History of Tipton County Indiana, Part 51

Author: M. W. Pershing
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 701

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and economy. He has one of the model farms of the community. being always on the alert to adopt the most up-to-date methods of tilling the soil, while his home and the other buildings on his place are strictly first-class.

On February 7, 1889, Mr. Booher was united in marriage to Lula ( Reese ) Weed, a widow, who had one child by her former marriage, O. D. Weed. The subject and his wife are the parents of one child, Mae, who mar- ried Frank Wheatley and is the mother of three children, Oliver, Wilson and Morma Angeline.

Mr. Booher is an earnest advocate of the principles of the Republican party and consistently casts his ballot with that organization, although he has never sought political preferment, being content to limit his activities along that line to helping select the best men for public position. Personally, the subject enjoys the esteem of many warm friends, who recognize the cordial, affable manner which marks his intercourse with his fellow men under all conditions, thus showing that the incessant and close application to the con- duct of his affairs has in nowise encroached upon that group of qualities that marks a true gentleman. In local affairs he takes an unfailing and unvarying interest, holding it to be the palpable duty of every good citizen to watch over and promote the welfare of his fellow men and to do everything in his power to promote their moral and material happiness.

JESSE M. KEMP.

One of the most alert and wide-awake young farmers of Tipton county is Jesse M. Kemp, who has by his industry and application brought his farm of eighty acres to a high state of cultivation and productiveness. His is an old and highly honored name in the county and he is so conducting his affairs that he is shedding additional lustre upon his family's name. Mr. Kemp is one of those men who might have made a name for himself in another pro- fession, since in his one year of teaching experience he proved that he had the necessary qualifications for a successful teacher. However, he decided that he preferred the life of a farmer, so he left the school room for that more independent life.

Jesse M. Kemp, the son of Joseph G. and Victoria J. ( Parker ) Kemp. was born about two miles west of Normanda, Tipton county, Indiana. Octo- ber 7, 1885. Joseph G. Kemp was born in this county in 1848 on the farm where he is still residing and was married to Victoria J. Parker on April 28.

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1870. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph G. Kemp were born seven children : Carl and Margaret, deceased; Allen, who is married and lives in North Dakota; Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, who has one son, Joseph K .; James B., who mar- ried Cora Goodknight, and has two children, Iola and I.ela; Jesse, the im- · mediate subject of this sketch; Grace and Earl, who are still in school. and two children who died in infancy. Joseph G. Kemp has been one of the most successful farmers in the county and now owns more than four hundred acres of land in the county. His wife died in September, 1912.

Jesse M. Kemp attended the public school at Kempton in his home town- ship, and after graduating from the high school he spent one year at Val- paraiso University, intending to prepare himself for the teaching profession. However, after teaching one year he decided that he would be better satis- fied with the life of the farmer. His success in his first year of teaching was such that he would soon have been classed with the most prominent teachers of the county had he chosen to follow the profession.

Mr. Kemp obeyed the Biblical injunction by leading to the marriage altar Ethel Dunn, the daughter of Duncan and Bell (Moon) Dunn. Their nup- tials were solemnized on October 20. 1906, and this happy union has been blessed with one daughter, Gretchen.

Upon Mr. Kemp's marriage, his father. Joseph, gave him eighty acres of land, and on this he has been carrying on a general system of farming, growing all the crops usually produced in this locality. He also raises con- siderable live stock and adds not a little to his income in this manner. Mr. Kemp is a loyal Democrat and while he is well-informed on all the issues of the day, yet he has never been a candidate for any public office. He is a manly man and with his education and strength of mind and character he promises to be an important factor in the affairs of his community. He exerts a wholesome influence wherever he goes and has commended himself to a large number of friends and acquaintances.

JOSEPH G. KEMP.

There is no more sterling and upright citizen in Tipton county than Joseph G. Kemp and no one more highly respected for his many excellent qualities. As a sound, practical farmer and business man his career has been eminently creditable as well as successful. Plentifully endowed with good common sense and mature judgment, he is seldom mistaken in the outcome of

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any undertaking in which he may be engaged and it is a fact worthy of note that all of his investments as well as his labors have resulted to his material advantage.

Joseph G. Kemp, the proprietor of Elmdale, an extensive farm of four hundred and twenty-five acres in this county, was born in 1848 on the farm . where he is now living. His parents were David and Mary ( Price) Kemp. (See sketch elsewhere in this volume of John Kemp for data on the Kemp family.)

Mr. Kemp received his elementary education in the common schools of his county and completed it in the schools of Sharpsville. This was followed by a course at Asbury College at Greencastle, now known as Depauw Uni- versity, after which he was well equipped for the profession of teacher. He then taught for five years, three in Clinton and two in Tipton county. As a teacher he was very successful and was rapidly making an excellent reputation in the profession when he decided to forsake the school room and take up agriculture. He was then but twenty-two years of age, and started out by renting from his father a part of the home farm. He was soon in a position to purchase one hundred and sixty-seven acres of land which he soon sold and purchased a part of the farm which he still owns. He has gradually in- creased his holdings until now he has more than four hundred acres of as fine land as can be found in the county.

Mr. Kemp was married on April 28, 1870, to Victoria J. Parker. the daughter of Noah and Deborah ( Williams) Parker. Mrs. Parker died several years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Parker were the parents of seven children : Isaac, deceased; Victoria, wife of the subject of this sketch; Abraham, of Kirklin, Indiana: Noah, Jr., deceased; Mrs. Charity Katon, and Cyrus, of Tipton, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Kemp became the parents of a large family of children. namely: Carl and Margaret, deceased; David M., who is married and has three children, Paul, Lillian and Robert; Allen, who is married and lives in North Dakota ; Mrs. Elizabeth Campbell, who has one son, Joseph K. : James B., the husband of Cora Goodknight, and they have two children, Iola and Lela; Jesse, who is married and has one daughter, Gretchen; Grace and Earl, who are in school at the present time, and two children who died in infancy.

. Mr. Kemp has always been a staunch advocate of the principles and policies of the Prohibition party. He has made his influence felt in his party's circles and is recognized as a judicious counsellor and a tactful leader. In the midst of his temporal affairs he has found ample time to devote to

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those important and far-reaching concerns growing out of his relations with his Maker, and for a number. of years he has acknowledged its claims by liv- ing a devoted Christian life as a member of the Friends church. His record throughout his whole life has been an honorable one and his life demonstrates the possibilities that are open to men of energy and ambition. In all his long residence in this county he has lived a wholesome life which has endeared him to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.

F. T. BLYSTONE.

Prominent among the energetic and successful business men of Tipton county is the subject of this sketch. His life illustrates what may be ac- complished by faithful and continued effort in carrying out an honest purpose. Integrity, activity and energy have been the crowning points of his success, and his connection with the banking interests of Tipton county has made him an important factor in the financial life of the community. Viewed from any standpoint, he may be said to be a success, for he has gained prosperity in his business career and won for himself an enviable reputation because of his fidelity to honorable principles and manly actions.

F. T. Blystone, cashier of the State Bank of Kempton, Indiana, was born December 19, 1883, in Michigan township, Clinton county. His parents were Josephus and Addie ( Talbert ) Blystone, his father being a native of Clinton county and a farmer in that county all his life. To Mr. and Mrs. Josephus Blystone were born three children: Mrs. Nora Sloan, of Frankfort, Indiana, who has four children, Glenn, Fred, Robert and Dudley; Myrtle, the wife of William Strawn, of Johnson township; Clinton, who has one daughter, Mabel; and F. T., the subject of this sketch. The father and mother are both interred in Greenlawn cemetery at Frankfort, Indiana.

Mr. Blystone has spent his whole life in Indiana with the exception of one year when he was in Wyoming. He was reared on the farm in the usual manner of country lads, attending the district schools in the winter time and working on the farm during the summer months. He early began to learn the telegrapher's trade and soon became very proficient in his chosen pro- fession, following it for a period of twelve years. He resigned his position with the Lake Erie & Western Railroad a few years ago to accept a position with the State Bank of Kempton as assistant cashier and was appointed

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cashier in a short time, a position he is still holding to the entire satisfaction of the stockholders and directors.

Mr. Blystone was married in 1901 to Minnie Kuhns, the daughter of James A. and Dora (Strong) Kuhns. His wife's father is a telegraph operator in Clinton county. Mr. and Mrs. Blystone are blessed with two bright children, Maurice M. and Margaret E., both of whom are being given every possible advantage by their parents.

While Mr. Blystone cast his last vote for the Democratic ticket and is interested in political questions, he has never aspired to public office. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. His whole career has been characterized by duty well done and faithfully discharged and his record is above suspicion of anything. Honorable and upright, he has made his obligations to the public paramount to every other consideration and his course has met with the unqualified approval of his fellow citizens.

It can truly be said that Mr. Blystone is a self-made man and the success- ful architect of his own fortune, and his present place of honor and trust is due entirely to his own individual efforts. Measured by the correct standards of excellence, his life has not only been successful as the world estimates suc- cess, but in those higher and nobler qualities of head and heart which bespeak the true gentleman, he is not lacking, having always been animated by well- defined purposes and lofty sentiments of honor, while his good name has never been tarnished nor the rectitude of his intentions been questioned. He has stamped his personality upon the community and impressed all with whom he has come in contact as a strong and manly gentleman, who has little need to apologize for his life and conduct. He has won the esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances throughout Tipton county.

JONAS E. HAWKINS.

The contemplation of a successful career is always pleasant and profit- able, because it brings to view the great fundamental principles which form the true basis of character and exemplify the practical intelligence and judg- ment which constitute such peculiar power and make the one in whom com- bined a master of himself, of his circumstances and of his destiny. The record of the gentleman whose brief history is herein set forth is such as to place him among the most successful farmers of Tipton county. By in- dustry and sound judgment Jonas E. Hawkins has succeeded in accumulating

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more land than any other man in Liberty township, while at the same time he has not neglected to assist in the civic and moral development of the com- munity in which he lives.

Jonas E. Hawkins, the proprietor of nine hundred acres of land in Lib- erty township, this county, was born July 20, 1857, in Warren county, Ohio. He is the only child of Charles and Martha (Mills) Hawkins, his father being a native of Clinton county, Ohio, where he was born in 1829. Charles Hawkins and Martha Mills were married in 1852 and lived in Ohio until his death, which occurred on July 20, 1858. Jonas was only about one year old at the time of his father's death. About four years later his mother was mar- ried to Nathan Cook, and to this second marriage there were born two chil- dren, William Harvey, who married Ella Miles, of Huntington county, Indiana, and has six children, and Anna, the wife of Ollie Miles, of Hunting- ton county, Indiana, who has five children.

Jonas E. Hawkins moved from Ohio to Huntington county, Indiana, with his mother and stepfather in 1861, and continued to reside in this county until he was eighteen years of age. Owing to the fact that his stepfather was in very poor health he was compelled to leave school early in order to take care of the home farm. Therefore. he early learned what it was to work in the fields, tramping back and forth across the large tracts of land as he turned the furrows and dropped the seed which in due course of time was to bring forth abundant harvest. His youth was a period of earnest toil, in which he had comparatively few advantages. He has been practically the head of the family ever since he was thirteen years of age, and at the early age of eighteen he rented a farm from his uncle and operated it for about three years. At the age of twenty-one he inherited from his father forty acres two and one-half miles east of Sharpsville in Liberty township, this county, and at once entered into possession of this land and started to bring it under cultivation. Since he has had practical charge of farm work since the time he was thirteen years of age, he was well qualified to carry on the management of his new farm, and in fact, he was so well qualified that within a year he bought eighty acres more. making in all one hundred and sixty acres in this township. In the past thirty-five years he has gradually added to his holdings until he now possesses nine hundred acres of land in the township, being the largest land owner in the township. It would be idle to say that he has accomplished this by any other than honest methods, upright integrity and conscientious devotion to duty. It is safe to say that all he possesses has been won through his strong determination and persistency of purpose, and he is known throughout the county as a man of the highest

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character and for this reason one of the most highly respected citizens of the county.

Mr. Hawkins' first four years in Tipton county were spent in a sort of bachelor life, but finding that there was greater happiness in store for him. he was married to Louisa Turner. the daughter of James and Elizabeth Turner, and their life has been a singularly happy and beautiful one. A large family of children have been born to bless their union, namely : Nellie Ann, the wife of Ulysses Henderson, of Liberty township, who has one daugh- ter, Pauline; Velma, wife of W. E. Pratt, of Cass county, Indiana, who has three children, Thelma. Martha and William; Jonas; Harry married Edna Spaulding and has three children, Charles, Harold and Helen: Charles mar- ried Catherine Mills ; Dolos, James M., Cora May, Bernice, Mary and Margery. The parents of Mrs. Hawkins are both natives of Tipton county and had two children, Louisa, wife of the subject, and James Mount, deceased.

Mr. Hawkins has voted the Republican ticket and as an influential worker in the party he takes an active interest in the leading political ques- tions and issues of the day, being a wide reader and a close observer of cur- rent events and decidedly a man of action in all things relating to the public weal. His only position of a public nature was held several years ago when he was appointed road superintendent of Liberty township. He is a mem- ber of the Christian church, and is a friend of law and order, as well as civic righteousness, lending his influence to whatever makes for the moral and religious advancement of his community. Mr. Hawkins has made what he has only by unremitting diligence, and his commendable course in life has won for him an abiding place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, for which reasons he is an important factor in the public affairs of his township and county.

WILLIAM CONRAD SCHOMBER.

America has no better citizen than the descendants of the staunch Ger- man emigrants who have been coming to our shores for the past century. Thousands of these good people have settled in Indiana and have been no small factor in the material advancement of our commonwealth. They have entered every occupation and have been successful in whatever they have attempted to do.

William C. Schomber, the son of Peter and Sophia (Shakle) Schomber. was born on March 28, 1860, in Franklin county, Indiana. Peter Schomber

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was born in Hesse, Germany, and came to this country with his parents in 1832, locating in Franklin county, Indiana. He received the limited educa- tion which was afforded by the schools of the period, and when still a very young man he started out to make his fortune. He first went to Lima, Ohio, where he learned the wagon-maker's trade, and continued to follow this occupation for several years. He then returned to Franklin county where he opened a blacksmith shop, which he continued to operate for about fifteen years. He had saved his money and invested it in land and when he tired of the blacksmithing business, he moved to his farm, where he lived until two years before his death. The last two years of his life were spent in the little village of Morris in Ripley county. He was married to Sophia Shakle, of Franklin county, and their union was blessed with a family of ten children : Elizabeth, who married Charles Wedolph, of Quincy, Illinois, and has one child, Sophia; Laura, who married Henry Schuhmacher, and has one daugh- ter, Augusta; Henry, who married Louise Cromwell, and has five children living, Tenice, Anna, Barbara, Clifford and Alice; Susan and Sophia, the next tow. are both deceased; Louis is married and has one child; Charles married Lula Ray of Rush county ; and Augusta, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Schomber, is the wife of Joshua Knapp and has one son, Arthur.

William Schomber received a practical education in the district schools of Franklin county and spent all of the time when he was not in school upon his father's farm. At the age of twenty-two years, he decided to launch out for himself. so he left home and went forth to seek his fortune. For the next ten years he worked in Decatur and Rush counties on various farms by the month. When he got married he moved to Tipton county, where he rented a farm three and a half miles north of Tipton, on which he resided for a period of six years. While upon this farm he began to plan for a farm of his own and with the invaluable help and timely advice of his excellent wife he was soon ready to purchase a farm of fifty acres in Liberty township. Since that time he has increased his land holdings until he now owns one hundred and thirty-four acres of fine land in the township. He carries on a diversified system of farming, raising all the crops peculiar to this section of the state. In addition he adds not a little to his income by the sale of live stock which he raises on the farm.

In 1890 Mr. Schomber was married to Bessie Throp. the daughter of Wesley and Nancy Throp, and this union was-blessed with one son, Ralph. His first wife died November 21, 1890, and on December 18, 1892. Mr. Schomber was married to Nancy Ray, the daughter of Amos and Amy Ray,

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of Decatur county. Amos Ray was a native of Decatur county and lived there until 1906 when he moved to Tipton county. He served throughout the Civil war in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment Indi- ana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out in the summer of 1865. Im- mediately upon his return home he was married to Amy Trullender, the daughter of David and Elizabeth Trullender. To this union were born three children: Elizabeth, the wife of Mr. Schomber; Ellen, the wife of Walter Bockover, and the mother of nine children, Mary, Amy. Mildred, Florence. Alonzo, Kenneth, Robert, Karl and Mathenia; Albert, who married Mary Ryn, and has two children, Margaret and Virgil.

Mr. Schomber believes firmly in the platforms of the Republican party and gives proof of his allegiance thereto by casting his ballot for its candi- dates. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Improved Order of Redmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In his religious affiliations he is connected with the Hopewell Presbyterian church and is very much interested in the various activities of that denomina- tion. He is always ready to co-operate in any measure pertaining to the general welfare of the community in which he lives. He has so ordered his life that he has won the esteem of his friends and acquaintances.

FRANCIS YOHE.

It is by no means an easy task to describe within the limits of this review a man who has led an active and eminently useful life and by his own ex- ertions reached a position of honor and trust in the line of industries with which his interests are allied. But biography finds justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a life history, as the public claims a cer- tain property interest in the career of every individual and the time invariably arrives when it becomes advisable to give the right publicity. It is, then, with a certain degree of satisfaction that the chronicler essays the task of touching briefly upon such record as has been that of the subject who now comes under this review.

Francis Yohe, prosperous farmer and owner of eighty acres of good land on the New Lancaster road, about two and one-half miles southwest of Elwood, in Tipton county, Indiana, was born on this identical farm in 1878. the son of Marion W. Yohe and Martha ( Riley) Yohe, who were also

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natives of this county, Marion W. Yohe's father having been a native of the Keystone state and an early settler in this part of Indiana, where he became a large land owner and an influential and highly respected man.

The subject of this review attended the New Lancaster school in his boyhood, assisting in the labor on the home place in the long intervals be- tween terms. At the age of twenty-three years he took employment in the McClay glass factory, and, becoming very proficient in this art, was engaged in various concerns of this character for about nine years, at the end of which period he returned to the home place, in the operation of which he has been active since that time.

On September 24, 1902, Mr. Yohe was united in marriage to Emma Hight, the daughter of George and Sarah (Hackett) Hight. George Hight was born in Pennsylvania and came to this state with his parents, William and Rachael Hight. They settled in Cass county, and here George Hight grew up and married. He became a large land owner and prominent farmer. and was the father of seven children, namely : Jennie married a Mr. Lowrey : Predonia married a Mr. Fortson : Arnell married Joseph Heflin: Emma, the subject's wife: Jessie is deceased: Harry and William. Mrs. Yohe's grand- father was buried in Winamac and her grandmother in Walton. Her father is still living and makes his home in the state of Tennessee, he having left Indiana about twenty years ago to engage in the lumber business in the South. Mrs. Yohe first attended the schools in Cass county. Indiana, and later finished her education at Bardwell, Kentucky, coming from the latter place to Madi- son county, Indiana, and residing in Pipe Creek township.

To Mr. and Mrs. Yohe have been born six children, as follows : Harold; Howard, Mary and Eva live in New Lancaster: Marjorie and Sarah Jane. The family are affiliated with the Christian church and Mrs. Yohe takes quite a prominent part in the Sunday school. In his political beliefs Mr. Yohe sup- ports the Democratic party, although he has never found time to take a very active interest in public affairs. Fraternally, the subject is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, belonging to the tribe at Elwood. In his agri- cultural pursuits he has been very successful, particularly so in his hog breed- ing operations, making a speciality of the fine Poland China, and having estab- lished a reputation as a stock man which extends far beyond his immediate neighborhood. Thorough and painstaking in everything that he does, Mr. Yohe has built well and strong, and, although young in years, has established himself in the agricultural industry in a manner that would be commendeble in any man years his senior.

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History of Tipton County Indiana, Part 51

Author: M. W. Pershing Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 701

Author: M. W. Pershing
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 701