Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

FRANCIS M. REYNOLDS, M.D. Engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the attractive little city of Montpelier, Dr. Reynolds is not only recognized as one of the representative physicians and surgeons of Blackford county but also as a progressive citizen whose success has been distinctive along both professional and material lines. In addition to owning and occupying one of the most substantial and modern brick residences in Blackford county, the same having fifteen rooms and being heated by an effective hot-water system, he is also the owner of a well improved farm of 160 acres, eligibly situated in Wells county, at a point about 6 miles northeast from Montpelier. His residence in Montpelier has been consistently pronounced the finest in Blackford county, and it is made a place of most cultured and gracious hospitality, as a center of much of the representative social activity of the community.

Dr. Reynolds was born in Adams county, Indiana, on the 16th of February, 1870, and after duly availing himself of the advantages of the public schools of his native county he completed an effective course in the Northwestern Ohio Normal School, at Ada, and he then turned his attention to the pedagogic profession, of which he was an able and popular representative, as a teacher in the public schools of Indiana, for a period of five years. He supplemented his education also by a course in the commercial department of the Northern Indiana Normal School & Business College, an institution now know as Valparaiso University. In consonance with his laudable ambition and well formulated plans, the Doctor finally was matriculated in the Indiana Medical College, at Indianapolis, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1897 and from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He forthwith established his residence at Montpelier, and here he has continued in active and successful practice during the intervening period of more than a decade and a half, all extraneous interests having been subordinated to the demands of his profession, which he has significantly dignified and honored by his services and his observance of the highest ethical code of his chosen vocation. In 1900 he completed an effective post-graduate course in the New York Post Graduate Medical College, in the national metropolis, and since that time, though continuing his labors as a general practitioner, he has given special attention to the treatment of the diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dr. Reynolds has been essentially a close and appreciative student of the best of the standard and periodical literature of his profession, and he furthers his technical precedence also through his active affiliation with the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Society and the Blackford County Medical Society.

Dr. Reynolds is a son of Pleasant and Caroline (Bolton) Reynolds, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in the State of New York. The lineage of the Reynolds family is traced back to staunch English origin and representatives of the name settled in the historic Old Dominion State in an early day. The marriage of the parents was solemnized in Adams county, Indiana, and Pleasant Reynolds became one of the prosperous and highly esteemed farmers of French township, that county, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in 1895, his birth having occurred in the year 1816. He came from Virginia to Indiana in the early pioneer days, in 1839, and at that time the city of Bluffton, judicial center of Wells county, was represented by only four houses. There he remained for a time and finally removed to Adams county, where he purchased wild land and eventually developed a productive and valuable farm. His cherished and devoted wife, who was his veritable helpmeet, was born in the year 1833 and surviving him by a number of years, she was summoned to life eternal at the age of sixty-six years. Both were zealous members of the New Light Christian church and in politics Mr. Reynolds was first a whig and later a republican. Of the five children, all sons, the Doctor was the third in order of birth, and all are still living, with well established homes and attractive family relations.

Dr. Reynolds is a most enthusiastic advocate of the principles and policies of the progressive party and he took a specially active and influential part in effecting the organization of its Blackford county contingent, the party gaining decisive victories in electing a number of its candidates in the county in the election of 1912. For six years he was a member of the Montpelier school board. He was also instrumental in obtaining for Montpelier the Carnegie library. He sketched the plans for the building and was chairman of the building committee. Also a member of the library board for eight years. In a fraternal way the Doctor is affiliated with the Hartford City Lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and in his home county it may consistently be said that his circle of friends and admirers is limited only by that of his acquaintances.

In Wells county, this State, in the year 1899, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Reynolds to Miss Lillie M Schott, who was born in that county, in June 1872, and who is a daughter of George and Hannah (Keller) Schott, both natives of Ohio and of German lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Schott came from Ohio to Indiana after the close of the Civil war, and he had become one of the extensive landholders and influential citizens of Wells county, where he owns three admirably improved farms, besides which he has valuable landed interests in Ohio and Missouri. Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds have two daughters, Grace C. and Ruth, both of whom are students in the public schools of Montpelier. Dr. Reynolds is the owner of one of the largest private libraries in the county.

Blackford and Grant Counties, Indiana A Chronicle of their People Past and Present with Family Lineage and Personal Memoirs Compiled Under the Editorial Supervision of Benjamin G. Shinn
Volume I Illustrated
The Lewis Publishing Company Chicago and New York 1914
Submitted by Peggy Karol

CHESTER I. BRICKLEY. In the colonial days four brothers came from the German fatherland and found homes in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the home of the first two or three generations, and from that state the descendants scattered to the West, and since early in the history of eastern Indiana one line has been represented in Blackford county and vicinity, and it is to that branch Chester I. Brickley of Hartford City, belongs. Quiet but effective citizenship, usefulness as members of the community, prosperity in business affairs, and worth and integrity of character have been prominent elements in the family history.

John Brickley, grandfather of Chester I., grew up in Pennsylvania and became a farmer and coal miner. While still young and unmarried he moved to the vicinity of Youngstown, Ohio, and there married Mary Woodward, who was a native of Ohio. On a farm in that neighborhood they spent the rest of their days, and reared their family of seven sons and the old homestead is still in possession of their descendants near Youngstown. One of theses sons, Joshua, still lives at Akron, Ohio, is quite old and has a son and daughter.

Jehu Brickley, father of Chester I., was the fifth in the number of seven sons, and was born in 1835. After his youth had been spent in Ohio he moved to Indiana just before the war, and located at Portland, in Jay county. From there he went out as a private in the Seventieth Regiment of Indiana Infantry, and saw one year of service, returning without wounds. On again taking up the duties of civil life he learned the trade of harness maker in Hartford City, and that was his occupation until his health failed, when he turned his attention to the timber business and in that way regained his strength. He was next a grain dealer for twenty years, and finally retired, and the three years of his life prior to his death, in 1903, were spent quietly, though he assisted to some extent his son in the conduct of the latter's business. John Brickley is remembered as a man of solid worth and quite active in local affairs. He was a democrat, served several years in Hartford City as city marshal, and was at one time commander of the Jacob Stahl Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Jehu Brickley was married in Blackford county to Miss Esther Brickley, the widow of his older brother. She was born in Pennsylvania of Pennsylvania parents, but of German stock, the family having moved out from Pennsylvania first to Wayne county and later to Wells county, Indiana, and died in the latter county. Her parents were Henry and Esther M. (Wagner) Keschner. Both lived to a good old age, were substantial farming people and members of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Esther Brickley is now eighty-eight years of age, and quite feeble in both mind and body. To the marriage of Jehu Brickley and wife were born five children, of whom Chester I. is the only son. The four daughters were: Armitha, wife of John H. Sailor of Richmond, Indiana, and their daughter, Edna, is the wife of Ralph Diffendoffer of New York City; Emma married Frank Forney of Hartford City, and their children are Harry, Minta and Lucile, Minta being city librarian in Hartford City; Alice died when a young woman; Lydia is the wife of Frank McEldowney of Hartford City, and their son Eric is a baker by trade, while their daughter, Marie, is a trained nurse in Chicago.

Mr. Chester I. Brickley was born in Hartford City in a house that stood on the lot now occupied by his bakery establishment. His birth occurred December 14, 1867, and as he grew up he attended the local schools and chose for his vocation the trade of baker. There is no more useful calling than that of furnishing good food to the people, and it is through that business that Mr. Brickley has performed his best service to this community, and he is not only a good baker, but an excellent citizen in all the word implies. His first business establishment was on West Main street, but in 1913 he built his present quarters at 120 East Main, having a building 60 x 120 feet. It is equipped with all the modern facilities for first-class work, and his name has come to be associated with high class products.

Mr Brickley was married in Hartford City to Ella Hughes, who was born, reared and educated here, a daughter of Eli and Susan Ashbaugh Hughes, of a Blackford county family that receives more detailed mention on following pages. Mr. and Mrs. Brickley are the parents of three children: Paul J., eighteen years of age and a member of the class of 1914 in the Hartford City high school; Verda S., who has finished the grade schools and is fourteen years of age; and John F. aged five years. Mrs. Brickley is a Lutheran, while her son and daughter are Methodists. Mr. Brickley has affiliations with the Knights of the Maccabees and in politics is a democrat.

The Hughes family to which Mrs. Brickley belongs had a part in the pioneer development of Indiana. David Hughes, father of Eli and grandfather of Mrs. Brickley, was born in Virginia, of Scotch ancestry, and the name has been identified with Rockingham county prior to the Revolutionary War. David Hughes was born about 1800 in Rockingham county, and married there Eliza Gochnauer, also a native of Rockingham county. She died when her son, Eli, was an infant. For his second wife David Hughes married Martha Blunt, and in 1836 they moved out to Indiana and began life as pioneers on raw government land. David Hughes died when about sixty years of age, and his second wife survived him and was also past three score mark. They left a family of six or seven children, two of whom are yet living.

Eli Hughes, who was the only child of his mother, was reared by his maternal grandparents, Samuel and Catherine (Gochnauer) Gochnauer. They were likewise natives of Rockingham county and of German ancestry. In 1836 they made the long overland journey across the mountains and across the state of Ohio to Indiana, and entered two hundred and forty acres of land in Jackson township of Blackford county. After selecting his land Samuel Gochnauer walked the entire distance through the woods and across the prairies to Fort Wayne in order to perfect his claim and pay the usual fees at the Land Office. All the experiences of the typical pioneer were the common lot of the Gochnauer family in Blackford county. Samuel Gochnauer was remarkable for his strength and endurance, and by actual test it is said that he could walk further in a day than a horse. When he settled there it was cleared only in spots, and practically every home was a rude log cabin, with a puncheon floor, a rough door hung on leather straps, tables made of slabs, and nearly all the domestic implements of the crudest sort. The original log house was replaced by a hewed log habitation, and eventually this farm of two hundred and forty acres was cleared and cultivated and became the seat of prosperity. Samuel Gochnauer was a cooper by trade, and one of the most expert workmen in all the pioneer community. There was no vessel made of wood which he could not perfect, and it is related that, in spite of his skill, he worked many a day for a dollar per diem, which was considered high pay. He was one of the strong adherents of the Jacksonian Democracy in Blackford county, and was honored by election as county commissioner. His death occurred when seventy-six years of age on his farm in section 6 of Jackson township. He passed away during the decade of the seventies, and had been preceded several years by his wife, when past sixty. In religion they were German Reformed.

Eli Hughes was born on the old homestead on section 6 of Jackson township, February 19, 1840. That was the scene of his boyhood and youth, and while on his grandfather Gochnauer's farm he gave his labors to clearing up and improving much of the land. Eventually he came to possess one hundred and ninety-six acres, and continued its active management until 1878. In that year public duties withdrew him from active farming, and he moved to Hartford City to assume the duties of the office of county treasurer, in which he served four years, two terms. After that he engaged in the grocery business in Hartford City, and purveyed reliable goods to this community for twenty years. Mr. Hughes is still living, having retired from business about ten years ago, and is the owner of much valuable property in the county seat. His home is at 501 East Water street. For the past eight years he has served as a member of the county council, having been a member of that body practically since its creation. Politically he is one of the most influential men in Blackford county, and has been a delegate to county, congressional and state conventions.

Mr. Eli Hughes was married in Washington township of Blackford county, to Susan Ashbaugh, who was born in Pennsylvania, in 1844, and when a young girl was brought by her family to Blackford county, locating on a new farm in Washington township. Her parents were Jesse and Catherine (Stahlsmith) Ashbaugh, both natives of Pennsylvania. They took up their residence in Blackford county during the early fifties, and her father entered and improved eight acres of land. That homestead was the place where both he and his wife died, when past sixty years of age.

Mr. and Mrs. Eli Hughes are the parents of seven children: Malinda, deceased; Catherine, Samuel J., Flora, Emma, deceased; Louisa and Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are both active members of the Lutheran church of Hartford City.

FREDERICK G. MILLER. From the great empire of Germany the United States has had much to gain and nothing to lose, for Germany has given to our republic an element of citizenship than which can be found none superior in intellectual and material productiveness and sterling worth of character. Of this element an honored and venerable representative in Blackford county was the late Frederick Miller, who passed the gracious evening of his life retired from active labors, in the little city of Montpelier and who had the unqualified respect and high regard of the entire community.

Mr. Miller was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, on the 11th of November, 1836, and he sturdily and without perturbation passed the psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, admirably preserved in both mental and physical powers, his death occurring at his home in Montpelier on the 4th of June, 1908. He was a scion of an old and influential family of Bavaria, where in past generations the name was one of prominence in connection with industrial and civic affairs. Christoph Miller, grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was born in Bavaria in the latter part of the eighteenth century and there he died about the year 1860, having been successful in business, as operator of both grist and flour mills, and having been influential in local affairs of a public order. He was survived by only one child, Christoph, Jr., who was born about the year 1795, and who was reared in his native town, where he eventually succeeded to the substantial milling business of his father and where he continued to reside until his death, at the age of sixty-two years. In 1815 was solemnized his marriage, the personal name of his wife having been Margaret, and she having been born and reared in the same vicinity as her husband, and both having been zealous members of the Lutheran church. Their eldest son, Andrew, passed his entire life in Bavaria, was operator of a grist mill for a term of years and though he married he left no children; Margaret reared her children and passed her entire life in her native land, as did also her sisters, Elizabeth and Ann; Henry came to the United States in 1838 and became a pioneer of Wells county, Indiana, where he passed the residue of his life and where he reared his family of ten children: John A. G. resides in Montpelier, this county, and is individually mentioned on other pages of this history; Catherine came to the United States and in Ohio she married a fellow countryman named Geo. Fensel, her home having been for many years in Blackford county, Indiana, where she died, leaving two sons and one daughter; and Frederick G., of this review, was the youngest of the number, the devoted mother having been fifty-one years of age when she was summoned to the life eternal.

Frederick G. Miller was a youth at the time of his mother's death, and at the age of fifteen years he severed the ties that bound him to home and fatherland, where he had been reared to the trade of miller and had received the advantages of the schools of his home town, and he came with his sister, Catherine, to the United States, residing for a time in Ohio, and thence coming with the same sister to Blackford county, Indiana, where he became identified with the milling business on Salamonie creek, near Montpelier, this milling enterprise having been founded by his elder brother, Henry. In the ownership and operation of this early grist mill Mr. Miller later became associated with his brother, John A. G., and they there continued the enterprise successfully for many years. Frederick finally retired from this field of business and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He purchased a farm near the village of Montpelier, and he developed this into one of the model places of the county, the fine old homestead, adjacent to the town, having continued to be his place of abode until he was called from the stage of life's mortal endeavors, in the fullness of years and well earned honors. Mr. Miller was a man of strong individuality, positive and well fortified in his convictions, and endowed with fine mental powers, and these attributes combined with his sterling integrity to make him a man of influence and one worthy of the unequivocal confidence and esteem that were always accorded to him. He was a staunch supporter of the cause of the democratic party, was liberal and public-spirited, and both he and his wife were earnest members of the Baptist church.

In 1856, in Wells county, this State, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Charlotta Lowrey, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, on the 12th of May, 1838, and who was twelve years of age at the time of her parents' removal to Wells county, Indiana. She proved a devoted and loved companion and helpmeet to her husband and her memory is revered by all whom came within the compass of her gentle and kindly influence. She survived her husband only a brief interval and her death occurred on the 9th of June, 1910. The eldest of the children is Andrew, who is a well known citizen of Montpelier, who married Miss Katherine Murray, and who has three sons and one daughter; Hanna is the wife of William Bonham, of Montpelier, and they have six children; Miss Jennie R. remains at the old homestead and has kindly supplied the data from which this brief memoir to her honored father is prepared; Benjamin died in childhood; Lilli May became the wife of George Kelley, and died when a young woman, leaving one son, Frederick; Lottie is the wife of Daniel Davis, of Sharon, Pennsylvania, and they have three children, Jeanette, Adelbert and Glenn; Mollie is the wife of Dr. Charles G. Mulvey, of Auburn, New York, and they have one son, John Sellers Mulvey; and Kittie is the wife of John Bain, of Mount Etna, Huntington county, she having one son, Max, by her first marriage to the late Harry O'Donnell.

Miss Jennie R. Miller acquired her early educational discipline in the public schools of her native county, and her deep filial love and solicitude caused her to care for her parents during the declining years of their lives,�a service which is an enduring source of satisfaction to her now that the loved ones have passed forward to the "land of the leal." She remains in the attractive old family homestead, on Warren avenue, Montpelier, and the place is a favored rendezvous for her many friends, who are ever assured of gracious welcome and good cheer.

JOHN S. LEACH. That deep affection for Nature, as the chosen handiwork of God, which invests the plants, the flowers and the trees with a kind of companionable personality, is not given to every man to experience, but where this gift is bestowed the world finds one in whom yet lingers the faith and gentleness of childhood, combined with the strength, courage and patience of maturity. In this connection mention may be made of John S. Leach, proprietor of the Hartford City Floral Company, located at the corner of Seventh and Walnut street, which was established some twenty years ago by Mr. Leach in a modest manner, and which has grown to extensive proportions, including 15,00 square feet of glass, and a plant finely equipped in every way. Mr. Leach grows fifty varieties of pelargoniums, and forty-five varieties of Rex begonias, for the wholesale market, grows about 50,000 of these plants annually, and from one customer alone has orders for 30,000 plants. In addition Mr. Leach grows vegetables for commercial purposes. His steam heating plant is of the most modern design and equipment, and heats his greenhouse and his home, and the plant is located on eight acres of land just outside of the city limits, well adapted to its present purposes. Flowers and plants are here grown for the local trade, as well as transferable plants, and his floral pieces for funerals are of the finest and most beautiful designs.'

John S. Leach was born at Perryopolis, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, May 26, 1853, and there grew up and was educated. He learned as a youth the trade of window glass cutter, and followed that occupation for some years after coming to Hartford City, but abandoned that occupation when his floral business grew to such proportions that it demanded all of his time and attention. He has always been a thrifty man of progressive spirit, characteristics which he has inherited from a long line of sturdy ancestors. He comes of old Pennsylvania stock, his grandfather, Richard Leach, having been born in the city of Philadelphia, about the year 1800. A maker of staves and shingles, he continued to reside in his native state until his death at the age of eighty-four years. The grandfather was twice married, his first wife dying in Pennsylvania in early life, while the second wife, who also passed away in Pennsylvania, left two sons and two daughters: Ann, Samuel, David and Catherine, all of whom are now deceased, and all were married except Ann.

Samuel Leach, the father of John S. Leach, was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, about 1830 or 1832, and was a window glass contracting packer in his native state. There he married Julia Husher, who was born in Pennsylvania about the year 1835, of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry. In 1872, with his wife and family, Mr. Leach removed to Ohio, and settled in Carroll county, but five or six years later returned to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, and became a small fruit grower. In this occupation he was engaged until his death, which occurred in 1907. Mrs. Leach had passed away about five years before, when she was seventy-eight years of age. They were strong Methodists, Mr. Leach being class leader for a number of years. During a long period he supported the candidates and principles of the republican party, but eventually turned his attention to the prohibition party, with which he voted until his death. Three children were born to Samuel and Julia (Husher) Leach, as follows: John S. of this review; Samuel, an ironworker of Pennsylvania, who is married and has a family; and Catherine, the wife of Albert Golf, who is engaged in selling houses by the installment plan at Butler, Pennsylvania, and has a family.

The public schools of his native locality furnished John S. Leach with his educational training. While still a resident of Carroll county, Pennsylvania, Mr. Leach was married to Malissa Keith, who was born in Iowa, in August, 1861, was there reared and educated, a daughter of Eli Keith, of Pennsylvania, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Leach have been the parents of three children: Charles E., born in Carroll county, Ohio, September 12, 1874, educated at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, was for eleven years a practical glass cutter, and is now engaged in business with his father, near whom he lives, married Leatha Butler, of Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, and has four children, Eleanor, John, Keith and Gilbert, the elder three in school; Alda, born also in Carroll county, educated in the public schools of Hartford City, Indiana, and now the wife of Dr. William A. Hollis, a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, at Hartford City, and has four children,�Esther, William, Arthur and John; and Albertie, who died at the age of three and one-half years.

Mr. and Mrs. Leach are members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Hartford City, being a local elder, an office to which he was ordained in August, 1907, for seven years. In political matters he is a republican, with prohibition tendencies.

Deb Murray