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 32
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 32
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GEORGE S. MORRIS. If those who claim that fortune has favored eer- tain individuals above others will but investigate the cause of success and failure, it will be found that the former is largely due to the improve- ment of opportunity, the latter to the neglect of it. Fortunate environ- ment encompass nearly every man at some stage of his career, but the strong man and the successful man is he who realizes that the proper moment has come, that the present and not the future holds his oppor- tunity. The man who makes use of the Now and not the To Be is the one who passes on the highway of life others who started out ahead of him, and reaches the goal of prosperity in advance of them. It is this quality in George S. Morris that has made him a leader in business circles and won him an enviable name in connection with various enter- prises in Bluffton and other sections. He is president of the Morris 5 and 10 Cent Stores, consisting of eighteen stores in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio, and he is likewise connected with several other business ven- tures in Wells County.
George S. Morris was born near Lebanon, in Boone County, Indiana, on the 17th of June, 1876, and he is a son of John S. and Mary E. (Powell) Morris, both of whom are living. In 1884 the Morris family located in the City of Lebanon and there the young George received his preliminary educational training. He came to Bluffton in 1892 and for one year attended high school in this city. He then engaged as a clerk and followed that line of work for six years. In 1903 he borrowed $500 and opened a 5 and 10 cent store in the Mitchell Building on Main Street. Two years later he located in the Studabaker room across the street. His venture was fraught with suecess and in 1906 he opened a branch store at Columbia City. In the following year he opened stores at Kokomo and New Castle and at that time the business was designated as G. S. Morris & Company. In 1908 the name was changed to the Mor- ris 5 and 10 Cent Store and in 1914 the business was incorporated under that name, with the following officers: George S. Morris, president ; J. A. Morris, vice president ; and H. A. McFarren, secretary and treas- urer. Following are the names of the directors: W. D. Morris, George S. Morris, John A. Morris, H. A. McFarren, Fred Bell, and F. N. Rhoton. Stores of the company are located at Bluffton, Columbia City, New Castle, Elwood, Portland, Decatur, Hartford City, Greensburg, Plym- outh, Noblesville, Franklin, North Manchester, Vineennes, and Goshen, Indiana; at Hillsdale and Benton Harbor, Michigan; and at Bryan and Defiance, Ohio. These stores are condneted in a businesslike manner and have proved a profitable investment for the owners.
In addition to being president of the store corporation mentioned at length above, George S. Morris is vice president of the J. A. Morris Company, manufacturing agents and jobbers, which was incorporated in 1902, and he is owner of the Bluffton Toy Manufacturing Company. He is a stockholder in the Studebaker Bank and one of the directors in the W. B. Brown Company. With his father, John A., he owns the building occupied by their store in Bluffton, also the one west of it. He has a farm of 120 acres in Blue Creek Township, Adams County, Indi- ana, and leases the same.
Mr. Morris married Miss Harriet J. Patterson, a daughter of the late Captain R. D. Patterson, formerly a resident of Decatur and an ex-county official. Mrs. Morris was born and reared in Decatur and was graduated in the high school of that city. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris: French P. is a pupil in the Bluffton High School ; ('atherine E. is a pupil in the graded schools; and Margaret J. The family are members of the Baptist Church.
Fraternally, Mr. Morris stands high in Masonry, being a member of
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Bluffton Lodge No. 145, Free and Accepted Masons; Bluffton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Bluffton Council, Royal and Select Masters; and the Knights Templars. He is also a Thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Ile likewise affiliates with Bluffton Lodge No. 92, Knights of Pythias; and Bluffton Lodge No. 796, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. His political support is given to the democratic party. In every respect he is a public-spirited citizen and a reliable and enterprising business man.
JOHN W. SMITH. In the farming communities that make up so large a proportion of the substantial citizenship of Indiana, will be found men of intelligence, broad view and thorough knowledge of every phase of agriculture. Wells County has such men and one of these, John W. Smith, owns a valuable and well improved farm that is situated in Lan- caster Township.
John W. Smith was born in De Witt County, Illinois, March 22, 1856. His parents were George and Elizabeth Smith, the former of whom was born in Lincolnshire, England, and the latter in Marion County, Ohio. The mother died in March, 1886, and the father in October, 1907. They had the following children: Ellen, Sarah Anne, John W., George, Jane Harriet, Frank, Mary, Celista and Henry.
John W. Smith was reared on the home farm and obtained his educa- tion in the district schools. Being the eldest son in the family, heavier responsibilities fell on him than on his brothers and at an earlier age. He has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits and is now looked upon as one of Lancaster Township's most efficient farmers and stock- raisers. His industry is proverbial and the methods by which he has brought his farm to its present high stage of cultivation, are those which his experience and common sense have seemed to him most practical under the circumstances. He has resided on this farm for over twenty- four years, settling here February 28, 1893, and every rod of his eighty- four acres is utilized.
Mr. Smith was married September 19, 1882, to Miss Martha E. Ward, who is a daughter of G. Ward, a well known farmer of this section, and they have three children and an adopted son, as follows: Etta, who is the wife of Peter Zaugg: Lesta, who is the wife of Charles Mowery ; Grace, who is the wife of Harry Harvey ; and Thornton, who was adopted after the death of his mother, who was a sister of Mr. Smith.
In his political views Mr. Smith is a democrat. He is a good citizen, takes an interest in all that concerns the well being of his neighborhood, is an advocate of good roads, and would be one of the first to contribute help if any case of want or distress should be brought to his attention. He and family are all highly respected residents of Wells County.
WILLIAM B. TEEPLE. The substantial character of a number of the homes and other structures of Decatur and vicinity is an immediate tes- timony to the skill and efficiency of William B. Teeple as a contractor and builder, whose services have been valued and esteemed in this com- munity in that profession for over thirty years.
Mr. Teeple was born in St. Mary's Township of Adams County, March 19, 1860. Ile grew up in a country community, was educated in the district schools, and at the age of eighteen came to Decatur to learn the trade of carpenter under Sprangler & Mann. He was with them two or three years and then for eight years was in the employ of J. Wilson Merriman. In 1900 he became associated with the well known contracting firm of Mann & Christin, comprising E. A. Mann and C.
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N. Christin. He handled many of the active responsibilities of this firm of contractors for three years and then entered business for himself.
Mr. Teeple has been one of the leading contraetors of Adams County for the past fifteen years. During that time he has built on an average four or five residences or other structures annually, and is still keeping up his work with all the old time efficiency and is noted for the reliability with which he carries out every detail of his agreements and whatever he does is of the same substantial workmanship as his individual char- acter. For thirty-three years Mr. Teeple and family have lived at the corner of Ninth Street and Jackson, in Decatur, where he bought a lot 66 by 132 feet and built his own attractive residenee.
Mr. Teeple is a son of George W. Teeple, who was bern at Mount Gilead, Morrow County, Ohio, July 13, 1834. The grandfather Samuel Teeple was a hotel proprietor at Mount Gilead for many years. In 1854 he brought his family to St. Mary's Township of Adams County and was one of the pioneers of that district. He had to clear away some of the timber before he could build his log cabin home, and in the course of time a large acreage responded to his efforts as a cultivator of the soil. He finally removed to Deeatur, and lived at the corner of Ninth and Adams streets until his death in 1877 when about sixty-five years of age. Samuel Teeple married Esther Ann Kiser, who was born in Penn- sylvania and surviving her husband died when about seventy-two. They were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Samuel Teeple was a strenuous advocate of the principles of the republican party and all his sons and grandsons have followed him in the same political faith.
George W. Teeple married for his first wife Catherine Brittson. She was born on the old Brittson homestead in St. Mary's Township March 22, 1837, grew up there and spent most of her life in that same vieinity. The Brittsons came into Adams County when land was plentiful and cheap, acquired a tract from the Government at $1.25 per aere, and cleared away and developed about 325 acres lying on the Indiana side of the state line. In that community the Brittsons spent many useful and aetive years. Grandfather Brittson was a cabinet maker by trade, coming to Indiana from Maryland, and he lost his life during a barn raising at James Foster's place, being at that time about sixty years of age. He was the father of seven sons and seven daughters, and one of his sons Isaae became the father of twenty-four children. IIis daugh- ter Mrs. George W. Teeple was the seventh ehild, and she died on the old Teeple farm in St. Mary's Township January 19, 1879. Her ehil- dren were: William B .: Sarah L., wife of Henry Westerfelt, now mayor of the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Emma A., who is married and lives in Tennessee. George W. Teeple married for his second wife October 9, 1879, Elizabeth Smith, of Van Wert County, Ohio. She died March 22, 1896, leaving no children. For his third wife he married Caroline (Keller) Reed, and there were no children of this union. His third wife, again a widow, is living at Deeatur at the advanced age of eighty-five.
Mr. William B. Teeple married at Cedarville, in Allen County, Indi- ana, Miss Ollie Holopeter. She was born in that village and died at her home in Decatur April 12, 1900. She was born Mareh 3, 1867, and proved herself a very capable wife and mother, diligent in home and faithful to all the duties of life's relationship. She became the mother of three daughters and one son. Iva May, the oldest of the family, is the wife of George W. Davis, foreman of a sash, door and lumber eom- pany at Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bessie M. was educated in the local schools of Deeatur and is now the efficient housekeeper for her father. Mary A. married Noah Sheets, a farmer in Root Township, and they
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have a daughter Helen born in October, 1917. The only son, Fred, was born November 10, 1898, and is still at home and finds employment in the sugar beet factory. Mr. Teeple and children are all active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Hle is an ardent republican and is affiliated with the Tribe of Ben Ilur and the Loyal Order of Moose at Decatur
GEORGE W. TESTER is one of the popular business men of Decatur, and has largely created his own opportunities in a business way and now supplies a valuable service to the community as proprietor of a shoe store and of the Decatur Dry Cleaning establishment, located at 243 West Monroe Street. IIe also handles the local agency for the Wear U Well shoes. He began business at Decatur on a small scale De- cember 1, 1911. His stock and his methods were calculated to attract patrons and keep them, and consequently he has had a growing busi- ness, and while by no means one of the wealthiest people of Decatur, he is financially independent, has a flourishing business, and has built a very comfortable and attractive home at 739 High Street. At his home he erected and installed the facilities for a dry cleaning plant, and his service in that department is equal to the best of any offered in this section of Indiana.
Mr. Tester was born at Napoleon, Ohio, September 12, 1877, and when a small child his parents removed to Rochester, Indiana. He received his education in the schools there, and learned the machinist's trade in his father's shop. He has been a resident of Decatur for the past twenty years, and the capital which he put into his business is almost entirely of his own earnings and his success represents his individual efforts and achievements.
Ile is a son of Jacob A. and Mary A. (Miller) Tester, well known residents of Decatur. His father was born in Henry County, Ohio, in 1853, and his mother in Warsaw, Indiana, in 1855.
They married in Henry County, Ohio, and were farmers there. Their respective parents were of German stock. Jacob A. Tester was a son of George W. and Sophia (Spangler) Tester, who for many years lived on a farm in Henry County, Ohio. The grandfather died there about eighteen years ago when well advanced in years and his widow is still living at the old homestead aged eighty-seven. They were Luth- erans and the grandfather was a republican. Mary Miller's parents came from Germany and spent their active lives as farmers at Warsaw, Indiana. Her father was also a merchant and a very well to do citizen. Jacob A. Tester and wife moved to Rochester, Indiana, and he engaged in the machinist's trade and since he came to Decatur he has continued the same work and for the past ten years has been connected with the Decatur Furnace and Machine Company. He and his wife own a com- fortable home at 904 Nutman Street. They are active workers in the Evangelical Church and in polities he is a democrat. George W. Tester was the oldest of five children. The others are: Mrs. H. N. Shroll of Decatur; Floyd A., who is married and living in Los Angeles, California, and has one son ; Lawrence N., now a resident of Terre Haute, Indiana, and father of a son and a daughter ; Mrs. II. C. Burdge, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, mother of one son.
On May 1, 1905, at Decatur George W. Tester married Miss Edith I. Hackman. She was born in this city February 3, 1886, and was edu- cated in the high school. They have two children : Harold R., born in 1907 and a student in the second grade; and Guy, born July 5, 1917. Mrs. Tester is a member of the Catholic Church. Fraternally Mr. Tester is affiliated with Lodge No. 65 of the Knights of Pythias, which
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he has served in official capacity, and also with the Tribe of Ben Hur No. 156. Politically he is a democrat.
PROF. ARTHUR R. IICYETTE, now serving in his fourth term as su- perintendent of the schools of Wells County, has gained much distinction as an educator in this section of Indiana and during his long connection with the schools of this locality has succeeded in greatly raising the in- tellectual standard and promoting the efficiency of the system as a preparation for the responsible duties of life. Indeed, the constant aim and the general character of Professor Huyette's life work are summed up in the famous dictum of Sidney Smith, that: "The real object of education is to give children resources that will endure as long as life endures; habits that time will ameliorate, not destroy; occupation that will render sickness tolerable, solitude pleasant, age venerable, life more dignified and useful."
A native of the Hoosier state, Professor Huyette was born on a farm in Clear Creek Township, Huntington County, Indiana, the date of his birth being November 3, 1871. IIe is a son of Joseph R. and Louise ( Gray) Huyette, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania and reared to maturity near Altoona, that state. The parents were educated in the common schools of their day and Mrs. Huvette gained a reputation as an expert speller. They were married in Pennsylvania and came to Huntington County, Indiana, in 1860, settling on a farm in IIuntington Township and residing there for a period of two years, at the expiration of which they located on the General Slack farm. They lived on the latter place but a short time and then purchased a farm of eighty acres in Clear Creek Township, making that their permanent home. Mr. Huyette cleared his land, erected substantial buildings and installed numerous modern improvements and he continued to reside on this farm until 1915 when he sold it. Mrs. Huyette was summoned to the life eternal January 1, 1914, and he now makes his home at Mardenis, In- diana. They were active members of the Zion United Brethren Church and he served on the building committee and as a trustee when that edifice was erected. To Mr. and Mrs. Huyette were born six children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Anna M. is the wife of J. B. De Armitt, of Huntington, Indiana; Juanita C. is the widow of E. E. Dennis, Huntington, she was graduated from the State Normal School and is now one of the teachers in the Hunting- ton City schools: Fannie S. is the wife of William F. Rice, of Union Township, Huntington County; Arthur is the subject of this sketch; Jessie A. was graduated in the Huntington High School and the State Normal School and is now first primary teacher in the Tipton Street School in Huntington; and Walter G. is a resident of the City of Hunt- ington, where he is profitably engaged in work as a machinist.
Professor Huyette passed his boyhood days on the old homestead farm in Clear Creek Township, Huntington County, this state, and re- ceived his preliminary educational training in the district schools of that locality. He was graduated in the Clear Creek High School and was matriculated as a student in the State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1890. He initiated his life work as a teacher in School No. 4, in Clear Creek Township, in the winter of 1890-1 and he continued alternating as student and teacher until 1895, in which year he was graduated in the State Normal School. May it be said to his credit that he earned his own education, acting as purveyor of the boarding house where he stayed while a student and teaching during the terms he was absent from the normal school. During the winter of 1895-6 he was a grade teacher in the Williams Street School in Huntington and
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following that he was superintendent of schools at Bristol, in Elkhart County, for two years. In the fall of 1898 he was elected principal of the Keystone Public School and he retained that important position until 1903, when he was elected superintendent of schools for Wells County. He has been successively re-elected to the latter office and when he will have completed his present term will have served for a period of eighteen years. His service in this connection has been marked by efficiency of a high order. He was the originator of the common school commencement in this section, the first one being held at Bluffton, with a class of eighty-four graduates, in 1907; this class was increased to 247 gradnates, in 1917. The commencement is a goal toward which the ambitious student can work and it acts as an incentive to many who would otherwise leave school a year or two prior to that attainment. In 1906 he installed uniform text-books in all the schools throughout the county, this including the high schools as well as the common schools. He also lengthened the high school term from seven to eight months. Ilis work has received the approval of the most progressive citizens of Wells County and he has enlisted the co-operation of his teachers to such an extent that great harmony prevails and the concerted action is attended with excellent results.
August 9, 1900, in the city of Huntington, Indiana, was solemnized the marriage of Professor Huyette to Miss Anna S. France, a graduate of Huntington High School. She is also a graduate of the State Normal School and for several years prior to her marriage was a popular and successful teacher in the Huntington and East Chicago schools. Pro- fessor and Mrs. Huyette became the parents of three children : Kenneth HI., born November 25, 1901, is now a senior in the Bluffton High School; Raymond J., born May 28, 1909, is a pupil in the grades; and Elizabeth, born March 5, 1907, died December 12, 1907.
In a fraternal way Professor Huyette is a valued and appreciative member of Bluffton Lodge No. 92, Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chancellor and in which he was district deputy under Grand Chan- cellor W. P. Hart for a number of years. At present he is serving his second term as trustee of this order. With his wife he is also connected with the Pythian Sisters. They are both devout members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, in which he is connected with the official board; superintendent of graduation of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday School. In polities he is a stanch democrat and he has always manifested a deep and sincere interest in matters pertaining to the general welfare of the community in which he resides. He is the owner of a beautiful home in the suburb, Villa North, and some of his leisure time is given to the breeding of high-grade poultry, in which connection he is superintendent of the poultry department of the Bluffton Free Street Fair. Professor and Mrs. Huyette are popular in connection with the social activities of their neighborhood and their beautiful home is the center of many attractive receptions.
CLEMENT T. KAIN, the present auditor of Wells County, Indiana, has gained a position of distinctive priority as one of the representative men of this section of the state. He has served in several positions of im- portance to his community, among them being deputy treasurer of the county and deputy auditor. He has gained success and prestige through his own endeavors and thus the more honor is due him for his earnest labors in his exacting profession and for the precedence he has gained in his chosen vocation.
A native of the Hoosier State, Mr. Kain was born in Liberty Town- ship, Wells County, Indiana, December 10, 1871. He is a son of Rev.
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David and Amanda (Earhart) Kain, the former of whom was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Rev. Mr. Kain was a child of but nine years of age when he accompanied his parents from Ohio to Wells County. The family settled in Union Township and there he grew to maturity, receiving his early educational training in the public schools and in Roanoke Seminary. He was trained for the Evangelieal Lutheran min- istry and after being ordained was stationed in Adams County at Mon- mouth, Indiana. He was a stanch worker for the good of mankind and accomplished much as an active prohibitionist. He was summoned to the life eternal February 3, 1908, and at that time was a resident of Noble County, Indiana. Of the six children born to Reverend and Mrs. Kain five are still living, as follows: Clement T., of this review ; John Luther is a resident of Sturgis, Michigan; C. H. was graduated in the Bluffton High School, attended Wabash College for two years, and for a like period was a student at a college in Winona, Indiana, and he is now in the reelamation department of the United States Government. under the direction of the surveyor general; Catherine is the wife of Curtiss Ash, a farmer in the vicinity of Litchfield, Michigan; and Rosa is the wife of Hiram Scott, of Goshen, Indiana.
After completing the prescribed course in the high school at Albion, Indiana, Clement T. Kain was matrienlated as a student in Wittenberg College, at Springfield, Ohio, attending that well-known institution for a period of three years. After leaving college he was a popular and successful teacher in Allen County, this state, for some years and in April, 1894, he located at Bluffton and here entered the office of Martin & Eichhorn as a student at law. He was admitted to the bar in the fall of the same year and soon afterward was appointed deputy treasurer of Wells County, under his uncle, B. F. Kain, serving a term of four years under him, another term under Amos King and still another term under Ed Sauers. He served for two years on the state board of ac- countants and in 1912 became deputy auditor for L. A. Williamson. When Mr. Williamson died, in 1915, Mr. Kain was appointed to fill out his unexpired term and in the following year he was regularly elected to the office of county auditor, in which capacity he is serving with the utmost efficiency at the present time.
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