Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead, Part 114

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers
Number of Pages: 786

USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead > Part 114
USA > Indiana > St Joseph County > Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead > Part 114

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PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

He has a well-improved farm of aeventy-nine acres in Harrison township, on which he has lived for many years, and as a farmer and stockraiser, has been successful, no less than as a manufacturer of burial goods, of which he makea a very superior grade. Hia success is due to his bonor, industry and good business management, and politically he is a strong Republican and interested in all matters tending to improve the county. He was married in his twenty-second year to Miss Catherine Loucks, daughter of the oldest living pioneers of Harrison township-Peter and Anna Loucks (sea sketch). Mra. Culp was born in this township, July 4, 1844, and bore her husband four children: Ephraim, a resident of Goshen; Saloma, who is the wife of Reuben Weaver, of St. Joseph county; Anna, wife of William Canon, of Harrison township; and Ida, wife of Milton Able, of that township. Mr. Culp has five grandchildren. After the death of the mother of his children, Mr. Culp took for bis second wife Malinda Bair, daughter of Andrew and Lydia Bair. She was born February 10, 1853, and has borne Mr. Culp the following children: John (graduated in the common school at the age of thirteen), Huldah, Lesh, Jennie, Norah, Stanford and Milo. Mra. Culp is connected with the Mennonite Church, and has kept the faith for many years.

Ephraim Culp, the manager of the undertaking establishment of Culp & Son, of Goshen, was born on his father's farm in Harrison township, July 26, 1864, and was there brought up to a knowledge of agricultural life, his education being ac- quired in the district schools near his rural home. He assisted his father in tilling the soil and in the management of his prosperous undertaking establishment until he attained his majority, after which he followed the trade of carpenter for two years, and erected a few honsea and barns throughout the county. He became an excellent worker in wood and manifested much natural ability and taste in the work, qualities which he, no doubt, inherited from his father. As a business man he has shown much judgment and shrewdnesa, and as a farmer he showed himself to be practical and enterprising, and consequently successful. Since May, 1891, he has bean following his present business in Goshen, his establishment being located on Main Streat, and as he keeps a fine stock of goods pertaining to his business, ia conscientious and upright in the discharge of his duties, he is winning favorable opinions from those with whom he has business relations, and his patronage is con- stantly on the increase. He is a young man of more than ordinary business ability, and has shown himself to be worthy of all honor. Politically he is a strong Re- publican, is in every sense of the word public-spirited, and is one who would be considered an acquisition to any locality in which he might locate. He was married to Amanda, the daughter of William Gorsuch, one of the early pioneers of the county, and of whom a sketch appears in this work. Mrs. Culp waa born October 30, 1864, and on December 28, 1890, bore her husband & son, whom they named Elmer. He and his wife are living on Sixth Street, in Goahen, and their home is a hospitable and comfortable one.

ANDREW H. OUDERKIRK. Mr. Ouderkirk is s prominent citizen of Osolo town- ship, and one whose constancy to the businesa in hand, and whose thrift, has added so greatly to the value of our agricultural regions. He is a native of Onondaga county, N. Y., born March 13, 1836, and is a son of John and Mariah (Pettigrove) Ouderkirk, natives of the Empire State also, and both of German origin. John Ouderkirk followed the occupation of a farmer in his native State until 1840, when he came West to look at the country, and perceiving the advantages to be derived from locating in Elkhart county, Ind., he decided to settle here. Returning to the East he gathered his household effecta together, and with his little family, consist- ing of his wife and three children, took the boat for Detroit, Mich. Arriving at that place he bought a yoke of oxen and a wagon, loaded up his household effecta, and started for Elkhart. He was several days making the trip, and was obliged to camp out. After reaching this county he settled in an old house on what is now known as the Tucker place, until he could build a house. He built a hewn log

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house, the logs being hewn on both sides, this being a decided improvement on the majority of log-honses of that day. Being two stories in height, with three or four rooms, it was considered quite a mansion for the time. The neighbors all came in to assist in the raising, and, as was usual in those days, a good time followed. Mr. Ouderkirk bought 60 acres second-handed, for which he gave 20 shillings per acre, and started out as all pioneers did, to improve and develop his place, which was covered with brush and timber. He was the one to cut the first stick on his place, and from small beginnings he became one of the foremost farmers of the sec- tion. Before his death, which occurred in November, 1880, he built the handsome brick residence in which our subject now resides. His widow is still living, and en- joys comparatively good health. They were the parents of five children, as follows: Mrs. Elmer J. Burns, Andrew H., Elizabeth, Charles and Amelia. Andrew H. Ouderkirk was but five years of age when he came to Elkhart county with his par- ents, and his early scholastic training was received in the pioneer log school-house with slab sests. He never attended more than two months each year, most of his time being given to developing and clearing the farm, and has always made his home with his parents. He is now the owner of 160 acres-the old homestead, which is well improved and under a good state of cultivation. Everything about his place indicates that he is an agriculturist of advanced ideas and progressive principles, and his farm is one of the most productive and best kept in the community. In the fall of 1887 he was married to Miss Levina Bickerhoff. Socially Mr. Ouderkirk is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He raises considerable stock, and is thrifty and enterprising.

CHRISTIAN LANDIS was a native of Bucks county, Penn., where he was born on May 20, 1799, and many years prior to his death, which occurred in Elkhart county, Ind., on February 16, 1892, was a well-known and well-to-do resident of this section. He was a son of Benjamin and Hester (Gayman) Landis, and the former was born on the old Landis homestead in Bucks county, Penn., on which he spent a long and useful life and died at the age of eighty-three years. He was of German parentage who established a home and died in Bucks county, Penn. Benjamin and his wife reared three children: Moses, Christian and Abraham, in the faith of the Mennonite Church, of which they were members. Christian was born and reared on the home farm and was married in his native county to Anna Hunchberger, who was also born in Bucks county, Penn., a daughter of Henry and D. Hunchberger. To this mar- riage one child was born, Benjamin, who died in Pennsylvania when about thirty years old. His mother also died in that State, after which her husband took for his second wife Elizabeth Licey, who first saw the light of day in Bucks county, Penn., in 1806, a daughter of Christian Licey. To their marriage fonr children were born: Cornelius, who died in Elkhart county, Ind., at the age of thirty-six years; Anna; Christian, and Moses, the latter dying in 1868 at the age of twenty- five years. Their mother who was a member of the Mennonite Church, died in 1874. The family settled in Harrison township, Elkhart county, Ind., in 1857 and the father first purchased a tract of eighty acres, but later traded it for 160 acres. He became wealthy and left a large estate to be divided among his children. He was s decided acquisition to the county and his death was felt to be a great loss to the community in which he resided and in the welfare of which he has always shown much interest. He was a Republican in politics. His eldest child, Benjamin, was married to Nancy Moyer and two children were born of this union, Sarah and Henry, who reside in Pennsylvania. Anna and Christian are the only surviving members of this family and reside in Harrison township on a well-improved farm of 279 acres all of which is well located, finely improved and an exceptionally valnable farm. Christian, like his father before him, is a Republican in politics, is a man of good judgment and is considered one of the substantial and upright men of the county.

LEONARD DINEHART is a wealthy old farmer of Concord township, Elkhart Co.,

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Ind., and what he now has in the way of worldy possessions, has been obtained through his own good business qualities, his ability to turn everything to a good account and his push and energy. He was born in Copac, Columbia Co., N. Y., May 6, 1818, son of Peter and Margaret (Bechtel) Dinehart, the former of whom was a native of Germany, and the latter a Hollander. The paternal grandfather came from Germany and settled in New York State, and when the Revolutionary war came up, participated in that struggle, being in the colonial army. Peter and Margaret Dinehart spent their lives in the State of New York, and were there called from life. Upon starting out to fight the battles of life for himself, he succeeded in securing a substantial property, but he unfortunately met with financial reverses, and all his accumulatione were swept away. This very much discouraged him and he never fully recovered from the losses he snstained, either financially or mentally. He was strictly honorable, and well thought of by those who had the honor of his acquaintance. His union resulted in the birth of six sons and two daughters, only two of whom are living: William, a resident of Yates county, N. Y., and Leonard Dinehart, the younger of the two, and the subject of this biography. He made the State of New York his home until he removed West, and his education was obtained in the common schools of hie native State, which were by no means of the best in those days. Owing to the straitened circumstances in which the family were placed during his youthful days, he was compelled to labor early and late in order to assist his parents by every means in his power, but in this manner he learned lessons of industry and economy, which have been of great value to him in his walk through life, and have assisted him over many a hard path, and have been the means of placing him in an independent financial position. He was married in 1842 to Miss Cholra E. Cale, a native of York State, and in the latter part of 1844 he, with his wife and two children, Orrilla and Bessie, turned their footsteps toward the setting sun, leaving Canandaigua, N. Y., on the canal for Buffalo, then hy lake to Toledo, Ohio. On this trip they were wrecked between Huron and Sandusky. A terrible storm arose and disabled their vessel to such a degree that they were unable to make any headway for three days. All the partitione in the vessel were demolished, all the fires were put out, and they were at the mercy of the winds and waves. Mr. Dinehart says that that was the most sincere prayer meeting he ever attended, but fortunately no lives were lost, and they eventually reached Toledo. At that place he took the canal for Fort Wayne, Ind., but left his family at Columbia City, which then consisted of two or three houses in the woods. He proceeded on foot from that place to Elkhart, where his father-in-law had settled several years before, and there he secured a team and drove back to Columbia City for his family. He had just $100 when he reached Elkhart, and came very near losing that. He went to work by the day, month or job, in fact, took any work he could get, and in this man- ner labored for about fourteen years. The fall succeeding his arrival here he bought forty-nine acres of land for which he was to give the sum of $400, paying $100 down and $50 per year until the debt was liquidated. On this land he built a little log house about fourteen feet square, into which he moved on New Year's Day, 1845, and by hard work, close economy and push, he began to accumulate money and property. After a time he purchased twenty acres of timber land, but this he traded for forty acres of cleared land. He next became very desirous of becoming the owner of forty acres of land where he now lives, which at that time was school land, but he had not a cent to pay for it. He borrowed $66 from a man by the name of Frink, giving him a paper acknowledging the loan, made a payment on the land with this money, and was given twenty-five years in which to pay the rest. At the end of the stipulated time he had it all paid for, with a number of acres, added, making in all 250 acres in one body. Much of this land he has generously given to his children, but is still the owner of a fine farm of 130 acres, exceptionally well improved and tilled, and on which is one of the handsomest farm residences in the county. He is highly respected throughout his section, as he richly deserves to be,

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for he has not only been strictly honorable, but has also been generous, neighborly and accommodating. In addition to conducting his farm be also has & dairy and milks about eighteen or twenty head of fine cows, disposing of this milk at his home. He has given considerable attention to the raising of tine stock, and has found this occupation not only profitable but pleasing. He has an interesting family of eight children living, and two sons deceased.

ABNER BLUE, a pioneer of Elkhart county, Ind., landed in Goshen in March, 1836, the town at that time having about 200 inhabitants. He had but one ambi- tion, and that was to become a successful farmer, but being without the necessary means to secure s farm, he learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, as a means to an end, and the following year managed to secure the possession of some land in Jefferson township, and by engaging a tenant, and by the savings derived from working at his trade, he was enabled to move on the same in pretty fair circum- stances eight years later. He was born near Troy, in Miami County, Ohio, April 3, 1819, and until seventeen years of age had not been ten miles from home. His parents, James G., and Mehetabel (Garsrd) Blue, were born in Pennsylvania and Miami county, Ohio, respectively, the Blue family originally coming from Wales, tradition saying that four brothers immigrated from that country to America many years ago. James G. Blue was born May 20, 1774, to Uriah and Ruth Blue, who were also probably natives of Pennsylvania but removed to Miami county, Obio, at & very early day. Uriah Blue was a Revolutionary soldier and afterward became a Government pensioner. His death occurred on his farm, in Ohio, on which bis son James G. was reared. The latter was a soldier in the War of 1812, and held the rank of captain. His marriage occurred June 18, 1799, his wife having been born August 12, 1777, her parents being Nathaniel and Mary (Lloyd) Garard, who were early settlers of Miami county, Ohio, from Penneylvania. Mr. Garard was a tanner by trade and for those days was considered a very wealthy man, owning a large farm of improved land, and operating an extensive tannery. He became security for a friend and all his property and the savings of many years of hard labor were swept away. Those who came into possession of the property, were sympathetic and generous and gave him a comfortable home during his declining years. The following sre the chil- dren of James Blue and wife: David, Judith, Msry, Ruth, Mehetabel, James G., Black. ford, Jobn L. and Abner. Mr. Blue was justice of the pesce in Miami county for many years, and at one time represented that county in the Legislature and was also associste judge. His death occurred May 20, 1819. His widow survived bim un- til January 30, 1850, her death occurring at the home of her son Abner, in Jefferson township, this county. Abner came to this county with his mother at the age of seventeen, and ss he had been deprived of a father's care when very young, his ad- vantages were limited. He was obliged to work early and late in assisting his mother during his younger years. August 17, 1843, he was married in Goshen to Harriet N. Clay. At that time there were but two buggies in the town, one single and one double vehicle, which Mr. Blue engaged for his near friends, and the wedding trip consisted of an overland journey to White Pigeon, Mich. While they did not enjoy the advantages of palace railway coaches and plush-lined drawing-room cars with their numerous mirrors, it is safe to say that there was no more contented or happier party ever set ont upon a wedding journey than the one that made that trip to Michi- gan in the early forties. After the marriage festivities, Mr. Bine and wife settled on the farm in Jefferson township and began life's labor in trying to establish s home. The following children were born to them: Louisa, born September 19, 1844; James L. Blue, born July 26, 1846; Clarinda, born November 16, 1848; Hutoka, born February 21, 1853. Mrs. Blue's death occurred July 26, 1859, and on October, 28, 1862, Mr. Blue took for his second wife, Eliza N. Doolittle, who was born Feb- ruary 28, 1838, daughter of Hiram and Lucy (Hudson) Doolittle, the former a native of Massachusetts, and the latter of Maine. They were early settlers of New York, were married there and came to Indiana in 1834, settling at Bristol, Elkhart county.

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Two years later they removed to St. Joseph county, and on a farm near Mishawaka they resided until the mother died in 1856, and the father in 1872. They were the parents of the following children: Charles, Uri, George, James, Hull, Hiram, Mary, Julia, Lucy, Eliza and Samuel. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Blue: May, born July 31, 1864; and Freddie, born January 14, 1874, and died February 5, 1879. During the residence of Mr. Blue in Jefferson township, he was elected justice of the peace but declined to serve. He has been real estate appraiser of the township and has been administrator of many estates, enjoying the respect and confidence of all who are so fortunate as to know him. In politics he is an ardent Republican but is not a strong partisan in local affairs. He cast his first vote when only seventeen years of age, and has voted at every election since, with one exception. Mr. Blue has in his possession an old family Bible, which came into the possession of his father in early life. It cost $10 and took & load of hemp to purchase it, the hemp being hauled a distance of twenty-one miles. Mr. Blue prizes this Bible very highly, and it is most certainly a valuable heirloom. He is now retired fron active business pursuits, having passed the age allotted to man, and for several years has been a resident of Goshen, although he still owns the homestead in Jeffer- son township, and to visit which is a source of great pleasure and gratification to him, indicating, as it does, many years of bard labor.

HON. J. S. KAUFFMAN is one of the successful educators of Elkhart county, Ind., and is especially fitted for the occupation in which he is engaged both by experience and education. He was born in Union county, Penn., July 5, 1849, to John D. and Catherine (Shellenbarger) Kauffman, who were also products of the Keystone State, their ancestors having been early settlers of that State, and of German origin. Like 80 many substantial and honorable men John D. Kanffman was a tiller of the soil, aud continued to devote his attention to this occupation after his removal to Elkhart county, in April, 1866. After residing four miles east of Elkhart until 1869. he removed to Rolla, Mo., where both died, the mother a very short time after settling at Rolla. Of & family of twelve children born to them, ten lived to maturity, and J. S. Kanffman, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest of the family. He was par- tially reared and educated in Pennsylvania, but after his parents' removal to Elk- hart county, he attended the public schools of Elkhart and Goshen, graduating from the normal institute at the latter place. Later he took a correspondence course in Chautauqua, N. Y., receiving a diploma from the school at that place. He was fa- miliar with the duties of farm life up to the age of twenty years, and also served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade in Elkhart, becoming thoroughly familiar with the details of this calling, and & practical workman. The first summer that he worked at his trade he received only $14 per month for his services, after which he began working as a journeyman, but for the past twenty-six years he has taught school every winter and sometimes during the whole year, his vacations being de- voted to his trade. He taught in the public schools of Elkhart one year, and for seven years acted as secretary of the Farmers' Insurance Company. In the month of October, 1871, he was married to Miss Lucy, daughter of William McDowell, by whom he has three children: Vida, Mabel and William. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically he is a stanch Republican. On this ticket he was elected in November, 1892, to the State Legislature, in which body he served with much ability and with credit to himself. His genial manners kind heart, generosity and intelligence, have won him numerous friends, and when he once makes friends they are never lost. He is a director in the Elkhart County Fair Association, and under the election law he was inspector of his voting precinct in 1890. He has been very successful as an educator, and during the last fourteen years has taught in three districts only, with the exception of one spent in the public schools of Elkhart. He has a very comfortable little home with fifteen acres of Inud, and a house and lot in Elkhart, and for a number of years has taken great in- terest in Jersey cattle, and at the state fair of 1891 was made expert judge

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of Jersey cattle. He has s fine herd of registered Jerseys, all exceptionally fine animals.

FREDERICK ARNOLD HEBRING, M. D. At the age of eighty-one years Dr. Herring is one of the best preserved, physically and mentally, of the men, few in number, who have attained to his age in the county. He is & typical representative of the German race, honest sud upright in word and deed, energetic and pushing and of a decidedly practical turn of mind. Cordial in manner, apt in expression and full of the knowl- edge of men and events gathered in many years of intelligent observation, one seldom meets & more interesting octogenarian. He owes his nativity to Lennep, an old town in the Rhine province of Prussia, where he was born October 31, 1812, his parents being Frederick Conrad and Magdalena (Heinricks) Herring, the former of whom was born in Lemgo, province of Lippe, Prussia, a town that was founded by the Romans in the year 10 A. D. Frederick Conrad Herring was & merchant who dealt in a fine line of wool zephyr almost exclusively and which became widely known for its fineness and superior make. He became the father of eight children aud he and all his children, with the exception of the subject of thie sketch and a brother, always made their home in the Fatherland. Frederick Arnold Herring was given the advantages of an excellent education and received a thorough drill in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, also chemistry and botany, and afterward attended & special school that was purely botanical in its instructions, and became thoroughly familiar with all the flora of his native and other countries and with their pharmaceu- tical uses and effects. In 1842 he married Amalia J. Wolff, the daughter of Christoph Wolff: she is a native of Elberfeld, Germany, where she was born June 24, 1815, and educated. To their union the following family of children was given: Frederick A., Mary A., Johanna A., John H., Paul, Christine J., Nathaniel A. and Elizabeth. All, except the two last mentioned, were born in Germany, and all are now living, with the exception of Elizabeth. In 1855 Dr. Herring and his family crossed the water to America, and after residing s short time at Milwaukee they moved to Goshen, which place has since been their home. Since settling here he has followed the practice of medicine with eminent success and belongs to what could properly be called the German Botanic Eclectic School. He has made a specialty of tresting diseases of many organs and his success in this respect has been phenomenal. As many of the requisite medicinal plants which grow in Europe and other countries can not be had in this country, or that can not be found in regular commerce or kept by the trade, Dr. Herring raises them in his garden, where he propagates such plants as he desires and which are not indigenous to this country. By this means he is insured of strictly pure herbs, which, under his watchful care and skill- ful compounding, produce instant and desirable results. The Doctor has been a life-long student, not only as relates to his profession but in things in general, and being patriarchal in appearance he reminds one of the alchemists of old seenin some of those rare paintings by the old masters. He believes in the doctrine of the old Apostolic Baptist Church, which is of Greek origin, one of the beliefs of this sect being that baptism is a saving ordinance and that it consists in immersion three times backward. In his political views he is broad and liberal, voting for men and measures and not confining himself to the support of any party, although he has for the most part voted and acted with the Republican party, being a strong advo- cate of the abolition of slavery of the mind as well as the body. Of his children Frederick A. is a well-known attorney of Chicago, being a member of the law firm of Johnson, Herring & Brooke.

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Pictorial and biographical memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, Indiana, together with biographies of many prominent men of northern Indiana and of the whole state, both living and dead, Part 114

Author: Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers Number of Pages: 786

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers
Number of Pages: 786