Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

JOHN H. PHILEBAUM. The able and popular incumbent of the office of county recorder, Mr. Philebaum, is one of the loyal and valued citizens of Blackford county. He has deed interest in the history of this favored section of Indiana and has given definite co-operation in the preparation of the publication here presented, so that the publishers would mark their appreciation in the work of a brief review of his ancestral and personal record.

The lineage of Mr. Philebaum in the agnatic derivation is traced back to the staunchest of German origin, and he is of the fifth generation of the family in America. The founder of the branch in the United States immigrated from Wurtemburg, Germany, and in the fatherland the family name has long been identified with the grape-growing and wine manufacturing industries. It is supposed that this worthy ancestor of John H. Philebaum was married prior to coming to the New World, where he established his home about the time of the war of the Revolution. It is a matter of record that the voyage to America was specially long and tedious, owing to the primitive type of the vessel and the adverse conditions encountered at sea, the food supplies on the sailing ship having been nearly exhausted before it arrived at its destination. Mr. Philebaum, who was the great-great-grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, settled in Pennsylvania and was a representative of that fine type of citizenship which has made the German agriculturists of the old Keystone State famous in the nation's history. The religious faith of the family was that of the German Lutheran church, and the early representatives in America retained the best traditions and customs of the German fatherland, the while they assimilated fully with the spirit of the land of their adoption. The great-grandfather of John H. Philebaum likewise passed his life as one of the substantial farmers of Pennsylvania, and of his children the one next in line of descent to the present county recorder of Blackford county was Jacob A. Philebaum, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania, where he continued to give allegiance to the basic industry of agriculture until he severed the home ties and as a young man, came to Indiana, being accompanied by two of his brothers, one of whom was George. George Philebaum established his home at Fort Wayne and the other brother, Samuel, located at Peru, Miami county, the while Jacob A. selected Fayette county as his place of abode.

In that county was solemnized the marriage of this sterling pioneer to Miss Sarah Sherry, who was of German ancestry and probably a member of a family that originally settled in Pennsylvania. In Fayette county Jacob A. Philebaum followed the pursuit of farming and there he remained until about 1850, when he sold his property there and came to Blackford county. Here he became the owner of the southwest quarter of section 25, Jackson township, and the original family residence was a log house of the primitive type common to that period. This cabin had no floor save that provided by loose boards and as originally used the entrance door was represented simply in a quilt hung over the opening.

Jacob A. Philebaum and his family lived up to the full tension of pioneer days and courageously set to themselves the task of reclaiming a farm from the wilderness. In that early period wild game of all kinds was plentiful and contributed much to the family larder, and wolves often gave their ungrateful serenades about the little log house. And in this house both he and his wife passed the remainder of life, which was marked by consecutive industry, sterling attributes of character and utmost kindliness. He was sixty-three years of age at the time of his death, August 14, 1863. After the death of his first wife he contracted a second marriage, the second wife, whose name was Eliza Ford, becoming the mother of two children, James and Edward; she survived her husband by a number of years and was a resident of Blackford county at the time of her death, though the closing days of her life were not passed on the old Homestead Farm just mentioned. Mr. Philebaum was the father of fourteen children, twelve by his first wife and two by the second. Brief record is here entered of the children of the first marriage. David, the oldest son, was killed by a limb falling from a burning tree, April 28, 1856, at 10 o'clock P.M., while Daniel, a soldier in the Union army, contacted and died of pneumonia at Franklin, Tennessee, and was buried at that place in 1862; William H. is representative farmer of Jackson township and has two sons, William M. and Jacob Asa; Perry E., who is now living virtually retired in Montpelier, Blackford county, has five children, Willard, Bazzil B., Clem, Charley and Lydia, now the wife of Samuel J. Farrell, present county clerk of Blackford county; Joseph Jacob R. owns and resides upon a farm in Fayette county and has three children, Martin, Annie and Edna; Martin M., a retired carpenter and blacksmith of Fayette county, has one daughter, Carrie; Henry F. is a retired farmer of Jackson township, Blackford county, and he has nine children, Amos, Estella, George, John W., William, Harry, Mary, Sophronia and Lucy; George A. is the father of him whose name introduces this article; Maggie is the wife of Samuel Landon, a farmer of Jackson township, Blackford county, and they have four children, Arthur, Edward, Maggie and Lee; Mary Ann, who first wedded the late Newton Bowman, has one child by this union, Ethel, wife of D. W. Donivan, principal of the Hartford City High School, and she is now the wife of William Smith of Jay county, there being no children of the second marriage; John W., who is a widower and the father of six children, Etta, Robert, Asa, Russell, Ronald and Perry, now resides with his sister, Mrs. Mary A. Smith, just mentioned; Emily, now the wife of Sylvanus Davis, living in Fayette county, has one daughter, Frances, living and two children dead. The last death in the immediate family represented by the above mentioned children of Jacob A. Philebaum occurred more than a half a century ago.

George Abraham Philebaum was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on the 2nd day of November, 1846,and he and his wife now reside at Albany, Delaware county, Indiana, where he is living retired, after many years of earnest and fruitful endeavor. George A. Philebaum was reared to manhood on the old homestead farm in Blackford county, and as a young man he returned to Fayette county, where May 31, 1869, was solemnized his marriage to Miss America Ann Corbin, who was born in that county, where he once more established residence on a farm in Jackson township, owning the north half of the west half of Section 25, in Jackson township. There he continued to be actively and successively engaged in farming and stock-growing and gardening until December, 1912, when he removed to Albany, Indiana, his present place of abode. He is a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and he and his wife are earnest and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In the following paragraph is given brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Philebaum.

May Tillie is the wife of Ross D. Peterson, of Hart county, Kentucky, and they have four children living,�Merrill, Ralph, George W. and Vera; their fourth child, Lala, met a tragic death, resulting from injuries received when her clothing took fire. John H., of this review, was the second in order of birth of the children of George A. Philebaum. Elijah, who is now a widower, resides with his son, Paul, on a farm in Jackson township, Blackford county. Webb, who is a prosperous farmer of Jackson township, wedded Miss Orella C. Blankenbeker, and their children are Carl E., Alma C., Mazy Lucile, Delmar N., Lavanna L. and one, Floys Allen, their first born, dying in infancy. Miss Sarah Philebaum presides over the domestic economies of the home of her brother Elijah. Marshall, living in Dunkirk, Indiana, wedded Miss Goldie Hiles and their children are Dorothy, Richard and George. Maggie Viola is the wife of Arthur Armstrong, likewise a farmer and stock-raiser in Jackson township, and they have one son, James Vaughn. Omer , who is engaged in farming in the same township, married Miss Bertha Flatter and they have two children, Valeda and Christena Belle. Ruth Alice is the wife of Harry Cunningham, a farmer of Delaware county, and they have one daughter, Beatrice Marie. America Ann, the youngest of the children, remains with her parents in their plesant home at Albany, Delaware county.

John H. Philebaum was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on the 26th day of February, 1872, and was thus an infant at the time of his parents removal to Blackford county, in the same year. He was reared to adult age on the home farm in Jackson township and he continued his studies in the public schools until he had completed the curriculum of the county schools. Thereafter he availed himself of the advantages of the Indiana State Normal School at Marion, and from 1893 until 1909 he devoted his attention to teaching in the schools of the districts in Jackson township, where he became a most successful and popular representative of the pedagogic profession.

In 1908 Mr. Philebaum was elected county recorder, and his excellent record resulted in his re-election at the expiration of his first term of four years, his present term expiring January 1, 1918. Since the time he was sixteen years of age Mr. Philebaum has manifested a lively and intelligent interest in political and general public affairs, and for some time he served as a member of the democratic county committee of Blackford county, as representative from Jackson township. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men, and in his home city and county his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.

On October 14, 18899, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Philebaum to Miss Louesa Alice Blankenbeker, who was born in Jackson township, Blackford county, December 1, 1870, and who is a daughter of Robert B. and Cordelia C. (Batten) Blankenbeker, still residing on their fine farm in that township. Mr. and Mrs. Philebaum have no children.

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

DENNIS F. SHANNON. Probably the oldest living educator in Blackford county who is actively engaged in the practice of his profession is Mr. Dennis F. Shannon. His entire life has been passed in the school room, and his high intellectual and literary attainments, and peculiar ability to impart his own knowledge to others, combined with a pleasant personality, have made him one of the most popular and efficient teachers that the county has known.

Mr. Shannon belongs to an old Irish family, whose members were early pioneers of Tuscarawas county , Ohio. His great-grandfather, John Shannon, whom, it is probable, was born in Pennsylvania, married there, and migrated to Ohio about the year 1805 0r 1806. He had three sons: Amon, Zacheus and James. All the sons gave their attention to agricultural pursuits during their younger years, but Zacheus subsequently became a successful inventor, and at one time also believed that he had solved the mystery of perpetual motion. He also followed millwrighting and married and died in his native county of Ohio, leaving a family. James Shannon grew up a farmer, and in later years left Ohio for Iowa, but after some years moved on to Oregon, and there passed away. He was also married and had a family.

Amon Shannon, the grandfather of Mr. Shannon, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, about 1800 or 1802, and grew up in Tuscarawas county, Ohio. As a youth he displayed a high order of skill with his rifle and soon achieved more than a local reputation as a hunter and trapper, killing great numbers of deer and turkeys and trapping numerous fur-bearing animals. Both in Ohio and this part of Indiana his prowess as a nimrod was well known, and probably much of his skill was inherited from his father, who had spent the greater part of his life among the Indians, by whom he was highly respected and feared. Amon Shannon married Catherine Collors, of Tuscarawas, also a member of a pioneer family of Ohio. They were the parents of three children, namely: Eliza, who married Seth S. Siminton, who served as a soldier during the Civil war, in the Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, spent his later years in Harrison township, Blackford county, and there died, leaving a family; Tabitha, who married John Foy, of Blackford county, Indiana, who met a soldier's death on a southern battlefied during the Civil war, was buried south to the Mason and Dixon line, and left two children,�Amon and Emma; Tabitha married for her second husband Frank Potter, both deceased, leaving one daughter,�Maggie, also now dead; and Andrew J., the father of Dennis F. Shannon.

Andrew J. Shannon was born on the old homestead farm in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, July 3, 1830. He was sixteen years of age when the family came to Indiana, in 1846, traveling overland with teams, through the swamps, timber, brush and prairie to the wilds of Blackford county. Here they secured a green wild farm, covered with timber, a part of which was first cleared for the erection of a log cabin home, and following this the work of clearing went rapidly on until they had a good farm of ninety-three acres, yielding full and handsome crops. Andrew J. Shannon became owner of the old homestead and later added forty acres to this property, the greater part of which still remains in the possession of the family, twenty-five acres being owned by Dennis F. Shannon, and the greater part of the balance by his brother Arthur. Andrew J. Shannon died on his farm December 24, 1892, his death being the second in the family for a period of thirty years. His son, Carey, died just a week later, aged seventeen years, and a daughter, Mrs. Ann E. Blunt, died a short time before, all of typhoid fever. Mr. Shannon was married in Harrison township, Blackford county, to Miss Margaret E. Teach, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, November 1, 1833, and still lives, being active and well preserved, and in possession of all of her faculties, making her home with her son Arthur. She was fourteen years of age, in 1847, when she came to Harrison township, Blackford county, with her parents, John and Ann (Muster) Teach, the former of whom was born February 10, 1803, and the latter November 5, 1802, both being natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Teach was of either German or Pennsylvania Dutch parentage, while Mrs. Teach was of Irish stock. They were married in 1830, and with their family came from Virginia to Ohio and then to Blackford county, Indiana, in 1847, locating on new land in Harrison township, where they cut out and started to make a farm. First a log cabin was erected and Mr. Teach engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1849, when he became infected by the gold fever which swept over the country following the discovery of the precious metal in California, and made the trip to that state. He was heard of for two years, but soon his letters ceased abruptly, and nothing more was ever heard of him. His widow, believing that he had met a violent death, after many years was married to Robert Duffey, and during the seventies moved to Lincoln county, Kansas, where both died when past seventy-five years of age, Mrs. Duffey July 21, 1878, and Mr. Duffey a year or two before. They had no children. By her first marriage, Mrs. Teach had the following children: William Johnson, born April 1, 1831, died in Kansas, when quite old, after a career spent in agricultural pursuits, married Elizabeth Duffy, deceased, and left a family; Margaret E. became the wife of Andrew J. Shannon; Avilda C., born December 18, 1841, in Ohio, married Jacob Simonton, October 10, 1861, and died June 16, 1913, her husband passing away September 23, 1913, and leaving a family of three children,�Asbury E., married, and an oil worker in Oklahoma; Margaret Ann, the wife of George M. Rains, living on a farm in Harrison township; and C. Meta, the wife of John Fox, of Montpelier.

Dennis F. Shannon is the second son and child of four living: John Amon, born July 8, 1854, a farmer of Harrison township, married Maretta Chandler, and have four children,�Ellen, Virgil, Leslie, Scott and Clarence, all of whom are married and have children except the last-named; Clarence; Arthur M., born in 1870, a successful farmer of Harrison township, married Lucy Jackson of this township, and they have five children,�Carl, Forest, Flora, M. Avilda, and Fay, all of whom are single; and Andrew Arlinda, born in 1873, a farmer near Coldwater, Michigan, married Miss Carrie Lockett, and they have two sons,�Clifford and Charles. Clifford married, and has two children; Charles single, living with his parents.

Dennis F. Shannon was born in the little log cabin home on the farm in Harrison township, Blackford county, Indiana, January 20, 1858. There he was reared amid rural surroundings, securing his early education in the district schools. This he later supplemented by attendance at the Fort Wayne College, where his future wife was also a student, and in 1881 commenced upon his career as a teacher in old district school No. 9. Mr. Shannon has continued to teach in the schools of Blackford county to the present time, with the exception of four years in Wells county, and from the first has been an earnest promoter of the cause of education, faithfully giving, even at an age when many men excuse themselves from active life, his time and thought and work to the cause which enlisted the earliest sympathies of his young manhood and the matured interest of his later years. Mr. Shannon has resided at his cottage home, No. 223 East Green street, Montpelier, Indiana, since 1883, the year in which he was married, on September 20th. His bride was Mrs. Amanda J. (Bonham) Thornburg, who was born at Montpelier, Indiana, December 5, 1852, and was reared and educated here, completing her education at Fort Wayne College. She has a son, Frank B. Thornburg, of Meadow, Idaho, from her former marriage. She has also been a teacher of more than ordinary success, and has taught both in the local township and city primary schools, before and after her marriage. She is a daughter of Lyman and Lydia (Ballard) Bonham, the former born in Sandusky county, Ohio, in 1827, and the latter in Ontario county, New York. They were married on or near the farm entered from the United States Government by the grandparents of Mrs. Shannon, Peter and Susan (Yost) Bonham, who had come from Sandusky county, Ohio, to Blackford county, Indiana, and made their entry in 1839. There Peter Bonham died in 1856, at the age of fifty-nine years, while the grandmother died in the southern part of the state in 1887, at the age of eighty-seven years. They were members of the Primitive Baptist church. Lyman Bonham, the father of Mrs. Shannon, became a cabinetmaker in this county, and was a pioneer at Montpelier in this line of work. In connection with this trade he made coffins, at a time when all such articles were made by hand, and was frequently called upon by the early settlers to do this kind of work. He came to Montpelier in 1854, soon after his marriage, prior to which time he had carried on carpenter work at Muncie. He died in Montpelier, March 20, 1883, having been born February 11, 1827, while Mrs. Bonham was born February 25, 1832, and died November 2, 1863. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Shannon's parents were members of the New Light Christian church.

Mr. Shannon and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was for many years a republican, and served for a number of years as town clerk of Montpelier and also as census enumerator of his district from 1890 to 1900. During the campaign of 1912 he transferred his allegiance to the progressive party, and has since continued to give his support to its principles and candidates. His life has been a full and useful one, in which he has been permitted to share in and contribute materially to the growth and development of an important community. His life has been lived in such a manner that he has the respect and esteem of those with whom he has come into contact, and his literary efforts have given him more than local prominence.

Mr. and Mrs. Shannon are the parents of the following children: Lena M., born March 14, 1885, educated in the graded schools of Montpelier, graduated from the City High school class of 1904, and is a young lady of many attainments. She is now society editor of the Kokomo Dispatch, and a part of the time works as a linotypist. Formerly pipe organist at the Montpelier Methodist Episcopal church, she is a talented musician, and is now a student in the Sherwood Music School, Chicago, under Mrs. C. H. Brown, a branch worker, under whose instruction she is making rapid progress. Edna A., the other child of Mr. and Mrs. Shannon, was born January 30, 1887, and is also a graduate of the City High school, class of 1905. She is well known in musical circles, being a teacher of some reputation, formerly a student under Mrs. C. H. Brown, and now in charge of the local branch of the Sherwood Music School, of which she is an affiliated teacher. She is now the pipe organist of the Methodist Episcopal church of Montpelier, filling the place vacated by her sister.

ASHLEY G. EMSHWILLER. One of the present, active practicioners of the Blackford county bar is the subject of this sketch, Ashley G. Emshwiller. He was born at the city of Montpelier, Indiana, November 14, 1875, and is the son of John Emshwiller and Mary A. (Bare) Emshwiller, who were both natives of Blackford county, Indiana, John Emshwiller having been born in that county in June, 1842. His paternal grandparents were Abram Emshwiller and Emily (Painter) Emshwiller, who came originally from Rockingham county, Virginia, and settled in Blackford county, Indiana, about the year 1836, both of German stock; and his maternal grandparents were Henry Bare and Philena (Cortright) Bare, both of German ancestry, who came from Pennsylvania at an early date and settled in Blackford county and remained until their death, both of the latter having been dead a number of years. John Emshwiller located in Montpelier, Indiana, in the year 1875, and engaged in the drug business and continued in that business from that date that date until his death in 1911. He was the father of six children, one of whom died in infancy, and the remaining five: Marion A., Robert M., Daisy, Fred O. and Ashley G. are living in the county; the four former at Montpelier, and the later at Hartford City, Indiana.

A. G. Emshwiller was graduated from Montpelier High School with the class of 1892, and entered the law department of the Northern Indiana University, at Valparaiso, Indiana, the fall of 1892, and graduated therefrom in 1894 with a degree of L.L.B. He located at Montpelier and immediately engaged in the practice of law and after a period of two years formed a partnership with C. A. Taningbaugh which continued about two years, and until his appointment of deputy prosecuting attorney, under the Hon. A. M. Waltz, after which for a period of four years he engaged in practice alone. Later he formed a partnership with Joseph Burns, and with him continued the practice of law until the election of Mr. Emshwiller, in the year 1904, to the office of prosecuting attorney of the 28th Judicial District of Indiana, comprising the counties of Wells and Blackford. After his election as prosecuting attorney Mr. Emshwiller continued to reside at Montpelier, Indiana, until September, 1905, when he moved his family and business to Hartford City, Indiana, where he has resided since. He was re-elected (without opposition) to the office of prosecuting attorney in 1906, and in all served as such for four years. During his term of prosecuting attorney, many noted and important cases were disposed of in which were included State v. William Earnest and Otto Cook, for the murder of Preston Sanderson, State v. Kingsbury for attempted murder of Mussetter, and State v. Landfair, abortion.

From 1901 to 1904 Mr. Emshwiller served as the county attorney for Blackford county, Indiana, having been selected three times by the Board of Commissioners as their advisor.

In January, 1909, he formed a partnership for the practice of law with Aaron M. Waltz, and the firm of Waltz and Emshwiller have commanded a very large practice in Blackford and surrounding counties, and have been and are engaged in all noted and important cases in this section.

Since January 1, 1910, Mr. Emshwiller has served continuously as city attorney of Hartford City, his second four-year term having been initiated in January, 1914.

Mr. Emshwiller has four years been active politically, and in 1907, he was selected a member of the Democratic State Committee, and served his party as such a period of two years, representing the 11th Congressional District.

At Montpelier, in June, 1897, Mr. Emshwiller wedded Miss Lula B. Rawlings, who was born in Randolph county, Indiana, a daughter of James P. and Lillie O. (Wiggins) Rawlings, who became residents of Blackford county when she was a child. Mr. Rawlings was born in Kentucky and came to Indiana as a young man. He served two terms as treasurer of Blackford county, and is now president of the First National Bank of Hartford City, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Emshwiller have three sons, all of whom are attending the public schools of Hartford City; James R., Richard B., and Ashley G.

Deb Murray