| Notes |
- According to a letter written by William Clarence Drollinger Sr. to Clarence Orville Drollinger dated 1976 (electronic copy in my possession given to me by Harry Benjamin Drollinger who owns the original), Gabriel did not start speaking English until he was 18 years old. (David H. Drollinger 12 Dec 2013)
A HISTORY OF LAPORTE COUNTY INDIANA, Chicago, Chas, Chapman and Co., 1880
Gabriel Drollinger, a farmer on section 33 and a very old settler of this township, was born in North Carolina in 1810 and is of German descent; he is the fifth child in a family of 7 children, whose parents were Frederick and Barbara (Warrick) Drollinger; they were natives of North Carolina and are now both dead. Mr. Drollinger came to Indiana in 1830 and first settled in St. Joseph county, where he lived as a hired hand most of the time for five years, and then came to LaPorte county in 1835 and located in Wills township. He was married in 1834 to Mary E. Chapman, who is now 65 years of age, a native of New York. They have had 13 children, of whom 9 are now living: Martha M., now the Widow Tennis; Polly, the wife of Joseph Hostetler, a farmer of this township; Josephine A., formerly the wife of Dr. Collins, of LaPorte; Joseph, a farmer in Kansas; Jared, a farmer of this township; Manford, Quinby, Schuyler and George. Two of the last four are physicians in South Bend, the other two are residents of this township. Mr. Drollinger held the office of School Trustee in this township for two or three terms. Politically he is a Republican. His education was confined to that of a subscription school in a log house, having paper for windows. Mr. Drollinger owns 350 acres of ordinary land, well improved. He had no start in life, but worked as a hired hand until he was 24 years old. He has succeeded well.
Gabriel lived with his mother in Preble County, Ohio, until he was old enough to strike out on his own. His whereabouts at the time of the 1830 census is unknown, but he was likely enumerated in a household in Preble County or in the Indiana counties of St. Joseph or LaPorte. His biography in the History of LaPorte County says he worked as a hired hand for five years when he first came to Indiana, settling in St. Joseph County. This does make sense as he patented land in St. Joseph soon after his 23rd birthday. The land was right on the LaPorte County border, closer to the town of LaPorte than South Bend in St. Joseph County. The proximity of his land to families in LaPorte County may have led him to meet Mary Elizabeth Chapman. Unlike his brothers Elias and Aaron and his sisters Barbara and Elizabeth, Gabriel did not marry someone of German descent. Mary Elizabeth's family hailed from New York and they were more educated than that of Gabriel which came out of a North Carolina German community. Her influence may be the reason that some of their children broke out of the farming mold. Farming was generally all the Drollingers of Gabriel's generation knew and their limited educations restricted their aspirations for other occupations and in some cases those of their children. Gabriel's large family had a share of farmers and all of the boys learned farming by default helping Gabriel. But two became doctors.
Gabriel and Mary soon sold the 83 acres in St. Joseph County that Gabriel had purchased for $1.00 an acre. The land sold for $500, a nice little nest egg that Gabriel used to begin acquiring land in Wills Township, LaPorte County. The geography of the two counties is nearly the same. Even today amidst the cleared farm land large stands of timber give an inkling of what it would have been like to be a settler here in the 1830's. The thick forests were interspersed with many small lakes, some of which were surrounded by marshes. The land had to be cleared for farming, but there was no shortage of timber with which to build a cabin. Gabriel probably had to continue to add to his cabin as he added to his land for eventually he and Mary gave life to thirteen children and took in at least two nephews and a grandson.
One can only imagine the confusion in the Gabriel Drollinger household in 1850. He and Mary had six children of their own, plus the two young boys who were sons of Mary's brother. Henry Clay Chapman and Francis Marion Chapman were the 8 and 6 year old sons of John Chapman who died in 1847. John's brother Joseph was appointed administrator of his estate and guardian of his sons. Presumably, Joseph, a bachelor, was unequipped to care for the children and they were taken in by Gabriel and Mary. John Chapman's estate was settled in November, 1849, with some $5,600 transferred to Joseph Chapman for the guardianship of Henry and Francis. By August 1859, Joseph was also dead and Gabriel was the administrator of his estate. Henry and Francis chose Gabriel as their guardian, but were not in the household in 1860. Also in this large household in 1850 was the young Joseph Hostetler who married daughter Polly in 1854, Susan Fisher (unknown relationship, but there are Fishers nearby; perhaps she is in the household to help with the children) and a 5 year old boy, Charles Drollinger, who is labeled idiotic. Charles is listed at the end of this large household, presumably because he died within the census year in December 1849.
The household had not settled down much by 1860 when the girls had married and Mary and Gabriel were left with seven boys between the ages of 1 and 14. And in 1870 when Mary and Gabriel had been married nearly 40 years, they had lost four children, but there were still six boys at home and daughter Martha had been widowed and she came home with her son. The oldest boy, Joseph, was helping his dad farm, but he was about to marry and leave the state. So the job of farming with Dad fell to Jared, the next oldest, while his younger brothers were all in school. By 1880 all the children were grown and even grandson Gabriel Tennis (Martha's boy) was in his late teens, but Quinby, Schuyler, George and Gabriel Tennis were all still at home. Gabriel was on the cusp of 70 and probably welcomed the farming help. However, George and Gabriel were only part-time farmers as they were still attending school. Schuyler was at home, a newly minted physician ready to take off for Illinois. Quinby had married the previous October and he brought Sarah home to live with his folks. Mary probably had lots of advice for her daughter-in-law who was pregnant with her first child. Sarah and Quinby named their daughter Mary Elizabeth, perhaps in gratitude for Mary's warm welcome.
Gabriel is described as "a very old settler" in the History of LaPorte County, and indeed he is enumerated on the roll of the Old Settlers Association. The biography labels him a Republican and says he "succeeded well." A newspaper report of Gabriel and Mary's golden wedding anniversary called Gabriel "one of nature's noblemen." The celebration guests included five sons and their wives, three daughters, and a son-in-law. The son-in-law had to be Joseph Hostetler who was particularly close to the family as he had lived with them in 1850. Absent from the party was son Joseph C. Drollinger of Kansas. There were 14 grandchildren and two great grandchildren (probably the great grandchildren were Frank and Lottie Rogers, Josephine's toddler grandchildren) in the crowd that included people from adjoining counties.
Gabriel died three years later after a long illness. His son Erastus cared for him according to the final estate record submitted to court by Jared, the administrator. Jared also reported he paid $122 for the casket and services and $30 for a stone burial vault. These charges indicate that Gabriel was a prominent well-to-do citizen of his community. Services were held in the Sauktown Church with burial in the nearly adjoining Sauktown Cemetery. A stone burial vault might indicate an above ground edifice, but the plot is marked by a prominent granite marker, not a mausoleum.
Although Gabriel did not leave a will, his estate was settled in less than 2 years, a relatively short time for someone with a widow, eight living children and a deceased daughter's child, some 300 acres, and about $2,200 in personal property. Jared set about the task of equitable distribution. Mary took her dower share and then Jared and Quinby bought out the other heirs. They acted quickly, starting the buy outs just three months after their father's death. Within six months they had paid each heir $1,000. In return the heirs signed off their entire rights in the real and personal estate of Gabriel, signifying they were satisfied with the arrangement.
Kay Germain Ingalls 2003
U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971
Name: Gabriel Drolinger
Post Office Location: Sauk Village, La Porte, Indiana
Appointment Date: 10 May 1856
Volume #: 14
Volume Year Range: 1842-1858
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1810 - 1887 (77 years)
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