USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > Progressive men and women of Kosciusko County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography > Part 53
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of government. One of his pupils became a WILLIAM BAKER. noted divine in the Methodist Episcopal church, due, of course, to the excellent in- struction given by Mr. Oldfather. In 1875 he wedded Miss Flotilla Loop, who was born Jannary 28. 1852. her parents having been early settlers of Ohio. One child blessed this union. Iva, born February 14. 1879. She is an accomplished young lady, both in schooling and in music. She married Harry W. Cline, a teacher of this county. and lives in Seward township. Mr. Old- father is a member of Lodge No. 164. K. of P .. at Silver Lake. Ile has for five years past been engaged in shipping stock. He served as secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Association for nineteen years and did a vast amount to render the association metal and successful. He was largely in- strumental in making it one of the strongest companies in the state. He is a Republican and at one time was the candidate of his 1 party for county commissioner. He is well and favorably known throughout the coun- | brought with him five hundred dollars in ty and is one of its leading and substantial men. Mr. Oldfather is keenly interested in the formation of a telephone company, un- der the name of the People's Mutual Tele- phone Company of Kosciusko county. º The officers of the company are as follows : Presi- dent. Henry L. Oldfather : secretary, Sam- uel B. Flora; treasurer, Harry W. Cline; on the board of directors there are in addi- tion to the gentlemen named. Ephraim Wells. Arthur Smith and Owen F. Brown. The company is incorporated and is cap- italized at ten thousand dollars. Mr. Old- father has in his possession a valuable relic in the shape of an old parchment deed. dated August 10. 1837. and signed by Presi- dent Martin Van Buren.
This well-known citizen is an excellent representative of the better class of farmers of the United States. He comes from an ancestry that distinguished itself in the pin- neer times. When the county was coverel with an almost interminable forest of large trees and the woods filled with wild anima's his people came here and began to carve from the primeval forests, build schools and churches, and introduce the customs of civ- ilization in the wilderness. They were ges- uine pioneers, willing to take the hardships that they might acquire the soil and the home that were sure to rise. Subject was born in Harrison township. this county. January 8. 1855. and is the child of . Abraham and Lethy ( Huffman ) Baker. The father was a native of Richland county, Ohio, and came to this county in 1847. As this Was before the time of railroads, he walked the entire distance of two hundred miles, and cash which he had earned by day labor in . Ohio. He bought one hundred and sixty acres of government land for two dollars and a half per acre, but as he was not ready yet to begin clearing the timber from the same he hired out for the winter of 1847-8 to clear off timber for another man in Wa- bash county. The following summer. hon - ever, he began to clear on his own place i. earnest. On March 22, 1849. he was anite ! in marriage with Miss Lethy Huffman, sis- ter of George L. Huffman, and immediate's moved upon his land and began the task of clearing the same. It was covered with dense woods, but life was before them and time was long and so they steadily took the sunshine with the storm and built up in the
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course of time a happy home. There he During that time be saved a considerar . has resided to the present day. He is now sum of money for himself. On January as, 1882. he married Miss Hannah Latimes. daughter of the oid sentier. Lyman ixtimer. and to this union were born three Galdre .: Blanche B., born July 1, 188%. Box in : . agath grade in school, and two children that died in infancy. At the time of this marriage he had amassel about three thes- sand dollars and had bought sixty -two acre- of the old farm. He now owns one han- tired and sixteen and one-half acres of the old place, all well improved. He has one of the finest bank barns in this part of the county, and built the same in 18og. Ali the floors of the basement are cemented, except in the horse stable. The whole place gener- ally is an excellent example of modern farmi improvement and reflects great credit upon the enterprise and advanced ideas of Me. Baker. He raises high-grade cattle, horses. sheep and hogy, and sells many each year. making no little money from this branch ; husbandry. As a general farmer he is high- ly successful. His life has been busy ami filled with good actions, and the world & better for his having lived. He is a strong Republican, but is not an office seeker, though he would grace any ofice within the gift of his neighbors. He is well known an ! his word is as good as a bond. eighty-one years old, and his long life has been one of the highest integrity and the strictest honor. He is known far and near and no one can say a reproachiul word against his blameless life. He has attende .! strictly to his own business, and cleared in his time two hundred acres of timber kad. He was successful and at one time ownel three hundred and twenty acres, worth from fifty to sixty dollars per acre. He was first a Whig, but when slavery threat- ened to crush the union of the states he be- came a Republican. His first wife died June 20. 1869, and he afterward wedded Bar- bara Delaney. There were eight children born to the first wife, as follows: Samuel, who married Miss Jane Griffiths and is de- ceased: Mahala, who became the wife of Noah Viler and lives in Fulton county, In- diana : William, subject ; Loucina, who wedded fra . Wertenberger and lives in Franklin township; Mary, who married : Ebenezer Odell, who died, and she then mar- ried Albert Tucker and now lives in Men- tone: Susan, who became the wife of Will- iam E. Dille and lives in Fulton county ; . Matilda, who wedded Joshua Garwood and resides in Harrison township : Andrew, who died in infancy.
Because of surrounding circumstances. William Baker did not complete his school training, but he remedied this defect in after life very greatly by extensive reading. He chose farming as his occupation through life. and as he became older he began to make progress in his farming operations. When he attained his majority he rented the farm of his father and continued to thus conduct it for the period of seven years.
GABRIEL ULREY.
Gabriel Ulrey, a farmer and stock raiser of Jackson township, also a minister of the German Baptist church. is a native of Mont- gomery county, Ohio, and son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Swihart , Ulrey. The family name in the original German style is spelled
GABRIEL ULREY FAMILY GROUP
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СТОЯTO YJIМАЯ УЗЯ IL JUIREAD
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"Ulrich." The subject was born December 27. 18:13. in Stark county, Oldo, and since her fifth year has lived in the county of Ko- ciusko. There were eight children born to Henry and Rosa Kreiter, five sons and three daughters. Of these there are but four fiv- ing. Mrs. Ulrey and three brothers. Of the latter Samuel is married and is a resident of Los Angeles county, California ; Monroe K. resides in the old Kreiter home in Lake township. this county, while the third brother is married and lives at Cambridge, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Ulrey are the par- ents of eight children, viz: Rosa, wife of A. J. Wurtenberger, of Kansas ; Anna, wife of Jacob N. Miller, of Jackson township : Lizzie married Jacob AA. Metzger, also a resi- dent of Jackson township; Alice is the wife of Albert Miller, a farmer of the same town- ship: Mattie, who became the wife of Sam- nel N. Hawley, lives in California: Asa wedded, March 12, 1902, Miss Edna Shir- ley, of Kosciusko county : Alphens married Cora Ross and carried on farming in the township of Jackson ; and Ella, now Mrs. E. P. Tridle, lives with her father on the home place. 26. 1839, and when a little over four years old was brought to Kosciusko county. Indi- ana, where he has since lived and prospered. He grew to maturity on a farm and received his preliminary education in subscription schools taught principally by Andrew Whistler, Gabriel Swihart, Jr., Gabriel Swi- hart. Sr., and his own father, Joseph Ul- rey, who were among the earliest peda- gogues of Jackson township. By making the most of his opportunities he obtained a fair knowledge of such branches as were then taught and also became familiar with the German language, which he learned to read and write with ease and fluency. After reaching his majority he attended school at Warsaw two years and then obtained a teacher's license and in the winter of 1861 taught his first term in the public schools si Kosciusko county. With the exception of one year, the winter of 1871-72, he was en- gaged in educational work from isol to 1876 inclusive, meanwhile attending nor- mal schools and institutes for the purpose of increasing his efficiency as an instructor. During the time that he was thus engaged Mr. Ulrey has been a thrifty farmer and is now well situated financially. With the exception of some small assistance from his own and wife's parents, he has made the comfortable fortune which is now his and is entitled to much credit for the suc- cessful manner with which he has concluded! his business affairs. In the spring of 180; he was elected trustee of Jackson township and served as such by re-election until 186 ;. discharging the duties of the office in an able and praiseworthy manner. His second elec- tion was without opposition, a fact which Mr. Ulrey earned an enviable reputation as a teacher and his long retention in the same district was a compliment to his ability and attested the high esteem in which he was held by both patrons and pupils. In 1876 he gave up teaching and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, moving in the spring of that year to the farm in Jackson township on which he has since lived. On the 8th day of May. 1862, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Kreiter, daugh- ter of Henry and Rosa A. ( Kasler ) Kreiter, who came to Kosciusko county from Ohio , speaks well for his standing with the people in the year 1848. Mrs. Ulrey was born July among whom, irrespective of party affilia-
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tion, he is held in the highest esteem. In 18of the subject and wife took a three months' trip to the Pacific coast and speak very highly of that country.
Mr. Clrey is a valuable man in the com- munity and his judgment and clear insight in matters of business have caused him to be retained by his neighbors to adjust mat- ters, which without his assistance might have led to expensive litigation. He has served as administrator on some valuable estates, among which may be cited that of Joseph Fruit, which, representing over four- teen thousand dollars, has been settled to the entire satisfaction of all parties concerned. In April, 1866, he united with the German Baptist church, of which communion he has since been a faithful and consistent member. looking with the deepest interest after the affairs of the local congregation to which he belongs and by a blameless life, conse- crated to the service of God and his fellow men, exerting a wholesome influence in the community where he lives. October 11, 1879. he was made a deacon of the church and in November following his brethren set him apart to the work of ministry. Subsequent- ly. December 24, 1881. he was advanced to the second degree of his holy office, and. while not regularly engaged as a pastor, he preaches wherever his services are required and has accomplished much good by his public ministries. His daughters also be- long to the church and with himself are con- sidered among its most earnest and zealous members. The building in which the local society meets was erected on three acres of ground donated by the subject's father for church and burial purposes, the cemetery being irce to all who desire to bury their dead therein, and the house open to all de-
nominations for funeral services. In pe. ities Mr. Clrey is a stanch Republica. .. a citizen none occupies a more conspicuous place in the confidence of the public and as a neighbor he has long been loved and how- ored by the people of his township.
JOHN M. WAINWRIGHT.
AAmong those in this part of the county who have built up a highly creditable repa- tation and have distinguished themsche, by right and honorable living is the subject of this brief memoir. His prominence ?!! the affairs of the community is concede: and his deeds will speak for themselves. Some men speak loudest by talking voltd'y and frequently, while others speak louder by their actions. The subject of this notice is able to express himself well when talking is needed, and is also well qualified to carr .. into execution his thoughts. He is one ... the strongest factors in this community where there are many men of sound sense and ripe judgment. He has shown his s- ness for official honors after many years spent in the public service, and he is willing that his record should speak for him. He was born in Union county, Indiana. Fel. ruary 14. 1862, and is the son of Charles IV and Sarah ( Ring) Wainwright. T ... Wainwright family came originally fres. Virginia, where Isaac, the grandfather, Was - born and brought up. The latter moved i Union county, Indiana, in 1830, when the country was yet a wilderness. The Rin. family have lived in this state many years. also coming here when the country was very new. They first lived in Madison county.
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and afterward in Union coanty, where the two families intermingled. The father and mother were married in 1859 and in 1865 9 they removed to Miami county. Indiana. : where the father bought a saw-mill near Gilead, which he operated for a number of years, making money steadily and rapidly. Unfortunately he was accidentally burned out, the loss falling upon him with crushing force, as he had no insurance. In 1800 he came to this county and located near Sevas- topol, and in 1870 he moved into Seward township and located near Yellow Creek lake. He took the job of digging a big ditch running from this lake and by good management and hard work made a snug sum of money, sufficient in fact to partly if not wholly reimburse him for his previous loss. In 1872 he removed to Palestine and engaged in the pump and well business, and continued thus until the time of his death in 1893. Hle was a Re-
years when his father moved to Palestine He attended the local school until he was sixteen years old, going to school in the winters and working on the property of his father in the summers. When he was six- teen he was so well advanced that he re- ceived a certificate to teach, but owing to his immature years he did not essay the role of a teacher. Upon reaching the age of twenty-one years he engaged in the pump and well business with his father under the firm name of Wainwright & Son, and a little later they added cement and sewer pipe to their other commodities. Upon the death of the father the business was managed by subject until 1894, at which date he bought the present business and has since done a thriving trade.
On December 24, 1884. the subject was united in marriage with Miss Mary E., daughter of E. W. and Hannah ('plinger, of this county, but formerly of Pennyi- publican in his political affiliations, and as , vania, whose birth occurred July 19. 1805. such was elected justice of the peace and was | Mrs. Wainwright received a good educa- serving as such at the time of his death. Ile was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and served a number of years as Sunday-school superintendent. TIe was an excellent example of the high-minded Christian citizen. His life was filled with action, but through all he ever retained his excellent standing and won the respect and confidence of his neighbors. His widow still survives him. in her sixty-second year, and resides with her son John in Palestine. To their marriage there were born two sons. John M. and William 11. The latter was born in 1863 and upon attaining manhood was united in marriage with Miss Effie Mil- ler and resides in Warsaw, Indiana. tion in her girlhood and finished by attend- ing the high school at Warsaw for two years. She secured a teacher's certificate and taught for some time in the schools of this county. To her marriage with subject there have been born these children : Vallie B., born July 31, 1886, graduated in the class of 1902 in the common schools; Car; .A., born August 25. 1891 : Charles W. born May 22. 1898; M. Ruby, born May 6, 1900. Upon the death of his father Mr. Wain- wright was appointed to fill out the unes- pired term as justice of the peace, and so well did he give satisfaction that he was re-elected and has served down to the pre- ont time. During the administration of President Harrison he was appointed post-
John M. Wainwright was a boy of ten
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master at Palestine, and was again ap- ployment as a stone-cutter, which was pointed by President Mckinley. He is active in politics and wields great influence in the councils of his party. He has served in county conventions and as a member of the county central committee and is a leader among men. He is a member of Camp No. 3525, M. W. A., Forest Lodge. No. 40, K. of P .. and of Warsaw Lodge, No. 83. 1. O. R. M., and he and his good wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been superintendent of the Sabbath school for eight years and has also served as trustee of the church for eight years. The county cannot boast of a better citizen
THOMAS J. COLBERT.
In the first settlement of the West, the settlers came from all quarters of the East, every state there being represented by its best and most adventurous people. Many'; came from Pennsylvania and many from New England. Old Virginia sent a great many, nearly all of whom had been previous- 'ly slave owners and gave up that institution from motives of principle. Immediately succeeding the Revolution there was little thought of except to build up homes and fortunes, but about the beginning of the nineteenth century and continuing until the great Rebellion, the fight against slavery was one of the principal reasons for the emi- gration of many of the people of Virginia to the free northwest. Among the families which left that state at an early day to seek a home northwest of the Ohio river was the father of the subject of this sketch. He lo- cated near Tiffin, Ohio, and there found en- "in Marshall county. All this was made by
trable. He was quite a boy when he came to Tiffin, but he went to work and soon made a name for himself. He became a prominent contractor on the Erie canal, building locks under contracts and otherwise assisting that great improvement. He finally met hss death at Lagro, Indiana. William. the ia- ther, upon reaching manhood met and mar- ried Miss Christina Hill. her family being of German de-cent and natives of the Key- stone state. The Hills moved to Seneca county, Ohio, at an early day, and there William and Christina met. They moved to Kosciusko county, Indiana, in 1839 and set- tled in Clay township, or what is now Lake township, where he entered from the gov- ernment one hundred and sixty acres of woodland. Not long after this William Col- bert went to his death. To his marriage two children were born in Ohio. Jesse, who married Miss Emma Smith, enlisted in the defense of his country, serving three years. and died from the effects of his service after his return home, and Thomas J., the subject. After the death of William. his widow mar- ried James Bradley, and as young Thomas could not fully agree in all things with his step-father, he left home when he was fi- teen years old and started out in the work; to do for himself. One of the first things he did was to secure a contract for digging a ditch, and a little later he became a sales- man on the road. He engaged in various other things and made more or less money. Soon he began to put his money into farms and thus he steadily grew in the measure of this world's goods. He is now the owner of two farms, one of one hundred and ten acres in Miami county and a smaller one
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shrewd management and hard work. M. He and his wife are members of the \'nite ! though he started as a poor boy. he has ae- Brethren church, and he is one of the sub- stantial and reliable citizens of the county. quired a good property and has made a fine success. Ile was born at Tiffin, Ohio. April 20. 1838, and his early life was spent in the woods. The education he received was very meager, for he had to work hard in clearing SAMUEL J. CARR. the trees and stumps from his father's farm. When he was thrown on his own resources It is at all times very interesting to com- pile and preserve the experiences of the oll soldiers who went out to fight the country's battles during the slaveholders' rebellion forty years ago. These gallant old fellows are fast passing away, and we should get all of their experiences first hand, before they pass away, and leave on record. It is im- portant that we preserve these personal ex- periences, for after all those are the event- which make history. What would history a be worth were it not for the vivid actions of the individuals? That is all there is to the splendid histories of ancient and modern times. The story as told by one who passed through the bloody experiences of four years of struggle and was in numerous battles. marches, campaigns, and. perhaps, prisons and hospitals, is far more interesting than if narrated long hence by some writer who may distort events out of their true historic significance. The subject of this notice was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 11. 1845. and is the child of John and Edna (Scowden ) Carr. The Carr family came originally from Ireland and settled in Virginia, but when John was a young man he went to Kentucky and served for a number of years as pilot on the rivers in that section of the country. This occupation he continued un- til the time of his death. The Scowdens were formerly from Pennsylvania, but went to Cincinnati at an early day, and there the by the unfortunate death of his father. he was obliged to forego all further schooling. but he has in later years managed to add much to his former deficiency by constant reading. He is now one of the leaders in this portion of the county. He possessed the qualities which attract friends and retain them, and he has always been benefited by his friendships, for it was found by all that he could be implicitly trusted. He was mar- ried December 25. 1858, to Miss Rebecca. daughter of David Pontious, who was a na- tive of Virginia, and to this union five chil- dren were born, as follows: William E., who married Miss May Price and resides in Marshall county : Ola A., who wedded Scott Lawrence and lives in Wabash county: David, who married in Ohio and lives in Miami county : James W .. unmarried : John. who is associated in business with his father in a general store at Silver Lake. Recently Mr. Colbert traded for a stock of goods at Silver Lake and is at present engaged in trading his goods for cash or good credit. He has an excellent trade and the entire con- fidence of the community. His stock coll- sisis of dry-goods, boots, groceries and clothing. He is a Democrat and is the party's most active worker in this part of the county. He is a member of Lodge No. 576. I. O. O. F., of Silver Lake, and has represented his lodge in the grand lodge.
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father and mother of subject met and were married, the ceremony occurring in Octo- ber. 1838. To this marriage two children were born. Alice, born in July, 1840, re- ceived a good education in Lane's Young Ladies' Seminary, of Cincinnati, and became the wife of William B. Dunbar, of Mount Vernon, Ohio, The latter was a printer by trade, and became a lieutenant in the One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Rebellion. He passed through thrilling services, and was quite severely wounded at the bloody battle of Chickamauga. Samuel J. Carr lost his par- ents when he was a small boy, and he was taken to be raised by his grandfather. Mrs. Sarah R. Scowden. Thus he was provided for until he was fifteen years old, receiving a good education, and was then taken by his uncle, Theodore R. Scowden, who was a civil engineer, and worked for him during the summer of 1860. The grandmother having moved to Ripley county, Indiana, he remained with her until the spring of 1861. when he enlisted in the Union army in Com- pany C. Thirteenth Regiment, Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, and was mustered in at In- dianapolis, June 19, 1861. After a time spent in camp of instruction, he was sent to the field and first engaged the enemy at Rich Mountain, Virginia. After that he fought at Green Brier in October. 1861. Buffalo Mountain. December. 1861, Winchester. March, 1862. helping to defeat Stonewall Jackson, several skirmishes and battles with Longstreet, and in one of these engagements got severely hurt and was sent to the hos- pital. In September, 1863, he joined his regiment at Charleston and was present at the siege and battle of the same name. About this time his time of enlistment ex-
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