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CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS STAFF REPORT APPLICATION —1999-0609 (A) & (B) PROPERTY — 1158 LWE OWNER — Joseph F. Rubin DESIGNATION — LWE-HD RATING — Contributing Cl10 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEJHISTORIC CONTEXT On November 18, 1830 a claim was filed at the US Land Office in Ft. Wayne, by Chris- tian Hollar. He filed to purchase 47.85 acres of which this address was a small part. Five years later on November 3, 1835, Samuel and Mary Leer purchased the nearly 48 acres for one - hundred and twenty-five dollars, thereby increasing the size of their farm to 212.38 acres. Samuel later died on November 8, 1850. He left behind his wife Mary, five sons and two daughters. The farm was divided equally among the children, with one-third of the land going to Mary. There was a great deal of quandary over the next twenty -years relating to the division of the land. It finally ended in court. Over the next three years another Action of Partition was granted and Leer's heirs began selling off their shares to brother Jacob. The Jacob Leer First sub -division was recorded on November 11, 1886. This was filed as the Plat of Jacob Leer's Survey and it lies west of and adjoining Jacob Leer's First Sub -division. Leer kept sub -dividing this portion of his father's farm but kept the land south of the rail- way agricultural. This property was purchased on August 7, 1889 by Catherine C. Wenger for one -thousand -dollars from Jacob Leer, one of the pioneering settlers of St. Joseph County. Wenger also owner large parcels of land. Catherine Wenger sold the property to Martha G. Loughman and this house was built either by her or her daughter, Edith B. Miller in 1923. This residence remained in the Miller family until George L. Miller, Edith's son, sold it in 1962 to Fred and Ida Auer. When Fred died, Ida remained living in the house and then sold it to Joe and Cynthia Bellina in 1991. In 1997, Grover Lauderman III purchased the property. The applicant, Attorney Joseph F. Rubin claims he is purchasing the property from a Ron Johnson. Neither the Recorder's Office or the Portage Assor's Office have an record of either of these gentlemen.