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 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
286
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
on the farm with his father until twenty-two years of age, when he engaged in agriculture on his own account. He was married April 15, 1858, to Barbara, daughter of John Scott, one of the early settlers of Allen county. They have ten children: Annie, John A., Alice A., George S., Francis W., Wilson A., Lillie B., Henry, Hugh and James.
George Bullard, one of the noted pioneers of the county, was born 'in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., December 23, 1802. His father, John Bullard, had been a dealer in cattle on a large scale, and a lumberman on the St. Lawrence, and was a man of great business capacity. He was in Ogdensburg when that place was taken by the British in 1814, and lost all his property. He died in December, 1825, and his wife, whose maiden name was Annie Hall, died November 10, 1841. George Bullard, when a boy, was employed for five years by his brothers in their store, and afterward he rented a farm of a brother, and lived upon it until 1823. Then he engaged in the grocery business at Belleville, N. Y., and after three years of that, purchased a salt block in Onondaga county, of a capacity of eighty barrels a week. This he attended to for two years, and was subsequently engaged in the grocery business at Henderson until 1834. In the fall of the latter year he came to Indiana, and purchased 1, 100 acres of land in Aboit township, paying $1.25 for government and $2.50 for canal land. November 1, 1835, he arrived with his family, and took possession of the rude shanty he had built. The nearest neighbor west was two miles distant, roads were miserable, without bridges, and the market, Fort Wayne, contained only about 700 inhabitants, with very poor buildings. Mr. Bullard took rank then as one of the leaders, and he has ever since been recognized as a promi- nent citizen, public-spirited, sociable and generous. He has served the people several times as trustee, and for thirty years officiated as justice of the peace, receiving his first commission from Gov. Wright. He has resided at his present home for fifty-four years, with the exception of eighteen months spent in Fort Wayne, where he purchased property at one time. The faithful partner of his life was Rosamond Dawson, to whom he was married January 12, 1827. She was the daughter of James Dawson, of Henderson, N. Y., and was born October 9, 1802. She lived to the age of eighty-three years, but never used glasses, being able to read a paper by candle-light and thread a needle to the last. She died January 14, 1886. Of the eleven children of Mr. and Mrs. Bullard, four are living. Mr. Bullard is a member of the F. & A. M. lodge, and Fort Wayne chapter, Royal Arch Masons.
Notable among the pioneers of Aboit township are Samuel Cart- wright and wife. Samuel Cartwright was born in Rockbridge county, Va., May 10, 1815, son of Charles and Elizabeth (Paxton) Cartwright, natives of Virginia. The father was a farmer by occupation and died in 1832. Mr. Cartwright received a limited education in the common schools of Virginia, and at his father's death managed the farm with the assistance of his brother until twenty-one years of age. He was then engaged as contractor on the Miami canal for about four years,
-
2
ANNALS OF THE TOWNSHIPS.
and subsequently came to Indiana and was variously employed until 1845, when he purchased the land on which he now lives, settling in the woods. The farm now consists of 280 acres of land. He was married January 16, 1842, to Miss Lavina Pierce, daughter of Asa Pierce of Aboit township. They are the parents of three children, two of whom are living: Louis A., a resident of Aboit township, and James V., a physician at Paine, Ohio. Mrs. Cartwright is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and attended the dedication of the first church of that denomination in Fort Wayne. She taught the first school in Aboit township.
Oehmig Bird, of Aboit township, was born in Fort Wayne, Septem- ber 11, 1849. His parents, James S. and Matilda (Eick) Bird, were natives of Pennsylvania, who came to Allen county in 1848. The father ran on the first railroad train in the United States. After coming to Indiana, farming was his principal occupation. He died December 3, 1855, and was followed by his widow, April 11, 1868, Mr. Bird worked on the farm until seventeen years of age, when he began to learn the carpenter's and joiner's trade which he followed for about thirteen years. Subsequently he resumed farming and stock-raising, his principal occu- pation, together with running a threshing machine. He is a worthy and enterprising man, and at present is superintendent of the Holmes gravel road in Aboit township. He was married November 25, 1879, to Elmira, daughter of S. B. Stouder. She was born June 24, 1859. They have had four children, all deceased. Mr. Bird is a member of Sol. D. Bayless lodge, No. 359, F. & A. M., of Fort Wayne, and politically he is a democrat.
John Harper, a prominent citizen of Aboit township, was born in Franklin county, Penn., near Chambersburg, November 16, 1817. He is the son of William and Rachel (Duley) Harper, natives of Pennsyl- vania. The father, whose occupation was farming and shoemaking, died February 7, 1848. Mr. Harper was educated in the common schools and worked with his father until twenty-one years of age. Then buying a small tract of land he engaged in farming, and seven years later, in 1848, moved to Allen county, Ind. He purchased 200 acres where he now lives, and settled in the woods to develop his present fine farm. He was married April 28, 1842, to Liza Byall, daughter of James Byall, a native of Maryland, who served in the war of 1812, and died in Ohio in 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Harper have had eight children, five of whom are living: Isaiah W., James B., Benjamin F., Eliza and Victoria. Isaiah W. is a farmer and resides near the old homestead. James B., lately deceased, was a prominent attorney, and Benjamin F. is in the same profession at Fort Wayne. Eliza is a clerk in the pension office at Washington, D. C. Politically Mr. Harper is a republican. He cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison in 1840.
John Sprankel, of Aboit township, was born in Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary 19, 1825, the son of Peter and Frances ( Bridenbaugh) Sprankel, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Sprankel received his education in the
288
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
common schools of Pennsylvania, and worked on the farm with his father until twenty-two years of age. He was engaged by Hatfield & Son, in their rolling-mill, which was run by water and situated on the Juniata river. After Mr. Sprankel had worked at the mill for about eighteen months, an overflow of the river bursted the furnaces. This caused the discharge of all single men there employed. It was thus that Mr. Sprankel became persuaded to move west. Failing to find work at Pittsburgh or up the Allegheny river at the Great Western iron works, he took a job of chopping wood until spring, and then came west into DeKalb county, Ind., worked for a short time for a cousin, and then returned east to his father. On May 1, 1849, the father and son traveled west through Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana, by horse and buggy. They traveled in this way over 700 miles, examining lands at various places. They finally purchased the tract of land on which Mr. Sprankel now lives, buying 400 acres. He then engaged in farming and stock-raising, at which he has continued with good success. The farm now consists of 240 acres. Mr. Sprankel is deservedly popu- lar with the community, and he was thrice elected to fill the office of township trustee, the term then being one year. He was married in September, 1849, at Manchester, Ohio, to Susan, daughter of Jacob Sourse. They have three children: Mary F., Josephine and J. C. F. Politically Mr. Sprankel is a staunch republican.
Alfred H. Bates, of Aboit township, was born in Oswego county, N. Y., October 23, 1836, the second of six sons born to Jeremiah and Lucy (Norton) Bates. The grandfather was Ephriam Bates, a native of Massachusetts, who married Melvina Hopkins, of the same state. Both lived to an advanced age. Jeremiah; who was a farmer by occupa- tion, died in April, 1869. His widow died in July, 1884, at the age of eighty-one years. Mr. Bates received his education in New York, in Mexico academy, and worked on the farm with his father until eighteen years of age. October 23, 1854, he came to South Bend, Ind., where he worked as a farm hand for Judge Green for thirteen months. He subsequently lived at Cherry Valley, Ill., Clinton county, Iowa, and Oneida, N. Y. Then he came to Allen county, and purchased the farm on which he now lives. In stock-raising as well as agriculture he has been quite successful. He pays especial attention to breeding Clydes- dale and Norman horses, short-horn cattle, Poland China, Cheshire and Chester white swine, all pure bred. Mr. Bates is a member of the Allen county agricultural society, and has been quite successful as an exhibitor. He was married September 29, 1859, to Ann J., the second daughter of Enoch Turner, late of Allen county. She died June 15, 1865, leaving three daughters: Lucy A., Rose E. and Ann J. Octo- ber 21, 1865, he was married to Sarah J., the third daughter of Will- iam and Jane Stirk, of this township, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Bates' father died July 19, 1884, and her mother, December S, IS87. Mr. and Mrs. Bates are the parents of three children: Frank M., Eudora and Arthur M. Mrs. Bates is a member of the First Baptist
-
289
ANNALS OF THE TOWNSHIPS.
church of Fort Wayne. He is a member of Harmony lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F.
William H. Reemer, of Aboit township, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, October 2, 1849, son of John R. and Hannah (Siple) Reemer. The father, a native of New York, was a farmer by occupation, and died in 1850. In 1852, the mother came to Allen county, and settled on the Vermilyea farm, which she' left shortly to spend eighteen months in Wayne township, but returning, made the Vermilyea farm her home for nineteen years. Mr. Reemer was educated in the common schools, and worked on the farm with his step-father until eighteen years of age. He has made farming and stock-raising his life occupation. He was married March 25, 1874, to Emily, daughter of George Wells, a native of Fairfield county, Ohio. She was born in 1854. They are the parents of four children: Ada F., Maggie H., Benjamin A., and William.
John N. Corey, of Aboit township, was born in Seneca county, N. Y., January 27, 1816. His father, Benajah Corey, a native of New Jersey, was a millwright by trade, but followed farming also. He died March 4, 1870. Mr. Corey was educated in the common schools and worked on the farm with his father and at the lumber business until nineteen years of age, when he came to Ohio, and for a while worked on a canal. Then he rented a farm for about eight years. Afterward moving to Whitley county, Ind., he purchased a tract of wood land, built a log hut and began clearing. Here he remained until 1855, when he purchased the farm of 161 acres on which he now resides. Mr. Corey gives some attention to stock-raising also, making a specialty of breeding short-horn cattle and Poland China hogs. He was married to Margaret Fulk, May 31, 1836, by whom he had eight children: Martha J., Hester A., Will- iam, Lida and Caroline are living; Theodore died March 27, 1864; Louisa died September 5, 1882, and Emma died January 5, 1858. His wife having died March 13, 1864, he was married in 1865 to Mrs. Mary F. Campbell, who had one daughter, Mary E. Campbell. Mrs. Corey is a member of the Free Methodist church. He is a republican in pol- itics and voted for Gen. W. H. Harrison. He is one of the enterprising men of Aboit township and is highly esteemed.
Austin M. Darroch, of Aboit township, was born at Rockville, Park county, Ind., October 27, 1844. He is the son of John and Caroline (Puett) Darroch, both natives of Indiana. The father was a farmer by occupation, and is still living at Morocco, Newton county, Ind. The mother died in 1852. Mr. Darroch was educated in the common schools; he worked at farming until 1862, when he volunteered as a member of Company E, Ninety-ninth Indiana infantry. He served two years and ten months, and was in the following engagements: Vicksburg, Jack- son, Miss., Mission Ridge, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain and Atlanta. At Peach Tree Creek he had one of his fingers shot off. Being honor- ably discharged June 28, 1865, he returned to Newton county, and again was employed in agriculture. Two years later he bought a farm and engaged in farming and stock-raising, in which he has been quite
19
290
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
successful. Mr. Darroch, on November 11, 1870, was married to Mary, daughter of William Hamilton, a native of New York, and an early settler of Allen county. They are the parents of six children, five of whom survive: John W., Hugh M., Johanna, Caroline and Fanny. Mr. Darroch is a member of Phoenix lodge, No. 101, K. of P., of Fort Wayne, also Sion S. Bass post, G. A. R., of Fort Wayne. Mr. Dar- roch's prominence as a citizen and as a democrat, led to his election in 1886 as a representative of Allen county in the general assembly of Indiana, and he filled that position with credit to himself and county.
Thomas Covington, a prominent citizen of Aboit township, was born in Plymouth county, Mass., December 18, 1836. His parents, Thomas and Mahala (Holmes) Covington were both natives of Massachusetts, where the father followed agriculture successfully. His death occurred May 17, 1880, and his wife died February 1, 1887. Thomas Coving- ton received a good education in the public schools of his native state, and was engaged in work upon the farm of his parents until he was twenty-one years of age. He then began farming and stock-raising on his own land, and in these pursuits has been quite successful. He was mar- ried April 14, 1859, to Adeline Burt, and they have four children, Eliza- beth D., Kate M., Thomas E., and Mary L. Mrs. Covington was called away in death May 7, 1886. Mr. Covington is prominent in the councils of his party, the republican, and being an active and popular citizen, he was elected township trustee in 1886, and in 1888 he was given the compliment of re-election. He is a faithful and discreet public officer.
John R. Schoene, of Aboit township, was born in Germany, May 9, 1828, son of Frederick and Margaret (Schaffer) Schoene. In 1834 the father left his native land and sailed for America. Landing at Bal- timore, he came to Dayton, Ohio, and was engaged in a distillery for five years. He then purchased a piece of land in Williams county, Ohio, erected a cabin and moved into the woods. Here he followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1865. In that year John R. Schoene moved to Allen county, Ind., settling in Aboit township where he now resides. In farming he has had remarkable success, and has a place of 160 acres of well improved land. He was married May 6, 1852, to Catharine Strausberger, and they have nine children: Julia, Amanda, Rudolph, Walter, Katie, Dorato, William, Henry and Joseph. The family belong to the Lutheran church.
W. J. Esterline, of Aboit township, was born in Clark county, Ohio, November 7, 1841, son of Adam and Elizabeth (Slaybaugh) Esterline. The father, a native of Maryland, was a shoemaker by occupation, and died in 1855; the mother who was born near Gettysburg, Penn., died July 5, 1876. Mr. Esterline received a limited education in the common schools, and worked as a laborer on the farm until eighteen years of age, when he took up the blacksmith's trade, at which he was engaged until 1870. He then began farming and stock-raising, at which he is still suc- cessfully engaged. He purchased in 1870, the farm on which he now resides, consisting of 152 acres. He was married to Nancy Jeffries in
-
291
ANNALS OF THE TOWNSHIPS.
1867, and they had one child, Milly, now deceased. Mrs. Esterline died December, 1868, and in 1871 he was married to Ellen Mckinley. They have seven children: Walter, Edward, Albert, Arthur, Otis, Frank and Chester. Mr. Esterline served his country in the late rebellion, being a member of Company I, Seventy-first Ohio infantry, and was in the engagement at Pittsburg Landing. Mr. Esterline is a member of the Lutheran church, also of Columbia City lodge, 189, F. & A. M.
Daniel W. Simmers, of About township, was born in Ohio, December 3, 1845, son of Daniel and Maria (Smith) Simmers. The father, a native of Canada, died February 8, 1875, but the mother, a native Virginian, is living in Wells county, Ind. Mr. Simmers at the age of sixteen years, enlisted in Company C, Fifty-first Ohio infantry, and served one year and ten months. He was in all the engagements from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Returning to Ohio, he engaged in farming for about sixteen years, and then embarked in the milling business, at Au- burn, Ind. Two years later he moved to Whitley county and engaged in farming and stock-raising, at which he is still engaged. In 1881 he sold his farm in Whitley county, and purchased the one on which he now lives. Mr. Simmers was married on June 3, 1875, to Amanda, daughter of Jonathan Michael, of Allen county. Of their six children, five are living: John U., Charles W., Jewell C., Roscoe T. and Ermel B. Mrs. Simmers is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a member of De Kalb lodge, No. 214, F. & A. M.
Henry Eloph, of Aboit township, was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, May 4, 1835. His parents, Nicholas and Frances Eloph, natives of France, came to America in 1833 and died in 1877 and 1867, respect- ively. Mr. Eloph received a limited education in the common schools of Allen county, and worked with his father on the farm until seventeen years of age. He remained on his father's farm until 1865, when he enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana volunteers. After serving about seven months, he received an honorable discharge, and resumed farming and stock-raising, at which he continues, making a specialty of breeding Norman horses. He was married April 20, 1862, to Mary, daughter of Joseph Rhodes, a native of Ohio They are the parents of four children, three of whom survive: Mary, Annie and Alice.
LAKE TOWNSHIP.
Lands in this township were occupied in 1834, by James Hinton, John Ross, William Grayless, George Slagle, Samuel Caffrey, James Pringle, Jacob Pearson, and Clement Ryan, and their families. Nearly all settled in the vicinity of the Goshen road or in the northern sections. The Goshen road, which had been surveyed four years previous, was then the only road in the township, and it was not until 1836 that the second, the Yellow river road, was laid out along the south township line. In the same year the county road from Kraco to
292
VALLEY OF THE UPPER MAUMEE.
Raccoon village, was surveyed. In 1835 John McClure, a native of South Carolina, settled on section 17, and remained twenty years. His son-in-law, Samson Pierson, arrived about the same time. In the spring of 1836, Francis Sweet entered a tract in section 17, but remained in Fort Wayne until 1844. He became one of the prominent citizens and filled all the local offices, serving fifteen years as justice subsequent to 1846. He was the second postmaster, succeeding John Crawford, who was appointed in 1840, for what was known as the Taw-Taw post- office. Mr. Sweet held the position until 1863, acting also, after the establishment of the Pittsburg railroad, as carrier of the mail from the station. In 1836 the newcomers were John Anderson and James W. Watson, who were natives of Virginia, and Joshua Goheen, from Pennsylvania, a man of great enterprise, and John Savage. Other early settlers before 1840, were Joseph Taylor, William Caster, John F. Gerding and Frederick Reed.
On the last Saturday of May, 1837, the first election occurred at the house of John McClure, who was the inspector. Samuel Caffrey and James Pringle were elected justices, and William Caster, constable. In the following winter the first wedding occurred, Mary Mangan to John Savage. In 1849 the first steam saw-mill was erected by the plank road company, and the next year J. L. Peabody built a saw-mill on the Yellow river road near Arcola, which was in operation many years. The first general stores were opened by the proprietors of these mills, by William Thorpe, who had bought the plank road mill in 1850, and by Mr. Pea- body in 1866. In an early day Samson Pierson platted a village on the plank road in sections 16 and 17, named Pierson, but it was abandoned. The only village in the township is Arcola, on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad. It was laid out in 1866.
The firm of Jacob Colter & Co., now the most extensive manufact- urers of hardwood lumber in Allen county, was formed in 1873. In 1887 their mill was burned, causing a loss of $3,500, but it was rebuilt at once. At Arcola the firm employs fifteen men, and are equipped to saw 8,000 feet per day. They also have mills at Williams Station, Mon- mouth, Decatur and Maples. The five mills employ seventy men, and produce annually about 12,000,000 feet of lumber. They furnish lum- ber to the Pennsylvania company, ship to San Francisco, and export a fine grade to Scotland. In 1885, the tile manufactory of Grosjean Brothers, now Grosjean & Barrand, was established, and John Grosjean in 1888 purchased the general stores of Victor Cavalier and William Rockhill. The latter now conducts a general store. James Baxter is the blacksmith and I. W. Herrold and John Blietschau are shoe dealers.
Edward Rockhill was one of the well-known pioneers of Fort Wayne and its vicinity. He came from his native state of New Jersey in 1826, and settling in the woods near the city, at once began clearing away the timber and opening up a farm. He built a double log cabin, doing the principal part of the work himself, using weight poles instead of nails to hold the roof on. The Indians at this time camped in the
293
ANNALS OF THE TOWNSHIPS.
woods round about, and made frequent visits to the house of Mr. Rock- hill in quest of meal and potatoes. One peculiar habit of this pioneer was to inquire if they had money to pay for food; if they said they had he would direct them to a neighbor telling them he had none to spare, if without money he would furnish them with potatoes and meal. He and the Indians were on very intimate terms. They frequently visited Fort Wayne, and while there would spend what money they had for whisky, and becoming thoroughly intoxicated, often would fall by the wayside in the snow or on the ice. Mr. Rockhill in such cases, would carry them into his cabin, and keep them until sober, often saving lives in this way. He followed farming until his death, which occurred in 1848, at his cabin. Of his eight children, the third, William Rockhill, now a leading citizen, was born July 28, 1829, at the old home- stead. His educational advantages were of course limited, and he attended only one school term of three months. After the death of his. father he and his brother remained upon the farm until 1851, when they came to Lake township and began clearing up a new farm, doing farm work in summer and hunting deer and turkey, and trapping mink, coon,. etc., in winter. He lived here two years and then moved upon his. mother's place, where he remained until 1872, when he came to Arcola and engaged in general merchandise, also receiving the appointment of postmaster. In this office he served in a very satisfactory manner for fourteen years. He continued in merchandise until September S, 1888, when he sold his stock of goods in order that he might tear down the house in which he was doing business, and build one on a much larger scale. He now has a handsome two-story brick, 38x60, with a plate glass front. Mr. Rockhill was married in 1853 to Miss Harriet Bel- lamy. Of their eight children seven are living: Amanda, Oliver, Louise, Ida, Ellen, John and William.
William Goheen, who has been a resident of this township more than half a century, was born in Cumberland county, Penn., March 30, 1830. His parents were Joshua Goheen, a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife Ann (Pee) Goheen, a native of Maryland. They settled in Lake township, September 13, 1836, on the farm which their son above named now occupies. Here the father died April 9, 1866, and the mother October 5, 1878. William Goheen was educated in the country schools, and at the age of eighteen years engaged in farming for him- self. He is a prominent citizen and held the position of township trus- tee during five years and a half. He is a member of the First Baptist church of Eel River, of Wayne lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M., and of the republican party. In 1851 he was married to Mary Petit, and to their union were born four children: John N., Charles M., Alice and Nathaniel. This wife died August 29, 1860. In 1861 he was married to Catherine Hutsell, and they have two children, Ada A. and Perry A. Mrs. Goheen is a member of the Methodist church .:
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.