Local News (1917)

Columbia City Post ~ Wednesday, April 11, 1917

B. J. Bloom Appointed Special Judge.
Attorney B. J. Bloom has been appointed as special judge to hear the case of the remonstrators versus the petitioners for the Nix ditch. The appointment came when R. A. Kaufman and others petitioned for a change of judge to hear the case. The court named three men, F. E. Bowser, of Warsaw, F. P. Bothwell, of Ligonier, and B. J. Bloom. Each side was privileged to strike off one name. The remonstrators struck off Bowser and the petitioners struck off Bothwell.

John Shaw Dead in Roswell, N. M.
John Shaw, a former resident of Union township, this county, died at his home in Roswell, N. M., last Friday and was buried there Sunday. The word of his death came to Earl Rummell at Arcola, Mr. Rummell being a nephew. The deceased was a half-brother of Charles Shaw, former trustee of Union township, his father being William Shaw. John Shaw was engaged in the cattle business in the southwest for a number of years and owned a large ranch there. Later he entered in the banking business and was the president of a Roswell bank at the time of his death. He left no children and was about 70 years of age.

Court Notes.
Elisha Swan, of Laud, has made application for the appointment of a guardian for his wife, Eleanore Swan.

Court Notes.
The case of William Watkins, et al, versus T. Fred Hipekin, filed with the County Clerk Otis Plattner Saturday afternoon, came here on a change of venue from Kosciusko county is a suit to foreclose a mechanic's lien.

Mrs. Pence Recovers Sight of Injured Eye.
Mrs. H. F. Keeney returned from Pine Village Friday evening where she had been for the past three weeks assisting in the care of her daughter, Mrs. Pence, who came near losing the sight of one eye which came in contact with a hot curling iron. Mrs. Pence has about recovered from the injury and the sight of the eye is fully restored. On the way home Mrs. Keeney met Virgil Morgan at Logansport, and she says he continues to wear the same old smile he wore while a Daily Post boy. He sent word to this office that he is "on the job every day" and is getting along fine.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Ann Waidalich

Scott-Keister Cemetery, Etna-Troy Township, Whitley County, Indiana

ANN / Wife of / CHRISTIAN D. WAIDALICH / Daughter of / H. & P. MOORE / Died July 5, 1852 / Ag'd 26 Ys. 6 Ms. 10 Ds.

According to the GSWC Cemetery Transcriptions, her husband Christian Waidlich is buried in the Masonic Section of Greenhill Cemetery along with his second wife and son William.

Counties of Whitley and Noble, Indiana
Weston A. Goodspeed and Charles Blanchard, Editors
Chicago: F. A. Battey & Co., Publishers, 1882

Christian D. Waidlich was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, December 12, 1824, and is one of twelve children born to John D. and Mary Waidlich, who lived and died in Germany. The father was a very prominent and highly educated man, for many years in the employ of the German government as professor in educational matters, respected and esteemed by all. He died in 1854 or 1855, and his widow died in 1862. Both were devoted members of the Lutheran Church.

Christian D. is the third son of his parents; was educated and learned the cabinet-maker's trade in his native country. His eldest brother, a blacksmith, came to America in 1840, and wrote home such glowing descriptions of the country that Christian and his brother were induced to emigrate in the spring of 1842, being thirty-six days on the ocean. They landed in New York, and from there went to Franklin County, Penn., where Christian engaged in carpentering until 1845, when he decided to go West and located in Columbia City, where he worked at his trade until 1856, when he entered into a partnership in the dry goods and grocery business; he has since his arrival been actively identified with the business interests of the city, and from a penniless boy has raised himself to a position of influence and wealth; at present he is a stock-owner of the Eel River Woolen Mills, of which corporation he is Vice President.

Since the war, Mr. Waidlich has been a Republican, and has filled the office of Town Trustee at different times. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., also the O. F. Encampment. He was married in 1847 to Ann Moore. In the summer of 1852, she passed away, leaving two children - William H. (deceased) and Mary E., now Mrs. Harley. Mr. Waidlich was again married, in 1864, to Mrs. Elizabeth (Myers) Bixby, who is yet living. Both Mr. and Mrs. W. are members of the Lutheran Church.

Local News (1917)

Columbia City Post ~ Saturday, May 12, 1917

• John Raupfer has accepted a position at the Rossman & Wunderlich hardware store.
• Levi E. Plattner, of Cleveland township, father of County Clerk Otis Plattner, is suffering from rheumatism and kidney trouble.
• The Tuttle flouring mills have purchased a Ford truck of the H. M. Miller agency.
• Surprised Their Husbands. Mr. and Mrs. Joe Huff, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bollinger, Mrs. George Leininger, Mrs. Ed Binder and Miss Hilda Grund motored to Kokomo Wednesday morning leaving this city after the Knights Templar had departed. Upon arriving in Kokomo the party joined Mr. Binder, Leininger and Compton and the day was spent in a delightful manner. The ladies went to Kokomo without having informed their husbands of their intentions and they were taken by surprise.
• The infant son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Nix, of Washington township, is suffering with cholera infantum Dr. White is attending the child.
• Mrs. Sarah Hively, formerly of this place, who lives with her son, Albert, at Upland, is visiting friends in the vicinity of Laud.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Cleveland Family

JESSE CLEVELAND ESQ. / Son of / Dea. Palmer / Cleveland, / died / Dec. 11, 1838, / in the 35, y'r. / of his age.

Jesse was, reportedly, the first person to be buried in the Cleveland Cemetery, which is located southeast of South Whitley, Cleveland Township, Whitley County, Indiana. Arriving in 1834, Jesse joined his parents Palmer and Anna Cleveland, and his brother Benjamin and their families who were among the first white settlers to come to what would later be known as Cleveland Township.

I don't know if this is the oldest grave marker in existence here in Whitley County, but it is one of the oldest (and in the best condition) of the old ones that I have come across.

Buried next to Jesse are his parents.

• DEA. PALMER CLEVELAND / died / July 19, 1842, / in the 75, y'r. / of his age.
• ANNA CLEVELAND. / WIFE OF / PALMER CLEVELAND, / DIED / Oct. 1, 1847 / AGED / 70 YEARS. (A portion of Anna's transcription is from a reading done by someone in 1982, when the stone was lying flat on the ground.)

Photos taken January 26, 2002 by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Leonard Tagmeyer has made Three Trips Across

Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana ~ February 9, 1918

Leonard Tagmeyer, son of Mrs. Jesse Tagmeyer, of South Whitley, is home at the present time and will be until Monday from the navy. He enlisted about a year ago, before the declaration of war, and he has the distinction of having been back and forth across the Atlantic four times. He declined to make any public statements for the paper, as the men are put on their honor not to talk, but he admitted that ships he was on had been fired upon by submarines but never hit. He says the men get the best of care and he has no patience with the newspaper stories about neglect of the men. He says that U. S. troops are being moved across in immense numbers "pretty fast," as he described it. He is now on shore duty in the naval barracks at Philadelphia.

Susan Mossman Will Filed for Probate (1917)

Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana ~ Saturday, May 12, 1917

The will of the late Susan M. Mossman, of Union township, was filed for probate late Thursday afternoon, in Clerk Otis E. Plattner's office. The instrument was drawn Nov. 23, 1916, by Attorneys McNagny & McNagny and was witnessed by Charles W. Johnson and Frank L. VanTilbury, both of Union township.

There are six items of the will. The first provides that all just debts shall be paid. The second gives to the daughter, Jesse E. Stoner, with whom the deceased spent her last days, all of her real estate, wherever situated, in fee simple, subject to provisions made for her daughter, Zella Z. Barnes, and subject to other provisions for other children in the family.

The third item deals with the personal property, and the daughter, Jessie E. Stoner, is to receive it all. The fourth item specifies that each of her four children, Orpha D. Naber, James F. Mossmann, Marie R. Oser and Zella Z. Barnes, shall receive $1,250 in money. One-third of it is to be paid in cash in sixty days; one-third in one year and one-third in two years. The deferred payments are not to bear interest, but should they not be paid when due, then they shall bear 8 per cent interest.

The real estate which is left to Jessie E. Stoner is subject to the condition that she permit her daughter, Zella Z. Barnes, and her son Charles Barnes, to have their home in the dwelling house upon said lands as long as Jessie E. Stoner remains the owner of them. The sixth item names Jessie E. Stoner administratrix, and she has filed bond and qualified.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Douglas Family

The Douglas family monument, a good ten feet tall, stands in Masonic Section #3 at Greenhill Cemetery in Columbia City, Indiana. This view is looking towards the north and a little west. Inscriptions are on three sides of the stone.

Alexander Jackson Douglas, more commonly known as A. J., was a prominent preacher and teacher in Whitley County from 1860 and until his death in 1905. The family also lived for a short time in Monroeville, Indiana and Florence, Kentucky as well as Noble County, Indiana during that time period.

A. J. Douglas, had 11 children by his first wife, Mary Jenner, (5 were alive when he died in 1905) and 3 by his second wife, Jennie Cassel, (2 were living when he died in 1905). The first child born to A. J. and Jennie was Lloyd C. Douglas (1877-1951), who would become a well-known writer and author of "The Robe" as well as other novels with a religious theme.

As a minister, A. J. performed many marriage ceremonies during his career. Among those was the 1871 marriage of my 2nd great grandparents, William Brubaker and Malissa Joslin.

Inscription on the south facing side:
MARGARET / WIFE OF / Wm. DOUGLAS / DIED / Aug. 30, 1872: / Aged 69 Years.
REV. A. J. DOUGLAS / BORN MAR. 22, 1827 / DIED MAR. 23, 1905 / AGED 78 Y's. 1D.

Inscription on the side facing west:
IN MEMORY OF / MARY JENNER / WIFE OF A. J. DOUGLAS / DIED / April 21, 1875 / AGED / 43 Y's. 1 Mo., 23 D. / The "In-as-much" her ears have / heard and the "Well-done" hath / crowned her head.

Inscription on the east side:
JULIA M. DOUGLAS / DIED / May 5, 1853. / AGED 3 DAYS.
INFANT / So of an hour / DIED / Aug. 19, 1867
BIRDIE DOUGLAS / DIED / Sep. 2, 1875. / AG'D 5 Mo., 6 D's.

The grave marker for Jennie Douglas and two of her children is in Salem Cemetery, Noble County, Indiana. The stone is located in the first row north of the Salem Church.

JENNIE CASSEL DOUGLAS / 1847 - 1939
MABEL DOUGLAS / 1878-1879
CLYDE E. DOUGLAS / 1883-1909

The obituary notices for these and other members of the Douglas family can be found on my kinexxions website.

Grand and Petit Juries are Drawn (1917)

The Evening Post, Columbia City, Indiana
Wednesday, January 31, 1917

Jury Commissioners David M. Pence of Smith township, and W. S. Nickey, of this city, have drawn the petit and grand jurors who will serve during the February term of the Whitley circuit court. The names were placed in a box, from which they were drawn, some time ago, and the selections thus made by chance. The drawing occurred Monday afternoon, and resulted as follows:

Petit Jury

• A. M. Sroyer, Jefferson Twp.
• Geo. P. Bechtoldt, Columbia Twp.
• Samuel J. Ward, Richland Twp.
• John C. Van Voorst, Troy Twp.
• J. W. Smith, Smith Twp.
• Edward Richards, Columbia Twp.
• Levi J. Keiser, Washington Twp.
• John Windle, Thorncreek Twp.
• Edward Kreig, Cleveland Twp.
• Earl Parrott, Cleveland Twp.
• C. D. Evans, Etna Twp.
• Frank Cole, Union Twp.

Grand Jury

• Tobias Kreider, Cleveland Twp.
• W. S. Howenstine, Jefferson Twp.
• Link L. Norris, Richland Twp.
• Hugo Humbarger, Thorncreek Twp.
• William Auer, Columbia Twp.
• Geo. Winters, Union Twp.

An Immense Yield of Onions (1917)

Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana ~ Saturday, September 22, 1917

Dennis Gallivan and William Hindman, who farms Mr. Gallivan's farm, just west of town, have right close to 10,000 bushels of onions from seventeen acres. They now have more than 7,000 in creates and they have some of the best parts of the field to harvest, so they feel reasonably sure of getting close to the 10,000 mark.

The price, averaging the reds and the whites, will be better than a dollar a bushel, so the profits from the crop will be a mighty handsome sum. Mr. Gallivan also sold over $100 worth of potatoes off of about two acres of land, thus making his profits on "small stuff" very substantial for the year.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Joseph Shoemaker

They (whoever "they" are) say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, I hope that Amy Crow over at Amy’s Genealogy, etc. Blog is flattered that I am helping myself to her theme of "Tombstone Tuesday" for a series of blog posts. . . Thanks for the inspiration, Amy!

I have a large "collection" of photos of gravestones from various cemeteries that I've visited and plan to eventually post them at Find A Grave. But until that happens, I thought I'd occasionally post some of them here at Whitley County Kinexxions.

Masonic Section, Greenhill Cemetery, Columbia City, Indiana

Joseph Shoemaker / 4 MAR. 1759 / 22 SEPT. 1864 / REV. WAR AND WAR OF 1812




Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana
Wednesday September 28, 1864

Obituary. Near Columbia City, September 22, 1864, Mr. Joseph Shoemaker, in the 106th year of his age.

The deceased was a native of Pennsylvania, but in his early life moved to the State of New York where he lived until about eight years ago, when he came to this city, where he has been a citizen ever since. A good old man, a Christian has fallen at an age more than ordinary among men. Mr. Shoemaker was the oldest man in Whitley county, perhaps the oldest in the State. He retained his mental faculties to a remarkable degree even to his last hours on earth. He voted at all the presidential elections of the Government from its beginnings - From Gen. Washington to Lincoln. Has lived to see most of the nineteen presidents pass away. A good man has gone from our midst.

His funeral was well attended by a large concourse of citizens and friends. The funeral services were performed by the Rev. R. H. Cook, of the Baptist church. Father Shoemaker is gone. Let him sleep in the grave where kind hands have laid him. M.

The Republican, Columbia City, Indiana
Wednesday September 28, 1864

In Memoria. Joseph Shoemaker died in Columbia City, Indiana, September 22nd, 1864, Aged, One Hundred and Five Years, Five Months and Twenty-Eight Days.

Joseph Shoemaker was born in Pennsylvania on the 24th of March, 1759. In the early part of his life he lived in the Wyoming Valley. His father was an officer in the Revolutionary Army under General George Washington. At that time he was not old enough to be in the army, but was employed as Continental Mail carrier. While acting in this capacity he was often shot at by the Tories and Indians, and twice wounded by them. At one time in carrying the mail he was fired upon by a party of Tories who attempted to capture the mail, and received a ball in his hip, which he carried with him to his grave; but being lashed fast to his horse he escaped and carried the mail safe to its destination. George Washington was frequently at his father's house, and dined with the family.

In the War of 1812, he was called to defend our lines at Buffalo and Black Rock. He married and moved to Canandaigua, N.Y., where he spent the greater part of his life, and raised a large family. About seven years since he came to this place, where he has resided until his decease. He has been a professor of Christianity for upwards of seventy years, and died in the full faith of the promises of his Redeemer.