History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 72

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 72
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 72
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 72
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 72

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The family home, Forest View, in Fairfield Town- ship, is wholly surrounded by timber, and has be- come a farm of much value under Mr. Krueger's management. The family are members of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mr. Krueger attended parochial school one year, preparing for confirma- tion, while Mrs. Krueger was in the parochial schools until after confirmation and then attended public school. His chief education was acquired in the public schools of Salem Township of Steuben County. Under existing circumstances his own chil- dren will be given the advantages of the public schools. In politics the record of both the Krueger and Voges families has been throughout democratic.

The parents of Herman E. Krueger were Charles Henry and Sophia (Miller) Krueger. They came from Mecklenburg, Germany, and landed in New York City on New Year's Day of 1861, after eight weeks on the water. They were steerage passengers on a freight vessel laden with munitions of war shipped from Hamburg, Germany, to the United States at the time of the Civil war. There were triangular bars of lead ready to be made into bul- lets. The passengers on the boat included 100 Ger- man immigrants, and the Kruegers afterward knew

some of them and had them as neighbors and friends in America. The Kruegers brought their packs, con- taining blankets, clothing and other supplies. From New York they went to Cleveland aboard an emi- grant train. From Cleveland they came to Kendall- ville. They began housekeeping with a store box for a table. Charles H. Krueger worked in stores at Kendallville for several years, until he was able to buy a farm in Steuben County. They were among good people and in time they were able to help others. "If father were living," says Mr. Herman E. Krueger, "he could fill up a history with the story of his life." Later Charles H. Krueger sent for his father and mother and a brother, Fred Krueger, who is still living at Sturgis, Michigan.

While Mr. Krueger's parents came in a sailing vessel Mrs. Krueger's father came by steamer and was on the water half the time. The Krueger family history in the New World began almost sixty years ago. Herman E. Krueger's mother is still living in Steuben County with her son William F. Krueger.

CHARLES GARLETS. The Garlets family has long been one of importance in LaGrange County, and several branches receive special attention in this publication. The home of Charles Garlets is a farm in Greenfield Township, and he is cultivating land today which his grandfather originally im- proved.

Mr. Garlets was born in Springfield Township, April 1, 1870, and is a son of John P. and Mary (Horner) Garlets. Of the earlier generations of the Garlets family nothing more need be said at this point, since the subject is covered elsewhere. Mary Horner was a native of Pennsylvania, a daugh- ter of William and Mary (Graham) Horner, both natives of the same state. William Horner was a son of Jacob and Catherine Horner, who spent all their lives in Pennsylvania. William Horner brought his family to LaGrange-County in 1868, locating in Greenfield Township. His first wife died in Pennsylvania, and his children by that mar- riage were Daniel, John, Noah, Mrs. Lizzie

Laughery, Mrs. Mary Garlets and Anna. In West- moreland County, Pennsylvania, William Horner married Mary Millhoff. On coming west the Hor- ner family traveled by railroad as far as Sturgis, Michigan, from which point teams and wagons brought them to LaGrange County. William Hor- ner spent the rest of his life on his farm in Green- field Township. By his second wife he had four children: Jemima, Eli (who died in infancy), Wil- liam and Catherine. His sons Daniel, John and Noah Horner were all soldiers in the Civil war, and John was reported missing after one battle and his exact fate was never determined.

John P. Garlets was born and received his early education partly in Ohio and partly in Indiana, being a youth when his family came to LaGrange County. He did his first farming on the George Thompson farm, and in 1873 he bought twenty-five acres of the place where Milton Garlets now lives in Springfield Township. Later he owned ninety acres there, and his toil cleared up most of the land. In 1901 he moved to the farm owned by his son Charles in Greenfield Township. He had 160 acres there, this being land that his father had first owned. He and his wife lived there until they retired to Mongo in the spring of 1912 and he died in March, 1913.

Charles Garlets was the only child of his parents. He attended the Sand Hill School and the schools of Mongo, and after his marriage worked on his father's farm at monthly wages, and also ran the homestead on his own responsibility. For three

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years he farmed in Michigan and in 1910 he went west to the Yakima Valley of Washington, where he bought a farm and lived about a year. He then returned to his father's old place, and now regards that as his permanent home and himself as a fixture in the agricultural community. He is a breeder of full blood Shorthorn cattle.

On July 15, 1888, Mr. Garlets married Miss Al- meda Cook. She was born in Portage County, Ohio, and her parents, Milton E. and Levina (Hull) Cook, were also natives of that county, and in 1873 came to LaGrange County and bought a farm in Johnson Township. They lived there nine years and north of LaGrange nine years, after which her father and mother went to Williams County, Ohio, and spent their last years in that county. In the Cook family were nine children, all still living, as follows: Eldora, Mrs. John Minch; Minnie, wife of William Fair; Mrs. Charles Garlets; Arilda, wife of Frank Sturgis; Ernest; Lily, wife of Elmer Sawyer, of Stillwater, Oklahoma: Chloe, Mrs. Clar- ence Damer ; Edith, who is the wife of John Wrinkle and lives at Archbold, Ohio; and Viola, Mrs. J. P. Smith, of Bryan, Ohio.

Mr. and Mrs. Garlets have two children: Mil- ton, born in 1891, married Bess Gochenaur, and Charles, Jr., Milton M. and John P. are the three grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Garlets. The daughter, Thelma, was born in 1898 and is now a teacher in the Darrow school. She is a graduate of the LaGrange High School with the class of 1917.

DANIEL A. SCHAEFFER. Through a period of three-quarters of a century the name and good ·works of the Schaeffer family have effected a con- tinuous impression upon the material and social progress of Fremont Township in Steuben County. A farm in section 16 of that township was originally acquired direct from the Government by the late John Schaeffer, and that farm today is owned and under the capable management and direction of his son, Daniel A. Schaeffer.

The late John Schaeffer was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1820, a son of William and Margaret (Beck) Schaeffer. Reared on a farm and with a common school education, he found his opportunities somewhat limited in the well-settled districts of Pennsylvania, where he spent his youth, and in 1845 he came to Northeast Indiana and entered a tract of land in Fremont Township. After he had completed his business transaction at the land office and had made some other preparations he and a Mr. Michael went back to Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. They walked the entire distance, the journey taking them three weeks. Few men aside from professional pedes- trians would undertake such a journey today for any price. There was a strong stimulus urging John Schaeffer to make the journey. When he re- turned to Dauphin County he was married Novem- ber 4, 1847, to Eve Walmer. She was a native of the same county, born in 1823. In 1848 John, Schaeffer made permanent settlement on his land in Steuben County, and gradually cleared away the heavy timber until he had a cultivated farm, and owned 172 acres. He and his wife were active members of the German Methodist Church. John Schaeffer died May 5, 1904, and his wife passed away in 1901. Of their seven children five reached mature years: David J., John W., Eleanor E., Daniel A. and Margaret M.

Daniel A. Schaeffer was born at the old home- stead in Fremont Township May 22, 1858, acquired his education in the district schools and began farming with his father. In 1887 he married Miss

Ollie Balch, a daughter of William and Susan Balch.

He then took his bride to Reading, Michigan, was engaged in the butcher business there six years, for another year lived at Coldwater, Michigan, in the same line of business, and then returned to look after the homestead farm, his parents being well advanced in years. He made his father and mother comfortable, and they lived with him until their death. Mr. Schaeffer owns ninety-six acres of the old homestead, and has it well equipped with build- ings and other facilities for farming and stock raising.

He and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church at Fremont. They have five children, named Earl, Glenn, Hazel, Paul and Lyle. Earl married Edith Eastham and has two children, named Dean and Esther. Glenn married Laura Adams and has a child, Rolene. Hazel is the wife of Harold Hoff- naughle, and their family consists of Richard and Rollo.

GEORGE F. CHRYSTLER has been a resident of LaGrange County for half a century, and from farm labor and farm renter has so conducted his affairs as to become owner of a good farm and independently prosperous.

Mr. Chrystler, whose home is in Clay Township, was born in Cattaragus County, New York, Febru- ary 7, 1847, a son of Abraham Chrystler. There are several representatives of the Chrystler family in Northeast Indiana, and much of Mr. Chrystler's family history is told on other pages. Mr. Chrystler when a boy of only thirteen began working out by the month, and continued in that line until he was twenty-four years of age, then for about two years he was a renter, at the end of which time he bought his first land and is now owner of a good farm of 160 acres.

In 1870 he married Samantha Saylor, a daughter of William Saylor. They are the parents of five children and have a number of grandchildren. The oldest, William, married Rosa Olney and has three children, Arthur, Harley and Hazel. Bracie, whose first husband was Frank Smith, by whom she had two daughters, Alma and Ethel, is now the wife of Jacob Selig and has a son, Howard. Alva married May Snow and has a son, Raymond. Frank is at home. Guy married Viola Church, and they have a son, Harold.

DANIEL J. GLICK. The farming interests of La- Grange County are heavy and valuable, made so through the efforts of some of the best agriculturists of Indiana. One of the men who has achieved to an enviable prosperity in this very important in- dustry is Daniel J. Glick of Newbury Township. He was born in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, July 9, 1863, a son of John and Martha (Hooley) Glick. These parents, in 1868, came to LaGrange County, Indiana, and for ten years lived on rented land in Middlebury Township, then buying sixty-seven acres of land, on which the father died May 17, 1896, aged sixty-six years, ten months and five days. He was born July 14, 1829. His widow, who survives him, was born March 15, 1835, and is now eighty-five years of age. Their children were as follows : Emma; Fannie; Daniel; Katie, who is deceased; Noah, who is a resident of Clear Spring; Lydia, who is a resident of Middlebury Township; John, who lives in Iowa; Jacob, who lives in Ohio; and Sam- uel, who also lives in Ohio.

Daniel J. Glick was only five years old when he was brought to LaGrange County, and he was here reared, and entered upon his industrial career as a farm hand, working by the month. Until he was twenty-one years old he gave his father the money

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

he earned. On January 28, 1886, he was married to Rosa Hostetter, born September 18, 1862, a daugh- ter of Enos and Ann (Emmerick) Hostetter. Mr. Hostetter died in 1862, and his widow was again married and moved to Minnesota, where she died in 1918, aged eighty-two years. By her first mar- riage there were four children, namely: Martin, who is a resident of Wabash County, Illinois; Abraham, who' lives in Minnesota; Jacob, who also lives in Minnesota; and Mrs. Glick. By the second mar- riage there were two children: Charles E. and Caroline.

After his marriage Daniel J. Glick lived on rented land and worked for others by the day until he in- herited a third interest in the homestead of his fa- ther. He moved on this property and conducted it for three years, and at the same time rented 160 acres additional. At the expiration of the three years Mr. Glick bought forty-seven acres of land at Honeyville in Eden Township, for which he paid $50 per acre, later adding twenty-seven acres to that farm, and operating it all until 1901. In that year he sold his property and went to Tioga County, Ohio, buying 225 acres at $20 per acre. Three years later he returned to LaGrange County, and bought a farm of 160 acres in Newbury Town- ship, for which he paid $50 per acre, to which he has added eighty acres. He also owns two more pieces of property in this same township, one of twenty acres and the other of eighty acres. Still later he disposed of some of his property, but still owns 240 acres, well cultivated, on which are ex- cellent buildings and fine improvements. All of what he now owns he has made himself, and de- serves much credit for his success in life.

Mr. and Mrs. Glick became the parents of the following children: Katie, who is the wife of Noah M. Borntreger, of Eden Township, has the following children : Mahlon, Rosa and Enos; Moses, who is a resident of Defiance County, Ohio, mar- ried Barbara Harshbarger, and they became the parents of children as follows: Levi, Rosa, who died in 1918, Milo, Lizzie and John; Enos, who is a res- ident of Holmes County, Ohio, married a sister of the wife of his brother Moses, and their children are Katie and Ada, twins, Perry and Mary, the last named being deceased; Mattie, who married Earl Kemp, lives in Washington County, Iowa; and Anna, who is the wife of Atlee Miller of Newbury Town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Glick are members of the old order of Mennonites, and are most excellent people in every respect. Mr. Glick is a man whose spoken word is as good as another's signed note, and few men in his locality command such universal respect as he.

T. W. HARWOOD, of Wilmington Township, DeKalb County, was a soldier in the Civil war, and though more than half a century has passed since the close of that conflict he is still active as a farmer and citi- zen and still does a day's work when his stock and fields require it.

Mr. Harwood was born in Vermont, a son of Asa and Cynthia (Stockwell) Harwood, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Vermont. When they left the Green Mountain State they moved to Medina County, Ohio, and in March, 1857, settled in Wilmington Township of DeKalb County, where they spent the rest of their days. Asa Har- wood was a man well advanced toward age when the Civil war came on, but he enlisted in the Forty- Fourth Indiana Infantry and served until wounded and incapacitated at the battle of Stone River. After the war he lived on his farm and also followed his mechanical trade at Waterloo. He was the father of

five children, and two of the sons were in the war. The three children now living are Emmett, Henry and T. W. Henry was the other soldier son and now lives in Michigan.

T. W. Harwood was sixteen years old when he came to DeKalb County and he finished his educa- tion here in the district schools. He served nearly a year toward the close of the Civil war, and then returned to DeKalb County. In June, 1865, he mar- ried Julia A. Smurr. After their marriage they set- tled on the farm where they live today. Mr. Har- wood has ninety acres in his own name and twelve acres belong to his wife. His land and other ac- cumulations represent many years of faithful labor on his part.

Mrs. Harwood is a daughter of George N. and Rebecca (Kinsey) Smurr, and a granddaughter of George Smurr, who came as a pioneer to DeKalb County and entered forty acres from the Govern- ment, part of which is now in the home farm of Mr. and Mrs. Harwood. Mr. and Mrs. Harwood have six children: Albert W., born November 20, 1866, and married Elizabeth Dill; George N., born Feb- ruary 12, 1869, married Leora Love; Daniel C., born March 6, 1873, now deceased; Anna I., born Feb- ruary 9, 1876, wife of Fred Piper; Cecil L., born August 23, 1878, married Nora Gesinger; and Inez, born March 5, 1886, wife of Ray Treman. Mr. Har- wood is a republican in politics.

HARVEY B. LEWIS, former county auditor of La- Grange County, is a native of Steuben County, where his people lived for a number of years, and the place of their original settlement in Northeast In- diana was Salem Township of Steuben County. Harvey B. Lewis for many years has been an ex'- tensive sheep breeder, and the farm he occupies and owns in Springfield Township is probably the oldest feeding ground for sheep in LaGrange County.

Mr. Lewis was born in Salem Township, Steu- ben County, November 3, 1877, son of Dwight and Sarah (Newnam) Lewis. His father was born in Chenango County, New York, in 1843, son of Har- vey and Elizabeth (Bassett) Lewis. As noted else- where in this publication, the family came to Steuben County about 1850, and Dwight Lewis, then a boy of seven years, grew up on a farm in Salem Township, and finished his education in the Orland High School. As a farmer he started with forty acres, but soon went on the old Lewis homestead and was known for years as one of the leading feeders of cattle and sheep. He was a re- publican, and for three terms held the office of county commissioner in Steuben County. He was president of the Farmers Insurance Company for more than twenty years, from the time of its or- ganization until his death. He was also affiliated with the Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, while he and his wife were active in the Methodist Church.

Sarah Newnam was born in Springfield Town- ship, LaGrange County in 1844, and the promi- nence of the Newnam family calls for some special mention here. Her father, Nicholas Benson New- nam, came to Springfield Township in 1836, set- tling on the land now included in the large place of H. B. Lewis, his grandson. He lived there until his death in 1876. Nicholas Benson Newnam was the father of fifteen children, and all of them are now deceased except Mrs. Sarah Lewis. One son was Samuel H. Newnam, who was born in 1841, on the farm now occupied by his nephew, Har- vey Lewis. He spent his life there. With a capi- tal of only $100 he began renting the homestead

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and after his father's death he bought 320 acres. He was a stockman, and made his farm widely known as a feeding ground for sheep. He was a republican and served as county commissioner of LaGrange County. Samuel Newnam married in December, 1870, Emma Faulkner, who was born in Springfield Township in 1841.

Dwight Lewis and wife had two sons, Benson R. and Harvey B. Benson was born June 1, 1872, and received his higher education in the Tri-State College at Angola and in Purdue University. His interests have been identified with lifestock, and for a number of years he did a farming and stock shipping business. He still owns 490 acres in Steu- hen County, including the old homestead. His business abilities, however, have called him to greater responsibilities and on August 1, 1906, he moved to East Buffalo, New York, and from that date until March 1, 1919, was connected with the widely known livestock and commission house of Clay, Robinson & Company. He was hog sales- man and manager of this company in the Buffalo market. March 1, 1919, he engaged as a salesman with Stacy, Dement & Beadle at East Buffalo. Benson Lewis married Nellie Strong and has two sons, Myron Dwight and Burdette Parker.

Harvey B. Lewis was reared on the homestead farm of his father, and attended public schools, supplemented by attendance at the Tri-State Col- lege in Angola. After his father's death he ac- quired eighty acres of the homestead and in 1918 sold that to his brother. Since 1901 he has been on the Samuel H. Newnam farm of 320 acres. He rented it until 1908, and then bought the old New- nam place. Among other improvements he has erected a second dwelling house on the farm. As noted above he makes a specialty of sheep feed- ing, and is one of the leading men engaged in that business in LaGrange County. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers State Bank of Stroh in 1915, and has since been president of that institu- tion.

March 15, 1906, he married Olive Dunham, who was born in York Township, Steuben County, in 1879, a daughter of Lorenzo and Sarah Dunham, pioneer settlers of Steuben County. Her mother is living in Springfield Township. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have two children: Burton, born October 12, 1907, and Geneva, born July 28, 1909.

PETER F. WEAVER was born at old Brockville, now Fremont, September 24, 1848. He was six years old when Brockville was changed to Fremont. He was born on a farm and still lives on a farm. His home is sixty-six acres within the village limits of Fremont. His has been a life of more than seventy years, and in that time he has witnessed a wonderful panorama of change. The first school he attended in the village was kept in a log school house. He was in school only during the winter terms and when there was little to do on the farm. The school was a subscription school, supported by the families who had children there, and hesides money contributions the different families also contributed wood supplies. Peter F. Weaver has plowed many a day with an ox team and he helped to build the first railroad through Fremont.

He comes of a family of pioneers and of patriotic Americans. His father, Jacob Weaver, was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, son of Henry and Polly Weaver, both natives of that state. Henry Weaver came to Steuben County, following his son Jacob, and spent his last years here. His children were Jacob, George, Susannah and Polly. Polly became the wife of Mike Bailey.

The parents died in Fremont Township. Henry Weaver, January 10, 1855, age seventy-seven years and four months, and his wife, Polly, died Septem- ber 24, 1851, age sixty-nine years.

January 20, 1842, Jacob Weaver married Mar- garet Schaeffer. She was born in Susquehanna Township of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Octo- ber 16, 1823, and represented a lineage that has helped to make American history. The first repre- sentative of the Schaeffer family in Pennsylvania was John Nicholas Schaeffer, who sailed from Rotterdam, Holland, on the ship Dragon, George Spencer, Master, and arrived in Philadelphia Sep- tember 6, 1749. He settled in Berks County and was commissioned captain of the First Battalion, Berks County Militia, January 20, 1777. His bat- talion rendered service in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey in the War of the Revolution. John Nicholas Schaeffer became an extensive land owner and one of the most influential members of old Berks County. He married Juliana Margaretta Michael, whose parents sailed from Rotterdam, Hol- land, on the Phoenix, John Mason, Master, reaching Philadelphia September 15, 1749. The children of John Nicholas Schaeffer and wife were all born in Heidelberg Township of Berks County, as fol- lows: Christian, born July 24, 1753, became a large land holder in Dauphin County; Casper, born November 27, 1754; Margaretta, born January 1, 1757; Elizabeth, born March 4, 1759; Susanna, born January 13, 1761; Nicholas, born September 12, 1763; Felix, born February 17, 1766; Anna Margaret, born February 1, 1768; Michael, born May 15, 1770; William, born June 20, 1772; Johan, born January I, 1775; and John born March 27, 1778. The father of these children died November 3, 1780, and his widow August 26, 1804. Members of the Schaeffer family have participated in every American war in the history of the nation, including the Revolution- ary, the Whiskey Insurrection, the War of 1812, the Mexican and Civil wars, the various Indian wars, the Spanish-American war, while a direct descend- ant, one of the Weaver family of Steuben County, Indiana, was in the present war with Germany.

William Schaeffer, maternal grandfather of Peter F. Weaver, was born in Dauphin County, Pennsyl- vania, at the date ahove noted and died in 1831. In 1813 he married for his third wife Margaret Beck, who was born June 4, 1790. The children of Wil- liam Schaeffer were named Barbara, Samuel, Jacob, John, Margaret, Catherine, Susannah, Daniel, Peter, Mary and Lydia. William Schaeffer was a distiller in Pennsylvania and after his death his widow and her children managed the distillery. After her sons came to manhood she came to Fremont, Indiana, about 1844, where her sons Samuel and John were living.

Jacob Weaver and wife with their two children, William Henry and Mary Amanda, left Pennsyl- vania in 1845. and they came to old Brockville in Steuben County, making the journey with a horse team. Jacob Weaver at that time bought .thirty acres of land from Evert Parmenter, located a half mile northeast of the present town of Fremont. Only one acre had been cleared, and the only struc- ture was a small log house. Jacob Weaver did much to improve his circumstances, owning fifty- two acres of land and making a comfortable home and other provisions for his family. He lived there the rest of his life. He was a member of the German Methodist Church and a republican in poli- tics. His family consisted of four children : William Henry, born October 10, 1842, and died April 12, 1859: Mary Amanda, born September 23, 1844, wife of Henry Lott; Priscilla Ann, born August 22,

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 72

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