Whitley County, Indiana - The whole text, 1907 (part 22 of 28)

Mr. Smith is a Republican, member of the Christian church and fraternally is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America of Dunfee, in which organization he carries a liberal insurance policy. In the prosecution of his various interests he has exercised good business ability, his reputation as a thoroughly honorable and conscientious man has never been impeached and his integrity and honesty as a neighbor and citizen have ever been above reproach. Not only has he been successful in his acquisition of worldly wealth, but he has manifested a commendable purpose in its use. Every movement of public interest or benevolent enterprise finds in him a friend and advocate, and to the extent of his ability he has contributed liberally to the material and moral advancement of his township.

I. R. Conner

Thornton Conner, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1827 in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and by occupation was a cabinet maker. In early life he went to Waynesburg, Ohio, where he followed his trade until 1853 when he migrated to Linton county, Iowa, where he remained during the ensuing seven years, removing at the expiration of that term to Huntington county, Indiana, and locating at the town of Roanoke. In 1862 he transferred his residence to Whitley county, where he followed farming until 1864, when he moved to Laketon, in Wabash county, and engaged in the business of tanning, which he continued until his death a short time afterward. A little later the family returned to Roanoke and after a brief residence in that place removed to Jefferson township, Whitley county. The maiden name of Mrs. Thornton Conner was Sarah Roberts.

I. R. Conner was born May 10, 1850, in Stark county, Ohio, and accompanied his parents to their various places of residence in the states of Iowa and Indiana as described in the preceding paragraph. He enjoyed the advantages of a common school education and since his fourteenth year has been a resident of Whitley county, devoting his time and energies to agricultural pursuits. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty-nine acres in Jefferson township, one hundred and thirty acres being in cultivation. Mr. Conner holds high rank among the leading agriculturists and stock-raisers of Whitley county, and his career presents a series of successes such as few of his fellow citizens have attained. While extensively engaged in general fanning it is as a stockman that his chief reputation has been gained, being a successful breeder and raiser of fine blooded cattle and high grade hogs, making specialties of the Duroc. Poland- China and Jersey breeds, from the sale of which he realizes handsome profits.

In January, 1874, Mr. Conner married Miss Mary E., daughter of James and Margaret (Tyner) Broxon, of Logansport. The father for many years was a blacksmith of that citv and a well known resident of Cass county. Tn 1856, he came to Whitley county, where he remained until his death. Five children have been born of this union : James, formerly a teacher in Whitley county, now in the mail service; Virgil assists in operating the farm ; Ida May, who is proficient in music, is prosecuting her studies under competent instructors ; Chester and Zelda are students in the public schools.

Mr. Conner has always been interested in the general welfare and taken an active part in inaugurating and promoting public enterprises. He is a Republican, an uncompromising advocate of law and order and as a member of the Christian church his life has been a potent factor for good in the community. He is likewise a self-made man, having realized all he owns by Yliligent and persevering toil and that his interests have been conducted judiciously is demonstrated by the ample competence he now enjoys.

Thomas D. Watson

Thomas D. Watson was born in Whitley county, Indiana, September 8, 1855, on a farm in Jefferson township adjoining the beautiful and attractive home where he now resides. Paternally he is a Scotch-Irish descendant and on the mother's side comes of German ancestry. His great-grandfather, James Watson, was born in Ireland, but in early life came to the United States, settling in Maryland, where he reared a family, including a son, Thomas, whose birth occurred in that state. When a young man Thomas Watson went with his parents to Ohio and settled near Columbus, removing to Fairfield county, where he became a successful farmer, his ancestors for many generations having been tillers of the soil and people of high social standing and sterling worth. He died in his adopted state a number of years ago, leaving several children, one of whom was Eli Watson, whose birth occurred in Walnut township, Fairfield county, January 14, 1826. Eli Watson was reared to agricultural pursuits in his native county and in his young manhood married Amanda M. Hare, whose people came originally from Germany and were among the pioneer settlers of Ohio. About 1855 he transferred his residence to Indiana and from that time until his death, April 15, 1899, was a leading farmer and honored citizen of Whitley county, owning two hundred and forty acres of fine land in Jefferson township, the greater part of which he cleared and otherwise improved. He was a man of liberal ideas, successful in all his undertakings and for a number of years wielded a strong influence in political circles, first as a Whig and later as a Republican. He was also active and influential in religious matters, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal church, the local congregation with which he was identified profiting largely by his liberal contributions. Mrs. Watson is still living, making her home in Fort Wayne. Eli and Amanda Watson had four children, Thomas D. being the oldest; Newton, the second in order of birth, lives on the old homestead in Jefferson township : Jacob B. died at the age of twenty years, and William departed this life shortly after attaining his majority.

Thomas D. Watson, besides attending the district schools, took a two years1 course in the United Brethren College at Roanoke. Indiana, following which h<* spent two years in the college of Fort Wavne. He then en- gaged in teaching, which profession he followed five years in the counties of Allen and Whitley, his work in the latter being confined to Union township, where he taught several terms and earned an honorable reputation as a capable and popular educator. Meantime he became a tiller of the soil and after quitting the schoolroom devoted his entire attention to agriculture, which he has since followed with profitable results, being the possessor of a valuable farm in Jefferson township, which is well improved.

Mr. Watson cleared all of his land and for several years lived in a small frame house which stood on a site occupied by the present commodious modern dwelling which was erected in 1906. He also has a fine barn forty by sixty feet in dimensions, admirably adapted to the uses for which designed, besides other buildings and the various improvements usually found on first-class estates. Mr. Watson has a reputation as a raiser of good stock, his Poland-China and other grades of swine being among the best of the kind in his section of the county.

Mr. Watson is a Republican and keeps in close touch with party interests as well as the leading public questions of the day- He served twelve consecutive years as justice of the peace of Jefferson township and made a creditable record for efficiency, but few of his decisions meeting with reversal in the higher tribunals. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having joined Forest Lodge, No. 546, June 15, 1887.

In 1880 he married Lucy J. Taylor, whose parents, Andrew and Susan (Day) Taylor, natives of Ohio, came to Whitley county in the fall of 1854 and here passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Watson have three children : Stella May, at home ; Jeannette Maude, a teacher in the public schools, now pursuing her studies at the normal school at Angola ; and Jacob B., who is still a member of the home circle. Mr. Watson, has been prominent in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a member of the grand lodge and has passed through all the chairs. He is also a charter member of lodge No. 765 at Dun fee, Indiana.

Abraham Elder

Not many men now living in Whitley county date their arrival so far back in the pioneer period as the well known retired farmer, popularly known as "Abe" Elder. His life has been a busy one and so much a part and parcel of Troy township that his name is indissolubly linked with its early settlement and subsequent development. The family records show that the emigrant ancestor was John Elder, a Scotch-Irishman, who crossed the ocean to take part in the Revolutionary war, serving to the end, when he came from Pennsylvania and settled in Ohio. He was recognized not only as a brave soldier but a cultured old-school gentleman, and one who stood high in Masonry, having attained the thirty-second degree. With the Revolutionary soldier was a son named after the great hero of the war and the first President of the Republic, George Washington Elder. He married Sarah Rine, sister of Joel Rine, mentioned below as an early settler of Troy township. In 18^8 he came to Whitlev count y, and

Samuel Hartsough, a brother-in-law oi George W. Elder, who arrived in 1836, and Joel Rine, who came in 1837, were his nearest neighbors, the former three miles east and the latter one mile west of the Elder farm, and who, with himself, were the first to locate in that part of Troy township. He at first built a small log cabin in which they lived until he could secure more help to erect a pretentious hewed-log house, which was subsequently replaced by a frame house in which George W. Elder died in 1857, his wife surviving him only a few years. Of their ten children, eight reached maturity and but two are living in 1907. One of these is Samuel Elder, who left Whitley county thirty years ago and now is a resident of Perry count}', Arkansas.

Abraham Elder, the only survivor of the old stock now living in Whitley county, was born in Seneca county, Ohio, August 11, 1834, and hence was but four years old when his father came to Indiana. On November 29, 1855, he married Mary Ann, daughter of Henry Harpster, of Troy township. The latter had come to enter his land as early as 1833, but did not settle on it for some years thereafter. Mrs. Elder's mother had died when she was young and she made her home with her maternal grandmother in Medina county, Ohio. At the age of fourteen she joined her father in Whitley county, and was his housekeeper until her own marriage at eighteen, after which her father lived with her. In 1865 Abraham Elder began to buy land, his first purchase being part of the tract settled by his uncle, Joel Rine, and the remainder was secured by Henry Harpster. In this way Abraham Elder became by purchase the owner of two hundred and ten acres of land and his wife has one hundred and thirty-five acres, being her father's homestead. This united tract of three hundred and forty-five acres was long managed by Mr. Elder, who cleared and greatly improved the greater part of it, making it a valuable farm. What was known as the "Elder Ditch," which led to endless controversy, was finally put through by him, but not without a long and costly litigation with owners of land below in Kosciusko county. The completion of the ditch enabled him by thorough drainage to put many acres into cultivation, which previously were of little value. He also did much tile draining, amounting in all to about five hundred rods. In 1875 he built a fine residence, and through many other improvements made it one of the banner farms of Troy township. In 1895 he rented his farm to retire from active business, and took up his residence in Columbia City, where he has invested in several pieces of property, some having beerr sold on the monthly payment plan. Mr. Elder is a Democrat and was long connected actively with party affairs, often being a delegate to conventions, and holding offices of trust, being justice of the peace for four years. For four years also he was trustee of Troy township, and made his administration notable for public improvement. He built the first steel bridge in the township, which was soon followed by others of this pattern, and he inaugurated the system of gravel roads, which have proved of inestimable benefit to the township. Mr. and

Mrs. Elder have two children, of whom Henry, the eldest, died in infancy. Delbert married Winona Noble, and has three children. Ralph. Esther and Teddy. He is the manager of his mother's farm in Troy township.

Mr. Elder's religious views are in harmony with the teaching of the Presbyterian faith, while Mrs. Elder's affiliation has been w ith the Methodists.

George F. Kisler, a prosperous and well known fanner of Troy township, was born February 5. 1836, in Delaware county, Ohio, and is the son of John and Susana (Robins) Kisler. natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812. He settled in the early pioneer days as a farmer. but in [853 removed to Etna township. \Vhitle\ county, purchasing native forest land which he improved, making his home there until hi- death aboul [866, the death of the mother occurring when George F. was a lad of six. I lis stepmother. Polly Toy, survived her husband several years. Six children were hom to the mother of ( ieorge, who was a second wife: Elizabeth, ded; Diana, widow of Reuben Bennett, and living in Etna township; Sallie. deli < ieorge I., \lmira and Mai v . de d. Two b) the second marriage were: Silas and Mary. Of all these Diana, Elias and George survive.

county. He was educated in the common schools and traind to agriculture. In 1867 he secured his present farm of one hundred acres, which he has improved, it now being well fenced, thoroughly drained and under a high state of cultivation, equipped with an elegant eight-room brick house and commodious barn and other small buildings to round up and complete the arrangement and conveniences of a very desirable and productive farm.

February 4. 185S. he was married to Julia A. Shoemaker, horn in Delaware county, Ohio, November 24. 1834, and the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Jenkins) Shoemaker, from Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively, who came to Indiana in 1844. settling in the native forest of Troy township, where they remained until they departed this life, the death of the mother occurring in 1892 and being followed by that of the father in [894. To them nine children were born: Daniel, deceased at sixty-five; Samuel died when a young man; Julia A.; Linton died as the result of army service; Starling died "n childhood; Edwin; Almira. living in Stark county: Alvira. living in Columbia City; Sophia, living in Stark county; Clinton and Linton were twins, as were also Almira and Elvira. Five children were born to ( reorge F. Kisler and wife. John L.. who owns the old Shoemaker homestead, married Frances O'Dell Elliott and has four children : 1 1 any. Beatrice, Scotland and Bernice; Anna Dell, wife of Samuel Western, living in Columbia City, has six children. Walter E., Thelma, Asher, Shelton and Shirly. twins, and Velma. Nellie, wife of Clarence Nelson, lives in Garrett, Indiana, and has five children, Alpha, Dale. Guy E., Julia C.

and Burr. Jonathan and Walter died in childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Kisler are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Republican, but has not sought public office.

Daniel Berry

This venerable citizen, one of the oldest residents of Whitley county, as well as one of the most highly esteemed, was born in Wayne county, Indiana, in 18 16, the year the state was admitted to the Union. Accordingly his life and the history of the commonwealth have been contemporaneous, ninety-one years having dissolved in the mists of the past since the day of his birth, a period characterized by marvelous events, phenomenal discoveries along every avenue of human progress and fraught with greater achievements and more wonderful possibilities in every sphere of endeavor than any like period of time in history. Mr. Berry has lived to see his native domain grow from a sparsely settled, undeveloped western wiLderness'to' its present proud position among the sisters of the American Union and not merely as a spectator but as a participant he has contributed to bring about the splendid results that now give especial prestige and prominence to Indiana as a state. Joseph and Sarah (Shaffer) Berry, parents of the" subject, were Virginians, but at an early period joined the tide of emigration westward. About 1812 or 1813 they settled in Wayne county, Indiana, of which they were among the first pioneers. Joseph Berry secured land near Richmond, which he cleared and converted into a farm, and there he reared his family of twelve children and spent the remainder of his life. Some time after his death his widow went to live with a daughter in the state of Michigan, where she spent her closing years, departing this life at the advanced age of ninety-six in 1896. Of the large family that once gathered around the hearthstone of the estimable couple, only three remain to tell the story of their struggles and trials.

Daniel Berry was reared in his native county until four years of age, when his father moved to Ohio, where he remained until 1849, when he came to Whitley county. Being the oldest of the children, much responsibility fell to him as soon as he was old enough to labor to advantage, and from early youth until grown he assisted his father with the work of the farm and contributed to the family's support. He remained in Preble county, Ohio, until 1849, when, thinking to better his financial condition in the northern part of the state of Indiana, where land was cheap and easily obtained, he disposed of his interests there and moved to Whitley county. Locating in Jefferson township, he purchased land on which he erected a small log cabin and at once addressed himself to the formidable task of removing the forest and developing a farm. In due time he succeeded in reducing the greater part of his land to cultivation, replaced the backwoods cabin by a more comfortable and pretentious farm edifice and in the course of years forged to the front among the leading farmers of his township, which standing he retained until advancing age obliged him to forego further active labor and spend the remainder of his days in retirement. Mr. Berrv has devoted his life to the pursuit of agriculture and though never ambitious to acquire wealth he has lived and been prosperous, owning a finely improved farm of one hundred and forty acres, the proceeds of which long ago placed him in independent circumstances and on which he is now gently passing down life's incline surrounded by an abundance of material blessings to render the rest of the journey comfortable and free from care.

In 1837 Mr. Berry was married in Preble county, Ohio, to Esther, daughter of James and Sallie (Cromm) Hasty, natives of Kentucky, subsequently removing to Ohio and from the latter state to Whitley county, Indiana, during the pioneer period, where the family became widely and favorably known. Mr. Berry's first wife died about 1886 and in 1889 he married Mrs. Malinda Snyder, widow of William Snyder. Mr. and Mrs. (Esther) Berry had twelve children : Malinda, wife of Oliver Smith (see sketch) ; Sarah, deceased wife of James Taylor ; Martin, deceased ; Enos, who married Bertha Robinett, manages the home farm; Emma, widow of Lewis Gerome; Jacob H., a resident of Fort Wayne ; Lizzie, deceased, and the others died in infancy.

Originally Mr. Berry was a Whig, but when that old party had fulfilled its mission and ceased to exist he became a Republican and as such has voted his principles and defended his opinions to the present time. He has always been public-spirited and in local affairs has taken a leading part, having ever been foremost in inaugurating and carrying to completion enterprises that made for the material development of the community, while all measures for the moral welfare of his fellowmen have found in him a warm friend and liberal patron,. When a young man he united with the Methodist Episcopal church and began the sincere and earnest Christian life which he has since led and which during the sixty-five years of his church relationship has not only been above reproach but an inspiration to those with whom he has mingled. In 1850, assisted by his good wife, who was also a devout Christian, he organized the first Methodist class in Jefferson township and for a period of thirty years was an efficient and faithful leader. Indeed, he has been very active in all spheres of religious work, ,having filled every office within the gift of the local congregation to which he belongs. His benevolences, however, have by no means been bounded by denominational lines, his hands having ever been open to the deserving poor and his means liberally expended in behalf of worthy objects and enterprises.

Mr. Berry, as already stated, is the oldest resident of Jefferson township and his popularity as a neighbor and citizen is only limited by the lines beyond which his name is unknown. He has lived a useful life, fraught with much good to his friends and to the world and having been a blessing to all who come within the sphere of his influence. It is needless to state that the future awaits him with great and bounteous rewards.

John Ummel

John Ummel was born in Whitley county, Indiana, February 28, 1858, and is the son of David and Rosanna (Gross) Ummel, natives of Germanv, who came to this coun- try and located first in Pennsylvania, then in Ohio and in 1850 came to Indiana, settling on the farm now owned by their son. They built a cabin and improved the place, living happily many years, the husband passing away in 1870. Twelve children were born to them, five of whom are still living, namely: Mary, John, Lucinda, H. H., of Peabcdy. and Lavina. There are fifty-seven acres in the home farm, forty-five of which are well fenced, drained with four hundred rods of tile and in a good state of cultivation, the balance in pasture and woodland. There is a good house and barn and other convenient buildings, making a very comfortable home. The substantial improvements were made by John Ummel, present owner of the place. He was married in 1882 to Abbie, daughter of William and Sarah (Snyder) Bordner, who came from Ohio to Indiana about 1866, engaging in farming in Columbia township.

To this union two children were born : Desta, married to Frank Kneller. a -farmer of Cleveland township, and Homer J., still living at home. Mr. Ummel is a Democrat, and in religious matters a zealous and liberal supporter of the Lutheran church. The family is industrious and well respected.

Joshua N. Anderson

Joshua N. Anderson, a very respectable and well known farmer living in Troy township, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, March 15, 1834, and is the son of Benjamin and Catherine (Weigle) Anderson, both natives of Pennsylvania, from which state they removed to Wayne county, Ohio, about 1846, where thej' located on a farm and engaged in agriculture, remaining there to the close of their lives. They were industrious and economical and soon enjoyed all the comforts of rural life. They were devoted members of he Free Will Baptist church, giving it liberal support. The death of the husband occurred in 1863, and that of his wife in 1892, aged eighty-four. Thirteen children were born to them : Joseph and Jacob, deceased ; Joshua N. ; James, David and William, deceased; Elizabeth, Caleb, Eliza, Margaret, Frank, Alice, Winfield Scott, deceased.

Joshua N. Anderson was nine years of age when his parents moved to Wayne countv, Ohio, and he continued to live there till 1884. when he came to Troy township, Whitlev county, of which he is still a resident. He has been a lifelong farmer and at present is the owner of a farm of forty acres, well improved and comfortable with convenient buildings. October 30, 1856. he was married to Drusilla J., daughter of James and Eliza (Stoner) Young, and born in Ashland county, Ohio. May 27, 1838. Her father was born in Virginia, and the mother in Pennsylvania, both coming with their parents, when quite young, to Ashland county, where they were married and spent their lives. They were faithful members of the German Reformed church, highly respected and exeraplarv in conduct. The wife died September 22, 1876, and the husband October 16, 1892. Eight children were born to them. Lucinda C, deceased; Drusilla J.; Martha L.. deceased; Mary E., Rebecca J., Sylvanus. deceased ; Emma and John, deceased ; and Sarah A.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson: Clinton A., married to Matilda Pierce, living in Richland township; Florence D., wife of Frank Hall, of Columbia City, has four children, Goldie, John, Minerva, and Chester; Crissie, wife of Austin Knepper. living in Cleveland. Ohio, has had three children, Rolland, Chloe E., deceased ; and Hale; Charlie W. married Nona Southerly, lives in Kosciusko county, and has six children, Orva, Virgil, Clela, Freda, Merlin, and Kenneth ; Marlie M. married Viola Dalano, lives in Logansport, and has six children, Glenn, Gladys, Beatrice, Frederick, Bernice and Robert; and Bertha, deceased when five years of age; Charlie and Marlie are twins.

Mr. Anderson is a Republican and had four brothers in the Civil war, two losing their lives, Jacob and William. Mrs. Anderson is a faithful member of the Free Methodist church.

William Brubaker

William Brubaker, a proprietor of "Lakeside Farm" in Troy township, was bom in Perry county, Ohio, November 20, 1843. When a lad of eight he accompanied his mother to Whitley county, his education being in the public schools. He was married in 1871 to Melissa, daughter nf Lysander P. and Lydia (Robinson) Joslin, born in Troy township, June 24, 1849. The parents were from Ohio, the father from Delaware county, the mother from Champaign county, and came to Whitley county in earlv life, where thev lived until

1873, when they moved to Kansas, where they remained until their deaths. They were members of the Baptist church. Fifteen children were born to them : Eliza, Jane,. Elsie, Melissa, Luther, Rosie, John, Minerva, Andrew, Ida, Lillian, Esther, Dellie, Elmer and Elmus (twins).

Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker : Charles, who married Maud Wise, lives in Troy township and has three children. Hazel, Jane and William; Hale, a student in the junior class of Wabash College and first lieutenant in Company G, Third Regiment, Indiana National Guard. In 187 1 Mr. Brubaker purchased one hundred and thirty acres of native forest land, bordering Goose Lake, which now, as a result of his earnest labor and successful management, presents a neat and thrifty appearance, being nicely fenced, well drained and thoroughly equipped with a comfortable and substantial residence, barn and other improvements necessary to render farm life pleasant and profitable.

When the life of the nation was imperiled in the war of the Rebellion, he enlisted April 21, 1 86 1, in Company E, Seventeenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving three years and two months in Wilders Brigade. Arm)' of the Cumberland. In a skirmish he was wounded in the thigh, being disabled for several months and sent to the hospital. After discharge he veteranized in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment, was made sergeant of his company and served until the close of the war. He is a member of English Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Etna. In politics he is a Republican, but refuses toserve in public capacity. Mrs. Brubaker is an active member of the Woman's Relief Corps of Columbia City and also takes an interest in religious matters, being a member of the Baptist church. The family is well known and highly respected, taking an active interest in all social and public enterprises.

William E. Magley

The leading photographer of Whitley county is William E. Magley, whose training, experience and artistic talent specially fit him for the production of high grade work in this, in many respects the finest of arts, the preservation of the features of those living today for the gratification, not only of their associates but for the more ^renounced satisfaction to be derived to succeeding generations.

Mr. Magley, a native son of Whitley county, was born February 19, 1867, at the parental homestead in Thorucreek township, his parents being Fredrick and Elizabeth (Summeny) Magley. of whom more extended reference is found on another page of this history. His boyhood being passed on the farm he received such training as the local schools afforded though he early knew the full meaning of hard toil. Suffering a broken leg he was somewhat disabled for much farm work, and so turned his attention to other channels, being led toward photograph}-, having- a decided inclination to artistic work. Securing a kodak he snapped pretty nearly everything in his neighborhood, obtaining many beautiful scenes of numerous lakes near his home, his ambition becoming so stirred that he embarked into the work more extendedly. He fitted up a gallery on a limited scale on the farm which soon became so patronized that he removed to a more central point, starting a gallery at Churubusco. For five years his business surpassed expectations so that in 1893 he succeeded Roe Jones in his present location at Columbia City, where he has established high grade facilities, catering to the best trade. He still retains the Churubusco gallerv where he keeps a competent operator. Having devoted several years to the making of superior work he has attained a high degree of excellence, his posings being studied for best effects in light and shade, his retouching of negatives being to emphasize the best in a picture, the results being superior - photographs that will compare favorably with those produced in more pretentious studios, as is well illustrated by the many excellent portraits in this work, for which the photographs were made by Mr. Magley.

March 22, 1906, he was married to Miss Sindora Campbell, of Noble county, who for some years resided in the home of Mrs. Eliza Collins in Columbia City. While Mr. Maglev is a Republican he keeps "the even tenor of his way," not aspiring to public recognition, but preferring to attain that still greater excellence as an artist that can be secured only by constant study, application and well directed intelligence.

inseparably connected with its history. He was a man whom all honored and esteemed and this review of his life will prove of deep interest to many. He was prominent in mercantile, political and fraternal circles, and ever unselfishly devoted to the best interests of the community.

Mr. McLallen was born in Tompkins couny, New York, February 2, 1836. His father was of Scotch descent, and his mother, whose maiden name was Frances Lyman, came of English ancestors, who traced their genealogy back to Richard Lyman, born at High Ongar in 1580. Early in the seventeenth century he emigrated to America and died in Hartford. Connecticut, in 1640. When our subject was eight years of "age, he was brought to Whitley county, the family locating in Richland township upon a farm, which now adjoins the village of Larwill. This region was then an almost unbroken wilderness and the children of the family were reared amid the wild scenes of the frontier. There are now only two survivors - Henry McLallen and Mrs. D. B. Clugston.

Thus in the very heart of nature, Elisha McLallen spent his boyhood days, keeping pace with the wonderful development of a rich and fertile country and glorying unto the day of his death in the greatness of the commonwealth he helped to build. His educational privileges were very limited, but his devoted mother fostered in him a taste for stud}- and supplied him with a well selected library, from which he gained much valuable and interesting information. It was also largely through her efforts that the son was permitted to attend the academy at Northfield, Massachusetts, where he was a classmate of the evangelist, Moody. On the completion of his school life, Mr. McLallen returned to Larwill and his first business engagement was as a member of the corps of civil engineers in charge of the construction of the Chicago & Fort Wayne Railroad. In 1857, shortly after he attained his majority, he formed a partnership with D. B. Clugston and purchased the store in Larwill, which was established by his father in 1852. Subsequently he formed a business connection with A. R. Clugston and this relationship existed until 1873. During this time they met with a fair degree of success and Mr. McLallen steadily added to the competence which he was acquiring. In that year he formed a partnership with his brother. Henry McLallen, in the banking business, under the firm name of E. L. McLallen & Co. The Farmers' Bank, which they organized, was successfully conducted and became one of the leading financial concerns in this part of the state. He adhered to strict business principles and his far-sightedness, executive ability and keen discrimination were important factors in bringing to them the high degree of success which attended their efforts. He was scrupulously honest and his integrity was so well known that his word was as good as his bond. He was at the head of the banking house for twenty years and his business career covered four decades of honorable and active effort that enhanced the public prosperity, while at the same time it promoted his individual wealth.

Mr. McLallen did much for his city, his country, liis state and for humanity. In the public affairs of northeastern Indiana he was very prominent and no man took a deeper or more sincere interest in the welfare of his community. He was progressive, enter- prising and public-spirited and his aid was never sought in vain for any enterprise, which he believed would benefit the community. When it was seen that he gave his support to any measure, public confidence was aroused and other help was thereby secured. For eight years he was on the school board and did most effective service in the cause of education. Soon after he became a member of the board, the East Ward building was erected, and not long after work was begun on the main building. During its construction his entire time was given to supervision of the work, and when it was completed the building was one of which the city may well be proud. He believed in good schools and good teachers, regarding education as one of the bulwarks of the nation. He established a large library for the public schools of Columbia City, first with 2,300 "volumes, but which now has between 3,000 and 4,000 volumes. He has also presented to the schools scientific apparatus.

Mr. McLallen was a stalwart Democrat, an ardent advocate of the principles of that party and he had great confidence in Grover Cleveland as a leader. Personally he cared nothing for political preferment, his tastes being more in the line of business, but he aided others in securing office. He was quite prominent in Masonic circles and was a close adherent of the benevolent and charitable principles upon which the ancient and illustrious order was founded. From a sketch of him compiled by Thomas R. Marshall, of Columbia City, we secure the following record of his connection with Masonry :

3, 1861. and became a charter member and first Senior Warden of Due Guard Lodge, No. 2~S, of Larwill, Indiana, of which he was master for many years. He was readmitted to Columbia City Lodge November 19, 1883, and from 1885 until his death, with the exception of one year, served as its master. He was exalted to the sublime degree of a Royal Arch Mason in Fort Wayne Chapter, March 20. 1861, and was admitted to Columbia City Chapter, No. 54, January 3, 1874, and was high priest in 1879, 1880 and 188 1. He was chosen a member of Fort Wayne Council, November 12, 1862, was a charter member of Columbia City Council, No. 55, and was its first illustrious master. He was knighted in Fort Wayne Commandery, May 5, 1862, and was the first and only eminent commander of Cyrene Commandery, No. 34. He was charter member of Columbia City Chapter, No. 65, Order of the Eastern Star. He received the ineffable degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in Indiana Consistory, and was elected to the thirty-third degree in 1904, but died before it could be conferred. Thus it will be seen that our departed friend rounded the circle of all grades of Masonry, sounded all its shoals and depths, put good work on board, and calmly waited the breeze which wafted him into the presence of that God in whom as the youngest entered apprentice he put his trust."

Mr. McLellan was entirely free from ostentation and' display, was known and esteemed for his kind-hearted generosity and his benevolence. His charity was always of that kind which seeks not the praises of men. contait with the approving conscience.

and humorous, interesting and entertaining, and it was a privilege to be admitted to the circle of his life friends and learn his true nobility. He passed away March 10, 1895, at the age of fifty-nine. He was honored and respected throughout the community and the deepest grief was felt by all who had known him either in business or a social way. He left on the community an impress of good, which will be long felt, although his familiar figure is no more seen on the streets of his adopted city.

Benjamin Hively

In 1S36, a party of seven men gathered together in Licking county, Ohio, to discuss a question of great moment to them. They had resolved to emigrate to> the wilds of northern Indiana to make new homes for themselves in that little occupied section and the arrangements for such a trip involved considerable preparation. The names of these men. all of whom were married and heads of growing young families, were Daniel Hively, Jacob Shearer, Peter Shriner, Jacob Hively. Adam Henry and John Egolph. They rigged up their "prairie schooners." packed their household utensils, cracked their whips and started on what was then a long, arduous and trying journey. They drove as best they could over the wretched roads and trails during the day and turned nut early in the evenings to spend the night in camp. In course of time, these resolute men, with their wives and little ones, reached their destination, which was the new county of Whitley in the young state of Indiana. In the list above given will be found the names of these genuine first settlers and they and their descendants have for seventy years been factors in the development and history-making of this section.

Daniel Hively. leader of this party of pioneers, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, October 15, 1798, and removed to Ohio in early manhood. There he met and December 16, 1824, was married to Catharine Egolph, who was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, December 10, 1804. It was twelve years subsequently that they became members of the party of travelers for the northwest and on arrival in Indiana, Daniel entered eighty acres of government land in Thorncreek township, at the time when Indians and wolves were plentiful throughout this entire section. He lived forty-six years after becoming a citizen of Whitley county, his death not occurring until 1882 on the farm, where he first settled in the howling wilderness. His wife survived him fourteen years and closed her eyes on the world December 10. 1896. which was her ninety-second birthday. The}- had thirteen children. Mary, widow of Solomon I nspaugh. and Catharine, widow of John Miller, reside on the old Miller farm; Henry died in infancy; Jonathan died at the age of sixty-six ; Daniel is a Columbia township farmer; Mahala first married David Bear and next Elisha Bashford. of Wisconsin ; Elizabeth also married twice, first Jacob Fisher and next Leonard Hyre. with whom she now lives in Columbia City ; Samuel died at the age of sixty-six; Benjamin; George W. died at the age of fifty; Isaac, a Thorncreek township fanner; Solomon owns

Benjamin Hively, the ninth child, was born at the parental home in Whitley county, Indiana, January 27, 1840. He has spent his whole life in farming and now owns eighty acres of land, part of his father's farm, which he rents and is practically retired from business. March 24, 1861, he married Lucinda Miller, by whom he has had three children : Jane, the eldest, married William Coolman, living in Thorncreek township, and has eight children : Grace Maud, Claud, Gertrude, Oscar, Goldie, Glen, Alvin and Fern ; Malinda, second daughter of Mr. Hively, married Charles Ramsey and died at the age of thirty-four, leaving six children, Walter, Ruth, Orpha, Grover, Hazel and Alice, who died in childhood, and another died in infancy.

Solomon Miller, father of Mrs. Hively, is the oldest living settler of Thorncreek township, a venerable and respected relic of an age that has passed. His parents, George and Catharine (Humbarger) Miller, were Pennsylvanians. who moved into Perry county, Ohio, in the early years of the nineteenth century and made their livelihood by farming. They had ten children, all long since dead except Solomon, who was born in Perry county, Ohio, July 22, 1822. His fathed died there three months previous to his birth and he lived with his mother until twenty years of age, working nut by the month. In 184 1 he married Malinda Anspaugh. of Perry county, and two years later came west, accompanied by his wife, one child named Lucinda and his widowed mother. Arriving in Whitley county, he first located east of his present home, but later moved to the farm on which Michael Zorger now resides. He spent a number of years in clearing and working this tract, but in i860 purchased the one hundred and fiftythree acres constituting his present homestead, which he has converted into one of the most desirable farms in Thorncreek township. Mr. Miller had seventeen children: Lucinda, Mary A., Catharine, David, Malinda, Sarah Jane, Matilda, Mahala and Benjamin (deceased), Lavina, Solomon (deceased), Margaret, Eli, Elizabeth, Emma and George W. (deceased), and one that died in infancy. July 24, 1905, Mr. Miller's relatives assembled to honor his eighty-third birthday anniversary and it was an occasion long to be remembered. One hundred and thirty persons were present and of this number over one hundred were composed of his descendants. This by no means measures his contribution to the population of his adopted state, as he has fifty-three grandchildren, sixty great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. At this reunion, as he had often done before, Mr. Miller recounted the trials and tribulations he had gone through as a pioneer settler of Whitley county. He was unusually strong in his prime and during his lifetime has perhaps done more hard work than any man in the county. He chopped wood and split rails for fifty cents a day. He bound wheat in Elkhart and Noble counties for a bushel a day, but as he did two men's work, he was often paid double. When he came here, Columbia Citv was a mere hamlet and the cost eighteen cents to send a letter, the best houses were mere shacks and rude log cabins, there was no money or luxuries of any kind, all being poor and compelled to work at the hardest of drudgery. How great the contrast with the fine pike roads, traction lines, railways, rural mail delivery, telephones, finely improved farms, yet Solomon Miller has lived to see all these wondrous changes. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Miller was married in 1890 to Delilah O'Connell, of Marshall county, but there was a speedv separation, followed in 1897 by a third marriage to Mrs. Ellen Souers, with whom he has since lived happily. His mother, to whom he was much attached, was tenderly cared for at his home until her death at the age of eighty-five vears.

Richard Herron

Whitley county's agricultural developments were not so early as other parts of the state, her pioneer period not beginning in earnest until the late thirties. Most of the first settlers have long since passed away, but it is not unusual to meet with farmers who came to the couny about the middle of the last century and occasionally one is living who settled here long before he Civil war. It was this class who laid the foundation for Indiana's greatness and wealth, as they were men who had to struggle with the swamps and forests in all their wildness. It was the pioneer farmer who overcame these obstacles and one of them, who came before the Civil war and is still living in the enjoyment of a serene old age, is he whose name heads this sketch.

county of Tuscarawas, so noted in the days when the Buckeye state was familiar with Indian frays and all the excitement incident to those stirring times. His birth occurred May 5, 183 1, his parents being Nicholas and Phebe (Tinkey) Herron, the former of Maryland and the latter of Washington county, Pennsylvania. They were married in Ohio, in 1854 came to Indiana and settled on a farm in Noble county, where they lived until their deaths, which occurred many years ago. They had ten children : John, Richard, David, Jane. Jerome, Isaiah, Mary, Liza, Ann, Samuel and Sarah. Richard remained on the farm with his father until manhood and had the same kind of experience that fell to most farm boys in those days. This consisted of a little attendance at school, occasionally a diversion at a neighborhood frolic and a great deal of hard work.

In 1858, he came to Noble county, Indiana, where he worked as a farm hand for some years, and later as a renter until the Civil war. In 1894 he came to Whitley county and purchased a small farm in Thorncreek township, on which he has since lived. October 26,- 1854, Mr. Herron married. Sarah, daughter of John and Massie (Johnson) Lemaster, who was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, May 26, 1S34. Mr. and Mrs. Herron have had seven children : Martha, deceased, Malinda Ann, John Nicholas, Wesley, William, Charles and Sella May. In February, 1865, Mr. Herron enlisted in Company E. One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he took part in several skirmishes, but no battles of importance. . His political affiliations are Democratic. One son, Wesley, lives near and operates the farm, his daughter, Lillie May, living with his parents.

David Hyre

The founder of the family of this name, long familiar in Whitley county, was a native of North Carolina, whence he emigrated to Ohio in the early part of the nineteenth century, but in 1849 came here and settled in Thorncreek township, on the farm now owned by Colonel Rush. Wesley Hyre, such was his name, married before his departure from the Buckeye state and became the father of seven children : Aaron, Leonard, Joseph, Wesley. Sarah (deceased), Anna and Martha. Joseph, the third child, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, and when he grew to manhood married Jane Gnega, a native of Ohio, whose parents became early settlers of Whitley county. After his marriage, Joseph was for several years in the saw-mill business, but later in life operated a farm that he cleared. He spent fifty-five years of his life in Thorncreek township, his death occurring March 8, 1904, at the age of sixty-four years. His old homestead of three hundred and thirty-four acres was well improved with first-class buildings. He was the father of six children : Virgil, David, Mary, wife of Charles Riley, of Thorncreek township ; Emma, wife of Perry Bowerman, of Columbia City; Lydia, wife of Ernest Cotterly, of Thorncreek township; and Willie, who died in childhood. The mother is a resident of Columbia City.

David Hyre, the second child in the above list, was born in Thorncreek township. Whitley county, Indiana, August 6, 1863. He remained with his parents until maturity, after which he managed the homestead until 1893 and then purchased the farm three miles north of Columbia City, where he lives at the present time. It consists of one hundred acres and he has improved it considerably since its coming into his possession. He has good buildings, a comfortable house and all the outward indications of a fair amount of prosperity. In 1884, Mr. Hyre was married to Jennie, daughter of Eli and Martha (Engle) Haynes, both natives of Ohio, who came to Whitley county more than half a century ago and settled with his father on a farm two miles north of Columbia City, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They had five children : Susan, Peter, Ellen, Jennie, Ida and Lillie. Mr. and Mrs. Hyre have had five children, Kizzie, Eugene, Grace, Mary, and Joseph, deceased in childhood. Kizzie is the wife of Frank Kinner, of Columbia City, and has one child, Helen. Eugene, who married Ethel Allen, operates the homestead. The parents are members of the German Baptist church, in which Mr. Hyre holds the position of deacon. His political affiliations are with the Republican party.

William Henry Coolman

During the forties, when Whitley county was little better than a wilderness, it would have taken a bold prophet to foretell the aspect of things as they appeared in the prosperous period of 1906. Here and there the settlers had "cut a hole in the woods" and were eking- out a living by a hard struggle with the forces of natures. One of the bravest of this band had bought a piece of wild land in Jefferson township, on which he built a rude log cabin and opened up business be- fore he was able to cover the floor with boards or afford better door than a hanging blanket. Such was the home of Adam Coolman, who was born in Stark count)', Ohio, of a Pennsylvania father, who married Susan Ault and some years after loaded up his meager household goods in a wagon drawn by oxen, in which he made the memorable trip to Indiana. He spent many years of hard work on his two hundred acres of land and eventually transformed it into a modern farm that was a credit to the township. He continued in his business until death, which occurred in 1869, at a comparatively early age, his wife surviving him many years and passing away in the spring of 1905. She was the daughter of Henry Ault, a farmer of Medina county, Ohio. Adam and Susan (Ault) Coolman had five children to reach maturity: Benjamin F., a resident of Mason county, Michigan ; Sarah Ann ; Calvin, of Huntington, Indiana ; William H. ; Sarah, wife of John Brock, of Jefferson township, and Adam E.. of the same locality.

William H. Coolman, fifth of the family, was born in Jefferson township, Whitley county, Indiana, November 22, 1857, and was twelve years old at the death of his father. He remained with his widowed mother until he grew to manhood, meantime attending the common schools and spending a term at the Valparaiso Normal. He then taught a term in Thorncreek township, his future wife being a pupil. When alxuit twenty-one years old, he rented the homestead and managed it for a year, when he built and operated a saw-mill at Laud for four years and then bought another saw and tile mill near Peabody, operating" this successfully until 1897, when he purchased his present farm in Thorncreek township, seven miles north of Columbia City. It is known as the John Martin farm and contains one hundred and twenty acres of productive land to which he has devoted his entire attention since its purchase.

During a temporary residence in Columbia City, Mr. Coolman became a dealer in lumber, still running a portable mill. After one year he removed to a farm in Washington township that he had secured while operating the mill near by and there remained until March, 1903.

April 18, 1880, Mr. Coolman married Jennie, daughter of Benjamin and Lucinda (Miller) Hively, of Thorncreek township, where she was born December 13, 1861. Mr. and Mrs: Coolman have eight children : Grace, Claude, Gertrude, Oscar, Golda, Glenn, Alvin and Fern. Mr. Coolman is a Republican and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed the chairs and was representative to the grand lodge. He and his wife belong to the St. John's United Brethren church, generally known as the Hivelv church.

John L. Miller

Among the many German emigrants who came to this country in the early years of the nineteenth century was a young man named John Miller, who was born in Prussia, near Berlin, in 1800. Locating first in Pennsylvania, he worked there on a railroad for some time and after removing to Preble county. Ohio, continued in the same line of lal>or for many years. In 1858, he came to Whitley county and took up his residence in a cabin on a wild tract of land in Washington township, where he spent the remainder of his life in farming and died September 4, 1892. He married Mary Tressler, who died in 1884, after becoming the mother of four children, three of whom are living : Mar)', wife of William Kiser, of Allen county ; John L.j subject of this sketch; Manda, wife Aaron Kiser, a farmer living near Fort Wayne.

John L. Miller, second in age of his father's living children, was born in Whitley county, Indiana, March 18. 1862. As he grew up he helped to cultivate the paternal acres in Washington township. In 1891, in partnership with his father, he bought the farm where he now resides and which became his sole property after his father's death. He owns one hundred and twenty acres, of which one hundred and five are devoted to general farming and fifteen to timber and pasture. During his father's lifetime the place was greatly improved by the building of a comfortable residence and a good barn, while much labor was also expended in fencing and ditching. Mr. Miller now keeps shorthorn cattle, Poland-China and Duroc- Jersey hogs, both of which breeds he has intercrossed. The county contains no man who can more truthfully say that everything he has is the result of hard work. He has scarcely lost a day in all the years of manhood and is now regarded as one of the reliable and industrious farmers of his township. Like his father before him he is a Democrat in politics and of the Lutheran denomination in religion. He has never held office and has been .too busy with his other affairs to have time or inclination to seek such honors. In 1888, Mr. Miller was married to Hannah Lickie, by whom he has five children: Manda and Lena (twins), Dora, Henrv and Carl.

C. D. Stickler

Conspicuous among the successful farmers of Whitley county and occupying a place in the front rank of its representative citizens is C. D. Stickler, of Washington township. He is the son of Michael and Rebecca (Hiser) Stickler and was born in Stark county, Ohio, February 5, 1848, his father a native of Pennsylvania, his mother a member of an old family that settled in Stark county at an early period in the history of that part of the Buckeye state. When about six years of age, Mr. Stickler was brought to Whitley county by his parents and grew to maturity on the family homestead in Columbia township, meanwhile attending the winter terms of the public schools. Reared to farm labor and early becoming familiar with the duties which life in the country entails he chose agriculture for his vocation and since reaching manhood's estate has prosecuted the same with gratifying results, being at this time one of the leading men of his calling in Washington township, of which he has been an honored resident since 1878. He purchased his present place in 1879, when the land was covered with water and presented very much the appearance of a dense swamp or quagmire, but appreciating the value of the soil Mr. Stickler addressed himself to the task of reclaiming it. He inaugurated a series of ditches, which required a number of years to dig and tile, and when completed the results more than real- ized his highest expectations. The entire farm of one hundred and twenty acres is underlaid and intersected at proper intervals with a network of tiling, there being at this time considerably in excess of one thousand rods, varying in diameter from four to fifteen inches, which not only affords ample drainage but by permitting free passage of the air beneath the surface renders the soil soft and pliable and easily cultivated. Mr. Stickler has made many other substantial improvements on his farm, including a beautiful modern residence, a large barn and the other necessary structures, the entire place being enclosed and divided into fields and lots, with good fences, the greater part being wire of the latest design. Mr. Stickler devotes much attention to stock farming, which he finds much more profitable than the mere raising of crops. Of recent years he has been feeding nearly all the grain his place produces to cattle and hogs, large numbers of which he markets every year, giving special attention to the finer breeds in the raising of which he has earned a well merited reputation.

Before purchasing his present place, Mr. Stickler was engaged in the manufacture of lumber, operating a sawmill one year in Richland township and for two years -in the township of Washington, disposing of the business at the expiration of that time for the purpose of engaging in agriculture. Tie is public spirited and enterprising: a Democrat in politics and as such elected in 1900 trustee of Washington township, the duties of which position he discharged in an able and business-like manner for a period "f Four years. For thirteen years he was justice of the peace in Washington township.

In 1872, Mr. Stickler married Lydia E. Egolf, whose parents, Henry and Rachel (Roshon) Egolf, were among the first settlers of Whitley county, moving here as early as 1836. Israel Egolf, a brother of Mrs. Stickler, was the first white child born in the township of Thomcreek. Mr. and Mrs. Stickler have had eight children : Clarence H.. Luella M. (deceased), Orlando, Minnie E., wife of John Cole, Henry O., I!. Frank, Olive Floy and another that died in infancy. Michael Stickler was born in 1882 in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, was taken to Ohio by his parents when a mere lad and there grew to manhood. He married Rebecca Hizer and in 1853 moved to Whitley county, settling originally in Columbia township, where he lived for a number of years, subsequently transferring his residence to the township of Cleveland, where his death occurred at a ripe old age. His father, George Stickler, a Pennsylvanian by birth, was a pioneer of Stark county, Ohio, where he departed this life in 1854. Michael and Rebecca Stickler were the parents of ten children, all of whom grew to maturity and six are now living".

Wells Trader Gradless

One of the extensive farmers and stock dealers of Whitley county and a representative of two prominent pioneer families, is the elder of two sons born to Milo and Hannah Gradless, and dates his birth from September 17. 1 84 1. His paternal grandparents, Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Waugh) Gradless. moved from Fayette county, Ohio, to Whitley county, in the fall of 1836, and settled in what is now Thorncreek township, of which they were among the first pioneers. Milo Gradless was born in 18 16, in Fayette county, Ohio, accompanied the family to Indiana in the year indicated and on July 18, 1839, was united in marriage with Miss Hannah Smith, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Jones) Smith, the ceremony being the third of the kind solemnized in Smith township, which was named in honor of his father-in-law. Samuel Smith was a native of Virginia. He came to this part of Indiana in 1833, was one of the commissioners appointed to organize Whitley county and died a number of years ago on the farm which he carved from the wilderness in the township that bears his name. Mrs. Hannah Gradless was born November 28, 1816, and departed this life in 1886, her husband preceding her to the grave the previous year. They resided in Smith township until 1847, when they removed to the township of Union, where Mr. Gradless purchased a farm in 1853, on which he lived until 1880, when he removed to Columbia City, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives.

Wells T. Gradless was reared on the family homestead, received a fair education in the public schools and on attaining his majority selected agriculture for his- life work and has since followed the same with much more than ordinary success and profit. Since 1853 he has lived on his present farm of five hundred and twenty-five acres, four hundred of which are under cultivation. Mr. Gradless' farm is admirably situated in one of the finest agricultural sections of northeastern Indiana, is well adapted to the grain, vegetable and fruit crops grown in this latitude, the soil being deep, fertile, and its productiveness greatly increased by the natural drainage furnished by Eel river, which flows through the place, thus affording a fine outlet for the complete system of tiling, which has been installed. In connection with general agriculture he buys, feeds and sells live stock, especially cattle and hogs. He is a careful, methodical business man, and as a result has been reasonably successful.

Mr. Gradless was married in Shelby county, Ohio, January 1, 1865, to Miss Margaret A. Speer, whose birth occurred May 4, 1845. being the daughter of John and Nancy (Richards) Speer, a union terminated by the death of Mrs. Gradless May 2, 1866. She was the mother of one child, Mary A., who died at eighteen years of age, November 20, 1879. He married Elma E. Kiersev, who was born February 11, 1856, in Noble county, Indiana, the daughter of Nathan O. and Esther (Smith) Kiersey, natives of New York. Their two sons are: Walter N., and Milo P., both at home. Mrs. Gradless'died May 2, 1897. Mr. Gradless has a record as an educator, having taught some twelve to fifteen terms in the public schools of Whitley county, a work for which he appears to have been particularly adapted and in which his success was gratifying. In politics he is a Republican and while ever interested in public affairs, he has never sought office. Independent in most matters, he has not affiliated with church or secret societies.

William A. Hauptmeyer

Few men within the jurisdiction of Washingt* in u wnship are as widely or better known than William A. Hauptmeyer, who has been a resident forty-three years. Henry and Caroline (Piper) Hauptmeyer, his parents, were natives of German}-, but came at an early age to the United States and settled in Whitley count}', being among" the first pioneers to penetrate the dense forests. In 1846, the father purchased one hundred acres of wild land in Washington township, which by the usual laborious processes he finally converted into a well improved farm on which he died in 1871, after a residence of twenty-five years.

William A. Hauptmeyer was born October Jo. [854, on the above described homestead, grew to manhood amid the wholesome discipline of farm life and meantime received a fair education in the public schools. On reaching maturity he began life as a tiller of the soil and has continued in that line to the present time. Since 1878, Mr. Hauptmeyer has occupied his present place in the township of Washington, owning a linelv developed farm on which are good buildings and other improvements. In common with the enterprising agriculturists of this section of Indiana. Mr. Hauptmeyer has faith in the efficacy ol drainage and he has not been sparing of bis means in making this most important improvement, having already laid considerable in excess of five hundred rods of tiling to which he is continually adding. his intention being so to underdrain until every square foot of tillable land will yield to its utmost capacity. In addition to general farming he has achieved well merited success in the raising and marketing of live stock, handling Berkshire and other superior breeds of hogs, his interest in good stock having induced not a few of his neighbors to imitate his example.

In 1904 he was elected trustee of Washington township and during his term of four years did much in the line of public improvements, including among other things the laying out and constructing of highways. building bridges and erecting school houses. Mr. Hauptmeyer is a Democrat and a leader of his party in Washington township. He keeps informed on the issues of the day, has the courage of his convictions relative to the great public questions upon which people and parties are divided and his opinions command respect among his neighbors and those with whom he is accustomed to mingle. In religion he is a Lutheran, as also his wife, both being esteemed members of the local church with which they are identified.

Mr. Hauptmeyer was married in 1878 to Caroline S.. daughter of Henry and Justina Bod}-, the union resulting in the birth of three children : Henry, who married Bessie Wickam, Irwin and Ansil.

Mr. Hauptmeyer is the youngest of the six children born to his parents. The others are Charlotte, wife of August Fisher, a farmer of Nebraska: Minnie, wife of Henry Briggamen, of Cleveland township; Rachel, wife of Fred Oswald, died in 1804; Caroline died in 1846; and Henry, who married Minnie Sievers, lives on the home farm.

Peter Chavey

The family of this name has been identified with Whitley county for over sixty-two years, Jacob Chavey having settled in what is now Washington township as early as 1845. He was a native of France, but came to the United States early in the nineteenth and located at Buffalo, New York, where for a period of five years he worked at the carpenter's trade in connection with which he was frequently employed to construct and install mill machinery, having been a skillful mechanic, whose services were in constant demand. On moving to this -county he turned his attention to farming and was thus engaged until his death which occurred in the year 1884. Catherine Petit, who became the wife of Jacob Chavey, was born in 1836 and departed this life in Whitley county in 1890, after rearing a family of ten children, their names being as follows : A. F., Amelia, Peter, Fred, Mary E., Louise, George, Blanch, Charles and Jacob. The elder Chavey was a true type of the nigged pioneer of the early day, a man of sterling nonesty and great industry and became one of the successful and well-to-do farmers of the community in which he lived, owning at the time of his death one hundred and eighty acres of fine land, the greater part of which was cleared and otherwise well improved.

Peter Chavey, third of his father's family, was born in Whitley county, Indiana, October 6, 1857. He was reared on the farm in Washington township adjoining the one on which he now resides. On attaining his majority he engaged in agriculture on his own responsibility and has given his attention to the same ever since, and during1 his entire life has enjoyed the confidence and good will of his neighbors. Mr. Chavey has a fine farm of eighty acres, all but ten of which is in cultivation. His land is well improved, thoroughly drained, the buildings substantially constructed and every feature bears witness to the energy, good taste and enterprising spirit of the owner. In 1885 Mr. Chavey married Rose, daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Miller) Alton, natives of Virginia, who were early settlers of Whitley county, the father still living in Jefferson township. Mr. and Mrs. Chavey have two children : Mamie and Arthur Fredrick. Mr. Chavey is a Democrat, but with the exception of constable has held no public office. He is a quiet, law-abiding citizen who has ever given his influence to upbuilding the community, being a friend to all enterprises with this object in view and an earnest advocate of whatever makes for the moral good of his fellowmen. Even- dollar which his comfortable competence represents is the result of his own labor and self-sacrificing endeavor, consequently he is in the best meaning of the term a self-made man and as such stands high in the esteem of those with whom he is wont to mingle.

Thomas Emery

A native of Ohio, but since his early childhood a resident of Whitley count}-, is one of the prosperous fanners of Washington township and a leading citizen of the community in which so much of his life has been spent. Henry and Catherine (Beckly) Emerv. his parents, were of Pennsylvania birth. They migrated to Ohio many years ago and about 1844 came to Whitley county, locating in Washington township, where the father purchased land and cleared a farm mi which they both spent the remainder of their lives, both dying in 1893. Henry and Catherine Emery were greatly esteemed for their many amiable qualities and during their long period of residence in the township of Washington became widely known and made many warm friends among their neighbors and associates. They had three children : Sabina, deceased; Mary, wife of Henry Huffman ; and Thomas. John Emery, grandfather of the subject, also became a resident of this county in an early day and died in Huntington county, Indiana, in 1861. Thomas Emery was born July 2, 1842, in Wayne county, Ohio, and was brought to Whitley county, Indiana, when his parents moved here in 1844, since which time his home has been in Washington township. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, attended the country schools as opportunity afforded and when old enough to seek his own fortune, turned his attention to the cultivation of the soil, which vocation he has since followed with satisfactory results. He owns a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Washington township, one hundred of which are in cultivation and in point of improvements the estate compares favorably with any like area of tillable land within the borders of Whitley county. Mr. Emery has achieved marked success as an up-todate agriculturist, being familiar with every phase of farming and cultivating the soil according to the most approved scientific methods with the result that he never fails to realize abundant returns from the labor expended on his fields. He is also enterprising and public spirited as a citizen, interested in everything calculated to advance the prosperity of the county and an earnest advocate of all measures that make for the social and moral well-being of his fellowmen. He is a pronounced Democrat, a consistent member of the Baptist church and his fraternal relations are with Lodge No. 222, Knights of Pythias, in South Whitley.

In 1867 Mr. Emery and Miss Fannie, daughter of Henry and Margaret (Shonk) Huffman, were made husband and wife, the union being blessed with three children: Henry, an employe of the postofnee in Huntington; Alma, wife of John E. Long, a farmer of Washington township; and Jay Lee, one of the popular teachers of Whitley county, now at the Valparaiso Normal.

August Licke

This representative farmer and worthy citizen is one of eleven children born to Christian and Hannah Licke. Christian Licke came to the United States from Hanover. Germany, when a young man in the year 1849 and settled on a farm in Whitley county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1885. He and his wife were greatly esteemed by their neighbors and friends, and during the family's long residence in the same locality the name has stood for high character and sterling worth. August Licke, the second child, was born in Washington township, in February, 1850, and spent his youth on thefamily homestead, receiving a fair educa- tion in the Lutheran and public schools. His early years included the experiences common to country lads, being spent at labor in the fields in the summer months and at his books during the winter seasons, and in this way he put in the time until manhood. On attaining his majority he engaged in agricultural pursuits, which honorable calling he has since continued, being at this time one of the largest and most successful farmers of the township in which he resides, owning two hundred and fifty-six acres of valuable land, of which one hundred and fifty-six are tillable and highly improved. He has been liberal in the expenditure of his means for these improvements, having a good modern residence, a large, well equipped barn, good buildings, fine fences, a successful system of drainage and other features of a first class farm. In connection with general agriculture he is quite extensively engaged in the raising of live stock, his success in both branches having been such as to place him in comfortable circumstances, being now one of the financially substantial men of his township, besides enjoying prestige among its most enterprising and progressive citizens. Mr. Licke was married in 1872 to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Henry and Lizzie (Long) Kruze, of Whitley county, the union being blessed with ten children : Satta, Augusta (deceased), William, Frank, Harman, Otto, August (deceased), Clara, Eda and Irvin.

Mr. Licke votes with the Democratic party and in religion belongs to the German Lutheran church. He has made all he possesses, having always been a hard worker, but by judicious management he is now in a situation to retire from active duties and enjoy the well earned fruits of his many years of honorable toil. The names of his brothers and sisters are Martin, Henry, Christian, William, Minnie, Caroline, Hannah, Susan and Lizzie, of whom Minnie, Hannah and Lizzie are deceased.

George W. Cox

The prospect was not pleasing but the outlook discouraging to the wanderers from the east, who entered the young county of Whitley as early as the year 1830. Its whole surface was covered with forest and to make matters worse almost its entire area was more or less marshy. This meant not only years and years of hard work but the dreadful "chills and fever" arising from the malarious climate, which in the years to come was destined to slay prematurely many a brave man and woman. Among those who came in and faced this dreary prospect at the period mentioned, was a young man of Ohio birth, but descended from Pennsylvania parents. He entered a small tract of land in Columbia township, which at that time was unpromising enough, but in the course of time he whipped it into shape and as he prospered bought more and more land, until at the close of his career he owned a fine estate of four hundred and eighty acres. Before leaving his native home at Springfield, Ohio, he had married Mary E. Roberts, by whom he had eleven children, all still living but one.

his father's death, he and his hrother inherited the land, of which the homestead, consisting of two hundred acres, is now occupied by himself. He carries on general farming, but makes a specialty of feeding sti >ck for market, usually having about fifty head of horses on hand for this purpose. He also raises sheep, and the Cox Bros., who together own the family estate of four hundred acres, do a great deal of trading-, buying, feeding and selling various' kinds of live stock. He has made many improvements on his place, which include eight hundred rods of tile ditching besides fencing.

After reaching his majority Mr. Cox married Myrtle J. Pugh, daughter of a farmer living in the southern part of the state. The family are members of the Lutheran church and in politics Mr. Cox usually votes independently.

Fred Dreyer

This gentleman, who is now one of the prosperous and successful fanners of Washington township, affords an object lesson as to the opportunities offered by this free republic to young men of ambition, energy and talent. It takes nerve for a boy to leave home, cross three thousand miles of ocean and begin the struggle for existence among strangers, with limited education and no capital except that afforded by his willingness and ability to work. Such a man is he, whose career in the new world during the last half century, forms the subject of these brief biographical details. Henry and Dora Dreyer were small farmers, who spent their lives in Germany and died there many years ago. Fred, one of their elder children, was born in the fatherland December 22, 1838. After reaching a rational age he looked around and concluded that his native land offered few inducements to one like himself and having heard much of the United States determined to try his fortunes in that faroff country. He was "going on eighteen" when he set sail and it was well along in the year 1856 when he landed on the eastern shore, one among many emigrantsbound on the same mission. The German boy managed to make his way inland as far as Indiana, but when he reached Whitley county he had not a cent in his pocket. He set to work bravely, however, and it was not long before he found himself in better circumstances. He located in Columbia township, and by 1868 was able to buy his present place, which at that time was wild and unimproved. The main task before him was clearing off the brush and timber to make the land suitable for cultivation and he spent many weary days and anxious nights before this object was accomplished. For six years he lived in a rude cabin, but eventually built and moved into the house which has been his home for a long time. At present he owns three hundred and sixtyeight acres of land and all the improvements on the place were put there by himself. He has attempted no fancy farming, but contented himself with going along in the slower but safer way of general agriculture, which consists of raising the cereal crops adapted to this section and keeping the amount of live stock justified by the size and products of the place. He handles the ordinary grades of cattle and makes a specialty of Duroc Jersey hogs.

In 1866, Mr. Dreyer married Louise Kimeyer, who died after giving birth to one child, August, now a resident of Allen county, near Fort Wayne. Mr. Dreyer again married, his second wife being Caroline Licke, by whom he has had nine children, six boys and three girls, all living. The family are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Dreyer's political affiliations are with the Democratic party.

Frank E. Con

The family of this name contributed extensively to the development of Whitley county agriculture during the formative stage known as the pioneer period. This is somewhat indefinite both as to its beginning and ending but the former dates from the arrival of the first settlers, continues through the clearing process and may be said to have terminated about the time of the Civil war, when fanners were in fairly good shape and the worst was over in the conquest of forest and marsh. Among those who took part in the fight against natural conditions, when the country had but few settlers, was John Cox, the founder of this family name in Whitley county. He was born at Springfield, Ohio, of Pennsylvania parents and removed to Indiana in 1830. He settled in Columbia township on a tract of land purchased from the government and being energetic and industrious had accumulated considerable property by the time of his death. After growing to manhood he had married Man' E. Roberts, also of Pennsylvania parentage, who shared all his fortunes in the western wilderness and bore him eleven children, all of whom but one are still living. When the estate was settled it was found to consist of four hundred acres of land lying partly in Washington and partly in Columbia township, which is now held by the sons jointly, who operate it under the name of Cox Brothers.

Frank E. Cox, one of the younger children and a member of the firm, was born in Columbia township, Whitley county, Indiana, in 1872. After the father's death he settled in Washington township and has been engaged some years in general farming and stock-raising. He also deals in horses and hogs, buying and shipping in response to the market demands. He handles only the best grade of hogs and mostly horses of the heavy draft quality. He is regarded as one of the successful young farmers and lives in a comfortable home one mile south of Peabody. In 1902 Mr. Cox was married to Miss Lillie, daughter of Frank and Mariah (Stoner) Smith, and they have three children, Ruth, Esther and Forest.

George Kneller

Among the German emigrants contributed to this country during the early years of the nineteenth century was a poor but industrious young man by the name of Gotlieb Kneller. He was fairly well educated before leaving the fatherland and entered upon his career in the new world with the persistent patience and unconquerable ambition characteristic of his race. In due time, he found himself "up against" the serious proposition of making a living in a new country.

He worked as a laborer in Ohio for a fewyears but hearing' much of the new state of Indiana, he concluded to try his fortunes there and joined the rush to the northeast, when all that section was still wrapped in primeval wilderness. He settled first in Noble county, where he farmed for some years, and afterward moved over into the neighboring county of Whitley. He purchased eighty acres of land from Fred Dreyer and another piece of forty-seven acres, all in Washington township, which he spent the rest of his days in improving and fanning, his death occurring in 1882. In early manhood he married Catherine Lethers, also a native of Germany, by whom he had eleven children, eight of whom are still living. The mother at present is a resident of Columbia City.

George Kneller, one of the surviving sons of this worthy German couple, was born in Green township, Noble countv, Indiana, January 16, 1856. He was eleven years old when his parents settled in Washington township and has spent all of his subsequent life in the same locality. Starting with his small patrimony he has added to hi- possessions until at present he owns one hundred and five acres, nearly all of which is under cultivation. He has marie all the necessary improvements in the shape of bam and other outbuildings, besides the usual amount of fencing and ditching, until the property has become valuable and productive. Mi- lives in a comfortable residence, erected under his own supervision, and carries on general farming witli success and profit, lie has Durham cattle, crossed with Herefords, and keeps a good line of Dunn- Jersey and Poland-China hogs. He is regarded as one of the successful farmers and does his full share in keeping up the agricultural reputation of Whitley county. He deserves the credit of being a self-made man, as all he has is due to his own industry and good management. Mr. Kneller is a member of the Democratic party, but has never been a seeker after office, being too busy with his own affairs to be much of a politician.

In 1 88 1 Mr. Kneller married Rebecca Auer, who was born in Washington township, Whitley county, daughter of Michael and Mary Smith, the father a native of Germany and the mother from Ohio, early settlers of Whitley county, now both dead. Mr. Kneller and wife have had four children, all boys: Charles F., John M., Joseph H. and Sherman L.

Rufus W. Burns

The family of this name in Whitley county is descended from Abraham and Hannah Burns, who were residents of Utica, New York, during the earlier years of the nineteenth century. John Burns, one of their sons, was horn at the paternal home in [8] ] and grew to manhood in his native place. August 28, 1836, he married Mary E., daughter if William and Louisa (Howe) Letson, whose birth occurred in Orleans county, New York, September 29, [820. Xext year after marrying John Burns came with his bride to Whitley county, bought eighty acres of wild land in Richland township and joined the rest of the early pioneers in tlu- desperate struggle against the marshes and forests of this primeval wilderness. In after years he told of his poverty and hardships, recalling that on arrival he had only twenty-five cents left in his pocket, which he spent in sending a letter to the old folks at home. After many years of hard work, he succeeded in converting his land into a respectable farm, assisted in laying out the main roads of the county and eventually became a well-to-do farmer. Meantime, before his death in 1898. a large family came to cheer his household, whose names thus appear in the family records : Julia, Lavina. Mary (deceased), Mariah, Jane, Ellen (deceased), Hannah, Justice, Abraham (deceased), Rufus W. and John S. (deceased).

Rufus W. Burns, the tenth in the above list, was born at the old homestead in Richland township, Whitley county, Indiana, January 22, 1 85 1. He grew up as a farmer's boy, did all kinds of work incident to such a life and has spent most of his years in and near his native township. His occupation as a farmer was varied by one term of school teaching and a short time spent as a -clerk in a store at Larwill. He was also engaged awhile in the railroad ticket office of this town, but in the main his whole active career has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. He owned and improved a farm in Richland township and in 1902 purchased the eighty acres in Thorncreek township, three and one-half miles north of Columbia City, which constitute his present home. This is known as the Parkinson farm and homestead. He is a quiet, industrious farmer, a good citizen and esteemed neighbor.

(Ensley) Beard, parents of Mrs. Burns, both natives of Ohio, came to Whitley county in 1843, bought and cleared a farm in Richland township and lived there until the father's death in 1863. After that event the widow married Jonathan Sattison, now also dead, but the former is a resident of Columbia City. By her first marriage she had seven children: Virgil, Mariah J., Louisa. Roxie, Sarah C, Martha (deceased) and Rhoda. Mr. and Mrs. Burns have had six children : Elgia, a farmer near Leon Lake : Mabel, wife of Jacob Lawrence, of Thorncreek township ; Florence E., a teacher in Thorncreek township; Carl, a student at Valparaiso; Earl L. and Velma. Mr. and Mrs. Burns are members of Thorncreek Grange and attend services at the Christian church.

William Sell

Some time in the thirties Henry B. Sell, of Pennsylvania, married Nancy Eberhard. of Maryland, and settled on a farm in Stark county, Ohio, which they spent several years in cultivating. In 1842 they came to Indiana, spent one year in Wabash and then removed to Whitley county, where they secured a location in Columbia township. It was the same old story of the log cabin, the grubbing, the clearing and all the other hardships incident to the pioneer period. Eventually the old folks, after reaching advanced ages, paid the inevitable debt of nature after rearing a family of six children, whose names were Catherine, Henry. William. Solomon. Elizabeth and George.

born in Stark county, Ohio, August 2, 1837, and hence was five years old when his parents came to Indiana. As he grew up he helped to clear the farm and became a man of influence, as is shown by his election at one time as trustee of Columbia township. I le became owner of a farm in that township but, while still retaining its management, was engaged for twenty years in the agricultural implement business at Columbia City. Eventually he sold his farm and purchased another place of eighty acres in Thorncreek township. During a long and blameless life he achieved the reputation of being an honest man. as well as a good husband and father. His death occurred June 3, 1906, and his remains were laid away in the Eberhard cemetery at Columbia City.

September 2. i860, Mr. Sell married Martha Jane Ridenour, who was horn May 16. 1 84 1. Her parents. Andrew and Margaret (Reitle) Ridenour, were Pennsylvanians who came to Whitley county in 1856, settled on a farm in Cleveland township and there spent the remainder of their lives. They had eight children : Martha Jane, Milton. Lavina (deceased-). Margaret, Anna. Henry, John (deceased) and Mary. Mrs. Sell died September 16, 187 1. after -becoming the mother of seven children: Benjamin F., Henry J.. William J.. Catharine. Miladore, Theodore and Charles (deceased). January 1, 1872, Mr. Sells married Anna Ridenour, his deceased wife's sister, by whom he had seven children: ('ova, wife of Elmer Johnson, of Elkhart county; Oscar, deceased al nineteen : Isaac, resident of Columbia township; Fanny and John, deceased in childhood; Arthur and Bertha, still at the parental home. Two children died in infancy. The family are members of the Christian church. At present, the widow resides on the home farm in Thorncreek township. Mr. Sell was a Democrat and belonged to the Knights of Pvthias.

Josiah Haynes

The early settlers of Whitley county were almost invariably poor men and unable to purchase large tracts of land, usually taking quarter sections or less. Sometimes, however, a man with a speculative turn would enter several hundred acres in a body and this was the case with Peter Haynes, when in 1845 ne came to Thorncreek township. Before leaving his home in Ohio he had married Susannah Hudlow, but a few years after reaching this section his career was cut short by death and the business of managing the farm fell upon the widow. She was a genuine pioneer woman and proved equal to the difficult task imposed upon her. with the result that most of the land originally purchased by her husband is still owned by the descendants. This good woman, who was an exemplar}- member of the Methodist church, closed her eyes on the world in 1872, after having reared a family of nine children : John. Peter. Jacob, Eli. Benjamin. Barbara, Elizabeth, David and Josiah, all of whom are deceased.

Josiah Haynes, youngest of this family, was born in Preble county. Ohio. May tt. 1837, and hence was about six years old when his parents settled in Whitley county. His father dying when he was but a lad. he assisted his mother in the management of the farm and when of age inherited a part of the original large tract of land entered by his father. He was a man of kindly disposition, fond of hunting and other outdoor sports and esteemed as a congenial companion. He was successful in his business and at his death, which occurred November 20, 1884. owned a good farm of one hundred and thirty-two acres, three miles north of Columbia City. In 1859 he married Margaret C Engle. who was born in Stark county, Ohio, March 16, 1840. Her parents, John and Rachel (Forsythe) Engle, came from Ohio to Whitley county in 1841, when this whole region was covered with timber and only two or three houses marked the beginning of the future Columbia City. They located on a farm in Thorncreek township, built a log cabin in the woods and entered upon the career incident to all the pioneers of this period. The father died in 1846 and the hard work of clearing fell upon the girls and one son, under the supervision of their mother. The latter died in 1872, after completing her arduous undertaking with satisfactory results and meantime rearing to maturity a family of seven children. These by name in order of birth were Mary, Sarah, Nancy. Martha, Rachael Ann, Margaret and David, all now dead except Margaret and David. Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Haynes had three children : Ada, who died in childhood; Sherman and William. After their marriage, the parents removed to the farm now owned and occupied by Mrs. Haynes. Her two sons remain with her and assist in the work and general management of the place. Sherman was born in 1866 and is regarded as one of the successful farmers of the community. Both sons, like their father, are Democrats but have no desire to serve the public.

Virgil Hyre

Thorncreek township has 110 neater farm than a certain eighty acres in section 28. Everything about the premises indicates that a good fanner is in charge. The house is comfortable and kept newly painted ; the barn is large and commodious ; the lawn is clean, the garden well laid out. the fencing kept in repair and the whole surroundings indicate the plenty and prosperity that come from industry and good management. Virgil Hyre, who owns this place, was born not many miles from it. May 30, 1861. His parents, Joseph and Jane (Gnegy) Hyre, were old settlers of Whitley county, coming as did most of the pioneers in this region from the state of Ohio. Virgil grew up on the farm' and did his share of the labor until of age, when he took charge of the place and managed it until 1892. In that year he removed to his present farm, which he has been engaged in cultivating ever since, but in addition to this he is part owner with his brother of a place of fifty acres in the same township. He carries on general fanning, keeps a good line of stock and in every way is found fully abreast of the profession which is bringing Whitley county to the front as an agricultural section. Though not a large place. Mr. Hyre has so managed it as to obtain recognition as one of the model farmers of Thorncreek township. His whole life has been spent on a farm, he likes the business, understands all of its details and has made a creditable success in the prosecution of his affairs.