Elkhart County, Indiana - Tue Churches, 1905 (part 7 of 15)

In the death of John W. Irwin in 1898, Ellxdiart connty, and the city (jf (ioshen in jiarticular, lost from tlie ranlcs of the living' one of its most lionored and useful citizens, a man who by a life of absolute integrity, of high ability as a financier and business manager, and of nobilitv and breadth of character such as are notable in any community, won a secure place in the esteem and affection of all who ever knew him or in any way w-ere affected by his life work and influence. Mr. Irwin held the premier rank in the financial history of Elkhart count\'. and bis long identification with banking makes his name one of the iirst to be C(insidered in writing a history of the count}-.

His history is also especially interesting in this county record because he belonged to one of the \-cry first families to make settlement within the countv. and as a hoy he himself saw and experienced most of the eventfid life which was the lot of the first-comers to this section of the state.

In Franklin count}-. Indiana, Alexander Irwin married Miss Elizabeth iMcConnell. wlio bore him several children, and after her death he married Mrs. Elizabeth Daily, iiec Wycoff, who became the mother of John W. Irwin. In 1832 Alexander, with his family, settled in Elkhart county, on Elkhart Prairie, in which was known as the " Goshen settlement," the " Elkhart settlement " being thai the only other community in the county. Three years after his arrival he succumbed to an attack of malarial fever, wdiich was very prevalent in those da}-s and in that new' country, and was perha]5s aggravated 1)}' its crude treatment, by bleeding, purging and heroic doses of calomel prescribed by pioneer doctors.

John ^^'. Irwin, one of the five children b}' bis father's second marriage, was born near Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. September 24. 1822. Reared on a farm, be received very indifferent instruction in the subscription schools of the neighborhood, his earlv schooling being supplemented by two years spent in the State Universit}' at Bloomington. He began the study of -aw when but a boy. at first under the. gm'dance of Judge Chaniberl;iin and others, and then attended lectures in the law department of the university at Bloomington. - He began practice in 1849. locating in Goshen, where, to use his phrase. he " l>egan the starving process." From then until his death nearly fifty 3-ears later Goshen Avas his home, and he honored the city by his ability and usefulness. For years he confined his professional work to probate and ex parte practice.

Mather and others, he organized the Repubhcan party in Elkhart county, consohdatini^ in that organization the disaffected Democrats and the defunct \\ hig and Free-Soil parties. Jn i860, as the Repubhcan caniHdate, he was elected to the office of county treasurer, and served f\v(.> terms in that office. He had previously served Uxo years as deput\ cnunty clerk. .\t the ex])iration of his services as county treasurer he \\as appointed deputy internal revenue collector.

Ill i!^54 he became associated with Hon. Robert Lowry in legal practice, and in 1865, while still in the office of revenue collector, formed a partnership Vvith General Milo S. Hascall, in the purchase of the business and good will of the Salem Bank, from John Cook. This partnership continued uninterruptedly twenty-five years, lacking a few months, and tiien Mr. Irwin Ijecame sole proprietor. The Salem Bank was established in 1854, as a state bank, at the old town of Salem (now W'akarusa), b\- the late John Cook and Thomas G. Harris. Avhn crmducted it as a bank of issue until 1863. when it was taxetl (lut i)f existence as such. It had the creditable record of being among tlie few Indiana banks which paid all bills and redeemed all its issue. Its charter being lost in 1863, it was thenceforth continued as a private institution, being moved to Goshen in that year and located at the spot where the Masonic Temple now stands. In 1866, the new owners, Irwin and Hascall, moved it to where it has since been conducted, on the south side of the public square. It is now the oldest continuously existent banking institution in the state. Mr. John H. Lesh was for a time associated with Mr. Irwin in the o]>eration of the bank, and since Mr. Irwin's death, in 1898, the bank has been cmiducted 1)} bis estate, under the direct management of his son. Frank J. Irwin. .\s a private liank it nffers the very hig'hest security to its depositors, h\ reason of the law holding liable the entire pnssessions of its owners.

Its Ixisiness b.as always been conducted on a snund and Cduservati^'e basis, and is secondary in extent and importance to none in the county. The sapient business ability of INir. Irwin was responsible for the success of the institution, and the ijulic}- inaugurated and so profitablv carried out bv him has since been continued by his son.

With unquestiiined l()}aUy to country and her institutions as a dominating characteristic. Mr. Irwin took an acli\e ])art in raising 'troops for the Union (hn'ing the Civil war period. During his long and active career he \vas identified with many of the enterprises and movements which have been such great factors in the upbuilding of the citv of Goshen. He was one of the organizers of the Elkhart Countv Agricultiu'al Societx. and remained its secretary twenty-fi\e vears, then declining to serve longer. He left the society with thirtytwo acres of land, with buildings thereon, and five hundred dollars in cash, all made from year to year from the receipts of the society. A busv man throughout liis life, he ne\erthe1ess fotmd time for reading ami tnu'el. He twice crossed the Atlantic to Europe and visited all the places of note in the old world. In his large and miscellaneous library he found one of his chief joys, and his interests and s\'mpathies continued tc expand and become more yenial with the ad\'ance of years.

October ii, 1855, Mr. Irwin married Miss Hager Jackson, the third daughter of Colonel John Jackson, the Elkhart county pioneer. Two children were born of this marriage. Frank J. is now at the head of the Salem Bank, and the daughter. May. is the wife of Hon. Francis E. Baker, judge of the L'nited States Circuit Court.

John Krau

John Krau is one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of Elkhart, his years verging toward the fourscore mark, and all of them filled with useful effort and varied experience in the affairs of the world. Born in Germany on Christmas day of 1827, reared and educated in his native land, when he was about twenty years old he entered upon the career which has brought him in contact with men and aft'airs in dift'erent parts of the world, and which from a material standpoint has resulted in the accumulation of large resources. He went to France, then sojourned four years in the little republic of Switzerland, where he was a paper maker, lived in sunny Italy for a time, thence returned to Switzerland, and in 1855 embarked for a permanent home in the new world. After a voyage of six weeks he landed, on July 10, in New York city. To illustrate how he has achieved his ovvn success since coming to this country, it is well to state that on his arrival at Castle Garden his cash capital was represented by cents rather than dollars. Self-reliance and confidence in his own strength were all that he then needed, and his career has been marked by steady progress through all the succeeding years.

Selling liis watch in order to get mone}' for further travel, he went from New York to Buft'alo, thence to Detroit and to Niles, Michigan, where he was employed a short time, and then went to South Bend. South Bend was then a town of only twelve hundred inhabitants, and his employment there was in helping dig the canal. In 1856 he went to Lockport, St. Joseph county, ^Michigan, where he followed his trade as paper maker for a time, and while there was also married. Rockton. Illinois, was his home for a while in 1857. then ?^Iilwaukee one year, Beloit, Wisconsin, four years, after which he came to Elkhart county and after a short stay in Goshen located in Elkhart. He engaged in the butcher and stock buying arid selling business from 1862 to 1866, then farmed in ]\Iichigan for eighteen months, after which he returned to Elkhart and re.sumed his old line of business with his former partner. William Cornish. In June, 1872, Mr. Cornish died, and until 1883 Mr.

I\Ir. Krau is one of the largest landowners in Elkhart county. In 1886 he bought what is known as the old county farm, the purchase price of this fine property being thirty thousand dollars. Altogether he owns four hundred and fifty-three acres, located about four miles east of Elkhart on the Lake Shore road, and is the owner of considerable real estate in the city of Elkhart. He has shown his confidence in the permanent prosperity of this city by liuilding tweh'e brick blocks besides various dwelling houses, having erected, in 1873. the first block on the east side of Alain street in Kenible\s addition. In numerous other ways has he been identified with the progress and welfare of Elkhart, and his own lirosjierity in Imsiness affairs has resulted for the good of his community. In jxililics he is a Democrat, and is influential in matters of citizenship.

?dr. Krau married, in 1856. at Lockport, near Three Rivers, Michigan, Miss Christina Dick, who was born in Wiirtemberg. Germany, and came to America in the same year as her husband, she being then twentytwo years old. Their wedded life has endured for nearly half a century, and four sons have blessed their union. John is head bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Elkhart. William P. is in the meat business. Charles is foreman in the roundhouse of the Lake Shore Railroad. And George is in .Maska.

J.Vcob Aveldy

At the time of the compilation of this history of lilkhart county Mr. Jacolj W'eldy is found to be numbered among the foremost men of affairs in the town of Wakarusa and Olive township. A man just now in the prime of his years and powers, his work and his influence are positive factors in the business, industrial and ci\ic life of this part of the county, and it is not too much to say that he has promoted the material prosperity of this district to a degree not surpassed b}- anyone in the course of the last fifteen or t\\enty years.

Mr. Weldy's career is by no means commonplace or typical; it is distinctly individual. Strength of character, varied resourcefulness, and iudomitalile energy and ]ierse\erance liax'e been his chief cajiital in all his undertakings, from vouth u]i. and relying more upon these c[ualities than upon chance or circumstance he has effected a success and position in the world of affairs such as only great and strong men ma\' attain.

A native of Elkhart county, born January 14, 1857. ^'^^'' Weldy was the fifth of thirteen children, seven sons and six daughters, of Abraham and Nancv fYoder) AA'eldy. ,Seven of his brothers and sisters are still living, as follow? : Anna, wife of Peter Hartman, a farmer of Locke township: John, a farmer in St. Joseph county, and married: Henry, who is a minister of the Mennonite church : Joseph, who is married and is a farmer of St. Joseph count}- and also a butcher by trade; Lt\i, a fanner in Locke township, and n:arried ; Emma, wife of Samuel ]\Lidlam, a farmer at \Vhite Cloud, Michigan; and Amos, who is married and farms the old homestead in Locke township.

Abraham W'eldy, the father, who is now verging" closely upon the age of fourscore years, is living in Wakarusa, retired from a very successful agricultural career. He was born in Holmes county, Ohio, Januar_\- 4, 1827, being of old Pennsylvania German stock, his grandparents coming to^ this countr}- from the fatherland. In its original form the name was spelletl " \'elta." A successful man in every way, Abraham became the owner of perhaps four hundred acres of land, all told, in this county, most of it located in Locke township. He and his wife are earnest memliers of the Mennonite church and have kept their li\es in harmonv with the quiet and noble teachings of that religion. His reliability l)r(.iught his services often into call as executor in the settlement of estates, and he has also been known as a stanch friend of public education. He has resided in Wakarusa since 1897. His good wife, who was born in Holmes county. Ohio, in June, 1832, has always been esteemed as the beloved mother of her large family of children and also for her devotion to religion and moral conduct.

Reared on his father's f;a"m until he attained his majority, Mr. Weldv has from childhood li\-ed in the atmosphere of serious purpose and straightforwardness of action, so that the period of " wild-oat sowing "" has never been part of his career. His education was received in the common schools, and liis earnestness in acquiring an education manifested itself in his poring over his books far into the night hours, so that what learnin.g he acquired in boyhood was not absorbetl but was really v on by concentrated effort, ^^^^en it came time for him to begin his independent career he made his start practically without capital. His father gave hini a team, he went in debt for another one, and on some land in Madison township, St. Joseph county, he farmed as a renter for five years. Then, the father having given each i^f the children their share in the estate, lie took his part, which was two thousand dollars, and invested in eighty acres of land in St. Joseph county, paying fifteen hundred dollars in cash and going in delit for thirty-five hundred. .Vlmost immediately afterward he purchased forty acres adjoining his first place and situated in Elkhart county, and he gave his note to his father for the amount of this ]iurchase.

Mr. Weldy's success in business affairs stands out conspicuously by reason of the many misfortunes which he has met and overcome. While he was still a renter his big barn took fire and burned to the ground. Stored under its roof was the crop from thirty acres of wheat, twenty acres of oats, twenty-five tons of hay. a new seeder, fanning mill, a new wagon, and in fact the greater part of his farmin.g" tools. Dauntless, and seeming to take renewed stren.gih from every such financial setback, he recouped his losses in a short time. He had already paid for his fortv-acre purchase and was succeeding nicely when he suffered another throw ol fortune, in the failure of certain parties to meet their obligations, which called his security to account for their loss. In the transactions that followed he had to take over a grocery store in W'akarusa, and he was thus introduced into mercantile life. This was in 1894, and he had previously bought a store building just across the street from the store which he took over, and into the former he moved all the grocery stock. He and ,\dam Domer conducted the concern in partnership for six months, aiid then ^Mr. Weldy purchased his partner's niterests and turned over the management of the store to his daughter, j\Iary. whose business ability proved equal to the task set for her and she conducted it at a proiit four years and then sold, the invoice being twenty-two hundred dollars.

in the meanwhile Mr. Weldy had Ijeen purchasing shares in the W'akarusa Mill and Elevator Company, and, investing the twenty-two hundred dollars he received from the store, he brought his interest in the mill up to sixty-five hundred dollars. From 1897 to 1899 he paid ofif two thousand dollars of the four thousand indebtedness of the mill company, and every prospect seemed exceedingly bright for continued prosperit}' in his enterprises. Fie had gained by his integrity and abilit}- the full confidence of the people, and the farmers of the vicinity had indicated their trust by storing twelve thousand bushels of wheat in the ele\ator. hoping to get the level price of a dollar a bushel. Instead the market declined to sixty-three cents a bushel, and when the grain was disposed of and the smoke of the crash had cleared away Mr. \\'eld\- found himself at ihe ver\- b<ittom of the ladder of business and witii a weiglit oi debt piled upon him such that he could hardly hope to rise in the near future. But, turning over everything to his creditors, selling his farm of one hundred and twenty acres and accepting a loan from his lather in order to reimburse his creditors, he at once began the task ot meeting his obligations and getting on his feet in business. The recei\er sold the mill for forty-eight per cent of the indebtedness, the property being purchased by John Bechtel, who at once returned the control of the business to }ilr. Weldy. The milling industry is one of the principal soiu'ces of industrial wealth in this part of the county, and )ilr. Weldy had every confidence in his ability to take care of the future ]5ro\'ided the opportunity were given him. He has since proved ihe wisdom of his \iews. for he has practically discharged the entn^e indebtedness to the farmers and has rehabilitated tlie Imsiness until it has more than regained its former ])restige in this ])art of the county. In rcjoo he charjged the name of the enterprise to the Wakarusa Milling ConiiJany, and now. five years later, it is ])ointed to with ])ridc as one of the substantial institutions of 01i\e township. Other l;ranches of the business include dealing in tile. coal, cement and lime, anci the annual sales foot closely up to one hundred and forty-four thousand dollars. This shows what an honest and persistent man can accomplish when be has the confidence of the people, whereas, if the creditors had pressed him, there would have been a different aspect to the business status of \\'akarusa and vicinity. Mr. Weldy was born and reared in this locaHty and all his life has been spent here, and here he has retrieved his fortune, credit and character, and not a single aspersion can be cast upon his business career.

I\lr. Weldy married, in January, 1878, Miss Hannah D. Null, and eight children have been born to them, live of them living at the j.resent time. Anna Mary, the eldest, who is the wife of Rev. Frank Hartman, a minister of the Evangelical church at Noblesville, Indiana, is a woman of many talents. She graduated at the Wakarusa high school, has been trained in music and is organist of the Evangelical church, and before her marriage was in many ways her father's most capable assistant. As already noted, she took charge and managed very successfully her father's mercantile interests in Wakarusa, and after that business had been closed up she was tendered a good position with an Elkhart business firm, with which she remained four years and received constant promotions. She then returned home and assisted her father until her brother Leander graduated and was able to take her place. She and her husband have one little daughter, Esther Marie.

Leander, the second of the living children, graduated at the Wakarusa high school in the class of 1901, then passed his examination for a teacher's certificate, entered the Elkhart Institute (now Goshen College) and after an attendance of twoi weeks was credited two years on his four years' course and at the end of two years graduated with honors. At the conclusion of his school days he became bookkeeper and accountant for his father and has since been associated with the latter's enterprises, being one of the capable and thoroughly estimable young business men of W'akarusa. He is a devout member of the Mennonite church, a teacher in the Sunday school and a leader in the evening Bible school.

The son Timothy is one of the intelligent and practical farmers of the county, and is already well started on a prosperous career. He married Miss Ella Brenneman. Sylvester is still a schoolboy, as is also his brother Aaron, the former being in the seventh grade and the latter in the fifth, and both are bright little fellows with the same promise of usefulness for their future careers as has proved fulfilled so often in the case of their elders. Of the deceased children, Irwin died May II, 1891, aged two years eight months and six days, nnd Martha died April 22, 1896. aged twelve years one month and seven davs.

The daughter, Elma E., whO' was taken from familv -^nd friends by the haiid of death when eighteen years old, had been pniployed in one of the leading stores of W^akarusa, and, at the entrance nndn a useful and noble womanhood, was highly esteemed in church -in.d sori-il circles of this communit)-. Following is the notice nf he'- deith. published at the time : ailing fur iifarly t\\<i nmntlis, she was cniihnecl tu her bed hut one week before her death, and the Saturday previous to her deatli she occupied her position as clerk at Freed & Lehman's. Little did the many customers she so cheerfully waited upon that day dream that in one shoft week she would he a corpse. Her death was caused by perforating ulcer of the bowels. She suffered intense pain, yet not a word of complaint passed her lips. Hers was a beautiful life, as pure as a lily, and people with whom she associated were made better by that association. Elma Elizabeth W'eldy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Weldy, was born on a farm west of W'akarusa, Jul}' 24, 1882. died December ]. 1900, aged 18 years 4 months and 7 days. Father, mother, fi.tur brnthers, one sister and a host of friends and relatives mourn their loss. A brother and a sister preceded her to the spirit world. The funeral was held at the Dunkard church Monday afternoon, conducted by Rev. Blosser of Ohio, assisted by Jacob Shank. An immense concourse of friends were present to pay their last respects. The remains were laid to rest in North L'nion Cemetery."

Mrs. Weldy, who has been so loyal and helpful to her husband and family through all the mutations of joy and sorrow, and who is one of the most highly esteemed women of the town and community, was born in the state of Ohio, December 20, 1856, and as a girl came with her parents to St. Joseph county. She and her husband were schoolmates together, and their lives ha\'e run side by side in happiness and usefulness for many years. They are members of the Mennonite church in Olive township, the Sunday-school of that church being one of the largest in the county. The political principles which have most appealed to Mr. \\'eldy"s judgment and understanding are those advocated in general by the Prohilaition party, and he takes especially high ground on the matter of temperance. At one lime Mr. W'eldy served as a meml:ier of the town council of Wakarusa. The Weldy liome is on Wabash' avenue, near the \\'abash de])ot and near his business.

C. T. Greene, mayor of Elkhart and cashier of the First State Bank of Elkhart, an ex-county treasurer, and for many years connected with the mercantile afifairs of the city, was born in Elyria, Lorain county, Ohio, August 9, 1840. Nearly forty years of his life have been spent in Elkhart, where he took up his residence with his mother in 1857, having lieen reared and educated, previous to that time, in his native county and in Buffalo, New York, in which city be lived seven years.

Being' a strong and ambitious youth of seventeen when he arrived in Elkhart, he at once emljarked in the practical affairs of life, in the employ of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad. Soon afterward he went into the grocery business with C. J. Gillette, the firm being styled C. T. Greene and Company, and for the subsequent thirty-eight years he was one of the leading grocerymen of this city. Since his retirement from commercial afifairs he has been the cashier of the First State Bank.

One of the influential Democrats of Elkhart county, Mr. Greene has for many years taken an acti^-e part in jxilitical affairs. From 1872 to 1876 he was the incumbent of the office of county treasurer, having been elected to that office on the Democratic ticket and overcoming a normal I-vepublican majority. Two A'ears' service in the common ccnmcil of Elkhart was followed by his election to mayor, which position he is now filling for the second term.

An interested participant m fraternal work. [Mr. Greene is a Knight Templar Mason and is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Samaritans of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the encampment of the latter order.

Peter D. Eerkey

Peter D. Berkey unites in himself the stability of diaracter and the business acumen which are the principal requisites to broad success in this modern world where " Business is King." A practical man of affairs, strong and self-reliant in grappling with all the difficulties which are in the way to accomplishment along the lines of his endeaxxir, Mr. Berkey has long since been recognized among the foremost citizens of his part of the county, whetlier considered for what he has done in material directions, or in the public spirit which lends effectiveness to the general progress and \\elfare, or in the things that cmicern home and society.

Of one of tlie old families, he has well represented his kintlred and honored the- name in this county. He was lx)rn-in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, July 22. 1844, the youngest of seven children, whose parents were Daniel and Fannie ( Hoffman ) Berkey. The four living are: .\ndrew, married and a farmer in Harrison township: Valentine, farming and in the lumber business in Elkhart township: Mary, a resident of Concord township and widow of Lewis Berkey : and Peter D.

The father, who was born in Somerset county, Pennsvlvania, January 15, 1810, and died April 28, 1896, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, received his education in the primitive manner of the time, was reared to the life of farming, and in 1866 became identified as a resident with Elkhart county, where he spent the remainder of his years in quiet and prosperous activity. He held various local offices in his township, and as an advocate of high standards in education left a permanent impress for good upon the school system of his locality. .-\ stanch Whig and high ]>rotectionist, during the fifties he espon.sed the cause of the newlv Ixirn Republican party and upheld its doctrines tO' the dav of his death. He was known and will Ion"' be remembered liecause of his devotion to right and truth, ]xjth in the abstract and in practice. He and Ills wife were members of the German Baptist church, and he had assisted in erecting an edifice for that denomination back iia his native county. He was one vi the earhest advocates of the good roads movement, and did mucli in that direction in his township. His good wife and hfe companion, who was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, July 5, 1S08, and died July 19, 1882, was a devout woman and ably performed her part in th.e rearing of her children and the making of a good home.

Mr. Berkey was twenty-two years old when he left his native state and came to Elkhart county. He had been trained to an agricultural career, and his education was obtained in the common schools at his birthplace. Empty-handed but determined, he began life on his ownaccount on reaching majority, and has never lacked the courage to face all difficulties as they came and to attain a worthy place in life. A few months after his arrival in this county he returned to- the Keystone state to get his life companion hi the person of Miss Catharine Berkey, whom he married October .20, 1867, and who has borne him six children, all of whom are living. Idella.' who received her education in the public scho(ils, married Frank S. Miller, the contractor and builder of Goshen, who at present has the contract for the erection of the splendid Goshen opera house : they ha\-e three children, Berkey. Ruth and Howard. Warren, who was educated in the common schools and was ome of the successful teachers of the county for a number of years, later took full courses in the law" at Valparaiso- College and at the University of Michigan, and is now one of the successful attorneys in active practice at Goshen ; he has a little son, Wedel. Julia, who was also- educated in the common schools and received her diploma, married P. L. Kurtz, a carpenter and builder at Goshen, and they have six children, Mabel, Floyd, Morris, Paul, Alvin and Ezra. Morris, who completed his literary training- in the Valparaiso Normal School and at one time taught schiool in this county, is now bookkeeper for the Heintz Company of St. Louis. Foster, whoi has, like his brothers, devoted some of his energies to teaching, having managed a school in this county for three years, is now a practical farmer on the homestead with his father; he married Miss Rosa Lear. Allie. at home, received a common school education.

On March i, 1905, this family sustained its most grievous loss in the death of the faithful wife and mother, after their happy wedded life had been extended over thirty-eight years. She was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1850, a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Poorman) Berkey, and was reared in her native state, being seventeen years old at the time of her marriage. An affectionate and loving wile, a mother whose counsel was always sought by her cliildrem, she had fulfilled her duties in the world in a way which could deserve only praise. She was a member of the Brethren church.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Berkey gave his first vote to Grant, and for man^- vears has lieen prominent in the local political and public affairs. He has been selected as delegate to his state and county conventions, and has served as chairman of the Elkhart county Repulilican committee. In 1876 his fellow citizens, with the confidence in his ability which was inspired by his capable conduct of his own affairs, elected him trustee of Harrison township, and he was re-elected in 1878. During that period of control he supervised the construction of four modern brick schoolhouses in the township, besides an addition to Harrison Center school. A few years later he was appointed trustee to fill a vacancy and served by election altogether for nine years. The splendid record he had made as trustee placed him among the conspicuous men of affairs who could be depended upon for able service in the county's welfare, and in 1898 he was elected to the office of county auditor. His four years in that office were marked by efficiency and utmost competence in the administration of his duties, and at the end of his term as at the beginning he retained the highest esteem of his fellow citizens. At the present time Mr. Berkey lives on and farms his nice estate of ninety acres in Harrison township, carrying on general farming and raising good stock, but without de-\-oting himself to any special agricultural interests.

Iiardex D. Markel

Harden D. ]Markel. in the real estate business at Elkhart and also engaged in farming near that city, represents the present generation of a family which for sixty years has been prominently known in connection with the life and activities of Elkhart county.

Nathan Markel, the father of Harden U., was born In Berks county, Pennsylvania, in May. 1819, a son of David and Mary Markel, both of German lineage. David and ?\Iary Markel had eight children, Polly. Jonas, Nathan, Rufina, William, David, Franklin and Lavina. Nathan Markel married, in Ohio. Catherine Machamer, and in 1845 moved to Elkhart county, settling in Concord township. He was followed three years later by his father and mother, accompanied by other children, and the grandmother, Anna Catherine Maria Markel, who lived to be ninetythree years old. David Markel died In this county in 1855, aged sixtythree, and his wife at the age of seventy-six. both being members of the United Brethren church. Nathan and Catherine Markel had foiu" children, one of whom died in infancy, .Mmira died at the age of nineteen. Harden D. is the subject of this sketch, and Orlando W". is a resident of Nebraska.

Nathan Markel, who died in this county in 189T. is well remembered for his active and useful career and integrity of character. A farmer by vocation, also a skilled carpenter. dmMng the fifties he did much bridge construction work for the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, while during most of the remaining years of his life he farmed. He became the O'wner of some three hundred and eighty-eight acres of land in Concord township, and his career throughout was one of prosperity.

Fraternally he was a Master Mason. His widow, who resides with her son. Harden D., is eighty-six years old, having been born in 1819, and remarkal)Iy strong and well preserved for such age.

Harden D. Markel. who was born in 1847, "i^ t^'i^ o''^ homestead farm in Concord townshi]>, where his home still is, was reared and educated in this county, and at the age of twenty-eight went to Kansas. For the subsequent twenty }-ears he was one of the prominent men of Harvey county. Avhere he was engaged in the hardware and agricultural implement business and then in banking and real estate. Returning to Elkhart county in 189 1 on account of his father's death, the following year he moved his family to the old homestead which he now owns and where he has since Ijeen engaged in farming. At the same time he has been dealing in real estate, having platted the Elliston addition tO' the city of Elkhart and been ciinnected with \arious other transactions in that line.

Mr. Markel is a prominent member of the Grand Armv uf the Kepulilic. In X(i\-ember, 1863, although a boy of only sixteen years, he enlisted in Companv D. Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, and gave twu vears of active service to his being mustered out in Xovember, 1865. '

Mr. Markel married, in 1876, at Osceola. Indiana, Miss Sarah Woodside. Four children have blessed their union : Xathan, who died when three years old: Orrin H.. AA'illiam W. and I\-an J. In politics he is a Democrat.

Knowing it to be ^-aluable to the public in general, both from a business and a social standpoint, especially in case of sickness, accidents or death, to be in direct communication with the people of the surrounding towns and rural districts, the following' citizens of Jackson township met at the home of John F. McClure on the 19th day of Novemlier. 1901, and organized what is now known as the New Paris Mutual Telephone ITiion of New Paris : D. J. A\'hitehead. J. W. Rowdaliaugh, John F. McClure. D. M. Weybright. D. \A'. Weybright. Michael RookstcKil. William I'.edden. Henry Putt, John Arnold. INIilton Weaver.

The organization resulted in the election for president. D. J. \\'hitehead : secretary, J. W. Rowdabaugh ; treasurer. J. F. McClure : the officers were also chosen as a committee to enter into a Imsiness relation with ihe Home Telephone Com])an}-, of Elkhart county. D. AT. We\-bright, Henry Butt, and Alilton \\'ea\er were elected committee on constitution and by-laws.

January ii. 1902, and county commissioners granted franchise April 7, 1902. The first toll line built by this corporation was from New- Paris to the south city limits of Goshen. On December 3 and 4, 1901, the Home Telephone Company made the connection and built the line from the city limits to their central office on East Lincoln avenue. The second toll line built, between these two companies, was built May 19, 1905. By this arrangement and an annual fee of three dollars per phone the patrons of this company had free telephone communication with the subscribers of the Independent system, of Goshen, Elkhart, Middlebnry, Bristol and the Farmers' Exchange of Clinton township. Later on Dunlap and Wakarusa were added to the list. On October i, 1903, the annual expense for this service was reduced to one dollar and a half per 'phone per annum.

J. W. Rowdabaugh, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume, was the first party line manager elected. He succeeded in organizing a part}' line company of seven members, who built the first party line in Jackson township, which was built in December, 1901. Since that many miles of line ha\'e been built, which accommodates more than one thousand people in Benton, Jackson, Union and Elkhart townships. Owing to the increase of new 'phones added- it hecame necessa,ry for this company and the Farmers' Telephone Cnmpan}' of Clinton township to ha\'e a direct toll line between them, which \\as com])leted August 29, 1902, share and share alike.

On the [7th day of Feliruary, 1903, this company and the Royal Telephone Company of Milford, Kosciusko county, Indiana, entered into a contract to build a toll line between them, subscribers of each company to have free service. By this contract it was also agreed to have free exchange between New Paris and Syracuse exchanges, through tlie Royal Telephone Company's exchange at Milford : contract subject to Avithdrawal by either company giving one year's notice in writing. Free service to Leesburg was given about one year later by virtue of contract. On April 12, 1904, the Royal Telephone Company gave notice of withdrawal of contract. At the expired time of said notice, April 12, 1905, it was agreed to charge five cents per message between New Paris and Syracuse. This arrangement continued until a toll line was built between tiiese exchanges. On Julv 10 the Syracuse companv and this company entered into a contract to build a toll line between them and gi\-e subscribers free exchange.

In order to assist the accommodating and courteous operator, Mrs. Ellen Whitehead, and her assistant, Neal Whitehead, to handle the increasing business and to give better service to all. it became necessary, on AAigust ifi, 1904. to purchase a new switch-board of 240 dro]) capacity, equippe'l for two oi>erators. with equipments of the latest designs. This board took the place of a loo-drop board which had been installed in Jinie, 1902. .\ power generator had been installed in May, 1903.

was known as one of the }'Oung and successful teachers of the county. His pedagogic work was carried on in different localities and he served in different capacities, being the incumbent, in 1893. when he left the school desk, of the office of superintendent of the Xappanee city schools. He resigned his position there in order to become superintendent of the Nappanee Furniture Company. After two years of commercial life he began his preparation for a legal career. During his career as teacher Mr. Deahl \\as almost constantly improving his educational equipment, and after his first entrance upon an independent career he paid his own way to each successive goal of his ambition. In 1885 he entered the Indiana State Normal at Terre Haute, where he graduated in 1888, and for twent\-two weeks of his last year there he held a position as instructor in the normal. In 1891 he entered the Nortliern Illinois Normal School at Dixon, where lie took the special course in language, literature and oratory, and in the same year received his diploma in those branches. Mr. Deahl entered the law department of the University of Michigan in 1894, and finished his preparatitju for the law by graduation from that institution in 1896, being admitted to the Indiana bar in June of the same year. ]\Ir. Deahl is a man of learning and culture, and from this breadth of mind comes his intimate sympathy witli all Ijranches and departments of the world's work and history, his intellectual interest being one of his characteristics which most impress a stranger. Positi\'e. yet sane in his convictions as to the right and the expedient, it is natural that he should have been able, more than once, to influence men and affairs in his community and impress his personality and judgment upon the civic welfare. Mr. Deahl has been in the active practice of the law since 1896, having, since that date, been the junior member of the firm of Deahl and Deahl.

B. F. Deahl is one of tlie most loyal supporters of the cit}- of Cioslien in its progress toward the best civic ideals. Emphatic in his opinions as to what constitutes the best municipal government, and with his belief? strengthened and rendered efTective through concrete experience, his fellow citizens, in- a campaign, involving the most important policies connected with Goslien's municipal history, elected him to the office of mayor in 1898. at first to serve out the unexpired term of J. H. Heatwole. and then for the regular term beginning in September, 1898, and continuing to 1902. The development of purely public utilities was carried forward with remarkably beneficial results during his term, and in the course of his administration the municipal policy of Goshen as regards jjublic ownership of utilities may be said tO' have been permanently fixed. ^Ir. Deahl is one of the influential Democrats of Elkhart county, a regidar worker for his party, and, being a speaker who combines a ready rhetoric with effective logic, has for some years been called upon for assistance in the political campaigns. His election as mayor of Goshen came by a majority of 289, in a city which is normally Republican by about three hundred and fifty.

Fraternally Air. Deahl affiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Impro\-e(l Order of Red Men, and is a memher of the Elkhart County Bar Association. As president of the I X-L and Goshen Pump Company and the Western Ruhher Company, hoth of Goshen. Mr. Deahl also takes a leading part in the manufacturing and Inisiness interests of the county.

August 30, 1891, Mr. Deahl married Miss Emma Mutschler, the oldest daughter of George and Sarah Mutschler, now of Goshen. Mr. and Airs. Deahl have one child, .\llicrt I*"., who was horn into their home June 3, 1904.

Well known in the financial circles of Elkhart county as cashier of the First X^ational Bank of Elkhart, and also prominent as a citizen, Mr. W. H. Knickerbocker was born in Dutchess county, New York, March I/- i853> being the fifth of the six children of Jacob and Eliza D. (Martin) Knickerbocker, both natives of New York state. The father, who was a merchant, died in 1S57, but the mother lived to be seventy-one years old.

Deprived of the support of his father at the age of four years, Mr. Knickerbocker learned to be dependent upon his own efforts at an early age. By taking care of a physician's horses in New York he was enabled to attend the schools there, and after he came to Elkhart, in 1867, he attended the schools here for eight months. He obtained employment in the lumber office of Herrick E. Alartin and later with B. F. & A. Stephais, undertakers, in this city, and on July 9, 1872, at the age of nineteen, he began his connection with 1>anking as a clerk in the St. Joseph Valley Bank of Elkhart. Pix)gressiveness and business alertness have characterized his entire career, and he has never failed of advancement along the course of business success. In 1886 he became cashier of the First National Bank of Elkhart and has ever since been identified very closely w-ith the affairs of this institution.

In politics Mr. Knickerlx)cker is a Republican, although at one time a Democrat. He has taken much interest in public affairs, though never aspiring to office, and is one of the representative citizens of Elkhart. On Novemlier 20. 1883, Air. Knickerljocker was married to Aliss Nellie Jane \\'inchester, who was liorn in Alichigan, a daughter of Charles H. and Harriet W. (Howard) A\'inche.ster.

now residents of Santa Clara, California. The father is a farmer by occupation and for many years followed agricultural pursuits in order to provide for his family.

A. A. Laughiin is the fourth chilil and eldest Sdu in a famil}' of seven chilflren. Pie was educated at Ada, Ohio, in Hardin county, and in the Ohio Normal University, from A\hich he was graduated with tlie class of 1898. Having studied in the law department he completed the course in 1901 and was admitted to the bar of Indiana by examination at Indianapolis in the same },ear. He remained a resident of that cit\- for about six months. He located permanenth' in Napixmee in 1902, and, associated with his brother, H. H. Laughiin, held large interests in an extensive tract of land in the vicinit>- of Nappanee devoted to the raising of onions. The c-anning company, with which he is now connected, was organized in 1900 with Charles Mutschler as its first manager. He was succeeded liy Mr. Uline in T901. and in December, 1904, Mr. Laughiin assumed the management. Since that time he has purchased the interests of many of the stockholders, .so that the members of the companv are now A. A. Laughiin, S. D. Coppes and Hartman Brothers. Mr. Laughiin. however, owns the controlling interest, and under his management the business has constantly increased and the shipments are made in carlots. Employment is furnished to as many as sixty men in a season and there are large shipments of product annualh-. The trade is continually increasing and is developed along modern Iiusiness lines, thereby instuMng a desirable success.

Mr. Laughiin is a Prohibitionist in his political principles and is an active and prominent member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is serving" as trustee and as superintendent of the Sunday-school. .Vnything that tends to better conditions for mankind elicits his interest and recei\-es his co-operation. His life has been guided by honorable principles, his actions are manly, his motives sincere, and he enjoys in full measure the confidence, respect and good will of those with whom he has business or social relations.

Stanford W'illard, whose real estate and agricultural interests in Harrison township and \\'akarusa give him a place of first consideration in the historv <if this part of the county, was for a period of twenty-five years identifieil in a \ery substantial wa\' with the cause of educational progress in Elkhart count}', and although in recent }'ears business affairs have absorbed his time it is as a successful educator that his career is especially interesting at this writing. A man who is just now in the prime of his powers and years, his period of effecti\"e usefulness to himself and society has by no means been completed.

was born in Scliuylkill CDunty, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1858. tbe yonnger of tbe two chilcb-en of Jonathan and Catbarine (Scbwahn) \\'illar(l, he i)eing now the only one of tbe children living. His father, will I was born in Dauphin connty. Pennsylvania, ]\larcb 15, 1827, and died August 23, 1900, was formerly a cabinetmaker and later a farmer. He was reared in his native state, to his majorit}-. and in consequence of being left an orphan when a boy received a meager education and from an early age shifted for himself. Tn 1848 be joined a company that started for the Pacific coast, but at a point in Iowa, diverted from their quest of gold and ad\-enture on tbe Pacific slope, they stopped and laid out tbe site of a new town, which they named Marysville. Tbe father had tbe tlistinction of building tbe first bouse in this place. During bis .sojourn there bis mother died in Pennsylvania, and in 1853 he returned to his native state, where he lived until be came to Elkhart connty in 1863. Settling in 01i\-e townsliip. where be purchased fortv acres of partly improved land, be and bis famil\- bad for their first home a log cabin. His farm was later increased to> fifty-two acres. Politically be was Whig until tbe organization of tbe Republican partv. and thereafter till bis death be advocated that party. He adhered to tbe Lutheran faith. Jonathan ^^'illard was a son of John \\'illard, a native of New Vork, and bis wife. Anna Velker. a native of Pennsylvania. [Mr. Stanford Willard's mother was born in Schuylkill county. Pennsylvania. August 21. 1836, and is still living in Elkhart county, at the age of sixty-nine years. She lived in her native connty until her marriage, on June 29, 1856. She is a member of tbe German Baptist church.

Mr. \Villard"s career, which has been identified with Elkhart county since he was seven years old, has been xevy successful from many points of view. Endowed with unusual gifts of mind and practical judgment, be has ne\-er wasted opportunities nor failed ti) "hitch bis wagon to a star" when be thought that course would take him from tbe ruts of mediocrity and commonplace success. Beginning his education in the country schools, supplemented later by tlie curriculum of the \\'akarusa high school, which be completed with excellent records, when lie was seventeen years old be received his first teacher's certificate, and soon thereafter embarked upon the educational career which gave him so much prestige and esteeni in this part of the state. His first school was one mile west of W'akarusa. and thereafter for several years he alternated lietween teaching and attending school. In 1877 he took a course in tbe formerly well known Elkhart County Normal and Classical School in Goshen, followed in 1879. after a period of teaching, with entrance in ihe Fort Wayne College. In this excellent Methodist institution the standard amount of work prescribed was four studies, but on his arrival young Willard applied to tbe president, \\'. F. Yocum. for special dispensation to carry nine studies, with the condition that, should his \\ ork not 1>e up to grade, the number of subjects should l>e scaled down to within reach of bis abilities. No instructor e\-er re- ported any dissatisfaction over the record of this amijitious stndent, and the nine stndies were carried tlirongh to completion. More than that. he aided the school as a tutor in special branches and made himself so indispensable in other wa}'s that he received remuneration for his extra work. .\ young man of so much force of character and energy could hardly escape some disparaging remarks as to his efforts, but all averments to the efifect that he was favored by those in authority were quieted in the face of examination tests, where his high marks told the story of earnest and independent work. He has three teacher's certificates granted 1;y examinations which ranked one hunilred per cent for everv branch recorded, which is an extraordinar}- showing. In 1880 he entered the Elkhart Normal and Classical School for another course. and he and his classmate, Frank Blakemore, were the-onh" ones to win diplomas in one hundred and forty-six students. He took first prize in drawing, ornamental penmanship and landscape sketching, both in school and in the two counties of Elkhart and St. Joseph, the judges of the contest having been ap])ointed from outside the county. The major part of Mr. Willard's successful career as an educator was spent in Harrison township, where he taught foiurteeii years; twO' years in Locke township, two years in St. Joseph county, and seven years in 01i\'e township.

Communit}' of interests, as well as compatibility of nature, led Air. Willard to ally himself in marriage with another veiy successful school teacher. He was married May 19, 1888, to Miss Anna E. Holdeman, and they have one little daughter, Una Frances E. Mrs. Willard was born in Elkliart county, December 10, 1864, a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Nusbaum') Holdeman. Educated in the common schools, the Wakarusa high school and the Northern Indiana College, she gained a teacher's certificate at the age of nineteen and for the subsequent ten }'ears made her influence and \\ork felt as a ^\-oTthy factor in the intellectual improvement of Elkhart county. She taught four years in Harrison township, six terms in one district, and si.x years in Olive township, also six terms being spent in one district of this township. She has had three first-grade certificates. She began teaching in 1885, a mile west of Wakarusa, then she taught sjx terms in the Mitchell school, four miles north, and in all taught ten years, up to 1895.

Mrs. Willard is a member of a family whose individuals have been identified with this county and with life and affairs elsewhere in an honora1>le manner for many years. Her mother, Mrs. An:ia Holdeman. an esteemed old lady of Wakarusa, was born in Ashland county, Ohio, February 26. 1830, a daughter nf Christian and Catherine ('A\'^eiss) Nusteum, Ixith natives of Switzerland. Mrs. Holdeman has four living children - Christian, Catherine. Margaret, and Anna (Airs. Willard). Joseph Holdeman, Mrs. Willard's father, who was torn in Pennsylvania in 1823, settled in Olive township in 185 1, at a date when \A''akarusa's site was covererl with timber and when the old postoffice.

nanietl Salem, was the center of the coniinunit}-. Air. Huldeinan erected the first log" churcli in southwest Ohve township for the Alennonite church. .V well educated man, he taught eighteen terms of school ir. Ohio and Indiana. He died August 19, 1894, one of the honored pioneers of this part of Elkhart count} .

In 1901 Mr. W'illard retirerl from his long career as educator, and has since given his attention to business and financial affairs. He deals in bonds, real estate deals and transfers and insurance, and his ability and acumen in this department of activity have been displayed to not less advantage than his former career in educational work. He is the owner of three hundred and eighty-six and a half acres of land altogether, situated in Harrison and Olive townships and within the corporate limits of Nappanee, and also owns a nice home propertv in W'akarusa. .\ Republican in politics since he \()ted for Garfield, he has lent his influence and assistance to ad\'ancement in all community interests. A man of affairs and instinct with the business spirit which accomjjlishes things, he at the same time holds himself aloof from all petty methods or taking- advantage of others' weakness, for which reason bis success is all the more commendable. Of all the mortgages that have fallen due on. farms in this vicinity, he has never yet had to sue one of his delitors, and he seems to have found the happy medium for tran.sacting business along profitable lines and at the same time showing consideration and favors to those with whom be has dealings.

Wilson H. Rood

Tn the li\es of its best citizens will be found the histoiy of a nation, says the Sage of Concord, and b\ placing Mr. Rood in this class we itot only do his career and character justice, but at the same time give his jjersonal history all the introduction necessary to the readers of this history. His ancestry traceable to English forefathers. Mr. Rood was born in Mercer county. Ohio. August 16, 1856. the youngest of five children, four .sons and one daughter, born to Loren P.. and Susannah (Colder) Rood. Four of the children are living. John resides in Elkhart; Nelson, wb.o was educated in the common schools and normal and was a teacher. is engaged in the brick and tile manufacturing at Nappanee, where he and his familv reside: Lizzie is the wife of Eli McQuate. a farmer of this coimty.

Loren B. Rood, the father, now deceased, is commemorated in the following obituary notice : " Loren B. Rood was born in Middlese.x conntv. Massachusetts, near Boston, .\pril 27. 1812. while his father served in the war of 18 12. At the age of six years be moved with his parents to Litchfield county. Connecticut, where he remained until 1836, when he and a brother started for the west and entered land in Mercer countv. Ohio, near the scene of St. Clair's defeat in 1791. and where deneral Wayne subsequently liuilt I'ort Recovery, in memoiy Tif which there is a tliriving town bearing the name Fort Recovery. During" the winter of 1836 and 't,"/ he returned to Connecticut, travehng the entire distance on foot, and returned to Ohio the following summer. He was one of the first .school teachers of Fort Reco\'ery and took i>art in the first election held in that townshi]i. In 1867 he removed with his family to Jefferson township. Elkhart cnuntw where he was engaged for some time in the manufacture of drain tile, his factor}^ being the first of the kind in northern Indiana. Fie died of paralysis Februarj- 22, 1897, aged eighty-four years, seven months and twenty-five days, leaving his wife, three sons and one daughter to mourn his loss." In politics he was a Whig, voting- for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too." and later gave his support among the first to the new Republican party, being firm in his anti-slavery princi]>les. The widow of Loren B. Rood, who is now a bright old lady of eighty-six years and resides on the old homestead in Jefferson township, was lx)rn in Pennsylvania in April, 1819.

A boy of eleven years when he accompanied his parents to this count}- in 1867, Mr. Rood has spent all the remaining years of his life here and recei\-ed a good practical training at home and in the schools of his county, b'or fourteen years he followed, during a part of each year, the profession of teacher. He is a practical tile-maker, and made tile during the open portions of the year, while teaching in the winter. His teaching was in Jefferson. I'nion and Harrison townships. On reaching his majority he had alxiut three hundred dollars in cash and property, and from this capital has progressed intO' a successful position in the world's affairs. In 1881 he and his brother Ixiught one hundred and twenty acres in Harrison township, and, locating their tile factory thereon in 1882, continued this partnership until 1895, when Mr. W. H. Rood took entire charge of the factory. His tile products average alx)ut four thousand dollars a year, and this industry as an adjunct to his general farming enterprise affords him a comfortable yearly income. He has recently increased his facilities for manufacture by building a new kiln and otherwise enlarging his plant. He owns two hundred and ten acres of choice land in Harrison township, and all the excellent improvements on the farm he placed there himself. His pretty countn,- residence he erected in 1887, and his excellent barn with concrete-floor stable he built in 1890. He takes great interest in the good grades of stock, being esjjecially proud of the O. T. C. hogs, a breed that he has been very successful with so far.

A stanch Reiiuitlican, he cast his first vote for Gai-field. He has sen^d his c<in-imunity in various relations, having been elected trustee of his township in 1890, and in 1900 was again elected to this important ])ositii)n. During his trusteeship he had four brick schoolhouses erected, kept ui> the school libraries, and attended to all the administrative functions of his office in such an efficient manner as to reflect credit upon himself and at tlie sanie time |)ut his tnwuship in the first rank among

Mr. Rood married, in 1887, Miss Cora Bemenderfer. They have two children. Winifred B., who received her diploma from the common schools in 1903, has just completed her second year in the Goshen high school, where she is a member of the high school orchestra, having taken instruction in instrumental music. Ralph, the son, is in the third grade of school. Mrs. Rood, who is a daughter of Heniy and Rebecca (Prince) Bemenderfer, was born in Elkhart county September 30, 1857, and was reared and educated here. She and her husband ha\'e made themselves a very cosy and delightful home, furnished in comfortable and tasty style, and they are recognized as substantial members of their community. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, her place of worship being Bashor Chapel, \\hich is one of the ten religious edifices in Harrison township. Mr. Rood possesses the second oldest deed of its kind in this part of Elkhart county, a parchment deed signed by the hand of President Van Buren and bearing the date March 15, 1837, the vear of the great panic - one of the valuable and interesting documents which are a feature of very few households.

W. S. Cline

The history of a community, state or nation is tcjjd in the li\-es of its representative citizens and to this class in A^ew Paris W. S. Cline belongs. He is a man well known for stability of character and honesty of purpose, and in the village he is connected with the grain trade, meeting with good success. He represents one of the pioneer families of Jackson township, his birth having occurred in Elkhart county, October 16, 1857. He is now the only surviving member of a family of two' sons and two daughters, who were born to Samuel T. and Delilah (Cart) Cline, who are represented on another page of this volume.

He was reared in his home township and still resides in the house where he was born. Following a course in the common schools he continued his studies in the Goshen Normal School and for one year engaged in teaching in Union township before he had attained his majority. He spent about six years of his life as an agriculturist, and in 1882, at tlie age of twenty-four years, he became connected with the railroad service of the Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad, now a part of the Big Four system. He was first employed as a clerk in the Warsaw office and he remained there for about six months, after which he went to Niles, Michigan, again occupying a clerical position. While thus engaged he also learned telegrajahy under the direction of a practical railroad man. He remained in Niles from April, 1883, until April. 1884, when he was appointed station agent of the New Paris office. Here he has remained continuously since 1884. and he occupied the position of station agent until i8g8. Avlien he determined to embark in ihe grain liusiness. He then formed a partnership witli W. J. Charpie, with w honi he w as connected for two years, when lie again accepted his former position, acting in that capacity continuously since 1901. His duties in this connection have ever been most faithfully and promptly discharged and his courteous treatment of the patrons of the road and his obliging manner makes him a popular official.

Air. Cline was married February 22, 1882, to i\Iiss Anna Yost, who was lx>rn in Fultonham, Ohio, October 2, 1862, and was reared and educated in her native state. They have two' children, Maud E. and Lena E., who were graduated from the New Paris high school with the class of 1903. The former has also been instructed in music at the Dan\ille, Indiana, Musical College and she is a member of the Century Clul\ a literary organization of New Paris. The other daughter. Lena, is now pursuing a scientific course of study at the Danville Normal School, and slie has her teacher's certificate and will teach in her home township.

Both Mr. and l\Irs. Cline are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Cline is serving as one of the trustees and as a member of the board of stewards, while his wife belongs to the Ladies' Aid Society. He has also been superintendent of the Sunday school for about fourteen years, and under his guidance the school has maintained a healthful growth and the work is being carried steadily forward. Mr. Cline is a stanch Republican, supporting the party since casting his first presidential \-ote for James A. Garfield, and he has frequently been elected a delegate Xo tlie county conventions. In 1894 he was chosen township trustee and was instrumental in securing the erection of a new brick schoolhouse in district No. 6, and also in the building of three iron bridges, one being one hundred and ten feet in length. Also, during his administration, the high school course of study was established in New Paris. He was appointed postmaster here in 1888, under President Harrison, and every public trust reposed in him has been faithfully performed. Mr. and Mrs. Cline have a pretty home in New Paris and also own eighty acres of fine farm land in Jackson township. He is one of the reliable citizens of his locality, having a wide and favorable acquaintance.

William Redden

William Redilen. who for seven years has been a resident of Elkhart ci.nnity, has now reached the seventy-second milestone on life's iourney and in a re\iew of his history there is found much that is commendable, an.l not the least important chapter in his life record is that whicii jlls of liis defense of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. He is a native of Kent county, Delaware, born on the 8th of .\pril, 1833, the fourth in a family of seven children, fi\-e sons and two daughters, wh.o were born to Samuel and Sarah ( Curtis) Redden. Tlie father, likewise a nati\-e of Delaware, was born in 179J and died

June 9, 1842, when fifty years of age. His father had l^eeii a soldier of the Revokitionar}- war and thus his descendants are entitled to membership in the organization known as Sons and Daughters of the Revolution.

Samuel Redden was a merchant by occupation and about 1840 emigrated from Delaware to the state of Michigan, settling in Berrien county, near Xiles. He remained there for a few years and was then called tn the home beyond, in politics he was a strong Jacksonian Democrat, but he cared little for political preferment. He was respected by his fellow-townsmen for his integrity of character and genuine worth, and liis entire life was in harmony with his profession as a member of the Methodist church. His wife also belonged to the same denomination and both did everything in their power to advance the cause of Christianity in accordance with the teachings of Methodism. Of their family four are yet living: Mary is the widow of D. K. Perry, a resident of Chicago, who was a soldier of the Civil war, serving with the Army of the Cumberland. Samuel \\'.. who went to California in 1849, attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific slope, there met with success and afterward became a prosperous merchant. He is now married and at this writing lives retired in Buchanan, Michigan. William is the third of the surviving members of the family. John, the }"oungest, who is married and lives in Buchanan, where he follows the occupation of farming, is the father of triplets - daughters - now twenty-twO' years of age.

William Redden was a lad of almut seven years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Michigan. They settled there in 1840, when many of the evidences of pioneer life were still found. The red men yet roamed in the forest and pitched their wigwams under the tall trees, hunting the wild game which was still plentiful. William Redden obtained his early mental discipline in a log schoolhouse. such as was common at that time. He had to make his way to school by a trail through the forest that was indicated by blazed trees. The little " temple of learning " was a typical structure of the time, lieing a building about sixteen feet square, constructed of logs. Its furnishings were crude, the desks being made of a board raised upon wooden pins driven into the wall, while the seats were formed of rude slaljs upon wooden legs. The old-fashioned goosequil! pen was in use, the teacher manufacturing these for the scholars, and various kinds of text books were found, mainly such as the pupils could obtain in their own homes. The school was conducted on the subscription plan and Mr. Redden says that some paid about four cents and others one dollar. He used the Elementary spelling book, Daboll's arithmetic and Kirkham's grammar. As the years have come and gone, however, he has seen these pioneer schoolhouses pass away, while in their place are pretty brick or modern frame structures. The high school, the college and universit\- have also founfl their wav to the west, having all been estab- lislied here since Air. Redden took up his abode in the Mississippi valley. He pursueil his studies large!}- through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he worked on the home farm, remaining with his mother until he had attained his majority. In the farm work he used the old-time four-fingered cradle and threshed the grain out on the barn floor, the horses tramping it from the chaff. Mr. Redden has everywhere witnessed as remarkal>le changes in farm life as in ine school system, and in his own work to-day he uses the best im])ro\ed farm machiner}'.

(Jn the Sth of Octolier, 1857, occurred the marriage of William Redden and A.Iiss liniily E. Baker, who was born in LaPorte county, Indiana, August 2O, 1S39, and is a daughter of Stephen T. and Margaret (McLain) Baker, in -whose family were three daughters, born in this county, of whom two are living: Mrs. Redden and her sister, Frances. The latter is the widow- of Charles AVells and a resident of Oklahoma, lieing one of the successful ]ieople -who obtained a clain-i on the strip of land which was set aside I\v the government for the use of the white people. Mrs. Redden was a maiden of ten summers when she accompanied her parents to South Bend, Indiana, there residing' until sixteen years of age, when the family removed to Buchanan, Michigan, \\herc she formecl the acquaintance of Mr. Redden and was married. The young couple began their dniuestic life nn a farm, where the_\- ren-iained until after the war.

During the first year of hostilities Mr. Redden, in the month of August, responded to his country's call for aid, enlisting in Company B, Ninth ^Michigan Volunteer Infantry, under Captain O. C. Rounds, his regiment being assigned to the Arn-iy nf the Cumlierland under Ceneral " Pap " Thomas. j\lr. Redden acted as the old general's clerk, but previously was in the quartermaster's departn-ient, where he met (ienerals Grant, Sherman and Benjamin Harrison. He participated in the battle of Fort Donelson and afterward went to Chattanooga, returning in time to take part in the engagement at Murfreesboro. There he -was taken prisoner by the Confederate troops and with other Union soldiers was sent up the mountains, where thirteen hundred of the federal troops were paroled. Mr. Redden then returned to Columbus.. Ohio, and later was exchanged, after which he returned at once to the front. He then took part in the battle of Chickamauga. lasting two days, and he witnessed the battle of Missionary Ridge. WH-iile at the front he was also in the hospital, suffering from an attack of smallpox. In .September, 1865, he received an honorable discharge, having served his country for four years and one month.

Following his return to the north \\'illiam Redden resumed the operations of civil life and for two years was engaged in farming. He then sold his property in Michigan and removed to Delaware countv, Iowa, where he purchased a grist mill, which he owned and operated for twentv-two vears. meeting with good success in that undertaking.

He then returned to ^Michigan, where he again engaged in the niilHng lousiness tor two years, after which he came to Elkhart county and purchased the Elkhart \'alley Rolling Mill Company in 1898. Here he has since remained, having for seven years made his home in this county, during which time he has gained the favorable regard of many friends. In ad(litif)n to iiis milling" property he owns seventy acres of good land, on which stands a pretty and comfortable home.

To Mr. and Mrs. Redden have been born seven children, three sons and four daughters, of whom five are living. Effie is the wife of Henry Drybread, a successful general merchant of Greeley. Iowa. Emma Margaret is the widow of William McPherson and resides at Rockyford, Ccloradd. In iier girlhood days she attended the common schools, was afterward graduated from the Presbyterian college at Hopkinton, Iiiwa, and deviited almost fifteen years of her life to the profession of teaching, in which work she was very successful. She was the first to introduce the synthetic methcxl in Delaware county, Iowa. Lulu i.s the wife of Charles McElwain, who is cashier of the Hartley State Bank of Hartley, Iowa, proving a popular bank oflicial and prominent citizen there. Mrs. McElwain was also a successful teacher. LeRoy, a miller by trade and now living in Jackson township, was educated in the common sciiools of Iowa and Michigan and wedded Miss Bertha Ross, by whom he has two children, Marie and Charles \\"illiam. John is a ]iractical miller, residmg with his parents and assisting his father in his business operations.

In his political views j\Ir. Redden is a Democrat wlm aihocates the principles promulgated by Jackson. Both he and his wife have gained manv friends during their residence in Xew Paris. They have in their home some interesting relics, including an old Bible printed in 1820 and a quilt which was cpiilted by the wife of George Hamilton when Andrew Jackson was president of the United States. In business and militarv life Mr. Redden has made a creditable record and deserves the esteem which is so unifnrmly accorded him.

The members nf this well known and distinguished family in Elkhart countv. Indiana, h;i\e become noted as practical, honorable, shrewd and successful business men. who have made the most of their advantages and have always grasped at opportunities for bettering their financial, moral and social conditions. They come of good old Puritan stock, and the ]3rogenitor of the family in this country settled in Mount Bethel township, Northam.pton county, Pennsylvania, which neighljorhood was the family seat for a number of years, in all proljability for nearly two generations. The Coppeses originally came from luigland, where today there are large estates belonging to the family, but their right to this valuable propertv can nut be directlv traced up to the present time.

Of tlie early members of tlie Coppes family Re\'. Samuel D. Coppes was among ihe most prominent. He was born in England, came to America during the early history of this country, became a wealthy landholder of Xorthumberland county, I'ennsyh-ania, was \erv popular throughout that section, owing to his kindly disposition and charitable nature, and became eminent as a successful practicing physician, for the duties of which he fitted himself in England. He won golden opinions for himself as a medical practitioner, for besides being- remarkably skillful he was very philanthropic and bestowed his ser\-ices on rich and poor alike, never charging the latter for attending them unless they were willing and desirous of repa^'ing him. His practice extended all over the state of Pennsylvania, as well as a large portion of the state of Ohio, and in tlie early days of Indiana he made frequent visits to this state. He was also a minister of the Mennonite church, and for manv years looked after the spiritual as well as the bodily welfare of his fellows, and was an able instructor in a righteous cause. He was one of the pioneer preachers of his church, and held services in dififereiit portions of Pennsylvania. Ohio, and Indiana, and his visits to this section of the country are well remembered by his people. He was an honorable, upright and God-fearing man, and his example as an earnest Christian is still in the minds of those who knew him. He was first married in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, to a German lady bv the name of Delph, and by her l^ecame the father of the following children : Abraham, whose descendants are now in Ohio ; Jacol>, who was one of the early pioneers of Elkhart county, Indiana: John, who left a family in Ohio; Samuel, who also died in that state, and Polly, who married Jacob Carver, lived and reared a family in the Buckeye state. The first wife of Re\-. Samuel Coppes paid the last debt of nature in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, after which he took for his second wife Miss Susan Pjin-key. whom he took with him to Ohio alxiut 1834, settling on a farm in Medina county. This union resulted in the birth of one daughter. Rebecca, w ho married Jacob Shaffer, with whom she remo\ed" to Elkhart county, Iridiana, and whose descendants are now living in Harrison township. The second wife of Samuel D. Coppes survived him a number of }ears and died in this county at the home of her only daughter. ]\Irs. Shaffer. Rev. Dr. Samuel Coppes was called from life in Ohio, in 1863, his death being a source of much regret to all who knew him. He was well known as a pu1)lic-spirited citizen and politically was a Whig. He was a shrewd financier and accumulated a gcxid property, which was di\ided among his children in 1863. He was one of the oldest settlers of this section of the county, and as an expounder of the gospel he was forcible, eloquent, and logical, wielding a wide influence for good in the dift'erent sections in which he resided. His homes in Pennsylvania and Ohio were many times occupied b}- his patients, who had no homes of their own and possessed but little means, and thus he carried on his nolile work imtil tleath overtook him and he passed td Iiis reward. All nf his smis and daughters married and reared families nf their (jwn. and in the different localities in which they made their homes thev were held in high esteem, and having inherited many of their noble father's r[ualities were honored and respected.

His second son, Jacob, was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, about ]8i2 or 1813. and was brought up to the healthy life of a farmer's Ixjy. Upon reaching man's estate he took for his wife Sarah Fravel, who was born in the same coimty as himself in 1822, and who was one of twelve children reared 1>y Daniel and Fannie (Myers) Fravel, the former of wdiom was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and was of English parentage. He was left fatherless wdien a small child and w-as reared by strangers, and upon starting out in life took a wnfe from the same county as himself, and by her reared a large family of children. 'as follows: Jessie. Polly, Catherine, Fannie, Joseph. Rebecca, Elizabeth. Susan. Sarah, William, Daniel and IMatilda. Jacob Coppes and his wife removed to Ohio at the same time that Rev. Dr. Samuel Coppes settled in this section, and there he remained for a period of about eight years, following the trades of shoemaking and millwrighting. Tn 1844 he came to Indiana and settled in Harrison township, Elkhart county. For the first few years of his residence here his efforts were not prospered and he met with various reverses which kq>t him in straitened circumstances for some time, but he kept perseveringly at work, and by the help of his oldest children managed to keep the wolf from the door, and at last secured enough means tO' purchase forty acres of land in Locke township, on wdiich he resided until death called him home in 1874. Notwithstanding the hard luck which he met in his career through life he was never known to wilfully wrong any one. and was honest, industrious and public-spirited, ever casting his influence on the side of wdiat he considered justice and right. In earlv life he supported the principles of the Whig party, and lata- the stand taken by the Republican party commended itself to his excellent judgment. Vv'ith his wife he was a member of the Mennonite church, and his daily w'alk through life showed that he was a Christian. He was very domestic in his tastes, was devoted to his home and family and never cared to fill any public, position, the strife and turmoil of politics having no charms for him. His children are as follows : Daniel. Samuel. Amanda, Susan, Eliza, Rebecca, Saloma, Lucinda, John D.. and Frank. Three children died m infancy - Amanda. Susan and Rebecca. .\ brief sketch of the members of this family will not come amiss.

Daniel was born in Pennsylvania, was reared on a farm under the watchful care of his father, and when still quite young began learning the painter's trade, at which he worked in Goshen, where he became a w^ell known and popular young man. He was one of the first to respond to his country's call at the opening of the rebellion, and became a member of Company K, Thirteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Goshen, wdiere he became a commissioned officer. He was faithful and fearless on tlie battlefield and was greatly loved by his regimental comraiies. who considered him not only a model so'ldier but also a trae and trusted friend. At the battle of Murfreesboro he was wounded by a gunshot in the leg, and during the three days and nights that he lay on the liattlefield he suffered indescribably. He was at last taken by his friends to a private residence, which had been turned into a private hospital, to be cared for, but there breathed his last the tenth day after receiving his wound. So dearly loved was he by his comrades that he was not biu'ied in a ditch like most of the dead, but with willing hands and sad hearts they made him a rough board coffin and buried him beneath a large oak tree on that historic battle ground. He was unmarried. One of his companions in battle saw him fall, and placing himself beside him tried toi cheer him with encouraging words, and said : " Dan, I will stay with you or die," and in order to deceive the enemy placed himself beside his wounded aimrade and pretended to be dead. He was discovered, however, taken prisoner and carried away, and for three days and nights the unfortunate young soldier, Daniel Coppes, was exposed to the rain and sleet which was falling and which without doubt caused his death. He was a brave and gallant soldier, the pride of Company K, and is still remembered with re.spect and affection by the old residents of Goshen, and in the hearts x^f his old comrades the memory of the brave young soldier who gave his life for his country is still kept green.

Samuel D. Coppes is a prominent banker of Nappanee, a more extended notice of whom appears elsewhere. Eliza married Benjamin Yarian and died a few years later, leaving a family of fi\e children, all of whom are living with the exception of the youngest. The eldest of these children was Elizabeth, who married Daniel Zook, a prominent business man of Nappanee ; Prank was a journalist of Goshen, now deceased: Ella, now the wife of Rev. R. J. \\'ade, pastor of the M. E. church of Kendalville, Indiana, has two children : Edward wedded Miss Ida Sloat, resident of Nappanee. and she is one of the bookkeepers in the Coppes, Zook & Mutschler Company establishment of Nappanee; Lucinda died at the age of three years. The m(;ther of these children died in 1876.

The next child born to^ Jacob Coppes and his wife was Saloma, who married Benjamin Frazier, of Nappanee. by whom she became the mother of five children, the eldest of whom, Milo, was killed at the age of ten years in a wheat elevator at that place, by being .sucked into^ a wheat bin and smothered; Nettie is now Mrs. William Lesh, of Ohio; Sadie, having lived with .Samuel Coppes for a number of years, is now deceased; Laura, wife of V. D. Weaver, county auditor of LaGrange county, Indiana; Medie resides in Nappanee. Their mother was called from life in 1876.

The next of Jacob Coppes" children was Lucinda, who married lolm C. Mellinger. a prominent resident of Nappanee, by whom she has four children : Ella, who is Mrs. Harvev Banta of Goshen, and is the mother of three chihh't'ii. Tliis represents now living- in Nappanee four g-enenUinns of tlie family. 'Jhe younger memhers of the family are Mahel L., John F. and Fred. The sisters of Mrs. Banta are Sarah, who died in infancy, and Emma, deceased, and Jeannette, wife of Ora Stoutmour, of (ioshen. The next child liorn to Jacoh Coppes was John D., of whom a sketch is given in this work, and Frank, a prominent resident of Najjpanee. It can he truly said of Jacob Coppes and his wife that they were very worthy residents of the count}', and showed much heroism in braving- the dangers, hardshij-js and discomforts of pioneer life in order to provide a home for their children and ohtain a competencv for their declining- years.

Jon.-Vs Christoi'Hel

Emerson has said that the true history of a nation is best told in the lives of its representati\ e citizens. .\n eminently representative citizen of Flkhart count}- Mr. Jonas Christophel certainly is, and his biography ^viIl add one more link to the chain of historic facts which are set down in complete forn-i in this volume in order to compose an enduringrecord of Flkhart county. Air. Christophel during- his active career has manifested the strength of character and resourceful ability which make bim a man of prominence in his home township of Harrison, and he therefore needs no further introduction to the readers of this history.

Born in Elkhart county, February 18, 1853, he was the second of a family of ten children, five- sons and five daug-hters, whose parents were John N. and Elizabeth (Reed) Christophel. Jonas is the oldest of those living, tlie others being; Noah E., who is a farmer in Lancaster county, Pennsyhania, and is married. Jacob W. is a prosperous farmer in Harrison township. Hannah, the widow of Jacob Smith, lives on the old Christophel homestead in 1 1,'irrison township. Harriet is the wife of Jacob Blosser, a farmer of L'nion town.ship. Sarah resides on the old homestead with her mother.

John N. Christophel, the father, who was born in Pennsvlvania in 1821 and died October 24, icjoi, was reared and lived the life of a tiller of the soil. .\t the age of thirteen he accompanied his parents to Mahoning county, Ohio, where he married, and in 185 1 he brought his family and effects, by wagon and in true pioneer fashion, across the intervening country tO' Elkhart county, where he arrived after a jom'ney of three weeks. .\ purchase of eight}- acres of land in section thirty-two in Harrison township furnished him a l(;cation, and a log cabin home soon gaxe shelter to his faniily. Politically he was a Whig, and he and his wife were strict members of the Mennonite church. His w-ife, who \vas born in Virginia, March 15, 1825, is still living, an aged and much beloved old lady who has seen the passage of fourscore years.

The first school that the hoy Jonas attended was in the woods of Union township. It was a round-log cabin, with a clap-board roof, heated hv a box stove, the fuel partially cut by the larger lioys. and the desks, seats and other equipments were of very primitive sort. It is the privilege of Mr. Christophel to look back upon these crude surroundings of his youth and compare them by actual experience with the schools which his own children attend, and thus reckon the progress that has Ijeen accomplished in a lifetime. When he was twenty-one years old and ready to lea\-e the parental home, Mr. Christophel did not possess twenty-five dollars in capital, sO' that the prosperity which has come to him in later years is the result of his own efforts. He began as a wageearner at eighteen dollars a month, continued that six months, and then remained with the same man for four years as a renter.

Octoher lo, 1878, Mr. Christophel married Miss Salome Buzzard, and of the eight children, three sons and five daughters, born of their liapp3' marriage, five are yet living. The son, Walter B., who, after finishing the common school course, took four years in the. Elkhart high school and then followed teaching in Indiana and one term in Livingston county, Illinois, near Emington, chose medicine as his life work and is now working for his M. D. degree in the medical department of North- -\vestern University at Chicago. He married, June 8, 1904, Miss Alta Kurtz, a daughter of Jonathan Kurtz. She was educated in the common schools and the seminary at Elkhart, and studied stenography and type- \\riting and is also an, art student. The son. John B., who received a common school training", is a practical farmer and stockman on the home farm. Anna E., who received her diploma from the common schools in 1899 and then took the three years' teacher's course, passed her first examination for a license at the grade of ninety per cent and is now one of the successful teachers of this county. She has also studied instnimental music. Bertha M., who recei\-ed her diploma from the public schools in 1903, is a student in the Latin-Scientific course in Goshen College. Elsie Mabel, the youngest, is in the fifth grade of school.

Mrs. Christophel was born on the old Buzzard homestead, where she and her husband now reside, in section 27 of Harrison township, on Octoljer 20, 1852, and was the fourth in a family of five children, one .son and four daughters, born tO' John and .\nna (\A'el(ly) Buzzard. Only two of the children are living, her younger sister, .\nna. being the wife of Abraham Kercher. a farmer in, Elkhart township. John Buzzard, the father, was born in Northampton county. Pennsyl\-ania, December 15, 18 1 1, and died April 14, 1897. Spending the first twenty-four years of his life in bis native state, he then came to ^Medina county, Ohio, where he married his first wife, and in October. 1849, arri\'ed in Elkhart county. He was a blacksmith by trade, but in this county purchased the one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 27, Harrison township, which composes the old farmstead. He paid twenty-two hundred dollars for the land, which was partially improved, and his first house was of hewn logs, in which }klrs. Christophel was born a few years later. He was a Republican in politics, voting for Lincoln, and he and his wife were members of the Mennonite church, in which he was a trustee at one time. The mother of Mrs. Christophel was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, May lo, 1810, and died August 25, 1885. At the age of three years she was taken to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where slie was reared. Both the Buzzard and Christophel families were pioneers in Elkhart county.

Mr. and Mrs. ClTristo]3hel Ijegan tlieir married life as renters in Union township, but after a year Ijought seventy-seven acres in Jackson township for thirty-five hundred dollars. Four years later they sold this and took charge of the Buzzard homestead, which in its entirety of one hundred and sixty acres has been operated by them since 1890. Their old home being destroyed by fire on June 18. 1893, in tlie same year they erected what is one of the most beautiful countr^^ homes in this vicinity. It is built of brick, two stories in height, finished in Georgia pine and heated with a furnace, and is one of the model residences of Harrison township. The ground dimensions are twenty-eight by twenty-six feet, with an addition twenty-six by eleven, and every detail of the farmstead shows the neatness and thorough supervision of careful and enterprising owners. Mr. Christophel has given considerable attention, to the l^etter grades of live stock, for some years raising the Shropshire sheep, and now devoting more of his attention to the registered shorthorn cattle and the Hambletonian and Norman horses. In politics he is a stanch Republican, having cast his first vote for Hayes, and he and his wife are members of the Mennonite church near their home, he being a trustee. They are also interested in the Sunday school, and in all the forces of education and moral uplift in their part of the county.

Simon Fetters

Horn in Elkhart county, August 10. 185 1, Mr. Simon Fetters ranlvs among ihe most capable and progressive of the native sons of this county, and he has been intimately identified with the affairs of Harrison township for many years. Having made agriculture his choice of occupations at an early age, he has followed it with increasing success from the ]irimitive days of forty years ago to the present. His lifetime has also witnessed the wonderful development which has characterized all of northern Indiana in material, social and moral affairs, and he considers it a matter of gratulation that his career has been cast not only in the old but in the new order of events and circumstances.

Wv. Fetters belongs to a family that is well known in the history of I'llkhart countv. He was the third in a family of five children, three .sons and two daughters, born to Peter F. and Nancy (Clark) Fetters. He has a brother and two sisters living: Benjamin, a farmer of Harrison township ; Ellen, wife of Daniel Knisely. a farmer in northern Michigan and also a minister of the German Baptist church : . Catherine, a widow, and a resident nf Harrison township.

The father, who was Ijorn and reared to inanhood and married in Oliio, came to Elkhart county at a time when civilization, had made little progress in the transformation of tlie country from its virgin state. There were no railroads, nor had the Indians left their ancient haunts, and the first home of the family was a log cabin situated about four miles from GcTshen in Elkhart township. He was a Whig, and later a Re- ]>ublican. and he and bis good wife belonged to the German Baptist church.