History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 5

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 5
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 5
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 5

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).

Harry Black married Miss Bertha Belt. They have three living children: Harry D., born in 1907; Marian, born in 1911; and John, born in 1915. Mr. Black is a democrat in politics. The Black mer- cantile firm is regarded as a fixture and landmark at Albion, and has been doing business in one loca- tion for sixty-two years.

Bertha Belt, wife of Harry Black, is the daughter of Edwin Belt, who came to Noble County from Newark, Ohio. He married Eugenia Kline, daugh- ter of John and Louisa (Potts) Kline. The Potts family were pioneers of Noble County, locating here more than eighty years ago.

JOHN .B. RODGERS. One of the most interesting families of Steuben County is that of John B. Rodgers, a prosperous farmer of the highest stand- ing in the community of Jamestown Township. Mr. Rodgers comes of sturdy and long lived ancestry, tracing his descent from a victim of the English religious wars, John Rogers, who was burned at the stake. The habit of large families seenis to have persisted in nearly all the generations of the family, though Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers hardly measure up to the earlier generations in that particular.

Mr. Rodgers was born in Millgrove Township of Steuben County, May 29, 1858, son of James M. and Betsie (Bennett) Rodgers. His maternal grand- father was Daniel Bennett, a pioneer of Steuben County who settled in Jackson Township in 1838 and became one of the prominent farmers and land owners, owning 400 acres of land. Daniel Bennett on May 5, 1795, married for his first wife . Sally Sayer. Their children were Thomas, Abraham, Isaac, Mary, Peggie (who died in childhood), Samuel, Sally, Rebecca (who died in infancy), and Prudence. The mother of these died in 1809, and in the same year Daniel Bennett married Rebecca Norris. Daniel Bennett was the father of twenty- four children by these two wives, those of the second marriage being Mary, Peggie, Polly, Hilly, Daniel, Jr., Betsie, Alzina, Norris, Christopher C., Benjamin, Rebecca, John, Orilla, Judson, and the youngest died in infancy.

In the paternal line Mr Rodgers is a grandson of Ithuriel Rodgers, who was born October 3, 1778. In 1800 he married Betsie Dodge. Ithuriel Rodgers was a New York State farmer, and his children were Almena, Sabria, John A., Alphonso, William H. H. and James M.

James M. Rodgers was born in New York State July 9, 1816. His wife, Betsie Bennett, was born in the same state, April 20, 1819. James Rodgers arrived in Jackson Township of Steuben County in May, 1837, bought land, but after a few years moved to Springfield Township in LaGrange County. In 1850 he joined the tide of emigration to the gold coast of California, making the journey overland. He remained in the Far West a year and a half and about 1854 he moved from Springfield Township to Millgrove Township in Steuben County. In 1880 he retired from his farm to the village of Orland, where he died March 9, 1890. His wife passed away April 2, 1876. They had a family of sixteen children, twelve of whom reached mature years.

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

The names of the sixteen were Madison, Bradley, Antoinette, Hila, Romeo, Lodaska, Fernando, Mary Bell, Austin, Orvilla, Romeo, the second of the name, Lina, Zoe, John, Jabez and Alzina.

John B. Rodgers as a boy attended district schools in Jackson and Millgrove townships, finished his education in the Orland High School, and has been farming since early manhood. On October 19, 1880, he married Alma Hall. She was born near Nevada Mills in Jamestown Township, April 2, 1863, a daughter of James M. and Mary (Ford) Hall. Her father was born in 1821 and her mother in 1823. James M. Hall was a native of New York State and in 1838 went to Michigan and in 1861 settled in Jamestown Township of Steuben County, where he died in 1892. The mother of Mrs. Rodgers died March 4, 1907. In the Hall family were seven chil- dren: Maria J., John R., James, who died in child- hood, Thomas,. William, Ida, who died in infancy, and Alma. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers are members of the Order of Gleaners. Besides their four children they have a number of grandchildren. Theo M., the oldest of their children, married Ora Laird, and their family consists of Olive I., Cecil B., Robert W., John M., and Wilma Lorine. Mande C. Rod- gers is the wife of Irving A. Wickman, and their four children are Roger I., James A., Alma Mary and Herbert. Hazel M. is the wife of William D. Souder and she has a son, John William. Frank Bennett Rodgers married Ida C. Reynolds, and to them were born five children, Kathryn L., Lucile M., Bennett, who died in childhood, Earl and Wil- ford J.

GEORGE FRANKLIN SLICK, whose home is in Jackson Township of Steuben County, has grown crops in that part of Northeast Indiana for thirty years or more, and his own record is a worthy contribution to a family history which has been associated with this county from the earliest pioneer times.

Mr. Slick was born just east of the Block Church, on the farm now owned by Dell Wood, on January 30, 1856. He is a son of Holister and Lavina (Shaf- stahl) Slick. Holister Slick was born in Rochester County, New York, April 23, 1827, a son of John and Mary (Hempstead) Slick. John Slick was a soldier in the War of 1812, so that the American record of this family goes back more than a century. John Slick brought his family to Steuben County in 1840 and settled south of Salem Center, acquiring forty acres of government land. He and his wife spent their last days in that locality.

Holister Slick was about thirteen years old when brought to Steuben County, finished his education there, like most of the family, took up farming as his vocation. He owned fifty acres east of the Block Church, and lived there in comfortable circum- stances until his death on August 15, 1909, at the age of eighty-two. His wife who died September 30, 1908, at the age of seventy-five, was born in Crawford County, Ohio, December 24, 1832. She was a daugh- ter of Christian and Christina Shafstahl, who came to Steuben County in 1846. Christian Shafstahl, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1807, on moving to Steuben County settled in Salem Township and lived there until his death in 1880. A number of his children became well known and prominent in this part of Northeast Indiana.

Holister Slick and wife were the parents of nine children : Sarah, deceased, George F., Alice, Nancy, Adam, Christina, Mary, Susan and William.

George Franklin Slick grew up on his father's farm and started life with a public school education. The first land he owned was forty acres in Salem Township. After selling that he bought eighty-five acres in Jackson Township, improved it with good

buildings, and on April 7, 1917, bought his present place of thirty-six acres. He has always been pro- gressive in the matter of improvements, and in the spring of 1919 was engaged in the erection of his fifth barn, having put up four other barns on the other farms he owned.

April 12, 1883, Mr. Slick married Miss Emma Green. She was born in Pleasant Township of Steuben County May 22, 1861, a daughter of Marvin and Flora (Jones) Green. Her father was born in Medina County, Ohio, September 6, 1833, and her mother in Licking County of the same state in 1836. The Green family came to Steuben County in 1837, when Marvin was four years old. His parents were John and Louisa Green, who as pioneers settled on land in Pleasant Township which is now the Henry Jordan farm. John Green and wife both spent the rest of their days in that locality. Mrs. Slick's father after growing to manhood bought a farm of 113 acres in Scott Township, and he died in Fremont in 1912. His widow is still living at the age of eighty-three. In the Green family were the following children : Lewis, Ella and Emma, twins, Elmer, deceased, Sarah, Matilda, Bert and Charles. Mrs. Slick's maternal grandparents were Ziba and Flora Jones, likewise identified with the early set- tlement of Steuben County, and more particularly mentioned in connection with other branches of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Slick had four children. Ella is the wife of John Ritter. Nellie is the wife of Shermie German, and their children are Emma Panlina, who died in infancy, Violet, Raymond, Gladys and Evelyn. The son William married Ona German, and they have a son, Lawrence. Ethel is the wife of Francis Wyatt and has one child, Max.

MARTIN M. BURCH has been longer in business as a merchant at Metz than any of his present com- petitors and associates. For over thirty years he has sold goods and furnished an adequate mercan- tile service in his particular line, and enjoys an enviable reputation in commercial circles.

Mr. Burch was horn in Otsego Township of Steu- ben County August 11, 1860, son of Halbert C. and Mary (Rhinehart) Burch, and a grandson of Ches- ter Burch. Chester Burch was born in Vermont March 22, 1810, a son of Oliver and Anna Burch. In 1825 his parents moved to Washington County, Ohio, where he grew up and where in 1831 he married Polly Davis. She was born in that Ohio county April 4, 1812. Chester Burch was one of the early pioneers of Steuben County, Indiana, arriving in the year 1837. Three years later he bought eighty acres in section 10 of Otsego Town- ship, and lived there until his death on January 26, 1879. He was one of the leading members of the Christian Church in that township. He and his wife had seven children.

Halbert C. Burch was born in New York State, but was reared and educated in Otsego Township. He served three years and three months in the Union army, and then returned home and took up farming. His career was terminated at the age of thirty-eight, in 1872, when he was accidentally killed by being thrown from a wagon. His widow survived him many years and passed away at the age of seventy-two. Halbert Burch was a republi- can and a member of the Christian Church. He and his wife had four children: Martin M., Eugene, Lorenzo and John Chester.

Martin M. Burch grew up on a farm in Otsego Township, had a public school education and was busily engaged as a farmer until 1886. He came to Metz in that year and opened a harness shop and

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

later expanded into a general store, and has been in business at the old stand now for over thirty years.

Mr. Burch has taken an active interest in local affairs, is a republican, a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Christian Church and works for every worthy movement.

In 1879 he married Miss Deetle Woodcox. She was born in DeKalb County, Indiana, December 26, 1862, daughter of Curtis and Mary (Morrell) Wood- cox. Her parents were early settlers of DeKalb County. Her father died at Millersburg, Indiana, in 1890, at the age of fifty-two and her mother in 1873. aged thirty-two. There were five children in the Woodcox family: Martin, Deetle, George, Bell and Blanche, all of whom are still living. Curtis Woodcox married for his second wife Sarah Green- wood, and they had two children, Frank and Nelson. His first wife was Ida Spears, and she became the mother of one son, Glen. Mrs. Burch's father moved to Metz in 1872, and was successfully en- gaged in the practice of medicine in and around that village until about six years before his death.

Mr. and Mrs. Burch are the parents of five children : Clara, the oldest, is the wife of William Miller and has a son, named Willis. Meda is the widow of Zach Pillsbury and has a son, Marion. Virgil married Naomi Lindow and has two sons, Virgil and Lindow. Floyd enlisted in May, 1918, in the National army and in the spring of 1919 was at Camp Grant, Illinois. He married Lonise Loweren. Marie, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Burch, is clerk in the Stiefel store at Angola.

A. HOWARD SMITH represents a family that has been identified with the agricultural community of Noble County for over half a century, and his own efforts as an agriculturist have given him a sub- stantial reputation in several communities, chiefly in Perry Township, where he owns one of the good farms, located a mile and a half east of Ligonier.

He was born in Elkhart Township of Noble County, July 2, 1871, son of Abraham H. and Mary E. (Dumm) Smith. His father and mother were both born in Licking County, Ohio, the former on August 18, 1841, and the latter in 1843. They were married at Brownsville, Ohio, and in 1864 came to Noble County and located in Elkhart Township. They had their home in that community for many years, developed a good farm, and in 1901 retired and removed to Ligonier, where the mother died in IOJI and the father in 1915. They were very active members of the Primitive Baptist Church, the father serving as clerk of the church. He was a democrat in politics. There were nine children in the family, one of whom died in infancy. Those to grow up were: Charles L .; Emma L., wife of Curtis Cole; Ella M., wife of Dr. A. J. Hostettler, of LaGrange; Frank R., deceased; A. Howard; Bruce, who is a conductor with the New York Central lines; Edwin D., of Ligonier ; and Edith M., wife of Walter Rob- inson, of Ligonier.

A. Howard Smith grew up on the home farm in Elkhart Township and had a district school educa- tion. After leaving school he remained with his father helping to till the fields and carry on the work of the farm until he was thirty years of age.

In October, 1894, Mr. Smith married Lillie Schwab. She died in 1895. On March 12, 1901, he married Minnie Burket. Mrs. Smith was born in Perry Township and had a common school educa- tion. After their marriage they lived for three years in Elkhart Township, and in 1911 moved to their present farm of 112 acres in Perry Township. Vol. 11-2

They also own thirty-four acres in Elkhart Town- ship. This is a valuable property, and represents to a large degree the earnest efforts of Mr. Smith since he started life on his own responsibility. He and his wife have one daughter, Mildred M., born May 15, 1905, and now attending school. Mr. Smith keeps good grades of livestock of all kinds and is a stockholder in the Farmers Co-operative Elevator at Ligonier. He is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Eagles, and is a democrat.

Ross McNETT. More than seventy years have passed since the McNett family became settled in Steuben County. As a family they have been hard workers, successful farmers, earnest citizens and always identified with the religious and moral forces of their communities. Of the third generation Ross McNett is"a representative, a capable and progres- sive young farmer in Jamestown Township.

He was born on the farm where he lives today, August 29, 1882. The founder of the family in this county was his grandfather, Jacob McNett, who was born in Greene County, Ohio, May 21, 1824. He grew up in Logan County, Ohio, and in 1846 came to Steuben County and lived for three years on Jackson Prairie, and in 1849 located on the west bank of Lake Gage, and remained a resident of that neighborhood until his death in 1880. He owned a farm of 180 acres and had the physical ability and power to give a good account of himself as a farmer and was a man of strong will and great Christian spirit and for many years was an active leader in the Methodist Church. He married at the age of twenty-one Mary Jane Rock, and they had seven children : Sarahett, who died in childhood; George Sylvester; J. C .; Marietta; Orpha, who died in childhood; and John and Jane, twins.

George Sylvester McNett was born in Millgrove Township, March 6, 1848, and spent his life in Steuben County. He began farming in Millgrove, later lived in Jamestown Township, and for many years had his home on the farm now occupied by his son, Ross. He died April 22, 1903. He was active in public affairs, serving four years as town- ship assessor, and completed one term as county commissioner and was on his second term at the time of his death. George S. McNett married for his first wife Gelane Miller, who died leaving one son, George. For his second wife he married Eliza Arnold, who was born in New York State, October 20, 1851. She is the mother of two children, Lulu, wife of Ray Terry, and Ross.

Ross McNett acquired his education in the dis- trict schools of Jamestown Township. For two years, 1906-08, he lived with his mother in Angola, but with that exception has spent all his life on the home farm. He owns fifty acres under contract for sole ownership at the death of his mother, also a tract of eighty acres. He is a successful general farmer and stock raiser.

December 11, 1907, he married Lillie May, a daughter of Albert and Catherine May. They have four children, named Mildred, Mabel, Melvin and Merle.

ORDA B. GALLOWAY is a native of Northeast In- diana, his people having been pioneers in Noble County, and after a number of years of successful practice as a dentist in his native county he moved to Steuben County, and is now enjoying a large practice and well satisfied clientele at Angola.

He was born south of Ligonier, near Cromwell, November 25, 1878, son of Anderson and Harriet (Miller ) Galloway. The Galloway family came

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

originally to Northeast Indiana from Greene County, Ohio, and acquired extensive tracts of wild land in Noble County. Doctor Galloway's grandfather was Joseph Galloway. Anderson Galloway was reared and educated in Noble County, and for many years was one of the succesful farmers of that locality. He and his wife now live retired at the Village of Cromwell. He was born March 12, 1840, and his wife July 5, 1845. He is one of the ardent repub- licans of Noble County, is a member of the Masonic Order and his wife is active in the Lutheran Church. They had a family of ten children: Groase, Clara, Etta, Prentice, Cora, Serepta, Verna, Orda B., Ora and Oakley. Prentice, Cora, Serepta and Verna are deceased.

Orda B. Galloway grew up on his father's farm at Cromwell and lived there until he was abont twenty- one years of age. His education began in the district schools, was continued in the high school at Crom- well, and for two and a half years he was a student in Hillsdale College in Michigan. He re- ceived his degree Doctor of Dental Surgery at the Dental College of Indianapolis in 1905. He at once returned to his home locality at Cromwell to begin his professional work, and had a good business there for ten years. In 1915 he moved to Pleasant Lake and in the fall of 1918 opened his offices in Angola. Doctor Galloway is a republican and attends the Congregational Church at Angola. In 1915 he married Mrs. Frank Mayfield, of Noble County. Her one son by her former marriage, Jack Mayfield, is now thirteen years old.

J. CLIFTON McNAUGHTON, though a native of Branch County, Michigan, has spent most of his life in Steuben County and is a member of a family that came here in pioneer days, establishing a home in the wilderness more than fourscore years ago.

The pioneer head of the family was his grand- father, Alexander McNaughton, a native of New York State, who married Maria Crawford, also of the same state. Alexander McNaughton, accom- panied by his wife and four children, made the long journey by ox team and wagon from New York to Fremont Township of Steuben County in 1836. Only the previous year had the first home been built in that township. They settled on a piece of wild land two miles south of the present Village of Ray. Alexander McNaughton sold that land a few years later and bought 160 acres in section 13. The Village of Ray stands on part of that quarter section. Alexander McNaughton spent the rest of his life there as a farmer, and he platted the Village of Ray and gave its its first impulse toward growth. His children were named Eliza, Joseph, Archibald, Robert, Maria and Sarah Jane. The wife of Alexander McNaughton died March 30, 1867, and he passed away January 24, 1884.

Robert McNaughton was born in New York State and was a small child when brought to Steuben County. After getting his education he taught school in Fremont Township, made his first efforts as a farmer in the same locality, and after a few years moved to California Township in Branch County, Michigan. When the railroad was built and the Vil- lage of Ray came into existence, he was one of the first men on the ground and established a general store and had his home in the village. He con- tinned as a merchant there for about thirteen years. He and his hrother Archibald also built the first grain elevator. From Ray he moved to Jamestown Township, living there about three years. His second wife died in Jamestown and soon afterward he took up his home with his son J. Clifton, and died there. Robert McNaughton married for his

first wife Carrie Lathrope. She was the mother of one son, Delbert. His second wife was Jane Duguid, a daughter of John and Helen (Stewart) Duguid. To that union were born nine children, three of whom died in childhood. Those to reach mature years were Kent, Charles B., Alma, who died when a young woman, J. Clifton and Elton.

J. Clifton McNaughton was born in Branch County, Michigan, October 31, 1877, and attended his first schools in that county. For one term he was a student in a school in Fremont Township. As a boy he worked on his father's farm, but since early manhood has been concentrating his efforts upon the place where he now lives. He owns 160 acres in section 13 of Fremont Township, and his friends and neighbors speak of him as one of the most efficient young farmers in that locality.

Mr. McNaughton married in 1897 Bertha Handy, a daughter of Spencer and Sarah (Kaylor) Handy. They have two children. Lorene is a graduate of Fremont High School and has taken work in the International Business College at Fort Wayne. Clay- ton, the son, is also a graduate of the Fremont High School.

MRS. MARIUM E. CAMPBELL. It was in 1847 that the early members of the Campbell and Childs fam- ilies came to DeKalb County, Indiana. They have been quiet, thrifty people and always identified with the development of the county in a worthy way. The late Edward Campbell was long one of the county's honored and representative citizens.

Edward Campbell was born in Stark County, Ohio, in 1841, hence was six years old when he accom- panied his parents, Abel and Jane (Taylor) Camp- bell, in May, 1847, to Indiana and settled in Smith- field Township, DeKalb County. They had six sons and two daughters. Abel Campbell died on an his- toric day of the nation's history, the same on which Abraham Lincoln was first elected President of the United States. Edward Campbell remained on the home farm and looked after the comfort of his widowed mother and subsequently became the owner of the farm and continued its operation for many years. His death occurred there on March 7, 1914, and by loving friends and with Masonic rites, he was laid to rest in the family plot in the Waterloo cemetery.

On May 4, 1865, Edward Campbell was united in marriage to Marium E. Childs, whose parents, Bleeker E. and Jane A. (Wood) Childs, came from Wayne County, New York, to DeKalb County, In- diana, settling in Fairfield Township, the family consisting of three sons and five daughters, Mrs. Campbell at this time, September, 1847, being three years old. She grew up in Fairfield Township, at- tended school diligently and fitted herself for teach- ing and later taught schools in Fairfield, Smithfield and Waterloo, and has always been a lady whose in- tellectual acquirements have been recognized in the family and in society. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Campbell on the pleasant old farm in Smithfield Township, namely: Frank, Elnora, Al- bertus, Clark and Thomas. Frank married Almira Buchanan, and they have one son, Robert Leander. Elnora, who is deceased, was the wife of Oliver Hinman, and is survived by one daughter, Willo Hinman. Albertus married Laura Walker, and they have two sons, Edward and Jeremiah E. Clark married Mrs. Dora (Walker) Kelley. Thomas re- sides with his mother at Waterloo, to which city Mrs. Campbell removed shortly after Mr. Camp- bell's death, although she still retains the ownership of the old Smithfield homestead of 200 acres. Mrs. Campbell is a member of the United Brethren Church

Etvart Campbell

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

at Waterloo and takes an interested part in its many avenues of useful beneficence.

The early members of the Campbell and Childs families considered politics not only a necessary part of good citizenship, but the male voters of those days were apt to be emphatic partisans. In both families the whig element prevailed, but when the republican party was organized, its principles proved more acceptable. At the present time Albertus Camp- bell is serving as a member of the Board of County Commissioners of DeKalb, being one of the few re- publicans in this county so honored.

The late Edward Campbell joined the Masonic Lodge at Auburn and ever afterward he was a member in good standing. He was faithful in all observances and for years never missed a lodge meeting, traveling the seven miles to Auburn on every occasion no matter what might be the con- dition of the weather. By transfer he later became a charter member of Waterloo lodge. On the fiftieth anniversary of his becoming a Mason, brethren of the Auburn and Waterloo lodges celebrated the event and because of Mr. Campbell's feeble health at the time, went in a body to his farm, where, with ap- propriate and beautiful ceremony, they presented him with a Masonic emblem that signifies great and special honor. During the remaining year of his life Mr. Campbell prized this mark of appreciation and friendship as one of his dearest treasures, and it is equally prized by his eldest son, Frank, also a Mason, upon whom his mother bestowed it. Mrs. Campbell has a wide acquaintance in the county and at Waterloo, and is held in the highest esteem every- where.

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 5

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