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JOHN D. LEHMAN. Among the prominent business men and farmers of Elkhart county, Ind., and among its most worthy and esteemed citizens, may be mentioned John D. Lehman. He is a man interested in the public welfare, and, while he pays strict attention to his private affairs, he shirks no duties as a loyal citizen. Aside from his farming interest he is engaged in the manufacture of tile and owns and runs a saw-mill. Mr. Lehman was born in La Grange county, Ind., January 10, 1843, and is the son of David and Elizabeth (Garber) Lehman, both natives of Somerset county, Penn. The ancestors of this family came to America in the seventeenth century, and were originally from Switzerland. They were Amish people, and being badly persecuted in their native country on account of their religious belief, accepted the invitation extended by William Penn, and came to America. They engaged in agricultural pursuits in Somerset county, Penn., and tilled the soil there for generations. John Lehman, the grandfather of our subject, spent his entire life there. His son David, father of subject, grew to manhood there and was there married. Twelve children were the fruits of this union, the following having lived to mature years: Lydia, Barbara (emigrated to Indiana in 1842), John D., Elizabeth, Yost, David, Fannie, Polly, Samuel and Rachel. These were the children by his first wife. After her death he married Miss Catherine Yoder, who bore him two children, Lucy A. and Levi. In 1842 Mr. Lehman decided to leave the spot where his ancestors had resided so many years, and seek his fortune in the far West. He came to Indiana, settled in Newbury township, LaGrange county, and purchased a farm of forty acres, to which he added from time to time until he owned 120 acres, part of which he cleared from the woods. In 1853 he sold this land for $1,800, and bought further east in the same township 240 acres, on which there was a saw-mill. For this property he paid $2,100. He improved the mill, cleared off the land and made a good home. His entire life was spent in hard labor on the farm, and at the time of his death he left about $30,000 to his children. He was a man highly esteemed for his many excellent traits of character, and had a host of warm friends. He died when sixty-three years of age. He and Mrs. Lehman were consistent members of the Amish Church. Their son, John D. Lehman, like the majority of farmer boys, assisted his father in cultivating the soil and attended the common schools. In addition he also assisted his father in the mill, and thus at an early age became familiar with hard labor. After reaching years of discretion he married Miss Barbara Miller, daughter of James F. and Catherine (Miller) Miller, and to this union were born seven children, two of whom are living: Mary and Fannie. Catherine died at the age of sixteen years, Jason died at the age of fourteen years, and others died young. Soon after his marriage Mr. Lehman settled on eighty acres of land in La Grange county, finished clearing it, and at the end of six years moved to York township, Elkhart county, where he bought 120 acres of land. On this he resided for three years, and in 1874 he came to Clinton township, where he bought 100 acres partly cleared. This he finished clearing, and in 1885 he built a tile factory on his land, and a saw-mill, in which he has invested nearly $3,000. He is doing a successful business, makes a good quality of tile, and during the winter of 1891-2 he sawed 70,000 feet of lumber. He is an active man, and is classed among the best citizens of the county.

�Pictorial and Biographical Memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, Indiana
Together with Biographies of Many Prominent Men of Northern Indiana and the Whole State, Both Living and Dead�
Goodspeed Brothers Publishers, Chicago
1893
John Morris Co. Printers and Binders

ROBERT H. WEAMER, editor and publisher of the Bristol Banner, was born in Indiana county, Penn., April 23, 1839. In 1857 he began an apprenticeship in a printing office at Napoleon, Henry Co., Ohio, owned by his brother, George W. Weamer. On June 6, 1861, he enlisted for service in the United States army in the Civil war. His command was first assigned to duty in the Kenawha Valley, in West Virginia, but was transferred to Tennessee in time to engage in the battle of Shiloh and in other later engagements. November 10, 1864, he married Elvira, daughter of William and Louise Gregg, of Urbana, Ohio. They have had four children, three of whom, William L., Sadie R, and Mary Maude, are living, the other, also named William L., having died at Angola, Ind., in 1869. Mr. Weamer has been a publisher for twenty eight years, and during that time has published the following named papers: The Republican, at Cardington, Ohio, in 1865; the Republican, with J. A. Myrtle as partner, at Angola, Ind., in 1874; established the Lively Times at Angola, Ind., the same year, and a year later removed it to Butler, De Kalb Co., Ind., and there merged it into the Butler Times; established and published the Republican, at Auburn, Ind., for six years; leased the Butler Record at Butler, Ind., and published it in 1880; in 1881 established the Review at Butler, Ind., and published it until the fall of 1884. Relinquishing the newspaper business, he for four years conducted a hotel at Butler, until November 10, 1888, when he came to Bristol, where he began the publication of the Bristol Banner. The Banner is one of the spiciest, newsiest, best printed and altogether most attractive local papers published in this part of the State, and it has been influential in aiding all of the material interests of Butler and its surrounding country. Politically Mr. Weamer is a Republican, religiously a Methodist. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Knights of Pythias, and is in every way one of Bristol's most progressive, enterprising and useful citizens.

ABRAHAM WELDY, who came to Elkhart county, Ind., in 1851, like many of the representative citizens of the county, is a native Ohioan, born in Tuscarawas county, January 3, 1827. He is a son of John and Anna (Kitch) Weldy, and the grandson of Abraham and Elizabeth (Overholt) Weldy, both natives of the Keystone State, the grandfather born in Westmoreland and the grandmother in Bucks county. Abraham Weldy and family moved to Ohio in 1812 and settled in Tuscarawas county, where he followed farming, the old homestead being now in the hands of one of the sons. He was the father of ten children, as follows: Martin, John, Abraham, Christian, Elizabeth, Esther, Anna, Sally, Jacob, and one died young. Of these only two are living at the present, Sally and Jacob. All died in Ohio but Abraham, John, Elizabeth, Christian and Anna who died in the Hoosier State. The father and mother of these children lived to be aged people, and the father was a bishop in the Mennonite Church, as well as a prominent farmer. His son, John Weldy, father of our subject, was a native of Westmoreland county, Penn., born in 1798, and was twelve years of age when his parents moved to Ohio. They were among the first settlers of that State, entered land, and were prominently identified with the early history of Tuscarawas county. John was reared amid rude surroundings, and after his marriage to Miss Kitch, settled on a farm in Holmes county, Ohio, where he remained until 1851. At that date he came to Indiana, and made his home in this State until his death, May 7, 1871. He was a life-long member of the Mennonite Church and a good man. He became quite wealthy and was a progressive and much-esteemed citizen. His wife was born in Cumberland county, Penn., and the daughter of Martin Kitch, who was among the early settlers of Ohio. Mrs. Weldy died in 1874. She was the eldest of these children: Anna, Barbara, Susan, John, Martin, Jacob, Rebecca, Sarah, Elizabeth and Keziah. Her father was a farmer, but also followed the blacksmith's trade. He was ninety-three years of age at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Weldy were the parents of the following children, seven of whom reached mature years: Abraham (subject); Elizabeth, the wife of John Barkey, of Madison township, St. Joseph county, has one child (Levi W., who is married and the father of a child, Elmer); Marlin, died when eleven years of age; Rebecca also died at the age of eleven years; Susan married Christian Shaum and resides near Wakarusa; Anna died when two years of age; Rachael also died when young; Esther, deceased, was the wife of John Shrock, of St. Joseph county; Keziah, deceased, was the wife of Enoch Eby; John, residing on a farm in Locke township, and Jacob, also on a farm in Locke township. Abraham Weldy grew to manhood on his father's farm in Ohio, and was married there June 21,1849, to Miss Nancy Yoder, a daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Holdeman) Yoder. Mr. and Mrs. Yoder were born in Pennsylvania, and the former was the son of John Yoder. Mrs. Yoder was the daughter of Christian Holdeman, and both families were early pioneers in Columbiana county, Ohio. Mrs. Weldy's parents were married in Ohio, and five children were the fruits of this union: John, a farmer and tile man, residing in Elkhart county; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Smeltzer, of Olive township, Elkhart county; Nancy and Jacob (twins); Nancy is the wife of our subject and Jacob is a farmer of Harrison township, and Samuel, a minister of the Mennonite Church, is living in the city of Elkhart. The father of these children died in Ohio when the family was small, and she took for her second husband Jacob Freed, with whom she emigrated to Elkhart county. She became the mother of four children by this union: Catherine, who married Jacob Loucks, resides in Olive township, this county; Mary married Anthony Wisler, and they reside in Harper county, Kan.; Joseph was a soldier, and died in a hospital at Jeffersonville, Ind. and Christina, who married Joseph Landis and resides in Locke township. The mother of these children died in Elkhart county, June 23, 1887, and her second husband died in the same county in 1869. To our subject and wife were born thirteen children, eleven of whom grew to mature years, but only ten are now living: Elizabeth, wife of Peter Blosser, of Missouri, is the mother of these children; Levi, Samuel, Barbara, Anna, Henry, Della, Lavina and John. Anna married Peter S. Hartman, of Locke township, and they have nine children: Aaron, William, Martha, Amos, Amanda, John, Emma, Mary and Abraham. Margaret, the third child born to our subject, married Henry Clay, and they reared six children: Martha, Nancy, Eva, Clara, Rhoda and Dora; three children were deceased, Cassius, Emma, and one not named. Mr. and Mrs. Clay are both deceased, dying only three days apart; Sarah, fourth child born to subject, married Valentine Hartman and has seven children: Clara A., Dora J., Leander, Harvey, Sylvester, Irwin and Phoebe A.; Mr. and Mrs. Hartman reside in St. Joseph county. Jacob married Hannah Null and they have seven children: Mary, Leander, Alma, Martha, Timothy, Irwin and Sylvester; the parents of these children reside in St. Joseph county. John married Miss Nettie Salsbury and four children were given them: Della, Alma, Ernest and Loyd; he and wife reside in St. Joseph county. Joseph is a farmer of St. Joseph county. Henry married Miss Alma Dolman, who bore him four children: Sarah J., Emma, Clara A., and Noah A.; he and wife reside in Locke township, this county. Henry is a minister of the Mennonite Church. Levi resides at home with his parents, married Miss Alice Madlem. Emma married Samuel Madlem, and they have one child Levi A. Amos resides at home. Our subject and wife settled on the farm where they now live in 1851, and although they experienced many hardships, they are now substantial and respected citizens of the county. They are interested in all good work, especially schools and churches. Mr. Weldy has held a number of township offices, was township clerk in 1852-3 and has always been interested in the affairs of the county. He is with the Republican party in politics. Mr Weldy is now the owner of 291 acres of land and has assisted his children to a start in life.

JABOB B. WELDY is one of the prominent farmers of Elkhart county, Ind., and his fine farm, consisting of nearly one hundred and fifty-six acres on Section 34, is equaled by few and excelled by none in the county in the way of improvements. This gentleman owes his nativity to the Buckeye State, born in Holmes county, February 25, 1849, and was the youngest child born to the marriage of John and Anna (Kitch) Weldy. The father was a native of Westmoreland county, Penn., born, in 1799, and was of Swiss descent. The ancestors of the family emigrated from Switzerland to this country, and probably made a settlement in Pennsylvania about the beginning of the eighteenth century. John Weldy was about twelve years of age when he moved with his father, Abraham Weldy, to the woods of Ohio, and he was there reared amid rude surroundings and in a primitive, simple manner. (See sketch of John Weldy.) Jacob B. Weldy was but two years of age when his parents came to St. Joseph county, Ind. He received his education in the schools of Madison township, St. Joseph County, and remained under the parental roof until after the death of the father, 1871. The same year he was married and shortly afterward rented the old home place on which he remained for six years. He then bought his present property in Locke township, this county, and has since improved and developed to such an extent that there is no better farm in the county. In his political affiliations Mr. Weldy is a stanch Republican, and has held the office of director in the district. He is a member of the Mennonite Church, and is much interested in religious and educational matters. His wife, formerly Miss E. Kreider, was born April 8, 1854, and is the daughter of David and Magdaline (Hoover) Kreider. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Weldy: Anna, born November 26, 1874, is fitting herself for a teacher; Amanda, born July 22, 1878; John, born August 12, 1877; David, born June 8, 1877, died at the age of eight years, and two died when still younger. Mr. Weldy is well known throughout the county as a public-spirited, progressive citizen, and in connection with farming is actively engaged in raising cattle and sheep. He is well known and well respected in the county.

JOHN K. WELDY, son of John and Anna (Kitch) Weldy, was born in Holmes county, Ohio, March 7, 1847, and although but a child when he came with his parents to Indiana, very well remembers the journey which took ten days. He was reared on a farm in St. Joseph county, received his early education in the subscription schools, but later attended the district schools during the winter months, being obliged to assist on the farm in the summer season. Until twenty-two years of age he remained under the parental roof, and then started out to make his own way in life. He settled on the farm where he now lives, eighty acres, which were covered with timber and very few improvements made, only twenty acres being cleared. Success followed hard work and perseverance, and he became a wealthy man. When a boy he learned the carpenter's trade, has followed it more or less all his life, and superintended the building of the substantial barn on his place. Mr. Weldy is the owner of 210 acres of well-improved land, all in one tract, has it well tiled and fenced, and everything about the place indicates the owner to be a man of energy and enterprise. He has been a resident of this county since 1869, and what he has of this world's goods has been accumulated since that time. He is a wide-awake, pushing business man, and one of the most prominent farmers of the county. In politics he advocates the principles and policy of the Republican party, and his first presidential vote was for Gen. U. S. Grant. His ancestors were Whigs. Mr. Weldy has held the office of school director, and has ever been interested in school work. He is a member of the Mennonite Church, takes a deep interest in church affairs, and in fact is active in his support of all worthy enterprises. In 1886 Mr. Weldy built a fine brick house at a cost of about $3,000; his out-buildings are all in first-class condition, and he has good orchards on his place. In connection with farming he is quite extensively engaged in buying and feeding stock, and annually sells many Shorthorn cattle, sheep, Poland-China hogs and horses. In the year 1869 Mr. Weldy married Miss Susan Mumaw, a native of Holmes county, Ohio, and their nuptials were celebrated in that county. Mrs. Weldy was born March 15, 1847, and is one of a family of eight children reared by George and Catherine (Breneman) Mumaw. Mr. Mumaw came originally from Westmoreland county, Penn., and settled in Ohio at an early day. To his marriage were born these children: Susan (Mrs. Weldy), Henry, a physician in Elkhart; Amos, a minister of the Mennonite Church, residing in Olive township, this county: Rachel, residing in Wayne county, Ohio; Fannie residing in Ohio; John in Wayne county, Ohio; Mary, at home, and one died in infancy. The father and mother of these children died in Ohio a number of years ago. The former was a strong Republican. Mrs. Weldy came to Indiana with her husband, and has been a true helpmate to him in every way. Eleven children have been born to them and are named as follows: George, born November 21, 1869, married Miss Lucretia Whitman and they have one son, Edgar (he and wife are residing in Olive township); Jacob I. was born December 31, 1871, is at home assisting on the farm, and in politics is a Republican; Daniel S. was born December 19, 1873, and is in the printing office of the Mennonite Publishing Company; Amos A., born January 11, 1876; Silas, born November 27, 1877; Martin, born March 21, 1879; Ira, born March 8, 1881; Walter, born September 22, 1883; Homer, born December 28, 1885; Elmer, born December 10, 1887; and Ruth Ann, the only daughter, was born March 29, 1890. Mr. Weldy has given his children good educational advantages, and they all excel in music, and are good singers.

HENRY HOKE has been a resident of Elkhart county, Ind., from early childhood, and the lesson derived from his career of energy, perseverance and public spirit, carrying a youth from humble circumstances to a manhood of nobility and comfortable circumstances, needs no word or comment to make it significant and impressive. He is a son of Isaac and Eliza (Weaver) Hoke, both of whom were born in Columbus county, Ohio, the former in 1822. He was a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Mayer) Hoke, the former of whom was a Pennsylvanian and an early pioneer of Columbiana county, Ohio. He was an active politician of Republican proclivities, was public spirited and energetic, and was well known throughout the section in which he resided. He reared a family as follows: Samuel, Martin, Jonas, George, Isaac, Sarah, Margaret and Lydia. The father of these children died in Columbiana county, Ohio, but his widow came to Elkhart county, Ind., and resided in Union township with her son Samuel. All her children came to this section except Jonas, who resides on the old farm in Ohio, and Sarah, who lives in Pennsylvania. Martin resides in Hughes county, this State; George is a resident of Harrison township, this county; Samuel resides in Union township; Margaret is the wife of an Indiana man and lives in Union township; Isaac Hoke grew to sturdy manhood on the farm in Ohio, and in the district schools received a sufficiently thorough education to fit him for the calling of a teacher, which he followed for some time. He was married in Ohio in 1849, emigrated to Indiana and settled in Elkhart county, two and one-half miles southwest of Goshen, where he purchased a farm of 130 acres, which was partly improved. On this farm he continued to make his home until his death in September, 1889. He became a wealthy farmer, for he was a man of good judgment and was also enterprising and industrious, and throughout the greater portion of his life his sympathies were with the Republican party. He lived to be sixty-eight years of age, but the last few years of his life was an invalid. He was a member of the German Baptist Church, and was always active in church mat�ters, and for some time held the office of deacon in his church. He was a man of strong convictions, and during his residence of over forty years in this county, he became well known and held a high place in public estimation. His wife was a daughter of Christian Weaver, a Pennsylvanian, who was one of the early settlers of Columbiana county, Penn. Mrs. Hoke was a life-long member of the German Baptist Church and was a faithful and affectionate wife and mother. She bore her husband three sons and one daughter: Levi, born in Ohio, in 1849, is living near Goshen, and is a gardener by occupation; Henry and Christian were twins and the latter died at the age of twelve years; Mary is the wife of Samuel ---, and lives in Union township, being now forty years of age. After the death of his first wife the father married a second time, and by his wife, Susanna Miller, became the father of five children. She was a daughter of David Miller, a pioneer of Harrison township, and has been dead a number of years. Her children were named as follows: Saloma, Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuel and Daniel. David the youngest, died at the age of twelve years. Henry Hoke was born October 26, 1847, and was about two years of age when his parents moved to this county. He assisted his father on the farm until he was legally free, and when choosing a calling for himself it was but natural that he should choose that to which he had been reared, and when about twenty-four years old settled on the farm on which he is living at the present time, but the first year farmed it on shares. Elizabeth Miller. a daughter of Jacob Y. Miller and Catherine (Barrick) Miller became his wife in 1871, being one of five children born to her parents, who came to this section from Ohio. Their children are: Levi R., who lives on the old home farm; John R., who resides in Locke township; Mary, wife of D. Aughey, became the wife of David Killian after the death of her first husband; Andrew, of Nappanee. Mrs. Hoke was born in Ohio January 24, 1848 and is the mother of five children: Martha, born December 17, 1872; Mary, born May 31, 1876; Vernon, born November 28, 1879; Ellen, born November 17, 1884, and Mabel, born February 15, 1890. The eldest daughter finished her education in Mount Morris Academy and is an intelligent and accomplished young lady. Mr. Hoke has shown much good judgment and prudence in the management of his business affairs, has carefully avoided purely speculative ventures and has been content with a slower but surer prosperity. He has ninety-six and a half acres where he now lives, and forty-five acres on the old home place in Elkhart township. He is popular with all classes, and in a quiet way has been charitable to educational and religious projects. He has long been a member of the German Baptist Church and has always taken an active interest in church work. He is a politician only in the sense of endeavoring to secure for the community, in which he lives good government, and in discharging all the obligations of good citizenship. He is interested in the culture of fruit, has a fine large orchard, and for about ten years past has raised large quantities of strawberries. He is a model American citizen, being patriotic, law-abiding and liberty-loving.

WILLIAM D. BLOUGH has been a resident of Harrison township, Elkhart Co., Ind., since 1873, but was born in Summit township, Somerset Co., Penn., on December 19, 1845, the eldest child born to David J. and Matilda (Griffith) Blough, which family is descended from a fine race that originated in Germany. The founder of the family in America came from Blackforest, Germany, and settled in Lebanon county, Penn., where he married and reared a family of five children, two being sons. From these two sons are descended those of the name in this country and Canada. The two sons, Christian and Jacob, moved to Summit, Somerset Co., Penn., and settled in a valley between a range of the Alleghany and Laurelhill Mountains, where they both became well-known citizens and reared families. Christian was the great great-grandfather of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He reared a family of six sons and one daughter: Jacob, John, Christian, Peter, Henry, David and Marlin; Christian, the third child, being the great-grandfather of William D. He became a man of influence in Summit, Somerset county, and reared a good old-fashioned family of six daughters and four sons: Jacob, John, Benjamin, Joseph, Nancy, Sally, Susan, Polly, Rachel and Frances, all of whom became well-to-do and highly respected people of Somerset county. The eldest of these children, Jacob, was the grandfather of William, and his family consisted of seven sons and four daughters: Daniel, Michael, David J., Jacob, Solomon, John, Levi, Sarah, Catherine, Elizabeth and Nancy. The most of these children married and reared families in Somerset county, where they occupied prominent positions and were held in high esteem. David J., the third son, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1822 and in his native county of Somerset, Penn., grew to manhood on a farm, and almost from his cradle learned habits of industry, honesty and thrift, which were his stepping stones to success in later years and remained with him throughout life. He was married in his native county to Miss Matilda Griffith, a native of that county also and a daughter of David and Mary (Hensil) Griffith, the former of whom was a descendant of one of the old-time English families of Pennsylvania. To David J. Blough and his wife six sons and four daughters were born: William D., Nelson D., Henry, David, Josiah D., Elmore, Catherine, Sarah M., Anna M. and Mary. The father and mother still reside on the old homestead in Summit, Somerset county, and are in the enjoyment of a hale old age and are held in high esteem by the many who know them. They reared a large family to industrious and honorable manhood and womanhood, and only one is deceased � Mary - who was drowned when about one year old. All are married but Elmore and Sarah, who are still living with their father and mother. David J. Blough served nine months in the Union Army during the Civil war and in politics is independent, voting for whom he considers the best man. The Bloughs belong to one of the old-time families of the country, for they settled here in colonial days and were patriots during the Revolution. Sarah, the daughter of David J. Blough, was at Johnstown at the time of the great flood and the house in which she was staying was swept away and she nearly drowned. She was swept downward about three-quarters of a mile and by a miracle was saved. William D. Blough has been familiar with farming from his boyhood, but while occupied in the duties of a farmer's boy he found time to attend the district school near his home, in which he acquired a good practical education. He started out to do for himself by making a trip westward, taking a boat down the Ohio, and up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to St. Joseph and Omaha, and while in the West worked on a farm. From that point he hired out to cross the plains but at the end of about a year returned to his old home with a sick comrade, who had been with him in his wanderings, and there remained for two years. At the end of this time he went to Illinois, and settled in Washington county, but one year later went to Franklin county, Kan., and until 1873 was a resident of Ottawa. In the fall of that year he came to Elkhart county, Ind., but was not a permanent resident of the place until 1877. Since then he has made his influence felt in his section, and is considered a substantial, prosperous and public-spirited citizen. He is the owner of a good farm of eighty acres, besides a number of houses and lots in Elkhart. He has shown much discernment as a business man, and as a result has acquired a good property. What he has in the way of worldly goods has been acquired by his own efforts and he has every reason to be proud of his achievements. He has always been strongly opposed to the liquor traffic, is a strict temperance man and in politics is a Prohibitionist. He is interested in the improvement of country made. He is a member of the Evangelical Church, in which he is trustee, and is a worker for the Christian cause. November 29, 1877, he was married to Mary R. Hoover, daughter of David L. Hoover (see sketch). She was born July 31, 1858, in Elkhart county, and is the mother of five children: Laura Belle, born May 23, 1879; Rosa May, born October 27, 1881; Arvilla Matilda, born October 6, 1884; David F., born December 9,1877, and Nelson H., born June 17, 1891. This family is one of the most substantial of the county and is an influence for good in the section in which they reside.

DAVID L. HOOVER belongs to that class of American citizens who manifest a decided aptitude for business enterprise, and who rise in a few years from a condition of poverty and obscurity to one of prominence, and the possession of considerable wealth. During the forty years that he has resided in Elkhart county, Ind., he has shown himself to be public-spirited, enterprising and honorable, and has gathered about him many warm friends, as the result of his correct mode of living. He is a son of David and Esther (Lehman) Hoover, the former of whom was born in Lancaster county, Penn., in 1781, a son of Samuel Hoover, who was also a native of the Keystone State, and was of Swiss descent. John Hoover was a farmer, reared a large family, and he and his wife were called from this life in Pennsylvania. David was their youngest son, and grew up on his father's farm, and in the State of his birth he united his fortunes with those of Miss Esther Lehman, and with her moved to Mahoning county, Ohio, about 1820, where he tilled the soil until his death which occurred at the age of fifty-two years. His wife died in 1851, having been born in Franklin county, Penn., a daughter of Daniel and Frances Lehman, both of whom died in Franklin county, Penn. She was born in 1787, one of twelve children, and herself became the mother of twelve children: Mary, who married Jacob Wisler, and died many years ago; Magdaline, who married Jacob Yoder, and is also dead; Rebecca, deceased; Susannah, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Catherine, who married Jacob Stauffer, and died in Ohio; Samuel (see sketch); Daniel, who died in this county, leaving a family of children; Anna, who is the wife of Christian C. ---; Esther, who is the wife of John Mall of Columbiana county, Ohio; Francis who is living in Harrison township, this county, and David L., who is the youngest of the family. The parents of these children were life-long members of the Mennonite Church, and the father was a practical and well-to-do farmer of Republican proclivities. David L. Hoover was born in Mahoning county, Ohio, February 20, 1830, and in addition to acquiring a thorough knowledge of farming in his youth, also learned the blacksmith's trade, at which he worked for many years. He came to Elkhart county when twenty-five years of age, and was married three years later to Susanna Rohrer, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Ferry) Rohrer. Mrs. Hoover was born in Medina county, Ohio, May 29, 1839, and after her marriage she settled with her husband on a farm in Harrison township, where he tilled the soil and worked at blacksmithing for ten years. He then bought the farm on which he now lives, and for the past thirty years has resided on the same. He has been successful in his business ventures, and has also been active in the political affairs of his section, being a stanch Republican. He has been a member of the Mennonite Church for a number of years, in fact, his career is one well worthy of emulation. He experienced the hardships of life in a new country, and although he was compelled to labor early and late for some time, his means gradually increased, and he is now in the enjoyment of a comfortable competency. He and his wife have reared three children and lost two: Mary, born June 30, 1858, is the wife of William D. Blough, and has five children; Laura Belle, Rosy May, Aurilla M., David F. and Nelson; Samuel was born July 4, 1860, married Lucinda Curtis, are living on the old home farm, and have one child, Avilla; Amanda, born June 11, 1862, died at the age of three months; one died in infancy; and Noah who was born June 10, 1873, resides on the home farm. Mr. Hoover has been a successful stockraiser, as well as farmer, and commands an ample income.

DANIEL SMOKER is one of the practical and successful farmers of Elkhart county and is a son of Jacob Smoker who is one of the honored and prominent citizens of this locality. Our subject was born on his father's farm in Elkhart township, October 15, 1854, and the common district schools afforded him an education. Like many of the best citizens of the county he was reared to agricultural pursuits, and on March 11, 1880, when twenty-five years of age, he was married to Miss Rebecca Schwin. She was born February 13, 1859, to Simon and Martha Schwin. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smoker: Mabel, born June 7, 1882, and Ada, born September 24, 1883. Mr. Smoker and his wife are worthy members of the Amish Church, and Mr. Smoker is one of the directors. In politics he is a stanch Prohibitionist, and like many other representative citizens, realizes the great injury that is done the people by the open saloon, and casts his vote fearlessly and independently for what he believes to be the right cause. He is a friend of education and takes an active interest in having good schools in the community. He lives on Elkhart Prairie, and owns a farm containing 100 acres of land. All his life has been passed in tilling the soil, and he is one of the industrious, hard-working men of his locality. He follows his chosen calling with an honest pride and an intelligent method, being a model and practical farmer. He is a descendant of good old Pennsylvania stock and one of the fourth generation from the original pioneer settlers who came from Germany. He may well take pride in the honored, religious family from which he sprang. Mrs. Smoker's father, Simon Schwin, is one of the foremost agriculturists of the county and is of Swiss origin. His father, Jacob Schwin, was born nine miles northeast of the city of Schoffhausen and within hearing of the celebrated fails on the river Rhine. He had a good German education and was reared to farm life. He served as a soldier under the great Napoleon daring the celebrated Russian campaign and was present at the burning of Moscow. He was also in the disastrous retreat of the French army through the snow and ice of the Russian winter, was taken prisoner by the Russians, and suffered incredible hardships. He married Miss Sophronia Berlinger and eleven children were the fruits of this union: Agnes, Annie, Alexander, Catherine, Simon, John, Barbara, Margaret, Jacob, Fredrick and Elizabeth. The six eldest children were born in Switzerland and came with their parents to America in 1833. They landed in the city of New York, but went from there to Ohio and settled upon wild land, living for some time in a log cabin. After five years Mr. Schwin moved to another farm. He died in 1854. He and his wife were Lutherans in their religious belief, but as there were no churches of that denomination near, they joined one of the other churches in Ohio. By industry and hard work Mr. Schwin succeeded in accumulating a comfortable competence, and was one of the much-esteemed residents of the community in which he lived. His son, Simon Schwin, father of Mrs. Smoker, was born September 15, 1825, in Switzerland, and was about seven years of age when he came to this country. He soon began working out in a German family and attended a German school for some time. In 1844 he came to Indiana with a farmer and settled in Elkhart township, where he remained for one year. Returning to Ohio he remained in that State five years, or until 1850, when he again entered the Hoosier State, and to Elkhart township, Elkhart county. He worked for Adam Yoder, who had married his sister Annie, and continued with him for two years. He married Miss Martha Kauffman (see sketch of Solomon Kauffman), and nine children were the fruits of this union: Leah, Elizabeth (died at the age of thirty), John (died at the age of thirty-five), Rebecca, Sarah, Fred, Lydia, Emma and Eddie (died at the age of six years). Shortly after his marriage Mr. Schwin settled on eighty acres of land in the timber and for this he paid $500. After clearing ten acres of this he sold it for $700 and rented a farm on Elkhart Prairie where he resided for five years. He then bought the original farm for $2,200, and after residing on it for six years and improving it, sold out for $4,000. His next move was to buy his present farm and by industry, economy and good management he has added to the original tract until he now owns 217 acres. He has also an excellent residence and good out-buildings. Mrs. Schwin, who was a devout member of the Amish Mennonite Church, died on May 25,1890. She was a true Christian, a very industrious woman and an excellent mother to her children. Mr. D. Smoker is also a member of that church. The oldest son, John S., married Miss Fannie Hartzler, and until his death, July 26, 1892, caused by an accident, was a farmer of this township. One child, Jay, was born to this union. Rebecca married Daniel Smoker (our subject), Fred H. married Miss Belle Norris and is on the home farm; Lydia married David Smoker, brother of Daniel, and lives on Elkhart Prairie. The remainder of the family are at home. Mr. Schwin ranks as one of the wide-awake, progressive farmers of the township, and what he has accumulated of this world's goods are the fruits of his own honest efforts. In politics he supports the principles of the Republican party.

JOHN SMOKER. Although one of the young agriculturists of Elkhart county, Ind., Mr. Smoker has made his way to the front ranks among the energetic farmers of the county, and owing to the attention he has always paid to each minor detail, and his desire to keep out of the old ruts, as well as his ready adoption of new and improved methods, he has met with good success. He is a son of Jacob Smoker and was born on his father's farm in this county July 13, 1866. At an early age he became familiar with the arduous duties of the farm, and like the majority of country boys his education was received in the district schools. After reaching man's estate he still continued to follow the occupation to which he had been reared, and October 3, 1889, was married to Miss Etta Stutsman, who was born February 17, 1869, and who was the daughter of B. F. and Clarinda (McConaughy) Stutsman. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smoker settled on a farm on Elkhart Prairie, and after residing there for some time sold out and bought the farm on which they are now living. This was in 1892. Mr. Smoker now owns eighty-three acres of land and a tasty, comfortable residence which bears evidence of the culture and refinement of its inmates. By his own efforts he has become one of the foremost tillers of the soil in his section, yet he does not confine himself merely to agricultural pursuits, but branches out in different occupations. At present he is extensively engaged in the poultry business, and in this, as in every other venture he has undertaken, will no doubt reap rich returns. Mrs. Smoker was well educated in the graded schools of Goshen, and is a lady of more than ordinary ability. The family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Smoker has been made complete by the birth of one child, an interesting little daughter, Eva, who was born February 27, 1891. This worthy young couple are members of the Amish Church. Like the majority of the Smoker family, our subject is a strong Prohibitionist, and believing that intemperance is the real cause of much of the sorrow and unhappiness of the world, he does not hesitate to cast his vote against the open saloon. He is a prominent, energetic young man, and is bound to make his mark in life.

ADUI B. MILLER. The time has arrived when it becomes the duty of the people of this county to perpetuate the names of their pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement and relate the story of their progress. In biographical history is found a power to instruct men by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties and to waft down the river of time a safe vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this country from its primitive state may be preserved. One of the old and prominent families of Elkhart county, Ind. is the Miller family, which bas many representatives in this country. The subject of this sketch, Adam B. Miller, is a son of David Y. and Eva (Bainter) Miller, and the grandson of John and Esther (Miller) Miller, both of whom came originally from the Keystone State, and were early settlers of Ohio, locating in that State about 1800. To the grandparents were born fourteen children, as follows: Daniel, David, Abraham, Jacob, John, Mary, Samuel, Elizabeth, Steven, Sarah, Esther, Solomon, Catherine and Noah. All but two of these children are living and are married and have reared large families, and all but Daniel, who died in Ohio, are residents of Elkhart county. The children same to this county about 1836, and the parents followed about two years later, all settling on Elkhart Prairie, where they made their home for many years. After the children married, the father moved to Harrison township, and there he and his worthy companion passed the remainder of their days, the father dying about 1850. Both were members of the German Baptist Church, and he was a minister in the same for some time. The children developed into first class citizens, and the sons all became tillers of the soil, but some became ministers also. David Y. Miller, the father of our subject, who was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, April 14, 1809, was a young man of twenty-six years when the family moved to this county, and he was reared amid the rude surroundings of pioneer life. He was married in Ohio to Miss Bainter, and was the father of four children when he settled in Indiana in 1836. He took up 160 acres of Government land in Harrison township and made his home there until a few years ago, when he went to live with a son in Clinton county, this State. He was a resident of Elkhart county for forty-five years, a minister in the German Baptist Church, and a man who had a host of warm friends. His wife was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1814, and was the daughter of Fredrick and Margaret (Ruff) Bainter, both of whom were pioneers of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Mrs. Bainter was a daughter of Adam Ruff, who was of German descent. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Bainter were thirteen in number and named as follows: Daniel, Margaret, Eva, David, Fredrick, Andrew, Susan, Jacob, Elizabeth, Peter, Adam, Alexander and Aaron. Mrs. Miller died in Elkhart county in 1875, and was an exemplary member of the German Baptist Church. She was the mother of an old-fashioned family of fourteen children, all but one now living: Adam B. (subject); Margaret, married and resides in Olive township, this county; Daniel, a farmer of Union township; Esther, first married Benjamin Hoover, but her second marriage was to Adam Palmer, of Union township; Sarah, wife of Jacob Wise, of Harrison township; Elizabeth, wife of John Ganger, of Harrison township; Delila, wife of Moses Martin, of Harrison township; Alexander, a minister of the German Baptist Church, resides in Locke township, this county; Lydia, wife of Joseph Wise, died when twenty years of age; Susan, wife of Joseph Roose, of Elkhart county; William, married and residing in Nappanee; Eva, wife of E. Eversale, of St. Joseph county; Catharine, wife of Henry Roose, of Kosciusko county, and Christian, a man of a family, resides in Clinton county, Ind. Adam B. Miller, the subject of this sketch, was six years old when he came to this county, for he was born in Ohio in 1830, and he was early trained to farm labor. His education was received in the district school, and he remained at home until twenty-one years of age, or until 1852, when he married Miss Catharine Davenport, afterward settling on the farm where he now lives. This farm was small at that time, but by industry and good management he has increased the original tract from year to year until he now owns 142 acres of excellent land. It was covered with timber at the time of his settlement, but he has cleared and improved it in every way. For a number of years he and his worthy wife lived in a log house, but they later built a good, comfortable residence. In connection with farming Mr. Miller is engaged in raising stock, and is making a success of this industry. He is a public spirited man, a good citizen and a prosperous farmer. Mrs. Miller was a daughter of Noah and Catherine (Stutsman) Davenport, early pioneers of Ohio, who came to Indiana in 1836. The father died in the county shortly afterward and the mother is deceased now also. They had born to their union seven children: Mary, David, Martin, Jacob, Susan, Noah and Catherine. Mrs. Miller was the youngest. She was born March 16, 1835, and died in 1868 in full membership with the German Baptist Church. Her marriage resulted in the birth of seven children who were named as follows: Benjamin, married Miss Mary Freed and has one child, Arthur (they reside in Nappanee); Louisa became the wife of C. Wisler, of Harper county, Kan., and they have one child, Bertha; Margaret married Jasper Price, and they have three children: Arthur, Harry and Ruth (they reside in Nappanee); Albert married Miss Emma Neusbaumb, who bore him five children: Clarence, Eva, Nina, Merty and Oscar, and they reside in Goshen; Eva married Amos Smeltzer, by whom she had three children: Jessie, Willard and Wilburn, and they reside in Locke township; Amanda, who died when six weeks of age, and another died when an infant. To our subject's second marriage with Miss Hannah Miller, daughter of David C. Miller (see sketch), nine children were born, viz.: Dora A., wife of Barton Garmin, resides on her father's farm and has two children, Luella and Chester; William F., married Nancy Newcomes, and resides in Kosciusko; Ira, a single man; Sarah, wife of George Newcomes, resides in Union township; Hattie E.; John J.; Warren; Adam died when ten months of age; and Julia A. The mother of these children was born in the Buckeye State June 21, 1845. Mr. Miller and family attend the German Baptist Church and are good and influential people.

Deb Murray