USA > Indiana > Huntington County > History of Huntington County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 37
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of Walter Coy of Greensburg, Indiana; Mamie D., wife of Jasper Dudgeon, of Rushville, Indiana; Mary M., wife of Charles Hineman, of Delaware county; Melvina, wife of George Swallow, of Blountsville, Henry county ; Frankie C., wife of S. Hart, of Henry county; Harvey Preston, a farmer of Delaware county; Grover C., also a farmer in Delaware county.
The early life of John W. Wyne, until he was eighteen years of age was spent on a farm in Jefferson county, and in the meantime his train- ing for life was both practical and theoretical, divided between work on the homestead and attendance in the district schools. At the age of eighteen, he moved with his parents to Decatur county, and lived at home for a number of years. When he was twenty-one his father died, and as the oldest son, it became necessary for him to take charge of affairs, and assist his mother in the rearing of the younger children ; thus he lived at home until he was twenty-seven, and after that worked on farms at monthly wages until thirty-two years of age. On Septem- ber 20, 1900, Mr. Wyne married Clara B. Logan, who was born in Rush county, Indiana, May 19, 1865, a daughter of Thomas Logan, and was educated in the common schools of her native locality. The first year and a half after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wyne lived on the farm of her parents. Then for three and a half years they rented a farm, and in September, 1905, came to Clear Creek township, where they bought the seventy acres known as the Pownell Farm. Under their vigorous management they have brought this place into a high state of cultivation, have improved it in many ways, and it is now returning to them large dividends in the annual crops and products. Mr. and Mrs. Wyne are members of the Baptist church, having membership in a church in Rush county. In politics, Mr. Wyne is a Democrat, and a man whose support is always given to progressive movements and undertakings.
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FRED KAPP. The progressive farm enterprise of the younger gen- eration in Huntington county is well illustrated in the case of Fred Kapp of Clear Creek township. Mr. Kapp has a farm of one hundred and twenty acres. His chief profits are derived from his high grade live stock to which he feeds all the varied products from the fields of his estate. Mr. Kapp has more than a local reputation as a breeder of thoroughbred Holstein cattle, and of fine Duroc hogs. His herd of cat- tle are as good as can be found anywhere in the county, and Mr. Kapp gets some fancy prices for his best stock. He has made a thorough study of farming and live stock industry, and though still less than thirty years of age, has won a position among the ablest farmers in his community.
Fred Kapp was born in Huntington county, September 9, 1884, a son of George and Anna (Lenbaker) Kapp, both of whom were natives of Germany, and came to the United States to a home in Huntington county, where they are still living in Clear Creek township. There were four children, Fred, George, Lena, and Lottie. Of these George is a resident in Fort Wayne.
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The old home farm in Rock Creek township was the scene of Fred Kapp's boyhood associations and memories, and his early education was acquired in the district schools and also in the Catholic school at Huntington. Until he was twenty-one years of age, his home was with his parents, and in the meantime he had profited by experience in all the work of the farm, so that he was well prepared for his career when it became necessary to do for himself. After one year spent at Hunt- ington, in the employ of the Erie Railroad Company, he engaged in farming, and in the course of half a dozen years has made himself a substantial factor in the agricultural activities of Clear Creek township.
On November 21, 1906, Mr. Kapp married Louisa Lind, who was a daughter of Conrad Lind, a prominent farmer in Huntington county. Mrs. Kapp was educated in the common schools. To their marriage have been born two children, Anna, aged five years; and Johnnie, aged two years. The family worship in the Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic church at Huntington. In politics, Mr. Kapp supports the democratic party, but has never been particularly interested in party affairs, though he is a public spirited citizen in every sense of the word and always ready to do his part in the advancement of his home com- munity.
JOSEPH LEYMAN. As one of the representative agriculturists and honored and influential citizens of Clear Creek township Mr. Leyman is well entitled to specific ·recognition in this history of Huntington county, and especially in view of the fact that he has been a resident of northeastern Indiana from the time of his birth and is a scion of one of the well known and sterling pioneer families of this favored section of the Hoosier commonwealth. He has marked the passing years with earnest and well ordered endeavor, has achieved success of definite order and is the owner of one of the well improved farm properties of Clear Creek township.
Mr. Leyman was born in the adjoining county of Whitley, Indiana, on the 3d of October, 1857, and the place of his nativity was his father's farm in Washington township. He is a son of Adam and Lucinda (Haynes) Leyman, both of whom were born and reared in Ohio, the respective families having been founded in the old Buckeye state in the pioneer period of its history. In their native state the parents of the subject of this review were wedded and upon their removal to Indiana they established their home on a pioneer farm in Whitley county, where they continued to reside for many years and where the father reclaimed and developed a productive farm. In the latter years of his life Adam Leyman removed to Huntington county and located near the little village of Goblesville, but he eventually returned to Whitley county, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1904, his wife having been summoned to eternal rest at the time when they were residing in Huntington county. Both were well known in this section of the state and they ever commanded secure vantage ground in popular confidence and esteem. Of their nine children seven are living, the surviving sons
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being William, Joseph and George; Mary, the wife of a Mr. Long, of Cadillac, Michigan; Sarah is the wife of Samuel Goble, a representative of the well known Goble family of Huntington county; Hannah is the wife of W. F. Brindley, of Los Angeles, California; and Sabina is the wife of Monroe Smith, of Whitley county, Indiana.
Joseph Leyman passed the period of his childhood and youth on the old homestead farm which was the place of his birth and he early began to aid in its work. He was accorded the advantages of the public schools of the locality, and his attendance was principally during the winter months, when his services were not demanded in connection with the operations of the home farm. He continued his school work until he was about eighteen years of age, and it is needless to say that the con- ditions and privileges that compassed him were such that he waxed strong in both mind and body, his being a wholesome discipline that well equipped him for the practical duties and responsibilities of life. He continued to be associated in the work and management of the home farm until he had attained to his legal majority, and he then rented the homestead place, in the operation of which he has signally prospered, as he brought to bear indefatigable energy and also the powers acquired through practical experience in connection with the great basic industries of farming and stock-growing. Later he was employed two years in connection with the operation of a saw mill in his native county, and in the meanwhile he had the good judgment to conserve carefully his financial resources, both those derived from his independent farm opera- tions and from his wages in the saw mill. With marked sagacity he finally invested his savings by purchasing a tract of eighty acres of land in Whitley county, and he improved this property, through the medium of which he conducted operations so successfully that he was enabled to clear himself of indebtedness. In 1886 he sold his farm in Whitley county, where he had continued to reside for the seven weeks after his marriage, and came to Huntington county. Here he rented, for two years, a farm in Jackson township, and at the expiration of this period he purchased his present fine landed estate, which comprises two hundred acres and which is in three separate farms, all in Clear Creek township. He has made the best of improvements on his property, is known as one of the most alert, enterprising and progressive agricultur- ists and stock-raisers of the county. Mr. Leyman gives special atten- tion to the raising of high-grade live stock, and on his farm are to be found at all times many fine horses. He is a man of impregnable integ- rity, earnest, sincere and unassuming, and he has the unqualified respect and esteem of the community in which he lives and in which he is known as a substantial and public-spirited citizen. Mr. Leyman has had no ambition for the honors or emoluments of public office, but he is found arrayed as a stanch supporter of the cause of the democratic party, so that the results of the national election of 1912 proved to him most gratifying. He holds membership in the United Brethren church at Goblesville and his wife is a member of the Dunkard church, in the faith of which she was reared.
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In the year 1884 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Leyman to Miss Elizabeth E. Buckwalter, who was born and reared in Clear Creek town- ship, this county, and who is a member of one of the old and honored families of this section of the state. Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Leyman the following pertinent data are given: Walter L. is mar- ried and is numbered among the prosperous farmers of Clear Creek town- ship; Bessie M. is the wife of Elmer Snyder, of Whitley county ; Robert E. is associated in the work of the home farm; Elsie M. is the wife of Jesse Lahr, of Clear Creek township; Albert L. is attending the district school near the parental home; and Lawrence, the youngest of the chil- dren, is seven years of age at the time of this writing, in 1914. Mr. Ley- man has given his children excellent educational advantages, and Rob- ert E. is a student at the Indiana Central College, Indianapolis.
JACOB EARL MCCAUGHEY. On a finely improved estate of eighty acres in Clear Creek township, Jacob E. McCaughey is most successfully· engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high-grade stock. He has resided in Clear Creek township during the entire period of his life, and here he commands the confidence and esteem of all who have known him from earliest youth. His homestead is the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 23, and it is located four miles north of Huntington. All the improvements and cultivation of the farm indicates the progressive farmer, and Mr. McCaughey has gained a reputation in that community as a stock raiser. His specialty is his thoroughbred Duroc hogs, and all his other live stock on the place is of high grade. Mr. McCaughey believes that the secret of success in farm- ing lies in having the best of everything in stock and equipment, and is a young man whose experience has already advanced him to a position of success, and whose future is one of exceptional promise.
Jacob E. McCaughey was born in Clear Creek township December 15, 1879, a son of Charles H. and Elizabeth (Mishler) McCaughey, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The McCaughey family has been identified with Huntington county since pioneer times. The paternal grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth A. (Hunt) McCaughey, came to this county when their son Charles was four years of age and spent the rest of their years here, their death occurring in the city of Hunting- ton. Charles H. McCaughey was reared in Clear Creek township, and in addition to a common school education was a student in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. By his marriage he was the father of four sons : Howard, a graduate of the Clear Creek high school and now a resident of Denver, Colorado, and married Agnes Collins; Robert C., a graduate of the Huntington high school, and of the Huntington Busi- ness University, is clerk and bookkeeper in the Master Mechanic's office of the Erie Railroad Company ; Jacob E. is next in line ; and Lloyd S., the youngest, graduated from the common schools, and also the Hunt- ington Business University.
The early life of Jacob E. McCaughey was spent on the old farm in Clear Creek township, and since leaving the common schools has given
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all his time and energy to farming. On May 1, 1901, Mr. McCaughey married Ida F. Flaugher, a daughter of Emery Flaugher. Mrs. McCaughey is also a graduate of the common schools. Three children were born to their union, as follows: Paul, born December 23, 1902; Mildred, born August 12, 1903; Dorothy, born August 23, 1908. The two oldest children are now in school. Mrs. McCaughey is a member of the Goblesville United Brethren Church. His fraternal affiliations are with Huntington Lodge No. 93, Knights of Pythias, and in politics he supports the Democratic party.
JAMES C. BIEBER. Farming with all its branches has been con- sidered a good line of business since the beginning of the world, and still offers a splendid field for the man of energy, perseverance and abil- ity. In this class stands James C. Bieber, of Clear Creek township. Mr. Bieber was for a number of years connected with railroad service, and a few years ago moved to his present farm, and has employed his ener- gies and experience with good results, being now one of the highly respected citizens of his community, and a farmer who makes the business pay.
James C. Bieber was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, May 13, 1871, a son of Milton and Martha (Stanley) Bieber. His father was born at Allentown, Pennsylvania, in March, 1843, and the mother was born in New York State in 1846. She was a daughter of Chauncey Stanley, who brought his family to Fort Wayne, Indiana, during the early days, their journey being made by way of the Wabash and Erie Canal. His home was in Fort Wayne until his death. Milton Bieber was living in the state of Pennsylvania, during the war, and enlisted from that state in the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, seeing three months of active service, and after the war he was employed by the United States government as a bridge carpenter. Somewhat later he moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where for many years he was engaged in the carriage building. After coming to Fort Wayne, Milton Bieber was married and about 1882 moved to Huntington county, locating on the Taylor farm, south of the city. There his enterprise was directed to dairying for about eight years, after which the business was continued on the J. G. Amiss farm until his removal to Clear Creek township, where he had his home until 1911, and since then has lived retired in the city of Huntington. There were three sons in the family: J. C. Bieber; H. S. Bieber, now foreman of the shoe factory at Huntington, and Hugh E., who is also an employe in the shoe factory.
Mr. J. C. Bieber spent the first eleven years of his life in his native city of Fort Wayne. During that time his education was begun in the old Washington Street school, and was supplemented by attendance at the public schools of Huntington, after the family came to that city. On being ready to start out for himself Mr. Bieber became a conductor on the electric railway in Fort Wayne. In 1893 he entered the service of the Erie Railroad. In 1902 came his advancement to the position of engineer, and he drove an engine on that road up to 1905. In the
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latter year came his election to the office of city clerk of Huntington, and for four years he held that position and discharged his duties with efficiency and credit. On retiring from the office of city clerk Mr. Bieber moved out to the farm in Clear Creek township, where he has prospered and has been pleasantly situated ever since.
In June, 1907, Mr. Beiber married Ethel Myres, of Gardner, Kansas. They are the parents of two daughters : Isabelle A., aged five years and Catherine V., aged four years. Fraternally Mr. Bieber is affiliated with Amathy Lodge No. 483, A. F. & A. M., Huntington Chapter No. 27, R. A. M .; and Huntington Council No. 51 R. & S. M. He also is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and his politics is republican.
ROBERT T. BROWN. One of the fine country homes of Huntington county which for years has given a distinctive character of prosperity and well ordered enterprise to the country life of this section is the Brown homestead in Section 7 of Clear Creek township. It has for seventy years been known as the Brown farm, and throughout this time no name has been associated more closely with the agricultural and stock raising activities of Clear Creek than that of Brown. The family was established in this county about the beginning of the decade of the forties, and its members have always borne reputations for industry as well as for a high probity of character and intelligent and public spirited citizenship.
Robert T. Brown, who with his brother is now joint proprietor of the old Brown farm was born on the place where he now lives, Sep- tember 27, 1848. His parents were James and Ann (Taylor) Brown. His father was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, while the mother was a native of Derbyshire, England, coming to America when twenty-one years of age. After their marriage the parents lived in Albany, New York, and about 1841 or 1842 came to Indiana, locating on the farm in Clear Creek township which continued to be their home until death called them from their mortal duties. The father was for several years a justice of the peace, and a man honored for his character and abilities. There were seven children altogether, including: Wil- liam H., John T., Sarah (wife of Steve Dunton) and Robert.
Robert T. Brown was reared on the old homestead, and was given an education much superior to that accorded to the average country boy of his time. After attending the district schools he was a student in the South Whitley Seminary, and in the Methodist school at Alliance, Ohio. His career started as a teacher, and he was master of schools in Hunt- ington county, taught three terms in Ohio, three terms in Iowa, and three in Kansas. Finally giving up the work of the schoolroom he settled down to farming, and since his father's death he and his brother John bought the old homestead and now operate it together. The farm con- tains about four hundred acres.
Mr. Brown in politics is a republican, though he has never been a politician in any sense, and has confined his political efforts to casting
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his ballot regularly in the Republican interests as a rule, since he became of age. He and his brother have a very profitable enterprise in their farm, and raise and feed a large number of stock.
ELI BEGHTEL. Five miles north of Huntington on the Columbia City road is the "Haw Lane Farm." That is the home of Eli Beghtel and family. The Beghtels have been identified with Huntington county since pioneer times, and the present proprietor of Haw Lane Farm was born on the estate which he now occupies. For forty years he has been closely identified with the agricultural and civic and religious interests of his township, and he stands as one of the representative citizens of Clear Creek township.
Eli Beghtel was born March 1, 1853. His parents were Daniel and Mary A. (Cox) Beghtel, the former a native of Stark county, Ohio, and the state of Pennsylvania. Their marriage was celebrated in Stark county, and from there they moved to Allen county, Indiana, and in 1846 located on the farm where their son Eli was born. That farm was the home of the father throughout the rest of his life, and besides his labors in clearing and cultivating that place, he was known for his high character and worthy citizenship in other ways. The ground on which the United Brethren church in that neighborhood was built was donated by Daniel Beghtel and he was long an active factor in church affairs. His politics was republican. There were ten children, and six are yet living, as follows: Catherine, widow of John Sickafoose; Isaiah of Gobles- ville, Indiana; Joseph, who for twenty-four years was a minister in the United Brethren church and is now retired; Lydia, wife of James Lemon, of Columbia City; William, a farmer in Clear Creek township.
Eli Beghtel was reared on his present farm, and his birth occurred in the old log cabin, which was for several years the shelter of the family in this county. His attendance at the district schools was sup- plemented by two terms in the Roanoke Classical Seminary, and among his early independent efforts in the world of affairs was an experience as teacher for one term. He next applied himself to the carpenter's trade and followed it for several years. On December 10, 1876, Mr. Beghtel married Miss Sarah Wagner, who was born in Lancaster township of Huntington county, January, 1855. Her parents were Joseph and Mar- garet (Hildebrand) Wagner, and her father was an honored old resident of the county and for two terms served as commissioner. Mr. and Mrs. Beghtel have four children, Marjorie G., a graduate of the Clear Creek high school, for three years a teacher, and now the wife of Frank Dolby, who is assistant cashier of the Huntington Trust Company; Glenne Opal, a graduate of the Clear Creek high school, made a record in oro- torical contest and won several gold medals, and she is now the wife of Fred Mahoney ; Elden F., is a graduate of the Clear Creek high school and taught for three years, in the country schools, and is now one of the teachers in the college at University Heights, in Indianapolis, and mar- ried Flossie Marchant, of Whitley county, both having been students in the Indiana Central University ; Robin R. is a graduate of the common schools and is living at home.
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Mr. and Mrs. Beghtel arc members of the United Brethren church, and he has long been active in the society, and is a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Beghtel has long been an ardent supporter of the prohibition cause, and is one of the leading workers for that party in Huntington county. He has been a candidate on the prohibition ticket in county politics, and has served as a delegate both to state and national conventions. Mr. Beghtel's farm comprises one hundred acres, and hav- ing made farming his regular vocation for the past forty years, is re- garded as one of the most successful managers of land and its resources, in Huntington county.
JAMES A. THORNE. A lifelong resident of Huntington county, Mr. Thorne has followed in the quiet walks of agriculture, and is proprietor of the beautiful Woodlawn farm in Jackson township. While it has never been his ambition to make a conspicuous name in affairs, he has conscientiously and faithfully discharged the responsibilities which fall on every man, has looked after the welfare of his own household, has been active in church and community, and is a citizen entitled to and receiving the highest esteem.
James A. Thorne was born in Huntington township, November 27, 1865, a son of Henry and Sarah (Landis) Thorne. His father was born in Wayne county, and his mother in Darke county, Ohio, both came to Indiana when children, and they were married in Huntington county. The father was about seventeen years old when he came to this state. They are still living, and residents of the city of Huntington. Of their household of ten children, one died in infancy, and James is the oldest of those living, the others being mentioned as follows: Ephraim A., a farmer in Jackson township; Mary E., wife of Jacob A. Layman, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Ida E., wife of George Barrett, of Fort Wayne; Edward A., of Huntington; Cora E., wife of Charles A. Payne of Union township; Minnie E., wife of Charles Anderson of Huntington; Henry A., of Union township; Lilly E., wife of Francis Class of Huntington township.
Mr. James A. Thorne spent the first fifteen years of his life on a farm in Huntington township, and during that time was more or less regular in his attendance at the country schools. From Huntington township, the family moved to Jackson township, and since then all his citizenship and business activities have been centered in this locality. On March 23, 1893, Mr. Thorne married Miss Melissa Layman. Mrs. Thorne was born in Jackson township, a daughter of John Layman, an old and respected resident of the county, and her school advantages were similar to those enjoyed by her husband. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Thorne bought the farm on which they now live, known as Woodlawn farm, containing forty-nine highly cultivated acres. Mr. Thorne farms as he does everything else in life, with a quiet efficiency which gets result, and while not one of the richest citizens nor among the largest land owners has a comfortable prosperity which almost entirely represents the efforts and good management of himself and
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