USA > Indiana > Miami County > History of Miami County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 24
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It was thus that he was reared to young manhood, and when he was about twenty-one years old, under the advice and encouragement of his father, he made his first independent venture as a farmer. He raised his first crop of wheat as an independent operator, receiving for his grain the price of a dollar a bushel. With this sum, realized as a result of his own labor, he bought eighty acres of land from his father, going in debt for a part of the purchase price, and that transaction was the initial one of his praiseworthy career in farming.
In 1899 Mr. Miller bought one hundred and twenty acres of adjoining land, and gradually, with the passing of time, added to his holdings in real estate until at one time in his career, he owned 480 acres of the finest farm land in the county. Mr. Miller was one of the first men in Miami county to embark, with any claim to extensiveness, in the breed- ing and handling of blooded stock, at one time feeding as many as fifteen hundred head of hogs on his place. It was characteristic of the nature of the man, however, that his greatest interest lay not so much in stock breeding or its kindred lines, but rather in the culture of trees and flowers. He was deeply cognizant of the beauties of nature and turned instinctively to the beautiful wherever it was found, although his appreciation and understanding of the practical made him a person of more than ordinary preceptions. It was in about 1890 that he began planting fruit trees extensively, and under his care and nurture, his initial planting grew into an orchard covering eighty acres of apple, plum, cherry and pear trees. This came to be one of the finest orchards in the county or state, and is still one of the most productive spots to be found hereabouts.
Mr. Miller joined the German Baptist church when a young man, that being the denomination with which his parents affiliated, and during the early months of his church membership he was elected a deacon of the church body, in which capacity he continued to serve hon- orably and faithfully until his passing. Some two weeks after he be- came a member of the church he was elected a trustee of the Old Folks'
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and Orphan Children's Home, and in this capacity also served during the remainder of his life, which, considering its nature and purpose, was all too brief for humanity's sake.
Mr. Miller exemplified in his life all that was moral and upright, with the finer Christian virtues uppermost in his daily walk. Naturally and by inheritance he possessed character of a high type, and his name is indelibly impressed upon the mind of the present generation as ·being that of one of Miami county's best and finest citizens.
On February 17, 1902, Mr. Miller was married to Miss Martha A. Pugh, the daughter of William and Sarah (Frantz) Pugh, people of German birth and ancestry. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller were born four children : Joseph Harold, born November 24, 1902; Robert Levi, born August 19, 1904, and died January 28, 1905; John Quinter, born April 23, 1907; and William Timon, born June 23, 1909.
Mrs. Miller was born in Franklin county, Virginia, on February 14, 1876, and came to Miami county some two years prior to her marriage. She still maintains the home farm and continues to operate it since the death of her husband, and has proven beyond cavil the ability and wis- dom she possesses in business and executive matters. She has a host of friends in the county, and is especially prominent in her home com- munity.
JOHN T. HOOD. The late John T. Hood, long a resident of Jefferson township, where he was for many years successfully engaged in farming, but who spent his closing days in Mexico, where he settled after his retirement from active life, was a man who commanded the unfail- ing respect and confidence of his fellow men. He was unusually indus- trious in his habits of life, and prosperity long attended his efforts so that he was able to retire with a competency in December, 1903, and re- moving to the village of Mexico, he spent the remaining days of his existence quietly and happily. Death claimed him on March 3, 1910, he having died suddenly from a stroke of apoplexy, and his widow still resides in Mexico.
Mr. Hood's life was inclined to quiet and uneventfulness, as is usu- ally the case with men who confined their activities to rural life. He was born in Lunenburg county, Virginia, some distance from the city of Richmond, on the 24th day of January, 1842. He was a son of Robert Hood, a native of North Carolina, who in his youth migrated to Virginia, there married and settled down, passing the remainder of his days in the state of his adoption. He became the father of two sons and two daughters and when he died in middle life, his widow contracted a second marriage. She passed the closing years of her life, after her second widowhood, in the home of her son, John, the younger of her two sons by her first marriage. The other son, James Hood, be- came a resident of Howard county, Indiana. Amanda and Lucy, the sisters of John Hood of this review, are now deceased.
John T. Hood was about fifteen years of age when he left his native state and came to Indiana, his locating in Miami county dating from the year 1857. He was twenty years of age when he enlisted in Company H, Seventy-third Indiana Regiment of Volunteers, organized at South Bend, Indiana, and in company with his regiment Mr. Hood took part in the campaign against General Bragg, sharing in the battle of Perryville, and following Bragg to Nashville, where the regiment went into camp. He was also a participant in that never-to-be forgotten engagement at Mur- freesboro in December, 1862, receiving there a wound in his thigh, from the effects of which he never recovered. He returned to his regiment when he was sufficiently recovered from his injuries to permit, serving
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thereafter on detached duty until the war was ended, when he was hon- orably discharged and returned to his Miami county home.
Soon after his return from the war Mr. Hood purchased a farm of seventy acres situated on the Eel river, and it was in the autumn of that ycar that his marriage to Miss Martha A. Fisher was solemnized. She was born on November 30, 1848, and is a daughter of Joseph and Eliz- abeth (Brown) Fisher, who at one time owned the farm where Mr. and Mrs. Hood resided for many years. Concerning her parentage, it may be said further than Joseph Fisher was born in Virginia on November 10, 1823, and was a son of Peter Fisher, a native of Pennsylvania who removed to Virginia and later settled in Preble county, Ohio, coming thence to Miami county, Indiana, in 1836. He settled on a farm outside the village of Mexico and died there on May 27, 1878, when he had just passed his eighty-sixth birthday anniversary. Further mention of the Fisher family is found elsewhere in this work, in a sketch dedicated to Joseph Fisher, the father of Mrs. Hood.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hood were born two sons and a daughter. Deo S., the first born, whose natal day was October 9, 1868, was married on March 7, 1889, to Miss Ruth Bond, daughter of Jesse Bond, and they became the parents of three children,-Joseph L., Lyman J. and Clinton B. On November 18, 1898, the wife and mother passed away, and Mr. IIood married again on January 29, 1902, his second wife being Nora See, and to them one son, -- Herman, has been born.
Gilbert J., the second son, born September 18, 1876, married Nellie, the daughter of Lewis Bond, on February 23, 1899, and to them a son and daughter,-Margaret and Joseph, have been born.
Bessie, born July 23, 1879, became the wife of Benjamin Bond on July 26, 1900, and died an untimely death on November 21, 1904.
It may be mentioned here that Joseph L. Hood, the eldest son of Deo Hood, married Miss Lova Flora, on April 3, 1912, and they make their home in Saskatchewan, Canada. They have one son,-John Hersey, named in honor of his paternal grandfather, the birth of the heir having taken place on January 12, 1913.
JOSEPH FISHER. . Between the years of 1863 and 1884 Joseph Fisher and his family resided on the Jefferson township farm, which later be- came the home of his daughter, Mrs. Hood, Mr. Fisher removing to the town of Mexico in 1884 and there passing his remaining days. Death claimed him in 1895, and his widow survived him until September 10, 1908. Mr. Fisher was born in Virginia, on November 10, 1823, and was a son of Peter Fisher, a native of Pennsylvania, who moved first to Virginia and later to Ohio, settling in Preble county of the latter named state, and coming thence to Miami county, Indiana, in 1836. He was a farming man, and he located on a farm about a mile distant from Mexico, there spending his remaining days. He died on May 27, 1878, aged eighty-six years and twenty-five days, his wife having preceded him to the other world on January 20, 1867.
Ten children were born to Peter Fisher and his wife, of which goodly number only one is living today,-Noah, a resident of Andrews, Ind.
Joseph Fisher was married on January 12, 1848, to Elizabeth Brower, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Teal) Brower, who came to this county from Preble county, Ohio, in 1837, and being numbered among the pioneers of Jefferson township. They became the parents of ten children, all of whom are deceased, Mrs. Fisher being the last of the family to pass on. She was born in Preble county, Ohio, on September 28, 1827, and died on September 10, 1908. Joseph and Elizabeth Fisher had four children. Martha A., who married John T. Hood, was
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born on November 30, 1848; Sarah became the wife of Schuyler Mercer of Peru, Indiana; Mrs. Rose J. Emswiler is another of the daughters, and another, Emily Duleina, who married William. Crane, was born on November 29, 1851, and died on March 9, 1892, in Chicago, Ill.
BENJAMIN TRIPPEER. In Washington township one of the oldest and best known families is that of Trippeer, represented by Benjamin Trip- peer, who is now seventy years of age and has spent nearly all his life in Miami county. The family had its share of pioneer toil and hard- ships, and there are many interesting facts and incidents which might be related concerning the Trippeer family in Miami county. In the following brief sketeh will be given a few of these faets, especially as they relate to Mr. Benjamin Trippeer and his immediate family.
Benjamin Trippeer was born in Lieking county, Ohio, January 9; 1843, a son of John Trippeer and a grandson of Joseph Trippeer. The maiden name of his mother was Catherine English. Benjamin Trippeer has been twiee married. His first marriage oceurred in 1867 when Luey Lynn became his wife. Her death oceurred in 1886 and she was the mother of seven children, whose names are mentioned as follows: Cora, who married Samuel P. Wilson; Allen, who married Stella Mowbray ; Edward, who married Fannie Riley; Bessie, who married Edward Reeger; Kittie who married George Gilbert Smith; and one child that died in infancy; and Mamie, who died at the age of three years. In 1888 Benjamin Trippeer married Rachael Townsend, daughter of George Townsend and granddaughter of Joseph Townsend. The maiden name of her mother was Susanna Dingman, who was a daughter of James Dingman. There were eight children in the family of her father and mother. Mr. Trippeer by his second union had no children.
Benjamin Trippeer eame to Miami eounty with his father in 1845. There were eight children in the family on their arrival in this county, and they first located in Peru township. Farming was the oceupation of the father, and he rented one hundrd and sixty aeres of land as his first home in this county. After living there a short time he bought ninety-three acres in Washington township, a place that was completely in the woods and requiring all the skill and toil of the true pioneer to make it productive. He ereeted the first buildings that were ever placed on the farm, and those were of the type then very common in Miami county, being rough log structures. After a number of years he bought more modern houses, barns and outbuildings and the house which he at that time put up is still standing. The father cleared up all the land and was engaged in farming there up to the time of his death. The mother passed away at Peru in 1893.
Benjamin Trippeer as a boy attended school in Washington township, his schooling being only during the winter term and in one of the rough and primitive school houses which could then be found all over the county. During the spring, summer and fall he and his brothers and sisters assisted in the work of the home and it was in this way that he was equipped and prepared for life. It is an interesting fact of family history that his father had helped build the first school house ever put up in Washington township, that being a log building.
Mr. Benjamin Trippeer remained at home up to the date of his first marriage, and then started out for himself. He was first engaged in the lime business, and continued in that line for about sixteen years. He then bought the old homestead place in Washington township, and took great pleasure in developing and improving the estate on which he had spent the greater part of his boyhood and which was endeared to him by many family associations. He did well as a farmer, and also
- Pugsley,
PHOTO
"RIVER VIEW HOME" RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. BENJAMIN TRIPPEER
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operated a threshing machine outfit over the county. He continued in these occupations until he retired. Mr. Trippeer attends the Methodist church, and is a Democrat in politics and cast his first presidential vote for General George B. McClellan. From 1891 to 1896 he served as a member of the local school board. The name Trippeer is of French origin, as the original progenitors came from France, the land of the "Lily .? '
Mrs. Trippeer, who is an estimable lady and a model housekeeper, is a native of Miami county born February 14, 1847, and her parents, George and Susanna (Dingman) Townsend were pioneer settlers of Miami county. Her father was a man of activity and erected the first mill, about three and one-half miles west of Peru, and the early settlers used to bring their corn, by the half bushel, in a sack on horseback, to be ground at his mill. He enlarged the facilities of his milling industry till it was one of the leading milling industries of west Miami county.
Mrs. Trippeer, although a little maiden of only seven summers, well remembers this epoch. She was reared and educated in the common schools of her native county and her father's progenitors came from the mother country, England. Mrs. Trippeer although sixty-six years of age, has a mind as bright as a lady of twenty summers. She has been an able factor in aiding her husband in the establishment of their pretty home. An incident worthy of mention in the experience of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Trippeer, during the memorable flood of March 24, 25 and 26, 1913, we will relate briefly. Their residence is located at No. 85 E. River Street, South Peru, and during this memorable flood, the water rose six and one-half feet in their residence, and they were forced to ascend to the second story. Their residence was located on the first street south of the Wabash railroad and Mr. Trippeer was forced to climb a tree in their yard and was held there a prisoner from Tuesday at 11 o'clock A. M. till Wednesday A. M., twenty-two hours, without any sustenance and in the severc cold Mrs. Trippeer was held a prisoner in the tree, from Tuesday at 11 o'clock A. M. till 5 o'clock P. M., ere she was rescued. In the evening of Tuesday Mr. Trippeer tied a rope around his body, to keep him from falling into the turbid waters, in case he fell asleep as he had not closed his eyes for eighteen hours.
The reason they sought refuge in the neighboring tree was, that barns, stables, houses and all kinds of buildings were hurried past their home and they did not know what moment their home might be swept away by the rushing of the whirlpool of waters. The trials and privations of the brave citizens of Peru, Indiana, during the awful flood of March, 1913, will never all be told.
THE FISHER FAMILY, one of the oldest in the United States today, and of Virginia ancestry, has been identified with the history of Miami county since 1836, when Peter Fisher, the old pioneer of Miami county, came hither from Preble county, Ohio, after eighteen years of residence there.
Peter Fisher was a native of Franklin county, Virginia, born there on May 2, 1792, and was a son of Philip Fisher and a grandson of Adam Fisher, a native of Germany, the first of the family to emigrate to America, and settling on these shores as early as 1857, making Penn- sylvania his home. Peter Fisher married Elizabeth Brower, a resident of his native state, and in 1828 moved to Preble county, Ohio, where they continued until 1836, when they came to Miami county. The trip from Ohio into Indiana was made across country in wagons, and they located in Miami county on a tract of wilderness land about a mile north of the present site of Mexico, in Jefferson township, the exact location Vol. II-11
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according to the surveyed plat of the township being sections 25 and 30. There they built their cabin and set about clearing the land to a state where eultivation and production was possible. The timber that then thickly oceupied the land was oak, walnut, poplar, hickory and other timber, which if standing today would be worth many times what the land would bring, but would probably not net what the land has pro- duced in the years that it has been eultivated and eropped. Such of the timber as was not required and utilized in making rails for fences and for building purposes, was piled in immense heaps and sacrificed to the Fire god. The business of pioneering in those days was not less rigorous than it is today, and Mr. Fisher found it necessary to go to Michigan City to buy salt, for which he paid the enormous price of $16 a barrel. Other conditions were commensurate with this, in point of disproportion.
Peter Fisher and his wife were the parents of seven sons and three daughters who grew to years of maturity. They were as follows : Lydia, George, Benjamin, Joseph, Mary, Isaac, Aaron, Hannah, Noah and Jacob. Of these, Noah is the only one now living. Peter Fisher in- herited much of the thrift, industry and religious tendencies and ehar- aeteristics of his aneestors, and was a man who stood high among his fellows wherever he was found. His life after his eoming to Miami county was one of hardship and privation, but spite of all they under- went they lived clean, wholesome and honorable lives, and reared their children to the most commendable and honorable citizenship, inculeat- ing in them the reverenee of God and a love for the better things of life. The father died on May 27, 1878, his wife having preceded him on January 20, 1867.
George Fisher, the eldest son of these parents, was born in Virginia, on July 23, 1820. He lived with his parents until he reached man's estate, removing with them to Ohio, and thenee to Miami county, Indiana, when he was sixteen years of age. He married Miss Barbara Moss, on November 11, 1841. She was the daughter of William Moss, Sr., well known in Miami county in those days. Mr. Fisher was a man of only a limited edueation. He devoted himself to farming and as a result of his hard work and natural economy, accumulated enough of this world's goods to give each of his children a substantial start in life. He was a man of robust physique and was able to perform an enormous amount of work without suffering ill effects. He was outspoken on all matters, and never was known to shirk a responsibility. Like his father before him, he joined the German Baptist ehureh in young manhood, and to this, as well as to all other laudable public enterprises, he was ever a liberal contributor. The primitive stage in which his pioneer father had lived in his generation gave way to the second stage of development, and he left a well improved estate when he died on Janu- ary 23, 1890, his wife succeeding him in death on February 17, 1899. They were the parents of nine children, four of whom are yet living. The names of the children in the order of their birth are as follows : William, Henry, Levi, Sarah Jane, Elizabeth, Minerva, Peter M., Alston W. and Christina.
Mrs. Fisher is a native of Miami county, born September 10, 1855, and she is one of eleven ehildren, five sons and six daughters, born to John and Eliza (Priee) Ault, and there are six living and three are residents of Miami eounty. Mrs. Fisher was born, reared and educated in her native eounty, and is a devout member of the Brethren church.
Henry Fisher, the second son of George Fisher, was born in Jeffer- son township, Miami county, Indiana, on May 11, 1845. He attended the schools of his neighborhood when a boy and when old enough was 1
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set to work at helping with the general routine work of the home farm. · When he became of legal age he started out in life for himself, and he was about twenty-two years old when on October 20, 1867, he married Mary E. Simons, who died on May 20, 1870, leaving him one daughter, -- Cora E., who in young womanhood married Josiah Maus, and is now deceased. Mr. Fisher, on April 3, 1873, married Martha A. Biddle, who died on November 8, 1873, without issue. On January 16, 1878, Henry Fisher and Isabel Ault were married. John Ault, the father of Mrs. Fisher, was a native of Ohio, but one of the early settlers of this eounty, and a man highly esteemed of all in his day. Mrs. Ault was also a native of Ohio, and is now a resident of Cass county, Indiana. Three children have been born to this latter union, as follows: Ira A., Bertha Irene and Tony Earl. Ira A. received his diploma in the common sehools and had his teacher's certificate. He has a farm in Cass county. He wedded Mary E. Kraming and they have three children-Irene E .; Paul H .; and Martha I. They are members of the Brethren church. Bertha Irene is at home. She received a common school education and also attended for some time the high school. Tony Earl has a farm in Jefferson township. He received a common sehool diploma. He attended the Peru High School and is a graduate of the North Manchester College. He was a teacher six years in Miami eounty. He wedded Miss Susanna Davis and they have two children-Violet L., and Clauda E.
The Fishers have been farming people for generations, and Henry Fisher is no exception to the rule, for his entire life has been occupied in the pursuit of agriculture. He owns a total aereage of two hun- dred and eighty acres of land, to which he applies himself most in- dustriously, and which has yielded him an abundant and comfortable living. Mr. Fisher, together with his wife and their children, are members of the Church of the Brethren, which was originally knowr. as the German Baptist denomination, and in which the father and grandfather of Mr. Fisher were prominently identified as earnest members.
The social standing of the Fisher family is an exeellent one, and Mr. and Mrs. Fisher number their friends by hosts in their own com- munity and wherever they are known.
SAMUEL IRVIN NEWMAN. The record of sueeessful men in any of the walks of life needs no introductory preface among the citizens of their native eounty, and the gentleman who is the subject of this review, Samuel Irvin Newman, of Peru township, is undoubtedly a member of the elass just referred to. By his strict personal integrity and honor- able dealings, combined with brilliant business qualifications, he has become not only one of the leading agrieulturists, but also one of the most highly respected eitizens of his section of Miami county. Samuel Irvin Newman was born Mareh 7, 1874, on the old Newman homestead farm in Jefferson township, Miami county, Indiana, and is a son of Thomas Irvin Newman, and a grandson of Samuel K. Newman, the old pioneer settler of the family, and is named for them both.
Like other Indiana farmers' sons of his day and locality, Samuel I. Newman divided his time between attendance at the district schools during the winter months, and assisting in the work of the homestead during the summer, thus growing to sturdy manhood, securing alike a good mental education and a thorough training for the voeation of farmer, which he had decided upon as his life work. He proved an assiduous and apt pupil in both branches, and early developed habits of industry and integrity that have sinee developed into leading char- acteristics. He resided with his father and grandfather until his mar-
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riage, in 1896, and at that time entered upon a carcer of his own on a farm belonging to his grandfather, and situated near New Wav- erly, Indiana. Subsequently, in 1900, he moved to Jefferson town- ship, Miami county, and from that property went to Peru, in which city he lived until 1909. That year marked his advent in Peru town- ship, and here he has resided to the present time. Mr. Newman is now the owner of 525 acres of land, on which he carries on general farming operations in connection with the raising of stock. He has made some- what of a speciality of breeding thoroughbred IIereford cattle, and in this connection has met with signal success as he has in his various other ventures. In the management of his business interests he has shown himself an excellent business man, and one in whom his associates have the utmost confidence.
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