Newton co IN Biography


Newton County, Beaver Township.  From A Standard History of Jasper and 
Newton Counties, 1915, Vol. II, p. 752.

   DAVID A. PROTSMAN is one of the men who claim Jasper and Newton 
counties as their birthplace and the scene of their substantial
activities in later life.  Mr. Protsman has found in farming both a 
congenial and a profitable occupation.  The management of well tilled
fields, the care and superintendence of good stock, the task of winning
a living and at the same time increasing and improving the value of 
his farm, and the duties of good citizenship, have occupied him here 
for many years, and he is one of the most substantial residents of 
Beaver Township in Newton County.
   He was born in Jasper County May 23, 1868, a son of Daniel and Martha
(Lakin) Protsman, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of 
Franklin County, Indiana.  Daniel Protsman was brought to Dayton, Ohio, 
when a youth, and lived on a farm there for twelve years.  He then 
removed to Porter County and later to Jasper County, Indiana, near 
Rensselaer, and was employed in operating a 150-acre farm for three 
years, following which he moved to Jackson Township in Newton County.
There he also bought 160 acres and lived on it until his death in 1893.  
He was twice married.  His second wife was Martha Lakin, whose first 
husband enlisted in the Civil War in 1861, and after two years died 
while still in the army.  She married Daniel Protsman about the close
of the war, and became the mother of three children.
   D. A. Protsman grew up in Newton County, found his education in the 
local schools, and is now proprietor of 308 acres of choice farm land
in Beaver Township.  He has one of the most attractive homes in that 
section, and a part of his land is covered with a heavy growth of 
native timber.  This wood has a special historical interest since it
was the scene of one of the earlier Indian battles.  Mr. Protsman has 
long been a student of local history, and is undoubtedly the best 
authority on the Indian history in this section of Indiana. 
   Mr. Protsman is a republican in politics, a member of the Christian
Church, and is always ready to work for the advancement of any community
enterprise.
   He married Miss Margaret Spence on May 26, 1897, and four children--
three sons and one daughter--were born to them, and all are living;
Francis A., who is a practical farmer; Roscoe E., a graduate of the 
Morocco High School, enters Valparaiso University; John E., in the 
eight grade of the public schools, and Margaret E., in fourth grade.
   Mrs. Protsman is a native of Crete, Illinois, and was born June 23,
1870.  She is a member of the Christian Church.  Her parents, Francis 
and Elizabeth (Dawson) Spence, were both natives of Scotland.  Mr. 
Spence is living at the age of eighty-six, and he is a cousin of the 
celebrated African explorer, David Livingston.  Mrs. Spence died in 
Illinois in 1885.  The estate of Mr. and Mrs. Protsman is know as 
"Turkey Foot Farm."


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