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 41
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When the Civil war broke out, Mr. Stitt was still in his teens. He soon showed the mettle of which he was made, by joining the Union ranks and going to the field of action. It was as a member of Company I in the Ninety-ninth Indiana Infantry that he entered the army in 1862, and continued with his command until 1865, when he returned home with an honorable discharge and with a record of soldier-ship which will long be a matter of pride to his descendants. While he was many times in the smoke and fire of battle, he was only once wounded, on the eighteenth of August, 1864, at Atlanta, Ga.
He participated in many hard fought battles including the Siege of Atlanta, Siege of Vicksburg and the Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, was with Gen. Tecumseh Sherman on the famous march to the sea, then up through the Carolinas and on to Washington, D. C., where he took part in the grand review, the greatest of military pageants known in American history.
He was one of the ragged, unkempt, almost barefooted soldiers who marched down Pennsylvania avenue before the review stand of the
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president. He received his honorable discharge in June, 1865, and returned to his Indiana home to again mingle with his countrymen in the peaceful vocation of a farmer.
Mr. Stitt returned to Harrison township, and has been engaged in farming here ever since, for nearly half a century. The first farm he settled on was about one mile west of his present place. He removed from the one to the other in 1873, and here for forty years has lived and labored. Most of the land which he owns was at the time of purchase heavily timbered. He has done much clearing in his day, and has in various ways improved his property and added to the permanent wealth of the locality. His present residence stood on the farm when he came here, but he moved and remodeled it, and also erected a fine new barn.
On October 31, 1867, David Stitt married Miss Harriet A. Lee, a daughter of Jesse and Nancy (Bond) Lee. Her grandfathers were Dennis Lee and William Bond. The Lees came to Indiana from Ohio.
Mrs. Stitt was born in Miami county, Indiana, August 2, 1848, the fourth in a family of six children, two sons and four daughters, born to her parents, Jesse and Nancy (Bond) Lee and five are living, four being residents of Miami county. Her brother John M. Lee, is a resident of Grant county, Indiana, and a commercial traveler for the James Kirk Soap Co. of Chicago.
Jesse Lee was a native of Chicago, born in Hancock county in 1820, and he died 1906. By vocation he was an agriculturist. He was educated in the common schools and taught school in the early years of his life. Politically he was a Republican and voted for Gen. John C. Fremont, the first Republican nominee for president. Mrs. Lee was a native of "The Old Dominion State" of Virginia, but was reared mostly in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Lee died in Jackson township and are there interred. Mrs. Stitt has received more than an ordinary education, having been a student in the city schools of Peru, in addition to those of the common schools.
To Mr. and Mrs. Stitt were born five children, as follows: Stella F., born March 8, 1869, and now the wife of Abel Landrum; Leonard G., born November 5, 1873, who married Pearl Jones; Bessie, born Septem- ber 21, 1880, who became tlre wife of Elmer G. Lee; Vernon, born December 29, 1886, and died January 31, 1888; and Jesse T., born January 20, 1890. All the children received good practical educations.
Mr. Stitt cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and has ever since given his support to the Republican party. He has served officially in various local offices, such as township trustee and township assessor, and his name also appears in the official records of the county as a member of the board of county commissioners. He is a member in good standing of Harrison Masonic Lodge No. 660, and keeps up his old army associa- tions with the Grand Army Post at Peru, Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs. Stitt have in their possession as heirlooms four of the old parchment deeds executed under the hand and seal of President Zachary Taylor, one bearing the date of April 10, 1849, and three bearing the date of May 1, 1848. This makes seven deeds of the kind found in Miami county.
FREDERICK GERHART. Manifesting the qualities of good citizenship in all his relations with the community, a man of quiet but effective enterprise, successful as a farmer, a good husband and kind neighbor, Fred Gerhart is an excellent type of the prosperous citizen and sturdy worker in Harrison township, where he has had his home since birth. As his name suggests, he is of German lineage, and possesses the Ger- man spirit, characteristic of the better class of German stock.
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Frederick Gerhart was born on his father's farm in the township of Harrison, February 22, 1857, a son of Michael and Margaret (Denser) Gerhart. The parents were born, reared and married in Germany, and on coming to America first settled in Holmes county, Ohio. From there, late in the forties, they placed their possessions in a wagon and with team drove overland across the Ohio-Indiana boundary, and finally arrived in Harrison township of Miami county, locating a half a mile north of the Howard county line. There the father lived and quietly prospered until he attained a ripe age, dying with the respect of all who knew him.
Frederick Gerhart remained at the parental home until he was twenty-two years of age. The following five years were spent in work on farms for the neighbors, and it was in that way that he got his start in the world. When he was married in 1885, he paid part of the purchase price and acquired the present eighty acres which is the attrac- tive and valuable estate, owned by him. At that time there was an old cabin on the place and it served him and his family as a home for seven years. His present residence and all the other buildings on the farm were erected under his management and supervision and the equipment and improvement indicate the best class of rural farmsteads in Miami county.
On February 7, 1885, Mr. Gerhart married Miss Eliza Dick, who is also of German parentage. Her father and mother, Jacob and Frances (Brandt) Dick, were married in Ohio, and became early settlers in Howard county, Indiana, where they lived until death. In the Dick family were six children, four daughters and two sons. To Mr. and Mrs. Gerhart have been born six children, namely: Grace Ada, born November 23, 1885, and died Marclı 4, 1887; Lesta M., a daughter born January 15, 1888, the wife of Clarence Graham; Orla W., born Novem- ber 16, 1891; Shirley Ray, born December 31, 1894; Fannie R., born - July 28, 1897 ; and Mildred L., born February 2, 1901.
Mr. Gerhart for a number of years, in addition to his private busi- ness affairs, has maintained an interest in local matters, and at this writing is serving as a member of the township advisory board. His church is the Christian denomination in which he is a trustee. His social relations are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 664, at Amboy, Indiana. The pretty Gerhart homestead is known as "Sunny Lawn Grange."
WILSON YARIAN. Prominent among the old established residents of Miami county and foremost among those who have given largely of their energies and abilities to further the development and growth of the communities which represented their homes, Wilson Yarian stands pre-eminent and especially worthy of mention in a work of the nature of which this historical and biographical publication partakes. He has wrought long and accomplished much in the chosen field of his activi- ties, and is well known for one of the most successful men of the town today.
Born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on August 10, 1864, Wilson Yarian is the son of Andrew Yarian and the grandson of George Yarian. His mother was Nancy Wilhelm, the daughter of Jonathan Wilhelm, and the family came to Miami county in 1865, when the subject was a mere infant, and it is thus that he has known no other home in his lifetime. The Yarian family settled on a farm in Perry township, a ninety acre tract, on which not more than thirty acres was in condition to be cul- tivated, and there they bent their every energy to the making of a home worthy of the name of this semi-wilderness place. The woods were
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dense,-indeed, a veritable forest covered some sixty acres of the place, and deer and other animals were abundant in its shelter. To the sub- ject, in the years when he was coming to young manhood, fell a goodly share of the work of reclaiming this forest land to a state of productive- ness, and with his father he gave many a racking hour to the work in hand. They made an excellent showing on the place, however, and each succeeding year added something appreciably to the value and appear- ance of the home. New buildings gradually gave place to the older and more primitive dwelling and barns, and each year the producing acreage of the farm was increased, so that as time passed, the farm yielded more and more abundantly. In 1872 the mother died and the father has continued to live on the old home, and he is still enjoying the labors of his earlier years at the advanced age of eighty.
In 1890, when Wilson Yarian was twenty-six years old, he left the home place and began to devote himself to an independent career. He married in October of that year and settled on his present home, which he purchased at the time. Many improvements have been wrought in the place since he came into possession thereof, and the old house today is used for a shop, while a fine modern dwelling has come into use in its place. This farm has an acreage of seventy-nine acres, and it has undergone a decided change of face since he became its owner. It was new land in 1890, and while much work had been done to reduce it to a state of productiveness, the stumps still stood thickly and unin- viting in appearance over the entire place. Today the fields stand forth as smooth and fair as any of the oldest farms of the county. Another farm of eighty acres, which he rents, yields him a yearly income, and in addition to these, he operates the farm of his father, so that he is one of the busy men of the town. Mr. Yarian carries on stock raising to a considerable extent, and has reached a place of no little prominence in the agricultural circles of the town and county.
Concerning the immediate family of Mr. Yarian, it may be stated here that he married Sarah Ellen Fouts, on October 29, 1890. She is a daughter of David Fouts and his wife, Mary Jan Dick, who came to Miami county in an early date. They were long residents of Richland township in this county, and both of them passed their remaining days in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Yarian. To Mr. and Mrs. Yarian were born nine children: Nettie; Marie; David A .; Herman Paul; Mary Ruth; George Oren; Maud Etta; Clara Elmita ; Roy Angel and Claude Luther.
Mr. Yarian and his family are members of the German Lutheran church, as is also the elder Yarian, who is a man of German ancestry, though born in Ohio. The mother of the subject also has lifelong mem- bership in that church, and was one of the devout members of the church body.
Mr. Yarian was an active member of the Horse Thief Detective Asso- ciation for many years, but he has no fraternal relations of whatever nature. He is one of the stanch and true citizens of the community, and has a wide circle of friends therein, who share his good will and confidence.
JACOB FRANKLIN TETER. For many years one of the substantial men of Perry township, of Miami county, has been Jacob Franklin Teter, a native of both the township and the county, he has been a farmer ever since he was old enough to follow the plow. He lives on the farm where he was born, and being bound to this section by so many ties, he is enthusiastic over its growth and prosperity, and always ready to aid in the advancement of the community in any way within his power.
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Jacob Franklin Teter was born in Perry township, Miami county, on the eighteenth of March, 1869, the son of Daniel Teter. Daniel Teter was born in the state of Ohio, January 6, 1833, and on January 1, 1862, married Mary Grogg, who was born in Miami county, February 10, 1844. Mary Teter was a member of the Evangelical church. Daniel Teter's parents died when he was four years old and he was then taken charge of by his aunt, Mary Brown, with whom he lived until he was old enough to go out and earn his own living. His first work was for a man named John Franz, with whom he remained until he was twenty-one years of age. He had saved his money during this period, and managed it so carefully that he was able to own a large sawmill at Silver Lake, Indiana. For several years he operated that mill, and then decided to go to farming. On forty acres of land at Silver Lake, which he had bought, he began farming operations, but remained there only two years, and then settled on the farm which his son now owns. He first bought one hundred and seventy-eight acres, all of which, with the excep- tion of fifteen acres, was in timber. There was an old log cabin on the place, and for a number of years he lived in that house. His son, Jacob Franklin Teter, having been born there. In 1849, Grandfather Grogg had erected the barn which now stands on the place, and later Daniel Teter built the house. Daniel Teter was a member of the Evangelical church and a prominent citizen in Miami county. His death occurred on the tenth of May, 1909, at Akron, Indiana.
Jacob F. Teter grew up in Perry township and received his educa- tion in the district schools of this section. He was, however, handi- capped, by poor eyesight, and on this account was forced to give up his studies at the age of fourteen. After that he devoted himself to the work of the farm. Several years previous to his father's death he bought the home place of one hundred and forty-eight acres and has lived there ever since. Both the house and barn have been improved and changed, and there are other improvements which make the farm one of the most attractive and valuable in the community. Mr. Teter, like his father, is a member of the Evangelical church, and has been a steward and presi- dent of the Missionary Society, also taking a keen interest in church affairs.
On December 24, 1892, Mr. Teter married Miss Susie Long, who was born October 13, 1873, a daughter of John Long. The latter came to Miami county, Indiana, at a very early date and located in Perry town- ship. John Long was married in Marshall county, Indiana, March 6, 1862, to Hannah Shafer, but moved immediately to Miami county where he first settled on a farm of ninety-five acres, all of it timber land. The buildings were all of logs, and conditions were exceedingly primitive. John Long died on the sixth of July, 1900, and his wife died September 23, 1883. The latter was a member of the Church of God. Mrs. Teter grew up and received her education in Perry township, where she has remained all her life. Early she gave her heart to God and united with the Evangelical Association at the Emmanuel Class, and became an active and willing worker in the church. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Franklin Teter, as follows: Cluster Doyel, who was born on the eighth of July, 1895; Dale Vance, born October 2, 1896; and died March 16, 1897; Roy Edward, who was born on February 15, 1901; Earl Luther, who was born on October 15, 1904; Nora Esther, who was born on the second of May, 1906; and Howard Dean, who was born on the twenty-eighth of September, 1907.
AMOS A. KEPNER. Jackson township can boast of no more public- spirited citizen than Amos Kepner, who since 1897 has been engaged
DAUGHTER, PEARL
WEDDING GROUP OF MR. AND MRS. WM. F. BUNDY'S
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in farming in this vicinity, and whose influence has proven a material factor in the securing of good roads and other improvements. Mr. Kep- ner has contributed his full share of labor to the development of this part of Miami county, for his present handsome farm was uncultivated and valueless to the community when he first settled here and his exer- tions have resulted in making the land a credit to his industry and to the township. He is a native of the Hoosier State, and was born July 9, 1858, in Carroll county, Indiana, a son of Samuel and Catherine (Long) Kepner, and a grandson of Jacob Kepner.
Mr. Kepner received his education in the country schools, and early began his agricultural career. As a youth he accompanied his parents to Howard county, where he resided until 1897, when he brought his wife and children to Miami county. He purchased his present land, on which the only structure was a four-room cottage, and here commenced at once to make improvements. As the years have passed, he has added to his dwelling, remodeled it several times, and it is now one of the most attractive homes to be found in the township. Other substantial build- ings have been built, the land has been well tiled, ditched and drained, and the one hundred-acre property is now under a state of cultivation that insures large and profitable crops. He is a believer in the use of modern machinery, and is ever ready to give a trial to any reasonable method which his judgment tells him may work out for better results. He has devoted the greater part of his time to general farming, but has also met with a reasonable degree of success in the raising of stock.
On December 20, 1885, Mr. Kepner was married to Miss Virginia Bell Knox, whose father, Jesse Knox, was formerly a member of the board of county commissioners of Miami county, and whose brother, John Knox, is at present the trustee of Jackson township. Mr. and Mrs. Kepner have had nine children, as follows: Ofa, Guy, Ray, Roxie, Loren, Paul, Dorothy, Cecil and Ruthie, the last-named of whom died in infancy.
Mr. Kepner is a valued member of the Horse Thief Association. A friend of progress along all lines, he has been an untiring worker in the cause of good roads, and has made a number of personal canvasses in this connection. His wide circle of friends gives evidence of his popu- larity.
WM. F. BUNDY came to Miami county when two years of age, and his entire career has been passed within the limits of Jackson township. He has resided on his present valuable farm for more than a quarter of a century, and during this time his steadfast integrity and constant honesty have given him a firmly-established position in the confidence of his fellow-citizens, and the success which he has made of his personal affairs makes him deserving of a place among the representative men of his section. Mr. Bundy was born in Rush county, Indiana, May 15, 1857, and is a son of John and Hannah (Symons) Bundy. He is a grandson of Elias Bundy and Bethuel Symons.
John Bundy brought his family to Jackson township in 1859, and here was for a number of years engaged in farming, although at the present time he is living in Kansas. He and his wife became the parents of eleven children, as follows: Thomas E., who married Lizzie Marshall; Sarah J., who married John Peters; Bethuel, who married Lydia Peters; Elias, who married Narcissa Luther; Vietta, who became the wife of George Blaser; Walter A .; Elmina, who married Alfred Vesper; Joseph ; Arthur J. ; Maude, who married John Brockaway; and Wm. F.
Wm. F. Bundy received his education in the district schools, and on attaining young manhood engaged in farming on his own account. He came to his present property in 1888 and has since continued to make
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his home here, now having 1581% acres under a high state of cultivation. All of the present buildings were erected by him, and he has made numerous improvements of a modern character, and as the years have passed he has added to his stock and his equipment. Progressive methods have found in him a stanch supporter, and his success may be said to be due to the fact that he has worked industriously, perseveringly and intelligently. His reputation is that of a capable man of affairs, able to compete successfully with his fellows, a loyal friend, and a citizen whose public spirit has been tried and not found wanting.
On March 23, 1887, Mr. Bundy was married to Miss Margaret J. Lamb, daughter of Edmund and Johannah (Elliott) Lamb and grand- daughter of Isaac Elliott. Mrs. Bundy's parents had three children : Margaret J .; Rachel E., who died at the age of 18 years; and Sarah Catherine, who became the wife of Henry Carter. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Lamb married Martha Symons, and upon her death became the husband of Sarah Hodson, by whom he had one daughter, Cynthia. Mr. Lamb came to Miami county in 1854 from a farm near Marion, and first settled in Harrison township, where he resided until his death in 1893. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bundy : Hannah Pearl, who married Oliver Weesner; Irvin Neal, died aged 7; Chester E., who is attending Earlham College ; and Mary F., a student in the Amboy high school in third year. Mr. and Mrs. Bundy are faithful members of the Society of Friends, where she has been clerk of the monthly meeting and is at present acting in the capacity of elder. The pretty homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Bundy is known as "Broad View."
CHARLES CARTER. A citizen whose activities have resulted in direct benefit to his community is Charles Carter, a resident of Converse since 1868. Mr. Carter was for years well known in business circles and sub- sequently became a public official, and the manner in which he discharged the duties of both public and private life gave him an established posi- tion in the confidence of his fellow-citizens that he has ever continued to maintain. He is a native son of Indiana, born at Columbus, Decem- ber 8, 1853, a son of William Jerome and Egglantine (Barlow) Carter. On the paternal side he is a grandson of William Jerome Carter, Sr., while his maternal grandfather was William Barlow, inventor of the famous Barlow knife. This article was first fashioned by Mr. Barlow from a piece of steel and its general usefulness made it so popular that its fame spread all over the country, and wherever manufactured bore its inventor's name.
The father of Mr. Carter was born in Ohio, and on first coming to Indiana settled in Bartholomew county, where he was engaged at the carpenter trade, being so engaged at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1862 he enlisted for service in Company D, Eighty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and sacrificed his life in defense of his country's flag, dying two and one-half years later at Jackson, Mississippi, where he was buried in the National Cemetery. After his death his widow married William G. Kirkman.
Charles Carter was seven years of age when taken to Oakford, Indiana, and five years later removed to Kokomo, where the family spent three years. In 1868 he came to Xenia, now Converse, that being the year that the railroad was completed to this point and not the year 1867 as often erroneously stated elsewhere. His education in boyhood was some- what limited, being confined to a short attendance at a frame building in Converse that is now used as a barn. The greater part of his educa- tion was secured in the school of hard work, for as a youth he entered the employ of his stepfather, who was engaged in the manufacture of
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shingles. Industrious and enterprising, he carefully saved his slender earnings, and was eventually able to buy out Mr. Kirkman, and continued to operate the business until the factory was destroyed by fire. Owing to a scarcity of timber, Mr. Carter did not rebuild his plant. During this time he had made a record for bundling more shingles than any other man engaged in the business, 10,000 an hour being his output. Later, however, machinery was manufactured that could bundle 20,000 in an hour. Mr. Carter subsequently entered the railroad mail service and served as clerk on the Pennsylvania lines for two years, but in 1885 began his public service as niglit policeman. Later he was elected city marshal, an office in which he served capably for three years, and in 1906 President Roosevelt appointed him postmaster at Converse. His able handling of the duties of the office caused his reappointment, in 1910, by President Taft, and he continued to faithfully look after the mail interests of the people of Converse until the expiration of his term of office, May 19, 1914. The city has had no more capable or popular official, and he has made friends among those of all classes and political belief. Mr. Carter is a Mason and an Odd Fellow and takes a great deal of interest in the progress of the local lodges of these orders. He was reared in the faith of the Baptist Church.
On November 13, 1880, Mr. Carter was married to Miss Jennie Cam- mack, daughter of William Cammack, and three children have been born to this union: Harry A., who died at the age of seven years, five months, six days; Clyde Colfax; and Halford Wendell.
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