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 39
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tial men of his day. Of the twelve children born to him and his wife, Henry Dinius is the only one surviving in 1913.
Henry Dinius was fifteen years of age when the family located per- manently in Huntington county, and conditions of his youth were such that his opportunities for schooling were very limited. It was by study at home that he gained most of his early knowledge, and by experience and observation, he has gained the equivalent of a practical education, and has seldom been at a disadvantage in his competition with his fellow men.
On December 16, 1858, Mr. Henry Dinius married Barbara Long, who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, July 29, 1834, and is the only one of twelve children living, whose parents were Henry and Elizabeth (France) Long. She was reared and educated in Ohio, and came with her father to Huntington county, in the spring of 1855. Three years later she married Mr. Dinius. To their marriage were born six children, and five are now living, as follows: Edwin S., deceased; Ereminda, wife of John Hartman; Clara, wife of Clinton Mayne, living in Cleveland, Ohio; Lydia, who graduated from the State University of Indiana, and is now superintendent in the normal school at Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Sum- ner, a resident of Jackson township, married for his first wife Miss Ever- sole, and for his second Mary Rupley ; Boyd S., who was first a teacher and now resides on the home farm with his father, and is married to Eva Smith. There are fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and altogether the family life of Mr. Dinius has been a most happy one, and at the age of fourscore he is surrounded with his descendants, wlio pay him all the veneration due to age and long and worthy years.
Mr. Dinius has been a member of the United Brethren church since 1857, and when he was stronger, he gave much attention to church af- fairs, having always been a liberal supporter of his denomination. He was old enough to vote when the Republican party came into existence, and has been a life long supporter of that political division. His stand- ing as a citizen and as a business man has always been such that his fellow citizens have never failed to endorse his candidacy, and he served as county commissioner of Huntington county for six years. At the first election, his majority was twenty-five in the district, and at the second election, he had sixty-nine votes to spare. Mr. Dinius has owned three hundred and twenty acres of land in Huntington county, but at the pres- ent time his farm contains only ninety-seven and three-quarters acres.
HUBERT C. CHENNEOUR. There are in every community men of great force of character, who by reason of their capacity for leadership be- come recognized as foremost citizens and bear a most important part in public affairs. Though one of the younger citizens of Huntington county, Hubert C. Chenneour is prominently identified with the locality of Roanoke, where he is engaged in several local enterprises, and is an ex- clerk and treasurer of the village. Outside of his private affairs, he has found time to champion every movement for the public good, and has done as much, if not more, than any other individual to boost develop- ment and general improvement along all lines at Roanoke. Vol. II-20
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Hubert C. Chenneour, was born at Torquay, England, February 16, 1881, a son of William M. and Mary A. (Gullett) Chenneour. The family migrated to the United States, landing in New York City on June 30, 1883. The father lived in New York one year, and while there took out his first naturalization papers. From there he moved to Norwich, Connecticut, two years later went to St. Louis, and after half a year there lived in Indianapolis three years and in Chicago six years. The father died in Chicago, and his widow and other members of the family came to Huntington county in 1897. The mother now resides in Roanoke.
Hubert C. Chenneour received his education in the public schools of Indianapolis and Chicago, and spent one year in the study of pharmacy at Valparaiso University. He engaged in the drug business, April 17, 1897, in partnership with E. J. Roberts. After eighteen months he bought out his partner, and the business has since been conducted un- der the name M. Chenneour & Sons. Mr. Chenneour is secretary of the Roanoke Drain Tile Company. His brother Frederick is manager of the Drain Tile Company, and both have been prominent in upbuilding an industry which is one of the most important sources of prosperity for this community.
In politics Mr. Chenneour is a Progressive. He has proved a valuable officer as clerk and treasurer of the village of Roanoke. He is a member of the United Brethren church, is affiliated with Roanoke Lodge No. 195, A. F. & A. M .; with Little River Lodge No. 275, I. O. O. F., and has served as recording secretary fifteen consecutive terms ; belongs to Camp No. 9147 of the Modern Woodmen of America; and the Little River Valley Lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose at Huntington.
JOHN K. SMITH. Since he was four years of age, John K. Smith has lived in Indiana, after reaching manhood took up the responsibilities of life as a farmer, and for a number of years has enjoyed a reputation in Jackson township, as one of the most progressive and successful men in his vocation, at the same time being a citizen who will readily turn aside from his private interests to help in community matters.
John K. Smith was born in Morrow county, Ohio, March 20, 1863, a son of Henry S. and Sarah (Walker) Smith. Henry S. Smith was born in Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Walker, and soon afterwards they came to Morrow county, Ohio, where they were farming people. From Ohio, in 1864, the family settled in Huntington county, Indiana, acquiring land in Union township, where the father spent all the rest of his years. He was a quiet, unassuming man, and an upright citizen, and became the father of eight children, five of whom are now living. Be- sides John K. these children are: Jerre W. Smith of Union township; Julia, wife of William Fogwell, of Allen county, Indiana; Ephriam Smith, of the city of Huntington; and Henry W. of Allen county.
John K. Smith was reared on a farm in Huntington county, and attended the common schools until he was about eighteen years of age. After he left school there was never any lack of opportunity for hard work, and for some time he made himself useful about a saw mill, and
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from an early age regularly followed a plow and performed all the varied duties of an Indiana farmer.
On November 6, 1883, occurred his marriage with Miss Essie McFad- den, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, February 28, 1862, and was given the advantages of the schools, and also of a good home. She came to Indiana with her parents in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Smith lived in La Fayette township of Allen county, and in 1892 moved to Jackson township. There the combined industry and management of husband and wife gradually brought them into a position of substantial prosperity, and they owned a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres, which Mr. Smith sold in 1913. He then bought another farın of 120 acres in Jack- son township, where his son lives. In March, 1914, he moved to Roanoke, where he is living retired. To their marriage have been born two chil- dren : Erwin C., born January 6, 1885, a farmer in Jackson township, and who married May Breckenridge ; Gola Vera, born December 27, 1892, graduated from the common schools and the Roanoke high school. Mr. Smith and family worship in the Methodist Episcopal church at Roan- oke, of which he is one of the trustees, and is treasurer of the Sunday school. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica, and in politics was a regular republican up to the campaign of 1912, then he cast his influence and vote for the progressive cause.
ERNEST E. VAN ALSTINE. In the extent of his general business enterprise and in his qualification as a citizen and a man, Ernest E. Van Alstine is one of the progressive leaders in Huntington county, and well known as a banker and a farmer, whose home is in Jackson township.
Mr. Van Alstine was born in Yellowhead township, in Kankakee county, Illinois, August 7, 1866, a son of G. W. and Mary E. (Kile) Van Alstine. His father, born in Knox county, Ohio, located in Illinois in 1837, where the Kiles entered land from the government. In 1893 Mr. Van Alstine and his father moved to White county, Indiana, and the parents still live there. Their enterprise was chiefly responsible for installing the electric light plant in Monticello, and during their eight years of residence there, the father was postmaster of Monticello for four years and Ernest E. Van Alstine was deputy three years.
Coming to Huntington county in 1903, Mr. Van Alstine bought three hundred and forty acres on Reserve Number Forty-Eight, in Jackson township, and has since successfully prosecuted a large industry as a general farmer and stockman.
Mr. Van Alstine married Cora E. Pulver of Lake county, Indiana. She was born in West Creek township of that county, and her father was born, reared and died on the same farm. Before her marriage she was a successful and popular teacher in Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Van Alstine have three children: Okes P., a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and now a student of agriculture at the Purdue University ; Sula E., a graduate of the Roanoke high school; and Alton E., aged thir- teen. Mary J., born in 1905, died in June, 1906, in infancy.
Mr. Van Alstine and family are members of the United Brethren
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church. He is senior warden of Roanoke Lodge, No. 105, A. F. & A. M. Outside of his farming enterprise he is identified with financial affairs, as a stock holder in the Roanoke State Bank, and also in the White County Loan & Trust Company, of which his father was president. His father made a record of gallant service as a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer infantry during the Civil war, and was out for three years.
LINCOLN BOLINGER. Since the conclusion of his school days, Lincoln Bolinger has never claimed to be anything else but a practical farmer, and in this line of vocation has succeeded to a degree which classes him among the best representatives of that tried and ancient business in all Huntington county. Mr. Bolinger has been a hard worker, and much of his success is due to the fact, that he has depended on his own efforts, rather than upon those of others, having never flinched from the per- formance of duties, however toilsome or disagreeable they might have been. The Bolinger farm is regarded as one of the best in northeastern Huntington county. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres, one hundred and ten acres of which lie in La Fayette township of Allen county, and the rest in Jackson township of Huntington county. For a number of years, Mr. Bolinger has had particular suc- cess as a stock raiser, and his attention has been divided between the raising of high-grade Belgian horses, short horn cattle, Duroc hogs and Oxford sheep. He has a large acreage, and keeps it all in the highest state of improvement.
Lincoln Bolinger was born in Defiance county, Ohio, September 6, 1861, a son of George and Lavina (Morris) Bolinger. His father was born in Ohio, but was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Morris whose native home was Greene county of that state. In 1850 they came to Indiana, locating in Fort Wayne. George Bolinger is remembered as an old builder of canal boats, and constructed the first steamboat operated on the Wabash and Erie Canal. In 1863 he located in Jackson township, but still continued to build boats for use on the canal. The last sample of his work as a boat builder was the R. C. Ebersole, named in honor of his old friend, a druggist of Roanoke, Indiana. With the rapid decline of traffic on the canal and the eventful destruction of that old water- way, Mr. Bolinger was without a vocation and in that situation he turned to farming. He bought a tract of land located on the prairie, and owing to a defective title lost it, after which he bought a farm where his son Lincoln now lives. He was a stanch republican, and an upright cit- izen, but seldom appeared in politics. He was the father of eight children, five sons and three daughters, and those still living besides Lincoln are: John, of Toledo; George W. of Gas City, Grant county, Indiana; Joseph, of Ionia, Michigan; and Lydia, wife of James Reed of Fort Wayne.
Lincoln Bolinger was two years old when the family moved to Indiana, and was reared on the old homestead in Jackson township. The winter months from the time he was six years of age, until he was about eighteen
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were spent in attendance at school, and the first term of school was taught in a house constructed of hewed logs, A. C. Huffman having been the teacher of that old district school. In the meantime he had plenty of opportunity for exercising and developing his muscular strength as well as encouraging mental growth, by work on the farm, and his business in life was practically ready for him when he left school. At the age of nineteen he established a home of his own, by his marriage to Sarah M. Saunders, a daughter of Jacob Saunders. She was born and reared at Roanoke, Indiana. Of the four children born to that marriage three are now living : Erwin, of White county; Charles, of Fort Wayne; and Rosa, wife of Elias Carpenter, of Noble county. The mother of those children died in 1888. Mr. Bolinger later married Martha M. Moses, of Allen county, Indiana. The five children by this union are: Zelma, wife of William Norris, of Jackson township; Lura, wife of John Hine, of Whitley county; Arthur, who is a farmer with his father, and who married Jane Powell; Florence, who is unmarried, and in high school at Roanoke; and Bertha, who lives at home.
As to politics, Mr. Bolinger supports the republican party, and at the present time is serving on the advisory board for Jackson township, an office he has held for the past ten years. He has the complete con- fidence of his neighbors and fellow citizens and is a man whose character and career are both above reproach.
PRESTON B. SETTLEMYRE. The Settlemyre family has been identified with Jackson township since 1860. The fundamental vocation of the various members of the family has been farming, but they have long identified themselves prominently with public affairs and also with vari- ous lines of business. The father of Preston B. Settlemyre was a soldier of the Union army, and the latter has served as trustee of Jackson town- ship, and is now postmaster at Roanoke.
Preston B. Settlemyre was born in Warren county, Ohio, June 5, 1857, a son of Charles W. and Amanda A. (Hathaway) Settlemyre. The parents were likewise natives of Warren county, where they were reared, educated and married. In the fall of 1860 they brought their little family to Huntington county locating on a farm in Jackson township, which continued to be their home until they passed from life. In 1862 the father enlisted in the Seventy-Fifth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, went to the front as a private, and carried a musket as a Union soldier until the close of hostilities. Returning an honored veteran he resumed his work as a farmer in Jackson township and died there in March, 1876. His widow passed away two years later in 1878. They were quiet people, and most of their interests were within the limits of their own homestead. Their children were five in number, as follows: Pres- ton B .; William E. of Roanoke; Stella M., wife of Jacob Vollmar of Union township; Eva, wife of Ed W. Young of Union township; and Lettie, of Markle.
Preston B. Settlemyre was reared on the farm in Jackson township, from the age of three years, and his boyhood was spent very much in
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the manner of country boys during the sixties and seventies, when work on the farm was slack, during the winter months he went to the district schools, but from an early age had his own share of duties to perform and was well trained in habits of industry. He continued to attend school at intervals until he was sixteen, and then worked at home on the farm until his mother's death.
In May, 1878, Mr. Settlemyre married Nancy M. Arick. She was born and reared on a farm in Jackson township, and attended the com- mon schools. Mr. and Mrs. Settlemyre have the following children : Charles A., who graduated from the common schools and married Lizzie Van Dine; Tillie M., a graduate of the local schools and now the wife of N. L. Highland of Roanoke ; Melissa M., a graduate of the common schools and the wife of Bayliss Carter of Roanoke. After his marriage Mr. Settlemyre worked industriously and with considerable prosperity as a farmer up to 1891, in which year he moved to Roanoke and has actively identified himself with several lines of enterprise in this city. At the present time he is president of the Roanoke Drain Tile Company. In public affairs he gave service as treasurer of the town board of Roanoke, and was one of the town trustees, also served as trustee of Jackson town- ship from 1904 to 1908, and on July 1, 1912, was appointed postmaster at Roanoke, an office which he now fills to the entire satisfaction of the patrons of that office. In politics, Mr. Settlemyre is a republican. He and his family worship in the United Brethren church at Roanoke, of which he is one of the trustees. Fraternally his affiliations are with Little River Lodge No. 275, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, and with the Tent No. 124, of the Knights of the Maccabees, in which he has passed the different chairs. Mr. Settlemyre, in many ways, has proved himself a valuable factor in his community.
DAVIS AUGUSTUS KLINE. As a breeder and raiser of fine live stock Davis A. Kline has a reputation far beyond the limits of his home township of Jackson. The Evergreen Stock Farm in that township is a model place of its kind and its improvements and adaptations to the uses of modern stock raising are the results of an exceptional degree of enterprise on the part of Mr. Kline. He began his career without any special capital and only such training as has been supplied during his boyhood years spent on a farm, and by thrifty management has become one of the most prosperous citizens of the community. The Evergreen Stock Farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land, located in section 29, seven miles northeast of Huntington.
Davis A. Kline was born in Noble county, Indiana, July 31, 1857, a son of William and Margaret (Crumby) Kline. His father was born in Pennsylvania, and his mother in eastern Ohio, and they were married in the latter state and came to Indiana, locating in Noble county. The father at Ligonier followed his trade as a buggy and wagon maker. Later he bought a farm in Whitley county, and spent his last years in that vicinity. His death occurred in August, 1902. For many years he had been one of the active workers in the Church of God. His wife
DANIEL FAHL
MRS. MARY DUMBAULD JOHN FAHL EDWARD FAHL
MRS. ESTHER REBER
WILLIAM FAHL MRS. SUSAN JOHNSON
HENRY FAIIL GEORGE W. FAHL
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passed away in 1887. They had a family of seven sons and two daugh- ters. Of the sons, John W. Kline gave up his life while in the service of his country as a Union soldier. The children still living are: Adam H., of Peru, Indiana ; William T., of Huntington; Abraham, a resident of Goshen; Davis A .; Alvin B., of Peru; Lavina, wife of Theodore Wol- ley, of Huntington.
Davis A. Kline was born in Noble county, was brought to Whitley county in 1858, when about one year of age, was reared on a farm and at- tended district school, and was also a student in the Columbia city high school. At one time he intended to follow educational work and had a certificate qualifying him for teaching, but instead took up the work of the farm, and for more than thirty years has followed along the same line with distinctive success.
In November, 1884, Mr. Kline married Ella Christian, a daughter of Daniel Christian of Jackson township. To that union was born one daughter, Wilda, a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and a graduate in music from Valparaiso University and is now the wife of Jonathan Hacker, who is professor of mathematics at Sioux Falls, North Dakota. Mr. Kline's first wife died in 1886, and he then married Alice Beck, a daughter of German Beck. To that marriage were born three chil- dren : Mary A., a graduate of the Jackson township high school, and the wife of Royal Simons of Jackson township; Bessie M., a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and the wife of Blythe Delp, of Huntington ; and Arthur, a graduate of the Roanoke high school; after which he took the civil service examination and is now city mail carrier of Hunting- ton. The mother of this second family died February 11, 1899. Mr. Kline's present wife, whom he married in 1902, was Austa Simons of Jackson township. She was reared in Jackson township, graduated from the Roanoke high school, was liberally educated in music, and taught that art previous to her marriage. Mr. Kline and family have membership in the United Brethren church at Zion. In politics he is a Repblican and has served as trustee of Jackson township by two elections, his total service in that office having continued for six and a half years.
Besides his home farm, Mr. Kline owns sixty-five acres in section seventeen in the same township. He is one of the directors in the State Bank of Roanoke, and is president of the Roanoke Creamery Company. In live stock raising he has made a special success in the breeding of thoroughbred Percheron horses, Chester White hogs, and Cotswold sheep. His success has readily justified his high position among the farmers and stock raisers of Jackson township.
HENRY FAHL. A career of exceptional enterprise and public spirited relationship with the community has been that of Henry Fahl, who is a native son of Huntington county, belongs to a family which was established here in pioneer times, and is the owner and proprietor of the old Fahl homestead, which under his management has been in- creased to two hundred acres, situated three miles east of Huntington on the Union Center Gravel Road. Mr. Fahl's prosperity is almost
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entirely due to his individual efforts, and what he has he has made for himself.
Henry Fahl was born on the old farm in Union township, July 23, 1849, a son of George and Mary Fahl. The Fahl family came originally from Germany, and George Fahl was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, of which his wife was likewise a native. They were married in that county, and settled in Huntington county, Indiana, in 1841. Their location in Union township entitled them to distinction as pio- neers, and they bore their full share of the hardships and responsibilities connected with living in that vicinity at that time. George Fahl died on the old farm in 1873, and his widow survived until July, 1893. They were the parents of nine children, and the seven living at the present writing are: Edward, of Cass county; William, of Hunting- ton City ; Dan, of Markle; John of Miami county ; and Susan and Mary, both residents in the city of Huntington.
Henry Fahl was reared on the old farm, was educated in the district schools, and from his boyhood experience as a farmer, was naturally introduced to the career in which he has made a substantial success. Mr. Fahl has never taken upon himself the responsibility of family life, and has done much for other members of the family. He has long been an active worker in the Reformed church, having served as an elder for fifteen years. His politics is Democratic, but he has never aspired to public honors, and has never held any office of importance.
EPHRIAM F. SMITH. Among the old families of Huntington county the Smiths have had a permanent place from the time of development immediately following the pioneer era. For more than sixty years their lives have been led along the paths of quiet industry and pros- perity, and as farmers and good citizens they have done their full share for the enrichment and improvement of community life. Ephriam F. Smith, the successor of both his grandfather and his father in the ownership of the old homestead in Jackson township, has long had a prominent part in affairs in that locality and since 1908 has held the office of trustee of Jackson township.
Mr. Smith was born on the farm where he now lives, August 8, 1865. His parents were Jacob J. and Elizabeth A. (Hoover) Smith. His father, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, a son of De Walt T. Smith, came to Huntington county at the age of fourteen in 1852, his father locating on the farm above referred to as the Smith homestead. Grandfather DeWalt T. Smith lived there until his death, and the estate then passed into the ownership of Jacob J. Smith, who was its proprietor until 1901, in which year he moved into Roanoke, where he still resides. His wife died in Roanoke in June, 1912. There were six children, four sons and two daughters in the family, mentioned as follows: Ephriam F .; James C., deceased; Ella, wife of William B. Hughes of Jackson town- ship; B. H. Smith, superintendent of public schools at New Haven, Indiana, and a graduate of the Valparaiso University with the degree Bachelor of Science; Rolla is the wife of Bert E. Mitchell, who is an
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