"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
JOHN Q. ADAMS was born in Ireland November, 1826, son of James Adams, who was of Scotch descent. Subject spent his boyhood partly in New York and partly in Ohio. He received a common-school education and learned the machinist's trade, which he followed at various places till about twenty-two years of age, when he settled in Columbiana County, Ohio, as a farmer, abandoning his trade on account of declining health. Here he married, September 28, 1852, Christina Elliott, a daughter of George and Elizabeth (McDonald) Elliott, and born in Columbiana May 20, 1827. When they came to Whitley County, they located on 171 acres of partly improved land, known as the Grable farm, and after clearing twelve or fifteen acres, sold out and bought 160 acres in this township, all in the woods, to which they have added till they now possess 800 acres, about 180 of which are cleared, and finely improved with frame d welling, two good barns and all other needful outbuildings. Our subject, in 1866, was elected County Treasurer, and re-elected in 1868; he had also served as Justice of the Peace two terms of four years each. He is a member of Columbia City Lodge. No. 169, A., F. & A. M., and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is the father of six children, as follows: George, John W., Charles, James McD., Andrew A. (at Jefferson College, Penn.) and Frank E. (at school at Valparaiso, Ind.). He has assisted in setting up his elder sons in business, and for the past ten years has devoted more of his attention to stock-raising than farming, and rears annually 35 to 40 head of cattle, 30 to 35 hogs, 25 sheep and 6 to 8 horses.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
JOSIAH ARCHER is the son of Josiah and Nancy C. Archer, who emigrated from Ireland, their native country, to America, settling in Richland County, Ohio, where the subject was born August 27, 1846. His mother died there; and his father, in 1849, went to California, and for about eighteen years past no intelligence has been received from him. Josiah Archer received the common-school advantages, and worked on a farm up to the time of enlisting in Company A, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He saw four years' active service, and was with his regiment in the following engagements: Shiloh, siege of Corinth, Perryville, Stone River, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Dalton, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, siege of Atlanta, battle of Jonesboro, Duck River, Tenn., and Franklin and Nashville. He was discharged at Victoria, Texas. December 28, 1871, Mr. Archer was married to Miss Alice A. Barney, daughter of Everett and Mary Barney, who came from York State to Allen County, Ind., where they located, subsequently removing to this township, where they died. Mr. Archer located on his present farm of 108 acres soon after his marriage, where he has since followed farming and live-stock raising quite extensively. Mrs. Archer is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and they have a family of five children - Chloe, Everett, Josiah, Bertha and Earl D.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
GEORGE BOWER was born in Licking County, Ohio, February 2, 1823, and was the son of Jacob and Mary Bower, who were born in Pennsylvania, the father dying in Perry County, Ohio, and the mother living with her daughter in Van Wert County, active and hale at the age of eighty-four years. Our subject was married, in Perry County, February 13, 1845, to Miss Margaret Alabaugh, native of Rockingham County, Va., and daughter of David and Elizabeth Alabaugh, natives of the same county. In 1849, subject and wife came to this township, and on the 6th of October located on present farm, which Mr. Bower had purchased without first viewing, but which proved to be better than represented. To the first eighty acres he has added till he has 280 acres, and has also presented another lot of eighty acres to his son. He has now 210 acres under cultivation. April 2, 1878, our subject's dwelling was set on fire, between 11 and 12 o'clock at night, by which he lost house, clothing, furniture, his barn and straw rick, but has recovered them all. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and have had nine children, viz.: William, married; Jacob, married; David, killed by a falling tree limb; Samantha; Charles, married; Annie, Alice, Elmer and Samuel.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
THOMAS EGNER was born in Lancaster County, Penn., January 10, 1811, and was the son of Peter and Susan Egner, who emigrated to Ohio in 1827, and in that State died. Our subject resided with his parents till twenty-six years old; he married Rebecca Rush, September 22, 1841, in Richland County, Ohio; she died in October, 1854. He then married Mrs. Cynthia Elliott, a widow, and native of Virginia, who died in Wabash County in October, 1859. January 12, 1861, he married Mrs. Elizabeth A. Goudy, a widow, and native of New Jersey. They came to this township in 1879, and purchased a farm, where they have ever since resided. Our subject's family number twenty-four children, as follow: By his first wife - Emanuel, married and living in Wabash County; Eli, deceased; Charlotte, married and living in Thorn Creek; Martin; Susan; Samuel, in Illinois; Elizabeth, married and in Wabash County. By his second wife - Cynthia, married, and in Reno, Kan.; Priscilla, married, in Wabash County. By his present wife - David, John W., Rebecca, Sarah (deceased), and Julia H., children of his present wife, by her first marriage - Willis, married; Maria, married; Jacob, married; William, single ; James, deceased. Children of his late wife by her first marriage: Emaline, married; Ruth A., married; Hile, George and Etna (the last named deceased ).
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
ADAM EGOLF, a native of Montgomery County, Penn., born August 6, 1800, is the son of Henry and Polly Egolf, the former a. native of Vermont and the latter of Pennsylvania. After the death of Henry Egolf, which occurred in Ohio, his wife moved to this State, where she afterward died. Adam Egolf lived in his native State until the age of nineteen, and there acquired a common education. He then went to Ohio with his parents, and assisted in clearing the home farm. He was married in Fairfield County, to Miss Susan Shriner, a native of Ohio, in October, 1823. Her father, Peter Shriner, native of Virginia, died in this State. Mr. and Mrs. Egolf, until they came to this township and settled in June, 1837, lived on his farm of eighty acres in Licking County, Ohio. They were among the earliest pioneers here, and found the forests filled with Indians and wild animals. His first purchase included 240 acres of land, and until he could raise a log cabin, he built a temporary dwelling of rails. Mr. Egolf cleared ninety acres of his farm and increased it to 600 acres, and has given land to his children. His first wife died in 1841. They had eight children - Peter, a resident of Michigan; Elizabeth, deceased; Catharine, of Noble County; Anna, deceased; Henry, of this township; John, of Michigan; and Benjamin of this township. Mr. Egolf married his present wife, Mrs. Lydia Witham, in 1842. She was born in Washington County, Ohio, and is the daughter of Abel and Nancy Gates, the latter a native of Delaware. They died in Ohio. Mr. Egolf held the office of County Commissioner six years, and that of Township Trustee, six or seven years; also served as Justice of the Peace one term. By his second wife Mr. Egolf had seven children - Rachel, George W. and Melissa, residents of this township; Jemima, of Columbia Township; Adam J., of this township; Harvey M., an M. D. at Collamer, this county; and Lydia A., of Columbia Township. Mr. Egolf, in his hunting experience has killed four hundred deer, and numbers of other wild animals.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
SILAS GOODRICH was born in Delaware County, Ohio, February 14, 1835, the son of Price and Julia A. Goodrich, natives of Connecticut and New York. They carne to Indiana in May, 1838, and located in the forests of Richland Township, this county, our subject being but three years old. Here he received advantage of all the school facilities available, and remained with his parents till November, 1856, when he married, in Troy Township, Miss Amanda E. Elder, daughter of Samuel and Annie Elder, who were of Scotch descent. Mrs. Goodrich died in 1862, the mother of three children - Olive (deceased), Addie (married), and Emma J. (deceased). Our subject's second marriage was to Adeline Cook, daughter of Henry and Catharine Cook, and took place in this township. During his first marriage, he resided in Troy, now Richland Township, on fifty acres of land, of which he had thirty under cultivation, and a year after his second marriage he sold out, then purchased 320 acres with steam mill, ran the same with a partner two years, sold, moved to Keokuk County, Iowa, remained there two years, returned to Troy Township for two years, then purchased his present farm of eighty-one acres in this township, of which fifty-five acres are under cultivation. His second wife died in 1873, and was the mother of three children - Emma, Cora and Jennie, the last deceased. His third marriage was in Union Township, to Miss Addie Miner, daughter of Samuel and Mary Miner, who live in Columbia City. This lady has borne him two children - Esther and Leroy. Mr. Goodrich is a member of Columbia City Lodge, No. 176, I. O. O. F., and has served as Justice of the Peace since 1877.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
DANIEL HIVELY was born in Rockingham County, Va., October 15, 1798, the son of Paul arid Catharine Hively, who were natives of Pennsylvania, but died in Ohio. Our subject attended school in the latter State, and resided on his father's farm, and worked occasionally for neighbors until December, 1824, when he married Catharine Egolf, native of Pennsylvania, and daughter of Henry and Mary Egolf, of said State, who died respectively in Ohio, and Thorn Creek Township, this county. Subject and wife began housekeeping on rented land in Ohio, and six years later purchased 120 acres in Licking County, cleared up and put thirty acres under cultivation, then sold, and in June, 1837, came to this township and bought eighty acres of his present farm, all in the forest. Here they lived under a wagon cover till a spot was cleared for a cabin, their nearest neighbors being more than a mile away, and very few in the township; but deer and other game were plenty, and a turkey could be killed at pleasure. Our subject subsequently added eighty acres to his farm, entered 160, and then purchased 160 and 320, of which he has given eighty acres to each of his seven sons, retaining eighty for himself. There have been born to him children, as follows: Mary (widow), Catharine, Henry (deceased), Jonathan, Mahala, Daniel, Elizabeth A., Samuel, Benjamin, George W., Isaac, Solomon and Sarah, all of whom are married. Subject and wife are members of the Lutheran Church, and are among the oldest settlers, and most respected members of the community.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
GEORGE W. HIVELY was born in Thorn Creek Township, September 20, 1841, the son of Daniel and Catharine Hively, natives respectively of Rockingham County, Va., and Montgomery County, Penn. Our subject has always lived in Whitley County, where he was educated in the district schools, and helped his father on his farm. May 4, 1865, he married Miss Mary Miller, daughter of Solomon and Malinda Miller, and a native of this township. They began housekeeping in the woods on 180 acres, which had been given to our subject by his father. He cleared up thirty-five acres, sold, and purchased his present farm of eighty acres, mostly improved, and fifty acres under high cultivation, a portion of which subject cleared, and on which he has built a good residence. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church, and have two children - Lovina and Ira W.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
TURBET KEIRN was born in Kent County, Del., September 28, 1825, the son of Isaac and Elizabeth Keirn, natives of Maryland and Delaware. They came to this township in the fall of 1836, and here died. Our subject assisted his father on the farm, and on their first settlement here, helped him to clear a road three miles east and three miles west of their home, by which to reach their nearest neighbors. When nineteen years old, he hired out for one year at $8 per month, together with washing and mending; second year at $10, and two more at $12. He then bought forty acres in the forest, and cleared them up. July l6, 1849, he married Mrs. Sarah Hanes, a widow, and a native of Pennsylvania. They lived on the forty-acre lot till 1864, sold out and bought eighty acres, fifty-five of which he cleared and inclosed the whole. His wife died January 6, 1881, leaving nine children, viz.: Susan, Isaac S., Samuel R., Nathan J., Rebecca H., Jonathan W., Emmet G. T., Franklin M. R. and Ellen.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
GIDEON T. KLINCK was born in the State of New York March 23, 1810, and was the son of David and Ruth (Smith) Klinck; the father of German descent, and the mother native of Massachusetts. The father was a miller, and died in Fayette County, Ind., and the mother died in Shelby County. Our subject attended school in Connersville, Fayette County, and afterward learned saddle and harness making, serving an apprenticeship of four years, and working as a jouneyman off and on for ten years. In 1832 or 1833, he was married, in Fayette County, to Miss Fannie Williams, a native of that county, and daughter of Jonas and Sallie Williams; born in New York, and died in Fayette County, Ind. Our subject first kept house in Shelby County, but soon returned to Fayette, where Mrs. Klinck died. In 1840, our subject married Miss Elizabeth Hornaday, a native of North Carolina. Soon after this marriage, he removed to Illinois, made a pre-emption, and then traded for eighty acres in this township, to which he removed in 1842; cleared twenty-five or thirty acres, sold, purchased eighty acres of his present farm, and added, by degrees, till he now owns 325 acres, 160 of which are under cultivation. He gives some attention to live stock, and sells annually fifteen head cattle, six horses, hogs fifteen, sheep fifteen to twenty. He has served as Township Treasurer one term. By his first wife he had one daughter - Olive, who is deceased; and by his second marriage, three children, viz.: Horace (was taken prisoner at Chattanooga, exchanged, and there died), Anna and Sarah E., both married, and living in Thorn Creek.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
HENRY KNIGHT, JR., was born in Stark County, Ohio, March 12, 1831; the son of Henry and Mary Knight. The mother died in Stark County when our subject was two years of age, and the father, who carne to Indiana in 1841, died on the present homestead. Our subject attended the district school, kept in a 14x16 structure of round logs, with puncheon floor, and a single pane of glass for a window. He remained with his father until March, 1851, when he married Miss Nancy Witham, daughter of Elisha Witham, of Ohio. Our subject has always kept house on the present farm. The first land he purchased on his own account was in 1852, and constitutes part of the old farm. To this he has added from time to time till he now owns 280 acres in one lot, of which 150 are under a high state of cultivation. He also gives considerable attention to stock-raising, and sells annually about 30 head of cattle, 60 of hogs, from 60 to 120 head of sheep, and 5 to 8 horses. Mrs. Knight died in March, 1874, leaving nine children, viz., Cornelius, married and living in Kansas; Sarah J., married and living in Thorn Creek; Mary, married, in Columbia City; Martha, married, in Thorn Creek; James W. (deceased), William, Eliza, Clara and George, all single and residing with their father.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
HARVEY R. LAVERING was born in Knox County, Ohio, November 6, 1819; the son of Jonathan and Anna Lavering, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They emigrated at an early day to Ohio, but subsequently removed to Missouri, where they died. Our subject received a plain, common-school education, and then served five years as apprentice to a millwright in Ohio. He followed the business two or three years, and then, in December, 1843, married Miss Rebecca Dye, whose parents, Andrew and Lucretia Dye, were born in Pennsylvania, and died in Morrow County, Ohio. Our subject kept house in Ohio over four years, and then came to his present farm in this township, in 1849, on which he has ever since resided. He bought 160 acres wild land, cleared a spot on which to build, moved in October 8, and sowed his wheat November 9. He has now from sixty-five to seventy acres under cultivation. Mrs. Lavering was a member of the Disciples' Church, and died August 15, 1878, the mother of ten children. viz.: Charles, married, and living in Kansas; Anna, Lucretia and Morgan, all married and living in this township; Thomas, Sarah J., William and Franklin, all dead; Mary, widow in Butler, Ind; and John E., single and residing with his father.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
JOHN MAGLEY was born August 22, 1823, in Canton Berne, Switzerland. His parents, Christian and Elizabeth (Flickinger) Magley, natives of Switzerland, emigrated in the fall of 1831 to Buffalo, N. Y., where they spent the winter, and in the spring of 1832, went to Fairfield County, Ohio. Christian Magley was a clock-tinker by trade, and also followed farming in his native country. He died in Franklin County, Ohio, and his wife died during the winter after their arrival here. John Magley received a good education, both in German and English, and learned the carpenter's trade. In 1847, he visited his native country, and spent the time in traveling and attending school. In 1848, he returned to America, and was married at Columbus, Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Magley, February 3, 1853. She is the daughter of Conrad and Mary Magley. They were born in Canton Berne, Switzerland, and Mary Magley died there. He came to America in 1846, and located in Licking County, Ohio. He is now living at Bluffton, Ind., with a second wife, who is a native of Switzerland, and crossed the ocean at the age of sixteen. Mr. and Mrs. Magley resided at Etna, Licking County, Ohio, until the fall of 1854, when they carne to Indiana and settled in this township, where he had previously purchased forty acres of land. Mr. Magley has taught school to some extent, and has served two terms as Township Trustee, being first elected to that office in 1878. Mrs. Magley is a member of the M. E. Church. They are the parents of nine children - Benjamin F., a resident of this township; William H., in post office at Columbia City; John W., clerking at same place; Ella E., Lucy .M., Adelia (deceased), Alice (deceased) and Ida (twins), and Horner S.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
JAMES McKOWN was born near Trenton, N. J., June 25, 1818, and was the son of Henry and Elizabeth McKown, natives of Ireland and New Jersey, who died in Stark County, Ohio. Our subject spent his boyhood in Stark and Columbiana Counties, and never saw a schoolhouse till fourteen years of age. Six months would cover the whole of his school-days. He began life by working by the month, shaving shingles, digging wells, etc. His first land purchase was forty acres in Portage River bottom, Hancock County, Ohio. In this county, June 20, 1848, he married Miss Lydia Brenner, a native of Stark County, Ohio, and daughter of George Benner, a native of Germany. They kept house on the forty acres five or six years, then sold out and came to this township, where he bought eighty acres of wild land, which he has nicely improved. He has served as Constable eight months, and is a member of Columbia City Lodge, A., F. & A. M. His wife is a member of the Dunker Church. They have had a family of eleven children as follows: George (deceased), Amanda and Mary A. (both married and living in Richland Township), Melissa (deceased), Huldah, Luke (deceased) Celeste, Oscar, Minerva, Charles and Jacob.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
PETER MILLER was born in Pennsylvania November 11, 1811, the son of Adam and Mary Miller, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1802. Our subject was taught to be a cooper, and in 1835 emigrated to Ohio, where he followed his trade for twenty-one years. In April, 1837, he married Sarah Snider, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Snider, of Pennsylvania. He farmed on his seventy-five-acre lot after marriage for a number of years, and then sold out and located on 217 acres in this township, which he has improved highly, and on which he has a fine frame residence. Mrs. Miller died April 1, 1880, leaving three children - Mary E., married, and living in Richland Township; Samuel; and Henry W., who owns the old farm. Henry W. Miller was born in Clark County, Ohio, June 24, 1849, and came to Indiana with his parents. He was married, in Union Township, September 5, 1875, to Mary J. Spear, who died November 19, 1876. November 28, 1878, he married Elizabeth Zellers, a daughter of John Zellers, native of Pennsylvania, and began housekeeping on his present farm of 217 acres. By his first wife there were born to him two children - Elizabeth H. and Mary J., twins, and by his second wife one child, Alma H.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
SOLOMON MILLER was born in Perry County, Ohio, July 22, 1822, to George and M. Catharine (Humbarger) Miller, natives of Pennsylvania. The father died in Ohio, and the mother came to Indiana and lived on her own property till she became quite feeble, when she took up her residence with our subject, with whom she remained till her death. Our subject received the usual common-school education in Ohio, and also learned the gunsmith's trade, which he soon relinquished for farming on account of his health. June 9, 1841, he married Miss Melinda Auspaugh, daughter of David and Sarah Auspaugh, of German descent. Mrs. Miller was born in Perry County, Ohio, June 19, 1822, and her parents ended their days in Noble County, this State. Our subject and wife began keeping house in Ohio, but in 1842 moved to this county and located in Thorn Creek, on a rented farm, where they lived eighteen months. Mr. Auspaugh then gave his daughter fifty-three acres of land, and our subject added twenty-seven and placed fifty-five under cultivation. This property he sold and bought 160 acres partly improved land, upon which he moved in 1860. Of this, he subsequently sold twenty-five acres. He now owns his homestead of 135 acres, a tract of twenty-four and another of forty, and two lots in Columbia City. Our subject and wife became parents of seventeen children, thirteen of whom are living. nine of them married.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
GEORGE T. PARKISON was born in Perry County, Ohio, August 12, 1820. His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth, were natives respectively of England and Maryland. The father met his death in Ohio by a limb of a tree he was felling and the mother died in the same State. Our subject was married in Perry County, Ohio, to Miss Sarah Foster, in March, 1848. She was a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret Foster, natives of Virginia. About two years after his marriage our subject came to this county and located on eighty acres in this township, cleared away a portion and put up a cabin. He has now about sixty acres in fine cultivation, and has improved his place with comfortable frame buildings and has a good orchard. To his marriage there have four children been born, viz.: Jacob H., married and living in Kansas; Mary E., married and living in Columbia City; Benjamin F., deceased; George W., married and living in Columbia City.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
VALENTINE PRESSLER was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, September 4, 1830, son of John and Maria Pressler, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania. They moved from Ohio to this township, where the mother died; the father is yet living, near Columbia City; our subject was about sixteen years of age at the time of his coming to Whitley. March 6, 1855, he married, in this township, Miss Diana Dupler, a native of Perry County, Ohio, and daughter of Jonathan and Lydia Dupler; this lady's mother died in this township, but her father is still living here. Our subject owns a pleasant home of 110 acres, 50 of which are under excellent cultivation. To this union have been born twelve children, all of whom are still living except the firstborn, Elmira. The others were born and named in the following order: John A., Samuel D., Hannah E., Alfretta J., Jonathan H., Emerson P., David C., Marion W., Eli W., Bayard M. and Charles H. Our subject enjoys the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, and has served them in the office of Assessor ten or twelve years .
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
JACOB A. RAMSEY was born in Lehigh County, Penn., April 22, 1822, the son of Jacob and Catharine Ramsey, Pennsylvanians, who emigrated to Ohio, in which State they died. Our subject attended district school in Perry County, Ohio, and then learned shoemaking, at which he chiefly worked in winter, the summer being passed in farming and chopping cord-wood. April 25, 1847, he married Miss Mary A. King, in Perry County. Her father was a native of Germany and came to this country at the age of nine, and her mother was a native of Pennsylvania, and both died in Ohio, where Mrs. Ramsey was born. Subject and wife came to Thorn Creek in October, 1847, and settled on his farm of 160 acres, then all woodland. He has now about 100 acres in a fine state of cultivation, with a good frame residence and all necessary substantial outbuildings. He raises about fifteen head of cattle, twenty hogs and four to eight horses each year, which are disposed of at fair prices. He has served as County Commissioner one term and as Justice of the Peace six months, resigning the latter office. He has a family of nine children, as follows: Lavina, David, Samuel and Henry, all married; Mary, John, Amanda, Charles and William, all single. He is a member of the Lutheran Church while his wife is a Presbyterian.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
PETER SHRINER was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, April 19, 1820, the son of Peter and Mary Shriner, natives of same place. He attended the district school in his native county, and at the age of seventeen came to Indiana with his grandfather, his father having died in Ohio, where his mother is yet living. In 1837, when our subject came to the county, this township was almost a wilderness, and there were only three families in Thorn Creek. March 17, 1853, he married Elizabeth Gradeless, daughter of Nathaniel Gradeless, and a native of Ohio. They began housekeeping on a rented farm, and the first land owned is his present farm of seventy acres, thirty-six of which are under fine cultivation. To his union with Miss Gradeless have been born four children - Mary (married and residing at the homestead), John (married, in Columbia City), Lucinda (married and living in the county), and Sarah (deceased). Mrs. Shriner, who was a member of the M. E. Church, died in 1873.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
SOLOMON SUMMERS was born in Shenandoah County, Va., in 1819, and was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Summers, of German descent, and pioneers of Ohio, in 1826, in which State they died. Without parents, at the age of six, our subject was placed among strangers and apprenticed to the blacksmith trade. At the age of eighteen, he started for himself and followed the business two years, and March 7, 1839, married Phebe Berner, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Berner, natives of Maryland, and who died in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. Mrs. Summers was also born in that county. Our subject, some time after marriage, sold his twenty-acre farm in Ohio, and located on his present farm in this township in 1846, and is one of the pioneers. Of his 120 acres, he has eighty under cultivation and in good shape, and all acquired by honest industry. He has served as Township Trustee for two terms; his wife is a member of the M. E. Church and the mother of seven children - Elizabeth (married and living in this township), Catharine A. (married, in Columbia City), Matilda (married, in Missouri), Mary (deceased), Joseph (married, in this township), Olive (married, in Canton, Ohio), and John (dead).
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
DENNIS WALTER was born in Peru Township, Huron County, Ohio, January 15, 1834. His parents, Francis V. and Monika Walter, natives of Germany, came to America in 1833, and died on their farm in Huron County. Our subject lived with them till nineteen years old, and then began clerking in a dry goods store in Monroeville, where he remained about eighteen months; then attended a commercial college in Sandusky, and graduated in book-keeping; started for California; went as far as Castillo, on the San Juan River, and returned; then worked awhile on the farm, then clerked at various points in Iowa, then opened a store at Monroeville with a brother-in-law. October 27, 1859, he was married at Toledo to Miss Mary A. Carabin. They started housekeeping in Monroeville, and, in 1863, removed to Columbia City, this county, and started distilling; then engaged in the hardware trade, and then in a grocery and saloon, then purchased his present farm in 1868. He was elected Assessor and Appraiser in 1880. He and wife are members of the Catholic Church, and are the parents of ten children - Delia, Edward D., Louisa C., Jerome, Mary A., Cornelia, Julia E., Alpheus L., Charles F. and Josephine Z. (twins).
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
WILLIAM H. WIDUP was born in Wayne County, Ind., July 13, 1820, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Lancaster) Widup, who were natives of North Carolina and came to Indiana respectively in 1816 and 1810, both dying in Kosciusko County. Our subject passed his boyhood in Wayne till sixteen, and then moved with his parents to Kosciusko County, in 1836, and remained with them till of age, when he came to Whitley County, and married Miss Mary Knight, who was born in Ohio, in October, 1819, the daughter of Henry and Susanna Knight, natives of Maryland. Our subject began housekeeping in Noble County, Ind., on eighty acres of unimproved land he had purchased of his father, cleared four acres, built a hewn-log house, sold out, and purchased eighty acres of his present farm in this township, on which he moved he moved in 1845. This farm he has cleared up, and has under cultivation sixty-five acres, with comfortable buildings. His children are seven in number, viz.: Harry C., Cyrus S., Lizzie, Horace W., Parmenas F., Cora A. and Alice M. He is highly esteemed in the community, and in 1859 was Land Appraiser in Whitley, and has served as Justice of the Peace in this township for five years.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
EDMUND M. WILCOX was born December 1, 1828, the son of Jedediah and July A. Wilcox, natives of Pennsylvania, who emigrated to Allen County, Ind., in 1835. The father died in Union Township, this county, and the mother is living in that township with a son-in-law. Our subject was seven years of age when he came to the State with his parents, and is thoroughly acquainted with pioneer life. He assisted in clearing up the old farm, and went to school at Fort Wayne and in this district. At that day salt cost $24 per barrel, and other necessaries were at a proportionate price. Our subject was married at Fort Wayne, December 20, 1853, to Louisa Ford, daughter of George and Mary Ford, all natives of England. They began housekeeping in Columbia City, and in 1857 he bought his present farm of eighty acres, and has since added sixty acres, making 140 in all, seventy-five of which are cleared and furnished with comfortable buildings. Our subject united with the M. E. Church in 1858; his wife is a member of the Episcopal Church. They have had five children, viz.: Charles, George (deceased), Rosina, Mary and Clara.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township
BENJAMIN YONTZ was born in Washington County, Md., January 14, 1817. His parents, Benjamin and Mary Yontz, were respectively natives of Maryland and Virginia, and both died in Fairfield County, Ohio. Our subject's boyhood days were spent in his native State, and came with his parents to Ohio, where he assisted in clearing up a farm, and remained with them till he was married, February 8, 1837, to Miss Christina Watson, daughter of James and Rebecca Watson, natives respectively of Ireland and Virginia, and who died in Fairfield County, Ohio, where our subject was married. For twenty-four years, subject lived on his 120-acre farm in Ohio, and then came to this township, where he owns 160 acres, 115 of which are under cultivation and improved with comfortable buildings. He is a Democrat, and by that party was elected Justice of the Peace for this township, in which office he served eight years. He and wife have been members of the M. E. Church nearly all their lives, and he has always held some office therein. His family of children number seven, and were named as follows: Mary (deceased), James (married, and living in Columbia Township), Benjamin F. (deceased), Dillon (married, and living in this township), Jennie (married, and living in Columbia Township), John (in Thorn Creek), and Jacob, deceased.
"Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana. Historical and Biographical" by Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard
Published by F.A. Battey & Co. in 1882
Thorn Creek Township