Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

PHILIP MICHAEL. Agriculture offers a profitable field for the man of industry, who is willing to labor faithfully and industriously and to make the most of the opportunities which present themselves. However, it is not every worker in this field who attains a full measure of success. That men of broad and varied experience are best equipped for the vocation of farming is doubted by no one who is familiar with the intellectual and general demands placed upon present day exponents of scientific agriculture. Especially is a knowledge of general business an important item in the equipment of those who are masters of the basic industry of the world, and it may be said to be this advantage which has contributed so largely to the success of Philip Michael, one of the substantial farmers of Licking township, who owns and operates 135 acres of fine land located in sections 3 and 5.

Mr. Michael was born in Union township, Delaware county, Indiana, December 22, 1864, and is a son of Samuel and Hannah Hammill (Studebaker) Micheal, natives of the Hoosier state, the former born in Miami county and the later in Delaware county. Samuel Michael was educated and reared in Miami county, and was there married to Miss Shepard, who died in that county when still in young womanhood, leaving one daughter, who married and is now a widow. During the early ‘fifties, after the death of his first wife, Samuel Michael removed to Delaware county, and was there married to his second wife, Mrs. Hannah Hammill, a widow. They continued to make their home in Delaware county during the remainder of their lives, having their comfortable home on their farm in Union township, and there Mr. Michael passed away in 1901, at the age of eighty-two years, while Mrs. Michael died in 1883, at the age of sixty-eight years. They were members of the Dunkard church, with which she had been connected throughout her life. In political matters Mr. Michael was a democrat. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Michael: William A. and Wesley T., both deceased, who were married and had families; two children who died in infancy; Stephen D., a farmer in the western part of Indiana, who is married and has a son, - William; Philip, of this review; and Lucy B., who is the wife of William S. Bell and has three children.

Philip Michael was given the educational advantages usually afforded to farmers' sons in Indiana during his youth, and grew up on the homestead farm in Union township. When he entered upon a career of his own, some twenty years ago, he was $600 in debt, and had only his own ambition and determination to set him upon the highway to success. So earnestly and faithfully has Mr. Michael labored, however, that today he is the owner of 135 acres of find land, the greater part of which is under cultivation, and here he has the finest of machinery, equipment and improvements. His set of substantial buildings include a large red barn, 42 x 52 feet, and a handsome new residence of thirteen rooms, comfortably furnished and equipped with the most up-to-date conveniences, painted attractively in white and green trimmings. The farm is well drained and furnished with good well water, and all in all since he has owned the property he has enhanced its value in numerous way. Mr. Michael grows all kinds of cereals, which he feeds to his stock and has horses, cattle, sheep and hogs of the finest grades. In addition he has a very lucrative threshing machine business, hulling some 25,000 bushels of wheat annually. Mr. Michael is a man of good business ability, capable of holding his own in the competition of modern times and bearing a high reputation for integrity in commercial transactions. His industrious career has been rewarded by a full measure of success, and the high degree of his citizenship may be measured by the esteem and respect in which he is held by his fellow townsmen.

Mr. Michael was married to Miss Lorinda Bell, who was born in Licking township, Blackford county, in 1868, and reared and educated here, daughter of Francis M. and Lorinda (Cunningham) Bell the former born in Blackford county, Indiana, and the latter in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Bell were married in Blackford county, and here continued to be engaged for many years in farming, Mr. Bell dying at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Michael, April 14, 1911, at the age of seventy-two years, while Mrs. Bell still survives and makes her home at Hartford City. Of their six children, two died in infancy; Rolla, a single man and a farmer, recently met an accidental death, falling from a building when thirty-three years of age; William, a farmer of Delaware county, married and with a family; Nancy, who is the wife of Jack Cole, of Eaton, Indiana, and has a son and a daughter; and Mrs. Michael.

To Mr. and Mrs. Michael there have been born the following children: Ima, who is the wife of Ansley Reasoner, living on a farm in Licking township, and the mother of four children, - Donald, Harold, Robert and Vaughn, the last named living with her grandparents; Dosia, who resides at home; Crystal, who is the wife of Henry Swoveland, a farmer in Licking township; and Isa, Geneva, Freda G., and Philip F., all at home. Mr. and Mrs. Michael and their children are members of the Dunkard church. In political matters he is a republican.

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

J. CHRISTIAN WESCHKE. Many of the most substantial agriculturists of Blackford county are residing on farms which have been in the family possession for many years, and which they have resided upon and cultivated all of their lives. In this class stands J. Christian Weschke, who, during a long, active and useful career has been a farmer and stockraiser of Washington township. He was born on the old family homestead in section 26, August 28, 1868, and is a son of Charles and Magdalena (Long) Weschke. His father was a native of Germany, born in 1842, of an old and honored family of the Fatherland which was identified with the Lutheran church there. The grandparents, Christian and Henrietta Weschke, were born in Germany, and in 1851 emigrated to the United States, locating in Wayne county and subsequently removing to Blackford county, Indiana. Here the grandparents passed away in advanced years, and in the faith of the Lutheran church. They were the parents of two sons: Charles and William, who operates the old homestead in Washington township.

Charles Weschke was a lad of about nine years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United States, and grew to manhood in Indiana, here securing his education in the early district schools. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active career, living on the 200-acre farm in Washington township, and died in 1878. He was an industrious worker, active, energetic and progressive, was a good citizen and helpful neighbor, and had the respect and esteem of all. Reared in the faith of the Lutheran church he remained true to that belief throughout his life, and in political matters gave his support to the democratic party. Mrs. Weschke was born in 1841, in Crawford county, Ohio, of German parentage, and was a young woman when she came to Blackford county. She passed away at the home of her son, November 30, 1913. Two children were born to Charles and Magdalena (Long) Weschke; J. Christian; and Mary, who had just completed her education and was seventeen years of age at the time of her death.

J. Christian Weschke was a lad of ten years when his father died, and he early went to work on the homestead place, his education being secured in the district schools. As a youth the management of the home farm was practically placed in his hands, 200 acres being left him by his father, to which he has since added forty acres, and the entire property is now under a high state of cultivation. He grows large crops of corn, wheat and oats, using the most highly approved methods in his work, and being a firm believer in the use of modern machinery. His buildings are of a substantial character and include two residences and a barn 28 x 40 feet, in addition to the regulation structures for the shelter of his grain, stock and implements. As an agriculturist he has shown himself possessed of ability, and in the line of stock breeding he has also met with success. Everything considered, he is entitled to a place among the representative men of the township who are assisting to maintain a high agricultural standard.

Mr. Weschke was married in Licking township, Blackford county, Indiana, to Miss Mary Haag, who was born and reared in Licking township and is a daughter of Gustave and Catherine (Speidel) Haag, natives of Germany who came to the United States as young people and were married in Ohio. Subsequently they came to Blackford county, Indiana, and located on a farm in Licking township, where they have since made their home. They were the parents of eight children, of whom four survive, and of these two are still single. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Weschke: Ruth Margaret, born October 5, 1905; and Esther Magdalena, born July 3, 1907, both attending school. Mr. and Mrs. Weschke are members of the Lutheran church. He is a democrat in national political matters, but in local affairs is inclined to use his own judgment in his choice of the candidate he deems best fitted for the office at stake. He has formed a wide acquaintance during his long residence in the township, and enjoys the esteem and respect of a large number of appreciative friends.

JOHN A. G. MILLER. It is most gratifying to the editors and publishers of this history to accord specific recognition to this well known, venerable and highly honored citizen of Montpelier, Blackford county, where he is now living retired, in the enjoyment of the benign peace and prosperity that should ever accompany and dignify advanced age. He is representative of a sterling German family that has been one of prominence and influence in Blackford county since the pioneer days, and his ability, integrity and productive industry proved fruitful in making him a potent force in the development and upbuilding of this favored section of the State, along both social and industrial avenues. His activities were principally in connection with agriculture and the operation of a grist mill, and he has at all times stood exponent of the most enlightened and loyal citizenship, as he is a man of strong intellectuality and broad and well fortified views.

Christoph Miller, grandfather of him to whom this review is dedicated, was a member of a family long one of prominence in the fine old Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, where for a number of generations the name was closely associated with the flour-milling industry, under the best conditions then prevailing. Christoph Miller was born in Bavaria between the years 1775 and 1780, and he was long actively engaged in the operation of grist and sawmills in his native province, where he continued to have his abode until his death, which occurred about 1860. His only child, Christoph, Jr., was born about the year 1795, and eventually succeeded to the substantial milling business of his father. He continued his residence in Bavaria until his death, at the age of sixty-five years, and his wife, Margaret, who was born in the same locality and whom he wedded in the year 1815, was fifty-one years of age when she was summoned to the life eternal, both having been devout adherents of the Lutheran church.

Concerning their children it is possible to offer brief data in this connection: Andrew passed his entire life in Bavaria, followed the vocation of grist miller, and he married but had no children. Margaret reared a family of children and passed her entire life in her native land, as did also Elizabeth and Anna, both of whom were survived by children, the husband of the former having been a manufacturer of combs and Anna's husband having been a paper manufacturer. Henry came to the United States in 1838, as the first representative of the family in the New World, and he was an honored pioneer of Wells county, Indiana, where he followed his trade of millwright and also operated a grist mill for a term of many years. Both he and his wife died many years ago and of their children ten attained to years of maturity. John A. G., of this review, was the next in order of birth. Mrs. Catherine Fensel came to the United States when a young woman, her marriage having been solemnized in Ohio, and she and her husband were residents of Blackford county for many years prior to their death, they being survived by two sons and one daughter. Frederick, the youngest of the children, is accorded a memorial tribute on other pages of this publication.

John A. G. Miller was born at the old family homestead in Bavaria, Germany, and the date of his nativity was August 15, 1833. There he received excellent educational advantages and there he learned thoroughly the ancestral trade of miller. In 1853, at the age of twenty years, Mr. Miller severed the gracious ties that bound him to home and fatherland and proceeded to Bremerhaven, where he took passage on a sailing vessel and set forth to join his brother Henry in America. Sixty-one days elapsed before the primitive vessel arrived in the port of New York City, and the young German, imbued with self-reliance and definite ambition, though at the time not in the least conversant with the English language, came at once to Blackford county, where he joined his brother Henry, who had come to America the preceding year. The two brothers became actively identified forthwith with the operation of a grist and sawmill, and John A. G. also found requisition for his services as a carpenter and builder, so that he soon attained to no little local prominence as an alert and industrious business man. In the year 1856 Mr. Miller took unto himself a wife, and with the earnest co-operation and sympathy of a devoted companion and help mate he redoubled his efforts to acquire a competency and establish a home in consonance with their laudable ambition. His energies were thereafter directed to farming and milling and the passing years brought to him large and worthy success, so that he is to-day able to scan with satisfaction the perspective of past years and to know that he has so ordered his course as to merit the prosperity which now attends him, and which places him among the substantial capitalists of the city and county that have long represented his home, his retirement from active business having occurred about the year 1898. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Miller gave distinctive evidence of his loyalty to the land of his adoption, by enlisting for service in the Civil war. In 1864 he became a private in Company H, Sixty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and two months later, while making with his command a gallant charge at Nashville, Tennessee, he received a severe wound from a rifle shot, the ball striking near the knee joint of his left leg, and the injury nearly necessitating the amputation of the leg. He was incapacitated for further field service and he received his honorable discharge shortly before the close of the war, on account of total disability. His memories of that period in his career are vitalized by his affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic.

In 1895 Mr. Miller erected in the heart of the business district of Montpelier the substantial three-story brick building which is known as the Miller Block and which is twenty-six by sixty-six feet in dimensions, being still one of the best business structures in the city. He is the owner of his commodious and comfortable residence, on Franklin avenue, and here he finds repose and gracious environments, with contemplation of the past and association with old and valued friends, though the supreme loss and bereavement of his life came when his loved wife was called to the land of the leal, after many years of devoted companionship. In politics Mr. Miller has accorded unswerving allegiance to the democratic party; he has been for forty years affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and for more than a quarter of a century has maintained active membership in the Improved Order of Red Men. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, of which his wife likewise was a devoted member.

In the year 1856 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss Sarah P. Morris, who was born in the State of New Jersey, in 1833, and whose death occurred at the home in Montpelier, on the 7th of July, 1892, her memory being revered by all who knew her and had appreciation of her gentle and noble character. She was a daughter of Jonathan and Mary Morris, both natives of New Jersey, the father having died in Guernsey county, Ohio, and the mother having passed the closing years of her life in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Miller, wife of the subject of this review. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Miller: Jerome, a young man of fine character and talent, died at the age of twenty-five years, his untimely demise being a sore bereavement to his parents and many devoted friends; Minnie is the wife of Mr. Heslin, of Mount Carmel, Illinois, and they have one son Carry; Anna, who became the wife of Carey H. Cloud, died in 1892, without issue, and her husband also is deceased; William, who is identified with the oil industry in Blackford county, resides at Montpelier, and has two sons, Henry and Darrow; Margaret M., who is a trained nurse by profession, has achieved noteworthy success as owner of a well equipped hospital at Newcastle, this state.

WILLIAM NOONAN. Blackford county has come to be accounted one of the most flourishing agricultural sections of Indiana through the exertions of strong and forceful men who have made a thorough study of conditions and methods and who have worked no less for the community's interests than for their own. In this category may be placed William Noonan, the owner of a well-developed farm in section 27, Licking township, where the greater part of his life has been passed. He inherits the substantial and sturdy traits of his Irish ancestors, and was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, January 20, 1854,being a son of Dennis and Ellen (Lyons) Noonan, natives of County Kerry, Ireland, where they were born between 1815 and 1820.

The parents of Mr. Noonan were members of old and honored families of County Kerry, Ireland, and came to the United States during the early ‘thirties, although they did not meet until settling at Cincinnati, Ohio, where they were married, and where their first son, John, was born. Not long thereafter they removed to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where Dennis Noonan secured employment as a foreman on railroad construction work, but in 1864 turned his attention to farming when he purchased a tract of land in Licking township, section 26. Mr. Noonan, however, knew little of farming, so turned the operation of the land over to his sons and resumed railroad work as a foreman for the Pennsylvania Railway in Mill Grove township, and later assisted in the completion of the building of the Lake Erie & Western, being identified with this road either in the line of construction or as a section foreman for ten years. On leaving the service of this line he returned to his farm, and there passed the remaining years of his life, dying in 1904, when seventy-seven years of age. He was laid to rest beside his wife, who had died ten years before, in the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Hartford City. Mr. and Mrs. Noonan were early members of St. John's Roman Catholic Church, at Hartford City and were active in its work. In early life Mr. Noonan was a democrat, but later adopted the principles of the populist party. Mr. and Mrs. Noonan were the parents of the following children: John, who studied law for four years with Benjamin G. Shinn, was admitted to the bar, served as recorder of Blackford county for three years, and then went West, being now a prominent attorney of Glenwood Springs, Garfield county, Colorado. He is married and has two sons and one daughter, John and William, who are students at Stanford University, and Eleanor; Mary and Margaret are unmarried and live with their brother William on the home farm in Licking township.

William Noonan, like his brothers and sisters, grew up on the original eighty-acre purchase made by their father in Licking township, and secured his education in the public schools. In 1875 a second eighty-acre tract was added to the homestead, in section 26, and five years later a like addition was made in the same section, this being followed a few years later by the purchase of sixty-five acres in section 27. On the last-named tract is located the family residence, a commodious home of eleven rooms, in addition to which there are to be found a fine barn and substantial outbuildings. There are no buildings on the original purchase, but the land is well improved, as are all the tracts, while the second farm has two good barns and the third a well built house and barn. Mr. Noonan has his farm stocked with a fine herd of Aberdeen-Angus cattle a flock of high grade sheep, good swine and fine horses. Mr. Noonan's clean and upright life commands respect and good will, and as the legitimate custodian of a large estate he has demonstrated his ability, his sagacious and thrifty management and his good control.

Mr. Noonan is a well educated and well read man, with a wide and comprehensive knowledge of subjects of a nature worth while. In political matters he is independent, but is inclined to have socialistic leanings. With his sisters he is a faithful member of St. John's Roman Catholic Church, in the belief of which he was reared.

ALLEN K. GADBURY. The life record of the late Allen K. Gadbury is illustrative of the possible control over early limitations and of the wise utilization of ordinary opportunities. From young manhood until advanced age he was identified with the agricultural interests of Blackford county, and the substantial fortune which he accumulated was gained through hard and conscientious labor and business dealings of the most honorable character. Although nearly a decade has passed since his death, Mr. Gadbury is still remembered as a man of business integrity, public-spirited citizenship and loyalty to friendships, and a sketch of his life is eminently worthy of a place among the substantial men of the county.

Mr. Gadbury was born in Pennsylvania, January 29, 1820, and belonged to a family of good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock which had resided in the Keystone state for many years. He was still a youth when he accompanied his parents to Indiana, the family locating in Blackford county, where both parents passed away many years ago, their names having been forgotten. Allen K. Gadbury embarked upon a career of his own upon attaining his majority, and adopted the vocation of tilling the soil as the field to which to devote his activities. He chose a tract of land in Licking township, upon which he subsequently erected a log cabin, and to this Mr. Gadbury brought his wife, who had been Miss Lucy Ann Townsend. She was born in the state of New York, August 2, 1818, and was a young girl when she accompanied her parents to Indiana, here growing up and receiving a public school education. In early life Mrs. Gadbury was a Presbyterian, but later joined the Dunkard church, in the work of which she took an active part, being known far and wide for her goodness of heart. When she passed away, August 21, 1892, she left behind a wide circle of sorrowing friends. Mr. Gadbury remained true to the faith of the Presbyterian church all of his life, and in political affairs supported the democratic party. A most thrifty and industrious man, his well-directed labors resulted in the accumulation of three eighty acre farms, all of which he put under a high state of cultivation, and upon each of which he erected a handsome set of substantial buildings. Among his fellow-citizens Mr. Gadbury was known as a leader in local affairs, and for many years served as a justice of the peace, a capacity in which his decisions were rarely questioned so highly was he regarded. In his death, in 1905, Licking township lost a man who at all times had the best interests of the community and its people at heart.

Mr. and Mrs. Gadbury were the parents of five children: James G., who died on a farm in Blackford county after his marriage, leaving a family; Henry T., who died on his farm of eighty acres in Licking township, leaving a son and a daughter, both residents of the old home place; Mrs. Lacy Boots; Lydia J., who died after her marriage to Henry Orn, and left four children; and Joseph, who died at the age of nineteen years, while still attending school.

Mrs. Lacy Boots, the only surviving member of this family, was born on the old homestead place in Licking township, Blackford county, Indiana, August 15, 1851, and was reared at home and educated in the local public schools. At this time she is the owner of a finely cultivated and well equipped farm of eighty acres of valuable land, with a comfortable residence and commodious barn, and carries on general farming operations with a full measure of success, being an excellent business woman and the possessor of shrewdness and foresight. She was married to Israel Boots, and they have had two sons: Henry Allen, born, reared and educated in Randolph county, Indiana, where his mother spent the greater part of her married life, married Grace Hudson, and is now engaged in farming in Licking township; and James Israel, born, reared and educated in Randolph county, married Mary Baker, and has two sons, - Homer and Gale. Mrs. Boots has also reared a adopted daughter, Miss Alice M. Boots, now a well educated young lady of eighteen years.

Deb Murray