History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 29

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 29
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 29
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 29

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).

Mr. and Mrs. Borntrager have seven children, named Emanuel, Urias, Sylvia, Anna, Amos, Noah and Manassas. The family are members of the Amish Mennonite Church.

GEORGE M. BROWN. There is a dignity connected with work well done, and a satisfaction that comes of industry and thrift in living. The man who early realizes that whatever is worth attempting is worth executing to the best of his ability is the man who wins out in life's contest. The measure of a man's ability is found in the esteem in which he is held by his associates, Those who meet him in the everyday vocations know just what he can and will do, and how he handles the problems presented to them all. Some fall far below the average, but there are others who set the pace, and in no line of endeavor is this truer than in farming. In reviewing the work of Steuben County agricultural- ists the biographer is struck by the fact that certain ones are deserving of special mention, and it may be truthfully said that if ever there was a leader in a farming community in whom the people for a wide radius placed implicit trust it is George M. Brown of Otsego Township, who is now serving his county as commissioner.

George M. Brown was born in Cattaraugus County, New York, November 24, 1863, a son of Moseley and Eliza (Abbot) Brown. Moseley Brown was born in Cattarangus County, New York, and died at Angola, Indiana, in January, 1873, while his wife, who was born in the same county as her husband, died in 1868. In 1869 Moseley Brown moved to Michigan, but after a year in that state came to Angola, where he worked as a teamster until his death. He and his wife had the following children : Mary, who married George Sage; Martha,

Les Mr. Brown

103

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

who married Henry Kankamp; Cella, who married George Elliot; George M., whose name heads this review ; and Leland, who was the youngest.

After the death of his father George M. Brown went to live with his uncle at Ray, Steuben County, remaining with him until he was eighteen years old, and during that period attended the district school. He then became a student of the Fremont High School, and still later of the Tri-State College at Angola, earning the money for the latter courses by selling books through Ohio and Virginia during the winter of 1881-2. Having thus prepared him- self, Mr. Brown began teaching school, his first appointment being to the Farnham School in Fre- mont Township, Steuben County, where he remained two years, and then for an equal length of time he taught in Otsego Township.

In 1888 Mr. Brown entered upon the line of work for which he was so pre-eminently fitted, commenc- ing his operations on a hundred-acre tract bought for Mr. and Mrs. Brown by Mrs. Brown's father. From the start he succeeded, and he has kept on adding to his farm until he now owns 400 acres of as fine land as there is in the township, and on it he carries on general farming and stock raising. In addition to his farming Mr. Brown is at present manager of the Co-operative Shipping Association of Hamilton, Indiana, and he has handled con- siderable livestock during the past ten years. In 1908 Mr. Brown's fellow citizens elected him trustee of Otsego Township, and he served in that office until January 1, 1915. They further testified to their appreciation of his abilities by electing him commissioner of Steuben County in 1917, he assum- ing the duties of that office in 1918.

From boyhood it was Mr. Brown's ambition to become the owner of a farm of considerable size, but never did his fondest hopes attain to the reality of today. He is essentially a self-made man, is proud of the fact, and has every reason to look with pride on what he has accomplished. Not only is he a man of wealth, he is much more, a man of the highest character, whose stability and power of concentration have placed him among the worth- while men of his state. His present prosperity has been attained after almost increditable persistence and determination, and while he has made such a material advance, he is still the incarnation of probity and kindness, of steadfast devotion to his duty as he sees it, and the needs of the whole com- munity. He is living a life full of inspiration to his neighbors, and it is but natural that he should receive popular recognition in the future as he has in the past.

On March 1, 1888, Mr. Brown was united in mar- riage with Alma M. Williams, a daughter of Ephraim B. and Martha (Cooper) Williams, and they have one son, Harold F., who is engaged in farming with his father. This son married Pearl Lautzenheiser, and they have a daughter, Zelda Ruth.

Ephraim B. Williams was born in Orleans County, New York, January 10, 1833, the fifth child of Henry R. and Mary Ann (Case) Williams, who brought their family to Jackson Township, Steuben County, Indiana, in 1836, their arrival in the county being saddened by the death of the good mother December 2d of that same year, of tuberculosis. She had borne her husband the following children : Hamilton, Maria, Wallace, Ephraim B. and one who died in infancy. Two years later Henry R. Williams was married to Philma Town, and in 1842 removal was made to Otsego Township, where he bought 100 acres in section 9, and there he died October 9,

1879, when in the eighty-fourth year of his life. His widow survived him until 1882. There were no children of the second marriage.

The boyhood and youth of Ephraim B. Williams was spent in Steuben County, he alternating attend- ance in the district schools with hard work on the farm of his father, and he grew up strong and self- reliant, so that when he began farming on his own account he had a practical knowledge of the work and was able to carry it on successfully. He bought a farm in section 17, Otsego Township, and was engaged in agricultural work all his active life, becoming one of the wealthy men of his neighbor- hood, and the owner of 280 acres of valuable land. In 1893 he moved to Angola, where he lived in retirement until his death, September 28, 1905.

In 1857 Ephraim B. Williams was united in mar- riage with Susan Pearce, and she died June 15, 1863. On February 18, 1864, Mr. Williams was married to Martha Cooper, and they had three chil- dren, namely: Alma, Lucy and Susan. In his political views Mr. Williams was a republican, and always supported the candidates of his party.

Martha (Cooper) Williams was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1833, a daughter of William and Lucy (Thomas) Cooper, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. In 1844 William Cooper came from Pennsylvania to Steuben County, Indiana, locating in Richland Township, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1868. He and his wife had the following children: Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, Sarah and Anna.

ELLIS SMITH is counted among the progressive farmers who have done most for the agricultural uplift in Perry Township of Noble County. Mr. Smith has for thirty years or more been a farmer, and owns a fine farm and corresponding improve- ments in section 32 of Perry Township.

He was born on an adjoining farm in the same township February 7, 1864, a son of Benjamin F. and Charity (Lane) Smith. His father was twelve years old when brought to Noble County and was a son of Jacob and Abigail (Bloomer) Smith. Ben- jamin Smith's early education was largely neglected, and he was put on his own responsibility at an early age. How well he made use of his oppor- tunity in his struggle with adversity is indicated by his accumulation of 230 acres of land. He was a republican in politics. He and his wife had ten children. Those still living are: Emma, wife of Emmett Caldwell; Ellis; Hattie, wife of Andrew Umbenhower; Howard, of Kentucky; William H., of Whitley County; Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Cass, of Perry Township, on the old homestead of her father; and Clara, wife of Thomas Kensler, of Panama.

Ellis Smith grew up on his father's farm and ac- quired a common school education. He lived at home to the age of twenty-four. On October 3, 1888, Miss Anna Earll became his wife. She was born in Noble County in August, 1865. Six children have been born to their marriage: Ralph, the old- est, married Ruth Harper. Emmett is a graduate of the Ligonier High School, attended the Tri-State Normal at Angola, and has been a teacher. He married Henrietta Murry and is now a farmer. Ruth, the youngest of the family is a graduate of the common schools, attended the State College at An- gola, and is a successful teacher in Sparta Town- ship. Three are deceased, Ben E., Frank L., and Albert.

Mr. Smith as a farmer specializes in registered Hereford cattle. He owns 285 acres, all joining and in one farm. He is a stockholder in the Farm-

104

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

ers Elevator at Ligonier and also of the Citizens Bank of that city. Politically he is affiliated with the republican party.

CHARLES J. WALKER, whose home and farm are in Union Township 11/2 miles east of Auburn, is a member of an old and prominent family in DeKalb County.

His grandfather, John R. Walker, was born in Yorktown, Pennsylvania, in 1808, and married Cath- erine Frumrine. In 1835 he moved to Columbiana County, Ohio, and in 1844 came to DeKalb County and bought 160 acres in section 35 of Smithfield Township. He cleared most of the timber from the land and in 1860 bought another quarter section.

George K. Walker, a son of this pioneer, was born in Indiana, in Smithfield Township, and mar- ried Anna Ashelman. She was a daughter of John W. Ashelman, who became one of the largest land owners in DeKalb County. George K. Walker and wife were married in DeKalb County and are now living at Waterloo, Indiana. They are members of the United Brethren Church and the father is a democrat in politics. There are four children : John, of Grant Township; Alice, wife of Charles O. Spear; William, of Smithfield Township; and Charles J.

Charles J. Walker, who was born on a farm in Smithfield Township December 3, 1880, was edu- cated there in the district schools and is a graduate of the Waterloo High School. For ten years he has been a prosperous farmer and a breeder of Holstein cattle. He is a democrat and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. December 24, 1912, he married Mary Funk. She was born in Allen County, Indiana.

THEO WRIGHT is a citizen who has been identified with the affairs of Sparta Township for thirty years or more, and always in some useful and public-spirited way. He is a practical farmer and his home is three miles southeast of Cromwell, in section 27.

He was born in the same township February 15, 1868, son of Alexander and Margaret (Hull) Wright. His parents were natives of Ohio, but were married after they came to Noble County, and then lived on a farm in Sparta Township. Alexander Wright had a record as a Union soldier during the Civil war. He was for two years a private in Company A of the Ninth Ohio Cavalry. After the war he joined the Grand Army of the Republic and was a republican in politics and served as road supervisor for Sparta Township. He and his wife had five children: Theo; W. R., a hard- ware merchant at Cromwell; Rosa, wife of William Crow; Melvin, a farmer in Whitley County; and Arthur, also of Whitley County, Indiana.

Theo Wright grew up on his father's farm, had a district school education, and when fourteen started out to make his own way in the world and his experiences and achievements since then have indicated his self-reliance, his initiative and energy in making the best of his opportunities. He has always been a hard worker, but reached the age of twenty-one with very little capital.

February 11, 1891, he married Clara A. Galloway, a daughter of Anderson Galloway, a well-known citizen of Noble County elsewhere referred to. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wright rented the Scott Galloway farm for several years. They are the parents of three children. Ercell is a farmer in Kosciusko County; Clarence served with Re- mount Squadron No. 323 with the Expeditionary Forces in France; Elma is a graduate of the com- mon schools and now a student in high school.

Mr. Wright is the present assessor of Sparta Township. He is also a director in the Farmers Mutual Aid Association, and is a leading republican. He is now in his second term as township assessor, serving one term of four years and being re-elected for a consecutive term. He is a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, past grand of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and also a member of Cromwell Lodge No. 705, Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Wright and family reside on a farm of twenty-three acres.

ARCHIE L. CARPENTER, who has spent all his life in Northeast Indiana, is a capable young farmer, a resident of Clear Spring Township, LaGrange County, in which locality he has had his home since about the time he received his first instruc- tion in the common schools. He was born in Noble County, December 9, 1876, a son of John and Lu- celia (Hervey) Carpenter. His mother was born in Clear Spring Township, LaGrange County, in 1840. His father was born in May, 1837, in Cass County, Michigan. After his parents married they settled in Noble County and later moved to La- Grange County. The father was a republican and the mother a member of the Methodist Church. Of their three children two are still living: Warren W., deceased; Ella, widow of Abe Gipson; and Archie L.

Archie L. Carpenter was six years old when his parents moved to LaGrange County, and he grew up on the farm which he owns today. He has fifty acres of land, well cultivated and improved, and constituting one of the good homes of that part of the county. He received his early education in the district schools.

In 1896 he married Miss Esta Bowman. She is a native of Elkhart County, Indiana, and received a common school education. To their marriage have been born eight children: Adren, a farmer, married and living on the home farm; Lee, who is married and is a farmer; Elsie, wife of Mr. Poiser; Miles, Retha, Kenneth, Fern and Ruby, who are the younger children still at home. Mr. Carpenter is a republican and a member of the Church of the Brethren.

DANIEL J. YODER. While he has reached that en- viable period in life when he might be classified as retired, Mr. Yoder is still living on his farm a mile west and half a mile south of Topeka. He has turned over the burdens of management of this farm to his son, and has lived in that same place since his marriage.

Mr. Yoder was born in LaGrange County October 12, 1857, a son of John S. and Catherine (Stahley) Yoder, the former a native of Mifflin County, Penn- sylvania, and the latter of Stark County, Ohio. His parents were married in Indiana, and spent the rest of their days in LaGrange County. They were active members of the Maple Grove Mennonite Church, and the father was a republican voter. Their five children were: Samuel W., of Eden Township; Daniel J .; Emanuel C., of Goshen; Mel- vin A., of Eden Township; and Alvin E., of Goshen.

Daniel J. Yoder attended district school and lived at home to the age of twenty-one, and helped his father run the homestead for several years. On February 18, 1886, he married Emma C. Burkholder. She was born in Wayne County, Ohio, February 29, 1860, grew up in that county and attended the common schools there. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Yoder began farming on the place which they still own and where they still reside. They are

105

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

members of the Maple Grove Mennonite Church. Mr. Yoder is a republican and a stockholder in the State Bank of Topeka. His farm is well stocked with grade Holstein cattle and a specialty of the farming is the raising of pure blood White Leghorn chickens.

Their only son, Edwin J. Yoder, was born Decem- ber 2, 1889. He is a high class young farmer with an interest in the scientific as well as the practical side of agriculture. He graduated from the Topeka High School, attended Goshen College and also took a course in Purdue University. He married Mollie Stoltzfus, and their three children are Geneva, born January 7, 1914; Gerald, born December 6, 1915; and Gladys Louise, born June 5, 1919.

SHERMAN STRAWSER. Though a resident of the village of Salem Center, Sherman Strawser is still active in the management of his extensive farming interests in Salem Township. He has worked the lands and raised crops in that vicinity for thirty years or more, and to some extent still specializes as an onion grower.

Mr. Strawser was born in Defiance County, Ohio, November 8, 1864, a son of George W. and Rhoda J. (Rose) Strawser. His father, who died May 26, 1914, at Hudson, where he had lived for several years, was a native of Ross County, Ohio, but from 1843 grew up in Defiance County. On August 15, 1861, he enlisted in Company D of the Thirty-Eighth Ohio Infantry, and served until July, 1865, nearly four years. He was color bearer of his regiment in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Stone River, Chick- amauga, Missionary Ridge and Jonesboro. The Thirty-Eighth Ohio was one of the hardest fighting regiments in the war. George W. Strawser was wounded at Jonesboro, where his regiment lost heavily. After the war he returned to Ohio and married Rhoda J. Rose, who was then the widow Higbea, her first husband having died while a Union soldier in 1863. In 1872 George W. Strawser moved to Steuben County and in 1881 bought a farm of 170 acres in section 21 of Salem Township. He and his wife had five children: W. T. Sherman, Amanda J., George D., Mary C. and John W.

Sherman Strawser attended his first school in Defiance County and from the age of eight has lived in Steuben County, where he attended school in Otsego Township. He also for a time was a student in the schools of Salem Center. He began working on his father's home farm two miles south of Salem Center and later became independent manager of that place, which he farmed continuously until 1916. He has since rented the farm to his son, Earl, and in the spring of 1919 moved to a comfortable home in the village of Salem Center. He owns 170 acres formerly owned by his father, and during his pro- prietorship has rebuilt the barn and put on several other buildings. Mr. Strawser is affiliated with the Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America, belonging to the Masonic Lodge at Hudson and the Odd Fellows at Salem Center.

In 1890 he married Miss Della M. Anstett, a daughter of George W. and Mary Jane (Wilsey) Anstett. Mr. and Mrs. Strawser have seven chil- dren, named George Earl, Verna May, Verda J., Carl, Wayne, Wade and Ruby. The first four are married. George L. married Emma Wilcox; Verna is the wife of Daniel Tritch and has two children, Philus and Fay, Verda is the wife of Ralph Daily; while Carl married Imo J. Bassett and has a daugh- ter, Mildred.

FINLEY C. FULLER is known to a majority of citizens all over Noble County, and every one in

York Township knows and esteems him for his success in life and the high stand he has taken as a citizen and neighbor and friend.

The farm that he now owns was the scene of his birth on May 1, 1856. He is a son of Robert L. and Margaret J. (Coleman) Fuller, his father hav- ing been born in New Jersey July 10. 1822, and his mother in Guernsey County, Ohio. Robert L. Ful- ler went to Ohio and married in Guernsey County, and after four or five years there moved to Noble County, Indiana, in 1854. At that time he acquired the land contained in the present farm of his son Finley, and altogether owned 200 acres. He was one of the prosperous farmers of his generation, and a man active in other lines, prominent in the Methodist Church and a stanch republican. There were five children in the family and the three still living are: Basil, a retired farmer in York Town- ship; Finley C .; and Alice, wife of Frank Bennett, of Warsaw, Indiana.

Finley C. Fuller grew up on the home farm and had a district school education. At the age of eighteen he began learning the carpenter's trade, and for forty-four years of his life he followed contracting, and he still takes contracts. He owns and lives on his farm of 184 acres in sections 24 and 32 of York Township.

November 21, 1877, Mr. Fuller married Samantha Ann Waltman. She was born in Noble County. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have four living children : Bessie, a graduate of the common schools, is the wife of Orpheus Earnhart and lives in Elkhart County, Indiana; Mabel is a graduate of the com- mon schools and was also well trained in music, and is the wife of Marion C. Hursey of South Bordman, Michigan; Bertha is a graduate of the common schools and the wife of James Dazey, and they live on the farm with her father; and Harry B. is engaged in contracting with his father. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are members of the Presbyterian Church and he is one of the elders in the York Church. He is affiliated with Albion Lodge No. 97, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, with Kendall- ville Chapter No. 64, Royal Arch Masons, and both he and his wife are members of Prentiss Chapter of the Eastern Star at Albion. In politics Mr. Fuller has given stanch allegiance to the republican party since he cast his first vote. The people of York Township still have grateful appreciation of the service he rendered as trustee from 1891 to 1895. He was also for two years a member of the County Council.

HENRY P. WEIMER. The best years of his life Henry P. Weimer has given to the business of farming, and the results of his efforts stand out conspicuously to the traveler through Allen Town- ship of Noble County. Mr. Weimer's farm is four miles southwest of Kendallville.

He was born in Allen Township, September 23, 1866, a son of Adam and Mary (Hess) Weimer. His father was born in Germany, July 29. 1819, and there learned the trade of shoemaker. On coming to the United States he located in Toledo, Ohio, and married there Mary Hess. She was born in Germany in 1832 and came to the United States on the same vessel with her future husband. Adam Weimer worked steadily at his trade as a shoe- maker in Toledo two years, and one of his chil- dren was born there. Later he moved to Fort Wayne, worked at his trade there several years, and in the meantime invested in forty acres of raw land in Allen Township, Noble County. About 1851 he moved his family to this land, and he was steadily identified with the farm and with the local citizenship the rest of his days. He died honored

106

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

and respected July 27, 1903, and his wife died July 27, 1890. In their family were eleven children, and the six still living are John, Adam, Charles, Henry P., Lizzie and Paul.

Henry P. Weimer grew up on the old farm in Allen Township, and since reaching manhood has made his own way in the world. He had a common school education, and at the age of twenty-one left home to become a farm laborer. Since then he has graduated into the role of an independent farmer, and now has eighty acres, of good soil, well cultivated, and constituting one of the best farms of Allen Township.

November 18, 1897, he married Miss Dora Diehm. She was born in Allen Township, February 16, 1872, a daughter of George and Johanna (Wehmeyer) Diehm. Her father was born in Noble County, Indiana. Her mother was born in Germany and was brought to the United States at the age of twenty-one. Mr. and Mrs. Weimer have one daughter, Elsie H., born September 13, 1899. She graduated from the common schools in 1915 and is still at home. The family are all members of the Lutheran Church. In politics Mr. Weimer is an independent voter.

GEORGE STRAW is the present assessor of Clear Lake Township, beginning the duties of that office when his term as township trustee left off. That is evidence of his high standing as a citizen, and he is also one of the capable farmers of that locality and has spent the greater part of his life as an agriculturist in Steuben County.

The history of Steuben County has frequent records concerning the Straw family. His grand- father, Frederick Straw, was born in Pennsylvania, June 9, 1811, a son of George and Elizabeth (Gear- hart) Straw. Frederick Straw came from Pennsyl- vania to Steuben County in the spring of 1856, buying land just west of Fremont. He became owner of 180 acres, constituting one of the best farms in the township. Frederick Straw was a democrat until the republican party came into ex- istence, and after that affiliated with the new organ- ization. In 1832 he married Catherine Wagner, who was born. in Pennsylvania in 1813. She died in 1871, the mother of eight children: Elias, Anna, Elizabeth, George W., Frederick, Amanda, Benja- min and Philip A.

Elias Straw, father of George Straw, was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, November 9, 1834, and died in 1892. In 1855 he married Cath- erine Baker, a native of the same county, born in 1839, a daughter of Frederick Baker. The year after their marriage they came to Steuben County, locating at Fremont when it contained only two general stores. Elias Straw soon bought land in section 28 of Fremont Township, and in 1864 ac- quired another farm of 120 acres, where he spent the rest of his active life. He was a republican, and he and his wife were members of the Evangelical Association. They had eight children: William, John, Albert, Granville, George, Harvey, Augusta Jane and Hermie.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 29

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