DeKalb County, Indiana - Biographical sketches (2 of 2 so headed), 1914 (part 20 of 20)

On August 28. 1887, ^^i'- Saylor was married to Fannie Bovlick, the daughter of Anthony and Barbara Bovlick, natives of Germany, and to this union have been born three children, two of whom died in infancy, the survivor being a son, Fred, who is now at home with his parents. Fraternally, Mr. Saylor is an appreciative member of Lodge No. 671, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at St. Joe. .\s a neighbor and citizen Mr. Saylor stands high in the esteem of all who know him, and the deep jnterest he takes in promoting the social and moral welfare of the community gives him an enviable reputation throughout the locality in which he lives.

Albert N. Thrltsh

There are individuals in nearly every community who, by reason of pronounced ability and force of character, rise above the lieads of the masses and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues that never fail, such men always make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personality .serve as a stimulus and incentive to the young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising class the subject of tliis review very properly beldngs. Having never l)een seized with tlie roaming desires tliat have led many of DeKalb county's young men to other fields of endeavor and otlier states, where they have sought their fortunes, Mr. 'ilirush has devoted his life to industries at home and has succeeded reniarkalUy well, as we.sliall see Ivy a study of his life history.

Albert N. Thrush, than whom no citizen of Butler township enjoys to a greater degree the popular confidence and regard, was born in Noble county, Indiana, on Felirnarx 22. 1860, the .son of William T. and Sarepta ( Errick- son) Thrush. The subject's mother was a native of Indiana and his father of Pennsylvania, from whence he came to Indiana, settHng in Fort Wayne, where he followed the trade of a mason. Subsequently he moved to Noble county, Indiana, where he married and then, in 1868, came to DeKalb county, settling on a farm in Butler township. He retired and lived in Auburn from 1884 ""til his death, August 31, 1891. His wife passed away in Auburn in April, 1897. They were the parents of seven children, the subject of this sketch being the second born.

Albert N. Thrush received his education in the common schools of Noble and DeKalb counties, and as soon as old enough took up his share of the farm work. He has ne\er relinquished his agricultural activities, and is now the owner of a splendid farm of two hundred and sixty-seven acres ih Butler township, where he carries on general farming, raising all the crdps generally cultivated in this locality and also giving some attention to live stock. His farm is kept in good condition and is numbered among the valuable homesteads of Butler township.

In January, 1882, Mr. Thrush married Ellen Pepple, the daughter of Joseph and Adeline Pepple, and to them have been born three children, Walter M., who married Inez Heitz ; Marie, a teacher, and Marion, in high school.. In the civic life of the community Mr. Thrush has long taken a live interest and has ser\ed as trustee of his township one term, 1895 to 1900, to the entire satisfaction of his fellow citizens. He has also served as president of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of DeKalb county for six years and five, years as a director, having been actively identified with this company for eleven years. He has also served as coimty chairman of the DeKalb County Farmers' Institute work for three years and is still actively connected with this association. It is a well authenticated fact that success comes only as the result of legitimate and well ap]Dlied energy, unflagging determination and untiring perseverance, and in tracing the history of the subject of this sketch, it is found that the above elements have entered very largely into his makeup, and therefore there is no surprise at the splendid success which has crowned his efi'orts. His relations with his fellows have lieen such as to inspire their resjiect and confidence, and today no citizen of Butler township is held in higher esteem than .\. N. Thrush.

Politically, Mr. Thrush is a Republican; fraternally, is a member of Lodge No. 689, Free and Accepted Masons, at Huntertown, Indiana, and, with his wife, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal cliurch. The son, Walter M., who has always assisted his father on the home place, is also a Mason.

Philip S. Carper

It is generally considered by those in the habit of superficial thinking that the history of so-called great men only is worthy of preservation and that little merit exists among the masses to call forth the praises of the historian or the cheers and appreciation of mankind. A greater mistake was never made. No man is great in all things and very few are great in many things. Many by a lucky stroke achie\-e lasting fame, who before that had no reputation beyond the limits of their neighliorhoods. It is not a history of the lucky stroke that benefits mankind most, but the long study and effort which made the lucky stroke possible. It is the preliminary work, the method, that serves as a guide for the success of others. Aiiinng tlmsc in this county who have achieved success along stcail}- lines of actinu is llic suljject of this sketch.

I'hilip S. Carper, secretary of the I'armers' Mutual h'ire Insurance Company, was lx)rn in DeKalb countv. Dccenilier 7, iSC)^, the son of Jolni and Sarah (Friedt) Carper. John Carper was a native of ihilnies county, Ohio, and came to DeKalli county with his p;ireuts. \(l;un and I'llizabcth ( Colililer) Carper, in 1842, tlie_\" settling in Jackson townshi]) on land entered from the government. John Carper died in 1895, while his wile is still living. The original tract of land entered is still in possession of the family. To them were born eight children: Eugene, George \\'., Lillie A., John A., Mary E., Philip, Laura J., and Alda Viola, deceased. Philip Carper recei\ed a gootl common school education in the DeKalb county schools, after which he began the career of an agriculturalist, in which he achiexed ;i s])len(lid success. Mr. Carper remained at home u.n.til his nian-iage and then loealed on his ])resent farm, four miles southeast of .\ul)nrn, on the Anliurn and St. Joe mad. on the Henry Brown farm. He mai'.e all of tlie improvements just as they stand. He has .seventy acres, of which lifty-lixe acres are in a good state of cultivation. He carries on a general fa.rming l)nsiness. In 1903 he was elected secretary of the Farmers' Mutual I'ire Insurance Company, which position he still occupies, and his natural aptitude ior this line of work has stood him in good stead, as is evidenced in the wonderful progress of the company, it now carrying over seven million dollars in policies with thirtyfive hundred policy-holders. In this strong company, associated with Mr. Carper, are the following officers : President, A. N. Tlunish ; treasurer, John Hebel; vice-president, William Norris; actuary, C. H. Bangs; board of directors, Charles S. Arford, Henr>' St. Clair, David Shook, George Rhein- hart and Archie Bowman. Mr. Thrush was elected president in 1908, and has heen actively engaged with the company for about ten years. Since 1907 Mr.. Carper has been a director of the City National Bank of Auburn.

On October 16, 1895, Mr. Carper was married to Lulu .\ble, daughter of Walter and Anna (Nelson) Able, who came from their native state of Ohio with their parents, he having been liorn in 'rrunilnill cmmtv and she from Tuscarawas county. They had one other child besides the subject's wife, a son named Ross. To Mr. and Mrs. Carper ha\e Ijeen born two childred, Hugh B., born January 16, 1897, and Nellie, born May i, 1900, both of whom are still under the shelter of the parental roof.

Mr. Carper has always given his support to the Republican party, and was honored by l^eing selected as drainage commissioner by his fellow citizens in 1908 and 1909. His splendid success in his varied activities should be set down in a work o.f this character that the future generations may profit by his example.

Jesse H. Warner

Among the successful, self-made men of DeKalb county, Indiana, whose efforts and influence have contributed to the material upbuilding and general activity of their respective communities, the gentleman whose name appears ^bove occupies a conspicuous position. In view of the energetic, consistent and successful record he has achieved, it is eminently appropriate that he be given representation in the present work.

Jesse Warner was born in August, 1850, near Tifiin, Seneca county, Ohio, and was a son of Daniel and Rebecca (Ransburg) Warner. Daniel Warner was from Hagerstown, Maryland, as was his wife. When Jesse H. Warner was but a child, his parents moved to near McCutcheonville, Seneca county. Ohio, and thence to Jackson township, that county, during the Civil war, and there the father bought a wooden bowl factory. He then moved to Henry county, Ohio, where he and his wife died, the fiirmer at the age of ninety-seven years and the latter when about eighty-four years old. Jesse H. Warner was reared on the home farm and lived there until his marriage, in 1877, to Almina Walters, who was born near Weston, Wood county, Ohio., the daughter of Elias and Phoebe Jane (Bossard) Walters. When she wasfive years old her father died, and when fifteen years old she suffered the loss of her mother. A few weeks later she went to Henrv countv, Ohio, and there lived with an aunt until her marriage. .Vfter their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Warner went to farming, but about fourteen years later he engaged in tlie meat busines.s, running a market at AlcClure, Ohio, until igoq, when he sold out and moved to Steuben county, this state, where he ran a meat market at Ashley for one year. He then moved to Waterloo and engaged in raising high grade poultry, specializing on Black Minorcas, and also does considerable truck gardening. He is the father of four children, three daughters and a son, namely : Mrs. ?\Iaud Ellen, the wife of Horatio Sheldon Hine, and the}- Jiave one son, Sheldon Horatio: Xellie Blnache is the wife of Frank Saltsman, and they have three children, jacoli Warner, Almina Grace and Francis Irene; Arthur \'ernon, born April 17, 1883, was nmrried on March 6, 1905, to Almeda W. F. Korn and they have two children, William Arthur and Orlo Clayton Warner. Bessie Doris lives at home with her parents and is employed at the telephone office at Waterloo. Jesse Warner belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at McClure, Ohio, of which he has been a member for twenty-six years. Arthur Warner belongs to the Odd Fellows at Waterloo.

Samuel A. Mumaw

Farming is becoming recognized as a profession and the future farmers of our country will be trained as carefully as are our ministers and physicians. Purdue University now gives a four-year course in agriculture, leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. The 19 13 Legislature of this state created a newofficial known as the county agent, whose duties are to give expert advice to farmers on all subjects pertaining to agriculture. The short courses given at Purdue every year are being attended by increasing thousands of farmers and their sons. The tendency of all this points to a new era in farming. Farmers' institutes are being held throughout the state and ha\-c been the means of keeping the farmers abreast of the times. Agriculture is becoming a science and the most successful farmer of today is the nian who studies his business. Such men as these arc the men who make goorl officials as well as good farmers, and such a farmer and official is Samuel A. Mumaw, tlie subject of this brief review.

natives of Shenandoah county, Virginia, where David A. Mumaw grew to manhood and married. He enlisted in the Confederate army from Virginia, July 15, 1 861 and remained in service until the close of the war. He belonged to Company K, Thirty-third Regiment, at the opening of the Civil war and continued in active service throughout that memorable conflict, making a brilliant record as a soldier and being mustered out at the end of nearly five years' service with a slight scalp wound. He w as in the battle at Gettysburg and Winchester and many other noted battles. After the war he returned to his native state of Virginia, where, he continued to reside until 1 87 1, when he moved to Stark county, Ohio. Here he purchased land and improved it, but thinking he could improve his fortunes by going to Indiana, he came to I3el<alb cuunt}-, this state, in 1886 and purchased a farm in \\'ilmington township of forty acres. Here, at the age of seventy-nine, he is still actively engaged in agricultural pursuits, being probably the oldest farmer in active serx'ice in the count}- today. His wife is the same age as himself and is still in good health. Her parents were of German extraction- To .Mr. and Mrs. David A. Mumaw have been born five children, Charles, of I'.iitk'i-, Iniliana, \\ hi> lias been shipping agent -for the Butler Wind-mill Company for the past seventeen years; John B., a plumber of Butler; Jacob, a. telephone lineman of Eaton, Ohio ; Sarah, who married Oliver Keysbury and lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Sanmel A., the immediate subject of this sketch.

Sanuiel A. AUunaw was educated in the district schools of his county and continued to reside under the paternal roof until he was married at the age of twenty-two years. Upon his marriage on December 13. 1899, to .-Vnna ;M. Sechler, he mo\'ed on to his mother-in-law's farm, fift\-si.x acres in Concord township. ]\lrs. ?\lumaw is the daughter of William and Rachel (Nelson) Sechler, her father being a native of Pennsylvania, of German stock. Mrs. Sechler was of Irish descent, her parents being pioneers of Concord township, where her father followed agricultural pursuits all his life. They were both members of the German Lutheran clnn-ch. JNIr. Sechler died in April, 1884, and his wife's death occurred on October 30. 1903. Mrs. Rachel Sechler first married Samuel .Armstrong, and had one son by this marriage, Samuel, who married Ethel Imhoof and now li\'es in Concord township. Some years after the death of her first husband, Mrs. Rachel Armstrong married William Sechler, and to this union were born two children, an infant daughter, deceased, and Anna M. Sechler, the wife of the subject of this sketch.

Mr. Mumaw is the owner of a fine farm in Concord township comprising fifty-six acres and carries on a general farming business. Besides raising all the crops common to this locality, he has made a specialty of raising horses and hogs and has been uniformly successful in all his business transactions. The esteem in which he is held in his community is shown by the fact that he was appointed to the office of trustee of Concord township in July, 191 1. In the conduct of his official affairs in his township, Mr. Mumaw has taken a commendable interest and has won the approval of all the citizens of his township, irrespective of party affiliations. He has taken a very active interest in the question of good district schools and has made a special effort to secure the best possible teachers for the township schools. He has just completed the erection of the Ijest school building in DeKalb county. He has also been an advocate of good roads and has succeeded in adding a few miles of improved highway to the township system each year. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran church at St. Joe and contriljute liberally of their means to support the various activities of that denomination. Mr. Mumaw is also a valued member of the Knights of Pythias and takes an active interest in the fraternal affairs of that body. In all of his business dealings Mr. Mumaw has so conducted himself that he has won the confidence and approval of all of the good citizens of his community, not only in his business relations, but in every effort to elevate the moral, intellectual or social standard of his lacolity.

It is a well authenticated fact that success comes as the result of legitimate and well applied energy, unflagging determination and perseverance in a course of action when once decided upon. She is never known to smile upon the idler or dreamer and she never courts the loafer, only the men wh(j have diligently sought her favor being crowned with her blessings. In tracing the history of the gentlemen whose names form the caption of this review, it is plainly seen that the success which they enjoy has been won by commendable qualities and it is also this personal worth thab has gained for them the high esteem of those who know them. ^Villiam E. and James M. Hamilton are the sons of Jonathan and Hannah B. (Platter) Hamilton, the former of whom was born in New York City. Eventually he located in Pennsylvania where he was reared to the life of a farmer. He remained in

Pennsylvania until about eight years of age, when he went to Defiance, Ohio, and from there came to DeKalb county, Indiana, where he made his permanent settlement. He was prominent among the early pioneers of this section and took an active part in the development and progress that characterized this locality in those early days. He built and operated the old Hamilton mill in 1838, one of the landmarks of this locality for many years, and at the same time successfully operated his farm. He was a man of forceful character and sturdy integrity, who impressed his personality on the community where he spent so many of his active, years and he was a leader in many of the important events which concerned the history of his county. To him and his wife were born nine children, namely: John R., Agnes and Catherine are all deceased: William E. and James M., the immediate subjects of this sketch: Elizabeth and Emmaline are deceased; Mary E. and John G.

William E. Hamilton was born on August 4, 1829, and early in life, under his father's direction, he learned the trade of a miller, which he followed during practically his entire active life. He was for a while in the West, being located in Idaho, where he established a mill and to him belongs the distinction of having ground the first bushel of wheat milled in that state, that being many years ago when it was still a territory. He is retired from active life and is living quietly at his comfortable home in Concord township, this count}-.

On June 9, 1878, William E. Hamilton married Mary Carpenter, the daughter of John Carpenter, a prominent farmer and one of the early settlers of DeKalb county.

James M. Hamilton was born on October 2, 1831, and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation from which he never departed and in which he met with a well deserved success. He, too, is now retired from active business affairs. Neither of the Hamilton brothers have been aspirants for public office, though they have always taken an intelligent and active part in public affairs, as e\'ery loyal citizen should, and they have performed their full part of the duties of citizenship, thereby earning the approval and commendation of all who know them.

Politically, William E. Hamilton is an earnest Republican in his views, while James M. has given his support to the Progressive party since the recent campaign. Religiously, the former is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and the latter of the United Brethren church, to the support of which societies they are liberal contributors. Quiet and unostentatious and seeking the sequestered ways of life rather than its tumult and strife, the

Hamilton brothers ha^e ever attended strictly to their own afifairs and bv their upright lives and worthy examples have made better all who have come within the, range of tieir influence, and today no more deserving or popular citizens reside in Corcord township then they.

Ezra Rohm

It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an eminently active and busy life, and who has attained a position of relative distinction in th' community with which his interests are allied. But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of sucli a life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is deman ed and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each statemen , and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of toiching briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored subject of this sketch whose eminently honored and successful capaer now comes under review.

Ezra Fohm, one of the successful farmers and respected citizens of Grant towr>hip, was born on July 2, 1873, about one and one-half miles north of \" aterloo, this county, and is a son of Simon and Mary (Harsh) Rohm, \\\- ' are mentioned elsewhere in this work. When Ezra Rohm was about five years old the family moved to the present location, which is about half way letween Auburn and Waterloo, and there he was reared. In about 1896 he jought a part of the old home farm, and to the operation of this tract he has applied his energies cimtinuously since with eminent success, and has earned a high reputation liecause of his up-to-date methods and untiring energy. He has one f>f the l)est improved farms in this locality, the substantial and attractive residence, commodious and well-arranged barns, well-kept fences and the general appearance of the fields evidencing him to be a man of good ideas and sound judgment. He carries on a general line of farming, raising all the crqps common to this localit\- and has met with a gratifying degree of success as a result of his efforts.

In i8gi Mr. Rohm married Amelia \\alker, daughter of George \\'. and Can line (Neidig) Walker, of Feagler's Corners, Richland township, where her )arents now reside. She was born in Stark county, Ohio, and was about nin > years of age when the family removed to this county. To Mr. and Mr . Rohm ha\e been born seven children, of whom lola Pearl died in infancy. Th'ose living are as follows: Edward 1\' , born March 28, 1892, married Hazel Husselman, and they have a daught r, Erma May; Edward Rohm is operating the Al St. Clair farm; Lillie M Rohm is the wife of Clyde Osborne, and lives in Auburn; Luella is the .vife of Merritt Sockrider, who is a postal telegraph operator, and they luve a daughter, Myrtle Merrill; Elza Frank, born August 21, 1898; Mildred Ctherine, born June 15, 1905, and Myrtle Caroline, born January 16, 1909. 1 \^ family move in the best social circles of the community in which they reside and are held in high esteem by all who know them. Mr. Rohm, thougl quiet and unostentatious in his life, has been a definite factor in the lift of the community, for he has given his support at all times to such movements as promise to be for the material, social, educational or moral advanceiient of the people, and as a result of his upright life and sturdy industry he h; i. gained an enviah\e standing among his fellow citizens.