Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

ADAM SCHMIDT. No richer or more fertile land may be found in Blackford county than that lying in Washington township, where is located the fine farm belonging to Adam Schmidt. This property attracts the attention of the passerby and wins his admiration, for its modern cottage home and its other fine buildings, its up-to-date equipment, its fat and well-fed cattle and its general air of prosperity are such as to gain the approbation of the most casual observer. Mr. Schmidt's career has been one of tireless energy and well-directed management, and has been crowned by a success such as comes only to the men of ability and resource. While his life has been a singularly busy one, and his private interests of an extensive character, he has still found time to devote to the advancement of his community's welfare, and has honorably earned the reputation of a public-spirited and useful citizen. Mr. Schmidt was born March 31, 1854, in Delaware county, Indiana, and is a son of Wilhelm and Anna M. (Schwinn) Schmidt.

Wilhelm Schmidt was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1811, and was there married to Anna M. Schwinn, who had been born in another province of the Fatherland in 1817. Their respective parents spent their entire lives in Germany, and soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt emigrated to America during the early thirties. After a long and tedious trip in a sailing vessel, they landed at New York City, and from that point made their way to Hagersburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. Schmidt had been a weaver in his native land, but in Pennsylvania was glad to accept any kind of honorable employment that opportunity placed in his path, and his work was invariably well done. Two children were born in Pennsylvania, William and Peter, and when the latter was still an infant Mr. Schmidt brought his family to Indiana, locating on a farm as a renter in Delaware county. There were born their remaining children.: Margaret, Jacob, Michael, Mary, Louisa, Adam, Philip and Herman, and in 1860 the family came to Blackford county and located at what was then the hamlet of Dundee, now Roll. Here Mr. Schmidt purchased 240 acres of land in Washington township, known as the Roderick Crag farm, a large property which Mr. Schmidt put under a high state of cultivation, and upon which he continued to make his home during the remainder of his career. He died in 1874, one of the substantial and highly respected men of his community, while Mrs. Schmidt survived until 1905, and was also well known and greatly beloved among her many friends. They were consistent members of the Lutheran church, and at all times endeavored to live up to its teachings. Mr. Schmidt was a democrat, but took no more than a good citizen's interest in political matters. The children of this honored couple who are now living are as follows: Peter, a successful farmer of Wells county, Indiana, has been twice married and has a son, Daniel, by his first union; Louisa, the wife of J. N. McConkey, lives in North Carolina, and has no children; Adam; Philip, a farmer of Washington township, married Jane Shrader, a daughter of John Shrader, and has three sons and one daughter.

Adam Schmidt was given his education in the common schools of Washington township, whence he accompanied his parents from Delaware county in 1860. He resided at home until attaining his majority, at which time he purchased eighty acres of land in section 9, Washington township, and later added to this an additional purchase of thirty acres. This was supplemented by an additional purchase of seventy-two acres of the homestead property, and all is now under a high state of cultivation and produces large crops of wheat, corn, oats and rye. Mr. Schmidt is a progressive and enterprising farmer, thoroughly alert to every advancement made in his vocation. He has met with success both in general farming and in the breeding of all kinds of good live stock, and his business ability has enabled him to secure top-notch prices for his products. He has a red barn, 30x60 feet, and a very pretty nine-room white house, surrounded by other buildings of substantial character and attractive appearance. In his community Mr. Schmidt bears a high reputation as a man of integrity and honorable dealing, and has drawn about him a wide circle of appreciative friends.

Mr. Schmidt was married in Wells county, Indiana, to Miss Nancy E. Griffith, who was born in that county, April 2, 1856, and was there reared and educated, a daughter of Samuel and Charlotte (Wiley) Griffith, early settlers and farming people of Wells county, where they lived and died in Jackson county, the father passing away at the age of seventy years, while the mother was past eighty at the time of her demise. Both were faithful members of the: Church of God. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have been the parents of the following children: Pearl M., born in 1883, a graduate of the Dundee High school, and now, living with her parents; Hazel G., born in 1890, educated in the Dundee High school, and now the wife of Walter C. Ratliff, living on a farm in Washington township, has one child, Francis Bartell, born in December, 1913: Francis E., who, passed away at the age of twenty years, a promising young man who had been educated in the Dundee High school; Mable, residing at home, a well-educated girl, a teacher in the public schools during the winter months, and during the summers a student in the normal school at Muncie; and S. Raymond, aged fifteen years, who is attending the Dundee High school. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt. are consistent members of the Church of God, at Dundee, and have been liberal in their contributions to its movements. Mr. Schmidt is a democrat, but has not taken much part in political affairs, although always ready to promote and support movements for his community's betterment.

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

JOHN T. CLOUD. In the death of John T. Cloud, which occurred October 14, 1913, Montpelier lost a citizen who had done much to advance the city's importance as a center of business activity. For years connected with a prosperous commercial enterprise, his record was ever that of a trustworthy, capable and energetic man of affairs, and his influence, given to the promotion of education and good citizenship, was such as to make his loss keenly felt.

Mr. Cloud was a native of Indiana, born in Grant county, August 7, 1843, his parents being Noah and Lydia Ann (Pugh) Cloud. He was a grandson of Thomas and Margaret Cloud, who were born in Pennsylvania and died in Fairfield county, Ohio. Noah Cloud was born in Ohio. November 24, 1810, and was married near Lynchburg to Lydia Ann Pugh, who was born in Highland county, that state, May 23, 1808. In 1840 they moved to Grant county after the birth of three children: Margaret, William, Elizabeth, and in 1847-S came to Wells county, Indiana where they secured wild land in -Jackson township. There they succeeded in developing a home after numerous trials and hardships, and in 1866 came to Montpelier, where Noah Cloud and his wife spent the remaining years of their lives. In this city Mr. Cloud became a pioneer business man, being the proprietor of a tin shop and stove and hardware business, but after five years sold out to his son, William Cloud, who continued the business for many years. The children born to them in Grant and Wells county were: Lucinda, born July 9, 1841, died in child hood; John, born August 7, 1843; Robert, born December 22, 1849, died young; and Lydia Ann, born in 1854, also died in childhood.

Noah Cloud died October 18, 1893. He was a mail who was widely known for his beneficent influence upon the community. He had a strong spiritual insight and found his reformation and joy and peace of soul while praying by his plow in the field, and the light he then saw never left him, although he never adopted any particular religious creed. Mrs. Cloud, who died August 29, I870, was also a true Christian, and like her husband was widely respected and beloved.

John T. Cloud was reared to the pursuits of the farm, but as a young man adopted the trade of carpenter, and followed this vocation until engaging in the hardware business. The latter he left to become a furniture dealer and cabinetmaker, a line in which he continued successfully until his retirement. In addition, Mr. Cloud was largely interested in the oil business, still owned a farm of forty acres which is now the property of his widow, who now survives him and resides in the family residence at No. 224 Main street, Montpelier, which was built by Mr. Cloud in 1873. Mr. Cloud was a man of the highest character, and was eminently worthy of the high regard and esteem in which he was universally held. His fidelity to engagements was proverbial, as was his loyalty to friendships, and his absolute honesty and integrity were never questioned.

Mr. Cloud was married in Wells county, Indiana, to Miss Emma J. Buckland, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio, March 29, 1849, and was four and one-half years of age when brought to Jackson township, Wells county, by her parents, William F. and Eliza (Richland) Buckland, the former a native of Licking county, Ohio, and the latter of Cayuga county, New York. They were married in the former county, and came to Indiana after the birth of four children, settling in a log cabin in the wilderness, when wild game abounded and civilization was a thing of the distant future. There they passed their lives in the peaceful pursuits of the soil, bravely facing the dangers which threatened and through energy and perseverance overcoming the obstacles which appeared in their path. They died, honored and respected, the father March 22, 1888, and the mother November 26, 1897, both in the faith of the Methodist church. Mr. Buckland was a democrat in politics. Mrs. Cloud is one of six living children, two boys and four girls. all the latter now being widows.

One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Cloud; Bruce N., born in Wells county, Indiana, December 3, 1868, educated at Montpelier, where he was brought at the age of three months, and a graduate of the- colleges at Danville, Indiana, and Ada, Ohio. For some years he was engaged in the furniture business, but disposed of his interests therein to become an oil operator, a line in which his good business ability has enabled him to gain a full measure of success. Mr. Cloud married Catherine M. Maddox, and now lives at Montpelier with his wife and two children: Mary E. and Catherine M. For some years he was an adherent of democratic principles, but of late years has been giving his support to the progressive party.

DR. JOHN R. HARROLD. Among the old and honored residents of Blackford county, who by reason of their contributions to the public welfare have raised themselves to distinction and have gained the respect and esteem of their fellows, few are entitled to more honorable mention than is Dr. John R. Harrold, who for more than thirty years has been engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Roll, Indiana. He belongs to a family whose members have long been prominent in Indiana, and is a grandson of John Harrold, who was born in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, and came of good, sturdy old stock of that country. He grew up in Scotland, where he learned the trade of millwright, and followed that occupation for some years. Mr. Harrold was married in Scotland to Miss Reynolds, who came of similar ancestry, and after the birth of their first child, Ithamer, June 22, 1809, the family came to thc United States. It is said that in I813, after a rough voyage in a sailing vessel, consuming three months on the ocean, the little party landed at Baltimore, Maryland, where they sojourned for a time. Subsequently they moved to Forsythe county, North Carolina. locating on a spring or creek about seven miles from what was then known as Salem, now Winston, and there Mr. Harrold built a mill by damming the spring. This provided sufficient power to grind the grain of the locality, principally corn and buckwheat and Mr. Harrold continued to operate this mill in connection with his, 200-acre farm. There he passed the remaining years of his life as did his good wife, both passing away in advanced years a short time before the outbreak of the Civil War. Mr. Harrold remained a Presbyterian while his family became Methodists. They were opposed to slavery, and one of the grandfather's sons, Franklin, was shot as a deserter from the Confederate ranks. Two other sons, Stroud and Isaac, were drafted also into the Confederate ranks, and the former died from the effects of a serious wound received in Pickett's famous charge at Gettysburg, while Isaac died some years later as a result of his war experience.

Itharner Harrold, the father of Dr. John R. Harrold, grew tip to the trade of hatter, a vocation which he followed while living in his native state. A thorough workman, he was able to make a hat from the rabbit to the wearer. He was married either in Maryland or North Carolina, to Miss Ruth Johnston, who was born in 1811, and came of Scotch ancestry and parentage, a daughter of Abraham Johnston, who came to this country after his marriage and lived in North Carolina. In that state both he and his worthy wife passed away when well advanced in years. They were farmers and slaveholders, and were well-known Presbyterians and church people, and belonged to the family that gave the country Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who was a cousin of Mrs. Harrold.

After the birth of all their children with the exception of out-, Mr. and Mrs. Harrold came north to Indiana, making the journey overland with teams, and bringing with them all their earthly possessions. At night they camped beside the road, and in this humble fashion made their way to Jackson township, Wells county, where they located in September, 1852, the father becoming a tenant farmer on the John Jones property, where he lived for many years. Subsequently he located on the Turney farm, in the same township, and there passed away about a quarter of a century ago, while his widow survived him some years and died at the home of her son. She was a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal church as was her husband who was a strong whig and later a republican. In principles, he was a decided abolitionist and came north because of his dislike of slavery. The children Ithamer and Ruth (Johnston) Harrold were as follows: Adaline. who died after her marriage to John Beard, in Huntington county, Indiana, and had a daughter, Sarah, who married and is now also deceased; George, a successful farmer of Jackson township, Wells county, married Miss Minnich, also deceased, and left three children, Issac, Ross and James, all married, Louis F. James, all married; Louis F., who served through the Civil War in Company E, Seventy-fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, then engaged in farming, and at his death left a number of children by two marriages, including Edward, Burt and Floyd; Elizabeth, deceased, after her marriage to Sylvanus Mason, a farmer and ex-soldier, also deceased, and had five sons and one daughter: Rebecca J., the widow of Isaac Richards, living near Breckenridge, Missouri, and has a son and two daughters; Albert H., who served through the Civil War in Company E, Seventy fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, wounded at the battle of Chickamauga, and died at Nebraska some years later, leaving five daughters and a son; William A., a veteran of the same organization, still living at Warren, where he is a mechanic, is married and has a son and a daughter; John R., of this review; Elias, deceased, who left a family; and Emma, the only one born in Indiana, married Thomas Faust, a Wells county farmer, and has two daughters and one son.

Dr. John R. Harrold was born in Forsythe county, North Carolina, March 24, 1848. He grew up and was educated in Wells county, where he embarked upon his career as a school teacher, and after eight terms of this vocation turned his attention to the study of medicine with Dr. J. J. Good, of Warren, Indiana. Later he went to the Broadway school at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was graduated in medicine in 1881. and this was in later years supplemented by a course in the Chicago Polytechnic College, where he graduated in 1905. He began his practice at Roll, then known as Dundee, in 1881, and has continued here to the present time, having built up an excellent professional business. He keeps fully abreast of the changes and advancements in his profession, and is a valued member of the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Society, the Indiana District Medical Society and the Blackford County Medical Society. Fraternally, he is connected with the Blue Lodge No. 660, F. & A. Al., Montpelier Lodge No. 35, Order of the Eastern Star, Hartford City, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 347 at Roll, Indiana in which he is past chancellor commander and prominent in a local way. He is also a member of Jacob Stahl Post No. 227, Grand Army of the Republic, having served from I864 to the close of the Civil War as a member of Company 1, 138th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He did not participate in any active engagements but was a faithful soldier and capably performed his duties, which consisted principally of guarding prisoners. He has been successful in a material way, and is the owner of two good farms of eighty acres each in Blackford county, and a sixty-eight acre farm in Wells 'county. He is a member of the board of pension examiners, and in other ways has attempted to do his full duty as a citizen. With his wife, Doctor Harrold attends the Methodist Episcopal church.

Doctor Harrold was married in Wells county, Indiana, to Miss Sarah A. Bevington, who was born in Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, March 20, 1855, a daughter of Reason A. and Catherine (Shadle) Bevington, natives of Pennsylvania, who came as a young married couple to Indiana, where Mrs. Bevington died on a farm aged fifty-two years. The father died at Warren, Indiana, when seventy-severi years of age. The following children have been born to Doctor and Mrs. Harrold: Austin T., born in I873 and educated in the public schools. a farmer of Washington township, married Hattie Dollar, and has three children,-Iva, John R. and Mary, all in school; Dr. Oren E., born in 1876, a graduate of Danville (Indiana) University and Rush Medical College, Chicago, and now manager of the People's Drug Store, at Marion, Indiana, is single; Myrta, the wife of Franklin Banter, a farmer of Washington township, Blackford county, and has three children: Veral, who is fourteen years of age, entered high school in 1914; Harold, who is twelve years of age; and Oakley, also a public. school student.

ROBERT L. MORRIS. Among the representative agriculturists of Blackford county, who have made particularly creditable records in farming and stock raising, as well as in citizenship, is the subject of this review, Robert T. Morris, whose finely-cultivated farm and comfortable residence are located in Jackson township, five miles east and two miles south of Hartford City. When he embarked upon his career, Mr. Morris was possessed of little save his own ambition and determination, but his industry and energetic labor have brought him a full measure of success and today he stands as a splendid example of the self-made man.

Mr. Morris is a native son of Blackford county, having been born on his father's farm in Harrison township, June 7, 1860, his parents being Theophilus and Elizabeth (Lanning) Morris. It is thought that the ancestry of this family can be traced directly back to the patriot Robert Morris, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born at Lancashire, England, January 20, 1734, he came to America at an early age, embarked in a mercantile business at Philadelphia, and rapidly acquired wealth. On the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he took a prominent port in upholding the National cause, in 1775 was elected to Congress, and in 1781 was appointed superintendent of finance. He died at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 8, 1806.

Theophilus Morris was born in Green county, Ohio, and was there married to Susanna Gunn, who died, leaving two daughters now living in Blackford county, Indiana: Mary, who is the wife of Henry Wintz; and Nancy, the widow of Eli Hamilton. Mr. Morris was married in Blackford county, Indiana, to Elizabeth Lanning, who was born in Ohio, and they became the parents of eight children, of whom five are living at this time: Robert L.; Charles, a resident of Oklahoma; Arthur, a farmer of Blackford county; Lilian, the wife of E. L. Schmidt, of Jackson township; and James, a resident of this township. After coming to Blackford county, Theophilus Morris devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and became the possessor of a comfortable competence, also winning the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.

Robert L. Morris was reared on his father's farm in Harrison township, and passed his boyhood much in the same manner as other farmers' boys of his locality. His education was secured in the district schools, and while not engaged with his books he was expected to assist with the work of the home place, so that he grew to manhood with an active mind and strong body, well fitting him for his struggle with life. He remained at home until his marriage to Miss Eva A. Whiteacre, of Jay county, Indiana, and at that time started out for himself, having little but his ambition and willingness to aid him. For some years he was a renter of farming property, but while thus engaged thriftily saved his earnings, so that he was eventually able to purchase a farm of his own. He has added to his original property, and at this time has a fine farm of 120 acres, which measures up in every respect to those owned by his fellow agriculturists in the township. He is known as a man of progressive ideas and methods, strictly reliable in all business transactions and at all times ready to heIp his community in every way. In political matters he is it democrat, but has been too busily engaged with his own affairs to think of entering the public arena. Fraternally, his connection is with Wabasso Tribe No. 120, Improved Order of Red Men, in which he is past sachem, and a member of the Grand Council of the state.

Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morris, namely: Vivian, a graduate of the graded and Hartford City high schools, and now a popular teacher of Jackson township, in charge of Kokenhain school No. 2; Walter, a graduate of the graded schools and now a farmer assisting his father; and Ralph, who is still attending school.

EMIL A. SCHWEIER. One of Hartford City's prosperous merchants, Emil A. Schweier came to America about twenty years ago a poor German lad, and since then has made circumstances fit his own desires and determination, and has won a secure position as a business man and as a member of his community. Born in Baden, Germany, August 12, 1876, he belonged to a substantial family of the fatherland. His parents were Philip and Magdalene (Hitler) Schweier, both natives of the same Province although the mother was born in the village of Buhlheim. Agriculture and its related activities bad been the vocation of the family for generations on both sides, Philip and wife spent their years in tilling and managing resources of the soil, and died in the old country, Philip in 1910 at the age of fifty-eight, and his wife in 1882 at the age of thirty-eight. Both were brought up and always adhered to the Catholic faith, and reared their children in the same belief. Brief mention of their family of children is as follows: Herman, who came to the United States in.1894. has for many years been a prosperous merchant tailor of Hartford City, and has been twice married; Franc, who still lives on the old homestead in Germany, is married and has two sons and four daughters; Philip, who is in the hardware business in Germany, is married but has no living children; next in order of birth is Emil A.; Freda is the wife of Anton Hook, lives in Baden, Germany, and has three children; Catherine is a trained nurse and is engaged in that profession at Los Angeles, California.

Emil A. Schweier grew up in the old country and received the usual practical and substantial education of the German public schools. On December 2, 1892, when sixteen years of age, he embarked on the steamer Stuttgart at Bremerhaven, and after ten days of comfortable passage landed in New York city. From there he went direct to Bellevue, Ohio, and engaged himself as a clerk to Rheinhardt Haenslaer. The first fourteen months of business experience were spent as a grocery clerk, and that gave him all acquaintance with the English language and with business customs in America, and when he left Mr. Haenslaer 's employment on March 28, 1894, he came direct to Hartford City. Here John B. Burger employed him until March, 1898. From here Mr. Schweier went out to the northwest, was at Nelson in British Columbia, and spent some time prospecting and in a somewhat varied experience in that country. Returning to tile United States, after a tour among the northwestern states, he returned late in 1898 and again resumed employment with Mr. Burger. Two years later he engaged in the wine and general liquor business, and was in that line four Years. In January, 1910, Mr. Schweier bought the well known City Cigar Store from B. Snell, and now has one of the most popular places for supplying tobacco goods in the community. His patronage is extensive, due both to his personal popularity and to a fine and well arranged stock.

Mr. Schweier was married in Hartford City to Mary Kain, who was born near Fort Recovery, Ohio, in 1886. She is of Irish ancestry, a daughter of James and Annie Kain, her father a native of New Jersey and her mother of Ohio, their marriage having occurred in the latter state. Her father died in Ohio and her mother is now married a second time and lives in Dunkirk, Indiana. Mr. Kain was a member of the Catholic church, while his wife was a Protestant.

Mr. and Mrs. Schweier are the parents of the following children: Margaret, Magdale, Agnes and Emil A., Jr., all of whom are attending parochial school; Francis and Josephine; while James and Anna, twins, died in early childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Schweier worship in St. John's Catholic church in Hartford City, while he has fraternal affiliations with the Knights of Columbus, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Tribe of Ben Hur. As an evidence of the prosperity which has attended Mr. Schweier since he located in Hartford City permanently his home at 309 N. High street is one of the most modern and best appointed residences in that district of the city. This home is well cared for by the capable Mrs. Schweier and her hudhand ascribes to her much of the credit for their joint prosperity and progress in the world.

Note: Descendant Ann Unger has noted the following dicrepancies in the above bio - Emil Schweier's mother's maiden name was "Hirtler" not Hitler and there were more children. After James and Anna came Rosemary, Mary Elizabeth, Annl., Vera V., Patricia and Lawrence Cain. The name "Kain" should be "Cain".

Deb Murray