Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 69

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

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fully until his election to his present office, during that time making a specialty of Nor- man and Clydesdale horses.

Mr. Stroh was married April 12, 1883, to Miss Catharine St. Clair, daughter of John and Catharine St. Clair.

In his political views he harmonizes with the principles advocated by the Repub- lican party. His father was in early life an old-line Whig, but gave his support to the Republican party when it was organized. It was in 1894 and on the Republican ticket that the subject of our sketch was elected Sheriff. His father-in-law, J. C. St. Clair, now living with him, was formerly Sheriff for a number of years.

Some years ago Mr. Stroh was initiated into the mysteries of the Masonic order, has received its higher degrees, and is also a member of the Odd Fellows order.

S IMON DROVER, one of the most faithful and reliable employees of the Chicago & Erie Railway Com- pany at Huntington, Indiana, claims his ancestry among the sturdy Teutons. He was born in Westphalia, Germany, on the old homestead of his parents, Henry William and Wilhelmina ( Broockmeier ) Drover, May 5, 1838. He remained under the parental roof until, at the tender age of thirteen, he crossed the sea to America, at the earnest desire of an uncle in this coun- try with whom he had been in correspond- ence as a child. He sailed from Bremen, August 7, 1851, and after a long and weari- some voyage of seventy-four days he landed in the city of New York. The time of the "ocean greyhound " had not then dawned. His uncle, Henry Drover, lived near Fort

Wayne, Indiana, and to that point young Drover continued his journey. He re- mained with his uncle until 1859 as a mem- ber of his household. He was then married, but continued in his uncle's employ. He had mastered the carpenter's trade, and after several years of experience began con- tracting for the construction of houses and building them. In 1883 he went to work for the Chicago & Atlantic Railroad, now the " Erie," as carpenter in their shops, and his name is now the oldest on their pay- roll. He is foreman of the carpentry de- partment, and has never had a "lay-off."

Mr. Drover was united in marriage Sep- tember 27, 1861, at Huntington, Indiana, to Mary Sheerer, daughter of Jacob and Catharine (Knead) Scheerer. Mrs. Drover was born April 27, 1839, in the State of Ohio. Her father was a native of Walt- more, Germany, born August 25, 1800, and died August 25, 1862; the mother was born in Germany, in February, 1802, and died at the residence of her son-in-law, Simon Drover, November 28, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Scheerer emigrated to the United States about the year 1838, and after land- ing on these shores continued their journey to Ohio. After a residence of ten years there they removed to Huntington, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their days. They were the parents of eight children: Phoebe, Carl, Elizabeth, who died in in- fancy, Lewis, Mary, Henry, Hannah and William. Mr. and Mrs. Drover have a fam- ily of seven children: Minnie, born August 2, 1863; William, born July 11, 1865, mar- ried Grace Drening and lives at Delhi, Ohio; Julia, born August 3, 1867; Henry, born, May 22, 1868; George, born May 7, 1871; Helena, born April 2, 1874: Kather- ine, born December 10, 1877. The family

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are consistent members of the German Re- formed Church. In politics Mr. Drover gives his support to the Democratic party.

J OHN MOWREY is one of the hon- ored pioneers, esteemed citizens and leading farmers of Whitley county, and has been identified with its his- tory since it was a sparsely settled region. He has seen its wild lands transformed into beautiful homes and farms, while cities and villages have sprung up, enterprises and industries have been established churches and school houses have been built, and all show an advanced civilization which is due to such men as Mr. Mowrey, public- spirited and progressive citizens, who faith- fully perform their duties to themselves, their neighbors and their country, and are devoted to the best interests of their com- munity.

Mr. Mowrey was born on the 1 5th of July, 1832, in Wayne county, Ohio. His brother, William C. Mowrey, and his sister, Mrs. George W. Lawrence, are also residents of Whitley county. Our subject was reared on the old homestead farm in the Buckeye State and obtained his education in the com- mon schools of Wayne county. He re- mained under the parental roof until he had attained his twenty-sixth year, when in 1858 he came to Whitley county, Indiana. From his father he had purchased 160 acres of wild land where he now lives, going in debt for the same to the amount of $1,700; but with characteristic energy he began his la- bors here, and in course of time had cleared the place of all indebtedness and made for himself a fine home. He built a log cabin and commenced clearing the land, which was

largely covered with timber. As acre after acre was placed under the plow and bounte- ous harvests were gathered, he began to re- ceive some return for his toil and care; and as his financial resources increased he ex- tended the boundaries of his farm by ad- ditional purchases until it now comprises 360 acres, of which 250 are under cultivation.

On the 5th of April, 1860, Mr. Mowrey was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Schrader, a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, born November 28, 1838. She is a daughter of Martin and Fannie (Koontz) Schrader, early settlers of Whitley county, her father being one of the first merchants in Columbia City. He was a native of Germany, born in 1809, and a son of Martin Schrader, Sr., with whom he came to America when a child of nine years. His wife was born in Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, and after their marriage they re- sided there until 1845, when they came to Whitley county. The father was a carpen- ter by trade, but had also conducted a store in the Keystone State and opened one on his arrival here. After three years he re- moved to the farm now owned by M. E. Lawrence in Columbia township, improving this and continuing its cultivation until his death, which occurred in 1864. His wife survived him until 1883. They were the parents of sixteen children, of whom nine are now living. Mrs. Mowrey is the fifth of the survivors and was born in Lancaster county November 28, 1838. When a niaiden of nine summers she came with her parents to Whitley county and attended the common schools of this community. Her parents were members of the Lutheran Church in early life, and the mother after- ward joined the Church of God. In his business dealings Mr. Schrader was very suc-

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cessful and became the owner of a large property.

Upon their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mow- rey began their domestic life in the cabin home, which he had prepared for the recep- tion of his bride, and which, in 1866, was replaced by a more commodious and mod- ern residence. In 1865 he also built a large barn, the first bank barn in Jefferson town- ship. In connection with general farming he engaged in buying and shipping hogs, and for a time also engaged in stock dealing. He now raises Shropshire sheep and Jersey cattle, and has one of the fine farms of the county, neat and thrifty in appearance and improved with all the accessories and con- veniences found upon a model farm of the nineteenth century.

Mr. and Mrs. Mowrey are the parents of ten children: Mary E., the eldest, is the wife of William Yohe, of Jefferson township, Whitley county, and has two children, - Lola Marie and Ralph De Witt; William I., who married Clara Cook and lives in the same township, having one daughter, Har- riet Irene; Nannie A., who died at the age of seventeen years; and Charles A., Arthur S., Cora C., Etta M., Mark V., Cleona E., and Ruth, -all of whom are still at their paternal home. Mr. Mowrey has given his children good educational privileges. Charles A. is a graduate of the Normal School of Valparaiso, Indiana, while Cora C. com- pleted the school course here and has suc- cessfully taught in the neighborhood. The family are members of the Church of God, and Mr. Mowrey has served as Deacon of the Evergreen Bethel Church, while his wife and daughter Cora have been teachers in the Sunday-school. Mark and Arthur are members of the Spring Run Grange, and Charles A. is a member of the Independent

Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of the Maccabees of Marion, Indiana.

The political support of Mr. Mowrey is given to the Republican party and its can- didates, and he takes quite an active in- terest in local political affairs, but has never sought or desired office. He, however, served as Road Supervisor for four years, and the township never had a more accept- able officer. He has been a systematic worker, a good financier, and by industry and frugality has placed himself in the front rank among the progressive farmers of his adopted county.

ILLIAM TAYLOR, who is now retired at his pleasant home in Huntington, is one of the promi- nent citizens and honored pioneers of northeast Indiana. His name is insepara- bly connected with the history of this region, with its development and progress, and he still continues his deep interest in its up- building.

He was born on the 18th of October, 1812, in Buddtown, Burlington county, New Jersey, and is a son of William and Eliza- beth (Jones) Taylor. His father died in June, 1813, when about fifty years of age, and his mother, who was born May 2, 1775, survived until 1834. Her parents were both centenarians at death. In the Taylor family were the following children: Mary, who was born August 18, 1792, became the wife of James Worrell, a shoemaker of Burlington county, New Jersey: they had eight children; Joel, born January 7, 1795, was a coach- maker and resided in Camden, New Jersey: he was married at the age of eighteen and had two children; Robert, born January 22, 1797, married Miss Worrell, a sister of

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James Worrell, and followed farming in Buddtown, New Jersey: their family num- bered five children; Sarah, born October 7, 1799, died in childhood; Ann, born Septem- ber 24, 1801, was married, lived in New Jersey, and had five children; Charles, born April 7, 1805, was three times married, but Mrs. Adam Kenower is the only living child; Samuel, born November 18, 1807, was mar- ried and lived in New Jersey, but died in early manhood; Jane Ann, born May 10, 1810, became the wife of Henry Keller, and they had one child, Elizabeth.

The only survivor of this family is Will- iam Taylor, the well known resident of Hunt- ington. He lost his father when only nine months old and was reared by his sister, Mrs. Worrell, until eleven years of age, when he went to live with an uncle. At the age of fif- teen he began to learn the shoemaker's trade with his brother Charles, serving a six- years apprenticeship, and thoroughly mas- tered the business in every detail. He sought a broader field of labor and better opportu- nities in the West on the Ist of June, 1837, by his removal to Clark county, Ohio. He located in the extreme western part of the county, at New Carlisle, about sixteen miles north of Dayton. Charles had located there three years previously and William now joined his brother in the shop. He had been accompanied on the trip by John Kenower, H. J. Betts and Hugh Montgomery. On the 29th of January, 1841, he came with his brother Charles to Huntington, which was then also known as Brimstone Neck. In memory he recalls the picture of the town as he then saw it. It contained a frame house owned by George Fate, and on the site of the present high-school building was the stone tavern kept by Captain Murray, who provided shelter and food there for the canal

diggers. A Mr. Tipton, who owned the land on the north side of the river, also built a tavern. Charles Taylor erected a brick house down the river which now stands on State street and is occupied by Miss M. Ager. Mr. Kenower also built a small house near by, and Hugh Montgomery engaged in the manufacture of brick. Huntington was then a primitive little place, a typical town of the frontier. Charles Taylor engaged in tav- ern-keeping and shoemaking, and William worked for his brother for a year. He then determined to open a shop of his own, and, borrowing $50, walked to Dayton, Ohio, where he purchased the needed supplies.

Embarking in business on his own ac- count, William Taylor continued to follow his trade until March 12, 1850, when at- tracted by the discovery of gold he started for California with his brother Charles and John Ream. They left Independence, Mis- souri, in May, in company with about one hundred men, nearly all from Ken- tucky. They made the journey by way of Salt Lake, and after seven months of travel arrived at their destination. William Taylor spent little time in the mines, but engaged in lumbering, making elapboards about three or four feet long, six or seven inches broad and not more than a half inch in thickness. These he at first sold for $80 per thousand, and two men could make 1, 500 per day. Later the price fell to $50 per thousand. This was a time of excite- ment and danger in the West, when the lawless element of mining camps was sup- plemented by the treachery of Indians. On one occasion our subjeet narrowly escaped being massacred. Just before going into camp one night he found two men dead in a mud-hole with ropes around their necks, but he escaped and at length returned to Indi-

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LEDavenport

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ana in safety. In November, 1852, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, he again came to Huntington and has since been identified with its interests.

Mr. Taylor left his shop in the hands of Charles Clark, who carried on the business until the former's return, when the two gentlemen entered into a partnership that continued for two years. Mr. Taylor then bought out Mr. Clark and subsequently ad- mitted his son Enos into partnership. They did an extensive business, employing five to sixteen journeymen, and secured a handsome income as the reward of their labor. Our subject continued to be identified in the man- ufacture of shoes until 1865, when he re- tired, selling the business to his son. He then purchased eighty acres of improved land, comprising his present home. Some time afterward the house was burned, and he erected the residence in which he is now spending his declining years. He turned his attention to farming and for some years was prominently connected with the agricul- tural interests of northeastern Indiana. In 1853 he had purchased forty acres of land south of the tract just mentioned. For his first purchase he had paid $16 per acre, and for the last eighty acres which he bought paid $100 per acre. In 1872 he rented his farm and removed to Huntington, but in 1891 returned to the present home on the farm.

Mr. Taylor has been twice married. On the Ist of June, 1834, he wedded Mary Cowperthwaite, and to them were born four children: Charles Henry, Mary Frances, Enos T. and George, but the first two are now deceased. He was married October 3, 1853, to Agnes Klingel, and their children were Leander and Leona.

For more than half a century William

Taylor has resided in Indiana, and has been a prominent promoter of the commercial and agricultural interests of the northeast- ern part of the State. He was an active and energetic business man, who by close application, industry and adherence to strict business principles won success, and became the owner of valuable property. He is to- day enjoying the fruits of his former toil and the high regard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

OUIS COULSON DAVENPORT, who controls the leading drug store in Wells county, Indiana, at Bluff- ton, is one of the most prominent and progressive business men of northeast- ern Indiana. His broad capabilities, sagac- ity, sound judgment, and indefatigable enter- prise well entitle him to this position and have gained for him a handsome competence. He has been fully identified with the growth and prosperity of the city of his adoption for many years, and belongs to that class of representative Americans who promote the general welfare while enhancing their individual success.

Mr. Davenport was born in Woodsfield, Monroe county, Ohio, March 16, 1852, and is a son of Samuel Davenport, who belonged to one of the old Virginian families. His paternal grandfather was the Hon. John Davenport, a native of Jefferson county, Virginia, born January 9, 1788. The days of his childhood and youth were passed in that State, where, on the 31st of March, 1808, he married Martha Coulson, of Cecil county, Maryland. Subsequently removing to Woodsfield, Ohio, Mr. Davenport became identified with its mercantile interests, and was known as one of the leading citizens of

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that community. Upon attaining his major- ity he inherited twenty-one slaves, but being opposed to involuntary servitude generously gave them their freedom. In Ohio he be- came a leader in the Whig party, and was elected on that ticket from the old Seven- teenth District of the Buckeye State to the Seventeenth Congress.

The birth of Samuel Davenport occurred after the removal of the family to Woods- field, Ohio, natal day being June 14, 1826. He was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, and his elementary education, acquired in the common schools, was sup- plemented by a course in the Washington College of Pennsylvania, at which he was graduated in the class of 1848. He was a man of superior education and culture, and from 1857 until 1860 was president of the Beaver (Pennsylvania) Female Seminary. He also for some years edited the Argus, published in Beaver.

In 1851 Samuel Davenport had married Miss Caroline Gratigny, a daughter of Louis and Desdemona (Ford) Gratigny. Her fa- ther came to the United States during his boyhood, locating in Boston, Massachu- setts, where he studied medicine. After his graduation he took up his residence in Belle- ville, Ohio, where for more than forty years he successfully engaged in practice, being known as one of the efficient physicians of that section of the State. His birth oc- curred in Bordeaux, France, in 1795, and the lady whom he wedded was a native of Boston, Massachusetts, born in 1798. Their daughter Caroline was born in Belleville, Ohio, March 26, 1832, and is an esteemed lady, whose natural refinement and grace of manner have won her the respect of all who know her. To Mr. and Mrs. Davenport were born three children: Louis C., of this

review; Mary D., wife of C. A. McConhay, of Van Wert, Ohio; and Emma, who died at the age of sixteen years.

The father of this family became prom- inent in political affairs, and in 1860 served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention, which nominated Lincoln and Hamlin. On the 27th of February, 1863, he was appointed Assessor of Internal Rev- enue for the Twenty-fourth District of Penn- sylvania, and held the office for five years, on the expiration of which period he re- moved to Fort Wayne and for one year oc- cupied the chair of languages in the Fort Wayne Methodist College. In 1868 he took up his residence in Bluffton, Indiana, and, es- tablishing the Bluffton Chronicle, was for several years successfully engaged in its pub- lication. In February, 1875, he received the appointment of Postmaster of Bluffton, under President Grant, and satisfactorily discharged the duties of that position until his death, which occurred December 18, 1879. Mr. Davenport was a fluent and forcible writer, a man of ripe scholarship and broad general information, and his con- versation was both entertaining and in- structive. . He was interested in all lines of commendable advancement and his career was one well worthy of emulation. For many years he held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his career was straightforward and honorable in every particular. The best interests of the com- munity ever found in him a friend and his life was indeed exemplary.

From a family that has long been hon- orable and prominently connected with In- diana, our subject is therefore connected. When a child of six years he accompanied his parents on their removal to Beaver, Penn- sylvania, where he attended school until

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twelve years old, at which time he entered college, completing the course of the fresh- man year. Since 1868 he has been a resident of the Hoosier State. A year was spent in the high school of Fort Wayne, after the loca- tion of the family in that city, and he then began preparation for his successful business career, by a clerkship in the retail drug store of Gratigny & Company, with which he was connected for seven years, a most trusted and faithful employee. He applied himself earnestly to mastering the business, both in principle and detail, and at the end of three years so efficient had he become in his chosen calling that he was given entire charge of the business.

Since 1875 Mr. Davenport has been con- nected with the mercantile interests at Bluffton. Here he embarked in the drug and notion business, in connection with C. A. Arnold, under the firm name of Arnold & Davenport. They purchased a drug store of W. A. Gutelius, and after a year Mr. Davenport bought out his partner, since which time he has been sole proprietor. His business has had a steady and contin- uous growth and has assumed quite exten- sive proportions, being the largest in Wells county. His store is complete in its ap- pointments, and he carries a large and well- selected stock, being thus able to meet every demand or wish of patrons in his line of trade.

Mr. Davenport's abilities, however, are by no means confined to one line of en- deavor. He is a man of varied resources, and has been one of the promoters of several undertakings that have advanced commer- cial activity and thereby the material pros- perity of the community. He was one of the first men to operate in oil after its dis- covery in this part of the country, and has

met with excellent success in this line. At the present writing he is interested in twenty-five oil-producing wells. In part- nership with Hugh Dougherty and Mr. Sim- mons, under the firm name of Davenport, Dougherty & Simmons, he bought and de- veloped ten wells, which he afterward sold to a large oil company in Pennsylvania. He was secretary of the Northern Indiana Oil Company until it was sold, for $175,000.

On the 12th of June, 1878, was consum- mated the marriage of Mr. Davenport and Miss Addie Bliss, only daughter of Jeffrey and Lucinda (Angel) Bliss, pioneer settlers of Wells county and esteemned citizens of Bluffton. Her father takesrank among the foremost business men of the place, and is the owner of the Bliss House. Mrs. Davenport is a graduate of the Young Ladies' Semi- nary, of Delaware, Ohio, and leaves the im- press of her culture upon their pleasant home. They had three children, but Mat- tie, who was born December 15, 1879, died January 28, 1884, aged four years; George Bliss, born March 12, 1882, is at- tending school in Bluffton; and Nellie, born May 26, 1885, attends school.

Mr. and Mrs. Davenport hold an envi- able position in social circles, where true worth and intelligence are received as the passports into good society, and are num- bered among the members of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Dav- enport is serving as Trustee. Socially, he is a member of Bluffton Lodge, No. 145, A. F. & A. M., and was a member of Fort Wayne Commandery, No. 4, K. T., until April, 1895, when he joined, as a charter member, the Bluffton Command- ery, No. 38, K. T .; and is a thirty-second- degree member of the Indiana Consistory, A. & A. Scottish Rite.

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He is a recognized leader and able coun- selor in the ranks of the Republican party in Wells county, was chairman of the Re- publican central committee from 1880 until 1882, and was alternate delegate to the national convention which nominated Ben- jamin Harrison for the presidency. He is a man of sound judgment, keen discrimina- tion and, above all, of practical common sense, -qualities which are essential to suc- cess, -and upon his business, political and private career there falls no shadow of wrong.

ILLIAM F. YOUNG, Township Trustee of Mill township, Grant county, Indiana, and a resident of Jonesboro, is a native of the town in which he lives, where for a number of years he has figured as a leading citizen.

He was born July 9, 1862, son of James Young and grandson of Henry and Cathar- ine Young. Henry Young left the "old country " and came over to America in 1812, participated in the war that was then in progress here, and after the war settled in Ohio. Five of his sons were Union soldiers during the Civil war. His son James was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1829, and when fourteen years of age re- moved to Indiana and was "bound out " to John Fankboner, a farmer, with whom he remained until he was thirty. Here he married Miss Lucinda Bird, a native of Kentucky, born in 1839, daughter of Ed- ward Bird, who was one of the pioneers of this State, his location being in the western part of Grant county, where he passed the rest of his life and died. James Young was a miller in Jonesboro for a number of years his official career:

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Memorial record of northeastern Indiana, Part 69

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