History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 81

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 81

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Oakley Allen is prominent in politics and has served on the advisory board of his township. The Allen brothers are worthy sons of their father, Eliphalet Allen, and have cherished the ideals handed down through the generations by their forefathers who were in their time eminent and honor- able citizens, with characteristics worthy of emulation.

LEVI K. MASTERS.

Among the many families who left Pennsylvania at a very early date and came to Indiana was the Masters family. This family in its succeeding generations have been active in the life of this county. They have co-operated in the advancement of the civic and spiritual advancement of this community and may easily be considered one of the potent factors in Franklin county. One of the most prominent of the members of this family is Levi K. Masters, who lives in Blooming Grove township, in this county.

Levi K. Masters was born on the parental homestead on which he still lives, on August 25, 1847. His parents were John and Susan ( Harris) Masters both of whom were natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.

The paternal grandparents of Levi K. Masters were Christopher and Mary (Kerling) Masters who were natives of Chester county, Pennsylvania and who were married in 1776. The probable origin of Mr. Masters' family was in Germany as the name was formerly spelled Meschter. In 1832 Chris- topher Masters and family came to Indiana and located in Fairfield township in Franklin county. He was a blacksmith by trade and had made gun bar- rels for the use of the government in the War of 1812. After locating in Fairfield, Mr. Masters engaged in the milling business, which he followed during the rest of his life, sharing the activities of the business with his son, Aaron. who succeeded him in this business.

John Masters, father of Levi K. Masters, received his early education in the schools of his native county in Pennsylvania. He learned the black- smith trade early in life, working under his father's direction. He was mar- ried in Pennsylvania before coming to Indiana. After locating in Fairfield. Franklin county, Indiana, he conducted a blacksmith shop for one year. In 1835 he purchased a farm from John Thompson, on which he erected an addi- tional building which he used as a blacksmith shop, which he operated for

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a number of years. The blacksmith shop still stands and contains the same tools used in lifetime by John Masters, which in a manner is a monument to the industry of Mr. Masters. The farm at first consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, to which was added one hundred acres which was purchased later. This land was mostly covered with a heavy growth of timber which was rapidly cleared. At the time Mr. Masters took possession of the farm, there was a primitive log house standing on it, which Mr. Masters remodeled and made habitable. This log house is still standing in good condition. Mr. Masters and wife and family continued to live at this place for many years, Mr. Master's death occurring in 1891. Many mementoes of John Masters still remain in the possession of his son at the old home place, among which is an old clock, the works of which were brought from Pennsylvania by Mr. Masters, bringing them to this state in a feather bed, later purchasing the case in Union county. The children born to John Masters and wife were Jacob, Mary, John, Jane, Watson, who served in the Civil War; William, Samuel and Levi.

Levi Masters was educated in the common schools of Franklin county. He has lived on his father's farm throughout his entire life. The residence now occupied by Mr. Masters was erected by his father in 1875. It originally was located on the south tract of land owned by John Masters. In 1902 Levi Masters moved it to its present location. The farm now consists of two hundred and sixty acres, which Mr. Masters devotes to general farming. His farm is equipped with the best modern machinery, while his ideas are utilized to procure the maximum agricultural results. Mr. Masters takes pride in his work and no doubt would sooner be known as a good farmer than make a great deal of money.

In 1870 Levi Masters was married to Mary Smith, of Fairfield town- ship. To this union have been born five children, Laona, Susie, Orien, Morris and Edgar. After 'seventeen years of married life, Mrs. Levi Masters passed away in 1887.

Mr. Masters was married again, this time to Minerva Wagner of Bloom- ing Grove township, a daughter of Michael and Sarah Wagner. During the latter years Mr. Masters has gradually shared the burdens of farm manage- ment with his sons who are very capable young men. They specialize in wheat, corn, cattle and hogs.

Levi Masters has always been a public spirited man. He has served as road supervisor and has been active in the civic affairs of the community. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and are very active in its ministrations. The Masters family have for generations been held in the highest esteem by the people of this county and vicinity.

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JOHN FUSSNER, JR.

With the near approach of Indiana's "Centennial" year, it is perhaps fitting to observe that one of the most hopeful signs of the stability of the Hoosier commonwealth is the increasing tendency of Indiana families, par- ticularly in the farming communities of the state, to perpetuate the family unity by continuing, generation after generation, upon the same spot. It is no uncommon thing to find in Indiana the fourth, or even the fifth, genera- tion of the same family occupying the homestead which had been entered upon with so much of prayerful hope back in pioneer days.

It is such a feeling as this that must animate the heart of John Fussner, Jr., one of Highland township's most progressive and substantial farmers, who lives on the farm and in the house in which his father was born, in which he himself was born and in which his son Edwin was born. This farm, lo- cated south of St. Peters, was first occupied by our subject's paternal grand- father, Mathias Fussner, who, with his wife, who was Susan Waltz before her marriage to Mathias, came from Germany in the early days of Indiana's settlement and located in Franklin county. Mathias Fussner erected the first buildings that ever arose on this farm, among which was an enormous log barn, which pioneer structure is still standing and which still serves its original purpose to excellent advantage, even after all these years. On this farm Mathias and Susan Fussner, who were among the most respected pioneer residents of this community, passed the remainder of their lives.

John Adam Fussner, son of Mathias and Susan (Waltz) Fussner, and father of the subject of this biography, was educated at St. Peters and lived all his life on the farm his father had cleared. He had one hundred twenty acres and improved the same by remodeling and substantially improving the original homestead. He married Mary, daughter of John and Josephine Pax, natives of Germany. He and his wife died on the same day, April II, 1893 : he at the age of forty-one years, nine months and seven days, and she at the age of thirty-six years. Their son, John, Jr., the subject of this sketch, was born September 8, 1877, and following the death of his parents took up the active management of the farm, in which he has been highly successful. To the improvements made by his father and his grandfather upon this farm he, in 1913, added a fine new barn.

John Fussner, Jr., was educated at St. Peters and to the training there received added a practical knowledge of farming gained under his father's direction, a most admirable equipment for success, which he has put to ex- cellent use. In 1907 Mr. Fussner was married to Catherine Zinser, who also

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has descended from a pioneer Indiana family. She is the daughter of Martin and Elizabeth (Risch) Zinser and was born near Lawrenceville, in Dearborn county. Her father was born on board a steamer on the Atlantic ocean while his parents, John Jacob and Mary Eve Zinser, were en route to America in 1853. They located in Dearborn county, Indiana, where they became suc- cessful farmers. Mrs. Fussner's father is a carpenter, though owning the farm on which he lives in Dearborn county. Her maternal grandparents, Dominic and Elizabeth (Hudson) Risch, were among the pioneers of Dear- born county. The former was a native of Germany, and the latter's people were among the earliest settlers of that county.

To John and Catherine (Zinser) Fussner, there has come one child, Edwin, born May 8, 1910. They are devoted members of St. Peter's Cath- olic church and are active in all good works in the community.

JOHN ADAM HARTMAN.

In keeping alive the light and pleasant recollection that makes resplendent the memories that cluster around the personality of a loved member of the family who has gone on before, what more fitting method than that so ad- mirably carried out in a historical and biographical work of this character? That a good name is to be desired above riches is a truism declared alike by Holy Writ and the common experiences of mankind. That the memory of such a name may not be forgotten when the history of Franklin county comes to be reviewed in after years, a few words relating to a one time and lamented resident of Highland township may not inappropriately be introduced in this connection.

John Adam Hartman, who died February 21, 1904, was born at St. Leon, Indiana, in 1858, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth ( Wissel) Hartman, both natives of Germany, the former having come to America when he was eighteen years of age, the latter being but twelve years of age when she ac- companied her parents upon their quest of new fortunes on this side the Atlantic. Mr. Hartman's maternal grandparents first located at Cincinnati, Ohio, and after a sometime residence there, moved to St. Leon, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their lives, being among the most highly esteemed members of that community. Joseph Hartman, our subject's father, was a farmer well known and influential in the neighborhood of St. Leon and to the day of his death commanded the respect and confidence of his neighbors.

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The subject of this biographical sketch, John Adam Hartman, received his education at St. Leon and in preparation for entering upon the useful duties of manhood learned the blacksmith trade, at which he became one of the most proficient masters in that part of the state of Indiana. He later located at St. Peters and here opened a blacksmith shop, in the management of which he achieved success.

It was at St. Peters that John Adam Hartman married Katherine Ripp- erger, daughter of August Ripperger, one of the early settlers of St. Peters, and to this union two sons were born, John A. and Oscar Henry. Bereaved by death of his first wife, John Adam Hartman married, secondly, on May 15, 1890, Magdelina Pax, who was born in Bairn, Germany, daughter of John and Josephine ( Ast) Pax, both members of old and prominent families of that part of the Prussian empire. To this second matrimonial union eleven children were born, all of whom are living to comfort the declining years of the life of their widowed mother, as follows: Frank Joseph, George Adam. Joseph Philip, Anna, Katherine, Edward, Albert, Lauretta, Carl, Rosa and Lena.

Mrs. Magdelina Hartman's parents, John and Josephine (Ast) Pax, came to America in 1848, following the example of many of their com- patriots who about that time, attracted by the wondrous stories that were sent back across the sea, sought fame and fortune in the promising new land so far away. John Pax's father, Christopher Pax, was a blacksmith at Bairn, where both he and his wife Elizabeth died and where their bodies are buried. His mother's father, Simon Ast, was a shoemaker in Bairn, where both he and his wife died and where they are buried.

Upon their arrival in America John Pax's family first located in Cleve- land, Ohio, but finding the life of the city distasteful and desiring the broader freedom of rural living, located in Highland township, Franklin county, Indi- ana, where Mr. Pax bought a farm of forty acres, of which all was cleared and ready for cultivation save twelve or fifteen acres. This uncultivated portion he soon cleared and presently added an adjoining strip of sixty acres to his farm, giving him one of the choicest bits of farm land in that section of the state and which he quickly brought to a high state of cultivation. Fol- . lowing the marriage of his daughter, Magdelina, to John Adam Hartman, in 1890, Mr. Pax retired from the active management of the farm and went to live with his son, Joseph, at Harrison, Ohio, where he died. Upon retiring he turned control of the farm over to his son-in-law, Mr. Hartman, who con- tinued in successful direction of the same until his death in 1904, since which time Mrs. Hartman has managed the farm with interest and success.

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Though left a widow, with a family of eleven children, the eldest of whom was but fourteen, Mrs. Hartman, nothing daunted by this apparent hard- stroke. of. fate, faced the serious>task before her and her management of the farm has reflected great credit upon her skill, judgment and business sagacity. Not only has she given the most loving thought and care to the guidance of the young children who were left to her sole support, but she has brought to the management of the farm an equal degree of care and fore- sight, having, since her husband's death erected a new barn, remodeled the dwelling house and put up numerous other buildings necessary to the best cultivation of the farm. She and her children are faithful members of St. Peters Catholic church.

JAMES T. CURRY.

The whole career of James T. Curry has been spent in Metamora town- ship on a farm. Mr. Curry has engaged in general farming and stock rais- ing with such success that he is now one of the largest land owners of Frank- lin county, owning three hundred and forty-six acres in Metamora and Brook- ville townships.

James T. Curry, the son of Thomas and Penthela ( Simmons) Curry, was born in Metamora township, December 27. 1852. His parents were both born in this township, his father being born in 1823 and his mother in 1825. His parents reared a family of seven children, Mary Ann, Lucy, Jane. James T., Ostella, Edith and Ione. All of these children are still living with the exception of Lucy and Edith. The father of these children died July 12, 1896 and the mother died in 1912.

The paternal grandparents of James T. Curry were John and Lucy , (Williams) Curry, natives of Virginia and pioneer settlers of Franklin county, Indiana. John Curry died in 1880 at the age of ninety-nine years and his wife passed away in 1878. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The maternal grandparents of James T. Curry were James Simmons and wife, both natives of Virginia and early settlers of Franklin county. Later they moved to Rush county, Indiana, where they both died. Thomas Curry, the father of James T., had seven brothers and sisters, Thomas, Ralph, William, Milton, Martha, Alsie and Mary. Of these children. Milton gave his services to the Union during the dark days of the Civil War and now makes his home at Metamora in this county.

James T. Curry was educated in the public schools of his home neigh-

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borhood and early in life took up agricultural pursuits. His father was a large land owner, owning four hundred and thirty acres of land and conse- quently he had plenty to do at home until his marriage. He then began farm- ing for himself and has met with more than usual success. He now owns one hundred and fifty-six acres in Metamora township and one hundred and ninety acres in Brookville township.

James T. Curry was married in 1875 to Katie Jenks, a native of Frank- lin county. To this union was born one son, Dewitt, who married Mrs. Maude Sherwood and has one son, Alvah. Dewitt is now a farmer of Metamora township. The wife of Mr. Curry died in 1907 and in 1910 he married Nora Warren, who was born in Brookville township, the daughter of William Warren, deceased.

Mr. Curry has been a stanch member of the Republican party for many years but has never aspired to office. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and he and his wife give it their hearty support at all times.

GRANT HIMELICK.

A sketch of the life of the honored subject of this memoir necessarily must be very brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the de- tails of the life of the late Grant Himelick, touching upon the struggles of his early manhood and the successes of his later years, would transcend the limits of this article. Suffice it to say that he filled an important place in the ranks of the leading citizens of his native county and the memories which attach to his name and character are such as to be highly gratifying to those most closely connected with him by ties either of blood or neighborly affection.

Grant Himelick was born June 30, 1868, on the farm where for so many years he has made his home and where his widow still dwells, near Bath Sta- tion, in Bath township, Franklin county, Indiana. He was a son of John and Mary (Davis) Himelick and received his elementary education in the schools of Bath Township, later attending school at Lebanon, Ohio, where he pursued a higher course of instruction. He returned to his paternal home and, assum- ing the duties relating to the successful management of the farm, remained there the balance of his life. At the time of his death he owned two hundred and seventeen acres, all in an excellent state of cultivation, and was regarded as one of the most up-to-date farmers of this section. He made it a special point to keep his buildings in good repair, and about the year 1908 remodeled

MR. AND MRS. GRANT HIMELICK.

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the large barn. He was highly successful as a farmer, paying strict attention to the proper rotation of crops, the proper conservation of the soil and the careful breeding of stock to secure the best strains. His death occurred on February 20, 1912, while he was in the very prime of his life, and his un- timely passing was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances.

Mr. Himelick was married on August 22, 1889, to Miss Ella M. Dare, a native of this same township and county, and a daughter of James and Ruth Ann (Dubois) Dare, both natives of this county, the former of whom was born and reared near Coulters Corners, where he and his wife still reside, and the latter of whom was born near Whitcomb. To Mr. and Mrs. Grant Himelick were born eight children, namely: Ennis, Omer, Hugh, Lloyd, Ethel, Mary, Harold and Lee.

Mrs. Himelick's paternal grandparents were John and Mary Ann (Cas- sidy) Dare, both of whom were born in Indiana early in the history of the state. Mr. Himelick's paternal grandparents after marriage entered land from the government and cleared up their farm, making it into a nice dwelling place. This same farm is now the home of Mrs. Himelick. Mrs. Himelick's mother was a daughter of Solomon and Rhoda (Vanmeter) Dubois, both of whom came to this vicinity from their native state of New Jersey. They secured land near Union and there made their home for the balance of their lives. This farm now is owned and occupied by James Logan.

CHARLES A. MERGENTHAL.

One of the enterprising young farmers of Franklin county is Charles A. Mergenthal, who comes from sturdy German ancestry long associated with the history of Franklin county. Mr. Mergenthal has proved that by successful methods of farming a moderately small tract of land may be made to pay as well as larger farms. Although a young man Mr. Mergenthal already has secured a very good start in life. He is popular in his com- munity, where his friends live, and where he is expected to make greater progress in his chosen vocation.

Charles A. Mergenthal was born in Highland township, Franklin county, Indiana, November 3, 1880, a son of William and Maggie (Franzman) Mergenthal. William Mergenthal was born February 15, 1834, in Franklin county, and-his wife was born April 26, 1844, in Germany. She was a daugh-

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ter of John Franzman, who was born in Germany in 1808, and his wife was Maria (Enk) Franzman, also a native of Germany, born in 1812. They came to Franklin county in 1851 and settled in Highland township, where both died, he on February 17, 1879, and she in March, 1883, and both are buried at Klemmes Corners. In his native land John Franzman was a mer- chant, but after coming to this country he followed farming. The following children were born to John Franzman and wife: Adam, deceased; Catherine, deceased; John, deceased ; Peter ; Margaret, deceased ; Philip ; Mary, deceased, and William.

William Mergenthal, the father of Charles A., was reared at Blue Creek, and educated in the public schools at that place. He was a farmer all his life. In 1862 he enlisted in Company M, First Indiana Cavalry, and served an enlistment of nine months during the Civil War, when he was discharged and re-enlisted in Company C, Twenty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, and served until the close of the war. He was in the battle of Helena and many skirmishes of minor importance. After the close of the war he resumed his agricultural pursuits in Highland township and about the year 1889 moved to Brookville township, and for ten years lived one mile north- east of the city of Brookville. His wife died November 29, 1887. Their children were Mary, William, deceased, Kate, George, John, Emma, Charles, Clara and Frank. William Mergenthal was married, secondly, November 3, 1892, Louisa (Winkleman) Henke, the widow of Henry Henke.

The paternal grandfather of Charles A. Mergenthal was Michael Mergen- thal, born in Germany in 1803. His wife was Louisa Prifogle, born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in 1813. She was a daughter of Peter Prifogle, who came from Germany when eighteen years of age and married in Pennsylvania. He and his wife became early settlers in Franklin county, Indiana, where he died at the advanced age of ninety-six years. Michael Mergenthal was a merchant at Blue Creek and also postmaster for several years in that place. Previous to this he was a merchant in Lawrenceville, Indiana. He became a farmer later in life and died in 1879, his widow surviving him until 1889. He was a life-long Democrat and a member of the Catholic church, but his wife was a member of the Lutheran church. The children born to Michael Mergenthal and wife were Mary, John, Cath- erine, William, Michael and Peter, all of whom are now deceased with the exception of Peter and William, the father of Charles A.

Charles A. Mergenthal was reared on the farm and educated in the pub- lic schools of Franklin county. He is the owner of a splendid farm of forty- five acres in Brookville township, where his parents lived for so many years.

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On March 1, 1905, Mr. Mergenthal was married to Carrie Bauer, the daughter of George Bauer. George Bauer was born in Germany, January 7, 1836, the son of John and Eve (Ulch) Bauer, both born in Germany, where his death occurred in 1839. After his death his widow and her son, George Bauer, the only child, came to the United States, locating first in Cincinnati, Ohio. They came to Franklin county, Indiana, in 1853, and she died there in 1875. Mrs. Bauer married Peter Luntz after coming to this country, and to her second marriage two children were born, Fred and Elizabeth, both of whom are deceased. George Bauer was employed as a farm hand when a boy. In 1864 he enlisted for service in the Civil War in Company A, Thirty-fifth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He was in the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, and also took part in the two-days fight at Nashville.

After the close of the war he returned to Franklin county and bought forty acres of land in Brookville township. Later he acquired additional land until he was the owner of ninety-one acres. Although Mr. Bauer had retired to a home in Brookville, his property was swept away by the flood of 1913 and he returned to the farm, where he now resides. His first wife was Mary Miller, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1840, and died in 1893. In 1899 he married Mrs. Josephine (Good) Saxey, the widow of Henry Saxey, and she died January 19, 1913. To George Bauer and his first wife were born the following children : Elizabeth, born April, 1860, married John Cleaver, of Brookville, and they are the parents of five children, Edith, Walter, Edna, Lesley and George, deceased. Mary, born 1862, is the wife of William Franzman, and their children are John and Edward. Fred, born December 18, 1864, married Katie Bender, and they are the parents of three children, William, Ruby and Hilda. John, born October 22, 1867, married Josephine Schockey and has the following children : Mamie, Vernie, Ethel, Omar, Mildred, and Julia, deceased. Thomas W., born December 8, 1871, is unmarried. Jacob, born September 29, 1874, married Matilda Brons, and their children are George, Frank, Caroline and Mary, the last two named being deceased. Katie, born November 30, 1877, is the wife of August Quante, and their children are Thomas, Carrie, George, Elmer, Grace and Edna. Carrie born March 5, 1883, is the wife of Charles A. Mergenthal, with whom this narrative deals. Their children are Elmer H., born February 6, 1906; Lester W. G., born October 1, 1908; Ralph J., born July 10, 1911, and Edith M., born June 20, 1914.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 81

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