History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 98

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

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George B. Robeson, one of the best known members of this prominent family, was born in 1863 on the farm on which he still makes his home and on which he has resided all his life. He first saw the light of day in the old stone house on the paternal farm, which now is occupied by his son. George B. is the son of John and Catherine Ann (Whitehead) Robeson, the former of whom was born in Kentucky, June 18, 1810, and who came to Franklin county with his parents when he was but one year old, the family locating in the neighborhood in which they spent the remainder of their lives. Catherine Ann (Whitehead) Robeson was a member of one of the pioneer families of Dearborn county, Indiana.

George B. Robeson's paternal grandfather, James Robeson, for many years was one of the most prominent residents of Franklin county and it is still recalled by those whose memories go back to the traditions of pioneer days that no gathering of the neighborhood folk in those early days was com- plete without him. He was not only famous as a "fiddler," the strains of whose rollicking music were considered necessary to the success of all social meetings of the day, but he was also noted as a skillful Nimrod, whose

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aim with a rifle when a squirrel or a coon was in sight, was regarded as un- erring as that of another Davy Crockett. James Robeson was a native of Kentucky, in which state he married Elizabeth Stafford. Shortly after their marriage they came to Indiana and in 1811 entered a government tract com- prising what is now known as the W. H. Prifogle farm. Here they put up a cabin in the woods and proceeded to reclaim the soil from the gigantic forest growth with which it was covered. Both continued to live there until a ripe old age, when they retired and moved to Ripley county, where they spent their last days.

Mr. Robeson's maternal grandfather, Michael Whitehead, was a native of Pennsylvania. Following his marriage in the Keystone state he and his bride determined to make a home for themselves farther westward and came to Indiana, locating in Dearborn county, where they soon became among the most influential farmers of that section. Upon the death of Mrs. Whitehead, her bereaved husband gave up his home in Dearborn county and his last days were passed pleasantly in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Robeson, in High- land township.

John Robeson, father of the gentleman whose name appears as the cap- tion of this sketch, received his education in the schools of his district and was a farmer in that same neighorhood all his life. He owned several farms at various times in his life and died in the old log and stone house on Blue creek where George B. was born. Here he had one hundred and twelve acres in an excellent state of cultivation. He and all the members of his family were members of the Christian church, faithful adherence to the tenets of which all those surviving have ever since maintained.

George B. Robeson was given such advantages of education as the dis- trict schools of his home township afforded in the days of his youth, and, following the example of his ancestors, stuck to the soil as a means of liveli- hood. The wisdom of this determination on his part has amply been demon- strated in ensuing years and Mr. Robeson is now known as one of the most progressive farmers in his neighborhood. He always has remained on the "home" place until 1905, continuing to occupy the old stone house in which he was born. He then remodeled the house in which, until then, his half brother had lived and this he now makes his home. He bought this part of his father's old place, one hundred twenty acres, which added to the farm he then owned, brought his farm holdings up to one hundred and ninety-two acres, all of which he has in a fine state of cultivation, giving particular atten- tion to the culture of small fruit.

On October 21, 1886, George B. Robeson was united in marriage with

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Miss Anna Belle Yost, who was born near Peppertown, on Walnut Fork, the daughter of Christopher and Lena (Wessing) Yost, both natives of Germany. Christopher Yost was first married in Germany, but his wife died on board ship while they were on their way to America, leaving one daughter. He first made his way to Cincinnati and after a sometime residence there moved to Peppertown, where he met Lena Wessing, a Civil War widow, and mar- ried her. Mrs. Yost's brother Jacob, who came to America in 1852, also gave up his life for the cause of his adopted country, he being among the countless hosts who were killed in the great struggle between the states in the sixties.

To George B. and Anna Belle (Yost) Robeson two children were born : Clifford Elmer, who married Maud, daughter of William West of Brook- ville, and to whom one child, Ruth Anna Belle, has been born, and Ida Mar- garet May, who makes her home with her parents. All are devoted mem- bers of the Christian church.

JOHN C. NIERSTHEIMER.

As a great proportion of the population of Franklin county, is made up of persons of German descent, it is but natural that a history of that county should emphasize the importance of this element in its affairs. The Germans have been a decisive force in shaping the affairs of this county for many years. While a great number of Germans came to this county, about the time of the completion of the Whitewater canal, there were many Germans or persons of German descent living in this county previously. That much of the material prosperity of this county is largely due to the conserving habits of the Germans is conceded by all. Among the prominent persons in this county who are of German descent, is John C. Nierstheimer, who is widely known in this section of the state.

John C. Nierstheimer, was born on a farm in Blooming Grove township, Franklin county, Indiana, September 19, 1863. His parents were John and Margaret Nierstheimer, both of whom were natives of Germany.

The paternal grandparents of John C. Nierstheimer, were Henry and Katherine (Stuft) Nierstheimer who also were natives of Germany. They left their native country and came to America in 1843, coming directly to Blooming Grove township, Franklin county, Indiana. They located just east of the farm, now occupied by Henry C. Nierstheimer and in 1852 bought the

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farm Mr. Nierstheimer now resides on. This place consisted of one hundred and forty acres heavily timbered. Henry Nierstheimer was a man of energy and ambition and soon had the land cleared. He made many improvements on this place during his lifetime, developing it into a substantial farm. Henry Nierstheimer and wife lived at this place until their death, respected and revered by all who knew them.

The maternal grandparents of John C. Nierstheimer, were Daniel and Sophia (Winnerling) Zeitler, who were natives of Germany where Daniel Zeitler died. His widow remarried and came to this country and settled in Warren county, Ohio. She later came to Franklin county, Indiana, where she lived the remainder of her life. The Zeitler family, like the Nierstheimer family. were devout members of the German-Lutheran church.

John Nierstheimer, father of John C. Nierstheimer, came to this country with his parents, when but six years of age. He was educated in Blooming Grove township district schools, in Franklin county. He engaged in the com- mon occupation of farming, living on the place on which John Nierstheimer was born until his death. He was married in this county to Margaret Zeitler, and to them were born the following children, Ella, John, Mary, Emma, George, Anna, Henry, Henrietta and Charles. Mr. Nierstheimer and his family, as were his ancestors, were strict members of the German-Lutheran church.

John Nierstheimer, Jr., received his early education in the schools of Blooming Grove township. He secured the average schooling of his time, devoting his spare moments to helping on his father's farm. He remained on the parental farm until early manhood and then purchased a farm of eighty acres which he bought from his father. John Nierstheimer immediately began to make extensive improvements and soon transformed the place into a splendid property.

In 1888 he was married to Ida May Klipple, a sister of George Klipple. She died June 7, 1901, survived by her husband and four children, Paul, Ruby, Edith and Pauline. Of these, Paul resides in Muncie, Indiana, and is employed in the Merchants National Bank at that place.

In April. 1902, Mr. Nierstheimer was married again, this time to Eliza- beth Sherwood of Peppertown, Franklin county. Mr. Nierstheimer and family, as the Nierstheimers have been for many generations, belong to the German-Lutheran church. Mr. Nierstheimer has many splendid attainments and he and his family are of the highest social order in the county. He is intensely interested in all things that pertain to the advancement of this county , and its inhabitants.

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JOHN F. GLASER.

How many delightful recollections cluster around the village smithy, and how much of influential service there is in the life of the village blacksmith! The beloved American poet, Longfellow, has set this all out so delightfully in his poem to the village smithy, that the mind instantly reverts to that charm- ing bit of poesy when the smith is mentioned.

The village smith at St. Peters, John F. Glaser, might well have posed for the poet's subject-"a mighty man was he." Born in the village in which he has lived all his life, Mr. Glaser, is one of the most influential and useful members of that community. This fact has been twice attested by his neigh- bors who twice elected him to the important office of township trustee, in which position he has performed faithful service to his community.

John F. Glaser was born at St. Peters, July 10, 1859, the son of Frederick and Catherine (Scheirger) Glaser, the former of whom was a native of Rhinefalse, Germany, born about the year 1813; the latter a native of Wurts- burg, Germany. Her father came to America following the death of his wife, bringing his children with him and located near Orleans, where he farmed for some years and later moved to Franklin county, locating in High- land township, where he bought and improved a farm of eighty acres. The latter years of his life he spent at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Roehn, at Lawrenceville, Indiana.

Mr. Glaser's father came to America at the age of eleven years, his brother previously having located in this country and had established planta- tions. In his earlier days in this country Mr. Glaser's father was a riverman, having made eleven round trips between Cincinnati and New Orleans. Dur- ing this time he had many exciting experiences and was subjected to many hardships and trials. While boating he suffered an attack of cholera and an attack of smallpox, but happily survived both. His elder brother then appren- ticed him to a stone mason at Cincinnati, but this form of service proving distasteful to him he ran away and learned the blacksmith trade. Completing his apprenticeship at this useful form of human service, he opened a shop of his own at St. Joseph, Dearborn county, Indiana, moving from there to St. Peters about 1840. So eagerly did the people of the then scattered farming community welcome the coming of the new blacksmith that they gathered in a body and erected for him the log shop which still stands as the village smithy and which is now operated by the subject of this biography, who as- sumed charge of the shop upon the retirement of his father, which occurred

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about fourteen years before the latter's death. At the same time the pioneer neighbors of the community's first blacksmith were raising the log shop they erected a log house for the family of the smith immediately adjoining the smithy. This was later replaced by a frame dwelling, which still stands and in which both the father and the mother of the subject of this sketch passed their last days.

John F. Glaser was educated at St. Peters' parochial school and learned the blacksmith trade in a most practical manner at his father's forge, supple- menting the experience here gained with a course in the same trade at Cin- cinnati. From that city he returned to St. Peters and in 1879 took charge of the blacksmith shop which he since has operated alone. In addition to his duties in the shop, Mr. Glaser owns and conducts a small farm of thirty-six acres. He has erected, adjoining the old frame house above mentioned, a substantial brick house where he and his family reside.

Mr. Glaser was married in 1881 to Mary Schuck, daughter of John Schuck, a merchant of St. Peters, and six children have blessed this happy union, as follow: Edward, who is married ; John, Mary (deceased), Bertha. Alice and Charles.

Mr. Glaser and his family are earnest and devoted members of St. Peters' Catholic church.

WILLIAM JOHN GEIS.

Happy is the man, who, surrounded by the comforts of a home made glad by the presence of joyous children, comes to the period of his middle age with all his normal wants amply provided and in the full enjoyment of the con- fidence and esteem of his neighbors. When this comfort is definitely assured by the possession of a farm, than which there are not many better in the state of Indiana, then indeed it may be said that such a man has been favored of fortune.

William John Geis, the son of John Adam and Margaret (Knecht) Geis, who were both natives of Germany, was born in the home which he now occu- pies, near St. Peters, February 24, 1867. His father came to America when a young man and by industry and thrift and high endeavor, constantly sup- plemented by the painstaking care of his competent helpmeet, built for him- self a comfortable home in Highland township. It was in this home that the subject of this interesting biography was born and in which he has passed his life. Upon this farm of one hundred and fifty-two acres Mr. Geis has

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recently added a new and substantial barn and has made commodious addi- tions to the homestead. In the labors of the farm Mr. Geis has had the assistance of one of the happiest families of children it would be possible to imagine. In this happy "flock" there are no fewer than fifteen, and the harmony and peace of this devoted family insure the most efficient conduct of the excellent farming establishment so ably managed by Mr. Geis. To Mr. and Mrs. Geis there has come but one bereavement, in the death of their seventh child and third daughter, Mary. The children who live to give joy and comfort to the later days of their parents are: Harry, Robert, Bertha married William J. Metz, Illinois: Clara, Joseph, Carl, Albert, Mary, Katie, Rosa, Cecilia, Bernhart. William, Frances and Florentine.

Not only in his private life has Mr. Geis proved his substantial worth, but in public affairs he has shown an interest that has met with the proper recognition of his community. Though not of the office-seeking type, Mr. Geis has been called on to give to his civic community the benefit of his knowledge and observation of the needs of the public and as supervisor of roads of Highland township gave excellent service to his neighborhood.

Mr. Geis and his family are ardent adherents of the Roman Catholic church and find much comfort and pleasure in their devoted attendance upon the services of St. Peters' Catholic church, being recognized as among the most earnest and influential members of that parish. Mr. Geis's helpmeet, who in every way has furthered his efforts in all the ways of good citizenship. was Mary Wagner, to whom he was married in 1891, and who enjoys, with her husband, the most earnest respect of the entire community in which their influence is so markedly felt.

ALPHONSE ERHART.

When it is recalled that, as the grand, sweeping current of humanity moves on, it is but a comparatively few generations since the Red man was the only American, one must be impressed with the apparent inaccuracy so often underlying our references to the "foreign" population of this country. Taking the great dial of the ages as our marker for time, it has been such a petty while since the first white persons who landed on these promising shores were as much "foreigners" as are the latest immigrants to land at the great ports of this land, that it hardly seems becoming to speak of any as "foreign- ers." But the word has its accepted meaning, of course, and as such hardly

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can be omitted from our current speech, though it must be admitted that this would not be much of a nation without its "foreign" population.

Of all that large class of so-called "foreigners" who make up so in- fluential a section of the population of Franklin county, Indiana, few are bet- ter known and more respected than is the gentleman of Alsatian birth, whose name forms the caption for this brief and modest biographical sketch, and, in doing honor to the "foreigners" hereabout, mention of his name in a work of this character could not properly be omitted.

Alphonse Erhart was born in Alsace-Lorraine, September 1I, 1863, the son of Stephen and Katherine (Uetveler) Erhart, both members of old fam- ilies of that section of Europe. He received his youthful education accord- ing to the accepted standard of the thorough system which marks the educa- tion of the youth of Germanic extraction, and prepared himself for the occu- pation of stationary engineer, which calling he followed for some time in his native land before deciding to put in his lot with the considerable number of his neighbors who had sought new homes in America, and whose reports back to the Fatherland seemed promising to him of improvement in his own material condition, should he adopt a similar course himself. Therefore, shortly after his marriage to one of his fair Alsatian neighbors, Miss Wilhel- mina Peters, daughter of John and Mary Anna ( Yound) Peters, Mr. Erhart, accompanied by his bride, sailed for the broad land on the western shores of the Atlantic. Attracted by word from some of his neighbors who had pre- ceded them to this country, the Erharts went direct to Cincinnati, arriving there July 17, 1890. There for four years Mr. Erhart worked in an iron foundry, and then, deciding that the finer freedom of rural life was better suited to their tastes, he and his family located in Franklin county, Indiana. They bought a farm of one hundred and three acres about a mile from where they now reside, north of St. Peters, where they lived until 1910, when they bought a desirable small farm of fifty-four acres near the village on which they since have made their home, though still retaining the ownership of the original farm of one hundred and three acres. On his home place Mr. Erhart has a fine brick house, a substantial barn and many other improve- ments to make living a comfort and a joy.

To Alphonse and Wilhelmina ( Peters) Erhart, six children have been born, of whom Alphonse John, John and Mary are living. Three times they have been bereaved, and they ever mourn the death of their children, Lucenia, Augustine and Rosa. Mr. and Mrs. Erhart and their children are devoted members of St. Peters' Catholic church and very rightly enjoy the full con- fidence and esteem of the community in which they live.

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WILLIAM H. PRIFOGLE.

"In Memoriam"-one of the tenderest combinations of words in the English language. How proper and fitting it is that a widow should per- petuate in such a work as this the memory of her departed husband; that, in the making up of the history of this favored section of Indiana, the future chronicler may be reminded of the life and of the works of one of the one- time prominent residents thereof, who, in his own day, remained modestly mute regarding the part he took in the community life. It is thus that the name of the gentleman occupying the headline of this biographical sketch is brought to the notice of those still living.

William H. Prifogle, who died at his home in Highland township, Franklin county, Indiana, April 10, 1911, was born in that same township February 7, 1846, the son of pioneer parents and lived all his life in the same township. He was among the most honored and useful members of that community and ever was found in the foremost ranks of those who held the public welfare most at heart. For five successive terms he served his town- ship as supervisor of public roads and the value of his work in that connection still is manifest in the excellent condition of the highways of his home town- ship.

Mr. Prifogle received such education as could be obtained in the local schools of his home neighborhood, and, as his fathers had done before him, determined to follow the life of a farmer. For a time, preliminary to the larger work of his later days, Mr. Prifogle rented a farm in Highland town- ship and then, about 1878, assumed the active management of the farm on which his widow is still living, which her paternal grandfather had entered from the government in the early days of the settlement of Franklin county.

On January 17, 1864, William H. Prifogle was united in marriage with Miss Anna Robeson, of pioneer stock, who was born in Highland township in the immediate vicinity of the farm on which she now resides. She was the daughter of John and Sophronia (Herndon) Robeson, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and the latter a native of Highland town- ship, in which she lived all her life.

Mrs. Prifogle's paternal grandparents, James and Juda (Stafford) Robe- son, moved from Kentucky into Indiana when their son John, father of Mrs. Prifogle, was a small boy, and located on the farm which Mrs. Prifogle now occupies. This tract of land was entered as a government grant and at that time, of course, was but an unbroken forest. James Robeson erected upon this tract a log cabin, which, from the fact that it was one of the most com-

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modious which, up to that time, had been erected in that community, was used by his neighbors in that early day as a "meeting house," or place of religious worship. He and his sons cleared the farm and made it one of the most productive in the county. Later this pioneer and his wife moved to Ripley county, where they died and where their bodies are buried. James Robeson was a great "fiddler," popular in all the social gatherings of his neighbors in the early days and also was a man of renown throughout the whole county as a 'coon hunter. There are many distinct memories of this pioneer pair lingering in the community in which the impress of their early influence is still so manifest and they are entitled to a permanent place in whatever records of Franklin county may be made up by the future historian.

Mrs. Prifogle's maternal grandparents, Thomas and Nancy (Keene) Herndon, also were early settlers of Brookville township, and their memories are held in the highest respect by all who hold dear the recollections of pioneer days in Franklin county.

Seven children came to gladden the home of William H. and Anna (Robeson) Prifogle, all of whom are still living (excepting one), to com- fort the latter days of their widowed mother, as follow : William Thomas, James Franklin (deceased). George Albert, Charles Frederick, John Liberty, Peter Irvin and Jennie Pearl. Their father was a German Protestant and their mother is a member of the Christian church, to which they also give their adherence, and to the interests of which they are all devoted.

CHARLES E. RONAN.

The passing of the log cabin in Indiana marks sharply the dividing line between epochs in the history of the great Hoosier commonwealth. That most common form of habitation in the early days of the state's settlement, the hand-hewed log cabin, has so generally disappeared that the present generation knows its appearance only through the medium of the pictured page or the poet's fervid lines. Though here and there throughout the confines of the state, a few log structures are preserved as priceless relics of a day gone by, yet, for the most part, these substantial old buildings which housed so many joyous hopes in pioneer times have been demolished to give way to modern buildings and the coming generation will know of the log cabin only as a .thing of beautiful tradition.

Charles E. Ronan, whose name appears at the head of this sketch, was one of the present-day Hoosiers who can say that he first saw the light of

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day in a log cabin. This was on the parental farm in Orange township, Fayette county, Indiana, the cabin being situated about one mile north of the farm which he now owns and on which he resides in Posey township, Franklin county. Mr. Ronan was born in this pioneer cabin on August 2, 1866, son of John W. and Mary E. (Matney) Ronan, both natives of Fayette county, the former of whom was born in Orange township and the latter in Columbia township.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 98

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