Jonas Shively And Wife, Hester Miller, Who Lived In Elkhart County, Indiana

Jonas Shively was the son of Isaac Shively and Susanna Snyder. He is listed on the 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1900 Elkhart County, IN census records.  Searching through the Elkhart County, IN newspapers several articles relating to Jonas Shively were extracted:

Goshen TImes, Goshen, IN, Thursday, July 24, 1873, Page 3, Column 1:

We received a call the other day from Mr. Newton Jackson, business agent of the manufacturing establishment of Mr. Jonas Shively, located six miles southwest of this city, who called to try the virtue of printers ink, as will be seen by an advertisement in this paper.  This concern has formed a business connection with the Mishawaka Furniture Company which enables it to do a large business and cope with any establishment of this kind in the county is offering inducements to parties wishing to buy furniture, spring wagon seats, lumber, etc.  They are shipping large quantities of these articles to the Mishawaka house.

Goshen Times, Thursday, September 11, 1873,  Page 2, Column 1:

We regret to learn that the manufacturing establishment located about six miles south-west of this city, and owned by the Mishawaka Furniture Company, in connection with Mr. Jonas Shively, was entirely  destroyed by fire about noon on Tuesday last.  The loss of the building, with machinery and material, is not less than $20,000, on which there was no insurance. By hard work, several hundred thousand feet of lumber on the yard was saved.  The fire caught--perhaps from a spark--in the roof or upper part of the building, where considerable dry lumber and other material were stored, and was so far under way when first discovered by Mr. Jackson, connected with the firm, as he was returning from dinner, that it was impossible to stay the flames.  We hope the Company will be able to re-build and resume business at once, for the loss of such, an establishment will be seriously felt in that neighborhood.

The following article was located in the Goshen Weekly Independent, Friday, October 31, 1884, Page 5, Column 3:

A Close Call

Last Friday afternoon Mr. Jonas Shively had a narrow escape from being killed, together with his team of horses, and it was owing to his presence of mind in the matter that such was not the result.  While driving along the public road south of South West, and the day being windy and cold, the horses were going at a good gait.  When passing through a belt of woods Mr. Shively noticed, just a few feet in advance of him, a large deadened tree, standing by the wayside, start to fall across the road.  It required quick action and he drew quickly back on the lines, stopping the horses just in time to escape being crushed by the falling tree, which struck the end of the wagon tongue, drawing one of the horses to the earth, breaking the neck yoke and harness.  It was indeed a lucky escape, and it seems that some one is responsible for allowing dead trees to stand along the public road that are ready to be toppled over by a gust of wind.

The following article was extracted from The Goshen Daily News, Friday, January 13, 1893, Page 1, Column 3: 

Long Journey on Wheels

(North Manchester Journal)

We received a call last Saturday from Jonas Shively an old gentleman from Goshen, who can lay some claims to being an extensive traveler.  July 6, 1891, Mr. Shively started from his home with a horse and wagon to make a trip to Nebraska and leisurely look at the country as he went along.  He is now just on his return, having spent eighteen months on the journey in his visits over Nebraska, and has the same horse and wagon with which he started and which is none the worse for the wear.  In his travels Mr. Shively has seen many curious and wonderful things, some of which he brought back with him.  While at McPherson, Kansas, he bought a sheepshead fish which had been shipped to a fish dealer there from a port on the Gulf of Mexico in Texas.  The peculiarity of the sheepshead fish is that its head and it has teeth in its mouth resembling those of a sheep.  This species of fish is caught in the sea and is esteemed a great delicacy on the table, but inland their appearance renders them quite a curiosity.  Mr. Shively has preserved the fish in alcohol and takes great pleasure in exhibiting it.  He is a relative of Mrs. John Myers, on North Mill street, and called at this office in company with Mr. Myers.  He left for Goshen Monday.

The following newspaper obituary was located in the Goshen Weekly News-Times, Friday, September 26, 1902, Page 3, Column 3:

Old Resident Passes Away

Jonas Shively, aged seventy-seven years, died of a complication of diseases this morning at three o'clock at his late home, 611 South Eighth street.  Deceased had been sick for a long period.  About a year ago he was taken with paralysis and had not been able to walk since that time.  During the past seven months, he had been bedfast.  For the past three days, the condition of the deceased had been critical.

Jonas Shively was the son of Isaac and Susanna Shively, deceased.  He was born in Starke county, Ohio, July 14, 1825, coming to this county with his parents twenty years ago when they settled on a farm near New Paris.  Deceased was married to Hester Miller, daughter of the late John D. Miller of Jackson township, June 5, 1852, locating at Waterford shortly after where he engaged in the manufacture of pumps.  Later he located on a farm of 240 acres in Harrison township where he lived thirty-five years.  During this period he operated a large furniture factory and saw mill which burned after he had established a prosperous business. The plant was rebuilt immediately and was destroyed by fire a year later when he retired from the manufacturing business.  Deceased removed to Goshen about twelve years ago.  He had been a life long member of the German Baptist church.  Six sons and two daughters were born to the deceased.  Those who survive him are the wife, two daughters, Mrs. Amanda Berryman, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Mrs. Ella Stutsman, Goshen; three sons, Alonzo and Joseph Shively, Elkhart; Reuben Shively, Goshen.  The surviving brothers and sisters of the deceased are Daniel Shively, Goshen; Mrs. Barbara Cripe, residing in Illinois; Mrs. Lydia Harshman, residing in Kansas; Joseph Shively at Los Angeles, Cal.

Funeral will occur Friday at ten o'clock from the German Baptist church, corner of Clinton and Fifth street; interment will occur at Oak Ridge cemetery.

Friends may view the remains at the family residence Thursday from two to four o'clock.

The following obituary for Hester Miller Shively was located in The Weekly News, Friday, March 2, 1917, Page 2, Column 4:

Hester Shively

Mrs. Hester Shively, aged 83, and widow of Jonas Shively, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. A. G. Stutzman, at 613 South Eighth street, Sunday afternoon at 1:45 o'clock of complications of old age, after an illness of six weeks.  Mrs. Shively was born in Ohio and had lived in Elkhart county since she was  a girl.  She is survived by three sons, Reuben Shively of Goshen, Alonzo and Joe Shively of Elkhart, two daughters, Mrs. Amanda Berryman of Detroit, and Mrs. A. G. Stutzman, at whose home she died.  There are five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.  Four brothers, David and Ira Miller of New Paris, Aaron of Benton and George W. Miller of Goshen, also survive her, and three sisters, Mrs. Jane Blough of Warsaw, Mrs. Matilda Butts of Milford and Mrs. Hiram Ferrida of Leesburg.

The funeral will be Wednesday afternoon, friends meeting at the house at 2:00 and at the Church of the Brethren at the corner of Fifth and Clinton at 2:30 Rev. Hiram Forney and Rev. Kitson officiating. Burial in Oakridge.

Jonas Shively And Hester Miller Who Lived In Elkhart County, Indiana

Last week Reuben F. Shively who lived in Elkhart County was the subject of the Shively blog.  Reuben was the son of Jonas Shively and Hester (Esther) Miller. Jeanine Rhodes, Reference Assistant at the Elkhart Public Library in Elkhart, Indiana extracted the obituaries for Alonzo W. Shively and Joseph C. Shively who were also sons of Jonas Shively and Hester Miller.  

The family of John and Esther Shively is listed in the 1880 Harrison Township, Elkhart County, Indiana census.  Listed in the household are Jonas Shively age 56, wife Esther age 49, son-in-law Benjamin Berryman age 30 (line drawn through the information and marked as "Dead"), daughter Amanda Berryman, age 22, son Reuben Shively age 19, son Elonzo  Shively age 17, son Joseph Shively age 12, daughter Ellen Shively age 8, son-in-law (must be error as is grandson) Irvin Berryman age 8 months,  servant Mary Henton age 22.  The following obituaries give additional information on the lives of Jonas, Hester, Alonzo and Joseph Shively. 

   

Located in The Elkhart Daily Truth, Wednesday Evening, September 24, 1902, Page 1, Column 3:  

Death Of Jonas Shively

Jonas Shively, father of Joseph and A. W. Shively, of Elkhart, died this morning at his home in Goshen.  He was born in Starke county July 14, 1825, and came to Elkhart in 1845. In 1825 (error) he married Hester Miller.  There are five children.

In addition to the Elkhart sons the deceased leaves Reuben Shively, of Goshen, Mrs. Amanda Berryman and Mrs. Ella Stutzman of Goshen.  The deceased had been a sufferer from paralysis for some time.  The funeral will be held Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock from the German Baptist church at Goshen.

From The Elkhart Truth, Monday Evening, February 26, 1917, Page 4, Column 2:

Mother Of Elkhart Man Dies At Goshen

Mrs. Hester Shively Dead After Long Illness--Shively Store Closed

Mrs. Hester Shively, aged 83, died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. A. G. Stutzman of Goshen, after several weeks illness from old age and complications.  Mrs. Shively was born in Ohio, but went to Goshen in her girlhood and had lived there ever since.

Surviving are three sons, Joseph Shively and Alonzo Shively of Elkhart and Reuben Shively of Goshen.  Another daughter, Mrs. Amanda Berryman, lives in Detroit.  The Shivey shoe store, here, was closed today because of the death.

The funeral will be held from the Church of the Brethren at Goshen, Wednesday afternoon at 2:30.

The obituary for Alonzo Shively was located in The Elkhart Truth, Saturday, September 30, 1933, Page 2:

Alonzo W. Shively

Alonzo Wesley Shively, 70, who became a resident of Elkhart half a century ago and for many years was identified with the retail clothing trade here, died at his home, 1701 Stevens avenue, at 12:15 o'clock this morning.

Although he had been in ill health for several years, suffering from stomach complaint and complications, his death was the culmination of only a brief attack that assumed a critical stage.  He was stricken Wednesday night.

Born in Harrison township Nov. 25, 1862, he clerked in a store at Goshen before coming to Elkhart in 1882 to accept employment in the grocery store of J. J. Hoffman, then the leading merchant in that line here.  From there he went to the clothing store of Sam Crowl, subsequently clerking for Shackman & Nadel for a considerable period.  Then after engaging in the business for himself seven years, he became a clerk at the Herman Winer store, in which he was employed 29 years.  While with Mr. Winer he was seized with a severe and protracted illness, during which period his brother, Joseph C. Shively, shoe dealer, died on Dec. 12, 1928; and Mr. Shively had never resumed active employment since that time.

He was the son of Jonas and Hester (Miller) Shively.  On July 12, 1899, he was married to Miss Daisy Wrightsman of Elkhart, who survives, with three children: Mrs. Esther Gilkey of Elkhart, Chester Shively of South Bend and Miss Agnes Shively, at the parental home.  There also are  two sisters, Mrs. A. G. Stutsman of Goshen and Mrs. Amanda Berryman of Lakewood, Ohio.

The funeral will be held Monday with a service at the home at 2:30 p.m. and burial in Rice cemetery.

The services will be in charge of the Rev. C. L. Haney of the First Evangelical church and the Rev. H.  F. Stuckman of the First Brethren church.

The obituary for Joseph Shively was located in The Elkhart Truth, December 10, 1928, Page1:

J. C. Shively Is Dead, Aged 64

Funeral For Shoeman To Be Held Wednesday At Goshen

Joseph C. Shively, for more than a quarter of a century a shoe dealer here, died at 4:30 Saturday afternoon at the Elkhart General hospital, to which he had been taken 11 days before for treatment for heart trouble.

The body was taken to the home of a sister, Mrs. Ella Stutzman, 613 South Main street, Goshen, and the funeral will be held Wednesday.  There will be a short service at the Stutzman home at 2 o'clock and a more extended service at the First Brethren church, Goshen, at 2:30 o'clock, with burial in the family lot in Oak Ridge cemetery, Goshen.

The Rev. H. F. Stuckman, pastor of the Goshen church, who on Saturday administered the rite of baptism to the patient, will officiate, assisted by the Rev. W. I. Duker, pastor of the First Brethren church of Elkhart.  Friends may view the body at the Stutzman home any time prior to the funeral.

Mr. Shively, who was 64 years old on Nov. 24, last, was born on a Harrison township farm 11 miles south of Elkhart.  He was the son of Jonas and Hester Miller Shively, natives of Stark county, Ohio, who came to Harrison township in 1850.  He remained on the farm home until 20 years old, and then worked on another place in the county until, at the age of 25, he went to Goshen and began employment as clerk in a shoe store owned by the late John Lusher, who for a long period was in mercantile business in Elkhart.

After several yearsin the Goshen store, Mr. Shively took a similar position in South Bend, which he left some 26 or 27 years ago to engage in the shoe business in Elkhart in partnership with William Stearns, a non-resident who was a traveling salesman for a shoe factory.  The store, conducted under the name of Shively & Co., was in the room at 226 South Main street until Mr. Shively bought Mr. Stearns interest in the business and moved it to its present location, 323 South Main street, at the time of the erection of that building.  He continued to use the firm name.

Surviving Mr. Shively are the following brothers and sisters:  Alonzo W. Shively of Elkhart, Rueben F. Shively of Wawasee Lake, Mrs. Amanda Berryman of Cleveland, O., and Mrs. Alvin (Ella) Stutzman of Goshen.

Mr. Shively was a member of the Elkhart Chamber of Commerce and of the Elkhart lodge of Elks.  He was a stockholder in the First Old State bank, and at one period served as vice-president of that institution.

Reuben F. Shively And Vicie Homan Who Lived In Elkhart County, Indiana

Reuben F. Shively was born on 16-Aug-1860 in Harrison Township, Elkhart County, Indiana.  He was the son of Jonas Shively and Hester (Esther) Miller. Reuben died on 4-June-1929.  Rueben was married 1st to Emma J. Hubler on 22-Aug-1882 in Elkhart County.  He married 2nd to Vicie Homan  in approximately 1889. Reuben and Vicie are listed on the 1900 Elkhart Township, City of Goshen, Elkhart County, Indiana census, the 1910 Elkhart Township, City of Goshen, Elkhart County, Indiana census and the 1920 Elkhart Township City of Goshen, Elkhart County, Indiana census.  Rueben was married 3rd to Lillie (last name unknown).

A large thank you is given to Jeanine Rhodes, Reference Assistant, at the Elkhart Public Library in Elkhart, Indiana for locating the newspaper obituary for Reuben Shively.  From The Elkhart Truth, Wednesday, June 5, 1929, Page 2:

Reuben F. Shively

Reuben F. Shively, 68, brother of the late Joseph C. Shively, who died Dec. 8, passed away last evening at his home at Kale Island, Wawasee Lake, from a complication of diseases, which dated back to last February.  For two weeks he was a patient in the Elkhart General hospital.  The last 10 weeks of his illness his condition was known to be serious.

The body was taken to Goshen, to the home of Mr. Shively's sister, Mrs. Alvin Stutsman, 613 South Eighth street, where a service at 2:30 Friday will be followed by another service at 3 o'clock at the First Brethren church, of which Mr. Shively was prominent member.  The Rev. H. F. Stuckman will have charge.  Burial will be in Oak Ridge cemetery beside the grave of his first wife, Mrs. Visa Homan Shively, was was killed at Goshen on Oct. 15, 1920, when struck by a train while enroute to the cemetery.

Mr. Shively was born in Harrison township, Elkhart county, on Aug. 16, 1860, the son of Joseph and Hester Miller Shively, and spent his entire life in the county with the exception of his last seven years residence at the lake.  For a number of years he was employed as a foreman and cabinet maker by the Hawks Bros. of Goshen.  SInce moving to the lake he has been retired.

He is survived by his wife, Lillie Shively; a brother, Alonza W. Shively of Elkhart; and two sisters, Mrs. Stutsman of Goshen, and Mrs. Amanda Berryman of Cleveland.  The latter is confined to her bed by illness.

(Note there are differences from the research of original records and this obituary for Rueben. Corrections in the obituary would include that Visa (Vicie) Homan was his second wife and that Reuben's father was Jonas Shively).

The sad events concerning the death of Vicie Homan Shively are recorded in The Elkhart Truth, Saturday Evening, October 16, 1920, Page 9, Column 3:

Met Death After Taking Flowers To Grave Of Son

Mrs. Vicie Shively, aged 53 years, wife of Reuben F. Shively of Goshen, who was killed when struck by New York Central train No. 10 near the entrance to Oakridge cemetery, Goshen,  about 2 o'clock yesterday, as briefly told in The Truth, had been to the cemetery to place flowers on the grave of her son, Lonnie Shively, who died more than 25 years ago, at the age of six years.  He was the only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Shively.  Mrs. Shively had told her husband when he was home at noon that she was going to take the flowers to the cemetery as they probably would be the last to bloom in their yard this year.

Mrs. Shively had been totally deaf for six years and it is supposed in her hurry to catch a street car she failed to look for trains.  She was killed instantly.

Mrs.  Shively, who was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Homan, was born in Milford on January 8, 1867.  Her marriage to Mr. Shively took place 34 years ago, and soon after they moved to Goshen.  Mr. Shively was employed a a foreman by the Goshen Novelty Co.  He was informed of the tragedy by a brother, Joseph C. Shively of this city, who had hurried to Goshen in his automobile.  Goshen friends decided it would be best to wait for his brother's coming before telling the husband of his bereavement.

Surviving Mrs. Shively besides her husband are two brothers, John W. Homan of Kokomo and Daniel Homan of this city, and four sisters, Mrs. Lorenzo Hall and Mrs. John Godschalk of this city, Mrs. William Tully of Nappanee and Mrs. Harvey Griffith of Milford.

The brother and sisters and the brothers-in-law, Joseph C. and Alonzo W. Shively of this city, all reached the stricken home within a short time after receiving news of the accident.

Mrs. Shively was an active member of the Progressive church of Goshen.