History of Whitley County, Indiana, Part 85

Author: Kaler, Samuel P. 1n; Maring, R. H. (Richard H.), 1859-, jt. auth
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: [Indianapolis, Ind.] : B. F. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 940

USA > Indiana > Whitley County > History of Whitley County, Indiana > Part 85

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David Hyre, the second child in the above list, was born in Thorncreek township, Whit- ley county, Indiana, August 6, 1863. He re- mained with his parents until maturity, aft- er which he managed the homestead until 1893 and then purchased the farm three miles north of Columbia City, where he

lives at the present time. It consists of one hundred acres and he has improved it con- siderably since its coming into his posses- sion. He has good buildings, a comfortable house and all the outward indications of a fair amount of prosperity. In 1884, Mr. Hyre was married to Jennie, daughter of Eli and Martha (Engle) Haynes, both natives of Ohio, who came to Whitley county more than half a century ago and settled with his father on a farm two miles north of Colum- bia City, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They had five children : Susan, Peter, Ellen, Jennie, Ida and Lillie. Mr. and Mrs. Hyre have had five children, Kizzie, Eugene, Grace, Mary, and Joseph, deceased in childhood. Kizzie is the wife of Frank Kinner, of Columbia City, and has one child, Helen. Eugene, who married Ethel Allen, operates the homestead. The parents are members of the German Baptist church, in which Mr. Hyre holds the position of deacon. His political affiliations are with the Republican party.

WILLIAM HENRY COOLMAN.

During the forties, when Whitley coun- ty was little better than a wilderness, it would have taken a bold prophet to foretell the as- pect of things as they appeared in the pros- perous period of 1906. Here and there the settlers had "cut a hole in the woods" and were eking out a living by a hard struggle with the forces of natures. One of the brav- est of this band had bought a piece of wild land in Jefferson township, on which he built a rude log cabin and opened up business be-

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fore he was able to cover the floor with boards or afford better door than a hanging blanket. Such was the home of Adam Cool- man, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, of a Pennsylvania father, who married Su- san Ault and some years after loaded up his meager household goods in a wagon drawn by oxen, in which he made the memorable trip to Indiana. He spent many years of hard work on his two hundred acres of land and eventually transformed it into a modern farm that was a credit to the township. He continued in his business until death, which occurred in 1869, at a comparatively early age, his wife surviving him many years and passing away in the spring of 1905. She was the daughter of Henry Ault, a farmer of Medina county, Ohio. Adam and Susan (Ault) Coolman had five children to reach maturity : Benjamin F., a resident of Ma- son county, Michigan; Sarah Ann; Calvin, of Huntington, Indiana : William H .; Sarah, wife of John Brock, of Jefferson township, and Adam E., of the same locality.

William H. Coolman, fifth of the family. was born in Jefferson township, Whitley county, Indiana, November 22, 1857, and was twelve years old at the death of his fa- ther. He remained with his widowed moth- er until he grew to manhood, meantime at- tending the common schools and spending a term at the Valparaiso Normal. He then taught a term in Thorncreek township, his future wife being a pupil. When about twenty-one years old, he rented the home- stead and managed it for a year, when he built and operated a saw-mill at Laud for four years and then bought another saw and tile mill near Peabody, operating this success- fully until 1897, when he purchased his pres-

ent farm in Thorncreek township, seven miles north of Columbia City. It is known as the John Martin farm and contains one hundred and twenty acres of productive land to which he has devoted his entire attention since its purchase.

During a temporary residence in Colum- bia City, Mr. Coolman became a dealer in lumber, still running a portable mill. After one year he removed to a farm in Washing- ton township that he had secured while oper- ating the mill near by and there remained until March, 1903.

April 18, 1880, Mr. Coolman married Jennie, daughter of Benjamin and Lucinda (Miller) Hively, of Thorncreek township, where she was born December 13. 1861. Mr. and Mrs: Coolman have eight children : Grace, Claude, Gertrude, Oscar, Golda, Glenn, Alvin and Fern. Mr. Coolman is a Republic- an and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the chairs and was representative to the grand lodge. He and his wife belong to the St. John's United Brethren church, generally known as the Hively church.

JOHN L. MILLER.

Among the many German emigrants who came to this country in the early years of the nineteenth century was a young man named John Miller, who was born in Prussia, near Berlin, in 1800. Locating first in Pennsyl- vania, he worked there on a railroad for some time and after removing to · Preble county, Ohio, continued in the same line of labor for many years. In 1858, he came to Whitley county and took up his residence

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in a cabin on a wild tract of land in Washing- ton township, where he spent the remainder of his life in farming and died September 4. 1892. He married Mary Tressler, who died in 1884, after hecoming the mother of four children, three of whom are living: Mary. wife of William Kiser, of Allen county; John L., subject of this sketch ; Manda, wife of Aaron Kiser, a farmer living near Fort Wayne.

John L. Miller, second in age of his fa- ther's living children, was born in Whitley county, Indiana, March 18, 1862. As he grew up he helped to cultivate the paternal acres in Washington township. In 1891. in partnership with his father, he bought the farm where he now resides and which be- came his sole property after his father's death. He owns one hundred and twenty acres, of which one hundred and five are de- voted to general farming and fifteen to tim- ber and pasture. During his father's life- time the place was greatly improved by the building of a comfortable residence and a good barn, while much labor was also ex- pended in fencing and ditching. Mr. Miller now keeps shorthorn cattle, Poland-China and Duroc-Jersey hogs, both of which breeds he has intercrossed. The county contains no man who can more truthfully say that every- thing he has is the result of hard work. He. has scarcely lost a day in all the years of manhood and is now regarded as one of the reliable and industrious farmers of his town- ship. Like his father before him he is a Democrat in politics and of the Lutheran denomination in religion. He has never held office and has been too busy with his other affairs to have time or inclination to seek such honors. In 1888, Mr. Miller was mar-

ried to Hannah Lickie, by whom he has five children : Manda and Lena (twins). Dora, Henry and Carl.

C. D. STICKLER.

Conspicuous among the successful farm- ers of Whitley county and occupying a place in the front rank of its representative citi- zens is C. D. Stickler, of Washington town- ship. He is the son of Michael and Re- becca (Hiser) Stickler and was born in Stark county, Ohio, February 5, 1848, his father a native of Pennsylvania, his mother a mem- ber of an old family that settled in Stark county at an early period in the history of that part of the Buckeye state. When about six years of age, Mr. Stickler was brought to Whitley county by his parents and grew to maturity on the family homestead in Co- lumbia township, meanwhile attending the winter terms of the public schools. Reared to farm labor and early becoming familiar with the duties which life in the country entails he chose agriculture for his vocation and since reaching manhood's estate has prose- cuted the same with gratifying results, be- ing at this time one of the leading men of his calling in Washington township. of which he has been an honored resident since 1878. He purchased his present place in 1879. when the land was covered with water and presented very much the appearance of a dense swamp or quagmire, but appreciating the value of the soil Mr. Stickler addressed himself to the task of reclaiming it. He in- augurated a series of ditches, which re- quired a number of years to dig and tile, and when completed the results more than real-

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ized his highest expectations, The entire farm of one hundred and twenty acres is un- derlaid and intersected at proper intervals with a network of tiling, there being at this time considerably in excess of one thousand rods, varying in diameter from four to fif- teen inches, which not only affords ample drainage but by permitting free passage of the air beneath the surface renders the soil soft and pliable and easily cultivated. Mr. Stickler has made many other substantial improvements on his farm, including a beat- tiful modern residence, a large barn and the other necessary structures, the entire place being enclosed and divided into fields and lots, with good fences, the greater part being wire of the latest design. Mr. Stickler de- votes much attention to stock farming, which he finds much more profitable than the mere raising of crops. Of recent years he has been feeding nearly all the grain his place produces to cattle and hogs, large numbers of which he markets every year, giving spe- cial attention to the finer breeds in the rais- ing of which he has earned a well merited reputation.

Before purchasing his present place, Mr. Stickler was engaged in the manufacture of lumber, operating a sawmill one year in Richland township and for two years-in the township of Washington, disposing of the business at the expiration of that time for the purpose of engaging in agriculture. He is public spirited and enterprising ; a Demo- crat in politics and as such elected in 1900 trustec of Washington township, the duties of which position he discharged in an able and business-like manner for a period of four years. For thirteen years he was justice of the peace in Washington township.

In 1872, Mr. Stickler married Lydia E. Egolf, whose parents, Henry and Rachel (Roshon) Egolf, were among the first set- tlers of Whitley county, moving here as early as 1836. Israel Egolf, a brother of Mrs. Stickler, was the first white child born in the township of Thorncreek. Mr. and Mrs. Stickler have had eight children : Clar- ence H .. Luella M. (deceased). Orlando, Minnie E., wife of John Cole, Henry O., B. Frank, Olive Floy and another that died in infancy. Michael Stickler was born in 1882 in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, was taken to Ohio by his parents when a mere lad and there grew to manhood. He married Re- becca Hizer and in 1853 moved to Whitley county, settling originally in Columbia town- ship, where he lived for a number of years, subsequently transferring his residence to the township of Cleveland, where his death occurred at a ripe old age. His father, George Stickler, a Pennsylvanian by birth, was a pioneer of Stark county, Ohio, where he departed this life in 1854. Michael and Rebecca Stickler were the parents of ten children, all of whom grew to maturity and six are now living.

WELLS TRADER GRADLESS.

One of the extensive farmers and stock dealers of Whitley county and a representa- tive of two prominent pioneer families, is the elder of two sons born to Milo and Han- nah Gradless, and dates his birth from Sep- tember 17. 1841. His paternal grandpar- ents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Waugh) Gradless, moved from Fayette county, Ohio,

Graders Wells

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to Whitley county, in the fall of 1836, and settled in what is now Thorncreek township, of which they were among the first pioneers. Milo Gradless was born in 1816, in Fayette county, Oliio, accompanied the family to Indiana in the year indicated and on July 18, 1839, was united in marriage with Miss Hannah Smith, daughter of Samuel and Re- becca (Jones) Smith, the ceremony being the third of the kind solemnized in Smith township, which was named in honor of his father-in-law. Samuel Smith was a native of Virginia. He came to this part of In- diana in 1833, was one of the commissioners appointed to organize Whitley county and died a number of years ago on the farm which he carved from the wilderness in the township that bears his name. Mrs. Han- nah Gradless was born November 28, 1816, and departed this life in 1886, her husband preceding her to the grave the previous year. They resided in Smith township until 1847, when they removed to the township of Union, where Mr. Gradless purchased a farm in 1853, on which he lived until 1880, when he removed to Columbia City, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives.

Wells T. Gradless was reared on the family homestead, received a fair education in the public schools and on attaining his majority selected agriculture for his- life work and has since followed the same with much more than ordinary success and profit. Since 1853 he has lived on his present farm of five hundred and twenty-five acres, four hundred of which are under cultivation. Mr. Gradless' farm is admirably situated in one of the finest agricultural sections of northeastern Indiana, is well adapted to the

grain, vegetable and fruit crops grown in this latitude, the soil being deep, fertile, and its productiveness greatly increased by the natural drainage furnished by Eel river, which flows through the place, thus afford- ing a fine outlet for the complete system of tiling, which has been installed. In con- nection with general agriculture he buys, feeds and sells live stock, especially cattle and hogs. He is a careful, methodical busi- ness man, and as a result has been reasonably successful.

Mr. Gradless was married in Shelby county, Ohio, January 1, 1865, to Miss Mar- garet A. Speer, whose birth occurred May 4, 1845, being the daughter of John and Nancy (Richards) Speer, a union termi- nated by the death of Mrs. Gradless May 2, 1866. She was the mother of one child, Mary A., who died at eighteen years of age, November 20, 1879. He married Elma E. Kiersey, who was born February II, 1856, in Noble county, Indiana, the daughter of Nathan O. and Esther (Smith) Kiersey, na- tives of New York. Their two sons are: Walter N., and Milo P., both at home. Mrs. Gradless died May 2, 1897. Mr. Grad- less has a record as an educator, having taught some twelve to fifteen terms in the public schools of Whitley county, a work for which he appears to have been partic- ularly adapted and in which his success was gratifying. In politics he is a Republican and while ever interested in public affairs, he has never sought office. Independent in most matters. he has not affiliated with church or secret societies.

The subject's brother, Hiram B. Grad- less, was born February II, 1845, and died March 29, 1899. He ably assisted Wells T.

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in business and his life was mainly spent on the farm. He possessed many splendid qualities and was very highly esteemed.

WILLIAM A. HAUPTMEYER.

Few men within the jurisdiction of Washington township are as widely or better known than William A. Hauptmeyer, who has been a resident forty-three years. Henry and Caroline (Piper) Hauptmeyer, his par- ents, were natives of Germany, but came at an early age to the United States and settled in Whitley county, being among the first pioneers to penetrate the dense forests. In 1846, the father purchased one hundred acres of wild land in Washington township, which by the usual laborious processes he finally converted into a well improved farm on which he died in 1871, after a residence of twenty-five years.

William A. Hauptmeyer was born Octo- ber 29, 1854. on the above described home- stead, grew to manhood amid the wholesome discipline of farm life and meantime received a fair education in the public schools. On reaching maturity he began life as a tiller of the soil and has continued in that line to the present time. Since 1878. Mr. Haupt- meyer has occupied his present place in the township of Washington, owning a finely developed farm on which are good buildings and other improvements. In common with the enterprising agriculturists of this section of Indiana, Mr. Hauptmeyer has faith in the efficacy of drainage and he has not been spar- ing of his means in making this most im- portant improvement, having already laid considerable in excess of five hundred rods

of tiling to which he is continually adding, his intention being so to underdrain until every square foot of tillable land will yield to its utmost capacity. In addition to gen- eral farming he has achieved well merited success in the raising and marketing of live stock, handling Berkshire and other superior breeds of hogs, his interest in good stock having induced not a few of his neighbors to imitate his example.

In 1904 he was elected trustee of Wash- ington township and during his term of four years did much in the line of public improve- ments, including among other things the laying out and constructing of highways, building bridges and erecting school houses. Mr. Hauptmeyer is a Democrat and a leader of his party in Washington township. He keeps informed on the issues of the day, has the courage of his convictions relative to the great public questions upon which people and parties are divided and his opinions command respect among his neighbors and those with whom he is accustomed to mingle. In religion he is a Lutheran, as also his wife. both being esteemed members of the local church with which they are identified.

Mr. Hauptmeyer was married in 1878 to Caroline S., daughter of Henry and Justina Body, the union resulting in the birth of three children : Henry, who married Bessie Wickam, Irwin and Ansil.

Mr. Hauptmeyer is the youngest of the six children born to his parents. The others are Charlotte, wife of August Fisher, a farmer of Nebraska : Minnie, wife of Henry Briggamen, of Cleveland township: Rachel, wife of Fred Oswald, died in 1864: Caro- line died in 1846; and Henry, who married Minnie Sievers, lives on the home farm.

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WHITLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.

PETER CHAVEY.

The family of this name has been identi- fied with Whitley county for over sixty-two years, Jacob Chavey having settled in what is now Washington township as early as 1845. He was a native of France, but came to the United States early in the nineteenth century and located at Buffalo, New York, where for a period of five years he worked at the carpenter's trade in connection with which he was frequently employed to con- struct and install mill machinery, having been a skillful mechanic, whose services were in constant demand. On moving to this county he turned his attention to farming and was thus engaged until his death which occurred in the year 1884. Catherine Petit, who became the wife of Jacob Chavey, was born in 1836 and departed this life in Whit- ley county in 1890, after rearing a family of ten children, their names being as follows: A. F., Amelia, Peter, Fred, Mary E., Louise, George, Blanch, Charles and Jacob. The elder Chavey was a true type of the rugged pioneer of the early day, a man of sterling honesty and great industry and became one of the successful and well-to-do farmers of the community in which he lived, owning at the time of his death one hundred and eighty acres of fine land, the greater part of which was cleared and otherwise well improved.

Peter Chavey, third of his father's fam- ily, was born in Whitley county, Indiana, October 6, 1857. He was reared on the farm in Washington township adjoining the one on which he now resides. On attaining his ma- jority he engaged in agriculture on his own responsibility and has given his attention to the same ever since, and during his entire life

has enjoyed the confidence and good will of his neighbors. Mr. Chavey has a fine farm of eighty acres, all but ten of which is in cultivation. His land is well improved. thoroughly drained, the buildings substan- tially constructed and every feature bears witness to the energy, good taste and enter- prising spirit of the owner. In 1885 Mr. Chavey married Rose, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Miller) Alton, natives of Vir- ginia, who were early settlers of Whitley county, the father still living in Jefferson township. Mr. and Mrs. Chavey have two children : Mamie and Arthur Fredrick. Mr. Chavey is a Democrat, but with the exception of constable has held no public office. He is a quiet, law-abiding citizen who has ever given his influence to upbuilding the commu- nity, being a friend to all enterprises with this object in view and an earnest advocate of whatever makes for the moral good of his fellowmen. Every dollar which his com- fortable competence represents is the result of his own labor and self-sacrificing endeav- or, consequently he is in the best meaning of the term a self-made man and as such stands high in the esteem of those with whom he is wont to mingle.

THOMAS EMERY.

A native of Ohio, but since his early childhood a resident of Whitley county, is one of the prosperous farmers of Washing- ton township and a leading citizen of the community in which so much of his life has been spent. Henry and Catherine (Beckly) Emery, his parents, were of Pennsylvania

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birth. They migrated to Ohio many years ago and about 1844 came to Whitley county, locating in Washington township, where the father purchased land and cleared a farm on which they both spent the remainder of their lives, both dying in 1893. Henry and Catherine Emery were greatly esteemed for their many amiable qualities and during their long period of residence in the township of Washington became widely known and made many warm friends among their neighbors and associates. They had three children : Sabina, deceased; Mary, wife of Henry Huffman; and Thomas. John Emery, grandfather of the subject, also became a resident of this county in an early day and died in Huntington county, Indiana, in 1861.

Thomas Emery was born July 2, 1842, in Wayne county, Ohio, and was brought to Whitley county, Indiana, when his parents moved here in 1844, since which time his home has been in Washington township. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, attended the country schools as opportunity afforded and when old enough to seek his own for- tune, turned his attention to the cultivation of the soil, which vocation he has since fol- lowed with satisfactory results. He owns a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Washington township, one hundred of which are in cultivation and in point of im- provements the estate compares favorably with any like area of tillable land within the borders of Whitley county. Mr. Emery has achieved marked success as an up-to- date agriculturist. being familiar with every phase of farming and cultivating the soil ac- cording to the most approved scientific meth- ods, with the result that he never fails to realize abundant returns from the labor ex-

pended on his fields. He is also enterpris- ing and public spirited as a citizen, inter- ested in everything calculated to advance the prosperity of the county and an earnest advocate of all measures that make for the social and moral well-being of his fellow- men. He is a pronounced Democrat, a con- sistent member of the Baptist church and his fraternal relations are with Lodge No. 222, Knights of Pythias, in South Whitley.

In 1867 Mr. Emery and Miss Fannie, daughter of Henry and Margaret (Shonk) Huffman, were made husband and wife, the union being blessed with three children: Henry, an employe of the postoffice in Hunt- ington; Alma, wife of John E. Long, a farmer of Washington township; and Jay Lee, one of the popular teachers of Whitley county, now at the Valparaiso Normal.

AUGUST LICKE.

This representative farmer and worthy citizen is one of eleven children born to Christian and Hannah Licke. Christian Licke came to the United States from Han- over, Germany, when a young man in the year 1849 and settled on a farm in Whit- ley county, Indiana, where he spent the re- mainder of his life, dying in 1885. He and his wife were greatly esteemed by their neighbors and friends, and during the fam- ily's long residence in the same locality the- name has stood for high character and ster- ling worth. August Licke, the second child, was born in Washington township, in Feb- ruary, 1850, and spent his youth on the- family homestead, receiving a fair educa-

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tion in the Lutheran and public schools. His early years included the experiences common to country lads, being spent at labor in the fields in the summer months and at his books during the winter seasons, and in this way he put in the time until man- hood. On attaining his majority he en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, which hon- orable calling he has since continued, being at this time one of the largest and most suc- cessful farmers of the township in which he resides, owning two hundred and fifty-six acres of valuable land, of which one hundred and fifty-six are tillable and highly im- proved. He has been liberal in the expendi- ture of his means for these improvements, having a good modern residence, a large, well equipped barn, good buildings, fine fences, a successful system of drainage and other features of a first class farm. In con- nection with general agriculture he is quite extensively engaged in the raising of live stock, his success in both branches having been such as to place him in comfortable cir- cumstances, being now one of the financially substantial men of his township, besides enjoying prestige among its most enterpris- ing and progressive citizens. Mr. Licke was married in 1872 to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Henry and Lizzie (Long) Kruze, of Whitley county, the union being blessed with ten children: Satta, Augusta (de- ceased), William, Frank, Harman, Otto, August (deceased). Clara, Eda and Irvin.

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History of Whitley County, Indiana, Part 85

Author: Kaler, Samuel P. 1n; Maring, R. H. (Richard H.), 1859-, jt. auth Publication date: 1907 Publisher: [Indianapolis, Ind.] : B. F. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 940

Author: Kaler, Samuel P. 1n; Maring, R. H. (Richard H.), 1859-, jt. auth
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: [Indianapolis, Ind.] : B. F. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 940