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 60

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 60
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 60

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MEMOIRS OF INDIANA.

ried William Bartwhistle, and is the mother of one child, Joy V .; they live in Nappanee. Eliza A., born March 2, 1867, married John Wisler, and they have two children: Madge and Charles; they live in Locke township. Noah F., born October 8, 1869, resides at home. Laura B., born February 14, 1878, at home. Clara A., born April 30, 1875, died September 1, 1877. Of this family all but two were resred, and of those living, only the two youngest are unmarried. When Mr. Mc- Donald came to this part of Indiana he bought eighty acres, which he has since improved until it is one of the best farms in the county. In his political views Mr. McDonald is a Republican, and he has held a number of public offices, among them those of road supervisor, school director and township trustee, holding the latter office four years. He now carries on general farming, and does all his trading at Nappa- nee. Before he came to thie State, he worked as a teamster on the roads in Ohio for fourteen years, and after locating in Indiana, he ran a saw-mill for twenty years on Yellow Creek. In that, as in all other enterprises attempted by him, he was successful, hie success being due to honest, hard work.

ELI MILLER, Mishawaka, Ind. At an early day seven brothers of the name of Miller came from Germany and settled in the eastern part of the United States, and of one of these our subject is a lineal descendant. Adam Miller, Sr., the grand- father of our subject, was a descendant of one of these early settlers, and was born in Pennsylvania in 1784. He went to Ohio when a young man, where he married Sarah Prior, and settled near the city of Colnmbns. He was the father of thirteen children, viz .: Sarah, Mary, John P., Anthony, Samuel W., David D., Margaret, Adam, Elizabeth, Jacob E., Robert D. (who died young), Eliza W. and Henry S. Six of these are still living, aged from sixty-three to eighty-eight years. The first four sons entered the ministry. In 1830 Mr. Miller came to St. Joseph county, Ind., and settled on Beardsley's Prairie, in Harris township, near the Michigan line, part of his farm being in that State. Here he made a fine farm, which he sold many years after, and removed to Mishawaka, where he resided a few years, and then settled on a farm in Elkhart county, where he spent the remainder of his days. He was well educated and was a minister in the Baptist Church, being one of the old pioneer preachers who traveled sbout and preached in the houses of the settlers for many miles around, and was widely known and highly esteemed. Adam Miller, Jr., his son, was the father of our subject. He was born in Ohio, January 8, 1818, and received the common education of those pioneer days. He was reared a farmer and came with his parents to this county in 1830, and December 2, 1838, married Mercy A. Mesd, daughter of Eli B. and Hannah (Snyder) Mead. Eli B. Mead was born in New York, December 1, 1790, and was the son of John Mead, a member of an old colo- nial family of German descent. John Mesd enlisted at the age of fifteen years as s soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving through that struggle. In an early day he left New York, and settled in Dearborn county, Ind., and in 1834 he removed to Penn township, St. Joseph county, where he remained till his death. Eli B. Mesd moved with his family from Dearborn county about a year later, and settled in the same township. He was married in the State of New York, and was the father of four children, as follows: John M., Mercy A., Betsey and Catharine. By occupation he was a farmer. He died in Penn township at the age of seventy-eight years. He was s member of the Baptist Church, and an honorable and respected citizen. His wife died a few years later, in the ninetieth year of her age. After his marriage Adam Miller, Jr., settled in Harris township on a part of the old homestead, after- ward moving several times, but principally residing in Penn township. His longest residence was on a farm five miles southeast of Mishawaka, where he lived from 1853 to 1886. He was a substantial farmer and possessed 300 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were the parents of eight children, as follows: Cyrus, who died at the age of three months; Eli; Andrew S., who died at the age of thirteen; Hannah; Lee O .; Julius and Julia, twins, the latter of whom died at the age of three years, and Lorenzo, who died in early manhood at the age of twenty-three years. Of these,

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Hannah married Alonzo Smyser, and had one child, Harry L., who is a stockman on a cattle ranch in Nebraska. Mrs. Smyser is now married to W. P. Fisher, a prominent decorator in Chicago. Dr. Lee O. Miller is a prominent dentist of Three Rivers, Mich. He married Clara S. Throp, and has one child, Jasper. He is a member of the Christian Church, and Republican in politics. He is successful in his business, and has been a member of the city council of Three Rivers for some years. He is prominent in musical circles of that city. He is identified with the K. O. T. M., K P., Masonic and Good Templar organizations. Of the latter he was Grand counselor of his State last year, and now stands at the head of that order in Michigan as grand chief templar. Julius is a farmer on Rolling Prairie, La Porte county, Ind. He married Millie Roth, and has two children, Edna and Lloyd. He is a man of decided convictions, a zealous member of the Christian Church, a strong temperance man and a member of the Prohibition party. Lorenzo was a farmer, and married Sadie Zeller, and had one child, Ira J. He was a grad- nate of the normal school st Valparaiso, Ind., a member of the Christian Church, and a young man of fine character. Both Mr. and Mrs. Miller were members of the Christian Church, in which Mr. Miller was an elder for some years. Politically he was a Democrat until the Fremont campaign, when he joined the Republican party, and voted its ticket till 1884, when he identified himself with the Prohibition party at its organization in Indiana. He was a strong temperance man, and ever took an active interest in the cause. He was progressive, a man of decided views, and noted for his high character. He enjoyed the confidence and respect of the people. He moved to Mishawaka in 1885, where he died September 27, 1892, at nearly the age of seventy-four years.

Eli Miller, son of the above, and the subject of the present sketch, was born March 8, 1841, on his grandfather Miller's farm in Harris township, and has passed all of his life thus far as a resident of St. Joseph county, where he is now an honored citizen. He first was taught in the common schools, and then attended the Collegi- ate Institute in New Carlisle, in said county, following this with a partial course at the N. W. Christian University, now Butler University, at Indianapolis. This was supplemented by a course at Eastman's National Business College, at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and one year at Eureka College. in Illinois. During a part of this period, and for several years later, he taught in the common schools of the county, and in the New Carlisle public school for two years, as one of the principal teachers. He made farming a business exclusively till he commenced teaching, and has thus spent the time of several vacations since. Since he ceased teaching he has followed the occupation of painting and paper hanging through the summer season, and the winter seasons be has devoted to music classes and chorus work, and temperance work. In 1869 Mr. Miller joined the order of Good Templars, and at once began to take an active inter- est in its success. He has held nearly all the offices in the subordinate lodge, and for many terms that of the presiding officer. For several years he presided over the Degree Temple, and has been the district chief templar of his district since the adoption of the district-lodge system three years ago. He holds commissions from the order's highest officials, and has often been a delegate to his grand lodge. He is now filling the office of grand counselor for the fourth term, which is the second position in rank, and has filled the highest office in the grand lodge of his State, that of grand chief templar, for six successive terms. Mr. Miller has four times been a delegate to the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of Good Templars, in which capacity he has visited Chicago, Richmond, Va., and Toronto, Canada. In 1891 Mr. Miller visited Edinburgh, Scotland, as & delegate, at which session delegates were present from nearly all the civilized nations of the earth. It was a meeting of great impor- tance to the temperance cause, as the order is much the largest temperance organi- zation in the world, the most widely spread, and these delegates were among the leading workers of these nations, met in God's name to counsel together and plan more wisely for the future. In 1882 Mr. Miller began to devote much more of his

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time to temperance work. For some time he was an executive member of the Grand Temperance Council. and S. C. T. U. of Indiana. Since of age he had been a Repub- lican in politics, and was a delegate to the party's State convention in 1884, but the action of that convention against the constitutional amendment and temperance questions caused him, with numerous others, to leave the convention and party. He assisted in the organization of the Prohibition party at Indianapolis in 1884, and was nominated for auditor of State on its first ticket, and ever since has been prom- inently identified with that party. He has been nominated for county office also, and in 1892 was nominated as one of the Prohibition candidates for Presidential elector in his State. He is the leader of a Prohibition glee club of South Bend, which has done efficient service in the north part of the State. He travels extensively as a temperance worker and lecturer for the order, and has devoted many years of his life to the temperance work, and is firm in the belief that the good cause will ultimately triumph. He is a member of the Christian Church, an honorable man of well-known integrity of character and high moral principles, and his life-long residence in St. Joseph county, his tireless and arduous labors in the great cause, render his influence for good in the State certain and effective, for here he is best known and stands deservedly high in the estimation of the people.

JONAS FREDRICK. Like many of the representative citizens of the county Mr. Fredrick owes his nativity to the Buckeye State, born in Columbiana county, December 15, 1850, and is one of those enterprising, progressive men who have selected other pursuits outside the chosen channel of agriculture. He was the eldest of seven children born to the marriage of William and Sarah (Anglemyer) Fredrick, and the grandson of Michael Fredrick, who was a native of Pennsylvania, but one of the earliest settlers of Columbiana county, Ohio. The grandfather was a school teacher in his earlier years, but later engaged in farming, which he carried on until his death. His wife is still living and well advanced in years. They were the parents of ten children, as follows: John, George, Joseph, William, David, Sarah J., and others whose names are forgotten. William Fredrick, the father of our subject, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and after his school days, married Miss Anglemyer, and settled down as a miner in the coal regions. In 1853 he moved to Hardin county, where he lived until July 5, 1880, when he was killed by the explosion of a threshing engine. He was a member of the German Baptist Church, and in politics was a Democrat. During the last years of his life he was engaged in farming and accumulated a comfortable property. He held a number of township offices and was a good citizen, ever ready to advance all worthy enter- prises. His wife was a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, born in 1830, and the daughter of Jacob Anglemyer. Mrs. Anglemyer died when her daughter was quite young, and Mr. Anglemyer married again. Mrs. Fredrick is still living on the home farm in Hardin county, Ohio, where the family settled many years ago. She is the mother of seven children: Jonas, the subject of this sketch; Harvey, who died when four years of age; William, a resident of Hardin county, Ohio; Jessie, resides in the same county; Rebecca, wife of Peter Stuckman, resides in Union township, Elkhart county: Sarah, deceased; and Alice, who married Benton Jones, and resides in Menton, Ohio. Jonas Fredrick spent his early life in Hardin county, and was well educated in the district schools. He then taught school for some time, and in 1872 came to Indiana, where he learned the carpenter trade at which he still con- tinues to work. However, agricultural pursuits have been his chief occupation, and the advanced manner in which he has seized every idea or principle tending to the enhanced value of his property has had considerable to do with his success in life. On December 3, 1874, he married Miss Lydia, daughter of John Anglemyer, and then settled on the farm where he now lives. This farm then consisted of eighty acres, all but ten acres being in the woods, and by industry and perseverance he has added to the original tract until he is now the owner of 120 acres, all cleared but about ten acres. His marriage resulted in the birth of eight children, all at home,

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as follows: Judie, Charles, John, Jessie, Harvey, Edith, Anna and Fannie. Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick hold membership in the German Baptist Church, and he is 8 deacon in the same. Mr. Fredrick is not a partisan in politics but is a public- spirited man, and one deeply interested in the progress and improvement of the country. He has held office in the township and is & most worthy citizen.

CHRISTIAN STOUDER is a well-to-do and prominent farmer located in Union town- ship, this county, where he was born April 14, 1845. He was one of four children, only two now living, Mrs. Neff and himself, born to the marriage of Christian and Mary (Miller) Stouder. The mother of our subject had been married previously to a Mr. Bright, and bore him five children, as follows: George W .; David M., resid- ing in Michigan; John (deceased); William, residing in Kansas, and Mary, Mrs. Bradner, now of Union township, this county. During his youthful days our sub- ject divided his time between the duties on the farm and the duties in the school- room, receiving his education during the winter months. When about sixteen years of age he left home and began working a farm by the month. When twenty years of age he came in possession of & farm of eighty acres near Nappanee, and this he owned six or seven years, when he sold out and bought the place were he now lives. At the present time he has 124 acres of good land, well improved and with many improvements. When twenty-two years of age he married Miss Elizabeth Hohbein, a native of the Buckeye State, born September 20, 1853, and the daughter of Adam Hohbein: Mr. Hohbein was born in Germany, and was one of two children born to his parents. He was crippled when a small boy and as a consequence was not obliged to serve in the German army. He was married in the old country to Miss Catherine Horn, and shortly afterward crossed the ocean to America, settling in Mahoning county, Ohio. In 1865 they moved to Indiana, and there Mr. Hohbein has since followed the trade of tailor. He and wife are still living in Union township, and are consistent members of the German Reform Church. They have had ten children, of whom but four are living: Elizabeth (deceased), was the wife of Mr. Stouder; Hannah, the widow of John Umbangh, resides in Union township; Louisa, married - Wise, and resides on the home place; Martha, wife of William Um- bangh, resides in Union township; Christian, and & brother are deceased; Sarah, died in this State, was the wife of Jacob Wise; Peggie A., died in Ohio, and two other children died young. Mrs. Stouder was a child of thirteen years when her parents came to Indiana. She became a member of the German Baptist Church, and died in 1875, leaving one child, Emma C., now deceased, who was born in 1868. Mr. Stouder selected his second wife in the sister of his first wife, Catherine Hoh- bein, who was born in Ohio, April 6, 1853, and who became the mother of five chil- dren: Alvina, who was born October 23, 1873, and died three years later; Lydia, born October 14, 1875, died at the age of two years; William H., born December 23, 1877, is now at home assisting on the farm; David T., born November 27, 1879, and Mary E., who was born and died in 1881. Mr. Stouder and his wife are both members of the German Baptist Church, and in politics Mr. Stouder is a Democrat. His two sons are still attending public school, and he intends to give them each a good education. On his fine and well-located farm Mr. Stouder is engaged in gen- eral farming, and is surrounded by all the comforts and many of the luxnries of life. His property is the result of hard work and perseverance. He inherited land from his parents, and after settling this embarked in the saw-mill business. He was quite unfortunate at one time, for his mill was destroyed by fire, but in spite of all this he managed to make some money, and in 1870 bought the fine farm where he lives. He has added to the original tract, and improved it in so many ways that no better place is to be found in the county.

SAMUEL C. NEFF is one of the oldest native-born residents of Elkhart county, in which he now resides. He is a member of a family whose history was identified with the State in days of earlier and simpler style of living. He was born near Bristol, April 2, 1839, and was the youngest but one of a family of eleven children,

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five sons and four daughters living, born to the marriage of Henry and Anna (France) Neff, both natives of Virginia, and descendants of old Virginia stock. Henry Neff was born in Franklin county, that State, and was a son of Isaac Neff, who was also a native of the Old Dominion. Henry Neff's wife, Annie France, was a daughter of Christian France, and like himself, was of German origin. After marriage they moved from Virginia to Ohio, thence to Elkhart county, Ind., in 1834, settling on a farm near Bristol. About the year 1841 the family moved to Jackson township, this county, settled on a farm now owned by the youngest son, and there the father and mother died, the former at the age of seventy and the latter when eighty-three years of age. The father and mother were lifelong members of the German Baptist Church and among its most prominent and influential members. He was a man of resolute character, and of more than ordinary intelligence. His children were named as follows: Isaac, died in Kansas; Mary, married John Stud- ebaker (cousin of the large manufacturers of South Bend), and is living in Mont- gomery connty, Ill .; Elizabeth, wife of Adam Lentz, died in Illinois; Daniel; Susan, wife of Levi Arnold; John F., Henry, Samuel C. (subject), and William, who resides on the home place in Jackson township. Mr. Neff had very little means when he came to Elkhart county, but by honesty and hard work accumulated a com- fortable fortune. Samuel C. Neff was born in the northern part of the county, but when a child moved with his parents to Jackson township, where he grew to man- hood. Although his schooling was limited to the winter months, he secured a good education, and after assisting on the farm until twenty-one years of age, started out to battle his own way in life. His father gave him a farm in Marshall county, this State, but this he sold in 1870, and bought the farm on which he has lived ever since. During this time, April 2, 1863, he married Miss Lydia Stouder, who, like himself, was a native of Elkhart county, born July 19, 1843. Her parents, Christian and Mary Stouder, were among the early pioneers of the county, and of the five children born to them two are still living: Lydia and Christian; Samuel, Lucinda and Lovina are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Neff have lived in this part of the county a number of years, and nine children were born to them; two are deceased, Calvin and Marvin. Seven are living, as are also six grandchildren; four of the children are married: Mary A., wife of Mr. Levi Pippinger, and has three children; Anna, married Mr. William Birkholder, and has one child; Christian, married Miss Minnie Smith, and has one child, and Deliline, married Mr. Enos Missler, and they have one child. The unmarried children are at home. Samuel C. Neff and wife are members of the German Baptist Church, and Mr. Neff is deeply interested in church and school work, as well as everything tending toward the npbuilding of the county. He is one of the largest landholders in this part of the county. owning about five hundred and fifteen acres in Union township and a quarter section in Locke township. All his property has been accumulated by the honest swest of his brow, and he merits the respect and confidence of all for his industry and good management. In connection with farming he ia also engaged in stockraising, and is meeting with good success. His elder children are living on his varions farms, and the younger are at home.

GEORGE ARNOLD. Mr. Arnold, furniture dealer and manufacturer, isone of the fore- most business men of Nappanee, and at all times keeps a well-selected and exteneive assortment of medinm and the finest grades of goods. As in every thing else so in furniture it always pays to keep the best, and the establishment of Mr. Arnold has gained an excellent reputation for just methods. This gentleman was born in Stark county, Ohio, December 24, 1839, and was the seventh in order of birth of nine chil- dren born to Reuben and Mary (Harman) Arnold, both natives of Pennsylvania, the father born November 7, 1799, and the mother May 10, 1805. The Arnold family came originally from England and is remotely connected to Benedict Arnold of Revolutionary fame. Our subject's maternal grandfather, George Harman, wae a soldier of the War of 1812, was wounded in a battle with the Indians and remained a cripple for life. The Harmans, for the most part, were prosperous people and

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many of them were quite wealthy. The parents of our enbject, with three children, Sarah, Daniel and Angeline, moved from the Keystone State to Stark county, Ohio, at an early day, and there six more children were boru: Catherine, Reuben, George, Samuel, Mary and -. The father settled on a farm and in connection with tilling the soil followed the wagon maker's trade for a number of years. He enjoyed con- siderable prominence as a musician and was a fifer and drummer in the militis forces of Pennsylvania. In politics he was a Democrat and in religion held strictly to the Lutheran faith, being deeply interested in church work. He made consider- able property, but never became rich, and died on his farm in 1857. The children except one are all living, one in Ohio, fourin Michigan, two in Elkhart county, Ind., and one in Washington county, Ark. After the death of her husband the mother went to live with her eldest son in Michigan and there her death occurred in 1879. She was also a member of the Lutheran Church, a true Christian in every sense of the word, and one who suffered many trials and hardships. Like the majority of country boys the youthful days of our subject was passed in the school-room and in assisting his father on the farm. When eighteen years of age he began learning the carpenter's trade and followed this until twenty-one years of age, when he emi- grated to Cass county, Mich. After remaining there one year he returned to Ohio and at the end of another year enlisted in the United States army as mechanic, being stationed at Washington D. C. about two years. From there he came to Indiana, settled in South Bend, and there worked at his trade until 1867, when he went to Michigan. He was there married to Miss Catherine O. Britton, a native of Cass county, Mich., born October 9, 1844, and the daughter of Thomas and Arrilla Brit- ton. Mr. Britton was a native New Yorker and an early pioneer of Cass county, Mich. He settled there a poor boy and by industry and good management amassed considerable wealth. His death occurred in 1868. The mother had died when Mrs. Arnold was but two years of age. The latter was one of three daughters: Anna, Catherine and Lenna, and was reared and educated in her native county, making her home with strangers until her marriage, her father remaining a widower. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are church members and are active in all good work. Mr. Arnold has held a number of public offices, was justice of the peace for some time and at present is president of the city council. He takes a deep interest in everything per- taining to the welfare of the town and county and gives liberally of his means to further all worthy enterprises. He resides in the First Ward and has a pleasant and attractive home. Mr. Arnold has retired from the furniture business and intends to take up contracting and building again. He never was very extensively engaged in the furniture business. He did a great deal of building in this place prior to 1889, but at that date met with a serious accident in the collapse of a brick building, after which he went into the furniture business.

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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 60

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

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