George Dolhover, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of George Dolhover
GEORGE DOLHOVER. Admiration and respect are always accorded to those who, beginning life with only the resources of their hands and minds, overcome many obstacles and finally achieve the fruits of prosperity. More than ordinary industry has characterized the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Dolhover of Porter township, and what they have accomplished in twenty years is well worth setting down on the pages of this history.
George Dolhover is a native of Jefferson, Wisconsin, where he was born October 14, 1862, the older son and child of George and Joanna (Grew) Dolhover. His brother Peter is a lumberman of Menominee, Michigan, where he has made a good home for himself and family. The father, George Dolhover, was born in Bavaria, Germany, where the family name was spelled and prounounced "Dollhofer," which in America has been changed to the present form. He left his native land and settled in Wisconsin many years ago, and from that state enlisted for service in the Union army during the Civil war. At the battle of Gettysburg he was shot and died from the effects of the wound. His wife, who was born in Germany in 1823, lived to a great age, passing away in 1910. She was a member of the Catholic church.
Mr. Dolhover was reared in his native state, where he obtained a good common-school education. As his father died when the son was a child, he had early to take up the responsibilities of life, and became a wage earner when he was thirteen years old. He was a hard and faithful worker, and for six years his earnings helped to support the family. At the age of nineteen he began working at eighteen dollars per month, and at the end of nine months had saved ninety-seven dollars, which was his first real capital. He continued in the same way until he was twenty-seven, and by that time had saved out of his hard earnings the sum of one thousand dollars. He then came to Porter county, where during the first four years he was foreman of a farm.
In the meanwhile, on December 23, 1890, he was married to Miss Emma French, and together they have since worked out the means to success and happiness. They are the parents of two children. Martha Pearl after graduating from the common schools in 1907 took three years' work in high school, and has also studied music. She resides at home, and is a member of the Methodist church. Coit Solon, the son, received his diploma from the grades in 1911 and is now a student of the Valparaiso high school. Besides a first-class education the parents have furnished their children a good home training and the advantages which best equip young people for the work of life.
Mrs. Dolhover is a native of Union township, Porter county, where she was born August 11, 1874, a daughter of Solon and Ellen (Atwell) French. Her only brother is Burton French, who is a resident on the old homestead, and by his marriage to Miss Emma Dick has three children, Glenn, Grace and Gladys. Solon French, the father, was born in Indiana, in a log house, on the present homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Dolhover, April 14, 1838, and is still living, a resident of Valparaiso. He was a soldier in the Civil war and during his service was wounded in the thigh and ankle. He is Republican in politics, and is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife, who is also living, was born in Ohio, April 15, 1844. She is a member of the Christian church. Mrs. Dolhover was reared in Union township and educated in the public schools.
For a couple of years after their marriage Mr. Dolhover worked on a salary, and then they made their first purchase of land, one hundred and sixty acres of their present homestead. They paid only one thousand dollars and a debt of five thousand dollars faced them for several years, so that they did not face an easy situation. Besides, there was not a fence on the place, and only a poor sort of house. This was in 1892. Since then, first by purchase of forty acres and then of thirty more, the estate has been increased to two hundred and thirty acres, and in 1906 they erected a modern country home. This house, one of the most attractive in the entire countryside, is finished in oak, is lighted with an acetylene gas plant, has plumbing and all other equipments, so that it is as comfortable as a city residence. At the present time they are free from debt, so that the homestead is a visible monument of what they have done during the last twenty years.
Mr. Dolhover in politics is a Republican, and cast his first vote for James G. Blaine. Fraternally he is a member of the Foresters. He and his wife are members of the Salem Methodist Episcopal church and are liberal supporters of church and of all undertakings for the betterment of their community. They have taken an orphan boy, ,John Phillips, who now finds a good home with them and is being reared according to the same sound principles of honor which they instilled in their own children.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 635-637
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