The life record of perhaps no resident of Miami county illustrates more clearly the truth of the saying that industry is the keynote to success. The portals of prosperity swing wide before its magic touch and the storehouse yields its treasures to those whose labors are untiring and are discerningly directed along honorable lines. It has been in this manner that Isaac Studebaker has risen to a position among the most prosperous residents of the county, and having acquired a handsome competence he is now living retired in Casstown, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.

Mr. Studebaker was born March 23, 1822, on a farm in Bethel township located between West Charleston and Tippecanoe City. He was reared to agricultural pursuits and remained on the home farm with his father until twenty-six years of age. After attaining his majority he was to receive one hundred dollars per year, together with his board and clothing, but he did not draw the money until he wished to purchase land. In 1849 his father purchased two hundred and forty acres, and in 1850 our subject bought the tract of his father. It was situated on section 22, Elizabeth township, and the purchase price was twenty-five dollars per acre. The five hundred dollars which his father owed him was applied on the property, but he incurred an indebtedness of fifty-five hundred dollars for which he gave notes for five hundred dollars to be paid within eight years, without interest. When he began the development of his property only forty-five acres had been cleared. The house, of round logs, was erected in a single day, and in that primitive cabin he lived for seven years. With characteristic energy he began the further development of his land and soon had an additional thirty acres under cultivation. His crops were good and he was enabled to meet the first payment of his land without difficulty. He planted wheat the first year, and although the rust destroyed much of the wheat, making it only worth about thirty cents per bushels he had sowed his crop two weeks earlier than most of the farmers and was enabled to harvest it before the rust came, so that he secured one dollar per bushel for that cereal. With the capital received from his wheat sales he paid his notes and the money brought from his corn crop supplied him with the necessaries of life during the following year. At the end of six years he had made all his payments and could have cleared off all indebtedness, but in the sixth year he started to build, erecting a brick residence worth three thousand dollars. His father died in 1854, but careful to avoid all litigation he did not build until the next year. In 1857 his farm was entirely free from debt and was in an excellent condition, improved with the good residence which is still standing, while eighty acres of the land was under cultivation. Although his home was valued at three thousand dollars by the Ohio Insurance Company, its actual cost in money to him was only eight hundred dollars, for he did much of the work himself and secured the lumber upon his own place, the latter being cut in a sawmill near by. The house was finished in black walnut and the sash, doors and blinds were all made by the carpenter, John Pence, of Casstown.. In his father's estate there was another eighty acres of land on the same half-section where Mr. Studebaker resided, and that he received by inheritance. It was valued at thirty-four hundred dollars. His father had also owned the Wright farm on the Dayton road, and when this was sold at the death of the stepmother, Mr. Studebaker received eight hundred dollars in cash.

A most industrious and energetic man, he carried forward his work with unremitting diligence. His father had given him a horse and his wife was also in possession of a horse, so that with this team he was enabled to carry on the work of the farm. He soon acquired a comfortable competence and from time to time loaned money. On one occasion he loaned one hundred dollars to Isaac Sheets, who kept the loan until with its accrued interest it amounted to two hundred dollars and fifteen cents, all of which was paid at one time. During the war Mr. Studebaker desired to purchase more land, and in 1863 became the owner of the farm upon which Darius Weddle now lives. He bought this for forty-six dollars per acre. Much of the land was in a swampy condition, but he improved it, and tiling has made it a very valuable tract. Later he became the owner of the Cox farm of eighty acres, which is still in his possession, and he likewise owned sixty acres of the old homestead. He has himself cleared nearly one hundred and sixty acres, making great improvements upon the tract, draining the same with tiling and an open ditch. His first underground drainage was made of stone, but later tile was used. As soon as his daughters were married he gave to each of them a farm, making out joint deeds to them and their husbands, and to each of his children he has given ten thousand dollars. It was said by some that Mr. Studebaker was a hard taskmaster, but he never required of his men any work that he would not perform himself. He worked side by side with them in the harvest fields and was able to do as much if not more than any of them. His chief characteristic has been his untiring industry. He has not depended upon circumstances to aid him, but has put his trust in the more reliable qualities of energy and capable management. At all times he has conducted his business in a most honorable and straightforward manner, and his reliability is above question.

Mr. Studebaker was married, on the 25th of January, 1848, to Anna Warner, a daughter of George and Catherine (Olinger) Warner, of Montgomery county. She was born in Clay township, that county, July 16, 1831, and for fifty-two years has traveled life's journey with her husband, sharing with him its joys and sorrows, its adversity and prosperity. Unto them have been born ten children, but only three reached mature years, namely: Anna, now the wife of D. W. Weddle, by whom she has four living children and three deceased; Priscilla, wife of C. M. Weddle, by whom she had seven children, six of whom are living; and Martha, wife of Harry Rinehart, of Troy. They lost one child and have three living.

Mr. Studebaker has served as school director for fifteen years, and the cause of education has found in him a warm friend, his labors being effective and earnest in its behalf. In politics he was a Republican until Grant's administration, when he renounced his allegiance to the party and has never affiliated with it since. He has been a public-spirited citizen, whose efforts have contributed to the improvement and upbuilding of the county. He took an interest in securing free pikes in the county, and was instrumental in obtaining these. He canvassed the people living along the line of the proposed pike and the third time secured the co-operation of all the property owners on the road. He paid twenty-three hundred dollars in taxes for the pikes. This work of improvement has resulted in the material benefit of the county, as good roads are the most important element in commercial activity. At the time of the building of the hydraulic canal he voluntarily subscribed five hundred dollars. Samuel Harter was the promoter of this scheme. Subsequently the books were destroyed and the directors of the enterprise increased the demand upon him by the assessment of five hundred dollars, so that his payments reached a thousand dollars. He never derived any benefit from the canal and this decided him against taking stock in schemes promoted by others, preferring that his money should be invested in enterprises whose worth he is familiar with. He has purchased many real estate mortgages and has become the owner of much valuable property. Mr. Studebaker is a member of the German Baptist church of Casstown, with which he has been actively connected for forty-five years. He prefers the name of Tunker or its English equivalent Dunkard. The word means dipped, and this form of immersion is practiced in the church. For forty-five years he has been a minister of the church, although for twenty years he was prevented from public speaking by throat trouble. He has been a delegate to the annual conferences for twenty-five successive years, paying his own expenses, and his counsels and advice carry weight among his brethren of the church. He believes in following the teachings of the Bible as indicated by the immediate followers of Christ, and also believes in settling religious disputes according to the scriptures. His wife has also long been an earnest Christian woman, exemplifying her faith in her life. For some years she has been an invalid, being confined to a wheeled chair. Her sweet disposition and kindly manner endear her to all who know her and her friends are indeed many. Mr. Studebaker is now well advanced in years, but retains the vigor of a man much younger. He owes his position in life entirely to his own industry, and while he has won success in business affairs he has never neglected the higher and holier duties which contribute to man's moral improvement and promote the betterment of the human race.