Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 52

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932

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Mr. Hare is a member of the Methodist

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Church, and his life is in harmony with his professions. His political support is given to the Democracy, and for many years he has served as Inspector of Elections at Collamer. He has reared a family of chil- dren who are an honor to his name, has suc- cessfully conducted his business interests, so as to win the confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact, and now in his declining years is living retired, enjoying the rest which he richly merits.

EWIS HARTMAN .- This gentle- man is a well-known and much re- spected farmer of Columbia town- ship, Whitley county, Indiana, and is a veteran of the Civil war. It is appro- priate therefore that biographical mention be made of him in this work, and the follow- ing, it is believed, will be read with interest by many.

Lewis Hartman was born in Shelby county, Ohio, August 12, 1842, the eldest in his father's family. Peter Hartman, his father, was a native of Lehigh county, Penn- sylvania, born about the year 1814, son of Peter Hartman. The Hartmans are of Ger- man origin and were among the early set- tlers of this country. The mother of our subject was by maiden name Savilla Swan- der, and she, too, was a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, the date of her birth being 1820. Her father, Frederick Swander, was a native of Switzerland. Grandfather Hart- inan and his family moved to Shelby county, Ohio, at an early day and were among the pioneers of that place, and there the father of our subject was reared. He was married in Fairfield county, Ohio, and after his mar- riage settled in Shelby county, four miles northeast of Sidney, where he lived for four-

teen years. In September, 1853, he came to Indiana and settled on the farm now owned by George Roberts, in Columbia township, Whitley county. Here he died October 31, 1864. His wife had died in November, 1856. They were the par- ents of nine children, of whom eight attained adult age and are still living, viz .: Lewis, Benjamin F., George M., Jonathan M., Catharine J., Florence C., Sarah E. Rob- erts, and Eva S. Fey. The three last named are residents of Shelby county, Ohio; the others of Indiana. The parents were members of the German Reformed Church in Ohio, but after coming to this State united with the Evangelical Lutherans.

At the time of the removal of the family to Indiana, Lewis was a lad of eleven years, and at that early age made himself useful in the way of assisting in the clearing. He never attended school after he was twelve years old. When the great Civil war came on he had not yet attained his majority, but he was among the first to respond when a call was made for volunteers to go out in protection of the old flag. It was in April, 1861, that he enlisted, and as a member of Company E, Seventeenth Indiana Volun- teers, he went to West Virginia, under Rose- crans. In November of the same year, un- der General Nelson, he went to Louisville, Kentucky, and in the spring of the follow- ing year was sent under command of General Wood to Shiloh, arriving there about the time the battle ended. He was through the siege of Corinth, thence back to Louisville, Kentucky, and later was sent to Nashville. At Nashville he was transferred to a new brigade, under General Wilder, and oper- ated against Morgan. Subsequently he par- ticipated in the battles of Hoover's Gap and Chickamauga and the Atlanta campaign.

Honig Ml. Stone.

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Macon, Georgia, was the last engagement in which he participated, and from there he returned home, receiving an honorable dis- charge August 8, 1865. His term of service covered a period of four years and four months, only three days of which were spent in the hospital, and although he had many narrow escapes, he came out of the army without a wound. On the very last day of his service a ball passed through his carbine sling and between his cartridge box and body.

On his return home that fall, Mr. Hart- man put in a crop of wheat on the home farm. His present farm, located on section 21 of Columbia township, comprises 160 acres, 100 acres of which are cleared. All the clearing, except eight acres, and all the other improvements have been made by Mr. Hartman. While he has met with some misfortune, he has been fairly prospered. His heaviest loss was nearly twenty years ago, when his barn and all its contents burned, entailing a loss of $3,500. His present residence was built in 1883.

Mr. Hartman was married in 1866 to Miss Anna Nolt, born in Pickaway county, Ohio, and a daughter of Jonas and Regina (Schrader) Nolt, her father a native of Penn- sylvania and her mother of Germany. They came to Whitley county, Indiana, in 1844, and settled on Beaver Reserve, in Columbia township. Mr. Nolt was at one time a wealthy man, owning no less than 2100 acres of land, but lost $65,000 by going bail for a man. That was in Pennsylvania. It practically broke him up, and it was after this that he came to Indiana and settled on wild land. Here he improved a good farm. He died in December, 1856. His good wife still survives, now in her eighty-fifth year. They had a large family of children, of whom those living are Barbara Myers, Fannie

Eberhard, Mrs. Hartman, and Elizabeth Roberts; the deceased, John, Mary Hamil- ton, Leah Lichtenwalter. Mrs. Hartman was born September 9, 1843, and was reared in Indiana. Their union has been blessed in the birth of twelve children, eleven of whom are living, as follows: William H., Mary S., Cora, John E., Nathan R., Ola E., Katie A., Frank, Irving, Jennie E., and Fannie. The one deceased was Alvah. William H. married Miss Dessie Lore and lives in Columbia township.

Politically, Mr. Hartman is a Republi- can, and, being a veteran of the Civil war, he is, of course, identified with the G. A. R. In this organization he has his membership at Columbia City, and he has served as Senior Vice Commander of his post. In church and Sabbath-school work he takes an active interest, being a member of the Church of God, an Elder in the same, and for many years Superintendent of the Sabbath-school.

ENRY M. STONER, Sheriff of Kos- ciusko county, Indiana. - To sketch the life of a busy man of affairs, and in a manner to throw a well focused light upon the principal events of his life, is the task in hand to portray the life of Henry M. Stoner. Four years ago he turned the fiftieth milestone in his jour- ney of life, and yet in spite of his remark- ably active and at times exciting career, he is wonderfully well preserved, and to a be- holder he presents the appearance of a man at the zenith of his powers.

His birth occurred in Wayne county, Ohio, June 29, 1841, and is a son of John and Agnes (Crites) Stoner, the former born October 30, 1796, the latter in 1800, and

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both natives of Pennsylvania. The former in early life settled in York, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of tanning. At about the age of twenty-one, in 1817, he moved to Wayne county, Ohio, where he erected the first tannery in that section and was, as well, one of the first settlers in Wayne county. In 1846 he moved with his family to Smithfield township, where he re- mained two years and then moved to But- ler township, De Kalb county, Indiana, and engaged in farming. This vocation he fol- lowed until 1866, when he retired from the activities of life and went to live with a daughter, with whom he resided till his death, which occurred in 1881, in Allen county, Indiana. His wife died in De Kalb county, August 12, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Stoner were parents of ten children, of whom Henry M. is the youngest.

The early life of the immediate subject of this sketch was alternated between work and school, being surfeited with the former while of the latter there was a dearth of op- portunity: yet young Henry procured the average education of farmers' sons of that day. In 1861 his patriotic impulses led him to enlist in Company H, Thirtieth In- diana Infantry, of which company Cyrus Hawley was captain. He saw much active service and participated in some of the heaviest battles of the war, among which we may mention Pittsburg Landing (some- times called Shiloh), Stone river and the

tain ordered him to the rear. This Sergeant Stoner refused to do, and he borrowed a musket from a comrade that was detailed to care for the wounded, and took his position in the fighting line of his regiment.

During the progress of the battle of Chick- amauga the color sergeant was wounded, when Mr. Stoner seized the flag, which he bore aloft till one o'clock Sunday afternoon, when he too was struck in the shoulder, by a musket ball which crashed through that part of his frame and lodged near the spine. He was first conveyed to the hospital at Chattanooga, and thence to Nashville, where he remained two months, when he received a thirty-days furlough. Upon his return to his company he was ordered to the hospital for treatment. After convalescence had be- come established he returned to his regiment for further service, but again was he refused by the regimental physician, who insisted that he go into the invalid service; but young Stoner refused and asked his discharge, which was granted December 31, 1863.

Upon his return home he went to school four months, and the following year, having recovered his health, he was elected County Surveyor, which office he resigned in 1865 and went to Cedarville, Allen county. Here he engaged in the milling business until 1876. Disposing of his business he went to Syracuse, engaging in the hardwood-lumber business, with fair success.

Mr. Stoner was married October 17, blood-drenched field of Chickamauga. Two | 1871, to Miss Mary E. Knorr, who was born weeks prior to this battle our subject had been sent to the hospital and was on the sick list when this battle was begun. On the day of the commencement of this battle he was discharged from the hospital and re- ported to his captain for duty; but as he was yet on the regimental sick list his cap- in Pennsylvania, June 6, 1848. Mrs. Sto- ner's parents, Doctor Charles and Matilda (Wagner) Knorr, are natives of Pennsylvania, who settled in Indiana in 1868. To Mr. and Mrs. Stoner have been born four chil- dren: the first, Charles, born October 4, 1872, died in infancy; Daisy M., born May

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29, 1875; Winifred, born February 5, 1878; and Lucile, born October 29, 1889.

Mr. Stoner is a Republican in political preferment, and in the councils of his party he has a voice and influence, and his fidelity to political principle has been rewarded by his party friends in a fitting manner. In 1892 he was elected Sheriff of Kosciusko county and was re-elected in 1894. He makes a model officer, is efficient in the dis- charge of the duties of his office. He also held the office of Justice of the Peace four years.

He is an enthusiastic member of the G. A. R., and was the first Commander of Lakeview Post, No. 246. Mr. Stoner relates an incident that occurred in the the first day's fight at Chattanooga that is of interest to the surviving members of the Thirtieth Indiana, composed of as brave and gallant men as ever faced a foe. The regiment was in Dodge's brigade of Johnson's division, occupying an exposed position on the left center of General Thomas' corps. Being tremendously as- saulted by the "Johnnies" after dark, their thin lines were thrown into instant confusion. Mr. Stoner carried the regimental colors upon this occasion, and immediately realiz- ing the extreme danger of the situation he called upon the men of the Thirtieth to "rally round the colors." Danger of cap- ture was imminent, but thirteen men re- sponded to his call, and with fixed bayonets formed around the colors cautiously retreat- ed. They soon fell in with a detachment of the Seventy-ninth Illinois, Colonel Buck- ner commanding, which had been separated from its colors and most of its men; but the survivors promptly formed rank under the preserved colors of the gallant Thirtieth.

"Our Flag at Chickamauga " was the

theme of Comrade Stoner in an address to the survivors of the regiment in a reunion not long ago. It contains the pathos and eloquence of the true soldier. The publish- ers would gladly give it space here were they not limited by the pressure of other matter. However, here is a paragraph or two that will suffice to show the merit we have said the address contained:

"The battle began about nine o'clock. It swept along the line like a mighty torna- do, thence back again with the violence of a whirlwind. The lines surged back and forth in charge and counter-charge, with scarce a lull in the conflict. As a gigantic wave riding on the swell of the ocean strikes the rock only to be beaten back in foam, so the flower of the Confederate army from the East, under the leadership of the astute Longstreet, and their veterans of the West under the fiery General Pat. Cleburne, hurled their massed columns against the line of steel held by the indomitable . Rock of Chickamauga.' Again and again they rallied to the charge, only to be beaten back as before."

Mr. Stoner does not often appear in print; and, whether the emanation of his mind came from the pen or through the medium of his lips, they are alike creditable and deserving of preservation.

ON. J. M. HARRISON is Columbia City's Mayor, -a man highly hon- ored in Whitley county, for he is recognized as one of its most pro- gressive and public-spirited citizens, and his genuine worth merits the high regard in which he is held. For many years he has been identified with the history of this lo-

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cality and as a business man and political leader he is well-known.

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Harrison was born in Beaver county on the 8th of August, 1837, and is a son of Samuel and Polly (McDowell) Harrison. The grand- father, Adam Harrison, belonged to the original family of Harrisons and was born in England, whence he emigrated to the Emerald Isle. He married Martha Me Will- iams and both died in Ireland. Samuel Harrison was born in county Down, Ireland, and about 1815 bade adieu to home and friends and sailed for America, locating near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where for some time he was employed as a farm hand by an old Quaker or Friend. Subsequently he re- moved to Greenbrier county, Virginia, where he carried on agricultural pursuits in his own interest, also engaged in raising fine horses, obtaining some distinction in that line. He also became somewhat prominent as a politi- cian. It was while in that county that he mar- ried Miss MeDowell, a native of that county and a daughter of John and Esther Ann Me- Dowell. The wedding ceremony was per- formed in the old courthouse in 1820. Sub- sequently Mr. Harrison removed with his family to Ohio, settling on a farm near Gal- lipolis. At one time he was mate on the old steamboat Atlantic, running between Cincinnati and Pittsburg. He was supposed to be a cousin of William Henry Harrison, the Tippecanoe hero, and the two gentle- men met on the steamer while Samuel was mate on the vessel. On leaving the Buckeye State he went to Pennsylvania, settling in Mechanicsburg, where his wife died in 1858. The father then went to live with his daugh- ter in Noble county, Indiana, where his death occurred in 1871. They were the parents of eight children, only three of whom

are living at this writing: Mrs. Esther A. Leech, of Green Center, Indiana; William M., who makes his home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; and James M., the youngest of the family.

In the county of his birth James M. Harrison was reared until eighteen years of age, attending the common schools and spending his time in a manner not unlike that of most boys of that locality and of that time. In 1855 he became a resident of the Hoosier State, settling in Noble county, Indiana, where he was employed in general labor through the summer months, while in the winter season he took his place in the school-room and taught common English branches of learning. Thus he was employed until 1862. By economy and industry he was enabled to save enough money to purchase a small farm and be- came the owner of forty acres of land in Noble county, which he cultivated and im- proved for a time. He then sold for $800 and invested that money in a tract of 130 acres in Allen county, Indiana, where he farmed for two years. His next venture was in merchandising in connection with his father-in-law, Joseph Richards, in a store in Churubusco, Indiana, being inter- ested in that enterprise, in connection with farming, from 1864 until 1878; and many improvements stand in said town as monu- ments of his energy and enterprise.

In the latter year Mr. Harrison entered upon his official career. In November, 1878, he was elected Clerk of Whitley coun- ty, and in November, 1882, was chosen for the next term, serving in all for eight suc- cessive years. No more capable officer has held the clerkship, for it is characteristic of Mr. Harrison that whatever he does he does well, and that to every public or private

NORTHEASTERN INDIANA.

trust he is absolutely faithful. On the 14th of August he was appointed to fill an unex- pired term as Mayor of Columbia City, and the following spring was elected to that office for a term of four years. He is there- fore the present chief executive of the city, and under his able administration the town has been improved in various directions and the work of progress is stil lbeing carried on. He was also Postmaster of Churubusco during President Lincoln's administration. While serving as County Clerk, his son, Joseph R., made the records for the first and only man that was ever hung in Whitley county.

After retiring from the Clerk's office Mr. Harrison engaged in the manufacture of harness specialties, and in selling his goods, acting as his own traveling salesman, in seventeen different States, and doing a very successful business. For the past few years he has been engaged in the real-estate and pension business, and this adds not a little to his income. He is wide-awake and en- terprising, and these qualities have been essentials in bringing him success in his undertakings.

Mr. Harrison has been twice married. He first wedded Mary J. Richards, and to them were born six children, three of whom are yet living: Joseph R., William A. and George F. The mother of this family was called from this life in 1872, and Mr. Har- rison was again married, his second union being with Miss Jeanette A. DePoy. They have one interesting son and daughter, Jesse W. and Mary I. The parents are widely known in this locality and occupy a high position in social circles where true worth and intelligence are received as the passports into good society. Mr. Harrison is a leader in political and social circles,

and is a genial, pleasant man. His early life was one of comparative obscurity and he was early thrown upon his own resources; but he began courageously the struggle for a livelihood, and in the years that have followed he has not only worked his way upward but his course has also commanded the respect of those with whom he has been brought in contact. His prac- tical experience, together with his adapta- bility to the business world and keen insight into human nature, well fits him for almost any calling in life.

J ACOB KYLER, who maintains his residence on section 19, Cleveland township, Whitley county, Indiana, is another one of the representative farmers of this vicinity. Mr. Kyler is remotely descended from German ancestry. His great- grandfather Kyler was born in Germany and was one of the early settlers of this country. A history of the life of Jacob Kyler and also that of his ancestry will be interesting here, and is as follows:

Jesse Kyler, the father of the gentleman with whose name we introduce this sketch, was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in the year 1799, son of Jacob and Ruth (Brown) Kyler, Jacob Kyler being the son of a German who settled in America during the Colonial period. Early in the present century Jacob Kyler and his wife left Mary- land and started westward. They sojourned one year in Pennsylvania, and came on then to the Western Reserve. That was in 1815. He died on Pickaway Plains on the Scioto river; and his son Jesse, then a boy of fif- teen years, made a rude coffin, in which his remains were placed, and there they buried him. After that sad event the widow and

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her children contiused their journey and in due time landed in Greene county, Ohio, their destination, where they settled on a frontier farm. Years passed by, the chil- dren grew up and married and scattered. Jesse Kyler was married in Greene county to Miss Amelia MeCabe, a native of Montgom- ery county, Ohio, born in 1802, and after their marriage they settled on a tract of new land in Greene county. In 1836 they emi- grated to Kosciusko county, Indiana, and settled in Jackson township, among the carly pioneers of this section of the country. Prior to the fall when he came there were but two other white settlers in the township. He built a log house and made other im- provements, and for that day was in fair cir- cumstances. There he died in 1847. His wife survived until 1884. They were the parents of cleven children, namely: Sarah Ann, who died in 1847: Jacob, the subject of this article; Margaret and her husband, William J. Chaplin, are both deceased, their children being four in number; Eleanor, widow of Ephraim Strong; Daniel, who mar- ried Elizabeth Reed and has four children, lives in Kosciusko county; Matilda and her husband, John Summers, are both deceased, leaving two sons; Maria, widow of Emanuel Pence, has three children; Basil, who mar- ried Margaret Jane Droud and lives in Whit- ley county, has eight children; Jesse, who married Elizabeth Bonebrake, and has one son, resides in Kansas; Amelia, wife of Reu- ben Judy. Cleveland township, Whitley county, has one son; and George, who mar- ried Julia Hathaway and has three children, lives in Kosciusko county. In their religious belief, the parents were Universalists, to which faith the subject of our sketch also adheres. As has already been said, the father, Jesse Kyler, was one of the very

earlest pioneers of Jackson township. In- deed, he helped to organize the township, and he took an active part in local polities. Ile was elected Justice of the Peace when there were only eleven men at the election, that being the total number of voters in the township. He held office five years. While in Ohio he was Captain of a militia com- pany. Personally he was always outspoken, was social and friendly with every one, and at all the raisings and log-rollings in the country for miles around he was a leading spirit. He was by trade a carpenter. Having thus briefly referred to his parentage and family history, we now turn to the life of our immediate subject, Jacob Kyler.

Jacob Kyler was born in Greene county, Ohio, December 13, 1821, and was there- fore fifteen years old when he came with his parents to Indiana. On that memorable trip to him, from Greene to Kosciusko coun- ty, he drove two yoke of oxen and " a horse in the lead " from Muncie to this locality. When about sixteen years old he met with an accident which resulted in a lame back and which made him a cripple for two years, but fortunately he outgrew this difficulty, and has been a hard worker all his life. Reared on the frontier and having to con- tend with the above named physical diffi- culty, his advantages for an education were limited. He remained at home until his twenty-fourth year. Then he was for a time engaged in sawmilling. subsequently went to Ohio, and after his father's death returned home and remained with his mother until the younger children were reared. After his marriage, in 1853, he built a log house on the home farm and resided in it until 1865, when he came to his present farm. The following year he took charge of his father-in-law's farm, and conducted it

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until his father-in-law's death, after which he continued to rent it until there was a division of the property. Then he moved back to his own farm, and here he has re- sided ever since. This farm comprises 207 acres, 150 of which are under cultivation, all the improvements upon the place having been put here by Mr. Kyler.

Mr. Kyler was married January 27, 1853, to Lydia Taylor, a native of Ross county, Ohio, and a daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Bogard) Taylor, both natives of Ohio, who settled in Whitley county, Indiana, in 1837. Mrs. Kyler was born January 29, 1828, and died May 22, 1858, leaving two children, both now deceased. October 30, 1860, Mr. Kyler married Miss Martha Knoop, a native of Wabash county, Indiana, born May 2, 1836, daughter of Michael and Nancy (Sheets) Knoop; her father born at Fort Washington, near Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1797; her mother, in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, same year. As early as 1835 Mr. and Mrs. Knoop moved to Wabash county, Indiana, where he passed the rest of his life and died in 1869, at the age of seventy-two years. She died in Whitley county at the advanced age of ninety-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Kyler are the parents of eight children, viz .: Ann, wife of E. W. Brown, Wabash county, has four children; Nancy; John, who married Eva Ruse and lives on his father's farm, has two children; Amelia; Sarah Elizabeth, wife of John Edwin Comstock, of Kansas, has three children; Charles Sumner, Martha Ellen, and Matilda Jane.

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 52

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 932

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 932