Biography of John C. Koch, pages 940/941. History of DeKalb 
County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 
1914. 



Among the honorable and influential citizens of DeKalb 
county, Indiana, is the subject of this review, who has 
here maintained his home for many years, winning a definite 
success by means of the agricultural industry, to which he 
has devoted his attention during the years of an active 
business life. His career has been without shadow of wrong, 
or suspicion of evil, and thus he has ever commanded the 
confidence and esteem of his fellow men.  John C. Koch is a 
native of DeKalb county, Indiana, where he has spent his 
entire life. He was born on July 10, 1881, the son of 
Christian and Margaret R. (Shull) Koch, the former of whom 
also was born in DeKalb county. His father, Gottlieb Koch, 
who was a native of Ohio, came to Indiana in an early day, 
settling on the farm now owned by the subject of this 
sketch, having entered the land from the government.  To 
the clearing and improvement of this farm he devoted his 
early years and succeeded to a degree not fully appreciated 
by one who has never seen the land, for it is now numbered 
among the choice farms of this locality.  The subject’s 
father followed farming during all his active years and was 
long numbered among the well known and influential citizens 
of this locality.  He had two children, the subject of this 
sketch and an older sister, Gertrude, who became the wife 
of William Smith, of Allen county, this state.  He owned 
one hundred and twenty acres of land and was numbered among 
the successful farmers of DeKalb county.  The subject of 
this sketch attended the common schools of Spencer township 
during his youth and upon the completion of his education 
he took up the vocation of teaching, which he followed for 
five years.  He than returned to the line of work to which 
he had been reared, that of agriculture, and has 
continuously followed this calling to the present time, 
operating, as before stated, the farm which his grandfather 
entered from the government. Mr. Koch carries on a 
diversified system of agriculture, raising all the crops 
common to this locality and also gives some attention to 
the raising of live stock, which he has found to be a 
valuable adjunct to successful farming. The comfortable and 
spacious residence, the  commodious and well arranged 
barns, well kept fences and other up-to-date features about 
the place indicate that the owner is a man of good 
judgement and modern ideas, and in the operation of his 
farm he is not slow to adopt new plans and methods when 
their feasibility have been demonstrated by experience to 
be better than old ways.  On October 19, 1901, Mr. Koch 
married Betty Webb, the daughter of John and Matilda (Getz) 
Webb, the former of whom was a native of Allen county, 
Indiana, where his forebears had been early settlers. The 
latter’s parents came from Germany to this country, making 
their settlement in Allen county, where they we numbered 
among the solid and substantial citizen of their community.  
To Mr. and Mrs. Koch have been born three children: Otis, 
born in 1902; Virgil, born in 1905, and Marguerite, born in 
1908.  Politically, Mr. Koch is a stanch supporter of the 
Republican party, in the success of which he is actively 
interested.  He is known to all who have formed his 
acquaintance to be a man of genuine worth and integrity, 
scrupulously honest in all his dealings with his fellow 
men, and he and his family are highly respected and have 
hosts of friends throughout the community where they live.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com