USA > Indiana > Kosciusko County > Progressive men and women of Kosciusko County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography > Part 60
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which he spent the remainder of his life. he and his good wife dying after reaching ages beyond those allotted to the majority
David Hamman was born February 16, 1829, in Tuscarawas county. Ohio, and at the age of twenty accompanied his parents to the new home in the county of Kosciusko. Prior to that time he attended sach sub- scription schools as his native county af- forded, but after coming to Indiana he re- ceived no educational training worthy of note, his time being taken up with sach labor as an unimproved farm in a com- paratively new country required. From his arrival in Kosciusko until the present day he has been intimately concerned with the best interests of the country as one of the foremost promoters of its prosperity and substantial development, and he now occu- pies a conspicuous place, not only as a lead- ing farmer of the community in which he resides, but also as one of Tippecanoe town- ship's estimable and representative citizens.
Mr. Hamman remained with his parents until twenty-nine years of age. meantime. from his twenty-first year, farming the home place for a part of the proceeds and looking after his father's interests. In Au- gust. 1860, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Pontius, daughter of Abra- ham and Sarah M. (Rolland ) Pontius, na- tives of Pennsylvania, who in the fall of 1844 moved to Kosciusko county and set- tled in the township of Tippecanoe. Some- time previous to his marriage Mr. Hamman bought a place in Tippecanoe and to it he took his bride and began life in the woods. but little improvement having been made on the farm before he set up his first do- mestic establishment. By close application
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be established those habits of industry and marily in view of making a good home for himself and family and acquiring a com- petency for his declining years. This land- Brugality which insured his success in later years. With the able assistance of his es- timable companion he soon extended the "able desire has been realized and he is now area of cultivable land and in due the in casy circumstances with a sufficient sur- | sooner or later comes to every individual. found himself upon the high road to pros- i plus for the proverbial "rainy day," which perity with a good farm in his possession and many of the comforts and conveniences Mr. and Mrs. Hamman are the parents of six children, namely: Daniel, deceased ; Lucinda, wife of William Smalley, of Alex- andria, this state; Amanda married John Brown, of Turkey Creek township: Will- iam married Dollie Angel and lives on the old farm: Ira married Elizabeth Arnold and follows farming and stock raising in Noble 1 county ; and Jesse, a farmer of Tippecanoe township, married Miss Eva Rolston. of life surrounding him. Mr. Hamman has always followed agricultural pursuits for a livelihood and is regarded as an enter- prising and typical farmer. His thorough system of tillage, the good order of his fences, the well-cared-for condition of his felds, the commodious and comfortable buildings all demonstrate his successful management and substantial thrift. Since his marriage he has lived on the farm which he now owns and his long residence in the community has won for him a very high place in the confidence and esteem of his nany neighbors and friends. In every re- lation of life he has always been regarded is a representative citizen, discharging every duty devolving upon him with com- niendable fidelity and proving himself 1 worthy the large measure of respect with which he is treated by all who know him.
Mr. Hamman has the satisfaction of knowing that every dollar he owns has been carned by his unaided efforts. Having a large family to provide for, his father could do little for his children when they started out to make their own fortunes, consequent- g each one was obliged to rely entirely apon his individual resources. Endowed with a liberal share of good common sense und possessing sound judgment, backed by a well founded purpose to succeed, Mr. Hamman has labored with the object pri-
Having accumulated a sufficiency of the world's goods to render the remainder of his and his wife's days comfortable and free from care, Mr. Hamman turned his farm over to his son and is now practically retired from active life. He has always been deeply interested in whatever tends to promote the prosperity of his township and county and to him as much as to any one man is the community indebted for the ma- terial development for which it has long been noted. He has also used his influence in behalf of all moral and benevolent enter- prises, being a friend and liberal patron of the church, which he believes to be the most potential factor for substantial good the world has ever known or will ever know. The German Baptist denomination repre- sents his religious belief, to which excellent body both himself and wife belong. As a good and intelligent citizen he takes much interest in political affairs, voting with the Republican party, the principles of which he
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believes to be more conducive to the coun- men, is the venerable gentleman wise try's good than those of any other political organization.
The life of Mr. Hamman has been an open book, the pages of which are singularly free from blot or blemish. His career has been that of a faithful and devout man, a kind husband, a devoted father and a citi- zen in whom all repose the most implicit confidence and trust.
ISAAC JOHNSON.
That period of the nineteenth century embracing the decade between 1830 and 1840 was characterized by the immigration of the pioneer element which made the great state of Indiana largely what it is today. These immigrants were sturdy, heroic, sin- core and. in the main, upright people, such as constitute the strength of the common- wealth. It scarcely appears probable that in the future of the world another such period can occur, or. indeed, any period when such a solid phalanx of strong-minded men and noble, self-sacrificing women will take possession of a new country. The pe- riod to which reference is made, therefore, cannot be too much or too well written up, and the only way to do justice to such a subject is to record the lives of those who led the van of civilization and founded the institutions which today are the pride and boast of a great state and a strong and virile people. Among those who came to north- era Indiana when the country was in its primitive wildness, infested by wild an- iniais, numerous and ferocious, and the scarcely less wild, but more savage, red
life history is herein recorded. He u.s. oniy an actor in the great drama is witnessed the passing of the old and the troduction of new conditions in what is a Kosciusko county, but enjoys the dis. tion of being the oldest living settler of : township of Tippecanoe, if not the of in the county.
Just when the ancestors of the .... ican branch of the Johnson family cas from England and settled in Virginia is n: known, but it is supposed to have been : a very early period in the time of the e .. onies. The subject's grandfather, Garre: Johnson, was born in that state and Mike moved to what is now Barbour cost. West Virginia, where he spent the remain- der of life as a tiller of the soil. Amos, his sons was Benjamin Johnson, also . . Virginia birth, and who, when a young man, married Sarah Roberts, whose pe pr were natives of Maryland. The Riders family moved to West Virginia many ye .. . : ago and it was in the latter state that ts , marriage above mentioned was solemnize. Shortly after taking to himself a wife Be .- jamin Johnson moved to an eighty-acre tract of land in what is now Barbour cona- ty, West Virginia, the place coming into his father's possession some time previous- ly. It was hilly and thickly wooded and possessed few attractions to the young couple, but, full of energy and actuated is a desire to make a home, they began fc hard work of removing the timber and re- ducing the rocky soil to cultivation. After doing considerable work and becomis. comfortably situated. a flaw was discovere. in the title of the land, which resulted in the "loss of the place. This was but one of the
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Fatherous instances of trouble growing out incorrect surveys which marked the early Settlement of West Virginia and several fer southern states. Realizing that he die be obliged to turn the land over to me legal owner. Mr. Johnson made the most of a bad situation by selling his im- powvements to another party and in 1833 casting to the new country of northern li- Waa. Leaving his family in West Vir- tia, he started on a tour of observation with the object in view of finding a favor- de location where land could be cheaply Rained. He walked through the wilder- Mes of Ohio and Indiana until he reached What is now Plain township, Kosciusko county, where he met some friends from old neighborhood in West Virginia. this whont he stayed until he traveled over .. large part of the surrounding country. saing its advantages and disadvantages as Race for a home. Being well pleased Ith the richness of the land, he selected a cation on the government domain and then sorted on his return trip of five hundred Ifes, which he completed in just ten and A half days. Remaining that winter with His family, he returned to Indiana the fol- wing spring and put out a crop of corn on Turkey Creek prairie, after which he again ent back to West Virginia on foot for the purpose of bringing his family to the new : come in the wilds of Kosciusko county.
ment. The family spent the following win- ter in a little cabin that had been previously used by a temporary settler and in March, 1835. Mr. Johnson erected a log house of his own on one hundred and sixty acres of land in section g of congressional township 33. but in what is now known as the civil township of Tippecanoe. By hard and al- most unremitting toil he succeeded that spring in putting out five acres of corn and vegetables, which the following summer and fall yielded an abundant crop. Isaac was a lad of eleven years at the time and did his full share in helping clear the land and tending the crop during the summer season. Before the summer was half gone the entire family was taken with the ague, a disease then prevalent throughout Indi- ana. With no physician nearer than fifteen or twenty miles and no neighbor to min- ister to their wants or alleviate their suffer- ings, their condition was distressing in the extreme. During the first spring and sum- mer they saw but two white women and the nearest neighbors, who lived several miles away, were so afflicted with the prevailing sickness as to be unable to render any assist- ance whatever. But all evils must end, soon or late, and so it proved in the case of Mr. Johnson and his family. After suffering untold misery for several months the ague was finally broken and by fall all were able to be up and about their several duties. During the winter of 1835 Mr. Johnson, with the help of his sons, succeeded in clear- ing about ten acres of land, which with what had already been fitted for cultivation made quite a respectable start in a country " so new and undeveloped. From that time on better times prevailed and the pioneer
Loading his few belongings on a wagon. Me. Johnson and his family started on the Best day of October, 1834. for their future me. which, after a long and toilsome arney, in the face of many obstacles, they Reichel on the 1st day of November of year, and immediately thereafter began wiking preparations for permanent settle- family feasted well upon such articles of
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diet as corn bread, potatoes, pork and wild game, the latter plentiful and easily pro- cured. At Syracuse was a small mill, or more properly a corn cracker, which made a coarse article of meal, and to it Mr. John- son resorted for what breadstuffs the fam- ily needed. To narrate in detail the trying experiences and hardships which the John- Soas encountered in getting established in their new home on Turkey creek would far transcend the limits of a sketch of this kind. Suffice it to say that by hard toil. close economy and great industry upon the part of all they gradually surmounted their un- favorable environment and in the course of a few years found themselves situated with a good farm and a sufficiency of this world's goods to place them among the more sub- stantial class of people of the community. Benjamin Johnson was a typical repre- sentative of the sterling yeomanry of the period, strong of limb, firm of purpose and a man whom all his friends and neighbors respected. He possessed intelligence be- yond that of the average settler and took an active interest in the early affairs of the county, serving on the first election board which sat in Leesburg and figuring con- spicuously in the county organization.
He was a member of the first grand jury ever impanelled in the county of Kos- ciusko, and ranked among the first school teachers of the county. He was also the township's first justice of the peace, in which position he served two terms, and in various other official capacities he rendered his fellow citizens efficient service during the formative period of the country.
The Johnson family has long been noted for longevity, a number of the subject's an-
cestors having reached advanced ages, and to this rule Benjamin was no exception. He lived a long and useful life, did a pro- digious amount of hard labor, assumed many trying responsibilities and reached the ripe old age of ninety-four years before called to the other life. His influence upon the early history and development of Tip- pecanoe township was potential and far- reaching in effect and as a man and citi- zen he will always be remembered as one of the representative pioneers of the county.
Isaac Johnson was born in West Vir- ginia on the 18th day of February. 1824. He spent ten years of his life amid the fa- miliar scenes of his birthplace and then ac- companied his parents to Kosciusko, where his early experiences were such as have been briefly outlined in preceding paragraphs. Before leaving his native state he attende .! two terms of school and after coming to Indiana he attended the schools which his father taught. thereby obtaining a sufficient knowledge of books to serve as a founda- tion for his subsequent career as a success- ful and progressive farmer. From boy- hood he knew by practical experience the meaning of hard and honest toil and until his twenty-first year he remained at home assisting his father in clearing land and otherwise running the farm. On attaining his majority he rented the home place and farmed it thereafter for about three years. meeting with fair success in his work. Im- pressed with a desire to have land of his own. Mr. Johnson, when about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. went to the land officer at Fort Wayne and entered forty- Six acres, about all the government land that was then untaken in the township of
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Hippecanoe. He had money sufficient to ay the entry fee. but was obliged to bor- pow five dollars to complete his payments si the land. The spring and summer fol- swing his purchase he cleared five acres, which were sown in wheat that fall, and before the expiration of the first year he i paid back the money borrowed and re- ceived a deed for his place.
Mr. Johnson knew what hard work Lent and he gave himself little rest until He had his farm cleared and in a good state vi cultivation. On New Year's day. 1850. he was united in marriage to Miss Jane Mock, daughter of Michael Mock, who came to Kosciusko county from Ohio some- sine in the 'forties and settled in Tippe- anoe township. Mr. Johnson prepared a west log cabin of one room for the recep- Son of his bride, and, with a bed given him by his mother, a box for a table, smaller boxes for chairs, a couple of pots, the same number of skillets, a few very cheap dishes. and some simple articles of tinware, the vang couple began housekeeping very con- :entediy, if not in affluent circumstances. Subsequently he added two chairs to his stock of furniture, and, having good credit :: a store in Leesburg. purchased other articles from time to time, until the little Vg cabin was fairly well supplied with household effects. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson spent some of the happiest days of their ives in this simple and humble manner. wild now, after the lapse of over half a century, he looks back to the time in the ride cabin home with a thrill of pleasure such as never experienced when surrounded with more and much greater comforts and conveniences.
Mr. Johnson continued to purchase goods from the merchant at Leesburg on credit until his bill amounted to about fifty dollars, a very formidable sum at that time, especially to a young man who had no vis- ible means of raising the money. When asked to settle he was in a most embarrass- ing predicament indeed, having no ready cash, nor did he know how to obtain it. While devising means to extricate himself from the dilemma, a happy thought came into his mind. At that time rat skins were selling for fifteen cents each and there was a great demand for them by fur dealers who had local agents in many parts of northern Indiana. His place being overrun with these rodents, Mr. Johnson procured a num- ber of traps and such was his success in capturing the little animals that within two weeks he sold enough skins to cancel his debt. besides having a considerable surplus in his pocket.
Mr. Johnson states that his first farm- ing implements were in keeping with his household furniture, few and of the most primitive pattern. He broke his ground with a wooden mold-board, used a harrow with wooden teeth, cut his grain with a hand sickle and a cradle, and did his other work in an equally slow and laborious way. In due time, however, a new and better era was ushered in and it was not many years until the log cabin gave place to a new and much more commodious and comfortable structure of frame, the simple household effects were replaced with modern conven- iences, until the farm labor was performed by the newest and most approved imple- ments and agricultural devices. He also added to his land until his farm contained
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one butred and nine acres, which for fer- tty and general agricultural purposes is not exceedel by any place of its size within the Shaits of the township.
Mr. Johnson has been an up-to-date farmer, exceedingly methodical in the pros- ecution of his labors, and he seldom fails to gather abundant harvests from his well- tilled fields. He has also devoted consider- able attention to his horses, cattle and hogs. in fact, prosperity has all along attended him and he can now say that he owes no man. besides having ample means to make the remainder of his life comfortable. He has always been an optimist and by looking upon the sunny side of every cloud has not only made himself happy and contented, but rendered life pleasant to those about him. Mr. Johnson is characterized by a pleas- ing personal presence, amiable disposition and an agreeable manner that wins and re- tains warm friendships. Held in the high- est esteem by the people of his community. Se is ako well known throughout the county by reason of his long continued residence. and wherever he goes he is assured of warm greetings by those to whom his name has been a familiar sound ever since their childhood. During the sixty-seven years that have dissolved with the mists of the past since he came to Tippecanoe township he has seen many wonderful changes, not only in the county, but in the people as well. All of those who were here upon his ar- rival have either died or moved elsewhere, and others have taken their places, in turn to be succeeded by still newer comers until a new and entirely different generation now possess the land. Contemplating the past, Holmes' very beautiful and expressive lines
Sihay be appropriately quoted in this con- nection :
The mossy marbles rest On the hps that he has pressed In their bloom, And the names he loved so dear Have been carved for many a year On the tomb.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have two chil- dren. Dulcina, wife of Philip Arnold, of Tippecanoe township, and Benjamin F .: the latter married Miss Anna Gans, of this county, and died some years ago. Mr. John- son was made & Mason at North Webster in the year 1866, and has served his lodge in various official capacities from worship- fal master down. As worshipful master he served for twenty consecutive years, a fact which speaks eloquently of his ability as a presiding officer as well as for his standing as a bright and well-posted member of the Mystic Tie. Religiously he is a Methodist. to which denomination his good wife was also a member for a number of years before she died. Her death occurred August IS. 1895. In politics Mr. Johnson is a Repub- lican, enthusiastic in upholding his prin- ciples and fearless in the expression of his opinions. He has served as different times as road supervisor and did much to intro- duce and improve the excellent system of public highways for which Tippecanoe township has long been noted.
In the foregoing lines have been briefly set forth the leading facts in the life his- tory of one of Kosciusko county's oldest citizens and most worthy men. Honest. fearless in behalf of the right, and true to every duty devolving upon him, he has lived long and well and his name will con- tine to be honored by the people of a com-
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anty for the advancement of which he married Miss Elizabeth MeDomain, the devoted many of his best years and en- engies. ceremony being duly solemnized July 7th of that year. Mrs. Willis is of Scotch-Eng- lish descent and inherits many of the ami- able and sterling qualities of those two HENRY WILLIS. sturdy races. She is a native of Prince Ed- ward's Island, born in the year 1834. her people being among the early settlers of that little country. After his marriage Mr. Willis returned with his bride to Kankakee,
Admired and respected for his general intelligence and culture, as well as for his sterling qualities as a neighbor and a citi- zen, no man in the town of North Webs- , where he continued as a manufacturer of ter stands higher in public esteem than the four until 1869. Subsequently he moved worthy individual the salient facts of whose I to Wisconsin and was employed as a miller
life and characteristics are herein set forth.
Henry Willis is an American by adop- sion. but none the less a loyal citizen of this great republic and an ardent admirer of its free institutions. He was born August 30, 18:33. in England, where his ancestors for many generations have lived. His father, James Willis, married a Miss Andrews, who died in her native county in 1838, and about three years later the father married a Miss Proctor. In 1842 they left their native land and went to Prince Edward's Island. in the dominion of Canada, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Henry Willis was a lad of nine years when he looked for the last time upon the familiar scenes of his beautiful native land, and from that time until his twentieth year Le ved with his parents in Prince Edward's Hand. After attending school until about Ateen years of age he began, in 1854. to Won the miller's trade and after becoming proficient in the same left Prince Edward's Island in 1857 and went to Kankakee, Illi- sois, where he soon found remunerative em- ployment in a large flouring-mill. After re- maining in that city until 1859 Mr. Willis returned to Prince Edward's Island and
in that state until 1885, at which time he purchased the mill at North Webster, which he continued to operate with successful financial results until 1892, when he aban- doned the manufacture of flour and retired to the beautiful little farm near the town where he is now living a life of honorable retirement. He sold the mill in 1893 to the Kline Brothers, after spending thirty-eight years in preparing the most important article of diet known to humanity.
Mr. and Mrs. Willis have been blessed with seven children, the oldest of whom. Alice, is deceased. Elizabeth J., the second born, married Frank Smith and lives in Colorado: William H., who married Min- nie Smith, lives in Wisconsin; Alta May, now Mrs. Henry T. Kline, resides in North Webster: Arthur E. S., whose home is in Wisconsin, married Edna Sanger; Alice M. who is unmarried, was educated in the Northwestern University of Evanston, Ili- nois, and has achieved considerable distinc tion as teacher of elocution and physical culture ; the youngest member of the family is Albert H .. the efficient and popular clerk in the large general store at North Webster owned by V. M. Mock. Mr. Willis gave
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his children excellent educational advan- ! ally, educationally and morally, and his in- tages and they are all noted for culture and refinement, as well as for broad general in- telligence. They made the best of the op-' portunities afforded them and are now oc- cupying positions of honor and usefulness in society.
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