USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > Valley of the upper Maumee River, with historical account of Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Volume I > Part 31
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him the nomination for township trustee. Unfortunate dissensions in the party alone prevented his election. He is a notable land owner and farmer, having 380 acres of fertile land, and his home is one of the most pleasant. He and family are members of the St. Paul's Lutheran church at Fort Wayne.
Samuel Kariger, who lives upon his fine farm of 160 acres in Wash- ington township, four and a half miles northwest of the city, is one of a family of worthy pioneers. His parents, Frederick and Elizabeth (Lindsay) Kariger, natives of Pennsylvania, removed in the spring of 1836 from Ohio to Allen county, and settled on the land above men- tioned. Here the father died January 21, 1846, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and the mother died in 1871, in her eighty-second year. Frederick Kariger was the son of John Kariger, a native of Pennsyl- vania, who died in Knox county, Ohio, in 1845. He had a brother who lost his life in the revolution. Elizabeth Lindsay was the daughter of William Lindsay, who was born near Lancaster, Penn., and died at her husband's Ohio home in 1836. Samuel Kariger was born in Knox county, Ohio, March 22, 1821, the youngest of six children. March 3, 1847, he was married to Mary Ann Benz, who was born in Germany in 1830, and came to Allen county in 1836. Mrs. Kariger died June 24, 1873, leaving four children: Catherine, Mary E., Elsie A., and John. Mr. Kariger, being the oldest settler in his part of the township, and an hon- orable citizen, is highly esteemed. In politics he is a democrat, and for twenty-six years he has been a member of the Presbyterian church at Fort Wayne.
Among the industrious men who began their labors here prior to 1840, should be mentioned Lucas More. This early settler of Allen county was born in Lehigh county, Penn., September 11, 1816. His father, Henry More, was born in Pennsylvania in 1787, was a soldier of the war of 1812, and died in Whitley county in the eighty-ninth year of his age. His wife, Mary Smith, died in her seventy-sixth year, in 1878. They had eleven children, of whom the oldest, and one of the three living, is Lucas More. He came to Allen county in 1837, and lived in Fort Wayne until 1843, when he settled upon the farm in Wash- ington township which he now owns. In 1843 he was married, Sep- tember 5th, to Magdelena Gunder, who was born in France, September 12, 1821. They have four children: Melinda, William, Lavinia J. and Stephen. Mr. More cast his first presidential vote for W. H. Har- rison, and has been an earnest republican. His occupation is farming, and he is quite successful. He is one of the worthiest of the pioneers who have done so much to develop the county, and having made his own way in life, has the esteem and good-will of all.
John C. Pfeiffer, one of the leading and most wealthy farmers of Allen county, was born July 27, 1821, to Christopher and Catherine Pfeiffer, natives of Germany, who emigrated to the United States in 1832, and settled at Buffalo, N. Y. Eight years later they came to Fort Wayne, and the remainder of their lives was spent here. Mr. Pfeiffer
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came to Allen county at nineteen years of age, and remained at home until twenty-seven, when he settled where he now lives, three miles from the city, about 1855. Here he has a fertile farm of 240 acres well improved and of great value, which is the reward of his industrious career. He was married in 1849, to Margaret Bosler, a native of Ger- many, and they have five children: Charles, Carrie, Sophia, Edward and Abbie. He is a republican in politics, and he and wife are members of the English Lutheran church.
Frederick W. Gieseking, a well-to-do farmer of Washington town- ship, was born in Lake township, November 9, 1845, the second of three children of Diedrich William Gieseking. His father, a native of Prussia, born August 13, 1817, after two years' service in the Prussian army emigrated, reaching New York July 10, 1841. He came on to Allen county and found employment with Charles Zigens, of Eel River township, and was married April 5, 1843, to Mary Jokey, a native of Germany, who died November 10, 1876. By untiring industry he became the owner of an estate of 940 acres in this county. Subse- quently he became the owner of a farm of 252 acres in Washington town- ship. Frederick W. was educated in the public schools and the commercial college. He began farming for himself in 1881 on the same place which his father purchased in 1868, and has a well-improved farm of 160 acres, three and a half miles northwest of Fort Wayne. He was married in 1881 to Louisa Rose, who was born in Washington town- ship, March 15, 1861, and they have two children: Mary L., born Janu- ary 10, 1884, and Clarence F., born December 20, 1887. Mr. Gieseking is a member of the English Lutheran church, and in politics is a democrat.
Frederick Kammeyer, a leading farmer of Washington township, re- siding on section 30, was born in Germany, September 19, 1840, son of Frederick and Wilhelmina (Brenning) Kammeyer. The family came to Allen county in 1845, and here the father died two weeks after their arrival. The mother died in 1880. Mr. Kammeyer, the youngest of his father's children, was educated at the Lutheran schools of Fort Wayne. He settled where he now lives in 1868, and here owns 100 acres of well improved land, with improvements valued at $6,000. He was married in 1868 to Miss Caroline Bode, who was born in Germany in 1845, and came to Allen county about 1856. They have five chil- dren: Sophia, Henrietta, Minnie, Lizzie and Matilda. A son, Fred- erick, died at two years of age. Politically Mr. Kammeyer was formerly a republican, and cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, but for many years he has been a democrat, and manifests much interest in the political affairs of the day. By trade he is a machinist, and for five years, from 1863 to 1868, was in the employ of the Pennsylvania railway company, in the Fort Wayne shops. He and family are members of the Lutheran church.
William Bleke, a prominent farmer of Washington township, was born in Prussia, October 23, 1842. His parents, Charles and Mary
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(Gieseking) Bleke, were natives of Germany, and died in Allen county. William, the eldest of their two children living, came with them to Allen county in 1846. He was educated at the German Lutheran schools. In 1866 he settled where he now lives, three and a half miles from the city, upon a fine farm of over 200 acres. He is a successful farmer, enterprising and business-like, and is a stockholder and director of the Leo gravel road. He is a member of St. Paul's Lutheran church, and in politics democratic. In 1866 Mr. Bleke was married to Sarah Rupp, a native of Ohio, and they have five children, Charles, born in 1867; Frederick, born in 1870; William, born in 1876; John, born in 1878, and Augusta, born in 1875.
John A. Houser, a successful and prominent farmer of Washington township, residing just north of the city limits of Fort Wayne, was born in Bavaria, Germany. He accompanied his parents, George and Chris- tina Houser, to America in 1844, when he was about seven years old. The family first resided at New York city, where the father died a few years later. In 1852 Mr. Houser with his widowed mother and two brothers came to Allen county, and settled in Washington township. October 23, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Nineteenth United States infantry, and served three years; after the battle of Stone River he was trans- ferred to Company A of the same regiment. He was in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Crab Orchard, Jackson, Stone River and Hoover's Gap. He was married October 24, 1865, to Miss Catharine, daughter of George Snider. She died June 9, 1883, leaving six children : George A., Mary C., Katie, Clara, Christina R. and John A. On May 9, 1888, he was married to Catharine E. Prentiss. Mr. and Mrs. Houser are mem- bers of the Roman Catholic church. He is a member of the Catholic Knights of America, has served as captain of St. Bernard's branch, No. 103, four years, and is now captain of St. John's branch. He is also a member of St. Joseph's society and the G. A. R.
Alfred Daugharty, an honored veteran of the war of the rebellion, and now the efficient trustee of Washington township, was born in Stark county, Ohio, May 9, 1840, son of James and Rebecca (Keck) Daugh- arty, natives of Pennsylvania. His father died in Ohio in 1841, where the mother is now living. In his youth he worked four years at the trade of blacksmith, but in 1861 came to Allen county, and in August of that year enlisted in Company D, of that gallant and famous Indiana regiment, the Forty-fourth. In its conspicuous service he did a noble part. He was in the battle of Fort Donelson, and in the famous engage- ment at Pittsburg Landing, where his regiment stood like an iron wall against the advancing and triumphant rebel forces on the first day, he was one of the many who fell seriously wounded. His wound was so grave that it was necessary to amputate a leg. His sacrifice to the cause of the nation is one that commends him to the grateful esteem of his fellow citizens. He was honorably discharged from the service June, 1864, and has ever since been a resident of the city. He has been variously engaged, always winning in every position the confidence and
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esteem of those with whom he was associated. For six years he was in the employ of the Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw, now Lake Shore, railway. Subsequently, he was connected with the Fort Wayne post- office for nine years. In politics he is a republican, and though living in a democratic township, he was elected township trustee in 1886 by sixteen majority, and in 1888 was re-elected by a majority of fifty-five, although the same township gave sixty-two majority for the national ticket of the opposition. This is a notable testimonial to his worth and the esteem in which he is held by his neighbors. He is a comrade. of the G. A. R., and in January, 1889, was installed as commander of Sion S. Bass post, No. 40. Mr. Daugharty was married July 3, 1864, to Martha E. Johnston, who was born in Greene county, Ind., in 1844. They have three children: Ulysses E., Nellie May, and Walter W. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Thomas H. Fleming, of Washington township, was born in County Longford, Ireland, May 12, 1843. He is the son of James Fleming, born May 4, 1804, and his wife, Elizabeth Hysop, born in 1806, both of whom reside in Ireland. Of their ten children, four are living, of whom Mr. Fleming is the next to oldest. He was educated in Ireland, and in 1864 emigrated to Canada, but after two years in Ontario, came to Fort Wayne and was for fourteen years in the employ of Hoffman Brothers, five years with N. G. Olds & Sons, and two years with the New York, Chicago and St. Louis railroad company. In 1885, he removed to his well-improved farm, four miles north of the city. He has made his own way in life and has been quite successful and is esteemed as an honor- able and upright man. He is a Mason of Summit City lodge, No. 170. In 1888, he was elected justice of the peace. Mr. Fleming was mar- ried June 14, 1868, to Frances Gibson, born in Ohio, August 14, 1845, and they have two children, Elizabeth Alice, born in 1869, and Josie Maud, born in 1878. He and wife are members of the Episcopal church.
Nelson Leonard, a prominent citizen of Washington township, comes from one of the earliest pioneer families of Indiana. His father, Thomas Leonard, was born in Pennsylvania in 1784, and emigrated to Indiana in 1803, becoming one of the pioneer school-teachers. His father served under Washington, and was a descendant of one of seven brothers who emigrated from England to the Carolinas about the middle of the last century. Thomas married Anna Rathburn, born in New York in 1786. He died in Delaware county in 1845, and she died two years later in Henry county. Of their five children living Nelson Leonard, born in Henry county, May 12, 1825, is the fourth. He was raised on a farm and obtained his education at the subscription schools. In 1845 he began work for himself, and in 1847 engaged in brickmaking at Muncie, whither he removed his family in 1854. In 1864 he engaged in farming, and in 1873 came to Allen county, and made his home in Washington township, where he has since been engaged in brickmaking. He has a pleasant home two miles from the court-house, and still owns his Delaware county farm. He is an enterprising man, one of the
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projectors, stockholders and directors of the Leo gravel road; is a republi- can in politics, a member of the Methodist church, and of the Odd Fellows since 1851. March 18, 1847, he was married to Drusilla Llewellyn, a native of West Virginia, and they have five children, Han- nah J., Mary A., Mattie, Wilmer and Elma.
David McKay, of Washington township, is secretary and manager of the Brookside Farm company, of Fort Wayne, and one of the most prominent horsemen of the state. He was born at Hurkledale, Annan, Scotland, October 9, 1849. His father, David McKay, a Scotch farmer, was the fourth in line of the name of David, and the son of the subject is the sixth of that name, making six generations of the same name. All the ancestors were noted horse breeders, the Mckay family being horsemen as far back as 1745. Mr. McKay was reared on the farm in Scotland and given a collegiate education. For several years he bred horses on the home farm in Scotland, which comprises 345 acres, of which he owns a portion, and in 1878 he came to America and settled near Rockford, Ill. A few months later he went to Chicago, where he was engaged two years in importing stock from Scotland. Removing to Arlington Heights, twenty-two miles from Chicago, he conducted a stock farm and imported for two years. In 1884 he came to Fort Wayne, and in company with J. H. Bass organized the Brookside Farm company, which has one of the largest and finest stock farms in the northwest. The company makes a specialty of importing and breeding Galoway cattle and Clydesdale horses, and their claim to the finest herd of Galoway cattle in America has never been disputed. Mr. McKay was married on October 7, 1884, to Ellen Sharp Roddick, a native of Scotland, and to their union three children have been born.
Matthew Furguson, a leading farmer of Washington township, was born at Greensburg, Penn., December 17, 1827. His father, John Fur- guson, was born in Pennsylvania in 1801, and died at St. Mary's, Ohio, in 1859, having moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1833. His mother, whose maiden name was Henrietta Perkins, died at Delphos, Ohio, in 1873. Mr. Furguson is the only one living of six children born. In 1833, he removed with his parents, to Bellefontaine, Ohio, and in 1839, removed to St. Mary's. He was raised on the farm partly and obtained a common school education. In early life he worked at the car- penter's trade for some two years. In 1862, he enlisted in Company G, Eighty-first regiment, at Lima, Ohio, and served for one year, being mustered out at the close of the Vicksburg campaign, in 1863, as second lieutenant. He was engaged for some time in the saw-mill business. In 1870, he removed to Delphos, Ohio, and for many years, he was con- nected with the Delphos Wheel company, and for twelve years, was the purchasing agent, and a stockholder from the organization of the com- pany, in 1871, until 1887. In 1883, he bought what is known as the Shultz farm of 180 acres, three miles north of the court-house, and in March, 1885, removed to it. He was married in 1857, to Susan L. Nopson, who was born near Syracuse, N. Y. They have nine children :
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Henrietta, Mary J., Walter, John, Lucy, Grace, Matthew A., Anna and Augusta. He is a member of Hope lodge, F. & A. M., at Delphos, Ohio.
John Waters, an early settler in Washington township, was born in Pennsylvania, September 23, 1818. His parents, Elias and Mary (Clapper) Waters, were natives of Pennsylvania. They removed to Allen county and settled in Washington township in 1834, coming here from Ohio, where the family had resided for several years, having emi- grated there from Pennsylvania in 1820. In 1833, the year before the coming of the family, the father came here and secured a home. He died in Allen county, and the mother also. John Waters is the oldest of four children living of these parents. Beginning with the coming of his parents, Mr. Waters has been a resident of Washington township ever since, and his many years here, and his numerous estimable traits of character, have made him a host of friends. He has prospered in financial matters, and now has a beautiful farm, substantially improved, and altogether owns 505 acres of valuable land. He cast his first pres- idential vote for William Henry Harrison, and since the organization of the republican party has affiliated with it. Mr. Waters was married in 1845, to Sarah Ann Ervin, a native of Pennsylvania. She died April 20, 1886. Five children were born to this union: Mary .L., Elias A., John S., Sarah A. and James W. By the marriages of these children Mr. Waters has twenty-four grand-children.
Among the early settlers of St. Joseph township a conspicuous figure was Christian Parker, who was elected justice in 1834, county commissioner in 1839, and in 1844 as the whig candidate, representative in the state legislature, to which he was sent for four successive terms. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, September 11, 1807, of English ancestors. His grandfather, Amariah Parker, fled from Cornwall to escape inipressment into the British army, and settled near Boston in 1761. He and his three brothers assisted in the revolutionary struggle, one of them falling at Bunker Hill, as a lieutenant-colonel. After the war, Amariah removed to New Jersey and married Tamar Munson, and lost all his fortune by the depreciation of continental money. His son, Jacob Parker, was left an orphan at thirteen, without home, and he was bound out to a blacksmith at New York. Escaping from harsh treatment he reached Fort Washington, Ohio, and enlisted under Gen. Wayne, and fought at the battle of the Maumee, August 20, 1794, receiving a wound there. After his discharge he settled near Middleton, Ohio, married Mary Loy, and settled in 1801 in Preble county. Chris- tian Parker was the son of this soldier under Wayne. He cut his way from Fort Wayne into the St. Joseph township forests in October, 1833, and before the following February had a cabin built on section 20. Ile brought with him his wife, Rachel, daughter of Henry Cassell, of Preble county, born August 1, 1807, in Virginia. They were married June 18, 1829, and had the following children: Samuel C., born April 24, 1830; Francis. A. C., December 21, 1831; Harriet (deceased),
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August 22, 1833; Julia A. (died May 8, 1868), August 7, 1835; Jacob H. (deceased), July 17, 1837; Allen H. (deceased), April 9, 1839; Caro- line, May 10, 1841; Henry C. (deceased April 20, 1875), February 4, 1844; Maria (deceased), January 14, 1846; Oliver P., October 13, 1848; Mary E. (deceased), January 21, 1851; Winfield S. (deceased), July 19, 1853. Mrs. Parker died February 4, 1879, and Christian Parker passed away August 24, 1888. Their son, Oliver P., was born on the St. Joseph township homestead, and there raised, receiving the common school education of those days. He now owns 160 acres of the old farm, a beautiful and productive tract of land. In 1868 Mr. Parker was married to Fanny Fike, born in 1844, by whom he had three chil- dren, two of whom are living, Ulysses Grant and Estella H. On December 24, 1876, Mr. Parker was married to Kitty Lischy, a native of Kosciusko county, born April 18, 1857, and they have two children, Mabel F. R. and Pansy D.
Uriah Notestine, well-known as a pioneer of Allen county, is one of a family who have done good service in clearing away the forests and bringing about the splendid agricultural development of the region. He. was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, January 6, 1815, one of fifteen chil- dren of Jacob and Barbara A. (Gunder) Notestine. The family is of German origin, each of Mr. Notestine's grandparents. having been born in Germany. In 1830 the family came to Fort Wayne, reaching there July 14. There they remained until the spring of 1834, when they moved and settled on the banks of the St. Joseph in Cedar Creek town- ship. Here the parents died, and were buried in a spot of the ground purchased of the government by William Gunder, brother-in-law of Jacob Notestine, who bought the land of the former. Uriah Notestine began work in this state as a day laborer, with his father, who took the contract for digging the race for the old Rudisill mill. He also worked on the dam, and he and his brother scored the timber for that pioneer mill. Mr. Notestine's advantages for education were slight, but he attended school a few terms in Ohio and one term in the old log school-house that stood on the site of the Allen county jail. In the spring of 1834 Mr. Notestine made a trip from Fort Wayne to Darke county, Ohio, 120 miles through the woods on horseback, to obtain a deed to the first land he bought. In 1835 he carried the mail for the first time from Fort Wayne to White Pigeon, a distance of sixty miles, and four days were occupied by the trip. In all the adventures of the early days he was a conspicuous figure, but he prospered also as a farmer, and came to own a good farm of 100 acres. Among the relics of olden times in his possession is a food-adze made in Virginia in 1785, which belonged to his mother's father. February 12, 1838, he was mar- ried to Melinda Bowen, who died in March, 1839, in the twentieth year of her age. November 12, 1841, he was married to Maria L. Royce, born May 22, 1823, and they had six children, of whom James A., Aaron S., Eliza Ann, and Matilda E. are living. Mr. Notestine and wife are members of the United Presbyterian church. Politically he was a
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democrat, having voted for Jackson for president, but in 1884 became identified with the prohibition party. He served as constable of St. Joseph about four years, under Justices Sivitts, Cook, Royce and Eby.
One of the earliest German settlers of Adams township was Philip Brueck, who emigrated to America and settled there in the woods in 1833, buying eighty acres of land, upon which he and his family made them a home. Two years later, however, they removed to St. Joseph township, where his son, Moritz Brueck, became a prominent farmer. The latter was born in Franckenau, Germany, December II, 1824, and passed his youth among the frontier scenes of Allen county. Deprived of the advantages of schools he taught himself to read and write and became an intelligent and wide-awake citizen. He and an elder brother cleared the homestead in St. Joseph township, and made a fine farm out of the wild land. At the time of his death he owned 360 acres of valu- ble land, mostly in cultivation, and good buildings. He was one of the leading citizens, and was noted for his honesty and industry. He was married October 21, 1847, to Martha Elizabeth Trier, daughter of John H. and Christina Trier, well-known pioneers of Adams township, who emigrated in 1835, and settled on eighty acres, and though poor at first, prospered, and left a good farm of 120 acres. Mr. and Mrs. Brueck had the following children: Anna C., born February 24, 1850; John H., born March 1, 1853; Adam, born March 5, 1855; Catharine E., born October 7, 1857; Christian M., born November 9, 1860; Heinrich V., born November 4, 1863; Paul W., born March 19, 1867; Jacob P., born April 5, 1872. Mrs. Brueck was born in Germany, Novem- ber 16, 1829. She is a member of the Lutheran church, as was her husband, with all the members of the family, and is highly esteemed by all.
John H. Bruick, one of the progressive and enterprising farmers of the township of St. Joseph, is a native of the county. He was born March 1, 1853, the son of Moritz and Martha E. (Trier) Bruick. He was raised upon the farm of his estimable parents and received a com- mon school education. He is one of the leaders among the younger citizens of the township, and has a fine farm of 140 acres of fertile land, well under cultivation, and supplied with a comfortable residence and good barns. He was married in 1877 to Louisa Donnenfelser, and their union was blessed by the birth of five children, of whom three are living: Clara, Otto and Paul. Mrs. Bruick was born in 1858. She and her husband are members of the German Lutheran church, and are highly esteemed.
Of the third generation of his family in Allen county, George L. Ashley, of St. Joseph township, is entitled to be called one of the pioneer boys of the county. His father, George Hale Ashley, a native of Greene county, N. Y .. , born June 14, 1814, married Esther Linzey, who was born in New York city, January 18, 1815. The father was an intelligent, well educated man. In 1836 he emigrated to the west, looking for a new home, and came to Indiana with his father, John
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