BESSER, William Tell
WILLIAM TELL BESSER
Source: "Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
The life of William Tell Besser, a high1y respected citizen of Greencastle, Indiana, has been one of consecutive endeavor along lines that seldom fail to bring satisfactory results, and now, in the evening of his life, he finds himself comfortably situated as a result of his former years of activity. He was born in Clark county, Illinois, on the home farm, October 26, 1842, the son of Bates and Olive (Ho1lenbeck) Besser, the father being a native of the canton of Luzerne, Switzerland, born January 15, 1797. He came to America with his father when a small boy. He grew to maturity here and during the War of 1812 teamed for the American army when the British burned the city of Buffalo. He afterwards settled in Black Rock, near Buffalo. His mother died in the old country and Mr. Besser married a native of New York after coming here. They both died in that state. The parents of William T. Besser boarded a trading boat and descended the Ohio river to the mouth of the Wabash, ascending the latter stream until they reached a spot near Marshall, Illinois, where they settled, braving the severe climatic changes, Indians and the hardships incident to a pioneer life. Mr. Besser purchased sixty acres of land, later entering considerable land adjoining. As soon as he could secure the sum of fifty dollars he would enter another forty acres and he soon had a very valuable tract and made a success in this new country where he lived until he reached a ripe old age, dying September 13, 1855. Bates Besser made many trips to Chicago in wagons, before the days of railroads, taking apples, principally to market and bringing back merchandise. He married Olive Hollenbeck in 1828. She was the daughter of Lawrence H. Hollenbeck, who settled in Illinois as early as 1815, his wife dying soon afterward. His death occurred in 1860, in Dallas, Texas, where he went from Iowa, having moved to the latter state from Illinois. Both the elder Hollenbeck and Besser belonged to that type of pioneers who courted rather than shunned danger and thought nothing of hardships. They fattened their hogs with the corn they raised, and, in order to market them, sawed lumber with hand saws with which they constructed flat-bottomed boats and on these drove their hogs, taking them down the rivers to the New Orleans markets, where they abandoned their boats and walked home. Mrs. Olive Besser died in 1873, having reared the following nine children: Luzerne died in Oregon; Wesley died in Illinois; James died in the Indian Territory; Nathan, who was with General Grant, early in the Civil war, died in 1862; William T., of this review; Margaret Hathaway Linton died in Illinois in 1850; Mary, who married Dr. S. Jumper, died in Marshal1, Illinois, in 1890; Hulda, who married Bryan Anderson, now lives in Marshall, Illinois.
William T. Besser worked on the home farm in Illinois in his boyhood, attended the country schools until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, which so fired his youthful ardor that he could not remain at home when his country was in need of his services, consequently he enlisted in the Fifty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In fantry, for the three-months service. He did guard duty principally, not having occasion to participate in any battles, his services being principally in protecting railroad property. He contracted the measles which settled in his eyes, thus preventing his re-enlistment, and he was honorably discharged in October, 1862. He returned home and took up farming again. Four years later, 1866, he purchased a half interest in the mill at Marshall, Illinois, which in 1874 was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt. After a series of varied successes in business, he sold out in 1893 and came to Greencastle, Indiana, where he purchased the interest of E. H. Marker in the "Big Four Mills," which he has been very successful in and is now widely known to the farmers throughout this and adjoining counties, making a specialty of the well known and much-sought-for brand of "Big 4 Flour," which ranks second to none on the market and which is sold in large lots in many sections of the United States. He is regarded as one of the leading mill men in this section of the state and an authority in such matters, holding a conspicuous place in the ranks of millers of the Middle West. He has been very successful of recent years and is one of the substantial men of Greencastle. He has a nice home, well furnished and tastily kept.
Mr. Besser was married on April 19, 1874, to Mary Craig, daughter of Robert and Mary (Hall) Craig, an excellent family of Sullivan county, this state. This union resulted in the birth of two children, Daniel, who is his father's assistant in the mill, and Bertha, widow of Milo Reed Janney. The mother of these children passed to her rest in 1902. She was a woman of rare Christian character and an earnest worker in the Christian church.
Fraternally Mr. Besser is a member of the Royal Arch Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Grand Army of the Republic.
File Created: Mar 03, 2008