History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 18

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 18
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 18
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 18
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 18

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).

He received a public school education and has been a farmer since early manhood. He has made progress slowly but steadily, beginning with a pur- chase of twenty acres of the old homestead. He also inherited twenty acres, and finally had a farm of fifty-seven acres in Jackson Township. He sold that and went to Noble County and bought seventy acres, but after two years found employment at Ken- dallville with the Raber and Lang Cement Tile Works. In 1915 he acquired eighty acres in Salem Township, and since then has been a successful farmer and stock man. He is a democrat in politics and his wife attends the Evangelical Church.

In January, 1895, he married Miss Lillie Smith, of DeKalb County, Indiana, daughter of John Smith. They have one son, Claud, born November 3, 1896, in Jackson Township. He was educated in the public schools and married Delcia Meeks, of Jackson Township. They have a daughter, Arlene, and a son, Ned.

AARON M. CARR. One of the fine farms longest under one continuous ownership and management in DeKalb is the William Carr farm, two miles south of Auburn.

Its original settler, William Carr, is still living there, at the venerable age of eighty-seven. The re- sponsible head of the farming business for many years has been his son, Aaron M. Carr.

The latter was born on this farm October 2, 1868, and is a son of William and Fannie (Shuger) Carr. William Carr was born in Richland County, Ohio, June 2, 1832, and was brought to DeKalb County in 1839. He grew up in a pioneer environment, and began the improvement of the land comprised in his present farm in 1859. He is the oldest member of the Auburn Lodge of Masons and is a democrat in politics. His wife died in 1872, and of their six

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

children three are living: Margaret, widow of David Dulany; Nora, wife of Miles Osbun, living in Spokane, Washington, and Aaron M.

Aaron M. Carr grew up on the home farm and was educated in the common schools. November 25, 1899, he married Anna Strebe. She was born at Auburn March 14, 1871, and was educated in the common schools. They have three sons: William F., the oldest, attended the Auburn High School two years and married Florence Antrup, who lives in Jackson Township, and Walter A., and George A. have both completed the work of the common schools.

Aaron M. Carr is affiliated with Auburn Lodge No. 191 of the Knights of Pythias, and Lodge No. 566 of the Loyal Order of Moose. He is quite active in the democratic party. Mr. Carr with the aid of his sons operates his farm of two hundred acres and handles good livestock of all kinds.

ELIZABETH ROUSH. No one can tell more of the events and personalities of Washington Township in Noble County than Mrs. Elizabeth Roush, who continuously since birth, a period of seventy years, has lived in one locality on the banks of the Tip- pecanoe River, where her father settled in pioneer times and established an institution widely known for years under the name Rider's Mills.

Mrs. Roush is the widow of the late Alfred Roush, who was born in Stark County, Ohio, in April, 1849. When he was a boy his parents moved to Noble County, Indiana, and he grew up there and on December 2, 1868, he and Elizabeth Rider were married. She was born on the farm where she now resides September 23, 1849, and is a daughter of Jacob and Hannah (Keister) Rider. Her father was a native of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he was born October JI, 1813, and lived to the venerable age of ninety-seven. When he was twelve years old his parents moved to Ohio, and after his marriage he came to Noble County, In- diana, in 1845. At that time he located on the land which Mrs. Roush now owns. He acquired about 800 acres along the Tippecanoe River. At that time it was covered with heavy timber, and Mr. Rider had to clear away a space on which to erect his log cabin home. In that one locality he spent the rest of his years. He built his grist mill about 1854, and it was the favorite grinding place for farmers in the neighborhood for nearly half a century. He had learned the miller's trade in boyhood. In order to dispose of the timber from his land he also con- ducted a sawmill and a shingle mill, and in many other ways distinguished himself as a man of great enterprise. He was equally well known for his honest and upright character. In politics he was a democrat. Jacob Rider and wife had ten children, but only two are now living, Mrs. Elizabeth Roush and Mrs. Nancy Wilson.

Mrs. Roush had the privilege of attending an old log schoolhouse when she was a girl and later she herself became a teacher in the community. She is a member of the Evangelical Church, of which her husband was an active supporter. Alfred Roush was a democrat but later became aligned with the prohibition cause. Mrs. Roush owns 300 acres of land, 155 acres of which is included in the old Rider estate. She is also a stockholder in the North Webster State Bank and is executrix of the Roush estate.

Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Roush had nine children, and the four now living are: Harry, unmarried and at home with his mother; Alvin R., who married Orra Seymour ; Nellie, a high school graduate and a former teacher, now the wife of A. D. Wilkin-

son; and R. W., who operates his mother's home farm.

HARRY L. TAYLOR, of Fremont, is proprietor of the largest and finest equipped garage in Steuben County. He has been in the automobile business for a number of years and prior to that was asso- ciated with his father in an extensive livestock shipping business with headquarters at Fremont. The Taylor family is an old one in Northeast In- diana, and several of its members are mentioned in this publication.

Harry L. Taylor is a son of John H. and Alice S. (Thomas) Taylor, and a grandson of Linus S. Taylor. Linus Taylor was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, near . the city of Cleveland, in 1830. John Taylor was born in York Township of Steu- ben County November 7, 1858, attended the public schools in his native locality, also the college at Angola, and as a young man followed teaching as well as farming. In 1880 he married Alice Thomas, daughter of Richard and Minerva (Townsend) Thomas, and immediately after their marriage they pioneered to northern Kansas and tried farming in that state for about two years. Returning to Steuben County and locating in York Township, John Taylor moved from there in 1886 to Fremont, and has been a resident of that city for over thirty years. He has become widely known all over this section of the state as a livestock buyer, and is the oldest man in that business in the county. He still deals in all kinds of livestock except horses. He is a Scottish Rite and Knight Templar Mason, and a member of the Mystic Shrine. John Taylor and wife had two children: Harry L. and Berle E. The latter is in the oil business with headquarters at Fort Worth, Texas.

Harry L. Taylor was horn in Smith County, Kansas, January 4, 1881, but has no memory of the state of his birth. He has lived in Fremont since 1886, and after finishing the high school course there became associated with his father in the livestock shipping business. In 1913, in con- nection with livestock, he also engaged in the auto- mobile business, and since 1917 has given all his time to that work. In 1917 he built his garage, which is a building 60 by 130 feet, modern in every respect, including a vacuum vapor system of heat- ing.

Mr. Taylor is a republican in politics and was a member of the Town Council of Fremont four vears. He is affiliated with Northeastern Lodge No. 210; Free and Accepted Masons, with the Chap- ter, Council and Commandery and with the Mystic Shrine at Fort Wayne. He is a member of the Elks Lodge at Coldwater, Michigan. His wife is a member of the Methodist Church and the family attend worship there. January 14, 1905, Mr. Taylor married Miss Maud E. Stroh, of Jamestown Town- ship, Steuben County. They have one son, Percy Barre, born April 23, 1906.

FRANK HUGHES, a former clerk of the Circuit Court of Steuben County and now a member of the Indiana State Tax Board, in the inheritance tax de- partment, has had a very busy and useful career. In early life he was a successful teacher, but for the past twenty years has given his time chiefly to farming in Salem Township, where he still lives.

Mr. Hughes was born in that township September 3, 1866, a son of John and Martha (Meek) Hughes. His parents were both born in Ohio. His grand- father, David Hughes, was a pioneer settler in Salem Township, and kept a store at Dutch Mills

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

Corners. He also served as justice of the peace at Flint for a number of years, and died there. His children included: Lafayette; James, who died as a Union soldier; Eliza; Mary, widow of Luther Hill; Alice; and Nancy.

John Hughes grew up and received his education in the public schools of Steuben County, and for a number of years was employed in a saw mill at Dutch Mills Corners. He spent nearly all his life in that township and died in 1893, at the age of fifty-five. He was a republican in politics and a member of the Reformed Lutheran Church. His widow, who died in October, 1918, at the age of sev- enty-two, was the mother of twelve children, named Alonzo, Frank, Lester, Lewis, Emma, Sumner, Jo- sephine, Porter, Rachel, Earl and Burl, twins, and James, who died at the age of twelve years.

Frank Hughes in addition to the advantages afforded by the local district schools attended the American Normal School at Logansport, Indiana, also the Tri-State Normal College at Angola and the State Normal School at Terre Haute. He was only a boy when he taught his first term of school at Helmer, and was employed there for a second term. After that he followed teaching twenty years and for nine years was connected with the schools of Salem Township. The summer seasons he was engaged in farming and about 1897 he bought a farm in Salem Township of seventy acres. Later he bought another ten acres and then forty acres, giving him his present well proportioned farm of 120 acres, improved with two sets of buildings.

In 1911 Mr. Hughes left his farm and went to Angola to perform his duties as clerk of the Cir- cuit Court. He was elected to that office in 1910, and held it four years. He then remained in the office as deputy for two and a half years. Since then his public duties have been as a member of the state tax board. He is a republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Salem Center, while he and his wife are active members of the Presbyterian Church of Salem Township.

March 27, 1901, Mr. Hughes married Miss Leona E. Parsell. She was born in Jackson Township Sep- tember 8, 1879, a daughter of Austin M. and Mary Adaline (Weicht) Parsell. Her mother is a sister of Eugene F. Weicht, of Steuben County. Austin Parsell and wife live in Jackson Township. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have one daughter, Martha Ada- line, born March 23, 1905. She graduated from the eighth grade of the common schools in 1919.

JACOB W. JENNINGS. When the people of Troy Township, DeKalb County, chose Jacob W. Jen- nings as trustee in 1918 it was as a tribute of ap- preciation of his good business qualities and the energy he has displayed as a farmer, and was also an honor bestowed upon a family of long and prom- inent standing in that part of DeKalb County.

His grandfather was Peter Jennings, who settled in Troy Township in 1843. Peter Jennings was born in New Jersey September 13, 1802, a son of Peter, a native of the same county and of English descent. In 1821 Peter Jennings moved with his parents to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, and from there came to DeKalb County in 1843. He settled in section 29, and had to clear away some of the heavy timber before he could build his log cabin. Eventually he acquired a good farm of over 200 acres. In 1829 he married Catherine Rainsberger, a daughter of John Rainsberger. She died in 1881 and he lived to be past fourscore. His children were Elizabeth, John, Isaac, William, George, Phoebe and Abraham.

William Jennings, father of Jacob W., was born in Carroll County, Ohio, October 14, 1835, and

was eight years old when the family drove their ox and horse teams across the country to DeKalb County. He had a useful part in clearing up the old homestead, and in 1860 he settled on a farm of his own in section 21 and for many years was a general farmer, and he also specialized in Merino sheep for wool purposes. In 1859 he married Anna McCord, daughter of David McCord, who settled in Steuben County, Indiana, in 1840. Mrs. Anna Jen-' nings died in 1918. She was the mother of five children, four of whom are still living: H. S. Jen- nings, of Corning, Iowa; Olive, unmarried and at home; Eldora, wife of D. E. McClellan, of Will- iams County, Ohio, and Jacob W.

Jacob W. Jennings was born in Troy Town- ship January 12, 1875, grew up on the home farm and attended district school No. 4. On March 7, 1897, he married Ruby Skelton, who was born in Troy Township. After their marriage they lived in Williams County, Ohio, four years, lived for eighteen months on his father's homestead, and since then have occupied their present farm, com- prising eighty acres with good improvements. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings have had two children, Glenn B., born June 16, 1905, a student in the public schools, and Chester H., who died aged fifteen years.

Mr. Jennings is affiliated with Butler Lodge No. 158, Knights of Pythias. He is a republican in politics and served four years as a member of the Township Advisory Board before his election to the office of township trustee November 5, 1918. He is a stockholder in the Cooperative Association.

CHARLES A. WERKER. Farm management and the business of farming generally have found a man of unusual enterprise in the person of Charles A. Werker, whose home is two and a half miles south- west of Kimmell. While Mr. Werker is member of one of the oldest families of Noble County, his own career has been a direct product of his individual energies and capabilities, and his reputation shows that he has made good in every particular.

He was born in Sparta Township, September 22, 1874, son of Yangulph and Clara (Schlabach) Werker. Yangulph Werker, who was born in Ger- many, July 4, 1847, was only five years old when brought to the United States by his parents. They settled in Stark County, Ohio, and he grew up there, receiving a common school education. At the age of nineteen he came to Indiana, settling in Allen County, then moved to Noble County, in Washing- ton Township. He married Clara Schlabach in 1872. She was born in Ohio, and came to Noble County at the age of five years. Yangulph Werker after his marriage settled on a farm in Sparta Township, and was a prominent farmer in that locality for many years, but is now living retired in Cromwell. He is a democrat, and has never sought any official honors. He and his wife have seven children, named Charles A., William E., Melvin L., Wallace O., John Y., Orlo R. and Harvey R.

Charles A. Werker had a good preparation for life while living on the home farm. This was the result not only of attendance at the district schools but a wise use of his opportunities to learn farming in a practical fashion. At the age of twenty-one he started out on his own account. In 1899 he married Myrta M. Earnhart, who is a native of Sparta Township and is a woman of good education, having attended both the common and high schools.

Since his marriage Mr. Werker has been farming in Sparta Township and now has 390 acres under his direct management. He also owns 235 acres in Ohio, and is therefore one of the larger land own- ers. He has done an extensive business outside his

M Huntsman Eha Ba

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

farm in the buying, feeding and selling of livestock. He is secretary of the Kimmell Cooperative Ship- pers' Association and is one of the directors of the State Bank of Kimmell.

Mr. and Mrs. Werker have three children: Coral, born October 27, 1902, now a student in the public schools; Kenton E., born February 27, 1904, also a schoolboy; and Charles A., Jr., born December 13, 1908. The family are members of the Sparta Chris- tian Church. Mr. Werker is affiliated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and is a past grand of Kimmell Lodge. Politically he is a democrat.

ELZA M. HUNTSMAN, present trustee of Noble Township, has for many years been successfully identified with farming and stock raising in Noble County, and is proprietor of the Lakeside Farm, comprising sixty-six acres in Noble Township.

Mr. Huntsman was born in Greene Township of the same county October 6, 1869, a son of George and Susannah (Hosler) Huntsman. His father, who was born in Morrow County, Ohio, August 11, 1837, grew up and married there, his wife being also a native of Ohio. They were married in 1861, and in 1864 moved to Indiana, locating in Greene Township of Noble County, where the father spent the rest of his life as an industrious and progressive farmer. He was a member of the Burr Oak Baptist Church, with which his wife was also affiliated. She died January 21, 1904. Of their nine children five are still living: Elza M .; Alice, wife of D. A. Harlan; William H., a farmer in Greene Township; Cora, wife of Vernon Strouse; and Anson, a Greene Township farmer.

Elza M. Huntsman spent the first twenty-one years of his life on his father's farm, and during that time acquired a good common school education. Since then he has been a farmer on his own account and for about four years he operated a threshing outfit over a large part of Noble County.

April 26, 1890, he married Mertuss V. Wine- brenner, who was born in Noble Township, July 16, 1868, was reared there and attended the district schools. She is a daughter of James E. and Eliza- beth (Rivir) Winebrenner. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Huntsman worked his father's farm for a time and later bought forty acres in Greene Town- ship, selling that to secure their present larger place in Noble Township, and finally made the move which brought them to their present farm, widely known as Lakeside Farm.

Mr. and Mrs. Huntsman have five children : Flossie F. is a graduate of the common schools and is the wife of Wallace Edsel. Bernice L. is the wife of Clarence Mawhorter. Beulah E. is a graduate of the Wolf Lake High School and is the wife of Ted Hile. Verlin B. is a farmer, and married Marie Brackney. Ruby, the youngest of the family, is still in the home circle. Mr. and Mrs. Huntsman are members of the Burr Oak Baptist Church and he is one of the trustees. He was elected on the demo- cratic ticket to his present office as trustee of Noble Township by a majority of fifty votes. Normally the township has a republican margin of twenty-five, but his personal popularity succeeded in overcoming this handicap.

ELMER RITTER. The Ritter family has been identi- fied with Steuben County over sixty-five years. Elmer Ritter, who was born and reared in this county, has been in business at Fremont for a num- ber of years and is the present postmaster of that citv.

He was born in Steuben Township of Steuben County August 10, 1867. His father, Philip Ritter, Vol. 11-5

was born in Union County, Pennsylvania, in 1820, a son of John Ritter, who soon after the birth of this son moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and later to Ashland County in that state. Philip Ritter learned the trade of carpenter, and in July, 1852, he settled in section 6 of Steuben Township. He bought 128 acres of heavily timbered land, and built his house of hewn logs the same spring. In 1868 he constructed a more commodious residence, and his success as a farmer gave him a place of nearly 200 acres, most of which was improved under his direct management and supervision. He continued to work at his trade as a carpenter and was also an undertaker in his locality for nearly half a cen- tury. He was a member of the United Brethren Church.

Philip Ritter married for his first wife Lucy Ann Kope, who died in 1854, the mother of three chil- dren, Henry, Mary and Jacob. Philip Ritter mar- ried for his second wife Martha (Gillander) An- derson, who was born in the north of Ireland. Of their eight children six are still living, named Martha, Barbara, Theophilus, Lavina, Elmer and Orpha.

Elmer Ritter grew up on the old homestead in Steuben Township, attended the local schools there, and on moving to Fremont he engaged in the dray- ing business for five years, also sold meat for seven years and then resumed farming for three years. He was appointed to his present duties and respon- sibilities as postmaster of Fremont May 15, 1916, and has given a most gratifying administration of his office.

Mr. Ritter is a staunch democrat and served one term as a member of the City Council of Fremont. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and he and his family are members of the Methodist Church. In 1889 he married Miss Jennie Sanl, of Steuben County. Of their two children a daughter died in infancy and the son, Saul C., was born January 8, 1892. The son was educated in the public schools of Fremont and on April 26, 1918, joined the army, being assigned on account of his previous expe- rience to the postoffice department and was located at Camp Taylor, Kentucky. He has recently re- turned from service and is now assistant postmaster at Fremont, Indiana.

JOHN B. STUMPF during his early years was a man of tremendous vigor and industry, and literally with the work of his hands laid the foundation for the prosperity he enjoyed as one of the leading farmers of Salem Township in Steuben County. He has been a resident of Steuben County more than forty years.

Mr. Stumpf was born in Seneca County, Ohio, February 22, 1852, a son of George Michael and Elizabeth (Breacht) Stumpf. His parents were both natives of Germany. His father was born in 1812, the son of George and Margaret Stumpf, the former of whom died in Ger- many. George Michael came to America with his widowed mother, who lived in Ohio and died in Upper Sandusky at the age of ninety-eight. The son was married in Seneca County, Ohio, and in 1855 moved to Putnam County of that state. He died at Upper Sandusky in 1895, at the age of eighty-two. His wife came to this country with her parents, who also settled in Ohio. She died in Steuben County in 1884, when about sixty-four years of age. She was the mother of nine children: Rosa, Magdalena and Caroline, all deceased; John B., Mary, Sophronia, Frances, Catherine and Tina, who is also deceased.

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

John B. Stumpf grew up in Putnam County, Ohio, until he was seventeen years old. He then spent some time in the West and in 1875 located in Steuben County, where he worked by the day or by the job and for a number of employers. During that period of his life he grubbed out 200 acres with a grub hoe, and it was not unusual for him in the fall of the year to cut 100 shocks of corn a day. Such in- dustry inevitably had its reward. He began as a renter and in 1877 bought fifty-five acres where he is living today in Salem Township. He now has a well proportioned farm of eighty-two acres, im- proved with good buildings, and it has furnished him a living and more during the forty years he has lived there. Mr. Stumpf is a democrat in poli- tics.

In 1875 he married Miss Sarah Tubbs, whose home was in Steuben County, two and a half miles east of Salem Center. She is a daughter of Leroy and Rosa Jane Tubbs, both early settlers in Steuben County. Her father chopped a place in the woods to build his log cabin in Salem Township, east of Dutch sawmill, and had a good farm of eighty acres there. He died when still in the prime of life, but his widow survived until 1915, at the age of eighty-nine. Mr. and Mrs. Tubbs were members of the United Brethren Church, which Mr. and Mrs. Stumpf also attended. In the Tubbs family were five children, named Elizabeth, Emaline, Ira, Frank and Sarah.

Mr. and Mrs. Stumpf had five children. Ira mar- ried Pearl Middow, and their four children are Roy, Charles, Robert (deceased), and Glena. Mary Evadell is the wife of Raymond Barnett, lives at Kendallville and has a daughter, Ruth. Willie, the third child, is deceased. Alvah Eugene married Bertha Harvey and has a daughter, Marjorie Chris- tina. Ethel is seventeen years old.

E. F. TINNEY. The two most strongly marked char- acteristics of both the East and the West are com- bined in the residents of the section of country of which this volume treats. The enthusiastic enter- prise which over-leaps all obstacles and makes pos- sible almost any undertaking in the comparatively new and vigorous western states is here tempered by the stable and more careful policy that we have borrowed from our eastern neighbors, and the combination is one of peculiar force and power. It has been the means of placing this section of the country on a par with the older East, at the same time producing a reliability and certainty in business affairs which is sometimes lacking in the West. This happy combination of characteristics is pos- sessed by the subject of this brief sketch, E. F. Tinney, secretary and manager of the Butler Basket Company at Butler, DeKalb County, and who is assuming a deservedly high place in the business circles of that community.

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 18

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