History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 44

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

USA > Indiana > Wabash County > History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 44

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Perry Simonton was born May 4, 1860, and Charley, September 6, 1862, both on the place they now occupy, a tract of eighty acres which they bought from the heirs. They are enterprising agriculturists who- are making a success of their operations by the use of modern intelligent methods, and their property has been brought to a high state of cultiva- tion. They have the best of improvements and buildings, and the present residence was erected after the old home had been destroyed by

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fire. Both have taken a great deal of interest in public affairs, being republicans of the stand-pat variety, and during recent campaigns have organized a fife and drum corps with which they have played all over the county in the interests of the Grand Old Party. They have a wide acquaintance throughout this section, are known as good and reliable citizens, and their friends are legion.

CHRISTIAN WALTER. In practical industry, wisely and vigorously directed, the man of enterprise and ambition finds the real medium through which he may attain success. Through it he is carried onward and upward, his individual character is strengthened and developed and a powerful stimulus is applied to the efforts of others. Simple means and the ordinary qualities of perseverance and common sense generally attain the greatest results, and the work-a-day life, with its necessities, duties and cares, affords great opportunities for acquiring experience of the most practical kind, while its most beaten highways provide a deter- mined worker with abundant scope for self improvement and the attain- ment of independence. In the field of daily activity, Christian Walter, of Chester township, has found the means of attaining independence and success, and today he stands as one of the substantial men of his com- munity, being the owner of a handsome and well-cultivated farm of eighty acres, lying in section 7.

Mr. Walter is a native of Stark county, Ohio, and was born December 30, 1853, a son of John and Mary (Smith) Walter. The family origi- nated in Germany, where the father was born April 4, 1826. He was about eighteen years of age, a sturdy youth, with a good common school education, when he came to the United States, the trip being made in a sailing vessel which consumed forty-five days in crossing the Atlantic. IIis first location was in Stark county, where he settled upon a farm on the Ohio frontier and devoted his attention to the tilling of the fields, and there he was married to Mary Smith, this union resulting in the birth of five children: Christian, Kate, John G., Fred and Henry. Of the foregoing Kate is now deceased. In 1851 the family came to Wabash county, Indiana, and settled in the timber country of Chester township. For a time the family lived on rented land, while Mr. Walter was ac- cumulating enough capital to purchase property of his own. Finally he was able to buy thirty acres, a tract which was subsequently sold, and eighty acres were then purchased, followed by a purchase of forty acres more. Both parents passed away on the eighty-acre farm, the mother in 1882 and the father in 1894. They were earnest, industrious and God-fearing people, who struggled bravely to make a home for their children, an object in which they finally succeeded. They were compelled to face the hardships of life in a new and unsettled region, where each acre of ground had to be cleared before it could be utilized for the growing of crops, but they had unbounded energy and ambition, and this, coupled with a serene faith in their adopted locality, enabled them to achieve success. To just such pioneers Wabash county owes its present prosperity, in fact its very existence. Mr. Walter was a democrat, but

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his public activities were confined to aiding enterprises for the advance- ment of his section. Both he and his wife were widely known, and for their many admirable qualities of mind and heart were respected and esteemed wherever known.

Christian Walter, son and worthy representative of these estimable people, was brought by them to Wabash county when he was one and one-half years old, and has made his home in this locality throughout life. The country schools afforded him his education when he could be spared from the duties of the home farm, and he continued to reside under the home roof until his marriage, in 1875, to Miss Anna Wethers, daughter of Jacob and Kingould (Haunstein) Wethers. Six children have been born to them : William II., who is engaged in farming; Jacob, who is deceased; Irvin, a successful farmer; Sam and Effie, who live at home with their parents; and Ida, who is the wife of Charles Burton. Prior to his marriage, Mr. Walter had purchased a farm of forty acres of land, and later he added forty acres more to this, this traet now constituting his property, one of the most highly cultivated in this region. He now has a fine, modern residence, substantial barn and well-built outbuildings, a good set of modern farming machinery and highly-improved equipment. His general farming operations have met with a full measure of success, and he also has devoted a good deal of attention to raising stock. The forethought, sound judgment and enter- prise which form the elemental strength of Mr. Walter's character have brought to him the well-merited prosperity in material affairs, while his integrity and fidelity have won him high reputation in his community and a wide circle of friends. In politics he supports republican princi- ples, but has never held public office. Since his fourteenth year he has been a member of the Lutheran church, of which Mrs. Walter is also a member, and both attend services at St. Peter's church at North Man- chester. Mr. Walter does his duty at the polls and works all the year through, whenever opportunity is presented, for the advancement of the principles which he believes to be right.

THOMAS CHRISTLE. In the pioneer history of Chester township, the name of Edward Christle is found as a citizen who courageously did his share in the settlement of the community and in reclaiming it from the wilderness. Although he has now passed to his final rest he is remembered by those of the older generation as a man of high business principles, strict and sterling integrity and loyal friendships, who was an exemplification of the class of men to whom Wabash county is indebted for its present prosperity. Mr. Christle was born November 18, 1817, at Phillipstown, County Kings, Ireland, and was a son of Edward and Ellen (Colgan) Christle. His father was an officer in the English army who participated in several European wars, but Edward never cared for a military career. He was given a good educational training, grew to manhood in his native place, and was there married, August 16, 1846, to Miss Elizabeth Kuskely, soon thereafter emigrating to the United States in order to establish a home for himself and family. Landing

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at New York, June 5, 1848, after nine weeks spent on the water in a sail- ing vessel, he made his way by water to Indiana, mostly by canal, and for about one and one-half years resided at Peru, then, in 1852, they came to Wabash county. After spending two years on rented land in Lagro township, Mr. Christle purchased a farm of eighty acres in Chester township from an uncle, and here continued to make his home during the remainder of his life, his death occurring September 4, 1907, at the age of eighty-nine years nine months and twenty-seven days, while his worthy wife passed away April 27, 1876. They were the parents of the following named children: Thomas, Patrick, Michael, Annie, deceased ; Edward, Alice and two who died unnamed in infancy.

Both Edward and Elizabeth Christle were faithful members of the Roman Catholic church, and subscribed freely to the building of the church at Lagro. Mr. Christle was an exceptionally well read man, had a broad store of knowledge on questions of importance, and right up to the time of his death took a keen interest in matters of moment. A man who was a credit to his community, he contributed in various ways to its development, especially in the way of good roads, the advocacy of which he made his hobby, helping to build a number of the corduroy roads. His first home was a log cabin, built on the farm in 1867, but this was later replaced by a frame structure, and Mr. Christle lived to enjoy all the comforts made possible by his years of fruitful labor. When he passed away his community lost a man whose place was hard to fill.

Thomas Christle, the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Kuskely) Christle, was born in Kings County, Ireland, June 5, 1847, and emigrated to the United States with his parents, the greater part of his long and useful career having been passed in Wabash county. His education was secured in the old log schoolhouses of his day, equipped with seats and desks composed of logs, and at the age of nineteen years began to learn the carpenter's trade with Samuel and Christ Speicher. This he followed for some twelve years, both as a contractor and in the bridge department of the Wabash Railway, and while in the latter capacity rose to the position of foreman. In 1878, however, he abandoned his trade and re- turned to the tilling of the soil, settling in the woods on his present property. Here he had at first a tract of sixty acres, covered with . heavy timber, without improvements of any kind, but this was soon cleared by steady and well-directed labor, buildings were erected by Mr. Christle and the property was made one of the valuable ones of the town- ship. Forty acres have been added to the original purchase, and Mr. Christle is now accounted one of his community's substantial men. IIe . has been engaged in general farming and stock raising, and his ventures have proven successful, for he has never been afraid of hard labor and has ever had the courage to grasp opportunities as they have presented themselves.

On May 8, 1871, Mr. Christle was married to Miss Catherine Clifford, daughter of John Clifford, and to this union there have been born two children : John Edward, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Elizabeth Catherine, who is now deceased. Mrs. Christle died April 8, 1876, and

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on May 28, 1878, Mr. Christle was married (second) to Miss Mary Jane Maguire, daughter of James Maguire, of Lagro, and eight children were born to them, as follows: Annie, born January 1, 1880; Alice, born August 3, 1881; Thomas James, born May 1, 1883; Michael F., born August 10, 1885; Allen F., born September 20, 1887; Ruth E., born April 28, 1894; Rose G., born February 11, 1897; and Leo P., born April 10, 1900. Mrs. Christle died November 5, 1913. She was a faithful member of the IIoly Rosary Society, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Lagro. The family are all members of the Roman Catholic church at Lagro. As a boy Mr. Christle many times walked to church at Lagro for mass and instructions, the distance being seven miles, then mostly through the woods.

HAMLIN S. CROW. A sketch of the life of Hamlin Sherman Crow of La Fontaine, Indiana, must include an account of activities in a number of directions; primarily he has been a farmer his entire life, yet he has found time to devote to recreation, amusement and some of the elevating influences of life that are often overlooked in American farm life. Many of the dominant notes of his activities may be traced through his ancestry.

The family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, coming to America from Scotland. His great-grandfather, Abraham Crow, born in 1747, and one of the founders of the family in America, was among the early settlers of eastern Pennsylvania. The family took an active part in the Revolu- tion, one of the brothers losing his life in the Battle of Brandywine, and another tunneling his way to safety from a British prison. The descendants of the former settled near New Castle, Pennsylvania, on pension lands. Abraham Crow was married to Rachel Craven in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and moved from there across the Allegheny moun- tains in 1787 to Cross Roads, Washington county, Pennsylvania. In 1815 they moved to Columbiana county, Ohio. They had a family of ten chil- dren. He died there at the residence of his son in 1844, aged ninety- seven years. His fifth son, James Crow, was born and reared in west- ern Pennsylvania, where he married Elizabeth Moreland, a member of a Quaker family of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. They estab- lished their home in Columbiana county, Ohio, where they raised nine children. In 1835 they moved to Putnam county, Ohio, and became pioneer farmers of that county. Their third son, William Richardson, was born April 12, 1821, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and he later helped hew the home out of the wilderness of northwestern Ohio. In 1840 he married Bersheeba Brower of Putnam county, who was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, on February 14, 1819, and whose parents were Frederick Brower, son of Adam Brower, and Helen (Staley) Brower. Immediately after marriage they settled on eighty acres of land near Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio, given them by the father, James Crow, where they shared the hardships of pioneer days. Their land holdings were increased from time to time until they consisted of 860 acres, and to the cultivation of their land they devoted their

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energies until the death of the father, February 19, 1892. They spent their entire married life on the same farm and were widely known for their active lives, hospitality, and interest in the religious life of the com- munity. The old homestead is now owned and occupied by Wm. G. Mullet, their eldest grandchild. The mother's death occurred October 31, 1893. They were the parents of eight children : Elizabeth H., who mar- ried Jacob Mullet and died in 1887 at the age of forty-five years, Ephraim, who died at Nashville, Tennessee, December 5, 1862, aged nineteen, at that time a soldier in the Union Army, and unmarried. James S., a bachelor, who owns and lives on what is known as the We-ca-co-nah farm, near La Fontaine, this county. William Albin, who married Lana Berry- hill, and who lives a retired life in La Fontaine. Senath Ann, who died December 7, 1859, aged nine years. Iantha, wife of Andrew Steiner, died February 3, 1902, aged forty-six years. Emma, the wife of Chester Green, of Mount Cory, Ohio. Hamlin Sherman, the subject of this sketch, was the eighth child and born in Putnam county, Ohio, July 24, 1861, where he grew to manhood. On February 24, 1884, he was married to Louise Anna Wirth, who was born February 3, 1865, and who was the daughter of Samuel and Magdalena (Bauer) Wirth. Samuel Wirth was born in Goldberg, Prussia, Germany, January 30, 1823, and came to America in 1849, locating in Putnam county, Ohio. Her mother was born in Artmonhausen, Ober amt Marbaugh, Kingdom of Wurttem- burg, Germany, April 16, 1829, and came to America with her mother and brothers in 1850, spending fifty-two days on the voyage. The father died August 7, 1912, the mother preceding him, May 21, 1899.

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Crow lived with the latter's parents one year, after which they lived on eighty acres of timbered land given by his father; this was partially made tillable and two years later an additional forty acres were bought. After his father's death in 1892, he sold the farm and bought ninety acres as the nucleus of his present farm in Waltz Township, of his brother, James. Additions have been made at various times until the present acreage is double the original purchase ; the farm is well improved and is entirely bottom land adjoining the Mis- sissinewa river. It is named Shap-e-ne'-mah Farm, from the fact that the original owner, George Bundy, had this word for his Indian name. The present home (re-modelled by Mr. Crow) was built by Shap-e-ne'-mah.

To Mr. and Mrs. Crow six children have been born: Chester Hamlin, born in Ohio, January 31, 1885, married Blanche Hester, September 11, 1907, to whom have been born two children, Cedric and Modlyth. His farm adjoins Shap-e-ne'-mah Farm. Amy Amanda, born in Ohio, Feb- ruary 12, 1886, married Le Roy Lewis, September 11, 1907, whose chil- dren are: Paul (deceased), May Louise and Mildred May; they live in Cotulla, Texas. Bessie Bersheeba, born in Ohio, July 9, 1887, married Homer Lewis, a brother of Le Roy Lewis, February 18, 1913; they reside in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Anna Magdelena, born in Ohio, June 16, 1889, died December 5, 1899. Almon William, born in Ohio, January 2, 1891, who lives with his parents. Alta Louise, born in Indiana, August 8, 1894, who lives with her parents.

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Mr. Crow has devoted much time and energy in educating himself and family in music and as a skilled piano tuner he has made a recognized success among his friends throughout this section of northern Indiana. Mr. Crow often remarks in jest that the responsibility for his becoming a country fiddler antedates his birth, for his grandfather Brower was a musician in the war of 1812, his uncle, Jackson Brower, was a fifer in the Civil war, and his brother, W. A., was a musician in the same war, so it must have been in the blood. At the age of thirty-five he earnestly began the study of music, the violin being his favorite instru- ment; after studying with various teachers, he spent two years with Eugene Troendel, head of the violin department of the Fort Wayne Con- servatory of Music. Amy, piano, was a pupil of Hamilton Nussbaum of the Marion Conservatory of Music and of Prof. Brown of the Metro- politan Conservatory of Music of Indianapolis. She has been a teacher of music during the past eight years. Chester, clarinet, was a pupil of John Pitt Stack of the Marion Conservatory. Almon, flute and saxo- phone, was a pupil of Antonio Lupo of the Marion Conservatory. Bessie, piano and violin, was a pupil both at Marion and at Indianapolis, spend- ing two years as a teacher. Alta, piano and voice, was a pupil of Pro- fessors Bailhe and Lundchrist of the Marion Conservatory. With his children and a few others Mr. Crow organized and directed the Crow Orchestra, which has played at various places in Indiana and Ohio, playing eight years in one town at the annual high-school commence- ment.

Mr. Crow educated his children in Somerset and Wabash high- schools. He is a life-long Republican in politics. In church affiliations, the family has been very active as members of the United Brethren church at Union Chapel. The growing of live-stock and grain has been the chief activity on Shap-e-ne'-mah Farm and it is known as one of the large producers in its section. Mr. Crow's country home has been the scene of many happy assemblages, the fertile acres, natural beauties, and the broad lawn with its luxurious shade trees and flowers being a strong invitation in themselves.

D. W. OSWALD. Among the successful younger men of Noble town- ship and among those who have won secure position in the community, mention should be made of D. W. Oswald, who was born here on March 15, 1870. He is a son of William Nelson and Margaret (Storey) Oswald, concerning whom a few statements, necessarily brief, are here in order.

William Nelson Oswald was born in Darke county, Ohio, and the woman he chose for his life partner was born and reared at Connorsville, Indiana. The father came to Wabash county in 1861, settled on a farm a short distance from the place his son now occupies, and there devoted himself to farming and to carpenter work. Some two years after William Nelson Oswald came to Wabash county, his father, Solomon Oswald, came and took up his residence with his son. To William Oswald and his wife three children were born. Effie, the eldest, was born on October 8, 1866, and she married George Welsh, of Wabash. Pearl was born August

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MR. AND MRS. LEVI MEYER

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6, 1879, and is the wife of Thomas Willdoner. D. W. Oswald was the second born.

The Noble township farm home was the abiding place of Mr. Oswald until he married. He gained his schooling in Wabash county and in three years attendance at the South Wabash Academy, where his wife also finished her education. On March 21, 1894, Mr. Oswald married Mabel Coate, the daughter of F. W. and Miriam (Carter) Coate, and to them were born six children. Miriam, the eldest, was born on June 14, 1895. Vaughn was born on January 7, 1898. Ralph and Roland, twins, were born on July 15, 1900. Dorothy was born on November 7, 1902, and William Francis was born on February 26, 1912.

Though Mr. Oswald is a capable and prosperous farmer, he de- votes the best part of his time to the windmill and pump business, in which he has been engaged for some years. He has taken an active part in the civic life of his community, and has shown his willingness to serve in any capacity his fellow citizens wish to place him. For the past six years he has served as township assessor, and a Democrat in his politics, he was elected on that ticket at a time when every other office in the town was filled by Republican candidates. Mr. Oswald is a mem- ber of the Christian church of Wabash, and in a fraternal way has mem- bership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It is also worthy of mention that he has been a vigilant member of the Horse Thief Detective Association, and has done good work in the interests of the organization.

LEVI MEYER. Having as a farmer accomplished a satisfactory work, and acquired a competency to live on in his declining years, Levi Meyer, of Paw Paw township, Wabash county, is now enjoying to the utmost the well-merited reward of his long-continued, unremitting toil. A son of Martin Meyer, he was born, March 2, 1843, in Lebanon county, Pennsyl- vania, which had been the home of his ancestors for several generations.

Born and reared in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, Martin Meyer chose the free and independent occupation of a farmer, and in course of time became the owner of two farms, containing in all one hundred and sixty acres. He met with good results in his operations, continuing a resident of his native state until his death, at the comparatively early age of fifty-eight years. He married Polly Wolfe, who was born, lived, and died in the Keystone state, her death occurring at the age of three score years. Thirteen children were born of their union, of whom four survive, namely : William, of Arcadia, Indiana; David, of Pennsylvania ; Levi, of whom we write; and Michael W., of Pennsylvania.

Levi Meyer acquired a practical education in the district schools, and being one of a large family of children it became necessary for him to assist his parents in its support as early in life as possible, and as a youth began working out by the month. During the Civil war he re- ceived one hundred and nine dollars a year for his work, good wages for those days. In 1865 he came to Indiana in search of a favorable location, and on November 10, of that year, settling in Lagro township, Wabash county, east of Urbana, on land that he rented from John Speicher.

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Three years later Mr. Meyer moved to Paw Paw township, west of Urbana, buying from Jacob Schultz eighty acres of land, for which he paid $1,800. Adding greatly to the improvements already inaugurated, Mr. Meyer there carried on general farming with much success for twen- ty-one years, when he traded farms with Levi Patterson, each man asking forty-five dollars an acre for his farm. Mr. Meyer subsequently pur- chased from Mrs. Carter, widow of William Carter, fourteen acres of land adjoining his farm on the north, and now has a fine property of one hundred and thirty-four acres. Since assuming its possession he has cleared sixty acres of the one hundred and twenty for which he traded, and has otherwise improved it. During the first year after buying, he erected a commodious veneer brick residence of nine rooms, and having moved the original house used it for a barn. Later that burned, and he put up a new barn, thirty-six feet by fifty-six feet, and entirely remodeled the old barn, and placed the land in good condition, his farm being now one of the best and most attractive in the vicinity. As a general farmer, Mr. Meyer made a specialty of raising horses and hogs, and for a number of years was interested in Galloway cattle, having been the first to intro- duce that breed into Wabash county. Eight years ago Mr. Meyer and his wife, who made their money by their own efforts, retired from active pursuits, leaving the management of the farm to their son, Clinton.

Mr. Meyer married, in 1863, in Pennsylvania, to Christina Shalley, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Shalley, both descendants of some of the earlier settlers of that state. Eleven children blessed their union, namely : Polly, died in infancy, in Pennsylvania; Clinton, who runs the home farm, married Anna Long, and they have seven children; Delilah, wife of D. G. Baker, has six children; Calvin married Minnie Showalter, and they are the parents of seven children; Delia, who married Charles Ciner, is deceased, and she left four children; Comley married Carrie Miller, and they have three children; Demima, wife of O. M. Chapman, has six children; Cyrus married Marta Studebaker, and they have four children; Dessie, wife of Bert Ivans, has eight children; and Demelia and Dimelia, twins, died in childhood. Mrs. Meyer died June 7, 1909, and since that time Mr. Meyer has lived alone, although he has near him many kind relatives and friends to cheer him in his loneliness, he having forty-six grandchildren and five great grandchildren, aside from his children. Politically Mr. Meyer is a stand-pat republican, and though never an aspirant for official honors, has served as supervisor for seven years, being elected against his wishes. Religiously he is a member of the Progressive Brethren church at Roann.

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History of Wabash County, Indiana, Volume 2, Part 44

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

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