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 38
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Mr. Butt is a member of the Church of God and has been an elder in lris church. In political matters he is a member of the Republican party and his fraternal allegiance is with the Maccabees. Mr. Butt was married in 1875 to Miss Martha Fites, a daughter of John W. Fites. There were six children born to this union, as follows: Walter, who married Alice Kile, and has five children, namely, Martha, Earl, John, Mildred, and Dorothy; Warren, who married Maud Tombaugh, and has one child, Don George; Glee, who married Elmer Fites and has three children, as follows, Ruth, Grace and Ralph; Ray, who married Tresa Walters and their three children arc Blanche, Clifford and Esther; Harry, who married Anna Burkholder and is the father of two children, Howard and Edith; Bliss is unmarried. After the death of his first wife Mr. Butt married again, his second wife being Miss Dora Kiefer, a daughter of Jacob Kiefer. To this union three children have been born, as follows, Hazel, Samuel and Phoebe.
HENRY K. BUTT. A man whom his neighbors and friends hold in the highest regard, is Henry K. Butt, of Miami county, Indiana, and he is due the regard and esteem of everyone, for he has not only lived an honorable and upright life, but he is one of the veterans of that fast diminishing army that fought through the terrible days of the Civil war. Mr. Butt is now well along in life but he is still active and operates his farm with the same enthusiasm and interest which he has always displayed.
Henry Butt was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, on the 14th of October, 1839, the son of Regneld Butt. His father's first wife was named Fiste, and after her death he married again, his second wife being Phoebe Kinzie. When Henry Butt was 13 years of age his father died and the boy then had to go to work to aid in the support of the family. Consequently he received very little education. This early training in responsibility fitted him for the trials and suffering which he was soon to know, for the shadow of the Civil war was already cast over the land. When the crash did come, Henry Butt was eager to enlist and in 1861 he became a member of the Fortieth Regiment of Indiana
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Infantry, Company "B." He was from this time until the close of the war in 1865 in continual service and the time was one of hardship and danger and all the horrors of war. His mother died during the war but he could not leave his command to come to her or to attend her funeral. He received a few bullets through his clothes and several times had narrow escapes from death, but he was never seriously wounded, and came out unscathed.
After the war was at an end, Mr. Butt came to Indiana and located on his present farm in Perry township, Miami county. The house on the farm at that time was built of logs and Mr. Butt built the present house and has added the improvements which have made the farm a modern and prosperous one. It consists of sixty-one acres.
Mr. Butt is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in his political views he affiliates with the Republican party. He married Miss Mary P. Fites, a daughter of Andrew M. Fites, of one of the pioneer families of Miami county. They have had no children but they have reared a number of other children, giving them an education and a good start in life.
JASPER J. CRAIG, a native son of Miami county, is one of those men who having tried other lands come back in time to the soil where they were born and bred. Jasper J. Craig is one of the successful farmers of Perry township, Miami county, and during his younger days he tried his fortunes in the Far West but finally determined that there was no bet- ter place than the Hoosier state and so returned hither. He has been a prominent citizen of Perry township for many years and is well known as a practical and successful farmer. He traces his lineage to Scotland, from whence came his grandfather.
Born in Perry township on the 14th of November, 1850, Mr. Craig is the son of John Craig and Polly (Layborn) Craig. His grandfather was also named John Craig, and his maternal grandfather was William Layborn. It was in 1844 that Jasper Craig's father came to Miami county, Indiana. Previous to this he had lived in Springfield, in Clark county, Ohio, and it was here that he was married. He and his wife drove through the country with a pair of horses and when they finally reached the spot where they concluded to settle it was in the primeval forests. John Craig built his first home of logs, and it was in this little log cabin that Jasper Craig was born. The land was all covered with heavy timber, and there were eighty acres of it, but Mr. Craig was a hardy frontiersman and he in time cleared all of this land. Here they lived until October 17, 1890, when they moved to Akron, in Fulton county. Here Mr. Craig lived until the time of his death which occurred in 1909.
Jasper J. Craig received his education in Perry township, the log school house which he attended being about eighteen by twenty-four feet in size, and the seats had round top desks in which they had to turn around in order to write. The pupils could only go to school when there was no work for them on the farms and so they averaged about a month and a half of school during the year. Mr. Craig remained at home until 1871 and then he set out in the good old fashioned way to seek his fortune. He went to Kansas and then to Wyoming, Nevada and California. In all the places where he stopped he worked on the ranches, but after a time, having saved some money he determined to return home.
Upon his arrival in Miami county he bought his present farm, which at that time contained eighty acres. He has since added a tract of 200 acres to the property. He has added all the improvements that make the place an up-to-date farm and does general farming.
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Mr. Craig is a member of the Church of God, at Akron, Indiana and is one of the trustees of the church. He was at one time an active Mason, but he now has no fraternal affiliations. Mr. Craig was married in 1886 to Phoebe R. Blauser, a daughter of Soloman and Susan (Winehart) Blauser. They have five children, as follows: Zona May, Orval James, Orin Chester, Rhoda Resella, and Odus Benjamin. Zona May received her diploma in the class of 1902 and then took two years of high school work in the Gilead High School. Orval James finished the eighth grade and is at home with parents. Orin Chester also finished eighth grade work; Rhoda Resella received her diploma in 1909, and is now in the fourth year of high school work and a member of the Gilead High School class of 1914. Odus Benjamin finished the eighth grade in 1914.
Mrs. Craig was educated in the common schools and she has done her part nobly as a wife and mother. She is a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church Board. Her parents are dead. The pretty homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Craig is known as "Shady Lawn Farm," situated north of Gilead.
NOAH B. BARNHISEL. One of the successful farming men of Perry township and a man whose life has been one of the most uplifting character, resulting undeniably, in a deal of good in his community, is Noah Barnhisel, who was born on the farm he now operates and owns, on November 4, 1863. Mr. Barnhisel is the son of Cornelius and the grandson of Jacob Barnhisel, while his mother was Elizabeth (Hoffman) Barnhisel.
In 1852 Cornelius Barnhisel brought his family to Miami county and settled on the farm now the home of the subject. He entered the Union army in 1864, and died in the service. His body was interred at Wash- ington, D. C., and it was not until this year that the subject was able to locate the grave of the fallen soldier. Mr. Barnhisel was a member of Company G, Fifty-ninth Indiana Regiment, and during his life time was an active member of the Evangelical church. After the death of the father and husband, Mrs. Barnhisel and her older sons carried on the work of the farm, and there continued to reside. In more recent years the subject came into ownership of the place, and he has done much in the way of improving the old home and bringing it up to a productive and highly creditable state such as it now enjoys. All the present fine buildings were built by him since he came into ownership, with the exception of the barn, which the mother and elder sons built some years back. The place is attractive in appearance, and has a well kept appear- ance that lends an air of prosperity and good business management that is found to be present upon a closer inspection of the farm. Its two hundred and thirty acres are all under cultivation and yield abund- antly to the master touch of the owner.
Mr. Barnhisel was married on May 3, 1885, to Miss Mary Kramer the daughter of Andrew and Susanne (Richebank) Kramer. One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Barnhisel, Jesse W., who married Blanche Sidner, and they have a son who is named Doine Richard Barnhisel. The family are members of the Evangelical church, and Mr. Barnhisel is especially active and prominent in the work of the church. He has been a class leader for sixteen years, and has taught in the Sunday school for twenty-four years past, a service that has done much to aid in the development of the young minds of the community in the better ways of life and living. In his civic activities, he has demonstrated his high character as a citizen, and has served as a justice of the peace during one term. Although he has not been a man to seek public office, his influence in the community has had an undeniably excellent effect, and
"SOUTH LAWN STOCK FARM"
RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. ALBERT J. PIIELPS
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has been felt in local politics, as well as in other circles in the community. He and his family enjoy the unlimited confidence and esteem of a wide circle of friends in the community, where they are well known for the many excellent qualities that dominate their lives. The estate of Mr. and Mrs. Barnhisel is known as "Oak Grove Farm."
ALBERT J. PHELPS. Among the old families of Miami county the Phelpses have had a prominent place since the early fifties in which decade Miami county was still only a little removed from pioneer con- ditions. Throughout its residence, the family has been noted for its fine qualities of industry, its solid integrity, and its good citizenship, in every way. They did their share in breaking up and clearing the land, and in establishing homes in the wilderness during the early days, and during the subsequent half century or more their lives have been led along the paths of quiet industry and prosperity, and as farmers and good citizens, they have contributed all that they owed to the enrichment of community life and enterprise.
Albert J. Phelps who is representing the third generation of the family, and who is manager of a portion of the fine Phelps homestead in Clay township, was born where he now lives, on July 26, 1876, a son of Andrew J. and Caroline C., (Wyrick) Phelps. His grandfather Bissell Phelps was the founder of the name in this part of Indiana. Bissell Phelps was born March 27, 1805 in Lewis county, New York, and there was married on October 28, 1832, to Margaret Loucke. She was born in Herkimer county, New York, August 24, 1806. After their marriage they lived and prospered in Lewis county until 1853, and that year marked their removal from the east to Indiana, and their settlement in June of the same year in Clay township was the beginning of sixty years of residence for the Phelps family. The land on which Bissell Phelps established his home at that time is now included in the old homestead. Bissell Phelps was a man of hardy industry, enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his community, and his years came to a close at his home in Miami county on April 4, 1898, when he was ninety-three years of age. His wife passed away April 30, 1884. For many years in connection with general farming, Bissell Phelps ran a cheese dairy. The children were as follows: Charles J .; Andrew J .; Mary W .; Charles, deceased; Ellen J., and Caroline.
The second son, Andrew J. Phelps, was born in Lewis county, New York, November 21, 1831. He was twenty-two years of age when he came to Miami county, had been reared and prepared for his active career in New York State, and after locating in Miami county was closely identified with the business and civic activities of his community as long as he lived. On December 21, 1869, Andrew J. Phelps married Caroline C. Wyrick. The children of this marriage are mentioned as follows: George Bissell, born September 17, 1871; Franklin C., born April 13, 1874; Albert J., born July 26, 1876; Thomas W., born Jan- uary 1, 1879; and Nelson H., born December 15, 1887. During his young manhood Albert J. Phelps has always been an agriculturist.
A period of years were devoted by him to general farming, and one of the important features of his enterprise in this connection was the management of the cheese dairy which his father had established and which afforded an important service to the community. Andrew J. Phelps died August 1, 1897.
Albert J. Phelps, third among the sons, is now employing all his energies in conducting eighty acres of land, forming a part of the original homestead op which his grandfather settled sixty years ago. The estate of the late Andrew J. Phelps, altogether, five hundred acres, Vol. II-17
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is still held intact, and the heirs have managed it jointly without partition for the sixteen years since their father's death. The portion under his direction supervision, Albert J. Phelps has improved in various ways, and has made of it a model farmstead.
On November 23, 1898, Albert J. Phelps and Pearl B. Brown were united in marriage. To them have been born two children, Carrie Mabel, born August 29, 1899; and Eva Alice, born November 25, 1901. Mrs. Phelps is a daughter of Cyrus and Ora (Cline) Brown. When she was a child she lost her mother, and was reared in the home of her uncle J. H. Humrickhouse of Bennett's Switch. Mr. Phelps and family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, and his fraternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall No. 362, at Galveston, Ind., and the Improved Order of Red Men, Mongotha Tribe No. 267, at Miami.
Mr. Phelps was a member of the Miami county council for some four years, which for a young man, gave him a drill and an incite to county affairs which have been of inestimable value to him, as a business man of affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are young people descend- ants of the best families in Miami county and are citizens who hold a high place in the respect and esteem of their large circle of friends and acquaintances. They have one of the beautiful homes for which Southern Miami county is noted and their home is the abode of hospitality. It is well named as the "South Lawn Stock Farm."
GEORGE W. TOMBAUGH. One of the well established and more sub- stantial men of affairs in Perry township, where he has lived for many years, is George W. Tombaugh, who owns a fine farm in this community and devotes himself to its care and culture. He was born in Jefferson township, Miami county, on December 24, 1837, and is the son of George Tombaughı, who was born on October 28, 1796, and who married Susan Meyers on October 2, 1817.
In 1836 George and Susanna (Meyers) Tombaugh went from their native state, Pennsylvania, to Ohio and thence moved to Indiana, settling in Miami county, where the subject was born. He did not long remain in Jefferson township, however, and established the family home in Perry township early in life, here engaging in farming. He pros- pered, it is sufficient to say, and from the small- log house that first sheltered him and his little family, he was soon able to graduate'into a finer and more commodious frame dwelling, where the family was reared to maturity. George W. Tombaugh's father died June 19, 1880, aged 83 years, 7 months and 21 days, and his mother died October 14, 1850.
In 1862 George W. Tombaugh married Elizabeth Ann Deardorff who was born on July 1, 1840, and died on April 15, 1905. She was the mother of seven children, concerning whom brief mention is made as follows: Sarah, the eldest, born on December 17, 1863, married Ira Seitner ; John Henry, born January 12, 1865, died on October 3, 1881; Jacob L., born on May 28, 1867, married Elizabeth Whitmire; Mary Ann, born January 11, 1871, became the wife of Joseph Hetter; Emma Jane, born Septem- ber 10, 1874, died on March 18, 1883; Laura Etta, born January 6, 1877, died on February 17, 1877; Leone Elizabeth, born on April 14, 1884, died on August 13, 1910.
Following his marriage Mr. Tombaugh settled on the east portion of the old home place, and here he has ever since resided. He has a farm of one hundred and sixteen acres, and all the buildings that stand upon the place today are his own work, having replaced the older structures with newer and more modern ones in recent years. His place is a very attractive and prosperous looking one, and gives every evidence of the
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thrift and enterprise that are dominant characteristics of their owner and manager.
Some two years after the death of Mrs. Tombaugh, Mr. Tombaugh was united in marriage with Mrs. Eliza Baker, the daughter of William Hand, the ceremony being solemnized on November 13, 1906. Mrs. Tom- baugh was born September 2, 1860, and is well known in these parts, where she has passed her life thus far. She and her husband are members of the Church of the Brethren, in which the Tombaugh family were reared by their parents.
ABNER J. ALSPACH, born and bred to the life of the farm has found in that life his own vocation. As one of the prominent and successful farmers of Perry township, Miami county, Indiana, he is well known throughout this region. He is a native son of Perry township and has lived in this vicinity during his entire life and is consequently keenly interested in the development and general welfare of the com- munity.
Abner J. Alspach was born in Perry township, Miami county, Indiana, just one mile north of the farm where he now lives, on the 26th of June, 1864. He is a son of Gideon Alspach and a grandson of Jacob Alspach. Gideon Alspach was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and there grew to manhood. He married Catherine Kinsler, a daughter of John Kinsler, and settled in Miami county, Indiana, in 1854. Here in Perry township he located on a farmi of eighty acres. There was a house but no barn on the place and the land was all timbered. Gideon Alspach cleared the land and built a barn and otherwise improved the farm and here he remained until his death. Mrs. Alspach is still living and spends her time visiting among her children. Gideon Alspach was a member of the Church of God.
Growing up in the early days of this section of Indiana, when every- one's hands were required to help in the farm work, young Abner Alspach had little opportunities for anything in the way of an educa- tion. What little he did receive came from the district schools of Perry township. After growing to manhood, Abner Alspach left his father's home and renting John Butler's farm set out to make his own way in the world. He remained on this farm for two years and then rented the Israel Taylor place where he remained for eight years. After this he returned to his old home and operated his father's farm for four years. By this time he had enough money saved to buy a farm of his own and he purchased the place which he now owns. This farm con- tains eighty-five acres and he has improved the house, built a fine barn, and fenced and ditched the whole place.
Mr. Alspach is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, affiliating with Gilead Lodge, No. 354, being one of the trustees of his lodge. It was in 1887 that Abner Alspach and Ida Clark, a daughter of Simon and Amelia (Metzger) Clark, were united in marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Alspach have nine children, as follows: Grace, who was born on August 15, 1888, is now the wife of Arthur Whistler; Jessie, who was born on December 11, 1891; Alpha, whose birth took place on the 10th of April, 1892; Hazel, who was born on the 10th of December, 1894; Jolin, the date of whose birth was May 7, 1896; Allen, also born in May, on the 9th of the month, 1900; Carl, who was born January 13, 1903; Clark, born on the 26th of June, 1906, and Lowell, who was born April 3, 1909. All the children attended the schools of Perry town- ship and the following children received their diplomas from the public schools: Grace, Jessie, Alpha and Hazel. Jessie, Alpha and Hazel
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have received partial training in the High School .. The beautiful farm- stead of Mr. and Mrs. Alspach is named "The Catalpa Lawn Farm."
SILAS J. SPROAL. That enterprise and good management are well rewarded in the country life of Miami county, needs no better illustra- tion than the career of Silas Sproal, whose fine homestead lies in Harri- son township. About thirty years ago, soon after his marriage, he located on part of his present farm, and in the beginning had prac- tically nothing but the land. Combining the cultivation of mixed crops with the raising of high-grade stock, he has developed a business that of itself would be considered valuable without reference to its capital investments. Under his supervision his farm has been cleared, has been improved with modern barns, and other equipment, and his estate will now compare favorably with that of any in Miami county.
Soon after the removal of the Indians from Miami county, a number of families from Holmes, county, Ohio, came to Indiana, and established themselves on land vacated by the Redmen. Among those who came in 1848 was Nobertus Sproal. He was born in Germany, November 3, 1830, was brought to America during his sixth year, and was reared in Holmes county, Ohio. His father was Walburg Sproal. The grand- mother died in Holmes county. Nobertus Sproal was married in Howard county, Indiana, to Miss Catherine Schrock, a daughter of Jacob Schrock. She was born May 9, 1828, and died in Howard county, November 28, 1905, at the age of seventy-seven years, six months and seventeen days. Immediately after his marriage Nobertus Sproal settled on a farm in Harrison township in Miami county, and in this locality he passed the rest of his life. He died in the adjoining county of Howard in 1895 at a ripe old age.
It was on his father's farm, January 14, 1858, that Silas J. Sproal was born. That farm which was his birthplace lies adjacent to the one now owned by Silas in Harrison township, and is a part of the same section. Here his boyhood days were passed, not unlike those of the sons of other farmers, of northern Indiana. He worked in the clearing and grubbing of the land, followed the plow, and wielded an ax, occa- sionally got an opportunity to play, but more often he worked, and his education was exceedingly practical and included a meagre knowledge of books. The winter terms of school he attended were held at McCoy, one mile from the Buckeye school and the Buckeye school house was on the line between Harrison township and Howard county, that being the first school house in that community.
On March 4, 1884, Silas married Miss Anna A. Murphy, a daughter of Israel and Elizabeth (Larrison) Murphy. In their early married life Mr. and Mrs. Sproal moved about and lived at several localities within the same general neighborhood. However, they soon settled on their present farm, which lies within sight of the place where Silas Sproal was born. When they located there, they found land with practically no improvement of a substantial nature, the only building of which it could boast being an old log cabin that had been put up by John Vin- edge, who was the pioneer settler there and had occupied the rude structure until his death. This log house was afterwards torn down. Mr. Sproal built his barn in 1902, and the other buildings were erected about 1885. Eighty acres of his land had been cleared when he took possession and he himself has worked industriously with his own hands, or has supervised the clearing of the other eighty. For many years his crops have been up to the standard of Miami county agriculture, and he has contrived to prosper year in and year out.
Mr. and Mrs. Sproal were the parents of four children, but two,
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twins, died in infancy. The remaining two are Grover C. and Lester D. Grover was born November 15, 1889, married Miss Bessie Kelley, a daughter of Joseph Kelley, and they have one child, Beulah Lucile, born July 3, 1912. The son Lester, who was born August 23, 1896, is still attending school in McCoy school. Mrs. Sproal is a native of Howard county, Indiana, born January 19, 1864. She was the eldest of ten chil- dren, six sons and four daughters, born to her parents, Israel and Eliza- beth (Larrison) Murphy.
Eight of the children are living at present time 1913 and all are residents of Indiana but her brother John, who is a resident of Hope, Michigan, and sister, Martha, who is the wife of John Schafer, a resident of Hope, Michigan, and an agriculturist. Mr. Murphy was a native of Ohio and was a boy when his parents came to Howard county, Indiana. He was an agriculturist and educated only in the common schools. Politically he was a Prohibitionist and was a strong advocate of tem- perance. Both he and wife were ardent members of the Wesleyan Methodist church. Mrs. Murphy is a native of Ohio and was educated in the common schools. She now resides in Howard county, aged sixty- seven. Mr. Murphy is interred in North Grove Cemetery.
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