USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Past and present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 30
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To Reuben Paul and wife eleven children were born, namely: Thomas F., a carpenter and undertaker living at Piermont, Indiana; Tilghman is deceased; Susanna married Joseph Peterson, of Battle Ground, this county ; Monford, of this review; Alfred, a farmer in Perry township; Mary Ann married James Wetzell, of Carroll county, Indiana; Sarah married William
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Roth, of Carroll county ; Rebecca is the widow of Thomas Yount and lives at Mulberry, Indiana; Catherine is deceased; Fremont, who lived on the old homestead in Perry township, is now deceased. Four of these sons were in the war of the Rebellion and made gallant soldiers. Thomas, Monford and Tilghman all enlisted for one year, in February, 1865, in Company B, One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Alfred enlisted in November of that year for three years in the Sixty-fourth Battery, Tenth Artillery. The parents of these children, Reuben and Hetty Paul, lived to celebrate their golden wedding. They were members of the Lutheran church and were good people.
Monford Paul received only a limited education owing to the lack of schools and the fact that it was early necessary for him to work. He learned the carpenter's trade and became a very skilled workman. On January I. 1868. he decided to start the New Year right by marrying the lady of his choice, Amanda DeLong, who was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Peter DeLong, a full sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
After his marriage, Monford Paul settled in Clinton county, Indiana, where he remained two years and got a good start on the road to prosperity. He lived at Dayton, Indiana, for six years. Then he lived with his parents for a period of eighteen years, or until their death. In 1894 he located at Pettit. Indiana, where he has since resided. He worked at the carpenter's trade for many years and built some of the best houses and barns in the com- munities where he lived, being a very skilled mechanic. He is now living in honorable retirement and is enjoying the fruits of his early years of toil. During his career as a soldier he was in Virginia, having taken part in the hot engagements in the famous Shenandoah valley and in different places.
In his political relations, Mr. Paul is a Republican, and he and his wife are members of the Oxford Reform church. No people in the vicinity of Pettit have more friends or are better known than Mr. and Mrs. Paul and their children.
GEORGE W. SWITZER, D. D.
Since the early pioneer days the name Switzer has been a familiar one in Tippecanoe county, and only a cursory glance down the annals of the same is sufficient to ascertain that members of this family during each succeeding generation have played well their parts in the development and general prog-
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ress of this locality. Perhaps one of the best known of the present gener- ation is the Rev. George W. Switzer, of Lafayette, who was born in Shelby township, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, November 2, 1854, the son of Peter and Catherine (Shambaugh) Switzer, who were early settlers in this coun- ty. Peter Switzer, a rugged pioneer and influential character in the early stages of development of this section of the Hoosier state, was born in Ross county. Ohio. November 27. 1818, and he was the son of Abraham Switzer, a picturesque type of the "first settler" who came with his family to Indiana in 1828, settling amid the wilds of Tippecanoe county. Catherine Sham- baugh, daughter of Jacob Shambaugh and granddaughter of George Sham- baugh, who landed in Philadelphia September 9, 1749, and whose sons fought in the Revolutionary war, was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, July 1, 1820, and she accompanied her parents to Tippecanoe county, In- diana, in 1828, the family settling on a farm adjoining that of the Switzers, ten miles west of Lafayette. Peter Switzer and Catherine Shambaugh were united in marriage September 18, 1841, and until the death of Peter Switzer. March 5. 1879, lived in Shelby township, most of the time on their farm in the northern part of the township. Peter Switzer was a man of exemplary character, successful as an agriculturist and admired by his neighbors for his generosity and friendliness.
Mrs. Peter Switzer, a woman of beautiful Christian attributes and an inspiration to all who come into her gracious presence, is living in Otterbein, this state, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, and is well preserved in bodily health and vigor.
George W. Switzer, whose name introduces these paragraphs. is one of a family of ten children, named in order of birth as follows: John W., de- ceased : Leah Jane, deceased in infancy ; Sarah C., who married James Darby. lives in Fowler, Benton county, Indiana; Mary M., who married James Hawkins, lives in Otterbein, Benton county; Jacob resides in Tippecanoe county: Abraham lives in Otterbein, Indiana; George W., subject of this sketch: William F., a resident of Hammond, this state; Charles F. lives in Tippecanoe county ; Isac Elmer makes his home in Otterbein.
Rev. George W. Switzer spent his early youth on the home farm and attended the common schools; not satisfied with a primary education, he entered DePauw (formerly Asbury) University, from which institution he was graduated in 1881, and having long heen actuated by a laudable de- sire to enter the ministry he soon afterwards began regular work, and since 1882 he has been a member of the Northwest Indiana conference, Metho-
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dist Episcopal church. He was married on September 20, 1881, to Lida Westfall, daughter of the late Harvey Westfall.
During his ministerial career, Reverend Switzer has spent fifteen years in Tippecanoe county. For three years, from 1884 to 1887, he was the pastor of Shawnee Mound Methodist Episcopal church. He has also filled the following appointments: Morton circuit, two years, while a student in college; Plainfield circuit, Crawfordsville, Brazil and LaPorte. In Septem- ber, 1895, he was appointed pastor of the West Lafayette Methodist Episco- pal church, and during his pastorate there of six years he led in the building of the splendid church edifice that now stands for the use of that congrega- tion, costing over twenty-five thousand dollars. In 1903 he was appointed presiding elder of the Lafayette district, and for six years served in that capacity. He was delegate to the general conference of this denomination, held in Baltimore, Maryland, in May, 1908. For the past six years he has been president of the Lafayette Young Men's Christian Association, having served in that office during the erection of the splendid new building that stands as one of the public institutions of Lafayette.
Rev. George W. Switzer has long taken much interest in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association and twice he has been vice-president of the state organization, and served as its president for one year. He is at the present time a member of the advisory committee of the state board of trustees and visitors of DePauw University. He is also a member of the joint board.
At the present time Doctor Switzer is enjoying a rest from official ap- pointment, having finished his term as district superintendent. He will give special attention to the Young Men's Christian Association, looking after its finances and also after the American National Bank, of which he has been a director since its organization and is now its vice-president.
Fraternally the subject belongs to the Masonic order, holding member- ship at Crawfordsville, Indiana, and he has served as prelate of the Craw- fordsville Commandery, No. 25. Knights Templar, for a number of years. Doctor Switzer's home is at No. 617 Ferry street, Lafayette. Mrs. Switzer and the two children, Nellie G. and Vincent W., with the husband and father constitute the household. The son, a graduate of Illinois University, is con- nected with the Baker-Vawter Company, of Chicago and New York. The daughter is a member of the home, having graduated from DePauw Uni- versity and traveled in Europe. Doctor Switzer is a member of the board of managers of the Lafayette Charity Organization Society and he and Mrs. Switzer are both members of the Woman's Christian Home Society, an in- stitution that looks after homeless women and girls.
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LYMAN LEWIS DRYER.
It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer adverts to the life of one who has had a successful career despite the most discouraging and unpromising circumstances at the outset. Such a life abounds in lesson and incentive and cannot but prove a stimulus to those whose fortunes and des- tinies are still matters for the future to determine. The subject of this sketch, though left practically an orphan at the tender age of ten years, courageously set out to make his own way in the world and, in the face of obstacles that would have utterly discouraged one of less stamina and determination, he won for himself not only a fair pecuniary reward, but also the honest regard and esteem of those with whom he has been for many years thrown in con- stant contact. Now, in the golden sunset of life, he can look over the vista of the past and realize that, all in all, the "lines have been cast for him in pleasant places," and he faces the future with the calm assurance that "all is well."
Lyman Lewis Dryer is a native son of Indiana, having been born at Brookville, Franklin county, on February 6, 1824. His parents, Aaron and Mary (Lewis) Dryer, were natives of the state of New York, and in the spring of 1833 the family removed from their Franklin county home to Dayton, Tippecanoe county. Here, in the spring of 1834, the mother laid down the burden of life, and in the following spring the father went back to his old home in New York state, where his death afterwards occurred.
Lyman Dryer was but nine years of age when he suffered the loss of his mother and but ten when his father left him, so that he was practically orphaned at an age when a boy most needs the care, guidance and advice of parents. Though deeply conscious of the seriousness of his condition, the young lad bravely set out to take care of himself. His opportunities for ob- taining an education were extremely meagre, but he improved every chance offered him to learn and thus early in life formed a habit which has clung to him ever since, that of absorbing information from every source, until today he is considered a well-informed man along many lines.
The subject's first labor was as a farm hand, though he was variously occupied, gladly accepting any employment he could find, until he was eighteen years of age, when he went to Lafayette and apprenticed himself to learn the printing trade in the office of the old Journal. He proved a faith- ful employee and remained in that office until about 1847. His marriage occurred in 1850, when he went to Dayton and engaged in the cooperage
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business. He was careful in business matters and honest in his work, and was successful in this business to a satisfactory degree, continuing to operate the factory for twenty years, at the end of which time he was enabled to retire from active business. He is now taking lite comparatively easy, though still keenly alive to all that is going on in the world about him. As a testi- monial to his high standing in the community, it may be stated that Mr. Dryer has served as justice of the peace for over fifty consecutive years, and a most notable fact in connection with his administration of the office is the fact that during this more than half a century of judicial service he has never had a single case reversed by a higher court, notwithstanding the fact that quite a number of cases have been appealed from his court. During the administration of President Benjamin Harrison, Mr. Dryer served efficiently as the postmaster of Dayton, his four years' service being marked by con- tinued satisfaction to the patrons of the office. He enjoys the distinction of having lived in Dayton longer than any person now living here, and is prob- ably better informed as to local history than any one else.
In 1850 Lyman L. Dryer was married to Drucilla Blackledge, a native of Rush county, Indiana, and theirs was a most happy and enjoyable com- panionship for fifty-five years, her death occurring in 1905. She was a lady of many fine qualities of character and was held in the highest esteem by all who knew her. She was, as is her husband, a member of the Universalist church. There is now no church of this denomination at Dayton. but while there was one here Mr. Dryer was one of the most active members, having served a number of years as president of the church board.
In politics the subject is a stanch Republican and has ever given his party faithful support. On March 1, 1852, he was raised a Master Mason in Dayton Lodge, No. 103, and is now a past master of that body, having filled all the chairs. He is also a member of the Eastern Star chapter at Dayton, having been given the work by Robert Morris, the founder of the order, before a chapter had been organized in the state of Indiana. It is now thought that he is the oldest living member of the order in the state.
ALFRED PAUL.
Of the many enterprising citizens that the state of Pennsylvania has sent to Indiana, and particularly Tippecanoe county, none are more deserv- ing of specific mention than Alfred Paul, the well-known farmer of Perry
MR. AND MRS. ALFRED PAUL
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township, owing to the fact that his life has been exemplary and he has done his full share in upbuilding the community where he chanced to settle. His birth occurred in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1844, the son of Reuben Paul, also born in Lehigh county, the old Keystone state, the date of his birth being October 5, 1812. He was a son of John and Hetty (Foust) Paul, also natives of the same place-in fact the Paul family were residents of Pennsylvania for many generations. There Reuben Paul grew up and was educated in the common schools, working on a farm during the summer months. When twenty years of age he began learning the black- smith's trade, which he followed for twenty years. On August 3, 1834, he married Levina Haupt, a native of Allen county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of George and Mary Haupt, who were residents of Lehigh county, White Hall township. Reuben Paul and wife lived in that locality until 1851, when Mr. Paul, in company with Charles Moyer, Irvin Jones and Charles Miller, came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, making the journey with one team which drew an old-fashioned wagon, the trip requiring three weeks and three days. Reuben Paul settled in section 26, Perry township, on an eighty-acre tract, of which fifty-five acres were cleared and for which he paid sixteen hundred and fifty dollars. He improved it and built a fine brick house in 1859. To Reuben Paul and wife eleven children were born: Thomas F., a carpenter and undertaker at Piermont, Indiana; Tilghman, de- ceased; Susanna married James Peterson, of Battle Ground, Indiana; Mon- ford, a carpenter at Pettit, this county; Alfred, of this review; Mary Ann married James Wetzell, of Carroll county, this state; Sarah married William Roth, of Carroll county; Rebecca is the widow of Thomas Youndt and lives at Mulberry, Indiana; Catherine is deceased; Fremont A. is deceased. Four of these sons were soldiers in the Union army. Thomas, Monford and Tilghman enlisted in February, 1865, in Company B, One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry; Alfred enlisted in Novem- ber, 1864, in Battery B, Tenth Artillery, for three years. Reuben Pau! and wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. They were members of the Lutheran church.
Alfred Paul had only a limited schooling, having to go four miles to a school that lasted only four months during the winter. He remained at home until after his marriage, which occurred April 1, 1871, to Mary A. Brown, a native of Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Solomon and Eliza (Wodrint) Brown, both natives of Lehigh county. In 1863 they came to Clinton county, Indiana, and settled three miles south of Rossville, where they got eighty acres of wild land, which he cleared and improved and
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on which they both died. He was a weaver by trade. In their family were fourteen children, six of whom are now living; Susan L., at Mulberry, Indiana; William, deceased; Amanda is also deceased; Sarah, of Slatington, Pennsylvania; Adeline, deceased; Joseph, living on the old place in Carroll county, Indiana; Mary A., wife of Alfred Paul of this review; Emma, of Mulberry, Indiana; Catherine, of Carroll county; the rest of the children died in infancy or early youth.
To Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Paul two children were born, namely: William Eugene George, born December 24, 1871, was four years old when he died; Alice J., wife of Leander Hedderick, a machinist and automobile dealer at Mulberry, who patented the Elgin cream separator. He and his wife are the parents of two children, Willie Edison, born June 11, 1898, and M. Murrel, born February 2, 1901.
After his marriage, Alfred Paul resided at several different places until 1876, when he bought forty-one acres in Perry township, where he has since resided. Mr. Paul has been successful and has a well-improved farm. He has built an attractive dwelling and a good barn, has devoted his life to farming and is fully abreast of the times.
As already indicated, Mr. Paul served as a soldier in the Civil war, hav- ing enlisted in Company B, Tenth Artillery, on November 4, 1864, in which he served three years. He went to Indianapolis and from there to Tennessee, Nashville and Chattanooga on a United States gunboat, the "Stone River," having been assigned to duty on this boat on which he remained until the close of the war, being discharged on July 10, 1865. He is a member of Elliott Post, No. 160, Grand Army of the Republic, at Dayton. He is a member of the Oxford German Reformed church, and in his political relations votes the Republican ticket. He is one of the best known men in his com- munity and is held in high esteem by all.
DANIEL MILLS.
From humble beginnings Daniel Mills has become the owner of a fine farm in Perry township, Tippecanoe county, and devotes his attention to diversified farming with the discrimination, energy and constant watch- fulness which inevitably make for definite success and prosperity. His birth occurred in Warren county, Ohio, November 27, 1835, the son of Hamilton Mills, of the same county, who married Sarah Jones, also born in that county, where they grew to maturity and married. Hamilton Mills learned
MR. AND MRS. DANIEL MILLS.
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the blacksmith's trade, at which he worked in connection with farming. In 1828 he went to Logansport, Indiana, with his father-in-law for the pur- pose of buying land of the Indians, but they did not succeed. He lived at Athens, Indiana, for about a year, then went back to Ohio. In 1838 he moved to Carroll county, Indiana, where he farmed and worked at his trade. He died in that county, his wife dying in Delphi, Indiana. They were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Mills was a Democrat. They were people of sterling worth, and to them ten children were born, named as follows: Simeon, deceased; Nancy, of Hillsboro, Ohio; Daniel, of this review; Eunice, Mary and Sarah, all deceased; Lizzie, of Elwood, Indiana; Henrietta, also of Elwood; the two youngest children died in infancy unnamed.
Daniel Mills had little opportunity to attend school; however, he suc- ceeded in learning the essentials in the old log school house near his boy- hood home. He remained on the old home place where he became inured to the life of a husbandman until he was twenty-five years old, when he started to work at the carpenter's trade. At Camden, Indiana, on October 7, 1865, he was united in marriage with Caroline Robison, who was born in Perry township, Tippecanoe county, August 26, 1843, the daughter of John and Fannie (Dye) Robison, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. Mr. Robison first married in his native state and had one child to die there. John Robison was a manufacturer of woolen goods. In early days he located in Ohio near Cincinnati, and in 1827 he came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, locating in Perry township, in section 27. He built a woolen mill which was run by water power. It was a very large mill and did an extensive business. He prospered at this and became the owner of one thousand acres of land. He continued to operate this mill until 1868, when he retired. His death occurred in 1890 and that of his wife many years before, in 1844. He married a third time, his last wife being Barbara Whiteman, of Perry township, who died in 1879. He was a mem- ber of the Methodist church and a Republican, but never aspired to public office. For many years he was one of the best known men in this county. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Robinson: Pricilla, deceased ; Samuel, deceased; Henrietta; Edward; Drucilla, deceased; Caro- line, wife of Daniel Mills, of this review; the youngest child died in infancy unnamed. To John Robinson and his third wife four children were born. namely : Erastus, of Dayton, Indiana; Wallace; Bruce, deceased; Frances, widow of Wallace Patton, who lives in Perry township.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Mills seven children have been born, namely : Harry, who has remained single, is farming in Perry township; Edwaru, a farmer, married Olivia Fretz, and they are the parents of three children, Ros- coe, Harvey and Velma; John, a farmer in Perry township, is married and has four children, Aldine, Laurine, Maurine and Bessie; Sarah, Daniel Mills' fourth child, is deceased; Albert is single and is farming in Perry township; Samuel H., a barber in Frankfort, Indiana, married Hattie Roth; Earl, who married Emma Roth, is also working at the barber trade in Frankfort, Indi- ana, and they have one son, Harold James.
After his marriage, Daniel Mills and wife located at Camden, Indiana, where Mr. Mills worked at the carpenter's trade until 1887, when he came to Perry township, Tippecanoe county, and located in section 22, where they still reside. In 1889 he built his commodious and comfortable dwelling, and later two good barns, also many other substantial improvements which ranked his place with the best in the township. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty-eight acres of valuable land which is well improved. So well did he manage his farm, that he was enabled to retire in 1908. All during his farm- ing career, however, he found time to continue his carpenter work, being con- sidered an excellent workman, and many of the best houses and barns in this part of the county are monuments to his skill as a builder. He and his good wife are members of the church, the former of the Presbyterian and the latter of the United Brethren. Mr. Mills is a Democrat.
Before closing this review, a tribute should be paid to the military chap- ter in the life of this excellent citizen, for on July 25, 1862, Mr. Mills tendered his services to his country, enlisting in Company A, Seventy-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Camden. He went to Kentucky and Mis- sissippi, and was a member of the famous Army of the Cumberland, having participated in all the battles and skirmishes of his regiment. At Huntsville. Alabama, he was injured by the falling of a horse, and was discharged, owing to disability, on May 28, 1865. He made a very creditable record while at the front.
WILLIAM J. FISHER.
Nothing but words of encomium can be employed in the biographical memoir dealing with the well-remembered gentleman whose name appears above, a man who was long one of the patriotic and public-spirited citizens of Tippecanoe county and who deserves especial credit for his work in securing
MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM J. FISHER
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the imposing monument that marks the site of the great battle with the In- dians, November 7, 1811, for he was one of the leaders, if not the very first, in starting the movement which resulted in the erection of the same.
William J. Fisher was born October 21, 1845, in Washington township. He was the son of Robert and Catherine Ann (Walters) Fisher. He was always a studious man and he received a good education in the common schools and the Battle Ground Collegiate Institute, where he fitted himself for a teacher, which profession he followed four years with pronounced success, his services having been in great demand. In later life he gave up teaching and entered agricultural pursuits, at which he was equally success- ful and for many years carried on general farming in a way that stamped him as one of the modern agriculturists of this highly favored section of the great commonwealth of Indiana. He became the one owner of a large and valuable farm on which he raised considerable fine stock, especially thoroughbred cattle and hogs.
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