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 48
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 48
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JOHN W. ALBIN. No State in the Union gives greater encouragement to a man who desires to devote himself to agricultural life than does Indiana. Its resources are almost inexhaustible and its climate is adapted to the cultivation of varied crops. Among the prominent and enterprising farmers of Union township, Elk- hart Co., Ind., stands the name of John W. Albin, who has been identified with the best interests of the county since 1866. He was born in Clark county, Ohio, September 9, 1845, and was the youngest of seven children born to the marriage of Samuel and Elizabeth (Adams) Albin. Samuel Albin was a native of that good old State, Virginia, born in 1809, and the son of John Albin, who was also a native of the Old Dominion, but who, at an early date, emigrated to Clark county, Ohio, be- ing among the early pioneers of that State. Samuel was one of a family of four- teen children. John Albin was a soldier in the War of 1812, as also were a number of his brothers, and drew a pension on account of his services. The family had settled in Ohio about 1810, and John Albin took up land four miles from the site of the present city of Springfield. There his death occurred about 1834, and he was followed
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soon after by his wife. He was a man who made a good farm out of the Ohio woods, and he reared a large family of children. In politica he was a Democrat. The Albin family was of old Virginia stock and the ancestors came originally from Eng- land. Of John Albin's family two or three are still living and, as might naturally be supposed, are well along in years. A daughter, Mrs. Charity Walburn, is still living in Union township, Elkhart county, and two sons, George and Benjamin, are in Nebraska and Kansas, respectively. The names of all the children were as follows: Nancy A., Joseph C., William, Samnel, Sarah, Charity, Moreland, John, Rachel, Rebecca, Eliza J., Benjamin, Moses and George N. All of these were married and reared families. Moses was a soldier and died while in service; and George, too, was a soldier, serving for three years. Samuel Albin was not a year old when his parents emigrated to Ohio, and he was reared on his father's farm in Clark county. Like most farmer's boya of that day he was early trained to the duties of the farm, and acquired an education in a business way. About the year 1832 he married Miss Adama, and at the death of his father purchased the old home place on which he resided until his death in May, 1865. Hia wife was a daughter of John Adams, named after the President of that name, and probably one of his de- scendants. It is supposed that the Adams family came from Virginia and were early settlers of Clark county, Ohio. Mrs. Albin was born in the Old Dominion in 1814, and was one of six children, as follows: William, David, Caroline, Elizabeth, Wilson and Lavina. Of these only three are living: William and David in Cali- fornia, and Caroline, in Clark county, Ohio. Mra. Albin died when our subject was but four years of age, leaving seven children, all of whom reached manhood and womanhood. Her death occurred in Clark county, Ohio, and she was a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. After her death Samuel married Miss Anna Armstrong, who bore him two children, Malissa, who married Martin Walter, and now resides in Ohio, and Martha, who became the wife of Charles Swaney. The children born to the first marriage were named as follows: Gabriel, married and reaiding on a farm in Richland county, Ill., was a soldier in the late war; Nathan, died in Illinois and left a wife and family; Margaret, wife of Jasper Miller, resides in Illinois and is the mother of a family; Carolina married Smith Miller and resides in Illinois, her husband being dead; Catherine, wife of Charles Beatty, resides in Clark county, Ohio; Nancy A., married Robert Mccullough and is also a resident of that county, and our subject, who is the youngest of the family. In politics the father of these children was a Democrat. He was a man well posted on all the important isanes of the day and a citizen esteemed and respected. He held many offices of trust in the neighborhood in which he lived, took an active in- terest in all laudable enterprises, and was one of the foremost man of his section. He became quite wealthy. John W. Albin remained on his father's farm in Clark county. Ohio, until over nineteen years of age, when his father died. He attended the common schools, secured a good practical education, and after the death of his father started out to fight his own way in life. In 1866 he came to Elkhart county, Ind., and worked at the carpenter's trade for two years. In the spring of 1869 he bought the farm where he now lives, and as he had about $700 when he came to this county, he put it all into the land. This consisted of eighty acres, and was all
in the woods. He immediately began clearing and grubbing and, as a result, has now one of the finest farms in this part of the county. He has been unusually suc- cessful as a business man and farmer and his good fortune is due to his integrity, honesty, business ability and the push which is lacking in so many young men. Mr. Albin has some fine stock on his place and is paying considerable attention to the breeding of good stock. He is much interested in the political issues of the day and is a stanch Democrat. He has held various offices in the township, viz. : justice of the peace for four years, school officer, constable, etc., and was elected county commissioner, but the election being contested, has been carried to the au- prema court. Schools, churches and all things for the upbuilding of Elkhart county.
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are of interest to Mr. Albin. In his choice of a wife he selected Miss Lydia A. Slabaugh, and their nuptials were solemnized in 1869. She was born August 5, 1850, in Portage county, Ohio, and was one of three children, two of whom are living, born to Christian E. and Sophia (Walters) Slabaugh. Mr. and Mrs Albin are the parents of these children: Minnie, born February 21, 1871, is at home; Eva, born October 19, 1872, also at home; Mervin, born October 25, 1877; Celeste, born October 28, 1880, and Vers was born January 19, 1888.
HON. MARVIN CAMPBELL, manager sales department for Studebaker Bros. Manu- facturing Company, of South Bend, Ind., and treasurer of the Mishawaka Woolen Mannfactory, is a wide-awake and successful man of business, who thoroughly under- stands what is required of him and fulfills these requirements in an able and highly satisfactory manner. His birth occurred at Valparaiso, Ind., March 13, 1849, his parents, Samuel A. and Harriet (Cornell) Campbell, being natives of New York and Ohio respectively. Samuel A. Campbell came with his father to Valparaiso when a lad of twelve years, or in 1832, and settled on a farm near that place which, being still Government land, was in a very wild state. Here Samnel A. Campbell still lives at the age of seventy-two years, and the land that was then totally unimproved, is now a magnificent farm, on which are handsome and substantial buildings. In his family there were six children: Myron and Marvin (twins), Darius, Helen, Otto S. and Ida M. Those now living are Myron Coster, of South Bend National Bank; Otto S., a farmer upon the home farm, and the subject of this sketch. He was reared on the old home farm in the vicinity of Valparaiso and received his education in the Valparaiso Male & Female College; the year of 1869 was spent as a teacher of mathematics in the Valparaiso High School. In 1870 he came to South Bend as a teacher of mathematics in the high school, which position he occupied for two years, at the end of which time he engaged in the hardware business and followed it suc- cessfully for twelve years. He then sold his hardware stock to Munroe & Keltner, and invested in the Mishawaka Woolen Manufacturing Company, and has been con- nected with this concern ever since. He is one of its directors and is its treasurer, but only makes occasional visits to its office. In 1889 he became purchasing agent for Studebaker Bros. Manufacturing Company, and continued in that position until January 1, 1893, when he was promoted to the responsible position of general man- ager of the sales department. The citizens of St. Joseph and Starke counties, Ind., showed their appreciation of his many worthy qualities by electing him to the State Senate and he served with distinction in the sessions of 1883 and 1885. During this time he made a record as an able politician and won a deserved reputation as a forcible, eloquent and logical orator, and his services in this capacity have been in mnch demand throughout St. Joseph and surrounding counties. He is now, in a great measure, retired from the political arena and devotes his almost exclusive attention to his business. He has always been an active Republican. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. fraternity. In 1874 he was married to Miss Lydia A. Brownfield, of South Bend, and their union has resulted in the birth of three children: John B., who gradnated from the South Bend High School in the summer of 1892, and is now taking a course in the Rose Polytechnic School of Terre Haute; Harriet B. and Marvin R. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She is a daughter of the late Hon. John Brownfield, a very prominent man of Indiana, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume.
ALBERT GAYLOR, Mishawaka, Ind. The father of our subject is one of the old pioneer settlers of St. Joseph county. He has descended from German stock, his great-great-grandfather coming from Germany and settling in the State of New York. He returned to his native country, and never came back. Jacob M. Gaylor, Sr., the grandfather of our subject, was born in the State of New York and became a farmer in Rensselaer county, in that State. He married Hannah Snyder and to them was born one child, Jacob M., the father of our subject. Mr. Gaylor died in August, 1809, and his widow afterward married Eli B. Mead, a son of John Mead,
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who was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, entering at the age of fourteen and serving through the whole struggle. To Mr. and Mrs. Mead were born four chil- dren: John M., Catherine, Mary A. and Betsy. Mr. Mead removed to Dearborn county, Ind., settling near Rising Sun about 1816, when the State was yet a Terri- tory. In 1834 Mr. Mead removed with his family to St. Joseph and settled in the woods in Penn township about three miles south of Mishawaka and cleared up a farm. Mrs. Mead, the grandmother of our subject, lived until she was almost eighty-nine. Jacob M. Gaylor the father of our subject, was born August 5, 1809, in the State of New York and was but seven years of age when the family removed to Dearborn county, Ind. He had received the limited common-school education of the day, grew up a farmer and married, November 18, 1830, Cynthia Crouch, of that county, became the father of one child, Eleanor, who also married, but is now deceased. Mrs. Gaylor died in Dearborn county, September 9, 1832, and Mr. Gaylor married Azubah Ferria, September 26, 1833. She was the daughter of Isaiah and Lucinda (Crouch) Ferris. Mr. Ferris was of old American colonial stock from Vermont and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He afterward settled in St. Joseph county, Penn township, in 1836, near the Dixon neighborhood. To Mr. and Mrs. Gaylor were born three children, one who died an infant, Albert and Sarah A. In 1834 Mr. Gaylor removed his mother and family to St. Joseph county, where Mr. Mead had preceded them and built a log cabin. Mr. Gaylor made this journey with a four-ox team, consuming about thirteen days on the way, the dis- tance being some two hundred miles, and after comfortably settling the family of Mr. Mead he returned home and in 1835 brought his own family, being fourteen days on the way and being accompanied by Jonathan Buck and family. Mr. Gaylor settled in the woods in Penn township, four miles south of Mishawaka, entered 120 acres of land which he cleared up and made into a good farm and here erected a substantial residence, barns and other farm buildings. His means were very limited, but by industry and thrift accumulated property. Mr. and Mrs. Gaylor were devout members of the Baptist Church, the former being for many years clerk and a deacon, holding membership with that body for fifty-nine years. He always felt an interest in religions matters and materially assisted the churches at La Porte, Warsaw and Mishawaka. He was in favor of all educational meas- ures; served the people as school director, township trustee and supervisor, being a man in whom the people could repose the greatest confidence. Politically he was a Republican for many years, but at present he votes with the Prohibition party. For many years he lived on his farm, an honored and respected citizen, but in 1873 he moved into Mishawaka, bought a residence and retired from active life. His wife died at the age of eighty-two years, September 3, 1892. She was a devout Christian, and left many friends. Mr. Gaylor's long life of eighty-three years has been well spent. He is one of the few original pioneers of St. Joseph county now living, and has been spared to see this county develop from a primitive wilderness into a well-cultivated section with thriving towns and a prosperous people.
ALBERT GAYLOR, the son of one of the honored pioneer citizens of St. Joseph county, and a prominent business man of Mishawaka, was born on the old Gaylor homestead, four miles south of the town, March 29, 1841, was there reared and at- tended the pioneer log school honse, the best of the period. He was taught the duties of farm life, and at maturity married, October 31, 1865, Mary A., daughter of George and Mary (Kettering) Kiefer. The father of Mrs. Gaylor was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 25, 1812 and was educated in the common schools of the country. He learned the weaver's trade, which he followed until he was twenty-one years of age, when, in accordance with the laws of Germany, he was drafted as a soldier into the army, but not being needed, was granted a leave of absence, during which time he worked at his trade. By the law of Germany he was bound for serv- ice for six years, but before that time expired he sailed for America and landed at New York City, April 22, 1836. Almost the first thing he did after landing was to
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declare his intention to become an American citizen, having, in the meantime, secured sn honorable discharge from the German army. He soon found work in s cotton factory, which he followed for two years, when on February 6, 1838, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary Kettering, whom he had known in Germany, they having sttended the same school. They then moved to Portage county, Ohio, and began farming. Here they lived for seven years, after which they went to Indiana, where they re- mained twenty-four years. In the spring of 1871 he moved to Independence, Iows, where he bought a house, and resided until his death on New Year's Day, 1893. For forty years he and wife were members of the Evangelical Church. For eight years he filled the office of trustee of Washington township. He was the father of twelve children, thirty three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. On Feb- ruary 6, 1888, their children, with a few friends, gathered at the home and cele- brated the golden wedding of their parents in an appropriate manner. Mr. Kiefer had always been regarded with feelings of great esteem by the citizens of all classes and parties. He deserved this respect in every particular, as the reward of a vir- tuous, well-spent life. To Mr. and Mrs. Gaylor were born four children, as follows: E. Victoria, born September 9, 1866; John F., born October 21, 1869; Ralph W., born October 9, 1873, and Mable E., born April 17, 1879. Mr. Gaylor remained on the home farm, which he managed for his father until 1872, being & substantial farmer and a man who commanded the respect of the people of the township. In his political opinions he is a stanch Republican, and has acceptably filled the office of assessor of Penn township for five years, and has been a member of the Misha- waka council for three years; the office of township trustee of Penn township for four years, from 1881 to 1884. Mr. Gaylor has taken an active interest in the pub- lic schools of Mishawaka, and has been on the board of education for a number of years. Both he and wife are members of the Methodist Church, in which body he has held the offices of steward and trustee. Socially he is a Mason and a member of Mishawaka Lodge, No. 130, also a member of the chapter and council aod the Commandery Knights Templar of South Bend. Mr. Gaylor has filled all of the chairs in the Mishawaka Lodge and Council. In 1873 he removed to Mishawaka and engaged in the grocery business five years. He built the first wood pulp-mill in St. Joseph county, in 1877, and this mill was the first of its kind in the State. He remained in this business until the spring of 1887, when he founded the firm of Gaylor & Doolittle and engaged in the agricultural implement business, the firm also dealing in wood, coal, tiling, etc. Mr. Gaylor is a first-class citizen and owns a tasteful and commodious residence on the north side of the town, opposite the park. His children have all received an excellent education, all being gradnates of the Mishawaka High School, except the youngest, who is now pursuing the same course. His sons also received a commercial education in Chicago and in South Bend. His daughter, E. Victoria, has been a successful teacher in the B grammar department, in the Mishawaka public schools for seven years. John F. is an expert stenographer in the general freight office at Chicago of the Michigan Central Rail- road Company, receiving his commercial education in Chicago. Ralph W. is also an expert stenographer in the office of the Wisconsin Central Depot, at Chicago, for J. Hawn, manager of the Wisconsin Central. Mr. Gaylor is one of the success- ful business men of Mishawaka and stands high as a man of character whose integrity is unimpeached. He is the agent of Robbin Battell, of New York City, a large property holder in St. Joseph county, to whom the people of Mishawaka owe the beautiful Battell Park on the north side.
CHARLES A. BREHMER, architect. With the increase in population, refinement and wealth in the cities of the United States, has arisen a growing demand for the blend- ing of the artistic, and the beautiful with the utilitarian in architecture. The results have been extremely gratifying to the advocates of progress in this most vitally important profession. Among those who have acquired a wide reputation for their skill and artistic conception, ranks Charles A. Brehmer, who was born in Glencoe,
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Ill., September 23, 1860, s son of Charles A. and Mary (Uthe) Brehmer, the former a native of Alsace, France (now Germany), and the latter born in this country, but of German parentage. The father came to this country prior to his marriage, was finely educated and possessed business ability of a high order. He could write three different languages, speak seven different tongues, which fact made his services very valuable and much sought after. He was the manager for a New York syndicate in a large brick-yard and later filled the same position in the Michigan lumber camps, but ended his days on s farm in the vicinity of Lansing, Mich., in July, 1891, his death occurring very suddenly. His wife had been called from life four years earlier. They were the parents of three sons and two daughters: Charles A., Louis, Frank (deceseed), and the two daughters deceased. The subject of this sketch was principally reared in Bay City, Mich., where he received his primary education in the public schools. He then entered the University of Notre Dame, in which institution he went through a course of training in all the building trades. This training occupied six years of schooling, and after leaving that institution he went to Bay City, Mich., where he took s two-years' course of instruction under that well-known lumberman and architect-James Shesrer. In 1884 Mr. Brehmer returned to South Bend and worked at his trade, subsequently engaging in contract- ing for himself, and for two years he successfully continued both branches of his business. For the last four years he has turned his attention entirely to archi- tectural work, and among the many remarkably creditable specimens of his skill, may' be mentioned the handsome residence of Pat O'Brien, the Shickery residence, the residence of Prof. Egan, the Pabst Brewing Company's building, of which he was the contractor, and the following buildings which he designed: Residences for Dr. P. E. Rupp, J. P. Creed, J. Rockstroh, A. W. Lee, M. Bieger, E. A. Jernegan, F. Hollister, L. Eliel, Edwin Witwer, J. C. Naidlhart, Frank Mayer, C. Hudson, Martha Inwood, the Coquillard flats, and numerone others; the German Methodist Church, the rectory of St. Patrick's Church, the business house of Listenberger & Varrier, German Lutheran Church, of Woodland, six business blocks, two of which are four-story structures, and various other buildings. Mr. Brehmer is the leading architect of the city and is prominent in the social circles of the place. At present he is president of the board of water trustees. He is the owner of considerable valuable property, and, possessing good judgment and prudence, is accumulating wealth. At the present time he is superintending the building of the Arlington Hotel of Benton Harbor, Mich. January 16, 1883, he was married to Miss Mary A. Riley, of South Bend, by whom he has six children: Charles E., Gertrude, Olivia, Mary, Louis and Bernhard. Mr. Brehmer is a member of the C. K. of A.
JOHN BARKEY, Mishawaka, Ind. For generations the ancestors of our subject have led agricultural lives. They came to America, fleeing from religious persecu- tion in Germany, and at the invitation of William Penn settled in Bucks county, Penn., whence the family has spread, and one of its most respected representa- tives is John Barkey, of Mishawaka, Ind., the subject of the present sketch. Grand- father Barkey was a farmer in Bucks county; his sons Christian and Jacob, located in Wayne and Medina counties, Ohio. His son John, the father of our subject, was born in Bucks county, Penn., wasreared to farm life and educated in German. The religion of the family was Mennonite and the children were all strictly reared. John married Susannah Buzzard, of Bucks county and they had a family of twelve children who grew to maturity and three who died young. The names of the living were Anna, Rachael, Catherine, Elizabeth, Margaret, Barbara, Christian, Mary, John, George, Peter and Isaac. In 1857 Mr. Barkey moved with his family to Holmes county, Ohio, and settled on 160 acres of land in the wilderness, and here cleared up a good farm and erected comfortable farm buildings. He became & minister in the Mennonite church, preached for many years and was one of the founders of that church in Holmes county. He was an earnest man, a good citizen and, like many other pioneers, could turn his hand to almost any kind of work. He
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was a fair carpenter, cooper, shoemaker and miller and lived to the age of seventy- nine years two months and five days, dying on his farm in Holmes county. Of quiet disposition and of sincere Christian character, he had regard and respect from all, and it was a comfort to him that he never had a lawsuit in his life. John Barkey, a son of the above, and subject of this sketch, was born February 25, 1828, on his father's clearing, in Holmes county, Ohio, in a small log cabin. His birth occurred one year after their removal from Pennsylvania, and he was reared among pioneer scenes. He was early obliged to assist in the clearing and cultivating of the farm and received only such education as could be acquired in the little log school- house which he was able to attend for a few seasons, a couple of weeks at a time. His father built a saw-mill and he learned to work there, so continuing until he was twenty-three years of age. He came to St. Joseph county in the spring of 1852, and worked for John Weldy, who was a pioneer of St. Joseph county, his farm being on the line between Elkhart and St. Joseph counties, in Madison and Olive town- ships. On April 19, 1855, he married Elizabeth, daughter of John and Anna (Ketch) Weldy (see sketch of Abraham Weldy). Mr. and Mrs. Barkey remained on the home farm one year, and in 1856 settled on his present farm, in the woods of Madison township, of eighty acres, which was a wedding present from John Weldy. Mr. Barkey cleared a epot, built a log cabin 18x20 feet, contain- ing two rooms and made comfortable with a board floor, and here two of his chil- dren were born and Mr. Barkey and wife spent ten years of their married life. He cleared up his land, and by industry and thrift added to it until he now owns 215 acres of fine farming land with good improvements. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barkey are de- vout members of the Mennonite Church, and the former has always contributed lib- erally to the support and extension of his denomination. Politically, he affiliates with the Democratic party. To Mr. and Mrs. Barkey were born three children: Susannah W., born December 26, 1862, and died August 3, 1863; an infant un- named, born April 10, 1866, and Levi W., born September 29, 1869. Mr. Barkey is one of the practical and substantial farmers of Madison township, has seen St. Joseph county grow from a wilderness into a well-developed and prosperous sec- tion. He and his faithful wife have labored hard to improve their surroundings and his honorable and blameless life is one to be commended. Levi W., the only child of the above, was born on the old homestead and was sent to the common schools of the district, this education being supplemented by attendance at the normal school at Valparaiso, Ind. He became a practical farmer and was married February 1, 1890, to Lizzie M., daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Metzler) Huntzberger. They have one child, Elmer H., born April 19, 1891. He is a young man of enterprise and industry, and manages the home farm. In 1863 the father of this young man brought the first portable saw-mill to Madison township. It had a circular saw, and was the first portable mill for twenty miles around, being at that time a great curi- osity, visitors coming for miles around to see it. The original name of this family may have been spelled Berkey.
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