JOHN J. NEWMAN, superintendent of the Globe Tissue Paper Company of Elkhart, Ind., brings to bear special qualifications by reason of a wide range of experience, close study of the wants of the best class of trade, and a sound, equitable commercial policy. This establishment has most influential and widespread trade relations by reason of the extent, superiority and moderate price of its stock. Mr. Newman was born in Brown county, Ohio, August 31, 1826, a son of Joseph and Nancy (Jolly) Newman, natives of the Buckeye State, the Newman family having been very early residents of that State. The paternal grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812. Joseph Newman followed the peaceful, independent and happy pursuit of farming in Brown county, Ohio, until his death. His widow died at Des Moines, Iowa, having become the mother of three children: Alexander, now of California; John J., and David, of Middletown, Ohio. The subject of this sketch was only ten years of age when his father died, and up to that age he followed the occupation of farming, but when thirteen years of age he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and began to shift for himself, but first attended school for one year. Succeeding this he was a tobacconist for a short time, but at the age of fifteen years he abandoned it to learn the carpenter's trade, at which he served a four years' apprenticeship with one man, and was afterward with Pearson &Newton, of Cincinnati, for two years. When twenty-one years of age he embarked in business on his own responsibility and continued to successfully carry it on in Cincinnati until 1850, when he removed to Middletown, Ohio, to take charge of a planing mill, and subsequently branched out extensively in contracting, in addition to successfully conducting a sash, door and blind factory. He did an extensive bridge contracting business and also built numerous houses, in fact, conducted a lively business, which kept him constantly employed. He built the paper mills of Middletown and converted the planing mill into the Titus Paper Mill. After remaining in Middletown until 1873 he came to Elkhart, Ind., to build the Globe Paper Mills for Erwin, Upp & Co., but continued to remain here four years and built the pulp mills for Joseph Gregg and superintended the building of the Elkhart Paper Mill. His next business venture was as a bag manufacturer and later began manufacturing straw-board paper in the mills of the Baldwin, Saga Wagon Company, but this old structure subsequently burned down. He next formed a joint stock company and built a straw-board mill which was finally converted into what is now the Globe Paper Mill, of which he is superintendent and which is doing a very extensive and satisfactory business. When this mill was first started both white and colored tissue paper was used, but they now make waxed tissue paper exclusively. After their first mill was consumed by fire the present building was purchased, the establishment is in constant working order, night and day, and the product is shipped to jobbers principally. Mr. Newman is a stockholder in this concern and its very efficient superintendent. They make a specialty of waxed paper, and Mr. Newman is the inventor of two machines for waxing paper, on which he has received patents. Thirty hands are given employment the year round. He was a member of the city council for three terms and has shown much interest in the affairs of Elkhart . In 1847 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Devall, by whom he has three children: William, Warfield and Charles.

“Pictorial and Biographical Memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, Indiana
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1893
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MRS. JANE MCCONAUGHY has been a resident of Elkhart county for many years, and although she has attained the age of sixty-nine years she is still in the enjoyment of fair health, is very intelligent and retains her mental faculties to a remarkable degree. She was the only child born to James Frier, a Scotch-Irishman by birth, and a son of Thomas and Jane (Wilson) Frier, who conducted a linen bleachery in County Down, near Belfast, Ireland, close to "Ronan Tree." Thomas Frier was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and was a man of considerable means. He died in Ireland when quite aged. He became the father of quite a large family, but only Robert, James and Margaret are remembered. Robert came to America and settled on a farm near Des Moines, Iowa, where he reared a family and is still living. James, the other son and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born near Belfast, Ireland, in July, 1800, and there learned the trade of a stocking weaver. Although he received only the three months' schooling in his youth, he learned to read and write, and being of an ambitious disposition, at the early age of eighteen years he came to America and hired out as a farm hand in the vicinity of Burlington, Vt., in which section he met and married Clarinda, daughter of Caleb and Marion Young, the former of whom was a stone mason by trade and a resident of New Hampshire, in which State he reared thirteen children and was called from life. His wife was a Hillard, of Dutch stock. After his marriage James Frier resided on a farm in Vermont for five years, and there his daughter, Jane, was born on November 12, 1824. In 1829 Mr. Frier turned his face in the direction of St. Joseph county, Ind., making the journey with three yoke of oxen and a large Pennsylvania wagon, which he purchased in Whitehall. N. Y., while en route. He also had a one-horse wagon drawn by a French pony. He and his family spent the winter at White Pigeon with a Mr. Olds, and in March resumed their journey, reaching Elkhart Prairie on the 17th of that month. At that time the snow was two feet deep, and a fierce storm was raging and continued for three days, during which time Mr. Frier and his wife and daughter camped on the east side of a large log and kept warm by means of a large fire made of hazel brush. This was on the east side of the prairie and on a portion of the farm now occupied by Leonard McConaughy, Mr. Frier's grandson. The country was full of Indians but they did not molest the Friers, and when they were seen were friendly. The family lived on corn bread and venison, for deer were plenty and easily killed; and in the spring Mr. Frier employed ten men to split rails and plow up a tract of land, and one of these men was so tired of the wild life in the wilderness and the everlasting "hoe cake" that he told Mr. Frier that if he would give him wheat bread to eat he would work for him for nothing. Mr. Frier brought with him from Vermont a bound boy named William Y. Wilson, who is now a prosperous farmer and respected citizen of Santa Rosa, Cal. Mrs. Frier had among her effects 13 pounds of tea, 5 pounds of sugar and 1 pound of coffee, which constituted the family's stock of groceries. They traded with the Indians for maple sugar and honey, but could not eat the sugar on account of the dirt that was in it, but melted it and made it into vinegar. Old Cookoosh, an Indian chief, often came to the cabin to trade with Mr. Frier and was very friendly. There were but three white settlers between Ft. Wayne and White Pigeon, as follows: Oliver Crane, who resided near the present Goshen fair grounds; a Mr. Boyd, at Benton, who was a French-Indian trader, and Maj. Violett on the west side of the prairie, which was then two miles wide and three miles long and covered with tall grass. Mr. Frier went forty miles for his supplies to a point near Niles, Mich., and used to cross the St. Joe River near Elkhart in high-water times by swimming his oxen. In this way his grist sometimes got wet, and in order to prevent it from molding it was put up to dry on the roof of the house. This is but one illustration of the hardships the early settlers had to endure, but they were borne courageously and without a murmur, for they knew it was but a question of time when brighter days would come. It was five years before any mail came to the settlers from the Eastern States. By industry and hard work James Frier accumulated 630 acres of land, which he conducted in an intelligent and satisfactory manner. He was at one time associated in business with a Mr. Griffin, in Goshen, but the business proved disastrous and Mr. Frier paid the debts. In 1850 he was seized with the California "gold fever," and made the journey to that State via New York City and Cape Horn. He at once engaged in mining there, but like many other ambitious and enterprising men who sought the treasures of mother earth in the wild West, he had only been in that section a short time when his career was cut short by death, his dissolution taking place in 1852. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and their pioneer cabin was used for religions purposes on many occasions by the early ministers of the Hoosier State. His wife died February 9, 1862, aged seventy-seven years. The first court in Elkhart county was held on the threshing floor which belonged to Mr. Frier, and the cases were nearly all against the settlers for indulging in too much whisky. Mr. Frier was at one time collector of the county, and as the county was not organized he carried the results to Indianapolis in a pair of saddle-bags. His daughter, Jane, was married at the age of twenty-one, June 2, 1844, to Alexander McConaughy, a Scotch-Irishman from the Emerald Isle, whose mother died of cholera in Quebec. After their marriage this young couple commenced housekeeping in Elkhart Prairie, and after clearing up a farm, sold out in 1849, to James Frier, and removed to about twenty-five miles above Des Moines, Iowa, on the Des Moines River, where they had a farm of 214 acres, on which they lived until 1852, when they returned to Indiana and located on the old James Frier homestead. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McConaughy: James, Clarinda, William (who died young) Charles, Leonard, David, Elizabeth, Austin and Isadora, all of whom have been well educated. David graduated from the State University of Bloomington, Ind., and died May 7, 1886, at the age of thirty years. The father of these children was an industrious and honorable man, and was kind and considerate to his family. His widow has seen the country grow from a primitive wilderness to its present settled condition, which result has been brought about only by great labor. She has been possessed of great strength and force of character, to face, as she has done, the privations of frontier life and to instill in her children principles of truth and right. She has borne her part in life's battles faithfully and well, and has found much comfort and consolation in the Scriptures. She has long been a devout and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. McConaughy died September 22, 1866.

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SETH A. JONES is one of the honored residents of Elkhart county, where in various capacities he has proved his claim to upright and meritorious citizenship.

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ISRAEL HESS comes of German stock, the first member of his family to settle in America being his grandfather, Baltser Hess, who was born in Hesse, Germany, and came to America before the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, through which he served as one of Gen. Washington's body guard. He was captured at the battle of Long Island, and was a prisoner for seven days. He was a shoemaker by trade, and this occupation received the most of his attention throughout life, although in later years he also followed the calling of an agriculturist to some extent. After the termination of the Revolution he was married to Miss Eve Hensel, of German stock, by whom he became the father of nine children: Daniel, Baltser, Moses, Sally, Eve, Polly, Betsey, Katie and Susan. Mr. Hess spent his first years in America in the vicinity of Philadelphia, but after his marriage resided for a time in Bedford, Penn., and later took up his abode in Ross county, Ohio, on land which had been granted him two miles north of the city of Columbus, and on which he passed the rest of his days, dying a few years after his first settlement. A portion of this land is still in the possession of his descendants. In his youth he received a common-school education, was an excellent provider, in comfortable circumstances, and was an honest, straightforward man and a patriot. He died in 1806 at the age of sixty years, a member of the Lutheran Church and an old line Whig in politics. His son Baltser was born in Bedford, Penn., received a limited common-school education in his youth, and was an active participant in the War of 1812, stationed at Upper Sandusky. In his youth he learned the details of farming and also the baker's trade, and after his marriage to Sarah Immell he settled at Columbus, Ohio, and engaged in the bakery business. After a time he settled on 100 acres of land in Franklin county, Ohio, but in 1829 left that State to remove to Indiana, and arrived in Elkhart Prairie May 5. He found John Violett settled in a log cabin, having just arrived; also a Mr. Riggs and a Mr. Simpson, who had arrived the fall before, and Co1. Jackson and James Frier who came in the spring of 1829. Mr. Hess brought with him to this section three yoke of oxen, a team of horses and two large wagons, one drawn by two yoke of cattle and the other by one yoke and the team of horses in the lead. He drove before him several other horses, quite a herd of cattle, sheep and hogs, so that he was much better equipped to begin life in a new country than the majority of pioneer settlers. Mr. Hess settled with his family two miles south of Goshen, on land which he had selected the previous year, when he had made a visit to the region. This land had been pre-empted by a man by the name of John Thornton, who had built a little log cabin, and for the improvements that had been made Mr. Hess paid him $17. Mr. and Mrs. Hess became the parents of eleven children that lived to maturity and reared families of their own: John, Elias, Mary E., Baltser, Moses, Israel, Daniel, Emily, Martha, Jacob and Lydia. These children were partly grown when Mr. Hess removed to Indiana, and his sons assisted him in clearing and improving the home farm. He was at one time the owner of 1,300 acres, but he kindly assisted his sons to a start in life and only retained the old homestead, which consisted of 600 acres and brought him in an income sufficient to abundantly provide for himself and wife throughout life. They were earnest members of the Baptist Church, and he was a local minister of that denomination, his house being the stopping place of the early preachers who came to the region. They found in Mr. Hess an admirable aid in establishing and organizing churches, and he was also very active in advancing the cause of education by erecting school houses, and while serving as trustee of his school district endeavored to procure good teachers. He was a strongly built man, possessed a good constitution, and succeeded in establishing a good home, where he reared a large family to honorable manhood and womanhood. In fact, his value as a pioneer was inestimable; for he was enterprising, public spirited and well to do, and did not selfishly use his means for his own benefit alone, but was liberal in his contributions to worthy enterprises. His son Israel was born in Franklin county, Ohio, September 28, 1818, on his father's farm, but his youth was almost entirely devoid of school advantages, for his time was almost wholly devoted to assisting to clean and till the home farm. He was in his twelfth year when he came to Indiana, and in Elkhart Prairie he grew to manhood. Indians at that time were quite numerous throughout that section, and often came to his home to trade with his father. Deer and wild turkeys wert! not plentiful in the region until after the Indians had left the country, but the streams were full of fish, and prairie chickens abounded. Mr. Hess went to the first school ever held in Elkhart Prairie, taught by a Mr. Smith in his own cabin on congressional land, which when surveyed, became school land which was not subject to pre-emption, and the latter was obliged to move to other quarters soon after. Young Israel helped to clear away the brush which bordered the margin of the prairie, much of which was kept back by fires started by the Indians, but which has since been allowed to grow and now constitutes good timber land. The prairie was covered with sage grass, and in the woodland openings the wild pea-vine grew luxuriously, on which the cattle subsisted. Mr. Hess' father obtained his supplies at Michigan City, some sixty-five miles away, but the wants of the family were very simple, and they were content with what they could obtain from their own land. He first laid in a supply of corn meal at Fort Wayne, sufficient to last the family until a crop could be raised, and as soon as roasting ears were large enough, the family lived largely on them and afterward ground the ripe corn and made meal. At the age of twenty-one Israel Hess began to work for him¬self on some woodland which had been given him by his father, upon which there had not been a tree felled, but this land he afterward sold and was given 205 acres of laud in Kosciusko county, Ind., by his father, which was also timber land. He cleared 100 acres of this farm, but at the end of ten years, or in 1863, he came to his present fine farm of 200 acres, then a cultivated and improved farm. Here he has made many valuable improvements, erecting an excellent barn and a substantial brick residence. The daughter of John B. and Susannah (Ditmore) Cripe, Rosanna Cripe, became his wife and has borne him seven children: Mary E., Seymour, Moses, Cassius M., Martha, Nancy and Ida L. Mrs. Hess is a member of the Dunkard Church. Mr. Hess has given all his children good educations, and stands high as an industrious and honorable citizen. He is now seventy-four years of age, but is still vigorous and hale, the result of a naturally good constitution and right living. Mr. Hess originally was a Whig in politics, and at the organization of the Republican party in 1856 he joined himself to it. His reasons, as he says, for being a Republican are that the party of his choice is American, and that the Government was founded in liberty and his ancestors bore an humble yet important part in superseding the lion with the eagle.
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1893
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FRANK L. GOFF, photographer. In few branches of art or science have such developments or perfected improvements been made as in photography and no establishment in Elkhart county shows more conclusive proof of this assertion than that of Frank L. Goff. This gentleman is an artist of well-known reputation and wherever his works are exhibited they are recognized as of superior quality and finish. Mr. Goff ,vas born in Coldwater, Mich., April 2, 1845, a son of Dorset J. and Julia (Terrill) Goff, the former of whom was born in Courtland county, N. Y., and the latter in Ashtabula, Ohio. Dorset J. Goff became a hardware merchant of Coldwater, Mich., and died in Burr Oak, Mich., of which town he was mayor at the time of his death. He had three sons and one daughter, the subject of this sketch being the eldest of the family. He was reared in his native town and was educated there and at Hillsdale, Mich., but in 1863, removed to Buffalo, N. Y., where he was employed in the wholesale hardware business of Sidney Shepherd & Co., with whom he remained five years, two subsequent years being spent with the Western Insurance Company, of Buffalo. At the end of this time the death of his father called him to Burr Oak, where he remained for some time studying music and the art of photography. In 1877 he came to Elkhart and purchased a photograph gallery of Daniel W. Smith and has conducted a successful business ever since. He has occu¬pied his present quarters since December, 1881, and it is needless to add that Mr. Goff's patrons are of the refined and cultivated classes, who appreciate art at its true value. His reception rooms are well and tastefully fitted up, and his studio is one of the most attractive in Elkhart. He executes photography in all its branches, and produces in all his work the best and most beautiful effects. Socially he is a gentleman and an honest and upright business man. Many pages of this book are adorned with portraits reproduced from negatives by Goff.

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1893
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ISAIAH VIOLETT, an honored and well-to-do citizen of Elkhart county, Ind., is descended from an old colonial family of French origin that has flourished in America since the first member of the family landed on our shores and sought to carve out a home for himself in the then wilds of this country. Isaiah Violett is a son of Major John W. Violett and was born on the old homestead belonging to the former, June 2, 1835, in the vicinity of which he received a common-school education in the pioneer school house of his day, which was supplemented by an attendance of the public schools of Goshen. He remained at home until he was twenty-three years of age, for he found that he could profitably employ his time on the home farm, which was a fine tract of land in one body, two and one-fourth miles long by one-half mile wide, and contained 750 acres. Besides this his father also owned other valuable land amounting in all to 1,330 acres, and Isaiah naturally settled on one of these farms when he started out in life for himself and in time had cleared 160 acres from the heavy timber which covered it. Like all pioneer settlers he had to labor incessantly to accomplish this result and although he bravely endured the usual hardships, his efforts were at last crowned with success. On September 4, 1862, he married Helen C., daughter of Curtis Hale, and after his marriage he resided on a farm in Jackson township until 1871, when he purchased a part of the old homestead consisting of 147 acres of land, but later sold a part of this and gave ten acres to the Waterford Cemetery on the Elkhart River. Mr. Violett devoted but little attention to farming, his attention at present being given to the purchase and sale of real estate, for which he seems to have a natural aptitude, as he has done, and is doing remarkably well in his line. He is so circumstanced that he is enabled to take life easy and quiet pursuits occupy the most of his time. He has traveled extensively in the United States and has several times visited the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. His descriptions of California life and scenery are graphic and interesting, for being a close observer no object of interest escaped his eyes, and he has the power of expressing himself in a fluent and interesting manner. Politically he has always supported Republican principles, but in no way has been an aspirant for political favor as the turmoil and intrigue of the political arena is not at all to his taste. He has become well known for his hospitality, for to his pleasant home his friends are warmly welcomed, and no one is turned from his door without a kindly and cordial word. He is highly respected for his many excellent traits of character and possesses those qualities of honesty, intelligence and energy for which the American citizen has become world famed.

“Pictorial and Biographical Memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, Indiana
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1893
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H. B. SYKES, dry goods and carpets, Elkhart, Ind. The dry goods, carpet and cloak house par excellence of Elkhart is the spacious and well-conducted emporium of which Mr. Sykes is the proprietor, which occupies an eligible location and is in command of a large trade. Mr. Sykes was born in Dorset, Vt., March 18, 1844, a son of I. N. and Diana (Gilbert) Sykes, who were also born in the Green Mountain State. Richard Sykes, the earliest ancestor of whom they have any knowledge resided at Dorchester, Mass., in 1634, from which place he removed to Springfield, Mass., in 1676. Victory Sykes, his son, was born in Springfield, Mass., March 3, 1648, and died in Suffield, Conn., April 25, 1768, at the age of sixty years. Victory Sykes, Jr., son of the senior Victory Sykes, was born in Suffield, Conn., September 5, 1689, and died September 12, 1749, at which time he was also in his sixtieth year. Titus Sykes, son of Victory Sykes, Jr., first saw the light of day in Suffield, Conn., June 15, 1726 but subsequently became a resident of Dorset, Vt., where he died January 7, 1811, his wife, Rhoda's, death occurring in 1790, after having become the mother of a large old-fashioned family of fifteen children. Israel Sykes, son of Titus, was born at Suffield, Conn., May 28, 1864, and died at Dorset, Vt., March 10, 1846, at the age of eighty-two years, having been a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Israel Newton Sykes, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born October 20, 1805. He was married in Cavendish, Vt., to Miss Diana Gilbert, October 19, 1831, and their golden wedding was celebrated at Dorset, Vt., at the old home October 19, 1881, at which celebration all their children and grandchildren were present. The mother was born July 11, 1809. The father followed farming the greater part of his early life. He filled the position of associate judge for two terms and the position of probate judge two terms. For a number of years past he has retired from the active duties of life, but still resides with his wife on the old homestead in Vermont, at the good ripe age of eighty -seven years, in the enjoyment of a comfortable competency. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, five of whom still survive. For forty-eight years there was not a death in this family. The subject of this sketch was reared in Bennington county, Vt., and received his education in the public schools and in a seminary of his native county. He remained on the home farm until he was twenty years of age, after which he left home and took a course in Eastman's Business College of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., following which he was in a brother's store in Vermont for two years during which time he obtained a thorough insight into the business. In 1866 he came West and located at Belvidere, Ill., where he clerked in a drug store for about nine months, then was offered a position of assistant cashier of the First National Bank of that place, which he accepted and held about eighteen months. He then made arrangements for entering mercantile life, and soon after formed a partnership with D. D. Sabin, in the dry goods business in that city, and the firm of Sabin & Sykes was continued for sixteen years. At the end of this time Mr. Sykes disposed of his interest to his partner and in 1884 located in Elkhart, Ind., in connection with J. H. Yourt purchasing the dry goods and carpet establishment of J. F. Hunt & Company. In December, 1890, Mr. Sykes purchased his partner's interest and has since continued the business alone. He occupies a three-story brick building, equipped with an elevator, his establishment being the largest in the city, and it is safe to say has the leading trade in his line. His is in all respects a leading and well-appointed establishment, where is always displayed an unusually fine and very complete assortment of everything in the lines indicated, every department being replete with the latest novelties. The prices quoted, too, are rock-bottom figures, and no inferior goods are allowed to be placed in stock, patrons being assured of receiving honest value and satisfactory treatment in this deservedly popular store. His business the first year amounted to $36,000 but has now reached the handsome figures of over $100,000. He devoted one entire floor to carpets, curtains and cloaks, and a finer department in this line is not shown between Chicago and Cleveland. He carries a stock of from $40,000 to $50,000, and is now employing a force of twenty salesmen and women. Mr. Sykes was married in June, 1869, to Miss Louise S. Avery, of Belvidere, Ill., and to them four children have been born: Egbert N.; Mary G.; Harry B.; and Walter A. Mr. Sykes is a trustee of the Presbyterian Church, of which he and his wife are members.

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WILLIAM BLUE, who is endowed by nature with such gifts as characterize true manhood in all that the word implies, is descended from an honorable ancestry, and his family tree first took root on American soil in the colonial days of Virginia, to which region his ancestors came from England. His grandfather, Peter Blue, was one of the pioneers of Fayette county, Ohio, cleared a fine farm of 200 acres from the wilderness and there he and his wife, whose maiden name was Susan Hazel, and who was also born in Virginia, reared a family of eleven children: Benjamin, John, Abraham, Peter, Jacob, David, William, Philip, Susan, Alice and Nancy. Peter Blue spent his life on his farm in Ohio and died at an advanced age. Three of his sons, John, Peter and Jacob, were in the War of 1812. Jacob Blue, his son, was brought up on a farm and was married to Charlotte, daughter of David Mortimer, of Maryland, an early settler of Fayette county, Ohio, and eventually of Benton township, Elkhart county, Ind., in which section he died. After his marriage Jacob Blue resided in Ohio for some years, but in 1833 settled in Elkhart county, Ind., on some land which is yet in possession of his descendants. An old-fashioned family of ten children were born to them also: Alice, Mary, Abraham, William, Margaret, Jacob, Peter, David (who died young), Susan and Benjamin. Jacob Blue's farm was heavily covered with timber but by the exercise of all his energy he succeeded in clearing it from the forest and made a good home for his family. His health gave way, owing to the hard work he had done, and at the age of fifty-two years he was called from life, having been an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years, with which his wife was also connected. To such noble men as Mr. Blue is owing the fine agricultural condition of the country at the present time. William, his son, the subject of this sketch, was born on the farm in Fayette county, Ohio, December 27, 1824, but owing to the fact that he came to Elkhart county, Ind., when he was but nine years of age, he received but little schooling. They made the journey to this section by wagon and drove their cattle and hogs, and Mr. Blue can well remember the trip. October 1, 1846, he was married to Miss Rebecca Grayless who was born in Ross county, Ohio, February 26, 1828, daughter of William and Rebecca (Waugh) Grayless, the former of whom was born in Maryland and settled as a pioneer in Fayette county, Ohio, becoming a resident of Indiana in 1833. He had a good farm of 160 acres in Allen county, on which he lived until his demise at the age of sixty-three years. He was a man of excellent moral character and was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the father of six children who lived to mature years: Mary A., Elizabeth, Martha, Charles, Rebecca, Malinda and Cynthia. After his marriage William Blue settled on forty acres of his present farm, then covered with heavy timber, but his energetic efforts soon cleared this land and he continued to add to it until he became the owner of 280 acres, 160 of which he has given to his children, and now has 120 acres of his own. His property has been acquired by his own efforts and with the assistance of his worthy wife, and they now have a comfortable home and are surrounded with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. Four or their children lived to be grown: Silas, born February 12, 1848, married Emily Miller, by whom he has four children and is a farmer near Sugar Hill; Christiana, born April 11, 1852. married Henry A. Snyder, a farmer of this township by whom she has one child; Lonson, born March 3, 1859, married Lizzie Wilner, by whom he has three children, and is a farmer of this township; and Benjamin, born June 7, 1863, is a farmer of this township, is married to Miss Mary Haney and is the father of one child. All these children are settled in the immediate vicinity of their old home and are honorable, respectable and useful citizens of the community. Silas has been trustee of Benton township two terms. Mr. and Mrs. Blue are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics he is a Republican. He is a substantial farmer who has never taken part in politics, but has devoted his attention to clearing his land and properly bringing up his family and the result is greatly to his credit. He has always pursued a correct course through life, and for honest integrity and thrift has set a good example to his children. He is a thoroughly self-reliant man, but at the same time is quiet and unobstrusive and "pursues the even tenor of his way" without interfering with his neighbors' affairs and with no desire for public preferment.

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1893
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ALEXANDER DOTSON is a retired farmer of Elkhart county, Ind., who has fought the battle of life successfully, and after the burden and heat of the day, is living in the enjoyment of a competency which his early labors and perseverance won him. His advent into this world occurred in Bedford county, Penn., October 13, 1826, to Samuel and Sarah (Moses) Dotson, who were also born in the Keystone State, the father's family being of Irish origin, and the mother's of German. The paternal grandfather emigrated from the Isle of Erin to America at an early day and settled in Pennsylvania, as did also the mother's family. Samuel Dotson was an iron manufacturer and worked for old Dr. Shonenberger, whose forge was in Blair county, Penn. He and his wife became the parents of five children that grew to maturity, only two members of which family are now living. Alexander was reared in Pennsylvania, in the subscription schools of which State he was educated. He helped to build the first free school house in Bedford county, Penn., at the town of Freedom, when eighteen years of age. He crossed the Alleghany Mountains and located in Venango county, Penn., where he was married in May, 1850, to Miss Catherine Downing, by whom he became the father of ten children, eight of whom survive: Samuel, Daniel, John, Charles, Mack, William, May and Nellie. In 1864 Mr. Dotson went to the lower oil regions of Ohio by steamboat, but remained in that State only a short time, coming to Elkhart county, Ind., in 1865, and here purchased a farm of 122 acres on "Two Mile Plain," where he lived a short time, then removed to where he now resides, purchasing 194 acres of land north of Elkhart, which he soon sold to the Hydraulic Company, with the exception of twelve acres on which his residence is situated and on which he is residing. This property is now nearly all in town lots. Mr. Dotson built the house in which he is living, and for his farm of 192 acres paid $11,500, but sold it six months later for $100 per acre, which netted him a handsome surplus. He soon after purchased 204 acres in Cleveland township, but after farming this land for three years sold out, and has since returned from active life. He is the owner of seven dwelling houses and a store building in Elkhart, and is in receipt of a very comfortable annual income. His second marriage was celebrated in October, 1891, to Mrs. Emeline (Yant) Conrod, a native of Ohio, who became the mother of five children by her first husband: Edward, Hattie, William, Clyde C. and Floyd N. Mr. Dotson is one of the substantial citizens of Elkhart county, and has numerous friends who wish him well. His honesty is well known; his kindness of heart is recognized and his liberality and public spirit are unquestioned.

“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”
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1893
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JOHN HIRE has been a resident of Elkhart county, Ind., for many years, and be longs to an old family of Pennsylvania, to which State his ancestors came from Germany in early times. The father of John Hire, Rudolph Hire, was born in the Keystone State, and was there united in marriage to Annie Iman, who bore him ten children: Jemima, Absalom, Elizabeth, Nancy, Jesse, Mary, William, Jacob, Rudolph and John. Rudolph Hire removed to Ross county, Ohio, when it was a wilderness inhabited by various wild animals, and there he cleared a farm, made a home, and resided until 1832, when he moved with his family to Benton township, Elkhart Co., Ind., and settled on the Fort Wayne road. At that time he was over sixty years of age, but he possessed the energy and push of a young man, and entered 160 acres of land which his sons cleared for him. Mr. and Mrs. Hire were members of the Dunkard Church, and in this faith Mr. Hire died at the age of eighty-six years. He was a thrifty, industrious and upright man, much respected by those who knew him, and was especially honored and esteemed by his own immediate family. John Hire, whose name is at the head of this biography, was born on a farm in Ross county, Ohio, in 1817, but owing to the fact that he was compelled to labor hard on the farm, he did not receive much schooling, a fact he has always great1y regretted and which he has endeavored to remedy by reading and contact with the world. He has been a resident of Indiana since he was fifteen years of age, and here he was married after reaching manhood, to Miss Mary Blue, daughter of Jacob and Charlotte (Mortimer) Blue, the former of whom was one of the early settlers of the Buckeye State. A family of twelve children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hire, eight of whom lived to grow to maturity: David, Eli, Malinda J., Lawson, Abraham, John, William and Emma. After his marriage Mr. Hire took up his residence on the farm now occupied by his son, William, and which was entered by his father and consisted of eighty acres of heavy timber land. This he cleared, after many a hard day's work, and as his means increased he made other purchases of real estate until he became the owner of 200 acres in Benton township and 300 acres in Kosciusko county. He generously and thoughtfully assisted each of his children, when they started out to fight life's battles for themselves, and either presented them with $2,000 or its equivalent in land. His wife, who was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was called from life, and Mr. Hire took for his second wife Mrs. Mary Brown, whose maiden name was Bean, and by her he became the father of three children: Frank, Ray and Harry. Mr. Hire assisted largely in developing Elkhart county, and may well take pride in his labors, which have borne such abundant fruit. His reputation for sterling worth and honor can not be gainsaid, and that he is one of the honored citizens of the county is acknowledged by all. He first affiliated with the Democrat party, but for the last twenty-five years has been a Republican. Two of his sons, David and Eli, served in the Civil war. The former was born on the home farm, January 2, 1842, and received a good common-school education. In 1862 he enlisted in Company I, Seventy-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and went to Indianapolis with his regiment, where he was mustered into the service of the United States. From there his command went to Louisville, Ky., from which point his regiment pursued the Confederate general, Bragg, through Kentucky. Succeeding this, David served in Tennessee and took part in the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Jonesboro, the Atlanta campaign, in which he marched with Sherman to the sea and was in a number of sharp skirmishes. Although he was sick three months at Laverne, Tenn., he would not enter the hospital, but remained in camp. He served his country faithfully for nearly three years, and in June, 1865, was mustered out of the service at Indianapolis, Ind., and returned home to turn his sword into a ploughshare. The following winter he attended district school, although he was twenty-three years of age, and on September 26, 1867, he was married to Rachel A., daughter of Richard D. and Mary A. (Cormany) Knox, her birth having occurred in Elkhart county on September 22, 1846. Richard D. Knox was born in Monroe county, Va., September 30, 1809, came to Elkhart county when a young man, and was married at Benton, April 30, 1835, his wife's birth having occurred in Preble county, Ohio, January 15, 1814. Mr. Knox opened up a good farm, and being a good manager, and industrious and honorable withal, his efforts were rewarded and he became wealthy. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and became the parents of ten children: Har¬riet A., John A., Lucinda A., Joseph T., George D., Rachel A., Enoch, Mary J., Richard M. and an infant son. These children received good educations and three of them became school teachers, and two, John and Richard M., became physicians. Mrs. Hire was a teacher in her youthful days, but after her marriage she and her husband settled on a portion of the farm on which they are now residing, which then consisted of forty acres of land which was given Mr. Hire by his father, and to which, by industry and thrift, he has added until he is now the owner of 160 acres of land. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he was class-leader and steward and is now trustee. Mr. Hire is a stanch Republican, politically, and although public-spirited and interested in the welfare of his section, he is a man of quiet tastes and has always refused to hold any official position, although frequently urged to do so. He is a member of the G. A. R., Stansbury Post, No. 125, Ligonier, Ind. Three children have been born to himself and wife: George A., Linval J. and Nellie E. Mr. Hire is a warm friend of education and has given his children excellent advantages. George A. attended the commercial college of Angola, Steuben Co., Ind., and Linval J. attended the high school of Ligonier and took a course in music in Chicago. He is a skillful violinist and is a competent teacher on that instrument. As a soldier, David Hire was faithful and true, and was not afraid to face rebel bullets, as he proved on many a hard-fought field. He did able and active service, and to such men the country owes the downfall of the Confederacy.

“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
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F. J. GOLDMAN. There is no greater pleasure for the hand and pen of the historian or biographer to perform than in recording the life and achievements of a man who has begun life's battles under adverse circumstances, and through his own unaided efforts has secured the general acknowledgment of being an honest man, a gentleman, and has acquired a profitable and lucrative business. Such a man is F. J. Goldman, one of the leading druggists of Elkhart. A native of Berks county, Penn., his birth occurred December 6, 1843, being one in a family of six children born to the marriage of John Goldman and Elizabeth Shultz, who were also natives of the Keystone State and of German extraction. The father was a farmer by occupation and was also engaged to a considerable extent in the manufacture of cigars. The subject of this biography was reared to manhood upon a farm, and in the cigar factory, which trade he followed at intervals during his boyhood, securing only a common-school education. By reason of his father's removal to Stouchsburg in 1857, the better to carry on the manufacturing business, he readily began for himself at the age of fourteen years. Commencing as a hired hand at $4 per month to a neighboring farmer, he continued this work for four years. Espousing the cause of the Union at the time of the attempted secession by the South, young Goldman enlisted in Company K. One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on August 8, 1862. Being mustered in as a private, he was immediately ordered to the front and participated in several skirmishes, and in these sanguinary engagements at Antietam and Chancellorsville, being taken prisoner at the latter place on May 3, 1863. He was conveyed to Richmond, was incarcerated in the notorious Libby Prison twenty days and then, fortunately, was paroled and exchanged. In the meantime his term of enlistment - nine months had expired, and upon his release he found an honorable discharge dated May 20, 1863, awaiting him. The object of his original enlistment not having been accomplished, he re-enlisted in February, 1864, and became a member of Company H, One Hundred and Eighty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. From that time until the complete subjugation of the rebels, his time was occupied in doing provost and garrison duty in his own State, and at the front, serving as deputy provost marshal and as United States detective. His final discharge bears date August 15, 1865. Realizing that the great West was the place for a young man to seek his fortune, he started for California, but on reaching South Bend, Ind., found it expedient to replenish his shattered financial resources, and as a means to this end he secured employment in a brick¬yard, where he remained during the summer of 1866. For two years he worked at various occupations and demonstrated the fact that he was eminently capable of looking out for his own interests. In September, 1888, he entered the establishment of A. Huntsinger & Co., druggists, at Mishawaka, and remained in the employ of this firm for four years. He then accepted a position with D. M. Coonly at South Bend, but in 1873 returned to Mishawaka and purchased an interest in the firm of A. Cass & Co., remaining thus associated for three years. He then disposed of his interest and removed to Elkhart, where he was engaged in clerking Until 1884, at which time he became a partner with Frank Timmis, on the southwest corner of Main and Franklin streets, but later purchased his partner's interest and has since conducted a profitable trade alone. Mr. Goldman is a Republican in politics, has been a member of Auten Post, No.8, South Bend, Ind., G. A. R., since 1866, is a member of the brotherhood of Odd Fellows, in which he has taken all the degrees of the subordinate lodge and encampment, in which he held various positions of honor and trust. June 29, 1871, Miss Maggie A. Stonebrook became his wife, and to them four children have been born: Walker J., Royal F., Rita M. and Harry W.

“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
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EDWIN M. ELSEA is a prominent farmer of Benton township, Elkhart Co., Ind., for he has inherited the love of the calling, which has ever characterized his ancestors and has had practical experience in this line from his youth up. His great-grandfather, John Elsea, was born in England and came to America before the Revolutionary war, in which struggle he took an active part, rising to the rank of captain in the colonial army, being ever afterward known as Capt. Jack Elsea. He married and settled in Rockingham county, Va., near Fredericksburg, and there his twelve children were born: Isaac, Lewis, John, Marion, Harriet, Rachel, Rebecca, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, the names of the other two being unknown. Margaret became the wife of the first editor of the Cincinnati Methodist Advocate. Capt. Jack Elsea lived to be quite aged and as a husbandman was very successful, owning a large amount of real estate, the manual labor on which was performed by his slaves, of which he owned a large number. He was also the owner of a fine flouring mill for those days. He presented his son Isaac, with a number of slaves, but the latter refused to hold them. Isaac was born on the old plantation in Virginia May 5, 1776, and was married to Matilda, daughter of John Burgess, of Annapolis, Md., and to them three children were born: John D., Eveline and Mary. Mr. Elsea became a pioneer settler of Muskingum county, Ohio, and from that section he enlisted as a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1835 he settled in Jackson township, Elkhart Co., Ind., at which time he was quite an old man, and there made his home with his son-in-law, Adam Groves, until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-seven years. John D. Elsea, his son and father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Rockingham county, Va., in 1805, and was twenty-two years of age when his father moved to Ohio. After residing there for some time he removed to Wayne county, Ind., and there took for his life companion Sarah, daughter of Valentine and Martha (McCormick) Fleahart, the former of whom was a farmer of Rush county, Ind. In 1831 Mr. Elsea settled in Benton township, Elkhart county, and two years later took up his residence on the farm on which the subject of this sketch is now residing. His wife bore him two daughters: Matilda and Martha J., but did not live to see them grow up, her death occurring when they were very small children. Mary, the daughter of Rudolph and Nancy (Inman) Hire, became his second wife, and in due course of time was the mother of seven children, who lived to maturity: Rudolph, Mary, James, Nancy, Elma, Edwin and John. Politically Mr. Elsea was a Democrat and held the offices of justice of the peace two years and county commissioner two terms. He was very energetic and enterprising and was the first man to introduce Durham cattle into the county, an example that was followed by many others when it was found to be a paying investment. He was a man of unquestioned integrity and was made ad¬ministrator of a number of estates. He was class leader and steward in the Methodist Church, in the doctrines of which he was a firm believer and of which he was an earnest member, up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was fifty-seven years of age. He was a stanch Union man during the Civil war and sent one son, Rudolph H., to fight for his country, the latter was a member of Company I, Seventy-fourth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served six months as a private and died in Tennessee of sickness contracted while in the service. Edwin M. Elsea, son of John D., was born on the old homestead in Benton township May 7, 1854, and in his boyhood was given the advantages of the common schools in the vicinity of his home, and his knowledge has since been strengthened and increased by reading and contact with the world and the business affairs of life. He was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and Charlotte (Flen) Chatten. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Elsea has resulted in the birth of two children: Ray C. and Roy H. (twins), born August 5, 1881. Mr. Elsea is the owner of 145 acres of land and is a progressive and enterprising tiller of the soil. He is a deservedly popular man and is well known for his integrity and general intelligence, which renders him a leader in enterprises which are brought before the public. He is a Democrat politically. The Elseas have resided on the farm on which Edwin is residing for over fifty years.

“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
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ALEXANDER GORDON. Alexander Gordon, one of the best known and most progressive farmers of Elkhart county, is a native of Westmoreland county, Penn., born January 26, 1828. John Gordon, his father, was a native of the Keystone State, a farmer by occupation, although for a number of years he operated a wool-carding machine. He married Nancy Hamilton for his first wife, who died after bearing a large family of children; he then married Mrs. Eleanor Johnson, whose maiden name was McWilliams, a widow with four children, and by her became the father of six children, the subject of this sketch being the youngest. Alexander Gordon, at the age of eight years, was left fatherless, and the family in destitute circum¬stances because of the liberality of the father in accommodating his friends by going security. Practically at this age he began struggling with adversity for the purpose of securing to himself and others the comforts of home. His youth and early manhood were passed as a farm laborer, the wages received rarely exceeding $8 per month. While yet in his teens he found employment in the lumber regions of northwestern Pennsylvania, and later was engaged in that business upon his own responsibility. To those who never experienced the actual life of a lumberman, that career does not seem to be any more filled with hardships than many others; but such was not the case in those days. After swinging the ax day after day in the forest, the timber would be taken to the river, lashed together and rafted to the markets of Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville and other points, the workers being exposed to the fury of the prevailing storms. It required men of excellent physique and constitution to do this work, and men of brain, grit and determination to make it a success. Until 1872 Mr. Gordon continued this business and by the hardest of work accumulated a fair competency. Desiring to give his children better educational advantages than he had, he sold his lumber interests advantageously, moved to Elkhart county, Ind., in the year above stated, and purchasing a tract of land engaged in agricultural pursuits. The county has ever since been his home and farming his occupation, except for the past six years he has resided in the city of Elkhart, and besides his beautiful home, he is the owner of about 400 acres of land in this county and 550 acres in Emmett county, Iowa. Mr. Gordon's educational advantages were very limited being confined to times when he could secure no work and when he possessed suitable and sufficient clothing. Inheriting the combat¬ive nature of the Irish, and the high principles of integrity and industry of the Scotch from his ancestors, he has applied both, not only in the accumulation of this world's goods, but in securing a fair education by extended readings. In Elkhart county, where he is. best known, Mr. Gordon commands universal respect for his honesty and morality, and is justly conceded as a man of more than ordinary information and good judgment. In every sense of the word he is a self-made man. First a Whig in politics, he became a Republican in 1856 and has since affiliated with that party. While a man of strong convictions, he recognizes errors in his party and so far 88 he is able strives to rectify them. The temperance cause has in him a warm advocate, and he believes it would be for the best to absolutely abolish the traffic in liquor as a beverage. While a man of much liberality, he confines his munificence to objects of education, Christianity and morality. Mr. Gordon was married August 20, 1857, to Miss Mary Jane McBride and to their union eight children have been born: Allen Hamilton, Albert Addison, Mary Jane (deceased), Margaret (deceased), Alexander, Addie Greene, Alice Alabama and William Grant. Mr. Gordon is an Encampment degree Odd Fellow, and while a member of no church organization is a Unitarian in belief.

“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


Deb Murray