USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 27
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
WILLIS BRYAN. A venerable and highly respected citizen of Paw Paw township, Wabash county, Willis Bryan has lived in the vicinity of the Eel river since 1836, and in that township for seventy-six years, and is in very truth an honored representative of the early pioneers of this sec- tion of our beautiful country, and a true type of the energetic, hardy, and enterprising men who have actively assisted in the development of this fertile and productive agricultural region In the days of his boy- hood the wild beasts of the forest had not fled before the advancing steps of civilization, but, with the dusky savage, inhabited the vast wilder- ness. Neighbors were few and far between, and the town of Roann was not even thought of for a full quarter of a century after he came here. A son of Jacob Bryan, he was born in Robeson county, North Carolina, near Lumberton, April 28, 1820.
+
Digitized by Google
692
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
Jacob Bryan was born and reared in North Carolina, belonging to an old and honored family of that state. He was a man of talent and cul- ture, and was not only a farmer, but was a typical old-style school master, teaching his children much outside of their school studies. In 1822, desirous of obtaining cheap land on the frontier, he migrated with his family to Indiana, settled in Jefferson county, Indiana, and in Jan- uary, 1836, located in Wabash county, one mile south of Deck's mill, in Paw Paw township, at the place then called Squirrel village. From the heavily wooded land, on which never a stick had been cut, he began the almost Herculean task of hewing a homestead from the one hundred and sixty acres of land that he entered from the Government. There he lived with his family in pioneer fashion, depending upon the pro- ductions of the soil and the game to be found in the forest for their subsistence, carrying on general farming until his death, in 1852, at the age of sixty-nine years.
Jacob Bryan married, in North Carolina, Nancy Freeman, a native of that state. She died on the home farm in Paw Paw township, in 1844, aged three score years. Twelve children were born of their union, the ten older ones being born in North Carolina, Willis, the subject of this sketch, being the only survivor of the family. The names of the children are thus given: Theophilus; Norman; Lewis; Jacob; Rebecca and Mary, twins; Sophia; Patsie; Margaret; Willis; Sarah; and Jane.
The youngest son of the parental household, and but two years old when he accompanied his parents in the long journey made with ox- teams to Indiana, Willis Bryan grew to manhood on the old homestead, as a boy playing and talking with the Indians. As soon as possible after a few log cabins had been reared in the township preparations were made to educate the children. A cabin was built of round logs, through one of which was cut space for a window, and in the sash that was inserted was placed a greased paper to let in the light. The seats were long benches made of slabs, with wooden pins for legs, and a fire of logs in the huge fireplace heated the room, the back being of rocks, while the chimney was made of sticks and clay.
Obtaining a good education in the schools, and under his father's tuition, Mr. Bryan taught school during the winter season from 1844 until 1862, with the exception of a few terms, in the meantime assisting his father on the farm in the summer time, helping him break and clear one hundred and sixty acres near the river. While thus employed, Mr. Bryan accumulated some money, and in 1865 purchased the farm of one hundred and sixty acres now occupied by his son William, paying $7,000 for it. The improvements upon the place when he bought it were of very little value, but he cleared it up and tiled it, replaced the rude log house with a substantial frame structure, and later erected other necessary buildings, each year adding to the value and attractive- ness of the property. Thoroughly skilled in all matters pertaining to the cultivation of the soil, Mr. Bryan made an unquestioned success as a general farmer, accumulating a goodly share of this world's goods through his own unaided efforts, enabling him to spend the closing years
Digitized by Google
- -
-
Digitized by
694
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
years was replaced by a more modern and comfortable style of home, other buildings followed, and John H. Miller in time became regarded as one of the most substantial citizens of Wabash county. In 1902 he bought property in Urbana, retired from the farm, and died in that town Novem- ber 28, 1909, when past eighty-five years of age. His widow is still living there. When John H. Miller came to the United States he had nothing except the training in a trade and his native ability. When he sold out his farm in Ohio it brought thirteen hundred dollars, and he paid twenty- two hundred dollars for the Paw Paw township place. He was the father of nine children. The three by his first marriage were : Mary, Carrie, and Anna, deceased; The six by his marriage to Elizabeth Weck were: Lena, deceased; Henry ; Adam M .; Kate; Minnie, and Dora.
Adam M. Miller was a lad of seven years when the family established their home in Wabash county. The father and John Weck had made the journey from Ohio by way of wagon, the mother and her children following on the train. His youth was spent on-the farm which is now his home, and though very young at the time he materially assisted in clearing off the land, and has always been a hard worker, which accounts largely for his success. His education was acquired in the old schoolhouse at Half Acre, near his home. When he was fifteen years old he began working out for farmers in the neighborhood, and during the first year was paid thirteen dollars a month by Valentine Keefaber. Each year after that saw an increase in his ability, and when he reached the point of comparative independence he established a home of his own.
On March 13, 1887, he married Christina Holstine, daughter of George and Madeline (Cook) Holstine. Mrs. Miller has for more than a quarter of a century been his capable adviser and helper and as valuable to him in business counsel as in the management of the domestic economy of the Miller farm. After their marriage he managed his father's place for two years, and then moved to the city of Wabash, which was his home for fourteen years. He followed various lines of employment, having assisted in laying the switch at the roundhouse for the Big Four railroad and at the stone quarry, and had charge of the latter enterprise for seven years. He was also employed in the Strawboard factory. In 1901, in the fall, Mr. Miller bought his present farm from his father, and, besides the productive labor which has brought him abundance of revenue from regular farming activities, he has spent much money in improving the place, laying tile, and otherwise bringing it up to the best standards of Wabash county agriculture.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born nine children, as follows: Anna, who married Lewis Haupert, and their four children are Marietta, Luther, Dorey and Edith; Otto; Marie, who is Mrs. Neely Kalb; Minnie, now Mrs. Albert Conrad; Carrie, who is Mrs. Ellis Alshaf- fer; Philip, Reuben; Floyd and Lena. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the German Evangelical church at Urbana, and in politics he supports the democratic party.
Digitized by Google
695
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
FRED M. BARNHART. Numbered among the well known and influen- tial citizens and progressive agriculturists of Wabash county, Fred M. Barnhart is an excellent example of the benefit to be acquired by a life of industry and integrity when directed along well defined lines of endeavor. Few local citizens have been the architects of their own fortune in a greater degree, none have been more deserving of success. While speaking of his individual work, it should not be forgotten that he has had a loyal and effective partner for many years, and Mr. Barn- hart credits much of his prosperity to his wife. Both represent old and prominent families in Wabash county, and have cooperated both for the establishment of home and for the upbuilding of their material pros- perity. Their home place comprises two hundred sixty-five acres, divided into five tracts, in Paw Paw and Pleasant townships. The home farm proper is of forty-five acres, lying on the west side of the Barnhart Pike near the Pleasant township line. Just across the road are two farms, each of eighty acres, and besides these are three pieces of land in Pleasant township, respectively thirty-seven, thirty and sixteen acres.
F. M. Barnhart was born in the city of Wabash, at the corner of Main and Comstock streets, August 24, 1868. He is a son of the late James H. and Martha A. (Mount) Barnhart. James Harvey Barnhart, who died on. the old Mount farm in Paw Paw township June 21, 1913, aged nearly sixty-nine years, was born at the forks of the Wabash river in Huntington county July 11, 1844. At the age of twenty, on November 2, 1864, he enlisted at Indianapolis in Company I of the Forty-Sixth Indiana Infantry, and after a service of nearly a year was discharged at Louisville, Kentucky, September 4, 1865. Soon after the war, on June 12, 1866, he married Martha Ann Mount. She was born in Wabash county in 1847, and died November 18, 1909. Her parents were Peter and Eliza Ellen Mount. Peter Mount was born in New Jersey April 28, 1810, was married in Miami county, Indiana, to Eliza Ellen Kidd, a sister of Major Kidd and a daughter of Edmond J. and Christina Kidd. Eliza E. Kidd was born October 23, 1824, at Connersville, Indiana. After his marriage Peter Mount moved to the farm now occupied by Elliott Smith, in Paw Paw township. His father, David Mount, had acquired that place direct from the government as one of the pioneers of Wabash county, and it subsequently became the property of Peter Mount, and has always remained in the family possession, Mrs. Elliott Smith being one of his direct descendants. Peter Mount acquired several hundred acres, and cleared up a large part of the forest growth which originally encumbered the soil, erected log buildings, and died there in April, 1849. His widow subsequently returned to the Kidd farm in Miami county, married Adam Haas, and after his death Arch Kennedy, and she spent the rest of her days in Wabash county. After the marriage of James H. Barnhart and wife in 1866, they lived for a time in Peru, and he was employed in the Blue Front drug store there until 1867. Then moving to Wabash he engaged in the drug business with Mr. Haas, and the firm of Barnhart & Haas continued until 1872, when it was dissolved and T. L. Barnhart became proprietor. The store was located
Digitized by Google
696
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
on Canal street in Wabash. James H. Barnhart then moved to the old Mount farm, and both he and his wife died at that place. For nearly forty years the late Mr. Barnhart had been a member of the Methodist church, and also affiliated with the Roann Grand Army Post. The thirteen children of the Barnhart family were: Edith, Mrs. Elliott Smith ; Fred M .; Guy S .; Charles K .; James H., deceased; Nellie May, Mrs. O. D. Steele; Robert M., deceased; Homer and Horace, twins, both of whom are deceased; Hugh W .; Howard J .; Ruth Lillian, Mrs. L. R. Burns; and Jessie, who died in infancy.
It was while his father was in the drug business that Fred M. Barn- hart was born. During his early childhood the family moved out to the old Mount farm in Paw Paw township, and while there he attended the district school in Pleasant township, and lived at home and helped in the duties of the clearing, planting and harvesting until his marriage. On September 8, 1889, Mr. Barnhart married Rose N. Day, daughter of George W. and Nancy (Hoover) Day. Both her parents are now living at Laketon in this county, and were both natives of Wabash county, the Hoovers coming from Ohio and the Days from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Barnhart is the oldest of three children, the two others being: Frank, of Pleasant township; and Orrill M.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart began as renters, on the east part of the old Barnhart farm. Then in the spring of the year he bought the forty-five acres which is the nucleus of his present estate, from Amos Ivans, and moved to the land in August of the same year. During the next five years Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart worked hard and in order to get as much capital as possible lived in the old house which stood on the farm when they bought it. They then rented four hundred acres from his grandmother Kennedy's farm, a mile south, and lived there for six years. In the last year Mr. Barnhart remodeled his own buildings, and then returned to his own farm. The other land above mentioned has been bought from time to time as his means justified it, and his estate is now one of the best improved in this section of the county. With his son Howe he carries on general farming, and besides his agricultural interests has stock in the bank at Laketon. Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart have three children : Howe; Lola; and Eugene. Mr. Barnhart in politics is a progressive republican.
Mr. and Mrs. Barnhart after their marriage had only six dollars in cash, besides two horses, and what they have since acquired is due to their own enterprise and good management. Long after he had succeeded independently Mr. Barnhart received his interest from his father's estate, but that was only a small factor in his prosperity. It was the special ambition of Mrs. Barnhart that they should have a home of their own, and soon after their marriage she prevailed upon her husband to go in debt for their first forty-five acres. That was a little farm which had long been used and drained of most of its resources, and they found it almost impossible to make a living, and in consequence rented land elsewhere until the forty-five acres could be restored to a productive con- dition. While living on the Kennedy farm Mr. Barnhart paid off several
Digitized by Google
-
697
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
thousand dollars in rent, and at the same time was working to get his own land in shape both as to soil and building equipment. In spite of the early hardships and vicissitudes of their career Mr. and Mrs. Barn- hart have given their children good education, and the oldest son is a graduate of the class of 1911 at the Roann high school. The daughter is now a student in the class of 1916 in the same school while the youngest is still in the grade school.
CHESTER A. KING. The home of Chester A. King and wife is the old Eby farm, three and a half miles northeast of Roann in Paw Paw township. The King and Eby families have lived in this section of Indiana since early days, and much of the pioneer work in subduing the wilderness can be credited to them. On both sides it is good, substantial family stock, and it is a heritage as well as a product of their individual effort that Mr. and Mrs. King find themselves so comfortably situated in life.
Chester A. King was born in Huntington county, Indiana, just over the Wabash county line, on September 15, 1858, a son of George and Mary Ann (Loy) King. Both his parents were born and reared in Ohio, were married in that state, and soon afterwards moved to Hunt- ington county, and subsequently established a home in Chester township of Wabash county. During the war George King was one of the number of young men who enlisted for service at the little old church formerly situated three miles northeast of Manchester, known as the Lower Union church. Benjamin Tillman, Rev. David Hidy and George King all went out together to the war from that church, and their wives and families lived together while the men were fighting for the Union. The three subsequently returned, and the families took up once more their individ- ual mode of living. On his return from the war George King became head sawyer in a saw mill, and being an expert in that line was employed in saw milling all over this part of the state. His death occurred at the home of his son William in Kosciusko county, Indiana, June 18, 1902, at the age of sixty years and six months. His widow is now living in North Manchester with her son Charles.
It was along the dividing line of Huntington and Wabash counties, sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, that Chester A. King grew to manhood, and the schools he attended were also in both counties. Like his father, at an early age, he took up saw mill work, did threshing, farming, and throughout his career has been one of the useful and dependable workers in his community.
On August 15, 1899, Mr. King married Anna Sampson, widow of W. M. Sampson and daughter of Christian and Sarah A. Eby. Christian Eby came out to Wabash county from Ohio with his parents, John Eby and wife, and was married in Indiana. His wife's father, Samuel Eby, settled in Kosciusko county, while John Eby was a settler of Wabash. Christian Eby was one of the substantial farmers of his section, but in 1849, followed the exodus to the west, and spent some time in California hunting for gold and also working as a cook, but without conspicuous
Digitized by Google
698
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
success. He returned to Indiana, resumed farming, and in that way laid the basis of his substantial prosperity. After his marriage he bought a farm a mile and a half north of Liberty Mills, obtaining one hundred and sixty acres in-that location, cleared up some of the land, and after selling it bought another place in Paw Paw township. A log cabin stood on both the latter lands, and he subsequently erected the more comfortable residence, where his daughter Mrs. King, now lives, Mr. and Mrs. King occupying one hundred and twenty acres which were originally a part of the Eby farm. Mr. Eby died on that place and his widow is now living in Logansport. Their five children were: Anna, Mrs. Chester King; Frank; Charles, who died in infancy; Samuel; and Daisy, wife of Ed Hall of Rochester, Indiana.
After their marriage Mr. King and wife settled on the place they now occupy. George E. Carr, a son of Mrs. King, lives in Chicago, and has one child, Mary Jane Carr, aged eight months. Mr. King is a stanch republican in politics.
JAMES MADISON COGGESHALL. The deserved reward of a useful and helpful life is an honorable retirement from labor and a season of rest in which to enjoy the fruits of former toil. Consecutive endeavor, unfalter- ing energy and resolute purpose, well directed, bring success in the activ- ities of life, and when prosperity is attained these should be followed by a period of leisure, when one may enjoy his individual desires and find satisfaction in pursuing plans from which former duties had withheld him. For a long period James Madison Coggeshall, now living retired at his pleasant home at Somerset, was prominently identified with the agri- cultural interests of Wabash county as a farmer of Waltz township. His career was an honorable one, in which his straightforward dealing and indefatigable labor brought him a handsome competence that now enables him to put aside the heavier burdens and find pleasurable recreation in his home and among his friends. Mr. Coggeshall was born in Waltz township March 26, 1847, and is a son of Louis and Phoebe ( Weesner) Coggeshall.
Louis Coggeshall was a son of Job Coggeshall, while Phoebe Weesner was a daughter of Micajah Weesner. During the early 'forties, not long after their marriage, they came to Wabash county, and here entered a tract of sixty acres from the Government, on which the father erected a small log cabin. This first tract was traded some time after. ward, and in 1861 the family went to Illinois. There were six children in the family : Elizabeth, who died in infancy near Paris, Illinois; James Madison ; Minerva, who died when between three and four years of age ; Martha J., who married William Withers; Joseph, and Marshall, and all were born in Wabash county, with the exception of the first named, who was born near Paris, Illinois, where the father and mother lived for a time when first married. A year or so later they returned to Wayne county, Indiana, and a little later entered land in Wabash county. Again, in the fall of 1861 they moved back to Illinois, where the mother died in 1863. The father later moved to Colorado and died there.
Digitized by Google
MR. AND MRS. J. M. COGGESHALL
Digitized by
Digitized by
1
699
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
James M. Coggeshall grew up amid pioneer surroundings. He was rocked to sleep as a baby in a sugar trough, and his early education was secured in the primitive schools. Game was to be found in plenty in the woods, and when the family larder became empty the father or one of the boys would step out of the door and soon bring back enough meat to keep the family supplied. Indians were also numerous, one of them being Peter Bundy, an educated red man, who was later assessed by Mr. Coggeshall, who also heard him lecture. No bridges had been built at that time, and it was necessary to ford the rivers and streams when they were encountered. During the years 1858 and 1859 Mr. Coggeshall was engaged in driving the horses attached to his father's canal boat, and he then returned to the farm, on which he worked until the family started for Illinois. The Civil war was in progress at this time, and Mr. Cogges- hall, while in Illinois with his family, enlisted as a recruit in Company E, Seventy-ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He subsequently served for eighteen months, the last six months as corporal, and partici- pated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, as well as in several smaller engagements. On September 23, 1865, he received his honorable discharge and was mustered out of the service at Springfield, Illinois, with an excellent record as a soldier. In 1866 he returned to Wabash county and started working by the month until he had accumulated enough means to embark on a career of his own. In the spring of 1877 he moved to Sumner county, Kansas, where he resided until the fall of 1880, and then returned to Wabash county, Indiana. A period of renting followed, and he finally became the owner of a property to which he added from time to time until he became one of the substantial agriculturists of his community. During all the years in which he has been a resident of Wabash county Mr. Coggeshall's name has been a synonym for upright manhood and good citizenship. He owned 100 acres in farm land and eight acres in the village of Somerset. He has given his influence and means to the betterment of society, to schools and church, to the support of good government and order, and to the industries which he has believed calculated to promote the interests of this section of his state. He has always been a republican, and has acted efficiently in public position, being township assessor for five years and deputy assessor for a like period. He is a valued comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1868 Mr. Coggeshall was married to Miss Mary E. Pavey, of Miami county, Indiana, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (West) Pavey, farming people. To this union there have been born three children: Martha E., who married John Fleming and has had three children- John, who died in infancy; James M. and Hugh-Otto E., who died in infancy, and Isaac M., who married Grace Bruebaker and has two chil- dren, James Ellis and Alva Roy.
ALEX FLORA. A record of good citizenship, including three years of faithful service as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war, of stead- fast integrity in all his relations with his fellow men, and of acquisition
Digitized by Google
700
HISTORY OF WABASH COUNTY
of an honorable prosperity in material things, is what distinguishes Alex Flora in addition to the fact of his long residence in Wabash county. Mr. Flora is no longer under the necessity of pursuing active labors, but lives in the enjoyment of the fruits of a well-spent life on his home place of fifty-five acres in Paw Paw township, located on the south side of the road three miles east of Roann.
Alexander Flora was born in Wayne county, Ohio, October 16, 1840, a son of Abe and Mary (Groshon) Flora. His father was a native of Germany and his mother of Switzerland, and the record of the Groshon family in Wabash county will be found on other pages. His parents were married in New York, after coming to this country, and subsequently moved out to Ohio, rented land there, and finally came to Wabash county, where Abe Flora bought sixty acres from Ferdinand Groshon in Paw Paw township. The land was all covered with woods, and most of the familiar pioneer conditions still existed. Deer were so plentiful in the woods about their home, that Mr. Flora's mother one day killed a deer with a hatchet. After clearing up and improving his land, Abe Flora lived there until his death, followed by his wife, and both were more than seventy years of age when they passed away. Their six children were: Alex; Edward, who went out to the war in Company B of the Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry under Captain Goodwin, and was killed in the battle of Champion Hill; Leonard; John; Ellen, who died unmar- ried; and Marshall.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.