History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 41

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 41
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 41
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 41
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 41

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D. P. HINDMAN. One of the progressive younger farmers of DeKalb County is D. P. Hindman, of Concord Township, whose persistent and aggressive efforts and excellent management have brought to him the prosperity which is today his. He has ever stood ready to do what he could in pushing for- ward the wheels of progress in his community, and is well worthy of the high esteem in which he is held.

Mr. Hindman was born in Concord Township on June 16, 1889, the son of Samuel and Nancy (Le- dour) Hindman. Both of these parents were na- tives of Ohio, the former having been born in Logan County and the latter in Hardin County. . After their marriage they came to Indiana, locating on a farm near Orangeville, where they remained about twenty years. They then moved to a farm 112 miles north of St. Joe, but about ten years later settled on a farm at Jackson Center. They are the parents of two children, the immediate subject of this sketch and Lee, of Fort Wayne, a dispatcher on the Northern Indiana traction line.

D. P. Hindman was reared on the paternal farm- stead and received a good district school education.

About 1910 he settled on the farm where he now lives in Concord Township, comprising about seventy-four acres of splendid land, to the cultiva- tion of which he gives intelligent direction. He is also part owner of a sawmill at St. Joe. Mr. Hind- man has also given some attention to the raising of live stock, in which he has met with splendid suc- cess.

In 1910 Mr. Hindman was married to Anna M. Kosht, a native of Wilmington Township, in the common schools of which she received a good prac- tical education. To this union have been born three children, Doris E., aged eight years; Samuel C., four years; and Madonna, six months old. Mr. and Mrs. Hindman are members of the Christian Church at Newville, while Mr. Hindman holds fraternal re- lations with Concord Lodge No. 556, Free and Ac- cepted Masons ; Lodge No. 671 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the lodge of Knights of Pythias at St. Joe. Politically he is a democrat and has been an effective worker in the ranks of his party, taking a keen and intelligent interest in the public affairs of his community, state and country. He is a man of broad and progressive views, advocating twentieth-century methods and stands deservedly high in the estimation of the community in which he lives.

WILLIAM J. CASE. During the past thirty years no one has been more prominent in sustaining the business activities of Orland than William J. Case, who for over twenty years was the leading dry goods merchant of the village, and during the past five or six years has continued an insurance agency and is cashier of the Citizens State Bank.

Mr. Case was born. May 10, 1864, in Dover Town- ship of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, near the City of Cleveland, a son of Byron and Louise (Sage) Case. His mother was born in Erie County, Ohio, daugh- ter of George and Lucy (Davis) Sage, her father having been a farmer of that county. Byron Case followed farming and fishing in Cuyahoga County many years, and in 1868 moved to Erie County and six years later, in 1874, went to Toledo, where he had his home until 1911. In that year he joined his son in Orland, and died on April 27, 1913. His widow is now living with her daughter in Welling- ton, Ohio. They had three children: Arthur, who died in 1897; Jessie, wife of Rev. O. J. Coby, a Methodist minister at Wellington, Ohio; and Wil- liam J.

William J. Case attended public school in Toledo, graduating from high school in 1881. He laid a thorough foundation for a business career while an employe of C. L. Luce & Company, wholesale dry goods of Toledo. He was with that firm five years. In 1886, when Luce & Company established a branch store at Orland, Indiana, they selected Mr. Case to take charge of the business. In September of the same year he and Henry Carver bought the store and the partnership was continuous until 1892, after which Mr. Case was sole owner and kept up the service standards of his store for twenty consecu- tive years. In 1912 he sold the business and in 1913 bought a local fire insurance agency, which he has since handled, and in 1914 became cashier of the Citizens State Bank.

During the great war he was prominent in his section of Steuben County, serving as treasurer of all the war auxiliary organizations at Orland. He is a trustee and treasurer of the Congregational Church, and is affiliated with the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star Chapter.

In 1890 Mr. Case married Miss Cora Wilder, member of one of the oldest and most prominent

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families of Northwestern Steuben County. They had a happy married life of over a quarter of a century. Mrs. Case died on October 16, 1916. She was the mother of five children, Celia, Wilma, Rus- sell, Caryl and Roberta. Wilma was married in 1912 to Leo Purdy, and they have two children, Raymond and Betty Jane. Caryl is the wife of L. E. Hackett. The son Russell saw active service during the great war as a member of the Ninth Aerial Squadron. He served with the Expeditionary Forces for about fourteen months, spending nine months in England and three months in France. In April, 1919, he was at Fort Benjamin Harrison, In- dianapolis. Russell Case married Lois Collins in 1917.

The late Mrs. Case was an adopted daughter of George K. and Harriet (Luce) Wilder. Mr. Wilder was born in Oswego County, New York, in 1828, a son of William and Mary (Gray) Wilder, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of New Hampshire. The Wilder family came to Sten- ben County in 1836, and located in the Vermont settlement around Orland. Here George K. Wilder grew to manhood and attended the pioneer local schools. At the age of twenty-one he went to Cali- fornia, being ninety days on the overland journey from Missouri to the Pacific Coast. He remained there six years. For a year and a half he was a miner and the rest of the time a farmer. On return- ing to Indiana he bought a farm two miles northeast of Orland. George K. Wilder, in 1862, enlisted in the Ninth Michigan Infantry, and was with his regi- ment until on account of ill health he was dis- charged at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. After the war he farmed, and in 1877 retired to Orland. He married in 1862 Hattie N. Luce, only daughter of Walter and Mary (Gray) Luce. They reared a family of eight children.

CHARLES W. PYATT, whose home is a half mile east of South Milford, has the reputation of being a producer, a man of industry and one of the best farm managers in LaGrange County.

He is a son of Jackson and Julia (Swogger) Pyatt. His father was born in Seneca County, Ohio, March 5, 1829, and was ten years old .when he was brought to Northeast Indiana by his parents, Moses and Elizabeth (Parker) Pyatt. The family settled in LaGrange County in the fall of 1839, remained three years, then spent three years in Kendall County, Illinois, after which they returned to La- Grange County. Moses Pyatt died May 9, 1866, and his wife June 24th of the same year. Both were members of the Disciples Church. Julia Swogger was the daughter of Isaac and Susanna Swogger, likewise early settlers in LaGrange County. Jackson Pyatt died June 6, 1912, and his wife February 16, 1898. They had three children : Ada, wife of Engene Nichols; Amanda, wife of David Wert; and Charles W.

Charles W. Pyatt was born on the old farm where he lives today, July 15, 1867. He attended the pub- lic schools of South Milford and on April 20, 1898, married Lodenia Sigaly. She was born in Johnson Township and was educated in the district schools and the schools of Wolcottville. Mr. and Mr. Pyatt have no children of their own but have taken into their home a girl to rear, Iva Vail.

Mr. Pyatt has under his individual management 700 acres of land in Milford and Wayne townships, 260 acres of which was included in the old home farm. A large part of this is cultivated to the staple crops and he is an extensive feeder of cattle, sheep and hogs. Politically he is a democrat and is affiliated with South Milford Lodge No. 619 of

the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife are both Rebekahs.

MOSES P. HOSTETLER. A good farmer and more- over a real leader in the community of Eden Town- ship, LaGrange County, Moses P. Hostetler is a member of an old and well known family of North- east Indiana.

He was born in Eden Township August 5, 1873, a son of Paul J. Hostetler. His grandfather, Moses J. Hostetler, a native of Somerset County, Pennsyl- vania, came to LaGrange County at an early day and many of his descendants are still found here. Paul J. Hostetler married Esther Miller, and spent most of his life as a farmer in LaGrange County. A more complete review of this branch of the Hos- tetler family will be found on other pages.

Moses P. Hostetler received his early education in Eden Township, began farming there, and after eight years of tending crops in Eden he moved in April, 1903, to Clay Township, where he continued his farming enterprise for three years. Since then he has lived in his present home place in Eden Township, where he owns 114 acres. He has con- structed some substantial buildings and has sur- rounded himself with all the equipments and com- forts of a first class farmer. From 1906 to 1912 Mr. Hostetler also operated a threshing outfit, which he made a medium of useful service to most of the grain raisers in Eden Township.

Mr. Hostetler married Carrie Mehl on December II, 1892. She is a daughter of Jacob C. and Lucinda Mehl. To their marriage have been born three chil- dren, Ernest Mehl, Dewey W. and Nellie. Ernest, who married Susie Kitchey and has a son, Ernest, Jr., is a minister of the Mennonite Church, being a graduate of the Topeka High School and did normal work at Goshen, Indiana. The son Dewey is a graduate of the Topeka High School and fin- ished his education in the Tri-State College at An- gola. Mr. Hostetler and family are active mem- bers of the Mennonite Church.

GEORGE M. PENCE has had a busy career that has made him well known over LaGrange County, where he has lived for half a century, since early boyhood. He started life as a carpenter, proved a competent and able workman, and made his trade the basis of a larger business as a contractor and builder and the operator of a sawmill, and from his home in Topeka Township he still carries on those activi- ties.

Mr. Pence was born in Clinton Township of Elk- hart County, Indiana, April 8, 1861, a son of Pat- rick H. and Lucinda (Prough) Pence. His father was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, and in 1835 came to Indiana and settled in LaGrange County in 1857, where on February 23, 1860, he married Lucinda Prough. After their marriage they settled on a tract of land of ten acres, where he worked at his trade as a carpenter. Later he traded for 142 acres, and died in LaGrange County July 19, 1912. Lucinda Prough, his wife, was born in Ohio May 31, 1841, daughter of Samuel and Salonia (Confer) Prough, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. Samuel Prough and wife were mar- ried in Ohio and came to LaGrange County as early as 1849 and lived there until their death. They were members of the Dunkard Church. Lucinda Prough Pence is still living, an active member of the Luth- eran Church. Her husband was a democrat. They had a family of nine children, seven of whom are still living: George Milton, Henry M., Ida S., wife of Ed Miller ; Samuel B., of South Bend; Della M.,

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

wife of Amos Cobbun; Rose E., wife of Jesse Shoup; and Bessie, wife of Robert Larimer, of Elk- hart County.

George M. Pence lived with his parents in Elkhart county until 1868, when the family moved to Eden Township of LaGrange County, and in the past thirty years he has contracted for and built many houses, barns and other structures in the towns and country communities of LaGrange and Elkhart coun- ties. In 1884 he went to Kansas, and lived in Kan- sas and Oklahoma until 1895, and then came back to LaGrange County.

July 7, 1888, Mr. Pence married Sarah E. Veach. They have three children: Bessie M., wife of Nor- man E. Strang; Grace, wife of Vance T. Myers; and George R., who married Mary L. Boomershine and lives at Topeka, having served fourteen months in the great war. He was only fifteen years, one month and one day of age when he enlisted for the service. The family are members of the Baptist Church and Mr. Pence is a democrat in politics. Among other distinctions he has an honorable rec- ord as a farmer trustee of Eden Township, an office he held for four years, from 1915 to 1919.

BERT P. SPRAGUE, who for many years has been a citizen of Steuben County, followed farming and eventually engaged in the lumber business, and is now interested in a number of plants, but chiefly at Pleasant Lake, known as the Pleasant Lake Lumber Company.

Mr. Sprague, who has come into success through the avenue of hard work and close attention to busi- ness, was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, August 8, 1868. His father, Samuel Sprague, was born in the same house January 23, 1845. The grandfather, Samuel Sprague, Sr., was six years old when his people went to Muskingum County, and were the very first white settlers in that section of Southern Ohio. Samuel Sprague, Jr., son of Samuel and Nancy Sprague, married Malona Powelson. She was born in Muskingum County, May II, 1847, daughter of Rhineer and Maria (Black) Powelson. Samuel Sprague attended public school at Otsego, Ohio, and as a young man took up farming, which was his permanent vocation the rest of his life. He died January 12, 1916. He was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, being a member of Company F, Seventy-Eighth Ohio Infantry. On October 20, 1870, he moved with his family to Branch County, Michigan, lived on a farm there nine years, and then moved across the state line into Steuben County, locating at Orland in the fall of 1881. After ten years he returned to Branch County and lived close to the line between Branch and Steuben counties the rest of his days. He was a member of the Methodist Church. His three chil- dren are: Laura, wife of A. H. Hiller; Bert P., and Perry R.

Bert P. Sprague was a small child when brought to Indiana and he spent most of his school days at Orland, being a graduate of the high school there. He began the serious occupations of life as a farmer and school teacher, and continued farming until February 19, 1912, at which date he became a busi- ness man of Pleasant. Lake. The Pleasant Lake Lumber Company of which he is the active head handles coal, lumber and all classes of building material. Mr. Sprague is also interested in lumber yards at Pioneer, Ohio, Syracuse, Indiana, and La- Grange, Indiana, and Buchanan, Michigan.

In 1895 he married Miss Nellie Wilder, daughter of Norton and Eliza (Shutts) Wilder. They have two sons: Ralph, born December 24, 1897; and Russell, born July II, 1902. Mr. Sprague and

family are members of the Methodist Church at Fremont.

CLYDE N. SWOGGER, who has spent his life in La- Grange County, is well known as a banker, being the first and only cashier of the Farmers Bank at South Milford. This prosperous institution was organized July 30, 1910, and from the beginning Mr. Swogger has handled most of the executive details and is the official best known to the public and the bank's customers.

Mr. Swogger was born in Milford Township, March 29, 1881, a son of Thomas and Catherine (Engler) Swogger. He grew up on his father's farm, attended the district schools and graduated at the age of nineteen from the Fort Wayne Busi- ness College. After leaving school he spent a year on a farm and then followed different occupations in Kendallville for a time. At the age of twenty- two he married Maggie Zonker, a native of DeKalb County and a graduate of the common schools. She died in July, 1911, the mother of two children: Gretta, born in 1906, and Walter, born in IQII. May 3, 1913, Mr. Swogger married Vena Whitcomb, who was born and reared in LaGrange County and is a graduate of the South Milford High School. Mr. and Mrs. Swogger are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, and he is a teacher in the Sunday school. He is affiliated with Kendallville Lodge of Masons, with the Odd Fellows at South Milford, and he and his wife are both Rebekahs. Politically Mr. Swogger is a democrat.

ELLIOTT P. MASTERS, whose place as a business man is signally indicated by his senior partnership in the firm of Masters & Reed, proprietors of the Hamilton Lumber Company, is a man of many thor- ough business qualifications, derived from an active experience of forty years, and most of his life has been spent in Northeast Indiana or over the line in Williams County, Ohio.

He was born in Fulton County, Ohio, October 10, 1853, a son of Hon. Ezekiel and Susanna B. (Perkins) Masters. His father was born in Knox County, Ohio, December 3, 1816. He settled with his family in Williams County in 1869, and for many years was regarded as a very successful business man. He also enjoyed well deserved prominence in local affairs. In early life, in 1836, he became interested in the local militia organization of Ohio, being appointed orderly sergeant of the volunteer Rifle Company. Eighteen months later he was made second lieutenant, and eventually became colonel of the regiment. He was active in church and politics and at one time was a member of the State Legis- lature.

Elliott P. Masters was about sixteen years old when his parents moved to Williams County. He finished his education in the public schools of Pioneer in Williams County, and as a young man followed farming there. On November 18, 1875, he married Martha B. Fulton, a daughter of Peter B. and Angeline (Thorpe) Fulton.

After his marriage Mr. Masters engaged in the produce business and in June, 1882, moved to Butler, Indiana. He soon had a business built up to suc- cessful proportions there, and for eighteen years his enterprise was the leading one of the kind in that part of Northeast Indiana. He was a buyer and shipper of produce and was also in the coal business. In February, 1910, he sold his establishment at Butler and bought an interest in the lumber busi- ness at Hamilton, where he has since been head of the firm Masters & Reed. This firm handles all kinds of building material.

SHILLING FAMILY GROUP

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

Mr. Masters is a Mason and Odd Fellow, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He and his wife have three children: Bertha G., wife of W. D. Plow, of Bad Axe, Michigan; Herbert F., a resident of Ellis, Kansas; and Lottie B.

CHARLES E. REED, who has had a working career of over thirty years, is a successful business man of Hamilton, partner and joint proprietor of the Hamilton Lumber Company under the firm name of Masters & Reed.

Mr. Reed was born in Wayne County, Indiana, December 26, 1866, son of John W. and Elizabeth (Myers) Reed, the former a native of Frederick County, Maryland, and the latter of Wayne County, Indiana. John W. Reed spent many years of his life as a farmer in Miami County, Indiana. He was affiliated with the Masonic order and Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, was a member of the Methodist Church, and his children will always take pride in the fact that he served as a Union soldier for three years and six months in the Nineteenth Indiana Battery. He participated in twenty-one battles and was in Sherman's march to the sea.

Charles E. Reed in early childhood accompanied his parents to Miami County, where he was edu- cated in the public schools. As a young man he began to contract for building construction in that county, and gradually developed increasing inter- ests. In 1907 he moved to Butler and on February 28, 1910, located at Hamilton, where he is a partner in the Hamilton Lumber Company. He is a good business man, has a thorough knowledge of lum- ber and builders' supplies, and is a man who can be trusted to carry out every obligation he assumes.

En 1890 he married Miss Margaret Mays, daugh- ter of James and Mary Mays. They have two children, Esta and Elbert. Mr. Reed is a Methodist and is affiliated with the Masonic Order, the Knights of Pythias and the Maccabees.

DANIEL SHILLING, for many years a resident and progressive farmer in Jackson Township, DeKalb County, is representative of one of the first fam- ilies established in Concord Township. Mr. Shil- ling owns a fine farm of about 14672 acres in sections 12 and 13 of Jackson Township.

He was born four miles from Massillon, Stark County, Ohio, October 19, 1849, a son of Solomon Shilling. Solomon Shilling, long prominent in De- Kalb County, was born in the same locality of Stark County in 1823, a son of Adam and Mary (Roan) Shilling. Adam Shilling came to DeKalb County at an early date and entered and bought ex- tensive tracts of government land in Concord Town- ship. He gave each of his sons 160 acres and each of his daughters eighty acres. Solomon Shilling came to DeKalb County to take possession of one of these quarter sections of wild land in 1850. This land was in section 19 in Concord Township. He built a log cabin, cleared and improved, and by his work and good management was accounted one of the wealthy men of the township. He became an extensive shipper of livestock, and shipped the first carload of stock over the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from this locality to Chicago. He owned about 400 acres of good farm land. In 1872 he was elected trustee of Concord Township and re- elected in 1874. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Protestant Church. Solomon Shil- ling married Esther Bliler, who was born in Penn- sylvania. They were the parents of six sons and six daughters, one daughter dying in infancy, and the eleven to reach maturity being: Daniel, Jo- sephus R., William, Mary, Sarah, Adam, Francis,

Hiram E., John, Vienna L. and Dora. Eight of these children are still living.

Daniel Shilling grew up on the farm home in Concord Township and has been a resident of De- Kalb County since early infancy. He attended district school and lived at home to the age of twenty-six. On November 9, 1875, he married An- netta Widney. At the time of his marriage he bought his present home farm, and Mrs. Shilling died there in 1880. She was the mother of three sons: Adam E., who was liberally educated, was a teacher and died at the age of twenty-six; Sam- uel H., who married Maud Stafford, lives in Jack- son Township and has a daughter, named Bonnie; and Frankie, who died the year after his mother.

Mr. Shilling has long been active in the Methodist Protestant Church and also in its Sunday school. He is a republican, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and has been a liberal factor in his com- munity, being especially patriotic in behalf of the various causes for the recent war.

LUCIUS B. HART is a veteran railroad man and for many years has been a competent engineer handling one of the passenger runs on the Baltimore & Ohio between Garrett and Chicago. Mr. Hart, whose home is at Garrett, is a native of Northeast Indiana, having been born near Ligonier March 1, 1867.

His parents, David and Rebecca J. (Cummings) Hart, were natives of Ohio. His father was born in Ashland County October 17, 1835, and his mother in Van Wert County January 17, 1845. When these families came to Indiana the Harts located in De- Kalb County and the Cummings family in Noble County. David Hart and wife were married in the latter county and then settled on a farm east of Ligonier, later lived in Tennessee for about seventeen years, and on returning to Indiana settled in DeKalb County. David Hart died at Butler, Indiana, in 1890. He was a fine mechanic in wood and also a farmer. He was active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and a republican in politics. Of the six children four are living: Lucius B .; Dora, wife of Fred Wagner, of South Bend; Mrs. Rena Todd, of South Bend; and Oda, wife of J. A. Engstrom, of Garrett.

Lucius B. Hart was seventeen years old when his parents returned to Indiana and settled in Butler. He had acquired his education in the public schools of Tennessee and at the age of fifteen started out to make his own living. He worked in a woollen mill in Tennessee and on coming to Indiana entered the service of the Wabash Railroad as a call boy. He was employed in the mechanical department and on moving to Garrett entered the service of the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad in 1886. He was a fireman six years, was made a freight engineer in 1892, in 1900 was promoted to traveling engineer, in 1902 became the road foreman of engines on the New- castle division of the Baltimore & Ohio, and in the latter part of the year returned to Garrett and took charge of locomotives on the Chicago division. Since 1905 he has been a passenger engineer between Gar- rett and Chicago.

On June 8,1904, Mr. Hart married Geraldine Bevard, a native of Allen County, Indiana. His wife before her marriage spent seventeen years in school work, and had finished her education in the Methodist Col- lege at Fort Wayne. They have two daughters, Jane Ellen, born April 22, 1905, and Louise, born October 31, 1907, both attending the common schools. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mr. Hart being on the official board and long a faithful worker in church and Sunday school. He is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 41

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