USA > Indiana > LaGrange County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 48
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 48
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 48
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 48
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CHRISTIAN M. BORNTRAGER has had the good for- tune to call LaGrange County his home from birth to the present time, and his life's activities have been chiefly expressed through the business of farm- ing, of which he has made a notable success. His home is in section 4 of Eden Township, where he was born February 5, 1884.
He is the ninth child in the family of eleven born to Manassas and Lydia (Yoder) Borntrager, early settlers in LaGrange County. The Borntrager fam- ily was established in the American colonies in 1767, and many generations have proved their useful citi- zenship and fidelity to the best interests of their communities.
Christian Borntrager grew up on the home farm in Eden Township, attended the district schools in winter and worked for his father in the summer.
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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA
February 9, 1905, he married Mary Ann Miller. She was born in Elkhart County December 6, 1882, a daughter of Joseph J. and Susana (Keim) Miller, the former a native of Holmes County, Ohio, and the latter of Eden Township, LaGrange County, In- diana. Joseph Miller came to LaGrange County and was married February 5, 1882, and is now living in Elkhart County. Mr. and Mrs. Borntrager have eighty acres of land in their farm, and both are active members of the Amish Mennonite Church. They had four children: Edna May, deceased; Ina, Elizabeth and Alice.
ADAM D. BOYER is a progressive and enterprising farmer. His farm home is in Salem Township, and he has spent all his life in Northeast Indiana, having come to Steuben from DeKalb County. Mr. Boyer is one of the pleasant gentlemen in Salem Township, is father of a fine family, and has worked hard to provide for them and meet his obligations as a citizen and member of a farm community.
Mr. Boyer was born in Smithfield Township, DeKalb County, October 20, 1866, a son of Balis H. and Susan (Oberlin) Boyer. His mother was a native of Franklin Township, DeKalb County, daughter of David Oberlin. Balis H. Boyer was born in Stark County, Ohio, a son of Adam and Rebecca (Houlten) Boyer. Adam Boyer was one of the early settlers of DeKalb County, and spent his active life as a farmer in that locality. His children were: Elmina, who married Andrew Dunkin ; Balis; Mary Ann, wife of Royal Fisk; Irene, who married Archie Smith; and Ira, who died when eighteen years old.
Balis H. Boyer when a young man bought eighty acres of wild and uncleared land in Smithfield Township of DeKalb County. He had to clear away a place in which to erect his first log cabin, and all his children were born in a log house. Eventually he had good improvements and most of the land under cultivation. Finally this first farm was sold and he moved to another in Franklin Township, where he died eight years later, on June 1, 1907. His wife passed away April 6, 1897. Their children were: Warren J .; Mary Minnie, wife of Martin Smurr; Adam D .; and Francis M., who died on his eighteenth birthday.
Adam D. Boyer had the advantages of the dis- trict schools in his native township, and his first experiences as a farmer were in the same locality. He rented for two years and then bought forty- seven acres in Franklin Township of DeKalb County. In 1897 he traded this DeKalb County farm for the place he now owns in Salem Township. He has a larger farm, comprising 110 acres in section 20, has built a new barn, remodeled the house, and there is hardly a foot of the ground which is not under cultivation and put to some useful purpose. He keeps a good deal of grade livestock, and in his farm work now has the assistance of some of his children who are at home.
September 21, 1887, he married Blanche Conrad, daughter of Demn and Margaret (Linsey) Conrad. Mr. and Mrs. Boyer have nine children: Grace, Ralph, Bruce H., Ruth, Bertha B., Ruby, Naomi, Amy and Merritt. Grace is the wife of Carl Leas, had two children, Ross, dying in childhood, and the other being Marjorie. Ralph married Delphia Martin and has two children, Donald and Robert. Bruce H. served in the United States Marine Corps during the war, being stationed along the eastern coast. Ruth is the wife of Ora Bowerman and has a son, Keith Harold. Bertha B. is married to Harvey Wilson.
WILLIAM S. BRYAN of Swan Township, Noble County, is a young man upon whom enterprise has evidently set every mark of approval and commen- dation. He is one of the younger men in the agri- cultural field, alert to every opportunity, and has made a most satisfactory record of progress in the years that his career has been in full swing.
Mr. Bryan was born in Hancock County, Ohio, July 17, 1884, son of J. A. and Martha (Dice) Bryan. His father was born in Hancock County, Ohio, in 1850. His mother was born in Pennsylva- nia, and came to Ohio before her marriage. In 1893 J. A. Bryan brought his family to Indiana, and settled in Whitley County. The parents are now living in Churubusco, Indiana. He is a past master of the Knights of Pythias Lodge and is a republican in politics. There are six children in the family: Blanche, wife of Newton L. McGuire; Linne and Letta twins; Earl; George; and William S.
William S. Bryan was nine years old when his parents came to Indiana, and in Whitley County he completed his education in the common schools. He also had one year in high school. His active career on his own account began at the age of nineteen. At Erie, Pennsylvania, he learned the trade of stove plate molder, and worked at it three years. Returning to Indiana, he was a resident of Fort Wayne two years. He then married and settled on his present farm of 120 acres in Swan Township. where since then he has been working hard and has much to show for his labors. He raises Duroc hogs and the Leghorn poultry, and besides his farm interests is stockholder in a local nursery. Mr. Bryan is a republican voter. He and his wife have one son, Darwin R., born July 5, 1908, and now in the fifth grade of the public schools.
EDWARD M. KALB is one of the live and progressive citizens of Washington Township, and for a number of years has done much to contribute to the volume of agricultural production in Noble County. He has a splendid farm in sections 4 and 8, and while his individual ownership comprises eighty-one acres, he cultivates and handles altogether about 200 acres.
Mr. Kalb was born on the old Kalb homestead in Washington Township, March 31, 1872. He is a son of Peter and Sarah (Haning) Kalb. Peter Kalb, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1837, is still living in Noble County, one of the venerable and highly respected citizens. He and his wife had eight children: Amanda, wife of Sam Shoupe; Wesley, Steward and Mary, all deceased; Phoebe. wife of Adam Stump; Millie, wife of Marshall Draim; and Charles E. and Edward M., twins, the former now deceased.
Edward M. Kalb grew up on the old farm and made good use of the advantages supplied by the local district schools. After leaving home at the age of twenty-one he worked out for a vear, and he and his twin brother then rented a farm and worked it together for three years.
March 23, 1898, Mr. Kalb married Lestie Schla- bach. She was born in Sparta Township of Nohle County in 1881, and is the daughter of Samuel Schlabach. Mr. and Mrs. Kalb have three children : Shirley L., born in 1901 ; Orris M., born in August, 1007; and Orpha E., born in July. 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Kalb also have two grandchildren.
The Kalb family are active members of the Christian Church. Mr. Kalb is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Kimmell and is a past grand of his lodge. He is also active in the republican party in his section of the county.
JOHN S. FRISKNEY AND FAMILY
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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA
JOHN S. FRISKNEY, one of the prominent farmers of Greene Township of Noble County, has long oc- cupied an enviable position in local affairs, and his popularity and the confidence in his judgment has heen such that he was able to overcome the normal democratic majority and is the second republican to hold the office of trustee in the township. He is now serving his second term.
Mr. Friskney was born in Ashland County, Ohio, March 3, 1862, son of John and Jemima (Jesson) Friskney. His father was a native of England, grew up and married there, and his first wife died in England. Later he came to the United States and settled in Richland County, Ohio, where he married his second wife and where he spent the rest of his years. He was a quiet, unassuming man, a devout Baptist, and faithful to all the duties and responsi- bilities of life. Of his eight children five are still living : Jemima, unmarried and a resident of Ohio; Allie, widow of Elias Carpenter; John S .; Thomas, a farmer in Whitley County, Indiana; and Elizabeth, wife of Daniel Lowe, of Ashland County, Ohio.
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John S. Friskney grew up on his father's farm in Ashland County and received his education in the common schools. He came to Indiana in 1880 and in 1881 he married Mary M. Harlan, whom he had known from childhood. She was born in Ashland County, Ohio, February 24, 1855, and her parents moved to Indiana in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Friskney started out with no capital, and by their own exertions have builded toward independence until they now have a well proportioned farm of 160 acres.
They are the parents of a family of five children : John Arthur, a farmer in Greene Township, mar- ried Vanice Smith. Bessie and Dessie are twins, the latter unmarried and living at home. Bessie, who like her sister is a graduate of the Albion High School, was a teacher until her marriage to Chauncey Baughman and they now live in Noble Township. Archie married Clara Ott. Frank R., the youngest, married Iva Sinderson.
The family are members of the Baptist Church and Mr. Friskney is a deacon and trustee, is a charter member of the church and has served in past years as superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a member of the Ancient Order of Gleaners. He has long been active in local affairs and was re- elected for a second term as trustee of Greene Township in 1918.
HENRY GURTNER, an honored veteran of the Civil war, has for half a century been a factor in the farming and community life of the vicinity of Ham- ilton, and is now enjoying a well earned retirement and the comforts gained by a life of industry. He was born in Crawford County, Ohio, February 14, 1845, a son of Peter and Sarah (Tiernans) Gurtner, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Stark County, Ohio. Peter Gurtner died in Ohio in 1853, when his son Henry was only eight years old. The widow and her family of three sons and two daughters came to Steuben County in 1855, and she spent her last days near Hudson.
Henry Gurtner grew up in Jackson Township, had a public school education, and in 1863, at the age of nineteen, enlisted in Company C of the Twelfth Indiana Cavalry. He saw some of the hard fight- ing and scouting service of the cavalry branch until the close of the war. In 1866 he and his father-in-, law, David Cummings, bought the David Morgan farm of ninety acres, and he lived there about nine years. Selling his interests, he moved to DeKalb County and bought eighty acres, and successfully farmed it for about twenty-five years. He also
owned ten acres in DeKalb County near the railway depot at Hamilton, and he lived on that place for ten years. Since schling it he has bought a com- fortable house and lot in Hamilton village.
Mr. Gurtner has always been a stanch republican and is a member of Griffith Post No. 648, Grand Army of the Republic, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife is a Methodist.
In 1866 he married Sarah Cummings. Their five children were named Adelbert, Minnie, Ella May (wife of Warren Arnold, a merchant at Flint, In- diana), David and Harriet Elizabeth.
After the death of his first wife Mr. Gurtner mar- ried Joanna Clark. They had two daughters: Rena and Ina, the latter the wife of Professor Forney, superintendent of the Waterloo schools. For his third wife Mr. Gurtner married Mrs. Lucretia (Cas- per) Clark, of Hamilton.
PETER CROWL. Americans have been accused of being too unstable, too much inclined to go from one locality to another and experiment with dif- ferent callings, thus wasting valuable time and making no permanent location. It is stated that such action tends to do away with a proper pride in one community, and destroys concerted co-operation. That such conditions do prevail with a few is true, but the great agricultural regions, especially in In- diana, give many instances of men who have spent their lives in the neighborhood in which they were born, and who have concentrated their efforts upon making themselves perfect in the business of farm- ing. One of these men who is now living on the farm acquired by his father when he was but an infant, and on which he has spent practically all of his life, is Peter Crowl of Steuben Township, Steu- ben County.
Peter Crowl was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, June 9, 1863, a son of William and Nancy (Freed) Crowł. William Crowl was born in Vir- ginia, but was brought to Ohio in his boyhood, and there he was reared and married to the daughter of Peter Freed, who was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, following which he began farming. In the fall of 1863 he brought his family to Steuben County, and for a year lived in Salem Township, but then bought a farm of 120 acres on section 4. Steuben Township, on which he spent the remainder of his life, dying in February, 1007, his wife having passed away in 1904. Their children were as fol- lows: Lina, who married Addison Feifer ; Peter, whose name heads this review: Ida, who married William Ensley; Cora, who died at the age of nine ycars ; and Edward, deceased.
Peter CrowI attended the public schools of his district, and has always been engaged in conducting his present farm, first for his father and later on his own account. He has 120 acres of exceedingly valuable land, on which he carries on general farm- ing and stockraising, and as he understands his husiness thoroughly he has been deservedly success- ful in his operations.
On December 25, 1887, Mr. Crowl was united in marriage with Cora Wolf, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Menges) Wolf. Mr. and Mrs. Crowl have one son living and one deceased. Glenn, who. after being graduated from the Pleasant Lake High School, attended Angola Tri-State College one year. and then began teaching school. After two years' experience in the educational field he returned to the farm, and is occupied in working with his father. He was married to Minnie Sturgis, and they have a son, Richard L. Peter Crowf and his son are rightly numbered among the good, substantial farm- ers of Steuben County, who are doing their part
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in maintaining the agricultural supremacy of this region.
CHARLES W. SLOFFER, owner and proprietor of a well improved farm in Swan Township of Noble County, started his career as a renter and has used his opportunities to such good purpose that he now possesses an enviable prosperity and is one of the influential men of his community.
He was born in Eel River Township of Allen County, Indiana, December 7, 1862, son of William and Rebecca (Miller) Sloffer, the former a native of New York State and the latter of Ohio. Their respective families came to Indiana in early days and located in Allen County. William Sloffer and wife were married in that county, and were farmers there the rest of their lives.
Charles W. Sloffer grew up on a farm two miles east of where he now lives in Allen County, and received his education from the district schools. On October 21, 1886, he married Miss Edith Bow- man. She is a native of Noble County and received her education in the common schools there.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Sloffer rented land for several years, and then bought the eighty- six acres in the present home farm. They have done much to improve this, and conduct it as a general farm and stock proposition.
They have two children: Glenn, a graduate of the common schools and a teacher in Swan Town- ship; and Leah, who was born November 12, 1896, and is a graduate of the Laotto High School.
Mr. and Mrs. Sloffer are members of the Church of God, and he is one of the church trustees. He is affiliated with Churubusco Lodge of Masons and in politics is a republican.
CHARLES S. McLOUTH. The place he owns, the extent of his acreage, its improvement and general management indicates that Charles S. McLouth is one of the leading farmers of Steuben County. His home is in Clear Lake Township, and he is today cultivating the same land which his father cultivated when the son was born.
Mr. McLouth was born November 24, 1864, and is a son of Benjamin Mason and Sophia (Duguid) McLouth and a grandson of Benjamin and Patience P. (Ashley) McLouth. His grandparents were both natives of Massachusetts. Benjamin McLouth, who was born in 1806, came to Clear Lake Township of Steuben County in 1854. He had lived for ten years in New York State. He was a good business man, a man of high principles, and besides managing his property he gave much of his time to the work of the Baptist ministry. He had preached for several years in New York State, and after coming to Indiana he continued preaching as a member of the Baptist Church. In Clear Lake Township he ac- quired 480 acres of land and lived on the farm and supervised its management in connection with his ministerial engagements. The last two years of his life were spent in Branch County, Michigan, where he died in 1868. His children were Mary, Benjamin, Adelia, Ellen, Jennie and Wilbur.
Benjamin Mason McLouth, who was born in Massachusetts, was partly reared and attended schools in New York State, took up the work of the farm in Steuben County in early manhood, and continued farming where his son Charles now lives until 1876. He then retired, moved to Ray, Indiana, and during the rest of his life was devoted to the ministry of the Baptist Church. For two years he had a circuit, and after that did local preaching. The death of this honored old time minister and farmer occurred September 5, 1912. His widow, who is still living, was born in Fremont Township of
Steuben County, a daughter of John and Ellen (Stewart) Duguid. She was the mother of eight children : Elmer E., Luella, Charles S., John A., Arthur, Edith, George and Edna. Only three are now living, Charles S., John and Edna. Luella died in 1918 and the rest in early childhood.
Charles S. McLouth as a boy attended the district schools of his native township, also attended school at Fremont and for three years was a student in the college at Hillsdale, Michigan. He was a mem- ber of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity. On completing his education Mr. McLouth spent six years as a farmer in Branch County, Michigan, taught school three years, was a salesman of agri- cultural machinery in Steuben County for about seven years, and in 1905 moved to Fremont in order to give his children the advantages of better schools. In the spring of 1912 Mr. McLouth moved to a farm on the line between Fremont and Clear Lake Town- ship, and from there in the spring of 1919 moved to the farm where he was born. Besides his holdings in this county he owns 500 acres of land in Missis- sippi.
Mr. McLouth married Anna Vance, September 24, 1891. She is a daughter of Alexander and Mary (Barnhill) Vance. They have four children, Lisle, Ruth, Donald and Janet. The daughter Ruth is the wife of J. O. Hochstedler. The son Donald en- listed in the United States Navy July 6, 1918. He was still in service in the early summer of 1919. His first duty was on the battleship New Jersey, with which he made one voyage to Europe. Since then he has been with the Liberator, and on that vessel made three trips to Europe.
JOHN H. STRONG. In view of the fact that this country has today so many young men just, or about to be, discharged from the army, it is interesting to note that the majority of the soldiers of the Civil war, after their return to civil life, developed into prosperous business men, giving their government just as efficient service as private citizens as they did during the dark days of the war. The strict discipline and rigorous training of army life brings into being qualities which make for the best type of citizenship, and for some decades past the people of every community have been proud of their old soldiers. One of these veterans of the conflict be- tween the states, now living in retirement at Pleas- ant Lake, Indiana, is John H. Strong, who after a gallant service as a soldier for many years car- ried on an extensive contracting and building busi- ness at Pleasant Lake.
John H. Strong was born at Fort Wayne, In- diana, April 3, 1843, a son of Henry and Angeline Strong. Henry Strong was born in Holland April 5, 1812, and died in 1896, his wife having passed away in 1857. He brought his wife to the United States in 1838, and after some months in New York City came west as far as Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his life, being en- gaged in business as a shoe merchant. He and his wife had the following children: Clara, William, Henry, Lena, John H. and Louisa, all of whom are now deceased except John H. Strong.
Until he was eighteen years old John H. Strong attended the public schools of Fort Wayne, Indiana, but at that time he enlisted as a private, on August 28, 1861, in Company C, Forty-Fourth Indiana In- fantry for service during the Civil war, and was honorably discharged January 3, 1864. During this period of service he participated in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Perrysville, Stone River, Chickamauga and many skirmishes, and had the re- markable record of not only never being wounded
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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA
but also of keeping in such excellent health that it was not necessary to administer to him a single dose of medicine. There are few of the soldier boys of today who can truthfully say the same thing. His gallantry in action earned him successive promo- tions and he was discharged as a second lieutenant.
Following his discharge Mr. Strong returned to Fort Wayne, where he worked as a carpenter, but the confines of the old home town did not offer him the opportunities his ambition sought and in 1877 he moved to Pleasant Lake, where he has since re- mained, growing with the place and expanding into a contractor and builder. Some of the most impor- tant contracts have been executed by him. It has been characteristic of him that he not only lived up to the letter of these contracts, but the spirit as well. For forty years he has lived in the same house, to which he is deeply attached.
In 1864, after his return from the war, Mr. Strong was united in marriage with Elizabeth A. Bower, a daughter of John and Mary Bower, and they had the following children: William F .; Edward and Harry, both of whom died in childhood; Lillie, who was married June 30, 1903, to Worthy E. Tuttle; and Claude, who died at the age of eleven years. Mrs. Strong died April 18, 1915, having been a de- voted wife and mother and a kind neighbor, and she was deeply mourned by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance. Mr. Strong is a devout mem- ber of the Lutheran Church, to which he gives gen- erous support. Having lived at Pleasant Lake for forty-two years, he is one of its oldest residents, and has seen many interesting and important changes, in some of which he has taken an important part. Never caring for public life, he has not sought political honors, but has always been willing and ready to render aid in forwarding any movement which in his estimation would work out for the benefit of his community and the betterment of its people.
GUY W. SANDERS, whose active career has identi- fied him with Pleasant Township in Steuben County, where he owns one of the well improved farms, was at birth an interesting factor in the life and affairs of the little community of Steubenville in Glenn Township. On March 29, 1874, when he came into the world, he was hailed as the first boy born in the village.
His father was William Henry Sanders, a son of Samuel Sanders. William Henry was born De- cember 26, 1847, and died December 20, 1917. He was an early merchant in the hardware business at Wolcottville and Hudson, Indiana, and on selling his store moved to a farm near Angola and followed agriculture until he retired in 1915. He married Loretta Wickwire, daughter of George W. and Loretta (Lemmon) Wickwire.
Guy W. Sanders, oldest of his father's children, attended district schools in Pleasant Township, also the Angola High School, and took a commercial course in the Tri-State Normal College. His career as an agriculturist began on a rented farm in Pleas- ant Township, and in 1907 he bought his present place of 162 acres, part of which lies in section 17, though the building improvements are in section 16. Mr. Sanders has worked not only to the end of producing good crops and getting the most profit out of his soil, but also to give his farm permanent improvement and increased value from year to year. He has repaired the buildings, and the farm stands as one of the good ones in that locality. He does general farming and stock raising, is a breeder of blooded Duroc Jersey hogs, and is one of the largest stock feeders in the county.
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