History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 8

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 8
USA > Indiana > Noble County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 8
USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 8
USA > Indiana > Steuben County > History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II > Part 8

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).

As a boy on the home farm in Salem Township Eugene F. Weicht acquired his education in the public schools and also attended the Angola High School. He was only eight years old when his fa- thier died, and as there was no one to help him par- ticularly he early learned to help himself. For about two years he followed the trade of carpenter. As a farmer he rented land, and later bought forty acres where he still lives. Subsequently he added seventy-nine acres and afterward ninety acres, and is now owner of a fine body of land comprising 209 acres. He uses this for raising the staple crops of the vicinity and also keeps a herd of pure bred Poland China hogs. He is an extensive cattle feeder.

Mr. Weicht is a democrat in politics. In 1886 he married Miss Effie Silvey, daughter of Benjamin and Magdalena (Sutterlin) Silvey. Her parents were among the early settlers of Salem Township and her mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Weicht have two children. Vern, born October 30, 1889, was educated in the district schools and the Angola High School, also attended Tri-State Normal Col- lege, and on November 26, 1915, married Miss Mil- dred Leas, a daughter of Marvin Leas of Salem Township. They have a daughter, June Catherine. Carmah, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Weicht, was born January 9, 1891, is a graduate of the Pleasant Lake High School and the wife of Asa Glago. Mr. and Mrs. Glago have two children, Madalena and Carroll.

JOHN HEADLEY. From the years of early man- hood until his death in 1914. John Headley was a citizen of York Township in Steuben County upon whom his neighbors could depend, when the com- munity needed the support of all its public spirited citizens. He lived a long life, was prospered in his material affairs, and left a name untarnished to his descendants.

He was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, Septem- ber 9, 1828, a son of Reuben and Louisa Headley, the former a native of New Jersey and and the latter of Virginia. The family came to Steuben County in 1849, settling in section 16 of York Township, where Reuben Headley died in 1860, at the age of sixty-six. His widow survived and passed away February 12, 1892. Their children to reach mature years were John, Hannah, Nancy, Mary, Wheeling, Joseph, Reuben, Sarah Jane, Emma, Louisa and Charles.

John Headley was just about twenty-one years old when he came to Steuben County. In the same year he bought thirty-six acres of land in section 16 and deeded it to his mother. In 1851 he bought forty acres for himself in the same section, and there started to clear the land and make a home, and in the later years of his life he had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts rewarded in a farm that was a conspicuously attractive part of the landscape. He at one time owned 280 acres in his home farm, and at the time of his death had 200 acres. He was very successful in handling stock and usually kept his farm supplied with some of the best cattle and horses in the county. He was a loyal republican in

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

politics, and for twenty-one years was road super- visor.

November 9, 1853, he married Susan Hubbell. She was born in New York State July 13, 1833, and died April 11, 1882. She was the mother of five chil- dren: Edwin E., Edgar, Minard, Cary, who died at the age of six years, and Mordant, who died in infancy.

June 24, 1883, Mr. Headley married Harriett . Ann, Abdilla, Amasa and Henry, the only one now Hood. She was born in DeKalb County March 23, 1860. She is still living on the home farm in York Township. She was the mother of four children: Alma, born April 20, 1886, and died September 15, 1886; Harmon, born March 6, 1892, had a public school education and is a farmer living at home with his mother; Nora B., born August 2, 1894, now the wife of Lawrence Dick, of York Township, and she has two children, named Winona and Alene; and John, born July 9, 1900, finished the common schools and lives on the home farm.

EVERINGTON F. BEERS. A farm widely known as one of the notable old homesteads of Steuben County is the Walnut Dale Farm in Jackson Town- ship, the present proprietors of which are Mr. and Mrs. Everington F. Beers. They and their families have been factors in the early settlement and the later development of Steuben County for three quarters of a century.

Mr. Beers was born in Jamestown Township August 30, 1847, son of Bradford and Amanda (Bement) Beers, both natives of New York. His parents were married in that state and came to Steuben County in 1845. His father bought eighty acres in Jamestown Township, and on selling that acquired forty acres in Jackson Township. The last fifteen years of his life he lived with his son Everington and died in 1893, at the age of seventy- three. The mother of Mr. Beers died in 1857, aged thirty-one. Bradford Beers was a democrat, and as a pioneer lived in a log house when he first came to Steuben County. He and his wife had five chil- dren : Eleanor; Harriet, deceased; Everington F .; Imogene, deceased; and Mortimer. The father mar- ried for his second wife .Burnett Whaley, and their three children were Ida, George and Nora, both daughters now deceased.

Everington F. Beers grew up on his father's farm and had a public school education. Until he re- tired he was an active farmer for nearly fifty years, and the first place he owned was eighty acres on Jackson Prairie in the Township of that name. He lived there seventeen years and in 1904 moved to his present home, the old Darius Sams place, for- merly owned by Mrs. Beers' father. He lived there as a renter for twelve years before he bought. Mr. and Mrs. Beers have 126 acres in their home place and have added many improvements to it during their ownership. Mr. Beers now rents his farm and is practically retired.

He is one of the men who has lived to see early hopes realized in the success of the prohibition cause. When he cast his first vote on the prohibi- tion ticket in Jackson Township he was the only man to support that ticket and he gave his modest advocacy to the cause alone in that locality for sev- eral years. He is a member of the Methodist Church.

February 25, 1874, Mr. Beers married Miss Effie Sams. She was born on the place where she now lives February 25, 1854, a daughter of Darius and Phoebe (Lounsbury) Sams. Her father was born in Ohio in 1829 and her mother in New York State in 1831. Darius Sams was a son of David and Elizabeth (Baker) Sams and they were among the earliest settlers of Steuben County, coming in 1835

and locating on a farm south of the Jackson Prairie cemetery. At that time David Sams acquired forty acres and afterward by entry and purchase became one of the extensive land owners in the county. He died on the old homestead in April, 1874, at the age of seventy-three, while his wife passed away in 1888, aged eighty-eight. They had the following children: Mary Jane, Peter, Daniel, Darius, Sarah living being Henry.

Darius Sams, father of Mrs. Beers, had a good education, attending the Academy at Ontario and the Methodist College at Fort Wayne. After school days he spent his active carecr as a farmer and bought the 126 acres where Mr. and Mrs. Beers now live, and that was his home for fifty-three years. He also owned a place of 120 acres a mile and a half south and later bought forty acres of his fa- ther's old home. Darius Sams died in 1915, at the age of eighty-six, having spent practically eighty years in Steuben County. His wife died April 21, 1907, aged seventy-eight.

Mrs. Beers was the only child of her parents, though her mother by a previous marriage, to Daniel Sams, brother of her second husband, had a son, Daniel. Mrs. Beers was educated in the public schools, the Orland Academy and the Angola High School. Mr. and Mrs. Beers have two sons. Hugh, born April 8, 1880, was educated in the Orland High School and as a farmer rents his father's place on Jackson Prairie, comprising 120 acres, including forty acres where the grandparents of Mrs. Beers began keeping house in the pioneer times. Hugh Beers married Anna Nichols, and their three sons are Bruce, Henry and Homer. Mrs. Hugh Beers died in January, 1917, and he married for his second wife Flora White. Harry Beers, the second son, was born January 29, 1888. He also completed a high school course at Orland, and is owner of 120 acres of the old John Parker farm. He married Versa Watters, and has one daughter, Helen.

JAMES M. FURNISH. One of the farms in Jack- son Township of DeKalb County longest in the possession of one family is that owned by James M. Furnish on the county line between Allen and De- Kalb counties. Mr. Furnish himself has gathered crops from that land for over forty years, and his father before him developed and farmed it.

James M. Furnish was born in Ashland County, Ohio, January 26, 1849, a son of David and Mary C. (Davis) Furnish. His father was born in Suffolk, England, in 1805, and came to the United States when about twenty-eight or thirty years of age. He lived in Boston for several years, married in that city, and then moved to Ashland County, Ohio. His home was in Ashland County for seventeen years. He supported his family by common labor and also by farming. After selling his twenty-five acres of land in Ashland County he moved to DeKalb County and bought eighty acres where his son James now lives. He remained there the rest of his life and owing to an injury spent several years almost help- less. James M. Furnish carefully looked after his parents in their declining years and was their main- stay and support during their last years. Both were active in the Lutheran Church and his father was a republican. Of their family of eleven children only four are now living: Abraham, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Margaret J., wife of David Hollabaugh ; James M .; and Martha.

James M. Furnish grew up on the home farm and was educated in the common schools. He worked for his father and took charge of the farm for a number of years and after his father's death he bought the old homestead. He does general farm-

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

ing. Mr. Furnish is a republican in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.

May 13, 1880, he married Ida Steward. She was a native of DeKalb County and was educated in the common schools. They have three children: Ralph, a farmer living with his father; Sudia, wife of Mel- vin Howey of DeKalb County; David, who is mar- ried and lives at Detroit, Michigan, where he is working with the Ford Automobile Works.

JOHN A. BARNES. Steuben County received its first permanent settlers during the decade of the '30s, and it is rather unusual to find a family established here through four generations and with such an honorable record as farmers, good citizens and vigilant members of the community as that belonging to the Barnes connection. One of the representatives in the fourth generation is John A. Barnes, a young and progressive farmer of York Township.

The first of the family in this county was his great-grandfather, Cowee Barnes, who was born June 21, 1788. September 5, 1809, he married Bridget Howard, who was born May 10, 1791. Cowee Barnes came to Steuben County in 1836. He was one of the settlers of that year in York Township. The first recorded settlers in the township arrived in 1836. Cowee Barnes entered 120 acres of wild land from the government, and before his death, which occurred in 1855, had cleared up most of it and put it into cultivation and improved with good buildings. The wife of Cowee Barnes died August 31, 1856. They had a family of ten chil- dren, a brief record of whom is as follows: George, born August 10, 1810; Betsie, born July 6, 1812; Hannah, born July 6, 1814; Edward, born April 8, 1817; Ira, born June 28, 1819; Cyrus, born April II, 1822; Abigail, born March 28, 1825; Abel M., born February 15, 1827; John, born June 23, 1829; and Cecilia, born July 31, 1832.

Of this family the next to the youngest, John Barnes, who as noted was born in 1829, was born in Delaware County, New York, and was seven years old when his parents came to Steuben County. He grew up in York Township and lived practically all his life on one farm, where his death occurred June 20, 1914. He married September 27, 1855, Julia Handley, who was born in Crawford County, Ohio, in 1838, and died February 6, 1906. They were the parents of three children: Alverda Lucinda, born June II, 1859, and died August 20, 1861; Albert E., born July 11, 1862, and died June 13, 1917: and Howard, born January 2, 1870.

Albert E. Barnes acquired his early education in the district schools of York Township, and had a varied career as a farmer, beginning in York Township, living on rented farms in Fremont and Clear Lake townships, and finally retiring to the old homestead in sections 12 and 13 of York Town- ship, where he spent the rest of his life. Success attended his efforts and he owned 180 acres and most of the buildings still found on the farm were placed there under his direction. He married Octo- ber 15, 1885, Cora E. Hemry, born April 1, 1867, a daughter of John Hemry, and of their two children the older, Vena, died February 20, 1888, at the age of eleven months.

John A. Barnes was born while his parents were living in Fremont Township, May 5, 1890. He acquired his education in York Township, took a business course in the Tri-State Normal at Angola, and succeeded his father in the ownership and responsibility of the large farm of 180 acres in sections 12 and 13. He does general farming and is

a breeder of Duroc hogs. Mr. Barnes is affiliated with Steuben Lodge No. 231 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife are members of the Christian Church.

December 21, 1912, he married Miss Dorothy Worthington, born March 24, 1894, daughter of William and Nettie Blanche Worthington, of Argus. They have two daughters, Cora Lucile, born De- cember 21, 1914, and Maxine, born April 25, 1919.

WILLIAM R. WRIGHT, a member of a well-known family in Noble County, grew up and spent his boy- hood on a farm, but for many years has been iden- tified with commercial pursuits at Cromwell, where he is now the leading hardware merchant.

He was born in Sparta Township, December 21, 1869, son of Alexander and Margaret (Hull) Wright, and was the second oldest in their family. His parents were both natives of Ohio. William R. Wright, after getting his education, left home to make his own way in the world and for several years did farm work. He laid the foundation of his business career at Cromwell as clerk in a general store. He was employed by others for thirteen years, but since February 1, 1909, has been pro- prietor of the hardware store and is one of the most successful merchants in that section of Noble County.

Mr. Wright married Etta Galloway, a daughter of Anderson Galloway, a well-known Noble County citizen, elsewhere referred to in this publication. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have two children. Stanley A., born March 20, 1895, is a graduate of the Crom- well High School and is married. On June 1, 1918, he enlisted in the navy and after a period of training at the Great Lakes was put on active duty, and dur- ing a portion of the war was stationed at Queens- town, Ireland. The daughter, Velma, is a graduate of the Cromwell High School, and is a proficient young business woman, being bookkeeper in the Sparta State Bank.

Mr. Wright has served for the past eight years as town treasurer of Cromwell. He is a republican, is past chancellor of Cromwell Lodge No. 408, Knights of Pythias, is past noble grand of his Lodge of Odd Fellows, and is also active in Masonry, being affiliated with Fort Wayne Consis- tory of the Scottish Rite.

ABIJAH D. EMERSON, who recently left his farm in Salem Township to enter into a meat market business at Kendallville, has spent his life in Steuben County and is member of an old and historic family. On other pages of this publication is traced the interest- ing story of his grandfather, Avery Emerson, and other members of the family.

Abijah D. Emerson was born on the old home- stead in Salem Township November 6, 1873, a son of Avery and Elizabeth (Parsell) Emerson. He acquired his education in the public schools, finishing the eighth grade, and since school days has been identified with farming. He now owns 127.84 acres of the old homestead, and has his land devoted to general farming and stock raising. He has made a specialty for some years of breeding road horses. He left the farm in the fall of 1918 and moved to Kendallville. He has a great many friends and is regarded as a man of ability in whatever line he undertakes.

In politics he is independent and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America, while he and his wife are active in the Presbyterian Church.

In 1895 he married Miss Clara Spears, a daughter of John and Emily A. (Helmer) Spears of Steuben

R. L. Wade, M. D.

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

County. Mrs. Emerson died May 5, 1912, the mother of six children: Mabel, wife of Samuel Greeno, who occupies the Emerson home farm; Ned, who married Valta Garver and has a son, Lee; Emily, wife of Wayne Sherrick and the mother of one son, Ned; Gladys, Anna and Abijah D., Jr., all members of the home circle. On September 7, 1918, Mr. Emerson married Miss Zola Hamlin, a daugh- ter of Albert and Clara Hamlin of Wolcottville.

GEORGE M. EMERSON, a son of Avery Emerson and a brother of A. D. Emerson of Kendallville, was born on the old Emerson homestead in Salem Township of Steuben County July 17, 1868.

He grew up there, acquiring his education in the local district schools, and for thirty years has fol- lowed farming and stock raising as his business. He owns a farm of sixty-four acres, originally a part of the old Emerson homestead. Mr. Emerson is a democrat, but has aspired to no political office. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has been an active member of the lodge for twenty-five years and also belongs to the En- campment and to the Gleaners. Mrs. Emerson is a member of the United Presbyterian Church.

April 30, 1896, he married Miss Ona Cleveland. She was born at Flint in Jackson Township October 19, 1871, a daughter of George and Nancy Cleve- land. Her father died in June, 1909, at the age of sixty-seven, and her mother is still living aged seventy-four. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson have three children : George Cary, born January 1, 1901, grad- uated from the Salem Center High School in 1918, and Elizabeth Nancy, born February 7, 1907, and Mildred Arvilla, born in August, 1908, both of whom are still diligently pursuing their studies in the com- mon schools.

CHARLES C. WEINGART has been a factor in the business and civic life of Noble County for a long period of years. He was for two terms postmaster of Kendallville, and since leaving that office has been a successful merchant. He gained his first business experience as clerk in the store of John Deibele. He worked for that one man twenty years and three months, and for the last ten years was manager of thé hardware and general contracting department. In 1906 Mr. Weingart was elected a councilman at large and carefully looked after the interests of the city during his term. On August 22, 1907, he was appointed postmaster by President Roosevelt and reappointed by President Taft De- cember 30, 1911, serving altogether eight years and eleven months.

In February, 1916, Mr. Weingart entered a part- nership with Carl F. Mabus under the name of Weingart & Mabus, dealing in men's furnishing goods. They established their store near the Noble County Bank and in 1917 bought the Toggery store. Mr. Weingart now gives his personal attention to this business.

Fraternally he is affiliated with Kendallville Lodge No. 276, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Weingart is a member and trustee of the Chris- tion Church, and in politics is a republican

ROBERT L. WADE, M. D. Numbered among the successful physicians of Steuben County, Doctor Wade has been in practice at Fremont since 1907, and has given that community not only the benefit of his individual services but has extended the range of his work by founding at Fremont a private hospital.

Doctor Wade is a self-made man and earned most of the money which took him through medical school. He was born in Springfield Township of LaGrange County, Indiana, March 18, 1877, a son of Henry M.

and Christiana (Lupton) Wade. He spent his boy- hood days on his father's farm in Springfield Town- ship and attended the district schools there. Later he finished the teacher's course in the Tri-State Normal College at Angola, and it was his work as a teacher, carried on for six years in his native town- ship in LaGrange County, that enabled him to enter and complete his work in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago. He graduated in 1907, and in the same year located at Fremont, where he has had a very successful practice. In 1914 he built a modern brick hospital at the corner of Toledo and Pleasant streets, in which his office is located. He also owns a comfortable residence on East Toledo Street. He is a member of the County, State and American Medical associations. Doctor Wade has prospered and has acquired considerable property, and was one of the organizers of the First State Bank, which bought the Bank of Fremont. He has been on the Board of Directors since the organiza- tion.

Doctor Wade is a republican, has served as a mem- ber of the City Council, School Board and the Ad- visory Township Board, and is affiliated with North- east Lodge No. 210, Free and Accepted Masons, Fre- mont Chapter No. 68, Royal Arch Masons, and Fremont Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church.

In 1898 he married Miss Lura Talmage, only child of Charles E. and Emma (Joyce) Talmage, of Springfield Township, LaGrange County. Doctor and Mrs. Wade have three daughters: Mildred Joyce, born in December, 1898, is a graduate of the Fremont High School with the class of 1917 and now assists her father in his office; Wilma, born in 1901 is a senior in the Fremont High School; and Bessie, born in 1902, is a junior in the high school.

JOHN JAMES OBERLIN, who for many years was a business man at Hamilton and is still living in a comfortable home in that village, while looking after his property interests, is a member of a family of early settlers in DeKalb County, where the name is represented by several distinct branches.

John James Oberlin was born in Franklin Town- ship of that county June 4, 1860, a son of Frederick D. and Sarah (Dirrim) Oberlin, and a grandson of the pioneer John Oberlin, who in 1845 came 10 DeKalb County and settled on the northwest quar- ter of section 28 in Franklin Township. He con- ducted a tannery in that locality for a number of years.

Frederick D. Oberlin was born in Stark County, Ohio, February 5, 1830, and was fifteen years old when his father came to DeKalb County. He had many pioneer experiences and from an early age chose to be dependent largely upon his own efforts for self-support. In 1850 he bought forty acres of land for the sum of $300, and at the same time began work at the carpenter's trade, his employer paying him $10 a month for five years. In the course of time he had a large and well-appointed farm of 160 acres, and improved it with good house and buildings. He also lived in the Village of Hamilton for some years, and died there in 1912, at the age of eighty-two years, six months and six- teen days. In politics he was a republican, and he served as township trustee two years and three years as county commissioner. During the Civil war he was a member of Company G of the Fifty- Third Indiana Infantry, and participated in the battle of Kinston, North Carolina. He was affiliated with the Christian Church. February 12, He and his wife were Methodists and later became

HISTORY OF NORTHEAST INDIANA

affiliated with the Chrisitan Church. February 12, 1854, Frederick D. Oberlin married Sarah Dirrim, daughter of James Dirrim, another prominent early family in Northeastern Indiana. She was born in Carroll County, Ohio, January 25, 1836, and died at the home of her son John James, November II, 1915, aged seventy-nine years, nine months and sixteen days. They were the parents of six chil- dren, and three are still living: Cyrus C., John James and Isaac Charles.

John James Oberlin grew up on the homestead farm, had the benefit of the common schools, and through his industry as a farmer acquired a place of eighty acres in Franklin Township a half mile south of the Village of Hamilton. In 1892 he moved into Hamilton and for twenty years was in the livery business. Since then he has been looking after his farm and other interests, and enjoys the comforts of one of the best homes in Hamilton. Mr. Oberlin is a republican in politics and his family attend the Christian Church. In 1885 he married Miss Lenora Margaret Fifer. She was born in Steuben County in 1867, a daughter of Lewis and Martha (Harpham) Fifer, early settlers of Steuben County. Mr. and Mrs. Oberlin have three children. Lula, who is the wife of Glen Gnagy, of the well- known Gnagy family of Steuben County. Glen Gnagy was in the war, serving at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Roscoe Conkling Oberlin, the second child, lives at Hamilton and married Pearl Cecil Grear. Basil Jesse, the youngest, is managing his father's farm. He married Mertie Lemon, of Steuben County.

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History of Northeast Indiana : LaGrange, Steuben, Noble and DeKalb Counties, Volume II, Part 8

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