History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 34

Author: Clarkson W. Weesner
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 619

USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 34

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In June, 1862, Christian Gurtner enlisted in Company A of the Seventy-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry under Capt. Samuel Steele, and continued fighting for the freedom of the slaves and for the preserva- tion of the Union until the end of the war. He never missed a battle in which his regiment was engaged, and it was in some of the most notable campaigns of the war. During the battle of Chickamauga he received a wound in the left wrist, but was not long incapacitated for duty. Mr. Gurtner was at the battles of Missionary Ridge and Stone River or Murfreesboro, and took part in the hundred days' campaign which led to the fall of Atlanta. From Atlanta, after the burning of that city, on November 14, 1864, he was in the army of General Sherman which started sixty-five thousand strong on the memorable march to the sea. During the next month the army lived chiefly by foraging on the scanty supplies of the country through which it marched, and on December 21st reached the sea after having covered two hundred and fifty miles. Fort McAlister soon fell, and with it the city of Savannah, where Mr. Gurtner and his comrades ate their Christmas dinner in 1864. At the close of the war, after practically three years of con- tinuous service, Mr. Gurtner received his honorable discharge at Indian- apolis and returned to his father's home once more to become a farmer.

The next important event of his life occurred on March 29, 1868, when he was married to Gennetta Purdy, a daughter of Alfred and Elizabeth (French) Purdy. Mr. Gurtner and wife have three chil- dren : Elizabeth, who is the widow of James Bechtol and lives on a farm adjoining that of her parents, is the mother of four children, as follows: Floyd E., who married Edith Smith; Ethel, who married Bruce Hiner; Anna May; and Gaile. The second child, John, died when ten years of age. Bertha is Mrs. Willie Hiner, of Paw Paw township, and their three children are Lawrence, Elden and Neva.

The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Gurtner began on a rented farm three miles west of their present home. Eighteen months were spent in the first place, after which they leased a farm in Noble township and during the next seven years managed to get ahead some in the world. From there they moved to Paw Paw township, and again continued as renters for six years, next moving to the old Honeywell farm in Noble township, which was rented by them for four years, and the next six years were spent on the Leonard Himan farm in Paw Paw township. That was their last rented place, since from there they moved in. 1893 to their present farm, which was once the old Purdy place. Mr. Gurtner

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is a practical and successful general farmer. He has remodeled all the buildings, has put up a good stable, and all the old rail fences have been replaced with strong wire fencing, and during the twenty years that he has owned the place he has spent more money for tile than the original cost of the farm. He understands farming in all its depart- ments, and has a singular ability in getting the greatest resources out of a given amount of land. There is a large annual crop of corn on the Gurtner farm, and like most of the successful agriculturists of Wabash county he prefers selling it "on the hoof to selling it on the cob."

Mr. and Mrs. Gurtner are members of the Christian church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic Order at Wabash and the Grand Army Post in the same city. A self-made man in the fullest sense of the word, he started life as a poor boy, and has more than held his own from the time he was seven years of age.

COL. JOHN R. POLK. In writing of the citizenship of Wabash county and of the city of Wabash, it is especially appropriate that some mention be made of those men who lived worthily and to excellent purpose in the community in earlier years, though now no longer in the ranks of living and active men. Among those men who will long be remem- bered in the city of Wabash may be mentioned Col. John R. Polk, who was born October 11, 1832, and who died in this city on October 21, 1875. Though a young man, just in the prime of his life, he had yet accom- plished that which gave him a place of prominence in the city and county, and his passing was a heavy blow to the community where he had spent the best years of his life.

Col. Polk was born in New Castle, Henry county, Indiana, a son of James and Finel (Stewart) Polk, who came to this state from North Carolina in their young days. In his boyhood Colonel Polk attended the local schools, and he was employed in various mercantile establish- ments as a boy in his teens. Later he was employed in a clerical capacity by various county officials and up to the year 1855 he devoted much of his time to that class of work. In that year he was appointed deputy recorder under T. B. McCarty, and he continued thus occupied until the war broke out. He promptly enlisted for three months' service as a private of Company K, Eighth Indiana, and when the three months had expired, the regiment was reorganized for three years of service. He was commissioned captain of Company F, and in that capacity he participated in the activities at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg and Western Louisiana. Just before the battle of Fort Esperendez he received his commission as major, promotion coming for valor and gallantry in service. He was at the battles in and about Mobile, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and assigned to the command of his regiment. The regiment then joined General Sheridan's Division, at that time operating in the Shenandoah Valley, and when peace was declared he was in Hawkesville, Georgia. Though he had previous to

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that been commissioned Colonel, his regiment had been reduced below the minimum, so that he never was in command as Colonel.

With the close of the war he returned to Wabash county, and for a time he was employed in the State Auditor's office at Indianapolis. In 1866 he was elected auditor of Wabash county, and he continued to serve in that office until he died in 1875. The character of his work was such as to fully warrant his return to the office with each suc- ceeding year and he was regarded as one of the most valuable officials the county ever had.

Colonel Polk was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he was long affiliated with the Methodist church, in which he was active and interested.

At Wabash, on February 28, 1858, Colonel Polk was married to Miss Jane Kelly, the daughter of William and Catherine (Cameron) Kelly, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. The children born to the Colonel and his wife were as follows: Jennie, the wife of Fred Groffe, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Thomas, a resident of New Orleans; and Margaret, who remains at home with her widowed mother in Wabash.

Mrs. Polk and her daughter are popular and prominent, enjoying the genuine regard of a wide circle of Wabash people who have known them for a good many years and esteem them for their many excellent qualities.

SAMUEL HEETER. The angel of death is an unwelcome visitor at any time, but when it calls and removes from a home one still in the flower of manhood the loss is doubly hard to bear. The late Samuel Heeter, when called to his final rest, had reached the time of life when, with powers just fully ripened, he had his best work still to do. He had already shown himself a man of enterprise, energy and ability, and his loss was felt by his community in that it was deprived of a good citizen, and by his numerous acquaintances, who knew that a good and loyal friend had been taken from them.

Mr. Heeter was born on the old Heeter homestead, near North Man- chester, Indiana, August 3, 1869, and was there educated in the public schools. He was brought up to habits of industry and honesty, traits which always characterized his nature, and was thoroughly trained in agricultural matters, having decided to spend his life as a tiller of the soil. After his marriage he settled on a farm of eighty acres, which he had secured from his father, and in addition to this cultivated a part of the old homestead. He was a persevering and active worker and understood fully the use of improved machinery and modern methods, with the result that his ventures proved successful and he was rapidly becoming one of the substantial men of his community, when, January 26, 1904, death called him. A democrat in politics, Mr. Heeter was in thorough sym- pathy with the principles of his party, but was not bigoted and always was tolerant of the opinions of others. His citizenship was worthy of emulation, and he supported loyally movements for good roads and

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SAMUEL IIEETER

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others which his judgment and foresight told him were for the benefit of his community. In his home life he was a loving husband and indul- gent father, and his home always came ahead of any clubs or fraternal organizations. Few men have had a wider circle of friends and few have been more deserving of them.

On October 10, 1891, Mr. Heeter was married to Miss Melvina Karn, who survives him and still makes the old homestead her abiding place. She is a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Landis) Karn, early settlers of Wabash county and prominent agricultural people here. Mrs. Heeter had two brothers-Jacob and Dan, the former of whom is deceased-and four sisters-Mary, Ellen, Lydia and Ann-of whom Mary and Lydia have passed away. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Heeter : Mary, born August 6, 1892, and Forest, born May 7, 1894, both at home. The latter, an energetic and progressive young farmer, has charge of the operation of the home farm of eighty acres, and is proving himself a good manager and thorough business man. Mrs. Heeter is a member of the Church of the Brethren, which she attends at North Manchester. She is widely and favorably known in this vicinity, where she takes an interest in social and religious work and, like her late husband, is the center of a wide circle of warm and appreciative friends.

JACOB BUTTERBAUGH. A retired agriculturist of Roann, Paw Paw township, Jacob Butterbaugh has been a resident of Northern Indiana for more than threescore and ten years, and during that time has wit- nessed wonderful transformations in the face of the country, the path- less forests giving way before the axe of the pioneer; the log cabins of the forefathers being replaced by commodious frame houses; and the hamlets of the early times developing into thriving villages and populous towns and cities. In these changes he has taken an active part, con- tributing his full share of labor. Of German descent, he was born June 7, 1839, in Montgomery county, Ohio, and when a babe of six weeks was brought by his parents to Indiana.

His father, George Butterbaugh, was born and reared in Pennsyl- vania. As a young man he lived for a while in Ohio, and was there married. In 1839 he came with his family to Indiana, locating first at Rose Hill, just across the line from Wabash county, in Kosciusko county. Taking up one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land, he lived for a time in a tent, but later erected a set of log build- ings. At the end of thirteen years he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land near Silver Lake, and immediately began to clear a farm, almost the entire tract having been covered with timber when he bought it. He remained there just a year, during which time he put consider- able in the proposed Eel River Railroad, and lost his entire investment. Moving to Miami county, Indiana, in 1853, he purchased three hundred and twelve acres of land, most of which was cleared, and continued his agricultural labors. Selling that property in 1863, he retired from active pursuits, making his home with his children until his death in 1878.

The maiden name of the wife of George Butterbaugh was Mary Vol. II-19

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Clemmons. She was born in 1817 and died in 1847 in Indiana. Ten children were born of their union, of whom but two are now, in 1914, living, namely : Catherine, wife of Joseph Bitting, a veteran of the Civil war; and Jacob.

Brought up beneath the parental roof-tree, Jacob Butterbaugh obtained his early education in the pioneer schools, and while yet young became familiar with the manual labor of the farm, which he helped to clear and improve. In 1862 he offered his services to his country, enlisting in Company D, Fifty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under command of Captain A. A. Eggleston and Colonel Mansfield. With his regiment he was sent directly from Indianapolis to Vicksburg, and during the siege of that city he was wounded. On December 8, 1863, he was mustered out at New Orleans, and returned home. Resuming his chosen occupation, Mr. Butterbaugh was for many years actively engaged in agricultural pursuits. In common with his brothers, he received $2,800 from the parental estate, and later bought from his father his present farm of one hundred and twelve acres in Paw Paw township, it having been a part of the old McHenry farm. The land was mostly in its primitive wilderness, but by dint of persevering courage and industry he cleared it, and erected all the necessary buildings for carrying on general farming. Having accumulated a fair share of this world's goods Mr. Butterbaugh retired from active business cares several years ago, and is now enjoying a well-earned leisure. Mr. Butterbaugh is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to the Post at Roann.

Mr. Butterbaugh married October 9, 1859, Charlotte Uplinger, who was born December 25, 1833, in Franklin county, West Virginia, and died July 4, 1907, in Wabash county, Indiana. Her parents, Cornelius and Judy (Darby) Uplinger, moved from Virginia to Ohio, and from the latter state about 1849 moved to Indiana, where Mr. Uplinger fol- lowed his trade of a wagon maker for many years, living near Silver Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Butterbaugh became the parents of five children, namely : Martha Ellen, Samuel, Ambrose, Elvira A. and James M. Martha Ellen lived but ten months. Samuel married Effie M. Jack, who died in December, 1890, leaving two children, Ruth T. and Jack G. Ruth T. Jack married A. R. Toney of Aurora, Illinois, and has two children, Arthur and Maxine. Ambrose Butterbaugh married Edith McCoy, and they have six children, namely : Flossie and Floyd, twins; Fara; Frank; Jessie and May. Of these children Flossie married James Deardorff; Floyd married Walter Wayde, who is now deceased, and their two children are Paul and Dorothy; Fara is the wife of Oliver Dehaven and has one child, Ambrose Samuel Dehaven; Frank married Katie Whistler; while Jessie is the wife of J. Hollenback and the mother of two children, Charles and Josephine. James Butterbaugh, the youngest of Mr. Butterbaugh's children, married Mrs. Mary S. Smith Huston, a widow. By her first marriage she had three children: Nellie,

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Lula and Aletha. James Butterbaugh and wife have one child by their present marriage, Mary Audra Butterbaugh.

Mr. Butterbaugh and his sons have oil interests in Ohio, and Miss Elvira T. Butterbaugh owns land in Texas. To all lovers of music the name of Butterbaugh is familiar through the association of Mr. Butter- baugh's son and grandson with various bands and orchestras, more especially with the Danta band, which under the direction of Professor Danta tours the country.

J. E. LONG. The history of the Long family is a story of three generations of hard-working prospering people, of quiet but competent citizenship, and of that kind of individual and collective ability and brotherhood which counts for most in any community. The family repre- sentative above named spent all his life in Wabash county, was born in a log cabin, and attended one of the early schools that only the older people can remember, and his prosperity and influence has increased with his years of life. He is the owner of 118.63 acres of fine farming land on the Manchester Pike in Paw Paw township, two and a half miles north of Urbana.

J. E. Long is a son of Samuel and Marjorie (Richards) Long, and some additional facts of interest with regard to the family history will be found elsewhere in this publication in connection with the sketch of Schuyler C. Long. Samuel Long, who was born in Pennsylvania, came to Wabash county with his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Long. The latter founded the home in Noble township south of Wabash, in the midst of the woods, but subsequently moved north of Wabash and from there to what is known as "Half Acre," now in Paw Paw township. Both the grandparents died there, the grandmother first and followed about twenty years later by the grandfather. Their six children were: Solomon, Jacob, Samuel, John, Emanuel and Josiah.

When the family migration was accomplished into Wabash county, Samuel Long was a young man, and his practical career began with his residence in Wabash county. His wife, Marjorie Richards, was a daughter of Josiah and Eunice (Dunfee) Richards, who were also early settlers of Wabash county, having moved from Ohio and spending the rest of their years in the former locality. Samuel and Marjorie Long began their married life at "Half Acre" and the log cabin which was their original home is still standing, one of the oldest landmarks of pioneer days in this section of Wabash county. When the cabin was built it was surrounded by dense woods on all sides, and the little house- hold looked out upon the wilderness, and participated in all its experi- ences and hardships. Samuel Long at first only had eighty acres, but subsequently bought another eighty acres across the road from his brother Jacob. The latter place had some good buildings and Samuel moved from the log house to the new home and lived there until his death at the age of sixty-six. His widow is still living in venerable years, and occupies the old home. The children of Samuel and Marjorie were: Josiah Edward; Eunice, who is Mrs. Daniel Deardorf; Alexander;

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Samuel; Grant; Schuyler C .; Irvin; Ezra and Asher, the last two being twins.

Josiah Edward Long was born in the old log cabin above described, at the locality known as "Half Acre," on December 8, 1857. His boy- hood was spent in that locality, and his recollections cover many scenes and incidents which no longer have a place in Wabash county life. The school which he attended as a boy was kept in a log cabin, he sat on a slab bench, with his feet on a puncheon floor, and warmed his hands and toes at a big fireplace at one end of the room. Until he was past his majority he remained at home and bore a part in its work and management, and in April, 1882, occurred his marriage to Lucetta Staver. She is a daughter of Dr. Daniel and Sarah (Bickel) Staver, an early family of Wabash county. Her parents were married in Ohio and on coming to Indiana located on the land now occupied by Mr. J. E. Long. Her father became one of the large land owners in this part of Wabash county, and while farming was his most profitable occupation and a considerable part of the Long farm was cleared up under his management, he also followed the profession of veterinarian at a time when there were very few qualified to practice as doctors of domestic animals in this part of Indiana. He made his own medicines, and was very frequently called for professional service all over the country. Both father and mother Staver died at the old Staver farm, now owned by Mr. Long, and their deaths occurred only a few weeks apart. After his marriage Mr. Long spent one year in the old log house at Half Acre, and then bought his present farm from the Staver heirs. For fifteen years his life was a busy one as a farmer and stock dealer and shipper, but in 1911 he retired from the stock business, and now rents out his fields. The Long homestead has excellent improvements, including a commodious house, barns and other farm equipments, and these have all been put up under his direction.

Mr. and Mrs. Long have three children : Blanche, who is the wife of Howard Morford of Chester township, and they have one son, Wayne; Lettie; and Cleo. Mr. Long has affiliated with the Masonic Order in the Lodge at Wabash for the past thirty-three years. A progressive Repub- lican in politics, he has always interested himself in matters of local con- cern, and in 1908 was Republican candidate for the office of county treasurer. Besides his extensive interests as a farmer, he is stock- holder and director in the Farmers State Bank at Urbana. For many years he was one of the Long brothers who operated a threshing outfit all over Wabash county, but finally sold his interest in that business to George Pretorious.

. DANIEL LAVENGOOD was twenty-two years old when he came to Indiana in 1864, two years prior to the advent of the Lavengood family to this state. He was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, on March 11, 1842, and was a son of George and Barbara (Bickel) Lavengood, natives of Penn- sylvania and Ohio, respectively.

George and Barbara Lavengood were the parents of a large family,

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Daniel Lavengood

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fourteen children having been born and reared in their home. All of them were reared in Ohio, and they all reached years of maturity. The father came to Ohio from his native state as a lad of four years, and he continued a resident of that state until the year 1866, when the family followed George, Daniel and John here, whence they had come two years previously, as has been stated previously.

The fourteen children of the parents are here named in the order of their birth. Elizabeth, deceased; John; George, deceased; Thomas; Bar- bara, deceased; Daniel; Eva, deceased; Jacob, also deceased; Samuel; Mary ; William, deceased, as is also Zadoc and Levi.

Daniel Lavengood on the sixth day of February, 1865, enlisted at Wabash in the 153rd Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, together with his brothers George and John, who had accompanied him here the year previous. They served from then until the 4th day of September, 1865, when they were discharged from the service at Louisville, Kentucky.

When Daniel Lavengood was thirty years of age he married, though up to that time he had maintained his residence with his mother. He chose Sarah Faust for his wife, a girl of Ohio birth and the daughter of Eli Faust of that state, who afterwards brought his family to Miami county, Indiana, and there settled. The marriage of Daniel and Sarah Lavengood took place in 1872, and to them have been born seven children, of whom brief mention is here made as follows:

Emma, the first born, died in infancy; George Elmore died at the age of eighteen months; Clara Ellen married James Reynolds, and to them was born one child-Ethel. She married again in 1911, Jacob B. Laven- good becoming her husband, and they have one child, Rufus, and live in Ohio. Charles R. is the fourth child of his parents; John married Leona Smith, of Kokomo, and lives in South Bend; they have two chil- dren-Francis L. and Wanda. Cora Alice married Orval Jones and has two children-Dorothy and Mary; they live in Wabash county. Mary May, the youngest, lives at home with her father, the mother having died on December 8, 1906, at the age of sixty years.

The family lived for some years on a Noble township farm of two hundred acres, for which they paid $30.00 the acre, the land then being in a partly improved condition. The house has been remodeled and a new barn has been built, and the place is one that had all the comforts of modern times. This. was the old home place, and in 1870 Daniel Lavengood bought forty acres of the old place and for fourteen years lived on it. This he later traded for a farm of 120 acres in Waltz town- ship, and his daughter Cora and her husband now live there. The place is one that has been well improved, being properly fenced and ditched, and is partly cleared, with suitable buildings erected thereon. In 1898 Mr. Lavengood came to his present location in Noble township, and here he has fifteen acres of nicely improved land, with modern buildings and all conveniences. A fine orchard yields an abundant crop annually and in Wabash he finds a ready market for its product. Mr. Lavengood is enjoying this little place and has a great deal of pleasure in its care and keeping.

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Mr. Lavengood has been all his days a good citizen, and one who has enjoyed the esteem and friendship of his fellowmen wherever he has gone. He has long been a member of the Christian church, and has served the church in Noble township as a deacon for many years.

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History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 34

Author: Clarkson W. Weesner Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 619

Author: Clarkson W. Weesner
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 619