Kosciusko County, Indiana - The whole text, 1919 (part 4 of 11)

Mr. and Mrs. Ferverda have eleven children. Ira O. is a graduate of the common schools and was a student in the North Manchester College and beginning with the Spanish-American war saw three years of active service in the American army as quartermaster sergeant. He now lives at Oswego. Edith E. is a graduate of the common schools and is the wife of Thomas Dye, of Plain Township. Irvin @. is a farmer in Plain Township. John W. is a high school graduate and is engaged in the hardware business at Silver Lake, Indiana. Gertrude E., a graduate of high school, married Lewis Hartman. Chloe E. is a graduate of high school and the wife of Rollin V. Robinson. Ray E., a graduate of high school, is a farmer in Van Buren Township. Roscoe H. is a graduate of high school and is now serving as a train despatcher with the Southern Pacific Railroad. George likewise completed his education in high school and is in the army. Donald, who attended school twelve years and in all that time never missed a day nor was tardy, now in the United States service at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Margaret is a high school student. The family are members of the Church of the Brethren and Mr. Ferverda is a republican. He was at one time captain of the local Horse Thief Detective Association, and is now inspector of the streets of Leesburg.

Wituiam R. Hatt is a prosperous farmer of Prairie Township, and owns land which. a part of it at least, has been in the possession of the Hall family through three generations.

He is a grandson of Samuel and Catherine (Anglin) Hall, who were natives of Virginia and of English and Irish ancestry. They were married in 1822 and in the fall of 1834 Samuel Hall left Virginia and settled with his family in Plain Township of Kosciusko County. There he experienced many of the trials and hardships of the real pioneer, and had Indians as his neighbors. As soon as this was legally possible in 1835 he entered land, including 320 acres, which under his management and by the joint labors of himself and sons came into a high state of cultivation. He filled many public © offices, being justice of the peace and was also an associate judge and for one term state senator. He died in 1857, at the age of fifty-five, and his widow passed away in 1882, at the advanced age of eightythree. In their family of eight children the next to the youngest was Joel Hall, who was born October 18, 1839, in Prairie Township, and spent a long and useful life there as a farmer. Joel Hall married Mary Roberts, and they were the parents of the following children: Alma, wife of Amos Beyer; Eva, wife of Rev. Frank Beyers; Phoda, widow of Eugene Coleman; William R.; and Cyrus, who is president of the People's Bank of Leesburg.

William R. Hall was born on the old homestead in Prairie Township, November 13, 1878, and from early youth to the present time has identified his energies and activities with farming. He now owns two well arranged and valuable places, one of 200 acres and another of 160 acres, all in Prairie Township. He is successfully engaged in the breeding of Poland China hogs and other good livestock. He is also interested in a manufacturing company at Warsaw.

Mr. Hall married Mary Gilliam, daughter of William W. Gilliam. She was reared on the old Gilliam farm northeast of Warsaw in Wayne Township. They have one son, Robert, born June 25, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are members of the United Brethren Church, and in politics he is a democrat. Mr. Hall is now a resident of Warsaw, but looks after his farming interests.

Davip Jerrries, of Franklin Township, has had an enviable and useful and altogether happy life. In his time he has been a very hard worker, and that is a characteristic of the entire family. He has produced fifty or more crops from his fields, and if the livestock he has raised were assembled it would it would be sufficient to feed a large army for several days at least. Mr. Jeffries has done his duty as he went along, has kept a good home, kept his obligations to his fellow men, has reared a family of noble sons and daughters, and at the age of seventy not only has his own children around him but grandchildren and great-grandchildren. :

Mr. Jeffries' farm is two and three-quarters miles south of Mentone. This is the old Jeffries homestead, comprising 313 acres, and it was there he was born July 25, 1848, son of Pierce and Mary (Shrack) Jeffries. His father was born in Pennsylvania, April 8,

1818, and his mother on May 9, 1818. Pierce Jeffries died January 7, 1893, and his wife January 18, 1892, both having lived nearly seventy-five years. They grew up in Ohio and after their marriage in that state came to Indiana and located in Kosciusko County. Pierce Jeffries paid four hundred dollars for 160 acres of land. He prospected over Kosciusko County on horseback, and brought his family to the country in a covered wagon. The last 244 miles of his journey he had to cut a road through the trees and brush. All his land was covered with a heavy growth of timber and the clearing away of that obstacle to cultivation constituted several years of his early toil. A space even had to be cleared among the woods to erect his first log cabin. Pierce Jeffries was a brick layer by trade. Some time after coming to Kosciusko County he was given the opportunity of a job as a brick layer at Warsaw. That was the first piece of brick construction in the city and he was paid 6214 cents a day for his skill and labor. Warsaw was fourteen miles from his home, and as long as the work lasted he set out from home very early Monday morning, walked to Warsaw, stayed there during the week, and then walked home Saturday night in order to spend the Sunday with his family. Late in life he sold his old homestead to his son David, lived in Sevastopol until after the death of his wife, and his own last years were spent at Mentone. He had increased his original 160 acres until he had 280 acres. Pierce Jeffries was a Baptist, and the church of that denomination in his community had many evidences of his liberality and interests. He was also a republican voter. A man of education, he taught some of the early schools of Franklin Township. Of the six children of Pierce Jeffries, David is the only survivor. The others were: Margaret, born November 10, 1841; Martha A., born January 1, 1843; Amos, born May 2, 1844; Ruth, born March 13, 1855; and Andrew, born April 29, 1860. All of them grew up and married.

David Jeffries was reared on the old farm, attended the common schools, and on January 10, 1868, at the age of twenty, married Miss Catherine Engle. She was born in Ohio, May 31, 1849, and was brought to Kosciusko County when eight years old. Her parents located in Franklin Township, where she grew up.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries lived on the old homestead, and built a log house on an eighty acres of that farm. They finally bought the old place and are now living on the spot where Mr. Jeffries was born. Mr. Jeffries has done much in the breeding and raising of good livestock, and his farm is now the home of some big type Poland China hogs. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church of Sevastopol and in politics he votes as a republican.

Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries had nine children: Emma, wife of William Smith; Rosa, wife of Lemuel Woods; Sarah, wife of David Jenkins; Mary, who married Nathan Dawson; Oliver, who married Della Green ; Isaac, who married Goldie McIntire. The other children are deceased. _All of them were given good school advantages. Mr. and ah Jeffries have forty-five grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

JoHN C. RircHison represents the agricultural activities of Kosciusko County, and is doing an extensive business as a producer of crops and livestock on a fine farm of 200 acres in Tippecanoe Township, on rural route No. 1 out of Leesburg.

Mr. Ritchison has spent most of his life in this country. He was born in Greene County, Ohio, December 17, 1868, son of Milo A. and Mary (Weade) Ritchison. His mother was a native of Sparta Township of Noble County, Indiana, while his father was an Ohio man by birth. Milo Ritchison was a soldier in the Civil war, going out with an Ohio regiment and serving until peace came to the country. After the war he married in Noble County, Indiana, lived for several years near Wolf Lake, then went back to Greene County, Ohio, but soon bought a farm near Albion in Noble County, Indiana. In 1881 the Ritchison family came to Tippecanoe Township of Kosciusko County, and the father then bought the 200 acres of land where his son now resides. Milo Ritchison died here March 29, 1893. Both parents were members of the Christian Church.

John C. Ritchison, only son of his parents, was fifteen years old when he came to his present home. He was educated chietly in the common schools of Noble County. From youth up he has become familiar by experience and training with the handling of the farm that he now owns and has made it the center of a most useful and profitable career. In 1900 he married Miss Emma Scarlett, who was born near Benton, Indiana, and was educated in the schools of New Paris, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Ritchison have one daughter, Erma B., a graduate of the common schools and now the wife of Howard Brockman of North Webster. Mrs. Ritchison is a member of the Evangelical Church at New Paris. In politics Mr. Ritchison is a republican, as was his father.

Lewis E. SHRoyER. To a profession and calling that is now exalted above all others Lewis E. Shroyer has given his best energies and study for over a quarter of a century. He was born on a farm, and while he made his independent start with modest capital he has built up and accumulated one of the valuable places of Plain Township. The Shroyer home is 614 miles northeast of Warsaw.

Mr. Shroyer was born in Plain Township, October 27, 1867, a son of Daniel and Matilda (Huffman) Shroyer, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. Daniel Shroyer came to Indiana with his parents, George and Sarah Shroyer, who first settled in Elkhart County. George Shroyer died in Kosciusko County in 1880. Daniel married in Kosciusko County, and lived here to rear his family. He and his wife were very active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, but he was also liberal in his support of all church causes. In polities he was a democrat. Daniel Shroyer and wife had eight children, four of whom are living: William, of Plain Township, Lewis E., Luella, wife of Frank S. Wilcox, on the old Shroyer homestead in Plain Township; and Charles, a graduate of the pharmacy department of Purdue University and now in the drug business at

Lewis E. Shroyer grew up on the old farm and after his schooling remained at home to the age of twenty-three. On January 8, 1890, he married Lillie Mackenson, daughter of Andrew Mackenson and granddaughter of John Mackenson, who was one of the honored pioneers of Kosciusko County. ;

After his marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shroyer lived on the old homestead for several years, but in 1894 established a home of his own by the purchase of forty acres. This has grown by subsequent additions until it now comprises a fine and well arranged farm of 120 acres, devoted to the staple crops of this region and to good grades of livestock.

Mr. and Mrs. Shroyer have one son and three grandchildren. The son, Carl L., was born October 8, 1891, and is now a telegraph operator with the Missouri Pacific Railway. Carl married Julia Robert, who died leaving three children, Robert, Lyman and Lillian.

Mrs. Shroyer is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Chureh. Mr. Shroyer has long maintained active relations with the _ Masonic Order and has gone both the York and Scottish routes, with membership in Warsaw Lodge No. 73, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Royal Arch Chapter, the Council, Royal and Select Masters, the Knight Templar Commandery at Warsaw, and the Fort Wayne Consistory of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Eagles at Warsaw. Mr. Shroyer is a republican and is now serving as a member of the Township Advisory Board.

FREDERICK D. IRvINE is a hardware merchant and well known citizen of Syracuse and has spent most of his life in Kosciusko County, where his family is an old and prominent one.

He was born in Prairie Township, September 1, 1879, a son of Joseph A. and Rachel (McCleary) Irvine, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Prairie Township. The grandfather, James Irvine, came from Pennsylvania to Kosciusko County many years ago and located on a tract of land in Prairie Township. On that farm Joseph A. Irvine grew to maturity, had a district school education and was also trained for teaching in the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. Many of the older residents remember gratefully his services as a teacher in different schools of the county. After his marriage he farmed a short time, also teaching in the winter, and finally locating at Leesburg engaged in the drug and general merchandise business. With Frank Bortz and Joseph Hall he organized the People's Bank of Leesburg, and was its first cashier. He continued active in this bank until he retired. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, being a past grand of the latter order. In polities he votes as a democrat. There are three sons in the family, Frederick D. being the youngest. Garrett W., the oldest, was at one time associated with his father in business in Leesburg, later served as deputy auditor of Kosciusko County, for a time was with Strouse Brothers and is now at Detroit, Michigan, connected with the Union Trust Company. Howard L., the other son, is in business at Elkhart with the Sinclair Oil Company.

Frederick D. Irvine was five years old when the family moved to Leesburg, and he grew up there, graduating from high school and for three years was a student in the Indiana Medical College. He entered the drug business at Leesburg, and for eleven years was also connected with the Standard Oil Company. -January 1, 1916, he moved to Syracuse and has since succeeded in building up a large business as a hardware merchant.

In 1904 Mr. Irvine married Tah M. Brown, a native of Leesburg and a daughter of A. H. Brown. She and Mr. Irvine were schoolmates at Leesburg. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Mr. Irvine is affiliated with the Masonic Order and in politics is a republican.

Francis M. Jaques. A well rounded and complete life has been that of Francis M. Jaques of Silver Lake. He was one of the youngest volunteer soldiers of the Union army during the Civil war. That constituted his first great experience in what has been otherwise an uneventful career. More than half a century has passed since he returned a youthful veteran from the army. In that time he has been a farmer, merchant, homesteader in Kansas for a time, and for thirty years was identified with the business affairs of Silver Lake, retiring about a dozen years ago to the management of his extensive farming interests in that locality.

Though most of his life has been spent in this county, where his people were early settlers, Mr. Jaques was born in Elkhart County, four miles north of Goshen, March 8, 1846, a son of John Morris and Mary (Cox) Jaques. His grandfather, John Moses Jaques, was a native of France and on coming to the United States lived in New York City and state for a time, and later moved to Ohio. John Morris Jaques was born in Ohio and married there Mary Cox, a native of Virginia. Soon afterwards he located in Elkhart County and during the '40s moved to Kosciusko County, near North Webster. John M. Jaques was a California forty-niner and spent two years _on the gold coast. Otherwise he lived on his farm in Indiana, and spent a useful and uneventful life. For fourteen months he was a soldier in the Civil war. He began voting as a whig and later was a stanch republican. He and his wife were zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had eight children, two of whom died young. Those to grow up were Mary J., Oliver P., Ziprah E., Susan E. and Francis M. The only other one now living is Susan, widow of Reuben James and a resident of Kansas.

Francis M. Jaques was three years old when his parents moved to Tippecanoe Township of Kosciusko County. He worked at home and improved his mind in the local schools until he was a little past his sixteenth birthday. Then, on June 9, 1862, he enlisted in Company F of the Twelfth Indiana Infantry. His service was for three years and eight days. He was practically in every skirmish in which his regiment engaged, and though twice slightly wounded was never absent from the line of duty more than two or three days on that account. He began his service with his regiment in Kentucky, fighting at the battle of Richmond, was at Vicksburg, Jackson, and later in those campaigns which are made vivid in American history by the battles of Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Dallas, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack Creek, and the siege of Atlanta, where he was on the battle line July 20, 21, 22 and 28, 1864. He was also at Jonesboro, was with the army of Sherman on the march to Savannah, fought at Griswoldville and Columbia in the march up through the Carolinas, and participated in those final battles at Bentonville and Raleigh. His regiment was almost under constant fire during the 100 days' advance upon Atlanta. In 1863 Mr. Jaques was promoted to corporal and held that rank at the time of his discharge. He was with Sherman's army at the Grand Review in Washington and his company and Company A of the Twelfth Indiana formed the first that led the review.

The three years after the war Mr. Jaques spent at Warsaw. He was engaged in the teaming business. He had been at home five months, returning from the army in June, when on November 27, 1865, he married Miss Phebe E. McClure. She was a daughter of Elias and Mary A. McClure. Elias McClure was an extensive land owner, and to Mrs. Phebe Jaques a large portion of the farm now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jaques came by inheritance. In 1871 Mr. Jaques moved out to Kansas and entered a quarter section of land, but remained there only two years. Coming back to Kosciusko County in 1873 he engaged in grain dealing at Silver Lake, in partnership with his brother-in-law A. T. S. Kist of Warsaw. In 1874 he bought the grocery stock of James O'Connell, but sold it the next year, and in 1876 entered the general merchandise business at Silver Lake. In 1882 he moved his stock of goods to Packerton, but was there only eighteen months. In 1884 he set up as a merchant at Burket, but sold that stock after six months. He was also a lumber dealer, a mill operator, a hardware merchant, and finally resumed general merchandising at Silver Lake. Reviewing his business record in brief Mr. Jaques was an independent merchant for twenty-eight years and sold goods as a clerk six years, and with the exception of two years at Packerton and Burket his entire business life has been spent in Silver Lake. He finally retired from commercial pursuits in 1906, and has since found abundant opportunity for the exercise of all his energies in the management of a fine farm of 436 acres in Seward and Lake townships. He is also a stockholder in the Commercial State Bank of Silver Lake.

Mr. Jaques is deservedly proud of his four children. The oldest, Dr. Schuyler C., is now a prominent physician and surgeon in New York City. Flora Mary is the wife of J. C. Cavender, a prominent banker of Hobart, Indiana. E. McClure is an attorney practicing law at New York City. Anna is the wife of Leroy W. Caldwell, of Clay Township. All the children were born in Kosciusko County.

Mr. Jaques and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is one of the church trustees. He is affiliated with and is past chancellor of Lake' View Lodge No. 164, Knights of Pythias, and has sat in the Grand Lodge. Politically he has been a stanch and undeviating republican from the time of the Civil war. In many ways he has been active in the party and during the '70s he served as deputy sheriff under his brother, Oliver P. Jaques.

JAMES A. Fawuey. By his successful management James A. Fawley is regarded as one of the ablest farmers of Kosciusko County. He started with nothing, and from the position of a renter has improved his condition until he is now proprietor of one of the fine rural homesteads in the vicinity of Warsaw.

His birth occurred in Kosciusko County April 18, 1860. His parents were Joseph and Maria (Guysinger) Fawley, both natives of Ohio, whence they came when young to Indiana and were married in this state and afterwards settled on a farm in Kosciusko County. The grandfather of Mr. Fawley was Jacob Fawley, a native of Pennsylvania, whence he moved to Ohio, later to Indiana, and was one of the early settlers in Kosciusko County, where he owned a place of eighty acres. Joseph Fawley, the father, was also one of the hard working and honored citizens of this section, and at his death left an estate of ninety-two and a half acres of land. He and his wife were 'the parents of fourteen children, and the cight still living are: Delilah Rowe and Salome E. Ilarmon of Michawaka; Ella Burwell of Atwood, Charles Fawley of Michigan; James A., Perry, Edward and William Fawley, all farmers of this county. Mary J. Stoner of Claypool died in July, 1918, the others in childhood. The parents were active members of the Baptist Church and in politics the father was a democrat. He gave patriotic service to his country during the period of the Civil war, being for three months a member of the Thirty-third Indiana Infantry.

James A. Fawley grew up in the country, received his education in the common schools and from first to last his experiences have been those of a progressive farmer. For seventeen years he rented land, worked hard and denied himself many luxuries in order to get a start. He finally was in a position to buy one hundred and twenty acres, and that is the nucleus of his present fine homestead. He added afterwards twenty-six and a half acres and still later a piece of forty acres.

In 1885 Mr. Fawley married Gertrude D. Huffer, who was also born in Kosciusko County, a daughter of Rudolph Huffer, one of the early settlers. To this marriage were born two children: Albion R. and Chloe Pearl. On April 28, 1895, the wife of Mr. Fawley died, leaving him the care of these two small children. The following seven years were full of many discouragements and misfortunes. He himself suffered a very severe case of typhoid fever, but through this all he was very fortunate in securing the services of a good housekeeper, Mrs. Rebecca Hood, the bereft wife of John Hood, formerly of Pennsylvania. She was as good a mother to the children as a housekeeper to the home.

In 1902 Mr. Fawley married Elizabeth Beber, daughter of Peter Beber of Kosciusko County. The seventeen years previous to her marriage she had made her home with Owen S. Gaskill, a highly respected and successful dealer in lumber and farming of Burkett.

Mr. Fawley was very anxious that his children obtain at least a practicable education and always took much interest in their studies. He was partially appeased in this when in 1904 both graduated from the common schools and again in 1907 when both started teaching school. ;

Albion R. taught two terms, then entered and graduated from a business college at Fort Wayne before his marriage to Myrtle L. Likens, of Fort Wayne in 1911. He is at present (1918) general manager of a store for the Woolworth Company at Richmond, Indiana.

Chloe Pearl taught five terms of school before her marriage to Heaven Cook in 1912. They live on their own farm of.one hundred and fifty-seven acres in Kosciusko County.

Mr. Fawley is always very active in church work, serving as Sunday School superintendent at Palestine and Cook's Chapel for more than fifteen years almost continuously, and was township president of the Sunday School for several years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Woodmen of America, is a member of the Detective Association, and in politics is a prohibitionist. As a farmer he has done much constructive work on his place in the way of improvements and in working out a satisfactory scheme for intensive cultivation. He raises large crops of grain, and does mixed farming, keeping a number of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs.

AxRrER D. Sanps is owner of one of the good farms of Seward Township, a half mile north of Yellow Creek Lake. But he is most widely known throughout this section of the county as a practical thresherman, and has been in that business for many years. He is president of the County Threshers' Association, and also a member of the Indiana Brotherhood of Threshers.

Mr. Sands was born in Seward Township, two miles west and half a mile south of Silver Lake, May 27, 1869, son of Isaac N. and Amanda M. (Troutman) Sands. His great-grandfather Sands was a native of Ireland. Isaac N. Sands was born twelve miles south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His wife was born three miles from Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio. Samuel Sands. the grandfather, moved to Wayne County, Ohio, and Isaac grew up and married there. He was a millwright by trade, and his occupation brought him to Indiana, where he engaged in the milling and farming business. He first settled near Silver Lake, sold his property there, and bought the farm now owned by his son Amber D. His wife was an active member of the Lutheran Church, and in politics he was a democrat. There were four children, three of whom are still living: Amber D.; A. V. Sands, a farmer in Northeastern Michigan; and Winnie, wife of S. N. Rickel, of Northeastern Michigan.

- Mr. and Mrs. Sands have six living children: Otto A., Ethel F., Seta F., John I., Minnie A., and Lulu A., all of whom have received good educational advantages in the district and high schools.

Mr. Sands is a past noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a member of the Grand Lodge, is a past sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men, and a member of the Loyal Order of Moose. He is a democrat in politics and a stockholder in the Commercial State Bank of Silver Lake, and a stockholder and vice president of the Burket Equity Union or Farmers Elevator Company of Burket, Indiana. :

BENJAMIN KAnTNER. A fine farm, a good home and an excellent family belong to Benjamin Kantner, one of the prominent residents of Plain Township, on rural route No. 1 out of Leesburg.

Mr. Kantner came to Kosciusko County about fifteen years ago. He was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, March 3, 1852, son of Martin and Catherine (Bechdoldt) Kantner. His parents were both natives of Pennsylvania. The Kantner family came originally from Holland. Grandfather John Kantner was one of the pioneers of Auglaize County, where he located in the wilderness in 1832. Martin Kantner spent his life in that county as a farmer and was a member of the Lutheran Church and a republican voter. He was the father of fifteen children, all of whom grew to maturity except one daughter. Three are still Jiving, the two daughters being Elizabeth, widow of Joseph Gagley of Auglaize County, and Hannah, wife of John Burden of Auglaize County.

Benjamin Kantner grew to manhood on the old farm in Ohio, and as a schoolboy attended school kept in a log cabin. He was at home until twenty-one years of age. April 13, 1873, he married Margaret R. Shank, a native of Franklin County, Ohio.

After his marriage Mr. Kantner remained in Auglaize County and owned and cultivated a tract of eighty acres originally a part of the old homestead. In March, 1903, he came to Kosciusko County and in 1912 located on his present fine farm of 191 acres. He has made more than a local reputation as a hog breeder, and has a number of the big tvpe Poland Chinas, having at the head of kis herd one of the best boars in the country, Little Dawson. Mr. Kantner is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabecs.

Twelve children were born to him and his wife, ten of whom are still living. His son Leroy L., who completed his education in the Warsaw High School, is now serving as quartermaster in the United States Army in France. The son Martin is married and lives in Ohio. Leslie, a graduate of the high school, is married and is in bnsi- ness in Chicago. Catherine is the wife of John A. Bitler, of Michigan. G. H. is married and lives at Elkhart, Indiana. Agnes A. is still at home. George W. is married and lives in Auglaize County, Ohio. Edwin is a graduate of the Winona High School and is now serving in the Sixteenth Railway Engineers Corps in France. Elizabeth, a graduate of the Warsaw High School, married John Ripley and lived in Elkhart. Lillian, a graduate of the Warsaw High School and valedictorian of her class. has spent two years at the University of Chicago and is now instructor in the high school at Leesburg. Mr. Kantner is a republican in politics.

ALBERT M. Lentz is a well known figure in the industrial affairs in and around Milford, where for a number of years he has conducted an important local enterprise for the manufacture of hardwood lumber. He is also a dealer in coal and other supplies at Milford.

Mr. Lentz was born on a farm in Elkhart County March 23, 1858. The farm where he was born is where the Gilbert schcol house is now located. His parents were Cyrus and Mary (Whitehead) Lentz. His father was born in Ohio and his mother in Elkhart County. Cyrus Lentz came to Indiana at the age eighteen, and later acquired a farm in Elkhart County and also bought 200 acres in Van Buren Township of Kosciusko County. He was a very industrious and capable farmer and business man and spent the rest of his life in this section of the state. He was a member of the German Baptist Church and a demoerat. He and his wife had six children, and those still living are: Moses F.. Dessie. wife of John Dubbs, Jennie, wife of Charles ITammond, and Albert M.

Albert M. Lentz received his education in the district schools of Elkhart County. When he was sixteen his parents moved to Kosciusko County and he lived on the home farm to the age of twenty-one. In 1877 he married Mary Robinson. a native of Medina County, Ohio. After his marriage Mr. Lentz rented a farm, and in 1883 first engaged in the sawmill business. Since 1909 he has been proprietor of a factory at Milford for the manufacture of hardwood lumber.

He and his wife had eleven children. Those still living are: Elizabeth, Charlotte. Emma J., Cleo, Edward, Jennette. Richard. Lon and Helena. Elizabeth is a graduate of high school and is now in eollege The family are members of the Brethren Church at Milford. He is affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of America and in polities is a democrat. ;

Bert FE. DausMaAn has been a factor in the business affairs of Milford Junction for a number of years. He recently retired from his local business connection and owns a fine farm in Turkey Creek Township. However, he continues to reside with his family at Milford Junction, and owns and occupies there the handsomest residence in the village. He built this modern home in 1916. It is constructed mua material, the outer walls being laid with the noted Hytex

1874, a son of Henry and Sarah (Brumbaugh) Dausman. His father was a native of Canada and his mother of Elkhart County. The family lived for a number of vears in Cass County, Michigan, but in 1876 moved to Jackson Township of Elkhart County, where they had their home until 1910, and the father then moved to Milford Junction. He died June 10, 1916. He was a man of progressive spirit, a demoeratic voter, and had a good farm of 120 acres.

Bert E. Dausman is the only survivor of the five children horn to his mother, his father's first wife. He grew up on a farm in Elkhart County, had a district school education and lived with his father until he was twenty-one. His first real business experience was as a brakeman with the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. He had a run between Garrett, Indiana, and Chicago Junction, Ohio. After three years on the road he resigned and went into business at Garrett for two years. Selling out there, he removed to Milford Junction in 1905 and bought a restaurant. He continued this enterprise until April 1, 1918, when he sold out. He has been local agent for the Interurban Railway at Milford Junction since it was constructed. In 1918 Mr. Dausman sold or traded for a farm of 120 acres in Turkey Creek Township, and is now preparing to develop and cultivate that on an intensive seale.

December 11, 1901, he married Miss Cecil Haney, who was born in Milford Junction in 1884 and was educated in the district schools. They are the parents of four children: Dorothy, born August 30, 1902; Raymond, born February 26, 1904; Helen, born August 30, 1905; and Trella, born May 9, 1909. Dorothy is a graduate of the common schools and has had two years in the high school. She has an interesting school record. having never missed a single day and never having been tardy. The son Raymond graduated from the common sehools in 1918. Mr. Dausman is a democrat and has been quite active in local polities.

Cuarutes M. REcENos. There is a ready public recognition and appreciation of the man who struggles against heavy odds to make himself useful, win a moderate prosperity, and achieves his proper place in the community. When Charles M. Regenos was five vears old he was partially crippled, and has overcome the handicap of lameness and in spite of that fact has done all the work of a practical farmer. and is one of the successful men of that industry in Seward Township. His farm is four miles southwest of Claypool. -

At the same time he has been prominent in local affairs and has served four years as justice of the peace, is now filling his fourth year as township assessor, and has also heen nominated and elected by a large majority by the democratic party as township trustce.

Mr. Regenos was born in Seward Township, son of Jacob and Julia A. (Brown) Regenos, both now deceased. His parents were born in Stark County, Ohio, grew up and married there, and in 1868 settled in Kosciusko County. Here they bought a farm of eighty acres in section 23 of Seward Township, and on that farm they made their home the rest of their lives. They were very active members of the Fairview

United Brethren Church, and in politics the father was also a demoerat. They have six children: Mary, wife of James Miller ; Laura, wife of William Schue, of Portland, Oregon; Alice, wife of John Kintz; Ira, who lives at Niles, Michigan; Charles M.; and Della. deceased. h 7

Charles M. Regenos grew up on the home farm, and in winter attended district school and in summer worked on the farm. At the age of twenty he started out for himself and in the fall of 1895 he married Rozella Clink, who has been his most capable wife and companion in home making. She was born in the same community and when they married their joint possessions aggregated about $100 | worth of household goods. They rented a farm and continued as renters for ten years before they were able to make their first purchase of land. This consisted of forty acres. and after keeping it and improving it they sold and bought the eighty acres where they now live. All their prosperity represents their joint struggles. self denial and hard work of many years. Mr. Regenos is a practical farmer and stock raiser, and is one of the busiest men in the community. He and his wife are active members of the United Brethren Church and he has been prominent both in church and Sunday school work, serving as superintendent of the Sunday school.

Mr. and Mrs. Regenos have two children, Golan V., a graduate of the high school who has spent two years in college; and Graden W.. a graduate of high school. Mr. Regenos is also rearing a daughter of his sister, Ethel Mortomore.

Georce HartrTer. In the last fifteen or twenty years many live and enterprising men seeking good farm lands and opportunities for investment have come to Kosciusko County from other states and counties and have here realized their expectations in finding good lands and a good farming community, and are now among Kosciusko County's most prominent citizens. One of these is Mr. George Hartter, who has lived in Kosciusko County for the past fourteen years and is not only a large farm owner in Van Buren Township but is known throughout the northern part of the county as an unusually capable and progressive citizen.

Mr. Hartter. whose farm is in section 17, just west of the corporation limits of Milford, was born in Alsace Lorraine June 19, 1850. son of Mark and Catherine Hartter. He attended the common schools of his native country until he was fourteen years of age, and after that served an apprenticeship to Jearn the carpenter's trade. He was employed in that line until 1873 when he came to the United States to seek better opportunities in this country. Later his father followed him to America. Mr. Hartter did his first work as a carpenter at Morton, Illinois, but five years later invested his modest capital in ap Illinois farm, and for a number of years was a prosperous agriculturist in that state. He had only $50 when he arrived in America, but under his thrifty management his capital grew and expanded until he had 160 acres of Illinois farm land. In 1904 he sold out his property in [linois and coming to Kosciusko County bought 320 acres where he now lives. He has always been an extensive stock raiser and has made most of his money in cattle and hogs. He is a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank at Milford.

Mr. Hartter married Miss Lena Jacob. She was also born in Alsace Lorraine. They are the parents of the following children: George. Jacob, John, Samuel, William, Catherine and Lena, all of whom have grown to manhood and womanhood and are all married.

Mr. Hartter is an influential republican and his fellow citizens have frequently honored him with public responsibilities. For the past four years he has served as assessor of Van Buren Township and in 1918 was honored with the nomination for commissioner to represent the northern district of the county.

DantEL C. Darr is a man well known in the good citizenship of Van Buren Township, has acquired and improved a good farm, and he and his wife owe their present comfortable circumstances to their joint efforts, good management and well directed enterprise.

Mr. Darr, whose home is half way between Milford and Syracuse, was born in Van Buren Township of this county February 17, 1867, a son of Thomas and Dorothy (Cory) Darr. His father was born in Elkhart County of this state November 24, 1844, and his mother in the same county in 1847. Dorothy Darr died leaving two children, John and Daniel. John is now living at Three Rivers. Michigan. Thomas Darr married for his second wife Elizabeth Phebus, and she became the mother of twelve children.

Daniel C. Darr was only six weeks old when his mother died, and after that he lived in the home of his grandmother Cory until he was six years old. His father then having taken a second wife he returned home and lived there until manhood. His education was acquired in the district schools. After starting for himself he found emnloyment as a farm hand, and for five years worked at wages of $200 a year. This furnished him a good experience and thorough training for his subsequent career, and at the same time he saved some money with a view to the future. On November 21. 1895, Mr. Darr married Flora E. Chileote. of New Paris, Indiana. She was born August 25. 1871, daughter of James I. and Hattie (Ebv) Chileote. Her father was horn near Wilshire. Ohio, August 27, 1837. and her mother was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1834, and died 'May 21. 1915. Her father was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war.

Mr. and Mrs. Darr after their marriage located on forty acres of land, and later bought another forty acres. This farm they subsequently sold and came to the place of 115 acres where they now live. They have done much to improve and increase the value of their land and it is devoted to general farming and stock raising. Mr. and Mrs. Darr have one son, Earl J., born August 27, 1900. He is a graduate of the common schools and from the Milford High School with the class of 1917, and is now assuming most of the responsibilities connected with the home farm. The family are members of the Methodist

Victor Fuuer represents one of the oldest families of Kosciusko County, and the vigor with which he has prosecuted his enterprise as a farmer and all his business and private relations was the source of the confidence felt in him by his fellow citizens who recently elected him a trustee of Van Buren Township. He has the distinction of being the first republican trustee of the township in a period of twentyeight years. :

Mr. Fuller, whose fine home is located two miles northeast of Milford, was born on that place March 13, 1874, a son of Preston and Mary C. (Brower) Fuller. Preston Fuller was born in Pennsylvania, a son of Benajah Fuller, a native of the same state, and grandson of William Fuller, who was born in Massachusetts of English ancestry. Benajah Fuller came from Pennsylvania to Kosciusko County and entered a number of extensive tracts of land, being one of the pioneer land holders in this part of the state. Preston Fuller came to the county with his parents, grew up and after his marriage settled on the old Fuller farm. During the Civil war he served three years as a private in the Seventy-Fourth Indian Volunteer Infantry, and his record as a citizen was in keeping with the faithfulness and ardor of his patriotism. He was very active in the Christian Church and a republican in politics. His wife, Mary C. Brower, was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Isaac Brower, who brought his family west, first to Indiana, thence to Illinois, and back to Turkey Creek Township four miles south of Syracuse in Kosciusko County, where she lived until her marriage. Preston Fuller and wife had seven children, five of whom are still living: Frank, of Fresno, California; Stella, wife of Richard Fuller of Glendale, Arizona; Victor; Ernest and Robert, both living in California, the latter at Riverside.

Victor Fuller had a district school education. He married Almeda Leatherman, daughter of Conrad Leatherman. She was born in Jefferson Township of this county, and was educated in the common schools. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Fuller lived for a few years in the West, part of the time in Oklahoma, but finally returned to Kosciusko County and located in Van Buren Township, where their affairs have been greatly prospered as farmers.

Mr. and Mrs. Fuller have four children: Floyd P., a graduate of the common schools, married Savilla Cox; Royce, a graduate of the common schools and now in the United States Navy ; Hilda, wife of Leroy Troster, who owns a good farm of ninety-seven acres near Milford Junction in Van Buren Township; and Donald (., a graduate of the Milford High School. The family are members of the Christian Church and Mr. Fuller is one of the church elders.

THomas J. Coy is one of the prosperous farm owners and well known citizens of Kosciusko County, and for his success the credit is due almost entirely to his individual efforts and his steadfast honesty and integrity. Mr. Coy has spent nearly all his life in Kosciusko

Mr. Coy was born in Van Buren Township of Kosciusko County May 2, 1850, and represent a family that has long been identified with this section of the state. His parents were Henry and May A. (Grissamer) Coy, both natives of Ohio. They were married in Kosciusko County and soon afterward settled in Elkhart County and from there went to Van Buren Township, where they spent their worthy lives as farmers and as faithful members of the Dunkard Church. They had five sons and four daughters, three of the sons and the four daughters still living.

Thomas J. Coy grew up on the old home farm, and as a boy attended the common schools. He married for his first wife Ellen Berry. She was the mother of four children: Charles E., a machinist now in Illinois; Myrtle, deceased ; Laura, wife.of Charles Lutz of Elkhart County; and Harry E., a farmer in Elkhart County. For his present wife Mr. Coy married Mrs. Iva Jones Middleton. Mrs. Coy was born near Dunlap, Elkhart County, April 15, 1864, daughter of David H. and Susan (Stutsman) Jones. Her father was a native of Ohio and her mother of Elkhart County. Mrs. Coy was educated in the district schools and for her first husband married Ozias Middleton. By that union she has one son, Floyd, who married Bulah Jones, of Chicago.

Mr. and Mrs. Coy are active members of the Dunkard Church. Politically he is a republican. Mr. Coy has been a farmer in this vicinity for forty years or more and his present estate consists of 13 acres in Kosciusko County and 117 acres adjoining in Elkhart County. In 1916 he built his modern country home, furnace heated and with all the facilities such as are usually found in best city residences. 5

Mito Mauoy. Some of the best farm homes of this county are located in Van Buren Township. One of them is owned and occupied by Milo Maloy, located two and a half miles northeast of Milford and two and a half miles west of Syracuse. The Maloy family have been in that locality for sixty years and the name is associated with good farming, good citizenship and active relations with all progressive community affairs.

The family was founded here by John and Polly (Smith) Maloy, who in 1841 moved from Wayne County, Ohio, to Whitley County, Indiana, and in 1851 removed to Kosciusko County and settled in the woods of Van Buren Township. John Maloy lived there until the latter part of his life, and then removed to Syracuse, where he died. His wife died on the old farm. They had twelve children, four of whom, John, Daniel, David and Seth, reached mature veors. The son Andrew gave his life as a soldier in the Civil war. Four of the daughters were Mary, Lucy, Sarah and Catherine.

Seth Maloy, a son of John and Polly Maloy, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, July 9, 1838, and was only three years of age when brought to Indiana and was thirteen when the family located in Van

Buren Township. He grew up on a farm, and in 1880 located a place of fifty acres in Van Buren Township, where he spent the rest of his life. December 10, 1865, he married Mahala J. Coy, daughter of Henry and Mary A. Coy, of Kosciusko County. Both were active members of the Church of God at Syracuse, and Seth Maloy was trustee of the church property. He was a republican in politics. He and his wife had four children, Simeon, who died at the age of five years; Milo; Frank, a farmer in Van Buren Township: and Ada, wife of Charles Visley.

Mr. Milo Maloy was born on his father's place in Van Buren Township June 19, 1874. He had a district school education and most of his life's activities have been identified with farming. On September 4, 1898, at the age of twenty-four, he married Lulu Blough. She was born in Plain Township of Kosciusko County, daughter of David and Jane Blough. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Maloy located on a farm, subsequently moved to another place. and also lived for a time in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and South Bend, Indiana, before returning to Kosciusko County and establishing themselves in their present comfortable circumstances.

Mr. Maloy is affiliated with Syracuse Lodge No. 458, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and with the Knights of the Maccabees. He is one of the influential republicans of his township and is now nominee for the office of township trustee.

DELBERT W. Norris. The Norris family is one of the oldest in Kosciusko County, and while Delbert W. Norris was born and reared here he spent so many years in Canada that he became a naturalized citizen and a British subject and has only recently returned to Kosciusko County and is now renting the old Norris farm five miles southeast of Syracuse.

He was born in Turkey Creek Township, January 13, 1870, a son of John L. and Emma (Stainer) Norris. His father was born in Van Buren Township of this county August 11, 1840, a son of William and Elizabeth (Knox) Norris. William Norris was a son of Joseph Norris. and a grandson of Thomas Norris. Thomas Norris. a native of Liverpool. England, came to the United States in colonial times and located at Hagerstown, Maryland, where he lived during the period of the American Revolution. Joseph Norris, his son, was one of the men who responded to the call of the West and was one of the first to secure Government land in Van Buren Township of Kosciusko County. His sons entered fourteen eighty acre tracts of land in that locality. and thus the name of Norris appears on more abstracts of title than almost any other name in the county.

William Norris. one of the sons who entered land in Kosciusko County. lived here for some years and in 1849 joined the exodus to the California gold fields. He prospered in the far West, later returned to Indiana, but spent his last years in Missouri. His children consist of John L., Joseph, Melvina, Lena, Rebecca and Dora.

Delbert W. Norris grew up on the old farm and lived there until the age of eighteen, after which he spent six years in Elkhart County. He then returned to Kosciusko County, and was a resident here until the age of thirty-three. On January 1, 1898, he married Edna Cripe, a native of Turkey Creek Township. In the spring of 1903 Mr. and Mrs. Norris moved to Canada and homesteaded 160 acres in the western part of the Dominion. They had their home there for fourteen years and only returned to Kosciusko County on April 8, 1917. They now occupy the old Norris homestead comprising eighty acres.

Wituiam W. Reep. Any city is fortunate that can claim among its assets such loyalty and progressive action as William W. Reed has given to Warsaw. Those best acquainted with his work and influence say that he has had as much to do with the prosperity of the city during the past decade as any other one individual. In his business he may be said to occupy a key position of influence, and during the twenty-five years he has lived in Warsaw he has been continuously engaged in the hotel business and has made the house over which he presides a hotel of accommodations consistent and in keeping with the spirit of uplift and progress in the city. While he is widely known as one of the successful 'hotel managers of Indiana, his surplus energy has been devoted to many other enterprises, particularly to the solid welfare and advancement of Warsaw.

Born at Mansfield, Ohio. July 8. 1861, he is one of the children born to the marriage of William Wallace and Mary Ann (Bale) Reed. Two years after his birth his mother died, and by a subsequent marriage to Jennie Butler his father had two other children. William Wallace Reed, Sr., was also in his time a popular landlord. He conducted a hotel at, Mansfield, Ohio, and moving from there to Fort Wayne, Indiana, operated the old Mayer House until his death in 1880.

William W. Reed was nineteen years of age when his father died. In the meantime he had attended the grammar and high schools of his native city, and under the direction of his father had gained an exact knowledge and practice of the fundamental principles of conducting a first class hotel. After the death of his father he went to live with his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Permelia Reed, at Mansfield. Then in October, 1881, with his stepmother, he came to Warsaw and for two years operated the old Kirtley House, which stood on the site now occupied by the interurban railway station. Then for the following two years he conducted the Robinson House in Fort Wayne and for succeeding years was clerk in the Burnett House at Toledo, and for two years was chief clerk in the Wayne Hotel at Fort Wayne.

Mr. Reed became a permanent resident of Warsaw in 1890, in which year he leased the property and bought the furniture of the Hayes Hotel. He has been in command of this well known hostelry ever since. He has made it not only a place of public entertainment but a business enterprise that has properly rewarded his constant planning and outlay of energy. A number of vears ago he bought the property outright, remodeled the hotel building, so as to give it accommodations and facilities up to the highest standard of a modern hotel, put on an annex, and also acquired a private residence property adjoining. j f

That civie and public spirited work for which Mr. Reed will be longest remembered in Warsaw came from his realization, early in his stay here, that Warsaw was a town practically stagnant and making no effort whatever to realize the magnificent opportunities which properly belong to its situation. It was largely through his initiative that the present Chamber of Commerce was organized, and through that very capable and enthusiastic body many factories were induced to locate in Warsaw and the city soon took on an unwonted air of vitality and progress. The industrial development was followed by municipal improvements, and Warsaw can now make just claims to association with the best towns of the state. Mr. Reed has been a director of the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce since its creation.

He has also acquired some extensive business interests. He is a stockholder in the Warsaw Overall Company, a director in the Warsaw Investment Company, and the Warsaw Building, Loan & Investment Association, and is president of the Cox-Kline Company, a local industry for the manufacture of leather waterproof dressing. In politics he is a republican, and has fraternal associations with the Masons and the Elks. On April 3, 1883, Mr. Reed married Miss Lillian C. Caldwell, of Warsaw. Their only daughter, Bettie, is the wife of Dr. C. C. DuBois.

LEANDER GARBER, member of an old, solid and respected family of Kosciusko County, has made his years of usefulness and service through his work as a farmer. He has one of the good farms of Tippecanoe Township, located a mile and a half southeast of North Webster on rural route No. 1 out of Leesburg.

Mr. Garber was born in Tippecanoe Township September 2, 1875, and is a son of Samuel and Polly (White) Garber. His father was one of the early settlers and lived on his farm a mile and a half southeast of North Webster until his death. The mother was a member of the Christian Church. In the family were eleven children: Daniel M., of Tippecanoe Township; Mary, wife of Milo Strombeck, of North Webster ; Jefferson, of North Webster; Albert, president of the Farmers Bank of North Webster; Clementine, wife of Meade Humble, of Washington Township ; Comodore, of Washington Township; Emma, wife of Silas Cook; Jacob, of Huntington, Indiana; Barbara, wife of Charles Gandy, of the vicinity of Noblesville; Leander; and John, of Tippecanoe Township.

Leander Garber grew up on the old farm, and had a common school education. At the age of thirteen he went to live with his sister, Mrs. Strombeck, and was in her home until he reached his majority.

In 1898 Mr, Garber married Rosa Twarts. Mrs. Garber was born in Noble County, Indiana. Three children have been born to their marriage, two of whom are living: Eva Helen and Louis. Their son Ray died at the age of seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Garber are active members of the Christian Church and in politics he is a republican. His well cultivated and improved farm comprises eighty acres and to it he is giving the best of his energies and ability as one of the producers of this county.

Henry Kowpero. It is a long and hard climb to prosperity in farming by the avenue of renting land from others. and it requires a man of great industry, persistence and determined purpose to conquer in that direction. One of the men in Kosciusko County who are now most prosperously situated and won success primarily as a renter is Henry Kolberg, whose present home farm is in section 21 of Turkey Creek Township, four miles southeast of Syracuse.

Mr. Kolberg was born in Germany November 3, 1854. He attended the common schools of his native country to the age of fourteen, and at the age of twenty came to the United States. He was a poor boy. had no knowledge of English language or American customs. and had to struggle along as best he could for several years. In Kosciusko County he went to work on a farm and on Septemher 13, 1877. gained one of the prizes of life when he married Mary E. Hamman. She was born in Turkey Creek Township and was educated in the common schools.

Mr. and Mrs. Kolberg were farm renters for twenty vears. and while maintaining their home in comfort and rearing their children they also gradually accumulated a fund which in 1899 he used to purchase eighty acres of land included in the present home farm. Mr. Kolberg now owns 160 acres, devoted to general farming and stock raising, and all this generous property he has made through his industry and the loyal cooperation of his good wife.

Mr. and Mrs. Kolberg have two children and three grandchildren. The daughter, Ann Eliza, marricd Elisha Hesh and lives at Goshen, Indiana. The son, Arthur C., married Violet Prentiss, and they are farmers in Turkey Creek Township. The family are members of the Brethren Church, of which Mr. Kolberg is a trustee. He is also concerned in the community affairs of his locality and is a member of the township advisory board. Politically he votes as a democrat.

C. C. Dukes. present trustee of Wavne Township. is a citizen of Warsaw whose services aS a licensed embalmer and undertaker have been widely appreciated. and is ene of the men looked upon for leadership and influence in all local affairs.

He was born on a farm near Peru. Indiana, November 27, 1879, son of Mitchell M. and Mary (Case) Dukes. H's great-great-grandfather was a native of Scotland. His grandfather, Stephen Dukes. was born in Maryland and came west and settled near Richmond in Wayne County, Indiana, where he married Miss McKim, and some vears later, in 1861, moved to Miami County, Indiana, where he spent the rest of his life and died in 1881. Mitchell Dukes was a boy when taken to Miami County, grew up there and married and lived on his farm and followed farming actively until the spring of 1898. Since then he has lived somewhat retired in the Village of Denver. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is a republican. Mitchell M. Dukes and wife had six children, including : L. E. Dukes, of Denver, Indiana; Acel, of Denver ; Myrtle, wife of Noble Hunt, cashier of the Denver Bank; Bertha, wife of N. Bohen, of Miami County. ; aime

C. C. Dukes grew up on his father's farm in Miami County, attended the district schools there and two terms in high school. At the age of nineteen he gained his first experience in the undertaking business at Peru, working there 314 years, and also eighteen months at Plymouth, Indiana. In February, 1903, Mr. Dukes moved to Warsaw and has since been in business on his own account and is looked upon ag a man of thorough qualifications and with all the facilities and equipment for his business.

He married Miss Cora Smith, of Fulton County, Indiana, but a native of Wabash County. They have two children: Juanita, born in December, 1903; and Mary, born in January, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Dukes are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, Improved Order of Red Men and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically his affiliation has always been as a republican. Mr. Dukes was appointed trustee of Wayne Township in February, 1916, to fill out an nnexpired term, and in 1918 was nominated for a second term.

Itasca J. SHarp has for a number of years been identified with the farming community of Van Buren Township, and is busily engaged in cultivating the land of his home a mile south of Milford.

He was born near Mansfield, Ohio, November 13, 1873, a son of George W. and Elizabeth (Heist) Sharp. His father was born April 5, 1850, and his mother January 24, 1843. They married in Ohio, were farmers in that state, and about 1875 settled in Van Buren Township of Kosciusko County. A year later George Sharp returned to Pennsylvania, but spent his last years in Kosciusko County, where he died May 1, 1903. He was a democrat in polities. In the family were two children, I. J. Sharp and Pearl. The latter is now the wife of John W. Homan and lives at Milford.

Itasca J. Sharp grew up on a farm and had a district school education. He has always lived at home with his parents and has never married. At present he lives with his widowed mother and has a farm of forty acres.

Mr. Sharp is affiliated with Milford Lodge No. 478, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he is a past grand and member of the grand lodge. He is also past chief patriarch of Milford Encampment No. 242 and a member of the grand encampment. Mr. Sharp is a Serena in politics and is now serving as supervisor of roads in his

STEPHEN FREEMAN, With one of the finest lakes in northern Indiana within its boundaries, Kosciusko County has long enjoyed the benefits of one of the leading summer resorts of the state. This lake and its tourist population present some unusual opportunities to men of enterprise, and one of those who have been attracted here as permanent settlers and not only home makers but providers of the supplies and facilities required by the situation is Mr. Stephen Freeman, proprietor of the Sunbeam Farm and of Truesdell Lodge on Lake Wawasee.

Mr. Freeman is a veteran of the business of paper manufacture, was identified with paper mills in his native New England and was formerly superintendent of a paper coating factory at Wabash, Indiana. He was born at Montpelier, Vermont, January 12, 1870, son of Stephen and Emma (Leslie) Freeman. His father was born in Barre, Vermont, in 1820, and his mother on May 7, 1836. She is still living in Vermont at the age of eighty-two. They had only two children, Stephen and Mary. Mary is a graduate of the Montpelier High School, spent two years in Wellesley College and is now the wife of Moses French of Solon, Maine.'

Traditions of a good education were inherent in the family and Mr. Stephen Freeman is a man of college and university training. He attended the public schools of Vermont, graduating from high school there, and in 1894 received the bachelor of science degree from the University of Vermont. He specialized in chemistry, and his proficiency in that line soon brought him into connections with the paper making industry at Nashua, New Hampshire. He especially had to do with the coating of paper, and was in that department of one firm in New Hampshire for four years. In 1901 Mr. Freeman came to Wabash, Indiana, was foreman in the factory coating room and later became coating mill superintendent. He held the position of superintendent about three years.

On December 26, 1902, at Wabash. Mr. Freeman married Josephine Walter. She was born at North Manchester, Indiana, graduated from high school at Wabash and also attended Lake Erie Seminary at Painesville, Ohio. For several years she was a teacher in the public schools. In 1907 Mr. and Mrs. Freeman moved to Piedmont, West Virginia, and he was identified there with the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company until June, 1911. At that date he eame to the beautiful Lake Wawasee. and has here developed an attractive summer home and a productive poultry and fruit estate of sixteen acres. He is a member of Hannah Lodge No. 61, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and in politics is a republican. At present writing he is nominee for trustee of Turkey Creek Township.

Mr. and Mrs, Freeman have a happv family of five children: Stephen, Jr. born January 7, 1904; Lucy, born December 23, 1905; Margaret, born August 15, 1908; Joseph W., born March 28, 1915, and James B., born December 9, 1916. a

Lanta W. Forp, M. D. While a large number of families in and around Syracuse count upon the professional services of Dr. Ford for all their requirements in medicine and surgery, this profession ig not the sole interest of this very capable physician and surgeon. Dr. Ford comes of a race of farmers, and with all the demands made

There are few names that have been longer identified with the history of Kosciusko County than that of this family. Eighty years ago -his grandfather was struggling with the vicissitudes of pioneer conditions in Wayne Township, and from that day to this the Fords have pulled more than their own weight in agricultural and community affairs.

The history of the family begins when two Ford brothers came from England and one settled in New York and the other in Virginia. The Kosciusko County family is descended from the Virginia settler. A son of this colonist was George Ford, who was one of four brothers to help the colonies in their struggle for independence during the Revolution.

A son of the Revolutionary patriot was the founder of the family in Kosciusko County, Henry Ford by name, who was born in Virginia April 21, 1798. He grew up in his native state and on June 20, 1822, married Miss Phoebe Minear, who was born November 3, 1802. in Harrison County in what is now West Virginia. She was of English and German descent, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Minear.

It was in the summer of 1836 that Henry Ford brought his family to Kosciusko County. His first location was on the southeast quarter of section 35 in Wayne Township, and his nearest neighbors of white people were three miles away. In the course of time several other families, mostly from New England, came to the same community, and because of their origin the road upon which they lived was called Yankee Street. Henry Ford paid $1.25 an acre for a quarter section of land and was its first claimant from the Government. American families who live under the most stringent conditions of war regulations are luxuriously provided compared with the simplicity which marked the home life and the food and clothing of such early day families as that of Henry Ford. To his other burdens was added that of illness from fever and ague then so prevalent in Kosciusko County, and at. one time he was the only member of the household able to be up and at work. But he had the qualities which enable men to live and prosper even under such conditions, and he spent his last years in comfort and took undoubted satisfaction in the remarkably capable family that grew up about him. In 1858 Henry Ford moved to section 13 of Wayne Township and lived on the farm he developed there until his death September 10, 1872. His widow passed away September 4, 1875. He served as a justice of the peace in his community a number of years, and he and his wife were active pioneer members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics he was a democrat. Henry Ford and wife had eleven children: Lanta, Franklin, Elizabeth, John, Isaac, Noah, Eliza, Jacob, Shadrach, Callendar and Daniel. Of this family seven sons and daughters taught school, one of them had a classical education and three of the sons read and practiced medicine.

was born in Wayne Township September 19, 1841. He was educated in local schools, in the Warsaw High School, and studied medicine in the University of Michigan. However, he practiced only a few years, the sustaining business interests of his life being as a farmer and stockman. He also taught a number of winter terms of school in this and in Fulton counties. He acquired a large farm of 400 acres southwest of Warsaw and was one of the citizens who could be depended upon for any progressive movement in that locality. He was a demoerat and with his wife an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. January 1, 1873, Daniel Ford married Miss Harrict Weirick. She was born in Richland County, Ohio, August 29, 1853, and was a child when brought to Kosciusko County by her parents, Jacob and Margaret Weirick. Daniel Ford and wife had two children: Lanta W. and Rosella. The daughter was born April 28, 1876, was educated in the public schools of Warsaw and DePauw University.

Lanta W. Ford was born on the old home farm in Wayne Township November 3, 1874. His boyhood days were spent as a farmer but his parents gave him the best of advantages in school. He attended the Warsaw High School and in 1901 graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine with the degree of M. D. In the fall of the same year he opened his office at Syracuse, and for over seventeen years has steadily attended to the needs of a growing practice. He is a member in good standing of the County and State Medical societies and is one of the talented professional men of the county. Dr. Ford is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Warsaw and is affiliated with Syracuse Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America and Kosciusko Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Politically he follows the family tradition as a democrat.

As a farmer Dr. Ford specializes in the breeding and raising of high grade livestock. He is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and of Belgian horses.

Oscar ALFRED Harpina, a teacher and farmer, was born in Cork, Ireland, April 9, 1858. He was a son of Thomas and Mary (Lester) Harding, both of whom were born in Cork, Ireland, although his father was of English descent. The father was born September 24, 1823, the mother February 8, 1828. They were united in marriage June 14, 1846, both being devoted members of the Episcopal Church. To them were born five children who lived to maturity: George, Osear, Robert, Minnie and Letitia. The mother died at Sturgis, Michigan, November 14, 1908, and the father, near Oregon City, Oregon, where he made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Letitia Allen, December 28, 1912, being in his ninetieth year.

The subject of this sketch came to America in the spring of 1862 with his mother and youngest brother, sailing from Queenstown and landing in New York, his father and oldest brother (George) having come the year before. They located in Sturgis, Michigan. Oscar attended the Episcopal Parish Schoo] at Cork, Ireland, until he was nine years old and later attended the public school at Sturgis. He finished his education at Hillsdale College, Michigan. For nineteen years he followed the teaching profession, teaching his first school in Noble County, Indiana, and later coming to Kosciusko County, where he met and on September 2, 1884, married Miss Emeline Weirick.

Mrs. Harding is a daughter of Jacob and Margaret (Smith) Weirick. She was educated in the public school, attended St. Michael's Academy, Plymouth, Indiana, also the Valparaiso Normal and later she was among the ranks of educators for twelve vears. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Harding located on the farm where they now live, and where he continued teaching along with farming several years, They have one daughter, Mary Alice, born August 9, 1886. She had her preliminary education at Mentone, later graduated from the Warsaw High School and in 1908 received her A. B. degree from DePauw University. Mary A. Harding married Stanley Stephenson Boggs. They have one child, Stanley H. Boggs. Mr. Boggs is a graduate of the Warsaw High School, spent two years in the civil engineering department of Purdue University and was then employed for six years as resident and locating engineer on the Frisco Railroad in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. He is now the nominee on the republican ticket for the office of county surveyor.

All the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Harding is a teacher of the Bible class. He is affiliated with Mentone Lodge No. 567, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, being a past master. His son-in-law, S. S. Boggs, is also a Mason.

JOSHUA ZIMMERMAN. Several of the most extensive farmers in Kosciusko County are comparative newcomers and came here from the rich and productive agricultural state of Illinois. One of them is Joshua Zimmerman, a large land owner and successful farmer in Van Buren Township. His large farm is two miles south of Milford.

Michael Zimmerman was born in Baden, Germany, September 19, 1820, a son of Andrew and Annie (Miller) Zimmerman, of Germany. He immigrated to America in 1839, with his father and family of five children, was thirty-one days on the sea and settled in Butler County, Ohio, where his father died. In 1848 Michael Zimmerman left Ohio and came to Illinois and settled in Tazwell County and later in Woodford County. He first purchased 100 acres of land and later owned 330 acres of fine farming ground. He married Miss Kathryn Naffzinger, born on the Atlantic Ocean July 9, 1826. They were married in 1845, and raised a family of nine children. Mr. Zimmerman died February 7, 1913, at the age of ninety-two years, four months, eleven days. His wife still lives (July 3, 1918), and has sixty-seven grandchildren and seventy-three great-grandchildren.

Michael Zimmerman served as an elder in the Apostolic Christian Church. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman are: Anna, wife of John Witzig; Barbara, wife of John Ramseyer; John, a resident of Illinois ; Lydia, wife of Abraham Rinkenberger; Chris, who lives in Livingston County, Illinois; Hannah, wife of John Hohulin: Joshua ; Caleb, of Illinois; and Lillie, wife of William Holliger. ; Mr. Joshua Zimmerman was reared and educated in Illinois, and lived at home until he was past his majority. For several years he worked out at monthly wages and began life with very little beyond what his labor had enabled him to accumulate.

February 25, 1890, he married Miss Mary Weturich. After their marriage they rented land in Illinois and their first farm was eighty acres. Later they sold that and bought 219 acres, and on moving to Kosciusko County purchased 240 acres in Jefferson Township. Two years later they came to their present location in Van Buren Township, where they acquired 160 acres. Mr. Zimmerman has 400 acres under his ownership, and several of his sons are now bearing an active part with him in managing this place. He is a general farmer and also keeps Norman horses. i

Ten children were born to him and his wife, nine of whom are still living: Ernest, Catherine, Anna, Rosa, Levi (deceased), Michael, Harvey, Esther, Elmer and Ruth. The family are active members of the Apostolic Christian Church. Mr. Zimmerman is a republican in politics.

JoHN H. Bowser, M. D., who graduated in medicine over thirty years ago, found his time and abilities more and more taxed as a competent physician and surgeon and was one of the ablest as he was one of the oldest practitioners in Kosciusko County at the time of his death. From the time of his graduation he was located at Syracuse and every one in that part of the county knew and esteemed Doctor Bowser and his fine family. .

He was born in Elkhart County, Indiana, May 1, 1860, a son of Philip and Cassandra (Druckamiller) Bowser. His maternal grandfather, John Druckamiller, came from the vicinity of Philadelphia to Carroll County, Ohio, locating near Carrollton, and later moved to Elkhart County, Indiana. Philip Bowser was born at an old village called Bowsertown, near Dayton, Ohio, in 1829, a son of Daniel Bowser, who came from Providence, Rhode Island, and was a pioneer in Montgomery County, Ohio. Daniel Bowser later did some pioneer work in Elkhart County, Indiana, and constructed a dam near Milford Junction and operated one of the early mills. Philip and Cassandra Bowser married in Elkhart County, and then located on a farm midway between New Paris and Milford. In 1872 they moved to Goshen, where the father died in May, 1904. He was a stalwart republican of the old school. In the family were four children, one of whom died in infancy. Those still living are: Dr. John H.; Harley E., born in 1864 and now living at Goshen, Indiana; and Guy, born in 1878, whe is a graduate of the Goshen High School and of the University of Michigan, and is now chief chemist with the National Portland Cement Company at Durham, Ontario, Canada.

common schools and high school, and entering Indiana Medical College graduated with the degree M. D. in 1885. On the first of June in that year he located at Syracuse, and in this locality he gave his professional services to nearly two generations of people. He was a member of the County and State Medical Societies.

Doctor Bowser married Susie E. Willey. Mrs. Bowser is a graduate of the Goshen High School and before her marriage was a teacher in Colorado. Five children were born to them, three still living: Howard A., born March 9, 1887; Harold J., born December 7, 1893; and Philip H., born January 30, '1896. These sons are fine specimens of sturdy American manhood and two of thei are now serving their country. Howard, the oldest, is a fireman with the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. He married Mabel Wise, daughter of the late Doctor Wise.

The son Harold graduated from the Syracuse High School and speht four and a half years in the Indiana State University. For three years he was a member of the university football team. He enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve Force, took special training course for six months, and is now an ensign in the navy. The son Philip i is a graduate of the local high school, studied medicine four years in the State University Medical "School, and enlisted in the Medical Reserve for the Navy. He was captain of the State University basketball team in 1918.

Dr. Bowser affiliated with Svracuse Lodge No. 290, Knights of Pythias, and was a member and physician for the local lodge of Eagles. In politics he was a republican. He owned a fine modern home at Syracuse, having built it in 1892. Mr. Bowser died suddenly

Jacosp B. Mm.utER. Some of the best farms and the most enterprising farmers are found in Jackson Township, among them being Jacob B. Miller, whose place is a half mile east of Sidney, in a community where his people have lived since pioneer times.

Tn Jackson Township he was born April 28, 1869, son of Samuel P. and Rachel (Heckman) Miller. His father was born in Ohio in 1842 and died in 1914. His mother was also a native of Ohio and is still living. They came to Kosciusko County with their respective parents, married here, and then settled on a farm in Jackson Township. The father was a very active member of the Church of the Brethren, which is an especially strong denomination in Jackson Township. He voted the republican ticket. Of the eight children, five are still living: Albert, a farmer in Jackson Township; Jacob B.; Calvin C., of Cherubuseo, Indiana; Reason A., of Pierceton; and Elliott, a farmer in Jackson Township.

Jacob B. Miller grew up on the home farm and was educated in the public schools at Sidney. IIe was at home with his parents until twenty-one, and after that for twenty years farmed his uncle's place. On December 16, 1894, he married Miss Ollie Idle. Mrs. Miller was born in Monroe Township of this county June 13, 1871, daughter of

Marion and Huldah Idle. When she was three years old her mother died, and she lived in the home of her grandparents until her father married again. Her father was a soldier of the Union Army, was a very popular republican, filled the office of assessor of Monroe Township, and for a number of years taught the public schools. Mrs. Miller was well educated and was also a teacher before her marriage.

Mr. and Mrs.. Miller have been farmers for many years. In 1910 they went West and proved up 160 acres of government land, then sold it and returned to this county. Mr. Miller has eighty acres, highly cultivated and improved. and is handling some well graded stock. He and his wife are members of the Brethren Church at Sidney, and in politics he has always supported the men and measures in the republican party.

Hario W. Case. As the nation grows older and more and more honor is paid to men who offered their lives as sacrifices to the preservation of the Union in the dark days of the '60s. One of these veterans still living in Kosciusko County is Harlo W. Case, whose life since the war has been one of peaceful industry as a farmer in Indiana, and who is now enjoying a well earned retirement at his home in Syracuse.

Mr Case was born in Warren County, Pennsylvania, at the town of Pine Grove, May 30, 1838. He has therefore attained the dignity of fourscore years. His parents, Rufus W. and Amari!la (Nichols) Case, were both natives of New York State and were married at Westfield, from which locality they removed to Pennsylvania. Harlo W. Case was reared in Pennsylvania, in Lucas County, Ohio, and also lived in Michigan at Macomb and in Monroe County. In early manhood he returned to Toledo, Ohio, and from that city enlisted in Company G of the Fourteenth Ohio Infantry. This was a ninety days regiment and at the conclusion of his term of enlistment he reenlisted for three years in Company F of the Fourteenth Ohio Infantry. Even that service was not sufficient to satisfy his ardor for his country, and he finally veteranized for another period of three years or to the end of the war. During the Atlanta campaign he was wounded with gunshot, and his last days in the armory were spent in hospital. He was granted his honorable discharge on account of disability February 16, 1865.

With the close of the war Mr. Case returned to Monroe County, Michigan, and on February 9, 1870, married Josephine Morss. She became the mother of eight children, seven of whom are still living: Charles, Eva, Nora, Ellery, Mary, Arthur, and James. The mother of these children died while the family were living in White County, Indiana. For his second wife Mr. Case married Mary J. White, who died two years later. He then married Sarah A. Weimer, widow of Washington Weimer, who was a minister of the United Brethren church. Mrs. Case had one daughter, Bertha, wife of Frank Crandall.

Syracuse and for sixteen years was its adjutant. During his residence in Lucas County, Ohio, he served as trustee of his township. Mr. Case because of his long and arduous service in the war has a medal from the State of Ohio as an appropriate memorial for his sacrifices. In politics he is a republican. Mr. Case owns a fine farm of a 144 acres in Turkey Creek Township of this county but for a number of years has enjoyed the comforts of a good home in the Town, of Syracuse. His farm is known as the Lake View Stock Farm.

Cuarutes H. Rooxstoou and his son are owners and managers of one of the notable stock farms of Kosciusko County. This farm is in Van Buren Township, on rural route No. 2 out of Syracuse. It is the home of some of the finest Holstein-Friesian stock found in Northern Indiana. Mr. Rookstool has been breeding Holstein cattle for a number of years, and some of his animals have received the highest marks and credits from competent judges. Both he and his son are members of the Holstein-Friesian Association of America.

Mr. Rookstool was born in Elkhart County, Indiana, November 13, 1863, but has spent most of his life in Kosciusko County. This is one of the pioneer families in Northern Indiana. Samuel and Mary Rookstool, grandparents of Charles H., moved from Preble County, Ohio, to Elkhart County, this state, in 1836. Samuel Rookstool was

William Rookstool, father of Charles H., was born in Preble County, Ohio, August 13, 1835, and was a small infant when his parents moved to Elkhart County. He grew up there and in 1869 brought his family to Kosciusko County and settled on a farm in section 2 of Van Buren Township. At first his land had practically no improvements. There was a rough house 16x24 feet and very little land was cleared ready for cultivation. He went through the experiences of the real pioneer, and eventually made for himself and his family an excellent property. He owned land in Van Buren Township and also another farm in Elkhart County. He died January 31, 1889, and his widow is still living. On February 5, 1857, William Rookstool married Miss Sophia Grisamer, who was born in Noble County, Indiana, October 27, 1837, one of the nine children of Joseph and Anna Grisamer, natives of Pennsylvania. William Rookstool and wife had seven cihldren. The first two died in early childhood. The third in age is Charles H., Rosetta is the deceased wife of Melvin Neff, and Ida M. died after her marriage to Daniel Neff. Della is the wife of R. E.: Dewit of Milford, and Ira died in infancy.

Charles H. Rookstool was born in Elkhart County November 13, 1863, and was about six years of age when his parents left Benton Township of that county and moved to Van Buren Township of Kosciusko County. Here he attended the district schools and lived at home until after his majority.

educated in this community. Mr. and Mrs. Rookstool have one child, Iman G., who was born August 24, 1889, and is a graduate of the common schools. He married Ethel M. Stiffler on June 16, 1908. She was born in Turkey Creek Township of this county. Iman G. Rookstool and wife have three living children: Merritt, Everett and Wreathel, while one son, Alva, is deceased.

It was in 1901 that Mr. Rookstool bought his present farm of 200 acres. He paid only $5,600 for land which under his management and with extensive improvements is now conservatively valued ar $20,000. He has developed it as a thoroughly equipped stock farm. His fine barn was erected in 1907, and he extensively remodeled his home in 1908. Mr. Rookstool is a republican, and has received various honors from his party. Mrs. Rookstool is a member of the Chureh of the Brethren.

JESSE D. Cory is a prosperous farmer whose home is two miles west of Syracuse in Van Buren Township. The Corys are pioneers in Northern Indiana, and the family name has slways been associated with honest, sterling worth and good citizenship.

The family was established in Elkhart County in the fall of 183] by Jeremiah and Dolly Cory, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Kentucky. A son of these parents, A. C. Cory, was then thirteen years of age, having been born in Pickaway County, Ohio, April 19, 1818. A.C. Cory in 1837 bought eighty acres of land in section 1 of Van Buren Township, Kosciusko County. He mace the purchase at the general land sale at La Porte. In a clearing made in the woods he erected a log cabin, and his first year's crop was an acre of corn. Most of the meat was supplied by the wild game, principally venison. He was one of the earlier settlers in Van Buren Township, and lived there to see the entire community transformed by the work of civilizing mankind. He had many experiences with wolves and other wild animals, not to speak of the hardships he underwent in clearing and improving his land. He was a republican in politics, served as director of the local schools many years, was a member of the Baptist Church and at one time a member of the Kosciusko County Pioneer Association. He first married, in 1839, Sally A. Mann, who died in 1845. January 4, 1846, he married Mrs. Matilda (Wood) Gunter. She was born in Ohio October 23, 1820, and her parents, John G. and Anna Wood, were settlers in Van Buren Township in 1840.

The father of Jesse D. Cory was Orange L. Cory, who was born in Elkhart County, Indiana, in 1846, and is now living in Syracuse. He married Selena Evans who was born in Kosciusko County. After their marriage they lived in Elkhart County for several years, but finally moved to Warsaw. Orange Cory served as deputy sheriff of the county. He finally moved to Syracuse, where he is now living. He and his wife had eleven children, seven of whom are still living.

trict schools and remained at home until twenty-one. For a number of years he has farmed his present place of eighty-nine acres and is a raiser of the staple crops and of good livestock. He is also a stockholder in the local bank. Mr. Cory is affiliated with the Eagles Lodge at Syracuse and in polities is a republican.

Cotumsus Disner. When Columbus Disher married, he and his wife had practically no capital to begin on, ard all they have accumulated since then represents a great volume of hard and earnest work, thrifty cooperation, and a strict utilization of all the opportunities that have come their way. Mr. and Mrs. Disher now have a fine farm in section 29 of Turkey Creek Township. and besides their material circumstances they have reared a fine family of young sons.

Mr. Disher was born in Prairie Township of Kosciusko County July 22, 1866, a son of Japeth and Malinda (Boggs) Disher. Both parents died many vears ago, leaving their only son an orphan child. He was reared in the home of Robert Towns, and had all his early advantages in the district schools. Later he paid his way through the normal course of the University of Valparaiso, and for twenty years was one of the successful teachers of Kosciusko County.

October 6, 1889, he married Margaret A. Thomas, who was born in Seott Township of this county, February 28, 1871. After their marriage Mr. Disher continued teaching school in the winter time and farmed in the summer, and in 1902 he and his wife were able to buy their present farm of 120 acres in sections 28 and 29 of Turkey Creek Township. Mr. Disher does general farming and stock raising, andl has a number of good hogs besides other livestock.

The following sons were born to their marriage: DeWitt, born February 11, 1891, is a graduate of the common schools and the high school, married Hattie Kuhn and they reside in Turkey Creek Township. Othello, born October 28, 1892, attended high school and is now with the Oliver Plow Company at South Bend. Ralph, born January 21, 1900, is a graduate of the common schools and attended high school, but is now enlisted in the United States Army and is with the Expeditionary Forces in France. Lloyd and Floyd, twins, were born October 24, 1904. Columbus, the youngest, was born May 1, 1907.