USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > Progressive men and women of Kosciusko County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography > Part 46
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The third son, William, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was reared on the home farm in Stark county and when a young man took up the trade of a mill- " one of its most earnest supporters. When wright, in which he acquired great efficiency. , the Republican party came into existence he at once expoused its principles and has con- tinued an ardent advocate of the same as to the present time.
He followed his trade for a number of years in connection with the manufacture of lum- ber, meeting with good success in both vo- cations and acquiring at one time a fortune estimated at fifty thousand dollars. Being a liberal man and easily influenced by the im- portunities of others, he was induced to go security for a number of parties, several whom proved unfaithful to their written obligations, leaving him to pay large sums of money. In this way he lost much of his wealth, but in no wise discouraged, he rallied from the disaster to some extent and subse- quently accumulated a comfortable compe- tence. Mr. Bowman erected a saw-mill and
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afterward a grist-mill at Orville Wayre county, Ohio, which he operated with success and profit and later built one of the largest fouring-mills in that comky, which. stood for many years a monument to hi- ability as a mechanic and skillful machinist. In the fall of 1856 he disposed of his inter- ests in Ohio and moved to Kosciusko county. Indiana, locating at Etna Green, where he built a saw-mill. This was one of the best mills in this part of the state and during the eighteen succeeding years Mr. Bowman operated it with such success as to greatly retrieve the fortune which he had formerly lost. He was a man of enterprise, fruithud in expedients and rarely failed in any of his undertakings. He became the possessor if a fine property in this county and for years was one of the recognized Republican lead- ers in his township, having been a prominent local politician, but never an office socker . : aspirant for public distinction. He cast his first vote for Gen. William Henry Harrison. and as long as the old Whig party lasted was
William Bowman is a sincere Christian and has demonstrated by his works the sit .- cerity of his religious profession. He be- longs to what is known as the Christian or Disciple church and while living in Ohio built at his own expense a beautiful house of worship in the town of Orville. He re- peated this commendable act at Etna Grees. After coming to Kosciusko county, he gave liberally of his means to religious and be- nevolent enterprises and many pour people have had reason to call down heaven's ble ---
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ings upon him for his generous help in their times of need. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic brotherhood, having been identified with the order for many years. Hle has lived a long and useful life and now in his declining years can look back over 1 career unmarred by anything calculated to cast discredit upon his name, while the fu- ture has nothing which he need fear. Will- tam Bowman has been twice married, his first wife dying at the age of about fifty- five years. Subsequently he took a second companion who is deceased, after thirteen years of married life. He is the father of eight children by his first wife: Helen, Emily, William H., Charles E., James, Alice, lda and Eva. He is now eighty-five years of age and a resident of Kosciusko county.
William H. Bowman, whose name serves as the caption of this article, was born in Portage county, Ohio, on the 12th day of August, 1845. He grew up an in- creasing helpfulness to his parents and spent a number of years in the public schools, ac- quiring a fair knowledge of the branches constituting the curriculum. That which was much more important than book learn- ing was the real essence of self reliance with which he early became imbued; this, with a course of laborious thought which he has never ceased and a practical acquaintance with business in its varied forms, the ability & make the best of circumstances and to create opportunities where they do not exist. constitute an education of much more worth and farther reaching in its effects than the intellectual training he received while under the direction of instructors in the county schools.
this and various other capacities was en- ployed when the ominous signs of the great impending struggle between the northern and southern states became apparent. Young Bowman watched with intense inter- est the trend of events during that exciting period and when the war finally broke out was one of the first young men of his town- ship to tender his services to the country. On the 1st day of June, 1862, at the age of sixteen years, he enlisted in the Fifteenth Indiana Battery and shortly thereafter to is part in the action near Harper's Ferry. where he was made a prisoner. After being held by the enemy a little over one day he was paroled, after which he was sent to Chi- cago where he remained until the following October, when, with a number of others, se was taken to Indianapolis and exchanged.
Mr. Bowman's next military experience was the pursuit of the rebel General Morgan, whom he assisted to capture, after which he proceeded with his command ... Tennessee and other states, taking part in some of the most celebrated campaigns of the war and participating in twenty-eight engagements, the one at Nashville being his last battle of note. AAfter foreing the rebel General Hood to retreat to South Columbia the battery to which the subject belonged was transferred to the Twenty-fifth Army Corps, and went via Washington to Gold's- boro, North Carolina, where it joined the army under General Sherman. They were here when the welcome news came of the surrender of General Lee, and also, five five days later when the sad tidings was received of the assassination of Presi- dient Lincoln. He served his country faithfully for a period of three years and
When about fourteen years old Mr. Bow- man began firing in his father's mill and in a one month and at the close of the strug-
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gle was mustered out at Indianapolis, his of business, containing the pasturage and an discharge bearing date of June 30. 1865. His record as a soldier is without a flaw and his career from the time he entered the army. until the cessation of hostilities is replete with duty bravely and gallantly performed.
Returning home, Mr. Bowman again entered his father's employ and continued with him in the lumber business until the Mr. Bowman is one of the leading men year 1871. Meantime, in 1868, he chose a , of his township and has always been first wife in the person of Miss Mary Makin, whose parents came to this county from Pennsylvania in an early day. Mrs. Bow- man died February 14, 1895, and about one year later the subject married Mrs. Hattie Cook, a union blessed with one child, Daisy, who was born on the 9th day of December, 1897.
In the year 1871 Mr. Bowman engaged in agriculture and has since devoted the greater part of his attention to that pursuit. Hle has one of the best and most highly in- proved farms in Etna township, consisting of one hundred and seventy acres of fertile land, nearly all under cultivation. His home is a model of neatness and comfort, contain- ing everything calculated to make rural life pleasant and desirable. the dwelling being commodious and well furnished and the other buildings substantial and in first-class repair. He could at any time get seventy- five dollars an acre for his place, but has no «lesire to sell, being independently situated with a fortune at his command representing .over twenty thousand dollars.
Mr. Bowman has made considerable 'money by dealing in live stock, and as a raiser of fine cattle, hogs and horses has no superior in the county of Kosciusko. The farm is admirably situated for this branch
abundance of water and other accessories calculated to make stock raising both agree- able and profitable. Since 1889 Mr. Bon- man has not been active in the work of the farm, being in a situation to let others do the work while he manages the place along with his other interests.
and foremost in all enterprises for its in- provement and prosperity. Public spirited and wide awake. he is by nature a leader of men and to a large extent a moulder of : opinion, especially as concerns the various business enterprises in which he has been en- gaged. He is a Republican in politics and has done effective service for his party as a member of the county central committee, which position he filled for several years to the satisfaction of all concerned. Frater- pally he is a member of Post No. 169. G. A. R., Wigwam No. 16, 1. O. R. M., belong- ing also to Council No. 1. of the last-named order. Lodge No. 303. 1. O. O. F., Encamp- ment No. 158. I.O. O. F., the latter at Bour- bon, and he and his wife belong to Lodge No. 50, Rebekahs, auxiliary to the Odd Fel- lows. He has held a number of prominent official positions in these orders, and has also served as a representative to the grand lodge of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Bowman belongs to nature's aristoc- racy and is a born nobleman. He has digni- fied his every station in life with a charm that has constantly added to his personal worth and has discharged the duties of citi- zenship with the earnestness and loyalty characteristic of the true American. 1lis popularity extends wherever he is known,
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his probity is recognized by his fellow man and his sterling character both as a citizen and soldier has won him the lasting regard of the people of his township and county.
WILLIAM E. BAKER. :
The respect which should always be ac- corded the brave sons of the north who left homes and the peaceful pursuits of civil life to give their services, and their lives 'i need be, to preserve the integrity of the American Union is certainly due the gentle- man to a brief review of whose life the fol- lowing lines are devoted. Ile proved his love and loyalty to the government on the long and tiresome marches in all kinds of situations, exposed to summer's withering heat and winter's freezing cold, on the lonely picket line a target for the missile of the un- scen ioe. on the tented field and amid the fame and smoke of battle, where the rattle of the musketry mingled with the terrible concussion of the bursting shell and the deep diapason of the cannon's roar, made up the ' consecutive labor the place was cleared and sublime but awful chorus of death. All , fitted for tillage. Mr. Baker continued to honor to the heroes of 1861-5. To them the country is under a debt of gratitude which it cannot pay, and in centuries yet to be poster- ity will commemorate their chivalry in fit- ang eulogy and tell their knightly deeds in story and in song. To the once large, but now rapidly diminishing, army that fol- 'owed "Old Glory" on many bloody fields in the sunny South, crushed the armed hosts of treason and re-established upon a firm and enduring foundation the beloved gov- ernment of our fathers, the subject of this sketch belonged. Like thousands of com :-
rades equally as brave and patriotic as him- self, he did his duty nobly and well and re- tired from the service with a record 1- spotted by a single unsoldierly act.
William E. Baker is a representative of one of the sturdy pioneer families of Mar- shall county, Indiana, but since young man- houd has been a resident of the county of Kosciusko. His paternal ancestors were German people and the family was repre- sented in Pennsylvania at a very early period in the history of that commonwealth. Will- iam E. Baker, the subject's father, was born in that state, but when a boy accompanied his parents to Portage county. Ohio, where he met and married Miss Nancy Gay, whose people were natives of Massachusetts. They settled in Portage county many years ago and their descendants are still living in vari- ous parts of Ohio, Indiana and other states of the middle west. In 1850 William F. Baker and family moved by wagon to Mar- shall county, Indiana, and settled on forty acres of woodland at a place known in local annals as "Bloody Corners." A small log cabin was erected and after much hard and live at the "Corners" until 1859, when he sold the farm and purchased an eighty-acre tract further north, in Etna township. Kos- ciusko county, all of which was in its natural state of primitive wildness when he took possession. Here he again addressed him- self to the laborious task of felling timber and removing stumps, and other hard work required to bring the virgin soil to a state fit for cultivation. Industry and hard toil finally wrought wonders, and in due time the wilderness gave place to well-cultivated fields and a comfortable home occupied the
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spot where years before stood the rude wig- wam of the painted savage. Mr. Baker be- came a successful farmer and as a man and citizen ranked with the best people of the community in which he lived. He died Oc- tober 15, 1878, but his good wife, who proved a courageous and uncomplaining helpmate, is still living at a ripe old age. Mr. and Mrs. Baker had three children. William E., of this review, Esther, wife of Samuel Hoffer, of Etna township, and El- mer R., who married Mary Ruby and also resides in the township of Etna.
William E. Baker is a native of Portage county, Ohio, and first saw the light of day on the 8th day of November, 1844. He was seven years of age when the family came to Indiana and when old enough was put to work in the woods, where he soon became an experienced axman. His early educational advantages were supplied in the indifferent schools which then obtained and there he only attended a couple of months of the winter season. While still a boy in his , anapolis, Mr. Baker received his discharge 'teens, he developed a strong physique and. being the oldest son, to him fell much of the labor required to clear the farm and look after its cultivation. It was while thus en- gaged that the country became overshadow- ed by the rapidly approaching war cloud and it was only his immature age that kept him from responding to the first call for volunteers. On the 4th day of August, 1862, when only seventeen years old, he en- listed in Company F. Seventy-fourth Indi- ana Volunteer Infantry, into which he was , mustered at Indianapolis, after which the regiment proceeded to Louisville, Kentucky. On the 28th of December, 1865. Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Ma- riah Hoffer, daughter of Andrew and Mar- garet (Moore) Hoffer, natives of Pennsyl- Mr. Baker first met the enemies of his country at Perrysville, Kentucky, where a bloody battle was fought in October, 1862.
The next engagement of note was the ter- rible night at Chickamauga, after which he participated in a number of battles, inclui- ing, among others, Chickamauga and the various actions in the vicinity of that city. The Seventy-fourth Indiana was in the Second Brigade. Third Division. Fourteenth Army Corps, that took such a brave and gal- lant part in the Atlanta campaign, and later marched with Sherman to the sea. Mr. Baker participated in the siege and fall of Atlanta and the several noted battles lead- ing up to the reduction of that Confederate stronghold. In addition to taking part in the great march to the Atlantic, he was pres- ent at Savannah when that city surrendered after a sturdy and bloody resistance. From Savannah his command marched through to the Carolinas, met and ronted the enemy at Bentonville, the last battle of the Rebel- lion, and then proceeded to Washington City in time to take part in the grand review at the close of the war. Returning to Indi- June 9. 1865, and immediately thereafter made his way home, where he was joyfully received by his family and many friends. During his long and active service he was ever ready for duty, passed through the many trying scenes of his military experi- ence uninjured and never spent an hour in the hospital on account of ill-health. Two events in connection with his military ex- periences are indelibly impressed upon his memory, the surrender of General Lee's army and the assassination of President Lincoln.
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vania, who came to Kosciusko in the carly part of the year in which their daughter be- came Mrs. Baker. After his marriage Mr. Baker, in partnership with his brother-in- law. bought a tract of land about a half mile south of where he now lives and on that place he and his wife began housekeeping. He lived there until 1876, when he sold his interest in the farm and purchased his pres- ent home in Etna township.
Mr. Baker's place was largely wood- land when he moved to it, but by industry and thrift he has since removed the forest growth, brought the soil to a high state of cultivation and now has a beautiful home well supplied with the comforts and con- veniences of life. He has always been a hard working man and his present possessions have resulted directly from honest toil and good management.
Mr. Baker is a stanch adherent of the Republican party and uncompromising in the advocacy of his opinions. He is an earn- est worker and at every election may be found at the polls laboring zealously to pro- mote the interests of the cause by rallying the doubtful and striving by strong logical argument to convince some members of the opposition of the error of his political opin- ions. Fraternally he is an enthusiastic Odd Fellow, belonging to Lodge No. 268. He holds membership with Etna Green Lodge. in which he has filled all the chairs, and in 1879 he was honored by being chosen a rep- resentative to the grand lodge; he has also filled every important official position in the encampment, of which he is a charter mem- ber. He served for twelve years as financial secretary of the order in Etna Green and at the present time is a member of its board of trustees.
Mr. Baker is a man of strong convic- tions, ever ready to maintain the soundness of his opinions on any subject, but is by no means unreasonable in his views, accord- ing every man the same rights which he claims for himself. Among his fellow citi- zens of Etna township he is highly regarded and his life has been singularly free from faults. Brave and daring on the field of battle, he is kind and courteous in the sphere of private citizenship and all who knew him speak in high terms of his many excellent qualities and praise him for his beneficial in- fluence in the community. He is energetic and progressive in all affairs affecting the general good and is destined to be remem- bered as one of Kosciusko county's gallant , and patriotic sons and a citizen in whom the people of Bina township will continue to take a goodly degree of pride.
CALVIN N. JOIN.
One of the wide-awake and enterprising young farmers of Jackson township. Kos- ciusco county, Indiana, and a representative of the township's prosperity, is Calvin N. John, who was born in Jackson township. Huntington county. Indiana, November 19. 1858.
David John, grandfather of Calvin N .. was a native of Wales, kingdom of Great Britain, and was a comparatively young man when he came to the United States and first located in Pennsylvania: from that state he removed to Ohio and a few years later came to Indiana and lived in Wayne county for a while. thence removing to Huntington county, this state. He was a
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forkmaker and wagonmaker by trade and Dunbar; and Lewis. Davia M. John die his death occurred in Wabash county, this on the zoth of March, 1861. state.
tioned, was born in Ohio October 20, 1821. ward married to Stephen C. Ulrich, who.
David M. John, son of David above men- and lived on a farm until apprenticed to a wagonmaker. On the 7th of February, 1840. he married Miss Susan Overhulsler (born August 20, 1823), which union has resulted in the birth of eight children, viz: Oliver. Jacob W .. Sarah Ann. Catherine. Lewis A., David. Thomas and Calvin N. Of these children the following facts are noted : Oliver married Sarah Zent and they became the parents of the following chil- dren : Edwin is deceased : Jennie became the wife of Ruins Langsden and the mother of four children : Charles married Clara and by her has two children : Ella is the wife of Abraham Landis; Webster is deceased. Jacob W. is an ex-soldier and ex-county treasurer of Huntington county. He has been twice married, first to Amanda Zent and, second. to Rohanna Zent. By his first wife he became the father of four children, named as follows: William married Ella Jackson and they have one child. Russell ; Cora. deceased; Frank; Edna married a Mr. Geedy and is the mother of one child. John. Sarah Ann became the wife of Levi Myers and to them were born the following children : Ida, deceased : Calvin, deceased ; Daisy, deceased : Jennie became the wife of 1 Alva Henderson and they have two children, Ruth and Russell: Clarence married Rosa Mower, deceased, and they had one child. Doris, also deceased : Mate married Chesicy Bone: Frank. Thomas married Alice Swi- hart and to them were born three children : Edith, deceased : Mabel, the wife of Frank
Calvin N. John was a small boy when his father died, and his mother was after- when the subject was seven years old, brought him to Jackson township. Kości- usko county, this state, and settled on a farm. on which young Calvin was reared un- til he was eighteen and up to that age at- tended school. He then worked out at farm labor by the day or month until his mar- riage. December 1, 1878, to Miss Lettie CI- rich, daughter of Samuel S. and Phone ( Miller ) Ulrich and who had been a school- mate of Mr. John. This marriage has been blessed by three children, namely: Ethel B., born January 14. 1881, who was grai- uated from the high school in North Man- chester in 1899, and is now teaching in die- triet No. 5. Jackson township: Mindie B. bern July 6. 1883. is a graduate in m the common schools and is now in her third year in the high school at North Manche -- ter: Albert N., born May 6. 1885. a grad- nate of the common schools, is also in his third year in the same high school.
Calvin N. John, after his marriage. worked for some time for his father-in-law and then purchased and moved upon an eighty-acre farm, to which he has since added forty acres, which he has improved in all essentials and shown himself to be a ca- pable and wide-awake agriculturist. This farm, on which he has continually resided. with the exception of three years since he located on it, is now considered one of the best of its dimensions in the township. Dur- ing the interim referred to he had charge of a farm belonging to his father-in-law.
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Mr. John is a stalwart Republican an.l has several times represented his party in a. county conventions. Ile is a member of the Progressive Brethren church, while his wife is a member of the German Baptist church, both of which societies they aid lib- erally in a financial way, and in the work of which both take an active and effective part. Mr. John believes in guarding against the possibility of future ill fortune or calamity. and carries a twelve-hundred-dollar policy in the Union Central Life Insurance Com- pany. He has made hosts of friends in Jackson township and he and family stand very high in the esteem of its social circles as well as in that of the general public.
connection the biographer here inserts the Flowing data concerning the ancestry of Mrs. John :
Richard Gordon, the great-grandfather . Mrs. John, was born in 1774 and died December 19, 1857. He married Miss Anna Garst, who was born August 2. 1785, and to them were born the following children : James, John. Andrew, all deceased, Letty ( the grandmother of Mrs. John, who mar- ried a Mr. Minnich, later Lewis Miller, and still later Jesse Myers). Katherine ( Mrs. Leffel ). Mazy (Mrs. Keplinger ). De- lilah ( Mrs. Barrett ), Anna ( Mrs. Fogle). Frederick (married a Miss Fedds). Giles, Sarah (Mrs. Barratt), Mary (Mrs. Dona- wan), David, Richard. William, George and Liza. The latter died at the age of seven-
dren by either Mr. Mimiich or Mr. Myers Lewis Miller was a native of Pike township. Clark county, Ohio, and came to this com- ty September 17, 1847. settling near section 11. To his union with Lety Gordon, were born the following children: Andrew ide- ceased ). Rebecca. Giles, Catharine iMrs. Daniel Mishier, reference to whom is made belowy. Anna ( Mrs. Heckman). Phoebe (wh married Samuel S. Ulrich and is the mother of Mrs. John). Mazy (decease .. Mary (deceased). Richard (who married Lavina Redeye), Julian (deceased). ... thony ( deceased), Sallie ( married Lyman Wilson Robinson and has one child. Albert ). Gifford (now deceased, married Lon Kol- As a matter of undoubted interest in this inson and had by her two children, Nora
and Everett ), Aaron (married a Miss Day ). Of these calidren. Giles Miller married In- cinna Leffel and they had the following children : Jennie (married Henry Winke and they have three children, Grace, Georgie and Moomay, George (married Vitte Vance and upon her death was again married 1. Alice, William (married a Miss Butter- baugh ). Mary and a twin, the latter dying in infancy. Charles and Esther.
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