History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 102

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 102
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 102
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 102
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 102

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Their only son and child is Alva L. Kepler, who was born April 25, 1893, and lives in Franklin Town- ship. He married Ida Dangler, and their two young daughters are Marie L., born September 20, 1916, and June Rose, born June 1, 1919.

CARL A. REDDING, of Pleasant Township in Steu- ben County, has a very successful record as a dairy- man, and is regarded as an authority on many branches of the dairy industry in this part of In- diana. His own career supplements a meritorious family record. his people having been identified with Northeast Indiana for three generations.

Mr. Redding was born in Steuben Township July 26, 1876, a son of Alexander George and Sarah (Zabst) Redding. His grandfather, George Redd- ing, was a native of France, came to America when a boy with an older married sister, and was bound out at Buffalo, New York, to learn the painter's trade. In 1862 he came to Steuben Township with his family, locating on a farm. He retired in 1875 and lived in Angola until his death in 1892. His wife died in 1890. They have two children: Sophia, who married George Merrill, of Toledo, and Alex- ander George.

Alexander George Redding was born in Toledo, Ohio, and died in September, 1876, when his son Carl was only a few weeks old. His wife, Sarah Zabst, was born in Pleasant Township of Steuben County, a daughter of John and Catherine Zabst. John Zabst, a notable figure among the pioneers of Steuben County, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, France, and at the age of ten years came to Amer- ica. For several years he worked on a canal boat between Buffalo and Albany, and from New York State settled in Crawford County, Ohio, and in 1846 invaded the wilderness of Steuben County, Indiana. He located on a farm in Pleasant Town- ship two miles southeast of Angola. The woods were heavy and dense all around him, and there was only a cow path between his land and Angola. He made the journey from Ohio with an ox team, his wife and two children coming with him. He paid $500 cash for 160 acres of land, only five acres cleared and all the rest gradually came into cultiva- tion through his individual labors. He was a man of high standing in the community, and was active in the Methodist Church. John Zabst and wife had

the following children : George, deceased; Erm- anda, who married Levi Harmon; Magdalena, who died in childhood; Margaret, who became the wife of Joseph Crotzer; Sarah; Catherine, wife of Silas Yeager; John; William; Augustus, who died in childhood ; and Franklin.

Carl A. Redding was the only child of his father, whose career was interrupted just as he was getting started. Carl Redding and his mother then lived with her people in Steuben Township, and he grew up there, attending the public schools of Angola, including high school, and graduated from the Tri- State Normal College of Angola. After leaving school Mr. Redding applied himself to the business of farming on his present place, where he now owns 180 acres. He has added to the value of the land by his modern improvements. He began farming there in 1898 and in 1907 began specializing as a dairyman. His herd grew until he had seventy head. He sold a large part of his stock in Decem- ber, 1918, but still has about fourteen blooded Holstein cattle.

In 1897 Mr. Redding married Mary K. Gale daughter of Jesse M. and Elizabeth Gale. They have two children, Louis and Ralph R. Mr. Redd- ing is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America and belongs to the Rotary Club at Angola.

FRANK M. OWEN. It is a pleasure to the men who are now engaged in cultivating the fertile land of Steuben County to reflect that this valuable sec- tion of Indiana was redeemed by men of brawn and muscle who came here imbued with the idea of securing homes for their offspring, and that among them were their own forebears. Frank M. Owen of Angola, who is the owner of considerable land in the county, descends from one of the very early settlers of Steuben County, Elijah Owen, whose arrival dates back to 1836, when that excellent man entered a tract of land at Gage Lake in Millgrove Township, and there he spent the remainder of his life. He was a ship builder by trade, and had worked at Sandusky, Ohio. He was married to Hannah Green, and they had the following children : Ira, Hannah and Henry H. The last named was born in Lake County, Ohio, near the Town of Perry, in 1834, so was only two years old when he was brought by his father to Steuben County. Here he was reared and attended the public schools of Gage Lake, and about 1855 began farming in Mil- grove Township, where he remained until 1879, when he moved to Angola, and there he lived the re- mainder of his life. Henry H. Owen was married to Maria Burroughs, born in Fremont Township, Steuben County, Indiana, a daughter of Truman and Lydia (Dudley) Burroughs, the former a pioneer minister of the Baptist Church in this part of Indiana. He and his wife had the following chil- dren: Adoniram Judson, Rising, William (who is a veteran of the Civil war), Arvilla, Susan, Maria, Aletha and Merritt. The children born to Henry H. Owen and his wife were : Frank M., whose name heads this review, and Bell, who died at the age of twenty-five years. Both parents of these chil- dren were consistent members of the Christian Church.

Frank M. Owen was reared in his native place and attended the excellent schools of Gage Lake and the Angola High School. Having been brought up to farm work, he realized the desirability of en- tering that calling, and has been a farmer all his mature years. His birth occurred at Gage Lake, Millgrove Township, September 5, 1861, and he has spent his entire life in Steuben County, now mak-

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ing his residence at Angola, although he owns sev- enty-six acres of land in Millgrove Township and 280 at Gage Lake. The rural residence is near Crooked Lake, a very desirable location, but it is only occupied during the summer months, for since 1897 Mr. and Mrs. Owen have felt that their chil- dren ought to be given the advantages of the An- gola schools.

On October 6, 1886, Mr. Owen was married to . the Avilla High School. Clarence served with the

Elsie Morse, a daughter of Frank B. and Elsie (Lewis) Morse. M.s. Owen had the misfortune to lose her mother when she was only four days old and she was adopted by David D. and Ellen Scoville, and was known as Elsie M. Scoville prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Owen have two children, namely: Alice B. and Paul H. The family all belong to the Christian Church. Mr. Owen is an Odd Fellow. He is a man of probity who has always done what he believed to be his full duty by his family and community, and is held in high esteem by his associates.

SAMUEL WEIMER. Representing an old and hon- ored family name in Noble Township, Samuel Weimer has lived there all his life, and the manner in which he has conducted his private affairs and the stanch character he has exhibited in all his life's relations make him worthy of all the esteem and honors paid him. His farm home is a mile south and quarter of a mile east of Avilla.

He was born in Allen Township, November 29, 1862, son of Solomon and Catherine (Barcus) Weimer. The early history of this family shows that it was among the very earliest settlers in Noble County. Solomon Weimer was born in Avilla, October 15, 1841, more than three-quarters of a century ago. His father was Peter Weimer and his grandfather Samuel Weimer, both natives of Baden, Germany. Samuel Weimer brought his family to 'the United States, located at Avilla, his location being where the Catholic Church now stands. Peter Weimer after his marriage settled in Avilla, and later owned the farm which is now the site of the Old People's Home. Later he sold that and moved two miles north of Avilla, where he spent his last years.

Solomon Weimer grew up on the farm that has since been sold as a site for the Old People's Home, and after his marriage located on a farm west of Avilla. That farm he still occupied until his death, and was one of the well-known. old timers of the locality. He died December 15, 1918. He and his wife had five children: Samuel; John, of Flag Center, Illinois ; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Weimer ; Sarah, wife of August Polk; and William, still at the home farm.

Samuel Weimer grew up on a farm in Allen Township and attended the district schools. He lived at home until he was twenty-one. He married Miss Susanna Simons, and after their marriage they started out as farmers on the 100-acre place where they lived until February, 1919, when he retired and moved to Avilla, his son now conducting the farm. Mr. Weimer besides prospering as a farmer has identified himself with various local affairs. He is a stockholder in the Mutual Telephone Company. For the past twenty years he has been active in local affairs as a republican. His wife is a member of the Lutheran Church and he is one of the liberal con- tributors to that denomination.

For all his material prosperity and honored posi- tion in the community Mr. Weimer doubtless takes the greatest satisfaction of his life in the fine family of children that has grown up around him. The

oldest is Carrie, wife of Charles Smuck, of Jefferson Township. Leroy is a graduate of the Avilla High School, of Wabash College and of Cornell Univer- sity, and is now an expert in plant pathology in the United States Department of Agriculture. He is married. Nora married Joseph Anderson, of Swan Township, Noble County. Ella is the wife of James Kramer, of Greene Township, and is a graduate of

colors in the American Expeditionary Forces in France until he returned home April 11, 1919, after one year's service. He was in Battery F, 135th Light Field Artillery, and was in the October drive at the front. The two youngest are Harold and Gerald, twins. Gerald is married and lives in Jef- ferson Township, and Harold is married and on the home farm.

EDWARD G. DICK, proprietor of one of the good farms of York Township in Steuben County, has family connections that have been identified with this part of Northeast Indiana from pioneer days. The family has been an industrious one and has furnished numerous citizens of high standing to different localities.

Mr. Dick was born in Jackson Township of Steu- ben County, March 19, 1870, a son of George W. and Julia A. (Larne) Dick. The Larue family were among the first settlers of York Township. His grandfather, John Larue, was for a number of years engaged in farming in York Township, and later was a shoemaker and shoe merchant at Metz. He and his wife, Josephine, had the following children : John, Edward, Sylvester, Norma, Josephine, Julia A. and Emelia, but the last named died in child- hood.

The paternal grandfather of Edward G. Dick was George E. Dick, a native of Germany who brought his family to America in 1851 and located in Wil- liams County, Ohio, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1864 he enlisted in the Civil war, becom- ing a member of Company D, One Hundred and Ninety-Fifth Ohio Regiment. He acquired and de- veloped a good farm of 180 acres. His children were named Peter, Margaret, Cass, George W. and Caro- line. George W. Dick, also a native of Germanv. was a small child when brought to America, and during the '6os he moved to Jackson Township in Steuben County. He has had a varied and active career as a farmer, farm developer and owner, and has tilled the soil in Ohio, Northeast Indiana and in the West. His present home is in Northwest Township, Williams County, Ohio. He and his first wife, Julia A. Larue, had three children, Edward G., Minnie and Myrtie. He married for his second wife Jennie Clark. There are two daughters by the second wife, Luella and Bessie.

Edward G. Dick attended the public schools of Williams County, Ohio, and began farming before he reached his majority. His first work in that line was done in Williams County, but in 1904 he moved to York Township, and for over fourteen years has been making a living and earning the esteem of the community as a farmer in section 17, where he owns eighty acres. He is affiliated with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and with his wife is a member of the Methodist Church.

He married Caroline Knapp in September, 1889. She is a daughter of Nelson and Emelia (Castine) Knapp. They have five children: Lawrence, who married Nora Headley and has two children, Alene and Winona; George W., who during the World war served in Company A of the Thirty-Sixth In- fantry; Fern, wife of Perry Duguid and the mother of two children, Lee and Madeline; Ethel, who is

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married to Floyd Fireoved, and her three children are Deloss, Lena and Max; and Ralph, youngest of the family, is at home on the farm.

SAMUEL E. CLINE. Left an orphan at the age of ten years, Samuel E. Cline had many difficult strug- gles in his early youth, had to work for a living when most boys of his age were in school and at home, and out of it all he has achieved a commend- able prosperity and is one of the successful farmers of LaGrange County and is also the present assessor of Springfield Township.

Mr. Cline was born in Barry County, Michigan, January 1, 1862, a son of John and Martha (Mc- Nutt) Cline, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. John Cline was reared in Ohio, and about 1855 brought his family to La- Grange County, Indiana. A few years later he moved to Barry County, Michigan, where he died in July, 1864, when his son Samuel was two years old. The mother returned with her children to LaGrange County in the same year and lived here until her death eight years later. Her six children were: Sarah Jane, who died at the age of three years; Nancy Ellen, who died when one year old; Hannah, who died when about eleven years old; John, a resident of Bloomfield Township; Hulda, who became the wife of Eugene Williams, and died in January, 1917; and Samuel E.

Samuel E. Cline received all his education in the graded schools of LaGrange County. The year of his marriage he bought forty acres of his present farm, where he has lived since September, 1886. By his personal labors he has cleared about thirty acres of land. His farm had only a log house when he came to it, and in that structure his children were born. Gradually prosperity has rewarded his labors and he now has 256 acres, all but thirteen acres in one body and with excellent improvements.

August 7, 1886, Mr. Cline married Miss Jennie Gage, a native of Bloomfield Township and daughter of Ezra Gage. To their marriage were born three children : Charles E., a farmer of Bloomfield Town- ship; Vern E., a Springfield Township farmer; and Claude E., who lives on the home place with his father. Mr. Cline is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Shipshewana. He married cial capacity he was a member of the Township Advisory Board six years and was elected assessor of Springfield Township in 1914.

GEORGE CASSEL. One of the prosperous farmers of Steuben County who in his everyday operations is proving that American farmers are among the most diligent and thrifty persons in the world, and that their calling is now one of the most im- portant, is George Cassel of Otsego Township. He was born in Williams County, Ohio, December 22, 1863, a son of Curtis Cassel, and grandson of Jacob Cassel.

Curtis Cassel was born at Hagerstown, Mary- land, and his wife, Emily (Thrush) Cassel, was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Pfifer) Thrush. In 1871 he came to Scott Township, Steuben County, there spending about thirty years, but then moved to York Town- ship, and after six years, having retired, went to Fremont, where he died in August, 1917, his wife having passed away in 1907. Their children were as follows: Joseph; Alice, who married Theo Swick; Helen, who married Morton Brown; Jacob; John; George; and Catherine, who married Domer Cassel.

George Cassel has had quite a varied experience, for after he had completed his courses at the dis- trict schools of Scott Township he began working for neighboring farmers, and then was employed

in a cider mill at Quincy, Michigan, for a time. He left there to take charge of a threshing outfit, which he conducted for seventeen years. Since 1893 he has been farming, and for the past six years he has been engaged in selling fire insurance, represent- ing the Fidelity Phoenix Insurance Company. In 1893 Mr. Cassel bought twenty acres of land in Scott Township, adding eighty acres more in 1901. In 1910 he sold this farm in Scott Township and bought 141 acres in Otsego Township, in section 3, which is his present farm. The family residence, a very comfortable modern home, was erected by him, and he has made numerous other important improvements, for he believes in keeping everything thoroughly up-to-date. In addition to doing general farming Mr. Cassel is breeding blooded hogs, and is quite an authority on them.

Mr. Cassel was united in marriage with Della Bowman, a daughter of Henry and Lucy (Kiss- inger) Bowman. Mr. and Mrs. Cassel have one son, Floyd B., who was born July 29, 1888. He married Mabel Miller, and they have two children, Charlotte L. and George William. Floyd Cassel is assisting his father in conducting the homestead and is a very energetic young man. The Cassel family is well and favorably known in Steuben County, and its representatives stand well in public confidence.

LEWIS I. MATSON, who has spent his life in North- eastern Indiana, represents one of the pioneer fam- ilies of DeKalb County, and his own active career has been spent chiefly in Steuben County, where for upwards of half a century he has been a prac- tical and progressive farmer, and today owns one of the best farms in the vicinity of Pleasant Lake.

He was born in DeKalb County October 10, 1844, a grandson of Elijah Matson and a son of John Matson. John Matson, who was born near Rut- land, Vermont, February 3, 1806, at the age of twenty-one went to Onondaga County, New York, and in 1835 came to Indiana and entered 160 acres of wild land in DeKalb County. He had a cabin built in section 30 of Franklin Township, and the following year brought his family, arriving at Ham- ilton on September 30, 1836. He was a carpenter by trade and worked long hours after darkness fell on the fields to make doors and windows for the neighbors, taking his pay in work on his own land. In that way he cleared up 100 acres and achieved success as a farmer. At the time of his death he had over 200 acres in DeKalb County. He was as public spirited as he was industrious, and enjoyed the love and respect of his community all his life. He died November 4, 1876. September 10, 1833, John Matson married Margaret Waterman, a daughter of Elijah Waterman. They were the parents of ten children: Cordelia, Alvin, Chloe, James, Lewis, Lydia, George and Ophelia and two that died in infancy. Cordelia married C. W. Taft. Alvin never married. Chloe became the wife of Professor Alonzo Collin, a member of the faculty of Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa. James married Frances Taylor. Lydia was the wife of Burley Albrook. George married Matilda Ridge, and Ophelia became the wife of M. A. Goodell. John Matson was a whig and republican in politics.

Lewis I. Matson grew up on the old homestead six miles south of Hamilton in DeKalb County, attended public schools and also had a year of in- struction in Cornell College in Iowa. He was a teacher for two terms and in 1867 came to Steuben Township in Steuben County, locating at Pleasant Lake. On March 4. 1867, he married Miss Orcelia R. Clark, who was born in Steuben County March 1, 1845, a daughter of Dr. Alonzo P. and Betsey

Ir and Muss. William J. Olney

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

(Bump) Clark. The Clark family were pioneers of Steuben County February 16, 1852, son of Find- ben Township. Doctor Clark took up land near the Village of Steubenville, north of Pleasant Lake. At that time it was supposed the county seat would be Steubenville. Doctor Clark was both a physician and a lawyer, and was a citizen of great influence in his locality in the early days. He owned about 600 acres of land in Steuben Township. He died in 1867, at the age of fifty-nine, and his widow sur- vived until March 26, 1878, being then seventy years of age.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Matson lo- cated on a part of the Clark homestead, and after a few years he started the first hardware store in the Village of Pleasant Lake and continued the business for twelve years. He then took up gen- eral merchandising with the firm of Chadwick & Ransburg, and was associated with those merchants for twelve years. He then resumed farming, and has a place of 300 acres a mile north of Pleasant Lake and is successfully engaged in general crop raising and livestock. Mr. Matson has for twenty- five years been an active prohibitionist, and in early life was affiliated with the republican party. He was trustee of Steuben Township. Mr. Matson and his wife were Baptists, and he has been affil- iated with that church for forty years.

Mr. and Mrs. Matson had four children. Clark A. P. is an attorney in Chicago. James L. is con- nected with the shipping department of the Over- land Automobile Works at Toledo. Mabel is the wife of Henry G. Brown, of Lebanon, Indiana. The youngest is John O. Matson. The mother of these children died-January 29. 1906. On Angust 12, 1906, Mr. Matson married Ada (Clark) Shack- ford, widow of Charles A. Shackford. She has three children by her first husband: Edna Grace, wife of William O. Driskell; Alice M., wife of Dr. J. R. Lacey; and Mabel F., unmarried.

John O. Matson, who for a number of years has been one of the leading business men and merchants of Steuben County, was born in Steuben Township November 4, 1878, and was reared in Pleasant Lake, attending the high school there. He acquired a business training as clerk with the firm of Chad- wick & Ransburg for six years. In May, 1903, he bought the hardware store at Pleasant Lake from H. A. Gish, and for over fifteen years has con- tinued a profitable business as a merchant, grad- ually extending his lines to include furniture and agricultural implements. Mr. Matson is a republi- can, but has never sought office, and is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge and Knights of the Mac- cabees. He has been a member of the Baptist Church for over twenty years.

July 31, 1900, he married Miss Bessie B. Lemmon. She was born in Steuben County, a daughter of Riley and Lorana (Tuttle) Lemmon. Riley Lem- mon was born in Sandusky County, Ohio, November 26, 1839, and his wife was born in Steuben County, Indiana, April 15, 1840. The parents of Riley Lemmon were Maurice and Lucinda (Rathbun) Lemmon, who came to Steuben County in 1843, settling in Otsego Township, where they spent the rest of their days. Riley Lemmon grew up on the old farm in Steuben County and afterward acquired the ownership of the place. For sixteen years he has lived at Pleasant Lake. His wife died in 1899. Riley Lemmon and wife had the following children : Maurice, Cora, Morton, Lora, Chaplin, Vira, Bessie, Ethel and Elsie. Mr. and Mrs. Matson have two children : June Maurine, born March 22, 1904, and John Lewis, born January 31, 1916.

Vol. II-24

JOHN W. HARVEY is a native son of Jefferson Township, Noble County, and for the better part of his active life has applied his energies to the business of farming and stock raising and is easily one of the most substantial business men and citizens of that community. He is proprietor of the Maple Grove farm, comprising 160 acres, with fifty-three acres in a farm adjoining. The Harvey home is four and a half miles southwest of Kendallville, in section 2 of Jefferson Township.

This farm is the birthplace of John W. Harvey. He was born March 4, 1871, only child of James N. and Isabelle (Johnston) Harvey. James N. Harvey was born in Ashland County, Ohio, in Clear Creek Township, December 10, 1842, son of George and Mary (Bremner) Harvey. George and Mary Harvey were both natives of Scotland, were married there and three of their children were born before they came to the United States in June, 1837. They located in Ashland County, Ohio, but in the spring of 1853 came to Indiana and located in Jefferson Township. Some years later they moved to the village of Albion, where both the grandparents died. Of their nine children only two are now living, Robert Harvey, who was liberally educated, was formerly connected as a surveyor with the United States Government and is now state surveyor of Nebraska, and C. L. W. Harvey, a farmer in Jeffer- son Township of Noble County.

James N. Harvey was educated in the common schools of Noble County, attended Adrian College and also took the commercial course of Oberlin College. On February 7, 1870, he married Isabelle Johnson. She was born in Scotland September 10, 1847, and was brought to the United States in 1854, her parents locating in Richland County, Ohio. She lived there until her marriage, and had a good academic education and was a teacher prior to her marriage.

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 102

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