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 57
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In 1889 Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss Louise E. Butler, daughter of Josiah and Hannah (Wason) Butler, and two children have been born to this union: Jesse Desbrough, born October 20, 1892; and Paul B., born October 8, 1895, both of whom reside at home.
REV. WILLIAM M. REYBURN. Born in Virginia, October 21, 1792, William M. Reyburn when very young emigrated to Ohio, settling near the city of Lewisburg, where he grew to man's estate. He was raised a farmer, but early entered the ministry of the Methodist church, receiv- ing his license to preach about 1830. In October, 1831, he came to Miami county and settled on land adjoining the present city of Peru, where he opened a farm and spent the remainder of his life. He was one of the first preachers in Miami county, and in addition to the duties of his sacred calling took an active interest in the political affairs of the county, and was elected state representative in 1841 and senator in 1843. He was a soldier of the War of 1812, and while a resident of Ohio held the office of major in the militia of that state.
He married Sarah Black, of Ohio, June 13, 1816, and to this union were born the following children : Eliza J., James M., Caroline, Sobieski, John C., Margaret; Sarah, William B., Joseph and Sarah-all of whoni have long since passed away but Joseph, who alone survives. Mrs. Rey- burn died January 28, 1849, and Mr. Reyburn's second marriage occurred September 26, 1850, when he wedded Anna S. Woodward. Rev. William M. Reyburn's death occurred June 1, 1854.
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AARON G. ZOOK. The German-American agriculturist is the motive power who moved with successful activity the progress of our nation in wealth and prosperity. In the beautiful county of Miami, Indiana, the home of valuable and attractive farmsteads, Aaron G. Zook has played a conspicuous part. We append a brief review of Mr. Zook which will be read with much interest by the citizens of Miami county.
He is a native of this county, born May 6, 1853, and the only living child of his parents, William and Mary Anne (Cline) Zook. Mr. Zook traces his ancestry to old Germany, but his immediate progenitor was of Pennsylvania birth. William Zook was born at Morris Cove, Penn- sylvania, in 1815 and died October 18, 1902. He was but a little boy when his parents came to Olio in pioneer style. In 1840 they came to Indiana, and settled in Union township, Miami county, and the first land he owned was eighty acres of almost virgin soil. Their humble home was a log cabin, peculiar to that early day, surrounded by brush and briers, and a rude puncheon floor, and through the crevices in the floor grew the briers and the children would have to creep under the beds and cut them down. Some remnants of the Pottawattomies and Miami Indians were here at that time, and deer and wild turkeys and William Zook killed deer in the vicinity of his cabin home. This epoch of entry to Miami county was before any railroads existed and the pleasant thriving city of Peru of about sixteen thousand population, was a straggling little village and not more than two or three little stores there. In making the trip from Peru to his home it took one and a half days, and the territory just north of the city was an entire swamp and quagmire, and the roads were what were called "corduroy." William Zook acquired ten acres more and finally seventy-three acres more, and this seventy-three acres is a farm his son Aaron now occupies. Mr. Zook was a typical pioneer, honorable in all transactions and lived the right- eous life and instilled in his son the same principles which have been carried out by Mr. Zook and his noble wife. William Zook was a Repub- lican. and he voted for General John C. Fremont, the first nominee of the Republican party in 1856. Both Mr. and Mrs. Zook were devout Methodists and did their part in all benevolences. They are interred in the Weasau Cemetery, where a beautiful monument stands sacred to their memory.
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Aaron G. Zook has been reared in the school of agriculture in Miami county, all his life. He received only an ordinary education in the old subscription schools, which continued about three months each year. The first school he attended was the Weasau School, which was a log cabin school house, with slab seats and the desk to write on was a broad board resting on wooden pins driven into the wall for support, and when the pupils wanted to write, they had to turn around and sit facing the wall and long boards. When but a little boy he has seen them use the old goose quill pen. What a remarkable change! Now the Twentieth Century modern school buildings dot the fair lands in all directions and modernly equipped with the best of books, able teachers, and all conveniences.
Mr. Zook remained at the home with his parents, working and saving a little money each year, and December 16, 1875 he wedded Miss Emma Alice Delp, and to them have been born five children as follows: Alma G., married Walter O. Kniseley, a resident of Kokomo, Indiana, and they have three children: Dorothy, Robert and Eugene. Mrs. Kniseley was educated in the common schools and is a Baptist while her husband is a Methodist. Elbert A. is a graduated physician of chiroprac- tic school, and a resident of Denver, Ind. ; he wedded Miss Fern Bell. and they have one son Raymond, and they are all Baptists. Omer E. on April
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·· FAIRVIEW FARM.+
"FAIRVIEW FARM" RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. AARON G. ZOOK
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9, 1914, married Alta B. Griffith, a prominent teacher, enjoying the repu- tation of being one, if not the best primary teacher in the county. She is also proficient in music and is a Baptist. They reside at the old home- stead. His parents having vacated their original dwelling, now occupy a cottage erected near by. He received a good practical education and spent two years in high school, also ten weeks at Purdue University; politically he is a Progressive and a member of the Baptist church. Floyd W., a resident of Felsmere, Florida, and an agriculturist, also received a good education and spent two years in high school; he also spent ten weeks at Purdue and is a graduate of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. He spent one year in St. Louis, Mo., acting as assistant pastor of the Euclid Avenue Baptist church. Donald L., the youngest, has finished the public schools, and is now in the first year's work in high school. He is one of the crack spellers of Miami county, and in a state contest at Indianapolis was a close sixth in the state.
As is noticed, Mr. and Mrs. Zook have given the children the best of education, fitting them for the higher walks of life, and at the same time have given them that good religious and moral home training which is most beneficent in making of worthy citizens.
Mrs. Zook is a native of Fulton county, Indiana, born June 18, 1859, and is the sixth in a family of twelve children, cight sons and four daughters, born to Edward J. and Mary Ann (Moon) Delp. There are seven of the family living, three arc residents of Fulton county, one in California, one in Michigan, and one in Chicago. Father Delp was a native of the. Keystone state of Pennsylvania, but traced his lineage back to Germany. He was also a pioneer of Indiana, and died in Rochester, this state. He was a minister in the Baptist church and fought as a truc soldier in defense of the union through the entire Civil war, and was a member of the Army of the Cumberland. He was badly wounded, shot in the left arm with a buckshot, and carried an ounce ball in his body for years, but it was extracted before he passed away. Politically he was a Republican, and officially was a trustee of Union township, as well as a trustee in Fulton county. He was a gentleman of principle and honor and left this rich heritage to his children. Both Rev. Delp and his wife are buried in Rochester, Indiana. Mrs. Delp was a native of Starke county, Ohio, and was of German lineage. Mrs. Aaron Zook was a little maiden of only twelve years when she became a resident of Miami county, and received her education in the common schools. She is a lady of most genial, cordial personality, and she can number her friends by the hundreds. As is scen in her daily life she has been her husband's counselor and aid at all times in the establish- ment of their beautiful home and the rearing of their children. She is a member of the Baptist church and a member of the Missionary Society and Mr. Zook is one of the trustces of the Baptist church at Denver, Indiana. When the young couple, Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Zook, began their married life they had little capital. He had saved up about five hundred dollars of his earnings, and after purchasing their little outfit there was but little left. But young and possessed of that aggres- sive German spirit of ambition characteristic of that stock they boldly faced the possibilities as well as the hardships of life. Their first little home was crude indeed, as they could look through the broken shingles and see the light of day. But they burdened themselves with the purchase of the seventy-three acres of land, comprising their present homestead, and went in debt twenty-eight hundred dollars. With unflagging zeal, industry and economy, they cancelled the debt and added acre by acre until today in 1913 they have one of the most beautiful homesteads of Union township, comprising two hundred and
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sixty-eight and a half acres and the commodious and modernly con- structed residence, equipped with the latest conveniences, lighted by an acetylene plant, and cozily furnished, as well as the large and well built barn and outbuildings attest the success they' have attained.
Their beautiful home lies on an eminence overlooking the surround- ing country for miles, and the sobriquet of "Fair View Farm" is appropriate. Mr. and Mrs. Zook have no occasion to go to the seaside or watering places for comfort and pleasure in such a home. They are citizens who enjoy the esteem and respect of all who know them for their high quality of character, and it is most fitting to give them an honored place in the history of Miami county, Indiana. Mr. Zook has never aspired for political office, but has been ready to take his place as a true citizen.
WILLIAM N. HOOD. One of the original proprietors of the site of Peru, William N. Hood was a native of Ohio, born about the year 1791 or '92. His father, Andrew Hood, emigrated from Kentucky in an early day and was one of the first residents in the vicinity of Dayton, near which city the subject of this biography passed his youth and early manhood. In 1819 William Hood came to Indiana and located in Fort Wayne, where for a number of years he carried on a successful mercantile business, dealing extensively with the Indians during the period of his residence there. He moved to Miami county in 1831 and purchased of Mr. Holman a large tract of land on the Wabash river, including that upon which the city of Peru now stands. In 1834, in partnership with Richard L. Brit- ton and Hon. Jesse L. Williams, he laid out the original plat of the city for the ostensible purpose of securing the county seat. After locating the town Mr. Hood engaged in speculating in lands and real estate, which he followed until his death, and in which he was very successful, accum- ulating a valuable property and becoming wealthy.
While a resident of Fort Wayne he became acquainted with and mar- ried Sophia C. Ewing, daughter of Alexander and Charlotte E. Ewing, who were among the early prominent residents of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Hood reared five children, viz. : Andrew A., Richard B., William E., David B. and Susan W., wife of Howard Huggins, of New York city.
Mr. Hood was a man of fine abilities, and in 1836 was elected to repre- sent Miami county in the state legislature. He served one term, and in 1838 was re-elected to the same position, but did not live to enter the second time upon the discharge of his official duties, dying on the 9th day of July of the latter year. Mrs. Hood survived her husband about. thirty-one years, dying in 1869.
JAMES W. HURST. On a beautiful and fertile farm, a short distance southeast of the town of Macy, in Allen township, lives James W. Hurst, who is one of the influential citizens of that part of Miami county. He was born in Piqua county, Ohio, September 28, 1839, the youngest son of William and Sarah (Alkire) Hurst, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Kentucky. William Hurst died in 1841 and four years later his widow came with his children to Miami county, locating first in the town of Peru, but the next spring she removed to a farm in Richland township. In 1847 the family removed to Allen township.
James W. Hurst was educated in the public schools and taught one term in the winter of 1859-60. Shortly after that he engaged in mercan- tile pursuits in the town of Chili. He remained in this business but a short time, when he settled upon a farm in Allen township. In 1867 he opened a general store in the town of Macy and also engaged in the grain business, in which he continued for several years. He then sold his inter-
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ests in the town and since that time has devoted his entire attention to farming and stock raising. Mr. Hurst has been one of the most active men in his locality in securing the construction of ditches for the reclama- tion of wet lands.
Politically he is a Republican. He has served two terms as county commissioner, being elected to that office in 1878 and again in 1906. In 1884 he was the Republican nominee for representative in the state legis- lature, but was defeated along with his party ticket. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and was the first worshipful master of Lincoln Lodge, No. 523, when it was instituted at Macy in 1875. He and his wife both belong to the Christian church at Macy.
On April 12, 1876, he married Miss Romannia C. Hoover and to this marriage was born eight children, three of whom died in infancy.
OMER HOLMAN. For more than four score years the Holman family has been identified with the fortunes and business interests of Peru and Miami county. Joseph Holman, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, laid out the town of Miamisport in 1829; his son, Solomon Holman, the grandfather of Omer, was the civil engineer who established the first street grade in the town of Peru; William J. Holman was the principal promoter of the Peru & Indianapolis (now the Lake Erie & Western) Railroad, and other members of the family have been interested in various ways in the industries of the county.
Omer Holman is a son of Joseph and Melissa (Wallick) Holman and was born in Peru on March 28, 1872. In 1885, while attending the public schools, he began his business career as a carrier for the Peru Journal, delivering papers to subscribers after school hours. He graduated in the Peru high school on June 11, 1891, and eleven days later became a reporter on the Journal, where he remained until March 4, 1893, when he formed a partnership with John Diehl for the publication of a paper called the Comet. In August following Mr. Diehl sold out to W. M. Brenton and the firm of Brenton & Holman began the publication of the Daily Bulletin. A history of these papers will be found in Chapter XIV. After the sus- pension of the Bulletin Mr. Holman again became associated with the Journal as carrier and reporter. During his eighteen years' service with the Journal he estimates that he walked 45,000 miles. On January 6, 1906, he entered the employ of W. W. Lockwood, editor and proprietor of the Peru Republican, and has since been connected with that paper, being now the lessee and publisher. He has also at different times been the Peru correspondent of a score or more of metropolitan papers in various cities.
Mr. Holman is the secretary of the Peru lodge of the National Union and a member of Peru Lodge, No. 249, Loyal Order of Moose. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church since 1893. In his political views he is an unswerving Republican and has served as secretary of the Miami county central committee of that party, but has never been a can- didate for public office. On October 29, 1902, he was united in marriage with May Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Valentine Wood.
CHARLES ALBERT COLE. If one was asked to prepare a list of the mem- bers of the Miami county bar in the order of their prominence, the name of Charles A. Cole would be found near the top of that list. He is a native son of Miami county, having been born on a farm in Peru township, March 21, 1855, a son of Alphonso A. and Sarah (Henton) Cole. After the death of his father in 1862 the family removed to the city of Peru, where he has since made his home. Charles A. Cole was educated in the public schools and Indiana University, at Bloomington, but left the latter insti-
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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY
tution in his junior year. He then entered the law office of Lyman Walker, where he fully equipped himself for the practice of law, and was admitted to the Miami county bar on January 8, 1878.
Since that time "Judge" Cole, as he is familiarly known, has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Peru. He has always taken a keen interest in public affairs ; has served as county attorney and as a member of the city school board, and has been a willing helper of practically every movement for the moral, educational and material uplift of the community. As a Democrat he has participated actively in a num- ber of political campaigns and in 1880 was elected on that ticket to repre- sent Miami county in the lower house of the state legislature, where he served upon some of the important committees and rendered a good account of his stewardship.
Mr. Cole is a member of the Presbyterian church and his fraternal relations are with the Knights of Pythias. On December 3, 1884, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Harvey J. and Eliza M. Shirk, of Peru. To this union have been born a son and daughter- Albert Harvey and Sarah Helen Cole. The son graduated in both the literary and law departments of Indiana University and is now in partner- ship with his father in the practice of law. Miss Sarah H. Cole attended Indiana University for a time and in 1913 took vocal instruction in New York.
HON. JOHN A. GRAHAM. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, January 8, 1817. His parents, natives of Ireland, emigrated to this country in 1815, landing in Baltimore, after undergoing great hardships during a pro- longed voyage in which they narrowly escaped being shipwrecked. In 1826 the family removed to Pittsburg, in 1827 to Wheeling, and in 1828 returned to Baltimore. In 1830 they went to Harper's Ferry, and finally, in 1832, settled in Indiana.
John A. Graham was employed at Harper's Ferry as clerk until 1835. In May of that year, being then cighteen, he started for Indiana. At Wheeling he took passage on a steamboat and was landed at midnight, a solitary passenger, at the mouth of the Wabash. He there expected to find a town filled with enterprising people, but he saw only a dreary waste of turbid waters. No sound greeted his ear but the hoot of the owl and the crash and crunch of the running drift. After sitting on his baggage at the water's edge until near daylight, he discerned from the top of the bank something like a building in the obscurity of the morning fog, and detected a faint sound of human voices coming from a point further up the river. About a half mile from where he landed he found a steamboat bound for the upper Wabash, and after various adventures and deten- tions, he succeeded in reaching Peru. There he made arrangements for taking charge of a store in Logansport for Alexander Wilson. He remained in the latter place until the business was closed up in June, 1835, when he returned to Peru. He acted as clerk for Mr. Wilson until 1839, when he became a partner. The firm of Wilson & Company packed pork in 1839. It was the first undertaking of the kind in the place and proved a financial failure, owing to the low water in the Maumee, which prevented the quick transportation to New York. They built flatboats and in 1840 commenced sending pork to New Orleans. This also proved a failure, on account of hard times and low prices.
In 1841 and 1843 Mr. Graham was elected sheriff of Miami county. In 1846 he was appointed clerk in the Wabash & Erie Canal land office, and he held this place until 1847, when the office was moved to Logansport, under an act of the legislature adjusting the state debt, known as the Butler bill. He then bought the printing office at Peru and June 28, 1848.
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issued the first number of the Miami County Sentinel. This paper was successfully managed by him as editor and proprietor until 1861, when he sold out and retired from the editorial chair. In 1850 Mr. Graham was a delegate to the state convention to form a new state constitution. In 1870 he was elected clerk of the Miami circuit court and at different times served as a member of the town and city council. He was special agent of the United States to pay the Miamis in the years 1857 and 1859, and held many other positions of trust. In 1881 he was elected mayor of the city of Peru. He was a life-long Democrat and in religion was a Roman Catholic.
He was married to Caroline A. Avaline in Peru, June 28, 1842, and three sons and six daughters were born to them. Mr. Graham was below the average height but was heavily and compactly built. His opportuni- ties for an education were limited but he was a constant reader and had a wonderful memory. He was recognized as the "Historian of Miami." As a writer he was fluent, precise as to dates. and figures, and full of humor. Few men possessed the confidence of the community in a more eminent degree. His death occurred May 27, 1894.
ALFRED EDGAR ZEHRING. Among the progressive farmers of the southern part of Miami county, perhaps none is better known than Alfred E. Zehring, who lives upon the farm in the southwestern part of Deer Creek township, where he was born on August 9, 1860. His parents, William and Susannah (Feagler) Zehring, were both natives of Ohio, the former born in Butler county, May 3, 1821, and the latter born in Montgomery county. They were married on August 20, 1845, and in 1857 came to Miami county, Indiana. William Zehring then purchased the farm of 160 acres in Deer Creek township where the subject of this sketch now resides. He soon became prominently identi- fied with public affairs; was one of the Democratic leaders in the county ; served as trustee of the township; was elected county commis- sioner in 1866, and in 1876 was elected to represent Miami county in the lower branch of the state legislature.
Alfred E. Zehring was educated in the public schools of his native township and the city of Peru and taught in the public schools for sev- eral years, though he has always classed himself as a farmer. He was one of the first board of directors of the Farmers' State Bank of Bunker Hill and since June, 1912, has been president of that institution. His charitable disposition is well known and he has always been interested in the matter of public improvement, such as good roads, good schools, etc. In 1910 he was nominated by the Democratic convention for state senator in the district composed of Howard and Miami counties, and though this district is normally Republican by 1,200, he was defeated by only 100 votes. Two years before that time he was the Democratic candidate for township trustee, but Deer Creek is one of the strong Republican townships and he was defeated. He has served as a member of the county council and has frequently been called upon to act as administrator, guardian for minor heirs, court commissioner and other positions of trust and responsibility.
The only society of which he is a member is the Miami County Detec- tive Association. Though not a member of any church he is an attendant at religious services and a liberal contributor to church and charitable work.
On February 2, 1893, Mr. Zehring married Miss Della Wininger, a native of Deer Creek township, and to this union have been born five children : George, Claude, Emma, Lena and Lula, the last two being twins.
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ARTHUR LAWRENCE BODURTHA. Although a native son of the Empire State, Arthur Lawrence Bodurtha has passed nearly all his life as a resident of the city of Peru. He was born in Hudson, New York, April 2, 1865, the only child of Harvey Lawrence and Mary (Haight) Bodurtha, though he had a half-brother, Charles E. Bodurtha. His paternal ances- tors came from England about 1640 and settled near what is now West Springfield, Massachusetts, where most of their descendants still reside. Harvey L. Bodurtha came to Peru in the early '60s and engaged in business there, but retained his home in Hudson, New York, until the spring of 1866, when he brought his family to Indiana. Arthur L. Bodurtha was educated in the public schools of Peru, the academy at Glens Falls, New York, and at Williams College. He then studied law for two years in the office of William E. Mowbray, at Peru, and in April, 1889, was admitted to the bar of the Miami circuit court. In April, 1891, he abandoned the law for journalism, purchasing at that time a half interest in the Peru Journal, of which paper he was the editor until he disposed of his interest in November, 1913. As an editorial writer lie became well known throughout Indiana, particularly among Republicans, with which party he has always affiliated. In 1898 he served as chairman of the Miami county Republican central committee, and in 1912 was the candidate for presidential elector for the Eleventh Congressional district on the Republican ticket. Governor Winfield T. Durbin appointed him to a position on the gubernatorial staff, with the rank of major.
Mr. Bodurtha has been actively identified with almost every movement for the betterment of Peru's material and municipal welfare. In this work his interest and executive ability was recognized by his fellow workers in the Peru Commercial Club, who elected him president of that organization for the years 1907 and 1908. He has also been identified with a number of the city's business enterprises.
Fraternally, Mr. Bodurtha is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of Peru. He is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the National Geographic Society.
On March 27, 1912, Mr. Bodurtha was united in marriage with Miss Katherine C. Ross, daughter of James S. and Elizabeth Ross, of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. He resides at 128 West Main street, Peru, in the homestead formerly owned and occupied by his father's family.฿
BOUND TO PLEASE THE Heckman Bindery INc.
DEC.65
N. MANCHESTER,
INDIANA
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