Biography of Silas Nodine, pages 748/749/750/751. History of DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 1914. Agriculture has been the true source of man’s dominion on earth since the primal existence of labor and been the pivotal industry that has controlled, for the most part, all the fields of action to which his intelligence and energy have been devoted. Among this sturdy element of DeKalb county whose labors have profited alike themselves and the community in which they live is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch, and in view of the consistent life record lived by the subject since coming to this section of the country, it is particularly fitting that the following short record of his career be incorporated in a book of this nature. Silas Nodine, one of the successful farmers and progressive citizens of Wilmington township, was born in Connecticut on November 19, 1848, and is the son of Hiram and Rebecca (Miller) Nodine, both of whom also were natives of the Nutmeg state. The family ancestral history is traced back through a number of generations to England and thence back to France, where the family originated. The subject’s great- grandfather was Elias Nodine, who married a lady of nobility, and to whom was born a son John, who married Laura Pearce on October 23, 1825. Among their children was Hiram Nodine, the subject’s father, who was born near Sharon, Litchfield county, Connecticut, on April 7, 1827. John Nodine, the subject’s grandfather, came form Sharon, Connecticut, in 1846, and located in Union, now Grant township, DeKalb county, Indiana, entering a tract of land in section 12, which he cleared and where he built a home, spending the rest of his days there. In addition to cultivation of the soil, he also did considerable surveying and was an important factor in the early life of the community. While helping his brother, Joseph survey, he took cold, from the effects of which he died. The brother, Joseph, referred to, was county surveyor during the fifties. Hiram Nodine, who was reared in Connecticut, was married on January 31, 1848, to Rebecca Miller, whose birth occurred in Connecticut on August 20, 1826, and to them were born four children, Silas, born November 19, 1848; Laura, born May 26, 1850, and Benjamin and John, twins, who were born on December 2, 1851. The mother of these last named children died at their birth. Hiram Nodine was a blaster in the iron mines near his home, in which he did all the blasting until 1848, when he and his family came to DeKalb county, locating on the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 12, Grant township, near his father. The long journey from the New England states to Indiana was made through the lake and thence by canal to Fort Wayne and by stage to Waterloo. There Hiram Nodine followed farming, buying more land as he was prospered until eventually he owned two hundred acres. He was a man of good intellectual attainments and during his early days he taught school two winters. After the death of his wife Hiram Nodine returned to Connecticut, where he worked one summer in the mines and then returned to Waterloo, where, on November 21, 1853, he married Mary Nodine, the daughter of Benjamin and Julana Nodine. She was born in New York state and came here with her parents in 1844, locating on the southwest quarter of section 12. Later her parents sold their farm and moved to Branch county, Michigan, where they lived a number of years and then bought a farm east of Fremont in the southwest corner of Clear Lake township, Steuben county, Indiana, where they spent the balance of their lives. To Hiram Nodine’s second marriage were born the following children: Albert, born October 5, 1854, died at the Soldiers’ Home at Marion, Indiana, January 15, 1906; Ann Melissa, born September 27, 1856, died on July 29, 1869; Emeline, born June 30, 1858, is the wife of A. C. Jackson, and they live in Michigan; William Jefferson, born April 10, 1860, who is represented elsewhere in this work; Mary Marilla, born December, 12 1861, died on October 31, 1868, from the effects of falling from a tree top that had been cut down; Ophelia, born August 21, 1863, died on September 12, 1873; George, born April 15, 1865, is a manufacturer of cement work at Waterloo; Charles, born June 13, 1867, lives on a farm near Waterloo in Smithfield township; Orasmus, born January 24, 1869, lives in California; Dora, born January 19, 1870, is the wife of John Shaw, and lives in Oklahoma; Amos, born January 2, 1873, lived in Waterloo; Richard, born August 31, 1874, died January 31, 1875; Henry, born November 30, 1875, is employed in W. J. Nodine’s mills at Waterloo; Chloe, born June 6, 1877, died on May 2, 1892. The father of these children died on October 11, 1902, and his second wife passed away on January 30, 1885. Hiram Nodine was a man of strong character and strict integrity of word and action, and during his long residence in this locality he always commanded the fullest measure of popular esteem because of his upright life and splendid industry. Silas Nodine, the immediate subject of this sketch, received his education in the common schools of DeKalb county, and was reared to the life of a farmer, a pursuit which he has never forsaken, having early determined that to the husbandman there was afforded an independence and a guarantee of success which is offered by no other vocation. In this decision he showed success which is offered by no other vocation. In this decision he showed good judgement, for he has been to a gratifying degree successful in his agricultural efforts, and has become the owner of two hundred and forty acres of most desirable land in Wilmington township, to the cultivation of which he gives his undivided attention. He carries on a general line of farming an also gives some attention to the breeding and raising of live stock, in both of which he exercises sound judgment and wise discrimination, and among his fellow agriculturists he is considered up-to-date and enterprising farmer. His place is well improved in every respect, being kept in good repair and in all regards he exhibits a modern and progressive disposition, adopting new methods where their superiority over old methods has been demonstrated, the result being that he has obtained the maximum of results from his efforts. In 1883 Mr. Nodine was married to Emma Knavel, the daughter of George and Susana (Myers) Knavel, who were early settlers of DeKalb county, having come here from Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Nodine have been born the following children: John B., Walter, Andrew J., Willis R., Henry D., Goldie Marie and Silas H. Politically, Mr. Nodine has been a life-long supporter of the Republican party and aside from the office of supervisor, which he held for a number of years, he has never held public office of any nature, preferring to devote his time and attention to his private business affairs. In all public affairs Mr. Nodine takes a deep interest. He unquestionably possesses the qualities which typify to the gentleman and because of his upright life he has won and retains the friendship and respect of all who know him. Submitted by: Arlene Goodwin Auburn, Indiana Agoodwin@ctlnet.com