Edward Moon ,vas born in Clarehill, County Derry, Ireland, June 28, 1821. He was married to Miss Isabella Heaney, at Garvah, Ireland, April 23,1844, and during the same year they came to America and settled at Leesburg, Kosciusko county. Four sons were born to them, Daniel, George, John and William, all of whom are living except George, whose death, in 1893, was caused by an accident. After the death of his wife, September 8, 1853, Mr. Moon went to California for a few months. He was successful there, but returned that he might be with his children, who were being cared for by friends, and engaged in the drug business, for about twenty years, in Leesburg. He was married February 14, 1860, to Miss Isabella Smith, and to them six sons and two daughters were born. Three of these children died in infancy, and Edward F. is also deceased; Leolin, Isabella and Charles are still living. On February 16, 1873, Mr. Moon was bereaved by the death of his second wife, and on March 25, 1874, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Victoria Beck Smith, a lady of rare refinement and culture, and who is a deservedly popular lady in the vicinity in which she resides . Her unassuming manner and charming personality brings to her pleasant home the society-loving and literary people of Warsaw and the surrounding community.
Having become a great sufferer from rheumatism, in 1886, Mr. Moon, accompanied by his wife made a trip to California, hoping to find relief. Only a temporary change in his health resulted and later he visited other famous resorts in search of benefit, but with small success. He had become so great a sufferer and moved about with such discomfort that his business was placed in the hands of his son, Edward F. For years he was a patient sufferer and at last, on November 1, 1895, peacefully gave up his spirit. The funeral services were in charge of the Lake City Odd Fellows and, as a mark of respect, resolutions were passed expressing the sympathy of the lodge for the bereaved family.
Mr. Moon was a strong Republican, but a liberal minded man, believing every other man had a right to his own opinions. He held to the good old notion that a man is made for the office, and not vice versa. His religious training began early in youth , being reared under the strict Presbyterian influence, and he remained for many years a communicant of the church, but later in life united with the Christian church He held high rank in the Masonic lodge, being a Knight Templar, and was a charter member of the Lake City lodge of Odd Fellows.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
JOHN RHODES.
John Rhodes, an enterprising farmer and highly respected citizen of Monroe township, is a son of David and Anna Rhodes and dates his birth from April 30, 1857. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, was taken when about eight years old to Seneca county, Ohio, at that time a new and comparatively undeveloped country, and there grew to maturity amid the strong influences of the pioneer period. When a young man he married a German girl by the name of Anna Beigh, daughter of one of the early settlers, and immediately thereafter began housekeeping on a partially cleared farm where he lived until failing health induced him to look around for a more favorable location in which to raise his family. Learning that northern Indiana held out encouraging inducements, he disposed of his farm in Ohio and in January, 1840, came to Kosciusko county, settling in what was then Clay township, where he, purchased forty acres of woodland which he at once began to improve. In due time he cleared and had in cultivation a fine little farm upon which he lived and prospered for many years, earning the reputation of a quiet and substantial citizen whose name was always respected and whose word in any business transaction was as good as his bond . He reared a family of nine children, and departed this life on the 9th day of February, 1899, after a continuous residence of nearly sixty years on the place where he originally located; his wife preceded him to the other world, dying in the year 1884. The following are the names of the children born to this excellent couple, viz.: Enoch, Mary, Delilah, Sarah A., Melinda, Harvey, Jemimah, Ann and John.
John Rhodes first saw the light of day in the home farm in Clay (now Lake) township, and being the youngest of the family was exempt from much of the hard work required to bring the place to a state of tillage. He attended of winter seasons the district schools, in the neighborhood and when old enough busied himself with such labor as he could perform, growing up strong of limb; and with an independence of spirit characteristic of the true son of the soil. His older brothers, reaching manhood's estate, began life for themselves, leaving to him the care of the farm and until his twenty-sixth year he remained under the parental roof looking after his father's interests.
About 1883 Mr. Rhodes began working by the month as a farm laborer and continued in that capacity for a period of five years, husbanding his earnings with scrupulous care with the object in view of engaging in agriculture upon his own responsibility when a favorable opportunity presented itself. On the 17th day of February, 1889, he was united in marriage to Miss Lenora Hoagland, daughter of J. R. Hoagland, one of the well-to-do farmers of Monroe township, and shortly thereafter set up a domestic establishment on the farm in Monroe township where he has since lived. His previous training and habits of industry eminently fitted him for the vocation which he selected for a life work and it was not long until he had earned the reputation of a careful and judicious farmer, bringing his place to a high state of cultivation and making a number of substantial improvements. He now owns one hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, on which is one of the finest private residences in the township, his home being comfortable in all its appointments as well as attractive to the eye. In addition to general farming, Mr. Rhodes raises considerable live stock, investing the greater part of his income in this way and seldom fails to realize large profits from his business transactions. He is a very careful man, exercises prudence and forethought in what he undertakes and his sound judgment enables him to prosecute to successful issue any enterprise to which he addresses himself. Taking an interest in political affairs, as an good citizens should, he is rather independent in the matter of voting, usually casting his ballot for the candidate best qualified, though in the main supporting the principles of the Democratic party.
Mr. Rhodes has the name of being an honest and upright man of the strictest integrity and right nobly has he earned the wholesome reputation which is his. Quiet and unassuming in demeanor, with an agreeable personality, he is widely and favorably known and belongs to that sturdy class of citizens who by actions rather than words exercise a beneficial influence upot1 society and form the basis of the community's progress and prosperity. He is a firm believer in revealed religion and at the present time is inclining to the belief of the United Brethren church, with which he contemplates soon placing his membership. In his good work he is ably assisted by his faithful wife, a most estimable lady of many virtues known and respected throughout the neighborhood for her sterling character and zeal in the cause of religion and morality. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes have one child, a daughter, Nellie Rose, whose birth occurred on the 17th day of October, 1897.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
GEORGE McCONNELL.
Agriculture has been the true source of man's dominion on earth ever since the primal existence of labor and has been the pivotal industry that has controlled for the most part an the fields of action to which his intelligence and energy have been devoted.
In a civilized community no calling is so certain of yielding a compensatory return as that which is culled from a kindly soil, albeit the husbandman at times is sorely taxed in coaxing from Mother Earth all that he desires or even expects; yet she is a kind mother and seldom chastens with disappointment the child whose diligence and frugality she deems it but just should be rewarded. The subject of this sketch has found a benefactress in Mother Earth, for he was early deprived of the mother that bore him, and a father he never knew, as he was a posthumous child.
George McConnell, of Jackson township, Kosciusko county, Indiana, is a native of Coshocton county, Ohio, and was born September 26, 1829. He is a son of --and Mercy McConnel1, and, as intimated in the foregoing paragraph, never saw his father, who in life was a farmer. There were twelve children in the family besides himself, and of these the names of ten can be recal1ed, viz.: Lucinda and Marinda (twins), Margaret, Acie, Andy, Matthias, James, Daniel, Francis and Samue1.
Young George McConnell filially aided his mother in the home place until he was fourteen years old and then went to live with his brother Francis for two years; he next worked on the farm of another brother until he decided to take unto himself a wife. He carried out this happy decision January 27, 1849, by leading to the marriage altar Miss Elizabeth Hunter, also a native of Coshocton county, Ohio, born April 17, 1830, an early playmate of our subject and a daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Hardesty) Hunter. The father, Thomas Hunter, was a native of Ireland, but was a mere lad when brought to America by his parents, who settled in Ohio. The mother was born, reared and died in Coshocton county. She and her husband were the parents of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters, of whom four are living, as follows: Elizabeth (Mrs. McConnell); Sarah, wife of John McQuig, of Grant City, Missouri; Samuel, married, is a horticulturist and lives in Missouri; Pauline is the wife of John McElwee, a farmer of Coshocton county, Ohio. Mrs. McConnell received a good common-school education and later became an ornament to the community in which she was reared to womanhood.
To the congenial union of Mr. and Mrs. McConnell have been born the following named children: Lorenzo D., deceased, Harvey W., Patrick Henry, deceased, John F., Pauline, Elmore, deceased, Grant, deceased, William D., Lettie, Charles and Blanche.
About three years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. McConnell removed from Coshocton county, Ohio, to Whitley county, Indiana, where Mr. McConnell steadily forged to the front and soon purchased a farm of one hundred and thirteen acres, nearly all of which was covered with a dense growth of timber. This land he cleared and improved and made of it one of the handsomest and most profitable farms in the country. On this farm he lived from 1852 until September, 1882, when he came to Kosciusko county and bought a small place half a mile north of Sidney, on which he still lives and has as cozy a home as there is in Jackson township. He has, moreover, increased his cash capital to about five thousand dollars and all this property and capital :result from his own labor and frugality, assisted by his willing and amicable wife, who deserves much credit for the part she has taken in advancing the prosperity of the family. In January, 1899, Mr. and Mrs. McConnell celebrated the golden anniversary of their wedding, upon that occasion receiving many hearty congratulations from their numerous friends here and elsewhere.
Mr. McConnell, since he became of age, has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the Republican party, with which he is very popular personally and has several times represented the Republicans of his township in their county conventions. He has, however, never sought a public office nor any other reward for his devotion to his party. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell are devout members of the Christian church, which they aid liberally by contributing to its support from their means and the teachings of which they implicitly follow. He stands very high in the esteem of his fellow townsmen and neighbors, and most deservedly so, inasmuch as from a poor boy he has raised himself to a position of consideration and influence, and in this esteem his belJoved wife and children have a full share.
While a distinguished ancestry may amount to much and notable family connections have great influence in advancing a man's career, the history of the country gives many instances of the prominence of the present generation over the obscurity of the preceding, and when natural abilities and an unborn spirit of progress are added, success in life is almost sure to be the result, and this fact has been exemplified in the career of George McConnell, who, unaided by the prestige of a brilliant ancestral history, at least as far as it is known in this, his native country, has made himself what he is without any such extraneous advantage, great as it is in the life of him who is fortunate enough to possess it.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
JOHN PRISER.
John Priser, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Monroe township, was born February 9,1844, in Montgomery county, where his ancestors had settled in an early day. His father, David Priser, moved to the above county and state when a small boy, and on reaching the years of manhood was married there to Miss Margaret Warner, who became the mother of two sons and five daughters, namely: George, Mary, Nancy, Catherine, Susan, John and Elizabeth.
David Priser died when the subject of this sketch was five years old, after which event the mother sold the farm and came to Kosciusko county, Indiana, purchasing a farm in Jackson township where she died the year following her arrival. Of her seven small children all of whom were left to the care of friends and neighbors, John was taken by an uncle, Samuel Miller, whose house he made his home until that gentleman died, which occurred when the lad was twelve years of age. From that time until his eighteenth year the boy lived with his older brother, George Priser, who looked after his interests and gave him the advantages of a good common-school education. He grew up a strong, healthy youth and several years before reaching maturity could easily do a man's work at any kind of labor on the farm. When the great Civil war broke out, young Priser, animated by a genuine devotion to his country, tendered his service in behalf of its interests, enlisting in September, 1862, in Company M, Fifth Indiana Cavalry, which was mustered at Indianapolis and experienced its first active service while pursuing the Rebel General Morgan through various parts of Kentucky. Subsequently Mr. Priser took part in a number of campaigns in Tennessee and Georgia, participating in some of the most noted battles of the war, and at the expiration of his period of enlistment, in 1865, was discharged, after giving three of his best years to the service of his country. While in the army he husbanded his pay with the most scrupulous care and at the close of the struggle found himself the possessor of quite a snug sum of money, which was judiciously loaned at a liberal interest. Returning home, Mr. Priser worked for some time at farm labor in this county and later was similarly employed for nearly nine years in various parts of Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. In September 1874, he took to himself a helpmeet in the person of Miss Amanda McPherson, daughter of Solomon McPherson, one of the pioneers of Monroe township, and the marriage was blessed with one child, Minnie, whose birth occurred on the 31st of May, 1883. Some time prior to his marriage Mr. Priser purchased the farm in Monroe township where he now lives, and it was on this place that he set up his first domestic estab1ishment and began life as a prosperous tiller of the soil. Since that time, by much labor and successful management, he has brought his, farm to a high state of cultivation and made a number of valuable improvements, among which are a fine and commodious dwelling supplied with all the comforts and conveniences calculated to make rural life desirable, a large and well constructed barn and good outbuildings, all of which with the general condition of the place bespeak for the proprietor a spirit of thrift and progress which have won for him a conspicuous place among the county's most enterprising agriculturists.
On the 2nd day of June, 1883, the death angel entered Mr. Priser's home and took therefrom the wife of his youth and in March, 1890, he married his present companion, Louisa, daughter of George and Hannah (Hickman) Ross, a union without issue. Mrs. Priser's parents were among the early settlers of Jackson township, the father of German and the mother of Scotch-Irish descent. They came to the county when the country was an almost unbroken wilderness and took an active part in developing the country and bringing its wonderful resources to the notice of home seekers who at that time were traversing various parts of northern Indiana in search of favorable location. George Ross has been gathered to his fathers, but his good wife is still living, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-one years. She has been a resident of Kosciusko county continuously since 1848 and at the present time makes her home with her daughter, the wife of our subject.
In all that constitutes true manhood and good citizenship Mr. Priser is a notable example and none stands higher than he in the esteem and confidence of the community. His career has been characterized by duty faithfully clone and by industry, thrift and wisely directed efforts he has acquired a liberal share of this world's goods, besides earning a reputation which has never been clouded by the commission of a single unworthy act. He is a man of good judgment and pronounced views and while keeping himself well informed upon current events and taking a lively interest in all public affairs of his township and county, has never had the faintest desire to exchange the quiet and contented life on the cozy farm for the distractions and cares, which usually come to the man who fills official station. He has worked hard for that which he now possesses, and knows how to appreciate the true dignity of labor and to place a correct estimate upon the value of money. Nevertheless, he is liberal in his benefactions and stands ever ready to support with his influence and means all measures for the material and moral welfare of his community. In politics he is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party and in religion belongs, with his wife, to the German Baptist church.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
CHARLES B. BENTLEY.
Charles B. Bentley, postmaster of Warsaw, Indiana, is a native of Massachusetts and first saw the light of day in the city of Boston, August 24, 1856. His father, Richard P. Bentley, was born in Liverpool, England, and immigrated to America in 1846, locating in Boston, where he engaged in the manufacture of cigars. During the Civil war he was a volunteer soldier and served two years in the Army of the Potomac. He was taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry and held until exchanged. He took part in a number of hard-fought battles and skirmishes, among which were the second battle of Bull Run, Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. The subject's mother bore the name of Ann McInnis, was a native of Ireland and came to America during her girlhood.
Charles B. Bentley was reared in the city of Boston and between the ages of twelve and fifteen served as a telegraph messenger and also clerked in a drug store in that city. He obtained his education by attending the night schools, in which he was an apt pupil, having made rapid progress in his studies. At the age of fifteen he commenced to learn cigar making at Dover, Massachusetts, working there seven months, and then returned to Boston, where he served an apprenticeship of a year and a half at the trade. When about seventeen he went to Westfield, where he received regular wages and subsequently worked at various places as a journeyman, but mostly in Boston until 1880, when he came to Warsaw, Indiana, and worked a year for other parties. In 1881 he established himself in the business of manufacturing cigars at Warsaw, which he continued for about twelve years with encouraging success. For some time thereafter he was engaged in the life insurance and book business and subsequently became foreman in the Foster cigar factory at this place.
On the 1st day of October, 1883, Mr. Bentley was united in marriage at Warsaw to Miss Jeanette Jerman, daughter of Daniel and Rebecca (Findley) Jerman, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, a union blessed with the birth of three children, viz: Philip J., Wilina F. and Anna C, all at home.
Mr. Bentley was appointed postmaster of Warsaw in November, 1897, and reappointed in January, 1902. When he entered upon the duties of the position Warsaw was a third-class office and through his energies it has been raised to the second class, with free city delivery service, which was established in December, 1900. Five rural delivery routes have also been established, with a sixth under headway which will doubtless be established during the summer of 1902. Mr. Bentley has been instrumental in bringing about these results and the credit is largely due to his energies and enterprising spirit. He is an uncompromising Republican in politics and takes an active interest in his party's welfare. He was for eight years a member of the county central committee, served as president of the Young Men's Republican Club of Warsaw for two terms, and in 1896 was chosen district chairman of the Lincoln League. He is an honored member of Lake City Lodge No. 430, I. O. O. F., also a Knight of Pythias and an Elk. He was a member of the city council from 1891 to 1893, the duties of which position he discharged to the satisfaction of all and with credit to himself.
Mr. Bentley is one of Kosciusko county's popular citizens and since becoming a resident of Warsaw has been a potent factor in public affairs. While an active Republican, his social qualities are such that many of his warm personal friends are among those who hold views diametrically opposed to his own. He is respected by all classes and conditions of people and as an official is: painstaking and obliging, his relations with the public being most pleasant and agreeable. He possesses a personality that wins him friends and all who know him speak in high terms of his many fine qualities and upright conduct.
Click here for photo.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
FREDERICK McSHERRY, JR.
There is great difference in this world of ours as to how we get our property, whether by small degrees and hard toil, or by suddenly making it in one or a few lucky ventures, or by inheriting it from successful and thrifty ancesters. One important fact will not be disputed: That if a man earns it by hard knacks he is much more likely to retain: it than if it had been left him by his honest and hard-working father. "Come easy, go easy" is literally true, but it is not to the credit of anyone that it is so. People of all occupations should be thrifty enough to take care of what they have, no matter how they obtained it, for they have others to consider - children who have the right to demand of parents that they save the property left to them by ancestors. Such is a family inheritance which no member has the right to squander and dissipate. Thrift should characterize the efforts of every one, as it does the subject of this sketch. He knows how to take care of his property, a most valuable qualification. He was born in Ohio on August 19, 1837, and is the son of Frederick and Catherine (Work) McSherry. Grandfather McSherry was a native of the Emerald Isle, as was also his wife. They crossed the ocean to America and first settled in Pennsylvania, but later came on to Ohio. When the father of subject was a boy he learned the miller's trade in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and upon reaching maturity married Miss Work, their marriage occurring in Pennsylvania. Upon coming to Ohio he followed the trade of milling. In 1840 he came to Kosciusko county and entered one hundred and sixty acres in the deep woods on section l0, Seward township, where Frederick, Jr., now lives. He built a rough log cabin and placed his family therein and began to clear the land of its heavy coat of timber. This section was very new at that time, there being no roads and wild animals and Indians were numerous. The latter often came to the house to trade with the members of the family. To Frederick McSherry, Sr., nine children were born, their names being as follows: William, Andrew, James, Violet, Isabelle, Robert, Louisa, Frank, and Frederick, subject. The latter is the youngest of the family and only one living. He was reared in the wilds of Seward township and at a very early age learned to swing the ax and the hoe. His summers were spent in clearing off the trees from the land and in planting and harvesting the crops among the stumps that dotted the clearings. In the winters he was given a respite from hard labor, but was required to take care of the stock while attending school at the old log schoolhouse, heated with a roaring fireplace. His education was limited, but was sufficient to enable him to handle ordinary business. November 6, 1859, he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth, daughter of George and Percella (Keester) Wilks. Her parents were from Pennsylvania, where they married and resided until their respective deaths. Elizabeth Wilks came to this county when she was eighteen years old and lived with her Uncle, Isaac Harbman, until her marriage. She was born July 9, 1838. To subject's marriage these children were born: Hiram C., born August 18, 1861, died April 8, 1865; Louisa, who died in infancy; William died in infancy: Frederick A., born August 28, 1864, married Miss Dora A. Tucker and lives near the old home in Seward township; Isaac Newton, born August 19, 1876, died August 16, 1877. These parents reared two children of their own, one James F. Scott, who was started in life by Mr. McSherry. Subject now owns a total of four hundred and fifty-eight acres in Seward township, having bought out the other heirs of his father's estate. He raises a great deal of stock and sel1s a car load of cattle annually. His barn was built in 1871 and his fine brick house in 1881. Mr. McSherry is a Republican and is greatly interested in politics and has represented his party in county conventions. He is one of the leading Republicans of this part of the county and is highly respected.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
JOHN C. SMITH.
This well known citizen is another of the old soldiers who went out to fight their country's battles forty years ago. What a splendid sight it is at the present day to see a company of these old sa1diers go by on Decoration day or on the Fourth of July, in their faded uniforms and with their tattered flags flying. But they will soon be gone forever, and nothing wil1 be left but a memory. That memory shau1d be something more than a sound. Their deeds should be perpetuated in song and story, in monument and perpetual commemoration, so that future generations may draw inspiration from their patriotism and gallantry. John C. Smith was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1841, and is the son of Leonard and Mary (Heist) Smith. The Smith family of which subject is a member came to Pennsylvania many years ago, from Germany, as did also the Heist family. Grandfather Heist lived in the Keystone state, owned and conducted a small farm and followed the cooper's trade. Leonard Smith was reared upon a farm and received a moderate education. He married Miss Mary Heist and soon afterward removed to this county and bought, in 1848, a tract of two hundred and twenty acres of Leonard Cutler, all of which was covered with heavy timber. There he lived and labored, clearing the farm of its trees and brush and leading a useful and honorable life. To his marriage these children were born: John C., Samuel, Daniel, Jackson, Albert, George, Susanna, Margaret, Elizabeth and Mary A., of whom six are still living.
John C. Smith grew up on his father's farm and obtained a fair education. When Fort Sumter was fired on by the rebels in 1861 he strongly favored crushing them at once. He did everything he could to encourage enlistment and himself finally enlisted when the first hurrah was over in Company F Seventy-fourth Indiana Infantry, August 18, 1862, was mustered in at Fort Wayne and soon afterward was sent to the front. He participated in the fights around Chattanooga, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga for two bloody days, and then in all the splendid movements of the Atlanta campaign, being in numerous battles and skirmishes and under fire for the greater part of one hundred and five days. Then he participated in the historic and famous march to the sea, where he again fought in many skirmishes and participated in many raids on the farmers' hen roosts and potato bins; thence up through the Carolinas', .fighting in many battles, from those of a pitched character to small and inconsequential nature, and finally marched to Washington to be reviewed by the President and the great generals as they marched down Pennsylvania avenue to the tunes of "Yankee Doodle" and the "Star Spangled Banner." Then they were sent home to then happy families to take up once more the duties of peace. He served through the war without a wound, and draws a pension of ten dollars. While he was in the service of his country his father died, and after his return he rented the old farm far a time. Later he went to Marshall county, and farmed there for six years on land owned by his wife, and then returned and bought the old Smith homestead and here he has remained until the present time. When thus bought the old farm consisted of one hundred and eighty acres, but now Mr. Smith owns a total of three hundred and thirty acres. His farm is one of the best in this part of the county. He has a fine brick house and a commodious barn and is in very comfortable circumstances. In 1867 he wedded Miss Silence, daughter of Jacob and Eliza (Turner) Raber. She was born in Marshall county October 17, 1846, and is now the only living child of her parents. Two of her brothers were in the Seventy-fourth Regiment Indiana Infantry, one of whom died in the government hospital at Nashville and the other was brought back to his home only to die as the result of his hardships in the service of his country. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith nine children were born, as follows: Cleanthus M., born October 12, 1868, wedded Miss Rebecca Martin and lives in Franklin township; William O., born August 4, 1870, married Miss Emma Jefferies and resides in Marshall county; Oscar O., born November 29, 1872, died in 1874; Rosella, born May 23, 1876, died August 3, 1900; Alpheus R., born March 30, 1879, wedded Miss Mirtie Brown; Bertha A., born May 20, 1882, married Mace Sarber; Ora A., born September 6, 1884. The family is one of the most prominent in the county and Mr. and Mrs. Smith are people of the highest character. He is a member of William Raber Post, G. A. R., at Mentone, the post being named for a brother of Mrs. Smith's who gave his life to his country. Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican and has the respect of a large circle of acquaintances, while his splendid military record is the pride of his descendants and his neighbors.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
ANDREW J. SMITH.
This well-known citizen and farmer is a descendant of the old settler, Leonard Smith, an account of whose life will be found elsewhere in this volume. They were among the first settlers to come to the wilds of northern Indiana and undertake the task of clearing a farm and a home from the dense woods. When the family arrived here the clearings were few and far between, and the large family of boys and girls were required to stir themselves to clear off the heavy timber and brush wood that cumbered the soil and kept out the sunlight. Andrew J. Smith was born April 14, 1850, and in youth had his share of work. The long summers were spent raising the crop among the stumps and the winters in going to school to the famous old pioneer schools. And as the years passed away, steadily, foot by foot, the land was cleared of its timber and the wild animals were driven off or killed. Much more concerning the parents may be found in the sketches of John C and George W. Smith, brothers of the subject, seen elsewhere in this book. Andrew was reared on his father's farm and chose that occupation when he reached years of discretion. He knew what was necessary on the farm and felt himself competent to do the duty required of a first-class farmer. He received a fair education, but was not much interested in his books, and would much prefer to chase the rabbits through the neighboring thickets than pore over some old schoolbook in a hot and stuffy schoolroom under the eye of some domineering and inflexible master. And he received about as much culture as the average boy of his day, as it was, and had much more sport than many of the others. The result was to give him an iron constitution and a love for the duties of the farm. He remained upon his father's farm until he had attained the age of twenty-one years, and was then united in matrimony with Miss Malinda C, daughter of Daniel and Nancy (Vandermark) Hipsher, the marriage occurring October 1, 1871. She was born February 25, 1871. Her grandfather, Daniel Hipsher, was a native of Holland, where he grew up and was married. Soon afterward, with his bride, he crossed the ocean and found a home in the wilds of Ohio, that being a very early day in the settlement of that state. Her father was born in the Buckeye state and was reared there, but came in early manhood to this county and settled on a farm near Palestine, where he worked at his trade of blacksmithing. He passed away in 1871 and his widow in 1876. To the marriage of subject and wife the following children were born: Mary A., born February 2, 1872, who received a good education and became the wife of David Ingle, resides in Harrison township; La Vergne, born December 19, 1873, is living in Illinois and engaged in farming; Frederick, born May 16, 1876, died December 12, 1879; Clement, born December 31, 1878, married Miss Effa Sanders and lives in Chase county, Kansas; Ethel V., born May 20, 1890. Mr. Smith is engaged in farming and stock raising, making a good income by raising stock horses and hogs. He is a Republican and is a broad-minded and liberal man. He has much influence in the township, has represented his neighbors in the county conventions of his party, and served as supervisor of the township for twelve years, declining further re-election. He is thoroughly honest and has the unbounded confidence of all who know him.
Progressive Men and Women of Kosciusko County, Indiana
B. F. Bowen, Publisher
Logansport, Indiana
1902
