John Studabaker, of the Exchange Bank of Bluffton, and a prominent and one of the oldest citizens of Wells County, was born in Darke County, Ohio, August 15, 1807, a son of Abraham and Mary (Townsend) Studabaker. He received such education as could be obtained in the schools of his neighborhood in that early day, which were held in rude log cabins. When a young man he engaged as clerk in the dry goods store of Henry Arnold, of Greenville, Ohio. In 1838 he left Greenville for Wells County, Indiana, Bringing with him a stock of goods consisting of articles that were needed by the settlers of that new country, and opened up a store in a log cabin north of the Public Square in Bluffton, many of this customers being Indians. His stock of goods was brought from Cincinnati, Ohio, by wagons, requiring some fifteen twenty days to make the round trip. He would exchange his goods for all kinds of produce and then he would load his teams that he sent for goods and sell at Cincinnati. In 1844 the county began settling up pretty fast, and he built him a two-story frame building and enlarged his business. During this time he was agent for the American Fur Company, and bought all kinds of furs and had control of the counties of Adams, Jay Wells, and Blackford. Furs bringing cash and being rather plentiful he derived quite a trade. In 1852 he built a brick building on the same spot where he located his cabin, and in 1856 he closed out the dry goods business and commenced banking in connection with his produce business, under the name of Exchange Bank. In 1863 the same merged into the First National Bank, with John Studabaker as president, and in 1868 the First National was discontinued, when the subject of this sketch, together with his brother, Peter Studabaker, and his nephew, Hugh Dougherty, organized the Exchange Bank of John Studabaker & Co., which is still in operation and doing a successful and extensive business. Mr. Studabaker has always carried on the produce business and has built large elevators at Bluffton, Warren and Markle, Indiana, and at this time has associated with him James W. Sale, and his sons – David E. and John A. Studabaker – under the name of Studabaker, Sale & Co. He owns a number of farms, also a large amount of town property, all of which he operates and manages himself. In 1851 he laid out an addition to the town of Bluffton, and in 1869 made a second addition, and has made quite an improvement to the city. He has always been in favor of public improvement. In 1850 Wells County was in the mud, and he, with others, originated and built the Bluffton and Fort Wayne plank road, which opened quite an outlet for the produce. In 1851 he was interested largely in the Fort Wayne & Southern Railroad, which was graded through Well County, but failed for awhile on account stringency for money. In 1859 it was revived, and it was by his energy that it was completed. He subscribes to all the gravel road petitions and favors all public improvements that will prove the most good to the people, and at all times will try to aid and assist those that are deserving, believing in industry and economy in all things. July 7, 1839, he was married to Rebecca Angel, daughter of David Angel, one of the leading citizens of Darke County, Ohio, and made his wedding tour on horseback from Greenville, Ohio, to Bluffton, Indiana. Of the ten children born to this Union only four are now living. Four died in childhood. Mary Jane, his eldest daughter, was married to Dwight Klinck, in 1863, and from this union four children were born. In 1875, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Mr. Klinck was drowned, when the steamship Schiller sank in the English Channel. In August, 1876, she was again married, to Jacob J. Todd, a prominent attorney of Bluffton, of which union two children have been born. Jeanette, his second daughter, was married to F.T. Waring, by whom two children were born, a son and a daughter. In 1874 Jeanette died, leaving these two children to the care of her younger sister, Martha, who in 1875, was also married to F. T. Waring. His son David E. was married to Emma Holmes, and has a family of two children, and John A., his youngest son, was married to Edna Angel, of Dayton, Ohio, and has one child. In politics Mr. Studabaker started out a Whig, and remained so until the war of the Rebellion, when he took and active part in assisting to get volunteers and in filling up the quota of the country. He remained with the Republican party until 1876, when he joined the Greenback party, and was twice on the State ticket and also a candidate for Congress, but in 1884 he severed his connection with the Greenback party and allied himself with the Prohibition party, and at this time is an active worker in it; being a strictly temperance advocate, he spends his time and means in forwarding the cause. In religion he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, which he joined in 1844, and has been a prominent member ever since, and has aided the church in many ways, donating the ground and subscribing largely to the commodious edifice of this church in Bluffton. In his younger days he was an active worker in the Sunday-schools. After spending the three score years and ten allotted to man he still works and carries on his business as actively as in his younger days. Treading on borrowed time he thinks it best not to be idle. As a business man Mr. Studabaker has been successful and has accumulated a handsome fortune, and by his aid and assistance many others have homes and enjoy the comforts of life. Both he and his wife having almost arrived at the time to celebrate their golden wedding, enjoy the respect of the community in which they have lived nearly a half century, seeing the county improve from the unbroken wilderness to one among the best improved counties of the State.

From: History of Wells County, Indiana, 1887
Submitted by: Scott Satterthwaite




John Dougherty, dealer in hay and lumber at Bluffton, is a native of Darke County, Ohio, born on a farm near Greenville, March 18, 1849. His parents, William and Margaret (Studabaker) Dougherty, had a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, he being the third son. He was reared to agricultural pursuits on his father’s farm, and was educated in the common schools of his neighborhood, which he attended during the winter terms until reaching the age of sixteen years, after which he taught school for five months. In December, 1868, he came to Wells County, and found employment on the farm of D. D. Studabaker until September, 1869. He then entered the store of James Kain, of Bluffton, as clerk. In May, 1870, he was engaged as bookkeeper by the manufacturing firm of Linn & Studabaker, and in the fall of 1871 he became associated with James Crosbie, B. F. Willy and David Drummond, and was engaged in pork packing, and buying and shipping grain and live stock, under the firm name of Crosby, Willy & Co., until September, 1872, when the business was discontinued. He then with others engaged in the produce business, and later engaged in the livery business at Bluffton, which he carried on until 1874. In that year he began dealing in lumber at Bluffton with Calvin Whitney, with whom he was associated under the firm name of Whitney & Dougherty, until November, 1883, when the firm name was changed to John Dougherty & Co. Mr. Dougherty has been twice married. September 27, 1871, he married Mattie E. Best, who lived near Huntington, Indiana. She died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while on a visit, September 10, 1877, leaving a son named Charles B., who was born at Bluffton, October 2, 1872. Mr. Dougherty was again. Married December 15, 1880, to Dora E. Owen, a daughter of Seymour and Dollie (Gilson) Owen, of Norwalk, Ohio. This union has been blessed with one child, Owen Gilson, who was born at Bluffton, December 29, 1886. They have an adopted daughter named Maud Cecil Irvin, who has lived with them since February, 1882, being at that time four years of age. Mr. Dougherty is a member of the Methodist church, as was also his first wife. His present wife is a member of the Episcopal church of Norwalk, Ohio.

From: History of Wells County, Indiana, 1887
Submitted by: Scott Satterthwaite




George Doster, deceased, was born in Somersetshire, England, April 21, 1816, and died in Nottingham Township, this county, September 6, 1886. His parents, Hezekiah and Charlotte (Webb) Doster, lived in Somersetshire, where they both died at an advanced age, the father dying February 11, 1872, and the mother one year later. George was reared to manhood on a farm, and was married, March 30, 1840, in his native country, to Miss Jane Hardwidge, born October 5, 1823, daughter of George and Sarah (Jeffrey) Hardwidge. In 1848 he immigrated to America, came to Huron County, Ohio, and engaged in farming. He removed to Nottingham Township, this county, in 1852, which was his home thirty-four years. He was a devoted member of the Baptist church forty-five years, and a Sunday-school superintendent over twenty years. He was a conscientious and consistent Christian, upright and honorable in all his dealings, and loved and esteemed by all who knew him. Two children were born to George and Jane Doster – John and Hezekiah; the former was born June 16, 1841, and died April 2, 1844; Hezekiah is a physician of Poneto.

From: History of Wells County, Indiana, 1887
Submitted by: Scott Satterthwaite




John C. Herrmann, farmer and tile manufacturer, Nottingham Township, was born in the Kingdom of Saxony, now in the Empire of Germany, in the village of Erbersbach, June 23, 1826, son of John G. and Johanna Sophia (Meyer) Herrmann. His father was a weaver by trade, an occupation he followed during his life-time. John G. was reared in his native village, and in early life worked on farms; but after a few years gave up the farm to learn the stone mason's trade. After serving one year and a half, he and two schoolmates conceived the idea of coming to America to try their fortunes in the new world. Accordingly, in June, 1852, they bade farewell to friends and relative, went to Bremen and took passage on the German two-masted ship Sophia, and after a voyage of two months they arrived at the Empire City. They were shipwrecked once during the voyage, and the pumps gave out, and for a whole month passangers and crew had to form bucket lines and bail the water out of the hold. They arrived at New York August 21, and his companions accompanied him as far as Dayton, Ohio, but left there the following spring for Illinois. Mr. Herrmann, however, remained at Dayton until 1860, working the first year on the State Insane Asylum. In the fall of 1860 he came to Wells County and settled upon 160 acres of land which he had purchased about two years before. This land was covered with a heavy growth of timber, and he was obliged to clear even the ground on which to erect his first log cabin, using the logs cut down in the construction of his abiding place. The cabin is still standing on the premises. In the summer of 1884 his sons-in-law, John Bears and John Marsh, commenced the manufacture of tile on Mr. Herrmann's land, and in the summer of 1886 Mr. Herrmann became a member of the firm in the place of Mr. Bears, and the firm is now Herrmann & Co. They have sale for all they can manufacture, and so far have sold it all in Nottingham Township. September 22, 1860, Mr. Herrmann was married to Miss Mary Council, born in Greenville, near Baltimore, Maryland, and a daughter of Samuel and Tabitha Ann (Harwood) Council. The father died in Greene County, Ohio; her mother is living in Montgomery County that State. Mr. and Mrs. Herrmann are the parents of four children - Rose Alice, wife of John Bears; Jahanna Sophia, wife of John Marsh; Ann and Jesse. In October, 1864, Mr. Herrmann entered the Union army as a member of Company K, Fifty-third Indiana Infantry, and served in the Seventeenth Army Corps, under general Schofield, in Sherman's army. He first went to Tennessee, thence to Dalton, Georgia, thence to Baltimore, where he took a ship for North Carolina. there he met the rebels near Kingston, and drove them back to the vicinity of Raleigh, where Johnston surrendered his army. He marched with Sherman through the Carolinas to Washington, and participated in the grand review of the victorious armies at the close of the civil war. From Washington he was sent to camp at Louisville, Kentucky, where he remained one month, and was then sent to Indianapolis, where he was discharged in August, 1865. He is a member of the Campbellite church, and his wife of the Christian church, Has been a Rupublican since coming to the country.

From: History of Wells County, Indiana, 1887
Submitted by: Scott Satterthwaite




Thomas A. F. Doan was born in Staffordshire, England, June 10, 1845, and immigrated to America in 1870. His first permanent location was made at Ossian, in 1870. He is a miller by trade, and for several years was engaged in a large merchant mill at Burton-on-Trent. His parents were John and Elizabeth (Foundling) Doan, also natives of England, and they reared four children - Mary A., who is the wife of Samuel Kirby, miner; Emma, wife of John Blackshaw, laborer; Sarah deceased, and Thomas; all are in England except Thomas. After his arrival at Ossian Mr. Doan was employed in the stave factory of L. M. Cary, and later at Decatur, Adams County. In 1871 he returned to Ossian, and the 18th of August, the following year, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States, and identified himself with the Republican party. In 1875 he purchased an interest in the saw and planing-mills of Koons & Co., which has continued to the present time. He is book-keeper of the firm and looks after the general interests of the mill. Mr. Doan was first married in England, to Annie White, and they had one son, Richard, who died at the age of three months. Mrs. Doad died October 8, and the son October 28, 1869. Mr. Doan's second wife, whom he married October 17, 1872, was Miss Mary E. Metts, the marriage ceremony being performed be Rev. L. Roberts, of Ossian. Mrs. Doan is the daughter of James and Miranda (Sutton) Metts, who were among the pioneer families of the coounty. Mr. and Mrs. Doan are the parents of two children - Maggie Mabel and William Metts. Mr. Doan has become one of the foremost business men of Ossian, and is very highly esteemed in his community.

From: History of Wells County, Indiana, 1887
Submitted by: Scott Satterthwaite




David Kershner, farmer, Chester Township, was born in Miami County, Ohio, October 14, 1827, son of Henry and Esther (Wagner) Kershner, natives of Berks County, Pennsylvania, where they were married, then removed to Miami County, where they lived until 1832, thence, by team, to Union County, where they were pioneers. Seven years later the family removed to Wayne County, thence to Blackford County, this State, in 1849, where David was married, and came to Wells County in 1851. They settled on 120 acres of land one-half mile from where he now lives, which was then in its primitive condition. Mr. Kershner went at once to work to clear a space sufficient for a building, and with the logs thus cut down erected his first log cabin. He gave no attention to hunting, although deer and wild game were abundant. He cleared about thirty acres of his land, then removed to Scuffle Creek, Chester Township, upon a partly cleared piece of land. He lived there one year, and in 1865 bought eighty acres of land where he now resides. About forty acres were cleared, and now about sixty acres are tillable. He has himself made all the improvements on his place. About a year after he came to Wells County, his parents also came to Chester Township, which was their home until 1863, when they removed to Appanoose County, Iowa. In 1872 they returned to Wells County, where the father died in 1877, and the mother in 1881. Mr. Kershner was married in 1850 to Miss Elizabeth M. Putnam, a native of Blackford County, who died in 1856. To this union were born two children, of whom one, William K., is living; Alonzo is deceased. January 9, 1863, Mr. Kershner was married to Miss Peggy Palmer, born in Wayne County, Indiana and died October 19, 1871. Their two children, Josephine and an infant unnamed, are deceased. Mr. Kershner married his present wife, Nancy Jarrett, July 24, 1879. She was born in Wells County, a daughter of John and Mary (Sills) Jarrett. They are the parents of four children - Elva, Esther, Amanda, and Lydia. Mrs Kershner is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Kershner is a Republican in politics, and has held the offices of supervisor, assessor and land appraiser of his township.

From: History of Wells County, Indiana, 1887
Submitted by: Scott Satterthwaite




WILLIAM DOUGHERTY, deceased, father of Hon. Hugh and John Dougherty, who are classed among the active and enterprising men of Bluffton was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, June 20, 1820, a son of Hugh Dougherty. His parents were natives of Ireland, the mother being of Scotch-Irish ancestry. They left their native country for America in 1818, bringing with them their only child, Betsy, who is so well and favorably known as Aunt Betsy Miller, she having married the late Daniel Miller, and both were numbered among the pioneers of Wells County. Six children were born to the parents of our subject after coming to America - Margaret, widow of John Tillman; William whose name heads this sketch; Hugh, deceased; John, of Jay County; Anna, wife of Crawford Edington, a merchant of Poneto, Indiana, and Edward, deceased. The father first settled in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where he followed farming until 1831. In that year he removed with his family to Darke County, Ohio, and settled on a farm near Greenville, where he died about 1833. William Dougherty was reared to the avocation of a farmer in Darke County, Ohio. he was united in marriage June 7, 1841, to Miss Margaret Studabaker of Darke County, where she died August 15, 1860, at the age of thirty-nine years. Mr. Dougherty became a resident of Adams County, Indiana, in 1874, where he made his home until his death, which occurred June 2, 1879 at the age of fifty-nine years.

Biographical and Historical Record of Adams and Wells Counties, Indiana The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887
Submitted by: Colleen Rutledge


WILLIAM D. MARKLEYAmong the prosperous native-born farmers of Harrison Township, Wells county, Indiana, William D. Markley stands most prominent. He is the son of John and Malinda (Wilson) Markley, was born April 25, 1841, and Harrison township has always been his place of residence.

John Markley, the father of William D., came from Madison county, Ohio, to Wells county, Indiana, in 1836, and entered one hundred and eighty-five acres of forest land in section 18, Harrison township, where there had about half a dozen settlers preceded him, including Dan and Adam Miller, Thomas Van Horn and Higgins Gentry. Mr. Markley put up the inevitable log cabin for temporary shelter and set resolutely to work to clear up a farm, or rather to clear off the heavy timber surrounding his cabin. He added gradually to his possessions until he owned about six hundred acres, but continued to make a dwelling of his original cabin the remainder of his life. He was a very public-spirited gentleman and did all his means would allow in assisting financially the making of public improvements. He was well known throughout the county of Wells, although a quiet, unassuming man, and was recognized as a useful citizen and a good neighbor, being deeply mourned at his death, which took place in the faith of the Christian church, and his name is still kept green in the memory of his surviving relatives and friends. In politics he was a Republican, but never was officious or intermeddling in forcing his views upon others, and as a farmer was one of the most successful stock raiser in his township. To John and Malinda (Wilson) Markley were born eleven children, of whom eight grew to maturity, namely: Rachel, now the wife of Stephen Adsit; Rev. J. J., of Lancaster township; William D., with whose name this biographical record opens; Ellen, widow of Ben Studabaker; Matilda, married to Capt. F. Y. Sturgis; Lewis P., of this township; Samuel, of Elwood, Indiana; Wilson, still in this township.

William D. Markley was reared to farming on the old homestead, but was given an opportunity to attend school three months each year until he was eighteen years old. He was quite apt at his studies and on relinquishing these engaged in teaching school in Wells county until he was twenty-three years of age, when, in 1864, he married Miss Mary E. Dougherty, a native of Darke county, Ohio, and a daughter of William and Margaret (Studabaker) Dougherty, as well as a sister of the Hon. Hugh Dougherty. To the marriage of W. D. and Mary E. Markley were born five children, viz: Cora, who was a teacher in Wells county for several terms and was then married to Jules Meredith; Franklin, deceased; Carrie, wife of Earnest Morrow; Anna, married to Arthur Markley, and Jane, wife of Gus Baker. Mrs. Mary E. (Dougherty) Markley was called from earth in 1884, and Mr. Markley chose for a second helpmate Margaret Dettinger, whom he married in November, 1891, and this union has been brightened by the birth of one child, Marie, born June 27, 1895.

Mr. Markley was a member of the Christian church at Six Mile and is also one of the trustees. he is very active in his church work, contributes liberally toward its support and maintenance and lives strictly up to its teachings. In politics Mr. Markley is a stanch Republican in principle, but seldom takes an active part in advancing the interests of the party, excepting in the way of regularly casting his vote in its favor, as he has never felt any desire for holding a public office, although he is very popular in his township and he and family are among the most prominent and respected residents of Wells county and Harrison township.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells Co., IN, 1903, B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Submitted by: Colleen Rutledge


ABRAHAM STUDABAKER was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania of German descent, the date of his birth being February 13, 1785, and was one of fourteen children. In 1795 his father moved with his family to Scioto County, Ohio, and in 1804 to Warren County, Ohio. In 1806 our subject married Mary Townsend, who was of English descent, and belonged to a Quaker family from South Carolina. Two years after his marriage our subject with his family, then consisting of his wife and two children, moved to Darke County, Ohio, being one of the pioneers of that county. There he began life on a heavily timbered farm, almost penniless, and built his first log cabin on Government land near Gettysburgh. It soon became necessary to erect a fort and block-house on his land to defend himself and family against the Indians, they being somewhat troublesome in those times. During the war of 1812 he supplied the Government with cattle for food for the soldiers and Indians, and at the close of that war he carried the news of peace to Fort Harrison on the Lower Wabash, a distance of about 300 miles and through an unbroken wilderness. On arriving there he found that his brother David, a soldier, had been killed by the Indians a few days previous. Returning to his family he entered the land on which he first settled, and when things quieted down he sold his land and settled near Greenville, Ohio, where he purchased a farm. In 1826 his wife died, leaving him with seven children—William, Elizabeth, Mary, David, John, Abraham and Margaret. A few years after his wife’s death he was again married to Elizabeth (Hardman) Lightcap, a widow, who was of English descent, and to this union were born five children—Peter, George, Daniel, Jane and Sarah. In 1833, having accumulated some money, Mr. Studabaker came to Wells County to invest in lands, and among other tracts entered the one on which Bluffton is not situated, and in 1838, when the county seat was located, he donated said land for the benefit of Wells County. In 1838 he established his son John in the mercantile business in Bluffton, and in 1839 he placed his son William on a farm four miles east of Bluffton. He also assisted many of his nephew and nieces to obtain homes in Wells County, and every year until his death he visited the county to visit his sons and friends and encourage them in their new homes. In 1847 he sent his son Peter to Wells County to clerk for his brother John. He lived on his farm near Greenville, Ohio, from 1815 until his death, which occurred March 18, 1852 at the age of sixty-eight years. He was a man of enterprise and good business management and by these qualities together with persevering industry he accumulated quite a fortune, which enabled him to settle twelve children in life. He was for several years commissioner of his county, and always gave satisfaction in the discharge of the responsible duties of his office, always working for the good of his county. He was a man of strict integrity, and his word was considered as good as his bond, and was respected and esteemed by all who knew him.

Biographical and Historical Record, Adams and Wells Counties, Indiana The Lewis Publishing Company, 1887
Submitted by: Colleen Rutledge


Deb Murray