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 34

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 34
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 34

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DR. WILLIAM N. ASH, of Middlebury, Ind., possesses a thorough knowledge of

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the principles underlying the practice of medicine, and familiarity with the most approved methods of treating the various ailments which the physician is called upon to prescribe for in & general practice; but these are not his only accomplish- ments, for to these he has added, by close observation and the exercise of native tact, a broad knowledge of mankind in all that the term implies. There is a sun- shine in his presence which penetrates and disperses the gloom hanging about the chronic sufferer, and his hearty greeting, coupled with generous sympathy, has a very beneficial result in the sick room. He comes of sterling Scotch and Irish ancestry, for his great-grandfather came from the north of Ireland and settled in Somerset county, Penn., where David, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born on a farm, married, and became the father of eight children: Jacob, David, William, Josiah, Catherine, Elizabeth, Betsey and Aaron. Mr. Ash passed all the active years of his life on the farm, but his declining years were spent at Butler, Ind., where he died at the age of eighty-four years, having been an earnest member of the Evangelical Church and a man of high integrity. His son, Josiah, father of Dr. William N. Ash, was born on the old homestead in Somerset county, Penn., June 21, 1814, and received such education as the common schools of his day permitted. He was married to Nancy, daughter of John Beidler, a wealthy farmer of Dutch stock, who was born in Virginia, but removed with his family, consisting of a wife and three children: John, Nancy and Matilda, to Ohio, and died on his farm in Holmes county at the patriarchal age of ninety-seven years, a member of the Church of God. He possessed a fine physique, was six feet in hight, well propor- tioned and possessed an iron constitution. He was temperate in all things, was well known for his high moral attributes and for his honorable traits of character. After his marriage Josiah Ash took up his residence on a farm in Stark county, Ohio, but after a few years removed to Wayne county, of which he was one of the pioneer set- tlers. He cleared up a farm in each of these places, and being a man of great strength he did a vast amount of hard work, and was a useful pioneer settler of Ohio. In 1879 he retired from active life, and now resides with a daughter in Ashland, Ohio. He became the father of twelve children, six boys and six girls: John, Cyrus, Mary, Martha, Joseph S., Samantha, Ellen, Amanda, Levi V., Agues, William N. and Elmer E. Mr. Ash became the owner of 300 acres of land by per- sistent industry; in politics was a Democrat, and he and his estimable wife were members of the Church of God. He was a man of very independent disposition, and would hold no small office, but took an active interest in all public works, and contributed generously of his means to his church and every good cause. During the Civil war he assisted with time and money to secure volunteers, and lent val- uable aid to the sanitary commission. He also sent two sons to the war, Joseph S. and Cyrus, both of whom served three years in an Ohio regiment, and were in sev- eral battles. Mr. Ash has always pursued a straightforward course through life, is a good citizen and a kind father, but brought up his family in a strict way. He is yet living, a strong and healthy man, but his wife died in 1885. Dr. William N. Ash first saw the light of day on his father's farm in Wayne county, Ohio, February 6, 1859, and in his youth wielded the hoe and followed the plow, attending, as well, the district school until he was sixteen years of age, after which he attended the academy at Smithville, Ohio, for eighteen months, and next became a student in Ashland College, from which he graduated in 1880. Succeeding this he attended medical lectures in the University of Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from the Toledo Medical College in 1883. After a rest of one year at home, he was appointed assistant superintendent of the Northwestern Hospital for the Insane at Toledo, fill- ing this responsible position very capably for five years. Here he had the advantage of an experience which he would never have gained in a lifetime of ordinary prac- tice, and to say that he made good use of his opportunities would be but carrying ont the ideas which have been formed by those who know him best and understand his nature. He opened an office in Middlebury in 1889, and here has built up a

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lucrative practice, as he fully deserved to do. He is a member of the North western Ohio Medical Association, the Lucas County Medical Society and the Ohio State Medical Association. He is a patron of the leading medical journals of Europe and America, has a valuable medical library, the latest improved surgical instruments, and in all ways endeavors to keep thoroughly apace with the progress made in his profession. Socially he is a Mason, of Middlebury Lodge, of which he has been & representative to the Grand Lodge; has filled all the chairs in the K. of P. Lodge; is a member of the Chosen Friends and of the board of health of Middlebury. He stands deservedly high as a physician and a man, and has won the confidence of the people as a man of culture and scientific ability.

JAMES KAVANAGH, grocer of Elkhart, Ind. In compiling an account of the mer- cantile establishments of the city of Elkhart, Ind., it is the desire of the publishers to particularly mention those classes of houses which are the best representatives of each special line of trade, and which contribute most to the city's reputation as a source of supply. As one of the leading representatives of the grocery line, James Kavanagh may well be quoted, for he is extensively engaged in handling the staple necessaries of life, and the extensive trade which he has built up is the outgrowth of enterprise and commercial sagacity. Mr. Kavanagh has very successfully grappled with the question of supplying the masses with food, and his well-appointed grocery establishment goes far toward a solution of the problem. The business was estab- lished in the spring of 1877, by Mr. Kavanagh, but the firm is now known as Kavanagh & Pollard, both gentlemen being well adapted to successfully conduct this extensive business by practical experience and natural aptitude. The premises occupied are of ample dimensions, finely fitted up with a large stock of staple and fancy groceries, fruits, vegetables and country produce, and popular prices prevail. Alert assistants serve customers politely and promptly, free delivery of all orders is made to all parts of the city, in short, noeffort on the part of the proprietors is spared to please each and every one of their numerons patrons. Mr. Kavanagh was born in Wyoming county, N. Y., May 26, 1842, to Charles and Helen (Murphy) Kavanagh, who were born, reared and married on the Isle of Erin, the year of their emigration to America being 1839. After a short residence in Wyoming county, N. Y., they went to Brooklyn, N. Y., where the father conducted a wholesale and retail boot and shoe store for about seven years, employing in the meantime from fifty to sixty men. He next returned to Wyoming county and located on a farm, on which he died February 6, 1860, his widow surviving him until November 16, 1886, having borne him eleven children, eight of whom are living, five sons and three daughters: Mrs. Mary A. Kerwin, of Wyoming county, N. Y .; James; Thomas, of Washington, Penn .; Matthew, of Wyoming county, N. Y., where he is engaged in merchandising; Margaret; Charles, of New York; Mrs. Catherine Whalen, of New York, and John E., of Chicago. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public and private schools of Brook- lyn, and at an early age learned the trade of a machinist, at which he worked in various places for about fourteen years. He was in the Vulcan Iron Works of Chicago, and in a like establishment in Peoria, Ill. In 1872, Elkhart, Ind., became his home, and here he soon found employment in the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Shops, having charge of three pits at the time of his resignation. In the spring of 1877 he began devoting his attention to his present occupation, and has built up a business on which he may well be congratulated. Being enterprising, energetic and honorable, he is very popular in financial circles, and soon after the organization of the city, was nominated for treasurer, but would not work for the office, and consequently was defeated by a majority of sixty-five votes. During the twenty years that he has been a resident of Elkhart he has attended strictly to business, much preferring to pursue the quiet life of the successful merchant, to the strife and turmoil of the political arena. When the dark and lowering clouds of war burst over the country in 1861, personal considerations were cast aside by Mr. Kavanagh, and his name was soon placed on the rolls of Company A, One

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Hundred and Fifth New York Infantry, with which he served until September, 1862, when he was taken prisoner at the second battle of Bull Run, was paroled at Point of Rocks, and was taken to Camp Chase, Ohio, after which he returned home, there to remain during the remainder of the struggle. In 1873 he led to the altar Miss Maria A. Goodspeed, of Elkhart, by whom he has an interesting family of three children: Charles H., Ellen M. and John M. The mother of these children died in 1884, and for his second wife, Mr. Kavanagh took Miss Henrietta S. Goodspeed, a sister of his first wife. He is a member of the Order of Red Men, and is well known in social as well as business circles. He is a most useful and progressive mercantile representative, his business is conducted upon the broadest basis of equity, and those who enter into business relations with him may rest assured that their interests will be carefully guarded.

SIMON GRINER is a retired farmer living in Middleburg, Ind., where he has a pleasant home and enjoys the advantages to be derived from a residence in this flourishing city. He is classed among the substantial and respected citizens of the town, and is a descendant of good old Pennsylvania stock. His great-grand- father a native of Germany, was the first of the family to come to America, and made the voyage when a young man. He settled in the town of High Spire, six miles east of Harrisburg, Dauphin county, Penn., and followed the trade of wheel- wright. He was married in the town where he settled and became the father of three children: Philip, Barbara and Katie. He built a gristmill which he ran for many years, but finally sold it and purchased a good farm of 150 acres, on which he passed the remainder of his days. He was a religious man and at one time, a two-days' meeting, in the old-fashioned way, was held in his barn. He lived to be quite an aged man. After retiring from his farm he built a shop where he made fanning-mills and washing-machines. He was a substantial farmer in his day and spoke his native tongue. His son, Philip, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Dauphin county, Penn., and he was reared to farm life. He married Miss Margaret Wolfsbarger, a daughter of Fredrick Wolfsbarger, a tavern keeper of Campbell's Town, Lebanon Co., Penn. Mr. Griner lived for many years on the old home farm and there his fourteen children were born, twelve of whom reached mature years, married and reared families. They were named as follows: Mollie, Peggy, John, Philip, Fredrick, Mary, Sarah, Barbara, Katie, Betsey, Sophia and Jacob. Their descendants are now scattered over the great West. Those who had children in the Rebellion were as follows: Peggy, who married John Cassel, of Ashland county, Ohio, had four sons in the army and three of them were drowned on a steamboat on the Mississippi River during the war; John, who set- tled in Wayne county, Ohio, on a farm, had three sons in the war, one died in Louisville, Ky .; Mary married William Marks, of southern Illinois. and had one son in the war. In 1833 Philip Griner moved with his family to Wayne county. Ohio, and settled on a farm where he passed the remainder of his life. He and wife were members of the German Reformed Church and Mr. Griner was a deacon in the same. He was quite a popular citizen and held a number of responsible posi- tions, being appraiser and assessor in Pennsylvania. He had the utmost confidence of the people and was administrator of several estates. He lived to be nearly eighty three years of age and was the possessor of an excellent property, owning four farms in the Buckeye State, 693 acres altogether. This land he sold to his children. Philip, third son of the above and the father of our subject, was a native of Dauphin county, Penn., born on the old homestead, December 2, 1813, and received but little education, attending the subscription schools of those days a few weeks in winter for a season or two. As the family was large, the boys early began to work and during the winter they assisted in threshing the grain which was tramped out by horses on the barn floor. In 1833, when a young man of twenty years, he went to Ohio with his father, and three years later was married in Wayne county, that State, to Miss Fannie, daughter of Jacob Gochawaur. To them were

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born three children: Barbara, Mary and Simon. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Griner settled on a farm in Wayne county, Ohio, and here his wife died & number of years later. He subsequently married Salome Moonensmith, daughter of a Ger- man Reformed prescher, and five children were the fruits of this union: Harriet, Ann, Kate, Adam and Jane. In 1853 Mr. Griner moved to his present farm in Middle- bury township, Elkhart Co., Ind. He bought 295 acres of improved land, for which he paid $5,500, and which had very good improvements for those days. On this farm his second wife died and Mr. Griner returned to Ohio, and was married in Stark county to Mrs. Sarah Neff, formerly Miss Jacoby. Mr. and Mrs. Griner sre members of the Lutheran Church and Mr. Griner is the founder of the Griner Lutheran Church. He gave the land upon which it stands and he was also the largest contributor toward the erection of the church. He was one of the building committee, has been deacon for eight years and church trustee since the church was built. He has always been a prosperous man, but what he has accumulated has been by hard labor. At one time he owned 768 seres of land in Indiana, but much of this he has since sold and divided the money among his children. When start- ing ont for himself he had limited means and was obliged to work very hard to get a start. For seven years he was s teamster, and before the railroads were built he drove six horses to a big old-fashioned Pennsylvania wagon, which would hold up tons, and hauled goods from Pittsburg, Penn., to Wooster, Ohio. He also fol- lowed threshing for eighteen years, two years in Ohio and sixteen after he came to Indiana. He is now nearly eighty years of age and is yet quite strong and hearty and retains his faculties to a remarkable degree. Such men as he have developed and improved the county and made it what it is. In politics he is a strong Democrat. His son, Simon, our subject, was born on his father's farm in Wayne county, Ohio, April 13, 1842, and at any early age was left motherless, never knowing her care. His stepmother, however, was a very intelligent woman and young Simon, through her kindness, never realized the loss of his own mother, as she treated him as well as she did her own children. His advantages for securing an education were received in Middlebury township, this county, whither he had removed with his parents when in his eleventh yesr. He learned farming when young and early began life for himself. On March 15, 1861, when twenty years of age, he married and subsequently settled down to farming in Middlebury township, renting land of his father. One year later he moved to La Grange county, Ind., where his father had timber land, partially improved a farm there, but sold this for his father and returned to Middlebury township. For about ten years he rented land of his father and sbout 1872 he bought forty acres of his father's land, a short distance south of the corporation of Middlebury. Later he sold this land and bought 110 acres further south on the same road. This land he still owns and on this he resided until he came to Middlebury in 1892. By thrift and industry he gradually added to his farm until he now owns 172 acres of good land. In 1892 he bought a pleasant residence in Middlebury and now makes that town his home. Mrs. Griner is a member of the Lutheran Church, and takes much interest in church work. Mr. Griner is a strict Democrat in politics. To Mr. and Mrs. Griner have

been born five children: William, Edward, John W., Valentine, Oscar and Frank. The first named married Miss Frances Bedford, and is clerking in Middlebury. They have two children: John W., married Miss Effie Shutt, and is on his father's farm, and Valentine, married Miss Bertha Boles, and is a farmer on the home place. Simon Griner is one of the sterling citizens whose career has been one of industry and frugality. By thrift and perseverance he has accumulated a comfortable prop- erty, and to-day stands deservedly high as an honest, upright man. His word is as good as his bond. He is descended from good old colonial stock and may well take pride in his ancestors.

SAMUEL F. CRIPE is & descendant of one of the oldest pioneers in Elkhart county, Ind., Emanuel Cripe, who is now living on Elkhart Prairie, where he

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followed farming during the greater part of the active years of his life. He is now in the eighty-sixth year, to which patriarchal age he has attained, without doubt, by correct living and by the possession of a sound constitution, inherited from his German ancestors. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, October 7, 1806, and was a son of David Cripe, a prosperous old farmer of Pennsylvania, but in an early day removed from Somerset county to Ohio, where he carved out & home for himself in the woods of Montgomery county. His father, Jacob Cripe, came from Germany, and until his death was a resident of the Keystone State. Daniel Cripe became a resident of the State of Indiana in the spring of 1829. His wife waa Madeline Miller, by whom he became the father of the following children: Samuel, Benja- min, John, Daniel, Emanuel, Betsey, Susan, Kate and Polly, all of whom came to Indiana within a few years of each other, having married in Ohio. Mr. Cripe came to Indiana before the land had been opened for settlement, and the Indians were plentiful but peaceful. They often came to his house, especially in the water- melon season. He owned a good farm of 200 acres on Elkhart Prairie, and was the first Dunkard preacher in northern Indiana. He possessed many Christian virtues, led a simple and unostentatious life, and through his instrumentality many of the substantial, law-abiding and patriotic Dunkard families of that section came to the region. Throughout life he used the German language, and lived to be eighty- eight years of age. His brother Jacob lived to be ninety-nine years of age and also died in this county. Emanuel Cripe was born in Ohio in 1806, was reared on a farm, and after his marriage to Catherine, daughter of Joseph Miksell, he settled on land in Ohio, where their eldest child, Susan, was born. About 1830 he removed to Indiana, and there the remainder of his children were born, as follows: Samuel, Mary, Eli, Betsy, Nettie, Lydia, Rebecca and Noah. Mr. Cripe had driven a team through to this State in 1829 and eutered land, which, by hard work and industry, he increased to 600 acres, besides three houses and lots in Goshen. Although his literary education was lacking, he was naturally an intelligent man, and it was owing to this and to his energy and thrift, that he acquired his property. He was a hard worker, retired at dark, rose at 4 o'clock in the morning and lost no time, for on rainy days his time was spent in spinning flax. Realizing the value of a good edu- cation, his children were given the advantages of the common achoola, and when they started out in life for themselves he gave them a considerable amount of either land or money. In politics he has always been a Democrat. Samuel F. Cripe, his son, and the subject of this sketch, was born on the home farm, two miles from Goshen, July 27, 1832, and in that vicinity was reared to manhood and received some schooling. He was married to Elizabeth M-

, daughter of Adam M a shoemaker, of Locke township, and to them one child was born, Susan, whose birth ocenrred September 29, 185 -. Her mother died on the 8th of March, 1855, and on the 10th of June, 1857, Mr. Cripe took for his second wife Eliza Stomotis, whose maiden name was Myers, a daughter of Adam Myers, a farmer of Stark county, Ohio. To this second union the following children were born: Amos, born August 5, 18 -; Ella Nora, July 11, ---; Jesse, October 28, -; Ishmael, July 4, 1862; Jefferson, October 31, 1864; Mary C., May 18, 1866. After the death of his second wife, on the 16th of July, 1874, Mr. Cripe married, December 9, 1874, Mary Berkey, born August 30, 1836, daughter of Eliza and Nancy (Miller) Berkey. He was a substantial farmer of Somerset county, Penn. Mr. and Mrs. Cripe settled on a farm two miles southwest of Goshen, and lived there about fifteen years. By thrift he added to his farm until he was the owner of 300 acres of land, then moved three miles north of Middlebury, where his farm comprised 270 acres. This land he sold, however, in 1891, with the exception of eighty acres. Since that time he has owned and conducted a saw-mill in Middlebury, besides forty-one acres of land south of the town, and four lots and three residences in the town. He has been a member of the Dunkard Church for more than twenty years, and a deacon in the same for some fif- teen years. He has been generous with his means in the support of this church,

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and has reared his children in that faith with the exception of Jefferson. Mrs. Mary Cripe was the mother of five children by her first husband (Mr. Gardener): Anna Eliza, born August 25, 1849; Nancy J., born April 3, 1861; John F., born February 6, 1863; Eliza P., February 2, 1870, and Cora A., August 10, 1873.

JAMES L. ROBISON. This experienced and successful miller of Clay township thoroughly understands every detail of his line of work, and the superiority of his product is well known and has become the means of placing it in every well-con- ducted grocery establishment in the county, which is, without doubt, the strongest endorsement the flour could have. Mr. Robison was born in Erie county, Penn., April 16, 1832, to James and Betsy (Gouldin) Robison, the former of whom was born in New York and the latter in Pennsylvania. The father was born and reared in Rochester, and during his youth learned the miller's trade in that famous city of grist-mills, to which occupation he devoted his attention the greater part of his life. He was married in Erie county, Peun., to Betsy Gouldin, a daughter of Naham Gouldin, who was born and reared on Long Island, N. Y. The wife of Mr. Gouldin was of Scotch descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Robison seven children were born: Clara, Jane, Louis, Louisa (deceased), Philenia, Alonzo and James L. After the celebra- tion of Mr. Robison's marriage, he and his wife resided in Erie county, Penn., until their respective deaths, the former always devoting his attention to the occupation of milling, in which he was successful and proficient. James L. Robison, his son, was reared in his native county and learned milling under his father, in whom he had an experienced and intelligent teacher. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years old, but in 1853 removed to Coldwater, Mich., and purchased sixty acres of land near Batavia, where he successfully tilled the soil until 1887, when he disposed of his property there and purchased the grist-mill in Clay town- ship, on the St. Joseph River, which he now owns and very successfully operates. Mr. Robison was married in September, 1870, to Miss Mary Ensley, who was born in Branch county, Mich., to George and Lydia (Great) Ensley, native Ohioans, who were early residents of the "Lake State." The marriage of Mr. Robison has resulted in the birth of five children: Jay, Cora, Fred, Bessie and Frank (deceased). Mr. Robison has always supported the Democratic party, and is an intelligent, well- posted and public-spirited man on all subjects.

DR. BENJAMIN F. TETERS. This professional gentleman, whose skill in the heal- ing art is well known not only through Middlebury township, but also throughout Elkhart county, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, October 16, 1860, and inherits all the sturdy characteristics of the Teutonic ancestors from which he sprang. His great-grandfather was born in Germany, but at an early date came to America and was one of the pioneer settlers of Westmoreland county, Penn. His son. Daniel Teters, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Bedford county, Penn., but subsequently settled in Westmoreland county, Penn., where he reared his family of eight children. His son, Daniel Teters, father of subject, was born in that county and was there married to Miss Leah Stough, daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Claypool) Stough. Mr. Stough was born in Pennsylvania and of German descent. At an early date he moved to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, as a pioneer citizen, and became a wealthy farmer. He was the father of nine children: Leah, Solomon, John, Rachel, Elizabeth, Mary, Jacob, Daniel and Josiah. Mr. Stough was a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church and died in that faith when seventy-four years of age. The Claypools were of English descent and descended from an old and wealthy family. Mr. Teters settled in Tuscarawas county where he followed milling, and met with a fair degree of success in that calling. His marriage resulted in the birth of eight children, as follows: Josiah, John D., Marion F., Leah C., Marion E., Mary E., Barbara and Benjamin F In politics Mr. Teters is a stanch Democrat and during the war he was a strong Union man. His son, Josiah, enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry; John D., another son, in the Eightieth Regiment, and died of typhoid fever at Paducah, Ky.,

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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 34

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

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