B.F. Kain. To be twice honored by his party with a nomination for an important county office and to be twice elected, each time with a very pronounced majority, a man must be possessed of at least some of the virtues which commend him to his fellow men. Of course, some time, a wily politician may so pull the strings and manipulate affairs that he can boost himself into a lucrative office, but the “wily politician” who lives on a farm and earns his bread by the sweat of his brow is an unknown species of politician in this country. B.F. Kain, of Union township, Wells county, Indiana, the subject of this sketch, was, like Cincinnatus, taken from the plow to be installed into office. For two terms he took charge of the finances of Wells county and at the close of his administration turned over to his successor the funds, books and papers, accounting to the utmost penny for all the money that had passed through his hands.

B.F. Kain was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, October 5, 1845. He was the son of John and Polly Kain. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania, but his paternal grandparents had emigrated to this country from Ireland, while his maternal grandparents were natives of the Keystone state. John and Polly Kain were married in their native state and soon thereafter moved to Ohio, where he took up the occupation of farming and continued to prosper. With a view of bettering his condition and securing advantages not to be had in Ohio, he, about October 1, 1850, moved his family to Union township, Wells county, Indiana, taking up a piece of unimproved government land. Upon this land, which was situated in the woods, he immediately proceeded to create a home. The first house was of the rudest kind, built of fresh-cut logs and roofed with clapboards. Before half the roof was on the family moved in with their few effects and necessary furniture. Hard work, continued in during long hours and eternally persisted in, will almost work miracles in the way of improving and clearing land. But a few years sufficed to give the Kain homestead a far different aspect from that which it represented in its original condition. It had materially increased in value, while its owner thrived and prospered to such an extent that in 1861 better buildings and a more comfortable home was erected. Here the parents of B.F. Kain spent their days until the summons of the grim reaper called them from this to the better world.

John Kain was a man of much public spirit, whose influence was felt far beyond the limits of his immediate neighborhood. In those days the township assessor was an important official. He was elected to this position and held the office for some sixteen years. He was a believer in the principles of the Democratic party and was always sufficiently consistent to vote the way he believed. Democracy seems to have had a firm hold on the pioneers of that section and the complexion of the returns from Wells county after each successive election in present years would indicate that it has not lost much of its grip. John and Polly Kain were the parents of the following children: Daniel, Isabella, J.D., Mary A., Hugh, D.F., Alexander, B.F., J.W., Sarah, William H. and Eliza J. One, D.F., is a minister of the gospel.

B.F. Kain was five years old when his father moved into the woods of Union township. When he was old enough he assisted in the work of the clearing and of the farm, attending the district school when it was in session in the winter and through securing an education which has been ample to him for every purpose. When he grew to manhood he spent several years in the school room as a teacher, being quite successful. It was while he was engaged in this vocation that he met, wooed and won Miss Caroline Ellingham, daughter of Charles E. and Hannah (Scolton) Ellingham, she being also a teacher in the schools of Wells county. The Ellinghams were natives of England who emigrated to America and located in Rock Creek township in 1838. The young couple were married in 1869, when the groom was twenty-one years old. Soon after his marriage B.F. Kain rented the farm of his wife’s father and continued in the work of agriculture quite successfully for many years. In 1880 he bought a farm of eighty acres on which he made his home until 1890, when, for the purpose of educating his children, he removed temporarily to Bluffton.

Mr. and Mrs. Kain are the parents of five children: George F., the first born is dead; Esther A., the wife of C.P. Hannah, is a graduate of the Bluffton high school and has taught a number of terms in the county, also in the state of Nebraska, where she resided some time; Alonzo is a barber and doing a good business in Bluffton; Charles is a graduate of the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso and is now a telegraph operator on the Clover Leaf; Homer F. is still single and living at home. The Kains are members of the Christian church, Mr. Kain having served for a number of years as a trustee. He is a Democrat in politics and was nominated and elected by his party to the office of county treasurer and so acceptably did he discharge the duties of the position that in 1896 he was renominated and re-elected by an increased majority. On retiring from office he again took up his home on his farm, where he resided three years, when he sold out and removed to Bluffton, where he now resides. He is the owner of eighty acres, known as the John Johnson farm, the management of which is conducted under his own supervision. Personally he is a quiet, modest, unassuming man, well known and highly respected throughout the county.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 595-597.
Transcribed by Kathy Davis

DANIEL KAIN, a pioneer of Wells County, engaged in general farming in Chester Township, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Westmoreland County, July 31, 1832, his parents, John and Mary (Chain) Kain, who were also natives of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and of Irish descent. In 1838 the family removed by team to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, remaining there twelve years, and in 1850 came by team from Tuscarawas to Wells County, Indiana, and located on 160 acres of land in Union Township. This land was entered by a land warrant, received by John Kain for his services during the Mexican war. It was entirely unimproved, and a space had to be cleared in the woods before their log cabin could be built. The first night the family occupied the cabin only half the roof had been put on. The father was a man of indomitable energy, and by his persevering industry soon converted his wild land into well cultivated fields, living there until his death, which occurred in February, 1883. His wife died about two years previous.

Daniel Kain was eighteen years of age when he came with his father's family to Wells County, and here he has since lived with the exception of the time spent in the service of his country during the war of the Rebellion. He was united in marriage October 25, 1857, to Miss Rebecca M. Heckman, a native of Stark County, Ohio. Of the eleven children born to this union nine yet survive- Mary Jane, wife of John R. Newman; Sarah E., wife of Wesley Reading, of Huntington County; Fannie, wife of Palmer Reading; Melinda, wife of Samuel Penrod; Frank and William (twins), the latter married to Ella Lowdermilk; Martha, Rosa and Cora. John and George (twins) are deceased.

August 15, 1862, Mr. Kain enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and First Indiana Infantry, and rendezvoused at Wabash, and from there went to Indianapolis, thence to Cincinnati and Covington, Ohio, and from there to Nashville, where his company was assigned to the Fourteenth Army Corps under General Thomas. Mr. Kain participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Lookout Mountain, and was with Sherman in the Georgia campaign to Atlanta, and at the siege and capture of Atlanta. He was with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea, and through the Carolinas to Washington, where he participated in the grand review of Sherman's army. From Washington he went to Parkersburg, West Virginia, thence by steamboat to Louisville, Kentucky, and from there by rail to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he received his discharge. During his whole term of service he was never out of the ranks, serving in every battle in which his regiment and company participated. He with two other soldiers was captured at the picket line at the close of the battle of Chickamauga, but after a couple of hours made his escape by running away, telling the rebels to shoot, and disappeared amid a shower of bullets. The other two were taken to Andersonville prison, where they were starved to death.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 953-954.

A man of good business capacity and intelligence, far-sighted, and earnest in purpose, Herbert Kasler, a well-known farmer of Liberty Township, is identified not only with the agricultural development of Wells County, but with one of the leading industries of this section of the state, being superintendent of the interest of the Holland & St. Louis Sugar Beet Company, a responsible position which he is ably filling. A son of Austin and Jemima (Smith) Kasler, he was born December 2, 1872, in Athens County, Ohio, where his mother died several years ago, and where his father is still living.

Herbert Kasler was brought up on the home farm in Ohio and obtained his education in the country schools. Leaving home at the age of fourteen years, he came to Wells County, Indiana, in search of remunerative employment, and for about five years was employed on a farm in Liberty Township, receiving for his labor eight dollars a month and his board. Going then to Marion, Indiana, Mr. Kasler entered the rolling mills as a furnace helper, and during the three years he was employed in the mills mastered the details of the trade, having gradually worked his way upward through every department. After his marriage, he worked for awhile in a saw mill, later being employed at his trade. Returning then to Wells County, Mr. Kasler worked as a farm hand five years. Having accumulated some money, he then bought forty acres of land in Liberty Township, and subsequently purchased forty acres more, at the present time having a well-appointed farm of eighty acres, on which he is raising satisfactory crops, his land responding readily to culture. Becoming sure that sugar beets would prove a profitable crop, he began raising them, and others soon followed his example, the venture proving very successful. Subsequently Mr. Kasler was chosen superintendent of the Holland & St. Louis Sugar Beet Company's interest in the counties above named, and in that capacity is efficiently aiding the development of the industry, which is of great help to the farms of this vicinity.

Mr. Kasler married Miss Minnie Cole, April 21, 1895, and of their union five sons have been born, namely: Charles, Glenn, Rex, Max, and Dean. The youngest son is now a pupil in the grade schools, and the others have all attended the Liberty Center High School, from which Glenn was graduated. Mr. and Mrs. Kasler are also rearing a boy, Leo Cole, an orphan, and a nephew of Mrs. Kasler. Mr. Kasler and his wife are members of the Methodist Protestant Church, of which he is a trustee. He is a prohibitionist, and was the nominee of his party for sheriff of Wells County, receiving a comparatively large number of votes.

Standard History of Adams and Wells Counties Indiana. John W Tyndall for Adams Co and O. E. Lesh for Wells County. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1918, pp. 507-508.
Contributed by Nola Rains

This young, talented and energetic editor and proprietor of the Weekly News, published at Ossian, Indiana, was born in Maysville, Allen county, Indiana, February 11, 1869, and is descended from parents in whose veins the blood of the Pennsylvania Germans largely predominated. He secured the elements of an education in Maysville at the common schools and the completion of his studies was accomplished through self application to books, travel and close observation of men and things as they passed before his mental and physical vision. He was of an inventive turn of mind in his youthful days and a year of labor in a printing office taught him the details of the profession, although he had intended to follow an entirely different line of life work. At the age of twenty he entered into the wholesale butchering and meat business at Maysville, but in 1885 Swift & Company, of Chicago, had monopolized the trade by underselling the local dealers. Mr. Keefer then turned his genius to newspaper work and how well he succeeded will be found in a sketch of the Ossian News. The Ossian Weekly Telephone was founded by DuBoise & Huffman, but dragged along a sickly existence of a few weeks only, when a Mr. Lipes started a job-printing plant with a view of founding another journal, which never materialized. In December, 1890, Mr. Keefer secured a meager five-hundred-dollar equipment and began the issue of the Ossian News. The quarters were too small and in February, 1891, he moved his establishment into the north room of the Ossian House. His determination to win overcame the doubts and prejudices of those who had been "gold bricked" by the Weekly Telephone, and soon subscriptions began to come in, and advertising to boom. In April, 1891, seeking larger quarters, Mr. Keefer moved into the upstairs rooms of the old postoffice building, where he had his living rooms as well. The News remained there until increased prosperity induced the proprietor to build his present office, to which he moved in April, 1893. The paper at the start was a four-column quarto, but in three weeks its size was increased to a five-column quarto, two pages being printed at home, the rest being "ready-print" from the Fort Wayne Newspaper Union. This continued a year, when Mr. Keefer began to print four pages at home. January 1, 1898, the News changed dress to brevier and showed further improvements, making its appearance "pasted and trimmed" in its present neat and attractive form. Recently a large Jones-Gordon press and a serviceable low-power gas engine were added, the equipment costing about twenty-five hundred dollars. The job printing facilities of the plant are equal—indeed superior—to any other in the county. The News itself is a bright, tasty, readable weekly, a mirror which reflects the life of the community, its carefully prepared news columns being now considered authority on local matters. It finds its way into nearly every home in this section of Wells county and has become almost a household necessity. Its news and editorial articles are written in a crisp, catchy style, such talent as that of C. A. Carpenter adding zest and pith to its columns and making it the favorite paper in hundreds of families.

In December, 1902, The News added a zinc etching plant by which it is enabled to present to its readers a line of interesting cartoons that materially enhance the value of the paper both from a reading and an advertising standpoint. A 20th century souvenir volume of Ossian, with an edition of two thousand copies, was issued by the News and received encomiums of praise from leading editors throughout the country.

In 1902 James H. Keefer was chosen by the building committee of the new Presbyterian church to superintend the erection of the fine sixteen-thousand-dollar edifice and so satisfactory were his efforts that the building is without a peer when compared with other church edifices of the same cost. Following is a list of the members of this committee: L. F. Wilson, chairman, Jas. H. Keefer, W. H. Rupright, A. F. Roe, G. A. Morton, Rev. E. P. Gilchrist. Jas. H. Keefer was tacitly looked upon as a man whose critical powers would be of service and indeed he was of much valuable assistance, for the entire committee deferred frequently to his judgment in weighty matters.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 352-354.

George G. Keith, born in Pendleton, Kentucky, is a son of George and Agnes (McKay) Keith, residents of that state. His children are Martha A. Keith, born April 1, 1868; Charley W. Keith, October 3, 1870; Rossie M. Keith, April 18, 1872; Alice E. and George A. Train, May 18, 1874; Mary R. and Marie E. Train, May 17, 1876. The former died June 21, 1876; the latter July 1, 1876. George G. Keith was married in Bracos County, Kentucky, May 30, 1867. His wife, Eliza t. Harmon is a daughter of Michael and Martha M. (Walton) Harmon. She was born in Kentucky, March 23, 1838. Four brothers of George G. Keith served in the War of 1861. Two of them, Clay and Alexander, died in hospital. Mr. Keith is a resident of Liberty Township. He settled in Wells County in 1876. Business, land agency for Texas land. Address, Liberty Center, Wells County, Indiana.

Historical Hand-Atlas, With Complete Reference Map of the World, History of Wells Co., IN, Chicago & Toledo: H. H. Hardesty & Co., 1881, p. 215.

Emanuel Keller, a sergeant in the War of 1861, was a member of Company G., under Captain Lorenzo D. Wilson, 101st Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted August 20, 1862, and was discharged June 24, 1865. His Colonel was William Garver. He was in the battles of Milton, Tennessee; Murfreesborough; was in the two days' battle at Chattanooga; at Mission Ridge, Ringgold, Jonesborough, Atlanta; at Marietta; went with Sherman to Savannah, to Columbia, South Carolina, to Goldsborough, North Carolina, then to Raleigh; and at the surrender of General J. Johnston went to Richmond and Washington D.C., finally returning home by the way of Cincinnati. He was born in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1832; is a resident of Liberty Township; settled in Wells County in 1846. He is a son of William and Mary M. (Young) Keller, both of whom died in Wells County, the former in July 1877, the latter in 1865. E. Keller's wife, Nancy McDaniel, was born in Summit County, Ohio, February 24, 1834, and married in Wells County, Indiana, September 29, 1853. Her father, James McDaniel, died March 26, 1841; her mother, Salome (Shook) McDaniel, died March 12, 1877. Her children are: William, born July 11, 1854, resides at home; Drusilla J., April 16, 1857, resides in Jefferson Township, Wells County; Horatio A., September 30, 1859; Mary L., August 13, 1867; Clara E., March 30, 1871. Business, carpentering. Address, Liberty Center, Wells County, Indiana.

Historical Hand-Atlas, With Complete Reference Map of the World, History of Wells Co., IN, Chicago & Toledo: H. H. Hardesty & Co., 1881, p. 215.

CAPTAIN SAMUEL J. KELLER, the oldest son of John and Rachel (Jamison) Keller, was born in Miami County, Ohio, December 10, 1825. His father died when he was nine years old, and his mother subsequently married John Barr. In 1843 he came to Wells County, Indiana, with his mother and step-father and located in Lancaster Township, where his mother died in 1847. Samuel J. began to care for himself at an early age, and the lessons of industry and frugality learned in his youth have been of great and lasting benefit to him. He followed farming until he was eighteen years of age, when he learned the brickmaker's trade, at which he worked in Huntington, Indiana, until 1850. He was married at Bluffton, Indiana, March 14, 1852, to Miss Melvina E. Wolleat. Her parents, Michael and Adaline Wolleat, having been pioneer settlers in Wells County. His children are seven-Samuel, Ella, wife of Frederick Mosinan, of Pleasant Lake, Indiana, Catherine, Ada, Jane, Lydia and John. His wife, the mother of the above named children, died at Bluffton, Indiana. He came to Bluffton in 1850, where he became engaged in the manufacture of brick. In 1854 he moved to Rice County, Minnesota, and there engaged in making brick until 1858, when he returned to Bluffton and resumed brick-making until 1876. In the latter year he went with his family to San Jose, California, thence to Portland, Oregon, making a prospecting tour of four years. In 1880 he again returned to Bluffton, where he still resides.

He has served his country in two wars. In the fall of 1847 he enlisted in the Mexican war as a private in Company K, Second Regiment of the regular United States army, to serve five years or during the war. While in said service he was principally on duty in the City of Mexico, and was discharged at the close of the war at Pascagoula, Mississippi. In August, 1861, he was commissioned Captain by Governor O. P. Morton, and recruited Company H, Forty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteers. He was with his company and regiment until he was finally discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana, December 13, 1864, and participated in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged, including New Madrid, Champion Hills, siege of Vicksburg, besides a large number of less important engagements, and he was with General Banks on his Red River expedition. In one of the skirmishes in that campaign he received a gun-shot wound which incapacitated him for duty for several weeks.

In 1884 Captain Keller was commissioned postmaster at Bluffton, Indiana, by President Arthur, which office he held until 1886, when he resigned. He is a member of Lew Daily Post, No. 33, G. A. R., of Bluffton, Indiana. Captain Keller is a Master Mason, and has for in any years been a member of Bluffton Lodge, No. 145, of Bluffton. In his early days Captain Keller was a noted hunter and trapper. He knows every foot of ground in this and adjoining counties. His keen eye and steady nerve made him an expert in the use of the gun and scores of deer have fallen by his steady aim, and not only deer and the game then usually found in Wells County, but when he was in the great West he enjoyed the excitement of hunting and killing the buffalo, which roamed in vast herds over the plains. Very few men have had the experience of Captain Keller as a hunter. His name is not only known in Wells County, but on the plains of Oregon and other Western States. As a soldier he has followed his country's flag in more than a hundred engagements. In Mexico, as a private, he saw the triumphant march of our troops into that city. As a commissioned officer, in the South, at New Madrid, Champion Hills and Vicksburg, he led his company like a true soldier and patriot, and when he again had seen the enemies of his country vanquished, he like a true and faithful subject settled down to a quiet life. Thus we have briefly sketched the life of one who was an early pioneer, a famous hunter, a brave and true soldier of two wars and a model citizen.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 884-885.

NELSON KELLOGG, one of the old and honored pioneers of Wells County, is a native of the State of Vermont, born at Starksboro in 1807, of Scotch and German ancestry. He was reared to the avocation of a farmer, and in his youth attended the common schools of his neighborhood and the academy at Hinesburgh, Vermont. During the years 1830 and '31 he was employed as a clerk in his father's store in his native town, and in 1833 he removed with his father's family to Ashtabula County, Ohio, where he remained until 1834. He then went to Meadville, Pennsylvania, and attended the college at that place almost two years, preparing himself for a teacher, after which he taught in the schools of Kelloggsville and Greenville, Ohio, until 1839. He was united in marriage at Greenville in January, 1837, to Mrs. Rachel (Mann) Wiley, who was of English and German origin, and to this union were born four children-Celia, who died at Bluffton, Indiana, in 1849, aged ten years; Martha, wife of James B. Plessinger; Francis N., deputy postmaster, and Mrs. Rachel Martin, all of whom reside in Bluffton. In 1839 Mr. Kellogg came to Wells County, Indiana, and worked at the mason's trade at Bluffton until 1856. He then published a newspaper at Bluffton called the People's Press, until 1861, when he received the appointment of postmaster of Bluffton under President Lincoln's administration, holding that office until deposed by President Johnson in 1866. In 1843 he was elected justice of the peace, and held that office by re-election for eighteen years. In 1849 he was elected the first mayor of Bluffton. In 1868 he was again elected mayor of Bluffton. During President Grant's administration he was deputy postmaster under his son F. N. Kellogg from 1869 until 1875, after which he was variously employed until 1884, when he retired from the active duties of life on account of his advanced age. In politics he was formerly a Whig, but afterward affiliated with the Republican party. Mrs. Kellogg died at Bluffton in November, 1882, at the age of seventy-eight years. She was for many years a member of the First Presbyterian Church at Bluffton.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 765.

Joel Kemp, farmer, Harrison Township, was born in Clarke County, Ohio, February 23, 1829, son of Solomon and Elizabeth (Baker) Kemp, the former a native of Maryland, and the latter of Virginia and of German ancestry. When he was three years old his mother died, and in the fall of 1839 Solomon Kemp came to this county with six children and purchased 212 acres of land in Harrison Township, where he began clearing and improving a future home. He followed farming the remainder of his days. There were eight children, of whom four are living. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and died in 1850, aged fifty-eight years.

Our subject was ten years of age when he came to Wells County. His youth was spent in assisting his father on the farm, and he remained with him until his death. December 13, 1855, he was married to Miss Mahala Deam, daughter of John A. Deam, who came here from Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1839. To this union one child has been born - Alice Olive, wife of George Studabaker. Mr. Kemp resides on the old homestead where he was reared and where he has l ived for forty-eight years. He has 162 acres. In politics he is a Democrat.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 875.

The importance that attaches to the lives, character and work of the early settlers of Wells county and the influence they have exerted upon the cause of humanity and civilization is one of the most absorbing themes that can possibly attract the attention of the local chronicler or historian. If great and beneficent results —results that endure and benefit mankind— are the proper measure of the good men do, then who is there in the world's history that may take their places above the hardy pioneer. To point out the way, to make possible our present advancing civilization, its happy homes, its arts and sciences, its discoveries and inventions, its education, literature and culture, its refinement and social life and joy, is to be the truly great benefactors of mankind for all time. This was the great work accomplished by the early settlers and it is granted by all that they builded more wisely than they knew. Admit that but few ever realized in the dimmest way the transcendent possibilities that rested upon their shoulders; grant it that their lives, except in certain instances, were somewhat narrow and that they realized but little the great results that ultimately crowned their efforts; yet there exists the supreme fact that they followed their restless impulses, took their lives in their hands, penetrated the wilderness and with a patient energy, resolution and self-sacrifice that stands alone and unparalleled, they worked out their allotted tasks, accomplished their destinies and today their descendants and others enjoy undisturbed the fruitage of their labors.

Prominent among the worthy representatives of the pioneer element in the county of Wells is the well-known gentleman to a review of whose life the attention of the reader is now directed. For many years Joel Kemp has been a forceful factor in the growth and prosperity of Harrison township, and as such his name and reputation have extended far beyond the limits of the locality in which the greater part of his life has been spent. The subject's father was born in Maryland and his mother in Virginia. Their respective families emigrated to Clark county, Ohio, and there Solomon Kemp and Elizabeth Baker were united in marriage. The former owned a farm in Ohio, but in 1839 he came to Wells county and there bought of Abe Studabaker a farm of two hundred and twelve acres situated in section 3, Harrison township, paying for the same one thousand dollars. He entered actively upon the operation of this farm and made it his home until his death in 1850. They were the parents of eight children, three boys and five girls, of whom there are now but two surviving, the subject and Amanda, the wife of Abe Neuswander. The father willed all the land to the subject.

After his father's death Joel Kemp paid the other heirs for their interest in the home farm and he is now the owner of one hundred and sixty-two acres of the original farm. In his youth the only educational advantages he received were those to be obtained in the subscription schools of the neighborhood, but to the limited mental training he there acquired he has added by wide reading and close observation of men and events, so that today he is a thoroughly well-informed man and able to converse inteligently on all the leading questions of the day. At first the only habitation on the farm was a log cabin, but the subject later replaced that with the comfortable and commodious residence in which he now lives. He made many inprovements [sic] upon the place and by long years of earnest toil and wise management brought it up to a high standard of excellence. He has not confined himself strictly to one line of farming, but has been diversified in his operations, as all progressive agriculturists should be, and has found a comfortable competence in the products of the soil.

Mr. Kemp was united in marriage with Miss Mahala Deam, the daughter of John A. Deam. The Deam family came from Montgomery county, Ohio, to Wells county, in February, 1839, but Mrs. Kemp was born in the former county. This union was blessed with one child, Alice Olive, who is now the wife of George Studabaker, ex-auditor of Wells county. Politically Mr. Kemp is a Democrat, but, while taking a keen interest in the party's success, bears no active part in its campaigns, being content with the casting of an honest ballot. Fraternally he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to the subordinate lodge at Bluffton. Mr. Kemp, by a life of right living and strenuous endeavor, has earned a warm place in the hearts of all who know him. He is a devout lover of all that is pure, true and good, and is ever ready to encourage that which is good and to support that which is best. All find in him a friend and helper. He is neighborly and brotherly, candid, frank, sincere and generous, as well as kind and courteous. By the exercise of these qualities he has been blessed with a large number of warm personal friends and even mere acquaintances respect him for his exemplary life. Mr. Kemp has in his possession two parchment deeds, executed November 7, 1835, and bearing the signature of President Andrew Jackson.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 386-388.

JACOB VANDERSAUL KENAGY, of the milling firm of J. V. Kenagy & Brother, proprietors of the Bluffton Hydraulic and Steam Flouring Mills, is a native of Wayne County, Ohio, born near Dalton, September 2, 1835. His father being a farmer, he was reared to the same avocation, receiving his education at the common schools of his neighborhood, and at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, where he spent two years. At the age of eighteen years he came to Wells County, his parents having preceded him while he was attending college at Delaware, Ohio. On his arrival he was employed as clerk in the store of John Studabaker, of Bluffton, where he remained one year. He was then engaged in working on his father's farm and in teaching school until April 19, 1861, when, on the first call for men by President Lincoln, he enlisted in the Union army as a private to serve three months. He was assigned to Company. G, Twelfth Indiana Infantry, and was on duty at Washington, D. C. At the expiration of his term of service, by request of Governor Morton, his term was extended nine months, and after being in the service one year he was discharged at Washington in May, 1862. He then returned to Bluffton, and the following July re-enlisted as a private in the three years' service, in Company K, Seventy-fifth Indiana Infantry, and was discharged at Chattanooga, Tennessee, at the close of the war by general order of the War Department at Washington, D. C. When his company was organized he was chosen First Sergeant and served as such until 1863, when he was detailed as Hospital Steward at Louisville, Kentucky, in which capacity he served during the winter of 1863-'64, when being relieved he returned to his company and regiment and again acted as First Sergeant until the latter part of 1864, when he was detailed as clerk of the Medical Director of the Post at Chattanooga, serving as such until receiving his discharge. After the war he returned to Bluffton, and until July, 1866, he was employed as bookkeeper and an assistant in the hardware store of his father and M. H. Gettel.

October 17, 1866, he was married to Margaret Ann Johnston, of Wells County, who died at Woodhull, Illinois, August 4, 1870, leaving a daughter named Kittie. Mrs. Kenagy, at the time of her death, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Woodhull. Mr. Kenagy removed to Woodhull, Illinois, in 1866, where he was engaged in dealing in hardware and farm implements, being associated with his father and Mr. Gettel, the firm name being Gettel & Kenagy, the store at Woodhull being a branch of the main business at Bluffton. In 1871, his father having died, he discontinued the business at Woodhull and returned to Bluffton, where he continued in the hardware business under the firm name of Gettel & Kenagy. In 1872 they enlarged their business, adding produce, grain and farm implements, and also purchased a flour mill at Bluffton. On the death of Mr. Gettel in 1874 the firm of Gettel & Kenagy was changed to J. V. Kenagy & Brothers, Joshua and John W. Kenagy becoming associated with our subject. They discontinued their hardware business in 1875, and in 1878 John W. Kenagy retired from the firm, when the firm was changed to J. V. Kenagy & Brother. J. V. Kenagy and daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bluffton, and he has been the leader of Class No. 1 since 1872. He is a member of Bluffton Lodge, No. 1838, K. of H., in which he has served two years as chaplain. He is a comrade of Lew Dailey Post, No. 33, G. A. R., and is at present chaplain of the post.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 794-795.

DAVID KERSHNER, farmer, Chester Township, was born in Miami County, Ohio, October 14, 1827, son of Henry and Esther (Wagner) Kershner, natives of Berks County, Pennsylvania, where they were married, then removed to Miami County, where they lived until 1832, thence, by team, to Union County, where they were pioneers. Seven years later the family moved to Wayne County, thence to Blackford County, this State, in 1849, where David was married, and came to Wells County in 1851. They settled on 120 acres of land one-half mile from where he now lives, which was then in its primitive condition. Mr. Kershner went at once to work to clear a space sufficient for a building, and with the logs thus cut down erected his first hog cabin. He gave no attention to hunting, although deer and wild game were abundant. He cleared about thirty acres of his land, then removed to Scuffle Creek, Chester Township, upon a partly cleared piece of land. He lived there one year, and in 1865 bought eighty acres of land where he now resides. About forty acres were cleared, and now about sixty acres are tillable. He has himself made all the improvements on his place. About a year after he came to Wells County, his parents also came to Chester Township, which was their home until 1863, when they removed to Appanoose County, Iowa. In 1872 they returned to Wells County, where the father died in 1877, and the mother in 1881.

Mr. Kershner was married in 1850 to Miss Elizabeth M. Putnam, a native of Blackford County, who died in 1856. To this union were born two children, of whom one, William K., is living; Alonzo is deceased. January 9, 1863, Mr. Kershner was married to Miss Peggy Palmer, born in Wayne County, Indiana, and died October 19, 1871. Their two children, Josephine and an infant unnamed, are deceased. Mr. Kershner married his present wife, Nancy Jarrett, July 24, 1879. She was born in Wells County, a daughter of John and Mary (Sills) Jarrett. They are the parents of four children-Elva, Esther, Amanda and Lydia. Mrs. Kershner is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Kershner is a Republican in politics, and has held the offices of supervisor, assessor and land appraiser of his township.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 687.

Perry Kilander was born June 10, 1823, in Brown county, Ohio. He was a son of Jacob Kilander, a native of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors were originally from Holland, and Polly Dillman Kilander, a native of the state of Kentucky. After their marriage they settled in Kentucky, later going to Brown county, Ohio, and from there they removed to Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, where they remained until death. Jacob was the father of seven children, the subject being the only one now living, at the age of eighty years. David, Dillman, Sarah, Sina and Calvin are all deceased. The subject attended school in Brown county, Ohio, on days which were too bad to work. He began working, for himself when he was about twenty-one years of age, remaining with his father and working out, etc. At the age of twenty-three, on March 17, 1846, he was married to Sarah Jane Martin, born in Brown county, Ohio, in November, 1821, a daughter of George and Mary (Myers) Martin. After his marriage the subject began farming in Brown county, Ohio, remaining there five years, when he removed to Wells county, Indiana, and purchased two hundred and eighty acres of unimproved land which he and a farm hand cleared up and improved. He afterward divided his land among his children, reserving eighty acres for himself. He has devoted his entire life to the interests of farming. His faithful wife and helpmeet died March 14, 1901. He is the father of twelve children, ten of whom are yet living: Polly M., born January 17, 1847, is the wife of Canada Griffith and they have three living children; the second child of the subject, Sarah E., was born August 28, 1848, and died November 14, 1900; the third, Maria E., born March 2, 1850, is the wife of John Verneder; Calvin V., born February 17, 1852, deceased; William D., born November 26, 1853, now residing in Kansas City; Montre C., born December 19, 1857, the wife of John Lee; Charlotte O., born November 19, 1858, the wife of Phanuel McIntyre; Robert A., born March 23, 1861; Rebecca A., born September 18, 1863, wife of Warner Welch; Jacob M., born January 17, 1866; Emma R., born October 8, 1868, wife of Keaver Risinger, and John E., born December 28, 1872.

Mr. Kilander has been a general stock farmer all his life, devoting his time distinctly to his farming affairs and has never taken an active interest in politics. In the person of the venerable subject we have a personage who has attained an age beyond that of the most of his contemporaries. Born in the first quarter of the last century, he has lived to see the wonderful development of the country and the applied inventions used as a means thereto which were undreamed of in his youth. He has been a pioneer of two states, aiding by the labor of his own hands in creating the conditions of prosperity which his environments denote. He has lived to see the fruition of his labors in the days of his strong manhood in the possession by himself and children of the bounteous returns of the farms which he wrested so largely with his own hands from the virgin forests of a new country. Those who have been witnesses to and aided in all the transitory changes which have attended our wonderful development will have soon gone hence, but their deeds will be enshrined in the hearts of coming generations and sons and daughters will arise up on every hand and call them blessed.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 197-198.

R. A. Kilander was born in Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, and is a son of Perry and Elizabeth (Martin) Kilander, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of the state of Ohio. His parents were married in Ohio, where they settled and engaged in farming for a few years. In a very early day they removed to Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, where the wife, Mary E., died March 14, 1901, and where the father is yet living on the old home place, at the venerable age of eighty years. Perry Kilander is the father of twelve children, ten of whom are living: Margaret, Maria, Elizabeth, deceased, Calvin, deceased, William, Mottrey, Olive, R. A., the subject, Rebecca, Jacob, Emma and John.

Mr. Kilander attended the district schools in Jackson township, Wells county, until the age of eighteen years. He then vent to school in Bluffton, Indiana, for two terms, one in the normal and the other in the city schools, while under the superintendency of Colonel McCleary. He then secured license to teach, but never had much desire to enter that profession. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-one years old, at which time he was married, on March 25, 1882, to Emily McIntyre, who was born in West Virginia, April 12, 1862. She was the daughter of William and Mary (Fearnow) McIntyre, both natives of Virginia, who later settled in Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, on the farm where the subject now lives, remaining there until they died. William McIntyre's death occurred on December 2, 1900, and that of his wife December 11, 1890. William was the father of four children, two of whom are yet alive: Zelpha, born September 17, 1839, died May 26, 1842; Mary, born December 11, 1840, died May 28, 1842; Richard, born August 27, 1842, and Emily, born April 12, 1862. After his marriage R. A. Kilander moved onto his father-in-law's farm and, farming on shares, he remained there until the death of both of his wife's parents, since which time he has had full control of the old McIntyre farm. Mr. Kilander, together with his father-in-law, had previously purchased a one-half interest in the old McIntyre farm, which up to that time belonged to Harrison McIntyre, a brother of William. Some time previous to his death William had disposed of his interest in the farm to his children, reserving a life-time lease. Mr. Kilander and wife now have three hundred and sixty and a half acres of fine land, one hundred and twenty acres of which is in Chester township. He has twenty-four producing oil wells on his farms and others are being drilled.

In March, 1900, Mr. Kilander completed the finest house in Wells county and one of the finest in the state, which cost about eight thousand dollars, the work on he himself superintended. He had plans drawn, but no architect oversaw the building. He had the finishing lumber which was used in the construction of the building laid away seasoning for twelve years. It is finished in different costly woods, showing the natural grain, and the house is heated and lighted by gas. It is constructed of brick and stone, with mansard roof. The furnishings of the house are costly and in elegant taste and the home is a credit to the state. Mr. Kilander is a breeder of both Chester White and Poland China hogs and a general class of cattle. He prefers, however, the shorthorn breed when he can obtain them. He farms, or at least oversees the farming of, the greater part of his lands.

Mr. Kilander is the father of eight children, seven of whom are living: Charles E., born December 20, 1882, married Nannie E. Alexander and lives at home with his father; Mary A., born March 9, 1884; William, born February 24, 1886; Carrie A., born September 10, 1889, died September 9, 1890; Lulu M., born June 30, 1891: Lela A., born April 23, 1895; Robb M., born September 21, 1899, and Catherine L., born August 23, 1901. The subject has always been a Democrat, although he was not reared in that political faith. He has been trustee of Jackson township for five years, the three preceding terms having been held by Republicans who had been elected by both Republicans and Populists. This fact proves his personal popularity among his neighbors. The subject is also superintendent of seventeen miles of gravel roads in this county, the appointment to which position is made by the county commissioners.

R. A. Kilander is a representative of the energetic, go-ahead class of farmers of the state, a product of the farm life and the admirable system of our country and city schools. He is a citizen in whom any locality might take pride. The capacity and aptitude for public affairs which he possesses and his own personal popularity, with the confidence of his neighbors and party friends in his integrity and executive ability, has already enabled him to serve them in a public capacity, and the same conditions will no doubt in the future call him to other and higher trusts in the public service.

Mr. and Mrs. Kilander have an old fashioned spinning wheel and reel of "ye old days" of their mothers. They have some of the old family records of the McIntyre and Fearnow families which dates to 1815 and 1817, these beautiful records being executed with pen and ink. The great-grandfather of Mrs. Kilander has left his record also from Scotch-Irish ancestry, and dates back to 1734 and 1773. Mrs. Kilander has some of her grandmother's dishes, over a century old, and also double combs.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 144-146.

The gentleman whose brief biography is herewith presented has achieved success in various walks of civil life and at a critical period in our national history, when the ship of state was almost stranded upon the rugged rock of disunion, proved his loyalty to his country by following the flag into the southland. The Kimble family had its origin in Holland, but for three or four generations has been represented in various parts of the United States. From the most authentic sources, it appears that the progenitor of the American branch settled in New Jersey in an early day, in which state at a subsequent period was born the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Some time after his marriage this ancestor moved to Ohio, where he died in Perry county a number of years ago. Among his children was a son by the name of Uzal Kimble, who grew to maturity in the above county and there married Rachel McDaniel. Of this union were born four children, namely: Isabel, wife of John Harris; George W., of this review; Margaret, now Mrs. Thomas Shull, and William E., who married Rachel Brown, of Darke county, Ohio.

Uzal Kimble remained in his native state until 1850, when he disposed of his interests there and changed his residence to Wells county, Indiana, purchasing a farm in the township of Nottingham where he spent the remainder of his days. When a young man he united with the Christian church and later became an acceptable minister of that body, though seldom sustaining regular pastoral relations. He was a man of sincere convictions, an earnest and devout Christian and exercised a wholesome influence in the community by his upright conduct and correct deportment, as well as by the exercise of his public duties as an able preacher of the word.

George W. Kimble, the direct subject of this article, was born on the 14th day of August, 1845, in Athens county, Ohio, and until his seventeenth year assisted his father with the varied duties of the farm. His educational training was acquired in a little log school house near the home of his childhood and at the age of seventeen he left the farm for the purpose of learning the trade of blacksmithing. In due time he became an efficient mechanic, but shortly after beginning the work for himself President Lincoln issued his call for volunteers to assist in crushing the great Rebellion. Like thousands of other loyal sons of the north, young Kimble tendered his services to the government, enlisting in Company G, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, with which he shared the vicissitudes of war from 1864 until his regiment was mustered out of service. After his discharge he resumed blacksmithing in Wells county and continued working at the trade at various places until 1881, meanwhile devoting all of his leisure time in the study of law, for which he early manifested a very decided preference. The better to prepare himself for the practice of the profession, he entered, the above year, the law department of the Northern Indiana Normal University at Valparaiso, where he prosecuted his legal studies for a period of two years, graduating in 1883 with the degree of LL. B. The same year in which he completed this course at the above institution, Mr. Kimble opened an office in Bluffton, where he has since been actively engaged in the practice, giving especial attention to collections. He is well versed in the underlying principles of jurisprudence, has earned the reputation of a sound and discreet counsellor and occupies a prominent position among his professional brethren of the Bluffton bar. Politically Mr. Kimble is one of the leading Republicans of Wells county and is always ready to do his share in promoting the success of his party in locak, state and national elections. He was for three years justice of the peace in the township of Nottingham, aside from which he has held no official position nor has any ambition to gratify in that direction. Fraternally he belongs to Lodge No. 145, F. & A. M., and to his credit be it said that he has tried to square his life in harmony with the sublime principles of that order.

In the year 1870 Mr. Kimble was happily married to Miss Lydia M. Goodin, daughter of Rev. Smith Goodin, formerly superintendent of the Wells county public schools. Mrs. Kimble was born in Ohio, but came to Indiana when young and grew to mature years in the county in which she was married. She received an excellent education, was a lady of varied culture and for a number of years enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most capable and popular teachers in the county of Wells. She taught in the schools of Bluffton for six years and was engaged in educational work up to the time of her marriage. After a happy wedded life of twenty-two years duration, Mr. Kimble's home was invaded by the angel of death who, on the 30th day of March, 1892, summed the faithful and loving wife to her final rest. She was a devoted Christian, a member of the Baptist church and died in the faith which had afforded her so much consolation and solace during her life.

As a citizen Mr. Kimble stands high in the esteem of the people of his city and all cheerfully concede his right to be called one of Wells county's representative men. Quiet and unassuming in manner and easily approachable, he belongs to that large and eminently respectable class of people that make their presence felt by actions rather than by words, and in every relation of life his conduct has been characteristic of the intelligent, enterprising man of affairs and true gentleman.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 156-158.

G. H. KING, proprietor of the roller mills at Liberty Center, was born in Stokes County, North Carolina, May 3, 1822, son of Johnson and Margaret (Stanley) King. When he was about eight years of age his parents removed to Delaware County, this State, where his father entered land from the Government. Both parents died the following summer, about one month apart, leaving six children, our subject being the youngest. In the fall of 1837 he and his elder brother, Johnson, came to Wells County, where Johnson entered eighty acres of land from the Government on sections 21 and 22, Liberty Township. They were the third family in the township. They unloaded their goods under an oak tree and immediately began to clear a place on which to build their log cabin. In 1843 this brother died. G. H. was then in his twenty-first year, and had previously purchased eighty acres of heavily timbered land on section 27, Liberty Township, where he began clearing a farm for himself and lived there until 1857.

February 25, 1841, he was married to Miss Susan Mendenhall, daughter of Benjamin and Margery Mendenhall, who was born in Miami County, Ohio, and came to Wells County in 1839. In 1857 Mr. King sold his farm and purchased eighty acres of improved land in the same township, where he followed farming until 1865. He again sold out and purchased another farm upon which he built a saw-mill, and followed farming and milling until 1879, then removed to Liberty Center and engaged in the mercantile business. In 1882 he gave his business into the hands of his youngest son, and erected the first flouring-mill in Liberty Center, its dimensions being 26 x 36 feet, with an engine room 18 x 30 feet. In 1887 he put in a full line of rolls with all other machinery necessary to do good work, and now manufactures first-class flour. Mr. King has held the office of township clerk seven years, magistrate four years, county commissioner three years, township trustee twelve years and several other local offices. Mr. and Mrs. King have had twelve children, ten of whom are living-Margery, wife of Saul Foust; Matilda J., who died at the age of two years; Mary E., wife of J. J. Bigbee; Benjamin J.; Emily C., wife of Adam Foust; Amanda J., wife of J. L. Mills; W. H., died in infancy; W. B., also with his father in the mill as a partner; John H., a farmer of Liberty Township; Lydia, wife of Benjamin Foreman; Henry, a merchant of Liberty Center, and Laura, at home. Benjamin J. has a farm of eighty acres besides his milling interests. Politically Mr. King affiliates with the Democratic party. He has been a resident of Liberty Township over fifty years, and has secured the confidence and esteem of all who know him.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 785.

GEORGE W. KING, trustee of Harrison Township, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, May 8, 1832, a son of George and Catherine (Moyer) King. His father was a native of Virginia, and his grandfather was a native of Germany. His mother was born in Pennsylvania, and of German ancestry. When our subject was two years old his parents removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, where he was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age, and June 13, 1852, was married to Miss Catherine Grove, daughter of John and Susan (Leist) Grove, who was born in Pickaway County, January 30, 1833. Her parents were natives of that county, and their ancestors were from Pennsylvania. After his marriage Mr. King continued to reside on the old homestead until November, 1865, then came to Indiana and purchased 160 acres of partially improved land in Harrison Township, where he followed farming and stock-raising until 1882, then purchased his present home and occupied his fine brick residence. In the spring of 1886 he was elected township trustee, which office he fills creditably. Of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. King, six are living-Adeline, born June 1, 1853, died December 2, 1858; Lewis Edward, born September 27, 1855, married Lydia Evans; Amos, born December 28, 1857, married Nettie Stewart February 12, 1885; Sarah Ellen, born December 24, 1860, wife of Edwin R. Davis; George Franklin, born December 16, 1863, died September 24, 1865; John Wesley, born April 1, 1867; Charles Henry, born March 9, 1870, and Clara Catherine, born April 19, 1873. Mr. King is a self-made man, and his success in life is due wholly to his attention to business. By honest dealing he has won the respect and confidence of all who know him. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party. Mrs. King is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 823.

G. HENRY KIRKWOOD, Sheriff of Wells County, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, August 25, 1845, the eldest child of William and Susannah (Gehrett) Kirkwood, who are natives of Pennsylvania, the father of Irish-German and the mother of German descent. They were the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters. They came to Wells County, Indiana, with their family in 1850, and located in Nottingham Township, where the father has since followed farming, and with that avocation pursued the tanner's trade until 1862. Politically he is a Democrat. He has held the office of commissioner of Wells County for six years, and has served efficiently for three years as trustee of Nottingham Township. The mother is a member of the German Baptist church.

Henry Kirkwood, whose name heads this sketch, grew to manhood in Nottingham Township, being reared a farmer and tanner. He was married in Nottingham Township, in January, 1870, to Miss Sarah E. King, who was born and reared in Wells County, a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Bolender) King. To this union have been born five children - Rosella, Willison, Mahala, Jennie and Charles, all but the youngest child being students at the Bluffton High School. In 1871 Mr. Kirkwood engaged in saw-milling in Nottingham Township, which he followed until 1884, when being elected sheriff, he discontinued his milling business to assume the duties of his office, and became a resident of Bluffton. He was reelected to the same office which he still holds, and is serving with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. In politics he casts his suffrage with the Democratic party. He is a member of Bluffton Lodge, No. 92, K. of P., and also belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Bluffton. Mrs. Kirkwood is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 940-943.

William Kirkwood, Sr., a prominent citizen of Nottingham Township, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Franklin County, January 15, 1820, the youngest son of William and Sophia (Goshard) Kirkwood. The father of our subject was born in County Dublin, Ireland, a son of William Kirkwood, who immigrated to America with his family when his son William was three years old, settling in the state of Pennsylvania. There the father of our subject grew to manhood, and married, his wife being a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. They were the parents of eleven children, nine of whom reached maturity, and four still survive. The father was a farmer by occupation, and followed agricultural pursuits in Pennsylvania until his death in 1823. His widow moved to Ross County, Ohio, with her family in 1834, and five years later settled in Fairfield County, of the same state, where she died at the age of ninety years. The mother being in limited circumstances after the death of her husband, our subject was forced to earn his own living from an early age, and when sixteen years old went to learn the tanner's trade in Ross County, serving an apprenticeship of three years. He then worked as a journeyman in Fairfield County for four years. In 1843 he was united in marriage to Miss Susannah Gehrett, a daughter of Henry and Susannah (Feon) Gehrett, who left Berks County, Pennsylvania, for Ohio when Mrs. Kirkwood was a child. To this union the following children have been born--Henry, George, Samuel, Mary Ann, Sophia, John E., William, Susan, and Cerilda.

About the year 1843 Mr. Kirkwood engaged in business for himself in Fairfield County, in company with his brother-in-law, with whom he was associated for seven years. In the fall of 1850 he immigrated to Wells County, Indiana, landing in Nottingham Township, where he purchased eighty acres of heavily timbered land on section 14. He at once commenced to clear his land, on which he settled, and in connection with clearing and making improvements on his place he followed his trade for seven years. In 1851 he purchased an additional eighty acres, and ten years later added another eighty-acre tract, all wild land, which he cleared and improved, and by years of toil and close attention to his pursuits he has acquired a competence for his declining years, and surrounded his family with all the necessary comforts of life. In 1852 Mr. Kirkwood was elected to the office of county commissioner, serving in that capacity one term. Later he served two terms as township trustee. In 1874 he was again elected county commissioner, which office he filled three years with honor to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. Mr. Kirkwood is a Democrat, and is an ardent supporter of the principles of that party. Mrs. Kirkwood is a consistent member of the German Baptist church.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 997-998.
Contributed by Tammy Rable

Of German descent, William F. Kleinknight was born in Reading,Pennsylvania, February 28, 1830, but is now one of the prominent farmers of Jefferson township, Wells county, Indiana. His parents were John M. and Anna (Isenhart) Kleinknight, the former of whom, a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, was born October 24, 1794, and the latter, a native of the same country, was born in 1788. These parents were married in Pennsylvania and were in but indifferent circumstances as far at the goods of this world were concerned, although there existed a legendary rumor in an early day that one or both had been left a small legacy. John M. Kleinknight received an excellent education in his native land. He was reared to the blacksmith’s trade, was a man of prudence and from his savings paid his passage to the United States about the year 1819, but on the way over, a fellow passenger, a young lady, Miss Anna Isenhart, was taken sick, and in here fate Mr. Kleinknight became greatly interested. His attentions to this young lady created a warm friendship between the two which culminated in a still warmer feeling, of the nature of which the reader will readily surmise. On the arrival of their gallant bark at Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Kleinknight found employment at his trade and Miss Isenhart secured a position as a domestic in one of the German families of the Monumental city and for some time the young lovers became separated, but were finally restored to each other and about 1821 were united in marriage. For a few years the young couple continued to reside in Baltimore and then changed from place to place until Mr. Kleinknight purchased a small piece of land in Middletown, a hamlet lying between Galion and Crestline, Ohio, where he built a shop and followed his trade until 1849, in the spring of which year, in company with Michael Kunkel, of whom further mention will be made, he came to Wells County, Indiana, and entered a tract of land in section 31, Jefferson township, one-half mile north of Tocsin. These gentlemen then returned to Crawford County, Ohio, where they liquidate their debts, disposed of their various interests and came back to the wilds of Jefferson township, Wells County, Indiana.

On reaching Wells County, Mr. Kleinknight had a capital of about two hundred and seventy-five dollars in cash, realized from his earnings when he lived in Ohio, and from this amount he invested one hundred and twenty in land in Jefferson township. In the fall of 1849 he loaded up his household goods in two covered wagons, of which one team belonged to himself and the other was hired. To the east of the point of destination was a large swamp, but, nothing discouraged, the party made a long detour to the south and in a roundabout way eventually reached the new home. As no preparation had been made for their shelter, they were hospitably welcomed to the neighborhood by David Myers, who opened the door of his one-roomed cabin and entertained them until they could prepare a patch of land on which to erect a cabin, a task that required about two weeks time. The usual frontier experiences were gone through and on this farm his wife died in 1859, his own death occurring at the home of his son-in-law, Michael Kunkel, in the fall of 1867.

The family born to John M. and Anna Kleinknight comprised the following named children: Jacob and Peter (twins), born January 20, 1822, and both now deceased; John, born January 22, 1825, deceased; Mary A., born December 31, 1827, was married first to Michael Kunkel and after his death became the wife of Eph. High, of Bluffton; William F., whose name opens this biographical record; Lydia J., born April 6, 1832, and now the wife of Charles S. High, of Bluffton. In 1854 Mr. Kleinknight turned over the management of his farm to his son, William F., with the understanding that the latter was to pay fifty dollars to each of the other heirs and retain the property. While still a resident of Baltimore, Mr. Kleinknight had joined the United Brethren church and soon after his arrival in Wells County, Indiana, organized Salem class, a society which is still in existence, as the Tocsin church. Of this class the following persons constituted the members: John M. Kleinknight and wife, J.C. Johnson and wife, David Gilliland and wife, Nancy Miller, Christopher Graham and wife. Mr. Kleinknight was the first class leader and officiated in some capacity in the church until the day of his death, revered and beloved by all.

William F. Kleinknight had assisted his father in the shop in Ohio until nineteen years old, when the two came to Wells County, Indiana, and here he attended school and thus acquired a fair education. On reaching Wells County he continued to assist his father for about two years in clearing up the farm and in cultivating it, and was then united in marriage, at the age of twenty-two years, with Miss Nancy Amrette Richey, who was born in Licking County, Ohio, October 25, 1833, and in 1836 came to Wells County, Indiana, with her parents, who settled in Lancaster township, near Murray. Here the little girl had but few opportunities to attend school, but she was blesses with a retentive memory, was a constant reader and became well versed in biblical knowledge and current history. This marriage has been crowned with children as follows: John M., who was born December 20, 1854, and died January 1, 1875; Ivan O., born January 6, 1858, married Serena Smith, and is one the leading farmers of Lancaster township; Albert C., born November 11, 1859, died June 17, 1881; Norville J. , born January 17, 1863, was educated in the district schools and in the Ossian graded schools and at the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, was a teacher of high repute in Wells County for may years and is now a well-to-do farmer in Lancaster township, and married to Sade Wasson; William M. married Minnie Sowards and is a prosperous farmer in Jefferson township; Lydia A., born in November, 1867, is the wife of Milton Reed, and Anna, who was born September 14, 1873, is the wife of Henry Schoch.

W.F. Kleinknight has been a member of the Tocsin United Brethren Church since 1870, but his wife joined as far back as 1854. Both are ardent and untiring in church work and are well known throughout Jefferson township for their piety and excellent personal qualities. The Kleinknight homestead now contains sixty-seven and one-half acres, and it is all cleared, well tilled and well improved with substantial buildings and makes one of the desirable homes of the township. Mr. Kleinknight is a Republican, though formerly a Democrat; however, his great activity in political work was in earlier life.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, p. 495. Transcribed by Mark Allen Mann, Jr.

JONATHAN KLINGEL, of Liberty Township, was born in Stark County, Ohio December 24, 1816, son of George and Jane (Allman) Klingel, who were natives of Pennsylvania, and were among the first settlers of Stark County. He was reared on a farm, and received his education in the early subscription schools. He remained with his parents until he attained his majority, and in 1850 came to Indiana, settling in Huntington County. He was married in that county October 20, 1850, to Miss Elizabeth Jett, daughter of Daniel and Matilda (Hanson) Jett, who was born in Bracken County, Kentucky, May 7, 1835, and came to Indiana when about sixteen years of age. They settled upon a farm in Huntington County, where they lived three years, then removed to this county and located upon the present farm and built their residence in the timber. They now have 160 acres of well-improved land, in a good state of cultivation. They are the parents of three children - Jane J., wife of Adoniram Johnson, of Liberty Center; Charles T., and Rosa Bell, wife of William E. Luckey. Mrs. Klingel is a member of the Baptist church. Politically Mr. Klingel was formerly a Whig, and afterward a Republican. He now affiliates with the Democratic party.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 882.

ANDREW KOON - was born in Pennsylvania, July 12, 1797, and died May 20, 1874. He was married in Adams County, Indiana, October 27, 1867, to Elizabeth Cave. Their first child, a daughter, was born and died in January 1869; Stephen, May 9, 1870; Fannie, November 9, 1871. Elizabeth Koon is a daughter of Henry and Maria (Chrisman) Cave. They removed to Indiana in 1850 and settled in Wells County in 1870. The former was born in Ohio, November 27, 1818; the latter in that State August 27, 1816. Mrs. Koon was born in Fairfield, County, Ohio, July 7, 1846. Andrew Koon, whose parents, Stephen and Mary (Crum) Koon, were born in Pennsylvania, was engaged in farming, and a resident of Nottingham Township. He settled in Wells County in 1848. Address, Mrs. Koon, at Nottingham, Wells County, Indiana.

Historical Hand-Atlas, With Complete Reference Map of the World, History of Wells Co., IN, Chicago & Toledo: H. H. Hardesty & Co., 1881, p. 227.

THOMAS H. KOONTZ graduated from the Bluffton High School thirty years ago, took up the trade of carpenter, and now for many years has been one of the leading contractors and builders of Wells County. He is also widely known over the county because of his former service as city clerk.

Mr. Koontz was born at Columbia City, Indiana, September 5, 1869, a son of O. P. and Catherine S. (Bitner) Koontz. His father was born at Canton, Ohio, August 8, 1835, and grew up in his native state and received a liberal education, having attended Mount Union College at Alliance. In 1854, he came to Whitley, Indiana, locating at South Whitley. He was living there when the war broke out and in 1861 he enlisted in Company E of the Forty-fourth Indiana infantry, and saw active service until the close of the struggle, coming out with the rank of captain of his company. He then returned to South Whitley, and soon afterwards was elected sheriff of the county, filling that position four years. He was a very successful educator, having taught in the schools of Whitley County seven years, part of the time being principal of the school at Larwill and at Coesse. In March, 1878, he removed to Bluffton and for two years taught in the Central school building of that city. Later he entered merchandising and finally became a contractor, a line of business which he followed until his death in 1908. He was a democrat in politics, a member of the Baptist Church and a charter member of Bluffton Lodge No. 92, Knights of Pythias. He and his wife were married in Whitley County in 1858. Of their children two are still living, Morris B. and Thomas H. The former is a carpenter at Kansas City, Missouri.

Thomas H. Koontz was nine years of age when the family removed to Bluffton and he grew up there, attending the public schools. He graduated from high school with the class of 1886 and at once began learning the carpenter's trade. He used that trade as a basis for an independent business career as a building contractor, and has handled many important contracts all over Wells County.

September 18, 1899, Mr. Koontz married Miss May Crewell, daughter of Eli Crewell. They have one daughter, Catherine H., born September 28, 1905.

Mr. Koontz is affiliated with Bluffton Lodge No. 92, Knights of Pythias, with Bluffton Lodge No. 145, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, being worshipful master of the lodge, and he and his wife are both active in Crescent Chapter No. 48, Order of the Eastern Star, he serving as worthy patron and his wife as worthy matron at the present writing. Politically Mr. Koontz has been very active in the democratic party. He was elected and filled the office of city clerk at Bluffton four years, from 1898 to 1902.

Standard History of Adams and Wells Counties Indiana. John W Tyndall for Adams Co and O. E. Lesh for Wells County. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1918, pp. 475-476.

It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has made a success of life and won the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such is the record of the well-known farmer whose name heads this sketch, than whom a more whole-souled or popular man it would be difficult to find within the limits of the township where he has his home. Samuel M. Kreigh, one of the prominent and influential residents and farmers of this township, was born to Samuel and Magdaline (Beck) Kreigh in Jefferson township, October 16, 1851. He is a descendant of a sturdy race of Germans, his father's family being native Pennsylvanians, while the mother was a native German, having come to Pennsylvania as a child. The Kreigh and Beck families lived as neighbors in Jefferson township and in the course of time their children grew to maturity; little playfellows became sweethearts and the marriage of Samuel Kreigh and Magdaline Beck was the culmination of many years of friendship. The young couple first settled on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where their family was reared, the husband becoming one of the first threshers of this part of Wells county. In 1881 his wife died and he later removed to Walkerville, Michigan, where he still lives at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. Their family consisted of eight children, five girls and three boys.

Samuel M. Kreigh was early employed in his father's saw-mill, soon learning the business and became head sawyer. Being closely confined to his post at the mill, his education was limited to about six years' study in the county schools, necessitating his learning his arithmetic after he had reached the mature age of twenty-one. His wages amounted to two dollars and a half a day and on this salary he ventured into matrimony, being married November 17, 1872, at the age of twenty-one, to Miss Elizabeth S. Rupright, a daughter of John Rupright and sister of W. H. Rupright. She was born September 20, 1865, and received a fair education in the common schools. Soon after his marriage Mr. Kreigh quit the mill business, which had been removed to Williamsport, and rented the old farm and settled down to the life of a tiller of the soil. He later bought forty acres of it and, inheriting forty acres more, began in a modest way to accumulate property. He has made many improvements on the place, building substantial structures and putting his farm on a plane with the best in the county. For fifteen years he operated a threshing machine and made most of his living in that way.

Of the subject's ten children, nine are living: Albert A. married Alice Hoover and lives in Ossian; Costello E. is the wife of John Souards, of Lancaster township; Joseph Vernon is employed in the tile mill at Echo, Indiana; Wilson W. is teaching in the Jefferson township schools; Chancy C., Jerald Glenden, Ida A., Laura L. and Dale D. Mrs. Kreigh is a member of the Prebyterian [sic] church at Elhanan and has reared her children in that faith. Mr. Kreigh has served as supervisor of the township, and as a delegate to Democratic conventions. Being a genial, big-hearted man, he is able to sway the thoughts of his associates and his party is well cared for when her affairs are put into his hands. Mr. Kreigh suffered a great misfortune in the loss of his left hand, which was crushed in a corn husking machine some eight years since, the loss placing upon him a severe handicap in the conduct of his farming operations.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 470-471.

The gentleman whose name heads these paragraphs is widely known as one of the honored citizens of Ossian, Indiana, where he has lived nearly all his life and for a number of years has been actively identified with the varied interests of the community. His efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his business interests and his sound judgment have brought to him prosperity, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by any man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work and has the perseverance to continue his labors in the face of any discouragements which may seem to arise. In all the relations of life he has commanded the respect and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact, and a biographical history of Wells county would not be complete without a record of his career.

John S. Krewson, who for almost twenty years has occupied the position of notary public, is well known in the community, not only by reason of his professional services and the part he has taken in social and industrial affairs, but also because of his many excellent personal qualities. He was born in Sarahsville, Noble county, Ohio, on the 4th of March, 1846. In his veins there flows both German and Irish blood, one of his grandparents having been a German who settled in New Jersey during the Revolutionary period, while the other was a native of Ireland. His parents, Simon and Margaret Krewson, with their three small children, Clarissa J., Thomas G. and John S., emigrated to Wells county, Indiana, in November, 1846, and settled in the woods on what was then called the Indian Reserve. A portion of this land still remains in the possession of the family and is known as the Krewson homestead. The mother with her small children spent the first two winters alone in their little cabin home, in the midst of the almost trackless forest, wild animals being their only visitors, while the father was employed at Fort Wayne, then a mere village. In the hope of bettering his condition he made two trips (1850 and 1853) to California, going each time by the way of New York, as the overland route was considered too dangerous because of Indians and the lack of means of conveyance. At the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company G. One Hundred and First Indiana Volunteer Regiment, and sacrificed his life on the altar of his country, as he died at Gallatin, Tennessee, in March, 1863, and was buried in the Southland. Shortly afterwards, however, his body was brought north and interred in Prospect cemetery, near his old home, where, on January 23, 1896, the wife and mother was laid to rest beside him. Upon his death she had nobly taken up the extra responsibility imposed upon her and bravely devoted her life and energies to the care and training of her children.

The subject of this sketch was in early youth surrounded by almost insurmountable difficulties, conditions that would have utterly discouraged one less determined than he. At the age of fifteen he was afflicted with white swelling, which left its effects upon him throughout life. At the age of twenty he had so far recovered as to be able to obtain a partial education. His preliminary education was obtained at the Ossian public schools after which he attended the Methodist Episcopal College at Fort Wayne and at Oberlin, Ohio. He was of a studious disposition and made such progress that he was granted a license to teach, which profession he followed for eleven terms in one district, thus demonstrating his peculiar fitness for this most exacting of callings. Subsequently going to Kansas he served in the capacity of deputy county recorder, after which he clerked for a time in a store. He then became the proprietor of a general store in Ossian, but in 1894 disposed of this business and purchased a stock of furniture. He later disposed of this, also, and retired to a small farm adjoining Ossian on the north, where he resides, enjoying the rest and quiet which is the reward of his former activity. Though comparatively retired from active commercial pursuits, Mr. Krewson's disposition will not allow of his remaining entirely impassive. He is engaged in notarial work, including special work in preparing and adjusting evidence in pension claims, acting in conjunction with Todd & Todd, of Bluffton. He is at the head of a collection agency, is a dealer in real estate, a speculator in commercial paper, executor and administrator of many estates, and newspaper correspondent. He raises poultry, fine stock, fruits, berries and vegetables, finding pleasure and profit in thus getting in close touch with dame nature.

Mr. Krewson was united in marriage, in November, 1883, to Miss Mary E. Roe, the daughter of Ezekiel Roe, of near Ossian. This union has been a congenial one and has been blessed by the birth of three children, Fern, a graduate of the Ossian high school and still remaining under the parental roof, and twin boys, dying in infancy. Mr. Krewson is an adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church and was secretary of the building committee when the new church and parsonage were erected. In politics he has always been a stanch Republican, but at the same time possesses strong and well-grounded convictions in favor of prohibition. He is ready at all times to lend his aid to the support of any measure designed to advance the moral or material prosperity of his town or county, as well as to promote the welfare of mankind in general. As a business man he has been successful, the result of his prudence, foresight, industry, natural business sagacity and his unswerving integrity.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 466-467.

A great man has somewhere been described as one who is so short-sighted that he cannot see the obstacles which lie between him and his goal. Whether this be true of William A. Kunkel or not, certain it is that he has conquered all obstacles that impeded his path to success and he now ranks as one of the leading business men in Wells County, Indiana.. As head of a number of important business concerns Mr. Kunkel has met with such marvelous good fortune that it would truly seem that he possesses the the "open sesame'' to unlock the doors of success. But success in business is not his only distinction. He is, one of those broad-minded, patriotic, forward looking men who in every community of the nation are the real conservators of those community destinies which in the aggregate constitute the national destiny and the policies by which America is exercising its influence and power in the world at large. Mr. Kunkel at the present time is Federal Food Administrator for Wells County. He has given up all his business and is devoting his entire time to this important position, sacrificing all those things of individual interest in order that he might do his whole duty to help make the world safe for democracy.

Like many another big American business man William A. Kunkel was born on a farm. He first saw the light of day January 31, 1868, in Lancaster Township of Wells County. He is a son of Michael and Mary (Kleinknecht) Kunkel, both natives of Pennsylvania. Michael Kunkel when a young man moved to Ohio, lived on a farm in Crawford County until 1848, and then bought a farm of eighty acres in Adams County, Indiana. A few years later he sold this and acquired a tract of a hundred and twenty acres in section 12, Lancaster Township, Wells County. He was busied with its improvements and made it his home until 1884, when he moved to the city of Bluffton. He died there, an honored and widely esteemed citizen, May 7, 1886. Michael Kunkel married for his first wife Julia Mason, a native of Ohio. She was the mother of four children, Sophia, who died February 15, 1879; Louisa, who died September 20, 1854, and Samuel and Calvin, both living in Lancaster Township, Calvin on the old home farm. For his second wife Michael Kunkel married Mary Ann Kleinknecht. She was born December 3, 1827, daughter of John M. and Anna (Gerhart) Kleinknecht, who located in Lancaster Township of Wells County in 1848. Mr. Kleinknecht died at the home of Michael Kunkel in 1867, and his wife passed away on the old homestead in Lancaster Township in 1859. Both were devout members of the United Brethren Church. The first class of that denomination in Lancaster Township was founded by John M. Kleinknecht, and this eventually resulted in a church organization at Tocsin. Mrs. Mary Ann Kunkel, who was for many years a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, died on February 27, 1913. She was the mother of the following children: Martha Ann, deceased; John O.; Lydia Matilda, wife of T. M. Souder; Rebecca J., widow of Henry Masterson; Dora and Theodore H., deceased, and William A.

William A. Kunkel grew up inured to the sturdy discipline of the homestead farm in Lancaster Township, and derived his early educational advantages from district school No. 1. That he was a real country boy is evidenced by the fact that he was never in town when street lamps were lighted until after he was sixteen years of age. He finished his education In the Bluffton High School, graduating with the class of 1886. He essayed to become a merchant, making a start in Ashbaucher Brothers Clothing Store at Bluffton at three dollars a week. He soon saw that he was not in a congenial line of employment. Leaving the store he taught a country school two terms, and later found employment in the office of the resident engineer of the Clover Leaf Railway. Of all his early experiences this was the most important. It gave him a considerable practical knowledge of engineering, and finally he was appointed assistant to the resident engineer. In 1889 he was made deputy surveyor of Wells County and in the following year at the age of twenty-one was elected county purveyor on the democratic ticket. He was re-elected in 1892. A special feature of his administration of the office of county surveyor was a general concerted movement to improve the public highways of Wells County, and much of the sucess of this movement was due to Mr. Kunkel's careful and technical skill in handling the proposition in its various details.

Mr. Kunkel credits much of his material success to his extensive operations in the oil field. He first became interested in this industry in 1890, but was unable to give it much attention owing to his duties as county surveyor, until 1894. In 1896 he became associated with the Cudahy Oil Company, in charge of the right of way and pipe line department. In May, 1898, he took full charge of the field production and pipe lanes of the company and retained that position for one year after the Cudahy interests were purchased be the Standard Oil Company. Since 1900 Mr. Kunkel has been an independent producer in various oil fields in Indiana, Illinois and Oklahoma.

However, his business interests could not all be described under a single head. He is owner of over six hundred acres, constituting several well drained and well improved farms in Wells County, all thoroughly drained by many miles of ditch, improved with the best of farm facilities, including hog pens, silos, electric lights and every other equipment devised by modern agricultural science. Mr. Kunkel is on the board of directors of the Studebaker Bank, the Marion and Bluffton Traction Company, the Bliss Hotel Company, the W. B. Brown Company and other concerns. He is, as these connections and achievements indicate, a man of sound judgment, liberal ideas and progressive methods. Exactness and thoroughness have characterized his life efforts, and what he is and what he has done illustrates what may be accomplished by persistent and painstaking effort. Politically Mr. Kunkel is a firm believer in the principles of the democratic party. He has served as chairman of the Democratic County Central Committee, is at present chairman of the Eighth Congressional District and vice chairman of the State Democratic Committee, and in 1916 was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, and is affiliated with Bluffton Lodge No. 92, Knights of Pythias, Bluffton Lodge No. 796, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

He and his family are earnest and active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and all of them are leaders in the social affairs of their home community. June 24, 1891, Mr. Kunkel married Miss Minnie A. Morgan of Kelso, Huntington County, Indiana, daughter of John V. and Mary A. (Rauch) Morgan. Mrs. Kunkel was educated in the Bluffton schools and she and Mr. Kunkel were members of the same graduating class of the high school. She was a popular and successful teacher both in the Bluffton and the Huntington city schools before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Kunkel take proper pride in the developing characters and the early achievements of their three children. The oldest, William A., Jr., graduated from the Bluffton High School with the class of 1911, from the Indiana State University with the degree A. B. in 1916, and spent the following year in Harvard University. He married Miss Lois Steen Nicholson of Wheatland, Knox County, Indiana. Their romance began while they were students at the Indiana State University; they now live at Bluffton. Kenneth, the second son, is a graduate of the Bluffton High School with the class of 1913 and from the Yale University with the class of 1917, and is now at home doing his bit for the country and the world as responsible manager of an agricultural enterprise of several hundred acres. Marjorie, the only daughter, graduated from the Bluffton High School in 1916 and is now a senior in LaSell Seminary at Auburndale, Massachusetts.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 781-782.

SAMUEL KUNKLE, grain dealer, was born in Crawford County, Ohio, in 1843, a son of Michael and Julia (Mason) Kunkle. When he was four years of age his mother died, and his father afterward married Mary A. Kleinknight, who acted well a mother's part. To the first marriage were born five children, only two now surviving. To the second marriage were born seven children. Soon after his second marriage Michael Kunkle, with his family, removed to Adams County, this State, settling upon a farm near Decatur. Two years later they removed to Wells County, and located in Lancaster Township. Two years previous to his death Michael removed to Bluffton. His wife still resides in that city, and her two youngest sons live with her. Our subject purchased a tract of land upon which the village of Tocsin is now located. His marriage with Miss Elizabeth Blue occurred the year previous, and the young couple began domestic life in a small log cabin built in the woods, which was afterward cleared and cultivated by Mr. Kunkle. Here they remained until 1881, when they removed to Missouri; but the building of the Chicago and Atlantic Railroad opened a good thoroughfare from east to west, and his brother-in-law, Michael Blue, insisted that he should return and lay out a town upon his land, it being quite a favorable location. After their return Mr. Blue surveyed a forty-acre tract into lots in the spring of 1882, and the first business house was erected the same season. He opened a stock of general merchandise, was appointed first postmaster, which office he held until February, 1887. Wesley Sowers erected the first residence, and Dr. Bergman was the first physician. The first grain was purchased by Mr. Kunkle, in which business he is still engaged. The favorable location has given the town a growth that is truly surprising, and large shipments of wood, heading bolts and grain are made. Mr. Kunkle has purchased and shipped twenty-five cars of grain since harvest in 1886. The town is destined to become a fine trading point, and now has a population of about 200. The residences are neat and substantial, and everything presents a neat and thrifty appearance. Little did Mr. Kunkle think, while clearing the heavy timber from his land, that a railroad and a thriving village would soon cover the most of his land, and he become the proprietor of a village. A fine residence, two stories in height, marks the site of the old log cabin in which this worthy couple began their married life; and their house is, in fact, the hostelry of the village. Mr. and Mrs. Kunkle have only one child-Iva Desco, a bright little girl, now four years of age, the first child born in Tocsin.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 781-782.