Huntington County, Indiana - The whole text, 1914 (part 11 of 15)

William Thorn was born in Wayne county, Ohio, June 25, 1840, a son of Jacob and Mary (Coy) Thorn. The parents were both natives of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, but their respective families moved out to Wayne county, Ohio, and located on land in the same neighborhood. Thus Jacob and Mary Thorn grew up together, and their childhood acquaintance ripened into matrimony. They spent all their lives in Wayne county, Ohio, and were substantial farming people.

The first eighteen years of his life, William Thorn lived in Wayne county, Ohio, with his parents, and in the meantime was given practical, though hardly a liberal education. In the fall of 1858 he came to Jackson township of Huntington county, and for several years, found employment as a farm hand among his friends and neighbors. In the fall of 1862 occurred his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Flack. For a few years after their marriage, he made a living and gained much experience and also acquired a little capital by renting land. Finally he and his wife had accumulated enough to invest in twenty acres, and he finally traded that for his present homestead of eighty acres. In every undertaking he has been progressive, and has proved himself one of the most capable farmers and dairymen in his section of the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Thorn have four sons: Rey. Charles Thorn is a local minister of the United Brethren church and is now a farmer in Clear Greek township; Frank Thorn died when twenty-nine years of age, a young man of great promise, who had prepared for a career and was a graduate of Purdue University; A. M. Thorn is a farmer near Auburn, Indiana, and married Mary Newell; Ora Thorn married Nettie Dawson, and lives in Canada. The mother of these sons died December 5, 1904. On November 28, 1906, Mx. Thorn married Rebecca J. Howey, who was born in Jackson township of DeKalb county, Indiana, April 24, 1853, a daughter of Peter Kester. The Kester family was likewise from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, but Mrs. Thorn was reared in DeKalb county, Indiana, and was educated in that locality. Her first husband was John Howey, and by that marriage were born four children as follows: Daisy M., wife of Aurelius Thorn; Corma, who married Blanche Powell; Josephine, unmarried, and Flossie, who married Frank Rice. The family are members of the United Brethren church at Zion, and Mr. Thorn is one of the trustees of the organization. In politics he is a prohibitionist, and does what he can to advance the cause of that party in the community and the nation.

THEODORE P. JOHNSON. Some men seem destined by nature to succeed; no matter what obstacles appear in their path they are able to overcome them, if for no other reason than that of a persistent determination. Many of the best citizens of Huntington county were handicapped in their earlier years, and their success has been acquired after many battles with hardship and they have well merited their success in the world. A citizen of this type is Mr. Theo. P. Johnson, of Jackson township, the proprietor of the Green Valley Stock Farm. Mr. Johnson has lived in Huntington county, a comparatively short time, but is an old resident of the state, and since moving to Huntington has closely identified himself with the industrial and civic affairs of this community. The Green Valley Stock Farm comprises one hundred and thirty acres in sections 29 and 32 and is located six miles northeast of Huntington. Besides his main farm, Mr. Johnson also owns one hundred and sixty acres in section 20 of the same township. All this land and its improvements represent a very substantial degree of prosperity, and it has all been won since Mr. Johnson started out a young man with practically no fortune or influential friends behind him.

Theo. P. Johnson was born in Benton county, Indiana, September 24, 1862, a son of Samuel B. and Sarah (Reed) Johnson. Both parents were born in Ohio, came to Indiana about 1835, and were pioneers in Fountain county, where the father continued his trade as a cooper, until 1859. He then moved onto a large tract of land in Benton county, and spent ten years in clearing and developing that estate. After that he had a farm of his own, and made it his home until 1895, when he moved to Remington in Jasper county, and had his home there until his death. His wife had already passed away. There were nine children and the four living at the present time are: Orlando E. Johnson, of Union township; Mary M., wife of N. M. Gehris of Warren county, Indiana; Robert P. Johnson, of Jackson township; and Theo. P.

Mr. Theo. P. Johnson was educated in the common schools of Warren and Benton county, but it was only in the winter season that he attended school at all regularly, and the open months of the year were spent in performing the duties of the home farm. At the age of sixteen he began working for himself, and at the time he was twenty-one his chief capital was represented by a horse and a buggy. At the age of eighteen he had felt the necessity of a better education, and then continued work during the summer but went to school in winter until he was twenty. His independent career began when he rented a farm of forty acres. He proved his ability to take care of land on his own account, and after the first venture rented eighty acres and then one hundred and twenty acres, and finally was given charge of three hundred and twenty acres owned by Ex-Senator Goodwin in Warren county. In the management of that place he displayed peculiar success, and laid the basis for his permanent prosperity while there. In 1898 Mr. Johnson made his first purchase of land, comprising eighty acres in Benton county. The purchase price was $4,400, and he paid $1,000 down on that property. In 1900 he organized a rural telephone system, which was the first introduction of the telephone into the country districts in that section, and he pushed the enterprise with a great deal of vigor, and it proved a very profitable undertaking and made him a good deal of money. Mr. Johnson operated that telephone, line for twelve years and finally sold out and moved to Huntington county in 1911.

Very early in his career. Mr. Johnson took an important step toward independence by his marriage to Angeline Kochel of Warren county. To their marriage have been born six children: Daisy, wife of A. W. Timmons of Benton county; Edgar M., who graduated from the. Purdue University with the class of 1907 and is now a druggist in Fowler, Indiana; Loda, wife of James Hughes of Jackson township; Lida, a graduate of the common schools and living at home; Ashley, who is sixteen years of age; and Artie, still in the district schools.

The family have membership in the Central Christian church. In politics Mr. Johnson is a republican, but has given little attention to party politics. As a farmer he is a breeder of thoroughbred Duroc hogs and fine shorthorn cattle. During his residence in Warren county he was elected as a republican to the office of assessor of Prairie township, and served two terms. Later he was elected' township trustee of the same township and filled that office four years. As a young man Mr. Johnson worked in the fields of ex-Governor J. Frank Hanley, and in 1907,.when Mr. Hanley was Governor of Indiana, he appointed Mr. Johnson one of the trustees of the Indiana Boys School at Plainfield. Mr. Johnson gave one term of service in that position.

ANDREW PauL. Huntington county is especially rich in the type of farming men she has attracted and held to herself in the past half century, in many instances her sons having followed in the steps of their fathers and taken up their residence on the places where they were born, there to carry on to completion the splendid work begun by the previous

'generation. It is to such men as these that this county is most deeply indebted, for they have at all times the best interests of their community at heart, and strive to develop their town along the most approved lines in progressive agriculture. One of these men is Andrew Paul, who was born on the farm on which he now lives, on October 31, 1864. His fine farm in Lancaster township is'ocated five miles distant from Huntington on the Salamonie pike, and it reflects in its present day aspect the energy of its original owner, together with the aggressiveness and progressiveness of its present owner and occupant.

Andrew Paul is the son of Henry and Nancy (Snowberger) Paul natives of the Keystone state, who married in that 'state and came through to Indiana with a four horse wagon that contained all their worldly goods. They struck the state which was to represent their future home in June, 1850, and after some little prospecting about the head of the house chose the place that has since been the family seat in Lancaster township. Here the father built a small one room cabin, and this was the shelter of the little household while he began to get the place in shape for a small crop, and until he was able to build a more suitable one some time later. The home that he built to take the place of that early cabin home is still standing, in excellent condition, and is the home of the subject today.

The father died on February 1, 1901, the mother following him on July 26, 1904. Ten children blessed their home, and of that number Andrew Paul is the youngest living child. The eldest and youngest born are both deceased.

Andrew Paul was reared on this farm and when he was of suitable school age he attended the local schools. He first attended what was known as the Paul School, in Lancaster township, located on the corner of the old farm, and so called by reason of its location. He was only a student in the winter months, however, for from his earliest boyhood his services were required in the home place, even in those unusual seasons when the school term held over to summer. From the home farm young Paul went to work for other farmers of the community, and in time he felt able to make a land purchase on his own responsibility. The result was that he and one of his brothers bought one hundred and sixty acres in Rock Creek township, and in 1904 he sold his interest to his brother. When the father passed away in 1904. Mr. Paul assumed charge of the home place and he still is the proprietor of the old home farm, of which he owns eighty acres.

Mr. Paul has demonstrated his native talent as a farming man in no uncertain terms, and in addition to general farming he carries on a stock breeding business that is doing much to elevate the standard of stock among the farming men of the township.

A life long Republican, Mr. Paul is one of the active men in political work in the town, as well as in the county, and has been a delegate to republican county conventions on various occasions. His citizenship is of high order, and has gained him a position of some importance among his fellow men, who recognize in him the qualities that make for the inevitable betterment of social and industrial conditions inthe community where he is active. He is actively interested in the Majenica Telephone Company as a stockholder, and is associated with other enterprises of a public utility nature. Mr. Paul is unmarried.

: Jacos W. Jonn. During his administration as treasurer of Huntington county Jacob W. John became known to practically every citizen of the county. Mr. John has been one of the sterling farmers, business men and citizens of this county since his boyhood, and his family and personal record is one of much interest.

Jacob W. John was born in Wayne county, Indiana, December 18, 1843, a son of David M. and Susanna (Overholster) John. So far as can be ascertained the family originated in Wales. The first of the name to emigrate to America was Nicholas John who came to this country about the year 1648, and settled in Pennsylvania, in York county. He had at least one son, whose name was Thomas, who was born in Pennsylvania, about 1683. He grew to manhood and was married in that state, and in his family were four sons, and perhaps others. His death occurred about the year 1758, when about seventy-five years of age. This Thomas John had four sons as already stated, named, William, Griffith, John and Eleazer. John John was born in the state of Pennsylvania in 1753, and lived there until he was sixty-five years of age, when he moved to the state of Virginia. He was twice married, and altogether had eleven children. His death occurred in 1825, at the age of seventy-two. The name of his sons by his first wife were: John, Thomas, David and William. Those by the second wife were: James, Griffith, and Eleazer.

David A. John, third son of John John, and grandfather of the Huntington county citizen first named, was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, March 29, 1788. Harrisburg, now a thriving city, and the capital of the state, at that time had but one dry goods store, kept in a hewed log cabin. David A. John grew to manhood in Pennsylvania, and learned the wagon and carriage making trade. In 1811, at the age of twenty-three he was united in marriage with Mary Mishler, who at that time was eighteen years old. Soon after their marriage they moved out to Stark county, Ohio, and then to Tuscarawas county, in the same state, where David John entered one hundred and sixty acres of land. Soon afterwards he volunteered his services in defense of his country in the war of 1812. He went out with the troops under General Bell, and returned with the rank of lieutenant. He continued to farm for a number of years in Tuscawaras county, and in 1829, moved to the western side of the state, in Montgomery county. From there he moved in 1837 to Wayne county, Indiana, locating near Hagerstown. In 1855, he reached Huntington county, and in 1866 moved to Wabash county this state, where he died in 1867 at the age of eighty-nine. His wife died in 1843 at the age of fifty-one years, eleven months and one day.

David M. John, father of Jacob W., was born in Ohio, October 20, 1821. He lived theré until manhood, and then married Susanna Overholster. In 1853 David M. John located near Roanoke on a farm in Huntington county. He improved his land and continued to live there as one of the prosperous citizens until his death on March 26, 1861. His widow in 1866 married Stephen C. Ulrey of Kosciusko county, Indiana. David M. John and wife had eight children. Of these Lewis, Catherine and David died in infancy, and the others are still living as follows: Oliver, of Roanoke; Jacob W.; Sarah J., who married and_ had several children ; Thomas J., a Dr farmer in Wabash county; Calvin N., a farmer in Kosciusko county.

Jacob W. John was nine years old when the family moved to Huntington county, and he completed his education in the common schools of Jackson township. About the time he reached manhood-the war for the preservation of the Union had been in progress for a year or more, and on March 1, 1864, he went out as a soldier in Company E of the Forty- Seventh Indiana Regiment. His career as a soldier continued until the close of the war. Twice before he was accepted as a soldier he had offered his services, but was rejected. Mr. John now has membership with his old comrades in William McGinnis Post No. 167, of the G. A. R., and has served as its commander and is now its adjutant.

On April 29, 1866, Mr. John married Amanda Zent of Jackson township. She was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, and was eight years old when her parents brought her to Huntington county, where she grew to womanhood. She became the mother of four children, three of whom are now living: William H., who is foreman of the railroad round house at Terre Haute; Frank H., who is a stenographer and bookkeeper at Safford, Arizona; Cora M., who died at the age of twenty years, on June 20, 1892; and Ariadne, wife of Ora Geedy of Huntington. The mother of these children died August 25, 1893. Mr. John married the second time Miss Eva Bell. Mrs. John is a refined and cultured woman and has presided over his home with much efficiency.

Mr. John is one of the stockholders in the Roanoke State Bank. During his long residence in Huntington county he has acquired many important interests and his position as a business man and citizen has always been above question. The confidence reposed in him was well indicated by his election some years ago as treasurer of Huntington county, and he filled that office two terms. He served in the capacity of justice of the peace from 1884 to 1888, and since leaving the office of treasurer has again filled the same office. In politics Mr. John is a stanch republican. He and his family worship in the United Brethren church, at Roanoke, he being president of the board of trustees. He is vice grand of the Little River Lodge, No. 273, I. O. O. F., and has also passed the various chairs in the Tribe of Ben Hur.

SAMUEL M. Hatey. Mr. Haley is a Huntington farmer resident of forty-five years' standing. Any community is fortunate in the possession of such estimable members of society as Samuel M. Haley. It is in farming that he has won his greatest success as a business man, but has always at the same time enjoyed the esteem and confidence of his civic community, and is a man whose services and character have not been without value to the social welfare. While he has never attained great wealth, Mr. Haley has prospered in a quiet fashion, has provided a good home for himself and his children, and has upheld those responsibilities of citizenship which fall on every independent and right thinking man. He is the proprietor of what is known as the Fast Homestead, located two miles north and one mile west of Roanoke.

Samuel M. Haley was born in Holmes county, Ohio, April 5, 1840, a son of James and Catherine (Matthews) Haley. The mother was a native of Pennsylvania, and the father of Holmes county, Ohio. In 1856 the parents came to Indiana and settled in Deer Creek township near Huntington county, where they remained until death came to them at a good old age. In their household were fourteen children ; nine of whom by two marriages are living at the present writing, mentioned as follows: S. M. Haley; Richard; Lauretta, wife of Frederick Upham; Leonard, who lives in Canada; Elmira, wife of Silas Jackson ; James, of Wayne county, Ohio; Edward, deputy sheriff of Huntington county ; Clement, who lives in South Dakota; Katherine, wife of Sam Christian of Fort Wayne.

Samuel M. Haley was twenty-seven years old when he came with the rest of the family to Huntington county. In the meantime back in Ohio he had acquired the substantial rudiments of an education, and had been well trained in the arts of farming and had demonstrated his ability to = win his way without any help beyond his own resources. After a few years of work and industry in Huntington county, he was married in March, 1874, to Miss Cordelia Fast. She was born in Jackson township, a daughter of Francis J. and Catherine Fast. The Fast family has long been well known in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Haley are the parents of four children, as follows: Royal, who is a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and married Dessie Purviance, and their home is at Auburn, Indiana; Rilla, a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and the wife of Harry Wasmuth of Andrews, Indiana; Bethel, who is a high school graduate, is bookkeeper for the Electric Light Company at Fort Wayne; Don, who married Fern Feightner, is a clerk for the A. Wasmuth & Sons Company at Roanoke.

Mr. Haley is affiliated with Little River Lodge No. 275, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Roanoke. In politics he gives his support to the Democratic party, but has never sought nor held any political office.

Epwarp F. Harnes. The farming and business community of Jackson township has one of its strongest and ablest men of affairs in Edward F. Haines, who is proprietor of the Beaver Dam farm in that township. Mr. Haines has had much success as a stock raiser and general farmer, and at the same time has interested himself in several of the concerns which are central points in the business activity of his locality.

Edward F. Haines was born in Jackson township on a farm, December 11, 1868. His parents were Abraham and Malinda (Longsdorf) Haines. Both parents came from Ohio, and were still young when their respective parents moved into Jackson township of Huntington county, where they grew up and were married. They lived in Huntington county until 1896, when they moved to Elkhart, where the father died and the mother still lives. There were six children, four of whom are yet living as follows: Edward F.; William; Clarence; Minnie, the wife of Mr. Baker of Elkhart.

It was on the old farm in Jackson township that Edward F. Haines was reared, and his schooling was supplied by the local schools, and subsequently a course in the Classical Seminary at Roanoke. Farming has been his vocation since the close of school days, and he has been well prospered in that vocation. He lived at home until his marriage in August, 1891, to Laura A. Christian. Mrs. Haines is a daughter of Samuel Christian, who came from Montgomery, Ohio, and was one of the pioneers and best known citizens of Huntington county. Mrs. Haines was born on the farm where she and her husband now reside. Her education was supplied by the district schools. Mr. and Mrs. Haines have four children: Roy, a graduate of the Roanoke high school; Clark, a student in the Roanoke high school; and Gladys and Mamie. The family worship in the United Brethren church at Mount Pleasant, and fraternally Mr. Haines is affiliated with the Huntington Lodge No. 93, of the Knights of Pythias. As an active Democrat he consented to allow his name to go on the ticket of the party for the office of county treasurer.

The Beaver Dam farm is one of the best country estates in Huntington county. It comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land, situated three miles west of Roanoke on the Roanoke and Christian Gravel Roads. Mr. Haines gives much of his attention to the raising of thoroughbred stock, and has some excellent specimens of cattle and hogs on his farm. Beyond his immediate farm, his interest extends to the holding of stock in the State Bank of Roanoke, and he is also a stock holder and for some time was manager of the Roanoke Creamery Company.

Henry Dintus. It is doubtful if any other name has been identified with the ownership of more land in Huntington county than that of Dinius. Henry Dinius has passed the venerable age of eighty years, and for almost a lifetime has been a resident of Huntington county. He himself has been one of the large owners of country real estate in this county, and now lives in comfort and plenty on a good farm in Jackson township.

Henry Dinius was born in Stark county, Ohio, April 14, 1833, a son of John Dinius, who in turn was a son of Peter Dinius, who was born in November, 1765, in Germany, and came to the United States, finding a home in Pennsylvania, where he married a Miss Pretz. He lived in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, until the spring of 1812, when he emigrated to Stark county, Ohio, which was his home until his death. He was the father of John, George, Peter, Samuel, Henry, Rebecca, Barbara. John Dinius grew up in Stark county, Ohio, and when eighteen years of age married Rebecca Koch. After that they continued to live in Stark county, until the spring of 1848. In the meantime in the spring of 1846, John Dinius had made his first trip to Huntington county, Indiana, where he purchased a tract of new land, and in 1847 again came to this county and extended his ownership of Huntington county soil. In the spring of 1848 he brought his family to the county, and located on a farm including the land upon which his son, Henry, now lives. Altogether, John Dinius acquired the ownership 'of fourteen hundred and forty acres in this county, and was one of the most extensive and substan-

Henry Dinius was fifteen years of age when the family located permanently in Huntington county, and conditions of his youth were such that his opportunities for schooling were very limited. It was by study at home that he gained most of his early knowledge, and by experience and observation, he has gained the equivalent of a practical education, and has seldom been at a disadvantage in his competition with his fellow men.

On December 16, 1858, Mr. Henry Dinius married Barbara Long, who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, July 29, 1834, and is the only one of twelve children living, whose parents were Henry and Elizabeth (France) Long. She was reared and educated in Ohio, and came with her father to Huntington county, in the spring of 1855. Three years later she married Mr. Dinius. To their marriage were born six children, and five are now living, as follows: Edwin S., deceased; Ereminda, wife of John Hartman; Clara, wife of Clinton Mayne, living in Cleveland, Ohio; Lydia, who graduated from the State University of Indiana, and is now superintendent in the normal school at Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Sumner, a resident of Jackson township, married for his first wife Miss Eversole, and for his second Mary Rupley; Boyd S., who was first a teacher and now resides on the home farm with his father, and is married to Eva Smith. There are fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and altogether the family life of Mr. Dinius has been a most happy one, and at the age of fourscore he is surrounded with his descendants, who pay him all the veneration due to age and long and worthy years.

Mr. Dinius has been a member of the United Brethren church since 1857, and when he was stronger, he gave much attention to church affairs, having always been a liberal supporter of his denomination. He was old enough to vote when the Republican party came into existence, and has been a life long supporter of that political division. His standing as a citizen and as a business man has always been such that his fellow citizens have never failed to endorse his candidacy, and he served as county commissioner of Huntington county for six years. At the first election, his majority was twenty-five in the district, and at the second election, he had sixty-nine votes to spare. Mr. Dinius has owned three hundred and twenty acres of land in Huntington county, but at the present time his farm contains only ninety-seven and three-quarters acres.

HUBERT C. CHENNEOUR. There are in every community men of great force of character, who by reason of their capacity for leadership become recognized as foremost citizens and bear a most important part in public affairs. Though one of the younger citizens of Huntington county, Hubert C. Chenneour is prominently identified with the locality of Roanoke, where he is engaged in several local enterprises, and is an exclerk and treasurer of the village. Outside of his private affairs, he has found time to champion every movement for the public good, and has done as much, if not more, than any other individual to boost development and general improvement along all lines at Roanoke. Vol. II - 20

Hubert C. Chenneour, was born at Torquay, England, February 16, 1881, a son of William M. and Mary A. (Gullett) Chenneour. The family migrated to the United States, landing in New York City on June 30, 1883. The father lived in New York one year, and while there took out his first naturalization papers. From there he moved to Norwich, Connecticut, two years later went to St. Louis, and after half a year there lived in Indianapolis three years and in Chicago six years. The father died in Chicago, and his widow and other members of the family came to Huntington county in 1897. The mother now resides in Roanoke.

Hubert C. Chenneour received his education in the public schools of Indianapolis and Chicago, and spent one year in the study of pharmacy at Valparaiso University. He engaged in the drug business, April 17, 1897, in partnership with E. J. Roberts. After eighteen months he bought out his partner, and the business has since been conducted under the name,M. Chenneour & Sons. Mr. Chenneour is secretary of the Roanoke Drain Tile Company. His brother Frederick is manager of the Drain Tile Company, and both have been prominent in upbuilding an industry which is one of the most important sources of prosperity for this community.

In politics Mr. Chenneour is a Progressive. He has proved a valuable officer as clerk and treasurer of the village of Roanoke. He is a member of the United Brethren church, is affiliated with Roanoke Lodge No. 195, A. F. & A. M.; with Little River Lodge No. 275, I. O. O. F., and has served as recording secretary fifteen consecutive terms; belongs to Camp No. 9147 of the Modern Woodmen of America; and the Little River Valley Lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose at Huntington.

Jonn K. Smiru. Since he was four years of age, John K. Smith has lived in Indiana, after reaching manhood took up the responsibilities of life as a farmer, and for a number of years has enjoyed a reputation in Jackson township, as one of the most progressive and successful men in his vocation, at the same-time being a citizen who will readily turn aside from his private interests to help in community matters.

John K. Smith was born in Morrow county, Ohio, March 20, 1863, a son of Henry S. and Sarah (Walker) Smith. Henry S. Smith was born in Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Walker, and soon afterwards they came to Morrow county, Ohio, where they were farming people. From Ohio, in 1864, the family settled in Huntington county, Indiana, acquiring land in Union township, where the father spent all the rest of his years. He was a quiet, unassuming man, and an upright citizen, and became the father of eight children, five of whom are now living. Besides John K. these children are: Jerre W. Smith of Union township ; Julia, wife of William Fogwell, of Allen county, Indiana; Ephriam Smith, of the city of Huntington; and Henry W. of Allen county.

John K. Smith was reared on a farm in Huntington county, and attended the common schools until he was about eighteen years of age. After he left school there was never any lack of opportunity for hard work, and for some time he made himself useful about a saw mill, and

On November 6, 1883, occurred his marriage with Miss Essie McFadden, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, February 28, 1862, and was given the advantages of the schools, and also of a good home. She came to Indiana with her parents in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Smith lived in La Fayette township of Allen county, and in 1892 moved to Jackson township. There the combined industry and management of husband and wife gradually brought them into a position of substantial prosperity, and they owned a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres, which Mr. Smith sold in 1913. He then bought another farm of 120 acres in Jackson township, where his'son lives. In March, 1914, he moved to Roanoke, where he is living retired. To their marriage have been born two children: Erwin C., born January 6, 1885, a farmer in Jackson township, and who married May Breckenridge; Gola Vera, born December 27, 1892, graduated from the common schools and the Roanoke high school. Mr. Smith and family worship in the Methodist Episcopal church at Roanoke, of which he is one of the trustees, and is treasurer of the Sunday school. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics was a regular republican up to the campaign of 1912, then he cast his influence and vote for the progressive cause.

Ernest E. Van Autstine. In the extent of his general business enterprise and in his qualification as a citizen and a man, Ernest E. Van Alstine is one of the progressive leaders in Huntington county, and well known as a banker and a farmer, whose home is in Jackson township.

Mr. Van Alstine was born in Yellowhead township, in Kankakee county, Illinois, August 7, 1866, a son of G. W. and Mary E. (Kile) Van Alstine. His father, born in Knox county, Ohio, located in Illinois in 1837, where the Kiles entered land from the government. In 1893 Mr. Van Alstine and his father moved to White county, Indiana, and the parents still live there. Their enterprise was chiefly responsible for installing the electric light plant in Monticello, and during their eight years of residence there, the father was postmaster of Monticello for four years and Ernest E. Van Alstine was deputy three years.

Coming to Huntington county in 1903, Mr. Van Alstine bought three hundred and forty acres on Reserve Number Forty-Eight, in Jackson township, and has since successfully prosecuted a large industry as a general farmer and stockman.

Mr. Van Alstine married Cora E. Pulver of Lake county, Indiana. She was born in West Creek township of that county, and her father was born, reared and died on the same farm. Before her marriage she was a successful and popular teacher in Lake county. Mr. and Mrs. Van Alstine have three children: Okes P., a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and now a student of agriculture at the Purdue University ; Sula E., a graduate of the Roanoke high school; and Alton E., aged thirteen. Mary J., born in 1905, died in June, 1906, in infancy.

church. He is senior warden of Roanoke Lodge, No. 105, A. F. & A. M. Outside of his farming enterprise he is identified with financial affairs, as a stock holder in the Roanoke State Bank, and also in the White County Loan & Trust Company, of which his father was president. His father made a record of gallant service as a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer infantry during the Civil war, and was out for three years. l

Lincotn Bouincer. Since the conclusion of his school days, Lincoln Bolinger has never claimed to be anything else but a practical farmer, and in this line of vocation has succeeded to a degree which classes him among the best representatives of that tried and ancient business in all Huntington county. Mr. Bolinger has been a hard worker, and much of his success is due to the fact, that he has depended on his own efforts, rather than upon those of others, having never flinched from the performance of duties, however toilsome or disagreeable they might have been. The Bolinger farm is regarded as one of the best in northeastern Huntington county. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres, one hundred and ten acres of which lie in La Fayette township of Allen county, and the rest in Jackson township of Huntington county. For a number of years, Mr. Bolinger has had particular success as a stock raiser, and his attention has been divided between the raising of high-grade Belgian horses, short horn cattle, Duroc hogs and Oxford sheep. He has a large acreage, and keeps it all in the highest state of improvement.

Lincoln Bolinger was born in Defiance county, Ohio, September 6, 1861, a son of George and Lavina (Morris) Bolinger. His father was born in Ohio, but was married in Pennsylvania to Miss Morris whose native home was Greene county of that state. In 1850 they came to Indiana, locating in Fort Wayne. George Bolinger is remembered as an old builder of canal boats, and constructed the first steamboat operated on the Wabash and Erie Canal. In 1863 he located in Jackson township, but still continued to build boats for use on the canal. The last sample of his work as a boat builder was the R. C. Ebersole, named in honor of his old friend, a druggist of Roanoke, Indiana. With the rapid decline of traffic on the canal and the eventful destruction of that old waterway, Mr. Bolinger was without a vocation and in that situation he turned to farming. He bought a tract of land located on the prairie, and owing to a defective title lost it, after which he bought a farm where his son Lincoln now lives. He was a stanch republican, and an upright citizen, but seldom appeared in politics. He was the father of eight children, five sons and three daughters, and those still living besides Lincoln are: John, of Toledo; George W. of Gas City, Grant county, Indiana; Joseph, of Ionia, Michigan; and Lydia, wife of James Reed of Fort Wayne.

Lincoln Bolinger was two years old when the family moved to Indiana, and was reared on the old homestead in Jackson township. The winter months from the time he was six years of age, until he was about eighteen were spent in attendance at school, and the first term of school was taught in a house constructed of hewed logs, A. C. Huffman having been the teacher of that old district school. In the meantime he had plenty of opportunity for exercising and developing his muscular strength as well as encouraging mental growth, by work on the farm, and his business in life was practically ready for him when he left school. At the age of nineteen he established a home of his own, by his marriage to Sarah M. Saunders, a daughter of Jacob Saunders. She was born and reared at Roanoke, Indiana. Of the four children born to that marriage three are now living: Erwin, of White county; Charles, of Fort Wayne; and Rosa, wife of Elias Carpenter, of Noble county. The mother of those children died in 1888. Mr. Bolinger later married Martha M. Moses, of Allen county, Indiana. The five children by this union are: Zelma, wife of William Norris, of Jackson township; Lura, wife of John Hine, of Whitley county; Arthur, who is a farmer with his father, and who married Jane Powell; Florence, who is unmarried, and in high school at Roanoke; and Bertha, who lives at home.

As to politics, Mr. Bolinger supports the republican party, and at the present time is serving on the advisory board for Jackson township, an office he has held for the past ten years. He has the complete confidence of his neighbors and fellow citizens and is a man whose character and career are both above reproach.

Preston B. SETTLEMYRE. The Settlemyre family has been identified with Jackson township since 1860. The fundamental vocation of the various members of the family has been farming, but they have long identified themselves prominently with public affairs and also with various lines of business. The father of Preston B. Settlemyre was a soldier of the Union army, and the latter has served as trustee of Jackson township, and is now postmaster at Roanoke.

Preston B. Settlemyre was born in Warren county, Ohio, June 5, 1857, a son of Charles W. and Amanda A. (Hathaway) Settlemyre. The parents were likewise natives of Warren county, where they were reared, educated and married. In the fall of 1860 they brought their little family to Huntington county locating on a farm in Jackson township, which continued to be their home until they passed from life. In 1862 the father enlisted in the Seventy-Fifth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, went to the front as a private, and carried a musket as a Union soldier until the close of hostilities. Returning an honored veteran he resumed his work as a farmer in Jackson township and died there in March, 1876. His widow passed away two years later in 1878. They were quiet people, and most of their interests were within the limits of their own homestead. Their children were five in number, as follows: Preston B.; William E. of Roanoke; Stella M., wife of Jacob Vollmar of Union township; Eva, wife of Ed W. Young of Union township; and Lettie, of Markle.

the manner of country boys during the sixties and seventies, when work on the farm was slack, during the winter months he went to the district schools, but from an early age had his own share of duties to perform and was well trained in habits of industry. He continued to attend school at intervals until he was sixteen, and then worked at home on the farm until his mother's death. ~

In May, 1878, Mr. Settlemyre married Nancy M. Arick. She was born and reared on a farm in Jackson township, and attended the common schools. Mr. and Mrs. Settlemyre lave the following children: Charles A., who graduated from the common schools and married Lizzie Van Dine; Tillie M., a graduate of the local schools and now the wife of N. L. Highland of Roanoke ; Melissa M., a graduate of the common schools and the wife of Bayliss Carter of Roanoke. After his marriage Mr. Settlemyre worked industriously and with considerable prosperity as a farmer up to 1891, in which year he moved to Roanoke and has actively identified himself with several lines of enterprise in this city. At the present time he is president of the Roanoke Drain Tile Company. In public affairs he gave service as treasurer of the town board of Roanoke, and was one of the town trustees, also served as trustee of Jackson township from 1904 to 1908, and on July 1, 1912, was appointed postmaster at Roanoke, an office which he now fills to the.entire satisfaction of the patrons of that office. In politics, Mr. Settlemyre is a republican. He and his family worship in the United Brethren church at Roanoke, of which he is one of the trustees. Fraternally his affiliations are with Little River Lodge No. 275, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, and with the Tent No. 124, of the Knights of the Maccabees, in which he has passed the different chairs. Mr. Settlemyre, in many ways, has proved himself a valuable factor in his community.

Davis Aucustus KLINE. As a breeder and raiser of fine live stock Davis A. Kline has a reputation far beyond the limits of his home township of Jackson. The Evergreen Stock Farm in that township is a model place of its kind and its improvements and adaptations to the uses of modern stock raising are the results of an exceptional degree of enterprise on the part of Mr. Kline. He began his career without any special capital and only such training as has been supplied during his boyhood years spent on a farm, and by thrifty management has become one of the most prosperous citizens of the community. The Evergreen Stock Farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres of land, located in section 29, seven miles northeast of Huntington.

Davis A. Kline was born in Noble county, Indiana, July 31, 1857, a son of William and Margaret (Crumby) Kline. His father was born in Pennsylvania, and his mother in eastern Ohio, and they were married in the latter state and came to Indiana, locating in Noble county. The father at Ligonier followed his trade as a buggy and wagon maker. Later he bought a farm in Whitley county, and spent his last years in that vicinity. His death occurred in August, 1902. For many years he had been one of the active workers in the Church of God. His wife passed away in 1887. They had a family of seven sons and two daughters. Of the sons, John W. Kline gave up his life while in the service of his country as a Union soldier. The children still living are: Adam H., of Peru, Indiana; William T., of Huntington; Abraham, a resident of Goshen; Davis A.; Alvin B., of Peru; Lavina, wife of Theodore Wolley, of Huntington.

Davis A. Kline was born in Noble county, was brought to Whitley county in 1858, when about one year of age, was reared on a farm and attended district school, and was also a student in the Columbia city high school. At one time he intended to follow educational work and had a certificate qualifying him for teaching, but instead took up the work of the farm, and for more than thirty years has followed along the same line with distinctive success.

In November, 1884, Mr. Kline married Ella Christian, a daughter of Daniel Christian of Jackson township. To that union was born one daughter, Wilda, a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and a graduate in music from Valparaiso University and is now the wife of Jonathan Hacker, who is professor of mathematics at Sioux Falls, North Dakota. Mr. Kline's first wife died in 1886, and he then married Alice Beck, a daughter of German Beck. To that marriage were born three children: Mary A., a graduate of the Jackson township high school, and the wife of Royal Simons of Jackson township; Bessie M., a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and the wife of Blythe Delp, of Huntington; and Arthur, a graduate of the Roanoke high school; after which he took the civil service examination and is now city mail carrier of Huntington. The mother of this second family died February 11, 1899. Mr. Kline's present wife, whom he married in 1902, was Austa Simons of Jackson township. She was reared in Jackson township, graduated from the Roanoke high school, was liberally educated in music, and taught that art previous to her marriage. Mr. Kline and family have membership in the United Brethren church at Zion. In politics he is a Repblican and has served as trustee of Jackson township by two elections, his total service in that office having continued for six and a half years.

Besides his home farm, Mr. Kline owns sixty-five acres in section seventeen in the same township. He is one of the directors in the State Bank of Roanoke, and is president of the Roanoke Creamery Company. In live stock raising he has made a special success in the breeding of thoroughbred Percheron horses, Chester White hogs, and Cotswold sheep. His success has readily justified his high position among the farmers and stock raisers of Jackson township.

Henry Fanu. A career of exceptional enterprise and public spirited relationship with the community has been that of Henry Fahl, who is a native son of Huntington county, belongs to a family which was established here in pioneer times, and is the owner and proprietor of the old Fahl homestead, which under his management has been increased to two hundred acres, situated three miles east of Huntington on the Union Center Gravel Road. Mr. Fahl's prosperity is almost

Henry Fahl was born on the old farm in Union township, July 23, 1849, a son of George and Mary Fahl. Fahl family came originally from Germany, and George Fahl was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, of which his wife was likewise a native. They were married in that county, and settled in Huntington county, Indiana, in 1841. Their location in Union township entitled them to distinction as pioneers, and they bore their full share of the hardships and responsibilities connected with living in that vicinity at that time. George Fahl died on the old farm in 1873, and his widow survived until July, 1893. They were the parents of nine children, and the seven living at the present writing are: Edward, of Cass county; William, of Huntington City; Dan, of Markle; John of Miami county; and Susan and Mary, both residents in the city of Huntington.

Henry Fahl was reared on the old farm, was educated in the district schools, and from his boyhood experience as a farmer, was naturally introduced to the career in which he has made a substantial success. Mr. Fahl has never taken upon himself the responsibility of family life, and has done much for other members of the family. He has long been an active worker in the Reformed church, having served as an elder for fifteen years. His politics is Democratic, but he has never aspired to public honors, and has never held any office of importance.

Eprurim F. SmTH. Among the old families of Huntington county the Smiths have had a permanent place from the time of development immediately following the pioneer era. For more than sixty years their lives have been led along the paths of quiet industry and prosperity, and as farmers and good citizens they have done their full share for the enrichment and improvement of community life. Ephriam F. Smith, the successor of both his grandfather and his father in the ownership of the old homestead in Jackson township, has long had a prominent part in affairs in-that locality and since 1908 has held the office of trustee of Jackson township.

Mr. Smith was born on the farm where he now lives, August 8, 1865. His parents were Jacob J. and Elizabeth A. (Hoover) Smith. His father, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, a son of DeWalt T. Smith, came to Huntington county at the age of fourteen in 1852, his father locating on the farm above referred to as the Smith homestead. Grandfather DeWalt T. Smith lived there until his death, and the estate then passed into the ownership of Jacob J. Smith, who was its proprietor until 1901, in which year he moved into Roanoke, where he still resides. His wife died in Roanoke in June, 1912. There were six children, four sons and two daughters in the family, mentioned as follows: Ephriam F.; James C., deceased; Ella, wife of William B. Hughes of Jackson township; B. H. Smith, superintendent of public schools at New Haven, Indiana, and a graduate of the Valparaiso University with the degree Bachelor of Science; Rolla is the wife of Bert E. Mitchell, who is an

Mr. E. F. Smith was reared on the farm where he now lives and all his boyhood associations were around this old homestead. As soon as he was old enough to attend school, he likewise exerted his young strength in performing some of the duties about the home, and most of his education was acquired in the winter seasons when he attended the Poplar Grove school house. He grew up to a career of farming and has followed that vocation with many substantial results of his industry and good management since early manhood. On October 4, 1888, Mr. Smith married Sarah J. Showalter. She is a daughter of David Showalter of Jackson township, and was reared and educated in the district schools of that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of three children, two daughters and one son: Effie, a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and for three terms a student at the State Normal, and is now a popular teacher in the Roanoke schools; Dessie is a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and a teacher in the district schools; Lawrence is a student in high school. The family are members of the United Brethren church at Zion, of which Mr. Smith is a trustee. He affiliates with the Roanoke Tent No. 124 of the Knights of the Maccabees. A republican in politics, he has long taken considerable interest in party affairs, and as a vigorous and progressive citizen was elected township trustee in November, 1908, and is still serving in that office. He is one of the directors of the Roanoke Telephone Company, and. is recognized as a man of judgment and capacity wherever known.

SEBASTIAN G. Bear. Now one of the prosperous farmers of Huntington county, and a citizen whose services have been available for the general advancement and public welfare of his community, Sebastian G. Bear began his career with a minimum of capital, and won his success entirely through his industry and business push, and enterprise.

Mr. Bear was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1856. His father was Joseph Bear, who left Pennsylvania, and took his family out to Illinois, locating in Fulton county in 1858. On a farm in that county the son had his earliest recollections, and the family continued to live there until 1866, when the father moved to McLean county in the same state, where he lived until death. There were two children in the family who are still living, the older brother being Joseph Bear of Union township in Huntington county.

Sebastian G. Bear lived on a farm and shared its work and responsibilities and attended school until he was about eighteen. He then gave up books and became his father's active assistant. He continued with his father until he was twenty-one, and the latter then gave him a team of horses, and a set of harness, and with that he started out to make his own fortune. He lived in Illinois as a renter for some years, finally came to Howard county, Indiana, where he acquired ownership of one hundred and forty acres and in March, 1905, moved to Jackson township of Huntington county where he bought the old Christian farm of one hundred and seventy acres. Mr. Bear is a very progressive farmer and stock raiser, a man who invests his surplus in extra land, and follows out strict business principles in all his dealings. To the one hundred and seventy acres which he first purchased, he has added first sixty acres, and then eighty acres more, and at the present time has a splendid farm of three hundred and ten acres in Jackson township. In Howard county, in 1898, Mr. Bear married Miss Minnie Peters. They are the parents of six children: Lulu is the wife of Floyd Johnson; Sebastian R. is thirteen years old, and the other younger children are Minnie, Robert, Lavada and Jane. Mr. Bear affiliates with Roanoke Lodge No. 195, A. F. & A. M., and in polities is a republican.

WintuiAm Horace Youne. The modern enterprise which is developing the country everywhere and transforming the conditions of rural life is well represented in the person of William Horace Young of Jackson township, proprietor of the North View Grain and Stock Farm, on sections 20 and 21. This farm is two miles west of Roanoke on the Roanoke and Christian Gravel Road. Mr. Young and wife after their marriage had resources next to nothing, and it was largely on their confident courage and resourcefulness and industry that they lived for several years. They have made an exceptional success and are now among the prosperous people of their vicinity. `

William Horace Young was born on a farm in Union township of this county, November 18, 1873. His parents were John S. and Elba (Ward) Young. His father was a son of John E. Young, Sr., who was of Scotch ancestry, and who lived in Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio. John S. Young, Jr., came to Indiana, in the Spring of 1864, after he had been reared and married in Warren county, Ohio. He located in Union township in the midst of the woods, where he still lives, and is one of the oldest residents in that section. His wife died in 1885. John S. Young has been a farmer and a lover of good stock, particularly fine horses. He became the father of the following children: Ida B., wife of Emery Taylor of Zanesville, Indiana; James F., of Union township ; William H., a native of Union township; Sarah E., wife of John Difendorfer of Jackson township.

William H. Young was reared on a farm in Union township, attended the district schools as a boy, and his training in books which was more or less irregular, was completed so far as school attendance was concerned at the age of seventeen. After that he studied at home at night, and made up many of the deficiencies of his early training, so that he is one of the best informed and best read men in his community. Mr. Young early in his career married Carrie Vollmar, a daughter of Peter Vollmar of Jackson township. They have a little household of six children, three sons and three daughters, namely: Elgie C., a graduate of the common schools; Elvie L.; Minnie G.; George E.; Thomas C.; and Ida E. All the younger children are attending school. Mr. Young is a member of the Evangelical church, and in politics he is a Democrat.

the income of a handsome farm of one hundred and forty acres in Jackson township. Since June 2, 1900, Mr. Young has owned three different farms, and has succeeded in paying for each one of them, and his success is now growing rapidly. Farming and stock raising have been the lines along which he has reached toward success, and he keeps good grades of all kinds of live stock. He is a good financier, and his management has carried the credit along with his industry for his prosperity.

JoHN A. DeArMirtT, Jackson township's quota of successful citizens would not be complete without mention of John A. DeArmitt, who for a number of years taught school during his earlier career in this locality, and is remembered well for his work in that direction, and a later generation knows him as a successful farmer and stock raiscr.

John A. DeArmitt was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1859, a son of John A. and Margaret (Gallagher) De- Armitt. Both parents were also natives of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. Grandfather Barney DeArmitt was of Irish birth, and emigrated to the United States when a young man, locating in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. There he married an Irish girl named Mcllhaney, and they had a family of five sons and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased. John A. DeArmitt, Sr., father of the Jackson township citizen, was reared and married in his native state, and on moving to Indiana, located in Huntington county in 1870. There he lived out the remainder of his days, as an industrious farmer, and by long years of effort and good management accumulated considerable property. He was the father of four sons and three daughters, four of whom are living at this time. His sister is Anna, wife of Charles Hobley, of Huntington.

John DeArmitt, Jr., was reared on the old farmstead in Jackson township, had a schooling in the local institutions of learning, and as his early career was largely spent in educational work, he equipped himself for his profession by a great deal of study in higher colleges and seminaries. The Roanoke Classical Seminary was one source of cultivation for his mind; he also was a student in the Danville Normal, and attended the DePauw University for a time. While attending school he was also teaching, and altogether taught eighteen terms in the schools of Jackson township.

In August, 1889, Mr. DeArmitt married Miss Mary Shroyer, who was born and reared in Jackson township, a daughter of J. S. Shroyer. Mr. and Mrs. DeArmitt have no children. After their marriage they settled on a farm, and at the present time Mr. DeArmitt owns seventy acres of land, two and a half miles west of Roanoke on the Christian Gravel Road. He has been particularly successful in the raising of Poland-China hogs, and Jersey cattle, and some of his stock is of the prize variety. He and his wife worship in Pleasant Chapel of the United Brethren faith, and in politics he has taken an active part in the affairs of. the democratic party. At one time he was his party's nominee for county auditor. He and his wife have a pleasant home and are both agreeable people in all their relations with the social community.

Jonn H. Anner. Three miles west of the village of Roanoke, along the Roanoke and Christian Gravel Road, is the eighty-acre farm of John H. Ahner, comprising the north half of the northeast quarter of section 19 of Jackson township. This is a well improved and well appointed farmstead, and represents the business enterprise and much of the accomplishment of John H. Ahner as a business man and citizen. Since he was a few months old, Mr. Ahner has had his home in Huntington county, and is a product of the old log cabin days, since the home to which he was introduced in this county was a rude house built of logs, and had furnishings which were primitive in the extreme. ;

John H. Ahner was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, January 25, 1853, a son of Mary A. (Eshbach) Ahner. The parents were both born near Philadelphia. When about nine years old the father was left an orphan and was put out among strangers to be reared. He had varied experiences and hardships as a young man and finally found his way into the state of Ohio, where he was married. In the fall of 1853, when their son John was less than a year of age, they came out to Indiana, and located in Jackson township of Huntington county. Section 19 on which they located was then a dense forest, and it was necessary for the father to clear away a small patch before he could erect his log cabin and have a place for his first crops. The parents lived to see all the surrounding country settled and improved with splendid farms,'and they lived in the one locality all the rest of their lives. The father died in 1900 and the mother in March, 1912. Both were devout Christians, and were among the excellent people who composed the early citizenship of Huntington county. There were six children, two of whom died in infancy, and the four now living are: Catherine, wife of Nicholas Kreamer; John H.; Jacob, a resident of Fort Wayne, where he is a carpenter, and Charles, of Detroit, Michigan. Besides their own family, the parents took into their home a daughter, named Charlotte Moss, who is now the wife of Frank Berry of Fort Wayne.

John H. Ahner was reared in Jackson township, and when old enough entered the district schools which he attended with more or less regularity, until he was about eighteen years of age. At the same time he had for a number of years devoted his summers to work on the farm, and in that way got a practical education for life. Mr. Ahner has been dependent on his own resources for his livelihood since he was sixteen, and worked as a farm hand and in other employments at monthly wages for a number of years. In this way he gradually got ahead in the world, and at the age of thirty-one took upon himself the responsibilities of a home and family. He was married in 1887, to Elmira J. Christian. She is one of the daughters of Samuel Christian, who was one of the pioneers of Huntington county. She grew up and received her education in the local schools, and since her marriage has become the mother of two children: Grace M., who is a graduate of the common schools, and is now a student in the Roanoke high school; and Ray C., who is still in the grade schools.

to go on the party ticket as candidate for the office of trustee in Jackson township. Such was his standing in the community, that although he belonged to the minority party he came within seven votes of being elected. His chief public service consists in the supervision of several important highways in the vicinity of his residence. He is superintendent of the Roanoke and Christian, the Roanoke and County Line, and the Harris Gravel Road.

Cyrus Brave. The farming community of Jackson township has known Cyrus Blaugh as a quiet but energetic citizen for more than forty years, and he is a man who beginning on a very small and modest scale has established himself securely in the business economy of his community, and has acquired a substantial property as a bulwark against the advancing enemy of old age and adversity.

Cyrus Blaugh was born in Stark county, Ohio, June 30, 1852, a son of Christ and Elmira (McConekey) Blaugh. The parents also were natives of Stark county, but when their son Cyrus was fourteen years of age they moved to Huntington county, Indiana, in 1866. Their location was in Jackson township, where they remained until their death, and were prosperous as farmers. They were the parents of two sons. Eli Blaugh lives in Huntington City, and is connected with the Erie Railroad. On the old home farm in Jackson township, Cyrus Blaugh grew to maturity, and his education was supplied by the district schools. Circumstances over which he had no control made it necessary for him to give more of his time when a boy to the work of the farm and to attendance at school, but he has supplemented his early deficiences of education by close observation of men and affairs, and by constant reading. Mr. Blaugh married Mary J. Simons, a daughter of Abraham and Mary Simons. After their marriage they started out with one acre of land, and he now has sixty-five acres in section 7, and has been able to provide well for his growing family. By his first wife there were born two children and both are deceased. For his second wife he married Sarah Darr, a daughter of Godfried Darr. The children of the second marriage are five in number as follows: Evie, wife of Melvin Simons; Emmet, who is married and lives in Whitley county; Arthur Blaugh of Huntington ; Otha, who lives in Fort Wayne; and Roy, seventeen years of age and at home. Mr. Blaugh is a republican in politics.

CORNELIUS Martz. On a finely improved estate of one hundred and twenty acres in section nine of Jackson township, Cornelius Martz is most successfully engaged in diversified agriculture, and the raising of highgrade stock. He has lived in Jackson township during the entire period of his life, and commands the confidence and esteem of all who have known him from earliest youth.

His birth occurred in Jackson township, April 1, 1852, a son of John and Margaret (Keller) Martz. His father was a native of Pennsylvania. His mother claimed Ohio as her birthplace. The parents were married in Ohio, and from that state came out to Indiana, and on the twenty- second of May, 1851, located in Jackson township of Huntington county. In the following year was born their son, Cornelius, and the parents continued to make that their home until they were called from earth's activities by death. There were nine children, and four are living at the present writing, as follows: Sarah A., widow of Daniel Goodman of Michigan; John H. Martz, a resident of Whitley county; Clara H., wife of John M. Fisher of Warren, Ohio; and Cornelius. l

Cornelius Martz grew up on the old farm, had a common schooling, and lived at home until he was twenty-two years of age. Then in order to get properly started in the world, his father gave him twenty-five acres of land. With that as his capital he was united in marriage on April 19, 1874, with Miss Margaret Dinnius. She was the daughter of Josiah Dinnius, and was born and reared in Jackson township. To their marriage were born four children, as follows: Melvin H., unmarried; Early, who is married and lives in the state of Virginia; Edith, wife of Elmer E. Kreusen; who lives at home with her parents. The family worship in the English Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. Martz is a republican. As the basis of his farming activities he owns one hundred and twenty acres, three and a half miles northwest of Roanoke. He has used this to good advantage in creating sufficient wealth for his own means, and in providing liberally for the education of his children and in seeing them properly started in the world.

Davip PHesus. The distinction of being the largest land owner in Jackson township belongs to David Phebus. The credit for such achievement becomes the greater when it is recalled that David Phebus at the age of twenty-one was known in the country district of White county, where he was reared, as a reliable and industrious young workman, but entirely without capital, and with all his prospects in the future.

David Phebus has been an industrious worker all his life, and has well earned the fine competency which is now his. Born in White county, Indiana, May 11, 1851, David Phebus is a son of Silas and Martha (Harvey) Phebus. The parents were both born in Ohio, and were early settlers of White county. David Phebus was reared on a farm, got his education in the district schools, and grew up at a time when book learning was much disparaged in favor of the practical training of the fields and woods. He learned to swing an ax and follow a plow almost before he learned the multiplication table. In attending school and working at home, he continued until he was eighteen, and then gave all his labor to his family until he was twenty-one. At that date he started out to make his own way, and was employed at day or monthly wages for several years. Samuel Ramey, of White county, for whom he worked, took a liking to the young man, and in order to encourage him and give him a start, sold a tract of land on credit. Assuming this obligation, Mr. Phebus strained every effort to acquit himself of his obligation and in time had not only paid for the land, but had got it into a high state of cultivation. Finally he sold that and bought one hundred and twenty acres and continued to prosper year in and year out. In 1903 Mr.

Phebus sold his White county interests, and'came to Huntington county, where he now owns four hundred and eighty acres. Sixty-seven and a half acres of his farm lies in Whitley county. His fine estate, with its principal residence and excellent barns and other improvements, lies one mile west and two miles north of Roanoke, and twelve miles northeast of Huntington. As a general farmer and stock raiser, Mr. Phebus has been vealizing handsome profits from his long experience.

Mr. Phebus married Alice Taylor of White county, where she was born and reared on a farm and had her education in schools of the same character as those attended by her husband. Their family of children are named as follows: Walter, who is unmarried and lives at home; Mabel, a graduate of the common schools; Frank, who lives at home; Bernard and Bernice, twins, the latter being the wife of Glenn Hartley of Michigan; Merl, living at home; Charles, who is unmarried and lives at home. Mr. Phebus, though a Democrat, has never interested himself in politics, and it is as a hard working and prospering citizen that he has contributed most to the community.

Ervin E. Ricuarps. Representing a family which has been identified with Huntington county for about sixty years, Ervin E. Richards is a prominent merchant at Roanoke, who has made his prosperity from small beginnings. Among his natural endowments and the results of selftraining, energy and business ability have been conspicuous, and upon these qualities as a foundation, he has developed and prospered until today his name is among those of the leaders in commercial affairs in this county. His department store at Roanoke is an extensive establishment, carrying a general line of merchandise with the exception of hardware and drugs.

Ervin E. Richards was born on a farm near Roanoke, January 23, 1859, a son of Daniel and Harriet (Smith) Richards. Both parents grew up and were married in Stark county, Ohio, and early in the fifties came to Huntington county, locating on a farm in Jackson township. That farm remained their home until they were taken away by death. They were quiet people, devoted to the interests of the United Brethren church, made a home and provided as liberally as possible for their family, but never had a conspicuous part in affairs. They became the parents of eleven children, four of whom died in infancy, and six are still living as follows: B. A. Richards, of Huntington; Mrs. R. E. Zent, of Huntington; Marvin W. Richards, of Roanoke; Newton D. E. Richards, of Roanoke; Mrs. A. W. Longsdorf, of Roanoke.

Mr. E. E. Richards was reared on a farm, attended the district schools, and later the Roanoke high school, until he was about seventeen years old. It was at that age that he laid aside his books, and gained the first experience which has led to his business success. For some time he was clerk in a drug store, and worked in that way until 1884. Then with his savings and such money as he had been able to accumulate in the meantime, he started off on his own account, opening a small stock of general merchandise. He bought his stock for cash, and throughout his career as a merchant, during thirty years, has made it a point to discount his bills promptly, and to satisfy every legitimate obligation against him. His business has grown with increasing years, and the stock alone is worth more now than the gross aggregate of an entire year's business twenty-five years ago.

In the meantime his relations have also broadened and.comprehend several other important concerns in this vicinity. He is vice president and a director in the Roanoke State Bank, and in partnership with E. M. Wasmuth organized and incorporated the Roanoke Telephone Company. Mr. Wasmuth is president and Mr. Richards is secretary and treasurer of this company. 1

In 1890 Mr. Richards married Ida M. Zent, a daughter of Samuel H. Zent. Mrs. Richards was born and reared in Jackson township, had her education in the local schools and in the Roanoke Classical Seminary, and finished her studies in Otterbein University at Westerville, Ohio. She is a cultured and thoroughly educated woman, has proved a valuable helper to her husband in his career, and has taken a prominent part in ` the education and training of her sons. There are three sons in the family: Donald, who is a graduate of the Roanoke high school, and is now associated in business with his father, under the name of E. E. Richards & Son; Eldon Z., also a graduate of the Roanoke high school; and Noel E., who is still in the Roanoke high school. The family worship in the United Brethren church, and Mr. Richards is one of the church trustees and has served as superintendent of the Sunday school for the past twenty years. Fraternally he is affiliated with Roanoke Lodge No. 195, A. F. & A. M., and with Little River Lodge No. 275, I. O. O. F., of which he is past noble grand. His politics is Republican.

ALBERT M. DeHaven. One of the oldest and most prominent families of Huntington county is represented by Albert M. DeHaven of Rock Creek township. He himself was born here forty-four years ago, was reared and educated in his native environment, and since attaining manhood has been closely identified with the farming and stock raising interests of the locality. Mr. DeHaven is owner and proprietor of the Loon Creek Valley Stock farm, a name which is registered in the county and which stands for thorough efficiency of agricultural methods, and a regular year in and year out prosperity for its owner. The farm comprises sixty-five acres in section 16 of Rock Creek township, six miles southwest of Markle and eight miles southeast of Huntington on the Browns Corners Gravel Road. Mr. DeHaven raises excellent grades of cattle and other stock, and is progressive in all his methods.

Albert M. DeHaven was born in Rock Creek township, December 12, 1869, a son of Joseph and Hannah (Ewart) DeHaven. His father, Joseph DeHaven, was a son of Samuel DeHaven, who came from his native state of Ohio to Huntington county in 1850 being one of the comparatively early settlers in Rock Creek township, where he lived until his death. Joseph DeHaven is still living, a prosperous and well known resident of Rock Creek township. There were three children in the family

The last named was reared on a farm, educated in the district schools, and all his early experience and training directed him to a career of usefulness in his present vocation.

Mr. DeHaven was married October 12, 1893, to Miss Emma L. Hoover, who was born in Rock Creek township, September 13, 1874, a daughter of Abram Hoover of Markle. Mr. DeHaven has no children. He and his wife worship in the Methodist Episcopal church at Barnes Chapel, known as the "' White Church.'' He is one of the stewards in the church, treasurer of the Sunday school, and very active in the support and general activity of his denomination. In politics he is a Democrat, though he has never shown any particular desire or willingness to enter politics more than to vote. Mr. and Mrs. DeHaven are quiet and honorable people, and are highly esteemed in their neighborhood.

JamEs A. TroutE. The visitor to Huntington county, viewing for the first time its fertile fields, highly cultivated and well regulated farms, waving fields of grain, broad stretches of excellent pasture land and general air of prosperity, finds it difficult to believe that but comparatively a few years ago this section of the great state of Indiana was a wild and unproductive waste, largely covered with timber. Yet such is the case, and the present excellent condition of the country has only been developed by the persistent labors and untiring efforts of men of superior energy and perseverance, whose lives have been spent in forwarding the progress of this section. Among the farmers of Huntington county who have been eye-witnesses to and participants in the wonderful development which has transformed the county from a wilderness to one of the garden spots of the state, James A. Troute, of Jefferson township, is entitled to extended mention. Axe in hand, as a youth he hewed down the monarchs of the forest; as the country grew and developed, so he grew and developed into manhood, and with its prosperity he prospered. His life has been a full and active one, and his history is contemporary with the history of the section in which he has lived so long.

Mr. Troute is a native of Highland county, Ohio, and was born June 22, 1836, his parents being Robert and Nancy (Allison) Troute. Both were natives of Highland county, where they were reared, educated and married, and in 1849 made their way overland in a wagon to the wilderness of Huntington county. The father selected a tract of 160 acres of land in section 35, Jefferson township, deep in the heavy timber, where he located his pioneer home and started to clear his land. He was an industrious and hard-working man, but did not live long enough to see his labors bear full fruit, as his death occurred about 1854 or 1855. His widow was left with the still undeveloped farm, but had the assistance of six sturdy sons, who were amply capable of carrying on the work left to them, Of the ten children in the family, all grew to maturity, and seven are still living at this time: Martha, who is the widow of John T. Morris, of Warren, Indiana; Sarah, who is the Widow of George L. Myers, of Warren; Lockeyann, who is the wife of Jacob Laymon, of Warren; Mary E., who is the widow of John Wall of Warren; Henry; Cyrus, a resident of Van Buren township, Grant county; and James A.

The early education of James A. Troute was secured in.the schools of Highland county, Ohio, and he was thirteen years of age when he made the long trip overland to Indiana. Here he attended the primitive schools of his day, but the terms were short, the studies few and conditions unfavorable, so that he did not receive the advantages granted to the youths of modern times. However, he was ambitious and had a retentive mind, and today he is a man of education with a knowledge of a wide range of subjects. As a youth Mr. Troute was known as a handy lad with the axe, and frequently added to his earnings by contracting to clear land. After his father's death he remained on the home farm, working with his brothers in the deyelopment of the property, but in August, 1861, decided to found a home of his own, and at that time was married to Miss Sarah M. Taylor, daughter of Samuel and Lucinda (Watters) Taylor. To this union there were born eight children, of whom six survive: John H., who is a prosperous agriculturist of Jefferson township; Monroe, who carries on operations on a farm in Salamonie township; Seymour, whose homestead is located in Jefferson township ; Leroy, in Rock Creek township ; Viola V., wife of Joseph P. Huber; Arthur of Salamonie township. The two deceased children are Mary Rosetta, who married James Mc- Kinney of Warren and she died in 1887; Myrtel Lavina, who died when but two weeks old.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Troute settled down to farming in Jefferson township, and this locality has since been their home. They experienced the hardships incidental to the development of a new home, but their persistent and courageous efforts eventually resulted in the acquirement of a good property, and in their declining years they are enjoying the well-won fruits of their early years of toil. They have a comfortable home on their eighty-acre tract, which is located two miles west of Warren, and here they are surrounded by a wide circle of friends. Mr. Troute has been a lifelong democrat, having cast his first presidential vote for James Buchanan, and has supported every candidate of his party to the present time. Although he is not a politician in the generally accepted meaning of the word, he has wide influence in his community, where his neighbors know him as a man of judgment and integrity. That he is not indifferent to the responsibilities of citizenship is evidenced by the fact that he in past years served as supervisor of the south part of Jefferson township, an office in which he conscientiously endeavored to further the welfare of the community in which he has lived so long and in which he is held in such high esteem,

Wurm D. Cume. While his chief business activity has been that of farming, Mr. Cline is also well known as a citizen, having served as trustee of Rock Creek township, where he lives, and has one of the best homes in his part of the country.

William D. Cline, whose home has been in Huntington county for more than fifty years, was born in Fayette county, Indiana, June 30, 1855. His parents were Henry and Sarah A. (Messersmith) Cline. His father was born in Pennsylvania, and his mother in Fayette county, Indiana, she being of Scotch-Irish descent, while her husband was a Penn. sylvania Dutchman. He came to Fayette county when a young man, was married there, and a few years after their marriage, in 1862, moved to Huntington county. They located in Rock Creek township on a tract of land that is now owned by Omer Summers. There the father spent the rest of his life. He was a blacksmith by trade, but spent many years as a farmer and was particularly successful in the raising of hogs. The older residents also remember him for his proficiency and skill as a hunter and fisherman. There were seven children in the family, and three sons and one daughter are still living. A brief record of six of the children is as follows: John Hugh Cline, an attorney of Huntington; Mary O., now deceased; William D.; Thomas, a resident of Chicago; Amanda, wife of Charles McPeak of Markle, Indiana; and Frank, deceased.

William D. Cline was seven years old when the family came to Rock ~ Creek township, grew up in this vicinity and was educated in the local schools, and continued on the home farm until he was thirty years of age. On June 13, 1885, he married Miranda J. Roberts, daughter of Richard Roberts. Mrs. Cline was born in Rock Creek township on April 28, 1862, and received her early advantages in the same neighborhood. To their marriage have been born six children, as follows: Charles H., a graduate of the common school, is now in Egypt; Thurman R., is a graduate of the common schools, of the township high school, and spent some time as a teacher in Andrews; Nettie is the wife of Levi Ulrich of Kelso, Indiana; Winnie is a graduate of the common school, and was a student for two years in the high school, and is now the wife of Everett Zook of Lancaster township; Frank graduated from the common schools, and took two years in the high school; Anna is still a student in the grade schools.

Mr. Cline affiliates with Star of Hope Lodge No. 464, I. O. 0. F., is a past noble grand, and a member of the Encampment, and is now senior warden. His politics are Democratic, and on that ticket he was elected and served four years as trustee of Rock Creek township. It was during his administration that the present high school was erected in the township, and the people take great pride in that institution and thereby recognize the efficient public service of Mr. Cline as trustee. His home farm comprises seventy-one acres, eight miles southeast of Huntington, and he has been very successful in the combination of general grain raising and stock feeding. It is in hogs that he has made most of his money, and his experience qualifies him as one of the best posted men in this industry in the county.

James W. McCuure. A citizen of Rock Creek township who has lived in that vicinity for moré than sixty. years and has always borne a name and reputation for upright conduct and substantial prosperity is James W. McClurg, whose home is a well improved farm estate of one hundred and seven acres. Mr. McClurg represents one of the early families which were established in Huntington county soon after the era .. pioneer settlement.

He was born in Rock Creek, July 18, 1851, a son of John and Nellie (Randall) McClurg. His father was a native of Pennsylvania, and Grandfather McClurg came from Ireland. Nellie Randall was born in Ohio. The family located in Rock Creek township when the country was still new, and the parents lived there all the rest of their lives as farmers. There were five children, four of whom are still living: Eliza, wife of Nelson Sharp; James W.; Mary A., wife of Isaac Duncan; and George W. McClurg, of Salamonie township.

James W. McClurg was reared on a farm, educated in the district schools, and after advantages which were very modest in the way of schooling, he started out to earn his own way and make a home and prosperity by the vocation of farming. Mr. McClurg married Lizzie Sharp, who died September 14, 1881, leaving one child. This child is Dorsey McClurg, who married Ethel Jarvin, daughter of Emmet and Alice Jarvin. Dorsey McClurg and wife had four children, Gerald, Helen, Emmett, and Howard. The family worship with the Church of the Brethren at Loon Creek. In politics Mr. McClurg is a Prohibitionist, and is a citizen who supports and can be depended upon to further the moral and intellectual welfare of his community. As a farmer he has gained considerable reputation and success by breeding Jersey cattle, and also shorthorns and Duroc hogs.

WituiaM P. BENDER. A resident of Markle for thirty-five years, Mr. Bender has long been prominently identified with the mercantile activities of that little Huntington county city, and while busy with his private interests and in building up his individual prosperity has never neglected his share of duties toward the community.

Mr. Bender comes from that old and substantial community known as Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he was born December 12, 1847. His parents were John and Barbara (Mast) Bender. Both parents were likewise natives of Berks county, and represented good old stock in both lines. The parents some years after their marriage came west and located in Wells county, Indiana, and in 1850 settled on a farm in Rock Creek township, in that county, where they lived for many years. Their declining days were spent in the city of Bluffton, where both died. The father was a hard worker, and managed to accumulate a competency during his life in Wells county. He came there with very little means and his first purchase was forty acres in the midst of the woods. After clearing that and getting a little surplus, he bought more land, until he finally owned one hundred and twenty acres. All of this was cleared and improved under his own supervision, or by his own labors. In the Bender household were ten children, two of whom died in infancy, and the six living at the present time are: John H., who resides in Rock Creek township of Wells county; Susan, the widow of William Miller; William P.; Samuel, a merchant in Bluffton; and J onathan, of Wells county.

William P. Bender was three years old when the family located on a farm in Wells county, was reared in the country, had a common schooling, and was trained for life by hard work on the farm. His ambition early went beyond the horizon of country life, and his first goal was for educational work. He was a student at Bluffton, and in that way equipped himself to teach, and after getting a license was master of a school in Rock Creek township of Wells county for three winters. In the meantime he had continued to work on the farm, and gradually laid his plans for a commercial career.

In 1872 Mr. Bender married Miss Emma S. Edris. She is likewise a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, and her family moved to Wells county, Indiana, in 1861. Mrs. Bender, who has a common school education, is the only one now living out of six children. In 1878 Mr. Bender started in business at Markle, at first in partnership with J. M. Brown. Twenty years later, in 1898, he bought the interest of Mr. Brown, and his since continued alone, and has built up a mercantile concern which for its long standing and reliable dealings is a very profitable establishment. Besides the buildings in which his business is conducted, Mr. Bender owns a new brick structure just across the street, and has one of the most attractive residences in Markle. He is also owner of a farm of . vne hundred and sixty acres in Wells county. Mrs. Bender is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Markle, and he is affiliated with Markle Lodge, No. 423, of the Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a republican. i

Lewis E. SUMMERS. One of the influential and trusted business men of Huntington county, with a fine and well kept farmstead in Rock Creek township, and vice president of the Farmers Trust Company of Huntington, Lewis E. Summers has lived in this county for more than forty-five years, was one of the early teachers before the public school system became well established with anything like its modern facilities, and in every capacity through which he has served himself and his community has earned the respect and esteem of his fellowmen.

Lewis E. Summers was born in Fayette county, Indiana, October 12, 1851. He is the oldest of a family of nine children, all of whom are living at this time, as well as the father, Golvin Summers. On December 1, 1864, the parents, Golvin and Sarah J. Summers, with six children, set out from Fayette county to their new home in Union township, Huntington county. They did not arrive at their destination until December 6. It was a caravan quite typical and a common feature to be seen on the highways of Indiana and other states of the middle west at that time. A wagon loaded with household goods was first in the procession, and after it followed all the live stock, horses and colts, cows and sheep.

The diversity of the collection, together with the condition of the roads, which were of the variety called corduroy, made travel very slow, and twenty miles was as much as could be covered in one day.

After the family came to Huntington county, Lewis E. Summers, who was then about thirteen years of age, attended the district school about three months each winter. The school which he attended was taught in a log school house. In the fall of 1868 he attended the Normal school in Markle under the management of David Chambers and taught by Simeon Lee of Wells county. The following winter Mr. Summers taught what was called the Folk school in Union township of Wells county. After which he taught three consecutive terms in Lancaster township, five in Rock Creek township, one in Union township, three in Huntington township, and one in what is now William street school, in the city of Huntington. The last was at that time called the Drovertown school, and it furnished educational facilities for all that part of Huntington south of the river. The old rock house was the only public school building. north of the river at that time. That describes quite accurately the condition of schools in Huntington in the year 1872. The legislature passed an act by which Huntington and Drovertown became the city of Huntington, and thus the schools were consolidated.