USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 79
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deceased wife of Dr. Solomon; Katherine, now Mrs. George Beaty, of Fort Wayne; Samuel S. died in boyhood ; and Henry A. is a resident of Whitley county.
Milo Harsbarger, born July 19, 1852, in Summit county, Ohio, was reared on the family homestead in Union township, attend- ed the district schools and until nineteen years old assisted his father in cultivating the farm. On reaching that age he began working as a farm hand in the neighborhood and the money thus earned went towards discharging the indebtedness on the home place. Later he remained with his father until the latter's death, from which time until the estate was divided he cultivated the farm for his mother, securing a share of the proceeds for his labor. On receiving his por- tion of the estate he at once addressed him- self to the task of its improvement, also add- ed to its area, and at this time he has a fine farm of sixty-six acres, admirably situated, throughly drained and well adapted to gen- eral agriculture and stock raising. As a farmer Mr. Harshbarger keeps abreast of the times, is progressive in his methods and has met with a large measure of success in his chosen calling. Miss Virginia Riley, who became the wife of Mr. Harshibarger in 1867. was born and reared in Whitley county nad is of Irish descent, her parents being John- son and Mary Ann (Smith) Riley. She has borne her husband two daughters: Josie. wife of C. H. More, of Fort Wayne, and Blanche, the latter preparing to be a profes- sional nurse in a Fort Wayne hospital Like all enterprising citizens, Mr. Harsh- barger is keenly alive to the best interests of the county and state and keeps well in- formed concerning the great questions and
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issues upon which the public is divided. Po- his twenty-fourth year, helping on the farm litically he is a Democrat, but in matters merely local generally follows the dictates of his judgment as to candidates, giving his support to the one best qualified for the office. In state and national affairs he adheres close- ly to the principles of his party and is one of its stanch supporters in the community in which he lives.
CHARLES WILLARD REESE.
The family of this name originated in Ireland, the emigrant ancestor being Lewis Reese, who came to America about the time of the Revolutionary war and years after set- tled in what is now known as Delaware county, Indiana. He was a distiller and made much of the "fire water" that was sold to the Miami and other Indians that inhab- ited the northeastern part of Indiana. Lewis and Mary Reese had ten children: David, Bowen, Marie, Robert, Lewis, John, Border, Mary Ann, Russel and Matilda. Bowen, the second son, was born in Delaware county, Indiana, in 1814 and married Sophia Kees- ling, born in Virginia in 1823. He farmed in his native county until 1854. when he came to Whitley county and settled in Cleve- land township. He was engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1890, his wife surviving him until 1905. They were the parents of ten children: Robert (de- ceased), Ann. William, Mary and Ellen, de- ceased, Charles Willard, Border (deceased). Samantha, Hiram, Morris and Mahala.
Charles Willard Reese, fifth in the list. was born in Delaware county, Indiana. April 10, 1846. He remained at home until
and in the meantime obtaining a meager ed- ucation in the poor schools of those times. He followed agricultural pursuits in Cleve- land township until 1901, when he pur- chased the farm of thirty-two acres in Thorncreek, which was the Edwin Wilcox homestead three and one-half miles north- west of Columbia City, which has since been his home. In 1870, Mr. Reese married Su- san L., daughter of Edward and Ruth (Dun- kin) Webster. Mrs. Reese was born April 19, 1852, in Wayne county, Indiana. Her father was born in Pennsylvania December 5. 1819, and the mother in Ohio September 9, 1825. He was a farmer and plasterer by trade, which callings he pursued in Wayne county until his death September 18, 1869. They had twelve children : George, Sarahı (deceased), Daniel, James (deceased), Hannah J., Mary, Charles, Clement (de- ceased), and Henry A. Mr. and Mrs. Reese have had ten children: Clara, at home ; Rose, wife of William Gipe, of Allen county ; Mary, wife of Frank Hass, of Thorncreek; Charles, married Maggie Homes, of Colum- bia City. The fifth child died in infancy. Frederick married Myrtle Kincade, of Al- len county ; Daisy married Robert Spear, of Fort Wayne; Joseph, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Reese are members of the Church of God at Collimer, in which he was elder for four years. He is a Republican.
WILLIAM J. SELL.
The family of this name in Whitley county is entitled to rank as descendants of one of the earliest as well as one of the
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most prosperous of the pioneers. Henry Sell, who was a native of Ohio, moved in when the land was to be had almost for the asking, but being a shrewd business man he foresaw the time when it would be valuable. An industrious and careful trader, with a fondness for speculation, he acquired tract after tract, until his holdings in time became quite large. This successful farmer left a son William, born in Stark county, Ohio, who seems to have inherited his father's ca- pacity for accumulation. He became the owner of a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Columbia township on which he made his home until 1896, when he transferred his residence to a farm in Thorncreek township where his career was ended by death June 3, 1906, in his seven- tieth year. About 1876 he engaged in the agricultural implement business at Columbia City and continued in this line for twenty years, though retaining his residence on his nearby farm, which he also operated. In early manhood he married Jane Ritenour, who died in 1872, after becoming the mother of the following named children: Frank, Henry J., William J., Milladore and Theo- dore (twins), Catharine, and Charles. He later married Anna Ritenour, sister of Jane, and by this union there were also seven chil- dren : Cora, Fanny, Oscar, Isaac, John, Ar- thur and Bertha. Fanny and Johnnie died in childhood and Oscar died at nineteen.
William J. Sell, third of his father's fam- ily, was born on the farm in Columbia town- ship, June 9, 1864. He continued to live with his parents for some time after reach- ing his majority, when he rented a farm for a while and afterward worked a short time in a saw-mill for James Peabody.
Having by this time accumulated some means, he purchased forty acres of land in Jefferson township, but after living on this for four years he traded it in 1900 and re- moved to his present place of eighty acres in Thorncreek township, known as the Burwell farm, two miles north of Columbia City. This he has cultivated successfully and con- verted into a productive farm. His resi- dence is comfortable, his out-buildings sat- isfactory and altogether Mr. Sell may be regarded as one of the worthy members of Whitley county's great family of farmers.
August 14, 1886, Mr. Sell married La- vina Ummel, who was born in Whitley county in 1866. Her parents, David and Rosanna (Gross) Ummel, the former of Ohio, and the latter a native of Germany, were married in Stark county, Ohio, and came to Whitley in 1851. She died in 1904, surviving her husband over thirty years, leaving twelve children : Mary, Lydia, Cath- arine, John, Sarah, Lucinda, Samuel and Daniel (twins), Henry, Lavina, David and Amanda (twins). Mr. and Mrs. Sell have five children : Clarence E., fireman on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad; Gail, Voida, Ralph and Goldie, besides one who died in infancy unnamed. Mr. Sell's political affili- ations are with the Democratic party, though he has never held or been a seeker after office.
HIRAM L. FOSTER.
In 1854 when Eli and Rebecca (Ortman) Foster came from Ohio and settled in Thorn- creek township the wild land give little promise that it would ever become the trim
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and productive farm the visitor sees before him today. They, however, set to work with a will, soon had up a rude log cabin and con- tinued operations with the hope that charac- terized all these invaders of the wilderness. In this cabin Eli Foster lived for many years but he persisted until he had made a good eighty-acre farm of his once forest-clad tract. He lost his companion in 1882, but survived her over thirteen years and died at an ad- vanced age in 1905. Their four children to reach maturity were: Malissa, deceased wife of Jacob Allen ; Hiram L. : Franklin P., who died at twenty-four; and Hannah, de- ceased wife of Thomas Kaufman. Hiram L. Foster, the only survivor, was born in Perry county, Ohio, February 28, 1851, and hence was three years old when his parents came to Whitley county. As he grew up he assisted his father on the farm and was a principal factor in redeeming it from its once wild estate. He took care of his father as the infirmities of old age pressed upon him and after his death became sole proprie- tor of the home farm in Thorncreek town- ship, where he has spent over fifty years of his life. Of late years he has moved and re- modeled the old residence and has rebuilt the barn, making it an up-to-date bank barn. He engages in general farming and enjoys the good will of all his neighbors. Decem- ber 22, 1876, Mr. Foster married Arthalinda. daughter of Silas and Elizabeth (Snediker) Jackson, natives of Ohio, who became early settlers of Whitley county. They had four children : Alvira, a resident of Columbia City; Mrs. Foster; Emma, a resident of Nebraska, and Ida, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Foster have four children: Norma, wife of Charles Souder, who has three children,
Lela, Edna and Beatrice; Otto, at home; Leonard, who married Ota Goodrich; and Edward, at home. Mrs. Foster is a member of the Baptist church, and Mr. Foster is a Democrat in politics.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN SHULL.
The Shull family in America begins with Philip Shull, who was born in the grand duchy of Baden, in 1715, and who emigrated to America about 1770 and first settled in Bucks county. Pennsylvania, though York county became the permanent home. His son, Philip, was about nineteen years old when he crossed the ocean. He became ac- tive in the business history of Chambersburg, where he died in 1814. His brother, John Stephen Shull, married Maria Bohren, but little further is known of him. His son, John Peter, born in Bucks county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1775, married Elizabeth Scherz and removed to Chambersburg, where he died in- 1810. His children were Jacob. David and George S., of whom David demands more attention in this connection, being the father of him whose name heads this article. He was born March 19, 1805, at Chambersburg. Being but a lad at his father's death. he was early thrown upon his own resources. He was quick to learn and became well-read, and was a fluent speaker in either the Eng- lish or German language. He learned the cabinetmaker's trade and later, in company with his brothers, purchased his uncle John Shull's homestead near Chambersburg, where his brother George continued to re- side for more than sixty years. At the age of twenty-five he married Miss Elizabeth
B. E. Shell
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Harman, and three years later removed to Massillon, Ohio, where for sometime he was associated with his brother Jacob in the operation of a cabinet-shop. He later re- moved to a farm near North Lawrence, Ohio, and here he passed the remainder of his life, his labors alternating between farm duties and the making of furniture in a shop on the farm. He died in 1872, at the age of sixty-seven years, his widow surviving eight years. They had six children, Jere- miah, Amanda M., Rebecca. Benjamin Franklin, Hiram H. and William.
· Benjamin Franklin Shull was born May 31, 1841, on his father's farm in Lawrence, Starke county, Ohio, six miles west of the city of Massillon. In 1860, his brother Jeremiah, who was five years his senior, re- moved to Huntington county, Indiana, build- ing a steam saw-mill on the present site of Goblesville and Benjamin Franklin passed much of his time working in this saw-mill, though still assisting in the operation of his father's farm until his marriage, September 20, 1864, to Miss Lucy E. Householder. Then, to establish a home of his own, he se- cured eighty acres of wild land in Whitley county, Indiana, and settled himself delib- erately to the clearing away of the virgin forest. The land was covered with a heavy growth of stately timber, and though handi- capped with partial paralysis of his right leg and arm his indomitable will, backed by the necessities of the case, allowed no cessation of his strenous efforts toward the reclama- tion of the wilderness. He continued to work in the saw-mill in order to keep his family, but in a few years was able to devote his energies wholly to the extension and im- provement of his farm. Pluck won, more
land was purchased, and the farm now con- tains one hundred and sixty acres, of which one hundred and twenty are under pro- ductive cultivation, yielding golden harvests for the labor bestowed upon them. Intelli- gent activity and well directed effort have turned the wilderness of forty years ago into one of the most valuable properties in the county. A public drain crosses the farm, affording ample outlet for numerous tile drains, of which he has laid upward of ten miles, the arms reaching to every field and the drainage thus given insuring abundant yields of staple crops. The log cabin was years ago replaced with a fine modern resi- dence, and what is doubtless the most com- modious barn in the county has been erected at great cost to afford shelter for herds and flocks of high grade stock. He is recog- nized as a very successful breeder and grow- er of thorough-bred Shorthorn cattle and Chester White swine, his herd having a well merited reputation acquired by careful selec- tion of breeding animals coupled with ad- vanced ideas in feeding, stabling and handling.
While Mr. Shull has not sought or de- sired political preferment, he holds close affil- iation with the Republican party, believing that its basic principles most clearly repre- sent those ideas that make for the general good of the nation, the state and the individual.
Though no children have come to this worthy couple, their hearts and hands have ever been ready to respond to the calls of the orphans or needy, the result being that sev- eral homeless ones have found here the shel- ter. the sympathy and the more tangible as- sistance of which nature had deprived them.
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DAVID MILLER.
The family of this name is quite numer- ous in Whitley county, enjoying the distinc- tion of having the oldest living settler and more descendants from one couple than any other family in the county. The first rep- resentative came in the early thirties and as the forerunners were unusually vigorous the county was in time well sprinkled with chil- dren and grandchildren. David Miller, the well known farmer of Columbia township. is a representative of the second generation in this section, being a son of Solomon and Malinda (Anspaugh) Miller, and was born in Thorncreek April 12, 1847. When six- teen years old he enlisted in Company B. twenty-fourth regiment Indiana Volunteer infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities. He participated in the battle of Mobile, Alabama, and took part in - numerous skirmishes, though before being in active field service he experienced a siege of measles and mumps in the hospital at Evansville. Mr. Miller worked out by the month for six or eight years, then rented a farm and eventually bought in Thorncreek township, where he remained until 1903. when he purchased the present home in Co- lumbia township, one mile west of the court house.
April 13, 1873, Mr. Miller married Eliz- abeth, daughter of Henry and Juda (Kin- sey) Zumbrun, both early settlers but long since dead. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had twelve children: Henry J. married Effie Furguson, and resides in Iowa: William E. married Bertha Heaston, and resides in Towa: Clara is the wife of Otto Plautz, of Iowa; Norman F. married Minnie Zigler
and is a resident of Thorncreek township; Solomon Z. is also in Iowa: Minnie May is the wife of Walter Swihart, of Noble county ; Levi V., at home; David L. was killed by a buzzsaw while cutting wood at sixteen years of age; Julia Elizabeth, Olive Ruth, Grace Irene and Cecil Pearl remain at home. The family are members of the Ger- man Baptist church and in politics Mr. Mil- ler is an independent voter, always support- ing the man he thinks best fitted for the office.
ROBERT B. BOYD.
Few names are more familiar in Whit- ley county than the above mentioned. he who bears it having been a citizen for over forty years and long prominent in public affairs. For more than two full terms lie has held the office of county commissioner. and during most of his adult life he has been active and influential in many ways. Hugh Boyd came from the north of Ireland at the age of nineteen and became a farmer in Wayne county, Ohio. In 1850 he went to California overland. returning next year, losing his trunks en route home, and died a few days after his return. Hugh Boyd married Amanda A. Brown, of Wayne county, Ohio, resided at Wooster for many years, and both event- ually died in that city, she being aged eighty-seven. The third of their four chil- dren was Robert B. Boyd, who was born near Wooster, Ohio, October 15. 1846. Dur- ing the closing years of the Civil war he en- listed in Company B, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and
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served with credit until the close of hostili- ties. In April, 1866, Mr. Boyd abandoned his old home in Ohio to seek a new field of action in Indiana. Arrived in Columbia City, he soon found an opportunity to enter the grocery and provision business in part- nership with James A. Taylor and this firm of Taylor & Boyd continued in operation for several years. In the spring of 1876 Mr. Boyd purchased the farm in Columbia township where he has since continued to reside. Originally consisting of eighty-two acres, he has added seven. The Boyd farm, known as the Henry Dunfee homestead, one mile northwest of Columbia City, has been greatly improved by tiling, fencing and buildings. The residence was erected in 1898, later large barns were constructed and to this place Mr. Boyd gives his per- sonal supervision. Mr. Boyd's popularity and standing as a business man caused the people to elect him to the office of county commissioner in 1900 and after he had served three years he was re-elected in 1902, his term expiring January 1. 1907. He had previously served two years as county coun- cilman under appointment of the Judge of the circuit court. In this position he dis- played valuable qualities as adviser and al- ways kept an eye out for the welfare of the people.
Mr. Boyd was married in October. 1866, to Mary M. Funk, a native of Wayne county, Ohio. This union resulted in the birth of six children: Edwin S., Samuel H., Mary J., Jethro J., Harry G. and Hazel E. Samuel H. met with a sudden death in Columbia township, March 28, 1905, when thirty-five years old. This sad accident was due to fighting fire on a neighbor's farm.
the heat and over-exertion proving too much for him. He was a young man of promise, whose untimely taking off was a sad blow to his parents and many friends. By reason of his war service Mr. Boyd is an esteemed comrade of George W. Stough Port, No. 181, Grand Army of the Republic. The family is not only well known but highly respected all over Whitley county.
WILLIAM H. MINER.
The forerunners of the family of this name, now so favorably known in Whitley county, were originally citizens of New York. From there, at an early period in the last cen- tury, Samuel A. Miner came to Indiana and was a prominent figure in founding and building up the infant settlement at Columbia City. He died at an advanced age on his farm two and a half miles east of the county seat and witnessed the wonderful transfor- mation that has taken place in the county during the last sixty years. When he reached Whitley, he was accompanied by a wife and family of seven children, among the latter being a son named Otis W. After his marriage to Eliza Bennett, he made his living for some years as a renter of different farms, but at the time of his death in 1867 owned two hundred and forty acres in Union township. He had eight children : Andrew J., Lucina, George M. D., William H., Byron D., Harriet E., Betsey and Sam- uel R. The widow, now at an advanced age, lives with the last mentioned son at Fort Wayne.
William H. Miner, fourth of the chil-
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dren, was born in Smith township, Whitley county, October 20, 1851. At the age of sixteen he lost his father, but remained on the home place a few years and then entered the employment of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company as brakeman. This was in 1872 and from that time until 1880 Mr. Miner continued with the Pennsylvania road in various capacities. His next en- gagement was with S. J. Peabody, with whom he remained for nearly twenty-two years, during nineteen of which he held the responsible position as foreman of the farm and mill work. After this employment, Mr. Miner began carpenter work at Columbia City in February, 1903, but in June follow- ing was appointed superintendent of the county farm, and three months thereafter assumed charge of this responsible post. Mr. Miner was married May 28, 1872, to Mary A., daughter of John and Julia Harsh- barger, natives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Miner have eight children : Andrew J., El- nora, wife of Henry Miller of Columbia township; Carl C., Charles W., Merritt, Bessie and James. The family belongs to the Church of God and Mr. Miner is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows.
The Whitley County Poor Farm, under the management of Mr. and Mrs. Miner, has become one of the model establishments of its kind in the state. Both seem especially fitted for the duties that have devolved upon them and their method of discharging this great responsibility is worthy of all praise. Everything about the main building, from cellar to attic, indicates the directing hand of a good housekeeper, and the farm itself, the out-buildings and all on the place shows
the same system and careful control. Clean- liness and neatness seem to be the rule and nothing is neglected to add to the comfort of the unfortunate beings left in the super- intendent's charge. Mrs. Miner is a kind- hearted woman, as well as a painstaking matron, and all who come in contact with her learn to love her. The live stock shows the benefit of skillful breeding and scientific feeding, the land is well cultivated and kept in good condition. Attention is especially directed to the fine cattle of the Polled- Angus breed, which are Mr. Miner's par- ticular pride. Many improvements have been made in the institution since Mr. and Mrs. Miner took charge and they bid fair to leave an unsurpassed record.
JOHN HENRY SNYDER.
The Whitley county family of this name is of German origin, which is equivalent to: saying that its members are enterprising as citizens, successful business men and popular in all the relations of life. It was well back in the last century that John Snyder came over from the old country and settled as a farmer in Fairfield county, Ohio. He fol- lowed agricultural pursuits in that state for a number of years and met with fair success, but determining to push farther west he came to Whitley county in 1851 and from that time for more than fifty years was actively identified with the county's development. Purchasing a wild tract of land in Thorn- creek township, he set doggedly to work to improve it and in the course of time had evolved from the forests and marshes a valu-
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able piece of farming land. He was thrifty as well as industrious, a man of excellent judgment and prospered finally so that at the time of his death in 1902 he owned a consid- erable body of land as the result of a long and active life. He married Anna Barbara (Hoffer) Brudi, also a native of Germany, by whom he had nine children : John Henry, Barbara Elizabeth, Benjamin F., Emma R., deceased, was the widow of J. H. Meyer; Edward L. and Frederick L., twins, deceased in childhood ; Della G., deceased at eighteen ; Josephine and Wilhelmina, both deceased in childhood, and Andrew W., of Kosciusko county. The mother, who is still living on the old Thorncreek homestead, had one daughter by a previous marriage. Anna I. Brudi, now the wife of George W. Sevits. The parents were lifelong members of the Evangelical Association.
John Henry Snyder, was born in Thorn- creek township. October 10, 1854. After reaching maturity, he attended the Teachers' normal and taught for two years in Thorn- creek township, one term being in his home school. In 1884 he engaged in tile mantı- facture, in which he continued about two years, and was among the first in this part of the county. Removing then to Churu- busco for a short time, he eventually re- turned to Thorncreek township and settled on the farm where he now resides and which he purchased in 1899. In addition to this home farm of one hundred acres, which is under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Snyder owns residence property in Columbia City. The farm is the old John Christian farm and is six miles northwest of Columbia City. It is practically all in cultivation, some twen- ty-five acres being retained as a sugar camp.
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