USA > Indiana > Adams County > Standard history of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana : An authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume II > Part 10
USA > Indiana > Wells County > Standard history of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana : An authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and country, Volume II > Part 10
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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
Mr. Johnson married Mary B. Russell, a daughter of James L. and Elizabeth (Deam) Russell, neither of whom are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have four children, namely: Harry, a farmer in Liberty Township; Mrs. Olive Davis, a widow, living in Bluffton; Homer. a graduate of the Liberty Center High School, now engaged in agri- eultural pursuits in Liberty Township, and Everett, a graduate of the same school, is now traveling for a Chicago hardware firm. Mr. John- son is a man of financial ability, and one of the stockholders of the Liberty Center Deposit Bank. He is a republican in politics, and both he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church, in which he is serving as deaeon.
JACOB J. NEFF. Representative of the enterprising and worthy agrieulturists of Wells County. Jacob J. Neff is meeting with marked snecess in his free and independent occupation, his land being in an admirable state of culture, owing to the sound judgment and persistent
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energy with which he has devoted himself to its management. He was born October 28, 1850, in Athens County, Ohio, a son of John Neff.
His grandfather, Jacob Neff, was born and educated in Germany, and there married Anna Barbara Copp. Immigrating to this country prior to the Revolutionary war, he settled in Franklin County, Penn- sylvania, and there spent his remaining days.
John Neff was born on the home farm in Franklin County, Penn- sylvania, April 4, 1793. After the death of his father, and while yet a young man, he migrated with his mother and one sister to Fairfield County, Ohio, where he lived for a year. Moving from there to Athens County, Ohio, he took up wild land, and on the farm that he improved remained until January, 1865. Coming then to Wells County, this state, he located in Harrison Township, on section 18, where he fol- lowed farming until his death, March 19, 1872. He was a democrat in polities and loyal to the interests of his party. He married May 28, 1827, in Fairfield County, Ohio, Catherine Neff, a native of Somerset County, Pennsylvania, being a daughter of John Neff, who emigrated from Germany to the United States and subsequently served as a soldier in the War of 1812. She died on the home farm on the very same day that her husband died, her death occurring within six hours of his, and both were buried in one grave. They were a most estimable eonple, and devoted to each other, never after their marriage having been separated from one another more than twenty-four hours at a time. Nine children blessed their union, as follows: Levi, who died in Bluffton in 1884; Anna B .; Margaret E., deceased, was the wife of Samuel Fried- line; Mary Magdaline, deceased; Amelia and Sarah, twins, both deceased ; Catherine, deceased, was the wife of Adam Bartemaly: Jacob J., and Caroline, wife of George Higman. Both parents were faithful members of the Presbyterian Church.
Fifteen years of age when he eame with the family to Harrison Township, Wells County, Jacob J. Neff assisted his father in the improvement of the home farm, which is located two and a half miles southwest of Bluffton. Succeeding to the ownership of the property, he is carrying on general farming with highly satisfactory results, being one of the enterprising and progressive agrieulturists of the eommunity, owning forty aeres.
Mr. Neff married, August 5, 1880, Sarah M. Zirkle, who was born in New Haven, West Virginia, April 1, 1844, a daughter of Noah and Naney (Baumgartner) Zirkle, who settled in Wells County in 1880. She died October 14, 1885, leaving two children, Louisa May and Clara V.
Louisa May Neff, born September 1, 1881, has been twice married. On March 5, 1898, she married Charles E. Sellers, who died October 31, 1902, leaving her with one son, Charles E. Sellers, born February 19, 1902. Mrs. Sellers married for her second husband, in 1904, William H. Gilbert of Rock Creek Township, Wells County, and their only ehild, Martha M. Gilbert, was born March 29, 1905.
Clara V. Neff, born January 15, 1884, married, December 22, 1901, Osear W. Lane, and they are the parents of three children, Leona Mae, born November 16, 1902; Eva Eloise, born April 18, 1904; and Mary E., born May 23, 1908. A steadfast democrat in polities, Mr. Neff has been active in party ranks, and has served as superintendent of the good roads in Harrison Township. He is a valued member of the Prairie Methodist Episcopal Church to which his wife also belongs.
FRANCIS MARION BUCKNER has for a number of years carried heavy business responsibilities, as a banker, stoekman, farmer, and his own Vol. II-5
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career and that of his family deserve special mention in any history of Wells County.
Mr. Buckner was born in Liberty Township, this county, October 9, 1867, and is a son of William N. and Amelia M. (Yelton) Buckner. Both parents are now deceased.
The late William N. Buckner was born in Bracken County, Ken- tueky, September 13, 1827, a son of Thomas and Matilda (Hanson) Buckner, also natives of Kentucky. Thomas Buckner was a son of Philip and Tabitha Buckner, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Maryland. William N. Buckner spent his early life on a farm, attended a log cabin subscription school, and on January 15, 1851, married Miss Amelia M. Yelton, also a native of Kentucky and daughter of Charles and Amelia (Gosney) Yelton, the former a native of Virginia. William N. Buckner came to Wells County from Kentucky in 1855 and bought forty acres of heavily timbered land in section 16 of Liberty Township. Later he bought eighty acres in section 18, and cleared and improved this and from the fruits of his prosperity built up a fine estate comprising over half a section of land. He was an active democrat and he and his wife were members of the Disciples Church. They had nine children : John T .; Charles N .; Millie J., widow of Joseph Tharilkill ; Missouri E., who has never married; Martha Ann, now deceased, who married Byron H. Prible; George W., who graduated from a veterinary college of New York City and is now deceased; Miami M., wife of Louis Beerbower of Liberty Township; Francis Marion; and Benjamin F., a resident of Liberty Township.
Francis M. Buckner has had a very busy and strenuous career. He spent his early life on his father's farm, attended the district schools and also spent some time in Purdue University studying veterinary sur- gery and taking the agricultural course. For ten terms he was a success- ful teacher in the district schools of Liberty, Rock Creek and Harrison townships.
Mr. Buckner married Miss Stella Doster, the only living daughter of the late Dr. Hezekiah Doster. Mrs. Buckner is a graduate of the Bluffton High School, and is a woman of many talents and more than ordinary abilities, and with all her duties at home has cultivated those interests and studious occupations which keep a woman in close touch with the social life around her. She was also a teacher for ten terms. Mr. and Mrs. Buckner have three children. George D., born April 7, 1892, grad- uated from the Bluffton High School, took the degree A. B. from the University of Indiana in 1916. and is now a student in the Indiana Medical College of Indianapolis, and a member of Bluffton Lodge No. 145, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Dale, the second child, born Sep- tember 21, 1895, is a graduate of the Bluffton High School, now teaching at Poneto, and married February 13, 1918. Arch S. Davis. Joy F. is a graduate of the Bluffton High School and is now a student in the State University.
Dr. Hezekiah Doster, father of Mrs. Buckner, was born in Somerset- shire, England, July 6, 1843, and died May 10, 1910. He came to the United States with his parents in July, 1848, and became a resident of Wells County, Indiana, in August, 1852. In addition to his advantages in the common schools he attended a high school known as Liber College near Portland in Jay County, Indiana, from 1860 to 1865, and taught in the intervals of his student career. In 1865 he began the study of medicine at Bluffton and in 1867 entered the medical department of the University of Michigan and in 1868 received his M. D. degree from the Western Reserve Medical College of Ohio. In that year he began his country practice in the southern part of Wells county. In
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1871 he received a diploma from the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York. For many years he was successfully engaged in looking after a large country practice in and around Poneto and at the same time managed a large farm. This farm comprised over five hundred acres, and an unusual feature of it in early times was a large artificial lake well stocked with fish. Doctor Doster married September 27, 1866, Sarepta Tewksbury, who was born October 2, 1846, a daughter of Simeon Tewks- bury. The two daughters of this union were Stella, born October 19, 1867, now the wife of Mr. Buckner, and Victoria, born November 19, 1883, and now deceased.
Mr. Buckner and family have the responsibility of cultivating and managing seven hundred acres of land in Nottingham and Harrison town- ships. The Doster farms have long been noted for their fine livestock. Mr. Buckner breeds and raises the standard Percheron horses, the Short- horn cattle, the Oxford Down sheep, and handles the better grades of hogs. He has laid out a race track for the training of his harness race horses. Mr. Buckner was one of the active organizers of the Bank of Poneto in 1912. He has always been vice president and active head of the institution. Mr. and Mrs. Bnekner are members of the Chesterfield Camp of the Spiritualists in Madison County.
JOHN C. DEAM. Perhaps there is no better way for the younger gen- eration interested in Wells County to be brought to realize what has been accomplished in the way of civilization, than to contrast conditions and opportunities that met the Deam family when they came here in 1844 and the present. They were among the early pioneers of Jeffer- son Township, and ever since have made their lives a useful part of this section, and have been closely identified with its development from a wilderness into a richly cultivated and enormously productive part of the county.
John C. Deam, who is one of the substantial men and representative citizens of Jefferson Township, was born in this township, July 9, 1847. His parents were James and Ruth (MeDowell) Deam, natives of Penn- sylvania, where the father was born in 1820 and the mother in 1822. They were young people when they came to Indiana and were married in Wells County in 1844. Nine children were born to them as follows: Elizabeth, who married Robert Crowl of Wells County, Indiana, and they now live in Kansas ; John C. ; Catherine, who is the widow of Alfred Mills, lives in Jefferson Township: Sarah Belle, who married Thomas Murphy of Ohio; Mary, who married George Stover, lives at Fort Wayne; Emma, who is the wife of John King of Jefferson Township; George, whose wife, Malinda Arnold, is now deceased; Adam, who mar- ried Elizabeth Bradigan, lives in Michigan; and Madison, who is de- ceased. The father of the above family died in January, 1884, and the mother died in February, 1886. When they came first to Jefferson Town- ship they settled on a tract of 160 acres of wild land. James Deam worked hard until that land was cleared and somewhat improved and then bought 400 aeres. To the clearing and improving of that land he devoted the rest of his active life. He possessed industry, perseverance and thrift and in the course of years accumulated large means. He was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in this section.
John C. Deam has mainly spent his life in Jefferson Township and during the greater part of it has been extensively engaged in agricultural pursuits. He is one of the large landowners in this section, his home farm, on which he settled in January, 1879, containing 240 acres, and he owns another farm of eighty acres, which is occupied hy his son, Charles. The most of this land has been cleared and put under cultiva-
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tion by Mr. Deam and in its fine appearance and productiveness there is evidence that the work has been done thoroughly. He has erected comfortable and substantial buildings and they add much to the air of prosperity that prevails. General farming and stoekraising have been the well directed industries.
Mr. Deam was married to Miss Mary Beardsley. Her parents were Calvin and Elizabeth Beardsley, old residents of Ossian, now both deceased. The brothers and sister of Mrs. Deam were: Isadore, Augusta, Charles and Monterville, all of whom are deceased. She has one half sister and one half brother, Mand and Lee.
Mr. and Mrs. Deam have eight children, namely: Grace, who is the widow of Bert Archibald, resides at Uniondale; Lulu, who is the wife of Wilson Hoopengarner of Jefferson Township; Warner, who married Ina Gay of Florida; Charles, who is a prosperous farmer in Jefferson Township, married Sarah Travis; Marion, who is principal of the De- catur High School, married Luella Nigg; Augusta, who is the wife of Homer E. Bash of Marion, Indiana; Areta, who is the wife of Vane Boon of Bluffton; and Hugh, who resides at home. The eldest child, ('ressy, died at the age of five years.
Mr. Deam is a prominent factor in the demoeratie party in this sec- tion and for four years has been county councilman. He is one of the directors of the Ossian State Bank, and for twenty years has been a trustee of the Presbyterian Church at Ossian. Through a long and busy life Mr. Deam has had many experiences and perhaps few are better informed concerning early days in Jefferson County.
CHRIST A. NEUENSCHWANDER. Much of the history of the village of Berne in Adams County revolves around the name and activities of Christ A. Neuenschwander. Mr. Neuenschwander has lived in that old Mennonite community of Adams County for over half a century, has been prominent in the church, moral activities and civic life, and has also supplied some of the enterprise for the business. He is one of the founders of the Bank of Berne, incorporated in 1891. He was one of the first board of directors, in 1893 was made vice president, and since October, 1906, has been president of the institution.
Mr. Neuenschwander had been a member of the Berne community about five years when, in 1871, the tracks of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway were construeted through Adams County. In August of that year the first town lot was sold, the purchaser being T. P. Harris, who erected a frame building 20x45 feet, part of which was used for a general store and part for a residence. At that time Mr. Neuenschwan- der was employed as a cheese maker at a factory about a mile from Berne. He remembers when the first train ran over the railroad, eon- sisting of one freight ear and one passenger ear, drawn by a locomotive burning wood as fuel. He personally knew both the conductor and engineer.
In 1872 Mr. Neuenschwander moved to the village, and with others established a general store on the present site of the People's State Bank. This store flourished and developed a large trade throughout the country. In 1880 Mr. Neuenschwander bought a farm of eighty acres south of the village limits, put on most of the improvements and by the purchase of an additional forty aeres developed a good farm in that community. To this he gave much of his time and energies until De- cember, 1915, when he retired to his present home in the village of Berne. In 1904 Mr. Neuenschwander became a stockholder in the local electrie light plant and since 1905 has been one of its directors.
Like many other pioneer families of this part of Adams County Mr.
C. A. NEUENSCHWANDER
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Neuenschwander is a native of Switzerland. He was born in Canton Berne on the ridge of the Jura Mountains August 21, 1849. He has an authentic record of six generations of the family history in the old country. These various families, ineluding his grandfather, spent all their lives in Switzerland. They early became identified with the Men- nonite Church. Mr. Neuenschwander is a son of Abraham and Catherine (Zurfuh) Neuenschwander. Ile was the oldest of their children and the only one still living when, in 1852, the little family embarked on a small sailing vessel at IIavre, France, with about fifty other Swiss colonists. For forty-three days they were driving across the ocean waves and finally landed at New York, going on to Wayne County, Ohio. They left Switzerland Mareh 4, 1852, and were two months and two days in reaching Ohio. In Wayne County the Neuenschwanders lived for only a few months, and then went to Riley Township of Putnam County, Ohio. On a farm there the mother died in 1865 at the age of thirty- eight. In 1866 Abraham Neuenschwander brought his children to Adams County locating on a farm in Monroe Township. Here he spent the re- mainder of his long career and died in January, 1904. when nearly seventy-four years of age. As a citizen he began voting as a democrat but later became a republican.
Christ A. Neuenschwander married a neighbor girl in Adams County, Miss Anna Stauffer. She was born in Monroe Township of Adams County in 1855, a daughter of Christian and Verena ( Habegger) Stauf- fer. IIer father was born in Alsace and her mother in Switzerland. Both had been married before and, as widow and widower, they were married in Adams County. After their marriage they settled on a 160 acre farm which they cleared up, and the father died in Monroe Township in January, 1892, when nearly ninety years of age. Ilis widow survived him some time and was seventy-four when she passed away. Both were birthright members of the Mennonite Church. Mrs. Neuensehwander was one of twins and of a family of six children, all now married and having children of their own.
Mr. and Mrs. Neuenschwander were married in the fall of 1875. Most of their children are now in independent activities and have homes of their own. Their names are: Ella, Menno, Elmer, Wesley, Leon, Meta, Selma, and Edna. All are active members of the Mennonite Church. Mr. Neuenschwander has been a deacon of the church for twenty years, and since December, 1877, has served as secretary of the Sunday school. In matters of politics he is independent.
IRVIN W. WASSON, vice president and acting eashier of the State Bank of Toesin, is not only a native son of Wells County, but is member of a family that has lived here from pioneer times, a period of over three-quarters of a century.
The Wassons are of Irish ancestry. The great-grandfather was Alexander Wasson, who spent all his life in Ireland. A son of Alex- ander. George, grandfather of the Toesin banker, was born in Ireland and married there Sarah Ash. About 1829 they came to the United States, and after a brief residenee in Stark County moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and in 1841 brought their family to Wells County, In- diana, and established a wilderness home in seetion 11 of Laneaster Township. George Wasson also entered 160 acres of government land in seetion 1 of Lancaster Township. He endured all the privations and hardships of the real pioneer. He acquired a large amount of property, all of which represented the fruits of his own labors. He has been characterized as a splendid manager, a man of strong personality and thoroughly respected for honesty and integrity. Ile was an active mem-
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ber and supporter of the United Presbyterian Church. His useful life terminated in death in 1855. He was survived by a widow and five children, and his widow passed away in 1895 at the advanced age of ninety years. Their children were named John, Eliza J., Isabella, James and Thomas M.
James Wasson, father of Irvin W., was born in Wayne County, Ohio, April 2, 1841, and was about six months old when his parents came to Wells County, Indiana. He grew up in the woods, in a log cabin home, and became experienced in all the arts and crafts of the pioneer days. He attended subscription schools, and spent a wholesome, vigor- ous youth. In 1862 he enlisted in Company G of the 101st Indiana Infantry. He made a most ereditable record while in the army. In the first engagement in which he participated, March 20, 1863, in Tennessee, he was struck in the leg by a musket ball and was in a hospital recover- ing from the wound for two months. After rejoining his command he was in the campaigns through Eastern Tennessee, and at Chickamauga was again wounded and was captured by the enemy. He was a prisoner at Richmond, Virginia, forty days until exchanged, and was unable to rejoin his command until February, 1864. He received his honorable discharge in June, 1864. On account of the wounds received in the army he was unfitted for the duties of a farmer after returning home, and after a period of attendance at school he became a teacher and for eight years devoted most of his time to educational work.
In 1871, after his marriage, he moved to a farm in Lancaster Town- ship, and in the course of years made that one of the most beautiful and attractive places of its size in the county. He cleared about fifty acres, introduced a thorough system of drainage, and proved himself a most capable and methodical agriculturist. His first home there, erected in 1874, was destroyed by fire in 1895, and was replaced by one of the most complete and convenient country homes in the township. He also built large barns and always kept pace with every step of progress in farming and stock raising. As a democrat he became active in local affairs, served several years as assessor and also a trustee of Lancaster Township. He became affiliated with the Grand Army Post at Bhiff- ton and he and his wife were prominent members of the United Breth- ren Church.
James Wasson married November 16, 1870, Miss Sarah Sweeney. She was born in Wayne County, Ohio, February 12, 1845, daughter of Robert and Sarah Sweeney, natives of Pennsylvania. Her father died in Ohio, July 30, 1858, and her mother in 1860. Mrs. James Wasson, who was one of a large family of thirteen children, was well educated and at the age of nineteen began work as a teacher and taught for six years in Wayne and Knox Counties, Ohio. In 1868 she came to visit her sister in Wells County, Indiana, and from that time until her mar- riage taught in Lancaster Township, and while teaching became ac- quainted with Mr. James Wasson, who was also then a teacher. Mr. and Mrs. James Wasson both taught school in one of the distriets of Lan- caster Township, and two of their sons were teachers in the same place. They became the parents of three children : Margaret A., who was born on December 18, 1871, and is the widow of Frank Garton; George R., born July 6, 1875, and Irvin W.
Irvin W. Wasson was born in Lancaster Township, November 23, 1878. Ile grew up in a home of culture and of high ideals, gained a good education, and for a time was a teacher. Subsequently he took up farming, and he still owns forty aeres of land in Lancaster Township. which he bought in 1900. In 1901 Mr. Wasson left farming and entered the hardware business for eighteen months. In January, 1911. he en-
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gaged in the banking business at Toesin and has since been vice presi- dent and acting cashier of the State Bank of that town.
On August 21, 1901, Mr. Wasson married Miss Etta Sowards, who was born in Wells County. She has a brother, James, who married Ida Schaffer, and a sister, Minnie, wife of William Kleinknecht of Lan- caster Township. Mr. and Mrs. Wasson have three children : Wendell J., aged thirteen ; Opal, aged six; and Gladys, aged three years.
WILLIAM R. SMITH is a native of Wells County, a farmer by train- ing and early experience, and is now doing much to make successful the Poneto Farmers Elevator Company, of which he is active manager. This is an incorporated business, and some of the best known citizens of Poneto are connected with it as officers and stockholders. The presi- dent is J. P. Munsey : vice president. T. F. Shoemaker ; treasurer, J. W. Cook : secretary, W. A. Huffman, and the directors are H. B. Laneaster, Jesse Heman, J. W. Wells, T. F. Grove and E. N. Castle.
Mr. Smith was born on a farm a half mile north of Poneto, Novem- ber 20, 1873, a son of Benjamin P. and Eliza (Davenport) Smith. His father was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, October 25, 1839. a son of Simon B. and Martha A. (Hoskinson) Smith. Simon B. Smith was a native of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and at an early age accompanied his mother and stepfather to Ohio and subsequently, after reaching his majority, came into the wilderness of Wells County, In- diana, and bought land in Section 31 of Harrison Township. He set- tled there with his family in 1844. The land was all in the woods, and it was only after many years of heavy toil that he cleared up and de- veloped his quarter section. He lived there until his death in 1888, his wife passing away in 1891. Simon Smith was a democrat. filled the office of justice of the peace many years, and hore a reputation for sterling integrity and very thorough business ability. By trade he was a blacksmith. Ile was very active in the United Brethren Church. The ten children of his family were: Sarah, Benjamin P., Michael, William, Phoebe, Louisa, Fred, Minerva. Elzina and Simon.
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