USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 23
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
Joseph Riester was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 13, 1854. He is the son of Selestin and Christy Ann Riester, an excellent old family, a com- plete sketch of whom is to be found on another page of this work.
Joseph Riester grew to manhood under the parental roof and he received a good education in the common schools. Early in life he took up farming for a livelihood and this he has continued to follow with gratifying results to the present day. He is the owner of ninety-six acres of well located and finely improved land on which he carries on general farming and stock raising, and on his place is to be found a very comfortable residence and good outbuild- ings, lie having ma, e practically all the improvements himself, especially the
552
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
more modern ones. He has long made a specialty of breeding pure broi Duroc-Jersey hogs, all registered stock. Owing to the superior quality of his fine hogs they are very popular in this part of the county and are greatly admired by all who are interested in fine stock, and they bring a fancy figure whenever offered for sale. He understands well the proper care of hogs and no small part of ' is annual income is derived from this source. Much credit is due him for bringing to this community a higher grade of swine than it had ever known before.
Mr. Riester was married on November 2, 1879. to Elizabeth Stephens, daughter of William and Catherine Stephens, a highly respected family, who were among the early settlers of this section of Fountain county, and here they. through years of close application and good management, became well established, and here they spent their lives. Mr. Stephens devoted his life to general farming and his death occurred in 1880 on the old home place, which is now owned by the subject of this sketch. He is remembered as a quiet, honest, hard-working man who took little part in the affairs of the cou in a political way.
Six children were born to William Stephens and wife, named as fol- lows : Richard, James Newton, M. O., Phoebe, Nancy and Elizabethi, wife of Mr. Riester, of this sketch. Mrs. Riester grew to womanhood in Fountain county and here she received her education in the common schools. Four children have been born to the subject and wife, named as follows: Ella, who married Bert Jones, lives in Van Buren township, this county; Grace Belle married Noah Townsend, and they live in Davis township; Carrie mar- 'ried Albert Miles and they also live in Davis township; Alice married Charles McCauley, of Richiland township.
Politically, Mr. Riester is a Democrat, but he has never held political office. Fraternally, he belongs to Tribe No. 144, Improved Order of Red Men, at Mellott. Religiously, he belongs to the United Brethren church.
EDMOND R. MALLORY.
A notable example of the successful, self-made man was the late Edmond R. Mallory, and as such he made his influence felt among the people of Foun- tain county, where he had spent practically all his life and labored for his own advancement and that of his locality as well, thereby earning the right to be classed among the leading citizens of his day in the community honored by
SAMUEL PAUGH.
553
FOUNTAIN AND WARLEN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
his citizenship. His life was an interesting one, fraught with much work and mich good; indeed, it is doubtful if any man of the past generation was so intimately intermingled with the history of Wabash township as was Mr. Mallory, and his career may well be studied with profit by the youth standing at the parting of the ways whose career is yet a inatter for future years to de- termine, for it was not only successful from a material standpoint, but it was wholesome in every ave me, exemplary in every relation and a model worthy of emulation by all who would be counted among those who win in the battle of life and leave behind the greatest of all heritages, an honored name.
Edmond R. Mallory was born at Covington, Fountain county, Indiana, on February 20, 1849, and was the son of William H. and Jemima ( Kennier) Mallory. The father was born, reared and educated in New York state and in an early day he came to Covington, at about the time the first settlement was made here. Here he entered upon the practice of law, for which he had equipped himself before leaving his native state, and he was so engaged for a number of years, and he also dealt in real estate, being at one time a wealthy man. He was a Republican in his political views and took an active part in local public affairs, being numbered among the leading men of his day in this community.
The subject of this sketch was reared under the parental roof and secured a good practical education in the common schools. He was reared to the life of a farmer and followed that pursuit all his active years. He was a broad- minded man, of sound, practical sense, and he gave to every phase of his operations a careful and discriminating attention that never permitted a chance of failure. His fine farm of two hundred and forty acres is located in Wabash township, Fountain county, and is numbered among the good farms of the locality, its appearance indicating the careful attention bestowed upon it in the past. The place is improved with a comfortable and attractive residence and a large and well arranged barn, while the other outbuildings, fences and the general arrangements are in keeping with the progressive spirit of he, who inaugurated and carried forward the work here.
Politically, Mr. Mallory was a stanch Republican, taking a keen interest in the success of his party, while his religious belief was represented in the creed of the Presbyterian church, of which he was a member.
On December 21, 1873, Mr. Mallory was united in marriage with Adeline Paugh, the daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Van Dorn) Paugh. Samuel Paugh was a native of Butler county, Ohio, and in an early day came to Fountain county, Indiana, where he entered two sections of land from the government, his daughter, Mrs. Mallory, heing now the owner of the original
1
554
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
deeds, hich are signed by Martin VanBuren, President, and H. M. Garland, recorder of the land office. Rebecca Van Dorn was a native of Pennsylvania and in her young girlhood she came west with the family, the trip being made down the Ohio river in a boat buil. by her father, Hezekiah Van Dorn. Leal- ing the river and coming overlan to Fountain county, the Van Dorn family settled in Wabash township. where they entered government land, and there the father followed farming during the remainder of his active life. Samuel and Rebecca Paugh were the parents of three children, namely: Adeline, widow of the subject of this sketch; Ross, deceased; Stella, who became the wife of Thomas Frankeberger. To Mr. and Mrs. Mallory were born eight children, who are briefly mentioned as follows: Myrtle, deceased : Harry L., of this county; Homer, who lives at home with his mother, married Mary Rhodes; Ida is the wife of Richard Bodine; . lattie, Lee, Ralph and Hardy are deceased. The death of Mr. Mallory occurred on April 18. 1907.
In the lives of such men as Mr. Mallory there is particular justification for works of this nature -- not only because their lives were such as to gain for them the admiration of their fellow men, but that they were true to their opportunities and showed such attributes of character as entitled them to the regard of all, and were useful in their spheres of action. In the midst of the demands of a busy life Mr. Mallory was always approachable, being gracious in his association with his fellow men and enjoying personal popularity which was a natural result of his characteristics. Mrs. Mallory is a woman of many estimable qualities and kindly manner and is well liked in the social circles in which she moves.
T. J. FRANKEBERGER.
Among the substantial men whose labor and influence has long given impetus to the agricultural interests and general material improvements of Fountain county in years gone by and who today occupies a high place in the esteem of the community in which he lives is the worthy gentleman whose name introduces this article. While he has been busy tilling the soil and raising a good grade of live stock he has not neglected his duties as a citizen and neighbor, but has been a forceful factor in all that concerns the public good. It is to such men as he that our modern advanced civilization is due and such men are worthy of the esteem that is accorded them by all and their records are worthy of perpetuation.
555
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIA ..
T. J. Frankel ger, of Wabash township, Fountain county, was born in Boone county, Indiana, January 5, 1863. lle is the son of Jacob and Rachael (Byrd) Frankeberger, both parents born in Virginia, the father near Roanoke, in 1823, and they were married in 1847. They grew up in the Old Dominion, were educated there and there they spent their earlier years, coming to Indiana in an early day and locating in Montgomery county. Later they came to Fountain county and located on a farm which joins that of the subject on the south. The elder Frankeberger was active in politics, but h held no offices. He was a member of the Baptist church. He spent the rest of his life in this county and here his death occurred in 1884. Of the eight children born to Jacob Frankeberger and wife, six are still living. The paternal grandfather of the subject, Samuel Frankeberger, was a native of Switzerland, from which country he emigrated to America when young, set- tling in Virginia.
The immediate subject of this sketch spent his boyhood on the home farm, where he assisted with the general work, and in the common schools of his neighborhood he received his educational training. Early in life he took up farming for his vocation and this he has followed to the present time, now owning one of the choice farms of Wabash township, which consists of three hundred and sixty-five acres, two hundred and fifty acres of which is under cultivation, the balance being in pasture and timber. He has added many important improvements to the place and has a comfortable dwelling and a good set of outbuildings. He is a very careful farmer, rotates his crops and so manipulates his soil that it has retai d its original fertility and strength. He believes in modern methods and everything about his splendid. place denotes that it has a progressive manager. In connection with general farming he devotes no little attention to stock raising, making a specialty of short-horn cattle and Poland-China hogs, and he has for a number of years bought and sold cattle in large numbers, and no smail part of his annual in- come is derived from his live stock.
Mr. Frankeberger was married to Estella Paugh, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (VanDorn) Paugh. Her father was one of the early settlers of Fountain county, and became a well known farmer here, he having owned the farm on which the subject of this sketch now lives. Mr. Frankeberger has done considerable remodeling and now has a fine home, which is located six miles from Covington.
Five children have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Burgess, who married Mabel Zigler; Beatrice, who married Oscar Kerr; Zula, Lora and Nora are all at home.
5,56
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Politically, the subject is a Democrat and he wa a member of the ad- visory board of Wabash township for four years, and was also supervisor for some time, filling these offices to the satisfaction of all concerned. He be- longs to the Anti-Horsethief AAssociation. Personally he is a pleasant, agree- able gentleman who is respected by all who know him.
CHARLES E. MARTIN.
He to whom this sketch is dedicated is a representative of one of the hon- ored old families of this section of the Wabash country, and his entire life has been spent in Fountain county, he being one of the well known and suc- cessful citizens of Richland township, having one of the finely improved and productive farms for which the vicinity of Attica is noted. He is well known to the people of this county as a man of clean business and social principles and public spirited, having ever stood ready to assist in any movement having for its object the general good of the county. He has attained his pres.ut admirable prosperity through his own well-directed ( forts.
Charles E. Martin was born in Richland township, Fountain county, Indiana, January 18, 1807. He is the son of Amos and Hannah ( Palin) Martin; the father came from Ohio and the mother from Henry county, In- diana. They were the parents of six children, namely : Cora, deceased ; John and Elmer both live at Newtown, this county ; Frank lives in Logan township; Charles E., subject of this sketch ; Pearl married Newman Marlatt, and they live in Richland township.
Ephraim Martin, the subject's paternal grandfather, emigrated to Foun- tain county from Ohio, after the birth of his son Amos, father of the subject, and settled with his family on Wee-ah plains in an early day.
Charles E. Martin grew to manhood on the home place and there he made himself generally useful during the crop seasons, and in the winter time he attended the public schools in his community. In 1893 he married Lillian Bookwalter, daughter of William H. and Elizabeth ( Florey ) Bookwalter. Her father came from Ohio to Fountain county, being an early settler of Shawnee township, and there he became well established through his thrift, and the old stone house in which he lived is still standing on the Bookwalter homestead there. Grandfather Bookwalter and wife had a family of five children, all living but one. To William and Elizabeth Bookwalter nine chil-
557
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
dren were born, namely: Edward, who lives in the state of Washington; Allison lives in Pawnee county, Nebraska; Lillian, who married Mr. Martin, of this review ; Anna makes her home in New York City; Frank and Joseph both live in Pawnee county, Nebraska; Bertha lives in Beatrice, Nebraska; Lydia lives in New York City; W. H. is a resident of Pawnee county, Ne- braska. Three children have been born to Mr. Martin and wife, namely : Annis, Robert and Nadine, all at home.
Mr. Martin is the owner of a well improved and carefully cultivated farin containing one hundred and eighty-seven acres of very productive and valuable lan 1, and he has an elegant home and good outbuildings. He always keeps a good grade of live stock.
Politically, Mr. Martin is a Republican, but he has never held office, al- though taking more or less interest in local public affairs. In religious matters he is a member of the United Brethren church.
ALBERT VAN DER VOLGEN.
Holland is a small country, but it is doubtful if any foreign nation has sent to the United States a greater number of law-abiding and industrious citizens in proportion to its size. They are, almost without exception, pro- gressive, thrifty, honorable and among our best citizens. Albert Van Der Volgen, one of the leading farmers of Richland township, Fountain county, is a worthy descendant of this type of people. He seems to have inherited many of the traits that win from his ancestors, who may be traced back through a long line of excellent citizens in America to the fifteenth century, and from that remote period to the present day they have been influential in whatever section of the republic they have honored by their residence.
The subject of this sketch was born in Fountain county, Indiana, May 8, 1851, and is a son of William B. and Jane C. (Carnahan) Van Der Volgen. The father was born near Schenectady, New York, and there he spent his boyhood days, emigrating to Jasper county, Indiana, in 1845, where he re- mained until 1866, when he came to Fountain county. He was a direct descendant of ancestors who came from Holland to our shores in the year 1686, and settled in the locality of Schenectady, New York, and from that time to this the family has continued to reside in that vicinity of the old Em- pire state, and have thus witnessed its transition through all stages from the earliest days of Indian occupancy, in fact have witnessed the history-making
5.58
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
epochs of the nation. Upon his arrival in Fountain county the father of the subject located in Richland township and there spent the rest of his life. Hle moved to Newtown in 1878, where his death occurred. He has a family of three children, namely : Albert, of this sketch; Dr. William M., who lives in the state of Washington; Mary E., who married W. D. Gebhart, lives in Richland township. Te- parents of these above named children are both de- ceased, the father dying at the age of seventy-six years and the mother at the age of sixty-six. Politically, he was a Republican.
The immediate subject of this sketch grew to manhood on the home farm and he received a practical education in the connnon schools. In 1874 he was married to Sarah Louise Campbell, daughter of Robert and Mary Jane (Scott) Campbell. The Campbells came from Pennsylvania, and the Scotts from Virginia, both coming to Fountain county, Indiana, in an early day. For a fuller history of the Campbell family the reader is directed to the sketch of Herbert Campbell.
Three children were born to the subject and wife, namely : Blanche mar- ried Murray Shultz, of Richland township; Edgar C. is a practicing dentist, of Crawfordsville, Indiana; Bertha married Ed. Scott, of Columbia City, Whitley county, this state.
The subject is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of excellent land in Richland township, which he has placed under a high state of cultiva- tion and improvement, and on which he carried on general farming and stock raising. He has a commodious and attractive home, well furnis, ed, and he also has a number of substantial outbuildings and modern farming imple- ments, and he always keeps a good grade of live stock-in fact, he has long made stock raising a specialty, handling pure bred Oxford Downs, all regis- tered stock, and because of their superior quality he finds a very ready mar- ket for them. He ships his fine stock all over the middle West into many dif- ferent states, always commanding fancy prices. He attends many county and state fairs with his fine sheep, and they are always prize winners and are greatly admired by all who see them. He is regarded as one of the best judges of sheep in the country and he understands well their care and handling.
Fraternally, Mr. Van Der Volgen is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 433, at Newtown, Indiana, and religiously, he belongs to the Pres- byterian church. He has been very successful in a business way, having been a good manager and by nature a man of sound judgment and foresight, and he stands high in the estimation of the people throughout Fountain county and wherever he is known, for he is a genial, hospitable and obliging gentle- man whose character has never been assailed, honesty and the Golden Rule having always been two of his principal virtues.
559
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
FRANK M. BEVER.
The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed is among the favorably known and rep- resentafive young business men of Fountain county, maintaining a popular mercantile establishment at Newtown, Richland township. Ele has by his in- domitable nterprise and progressive methods contributed in a material way to the advancement of his locality, and during the course of an honorable career has been fairly successful, having always been a man of energy, sound judgment and honesty of purpose, and is thus well deserving of mention in this volume.
Frank M. Bever was born in Fountain county, Indiana, August 18, 1871. He is the son of Alex and Elizabeth (Carter) Bever, both also natives of this county, each representing pioneer families, and here they grew to maturity, received their education and were married, and spent their lives engaged in agricultural pursuits. Samuel H. Bever, the paternal grandfather of the sub- ject, was one of the first settlers of Cain township, where he took up govern- ment land, which he developed into a good farm and there spent the rest of his life.
Alex Bever, father of the subject of this sketch, resided in Davis town- ship a few years, then returned to the old home in Cain township, where he contin.ned to reside for a period of about twenty-five years, then lived in Hillsboro a year; he returned to the old homestead for a few years. thence to Waynetown, Montgomery county, where he lived retired, and there his wife died in December, 1903. Then he and his son and daughter moved to In- dianapolis; his children married, and he then moved to Mellott, Richland township, Fountain county, where his death occurred on February 28, 1912, at the age of seventy-six years, having been born in 1836.
Alex Bever's family consisted of nine children, namely : Jennie, Elsie, Frank M., Anna, Carrie, Millie (deceased), Ora, James (deceased) and Sanı- uel.
Alex Bever was a Republican, and while he was active in the ranks he never held office. Fraternally, he belonged to the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias. In religious matters he belonged to the Methodist Epis- copal church.
Frank M. Bever, of this sketch, grew to manhood and was educated in his native county. He was married in 1893 to Phoebe Davis, daughter of Stephen and Lottie (Keller) Davis, these parents being early settlers of
560
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Fountain county, having located in Cain township. They are now living in retirenot in the village of Hillsboro.
Frank M. Bever began life for himself on the farm, and continued that line of endeavor until 1902, when he turned his attention to another fiekl of effort, buying out the store at Newtown owned by Horace Gray, and here he has remained to the present time, enjoying a large and ever-increasing trade. carrying a large and carefully selected stock of goods, which wouldl invoice from seven thousand to eight thousand dollars at all seasons. He has met withi pronounced success.
Mr. Bever and wife have two children, Zula, who married Leo Steele, a farmer, and Gladys, who lives at home.
Fraternally, Mr. Bever was a member of the Knights of Pythias, and re- ligiously he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
J. WESLEY WHICKER.
The family of which J. Wesley Whicker, of Attica, Indiana, is a repre- sentative, has been to a noteworthy degree connected with the history of this nation since its very foundation. Patriotism has been one of the most prom- inent characteristics of the family through several generations is evidenced in the fact that one ancestor was numbered among that sturdy, heroic band of patriots who threw off the yoke of the mother country and founded a new nation, whose foundation stone was liberty; another member of the family was found defending the national honor when England disputed our mari- time rights, and still later, when the hosts of armed rebellion threatened the national integrity, a member of the family was found in defense of the Stars and Stripes on the sanguinary battlefields of the Southland. Mr. Whicker has given unselfish and intelligent attention to the welfare of the community at large, having given his support to movements which have been of definite value in the progress and advancement of the county.
The Whicker family of which the subject of this sketch is a representa- tive was originally of French Huguenot origin, having been established in America some time during the eighteenth century, the emigrants settling in South Carolina. That spirit of religious and civil freedom which had charac- terized the family as Huguenots remained with them in the fullest measure in their new home :, d when colonists asserted their independence none gave more devoted or loyal service to the cause than William Whicker, the sub-
J. WESLEY WHICKER.
56
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
ject's great-grandfather, who gave seven years of his life to the cause of liberty. He was with Gen. Nathaniel Greene at the battle of Cowpens, Guil- ford Court House, North Carolina, being soon afterwards transferred to the command of Gen. George Washington, with whom he remained until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, havia ; undergone all the hard- ships and privations which fell to the lot of that immortal army. He was a distiller by vocation and a prominent citizen of his community. The winter of 1823-4 he spent in Logan township, Fountain county, Indumna, with his son Luke, being on a hunting trip. In 1830 he located in Delaware county, this state, and retired from active labor, having accumulated a competency. He always took a keen interest in public affairs and was a personal acquaint- ance from boyhood of Andrew Jackson, of whom he was a great admirer and for whom he voted for President. William Whicker died in Delaware county, Indiana, on November 2, 1851, at the advanced age of ninety-one years, two months and five days, and was buried in the Strain graveyard, near Albany. He was the last Revolutionary soldier to die in the state of Indiana. Ile was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, having been made a Mason in historic Alexandria Lodge, of which Gen. George Wash- ington was worshipful master at the time, the date being some time during the war of the Revolution. William Whicker married Sarah Bingaman, whose home was three miles frou Guilford Court House, North Carolina, and they became the parents of the following children: Mrs. Sarah Fisher. who died in Delaware county, Indiana; Matthew, who died in Grant county, Indiana; Asa and Luke died in Delaware county, Indiana; Mrs. Elizabeth Covert, and Berry, the subject's grandfather.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.