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 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
JULIUS H. WERLING. Success is the normal prerogative of such valiant persons as this well known and highly esteemed citizen of Hunt- ington township, and he is not only a prosperous and representative farmer of the county that has been his home since his childhood days but he has also shown his versatility in other directions, as he has been a successful contractor in the drilling of wells and in the construction of brick street pavements. Energy, circumspection, integrity and per- severance have marked his career and have enabled him to wrest from the hands of fate a generous prosperity, his advancement having been dependent entirely upon his own efforts, and his fidelity, steadfast pur- pose and genial personality have won him the good will of all who know him, as well as a wide circle of staunch friends. Such citizens as Mr. Werling eminently merit specific recognition in this publication.
1207829
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY 439
Julius H. Werling was born in the city of Tiffin, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 5th of September, 1862, and is a son of Henry and Mary E. (Walley) Werling, both members of stanch pioneer families of the old Buckeye state, the father having been born in Seneca county, Ohio, on the 7th of April, 1834, and the mother having been born in the same county, on the 8th of August, 1839. In 1866 Henry Werling came with his family to Huntington county, Indiana, and he established a home on the farm still in his name. His son, Julius H., owns a farm of 103 acres about four miles east of the city. His financial resources were very lim- ited and he was able to make only a partial payment when he purchased his farm, the land having been but partially improved. He did not live to retrieve himself from the burden of debt, as his death occurred in 1873, his wife having survived him by a number of years and having been devoted and earnest in keeping her family together after the loss of the husband and father. Of their seven children six are living : Matilda, who was born October 21, 1859, is the widow of Nicholas Hart- man; Mary, who was born June 11, 1861, is the wife of Jacob Rath- gives; Julius H., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Loretta E., who was born June 10, 1864, died on the 9th of January, 1871; Mary, who is unmarried, was born September 9, 1866; Anna, who was born March 29, 1868, is the wife of William Brodrich, and they have five children ; Martha E., who was born August 26, 1871, is the wife of John Helvie.
Mrs. Werling resides with her son. She was educated in the log cabin school, a subscription school, and she well remembers the slab seats and has written, with the old goose quill pens. She also well remembers the teacher set the copy. The text-books were the old Webster spelling book and McGuffey readers. She was confirmed at the age of fourteen by the bishop of the northern bishopric of Ohio. Mr. Werling's grand- father, Nicholas Werling, emigrated from Belgium to the United States and the original spelling of the name was "Verling."
Julius H. Werling was a child of four years at the time of the family removal from Ohio to Huntington county, Indiana, and was but ten years old when his father died. As the eldest child and only son he thereafter assumed at an early age much of the responsibility of provid- ing for his widowed mother and the younger children, and it stands to his lasting credit that his faithfulness and earnest application proved adequate to clear eventually the indebtedness on the home farm and to compass the development and improvement of the property, which under his effective management placed the family in comfortable circumstances. He has never regretted the hardships and toils of this period of his life, and though his early educational advantages were limited to an irregular attendance in the little log schoolhouse that stood on the site of one of his present substantial barns, he has fully made good this handicap by means of well ordered reading and study in later years and by the valuable lessons gained through active association with men and affairs, his actual school work having ceased when he was sixteen years of age. The excellent farm which he largely developed and which is
-
440
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
now one of the well improved places in Huntington township, is owned by him, and he gives his personal supervision to the various details of its operation. In 1899 Mr. Werling initiated his work in the drilling of water wells, and in this line he has controlled a substantial business, as he has driven many wells in this and other counties of this part of the state. He has also been a successful contractor in the building of street pavements of brick, and he constructed the first brick pavement of this type on Williams Street, Huntington, Indiana. In this field of con- tracting enterprise he was formerly associated with Henry Draper, under the firm name of Draper & Werling. A man of utmost probity and uprightness, he is well known and held in unequivocal confidence and esteem in the county that has been his home from his childhood to the present, and it may consistently be said that his circle of friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances. A stalwart Democrat in his political allegiance and taking loyal interest in all that concerns the general welfare of the community, Mr. Werling has been more or less active and influential in connection with public affairs of a local order, though he has never sought or held political office. He is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagle, Eyrie No. 823, and is a communicant of the Catholic church of Sts. Peter & Paul, at Huntington, as is also his sister Mary, who presides over the domestic economies of the home, neither of them having married.
BALTZER EISENHAUER. The late Baltzer Eisenhauer, during the many years in which he was identified with the business and financial life of Huntington, so forcibly impressed his personality upon the various lines of activity in which he was engaged that his influence will con- tinue to be felt for a long period to come. As merchant, farmer, banker and real estate owner he showed himself a business man of rare attain- ments and executive and organizing powers, while in fraternal, church and religious life he was likewise a dominant figure in his community. His rise from a poor German emigrant lad to a man of wealth and station in a community in which men of strength and force were not lacking, contained all the elements characteristic of self-made manhood, and aside from his vast material possessions he left to his children the priceless heritage of an honored and honorable name.
Baltzer Eisenhauer was born September 4, 1835, in Birgengoerdt, Rheinpholtz, Germany, a son of John Michael and Catharine (Engel) Eisenhauer, poor but honorable people of that community. He received but scant educational advantages and was early apprenticed to the trade of cooper, which, upon his arrival in the United States, at the age of eighteen years, was his sole capital, outside of his self-confidence, his ambition and his indomitable spirit. He secured employment at his trade in and around New York City for a short time, but was not satisfied with his surroundings and accordingly sought a new field for his activi- ties further west. For several years he worked at his vocation in Rochester, New York, and then went to Frederick, Maryland, where he was shortly joined by Theresa Holtzinger and their marriage followed
13. Eisenhauer!
441
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
Mr. Eisenhauer then secured employment with a lumber company, and subsequently engaged in the grocery business. The outbreak of the Civil war found him engaged in the latter line, and in the early part of the struggle he met with great success in handling army supplies from his place of business.
It had always been his intention, however, to locate in the West, and when opportunity offered in 1862 started with his brother Joseph from their Maryland home. It had been the intention of the brothers to go much further west than Indiana, but fate decreed otherwise. Seated on the forward deck of an old canal packet, about one day's travel out of Fort Wayne, Baltzer Eisenhauer suddenly remarked to those about him : "Where are we? This country looks awfully good to me. Here is where I get off." It was characteristic of the man that, though not of an impulsive nature, a decision once made was made for good. So favor- ably impressed was he with the country that the little town of Huntington, as it was then, became his stopping place and continued to be his home ever thereafter. The brother soon became dissatisfied with conditions as he found them and returned to Frederick, Maryland, much to his later regret.
The first of Mr. Eisenhauer's ventures in Huntington was a store in which he handled a general line of merchandise, but after several years he disposed of this enterprise to become associated with Henry Drover, another pioneer, in the manufacture of wagon spokes, the factory being located on the south side of Little river. Subsequently Mr. Eisenhauer sold out to his partner and purchased a part of the Chief Engleman farm west of the city, which still continues in the family name. After five years as a farmer, however, he returned to Huntington and once more plunged into its business life, opening a grocery, at the present site of the McCaffrey store.
Mr. Eisenhauer's advent into financial circles occurred about 1883, when, with William McGrew, he organized the First National Bank. He was elected to a vice presidency therein, and to his keen business ability, his foresight, acumen and judgment, much of the success of that institution is accredited. Prior to this time Mr. Eisenhauer had served his community officially as a member of the board of trustees of Hunting- ton township for two terms. In land speculations, he accumulated con- siderable real estate and enlarged thus his fortunes. From Wilson Smith, Mr. Eisenhauer purchased an entire square of property faced on the west by North Poplar street, and at the corner of Poplar and George streets, he erected what in those days was one of the palatial homes of the city. He platted the remainder and realized well on the investment, as that section of the city, as he had foreseen, developed rapidly soon afterwards. He retired from active business life in 1900 when he retired from the bank.
Perhaps for forty years, Baltzer Eisenhauer was president of the St. Joseph Society of the St. Peter and Paul's church. In later years the duties of the office were attended by the vice president, but the honor of election as president continued a source of great pleasure to Mr.
442
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
Eisenhauer, who otherwise took active interest in the affairs of his church. A number of years ago, the aged resident suffered with a growing affliction of rheumatism. He was of large physical proportions and complications developed. In his later years he suffered with aeute attaeks of heart trouble, one of which was the immediate eause of his death, which oeeurred November 19, 1910. He remained conscious to the last and was surrounded by his family when the end came. Funeral serviees were conducted at St. Peter and Paul's church, and interment was made at Mount Calvary, where hosts of friends and acquaintances gathered to do honor to the memory of one who at all times was known to be one of his community 's most foreeful men, a man steadfast in his confidenecs and loyal in his friendships. It will be many years ere his place in the city's life ean be filled.
Mrs. Eisenhauer preceded her husband to the grave by some fifteen years. She had been a faithful and loving wife, sharing his adversities and struggles in the early years, and assisting him to the sueeess that came to him in after life. Four children survive: Miss Catherine, an invalid, who has always resided at home; Mrs. John Neuer, the widow of one of Huntington's former prominent business men and popular citi- zens, and John and Andrew J., merchants of this eity. Mr. Eisenhauer's brother, Joseph, remains a resident of Frederiek, Maryland, while a sister, Mrs. Catharine Sautter, lives at Washington, D. C.
ANDREW J. EISENHAUER. The thriving city of Huntington has be- come one of the most flourishing and enterprising industrial and eom- mercial eenters of its part of the Hoosier state, and its prestige in the business world has been gained through the activities of such men as Andrew J. Eisenhauer, who belongs to that elass of representative Ameri- cans who, while gaining individual success, also promote the public pros- perity. Mr. Eisenhauer is a native son of Huntington, born December 12, 1869, the second son living of Baltzer and Theresa (Holtzinger) Eisenhauer, natives of Germany. A review of the father, than whom Huntington has had no more prominent or more highly respected eitizen, will be found on another page of this work.
Andrew J. Eisenhauer was granted exeellent educational advantages in his youth, attending first the parochial school of St. Peter and Paul's Catholie ehureh and subsequently spending three years in the University of Notre Dame, at South Bend, Indiana. Upon completing his studies, he returned to Huntington and embarked in the book and wall paper business, which he continued sueeessfully for three years. Mr. Eisen- hauer's next connection was with August Koenig, with whom he learned the jeweler's business, and following this he beeamc interested in the shoe business with Nicholas Fisher, with whom he remained twelve years. Mr. Eisenhauer then formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, the late "Johnny" Neuer, and the shoe business of Neuer & Eisenhauer enjoyed a sueeessful life until Mr. Neuer passed away, November 16, 1909, at which time Mr. Eisenhauer purchased both the shoe and jewelry establishments and is now the sole owner thereof, operating the two
443
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
in conjunction. Mr. Eisenhauer is the owner of a substantial brick business house, 20x122 feet, and three stories in height, the first and second stories being used by Mr. Eisenhauer's business, while the third is occupied by the dry goods merchants, John Frash & Company. He carries a large and well-selected stock of boots and shoes, as well as a complete line of high-grade watches, clocks, jewelry and silverware, and the same straightforward and honorable methods that brought the business into prominence and public favor continue to be maintained. Mr. Eisenhauer has been connected with his present business over a long period of years, through its various changes, and his able management, keen discrimination and executive ability have contributed largely to its success. He holds an enviable position in the esteem of his fellow men by reason of his irreproachable life, as well as by his business ability and pronounced success.
On May 16, 1900, Mr. Eisenhauer was united in marriage witlı Miss Helena Martin, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Roush) Martin, natives of Germany and old residents of the city of Huntington, where the family settled more than a half a century ago. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Eisenhauer, namely : Helen M., Andrew Baltzer and Adeline Marguerite. Mr. Eisenhauer is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the St. Joseph's Society. His religious con- nection is with St. Peter and Paul's Catholic church, to the success and growth of which he has given his co-operation and financial aid. The handsome family residence on Poplar street is presided over with dignity and grace by Mrs. Eisenhauer, a lady of many social attainments.
JACOB W. GESAMAN. This well known and highly honored citizen of Huntington township has maintained his residence in this county for nearly forty years and here has achieved definite and worthy success through his zealous and effective association with the industries of agri- culture, stock-growing and horticulture. He is the owner of the River- side Fruit Farm, which has been developed and improved by him during the long years of his residence in Huntington township, and, as the name implies, the place is devoted largely to the propagation of fruit, in which field of enterprise Mr. Gesaman has been specially prominent and suc- cessful. His farm comprises 123 acres of most fertile and productive land, and he has utilized the same for diversified agriculture and stock- growing as well as in the development of his fine orchards and to the raising of the best varieties of the smaller fruits suited to the soil and climate. He is one of the representative citizens of the county that has long been his home, and his sterling character has given him inviolable place in the confidence and esteem of all who know him.
Mr. Gesaman claims the old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of a family of stanch German lincage that was early founded in Pennsylvania. Mr. Gesaman was born on a farm in Stark county, Ohio, on the 6th of February, 1846, and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Harchelroad) Gesaman, who were born and reared in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, where their marriage was solemnized. They
444
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
eventually left their native state and removed to Ohio, where they be- came pioneer settlers of Stark county. There the father reclaimed from the wilderness a productive farm and he was one of the honored citizens of that county for many years, finally, in 1881, coming with his wife to Indiana and passing the residue of their long and useful lives in Hunt- ington county, where the death of Samuel Gesaman occurred in 1886, his wife surviving him by several years. They became the parents of nine children, of whom six are now living, in 1913, namely : John H., who likewise is a resident of Huntington county; Mary, who is the wife of John Hensel, of Stark county, Ohio; Sarah, who is the widow of Henry Lonas, of the same county; Jacob W., who is the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Margaret, who is the wife of Nicholas Zeigler, of Huntington township; and Samuel F., who likewise is a resident of Huntington township.
Jacob W. Gesaman was reared to maturity on the old homestead farm, which was the place of his birth, and he had his quota of experience in connection with the conditions and labors of pioneer life in the old Buckeye state. Arduous toil and endeavor were his portion as a boy and youth, but his ambition to acquire an education was not denied by his parents, as shown by the fact that he continued to attend the common schools of his native county until he was twenty years old, though his attendance was principally during the winter terms only, his services being not then in requisition on the farm to so great an extent. Though he had in the meanwhile initiated his independent career as a farmer, he continued to remain at the parental home until he was about twenty- six years of age, when he took unto himself a wife, the devoted and cherished companion and helpmeet who has remained by his side during the long years that have intervened and that have brought their joy and compensation, as well as their sorrows and perplexities. Sustained and comforted by common faith and ambition and by mutual love and devo- tion, they find the retrospect one of gracious order and rejoice in the fair, prosperous days that trend toward the gracious twilight of their lives.
The marriage of Mr. Gesaman occurred in 1872, and in the spring of 1876 he came with his family to Indiana and established his home on the farm which is still his place of abode. When he purchased this property the land was almost entirely covered with the native timber, and he set to himself the herculean task of reclaiming his farm to culti- vation. Assiduous industry, thrift and good management brought their returns, and he now has the satisfaction of being the owner of one of the admirably improved and valuable farm properties of Huntington county. The present substantial buildings were erected by him, includ- ing the attractive and comfortable residence, and the home has ever been known for its generous hospitality and good cheer, so that it has been a favored rendezvous for the many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Gesa- man and their children.
In the midst of the exactions of a career of signal industry and pro-
445
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
ductiveness, Mr. Gesaman has never failed in civic loyalty and has been ready to do his part in the promotion of those objects which have con- served the general good of the community. Never a seeker of public office, he has not wavered in his allegiance to the republican party until the national campaign of 1912, when he gave his support to the cause of the progressive party, as he is stanch in his admiration for Colonel Theodore Roosevelt. Both he and his wife are zealous and devoted mem- bers of the United Brethren church. Unqualified confidence is reposed in Mr. Gesaman by all who know him, and his integrity is beyond cavil. His counsel is frequently sought in connection with private and com- munity interests, and it may be noted that he was the efficient and faith- ful administrator of the very appreciable estate of his honored father.
On the 17th of March, 1872, in Stark county, Ohio, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Gesaman to Miss Phoebe Zintsmaster, who was reared and educated in that county, where she was born on the 20th of March, 1851. Of the children of this union four attained to years of maturity : Franklin E. is a prosperous farmer of Huntington town- ship; Pearl A. died at the age of eleven years; Cora A. became the wife of Frederick Lonas and is now deceased; George W. is a representative farmer of Huntington township; and Miss Ida Mae, who remains at the parental home and is a popular factor in the leading social activities of the community, is a cultured musician as a pianist, and was graduated in the high school in her home township and also in a leading musical conservatory in the city of Indianapolis.
In recalling early days, Mr. Gesaman tells of his early school days. He attended two different schoolhouses of the log cabin style, and he conned his lessons from the old spelling book and McGuffey's readers, wrote with the old goose quill pen made by the teacher and sat on the wooden bench, and when the pupils had to write they turned around in their seats at the long desk. What a difference today in the modern school, where the pupil is furnished with all the modern equipments of school life. The homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Gesaman is known as "The Ever- greens" and is one of the hospitable homes of the county. It is located 21/2 miles southwest of the city of Huntington, on the Elna Gravel Pike running to Marion. This was formerly an Indian trail. The resi- dence is lighted throughout with a modern acetylene plant.
WILLIAM H. H. KNEISLY. Fortunately for the consistency of the biographical department of this publication there are found represented within its pages many of the successful and popular citizens who are ably maintaining the high standard of the agricultural industry in the county, and such an one is the well known resident of Huntington town- ship whose name initiates this paragraph and who is one of the pro- gressive agriculturists and stock-growers of the county which has been his home for more than forty years and in which he is a venerable citizen who commands the unqualified confidence and respect of all who know him, as his life has been ordered upon a high plane of integrity and honor and has been characterized by earliest and fruitful endeavor
446
HISTORY OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY
in connection with the great basic industry that gained his attention when he was a mere boy. He is a fine type of the sturdy yeomen who have aided in developing the agricultural resources of this county and his character and achievement entitle him to a specific tribute in this history.
William Henry Harrison Kneisly was born on his father's pioneer farmstead in Greene county, Ohio, and the date of his nativity was Febru- ary 10, 1838. He is a seion of a sterling pioneer family of the old Buekeye state and was named in honor of General William Henry Har- rison, who was a contemporary of his father in Ohio. Mr. Kneisly is able to traee his lineage back to the stanchest of German origin, and the progenitors of the paternal and maternal lines in America established their residence in Pennsylvania in the pioneer era of the history of that state. He is a son of John and Susan (Whitmore) Kneisly, both of whom were born and reared in Pennsylvania, where their marriage was solemnized and where they continued to reside until 1827, when they re- moved to Ohio and numbered themselves among the early settlers of Greene county. There the father reclaimed from the virtual wilderness a productive farm, and there he continued to reside for many years, a substantial and honored citizen. When well advaneed in years he and his wife removed to Dayton, Ohio, where they passed the residue of their lives. John Kneisly was a miller by trade and as an expert in this voca- tion he found his serviees in demand during much of the time that he was engaged in aetive farming. Of the twelve ehildren only four are living at the time of this writing, Daniel, who is a prosperous farmer of Clark county, Ohio; John W., who resides in the city of Dayton, that state; William H. H., whose name introduces this article; and Emma, the widow of Ahimen V. Bohm, of St. Louis, Missouri, who died Mareh 4, 1914.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.