Samuel Ohlwine

SAMUEL OHLWINE,

A venerable and highly respected citizen of Noble count) Ind., was born in Greene county, Ohio, May 31, 1820, and is a son of Charles Ohlwine and his wife, Elizabeth ( Schrader") Ohlwine. Charles Ohlwine was born June 29, 1785. in Washington county, Aid., where he grew to manhood and engaged in the tanning business, in which he was proficient. He married, in 1805, Miss Elizabeth Schrader, who was born in Maryland. April 17, 1784, and soon after moved to Ohio, settling in Franklin, Warren county. While living there he and a party of friends loaded a rlatboat with merchandise, which they took to New Orleans, making the journey back on foot. His next residence was Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he once more engaged in the tanning business until the spring of 1820, when he located in Greene county. There he purchased a farm of one hundred and seventy acres and again engaged in tanning.

Samuel Ohlwine was the ninth in a family of twelve children, five boys and seven girls, all of whom lived to adult years, and his childhood was similar to that of other boys of his day. All wore homemade clothes, the cloth in most cases being woven by the mother, and they were trained in habits of industry, which fostered a spirit of hardy independence and brought out the best element in their nature. The earliest recollection which Mr. Ohlwine recalls of his childhood was at a time when he was of too tender an age to attend the subscription school, which was held in a log cabin on his father's farm. He very much wished to attend, and as he saw the older children making ready, he insisted that he be allowed to go also. He had no book, and as it was necessary to have one in order to become a pupil, his sister, in order to pacify him. reached down a Dutch almanac from the wall. This he eagerly grabbed and trudged contentedlv oft", soon overtaking his sisters and brothers and entering the school with them. He quietly sat on the hard wooden bench until the master, an old gray-haired man, called him, when he went proudly forward and laid the almanac on the master's knee. The master looked the hook over, then told him he could take his seat, and he returned home at recess perfectly satisfied with himself and the world.

As he grew older he assisted in whatever work he could perform, sometimes picking up brush, hoeing corn, chopping wood, pulling flax or grinding hark at the tanyard, the latter occupation being especially distasteful to him. It was a proud day when he was large enough to exchange the hoe for the plow handle, and he then made a vow to himself that he would become a farmer, while his older brother, David, those the occupation of a tanner. While Samuel, subject of sketch, kept up his work during the summer, he was a close student in the winter months and was storing up much useful information. He continued to attend school until the fall of 1839, when a brother, Daniel, returned from his home in Indiana for a short visit, and the stories he spun of life in the western state caused young Samuel. to long for a glimpse of the new country, and he decided to return with Daniel. As they were not provided with horses they made the trip on foot, and before they got through the black swamps and to their destination Samuel thought it a dreary journey. He remained but a short time until he walked back to his home in Ohio, where he continued doing farm work the fi llewing summer. It was in that year that the elder Harrison made his memorable campaign, and young Ohlwine took a lively interest in it, assisting with all his might in

34Q the log raising and singing of campaign songs and other excitement incident to that well-remembered year when "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too" made the welkin ring. In the spring of 1841 he went to visit a brother and sister who were living in Illinois, and he remained there during the summer, working on a farm for ten dollars per month. He returned home in the fall and resumed his school-work, but in the spring accepted the position of teacher in the same school, where he taught also the following winter and worked at any employment he could find during the summer.

In 1845 Mr. Ohlwine crossed the Mississippi river to find a home in the prairies of Iowa. But the country there did not suit him, and in October of the same year he packed his household goods and returned as far east as Noble county, Ind.. where a brother and sister were living in Sparta township. He lived with his brother until the winter, when he moved into a little cabin which stood on his brother's place and which he had fixed up for use. So well was he pleased with the country of Indiana that he wished to buy land and make it his permanent home. The land he coveted was in the reserve and was appraised at five dollars per acre, although by using canal script, or blue-dog currency, it could be had at fifty per cent, discount. Collecting all his available money, he mounted his horse in January and set out for the land office in Delphi, but upon reaching there he found blue-dog currency was far below par and he was short of the required amount. Sadly disappointed, he returned home to tell his family that the quest had been in vain: but still he was not without hope, and when a neighbor started for the land office the following spring Mr. Ohlwine gave him all the money he could raise, with instructions to try to buy the much-desired land. Strange to say,, the fluctuating value of the currency was such that at this time it was found to be adequate, and Mr. Ohlwine became possessed of his present farm. While neighbors were few and far between, he alwaysfound ready helpers in Daniel Ohlwine and Henry Weade, and their kindness made the early years in this section much more endurable. In the fall of 1847 ms father asked him to return to Ohio and assist his youngest brother, Charles, in carrying on the farm. As Samuel had no team up to this time, he accepted his father's proposition and for three years cultivated the home place. It was then sold and he was free to return to his land in Indiana, reaching there in October, 1850. He at once began clearing off his land, this work being prosecuted during the summer, while the winter was devoted to teaching, a vocation in which he was engaged, in all, twenty-one terms.

Mr. Ohlwine was married April 13,. 1843, to Miss Eliza Ann Hopping, who bore him a family of four children, namely: Jasper N., Martha Jane, John Ouincy and Mary Ann. John Ouincy died March 6, 1866, and on January 7, 1877, the loving wife and mother passed away. Mr. Ohlwine then placed at the head of his household Miss Helen Brtnninger, born January 28, 1853, to whom he was united December 18, 1879, and who was a former pupil of Mr. Ohlwine.

Mr. Ohlwine has been a prominent man in all the enterprises of his community and has represented the people in office a number j of terms. In 1858 he was made county commissioner, and so acceptably did lie discharge the duties devolving upon him that he was re-elected three times, holding the position for twelve consecutive years. During his tenure of office a court house was built, an infirmary was established and a large war debt lifted, leaving- Noble county free from indebtedness for the first time since its organization. In 1874. he was candidate for state representative, but was defeated by a small majority. He has been foremost in all movements which have resulted in permanent good to his locality and has occupied an honorable position among a people who hold him in high esteem. His life has been singularly pure and free from guile, which is doubtless the reason of his great influence on those around him. What he has been to the people of Noble county as a man, a friend, a neighbor and a loyal citizen is well known, and the work that he has accomplished will live and bear fruit for years to come, a lasting monument to the memory of a good man.

As printed in Alvord's history of Noble County, Indiana ... : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of local biography - memoirs of representative men and women of the county, whose works of merit have ma (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.