History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 101

Author: Ford, Ira, 1848- ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 618

USA > Indiana > LaGrange County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 101
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 101
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 101
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 101

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Edwin R. Powers was educated in Williams County, Ohio, grew up on a farm, and for twenty years was a traveling salesman. In 1909 he engaged in the real estate business and is a member of the firm Powers, Powers & Ivan.

He is a democrat, a member of the Masons, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. In 1891 he married Miss Jessie D. Gore, of Williams County, Ohio. Their daughter, C. Louise, is the wife of W. O. Goodwin, of Fremont. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin have a daughter, Barbara Mary.

JOHN KLINK. Few but the oldest residents in Salem Township in Steuben County will recall the late John Klink, who was an early settler there, a good farmer and a good citizen, and the homestead that he developed as a result of so much toil is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Mary Peeper.

John Klink was born in Seneca County, Ohio, March I. 1829, son of Christian and Mary (Failer) Klink. He came to Steuben County in early man- hood, and honght the present farm in section 12 of Salem Township in 1856. more than sixty years ago. He had eighty acres, cleared away the timber and brush, put up the first buildings on the land and lived there with growing prosperity and comfort until his death on Tanuarv 13, 1866. After his death his widow and child lived on the homestead for nine years. Mrs. Klink in 1875 was married to William Craig, and they moved to Auburn, where she died May 24. 1802. The children of John Klink were Mary: Thomas P., who died at the age of thirteen ; Caroline, who died when fourteen years old; and Lovina, who died at the age of nine.

Mary Klink, the only living descendant of John Klink, was married December o, 1873, to Nathaniel Killinger. a son of Steven and Rebecca Killinger. Nathaniel Killinger was born in Summit County, Ohio. October 2, 1819. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Killinger lived on the farm in section 12, which was under Mr. Killinger's capable direction until his death August 14, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Kil- linger had three children. noted briefly as follows : Minnie. wife of Clyde Dole, a farmer in Salem Townshin, and they had three children, named Zema. who married Clarence Rehneil, and have a son, Howard Paul; D. N .. and Ferman P. Morton B. the second child of Mrs. Killinger, was born January 20. 1877, and was drowned June 9, 1805. Llovd C. Killinger, who is a successful farmer in Jackson Township, married Rita Doudt, and has two children, Dewan and Marjorie D.

On Tuly 12. 1904, Mrs. Killinger became the wife of William Peeper. During the next two years they lived in Hudson, but since 1907 have resumed their residence on the old Klink homestead, where Mr. Peeper is now directing its management.

ALPHEUS K. FAUX. One of the foremost agricul- turists of Allen Township in Noble County, Alpheus K. Faux has lived in that county since boyhood and is a man who has earned his own success in life, and now has a property which is the source not only of profit but of all the pleasurable associations of a home. His farm is two miles south and two miles west of Kendallville.

Mrslecharles A Junod.

Chas Agumod

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

Mr. Faux was born in Morrow County, Ohio, December 20, 1864, son of Charles and Maria (Stockdale) Faux. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio. They mar- ried in Ohio and settled on a farm near Mount Gilead in Morrow County, but in 1875 left the Buckeye state and located in Noble County, where they spent their last years. Their home was in Orange Township. They were members of the Baptist Church and the father was a democrat in politics. His ready energies and resourcefulness enabled him to make a success, though he began life as a poor man, and he owned 320 acres of Noble County land. Of his fourteen children seven are still living: Burke, a farmer in Orange Township; Sadie, wife of Josiah Ziglar; Lottie, wife of John Spice, of LaGrange County; Alpheus K .; W. R., a farmer in Orange Township; Estella, wife of John W. Harvey, of Jefferson Township; and Justin, of Orange Township.

Alpheus K. Faux began attending school in Ohio and was ten years old when his people located in Noble County. After getting his education he lived at home to the age of twenty-one and pursued farm labor as a means of self support for a number of years. In 1893 he married Frances Wirick. After his marriage he rented a farm, and then bought an interest in the old homestead. That was his home until 1909, when he sold out and bought his 160-acre farm in Allen Township. This is devoted to gen- eral farming and stock raising, and is considered one of the notable farms of the township.

Mr. and Mrs. Faux have four children : Bernice, Charles D., George and Paul, all graduates of the common schools and all still at home. Mrs. Faux is a member of the Lutheran Church. In politics he votes as a democrat.

WILLIAM SEELY, who has long since passed the age of four-score, has spent three-quarters of a century in DeKalb County, and during this long time has been fruitful in many private and public endeavors and influences that have directly promoted the welfare of his community in Newville Town- ship.

Mr. Seely, who still lives on his farm near the village of Newville, was born in New York State October 7, 1833, a son of Amzi and Mercy A. (Ray) Seely, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Massachusetts. The Seely family came to Indiana, arriving in DeKalb County July 3, 1843. The same year they settled on the Richmond farm, and in the fall of 1845 Amzi Seely moved to Orange- ville, where he bought an interest in the flouring mill. He sold his share of this property in 1858 and after that lived at Newville until his death in the spring of 1877. He was a man of prominence in the county and served four years as a county commis- sioner. In politics he was a democrat. Amzi Seely was the father of four children, William; Isaac and Benjamin, both deceased, and Harriet, who is the wife of Samuel Stafford, of Newville.

William Seely was ten years old when brought to Indiana. He finished his education in the local schools and at the age of eighteen began appren- ticeship to the cabinet maker's trade. He followed that work until the spring of 1872, when he built a sawmill, and operated this mill for many years as a matter of commercial convenience and of profit to the Newville community. He later bought his farm of 120 acres, and for many years has had his home on that place.

In June, 1863, Mr. Seely married Ellen Stager. She was born in Ohio in 1836 and was reared in DeKalb County. Mrs. Seely died September 19,

1913, a few weeks after they had celebrated the httieth or golden anniversary of their wedding. She was the mother of five children: Elizabeth, widow of Horace Josling; Bertha, wife of Charles Wilson, of DeKalb County; Lena, wife of John E. Platter ; Maude M., wife of E. R. May, of DeKalb County; and John A., who is married and lives in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Seely has nine great-grandchildren.

Mr. Scely is a democrat and has been quite active in politics. He was elected trustee of Newville Township in 1882 and served three terms, eight years altogether. He is the only surviving charter mem- ber of William Hacker Lodge of Masons, and is also a Royal Arch Mason.

CHARLES A. JUNOD has had the satisfaction of spending over forty years in agricultural effort in LaGrange County, and from small beginnings has accumulated sufficient prosperity for all his needs, and in the meantime has seen a good family grow up around him and become honored in their re- spective spheres and vocations.

Mr. Junod was born at Ligieniere, Switzerland, May 18, 1845, but has been a resident of America since he was twelve years old. His parents were Charles L. and Elizabeth (Kiefer) Junod, both natives of Switzerland. His father was born in 18II and brought his family to America in 1857. He lived in Erie County, Pennsylvania, until 1862, then came to LaGrange County, Indiana, and after three years in Greenfield Township moved to Van Buren Township, where he spent the rest of his life and where he died June 6, 1889. At the time of his death he owned 160 acres of land. He and his wife had the following children: Ida, Charles A., Emma, Augustus, Lewis, Alcid (who died on the way to Indiana from the old country), Frank and Amos.

Charles A. Junod received his education partly in the old country and partly in America, and as a young man worked out by the day or month. In 1874 he married Eveline Steininger, a daughter of Joseph Steininger. The next three years he farmed rented land, and in 1878 bought the place of eighty acres in Van Buren Township where he lives to- day and where he has gathered most of his pros- perity. In 1896 he bought an adjoining sixty acres, and has the entire farm well arranged and well improved with buildings and other equipment. He and his wife also own 160 acres in St. Joseph County, Michigan.

Mr. Junod lost his first wife in 1891. She was the mother of four children: Orla, the oldest, is a state senator living in Montana. He married Mabel Mathew, and had three children, Eveline, Mabel and Amoretta, the first two now deceased. Charles F. has achieved distinction in financial circles, being vice president of the Atlantic City Bank of New York City. He married Augusta Smith and they have two children, Charles F., Jr., and Robert Smith. Joseph S. Junod is a farmer at home, while Ray L., the youngest of the family, lives in Chicago and is connected with the Continental National Bank. He married Catherine Boyden and has two children, Elizabeth and William B.

June 7, 1892, Mr. Junod married Martha C. Sex- auer, a daughter of Andrew Sexauer. They have two children, Lottie S. and Carlie E. Mr. Junod served for eight years as a member of the County Council of LaGrange County, and his name is there- fore known in all parts of this county.

SAMUEL B. NICHOLS. The life activities of Samuel B. Nichols have been widely known in LaGrange County, particularly in Lima Township, where he

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

has been a farmer and stockman, merchant and vice president of the State Bank of Lima for about thirty years.

He was born in Greenfield Township of the same county November 10, 1867, a son of Charles G. and Ella (Burnell) Nichols. Of the older members of his family and their relations with LaGrange County more is said on other pages. Samuel B. Nichols grew up on the homestead farm, had a public school education, and attended the Northern Indiana Nor- mal School at Valparaiso. On locating at Lima, now Howe, he engaged in the hardware business for about ten years, associated with Arthur S. Atwater under the firm name of Atwater & Nichols. In the meantime Mr. Nichols became interested in the State Bank of Lima, and when his brother Charles became its president he accepted the post of cashier, and has been the responsible executive of the bank ever since. He and his brother also own the old home- stead and do an extensive business as stock feeders.

Mr. Nichols had has no aspiration for office, though he is now a member of the Township Ad- visory Board. He votes as a republican, is a thirty- second degree Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was reared in the Episcopal Church, but attends worship at the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife is a member. He married October 23, 1895, Mary Samson, daughter of Mar- shall Samson, of Homer, New York.

FRANK J. SMITH with his brother Charles Smith constitute the firm of Smith Brothers, hardware merchants at LaGrange. This is an old established business, the firm having been in existence thirty years. They bought a business which had been conducted in LaGrange for a number of years. Frank J. Smith is one of three brothers, all of whom have been successful hardware dealers. The other one is a merchant at Hillsdale, Michigan.

Frank J. Smith was born at Hillsdale May 10, 1859, son of John and Elizabeth (Openo) Smith. His father was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1832. The mother was born in Oakland County, Michigan, in 1836. Her father, Joseph Openo, came out to Michigan Territory and settled in Oakland County in 1835, and spent the rest of his life as a farmer. In the Openo family were seven children, named Nancy, George, Charlotte, Charles, Joseph, Elizabeth and Mary. John Smith came from Ger- many to the United States when fourteen years of age, having in the meantime acquired a common school education. At Hillsdale, Michigan, he worked as a farm hand and later entered the hardware business in that city, and was a prosperous merchant at the time of his death in 1866. He and his wife had three children, Frank J., Charles H. and George N. The latter is owner of the Hillsdale Hardware Company. The mother of these sons died at Hillsdale May 30, 1917.

Frank J. Smith grew up in his native city, at- tended the public schools, was in high school through his junior year, and then followed the period in which he was earning his living, serving five years as deputy postmaster at Hillsdale. Another incident of his early life was going out to South Dakota and taking up a claim of 160 acres. After finish- ing a commercial course at Hillsdale College Mr. Smith removed to Hudson, Michigan, where he was employed in a hardware store for five years. He came to LaGrange County in 1888 and with his brother Charles bought out the hardware store owned by Arad Lampman on the west side of Main Street. They were in that old location for three vears and in January, 1892, moved to their present location where they have been in business for over

a quarter of a century and which is a landmark in the business district of LaGrange. The Smitlı Brothers are well known throughout Northern In- diana, have a large and completely stocked hardware establishment, and their success has been derived from their knowledge of business, honesty and up- right dealings with the public.

Mr. Smith is an independent democrat in politics. He and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church. He married Eva B. Dickerson in 1888. She was born at Hudson, Michigan, a daughter of James B. and Catherine Schuyler (Clover) Dick- erson. Her mother was a descendant of Peter Schuyler, one of the most noted heroes of the American Revolution and first mayor of Albany, New York. Her parents spent many years in Hud- son, Michigan, where they died. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born three children: Arnold D., who is a graduate of the LaGrange High School and was a student at Wooster University, after a year in service overseas has taken up his pre-war occupation as an automobile salesman. Kathryn Schuyler, who graduated from the LaGrange High School, then attended Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio, and later the Michigan Agricultural College, is now bookkeeper for the Smith Brothers hard- ware business at LaGrange. George Schuyler, the youngest child, is a graduate of the LaGrange High School, and is now junior in the Mechanical En- gineering Department of Purdue University.

CHARLES H. SMITH, of the firm of Smith Brothers, hardware merchants at LaGrange, is one of the most enterprising citizens of his community. With his brother Frank he has always been interested in every movement for the welfare of the city and county.

He and his two brothers are all veteran hard- ware men, the third brother being a hardware mer- chant at Hillsdale, Michigan. Charles H. Smith was born at Hillsdale March 10, 1861, a son of John and Elizabeth (Openo) Smith. His father was a native of Germany, came to the United States as a boy worked at various occupations in Southern Michigan and afterward became a hardware dealer at Hillsdale, where he died in 1866, when his son Charles was only five years old. The mother sur- vived many years. Her father was one of the pioneer settlers of Oakland County, Michigan.

Charles H. Smith as a boy attended public school at Hillsdale, and was in his senior year in high school when he left his studies to earn his own way and improve his opportunity to enter the hard- ware business. For ten years he was clerk in a hardware store at Hillsdale, and the only inter- ruption to his service was eight months while he was entering and making the initial improvement upon a 160 acre claim in South Dakota. Later he was clerk in a hardware store at Huron, South Dakota, and for two years was traveling salesman represent- ing a hardware house in Minnesota and South Dakota.

Mr. Smith and his brother Frank formed their partnership in 1888 and bought out an old estab- lished business at LaGrange. Their trade asso- ciations now cover all the territory around La- Grange, and it is one of the oldest and best known hardware organizations in Northeast Indiana.

Mr. C. H. Smith was also one of the organizers of the LaGrange Creamery and Ice Company and has been president of that corporation since it was organized. He was also identified with the organ- ization of the LaGrange State Bank and has since been one of its directors. He is an independent democrat in politics and is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge at LaGrange. His family attend the Presby- terian Church.

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

Mr. Smith married Miss Margaret Selby in 1890. She was born at LaGrange and her father was the late Harrison Selby, a prominent old time merchant of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one daughter, Lenore D. She is a graduate of the LaGrange High School and hnished her education at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and St. Mary's College at South Bend, Indiana.

L. W. CRANDALL has been in one line of business at Fremont for nearly thirty years, general produce, and is one of the oldest merchants and business men of 'that town. He came to Steuben County over forty-five years ago, and was a farmer until he entered business at Fremont.

Mr. Crandall was born in Courtland County, New York, July 29, 1853, a son of Cordial and Charlotta (Cutler) Crandall, who were natives of Vermont. His father spent his active life as a farmer in Oneida County, New York. The Crandalls are a Presbyterian family. There were seven children : Andrew Z., who served as a Union soldier in the Civil war, Aaron S., Stanford S., Laura L., Jotham N., Frank W. and L. W.

L. W. Crandall received a public school education in Oneida County, New York, and at an early age left home and became dependent upon his own energies. After working for several years in the East he came to Angola in 1872, and worked for others until he could get started independently. For twelve years he was a farmer in Jamestown Township, and in 1891 left his farm and engaged in the feed and produce business at Fremont.

March 30, 1881, he married Mary J. Nuttle. They had four children: Robert C., Frank L., Lula F. and Bertha M. Bertha died in childhood.

MILTON HALFERTY has been one of the fixtures in the agricultural community of Noble County prac- . tically aff his life. His people settled in Allen Township upwards of seventy years ago, and there the Halfertys have been known for their substantial character, their industry, thrift and intelligence ever since.

Milton Halferty was born on the farm where he now resides in Allen Township, August 19, 1865. His farm is two and a half miles west of Avilla. Mr. Halferty is a son of Edward and Henrietta (Carr) Halferty. The' Halferty family came from Pennsylvania, where the grandfather served as fieu- tenant in the French and Indian war. Edward Hal- ferty was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsyl- vania, October 14, 1816, and in early life moved to Ohio. November 17, 1846, in Ohio, he married Miss Henrietta Carr. She was born in Morrow County, Ohio, January 17, 1823. Five years after their mar- riage, in 1851, they came to Indiana and secured a tract of raw land in Noble County, redeemed it from the wilderness, and fived there and prospered until the close of their lives. They were the parents of nine children: Mary J., widow of James M. Black; Byron, deceased; Charles M., of Avilla ; Wil- liam, of Morrow County, Ohio; Pierce, of LaGrange County, Indiana; Mina, wife of John D. Kuhn; Dora, who is the widow of Emmett Cox; Albert, of Noble County; and Milton.

Milton Halferty has spent all his life on the old farm, and as a boy attended the local schools nearby. In 1891 he married Miss Jennie M. Seymour. This good and noble woman died September 4, 1892, leaving one daughter. The daughter is also named Jennie and is a graduate of the common schools and the Avilla High School, and spent three years in the Tri-State Normal College at Angola, Indiana. She taught a number of terms in the district schools and

is now at home with her father. Mr. Halferty has ninety acres, ail under cultivation, and it is from that he has made his living tor over thirty years. He is athliated with Kendallville Lodge No. 316, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a past noble grand and has been a member of the Grand Lodge. In politics he votes as a democrat.

IRA E. SMITH is a resident of Spencer Township, DeKalb County, and for over sixty years or more he has been busied with his affairs as a stirring and progressive agriculturist in that community. Mr. Smith is proprietor of a fine farm of 100 acres in sections 34 and 35 in Spencer Township. His home is 21/2 miles southeast of Spencerville.

He was born in Portage County, Ohio, February 22, 1852, a son of Levi and Harriet E. (Robb) Smith. Levi Smith was born in Mahoning County, Ohio, February 22, 1828, a son of Peter and Eliza- beth Smith, who came from Pennsylvania. Levi Smith at the age of seventeen began learning the shoemaker's trade, but in 1849 bought a farm in Portage County, Ohio, and in the spring of 1854 came to DeKalb County, Indiana, and bought eighty acres of sparsely improved land. He became one of the well to do citizens of DeKalb County, owning over 320 acres, and he and his wife lived there until their death. He married Harriet Robb in 1849. She was born in Ohio, a daughter of Jacob and Eliza- beth Robb. Levi Smith and wife had two children : Ira E. and Isaiah. The parents were members of the Methodist Church and the father was a demo- crat.

Ira E. Smith grew up on the home farm in De- Kalb County from the age of three years and was educated in the district schools. September 17, 1876. he was married to Lois D. Moore. She was born in Scipio Township of Allen County, Indiana, April 17, 1857, a daughter of William A. and Dorfiska (Bracy) Moore. William A. Moore and wife were natives of New York State and were married in Allen County, Indiana, where they spent their lives as farmers in Scipio Township. William A. Moore died September 19, 1896, and his wife May 17, 1914. Both were members of the Methodist Protestant Church and William A. Moore was a republican. In the Moore family were the following children : Angela S., wife of Zack Bartholomew; Harriet E., wife of John Omo,; Lois D .; William W .; Charles W .; Henrietta C., deceased; Hiram B .; Cora L., wife of John Rarick, all living but Henrietta. Mrs. Smith was educated in the district schools.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith moved to the farm where they now reside. They have three children: Harriett D., who is the wife of George Bowman and lives near Leo, Indiana; Wil- liam L., who is married and lives in Affen County ; and Elmer E., who is married and lives in Spencer Township. All the children were given good ad- vantages in the local schools. Mr. Smith is a democrat and has wielded considerable influence in local politics.

GEORGE W. KEPLER. The old Kepler home is in Franklin Township of DeKalb County, a mile and a half southeast of Hamilton. This place has been the center of associations for five generations of the Keplers. Land that was taken up and develop- ment begun by the grandfather of George W. Kep- fer, the present owner, has been under this name for over eighty years. Two small girls, living in the same locality, are granddaughters of George W. Kepler, and represent the fifth generation of the family.

George W. Kepler was born at Hamilton in Steuben County May 9, 1868. He is a son of John

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

and Nancy (Gunsenhouser) Kepler, the former born in Franklin Township in March, 1839, and the latter in Wilmington Township. John Kepler was a son of Samuel and Mary Kepler, who came to DeKalb County about 1834 and settled in Franklin Township, spending their last days on the farm where George W. Kepler now lives. John and Nancy Kepler had four children, three of whom are now living: Lula, widow of Henry Miller; George W .; Della, wife of Charles Mumaw, of Butler, and Cora M., who died in childhood.

George W. Kepler grew up in Franklin Township, attended district schools and the Hamilton High School, and on December 6, 1889, at the age of twenty-one, married Della Betz. She was born in Franklin Township March 16, 1870, a daughter of Jefferson Betz, and was educated in the common schools. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Kep- ler lived a mile south of Hamilton, and then for abont eight years lived in Hamilton. Mr. Kepler is a carpenter by trade and has done a great deal of contracting and building while in Hamilton and since returning to the old homestead farm. He has sev- enty-eight acres devoted to cultivation and livestock. He is a democrat in politics, is affiliated with Ham- ilton Lodge No. 228, Knights of Pythias, and his wife is a Pythian Sister, and both are members of the Hamilton Grange.

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 101

Author: Ford, Ira, 1848- ed Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 618

Author: Ford, Ira, 1848- ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 618