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 57

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 57
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 57

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ELI O. NEWMAN is one of the energetic and enterprising citizens of Mishawaka, and comes of sterling English and Irish stock, his early ancestors coming to this country and settling at Lynn, Mass. David Newman, the great-grandfather, was a soldier of the Revolution and was born at that place, and after his marriage became the father of the following children: John, Thomas, Sarah, Clarissa, Nancy and Eli. The latter, our subject's grandfather, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Thomas, his son, was also born at Lynn, and was a shoemaker by trade; he mar- ried Miss Fannie Weeks and eight children were born to them: Samuel, James, Alexander, David, Mary, Sarah, Eli O. and Benjamin, who was killed in the Civil war, while serving in an Ohio regiment. Thomas Newman settled in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, at an early day and died near New Philadelphia at the age of forty- five years, having been an industrious, hard-working man of strictly honorable character and correct morals. Eli O. Newman, his son, owes his nativity to Tuscar- awas county, Ohio, where he was born August 19, 1839, but when a very small child he was left an orphan by the death of his parents and was brought up by his uncle, John Low, of Columbiana, Ohio, with whom he made his home until he was sixteen years of age. He then came to Indiana and worked for hie brother, David,

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until he was about twenty years of age at which time he began laboring in a saw- mill. On September 9, 1861, he cast aside personal considerationa and enlisted in the Union service to fight his country'a battles, becoming a member of Company I, Ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until October 17, 1865, when he was honorably discharged at Camp Stanley in Texas. He was in the engagement at Greenbriar, W. Va., October 3, 1861, the aiege of Corinth, Perryville, a skirmish at Danville, besidea many other minor akirmiahes in Kentucky, and at the battle of Stone River he was slightly wounded by the Union artillery. He was in skirmishes at Woodbury and Readyville, Tenn., and at the latter place was promoted to corporal and detailed assistant color bearer, carrying the stara and atripes the most of the time. At Ready ville, Tenn., he had charge of eleven men who engaged one hundred rebel cavalry in a akirmish. He was alao at Chickamauga, and Lookout Mountain, hia regiment making a charge up the mountain in the face of a severe fire, and fought above the clouds. The next day they fought at Mission Ridge and here his regiment captured 200 rebel prisoners. They were then detailed to bury the dead after the battle of Chattanooga, after which they went to Whitesides, Tenn., and re-enlisted as veterans, Mr. Newman being the first man in his regiment to re-enlist. He came home on a thirty-day veteran's fur- lough, then reported to Gen. O. O. Howard, and was in the Atlanta campaign, tak- ing part in the engagementa at Rocky Face Ridge, Dalton, Reaaca, Kingston, Dallas, Pine Mountain, Keneaaw Mountain, Rough Station, Peach Tree Creek, siege of Atlanta, Jonesboro, Lovejoy Station, Columbia, Tenn., Franklin, Nashville, besides many skirmishes more or less severe. His regiment waa under fire for nearly four months at Atlanta. He was in the hospital at Louisville for about one month and was home on furlough one month, and with these exceptions he was on duty with his regiment and in active service until his discharge. Hia duties aa color-bearer were very dangerous and arduous and one of the standarda of colors was a silk flag presented to the regiment by General Nelaon, of Kentucky. At the battle of Lovejoy Station a bullet passed through his flag, and almost the same thing happened at Resaca. At the battle of Stone River one of the color-bearera was shot and the most of the others were wounded. Mr. Newman was a brave and faithful soldier and did efficient service for his country on many a bloody battle- field. On April 27, 1862, while at home on furlough he married Caroline, daughter of Nelson and Betsy (Hoard) Moon, Mr. Moon having been born in the State of New York, and was one of the early settlers of Penn township, this county, where he and his wife reared the following children: Maria, William, Caroline, Sarah, Martha A., Emma and Nelson. Mr. and Mrs. Newman have raised five children: Clara A., Howard W., Anna H., Julius A. and Clover A. After his return from the army Mr. Newman settled down to farming and by energy and good judgment has become the owner of a fine farm of one hundred acres. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for many years he has been a stanch Republican politically, but at the present time is a Prohibitioniat. He has given his children excellent educational advantages, and they all have been attendants at the Northern Indiana Normal College at Valparaiso and are now very successful teachers of St. Joseph county, with the exception of Clover, who ia atill attending school. As a citizen Mr. Newman haa always been enterprising, indua- trious and honest, is a practical and shrewd farmer, a kind husband and father and is a man of naturally fine mind, which has been strengthened and enriched by much reading, by observation and contact with the business affairs of life.

MOTHER MARY OF ST. ANGELA. Eliza Marie Gillespie was the eldeat daughter of John M. and Mary (Myers) Gillespie, and was born in Brownsville, Penn., February 21, 1824. Her parents were remarkable for their deep piety and abiding faith, and these noble qualities were inherited by their children to the fullest extent. The head of the house was called from life when his three children, Eliza Maria, Mary (Mra. P. B. Ewing), and Neal Henry (the late Rev. Father Gillespie, C. S. C., of Notre

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Dame), were quite young, and with their mother the family removed to Lancaster, Ohio. Soon after Eliza Maria was placed at school with the Dominican Sisters at Somerset, Perry Co., Ohio, and some years afterward she was sent to Georgetown Convent, where, with the Visitandines, she became a great favorite on account of her talents and brilliant qualities. She in time finished her studies, bearing off the highest honors in the gift of that institution. Tenderness for the sick and the afflicted seemed to be an inborn trait with her and as years advanced it developed in a remarkable degree. When the news of the famine in Ireland reached her ears, she resorted to many expedienta to obtain aid for the sufferers, and succeeded in col- lecting no mean sum of money to forward to the sufferers, through the agency of her needle and pen, writing a magazine story in connection with Misa Ellen Ewing, now the widow of Gen. Sherman. When the Asiatic cholera broke out everywhere in the United States in 1849, instead of shrinking at its approach, Miss Gillespie did not hesitate to attend and nurse the sick and dying who had been deserted out of fear of the fatal disease. The year 1853 marked the date of her entrance into the Con- gregation of the Holy Cross, and thenceforward she was known by the name now so familiar to the religious and educational world-" Mother Angela. " Directly after her reception of the holy habit, which was on the Feast of the Patronage of St. Joseph, 1853, she sailed for Europe, made her novitiate in France, and on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the same year took the vows of religious profession at the hands of Very Rev. Father Morean, the founder of the Congre- gation of the Holy Cross. In January, 1855, she returned to America and was made auperior of the Academy of St. Mary's, Bertrand, Mich. This school, which had been doing good service for eight years, now took a decided step in advance. In the following summer the Sisters were transferred from Bertrand to the present site of St. Mary's, and the academy was chartered, the foundation of the present Con- servatory of Music was laid, the art department was fairly started, in fact, the future of St. Mary's was established on a firm foundation, and all chiefly owing to the liberal, intelligent and indefatigable exertions, to the executive ability, to the quick comprehension and tact to make the best use of circumstances, and last, though not least of all, to the earnest faith of Mother Angela. To Mother Angela there was nothing ignoble in the most common offices, the meaneat labor when done for God. Although St. Mary's was destined to weather many fierce storma for ex- istence, especially during its early days, the faith and persistent efforts of the little society brought it safely through. Under Mother Angela's notable co-operation with Father Sorin's designs, foundationa were established in various parts of the Union, so that it is not exaggeration to say that at the present time her influence ia felt from ocean to ocean, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, in the schools which have been established by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and through the method of education adopted and perfected under her wise superintendence. The best minds of the day recognize the fact that Mother Angela's enterprise was in the right direction, and they reposed the greatest confidence in her judgment and opinions. The high standard which she held up to her teachers, the conscientious motives which actuated her in her determination to render the schools of the Holy Cross the very best in the land, the avidity with which she laid hold of every means to exalt and perfect the system of education employed, exerted a mighty influence, not only upon the Congregation of the Holy Cross, but outside of the community. It gave an impetus to the very best in the educational world. During the Civil war Mother Angela took her band of devoted Sisters into the midst of carnage and deso- lation of the border States where the fierce contest was at its height, to prepare food for the sick, and they were obliged to rise very early and cook their gruel for 1,400 patients before "roll call." A volume conld be filled with the most intereat- ing details, but suffice it to say that they not only rendered physical aid but also at- tended to the spiritual wants of unnumbered sonls in their dying hour. Directly or indirectly through Mother Angela's energetic fervor, outside institutions were

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established at the following placea: Baltimore, Md .; Michigan City, Ind. ; Morris, Ill. ; Washington, D. C .; Rensselaer, Ind .; Logansport, Ind. ; South Bend, Ind. ; La Porte, Ind .; Allen county, Ind .; Plymouth, Ind .; Crawfordsville, Ind. ; Alexandria, Va .; Austin, Tex .; Cairo, Ill .; Salt Lake City, Utah; Watertown, Wis .; Lancaster, Penn. ; Ogden, Utah; Union City, Ind .; Anderson, Ind .; Marshall, Tex .; Goshen, Ind .; Elkhart, Ind .; Park City, Utah; Deadwood, Dak .; Mt. Carmel and Columbus, Ohio. More than one institution was established in a number of these cities. In the summer 1886 Mother Angela went to take possession of St. Mary's of the Holy Rosary, at Woodland, Cal., but the foregoing list is but a small index of the grand volume of her life-work and does little more than point to a lifetime of incredible zeal and charity. After the war Mother Angela was called upon to assist Very Rev. Edward Sorin in the publication of the Ave Maria, of which he was the founder. The success of the establishment of St. Mary's Academy at Salt Lake City, where they were long compelled to remain under the protection of the Govern- ment, is one of the strongest proofs of Mother Angela's sagacity, and of her broad, heroic charity. Instances of these qualities might be found in nearly every school she established. At St. Mary's, however, every object is alive with her impress, especially in the musical and art departments. Although she is passed from life, she still lives in those who were educated at St. Mary's. The following is quoted from one of her former pupils: "The papers say many beautiful and glorious things of dear Mother Angela's brilliant talents and useful career, but we know her deeply religious character. Her self-sacrifice, her pure intention and zeal for the glory of God are better before the throne of God than all the praises the world can possibly bestow. "

JOHN S. ERNST is one of the leading farmers of Penn township, St. Joseph Co., Ind., and has followed this calling from his earliest boyhood, being initiated into its mysteries by his father, Martin Ernst, who was born at Baden Baden, Germany, where he was married to Justina Scholer, who was also a native of Baden Baden. They came to America in search of a fortune in 1833 and settled on a farm near Rochester, N. Y., where they resided eight years, then moved to Superior county, Canada, where nineteen years were spent on a farm of 100 acres. In 1865 they decided to remove to the States and they accordingly bought 160 acres of land about three miles south of Mishawaka, on which the father lived until his career wsa closed by death in 1867, when fifty-four years of age. He was a man of great in- dustry and, like all his countrymen, was prudent and economical and strictly hon- orable in all his business transactions; in fact, was a model German-American citi- zen. He and his wife were devout Catholics and in this belief they reared their five children: John S .; Joseph; Elizabeth; Madeline, who died & married woman; and Ludwig, who died at the age of six years. John S. Ernst was born near Roch- ester, N. Y., February 14, 1835, and was about six years of age when he went with his parents to Canada. He received a practical education in both German and English in the Dominion. He also came to St. Joseph county in 1865, and after the death of his father he settled on half of the homestead, which he farmed with excellent re- sults for nineteen years, but since 1882 has resided on his present farm of 155 acres, which is nicely improved and for which he paid $12,400. His prosperity is due to hard work and thrift, and being public spirited and strictly honorable he is with reason considered one of the substantial and responsible citizens of the county. He is a thoroughly practical farmer and is in every way worthy the respect that is sc- corded him, for he is in every sense of the world self-made and his word ia consid- ered as good as his bond. January 20, 1867, he was married to Magdalina, daugh- ter of Jacob and Mary (Bucheit) Bucheit, and the fruits of their union were nine children: Mary, Justina, Rosa, Leo, Matilda, Frank, John (who died in infancy), August and Isabelle, all of whom have received educational advantages and made the most of their opportunities. He and his wife are worthy members of the Catho- lic Church, and it may with truth be said that such citizens sre a direct benefit to

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the community, for by their industry and good habits they assist in developing the country and rear honorable families.

JOSEPHEUS NEFF, a member of the Nappanee Implement Company, was born December 30, 1861, on his father's farm in Jackson township, this county, and like most country boye he attended the district school in winter and assisted his father with the farm work during the summer months. He continued under the parental roof until of age, when he started out to fight his own way in life. He first settled on a farm in Jefferson township, Kosciusko county, improved this farm in every way and subsequently sold to advantage and moved to Nappanee in 1890. Until the spring of 1891 he was with Paxton Bros., general implement dealers, and he then formed s partnership with Mr. French. During the summer and fall of the game year he and his partner built a large double store and salesroom, which they stocked with all the latest and most improved farm machinery and hardware. They are honorable, conscientious business men and have already built up a large trade in their line. Mr. Neff is & practical and experienced man, thoroughly conversant with every detail of his business, and is highly esteemed throughout mercantile cir- cles for his many exemplary traits of character, promptness and reliability. He was the only child born to John and Anns (Lisle) Neff, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Elkhart county, Ind. John Neff was the son of Henry Neff, who came to Indiana st an early day, being among the pioneer settlers of Elkhart county. The mother of our subject was a daughter of John Lisle, also a pioneer of this county. She was one of three children by her father's first marriage, and her brothers were Josephens, deceased, and Josiah living in Iowa. Her father married the second time and by this union became the father of six children. Our subject was but six months old when he was left motherless and his father was married the second time to Miss Elizabeth Geyer and reared six sons and three daughters: Calvin, Levi, Alpheus, Rollo, Loyd and Burton, and Ida, Emma and Nettie. Both Mr. and Mrs. Neff are living and have a good farm in Jackson township, this county. Josephens Neff's marriage with Miss Katie Smith, who was born in 1862, was solemnized in 1883, and one bright little child has blessed this union, Gracie, whose birth occurred July 22, 1888. Mrs. Neff's parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Fischer) Smith, were natives of Pennsylvania and Canada, respectively, and early pioneers of Elkhart county. Both are now deceased. They were the parents of eight children, four sons and four daughters: Samuel, John, Frank, Jesse, Susan, Lndia, Kate and Ells. The latter married George Whitehead and died at the age of twenty three years. The remainder of the children are living, the boys on farms in Jackson township and the girls all married and living not far from the old home. Mr. Neff is one of the push- ing, energetic young business men of Nappanee and is quite a favorite in business and social circles. In politics he is a Democrat.

E. W. KIGER, Osceola, Ind. Our subject is one of the old settlers of St. Joseph county, Ind., of German-English descent. His great-grandfather, Peter Kiger, was a native of Pennsylvania, married and had the following family: Peggy, Mary, Jesse, Henry, Jacob and Peter. The occupation of Mr. Kiger was farming, and his death occurred in the Keystone State. Peter Kiger, Jr., son of the above and the grandfather of our subject, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., married there Cath- erine Farce, daughter of William Farce, who belonged to the same family as the Wilberforce family. Peter Kiger and wife were the parents of fourteen children, as follows: Sarah, who died when a young woman; Jacob, who died when a young man; William, who died when an infant; Henry, Jesse P., Peter, Ebeneezer, Abra- ham, James, Eliza, Katie A., Hannah (deceased), Jane and Minerva. Peter Kiger left Pennsylvanis and settled at Cadiz, Ohio, where he remained some years and then moved to Wayne county, Ohio, where he bought 160 acres of land, for which he paid $480. He settled in the woods before any one else had come there, cleared up a good farm, made improvements, passed there the remainder of hie days and died in 1850, seventy-six years of age. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kiger were members

GOODSPELO MENOS -CH.

your Respectply.

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of the Methodist Church, and Mr. Kiger was a substantial pioneer farmer and at his death left one of the best farms in Wayne county. He was & hard working and upright citizen, respected by all. Abraham Kiger, father of our aubject, was born October 6, 1825, in Wayne county. He received the pioneer education of those daya, in an old log school-house, with split logs for benchea, and the reading books for the pupils were the New Testament and the Columbian Orator. He attended school during the winter season for several years, and thus learned & com- mon-school education. He learned to work on the farm, and thus grew to manhood. and February 29, 1849, he married Caroline Hoffheimer, daughter of John and Mary Hoffheimer, of a Pennsylvania-German family, who were old settlers of Medina county, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Kiger were born six children: Julian, who died the age of eleven years; Malinda, who died after marriage; Marcellus, who died at the age of seven years; Mary E., who died at the age of two years; Ephraim, who died an infant; and Ephraim W. Mr. Kiger remained on the home farm until after the death of his parents, in 1852, coming to St. Joseph county and settling north- west of South Bend, where he lived for two years on the St. Joseph River, four miles from South Bend. Then he bought eighty acres next to the Portage Chapel, cleared . up this farm from the wilderness and bonght six acres more. In 1863 he moved to Berrian county, Mich., lived there two years and then returned to St. Joseph county and lived for six years, one mile east of Mishawaka, and then lived for twelve years three miles south of Osceola. In 1863 he bought ninety acres of land which con- stituted his present farm, and on this he has made good improvements. Mrs. Kiger died June 12, 1891, a devont member of the Methodist Church, of which Mr. Kiger ia also a member, and in which he has been a class-leader for fifteen years. Mr. Kiger has always been a man of active mind, and until the formation of the Greenback party had always voted the Democratic ticket. In later years he has voted the Prohibition ticket. He has passed & life of industry and reaps the reward, possess- ing a good farm and residence, is in comfortable circumstances; stands deservedly high as an honorable citizen, and is a vigoroue and fine example of an American pioneer farmer. Ephraim W., con of the above, and our subject, was born July 15, 1856, on his father's farm north of Sonth Bend, was reared a farmer and received the common-school education of the district. Later he supplemented this with a season at the Normal School at Valparaiso, Ind., taught school in this county for three terms and then engaged in farming and in the agricultural implement business in connection with it. Now our subject is engaged in the breeding and raising of fast horses, owning at the present time two of the fastest horses in St. Joseph county, one of which, the stallion, "S. W. Bennett." son of " Pilot Medium," is a standard- bred trotting horse, and ia the fastest stallion in St. Joseph county, having a record of 2:23} on a half-mile track. His mare, "Betty K.," standard and registered, with a record of 2:264 on a mile track, is another fine animal. Mr. Kiger is now devoting his attention to the horse business, which he intends to develop. He is a man of education, great intelligence and excellent business ability, and as his per- sonal habits are above reproach, never having indulged in either beer, whisky or tobacco, he is worthy to be considered one of the best citizens of this fine old county. Although he votes the Democratic ticket, he takes but little interest in local politica. On April 8. 1877, he married Olive Teel, daughter of Simeon and Mary (Nossinger) Teel. Simeon Teel was born in Union county, Ohio, March 13, 1820. His grand- father came from Germany to England, thence to America and settled in Lancaster county, Penn. He had three sons, Adam. Alexander and Benjamin, one of whom became the father of Simeon. The grandfather took part in the Revolutionary war. Simeon married Mary Hoffsinger, daughter of Joseph and grand-daughter of Andrew Hoffsinger, who was the first settler in Elkhart county, in 1825. The Teel family was as follows: Nancy J., Annetta A., Laura A., Emma, Mary O., William M., Ella N. and Edith A. Mr. Teel settled in Elkhart county, Ind., there became a promi- nent farmer and died March 6, 1888. Both Mr. and Mrs. Teel were members of 23

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the United Brethren Church. Mr. and Mrs. Kiger have one daughter, Maud, born October 1, 1886. Mrs. Kiger ie a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Kiger is a substantial man and stands high as a citizen, is well known throughout the county and has an enviable reputation for integrity of character. In 1892 he founded the Walnut Valley Stock farm. This is pleasantly located south of Osceola, and has excellent facilities for becoming widely known.

FRANCIS M. JACKSON, deputy prosecuting attorney for the Thirty-second Judicial Division, embracing St. Joseph and La Porte counties. The bar of South Bend, Ind., contains among its members many of the brightest, most learned and most pro- ficient lawyers in the country. Some of them are prominent in political life as well as in the professional arena, and many of them are identified with the public insti- tutions and business corporations of the city. Such an one is Francis M. Jackson, who was born in German township of this county March 6, 1864, son of William O. Jackson, a successful tiller of the soil of German township, who was born in Ohio, was bronght to St. Joseph county, Ind., and is now fifty-seven years of age. His wife was formerly Miss Elizabeth Chamberlain, a native of Ohio also, who be- came a resident of this State and county when twelve years of age. Francis M. Jackson was the fourth of eight children born to this worthy couple, spent his early life in discharging such duties as fall to the lot of the farmer's boy, and after re- ceiving a practical education in the schools of the rural district, he spent one year iu the Valparaiso Normal School. Immediately following this he began teaching at the Stover School-house in Clay township, but in the summer of 1884 entered upou the study of law st Valparaiso. In order to procure means with which to purene his studies, he again taught school in the winter of 1884-5, following that occu- pation with success in Green township of this county. In the summer of 1885 he came to South Bend and read law in the office of J. P. Creed, after which he spent one year in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, pursuing his legal studies. In the spring of 1886 he was admitted to the St. Joseph county bar and immedi- ately thereafter opened an office, hung out his shingle and waited for clients. His period of probation was not long, however, and he was soon in the enjoyment of a fair practice, but in 1887 he decided to go to Great Bend, Kan., and there he remained until the fall of the following year. He then returned to South Bend and formed & co-partnership with Hon. T. E. Howard, which continued until April, 1891. At this time, on account of ill health, M. P. D. Connolly, prosecuting attorney of this district, was compelled to give up his duties and Mr. Jackson took charge of all the business of the office. He has been a valuable factor in the district government, and in all his relations has exhibited true citizenship and a zealous adherence to correct and conservative principles. In 1890 Miss Belle L. Judie became his wife, she being a native of the county, a daughter of Paul Judie, and a former pupil of Mr. Jackson's. The latter has always supported the principles of Democracy, and socially is a member of South Bend Lodge, No. 29, of the L O. O. F., the Red Men and the Royal Arcanum. His career thus far has been one of gratifying success, and his record in the past will insure him a successful future.

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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 57

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

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