Noble County, Indiana - The whole text, 1902 (part 14 of 21)

George F. Breninger

This prominent and successful tiller of the soil is a native of Washington township. Noble county, Ind., and has to-day an enviable standing in his community as a man who has honestly and faithfully served his part in advancing its interests, educationally, materially, morally and socially. He was born April 15, 1868, a son of Alfred W. and Esther A. (Duly) Breninger, both natives of the Buckeye state, the former of whom was horn in Stark county. They were united in marriage in Noble county, Ind., about 1866, and both died within a month of each other. At their deaths they left two children, George F., at that time aged eight years, and a sister one year younger. Alfred W. Breninger was a natural mechanic. had a good English. education, was a school teacher and possesed great physical power. He was a Republican in politics, and his religion was found within the pale of the U. B. church. He was also a true patriot and served his country as a soldier for three years during the Civil war.

When George Breninger was ten years of age he was taken into the home of Thomas J. Wilson, with whom he remained for fourteen years, or until his marriage. This interesting event took place on the 17th of July, 1892, on which date he was united with Miss Vietta F. Hart, a daughter of Daniel S. and Sarah J. ( Palmer) Hart, also residents of Washington township, Noble county, Ind. Daniel Hart was horn in Richmond, Wayne county, Ind., while Sarah, his wife, was a native of Whitley county, this state. To their union were horn three children, named as follows: William P., who is now a resident of Montana; Eva A. became the wife of Charles S. Brewer, a native and resident of North Carolina; and Vietta F., who was born July 3. 1874, is the wife of Mr. Breninger.

Mrs. Vietta Breninger was educated in the district school and at the Ligonier high school, and is an artist in oil, her home being decorated with numerous specimens of her artistic skill. She is a member of the Rathbone Sisters Lodge, No. 367, at North Webster, Ind.. and is quite a favorite socially.

In the public schools of Washington township Mr. Breninger acquired a fair acquaintance with the common English branches of learning, and at the age of nineteen years he further supplemented this schooling with ten months' attendance in the classical seminary of Roanoke. Huntington county. He then came on to the farm where he now resides, a tract of one hundred and four acres of fertile and well-tilled land, and has lived here ever since. One child has been horn to Mr. and Mrs. Breninger, a daughter, Mary E., whose birth occurred April 25, 1900. Politically Mr. Breninger has always been an unswerving adherent of the Republican party and cast his first presidential vote for Benjamin Harrison, believing its past history to be the most creditable and that its present principles are those best calculated to advance the interests of the country. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, being affiliated with lodge No. 367 at North Webster, and he has at all times endeavored to carry out in his own life the noble and elevating principles of that beneficent brotherhood.

Though still a comparatively young man Mr. Breninger has. by a consistent career and an honest purpose to perform well his part in life, achieved a standing in his community attained by but few of older years. Though active in the interests of his parts", he has never been persuaded to accept public office of any nature. In the trial of the noted Bear case he sat upon the jury. Mr. Breninger and his wife are popular socially and look forward to many happy and useful years.

Charles V. Inks

If the present is the link which binds the future with the past, how sweet and pure must he the thoughts of those whose wandering footsteps echo through the silent flower-strewn streets of the dead. Here we note the crumbling moss-covered slab which marks the resting place of one long since departed, but around which there blooms the annual emblems of life and death; over there, 'neath the shade of somber pines and weeping willows, a tiny marble notes the remains of some little one whose youthful joys and griefs are still remembered by a tender mother, who brings fresh flowers with which to mantle the little mound ; upon yon rising hill a massive granite column heavenward rears its crown mid heavy foliage, to tell that 'neath its shadow lie the loved remains of those who gave their lives for love of country, and whereon is writ the record of their grand achievements; down in a little dell, partially hid from view and amid the waving branches of awe-inspiring foliage, another sculptured marble stands as a tribute to some dearly loved one, and the words :

Such, or similar, emotions fill our minds at times, and to place the happy-sad reminders over the remains of those who have gone before is a privilege and duty not to be forgone. All men have their duties in life, some sad, others joyous and full of life's pleasures, but each is a necessity not to be set aside. We are led to these reflections from association with the gentleman wdiose name stands at the head of this biographical sketch, because of his peculiar fitness for the calling which he has followed in Noble county for the past forty-eight years.

Charles V. Inks was born on the 7th day of September, 1836, in Goshen, Inch, a son of Joseph and Louisa (Vinson) Inks. His father was a native of Franklin county, Ohio, and was born in 18 13. John Inks, the grandfather of Charles V., was a soldier in the war of 1812, and his father, the founder of the family in America, came from England during colonial days and was a soldier in the American army during the Revolution. The maternal grandfather was a native of Virginia, but moved to Kentucky and there became the head of a family; he then moved to Miami county, Ohio, where the mother of Charles V. was born in 181 6, and died in 1859 a^ Ligonier, Ind. ; her father died in April, 1899. The grandparents on both sides were settlers in the vicinity of Goshen, Irid., some time in the fall of 1829, and the parents, as above stated, are buried in the Ligonier cemetery. Mr. Inks has one brother, John F., who is engaged with him in the business.

In 1847 Mr. Inks' parents moved from Goshen to Wolf Lake, Noble county, and located near what is now known as Long Swamp. He remembers seeing the skelet m of an Indian which had been found in the hollow of a large log, all the evidences being present that it had been used as a 'vault." Its location was a short distance from his home, and the impressions on his youthful mind when the grewsome object was shown him have never been obliterated. He attended school at Wolf Lake, and under the same conditions that surrounded the youth of Indiana in pioneer days succeeded in obtaining a fair understanding ot the three elements of education. At the age of seventeen years he began the trade of a stonecutter at Elkhart, Ind., and has pursued that vocation for the past forty-five years. He first worked at Elkhart and Wolf Lake, then in Goshen, and in 1868 located in Ligonier, now owning the only plant in his line in the city. His work well and favorably known throughout the county and adjoining territory, and embraces every variety known to the business. His skill as a mechanic is not only appreciated and recognized, but his courtesy and honorable dealing have done much toward extending his large business.

Mr. Inks was married, in 1S60, to Miss Caroline Myers, who was born in Medina county. Ohio, in 1841. She was the daughter of John and Sarah Myers. The mother died in Ohio, and her father ended his days at Wolf Lake, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Inks have three sons living, and one daughter deceased. Harry E., who is employed in the telephone business, married Miss Rena Tate and is the father of two children; William B., who is a stonecutter in the employ of his father, married Miss Lulu Green, and they have one daughter; Albert J., also in his father's employ, married Miss Fannie Jackson : Rosa is deceased.

Politically Mr. Inks is a Democrat, and exercises the franchise in that quiet way which bespeaks a thorough conviction on the issues, whatever they may be. Fraternally he is a Mason, holding membership with Ligonier Lodge, No. 185, F. & A. M.

Air. and Mrs. Inks enjoy the esteem of numerous friends, and are noted for the quiet manner in which many kindly acts are performed that only spring from the hearts of those who practice and believe in the teachings of the Master Mrs. Inks is a member of the Presbyterian church and is ever ready to assist in the good work of the congregation with which she worships.

William S. Baker

Prominently identified as a business man with the progress and development of his native city, William S. Baker, of the firm of J. R. Baker & Sons Company, is well worthy of special mentii n in this volume of Nobk- county's prominent men. He was born in Kendallville September 15, 1861, a son of James R. and Edith S. Baker, who were the parents of seven children, who lived to maturity. William S. being the third in order of birth and the oldest son now- liv- ing. His educational advantages were secured through the public schools of the city, which for several years have been of such a high order as to thoroughly equip an ambitious student for the practical duties of life. Making excellent use of his time, in 1887 he entered the employ of the Flint & Walling [Manufacturing Company, taking a position in the clerical department, where he remained until 1895. when he resigned his position to engage in business with his father and younger brothers, James Elmer and Clarence E. Baker, forming the above named company.

September 10, 1889, William S. Baker wedded Miss Jennie H. Dooley, born at Groveland, Putnam county, Ind., June 6, 1866. a daughter of John W. and Elizabeth ( Hall ) Dooley. While the arduous duties of Mr. Baker as secretary of the J. R. Baker & Sons Company give him but little time for the cultivation and extension of those social amenities of life which tend to a higher civilization and strengthen the social fabric, he is nevertheless always alert and active in the promotion of such efforts as result beneficially to the community. Fraternally he is a member of Star Tent, No. 52, K. O. T. M. Mr. and Mrs. Baker are the parents of two children, Charles Hugh and Laurence D.

The remote ancestry of Mr. Baker and the details of the early life of his father, James R. Baker, form an interesting- part in the family history, and will be found fully set forth in the biography of that gentleman which appears elsewhere in this volume. And it is through the careful preservation of our ancestry that history can be written and thus keep alive by transmission to posterity from father to son that pride of family which guards the good name from suspicion or wrong doing, and gives to the world the men and women who ever maintain the grand virtues on which our civilization rests.

Washington Wolf

Orange township is not behind any of her sister townships of Noble county in the number of prominent and successful farmers who have done so much toward the development and advancement of her material and moral interests. Washington Wolf is well accorded a place among those whose names will long be remembered by those of future generations on whom the duties of citizenship shall rest. Born in Stark county. Ohio, October 9, 1837, he there lived until about eleven years of age. About 1848 his parents sought the more fertile fields of Indiana and settled on a farm in Orange township, Noble county. The father of Washington, Samuel Wolf, was born in Pennsylvania. His mother, also a native of that state, was a Miss Hester Lyman. Shortly after their marriage they moved to Ohio, thence to Indiana, as above stated, where the father died at the age of sixty-nine years and the mother some years later at the age of eighty-three. They were the parents of six children: Sarah A., who is the Wife of Edmund A. Locker; Washington; Milton; Matilda became the wife of John Dyer and died in Orange township ; Cordelia is the wife of Jacob Shanour; and Ada. who married Albert Kesler.

Washington Wolf Group

was a native of Pennsylvania, but Mr. Wolf suffered the loss of her companionship in May, 1874. She was the mother of his four children : Emma, now the wife of Benjamin Williams; Charles, William and Eugene. On September 3, 1874, Mr. Wolf was again married, the lady being Mrs. Mary (Rober) Colley, a daughter of David and Susanna (Diehl) Rober - the father deceased ; she was the widow of Nathaniel Colley, who was born December 24, 1842, in Portage county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf had born to them two children : Erie and Harvey.

Mr. Wolf has made valuable improvements upon his farm of one hundred and fifty acres, the well-tilled fields, comfortable home and ample barns and outbuildings being sufficient evidence that intelligence, thrift and energy have been applied thereto1, in which his estimable wife has proved a helpmate whose example to her children will be productive of much good in forming their characters and preparing them for future lives of usefulness. In this connection it will not be amiss to mention that Mrs. Wolf's sister is the wife of J. F. Holsinger, a wealthy and prominent farmer of Orange township. Mr. Wolf is one of those well-preserved gentlemen whose correct nabits have turned aside or held in abeyance the marks which time in its flight leaves upon all members of the human family, and, like his wife, carries the years with that grace and dignity which never permits one to seemingly grow old save in years. That many years of usefulness are still in store for them is not only well believed but the numerous friends throughout the circle of their acquaintance who gather at times

Mrs. Mary Wolf (nee Raber) was burn in Summit county, Ohio, December 24, 1842, and departed this life at her home one mile south of Wolcottville, Ind., on September 20, 1 90 1, aged fifty-eight years, eight months and twenty days. In 1872 she was united in marriage to Nathaniel Colley. This tie was severed by death in 1873. On September 3, 1874. she became the wife of Washington Wolf. To them were born two sons, Erie and Harvey.

Mrs. Wolf became a member of the Evangelical church in 1876 at Wolcottville, and continued in the faith until she was called home. She was a kind and affectionate mother, a loving companion and respected by all who knew her. The funeral was held at the home Sunday. September 22, 1901. Interment in the Brimfield cemetery. Sermon preached by Rev. Mygrant..

Mr. Wolf, like all good citizens, is ever ready to assist by his counsel and means in the promotion of those enterprises which tend to the advancement and prosperity of the county, particularly in the matter of good school facilities for the education of the young and first-class roads for the easv and rapid transit from one part of the county to the other. He is held in high esteem for his many sterling qualities, and well deserves mention in this volume of biographical memoirs of Noble county's prominent citizens.

Note. - After the above compilation Mr. Wolf lost his dear companion in life, who died September 20, 1901. She was one of those beautiful, religious and home-loving wives whose beautiful influence was felt not only in the home but in the community. Her life was but the reflection of her beautiful character. Her home was her paradise, and she was ever ready to advocate any measure, with her husband, which would elevate the minds of her dear children and the social, moral and religious sentiment of the community. Her couch was surrounded by her dear, loving children and sorrowing husband and friends, and the last sad rites were attended by many sympathizing friends. The beautiful family circle, where joy and sweet companionship were paramount, has been severed, and she will ever be remembered as a loving friend and mother. Her remains were interred in the 'Osborn cemetery, where she will never be forgotten.

The accomplished editor of the Ligonier Leader, the leading Republican journal of Noble county, Ind.. was born in Clearfield county, Penn., December 26, 1854, and is a son of Stacy W. and Elizabeth '(Bloom) Thompson. He spent his early years on a farm, near a small village, where he acquired the rudiments of an education, advancing far enough to become a teacher, when, in 1870, he removed to Michigan. He served a three-years apprenticeship in the art preservative. Following up the printing business he held positions on papers in Michigan. Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa. In 1879 he was engaged in publishing the Saturday Evening Leader at Sturgis, Mich., and in 1880 came to Ligonier. On the 4th day of June, 1880, the first number of The Leader was issued and every number of its six hundred copies was taken. The circulation kept on increasing until to-day it has the largest bona fide circulation (1,847) °f anv weekly paper in the county. This statement is not an idle boast, but is based on fact, and backed by a one-hundred-dollar offer from one of the leading advertising agencies of the country, Messrs. George P. Rowell & Company, of New York.

The Leader had a very small and limited outfit in the beginning, consisting of a few fonts of type, a hand press, small jobber and barely enough body type to set up two pages of the paper in its original size. To-day the same type would scarcely be sufficient to compose a single page of the Leader. Its first quarters soon became too small, owing to the constant increase of business, and in 1882 it found ample and commodious rooms in the new Shrock block, where it still holds forth, though its quarters have been twice enlarged. From the primitive hand-press it now has the more modern cylinder machine, driven by steam; has put in newer and larger job presses, an abundance of job type, paper cutter and other material, until to-day it is able to supply any demand in the county, and an equipment that is equal to that of any office in this section.

Mr. Thompson is certainly a publisher who thoroughly understands his business, and as a writer is terse, pungent and logical in his editorials. His local columns are newsy and interesting in their details, and the general tone of the paper is pure in senti- meat and moral in diction. Politically Mr. Thompson has always been a stanch Republican. He cast his first presidential ballot for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, and has never missed an election since.

Mr. Thompson is individually of a genial temperament and has made for himself a host of personal and political friends, while his business push and enterprise have won the approbation of all.

Albert S. Bordner

Proprietor of the principal livery, feed and sale stables of Ligonier, Noble county, Ind., was born in Perry township, this count)-, February 18, 1868. His parents, John W. and Sarah (Stigner) Bordner, natives of Canton, Ohio, came to this city in 1864 and located on a farm in Perry township, but afterward removed to Sparta township, where the mother died in the autumn of 1900 at the age of fifty-nine years. The family consist of eight children, the eldest two being natives of Ohio: Francis Almira married Isaac Wells, a well-to-do farmer of Perry township; David Franklin is also a farmer of Perry township; Charles learned the barber's trade and is now in Toledo, Ohio; Albert S. is the subject of this biography; Otis is a farmer of Sparta township ; Alta is the wife of Elmer Peffer, of York township; Joseph is employed by his brother, Albert S., and a partner with him in a farm in Sparta township ; Leona is a young lady at home with her father, and has charge of his household.

began life's struggles for personal independence as a farmer, using rented land. Believing he could obtain better results for his labor in a city, he went to Cleveland, Ohio, obtained a position on the street-car lines of that city and was soon a conductor, holding the position for eight years. The big strike of 1898, however, caused him to abandon his position and he returned to Ligonier and engaged in the livery business at his present stand, where he is meeting with very gratifying success. His stables contain a fine lot of horses, far above the average, and his vehicles embrace the best and most up-to-date styles to' be found in the city, the entire outfit representing a cash valuation of over three thousand dollars. His turnouts are in constant demand, and lie gives steady employment to three hands besides himself.

Mr. Bordner was married, in 1892, to Miss Maude Knight, a daughter of William and Susan Knight, of Ligonier. Mr. Knight was accidentally killed by a train on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway in 1895; his widow now resides at the old home in Ligonier.

Mr. and Mrs. Bordner are the parents of two daughters - Fay, aged seven years, ' and Ruth, a miss of five years. Socially Mr. Bordner is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Politically he casts his vote in the interest of the Democratic party. The ancestors of the Bordners came from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania. The Stigner ancestors were also of German origin, but were early settlers in America.

which is now under cultivation. It is a tine piece of property, well improved, and is valued at rive thousand dollars. Mr. Bordner and his estimable wife are worth)- representatives of that type of American citizenship which is ever held in esteem by the community wherein their lives may be spent, and they well deserve a place in this volume of biographical history.

Christian Barhan

Christian Barhan was born in Baltimore county, Md., August 5, 1816. Shortly after our subject's birth his father died. When he was yet a babe in arms, barely nine months old, his mother left the land of sunny climes and with her little one moved to the Buckeye state, where she settled in Richland county. There our subject spent his boyhood days and knew no other home till he attained his majority. In 1837 he left Richland county and moved to Kosciusko county, Ind., but not being satisfied with the outlook he remained there for only a few months, moving from there to Noble county, Ind., where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in the eastern part of Jefferson township. This he improved and cleared, and on it erected several good buildings. There he spent the remaining sixty-one years of his life, dying April 14. 1898, at the ripe old age of eighty-two.

Mr. Barhan was married, in Noble county, Ind., April 2, 1850, to Miss Mary C. Curry. This estimable woman was born in Franklin county, Penn.. December 22, [829. Her father was Andrew Curry, and her mother was Frances Long, who died in

Shelby county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Curry were natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Curry roamed over the central states very extensively before settling in Noble county. After leaving Pennsylvania he lived for a time in Champaign county, Ohio, and later in Shelby county, the same state; thence he moved to Noble county, Ind., in 1842, and lived for many years in Elkhart township. Then he tried Logan county, 111., but after several years' residence there he retired to Indiana, and again took up his abode in Noble county, where he spent the rest of his days at the home of his grandson, Lambert McFarland, dying at the very advanced age of ninety-eight.

Mrs. Barhan was the third in a family of five. Mr. and Mrs. Barhan were the parents of live children : Frances W., wife of Lambert McFarland; Eleanor M., the wife of Frank Pepple; jane A., the wife oi Theron Holcombe; Willis A., and Alvin A.

Though not a member of any church Mr. Barhan was always a liberal supporter of churches, and Mrs. Barhan is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church.

Abel Barnum

No class of agriculturists in the state of Indiana is more skilled or thrifty than that which comes from the New England and other eastern states, and of such is the gentleman whose name appears above.

Piatt Barnum, the father of Abel Barnum. was born in Fairfield county, Conn., about the year 1790, and was a son of Stephen Barnum, of old colonial descent, and Fairfield county was always his home.

Mrs. Piatt Barnum, whose given name was Alethea, was also a native of Fairfield county, and was born near the town of Bethel in 1792, and died at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. F. S. Couch, in Sullivan county. New York, when seventy-two years of age. The father of Alethea Barnum was also christened Abel, and bore the surname of Barnum; he was born in 1765 in Connecticut, was also of colonial descent and died near the town of Bethel, Fairfield county. Conn., at the advanced age of eighty-five years and five months.

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Piatt Barnum were born three suns and four daughters in the following order; Lucia, Maria. Minerva, Abel, Lewis H. Amanda and Albert S. The fourth born in this family, Abel, bad bis nativity in Fairfield county, Conn., June 30, 182 1, and in the spring of 1822 was taken by his parents to Sullivan county, N. Y.. where they settled and were Abel grew to manhood and was reared on a farm. In 1844 Abel came to Noble county, Intl., and shortly afterward purchased a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of wooded land in what is now Albion township. This tract he diligently set to workto clear up. and from it to Albion city be cut out the first road, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile. Fie also erected upon his land some of the finest farm buildings in the township, and has added to his 'original purchase eight)- acres and now owns a compact body of land comprising two hundred and forty acres, nearly all of which he has placed under cultivation. He has been indefatigable in his diligence, and can justly boast of the possession of one of the finest estates in the township.

Mr. Barnum was first united in marriage, in Jefferson township. Noble county, April 30, 1848, with Miss Jane Sweet, a daughter of Jerome Sweet and a native of Onondaga county, N. Y. Mrs. Jane Barnum was called away February 14, 1882, at the age of fifty-two years, leaving two children, Orlo P. and Alethea, the latter dying August 10, 1882. when about twenty-seven years of age. After this sad and double bereavement Mr. Barnum nursed his sorrow in silence for many months, but on December 19, 1883, took to himself another helpmate in the person of Miss Mary Potts, a daughter of Samuel Potts. This lady was born in Sullivan county, N. Y., September 4, 1845. an(l has borne her husband one child. Abel, Jr., now a bright and intelligent young man. Abel Barnum is one of the most public-spirited and prominent citizens of Albion township, taking at all times an active and decided interest in public affairs - national, state and local. In politics he is a Republican, and has filled the office of justice of the peace for one term, ami it is said of him that rarely, if ever, has one of his decisions been reversed by higher courts. His walk through life has been such as to prove the sincerity of his word, and bis acts have been such as to command the respect of his. fellow citizens. His has been a bright and shining example well worthy of the emulation of the young, and no higher compliment can he paid to any man.

try. Lambert McFarland was born on a farm about ten miles from Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, September 20, 1846. His father was Daniel McFarland, a native tif Knox county, Ohio, where he spent nearly all the days of his life. His mother was Rutha Welsh Dolle McFarland. She was born in Maryland and moved from that state, with southern sympathies, to Richland county, Ohio, with her family in the fall of 1855. After her husband's death in Richland county, she almost immediately moved to Noble county and settled in Jefferson ownship, where she died a few years later. The subject was the youngest of four children, the others : James ; Louisa, who j became the wife of A. Hupp ; and Jackson, I deceased. He went to Noble county, Ind., ' with his mother in 1855 when he was nine years of age. He has made that county his home ever since and has been a respected | and beloved resident here. His occupation j had been that of a farmer. He owns one j hundred and sixty acres of the finest land in the county and is thoroughly conversant with the best methods of getting from the soil the largest returns at the least expense. The subject was married, in Noble county, October 24, 1872, to Miss Frances E. -Barhan. She was a daughter of Christian and Mary C. (Curry) Barhan, who were among the first settlers of Noble county. Mr. Barhan was born in Baltimore county, Md., August 5, 1816. Mrs. Barhan was born in Franklin county, Penn., December 22, 1829. Mr. and Mrs. Barhan had five children: Frances E., the wife of the subject of this sketch; Eleanor M., the wife of Frank Pepple: Jane A., the wife of Theron Holcomb; Willis A.; and Alvin A. Mr. Barhan died in Jefferson township April 14,

1898, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Mrs. McFarland was born in Jefferson township April 7, 1851. Mr. and Mrs. McFarland are the parents of two children, Owen D. and Jesta.

The father of Mrs. Mary C. Barhan was Andrew Curry, who was born in Path Valley, Franklin county, Penn., August 28, 1802. He was one of the earliest settlers of Noble county, to which he went in 1842. At first he settled in Elkhart township, where he lived for many years. From there he moved to Illinois, but after a residence in that state of several years he moved back to Indiana, this time to Noble county. There, during the last nine years of his life, he lived with the subject and died at his home April 13, 1900.

Mr. Curry's first wife was Frances Long. She died in Elkhart township June 17, 1839. After her death he married her sister, Adessa Long. She died October 21, 1856, also in Elkhart township. His third wife was Elizabeth Graham. She died at Brimfield, Ind., in the spring of 1891, at the advanced age of eiehtv-seven years.

Benjamin F. Bowman

Benjamin F. Bowman, deputy sheriff of Noble county, Ind., and liveryman at Albion, was born in York township, this county, July 7, 1863, and is a son of Jonas and Maria (Foot) Bowman, natives of Ohio. Jonas Bowman was but a child of six years when brought to Noble county in 1838, and here has been reared to farming, living now on the farm where the family first settled among the pioneers. This farm was entered from the government, and Jonas now owns a fine estate of two hundred and forty-five acres in York township. Here Mrs. Maria Bowman died in March, 1891, at the age of sixty years, the mother of two sons and two daughters, viz. : Amelia, unmarried and living with her father; Benjamin F, the subject of this sketch; Charles M., an unmarried farmer at the old home ; and Nellie, the wife of Riley E. Smith, a farmer and teacher in York township, with one child.

Benjamin F. Bowman received a preliminary course of instruction in ,the public schools of York township and then took a course in the Valparaiso Business College. He began life on his own account, however, as a farmer,' and followed this calling for seven years ; then went on the road as a salesman for three years. In 1892 he came to Albion, and for one year conducted the popular hotel known as the Albion House. In 1893 he engaged in the livery business at the present stand of Ed. Engle, and in [896 built a fine brick barn on South Orange street, where he has since done a very active and successful business, his stand being most popular, it being finely equipped in every respect at a cost of about two thousand dollars, while the barn itself is worth about four thousand dollars.

Mr. Bowman was married, December 30, 1884, to Miss Lydia M. Clark, a native of Sparta township, and a daughter of Jeremiah and Margaret Clark: the father, who was a member of the Thirtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, died while in service during the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowman have been born three children, viz. : Howard S., Neva M. and Bessie M., all still living with their parents. In politics Mr. Bowman is an energetic and hardwi rking Republican. He was appointed deputy sheriff under the administration of C. C. Simons, January 9, 1895, and reappointed under Harry Bell, January 9, 1899, and has efficiently served in that capacity for six years. He has filled various other official positions, and is usually selected as a delegate to the Republican conventions of his county and district. In June. 1900, he was one of the doorkeepers at the Republican national convention held at Philadelphia. In the race for the United States marshalship of Indiana Mr. Bowman was a formidable candidate and secured the best of endorsements, but the recommendation was made by the wrong senator, hence his opponent received the appointment.

Mr. Bowman is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and Mrs. Bowman is a member of the Christian church, the Rathbone Sisters and is also a lady Maccabee. Mr. Cowman is a radical opponent of the use of tobacco in any form and of stimulants of every kind. He is a gentleman of genial disposition and pleasant manners, and has deservedly won the esteem of warm and true-hearted friends.

John D. Black

To the Bard of Avon have been imputed the words, "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." but in the consideration of the subject to be discussed in this article the first two clauses of the quotation seem to have been the work of Nature, while the last clause seems to have been the fiat of

Fate. At all events, the record which here follows of the life and career of this remarkable man will give a clew to the reader which will enable him to decide, pro or con.

Frederick Amos Black, the father of John D., was horn in Baltimore, Md., July 31, 18 1 3. and was a son of Peter Black, who was also a native of Maryland and was a soldier of the war of 1812. but died in Jefferson township. Noble comity. Ind., when about seventy-three years old. The mother of John D. Black bore the maiden name of Sophia Shaffer, and was a native of Bedford county. Penn., but died December 9, 1850, in Jefferson township at the comparatively early age of thirty-five years. The father of Mrs. Black, who was in all probability a native of Bedford county, Penn.. died in Richland county, Ohio, when about seventy years old. These parents had a family of two sons and four daughters, and of these John D. Black was the first born. The place of nativity of John D. Black was in Richland county, Ohio, and the date of his birth was May 15, 1839. In 1845 his parents left the home farm, nine miles south of Mansfield, and brought with them their son, John D.. and settled in section 24, Jefferson township. Noble county, where the child was reared to manhood and was trained to agricultural pursuits. That he profited by his early training is shown by the fact that be now owns one of the best farms of one hundred and fifty-eight acres in Jefferson town ship.

The marriage of John D. Black was celebrated in Noble comity January 10. 1883, with Miss Margaret Genanger, who was bom in this county and is a daughter of Frederick .and Elizabeth (Fless) Genanger. Frederick < .manger was born in France and his wife in Germany, and the latter died in .Mien township. Noble count)-, about the year 1890, when fifty-nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Genanger had a family of ten children, one son and nine daughters, and of these Mrs. Black was one of the younger. She was born in Allen township December 7, 1863, and has borne her husband four children, viz. : Martha, Minnie, Bessie and Mabel.

In politics Mr. Black is an energetically active Republican, and is untiring in his labors for the success of his party at the polls and in the propagation of its principles, and is extremely popular with its leaders and with the local rank and file. In 1874 he was elected county treasurer of Noble countv, was re-elected in 1876 and served both terms with faithful devotion to the interests of the people of the county, retiring with great eclat. In 1888 Mr. Black was elected county commissioner and again elected to the same office in 1892, and these two terms he also filled to the great approbation of his constituents who, by this time, had discovered a jewel they had overlooked, to their mortification, in 1870. when they had suffered Mr. Black to be defeated in the race for the office of county auditor by an adverse majority of two hundred and sixtynine votes.

The military record of J. D. Black has also been a matter of congratulation among his friends and of pride to the county, and his career as a soldier seems to have been attended with the same good fortune that has followed him in his civil pursuits. Brave and true, he well deserved, however, the success he met with while gallantly serving in the defense of his country's flag during the Civil war. January 31, 1862, J. D. Black enlisted in Company 1, Forty-eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, served until after the close of hostilities and was mustered oul at Louisville, Ky., July 25, 1865. with the rank of second lieutenant. During- this long term of service Lieutenant Black took part in many fierce and sanguinary engage* ments. including. the siege of Corinth, and, later, in the battle at the same place ; the battles at Iuka and Holly Springs, Miss. ; in March. 1863, marched with Grant's army to invest Vicksburg. He was in the Yazoo river expedition; in the fight at Champion Hills and that of Missionary Ridge; and was with General W. T. Sherman in his world-famed march from Atlanta to the sea. 'i he only casualty he suffered was caused by the fragment of a shell at Vicksburg, which incapacitated him for a short time only, and the only reward he has received are his commission, which was not awarded him until near the close of the war, and the lasting' gratitude of his fellow countrymen.

John M. Bonham

It is frequently said that good men rarely go into politics. While it is perhaps true that the professional politician is not always as truthful and honest as he ought to be, it must be borne in mind that the professional politician is rarely the man who is elected to office and kept there.

John M. Bonham, county assessor of Noble county. was born near Madison, Sauk county, Wis.. December 3, 1854. His father was the late William Bonham. and first saw the light of day in Buckinghamshire, England. His mother was Elizabeth

The subject's parents moved from Sauk county. Wis., to Noble county, Ind., in 1864 and settled in Jefferson township, where they lived till the father's death, June 22, 1878, at fifty-three years of age. Their union was blessed with six children, two sons and four daughters: Sarah M., wife of James Grumbo, of Jefferson township ; John M., the subject of this sketch ; Justina L., wife of Milton D. Stanley, of Avilla, Ind. ; Homer H.. a resident of Plymouth. Ind. ; Arabella, wife of William Stewart, of Avilla; and Minnie M., wife of S. F. Spohn, of Goshen. Ind.

The subject of this sketch was ten years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Wisconsin to Indiana, and he has lived in Jefferson township ever since with the exception of fifteen months spent in California and nine months in Salt Lake City, Utah. He received his education in the common schools of Jefferson and at the Albion high school. Like many other of our educated men, for many years he was engaged in teaching during the winter months and farming during the summer. He was married, in Green township, Noble county, March 17. 1881, to Miss Alice R. Stanley. Her father, the late Hon. Henry C. Stanley, was born January _>_', 1818. and died June 18, 1898, and was a resident of Green township fi ir very many years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Sophronia Beeson, and who was the second wife of the Hon. H. C. Stanley, was horn in Wayne county, Ind.. December 24. 1824. She was the mother of nine children, three daughters and six sons, two nf whom died in infancy. Tin .se who lived to grow up were : J. Frank ;

Mary, wife of O. P. Barmrm; Milton D. , Alice R., wife of the subject of this sketch; Cyrus H. ; Charles M. ; and Henry L. The last one mentioned died November 3, 1893, at Battle Creek, Mich.

The Hon. H. C. Stanley served three terms in the house of representatives of the state of Indiana. He was also trustee of Green township and served a term as county commissioner. His first wife was Hannah Hunt, a native of Wayne county, Ind., where she died in the year 18440. There was one child by this marriage, Aaron J., and he died in Green township February 27, 1901. Mrs. Alice R. Bonham, our subject's wife, was born in Green township April 25, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Bonham are the parents of two children, Walter S. and Blanche. Our subject was elected county assessor in the fall of 1896, and served so acceptably that he was re-elected in the fall of 1900. He has always taken a deep interest and an active part in all matters of a local character, and has always affiliated with the Republican party. Mrs. Bonham has taken an active part in church work, both in the Methodist Episcopal and Lutheran denominations. In 1891 our subject settled on the one-hundred-and-sixty-acre farm where lie now lives, which contains all the first-class modern improvements that a man of culture and education invariably appreciates and considers necessary.

Allen C. Hoffman

1864, and was therefore what is known throughout the civilized world as a "Christmas gift" to his parents, the late John Hoffman and Elmira (Walker) Hoffman, of whom further mention will be made as this biographical sketch progresses, and of whom a distinct sketch will be given in juxtaposition.

John He If man, deceased, was a native of York county, Penn., and his wife, Elvina, of Ohio. They were married in the latter state and came to Noble county, Ind., in 1854, and settled in Jefferson township, where John, the father, passed away April 23, 1899. To John Hoffman and wife were born five sons and four daughters, of whom Allen C. was the sixth in order of birth.

Allen C. Hoffman was educated in the common schools of his native township and at Oberlin, Ohio. He assisted in the cultivation of the home place until his marriage in Elkhart township. July 4, 1888, to Miss Viola Kearn, daughter of John and Eunice (Gibson) Kearn, residents of Polk county, Iowa. Mrs. Hoffman was, however, born in Elkhart township. Noble county, Ind., July 18, 1864, and to this union have been born four children, viz. : Raymond R., Ruby B., Bessie B. and May M.

In politics Mr. Hoffman is a Democrat, and has been honored by his party by being elected township trustee of Jefferson township in November, 1900, which office he is filling with credit to himself and to the gratification of his party and the public at large. As an agriculturist, being now in the prime of life, he has won an, enviable reputation, and his eighty-acre homestead is a model of neatness and intelligent husbandry. He and his family are held in very

John Hoffman, the deceased father of Allen C. Hoffman, was born June 7, 1827, and was a son of Adam Hoffman, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, but ended his days in Ohio. John was reared to manhood in his native state, York county, Penn., and in Morrow county, Ohio. He married, March 31, 1850, in Morrow county, Ohio, Miss Elvina Walker, a native of the county, born May 9, 1831. Her father, Christopher Walker,' was born in Pennsylvania, but died in Morrow county, Ohio, at a very advanced age; the mother of Mrs. Hoffman was also a native of the Keystone state and passed away in Morrow county, Ohio, when about eighty years old. Mr. and Mrs. Walker had a family of eleven children, of whom Mrs. Hoffman was one of the younger and was reared in her native county until she became Mrs. Hoffman. Two years after this happy event had occurred Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman came to Noble county, Ind., and in the spring of 1853 settled in Jefferson township on a farm, on which Mr. Hoffman died, April 23, 1899, one of the most honored of the residents of the township and county. There were born to this marriage nine children, in the following order; James, Emma, Mary (deceased at two years), John, George W., Allen C, Jennie M. (wife of Hanson W. Bowen), Wiliam and Lucy E. ( wife of Marion Eddy).

Mr. Hoffman had been reared a wagonmaker, and at the time of his death was the owner of upward of six hundred acres of splendid land which he had improved with an excellent dwelling to correspond, and was classed among the most substantial agriculturists of Jefferson township. Farming had been his vocation ever since his coming to Noble county.

Herbert E. Bechtel

Herbert E. Bechtel, a popular young business man of Albion, Ind., was born in Ai, Fulton county, Ohio, December 5, 1867, and is a son of Jacob N. and Maria (Quiggle) Bechtel, natives of Ohio and of German antecedents. The father's people were early settlers in Pennsylvania, but later removed to Ohio, and in Delta, Fulton county, that state, the parents of Herbert E. now reside. The ancestors of Mrs. Maria (Ouiggle) Bechtel were Huguenots, and of these several came to America in the Mayflower, while she is herself a distant relative of the well-known Hale family of England.

The family of Jacob N. and Maria Bechtel comprise four sons and one daughter, and of these Herbert E. is the eldest, the others being Oman O., employed in the manufacture of firearms for the government in the arsenal at Springfield, Mass., is married and is the father of two daughters; Alonzo H., employed. in a department store in Toledo, Ohio, is married and has had three daughters borne to him; Ned N., who resides at the parental home near Delta, Ohio, is married and has one daughter; Annie, who is employed in a store, is the youngest of the family.

Herbert E. Bechtel was educated in the common schools of Delta, Ohio, but began his career as a salesman at the early age of eleven vears, and this has been his work in life up to the present time. His first ex- perience was in the grocery business at Delta, where he held a situation seven years, and was next employed for two years in a clothing" store at the same place. He next went into the clothing business in partnership with his uncle, Frederick Quiggle, at Edgerton, Ohio, but at the end of two years sold his interest to his partner, came to Garrett, Ind., and for seven months filled the position of salesman in a clothing house, a business for which he was peculiarly qualified. Here his marriage took place, February 14, 1892, to Miss Flora M. Jacobs, daughter of George and Caroline Jacobs, of Edgerton, Ohio, where she was reared and educated. May I, 1892, Mr. Bechtel brought his bride to Albion, where he accepted his present position with J. Staadecker, now Schloss Brothers. Mr. and Mrs. Bechtel have had born to them four children, of whom Harold H. is seven years old and Berdien three years; Derrel died at the age of three months, and Eva was called away when six months of age.

In politics Mr. Bechtel is an influential Republican, and at one time served as town treasurer of Edgerton, Ohio. In a very close competitive examination April 9, 1901, he secured the recommendation for the postmastership of Albion, lo succeed J. O. Knox, and this appointment will be made May 1. 1902. This is a well deserved recognition of Mr. Bechtel's merits and political services. Fraternally Mr. Bechtel is a member of Fulton Lodge, No. 248, A. F. & A. M.. at Delta, Ohio, and Mrs. Bechtel is a member of the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Bechtel is a deservedly popular young man, whose genial temperament and affable manners have secured him scores of friends everywhere. He has held the position of principal salesman in the dry-goods and clothing store in which he is now employed for the past nine years, and his estimable wife is a prominent factor in the social circles of Albion, while their two bright and promising children are the pets of everybody with whom they happen to meet.

Elbert E. Huston

Elbert E. Huston is the eldest of a family of ten children. He was born on his father's farm in Jefferson township, Noble county, Ind., September 24, 1854. The early life of Mr. Huston was spent on the home place, but his parents, recognizing the value and importance of an education, sent him successively through the common schools of the district and then to the high school at Albion, and from there, believing that a business education was of great help to a farmer, they sent him through the Parsons Business College at Kalamazoo, Mich.

After completing his education Elbert E. returned to his home and continued :o live on his father's farm until his marriage, March 13, 1879, to Miss Osie Franks, in Orange township. Noble county, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Johnson) Franks.

Mr. and Mrs. Franks were natives of Wayne county, Ohio. They had, however, early settled in Defiance county, Ohio, and from there had moved to Noble county, Ind., where they settled in Orange township in the fall of 1865. Mr. Franks died July S. 1871, at the age of fifty-one years. He was followed by Mrs. Franks, August1 31, 1888, at the age of sixty-eight vears.

Mr. and Airs. Franks were the parents of nine children: Julius A., Mai"}- D., Thomas J., an unnamed infant, N. Albert, Samantha C. Willis P., Osie E. and Cora Elizabeth. Mrs. Osie Huston, next to the youngest of the family, was horn in Defiance county, Ohio. January 22, 1859.

Wjhen Elbert E. Huston was married he left the paternal roof that had sheltered him hitherto and settled on the farm in Jefferson township where he now resides. He has two hundred and twenty-five acres under excellent cultivation and deals extensively in stock. He takes an active interest in politics and is identified with the Republican party. ( For further family history of Mr. Huston see sketch of William Huston, which appears on another page of this volume. )

David Loy

Whi 1 has been identified with Noble county, Ind., since 1841, was born in the state of Ohio November 30, 182 1, and is a son of George and Susan (Crawford) Loy, both of whom were natives of Maryland, but left the state of their birth and located in Ohio when young, where they were joined in marriage and reared a family of three children - two sons and one daughter, of whom David is the eldest. Thomas, the second child, was born in 1824 and has been twice married - first to Miss Elizabeth Simpson, then to Miss Addie Lessley. Maria, the daughter, is the wife of Thomas Brown.

David Loy accompanied his parents to Noble county and made the most of his opportunities, working early and late to get 1 start in life. It was here he became acquainted with Miss Jane Bowsher, who was destined to become his wife. In order that he might have a home to which to take his bride he bought his present farm, which at that time was. covered by dense timber, and it required patient and untiring effort to clear it and get it ready for cultivation. He cut down trees, made a small clearing and erected a small house, to which he felt that he could bring a wife and provide for her comfort. In 1844 the magic words were pronounced which made them man and wife and they took up the burdens of life together, earnest and cheerful in the work which lay before them. They were used to labor and did not falter at any obstacle which presented itself before them, but courageously overcame it and had the satisfaction of adding to their store of worldly goods until they numbered two hundred acres of the best land in Noble county as their own, and are amply able to spend the remainder of their lives in a well-earned rest if they are so disposed.

Mrs. Loy is a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Trees) Bowsher. and was born July 4, 1829. Seven children have blessed their home, viz.: Minerva, who was born January 25, 1857. and passed to her reward in May. 1894. She became the wife of John Harter and bore him one son. Logan, who grew to manhood and is now stationed in ( >regon as a minister of the United Brethren church ; Sarah was born February 19, i860, and was but a little child of five years when she was recalled to the home above ; Maria, who was born September 20, 1861, grew to womanhood and married George Growcock, by whom she has one son, Oliver; Rosa. who was born April 4, 1863, married Solomon Fahl, and is the mother of three chilli dren - Eva (in the eighth grade at school), Harry and Hallie; George, who was born October 5, 1864, married Miss Ora Lamb and is the father of six children - Carrie ( in the seventh grade and also in music), Rosetta, Lulu L., Josie G., Harley C. arid Wade D., the two latter being deceased; Thomas, born September 8, 1868, married Edith Berry; and Daniel, born January 27, 1866, married Miss Rosa A. Greenwood and has an interesting family of six children, Rosa A. (in the eighth grade and has taken music), Aha L., Shirley M., Arthur, Icy M., Elma R. and Jennings C. Mr. Loy has always affiliated with the Democratic party and in religion is connected with the German Reform church located at Millersburg, Ind.

Daniel B. Drain

Daniel B. Drain, of Noble county, Ind., was born in Belfast, county of Antrim, Ireland, April 26, 1850, and is a son of John and Rachel (Brown) Drain, also natives of Belfast, where they were married in 1837 and where John Drain was a stock-dealer. Ten children were born to than, six of whom are buried in their native land. The father also died in Belfast, and the mother came to America in 1851, followed a year Iater by the four surviving children. Landing in New York, they continued to make that city their home until i860, when they came to Indiana and have since been honored residents of Noble county.

While living in New York Daniel B. Drain secured a position as errand boy with Madam Demorest, the famous fashion leader, and remained in that capacity two years, at the same time attending night school and getting a fair start in the way of an education. Soon after coming to Noble county he was taken in charge by John Poyser, who kept him until he was eighteen, and it was during this time that his education was completed in the schools of Perry township. Having completed the term of his apprenticeship with Mr. Poyser young Drain hired out by the month in Noble county for two years and then went west, where he remained another two years. Returning to Indiana, he continued to work by the month until December 1, 1872, when he was married and made his home in Ligonier, where he was employed in a foundry and as a hod carrier. Later he became a horse dealer in the employ of Strauss Brothers, and still later he entered the mercantile business, working for a Mr. Reeves. He continued in this position three years, when he purchased a tract of land of Timothy Hudson and settled down to agricultural pursuits. Three years later he bought seventy-two acres of the Strauss Brothers and made that his home until March, 1900, when he moved to his present home. He has managed by hard work and strict economy to accumulate one hundred and fifty-two acres of as good land as can be found in this vicinity and is classed among the progressive, substantial farmers of Noble county.

December i, 1872, to Miss Clarissa Cochran, daughter of Frank and Isabella (Roy) Cochran. Mrs. Isabella Cochran, mother of Mrs. Drain, died Monday, February 27, 1888, at the residence of D. B. Drain, on the Plaw Patch, aged seventy-one years, two months" and seven days. Deceased was the widow of Francis Cochran, whose sudden taking off by an accident cast such gloom over this community nearly four years ago. With her husband and family she came to this county from Perry county, Ohio, in 1S52, and soon thereafter settled on the farm which was their home until after death stepped in and claimed the father as its victim. Since that time the mother has been living with her children. About two weeks before her death she had the ill fortune to receive a fall, breaking one of her limbs, from the effects of which and a complication of diseases incidental to a person of her age, she failed to recover. During her lifetime Mrs. Cochran led a Christian life, and the hope now is that she has gone to rest among the true and good. The following notice is extracted from the local press :

"Francis Cochran was born in Perry county, Ohio, November 24, 1815, and died May 4, 1884, at his residence on the Haw Patch, aged sixty-eight years, five months and eleven days. He was wedded to Miss Isabelle Yar in 1835, and moved to Indiana in 1852, and settled on the farm he died on. Seven children were born to the couple, of whom three preceded their father to the grave. In early life Mr. Cochran united with the Methodist church, but on coming to Indiana he failed to keep up his membership, although living the life of a true and upright man. The universal verdict is that a truly good citizen has gone to his1 final rest. He was followed to the grave, at Salem Chapel, by a large and sympathizing crowd of neighbors and friends." Three children have blessed their home: Lulu, who was born June 2, 1877, and is now the wife of Edwin Smith, by whom she has one child, Eveline; Melvin, born Januaiy 5, 1879; ancl Harry, born October 25, 1881. Mr. Drain supported the Republican ticket until 1892, when he transferred his allegiance to the Democratic party as the one best calculated to further the interests of the people.

Robert H. Buckles

Of the old and esteemed pioneers - those honored men who have done so much for the opening up and development of the country and state, who have assisted in the establishment and maintenance of all the institutions characteristic of civilization in this fertile and well-favored section of country - Noble county has her full share. A large number of the biographical sketches in this volume relate to this class of useful citizens, and indeed it seems proper to record the most important events in the lives of these God-fearing, hard-working and honest people. It is no more than justice to give honor to whom honor is due. They will soon all be gone, and there can be no better history of their day and generation written than is to be found in these accounts.

A gentleman who belongs to the class above refrred to is Robert H. Buckles, a prominent and respected citizen of Noble township, Noble county. Ind. He is a native of Maryland, born June 10, 1830. His parents were John and Winnowford (Kercheval) Buckles, both natives of the Old Dominion, who married and for a year afterward remained in their native state. Going to Maryland, they stayed there about two years and then moved back to Virginia. In the fall of 1835 they started for Indiana, but upon reaching the state of Ohio stopped there for about three months. Continuing their journey, they reached southern Indiana, where they remained until the following August, at that time coming to York township. Noble county, locating on the Joel Smith farm. In August, 1836, they moved again, this time to Washington township, this county, remaining there until the father's death.

Robert W. Buckles received his education in subscription schools, which he attended until his twenty-fifth year. He then taught one term of school. About the time of his marriage, in 1855, he settled on the old Mark place on section 1, remaining there until the spring of i860, when he moved onto the farm where he now resides. He is now the possessor of a fine farm comprising three hundred and thirty-five acres.

The marriage of Mr. Buckles took place on the 1 8th of March, 1855, at which time he was united to Miss Catherine J. Piper, a daughter of Jane Piper. She died September 16, 1 88 1. To this union resulted four children, as follows: Edwin H., who was bum August 7, 1857, married Sarah Howenstine and became the father of five children - Carl, Maynard, Mabel, Nina and Roy; Eliza J., born in January, 1859, became the wife of John Reed and is the mother of five children - Roy, Bernie, Catherine, Ethel and Victor; George, bom February 2, i860, married Rachel Stults and they are the parents of six children - Robert H., Pha, Hazel, Vertie, John' and Catherine: William I., born July 7, 1869,. married Jane Scott and has three children, Bertha, Wayne and Mary. Mr. Buckles was married again, November 10, 1884, this time to Miss Eliza J. Mathews, a daughter of Andrew Umphries.

Politically Mr. Buckles is a stanch and unswerving Democrat, although he has never cared for public office. When he came to Noble county it was wild and unimproved, a very few pieces of land being cleared, but he has lived to see a wonderful transformation, this county possessing now some of the most fertile and most highly improved farm land in the commonwealth. It is with some degree of personal pride that Mr. Buckles reviews the wonderful growth of this section, for he has played a prominent part in this transformation himself. In all the relations of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact, and the history of Noble county would be incomplete without a record of his career.

Hon. Eli Baron Gerber

This prominent citizen of Ligonier, Noble county, Ind., a retired merchant and present representative in the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, was born near Canton, Stark county, Ohio, October 3, 1831, a son of David and Susanna (Buchtel)Gerber, natives of Pennsylvania. David Gerber was a farmer in Lagrange county, where he died at the age of seventy-two years ; his widow, at the remarkable aee of ninety-three, resides with her son, Christ W., in Ligonier. They were the parents cf twelve children, eight of whom are now living, Eli Baron being the fourth.

The early years of Mr. Gerber were spent in Canton, Ohio, where he received his primary education, and was fitted to enter upon a course at Somerset College, Pennsylvania. After graduation he came to Ligonier l 1854), but returned to Canton, where he remained a short time and then returned to Ligonier, making it his permanent home. Mr. Gerber took up the trade of carpentering and worked at it about six years. In J 858 he was elected county surveyor and served for eight years. He then turned his attention to the business of map publishing, issuing maps for Noble, Lagrange, Dekalb, Kosciusko, Huntington and Wayne counties, and was thus engaged for six years. His first map was published in 1861, its data being secured while county surveyor. In 1869 he engaged in the hardware business at Ligonier, which he made successful and continued in until 1899. \\ Tile thus engaged in business he became interested politics, and his ability was so marked that in 1882 he was elected by the Democrats as representative to the legislature, serving two years as the joint representative of Elkhart, Noble and Dekalb counties. In 1900 the population of his home county. Noble, being sufficient to entitle it to a representative, he was its choice by a handsome majority, and ;s now its worthy member, his term expiring in 1902.

the welfare of Noble county, lie is the author of the Voting Machine bill, anil by his earnest and able efforts secured its passage. He is a member of six standing committees, and is an important factor in much of the business which comes to the house through the committees of which he is a member, besides being prominent cm the floor in committee of the whole. To his legislative duties are added his private interests, which are considerable, and the duties of county commissioner, having been elected to that office in 1892. He has been city engineer of Ligonier during the past three years, and will, no doubt, be retained as such so longas he may desire. In this connection an incident in the early life of Mr. Gerber is worthy of mention. Having a strong liking for civil engineering and being recognized as exceedingly skillful, in 1855 ne packed his instruments and made a trip to the west. In company with Colonel Miller, a contract was entered into with the city of Omaha, Neb., requiring- its resurvev and extension, and the work involved a stay of several months. About the time the work was completed a party of Pawnee Indians were committing- depredations in the interior, and news finally reached Omaha from the settlers that a large drove of cattle had been taken and driven away. A company of young- men, eighteen in number, was immediately organized, and started in pursuit with a determination to recover the herd and punish the Indians. The trail was not difficult to follow and it was not long before the cattle were found, guarded by a few Indian boys. Steps were immediately taken to drive the herd hack to the settlement, when the party was suddenly surrounded l;v about two hundred braves. The boys were taken prisoners, and though somewhat roughly treated were not injured. After several hours of parleying they were allowed to depart in peace, but minus the herd of cattle. 'When well out of range one of the baud of would-be avengers remarked; "Well, by , boys, that chief is a gentleman." It is safe to say the valiant warrior never heard the last of his questionable compliment.

The founders of the Gerber family in America emigrated from Switzerland shortly after the Revolutionary war and located in Berks county, Penn., where the grandfather of Eli Baron Gerber was born. The maternal ancestors were from Germany; the grandfather, a soldier in the war of 1812, died at Upper Sandusky, Ohio, while on his way home.

Mr. Gerber was married in Noble county, in 1857, to Mary M. Moses, a daughter of Seymour and Sarah (Cavin) Moses. Her father was a clockmaker in Connecticut, and the family now have in their possession a spring clock, one of the first of its kind produced, which was the work of his hands. Mr. and .Mrs. Gerber are the parents of four children : Owen Frank, Dwight, Delta and Minnie. Owen Frank married Miss Ollie M. Treash and resides in Ligonier; he is the city agent for the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. Dwight, a graduate from Purdue University as a mechanical engineer, married Miss D. Maris Lane, of Lafayette, and is now assistant superintendent of the Appollo Iron and Steel Company of Pittsburg, Penn. Delta married Henry Howenstein, of Chicago, a salesman with the Lvon & Healey Music Company of that ity. Minnie is the wife of Harry Green, a I stock-dealer in Ligonier. While Mr. Gerber's life has been one of activity by reason of his large business interests and public duties, he has not allow-ed its pressure to so absorb his time as to exclude the social amenities of life. He is a member of Ligonier Lodge, No. 185, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master and served as its representative to the Grand Lodge of Indiana in 1873 or 1874; also a member of 1. O. O. F., Excelsior Lodge, No. 267, of ! Ligonier, of which he is past grand.

Mrs. Gerber's father, Seymour Moses, was born in 1792 in Hartford, Conn., where he was reared and learned the clockmaker's trade. He came to Ligonier from West- : moreland county, Penh., about 1818, taught 1 school and worked at the carpenter's trade for several years and in 1822 married Miss Sarah Cavin. He built a sawmill and I opened a farm in the Ligonier valley, Ind., and in 1835 moved with his family to the Haw Patch in Noble county, Ind., in four wagons and teams, taking forty-four days to make the trip and having to cut roads and build bridges a part of the way. He settled en the north half of section 10, Perry township, which he had selected and entered two years before. The people soon learned of his apt qualifications for all kinds of business and as a promoter of education, morality and religion. With the help of his neighbors he built the first school house and taught the first school in Perry township. He was elected justice of the peace in 1836 and did all the judicial business for a large territory, regardless of township or county lines. He selected and bought a mill-site on the Elkhart river two miles below Ligonier, where he built a sawmill and also introduced the first woolen or carding machine in this part of the state. The castings and machinery for the construction of these mills he brought by teams from Michigan City and South Bend. He died July 23, 1844, but his wife, Sarah (Cavin) Moses, remained a widow forty-six years and died July 4, 1890.

Mrs. Gerber was born in Westmoreland county, Penn.. April 18, 1834, and was the seventh in a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, and she is the only survivor of the entire family. She was but an infant when her parents came to Indiana, in 1835, when the state was in its primitive virginity. Her parents were among those who blazed the way to civilization and made this wilderness to bloom and blossom like the rose. The red men of the forest were numerous in that early day and many visited her father's yard. She attended the log cabin school house, size 30X 40 feet, of logs, with clapboard roof, and her text-books were the United States speller and the New Testament. She was a true pioneer mother and has seen the remarkable and wonderful development of this great state. The great agricultural region was at that early day a vast unbroken wilderness. Her father erected the first school house and he taught the first school in the township of Periw. Mrs. Gerber' s mother and the children came by wagon across the states to Noble county and the route lay across the present townsite of Ligonier. For almost onehalf a century have Mr. and Mrs. Gerber traveled the journey of life together, sharing alike its joys and sorrows. She has valiantly stood by the side of her husband in the rearing o'f an honorable family of children who are now a credit to the county and state. At present they reside in one of the comfortable dwellings of Ligonie*', surrounded by man_\- and numerous friends. Their hospitable home is ever open to friend and stranger.

In the home circle Mr. and Mrs. Gerber are noted for their genial cpialities and their ability to entertain the numerous friends who delight in calling on them has not diminished or grown dull by advancing years, and it is hoped that many years of pleasure and of profit are yet in store for them.

John Kenney

John Kenney, a reputable citizen of Noble county, Ind., was born June 17, 1830, in County Clare, Ireland, a son of Patrick and Nora (Gleason) Kenney, of whom the former was a manufacturer in that country. The Kenney family comprised three sons and two daughters, viz : John, subject of this record; Margaret, the late Mrs. Spain; Mary, also deceased ; Dennis, who was first a civil engineer and later a banker at Memphis, Tenn., at the time of his death; Patrick, who was a carriage manufacturer in St. Paul, Minn., at one time. John Kenney was reared and educated in County Clare, Ireland, but a desire to escape from English rule and become a free man in a free country led him to embark for America. He arrived in New York in 1850 with but small means and at once set out to find employment. With a friend he went to Eureka, thence to Attica, X. Y., where he worked one month for a farmer. During- this time he kept a keen lookout for an uncle who had preceded him to this country, but J whose location he did nut know, and in order to seek him he went first to Warsaw and later to Rochester, N. Y., where his j quest was successfully ended by finding the object of his search. As the uncle was employed on the railroad, it was but a short time until young Kenney was engaged in the same work, remaining one year, when he went to Livonia, N. Y., where he was made foreman of railroad work for six months. About this time, in the winter of 1S52- 1853, he removed to Defiance, Ohio, to join a brother who had lately come over from Ireland and was engaged as a surveyor on the railroad. John Kenney was again successful in securing work and was made foreman of construction on the Wabash road, building about four miles of track. After assisting in the building of a road through Kendallville, this county, he secured employment with the Lake Shore road and remained witli it until the panic of 1857. He was thus employed for two years afterward in Illinois, and then went to St. Paul, Minn. While in Illinois he organized a company of militia for Robert G. Ingersoll. In 1 86 1 he returned to Indiana, and for two vears was foreman on the Lake Shore road. Tiring of this life and longing for a settled place of residence, Mr. Kenney opened a saloon, but this was a business which he was entirely too conscientious to conduct, and in much less than a year lie disposed of it and bought an interest in a grocery store in the village of Brimfield. Finding this business uncongenial to his taste, lie sold out and entered into partnership with Charles Howard in the hardware business. Tiring of commercial life, he disposed of this business also, in 1864, and bought the farm upon which he now resides - the old homestead of Colonel Denny, which consisted of seventy-two acres of land. Mr. Kenney has been very successful in life and has added to his possessions until lie now owns two hundred and fifty-two acres and is accredited as one of the wideawake farmers of this county.

Mr. Kenney was married in November, 1864, to Miss Maria Fox, a native of Fort Wayne, Ind., and daughter of Elizabeth Summers, and a family of six children have been born to them, namely: Mary E., born October 9, 1865, and who died Nuvember 2, 1898, leaving a husband, Harry Dwyer, and one child, Josephine. Mr. Dwyer is a traveling salesman and resides in Hudson,, Mich. Dennis, who was born October 10, 1867. and is a successful "knight of the road." He married Leah Gaffney and has two children, Gertrude and John. John P., who was born March 17, 1877, and is a prosperous merchant of Ligonier. He married Miss Minnie Sheets and is the father of one child that died in infancy. Robert E., a farmer of this community, was born March 16, 1879. Margaret was born August 31, 1 88 1 ; and Nora, who was born in 1883, died in November, 1884. Mr. Kennev wisely decided that the best investment he could make with his money was to procure good educations for his children, and accordingly gave each a collegiate education in that excellent institution, Notre Dame, from which college each one graduated. They are a family of whom he may well feel proud, as they have filled honorable ami useful stations in life and are respected by all who know them. Mr. Kenney is a devout Catholic and a member of St. Mary's church at Ligonier, and an ardent Democrat. He is a shining example of the success that may lie achieved by patient industry and perseverance, and is well placed among the representative citizens of Noble county.

William Fenton

Clearly defined purpose and consecutive effort in the affairs of life will result in the attaining of a due measure of success. In following out the career of one who has attained success by his own efforts there comes into view the intrinsic individuality which made such accomplishment possible. The qualities which have made William Fenton one of the prominent and successful men of Ligonier, Noble county, Ind.. have also brought him the esteem of his fellow-townsmen, for his career has been one of welldirected energy, strong determination and honorable methods. '

William Fenton was horn on the 8th day of January. 183 1. at Stafford, England, and is a son of Thomas and Hannah (Mare) Fenton, also natives of the "merrie isle." Until the age of fourteen years William Fenton attended a subscription school in his native country. He was then apprenticed to learn the blacksmith's trade, and continued at that occupation for about six years. Then, feeling that the United States offered greater possibilities and larger opportunities to a man of energy and "ambition, he determined to cast his fortunes with those of thousands of other young men who had crossed the water in the hope of bettering their material interests. Accordingly. in 18s: 1, he landed in New York City, but remained there only about a month, when he went to New Jersey, staying there about two months. He believed that the west was the best place for him, so in 1855 went tu Buffalo, N. Y., where he remained about one year. Then, after a short residence in Iowa, he turned eastward again and finally, in 1859, settled at Cromwell, Noble county, lnd., where he engaged in his former occupation, that of blacksmithing. He continued at this business for some time, but finally turned his attention to agriculture and moved onto the farm upon which he now resides. It is a magnificent piece of farming land, containing one hundred and ninetyone acres, and its cultivation and management is carefully looked after by Mr. Fenton, who has proven himself a man of ability and resourcefulness in this occupation.

The marriage of Mr. Fenton took place in November, i860, the lady of his choice being Miss Caroline Welch, who was born July 25, 1832. After a happy companionship of three decades, this union was broken by the death of Mrs. Fenton. who, passed, away on the 17th of December, 1890. To their union were born three children: Sophronia, born September r, 1861, died October 28, 1803; Mary A., born January jo. 18(13. is still at home with her father; Emerretta, born Jul}- 20, 1866, became the wife of John E. Crothers, October 6, 1889, and they have one child, Mary A., bOrn January 8, 1892.

In the fall of C863 Mr. Fenton. realizing that his services were needed in the defense of the "stars and stripes," entered the army and remained at the front until the close of the struggle. That he was an efficient soldier is evidenced by the fact of his promotion from first duty sergeant to the first lieuten- ancy, which rank he held at the time of his discharge, in the fall of 1865. He participated in the battles of Resaca, Kenesaw, Decatur, Atlanta and Lovejoy Station, Ga., Franklin and Nashville, Term., but was never wounded. Mr. Fenton now holds membership in Stansbury Post, G. A. R.. No. 125, at Ligonier.

In politics Mr. Fenton is a stanch and unswerving Republican, and religiously is a member of the Christian church at Sparta. His support has ever been given to all measures for the public good, and at the same time, by judicious management and enterprise, he has won a handsome competence, which enables him to lay aside the more arduous duties of life and rest in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.

William Ellinger

William Ellinger, of Sparta township. Noble county, Intl., was born January 20, 1865, in Marshall county, Intl., where he grew to manhood. His parents, George and Ellen ( W'arfield ) Ellinger. were natives of Pennsylvania and Virginia respectively, who located in Marshall county, this state, where they carried on farming operations and where the father is still living on his farm of seventy acres. The mother passed to her reward about 1899. William Ellinger is the youngest of the following named children : Alice, deceased wife of John Sarver ; Mary, deceased wife of Christopher Hensel ; Rose, who married Edward Travis ; Minnie, who- died in childhood : and William.

attending the public schools of his native county until his eighteenth year and securing a practical education. He then worked by the month four years until his union with Miss Louisa C. Feldheiser, a most estimable lady and the daughter of Andrew Feldheiser, a well-known resident of this county. She was one of seven children, Katie, George, Louisa, Peter, Hannah, Andrew and Maggie. Soon after his marriage Mr. Ellinger located in St. Joseph county, this state, where he engaged in farming for five years, when he returned to Noble county and occupied the Feldheiser home. He owns fiftythree acres of land and is one of the practical, wide-awake farmers who have contributed largely to the prosperity of this county.. Mr. Ellinger is a stanch Republican, and voted for R. B. Hayes, takes an intelligent interest in the work of the party and is a prominent member of Modern Samaritans of the World, Lodge No. 11, of Ligonier. Mrs. Ellinger is a member of the German Lutheran church at Cromwell.

John M. Moore

This wealthy and influential citizen of Cromwell, Noble county, Ind., was born in this vicinity, November 2*,, 1857, and ^s a son of Joseph and Mary (Argood) Moore, old and reputable residents of the county since an early day. Joseph Moore was born in the state of New Jersey in December, 181 1, and at the age of eighteen came to Noble countw Ind., and began farming. He continued this business until 1866, when he invested in a sawmill, which he operated until some fifteen vears ago, when his sons purchased the business. His wife was a na- . tive of Germany, who came with her par ents to America in her second year, and went to her reward in her seventy-sixth year. Three children, William, Lucy and an infant, are with her on the shores of eternity, while seven, Emeline, Maria, John M., Marion, Almira, Etta and Minnie, survive her.

John M. Moore was reared and educated in the schools of Sparta township, and after finishing his studies took up the vocation of farming and proved himself to be a man of more than one idea by engaging in several other branches of business. He was married. March 18. 1880, to Miss Jeanette M. Snyder, who was horn July 2, 1 S 5 7 . to Henry H. and Catherine (Shaffer) Snyder, the latter of whom is still living and makes her home in Cromwell, Ind. Her surviving children are as follows: Jeanette. Clara, Millard, Augustus and Manilla. Five offspring have blessed the union of John and Jeanette Moore, viz: Elvin C. who was born January 21, 1881, and was married April 2, 1901, to Miss Estella Slabaugh; Ethel C, born December '24, 18833 Freeman C, born August 10. 1885; and Mabel and Hazel, twins, born November 28. 1890.

After his marriage Mr. Moore engaged in farming, and it was but a short time until be became known as one of the leading farmers of that vicinity. About Fifteen years ago he bought an interest in the sawmill and conducted that business in addition to his farming, meeting with a flattering success. Some six years ago he opened a lumber yard in Cromwell, which he has since conducted, and in 1897 left his farm to take up his residence in that village. Until a year ago he was associated in the lumber and sawmilling business with his brother. Mr. Moore has been successful in accumulating a fine property, owning two splendid farms of one hundred and sixty acres each, one in Sparta township. Noble count}-, and one in Kosciusko county, Ind., besides real estate in Cromwell and the magnificent home which he erected in 1900 and which, is one of the finest in Cromwell. His milling interests reach a considerable amount, making him a gentleman of considerable means. Mr. Moore is a Republican and cast his maiden vote for Garfield. Mr. Moore is a member of the U. B. church and Mrs. Moore of the Evangelical Lutheran, contributing liberally of both time and money to the cause they espouse. He belongs to a number of fraternal orders, being connected with the Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 408, of Cromwell, Maccabee Lodge, No. 62, and Excelsior Lodge, No. 267, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Ligonier. Mr. Moore was a charter member of the K. of P. and was master of exchequer, and at present is vice chancellor, and Mrs. Moore is a member of the Rathbone Sisters, No. 14(1. and she is senior of the temple.

Abram H. Smith

In writing a brief biographical sketch of any one of the numerous prominent citizens of Noble county, hid., the compiler might readily be excused if be failed to give in every instance proper credit to the services rendered by each in the development and improvement of her material resources and the laving of the foundation for the moral and intellectual progress so essential to the well being of those who shall come after them. This, however, need not be the case with the gentleman whose name appears above, the data furnished being sufficient to form a correct estimate of bis worth and standing as a man and public-spirited citizen. Born in Licking county, Ohio, August 1 8, 1840. a son of Isaac and Ruth (Hull) Smith, he was reared and educated in the county of his birth until he reached the age of twenty-four years. The father of A. H. Smith was a native of that beautiful vallev of Virginia known as the Shenandoah; his mother was a native of Ohio, where they were married and lived for many years, moving to Noble count)-, Ind., in company with their son, Abram H., shortly after the latter's marriage, in the fall of 1864, and settled in Elkhart township, where they both passed away, the father at the good old age of seventy-six and the mother at the age of sixty-six years. They were the parents of ten children, Abram H. being the ninth in order of birth.

On coming to Noble county with his wife and two children, Abram H. Smith purchased the eighty-acre farm whereon he now resides, and entered upon the task of building a home t< r bis yi »ung family. With the foresight which characterized many of Indiana's early settlers upon her wild lands and swampy marshes, he so diligently applied himself to the task that in the years which have elapsed he can now realize the wisdom of his early days on viewing the broad and fertile fields whereon bis labor and means have been so judiciously expended, lie lias added to the original tract until be is now the owner of one hundred ami sixty-one acres - as fine a body of land as can be found in Noble county. He has erected a nice home residence, with ample barns for the accommodation of his excellent stock and the produce of his well-tilled fields. And now that the sun of life has passed the meridian and is slowly descending toward the horizon of its brief and fitful span, he can. with the wife of his youth, who has so nobly seconded his efforts, retire from toil and enjoy the fruits thereof with the assurance that it has been honorably earned.

Abram H. Smith was married in Licking county, Ohio, October 31, 1861, to Miss Mary E. Dumm, also a native of Licking count}', a daughter of Lewis M. and Elizabeth (Harvey) Dumm, both natives of Mifflin county, Penn. The father died at his home in Licking county at the age of seventy-four years, and the mother passed away at the advanced age of eighty-five years. They were the parents of eight children. Mrs. Smith being the seventh. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born eight children, as follows : Charles L. ; Emma, now the wife of Curtis Cole; Ella M., who married Dr. A. J. Hostetler ; Frank R., who died in infancy; A. Howard; Bruce T. ; Edwin D. ; and Edith M.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith hold membership in the Primitive Baptist church, and are not only consistent members therein but zealous and active workers in all movements which result in the betterment of the condition of mankind and the spreading of those truths of the Master who doeth all things well. Their pleasant home is noted for its generous hospitality and there is no more affable lady in Noble county to make pleasant the hours of their numerous guests. Mr. Smith is a gentleman well informed on the topics of the day, and is specially so in the advanced methods now practiced in the cultivation of crops and the raising of superior breeds of stock.

Benjamin F. Croft

This wide-awake and prominent business man of Albion, Noble county, Ind.. was born near Mansfield. Richland count}'. Ohio. May 30. 1848. a son of Benjamin and Mary (Buckingham) Croft, the father a native of England and the mother a native of Maryland, but of English ancestry. They were married in Maryland and moved to Richland county. Ohio, at an early day.

Benjamin Croft, senior, was a manufacturer of woolen goods, and operated a fao lory at Lexington, Richland county, for a number of years. They both died at ripe ages, the father at seventy-seven and the mother at seventy years. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters, five of whom are now living: Our subject is the y< ungest of the family; John B. is in business at Nashville, Term., the general agent for the Aultman Taylor Manufacturing Company, of Mansfield, Ohio; Adam is a farmer in Morrow county, Ohio; Elias is a resident of Johnsville, Morrow county; Mrs. Martha Orchard, of Toledo, Ohio, is the only sister living.

Benjamin Croft, our subject, was educated in the common schools of Richland county and began life as a business man at the early age of eighteen years, operating a sawmill for the manufacture of lumber in his native county, where he remained for nearly four years. The following, taken

"He went from Ohio to Michigan in the early 'seventies, locating first near Eaton Rapids, in the latter state, where he manufactured hardwood, subsequently going to Maple Hill, then one of the new stations on the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, north of Grand Rapids, where he was for several years a manufacturer of white pine lumber. He then removed to Albion, Ind., where he has hail interests ever since, although for a few years he lived at Evansville, and was a member of the Little & Croft Lumber Company. S. W. Little will be remembered as a veteran hardwood lumber manufacturer, of Evansville. The Little & Croft Lumber Company had, during the time of Mr. Croft's membership in the concern, a very fine sawmill, capable of cutting seventy-five thousand feet of hardwood a day. This mill was burned several years ago.

'Air. Croft's saw null at Albion. Ind.. is a small one of about fifteen thousand feet daily capacity, in which he saws white and red oak. elm, basswood and some Indiana poplar, the latter two varieties being used locally. The last named wood is the same old yellow poplar which one time made Indiana famous as a poplar-producing state, but the trees now. Mr. Croft says, are few and far between. However, he bought one which was claimed to be the finest poplar tree left in Noble county; it made five fourteen-foot logs before a limb was reached, and the stock it produced was wide, beautiful lumber.