Mr. Dirrim, who represents one of the old and prominent families of DeKalb County, was born in Franklin Township of that county, May 23, 1857. His grandparents were Richard and Hannah (Wycoff) Dirrim, the former a native of Delaware. Richard Dirrim died in 1875, at the age of ninety years. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. At the time of his death his descendants numbered 142. Richard Dirrim moved to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1883. His children were Zachariah, Hannah, James, Isaac, William H. and Eleanor.
William H. Dirrim, father of Timothy, was born in Carroll County, Ohio, July 8, 1820, and grew up in Ohio. September 12, 1839, he married Christiana Haughey, who was born in Eastern Ohio, near Wheeling, Virginia, in 1820, daughter of Robert and Hannah (Wycoff) Haughey. William H. Dirrim was educated in Ohio and in 1844 came to DeKalb County, Indiana, and the following fall settled on 160 acres of wild land in section 11 of Franklin Township. The land was covered with heavy timber and the first winter he lived in a rude house without glass in the windows and with the openings covered with muslin cloth. The door was pinned and bolted together without the use of a single nail. His wife at that time spun all the wool for the clothing, and William H. Dirrim made the shoes for the family. For a term or two he and his wife both taught school in the neighborhood. The first wheat crop he raised brought him only 48 cents a bushel at Fort Wayne. It had to be hauled to Fort Wayne and in the absence of a team and wagon he paid one shilling a bushel for that service. Gradually the area of clearing grew until he had 100 acres under cultivation and had a good residence and other buildings. He served as assessor of Franklin Township two terms, was also township trustee, and he was a very prominent Methodist. For twenty years he served as district steward of the Methodist Church and had the ministry of the district Conference covering a period of fifty years. He and his wife had nine children: Hannah J.; Robert R.; William Samuel; Mary E., who died a the age of eight years; Mary Elizabeth; Christiana; Francis A., who died at the age of four year; Caroline and Timothy.
Timothy H. Dirrim acquired his education in the public schools of Franklin Township and one term at Butler, Indiana, and one term at Hamilton. As a young man he farmed with his father on the shares, and in the spring of 1888 he moved to Hamilton and for about four years was clerk in a drug store. In 1892 he bought a furniture and undertaking business at Hamilton, and was one of the successful merchants of that place until he sold out in 1904. He then built the Fish Lake Hotel and was its landlord for five years. The hotel property he traded for a farm of eighty acres in Otsego Township, and has since sold thirteen acres and owns the rest. In December, 1913, Mr. Dirrim went to Montana and filed on a homestead in Blaine County and spent four summers improving it.
Mr. Dirrim served as a notary public for sixteen years. He is a member of the Church of Christ.
In 1895 he married Miss Lulu Garver, daughter of Isaac and Emeline (Cummings) Garver. Her father was a farmer in Defiance County, Ohio, served a justice of the peace there for twenty-eight years, and during that time married over 200 couples. He was also a commissioner of Defiance County one term. The children of Isaac Garver were: Adella, Dora, Lula and Owen. Mr. and Mrs. Dirrim have two adopted children, Pauline and Harry.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Timothy H. Dirrim, page 150. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
George M. Ditmars since early manhood has carried on the operations of the old Ditmars homestead in Jackson Township of DeKalb County. He is the only son of he late Isaac Ditmars, who owned and developed this farm.
George M. Ditmars was born in Keyser Township of DeKalb County August 1, 1869, a son of Isaac and Martha (George) Ditmars. His parents are both native of Ohio, his father of Holmes county. The Ditmars and George families came to DeKalb County in the early days, and Isaac spent his life as a farmer. He died in 1919 and his wife in 1906. He had served as a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war and was an active member of the Grand Army. He was Baptist and republican. Of four children, one died at the age of ten years and George M. is the only son. Mary is the wife of Frank Olinger and Anna, the wife of Frank Dawson.
George M. Ditmars grew up on the home farm and attended the district schools. November 8, 1893, he married Cora E. Olinger, who was born in Keyser Township, a daughter of John S. and Lucy (Yarde) Olinger. Ever since his marriage Mr. Ditmars has lived on the homestead and manages and owns about 120 acres in general farming and stock raising. He and his wife had two children: Chester, who was born October 7, 1895, and died at the age of three years, four months and twenty-five days; and Floyd F., who was born December 6,1897, and is a graduate of the common schools and has attended the Auburn High School.
Mr. Ditmars is a republican, and though living in a township normally
democratic by over eighty votes came within four votes of being elected trustee.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of George M. Ditmars, page 297 / 298. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Isaac Ditmars, son of John A. and Eliza Ditmars, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1837. When he was sixteen years of age he came to De Kalb County with his parents and , with the exception of the time he was in the service of his country, remained with them till twenty-five years of age. He enlisted in September, 1861, in Company F, Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, and participated in the battle of Fort Donelson and at Shiloh, Tenn., on the 6th of April, 1862, where he was so seriously wounded as to necessitate his discharge from the service, and is now receiving a pension on account of his injuries. He was married Oct. 30, 1862, to Martha A. George, a native of Ashland County, Ohio, born May 24, 1841, a daughter of John T. and Nancy George, who came to Indiana in 1844. Mr. and Mrs. Ditmars commenced married life in Butler Township where he bought 108 acres of land, which by industry and frugality he has made into a good farm. His residence is now on section 7, Jackson Township, and is one of the best in the township. He owns sixty-nine acres in the home farm, all under good cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Ditmars have had four children, but three of whom are living---George M., Mary and Anna L. Ulysses M.E., the eldest son, died Oct. 2, 1873, in his eleventh year. He was a robust, healthy boy and in his love for adventure and out of door sports, had climbed a tree, when in some way he lost his footing and fell to the ground, receiving injuries which resulted in death in thirty minutes. Mr. Ditmars is in politics a Republican, and is one of the representative men of the county, Mrs. Ditmars' father was born in Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 1811, and is still living in Jackson Township, De Kalb County, Ind. Her mother was born in Pennsylvania, July 17, 1812, and died at her home in Jackson Township, March 23, 1876.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Isaac Ditmars, pages 649 / 650. History of De Kalb County, Indiana. Inter-State Publishing Company, Chicago, 1885.
Born Sept., 7, 1837, is the son of John and Eliza (Neff) Ditmars; parents both dead; he is a native of Wayne county, O., settling in DeKalb county, where he now resides, in 1853; in Oct., 1862, he was married to Martha A. George, born May 2, 1841, in the same county as her husband; their children are Ulysses, dec., George, Mary and Anna; the parents of Mrs. Ditmars are John and Nancy (McClellan) George; both are now dead; Mr. Ditmars was farming, when at the age of 24, he enlisted at Fort Wayne, Ind., Sept. 22, 1861, as a private in Co. F, 44th Ind. V.I., 3d Brig., 4th Div. At the battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, he was shot in the lower part of the abdomen; on the 8th of April, he was placed on the hospital boat, and from there taken to hospital at Mound City, Ill., where he remained one month; from here he was furloughed for thirty days, at the expiration of the time reporting at Indianapolis, Ind., where he was honorably discharged, June 28, 1862; he was detailed to do special work for some time, as loading and unloading hay, corn, building breast work, at Scarlton, Ky., etc., also was often on picket duty; Mr. Ditmars had one soldier brother, Peter; he survived the war, and now lives at Auburn Junction, Ind.; our comrade has held the office of justice of the peace and school director; he draws a pension, is a member of DeLong Post, No. 67, is a farmer, and his address is Auburn, DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Isaac Ditmars, Vol. II, page 587/588. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Charles A. Dohner is not a farmer but regarded as one of the livest business men of Troy Township, DeKalb County. He owns 120 acres, all of which he has acquired and made as a result of years of hard work and saving and careful co-operation between himself and his wife. He is also a stockholder in the Arctic Co-operative Livestock Shipping Association and is one of the directors of the Butler Grain Shipping Association.
Mr. Dohner was born in St. Joe Township of Williams County, Ohio, August 20, 1876, a son of Isaac and Rachel (Adams) Dohner. Isaac Dohner was born in Wayne County, Ohio, December 31,1838, and died in a hospital at Detroit, Michigan, July 7, 1911. He came to DeKalb County in 1859. On November 28, 1860, he married Susan Bratten, of Williams County, Ohio. He left home and on March 28, 1864, enlisted in Company H of the Eighty-Eighth Indiana Infantry and was in active service until wounded at Bentonville, North Carolina, in one of the last battles of the war, on March 19, 1865. While he was in the army his wife died, leaving one child, Clara, wife of Adolph Vogal, a resident of Chicago. On November 1, 1866, Isaac Dohner married Rachel A. (Adams) Johnston, of Wayne County, Ohio, widow of Cyrus Johnston, who was also a Union soldier and died while in the war. Mrs. Johnston by her first marriage had one son, Robert, now deceased. Isaac Dohner and wife were the parents of seven children: William H.; May, wife of Charles Jennings; Etta, wife of William Wilson; Ella, wife of Jacob Cole; Mary, wife of Floyd Hollinger; Charles A, and John, of Williams County. The parents were members of the United Brethren Church at Big Run. Mrs. Isaac Dohner is still living at Butler. Her husband was an active member of the Grand Army Post at Butler and a republican in politics.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Charles A. Dohner, page 167. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
John R. Doll has spent his career chiefly as an agriculturist, has had experience as a farmer in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and for a number of years has had a pleasant home and fine farm of 128 acres in Spencer Township of DeKalb County.
Mr. Doll was born at East Greenville in Stark County, Ohio, June 18, 1864, a son of Ignatius and Catherine (Rudy) Doll. His father was born in Stark County and his mother in Pennsylvania. The grandfather, Joseph Doll, was for many years a justice of the peace in Stark County. Joseph Doll married Polly Kitt, who has the distinction of being the first white child born in Stark County, Ohio. Her father, Jacob Kitt, settled in that part of Eastern Ohio in 1805. Mr. Doll’s mother, Catherine Rudy, was reared from early girlhood in Stark County, and after she and her husband married they settled on a farm and in 1867 moved to Canton, the county seat, where she is still living. Ignatius Doll died at Canton. Both parents were active members of the Lutheran Church, and Ignatius was a republican. There were five children, four still living: George W., of Massillon, Ohio; Charles W., of Gibson Colorado; John R.; and Jennie M., wife of Charles Hammer, of Canton, Ohio.
John R. Doll from the age of three years lived at Canton, Ohio, until 1882, and acquired his education in public schools there. On leaving Ohio he followed farming in Kent County, Michigan, until 1894, and in that years located at Spencerville, Indiana.
December 24, 1895, Mr. Doll married Vienna Shilling, daughter of Solomon and Esther (Bliler) Shilling. This is one of the old and prominent names in DeKalb County. Mrs. Doll was born on the old Shilling homestead in Spencer Township and educated in the common schools. Mr. and Mrs. Doll have three children: Esther K., George R. and Alice J. These children have received good school advantages, Alice being still a student in high school. The family are members of the Lutheran Church and Mr. Doll has been a liberal supporter of the church and its allied causes. He is a democrat in politics and is a stockholder in the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Spencerville.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of John R. Doll, page 460 / 461. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville, Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
James Donaldson Was born Feb. 3, 1835, in West Troy, N.Y., a son of Abraham and Catherine (Bitely) Donaldson,, both deceased, and settled in DeKalb county, Ind., Dec 25, 1861. November, 1887, he was married in this county to Elizabeth Harnish, who by a former marriage to Valentine Zoller, had two children, Joseph and Ida. His wife was born Nov. 24, 1844, in Mahoning county, Ohio, a daughter of John Harnish, deceased and Susan (Timbrook) living. By a former marriage Comrade Donaldson has five children, Freeman, Carrie, Delia, Norman and Newell, Comrade Donaldson enlisted at the age of 27 years at Fort Wayne, Ind., Aug. 19, 1862, as a private in Co. D, 88th Ind. V.I., 1st Brig., 1st Div., 14th A.C. In the spring of 1863 he was in field hospital at Bowling Green three months and Nashville, seven months; he took part in the battles of Perryville, Buzzard's Roost, Pumpkin Creek, Reseca, Atlanta, with Sherman to the Sea, Bentonville, Savannah, and Raleigh, receiving his honorable discharge Jul 2, 1865, at Indianapolis, Ind. His wife's brothers, William and Samuel served in the late war; his grandfather Bitely served in the Mexican War. Comrade Donaldson receives a pension, is a farmer and his address if Auburn, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 581/582. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
John W. Doty Was born May 23, 1838, in Crawford county, Ohio; he is the son of Lyman and Mariah (Briggs) Doty, the father dying in 1859, the mother is still living residing with the subject of this sketch. He settled in DeKalb county, Ind., in the Winter of 1865, and there No. 7, 1867, was united in marriage to Amanda M McCoy, who was born March 23, 1842, in Marion county, Ohio. To this union five children were born, James R., Oscar N., Hiram C., Elizabeth M. and Cora E. The parents of Mrs. Doty are Abraham and Elizabeth (More) McCoy, the father dying in 1885, and the mother in 1892. Mr. Doty was a farmer in Defiance county, when at the age of 23, he enlisted at Toledo, Ohio, Sept. 11, 1861, as a private in Co. E, 21st O.V. I., 3rd Brig., 1st Div., 14th A.C. At Chickamauga he received a gunshot wound, this confined him to the hospital at Nashville for three weeks, in 1863; he was furloughed from here October; he was captured at Chickamauga by Bragg and held as paroled prisoner six months. At one time he acted as prison guard; he participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Stone River, Ivy Mt., Nashville, Decatur, Crab Orchard, and numerous skirmishes; he was honorably discharged Sept. 18, 1864, at Atlanta Ga. He draws a pension, and is a member of the S.C. Aldrich Post, No. 138, situated at Hudson, Ind. His father served in the War of 1812. His wife's brother served in Co. H, 30th Ind. V. I., enlisting in 1864. Mr. Doty is a farmer and his address is Ashley, DeKalb Co., Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 581. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
William Eckert. While there is now the fourth generation in the house of Eckert in DeKalb County. William Eckert of Locust Dale Farm in Fairfield and a brother, Jacob H. Eckert, of Kendallville, belong to the second generation, being the only surviving children in the family of Sebastian Eckert, who located in Fairfield March 28, 1855, and since that time Locust Dale has been the family homestead.
The present owner of Locust Dale, William Eckert, was born there June 8, 1864, and his life has all been spent in one place, and his own children have had his childhood environment.
There is Scotch, Welsh and German blood in the family. However, his father, Sebastian Eckert, was one of six children brought by their mother, Mrs. (Pfeiffer) Eckert, from Germany. Their father, Peter Eckert, died of a fever in March, 1830, and in May of that year the mother and her children embarked for America. They were three months on the Atlantic, landing in August. She located in Franklin, Pennsylvania, and from there the family scattered, the mother finally going to St. Louis. Sebastian was her only son. The oldest daughter died in childhood. The other four sisters were Elizabeth, Margaret, Eve and Barbara. Sebastian, Margaret and Barbara all lived in DeKalb County, Elizabeth being the wife of John Sthair, a blacksmith, and Barbara the wife of Jerome Reynolds, a cabinet maker. Both these men once operated shops in Fairfield Center. All the family now lie buried in the Fairfield Cemetery.
December 14, 1848, Sebastian Eckert married Susan Cox, daughter of Jacob and Jane (Denman) Cox of Wayne County, Ohio. She was one of nine children: Eli, Mary, Susan, Freeman, Andrew, Rebekah Jane, Alpheus, Samuel and Newton. Three of them, Susan, Eli and Andrew, were later citizens of DeKalb County, and they lie buried at Fairfield. The children of Sebastian and Susan Eckert were Elizabeth, Jacob, Margaret, Amiel, Alice, Florence, William, Belle, Luther, Kate and Spencer, the only two living today being mentioned above. These children all had a common school education. The family were members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. All but the two surviving brothers died before marriage. There are today only five voters in the Eckert family in DeKalb and Noble counties, and this vote is cast solidly in the interests of the democratic party.
William Eckert and Miss Mary M. Ringer were married June 8, 1886, which was his twenty-second birthday and the eighteenth birthday of the bride. They were married at the home of her parents in Richland Township. She was a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Wright) Ringer, whose family history of DeKalb County goes back to 1853, when they came from Stark County, Ohio. Jacob Ringer as an Ohio shoemaker had earned the money with which he brought his farm in Indiana. He was the only son of George and Mary (Herbster) Ringer. He had five sister, the oldest dying before the birth of the others. The four to grow up were Mary, Susan, Leah and Margaret.
The six children born to William and Mary Eckert are: Blanche R., wife of C.W. Getts; Ethel, who died at the age of eleven days; Roswell, who married Irene Stomm and has a son, Donald Cecil; Imo, who was buried February 24, 1815, just one year from the date of her marriage with John Berkes; Granville J., who married Charlotte Bonbrake and has a son, William Louis, the first born in the fourth generation of the Eckert family in DeKalb County; and Martha Belle, the youngest daughter. The two grandchildren of Eckert household are William Louis and Donald Cecil.
Roswell and Granville and their cousin, Russell Eckert of Garrett, were all young men under the draft. Granville was temporarily exempted because he was engaged in agriculture. Roswell had military training at Camp Taylor, Camp McClellan and Camp Grant. He was battery clerk and was advanced to the grade of corporal when the armistice changed the prospect of so many young American soldiers. Russell Eckert was at Fort Thomas. The Eckert children were all given the same educational advantages, and Granville and Martha have diplomas from the common schools.
Sebastian Eckert, founder of the family in Indiana, died at the family homestead September 6, 1890, while his wife lived on until March 19, 1919, and had survived to welcome the two grandchildren of the fourth generation.
The farm buildings at Locust Dale were built in the reconstruction period following the Civil war, when there was an abundance of native timber, and the farmstead today is one of the well kept places in Fairfield Township.
Biography of William Eckert, pages 122 / 123. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Is a native of Wayne county, Ohio, being born Jan. 4, 1844; he was married Jan. 10, 1867, at Roweburg, Ashland Co., Ohio, to Matilda Humes, who was born May 23, 1849, in the county of her marriage. Their children are Mary A., Martin H. and Ella M. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Elson are Thomas and Annie (Baker) Elson, William and Mary (Galbreth) Humes. Their deaths occurred in the order named; 1888, 1887, 1864 and 1893. Mr. Elson was farming in Wayne county, Ohio, when at the age of 18, at Mansfield, Ohio, he enlisted Oct.9, 1862, as a private in Co. D, 120th O.V.I. For thirty days from Dec. 1, 1863, he was in the hospital at Baton Rouge, he was then furloughed from this place for the same length of time, at the expiration of which the furlough was renewed for the same number of days; he rejoined his command March 11, 1864; he was captured at Snagy Point, Red River, and taken prisoner to Camp Ford, Texas, where he was held 13 months and 24 days, and taken to Camp Chase, where he was discharged July 7, 1865; he was in the battles of Chickasaw, Arkansas Post, Thompson Hill, Vicksburg, Yazoo River, Jackson, Liverpool Heights, Tunnel Hill, and Black River; Mr. Elson had three brother in the service, David, Richard and William; the last two were wounded in battle; David died in 1861; his wife's brother-in-law died in the hospital, and was buried in the field; our comrade has held the office of supervisor, he is a prisoner, is engaged in farming, and his address if Fairfield Center, DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 593. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Is a resident of DeKalb county, Ind., where he settled in 1863, having been born in Wayne county, Ohio, March 31, 1842. He was farming in his adopted county, when at the age of 21, he enlisted at Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 22, 1864, as a private in Co. H, 30th Ind. V. I., 3rd Brig., 1st Div., 4th A.C. June 1, 1864, at the battled of Big Shanty, he was shot in the left foot. Was taken to the hospital at Chattanooga, where he remained two weeks, was then transferred to Nashville, and remained there four weeks. In August, 1864, he was furloughed for thirty days, the time being afterward extended another thirty. May 20, 1865, he was transferred at Indianapolis, Ind., to Co. C, 17th Regt., V.R.C. In the spring of 1864, he was appointed at Bridgeport, Tenn., to unload baggage train. At Fort Wayne, Ind., in April, 1865, he was ordered to arrest a man and woman for the murder of Lincoln. He took part in the battles of Blue Springs Valley, Big Shanty, Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost, Pine Mt., Dalton, Reseca and many skirmishes and minor engagements, receiving his honorable discharge at Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 13, 1865. Mr. Elson is a son of Thomas and Anna (Baker) Elson, both deceased. Nov. 24, 1865, he was married at Indianapolis, Ind., to Hattie Austill, daughter of John and Cloe (Herrington) Austill, both deceased, who was born in Jackson county, Ala. Their children are John, Charles and Olive. Of his brothers, David, was in the 142d Ohio, died in the spring of 1866, at Wooster, Ohio. Richard was a member of the 16th O.V. I., was shot in the thigh; now resides at Wooster, Ohio; Hiram, in the 120th O.V. I, was in Andersonville one year. The wife's father was in the Mexican War, also in Florida War. At Milford, Ind., the re-union on April 14, 1892, of the 30th Ind. V.I., adopted Miss Olive Elson, as daughter of the regiment. She is an accomplished elocutionist, and visits most of the re-unions taking an active part. Mr. Elson is a pensioner, is a member of DeLong Post, No. 67, being and officer in the same. His wife is a member of the W.R.C. Our comrade is a farmer and his address is Auburn, DeKalb Co., Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 592. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Is a resident of DeKalb county, Ind., settling there in the spring of 1852, having been born in Stark county, O., Nov. 8, 1838; he is the son of William and Charlotte (Breninger) Erwin; the mother died in 1880, the father still lives; Mr. Erwin was living in his adopted county, engaged in farming, when he enlisted, at the age of 24, at Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 20, 1861, as a private in Co. M, 2d Ind. V.C., 1st Brig., 5th Div.; he was twice in the hospital; in 1862, first in Terre Haute for one month, being transferred to Evansville, where he remained two weeks; again in 1863 he was ill in the hospital at Murfreesboro, Tenn., for one month; for three months in the year 1862, he was orderly at Gen. Hazen's headquarters, Corinth, Miss., and for four months in 1863 and 1864, he was guard at Gen. VanCleves' headquarters; his battle list includes Green River, Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Schorcher Valley, Gallitan, Nelsonsville, Huntsville, and Shelbyville, also numerous skirmishes; was captured at Lavergae, Tenn., by Morgan, who surrounded the town, and tried to get away with about 200 in all, but getting in close quarters paroled them within two miles of where captured, sent them to Nashville, then to Cincinnati, then home a month and four days; he wanted to join command, paid his own transportation to Louisville Ky., found Regt. six miles from town, and joined, and not having been exchanged, was exchanged at Mill Creek., Tenn.; he was honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 22, 1864; he was
married, Sept. 29, 1869, in his adopted county, to Eliza McEnderfer, born Oct. 30, 1844, in the county of her marriage; seven children were born to them, Mary C., William A., Arthur H., Minnie, Delina, Thomas E., and Mertie B. The parents of Mrs. Erwin are Michael and Mary (Hamman) McEnderfer, the father dying in 1857, the mother in 1881; our comrade draws a pension, is a member of Waterloo Post, No. 52, is a farmer, and his address is Waterloo, DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 593. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Was born Nov. 11, 1840, in Morrow county, O., he is the son of Caspar and Delilah (Slaughter) Fell, deceased; he settled in DeKalb county in 1882; he was married Nov. 9, 1865, at Claridon, Geauga county, O., to Nancy S. Reasoner, who was born Feb. 15, 1843, in Morrow county, O., they have two children, Mary and Charles; the parents of Mrs. Fell are Daniel and Sarah (Boyles) Reasoner; the mother is still living; Mr. Fell was first married to Mary E. Lewis, who died April 12, 1862, at Morrow county, O.; they had one child, William A., dec.; Mr. Fell was living in Morrow county, O., engaged in farming, when at the age of 22, he enlisted at Denmark, O., as a private in Co. C, 96th O.V.I., 1st Brig., 4th Div. 13th A.C.; he enlisted Aug. 4, 1862; he was promoted to corporal and then to sergeant; was color bearer of Regt. for 18 months; in Nov., 1862, he was taken to the Overton hospital, Mound City, Ill., and was there four weeks; he rejoined his command from the hospital in Feb. 1863, at Milligan's Bend; in the spring of 1865, he had command of a squad of men to guard some prisoners, or pretended government employes, that were under arrest and to convey them to Duvall's Bluff for trial, and from there to Little Rock, in charge 18 days; while at Duvall's Bluff he witnessed the shooting of a man for desertion, leaving on his mind the most lasting impression of any occurrence during the war; he took part in the battles of Vicksburg, Jackson, Grand Cotteau, Fort Gaines, Fort Morgan, Sabine Cross Roads, Spanish Fort, Fort Blakely, Capture of Mobile, and a number of minor engagements and skirmishes; his honorable discharge was granted him at Columbus, O., July 28, 1865; his brother Stephen, a member of Co. B, 64th O.V.I., in service but three months, was killed May 9, 1864, at Buzzard's Roost, by being shot in the head; his wife had four cousins in the war, John and Sam Reasoner, Isaac and Green Wiley; a brother-in-law, Samuel Wescott, was captured and taken prisoner at Andersonville, where he was held six months, when he was paroled; he was on board the Sultana for home, and was in the dreadful explosion of that boat; he died near Cardington, O., from injuries which he received from explosion of that boat; our comrade is a pensioner, is a charter member of O.S. Blood Post, No. 143, is an officer in same, also a member of Wm. Hacker Lodge, No. 326, F.& A.M.; is a dealer in lumber, and his address is Newville, DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 594. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Son of Jacob and Sophia (Ishler) Fisher, deceased, was born in Stark county. Ohio, Sept. 17,1842; settling in DeKalb county, Ind., March 10, 1865, where two years later, July 3, he married at Waterloo, Lucetta Roarsbaugh, born in Stark county, Ohio, February, 1847, the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Deck) Roarsbaugh. Three children have blessed this union, Alice B., Rosa and Paul. Comrade Fisher enlisted Sept. 6, 1861, at Canton, Ohio, when 19 years old as a private-afterwards promoted to Corp.-of Co. 1,19th O.V.I., 3rd Brig., 1st Div., 21st A.C. Dec. 31, 1862, he was wounded by gunshot in right breast at the battle of Stone River for which he was cared for in hospital at Nashville, three months. At the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 21, 1863, he was taken prisoner and held 16 months at Libby, Amdersonville, Danville, Florence and Charleston. With his Regt., he took part in the battles of Stone River, Shiloh, Chickamauga, Perryville, and several minor engagements, receiving his honorable discharge Feb. 17, 1865, at Columbus, O. A brother served in Co. I, 19th O.V.I., and was wounded at the battle of Atlanta. Comrade Fisher received his education in Stark county, Ohio; he belongs to Waterloo Post, 52, draws a pension, had been town councilman in 1882-3, is a salesman with P.O. address at Waterloo, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 596. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
William Fountain was a DeKalb County pioneer, developed a home out of the woods and acquired a modest fortune in lands and many riches of community esteem on account of his honorable life and character.
He was born in Lincolnshire, England, December 25, 1811, a son of Simon and Rebecca Fountain. He was only three days old when his parents died and he grew up under the care of his older sisters. In June, 1848, after his marriage, he came to the United States, his wife being a native of the same county in England. After a brief stay in Ohio they came to DeKalb County in the same year and William Fountain bought eighty acres in the midst of the heavy woods. A little cabin home had already been prepared and there he and his wife began their humble task of housekeeping. William Fountain was a man of prodigious industry and before his death had accumulated a tract of 400 acres. He died June 11, 1889, and his wife survived him until July 4, 1909. Both were active members of the Methodist Church and he gave liberally to its support and various causes. He was a republican in politics, and his home was constantly the scene of a liberal hospitality. William Fountain and his wife had three children: Sarah A., born December 3, 1850; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Joseph Tarlton and died March 19, 1898; and William R.
William R. Fountain was born February 3, 1855, had a common school education and since the death of his parents he and his sister have lived on the old home farm. They jointly own 260 acres of the old Fountain
homestead and he also owns a business building on Randolph Street in Garrett and three dwelling houses there. Both he and his sister are members of the Methodist Church at Garrett. William R. is a republican.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of William Fountain, page 154. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Son of Oliver Cromwell and Lovisa (Rose) Dickinson, both now deceased, was born in Randolph, Portage county, O., Aug. 13, 1827, and enlisted from there at the age of 34 years, Oct. 5, 1861, in Co. L., 6th O.V. C., as a private, being promoted to 1st Duty Sergt., and Ord. Sergt.; Dec. 18, 1862, he was sick with typhoid pheumonia, for which he was sent to Findlay hospital, Washington, then transferred to Armory Square hospital, Washington, where, Jan. 1864, he was detailed as hospital detective for six months; he was furloughed form Jan. 1863 to April, 1863, returning to hospital at expiration of same; he was again furloughed Dec. 28, for nine days; while with his Regt., he took part in the battles of 2d Bull Run, Cedar Mountain, Aldee, and as they were detailed as provost guards, were continually fighting; Oct., 5, 1864, he was honorably discharged at hospital at Washington D.C.; his brothers Samuel W., and Luther B., served in the late war, and are both deceased; two brothers of his wife were also in the Union Army, Levi, in 6th O.V.C.; and Andrew J., in 42d O.V.I.; Comrade Dickinson's wife, Permelia Sears, to whom he was married at Randolph O., was born at that place April 9, 1830, of parents, Samuel and Lodisa (Leach) Sears, deceased; their children are Oliver C., Charles M., Willis S., Forrest R. and an infant, dec.; Comrade Dickinson received his education in Portage county, O., in the district schools; was township assessor in 1865, and town clerk in 1859 and '60, in Randolph O.; in 1865 he kept a boarding house in Kent O., in the old John Brown tavern; in 1866 he came to DeKalb county, Ind., where he was constable in 1877; he is a member of Waterloo Post, in which he has been commander S.V.C., Adjt. Sergt. Maj., and present Q. M.; he is a florist , draws a pension, and his address is Waterloo, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Simon Z. Dickinson, Vol. II, page 589. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Cryus B. Dirrim, who has long played an important part in the business affairs of Hamilton, represents one of the oldest and most widely known families in Northeast Indiana.
He was born in Franklin Township of DeKalb County June 11, 1873, a son of Peter R. and Hannah (Myers) Dirrim and a grandson of Isaac and Helen (Wycoff) Dirrim. Isaac Dirrim was born in April 11, 1812, and settled in DeKalb County in 1844. He died in August, 1891, at Hamilton. He had moved to Steuben County in 1858. His wife survived him until 1901.
Peter R. Dirrim was born in DeKalb County, October 12, 1851, and his wife on April 20, 1852. He has spent his active career as a farmer and is owner of a place of 132 acres in Otsego Township. He and his wife are members of the United Brethren Church. Their three sons are Cyrus B., Frank E. and Bert.
Cyrus B. Dirrim was educated in the public schools and for twenty-one years has been a successful jeweler at Hamilton. He also filled the office of postmaster thirteen years and was a member of the Towns Board when it was first organized and was the first president of the Village of Hamilton. He is connected with the Steuben Oil Company, is a republican, a member of the Masonic Order, Knights of Pythias and the Christian Church.
In 1895 he married Miss Mary L. Nichols, of DeKalb County, daughter of Norman and Sarah (Holton) Nichols. They have one daughter, Vella May, born August 19, 1901, a student in the Hamilton High School.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Cyrus B. Dirrim, pages 242 / 243. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Peter R. Dirrim. Dirrim is one of the names that occur most frequently in the annals both early and modern of DeKalb County and also of parts of Steuben County. Peter R. Dirrim, a native of DeKalb County, has spent the greater part of his life as a practical farmer on the old Dirrim homestead in Otsego Township of Steuben County. He was born in Franklin Township of the former county October 12, 1851.
He is a son of Isaac and Eleanor (Wycoff) Dirrim, and a grandson of Richard Dirrim. Various members of the Dirrim family are referred to elsewhere in this publication. Isaac Dirrim was born in Stark County, Ohio, and his wife was a native of that state, a daughter of Peter Wycoff. Isaac Dirrim came to DeKalb County and located in Franklin Township, in the same community where his brother William H. Dirrim lived. He cleared a farm, put up buildings and in 1858 moved to the place now occupied by his son Peter in Otsego Township of Steuben County, where he acquired about 200 acres. He was a good influence in his community. He was a member of the United Brethren Church. He and his wife had a large family of eleven children: Elizabeth, who died unmarried; Sarah, deceased wife of Joseph Oberlin; Liza Ann, who was married to Alfred Kepler; Hannah, deceased wife of David W. Oberlin; Eveline, who married George H. Casper; William Cyrus, who spent his life in Kansas; Lovina, wife of Hiram Enzor; Peter R.; Martha, deceased wife of Benjamin Myers; Mary E., who first married James Hagerty and later E.A. Prawl; Ida Frances, deceased wife of Frank Albright.
Peter R. Dirrim received his education in the public schools of Otsego Township. He began assisting his father on his present farm in section 35 when a youth, and during his individual management and ownership has erected all the substantial buildings on the land. He owns 130 acres, twenty two of which are in Franklin Township of DeKalb County.
February 24, 1872, Mr. Dirrim married Hannah Myers, daughter of James and Sarah (Slentz) Myers. Her father was also one of the early settlers of Franklin Township. Mr. and Mrs. Dirrim have three children: Cyrus B., Frank Eugene and Birt. Frank Eugene married Mabel Henselman and has five children, named Carrol, Alice, Clarence, Donald and Harold. Birt is one of the progressive young farmers of this part of Indiana, owns sixty acres of land in section 1 of Franklin Township, and also handles his father’s farm. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Birt Dirrim married Audra V. Dirrim and has one child, Cecil.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Peter R. Dirrim, Vol. II, page 396. History of Northeast
Indiana. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Was born July 22, 1835, in Pennsylvania, and is the Spring of 1858 settled in DeKalb county, Ind. He is the son of Joseph and Nancy (Landus) Frederick, the father dying in 1880, and the mother in 1865. July 21, 1858, in Steuben county, he was united in marriage to Susanna Snowberger, who was born April 22, 1830, in Ashland county, Ohio. They have four children, Christens, George, Nancy E. and Peter C. Mrs. Frederick's mother is deceased. Our subject was living at Pleasant Lake, Steuben Co., Ind., engaged in farming, when at the age of 26, he enlisted at Kendallville, Ind., Sept. 28, 1864, as a private in Co. I, 53rd Ind. V.I., 1st, Brig., 4th Div., 17th A.C. In November of the same year he was granted a furlough for thirty days, rejoining his command at Indianapolis, Dec. 1, 1864. At one time he was stationed as guard over amunition train; he took part in the battle of Kingston; and numerous minor skirmishes and engagements, receiving his honorable discharge May 31, 1865, at Indianapolis, Ind. A brother, George, was a member of the 7th Ind. V.C., was wounded at Memphis; he now lives in Steuben county, Ind.; William, another brother, was a member of Co. H, 53rd Ind. V.I. Mr. Frederick is a pensioner, is a member of the S.C. Aldrich Post, No. 138, G.A.R., Dept. of Ind.; he is engaged in farming, and his address is Steubenville, DeKalb Co., Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 596. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Was born Feb. 15, 1838, in Tuscarawas county, O.; he settled in DeKalb county, Ind., in 1853; his parents are George and Magdaline Frets; The mother is still living, residing in Albany, Mo.; Mr. Frets was married, in 1886, to Sarah A. Johnson, who was born in 1847, in Green county, Ind.; their children are Louis B., Catherine, Mary Henrietta, Nancy, Phoebe and Agnes; the parents of Mrs. Frets are Warren and Nancy (Baker) Johnson, both now dead; Mr. Fretz was a first time married to Mary H. Greenwood, who died in March, 1863; their child Jefferson, died the same year; our subject was working at the carpenter trade, when at the age of 22, he enlisted Oct. 15, 1862, at Indianapolis, as a private in Co. D, 83rd Ind. V.I., 13th A.C.; Dec. 20, 1862, he was wounded at Chickasaw Bluffs, by being shot in the breast; this wound confined his to the hospital at St. Louis, for four months; he was detailed to work on canal at Vicksburg, also to do picket duty; he participated in the battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, but on account of wound received there, was not able to take part in any other battles; his honorable discharge was granted him at Camp Sherman, Aug. 8, 1863. He had three brothers in the service, Daniel in the 30th Ind., and George in the 88th Ind., were captured and held in Libby Prison until the close of the war. Samuel was also in the 30th Ind. Our comrade is a member of DeLong Post, 67, is a pensioner, and his address is Auburn, DeKalb Co., Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 597. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Was born August 11, 1821, in Strongsville, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, and settled in DeKalb county in 1848; he is the son of John and Sarah (Thayer) Fuller, both now deceased. He was married in 1875, at Newville, Ind., to Mary Webster, who was born May 30, 1835, in Trumbull county, Ohio. They have one child, Harry. Mrs. Fuller's parents are Hazzard and Laura (Ackley) Webster. The mother is still living aged 85 years, in 1894. Mr. Fuller's first wife was Lucinda Nichols, who died in 1873, at Newville, Ind. Their children are
Francine, Flora and Logan. His wife's first husband was John Hull. Their children were Ellen, John Luvica, dec., two infants girls not named. Mr. Fuller was farming in DeKalb county, Ind., when at the age of 40, he
enlisted at Newville Sept. 22, 1861, as a private in Co. F, 44th Ind. V.I., 3rd Div., 3rd Brig. At Fort Wayne he was mustered in as a 4th Sergt., and was afterward promoted to 1st Sergt. He was in the field hospital at Calhoon, Ky., two weeks and Evansville, Ind., two weeks; he participated in the Siege of Corinth, Stone River, on the Buell and Bragg raid for Bridgeport, Tenn., to Louisville, Ky., Crab Orchard, Perryville, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and a number of minor engagements and skirmishes; his honorable discharge was granted him at Chattanooga, Tenn., Nov 23, 1864. He is a charter member of O.S. Blood Post, 143, being an officer in the same; he was also a member of I. Donaldosn Post, 52, having held important offices in that also. Mr. Fuller was in the quarter master's department in the Mexican War, as teamster. With five other teamsters, he left the City of Mexico, June 7, 1848, for Vera Cruz with $100,000 in gold and silver. He had charge of $16,000. The trip was
completed without a guard, a distance of 250 miles. His brother Alfred, a member of the 68th O.V.I., was taken sick and died at Jeffersonville, Ind., while in service. His wife's first husband Jan. 3, 1863, enlisted in Co. H, 88th Ind. V.I. was instantly killed at the battle of Stone River, by being shot in the neck. Her brother, John Webster, of Co. F. 44th Ind. V.I., was wounded at Shiloh, and killed at the battle of Stone River, is buried at the same place. Our soldier's grandfathers, Thayer and Fuller, were in the Revolutionary War. His wife's mother was nurse in the hospital at Nashville. Our comrade has held the office of trustee and township assessor. Mr. Fuller is a farmer, and is a pensioner. His address is Hicksville, Defiance Co., Ohio.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 597. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
James M. Furnish. One of the farms in Jackson Township of DeKalb County longest in the possession of one family is that owned by James M. Furnish on the county line between Allen and DeKalb counties. Mr. Furnish himself has gathered crops from that land for over forty years, and his father before him developed and farmed it.
James M. Furnish was born in Ashland County, Ohio, January 26, 1849, a son of David and Mary C. (Davis) Furnish. His father was born in Suffolk, England, in 1805, and came to the United States when about twenty-eight years or thirty years of age. He lived in Boston for several years, married in that city, and then moved to Ashland County, Ohio. His home was in Ashland County for seventeen years. He supported his family by a common labor and also by farming. After selling his twenty-five acres of land in Ashland County he moved to DeKalb County and bought eighty acres where his son James now lives. He remained there the rest of his life and owing to an injury spent several years almost helpless. James M. Furnish carefully looked after his parents in their declining years and was their mainstay and support during their last years. Both were active in the Lutheran Church and his father was a republican. Of their family of eleven children only four are now living: Abraham, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Margaret J., wife of David Hollabough; James M.; and Martha.
James M. Furnish grew up on the home farm and was educated in the common schools. He worked for his father and took charge of the farm for a number of years and after his father’s death he bought the old homestead. He does general farming. Mr. Furnish is a republican in politics and a member of the Lutheran Church.
May 13, 1880, he married Ida Steward. She was a native of DeKalb County and was educated in the common schools. They have three children: Ralph, a farmer living with his father; Sudia, wife of Melvin Howey of DeKalb County; David, who is married and lives in Detroit, Michigan, where he is working with the Ford Automobile Works.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of James M. Furnish, pages 27 / 28. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Dr. C. A. Gardner. Among the professional men of Kendallville, Indiana is Dr. Cyrus Alvin Gardner, who has been in the practice of medicine and surgery in that place of the past fifteen years.
Doctor Gardner was born in Fairfield Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, January 10, 1875, a son of Henry and Sarah (Miller) Gardner. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio. His father, at the age of six years, moved with his parents to Holmes County, Ohio, where he grew to manhood. In 1845 he located on a farm in DeKalb County, Indiana, being one of the early pioneers of the county. He remained on the same farm until 1899, when he moved to Kendallville, where he lived until his death.
Doctor Gardner was born and reared on a farm. He received his preliminary education in the district school, graduating from the grades in 1893. In September of the same year he entered the academic department of Wittenberg College at Springfield, Ohio, graduating from that department in the spring of 1895. In the fall of the same year he entered Wittenberg College, completing the course in the spring of 1899 with the degree of A.B. He was prominent in student affairs in college. He was president of his senior class and was also especially active in athletics. He was a member of the college track team and of the varsity football team, being captain of the college team when Wittenberg gained the Ohio championship. He is a member of the Greek letter fraternity, Phi Gamma Delta.
In the fall of 1899 Doctor Gardner entered Rush Medical College at Chicago and completed his course there June 18, 1902, receiving the degree of M.D. The same year he received from Wittenberg College the degree of A. M. Immediately after graduating, from Rush Medical College Doctor Gardner located in Kendallville, Indiana, where he has a high reputation in medical circles. He is secretary of the Board of Health and Charities of Kendallville, is surgeon for the Ft. Wayne and Northwestern Railroad, and was acting surgeon for the New York Central lines in 1918. He is an active member of the Noble County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and of the American Medical Society.
Doctor Gardner was married in Chicago, November 12, 1901, to Etta Mae Barringer of Springfield, Ohio. They are members of the Presbyterian Church and he is a Knight Templar Mason.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Dr. C.A. Gardner, page 453. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Girt L. Gnagy, who has been one of the leading business men of Hamilton for a number of years, operating the local mills, also a garage, is a native of DeKalb County, and is a grandson of the pioneer in that county, John Houlton. John Houlton was born in Highland County, Ohio, in 1804, son of Samuel Houlton, and was in every sense a pioneer and frontiersman. In 1827 he went to Williams County, Ohio, where with his brother he was connected with the saw milling industry. In September, 1833, he came to DeKalb County, and in the same month built the first house in the county in Franklin Township. When this house was torn down in 1860 the DeKalb County Pioneer Society had a number of canes made from the logs, and some of those canes are no doubt carefully preserved. John Houlton married shortly before coming to DeKalb County Sarah Vee, who died in July, 1839. Her daughter Margaret, born in 1836, was the first white girl born in DeKalb County. In 1839 John Houlton married Nancy Lewis, daughter of Samuel Lewis. To this union were born nine children. A daughter, Mary Ann, who died in 1869, was the first wife of Jeremiah Gnagy. Her sister, Rebecca Houlton, later became the wife of Jeremiah Gnagy.
Jeremiah Gnagy was born in Tuscarawus County, Ohio, in 1844, and spent most of his life in DeKalb County. In 1884 he moved to Hamilton in Steuben County and conducted a summer resort there, also owning a farm of fifty-five acres adjoining the village property. He was a democrat and held several township offices. He died in 1895. He was active in the Christian Church and his widow, Rebecca Houlton Gnagy, was a member of the same church. Rebecca Gnagy, is still living at the age of seventy-three. Her five children, all living, are: Guy, George, Girt, Glen and Gladiolus.
Girt L. Gnagy, who was born in DeKalb County October 15, 1879, has lived at Hamilton since he was about five years old. He attended public schools, and as a youth became a teaming contractor. Later he secured an interest in the local water power and developed it and has given Hamilton its chief facilities as a milling center. For the past seven years he has also been interested in the garage business and is owner of some productive farming land. Mr. Gnagy is a republican, a member of the Mason, Knights of Pythias and Grangers, and affiliates with the Christian Church.
April 14, 1906, he married Audry L. Sharp of Steuben County. Her father, Eugene Sharp, is the present trustee of York Township. Mr. and
Mrs. Gnagy have one son, Lyle, born December 24, 1912.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Girt L. Gnagy, page 421. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Was living in DeKalb county, Ind., engaged in farming, when at the age of 22, he enlisted at Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 12, 1862, as a private in Co. B, 29th Ind. V.I., 2d Brig., 2d Div., 20th A.C.; his battle list includes Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, Tallahoma, Hoovers Gap, Elk River, Cleveland, and numerous minor engagements; his honorable discharge was granted him at Altanta Ga., Nov. 13, 1865; our comrade was born Nov. 2, 1840, in Holmes county, O., and settled in DeKalb county, Ind., in 1850; he is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Shock) Gonser, the father dying in 1875, the mother in 1872; April 25, 1869, he was united in marriage to Lucinda Freed, who was born April 25, 1850, in Stark county, O. To their union the following children were born: Emery M., William A., John J., James Byron, Peter Earl; the parents of Mrs. Gonser are John and Ann Eliza (Huet) Freed; the mother died in 1885; five cousins, Gonser boys, William Levi, John, Jonathan, and Joe, all died in the service; another cousin, John Kreger, starved to death in Libby prison. A great uncle, David Gonser served in the War of 1812, and a cousin by the same name, was in the Mexican War; our comrade has been a member of the school board, is a pensioner, occupation, farming, and his address is Fairfield Center,
DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 604. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Was born Jan, 31, 1838, and is the son of Philander and Sylinda (Jewett) Goodrich, the father dying in 1856, and the mother in 1843; he married Jan. 10, 1867, Miss Phelps, who was born Jan. 3, 1836, in Granville O. Their children are Infant, Orrin, who is now married to Nora A. Getts, and resides in Fairfield township, Albert, Blanche, Durward, dec., and Edna; the parents of Mrs. Goodrich are Chauncy and Mary (Chadwick) Phelps, the father dying in 1841, and the mother in 1881; our subject was farming in DeKalb county, where he settled in 1840, when at the age of 24, he enlisted at Waterloo, Ind., Aug. 8, 1862, as a private in Co. A, 88th Ind. V.I., 1st, Brig., 1st Div., 14th A.C. In March 1863, he was promoted to the rank of corporal; for twenty days in Nov. 1862, he was in Hospital No. 1, at Louisville Ky. In Nov. 1863, he was detailed with the Pioneer Corps 1st Batl., Co. A, to cut roads, build bridges, blast rocks in Lookout Mountain, and pontoon bridges; from Murfreesboro, he went to Chattanooga, where he was transferred from Pioneer to Engineer Corps, July 29, 1864; his battle list includes Perryville, Stone River, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, and other minor engagements; his honorable discharge was granted him June 26, 1865, at Chattanooga; his brother, William, was held for some time a prisoner; two of his wife's nephews, Lyman and Reuben Lockwood, were in the army, both survived; her great grandfather, was killed in the War of 1776; Mr. Goodrich has held the office of supervisor and school director; he draws a pension, is a member of Waterloo Post, No. 52, is a farmer, and his address is Sedan, DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 604. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Alvin A. Goodwin has heavy responsibilities in a business way, being manager of the Goodwin Lumber company, one of the chief firms engaged in hardwood lumber manufacture in Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan. Mr. Goodwin for many years has been engaged in the lumber business either as a retailer or manufacturer, and is a member of one of the old and prominent families of Northeastern Indiana.
He was born in the town of Waterloo in DeKalb County September 8, 1872, son of Leander S. and Rebecca (Hively) Goodwin. His grandfather, Samuel Goodwin, was born in Pennsylvania in October, 1816, son of David and Catherine (Zimmerman) Goodwin. In 1822 the Goodwin Family moved to Wayne County, Ohio, later to Ashland County, where David Goodwin died, and Samuel Goodwin grew up in Ashland County and in 1843 married Elizabeth Good. From that section of Ohio in 1854 they moved to DeKalb County, Indiana, and settled on a farm near Waterloo in Union Township. Samuel Goodwin cleared away the woods and made a choice farm of 115 acres and accumulated a good property, which kept his age free from care and labor. His wife died in 1865. Two of his brothers David, and Daniel, also came to DeKalb County, and as they had adjoining land the three families constituted almost a community. By his first marriage Samuel Goodwin had five children: Mary E., who died in 1918; Leander S.; Joseph W., of Fremont, Indiana; Lucy, who married Stephen George; and Alice, who became the wife of William Atwood. Samuel Goodwin married for his second wife Mary Brubaker, a widow, and they had three children, Ina, Frank and William.
Leander S. Goodwin was born in Ashland County, Ohio, August 18, 1846, and was about eight years old when the family moved to DeKalb County. He grew up on a farm there, acquired a public school education, and in addition, to farming he sold agricultural implements and was also a dealer in timber lands. He was a republican, and during the session of 1895 served as postmaster of the House of Representatives in the Indiana Legislature. He died in 1898, and his wife, who was born in Ohio in 1847, died in 1884. Both were active members of the United Brethren Church. Leander Goodwin and his first wife had five children: Etta: Ella, ticket agent at Waterloo; Alvin A.; Elizabeth, who died in 1876; and Samuel L. Leander Goodwin married for his second wife Jennie Lawhead, and they were the parents of three children, Martha, Jay and William. Both Jay and William have been soldiers in the great war. Jay is now with the army in France. William has been assigned to duty on the military police in New York City.
Alvin A. Goodwin grew up in DeKalb County, attended the public schools, and in 1891, at the age of nineteen, went to Pleasant Lake in Steuben County and entered the service of his uncle Joseph W. Goodwin, in the saw milling business. In 1900 Mr. Goodwin bought a local lumber an coal yard and continued that business for twelve years, building it up to large proportions and selling out at a figure which represented a comfortable competence. For many years he had been engaged in the manufacture of lumber, and, as above noted, is manager of the Goodwin Lumber Company, which has a number of mills in Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana. In 1918 this corporation furnished about $75,000 worth of lumber for government purposes. Mr. Goodwin is also the owner of the Standard Body Company, of White Pigeon, Michigan, which company builds cabs and bodies for automobile trucks, and their product is sold throughout the central states, mostly from their distributing branch in Detroit. Their slogan---"From Tree to Truck" is well known in the motor truck world and the factory is always away behind in filling orders because of its being impossible for the production to keep pace with the
increasing business. The product of this factory is seen throughout the country, on the busy streets of all the large cities and on country roads. While so much of his time has been taken up with practical business affairs Mr. Goodwin is known to a great many people not in a business was but as an author. His poetry has attracted much attention, and has been published in some of the leading magazines, also in the columns of the Fort Wayne daily papers. Some of his selected poems have been published in book form. Mr. Goodwin is affiliated with Pleasant Lake Lodge No. 593, Free and Accepted Masons, with the Order of Gleaners, and with the United Commerical Travelers of Fort Wayne. He and his family are members of the United Brethren Church.
In 1895 Mr. Goodwin married Miss Lena Bigler of Pleasant Lake. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin have two children: Van, hose individual sketch follows; and Verne, born 29 Jun 1902, still in high school. Politically Mr. Goodwin is a republican, but has been too busy to concern himself with the responsibilities of public office, though he is
an active worker for his party and served on the Credentials Committee at the State Convention in 1916.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Alvin A. Goodwin, pages 309 / 310. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Was farming in DeKalb county, when at the age of 17, he enlisted at Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 22, 1864, as a member of Capt. Kellogg's Scouts, acting as cavalry; he was ill in the hospital head quarters, at Nashville, for six weeks, cause sun stroke, resulting in scrofula. In April 1864, he was captured by Capt. Smith of he bushrangers, but was recaptured from the enemy within thirty minutes. About 20 miles from Cave City, they overtook Capt. Smith, and not only killed him, but entirely broke up his command. Conrad Goodwin scouted through Ky. Tenn., Georgia and Alabama, with Capt. Kellogg as commander. His honorable discharge was granted him at Nashville, May 23, 1864. Mr. Goodwin was born Aug. 23, 1846, in Ashland county, Ohio, and settled in DeKalb county, in the spring of 1854. He was married to Jennie M. Lawhead, who was born April 1, 1859. They have one child, Martha B. He was a first time married to Rebecca Hively. Five children were born to their union, Etta E., Ella E., Alvin A., Clara C., dec., and Samuel L. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin are Samuel and Elizabeth Goodwin, John and Nancy Lawhead, the last named, only is living. Mrs. Goodwin had seven brothers in the service, George, Joseph, Henry, James, Jesse, David and Noah. Our comrade is engaged in the Agricultural Implement business; his address is Waterloo, DeKalb Co., Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 600. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Oliver M. Gramling is the prosperous owner of a 135-acre farm in Jackson Township of DeKalb County, has made most of his prosperity through his own efforts, and is one of the leading citizens of that community. He is a stock man and a breeder of high grade Durham cattle.
Mr. Gramling, whose home is a mile and a half southwest of Auburn, was born in Smithfield Township of DeKalb County, May 12, 1864, a son of Peter and Lavinia (Meyers) Gramling. His father was born in Stark County, Ohio, in 1848, and his mother in York County, Pennsylvania, in 1842. They were married in Ohio and then came to Indiana and settled in Smithfield Township and spent the rest of their lives there. They were active members of the Barkers Chapel of the Methodist Church, and Peter Gramling was a republican. He served as postmaster at Summit, Indiana. In the family were eight children: Mary, wife of Thomas Lacy; Oliver M.; Isaac S., a railroad man living in York, Pennsylvania; Eleva, wife of Thad W. Thomas; Lottie, wife of J. I. Farley, head salesman of the Auburn Automobile Company; W.H., a farmer at Summit, Indiana; Carrie, wife of William Zurbrugg; and Richard A., of Cleveland, Ohio.
Oliver M. Gramling and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church at Auburn. He is a republican in politics. He married Miss Helen I. Shaffer, who was born in Union Township of DeKalb County and is a graduate of the Auburn High School. They have three children: Lester S., born March 1, 1901, a student in the Auburn High School; Frances L, born September 30, 1906; and Oliver H., born December 11, 1907.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Oliver M. Gramling, page 142. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Monte L. Green has been an important figure in the financial life of DeKalb County for a number of years, and is president of the Garrett Savings, Loan & Trust Company, Garrett, Indiana.
His early life was spent in a number of different localities. He was born in Missouri, January 26, 1870, son of Jesse H. and Louisa C. (Beach) Green. His parents were natives of Indiana, the father born in Moore’s Hill and the mother in Henry County, near Lewisville. After their marriage they lived in Spencer, Owen County, Indiana, and at various other localities, moving to Kenton County, Kentucky, opposite Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1890. Jesse Green was for over thirty years postal clerk in the United States Rural Mail Service on various lines and finally on the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. When retiring from active service he lived in Bellevue, Campbell County, Kentucky, opposite Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is still living past eighty-one years of age. The mother died there, April 23, 1905. Of their two children, Glenn Arden and Monte Lee, the later is the only one now living. Jesse H. Green is an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic by virtue of his service in the Civil war. April 15, 1861, he enlisted in the navy at New York City, and after leaving that branch of the service he enlisted in the Twenty-Fifth Indiana Battery of Light Artillery, and was with his command until the close of the war.
Monte L. Green acquired his education in the public schools, is a graduate of the Indianapolis High School, and had a complete business course in the Cincinnati Business College. For about twenty years he was engaged in the carriage business and other similar lines of activity and in 1907 moved to Auburn, where he was associated with W. H. McIntire. Later he bought stock in the Auburn Savings, Loan & Trust Company, and was its vice president until early in 1913.
Mr. Green, with associates, organized the Savings, Loan & Trust Company of Garrett in 1908. This institution, formerly capitalized at $25,000 and now $40,000, has been one of the bulwarks of DeKalb County finance for the past ten years. Mr. Green is an able financier, and his entire business and civic record has been admirable. He served as president of the commercial Club while at Auburn, has been much interested in the welfare of local schools in various communities, having been president of the School Board in Ludlow, Kentucky, is past master of the Masonic Lodge and member of the Royal Arch Chapter, Council and Commander, also the thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Masons, and the Mystic Shrine at Fort Wayne. He and his wife are both active in the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Green has been elder in the church for years and prominent in the Fort Wayne Presbytery. Mr. Green married for his first wife Josephine Pohlman, who died January 11, 1906, the mother of two sons, Arden D. and Lyman Dale. For his present wife Mr. Green married Helen Samme Ralston. They have one daughter, Alzein Louise. Mrs. Green was born at Auburn, a daughter of A.J. and Hadessa (George) Ralston. Her mother is still living. A.J. Ralston, who died January 12, 1919, was widely known in DeKalb County, having served as deputy sheriff and deputy treasurer of the county and in various other public offices. Mrs. Green is a graduate of the Auburn High School and has been identified with clubs and civic work for years. During the war she was county chairman of all the loan drives, food conservation and the woman member of the Council of Defense. She was one of the leaders among the women of DeKalb County in Auxiliary war activities.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Monte L. Green, pages 337 / 338. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Nathaniel B. Griffin. For many years to come as a result of the great war the problem of feeding humanity is going to be an international one, and the solving of it is going to devolve principally upon the American farmers. For this and other cogent reasons the vocation of farming has gained and will attract to it still more of the representative men of the country. One of the men who long ago recognized the desirability of this line of endeavor is Nathaniel B. Griffin, of Otsego Township, Steuben County, Indiana. He was born in Jackson Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, July 15, 1852, son of Eli B. Griffin.
Eli B. Griffin was born in Pennsylvania, in February, 1802, and his wife Eliza (Bundy) Griffin, was born in Pennsylvania in April, 1812, a daughter of Nathaniel Bundy. In 1846 Eli B. Griffin moved from Pennsylvania to Jackson Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, becoming one of the pioneers of that section. There he entered eighty acres of land and lived there until 1865, when he moved to Wilmington Township in the same county, on a farm of 140 acres, which he had purchased, and there he continued to reside until his death. He and his excellent wife had the following children: Thomas, Susan, Charles, George, Polley, William, Edward, Maria, Nathaniel B. and Nelson.
Until he was twenty years of age Nathaniel B. Griffin remained with his father, during that period learning how to be a farmer and attending the district schools. For the subsequent four years he worked for neighboring farmers, and then he was married and started for himself on rented land. Later he bought a farm, conducting it until 1901, when he traded it for his present one of 140 acres in section 30 Otesgo Township, and here he is profitably engaged in general farming and stock raising, his success in this line proving his good judgement in selecting this line of work.
In 1876 Mr. Griffin was united in marriage with Miss Viola Cameron, a daughter of William and Sarah (Carlin) Cameron, and they had two children: Luella , who died at he age of fourteen yeas, and Etta, who married Charles Crowl and has three children, Viola, Fred and Laurence. Mrs. Griffin died in 1906 and in 1909 Mr. Griffin was married to Mrs. Agnes Cook.
William Cameron, the father of the first Mrs. Griffin, was one of the prominent men of Steuben County, Indiana. He was born in Abernethy, Scotland October 23, 1817, he being the second of the nine children born to George and Janet Cameron, who came to the western district of Canada in 1834. The mother survived the change but four years, dying in 1838, and in 1848, the father dying, three of the children, including William, came to Indiana, he settling in Richland Township, on 160 acres of land in section 8. John Cameron, a brother, also settled in Richland Township, Steuben County, but he died in 1878. Donald, the other brother, settled in Posey County, Indiana. In 1864 William Cameron sold his farm, which he had considerably improved, and bought another farm in section 29, Otsego Township. Although a poor man upon coming to Steuben County, through his industry and thrift he accumulated property and died a wealthy man. He was married in March 1843, to Sarah Carlin, a native of Wayne County, Ohio, where she was born February 1, 1826, a daughter of Robert and Sarah Carlin, who settled in Richland Township in 1841. William Cameron and his
wife became the parents of the following children: Robert, Jane, Juliet, Sarah, John, Maria, Viola and one who died in infancy. Nathaniel B. Griffin is a man who possesses will and resourcefulness and has known how to so
conduct his farm as to gain a good return on his investment of time and money. He has recognized the importance of operating according to modern methods in order to produce large crops and market them expeditiously and his experiments with their attending results are matter of considerable interest to those of his neighbors less experienced than he.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Nathaniel B. Griffin, pages 212 / 213. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Is the son of Nelson and Sarah (Cobler) Griffith, the father being deceased. He was born Sept. 1, 1846 in DeKalb county, and was first married to Maria Wiley; one daughter was born to them, Gertrude; he was a second time married, Dec. 24, 1876, in DeKalb county, to Frederickey Kreuger, born Aug. 2, 1856, in this county; their one child is Alva N. The parents of Mrs. Griffith are William and Minnie (Myers) Kreuger, both now deceased; Mr. Griffith was engaged in farming, when at the age of 18, at Kendallville, Ind., Jan. 11, 1864 he enlisted as corporal in Co. F, 129th Ind. V. I., 2d Brig., 1st Div., 23d A.C.; he participated in the following battles Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Decatur, Atlanta, Lovejoy Station, Columbia, Franklin, Nashville, Kingston and numerous skirmishes; our comrade had one brother in the army, L.C. Griffith, a member of the 23d Ind. Bat.; he entered the ranks as private, but was soon promoted to corporal and then to Sergeant; he survived the war, and now lives in Michigan; our subject draws a pension, is a farmer, and resides near Corunna, DeKalb county, Ind.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of David F. Detrick, Vol. II, page 603. Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen; H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, New York, Toledo, and Chicago, 1894.
Benjamin Smith Grogg. The traveler through Richland Township whose attention is caught by the name "Progressive Farm" on substantial, well kept buildings, is not surprised to find in the owner of this property an unusually intelligent, well educated, thoughtful man whose farming enterprises are successful and profitable. Benjamin Smith Grogg, owner and proprietor of Progressive Farm, was born November 1, 1848, in Stark County, Ohio, and was brought to DeKalb County a babe in his mother’s arms in 1849. His parents were Peter and Eliza (Smith) Grogg, whose other children were as follows: Amy Ann, who died in early womanhood; Lucinda, who is the wife of David Feagler; Jacob W., who married Mary Fair; James H., who married Ida Showers; Mary, who is the wife of J. A. Whittington; Daniel S., who is deceased, married Elizabeth Imler; Ellen, who is the wife of George Rakestraw; and Elmer E., who is deceased, married Ida Smith. The family of the last named live where Peter Grogg located when he first came to Indiana.
While there is a combination of French, Scotch, Irish and German blood in the Grogg ancestry, the history of the family in the United States centers in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. Peter Grogg, father of Benjamin S., was born March 2, 1821, in Stark County, Ohio, and was the seventh son born to Solomon and Mary (Snyder) Grogg, and his brothers were: John, Abraham, Solomon, George, Jacob and Daniel, and he had a sister Catherine. On September 2, 1846, he was married to Eliza Smith, who was the fifth in a family of nine children born to Benjamin and Rachel (Bender) Smith, whose other children were as follows: Aaron B., Lucinda, Harriet, Susan, Caroline, Ephraim, Hiram and Catherine. Two children were born to Peter and Eliza Grogg before they took up their residence in DeKalb County. When Mr. Grogg located on his first quarter section of land there were only two acres cleared, and it was through his industrial efforts that the wild land was changed into one of the most productive farms of this county.
The parents of Benjamin S. Grogg belonged to the English Reformed Church of Tamarack, near their home, but they contributed to the building of churches at Waterloo and Fairfield Center, but later, under changed conditions, they united with the Lutheran, known to all as Sixteen Church, in Richland Township, a present day old landmark of the county. The old family burying place was in Union Cemetery, the younger members of the family owning crypts in the mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery.
As indicated above, Benjamin Smith Grogg is a man of progressive ideas, many of which he has introduced in the management of his farm. He merely superintends, however, having a capable tenant, for Mr. Grogg has not been an agriculturist all his life, in fact has been something of a traveler and perhaps has seen more of the western part of the United States than the majority of his neighbors. He has been in every state west of the Mississippi River and has traveled the whole length of Canada from Detroit to Vancouver, spending time in both mining and logging camps. He made the round trip from DeKalb County to the Pacific Coast four times while his parents were living. In these years of travel he has met with accident and adventure. At one time he was confined in a hospital at Santa Fe, New Mexico, for eighty-four days. Like most men who have really done brave things, he is modest in telling of them. On one occasion he undertook the dangerous task of crossing the Columbia River on thin ice in order to carry a telegram to a family announcing the death of a soldier son in the barracks of Vancouver, being the only man to volunteer for this hazardous mission. He succeeded in crossing the cracking ice on Norwegian snow shoes, but had to remain at his destination for a week on account of the breaking ice, and then returned by means of a row boat.
Mr. Grogg owns a well tilled farm with exceptional improvements. His residence is of cement blocks, with sanitary plumbing and a heat, light and water system and with separate, apartments for himself and for his tenant and family, the latter being Guy Myers, who married Gladys Grogg, a relative. They make Mr. Grogg exceeding comfortable and he passes the most of this time at Progressive Farm. By careful plan he has the barn basement adapted to the care of livestock, having ample room and crib capacity, with a storage tank for water in the bank driveway, gravity forcing the water in a constant stream by the opening of a value. When the wind pump fails, there is a gasoline engine to use in emergency, hence water is plentiful at all times, which is one of the greatest desideratums in successful agricultural industries.
Mr. Grogg’s interest in public affairs is that of a well informed, public-spirited citizen. In national matters he is a zealous republican in his political views, but in local campaigns, when some specific issue is at stake, he allows himself to follow his own good judgment and consider the man rather than the party.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Benjamin S. Grogg, page 84. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, and DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.
Hon. C. H. Grube, former representative of DeKalb County in the Indiana Legislature, is a farmer by occupation but has many broad interests and connections that made him truly a representative of his home locality.
He was born in Stafford Township, January 6, 1888, a son of William Henry and Mary (Haas) Grube. His grandfather, Peter Grube, was born in Bavaria, Germany, December 26, 1804, and in 1835 married Elizabeth May, who was born in Bavaria in 1811. They came to the United States in 1836, in 1838 settled in Ohio and in 1843 moved to DeKalb County. Peter Grube arrived in this country with only $11 in cash, and after many years of hard work had more than 200 acres of farming land. It is said that when he bought his first eighty acres he could pay only $50 in cash. He was celebrated among the old timers for his great endurance and powers as a pedestrian. He was the father of five children: William H., Elizabeth, Peter, Kate and Jacob, all of whom are deceased with the exception of William Henry.
William Henry Grube was born at Massillon, Ohio, November 25, 1842, and from the age of one year was reared in DeKalb County. He was a thresher-man for a number of years, and developed two fine farms, one of 110 acres and another of 160 acres in Stafford Township. He is also a director in the First National Bank of Butler, and has many, other financial interest. He is a democrat in politics and is affiliated with Forest Lodge No. 239, Free and Accepted Masons, Butler Chapter No. 106, Royal Arch Mason, Butler Council No. 83, Royal and Select Master, Apollo Commandery, No. 19, Knights Templar, and the Mystic Shrine at Fort Wayne. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Butler for fifty years and was instrumental in the building of the new Independent Order of Odd Fellows Building of Butler. In 1880 William Henry Grube married Mary Haas, a Canadian girl who came with her parents to the United States about 1870. Their oldest child, Charles, was killed in 1903 while in his junior year at Pudue University and while on his way to Indianapolis to play football with Purdue against Indiana University. The second is C.H. Grube. Andrew P. is a graduate of the Butler High School and now runs the old homestead.
C.H. Grube grew up on the farm, is a graduate of the Butler High School and since early manhood has been a practical and progressive farmer. He has 102 acres of land in Stafford Township. He is also a member of the Wilmington Grange at Butler, and is president of the board of directors of the Farmers Elevator Company. He was one of the first members of the Farmers’ Mutual Rodded Fire Insurance Company, which takes in the counties of DeKalb and Steuben. This company was organized five years ago and they now have nearly $2,000,000 of insurance. Mr. Grube has been actuary for this company for four years. He was elected to the Legislature on the democratic ticker in 1916. Mr. Grube is past master of his Masonic Lodge past high priest of the Chapter, and a member of the Council, of Royal and Select Masters, and past patron of the Easter Star, of which Mrs. Grube is past matron. She is also a member of the Methodist Church.
In 1913 he married Garnet Brink, daughter of Frank A. Brink, a well known attorney of Butler. She was a teacher before her marriage. They have one daughter Mary M., born September 22, 1914.
Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Biography of Hon. C.H. Grube, page 289. History of Northeast Indiana; LaGrange, Steuben, Noble, DeKalb Counties, Vol. II, under the editorial supervision of Ira Ford, Orville Stevens, William H. McEwen, and William H. McIntosh. The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago and New York, 1920.