LEMUEL COLBERT - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMORIES OF HUNTINGTON COUNTY The above named gentleman, a wealthy and leading farmer of Salamonie township, Huntington county, Indiana, is a native of Champaign county, Ohio and was born November 15, 1842. He was a son of George and Serena (Chapman) Colbert, and a grandson of Jesse Colbert, who lived to the extreme age of ninety-two, and his wife, Lucinda, one hundred and seven years; he dying at his home in Ohio, and she at the home of her son George, a farmer of Wells county, Indiana. George Colbert was born in Pennsylvania, moved to the southern part of Indiana and later returned east as far as Ohio, where he located in Champaign county. September 15, 1843, he traded his Ohio farm for two hundred and eleven acres of wild land in Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, and moved there with his family. The only attempt that had been made at improvement was to build a small cabin in the woods. He cleared over one hundred acres of this farm, and in 1834 built a brick residence which was his home until his death, December 5, 1880. when he reached the goodly age of eighty-five years. He chose as the wife of his youth, Miss Serena Chapman, who died in 1844, leaving him nine children. Viz: John who died unmarried: Elizabeth, wife of John Faust, both deceased, Lewis, deceased, married Esther Bateson, and was a farmer in Chester township, Wells county, Lydia, wife of Israel Furst, both deceased, Louisa, widow of Josephus Grimes, lives with her brothers and sister! s, Serena, deceased, wife of Nathan Henderson of Fulton county, Illinois, Annie, wife of John McKee of Liberty township, Wells county, Lemuel and Ellen, who died in infancy. Mr. George Colbert's second wife was Mrs. Elizabeth Collins (nee King), of Ohio, and by her was the father of six children, namely: William and Isaiah, twins, the former lives on the old homestead in Wells county; Isaiah died young, Isaac, a retired farmer of Salamonie township; George W., a farmer and dairyman, who makes his home in the West; Nancy Jane, deceased, was the wife of George Cruse; and Lucinda married Samuel Haynes, of Grant county, Indiana. They were all educated in the Wells county common schools. Lemuel Colbert attended school with his brothers and sisters, and when twenty years of age started to work for himself. He owned twenty acres of land in Jackson township, near the old homestead, and he farmed this for one year. He then went to Huntington county and rented land in Salamonie township for three years; and on January 26, 1868 purchased from a Mr. Davis part of his present home, eighty acres of unimproved woodland. There had been no attempt made at improvement and Mr. Colbert put the first ax to the timber and cleared out the first underbrush. He was a hard worker and eminently successful in all his business, being guided by a keenness and shrewdness surpassed by none. He added to his land from time to time as he saw an opportunity to buy to advantage until at one time he had in his possession three hundred and ninety acres of land; but he has disposed of part of this and now retains but two hundred and forty acres. He has cleared upward of two hundred acres, an! d now has one of the best improved and most desirable properties in Huntington county. In 1883 he built a fine brick residence at a cost of about four thousand dollars. The brick part of this building, thirty by thirty six feet, was burned on the premise by Mr. Colbert. The roof is of slate, the ???ments of the house are ??lern, and everything has been arranged for comfort and convenience. About three years after completing his house, Mr. Colbert built a large barn, the finest in the county. It is forty by eighty feet in dimensions, and measures twenty feet to the roof, and in its construction has taken advantage of every modern appliance for lightening the labor of his farm; one of the conveniences is a large six-horse-power wind-mill, which not only pumps the water but grinds the feed, shells the corn, saws the wood, etc. His barn cost about fourteen hundred dollars, but he is not a man to count the expense if the money is expended to minimize the labor or add to the comfo! rt and pleasure of his family and friends. He carries on general farming on a large scale, and deals extensively in stock, keeping about thirty head of cattle, sixty Poland-China hogs, forty head of Shropshire sheep, and a number of draft horses which he breeds for the market. During his earlier years he learned the trade of a plasterer and worked at it for some time, but as the life of an agriculturist appealed more strongly to his tastes he abandoned his trade to give his entire attention to the calling which he has so well adorned, and in which he has met with such flowing success. Mr. Colbert was twice married. the wife of his youth being Miss Mahala Swaim to whom he was married February 6, 1862. She was a daughter of S. H. and Elizabeth Swaim, the mother a native of Ohio and the father of the Carolinas. They were among the very first white inhabitants to settle in Salamonie township, and it was here the daughter grew to womanhood and met Lemuel Colbert. She passed to the better land on February 26, 1969 and on March 3, 1870 he was married to Miss Margaret Coolman, of this township, whose parents are William and Mary Ann (McKee) Coolman. William Coolman was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, while his wife was from Pennsylvania, and they also were among the earliest settlers in this township. They entered one hundred and forty acres of land, eighty of which was in Huntington and sixty in Wells county, and on this farm they lived until overtaken by death. The mother died February 27, 1869, and the father in March, 1873. The children born to them were as! follows: Daniel, deceased, who was a farmer of Salamonie township, James, who resides south of Huntington, Andrew, a farmer of Rock Creek township, Catherine, wife of Harvey Gephart, of Rock Creek township, William, who died young, Margaret, who is the wife of Mr. Colbert, Jacob, a merchant and farmer of Indianapolis, Martha Ann, wife of Levi Hoffman, of Wells county, Josiah, a resident of Rock Creek township, and David, who lives in Wells county. The children born to Mr. Colbert by his first marriage were Mary Ellen, wife of Byron Thompson, a farmer of Salamonie township, and Samuel Erastus who married Miss Minnie Bonham, residents of Warren. The children of the second marriage are four in number, as follows: William Clarence, who married Miss Maggie Brown and is a farmer of Salamonie township, David I. who married Miss Minnie Stroud, also a farmer of this township, Lena L. who lives at home, and Ada Viola, also at home. In politics Mr. Colbert is a strong Republican. He has been identified with the Methodist Episcopal church since 1860. is a trustee of the church at Plumtree and acts as class-leader. He has always been quite active in church work, and has thrown his whole heart in the same feeling well repaid if he could advance the cause of Christianity Mr. Colbert had a thrilling experience a few years ago which seldom falls to the lot of man and was of so startling a nature as to be well worthy of repeating for the benefit of our many readers. On June 17, 1890 as Mr. Colbert was engaged in plowing in the field, a thunder storm came up; and before he could reach shelter a lightning bolt struck him, throwing him fully twelve feet. The bolt struck him in the back of the head, passed down his back and sides and off through his feet to the earth. His hat was torn to shreds and the clothes burned from his body, while the hair was burned from his head and his body and limbs badly blistered. He was taken up for dead, but a close examination discovered traces of life and every effort was made to resuscitate him. For five days he remained unconscious and unresponsive to their treatment, but skill and careful nursing at length prevailed, and he was slowly brought back from the very jaws of death. Daily Demo - June 18th 1890 Lemuel Colbert, of Salamonie township was struck by lightning yesterday and is so badly hurt that his death is momentarily expected. He with his son, Clarence, were in a field plowing corn when the storm came up. the sharp flash of lightning came and both men and horses were knocked down. Clarence recovered consciousness in a few moments, although badly stunned, and found that the electric shaft had struck his father in the back of the head, burning off the hair and rendering him unconscious. Mr. Colbert was taken to the house and still remains delirious as well as perfectly deaf. He talks, but is very wild and knows nothing. The physicians say he cannot possibly recover. This morning he was barely alive. The horses were badly stunned and one of them may not recover. Clarence was also more or less hurt. Mr. Colbert is one of the leading farmers of Salamonie township, owning as he does a farm of 800 or 400 acres of the very best land. He is one of the foremost in the neighborhood and has a wide circle of friends who sincerely hope he may recover. LEMUEL COLBERT Victim of Dropsy and Asthma Saturday Afternoon Lemuel Colbert, for forty years one of the most prominent residents of the township and for three years a member of the county board of commissioners, died at his home on North Wayne street Saturday afternoon after a lingering ilness due to a complication of asthma and dropsy. For more than a week his friends realized that he was probably in his last illness and that death was only a matter of a few days. His children were summonded and were about him when the end came. Lemuel Colbert was born in Champaign county, Ohio, November 15, 1842. When he was about a year old his parents moved to Wells county where they began clearing a big farm a few miles south east of Warren. At the age of twenty, after having attended such shools as were within his reach, Mr. Colbert began to work for himself and a few years later came to Huntington county where he rented a farm. Later he bought eighty acres of wild land and this tract became the nucleus of a fine farm of 240 which he owned at the time of his death. For many years he was regarded as one of the most successful farmers in the county and his farm is a model of well-fared-for land. On February 6, 1862 he was married to Mahala, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Samuel Swaim. She died seven years later leaving two children, Samuel E. who now lives in Huntington and Mary, wife of Byron Thompson of this township. March 3, 1870 Mr. Colbert was married to Miss Margaret Coolman who survives. Of the last marriage there are children as follows: William Clarence, deceased; David L. who lives in Michigan; Lena who with her husband, Chester Sparks reside on the home farm, and Ada wife of Elbridge Andrew. Besides relatives named two brothers William and George and Three sisters, Mrs. Louisa Grimes of Mt. Zion, Mrs. Hannah McKee of Mt Zion, Mrs. Lucinda Haines of Van Buren are living. Funeral services were held Monday afternoon from the Methodist church of which denomination the deceased had long been an active member. The services were in charge of Rev. G. B. Work and Rev. E. B. Brown, of the Warren circuit. Burial was in Woodlawn cemetery.