History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 51

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 51
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 51
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 51
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 51

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).

J. H. Metz attended district school in Otsego Township, and his people being in modest circum- stances he went out to work when a boy and has found prosperity after traveling a long road of diligent effort.

April 13, 1879, he married Mary Teegarden, daughter of Aaron W. and Katie Ann (Tharp) Teegarden. The year following their marriage they moved to the farm they still occupy. Mr. and Mrs. Metz have 100 acres, all thoroughly cultivated, and with improvements of the best. Practically all of the buildings have been constructed under Mr. Metz' ownership. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and belongs to the Methodist Church. He and his wife have two children. Bertha is the wife of George Mortoff and has two children, Nova and Wayne. Virgil married Hazel Kissinger and their one child is named Wilodine.

Aaron W. Teagarden, father of Mrs. Metz, was born in Pennsylvania in 1812. His wife, Katie Ann Tharp, was born in Ohio in 1819. William Tea- garden, father of Aaron, moved from Pennsylvania to Pickaway County, Ohio, and spent the rest of his life in that state. He was the father of eleven children, five sons and six daughters. In order to give his numerous family opportunities of land ownership he entered extensive tracts in Allen County, and bestowed upon each of his children 160 acres.

Aaron Teagarden went to Allen County and per- sonally cleared up his quarter-section and made a good farm. He lived there about twenty-five years and in 1864 came to Steuben County and settled in Otsego Township. He bought an improved farm and owned 420 acres of land, part of which is now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Metz. Aaron Teagarden died in Steuben County in 1896 and his wife passed away in 1901. He was a democrat in politics and he and his wife were active in the Christian Church. The Teagarden children were: Eliza, Susannah and Abram, twins, Margaret, George, Lucinda, Jacob, Elizabeth, Elias, Mary M. and Thomas W. The son Abram was killed in the Battle of Bull

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Run while a Union soldier. George and Lucinda both died in infancy and Elias is also deceased.

CHARLES W. REED has been a well known figure in the business and agricultural community of York Township for a number of years, and in 1918 was elected trustee of the township for the regular term of four years, an office which of itself is sufficient proof of the esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens and of the many enviable qualities he possesses.

Mr. Reed was born in Sparta Township of Noble County, August 23, 1870. He grew up in Sparta Township, attending the district schools there. When only thirteen years old he started out to make his own way in the world, and the success and posi- tion he today enjoys is entirely the product of his own aims, ambitions and industry. He worked at wages paid by the month and by the year for farmers, and at the age of twenty-one had saved a considerable sum and at the age of twenty-eight he established a home of his own by his marriage to Ida D. Secrist, of Kosciusko County. Mrs. Reed was born in Noble County, but was reared in Kos- ciusko County.

After their marriage they located at Cromwell, where for ten years Mr. Reed was connected with the Moore & Company lumber yards, being yards foreman most of the time. He then located on his present farm, where he has fifty acres and is prov- ing his ability to get results from a small farm well and intelligently handled.

Mr. and Mrs. Reed have two children. Hugh is a graduate of the common schools and is now in the third year of the Cromwell High School. Le- nora was born in 1910. The family are active members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Cromwell. Mr. Reed is past chancellor of Crom- well Lodge No. 408, Knights of Pythias, and is a past noble grand of Lodge No. 787 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has repre- sented both orders in the Grand Lodge. In politics he is a republican.

CARL E. TUTTLE. During the days of reconstruc- tion following the great war the greatest problem to be solved is how to secure sufficient food to supply the world. Not only have millions of men been sacrificed in this titantic struggle, but vast areas have been devastated to such an extent that it will be several decades before they can again be devoted to agricultural purposes. Therefore it is but nat- ural that the world looks to America for food, and upon the farmers of this country devolves the meet- ing of this legitimate demand. As never before, in consequence of this pressure of circumstances, the work of the farmer has become a dignified and necessary calling, and the men who are devoting their energies and capabilities to this line of en- deavor are displaying patriotism and sound business sense. One of the men now numbered among the successful agriculturalists of Steuben County is Carl E. Tuttle of Steuben Township, who comes of a long line of ancestors who tilled the soil and helped to develop this part of Indiana.

Carl E. Tuttle was born in Steuben Township, June 19, 1868, a son of Chester V. and Tillie (Belles) Tuttle, and grandson of that stalwart pioneer woodsman, Lemmon Tuttle. Lemmon Tuttle was a native of New York State, where he was born in 1813, but did not spend many years there, as his parents moved to Ohio when he was still a small boy. In 1838 the spirit of adventure led him to walk from Clyde, Ohio, to Indiana in search of a suitable location, which he found in 1840, when he

settled permanently in Steuben County. Here he secured fifty acres of land from the Government, and a little later bought forty acres more, and worked the remainder of his life developing and improving it, having when he died in June, 1881, one of the best farms in his neighborhood. He married Filora Gould, born in Cayuga County, New York, in 1818, a daughter of Kiah and Mehitable (Sturges) Gould, who died December 25, 1880. The children born to Lemmon Tuttle and his wife were as follows: Lorana, Emeret, Chester V., Frank M. and Alptha, all of whom lived into old age; Adesta, who died in 1880; and Sylvester, Arad and Byron, all of whom died in infancy.

Chester V. Tuttle was born in Steuben Township in July, 1847. Like the young men of the present period, when his country had need of his services he responded and enlisted in 1863, in the Seventh Indiana Cavalry, and served until the close of the Civil war, participating in a number of important battles which took place in the territory covered by the Department of the Mississippi, to which his regiment was assigned. After having done his duty as a soldier Mr. Tuttle returned home and was equally useful as a private citizen, first in the mer- cantile field at Pleasant Lake and later as an agri- culturalist of Steuben Township, where he was fortunate enough to own eighty acres of land in section 26. Still later he was called upon to serve his county as treasurer for two terms, and when these responsibilities were acceptably discharged he retired and spent the remainder of his life in his comfortable home at Pleasant Lake, where his widow still resides. His death occurred December 7, 1902. Mrs. Tuttle is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and she is a daughter of George and Caroline (Bridinger) Belles. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle became the parents of the following children: Earl, Carl E., Worthy and Harry. Mr. Tuttle was both a Mason and Odd Fellow.

Carl E. Tuttle was reared in Steuben Township and attended its schools. From boyhood he has worked at farming, and it was but natural that he should adopt agriculture as his life work. He car- ries on general farming and stock raising, and is a breeder of blooded Spotted Poland China hogs. His 100 acres of land are kept in a magnificent con- dition, his buildings are adequate and the premises indicate that a capable man is in charge and one who takes a justifiable pride in his farm.

On March 22, 1894, Carl E. Tuttle was united in marriage with Lotta Hanver, a daughter of Henry and Adoline (Brandeberry) Hanver. Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle have the following children: Winnefred, who was born September 8, 1896; Hanver, who was born November 16, 1897; and James Warren, who was born January 10, 1910. Hanver Tuttle served during the great war in the aviation branch of the army, being a member of the 294th Aero Squadron, stationed at Mather Field, Sacramento, California. He has to his credit a flight of one hour and ten minutes, on which he served as the mechanic. Carl E. Tuttle is a member of the Pleasant Lake Baptist Church, and his wife belongs to the Metz Christian Church. They are fine people and are held in high esteem by all who know them.

GEORGE L. MISHLER. In order to measureably realize the agricultural wealth of Indiana, the ob- serving and interested traveler should make a lies- urely journey among the finely cultivated farms of LaGrange County, stopping, perhaps, to partake of hospitality often generously proffered by many of the fine people of Newbury as well as of other town- ships. Here he may find George L. Mishler, who

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owns many acres of improved land and many head of standardized swine and other stock. Mr. Mishler came to LaGrange County in 1879.

George L. Mishler was born in Pennsylvania, No- vember 15, 1857, and is a son of Joseph C. and Rachel (Livingston) Mishler. The mother died in 1877, aged forty-nine years and six months. Her first marriage was to Simon Miltenberger, and a daugh- ter, Elizabeth, survived her father. In 1878 Joseph C. Mishler came to LaGrange County, where he died in 1916, aged eighty-six years, two months and nineteen days, having spent the last thirty-five years of his life with his son George L. His children were as follows: Lucy, James, George L., Jacob, Susan, Sarah, John and Moses, all of whom survive. They are a religious people and some hold church offices, James being a deacon in the Mennonite Church; Jacob, a deacon in the Dunkard Church in Cali- fornia; John, a minister in the Dunkard Church ; and Moses, a minister in the Dunkard Church at Newton, Kansas.

George L. Mishler had country school advantages in Pennsylvania, and until 1879 worked on a farm there and then came to LaGrange County, Indiana. In 1880 he bought eighty acres of land in Newbury Township, upon which he lived until 1905, thien sold and bought the farm of 120 acres on which he re- sides. This was the old Eash farm and belonged to the parents of Mr. Mishler's wife, who settled here in 1864. Mr. Eash put good improvements on the place, to which Mr. Mishler added when he bought it in the way of a silo and new and modern buildings. It is well kept up and is one of the most valuable properties in the country. Mr. Mishler carries on general farming and is an extensive breeder of Ohio Improved Chester White hogs.

In 1880 George L. Mishler was united in marriage to Miss Polly Eash, who was born in Pennsylvania, August 21, 1856, a daughter of Jonathan and Cath- erine (Miller) Eash. They were highly respected people in Newbury Township, where they settled in 1864. The father of Mrs. Mishler died in 1907, when aged seventy-three years, and the mother in 1914, aged seventy-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Mishler have four children, namely: Della, who is the wife of Jesse Brandebery, and they have six children, Viola, Roy, George R., Gertrude, John R. and Floyd; Levi, who married Georgia Haines, has one son, Don Le Roy; Joseph, who married Bernice Hulbert, has one son, Joseph; and Katie, who is the wife of Emmon J. Yoder. They are rearing a boy, Jacob Miller by name. Mr. Mishler and his family are members of the Mennonite Church, and all are people who stand high in the estimation of their neighbors far and near.

FRED KANKAMP, owner of two good farms in Steuben County, has spent all his life in that section of Northeast Indiana, and is rated as one of the men in the farming industry who know how to get the best results and the largest profits consistent with good management and conservation of the resources of the soil.

Mr. Kankamp, whose home is in Pleasant Town- ship, was born at Angola June 25, 1875. His father, Henry Kankamp, was a native of Germany and was brought to this country when a boy, spending most of his life in Steuben County. For a number of years he was well known in Angola as a teamster and drayman, but for the last four or five years lived with his son Fred and died at the latter's home in Steuben Township in 1913. Henry Kankamp married Martha Brown, who was born in New York State and is a sister of George M. Brown of Steu-

ben County. Fred Kankamp was the older of two sons, his brother being Frank.

Mr. Kankamp attended public schools in Angola, and since early manhood has been farming. The first place where he made his labors productive as a farmer was in section 36 of Pleasant Township, where he owns his present home. After about three years he moved to another farm in sections [ and 2 of Steuben Township, but in the summer of 1918 returned to the Pleasant Township farm, where he owns ninety acres. His other farm in sections I and 2 of Steuben Township comprises 157 acres. Both farms are well improved with good buildings and are devoted to general farming and stock raising.

Mr. Kankamp married July 13, 1895, Etta Hayden, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Boyls) Hayden, the latter still living. John Hayden, who died March 18, 1918, was for a number of years a farmer in Hillsdale County, Michigan. His children were Lawrence, Mary Ann, Etta, Michael James and Clyde. Mr. and Mrs. Kankamp have two children, Harry and Ettafred. Mr. Kankamp is affiliated with the Loyal Order of Moose.

JUSTIN F. FAUX is a prosperous farmer of Noble County who has spent nearly all the days of his life in one locality in Orange Township, and now has a good farm and home five miles west of Kendall- ville.

He was born in Morrow County, Olio, February 23, 1871, son of Charles and Maria (Stockdale) Faux. His father was born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and his mother in Morrow County, Ohio, where they were married. In 1874 the family came to Orange Township of Noble County, and the parents spent the rest of their days there. They were active members of the Baptist Church and the father was a democrat and at one time served as a trustee and as a justice of the peace in Morrow County. These parents had a large family of children, fourteen in number, seven of whom are still living: M. B. Faux, of Orange Township; Sadie, wife of Josiah Ziegler, of Rome City; Charlotte, wife of John Spice, of South Mil- ford, Indiana; Alpheus K., of Allen Township; Wallace, a bachelor living with his brother Justin; Justin F .; and Estella, wife of John W. Harvey, of Jefferson Township.

Justin F. Faux was three years old when his par- ents came to Noble County, and he grew up on the old farm and received his education in the local schools. He has always continued to live in the home locality and was with his parents until his marriage.

October 17, 1908, he married Charlotte A. Gret- zinger. Mrs. Faux was born in Swan Township of Noble County and was only three weeks old when her mother died, after which she was reared in the home of her uncle, George Gretzinger. She has made her own living since she was thirteen years of age and for eleven years she was employed in the home of her husband's mother. Mr. and Mrs. Faux have two adopted children, Harvey E. Stiver and Helen Louise Stiver. They now have the names Robert Fulton Faux and Helen Marie Faux.

Mrs. Faux is an active member of the United Brethren Church at Zion. Mr. Faux has main- tained a steady interest in local affairs and is a democrat in politics. He has sixty acres of the old homestead and in 1916 erected a modern home. He uses his land for general farming and stock raising.

ROBERT A. LACEY. Farming is a business and one which requires long experience and a natural in -.

EDWIN DITMARS AND FAMILY

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clination for it if the one engaged in this line de- sires to do something more than "just make a liv- ing." Land values have' materially increased since the days when our forefathers could obtain large grants of land from the Government for the entry fee in such magnificent agricultural states as In- diana. Then, perhaps, there might have been some excuse for a farmer being something of a slacker, but not today, when every acre is needed to pro- duce the amount of food required for our own country and starving Europe as well. However, the progressive farmers, especially those of North- east Indiana, knew of the importance of their un- dertaking long before the great war opened the eyes of others to the necessity of production and conservation. They have held on to their land, improved and developed it, and today as a result of their industry, thrift and broad vision stand among the most useful citizens of their nation. One of these men whose family has long been established in Indiana, and who is now living on the farm entered by his father from the Government, is Robert A. Lacey of Steuben Township, Steuben County.

Robert A. Lacey was born in Steuben Township, Steuben County, Indiana, March 21, 1849, a son of Thomas M. and Nancy (McGanghey) Lacey, and grandson of William Lacey. The latter died when his son, Thomas M,, was a small boy, after coming to Eastern Ohio from Virginia. Thomas M. Lacey was born in Virginia in 1803, and his wife was born in Washington County, Maryland, in 1807, a daugh- ter of William McGaughey, who came to Eastern Ohio when his daughter was a child. Growing up in Belmont County, Ohio, Thomas M. Lacey was there married, and following that event he came to Steuben County, Indiana, but later returned to Ohio and lived for a time in Seneca County. In 1837 he came back to Steuben County and entered 240 acres of land in Steuben Township, he paying $1.25 per acre for it, and then returned to Ohio once more. Having thus provided a home for his wife and six children, he brought them to it, and the first cabin he erected was only sixteen feet square. There were two rooms, one upstairs and the other below. Not a nail was used in this primi- tive home, and the furnishings were quite as pioneer in character as the house. Here three more chil- dren were born, making nine in the family. The land was entirely undeveloped and much hard labor was required to put it in shape to yield crops that made farming worth while. Thomas M. Lacey lived here until his death, which occurred in 1860, his widow surviving him until 1890. Their chil- dren were as follows : William, Nathan, John, Mary, James, Thomas, Rosanna, Marian, Robert A. Of these children John and Thomas are veterans of the Civil war. Thomas M. Lacey and his excellent wife were consistent members of the Baptist faith.

Robert A. Lacey attended the district schools and for eight terms was a student of the Angola school. For the succeeding four or five years he was en- gaged in teaching school, but for the past forty years has been engaged in farming and owns 1063/3 acres of land. He carries on general farming and stock raising, specializing in breeding Jersey cattle and Duroc hogs. He has erected practically all of the buildings on the farm, and made numerous other improvements, and has one of the best rural properties in his part of the township.

On January 1, 1877, Mr. Lacey was united in marriage with Sarah C. Gramling, a daughter of Henry and Sabilla (Foltz) Gramling, and they had three children, namely: Mabel S., who married Chester Klink: Nancy Madge. who married Carl Ingals; John Mark, who married Alice Shachford.

Mrs. Lacey died in 1884, and Mr. Lacey was subse- quently married to Margaret Wills, a daughter of Elmus and Sarah Clingerman. By his second mar- riage Mr. Lacey has two children, Hazel Lynn and Florence. The latter married Leonard Rohm. Mr. Lacey belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and gives it a generous support. Having spent prac- tically all of his life in Steuben Township, his in- terest is centered here and he has been instrumental in securing some improvements for his neighbor- hood. He is a friend of the public schools and an advocate of good roads, and in his farming uses modern methods and lives up to the sanitary regula- tions of his state.

ISAAC W. MCCONNELL is one of the most progres- sive factors in the agricultural, livestock and business community of Green Township, Whitley County. He is still a young man, has a great deal of concen- trated effort and achievement to his credit, and the promise of many years of continued and enlarged usefulness.

Mr. McConnell was born in Putnam County, Ohio, January 1, 1881, a son of William J. and Louisa E. (Hallabaugh) McConnell, both of whom were na- tives of Ohio, the father born in Putnam County and the mother in Hancock County. Both were educated in the common schools, and after their mar- riage settled on a farm in Putnam County, four miles north of Leipsic. In the spring of 1888, when Isaac was seven years old, they sold their Ohio posses- sions and moved to a farm near Ligonier, Indiana. In 1898 they bought a farm in Whitley County, Indiana, where the father is still active as a farmer and stock man. They are members of the Chris- tian Churcth, in which he is serving as a deacon, and he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and in politics is a republican. There are five chil- dren in their family: Bertha, wife of Volney King. of Whitley County; Isaac W .; George, a graduate of the common schools and a farmer in Whitley County ; Ross, who graduated from the Churubusco High School; and Mary, wife of Sidney Ortt, who at the close of the war was a second lieutenant in the army at Atlanta, Georgia.

Isaac W. McConnell acquired his education in the public schools of Ligonier, and graduated from the high school at Churubusco May 3, 1901. He spent five years working at the carpenter's trade, and was a building contractor for three years. On May 3, 1906, Mr. McConnell married Oma Diffen- daffer. They have two children: Wiladean, born November 12, 1907, and Leo, born May 14, 1910,

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McConnell be- gan farming at their present location. He started with eighty acres, and by an unusual display of energy, good judgment and careful management has acquired a fine farm of 220 acres, well improved. As a stockman he specializes in Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell are active members of the Church of God at Sugar Grove, and he is secretary and treasurer of the church and is superintendent of its Sunday school. In politics he is a republican,

Besides his private interests as a farmer Mr. Mic- Connell has taken an energetic part in the co-oper- ative movement of his locality. He is secretary and treasurer of the Churubusco Livestock Shippers' As- sociation, Incorporated. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Churubusco and a mem- ber of the Advisory Board.

EDWIN DITMARS, of Swan Township, Noble County, has lived a most useful life, is a prosperous farmer and citizen of his community, and has been

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known in that section of Noble County from earliest boyhood to the present time.

Mr. Ditmars was born in Ashland County, Ohio, December 10, 1850, a son of Henry and Catherine (Lybarger) Ditmars, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Ashland County, Ohio. Henry Ditmars was a son of Abram and Cornelia (Striker) Ditmars, who were pioneer settlers in Holmes County, Ohio, where they spent their last days. Henry Ditmars was one of a family of eight sons and two daughters. From Holmes County he moved to Ashland County, married there, and in 1853 brought his family to a farm in Swan Town- ship, Noble County. In that community he and his wife spent their last years. Both were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was one of the local leaders in the republican party. Of eleven children six are still living: Elizabeth, wife of William Lawrence; Cecelia, wife of Henry Bloxson; Edwin; Henry, of Churubusco; Elmer E., a farmer of Swan Township; and Emmett, of Fort Wayne.

Edwin Ditmars grew up on the old farm in Swan Township and secured those advantages to be had in the local district schools. His life was at home and with liis parents to the age of twenty-three. Then, on December 25, 1873, he married Sophia Simon. Mrs. Ditmars was born in DeKalb County, Indiana, January 30, 1845, a daughter of Peter and Louisa (Fair) Simon. Her mother was born in Frederick County, Maryland, and her father in Columbiana County, Ohio. They were married after they came to DeKalb County, Indiana, and settling in Butler Township they lived there the rest of their lives. They were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mrs. Ditmars was reared in that faith.

Mr. and Mrs. Ditmars started life on a scale of utmost simplicity. They built a house in the midst of the woods and added to their comforts and con- veniences as they could afford them. Farming has been his lifelong pursuit, and besides raising crops for forty years or more he has cleared away many acres of land and developed a good farm. His pres- ent place comprises 100 acres.

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 51

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