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 27

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 27
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 27

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).

175

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

citizens of any community in which they settled. His son, Peter, was well edu- cated and is now a wealthy banker of St. Paul, Minn., and one of the leading men. Another son, Jacob, became a Dunkard preacher and came to Elkhart county, Ind., about 1845. He was here made a preacher and assigned to a part of the district of Dainel Cripe, who was the original founder of the Dunkard Church in northern Indiana. James Tracy, another pioneer preacher, was associated with him. Jacob Berkey carried on his ministeral duties here many years, and then moved to Texas, where he was accidently drowned. David Berkey, son of John, and the subject of this sketch, first saw the light of day October 14, 1824, in Somerset county, Penn. (now Cambria county), and received, all told, about four months' schooling. He became familiar with agricultural pursuits at an early age, and in the fall of 1843, when about twenty years of age, came to Indiana. He bought an ax and engaged in clearing in this and La Grange counties, continuing this for two years and thus ac- cumulating some means. On the 5th of February, 1846, he married Miss Elizabeth Bonner, a native of Ross county, Ohio, born near Washington Court-house, April 27, 1825, and the daughter of Solomon and Elizabeth (Imeu) Bonner. Solomon

Bonner was born in Virginia and was of Irish descent. He was married first in Virginia, and by this wife was the father of four children: Susannah, born Decem- ber 6, 1799; Henry, born June 15, 1802; Chloe, born April 10, 1804, and Enoch, born March 14, 1806. This wife died in Virginia, and Mr. Bonner went to Ross county, Ohio; settled in the wilderness, and was there married to Miss Elizabeth Imen who bore him these children: Ethlinda, born March 14, 1811; Moses, born August 28, 1813; Catherine, born June 28, 1815; Hannah, born October 20, 1816; Solomon, born May 13, 1819; Abijah, born April 13, 1821; Rebecca, born March 27, 1823, and Elizabeth, who was born April 27, 1825, as given above. Solomon Bonner died in 1851, when seventy-seven years of age, on his farm in the township where our subject now lives. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and a pioneer farmer of Ross county, Ohio, where he owned a good farm. Later he came to Elkhart county, Ind., and settled on the farm now owned by our subject. This was in 1832 and he moved his family with a horse and wagon and drove cattle and hogs. He waa a member of the Dunkard Church and a man of great honesty and respecta- bility. After marriage David Berkey and wife settled in Elkhart Prairie; remained there two years, and then moved to a farm now owned by John Myers, in Clinton township, where they made their home for ten years. Mr. Berkey then bought the old homestead of Eliza Bonner and has since resided on this. Three children were born to them: Peter, born April 28, 1847; Mary J., born September 24, 1848, and Martha A., born August 28, 1850. Like many others, Mr. Berkey went to Cali- fornia in 1850, to search for gold, and with a party from his neighborhood crossed the plains with teams. They were six months on the way, and Mr. Berkey remained there about eighteen months, meeting with good returns. Mr. and Mrs. Berkey are members of the Baptist Church, and he has assisted with his means to support hia church and in building the Dunkard Church in bis township. His son, Peter, married Misa Lydia Stutzman and is the father of ten children. He is a substantial farmer near St. Paul, Minn. Mary J. married James Riley, of Goshen, Ind., agri- cultural implement business, and they have three children. Martha A. married Henry C. Dewey, of Goshen, and they have five children.

JONATHAN R. MATHER. The family of which the subject of this sketch is a representative, is one of the oldest and best known in this country; and, unlike the majority of American families, they have carefully preserved their history which is recorded and published in book form. The progenitor in this country was the Rev. Richard Mather, born in 1596 iu Lancashire, England; he was an Episcopal minis- ter, but was silenced as an unconformist. He immigrated to the colonies in 1635, landing at Boston, August 17, where he became pastor of the Old North Church. After his death he was succeeded in his pastorate by his son, the Rev. Increase Mather, and he, in turn, by his son, the Rev. Cotton Mather. These were men far

178

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

above the average in point of intelligence and learning; were well-known in New England States, and were famous for their piety and their valuable contributions to the church and general literature of the day. Rev. Increase Mather was dele- gated by the colony of Massachusetts to go to England for the purpose of procuring a new charter. He was invited to dine with the reigning Queen, a courtesy rarely accorded, and so successfully did he perform his mission that upon his return a meeting for rejoicing and thanksgiving was held. Rev. Cotton Mather became noted in history during the witchcraft period and his name became almost aa familiar as a household word. Rev. Richard Mather was the father of six sons, two of them returning to England, one became preacher to the lord mayor of Lon- don and the other preacher to the lord mayor of Dublin. The other four song were preachers also. The heads of familiea, in a direct line of descent from Rev. Richard Mather to and including the immediate aubject of this memoir, are as fol- lows: Timothy, Dr. Samuel, Rev. Nathaniel, Increase, Nathaniel, Samuel, Jona- than and Jonathan R. The name of Increase ia a common one with the Mathers and was originally obtained because of the rapid increase and growth of the colony of Massachusetts, and one of this name was for a long time president of Harvard College. Members of the family have been noted as ministers, and their names are found aa efficient soldiers and officers in the Revolutionary war, the War of 1812, the war with Mexico and the war of aecession, and many have achieved fame in let- ters and as authors of note. Jonathan Mather was a farmer of Orange county, N. Y. ; was prominently identified there in local matters, and for a wife wedded Anna Bishop, who bore him ten children, eight of whom grew to maturity, and only one of whom is now living. This one is Jonathan R. Mather, of Elkhart, Ind. The father came to Elkhart county in 1860 and died in December of the same year. One of his sons, David B., settled at Middlebury, in 1837, was a farmer and a famous auctioneer, and was sheriff of the county. Another son, Joseph, came to the county in 1842 when seventeen years old, read law and waa admitted to practice when nineteen; was elected prosecuting attorney at twenty-one, was a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1852 and at the time of his death in 1859 waa judge of this judicial district. Jonathan R. Mather was born May 25, 1821, in Orange county, N. Y., and resided there until 1856. He secured but a common-school edu- cation, was reared on the farm, and January 13, 1849, was united in marriage with Miss Jane, daughter of James D. and Naomi Swortwout. In 1846, and again in 1858, he visited Elkhart county, and in 1859 moved to a farm two miles east of Elkhart, where he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. After about seven years' atay there he sold his farm at an increased price, reinvested his means in land, moved to the city of Elkhart and has since made this his home. In 1853, owing to unfortunate circumstances, having been burned out, Mr. Mather was $5,000 in debt. His determination to meet all just debts and make life an honor has been crowned with success in every sense of the word and he has the satisfaction of knowing that this state of things has been brought about entirely through his own exertions. Mr. Mather has been active in promoting the best interests of his community. He was instrumental in procuring the grounds upon which the shops of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway were built. Heis a Republican, has served in various local positions of trust, but prefers confining his attention to his varied business interests to that of an official career. He and his wife belong to the Presbyterian Church and are the parents of four children: Sarah (born May 18, 1853, wedded Edward Fieldhouse, who died in 1873; remarried to T. J. Woodward and died April 10, 1886; James S. (born August 31, 1855, married Mary F. Shook, who has borne him four children-John R., Le Roy S., Harry C. and James Increase-ard resides in Elkhart); Carrie Naomi (married Edward E. Beckly, by whom she haa one daughter-Winona Jane-and resides in Elkhart), and John Coe, who died in infancy. Jonathan R. Mather is one of Elkhart county's best citizens.

W. C. MILLER, of Millersburg, Ind., farmer. The occupation of farming is one

177

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

that has received attention from the earliest ages, and it is not to be wondered st that it has become the art that it is at the present time. Among those who have shown a satisfactory knowledge of this calling, and whose operations were conducted in & very progressive manner may be mentioned W. C. Miller, who is the owner of a valuable farm in Center township. Like so many of the settlers in this section of the country, he comes of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, his ancestors having settled in Lancaster county of that State during the colonial days of this country. Abraham Miller, the father of W. C. Miller, was born in Lancaster county, and in the State of his birth he was married to Miss Nancy Lichty, by whom he became the father of six children: Henry, Barbara, William C., Sarah, Fannie and Anna, all of whom were born in the same county as himself. In 1830 he removed with his family to Montgomery county, Ohio, but for s long time thereafter found it very hard to pro- vide the necessary comforts for his family, as he was in poor circumstances, and wages were very low. Many were the days that he worked at threshing with a ftail for 373 cents a day, but he was very industrious and pushing and managed to pro- vide very well for his children, and to give them the advantages of the common schools, at least during the winter months. In 1389 he took up his residence in Center township, Elkhart county, Ind., where he entered forty acres of wild land in the western part of the township. This land he cleared with the help of his son, William C., and by economy and thrift secured enough means to purchase forty acres more adjoining this, which he also cleared, and at a later period he purchased another forty acres of La Grange county timber land, all of which made him a good and comfortable home. Mr. Miller was a member of the Dunkard Church, while his wife was in sympathy with the German Reformed Church. He was a strong Democrat politically, and although a man of little education, he possessed a natu- rally fine mind, had sound and practical views on all subjects, and was respected by those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance as a man of honesty and upright character. He lived to be over seventy-five years of age. William C. Miller was born in Lancaster county, Penn., in 1823, and although his early advantages were not of the best, he managed to learn to read and write. At that time educational advantages were not so fully appreciated as at this day, and the facilities for obtaining them were by no means what they are now. He did not have the opportu- nities to make up, in some degree, for this misfortune, owing to the fact that his youth and early manhood were wholly absorbed in the conflicts and rough experi- ences that mark the life of the first settlers of a new country. Yet sound sense and discriminating judgment were not lacking, and every opportunity that presented itself he grasped at, and thus, in time, became s well-informed and intelligent man. He became s resident of Ohio at the age of seven years, and of Indiana when seven- teen years of age, and during this time was reared to the life of a farmer, which occupation still continned to receive his attention after he had started out in life for himself. He was married to Catherine, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Arnold) Beckner, the former of whom was born in Rockingham county, Vs., and became & resident of Center township, Elkhart Co., Ind., about 1835, bringing with him his family, which consisted of his wife and following children: Elizabeth, Catherine, Eliza, Martin, William, Jacob, Samuel, Eli, Mary, Margaret, Sally and Susana. Mr. Beckner settled in the timber in the center of his township, where he made a good farm of 160 acres, and on which he resided the remainder of his days, dying at the sge of abont eighty-five years. He and his wife were members of the Dunkard Church, and he held the position of trustee and school director. He was an upright and honorable pioneer citizen, and had a wide circle of friends. After his marriage Mr. Miller settled in the vicinity of his present farm on forty acres of land, which he cleared from timber with his own hands. He became the owner of his present farm, which consists of 200 acres, but at the time of his purchase it was heavily covered with timber. Mr. Miller wielded his ax to s good purpose, and in time hsd his land entirely cleared from timber. By industry and thrift he gradually paid for

178

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

this land, and now owns 260 acrea, well improved, and with no claim againat it. He has always been hard working and industrious, and has obtained a competency which he now thoroughly enjoya. To himself and wife the following children have been born: Mary A. (deceased), was married and left five children; Martin; Fannie; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Margaret; Aaron, and Jacob. The mother of these children died in November, 1858, and on March 25, 1860, Mr. Miller took for hia second wife Mrs. Elizabeth King, whose maiden name was Burns, and by her Mr. Miller became the father of aix children: Abraham, Andrew, Ellen, Lydia, Harvey, who attended the Normal College of Terre Haute, Ind., and is now a successful school teacher, and John. Mr. Miller's second wife had one small child when he married her, named Mahala King, whom he brought up as his own, and who is now married to Jonas Horn, a farmer of this township. Mr. Miller is a stanch Democrat in politics, is highly respected in the community in which he reaides, and has held a number of minor offices in his township. He and his first wife were Dunkards, as is his present wife, and he has asaisted liberally with his means to build the Dunkard Church in his townahip. Mr. Miller is considered a desirable acquisition to the section in which he resides, and his reputation for integrity is all that could be desired. He is essentially a self-made man, and his fine property has been acquired through his own efforta and at the expense of no one.

BEARDSLEY FAMILY. No name is more familiarly known in Elkhart county than that of Beardaley, and it is ao thoroughly interwoven with its history that a work of this character would be incomplete withont frequent reference to some member of the family. Dr. Havilah Beardsley was the pioneer and the first white owner of the land on which the city of Elkhart is now located. A native of New Fairfield, Conn., and of Welsh ancestry, his birth occurred April 1, 1795, being the fifth aon of Elijab and Sally (Hubbell) Beardsley. He removed with his parents, at a very early day, to Ohio, and, when yet a boy, was a volunteer in the War of 1812 against Great Brit- ain. When twenty-one years of age he began the study of medicine at Urbana, and subsequently entered the medical department of the Transylvania University, which graduated him March 21, 1825. For several years he practiced his profession in Ohio, but the large practice proving both detrimental to health and uncongenial, he determined to abandon it. For these reasons he emigrated westward and having heard of the famous "St. Joseph Country" he drifted thitherward, and in 1830 settled on the north bank of the St. Joseph River and near the head of what is now Main street, in the city of Elkhart. Owing to the fact that no physicians were then in this country, it was impossible to turn a deaf ear to the calls of distress from his fellow-man, and his fame and practice extended more than fifty miles in every direction. Recognizing the vaat advantages of water power at and near the confin- ence of the St. Joseph and Elkhart Rivers, he purchased a large tract of land from the Indian chief, Pierre Morain, the transfer occurring in April, 1831. One year later the land was regularly plotted and the birth of Elkhart became an accom- plished fact. Erecting saw, oil, woolen and other mills, Dr. Beardaley put his whole energy into making the village a city. When the future of the place waa an assured success, a rival claimant of the land by the name of Godfrey appeared, basing his claims on the ground that he had traded for the land prior to the time Dr. Beardsley had secured possession. Litigation followed, and aa neither had patenta from the Government, the title of the property was imperfect and for years the prosperity of the place was retarded. Upon Godfrey's failure he transferred his claim to his attorney at Detroit, and finally the suit was compromised by Dr. Beardsley transferring all right and title to the water power of the Elkhart River and a tract of land contiguous thereto to his opponent. he retaining aa his part all the remainder of the property under diapute. A man of limitless energy he was instru- mental in the establishment of all the early industries of the place. He was an old line Whig in politics, and while not a man of brilliant attainmenta, was posaessed of more good sound sense than usually falls to the lot of man. While not a member

179

MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

of any religious denomination, he was, in all that is essential, a Christian, dying in 1856 a believer in the Swedenborgian faith. His widow (formerly Rachel Calhoun) died in April, 1891, aged over ninety years. There were four sons and one daugh- ter born to these parents: Edwin, Charles, James Rufus, Richard and Frances. The daughter is the widow of Hon. B. L. Davenport, and resides in Elkhart. Edwin resides in Illinois. Charles died at Elkhart leaving a widow (since remarried) and one son. Richard was in the United States navy during the Rebellion; his health failing by reason of his arduous duties, was appointed United States Consul at Jerusalem and subsequently Consul-General to Egypt where he died. J. R. Beardsley is the only male representative of his father's family now living in Elkhart. When nine months old his parents came to this place and he has never known any other home than Elkhart. After securing a fair education of the practical order from the common schools, he assisted his father in his various manufacturing enterprises, and mannfacturing has been his principal employment. For a time he was presi- dent of the First National Bank and is at the present time a director in the same. He is the owner of a paper mill, the half owner of a flouring mill and a stock- owner in a starch factory at the present time. J. R. Beardsley is a Republican in politics, and in that, as in all other matters, is of that positive, vigorous and robust type of manhood that insures success in most matters undertaken. He was the city's second mayor, and besides having filled various other positions of local honor and trust, was twice elected to represent his county in the Senate of the State, first in 1866 and again four years later. On Christmas day, 1873, he was united in marriage with Miss Susan Ray, the daughter of Martin M. Ray, one of the foremost lawyers of Indianapolis, and to their union have been born three children: Ray, Wallace and Ellen.

JACOB D. SCHROCK. This gentleman is regarded as one of the most enterprising pioneers of his district, and it is a pleasure to chronicle here the events that mark his life as one of usefulness. Material wealth must not exclude the riches of char- acter and ability in recounting the virtues which have been brought to this country by its citizens, and among its most precious treasures must be estimated the lives of those citizens who have by their intelligence and their eminence in the higher walks of life, assisted in raising the standard of life and thought in the com- munities in which they have settled. No one has probably done more in this line than Mr. Schrock, who is descended from Pennsylvania Dutch stock, his grandfather having come to this country from Germany, settling in Mifflin county, Penn., with his family, where he made his home for a number of years. He then took up his abode in Holmes county, Ohio, at which time it was a wilderness of woods inhabited by the red man and hosts of wild animals. He entered a farm of 160 acres which, by hard work, he managed to clear of timber and brush and convert into a fertile farm, where he and his family lived in comfort. He lived to be quite aged, and on the farm where the greater part of his life was spent, he was called to his long home and is sleeping his last sleep near Carlisle, Ohio. He was a member of the Amish Mennonite Church, was a Christian by both precept and example, was kind and con- siderate in his family and, contrary to the custom of his day, "spared the rod," but his children were by no means " spoiled " by such treatment. He was very upright in his walk through life, and consequently universal respect was accorded him. His son David, the father of the subject of this sketch, first saw the light of day in Mifflin county, Penn., and on his father's farm in that State he resided until he was about eighteen years of age, at which time he went with his parents to Ohio, in which State he afterward married Margaret, daughter of John Bonitrager, a farmer and wheel- wright, located on the line between Holmes and Tuscarawas counties. He lived to the advanced age of eighty-nine years, having come of hardy German stock. To Mr. and Mrs. David Schrock five children were given, who lived to attain mature years: John, Mary, Jacob D., Daniel and Elias. , After his marriage Mr. Schrock located on 160 acres of land near Shawsville, Ohio, of which section he was one of

180

PICTORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

the pioneers, and by the exercise of both brain and brawn he succeeded in clearing it and putting it in a good state of cultivation. He was very industrious, pushing and intelligent, and at one time was the owner of 320 acres of land, on which he erected a saw and carding-mill. He was s far-seeing, shrewd, and intelligent man of business, decidedly practical instead of theoretical, and every opportunity for bet- tering his financial condition was grasped at, but his operations were never conducted at the expense of others. In 1841 he came with his family to Indiana, and in Clin- ton township, Elkhart county, he purchased a tract of land comprising 260 acres, and as it was heavily covered with timber, he also bought a saw-mill and disposed of his timber by sawing it into boards and selling it. He showed good judgment in the conduct of his affairs, and found his saw mill a paying enterprise. After the death of Mrs. Schrock he married again, Melissa Ball becoming his wife. After a time he found the duties of the farm becoming rather irksome, and to escape there- from he took up his residence in Goshen, where he embarked in the lumber and grocery business, both of which proved disastrous financially, but like an honorable and upright man as he was, he paid his debts, dollar for dollar. He was influential and much respected, and he was at one time one of the commissioners of Elkhart county. Politically he was a Democrat. Jacob D. Schrock, his son, and the subject of this sketch, was born on the old homestead in Holmes county, Ohio, December 15, 1823, but in his youth received few advantages for obtaining an education, although he acquired some knowledge of both the German and English languages. His youthful days were devoted to wielding the hoe or following the plow, and he acquired a thorough knowledge of and liking for the calling of agriculture, becom- ing familiar with the duties of saw-milling also. He was eighteen years of age upon his arrival in Indiana, and during the many years that he has resided in this State he has become thoroughly "Hoosierized." He started out to make his own way in the world at the age of eighteen years, and when he had attained his majority he purchased his father's saw-mill, which he successfully operated until 1853, when he bought his present farm of 206 acres, to which he has since added seventy acres. In 1853 he began gun-smithing, and being a natural mechanic succeeded well in this business, his time being fully occupied with the enterprise. He did all kinds of repairing and made 700 new rifles and many single and double-barreled guns. He was married in Fairfield county, Ohio, January 7, 1849, to Miss Lydia Kenagy (or, as it was spelled originally, Kenaghe), born February 22, 1820, Rev. David Zook officiating, and their union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Sarah A., born November 8, 1847; Melinda, born May 3, 1850; Manassa, born February 21, 1853; Eli, born May 12, 1857; Harvey Joseph, born April 1, 1862. Mrs. Schrock is a daughter of David and Rebecca (Hartgler) Kenagy, the former of whom was of German descent, a native of Danphin county, Penn., who removed to Mifflin county, of the same State, with his father, Jacob Kenagy; was married there and settled on a farm nine miles east of Lewistown, where he died at the age of seventy-seven years, having been a substantial and honored citizen. He became the father of twelve children, whose names are as follows: Absolom, Nancy, David, Solomon, Lydia, Jacob, Sarah, Eli, Jonathan, Mary, Christian and Elizabeth. He was an old-fash- ioned Amish Mennonite, whose word was as good as his bond. The great-grand- mother of Mrs. Schrock was Anna Lapp, the great-great-grandmother was Anna Rickbough and the great-great-great-grandmother was Anna Fayerlichty. Mr. and Mrs. Schrock are members of the Amish Church and politically he is a Democrat. He has been a patron of education and has given his children good educational advantages, Henry J.'s education being obtained in a normal college. Sarah is the wife of Samuel F. Ullery, by whom she has two children; Eli married Ada Whitmore; Manassa married Ella Hazel, by whom he has two children; Harvey J. married Mil- lie Hazel. Mr. Schrock and his faithful wife have always been very industrious and are considered among the foremost citizens of the county.

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.

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 27

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

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