Elkhart County, Indiana - Tue Churches, 1905 (part 8 of 15)

]Mr. Fetters grew up in this county during what could .still be called its pioneer jjeriod. and his own early experiences are those that l>elong to a past and, to the present generation, ^'ery unfamiliar epoch. He was a pupil in a sixteen l)y twelve log school in Harrison Center, where the desks and seats and entire furnishings were of that iji-imitive sort described in the general history of this w'ork. He did his writing with a pen fashioned liy the master from a turkey or goose quill. Although his advantages in an educational way were limited, he has teen a practical man of affairs from early life, and by diligent application and intelligent effort has made a place for himself in his community. He has spent all his life on the homestead farm, and has made an unusual degree of success in his enterprises. One of his early experiences was in swinging a foiir-fingered cradle and a mowing scythe, imjilements now seen only in curiosity shops, but he has labored with them from sun to smi for many a day. The first threshing machine that entered the county created a lasting impression on his mind, as did also' the first binder. He has also participated in the work of developing Harrison township for the better conveniences of civilization by assisting to cut several highways through the dense woods, and he has been familiar with A\'akarusa's site from the time when it was covered v. ith trees.

A stalwart Republican, wdio has cast his vote regularly for Grant, Blaine, Garfield. McKinley and Roosevelt, he has always stood on the principles of the Oand Old Party, and at various times has been chosen delegate to state, county and district conventions. Elected precinct comluitteeman in 1893. be held this office till 1903, and he has in many other ways supported his party and shown his public-spirited interest in the welfare of his community.

June 27, 1875. Mr. Fetters married INIiss Hannah Krupp. They have become the parents of four children, one son and three daughters, one of whom is deceased. Bertha is the wife of George Shank, of Harrison township, and they have a little daughter, Gale. Joshua has completed the common school course and is a practical farmer on the home place. Elsie is in the fifth grade of school. Mrs. Fetters was bom in Ohio, January 23. 1848, a daughter of Joseph and Mar>' (Hunsberger) Krupp. She has been a resident of Elkhart county since she was nine years old. Mr. and Mrs. Fetters have resided on their present farmstead since 1902, and in tbe same year erected their pleasant country

As one of the foremost stockmen in Elkhart count}', we have elsewhere had occasion in these pages to refer to Hon. John E. Thompson ant! his valuable work in advancing the live-stock industry. But Mr. Thompson has a many-sided career, and in more ways than one his accomplishments and character have interest tO' the history of his county. A man whose individuality and efhcienc}' have left their impress so permanently upon the county, he needs no introduction more than the mention of his name.

A[uch space has been given to the pioneers of the count}, and deservedly so, and in describing the career of Mr. Thompson we speak of one whose memory goes further back in the history of the county probably than any other li\'ing man. Mr. Thompson ^vas born in Wayne county. Indiana, September 20, 1828. and has been more or less continuously identified with this county since 1829. His parents, Mark B. and Jane (Thomas) Thompson, also had two daughters, iDUt they are deceased, and ]\Ir. Thompson is the onl}' survivor of this generation.

A truly great character was that of Mark B. Thompson. Born in Orange county-. New York, in 1802, the thread of his life being drawn out to threescore and ten. until June 27,. 1872. in youth he learned the tanner's trade, 1>ut later gave his energies almost entirely to agriculture. In chihlhood his parents emigrated from the old Empire state via the Ohio river to Cincinnati, and settled in Butler county, Ohio, in 1803, only a year after Ohio' had Ijecome a state and in the same year of the purchase by the government of the great wilderness since known as the magnificent Eouisiana Purchase. Mark B.'s father had entered eighty acres of land in Wayne county. The latter was of a roving nature, had fought under Jackson at New- Orleans, and fared among men and changing scenes throughout his life. Mark B. Thompson married in Favette county, Indiana, later moved to Wa}-ne county, and in 1829 emigrated to Elkhart county, and settled on the homestead where bis honorable son now resides. He pre-empted, at the south end of the famous Elkhart prairie, a quarter section, and. obtaining the preemption of a friend, increased his holding to three hundred and tw"enty acres. On this truly magnificent estate there was a grove of six hundred sugar trees, justly famed for its produce during former years, and some of these old trees are still standing. At this place, then a dense forest and domain of nature, the family arrived on the 5th of April, 1829, and until a log house could be constructed a provisional shelter was made of rails, which the head of the household split from the trees.

Only a pioneer such as Mr. Thompson can picture in his mind the true circumstances of hfe at that time and the picturesque surroundings in which the first-comers hved. The Pottawottomie Indians hved in neighborly and peaceable juxtaposition to the whites, and one day the child John and his two sisters, their mother being away from home, A\ere talcen by some squaws down to the camp, where the daughters of the forest endeavored to entertain the little folks. On her return the mother at once missed her children, and we can imagine the suspense and anxiety endured by her until she found her children happy and contented among the pappooses of her red neighbors. Mark B. Thompson was one of the leaders among the early settlers of the county, held an influential place by reason of his strength of character, his success in affairs and general popularity among his neighbors. He was one of the stanch Whigs in this portion of the state, voting and taking part in the famous log-cabin and hard-cider campaign, and at a later time was equally strong in his advocacy of Republican principles. His wife. Jane Thompson, was born in Wales in 1805, being a child when she came with her parents to this country.

John E. Thompson was seven months old \\hen he became a resident of Elkhart county, and the county had not yet been organized. The seventy-six years that have since slipped around in the cycles of time have dealt kindly with him. He stands as straight as an Indian, his clear eye and ruddy complexion show the wholesome life he has led, and many a man of fifty is not able to bear the alternate storm and sunshine of the world as well as he. During his lifetime the \^ictorian age has showered upon the world of the abundance of its gifts, and it has been Mr. Thompson's privilege to witness what no other generation of mankind is likely to behold - the development of railroads into vast trunk systems, several of which cross this county, the introductidn of the telegraph an.d telephone, the application of electrical energy in wondrous ways in performing the work of hunianit}-. and countless other changes which have transformed ci\'ilization within less than a single lifetime.

The first sclnu)] he attended, a sixteen-foot square log cabin, stood near his father's estate, was equipped with punclieon floors, slab seats, rough board desk around the wall, heated by fireplace, and for text books there Avere the English reader. Elementary spelling book, Daboll and Pike's and the Davis arithmetic, Olney's geograi^hy, and Graham and Kirkham? grammar. The school was maintained by suljscription. Schools have changed, and how striking is the contrast between that old log school of his memory and the beautiful high-school in Goshen only a pioneer like Mr. Thompson can fully realize. Manv <la\s he has swung the four-fingered cradle or tb.e even more priniiti\e sickle, and a scar on his little finger still bears witness to his use of the latter implement. Not a custom or condition of pioneer life in this county but he has experienced.

W'lien the Ci\il war came nn he enlisted at the call for troops sent out in August. iS()i, and at (ioshen was enrolled in Company K, Thirtieth Indiana Infantry, under Captain Hawks and Colonel Bass, being assigned lirst to the -\rmy of the Ohio and later the Army of the Cumlierland. under ( lenerals Shermrui, P>uell, and Kosecrans. From a pri- \'ate he \vas promoted to the rank of captain at Murfreesboro. He fought at Shiloh, at Stone l\i\er, where his comrades, Hapner and Coppes, were killed at l.is side, ;it Chickamauga, at Liberty Cap, in the campaign to and about Atlanta., where he was under fire one hundred and thirty days, and although having many calls he escaped without wounds or (h'sability. and after a little more than three vears' ser\'ice recei\ed his final discharge at Indianapolis. September 29. 1864.

Januar\- 1, 1873. he married Miss Ann.a C. Jackson, a daughter of Colonel John rmd Catharine ( Carr ) Jackson. She was born in this county. ]\la\' 4, 1837, and was reared and has spent all her life as a resident here. Mr. Thompson in 1875 erected a beautiful brick residence on his estate, and the Thompson homestead is knoAvn all over the county for its beauty and agricultural excellence and for the genial personality of its owner. He has a hundred and thirteen acres of fine land, situated in Jackson townshij), and his stock and general farming interests still receive his personal attention and supervision. In 1853 Hon. Thompsijn went to the state of Iowa and at that early date there was not a rail or niilroad tie across the Mississippi river, where now in 1905 it is gridironed with trunk lines of railroads.

Formerly a Whig and casting his first vote for Ceneral Scott. Mr. Thompson now advocates the principles of the old Jefiferson and Tackson Democracy. In 1858 he was elected to represent his county in the state legislatiu^e. and the choice of his fellow citizens returned him to the assembly in 1873, in 1877, 1881 and 1887. He was in the legislature which \-oted the construction of a new capitol. and \\as still a member when the assembly first met in the new state house.

Michael Wenger

Michael ^\'enger, representing the German sturdiness and American enterprise wlrich have been factors of first importance in developing the material resources of this counti"y during the last half century, has lived in Elkhart county since boyhood, and in Harrison township, where he has lived for fifty years, he has long held a jilace as a foremost citizen and successful man of affairs.

Mr. Wenger was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, November 2T,. 1844, the fourth child in a family of seven, four sons and three daughters, whose parents were Christian D. and Mary (Wenger) Wenger. Fie now has only a brother and a sister living : Eli, who is a farmer in Harrison township and is married and has five children : and

Christian Wenger, the father, whci was Ijorn in Lancaster comity, Pennsylvania, January 2^. 1809, and who died in, this county Octoter II, 1882, followed the occupation of miller many years, and then devoted his energies to farming- during the latter part of his life. From Pennsylvania he moved to Canada in 1856, and, being a bright and all-observing boy of eleven years at the time, the son Michael distinctly rememliers most of the incidents of the journey, which was made by rail. In particular does he recall how he and the rest of the family walked across the suspension bridge over the Niagara falls. The father did not remain long after locating' in Waterloo county, Ontario, and in October of the same year came to Elkhart count)-. The first land he. owned was in section 16 of Harrison township, and he afterward purcha.sed the farm where his son Eli now- resides. For some years after their arrival here the ^\'enger family lived in a story-and-a-half log house, having a barn of like material. The father followed the fortunes of first the \\niig and then the Republican party, and he and his wife were memliers of the Mennonite church. The mother, who was born in Pennsylvania, January 30, 1817, died September 25, 1900, after attaining the great age of eighty-three years and eight montiis.

Since he w-as only eleven years old when he came to this count}- Air. ^^'enger received most of his education after his arrival. He was brought up on the farm, trained in farm duties, and lias followed agriculture all his career, wnth most successful results. Remaining w-ith his parents till he reached his majority, at that time his father gave him a three-dollar ax, and with this implement as his stock-in-trade he earned his first money by cutting cord wood at from forty-five to seventy-five cents a cord. He also- hired out to work by the month at wages of eighteen dollars. Although during his earlier years he prospected through the .states of Illinois. Michigan and elsewhere, Elkhart county has been his actual home through all his active career, and his efforts have been identified in a verv important way with his home tow-nship. Beginning with no capital, he has g'ained success above the ordinary through the application of industry and good management. The first real estate he owned was a lot in the city of Elkhart. This he traded for ten acres of timlier land in Flarrison township, which he later sold for four hundred dollars. In 1887 he purchased his present place of eighty acres at sixty dollars an acre, going in debt for part of it, but his thrift and diligent effort have since cleared ofif all incumbrances. In addition he has placed innumerable improvements on his farm, so that it now ranks among the model farmsteads of the tow-nship.

January 5, 1893, Mr. \\'enger married Miss Saloma Troxel. Four sons and a daughter w^ere bom to them, and the four still living are : Allen, in third grade of school; Nora, in the second grade: John, in the fir.st grade ; and Harvey. Mrs. W'enger. who w-as born in St. Joseph county. June 26, 1868, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Killer) Troxel, was reared and educated in St. Joseph county and lived there till her marriage.

A Republican and a loyal supporter of bis party, Mr. W'enger has nut participated to any extent in practical politics, but in all matters that affect the welfare and progress of his community his effort and influence are counted upon as factors of first importance. He has made one of the most efhcient road superviso-rs in Elkhart county, having served for sixteen years in that office. It is claimed tliat no other township in the ciiunty has better roads than Harrison. He has also served on the ad- \isory board, along with Peter Berke}-, another public-spirited citizen, and they have had the confidence of the entire township in their acts. Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are members of the Mennonite church.

John D. L'nibenhowei; is a man too well known in Goshen and through Elkhart county to require any lengthy introduction for his life history. Having lived here nearly forty-five years, for many years engaged in business in dift'erent parts of the county and adjoining counties, having been the incumbent (,)f various public positions, he is however best known by the work he has accomplished for the cause of music. The most universal of the arts, appealing almost without exception to all persons, music as a personal accomplishment and its awakening and cultivation as a permanent taste in thousands of individuals, has been the basis of Mr. Umbenhower's career, and it is a source of profound satisfaction to him that he has enriched the character of so many j^eople by educating and training their musical talents.

Mr. Umbenhow^er was b.f.irn in ^Massillon, Stark county, Ohio, May 27. 1S42. His grandfather, Jacob, of German descent, was bom in Virginia and died near New Paris, Indiana, May, 1870, aged eighty years. The father, John Umbenhower, was a substantial farmer, having moved to this coimtv in IMarch, 1861, and he die<l at the age of sixty years, .\ugust 21, 1874. His wife was Elizabeth Ritter, born near Canton, Ohio, and died at the age of seventy-four, at Goshen, September 14, 1890. They were the parents of five children: two' daughters, Sarah, wife of George A\'. Rule, Gi),=.ben druggist, and Mary .\., of Chicago; three sons, William S., a farmer li\'ing near Crnmwcll. Indiana, and Lewis PL, deceased.

John D., the third scin, sjient the first eight years in his native county; then from Stark moved to Wayne county, Ohio, and at the age of eighteen jjast, in 1861, moved to Elkhart county, Jackson township, in which county he has resided ever since. Almost entirely self-educated, he has selected that kriowledge fmm the wurld's sture which has been most beneficial to him, and along the lines which his mind and amljition have followed. He speaks with the authority which is b<:)rn of long experience and eager inquiry to the bottom of things. During the Civil w.iv he was twice drafted for the ser\ice. He received this high honor of being drafted the second time, and hired two substitutes, paying one hundred and twenty-live dollars for the first one and eight hundred and fifty dollars for the second one. i\nd yet, as the war records show, he served nine months in the t'ifty-seventh Indiana Infantry, but has never received a cent in compensation from the United States government for services rendered. His career as a singing school teacher began in 1861. His first term of thirteen lessons was taught in. New Paris; second term at Groveland school house. Union township; third term at Ott's church, Solomons Creek. He taught on till the fall of 1862, when he was drafted for service, and with many others went to Indianapolis, Camp Sullivan, where were found eight thousand drafted men. On return from service and partial recovery of his health, he began the musical work again and continued therein until now he has taught the wonderful number of over four hundred terms (a term is thirteen lessons) - a record which upon Ijest authority cannot be surpassed in the United States - and at the same time is teaching" yet, and for the last several years is devoting much time to evangelistic services over the country. Recently five of the leading music publishing houses of Chicago complimented Mr. Umbenhower upon his ability and record by presenting him eleven hundred pieces of music, which are highly appreciated by Mr. Umbenhower.

In addition to the above, Mr. Umbenhower has held scores of concerts and for many years has been the musical director at county teachers' institutes, Sunday school township institutes, for several years leading in ten diflferent township institutes ; also often at county conventions. Mr. Umbenhower always took an active part in the discussions, being a natural debater. He had offered to him the professorship in three colleges, but saw fit to decline them all, and in many ways his record among music instructors is unique and interesting. In the year 1876, Centennial year, August 10, up to- this time having taught two htmdred and twenty-five terms, he concluded to give his scholars and friends a musical treat called Jubilee Day, held seven miles southwest of Goshen, in Stewart's Grove, Harrison township, on Saturday, August 10, 1876, from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. The day was lovely. The program consisted of solos, quartets, duets, anthems, glees, comic songs, choruses and a ch'irus class of oiver five hundred voices, orchestra and New Paris cornet band and good addresses, made liy Rev. Boxer, who' made the musical oratifin; Prof. A. Blunt, Hon. Lew Wanner, Rev. B. H. Crider and Dr. Hunt, all of Goshen except Dr. Munt. The citizens of near Southwest postofiice (Jubilee grounds) took a great interest and beautified the grounds, erected a large music stand ; also presented one of the finest (linners tiiat was ever enjoyed. Chief among those present were Mc- Dowells, Bowsers, Shivelys, Rarricks, McDonalds, Hartmans, Cripes, Bechtels, Hoovers, Benners, .\lfords, Kerchers. and many others. They came from far and near, and the number in attendance was over five thousand, the largest musical gathering ever held in the county. Sheriff Samuel R. Miller and Prosecuting Attorney 1. A. Simmons were present.

Mr. L'mhenhower was the first to estalolish the closed door system, in ]86i, which proved a great blessing and other teachers adopted it. ^Ir. Umbenhower ne\'er in all his school life had a class broken up, discipline lieing one ot his strongest characteristics. He also invented one of the finest music charts e\er ])lacc<l before ;; music class - a self-instructor.

In 1868 he Ijought a half interest in the dr)- goods, grocery and general store of M. A. Ferrell, of \\ aterford Mills, and resided and continued said store at Waterford for four years, then removed the store to New Paris and continued till May 3. 1876. wheu the store l>iu"ned: loss, five thousand dollars., owned by J. D. Umbenhower & Co., his father being the company. In 188 1 he mo\-ed to Goshen. \\'hile at New Paris he was agent for Hartford and Ohio farmers' lire insurance companies, which agency he held for nineteen \ears and did a very prosperous business. In 1892 he began again in the grocery business with his son, Frank J., on East Lincoln avenue, at the same time teaching, working insurance, etc. His son, Frank J., organized the Umbenhower Goshen Cornet Band, of which Frank J. was leader. In June. 1898. he moved his store building and stock up to 510 Reynolds street, Goshen. January 2, 1899, he sold the stock of goods to M. Kelly & Son. who rented store Ijuilding and did business to September 9. 1901, when the building and stock ^^-as destro^-ed by fire. Mr. L'mbenhower proceeded at once to erect a new frame two-story and basement, metal-roof stxrire-room and dwelling, occupied by Howard F. Sarbaugh since 190 1.

Mr. Umbenhower was with Cyrus Seller in the county treasurer's office during his four years : also with Frank G. Romaine his first two years. From 1871 to 1881 Mr. Umbenhower served as justice of the peace in Jackson township, holding that position till he moved to Goshen. Mr. Umbenhower was secretarw general manager, director of the People's National Building and Loan Association from its inception until it ceased business, and with such ability did he direct its affairs that the institution was solid as a rock in its finances, and not one member paid one cent of fine or ]>enalty. Neither was there a single forfeiture, and .'dl members receivecl their claims in full. The first officers were: C. L. Landgraver. J. .\. Arthur. J. D. L'mlienbnw er. P. C. Messick. .\nnther point of note is that during his career as a justice of the peace, witli a record of over five hundred cases, there was not pne a]Dpeal taken nor an}' Ijusiness furnished to the circuit court, which is mar\-elous. And while for six years as collector in the treasurer's offfce he never made one levy, but with kindness collected the ta.\es. which is an unheard-of incident and proves to a certainty that Mr. LTmbenhower is the poor man's friend. One of the. highest compliments ever paid Mr. l^ml"venhower was contained in an address made by Judge H. D. Wilson, of the circuit court. in district No. 4. Harrison township, when Judge Wilson said to a large .-mdience that ]\lr. Umbenhower had done more for Elkhart countv than

Mr. Uml>enhower married, in 1865, Miss Malinda Messick, a sister of P. C. Messick and a daughter of je\vett Messick. She was horn in Rocking-ham county, Virginia, and after a happy married life of over thirty years she passed away, happy in the Lord. October 7, 1898. There were two children. Prof. Frank J., who is one of the leading musicians of the county, who was musical director of the Hammond Cornet Band, 1S99 and 1900, and during the years 1901 to 1903 was the musical director of the famous Elk Band of Logansport, and for the year 1904 was leader of the cornet band at .\lamogorda. New Mexico. He is at present located in Chicago.

Charles F., the other child, died when si.xteen months old. Mr. Lhnbenhower has been a lifelong Christian and an active worker in various Christian organizations. He voted the Republican ticket from Lincoln to Garfield, and in 1896 voted for Wm. J- Bryan on the issue of free coinage of silver: Ixit prior and since votes the Prohibition ticket. Mr. L'^mbenhower is Prohiliition secretary of Elkhart countv. also township chairman of Elkhart township. !\Ir. Lmbenhower is considered a very good violoncello ])layer, has played that instrument for over forty years, and thousands of people have heard him sing and play. his big gospel fiddle, as he calls it. Mr. Umlienliower played tuba in New Paris band for over four years. Mr. Umbenhower also plays the organ.

fames Ka\'anaL;ii. seninr member of the well known grocer\- house of Kavanagh and I'ullard, whose laisincss was established in l-llkhart over a quarter of a century ago. was born in \\'ethersfield. New York, May 26. 1842. The greater part of his career has l;een spent in Elkhart, and the cit}- owes Inm much for his public-spirited acti\-it\- in its l>ehalf. His fath.er. Charles Ka\anagh, was born, reared and married in Ireland, and, coming to this country in 1838, followed his trade of shoemaker in \A'ethersfield and in Brooklyn. The father died at the age of fifty-one and the mother aged seventy-two. They had a large family, twelve children, eight of whom are living at this writing.

i\[r. Kavanagh, wlio was the third child, was reared and educated in his natixe state, obtaniing a common school training. In 1861, at the age of nineteen, he enlisted in the Lnion army as a ]iri\ate in Company A, One Hundred and Fifth New York Infantry. He saw active service until the second battle of Bull Run, at which he was taken prisoner. He was finally paroled and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, but was not exchanged and did not rejoin his regiment. He returned home, went west to Chicago, where he followed the trade of machinist four years, and in 1872 located permanently in Elkhart. He was p\t boss for the Lake Shore Railroad the first fi\-e vears. after which he went into the grnccrv Imsiness. In the Juh- fulliiwiiii;" his entrance into the h'Usiness he took John B. Pollard as a partner, and they have nmv been in Imsiness together for twenty-seven years. Theirs is one of the most successful grocery houses in the city of Elkhart, enjoying a large trade and carrying the finest selection of staple and fancy goods. ]\Ir. Kavanagh has also l>een identified with other enterprises of this city which have, directly or indirectly, promoted its prosperity and insured its substantial development. He was a director in the St. Josq>h \'alley Bank lip to 1904, at which time he disposed of hi^ interests in the institution. He assisted in the organization, of and is nn\v a director and stockholder in the Home Telephone Company. He at one time manager and a director of the Elkhart Street Railway Companw and ])rnm()ted the building of the same.

Though a stanch Kepuljlican all his life. Air. Ka\anagh has never accepted an opportunity for political preferment and has been content to perform his civic duties quietly and as a private citizen. He was a charter member and one of the directors of the Century Clul), and is now an bonnrar\- member of that well kmiwn sucial and business organization.

Air. Kavanagh married, October 8, 1873. Aliss Alaria O. Goodspeed, who died in 1S81, leaving three children - Charles H., Ellen Marie, and John M. On October 22, 1884, Mr. Kavanagh married a sister of his first wife, Henrietta S. Goodspeed. She was born near Ann Arbor, Michigan, No^'ember 8, 1834. and her father, Hiram Goodspeed, was liorn in Warsaw, New York, in 1810, and was an early settler of Michigan.

Lou W. A'ail, for nxer a quarter of a centiu'y j)rominently identified with the bar of Elkhart count)', former state senator, and a leader in business and professional affairs, was born in Benton township of this county, Januar}- 20, 1851.

.His honored father, Jesse D. Vail, now deceased, one of the pioneer merchants of Benton, was born in Fayette county. Pennsylvania, March 29, 1814. The Quaker ancestors - and the members of the family have remained in tb.e faith of the Friends down to the present time - came across the waters and made settlement in Pennsylvania in 1682, with the great founder of the colony, William Penn. Jesse D. Vail and an (ilder brother, Charles G., came to Indiana in 1836, and were engaged in merchandising at the new town of Benton, where they were quite prosperous until overtaken by the disastrous financial panic of 1844, when they and many others went down in the crash. Jesse D. then took up school lands in the county and, clearing out a home from the forest, continued the occupation of farming until his death, on December 4, 1900, passing to his rest after a long and useful career. His first wife, VAiv.a Cope, also a native of Penns_\l\-ania, and the mother of Lou ^^'.

Vail, passed away in ]S68 at the age of tifty-six, their chihhen l)cing": Sainuei C. who died in 1S75 ; Sarah, wife uf Ceorge Kinnisun, president of the News-Times Printing Company of (joshen, and Lou W. Jesse D. Vail afterward married Sarah Prickett, widow of Elmer Prickett, and they had one child, Emily, wife of ,\masa Hoovens, of Goshen.

Successful as a farmer, Jesse D. Vail was also^ active in affairs of citizensliip. During the existence of those parties, a Whig and a Free- Soiler, during the years just preceding the war he became one of the organizers of the Republican party in Elkhart county. Throughout the Civil war he served as a county commissioaier, and in that capacity performed a very \'aluable part to his countiy, in enlisting soldiers for the war and looking after the disabled soldiers and widows. He maintained an acti\-e interest in politics until his death.

Air. Li)U W. Vail began his education in one of the old-time log schoolhouses which formerly dotted the county of Elkhart, and in 1868 went to Adrian, jNIichigan, and entered the Quaker school, the Raisin X'alle)' Academy, and completed his education in Earlham College, Richmond, this state. In the meantime, and altogether for some ten years, he taught school during the winter terms in the country districts and later at Alillersburg, Benton and Wakarusa. In the spring of 1871, when a young man of twenty, he went out to the tlien wild pioneer country of western Kansas and took up a homestead adjoining what is now the townsite of Smith Center. After three years of this experience he returned to this county, in June, 1874, and continued school teaching. Taking up the stud}- nf law in the spring of 1877, in the office of Judge tlemy D. Wilson, he gained his admission to the bar in Decem- Ijer, 1879, '1''^^ 'I'^s since been located in active practice at Goshen. He is now the senior member of the firm of Vail and Wehmeyer, whose high standard of ability and success is recognized throughout the county and northern Indiana. I'or the first five years of his practice he was in partnersliip with Daniel and Aaron Zook, and then for five years, as deputy prosecuting attorney, conducted many of the important trials on tlie docket during that period. He was elected to the city council in 1 89 1, but in the following )'ear, on his nomination for the state senate, resigned in order tci conduct his campaign, in which he was successful. He ser\ed creditalily in the state legislature during i893-'95, ^"d has since been devoting his energies to his practice. In 1900 he was a candidate for circuit judge, and on the first ballot received the highest vote of any of the candidates at the greatest mass conxention e\er held in this section.

I\Ir. Vail is a director in the .State Bank of (joshen and in the Elkhart County Loan and Trust Company, and also in the News-Times Printing Compan\-. He served as county attorney for six years, from 189G. Fraternally he is a Master Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias and order of Elks.

Cedar Rapids. T(j\va. Their one son. J. l^ean N'ail. was educated in the University of Alichigan and is now a ci\il engineer tor the Lake Shore Railroad.

Frank M. Beckner

There is no better proof of the attractiveness of Elkhart county as a place of residence and of the advantages which it ofifers to its citizens than the fact that so many of its representatives have retained their residence here from boyhood down to the present time. To this class Mr. Beckner belongs, being one of the native sons of this portion of the state. His birth occurred on the Elkhart prairie. January 21. 1841, and he is the eldest in a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters, whose parents were Isaac and JMarv (Ulrey) Beckner. Only two of the children are now living, the brother of our subject being Levi L. Beckner, who is employed by the Big Four Railroad Company. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, horn about 1816. and his death occurred in 1872. His youth was passed in Pennsylvania and Ohio and he acquired a common school education. Reared to the occupation of farming he always followed that pursuit, and in an earl}- day he removed from the Buckeye state to Elkhart county. Ijecoming a pioneer resident here. He purchased eighty acres ai partially improved land and his first home was a log cabin, typical of the times and of the progress which then marked the advance of the county beyond its primitive conditions. As the years passed he carefully tilled his fields and cultivated his crops, becommg a successful farmer of his community. His early political allegiance was gi\en to the \\'hig party and upon the organization of the new Repul)lican party he joined its ranks, remaining one of its stalwart advocates imtil his death. He and his wife were members of the German Baptist church and aided in the erection of the first house of worship of that denomination in their locality. Mrs. Beckner was born at Johnstown. Pennsylvania, aliout 18 15. and her death occurred when she was about fifty-six years of age.

Frank M. Beckner has spent his entire life in Elkhart county and can rememijer liack to the time of the little log schoolhouse. His father was one of the pioneer school-teachers. ,\t a later day substantial frame schoolhouses were built and the son enjoyed better educational privileges. He was reared to farm life, eariy Ijecoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and be continued to engage in the tilling of the soil until, feeling that his first duty was to his country, he enhsted on the 5th of August, 1862, enrolling his name with the boys in blue of Company E, Seventy-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. There were two other sons of the family in the ser\ice - Jacob and Levi, the former dying of typhoid fever while in the army. Frank M. Beckner joined his regiment at Goshen, although the organization was effected at Fort \Vayne. He was under command of Captain William Jacobs, and the regiment was assigned first to tlit

Army of the Oliio, but was afterward transferred to tlie Army of the Cumberland, under General Thomas, who was famiHarly and affectioTiateh- called " Pap " Thomas by his troops. The first action in . which Mr. Beckner participated was the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, and he took part in the l\attle of Stone Ri\er in the summer of 1863. His next action was at Tullahoma, Tennessee, and there he with others sufifered a sunstroke so that he was off duty for about a week. He then joined his regiment at Winchester^ Tennessee, where the troops were encamped, but he was left in th.e hospital there while his command took part in tb.e liattle of Chickamauga. He was also in the spectacular engagement of Missionary Ridge and had made the charge up the mountain side with his regiment, reaching its summit and within ten feet of the rebels when a minie-ball struck his left hip below the pelvic bone, and the bullet passing around toward the front was extracted by a surgeon in the center of the abdomen. The wound was a very serious one and it disabled him from active ser\ice, after which he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, at Jefferson\-ille, Indiana, acting there as orderly in the quartermaster's office. It was on the 25th of November, 1863, that he was wounded ami he afterward remained in the cpiartermaster's deijartment until honorably discharged at the close of the war on the 27th of Jnne. 1865. On the field of battle he displayed marked valor and his loyalt}- was e\'er above question. The nation rejoicing in the surrender of General Lee's army on the gth (if April. 1865, was, however, plunged into gloom five days later when the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received. Those are two dates that Mr. Beckner will never forget. His military service co\'ered two years, ten months and twenty-two days and then with an honorable record as a soldier he returned to his home.

Almost a year had passed, however, before Air. Beckner recovered from his wound and was able to take up the duties of life as an agriculturist. He first worked as a farm hand for a time and later procured a t'arm of his own. He was married Xovemlier 6. 1870, to Miss Susan Rohrer, who was Ijorn in Elkhart county, January 2. 1836. She was educated in the common schools, has been a faithful companion and helpmate to her husband and in the care of their home and the rearing of their children. Her father. Samuel Rohrer, was born in Montgomery county, Ohin. near Dayton, in 181 1, and died in 1873. He a young man who came with bis ]iarents to Elkhart count)-. Indiana, settling in Jackson township amid pioneer conditions and environments. He entered upon what proved to be a successful business career and in addition to agricultural interests he was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church. Both he and his wife were very devoted Christian people, laboring untiringh- for the growtb of the church and the extensi<in of its influence. There were only two chil- <li-cn in their family, the sister of Airs. Beckner being Alary Rohrer. who diei' in Januar\'. 1904. The parents ha\'e also passed away. Airs.

Ruhrer. whi.i was Ijorn in Treble C(_)unt_\', Ohio, about 1816, died in ^lay, 1896, at the age of eighty years. To Mr. and Airs. Beckner have been born two daughters : W'ihna is the wife of \V. H. Farris, an agriculturist, residing near Kendallville, Indiana, where he has a fine farm. They ha\'e twn children, Leah and Marie.

Florence Eeckner became the wife of John May. a resident of North Manchester, Indiana, and they have one child, Lure. Mrs. ]\Iay was educated in the public schools of New Paris and Leesburg, LnHana. Mrs. Florence Beckner May was b(.ini at New Paris. May 9, 1875, '^''"^ was married in 1894 to Mr. iNIay. They have resided at North Manchester, this state, for almost eleven years, but at the present time are residents of South Bend, Indiana. Mrs. May is a member of the Christian churcii, is past president and secretary of the Ladies" Aid Society of the chinxh. is also a member of the \\'oman's Relief Corps, being past president and secretary of this order, and also a member of the Ladies' of the Maccabees, being past record keqjer and organist of this order.

At the time of their marriage Mr. and Ivlrs. Beckner kicated on a farm south of New Paris, where they li\-ed for five or six years, and then selling that property he purchased one hundred and ten acres of land in Turkey Creek township. Kosciusko county, whereon he resided for twenty years. Again selling out he came tO' New Paris, where they now reside, and Mrs. Beckner's mother made her home with them until her death. Mr. Beckner well deserves the rest which has lieen \(iuchsafed to him and is now one of the honored, retired farmers of the county, having in pre\ious years lived a life of such intense and well directed activit_\' tliat he is now enabled to put aside active business cares. He cast his first presidential xote for Abraham Lincoln and has never faltered in his allegiance to the Republican party since that time. He has been selected as a delegate to county conventions, but has never been an aspirant for political honors and offices. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mrs. Beckner belongs to the Ladies" Aid Societw Both are interested in Sunday-school work and j\Ir. Beckner has been one oi the clnuTh trustees. They enjoy the unqualified confidence and good will of all who know them and are surrounded by many friends in the ]iretty little \-illage of New Paris, in which they now reside.

Earnest A. Skinner, who has been a member of the Elkhart county bar since 1899. in which lime he has taken his place among the many able lawyers of this count\-. lioth in legal prestige and in clientage, was Ixirn in Orion, Oaklanfl county, [Michigan. April 2S. 1875. He is a son of Lucius A. and Ida (i. (Cornell) Skinner, natives of Michigan, who now reside in Elkhart, having taken up their residence there in 1899.

two years was tal<eu Iruni his l)irt'n])lace tn Gaines, Michigan, anil a year later to Laingshurg. same state, where he spent the remainder of childhood and youth, securing a high school eclucation. He has always heen a hard worker, applying himself to every task in hand with the painstaking care and diligence which produce results in e\"ery vocation of life, but which are at the very bottom of success in a legal career. It was in Owosso, Michigan, that Mr. Skinner began his preparation for the legal profession, studying there in a law office two years, and then attended the University of Michigan, where he took the three years' course in the law department and graduated in 1899. In July of the same year he located at Elkhart, and was admitted to the Elkhart county bar, November 8, 1899. having previously, June 19. 1899. been admitted before the supreme court of Michigan.

Mr. Skinner has identified himself thoroughl}' \vith the cit)^ of his residence, and is well known not onl_\" professionally jjut as a citizen and social factor. He served two years as member of the Elkhart city council, giving his time and talents without reserve to the administration and improvement of his city. In politics he is a stanch Repulilican, fraternally i? a Master Mason, an Odd Fellow and a \\'ondman of the \\'orld, and is a member of the Congregational church.

George M. Young

INIr Young is a native of this county and was born February 28, 1S61. He is the youngest of six children - five sons and one daughter - born to Edward and Catharine Young. Five are living. ^lary is the wife of Owen Dorsey. a resident of Oswego. Kosciusko county, who is an agriculturist. William is a resident of the city of Goshen and be is a wholesale lumlier dealer. Fremont is a resident of Adrian, Michigan, and is a lumber manufacturer, and is married. Charles is a resident of Morris. Illinois, and be is an attorne}' at law, successful in his profession.

Father Young was burn in Ohio in 1820 and died in 1861. He was reared in bis native state. He was a cabinet maker. He emigrated to this county many years ago. when the county was new. He was a stalwart Republican. He ami his wile were adherents of the Lutheran faith. He died in Centon township.

IMother Young was a native of Pennsylvania and came from the old Pennsylvania German stock. She was de\'out in her faith. She was Ixini 1823 and died October if). 1884.

^.Ir. Young was reared in his nati\e county till the age of nineteen, when he went to La Salle county, Illinois, and was there two years as an agriculturist. He has been reared as a tiller of the soil anrl was in business as a buver and seller of lumlier in Elkhart count\'. He received a common scliool educativ)ii. At tlie age of twenty-one all tlie cash capital he had was ahout $400, which he had earned hy honest effort. So we may say he began at tlie Ixsttom of the ladder of life.

Air. Young wedded Miss Cynthia V. Hawkins, October 18, 1884. One son was born. Osman J., who died at the ag'e of sixteen. Mrs. Yonng was !x>rn in Benton township. February 23, 1864, and is the fom'th in a family of five children born to Joseph and Mary J. (Coons) Hawkins. Only tw'O children are living - Ceorge Hawkins, a resident of Mason City^ Iowa, and Mrs. Young.

Father Hawkins was Ijorn in Elkhart county in 1834 and died in 1896. He was a cooper and sawyer by trade. He was in the Civil war, a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was Republican in politics and voted for Lincoln. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Ligonier, and then at Alillersburg.

Mother Hawkins was liorn in \\"ashington count)-. Oliin. July i, 183 1, and is yet li\-ing m Benton, aged three-quarters of a centm-y. She is a member of the Methodist church.

It was in 1897 when Mr. and Mrs. Young located on their present farm of sixt\' acres, and he has twenty acres more in Benton township. They have one of the cosiest cottage homes in the township, and Airs. Young's house is a model of neatness. He is a stalwart Re]>ublican and cast his first presidential vote f<ir Blaine. In igoo Air. Young was elected to the position i.f Trustee of Benton township. During his administration he erected one large iron bridge o\-er the Elkhart river, and Inhlt a great deal of gra^-el roads. He left his township in a siilendid financial condition. Fraternally Mr. Young is a member of the Knights of Pythias, No. ' 328, at Millersburg. Mr. and Airs. Youngare members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Benton.

Benjannn h^ranklin W'hitn-ier, for many years one of the best known ami nn "-t successful Elkl-iart county physicians, was l)orn in Snvder county. Pennsylvania. January 3T, 1838, and for forty years has de\-oted his energies to the medical profession. His parents were Henrv and Alary (Stahl) AM-iitmer, both born in Pennsylvania, the father of English and Cerman descent, and they were marrietl in the Kevstone state, and the father died when the son Bejamin was iouv years old. There were five children in the family.

Dr. A\"hitmer passed his early years in Snyder count)-, where he attended first the country schools and then those at New Ijerlin and Selinsgrove. For a serious occu]-jation he first directed his attention to shoen-iaking. learning the trade and working thereat for six months, and later spent a year at the tailor's trade. The more vigorous pursuit of s'lwmilling ne.vt commanded his lalr.jrs, and lie was engaged in that wijrk for se\-en years. To acquire a better education he attended L'nion Seminary, graduating" in a three years' course, after which lie once more \vorked at sawmilHng. He tlien began tlie study of medicine, and with interims of practice he continued until his graduation, in 1868, from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He practiced for six ^months in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, and then entered the army as a surgeon, serving during the last three years of the Civil war, and after the war also continued as army surgeon in the Eighth Infantry of the regular army until 1867. He practiced at ^lillersburg, Pennsylvania, until 1874, for the following two years was in Philadelphia, and then came to Elkhart county, which was henceforth to Ije his permanent field of practice. He had his office at iNIillerslnu-g for six years, and then moved to Goshen, where he has Ijeer. caring for a large and profitalile business to the present time.

Dr. Whitmer affiliates with the Grand Army of the Republic and is also a Master Mason. He married I\Irs. Louisa Slate, who died some years ago-.

George W. Fleming

George \\'. I'deming, deputy clerk of the Elkhart circuit court, has been more or less actively identified with the official and business life of the count)- for the last ten years, beginning before he had attained his majorit}. As a }'oung man, of progressive and energetic character, of steady business ability and popular and engaging personality, he has performed an excellent part in the affairs of his countv and promises well for his future career.

]\Ir. Fleming belongs to the county 1i_\- liirth. baxing been burn in the city of Elkhart, on June 3, 1878. His parents were Denton A. and l-"rances (Brodrick) Fleming, who were both born, in the state of Michigan. The mother died in 1893. The father, who resides in Elkhart, has a most creditable record as a railroad engineer, having pulled the throttle for the Lake Shore road for some thirty-seven years. Three sons and one daughter made up the family, but George and his sister are the only children now living.

Mr. Fleming grew up in his native city, where, liesides attending the public schools, he was a student in the I-dkhart Commercial College, and some years later became a student in Woods' Commercial College at ^^'ashingto^, D. C. where he gradriated in June. 1902. His connection with the official affairs of this county began in 1896, when he was deputy clerk of tlie Elkhart circuit court, under George FI. Fister, under whom he served three years, and then for a year under Louis A. Dennert. Resigning, he accepted a position in the census bureau at Washington, D. C and it was while in that position that he attended, e\"enings. the business college in that city. On his return to Elkhart he accepted a position in the Indiana National Rank as assistant bookkeeper. January i. 1903. he once nmre came to the circuit clerk's office, as de]>-

]\Ir. Mcniins^' married. April 19, lyoo. Miss limma Leah Lindslev. of Goshen. They have one child. Florence. Mr. Fleming is a stanch Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for IMcKinley. Fraternallv he affiliates with the order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the I\Iodern Samaritans.

Chauncfv Dallas Sherwix

Chauncc',' Dallas Shcrwin. one of the oldest lix'ing nati\e sons of Cioshen. who has spent most of the years of his active career in this count}', .-ind who has taken a prominent part in business, legal and ])olitical affairs, is at present the honored incumbent of the office of postmaster at (ioshen, a position which his efficiency and public-spirited energy ha\e enabled him to fill to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.

I\Ir. Sherwin was born in Goshen, November 27, 1845, being a son of Leander and Elizabetli (Stevens) Sherwin, the former a nati\e of Vermont and the latter of New York state. The parents were married at Batavia, New York, and in 1837 came to Elkhart count}-, during the pioneer epoch, settling in the oJd town of Waterford. The father later mo\-ed to Goshen. For many years during his later life he was an in\-alid. He died in 1888, at the age of eight}--seven, and his wife passed awa\' in 1869, aged sixty-three. They were the parents of live children, but Chauncey and a sister are the only survivors.

]Mr. Sherwin was thrown on his own resources at a very early age. and practically from the time he was twelve years old was the mainstay of his parents. He has thus been the architect of his own fortunes, a self-made man who^ has deserved all the rewards wdiich the world has given him. His education, very limited in extent, was received in the Goshen public schools, and later he took a commercial course in Eastman's Business College in Chicago, but this was after the war. At the age of eighteen he enlisted, in .'\pril, 1864, in Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Indiana Infantry, and served his term of four months, when he was honorably discharged. He began railroading in the employ of the Michigan Southern, continuing until October, 1867, \vhen he become a clerk for the Hawks dry-goods firm. In 1869 he went to Minneapolis, and after a short experience there became a salesman of notions and white goods for a Chicago house. He was on the road five vears. employed in a Ijrick yard at Goshen he became a good friend of ^Nlr. Thomas Dailey, and on the latter's election to the office of couiit\- clerk in 1874 became his dqxity, a position which he filled for eight vears. W'hde discharging the duties of this position he at the same time applied him.self diligently to the .study of law. and in 1878 was admitted to the bar. In 1882 he was a candidate for the office of county clerk, but escaped election by fifty-two votes. Twice previous to this he liad served as chairman of the Repulilican county committee. From November, 1882. to July, 1884, he was bookkeeper for John H. Lesh and Company, and at the latter date went to Nebraska. Retuniing- to tin.-; city in 1886, he continued the practice of law, which he had iDCgun at Sargent. Nebraska, and for some years was with the firm of Baker and Aliller. On February 14, 1902, he became postmaster of Goshen through appointment by President Jvoosevelt, and has -faithfully served Uncle Sam and his numerous constituents to the present time.

ilr. Sherwin has twO' children, Ethel and John D. He has affiliations with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and has been actively identified with Howell Post No. 9, G. A. R., since its org-anization, having" been the first arljutant of the post.

Schuyler Colfax Hubbell

Schuyler Colfax Hubbell. who is a true son of Elkhart county, born and reared and always making his home in the co'unty, has for the past ten years been one of the successful and able lawyers of Goshen, attending to an increasing practice and gaining a place of influence among the men who care for the legal interests of the county.

Mr. Hubbell was born on a farm half a mile southeast of the town of Benton, January 25, 1869. Of one of tlie pioneer families of Elkhart county, his grandparents, Elisha and Millie Ann Flubbell, came here during the primitive times. His grandmother is still living, making her home with her daughter, Mrs. E. R. Lacy. Mr. Hubbell's father was Merrill E. Hubbell, who' was born in this courtv. and who' served three years as a soldier in the Twenty-first Battalion of Indiana Light Artillery. After the war he returned, married and began farming near Benton, but his career was cut short by death in 1873, '^^'hen his only son and child. Schuyler C, was but four years old. His wife was Julia Butler, and she resides in Gosheni, being sixty-one years old. She continued to live in Benton for some time after her husband's death, and when her son was fourteen years old she moved tO' Goshen.

Mr. Hubbell was well advantaged in youth and early manJiood from an educational standpoint. Attending the public schools of Benton and Goshen he graduated from the Goshen liig'h school with the class of 1S87. after which he continued his preparatory work in the Ann Arlwr high school for two years. After a course of two and a half years in the literary department of the University of Michigan he entered the law dqjartment there and was graduated with a degree in 1895. In the meantime, in 1894, he had been admitted to the bar at Goshen, and as soon as he left school he took up active practice in this city - at first alone, then the firm O'f Davis, Hubbell and Davis, and in 1901 the firm of Miller, Drake and Hubbell. He has a good practice, is noted as a keen attorney and a

A nati\e son of Elkhart county, of a family long noted for integrity of character and for the success and usefulness of their individual careers, Mr. Simon P. Culp is an enterprising agriculturist of Harrison township who well represents both his county and his family. Born here June 14. 1861, he was next to the youngest of the eight sons and four daughters of Anthony and Susannah (Bixler) Culp. Nine of the children are still living, and all in Elkhart county except Jacob B.. the eldest, who is a farmer at Hutchinson, Kansas.

The father was torn in Pennsyhania, Augaist 19, 1814, and died in 1892, when nearly eighty years old. He accompanied, when young, his father to Ohio, and from that state drove a wagon through to Indiana in 1852. Settling in Harrison township, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, and this is the farm which comprises Mr. Simon P. Culp's homestead. The first home of the Gulps in this county was a log cabin, and it was in this primitive abode that Simon was born. The first cutting of grain which they made was done with an old-fashioned sickle, the use of this ancient implement being made necessary by the stumps and trees in the hastily cleared field. The father adhered, politically, to the Whig party, voting for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and at the liirth of the Republican party espoused its principles. He and his wife were Mennonites, and aided in the erection of the first church near his home. His wife was born December 2^. 1821, and died May 2'/, 1900.

Reared in this county, accjuiring his education in the country schools and by personal application, Mr. Culp's life has been cast along those lines which would entitle him to the distinction of a self-made man, for the success he has attained has been lhe result almost entirely of his own efforts. At the age of twenty-one he received a horse, but otherwise had no caiiital except character, honesty and physical .strength. He was a renter on his father's farm and also worked by the month, spent one \'ear in Kansas, and on his return be and his brother Anthony N. found a tract of one hundred and sixty acres that they desired very much to buy. Without money enough to complete the deal, their father came to the rescue with two thousand dollars, saying " Here's the money, toys, now make your mark." .\ year later they had repaid the two thousand dollars and within two years had cancelled all the indebtedness against their farm, an accomplishment not gained, however, except bv the hardest kind of work, rigid economy and close attention to liusiness, which would bring success in any undertaking.

On Ma}' lo, i8qi, Mr. Gulp married Miss Marelda Parsel, by whom he has three children. Claude C. is a bright young student now in the fifth grade; Chloe M. is in the first grade; and the youngest is Mary P. Mrs. Culp was born in St. Joseph county February 22, 1868, being a daughter of John and Mary (Tintzman) Parsel. Her father, now deceased, was a farmer, and her mother is yet living at the age of more than three score and ten, her home being with Mrs. Culp.

Mr. Culp now owns the old homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, being as choice land as can be found anywhere in this part of the county. His two-story and basement brick residence is one of the comfortable homes for which the township of Harrison is noted. He has constantly improved his farm, and, without a dollar of incumbrance against it, he may well be proud of what he has acquired during the years of his active career. Mr. Culp is a trustee of the Mennonite church in Harrison township, and also assistant superintendent of its Sunday school. A broad-minded man, able in the performance of duty, reliable in business and affairs of trust, he has long held an esteemed position in liis community, and the stor}- of his career deserves more than passing mention.

]nin J. Becknell. physician and surgeon, has conducted a large and lucrative practice at Goshen since 1898, ami his ability and skill have placed him among the foremost representatives of the medical profession in this part of the .state. Flaving been in active practice for some thirty years, he not onh' has broad experience and the prestige that comes therewith but his theoretical training has teen as complete and thorough as any medical man in the county can claim.

Born on a farm in Carroll county, Ohio, December 8, 1847, Dr. Becknell was a son of Ananias and Catherine (Weimer) Becknell, who were Ixith born in Somerset county. Pennsylvania, the father in 1819, the mother in 181 7. Both sides of the familv are worthy of mention. The paternal grandfather, Charles Becknell. a native of Germany and during his earlier years a sailor ()n the high seas, married in America a woman of his own nativity, and they, as did also the maternal grandfather, Jacob ^^'eimer, settled in Ohio at an early day and passefl the rest of their lives there. Cirandfather Becknell, who settled in Stark county, taught school for thirty-three years. He was a well educated man for that day. taught both English and German, and was a fine i>enman. In connection with teaching he carried nn farming. Grandfather \\'eimer located in Carroll county, and was a farmer by (Occupation. Both of these forefathers lived to a great age, and longevity has l>een a marked characteristic of the family. Dr. Becknell's parents had eleven children, he being the fourth in order of birth, and three sons and three daughters are still living. The parents were German Baptists, and the father, in political stani]). was first a \Miig and then a

Republican. In September, 1853, the parents brought their family to Indiana, settling near Milford in Kosciusko county, and later they moved to the town of Milford. where they both passed away in 1897.

Dr. Becknell was reared on a farm, where he early tecame familiar with the principles of hard labor as a factor in life. Beginning his education in the country schools, which he attended only a few months eacli year, in 1866 he entered the University of Notre Dame, where he was a student two years, and then spent one term in Hillsdale (Michigan) College. Securing a teacher's certificate, he taught in Elkhart county, and alternating that with student life he spent two more years at Hillsdale. He began the study of medicine under Dr. A. C. Jackson and Dr. P. D. Harding, of Goshen, being under their preceptorship at intervals for three years, but meantime, in 1871, he entered Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, where he was graduated in March, 1873. By competitive examination before graduation he was assigned to position of assistant physician in the city hospital of Indianapolis, and while in tliis position he took a course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Indiana, graduating" from the same in March, 1875. A short time afterward he located at Milford, Indiana, Ixit remained there only about a year until he married and went east to New York for the purpose of pursuing a course in Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which, one of the best institutions of its kind in the United States, he graduated in the spring of 1877. Returning to Milford he continued his practice there until July, 1898, at which date he located in Goshen. In the spring of 1S79 he received the honorary degree of M. D. from the Medical College of Indiana, the medical department of Butler University.

Dr. Becknell stands high in his profession, and is a member of various professional bodies; namely, the Elkhart County Medical Society, the District Medical Society, the Indiana Medical Society, the Tri'State Medical Society, the -\merican Medical Association, the Big Four Railway Surgeons, and the International Association of Railway Surgeons. He is secretary of the Elkhart county board of health and secretan,' of the board of United States Pension Examiners at Goshen. While a resident of Milford he took a very active, part in developing the industrial interests of that town, and to him was due much of the progress and material prosperity of that place. Two additions to the town bear his name. In politics he is a Rqniblican.

October 26, 1876, while living at Milford, Dr. Becknell married Miss Sarah E. Zook, of Goshen. They have two sons. Guy G., the elder, graduated at Northwestern University with the degree of B. S. anfl is pursuing his post-graduate studies there, which he w-ill complete June, 1905. having won a fellowship in that institution. The younger son is Ralph H., now taking a civil engineering course in the International Correspondence School at Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Robert E. Chatten

Robert E. Chatteii, deputy sheriff of EJkhart county, has a record of continuous identification wit!: the shrievalty of Elkhart county, either in his present capacity or as sheriff, which, for length as also for etificiency and faithfulness and courage in the performance of duty, has very few if any parallels in the state. On more than one occasion he has exh.ibited that personal 1>raveiy and quickness of wit and action which are so essential in an officer charged with such grave responsibilities and dtities as is the case with sheriffs.

Mr. Chatten, despite his nineteen years of active official life, is yet in the prime of his powers and 3^ears. He was born in Adrian, Michigan, April 2. 1857, and has lived in Elkhart countj' since he was twelve years old, at which time he was brought here by his parents, Robert and Charlotte (Elude) Chatten. His father, now deceased, was a shoemaker by trade. Being thrown upon his own resources when quite young. Mr. Chatten had to edticate himself largely, profiting liy only a brief attendance at the public schools. At the age of twentytwo he had decided to study law in the ofiice of the late Henry C. Dodge. but just at tjiat time was offered the position of deputy sheriff under Sheriff Charles E. Thompson, and held that place for two terms, or four years. He was then, in 1886, elected sheriff of Elkhart county by a majority of 1.488 and re-elected in 1888 by t,^88 majority. For four years he was dejjuty under Sheriff H. F. Kidder, four years under Sheriff W'm. O. Elliott and three years under Sheriff Manning-. He has alwavs been ;i stanch Repulalican. Fraternally he is a Knig'bt of Pythias.

George S. Cobb

(leorge S. Cobb, a long established and well known citizen of this count}', for a number of years engaged in educational work and more recently a factor in the trade circles of Goshen, has been honored by election to and is n<jw serving in the office of township trustee of Elkhart township. This is a position of great responsibility, and a faithful and ])ublic-spirited discharge of its duties is a matter of moment to everv citizen of the township, tiie schools, bridges, roads and public impro\cments generally coming under the direct supervision of the trustee. Mr. Cobb has both deserved the honor of this office and has acquitted himself most creditably in its work.

Born in Smithville, Chautauqua county, Xew York, September 12, 1870, Air. Cobb was early brought to this county and was reared to manhood in Cioshen. He received the excellent education afforded in the ]iublic schools ni this city, and rben attended the Tri-State Normal at Angola. Indiana. Recei\'ino- a certificate to teach, he was for ten years one of the successful instructors of the young in the schools of this county. Sirice the spring- of 1898. and in connection with his teaching duties, he has conducted a hicycle shop and salesroom- in Goshen, an enterprise which he has made one of the substantial business institutions of the city.

On the death of Mr. J. B. \Valk, who then held the i_)tftce of trustee of Elkhart township, Mr. Cobb was appointed to fill the vacanc}', and at the regular election for this office, on November 8, 1904, he was elected to the trusteeship. A Republican in politics, Mr. Cobb has taken an active interest in g^eneral ptjlitics and is a man of sound ideas as to world affairs as well as local politics. For three years he served as a member of Company C, Indiana National Guards, and has an hiinorable discharge from the same. Fraternally he affiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern ^^'nodmen of .\merica. and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

In 1898 Mr. Cobb married Miss Cassie Yoder, who is a daughter of Manassas Ycder, of this county. They have two children, namely: Charles and 'Mabel.

One (if the nmst prominent and respected citizens of Goshen is J. B. Andrews, who for a number of years has occupied a prominent place in its manufacturing circles. Starting out for himself early in life, he has steadily worked his way upward, gaining success and winning the public confidence. A native son of Ohio, he was born in Hardin county, near Kenton. November 2, 1863, a son of Samuel Montgomer\' and IMartha (Caryj Andrews, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Worthington, Ohio. The father was numbered among the early settlers of Hardin county, where for many years he was a tiller of the soil. His death occurred in Hardin county. Ohio, March 4, 1905. He was of Scotch descent. The mother is living, and they were the parents of five children.

J. B. Andrews, the youngest child in order of birth in his parents' family, was but thirteen years of age when he started out in life for himself, first securing employment as news agent on a railroad, later being made a brakeman, and finallv rose to the position of conductor. In 1886 he went to old Mexico, where he served as a conductor for three and a half years, and for six months was superintendent of the Mexican Central Railroad. The year 1890 witnessed his arrival in Goshen, since which time he has been prominently identified with its interests as a harness manufacturer. He first engaged in that occupation with his bjrotber, J. F. Andrews, but in 1893 purchased his brother's interest, antl has since been alone in the Ixisiness. His plant is well equipped with the latest improved machiner\^ for carrying on the work, and he also conducts the largest retail store of the kind in the state of Indiana. His success is largely due to his capable manage- ment and splendid executive alaility, and his reputation in commercial circles is above question. In addition to his large manufacturing interests he is also engaged in the loan and brokerage business.

On the 20th of Octnl>er. 1890, ]Mr. Andrews was united in marriage to Eftle Ahlefeld. and their home is a ha]>py and attractive one, where warm-hearted hosi^itality is always to be found by their numerous friends. Mr. .-\ndrews is a life-long Republican, and fraternally holds membership relations w ith the ^lasonic order.

Joseph H. Lesh

Joseph H. Lesh, president and treasurer of the Lesh & Young Company, is ijne of the progressive }-oung business men of the Maple City, interested in all matters tending to the welfare of the city, and in many ways has aided in making the name of Goshen known throughout the conntry.

Mr. Lesh was born in \\'abash county, Indiana. July 6, 1868. a son of John H. and Mary E. ( Chn- ) Lesh. Tiie father was a native O'f Montgomery county, Ohio, born March 19, 1846, a son of Joseph Lesh. In 1850 the family home was changed to Wabash count}-. Indiana, where John H. was reared to farm life. It was in 1873 that his first venture in lumber was made. Inve.sting the few dollars that he had saved in li\-c timlier, he cut it, hauled it to the mill and had it converted into lumber, and when that was sold he found that he had made a neat profit and secured a start in life. Moving to North Manchester, Indiana, he at once embarked in the lumber business, where his efforts were also attended with success, but four years later he established a lumber office in Chicago and moved his family to Goshen;. After two years he closed out his Chicago business and invested his earnings in Goshen, organizing the firm of John LI. Lesh & Company. Gradually the business grew in proportions, and at the time of his death he was president of the I,esh, Sanders &: Egbert Company, Goshen ; president oif Lesh, Prouty & Abbott Company, East Chicago: president of the State Bank of Goshen, besides having vast real estate interests. Goshen lost a strong man and an estimable citizen when John H. Lesh passed away February 15, 1898, at the height of an active business career. He \vns a power among men,, and e^^'er active in the interests of the city, of which he .served at one time as mayor. In his fraternal relations he was a member of the Masonic order and the Kniglits of Pythias. He married Mary E. Clay, whose people were early pioneers of Elkhart county, where her father, Henry Clay, was long eng-aged in agricultural pursuits. They became the parents of two children, and the daughter, Mamie, is the wife ')f J. W. Latta, of Goshai.

Joseph H. Lesh. the elder of the two children., was about seven years of age when the family home was estalilished in Goshen, and in its schools he received his educational traim'ng. \\'hen alxiut seven- teen years of age he engaged in the hiniher Inisiness witli his father, learning the business in all its details, and upon the death of the latter all of the vast interests fell to him, Ixit his training placed him in a position to efficiently continue its conduct. He is now president of the Lesh & Young Company, Adrian, Michigan ; \-ice-president of the Lesh, Prouty & Abbott Company, Chicago ; treasurer of Schuh-Miller Lumber ComiDany at Selma, Alabama, and Berclair, Mississippi: and a director in the State Bank of Goshen. He is also^ the proprietor of tlie Lesli Stock Farm, well known to all lovers of horses, and a part of which is within the incorporated limits of Goshen, consisting of seventy-h\'e acres. A fine one-half mile track has been constructed for training purposes, and the stable can accommodate many head of horses. .\mong those he values most liighly may lie menti,oned Online, with a mark of 2:04: Ontonian, 2:073/^; Junius, 2:07)4; Greenline, 2:07^; Onotn, 2:07 '4- He also owns many other valuable horses.

In 1893 Mr. Lesli married Catherine Wanner, the daughter of Judge Lew Wanner, of Pennsylvania, where Mrs. Lesh was born, and they ha\e one daughter, Catherine. Mr. Lesh is a stanch supporter of Repul^lican principles, and is an, active worker m the ranks of his party. He is now serving" as president of the Goshen board of education. His fraternal relations are with the IMasonic order.

The Cnited States ma}- well feel proud of the veterans of the Civil war whose efforts perpetuated the Union and made possible the history of the greatest republic on the face of the globe. As long as memory remains to the American ]3eople will they cherish the record of what occurred upon the battle fields of the south, and the soldier is honored everywhere because of the deeds he ]jerformed in order to save his country's honor. Of this class Mr. Cart is a representative, being one \}i the worthy soldiers of Indiana during the Civil war. He is also one of Ihe pioneer residents of Elkhart county, having taken up his alxxle here many years ago. He was born I'chruary 6, 1838, and is the eighth in order of liirtli in a familv of twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, who were liorn to Adam and Elizabeth (Nickell) Cart. The father was a native of ^Monroe county. West Virginia, his birth having occurred in 1797, two years liefore the death of George Washington. He was a blacksmith by trade while in his native state, and afterward he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Emigrating westward to Indiana he settled in Rush county in 1829 and purchased forty acres of raw timl)erland. Hi? first home was a little log cabin and it was in this pioneer structure that the suljject of this review was liorn. The county was in its i)rimitive condition and the pioneer settlers saw and killed many deer, while at one time a bear was seen in the vicinitv of ]Mr. Cart's home. He endured all tlie hardshi])s and trials incident to pioneer life and as the years went by lie botli pnrchased and sold land but retained possession of the original farm until the time of the Civil war. when he sold that pro])erty. While on a \-isit to his daughter in Elkhart count}-, he died in Xew Paris. His political support was given to the Democracy and he ne\er faltered in his allegiance to its principles. He was a man of strong convictions, giving firm allegiance to whatever cause he believed to be right, and both he and his wife were advocates and followers of the teachings of the Presbyterian church. His wife was a native of West Virginia, born in 1804, and her death occurred in iSgi. In her home she was an affectionate mother and was a true antl faithful friend. Mr. Cart can also toast of Revolutionary ancestry, his paternal great uncle, George Cart, having been a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and he related events when he saw General Washington. Mrs. Cart died in Elkhart county, but both .she and her husband were laid to rest in Rush county. Five of their children are now lix-ing: Elizabeth, the wife of John O. \\'ebb. whoi is now li\-ing retired in Newton. Illinois: George W. : Sidney A., the wife of William Berkey, who is lix'ing retired in Goshen. Indiana : Joseph, a resident of ^^'abash countv. Indiana, who is married and follows agricultural pursuits there: and Louisa, the wife of Henry Myer^^ of \\'abash county, this state.

George W. Cart was reared in the count}- of his nativity, spending his boyhood days under the parental roof and acquiring his education in the common schools. He |)ursued his studies in one of the old-time log schoolhouses, which was about 20 by 25 feet in size, and was built of hewed logs. It was heated by a big fire-place and afterward b\- a sto\e. .\ desk was made by placing a board upon some wooden pins driven into the wall and the lienches or seats were made of slabs with wooden legs and without backs. The pupils studied Talbert's or Ray's arithmetic and they used an old fashioned goose-quill ])en in writing. Air. Cart having made many of these pens. He has witnessed many changes in the educational system of the state and reioices in what has been accomplished for ]3roviding superior school privileges for the yovmg. He worked upon his father's farm in the days of his boyhood and youth and continued at home until after the outbreak of the Civil war. when at the age of twenty-five years he enlisted in Battery M. First Indiana Hea\-y \rtiller}-. The reginient went to the front. howe\-er. as the Twenty-first Indiana Infantry. Mr. Cart joined the army in Rush county under Captain .\rnistrong and Colonel John A. Keith, who was afterward succeeded by Colonel Hays. The date of his enlistment w-as September 17. 1863, and his battery was assigned to the southwest department under General Banks. After leaving Indianapolis he reported for dut^- at P)aton Rouge. Louisiana. l:ut before reaching that place he was under lire at the n-iouth of the Red river. He was often engaged in scout duty and was sent to garrison duly at h'ort Williams at Baton Rouge and afterward was ordered to New Orleans to pre])are for the siege (it .M(il:ile. Alabama. In April. 1X63, the battery went across to the point of the mainland of Alabama, expecting to go on the expedition against Mobile, but the soldiers experienced many hardships and privations in that campaign, and on the 3th of ]\Iay, 1865, Dick Taylor surrendered. When the explosion of the great magazine occurred at Mobile on Thursday. May 25, 1863, Mr. Cart was in the city and well rememl)ers the occasion, for it was a scene never to be forgotten. He was in acti\-e ser\ice during the sieges of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely and saw many incidents which have left an indelible impression upon his mind. His wife has prepared a history of his army career from incidents of his active service which he related to her, and it presents a faithful and true picture of \\ ar scenes. He was a hrave and loyal soldier, interested in the cause for which he fought to the extent of facing danger and death if need be in an attempt to jjreserve the Union. He will never forget two of the events which occurred during his army life: the surrender of Lee and the assassination of Lincoln, the latter occurring when he was in the vicinitv of ]\Iobile, .Mabama. From that place he was sent to Santa Ruse Island. Florida, with the heavy artillery to do duty there until the regulars took charge. Later he returned to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he received an honorable discharge January 13, 1866, after which he returned home to don the civilian's garb after an active and arduous service of two and a quarter years. He yet has in his possession his mother's little Bible which she gave to him at the time he entered the army. Mr. Cart returned to his home in Rush county with impaired health, but in 1867 he began farming, folk)\ving that pursuit for a few years. He then turned his attention to the timber and grain business in Union township, Elkhart county, and has since made his home in this county, being a respected and worthv citizen here for more than a third of a century.

Mr. Cart has been married, twice. He first wedded Miss Hulda Brothers, and to them was born a son, Carl Clift'ord. He was educated in the schools of Goshen, Indiana, and is now a practical farmer residing in New Paris. Mrs. Cart was a native of Stark county, Ohio, and died October 29, 1879. For his second wife Mr. Cart chose Miss Ellen Mathews, to whom he was married October 17, 1883. She was born in Elkhart county, September 11, 1831, a daughter of Edwin and Mary A. (Mills) Mathews. There were thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters, in that family, but only seven are now living, while five of this numlier are residents of Elkhart county. The others are Alfred Mathews, a mechanic and telegraph operator who now resides in Muncie, Indiana ; and Belle, the wife of Douglas Liciitenwalter, a machinist. The father was born in Logan county. Ohio, April 30, 1819, and died March i, 1898. He came to Elkhart county when a lad of fourteen years. His educational privileges were limited and he exjierienced many of the hardships of pioneer life in his youth. He was descended fmm Re\'olutionary .-mcestrv, his grandfather having loeen ime of the soldiers (if the .\merican army in the war inv independence, while his uncle. Henry, was a soldier in Ihe war of 1812 and ]3articipated in the battle of Tippecanoe. At one time Phillip "Mathews, grandfather of Mrs. Cart, was proprietor of the hotel in Goshen. Indiana. The Mathews family were descended from Welsh ancestry, while the grandmother of Mrs. Cart belonged to an old Mohawk Dutch family. The mother of Mrs. Cart was born in Kentucky, "February 22, 1826. and is of English extraction. Mr. Mathews, the father of Mrs. Cart, followed farming through much of his life. He ga\e his political support to the Whig party in early manhood and afterward joined the Rcpidilican party. He held membership in the Methodist church, to which his wife also belongs. She is still living and is a ^vell preser\ed lady. Mrs. Cart was reared in the county of her nativity and acquired her education in the public schools. For six terms she w-as a teacher in the schools of Elkhart county and is a lady of strong mentality and superior culture.

It was in 1883 that Mr. and Mrs. Cart took up their abode in the pleasant little village of New Paris in a cozy residence on Main street. He may well be called a self-made man. for he has achieved success in life entirely through his own efforts. He now has a nice town property and eighty acres of fine land in Jackson township. His political allegiance has always been given the Republican party since he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has frequently been selected as a delegate to the county conventions. On the 19th of June, igoi. he was appointed postmaster of New Paris, and is the present incumbent in the office, IMrs. Mary Geddes acting as his deputy. Tliis is a model postoffice as regards neatness and cleanliness and also the dispatch with wdiich business is carried on. Fraternally Mr. Cart affiliates with William Mc- Laughlin Post No. 508. G. A. R., at Milford, Indiana, and has always taken great delight in attending the encampments of the members of the order, being frequently seen in attendance at the state and national meetings. He attended at Detroit in 1891, Washington in 1892, Cincinnati in 1898, \\'ashington in 1902, Cleveland in 1901, and also in Chicago, Columbus and Indianapolis. He now has in his possession one of the camp mess implements - a spoon, knife and fork combined - as a relic of the war. In 1881 Mr. Cart, accompanied by his mother, w-ent to visit her old home in ^Vest Virginia and while there she pointed out to him a tract of land which w^as first purchased in 1789 by one of the Pennsylvania pioneers and which remained in the possession of the family for ninetytwo years. The Carts come of German lineage, and the name was originally spelled Kart. Mr. and Mrs. Cart are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Paris and he is one of its trustees, while Mrs. Cart is recording secretary of the church. and has been a member since 1866. She is also treasurer of the Ladies' Aid Society. Mr. and Mrs. Cart are leading citizens of New Paris, held in high esteem by all who ku'iw them, and it is with plea.sure that we present their history to our renders.

George W. W'ehrneyer, lumljcr dealer and contractDr and builder at (ioshen, has been identitied. with the lite and activities of Elkhart comity practically all his life, iiaxing lieen Ixirn on bis father's farm in Harrison township. Januai'v I'l, 18(14. and ha\ing- li\ed in the county ever since except during- the years 1884 and 1885 when he was en-, gaged in contracting and buikling at (lirard. Crawtord county. Kansas.

His father was Frederick \\'e!imeyer. a native of Prussia, Germany, who came to America and married in I'biladelphia and then came to Elkhart county in 1859, locating on a farm in Harrison township. He died in Jefferson township in 1880. in his sixty-fifth year. His wife, Catherine Henning before her marriage, who was born in Philadelphia of German parentage, died at the age of seventy-three. They were parents of eleven children, ten of whom are living.

Mr. Wehmeyer. who is the tenth chikl and third .son, passed his childhood and youth on an Elkhart county farm and attended the district .schools. After following farming as an independent vocation for some time, he took up the carpenter's trade, serving his time as an apprentice and then working as a journeym<in. In 1897 '^^ went intt> tire contracting and building Ijusiness on his own account, and in 1899 increased the scope of his industrial interests b\ establishing a lumber vard. He keeps from five to fifteen men in his employ, and has acquired an enviable reputation in the building circles of the county. There are numerous monuments of his enterjirise in Goshen. He was the builder of the beautiful new high school in 1904, which ranks among the finest structures of its kind in the state and is one of the most ornate examples of pul^lic architecture in the city. A number of fine residences and business buildings have also been erected by him.

Mr. W'ehmeyer atfiliates with the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men, in politics is a Democrat, and for a long time has been one of the most active workers in the Lutheran church, being one of the deacons and trustees.

Haixes Egbert

The qualifications which insure success in Imsiness are manifest in the career of Haines Egf^ert. who is a representative of one of the leading industries of Goshen. ?le assisted in the organization of the Sanders & Egbert Company, which is nf \-alue not only to the stockholders l.mt to the entire community, fm- it furnishes employment to many workmen and contributes to the commercial activity of the city, and it has been tlie extensix-e dealings of this company that has made the name of hardwood synonymous with that of Goshen, as the city has for years Ixirne the reputation of being the greatest hardwoofl distrilxiting point in the L'nited States.

liert is of Hnlland descent. His j'atenial grandfather was John W. Egljert. and his father also Ixjre the name of John W". Jiglaert, the latter having' been a native of Orange county, New ^'ork, but during his boyhood days removed with his parents to Milford. Indiana. He was a soldier in the Aiexican war and a "49er to California, but finally returned to iNIilford and in iSC)^ came to Goshen, where the remainder of his life was spent, his life's labors being ended in death when he had reached the age of sixt\-nine years. During the greater ]>art (if his business career lie fullowcd milling", as proprietor of a saw and grist mill, but in 1S70 was elected sherifif of Elkhart county and reelected in 1872, discharging the duties of that office in a faithful and conscientious manner. His ])olitical affiliations were with the Democracy, and fraternally he was a member of the Masonic order. His widow, who bore the maiden name of Theresa White, was born in Orange county, \'erm<)nt, in 1828. and is still living. were the parents of three children: John \\'., a resident of Goshen: Haines, whose name introduces this rexiew: and Minnie, deceased.

Haines Egbert is indebted to the public schools of Goshen for the educational privileges which he received in his youth. After attaining to years oi maturity, in 1881, he entered the employ of John H. Lesh & Company, with whom he remained until 1884. when he went to Chicago and began work for the Haydon Brothers Lumljer Company as a traveling buyer. Resigning that position in 1889, he returned and again entered the employ of John H. Lesh & Company, as general superintendent of their works at East Chicago, Illinois. In 1890 he went south and formed the partnership of Reeves, Egbert & Company at LaGrange, Arkansas, but two years later, m 1892, the firm was dissolved and Mr. Egbert once more returned to his old home in Goshen, where he purchased an interest in the firm then known as Lesh, Penrcxl & Compan}'. L'pon the retirement of Mr. Penrod Mr. Egbert was elected secretary of the company, and at the organization of the Sanders & Egjjert Company he \\as made the vice-president and secretary. Since the age of seventeen he has Ijeen interested in the lumber business, perfecting himself in e\ery branch, and for many years he has been ' connected with this well known firm. He has charge of the sales of the company, and has been an extensive traveler, never losing an opportunity to -further the interests of his company or Goshen. He is also one of the directors of the Elkhart County Loan & Trust Company, and a director in the City National Bank.

In 1892 Mr. Egbert w-as united in marriage to Miss Alice Kreider, a daughter of Martin Kreider. and they have had two children : Lillian and John K.. Init the last named is deceased. In his fraternal relations Mr. Egbert has attained the thirty-second degree in ]\Iason,n" and is also a member of tlie Knights of Pythias. Politicallv he is identified \\ ith the Democracv. and for three vears was a member of the scliool board, the cause of education ever finding in him a warn: and lielpful friend. He is an honored member of the Presljjterian church. in wliich lie is serving as a trustee.

William H. Anderson

Wilham H. Anderson, occupying the position of postmaster at Elkhart, is a native of Lyons, Iowa, and a son of Robert and Letitia (Stewart) Anderson, both of whom came to this country from Belfast, Ireland, in the early fifties. They had lived for several years in that city, although both were natives of England. Robert Anderson was born in England but \vas of Scotch ancestiy. His wife was born in Coventry, England, and belonged to one of the fine families of that country. Her father, John Stewart, was a prominent ofificial of England, and her maternal uncle. Dr. Anderson, was distinguished as physician to Queen Victoria. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were married in Belfast. They were first residents of New York City and subsequently established their home in Lyons, Iowa, where the father died during the infancy of his son William. Mrs. Anderson sun'ived her husband and died in Elkhart, November 28, 1903.