Standard History of Adams & Wells Counties, Indiana - 1918
Tyndall & Lesh - Pages 464 & 465

Calvin D. Kunkel, one of the advisory editors of this publication, is a member of a family with perhaps as old and substantial relations and associations with Adams and Wells counties as any other name. The Kunkels have been here for seventy years, and the earlier generations did some of the heavy work of clearing and developing the land and laying the foundation for the present civilization.

He is a son of the late Samuel D. Kunkel, one of the most widely knnown men of Adams County. He lived to remarkable age and spent nearly seventy years in this part of Indiana. Samuel D. Kunkel was born in York County, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1820, a son of Michael and Catherine (Sentz) Kunkel. His parents were also natives of Pennsylvania and of German ancestry. When Samuel D. was five years of age the family moved to Richland County, Ohio, where Michael Kunkel applied himself to the task of developing a tract of unimproved land. He lived there until his death in about 1850. He was then past seventy years of age. His widow afterward followed some of her children to Indiana and died in Wells County when quite old. Both she and her husband were active members of the Lutheran Church. Their nine children were: Eliza, Mary, Matilda, Diana, Lydia, Rebecca, Nancy, Michael and Daniel D. All of these children are now deceased, except Mrs. Rebecca Wasson, of Wells County.

Samuel D. Kunkel had only the advantages of the subscription schools of Ohio during his youth. He lived at home on the farm, and at the age of tweny-six, in 1846, came to Indiana, driving a wagon. He bought eighty acres of land in Root Township of Adams County. This was then a part of the primeval wilderness. Here he built a log cabin, made it his home for about sixteen years, and developed a good farm on the Pickaway Road, two miles north of the old settlement of Monmouth. He subsequently traded for another place of 160 acres in Root Township, land which had originally been owned by his wife's father. There he continued the work of improvement and cultivation, and in those scenes which witnessed his productive labors he spent his declining years and died May 1, 1915. Had he lived to August of the same year he would have celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday anniversary.

One of the principal reasons which attracted Samuel D. Kunkel to the wilds of Adams County was the presence here of Miss Martha Dorwin, who had come to Indiana with her parents in the preceding year. On June 9, 1846, they were united in marriage. Mrs. Samuel Kunkel was a sister of Thomas T. Dorwin, long prominent as a physician and druggist at Decatur. She was born in Mansfield, Ohio, July 24, 1824, and came to this county with her parents, Calvin T. and Fanny (Bell) Dorwin. Her parents were natives of New York State. They were married in Ohio, where Calvin Dorwin followed the business of teaching and surveying. He also held the office of justice of the peace. On coming to Adams County he acquired 160 acres of land in Root Township in section 21. This land subsequently became the property of Samuel D. Kunkel and is now owned by Mr. Calvin D. Kunkel. Its improvement and cultivation thus represent the labors and enterprise of three generattions. Mr. Calvin D. Kunkel now has it nearly all in cultivation except twenty acres of native timber, and some of the building improvements go back to the time of his grandfather Dorwin. Late in life Mr. and Mrs. Dorwin retired to Decatur, but finally returned to the old homestead and lived with Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Kunkel until they died about 18874. They were splendid old people of the county, and Calvin Dorwin followed the fortunes of the whig and republican parties. Of their large family of children Mrs. Samuel Kunkel was the oldest and was the last to pass away. She died February 6, 1902, at the age of seventy-seven. Samuel Kunkel and wife had six children, Willie, Fanny, Dora, Effie, Florence L. and Calvin. Samuel Kunkel was for many years an active member of the English Lutheran Church and in politics a republican. For eight years he filled the office of assessor of Root Township and always showed an intelligent and public spirited interest in the affairs of the county and the people as they had developed year by year from the pioneer stage.

Mr. Calvin D. Kunkel was born in Adams County March 19, 1863. He has spent practically all his life on the land which his grandfather Dorwin first settled and which for many years was owned by his father, Samuel Kunkel, who finally sold it to Calvin. This is one of the most productive farms in Root Township, and Mr. Calvin Kunkel has distinguished himself as a thrifty and progressive business faarmer. His place is located on the St. Mary's River three miles from Decatur and adjoining the site of the old and almost forgotten Village of Monmouth. Mr. Kunkel acquired a good education, partly in the local public schools and partly in a normal school at Lebanon, Ohio. For a time he taught school in Washington Township and for five years was connected with the Decatur city schools. Altogether he put in about eighteen years in the school room, and since then has applied himself with results and accomplishments to the business of farming and stock-raising.

On April 14, 1883, Mr. Kunkel married Miss Sarah Ann Pillars. She was born in Root Township Decembeer 10, 1862, and was reared and educated here. Her parents were Sampson and Mary J. (Auten) Pillars, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. They married in Root Township of Adams County and for many years the father followed farming and still lives on his old homestead, being now seventy-seven years of age. Mrs. Kunkel's mother died in 1917.

Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kunkel, Sherman P., and Florence L. Sherman was born in 1886, was educated in the public schools and the Decatur High School, also in the Fort Wayne Business College, and in recent years has been associated with his father in the management of the farm. He married Fannie McConnell, who was born, reared, and educated in Adams County. They have two children, Mary J. and David McC. The daughter Florence is the wife of Dale Moses, of Adams County, and they live on the old Pillars farm in Root Township. They have a young son, James Calvin, now three years of age, and an infant son, Richard Kunkel. All the family are members of the English Lutheran Church. Mr. Kunkel has given strict allegiance to the republican party and has found many opportunities to advance the welfare of his native locality. Farming is a strenuous occupation in modern times, but Mr. Kunkel has shown such efficiency and good management in ordering his business that he has had time to furnish support and encouragement to various matters that are of direct concern to the welfare of the community.