose reputation extended from coast to coast. He had charge of the commissary department of Kentucky during the Civil War.

Mr. Head and his wife are members of the Catholic church. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is the present exalted ruler of the Connersville lodge and chairman of the membership committee of Indiana. He has been very active in Elk lodge work and has made many memorial addresses for his lodge. He has taken an active part in Republican politics for twenty years and has made quite a reputation as a platform speaker. He takes an active interest in athletics, and in 1914 organized the Brookville Athletic Club. His baseball team won the championship of southeastern Indiana, winning eleven out of thirteen games.

Mr. Head is a public-spirited man and interested in all of the local affairs of Brookville. He is the head of every good enterprise, a worker in the church, in business circles, in politics and in every phase of the life of his community. He is greatly in demand as a speaker at banquets. public meetings, conventions and all sorts of public gatherings.

JOHN WEILER.

In making up the history of Indiana, future chroniclers will never be able to give full credit to the influence of those sturdy immigrants of Teu- tonic birth who, in the early days of the state's settlement, followed down the pleasant reaches of the Ohio river and found the land of their dreams in southern Indiana. Here their inherited thrift, sturdy and uncompromis- ing honesty, and thoughtful practice of the true virtues of living, quickly had an influence upon the manner of living among the earlier settlers of that section of the commonwealth, the effect of which is distinctly discernible today and which will be felt as long as the state stands.

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Among those early German settlers, few, perhaps, there were who wielded a wider or more beneficent influence upon the community in which their lines were cast than the paternal grandparents of the subject of this biographical sketch, a sketch which would not be complete without going back to the beginning of the Weiler family in America.

In the first quarter of the last century Conrad Weiler, a sturdy and ambitious young German of good family and habits of diligence, came to this side of the water, seeking to carve out of the limitless possibilities he had been told were to be found over here a fortune of which he scarcely dared to hope in his Fatherland. Landing at Philadelphia, Conrad Weiler tried his hand there for a time. It was in Philadelphia that he met and wooed Elizabeth Shoal, a German girl who, actuated by the same high ambi- tion which had brought Conrad to western shores, was acquainting herself with the manners and the customs of the new people with whom she had decided to cast in her lot. Following the marriage of Conrad and Eliza- beth, they presently decided to move on farther west and located at Cin- cinnati, where they lived for a time, the young husband finding expression for his physical energies in the building trades.

The cramped life of the city, however, did not give them the freedom they both desired and, in the year 1833, Conrad Weiler and his wife moved to Dearborn county, Indiana. That part of the state at that period was a wilderness of gigantic forest trees and none but the stoutest hearts dared enter these formidable, but so greatly promising, lands, for the leveling of the forests was not a task for weaklings. Conrad Weiler entered from the government eighty acres of this virgin forest and he and his wife, working side by side, put up a log cabin, their first real home-a home of their own- in America. Conrad found the bride whom he had brought into the wilder- ness a real helpmeet and they prospered as well as any of the pioneers of that section .. Indeed, Elizabeth, in after years, often boasted that it was she who cut the first tree which entered into the construction of the new home.

Here they reared their family, constantly improving their farm and adding thereto as the occasion arose, until the original strip of eighty acres of government grant had been enlarged to a fine farm of more than one hundred ninety acres. Their children, of whom there were four, were brought up in the careful training of the Catholic church. These children were John. Elizabeth, Eve and Michael, the latter of whom was the father of the subject of this sketch. The pioneer mother, Elizabeth Weiler, died on the homestead, her husband later moving to St. Peters, where he died and where he was buried.

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Michael Weiler, father of the subject of this biography, was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, July 16, 1839. He received such education as the meager school system of his day in Dearborn county afforded, this being supplemented by the training of the parish school. At the age of twenty- three he was given the management of his father's farm of one hundred ninety-two acres; later he bought a farm of one hundred sixty acres in Highland township, Franklin county, and took up his residence upon the same, still, however, retaining the Dearborn county farm. Upon his de- cision to retire from active farming life, Michael Weiler sold his farms and bought a fine brick house at St. Peters, surrounded by six acres of land, where he made a most comfortable home for the passing of the evening time of his life.

In 1862 Michael Weiler married Rosina Ripberger, daughter of Adam Ripberger, one of the early settlers of St. Peters, and to them ten children were born, namely: John, Mary Magdelina, Elizabeth, Adelia, Katherine, Michael. Conrad, Joseph, Anna and Frank. All were brought up faithful adherents of the Catholic faith of their fathers.

Adam Ripberger, father of Mrs. Rosina Weiler, came to St. Peters with his father at an early date in the settlement of that parish, and his father was the first person buried in St. Joseph's cemetery.

John Weiler, whose name heads this sketch, son of Michael and Rosina (Ripberger) Weiler, was born in Dearborn county, on the Franklin county line. He received his education at St. Peters and was given careful training by his father in the most approved methods of agriculture. He always has been a farmer and owns one hundred twelve acres of highly cultivated land in Highland township, Franklin county. Upon buying this farm he remod- eled the dwelling house to suit his needs and the needs of his family, put up a new and commodious barn and other buildings required by the necessities of general farming.

In 1888 John Weiler was married to Bernardine Felker, the daughter of Henry Felker, a prominent resident of St. Leon, Dearborn county. To this happy union eleven children have been born, of whom those living are as follow : Edward, Frona, Aurelia, Helen, Otto, Alice, Michael and Alfred. All these have followed their parents as devoted members of St. Peter's Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Weiler's lives have not been without shadows, despite the success which has met their endeavors on the farm, they having been called upon by Providence to bear the bereavement which met them in the death of three of their children.

John Weiler and his wife are among the best known and most in-

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fluential members of the thrifty community in which they reside, and in their lives exemplify the thought touched upon in the beginning of this biography, that succeeding generations of humanity in Indiana will owe very much to the influence of the German stock which had been so effectually grafted upon Hoosier soil.

HENRY F. TEETERS.

It seems as though all the great men have lived in the past. Men do not seem to live as much today as formerly. To use the words of a well- known wag, "they do not cover as much territory." We fully realize this when reading the life of a man who has been busy throughout his lifetime. Many men find time to do a great many big things, any one of which would stagger the ordinary mortal in its accomplishment. A good illustration of a busy man's life is that of the late Henry F. Teeters, who crowded a great many eventful happenings into his lifetime and accomplished many notable achievements.

Henry F. Teeters was born near Portsmouth, Ohio, August 16, 1843. His parents were Michael and Margaret Teeters, both of whom were natives of Germany. His parents were married in Germany and later came to America, locating near Portsmouth, Ohio. Here Michael Teeters settled on a farm with his family, on which he and his wife lived until they died.

Henry Teeters received his early education in the schools of Ports- mouth, Ohio, and spent his earlier youth on his father's farm. About this time the Civil War was just beginning and on August 5, 1861, young Teeter was mustered in as a private in Company A, Thirty-third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, respectively commanded by Capt. T. A. Curry and Col. J. W. Sill. He served three years of this enlistment. During an engage- ment, the barrel of his gun burst, injuring him about the head. It was this injury to which his death was attributed later in life. As a result of this injury, he was confined in the military hospital for three months. He re- turned to the front and was captured by the enemy and confined in Ander- sonville prison. He remained in prison for thirty days, when he and three fellow prisoners escaped and returned for service. On August 5, 1862, he was retired from service at Columbus, Ohio, on account of disability. On February 13, 1865, he re-enlisted as a private in Company B, Nineteenth Ohio Regiment, and served for a year under Capt. Samuel D. Lininger, receiving his final discharge at Winchester, Virginia, August 27, 1865.

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After the close of the war, Mr. Teeters went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and remained there for six years, working as a team driver. He then came to Franklin county, Indiana, and engaged as a farm-hand for Perry Moore, with whom he remained for one year, and later was employed by John Craw- ford.

In 1878 Mr. Teeters was married to Louisa (Hudson) Fread, a daugh- ter of William and Mary (Whitney) Hudson. Her father was a native of England and her mother was born in Franklin county, just below Cedar Grove.

The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Teeters were George and Martha (Attie) Hudson, natives of England, who left their native country and came to America. During the voyage, Martha Attie's mother died and was buried at sea. The rest of the family came to Cincinnati, Ohio, and later moved to Cedar Hill, Franklin county, where they remained the rest of their lives.

The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Teeters were Moses and Phoebe (Schonover) Whitney, of New York state. They came to Franklin county, Indiana, where they entered one hundred and sixty acres in Highland town- ship, where Mrs. Teeters now lives. They also acquired one hundred and sixty acres of land in the bottoms, which is now owned by Mr. Rosen- berger. The time of their arrival in this county was in 1810 or 1812. The land at that time was covered with heavy timber, which Mr. Whitney cleared. He erected the first buildings on each of the farms he owned and made many improvements. At that time wild beasts were in abundance in this part of the state and wolves were prowling about continuously. Mr. Whitney died on the hill, at the place now owned by Charles Blackburn.

William Hudson, the father of Mrs. Henry Teeters, followed farming in Franklin county. He owned eighty acres of land, which is now occupied by Mr. Blackburn. He and his wife lived here for a number of years and were eminently respected by all who knew them. Mrs. Hudson died in April, 1902, and her husband survived her for only five months, dying in September following.

To Henry F. Teeters and wife were born the following children, Mary, Philip and James. James is a Christian minister of Des Moines, Iowa ; Mary is the wife of John Molter, a fruit farmer of Highland township, in this county, and Philip works on a farm for his father-in-law at New Haven. Ohio.

By a previous marriage, to William H. Fread, in 1868, Mrs. Teeters had one son, whom they named William. He is engaged in farming on an extensive scale, near Beacon Station, Indiana.

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Henry Teeters was, above all things, a true and loyal citizen, who had rendered great service to his country in time of war and served his fellow men in times of peace. He was a good husband and father and enjoyed the respect of his neighbors and the love of his family.

WILLIAM H. BIERE.

There are many German residents of Franklin county, most of whom are engaged in farming and a number in the mercantile activities of the county, especially in Brookville. Whatever the German turns his hand to, he does with a thoroughness that has placed him in the front rank. The German excels as a farmer also and the best farmers of the country are either of German nativity or German extraction. Among those of German extraction living in Franklin county is William H. Biere, a prominent farmer of Blooming Grove township.

William H. Biere was born in Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, August 5, 1853. His parents were Adolph ( familiarly known as Henry) and Mary M. (Metzger) Biere. Adolph Biere was a native of Germany and received the most of his education in that country. With his parents, he came to this country and located at Cincinnati. He was one of nine children born to Herrman Biere and wife, of Detmold, Germany. These children were Fred, a daughter who died in infancy, Bernard, Christopher, William, Adolph, Minnie, Louise and Elizabeth. Of these, William and Adolph left Cincinnati and came to Franklin county, Indiana, where they engaged in farming. Adolph married in this county. His wife, Mary M., was the daughter of Casper and Catherine (Gerhart) Metzger, who were prominent German citizens of this county. To Adolph Biere and wife were born the following children: William H., Henry, Melankton (deceased), Adolph, Philip, Louise and George. Adolph Biere was a man of splendid personality. He was popular and admired for his many fine attainments. Mr. Biere and family belonged to the German Lutheran church, of which they were devout attendants.

The paternal grandparents of William H. Biere were Herrman and Mary Biere, natives of Detmold, Germany. Previous to his marriage, Herr- man Biere had been a soldier. He served three years in Napoleon's army and was in that memorable campaign which took Napoleon's army to Mos- cow, Russia, from where they were forced to retreat in the dead of winter.

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Herrman Biere was one of the few thousand soldiers, of more than six hundred thousand, who returned from this dreadful campaign. After his military service, Herrman Biere learned the carpenter's trade, also the art of glass making. In 1852 he brought his family to this country and located in Cincinnati, where he died one and one half years later, aged sixty-eight, survived by his wife, who died in Cincinnati some time later. Herrman Biere and his family were strict members of the Lutheran church.

The maternal grandparents of William H. Biere were Casper and Cath- erine (Gephardt) Metzger, natives of Germany, who came to America when Mary Metzger, mother of William H. Biere, was but eight years of age. They arrived in this country about 1840. Casper Metzger was a miller in Germany, but gave his entire attention to farming when he came to America. He purchased one hundred and five acres, erected buildings and soon de- veloped a nice farm. Mr. and Mrs. Biere lived at this place until their deaths. To them were born the following children: Barbara, Peter, Philip, Andrew, Martin and Mary. Casper Metzger and his family were devout German Lutherans, which faith they followed conscientiously and consistently. Mr. Metzger and wife were splendid people and endeared themselves to all with whom they mingled. The farm that formerly belonged to Casper Metzger is now owned by Henry Biere, brother of William H. Biere. The mother of Mrs. Casper Metzger lived to be more than one hundred years of age.

William H. Biere was reared on a farm. When he was about one year old his parents moved to the Salem district. He was educated in the Salem district schools, using his spare time in helping about the farm. After he left the parental homestead, he rented a farm and thirty-five years ago he purchased the place on which he has since lived. He utilizes this in the most intelligent manner, having erected a very comfortable home and convenient and substantial barns; he is engaged in general farming and does some stock raising also.

On February 23, 1879, Mr. Biere was married to Mary M. Weinmann, who was born September 18, 1849, in Neidersheim, Germany. She was a daughter of John and Catherine (Bladel) Weinmann, both also natives of Neidersheim.

John Weinmann, father of Mrs. William H. Biere, received his early education in his native country, where he engaged in farming. In 1853 he came to America, locating in Brookville, Franklin county, where Henry Bledel, a' brother-in-law, was located. John Weinmann soon acquired a farm of twenty-two acres, which he later increased to ninety acres, where he remained until his death. The children of John and Catherine Wein-

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 141

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