Wabash County, Indiana - The whole text, 1914 (part 12 of 16)

It was not only within the immediate sphere of the church that Rev. Carpenter was known. In politics, a republican, his services as a cam¬ paign orator were utilized in this state and elsewhere. He was affiliated with both the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternity and while believing in the tenets of those orders, he was not a strict attendant at their lodge meetings.

Rev. Carpenter was married in Fulton, Ohio, to Miss Mary E. Funk. To their union were born seven children, one of whom died in infancy and the others are mentioned as follows: Willard H., a hardware mer¬ chant at Wabash; Mary Inez, wife of George F. Blue, of Kansas City, Missouri; Errett L., associated with his older brother in business at Wabash; Arthur B., a photographer in Wabash; Rhea E., wife of Pro¬ fessor George W. Hoke, of Miami University of Oxford, Ohio; and Frank E., an attorney at Cleveland, Ohio.

David Brandt Sheller, who came to North Manchester in 1851, and whose memory is still green in the hearts and minds of all who knew him, was a native of the state of Pennsylvania, born at Greencastle, on June 16, 1813. John and Mary Sheller were his parents, and both of them passed their entire lives in the east.

The boyhood of David B. Sheller was spent in Pennsylvania, at¬ tending the district schools and in learning the trade of a cooper, and when he was yet young in years he moved to Salem, Montgomery county, Ohio. There he met and married Nancy J. Venus, their marriage taking place in November, 1838. She was born on September 15, 1821, and died in North Manchester, May 8, 1893. They became the parents of the following children : Mary Ann, born April 24, 1841, who married Marsh. H. Parks; Isabelle, born July 7, 1844, who became Mrs. Henry Holderman; James Harvey, born June 7, 1842; Catherine, born December 7, 1846, now living in North Manchester; John, born July 13, 1848, now of Huntington, Indiana; Daniel, born April 8, 1856, a resident of North Manchester; and Horace B., born March 7, 1858, also of North Man¬ chester.

In 1851 Mr. and Mrs. Sheller came to Wabash county with their family which consisted then of four children. For two years thereafter they lived at Liberty Mills, and there the father devoted himself to his trade as a cooper. When the family removed to North Manchester in 1853 he there engaged in the same business, continuing in it with a good measure of success to the end of his days.

Though he started out in life a poor boy, he reached a place in life where he came to be regarded as a highly successful man, and it is not too much to say that he gained that distinction solely through his own unaided efforts. By reason of his long and distinctly honorable career he was highly regarded and esteemed by all who knew him, and when he died on February 11, 1858, he was sincerely mourned in the community where he had long resided. His widow survived him until May 8, 1893, and she reared her children to honorable and useful lives,

Daniel Sheller, son of David B., who has watched the city of North Manchester grow from a mere cluster of small dwellings into the second largest and most important city of Wabash county, is a native of this locality, born here on April 8, 1856, as in indicated in a preceding para¬ graph relative to his parents. It will not be necessary to make further mention of those worthy people, but the life and business career of their son will be touched upon in connection with the sketch of the parents.

When David Brandt Sheller passed away in 1858 it devolved upon the young mother to rear her children alone, and it is but a natural consequence, considering the circumstances, that they did not receive the most extensive and comprehensive educations. Daniel Sheller spent his boyhood days helping his mother in whatever manner he found possible, and while yet young in years he hired out to Jacob Karns, receiving for his services the daily wage of 25 cents. Ofttimes, after a long and hard day's work, Mr. Sheller and his younger brother, Horace, would saw cordwood and stack it in a wood house for fifty cents a cord, and in various other ways did he become familiar with the toil that the boy of the present day seldom meets with.

On December 20, 1877, there took place one of the most important events of Mr. Sheller 's life - his marriage to Miss Mary Salome Bonewitz, the daughter of Esli Bonewitz. Their union has proved an unus¬ ually happy one, and four children have been born to them, as follows : Ernest, now of Toledo, and a veteran of the Spanish-American war, member of Company D, One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Indiana Volun¬ teers, Colonel George M. Studebaker in command; May, who married H. I. Hayes, and has two children, Veva and Eileen; Otto, of North Manchester, and Foster F., now attending high school.

For about seven years after his marriage Mr. Sheller was in the employ of J. M. Jennings, the proprietor of a grocery store, and there he learned the details of that business. For three years after that he was employed by Grossnicker Brothers, and on February 22, 1888, he bought out the concern and embarked in the grocery and bakery business on his own account. Mr. Sheller may be designated as the only man in North Manchester today who has for twenty-six consecutive years been engaged successfully in one line of business, and this unusual circumstance and condition may readily be attributed to the hard work that Air. Sheller has brought to bear upon his task, and his ceaseless efforts to build up a successful and representative business establishment in his line. His ambition has been a worthy one, and the success that has marked his efforts is equally so.

Politically, Mr. Sheller is a republican, and for ten years he contin¬ uously held the office of town treasurer. He has also manifested an active interest in church work, and as a member of the Methodist church of this city was for eight years treasurer of the church organization. A good citizen at all times, he has been active and forceful in any movement launched for the betterment and development of the community, and since the organization of the Fair Association he has been a member and stockholder of that body, one of the developing influences of the town and county, as none will deny.

Mr. Sheller has enjoyed a long and prosperous career in business and he is now looking ahead to the time when he may safely lay aside his business cares, leaving them in the hands of his sons. His home life is ideal and happy, and it is there that he finds his greatest pleasure. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Odd Fellows, but has no other fraternal or social connections that can detract him from his own fireside.

Richard T. Adams. The late Richard T. Adams, for many years prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Wabash county, was a native of Indiana, born at Mishawaka on June 12, 1849. He was a son of John and Lydia Adams, both of whom died when he was very young, and as a young child he was taken into the home of Rankin Hoover, of Chester township. That was his home from the age of five years until he began to do for himself. Like other farmer boys of the day, he attended the district schools, and notwithstanding their very limited facilities for imparting education, the boy acquired a very fair commonschool training as a foundation for later study.

Reared in the atmosphere of farm life, he had no other ambition than to farm and farm successfully, so that his vocation was always that of the agriculturist. He acquired his first farm in 1886 - a fine place of eighty acres in Chester township, and from time to time added to it as his means permitted. He improved the place in many ways, and as a result of hard work and conscientious attention to business he prospered with the pass¬ ing years. When he passed on, he left a snug accumulation that would have kept him in comfort and idleness for many years had he been spared and had he been content to live in idleness.

On June 31, 1871, Mr. Adams was married to Miss Lida Hanley, daughter of Thomas Hanley, now deceased, of Chester township. She survives her husband and her residence is in North Manchester.

Mr. Adams was a man who always had a healthy interest in public affairs. He was a stanch advocate of advanced methods in the public schools, and the improvement of the roads of the county was one of his pet hobbies. He was always to be found active and alert when any move¬ ment was launched for the general good of his community, and the upbuilding of its best interests of whatever order. For years he was a member of the Board of Drainage Commissioners and did excellent work for the city and county in that office. He and his wife both had mem¬ bership in the Christian church and were active in the work of that denomination, as Mrs. Adams is to the present day. Socially Mr. Adams was identified with the Knights of Pythias and the Knights of the Maccabees, and he was an enthusiastic supporter of both societies.

Marion F. Adams. Marion F. Adams, secretary of the Union Trust Company of North Manchester, and one of the prominent men of the city, is a native son of Wabash county, born on the old Adams homestead in Chester township, on September 18, 1872. He attended the public schools, this training being followed by a normal course at Terre Haute, and after that he taught school for four years. Still later he was grad¬ uated from the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Illinois, in 1899, after which he returned to Manchester and engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business. This he followed until the organization of the Union Trust Company, when he was elected secretary of the new concern.

The Union Trust Company, the only concern of its kind in North Manchester, was organized on June 10, 1913, the following well-known men being at its head : Dr. David Ginther, president ; M. F. Adams, sec¬ retary; A. A. Ulrey, 1st vice president; J. M. Curtner, 2nd vice presi¬ dent; and George D. Garber, cashier. The capital stock of the concern is $40,000, with a surplus of $10,000, and they conduct a trust, as well as a banking business. The organization in its every detail is complete, and with its conservative management and splendid official personnel, it is a credit to the city.

Mr. Adams is socially prominent in North Manchester as a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He was married in June, 1910, to Miss Iva E. Snideman, a daughter of David Snideman, of North Manchester.

Isaac E. Gingerick. It is now more than thirty years since Mr. Gingerick took up the practice of law at North Manchester, and his serv¬ ices as an attorney have been so constantly in evidence in connection with a large number of individual plans, and also in important cases affecting* the community in general that his standing as a lawyer is of the very best. Mr. Gingerick has spent practically all his life within the bounds of Wabash county, was reared on a farm, and has had a broad and com¬ prehensive experience of life and has enjoyed many of the better distinc¬ tions which come to the successful lawyer and the public spirited citizen.

Isaac E. Gingerick was born near Xenia, Ohio, January 10, 1851, and in the following May after his birth his parents, John P. and Barbara A. (Shearer) Gingerick, left Ohio and located in Wabash county. The family at that time consisted of three children. Their home was estab¬ lished at Liberty Mills, where John P. Gingerick, who was a practical miller by trade, operated the local mills up to January, 1861. The next home of the family was at Laketon, where Mr. Gingerick conducted the mill for about two years. This was followed by six months of employ¬ ment again at Liberty Mills, and he then became miller at Collamer, in Whitley county. The elder Mr. Gingerick for some time had been affected by an illness which interfered a great deal with the prosecution of his.

duties, and finally accepted the advice of his physician to seek outdoor employment away from the dust of milling operations. That caused the family to move to a farm and both parents lived in the country, and the father was a substantial farmer until death.

The father died in January and the mother in July of the year 1886, and both were laid to rest in the cemetery at Pleasant Grove. To their marriage were born these children: William S., who died in 1864; Mary, who died in 1908; Isaac; John F. ; Austin D. ; Charles F. ; and Flora A., who died in 1879.

The boyhood days of Isaac E. Gingerick were spent in assisting his father in the mill and on the farm, and the education supplied him was of the quality and quantity afforded in the district schools of that time. At twenty-one he became independent and while earning his living by teach¬ ing school and in other lines of work he was eagerly accepting every op¬ portunity to study law, which he had determined upon as his ultimate vo¬ cation. Finally he was qualified for practice, was admitted to the bar and got his first case and earned his first fee in 1880. In August of the same year he opened his office in North Manchester, and his name on the roll of local attorneys has been continuous ever since.

In political views Mr. Gingerick is a republican of the Lincoln type, and has been somewhat active in public affairs, serving several terms as city attorney, and also as a member of the school board. He is a popular man socially, and is well known in local Masonic circles, having affiliations with the Blue Lodge at North Manchester.

On June 27, 1882, Mr. Gingerick was united in marriage with Miss Lelia E. Stewart, a daughter of Louis M. Stewart. To their marriage have been born two children : Kent S, is chief draftsman with a manu¬ facturing concern in Illinois ; and Marjorie is a graduate of the Indiana State University, and is now teaching school.

Lon D. Fleming. A member of the real estate firm of Isenbarger and Fleming, at North Manchester, Lon D. Fleming has for many years been prominent in the law, and in that profession has found those inter¬ ests and rewards most satisfying to his ambition. In his active work as an attorney Mr. Fleming has enjoyed a reputation for the careful handling of suits, diligent and reliable transactions of all counsel and office practice, and has been trusted in many complicated cases of litiga¬ tion and is known as both a good and able lawyer.

Lon D. Fleming was born in the state of Ohio, September 21, 1855. His parents were Josiah and Rosanna (Lynn) Fleming. He was quite young when the family moved to Indiana, where he grew to manhood, and had an education afforded by the common and high schools. The ambition to become a lawyer was not formed until after a considerable experience in other lines of activities, and he showed an ability that would have gained him promotion in a different direction had he so willed it. As a boy he became interested in telegraphy, learned how to handle a key in an expert fashion, and on getting his first position as a dispatcher had the distinction for awhile of being the youngest telegraph operator in the United States. He was not only a youth in the profession, but was able to send a message accurately over the wires as rapidly as almost any telegrapher in the country. After considerable experience at this work he moved to Ligonier, Indiana, and for a time had the management of his father's hotel. In the meantime he had determined to study law, and make its practice his life's work. Since his admission to the bar he has devoted himself steadily and successfully to the profession.

As a democrat in politics, Mr. Fleming has shown much interest in public affairs and served two terms as prosecuting attorney of Noble county. In that office he established a record of speedy conviction of criminals. Many men who willfully violated the criminal statutes of the state of Indiana are at present paying for their crimes through the efforts of Mr. Fleming to establish peace and order. He later went to New York City, where he practiced law and was editor of several legal publications. In 1903, owing to the death of his only son, and the conse¬ quent illness of his wife, he returned to Indiana, and took up his resi¬ dence in North Manchester. Here he became interested in the real estate business, and the firm of Isenbarger and Fleming sjnce 1905 has been the largest of its kind in the county. Through their office they afford a medium for accurate knowledge of land and values to many hundreds of investors located in Indiana and Illinois, and other parts of the country, and they do business on a broader scale than any other real estate man in this section.

In 1883 Mr. Fleming married Miss Lucy Schwartz of Greenville, Ohio. Their only son and child was Reno, now deceased. Although his home has been in Wabash county a comparatively short time only, Mr. Fleming's life has been spent in the service of Indiana, and he bears the respect and esteem of all who know him. He at one time was offered the position of legal adviser to Governor Marshall of Indiana, but refused that honor. Many positions of special responsibility and trust have been tendered to him, unsolicited, but Mr. Fleming cares little for public honors, preferring to confine his attention to private interests and the work of his profession.

John Isenbarger. This is a name that has many familiar associa¬ tions not only to the people in and about North Manchester, where Mr. Isenbarger has his home and is prominent as a real estate man, but also in different sections of the state. Mr. Isenbarger was twice candidate for the office of state treasurer on the Democratic ticket, and the second time was defeated by a very narrow margin of votes. He is also a mem¬ ber of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture. In many ways he has identified himself prominently with the business and civic affairs of this county.

John Isenbarger is a native of Indiana, and was born in Kosciusko county, August 7, 1868, a son of John and Catherine (Shoemaker) Isen¬ barger. His father was twice married, and by his union with Susan Shaefer had the following children: William, of Manchester; George, of Kosciusko county; Martha, the deceased wife of Aaron Arnold; and

Lucinda, who died young. The children of John Isenbarger by Cath¬ erine Shoemaker, were Noah; Ella; John; Eli; Waity; and Samuel, who died in infancy. The father died February 23, 1890, and his wife passed away August 12, 1886. David Shoemaker, father of Catherine Shoo maker, was greatly interested in church work, and as a Dunkard, or old German Baptist, organized practically all of the churches of that denom¬ ination in Wabash county.

John Isenbarger, Jr., has the usual training of a farmer boy. While still on a farm and earning monthly wages, he saw the promise of larger things in business, and after perceiving his opportunities was not slow in making the best of them. He attended district school, and helped his father until about eighteen years old, when he began for himself. His first winter away from home was spent in clearing twelve acres of timberland for a neighbor, and any one at all familiar with this kind of toil will recognize that he could not have selected a harder means of begin¬ ning the foundation for his individual prosperity. Three years later he became a partner with Noah Butterbauch in the hog business. Mr. Isen¬ barger in 1891 came to Wabash county, locating at North Manchester. For a time his work was as a farm hand at different places in that vicinity. Then for two years he operated a dairy farm, the owner of which was Gilford Miller. He had already become aware of the unusual opportunities presented by the real estate business, and from dairyman opened an office at North Manchester, and began dealing in real estate on a broad basis. Mr. Isenbarger has not confined his operations to affording a medium for the trades and transfers of the local supply and demands, but has enlarged the range of his operations so that he has made land in this part of the state familiar to investors all over western Indiana and in the state of Illinois. By this broadening of the market he has done more perhaps than any other one individual to bring land values in the vicinity of North Manchester up to the high average of first-class farm lands in the middle west. In 1905 Mr. Lon Fleming was admitted to partnership, and together they have prosecuted a very successful and extensive business.

Mr. Isenbarger for many years has taken an active interest in public affairs. As already stated, he has twice been the nominee of his party for the office of state treasurer, being defeated in 1905 by thirteen thousand votes, and in 1909 by only two hundred and seventy votes. It is his inten¬ tion to make the race again, and if past performances are a criterion his success is practically assured. Mr. Isenbarger was also one of the organ¬ izers of the Indiana State Bank at North Manchester, and was the prime factor of the organization of the Commercial Club. To his influence and work was due . in large measure the location of the Dunkard College at North Manchester. Aside from his active connection with business, Mr. Isenbarger has found time to cultivate the social side of life, and is identified with the Masonic Lodge, the Knights of Pythias, and the Benev¬ olent and Protective Order of Elks.

for years resided near North Manchester. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Isenbarger were born the following children : Paul, secretary of the North Manchester Milling Company; Bland, in high school, and Law¬ rence.

David Ginther, M. D. For more than forty years Dr. Ginther has quietly performed his round of professional services and duties at North Manchester and vicinity, and is not only one of the oldest but one of the most highly esteemed practitioners in Wabash county. A physician can¬ not live and practice his calling for so many years in one locality, without possessing a faithful character, and a certain high ability and skill in his profession, and no one would deny Dr. Ginther the possession of the best qualifications of the faithful and efficient physician. Dr. Ginther is also well known for his relations with business affairs in that community.

A native of Wabash county, born on a farm in Waltz township, Dr. Ginther 's parents were Benjamin and Anna Marie (Keller) Ginther, both of whom were natives of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and were among the pioneers of Wabash county. In 1847 they located at the county seat, then a small village deriving its principal importance from its location on the old Wabash and Erie canal, and also from the possession of the county government offices. For a time after their arrival the Ginther family lived in a sheep stable owned by Col. Hugh Hanna, who laid out the first plat of the city, and whose name has always been esteemed as the founder of this thriving commercial center. Later Benjamin Ginther, having found time to erect a log cabin about eight miles southwest of Wabash, moved his family to that place. There his activities were those of a general farmer and stock raiser, until illness rendered further work impossible. Having acquired some property near the south tollgate on the canal at Wabash, he moved there and up to 1870 acted as gateman. In that year the family residence was moved to North Manchester, and there he had his home until overtaken by death in 1885. His wife survived him until 1888, and both now rest in the cemetery at North Manchester. To their marriage, which occurred about 1838, the follow¬ ing children were born: Henry, Catherine, Anna, Benjamin Jr., Eva, and David.

Dr. David Ginther was born May 27, 1848. His career has been one in which self-reliance and individual initiative have played a more impor¬ tant part than any fortune that comes from inheritance, or as the result of chance or circumstance. Until he was thirteen years old he lived at home, getting some education in the district schools, and assisting his father. He then started out for himself, and after working for a farmer in the neighborhood found a job in a sawmill. In this way he earned his own living, and when about seventeen years old, in 1865, took up the study of medicine, with an older brother at Hagerstown, Indiana, where he remained until 1871. In the meantime he had attended lectures in the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati. In June, 1871, Dr. Ginther came to North Manchester, walking to that village from Wabash, and such were his financial circumstances that during his first six months of his practice he attended all his patients even when they lived at a con¬ siderable distance in the country on foot. The best years of his life have been spent in administering to the ills of the people around North Manchester, and by hard and conscientious labor he long ago built up a splendid practice.

Aside from his medical activities, the doctor has interested himself in various commercial enterprises, owning stock in two local banks, and several times has conducted drug stores in the city. He also has the honor of being president of the new Union Trust Company. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic Order, is a republican in politics, and espouses the doctrines of the Lutheran church denomination. He has served several terms as a member of the school board and the city council, and at an earlier date had an influential part in local politics. In Decem¬ ber, 1877, Dr. Ginther married Miss Laura Whitlow, a daughter of H. C. Whitlow, of North Manchester, Indiana.

Andrew Pearson. For a good many years Andrew Pearson has lived on what has long been known as the Old Hoosier Homestead, and here he has accomplished considerable along farming lines, making a home for himself and his family that is a credit to the community and establishing himself firmly among the leading men of the township.

Born in Miami county, Ohio, near the county seat of Troy, on January 8, 1846, Andrew Pearson is the son of William and Sarah (Million) Pearson. The paternal ancestry of the subject is of South Carolina, and the maternal ancestry of Tennessee birth, so that the family have long possessed the instincts and inclinations of the true southerner. William Pearson was but a small child when his father died, and he was reared by his mother's people. They came to Ohio at an early date, and in Miami county the mother and father of the subject were united in marriage. They became the parents of twelve children, four of whom died in infancy, and the names of the others are here presented in the order of birth : Ephraim, who died at the age of sixty years ; Andrew, of this review; Eliza J., who married Calvin Hutchins; Augusta, who married Henry Bent; Mary E., the wife of Zeno Shambaugh; Ella married Mark Shambaugh; Milo married Rose Werst; and Frank, who died at the age of thirty-three. He had married Josie Stauffer and left two children when he died.

William Pearson first settled in Miami county, after coming to Indiana, and after living there about two years moved to Wabash county. There he spent the remainder of his life. His first farm had on it an old log cabin and an old sawmill run by water power. He con¬ tinued improving the place from year to year, until after seven years he disposed of it and bought another farm two miles east and moved to it. Here he found another log house, which he improved in many respects, and also put up other buildings. There was some cleared land on this place, but a great deal of it was covered with standing timber, which in those days had no value other than for an occasional fence rail* or to build a log house when one was needed. Later Mr. Pearson moved to his last farm, about three-quarters of a mile east of the previous one, and there he ended his days. This place has since then been regarded by the family as the old homestead and our subject now owns and occupies it.

William Pearson was a religious man, and a member of the Wesleyan Methodist church all his days. He was a man who always bore an excel¬ lent reputation, and one who wielded a splendid influence in his com¬ munity. When he died he was mourned by many who knew him for the many sterling qualities of heart and mind that had marked him.

Andrew Pearson was educated in Wabash county for the most part. His education, it is true, was a limited one, but the advantage of the Wabash city schools gave him an opportunity above many of his gen¬ eration.

When he had finished his schooling Mr. Pearson went to work on his father's farm and he was thus occupied until he reached the age of twenty-five, when he married. He chose Sarah Armstrong for his wife, and she was a daughter of Campbell and Susan Armstrong, natives of Preble county, Ohio. To this marriage six children have been born, concerning whom mention is here made : Bertha, the oldest, married P. S. Adams, and they have two children, Bennett and Martin ; Annette mar¬ ried Campbell Gaunt, and their children are Allen, Robert and Lawrence ; Mary married Charles Erwin, and their one child is named Esther; Susan married C. Kaufman, and they have three children, named Harry, Eugene and Rachel; Pearl is unmarried and Harry, the youngest of the six, married Nellie Burkholder.* They have three children, Charles, Geneva and Wayne.

Mr. Pearson located on his present place, known as the Old Hoosier Homestead, in 1908. It has 216 acres in all, and is well kept and is one of the productive places of the township, many improvements having gone into effect since it came into the ownership of Mr. Pearson.

Mrs. Pearson is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Pearson is an independent in politics. The family have a most excel¬ lent standing in their community and enjoy a host of good friends in and about the township and county.

William Franklin Clupper. A native son of Wabash county who has spent his entire career on the farm on which he is now located in Noble township, is W. P. Clupper, a progressive and enterprising agri¬ culturist and a citizen who has done much to promote the welfare and advancement of his community. Mr. Clupper was born August 20, 1874, and is a son of Louis and Mary (Schrantz) Clupper, and a grandson of Christian Clupper and John Schrantz. The home of Mr. Clupper was originally settled by John Schrantz, who emigrated to the United States about the year 1849 or 1850, from Switzerland, and here passed the remainder of his life.

The paternal grandparents of Mr. Clupper had the following chil¬ dren : John; Christian; Louis; Henry; Elizabeth, who married James Tyner; Mary, who married Fred Maurer; and Anna, who married Jacob

Hainlen. By his first wife, who died in 1877, Louis Clupper became the father of twp sons, W. F., and one who died in infancy. He was married (second) to Maria Putman, a daughter of Joseph Putman, and three children were born to this union, namely : George, who married Ethel Whitlock ; Harley, who married Grace Unger, who is now deceased ; and Hugh, who married Letha Sutton.

W. F. Clupper was but three years of age at the time of his mother's death, and he was then taken by his maternal grandparents to rear. He received good educational advantages in the public schools of Noble township, and grew up to agricultural pursuits, which he has always made his life work. On his present farm, a tract of seventy-three acres, he has done all the clearing that was not done by his grandfather, and has remodeled many of the buildings and replaced others with new ones. The present turnpike has been put through here during Mr. Clupper 's residence, and he was superintendent thereof during the time of its building, a piece of work which was accomplished under the most unfa¬ vorable weather conditions, and which took two years in its completion. All of the machinery on his property is of the most modern construction, and indicate the owner to be a most progressive and enterprising farmer, and such is the reputation he bears throughout the community. In addi¬ tion to general farming he also successfully carries on stock raising, and his business is so carefully and systematically managed that he has won a high degree of prosperity. Mr. Clupper's grandfather Clupper was a republican, and his father also supported republican candidates and principles. Mr. Clupper himself has exercised his prerogative in voting independently, preferring to support rather the man he deems best fitted for the office than to give his vote because of any party allegiance. He has never sought nor cared for public office, finding his whole time and attention demanded by the duties of the homestead place. However, he has always shown his public spirit in helping movements for the advance¬ ment of his section. His religious connection is with the Christian church at Treaty, to which his wife also belongs, and of which he has served for some time as a member of the board of elders.

In 1898 Mr. Clupper was united in marriage with Miss Ida Long, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Burgett) Long. For one year after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Clupper made their home at Treaty, where their eldest child, Merlin, was born. Since their return to the farm they have had two children : Cyril and Noel, and all three are now attending school.

George Pressler. How largely the great struggle between the North and the South during the dark days of Secession developed the youth of our country can, in its entirety, never be known, but there are those living who entered upon the hardships incident to a soldier's life when little more than lads, and so bravely and courageously faced every vicissitude, and so uncomplainingly bore suffering and wounds, that their valor should be remembered when this now united country counts over its heroes. The great struggle between the Union and the Confederacy, with the important issues it represented, certainly brought forth a class.

of trained, disciplined men, whose influence has been ever since recog¬ nized in the peaceful pursuits which have engaged them. On Wabash county 's roll of honor is found prominently displayed the name of George Pressler, who in August, 1862, joined the forces under his country's flag, and who bravely, cheerfully and faithfully fought for the preservation of the Union, in whose defense he received wounds of which he still bears the honorable scars. Since leaving his country's service he has served it no less valiantly and conscientiously as a citizen, and his career both as a developer of lands and as a public official places him high among the helpful men of Waltz township.

George Pressler was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, December 3, 1840, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Gephart) Pressler, and a grandson of Michael Pressler and George Gephart. The parents were natives of Pennsylvania, but were married in Ohio, and their family consisted of nine sons and two daughters. The father, who was a brick¬ layer and stone mason by trade, died in 1855.

George Pressler was educated in the public schools of his native county, and there was reared to agricultural pursuits. While a resident of the Buckeye state he was married (first) to Laura M. Huiet, daughter of Joseph and Susan Huiet and to this union there was born seven chil¬ dren : Joseph, who died at the age of four years ; Lucretia, who died when thirteen years of age ; Norman ; Pearlie ; Emma ; Daisy, and one who died in infancy. Mrs. Pressler died in 1885, and Mr. Pressler was married (second) to Lydia Semans, the daughter of Thomas J. and Rebecca Semans, of Wabash, Indiana, and to this union there were born three children, two of whom died in infancy, Warren being the only sur¬ vivor. The second Mrs. Pressler died in 1895, and Mr. Pressler was mar¬ ried (third) to Rebecca M. Coate, daughter of Hiram and Rachel Coate, of Clinton county, Ohio. They have no children.

On coming to Indiana in 1871 Mr. Pressler settled first on a farm about one-half a mile east of his present property, a tract of eighty acres, of which thirty-five acres had been cleared, and here was located an old log house and log barn. He cleared this land, installed modern improve¬ ments and erected good buildings and here continued to reside for a number of years, carrying on successful farming and stock-raising opera¬ tions. Prior to disposing of this land he had purchased his present property, thirty-nine acres, on which the buildings had already been erected. Here he made his home and has shown himself both a practical and scientific agriculturist. He is a friend of modern methods, and by their intelligent use has made his property pay him well for the work he has expended upon it, thus making himself one of the substantial men of his community. He has been granted long years, and now in the evening of life, has a comfortable home and may look back over a career which in war or in peace bears no stain or blemish. In addition to his home farm he is the owner of a tract of seventy-six and one-half acres on what was formerly the Indian Reserve, and here he has made all the improve¬ ments and erected the buildings. This farm is now being cultivated by Mr. Pressler 's son, Norman, an energetic and skilful farmer, who is rap- idly becoming known as a worthy successor to a worthy father. Norman Pressler was married to Miss Ollie Norris, and they have become the parents of two children, Moren and Carl.

The first year of the Civil war found Mr. Pressler an ardent Union man, but it was not until August, 1862, that he was able to so arrange his affairs that he was able to leave his home and go to the front. Becom¬ ing a member of Company K, Ninety-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, he saw active service almost from the start, and during the time that followed until his honorable discharge in June, 1865, he partici¬ pated in some of the most sanguinary battles of the great struggle. Some of these are : Stone River, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Orchard Knob, Mission Ridge, Buzzard 's Roost, Resaca, Dallas, Pickett 's Mills, Kenesaw Mountain, Cliattahoochie River, Atlanta, Lovejoy Station and Nashville. The Atlanta campaign lasted from May 6th until September 4th, and not a day passed that was not marked by more or less fighting, and during this time Mr. Pressler took part in skirmishes too numerous to mention. His services brought him promotion among his comrades to the rank of corporal, and as such he served during the last year and a half of the war. Mr. Pressler was wounded four times, but on only one occasion allowed himself to be taken to the hospital. At the battle of Nashville, Tennessee, December 16, 1864, while storming the enemy's breastworks with his company, a bullet struck him just over the heart, but the three straps w'hich held his canteen, haversack and cartridge box saved his life by stopping the force of the bullet, although he was confined to the field hospital for two weeks and was then sent to the hospital at Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he remained for six weeks. He still retains possession of the old army canteen as well as the bullet which struck him, the latter being dented on the end from coming into contact with the straps and Mr. Pressler 's rib. He has kept these relics for forty-nine years.

At the battle of Chickamauga, on Saturday about noon, when his regiment .first went into the engagement, they were stationed on the extreme left of the firing line. It will be remembered that in that battle the Confederates kept their troops moving from their left to their right in order to flank the Union army. In order to prevent the success of this movement, two men from each company in Mr. Pressler 's regiment were detailed as flankers under the command of Major Birch of the Ninetythird. This detail stood at the left of the position occupied by their regiment, and were much exposed. The rebels were getting thick in their front and the bullets were flying fast when Air. Pressler observed a dam¬ aged caisson, around which were lying six or eight dead or dying horses, and thinking it would be a good place to stand behind while firing, he started for it. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion ; the caisson had been hit by a shell and exploded, the horses were thrown and scattered, and Mr. Pressler was knocked senseless. Had this happened fifteen sec¬ onds later he would have lost his life, since as it was he was very close to the caisson.

closely associated with the Exchange Bank of Roann, of which he is now the cashier, and of which his honored father, Daniel Van Buskirk, is the executive head. The father figures as the founder of the institution and is one of the well-known and influential citizens of Wabash county, specific record concerning him being given on other pages of this volume, so that a repetition of the data is not demanded in the present connectioa

Dow Van Buskirk, as he is familiarly known in the county that has ever represented his home, was born at Ijamsville, also known as Laketon, Wabash county, on the 18th of July, 1875, and is the eldest of the four children of Daniel and Martha (Miller) Van Buskirk, the former of whom is still the president of the Exchange Bank of Roann. He whose name initiates this sketch was a child of about two years at the time of the family removal to Roann, where he was reared to maturity, and where he acquired his preliminary education in the public schools. He was graduated in the high school in the year 1895, as was also his sister Edith, and this class had the distinction of being the first to be graduated after the establishing of the Roann high school. Immediately after his graduation Mr. Van Buskirk assumed a clerical position in his father's bank, and he has since continued his services as a valued executive of this institution, save for the period during which he was a student in the University of Indiana. In the autumn of 1895 he was matriculated in the law department of the university, and in the same he was graduated as a member of the class of 1897, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was forthwith admitted to the bar of his native State, but he has never engaged in the active practice of his profession, though his tech¬ nical knowledge has proved of great value to him in connection with his active business career. Mr. Van Buskirk has familiarized himself with the various details of the banking businesss and is recognized as a reliable and progressive business man as well as an efficient executive officer of the Exchange Bank, of which he has been cashier since his graduation in the university. He takes a vital interest in all that touches the well being of his native county and attractive little home city, and his polit¬ ical allegiance is given to the republican party, both he and his wife holding membership in the Presbyterian church and being popular factors in the leading social activities of the community. They reside on their finely improved farm of eighty-eight acres, eligibly situated in Paw Paw township, about one-quarter mile distant from Roann, and Mr. Van Buskirk gives a general supervision to the farm, in which he takes much pride and through the medium of which he finds both rest and recreation.

On the 6th of June, 1900, Mr. Van Buskirk wedded Miss Maude Squies, daughter of Howard Squies, a representative citizen of Wabash county, and the two children of this union are Katherine and James.

David Marks. Since the year 1880 David Marks had a live inter¬ est in Wabash as a man of business in this city, and though for a number of years he was a non-resident, he continued to maintain his home here and to retain his old-time interest in the city and all its affairs. He is of New York birth, the city of Rochester having been his birthplace, on

April 30, 1850, and he is a son of Simon and Hannah (Kochenthaler) Marks, the former a native of Wachbach, a village some nine miles dis¬ tant from Stuttgart, Germany, in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, and the latter at Nagelsberg, Wurtemburg, Germany. The parents came to America separately, and were married in New York. They eventually located in Rochester, in which city they passed the remainder of their lives.

David Marks, their son, lived at Rochester, New York, in his boyhood and there attended the city schools until he reached the age of seven¬ teen, when he came west to Marion, Indiana, the year being 1867. In Marion he had a married sister living, and he came to visit his sister and see something of the middle west, and it is a notable fact that he reached Marion on the first train that passed through the city. Though he had at first no intention of remaining in Indiana, Mr. Marks became interested in business, and in 1869 became associated with his brother-inlaw, Morris Blumenthal, in general merchandising. He was thus asso¬ ciated until January 17, 1880, when he sold out his interest to his brother, Lewis Marks. He then came to Wabash and here became one of the owners in the Star Woolen Mills.

For years Mr. Marks was the financial manager and selling agent of this thriving concern, until on December 13, 1893, the property was destroyed by fire. Succeeding this unfortunate occurrence Mr. Marks went out on the road as a traveling salesman for a wholesale clothing establishment of Rochester, and for eleven years thereafter he had his headquarters, with sample rooms, in the Great Northern Hotel in Chicago.

In 1905 he became connected with a similar establishment in Chicago, and continued with them until in July, 1912. During these years he retained his home and his interest in Wabash, where he had become identified with various matters of public import, and his influence in his home city was always a most excellent one. In July, 1910, he was elected by the city council as a member of that body to fill the place previously occupied by J. J. Kingston and made vacant by his resignation. In November, 1913, Mr. Marks was appointed by President Wilson a mem¬ ber of the commission to adjust claims arising from the building of the Panama Canal.

Mr. Marks was a democrat in politics, and had ever had the best inter¬ ests of the community at heart, being known as one of the valuable citi¬ zens of the place.

On his 21st birthday Mr. Marks was made a member of the Inde¬ pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and his other fraternal relations were with the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the Masonic fraternity, the I. O. B. B., and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is Past Grand Exalted Ruler.

On Ma y 1, 1878, Mr. Marks was married to Miss Hattie Hyman, a daughter of Michael Hyman, one of the early pioneers of Wabash. Mr. and Mrs. Marks were the parents of two children, Jean and S^?Ha, the

In addition to his regular business activities Mr. Marks was the owner of 178 acres of fine land in Wabash county, which he operated through a tenant, and he was a stockholder of the Farmers' and Merchants' Na¬ tional Bank of Wabash and of three other national banks in Indianapolis.

A man of affairs, he stood well in local business circles, and, with his family, had a place in the leading social activities of the city. He died July 17, 1914, on the Isthmus of Panama, where he had been since May.

William DuBois. Few men within the borders of the state were more deeply conversant with pioneer conditions in the early days in In¬ diana than was William DuBois, who was born in Franklin county, this state, on May 30, 1825, and died on the 22d of June, 1914, at Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was a son of Samuel and Rachel (Krum) DuBois, both natives of the state of New Jersey, where the father was born in 1804 and the mother one year later.

It would be interesting to enter at some length into the early condi¬ tions attendant upon the existence in Indiana eighty-five years ago, but space does not permit of such deviations except in the briefest treatment, and it will suffice here to say that Samuel and Rachel DuBois came to this state when in their early youth, and that all their children were born in Franklin county, where they had settled on a farm. They became the parents of a fine, old-fashioned family of nine - seven sons and two daughters. The sons were: William, John, George, Hazel, Debyge, Oscar and Jasper. The parents ended their days in Franklin county, having lived long and useful lives in their community and being well known and highly esteemed in the county. Samuel DuBois was a Whig all his days and was active and influential in matters of a political nature in his town.

William DuBois had a very limited education, gained in attendance at the three months' winter school of the day. Being one of seven sons, his father favored him in that he did not require him to give his labor at the home farm, but he permitted him to strike out for himself as soon as he wished, so that he had been working on his own responsibility and saving his own earnings for some years when he reached his legal ma¬ jority, at which time, under ordinary circumstances of that time, he would have gained his freedom from the duties at home.

So it was that William DuBois went to work for other men in the community, and he was employed in one place for a year and a half, earning $7.50 a month during that time. The highest wages he ever earned as a farm hand were $11 a month, which was considered espe¬ cially good pay in his time. After his marriage in 1848 his father bought him an eightv-acre farm in Union county, and there he took his bride and settled down to the difficult task of getting his farm in shape for productiveness. It was a wild piece of land, practically covered with a heavy growth of timber, but he was able in time to make a presentable farm from it, and he prospered agreeably on that place. In 1864 he moved to Wabash county, however, and here settled in Noble township, on a farm of 160 acres located on the township line. Here he did some clear¬ ing and considerable building as well, so that his new place came to be in very good shape before he disposed of it. When Mr. DuBois felt himself no longer able to successfully work the place because of his ad¬ vancing years, he sold it, and after spending some little time in the home of his married daughter he settled with his son Samuel, who is married and lives in Noble township.

Mr. DuBois married Eliza Davis, daughter of Samuel Davis, in 1848, and to them were born twelve children. They were Hanna, Henry, Alice, Mary, Eveline, Caroline, Emma, Samuel, John, Eliza, and twins named William L. and James H. The wife and mother passed away in August, 1889, and Mr. DuBois remained faithful to her memory.

Mr. DuBois was a member of the United Brethren church and was a stanch and active worker in the organization. He has served as super¬ visor of Union township, and all his days was an excellent citizen in whatever community he found himself. In earlier years he was a re¬ publican, but more recently he turned his attention to the prohibition party and gave excellent service to that cause in the county. Mr. DuBois was one of the fine old men of the county, and he performed his full share toward the development and settlement of the district. As one who accomplished much in his years of activity, it is fitting and proper that his work have mention in such a publication as this.

H. G. Baer. The Baer family has been active in Wabash county through three generations, and from pioneer times down to the present different localities have benefited by their presence and influence. As early settlers they helped to clear the forests and extend the area sus¬ ceptible to the plow and the growing of crops. At the same time they have always been useful citizens and they have contributed to develop¬ ment through their influence and practical activities.

Mr. H. G. Baer of Urbana, who until recently was one of the lead¬ ing merchants of that little city, was born in Paw Paw township, Wabash county, January 9, 1865, a son of Garrison and Catherine Davis Baer. The founders of the family name and fortunes in this county were grandfather Joel Baer and wife, who in 1840 located two miles north and one mile west of Urbana in Paw Paw township. Their settlement was in the midst of the green woods, and before they could begin cul¬ tivating the soil a severe task awaited them in the clearing up of the land, felling of trees, ditching and draining, and other back-breaking toil. Urbana was then hardly deserving of the name of village, with one or two stores in frame or log shacks, and the era of sidewalks and up-to-date municipal improvements and mercantile enterprise was still far distant. Joel Baer lived a life of quiet industry and continued to make his home on the farm until his death. The land is still in the family name, being owned by Adam Baer. The Baer household in the days preceding the Civil war was one of those mysterious stations on the underground railway, and Joel Baer was one of the active aboli¬ tionists who afforded the shelter of his home to many refugee blacks, who tarried with him a night or in some cases several days until their journey could be furthered toward Canada and freedom.

Garrison Baer, who w*as one of a family of eight children, six daugh¬ ters and two sons, all but one having been born in the Buckeye state, was a child of three years when the family left Stark county, Ohio, for Indiana The trip was made with w'agons and teams, and Garrison Baer grew up in the wild surroundings of Paw Paw township, at a time when everything was new and the opportunity for the sportsman with rod and gun was practically unlimited. He followed in the foot¬ steps of his father, became a farmer, and eventually got possession of the old homestead, w*here he lived a life of quiet usefulness and honor¬ able integrity. His death occurred in 1903 at the age of seventy-five and his widow is still living in Urbana. She wTas born in Fayette county, Indiana, a daughter of Adam Davis, who was one of the pioneer farmers of Fayette county. Garrison and Catherine Baer were the parents of four children: Joel, of Wabash county; Adam, of Urbana; H. G., who is best known among his associates by the name "GreeD'; and Jennie, wife of Frank Baker.

Mr. H. C. Baer grew up on the old homestead near Urbana, and while a boy the district school which furnished him an education was conducted in a log building. He thus attended school and worked on the farm until he was about twenty-two years of age, when he came to Urbana and for the following nine years was employed at the Cham¬ pion Seeder Company under Mr. Speicher. On leaving that establish¬ ment, he was clerk in the store of Adam Cook for some time. With this thorough and varied experience in business, in 1908, he and his brother Adam bought out the establishment of Azro Mason, who had for some years conducted business at the Baer location. The Baer Brothers at once enlarged their stock of goods, and until they sold out in the spring of 1914 their enterprise was one of the most conspicuous features of the little city of Urbana. As merchants they built up a large business in general merchandise by close attention to every detail of their trade, by studying the wants of the community in order to provide for them intelligently, and at the same time showed their public spirit by co¬ operating in many movements for the improvement of the commercial and social advantages of their little community.

On April 15, 1893, Mr. Baer married Miss Minnie Eager, a daughter of Aaron Eager, now deceased. The children born to their marriage are Forest, Wayne and Teddie.

Both the Baer Brothers are stockholders in the Farmers Bank at Urbana. Mr. H. G. Baer is a strong republican, has filled the office of township assessor, and in 1912 was given the nomination of the republican ticket for the office of county recorder. Although he made an excellent showing, and without any particular campaigning on his part, his candidacy fell in the troublous times of the notable split in the republican party, and as a result of the division of the normal vote, the democrats were successful. Mr. Baer when all was over was one of the first to join in wishing his competitor the utmost success while in office. About twenty years ago Mr. Baer joined the order of the Mac¬ cabees, and for several years has been record keeper of the Tent at Urbana. He and his family are members of the Evangelical church.

S. P. Dougherty. The natural advantages of Wabash county as an agricultural community attracted at an early date a superior class of settlers, a thrifty, industrious, progressive and law-abiding people, whose influence has given permanent direction to the development of this locality. As early as the year 1850 there located in Liberty town¬ ship pioneers bearing the name of Dougherty, and since that time the members of this family have been numbered among this section's most substantial people. A worthy representative of the name is found in the person of S. P. Dougherty, who is now successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on a handsome property of 157^ acres, located in Noble township, which has been his home for a quarter of a century.

S. P. Dougherty was born in Liberty township, Wabash county, Indiana, April 19, 1855, and is a son of John and Mary (Preston) Dougherty. His parents, natives of Coshocton county, Ohio, belonged to honored old families of the Buckeye state, where they were married, and in 1850 came to Wabash county, having heard of the opportunities awaiting the energetic and industrious settlers from former neighbors in Ohio who had preceded them here. Taking up a tract of Liberty township land, they began housekeeping in a little frame home, and for a time faced the hardships and inconveniences which attend existence in a new and uncultivated region. The father, however, was a man of industry and energetic nature, and soon began to make his farming operations pay, so that the original home was replaced by a more com¬ modious and comfortable structure, and here the parents passed the remainder of their lives. They were upright and God-fearing people, and by reason of their straightforward lives possessed the esteem and respect of all who knew them. They were the parents of ten children.

The educational advantages of S. P. Dougherty were secured in the same manner as those of other farmers' sons of his day and locality, the district school term lasting several months each winter. The remain¬ der of the year was passed in the hard, unrelenting work on the farm, where the youth gained experience that was to prove of great assistance to him in later years. When he started upon a career of his own he adopted farming for his life work, and in 1889 left Liberty township and settled on his present property in Noble township, which has con¬ tinued to remain his home. His tract of 1571/2 acres is nearly all under cultivation, and in addition to this he has cleared thirty-five acres in the same township. When he first located on this property there were but a few buildings, these old and practically worthless, but at this time he has a full set of substantial structures, fitted with modern equip¬ ment and conveniences. He is known as a good practical farmer, ever ready to give a trial to new methods which promise to be beneficial. He is a man of exemplary habits, commendable purpose and unbending integrity, and in all life's relations merits the confidence which is so freely accorded him. In political matters he is a democrat, but he has not cared for public office. With his family, he attends the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Dougherty was married to Miss Rose Keesey, the daughter of William and Catherine Keesey, and to this union there has been born one son: Frank, born February 23, 1892, who is single and his father's assistant on the farm.

Bernard Dougherty. Noble township, Wabash county, comprises a community which any section of the state might be proud, on account of the enterprising class of fanners constituting it and the high moral standards of the leaders of society and business throughout its extent. Among the agriculturists of this township is found Bernard Dougherty, who by his steady habits of industry throughout the twenty-three 3rears of his residence here has achieved not only a competence but has also established and ever maintained a reputation which guarantees to him any station that he might be willing to accept. He has the distinction, also, of being a self-made man for he started out in life with only his ambition and energetic nature to aid him, and what success has come to him is a direct result of his own well-directed efforts.

Mr. Dougherty comes of a family which has been identified with the agricultural interests of Wabash county for something more than sixtyfour years. He was born on his father's farm in Liberty township, this county, September 15, 1859, and is a son of John and Mary (Preston) Dougherty, natives of Ohio, and members of well-known and honorable families of that state. The parents were married in Coshocton, and not long thereafter, in 1850, migrated to Wabash county, Indiana, having been attracted hence by the glowing tales of this region's advantages related to them by former neighbors who had already visited in this locality. They took up a tract of Liberty township land, then totally uncultivated, and for some years made their home in a little frame house while with energy and perseverance they established themselves for the rearing of their family. As the years passed, and their financial resources grew, they added to their equipment, erected a new house and other buildings and purchased more land, eventually becoming known as substantial people. Their many sterling qualities won them the respect and esteem of their neighbors and those who came into contact with them, and few people had a wider circle of friends. They were the parents of ten children, whom they endeavored to rear in a manner that would fit them for honored positions in life.

Bernard Dougherty, like his brothers and sisters, received his edu¬ cation in the district schools of Liberty township, made the most of his opportunities, and secured a good mental training. Reared to the life of a farmer, he early adopted that as his life work, and continued to reside with his parents until 1891, at that time moving to what was known as the Farr farm, in Noble township. Subsequently he came to his present property, formerly known as the old Huff farm, in the same township, and this has continued to be his home to the present time. He has built a new residence, has made numerous other improvements, and now has the entire 140 acres under a cultivation. Under his skill¬ ful management his land is paying him handsomely for the labor he expends upon it, and he is rapidly becoming one of the most substantial agriculturists of his locality. Mr. Dougherty in his political views harmonizes with the democratic party and has been stalwart in its support, but has never cared nor found time for public office. With his family he attends the Presbyterian church.

Mr. Dougherty was married in Noble township to Miss Eva Weesner, daughter of Daniel Weesner, of Wabash county, and to this union there have been born two children : Mary, born on the Farr farm, and Mar¬ guerite, born on the present farm, both of whom were educated in the schools of Wabash.

William Working. Though he has passed through a great many hardships and has seen many misfortunes, William Working has reached a place where he is independent and is known for one of the prosperous and well-to-do men of Noble township, where he was born on February 25, 1851, and where he has spent his days thus far. Mr. Working is the son of Jacob and Mary (Kingelsburger) Working. His mother, who was the second wife of his father, died when he was a small boy, leaving two other children - Philip and Lydia.

Jacob Working was born in Germany, and was three times married and was the father of seventeen children by his combined marriages. He came here in about 1831 and settled in Noble township on a rented farm, known in that time as the Miller Farm. He later moved to Mis¬ souri, and in Jackson county, Missouri, he was killed by the James outlaws. His home was in the vicinity of their haunts there, and having incurred their displeasure as a law abiding citizen and as a stanch Union man, they did not hesitate to shoot him down where he stood. Jacob Working was sixty years old at that time (1862). After that fatality the family were guarded by a government posse until they left the county. The guard accompanied them as far as St. Louis, the family comprising the mother and seven or eight children, and from St. Louis they went on to Peru, Indiana, settling in Peru township on a farm.

At that time William Working was a boy of about twelve years, but he did not consider himself too young to go to work and help support the fatherless family. He secured work as a farm help, and for almost twenty years he continued at the work of a farm hand. He then felt himself able to do something to further his own prosperity, and he accordingly bought eighty acres of land in Erie township, Miami county, Indiana, which he later sold and bought 149 acres in Noble township, Wabash county. Mr. Working has since that time added to his holdings until he has today several hundred acres of land in the

Mr. Working has been married five times. His first wife was Julia Kirkpatrick, deceased. They had a son, William, who died aged ten months. His second wife was Catherine Beck, deceased and their one daughter, Nellie, died at the age of seventeen years. His third wife was Barbara Ollinger, deceased. After her death he married Louise Rensel, deceased ; and still later he married Lizzie Emmick. Mr. Work¬ ing is now living on a farm of 140 acres on the Marion & La Fontaine Pike, iy2 miles S. E. of Wabash.

Mr. Working is a Methodist, though his father was a member of the Lutheran church, and he is a democrat in his politics. He has served as supervisor of Peru township, Miami county in the period of his residence there, and in Noble township has shown a fine spirit in all matters of public import.

Much of credit is due to Mr. Working as one who began life without material assets, dependent solely upon his native energy and wit to make his way through life. Lacking in early education, he has yet managed to acquire a fair equipment through reading and close and careful ob¬ servation, so that he holds his own among his fellows at all times. Hard work has been his portion all his days, but he has never been one to complain of his lot, and the results of his labors are a credit to him, indeed. He owns 350 acres of land in three separate farms, all in Noble township.

John Clemens. For sixty years John Clemens has been iden¬ tified with Wabash county, where he has won prosperity and has lived with honor, his home now being in the village of Liberty Mills. He is one of the Grand Army men still living in this county, and his family had a share in the pioneer development of this region.

John Clemens was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, November 2, 1848, a son of Cornelius and Salome (Vance) Clemens. Both parents were of Pennsylvania Dutch extraction. It was in 1854 that the family moved from Ohio and settled in Wabash county, their first home being on rented land in Pleasant township, about five miles w'est of Liberty Mills. Cornelius Clemens was a man of industry, came to the county a comparatively poor man, and eventually was regarded as one of the prosperous citizens. After renting for a time he bought forty acres near Liberty Mills and lived there for a time, but about 1857 moved into the village, wffiere his death occurred in 1878. His widow survived until 1897, and both now rest in the cemetery at Liberty Mills. Cor¬ nelius Clemens wras originally a Democrat, then joined the Whig party, and finally became a Republican. In religion he was a Lutheran, while his wdfe was a member of the United Brethren church. His business was as a general farmer and stock raiser, and he brought many acres of Wabash county laud under cultivation and in that way contributed to the permanent resources of the county. He was also interested in local affairs, and for several years held the office of town constable.

As he was but six years old when the family came to Wabash county, John Clemens has spent practically all his life in this section, and his schooling was acquired by attendance at one of the early dis¬ trict schools, near Liberty Mills. His early experience was varied by the work of the home farm and he learned many helpful lessons not taught in school or books, and has relied on industry, honesty, and intelligent management to push him ahead in the world. He was not yet thirteen years old when the Civil war broke out and a few years later he followed the promptings of patriotism and enlisted in Com¬ pany F of the 153rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under the command of Colonel Carey and Lieutenant Colonel Ellis of Wabash. He served with his regiment until receiving his honorable discharge several months after the surrender of Lee, and it was at Louisville, Kentucky, in September, 1865, that his military service was completed. He returned home and assisted his father in working the farm until he was twenty-three years of age, and then married Miss Eliza Kissinger, daughter of George and Catherine Kissinger.

A young man without capital but with abundant confidence in his own resources, prepared to accept adversity as it came, he and his young wrife began as workers for others, and for three years he was engaged in railroading. Since then he has been an independent farmer, and in 1883 moved into the town of Liberty Mills and for eight years was engaged in blacksmithing. Mrs. Clemens died in 1904, and their chil¬ dren were: Dora May, now Mrs. George Enyart; Levi Dexter; and Charles Calvin. Mr. Clemens is a republican in politics, and while a good citizen and ready to do anything that will improve his com¬ munity, has never sought nor held any official responsibility.

John Simonton. Prominent among the families of Wabash county who have contributed materially to their section's welfare in various ways, is that bearing the name of Simonton, which has been represented here for eighty years. From the time of the sturdy pioneer who founded the family here to the present, the men who have borne this name have shown their general worth and good citizenship, honorable in business and loyal in friendships.

John Simonton, the progenitor of the family, was one of the real pioneers of Chester township. He was born January 18, 1813, in Preble county, Ohio, a son of John Simonton, Sr., who came to Wabash county with his family in 1835 from Ohio, journeying by teams from Ohio. They camped over night on the present site of North Manchester and finally settled on the old Simonton farm, October 1st of that year. The family first located one mile west and one-half mile north of the present homestead, to w'hich they came in 1836. He belonged to that sturdy, self-reliant class to whose courage, determination and perse¬ verance the county is indebted for its early development and subse¬ quent growth, became a man of substance for his day, and gained and retained the respect and esteem of the people of his locality. He and his wife were the parents of three sons: Jake, who died at the age of

John Simonton, Jr., was twenty-two years of age when he accom¬ panied the family to Wabash county. He had received a public school education in Ohio and had been trained to agricultural pursuits, in which he was engaged in his youth. At the time of his father s death he received his share of the old quarter section of land, to which he subse¬ quently added forty acres by entry, and then purchased forty acres, later eighty acres, still later ten acres, and finally twenty acres, although he subsequently disposed of the two smaller tracts by sale. At that time the nearest mills were located in Elkhart county, and three days were required in making the trip from Mr. Simonton s home community, but finally he and a Mr. Abbott induced an Indian guide to show them a short cut through the woods, and they cut a path through north, and this was converted into a road. Even at this early day he was interested in road building and throughout his career he continued to promote the building and maintenance of public highways. While general farming and stock raising operations occupied the greater part of his attention, he also engaged in various other pursuits, and in each of his ventures met with well-merited success because of his excellent ability, his un¬ swerving integrity and the close personal attention that he gave to details. At a very early period he was engaged in a general mercantile business at Liberty Mills, in partnership with his brothers, and he was also for a number of years employed as a brick mason, being a skilled mechanic in that line. From the time that he erected the first residence and barn on his land he contributed to the upbuilding of his section. In politics a stanch republican, he took a great interest in the success of his party, served efficiently in the capacities of township assessor and supervisor, and at all times was thoroughly informed as to the vital issues of the day. When he died, June 3, 1895, his county lost one of its most active and energetic citizens. On September 13, 1835, Mr. Simonton was mar¬ ried to Miss Martha Calhoun, who was born December 22, 1817, daughter of Robert Calhoun, and she died March 21, 1885. They were the parents of eleven children, as follows: David, whose* death occurred in 1913; Sarah Ann, who became the wife of Martin Huffman; Harriet, who married the late George Rittenhouse ; Lavina, who became the wife of William Killer; Jacob II., who passed away in 1906; Mary Jane, de¬ ceased, who was the wife of John Cuppey ; Maliala, deceased, who was the wife of Ben Nordyke; John C., who is a resident of Nebraska; Robert W., who is deceased; and Perry and Charley, who remain on the old home place.

Perry Simonton was born May 4, 1860, and Charley, September 6, 1862, both on the place they now occupy, a tract of eighty acres which they bought from the heirs. They are enterprising agriculturists who are making a success of their operations by the use of modern intelligent methods, and their property has been brought to a high state of cultiva¬ tion. They have the best of improvements and buildings, and the present residence was erected after the old home had been destroyed by fire. Both have taken a great deal of interest in public affairs, being republicans of the stand-pat variety, and during recent campaigns have organized a fife and drum corps with which they have played all over the county in the interests of the Grand Old Party. They have a wide acquaintance throughout this section, are known as good and reliable citizens, and their friends are legion.

Christian Walter. In practical industry, wisely and vigorously directed, the man of enterprise and ambition finds the real medium through which he may attain success. Through it he is carried onward and upward, his individual character is strengthened and developed and a powerful stimulus is applied to the efforts of others. Simple means and the ordinary qualities of perseverance and common sense generally attain the greatest results, and the work-a-day life, with its necessities, duties and cares, affords great opportunities for acquiring experience of the most practical kind, wdiile its most beaten highways provide a deter¬ mined worker with abundant scope for self improvement and the attain¬ ment of independence. In the field of daily activity, Christian Walter, of Chester township, has found the means of attaining independence and success, and today he stands as one of the substantial men of his com¬ munity, being the owner of a handsome and well-cultivated farm of eighty acres, lying in section 7.

Mr. Walter is a native of Stark county, Ohio, and was born December 30, 1853, a son of John and Mary (Smith) Walter. The family origi¬ nated in Germany, where the father was born April 4, 1826. He was about eighteen years of age, a sturdy youth, with a good common school education, when he came to the United States, the trip being made in a sailing vessel which consumed forty-five days in crossing the Atlantic. His first location was in Stark county, where he settled upon a farm on the Ohio frontier and devoted his attention to the tilling of the fields, and there he was married to Mary Smith, this union resulting in the birth of five children: Christian, Kate, John G., Fred and Henry. Of the foregoing Kate is now deceased. In 1851 the family came to Wabash county, Indiana, and settled in the timber country of Chester township. For a time the family lived on rented land, while Mr. Walter was ac¬ cumulating enough capital to purchase property of his own. Finally he was able to buy thirty acres, a tract which was subsequently sold, and eighty acres were then purchased, followed by a purchase of forty acres, more. Both parents passed away on the eighty-acre farm, the mother in 1882 and the father in 1894. They were earnest, industrious and God-fearing people, who struggled bravely to make a home for their children, an object in which they finally succeeded. They were compelled to face the hardships of life in a new and unsettled region, where each acre of ground had to be cleared before it could be utilized for the growing of crops, but they had unbounded energy and ambition, and this, coupled with a serene faith in their adopted locality, enabled them to achieve success. To just such pioneers Wabash county owes its present prosperity, in fact its very existence. Mr. Walter was a democrat, but his public activities were confined to aiding enterprises for the advance¬ ment of his section. Both he and his wife were widely known, and for their many admirable qualities of mind and heart were respected and esteemed wherever known.

Christian Walter, son and worthy representative of these estimable people, was brought by them to Wabash county when he wTas one and one-half years old, and has made his home in this locality throughout life. The country schools afforded him his education when he could be spared from the duties of the home farm, and he continued to reside under the home roof until his marriage, in 1875, to Miss Anna Wethers, daughter of Jacob and Kingould (Haunstein) Wethers. Six children have been born to them: William II., who is engaged in farming; Jacob, who is deceased ; Irvin, a successful farmer ; Sam and Effie, who live at home with their parents; and Ida, who is the wife of Charles Burton. Prior to his marriage, Mr. Walter had purchased a farm of forty acres of land, and later he added forty acres more to this, this tract now constituting his property, one of the most highly cultivated in this region. He now has a fine, modern residence, substantial barn and well-built outbuildings, a good set of modern farming machinery and highly-improved equipment. His general farming operations have met with a full measure of success, and he also has devoted a good deal of attention to raising stock. The forethought, sound judgment and enter¬ prise which form the elemental strength of Mr. Walter's character have brought to him the well-merited prosperity in material affairs, while his integrity and fidelity have won him high reputation in his community and a wide circle of friends. In politics he supports republican princi¬ ples, but has never held public office. Since his fourteenth year he has been a member of the Lutheran church, of which Mrs. Walter is also a member, and both attend services at St. Peter's church at North Man¬ chester. Mr. Walter does his duty at the polls and works all the year through, whenever opportunity is presented, for the advancement of the principles which he believes to be right.

Thomas Christle. In the pioneer history of Chester township, the name of Edward Christie is found as a citizen who courageously did his share in the settlement of the community and in reclaiming it from the wilderness. Although he has now passed to his final rest he is remembered by those of the older generation as a man of high business principles, strict and sterling integrity and loyal friendships, who was an exemplification of the class of men to whom Wabash county is indebted for its present prosperity. Mr. Christie was born November 18, 1817, at Phillipstown, County Kings, Ireland, and was a son of Edward and Ellen (Colgan) Christie. His father was an officer in the English army who participated in several European wars, but Edward never cared for a military career. He was given a good educational training, grew to manhood in his native place, and was there married, August 16, 1846, to Miss Elizabeth Kuskely, soon thereafter emigrating to the United States in order to establish a home for himself and family. Landing at New York, June 5, 1848, after nine weeks spent on the water in a sail¬ ing vessel, he made his way by water to Indiana, mostly by canal, and for about one and one-half years resided at Peru, then, in 1852, they came to Wabash county. After spending two years on rented land in Lagro township, Mr. Christie purchased a farm of eighty acres in Chester township from an uncle, and here continued to make his home during the remainder of his life, his death occurring September 4, 1907, at the age of eighty-nine years nine months and twenty-seven days, while his worthy wife passed away April 27, 1876. They were the parents of the following named children : Thomas, Patrick, Michael, Annie, deceased ; Edward, Alice and two who died unnamed in infancy.

Both Edward and Elizabeth Christie were faithful members of the Roman Catholic church, and subscribed freely to the building of the church at Lagro. Mr. Christie was an exceptionally well read man, had a broad store of knowledge on questions of importance, and right up to the time of his death took a keen interest in matters of moment. A man who was a credit to his community, he contributed in various ways to its development, especially in the way of good roads, the advocacy of which he made his hobby, helping to build a number of the corduroy roads. His first home was a log cabin, built on the farm in 1867, but this was later replaced by a frame structure, and Mr. Christie lived to enjoy all the comforts made possible by his years of fruitful labor. When he passed away his community lost a man whose place was hard to fill.

Thomas Christie, the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Kuskely) Christie, was bom in Kings County, Ireland, June 5, 1847, and emigrated to the United States with his parents, the greater part of his long and useful career having been passed in Wabash county. His education was secured in the old log schoolhouses of his day, equipped with seats and desks composed of logs, and at the age of nineteen years began to learn the carpenter's trade with Samuel and Christ Speicher. This he followed for some twelve years, both as a contractor and in the bridge department of the Wabash Railway, and while in the latter capacity rose to the position of foreman. In 1878, however, he abandoned his trade and re¬ turned to the tilling of the soil, settling in the woods on his present property. Here he had at first a tract of sixty acres, covered with heavy timber, without improvements of any kind, but this was soon cleared by steady and well-directed labor, buildings were erected by Air. Christie and the property was made one of the valuable ones of the town¬ ship. Forty acres have been added to the original purchase, and Mr. Christie is now accounted one of his community's substantial men. He has been engaged in general farming and stock raising, and his ventures have proven successful, for he has never been afraid of hard labor and has ever had the courage to grasp opportunities as they have presented themselves.

On May 8, 1871, Mr. Christie was married to Miss Catherine Clifford, daughter of John Clifford, and to this union there have been born two children: John Edward, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Elizabeth Catherine, who is now deceased. Mrs. Christie died April 8, 1876, and on May 28, 1878, Mr. Christie was married (second) to Miss Mary Jane Maguire, daughter of James Maguire, of Lagro, and eight children were born to them, as follows: Annie, born January 1, 1880; Alice, born August 3, 1881; Thomas James, born May 1, 1883; Michael F., born August 10, 1885 ; Allen F., born September 20, 1887 ; Ruth E., born April 28, 1894; Rose G., born February 11, 1897 ; and Leo P., born April 10, 1900. Mrs. Christie died November 5, 1913. She was a faithful member of the Holy Rosary Society, and was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Lagro. The family are all members of the Roman Catholic church at Lagro. As a boy Mr. Christie many times walked to church at Lagro for mass and instructions, the distance being seven miles, then mostly through the woods.

Hamlin S. Crow. A sketch of the life of Hamlin Sherman Crow of La Fontaine, Indiana, must include an account of activities in a number of directions; primarily he has been a farmer his entire life, yet he has found time to devote to recreation, amusement and some of the elevating influences of life that are often overlooked in American farm life. Man y of the dominant notes of his activities may be traced through his ancestry.

The family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, coming to America from Scotland. His great-grandfather, Abraham Crowr, born in 1747, and one of the founders of the family in America, was among the early settlers of eastern Pennsylvania. The family took an active part in the Revolu¬ tion, one of the brothers losing his life in the Battle of Brandywine, and another tunneling his way to safety from a British prison. The descendants of the former settled near New Castle, Pennsylvania, on pension lands. Abraham Crow was married to Rachel Craven in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and moved from there across the Allegheny moun¬ tains in 1787 to Cross Roads, Washington county, Pennsylvania. In 1815 they moved to Columbiana county, Ohio. They had a family of ten chil¬ dren. He died there at the residence of his son in 1844, aged ninetyseven years. His fifth son, James Crow', was born and reared in west¬ ern Pennsylvania, where he married Elizabeth Moreland, a member of a Quaker family of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. They estab¬ lished their home in Columbiana county, Ohio, where they raised nine children. In 1835 they moved to Putnam county, Ohio, and became pioneer farmers of that county. Their third son, William Richardson, was born April 12, 1821, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and he later helped hew the home out of the wilderness of northwestern Ohio. In 1840 he married Bersheeba Browrer of Putnam county, who was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, on February 14, 1819, and whose parents were Frederick Brower, son of Adam Brower, and Helen (Staley) Brower. Immediately after marriage they settled on eighty acres of land near Ottawa, Putnam county, Ohio, given them by the father, James Crow, where they shared the hardships of pioneer days. Their land holdings were increased from time to time until they consisted of 860 acres, and to the cultivation of their land they devoted their energies until the death of the father, February 19, 1892. They spent their entire married life on the same farm and were widely known for their active lives, hospitality, and interest in the religious life of the com¬ munity. The old homestead is now owned and occupied by Wm. G. Mullet, their eldest grandchild. The mother 's death occurred October 31, 1893. They were the parents of eight children : Elizabeth H., who mar¬ ried Jacob Mullet and died in 1887 at the age of forty-five years, Ephraim, who died at Nashville, Tennessee, December 5, 1862, aged nineteen, at that time a soldier in the Union Army, and unmarried. James S., ^ bachelor, who owns and lives on what is known as the We-ca-co-nah farm, near La Fontaine, this county. William Albin, who married Lana Berryhill, and who lives a retired life in La Fontaine. Senath Ann, who died December 7, 1859, aged nine years. Iantha, wife of Andrew Steiner, died February 3, 1902, aged forty-six years. Emma, the wife of Chester Green, of Mount Cory, Ohio. Hamlin Sherman, the subject of this sketch, was the eighth child and born in Putnam county, Ohio, July 24, 1861, where he grew to manhood. On February 24, 1884, he was married to Louise Anna Wirth, who was born February 3, 1865, and who was the daughter of Samuel and Magdalena (Bauer) Wirth. Samuel Wirth was born in Goldberg, Prussia, Germany, January 30, 1823, and came to America in 1849, locating in Putnam county, Ohio. Her mother was born in Artmonhausen, Ober amt Marbaugh, Kingdom of Wurttemburg, Germany, April 16, 1829, and came to America with her mother and brothers in 1850, spending fifty-two days on the voyage. The father died August 7, 1912, the mother preceding him, May 21, 1899.

After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Crow lived with the latter's parents one year, after which they lived on eighty acres of timbered land given by his father; this wras partially made tillable and two years later an additional forty acres were bought. After his father's death in 1892, he sold the farm and bought ninety acres as the nucleus of his present farm in Waltz Township, of his brother, James. Additions have been made at various times until the present acreage is double the original purchase ; the farm is well improved and is entirely bottom land adjoining the Mississinewa river. It is named Shap-e-ne '-mah Farm, from the fact that the original owner, George Bundy, had this word for his Indian name. The present home (re-modelled by Mr. Crow) was built by Shap-e-ne '-mah.

To Mr. and Mrs. Crow six children have been born : Chester Hamlin, born in Ohio, January 31, 1885, married Blanche Hester, September 11, 1907, to whom have been born two children, Cedric and Modlyth. His farm adjoins Shap-e-ne '-mah Farm. Amy Amanda, born in Ohio, Feb¬ ruary 12, 1886, married Le Roy Lewis, September 11, 1907, whose chil¬ dren are: Paul (deceased), May Louise and Mildred May; they live in Cotulla, Texas. Bessie Bersheeba, born in Ohio, July 9, 1887, married Homer Lewis, a brother of Le Roy Lewis, February 18, 1913 ; they reside in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Anna Magdelena, born in Ohio, June 16, 1889, died December 5, 1899. Almon William, born in Ohio, January 2, 1891, who lives with his parents. Alta Louise, born in Indiana, August 8, 1894, who lives with her parents.