USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > Progressive men and women of Kosciusko County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
343
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHIE.
enjoyment of that rest and quietude which he so well and nobly earned : accordingly about the year 1889 he turned his large ag- ricultural interests over to other hands and since that date has been living a life of hon- orable retirement on a small place, the care of which keeps the time from hanging heav- ily upon his hands.
JACOB S. KOONTZ.
Highly respected as a citizen and hon- Gred as a patriotic defender of the stars and stripes in a war which tested the sold- ity and perpetuity of American's free insti- tations, the subject of this brief review i. distinctively che of the leading men of the i sitslip where he maintains his residence and is in every way worthy of mention with. of Kosciusko county.
Politically Mr. Gripe is a Republican. Hle had the pleasure of casting a ballot for the party's first presidential candidate, John . the progressive and representative citizens C. Fremont, and has voted for each suc- ceeding candidate from that time to the Jacob S. Koontz was born September 1. 1842. in Columbiana county, Ohio. and is descended from German and Dutch an- cestry. His father, Jacob Kuentz, a native of Pennsylvania, was the grandson of a German soldier, who came to America der- ing the war of the Revolution in the service vi the English government. Being a en- script and by no means liking the idea di why sing the little army of patriots struts- gling for their liberties against a tyrannie .: king, this ancestor. John Kitz by name. deserted his command and cast his fortunes with the colonists, with whom he fought courageously until independence was se- cured. Shortly after the close of the war he married and settled in Pennsylvania. where he reared a family and became a well- to-do tiller of the soft. His grandis :. Jacob Koontz referred to above. was Der: in Pennsylvania and about the year .835 migrated to Columbiana county, Ohio. Tic had married in Pennsylvania Anna Kutz. whose ancestors came from Holland in an early day and settled in Maryland. Suite- quently, 1835, the Kutz family removed to the county of Columbiana, where jacob Koontz, shortly after his marriage, pur- chased land and engaged in the pursuit of present. While deeply interested in polit- ical matters and a careful student of the great questions of the times, he is not a partisan. nor has he ever entertained any ambition in the direction of public office. In 1849 he united with the German Baptist church and during all the years intervening between that and the present his daily walk and conversation have marked him as an humble and sincere follower of the man of Nazareth. His good wife is also a member of the same church and, like her husband, is noted for her piety and zeal in the Master's service. Mr. and Mrs. Gripe are among the oldest and most highly esteemed people of Kosciusko county, noted far and wide for their generous hospitality and beloved for their many amiable qualities of head and heart. They are deservedly popular with all who know them, live happily and content- edly in their cosy country home, the doors of which are ever open to the poor and needy, and are now crowning a life of ac- tivity and usefulness with an eventide of well earned rest and wholesome recreation. They have children as follows: John, de- ceased, Nicholas, Mary, Jacob, Catherine and Abraham L., all well settled in life.
344
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGR. IPHIT.
agriculture. He continued to live there un- til 1893, when he disposed of his interest and came to Kosciusko county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his days. dying here about two years after his ar- rival; his wife preceded him to the other world, departing this life in Ohio in the year 1875. To Jacob and Anna ( Kutz ) Koontz were born nine children, whose names are as follows: Robert, John, Elizabeth. Mary, Jacob S., Isaac, William, Eli and Anna M. Of this number Jacob S., Robert and Isaac served with distinction in the late Civil war and proved their loyalty to the government on many of the bloodiest battle fields of that great struggle.
Jacob S. Koontz spent his childhood and youth amid the quiet scenes of rural life and when old enough to perform manual labor was put to work on the farm, where in due time he developed a strong and vigorous physique which served him well in the arduous experiences through which he subsequently passed while following the old flag through the sunny southland. With limited educational advantages, he made the most of his opportunities, but at the age of nineteen closed his books, laid aside the implements of husbandry and with true patriotic fervor tendered his services to the government, which at that time was being threatened by the armed hosts of re- bellion. In 1861 he enlisted in Company G, Eighty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for the three-months service and immedi- ately thereafter accompanied his regiment to West Virginia, where he remained until the expiration of his term. Animated by a laudable desire to serve his country still further, Mr. Koontz became a member of Company B, Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, enlist- ing for three years or during the war, and
1
it was not leng unth his regiment was acs ively engaged with the enemy in the state- of Kentucky and Virginia. He took part in a number of encounters, in one of which. at Marion, Virginia, he was struck by : rebel bullet which caused him to be carried in m the field in a helpless and dangerous condition. By reason of the deient and falling back of the Union Ferres, the wounded, among when was Mr. Kita. ich into the hands of the enemy and in :: December 20. 1864, UM March of the year foll wing he was held a prisoner of war. Ile stufferst greatly frem his wound and within three months after being exchange was honorable di-charged, being mastered! out of the service in June, 1865. For a period of twenty-four years Mr. Koon. carried in his body the leaden missile whic' pierced him at the battle of Marion, being relieved ci it by a skillful surgical opera- tion performed in 1889. He proved a gal- land soldier under many dangerous and try- ing circumstances, always ready for any duty, however ener us, and never shirking a responsibility, no difference into what sit- nation it led him. By reason of his injury, from the effect of which he has never en- tirely recovered, he is now the recipient oi a pension from the government which he so gallantly defended, but no monetary consideration can ever repay him for serv- ices well and faithfully rendered. nor does he ask reward for the wound received in the discharge of duty at a time when he faced death that our nation might remain as its founders formel it.
Returning home at the expiration of his period of enlistment Mr. Koontz was uni- ted in marriage, September 1. 1865, to Miss Mary E. Weaver. Mrs. Koontz was born May 14, 1847, in LaGrange county, Indi-
345
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
ana, and is the daughter of David and Har- riett ( Whiteleather ) Weaver. Her parent- were of German lineage and were both na- tives of Ohio. They were the parents of twelve children, four sons and eight daugh- ters, of whom there are seven children yet living. David Weaver was born in Colum- biana county, Ohio, in. 1822, and died in 1804. Ile was a farmer and merchant. In religion he was a Methodist, and in politics was first a Whig and later a Republican. Ilis wife was born in the same county in 1825, and her death occurred in 1863. Mrs. Koontz received a good common-school education and since her marriage has been a noble and true helpmate to her husband. After his marriage the subject engaged in farming as a renter in Columbiana county. Ohio, and later moved to Grant county. Wisconsin, where he purchased an eighty- acre farm which he cultivated for a period of two years. Disposing of his land at the end of that time, he returned to his na- tive state, where he continued agricultural pursuits three years and then engaged in the hotel business at North Georgetown, where for six years he ministered to the wants of the traveling public with success and financial profit. In the year 1879 he sold his hotel and moved to Jennings coun- ty, Indiana, where he again turned his at- tention to farming, renting for a period of two years and then purchasing a place vi one hundred and sixty acres, which was subsequently enlarged by an addition of sixty acres. After clearing and fitting for tillage one hundred acres and living on the place ten years he sold out and, in 1887. came to Kosciusko county, where he leased land for one year and then bought one hundred and fifty acres, and later eighty acres more, now constituting a farm of two
hundred and thirty acres in Jackson town- Ship.
Mr. Koontz's He has been one of great activity and since coming to this county his industry has been rewarded by the hand- some competence which he now enjoys. Ile has made many valuable improvements on his farm, including a beautiful dwelling taal substantial barns and outbuildings, while the fertility of the place has been in- creased to its greatest productive capacity. Ilis is the is one of the most beautiful and attractive in Jackson township and as :. farmer he easily stands in the front rank of Kosciusko's most enterprising and sac- cessful agriculturists and stock raisers. sparing neither labor nor expense to make his place as nearly ideal as possible, and doing all within his power to raise the standard of agriculture in the highly fa- vored locality where his home is situated.
Mr. Koontz has been a iffcheng Repab- Hern and. like every good citizen. I ik- upon the ballet as one of man's mest sacre ; possessions. An active worker for the party, he has had no ambition in the direc- ation of ofice notwithstanding which fact his fellow citizens, in 1895. elected him as- sensor of Jackson township, a position he most faithfully and worthily filled anti. 1900, inclusive. While a citizen of the Buckeye state he achieved considerable repute as a shrewd politician and for sex- eral years his hotel at North Georgea Wal was the favorite rendezvous of some of the leading party workers, among whom may be mentioned President Mckinley, who upon several occasions was his guest. lie was chairman of the Republican township committee when Mckinley first ran for congress and to him was Recorded the honor of publicly introducing that distin-
346
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
guished American to the first audience he ever addressed in North Georgetown. He was also a delegate to the convention which first nominated Mckinley for the tower hense of the national legislature. Between Mr. Mckinley and Mr. Koontz a feeling of warm personal friendship existed as long as the former lived, a fact of which the sub- ject feels deservedly proud, and he also points with pride to the fact that he was one of the President's strongest adherents in the convention above referred to.
Mr. Koontz possesses the happy faculty of winning and retaining friends, and since becoming a resident of this county he has made a large circle of acquaintances, among whom his name is held in very high esteem. All whe know him are united in their praise of his integrity and sterling qualities of manhood, and as a citizen, keenly alive to the public good and assist- ing by all the means at his command every enterprise calculated to promote the ma- terial and moral interests of the community, none are more aggressive or have taken a more active part with both influence an 1 means. With him to see and understand the right is to do the same under all cir- cumstances, regardless of consequences. fearlessness in the discharge of duty being one of his dominant characteristics, while at the same time he is careful and consid- erate of the feelings and opinions of those from whom he'may honestly differ.
Mr. Koontz is a firm believer in re- . ligion and its efficacy as a great moral force for the regeneration of society and the world. For a number of years he has been a devout member of the Christian church, active in the good work of the congrega- tion with which he is identified and liberal in the support of the gospel at home and in
lands beyond the seas. Mrs. Koontz ais belongs to the same be dy and with her his- band is highly regarded as a worker and planner for the dissemination of religious truth in the community where she lives. Mr. Koontz delights to recall the stirring Scones when, as a soldier on the march. it the tented field or in the smoke and carnage di latte, he met and helped to crush the hesis of treason who had in view the di- ruption of our beloved country and the de- struction of its institutions. Like other parfois of that dark and groomy period. he is an active worker in the Grand Army .i the Republic, an organization in which are i ept alive the sentiments of loyalty, patri- ( tismo and love of evantry which every true American sh uid guard and cherish.
Mr. and Mrs. Koontz have been bienel with two children, the wider of whom s Herbert La. whose birth decurred on the 11th day of June, 1877. He is a years man of excellent reputation, a graduate of the commercial schools at North Man- chester and Indianapolis, and served in the One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the late Span- ish-American war. In i8g8 he was united in marriage to Miss Myrtle Grove, of In- dianapolis, in which city he holds an in- portant position as superintendent of a large coal.company. The other child died in in- fancy unnamed. During the county con- vention of 1902 the convention nominated Mr. Koontz as a member of the county council of Kosciusko county.
ROBERT NIGHSWANDER.
A citizen of the United States can wear no greater badge of honor than the distinc- tion of having served the government in the
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT NIGHSWANDER
347
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
memorable four years of war between the , private in the Rebellion: Robert, subject; states. It is a sacred family inheritance of , Isaiah, who served as a soldier in the Re- renown, to be prized like a jewel by all future descendants and kept bright and un- tarnished by other acts of valor, patriotism and loyalty in the interests of free govern- ment. Even in this day, when there are many of the old soldiers living, no one can sce one of them dressed up in his faded uni- jorm without feeling a glow of pride and without showing him studied deference. Bat the ranks of the old phalanx are fast going down before the shots of death, and beilion and was in the Third Maryland Cavalry, died in Andersonville prison ; John, who also was in the Third Maryland Cav- alry in the Rebellion; Mary E., deceased, who married Samuel Cozy; Nancy, the wife of Benjamin Bright, lives in Seneca coun- ty, Ohio: Hannah B., the wife of a Mr. Lawrence, a veteran of the Civil war, lives in Seneca county, Ohio: Katic married and lived in Ohio until her death: Aaron. un- married, who resides in Franklin county, ere long none will be left to recount the ' Pennsylvania. Robert Nighswander also actual experiences of that bloody time. In
served with distinction in the Great Re- the meantime, while they are still with us, bellion. In August, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-fifth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, under Captain S. B. Ment, and after a season spent in camp of instruction was sent with his regiment to Virginia. Thence they moved to New Creek, and later, at Moorefield. Mr. Nighswander saw his first battie. He was engaged at Romney, and at the bloody battle of Fredericksburg. during the "mud campaign," fought with great gallantry for two days. He went with his- regiment through the Peninsular campaign and suffered intense hardships, not having his clothes off for five weeks and sleeping on his arms the whole time. He fought at. the second battle of Bull Run, and though. he was in the thickest of the fight, and his regiment lost heavily, he escaped without a. wound. He was at Culpeper Court House also and fought bravely with his regimental companions. He participated in the en- gagement, at Cedar Mountain, in the move- ment up the Shenandoah valley and fought at Cross Keys. He was hotly engaged at the bloody battle of Chancellorsville, where
let us pay them suitable honor for their sacrifices, patriotism and sufferings. The subject of this memoir was one of the "boys in blue." He was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, December 18, 1832, and is the son of John and Hannah ( Cooper) Nigh- swander, the father of German and the mother of Irish descent. Great-grandia- ther Nighswander was born in Germany and emigrated to America about the year 1781. He established himself in Pennsylvania on a farm and there passed the remainder of his days. He conducted a sawmill in con- nection with his other duties. His wife bore him four sons and one daughter. The grandfather of the subject was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and one of his sons was John, the father of Robert. John was twice married, his second wife being Miss Hannah Cooper. To this marriage were born seven boys and four girls, as follows: Isaac was married, but his wife is deceased, and he lives in Franklin county, Pennsyl- vania: he served four years as a private in the Civil war; Willis, deceased, was also a "Stonewall"' Jackson was killed, and at the
21
.
348
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
desperate and decisive battle of Gettysburg. after which his regiment was transferred to Sherman's army and participated in the "march to the sea." He participated before this in the assault on Lookout Mountain and so on down to Atlanta and thence to the sea. In all he participated in twenty-eight pitched battles, besides almost innumerable skirmishes, marches and campaigns, and throughout all of them showed splendid pluck and loyalty. Think of it. Here were five boys in one family who entered the Federal service at the commencement and served until the end, several of whom sui- fered from galling wounds and one of them died of starvation and hardship in prison. Should this not be called "The Soldier Fam- ily?" And what a splendid inheritance to leave to children. How proud coming gen- erations will be to narrate the gallantry and sufferings of these heroic brothers. The subject came through the entire war withou! a serious wound. At Gettysburg eighteen minie balls pierced his clothing until he looked almost like a sieve. That old uni- form should have been framed and placed in the state house at Indianapolis. He now gets the small pension of ten dollars per month for the disabilities contracted in the service. After serving four years he was honorably mustered out in the fall of 1865 at Cleveland, Ohio.
Upon his discharge from the army Mr. Nighswander returned to Bloomville, Ohio. and went to work on a farm by the month and so continued until 1868, when, on Sep- tember 5 of that year, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Rebecca Shock and to them were born three boys and two girls: Cora A., the wife of Thomas Shoe, whose father was a private in the Rebellion; their four
other children are deceased. Mrs. Night- swander was born in Seneca county, Ohio. April 25. 1845, and was the daughter of Jacob and Magdalena ( Shanour ) Shock. The latter emple were the parents of eleven children, four sons and seven daughters, of whom ten are living. All are residents of Ohio except her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Cooley, a resident of lonia, Michigan, and Mrs. Nighswander. Jacob Shock was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1814, and died in 1878. He was a lifelong farmer. Magda- lena Shock was born on a farm in Pennsyl- vania June 23. 1818, and her death occurred .August 21, 1901, at the advanced age of eighty-three years, one month and twenty- one days. She was but three years old when brought by her parents to Ohio. She was a faithful and consistent member of the Ger- man Reformed church. Mrs. Nighswander was reared and educated in her native con- 13. For thirty-four years have Mr. and Mrs. Nightwander traveled life's journey to- gether, sharing each other's joys and sor- rows. She has been a faithful wife and a loving mother and was kind and genial in her manner. In 1898 the subject erected his pleasant and comfortable residence at a cost of about twelve hundred dollars, a residence which is a credit to the township.
Mr. Nighswander is an enthusiastic Re- publican, believing in voting the way he shot during the war. He is active and prominent in all local affairs. He is a member of Post No. 114. G. A. R. He is in comfortable circumstances, and though net a member of any church he and his good wife contribute liberally to all worthy movements. They are passing their old age in quiet and with the respect of every one who has the honor of their friendship.
349
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
ROBERT M. JONTZ.
It is interesting to note the various ways by which the first settlers came from their homes in the east to the unbroken wilds of the west and also how later settlers came out. It was a common occurrence for the father to come out first, walking the whole distance, selecting his tract of government land, going to the nearest land office and paying for the same and then walking the entire distance back to his eastern home to get ready to move his family out. Then all were loaded into a wagon or wagons and slowly driven to the wilderness home. If a log cabin had not been built on the first visit, the first thing to be done was to erect one and while this was being done very often the family lived in the covered wagon. Then land must be cleared before a crop of any sort could be raised. When the first crop was harvested the family were then seli-sustaining. The family represented by our subject passed through just such ex- periences. He was born on section II, ! Seward township, Kosciusko county. Indi- ana, March 28, 1852. his parents being Ja- cob and Catherine ( Nelson) Jontz. the father coming originally from Pennsyl- vania and being of English descent. When Jacob Jontz was yet a boy in Pennsylvania his father died and soon afterward he came to Ohio to live with an uncle, Michael Jontz. While thus engaged he grew to manhood and married. his wife being the daughter of Robert Nelson, of Wayne county. Ohio. Previous to this event Michael Jontz had come to Kosciusko county, Indiana, and entered one hundred and sixty acres with money furnished by 1 Jacob Jontz, who had earned the same by working by the month for Michael. In :
1851 Jacob came from Wayne county, Ohio, to Seward township. Kosciusko county, Indiana, and located on his land. He brought his family and few belongings in a wagon, the distance being about two hundred and fifty miles. Previous to this, however, he had come out and had cleared a small tract of the land and had erected a sinal log cabin, in which to place his fam- ily when they should be removed to the Indiana home. Upon his arrival with his family he began in earnest to clear off the heavy timber. In time one hundred and twenty acres were cleared and in 1868 a good frame house was built, said to have been the best in the county at that time. It is still standing. Jacob Jontz was a man who attended closely to the work of his farm, and was quiet and unassuming in his habits and manner. He was thoroughly honest and died with the respect of all who knew him. The mother died in 1872. The father lived with his sons. Robert and Abraham, until his death in 1896. He was the father of six children, as follows: Rob- ert M. and Abraham, twins, born March 28. 1852: Abraham married Miss Melissa Oldfather and lives in this township; Susan, who wedded John Haney and lives in Silver Lake, Indiana: Ross, who died when a boy: Emma, who died a young maiden : Lce: Ella, who became the wife of Reese Dillingham and is deceased. Rob- ert M. and his twin brother, being the old- est children of the family, were required to assimme much of the responsibility of the parents. They assisted materially to clear of the forest and to raise the crops of grain, receiving the meanwhile a fair edu- cation. In 1888 Robert Jontz married Mrs. Martha Maggart, widow of William Maggart and daughter of Lewis Cornwell.
349
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHIS.
ROBERT M. JONTZ.
It is interesting to note the various ways Is which the first settlers came from their homes in the east to the unbroken wilds of the west and also how later settlers came out. It was a common occurrence for the father to come out first, walking the whole distance, selecting his tract of government land, going to the nearest land office and paying for the same and then walking the entire distance back to his eastern home to get ready to move his family out. Then all were loaded into a wagon or wagons and slowly driven to the wilderness home. If a log cabin had not been built on the first visit, the first thing to be done was to erect one and while this was being done very often the family lived in the covered wagon. Then land must be cleared before a crop of any sort could be raised. When the first crop was harvested the family were then self-sustaining. The family represented by our subject passed through just such ex- Feriences. He was born on section 11, Seward township, Kosciusko county, Indi- ana, March 28, 1852, his parents being Ja- cob and Catherine (Nelson) Jontz, the father coming originally from Pennsyl- vania and being of English descent. When Jacob Jontz was yet a boy in Pennsylvania his father died and soon afterward he came to Ohio to live with an uncle, Michael Jontz. While thus engaged he grew to manhood and married, his wife being the daughter of Robert Nelson, of Wayne county, Ohio. Previous to this event Michael Jontz had come to Kosciusko county, Indiana, and entered one hundred and sixty acres with money furnished by Jacob Jontz, who had carned the same by working by the month for Michael. In
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.