Nathan Demass, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Nathan Demass
NATHAN DEMASS was born August 4, 1840, in Akron, Ohio. He is one of eight children born to Nathan and Elizabeth (Nye) Demass, both natives of New York. The elder Demass was in the battle of Sackett's Harbor, in the war of 1812. In 1853, the family moved to Chicago and Nathan began his trade of carpenter, working at it until 1857, when they came to (Old Porter), now Porter, Porter County, and bought eighty acres of land; Nathan stayed on the farm until 1862, when he enlisted in the Seventy-third Indiana; he was with his regiment during all its experience, through to Lexington, Nashville, Alabama, on the Col. Straight raid, captured, exchanged, kept at Belle Isle, City Point, guarding prisoners at Indianapolis, building forts at Nashville, about a year on a Government cotton farm in Alabama, being mustered out 1865. He now returned to Chesterton, engaged in his trade, and was married in January 24, 1866, to Marcia Brush, a native of Vermillion, Ohio, and daughter of a ship-builder. He began carpentering, increasing his business constantly, hiring two men, then three or four, and so on until he has under his supervision from seventeen to twenty men constantly, also five horses for teaming; he contracts for anything in the carpenter line, such as bridge building, schoolhouses, churches, house-moving, etc. His residence is one of the best in Chesterton, and finely situated. He is a member of the Odd Fellows' fraternity. Mrs. Demass has always been a stanch Republican. He has five children - Charles, Elmer, Gracie, Ray and Bessie.
Source: Goodspeed, Weston A., and Charles Blanchard. 1882. Counties of Porter and Lake, Indiana: Historical and Biographical, Illustrated. Chicago, Illinois: F. A. Battey & Company. 771 p.
Page(s) in Source: 295
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook