USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 41
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of the time. However, this lad was different from most of the boys of his period in that he wanted to continue his education beyond the common schools, so we find him attending the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana. After taking a special course in that institution he engaged in teaching and for six years taught in Howard and Tipton counties, meeting with uniform success every place he went. In 1886 he left the teaching profession upon his election as county surveyor, and never returned to the school room. The six years in the school room gave him some very valuable experience. which has been of inestimable worth to him in his later career. Starting in as county surveyor in 1886, he was in that office continuously for ten years, and gave entire satisfaction during his long incumbency of that office. After retiring from the surveyor's office he moved to his farm of two hundred and fifty acres which lies four and a half miles southwest of Sharpsville. For the next eight years he was engaged in farming and con- tracting, having constructed a good many miles of road in Tipton and ad- joining counties. He also proved as successful in his agricultural operations as he had in his teaching and civil engineering. In 1904 he moved to Sharps- ville in order to look after his increasing business interests in that town. He is now president of the local telephone company and has been since its organ- zation. He is also a director in the Sharpsville Canning Company, which does a big business. Mr. Romack still looks after his farm and takes an ac- tive part in the management of the various enterprises with which he is con- nected. For many years he has been a stockholder in the Sharpsville Bank and is now vice-president of that financial institution. In 1913 he was ap- pointed trustee of Liberty township and is now filling that important office to the entire satisfaction of the township.
Mr. Romack was married on November 4, 1891, to Rebecca Davenport, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Austin Davenport. They have never had any children. Mr. Romack is a Royal Arch Mason and is one of the most valued members of the order in Sharpsville. Esteemed by all who know him, he has been a leader in the affairs of his community and an influential factor in public matters. He has lived a life which has been marked by useful ends and his achievements in so many lines of endeavor have won him recogni- tion as one of the representative men of his day and generation in Tipton county. Mrs. Romack has a strong and pleasing personality and her hospital- ity makes their home one of the most pleasant in the community. Mr. Romack is an upright, manly man, courageous in the performance of duty, earnest in the support of what his conscience and judgment tell him is right. He has
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always been true to his convictions and his life illustrates what may be ac- . complished by a strong and well-disciplined mind when directed and con- trolled by correct and moral principles.
GEORGE DOVERSBERGER.
The gentleman whose name heads this paragraph is widely known in Tipton county and is one of the honored citizens of Cicero township, where he is living after a strenuous life of activity in connection with agricultural pursuits. His well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his business interests and his sound judgment have brought to him prosperity, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by any man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work and has the perseverance to continue his labors in the face of any disaster or discourage- ment that may arise. In all the relations of life Mr. Doversberger has com- manded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought into contact, and a biographical history of this locality would not be com- plete without a record of his career.
George Doversberger, proprietor of a fine one-hundred-and-seventy-acre farm in Cicero township, Tipton county, Indiana, was born December 21, 1851, in Dearborn county, Indiana, the son of John and Susan ( Hoover) Doversberger. His father was a native son of Germany and came to America when he was seventeen years of age. His parents were Wolfgang and Susan (Hoofnaugle) Doversberger, and they were the parents of six children in Germany, John, Mathias, Andrew, J. M., Margaret and Maggie. Wolfgang Doversberger came directly from Germany to Dearborn county, Indiana, and settled on a farm there, where he spent the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born six children: George, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Leninger, Mrs. Anna Leninger, Mrs. Carrie Slater. John and Mrs. Peter Weismiller.
George Doversberger attended the schools in his native county in his boyhood and worked on his father's farm between school seasons, thus early learning the habits of industry and thrift. He continued to reside under the paternal roof until the age of twenty-five years, when he settled on a tract of sixty acres belonging to his father, and by his thrift and energy he succeeded in saving sufficient money to purchase forty acres. His father then very
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generously gave him a deed for one hundred acres, which he added to his purchase of forty acres.
On February 11, 1877, Mr. Doversberger was married to Caroline Mein- ser, of Dearborn county. He and his family lived in Dearborn county until 1890, when he sold that farm and came to Tipton county, where they have since continued to reside. They are the parents of a large family of chil- dren, namely : Mrs. Cora Teuscher, of Liberty, who has four children, Cletus, Erma, Mildred and Lewis; Wilmer, who married Hannah Beck, of Liberty township, and they are the parents of two children; Arthur, who is still at home; Elva, the wife of William Piel, and they have one child; Edward, Clarence, Ernest, Samuel, Louisa and Luella. the last six named being still at home.
Politically, Mr. Doversberger has been a life-long Democrat, and al- though he has been interested in political affairs, he has never sought for any public preferment. His advice on political questions has been frequently asked and he has made his influence in political circles felt in his community. He and the members of his family belong to the Lutheran church, to which they have contributed liberally. Mr. and Mrs. Doversberger, by their genial hospitality, have endeared themselves to a wide circle of friends and ac- quaintances throughout the community where they reside, and they are re- garded in the highest respect and estem by all who know them.
C. D. HAWKINS.
The young man of today who enters the business world has wonderful opportunities for material success, since this is essentially a commercial age. The young business man who is ambitious to succeed, however, must ex- ercise those qualities of strict integrity and upright dealing which are the necessary concomitants of success, if he wishes to win and retain the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. It is to the credit of the subject of this sketch that he is rapidly building up his business in the town of Sharpsville by the exercise of these very necessary qualities, and the result is that he is laying the foundation for a long and successful career in the business world.
Charles D. Hawkins, of the firm of J. E. Hawkins & Son, was born in Tipton county, Indiana, June 21, 1844. His parents were J. E. and Louisa (Turner) Hawkins. J. E. Hawkins was born in Ohio in 1860, and came to
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Indiana when a small boy with his parents, who first settled in Huntington. They later moved to Liberty township, Tipton county, and settled on a farm two and a half miles east of Sharpsville. Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Hawkins were married in 1880 and their union was blessed with nine children: Nellie, the wife of U. G. Henderson, of Tipton county, who has one daughter, Pauline; Charles, the subject of this sketch, who is still unmarried; Velma, who mar- ried the daughter of W. E. Pratt, of Cass county, Indiana, and has three children, Thelma, Martha and William: Harry, who married the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Spaulding, and has two children, Charles and Harold; the remaining five children are Mount, Coral, Bernice, May and Marjorie.
Charles Hawkins attended the schools of his township and received a good practical education, which he is constantly improving by wide reading along lines pertaining to his particular line of business. He continued to work on his father's farm until 1911, when he went to Sharpsville and engaged in the automobile business. He followed this for about a year, when he sold out to WV. H. Gage and, with his father, bought the hardware business of Kirkley & Morgan in Sharpsville. He and his father assumed control of the business on June 15, 1913, and have been meeting with very gratifying suc- cess in the short time they have been engaged in it.
Mr. Hawkins has ever been a Republican, but has never sought political preferment, as his attention has been fully occupied by his business interests. He is gradually working his way upward and his life record has been very creditable and honorable and such as to win for him the esteem and approval of his friends and neighbors. His life might well serve as a source of in- spiration to others, showing what can be accomplished when one has the will to do and dare, and when one is persistent, honorable and persevering in a chosen field of labor.
HERBERT G. FINDLING.
Among the prominent men who have brought credit not only to the agri- cultural interests of Tipton county, but to the intellectual and moral advance- ment of the county as well, there is no one who claims a better place in the pages of this volume than the worthy gentleman whose name heads this sketch. A man of sound and practical judgment, he is keenly alert to every- thing relating to the welfare of his community. He is a student of modern agricultural methods and a close observer of all that pertains to his life
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work. He is fortunate in being descended from parents whose industrial habits and sterling moral worth were characteristics of their lives. He grew up with the predominating idea of relying upon himself and in his own life work he has persevered steadily along a definite line of action, so that today he 'is considered one of the solid, substantial and enterprising farmers of his community. .
Herbert G. Findling was born September 3, 1871, on the old Findling farm in Tipton county. He is a son of Valentine and Margaret (Keiser) Findling, who are represented elsewhere in this volume. Herbert G. Findling received his common school education in the Independence schools of this county. He worked on the farm during the summer and went to school dur- ing the winter, and in 1895 he started out for himself. He and his brother Charles farmed the home farm and rented additional ground near by, and by careful management were well remunerated for their efforts. Later the two brothers rented a two-hundred-acre farm, which they operated for sev- eral years.
Herbert Findling was married on March 20, 1895, to Carrie S. Traut- man, the daughter of Jacob and Barbara (Alplanalp) Trautman. They have had three children : Glenn E., deceased; Howard A. and Cecilia May, who are in school.
Politically, Mr. Findling is a Republican, but has never sought any office in his party. He and his wife are prominent members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, and take an active part in the church and Sunday school work of that congregation. The members of the family move in the best social circles of the community and are well liked by all who know them. They have always stood. for the best things in the community and are numbered among the progressive and enterprising families of the county.
L. D. STEWART.
Poets often tell the truth and the old song, which contains the refrain, "The farmer feeds them all," states a very fundamental and economic truth. Without the farmer the rest of the country would starve within a week, despite the large amount of food in cold storage. Every occupation might be done away with but farming and people could live, but a total cessation of farming for a very short time would actually depopulate the whole world.
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A man can live without banks all his life, but deprive him of his bread and his career is soon ended. Farming is becoming an honored profession; our district schools are teaching it as a science and our colleges are granting degrees in agricultural courses. The farmers of any community sustain the people dependent on every other profession. Without the farmer the banker would close his doors, the manufacturer would shut down his factory and the railroads would suspend operations. Among the honored men of Tipton county who help to keep the banker, the manufacturer and the railroads is the subject of this sketch.
L. D. Stewart, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Tipton county, was born January 4, 1883, on his father's farm of one hundred and thirty- six acres. He is the son of W. P. and Margaret (Lattus) Stewart. . His father came from Bartholomew county when he was an infant and settled in Tipton county with his parents, Stephen and Amy Stewart. He went to the common schools in this county, and has supplemented his common school education by continuous reading. Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Stewart have six children living : Mrs. Ora Gunkle; Mrs. Jessie Leavitt; Mrs. Grace Alplanalp; L. D., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Sarah Crull and Lydia, the wife of Henry Murphy.
L. D. Stewart received his education in the common schools of his county. As a lad he went through all the experiences of the ordinary country boy, working on the farm in the summer and going to school in the winter. At a very early age he commenced to raise hogs, even when a small boy, and has always made a particular study of the raising of swine. When he reached his maturity he commenced renting land from his father, and has been successful in all of his financial dealings.
Mr. Stewart was married in November, 1903, to Fannie Tarkington, daughter of Horace and Delilah (Hamilton) Tarkington. They have two children, Esther and Crystal. The mother of these children died on January 6, 1910, and on December 10, 1913, Mr. Stewart married Ardella Keck, the daughter of Kimsey and Agnes Keck.
Fraternally, Mr. Stewart is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has always taken an active part in the deliberations of that order. He is also a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and have always been intersted in all the activities of that denomination. For their good work and their kind hearted hospitality, they have commended themselves to a large circle of loyal friends.
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JOHN THEODORE FUNKE.
No people that go to make up our cosmopolitan civilization have better habits of life than those who came originally from the great German empire. The descendants of those people are distinguished for their thrift and hon- esty, and these two qualities in the habitants of any country will in the end alone make that country great. When with these two qualities is coupled the other quality of sound sense, which all the German descendants possess, there are afforded such qualities as will enrich any land and place it at the top of the countries of the world in the scale of elevated humanity. Of this excellent people came the subject of this brief sketch, and in his life have been exemplified those qualities referred to above.
John Theodore Funke was born November 22, 1837, in the province of Hanover, Germany. He was the son of Henry and Elizabeth ( Ratche) Funke, both of whom were born in Germany, but who came to America before the war and landed at Baltimore. From Baltimore they went to Pittsburgh, and thence down the Ohio river to Cincinnati, where they re- mained a short time. Later they went to Dearborn county, Indiana, and bought forty acres of land, remaining there for two years. The family then sold the forty acres and moved to Franklin county, Indiana, where they pur- chased eighty acres of land, and here reared the family. They finally sold this and went to Decatur county, Indiana, where the parents of John died. They had four children: Frank, deceased, who married Josephine Speck- baugh, also deceased, and they had five children, Mary, Joseph, Philleminey, Toney and Harry. After the death of Frank's first wife he married Louisa Hahing, by whom he had two children, Josephine and Anna; Maggie, de- ceased, who married Theodore Meyer, deceased, and they had one son, Cas- per, who now lives in Kokomo; Rebecca, who married Henry Hardebeck and they had eight children, John, Josephine, Louie, Henry, Tillie, Mary, Theodore and Francis.
John T. Funke secured some education in Germany and after his par- ents moved to this county he went to school for a short period. He was married in Franklin county in the spring of 1861 to Josephine Weldamm, the daughter of Frederick and Margaret ( Shoemaker ) Weldamm, and shortly afterwards he moved to Decatur where he bought different farms, and by true German thrift and frugality he succeded in accumulating two hundred and eighty-three acres of the best land of the county. He has bought and sold several farms in his time and usually made some money on each transaction.
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He purchased the home farm from his father when the latter was on the point of making a visit to Germany. By 1887 he had accumulated three hun- dred and forty-two acres of land, but soon after this time he sold out and moved to Tipton where he has remained ever since.
To John T. Funke and his wife have been born the following chil- dren: May, Rebecca; Elizabeth, deceased; Josephine, deceased; Henry. John, Louisa, Anna, Theodore and Rosa.
Politically, Mr. Funke belongs to the Democratic party and takes an intelligent interest in public affairs, though he has never sought any honor in the way of public offices. He and the members of his family are attend- ants of the St. John's church, to which they give freely of their means.
Mr. Funke began life practically at the bottom of the ladder, and he has climbed to the top with no help but a brave heart, industrious hands, and a loyal and devoted wife, and because of the record he has made and his high strength of character, he enjoys a high standing in the community in which he lives.
F. M. PRICE.
This utilitarian age has been prolific in men of action, of high resolves and noble purposes, who give character and stability to the communities hon- ored by their citizenship. As a farmer and as a county official the subject of this review has always been true to himself and his fellow men, his college course being no small contributing factor in his successful career.
F. M. Price, former auditor of Tipton county, was born December 8, 1852, near Normandy in Jefferson township, this county, the son of John and Margaret ( Alexander) Price. His father came from Ohio in the early forties, settling in this county, being one of the pioneers of his section. Mr. Price was the only child of his parents and received the best educational ad- vantages which could be obtained in that early day, attending school in a log cabin in Jefferson township, and after completing his studies in the dis- trict schools of his county, he became a student of the Kokomo high school, where he graduated, and later graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. During his college course he took a prominent part in college activities and graduated with distinction from that institution of learning.
On October 18, 1874, Mr. Price was united in marriage to Margaret C.
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Merritt, of Clinton county, this state, and to this union have been born three children, John W., who married Goldie Merrick, and they have one child, Golanda Ethel; Elfie, deceased, and Claude M., deceased.
Politically, Mr. Price has been a life-long Democrat, in which organiza- tion he has always taken an active and earnest interest, and the esteem in which he is held by the citizens of the county is shown in the fact that he was elected auditor of his county, an office which he filled to the entire satisfac- tion of his constituents. He and his family are loyal members of the Chris- tian church and have actively participated in all the interests of that denomina- tion. Mr. Price has been uniformly successful, both as a farmer, operating one of the best farms in the county, and as a public official. His farm of one hundred and sixty acres is well improved, having a handsome and attractive residence, large and commodious barns and outbuildings, and has been brought to a high state of cultivation. He has made a specialty of stock raising and is regarded as one of the most successful stock raisers of the county. In all of his dealings with his fellow citizens he has so conducted himself that he has won their approbation and can look back upon a life which has been well spent in the interests of his community.
ROBERT OGLE.
Through all past ages the farmer has outnumbered the men in any other occupation and it is still true of our own state. Our forefathers in Indiana had no difficulty in raising good crops. Any one could raise corn and hogs before the war, when the soil still retained its pristine fertility and hog cholera was unknown. But today the soil must be scientifically fertilized, while the hog cholera rages everywhere. Our forefathers did not need to know that potash was necessary for certain crops; they never heard of in- oculating the soil; they were not troubled with wheat rust, potato blight or the San Jose scale. But the farmer of today must know of these things, and the better he understands them the more successful he is. The success which has attended the efforts of Robert Ogle, of this county, indicates that he keeps well informed on all matters pertaining to the latest developments in agriculture ..
Robert Ogle was born February 28, 1855, in Hamilton county, Indiana, the son of John A. and Sarah Ogle. His father was a native of Hamilton
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county, and was one of five children, Mrs. Sarah Smithson, Robert, Thomas, Benjamin T. and Mr. Elizabeth Kemberlin. Robert Ogle attended the coun- try schools of Clark county, where his parents lived during the war of the Rebellion. After the family moved to Hamilton county, he attended the schools at Atlanta and finished his education in the Tipton county schools. As a boy he worked on the farm during the period he was attending school, and followed the life of the ordinary boy on the farm. He lived under the parental roof for some years after leaving school and when he came of age he started to work out by the month. For the next six years he farmed and also worked at the carpenter trade. Being of a frugal and thrifty turn of mind he saved his money and at the end of the six years he was enabled to purchase forty acres of land, which he operated for five years. He then bought his present farm of one hundred and twenty acres three miles from Tipton. He has improved this farm in every way and now has one of the best farins in the county. In the acquisition of this estate, Mrs. Ogle proved a helpmate to her husband in the fullest sense of the term, working hand in hand with him, and to her is due a full share of the credit for what they have accomplished.
On December 31, 1883, Mr. Ogle was married to Sarah A. C. Kendall, the daughter of Martin and Louisa ( Walker) Kendall, and to this union has been born one child, Martin M., who is married to Ola Farley, and they have two children, Robert K. and Hugh.
Mr. Ogle and his family are members of the Christian church, and his activity in church work is shown by the fact that he has been chosen as an elder in this denomination. He has long been interested in church affairs and takes a very active part in all the various departments of church work. Politically, he is an earnest supporter of the principles of the Prohibition party and has always been a prominent advocate of temperance, believing that the liquor traffic is one of the greatest issues before the American people today. He and his wife have lived a simple, unostentatious life, and have earned the respect and confidence of all who know them, as their whole life has been such that, as the poet says: "They can wrap the drapery of their couch about them and lie down to pleasant dreams."
Mr. Ogle is engaged in general farming and also gives some attention to stock raising, in which he has been very successful, and his farm, located in Cicero township, this county, is a splendid tract of land, Maple Grove Farm being well known throughout this locality as one of the finest and best improved estates in the county.
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