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Blackford and Grant Countii
Bla ckford and Grant
Counties, Indiana
A Chronicle of their People Past and Present With Family
Lineage and Personal Memoirs
Compiled Under the Editorial Supervision of
BENJAMIN G. SHINN
VOLUME 1
LLUSTRATHD
■J&&-
LfV&S PUBLISHING COMPANY
<GO AND NEW YORK
1914
riP
PREFACE 191547
At the outset of the undertaking which is herewith presented in
published form, this publication was planned as "a collection of articles
and sketches on families and individuals identified, in the past or
present, with Blackford and Grant counties." In line with this pur-
pose, the editorial staff has collected much interesting and valuable
material pertaining: to such families and individuals and the follow-
ing pages contain biographical data that in this form will be preserved
for all future generations and safeguard the essential facts against
all time and fading memory. All personal sketches have been submitted
in typewritten form for revision and correction, and the utmost dili-
gence has been employed to prevent mistakes. It can be only a matter
of satisfaction that the original plans have been so thoroughly carried out.
In conclusion, and as a brief introduction to the contents of these
volumes, it is appropriate to quote from the original "editorial an-
nouncement" concerning this publication:
"While others have written of 'the times,' the province id'
this work is to be chronicles of the people who have made and are
making Blackford and Grant counties what they are.
"Family stocks and individuals, as everyone knows, are not peren-
nial. These counties had worthy and useful and often highly honored
and prominent families in the first and second generation after the
date of beginning which are now practically extinct so far as the
residence of descendants in this community is concerned. Would not
some memorial of them, be it but a name and date, be worthy of
permanent record? Space for an appropriate record of this kind, in
the nature of a brief compendium of old families and notable person-
alities, will be afforded in this publication. The first object, clearlj
defined, will therefore be — to present in concise form the annals of
pioneers, old families, and individuals, meriting such distinction.
"In the second place, the compilers of this work will endeavor to
do justice to those names which are still represented in the vigorous
citizenship of the community — whether as survivors with a long retro-
spect over the times in which modern conditions have been evolved or
whether as still vital factors in the active social and business organiza-
tion which gives character to the modern and present-day counties."
NDEX
Ackerman, George S 865
Alexander, Harry 96
Alfrey, James A. E 226
Allen, Eli TOT
Allen, John W T55
Amsden, George W 84
Anderson, William H 778
Andre, Constant 159
Armitage, Liberty T 98
Armstrong, Joseph E 810
Baldwin. Asa T 800
Baldwin, Edgar M 331
Baldwin, Stephen G 452
Ballard, Jesse 11 857
Ballinger, Edmund F 5T9
Banister, Oliver 92T
Barley. Charles G 882
Barley, -lames L S18
Barnett, John T 683
Barr. Thomas D 451
Batehelor. James 6T3
Beaslev, William A 521
Beaty, Frank II 162
Bedwell, Samuel F S80
Bell. John D 5S0
Bell, William F 40S
Benbow, Israel S TOG
Beshore, Fred L 895
Beshore. Leander C 893
Bird. William 114
Blake. Henry 118
Blinn. Henry H 484
Bloeh Brothers 754
Blumenthal. David H 808
Bole. William A 552
Boiler. David E S06
Bohge, William W 86
Boots, Mrs. Lacy 90
Borrey, John .. .' 496
BoxelL Charles F 821
Braden. William G 1T6
Bradford. Cassius C 775
Bradford. Francis A 833
Bradford, Jesse T 443
Bradford. Moses TT2
Brail ford. Oscar P 444
Bradford. William T 65T
Brelsford. A. Wilmont SfiT
Brickley, Chester 1 1T0
Blinker, Kobert ST5
Brookshire, Thomas J 696
Blown.'. John R 344
Bryson, David A 230
Bryson, Xellie 230
Brvson, Thomas 229
Buchanan Family of Grant Countj 783
Buller, Harmon :;; i
Bunker, Byron L
Burkhart, Ralph W
Burns, John
. . . 653
11 T
Burnworth, Jacob
Burris, Brad G
Butler, Thad
Bntz. (ha E
Caldwell, Benjamin F
Caldwell. Edwin
Cammack, Willis
Carey, John T... .
L 8 5
90
814
463
2T0
465
642
(any. Leander
Carr. Alonzo W
732
S14
Carroll. Elizabeth
Carroll, James H
Carroll, William
T62
210
Carter. Henry 1) 588
Carter, [saac 1 622
Caskey, John II
Chandler, Alvin
373
Chaney, William B
Chapman, William H
Charles, James
155
189
302
Clanime. Albert 263
Clainme. Charles J 187
Clapper) Manfordii! .'.'..'.'.. '.
Clippinger, Adam C
T30
249
36
272
Clupper, George L
Cole. David
424
208
Coleman. Bennett B
Coleman. William II
687
689
Connelly, Harry T
Connelly. Samuel A
le'r, Robert
Corey, < liarles W
1 ortright, -lames M
Conch. Orlando H
Conch. Thomas M
Cox, Eli J
690
744
3TS
740
280
191
599
6T5
342
Cox. Milton T
. . . 51 'J
INDEX
Cox, Nathan D 339
Cox, William V 735
Crandall, Thomas J 791
Cranford, Riley 433
Creek, Joseph 263
Cretsinger, Ross 866
Creviston, Henry C 782
Cubberley, Lewis P 474
Culberson, Frank 45
Cunningham, William N 112
Curless, James A 729
Curry, Alfred M 747
Daughertyj Lawrence W 136
Davis, Charles E 527
Davis, L. L 247
Davis, Oliver S 777
Davis, Pierce H 904
Davis, William F 388
Davi'sson. Henry C 75
Dawson. Isaiah 445
Dean, Calvin 829
Dearduff, Noah 181
Deeren, Alexander M 382
Devine, John C 406
DeWitt, Daniel 224
DeWitt, Mary E 225
Dick, Alonzo'W 251
Dick, Richard 141
Dickerson, Alvin 567
Dickey. Benjamin F 711
Diehl, Seth 104
Dillon, Richard H 535
Donelson, Nelson 738
Dougherty, Frank F 42
Doyle, Thomas B 801
Duling, B. Frank 626
Duling, Joel 488
Duling, John 429
Duling, Solomon 362
Dunn, Carrie J 855
Dunn, Monte S 612
Durham, John P 810
Eckhart, Godlove G 807
Elliott, Herbert M 327
Elliott. J. Nixon 313
Elliott, William S 298
Ely, Franklin 132
Embree, William 734
Emshwiller, Ashley G 223
Rrlewine, Henry L 799
Ervin, William L 205
Fankboner, Ozro G 655
Fear, James B 190
Feighner, Albert L 845
Ferguson. Andrew J 779
Fergus, Warren 548
Fence, Evan H 641
Ferree, John D 461
Fillebrown. Jarius 763
Flanagan, John 337
Ford, Orlando S 193
Fowler, George C 835
Frank, Lee C , 666
Frazier, John A 426
Fritz, Reuben 593
Fuqua, Mary J 58
Fuqua, Theodore 57
Furnish, J. William 717
Futrell, Jordan 635
Futrell, Joseph 1
Gable, Alexander 29
Gadbury, Allen K 89
Gadbury, Riley R 269
Gaines, Maud* H 365
George, Tony 858
Gettys, Elizabeth 116
Cettys, Joseph N 115
Ginn, William 523
Goldthait, Goldthwait, Goldthwaite,
House of 769
Goldthwait. Edgar L 355
(loodvkoontz, Emery V 926
Gordon, Ollin 662
Grant, John 760
Green, John W 194
Guilder, George W 639
Hahn, Abraham 202
Haines, George 652
Haislev. Harlan 923
Hallam. John M 103
Hanley, Hemy A 545
Hanmore. Ceorge W 741
Hannah, Joseph Q 914
Hardin, Harley F 456
Harris, David 890
Harrison, Luther S 432
Harrold, John R 273
Harrold, Isaac R 183
Hart, Arthur M 186
Harter. Solomon E 177
Harvey, Ellsworth 471
Harve'v, Hiram 418
Hayden, Bleam 160
Haynes, Oscar E 757
Heal, Elmer E 878
Hedstrom, Olaf 256
Hiatt, Newton W 455
Hill Brothers 542
Hillsamer, William 438
Himelick. George M 884
Himelick, John W 375
Hindman, Jay A 212
Hinds. James 431
Hodson, George 264
Holloway. Amos A 377
Holloway, Jesse C 394
Holloway, Joseph A 525
Hoover, Alvin B 603
Hoover, India 238
Hoover, Joseph L 236
Horner, Alva L 420
Horner, Ashton 710
Horton. Joseph P 109
Houck. William J 352
Hubert. James A 396
Hullev. Elkanah 436
Hulley. Joseph ' 903
Hults', Charles H 648
Hults, James F 646
Hummell, Levi E 917
Hupp, Christ 794
Hutchens, W. E 239
Jackson, George M 52
Jackson, Norman W 52
James, Charles S 924
James, David S 873
INDEX
\ 11
Jay, Jesse 713
Jay, Watson D 715
■lay. Will C 637
i'tt, Can
700
Jett, John S 887
Johnson, Alva 479
Johnson. Barclay 324
Johnson, Daniel B 389
Johnson, K. H 821
Johnson. James X 554
Johnson, Jesse 077
Johnson, Lewis C 204
Johnson, Percival 6 101
Johnson, Philip H 135
Johnson, Richard M S52
Jones, A 902
Jones, Burtney R 67fi
Jones, Ezekiel 5G8
Jones, George W 570
Jones. Hiram A 349
Jones, John A 847
Jones. John W 516
Jones, S. Frank 838
Jones, William M 923
Kearns, John 746
Keeghler, Walter C 606
Keever, William 517
Keller. Benjamin C 196
Kellev. J. Frank 147
Kellev. Joshua T 123
Kem, Augustin 416
Kibbey, John E 434
Kili;. .re. Man-us M 308
Kimball. Abner D 887
Kimball. Edwin H 889
Kimball. Thomas C 909
Kimbrough, Owen C 919
Kimbrough, W. B 822
Kin-. John B 664
Kirkpatrick, Judge Corev 200
Kirkwood, Frank H " 563
Klaus. Joe 868
Knight, John C 733
Knote. William F 407
Knox, Daniel 55
Land. .n. Samuel 188
Lawson. John H 767
Lazure, Albert R 702
Leach, Charles M 329
Leach, Edmund C 357
Leach. Elge W 572
Leach. John S 174
Leach. William (Wick) 381
Leer, Samuel 911
Lefevre. Alphonse 192
Lewi-. Merrill L 597
Lindsay. George D 697
Lindsey. William H 507
Linn. John F 826
Little. John R 504
Little. Santford 509
Love, George B 851
Lucas. Abraham M 570
Lucas. Hiram M 34
Lucas, Thomas J 492
Ludlum. Benjamin J 758
Lugar, Andrew J 634
Luther. Ivy 591
Lyle. Arminda M 22
I.yle. Arthur s 21
Lynn. James IS i;-;
Lyon. Howard 431
Marion Business College 4114
Marion Public Library 900
Marks. Lewis S ' 427
Marley, Charles K 489
Marshall, Eli I'. 7:.'::
Marshall, Milton 459
Martin. Anna M Mi
Martin. Joseph 7:>
Mason. William E 876
Massey, Elmer E 72*
Met lure. Erastus P 317
McClure, Samuel 315
McConkey, Eliza E 24::
McConkey, William T 241
McCulloch, John L 291
McFeelev, William W 371
McFerren. Oren P :.':::.•
McGibbon, Robert 753
M. Kinney. William C 458
McManaman, Benjamin F 74::
McMurtrie, Uz ...' 320
MeYicker. Aaron L 145
Meek. John A 596
Michael. Philip 81
Miles. Adam W 150
Miles. Alfred lis
Miles. Hanford R 601
Miles, John W 428
Miller, Andrew J 67
Miller. Frederick G 173
Miller. Harry 447
Miller. Jennie R 174
Miller. John A. G B3
Miller. William 607
Millikan. James E 277
Mills. Clark 896
Mills. Samuel A 143
Millspaugh, Leander N 620
M ittank. Anderson D 546
Montgomery, John W 323
Montgomery, Martin V 576
Moore. John H 551
Moorman. Levi 486
Morgan, Lewis D 920
Morris. Karl 510
Morris. Robert A 341
Morris. Robert L 275
Morrish, William II 386
Morrow, Joseph 587
Morrow, Joseph, Jr 587
Mullen. Frank 423
Myers. David E 844
Neal, Thomas C 166
Needier, George 495
Needier, James 05
Needier, Joseph 000
Needier. Louis L 425
Needier, Mark 414
Nelson, Aaron
Nelson, Amos L 157
Nelson. Mil.. 839
Nesbitt, Dai ius 922
Newbauer, 1 1 ge II.. 12
Newbauer, John A
Newby. Eleazar
INDEX
Newby, Joseph 540
Noonan, William 85
Nottingham, Ruphas C 609
Nottingham, Warren C 391
Nussbaum, Leo 820
Nye, Zena M 817
Oren, Elihu J 543
Osborn, George A 812
Osborn, Zimri C 514
Overman, Amos 788
Overman, Elisha G10
Palmer, Jonas A 68
Paneoast. Barzilla B 555
Peacock, Joseph H 533
Pearson, David L. H 656
Peck, Rebecca 28
Peck, Samuel 26
Pence, Ernest 919
Pence, Lewis C 748
Perry. Amos 265
Persinger, George W 182
Peterson, John A 913
Philebaum, Henry 253
Philebaum, John H 218
Phillips. Ben 436
Pierce, Bruce L 764
Pierce, Elisha 138
Pierce, Joseph W 32
Polsley, Austin 454
Poston, James H 759
Powell. Nettie B 645
Prickett. Lora A 708
Pugh, Alfred 449
Pugh, Amos 491
Pursley, Alexander N 127
Ratliff, Ancil E 925
Ratlin', Joseph 499
Rawlings, James P 9
Reeves, Lewis 120
Rennaker, Elias B 775
Renner Stock Farm 36
Reynolds, Francis M 169
Rboades. Joseph H in
Rime. John A 476
Rich. Eri 305
Richards, Abraham B 836
Richards, David L 621
Richards, J. William 659
Richards, L. G 528
Richards, L. G. W 644
Richards, William J 727
Richardson, George G 793
Rigsbee, John L 369
Riley, James E 795
Risinger, Omer L 156
Roberts, Peter 722
Ross. J. Clay 625
Rothinghouse. Anthony B 321
Roush, William P 824
Rush, Nixon 530
Rush, Zebedee F 853
Russell, Albert A 48
Russell, Margaret 279
Russell, William S 278
Rybolt, Franklin 915
Sanders, John 55S
Sanderson. James W 918
Schmidt, Adam 248
Schmidt, Philip 179
Schrader, Fred 831
Schweier, Emil A 276
Scott, Alvin B 330
Scott, John H 575
Scott, Thomas F 573
Secrest, Ethan W 4
Seegar, Lydia F 897
Sciberling. Albert F 704
Seiberling. James H 582
Sellers, Charles A 243
Sellers. John S 43
Shafer. Burtney W 604
Shafer, William D 849
Shaffer, Jerome 742
Shannon, Arthur M 165
Shannon. Dennis F 220
Sheron, William 412
Shewalter, J. AIouzo 106
Shick, Jacob K 130
Shideler, George A. H 307
Shields, Alpheus H 395
Shields. John 660
Shinn. Benjamin G 282
Shively, Bernard B 869
Shively, Marshall T 295
Shively, Zamora B 296
Smigart, John V 719
Sidey, Rowland J 245
Sieben, Michael 670
Silles, Uriah D 189
Simons, Adrial 502
Simons. John H 500
Slain, Walter W 464
Slater. George F 615
Small. Otto 804
Small, Samuel 717
Smilack, Elbert 240
Smiley, Frank '..... 602
Smith, C. Dee 886
Smith, Charles L 199
Smith, George W 318
Smith, Hiram 2
Smith, Jason B 347
Smith. John 536
Smith. J. E 749
Smith. Pascal B 524
Snyder, Charles H 560
Solms, Peter 669
Spaulding, Daniel E 53
Spurgeon, Verlin R 793
Stanley, Charlottie 41
Stanley, Jesse 577
Stanlev. Levi T 40
Steele," George W 466
Stephens. Finley H 738
Stephenson. J. Wills 828
Stewart, Clark 30
Stewart. Forney 163
Stotler, John H 255
Stout, Ellis T 739
Stover, William P 566
Strange, James B 557
Strange, John T 90S
Strange, Joshua 309
Strange, William T. S 751
Stretch, James A 351
Stricter, S. L 461
Studebaker. John A 256
Sutton, Albert E 18
Swarts. Christopher 862
INDEX
Swarts, Eugene N St34
Swayzee, Mark L 475
Sweigart, George W 153
Teeter, Wade B 5S4
Templeton, Frank W S60
Terrell, Charles H 367
Tewksbury, Hiram 99
Tharp, William H 170
Thomas, Admore A 19S
Thomas, Alvin J 6S1
Thompson, John L 797
Thompson, Thomas S 632
Thornburg, Edgar 692
Thornburg, H. S 186
Thorp, Thomas D 478
Thrawl, Samuel E 921
Tidd, John V 93
Tippev, Jesse J 850
Todd," Bert S 928
Torrance, Jeremiah W 871
Townsend, Elijah 95
Townsend, M. Clifford 13
Trant. Maurice 23
Trueblood, Horace N 422
Tudor, Allen C 47 7
Twibell, Josiah 259
Van Atta, Robert M 899
Van< leve, Joseph 16
VanCleve, William L 15
Van Vaetor, Benjamin F 695
Van Winkle, Benjamin A 61
Waggoner, Isaac R 649
Waldron, John H 705
Walker. Harvey T 46
Walker, John F 260
Walker. William C 616
Wall. Isaiah 667
Wallace. John M., Sr 297
Walthall, Josiah T 8S9
Waltz, Aaron M 234
Ward, John E 672
Ware, William W 506
Warfleld, Willard W 252
Warren, Gideon 262
Weaver. James D 133
Webster. George, Jr 301
\> ebster, George W 301
Weiler. Mayer M 164
Wentz, Philip E 227
Wesehke. J. Christian 82
Weser, Henry 912
Westfall, James W 90S
Whetsel, Aaron s 354
Whisler Family 417
White, George 1-:,
White. John I
White, V. F ::7:i
Whitson, Eli M 628
Whitson, Rufus A 630
Wigger, Kenton R 356
Wiley, William H 345
Wilhelm, Frederick 439
Wilhelm, John 384
Willcuts, Clarkson 679
WiUeuts, William E 6S6
Williams, John T 803
Williams. John W 472
Williams. Manson 191
Williams. Will 803
Williams. William Y 38
Williamson. Harry 451
Willman, Henry K 684
Willman, John B 228
Willinanii. Jacob 50
Willmann, Martha E 51
Willson, Jason 359
Willson, John 756
Wilson, Alvin J 401
Wilson, Frank 364
Wilson. George W 648
Wilson, Samuel Charles .".:;s
Wimpy, Asa X 752
Wimpy, Francis H 707
Winger, Daniel S42
Winger. Joseph P 841
Winslow, Clinton 404
Winslow, David W 859
Winslow. Josiah 512
Winslow. Nixon 693
Winslow. Thomas 724
Winters. Josiah 4s<>
Wise, Henry 618
Wise. Jacob 5S5
Wise. John E 142
Wise. Joseph 60
Wrse, Samuel 650
Wolfe. Adam 910
Wolverton, Abner D 126
Woods. Samuel 442
Worrell, Charles E 446
Wright, Clayton S 701
Wright. Jesse D 736
Wright, William T 372
Wyckoff, Francis M 562
Young. William R 901
Zimmer, Ernest (i 883
yu££^
Blackford and Grant Counties
Joseph Futrell. The agricultural interests of Blackford county are
well represented by Joseph Futrell, who is carrying on extensive opera-
tions in section 31, Washington township. Mr. Futrell is descended
from Revolutionary stock, his grandfather, Enos Futrell, being a son of
a soldier who fought in the struggle for American independence. The
family is of English origin, and its members for the greater part have
been tillers of the soil, a vocation which was followed by Enos Futrell
throughout his life in North Carolina, where he became the owner of
a large plantation and numerous slaves. The name of his wife is not
now known, but among his children were Giles ; Michael ; James ; Jordan,
and Lucy, who married Martin Nelson and lived in Grant county, In-
diana, where she died at an advanced age, leaving one son, who now
survives, Benoni. He is married and lives at Marion. Giles, James and
Jordan Futrell lived and died in the southern states, were married and
had families, and for the greater part followed farming.
Michael Futrell, the father of Joseph Futrell. was born in North
Carolina in 1810. He was given excellent educational advantages, and
when a young man made his way on foot to Clinton county, Ohio, where
lie met and married Mary Ricks, the daughter of Jordan and Sarah
Ricks, who were pioneer settlers and farming people of Clinton county.
In the fall of 1839, Michael Futrell, accompanied by his wife and small
children, of whom Joseph, aged nine months, was one, came overland
to Grant county, Indiana, and located on a farm in Center township.
There the father settled down to the cultivation of the soil and the de-
velopment of a home, and continued to work faithfully and industriously
up to the time of his death, in 1888. He was a well known man and
highly respected in his community, and was successful in the accumula-
tion of a valuable property. He was a democrat in his political views,
although no office seeker, and was a faithful member of the New Light
Christian church, as was his devoted wife who died in that faith in 1903.
when past ninety years of age. They were the parents of the following
children: Enos". who was for years engaged in agricultural pursuits in
Grant county, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years, leaving
several children: Jordan, who died as a retired farmer in advanced
years, in 1913, in Grant county. Leaving a widow and family; Eliza-
beth, who married William Ballenger of Grant county, moved to South-
western Iowa, where they still reside on their farm, and have two mar-
ried daughters; Joseph, of this review: James, born in Indiana, and died
on a farm in Iowa, leaving several children ; John, who died in the prime
1
2 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
of life on his farm in Washington township, his. widow and son, William,
ex-treasurer of Blackford county, now being residents of Hartford City ;
Martin, who is now a farmer in the state of iMinnesota, is married and
has a family ; Nancy, who is the wife of Robert Nelson, of Grant county,
a successful agriculturist, and has a family; and Michael, who was a
prominent farmer of Grant county, his land being rich in oil, which left
him wealthy, was asphyxiated by coal fumes with his wife some years
ago, and left one daughter ; and Isaiah and Mary, who both died young.
Joseph Futrell was born in Clinton county, Ohio, January 31, 1839,
and was nine months old when brought in his mother's arms to Black-
ford county, which has since continued to be his place of residence. Dur-
ing the greater part of his life Mr. Futrell has devoted his activities to
agricultural pursuits, and at different times has owned farms in various
parts of the county, some 700 acres in all. He now has a well-improved
property in section 31, Washington township, on which he is raising
large crops of grain, and also has a herd of good live stock, in dealing
in which he has met with well merited success. Mr. Futrell is not only
known as one of the leading business men of his community, but has also
been prominent in public life, and at various times has been elected to
positions of responsibility and trust by his appreciative fellow-citizens.
He first held the office of township trustee for two terms, and from 1874
until 1878 he served in the capacity of county treasurer of Blackford
county, having held this office during the regime of the old Green Back
party. Subsequently he became a Democrat. He has also held various
other offices, and his entire official services have been characterized by
strict attention to duty and a conscientious devotion to the best interests
of his community and its people.
Mr. Futrell was married to Miss Christina Ann Stafford, of
Darke county, Ohio, who died after being the mother of three children :
Mary and Amanda died in childhood, and Nancy Elizabeth. Mr, Futrell
was married in Center township, Grant county, Indiana, in 1866, to
Miss Matilda Nelson, daughter of Elisha and Rebecca (Oliver)
Nelson, natives of Northampton county, North Carolina, but for many
years residents of Grant county, Indiana, where both died. Mrs. Futrell
was born in Grant county, January 12, 1845, and died at Hartford
City, Indiana, May 7, 1913. She was a devoted wife and mother and
assisted her husband materially in the achievement of his success. They
were the parents of seven children, as follows : Joseph W., who is en-
gaged in farming in Washington township, is married and has nine
children: Alice R., who is the wife of Frank Miles, living on an excel-
lent farm with modern improvements in Washington township, and has
two daughters, Zadia and Hazel, and one, Gladys, deceased; Charles,
the father of five children, is now making his home at some point in the
West; George, engaged in the mercantile business in Grant county, is
married and has six children; Cora, who is the wife of John McCombs,
a farmer of Washington township, is the mother of two children ; Dolly,
a widow and the mother of three children, living on a farm in Washing-
ton township; and one child who died in infancy. Mr. Futrell is a
member of the United Brethren church at Hartford City, of which his
wife was for years a devout member.
Hiram Smith. Of the older families of Grant and Blackford coun-
ties, none have lived lives of greater usefulness to themselves and the
community, and none have done more of the heavy work of pioneering,
in the extension and improvement of the landed resources, and have
been more active in the affairs of home, church, community and busi-
ness, than that represented by this sterling citizen of Hartford City,
Hiram Smith.
X
MRS. JOSEPH FUTRE
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 3
IJiram Smith was born in Monroe township of Grant county, Decem-
ber 11, 1855, and is a brother of John Smith, a prominent farmer and
banker of Upland, of Grant county. Both were sons of Thomas Smith,
who was the founder of the family name and fortunes in Grant county.
Thomas Smith was. born near Alliance, Ohio, in 1814. After Ins mar-
riage and the birth of two of his children, he migrated from Ohm, and
about 1836-37, made the journey through Hartford City, which was I lien
a hamlet with only a few houses, and thence blazed a trail through the
woods and across the swamps to Monroe township in Grant county. His
location was on government land, and following this period the farming
and breaking was done by oxen, and in fact the sou Hiram remembers
when the work as well as hauling, was doue by oxen. On the homestead
which he improved he and his wife spent the rest of their years in pros-
perity and in the esteem of all their neighbors. Besides his farming
possessions, which became exteusive in the course of time, Thomas Smith
also maintained a small store and served as postmaster for some years
at the office known as Walnut Creek. During the early days mail was
for several years carried on horseback from a place in Ohio to Walnut
Creek. Thomas Smith passed away in 1876, survived by his widow, who
died in December, 1901. The birth dates of herself aud husband were
only eight days apart. Her maiden name was .Mary Leonard. Both
were faithful members of the United Brethren church, and frequently
walked the entire distance of four miles in order to attend church, in
which Thomas Smith was long an active official. His politics was re-
publican. They had a family of three sons and four daughters. One
of them died in early childhood. Wesley lives in Huntington, Indiana.
John Smith is the farmer and banker previously mentioned as living at
Upland. Emily died after her marriage to Wilson Moorman, and her
three children are all married. Lavina died after her marriage to John
Kizer, leaving a family of children. Jane died at the age of eighteen.
The next in order of birth is Hiram. Maria, is the wife of Patrick Smith,
a large farmer and stock raiser of Union county, Ohio.
Hiram Smith grew up in the country, received such education as
was supplied by the local schools, and as he was trained in the life of
the farm he followed it with success and gave active supervision to his
farming interests for a number of years. While he remained for five
years as a farmer on the old homestead in Monroe township of Grant
county, he in the meantime bought a place of one hundred and sixteen
acres in Washington township of Blackford county, and then took pos-
session, where he made his home for fourteen years, from 1882 to 1896.
His work was largely of a pioneer character, since it was necessary to
drain the land, and his attention and labors made it some of the most
profitable farm land in all Blackford county. One year following the
completion of the drainage his soil produced five thousand bushels of
potatoes, and it also became famous for its crops of corn. In the fall of
1896, Mr. Smith aud family moved to Hartford City, and their home
has since been in the county seat, although he still owns the farm and
looks after its cultivation. His city home is at 514 W. Kickapoo St.
In Washington township of Blackford county in 1877, Mr. Smith
married Miss S. Salome Watson. The Watsons were among the pioneers
of Blackford countv. She was born in Washington township, March 6,
1861. was reared and educated there, getting her schooling from what for
many years has been known as the Watson schoolhouse. Her parents
were Daniel and Mary (Balsley) Watson, originally from Pennsylvania,
and Daniel Watson was born near Newark. Ohio, about 1820. The Wat-
sons were oridnallv Irish people, and in the old country followed the
vocation of silk makers. After his marriage to Miss Balsley, Daniel
4 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Watson moved to Indiana, took up land in Washington township, and
did the heavy work of an early settler in order to make a home out of
the wilderness, clearing off the forests and draining the land and eventu-
ally establishing a good home. Mrs. Watson died there in 1870 at the
age of forty-four. Daniel Watson subsequently moved to Smith county,
Kansas, where his death occurred in April, 1885, at the age of sixty-
five. He was a man of many estimable qualities, a democrat in politics,
and for some years a preacher in the Baptist church, but later inclined
to the faith of the Methodist denomination and died in that belief. His
wife was always a Baptist. There were eleven children in the Watson
family, two of whom, the oldest and the youngest, died in infancy, and
the mother passed away at the birth of the last child. Nine are still
living, all have been married, and most of them have families of their
own.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Smith are briefly mentioned
as follows: Rena and Charles both died in infancy. Cora, who was
born February 28, 1882, and was educated partly in the country and
partly in Hartford City, took a course in the Muncie Business College
and is now employed as a bookkeeper. Frank E. Smith who was born
October 21, 1883, and was likewise educated in the Hartford City schools,
spent five years in selling oil and gas wells supplies through Indiana,
and later went with his company to manage their interests at Casey,
Illinois, and subsequently to Bridgeport in the same state, and in 1907,
moved to Lawrenceville, Illinois, where he continued in the oil and gas
well supply business until 1912, at which date he purchased a cigar
store and billiard parlor in Lawrenceville, and is now one of the success-
ful business men of that city ; he has served as city clerk and is a mem-
ber of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, is treasurer of the Loyal Order of Moose, and belongs to the Wood-
men of the World. Frank E. Smith married Pearl, a daughter of Emer-
son Casterline, of Hartford City, and who graduated from the Hartford
City high school with the class of 1904. Laura Smith, born June 21,
1889, attended the public schools of Hartford City and graduated from
the high school at Elwood, and by her marriage to Clyde E. Mahan, of
Elwood, has a son, Clyde J., born October 11. 1912. Hazel F. Smith,
born April 8, 1890, had her schooling in Hartford City and Elwood, and
is now the wife of Ralph B. Campbell, lives in Elwood, and has two chil-
dren, Jack B. and Daniel Watson. Basil Pearl, born November 15, 1891,
completed his schooling in the Elwood high school, took work as a clerk
with the Illinois Oil Supply Company, and later took up the commer-
cial part of the glass jobbing trade for the Mercer Lumber Company
of Hartford City, and lives there and is unmarried. Mr. Hiram Smith
and his sons are republicans in politics, and the senior Mr. Smith is
affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and both he and
his wife are members of the Rebekah Order.
Ethan W. Secrest. The present mayor of Hartford City, the judi-
cial center and metropolis of Blackford county, is not only a representa-
tive member of the bar of this section of the State but is also a scion
of old and honored pioneer families of Blackford county. His present
official preferment fully indicates his loyalty and progressiveness as a
citizen, as well as impregnable place in the confidence and esteem of the
people of the attractive little city of which he is chief executive.
Mr. Secrest was born in Christian county. Illinois, on the 20th of
February, 1876, and is a son of John H. and Mary (Reasoner) Secrest,
his mother having died February 28, 1876, only eight days after his
birth, and his father being now a resident of Chattanooga. Tennessee,
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 5
where lie is prominently identified with the lumber industry. The first
authentic records concerning the Secrest family iu America designate
its representatives as residents of Eastern Pennsylvania, and the name
and location both indicate that the genealogy is to lie traced hack to
German origin, tin- American line having been established prior to the
war of the Revolution but no definite data being available concerning the
founders of the family in the New World. John and Sarah Secrest,
givat-grandparents of Ethan YV.. were numbered among the pioneer set-
tlers of Guernsey county. Ohio, where they established their residence
a few years before the admission of the State to the Union, in 1812.
They reclaimed a farm and home from the virgin wilds and there lived
godly and righteous lives, their names being altogether worthy of endur-
ing record on the roll of the sterling pioneers of the Buckeye State,
where they continued to reside until their death and where they reared
their children to lives of honor and usefulness. Their son Henry was
born in Guernsey county. January 7. 1812. and as a young man he came
to Blackford county, Indiana, where he instituted tile reclamation of a
tract of heavily timbered land that had been obtained from the govern-
ment by his father. Here, at the age of twenty -six years, he wedded
Margaret Geyer, who was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, on the
10th of March, 1813, a daughter of Daniel and Susanna (Garr) Geyer.
She was twenty years of age at the time of her parents' removal from
Ohio to Blackford county, Indiana, and they settled near the new home
of Henry Secrest. who soon wooed and won the fair daughter and
who with his bride established the connubial Lares and Penates in a
hewed-log house that he had erected on his embryonic farm. Mr. Secrest
was an excellent mechanic, specially well trainee! as a millwright, and in
addition to developing his farm he assisted in drafting the plans for the
first courthouse at Hartford City, as well as the first schoolhouse.
About the time of the close of the Civil war Mr. Secrest removed with
his family to Christian county, Illinois, and there he passed the re-
mainder of his life, his death occurring May 22, 1882.
The mother of the present mayor of Hartford City was a daughter
of Washington and Rachel (Slater) Reasoner. who were pioneers of
Blackford county, Indiana, the former having been a son of Peter
Reasoner, who was one of the first settlers in this section of the State,
his original dwelling having been directly on the line between Blackford
and Grant counties. Ethan W. Secrest was brought back to Indiana
after the death of his mother, and he was reared to the age of twelve
years in the home of his maternal grandparents, in the meanwhile hav-
ing but little opportunity to attend school. At the age of fourteen years
he became dependent upon his own resources, working for his board and
clothing and having been granted the privilege of attending the dis-
trict schools during the winter terms. His ambition to acquire liberal
education was not to be thwarted, and through his own exertions he
defrayed his expenses while attending the University of Lebanon. War-
ren county, Ohio, and the Central Indiana Normal College at Danville,
Indiana. Through five years of successful work as a teacher in Delaware
county, Indiana, Mr. Secrest accumulated sufficient funds to continue
his educational work in the University of Indianapolis, in which latter
institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1901, with the
degree of Bachelor of Laws, — a degree that shows along what line his
ambition had impelled him. After his graduation Mr. Secrest returned
to Hartford City, where he engaged in the active practice of his profes-
sion, being associated for eight years with Aaron M. Waltz, under the
firm name of Waltz & Secrest. This alliance was interrupted when, in
the autumn of 1908, he was elected prosecuting attorney for the judicial
6 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
district comprising Blackford and Wells counties, an office in which
he served two terms of two years each and in which his zealous and effec-
tive labors materially enhanced his reputation as a specially resourceful
trial lawyer. He retired from office in January, 1913, and has since been
engaged m the general practice of his profession in an individual way,
with residence in Hartford City, where he now controls a substantial
and representative law business. In the autumn of 1913 he was elected
mayor of Hartford City, and in this municipal office he has given an ad-
ministration marked by progressive policies and by an earnest desire
to further the best interests of the city and its people.
Mayor Seerest has never wavered in his allegianee to the democratic
party and he has been an active and effective worker in behalf of its
principles and policies. He was chairman of the democratic county com-
mittee of Blackford county in 1910, and has been a delegate to county,
state and congressional conventions. Mr. Seerest is affiliated in a prom-
inent way with the Improved Order of Red Men and its auxiliary
bodies, and he has represented the order in the Grand Council of Indiana.
He is a member also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and its
adjunct organization, the Daughters of Rebecca, and he is a past noble
grand of the Hartford City lodge of this order, having been the incum-
bent of this office at the time when the local Odd Fellows building com-
mittee was appointed. The building was dedicated July 4, 1913. Mr.
Seerest is a member also of the Knights of the Maccabees of the World;
the Tribe of Ben Hur, of which he has served as chief and as scribe ; of
Fraternal Order of Eagles, in which he is past president of the local
aerie, which he represented at the national convention of the order in
1907, at Norfolk, Virginia; and he is further a charter member of the
Hartford City lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose, of which he was the
first dictator and for a time treasurer; and is affiliated with the Hart-
ford City lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. Mr.
Seerest is an active member of ten fraternal orders, and he was chief
of Records of his lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men for seven
consecutive years. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian
church, and his wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church.
The year 1897 bore record of the marriage of Mr. Seerest to Miss
Pearl M. McVicker, who was born and reared in Delaware county, this
state, and who is a daughter of John R. and Catherine (Allen) Mc-
Vicker, who are now residents of Hartford City, Mrs. Seerest being their
only child and the McVicker family having been founded in Delaware
county in the pioneer days. Mrs. Seerest is a leader in the social activi-
ties of her home city and graciously supplements the efforts of her hus-
band, its mayor, in upholding its civic amenities. Mr. and Mrs. Seerest
have one son, Robert, who was born in 1902, and who is attending the
public schools.
Samuel S. Carrell. A resident of Blackford county for more than
forty years, Mr. Carrell is now living retired in his fine home in Hart-
ford City, and few citizens are better known in the county than is he.
His life has been marked by well ordered industry and has been so
guided and governed by integrity and honor that he has not been denied
the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. He was long
and prominently identified with business interests in Hartford City, is
the owner of valuable property here and has contributed much to the
civic and material progress of the city and county. His high standing
in the community renders him specially eligible for representation in
this history.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 7
Mr. Carrel] claims the fine old Buckeye state as the place of bis
nativity aud is a scion of an honored pioneer family of that common
wealth. lie was horn at Xenia, Greene county. Ohio, on the 27th of
Xovember. 1*:>(>. and is a son of George Bruce Carrel] and Censaline
(Sherrey) Carrell. Colin Carrell, or Carroll, grandfather of him whose
name introduces this sketch, was of staunch Irish lineage and was a
native of the city of Cork. Ireland. His parents passed their entire
lives in the Emerald Isle and there he himself was reared and educated.
He was accorded good educational advantages and in his youth served
an apprenticeship to the weaver's trade. Colin Carrell was born in the
year 1775 and prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century he
immigrated to America. He went to Kentucky, where he finally wedded
an orphan girl whose foster parents were wealthy and gave her excel-
lent educational opportunities. Mrs. Colin Carrell was a woman of
gracious personality and high ideals, active and devoted in the work of
the Methodist church, in which her husband was a local preacher. Mr.
Carrel] had been zealous in church work in his native land and family
tradition has it that he was engaged in earnest ministerial work in Ken-
tucky at the time when he formed the acquaintance of the noble woman
who became his wife. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Colin
Carrell established their home in Berkeley county. West Virginia, which
commonwealth was at that time an integral part of Virginia, the his-
toric Old Dominion. Mr. Carrell purchased a small farm in the county
mentioned and in addition to improving and cultivating the same he
worked at his trade, weaving cloth for all the settlers in that wild and
hilly section and being one of the sterling pioneers of that section. Doth
he and his wife passed the residue of their lives on their old homestead
in Berkeley county, Mr. Carrell having passed to eternal rest in 1806,
in middle life, and his widow having been more than seventy years
of age at the time of her death. This noble pioneer couple exerted a
benign influence upon all with whom they came in contact and they
were greatly loved in the state which represented their home. Certain
data concerning their children are available and are worthy of perpetu-
ation in this connection: George died in infancy; Eli II.. became a
prominent citizen of Harper's Ferry. Virginia, where he conducted
two hotels ami where he died, a victim to the cholera epidemic that
swept that section in 1848-9 — his wife was drowned in the river at Har-
per's Ferry and her body was never recovered, no children having been
born of the union; Elijah left West Virginia to establish a home in
Ohio or Indiana, and while traversing the wilds of southern Indiana
he became ill. his death soon resulting and his remains being interred
near a pioneer cabin in that part of the state; Margaret, died at the age
of 64. unwedded. at Spring Valley. Ohio, was a devoted Bible student
and was an earnest member of the Methodist church; Mary Ann. whose
husband died in West Virginia, passed the closing years of her life
in Logan county. Ohio, two or more children surviving her; Martha.
who became the wife of William Griffith, was a devout adherent of the
Methodist church, as was also her husband, and they were residents of
Greene county. Ohio, at the time of their death ; Lydia. who became the
wife of Beverly Herbert, accompanied her husband to Illinois, where
both lived to advanced age and where they reared ;i large family of
children. George B.. father of the subject of this review, was the 2nd
son and was born shortly before the death of his father.
George Bruce Carrell was reared to maturity in West Virginia,
where he availed himself of the advantages of the somewhat primitive
common schools and where he learned the trades of carpenter and cab-
inet-maker. At Charlestown. West Virginia, the ambitious young man
8 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
wedded Miss Censaline Shirley, daughter of William and Charlotte
Shirley. Mr. Shirley was of English birth and a member of an old and
patrician family. He came to America in company with two of his
brothers and they settled in Virginia, where he became the owner of a
large lauded estate and where he and his wife passed the remainder of
their lives, their marriage having been solemnized in that commonwealth.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. George Bruce Carrell continued
to reside in what is now West Virginia until their first child, William
Colin, was born, in 1828. In the following year they removed to Ohio
and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Xenia, Greene
county, where Mr. Carrell became a successful carpenter and builder,
besides doing much work as a cabinet-maker. After the lapse of many
years George B. Carrell removed with his family to Logan county, Ohio,
where he purchased a small farm. He continued as a farmer and car-
penter in that county for many years and was one of the most influential
and honored citizens of his community. He served for a long period
as justice of the peace, and in his official capacity he wrote many wills,
acted as administrator for many estates and officiated at numerous mar-
riages. Besides attending to such responsible duties, his ability
enabled him to minister to the ill and afflicted, and he frecpiently offici-
ated at funerals. He was a leader in public thought and action, a man
of impregnable integrity of purpose and one whose broad information
and mature judgment made him a valued counselor. In politics he was
originally a whig and later a republican, and both he and his wife were
earnest and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
which he served many years as the class leader. He passed to his reward
after a life of signal usefulness and in the fullness of years and well
earned honors, his death having occurred in May, 1886. Mrs. Carrell,
who was born in 1805, preceded her husband to eternal rest, her death
having occurred in 1877. This sterling couple became the parents of
nine children, of whom two sons and two daughters are now living; Ed-
mund L., who is now an octogenarian, resides with his family in the
state of Iowa; Anna E., a maiden woman of seventy -three years like-
wise lives in Iowa; Margaret M. (Mrs. Singmaster) is a resident of Mis-
souri and has several children.
Samuel S. Carrell, the eldest of the four surviving children, was
reared to the age of seven years at Xenia, Ohio, his native place, when the
family moved to Logan county, and there he made good use of such
advantages as were offered by the pioneer schools. As a youth he served
a four years' apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, under the effective
direction of his honored father. He was "given his time" when twenty
years of age and thereafter continued to work with his father for some
time longer. He continued his active labors as a carpenter and builder
for a period of ten years and he was a successful business mau of Logan
county, Ohio, for a number of years. In 1872 Mr. Carrell came to Indi-
ana and established his residence in Hartford City, where he continued
to make his home during the long intervening years which he has made
fruitful in prosperity and in good deeds. He here engaged in the hard-
ware business, and with the passing of the years he became one of the
leading merchants of the town. He built up five different business enter-
prises and his reputation for honesty and fair dealing has never been
questioned, so that it may well be understood that he has the confidence
and respect of the entire community. In 1880 Mr. Carrell erected a
brick business building, in which he conducted a successful enterprise
for many years, and in the year 1873 he completed his present substan-
tial and attractive brick residence, at the corner of Walnut and Kickapoo
streets. He at one time owned six hundred acres of land in Blackford
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 9
count}*, besides one hundred acres in Ohio. Energy and good manage-
ment on the part of Mr. Carrell enabled him to acquire a substantial
fortune, and since 1912 he has lived practically retired, though he finds
ample demand upon his attention in giving a general supervision to his
various capitalistic interests. He has shown himself loyal and progres
sive in his civic attitude and has ever given his ready co-operation in the
furtherance of enterprises and projects for the general good of the com
nmnity. His political support has been given in a generic waj to
republican party, but in local affairs he has not been distinctively parti-
san, as he has preferred to use his judgment in the advancing of meas-
ures and the election of local officials. His religious faith is that of the
Methodist Episcopal church ami lie has been affiliated with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows for a period of sixty years.
Mr. Carrell has been thrice married. In Logan county, Ohio, as a
young man. he wedded .Miss Virginia E. Brown, daughter of Joel and
Mary (Jolliffe) Brown, who removed to Ohio from the slate of Virginia.
After thirty-seven years of happy companionship with the wife of his
youth Mr. Carrell was called upon to mourn the death of his loved one,
his wife having been called to the life eternal on the 10th of November,
1889, and her birth having occurred March 1, 1832. She was raised a
Quaker, but after her marriage became a .Methodist and was very active
in its work. Concerning the children of this anion the following brief
record is given: Gertrude is the wife of George \Y. Hutchinson, of
Hartford City, and they have three children. Edna, Martina and Ralph
M. ; William H.. died in infancy; Harry, who is a progressive farmer
and stockgrower of Blackford county, wedded Miss Laura Swearingen,
and they have three children, Edith, Edna and Helen; Shirley, who is
engaged in the automobile business in Hartford City, married Catherine
Pancoast, and they have no children. The maiden name of .Mr. ('anvil's
second wife was Rebecca Van Cleave, who was of Virginia lineage, and
she died eight years after their marriage, at the age of sixty years. No
children were born of this union. For his third wife Mr. Carrell mar-
ried Miss Catherine Gregory, who was born and reared in Howard
county, Indiana, of old Virginia lineage, and who was a woman of most
gracious presence. She was prominent in the best social activities of
Hartford City and was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, as was also the first wife of Mr. Carrell, the second wife having
been an active adherent of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Catherine
(Gregory) Carrell was summoned to, eternal rest on the 22d of Janu-
ary, 1910, at the age of fifty-three years and no children survive her.
James P. Rawlings. The achievements which have marked the busi-
ness career of James P. Rawlings. president of the First National Bank
of Hartford City, Indiana, stamp him as an able financier and a man
of excellent judgment and foresight. In large degree the standing of
every community is measured by the character of its financial institu-
tions, for unless they are stable, the credit of the municipality and its
people is impeached. The First National Hank of Hartford City is
an institution which has grown out of the needs of its community, and
was organized by men of exceptional standing, whose interests have been
centered in it and whose honor and personal fortunes are bound up in
its life. Under such desirable conditions, a bank is bound to maintain
a high standard, and to make money for its stockholders, at the same
time safeguarding the interests of its depositors. As the directing head
of its policies, Mr. Rawlings has made the First National one of the
strong banks of Blackford county, and he is eminently worthy of being
named among his community's most prominent and helpful men.
10 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Mr. Rawlings belongs to an old and honored family whose members
for many years have been prominent in various walks of life and in
different sections of the country. It was founded in America during
Colonial days by four brothers, one of whom located in Vermont, one in
New York and two in Virginia, these being William and Aaron Rawliugs,
the latter the great-grandfather of our subject. Aaron Rawlings was
a farmer and stock-breeder in Loudoun county, Virginia, where he
passed his life, and was the owner of a fine string of horses, being, like
the greater number of his neighbors a great lover of that animal. He
was married in Virginia to an American girl whose name is now forgot-
ten, and they became the parents of a large number of children. They
were Universalists in religious belief, and w-ere known as prominent
people in the Colony.
William Rawlings, son of Aaron Rawlings, and grandfather of James
P. Rawlings, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, and there received
a good education, attending school during the period just after the War
for American Independence. There he met Miss Priscilla Day, a member
of a prominent family of Loudoun county, and when she removed to
Fleming county, Kentucky, before the War of 1812, young William
Rawlings followed her there and they were married. Following this
event they settled on a farm in Fleming, ten miles from the county seat
of Flemingsburg, where Mr. Rawlings became known as a successful
farmer and a raiser of some of the best breeds of horses to be found in
a state noted for its accomplishments in this line. Likewise, he was a
pioneer preacher of the Universalist faith in the Blue Grass state, and
an earnest, zealous Christian. A remarkable man in many ways, when
he had passed the age of ninety years he still made it a practice to
mount his horse every several days and ride for many miles in the sur-
rounding country, often preaching the Gospel to his neighbors all over
the countryside. 'Even in the last year of his life he was frequently to
be seen astride his favorite horse, riding with the enthusiasm and skill
of men many years his junior. His death occurred suddenly in bis
ninety-seventh year, he being found dead in the morning after having
retired the previous evening free from all apparent ills. He survived his
wife for many years, but was always true to her memory and continued
a widower until his death. They were the parents of the following chil-
dren : William, Jr., Aaron, Fanny, Betsey, Baby and Elizabeth, all of
whom married and all living until after the close of the Civil War, upon
the issues of which they were divided in opinion, some being slaveholders
and Southern sympathizers, while others remained stanch supporters of
the Union.
William Rawlings, the father of James P. Rawlings, had grown to
manhood in Fleming county. Kentucky, and although he had adopted
the faith of the democratic party, was a stalwart Union man. He was
married in his native county to Miss .Martha Vallandingham, a member
of the well-known Southern family of that name, who was born in
Fleming county, in 1815 or 1816, being about one year her husband's
junior. She was a daughter of William and Mary (Denton) Vallanding-
ham, natives of Virginia, who were married in Kentucky and spent the
rest of their lives in Fleming county, that state. William Vallanding-
ham died there as the result of an accident, while his widow survived
some years and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Rawlings, at the
age of ninety-seven years. She was a member of the Methodist church
to which her husband had also belonged. For some years after their
union Mr. and Mrs. William Rawlings resided in Fleming: county. Ken-
tucky, he being engaged as a farmer and horseraiser. There James P.
Rawlings was born March 24, 1847, and he was ten years of age when
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 1 1
the family came to Randolph count}-, Indiana. The first home was a
little log cabin, located in the midst of a tract of timber, all deadened,
from which a few acres had been cleared, and there Mr. Rawlings passed
his boyhood. He still has a strong recollection of the years of unrelent-
ing and unceasing labor that followed; of the toil which subdued the
wilderness and transformed a useless tract of land into a productive
and valuable farm. From early spring until late fall, and often through
the winter months, he helped his brothers and bis father eut down trees,
grub out the stumps, clear away the underbrush, break the land with
the old-fashioned plow, dig ditches, and finally sow and reap and gain
the well-won fruits of labor. Much was done by the Rawlings in the
building of highways and in the draining of useless land, and to their
sturdy natures and indomitable energy Randolph county owes much for
its rapid development.
William Rawdings and his wife passed away within a week of each
other during the month of October, 1892, honored and respected by
those who had grown to know and admire them for their many excel-
lencies of mind and heart. Mr. Rawdings was a member of the Universal-
ist church, while his wife was a Methodist and active in the work of
her religion. In politics Mr. Rawdings was a democrat, but refused to
cast his vote for that party when Horace Greeley became candidate. The
old homestead is now owned by his sons, John Day and Oliver A. ;
another son, Aaron, resides at Independence, Kansas, and is single ; .Mary,
a daughter, died after her marriage to Anderson Coulter, of Randolph
county, and left two daughters; William, another sou, died as a single
man in Kentucky ; and the eldest son, Jeremiah, died in Randolph county,
and left two sons, both of whom are now 7 deceased.
James P. Rawlings grew to sturdy manhood on the home place, and
from earliest youth showed himself to be possessed of industry, energy
and ambition. During the summer months he did his full share of clear-
ing the farm and building roads, and when time could be spared he
attended the district school during the short winter terms, thus secur-
ing a good common school education and an excellent knowledge of
mathematics. Upon reaching his majority he adopted farming and stock-
raising as the field of labor in which to spend his career, and in this
line gained deserved success, also becoming known as a breeder and lover
of horses, the latter trait having probably been inherited from his Ken-
tucky and Virginia ancestors. He also spent two years in the dry goods
business in Randolph county, but in 1886 came to Blackford county.
and when oil and gas were discovered here he was retained by the Stand-
ard Oil Company to lease lands and look after their interests. He was
very successful in this line and came into contract with some of the
leading business men of the state. In 1903, when the First National
Bank was organized, he was elected its first president, and this office he
has continued to hold to the present time. The institution has a capital
of $50,000, with over $200,00(1 in deposits, and is known as one of the
leading organizations of this part of the state. Through Mr. Rawlings'
abilities and good management the confidence of the public has been
secured, a necessary asset for any financial venture. His associates place
in him the greatest confidence, and look to him constantly for leadership
and counsel in all matters of importance. Politically a democrat, while
a resident of Montpelier he was a councilman during the period of the
city's greatest growth, and did much to forward its interests. In 1896
he was elected county treasurer of Blackford county, and in 1900 was
reelected with the largest majority given any official in the county.
Mr. Rawlings was married to Miss Lillie Wiggins, of Randolph county,
born, -reared and educated here, a member of a fine old New England
12 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
family. Her parents were Lemuel and Mary (Stanley) Wiggins, early
settlers of Randolph county, where Mr. Wiggins was a prominent busi-
ness man. The parents came of Quaker stock, but were themselves
Methodists. To Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings there were born the following
children : Oran A., a resident of Portland, postmaster, member of the
school board and a contractor and builder, married Gertrude Winters,
and has three children, — Margaret, Edith and James P.; Lula B., wife
of A. G. Ensh wilier; Clarence L., engaged in the plumbing business,
married Bessie Gettys, and has five children, — Mary, Roll, Henry, Louis
and Esther, living at Hartford City; and Lewis W., like his brothers
and sister, well educated, was for four years with his father in the
county treasurer's office, then became assistant cashier of the First Na-
tional Bank of Montpelier, and is now in business in Indianapolis. The
mother of these children, who was widely known for her charity and
good deeds, died March 17, 1902.
George II. Newbauer. Public office is ever a public trust, and it
figures also as the metewand bj r which may be judged the popidar confi-
dence and esteem reposed in the incumbent. The present efficient treas-
urer of Blackford county has never manifested any predilection toward
' seeking public plaudits, but he has so ordered his course as a man and
as an official that he has been deemed altogether worthy of the re-
sponsible position which he now holds, the while it may consistently be
said that in Blackford county his every acquaintance is his friend.
As the surname implies, Mr. Newbauer is a scion of sturdy German
ancestry, and his grandfather, John Newbauer was a native of Germany,
where he was reared and educated and whence as a young man he immi-
grated to America, the voyage having been made on a sailing vessel and
thirty days having been consumed in crossing the Atlantic. He became
a pioneer of Darke county, Ohio, and at a point about three miles dis-
tant from Greenville, the county seat, he reclaimed and improved a
farm. His parents lived and died in the old country and, so far as
family records indicate, they must have attained venerable age. John
Newbauer married in German}', before coming to America, and he and
his wife passed the residue of their lives on the old homestead farm in
Darke county, Ohio, both having been consistent members of the Ger-
man Lutheran church. Of their children Jacob, a retired farmer, now
resides at Greenville, Darke county; Louis is a substantial farmer of
the same county; Elizabeth first wedded Amos Reck and she now re-
sides in Hartford City, Indiana, as the widow of Jacob Roby ; John A.
is the father of the subject of this sketch; Susan became the wife of
Philip Toman and is now deceased ; Minnie is the wife of Enos Wil-
liams, of Darke county, Ohio; and George is a prosperous farmer of the
same county.
John A. Newbauer was born in Darke county, Ohio, on the 17th of
October, 1847, and was reared on the old homestead farm mentioned in
the preceding paragraph. In 1871, when about twenty-four years of
age, he came to Hartford City. Indiana, and here he was for a period
of about eight years associated with Amos Reck in the conducting of a
meat market. After the death of Mr. Reck he became sole proprietor
of the business, which he successfully conducted for the ensuing twelve
years, becoming one of the representative business men of the town.
Later he became a dealer in building material and farm implements,
and finally he assumed the position of cashier of the Blackford County
Bank, of which he was elected vice-president six years later. He still
retains the latter office and is one of the substantial capitalists and rep-
resentative business men of Blackford county. He is a democrat in
• BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 13
politics, served seven years as trustee of Licking township, is promi-
nently affiliated with the local lodge and encampment of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the military branch of the organization in
Hartford City being named Canton Newbauer, in his honor, and lus
membership in the encampment having covered a period of thirty years.
At Hartford City was celebrated the marriage of John A. Newbauer to
Miss Elizabeth Bolner, who has been a resident of Blackford county
from the time of her birth, in 1857, her parents having been early Bet-
tiers here and having died when she was a girl of sixteen years. Of
the five children the eldest is Altha, who is the wife of George W. Har-
vey, engaged in the laundry business at Hartford City; George H.,
county treasurer, was the next in order of birth; Robert is engaged in
the farm-implement ami machinery business at Hartford City; Eva re-
mains at the parental home ami is deputy to her brother in the office
of county treasurer; and Hazel died in childhood.
George H. Newbauer was born at Hartford City, on the 29th of
August. 1878, and he was here graduated in the high school as a member
of the class of 1897. Two years later he became associated with his
brother Robert in the farm-implement business, with which he continued
to be actively identified for twelve years, on South Walnut street, the
enterprise becoming within this period one of the most important of
its kind in Blackford county. In 1910 Mr. Newbauer was elected a mem-
ber of the city council, and after serving three years of the four-year
term he resigned to assume the duties of the office of county treasurer,
to which he was elected in 1912. his administration of the fiscal affairs
of the county having been mai-ked by discrimination and scrupulous
attention to every detail, so that he has gained uniform commenda-
tion Mr. Newbauer is an ardent supporter of the cause of the demo-
cratic party, and he is a prominent and popular member of various fra-
ternal and social organizations in his home city, including the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, which he has represented as a delegate to
the grand lodge of the State; and he is affiliated with the Masonic fra-
ternity, besides holding the office of leading knight in Hartford City
Lodge, No. 625. Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
In 1903 Mr. Newbauer wedded Miss S. Elizabeth Hiatt. who was born
and reared in Randolph county, Indiana, and who was accorded the
advantages of the public schools of Winchester, the county seat. Mr.
and Mrs. Newbauer have one daughter, Martha E., who was born Jan-
uary 15, 1909.
M. Clifford Townsend. There can be no measure of conjecture as
to the efficiency and value of the services that are being rendered to
Blackford county by Professor Townsend, who is the able and popular
incumbent of the office of county superintendent of schools and who
has proved his administrative powers to be on a parity with his high
intellectual attainments. He is a native of the county and that he is
well known and highly esteemed needs no further voucher than that
offered by his present official preferment.
Professor Townsend was born in Licking township. Blackford county.
on the 11th of August, 1884, and is a son of David and Lydia (Glancy)
Townsend, the former of whom was born in this country on the 8th
of October, 1859, and the latter of whom was born in Ohio, on the 14th
of November, 1S67. David Townsend is a representative of one of the
honored pioneer families of Blackford county and is a son of Gilbert
Townsend, who was born in the State of New York, in 1815, a son of
Gilbert and Mary (Saxon) Townsend. Gilbert Townsend. Jr.. whose
wife was of Pennsylvania German ancestry, came to Blackford county.
14 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES .
Indiana, about seventy years ago, his parents having here established
their home about the year 1836 and having become pioneer settlers in
Washington township, where Gilbert Townsend, Sr., took up a tract
of government land and instituted the reclamation of a farm from the
wilderness, his old homestead being now known as the Scott farm.
The family home was a primitive log house of the type common to the
locality and period and the full tension of the pioneer life was endured
by the early representatives of the Townsend family in Blackford
county. Gilbert Townsend, Sr., was one of the first white settlers in
Washington township, did well his part in the social and industrial
development of the county and both he and his wife continued to re-
side in Washington township until their death, at advanced ages. Gil-
bert Townsend, Jr., likewise became one of the substantial pioneer
farmers of the county, and in Washington township his wife died in 1865.
Many years later he removed to the State of Kansas, where he died in
1890, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Maria Studebaker, near the
city of Hutchinson, his age at the time of his demise having been seventy-
five years. He was a man of strong character and well defined convic-
tions, his political allegiance having been given to the democratic party.
David Townsend, one of several children, is the youngest of the
number and the only one now living except his sister, Sarah, who has
reared a family of children and who now resides in Blackford county.
David Townsend was reared to manhood in Blackford county, where he
was afforded the advantages of the public schools of the day, and he
initiated his independent career as a farmer in Licking township, where
he passed the major part of his active career and where he achieved
success worthy of the name. In that township was solemnized his mar-
riage to Miss Lydia Glancy, who was four years of age at the time of
her parents' removal from Ohio to Blackford county. Mrs. Townsend
is a daughter of David and Harriet (Kirk) Glancy, who came to Black-
ford county in 1871 and the latter of whom died here in 1875, her
birth having occurred in the year 1826. Both she and her husband were
devoted adherents of the United Brethren church. David Glancy was
identified with agricultural pursuits after coming to Indiana but event-
ually he prepared himself for the medical profession, to which he gave
his attention for many years. In 1881 he removed to Kentucky, where
he continued in the active work of his profession until his death, which
occurred at his home near Denton, Carter county, November 8, 1906,
his age at the time having been seventy-five years. Of his four sons
and four daughters all are living, except two. David and Lydia (Glancy)
Townsend, who now reside in Licking township, Blackford county, are
the parents of two children, of whom M. Clifford of this review is the
elder ; Myrtle is the wife of Frank Hoover, who is engaged in the furni-
ture business at Hartford City.
Professor M. Clifford Townsend duly availed himself of the ad-
vantages of the public schools of his native county and then became a
successful and popular teacher, his work in the pedagogic profession
having been of such admirable order that he was eventually recognized
as a most eligible candidate for the responsible office of which he is now
the incumbent. He taught his first term of school in the Bailey district
of Licking township, in 1902, and he has since continued to be actively
and successfully identified with the work of his profession, in the mean-
while having completed a thorough course at the Marion Normal Col-
lege, an institution in which he was graduated as a member of the
class of 1907. He was elected county superintendent of schools in April,
1909, and his administration has been marked by scrupulous attention
to the requirements of all of the schools in his jurisdiction, as well as
has gi
unec
1 the
earnest
eo-
ml the
uni
form
approval
of
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 15
by most progressive policies, so tha
operation of the teachers of the cou
the general public.
Professor Townsend is a stalwart advocate of the principles of
the democratic party and he has been an active worker in behalf of
its cause, definite prestige being given by his present incumbency of
the position of secretary of the democratic county committee of Black-
ford county. He has served as delegate to the democratic conventions
of this congressional district, and in his native county is a recognized
leader in the councils of his party. The Professor is affiliated with the
Hartford City lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
On the 25th of December, 1910, was solemnized the marriage of
Professor Towusend to Miss Nora Harris, who was born in Grant county
on the 17th of December, 1890, and who is a birthright member of the
Society of Friends. She is a young woman of most gracious prison
ality and was graduated in the Marion Normal College. Professor and
Mrs. Townsend have one child, Maxwell Alexander, who was born Jan-
uary 10, 1913.
William L. VaxCleve. Progression in any community can only be
effected through the individual efforts of those men who have the public
welfare really at heart, and who are willing to exert themselves for,
and contribute of their activities to, the betterment of conditions, the
advancement of institutions and the upbuilding of their section, who,
while advancing themselves in a material manner, help their locality
through a sense of public spirit. Hartford City as a community has been
singularly fortunate in numbering among its citizens such men as Wil-
liam L. VanCleve, owner of the VanCleve Opera House and the Wilora
Apartments, and one of his city's most progressive and helpful men.
Mr. VanCleve belongs to an old and honored family of Dutch extrac-
tion, the first member to come to America being one Jan VanCleve, who
was born in Holland in 1628. The date of his coming is not known, but
it is probable that all the VanCleves have descended from this ancestor.
Many of this name have been prominent in the trades, professions and
arts, in public, military and civil life, and wherever found represent
the highest type of citizenship. Some generations removed from the
progenitor of the family was the grandfather of William L. Van-
Cleve, William VanCleve, who was born in Virginia, October 23,
1768, the family having located in the Old Dominion some years be-
fore, coming from North Carolina. He married Rebecca Powell, who
was born in Virginia, July 6, 1773, and it is thought that almost
immediately after their marriage they removed to Pennsylvania, as
they were residents of Bedford county, in that state for many
years. Mr. VanCleve died November 17, 1829, and his wife April 4,
1821. Mr. VanCleve was a farmer, wood mechanic and sawmill oper-
ator for many years, was successful in business, a man of broad intelli-
gence, and widely respected. Mr. and Mrs. VanCleve were very
religious people, and were consistent members and liberal supporters of
the Baptist church. They were the parents of the following children :
Paul, Jerusha, William, Alexander, Morgan A., Raehael. Joseph P.,
John, Asher. Rebecca. Mars-, Samuel and Finley. All of these children
lived to grow to maturity and nearly all were married and had issue.
Among the possessions which formerly belonged to Mr. VanCleve, but
which now are highly-prized mementoes of Mrs. John C. Leonard, of
Hartford City, are a fine old Terry, all-wooden clock, which has been
in the family for more than one hundred and twenty years, as well as
16 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Mr. VanCleve's old glue-pot, molded with his name and the date, Jan-
uary, 1794.
Joseph P. VanCleve, son of William VanCleve, was born in Bedford
county. Pennsylvania, June 23, 1805. When still a young and single
man, in 1836, he traveled on horseback all the way from Bedford
county, Pennsylvania, to Blackford county, Indiana, blazing his way
through many miles of woods in order that he could readily find his
way back home. Bringing with him $600 in gold, he took up land from
the government for himself and his brother, Asher, and here they sub-
sequently settled down as bachelors, living in a log cabin and starting
to clear their land. After they had a part of their farms under culti-
vation, in 1840 Asher married, but Joseph P. did not marry until Feb-
ruary 19, 1857, when he was united with Nancy Levering, who was born
April 25, 1818, in Richland county, Ohio, and died August 11, 1859, in
Hartford City, Indiana, on the original site of the birthplace of their son
William L. and where he is still living. She was a daughter of Wil-
liam Levering, and she came from Ohio to Blackford county at the time
of her marriage and settled at Hartford City.
Joseph P. VanCleve was a man of great prominence and a quaint
character. He was a successful merchant, owning a lot and store on the
southwest corner of the Square in Hartford City, and during the Civil
War and prior thereto was a stalwart Unionist. He was courageous and
outspoken in his views, and his store, being the headquarters for the
leaders of the Northern cause in the city, became widely known as ' ' The
Fort," Mr. VanCleve becoming known everywhere as "General.'* He
was first a whig and later a republican, was one of the first county com-
missioners at the little log courthouse, and was a Baptist by religious
faith, although he never belonged to any church. He died November
11, 1881, at his home in Hartford City, the present site of the well-
known Wilora Apartments, now owned by his son.
William L. VanCleve was born on the lot in Hartford City, Indiana,
on which he has since made his home, September 16, 1858. He was
reared by Miss Elizabeth Jane Hart, a niece of Joseph P. VanCleve, and
who was his housekeeper at the time of his death. She was a splendid
character and gave Mr. VanCleve a good home, a Christian training and a
good education in the public schools of this city. Before the completion
of his literary training he entered his father's store as a clerk, as his
father was getting old, and was unable to conduct the business. He
had given a large part of his boyhood to the business, and in 1882, com-
pleted his own business establishment and the VanCleve Opera House.
When the latter was opened it was the largest business block in the
county, with the Opera House having 450 seats, and it was a great occa-
sion in Hartford City, the various railroads conducting excursions to
the city from all over this section, and visitors being entertained in a
royal manner. Mr. VanCleve continued in business until 1906, manag-
ing his affairs in such an able manner that he was able to retire from
his active pursuits at that time. He was able to build up a large and
lucrative trade, and by his fair and honorable dealing to establish him-
self firmly in the confidence and esteem of his associates and the public
at large. In 1910, he became the builder of the Wilora Apartments, a
handsome structure which adds to the beauty of his section of the city,
and in this he has since made his home. In political matters Mr. Van-
Cleve is a republican, but political life has held out no attractions for
him. He belongs to Blue Lodge No. 106 and Chapter No. Ill of the
Masonic Order, at Hartford City, and is a charter member and mem-
ber of the board of trustees of the Blackford Club of Hartford City.
Mr. VanCleve was married November 16, 1882. in Eden. Hancock
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 17
county, Indiana, to Miss Leora Barrett, who was horn April L9, 1863,
in that county. She has heen active in assisting her husband in his va-
rious business ventures, and is a woman of many attainments and
graces. She is an energetic worker in the Presbyterian church, being
secretary of the charity and relict' committees for twelve years and a
member of the Fortnightly Club. She belongs also to Eastern Star
Lodge Xo. 112. of which she is past conductress and a member of the
public library hoard. .Mr. VanCleve is also a member of the Presby-
terian church, and has been a member of tin- official board. To Mr. and
Mrs. VauCleve there have been born two children, namely : Joseph P.,
born November 16. 1883; and Helen Elizabeth, born November 13, 1887.
Joseph P. VauCleve was educated in the public schools of Bart-
ford City, the Indiana University and the University of Michigan, and
was private secretary for J. R. Johnston, the Indiana glass manufacturer.
He died September 10, 1907. unmarried. He was a valued member of
the Masons, the Blackford Club and the Greek letter society of his uni-
versity, and had a wide circle of friends. Helen Elizabeth VanCleve
was born at Middletown. Indiana, while her parents were residing there
for a short time, and was educated in the Hartford City high school,
Mary Baldwin school, at Staunton, Virginia, and .Miss Mason's school,
The Castle, at Tarrytown. New York. She is a member of the Fort-
nightly and Saturday Clubs and affiliates with the Presbyterian church
as there is no church of her own denomination, the Episcopal. She was
married October 23, 1912, at Hartford City, Indiana, to John Calvin
Leonard, who was born and educated at Montpelier, Indiana, his birth
being June 23, 1877. He was educated at Hartford City. He is a son
of John P. A. Leonard, who was born in Mense, France, and came to
the United States as a child. John C. Leonard has for years been en-
gaged in business here, and at this time is a stock holder and director of
the Johnston Glass Company and one of his city's energetic and pro-
gressive men, taking a keen and helpful interest in all that affects his
community. In his political views he is a democrat, but has preferred
to give his time and attention to his business rather than to mixing in the
battles of the political arena. Llis fraternal connection is with the
Masons, in which he is a Shriner. holding membership in Murat Temple,
A. A. ( >. X. M. S., at Indianapolis, and is a past master of the blue lodge,
council and chapter.
The following review will be of interest not only to those who knew
Joseph P. VanCleve, the father of William L. VanCleve, but to those
who delight in reading of the men of early days. It is from the pen
of Benjamin G. Shinn, who knew, admired and appreciated Mr. Van-
Cleve, and, who is himself widely known and highly esteemed as an
honored early resident :
"'Joseph P. VanCleve and his brother, Asher. were among the earliest
settlers of Blackford county in the vicinity of Hartford City. They
were both good men and excellent citizens. Asher VanCleve was a very
quiet, peaceable and kindly-disposed man; but few men had less than
he of a resentful spirit in their natures. If he ever had an enemy the
enmity must have been unprovoked and wholly gratuitous. Joseph P.
VanCleve had a larger endowment of the pugnacious quality. He was
one of those who. knowing his rights, dared to maintain them. His pur-
pose was to be right in his convictions and views and he was firm in their
maintenance. While taking a lively interest in polities, he was not an
office seeker, although he was at one time a candidate for office, this be-
ing in 1854 when he was an independent candidate for representative
in the legislature. Blackford county then had a representative of hi r
own, and the county was strongly democratic. The great mass of the
18 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
voters of that party stood by the administration of President Pierce and
supported the act of Congress of that year, known as the Kansas-Ne-
braska bill. Their candidate was Dr. William T. Shull, of Montpelier,
and the opposition did not unite in the nomination of any candidate.
There were two other independent candidates, Josiah Turbull of Mont-
pelier, and James Rhine of Matamoras, both of whom had been demo-
crats up to that year, while Mr. VanCleve had been a Whig. Shull
was easily successful and probably would have been if the opposition
had united upon a single candidate.
"When the War of the Rebellion came on, Mr. VanCleve was
throughout an ardent and uncompromising supporter of the adminis-
tration of Abraham Lincoln. He was too old for service as a soldier,
but he heartily encouraged all measures for a vigorous prosecution of
the war for the Union, and was the liberal and trusted friend of the
Union soldiers. His zeal procured for him the hostility of that element
which sympathized with the Southern Confederacy, and threats were
made of doing him injury, but he prepared himself for effective defense
and no violent measures were ever resorted to. His two-story frame
store building on the southwest corner of the Public Square was Union
headquarters in Hartford City and was designated as the 'Old Fort.'
"During the war and for some years after there was no bank in
Hartford City, and Mr. VanCleve acted as banker for a large number
of citizens. They had entire confidence in him and deposited their
money with him for safe keeping, and no one ever lost anything by so
doing. He read books and was a constant reader of the newspapers, and
was a man of excellent general information. He was a steadfast sup-
porter of the right and an enemy of all chicanery and dishonorable
conduct. He was a valuable citizen and had an extensive acquaintance.
He had hosts of warm friends and in the later years of his life his friends
just about equalled the number of his acquaintances. His career closed
nearly a third of a century ago, but his memory is cherished with
pleasure by all who were acquainted with him in his lifetime."
Albert E. Sutton. The deputy county sheriff of Blackford county
can claim a genealogical record in which he may take just pride. In
1769 a little colony of 340 earnest English Christians of the Methodist
Episcopal faith left the "tight little isle" of England to establish a
home in America, as they were meeting unjust opposition on the part of
both the established Church of England and the Roman Catholic ele-
ment. They disposed of their possessions in England and set forth to
establish themselves in the New World, where they were assured of free-
dom of religious convictions and also opportunities for the winning of
independence and individual success. Each of these colonists was of
the Sutton family kinship, and after a long and weary voyage on a
sailing ship they landed at the historic old Jamestown, Virginia. The
members of the company settled in various localities in the Old Dominion
and the lineal ancestors of Albert E. Sutton of this review were found
numbered among these sturdy and determined colonists. Within one
or two generations representatives of the name were found numbered
among the pioneers of Ohio and they became the founders of the village
of Jamestown, Greene county that State, — a place named in honor of
the old family home in Virginia. A member of this Ohio colony was
Hezekiah Sutton, great-grandfather of him whose name introduces this
article. Hezekiah Sutton was an influential figure in the development
and upbuilding of Jamestown, Ohio, and he also reclaimed in the vicin-
ity a productive farm, the locality having at the time had fully as
many Indians in evidence as white settlers. Family records indicate
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 19
that Hezekiah Sutton was a man of exceptional force of character, and
his physical and mental powers gave to him remarkable longevity, as is
evident when it is set forth that he was 118 years of age at the time of
his death. He was born on the 20th of June and on his 116th birthday
anniversary his pioneer friends assembled to do honor to the occasion.
They found him laboring in the fields of his farm, where he was cutting
underbrush, and he appreciated to the full the kindly tribute that was
paid him, his gentle and noble nature having gained to him the friend-
ship not only of his white neighbors, widely separated, but also of the
Indians who had habitation in that section of the state. His life was
ordered upon a high plane, and well did he merit the confidence implic-
itly placed in him by all who knew him. His wife, whose maiden name
was Gardiner, was a member of a sterling pioneer family of Ohio, and
in that State they continued to maintain their home until the end of
their righteous and gentle lives. Of their several children, one was
Isaiah, who was born in 1802, at Jamestown, Greene count}', Ohio, and
who was reared under the conditions and influences of the early pioneer
era, Ohio having been admitted to Statehood about a decade after his
birth. He became one of the early clergymen of the Methodist church
in Ohio, and as an itinerant minister he lived up to the full tension of
the pioneer days, as he went from place to place to preach in the little
log houses of the day and labored with consecrated zeal in the uplifting
of his fellow men. As a '"circuit rider" of his church the Rev. Isaiah
Sutton came to Indiana in 1836, and in this state he repeated his
pioneer experiences, in fact he and his companions having been com-
pelled literally to hew their roads through from Greeneville. Darke
county. Ohio, to what is now the town of Dunkirk. Jay county. Indiana.
This devoted pioneer clergyman entered and perfected claim to a tract
of heavily timbered land in Jay county, and on a portion of this tract is
now situate the thriving little city of Dunkirk. There the earnest and
godly clergyman made his home and developed a farm, the while he
continued his services as a minister, denying himself and enduring im-
measurable hardships in making his rounds as a circuit rider in the
pioneer community, his services having been given in this line in Jay,
Blackford and Delaware counties, in each of which he was influential
in establishing the early churches of his denomination. Revered by all
who knew him, this noble pioneer rested from his labors and entered
into eternal rest in August, 1864, and well may it be said that "his
works do follow him." In summer's heat and winter's cold he passed
onward in his devoted work, and none can doubt that in all things his
was the faith that makes faithful. He was compelled in his labors to
ford swollen streams, traverse flooded districts, to defend himself from
attack by wolves and to upbear himself against many other perils and
hardships. Rev. Isaiah Sutton was twice married. He first wedded
Catherine Shrack, of Ohio, and they became the parents of eleven chil-
dren. His second wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Sawyer, bore
him six children, and she survived him by fifteen years, having been
his faithful helpmeet, even as his first wife had been.
Daniel Sutton, one of the children of the first marriage, was the
father of the present deputy sheriff of Blackford county. Of the large
family of seventeen children, only one is living, and he was the first
born of the entire number. This venerable man is William G. Sutton and
he is nearly ninety years of age at the time of this writing, in 1014.
Daniel Sutton was born in Greene county. Ohio, on the 22d of June,
1834, and he was two years old at the time of the family removal to
Jay county. Indiana, where he was reared to manhood under the condi-
tions and influence of the pioneer days. Upon attaining to his legal
20 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
majority he began independent operations as a farmer, utilizing a por-
tion of the tract of 480 acres which his father had acquired in Jay and
Blackford counties. Daniel Sutton became one of the substantial land-
holders and representative agriculturists of Jay county, besides which
his character and ability made him influential in community affairs.
He remained on the old homestead farm until his death, June 22, 1875,
— his forty-first birthday anniversary. He was a lifelong member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, zealous and faithful, and in politics he
was a staunch republican. In Blackford county Daniel Sutton wedded
Miss Sarah C. Hobson, who was born in a little two-room frame house
that stood opposite the court house on Main street, Hartford City, the
date of her nativity having been July 4, 1840. She was a daughter of
Joseph and Catherine (Goghnauer) Hobson, who were born in the
Shenandoah valley of Virginia, where they were members of a German
colony that had there been founded in an early day. Of the same ances-
tral line is Lieutenant Hobson, who won distinction in the United States
Navy at the time of the Spanish-American war and who is now member
of Congress from the State of Georgia. The marriage of Joseph Hobson
and Catherine Goghnauer was celebrated in Henry county, Indiana,
where the respective families settled in the pioneer days. Soon after
marriage Joseph Hobson and his father-in-law decided to remove into
the wilds of northern Indiana, and in 1837 they thus became residents of
Blackford county. They established their home in the center of the
county and they located the county seat, but they did not have sufficient
financial reinforcement to exploit their effort, with the result that other
persons established the county seat at Hartford City, a few miles dis-
tant. Samuel Goghnauer improved a farm in Jackson township, re-
claiming the same from the virgin forest, and there the remains of
himself and his noble wife rest in the little family cemetery on their
old homestead. Joseph Hobson later removed to Allen county, and he
and his wife died near the city of Fort Wayne, each having passed the
age of three score years. Mr. Hobson was originally a whig and later
a republican, and he was a staunch abolitionist in the days prior to
the Civil war. Mrs. Sarah C. Sutton, mother of Albert E. Sutton of
this review, died at his home in Jackson township, Blackford county
on the 29th of April, 1898, her gentle and gracious life having been
consonant with the faith she professed, that of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Of the seven children the eldest is Arthur E., who is a pros-
perous farmer of Graut county ; Albert E. was the next in order of birth ;
Nellie is the wife of Walling Worley, of Grant county ; Jesse died June
29, 1893, as the result of an accident in the wrecking of the train on
which he was conductor, on the Pennsylvania Railroad ; Ada is the wife
of Harry Shawham, a merchant of Hartford City ; Eliza C. is a widow
and resides in the city of Fort Wayne ; and Minnie M. died at the age
of four years.
Like all of his brothers and sisters, Albert E. Sutton was born on
the homestead farm in Richland township, Jay county, and the date
of his nativity was May 25, 1862. He was thirteen years of age at
the time of his father's death, and thereafter he was reared to maturity
in Blackford county, where he has since maintained his home, his educa-
tional advantages having been those afforded in the public schools. In
Jackson township he owns and resides upon a well improved farm of
115 acres, and the entire place gives palpable evidence of thrift and
prosperity. — indicating the industry and progressive policies of the
owner. The farm is devoted to diversified agriculture and the raising
of high-grade live stock, and Mr. Sutton is known and honored as one
of the sterling citizens of Blackford county, one who is essentially loyal
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 21
and public-spirited. It is worthy of note thai he and his wife arc folk
of fine phy.si.iuf and that their children have inherited (his desirable
attribute, with the vitality that indicates sound minds in sound bodies.
Mr. Sutton gave Ins allegiance to the republican party until the
national campaign of 1912, when he transferred his support to the newly
organized progressive party as an adherent of which he was appointed
deputy sheriff of the county on the 1st of January, 1914, by Samuel A.
Mills, the efficient sheriff of the county, lie is affiliated with the lodge
and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Hartford
City, as well as with the adjunct organization, the Daughters "I' Rebekah,
of which his wife is likewise a member. He is past chief patriarch of
the encampment and has represented his lodge in the grand lodge of
Indiana.
The year 1887 gave record of the marriage of Mr. Sutton to Miss
Leora E. Burnworth, of Licking township. Blackford county. Mrs. Sut-
ton was reared and educated in this county but was born in Randolph
county, on the 19th of August, 1866, a daughter of .Jacob and Elizabeth
(Fiddler) Burnworth, who were born in Ohio, where they were reared
and where their marriage was solemnized. They now reside in Har-
rison township, Blackford county, having here maintained their home
for many years, Mr. Burnworth being now, in 1914, seventy-four years
of age and his wife sixty-nine years. Of the children of Sir. and Mrs.
Sutton the eldest is Miss Josie, who remains at the parental home;
Clara is the wife of Jesse Marshall, of Grant county; Arthur R. wedded
Miss Ethel Oren and they reside in Hartford City; Fred D. is asso-
ciated with his father in the management of the home farm, as is also
Hobart J., whose twin sister, Hilda, died at the age of seven months;
Walter also was seven years old at the time of his death ; and the younger
children who are still members of the home circle are William E., Clar-
ence R. and Helen M.
Arthur S. Lyle. For many years identified with the industrial and
business affairs of Hartford City, the late Arthur S. Lyle had the genius
of a business builder, the power of attracting to himself those elements
which constitute success. While still active in the management of his
many important interests, death removed him from the ranks of the
living, and his life and character were such as to deserve permanent
memorial in this work. Mrs. Lyle, who still lives in Hartford City and
gives capable attention to the affairs left by her late husband, repre-
sents the Willman family, one of the oldest and most prominent in the
business life of Hartford City.
Arthur S. Lyle was born in Ilillsboro, Ohio, July 3, 1859, and died
when about middle age in Hartford, March 3, 1904. His father Samuel
Lyle married a Miss Irvin. The family was originally Scotch in race
and residence, many of the name still being represented in that coun-
try, and the old home, now more than two hundred years old. is still
held by some of the descendants. A complete genealogy of the Lyle
family was prepared some years ago by Oscar K. Lyle of Brooklyn. New
York* That record shows the family moved from Scotland to Ireland.
and in 1740, Mathew, David. John and Samuel Lyle emigrated across the
ocean and settled in Rockingham county. Virginia. Thus they have
been Americans since colonial days, and the records show many men of
prominence in the different generations and different localities of their
residence. They were men of brains and enterprise, and active in the
trades, arts and professions. In this particular branch of the family
the name Samuel occurred again and again in the various generations.
Samuel Lyle, father of the late Hartford City merchant, was probably
22 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
born in Ohio, and was married there. He went out from that state as
a private in an Ohio regiment and served with credit through the Civil
War as a Union soldier. When the war was over he returned to Hills-
boro, and for a number of years held the office of chief of police in that
city, until his death in 1877, when past eighty years of age. He was
twice married, and by the second union had a daughter who is now Mrs.
W. K. Renner of Cincinnati.
Arthur S. Lyle was a small child when his mother died and he and
a brother were left, the latter being Joseph M. Lyle, a printer and pub-
lisher in Dayton, Ohio. Joseph Lyle married Hattie Wood, and has
two children, Russell and Mary Esther. Mr. Lyle was reared and edu-
cated in his native town, and about his first important experience in
business affairs was in the employ of the Adams Express Company at
Hillsboro. Later the company sent him on the road as express messenger,
running between Columbus and Logansport on the Panhandle Railway.
In 1883 he resigned from the messenger service and took a position at
Corning, Ohio, but after his marriage in 1885 came to Hartford City in
1886 and became associated with the Willman Lumber Company. Some
years later, in 1897, Mr. Lyle assisted in the organization of the Hart-
ford City Flint Glass Company, and his interests were chiefly identi-
fied with the lumber trade and with glass manufacture until his death.
He was one of the men of enterprise and of public spirit throughout his
residence in Hartford City, and also bore an active part in Republican
politics, serving as chairman of the county and city central committees,
and as a delegate to various county, congressional and state conventions.
In the order of Knights of Pythias he passed all the chairs of the local
lodge, and was also identified with the Modern Woodmen of America.
Active as a Presbyterian, he was for a number of years secretary of
the board of trustees. In every relation of life he was progressive,
honorable, and useful.
In Hartford City, January 26, 1885, the late Mr. Lyle married
Arminda M. Willman. She was born in Hartford City, grew up and
was educated there, and for seven years before her marriage had a busi-
ness experience as clerk which proved exceedingly valuable to her since
her husband's death in the management of his affairs. She still retains
her interests in the glass and lumber business, and her judgment is
regarded as not being inferior to the men with whom she is associated
in business affairs.
The Willman family is of German ancestry, and Mrs. Lyle 's grand-
father. Louis AA 7 illman was born in Germany, married in that coun-
try a Miss Keller, and after some children had been born they emi-
grated to America and finally settled in Hartford City. Grandfather
Willman in the old country had learned the trade of wagonmaker, and
followed that trade and was known as an industrious, quiet and honest
living citizen of Hartford City until his death. He passed away at
the age of seventy-four, and his later years had been devoted to farm-
ing, and it was at his country home east of Hartford City that he
died. His first wife had died in Hartford City, and his second wife
spent her last years on the Blackford county farm. Both the grand-
parents Willman were members of the Lutheran church, and he was
a democrat. All the children were of the first marriage. Among these
children was the late John Willman, father of Mrs. Lyle. He was born
November 22. 1832, in Germany, and died after a long and active
career on August 27, 1893. It was in childhood when he came with
his parents to the United States and to Hartford City, and under his
father he learned the trade of wagon maker, but eventually took up
the lumber business and established the Willman Lumber Company, of
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 23
which he remained as chief executive until his death. It was through
his close attention to business and hard work that he succeeded in life,
but he was not for that reason less public spirited, and was never back-
ward in giving to any worthy cause. Mr. Willman is also remembered
as having established the People's Gas Company in order to furnish
gas to all consumers for heating and lighting purposes at fifty dollars
a flat rate per year, or about half the average cost for light and fuel
that had been required by other companies. The late Mr. Willman was
a democrat and a member of the city council and in many ways hon-
ored by his community. He was one of the early members of the
Masonic order in Hartford City. In that city he married Miss Nancy
Kirkpatrick. who was born either in West Virginia or Ohio in 1832
and died in Hartford City, October 18, 1912. She was a devoted mother
and a real home maker, and had the esteem of all who came within her
gracious influence. She was a member of the Presbyterian church and
her husband was one of the leaders in that denomination.
Mrs. Lyle has only one son and child, Raymond Samuel, who was
born November 5, 1885. His education was furnished in the grade
and high schools of Hartford City, and at his father's death he took
the burdens of management in the enterprises conducted by him, and
continued as superintendent of the glass company at Mount Vernon
until 1911. In that year he accepted a position with the Illinois Glass
Company of Chicago and is still employed by that concern.
Raymond S. Lyle married Mabel Told of LaPorte, Indiana, who is
a graduate from the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mrs.
Lyle keeps up the relations with the Presbyterian church so long main-
tained by her parents, and in church and charity and all social uplift
work her influence has been felt and she is one of the prominent mem-
bers of Hartford City society.
Maurice Trant. In the long and uniformly successful career of
Maurice Trant, of Licking township, Blackford county, there is found
an exemplification of the fact that consistent and well-directed labor
leads to achievement. Having spent practically all of his life in the
locality in which he now resides, he has seen it grow and develop into
one of the garden spots of the Hoosier state, and may take credit to
himself for a full share of this growth and development in the line
of agricultural accomplishment.
Mr. Trant comes of sterling Irish stock, his grandparents, James
Trant and wife, being natives of County Kerry. Ireland, where they
spent their entire lives in farming pursuits. Like all the members of
the family they were faithful attendants of the Roman Catholic church.
They were the parents of a large family of children, of whom the follow-
ing grew to maturity: John, the father of Maurice Trant; Patrick,
who married, had a family and died in Canada ; Nicholas, who died in
advanced years as a bachelor, at Alexander, Indiana; William, who mar-
ried, lived to advanced years and died at Muncie, Indiana; Maurice, a
bachelor, who died at Muncie, Indiana; James, Jr., who went to Cali-
fornia, married and is now deceased ; Mary, who married John Cronin.
died in Blackford county, and left a family: and Johanna, who married
Thomas Carey, and at her death at Muncie left a family.
John Trant was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1820, and was
married in his native county to Miss Ellen Dowd. After the birth of
their first child. Patrick, in the early 'forties, they emigrated to Amer-
ica, boarding a sailing vessel which met with exceedingly stormy weather
and after a perilous voyage of thirteen weeks made port at Quebec. Can-
ada. From that point' Mr. Trant worked his way to the United States
24 BLACKFORD AA T D GRANT COUNTIES
by being employed on railroad construction work, and finally arrived at
Muncie, Indiana, where he decided to make his home. A few years later,
however, he purchased eighty acres of land in section 32, Licking town-
ship, a tract of land which is still in the family's possession, and subse-
quently moved on, after making some improvements, to section 27, in
the same township, here purchasing 225 acres of land, the greater part
of which was still in its wild state. The family settled in a small frame
house, 18x24 feet, which is still standing, although later Mr. Trant
erected a comfortable and commodious house of ten rooms, a substantial
barn, 40x60 feet, and good outbuildings. He was a sturdy, hard-work-
ing man, contributing materially to the development and welfare of his
adopted community, and when he died, February 19, 1893, his county
lost one of its substantial and reliable men. In politics a democrat, he
was not an office seeker, but had wide influence in his locality, where he
was widely and favorably known. Throughout his life Mr. Trant was
a devoted member of the Roman Catholic church, as was also his wife,
who passed away in February, 1913, at the advanced age of ninety-three
years. Mr. and Mrs. Trant were the parents of the following children :
Patrick, bom in Ireland, died at his home at Hartford City, Indiana,
May 2, 1913, leaving one sou and three daughters; Mary, who died at
Muncie, being survived by her husband, John O'Neil and one daughter;
Nicholas, of Chicago, Illinois, a city employee, who is married and has
one son and one daughter; Maurice; James, ex-city clerk of Hartford
City, and a civil engineer by vocation, is married and has one son and
two daughters; Hannah, who is single and makes her home with her
brother Maurice; William, who is also single and lives on the farm with
his sister and brother; and John, who is engaged in farming in Licking
township, is married but has no family.
Maurice Trant was born in the city of Muncie, Indiana, in 1867, forty-
seven years ago, and was a child when brought by his parents to Lick-
ing township. His education was secured in the district schools and he
grew up as a farmer, always remaining at home. At this time he is
the manager of the undivided homestead, in addition to which he culti-
vates an eighty-acre tract of his own adjoining the old home place. Mr.
Trant 's farm is widely known as The Home of Short Horn Cattle, a breed
in which he has specialized and with which he has had much success.
In addition he raises fine horses and sheep and carries on general
farming. Mr. Trant 's operations are prosecuted in a modern manner,
and his property is equipped with the latest machinery and appliances.
As a business man he is shrewd, far-seeing and able to take advantage
of opportunities that present themselves, bxit he has also an appreciation
of the rights of others and is willing at all times to assist those less for-
tunate than himself to the success which he has won. His reputation
is therefore that of a useful and helpful citizen, while his popularity
is evidenced by his wide circle of friends.
Mr. Trant has never married, but lives with his brother and sister,
all being members of the Roman Catholic church. He has always sup-
ported the principles of the democratic party, but has never found the
time nor inclination to seek honors in the public arena.
George W. Amsden. Many years of activity as a farmer, business
man and manufacturer have brought to George W. Amsden of Hartford
City the substantial prosperity which is the ambition of men, and lie is
now living in the enjoyment of what his labors and ability have created.
Long a resident of Hartford City, Mr. Amsden has had the thorough
confidence of his fellow citizens, and his success has been such as to
command the respect of al
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
25
His birth occurred near Akron, Ohio, October 21, 1816. His father
was Silas Amsden, wlio was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, in
1808. The parents of Silas Amsden were substantial farming people
oi' New York state, were, so far as remembered, without church rela-
tions and in polities practically all the generations had supported the
democratic doctrine up to that time. Besides Silas there was a brother
George W., who died in Michigan and had a family, and also two daugh-
ters who married and reared children. Silas Amsden spent Ins early
years in New York, and married Sallie Palmer of Cattaraugus county.
She was born February 11, 1813, and died October 9, 1888, in Huron
county, Ohio. After his marriage and the birth of three children, Silas
ami wife moved to Ohio, and took up a career as a farmer. Some years
were spent in the vicinity of Akron, and lie then moved to a farm in
Huron county in 1851. His death occurred there December 27. I860.
It was on the same farm that his widow passed away many years later.
Silas Amsden was a citizen who commanded the respect of his com-
munity, in politics was a democrat, and he and his wife were of the
Universalist faith. Their children were : Luther A., who served through
the Civil War as a member of the One Hundred and Seventy-second
Ohio llegiment of Infantry, became a prosperous farmer of Huron
county, Ohio, and married Electa J. Walters, lie died in Greenwich,
Ohio, near the old farm, leaving two children. Charles P. and Hattie.
Luzern, the second of the children, who died in Fairfield, Huron county,
Ohio, having retired from business, was also a soldier of the Civil War,
a member of the One Hundred and First Ohio Infantry. He married
Alma Smith. Anna E. became the wife of Fred Smith, a farmer of
Huron county, and both are now deceased, being survived by two daugh-
ters, Bertha and Loretta, the latter also deceased. Silas P. Jr., who died
in March, 1913, at the Soldiers' Home in Sandusky, Ohio, was a mem-
ber of the Eighty-eighth Ohio Eegiment and saw service from the be-
ginning to the end of the war, and he married and had three children.
Earl, Myrtle and Velma. The fifth in the family is George W. Amsden.
Asel T., who now lives in Xorwalk, Huron county, Ohio, a farmer, mar-
ried Emma Furness who died in March, 1913, and left two children,
Lulu, who is married, and Russell T. The daughter, M. Frances, died in
1861, at the age of seven years.
It was in the environment of the country and on the farm in Huron
county where his father died that George W. Amsden grew up. The loss
of his father when this son was only thirteen years of age necessarily
brought about circumstances which obliged him to early enter the strug-
gle for self-support. His education was practically that which hail been
accpiired before his father's death and such as he was able to obtain in
the intervals of his regular work. In early manhood or boyhood he went
to work as a farm hand at eight dollars a month, and spent several years
alternating between helping at the home farm and earning regular
wages among farmers in the locality. At eighteen Mr. Amsden found
employment in a lumber and woodworking factory near Sandusky, and
subsequently continued that line of work along the bay shore of Lake
Erie. Natural aptitude and experience produced in him a skilled saw-
mill operator, and he commanded the highest wages paid to his trade.
In 1869 the industry with which he was identified was moved to Black-
ford county, Indiana, being then engaged largely in the manufacture
of carriage' timber and parts. The firm was known as Hubbard & Wool-
sev, and Mr. Amsden represented that and other companies as a lumber
buyer, and his proficiency enabled him to win a successful place in the
world of affairs. Later he was identified with the firm of Olds & Sons
at Ft. Wayne in the same line for eight years. Then returning to Hart-
26 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ford City, he has since beeu chiefly identified with farming, and now
lives retired at his home, 412 West Washington street. His residence is
one which he built in 1882, and is one of the attractive homesteads of
Hartford City. Mr. Amsden owns considerable other real estate and
improved property in Hartford City, and has a good farm in Licking
township. His success as a business man has led to his selection to ad-
minister estates, and he has frequently been employed in that capacity.
For four years he was a member of the city council, and in politics is
a republican.
Mr. Amsden was married at Keystone in Wells county, Indiana,
May 10, 1874, to Amelia Barehman, who was born in Butler township,
Butler county, Pennsylvania, December 26, 1845. When she was seven
years of age her family moved to Wells county, Indiana. Henry and
Anna (Yetter) Barehman, her parents, were born in Pennsylvania of
Dutch stock, in 1855 brought their three children, Mrs. Amsden, Isaac
and Mary, to Wells county, and there established a home in a log cabin
in the midst of the woods. Mr. Barehman eventually improved a good
farm and acquired the ownership of other land until his estate totalled
about six hundred and forty acres. Finally Mr. and Mrs. Barehman
retired to Montpelier in Blackford county, where both died. Mrs. Ams-
den 's father was born February 2, 1819, and died at a good old age
October 25, 1896 ; while her mother was born September 16, 1816, and
died September 2, 1888. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barehman were devoted
members of the Lvitheran church, while in politics he was a democrat.
Of the Barehman children one son died at the age of fifty-one, leaving a
widow but no children ; while Mary died in 1888, after her marriage to
James Marion of Blackford county, leaving five children who have since
grown up and married.
Mr. and Mrs. Amsden are the parents of two children. Edith Delight,
who was born January 28, 1879, graduated when eighteen from the city
high school, and is now the wife of Lewis W. Piper, who is a master
mechanic in the oil fields at Bridgeport, Illinois; Mr. and Mrs. Piper
have the following children: Thelma A„ born February 27, 1903;
Dorothy M., born October 20, 1905; Harold A., born April 7, 1907;
Esther' D.. born June 2, 1908; Ruth A. and Marion A., the youngest;
while George died as an infant of eleven months. Guy Reed, the second
child of Mr. and Mrs. Amsden, was born February 18, 1889, finished
his course in the Hartford high school in 1906, later graduated from a
business college at Bluffton, where he carried off the first honors, and
for tin' past three years has represented the Bowser Tank Company of
Fort Wayne, and was promoted to assistant manager with headquarters
at Philadelphia, later transferred to Wilmington, Delaware, and is now
stationed at Washington, D. C, being a young business man of fine
capabilities and accomplishments.
Mr. Amsden has been prominent in fraternal affairs. In March,
1870, he joined the Odd Fellows Lodge No. 262, and is next to the oldest
Odd Fellow of the Hartford City Lodge, and has served in all chairs.
He is also a member of the Encampment of that order. His membership
with the Masonic Lodge dated from 1877, and for a number of years
he was also affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men and the
Knights of the Maccabees. He is a member of the Hartford City Lodge,
No. 125, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Samuel Peck. For one of its oldest families and most interesting
agricultural landmarks, Blackford county is indebted to the late Sam-
uel Peck, who in 1833 rode on horseback from Ohio to Licking township
and entered 160 acres of land from the Government in section 1 , although
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 27
it was not until seven years later that he Located here permanently.
During a period of sixty-seven years Mr. Peek continued to be identi-
fied with the farming interests of this part of the state, and through
industry, energy and fidelity to duty, won not alone a handsome com-
petency but gained also the unqualified esteem and respect of those
among whom he lived for so long.
Mr. Peck was born near Clarksburg, Virginia (now West Virginia),
February 23, 1809, and was a son of Joseph and Elsie (Smith) Peck.
The father, a substantial Virginia farmer, enlisted for service in the
American army during the War of 1812, and when news of his sickness
reached his devoted wife, she started on the long journey to Fort
Wayne, on horseback and in the midst of a severe winter, to nurse him
back to health. The ground was covered with ice and the roads nearly
impassable and the trip consumed such a length of time that when Mrs.
Peck reached her destination she found that her husband had gone on
with his company and she returned to her home. Mr. Peck continued
to serve faithfully throughout the period of the war and at its close
returned to his home, much broken in health, although he eventually re-
covered. He died at the advanced age of seventy-eight years, while Mrs.
Peck survived him several years and passed away in Ohio. Tiny were
the parents of six children, as follows : Marcus, who was an early settler
of Niles county, Michigan, became the owner of a large and valuable
farm, and in his latter years retired to Cassopolis, Michigan, and there
died at the age of past seventy years; Mary, who became the wife of
George Davis, located in Athens county, Ohio, and died there when past
sixty years of age, leaving a good sized family ; Sarah, who married Josiah
Higman, spent her life on the old home in Virginia, where the father
had owned over 200 acres of land, and at her death left a large family ;
Burle, who removed to Ohio in young manhood, was there married to
Statia Bales, later went to Missouri where he purchased a large tract
of land, on which he died, his widow subsequently returning to Ohio
with the children and there passed away; Susan, who became the wife
of David Carmichael, settled in Niles county. .Michigan, reared a large
family, and died there when in advanced age ; and Samuel.
Samuel Peck was reared on his father's homestead and was given
ordinary educational advantages in the public schools. He was an
ambitious and self-reliant youth, and when but seventeen years of age,
deciding to seek his fortunes in the new country to the west, saddled
his two-year-old colt and rode through the country to Athens county,
Ohio, a distance of 190 miles. There when but nineteen years of age
he married Miss Susan Shidler, who was born in that county, a daughter
of Abram and Ruth (Wood) Shidler. Mr. and Mrs. Shidler had come
to Athens county as .young people with their respective parents at a
very early day, and there met and married, becoming prominent and
substantial people of that locality. Mr. Peek continued to be engaged
in farming in Athens county for several years, but decided to see if
better opportunities did not await him still further to the west, and in
1833 again mounted his horse and rode through to Licking township,
Blackford county, Indiana, where he entered a tract of 160 acres of
land in section 1, riding on to Fort Wayne to make his entry. He then
returned to his home, where he worked faithfully to put ins affairs
in such shape that he could begin life in the new locality free from debt,
and in 1810 brought his wife and eight children to the new land. The
family home at first was a small log cabin, but this Mr. Peek soon re-
placed with a hewed log house of lar?e proportions, and this was later,
in 1879, succeeded by a good frame residence, which still stands and is
occupied by Mr. Peek's daughter, Rebecca. His tireless and well directed
28 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
labor was rewarded by the development of a good farm, and from time
to time he added to his holdings until he had 225 acres, all of which
he put under a good state of cultivation. General farming and stock
raising occupied his attention, and each of his ventures proved highly
successful, so that when he died, March 27, 1907, he was justly con-
sidered one of the most substantial men of Licking township. In every
walk of life Mr. Peck proved himself faithful to the trust reposed in
him by his fellow citizens. While not a politician, he early attached
himself to the whig party and later transferred his allegiance to repub-
lican principles and was strong in his advocacy of good men and meas-
ures. His community could at all times rely upon him to support bene-
ficial and progressive movements, and no man contributed in greater
degree to those things which made for better citizenship. Honest and
upright in his business dealings, public-spirited as a citizen, loyal in his
friendships, he was a man of whom Licking township had every reason
to be proud, and his death was widely and sincerely mourned. Mrs.
Peck, who was known for her many womanly qualities, passed away
July 23, 1900, in the faith of the New Light Christian church.
Samuel and Susan (Shidler) Peck were the parents of the following
children : Marcus, who is eighty-five years of age, lives in Licking
township, is married and has one son and three daughters; Abraham,
who is deceased, had three sons and one daughter; Susanna, who mar-
ried David Ballinger, and at her death left four children ; Elsie, deceased,
who was the wife of Lewis Carmichael and had four children; Mary,
living in Hartford City, the widow of Henry Cline, has a son and a
daughter; Julia, who married first Farris Bobo, by whom she had
seven children, and second P. Welsh, and lives at Hartford City;
Cassia Ann, deceased, who married first Mr. Babb, and for her second
husband Mr. Minnehall, and had three sons by the latter union:
Prudence, who married Mr. Hollingshead, by whom she had a son and a
daughter, and as her second husband J. B. Seaman, and resides at Dun-
kirk, Indiana ; Peter, who enlisted as a soldier in Company I, One Hun-
dred Thirtieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain
Ritter, for service during the Civil War, in a battle before Atlanta was
killed by a Confederate sharpshooter; Elizabeth, the wife of William For-
man, of Dunkirk, Indiana, a veteran of the Civil War ; Elias D., who was
born, reared and educated on the old homestead, and died in December,
1883, married Susan Long, of Eaton, Delaware county, Indiana, who died
at the age of twenty-six years, leaving a son, Burrell G. ; and Rebecca.
Miss Rebecca Peek is one of the most widely known and greatly be-
loved ladies of Licking township. She was born on the farm which
she now owns and operates, a tract of 100 acres, and was carefully reared
and educated. She devoted her life to the care of her parents until they
died, and has never married. A devoted member of the Methodist
church, she has taken an active part in its work, and is also widely known
for her charity and kind heartedness. When her nephew, Burrell G. Peck,
who was born in October, 1882, was left an orphan, she took him into
her home and heart, carefully reared him, and gave him good educa-
tional advantages in the public schools and the normal school at Val-
paraiso, Indiana, from which institution he was graduated with the
class of 1905. He has been a credit to her careful and devoted train-
ing, and has developed into a successful business man, being engaged
extensively in general farming and breeding cattle and swine. Mr. Peck
married an Eaton, Indiana, girl, Miss Eva Mitchel, who was also edu-
cated at Valparaiso and for some years was a school teacher, and they
have one son : Joseph Mitchel, born April 23, 1913.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 29
Captain Alexander Gable. An honored soldier of the great civil
conflict between the states, in which he rose to the rank of captain and
commanded his company in some of. the great campaigns of the war.
Captain Alexander Gable has for more than forty-five years lived in
Hartford City, and until his retirement, was one of the prominent build-
ing contractors. Skill in woodworking trades has been characteristic
of the family, and his father before him was a proficient cabinet-maker,
learning the trade in the German fatherland and using it as the basis
of a prosperous business career in America.
Captain Alexander Gable was born in Louisville, Kentucky, Octo-
ber 7, 1836. His father, Charles Gable, was born in Hesse Darmstadt,
Germany, in 1805, and as he grew up served a thorough apprenticeship
of seven years in the cabinet-making trade. After that he followed his
business as a journeyman until twenty-five years of age, and then em-
barked on a vessel at Lyons, France, and finally landed in Baltimore,
Maryland. From cabinet-making be turned his skill to the making of
chairs and also pianos. While in Baltimore he married Margaret Har-
good. a native of Baltimore, of an old Maryland family of Welsh an-
cestry. In Baltimore their first son. Charles, Jr.. was born, and they
then took passage on the canal and down the Ohio river to Louisville.
Kentucky. Charles Gable in Louisville conducted a chair factory, also
had an undertaking establishment, and employed several hands. One of
his apprentices was the late W. W. Curry, formerly secretary of State
of Indiana, who served for seven years in the Gable shop as did his
brother. Robert. From Louisville Charles Gable moved to Charlestown,
Indiana, and eonthrued his business there until his death in 1859. His
widow died at the age of seventy-six years. Of their thirteen children,
Captain Gable was the third, and there is a son, Charles C, now living
in Cincinnati and a carpenter contractor.
Captain Gable when eleven years of age accompanied the family to
Charlestown, Indiana, and there grew to manhood, serving an appren-
ticeship at the carpenter's trade. Later lie moved to Mercer county,
Ohio, and there in 1S61 at Celina. enlisted in Company H of the Seventy-
first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. It was with the rank of second lieuten-
ant that he went to the front, and at Fort Donelson was commissioned
first lieutenant in January, 1S62. and held that rank until 1863, when.
at Gallatin, Tennessee, he was promoted captain. He led his company
in all its engagements and campaigns until after the battle of Atlanta.
and then, owdng to the ill health of his mother, he resigned his commis-
sion and returned home. His mother, who was born in 1811, died at
Dayton. Ohio, in 1886. His military service was not yet finished. After
some months at home, he recruited during the winter of 1864 and or-
ganized Company D of the One Hundred and Ninety-third Ohio Infan-
try, a regiment that was attached to what was known as Hancock's
Veteran Reserve Corps. With his company and regiment he continued
in service until after the war had closed, being mustered out on A.ugus1
12, 1865. Although he was present at some of the great battles of the
war and was almost continually on duty. Captain Gable was never
wounded nor taken prisoner, and made a splendid record as a soldier
and is one of the few surviving veterans of that great struggle. After
the war Captain Gable went to Wapakoneta. Auglaize county. Ohio, and
took up the trade in which he had been trained before the war. While
at Wapakoneta he married Caroline V. Gregg, who was born in Clark
county, Ohio, September 13, 1S43. and died at her home in Hartford
City, October 1, 1911. She grew up and was educated in Wapakoneta,
and was the daughter of Joseph Gregg and wife, farming people of that
locality.
30 BLACKFORD AND 'GRANT COUNTIES
Captain Gable has been a resident of Hartford City since February,
1868. As a business man his best service in this community was ren-
dered as a carpenter and builder, .and before he retired he had made a
splendid record of work along that line. His performance includes the
erection of many private homes and business houses, including the Van
Cleve Theatre, the Smith block, the William Reed school, which was the
first graded school building in the city. His good work along the line
of his regular vocation has been supplemented by prominence in local
affairs. During the administration of Mr. Harrison as president he held
the Hartford City postoffice, and was also a trustee of Licking township.
He is one of the popular members of Jacob Stahl Post, Grand Army of
the Republic, and has been honored with several offices in that post.
Captain Gable is the father of four living children. Nellie is the
widow of J. B. Alexander, who was in the nursery business at Hartford
City for a number of years ; her son Robert, aged seventeen, now lives in
Oklahoma City, and her daughter Ruth, aged fifteen, is a member of
the Hartford City high school class of 1916, and lives with her grand-
father, Captain Gable. Katharine, the second child, is the wife of W.
T. Allen, who is train dispatcher with the Santa Fe at Chillicothe,
Illinois, and their four sons are, Grant, William, Thomas and James.
Elizabeth, who is usually called Betsey, lives in Pittsburg, Pennsyl-
vania, the wife of H. K. Bragden, secretary of a gas company operating
in the West Virginia districts ; their children are Lois, Frances, Eleanor
and George. Caroline, the youngest child of Captain Gable, is a well
educated young woman and is now a stenographer with the Hartford
City Paper Mills Company.
Clark Stewart. The life record of an honorable, dutiful and up-
right citizen, a thorough and industrious agriculturist, and an intelli-
gent, patriotic and useful man, is illustrated in the career of Clark
Stewart, now a resident of Hartford City. Although Mr. Stewart has
reached advanced years and is now living practically retired from busi-
ness activities, he still takes a keen interest in the surging and stirring
life about him, and by reason of a long and consistently active career, in
which he won success through his own efforts, is accounted one of the
substantial men of Blackford county.
Mr. Stewart is of Scotch ancestry, and belongs to a family that early
settled in Virginia. His grandfather, James Stewart, was born in the
Old Dominion, about the time of the Revolutionary War, there married
a Miss Depaw, and after the birth of several of their children, started
overland with teams, crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati, and settled
as a pioneer in Greene county, Ohio, about the year 1812. There Mr.
Stewart took up new land from the Government and spent the remainder
of his life in the cultivation of the soil and the developing of a home,
dying many years before the Civil War, when but a little past middle
life. Mrs. Stewart survived him for some years, and died in the faith
of the Presbyterian church, of which he had' also been a member. Their
children were as follows: William, who lived in Greene county, Ohio,
and died there when fifty-five years of age, leaving children some of
whom are still living: Mary A., who married and passed away in one
of the southern states; Eli, the father of Clark Stewart; Martha, who
married William Keiser, a farmer of Greene county, Ohio, and died
there leaving issue; Rachel, who was married, but whose history has
been lost; and Nancy, who married in Ohio and died there, leaving
children.
Eli Stewart was born in Virginia, in 1800, and was about twelve years
of age when he accompanied his parents on the overland trip to Greene
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 31
county, Ohio. There his boyhood was passed amid pioneer surroundings,
his education being limited to the primitive schools, and on attaining
manhood lie embarked in farming on his own account, continuing to be
engaged therein during the remainder of his life. His death occurred
between the years 1850 and 1855. Mr. Stewart was married in Greene
county to Miss Sarah D. DeBois, who was born in Virginia, of Scotch
ancestry but Virginian parentage, and was a girl when she came to Ohio.
Following the death of her husband, Mrs. Stewart moved to Clinton
county, Ohio, and in 1852, with her children, Jacob K., Mrs. Pereilla
Ann Lyon, Clark, Martha J. and Sarah Melissa, came overland with
teams to Indiana and purchased a home in Jackson township, Blackford
county, and in the development of that wild tract continued to be
engaged until her death, in 1857, when she was fifty-seven years of age.
She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and a woman
of large heart and fine mind. Mrs. Stewart was the mother of the fol-
lowing children: James and Calvin, who died young and weir buried
in Ohio; Pereilla Ann, who became the wife of James Lyon; Sarah, who
is the widow of William M. Stahl, and the mother of two children, —
Eugene, who is married and lives in Florida, and Cora, the wife of
Hugh Beelman of Chicago, Illinois; Jacob R., who married in Ran-
dolph county, Indiana, a Miss Silvers and died without issue: .Martha
J., who died after her marriage to Ebenezer Chaffee, a veteran of the
Civil War. who survives and resides in the National Soldiers' Home, and
has five children ; and Clark.
Clark Stewart was about sixteen years of age when he accompanied
his mother, brother and sisters on the overland journey from Ohio, and
in Jackson township he completed his education in the public schools
and grew to manhood. After becoming of age he purchased the eighty-
acre tract of land belonging to the heirs, in section 17, but in Ls7o dis-
posed of this land and three years later bought 122 acres of the property
which he now owns. To this he added from time to time, until he now
owns 280 acres, all in one body, and the majority under cultivation,
with excellent improvements, including a comfortable modern residence,
and three large and substantial barns, in addition to well-built out-
buildings. The land is well drained and fenced, and is equipped witli
machinery and appliances of the latest manufacture, so that all in all
it is one of the model farms of this part of the county, and a monument
to the industry, thrift and good management of its owner. In addition
to general farming, Mr. Stewart has been extensively engaged in the
raising of stock, devoting his attentions largely in this line to Short Horn
cattle and mixed swine. A part of his land is devoted to the raising
of alfalfa and he also has extensive grass meadows for his large, well-
fed and contented herds. For a number of years Mr. Stewart has
resided in Hartford City, where he is well known and highly esteemed
by all with whom he has come into contact, but has continued to super-
intend the operations on his land.
Mr. Stewart has an excellent record as a soldier, and bears honorable
wounds received while defending his country's integrity. At the first
call for three-year men, in 1861, Mr. Stewart became a member of Com-
pany 1. Thirty-fourth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and re-
ceived his first real baptism of fire at the fierce engagement at New
Madrid. Subsequently he took part in the battles of New Haven and
Champion Hills, and at the latter battle received a gunshot wound in
the right shoulder and lay on the battlefield for several days before
being taken to the field hospital. Later he was sent to Memphis, but
the journey was so long and trying that fever set in. followed by gan-
grene, and the limb became practically useless. Mr. Stewart carries
32 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
with credit this mark of his service as a soldier of his country, and also
keeps the bullet that so nearly ended his life. At the end of his three
years, Mr. Stewart received his honorable discharge, and returned to
his home to resume the activities of peace.
In 1865 Mr. Stewart was married at Muncie, Indiana, to Miss Alice
Andrews, who was born in 1840, in Delaware county, Indiana, and
educated there, a daughter of David and Rachel (Mansfield) Andrews,
early settlers of that county, Mr. Andrews being a farmer and merchant
at Muncie. Mrs. Stewart died at her home in Hartford City, October
19, 1899, in the faith of the Christian church, with which she had
been connected for years as one of its most active workers. Mr. and
Mrs. Stewart were the parents of the following children : Nettie A., who
died in 1882, at the age of eighteen years, while still a student ; Frank,
who is connected with the paper mills of Hartford City, married Carrie
Klinger and has five children, — Charles, Nettie, Eppie, Eulita and Jesse
Arthur; and Charles and Clarence, twins, the former of whom died at
the age of four, while the latter, a stock buyer and shipper and wool
buyer of Hartford City, married Lizzie Fox, and has two daughters,
Ruth and Hazle, and a son, Clark Stewart, Jr. ; Ruth married Guy
Gerher, a teacher of Hartford City, and has one son, Richard Johnson,
the great-grandson of Clark Stewart. Mr. Stewart married for his second
wife, in Hartford City, Miss Eppie McMillan, who was born in Clinton
county, Ohio, was well educated, and there became a teacher in the public
schools, subsequently going to South Dakota, where she taught for thir-
teen years. She then came to Hartford City, Indiana, and two years
later married Mr. Stewart. She is a daughter of William and Elizabeth
(Henry) McMillan, the former born in Virginia and the latter in Penn-
sylvania, and both of whom came as young people to Clinton county,
Ohio, where they were married and spent their entire lives. Mr. Mc-
Millan was a carpenter and contractor, and died at the age of seventy-
three years, in the faith of the Quaker church, while his widow, who
survived him sixteen years, was seventy-two years old at the time of her
demise and passed away in the Lutheran faith.
Mr. Stewart is a republican in political affairs and has taken a prom-
inent part in movements making for the welfare of the community in
which he has resided for so many years. He can be depended upon
absolutely to support those activities which make for advancement in
morality," civic pride, religion and good citizenship, and his influence
is helpful and far-reaching. He has shown some interest in fraternal
matters, belonging to the Chapter and Council of the Masonic order, and
being treasurer of both of these bodies, and both he and Mrs. Stewart
are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. He belongs to Jacob
Stahl Post No. 227, Grand Army of the Republic, and Mrs. Stewart
has been prominent in the Relief Corps, of which she has been a mem-
ber and earnest worker since 1885. She is past state department presi-
dent of the Relief Corps of South Dakota, and is ex-president of the
local order, of which she is at present secretary. Both she and Mr. Stew-
art are widely and favorably known in Hartford City, and their friends
are as numerous as their acquaintances.
Joseph W. Pierce. In Joseph W. Pierce. Licking township has a
farmer who conforms his labor to high standards, and who has advanced
to prosperity on the homely qualities of industry, good judgment and
perseverance. Following the trend of modern ideas, he has also done
considerable specializing, and a part of his handsome sixty-acre prop-
erty is devoted to the raising of a variety of kinds of strawberries. He
has owned his present farm since 1907 and lived thereon since 1908,
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 33
but already it is indicative of his individuality, and in every respect is
an ideal country home.
Mr. Pierce was born in Monroe township. Grant county, Indiana,
January 6. 1866, and is a son of Drew Binum Pierce. His grand lather.
James Pierce, was born in North Carolina, of an honored family of the
Old North state, and there married a Miss Sheffield, and about the year
l!S42 came to Indiana, purchasing a home in Monroe township, Grant
county. There he passed the balance of his life engaged in clearing and
cultivating his forty acres, and died when about sixty years of age. while
his widow survived him about twelve years and was past seventy years
old at the time of her demise. They were honorable and honored people
and faithful church members, and reared their children to lives of
usefulness, industry and integrity. Six children were born to them:
Little Berry. Henry, Drew Binum, Elizabeth and two others, and all
grew to maturity and were married. All are now deceased with the
exception of Drew B. Pierce, who was born in North Carolina, Septem-
ber 1, 1832. He was about ten years of age when he accompanied his
parents on the long overland trip from the southern home to the wilds
of Indiana, and his boyhood and youth were passed amid pioneer sur-
roundings. He early adopted the vocation of agriculturist as his life
work, and has continued being engaged in farming throughout his life,
now residing on the farm which formerly belonged to his father-in-law,
but which he now owns. He has in all about 180 acres of land, nearly
all of which is under cultivation, and in addition to general farming
operations carries on extensive stock growing. Mr. Pierce was married
in the vicinity of the old homestead in Monroe township to .Miss Sarah
0. Maddox. who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, February 2:!. 1838,
and was fourteen years of age when she came to this state with her par-
ents, Thomas and Asenath (Yeoman) Maddox. The journey, made with
teams, was a slow and tedious one, but the family and their belongings
were kept together until reaching the new home in Monroe township.
Here Mr. Maddox purchased 900 acres of land, on which he and his wife
labored hard to develop a home, and reared a family of ten children.
There Mr. Maddox died about the time of the outbreak of the Civil War,
while the widow survived him for a long period, living to be past ninety
years of age and passing away at the home of a daughter at Marion.
1 She and her husband were the founders of the United Brethren church
in Monroe township, and Mr. Maddox filled the pulpit on numerous
occasions as a lay or local preacher. The old stock of the Maddox fam-
ily were whigs and republicans, while the old Pierces were democrats,
although Drew B. Pierce has been a republican all of his life. He and
his wife are consistent members and steady attendants of the United
Brethren church, still being active and alert in spite of their advanced
years. They have had a family of eleven children, as follows : Levi 0.,
who died in infancy ; Dottie, who died when thirteen years of age ; Jane,
who is the widow of L. B. Oliver, resides at Marion and has two children,
— Warren and Theodosia ; J. Thomas, the owner of 200 acres of fine
land in Grant county, who is married and has two children, — Olga Drew
and B. Lenor ; Catherine, who is the wife of Joseph Hoskin. has three
children, — Glenn, Maybell and Fred: Asenath, widow of James Rinard,
who has two boys. — Roy and Paul ; Joseph W., of this review : George
W., a resident of Jefferson township. Grant county, who is married to
Maggie Turner, of Blackford county, and has a son. — Orval; Dustin,
the owner of a large farm in Monroe township, married Ruth Dollar
and has two children, — Gale and Dahl ; Roy, living on his father's home-
stead, married Bessie Robb, and has seven children,— Vera, Mildred,
Georgia, Harold, Mary, Wilber and an infant; and Charles, a resident
of the city of Marion, who married Dora Johnson, and has no issue.
34 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Joseph W. Pierce grew up on the old homestead place and was
granted ordinary educational advantages in the schools of his locality,
but made the most of his opportunities and qualified as a teacher, fol-
lowing that vocation for some eight years. He then returned to the home
farm, upon which he lived until he was past thirty years of age, at which
time he was married and came to his present property. Here he has
sixty acres of land under a high state of cultivation, devoted to corn,
oats and rye, although a part of the farm, as before stated, is reserved
for the growing of several varieties of strawberries, in the marketing of
which Mr. Pierce has met with gratifying success. On his broad pastures
may also be found a fine grade of live stock, Mr. Pierce being an excel-
lent judge of cattle. His property presents a handsome and attractive
appearance with its large yellow house and commodious red barn and
outbuildings, and everything about the farm is in the best of order, testi-
fying eloquently to the thrift and good management of the owner.
Mr. Pierce was married May 26, 1897, in Blackford county, Indiana,
to Miss Ella Rinard, who was born, reared and educated in Harrison
township, that county, and prior to her marriage was also a teacher in
the public schools. She is a daughter of William and Emma (Shockley)
Rinard, old and well-known farming people of Harrison township, and" a
granddaughter of Doctor Shockley, an old physician of Henry county,
where Mrs. Rinard was born and reared. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have one
daughter, Edna, born March 1, 1900, and now a member of the fresh-
man class of the Hartford City High school. Mr. Pierce is independent
in his political views, preferring to make his own choice of the candidate
he believes best fitted for public service. He has never desired pre-
ferment on his own account, but has contented himself with being a good
and public-spirited citizen, ready at all times to contribute to the gen-
eral welfare and advancement of his community.
Hiram M. Lucas. The life record of Hiram M. Lucas of Licking
township, is an exemplification of well directed and intelligent industry,
of devotion to the best interests of the community, and of promotion
of the best tenets of agriculture. Born in this township, he has passed
his entire career within its borders, practically all of his life being spent
on the farm on which he now resides, and his long term of industrious
and well-directed labor has been rewarded by the accumulation of a
handsome property of 160 acres and the attainment of the esteem and
regard of those with whom he has been brought into contact. Mr. Lucas
was born on a farm in Licking township, Blackford county, Indiana,
December 6, 1869, and is a son of Noah and Elizabeth (McCausland)
Lucas.
Adam Lucas was born in Germany, about 1770, and was brought to
the United States about the time of the Revolutionary War, the family
settling in York county, Pennsylvania, where he spent the remainder
of his life in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife lived to advanced
ages and became the parents of a large family of children. Jacob
Lucas, son of Adam, and grandfather of Hiram M. Lucas, was born in
York county, Pennsylvania, and in his youth adopted the vocation of
his father, thoroughly training himself as an agriculturist. He was mar-
ried in York county to Miss Elizabeth Emig, who was born in that county
in 1804 of German parentage and had there been reared and educated
in the public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Lucas were married in 1823, and
immediately after their union started on a trip overland in teams to
what was then Richland (now Morrow) county, Ohio, where Mr. Lucas
entered land. At first they were compelled to live in their wagon for
want of better shelter, but Mr. Lucas soon erected a log cabin, and
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 35
into this the young couple moved their modest household effects. Set-
tling down to agricultural operations, they continued to be so engaged
during the remainder of their lives, becoming substantial and highly re-
spected people of the community. Both attained advanced years, Airs.
Lucas passing away May 27, 1S85, when in her eighty-first year, while
Mr. Lucas died January 16, 1880, when seventy-nine years of age. Jacob
and Elizabeth (Emig) Lucas were the parents of seven children, as
follows: Noah; Eli, who is residing in Nebraska; Epsiba, Catherine,
Sarah and Julia, who all grew up, were married, had children, and are
now deceased; and one daughter who died single in infancy.
Noah Lucas, father of Hiram M., was born iu the little log cabin
home in Morrow county, Ohio, February 29, 1824, and grew up on the
old home place, his education being secured in the public schools. Mr.
Lucas continued to reside on the old farm as a bachelor until January
19, 1869, when he was married to Miss Elizabeth MeCausland, who was
born April 12, 1846, and died April 19, 1884, at the home in Licking
township. She was a woman of many estimable qualities and was much
interested in church and Sunday school work, rearing her children to
lives of industry. Noah Lucas is still living, and although more than
ninety years of age retains his faculties in a remarkable degree and
still takes a keen interest in all activities that go on about him. He was
for years a democrat, but recently has become a supporter of progressive
principles. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lucas, namely :
Hiram M., of this review; Ada, born November 11, 1871, educated in
the public schools, married Harry Vanderbur, and had two children, —
Ethel and Herbert, the former married and the mother of one child;
and for her second husband Ada married Lewis Eberling, of Dunkirk,
Indiana ; and Harrison N., born February 16, 1873, engaged in farming
in Licking township, married Eva Cook, and has three children, — Clif-
ford, Esther and Lester.
Hiram M. Lucas was only four months of age when his parents came
to section 21, Licking township, and settled on a part of his present farm,
they becoming the owners of eighty acres of land. On this farm he grew
to manhood, in the meanwhile securing his education in the district
schools, and when his father was ready to retire from active life he
assumed the management of the homestead, to which he has since added
an additional eighty acres. He has the entire property under a good
state of cultivation, and raises oats, wheat and rye, with fine clover and
grass land for the feeding of all kinds of stock. The land is well drained,
and boasts of the latest improvements, including two sets of substantial
buildings. A man of scrupulous honor, during his entire life he has
observed fairness and consideration toward his fellow men, and his
standing in his community is that of a well balanced, progressive and
energetic citizen, intensely interested in all that pertains to the general
welfare. \ Q -f '
On April 28, 1900, Mr. Lucas was married t%-*Mi*s~Nt»llre Wagner,
who was born in Union county, Indiana, January 11, 1871, and edu-
cated there until she was sixteen years of age, at which time she came
to Blackford county with her parents, George W. and Mary J. (Leon-
ard) Wagner, natives of Union county. Mr. Wagner was born Janu-
ary 29, 1845, a son of George C. and Elizabeth (McAfee) Wagner, the
former born in Maryland. June 4. 1798. and died in Union county.
Indiana, January 28, 1878, and the latter born in Ohio, in 1803,
died June 10, 1849. Mrs. Mary J. (Leonard) Wagner died October 4.
1910, having been the mother of eight children: Mrs. Lucas: Mattie,
born October 2, 1872, now the wife of Mason Weaver, of Dunkirk, In-
diana; Daniel, a farmer of Adams county. Indiana, married Minnie
36 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Burns, and has one son, — Virgil; Lissie, the wife of Carey Reynolds,
living on a farm in Blackford county, has one daughter — Helen; Orval,
a farmer of Jay county, Indiana, married Nellie Barnes, and has two
children, — Maybelle and Don; Arlie, a farmer of Licking township,
Blackford county, operating eighty acres of Mr. Lucas' farm, married
Ethel Wingate of Delaware county, and has three children, — Cleo, Gail
and Ruth Ileen; Myrtle, the wife of Jesse Stoker, of Dunkirk, has one
child, — Mildred; and Herbert, single, who is engaged in railroad work.
Mr. and Mrs. Lucas have one child, — Audrey, born August 17, 1907,
who is attending the graded schools. They are connected religiously
with the United Brethren church. In political matters Mr. Lucas is a
progressive.
Renner Stock Farm. One of the finest properties in Blackford
county, Indiana, is a tract of 530 acres lying in section 6, and known
as the Renner Stock Farm, which has a state-wide reputation for breed-
ing fine cattle, hogs and horses. Much of the success of this enterprise
is due to the excellent management and ability of its superintendent,
Adam C. Clippinger, who during the seven years that he has been in
charge has so capably handled its affairs as to win a place for himself
among the men whose activities have made this one of the leading
agricultural sections of the state. Mr. Clippinger was born near Hamil-
ton, Butler county, Ohio, September 20, 1860, and is a son of Adam
and Sarah (Everson) Clippinger.
Adam Clippinger, the grandfather of Adam of this review', was the
founder of the family in Ohio, going thence from his home in Green-
castle, Pennsylvania, in 1832. He was a farmer by vocation and for
many years carried on successful operations in Butler county, where he
died when about sixty years of age. His widow survived him for a
long period and was past ninety years of age at the time of her death.
Adam Clippinger, their son and the father of Adam of this review, was
born at Greeneastle, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1824, and was eight years
of age when he accompanied his parents to Butler county, Ohio. He
grew up amid rural surroundings and was given ordinary educational
advantages in the district schools of his day and community, and when
he embarked upon his own career adopted agricultural pursuits for his
field of endeavor. Through a life of industry and earnest effort he
accumulated a good property, and died one of the substantial men of his
community, in March, 1903, being within a few days of eighty years of
age. He was married in 1843 to Miss Elizabeth White, who died
in middle life, July 19, 1857, leaving seven children, all of whom were
married and had children and five of whom are still living. On January
29, 1858, Mr. Clippinger married Sarah Everson, who died in
January, 1904, in the faith of the United Brethren church. Mr. Clip-
pinger was a whig at first and later a republican, and his religious affilia-
tion was with the Lutheran church. Four children were born to Adam
and Sarah J. Clippinger; Jennie, who married (for her second husband)
Joseph Hughes and lives at Van Wert, Ohio, the mother of two daugh-
ters; Adam C, of this review; Emma, a widow living in California and
the mother of two sons ; and Jacob, living on a farm at Middletown, Ohio,
is married, but has no children.
Adam Clippinger was given good educational advantages in Butler
county, Ohio, while being reared to manhood on his father's farm, and
for twenty years was engaged in carrying on farming on his own
account. In 1907, however, he accepted the superintendeucy of the
Renner Stock Farm, in section 6, Licking township, Blackford county,
Indiana, although he is still the owner of an eighty-acre property on
Dry Fox Creek, Hamilton county, Ohio.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 37
The Renner Stock Farm, as before stated, is a tract of 530 acres, the
greater part being under a high state of cultivation. Here are grown
all the cereals under the most approved modern methods, and about
half the land is reserved for pasture for the famous stock which conns
from this property. The land has four barns, two being particularly
commodious, one 80x100 feet and the other 60x80 feet, and live homes
are. also here, in which live the employes, from four to six in number,
in addition to the superintendent. The farm supports 100 head of the fin-
est cattle, large droves of Hampshire hogs and many line saddle horses.
These latter are now known as among the finest in the country, includ-
ing the great grand champion, "'Poetry of Motion," the undefeated show
horse for several years, which was born and bred on this farm. Other
prize-winning road and saddle horses have been bred on Renner. The in-
dividual at the head of the tine herd of cattle is •"Bullion IV," a double
standard Poland-Hereford bull, that was bred and made an unparalleled
record in Canada, a famous champion weighing over 1700 pounds ami
as a two-year old valued at more than .$2,000. Another bull. "Dominion,"
which weighed over 2200 pounds when three years old, was bred on tins
farm. Every animal on this property is registered and high bred, the
herd comparing with the finest in the United States, while the demand
for this farm's stock is usually far in advance of the supply, orders
frequently coming from outside countries. A Pennsylvania railroad sta-
tion, known as Renner. is maintained here, four trains arrive and leave
daily, and all the stock is shipped over this line. The property is now-
owned by B. Johnson, of Richmond, Indiana, and has been known as the
Renner Stock Farm for twenty-two years. During the past seven years
Mr. Clippinger has been in complete control of the operations on this land,
handling it as though it were his own and being given full authority
to use his own judgment in hiring its employes, in buying and selling
its stock and in planning and erecting its buildings. He has shown
himself a thorough and competent business man. with excellent execu-
tive ability and a masterful knowledge of farming and stock raising
conditions and methods.
Mr. Clippinger was married to Miss Rebecca Wear, of Butler
county, Ohio, who died there in 1886, at the age of twenty-four years,
leaving two children : Earl, a railroad engineer, who is single and past
twenty -five years of age; and Wilbur, who lives on his father's farm in
Ohio, married Elsie Taylor, and has a son, Marion, born February
29, 1912. Mr. Clippinger was married at Harrison. Ohio, Feb-
ruary 24, 1890, to Miss Josephine Yeager, who was born at Harrison,
Hamilton county, Ohio, December 10, 1859, and educated in the graded
and high schools, daughter of Joseph and Jane (Brown) Yeager. Mr.
Yeager was born in 1810, in Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio in young
manhood and was there engaged in farming throughout his life, dying
in 1882. Mrs. Yeager was born in 1814. in Hamilton county. Ohio, of
Welsh ancestry, and died in 1875, at Harrison.
Mr. and Mrs. Clippinger are the parents of two children : Rose, aged
twenty-two years, graduated from the Hartford City High school and
the normal department of Miami University, and is now a teacher in
the schools of Troy, Ohio, where she is popular with those who know her;
and Harry, born November 2. 1896. a sophomore in the Hartford City
High school. Mr. and Mrs. Clippinger are members of the United Breth-
ren Church. In politics he is a republican, but has not taken an active part
in political affairs, although the welfare of his community lias ever
held his' interest. His career has been one of activity and usefulness
and has been crowned with well-merited success and the esteem of those
who have met him in either a business or social way.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
William Y. Williams. The most gratifying compensations of agri-
cultural experience have rewarded the good judgment and untiring
industry of William Y. Williams, the owner of a finely cultivated farm
of eighty acres, located in Licking township, and a man whose progress
and enterprise have been demonstrated in numerous ways. Like a
number of the successful men of Blackford county, he has spent his
entire life on the farm which he now owns, and although still a young
man has had broad experience which enables him to accomplish the best
results from his operations.
Mr. Williams was born on his present farm, in section 20, Licking
township, Blackford county, Indiana, January 8, 1885, and is a son of
Alonzo and Emma (Gettys) Williams, natives of Blackford county,
where the former was born in 1864 and the latter in 1866. Both par-
ents were reared and educated in this county and after their marriage
settled on a small farm, to which they added as the years passed until
they finally possessed 300 acres. Industrious and thrifty, hard-working
and persevering, they accumulated a handsome competence, so that in
November, 1913, they were able to retire to Hartford City, dividing their
property up amongst their married sons. They now have a comfort-
able residence, located on a large lot on South Jefferson street, and are
known as among the most substantial people of the city. Politically Mr.
Williams is a republican, but he has not cared for public life. Six chil-
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, namely : John, born in
1888, reared and educated in Licking township, where he resides on his
father's farm, married Nellie Armitage, daughter of Liberty T. Armit-
age, a sketch of whose career appears elsewhere in this volume, and has
three children : William Y. ; Charles E., aged twenty-eight years, resid-
ing on a farm in Licking township, married Terpola Townsend and has
one daughter,— Ruth H. ; Lydia, who is the wife. of Ira Gross, a farmer
of Licking township, and has no children ; Deborah, residing at home, a
high school student of the class of 1915 ; and Helen J., who is a student
in the graded schools.
William Y. Williams received good educational advantages in his
youth, and for a few years was engaged in teaching, but eventually
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, in which he has continued
to be engaged to the present time. Mr. Williams is now the owner of
one of the good farms of the township, with eighty acres under a high
state of cultivation, the land fitted with the most modern improvements,
and a fine set of buildings, including a large five-room white house and
a commodious and substantial barn. He has devoted the greater part
of his attention to raising grain and hay, in which he has met with suc-
cess because of intelligent methods and good management, and has also
been an extensive stock raiser, having good cattle, horses and hogs, which
find a ready market and command top-notch prices. Like his father,
Mr. Williams has not cared for public life, although a stanch supporter
of. all good movements in his community. His political adherence is
given to the republican party.
Mr. Williams was married March 4. 1908, to Miss Florence E. Stover,
and they have two children: Samuel M., born April 15, 1909; and
Robert P., born April 11, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Williams .attend the
Methodist church, in the work of which she has been particularly active.
Both are popular among a wide circle of acquaintances, than whom their
friends are no less.
John A. Newbauer. The combination of talents that makes for suc-
cess in several lines of human endeavor is not a common one, for in
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 39
these days of keen competition to successfully pursue even one given
vocation calls for abilities of more than an ordinary character. It is
not often that the professional man becomes a successful financier; the
mechanic seldom gaius a full measure of prosperity in agricultural pur-
suits; nor do those versed in the higher arts and sciences always suc-
ceed in the marts of trade aud commerce. In the career of John A.
Newbauer, however, there is to be found an illustration of the posses-
sion of versatile talents, combining to make him at once a successful
farmer, merchant and financier, with a keen and analytical mind, a taste
for literature and a uature that makes him a welcome addition to auy
social circle. Although now living somewhat retired from active busi-
ness life, Mr. Newbauer still takes a keen and active interest in affairs
of his community, and is known as one of Hartford City's most repre-
sentative men.
The grandparents of Mr. Newbauer were uatives of Alsace-Lorraine,
and were married in the state of Alsace, when it was under French con-
trol, continuing to reside there during their lives and become well-to-do
and respected people. They were the parents of several sous, including
Jacob Newbauer, the father of Johu A. He was born in Alsace in 1824
and grew up there, being married to Elizabeth Lorenz, who was born
there about 1826, and, like her husband, was of French-German parent-
age. Owing to lack of harmony iu the home, Jacob Newbauer decided
to leave and seek a new country in which to live. He had heard wonder-
ful tales of the opportunities awaiting the ambitious and determined
in the land across the ocean, and accordingly took passage on a vessel
bound for America. A journey of forty days and forty nights followed,
in which the emigrants suffered many hardships, but eventually they
landed at New York City, from whence they made their way to Penn-
sylvania, where their first child was born. Later they went, to Cleve-
land, Ohio, and later, about 1846 moved to Darke county, Ohio, where
they improved a farm near Greenville, there in the woods clearing a
farm and building a log cabin, and, in time, becoming successful people.
At this time the country in Darke county was practically in its primi-
tive state. Wild turkeys were to be found iu abundance, small game
was plentiful in the dense timber, squirrels and wild hogs still destroyed
crops continually unless carefully watched. Neighbors were few and
far between, and educational advantages were to be obtained only dur-
ing several months of each winter, and then usually only after a long
and difficult tramp to the primitive little log cabin that served as the
schoolroom. Amid these surroundings John A. Newbauer was born
October 17, 1847. He grew up on his father's farm, which he helped
to cultivate, and in spite of his lack of opportunities secured an excel-
lent education, being always at the head of his class. On one occasion,
when a mere lad. he '"spelled down" all the spellers of Union City
and won as a prize a fifteen-dollar Webster's dictionary. Always am-
bitious and aspiring, a great reader and student, he became well informed
on many subjects of importance, and is today one of the best educated
men in his community. He gave the same assiduous attention to learn-
ing every detail of farm work, and thus was able to take his place among
the agriculturists of his section, and to win success in his competition
with them. In 1873 he first came to Hartford City, and here pur-
chased a half interest in a meat market. It was at that time that the
great financial panic came on, business was at a standstill, it was im-
possible to collect money, and firm after firm and business man after
business man went down to ruin. Although he was still a young man.
with but little experience in business, Mr. Newbauer was able to weather
40 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
this financial storm, and came out with colors flying, where many older
men had been compelled to acknowledge defeat. For fifteen years .he
continued to successfully conduct this venture, and he then again turned
his attention to pursuits of an agricultural nature. He still owns 110
acres of fine farming land adjoining Hartford City, and continues to
give it the benefit of his able management and supervision. In addi-
tion he has forty-seven and one-half acres located in Darke county, Ohio,
and this land, like the other, is under a high state of cultivation. He
has a valuable gravel pit on his farm in the vicinity of Hartford City,
and various other interests have attracted his attention and enlisted his
abilities at different times. For twenty-two years he was engaged in deal-
ing in farming implements, building supplies, etc., but this is being
conducted at this time by his sons, while he gives his attention to the
management of his farm. For five years he was cashier of the Black-
ford County Bank, of which he was the organizer in 1892, and continues
to be vice-president and a member of the board of directors thereof. In
financial matters, as in business, he has ever held the full confidence of
his associates, not alone in a business way, but because of his well-known
integrity and straightforward dealing. His beautiful home is located at
No. 220 South High street, and is furnished with every modern com-
fort and convenience. Mr. Newbauer is enjoying life in a manner be-
fitting one who has labored long and faithfully and who has won the
right of rest from his strenuous toil of former years. In his political
views a democrat, he has served as township trustee for more than seven
years, served as a member of the city council for several terms, and was
recently elected a county council but declined to serve. In his official
capacities, he endeavored to aid his community in every way, thus prov-
ing himself a helpful and public-spirited citizen.
Mr. Newbauer was married in Hartford City, to Miss Elizabeth
Bolner, who was born in the vicinity of Hartford City, and lived with
her brother during her earlier years, having lost her parents when still
a child. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Newbauer: Hazel,
who died at the age of nine years; George H., a sketch of whose career
appears on another page of this work; Altha, the wife of George Har-
vey, engaged in draying in Hartford City: Robert L., single, who is
manager of his father's farming implement business; Eva V., deputy
in the county treasurer's office under her brother, George H., and one
child who died in infancy. The children have been given good educa-
tional advantages, passing through the public and high schools of Hart-
ford City, and have been well fitted for the honorable positions they are
now filling in life. All have proved a credit to their community and to
their training. Mr. Newbauer has been much interested in work of a
fraternal nature, and has been connected with the various orders of Odd-
fellowship for over forty years. He has been district deputy grand
master for a period of fifteen years, financial secretary for sixteen years,
and was the organizer of the lodge and encampment, as well as the can-
ton, of the order at Hartford City. He has also been a member of the
Red Men for twenty-five years and was recently elected a representative
to the great council of Indiana.
Levi Thompson Stanley. That farming can be developed into one
of the most agreeable and satisfying occupations in which men engage,
that industry, perseverance and good judgment form the foundation
for a successful career, and that integrity and honesty are among the
most valuable of human assets, are facts emphasized in the life of
the late Levi T. Stanley, who during a long period carried on successful
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 41
operations in stockraising and farming in Licking township, Blackford
county, and passed away at his home, February 13, 1903. Mr. Stanley
was a native of Indiana, having been born in Randolph county. Septem-
ber 27, 1859, and a son of Zachariah and Sarah (Cox) Stanley.
Mr. Stanley belongs to the old and honored Quaker family of that
name, of Wayne county,, whose members, belonging to the Society of
Friends, contributed so generously to the founding and maintenance
of Earlham College, of Richmond. After their marriage, the parents of
Mr. Stanley settled on a farm in Randolph county, Indiana, where they
made their home for some years, and then went to a farm near Eaton,
Delaware county. There the father passed away when about fifty
years of age, and Mrs. Stanley subsequently married Robert Lanning
and lived at Mill Grove, Blackford county, where they remained ful-
some years. After the death of Mr. Laning his widow went to Eaton,
and there passed away at the age of seventy-three years, in tie' faith
of the Methodist church. She was the mother of nine children, of
of whom two are deceased, five grew to maturity, were married and are
now deceased, and the oldest and the youngest, who are the only ones
living, are married but have no children.
Levi Stanley, the third of the family in order of birth, was still a
lad when his parents went to Delaware county, and there secured Ids
education in the public schools. The vocation of agriculturist was chosen
as his life work, and when he was reared to establish a home of his
own he married Mary Lanning, who was born in Mill Grove, Black-
ford county. Indiana, in 1864. She was educated there and was
a teacher prior to her marriage, and died at her home in Licking town-
ship, January 7. 1892. She was the mother of one son, Ralph, who
was given a good education, is now manager for the Knott Manufactur-
ing Company, of Tell City. Indiana, married Elsie Scheafer, and has
one son, Rudolph. Mr. Stanley was married to Miss Charlottie
Thorp, at Eaton, Delaware county, February -t. 189'!. She was
born at Kendallville, Noble county, Indiana, March 15, 1869. was born
and reared in that village and educated in the public schools. After
their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stanley lived for a time on the Atkinson
farm, in Licking township, for two years, then moving to north of Hart-
ford City, where they lived for five years, and finally moved to the
present farm in section 18, Licking township, a tract of eighty acres
and one of the best of its size in the county, entirely equipped with
the latest and most valuable improvements. Here are located a com-
fortable, seven-room white house, and a good red barn, 30x40 feet, in
addition to which there are other buildings substantial in character and
attractive in architecture. Everything about the property suggests the
presence of able management and thrift, and such are indeed found
here, for since her husband's death Mrs. Stanley has had entire charge
of the place and has made its operations a decided success Following
in the plan laid out by her husband, she raises large crops of wheat,
hay, oats and corn, the land being well drained in spite of the presence
of a plentiful supply of water, and has also had satisfactory dealings
in the line of live stock. Mr. Stanley was a good and public-spirited
citizen, and his community found in him one who could ever be de-
pended upon to suppoi-t beneficial movements and to give of the best
of himself, his time or his means in behalf of the community's welfare.
He was a democrat, although not a politician, and had friends among
the members of all the political parties.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stanley: Hazel 0.. bom
October 9, 1895, a graduate of the Hartford City High school, class
42 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
of 1913, and now a student of music ; Russell 0., born September 17,
1899, and now in his second year at high school; and one child who died
in infancy. Mrs. Stanley is a member of the Methodist Epsicopal
church, is widely known in this part of the county, and has numerous
friends who admire her for her many admirable qualities of mind and
heart.
Prank F. Dougherty. In the general real estate, and fire and life
insurance business at Hartford City, representing the State Life In-
surance Company and several fire companies, Frank F. Dougherty has
been thus established as a factor in Blackford county commercial life
for the past ten years. The State Life Insurance Company regards
Mr. Dougherty as one of its ablest representatives, has implicit faith
in Lis loyalty and faithfulness to the company, and his ability and
practical achievement in the insurance field ranks him as one of the
most capable business getters in the state. He has been with the State
Life since 1905, as general agent for his district, and the confidence of
the company is well shown by the fact that he has always worked with-
out bonds. In 1913 the business turned through his office was second
in volume among all the returns from the various agents of the State
Life in the state. His business is located in the Gable Block on the
north side of the public square in Hartford City. During the past
year Mr. E. W. Hutcheus of Portland, Indiana, has been associated
with him in the office. Previous to taking up insurance and real
estate in a permanent way, Mr. Dougherty spent six years as a travel-
ing salesman in different parts of the country and from early youth
he has been regarded as a hustler and thoroughly deserving of all his
success. His first regular experience was as carpenter and mechanic
in Blackford and Grant counties.
Mr. Dougherty was born in Henry county, Indiana, at Millville,
January 21, 1868. He grew up on a farm, and when eleven years of
age his family moved to Grant county, and his education was com-
pleted in the public schools. His father, Samuel Dougherty, had the
distinction of being the second white child born in Henry county,
Indiana. His birth occurred August 22, 1822, and he was the son of
John Dougherty, a native of Scotland who came to the United States,
first locating in Pennsylvania, and was married there to Rebecca Kott,
a native of Pennsylvania and of an old family. After their marriage
John Dougherty and wife lived only a few years in Pennsylvania, and
in 1S21 migrated west and found a home in the wilderness of Henry
county. Indiana. They settled at Millville in Liberty township, secured
eighty acres of government land, and passed through all the vicissi-
tudes and experiences of the pioneers, living for a time in a log cabin
until they could erect a more comfortable home, and their labors result-
ing eventually in prosperity for themselves, and in the redemption of
a considerable part of the country from primitive conditions. Grand-
father Dougherty died in Henry county at the age of seventy, and his
wife passed away at the age of eighty-one. They had a large family
of eight children, six daughters and two sons. One of these are still
living, one being James Dougherty of Hagerstown, Indiana, who is mar-
ried and has children and grandchildren.
Samuel Dougherty, the father, grew up and learned the trade of
cooper, which employed him for many years, first at Milton. Indiana,
later at his birthplace of Millville, and "in 1879 he moved to Jefferson
township, Grant county, and settled on a farm, which remained his
home until his death, July 26. 1888. His widow still lives on the home-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES |:;
stead in Grant county and is seventy-one years of age. Both were
active members of the Church of God, and Samuel Doughertj was a
democrat who east his first vote for James K. Polk in 1844, although
his father before him was a whig. During the Civil war Samuel
Dougherty saw two years of service as a regimental teamster. He and
his wife became the parents of eight children, and they are briefly
mentioned as follows: Alice is the widow of Frank Newcom of Hagers-
town. Indiana, aud has two daughters and one sun; Elizabeth is the
widow of L. P. Harris, lives at Richmond, Indiana, and lias one sun;
Lawrence W. is married and has a son Samuel Ross, and is engaged
in the grain and hay commission business at Hartford City, having at
one time served as county auditor for Blackford county; Jeptha J. is
a mechanical engineer and fruit grower at Bountiful, Utah, and has
two sons and one daughter by his first wife; John, who has been twice
married and has a daughter by his first wife, is a farmer near Hagers-
town, Indiana ; the sixth in order of birth is Frank F. Dougherty ;
Daniel V., who is unmarried, is connected with the State Epileptic
Institution at Newcastle. Indiana; Everete lives with his mother in
Jefferson township of Grant county, his wife being deceased, and he
has a son and a daughter.
Mr. Frank F. Dougherty was married in Jefferson township of
Grant county to Dora L. Owens, who was born in Coffey county. Kansas,
December 7, 1870, but was educated in Upland in Grant county, In-
diana. Her father. John M. Owens, died at Winnemac, Indiana, in
1901, and was a farmer. His widow now lives in Hartford City aud
is sixty-two years of age and a member of the Methodist church. Mr.
Dougherty and wife are the parents of six children : Alice, aged twenty-
three, married Carl Swindler, of Blackford county, but they now live
at Tulsa, Oklahoma; Cecil Helen is a student in the Muncie College;
Mildred H. is a member of the class of 1914 in the Hartford City high
school; Harry is a grade school pupil: Mary F. is also in grade school,
and Annabel is the youngest. Mr. Dougherty takes an active part in
fraternal matters, especially with the Knights of Pythias. He is a
trustee of Blackford Lodge, No. 135. of that order, and has been through
all the chairs and is a member of the Pythian Sisters. He is also a
member of El Capitan Temple No. 94, D. 0. K. of K. at Muncie. In
politics a democrat, he is one of the vigorous workers in his party and
both in business and civic affairs one of the leaders in Hartford City
and Blackford county.
John S. Sellers, M. D. The high professional attainments of
Dr. Sellers give him impregnable vantage-ground as one of the repre-
sentative physicians and surgeons of Blackford county and he main-
tains his residence and professional headquarters at Hartford City,
the judicial center of the county. The Doctor is a scion of a family
that was founded in America in the colonial days, and his lineage
touches Scotch, Irish and Welsh stock, his paternal grandfather having
been born in Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish ancestry; in the old Key-
stone state was solemnized the marriage of this sterling citizen, and
his wife, whose family name was Brandon. She was born in Pennsyl-
vania, of Welsh extraction. Soon after their marriage the grand-
parents of Dr. Sellers removed to Kentucky, in which state their chil-
dren were born, and in the early '20s the family came to Indiana and
numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Wayne county.
where the grandfather bought a large tract of land in the vicinity id'
the present village of Walnut Level. There he reclaimed from the
wilderness a productive farm of 200 acres, and he was long known and
44 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
honored as one of the strong and influential men of that section of the
state, where both he and his wife continued to reside until their death.
The grandfather of the Doctor died in the prime of his vigorous and
prolific life, having passed to his reward more than eighty years ago
and his widow having survived him by a number of years. They reared
a number of children, and of the number Isaac Sellers figures as the
father of him to whom this review is dedicated.
Isaac Sellers was born in Kentucky in the year 1812, and he was
a young man at the time when he came with his parents to Indiana.
He assisted in the development of the home farm, in Wayne county,
and had his full quota of experience in connection with the life of a
pioneer. In Wayne county he wedded Miss Emma Trocksell, who
was born in Maryland, in the year 1816, her paternal grandparents hav-
ing immigrated to America from Germany in the latter part of the
seventeenth century and having established their permanent home in
Maryland. In that commonwealth was born the father of Mrs. Emma
(Trocksell) Sellers. When the daughter Emma was a child the family
came to Indiana and settled at Richmond, the county seat of Wayne
county. After his marriage Isaac Sellers removed to Madison county,
where he filed claim to forty acres of government land and effected the
purchase of an additional tract of 160 acres. He brought his land under
effective cultivation and became one of the substantial agriculturists and
representative citizens of Madison county, where he died at the age of
sixty-five years, his wife living to the age of seventy-nine years. Though
both were reared in the other faiths they became zealous members of
the Methodist Episcopal church, and they lived righteous lives, so that
they merited and received the high regard of all who knew them. They
became the parents of five sons and three daughters, and of the num-
ber Dr. Sellers of this sketch is now the only one living.
Dr. John S. Sellers was born in Richland township, Madison county,
Indiana, on the 18th of November, 1843, and he acquired his early edu-
cational training in the common schools of the locality and period. In
the study of medicine the Doctor gained his initial knowledge iinder
the direction of an able private preceptor, one of the leading physicians
of Madison county, and finally he entered the Indiana Medical College,
in the city of Indianapolis, an institution in which he was graduated
as a member of the class of 1878, with the degree of Doctor of Medi-
cine. For two years after his graduation Dr. Sellers was engaged in
practice in his native county, and thereafter he was a resident and
practitioner of medicine at Sulphur Springs, Henry county, until 1881,
when he came to Blackford county and established his residence at
Montpelier, where he built up a large and representative practice and
where he remained fully thirty years, removal to Hartford City, the
judicial center of the county, having been made in 1911. Dr. Sellers
gave years of earnest and effective service in the alleviation of human
suffering and distress and he is now retired largely from active prac-
tice, though the many representative families to whom he has ministered
in past years still place insistent demands upon him, for his able serv-
ice and unfailing kindliness and consideration have given him inviolable
place in the affection and confidence of the people of Blackford county.
He is now one of the oldest of the prominent physicians of the county,
and has always been known for his civic loyalty and public spirit-
Distinctive honor is due to Dr. Sellers for the intrinsic patriotism
which he manifested during his service as a soldier of the Union in the
Civil war. In October, 1862. from Madison county, he enlisted as a
private in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
and with this gallant command he continued in active service until
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 45
the close of the war, his honorable discharge having been granted to
him on Christmas day of the year 1865 and the last six months of his
service having been in connection with the provost marshal's depart-
ment, after the cessation of specific conflict following the surrender
of General Johnston and Lee. The Doctor received a slight scalp wound
in the battle of Kingston, North Carolina. Though he participated in
many engagements he was never captured, but lie had many narrow
escapes. He has perpetuated the more gracious associations of his
military career by retaining membership in the Grand Army of the
Republic. The Doctor is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and in
times past he has been an active and appreciative member of the Am. i i
can Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Society, and minor
professional organizations.
At Anderson. Madison county, in the year 1872, Dr. Sellers wedded
Miss Emma J. Menefee, who was born in Virginia, and who is a repre-
sentative of the tine old Southern family of this name. She is a daugh-
ter of Alexander Menefee. who had been a substantial planter and
slaveholder in Virginia, but who voluntarily freed his slaves prior to
the Civil war. He came to Indiana and established his home in Madi-
son county, where he became a successful farmer, and during the Civil
war he served the Union, in the commissary department. Both he
and his wife were residents of Madison county until the time of their
death. Mrs. Sellers has long been a most devoted member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church and has been specially active in benevolent and
charitable work. In conclusion is given brief record concerning the
children of Dr. and Mrs. Sellers. Charles A. was graduated, in 190-1,
in the Fort Wayne Academy of Medicine, at Fort Wayne, this state,
the institution having later been consolidated with the Indiana Col-
lege of Medicine. He succeeded to his father's large practice at Mont-
pelier, and later came to Hartford City, where he now holds prestige
as one of the leading young physicians of his native county. The first
wife of Dr. Charles A. Sellers died shortly after the birth of her only
child, which likewise died at birth. She was born at Madison, this
state, and her maiden name was Greiner. As his second wife Dr.
Charles A. Sellers married Miss Catherine Chapman, who was formerly
a successful and popular teacher in the Montpelier high school, ami the
two children of this union are Gertrude and Betty Virginia. Addie,
the only daughter of Dr. John S. Sellers, is the wife of Frederick
Chandler, of Hartford City, and they have two children, Helen and
Lucille.
Frank Culberson. Practically the entire career of Frank Culber-
son has been identified with Blackford county. A great many men and
women in this county remember him for his school work as a teacher,
and about nine years were spent in the school room chiefly in Licking
township. A young man of progressive energy and ambition, of brains
and good family, he has already, while still in his thirties, established
himself securely in business affairs, and is a member of the grocery firm
of Pursley & Culberson at Hartford City. Their store enjoys a large
trade both in the city and surrounding country, and has a splendid
location in the very heart of the business center of 105 S. High street
on the west side of the square. The firm has been in existence since
October, 1908.
Frank Culberson was born in Washington Court House. Ohio. .Jan-
uary 8, 1881. Six years of age when the family moved to Hartford
City, he grew up and was educated in Blackford county and after grad-
uating from the city high school and with three years additional train-
ing in the Marion Normal College qualified as a teacher and spent nine
46 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
years in that work. In Licking township he was in charge of the school
of District No. 12 three years, for a similar time in District No. 3, and
one year each at District No. 5 and No. 9, and also taught a year in
Harrison township.
Mr. Culberson's parents were David H. and Josephine E. (Thomp-
son) Culberson. His father was born in Clinton county, Ohio, a son
of George Culberson, who spent all his life in that state as a farmer,
and had a large family of children. The religion of the Culberson has
been Methodist for a number of generations. David H. Culberson, who
was of Scotch stock, grew up in his native Ohio county, and married
a daughter of Joseph and Mahala (Brakfield) Thompson. The Thomp-
sons were natives of Pennsylvania but were married in Ohio and lived
in Greene and Clinton counties. Joseph Thompson died in Clinton
county at Sabina at the age of seventy-seven and his widow still lives
there and is seventy-seven years of age at this time. Both the Thomp-
sons and Culbersons have all been radical democrats in politics. Frank
Culberson was the first born of his parents, and a daughter Maude
was also born in Ohio. She is now the wife of Joseph Atkinson of Lick-
ing township, and has two children, the first being Francis Joseph, Jr.
After the birth of these children David H. Culberson and wife moved
to Indiana and established their home on a farm of eighty acres in
Section 19 of Licking township. It required much hard work and
close economy to make both ends meet and to improve their land into
a productive homestead, but the father was of the pioneer type and
his industry enabled him to provide well for his family. He was born
in October, 1856, and died in Blackford county, September 3, 1904.
Besides his long career as a farmer, he was honored with the office
of county commissioner for three years. He was a Democrat and a
Methodist, and his widow now lives on the old homestead and is sixty-
five years of age. After they moved to Blackford county one other
child was born, Mildred, who is the wife of Ashford Rogers, and they
now occupy the home farm in Section 19 of Licking township. Mr.
Rogers and wife have one daughter, Isabel M.
Frank Culberson was married in Licking township to Miss Gertrude
E. Atkinson. She was born in Hartford city, was educated in the
rural schools and besides her devotion to home and family takes con-
siderable part in local social affairs. She was born September 9, 1883,
a daughter of Hugh C. and Mary Atkinson, who are farming people
of Licking township. Mr. Culberson and wife are the parents of two
sons; Wayne Harold, aged eleven, is now in the city grade schools, and
Donald A. is five years of age. Both Mr. Culberson and wife are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he affiliates with the Knights
of the Maccabees, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the
Fraternal Order of Eagles, and in politics follows the long standing
affiliation of the family with the democratic interests.
Rev. Harvey T. Walker. There has been no period in recorded
history when the caring for the dead has not been a feature of even
savage life and the ceremonies have been of a character that has been
marked by the measure of civilization. A study of habits and customs
of every nation will disclose that a reverence has been paid to the dead
oftentimes such as has not been given to the living, and even the most
uncivilized of savages can point to their burning temples, their stone
crypts, their tree-top burials or their funeral barks. However, there
has never been a time when the proper, dignified, sanitary conduct of
funeral obsequies and disposal of the remains of those whose life work
has ended has been so complete as at present, Embalmers and funeral
directors of the present day in this country are no longer mere me-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 47
chanics, but, ou the other hand, are carefully trained in this profession
and are frequently graduates of more than one college, liev. Harry
T. Walker, of Montpelier, is a graduate of the Cincinnati College of
Embalming, in which he holds a life scholarship and the chair of
lecturer and demonstrator, a graduate of the Askins Training School
of Embalming, of Indianapolis, holds Ohio license No. L939 A. the
highest in the state, and Indiana license No. 1550, both obtained through
a most rigid examination, and is known as the "Consultee" all over this
part of the state, as au expert in his chosen field.
Mr. Walker was born in Miami county, Indiana, September 2ti, 1884,
and received his early education in the public schools, this being sup-
plemented by courses in Amboy Academy and Taylor University, at
Upland, Indiana. He was granted a local minister's license in the
United Brethren church in 190-4, his first charge being at Boyleston,
Clinton county, Indiana, from whence he went to Lapel, Madison
county, and in 1906 became a member of the White River United
Brethren Conference. On completing his work at Lapel he came to
Montpelier, where for three years he was pastor of the United Brethren
church, and at the same time became the owner of his present business
of undertaking, embalming and funeral directing on Main street. He
has continued to fill a local pastorate, and is frequently called upon
for lectures and talks at high schools and before other gatherings.
Mr. Walker comes of an old and honored Virginia family of Scotch-
Irish stock, the first of the family of whom we have any record being
his great-grandfather, William Walker, of West Virginia, a salt manu-
facturer during early days on the Kanawha river. He was a slave-
holder, but freed his servants before the Civil War and came to Ohio,
where he spent his last years, being buried within forty miles of Cin-
cinnati. He married in West Virginia, Mary Stewart, of Scotch stock,
who also died in Ohio, in the faith of the Dunkard church, of which
her husband was also a member. They were the parents of four daugh-
ters and two sons. Of these, Elliott Walker, the grandfather of our
subject, was the youngest. He was born in West Virginia in 1804,
and was married to Lavina Williamson, by whom he had ten children, and
(his second wife) to Anna Eckart, who bore him one son. He
had accompanied his parents to Ohio in young manhood, and later
moved to Madison county, Indiana, and still later to Miami county,
Indiana, where his first wife died. He subsecpiently went to Marshall
county, Indiana, and passed away on his farm near Plymouth, in 1894,
at the age of ninety years, six months. His widow is still living, and
is now eighty-nine years old, a member of the Episcopal church. Mr.
Walker was a Dunkard and a republican, while his first wife was a
member of the New Light Christian church. Of his children by his
first wife there were seven sons and three daughters, and of these, Rev.
William A., the father of Rev. Harry T., is the second in order of
birth.
Rev. William A. Walker was born in Madison county, Indiana.
October 22, 1842, and in youth learned the trade of carpenter. At tin-
outbreak of the Civil War he offered his services to the Union cause,
becoming a member of Company K, Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, with which he served ten months, and then con-
tracted measles aud was honorably discharged on account of disability.
Later, he became a member of Company F, Sixteenth Regiment. In-
diana Volunteer Infantry, and continued to serve therewith until tin
close of the war. Mr. Walker's service covered a period of three years
and seventeen days, and through brave and meritorious service he was
promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. He participated in many
hard-fought engagements, aud in August, 1863, while serving on spe-
48 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
cial duty was captured by the Confederates and confined at Tyler,
Texas, being there confined for nine months. He received a severe
gunshot wound in his right hip, and after his recovery from his wound
was struck in the side, by a cavalry wagon tongue, an injury which
troubled him greatly in after years. After the close of the war Mr.
Walker went to Wisconsin, where he followed the trade of carpenter
for some years, but subsequently returned to Miami county, Indiana,
and was married. Later he went to Missouri, where he was engaged in
farming and working at his trade for about four years, and upon his
return to Indiana located at Amboy, where he manufactured tile for
five years. William A. Walker is an ordained minister of the Con-
gregational church, and was pastor of the Amboy station for eleven
consecutive years. Following this he purchased a farm in Miami county,
on which he carried on operations until 1906, and in that year retired
and went to Amboy, Miami county, Indiana. Mr. Walker was mar-
ried in Miami county, Indiana, to Miss Malinda C. Daily, who was
born in Darke county, Ohio, July 7, 1843, daughter of James and Eliza-
beth (Nicum) Daily, natives of Ohio. Mr. Daily was born January 15,
1806, and his wife December 14, 1813, and both died in Miami county,
Indiana, in 1880, within three days of each other. They were con-
sistent members of the Friends church, and Mr. Daily was a lifelong
democrat. Mrs. Walker's grandparents, Edmond and Anna (Emery)
Daily, were farming people of Virginia and members of the Dunkard
church. They early came West to Ohio, and there passed the remainder
of their lives on a farm, the grandfather passing away in 1859, at the
age of eighty-five, and the grandmother in the same year when eighty-
two years old. Mrs. Walker died July 5, 1906, at Amboy, Indiana,
the mother of four children who grew up and were married : Emma,
who is the wife of Henry Wagnar, of Peru, Indiana, a railway en-
gineer, and has one son : Gus ; Mary Etta, who died after her mar-
riage to Henry Graf of Miami county, by whom she had three children,
— Harley, Myrtle and Lola; Elizabeth J., who died after her marriage
to Harry Vincent, and left a daughter, — Montrue; and Harvey T.
After the death of his first wife, Rev. Walker married Mary Lickbelt
and moved to Culver, Marshall county, Indiana.
Harvey T. Walker was married in Miami county, Indiana, in 1905,
to Miss Nellie M. Freeman, who was born in Miami county, August 12,
1887, and is a graduate of the North Grove high school. They have
had three children, born as follows: Garnel born September 21, 1909:
Ghlee Delight, September 7, 1911 ; and Garl D., March 4, 1913. Mrs.
Walker is in perfect sympathy with her husband in all his undertak-
ings. She is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and a teacher in the
Sunday school, and has taken a prominent part in church and charitable
work. Fraternally, Mr. Walker is connected with the Masonic Blue
Lodge and Knights of Pythias No. 188, of the latter of which is past
chancellor, and holds membership also in the Improved Order of Red
Men, being past sachem. His political faith is that of the republican
party.
Albert A. Russell. Few of the citizens of Blackford county have
won their way to more deserved success than has Albert A. Russell,
owner of a finely cultivated farm and extensive breeding stables in
Licking township. Although still a young man, with the best years
of his life still before him, he has already achieved what many would
consider sufficient prosperity for a lifetime of steady effort, and the
fame of his stables is giving him prestige all over the county. Mr. Rus-
sell has spent his entire career within the limits of Blackford county,
where he was born March 29, 1882, a son of Samuel and Esther A.
( Stallsmith ) Russell.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
49
Samuel Russell was born iu Wayne county, Indiana, and after Ins
marriage to Miss Stallsmith, who was born in Blackford county, set-
tled on a farm in Licking township and here for a Long period was
engaged in agricultural pursuits, later securing another propertj in
"Washington township. On this latter he passed away, January 21,
1906, being then but forty-eight years of age. His widow was married
to Thomas Clevenger, of Centerville, Wayne county, [ndiana, a
prominent farmer, now retired. By her first maTriage she was the
mother of seven children, namely: May, who died in infancy; Emma,
the wife of William Hurley, of Ceylon, Indiana, with two son's and two
daughters; Albert A., of this review; Henry, who is engaged in farm-
ing in Harrison township, married and the father of two sons: Etta,
the wife of Walter Glancey, of Mill Grove. Blackford county; David,
who resides on a farm in Licking township; and Grace, single, living
near Greenville, Ohio.
Albei't A. Russell was reared amid rural surroundings, and his
education was secured in the district schools of Licking township,
his youth being about evenly divided between his studies and his duties
on the home place, he being the eldest son. It was but natural that lie
should adopt the vocation of agricultural pursuits as his life work when
he embarked upon a career of his own, and accordingly he settled mi a
farm of forty-seven acres, located in section 3, Licking township, where
he has since continued operations. He now devotes forty acres to grain
farming, with twenty acres in oats and twenty acres in wheat, and has
brought his land under a high state of cultivation and made numerous
modern improvements. But although he has been successful as a gen-
eral farmer, it is in the line of stock raising that he has met with the
greatest business prosperity. He raises a good grade of cattle and line
Duroc hogs, shipping large numbers to the markets each year, but bis
stables have acquired fame principally because of his fine horses, lie
being one of the best known breeders of draft and road horses in the
county. In his stables are found "Hindoo," a Belgian registered stal-
lion, imported, eight years old, weight 2,040 pounds; "Humorous,"' a
registered imported Percheron stallion, six years old. weight 2,000
pounds, which has proved a good breeder; "Album." a dapple gray
imported, registered Percheron stallion, 1,850 pounds, also an excel-
lent breeder; and "Colonel Harrison.'" a three year old, which weighed
1,800 pounds before its third year, and which has a most promising
future. Mr. Russell is a conservative, although progressive business
man. He always has kept in the middle of the road and has avoided
extremes. Honesty and industry have been his guiding stars ami the
mediums through which he has gained success, and have brought him
the rewards of confidence, prosperity and happiness. In the line of
his chosen work, Mr. Russell is accounted one of the best informed men
in the county, and is frequently sought for advice in matters pertain-
ing to live stock.
Mr. Russell was married in Licking township to Miss Lula M. Butler,
who was born in this township. June 9. 1883, and here reared ami
educated, daughter of Edwin and Lydia (Grabber) Butler, the former
of whom is deceased, while the latter survives aml*at the age of sixty-
eight years is still active in the management of the home farm. She
is a consistent member of the United Brethren church, of which her
husband was also an adherent. His attitude toward temperance ex-
tended to all phases of his life, moderation was one of his conspicuous
qualities from his youth, and the prohibition party found in him a
warm supporter. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have three daughters: Lela,
aged nine years, who is attending school ; Maybelle, who is seven years
old and also a student in the public schools of Licking township; and
50 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Marie, who is eight months old. Mr. and Mrs. Russell are devoted
members of the United Brethren church, and have been active work-
ers in its various movements. Mr. Russell is a democrat, and while not
a politician in the accepted sense of the word takes a keen and intelli-
gent interest in the affairs of his community, and at all times endeavors
to serve the best interests of his section by electing good men and secur-
ing helpful legislation.
Jacob Willmann. The late Jacob Willmann. who for thirty-five
years was identified with the agricultural interests of Washington
township, was one of the self-made men of Blackford county. No for-
tunate family of pecuniary advantages aided him at the outset of his
career. He commenced his struggles with the world as a young man,
and from that time until his death, September 12, 1901, was entirely
dependent upon his own resources. Difficulties and obstacles confronted
him, but these were overcome by determined efforts, and as the years
passed he worked his way steadily upward until he was recognized as
one of his community's most substantial men.
Mr. Willmann was born July 1, 1842, in Morrow county, Ohio, and
is a son of Michael and Rebecca (Bailey) Willmann. His father, born
in Germany about the year 1812, grew to manhood in his native land,
and about the year 1830 accompanied a party of emigrants, including
his parents, to the United States. The family made its first settle-
ment in Pennsylvania, and there Michael Willmann was married, sub-
sequently removing to Morrow county, Ohio, and later to Blackford
county, Indiana, where the grandparents both died. Here the father
purchased and improved a good farm and became a man of substance
and standing in the community. He was past seventy years of age
at the time of his death, while Mrs. Willmann lived to be eighty-one
years old. They were lifelong members of the German Lutheran church,
which they had joined in their native land, and Mr. Willmann was a
democrat and one of the early commissioners of Blackford county. The
children born to Michael and Rebecca Willmann were as follows: Tina,
who died as an infant; Susanna, who also died young; Peter, whose
death occurred at the age of twenty-one years; Jacob, of this review;
and John and George, the only survivors, both of whom have large
families and are the owners of valuable farms in Blackford county.
Jacob Willmann was still a child when he accompanied his parents
to Blackford county, and here he grew to manhood on the old home-
stead, assisting his father in the hard and unceasing work of clearing
the land, and securing his education in the district schools during the
short winter terms. He remained under the parental roof until the
time of his marriage, when he purchased eighty acres of land in sec-
tion 35, Washington township, on which was located a small log cabin.
A few acres had been partly improved, but the land was practically
without cultivation, and Mr. Willmann set himself resolutely down
to the development of a good farm. The log cabin continued to he the
family home until 1882, when it was replaced by a commodious frame
residence of six rooms, to which were added three more rooms, and
which still stands, a" handsome white structure surrounded by a full
set of substantial farm buildings. As the years passed and his finances
permitted, Mr. Willmann added to his land from time to time, until
at his death he was the owner of 223 acres, all improved, and all still
in the family. Mr. Willmann was an industrious man and set an
example for energetic and intelligent labor. He was a man of the
strictest integrity, and his record in business transactions was without
stain or blemish of any kind. General farming and stock raising oecu-
BLACKF.ORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 51
pied his attention, and in both of these lines he met with well merited
success. A democrat in political matters, politics held out no attrac-
tion to him and he cared little for the honors or emoluments of public
office. He was reared in the Lutheran church and continued faithful
to that belief throughout his life. A good citizen, an industrious farmer,
a kind husband and father and a loyal friend, when he passed away
his community lost a man whose place it was found hard to fill.
Mr. Willmami was married in 1866 in Jackson township, Black-
ford county, Indiana, to Miss Martha E. Schmidt, who was born in
Pennsylvania, April 17, 1S45, and was an infant in arms when brought
to Delaware county. Indiana, by her parents. John P. and Martha E.
(Schwartz) Schmidt. Mrs. Willmann's parents were natives of Ger-
many, the father born at Hesse Darmstadt and the mother at Cohessen.
They came to the United States as young people with their parents,
the journey being made in a sailing vessel and consuming ninety days.
They were married at Chambersburg. Pennsylvania, July 29, 1842,
and in 1845, with their two children, Martha E. and Peter, came with
a one-horse team overland to Delaware county, although later they
moved to Cicero, Hamilton county, Indiana, where the mother died in
1854. Mr. Schmidt then came with his children to Jackson township,
Blackford county, where he followed farming and tailoring until his
death in 1882. He was married to Anna B. Treitsch, who was born
in Germany and came to the United States in young womanhood,
and she died in Jackson township in 1878. By this marriage there
were six children: an infant; Elizabeth, who died after her mar-
riage and left two children; Katherine, the wife of Peter Waltz, of
Hamilton county, Indiana, who has seven children; Jacob, born in
1861, a bachelor and living with his sister, Mrs. Willmami; Eva. the
wife of Ed. Sutton, living in Grant county and the mother of two
daughters; and William H., a farmer of Harrison township, Blackford
county, who is married. The parents of Mrs. Willmann had the fol-
lowing children: Martha E. ; Peter; Philip L., a farmer of Jackson
township, has been married three times and lias six children ; Sarah, the
widow of Joseph Markle, lives at Hartford City and has no issue; and
John H., a farmer of Jackson township, is married and has five children.
Mr. and Mrs. Willmann became the parents of eleven children, as
follows: S. Peter, living on a farm in Licking township, married Eliza-
beth Gucker, and has five children. Ruth E.. Robert A.. Paul A.. Reuben
0. and Martha R. ; Margaret R.. still single and living at home, and
who with her two sisters is the owner of a nice farm of sixty-three acres,
a part of the homestead; John Henry, clerk at Wiler's Store, at Hart-
ford City, married Amelia Schumacher and has two children. Kenneth
0. and Vonda Elizabeth; Jacob M.. a farmer of Licking township, mar-
ried Caroline Schumacher, and has two children, Ralph W. and Xaomi
Delight; Lewis D., who married Clara Weschke, lives on a farm in
Licking township, and has seven children, Harry Clayton, Luther
Clarence, Esther M.. Arlo L.. Maria C. Ruby N. and Audra A.: Anna
Barbara, who is single, resides at home, and is identified with Wiler's
Store, at Hartford City: William E., living on a farm in Arkansas,
married Amelia Brose, of Washington township, and has a daughter,
Helen C. ; Charles M.. who died when twenty-one years of age, un-
married; Walter M., who is single and resides with his brother mi the
Arkansas farm; and Martha C, who graduated from the Hartford
City high school in the class of 1911 and who married June 18, L914,
Reverend Simon Long, and lives at Xenia. Ohio. Mrs. Willmann
and the members of her family are identified with the Evangelical
Lutheran church of Hartford City. She is a lady widely known and
52 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
highly respected in Washington township, and has numerous friends
throughout this vicinity.
Norman W. Jackson. At the present time the leading citizen of
Harrison township, so designated officially by the choice of the people,
is Norman W. Jackson, trustee of the township^ and a lifelong resident
of this vicinity. The Jackson family has been identified with Blackford
county more than sixty years, and by farming and liberal public spirit
have been a family of great usefulness in this section. Norman W.
Jackson outside of his official relations with the community is esteemed
as a progressive farmer, a man who has made that industry a business,
and by strict attention to its details has accumulated a more than grati-
fying success.
Norman W. Jackson was born on the southeast corner of the God-
frey Reserve in Harrison township, June 30, 1872, and is a son of
George M. and a grandson of Edward C. Jackson, both of whom were
identified with this part of Blackford county. The paternal grand-
parents, Edward C. and Margaret (Smith) Jackson, were born respec-
tively in Maryland and Pennsylvania, were taken when children to
Holmes county, Ohio, married there, and in 1850 moved to Blackford
county, Indiana, and located in Harrison township. Edward Jackson
was a democrat and quite active in local affairs. There were eight
children : William Jackson, deceased ; Alfred, who served in the Thirty-
fourth Indiana Regiment during the Civil war; J. J. Jackson, a soldier
in the Thirty-seventh Illinois Regiment for three and a half years;
Mary J., who married Benjamin Hudson and both are now deceased;
Samuel, who died in infancy ; Sarah A., deceased ; George M. ; and
Margaret, wife of James Schultz.
George M. Jackson was an infant when the family moved to Black-
ford county, and has the distinction of having attended a log cabin
schoolhouse. His preparation for life so far as schooling was con-
cerned was about the average of that time. In 1870 he married Anna
D. Cunningham, who was born in Brown county, Ohio, January 16,
1847, and was eighteen years old when her family came to Indiana.
George M. Jackson is one of the men who came up from almost poverty
to prosperity. At one time he was assessed ten dollars for personal
property, but now owns considerable land and Math his son is pro-
prietor of two hundred and forty acres. His home farm comprises
seventy-seven acres, and every dollar in property possessed by him
has been acquired as the result of his own industry and good manage-
ment. For several years after his marriage he was a renter, and by
thrift and hard work got his start. Five years of industry enabled
him to buy thirty-five acres, and he still owns a portion of that first
purchase. ' George M. Jackson and wife have four children : Norman
W. ; Eliza E., who is the wife of Levi Murphy; Ambrose, who lives in
this state; Gertrude, the wife of Ross Beamer; and one deceased, Wil-
liam. The family are communicants of the Friends church, and George
M. Jackson is a minister and well esteemed in his church society. In
politics he is a democrat.
Norman W. Jackson in a business way is best known as proprietor
of Jackson Valley Farm, situated six miles southeast of Montpelier.
That place represents a high degree of cultivation and improvement,
and its resources and value are a fair measure of Mr. Jackson's business
career, which has been one of successful management since young man-
hood. Reared in Harrison township, educated in the common schools,
when about sixteen years of age he left his books to take up the serious
occupation of life. He remained with his father until nineteen, and
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 53
in January, 1892, established a home of his own by his marriage to
Nettie Liestenseltz. ..Mrs. Jackson was born in Harrison township,
and was educated in the common schools. To their union have been born
six children, as follows: Roy R. Jackson, who married Mamie Wil-
liams and lives in Harrison township as a farmer; William R., a gradu-
ate of the common schools and now at home; Eliza, who also finished
the common school course; Anna C, who completed the course of the
common schools in 1914; Herbert and Herman, twins.
Mr. Jackson affiliates with Montpelier Lodge of the Knights of
Pythias. As a democrat he has taken an active part in local politics
for a number of years, served on the township and county committee,
and on July 3, 1911, was appointed township trustee. His work as a
public official has been consistent with his business career, and the
people of the township believe that the -schools, the roads, and other
interests have never been in better hands than during the present
trusteeship. Mr. Jackson is the owner of one hundred and fifty-three
acres of land in Section 25 of Harrison township, and at the present time
he is erecting a new 8-room modern home. There is also a house on
the west end of the farm. His barn is 36x48, and the place is well
improved in every way, including about 3,000 rods of tiling and other
open ditches.
Daniel E. Spaulding. A Blackford county agriculturist whose
career is deserving of much praise is Daniel E. Spaulding, whose years
have all been spent in Blackford county and whose family is one of the
best known and oldest in this section. He began life without capital
and without assistance from influential friends, and has worked his way
steadily upwards from a humble financial position to the ownership of
a finely developed farm in Washington township.
Daniel E. Spatdding w 7 as born on a farm in Harrison township of
Blackford county, July 28, 1867, a son of George C. and Catherine
(Wilson) Spaulding. The family was established in this part of Indiana
by his grandfather, Francis Spaulding, who was a native of Vermont
and of New England lineage. In that state he married Mary J. Hale,
also of New England stock and related to the prominent Hale family.
After his marriage Francis Spaulding, with four brothers, and his wife
emigrated to Indiana. That was a number of years before the first
railroads were constructed this far west, and the Spauldings all located
in the vicinity of Montpclier, and acquired new and probably govern-
ment land. Four of these Spaulding pioneers were named Francis,
Stephen. Frank and John. They spent their lives in the same locality
where they went through the hardships of pioneer existence, and most of
them attained a good old age before death. Francis Spaulding died
at his home one mile west of Montpelier at the age of sixty-live, and liis
widow survived him four or five years. His death was the result of
an accident. He and his son had been felling timber, and in its fall a
portion of the tree struck Mr. Spaulding and brought about his death.
He and his wife had become well known people in that community, were
good Christians, and kindly and helpful neighbors after the pioneer
fashion. Their children were Henry. Alfred, George C. Isaac and
Minerva, also Eveline and Harrison, both deceased.
George C. Spaulding was born in Harrison township of Blackford
county, July 15, 1844, grew up in a somewhat primitive country, attended
a common school, and after his marriage engaged in farming in Harri-
son township until 1873. That year marked his removal to Washing-
ton township, when he bought forty acres in Section 12. The new pur-
chase was land in its primeval state, and his labors were the means of
54 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
bringing it into a fine state of cultivation and the making of it a
valuable property. On that home George C. Spaulding died March 8,
1913, just six days after the death of his beloved wife. He was a repub-
lican in politics, a prominent member of Bethel United Brethren church,
of which he was a trustee and a leading supporter, and was a man of no
small influence in community affairs. George C. Spaulding was married
in Wells county to Catherine Wilson, who was born in that county in
1845 and died March 2, 1913. She was likewise active in the affairs of
the United Brethren church. Her parents were Joseph and Leah Wil-
son, natives of Ohio, where they were married and at an early day they
left their native state and with ox teams and wagons moved to Indiana.
The land on which they located in the vicinity of Keystone was entirely
without improvement, and during the years in which they cleared the
soil, built a home, and gained a foothold in the new country they had
to endure all the vicissitudes of pioneer existence. Joseph Wilson was
born September 2, 1812, and died January 21, 1891, and his wife was
born January 24, 1824, and died September 30, 1894. The Wilson family
was among the founders and principal supporters of the United Brethren
church in their community, and Mr. Wilson was a republican in politics.
To the marriage of George C. and Catherine Spaulding were born the
following children: Daniel E.; William, born June 27, 1869, and died
in 1870; Delia, born September 30, 1873, and died in December, 1874;
Alonzo M., born November 11, 1874, an active farmer of Washington
township, and by his marriage to Verna Williams has two children, Virgil
E. and Gladys Opal; and Estella M., who is the wife of Milton Ritchie,
and lives in Montpelier, and is the mother of three sons and three
daughters.
Daniel E. Spaulding received his education in the public schools
and was reared amid rural surroundings. He early decided to adopt
agriculture as his life work, and after attaining his majority faced the
world on his own account, working on various properties in the county.
Carefully saving his earnings, by 1900 he was able to make his first
purchase, a. tract of fourteen acres in Washington township, to which
he added from time to time as his circumstances would permit, until he
owned seventy-nine acres, in two plots. This land he continued to cul-
tivate until March, 1914, when he sold this land and bought his pres-
ent property, a handsome tract of ninety acres located in section 23.
Mr. Spaulding has made numerous improvements on his land, has a
modern residence and a large red barn, 36x48 feet, owns good stock
and uses modern machinery, and has made his farm into an attractive
and handsome country home. His success has come to him as a result
of conscientious and painstaking effort, tireless industry and steady
application along well-directed lines. Among his neighbors and asso-
ciates he is known as a man of the strictest integrity, who is ever ready
to assist others and to advance the interests of his community as far
as lies in his power.
Mr. Spaulding was married in Washington township, to Miss Alvina
Dearduff, who was born in this township, September 17, 1867, and is
a daughter of Thomas and Mahala (Johnakin) Dearduff. Her parents,
natives of Ohio, were married in that state, and soon thereafter came
to Harrison township, Blackford county, from whence they removed to
Washington township. The father served four years in the Civil
war as "a member of Company I, 130th Regiment, Second Volunteer
Infantry. He died at the age of fifty-six years, in 1901, while
the mother survived until August, 1907, and was sixty-five years of
age at the time of her demise. They were members of the United
Brethren church, and Mr. Dearduff was a lifelong republican. In
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 55
their family were fourteen children, all of whom arc now deceased
save four: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Mathew Runkle, of Dundee,
owner of a feed mill, and has three children, — Clifton, Florence May,
and Mary; Alvina, who is now Mrs. Spaulding; Janus, a fanner of
Washington township, who married Bertha Black, now deceased, and
has three children, — Goldie, Arzia and Elsie; and Oliver, employed at
the cement works at Hartford City, married Alice Bunch and has two
children. — Howard and Harold. Mr. and Mrs. Spaulding have two
children: Ralph, born September 21, 1891; and Grace, born October
29, 1900. Mr. Spaulding is a republican, but has never cared for public
office.
Daniel Knox. Among the substantial representatives of the agri-
cultural interests of Blackford county is found Daniel Knox, the owner
of an excellent property in section 23, Washington township, and a
citizen who has won success in his ventures through the force of his
own industry, ability and thrift. He belongs to an old and honored
family of Scotland, and traces his aneestry back through his great-
great-grandfather, whose father was the nephew of Sir John Knox,
*of Scotland, a religious reformer, born at Giffordsgate, near Hadding-
ton, Scotland, in 1505. He was a pioneer of Puritanism, was a prisoner
of war and for nineteen months was confined in the French galleys; a
friend of Calvin and Beza ; a preacher of sermons that moved their
hearers to demolish convents: with a price on his head, yet never falter-
ing: arrested for treason, an armed "congregation"' as his heels;
burned in effigy, for years a dictator — he spent his life forwarding the
Reformation in Scotland. His great work, distinguished in Scottish
prose, was his "History of the Reformation of Religion within the
Realm of Scotland" (1584). His famous "Letter to the Queen
Dowager" appeared in 1556; the "First Trumpet Blast Against the
Monstrous Regiment of Women," inveighing against women taking
part in the government, and which offended Queen Elizabeth, in 1558.
He died in Edinburgh, November 24, 1572.
The great-great-grandfather of Daniel Knox, was a military officer
in the army of Gen. George Washington, and during the Revolu-
tionary War served for seven years, with an admirable record. Little
is known of the following generation, but the grandfather of Daniel
Knox was John Knox, who was a farmer and was born in Virginia.
He married a Virginia girl, whose name is forgotten, and moved to
Kentucky, where their son, William, the father of our subject, was
born in Bourbon county, January 15, 1820, being the eldest of a family
of two sons and nine daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, were
married and had families. When William Knox was three years of
age, the family moved to Brown county, Ohio, and there resided for
seven years, at that time coming to Wayne county, Indiana, where
William Knox grew to maturity. He there married Susan Clevenger,
who was born in Wayne county, November 25, ls24. and died Novem-
ber 7, 1900. She was a daughter of Samuel and Ruth Clevenger, both
pioneers of Wayne county, where they spent the remainder of their
lives and died in advanced years as firm members of the United Brethren
church. They became the parents of a large family of children, of
whom Mrs. Knox was the youngest. In 1849, William Knox, his young
wife and most of the members of the Knox family, including his par-
ents, John Knox and wife, came to Grant county, Indiana, and estab-
lished themselves in the southwestern part of the county. There John
Knox died when very old, while the grandmother survived him and
later came to Washington township, Blackford county, where she
56 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
passed away, when aged past three score years. They were for an
extended period members of the United Brethren church, of which
Mr. Knox was an official for many years, and was identified with the
building and organization of Knox Chapel, in Grant county. He was
a strong whig, later joined the republican party, and at the time of
the Civil War was a stanch Union man.
William Knox and his wife resided in Grant county until the birth
of all of their children, and in 1865 came to Washington township,
Blackford county settling on section 35, where the father purchased
eighty acres of partly improved land. There he continued to follow
farming until his death, August 23, 1901, the mother having passed
away nearly one year before. They were great-hearted, charitable
people, widely known and respected in their community, and faithful
members of the United Brethren church, being the organizers of the
first class in Washington township, from which grew what was known
as the Fairview Church. From 1856 Mr. Knox was a stalwart repub-
lican, and took a great deal of interest in local affairs, although more
for the advancement of his community than for any personal prefer-
ment. He was the father of four sons and five daughters, all of whom
grew to maturity save two, while five are still living and the heads of
families.
Daniel Knox was born in Grant county, Indiana, July 25, 1854,
and grew up in Blackford county, where he was given the advantages
of a common school education. Ever since coming to Blackford county,
thirty years ago, he has been a resident of Washington township, and
this has been the scene of his labors and his well-merited success. On
coming to this township he purchased 120 acres of land in section 23,
to which he has since added a like tract in section 22, and all of his
property is improved, being one of the best tracts in the township.
Both farms are under a high state of cultivation, with the finest of
improvements. He has a large nine-room white house, built in 1904,
a barn 40x50 feet, painted red, grain and stock barns, and other out-
buildings, and all are of substantial character and handsome appear-
ance. On his other farm he has a good residence and two barns, and
both properties are well equipped with machinery and implements. An
excellent manager, Mr. Knox has been able to make his land produce
a full amount of success for the labor he has expended upon it. He
raises a good grade of horses, cattle and hogs, and is known as a fine
judge of live stock.
Mr. Knox was married in Washington township, Blackford county,
to Miss Mary E. Wise, who was born at Cambridge City, Wayne county,
Indiana, May 10, 1857, and was eight years of age when she came to
Blackford county with her parents, Andrew and Catherine (Brie)
Wise, a full sketch of whom will be found in the review of Joseph Wise,
on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Knox have been the par-
ents of the following children : William A., born October 2, 1878, now
living in Macoupin county, Illinois, where he is the owner of a farm,
married Emma Layman, and has four children — Virgil, Pauline, Thuro
and Helen ; Sanford Leroy, born November 2, 1881, who is engaged
in operating his father's farm in Washington township, married Emma
Ford, and has three children — Esther, Ruth and Pearly; Myrtle P..
born September 30, 1883, married Charles Dick, of Washington town-
ship, a farmer, and has four children — Cecil, Crystal, Harold and
Mary; Lora H., born November 4, 1885, a farmer in Northwestern
Canada, where he owns 320 acres of land, is single; Luther W., born
November 5, 1890, is engaged in cultivating one of his father's farms,
married Lillie Nelson, and has one son — Clarence V. ; and Zelda, born
October 17, 1892, is single and lives with her parents.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 57
Mr. and Mrs. Knox are faithful members of the United Brethren
church, in which he is serving at the present time as class leader. Bis
political views are those of the republican party, but he has' not been
active in political affairs, except as a supporter of movements which
affect the general welfare of his immediate, community.
Theodore Ftjqua. It has been given to Theodore Fuqua to pass
the seventieth milestone of his life's journey, and throughout this long
career he has encountered and conquered many obstacles, has had the
experience of joy and sorrow, and has a record of efficient and faithful
service to his country, his locality, and to himself and family. Mr.
Fuqua is now living retired at Hartford City, and has been identified
with the agricultural and public affairs of Blackford county for the
past forty years. Theodore Fuqua comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and
the early generations of the family lived in Virginia and later in
Tennessee. His grandfather, William Fuqua, who was born in Vir-
ginia and married there, later set out with his wife and children in
wagons and with teams and crossed the mountains into eastern Ten-
nessee, locating in Stewart county of that state. Their home was in the
midst of the mountain districts, and it is a part of the family record
that this family operated one of the stills tor the manufacture of "moon-
shine" whiskey. William Fuqua and wife both died there, when old
people, their last years being spent near the village of Thorp. He was a
man of considerable influence in his locality, and was the owner of one
hundred acres of land. Of a rather large family of children, one of
the older was Austin, father of Theodore Fuqua. He was born in Vir-
ginia in 1809, was a young man when the family crossed the mountains
to Tennessee, and as he was not satisfied with his surroundings finally
returned with an uncle to Virginia, and there married Elizabeth Woods.
She was born in Virginia of an old Virginia family, and her father,
James Woods, was a native of the same state and had fought as a sol-
dier in the war of 1812, and his death came when about eighty years
of age. James Woods was a farmer, a democrat in politics, and that
political faith has characterized both the Fuqua and Woods families
through nearly all its members in different generations. Austin Fuqua
a short time after his marriage came to Indiana, and after several years
of residence in Madison county bought a partly improved farm of one
hundred and sixty acres in Delaware county in Salem township. It
was a time when practically all of eastern Indiana was new and sparsely
settled, and the Fuqua home could boast of few improvements, and its
comforts were wrung as a result of hard labor directly from the soil.
A log cabin was the first home, and that was subsequently replaced
with a house of hewed logs. On that farm Austin Fuqua continued to
live and labor until his death in April, 1863. His wife survived him
ten years. Both were members of the United Brethren church, and
people of the highest character. As a democrat, Austin Fuqua filled
one or two offices in his home township. Of their children, eleven, six
sons and five daughters, reached mature age, and ten are still living, all
of them past the age of fifty years.
Theodore Fuqua,. who was the seventh in order of birth, in this
family, was born in Madison county, Indiana, February 29, 1844. Dur-
ing his childhood the family moved to the farm in Delaware county
just described, and he grew up there, attending the primitive country
schools of the day, and when about eighteen years of age enlisted on
August 4, 1862, in Company B of the Sixty-ninth Indiana Infantry.
His command went to the front along the Ohio river, and at Richmond,
Kentucky, he was captured on the last day of August, only a few weeks
58 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
after his enlistment. Several months later he was paroled and ex-
changed, and rejoined his regiment in time to participate in the seven
days' fighting along the Yazoo valley, and was in the various maneuvers
and campaigns along the lower course of the Mississippi until the hard
service in a Southern climate put him in the hospital, and he received
an honorable discharge on account of physical disability on April 20,
1863.
The first news given him on reaching home was of his father's death
two weeks previously. He took his place on the farm and helped in
its management until October, 1864, and then married Mary J. Rinker.
She was born in Delaware county on a farm near that of the Fuqua
family, December 4, 1845, and was reared and received her education
in the same locality. Her parents were John and Jane (Clevinger)
Rinker. His father was born in Virginia, came to Delaware county
with his father, Rev. George Rinker, a Baptist minister, who was a
pioneer settler in Henry county in Indiana, where both he and his wife
died. John Rinker and wife were married in Henry county, lived some
time in Wayne county, and from there moved into Delaware county,
where he leased and improved land and eventually owned about three
hundred acres of Salem township soil. His death occurred at the age of
sixty-three. He was accounted one of the strongest men physically in
his neighborhood. He was a devout member of the United Brethren
church, and in politics a democrat. His wife died about ten years later
at the age of seventy.
In 1874, Mr. Theodore Fuqua and wife moved to Jackson township
in Blackford county. His labors and efficient management resulted in
the improvement of eighty acres of land, and his prosperity has been a
thing of steady growth for forty years. On January 24, 1911, he
moved to Hartford City to enjoy the comforts of a town home, and
he and his wife now occupy a commodious residence at 522 W. Main
street. To their marriage have been born three children. Emma is
the wife of J. B. Orndorff, of Hartford City, and their children, Ora,
Guy, Crystal and Louis Theodore, are all well educated and are married
excepting the youngest. Maggie, the second child died at the age of
three years. Clara died after her marriage to Harvey Davis, and left
three children, Esta, Cecil and Hugh, but the last named died aged two
months.
Mr. and Mrs. Fuqua since youth have been members of the United
Brethren church, and he has filled the office of trustee in that society
for a number of years. As a loyal democrat, he has done his part in
community affairs, having been trustee of Jackson township four years,
a member of the county council for seven years, and was formerly a
member of Jacob Stall Post No. 227 of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Aakon Nelson. A member of that class of workers whose prac-
tical education, inherent ability, quick perception and ready recog-
nition of opportunities have advanced them to positions of prominence
and substantiality formerly occupied only by men many years their
seniors, Aaron Nelson is justly accounted one of the progressive young
agriculturists of fertile Washington township. The major part of
his active career has been passed in this community and through close
application and well-directed and earnest efforts he has succeeded in
accumulating a handsome and valuable property.
Mr. Nelson comes of an old and honored family. His grandfather,
Martin Nelson, was born in North Carolina, of southern parentage, mar-
ried there a North Carolina girl, Lucy Futrell, and during the latter
'thirties or early 'forties, made the journey overland to Indiana, locat-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 59
ing on a small farm in Monroe township, Grant county, where both
passed the remaining years of their lives, the father being quite old
at the time of his death, while the mother was much younger when
she passed away. Facts concerning this sturdy pioneer couple are
meagre, but it is remembered that they were people of sterling char-
acter, industrious and hard-working and faithful members of the Chris-
tian church, while the grandfather was a stanch supporter of the prin-
ciples of the democratic party. Martin and Lucy Nelson were the par-
ents of a number of children, including Stephen, the father of Aaron
Nelson; Martin; Michael; Benoni, the only survivor and resides at
Marion ; Lucy and Jane.
Stephen Nelson was born in North Carolina in 1832 and was a lad
when he accompanied his parents to Indiana. He grew up on the home
farm in Monroe township, securing such advantages as were available
in the early country schools, and as a young man decided upon a career
in agriculture. He was married three times, his first wife dying soon
after marriage, without issue, while by the second union two children
were born : Jesse E. and Lucy Jane, both of whom married and are
now deceased. Mr. Nelson married for his third wife Mrs. Stacy M. Ad-
kinson of Jefferson township, who was born at Newport, Wayne county,
Indiana. She had been married first in Grant county, where she had
been reared, to John Adkinson, who died in that county in the prime
of life, leaving a daughter, Elizabeth, who was married and had four
children. Mrs. Nelson is still* living in Monroe township, Grant county,
and is seventy-eight years of age, a faithful member of the Christian
church, to which her husband also belonged. He was a democrat in
politics. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were as follows : Emma-
zetta, who is the wife of John Shannon and has a daughter, — Goldie;
Winhurn, who died after his marriage to Ella Hodson. and had two
children, — Tacy and Maybell of Oklahoma ; Abigail, who is the wife
of Charles Smith, of Monroe township, where her mother, Mrs. Nelson,
lives, and has eight children ; Aaron, of this .review ; Maggie, who died
after her marriage to Clayton Holloway, a merchant of Farmville.
Grant county, and was the mother of two sons. — Orval and Harry :
Martin, deceased, who was a fanner of Blackford county, Indiana, mar-
ried Etha Johnson, who survives him and resides in Washington town-
ship and has two children, — Yashti and Vesta L. ; and Estena, who
passed away in childhood.
Aaron Nelson was born on his father's farm in Monroe township.
Grant county, Indiana, July 30, 1877, and varied the monotony of boy-
hood work on the homestead by attending the district schools of his
locality, securing a good mental training therein. Coming to Black-
ford county in young manhood, he received forty acres of land through
inheritance, in section 7, Washington township, and to this he has
since added a like acreage in section S. the greater part now being
under cultivation. Mr. Nelson is a general farmer, growing corn, rye
and oats, and also devotes a large part of his land to meadows, upon
which browse a herd of fine, content and well-fed cattle. He has made
a success of his ventures through strict attention to business and an
intelligent use of modern methods, and has added to the value of his
property by the erection of modern buildings of a substantial char-
acter and the installing of improved equipment and machinery, lie
has two large red barns, a comfortable seven-room residence and other
good buildings, and the appearance of the farm is further enhanced
by eight hundred eatalpa trees, all planted by Mr. Nelson. A man of
nrobity and temperate habits. Mr. Nelson is a supporter of the prohibi-
tion party, but has taken only a good citizen's interest in political
60 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES *
matters. The family holds membership in the Christian church, in
the support of which Mr. Nelson has been liberal.
Mr. Nelson was married in Monroe township, Grant county, to Miss
Rosetta Smith, who was born in that township,' March 1, 1875, and
reared and educated there, daughter of James and Sarah (Smithgall)
Smith, natives of Grant county who are still living on a farm in Mon-
roe township, the father being past sixty years age and the mother
more than fifty. She is a member of the New Light Christian church,
and Mr. Smith has been a lifelong republican. Three children were
in the Smith family, namely : Mrs. Rosetta Nelson ; Rosco, who married
Cecil Strange, a farmer on the Monroe township homestead, and has
three children, — Dorothea E., James L. and Agnes D.; and Ethel, who
married Jesse Spark, a farmer of Washington township, and has one
son, — Lance. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have had Ave children: Carl E.,
who died at the age of sixteen months ; 0. Gladys, aged thirteen, Arthur
J., aged eleven, Garth L., aged seven, all attending school; and Pauline
E., the baby, aged four years.
Joseph Wise. To the enterprise and industry of such strong and
forceful men of Blackford county as Joseph Wise is due the continued
prestige of this section of the state in agriculture and stock raising.
Although not a native of this county, he has spent the entire period
of his active career within its limits, and through a life of industry and
consecutive effort has become the owner of a number of valuable prop-
erties, among them the home farm located on section 3, Licking town-
ship. Mr. Wise was born December 23, 1859, in Wayne county, In-
diana, and is a son of Andrew and Catherine (Brier) Wise.
Andrew Wise was born on the River Rhine, in Switzerland, and
belonged to a family of good stock, but when about twenty years of age
decided to seek his fortune in the United States and accordingly made
his way to this country in a sailing vessel. Later, becoming home-
sick, he returned to his native land on a visit, and when he again came
to America, during the early 'fifties, the voyage was a most thrilling
one, the crew mutinying and everyone giving themselves up for lost.
The captain, however, regained command of the ship and succeeded
in taking it safely into the port of New York. Mr. Wise was a tanner
by trade and traveled extensively all over the country in the pursuit
of his vocation, but finally located permanently in Wayne county, In-
diana, where he established a tannery. Following the close of the Civil
War lie disposed of his interests there and came to Blackford county,
locating on a farm of eighty acres in Washington township, which
was partly improved and had a log cabin. For this property he paid
$1,000, later he bought forty acres more for $400, and still later bought
an additional 100 acres, for which he paid $1,200. There he con-
tinued to make his home until eight years before his death, when he
went to Hartford City, and there spent the evening of his life, passing
away in 1904, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was a stanch demo-
crat and a good citizen, a strong minded man and one well read and
with a broad knowledge of important matters. Mrs. Wise survived
him until 1907, and died at her home at Hartford City at the age of
sixty-nine years, in the faith of the Presbyterian church, although
her husband was of the Roman Catholic faith. They were the parents
of three children, as follows : Mary, who is the wife of Daniel Knox, a
farmer of Washington township, and has four sons and two daughters;
Joseph, of this review; and John, a farmer and the owner of 120 acres
of good land, the old homestead in Washington township, who is mar-
ried and had two daughters, of whom one died at the age of eighteen
years.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 61
Joseph Wise was given his education in the district schools of his
locality, and when he became of age purchased LOO acres of laud, at
thirty-three dollars an acre. He lived upon this trad for some years,
and is still the owner thereof, but later moved from Washington town-
ship to Licking township, where he bought forty acres of land Eor
$1,600, and an additional forty acres for $1,500. Later he was com-
pelled to pay $6,000 for a tract of eighty acres, and $2,300 for forty
acres, and in addition to these properties he also has the ho stead
of 120 acres, for which he paid $15,000, and on this is located a large
barn, 112x36 feet, with an "el" 50x30 feet, a modern eight-room resi-
dence with all conveniences, and substantial outbuildings of every char-
acter. This farm presents a very attractive appearand', the barns and
outbuilding being all painted red and the house white, everything is
in a good state of repair, things are neatly and systematically arranged,
and the whole property shows the presence of good management and
thrift. Mr. Wise also owns six homes in Hartford City, including his
own residence on North Jefferson street. In addition to general farm-
ing he is an extensive grower of graded stock and a breeder of high
grade hogs, cattle and horses. He has gained success through a life
of industry, energy and honorable dealing, and has gained not alone
material success, but the universal esteem and regard of those with
whom he has come in contact either in a business or social way.
Mr. Wise was married in Blackford county to Miss Catherine Hiser,
who was born in this county, in 1857. Her father. Peter Hiser, was
a native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, and was a young man when he
emigrated to the United States and settled in Blackford county, in the
wilds of Harrison township. There his father secured government
land, and both father and grandfather passed the remainder of their
lives there, the former dying some twenty-six years ago, at the age of
seventy .years. The mother still resides with her sons on a farm in
Harrison township and is nearly ninety years of age. Her maiden name
was Elizabeth Cale and she was born in Indiana of German parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Wise have the following children : John L., who is en-
gaged in operating one of his father's properties in Washington town-
ship, married Katie Walker, and has two children, — Lester and Dora-
the; William, residing at home, a graduate of Depauw University, who
is now taking a medical course in the Indiana Medical College. Indian-
apolis; and Corra, aged fifteen years, who is a student in the Eart-
ford City High school. Mr. and Mrs. Wise are faithful members of
the Lutheran church. He is a democrat in his political views and
gives his influence to the support of good men and measures.
Benjamin A. Van Winkle. There are elements in the personality
of this prominent business man and popular citizen of Hartford City,
Blackford county, where he is treasurer and general manager of the
Hartford City Paper Company, which represents one of the most im-
portant industrial enterprise of the judicial center and metropolis of
this fine county. All who have known Mr. Van Winkle know that he
is big of physique, mind and heart, and those who know him best
realize that we do not in the least falsify the facts in this statement,
and they also realize that he is possessed of great business acumen and
executive ability. Such men have friends because they deserve them.
and the direct, sincere and kindly nature of Mr. Van Winkle has given
to him a host of valued and appreciative friends. As a citizen he is
broad-minded and progressive, and gives to Hartford City his co-
operation in its business and civic activities.
As the name indicates, Mr. Van Winkle is a scion of sturdy Holland
62 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Dutch ancestry, and the original progenitors of the American branch
came from Holland with that distinguished colonist, Peter Stuyvesant,
a gallant soldier and the last of the Dutch governors of New York.
Representatives of the Van Winkle family were numbered among the
early settlers of New Amsterdam, from which quaint old town was
developed our great national metropolis, and few are the English-
speaking folk who do not recall with pleasure the use of the family
cognomen by Washington Irving, in his famous tale of the trials and
vicissitudes of "Rip Van Winkle." Simeon Van Winkle, great-grand-
father of him whose name introduces this review, finally went from
the old Empire State to North Carolina, and about the time Daniel
Boone initiated his labors in settling colonies in Kentucky, Simeon Van
Winkle and his wife were numbered among those who followed the
gallant frontiersman into the wilds of the Blue Grass State, which was
at that time a part of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Van Winkle made the
long journey on horseback and for several years they resided in the
same colony as did the members of the Boone family. Later Simeou
Van Winkle extended his pioneer experiences and labors in the Terri-
tory of Ohio, whither he made his way about the year 1800, transport-
ing his family and household effects with teams and wagons. In Ohio
he entered claim to a full section of heavily timbered land, which he
obtained from the government, and in the wilderness he erected his
primitive log house, after which he essayed the arduous task of reclaim-
ing his land to cultivation. He found the Indians of the locality to be
mainly of the tribe of which Chief Bigfoot was the head, and one of his
few white neighbors was Adam Poe, who later met the Indian chief in
personal combat and succeeded iu extinguishing the life of his dusky
foeman. The Van Winkle family lived up to the full tension of the
dangers and hardships of pioneer life in the old Buckeye State and
they did well their part in aiding the forward march of civilization in
that now opulent commonwealth. The old homestead was in the central
western part of the State, and there Simeon Van Winkle died at an
advanced age, his widow having been past ninety years of age at the
time of her death. They became the parents of twelve children, the
major number of whom attained to years of maturity, and even the
brief data here incorporated indicate how long and prominently the
family name has been identified with the annals of American history.
Of the sons who lived to lend new honors to the patronymic were David,
John, Jesse, Robert, and James, and there were other sons, as well as
daughters, who reared families of their own and gave to the name of
Van Winkle worthy representatives in divers sections of the Union.
Jesse Van Winkle was born in Preble county, Ohio, near the present
village of West Alexandria, and the year of his nativity was 1805, —
nearly seven years prior to the admission of Ohio to the Union. He was
reared to manhood on the old homestead and as a young man he wedded
Miss Margaret Howell, of Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, in which vicin-
ity he thereafter gave bis attention for several years to agricultural pur-
suits, a number of his children having been born in that county, including
Austin, William and Robert. In 1832 Jesse Van Winkle removed with
his family to Madison county, Indiana, where he purchased a tract of
land that had been partly reclaimed, the former owner having been
William Gale, and the property being in Adams township. The family
here endured also the vicissitudes of pioneer life, their domicile being
a rude log house of the type common to the locality and period, and
the father, with the assistance of his sturdy sons, developed a produc-
tive farm, this old homestead continuing to be his place of abode until
his death, in 1870. His widow was eighty-five years of age at the time
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 63
of the close of her life, and in 1888 this noble pioneer woman, vener-
able in years, had the distinction of completing entirely by hand an
old-fashioned patchwork quilt which she presented to her great-grand-
daughter. On the quilt she inscribed her own name and also that of
the recipient, a daughter of Benjamin A. Van Winkle of this review.
Mrs. Margaret (Howell) Van Winkle was a woman of strong char-
acter and indefatigable industry, and she had special skill in various
lines of handicraft, as shown by the fact that in earlier years she was
accustomed to weave hats from rye straw grown under the primitive
conditions in Indiana. She not only bleached and wove the straw, but
formed the same into hats that represented the height of style for the
women of the pioneer days, her skill in this domain causing many of
her neighbors to avail themselves of her artistic talent. Both she and
her husband were prominent pioneer members of the Christian church
iu Indiana, and their home was made a place of hospitable welcome
and entertainment for the itinerant preachers of the early days. Of
the twelve children ten attained to maturity.
Rev. William Van Winkle, son of Jesse and Margaret (Howell i Van
Winkle, and father of him whose name initiates this review, was born in
Preble county, Ohio, in the year 1828, and thus he was a child of four
years at the time of the family removal to Madison county, Indiana,
where he was reared to adult age on the pioneer farm and where his
educational advantages were those afforded in the primitive schools of
the day, these being maintained principally on the subscription plan.
In his youth he abandoned the work of the farm and served a practical
apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, iu which he became a skilled
artisan. After his marriage he continued to work at his trade for a
few years, in Madison county, and in the meanwhile he had devoted
much thought and study to the preparing himself for the ministry of
the Christian church. As a clergyman of this denomination he there-
after labored with much of consecrated zeal and devotion in Madison,
Delaware, Henry, Hamilton and Rush counties, and his kindliness,
ability, and earnest desire to aid and uplift his fellow men gained to
him the loving affection of those who came wdthiu the sphere of his
influence. Early in life he had given special attention to the study of
medicine, and later he attended lectures in the Indianapolis Medical
College. At the age of forty-five years he engaged in the practice of
medicine at Clarksville, Hamilton county, where he had held his last
regular pastoral charge, and he proved successful as a physician, the
while there came frequent requisitions for his services as a minister.
He retired from active labors in 1886, and his death occurred iu 1896.
He was a man of fine mind and noble character, and his memory is
revered by all who came within the ever widening angle of his benignant
influence.
Rev. "William Van Winkle was thrice married, the maiden name of
his first wife having been Judd. This wife died within a few years
after their marriage and was survived by her second child, Theodore
P., who was but three months old. Theodore P. Van Winkle is now
engaged iu the drug business at Hartford City: he married .Miss Mary
Halpin and their only surviving child is Ray. who is in the employ
of the Hartford City Paper Company. For his second wife Rev. Wil-
liam Van Winkle married Miss Ellen Lanham. who was born in Ohio
but reared and educated in Madison county, Indiana. She was sum-
moned to the life eternal at the age of forty-five years, a woman of pure
and lovely character, and of her five children four are now living.—
Benjamin A. is the immediate subject of this review; Alice, who is
the widow of Abraham Caylor and resides in the city of Anderson,
64 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Madison county, all of her children being deceased ; Loretta is the wife
of Jesse Mills, a prosperous farmer of Hamilton county, and they have
two sons and two daughters; Mary A. is the wife of Byron Whitsel, a,
farmer in the State of Oklahoma, and they have several children;
Margaret died at the age of ten years. Rev. William Van Winkle
chose for his third wife a widow with two children, and they became
the parents of two children, her death occurring in 1890.
Benjamin A. Van Winkle was born on the old Reason Sargent farm
in Adams township, Madison county, Indiana, on the 19th of Decem-
ber, 1853, and he was reared in that county and at Newcastle, Henry
county, in which city he attended the public schools, later having been
a student in a select school at Frankton, Madison county. After de-
voting his attention for a time to teaching in the district schools he
entered the State Normal School, where his application further forti-
fied him for the pedagogic profession. He later became principal of
the public schools of Fortville, Hancock county, where he thus served
during the three years from 1875 to 1878, and in the autumn of the
latter year he came to Hartford City, Blackford county, where he was as-
sociated with his half-brother. Theodore P. Van Winkle, in the drug
business for four and one-half years. In 1883-4 he was editor and
publisher of the Hartford City Telegram, for two years thereafter he
conducted a furniture store in the city, and for the ensuing two years
he was here engaged in the retail grocery trade.
In the autumn of 1890 Mr. Van Winkle accepted the position of
bookkeeper for the Utility Paper Company, manufacturers of straw
paper, and after becoming a stockholder of the company he had charge
of its branch at Eaton, Delaware county, where operations were con-
ducted under the title of the Paragon Paper Company. In 1900 Mr.
Van Winkle disposed of his interest in this corporation and become as-
sociated Avith Chicago men in the building and operating of the Chilli-
cothe paper mills, at Chillicothe, Illinois. He had charge of the opera-
tion of these mills for tw r o years and then returned to Hartford City,
where he became manager of the power plant of the United Board
Paper Company, which had absorbed the original paper manufactory
with which he had here been identified. Later he represented the Day-
ton, Ohio, branch of the same corporation, and he remained in that
city two yars. On the 15th of December, 1904, Mr. Van Winkle be-
came general manager of the Hartford City Paper Company, which
soon afterward introduced the manufacture of Greaseproof and Glassine
paper, being the first to take up this line of work in the United States.
The company now manufacture fifteen tons of paper a day and the
products are shipped into the most diverse sections of the Union, the
while an extensive export trade also is controlled. The company rep-
resent the American pioneers in their special field of production and
the splendid enterprise has proved a most valuable contribution to the
industrial prestige of Hartford City and Blackford county, as well
as to that of the entire State of Indiana. Since 1906 the company have
maintained large offices in New York City and Chicago, with agencies
in other leading cities of the Union. The output of the finely equipped
plant finds ready demand from the Canadian provinces to Montevidio,
South America and in New Zealand. In the mills employment is given
to an average force of 160 persons, and seven persons constitute the
office corps. Mr. Van Winkle is treasurer as well as general manager
of the company and his zeal and technical and executive ability have
been potent in the development of the extensive and important in-
dustry.
In politics Mr. Van Winkle gives allegiance to the Republican party,
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 65
and a number of years ago he served as a member of the city council
of Hartford City, though he has had no predilection for public office.
He is at the present time president of the Indiana Association of
Manufacturers and Commerce, with headquarters in the city of Indian-
apolis, and his term expires in December, 1914. He is likewise a
member of the board of managers of the American Protective Tariff
League, which has its headquarters in New York City. He and Ids
wife arc attendants of the Presbyterian church, of which the latter
is a devoted member, his lirst wife having likewise been of the Pres-
byterian faith, and their daughter having been a communicant of the
Protestant Episcopal church at the time of her death.
At Eden. Hancock county, on the 2nd of September, 1877, Mr. Van
Winkle was united in marriage to Miss Leah Jarrett, and their gracious
companionship continued for more than thirty years, the relationship
having been severed when the devoted wife was summoned to eternal
rest, on the 2nd of January, 1910. Eva C, the only child of this union.
was born January 28, 1882, was graduated in the Harcourt Place Semin-
ary. Gambier. Ohio, as a member of the class of 1901, and she later became
the wife of Harmon Anderson, of Hartford City, where she died May
24, 1909, only a few days after the birth of her only child. Benjamin
H.. who was born on the 17th of the same month and who survives
her. For his second wife ~Slv. Van Winkle wedded Miss Emma L.
Clevenger. who was born and reared in Middletown, Indiana, and who
maintained her home in Indianapolis for twenty years prior to her
marriage. She was an intimate friend of Mr. Van Winkle's first wife
for more than twenty years, and tenderly cherishes her memory.
In an incidental way it maj r be noted that Mr. Van Winkle is a
cousin of John Q. Van Winkle, who rose from the position of peanut
boy on the line of the Big Four Railroad to the dignified office of gen-
eral manager of the entire Big Four System, and who later became
assistant to the second vice-president of the New York Central Rail-
road Company.
James Needler. Nearly the entire life of James Needier has been
passed in Hartford City, and for almost a quarter of a century he has
been connected with the lumber trade. Commencing in the humblest
position, he mastered its many details, and has continued in the busi-
ness until he has attained a commanding place among the enterpris-
ing dealers of Hartford City, and has been able to hold it amid the
strong competition which increasing capital and trade have brought
to the city. His success has been due alone to his energetic character
and business capacity, for he began life without pecuniary assistance
or the aid of family or other favoring influences.
Mr. Needier was born near the city of Des Moines, Iowa, May 29,
1876, and is a son of Francis A. and Nancy Jane (Cunningham)
Needier, natives of Blackford county, Indiana. The grandparents on
both sides of the family had settled in this county at an early date.
probably coming from the state of Ohio, and had made settlements
in the wild woods of Licking township, securing tracts of land from
the United States government. They cleared and cultivated their
land, developed good farms, reared families to lives of thrift and in-
dustry, and rounded out their careers as honored and respected pioneer
people. They were laid to rest in the Cunningham Cemetery, located
five miles southwest of Hartford City.
Francis A. Needier married Nancy Jane Cunningham at the old
Cunningham homestead, and they began their life as farming people in
Blackford county, where thev established a home. After the birth of
66 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
their first child, a daughter, Estella, who died at the age of thirteen
months, they moved to the state of Iowa, and for some time lived in and
near the city of Des Moines, Mr. Needier being employed as a mail
carrier for three or four years. When their son, James, was about
three years old, the parents removed to Kansas, and in that state the
third child, Amy, was born in Cloud county. For three years Mr.
Needier was engaged in farming in the Sunflower State, and then re-
turned to Blackford county, Indiana. Some time afterward he was
separated from Mrs. Needier and returned to Kansas, where he was
married a second time, and still makes his home there. Mrs. Needier,
who also married a second time, is now sixty-four years of age, and
resides with her son James of this notice. Amy Needier, the only liv-
ing daughter, married Thornton P. McCann, and lives at Plainville,
Daviess county, Indiana, being the mother of two children, namely:
Esther and Herbert.
James Needier was about six years of age when brought by his par-
ents to Blackford county, and here his life has since been spent. He
has been a hard and industrious worker since his youth, and his educa-
tion was secured in such time as he could spare from his chores. His
opportunities, accordingly, were not many, but he made the most of
them, and later years of observation, reading and experience have made
him a thoroughly informed man on subjects of general importance.
Mr. Needier was but fifteen years of age when he entered the employ of
the Willman Lumber Company. He had no experience in that line of
work, and it was necessary that he start in in the most humble capacity.
Besides a steady occupation, at a period of life when so many young
men waste their opportunities in frivolity and dissipation, he was en-
abled to gain a thorough acquaintance with the details of the business,
thus qualifying himself for the management which was to ultimately
come into his hands. Mr. Needier has never worked for any other
concern since joining his present company, a length of service which
has shown remarkable tenacity of purpose as well as the possession of
qualities that have commended him to his employers. Step by step
he has worked his way steadily upward, familiarizing himself with
every detail of the business as he has advanced, and proving himself
trustworthy and capable in every emergency. In 1910 he was made
manager of the concern, and since the death of J. P. Willman, in 1904,
he has been practically in charge of the business, although R. K. Will-
man remains as the chief stockholder of the business. The Willman
Lumber Company was founded in 1890 by J. P. Willman, for the
handling of all kinds of lumber, building supplies and building hard-
ware, also operating a large planing mill and giving employment to
fifteen men, thus caring for a large local output. Under Mr. Needier 's
management the business has increased materially and his energy and
progressive ideas have served to impart to those about him his en-
thusiasm. His opinion upon matters connected with the trade is in-
fluential with the associated dealers, who have confidence in the sound-
ness of his judgment, and who regard him as thoroughly informed.
Mr. Needier is essentially a business man, and has not been especially
active in public matters, although he has ever been ready to discharge
the duties of citizenship, and has served capably for one term as alder-
man of the First Ward. His political affiliation is with the democratic
party.
Mr. Needier was married at Hartford City, to Miss Ann Elizabeth
Kalbfleisch, who was born May 2, 1878, in Canada, but reared and
educated at Petoskey, Michigan. Her parents, Conrad and Annie
(Bickell) Kalbfleisch' were born in Germany, and came to America
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 67
as children, their parents settling iu Canada, where they grew up and
were married. Later they came to the United States, settling in Emmet
county. Michigan, near Petoskey, where they still reside and are en-
gaged in agricultural pursuits. Of the seven sons and three daugh
ters born to Mr. and Mrs. Kalbiieiseh, all are living and married Mr.
and Mrs. Needier have been the parents of four children: Paul and
Fay, who died in infancy; and Harold J. and Rollin Joseph, who are
attending the Hartford City graded schools. Mr. and Mrs. Needier
are consistent members of the Presbyterian church, and have been
liberal in their support of its various movements. He has been inter-
ested in fraternal matters, being a member of the Encampment of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, past grand and a member of the
Grand Lodge of the State, and also holds membership in the local
lodge of the Junior Order United American Mechanics. During his
long residence in Hartford City, he has formed a wide acquaintance,
in which he has many appreciative friends.
Andrew J. Miller. No individual of the community of Montpelier,
Indiana, is more honorably and substantially identified with the agri-
cultural and commercial interests of Blackford county and with the
growth and development of this section than is Andrew J. Miller.
Opportunity in the life of this thrifty and enterprising farmer has
never been allowed to knock twice at his door, but at all times has
been turned to the best possible account, both from a personal and
community standpoint. For a number of years Mr. Miller was en-
gaged in the milling business at various points, but eventually returned
to farming, in which he has met with a very satisfactory measure of
Andrew J. Miller was born in a log cabin on his father's old mill
property on the Salamonie river, one mile northwest of Montpelier,
June 5, 1858, a son of Fred G. and Charlotte (Lowrey) Miller. His
father was born in 1836 in Germany and as a youth of sixteen years
emigrated to the United States and came to Fort Wayne, Indiana,
subsequently moving to Wells county to join his brother Henry, a
farmer. His father and grandfather had been millers, and he was
trained to this business in his youth, so that later, with his brother,
John A. G. Miller, he built the old Salamonie mills, on the river of that
name. This was first operated as a sash sawmill, and was entirely con-
structed of wood, even to the gearing, etc. During the Civil War the
brothers added stone bubrs, and continued to operate the mill with
great success for some years. Later Mr. Miller came to Montpelier
and erected a modern mill, with D. and A. Spaulding as partners, and
this also proved a huge success. In addition Mr. Miller was the owner
of large properties, had a good home and owned stock in two Mont-
pelier banks, in one of which he held a place on the directing board. He
was entirely a self-made man. When he came to this country with
his sister Catherine, making the journey in a sailing vessel which took
fifty-two days to make the stormy trip, be was possessed of $2.50 in
money and a silver watch. When he passed away at his comfortable
home at Montpelier, June 4, 1908, he was generally accounted one of
the most substantial men of his community. Mrs. Miller, who was
also born in Germany, survived her husband until 1910. when she
passed away at the age of seventy years. There were six children in
the family, Andrew J. being the only son living, while a sketch of the
daughters will be found in the review of Fred Miller in another part
of this work.
' The country schools of Indiana furnished Andrew J. Miller with
68 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
his educational training, and as a youth he followed in the footsteps of
his father, grandfather and great-grandfather and learned the trade
of miller. In 1879 he went to Metamora, Franklin county, Indiana,
and there for twenty years conducted a mill, in 1893 replacing it with
a more modern plant, continuing to conduct it until 1902, when he
returned to Montpelier and settled on his present property, which
he received from his father. This he has brought to a high state of
development, has placed thereon \aluable improvements of every kind,
and is now building a new grist and flour mill. He devotes his atten-
tion to general farming and the raising of stock, along both of which
lines he has met with well-deserved success, but while acquiring a com-
fortable competence he has led by no means a self-centered life, for he
has taken a keen interest in education, politics, local government and
the social life of the community.
In 1880 Mr. Miller was married in Franklin county, Indiana, to
Miss Kate Murray, who was born at Metamora, in 1857, and there
reared and educated, the daughter of Andrew and Emily (Jenks)
Murray. Mr. Murray was a native of the state of Maine, but in young
manhood came to Franklin county, Indiana, and here was married to
Miss Jenks, who had been born here. Both lived to be past seventy
years of age, and Mr. Murray was by occupation a miller and farmer
and also was identified with a packing house business. Mr. and Mrs.
Miller have been the parents of these children: Harry, a graduate of
the high school, who resides with his parents and superintends the
operations on the home place; Edith, a graduate of the Montpelier
High school and now a teacher in the schools of Wells county; Charles
C, a driller with a large oil concern in the West ; and Fred, a graduate
of the public schools, residing at home. Mr. Miller is a democrat,
and he and his family are consistent members of the Baptist church.
Jonas A. Palmer. A resident of Blackford county for a period
of thirty-five years, Jonas A. Palmer has been continuously identified
with the interests of this part of the state, and since 1885 has been
located at Dundee, Roll P. 0., where he is now the owner of a flourish-
ing hardware business. A man of progressive and enterprising spirit,
he has contributed to the growth and development of his community
in various ways, and his record as a business man and a citizen is
such as to entitle him to the respect and confidence of his fellow-
citizens, and to a place among the real builders of the county. Mr.
Palmer was born on a farm in Jackson township, Wells county, In-
diana, October 26, 1858, and is a son of Johu Weslev and Catherine
A. (Griffith) Palmer.
Jacob Palmer, the great-grandfather of Jonas A. Palmer, was born
in Virginia, and was there married to Elizabeth Riser, of Ireland,
their children being all born in the Old Dominion state. In 1828 the
family emigrated to Ohio and settled in Perry county, near the town
of Thornville, and there Jacob and Elizabeth (Riser) Palmer passed
away. They were the parents of six sons and two daughters, the
oldest child being Samuel Palmer, the grandfather of Jonas A. Palmer.
Samuel Palmer was born in Berkeley county, Virginia, December 27,
1809, and died at Dundee (Roll P. 0.), Blackford county, Indiana,
January 3, 1901, at the age of ninety-one years, seven days. On April
13, 183*2, Samuel Palmer was married to Sarah Fox, daughter of John
and Mary Fox, a resident of Perry county, Ohio, and their first home
after marriage was in Walnut township, Fairfield county, Ohio. Four
children were born to them in that county. Eliza Ann, born October
26, 1832, married February 12, 1852, Jonas H. Lee, born April 2, 1829.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 69
and she died May 11, 1889, while he passed away June 13, 1894, their
twelve children being,— Samuel P., born April 12, 1853, died Decem-
ber 20, 1889; Margaret, bom November 29, 1854; Sarah E., born Sep-
tember 2:!. 1856, died April 5. 1859: Evangeline, bom November 22,
1858; Hezekiah, Lorn December 3, 1860, died .May 24. 1905; Ida and
Ada, twins, bora October 16. 1863; Mary E. L..' born I) mber 19,
1864. died September 6. 1904; Dora, born' October 28, 1868, died Jan
uary 21, 1869; Cora, born October 28. 186"). died August 14. 1871, and
Nora, born March 28, 1S72. died August 23. 1872; John Wesley, tin- father
of Jonas A. Palmer, born March 8, 1S34; Jacob Palmer', bom Jan-
uary 13, 1836. married April 12. 1858. Elizabeth Brumbaugh, who
was born March S. 1841. and their ten children were, — Henry S., born
November 17, 1858: Frederick, born October 30, 1860, anil died at
Huntington, Indiana, October 30. I860; Jacob M., born August 9, 1863;
Sarah E., born December 28. 1865; Rebecca, born October 14. 1867;
Catherine C, born October 3, 18(1; Samuel II.. born May 22. 1874;
Mary E., born December 28. 1876: William D., born March 1. 1878,
and Neoma M., horn August 11. 1884; and Elizabeth, born December
18, 1837, and died in 1875. In the year 1839 the family emigrated to
Indiana and settled in Jackson township. Wills county. Mr. Palmer
resided there for forty years, when he sold his farm to William Banter,
his son-in-law, who now owns the property. Six children were born
in Wells county, as follows: Joseph Granton Vanhorn, born .lime 12,
1840, died October 14, 1846; Mary Magdaline. horn August 10, 1842,
married August 20, 1862, William Banter, born August 10, 1832, and
their eight children were, — Jacob H, born March 5. 1863, died in the
same year ; Samuel Ellis, born Mav 19. 1865 ; John W., horn March 5,
1867; Sarah E., born May 27, 1869; Eliza S„ born February 22, 1871;
Ida A., bom June 19. 1874, died October 6. 1889; two infants, bora
February 12, 1880, died the same day: and Maggie Lee (a girl raised),
born November 8, 1883, died April' 30, 1906; Samuel Hamilton, born
April 15, 1845, married February 9, 1865, Elizabeth Lee, who was
born June 5. 1845, and their seven children were. — Rosella, born Feb-
ruary 12, 1866, died October 1, 1872; John W., horn August 17, 1868;
Susannah, born February 3. 1872; Hettie V.. born March 10. 1875;
Manford E., born November 4. 1877, died May 14. 1879; Hanford,
born November 4, 1877, died August 22, 1879 ; and Nellie B., born Sep-
tember 17, 1883; Susannah Annelsley, born July 10, 1847, married
April 19, 1866, Thomas Hunt, who was born November 22. 1840. and
their five children were, — Sarah E.. born July 23. 1867: Joseph W.,
born February 14, 1870; Mary A., born October 1. 1872: Samuel T.
G., bom March 2, 1874; and John C. born March 22. 1884. and the
father of these children died December 5. 1903; Daniel, born August
26, 1853, died January 26, 1854; and Sarah Jane Griffith, bora May
3, 1851, married September 4, 1870. Benjamin B. Ely. who was bora
May 11, 1848, and their nine children were. — Rosa Zetta. born July
30, 1871; William F., born December 8, 1872; Charles A., born April
28, 1874, died March 4. 1876; Carie A., born October 4, 1876. died
March 24, 1881; Minnie M., born February 7. 1878. died March 26,
1881; Loye E., bora November 22, 1880, died April 11. 1881; Fred B.,
born December 7, 1884; Georgia C, born November 19. 1888; and
Ruth Palmer, born Julv 30. 1892.
On February 16. 1879. Sarah (Fox) Palmer died in the faith of
the Methodist Episcopal church, with which she and her husband had
united during the early years of their married life and of which they
had remained faithful and consistent members. On September 1. 1881.
Samuel Palmer was again married, his wife being Mrs. Lucy Stout,
70 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
who survives him. Of his posterity there are now living three daugh-
ters, two sons, fifty-nine grand-children, ninety great-grand-children,
and six great-great-grandchildren. There are nineteen grandchildren,
twenty-two great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild dead.
There are also living a host of relatives whose ancestors emigrated with
him from Ohio and settled near him in Indiana, and whose posterity
has helped to develop this country from a wilderness state and make
it blossom like a rose. "Uncle Sam" Palmer, as he was called and
generally known, will long be remembered by all his posterity who
revere his honorable life, worthy acts and length of years. In the
future history of the pioneers of this country, his name will receive
honorable mention as an actor in the stirring daj'S which tried men 's
souls and tested the metal of which they were made. He died at Dun-
dee, Roll P. 0., January 3, 1901, aged ninety-one years, seven days.
In political matters he was a democrat throughout his life.
Following is given a record of the descendants of Samuel and Sarah
Palmer, as compiled by his grandson, Jonas A. Palmer. Samuel
P. Lee, grandson of Samuel Palmer, was married November 22, 1882,
to Neomi MeElvaine, and died December 20, 1889, his widow surviv-
ing and residing at No. 35 Mechanic street, Shelbyville, Indiana, and
is now Mrs. Feidler. Margaret Lee, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer,
was born November 29, 1854, married November 4, 1875, to William
Sunderman, who was born March 14, 1852, and their eight children
were: Eliza Christina, born July 30, 1876, married March 15, 1898, to
Jacob Voght, who was born December 9, 1868, their children being, —
Earl A., born June 6, 1899, Thelma, born January 28, 1900, died
August 10, 1900, Emma M., born March 2, 1901, Louis E., born De-
cember 5, 1903, Edward O, born August 22, 1904, and Wilber, born
March 24, 1906; Jonas T. D., born May 7, 1880, resides at Andrews,
Indiana, married Emma Britton ; Mary E. O, born November 21, 1882,
died November 12, 1900; William A., born November 29, 1883, mar-
ried August, 1905, to Mabel Cullison, born September 28, 1886 ; Ida C,
born Mav 17, 1885 ; Flora Etta, born April 19, 1887, married June 29,
1907, Samuel DeWitt Weeks, born Mav 8, 1887 ; Louis H., born Feb-
ruary 15, 1891, and Nora A., born April 28, 1894.
Evangeline Lee, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married
November 4, 1875, to William Whitestine, who was born November
25, 1856, and died December 9. 1895, their children being: Samuel
Orville, born January 22, 1878, died January 1, 1902; Chester, born
January 5, 1884; and Bertie, born September 8, 1887. In August,
1889, Mrs. Whitestine married Arnold Feller, and now resides at
Greeley, Colorado. Hezekiah Lee, grandson of Samuel Palmer was
married June 17, 1893, to Louise Morse, and died May 24, 1905,
his wife passing away January 26, 1904, and their children were Her-
bert Palmer, born June 26, 1894, and Horace Morse, born May 4, 1896,
both of Los Angeles, California. Ida Lee. granddaughter of Samuel
Palmer, was married April 15. 1888. to Henry Plum, who was born
September 2, 1861, and they have one son, Bernard, born June 27,
1893. They reside at 24 Douglas street. Hammond, Indiana. Ada
Lee, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, married November 22, 1890,
George McCartney, born January 8, 1855, resides at Huntington, In-
diana, and has one son, Ray A., born January 29, 1893. Mary E. L.
Lee, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, married March 8, 1883, Wil-
liam D. Cole, born January 10, 1858, and they resided at Andrews,
Indiana, and had two children: Anna Dale, born January 19, 1884,
and Archie Edwin, born November 1, 1887. The mother died Sep-
tember 6, 1904. William Lee, grandson of Samuel Palmer, married
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 71
October 7, 1892, Arvilla Rhodes, and they bad two children: Arthur
R.. born August 23, 1894, and Earl B., born .June 5, L896. Mr. Lee
married July 4, 1904, Johany L. Nail, who was born Januarj 9, 1884,
and they had two children, Ila I)., born .July 23, 1905, and Gilla E.'
born June 22, 1907, and they reside at Junction, Arizona.
Sarah C. Palmer, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was born
January 24, 1863, and married Addison S. Woodard, June 28, 1881, be
being bom December 1. 1861, and they now reside at Van Buren, In-
diana. Their children are as follows: Bber, born February 19, 1882,
died February IS, 1888; Chester E.. born October 22, 1885, married
November 26, 1905, to Pearl E. Massey, born June 24, 1883, and
resides near Van Buren. Indiana; Nora P>., born November 9, 1887; [da
B., born April 14, 1900: and an infant, born June 7. 1901, died June
18, 1901. Clarence A. Palmer, grandson of Samuel Palmer, married
Bertha Gleim, who was born June IS, 1877. and died May 24. 1895,
and they had one daughter. Elsie, born May 24, 1895. On October 18,
1906, Mr. Palmer married Pearl Richey, who was born October 2'_',
1880. and they reside at Roll, Indiana.
Henry S. Palmer, grandson of Samuel Palmer, was married to
Clara Tomson, December 10, 1880, she being born June 17. 1858, and
they had one daughter, Jessie M.. born August 21. 1883, married Oc-
tober 16, 1907, to E. E. Cullers, of Bluffton, Indiana. Sarah E. Palmer.
granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married March 6, 1887, to
George W. Paul, who was born May 3, 1860, and they reside at Hunt-
ington, Indiana, and have had the following children: an infant, born
August 4, 1888, and died August 6, 1888; Naomi Grace, bom October
16, 1889; Herman W., born June 18, 1891; William E.. born January
10, 1S93, died April 24, 1893 ; Jacob II., born April 8. 1894 ; Mary L..
born October 2, 1898, died December 3, 1898: and Palmer S., bora
September 8, 1901. Rebecca Palmer, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer,
was born October 14. 1867. and married August 8, 1891, to Levi Hen-
dricks, who was bora August 9, 1S63. They reside at Huntington.
Indiana, and have one son. Milo, born December 11, 1893. Catherine
E. Palmer, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married March 28,
1891. to Frank P. Emley, bora October 4, 1863. They reside at Hunt-
ington, Indiana, and have two sons: Palmer T.. born July 24. 1895,
and AY. Dale, born February 9. 1902. Samuel H. Palmer, grandson
of Samuel Palmer, was married March 20. 1900. to Effie E. Treel, born
November 26, 1874. They reside at Huntington. Indiana, and have had
three children : Carl R.. born March 22, 1901 ; Mary I., born November
12, 1902; and Howard W„ born June 20, 1905. Mary E. Palmer,
granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married March 7. 1896. to Aaron
Shidler. bora November 11. 1S69. They reside at Huntington. Indiana.
and have had three children: Nancy E.. born July 6. 1898, died Oc-
tober 12. 1898; Rose Marie, bora December 14. 1899; and Jacob Aaron,
born February 2. 1908. William D. Palmer, grandson of Samuel
Palmer, was married November 24. 1903. to Catherine Tuhey, born
April 23. 1877. They reside at Huntington. Indiana, and have two
children: Eugene W., born October 24. 1904: and Arthur Francis,
horn September 24. 1906. Neoma M. Palmer, granddaughter of Samuel
Palmer, was married December 23. 1905. to Otto Fulton, born Novem
ber 8. 1883. and they reside at Huntington. Indiana, and have two chil-
dren : George C. born June 29, 1906, and Charles S.. born April 25.
1908.
Samuel Ellis Banter, grandson of Samuel Palmer, was married -bin
uarv 1. 1887, to Clara B. Rice, born November 17. 1869, and they
reside at Roll. Indiana, and have had four children: Samuel Carl,
72 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
born November 22, 1887; Charles P., bom July 28, 1889, and died
July 11, 1890; William 0., born February 26, 1891; and Ralph, born
November 23, 1902. Eliza S. Banter, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer,
was married November 24, 1896, to William N. Risinger, born August
31, 1861, and they reside at Roll, Indiana, and have had two children:
William Bernard, born July 16, 1902, died September 9, 1904; and
Mary, born April 14, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Risinger are also rearing
Neal McBride, born April 15, .1906, son of Maggie Lee.
John W. Palmer, grandson of Samuel Palmer, was married Oc-
tober 18, 1890, to Cora J. Stevenson, born June 9, 1869, and she died
November 5, 1893, having been the mother of one daughter, Mabel B.,
bom June 12, 1891. Mr. Palmer married January 25, 1896, Jane J.
Cruse, bora January 18, 1870, and they reside near Montpelier,
Indiana, and have had seven children: Fred, bom June 18, 1896: Mary
E., born April 19, 1898; Seland, born November 2, 1899; Violet, born
April 25, 1901, died August 29, 1901 ; Ruth, born February 26, 1903 ;
Helen, bora March 2, 1905, died March 10, 1905; and Samuel M., born
February 17, 1906. Susannah Risinger, granddaughter of Samuel
Palmer, was married September 26, 1891, to Walter Ervin Risinger,
born February 15, 1867. They reside at Roll, Indiana, and have had
five children: Alta B., bom March 19, 1892, died August 30, 1901;
John W., bora January 24, 1894, died January 16, 1895; Oscar B.,
born November 3, 1895 ; Samuel D., born December 11, 1898 ; and Evert
D.. born March 18, 1906, died March 30, 1906. Hettie Viola Palmer,
granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married December 21, 1895,
to Chancey D. Elwood, born December 6, 1872, and they reside near
Van Buren, Indiana, and have four children: Howard Francis, born
February 13, 1897; Harvey Palmer, born May 1, 1899; Homer Lee,
born October 25, 1901; and Hope Delight, born October 31, 1905.
Nellie B. Palmer, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married No-
vember 1, 1902, to James E. Turner, born July 22, 1882, and they have
had four children: Walter H., born February 21, 1904; and three
infants, who died on the dav of their birth, March 16, 1905, Septem-
ber 3, 1906, and May 24, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Turner reside at Bridge-
port, Illinois.
Sarah E. Hunt, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married
November 25, 1889, to Samuel N. McNeal, who was born October 15,
1867. They reside at Carpenter, Oklahoma, and have four children:
Clarence J., born October 17, 1890; Jennie S., born July 21, 1892;
Aurel F., born October 5, 1894; and Marrie E., born April 1, 1903.
Joseph W. Hunt, grandson of Samuel Palmer, was born February 14,
1870, married January 14, 1900, Lydia Sanders, who was born Sep-
tember 19, 1880. They reside at Akron, Colorado, and have fouT chil-
dren: Letta May, born November 30, 1900; Imogene, born December
2, 1902; David Theodore, born November 21, 1904; and John Rayman,
born January 15, 1907. Mary A. Hunt, granddaughter of Sanruel
Palmer, was married October 22, 1890, to John A. Ripley, born Oc-
tober 14, 1868. They reside at Graham, Missouri, and have had eight
children: Emmet Virgil, born February 22, 1892; Oren Thomas, born
November 7, 1893, died May 22, 1895; 'Ethel Margaret, born April 10,
1895; John William, born March 21, 1898; Alma Masia, bora Jvdy 5,
1900; Susan Elizabeth, born May 19, 1902; Fay Alice, bom April 24,
1904; and Aurel D., born March 26, 1908.
Rosa Zetta Ely, granddaughter of Samuel Palmer, was married
March 2, 1899, to W. C. Heminger, who was born August 25, 1868, and
they reside at Montpelier, Indiana, and have two children : Charles
W., born April 1, 1900; and Paul V., born January 30, 1904. William
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 73
Franklin Ely. grandson of Samuel Palmer, was married July L6, L893,
to Ella Loretta Sills, who was born December 9, L875. They reside
at Montpelier, Indiana, and have seven children: Rilla >'.. bora Oc-
tober 27, 1894: William Benjamin, born October L5, L896; Bar]
Curtis, born February 16, 1899; Ralph Sills, horn February 20, 1901 ;
George Ernest, horn July 31, 1903; Harry Orval, born Augusl 2 !,
1905; and Russel Palmer, born May 7. 1908. Fred B. Ply. grandson
of Samuel Palmer, was married May 27, 1907, to Elsie E. Petzold,
horn at South Milwaukee. Wisconsin, September 16. 1SSS, and they
now reside at Montpelier, Indiana.
Since the foregoing statistics were gathered, the following sup-
plementary notes have been obtained. Ruth, daughter of J. W. Hunt,
born January 27, 1909. Mildred Catherine, daughter of J. W. Hunt,
born February 3, 1910. Ruth died February 26, 1909. John Raymond
died March 28. 1909. Burr J. Palmer married Lena F. Gebhart, Au-
gust 12. 1908, she was horn December 16. 1890. Arnold Feller died
September 22. 1907, and his wife married March 3. 1909, Willis s.
Eavens, born February 19, 1849. and they reside at Greeley, Colo-
rado. Jacob M. Palmer died February 13, 1909. and Jacob 1'almer.
April 22. 1909. Born to Samuel H. and Effie E. Palmer, Elizabeth A..
June 8, 1909. Luella Irene, wife of Chester Whitestine, married
March 1. 1902, born September 28, 1S70, resides at Denver. Colorado,
and has had three children: Ester Alberta, born November 25, 1902;
Grace Mildred, born November 30, 1903, died August 19. 1904; and
Olive Vera, born May 21. 1906. Grace (Donlson) Whitestine, wife of
Bert S. Whitestine, born August 20, 1886, married January Id, 19(19.
Robert Gale, born March 10. 1910. Leota E. and Lena E., daughters
of Walton I. and Susaimah Risinger, born December 1, 1909. Grace
Paul married Pearl L. Farrar, born October 13, 1887, resides at Hunt-
ington, and has one son: Arthur Paul, horn August 5, 1910. DeWitt
and Emma Weeks have two children: Sumner William, horn July
1, 1908, and Violet, born November 2. 1909. Tena and Jacob Vought
have a son, Wilhelm, born May 13, 1909; William and Mabel Sunder-
man have two children : Charles William, born December 25, 1908, and
Wilbert Lee, born February 15, 1910. William and Johany L. Pee have
a daughter, Greta, born in 1909. William and Catherine Palmer have
a daughter, Catherine Marie Alice, bom June 6, 1910. Mabel B.
Palmer married Dwight L. Elwood. born August 24, 1878. John W.
and J. Palmer have two children : Cecil William, born August 16,
1909, and Evert Cleo. born July 25, 1910. Nellie B. and James E.
Turner had one daughter : Gertrude, born September 21, 1909. and died
September 30, 1909. Clarence A. and Pearl Palmer had one child :
Merrit, born October 19, 1909. William F. and Ella L. Ely had one
child: Gladys Marie, born June 15, 1910. Fred B. and Elsie L. Ely
had one child: Elvina Ruth, horn December 24, 1909.
John Wesley Palmer, father of Jonas A. Palmer, and first son and
second child of Samuel and Sarah (Fox) Palmer, was horn March 8.
1834, in Fairfield county, Ohio, and died February 2. 1889. He was
five years of age when he came with his parents to Wells county, In-
diana, and here was married February 24, 1856. to Catherine A.
Griffith, who was born February 8, 1838, in Ohio, daughter of Eli and
Mary Griffith, of the Buckeye state, who came as early settlers to Jack-
son township, Wells county, spending the remaining years of their
lives on the farm which they improved. They were consistent mem-
bers of the Universalist church, and Mr. Griffith was a democrat in
his political views. After their marriage, John Wesley Palmer and his
•wife settled down to farming in Jackson township, and there the father
74 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
passed away after a long career spent in agricultural pursuits. He was a
democrat in politics, and was one of his community's prominent and
influential men, serving for a number of years as justice of the peace.
Both he and his wife early joined the Universalist church and were
faithful to that belief during their whole lives. The mother still sur-
vives, residing with her son, Clarence A., and in spite of her seventy-
six years is hale and hearty and alert in mind and active in body.
Their children were as follows: Samuel E., born March 23, 1857, who
died March 27, 1861 ; Jonas A., of this review, born October 26, 1858 ;
Mary M., born December 3, 1860, died January 18, 1871 ; Sarah C, born
January 24, 1863; Willis 0. D., born February 19, 1865; Rosebud,
bom April 21, 1870, died July 21, 1870; Clara A., born January 24,
1873, died July 10, 1889 ; and Clarence A., born April 24, 1876.
Jonas A. Palmer was the second child of his parents and was reared
in Jackson township and educated in the district schools. As a youth
he gave his attention to farming, but in 1879 came to Dundee and took
up blacksmithing, a vocation which he followed until 1885. At that
time Mr. Palmer entered mercantile lines and carried on a general
merchandise business until March, 1894, when he became a hardware
merchant, and has since devoted his energies to the building up of an
excellent trade. Through good management and business ability he
has met with success in his ventures, and is accounted one of the live,
progressive business men of the locality. Since January, 1907, his son,
Burr J. Palmer, has been his partner in business. The postoffice at
Dundee has been known as Roll Postoffice since 1880 or 1881, and since
April 6, 1894, Mr. Palmer has been postmaster at this place. His serv-
ices have been eminently satisfactory to the people of Dundee, and his
unfailing courtesy and obliging manner have won him numerous
friends. In political matters, Mr. Palmer is independent, depending
upon his own judgment in his choice of public officials. He was the
organizer and is a charter member of the local lodge of the Knights
of Pythias, was first past chancellor and represented the lodge first in
June, 1892. He belongs also to the Blue Lodge and Chapter of the
Masonic fraternity, at Hartford City, Indiana, and takes much interest
in fraternal work.
Mr. Palmer married in Blackford county, Indiana, Mary Prances
Brotherton. June 20, 1885. She was born January 26, 1868, daugh-
ter of John T. and Abigail (Rice) Brotherton, prominent and wealthy
farming people of "Washington township, Blackford county. She died
at her home October 10, 1888, in the faith of the Church of God, and
left one son. Burr J. Palmer, who is his father's partner in business.
He was born November 23, 1887, was educated at Dundee, and mar-
ried Miss Lena Gebhart, who was born December 16, 1890. They have
two children : Wilma, born May 6, 1909 ; and Bernetta F., born February
10, 1911. Mr. Palmer is a member of the Knights of Pythias, and his
wife is connected with the Methodist church.
On April 26, 1890, Mr. Palmer was married, to Lillie B. Roberts,
horn July 22, 1866, who died November 18, 1906, without issue, in
the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Palmer is very
proud of his little grandchildren, and they have been the i-ecipients
of every ten-cent piece which has come into his possession. At this
time the elder child has $156 to his credit, while the younger has $96.00,
and in addition he has also given them five shares in the Lexington Life
Insurance Company.
On March 4, 1909, Mr. Palmer was married to Mrs. Martha J.
Miller, who was born January 23, 1863. By her first marriage to
Francis Miller, now deceased, Mrs. Palmer had three daughters and
four sons. She and Mr. Palmer have had no children.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 7;,
Henry C. Davisson, M. D. The great popularity of Dr. Davisson
is based alike on his distinctive professional ability and his all abid-
ing spirit of optimism and good cheer. A more buoyant temperament
than his is seldom encountered, and its influence touches every person
who comes within the gracious angle of his genial presence. The Doctor
has achieved noteworthy success along professional and financial lines
and has been the definite architect of his own fortune. He is engaged
in the practice of his profession at Hartford City, the fine judicial
center of Blackford county, and merits consideration as one of the
leading physicians and surgeons of this section of the State.
Dr. Henry Coffman Davisson was born at Norton, Delaware county.
Ohio, on the 25th of September, 1837, and is a son of Henry Carl
Davisson, Jr., and Sarah (Coffman) Davisson, the former of whom was
born in Ireland, and the latter at Newark, Licking county. Ohio, of
German ancestry. The lineage of the Davisson family is traced hack
to staunch Scotch origin, but the family was early founded in the
north of Ireland, where representatives of the name settled on leaving
Scotland to escape religious indignities, if not persecution, as they
were non-conformists and members of the Presbyterian church. Henry
C. Davisson was a child of about two years when his parents immi-
grated from the Emerald Isle, approximately a century ago. and estab-
lished their home in Rockingham county, Virginia. There his father,
Henry Carl Davisson, Sr., passed the residue of his long and indus-
trious life, and his wife also attained to advanced age. Concerning
their children Dr. Davisson, of this review, has not definite information
save concerning his own father and the latter 's brother Ananias, who
became a prominent member of the Virginia bar and who served as
a general in the Confederate army in the Civil war. Henry Carl Davis-
son, Jr., was reared at Harrisonburg. Rockingham county, Virginia,
and there in his 1 youth he learned the trade of blacksmith. As a young
man he left his native state and removed to Ohio, where he maintained
his home for a number of years, a successful artisan at his trade. He
finally returned to his native county, and the closing years of bis life
were passed at Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he died at the age of
seventy-nine years. Both he and his wife were members of the Pres-
byterian church and in the turbulent period leading up to the Civil
war he was a stalwart Abolitionist. In 1840 he became a resident of
"Morrow comity, Ohio, and in Peru township, that county, he was the
only adherent of the whig party in the early days. He later affiliated
with the republican party, and his death occurred about the year 1898.
At Newark, Licking county, Ohio, was solemnized his marriage to Miss
Anna Coffman, and she preceded him to eternal rest, the closing years
of her life having been passed in Morrow county. Ohio. Of the two
sons and three daughters only two are now living. — Dr. Henry C.
and Mrs. Anna E. Glassford, the latter being a widow and an evangel-
ist of the Methodist Episcopal church, with residence at Fort Scott.
Kansas.
Dr. Davisson was reared to adult age in Morrow county. Ohio, and
from the age of twelve years to that of sixteen he prosecuted his studies
in Mount Hesper Seminary, later taking a classical course in the semi-
nary at Granvilh'. Ohio. He began the study of medicine under the
preceptorship of Dr. Pennoek, an able physician of the Buckeye State,
and after duly fortifying himself he engaged in the practice of his
profession, though he did not receive the specific degree of Doctor of
Medicine until 1870. when he was graduated in a well ordered college
of medicine. The Doctor has been indefatigable in the work of his
profession, has been a close and appreciative student, has kept abreast
76 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
of the advances made in medical and surgical science, and his success
has given him secure prestige as one of the leading physicians and sur-
geons of northern Indiana, he having for many years been engaged in
active practice in Blackford county. With marked acumen Dr. Davis-
son has made investments in real estate, and through this medium he
has accumulated a substantial fortune, his investments having been
largely in well improved farm properties in this section of Indiana.
These farms "yield forth their increase in due season" and give to
the owner an appreciable revenue. The Doctor has reason to take
pride in his success and he finds pleasure in his association with the
great basic industry of agriculture, giving to his various properties his
personal supervision in a general way.
The call of patriotism did not find Dr. Davisson lacking when the
Civil war was precipitated. In response to President Lincoln's first
call for volunteers, in 1861, he enlisted as a private, and through his
influence seventeen other young men were induced to enlist at the same
time. The Doctor soon became a member of the surgical corps of
his command, and he made a splendid record during the period of
his service in the Union ranks.
In Blackford county Dr. Davisson is the owner of four good farms,
and his residence in Hartford City is one of the most spacious and
attractive in the county, the same being situated on Walnut street and
having eleven rooms. In the home he delights to extend welcome to
his host of friends, and his wife proves a most gracious and popular
chatelaine. Mrs. Davisson is a leader in the social activities of Hart-
ford City and is likewise a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. The Doctor holds membership in the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the Indiana State Medical Society and the Blackford County
Medical Society, and also in the Delaware District Medical Society, of
which he served one year as president. He has been an appreciative
student of the history and tenets of the Masonic fraternity, with which
he is actively affiliated, as a member of the various York Rite bodies,
as well as the Murat Temple of the Mystic Shrine in the city of Indian-
apolis. Dr. Davisson has gained more than local reputation as a post-
prandial and general impromptu speaker, is possessed of much literary
ability, including facility in metrical composition, and he has contrib-
uted to the press many interesting articles, besides giving to various
medical journals valuable articles touching his experience in his profes-
sional work. His success is the more pleasing to contemplate by reason
of the fact that when he arrived in Blackford county his cash capital
was summed up in a single silver dime, — a coin that he long treasured
as a souvenir but one that was finally stolen from him.
At Trenton, Blackford county, in 1860, Dr. Davisson wedded Miss
Eliza Anderson. They have no children, but they reared in their
home Lida, a niece of Mrs. Davisson and now the wife of Samuel J.
Farrell, who is bookkeeper for the Johnson Glass Company, of Hart-
ford City, and clerk of the court of Blackford county, Indiana. Mrs.
Davisson is a sister of Judge Randolph C. Anderson, who is a repre-
sentative legist and jurist of South Dakota, with residence at Miller,
Hand county.
Alvin Chandler. As a sterling and highly honored citizen of Hart-
ford City, the judicial center of Blackford county, and as a representa-
tive of one of the well known pioneer families of this section of the
state, Mr. Chandler is well entitled to recognition in this history. He
is a scion of the staunches! of English stock and his ancestors who be-
came the founders of the American branch of the family were members
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 77
of the Society of Friends, of which noble religious body the) were early
representatives in Pennsylvania, at the time of William Penn.
The original American progenitors of the Chandler Eamily immi-
grated from England to the New World in 1687, and the head of the
family was George Chandler, who was accompanied by liis wife and
their seven children. The long and weary voyage was made on a primi-
tive sailing vessel, and en route the husband and father was attacked
with illness that terminated in his death, his remains being buried at
sea. The stricken widow and children finally reached American shores
and made their way to Pennsylvania, where they settled on the llrandy-
wine river, near Chadsford, in November, 1687. In that vicinity .Mrs.
Chandler passed the remainder of her life and there she contracted a
second marriage, the name of her second husband having been Hawks.
The next in line of direct descent to the subject of this review was
Swithin Chandler, who was a prosperous farmer in the old Keystone
state, where he lived until the close of his life. In England the family
had early become identified with the Society of Friends, ami in America
the members of the family were associated with the Fox branch of this
fine old Quaker stock. Of the sons and daughters of Swithin Chandler
the one to whom Alvin Chandler traces his lineage was Jonathan Chan-
dler. This worthy forbear passed his entire life in Pennsylvania, when'
he likewise followed agricultural pursuits, and his son John, the next
in line, also became a successful Pennsylvania farmer. lie was born in
Pennsylvania and there remained throughout his life. He reared a
large family of children and his son Spencer was born about the time
of the inception of the war of the Revolution. Spencer Chandler at-
tained to venerable age and was the first of the family to marry outside
the Society of Friends, from which organization he was deposed on
this account. He wedded Nellie Coleson and they removed to Ohio, to
become pioneer settlers of Guernsey county. There Spencer Chandler
secured a tract of wild land, much of which he reclaimed to cultivation,
and the property eventually became very valuable, as it had rich de-
posits of coal. About 1S50 Mr. Chandler sold his land to Mortimer
Wood, whose descendants still hold the property. Spencer Chandler
was past middle life at the time when he sold his Ohio holdings and he
soon afterward came to Indiana and established his resilience in Black-
ford county. Here he entered claim to unimproved land in Washington
and Harrison townships, but later he returned to Ohio, where his wife
died. Their children were John, William. Mary, Polly (Mrs. Hammer),
Martha (Mrs. Logan) Coleson, Aaron and James. Some of the sons and
one son-in-law, Peter V. Hammer, came to Blackford county to insti-
tute the reclamation of the land previously mentioned. These sturdy
citizens became prosperous agriculturists and influential citizens of
Blackford county, and Mr. Hammer was one of the first county commis-
sioners. He was a man of herculean proportions, having been six feel
and four inches in height and of corresponding avoirdupois. All of
the Ohio representatives of the Chandler family eventually came to
Blackford county and established homes, but Coleson and Aaron later
removed to the west, where they died. All of the others of the brothers
and sisters died in Blackford county with the exception of Martha, who
still resides in Harrison township, and who is now an octogenarian.
After the death of her first husband. Mr. Logan, she became the wife
of John Kirkpatrick. who likewise is still living.
James Chandler, father of him to whom this sketch is dedicated.
was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, in the year 1823, and in the old
Buckeye state he was" reared and educated. There also was solemnized
his marriage to Sarah A. Logan, who died a year later, as did also her
78 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
only child. Albert Chandler later came to Blackford county, and at
Montpelier he wedded Miss Frances Ardelia Rice, who was born in Al-
bany, New York, in 1830, and who was a child of six years at the time
of the family removal to Montpelier, Indiana, where she was reared and
educated. She was a daughter of Ira P. and Ardelia (Stephens) Rice,
the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Hartford, Connecticut,
their marriage having been solemnized in the state of New York, whence
they came to Blackford county, Indiana, in 1836. Mr. Rice took up
a tract of land on a part of which the thriving town of Montpelier is
partially situated, and there he died at the age of sixty-eight years, his
widow attaining to the age of seventy-seven years and both having been
earnest Christian folk who commanded' unqualified popular esteem.
Mr. Rice was originally a whig and later a republican in politics, and
the same holds good with the older generation of the Chandler family.
After his second marriage James Chandler engaged in farming on
a. homestead near Montpelier, his land having been secured from the
government and having been school laud. He developed a productive
farm and his life was one of distinctive integrity and usefulness, so
that he ever had secure hold upon popular confidence. He died on his
old homestead on the 28th of June, 1864, and his widow then assumed
the management of the farm and the rearing of her children. She sur-
vived her husband by many years and was summoned to the life eternal
in 1888, loved by all who had come within the sphere of her gentle influ
ence. She was a devout member of the New Light Christian church and
her daily life was guided in accord with the faith which she thus pro-
fessed. Of the children of James and Frances Ardelia Chandler, Alvin
of this review was the first in order of birth ; Marietta is the wife of John
A. Shannon and they reside on the old Chandler homestead, their chil-
dren being four sons and one daughter; Mary, who resides with her
husband on a portion of the old Chandler farm, is the wife of William
B. Evers, and they have one son and one daughter; Ellen is the wife of
Henry Nye and their residence is unknown.
Alvin Chandler was born on the old homestead farm in Montpelier
township and the date of his nativity was October 10, 1854. His early
educational advantages were those of the common schools of the locality
and he early began to assist in the work of the farm. He continued to
attend school until he was sixteen years of age and thereafter was asso-
ciated in the work and management of the home farm until 1879,
when he began a practical apprenticeship to the blacksmith trade. He
became a skilled workman and for four years was employed as a journey-
man, by John Mason, in Hartford City. In February, 1889, he pur-
chased the business of his employer, and he has since conducted an
independent business, his personal popularity and his distinctive skill
having gained to him a substantial and appreciative patronage. In 1900
he erected a brick shop, forty by sixty feet in dimensions, and his estab-
lishment is equipped with the most improved tools and accessories, with
four forges in the center of the smithy, and with air and power sup-
plied by electricity of five-horse power. He does a general blacksmith-
ing and repair business and is known throughout the county as a skilled
mechanic, even as he is recognized as a loyal and public-spirited citizen.
In politics Mr. Chandler has given staunch allegiance to the' Repub-
lican party, and in a fraternal way he is prominently affiliated with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which organization has conferred
upon him many honors of official order. He is now serving as district
deputy grand, "and his affiliations are with Patriot Lodge No. 262; En-
campment No. 115, Patriarchs Militant; Canton, No. 45; and Lodge No.
294, Daughters of Rebekah. He is active in each department of the
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES Tit
order and is one of its most influential representatives in Blackford
county. -Mrs. Chandler and her children hold membership in the Metli
odist Episcopal church in their home city.
In Hartford City, on the 13th of June, 1880, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr.' Chandler to .Miss Clara A. Rowe, who was born in
the same city, on the 2.5th of February. 1856, and who was reared from
early childhood to the age of twelve years at Muncie, this State Shi
is a daughter of Henry P. and Emeline (Brugh) Rowe, who wire num-
bered among the early settlers of Blackford county. Mr. Rowe passed
the closing years of his life in the state of Washington and his wife died
at Muncie, Indiana, her father. .Jacob Brugh, having been a pioneer
of Blackford county. Indiana, and one of the early county officials; he
died in Hartford City, at an advanced age. Concerning the children of
Mr. and Mrs. Chandler brief record is here given: Edith, who remains
at the parental home, was graduated in the Hartford City high school
and has been a successful and popular teacher; Jay, who likewise re-
ceived the advantages of the high school, is married and is still a resi-
dent of Hartford City, where he learned the trade of blacksmith under
the direction of his father; Jennie, who duly availed herself of the
advantages of the public schools, now holds a position as clerk in a
local mercantile establishment ; Ruth also received equal educational
privileges and is bookkeeper and stenographer in a leading dry-goods
store of Hartford City; William was graduated in the high school as a
member of the class of 1914; and Maria is a student in the local schools.
Joseph Martin. The late Joseph Martin, who died at his home in
the attractive little city of Montpelier, Blackford county, on the 18th of
July, 1911, came with his widowed mother from Ohio to Indiana when
he was a lad of fifteen years, and he was thereafter associated with his
two brothers in the reclaiming of a pioneer farm in the forest wilds of
Wells county. Later he came to Blackford county, where he achieved
success in connection with his various productive activities, having been
for a long period in the service of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad
Company and having been a man whose sterling attributes of character
gave him inviolable place in the confidence and respect of all who knew
him.
Mr. Martin was born on a farm near Greenville, the judicial center
of Darke county, Ohio, about the year 1840, and he was a mere child
at the time of his father's death. He acquired his early education in
the common schools of his native county and when fifteen years of age
he accompanied his widowed mother, three brothers and one sister to
Indiana, the family home having been established in Chester township,
Wells county, in 1855. • There the sons set themselves vigorously to the
task of reclaiming a productive farm from the forest wilds, and their
arduous efforts were eventually attended with definite success and con-
comitant prosperity, so that the loved and devoted mother was provided
with a comfortable and pleasant home in the declining years of her life,
which came to a close only when she had attained to the venerable age
of eighty-nine years. Her four children survived her but all are now
deceased except one of the sons.
He to whom this memoir is dedicated contributed his quota to the
development and improvement of the old homestead farm in Wells
county, and there he continued to be actively identified with agricultural
pursuits until his removal to Blackford county, about the year 1873. \<
earlier years he had also done a successful business in the burning of
lime, for which he found a ready market, and finally he entered M
employ of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company, in the service
80 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES h
of which he continued for many years, principally in the capacity of
watchman. In the meanwhile he became the owner of an attractive resi-
dence property in Montpelier, and this homestead still continues the abid-
ing place of his widow and one of their sons. Mr. Martin met his deal
as the result of a pitiable accident while he was working for the railroad
company just mentioned. He was operating a railroad "speeder,"
which was wrecked by an ' ' extra ' ' and unexpected freight train, and he
received such serious injuries that he survived only a few days, his
death having occurred July 18, 1911, as previously stated in this con-
text. He was a man of high principles and he labored earnestly and
effectively for many years, the while he was loyal to all civic duties and
commanded the high regard of those who came within the compass of
his influence. His political support was given to the Democratic party
and he manifested much interest in those things that tend to conserve
the social and material welfare of the community.
In Chester township, Wells county, in 1868, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Martin to Miss Anna M. Bentley, who was born at Lena,
Darke county, Ohio, on the 18th of May, 1840. and who was ten years
of age at the time of her parents' removal to Chester township, Wells
county, where she was reared to maturity and received excellent educa-
tional advantages, as gauged by the standards of the locality and period.
She is a daughter of Asahel and Phoebe (Patterson) Bentley. both
natives of Ohio, where the former was born in Erie county and the latter
they finally removed to Darke county, Ohio, the closing years of their
lives having been passed in Chester township, Wells county, where
the father procured eighty acres of wild land and where he and his
sons reclaimed a valuable farm. There the father died in 1868, at the
age of fifty-five years, in the meanwhile having represented Indiana as
a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. He served during
virtually the entire period of the great conflict through which the integ-
rity of the nation was perpetuated, and was a member of the One Hun-
dred and Thirtieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. While in the military
service he was injured in the breast while driving a team of army mules,
and this precipitated pulmonary tuberculosis, from the effects of which
he died only a few years after the close of the war. He was as loyal in
the "piping times of peace" as he showed himself to be during his faith-
ful service as a soldier of the Union, and he had been specially successful
as a representative of the nursery business in the early days, having
set many of the ultimately fine orchards in Wells county, where he was
known and honored as a man of ability and genuine worth of char-
acter. A few years after his death his widow became the wife of James
Bell, a prosperous merchant at Keystone, Wells county, and after the
death of Mr. Bell she returned to her farm in Chester township, that
county, where she continued to reside until she too was summoned to
the life eternal, in 1901, when eighty-one years of age. She was a
woman of gentle and noble character and was a most devout member
of the Primitive Baptist church. Of her nine children, all born of
her first marriage, Mrs. Martin is now the only survivor. Mrs. Martin
is a woman of most gracious and winning personality and has a wide
circle of friends in her home community, her pleasant residence, in Mont-
pelier, being known for its generous and unostentatious hospitality.
Concerning the children of Mr. and Mrs. Martin the following brief
record is consistently entered : Charles W., who is a prosperous and
representative merchant of Albany, Delaware county, this State, where
he is engaged in the shoe business, has three sons and two daughters:
John Franklin, who has been identified with the oil producing and drill-
ing business since he was a youth and who remains a bachelor, is now a
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 81
resident of Cleveland, Oklahoma; E. Roswell and Mary each died at
the age of Eour years, and Minnetta at the age of our year; Grace is the
wife of Edward Tisern, of Montpelier, and they have three daughters;
and Frederick E., who remains with his widowed mother, is thirty
years of age at the time of this writing, in 1914. Like the other children
who attained to adult age. he received excellent educational advantages,
aud he is now devoting his time as a moulder in the Cup Metal Works,
being one of the popular young men of Montpelier, where he is prora
inently identified with the lodge of Knights of Pythias, in which he has
passed all of the official chairs. The attractive home of .Mrs. Martin and
her son is situated at the corner of Huntington and Columbia streets,
and Mrs. Martin is a zealous member of the First Methodist Episcopal
church of Montpelier.
Philip Michael. Agriculture offers a profitable field for the man of
industry, who is willing to labor faithfully and industriously and to
make the most of the opportunities which present themselves. However,
it is not every worker in this field who attains a full measure of success.
That men of broad and varied experience are best equipped for the
vocation of farming is doubted by no one who is familiar with the
intellectual and general demands placed upon present day exponents
of scientific agriculture. Especially is a knowledge of general business
an important item in the equipment of those who are masters of the
basic industry of the world, and it may be said to be this advantage
which has contributed so largely to the success of Philip Michael, one
of the substantial farmers of Licking township, who owns and operates
135 acres of fine land located in sections 3 and 5.
Mr. Michael was bom in Union township, Delaware county, Indiana,
December 22, 1864, and is a son of Samuel and Hannah Hammill
(Studebaker) Michael, natives of the Hoosier state, the former born
in Miami county and the latter in Delaware county. Samuel Michael
was educated and reared in Miami county, and was there married
to Miss Shepherd, who died in that county when still in young woman-
hood, leaving one daughter, who married and is now a widow. Dur-
ing the early 'fifties, after the death of his first wife, Samuel Michael
removed to Delaware county, and was there married to his second wife,
Mrs. Hannah Hammill. a widow. They continued to make their home
in Delaware county during the remainder of their lives, having their
comfortable home on their farm in Union township, and there Mr.
Michael passed away in 1901, at the age of eighty-two years, while Mrs.
Michael died in 1883, at the age of sixty-eight years. They were mem-
bers of the Dunkard church, with which she had been connected
throughout her life. In political matters Mr. Michael was a democrat.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Michael: William A. and
"Wesley T.. both deceased, who were married and had families; two
children who died in infancy; Stephen I)., a farmer in the western part
of Indiana, who is married and has a son. — William; Philip, of this
review; and Lucy B., who is the wife of William S. Bell and has three
children.
Philip Michael was given the educational advantages usually afforded
to farmers' sons in Indiana during his youth, and grew up on the
homestead farm in Union township. When he entered upon a career
of his own, some twenty years ago, he was $600 in debt, and had only
his own ambition and determination to set him upon the highway to
success. So earnestly and faithfully has Mr. Michael labored, however,
that today he is the owner of 135 acres of fine land, the greater part of
which is under cultivation, and here he has the finest of machinery,
Vol. 1—6
82 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
equipment and improvements. His set of substantial buildings include
a large red barn, 42x52 feet, and a handsome new residence of thirteen
rooms, comfortably furnished and equipped with the most up-to-date
conveniences, painted attractively in white and green trimmings. The
farm is well drained and furnished with good well water, and all in
all since he has owned the property he has enhanced its value in numer-
ous ways. Mr. Michael grows all kinds of cereals, which he feeds to his
stock and has horses, cattle, sheep and hogs of the finest grades. In
addition he has a very lucrative threshing machine business, hulling
some 25.000 bushels of wheat annually. Mr. Michael is a man of good
business ability, capable of holding his own in the competition of modern
times and bearing a high reputation for integrity in commercial transac-
tions. His industrious career has been rewarded by a full measure of
success, and the high degree of his citizenship may be measured by the
esteem and respect in which he is held by his fellow townsmen.
Mr. Michael was married to Miss Lorinda Bell, who was born in Lick-
ing township, Blackford county, in 1868, and reared and educated
here, daughter of Francis M. and Lorinda (Cunningham) Bell, the
former born in Blackford county, Indiana, and the latter in Ohio. Mr.
and Mrs. Bell were married in Blackford county, and here continued to
be engaged for many years in farming, Mr. Bell dying at the home of
his daughter, Mi's. Michael, April 14, 1911, at the age of seventy-two
years, while Mrs. Bell still survives and makes her home at Hartford
City. Of their six children, two died in infancy ; Rolla, a single man
and a farmer, recently met an accidental death, falling from a building
when thirty-three years of age ; William, a farmer of Delaware county,
married and with a family; Nancy, who is the wife of Jack Cole, of
Eaton, Indiana, and has a son and a daughter; and Mrs. Michael.
To Mr. and Mrs. Michael there have been born the following chil-
dren : Ima, who is the wife of Ansley Reasoner, living on a farm in Lick-
ing township, and the mother of four children, — Donald, Harold, Robert
and Vaughn, the last-named living with her grandparents; Dosia, who
resides at home ; Crystal, who is the wife of Henry Swoveland, a farmer
in Licking township; and Isa, Geneva, Freda G., and Philip F., all at
home. Mr. and Mrs. Michael and their children are members of the
Dunkard church. In political matters he is a republican.
J. Christian "Weschke. Many of the most substantial agricultur-
ists of Blackford county are residing on farms which have been in the
family possession for many years, and which they have resided upon and
cultivated all of their lives. In this class stands J. Christian Weschke,
who, during a long, active and useful career has been a farmer and stock-
raiser of Washington township. He was born on the old family home-
stead in section 26, August 28, 1868, and is a son of Charles and Mag-
dalena (Long) Weschke. His father was a native of Germany, born in
1842, of an old and honored family of the Fatherland which was identi-
fied with the Lutheran church there. The grandparents, Christian and
Henrietta Weschke, were born in Germany, and in 1851 emigrated to
the United States, locating in Wayne county and subsequently removing
to Blackford county, Indiana. Here the grandparents passed away in
advanced years, and in the faith of the Lutheran church. They were
the parents of two sons: Charles and William, who operates the old
homestead in Washington township.
Charles Weschke was a lad of about nine years of age when be
accompanied his parents to the United States, and grew to manhood in
Indiana, here securing his education in the early district schools. He
was engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active career, liv-
BLACKFORD .VXD GRANT COUNTIES 83
ing on the 200-acre farm in Washington township, and died in 1878.
He was an industrious worker, active, energetic and progressive, was a
good citizen and helpful neighbor, and had the respecl and esteem of all.
Reared in the faith of the Lutheran church he remained true to that
belief throughout his life, and in political matters gave his support to
the democratic party. Mrs. Weschke was born in 1841, in Crawford
county. Ohio, of German parentage, and was a young woman when she
came to Blackford county. She passed away at the h e of her son.
November 30. 1913. Two children were born to Charles and Magda-
len a (Long) Weschke; J. Christian: and .Mary, who had just completed
her education and was seventeen years of age at the time of her death.
J. Christian Weschke was a lad of ten years when his father died, and
he early went to work on the homestead place, his education being secured
in the district schools. As a youth the management of the home farm
was practically placed in his hands. 200 acres being left him by his
father, to which he has since added forty acres, and the entire propertj
is now under a high state of cultivation. He grows large crops of corn,
wheat and oats, using the most highly approved methods in his work,
and being a firm believer in the use of modern machinery, flis build-
ings are of a substantial character and include two residences and a
barn 28x40 feet, in addition to the regulation structures for the shelter
of his grain, stock and implements. As an agriculturist he has shown
himself possessed of ability, and in the line of stock breeding he has
also met with success. Everything considered, he is entitled to a place
among the representative men of the township who are assisting to main-
tain a high agricultural standard.
Mr. Weschke was married in Licking township. Blackford county,
Indiana, to Miss Mary Haag. who was born and reared in Licking town-
ship and is a daughter of Gustave and Catherine (SpeideU Haag. na-
tives of Germany who came to the United States as young people and
were married in Ohio. Subsequently they came to Blackford county.
Indiana, and located on a farm in Licking township, where they have
since made their home. They were the parents of eight children, of
whom four survive, and of these two are still single. Two daughters
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Weschke : Ruth Margaret, born October
5. 1905; and Esther Magdalena. born July 3, 1907. both attending school.
Mr. and Mrs. Weschke are members of the Lutheran church. He is a
democrat in national political matters, but in local affairs is inclined
to use his own judgment in his choice of the candidate he deems best
fitted for the office at stake. He has formed a wide acquaintance during
his long residence in the township, and enjoys the esteem and respect of
a large number of appreciative friends.
John A. G. Miller. It is most gratifying to the editors and pub-
lishers of this history to accord specific recognition to this" well known,
venerable and highly honored citizen of Montpelier, Blackford county,
where he is now living retired, in the enjoyment of the benign peace
and prosperity that should ever accompany and dignify advanced age.
He is a representative of a sterling German family that has been one of
prominence and influence in Blackford county since the pioneer .lays,
and his ability, integrity and productive industry proved fruitful in
making him a potent force in the development and upbuilding of this
favored section of the State, along both social and industrial avenues.
His activities were principally in connection with agriculture and the
operation of a grist mill, and he has at all times stood exponent of the
most enlightened and loyal citizenship, as he is a man of stronir intel-
lectualitv and broad and well fortified views.
84 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Christoph Miller, grandfather of him to whom this review is dedi-
cated, was a member of a family long one of prominence in the fine old
Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, where for a number of generations the
name was closely associated with the flour-milling industry, under the
best conditions then prevailing. Christoph Miller was born in Bavaria
between the years 1775 and 1780, and he was long actively engaged in
the operation of grist and sawmills in his native province, where he
continued to have his abode until his death, which occurred about
1860. His only child, Christoph, Jr., was born about the year 1795,
and eventually succeeded to the substantial milling business of his father.
He continued his residence in Bavaria until his death, at the age of
sixty-five years, and his wife, Margaret, who was born in the same
locality and whom he wedded in the year 1815, was fifty-one years of
age when she was summoned to the life eternal, both having been devout
adherents of the Lutheran church. Concerning their children it is
possible to offer brief data in this connection : Andrew passed his entire
life in Bavaria, followed the vocation of grist miller, and he married
but had no children. Margaret reared a family of children and passed
her entire life in her native land, as did also Elizabeth and Anna, both
of whom were survived by children, the husband of the former having
been a manufacturer of combs and Anna's husband having been a paper
manufacturer. Henry came to the United States in 1838, as the first
representative of the family in the New "World, and he was an honored
pioneer of Wells county, Indiana, where he followed his trade of mill-
wright and also operated a grist mill for a term of many years. Both
he and his wife died many years ago and of their children ten attained
to years of maturity. John A. G., of this review, was the next in order
of birth. Mrs. Catherine Fensel came to the United States when a young
woman, her marriage having been solemnized in Ohio, and she and her
husband were residents of Blackford county for many years prior to
their death, they being survived by two sons and one daughter. Fred-
erick, the youngest of the children, is accorded a memorial tribute on
other pages of this publication.
John A. G. Miller was born at the old family homestead in Bavaria,
Germany, and the date of his nativity was August 15, 1833. There he
received excellent educational advantages and there he learned thor-
oughly the ancestral trade of miller. In 1853, at the age of twenty years,
Mr. Miller severed the gracious ties that bound him to home and father-
land and proceeded to Bremerhaven, where he took passage on a sail-
ing vessel and set forth to join his brother Henry in America. Sixty-one
days elapsed before the primitive vessel arrived in the port of New York
City, and the young German, imbued with self-reliance and definite
ambition, though at the time not in the least conversant with the Eng-
lish language, came at once to Blackford county, where he joined his
brother Henry, who had come to America the preceding year. The two
brothers became actively identified forthwith with the operation of a
grist and sawmill, and John A. G. also found requisition for his serv-
ices as a carpenter and builder, so that he soon attained to no little local
prominence as an alert and industrious business man. In the year
1856 Mr. Miller took unto himself a wife, and with the earnest co-opera-
tion and sympathy of a devoted companion and helpmeet he redoubled
his efforts to acquire a competency and establish a home in consonance
with their laudable ambition. His energies were thereafter directed to
farming and milling and the passing years brought to him large and
worthy success, so that he is to-day able to scan with satisfaction the
perspective of past years and to know that he has so ordered his course
as to merit the prosperity which now attends him, and which places him
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 85
among the substantial capitalists of the city and county that have long
represented his home, his retirement from active business having oc-
curred about the year 1898. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Miller
gave distinctive evidence of his loyalty to the land of his adoption, by
enlisting lor service in the Civil war. In 1861 he became a private in
Company 11, Sixty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and two months
later, while making with his command a gallant charge at Nashville,
Tennessee, he received a severe wound from a rifle shot, the ball strik-
ing near the knee joint of his left leg, and the injury nearly necessitat-
ing the amputation of the leg. lie was incapacitated for further field
service and he received his honorable discharge shortly before the close
of the war, on account of total disability. His memories of that period
in his career are vitalized by his affiliation with the Grand Army of
the Republic.
In 1S95 Mr. Miller erected in the heart of the business district of
Montpelier the substantial three-story brick building which is known as
the Miller Block and which is twenty-six by sixty-six feet in dimensions,
being still one of the best business structures in the city. He is the
owner of his commodious and comfortable residence, on Franklin avenue,
and here he finds repose and gracious environments, with contemplation
of the past and association with old and valued friends, though the
supreme loss and bereavement of his life came when his loved wife was
called to the laud of the leal, after many years of devoted companionship.
In politics Mr. Miller has accorded unswerving allegiance to the demo-
cratic party ; he has been for forty years affiliated with the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows; and for more than a quarter of a century
has maintained active membership iu the Improved Order of Red Men.
His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, of which his wife like-
wise was a devoted member.
In the year 1856 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Miller to Miss
Sarah P. Morris, who was born in the State of New Jersey, in 1833,
and whose death occurred at the home in Montpelier, on the 7th of July,
1892, her memory being revered by all who knew her and had apprecia-
tion of her gentle and noble character. She was a daughter of Jonathan
and Mary Morris, both natives of New Jersey, the father having died
in Guernsey county, Ohio, and the mother having passed the elosiug
years of her life iu the home of her daughter. Mrs. Miller, wife of the
subject of this review. In conclusion is entered brief record concerning
the children of Mr. and Mrs. Miller: Jerome, a young man of line
character and talent, died at the age of twenty-five years, his untimely
demise being a sore bereavement to his parents and many devoted
friends; Minnie is the wife of Mr. Heslin, of Mount Carmel, Illinois,
and they have one son Carry; Anna, who became the wife of Carey H.
Cloud, died in 1892, without issue, and her husband also is deceased;
William, who is identified with the oil industry in Blackford county,
resides at Montpelier, and has two sons, Henry and Darrow; Margaret
M., who is a trained nurse by profession, has achieved noteworthy suc-
cess as owner of a well ecpaipped hospital at Newcastle, this state.
William Noonan. Blackford county has come to be accounted one
of the most flourishing agricultural sections of Indiana through the
exertions of strong and forceful men who have made a thorough study
of conditions and methods and who have worked no less for the com-
munity's interests than for their own. In this category may be placed
William Noonan, the owner of a well-developed farm in section 27,
Licking township, where the greater part of his life has been passed.
He inherits the substantial and sturdy traits of his Irish ancestors, and
86 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, January 20, 1854, being a son
of Dennis and Ellen (Lyons) Noonan, natives of County Kerry, Ireland,
where they were born between 1815 and 1820.
The parents of Mr. Noonan were members of old and honored
families of County Kerry, Ireland, and came to the United States dur-
ing the early 'thirties, although they did not meet until settling at Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, where they were married, and where their first son, John,
was born. Not long thereafter they removed to Lawrenceburg, Indiana,
where Dennis Noonan secured employment as a foreman on railroad
construction work, but in 186-1 turned his attention to farming when he
purchased a tract of land in Licking township, section 26. Mr. Noonan,
however, knew little of farming, so turned the operation of the land
over to his sons and resumed railroad work as a foreman for the Penn-
sylvania Railway in Mill Grove township, and later assisted in the com-
pletion of the building of the Lake Erie & Western, being identified with
this road either in the line of construction or as a section foreman for
ten years. On leaving the service of this line he returned to his farm,
and there passed the remaining years of his life, dying in 1904, when
seventy-seven years of age. He was laid to rest beside his wife, who
had died ten years before, in the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Hartford
City. Mr. and Mrs. Noonan were early members of St. John's Roman
Catholic Church, at Hartford City and were active in its work. In
early life Mr. Noonan was a democrat, but later adopted the principles
of the populist party. Mr. and Mrs. Noonan were the parents of the
following children : John, who studied law for four years with Ben-
jamin G. Shinn, was admitted to the bar, served as recorder of Black-
ford county for three years, and then went West, being now a prom-
inent attorney of Glenwood Springs, Garfield county, Colorado. He is
married and has two sons and one daughter, John and William, who are
students at Stanford University, and Eleanor; Mary and Margaret are
unmarried and live with their brother William on the home farm in
Licking township.
William Noonan, like his brothers and sisters, grew up on the orig-
inal eighty-acre purchase made by their father in Licking township, and
secured his education in the public schools. In 1875 a second eighty-acre
tract was added to the homestead, in section 26, and five years later
a like addition was made in the same section, this being followed a few
years later by the purchase of sixty-five acres in section 27. On the
last-named tract is located the family residence, a commodious home
of eleven rooms, in addition to which there are to be found a fine barn
and substantial outbuildings. There are no buildings on the original
purchase, but the land is well improved, as are all the tracts, while the
second farm has two good barns and the third a well built house and
barn. Mr. Noonan has his farm stocked with a fine herd of Aberdeen-
Angus cattle, a flock of high grade sheep, good swine and fine horses.
Mr. Noonan 's clean and upright life commands respect and good will,
and as the 'legitimate custodian of a large estate he has demonstrated
his ability, his sagacious and thrifty management and his good control.
Mr. Noonan is a well educated and well read man, with a wide and
comprehensive knowledge of subjects of a nature worth while. In politi-
cal matters he is independent, but is inclined to have socialistic leanings.
With his sisters he is a faithful member of St. John's Roman Catholic
Church, in the belief of which he was reared.
William W. Bonge. Bearing a family name that has been worthily
linked with the civic and business affairs of Blackford county for more
than forty years, William Washington Bonge has here maintained his
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 87
home from the age of 17, and through his well ordered endeavors he
has achieved distinctive success. He has done much to foster the social
and material advancement ami prosperity of Montpelier, the attractive
little city of his home, and here he is the owner of valuable real estate,
including substantial business struetures and his handsome residence
property. Though he has been measurably crippled since he was a lad
of eight years. Mr. Bonge has not permitted this minor infirmity to
interfere with his productive activities, and at all times he has stood
exponent of loyal and liberal citizenship and that initiative and con-
structive ability that figures as the metewand of success that is deserv-
ing of its name. He has a wide circle of friends in this part of the
state and as one of the representative citizens of Blackford county is
entitled to specific mention in this history.
William \Y. Bonge was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on the 28th
of March, 1853, and is a son of Henry and Sarah (Mindenhall) Bonge,
the former of whom was born in the State of Maryland, in the first
decade of the nineteenth century, and the latter of whom was born in
England, in 1813, she having been a mere child at the time of the family
immigration to America and her parents having passed the residue of
their lives in Pennsylvania. The father of Henry Bonge met his death
by drowning in Chesapeake Bay, in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland,
and this accident had a strange origin, as he was a somnambulist and
was walking in his sleep when he was precipitated into the bay and
was drowned, his widow surviving him for several years. Henry limine
was reared and educated iu Maryland, and in Pennsylvania was sol-
emnized his marriage to Miss Sarah Mindenhall, soon after which
auspicious event in his life he removed with his wife to York county.
Pennsylvania, where all of their ten children were born and where the
family home was maintained until 1869, when removal was made to
Miamisburg, Montgomery county, Ohio, from which place the family
came to Blackford county, Indiana, in the following year, the home
being established in Hartford City, the county seat. There Henry
Bonge, in association with some of his sons, engaged in the manufactur-
ing of cigars, and they built up an excellent trade of both wholesale
and retail order, the father having also had for a time other business
interests in Hartford City, where he died in December, 1881, his widow
long surviving him and having been more than eighty-six years of age
at the time of her death, which occurred in January, 1900. Both were
folk of sterling character, earnest, industrious and unassuming, and
they commanded the high regard of all who knew them, both having
been communicants of the Lutheran church and Mr. Bonge having been
unwavering in his allegiance to the Democratic party. Of the seven
sons and three daughters two died in early childhood. The eldest
of the children, freorge, became imbued with the wanderlust when a
youth, and he traveled extensively throughout the country. He was
in the South at the outbreak of the Civil war and was impressed into
the Confederate service, and he was killed by the discharge of a cannon.
Mrs. Clementine McCreary, the eldest of the daughters, is a widow and
still resides in York county, Pennsylvania, the place of her nativity.
Her husband died in 1893 and she is now eighty-five years of age ( 1914).
Daniel who rendered valiant service as a soldier of the Onion in the
Civil war, in which he participated in many important engagements, and
in connection with which he was captured at Winchester, Virginia, his
exchange being soon afterward effected, and he now resides at Hart-
ford City, Indiana. He has one son and three daughters. Frederick,
who likewise served as a gallant soldier in the Civil war. for a period
of three vears, became a farmer in Blackford county and was a resi-
88 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
deut of Hartford City at the time of his death, being survived by his
widow, two sous aud oue daughter. Sarah became the wife of Eli Miller,
of York eouuty, Pennsylvania, where her death occurred, aud her hus-
baud aud four children are still liviug. Lydia is the wife of John Span-
gler, a carpenter and builder of Muncie, Indiana, and they have nine
children, Penroe, who is employed as a glass worker at Gas City,
Grant county, Indiana, became the father of a large family of children,
several of whom are living.
William W. Bonge, whose name initiates this article, was the tenth
in order of birth of the ten children, and passed the days of his child-
hood and early youth in his native county in the old Keystone State,
where he was afforded the advantages of the public schools. He was six-
teen years of age at the time of the family removal to Ohio and thus was
seventeen years old when he came with his parents to Blackford county,
Indiana, which has represented his home during the long intervening
years. In Hartford City he learned the cigarmaker's trade in the fac-
tory conducted by his father, aud in 1881, when twenty-eight years of
age, he established his residence at Montpelier, where he continued to be
engaged in the retail liquor trade uutil 1901, when he disposed of his
business and assumed the position of agent for the Centlivre Brewing
Company, of Fort Wayne. For several years he traveled as a repre-
sentative of this company, and at the present time he is the local agent
for the company, having supervision of its business in Montpelier and
other towns in Blackford county. Through his well directed endeavors
Mr. Bonge has accumulated a competency, though he lays no claim to
being in affluent circumstances. In 1891 he erected the Bonge Block,
on Main street, near the First National Bank of Montpelier, and this is
one of the substantial and attractive business blocks of the town. In
1895 he still further manifested his civic enterprise and his loyalty to
Montpelier, by erecting, on South Main street, his present commodious
and attractive residence, of fourteen rooms, this being one of the tine
homes of the thriving little city and being known for its generous and
unostentatious hospitality. Mr. Bonge is the owner also of an excellent
business block on West High street, and all these properties stand as
concrete evidences of the success that he has achieved in temporal affairs.
Liberal and progressive as a citizen, Mr. Bonge has been unflagging
in his support of the principles and policies of the Democratic party,
and for a number of years he was a leader in its local activities, though
the only public office in which he has consented to serve is that of mem-
ber of the city council, a position of which he continued the incumbent
for four years. He has aided materially in the development and upbuild-
ing of his home city and here is popular in both business and social
circles. He is affiliated with Montpelier Aerie, No. 441, Fraternal Order
of Eagles.
In the year 1879, at Hartford City, Mr. Bonge wedded Miss Mar-
garet McDorman, who was born in Jay county, this state, on the 20th
of April, 1860, and who was there reared and educated. Of the chil-
dren of this union four are living, and concerning them brief record is
made in conclusion of this review. Walter F., who was born in the year
1882, completed the curriculum of the Montpelier high school and after
his graduation entered Purdue University, at Lafayette, in which he
was graduated in the department of pharmacy. He is now engaged
in the drug business in Montpelier and is one of the progressive and
popular young business men of his native city, where he is prominently
affiliated with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Masonic
fraternity, having served as exalted ruler of the former and in the latter
having received the chivalric degrees in the commandery of Knights
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 89
Templars, besides which he is identified with the Knights of Pythias.
Walter F. Bonge married Miss olive Lacy, of Montpelier, and thej have
one son. Waller W.. who was horn in 1906. Harry L\, the second son,
was horn in 1884, and still remains at the parental home, his educa-
tional discipline having been acquired in the public schools of Montpelier.
Ethel, who was horn in 1888 and educated in the schools "I' her home
city, is now the wile of Brooks Gutelius, and they reside at Tulsa, Okla-
homa, where Mr. Gutelius is in the employ of the National Supplj I 'oca
pany. They have two children, Thomas and Margaret -lane. Reda R.,
the youngest of the children, was horn in 1891, was graduated in the
local high school and in Miami University, Oxford. Ohio, and is one of
the popular young ladies of Montpelier, where she proves a gracious
coadjutor of her mother in extending the hospitalities of the family
home.
Allen K. Gadbury. The life record of the hit.' Allen K. Gadbury
is illustrative of the possible control over early limitations and of tin-
wise utilization of ordinary opportunities. From young manhood un-
til advanced age he was identified with the agricultural interests of
Blackford county, and the substantial fortune which he accumulated was
gained through hard and conscientious labor and business dealings of
the most honorable character. Although nearly a decade has passed
since his death, Mr. Gadbury is still remembered as a man of business
integrity, public-spirited citizenship and loyalty to friendships, and a
sketch of his life is eminently worthy of a place among the substantial
men of the county.
Mr. Gadbury was born in Pennsylvania. January 29, 1820, and be-
longed to a family of good old Pennsylvania Dutch stock which had
resided in the Keystone state for many years. He was still a youth
when he accompanied his parents to Indiana, the family locating in
Blackford county, where both parents passed away many years ago,
their names having been forgotten. Allen K. Gadbury embarked upon
a career of his own upon attaining his majority, and adopted the voca-
tion of tilling the soil as the field to which to devote his activities. He
chose a tract of land in Licking township, upon which he subsequently
erected a log cabin, and to this Mr. Gadbury brought his wife, who had
been Miss Lucy Ann Townsend. She was born in the state of New
York, August 2, 1818, and was a young girl when she accompanied her
parents to Indiana, here growing up and receiving a public school educa-
tion. In early life Mrs. Gadbury was a Presbyterian, but later joined
the Dunkard church, in the work of which she took an active part, being
known far and wide for her goodness of heart. When she passed away,
August 21, 1892, she left behind a wide circle of sorrowing friends.
Mr. Gadbury remained true to the faith of the Presbyterian church all
of his life, and in political affairs supported the democratic party. A
most thrifty and industrious man, his well-directed labors resulted in
the accumulation of three eighty-acre farms, all of which he put under
a high state of cultivation, and upon each of which he erected a hand-
some set of substantial buildings. Among his fellow-citizens Mr. Gad-
bury was known as a leader in local affairs, and for many years served
as a justice of the peace, a capacity in which his decisions were rarely
questioned so highly was he regarded. In his death, in 1905, Licking
township lost a man who at all times had the best interests of the com-
munity and its people at heart.
Mr. and Mrs. Gadbury were the parents of five children: James G.,
who died on a farm in Blackford county after his marriage, leaving a
family; Henry T., who died on his farm of eighty acres in Licking
90 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
township, leaving a son and a daughter, both residents of the old home
place ; Mrs. Lacy Boots ; Lydia J., who died after her marriage to Henry
Orn, and left four children; and Joseph, who died at the age of nine-
teen years, while still attending school.
Mrs. Lacy Boots, the only surviving member of this family, was born
on the old homestead place in Licking township, Blackford county, In-
diana, August 15, 1851, and was reared at home and educated in the
local public schools. At this time she is the owner of a finely cultivated
and well equipped farm of eighty acres of valuable land, with a com-
fortable residence and commodious barn, and carries on general farming
operations with a full measure of success, being an excellent business
woman and the possessor of shrewdness and foresight. She was married
to Israel Boots, and they have had two sons : Henry Allen, born, reared
and educated in Randolph county, Indiana, where his mother spent the
greater part of her married life, married Grace Hudson, and is now
engaged in farming in Licking township ; and James Israel, born, reared
and educated in Randolph county, married Mary Baker, and has two
sons, — Homer and Gale. Mrs. Boots has also reared an adopted daugh-
ter, Miss Alice M. Boots, now a well educated young lady of eighteen
Israel G. Burris. There has been no parasitic element in the career
of this representative citizen and influential business man of Montpelier,
Blackford county, and the large and definite success which he has achieved
stands in concrete evidence of the ability, zeal and discrimination with
which he has directed his energies, the while he has exemplified in all of
the relations of life that unswerving integrity and those high ideals that
ever beget unqualified popular approbation and esteem. Mr. Burris is
one of the substantial capitalists and progressive citizens of Montpelier,
and he has served with marked circumspection and effectiveness as mayor
of the city, his incumbency of this chief executive office of the munic-
ipal government showing conclusively the estimate placed upon him in
the community.
Mr. Burris is a scion of patrician lineage in the historic old common-
wealth of Virginia, where the original progenitors established their home
in the colonial era of our national history, so that the name has been
long, even as it has most honorably, identified with the annals of the
Old Dominion. The paternal great-grandfather of Mr. Burris was born
in Virginia about the time of the war of the Revolution and the lineage
is traced back to sterling English origin. This worthy ancestor was
reared and educated in his native commonwealth and he operated for
many years the ferry across the Ohio river at Wheeling, in what is now
the State of West Virginia. He was a genuine frontierman and a pioneer
of much initiative energy, his experiences having been many in the forma-
tive period of history in West Virginia and it having been his portion
to attain to the patriarchal age of one hundred and seven years. One
of his several children was John Burris, grandfather of him whose name
initiates this review. John Burris was born at Wheeling, West Virginia,
in 1793, his native state having then and having long afterward con-
tinued an integral part of Virginia. He was reared under the condi-
tions and influences of the pioneer era in that section of the Union and
there was solemnized his first marriage. There also were born two of
his children, — Maria and Israel, the date of the former's nativity hav-
ing been 1812, and that of the latter. 1814. [srael Burris, father of
Montpelier 's well known citizen, was a boy at the time of the family
removal to Ohio, and his parents were pioneer settlers in Butler county,
that state. His father there obtained a tract of school land, his original
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 91
homestead having comprised seventy-five acres. He made a clearing in
the virgin forest and after there erecting his humble log house he con-
tinued his grappling with the wilderness until he bad cleared a little
tract on winch to plant his first crop, lie eventually reclaimed and
improved a productive farm, proved himself well equipped for the
labors and responsibilities of the pioneer and empire builder, ami he
continued to reside on his old homestead until five years before his death.
when he moved to Oxford. He died at the venerable age of ninety-
seven years, the family having been in the various generations notable
for longevity. The first wife of John Burris died in Butler county, after
having become the mother of seven sons and six daughters, all of whom
exemplified the sturdiness of the stock from which they sprung, as all
attained to maturity and reared families of their own, with the sole
exception of the eldest child, Maria, who never married but who lived
to the notably advanced age of ninety years. She was a woman of
strong individuality, fine intellectual gifts and gracious personality. For
seventeen years she was a popular teacher in the Twelfth District school
of Cincinnati, Ohio. She continued to maintain her home in the
Buckeye state until the close of her long and useful life. Of the other
children Stephen, Asa, Jacob, William, Melissa and Laura are still
living, all being the heads of fine families and each of them having
passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten. The maiden
name of the second wife of John Burris was Leach, and they had
no children. Mrs. Burris attaining to advanced age. .Mr. Burris and his
fii'.st and second wives were zealous and influential in the pioneer activi-
ties of the Methodist Episcopal church in Ohio, and the fine old home-
stead place was in the vicinity of the village of Oxford. Butler county.
After he had attained to the age of ninety-two years Mr. Burris and his
second wife left the old homestead farm which he had made one of the
model places of Butler county, and established their home in the village
of Oxford, where they lived in gracious retirement until the close of their
lives, honored as noble pioneer citizens of that section of the Buckeye
State. In polities Mr. Burris was originally a whig, but he transferred
his allegiance to the republican party at the time of its organization and
thereafter continued a staunch advocate of its principles.
Israel Burris, as previously stated, was born at Wheeling, West Vir-
ginia, in 1814. He was a boy at the time of the family removal to Butler
county, Ohio, where he was reared to adult age and where his educa-
tional advantages were those afforded in the pioneer schools. At the
age of seventeen years he entered upon an apprenticeship to the trade
of carpenter, in which he became a specially skilful artisan, and he
devoted the major part of his active career to successful enterprise as,
a contractor and builder. He continued his residence in Ohio until 1845,
when he came with his family to Indiana and established his home at
Laurel, Franklin county, a town of not a little importance at that time.
as it was located on one of the canals that then constituted the main
arteries of transportation in Indiana. There he engaged in the work
of his trade, in the employ of Joseph Cooper, the owner of the canal.
In this connection he had charge of the installing the canal gates and
aqueducts. At Laurel Mr. Burris finally turned his attention to work
as a millwright, and in 1868 he removed to Wawasee, Fayette county,
where he found employment as millwright in the paper mills. There he
continued to maintain his home until his death, which occurred on the
13th of February, 1875. He was a fine mechanic and his facility in
mechanical lines far transcended the limitation of the specific trade to
which he had been trained in his youth. He was a man of lofty principles
92 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
and tender and generous nature, his religious convictions having been
deep and sincere and both he and his wife having been most zealous
and devout members of the Presbyterian church. His political views were
indicated by the unswerving adherence he gave to the cause of the
democratic party, and in the Laurel lodge of Free & Accepted Masons
he served sixteen consecutive years as worshipful master.
At a point on the line between the States of Ohio and Indiana Israel
Burris married Miss Martha Knotts, and she was comparatively a young
woman at the time of her death, which occurred at Laurel, Indiana. The
three children of this union were Benjamin, Charles and Mary, all of
whom attained to years of maturity, aud of whom Charles is yet living, he
being at the National Soldiers' Home at Dayton, Ohio. He was a valiant
soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he served three years,
a portion of the time as a member of the Sixty-eighth Indiana Volunteer
Infantry and later as a member of the Fourteenth Indiana Battery of
Light Artillery. At Mixerville, Indiana, Israel Burris married, for
his second wife, Miss Mary Gray, who was born in the year 1818, and
who was a daughter of David Gray, the maiden name of her mother
having been Blackburn. Her father was born in Ireland and as a young
man immigrated to the United States, where his marriage was solemnized
in the early part of the second decade of the nineteenth ceutury, his
wife having been a resident of Kentucky, whence they soon afterward
came to Indiana and established their home on the west bank of In-
diana creek, near the present village of Mixerville, Franklin county,
where they were pioneers of prominence and influence and where they
continued to reside on their old homestead farm until their death, when
of venerable age. Both were zealous members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church. Mrs. Mary (Gray) Burris passed the closing years of
her life at Laurel, Franklin county, where she died in 1899, secure in
the faith of the Presbyterian church. Concerning her children the fol-
lowing brief data are available : Frank, who follows the trade of mill-
wright, is a widower, residing at Connersville, Fayette county, and he
has three children; Israel G., of this review, was the next in order of
birth; John and Lewis died when young; Eugene passed the closing
years of his life at the old home town of Laurel and is survived by one
daughter ; Emmett is a shoemaker by trade and resides at Connersville,
he and his wife having no children; Nina is the widow of Dudley
Templeton and is now living with a niece in the city of Portland,
Oregon.
Israel G. Burris was born at Laurel, Franklin county, on the 20th
of September, 1849, and his earliest recollections touch the conditions
and influences of the pioneer days in that section of Indiana, where he
was reared to adult age and where his early education was acquired
in the common schools. There also he began an apprenticeship to the
shoemaker's trade, and in 1869 he went to the city of Lafayette, where
he completed his apprenticeship under favorable circumstances. Later
he was employed as a journeyman at his trade in Conuersville, this
state, and at Oxford, Ohio, and finally he returned to Laurel. In March,
1875, he established his residence at Montpelier, Blackford county,
where he has since continued to reside and where he has been actively
and successfully engaged in the work of his trade during the long
intervening period of nearly forty years. His application has been
earnest and consecutive, and in all these years few have been the work
days that have not found him busily engaged at his bench. In 1876
he here erected a residence of modest order, and later he built his
present attractive residence. In 1877 he erected a frame business build-
ing on High street, and this he utilized as his headquarters until 1895,
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 93
wheii he built the substantial brick block that now marks the location.
He has been distinctively successful in temporal affairs, and this has
been a merited reward for his many years of earnest toil and endeavor.
He is the owner of and has improved with good buildings two farms in
Blackford count}', one place comprising seventy-three acres and Hie
other eighty acres, in Harrison township. lie rents the farms hut gives
to the same a general supervision.
Mr. Harris has been uncompromising in his support of the cause
of the democratic party, insofar as national ami state issues are in-
volved, and, by reason of the regularly elected incumbent having failed
to qualify, he served as the first county assessor of Blackford county,
by appointment eouferred by the board of county commissioners. His
public spirit has been unflagging and he has been zealous in support-
ing those measures that have made for the substantial development of
Montpelier along both civic and material lines. He was a member of
the city council for eight years, and in 1909 there came a flatter mark
of popular confidence and esteem when he was elected mayor, his ad-
ministration continuing four years and redounding unequivocally to
the general good of the city and its people.
Mr. Burris has been long and prominently affiliated with the Masonic
fraternity, in which he is past master of Montpelier Lodge, No. 600,
Free & Accepted Masons; past high priest of the Hartford City Chap-
ter, No. Ill, Royal Arch Masons; and past illustrious master of Hart-
ford City Council, No. 76, Royal & Select Masters; and a member of
Bluffton Commandery, Knights Templars, at Bluffton. Wells county.
With each of these organizations he is still in active affiliation, as one
of the influential and popular representatives of the fraternity in this
section of his native state.
Near Oxford, Ohio, on the 22d of February, 1871, Mr. Burris gave
fitting observation of the birthday anniversary of General George Wash-
ington, since he was then united in marriage to Miss Joanna Woodruff,
the only daughter of John and Elizabeth (Fisher) Woodruff. Mrs.
Burris was born near Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, on the 3d of
October. 1852. and in that county she was reared and educated. Her
parents finally came to Indiana, aud her mother died in Jay county,
at the age of sixty-two years, her father finally establishing his resi-
dence at Montpelier, where he died in the autumn of 1910, at the
great age of ninety-three. Both he and his wife were most zealous and
prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he
served not only as deacon and class leader but also as a layman preacher.
In conclusion of this sketch of the career of an honored citizen is
consistently given brief record concerning the children born to him
and his loved and devoted wife : Nina P. is the wife of Archibald Cran-
dall, who is identified with oil-well operations in Oklahoma, and their
only child is a son, Burris. Ida L. is the wife of Ernest Fields, who has
charge of the operation of one of the farms owned by Mr. Burris, and
they have one son, Daniel. Adrian R. is the wife of William Geery,
employed in the nil fields near Bellair, Crawford county, Illinois, and
they have no children. Mary F. is the wife of Merle Smith, engaged
in the photograph business in Montpelier. and they have no children.
Josie is the wife of Glenn Arick, engaged in the grocery business in
Montpelier, and they likewise have no children.
John V. Tidd. A scion of the fourth generation of the Tidd fam-
ily in America, he whose name initiates this review is numbered among
the representative business men of Hartford City, Blackford conntv,
where he conducts a successful merchant-tailoring business and is known
94 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
as a progressive and loyal citizen. The name of the Tidd family has
been identified in turn with the history of the States of Virginia, Ohio
and Indiana, and in the different generations its representatives have
stood exemplar of utmost patriotism and have played well their part as
industrious and worthy citizen.
John Tidd, paternal grandfather of him whose name introduces
this sketch, was born in England, about the year 1806, and he was a
child at the time of his parents' immigration to America. Settlement
was made in the State of Virginia, where his father obtained a tract
of land and engaged in agricultural pursuits, both he and his wife con-
tinuing to reside in the Old Dominion State until their death. There
John Tidd was reared to maturity ou the old homestead plantation
and there his marriage was solemnized, the maiden name of his wife
having been Hamilton. All of their children were born in Virginia and
there he continued to devote his attention to farming until his removal
to Ohio. In the Buckeye State he settled in Greene county, his farm
being near the village of Jamestown. John Tidd there passed the re-
mainder of his life and was venerable in years at the time of his death,
his wife having preceded him to the life eternal by several years. They
became the parents of four sons and three daughters, all of whom at-
tained to maturity and reared families of their own. All of them are
now deceased. Of the five children Samuel Warwick Tidd, father of
the subject of this review, was the third in order of birth. He was born
in Virginia, about 1838, and was a boy at the time of the family re-
moval to Greene county, Ohio, where he was reared and educated and
where was solemnized his marriage to Miss Lucinda Glass, who was
born in that county, in 1850, a daughter of Vincent and Lila Glass,
who were pioneers of Greene county and who are supposed to have
removed to Ohio from Pennsylvania, Mr. Glass having been a pros-
perous farmer and both he and his wife having been residents of Greene
county until their death. They reared a large family of children, of
whom three sons and three daughters are living in 1914. All of them
reside in Greene county, Ohio, with the exception of Mrs. Tidd.
After his marriage Samuel W. Tidd continued to following agri-
cultural pursuits and stock-growing in Greene county, Ohio, until 1899,
all of his children having been born in that county. In the year men-
tioned he came to Indiana, and for the first year he resided on a farm
near Eaton, Delaware county. He then removed to Hartford City,
Blackford county, where his death occurred in July, 1907, and
where his widow still maintains her home. He was a staunch
republican and at one time was actively affiliated with the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a man of steadfast in-
tegrity and ever commanded the high regard of all who knew him. He
was a member of the Christian church, as is also his widow. Concern-
ing their children, brief record is here entered : Charles, who resides
in Oregon City, Oregon, is married and has one son; Albert died in
childhood; John V., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Miss
Isola M. remains with her widowed mother.
John V. Tidd was born in Greene county, Ohio, on the 26th of April,
1873, and was sixteen years of age at the time of the family removal
to Indiana, his early education having been obtained in the public
schools of his native county. He was reared to maturity in Hartford
City and as a youth he here became a clerk in the mercantile establish-
ment of the Wiler Company, with which concern he remained as a
capable and valued employe for seventeen years. In March, 1913, he
purchased a half interest in the merchant tailoring business estab-
lished at 111 South Jefferson street, where he is now the proprietor of
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 95
the firm of .John V. Tidd. and his firm is having a representative trade
as merchant tailors as well as in the repairing, renovating and press-
ing department of his well equipped establishment. The firm also are
agents for a popular brand of shoes, and this department of the enter-
prise likewise has an excellent patronage.
Mr. Tidd is one of the popular and well known business men of
Blackford county, is a republican in national and state affairs, bul in
loeal matters, where no definite issues are involved, he is not constrained
by strict partisan lines. He is affiliated with the local organizations of
the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Loyal Order of
Moos.-, iii which latter he has passed all the official chairs of his lodge,
including that of dictator, besides representing the same in the supreme
convocation of the order, in the city of Detroit. Michigan, in 1912.
In 1907 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Tidd to .Miss Elsie
Jarvis, who was horn in the state of New -Jersey, in 1885, and who was
but two years of age at the time of her mother "s death. She came to
Hartford City. Indiana, in company with her father, John Jarvis. who
followed the trade of glass-cutter during his active career and who now
lives with his children, passing varied periods with each of them. He
is a veteran of the Civil war. a Repuliliean in politics and is seventy-
four years of age at the time of this writing, in 1914. .Mr. and .Mrs.
Tidd have a fine little son. John S.. who was horn -July 16, 1908.
Elijah Townsend. Accounted one of the progressive and prac-
tical agriculturists of l>lackford county, Elijah Townsend has been a
resident of this locality all of his life, and through earnest and con-
secutive lalior has gained a position high in the esteem of his fellow citi-
zens. Although a firm believer in methods that are time tried and
known to be practicable, he has kept himself thoroughly abreast of the
times in all things, and his activities have been rewarded in a manner
commensurate with their merits. Mr. Townsend was horn on a farm in
Washington township. Blackford county. Indiana, January 10, 1851,
and is a son of Alvah and Elzary (Shields) Townsend.
Gilbert Townsend, the grandfather of Elijah Townsend, came from
Putnam county. New York, to Indiana during the early thirties, and
with his wife and family located in Blackford county, where be entered
land from the United States Government. He devoted liis life to the
cultivation of his farm in Washington township, improved a good
property, and died there about 1856 or 1857. when about seventy years
of age. He is rememhered as a large man, of rugged build, and a con-
sistent and energetic worker who fought his own way to success. His
wife, who had been Polly Saxton, of New- York, was a sister of James
Saxton, a well known early settler of Blackford county, and lived to
be nearly one hundred years of age. Of their six or seven children,
all have now passed away.
Alvah Townsend. father of Elijah Townsend. was one of the younger
of his parents' children, and was horn in the state of New York, in
1830 or 1831. He was still a small lad when he was brought to In-
diana by his parents, and grew up amid rural pioneer surroundings
in Washington township, his educational advantages being confined to
several winter terms in the primitive district schools. Subsequently Mr.
Townsend became the owner of forty acres of the old homestead place,
which he farmed until being drafted into the Thirty-first Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Union army during the
Civil War. At the close of that struggle, with his honorable discharge
and a record for soldierly bravery and faithful service, Mr. TowTisend
returned to his home and resumed agricultural operations, later be-
96 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
coming the manager of the Col. A. B. Steel homestead, containing about
a section of land in Licking township, of which he remained as the
directing head for thirty-two or thirty-three years. He then purchased
eighty acres of land in sections 6 and 7, in Licking township, upon
which his home was made for several years, he then moving to what
was known as the Adam Shields farm, in "Washington township, where
his death occurred in 1909. He was a prominent man in his community,
was active in democratic politics, and was a faithful member of the
Universalist church. In Washington township, Mr. Townsend was mar-
ried to Miss Elzary Shields, who was born in Virginia, and was a young
woman when she came to Washington township with her parents, Adam
and Anna Shields, who were pioneer farmers here and lived to advanced
ages. They had a large family of children, of whom Elzary died in
1913, when about seventy-eight years of age, a member of the Sole
Steeple church, now defunct. Eleven children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Townsend, of whom one is deceased, and ten are now living, mar-
ried and with families.
Elijah Townsend has devoted himself to the cultivation of the soil
since boyhood. He grew up on the homestead place, and when not
engaged in attending the public schools was to be found at work with
his father and brothers, thus securing a thorough training for what he
has since made his life work. His present property, located in section
6, Licking township, is under a high state of cultivation, is furnished
with modern and substantial buildings, and has up-to-date improve-
ments of every kind. As a business man Mr. Townsend is entitled to
the respect and esteem always commanded by men of integrity, and
as a farmer and stock raiser he is thoroughly conversant with condi-
tions and methods.
Mr. Townsend was married in Licking township, Blackford county,
Indiana, to Miss Rachel Ann Farmer, who was born in Delaware county,
in 1856, and died at the home place in section 6, March 18, 1898. She
was the mother of the following children : Olie, the wife of Charles
Thomelson, a farmer of Grant county, the oldest child, and has five
sons; Charles, assisting his father in the cultivation of the home farm,
married Laura Jones, the daughter of Frank Jones, and has four sons
and two daughters; William, a farmer near Burn, Indiana, married
and has five children ; Fred, living at Hartford City, where he is con-
nected with the Wilier store, married and has six children; Adam, a
worker in the oil fields of Illinois, married and has three children:
and Oma, the wife of Sylvester Casterline. engaged in glass working
at Hartford City, and has two daughters.
Mr. Townsend is a democrat, but has not taken an active part in
public affairs, outside of supporting movements for the progress and
advancement of the community. His acquaintance, secured during his
long residence here, is extensive, and his friends are numerous.
Harry Alexander. One of the progressive and circumspect busi-
ness men who have given metropolitan prestige to the thriving little
city of Montpelier, Blackford county, is the proprietor of the large and
admirably appointed department establishment known as the Mammoth
Racket Store. This admirable retail enterprise was founded by Mr.
Alexander, the present executive head of the business, in 1903. and
he has signally demonstrated his facility, enterprise and advanced poli-
cies in modern merchandising of the best type, the result being that his
trade has shown a constantly cumulative tendency and he has secure
vantage-place as one of the representative merchants of Blackford
county. The various departments of his establishment are well stocked
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 97
with the best of staple goods and novelties, and two floors of large area
are demanded for the accommodation of the well ordered and prosperous
enterprise, the Raeket Store being recognized as one of the most pop-
ular in Montpelier and catering carefully and effectively to a discrimi-
nating patronage. Great credit is due to Mr. Alexander for his achieve-
ment, for he initiated business in Montpelicr with a capital stock of
only $370. and through his able management and fair and honorable
dealings has succeeded in building up a business that in extent and
importance is almost phenomenal in a town of the population of Mont-
pelicr.
The career of Mr. Alexander has not lacked diversity from the time
of his appearance on the stage of life's activities. He was born in Ger-
many, in the year 1862. was reared in England, where his early educa-
tion was acquired, and in the United States he has found the field of
opportunity that has enabled him to win large and worthy success.
Like his ancestors for several generations, he was reared to mercantile
pursuits, and his early experience, a veritable apprenticeship, has proved
of inestimable value to him in his independent business career. His
parents removed from Germany to the city of London, England, where
his father, Israel L. Alexander, became a successful merchant, and there
both he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. Carl Alex-
ander, an uncle of the subject of this review, was an extensive and
wealthy coffee planter in Brazil, but Harry Alexander and his brother
Morris are the only male members of the immediate family line who
have established homes in the United States, Morris being now a com-
mercial traveler from the city of Chicago, where he and his family
maintain their home.
Harry Alexander was about sixteen years of age when he came to
the United States, principally for the purpose of visiting his sister who
had married and here established a home. The attractions of the strange
land proved sufficient to prevent his return to England, and for many
years he devoted his attention to the vocation of mercantile salesman,
in the employ of various firms and at different places. In the mean-
while his ambition and good judgment caused him to conserve carefully
his earnings, and his first independent enterprise was projected when
he came to Montpelier and established the modest mercantile business
from which he has developed his present extensive and prosperous mer-
cantile establishment.
In the State of Nebraska was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Alex-
ander to Miss Elizabeth Fuller, who was reared and educated in the
"West and who is a daughter of Edward P. Fuller, her parents being
now residents of Hartford City, the judicial center of Blackford county,
Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander have two children. Sidney Perry,
completed the curriculum of the Montpelier high school and is now
cashier in his father's mercantile establishment, besides which he is a
popular factor in local athletic and social circles, as he has made an
excellent sprinting record and is a talented pianist. Minnie, the younger
of the two children, was born in 1900, and is attending, in 1914, the
Sacred Heart Academy in the city of Fort Wayne. She has much talent
in music, and as a vocalist, though a mere girl, she has been called upon
to sing in leading church choirs in her home city and also in Fort "Wayne.
Mrs. Alexander is a shrewd business woman, aiding her husband in
conducting his business and has been a material factor in her husband's
success.
Though he is primarily and essentially a business man, with a full
appreciation of the exactions and responsibilities involved, Mr. Alex-
ander has not hedged himself in with his personal interests but has
98 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
stood exponent of loyal and public-spirited citizenship. He has had no
desire to enter the arena of so-called practical politics, but he accords
a staunch support to the cause of the Republican party, his progressive-
ness and sterling character having gained to him the unqualified con-
fidence and esteem of the community iu which he has achieved note-
worthy success and precedence.
Liberty T. Armitage. Of the men of Blackford county who have
wielded the implements of destruction as well as those of construction,
who have bravely upheld their country's integrity on the held of battle
and have capably maintained its supremacy in the peaceful pursuits
of agriculture, few are better known or more highly esteemed than
Liberty T. Armitage, the owner of a well cultivated farm of eighty
acres, lying in section 18, Licking township. For forty-two years Mr.
Armitage has identified himself with the farming interests of this sec-
tion of the county, and in the meantime has performed the duties of
citizenship so faithfully and well that he has won the unquestioned
right to be named as one of his community's helpful and stirring men.
Mr. Armitage was born at Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, Decem-
ber 5, 1840, and was three months old when he was brought to Jay
county, Indiana, by his parents, Seth and Prusia (Thayer) Armitage.
His father, a native of Upper Canada, came to the United States in
young manhood and settled in Ohio, where he was married, the mother
being a native of Rhode Island and a member of an old New England
family. On coming to Jay county, Indiana, with his wife and five
children, Seth Armitage secured employment at his trade of wagon-
maker at Pennville, but some time thereafter went to Knox township and
purchased eighty acres of land, on which he carried on agricultural
pursuits for a number of years. Some time prior to his death, in 1898,
Mr. Armitage retired from active labors, and passed away on his farm
at the age of eighty-three years. He was a good farmer, one of his
community's well known men and a public-spirited citizen, was stanch
in his support of the Union at a time when his part of the county was
largely in favor of slaveholding and was also a republican when Jay
county was largely democratic. On his mother's side he came of good
old Quaker stock, but was himself a Methodist, an official of his church,
and for years a class leader. His first wife died on the home farm, when
Liberty T. Armitage was still young, in the faith of the Methodist
Episcopal church, the mother of five children: Ellen, who died as a
child, two weeks after the death of her mother; Seba, who met his
death in the Union army during the Civil War, as a result of sickness,
having been a member of the Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
aged twenty-six years, and left a widow and daughter, the latter of
whom is deceased ; Mason, who died as a .young man not long after his
mother's death; Liberty T. ; and Aaron, who died single at the age of
eighteen years. Seth Armitage was married to Miss Eliza Timber-
lake, and they became the parents of the following children : Mary
E.. who died as a young lady of eighteen years; John, who served
two years as a Union soldier during the Civil war, now a prominent
attorney of Peru, Indiana, is married and has two daughters: Eliza-
beth, who is single and makes her home in Jay county ; Emma, who is
the widow of David Kesler, of Hartford City, and now living in Jay
county; Laura, single, who lives with her sister in Jay county; Alvin,
of Denver, Colo., in the hardware business; Mark, a farmer near Syra-
cuse, New York ; and Ollie, wdio is the wife of Jacob Miller, a Jay county
farmer, and has two sons and three daughters.
Liberty T. Armitage grew up on the home farm in Jay county and
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 99
was given good educational advantages in his youth, being a student in
the Farmers Academy when President Lincoln made his first call lor
troops during the Civil War. Although a lad of but twenty years, his
patriotism was aroused, and with other youths of his neighborhood he
succeeded in enlisting September 21, 1S61, in Company F, Thirty-
fourth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, an organization with
which he served for three years, participating in numerous engagements
and having many thrilling experiences. Following the death of his
brother, Mr. Armitage contracted the typhoid fever, and was contined
to the hospital for some months, but rejoined his regiment at New
Madrid, Mississippi, and participated in the battle of Champion Hills,
the Vicksburg campaign, and the taking of Jackson and Vicksburg, at
which latter place he received his only wound, a gunshot injury on the
cheek. Mr. Armitage received his honorable discharge September 21,
1864, after a brave and honorable record as a soldier, and at once
returned to Jay county to again resume the tilling of the soil. There he
remained, however, only until 1866 in which year he came to Blackford
county and located on a farm. He came to his present place in 1872,
the property at that time being practically a wild swamp, with little
promise of ever becoming a productive farm. Earnest, continued and
well-directed labor have wrought wonders upon this property, and as
the years have passed, Mr. Armitage has developed a valuable tract,
equipped with the most modern of improvements and boasting of an
excellent set of buildings. A practical farmer of the old school, he has
kept himself fully abreast of the advancements being made in agricul-
ture, and is able to thus successfully compete with the labors of the
younger generation growing up about him. All but eight acres of timber
of his land is developed, his residence has nine rooms, and his barn is a
structure 44x60 feet. Mr. Armitage grows wheat, oats and corn, and has
a good grade of all kinds of live stock. He is esteemed in his locality
for his many stable and reliable traits of character, for his unceasing
devotion to the best interests of the community, and for the example
offered of ability, perseverance and well-won success.
Mr. Armitage was married in Blackford county, Indiana, to
Miss Emma Mercer, who was born in this county about 1844 and died
in 1867. without issue. Mr. Armitage was married in August, 1871,
to Miss Emma Stevens, of Marion, Grant county, Indiana, who was
born in Logan, Ohio, and was a young woman when brought to
Indiana by her parents, Elias R. and Matilda B. (Rose) Stevens. Here
her father died during the Civil War, while her mother survived for
some years. Grandfather Rose was killed at Perry's victory on Lake
Erie. Mr. and Mrs. Armitage have been the parents of six children,
namely: Frank, who is single and lives with his parents, assisting his
father in the work of the home place ; Mary, the wife of Edward Stew-
art, living on a farm in Licking township, who has four children, —
Maybelle. Robert. Edna and Selma ; Martha, who resides at home and is
unmarried; Louisa, who is the wife of Elwood Phillips, a farmer of
Washington township, and has three children, — Walter, Donald and
Esther: Nellie, the wife of John Williams, living on a farm in Licking
township, and has two children, — Mildred Myrle and John ; and Esther.
a graduate of the Hartford City high school, who is single and devotes
herself to music. Mr. and Mrs. Armitage and their children are consist-
ent members of the Methodist Protestant church.
Hiram Tewksbtry. Among the men of Blackford county who have
contributed materially to the advancement and development of this sec-
tion of the great state of Indiana, the late Hiram Tewksbury held an
100 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
important place. For many years associated with the agricultural in-
terests of his community, he accumulated a large property and so spent
his life that he held the highest respect and esteem of his fellow citizens,
and when he died, June 4, 1905, the locality in which he had lived so
long suffered a severe loss. Mr. Tewksbury was born in Ohio, December
16, 1840, the son of Nathaniel and Betsy (Tewksbury) Tewksbury, na-
tives of New Hampshire and members of old and honored New England
families.
Nathaniel Tewksbury was born August 6, 1799, and was married in
New Hampshire, February 24, 1835, to Betsy Tewksbury, who was born
November 7, 1807. After their marriage they removed to Summit county,
Ohio, and in 1841 the little family came to Wells county, Indiana, by
way of ox-teams, purchasing new government land, where they settled
down to pioneer life. For many years they were engaged in agricul-
tural pursuits, becoming widely and favorably known among the early
settlers, and at all times exerted an influence for good. Mr. Tewksbury
died February 11, 1878, and his wife March 17, 1877, both in the faith
of the Methodist Episcopal church. They were the parents of two chil-
dren : Hiram ; and Henrietta, who died in infancy, July 12, 1842.
Hiram Tewksbury grew to manhood on his father's farm in Wells
county, and received good educational advantages, completing his studies
at Liber College. For a number of years he was engaged in educa-
tional work in Wells and Blackford counties, but eventually turned his
attention to agricultural pursuits, and so well managed his operations
that he accumulated 1,000 acres on the line between the two coun-
ties mentioned. His land was under a high state of cultivation, equip-
ped with modern improvements and substantial buildings, and stocked
with a high grade of horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. Throughout his
life he was industrious and enterprising, and among those who had
business dealings with him was known as a man of the strictest integ-
rity and high business principles. At one time he was a candidate
for office on the People's ticket, in Wells county, but failed of election.
Hiram Tewksbury was married first, on April 30, 1863, to Mary
Jane Harris, of Jay county, Indiana, and to them two sons were born,
John Marion, born August 24, 1864, and Elmer, born January 31, 1866.
His wife died September 10, 1877. He was married at Battle
Creek, Michigan, January 22, 1880, to Mrs. Cecelia (Nowlin) Conley,
who was born at Rochester, New York, January 23, 1845, and was reared
and well educated at Dearborn, Michigan, to which place she had been
taken as a child by her parents, Addison and Mary (McConaghy)
Nowlin. Her father was born in Dutchess county, New York, May
8, 1814, and was a son of John and Dorothy (Hoyt) Nowlin, natives
of New York, where the former was born December 25, 1763, and the
latter November 14, 1794. The grandfather passed away December
19, 1852, while the grandmother attained advanced years. The family
has always been associated with the Presbyterian church, and the chief
occupation of its members has been that of farming. Addison Nowlin
was married October 6, 1840, passed his life in farming pursuits, and
died November 25, 1892, at Misaukee county, Michigan, his widow now
being a resident of Jackson, Michigan. Mrs. Tewksbury was married
to George E. Conley, who died in the prime of life in Michigan,
leaving two children : George, who died at the age of two and one-half
years; and Mary C, who is the wife of Andrew Johnston, proprietor
of the Big Store, at Montpelier, and has three children, — Hilda, aged
twenty-two years, James C, who is fourteen years of age. and Edward
J., aged six. To Mr. and Mrs. Tewksbury there were born the follow-
ing children: May Eva, who received a good education in the schools
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 101
of Montpelier and Bluffton, is the wife of Harold Hungerford, of Con-
cord, Michigan, and has one son, — Richard Hopkins; Joy E., born in
1884, educated at Indianapolis and Montpelier and now connected with
the Big Store, married Dean Lacey, and has one son, — Robert E.; and
Helen II., a graduate of Montpelier high school and Knickerbocker Hall
(1906), a young lady of much talent and a teacher of music, who is
single and resides at home with her mother.
Mrs. Tewksbury is a member of the Episcopal church, and has been
active in its work and charities. Her tine farms cover a half-section
of land, and on them are to be found the latest improvements. Her
comfortable home at Montpelier is situated on West Green street, in the
vicinity of which she has a wide acquaintance and numerous sincere and
admiring friends.
Percival G. Johnson. The true little city of Montpelier, Black-
ford county, has proved a most attractive place of residence, and this
fact has fortunately given to the community a goodly quota of retired
farmers, who are here enjoying the well earned rewards of former
years of earnest endeavor. Of this contingent Mr. Johnson is a worthy
and popular representative, and as one of the venerable and highly
esteemed citizens of the county he is eminently entitled to specific recog-
nition in this history.
Like many other citizens of this section of Indiana, Mr. Johnson
can revert to the old Buckeye State as the place of his nativity and
he is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of that common-
wealth. He was born in Greene county, Ohio, on the 7th of November,
1835, and is a son of John M. and Susanna (Moorman) Johnson, who
were natives of either Pennsylvania or Virginia and who continued to
reside in Greene county, Ohio, for a term of years, their marriage hav-
ing there been solemnized and the respective families having settled in
Ohio in the pioneer epoch of its history. In 1839, John Milton John-
son came with his family to Indiana and became one of the pioneer set-
tlers in Chester township, Wells county, where he obtained a tract of
wild land and essayed the arduous task of reclaiming the same to cul-
tivation. There his cherished and devoted wife died when about forty
years of age, and she was survived by seven children, of whom the sub-
ject of this review is now the only one surviving, he having been about
four years of age at the time of the family removal to Indiana, so that
he was here reared under the conditions and influences of the pioneer
days and has witnessed the opulent development and progress of the
Hoosier State. After the death of his first wife John Milton Johnson
wedded a widow, Mrs. Eliza fWoolray) Wright, and soon afterward
they came to Blackford county and established their home on a farm
in Washington township, where they passed the residue of their lives,
Mr. Johnson having been sixty-five years of age at the time of his death
and his widow having attained to the age of seventy-one years. John
M. Johnson's life was marked by indefatigable industry and utmost
integrity of purpose, and he not only endured the hardships and ardu-
ous labors of the pioneer, but also aided in the inarch of social and
industrial progress, his character and labors making altogether con-
sistent the placing of his name on the enduring roll of the honored pio-
neers of Indiana. He was originally a Whig and later a Republican in
politics and both he and his first and second wives were zealous mem-
bers of the Church of Christ.
It can be readily understood that the early educational advantages
of Percival G. Johnson were limited to the somewhat primitive pioneer
schools in Wells county, this state, but through this medium he gained
102 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
the nucleus around which he has developed his broad and practical fund
of knowledge, through his association with men and affairs and through
self-application. In initiating his independent career as an agricultur-
ist he established himself upon a farm of eighty acres, in Chester town-
ship, Wells county, and there he developed one of the model places of
the county, the farm being improved with excellent buildings and other-
wise giving palpable evidences of thrift and prosperity. Mr. Johnson
continued to reside upon his farm until 1905, when he removed to
Montpelier, where he has since lived virtually retired, his attractive
residence property, which he owns, being situated at 301 West Hunt-
ington street, and the old homestead farm being still in his possession.
He has stood representative of the best type of farmers and stock-grow-
ers and as a citizen has so ordered his course as to merit and receive
the high regard of his fellow men. He takes a lively interest in gov-
ernmental affairs, both national and local, and is well informed on
the questions and issues of the hour, his political allegiance being given
to the Republican party and both he and his wife being zealous and
valued members of the Montpelier congregation of the Church of Christ.
In Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana, on the 3d of July,
1856, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Johnson to Miss Margaret
Cloud, who was born in Clinton county, Ohio, on the 15th of March,
1835, a daughter of Noah and Lydia A. (Pugh) Cloud, who came to
Wells county, Indiana, in 1840, about five years after her birth. The
parents were both natives of Virginia and her father was a son of Thomas
Cloud, who was a valiant soldier of the Continental Line in the war of
the Revolution and who thereafter removed with his family to Ohio,
where he settled in the early pioneer days, prior to the admission of the
state to the Union. Thomas Cloud attained to advanced age and died
in Ohio, and his widow passed the closing period of her life in Wells
county, Indiana, where she died at the venerable age of ninety years,
both she and her husband having been Primitive Baptists in their reli-
gious faith. After settling in Wells county, Noah Cloud there continued
his residence on his original pioneer farm until about 1850, when he
settled on a tract of wild land lying in Grant county. There he re-
claimed a productive farm from the forest wilderness, and on this home-
stead they continued to reside until their death, when well advanced
in years. Of their eight children only two are living, — Mrs. Johnson and
her brother William, the latter being now a resident of the city of
Indianapolis.
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have walked side by side down the pathway
of life for nearly sixty years, mutually sustained and comforted by love
and devotion and enduring with fortitude the trials and sorrows that
have been their portion and from which no life is immune. In the
gracious evening of their lives they find solace and happiness in the
filial solicitude of their children and children's children and in asso-
ciation with friends who are tried and true. Concerning the children
brief record is entered in conclusion of this sketch. Emma, who be-
came the wife of James Berson, is deceased and is survived by three
children, William, Edith and Margaret. Elma is the wife of Louis H.
Tate, a successful business man of Montpelier, and they have three chil-
dren, — Dimmie L., who is the wife of Charles Saxon, of Montpelier,
and who has three children; Lemuel, who is engaged in the cleaning
and pressing business in Montpelier, he and his wife having no children ;
and Margaret, who remains at the parental home. Lewis C, next in
order of birth of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, is postmaster
at Hartford City and is individually mentioned elsewhere in this pub-
lication. Loetta became the wife of Lewis Shidler and upon her death
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES L03
left two "children, both of whom are living— Iva M. and Eva M. Win-
field W., who resides on the old homestead Earm and is identified with
the oil-well operations in Wells county, is married and has four chil-
dren, — Lena, .Maude. Margaret and Charles.
John Moses Hallam. Among the old and honored residents of
Blackford county, is the venerable and highly respected citizen whose
name appears at the head of this review, and who after a Long period
of activity is now living in honest retirement. It may he said of Mi'.
Hallam that during his active career lie was a typical representative of
the best and highest class in the agricultural element of the county,
while his citizenship, in both times of peace and the days of warfare.
lias been such as to give him an honored and honorable name.
Moses Hallam. the grandfather of John Moses Hallam. was born in
Pennsylvania, of Irish parentage, and was married at Washington, in
his native state, to a lady of Irish birth. Later they moved to Clinton
county. Ohio, where both passed away, the father being upwards of
seventy years of age at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Hallam
were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. John Hallam, son
of Moses and one of his older children, was born in Pennsylvania, where
he grew to manhood and was married to a Pennsylvania girl. Sarah Kane,
who had been born and reared in Washington county. After their
marriage they removed to Clinton county, Ohio, where John Hallam
purchased a tract of land and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Born
October 22, 1805, he passed away September 22. 1839, a short time
before the birth of his son, John M. Mrs. Hallam was born June 4,
1805, and died January 6, 1880. Both were faithful members of the
Cedars Presbyterian church.
John Moses Hallam was born in Clinton county, Ohio, February 2,
1840, a short time after the death of his father. He received ordinary
public school advantages and was reared a farmer, residing with his
mother until the outbreak of the Civil War. Mrs. Hallam had subse-
quently married, in 1850. Jordan Rick, of North Carolina, and during
the Civil War came to Blackford county, Indiana. John M. Hallam en-
listed in September, 1S61, from Clinton county, Ohio, in Company B,
Fortieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Capt. James Hayworth
and Colonel Craynor, and went to the front in Eastern Kentucky, later
seeing service in West Virginia and Tennessee. On September 20. 1863,
he received a gunshot wound in the upper right arm, while engaged in
fighting the forces of Longstreet. at Chickamauga, and after being con-
fined at Fort Dennison for some time was given his honorable discharge
because of disability. He was at all times known as a brave and valiant
soldier, faithful in the discharge of his duty, and his daring frequently
led him into dangerous positions from which he had numerous narrow-
escapes. Throughout his service he w T as a private.
When his military career was closed. Mr. Hallam resumed the pur-
suits of peace, coming to Blackford county to join his mother, who was
then living on a farm which she had purchased in Washington township.
Here she continued to make her home until her death, at which time
Mr. Hallam assumed the management of the property, which he still
owns. This is a well-cultivated tract of eighty acres, located in section
18. Washington township, on which Mr. Hallam has made numerous
improvements of a handsome and substantial character. He has a mod-
ern eight-room house, painted white, a commodious barn and several
good outbuildings for the shelter of his grain and machinery. He lost
one barn by lightning. An industrious and energetic man. Mr. Hallam
labored faithfully until a stroke of paralysis, in 1904. caused his retire-
104 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
merit. He still superintends the operations on his farm, however, and
through his good management is in receipt of a handsome income. The
greater part of his time and attention have been given to general farm-
ing, but he has also made a success of stock raising ventures, and is known
as a good judge of cattle. Absolutely reliable in all of his business trans-
actions, he has gained an enviable reputation among his associates, and
his name is synonymous with fair dealing and fidelity to engagements.
In 1879 Mr. Hallam was married in Wells county, Indiana, to Miss
Isabelle Mary Greenlees, who was born in Scotland, February 19, 1849,
a daughter of George and Isabella (Forsythe) Greenlees. The mother
died at the age of thirty years, when Mrs. Hallam was still a child, and
in 1859 she went with her father to Ohio, where they resided for three
years. They then returned to Indiana and settled in Grant county,
where the father died at the age of sixty-four years, in 1881. He died
in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which his wife had also been
a member.
Mr. and Mrs. Hallam have been the parents of three children: Roy,
who died at the age of twenty-six years, after his marriage to Pearl
Nelson, of Grant county, his widow now being a resident of Monroe
township, that county, with her four children, Vica G., John H. T.,
Esther I. and Roy I.; Maggie, who is the wife of Lora A. Tudor, a
farmer of Monroe township, Grant county, and has a son, Hallam M.;.
and Elly, who died when one month old. Mr. and Mrs. Hallam are
consistent members of the United Brethren church. Politically, he is
a republican, but takes only a good citizen's interest in public matters.
Seth Diehl. A Hartford City business man who since 1891 has
built up a large and prosperous establishment as a general blacksmith,
Seth Diehl is of the substantial German stock originating in Pennsyl-
vania, and with many interesting associations with the pioneer life of
early eastern Indiana. His people were not only founders of homes
and conquerors of the wilderness, but were notable for the part they
took in community and religious affairs, and also in the kindly helpful-
ness which is so valuable an asset in the social welfare of every locality.
Mr. Diehl's grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania and after
their marriage moved to Ohio, and a few years later located in Ran-,
dolph county, Indiana, buying land near Saratoga, where those good
people, David and Elizabeth (Sheets) Diehl, both died. The grand-
father passed away about twenty years before the grandmother, who
was eighty-two years old. She was born in 1802 and he about 1800.
They had one son and ten daughters. The son, Ephraim Diehl and
one of the daughters are now deceased, while the eight remaining chil-
dren are all living and are all married except one.
Ephraim Diehl, who was born in 1817, probably in Pennsylvania,
was reared in Ohio and Indiana, and at an early age learned the trade
of broom maker, an occupation which he subsequently varied with activ-
ities as a farmer. His death occurred in Randolph county, Indiana,
May 22, 1861, at the age of forty-four. Although then only in the prime
of life, he had prospered and provided well for his family. He was a
church worker and in politics a Democrat. In Randolph county occurred
his marriage to Miss Margaret Baugh. She was born in that county
in 1820 and died at her home near Union City in June, 1862, being
about the same age as her husband. She was a member of the Christian
or New Light church.
Margaret Baugh was a daughter of John and Mary (Morris) Baugh.
The former was a native of North Carolina and the latter of Greene
county, Tennessee, both born about 1800 and married in Tennessee.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 105
Soon after their marriage about 1820 they came north and located in
Randolph county, where they secured government hind and were among
the first settlers of that community. Their housekeeping began in a
cabin of logs, and all the country about them was wild and covered
with heavy timber filled with game. During the first year the bears,
carried oft' the only hog they had, and they subsisted largely on game,
and corn pone and hazel-brush tea. This primitive mode of living was
improved in successive years, and finally they improved a good eighty
acre farm and spent their last years in a hewed log home. John Baugh
died just after the close of the Civil war, while his widow survived
many years and was eighty-four at the time of her death. Both were
noble characters, charitable, helpful, and were people whose service
was almost indispensable in the early days. John Baugh was a Dunkard
in religion while his wife was a New Light Christian. Grandmother
Polly (Mary) Baugh was one of the remarkable pioneeer women whose
lives have been celebrated in many stories of early days. She was the
midwife physician for a country covering many miles for a period of
fifty-six years. Seldom did she fail to respond to a call for her pro-
fessional services, and it was her custom to ride horseback, and at
some of the most distant eases be in the saddle for two days and a night,
stopping and eating bread and drinking hazel-brush tea on the way.
The people of several counties iu Indiana and Ohio knew and esteemed
her, and she not only attended many others in the birth of their chil-
dren, but herself was the mother of twelve children, and reared four
others from infancy. The richness of her charity and love went out to
hundreds of young and old. and she was always looking after the wel-
fare of other people. Of her twelve children nearly all are still living,
and some of them are upwards of ninety years of age and have their
homes in several states.
Seth Diehl who is one of six sons and five daughters, eight of whom
grew to maturity, and five sons and one daughter are still living, was
born in Randolph county, Indiana, June 25, 1S57. His early education
was acquired there, and at the age of twenty-two he began learning the
trade of blacksmith at Winchester. That has been Ids regular occupa-
tion ever since, and after a few years he set up a shop of his own, and
has always been on the steady road of prosperity. In September, 1901,
Mr. Diehl moved to Hartford City, built a good shop at 607 E. Water
street, and has had a good business. He now owns considerable prop-
erty in Hartford City, including a comfortable home at 601 Market
street.
Mr. Diehl is an ardent prohibitionist, and has affiliated with that
party and with the cause for the past twenty years. He was married
in Randolph county to Emma J. Frazier. who was born in Lynn town-
ship of Randolph county, September 6, 1859, and grew up and was
educated in that vicinity. Of Scotch-Irish ancestry and her grand-
parents from the Southern states, she is the daughter of Elijah and
Joanna (Ellis) Frazier, both of whom were born in Randolph county,
Indiana, were married there, and in 1901 moved to Hartford City, where
their deaths occurred, her father at the age of seventy-four and her
mother at seventy-six. Both were faithful members of the Friends
church and lived up to the fine principles and practices of the Quaker
religion. Mr. Frazier was a bell maker by trade, which he had learned
in early boyhood, but subsequently became a blacksmith and for eighteen
years was associated with his son-in-law Mr. Diehl.
To Mr. Diehl and wife have been born four children : Harriet A.
is the wife of Benjamin F. Stone, a blacksmith at Hartford City, and
they have three children. Ephraim, Ruth and Frank; Ethel is the wife
106 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
of George Ford, who is employed in the paper mill at Alexandria, In-
diana, and they have no children; Seth, Jr., a blacksmith at Hartford
City, and by his marriage to Georgia Shawhan has two children, Wil-
liam, three years old, and Dorothy, aged one year ; Jennie B. is the wife
of Earl E. Owens, who is a blacksmith living in Oklahoma. Mr. Diehl
and wife are members of the Methodist church, and the daughters are
also of the same religion.
J. Alonzo Shewalter. This well known and representative citizen
of Blackford county has an ancestral record in which he may well take
pride, as it bears its unmistakable evidence of lofty patriotism and use-
ful and worthy citizenship, as one generation has followed another on
to the stage of life's activities. His paternal ancestors, of staunch
German stock, settled in Virginia in the colonial era of our national
history, and the family name has likewise been linked with the history
of Ohio and Indiana, in which latter state the family was founded more
than half a century ago. Mr. Shewalter has been one of the influential
citizens and prominent business men of Hartford City, the attractive
judicial center of Blackford county, and in all of the relations of life
he has honored the name which he bears. He was a gallant soldier of
the Union in the Civil war, as a member of an Indiana regiment, and
he has been a resident of this state since his boyhood days, so that the
fine old Hoosier commonwealth is endeared to him by many gracious
memories and associations.
John Shewalter, grandfather of him whose name introduces this
review, was a resident of the historic Old Dominion State of Virginia,
and lived at Winchester, in the beautiful Shenandoah valley. On the
10th of August, 1810, he wedded Miss Elizabeth Settlemer, whose an-
cestors were colonial settlers in New England. In the earlier genera-
tions the men of the Shewalter family in America gave their attention
largely to mechanical vocations, and John Shewalter was an expert ar-
tisan as a wagon and carriage maker, at a time when virtually all work in
this line was fine handicraft. He finally removed with his family from
Virginia to Ohio, and in the Buckeye State he was for many years a
prominent and influential citizen of Wilmington, the judicial center
of Clinton county. There he conducted a wagon and carriage shop and
there both he and his wife died when venerable in years, both having
been zealous members of the Methodist church, and well may it be said
that they lived "Godly, righteous and sober lives," and fully merited
the high esteem in which they were uniformly held. Their children
■were Eliza and Elias R., who married and reared children and were
folk of honest worth and substantial achievement.
Major Elias Shewalter, father of the subject of this sketch, was born
at Winchester, capital of Frederick county, Virginia, in 1817, and he
was about thirteen years of age at the time of the family removal to
Ohio, the long overland journey having been made with teams and
wagons, long before the era of railroad transportation. He was reared
to manhood at Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, and there learned
under the direction of his honored father the trade of carriage and
wasjonmaking. After his marriage he succeeded to the business estab-
lished by his father in this field of artisanship and while still a youth
he became prominent in military affairs in the old Buckeye State. At
the time of the Mexican war his tactical ability was effectively utilized,
since he trained many soldiers who enlisted for that conflict in the
section of Ohio in which he resided, his services in this capacity hav-
ing been officially recognized by the Governor of the State, who pre-
sented to him a handsome sword and uniform. When the Civil war
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 107
was precipitated on a divided nation he was a residenl of Indiana, and
organized several companies for the defense of the Union, and he had
carefully drilled a Dumber of these even before the actual call Eor vol-
unteers was made by President Lincoln. When hostilities became immi-
nent and the call was issued by the President, lie enlisted as a private in
an Indiana regiment of volunteers, and soon thereafter he was chosen
captain of h'is company. His gallant and efficient service in the held
brought about his promotion to major of his battalion, and he led his
regiment in the sanguinary battles of Franklin ami Nashville, Tennes-
see, as well as in other engagements marking the progress of the war.
He served nearly three years, with distinction as a commanding officer
and as a loyal and gallant soldier who ever held the confidence and
esteem of his men. Prior to the war Major Shewalter had withdrawn
from the work of his trade and engaged in farming in Indiana, where lie
became siezed of an estate of more than 320 acres. To the careful
and effective supervision of this extensive estate and the care of their
children his noble wife applied herself with unceasing devotion dur-
ing the period of his service as a soldier. The maiden name of Mrs.
Shewalter was Eliza Jane Hale, and she was born in Clinton county,
Ohio, about the year 1814, her parents having settled in that state prior
to its admission to the Union, in 1812. She was a daughter of William
and Maria (Sabin) Hale, the former of whom was born in North Caro-
lina, a birthright member of the Society of Friends, and the latter of
whom was of New England ancestry and birth, their marriage having
been solemnized in Clinton county, Ohio, where they continued to re-
side until their death. Mr. Hale having passed away when he had attained
to the patriarchal age of nearly ninety-seven years and his wife hav-
ing died when about eighty years of age, both having been lifelong
members of the Society of Friends, commonly designated as Quakers.
In 1851 Major Elias Shewalter came with his family to Indiana and
purchased 160 acres of wild land in Jay county, and later bought 160
acres more and he reclaimed this land to cultivation, became one of
the able and substantial agriculturists of the county and a citizen who
wielded large and beneficent influence in connection with public and
industrial affairs in that section of the state. Major Shewalter 's entire
life was guided and governed by the highest principles, he was a man
of superior intellectuality and mature judgment, and he was kindly
and tolerant, though he never made any compromise for the sake of
expediency when questions of right and justice were involved. He and
his wife were earnest and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal
church and their abiding Christian faith was shown forth in their
daily lives. The Major naturally was reared in the faith of the demo-
cratic party, but with the outbreak of the Civil war he transferred his
allegiance to the republican party, as it stood exponent of the prin-
ciples in which he believed. — especially the preservation of the integrity
of the Union. Tins sterling citizen continued to reside in Jay county
until his death, which occurred Aiigust 26. 1898. at which time he was
eighty-one years of a?e. his birth having occurred April 17. 1817. His
marriage was solemnized February 22. 18.37. and his cherished and de-
voted wife did not long survive him. as she was called to the life eternal
in November, 189S, her memory being revered by all who came within
the sphere of her gentle and gracious influence. The names of the chil-
dren are here entered in respective order of birth: Maria E.. John W.,
J. Alonzo. Samuel H.. Charles M.. Clarence C. Josephine. Alice. Howard
M.. Edward H.. Ebenezer I., and U. Grant!
J. Alonzo Shewalter was born at AVilmin<rton. Clinton county. Ohio.
on the 26th of August. 1841, and thus was a mere lad at the time of the
108 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
family removal to Jay county, Indiana, in 1851, as previously noted
in this context. He is indebted to the common schools of Ohio and In-
diana for his early educational discipline and was signally favored in
being reared in a home of ideal associations and influences. When
came the inception of the Civil war he was a youth of nineteen years,
but his patriotic ardor was in consonance with that of his honored
father, and the latter was not alone in representing the immediate fam-
ily in the ranks of the brave "boys in blue." J. Alonzo and his elder
brother, John W., as well as his next younger brother, Samuel H., fol-
lowed the example of their gallant father and all became valiant sol-
diers of the Union, the others of the brothers having been too young
for service. The three brothers enlisted in the Thirty-ninth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, and all proved well their loyalty and gallantry as
privates by participating in the various engagements in which their
regiment was involved, all escaping capture and serious wounds except
J. Alonzo, of this sketch. The Thirty-ninth Indiana served principally
in the command of General Sherman, and Samuel H. finally received
promotion to the office of Colonel in the command of General Kilpatrick,
under whom he accompanied Sherman on the ever memorable march
from Atlanta to the sea. On the 1st day of the battle of Stone's
River, Tennessee, in November, 1862, J. Alonzo Shewalter, when with
his command on the right wing of the Federal forces, was captured by
the enemy, and thereafter he was held for sixty days as a captive in
historic old Libby Prison, in the city of Richmond, where he endured
his quota of the hardships that made the name of that prison infamous.
After his exchange had been effected he rejoined his regiment, and he
continued in service for only seven days less than four years, — thus
covering virtually the entire period of the great internecine conflict before
he received his honorable discharge.
After the close of his military career Mr. Shewalter resumed his
association with the great elemental industry of agriculture, and
eventually he became owner of his father's fine old homestead in Jay
county. For thirty-five years he was engaged in the retail grocery trade
at , that county, where he also became a successful
manufacturer of staves and heading for barrels. In 1890 he removed to
Hartford City, and here he conducted a prosperous manufacturing
business 'in the line noted above for a period of about two years, at the
expiration of which the factory was destroyed by fire. He has since
given his attention largely to his extensive landed and other capitalistic
interests, and has achieved pronounced success in his various operations.
His landed estate, in different States of the Union, now aggregates
fully 1,400 acres, and he owns also his attractive residence property at
508 North High street, Hartford City. In politics Mr. Shewalter main-
tains an independent attitude and he is zealous in his opposition to the
liquor traffic. His more gracious memories concerning his military
career are perpetuated through his membership in the Grand Army of
the Republic.
At Wilmington, Clinton county, Ohio, in the year 1886, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Shewalter to Miss Mary E. McMullin, who
was there born in the year 1847 and who was there afforded excellent
educational advantages. She is a daughter of William and Elizabeth
(Henry) McMullin, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania,
of Scotch and English ancestry, and the latter of whom was born at
Elizabethtown, Lancaster county, that State, their marriage having
been solemnized in Clinton county, Ohio, where their respective par-
ents settled in the pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. McMullin continued
to reside in Clinton county until their death, and each attained to the
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 109
age of seventy-three years, Mrs. McMullin having been eighteen
years her husband's junior, as she was eighteen and lie thirty -sis years
of age at the time of their marriage. He was a birthright member
of tlu- Society of Friends, but his wife was a member of another re-
ligious organisation. Mrs. Shewalter is u prominent and popular fig-
ure iu the various soeial activities of her home city, where she is
identified with the Woman's Relief Corps and Ladies' Aid Society.
Mr. and Mrs. Shewalter have one son. .Morris B., who was born in
Jay county, in lt^T. and who received the advantages of the public
sehools and a business college. He is now assistant bookkeeper at
the Hartford City paper mills. He wedded Miss Trenna Templeton,
and they have one child. James Alonzo II, who was born in 1912. In
their home .Mr. and Mrs. Alonzd Shewalter reared, from the age of
seven years, their niece, Veta DeTray, who can claim kinship with the
great General of the American Revolution, the Marquis de La Fayette,
who was graduated in the Hartford City high school in 11)10 ami who
is now the wife of Charles 0. Townsend, of this city.
Joseph P. Horton. The business interests of Montpelier, Indiana.
are well and capably represented by Joseph P. Horton, who is the
proprietor of a book, stationery, cigar and confectionery store at the
corner of Main and Huntington streets. Mr. Horton belongs to an old
and honored family, and is able to trace it back to the year 1570. He is
in the tenth generation from Joseph Horton, and the genealogy of the
family is as follows:
(I) Joseph Horton. born in 1570, in England.
(II) Barnabas Horton, son of Joseph, born July 13, 1600, at
Meansley, Leicestershire, England, emigrated to America in 1633 in the
ship Swallow, Capt. Jeremy Horton, master and owner, and in 1638
located at Hampton. Massachusetts. He removed to New Haven.
Connecticut, in 1640, his wife and two children. Joseph and Benjamin,
being with him and in the latter part of that year settled permanently
on Long Island, now Southhold, Suffolk county. New York.
(III) Caleb Horton, son of Barnabas, born at Southhold, Suffolk
county, New York, in 1640, married December 23. 1665, Abigail Hallock,
daughter of Peter Hallock, the Pilgrim.
(IY) Barnabas Horton, son of Caleb, born on Long Island, New
York. September 23, 1666, married 1686 Sarah Hines, and had issue.
(Y) Caleb Horton, son of Barnabas, was born at Southhold. New-
York, December 22, 1687, married December 10, 1714, Phoebe Terry,
moved in 1848 to Roxbury (now Chester), New Jersey, and had six
sons and six daughters.
(VI) Richard Horton, son of Caleb, was born at Southhold, New
York, about 1729, married Elizabeth Harrison, and moved to Chester,
New Jersey, in 1758, and later to Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
where he died, the father of seven sons. He was a Quaker by religious
faith as was also his wife.
(VII) Samuel Horton, Sr., son of Richard, was born about 1752,
and was married in 1772 or 1775 to Ortha Evans, the daughter of
Hugh Evans. He located at Norristown, Pennsylvania, when that place
was a settlement containing but six log houses, and later moved to Brad-
ford county, Pennsylvania, where his death occurred either in 1835 or
1836, his wife having passed away several years before. They were
the parents of a family of thirteen children.
(VIII) Samuel Horton, Jr., son of Samuel, Sr., was born at Nor-
ristown, Pennsylvania. March 16, 1791, in one of the six log cabins that
constituted the little hamlet. He was married in 1811 to Elizabeth Fos-
110 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ter, daughter of Basil and Mary (Penn) Foster. Mary Penn was the
daughter of Benjamin Penn, who was the son of Charles Penn, a brother
of William Penn. Mrs. Horton was born September 22, 1783, and died
April 17, 1870. In 1814 Mr. Horton moved to Highland county, Ohio,
and in 1830 to Hillsboro, in that county, later going to Marion, Indiana,
where lie died October, 1871. They had a large family of children.
(IX) Joseph Baker Horton, son of Samuel, Jr., and father of
Joseph Pearl Horton, was born January 7, 1820, in Highland county,
Ohio, and came to Marion, Indiana, with his parents in 1841. In 1901
he removed to Home City, near Cincinnati, Ohio, and there died March
16, 1904. He was a cabinet maker by trade, a vocation which he fol-
lowed largely in Marion until 1890, and was prominent in local political
affairs, being a leading factor in the local organization of the republican
party. On May 16, 1856, he was married at Hillsboro, Ohio, to Miss
Lydia Zink, who was born in Ohio, July 6, 1837, and died February
12, 1901, at Marion, Indiana. She was a daughter of David and Jane
(Miller) Zink, natives of Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock,
who were married in Ohio, or just before leaving Pennsylvania, and
died at Hillsboro, he being a little past fifty years of age, and she when
nearly eighty. They were thrifty and well-to-do people, and, like the
Hortons for generations, were members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Joseph Baker Horton and his wife were the parents of the fol-
lowing children : May, who died unmarried at the age of thirty-five
years ; Joseph Pearl, of this review ; Eddy, a graduate of the high
school, who died when eighteen years of age; Clarence, who died in
1913, aged about forty-six years, married Mary Overman, and had two
sons: Murray M. and Robert; Lizzie, who died when two years old;
Charles, who died young; and Lena, who is the wife of George Wil-
liams, of Seattle, Washington, connected with the Vancouver Railway
Company.
(X) Joseph Pearl Horton, son of Joseph Baker, was born Febru-
ary 24, 1859, and received good educational advantages in his youth, at-
tending the graded and high schools and the Methodist Episcopal College
at Fort Wayne, Indiana. At that time he became a student of electrical
work, and was thus engaged until 1S89 when he went to the South and
embarked in the lumber business. He continued therein until 1893 and
at that time returned to the North and at Marion, Indiana, again took
up electrical construction work, continuing thus engaged until 1896. In
that year Mr. Horton came to Montpelier and established a news stand,
book store, and stationery, cigar, tobacco and confectionery business,
located at the corner of Main and Huntington streets, in a room in the
Columbia Building, which has grown to be one of the flourishing enter-
prises of the city. Mr. Horton is a man of excellent business ability,
and his activities have been prosecuted in such an able manner that he
has been able to successfully compete with the strong competition that
the years have brought. He has at all times maintained a high reputa-
tion for integrity and honorable dealing, and represents the substantial
and reliable element of the town and county, his life affording an excel-
lent example of thrift, moderation and public spirit.
Mr. Horton was married at Fremont, Ohio, to Miss Annette Beck,
daughter of George and Eliza Ann (Kittle) Beck, the former born in
Ohio and the latter in New York. They were residents of Ohio for many
years, the father dying at Fremont in 1885, while the mother still sur-
vives and makes her home with her three daughters. Although now
nearly seventy years of age, she is still hale and hearty. Mrs. Horton
was reared and educated at Fremont, Ohio, and has been the mother of
the following children: Anna L., educated at Marion and Mount
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 111
Pleasant, a graduate of the statu norma] school, who is now the wife of
Charles A. Doods, and has one sou, — Horton ('.. horn m .May. 1909;
and Harry Zink, bom in 1887, a graduate of the Montpelier High school,
who now has a position with the Chaney Hardware Company .Mr. and
Mrs. Hortou are members of the .Methodist Episcopal church, iu which
Mr. Horton is a steward, while -Mrs. Ilorton is president of the Ladies'
Aid Society. Mr. Hortou is fraternally connected with the Knights of
Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, iu both of which he
has tilled all the chairs aud is a member of the board of trustees.
Joseph H. Rhoades. A resident of Hartford City since 1*74. Mr.
Rhoades' name is associated with various phases of the city's commer-
cial activities. At first in the merchandise business, he transferred his
attention in 1SS0 to real estate and insurance, and has the distinction
of haviug established the first insurance office at the count} - seat. His
activities in real estate and insurance have aggregated a greater volume
than those of any other company or individual iu the county, and his
position as one of the successful factors in the community has long been
assured.
Mr. Rhoades comes of a Pennsylvania-Dutch family, and it was estab-
lished during the colonial days of American history. His grandfather,
Jacob Rhoades. who was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, about
1780-82, was married in his native county to Madelina Smith, also of
Pennsylvania stock and an old family. After his marriage Jacob Rhoades
and wife moved to Ohio, locating in Licking county. In the various
generations there have been many meu prominent in affairs, and Jacob
Rhoades had many extensive interests. Besides farming he operated a
mill, owned and operated two pig-iron furnaces and maintains a service
for transportation by wagon and teams of goods from Philadelphia to
Zanesville and other trading points in Ohio. After selling his interests
in Licking county he settled on a farm in Delaware county of the same
state, and henceforth carried on his agricultural and stock raising opera-
tions on a large scale. It was his distinction to have been a pioneer in the
introduction of Durham cattle into Ohio. His excellent judgment and
his management enabled him to accumulate a large estate, chiefly in land,
and when he became old he distributed the greater part of his six or
seven hundred acres of farms among his children, giving each one an
80 acre tract, a substantial start iu life. Mr. Rhoades died at a good old
age at Dublin in Franklin county, Ohio, in 1863. He was a prominent
man all over Central Ohio, and for many years was an active supporter
of the whig faith in politics, and both he and his wife were people of
that class who do most towards upbuilding any community in its forma-
tive stages. His wife passed away several years before him. They had
a large family, including Jacob Jr., William, John, Joseph, Henry,
Eliza, Kate, and Annie. All married and had children and all are now
deceased, some of them having passed away in Ohio and others in Mis-
souri. As a family they were all successful, and usually farmers and
stock dealers, though occasionally one branched out into exclusive busi-
ness lines or into a profession.
Henry Rhoades, the father of the veteran Hartford City business
man, was born in 1809, either in Pennsylvania or in Licking county,
Ohio. His youth was spent in Licking county, where he married Eliza-
beth Holmes. She was born in Muskingum county. Ohio, in 1819 and
died on Christmas Day of 1907, at a venerable age. Her death occurred
in Columbus, Ohio. She too was of a Pennsylvania family, and her
father Peter Holmes, had served as a soldier and with the rank of an
officer in the war of 1812, being inspector of meats for the commissary
112 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
department. Peter Holmes died at Mt, Sterling, Ohio, on the old Na-
tional Road, at a good old age. After his military experience he had fol-
lowed farming and stock buying, and was a man of considerable business
and civic prominence.
The ten children of Henry Rhoades and wife were: Joseph H. ;
John, who died a young man of twenty-two ; Jane, who lives in Columbus,
Ohio, the wife of Al McCoy, and has three children ; Jacob, now deceased,
who was twice married and left a family of children ; Mary is a resident
of Columbus, Ohio, married and without issue; Henry, who for many
years was superintendent of the stock yards and is now in the insurance
and real estate business in Columbus, Ohio; Simon, who accidentally
shot himself while hunting at the age of seventeen; Douglas, who lives
in Columbus and has several children; Jackson, who died in young man-
hood ; and Nathaniel, who lives in Columbus, a carpenter by trade, aud
makes his home with his sister Mary.
Joseph II. Rhoades was born in Licking county, Ohio, August 16,
1834, but when four years of age his parents took him to Delaware
county, where he grew to manhood. His marriage occurred in Miami
county, Ohio, Margaret E. Carr becoming his wife. She was born in
Fayette county, Ohio, in 1844, but was reared in Miami county, a
daughter of Absolom and Mary Carr, both of whom lived to a good old
age and died on a farm in Miami county.
After his marriage Joseph H. Rhoades located at Piqua, Ohio, and
was connected with the railways there, now a part of the Panhandle
Road, from 1861 until 1865. His next business location was at Urbana,
Ohio, where he did merchandising, and in 1874, forty years ago, moved
to Hartford City. His enterprise here for several years was a general
store on the south side of the square. In 1880 Mr. Rhoades gave up sell-
ing goods by retail, and opened an office for insurance and real estate.
From that time on his time and attention has been devoted to those lines,
and his success has been notable. He was, as already mentioned, the
first regular insurance man in Hartford City. It can also be credited
to him that he has handled more sales of farms and farm lands in this
county than any other real estate man. His large and well equipped
office is in the Cooley Block on the west side of the square. Mr. Rhoades
represents sixteen fire insurance companies. He is a member of the State
and National Insurance Association, and has long had a recognized
prominence in his business. For the past twenty-two years associated
with him as his capable assistant has been Miss Bertha M. Dale, who was
born and reared in Indiana and is one of the most capable business
women of Blackford county. She has familiarized herself with every
department of Mr. Rhoades' work, is a practical abstractor, both she and
Mr. Rhoades are notary publics, and she deserves much credit for the
successful business which has been carried on under Mr. Rhoades' name
for so many years.
Mr. Rhoades is affiliated with the Masonic Order in the Lodge, Chap-
ter and Council, and has passed several chairs. He is also a member of
the Elks Lodge No. 625 of Hartford City, and in politics is a democrat.
William N. Cunningham. During the last quarter of a century a
large amount of the building enterprise in Hartford City and vicinity
has been performed by William N. Cunningham, whose career as a
building contractor has brought him a successful position in the com-
munity. Mr. Cunningham represents one of the very earliest families
located in Blackford county, and their home has been in this section of
Indiana for eighty-five years. The family was established here by his
grandfather, and its various members have always been noted for their
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 113
good citizenship and ability to manage their own affairs successfully
and provide well for their families.
The Cunninghams came from Virginia, grandfather Adam Cunning-
ham having been a native of that state and of Scotch ancestry. Ee was
born about 1800, when a young man moved to Ohio, and there married
a Miss Denny, who was also born in Virginia probably about three
years after her husband, and also of Scotch forefathers. To their union
were born the following children: Jane. Lydia, John M., Henry, Sarah.
Andrew .].. Nancy and Marinda. In 1829, after the birth of tic first
three children, the grandparents put their possessions and children on
wagons and with teams drove across the country to Blackford county,
locating on government land four ami a half miles southwest of Eart-
ford City in Licking township. Adam Cunningham having selected his
location and made some disposition of his family, walked all the way to
Fort Wayne, a distance of more than fifty miles, in order to perfect
his entry and get a title to his land. In that place he worked hard
and gradually improved a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres.
The old log house was subsequently replaced by a good frame dwelling,
and his wife having died in middle life he married for his second wife
Miss Lavina Romain. She owned a farm in her own right, and they
lived on that place until their death, he passing away in 1872 and she
some years later. There were no children by the second marriage. Both
were members of the Dunkard church, and his politics was democratic.
Of the children of Adam Cunningham still living the following are
mentioned : Henry Cunningham, who lives in Montpelier and has three
sons; Sarah is the wife of James McVicker of Blackford county, and
lives on a farm and has three children: Marinda is the widow of Francis
Bell, and has her home on Main street, and is the mother of two sons and
two daughters; Nancy is the widow of Abner Needier, of the old Needier
family of Grant and Blackford counties.
John M. Cunningham, the father of W. N. Cunningham, who was
the third of the children, was born in Ohio in 1827. and was just two
years old when his parents set out for Indiana. On the old homestead
in Licking township he grew to manhood, and later was married in
Jackson township to Tsabel Hamilton, who was born in Ohio about 1837,
a daughter of Thomas and Mary Hamilton. The Hamilton family
moved to Blackford county at a quite early day. and lived here and in
Wells county until both Thomas and Mary died, the former at the age
of seventy-one and the latter at eighty-seven. Thomas Hamilton was
a republican in polities.
After his marriage John M. Cunningham located on a farm in
Licking township, and kept his home there until 1873. when he moved to
Hartford city and after that worked principally at the carpenter trade,
but finally retired and spent his last years in comfort. His death oc-
curred December 24. 1910. His widow is still living, at the home of a
daughter in Michigan, and is now past seventy years old. Both she and
her husband were members of the Dunkard church, and in politics he
was a democrat throughout his career. John M. Cunningham and wife
had the following children : Mary, who died when three or four years
old: Eliza, who lives in Texas as the wife of Alex McNeal ; William N. ;
George W.. who is a machinist in Toledo. Ohio, and has three daughters ;
Eleanor, who is now living with her second husband in northern Mich-
igan, and has no living children.
The birth of William N. Cunningham occurred in Licking township
November 22, 1864. The common schools furnished him his book train-
ing, and from 1880 until 1884 he worked out a thorough apprenticeship
at the carpenter's trade. After that for a number of .years he was em-
114 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ployed under various contractors as journeyman, and in 1903 established
a business as a building contractor in Hartford City. Since then he has
employed his business organization in the construction of a number of
private residences and much business property and also has erected
several public schools in the county. In politics Mr. Cunningham be-
longs to the republican party and is a temperance man, advocating
prohibition.
In 1886 Mr. Cunningham was married in his old home community
in Licking township to Lavina Alice Hollingshead. Her birth occurred
in Delaware county, Indiana, October 26, 1869, and she was reared
partly there and partly in Blackford county, with her education sup-
plied by the schools of both localities. Her parents were James and
Ann Louisa (Rutter) Hollingshead. Her father was born in Darke
county, Ohio, and her mother in Virginia, and both came with their re-
spective parents to Delaware county, locating on partly improved land
near Granville. Mrs. Cunningham's grandmother Hollingshead was
ninety-three years of age when she died and her grandmother Rutter
attained the age of eighty-three. James and Anna Louisa Hollingshead
had a good farm in Licking township, and her father enjoyed a reputa-
tion as an able trader and was quite a prosperous man. His death oc-
curred in 1897, while his wife passed away May 13, 1900, at the age of
sixty-four. Both were members for many years of the Methodist church
and he was a democrat. Mrs. Cunningham was one of a family of four
sons and four daughters, all of whom married but one. No children
have come to Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, and they have mantained a
hospitable home for their friends and are generous and active workers
in the community and members of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Hartford City.
William Bird. That Blackford county ranks high among the agri-
cultural regions of the Central West is largely due to the exertions of
such men as William Bird, whose privilege it has been to realize many
worthy ambitions, and through the exercise of good judgment and busi-
ness sagacity wrest from his opportunities a full measure of success. His
career has been a long and active one, and at all times has been charac-
terized by a strict adherence to integrity, and his conduct has been such
as to entitle him to a place among the builders of this rich and productive
section of the Hoosier state. Mr. Bird was born in Washington town-
ship, Blackford county, Indiana, July 22, 1862, and is a son of James
and Caroline (Williams) Bird.
The Bird family originated in Ireland, from whence the grandfather
of James Bird emigrated to the United States and located in Ohio. For
some years they resided in the Buckeye state and then came to Indiana,
but in their later years removed to Kansas, and there passed away on
their farm, ripe in years and in the possession of a comfortable income.
They were Protestants in their religious faith, and the grandfather was
a stalwart republican. James Bird was born in Ohio, and was reared
on a farm, coming to Indiana in his youth. He was married in Wayne
county, Indiana, to Caroline Williams, and following their union they
came to Blackford county, Indiana, and began housekeeping on a farm
in section 19, Washington township. There Mr. Bird continued to be
engaged in successful farming enterprises until his death in the prime
of life, in 1865. He was an energetic and industrious man. worked
faithfully that he might establish a home for his children, and through a
life of probity and integrity won his fellow-citizens' respect and esteem.
He was the rather of the following children: Joseph, residing on the
old Bird homestead, has been married twice, having a son James by his
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BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 115
first marriage, and two daughters, Ruth and Myrtle, by the second union;
Emma and Rosella, who died as small children; John, a bachelor, carry-
ing on farming in Delaware county. Indiana; Evaline, residing in
Idaho, is the widow of New ton Gaskill, and has five sons; William, of
this iwicw: ami .Mary, who died at the age of twelve years. Mr. Bird
was a lifelong member of the Christian church. He was a republican
in political matters, hut found little time to spare from his farming
interests to devote to public affairs, and never was a seeker after public
office. After his death .Mrs. Bird was again married, her husband being
Andrew .1. Cray, who still survives and is living at the Odd Fellows
Home, at Greensburg, Indiana, being well advanced in years. Mrs.
Gray died on the old Bird homestead in Washington township, in
August, 1910, when eighty years of age, in the faith of the Christian
church, of which she had been a lifelong member. Mr. and Mrs. Gray
were the parents of one son : Lewis.
"William Bird was reared in Washington township, and. varying the
routine of the paternal farm by attendance at Independence school dis-
trict, grew to rugged manhood, cherishing wholesome ambitions and
sane, practical ideals. Following in the footsteps of his father and
grandfather he adopted farming as a means of livelihood, and upon at-
taining his majority entered upon a career of his own, excellently
equipped both in body and mind for his struggles with the world. Mr.
Bird was engaged in operations on various properties in Washington
township until 1908, when he came to his present farm in section 28. a
tract of forty acres. He has been here but six years, but during this time
has made numerous improvements, and the property gives ample evi-
dence of his thrift and good management. It is well laid out, is culti-
vated to a high degree, and is devoted to the raising of oats, corn and
wheat, and to large pastures. Mr. Bird feeding all of his grain to his
fine stock. His ventures both in cattle and hogs have been successful, and
as a business man he has displayed signal ability. He has a nice seven-
room house, erected in 1908, as well as a 30x56 barn, built in the same
year, and the outbuildings are substantial in character and well equipped.
Modern methods find favor in Mr. Bird's eyes, and he makes a study of
his calling, keeping fully abreast of its numerous advancements.
Mr. Bird was married in Monroe township. Grant county, Indiana, to
Miss Emma Futrell, who was born October 7, 1870, in that county,
daughter of Jordan and Rebecca (Ballinger) Futrell, the former of
whom died at Upland, Indiana, December 25, 1913, while the latter is
still living at the age of eighty-two years at the home of her daughter in
Monroe towuship. A complete review of the Futrell family will be found
"iii another part of this work. Mrs. Bird died at her home, August 27,
1913, widely mourned. She had been the mother of these children :
Lester J. and Chester J., twins, born in 1889, the former of whom is
single and lives with his father, while the latter married Ora Johnson
and is engaged in farming in "Washington township ; and Ralph, born in
1892. who resides at home and assists his father in the cultivation of the
homestead. The members of the Bird family are all identified with the
Christian church, of which Mr. Bird was for some years deacon at Inde-
pendence. He was for a long period a supporter of the republican party,
hut with the birth of the so-called "Bull Moose" party, in 1912, trans-
ferred his allegiance to that organization and has since supported pro-
gressive candidates.
Joseph N. Gettys, Among the substantial farmers of Blackford
county who have made more than an ordinarily creditable record in
husbandry as well as in citizenship, is Joseph N. Gettys, whose hand-
116 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
some residence and valuable farm are located in section 9, Licking
township. Few of the citizens of this locality can boast of a longer resi-
dence here, for Mr. Gettys has passed his entire life of sixty-seven years
within the limits of this locality, having been born on the farm he now
occupies, January 24, 1847, a grandson of Joseph Gettys, who was born
near Waynesburg, Greene county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1780,
and there grew to manhood and adopted the vocation of agricvdturist.
He first came to Indiana on horseback to visit his sons, then returning
to his Pennsylvania home, where he died in ripe old age. He was suc-
cessful in his ventures, being honest, industrious and enterprising and
was known as one of his community's substantial men. He was mar-
ried to a Pennsylvania girl, who died there, and they reared a family of
thirteen children, most of whom settled in Indiana and Illinois, married
and reared families, and all now deceased. Of these children, James
Gettys, the father of Joseph N., was the eldest. He was born in the
vicinity of Waynesburg, Greene county, Pennsylvania, in November,
1808, and there grew to manhood on his father's farm. He came to In-
diana in 1838, on horseback and secured 120 acres of land in section
9, Licking township, entering this property from the Government. After
deadening ten acres, he left it in charge of another early settler, with
instructions to raise a log house, while Mr. Gettys returned to his Penn-
sylvania home. After three years, with his wife and one daughter, Ann
Eliza, he returned to Indi'ana and took up his residence in the log
cabin home, and here began to make improvements. Later, in 1861, he
added forty acres more to his property and this he improved and made
into a beautiful home. Here he passed away in September, 1869, his
widow surviving him until 1882. Her maiden name was Sarah Moore,
and she was born in Pennsylvania in 1S16, and there married
"William Penn, by whom she had two sons : Clare, who died as a soldier
during the Civil War, of sickness; and William, who also served in
that struggle as a member of a volunteer regiment from Wisconsin,
was a brave and faithful soldier and now owns a good farm of his own
at Monroe, Wisconsin, and is living a quiet, retired life. Joseph N.
Gettys was the second child born to the parents, and the first born in
Indiana. He has one living brother, Samuel, who is now retired and
lives in Hartford City, married, and the father of four children.
After completing his education in the public schools of Licking town-
ship, Joseph N. Gettys concentrated his attention upon agricultural pur-
suits, in which he has been engaged all of his life. At the time of his
father's death he inherited a part of the old homestead, and then pur-
chased the interest of some of the other heirs, so that he now has eighty-
seven acres of some of the finest land to be found in this part of the
county. He owns two farmhouses, painted white, with a large and com-
modious barn and substantial outbuildings, painted red, and all the
equipment is of the latest manufacture and everything about the place
is in the finest repair. Although he is now retired from active pursuits,
having accumulated a handsome competency through his years of faith-
ful labor, he still superintends the operations on his land, especially in
the department of stock raising, in which he is an expert. He is widely
known all over this part of Blackford county, and has won and main-
tained the respect and esteem of those who know him best.
Mr. Gettys was married in Licking township to the daughter of a
neighbor. Miss Elizabeth Kemmer. She was born on a farm in section
9, Licking township, on a part of 600 acres that had been entered by her
grandfather, Peter Kemmer. at an early day, he having migrated to
this locality from Kentucky after his marriage to Christina Taylor.
They spent many years in this locality, but finally went to live with a
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 117
sou iii Payette county, Indiana, where they died when about ninety years
of age. Tiny were honest. God-fearing people, and held the universal
respect of those who lived in their community, Mrs. Kemmer was a
member of the New Light Christian church for many years. Of their
three sons and six daughters, all have passed away. Samuel Kemmer,
the second son and third child, was the father of ill's. Gettys. lie was
born -May 10. 1823, was a farmer all of his life, and died at the home
of his daughter, Mrs. Gettys. May •">. 1907. In polities he was a demo-
crat, and was known as an influential man in his community, lie was
married in Blackford county to .Miss Emma J. Ellis, who was born
in the state of New York, May 8, 1825. and came to the Hoosier
state with her parents as a child. She passed away on the old Gettys
farm in Licking township, March 11, 1898. She was a faithful mem-
ber of the Baptist church, and was locally well known and greatly
beloved because of her many estimable qualities of mind and heart.
There were four children in her family: Samantha, who died after
her marriage and left four children; Mrs. Jacob Kemmer, who lives
at Omaha, Nebraska, and has one daughter; Mrs. Gettys; aud Charles,
who lives at Marion. Indiana, is married and has a son and a daugh-
ter. Mr. and Mrs. Gettys have had two children, Ruth and Earl,
both of whom died in early infancy. The} - are faithful members of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church. Formerly a republican, during the past
twenty years Mr. Gettys has given his stanch support to the prohibi-
tion party, and to the men and measures which he feels will best ad-
vance the moral, educational and material interests of the county of
his birth.
Ralph W. Burkhakt. One of the young and aggressive business
men of Hartford City is Ralph W. Burkhart, engaged in the monument
and undertaking business with offices in the Masonic Temple building.
Mr. Burkhart comes of German ancestors, but the family lived for
several generations in Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Levi Burkhart,
was born in Pennsylvania in 1824 or 1825, early in life moved to Putnam
county, Ohio, and as one of the early settlers in that vicinity acquired a
large amount of new and unimproved land, aggregating in the total
about eight hundred acres, an amount that was sufficient to give each
of his children a good farm and an excellent start in the world. The
death of this pioneer occurred in Putnam county in 1905 when he was
eighty years of age. He was a man of exceptional character, a hard
worker, a loyal citizen, and a devout Methodist. He was twice married
in Putnam county, and the first wife died there, they having likewise
been active members of the Methodist church. The children of the
first marriage were : John Y. ; Anna, who married David Thrapp of
Putnam county; Andrew, who died unmarried at the early age of
twenty-one years: Elizabeth, who is the wife of J. P. Coats, of Pandora,
Putnam county, Ohio, and has one foster daughter; Samuel, who lives
on a farm near the old homestead, is married and has six sons and three
daughters; Anna whose husband Stanley Crawford occupies a part of
the old Burkhart homestead in Putnam county, and they have a son and
a daughter. By his second marriage Levi Burkhart had one son. Emmett.
who is now living on the old homestead of his father.
John Y. Burkhart. father of the Hartford City business man. was,
born in Putnam county in 1850 and died in Steuben county. Indiana, in
February. 1904. His education was acquired by attendance at the Ger-
man settlement schools in his native county, and his life began as a
farmer and stock buyer and shipper. Reverses came to him in this occu-
pation as a result of fluctuating markets, and finally in 1887 he moved to
118 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Indiana and settled at Angola in Steuben county. There he became a
commission fruit merchant and was also prominent in public affairs.
One of the leaders of the republican party in the county, he served as
city marshal at Angola for four years, was a member of the council and
before his death acquired a comfortable prosperity. He was much in-
terested in the Methodist church, a class reader, a trustee for years,
and also served as superintendent of the Sunday school. His home
church felt his leadership and influence to be almost indispensable, and
it was a heavy loss to the community when he died. John Y. Burkhart
was married in his native county in Ohio to Miss Clara Thrapp, who was
born in Putnam county in 1851, was reared and educated there, and
now lives at Angola. Like her husband much of her interest has been
taken up with church affairs, and both parents have enjoyed the venera-
tion and honor of their children. Her parents both lived and died in
Putnam comity, Ohio, were farming people, members of the Methodist
church, and in politics republican. The children of John Burkhart
and wife were as follows: Violet is the wife of Rev. S. L. Roberts of
Franklin, Indiana, state superintendent of the Baptist Mission, and their
three living children are Alice, Gladys and Elizabeth, while Princess
died at the age of seven years; Lillie is the wife of George McConkey
office manager for the International Harvester Company at Bellows
Falls, and their children are Lowell, Virginia, Dorothy, and Ruth; 0.
W., who is in the laundry business at St. Mary's, Ohio, is married and
has a son John Y. ; Charles, who is proprietor of the Angola Steam
Laundry, is married but has no children; Bessie is the wife of John
Welda, a druggist at Kendallville, and they have no children ; Ralph W.
is the next in the family ; Barbara Hope is the wife of Frank Reilly, a
pharmacist associated with Mr. Welda at Kendallville, and their one
son is Robert; Hazel E. is the wife of Edward C. Flanders, a civil engi-
neer by profession, and they have their home with her mother, Mrs.
Burkhart; Marjorie is the wife of Cyrus Cruz, an electrical engineer
employed by the Lake Shore Railroad at Michigan City, Indiana.
Ralph W. Burkhart was born in Putnam county, Ohio, October 26,
1886, and was one year of age when the family moved to Angola, Indiana.
Like his brothers and sisters he was well educated in the city schools, and
after leaving the high school spent three years with his brothers in the
steam laundry business. This was followed by two years of experience
with L. N. Klink, an undertaker and monument man, and in 1910 he
graduated from the Barnes Embalming School at Chicago, one of the
best institutions for the training of undertakers in the country. With a
brief experience in the practice of his profession at Angola, Mr. Burk-
hart in 1912 came to Hartford City and has since been identified with
C. F. Rutledge in the monument business and undertaking. Mr. Rut-
ledge is a graduate embalmer from Cincinnati, Ohio, and the two young
men both possess the enterprise required for successful business careers,
and enjoy the confidence and patronage of a large number of the best
people in Blackford county.
Mr. Burkhart is unmarried, and is well known in fraternal circles at
Hartford City. He affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows, and was on the committee which had in charge the dedication cere-
monies at the opening of the Odd Fellows Temple at Hartford City. He
is also affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles and in politics is a
democrat.
Henry Blake. Solid business connections and natural ability, com-
bined with thorough experience, assist a merchant to vie successfully with
competitors, and in many instances by developing an originality of
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 119
handling sales to distance them and secure success thorough the medium
of the best advertisement — that of the satisfied customer. Among the
substantial merchants of Blackford county, one whose prosperity has
been gained thus is Henry Blake, the proprietor of a thriving grocery
business at Hartford City, and one of his community's most energetic
and progressive men.
Mr. Blake comes of old ami honored New England ancestry, his
father, Hiram Blake, being born in Connecticut in 1822, his grand-
father, Samuel Blake, being also a native of that state. The latter, ac-
companied by his wife and five sons, moved to Vinton county, Ohio, in
1824. and not long thereafter the grandmother died when still in middle
life, while Samuel Blake died in Vinton county when past eighty years
of age. one of his locality's well known and highly esteemed citizens.
Of his sons, there grew to maturity: Edward. Samuel, Jr. and Hiram
and Henry. Henry Blake moved to Huntington county, Indiana, and
died there at the age of seventy-seven years, being married and the
father of two sons. Edward lived and died in Vinton county, Ohio,
reaching the age of eighty-four years, was married and left a son and a
daughter. Samuel Blake, Jr., was a resident of Vinton county. Ohio,
throughout his life, and like his brothers was a well-to-do farmer. He
was married and when he died at the age of eighty years left four sons,
of whom three are well known physicians of Ohio. Drs. Charles, Henry
and Horton Blake, the last-named one of the wealthiest men of Franklin
county, living near Columbus, Ohio.
Hiram Blake was still a lad when taken to Vinton county, Ohio, and
there he grew up as a farmer hoy. He was married to Miss Nancy Bobo,
who was born and reared in Ohio, and in 1850 they migrated to Indiana
and settled on what is now known as the Kessler farm, in Delaware
county. The family made the journey through with teams, being forced
to cut their way through the timber to their pioneer home, and that land
was cleared and put under cultivation by Mr. Blake. Subsequently he
moved to Blackford county, Indiana, and in 1873 came to Hartford
City, which continued to be his place of residence until his death. .March
27, 1910. Mrs. Blake followed him to the grave February 15, 1905.
They were earnest, honest. God-fearing people, Mr. Blake being a mem-
ber of the New Light church and Mrs. Blake a -Methodist. Stanch as a
democrat, he served one term as assessor and contributed to his com-
munity's welfare in numerous ways. They were the parents of seven
children, of whom one is deceased. E. Catherine, who died after her
marriage to William Andrews, and left a son and a daughter. Those
who survive are as follows: Sarah M.. who is the wife of James R. Rob-
erts, and a resident of Hartford City, the mother of three sons and two
daughters, all married; Samuel (III), who is the proprietor of a thriv-
ing restaurant business in Muncie, and the father of three daughters
and one son: Ezekiel. living in Hartford City, the father of one son and
two daughters; Malinda, the wife of B. Edgington, M. I)., of Warren,
Indiana, and the mother of one son and two daughters; Henry: and
Hiram J., whose prosperous restaurant business is located on the south
side of the Square in Hartford City, is married and has a son and
daughter, both married.
Henry Blake was born on his father's farm in Blackford county.
Indiana. September 8, 1861, and there received his early education in the
public schools. He was fourteen years of age when- be became a clerk
in J. P. Winters & Sons' store, and then entered a grocery establishment.
where he acted in a like capacity, thus gaining much valuable experi-
ence. Upon attaining his majority, he formed a partnership with Mr.
Reasoner, but this venture proved an unsuccessful one, and Mr. Blake
120 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
was left to pay the debts of the firm. Disappointed, but not discouraged,
he started all over again, accepting a clerkship with J. P. Winters &
Sons, the same firm with whom he first started, and where he continued
for ten years, and then, in 1882, again became the proprietor of a gro-
cery business, which he conducted successfully for four years. He then
entered the shoe business, with which he was identified until 1897, and
from that year until 1900 was engaged as a jobber of groceries, etc., in
Indianapolis. At the end of that period he came to Hartford City and
established his present business, which has proved a most successful one.
In 1910 Mr. Blake erected his present store, a structure 40x90 feet, on
the northwest corner of the Square, occupying both up and down stairs
and carrying a full line of the most up-to-date goods. He has steadily
built up a trade of large proportions, the people of his community realiz-
ing that he is familiar with their needs and wants and ready to supply
them at reasonable prices. His business transactions have shown him a
shrewd man of affairs, always ready to grasp an opportunity, yet one
who is honorable in all things and with a thorough respect for the rights
and privileges of others.
Mr. Blake was married in Hartford City, Indiana, to Miss Clara
Runkle, who was born in Wells county, Indiana, and there reared and
educated, and where her parents were early settlers. Mr. and Mrs.
Blake are the parents of: Susie, who is the wife of Walter Irey, a resi-
dent of Illinois, and has two children, — Robert and Henry; Florence,
who is single, and the proprietress of a millinery business in Hartford
City; Harry O, who holds a position with the Standard Oil Company,
of Oklahoma, and is single; Lucille, who is the wife of Raymond Rapp,
a butcher of Hartford City, and has one daughter, — Vivian ; Ruth and
Blanche, who reside with their parents and are attending the Hartford
City High school ; and Wallace and Clara, who are attending the graded
schools of this city. The mother of these children died May 24, 1905, in
the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Blake is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks. Although not an office seeker, he has taken an interest in all that
affects his community. A first-class business man, who knows every de-
tail of his work, a loyal citizen striving to bring about good government
and aid in the moral uplift, he has achieved a remarkable success during
his lifetime, and may be well numbered among those who have been the
architects of their own fortunes, and who have builded well.
Rev. Lewis Reeves. Known and revered for his long and faithful
service as a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Reeves
has now retired from active pastoral work of specific order and is the
able incumbent of the office of deputy county clerk of Blackford county,
where his circle of friends is limited only by that of his acquaintances.
Mr. Reeves was born on a farm near Union City, Darke county,
Ohio, on the 24th of June, 1847, and his lineage is traced back to staunch
English origin. He was named in honor of his grandfather, Lewis
Reeves, who was born near Bridgeton, Cumberland county, New Jersey,
between 1790 and 1795, and who served for a time as a soldier in the war
of 1812. At Bridgeton, New Jersey, in February, 1818, he married
Hannah Miller, who likewise was born in New Jersey, of German an-
cestry. Mr. Reeves was a shoemaker by trade and he continued to fol-
low his vocation in New Jersey for a number of years. Soon after his
marriage, however, he came to the West and first established his home
at Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, where he engaged in the work of
his trade and became one of the pioneer business men of the town, his
residence having there been established within the year 1818. In the
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 12]
earlier '40s he removed with his family to Darke county, Ohio, and a
few miles north of the village of Union City lie purchased a farm of
forty acres, to the development and cultivation of which he directed ins
energies, the while he maintained a profitable business in making hoots
and shoes for the people of the vicinity, keeping his work bench in his
home. Both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives in Darke
county, honored by all who knew them, and each passed the psalmist's
allotted span of "three score years and ten." Mr. Reeves was a Whig
iu his politieal adherency, and both he and his wife were devoul mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of
four sons and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased and each
of whom married and reared children with the exception of o I' the
daughters.
Lemuel M. Reeves, father of Rev. Li wis Reeves, was born at Warren,
Trumbull county, Ohio, on the 18th of December, 1818. Reared to ma-
turity in his native town, he there gained his early education in the
pioneer schools and there also be served a seven years' apprenticeship
to the trad,- of cabinetmaking. He continued to follow his trade after
his removal to Darke county. Ohio, where also he purchased and sold
two or more farms. In 1868 he removed with his Family to Converse,
Miami county, Indiana, and there he passed the residue of his long
and active life, his death having occurred January 17. 1902, his cherished
and devoted wife having been summoned to the life eternal on tin- 1st of
July. 1892. Her maiden name was Julia Bradford, ami she was horn
in Portage county. Ohio. -Inly 12. 1 81D. their marriage having been
solemnized in Windom, that county, on the 25th el' January, 1842. Mrs.
Reeves was a representativi of the historic old Bradford family of New
Eugland, and was a daughter of Joel and Millie (Loveland) Bradford,
the former a native of New Hampshire and the latter of Vermont, their
marriage having been solemnized in Ohio. They were pioneers of
Darke county, Ohio, and there each attained to advanced age. Mr.
Bradford having been past seventy at the time of death and his widow
having attained to the age of eighty-four years; both were devout
adherents of the Christian church and in politics Mr. Bradford was a
Whig. Lemuel M. and Julia (Bradford) Reeves became the parents
of four sons and one daughter, and at the present time three of the
sons are living, all having married, as did also the sister. Two of the
sons still retain their residence at Converse, Miami county, this State.
Rev. Lewis Reeves was the eldest of the children and he gained his
early education in his native county, later attending school at Union
City, Randolph county, Indiana. Endowed with alert and receptive
mentality, he devoted himself earnestly to study and reading, and at the
age of thirty-eight years he began his ministerial labors in the Methodist
Episcopal church. He held a pastoral charge at Mentone, Indiana, for
three years; his next incumbency of equal duration was at Fremont,
Steuben county; later he was pastor of a church at Harlan, Allen county,
where he remained five years; he next held for five years a pastorate
at Swayzee, Grant county ; was four years at Russiaville, Howard county ;
and in 1906, after years of earnest and fruitful endeavor in the ministry.
he was retired by his church and placed on the superannuated list. He
has found satisfaction in employing his time and attention in connec-
tion with his present office, thai of deputy county clerk of Blackford
county, a position of which he has been the incumbent since January 1 .
1914, "and he is one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens
of Hartford City.
Mr. Reeves is a supporter of the cause of the Republican party and
is prominently affiliated with the Masonic- fraternity, in which be is past
122 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
master of the lodge. He is identified also with the Knights of Pythias,
and is past commander of Coultor Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at
Russiaville, as he had served nearly two years as a valiant soldier in the
Civil war, in which he was a member of the Seventh Indiana Vol-
unteer Cavalry. He enlisted about six months prior to his seventeenth
birthday anniversary and with his command he saw hard service, in-
cluding participation in a number of sanguinary engagements. At the
close of the war he received his honorable discharge, haping been mus-
tered out with his regiment, in which he was a member of Company B.
He took part in fully twelve battles and during his military career was
only slightly wounded. At Lincoln's first call for volunteers the father
of Mr. Reeves enlisted in the Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infan-
try, with which he served four months. Mr. Reeves and his wife are most
zealous and valued members of the First Methodist Episcopal church
of Hartford City, and he still finds more or less requisition for his serv-
ices as a minister of this denomination.
In 1870, at Mill Grove, Blackford county, was solemnized the mar-
riage of Mr. Reeves to Miss Mary Robbins, who was born in Wayne
county, this State, on the 10th of November, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Reeves
have no children of their own, but as foster parents they have reared in
their home the following named persons : Etta Thorpe, who is now the
wife of William Lanning, of Grant county; William Stewart, who re-
sides at Mill Grove, Blackford county; and Ursie Morehead, who was
with her foster parents from the time she was four years of age until
her marriage.
James B. Lynn. It would be difficult to discover a better illus-
tration of the results to be attained by a life of industry and persevering
effort than the career of James B. Lynn, now a substantial general
farmer and stock raiser of Washington township, Blackford county, and
the owner of 160 acres of well-improved land located in sections 19 and
20. When Mr. Lynn faced the world on his own account his capital
consisted of an ordinary common school education, a sturdy heart, a
high ambition and a pair of willing hands. With these and the clear-
headed judgment which the years have brought he has advanced himself
to a position of acknowledged prominence among the agriculturists of
his locality, and today stands as an excellent exemplification of the self-
made man.
Mr. Lynn was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, November 15, 1855, a
son of Samuel and Jane (Brower) Lynn, both families having long
been residents of the Buckeye state. His grandparents spent their lives
in tilling the soil, a vocation which the family has followed for genera-
tions, and reached advanced years, passing away in Ohio. They were
devout church people, and the grandfather was an adherent of demo-
cratic principles. Samuel and Jane Lynn were born, reared, educated
and married in Guernsey county, there cultivated a valuable farm, and
passed their entire lives in the peaceful surroundings of rural life. The
father met an accidental death, being killed while crossing the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad tracks at Port Washington. Ohio, by a through freight
train, being at that time sixty-seven years of age. Like his father he was
a democrat, but was a modest and unassuming man, never courted public
notice, and did not care for the honors of office. The mother survived him
a number of years and was aged eighty-seven at the time of her death.
Both were faithful members of the Methodist church. Of their six sons
and four daughters, one son and one daughter are deceased, and of the
living all are married with the exception of one son.
James B. Lynn was granted the usual educational advantages secured
BLACKFORD AND CHANT COUNTIES 123
by Ohio farmers' sons of his day and locality, but the greater pari of
his education has been secured in the schools of experience and hard
work. He was given a good agricultural training on his father's home-
stead, where he resided until 1881, and at that time weiii to the oil sec-
tion of Van Buren township. Grant county, there engaging in work as a
farmer. He was earnest and industrious and thriftily saved his earn-
ings, so that iu 1902 he came to Washington township and purchased
his present property, then hut partly developed and undercultivated.
Mr. Lynn at once set about to make improvements, and as the years
have passed he has added to his buildings, his machinery and his stock, so
that now he has one of the really valuable properties of this part of the
county, an attractive estate that evidences in its every department the
careful and intelligent management of its owner. Mr. Lynn is termed
a "hustler" by bis neighbors and associates, his energetic nature and
keen foresight having led him into progressive innovations that the more
conservative and less courageous have been slow to adopt. The success
which he has gained would seem to indicate that his methods are desir-
able. .Air. Lynn has a tine ten-room home, a large barn, 40x44 feet, and
a full set of necessary outbuildings for the shelter of his grain and im-
plements. He grows large crops of all kinds of cereals, from corn to
rye, is alive to the latest methods and advocates strongly the use of the
most modern machinery. Aside from general farming, he lias been
successful in raising stock, having tine Duroc swine. Short Horn and Red
Polled cattle, .Merino sheep and a good grade of horses. In his business
transactions he has ever been honorable and aboveboard, so that his name
is .synonymous with integrity and honesty and he possesses the full con-
fidence of those with whom he has come into contact.
Mr. Lynn was married in Van Buren township. Grant county. In-
diana, to Bliss Maybelle C. Oliver, who was born March 19, 1873, a
daughter of Everett and Elvira (McArthur) Oliver, natives of Ohio who
lived for many years in Grant county and there owned a large farm.
Mr. Oliver died in Van Buren township, July is. 1887, while his widow-
still survives, living in "Wells county with her third husband at the iilv
of sixty-four years. She has had no children by her hist two marriages.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver were members of the Christian church. To Mr.
and Mrs. Lynn there have been born two children: .lay Stewart, born
December 15, 1893. educated in the public schools, living with his father
and assisting him with his agricultural operations, married Bertha
Houseman, the daughter of George Houseman, and has a daughter,
Catherine, who was born November 25, 191'!; and Florence June, born
June 6, 1898. a graduate of the common schools, who lives at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Lynn and their children are consistent members of the
Christian church. Mr. Lynn adheres to the principles of the democratic
party, but is not a politician and has never been a seeker after public
preferment.
Joshua T. Kellet. There are many elements which render most
consistent the representation here accorded to this sterling and honored
citizen of Blackford county, where he has maintained his home since his
boyhood days, where he is a scion of a prominent pioneer family and
where he has gained definite success and prestige through well ordered
endeavors and right living. Tie was long and actively identified with
agricultural pursuits in the county and that he has impregnable place
in popular confidence and esteem is shown by the fact that he has served,
and with marked fidelity and discrimination, as treasurer of the county.
He is now living virtually retired, in his attractive home, at 620 Fast
Main street. Hartford City, and it is most gratifying to present in this
publication a brief review of his personal and ancestral history.
124 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Joshua T. Kelley was born iu Campbell county, Virginia, on the
14th of November, 1844, and is of staunch Scotch-Irish lineage, both his
paternal and maternal ancestors having settled in the historic Old
Dominion state in an early day and the names of both families having
been worthily identified with American development and progress. The
paternal grandparents of Mr. Kelley were James and Betsey (Stone)
Kelley, he a Scotchman and she a Virginian. They passed their lives
in Virginia, where they were concerned with the great basic industry
of agriculture ; both were members of the Baptist church and they were
highly honored in Campbell county, where their home was long main-
tained. Benjamin P. Kelley, father of him whose name introduces this
review, was born in Virginia in June, 1819, and in his native state he
was reared and educated, his early discipline of practical order having
been that gained in connection with the work of the home farm or
plantation. He finally became a plantation overseer, and on the 4th of
January, 1844, he wedded Miss Maria Elizabeth Hall, who was born in
Campbell county, Virginia and whose father, Isham Hall, was a pros-
perous farmer and old and honored citizen of that county at the time of
his demise.
Two years after his marriage Benjamin F. Kelley removed with his
family to Tennessee, in which state he remained about one year, at the
expiration of which he continued his way westward and established
a home in Clinton county, Ohio. In that county were born the other
two children of his first marriage, — William H. and Martha J. ; Joshua
T., of this sketch, was the only one of the children born in Virginia.
In 1852, with teams and wagons. Benjamin F. Kelley came with his
family to Indiana and numbered himself among the pioneers of Black-
ford county. In Washington township he purchased eighty acres of
school land, and from the swamp and wilds he reclaimed a productive
farm. He drained his land, felled the timber and developed a good
farm. On this original homestead he resided for many years, and with
increasing prosperity he purchased additional land in the same town-
ship. He had much to do with the development of that part of the
county, where he became the owner of a valuable landed estate, and he
died on one of his farms, in 1899, secure in the high esteem of all who
knew him. His first wife died on the 16th of January, 1880, a woman
of gentle and gracious personality, and she was fifty-five years of age
when she was thus summoned to the life eternal. For his second wife
Benjamin F. Kelley wedded Mrs. Amanda J. (Baker) Bowen, widow
of James Bowen. She was born in Pennsylvania, in 1846, and she
now resides in Hartford City. She has two sons by her first marriage,
Adelbert and William. Concerning the children of her second marriage
the following brief data are given : Minnie is the wife of Charles Wales
of Oklahoma, and they have one daughter; Myrtle, who became the wife
of Orville Craft, is deceased and is survived by three daughters ; Logan
is a resident of Texas, and Benjamin F., Jr. and Harlan have their
homes in Oklahoma.
Joshua T. Kelley was a lad of eight years at the time of the family
removal to Blackford county, and here he was reared under the condi-
tions and influences of the pioneer days. He did not neglect the oppor-
tunities afforded in the somewhat primitive schools of the locality and
period and his alert mentality has since enabled him to profit fully from
the lessons to be gained in the stern school of experience, so that he is
known as a man of broad information and mature judgment.
Reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, Mr.
Kelley continued to devote his attention to agricultural pursuits until
he was moved to respond to the call of higher duty, when the integrity
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 125
of the nation was menaced by armed rebellion. On the -1st of March,
1864, at the age of nineteen years he enlisted in Company I
Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he proceeded with his
command into Tennessee. The regiment finally wenl to Nevi Orleans,
where it was assigned to guard duty, as was it later on the Rio Grande
river. Mr. Keller continued on active duty, as a loyal and gallanl sol
dier of the Union, for nearly two years, at the expiration of which he
received his honorable discharge, on the 6th of February, 1866. Be en-
dured his full .share of the hardships incidental to the great civil conflict,
especially while doing guard duty in the far south, and lie perpetuates
the more gracious memories and associations of his army life by retaining
membership in the Grand Army of the Republic.
After the close of the war Mr. Kelley returned to Blackford county,
where he engaged in farming on shares. Later he purchased land of his
own, and eventually he accumulated a line estate of 370 acres, all of which
he improved and all of which is in Washington township, with the ex-
ception of an eighty acre farm in Harrison township. The improvements
on his farms include substantial and attractive buildings, the best of
drainage facilities and other accessories to make the properties of the
best modern type. Mr. Kelley has given his attention to diversified
agriculture and the raising of high-grade live stock, and his success has
been on a parity with his energy and progressive policies. He still owns
his farm properties and gives to the same a general supervision, though
he has lived virtually retired in Hartford City since 1899.
Zealous in the support of the principles and policies of the Repub-
lican party, Mr. Kelley became one of its prominent representatives in
Blackford county. In the autumn of 1SS6 he was elected county treas-
urer, aud his administration was marked by scrupulous care and effec-
tive results, so that it met with unequivocal popular approval. After
the expiration of his first term he was twice renominated, but the
Democratic party had gained such a majority in the county that he
met defeat with the rest of the Republican ticket in the county. Mr.
Kelley has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity since 1868 and,
as before noted, he is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic.
In 1868 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Kelley to Miss Anna E.
Gettys, who was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, on the : !lst of
July. 1S44, and whose death occurred November 1!', 1878. Of this
union were born four children, concerning whom the following brief
record is given: Sarah E.. who was born January 19, 186!), is the wife
of George C. Baker, of Cleveland. Ohio: Arthur, who was born February
14, 1872, is a representative farmer of Washington township: he mar-
ried Miss Minnie Roby and they have one son and one daughter: Anna
E. is the wife of Charles Bugh, a farmer of Washington township, and
they have one son and one daughter; the twin sister of Anna E. died
on the day of birth.
On the 28th of November. 1880, Mr. Kelley contracted a second mar-
riage, by his union with Miss Martha R. Pierson, who was born in
Washington township, Blackford county, on the 2d of August, 1862,
and who is a daughter of James and Emily (Johnson) Pierson. The
parents of Mrs. Kelley were born in Ohio and were wedded in Grant
county. Indiana. They finally settled in Washington township. Black-
ford county, where they passed the residue of their lives. Mr. Pierson
was one of the sterling farmers of this county and here In- died in 1888,
his widow surviving until 1893 and both having been zealous members
of the United Brethren church. They had five sons and seven daughters,
and of the number three sons and three daughters are now living.
Joshua T. and Martha R. Kelley became the parents of four children:
126 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
William died at the age of six weeks; Mary E., who was born August
16, 1883, is the wife of Otto M. Headley, engaged in the undertaking
business at Marion, Ohio, and they have one son ; Emma, who was born
June 24, 1888, is the wife of Henry Douglas, a prosperous farmer of
Washington township, and they have one daughter; Laura, who was born
August 20, 1892, was graduated in the Hartford City high school as a
member of the class of 1911 and still remains at the parental home;
and L. Grant, who was born February 5, 1898, is attending school in
his home city. Mrs. Kelley and her children hold membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church, and the family is prominent in the best
social life of the community.
Abner D. Wolverton. Many of the substantial and reliable resi-
dents of Blackford county are descendants of families which originated
in Virginia, and whose members have played a prominent part in the
upbuilding and advancement of the business, financial, professional and
agricultural interests of various parts of the Hobsier state. One who
belongs to this class in Blackford county is Abner D. Wolverton, the
owner of a farm in section 13, Washington township, and -a citizen who
stands high in the esteem and confidence of those among whom he has
lived.
Mr. Wolverton is a grandson of James Wolverton, who was born in
the Old Dominion state, of English ancestry. He served in the French
and Indian Wars, and was married to a Miss Hughes, also of Virginia,
and in 1828 came West as far as Guernsey county, Ohio. He was a
real pioneer of that part of the Buckeye state, settling down in a log
cabin, in the midst of the forest, where Indians still made their homes
and wild game abounded. There the grandfather continued to engage
in modest agricultural pursuits until his death, about 1830, while the
grandmother survived a number of years. They were the parents of the
following children : Shelton, who married, lived and died in Guernsey
county, Ohio, and left a family; Govey; Newton; Julia Ann, who mar-
ried Alexander Lantz, lived and died in Allen county, Ohio, and had
four sons in the Union army during the Civil War, two of them being
confined in Andersonville Prison, where one died ; and three daughters,
names forgotten, who also grew up and were married.
Govey Wolverton, the father of Abner D. Wolverton, was born in
Virginia, in February, 1823, and was a child of about five years when
the family moved to Guernsey county. Ohio. His education was of a
limited character, as his father had died when he was still a babe, and
with his elder brother, Shelton, he was bound out to a Mr. Taylor, of
Guernsey county. When Govey Wolverton was sixteen years of age he
had driven a team for Mr. Taylor, and in the next year found employ-
ment on the old national turnpike, then building in Ohio. In 1847, some
years later, he came to Blackford county, Indiana, still a single man,
and purchased 160 acres of land in section 11, Washington township,
from Asa Engle, who had entered it in 1838, but had made no improve-
ments. Mr. Wolverton moved to his property in 1849, having in the
meantime been married in Blackford county to Miss Athalinda Sprague,
who was born in Washington county, Ohio, in February, 1827. She came
to Indiana as a child with her parents, James H. and Pollie (Owens)
Sprague, who entered 160 acres of land in Licking township, and there
passed the remainder of their lives. Although they had reached only
middle life, Mr. and Mrs. Sprague had been successful in their ventures
and were known as reliable and substantial people of their community.
They were the parents of three children: Franklin; Mrs. Wolverton
and Polly, all of whom married and had families. The Spragues are of
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES L>7
the old Massachusetts Spragues, who settled ;it Marinetta, Massachu-
setts in Colonial days. After their marriage Mr. and .Mrs. Wolverton
settled down to clearing and improving their home place, and here they
succeeded in the development of a handsome and valuable farm. The
father died August 11, 1864. and the mother August 11. 1902, both
being well and favorably known and highly respected by all. The father
was a democrat, but was not active in political affairs, preferring to
devote himself to the simple duties of his farm and home. The children
of Mr. and Mrs. Covey Wolverton were as follows: Aurelia, who died
at the age of six years; James E., who died single in young manhood;
and Abner D.
Abner D. Wolverton was born March 1. 1863, in Washington town-
ship. Blackford county, Indiana, on the farm which he now owns and
upon which he has spent his entire career. Brought up to agricultural
pursuits, he adopted that vocation when a young man. and bis whole
career has been devoted to the tilling of the soil, in which he has met
with well-merited success. In addition to the homestead, which is now
highly improved, he owns five acres adjoining, on section 10. and has
a farm of 280 acres near Springfield, Missouri. A thrifty and enter-
prising general farmer, he raises large crops, but also gives a large part
of his land to pastures and meadows, on which he raises a fine grade
of livestock, including cattle, sheep, horses and hogs. He is a capable
business man, with a reputation for integrity and honorable dealing,
and his career has been one which reflects credit upon himself and his
community. His political views are independent, but he at all times
endeavors to advance his community's interests, and with this end in
view supports good men and measures.
Mr. Wolverton was married in "Washington township, Blackford
county, to Miss Scelinda Berrier, who died five years ago, leaving five
children: Archibald, a graduate of the class of 1914, Bluffton High
school ; Iza and Mary, residing at home, both attending the Dundee
High school, and Abner, Jr.. and Russell, both attending school, the older
admitted to High school.
Alexander Nelson Pursley is a young man of unusual ability,
both in the marts of trade and commerce and in the field of politics.
Few men of his age and length of experience have been able to secure
and hold positions of such trust and responsibility in public life, while
the success that has come to him also in the business world in such as is
is not attainable by the ordinary man. Like many of the progressive
and energetic business men of Hartford City, he has spent his life in
his present locality, has grown with it and prospered with its pros-
perity, and has always interested himself closely with its development.
Mr. Pursley comes of solid old Irish stock, the immigrant ancestor
of the family in America being Jacob Pursley, who was born in 1774 in
Ireland, and in 1791, with a brother and three sisters, took passage on
a sailing vessel whose destination was the United States. After a long,
tedious and tempestuous journey, the little party reached New York
City, and at least Jacob went on to Kentucky, hut in 1801 we And him
married to Rachael Rankin and coming overland to Fayette county,
Ohio. Locating in the wilds of that county, his was the third white fam-
ily to make a settlement within its borders, and his first log cabin home
was erected on Sugar Creek, not far from Washington Court House.
Ohio was still a territory, and the little cabin was surrounded by dense
woods, in which lurked the hostile red man and all kinds of wild game,
but the sturdy pioneer couple braved all dangers, faced all hardships
and worked courageously to make a home for their family, and to de-
128 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
velop a productive farm, objects which were accomplished after years
of ceaseless toil. At the time of his death, Jacob Pursley was eighty-nine
years of age, while his wife also attained advanced years. It is believed
that they were Catholics ; at any rate, Mr. Henry Pursley, a son of Jacob,
later donated the land on which the first Roman Catholic church was
erected in what is at present the city of Washington Court House.
Of their six sons and two daughters, Henry Pursley was born in
1803, in Fayette county, Ohio. He grew up amid pioneer surroundings,
his boyhood home being the little log cabin and his playground the
great stretches of heavy timber. His education was secured iu the
primitive schoolhouse, taught by teachers who were satisfied, usually,
with giving their pupils a perfunctory knowledge of the "three R's,"
and the greater part of his training was secured in the school of hard
work and experience. After his marriage to Sophia L. Rupert, he
secured a part of the old homestead, to which he added as the years
passed until he was the owner of 640 acres of land, the greater part of
which is now occupied by the city of Washington Court House. Here
he and Mrs. Pursley pursued active, although modest, lives, rearing their
children to habits of industry and thrift, and contributing materially
to the welfare and progress of their community. Mr. Pursley died in
1873, his wife having preceded him some years. He was an extensive
breeder of stock, horses and mules, and was known as one of his county 's
most substantial agriculturists. It is not known what particular church
they attended, but in polities Mr. Pursley was a democrat and somewhat
of a leader in the affairs of his party and of the people of all that section.
Of their children, Nancy, Rachel and Jacob lived to maturity, were
married and reared large families. All were born in Fayette county,
Ohio.
Jacob Pursley, son of Henry Pursley, was born in 1831, at Wash-
ington Court House, Ohio, and there spent his entire career, dying in
1875. He was there married to Miss Susanna Smith, who was born in
1832, and still survives, hale and hearty in spite of her eighty-two years.
She is now making her home with her children, dividing her time be-
tween those in Indiana and in Ohio. Of these children, William Henry,
the father of Alexander N. Pursley, is the fourth in order of birth, nine
children grew to man and womanhood, eight are still living and have
families, and all have been successful in agricultural pursuits, being
people of both brawn and brain. Jacob Pursley and his wife were mem-
bers of the Dunkard church, but others of the family have adopted dif-
ferent faiths, William H. Pursley and his wife adhering to the teachings
of the same church, however.
William Henry Pursley was born in Fayette county, Ohio, March
27, 1856. After preparing in the public schools, he completed his edu-
cation in Lebanon (Ohio) College, and in 1887 came to Blackford county,
Indiana, which has since been his home. In his youth he was engaged
for several years in teaching school, but he soon turned his attention
to farming and raising stock, upon which he has continued to concen-
trate his energies. He is the owner of an excellent property located in
Licking township, and his ventures have been rewarded with success
because of his good management, his shrewdness, foresight and unceas-
ing labor. While still residing in his native county he was united in
marriage with Miss Amy Sanderson, who was born in that county. May
6, 1860, daughter of Alexander Nelson Sanderson. Mr. Sanderson died
in Fayette county when seventy-two > 7 ears of age, while Mrs. Pursley 's
mother passed away many years before. Her maiden name was Doane.
They were the parents of seven children, of whom four are still living,
all being married and the parents of children. Nine children were born
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 129
to William Henry and Amy (Sanderson) Pnrsley, of which six still
survive, namely: Alexander N., of this review; Jacob, city marshal of
Hartford City, who is married and has two daughters; Orvall, a grad-
uate of the .Marion Law School, a successful attorney of Montpelier, who
is married and has three daughters; Albert, who is engaged in teaching
school in Hartford City, is married and has two daughters; Earl, who
is single and a school teacher; and .Miss Edith, single, who is attending
the Hartford City High school.
Alexander \. Pursley was bora March 3, 1878, and received his edu-
cation in the public schools of Hartford City. His early training was
of an ordinary character, but this has since been supplemented by much
reading, wide business experience and keen observation of men and
affairs, and one cannot now be long with Mr. Pursley without coming
to a realization. of the fact that he is a very well educated man on a
number of different and important subjects. He early decided upon
a career in mercantile lines, and accordingly left the home farm and
established himself in the grocery business at Hartford City, which has
been the scene of his labors and successes during tin- past sixteen years.
For the last six years of this time he has been located in the VanCleve
building, located on the west side of the Square, having a storeroom
24x120 feet, with a basement under all. Mr. Pursley handles a com-
plete and up-to-date line of staple and fancy groceries, as well as field
and garden seeds, and has built up an excellent- trade through straight-
forward and honorable dealing and uniform courtesy to his patrons.
His business ability is marked, and to it he adds a wealth of ideas, and
an ability to recognize and grasp opportunities. While .Mr. Pursley's
business interests have expanded rapidly and widened in scope, thus
demanding more and more of his attention, he has still found time to
interest himself helpfully in democratic politics. In 1908 he was elected
a trustee of Licking township, in which capacity he is serving his sixth
year, and it is doubtful if this section has had a more capable or popular
official. He is known as one of the wheelhorses of democracy in Black-
ford county, and at this time is chairman of the county democratic
committee, his personal popularity, his organizing and executive ability
and his keen knowledge of political conditions having done much to
advance the interests of the party in this section. Fraternally, Mr.
Pursley is connected with the Benevolent aud Protective Order of Elks,
is past Worthy President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a trustee
of the Improved Order of Red Men, a charter member and treasurer of
the Loyal Order of Moose, a prominent member of the Knights of the
Maccabees for some years, and a charter member of Knights of Columbus.
As president of the Indiana Trustees Association, the municipal organ-
ization of the state of Indiana, Mr. Pursley is at the head of 1,016 mem-
bers. Mr. Pursley is a man who has made his own way in life, and has
succeeded because he has been able to overcome obstacles and because
his plans have been well laid, well directed and well carried out. Dur-
ing his long residence in this community, he has formed a wide ac-
quaintance, and in it he can number many warm and appreciative
friends.
Mr. Pursley was married in Hartford City, to Miss Mary Sloan, who
was born in August. 1877, in Greenville, Ohio, and came to Blackford
county, Indiana, with her parents when five years old. her education
being secured in the public schools here. She has been the mother of
the following children :- Evaline and Kathlyn. twins, fifteen years of age,
graduates of the parochial school and now students in the Hartford
City High school; Leo and Clara, who are attending the parochial
schools: William and Lawrence, at home; and three children who died
130 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
in childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Pursley are members of St. John's Roman
Catholic church.
Jacob K. Shick. The Shick family located in Hartford City more
than sixty-five years ago, when the first court house was being erected
on the public square. Since then its various members have occupied
not only a highly respected position in the community, but have been
useful as workers and have created prosperity for themselves and assisted
in the development of the many activities which constitute the modern
city and the county of Blackford. Jacob K. Shick has long been active
in business affairs, was able to use his skill in the erection of many
buildings in and about Hartford City, and there are few people there
who are not acquainted with his business standing and integrity as a
citizen.
The Stacks are of German ancestry and were early settled in Penn-
sylvania. Jacob Shick, Sr., father of Jacob K., was born in Penn-
sylvania about 1790. His parents were both born and reared and possibly
were married in Germany coming thence to the United States, and
rearing their children in Pennsylvania. From that place they moved
out to Ohio, settling on a farm in Muskingum county, where both died.
In Muskingum county Jacob Shick, Sr., married Miss Barbara Cline,
who was born in Ohio, but her parents were Pennsylvania people and
likewise of German origin. The Clines were among the early settlers
of Muskingum county, Barbara Cline 's father died there, while her
mother subsequently moved out to Blackford county, Indiana, and
passed away at a good old age. In religion three generations of both
the Shicks and Clines were Lutherans, and Jacob and his wife were
both adherents of that church.
After the birth of all their children Jacob and wife left Ohio in April,
1847, and with wagons and teams made the journey overland to Indiana,
settling in Hartford City while the first court house was being con-
structed on the square. It was a village at the time, and much of the
trade was due to its position as the seat of county government. Jacob
Shick established a hotel and general store on the square, and was thus
employed for some years until selling out. and moved to Henry county,
where he found a place as keeper of a toll gate on the old National Pike.
Late in life he returned to Hartford City, and here both he and his
wife passed away, Jacob about 1876 when past eighty-five years of age,
and his widow some six years later when about eighty-three years of
age.
Of the family, comprising five sons and four daughters, of Jacob
Shick, Sr., and wife, the following mention is made : John, who was a
tinner and hardware merchant and spent most of his life in Hartford
City, died in October, 1908, at the age of eighty-five, and left a family
of two daughters, now living in Hartford City ; Elizabeth, always known
as Betsey, died after her marriage to Henry Huffman, who is also de-
ceased, and at her death she was seventy-nine years of age, her one
son being now a resident of Hartford City ; Leonard spent most of his
life in Muncie, was a farmer, in later years a dairyman, and by trade a
tinsmith, was past eighty-three at the time of his death, and had a
family of five, three daughters and two sons ; Catherine, who also lived
to be more than eighty years of age. was the wife of James Ayres, a
farmer and shoemaker, and they left six children; Maria died at the
age of eighteen years ; Nancy, who was the wife of Spanger Bruce, and
died in Nebraska at the age of seventy-eight, left two sons and a daugh-
ter, who are still living while two daughters are deceased ; Henry died
in Pennsylvania in early childhood ; William, who for many years fol-
BLACKFORD AND CHANT COUNTIES 131
lowed the hardware and tinware business, is a resident of Muncie, and
a widower with two sons and two daughters.
Of this family Jacob K. Shick was born in Muskingum county, Ohio,
May 13, 1843, and was therefore about four years old when the home
was established iu the little village of Hartford City. It was in Hart-
ford City that he grew up, and in his own recollection has a record
of practically every improvement and change which have wrought the
modern city. He attended the early public schools of the county seat,
and when ready to take up a serious occupation of his own learned the
tinner's trade, subsequently the cabinet maker's trade, and followed
the latter vocation at a time when most coffins were made by hand, in-
stead of being furnished from a ready stock. Usually the order for a
coffin was not delivered until after the death of the party for which
it was intended, and Mr. Shick in the early days was again and again
called upon to begin work very early in the morning, and sometimes
had to continue his labors late into the night in order to finish his com-
mission. For the past thirty years Mr. Shick has been one of the suc-
cessful building contractors, and a large number of residences, business
blocks, and some of the public buildings in Blackford county, testify
to his skill and reliability in this work.
At the same time he has done his share of public work, has served
in the city council, and as a democrat has always been active in local
and county matters.
Mr. Shick was first married in Hartford City to Miss Anna M.
Taughinbaugh, who was born May 29, 1842. She was brought to Hart-
ford City when a girl, and died there April 12, 1892. By that marriage
were three sons and three daughters: Lydia, who was born September
16, 1863, is the wife of Jason Huggins, who is in the meat business at
Coffeyville, Kansas; they have two children, Charles and Mabel, the
latter being married and the mother of Harriet and Lydia. William
L., who was born December 19, 1865, died January 17, 1907, and mar-
ried Ha Scott. Haddessah C. born March 4, 1868, married Walter
Cline, a glass cutter of Coffeyville, Kansas, and they have a daughter
Catherine. Charles L., born February 17, 1870, died December 8, 1871.
Alta B., born October 3, 1872, died July 3, 1905, the wife of Edgar
Simmons, and they lost their onl.v child at the age of three weeks.
Walter A., born July 3, 1880, is a glass worker at Coffeyville, Kansas,
and by his marriage to Nellie Buckles has Ester and Marion K.
Mr. Shick on June 21, 1904, was married in Hartford City to Mrs.
Rebecca (Story) Brieker. She was born in Fayette county, Pennsyl-
vania, August 8, 1858, was reared and educated there, a daughter of
William G. and Mary A. (Story) Brieker. Her parents were natives of
England, reared and married in Laneastershire, and after the birth of
four children they emigrated to America in February, 1848, and settled
at Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Story was a workingman. and later
moved to Pittsburg where his wife died at the age of sixty-nine. After
that he returned to Brownsville, and died at the age of seventy-nine.
Mr. and Mrs. Story were both members of the Episcopal church while
in England and later became Methodists in this country. By her mar-
riage to Thomas W. Brieker of Pennsylvania, who died in that state
December 17, 1894, Mrs. Shick has three children : William Nelson
Brieker, who died unmarried November 29, 1898, aged twenty-three ;
John L., who is now a cooper of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and mar-
ried May Pangratz; and Mary Ann. who died at the age of twenty-three,
March 22. 1906. after her marriage to Leslie "Walker, leaving two chil-
dren, Nelson W. and Wilma R.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Shick are prominent members of the Methodist
132 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Episcopal church at Hartford City, Indiana, in which he was at one
time a member of the official board. He is prominent in Odd Fellow-
ship, a member of the Encampment, and he and his wife belong to the
Rebekahs. He has been through the various chairs of the local lodge
and has served in the Grand Encampment. Mrs. Shick has filled all the
chairs of the local lodge of the Rebekahs.
Franklin Ely. Of the men who have actively participated in the
agricultural transformation of Blackford county during the past thirty
years, none are better or more favorably known than Franklin Ely,
owner of a farm in section 2, Washington township, and a man who has
won the respect and esteem of his fellow-townsmen through a life of
clean and honorable living. He has spent his entire life in Blackford
and Grant counties, having been born at Jadden, Grant county, January
20, 1853, a son of John and Keziah (Richardson) Ely, natives of Penn-
sylvania, the former of German parentage and the latter a member of
a Pennsylvania family.
The parents of Mr. Ely came to Licking county, Ohio, with their
parents as young people, and after growing to maturity there were
married in that county, where they began their life. John Ely had
learned the trade of blacksmith in his youth, and for some years fol-
lowed that vocation at Grandville, in connection with which he manu-
factured agricultural implements. After some years he came to Jadden,
Grant county, Indiana, and about the year 1850 opened a smithy at
that place, but disposed of his interests there and came to Hartford
City, from whence he eventually removed to Dundee (Roll. P. 0.),
where he died in 1880, at the age of forty-five years. He was an indus-
trious, energetic and enterprising workman, and secured a competency
through faithful and persistent efforts. It is probably that his death
was hastened by his army experiences, for during the Civil "War he
served more than three years as a private and non-commissioned officer
in an Indiana volunteer regiment and Grant county company, partici-
pating in numerous hard-fought engagements, including that of Gettys-
burg, and was wounded three times. His record was that of a gallant,
faithful and hard-fighting soldier, one who won and retained the admira-
tion of his comrades and the respect of his officers. Mr. Ely was a
democrat, but not an office seeker. His widow survived him for a long
period, and died at Montpelier, Indiana, when seventy years of age.
She had for many years been a devout member of the Christian church.
The children of John and Keziah (Richardson) Ely were as follows:
Benjamin, a retired blacksmith of Montpelier, married Sarah Palmer,
and has three sons and two daughters; Mary, who died after her mar-
riage to Dr. William Wilt, also deceased, who left one son, Delbert Wilt,
D. D. S., a practicing dentist of Montpelier; Franklin, of this review;
and George, a retired blacksmith of Montpelier, who married Nancy
Alexander and has a daughter, Mabell, who is now the wife of Ray
Green.
After completing the course of study in the public school of Jadden
and Hartford City, Franklin Ely began to learn the trade of blacksmith
under the capable preeeptorship of his father, who was considered one
of the most skilled men in his line in the community. He continued
to follow this trade with success until 1885, when he turned his attention
to agricultural pursuits, purchasing a farm of eighty acres located in
section 2, Washington township, where he still resides. Here he has
continued to reside and make improvements to the present time, now
having a handsome eight-room house, painted white, with a large red
barn, 30x56 feet, and other buildings for the shelter of his stock, grain,
AND MRS. JAMES I). WEAVER
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 133
implements and machinery. His property is an attractive one, reflecl
bag .Mr. Ely's industry, thrift and good management, and its structures
are kept in the best of repair, sixty acres of land are under cultiva-
tion, tin- other twenty being in native timber. Mr. Ely's reputation
in business eircles is that of a man who lias always lived up to his
obligations, and upon whose record no stain appears. He takes a pride
in his community, ami has at all times demonstrated a commendable
eagerness to assist in its advancement in every possible way.
.Air. Ely was married in Washington township to Aliss Margarel
Chandler, who was horn in May, 1854, near the present home of -Mr.
Ely. here reared and educated, and died June 20. 1897. She was a
splendid woman, a faithful wife and helpmate and a devoted mother,
charitable of heart, and of excellent ability. She was the mother of six
children, as follows: Willard B., a general merchant of Dundee (Roll
P. O.i. married Ora Brotherton, and has six children, — Ivolue, Lorena,
Neil. Vaughn. Delight and Lois, the eldest a graduate of common scl I ;
Austin, engaged in farming in Harrison township, married Verna Dick,
and has two children, — Leslie and Esther; Dustin, a merchant of Con-
nerville. married Myrtie Alexander, and has one child. — Burl; Charles.
a machinist, who is unmarried; and L. Mabell and Mary L.. who reside
at home and keep house for their father.
Mr. Ely and his sons are consistent democrats, and faithfully support
their party's candidates and policies. All are widely known in this
section, and their friends are only limited by the number of their
acquaintances.
James Dalis Weaver. Among the prominent citizens of Hartford
City, James Dalis Weaver has had a prominent place for some years,
and retired to this city to enjoy the fruits of a well deserved prosperity,
won through a career as a farmer and business man. The Weaver fam-
ily is well known both in Blackford and in Jay counties, and they have
lived in Indiana, Ohio, and originally in Virginia, where the name was
established during the colonial era.
In original ancestry the Weavers came from Germany. The grand-
father of the Hartford City gentleman above named was Henry Weaver,
who was born in Orange county. Virginia, about 1765. ten years before
the beginning of the Revolutionary war. Exceptional business ability,
whether in agriculture or the management of other affairs, seems to
have been characteristic of this family through nearly all its representa-
tives. Grandfather Weaver owned a large plantation in Culpepper
county, Virginia, near Culpepper Courthouse, and died there in 1863,
when about ninety-nine years of age. While he was a southerner, he
apparently had little sympathy with the institution of slavery, and is
said to have freed a great many slaves, giving each one a horse, bridle
and saddle, and sending them north to 'Richmond, Indiana, the old
Quaker community, where as freedmen they were able to begin life
anew. Henry Weaver was married in Virginia to Miss Christler, who
was born in that state, where her family had long lived. She died some
years before her husband. Both were people of the finest morality and
Christian character, members of the Lutheran faith, and were constantly
engaged in a work of service to their fellow men. Of their seven sons
and two daughters all are now deceased, but the children were long
lived, and most of them were more than eighty years of age when death
came. They married and had families, and their descendants are now
found in many states.
Of the children of Henry Weaver and wife one was Albert Christler
Weaver, father of James D. He was born in Culpepper county. Vir-
134 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ginia, in 1817, grew up in that vicinity, and learned the trade of miller,
millwright and millstone dresser. From Virginia he moved north to
Ross county, Ohio, and in 1847 established a home in Indiana. His
trip to Indiana was made across country, and it required a hard struggle
to get through the woods to the eighty acres which he had selected for
a home. Two hundred dollars was the price paid for that land, and he
and his family took shelter in a little log cabin which occupied a cleared
space among the trees. There he literally dug out the stumps and
underbrush, and made a farm as the result of strenuous labor. One of
his first acts after reaching the homestead was to plant a small orchard
of three or four acres. Those fruit trees proved a boon to the home and
also to the community, and the apples and other fruits grown there were
long celebrated in that neighborhood. The surroundings were all wild,
and it is said that when some neighbors killed a beeve and Mr. Weaver
carried a portion of it home in the evening it was necessary to keep a
hickory torch lighted in order to scare away the wolves which were at-
tracted by the scent. But fresh beef was a luxury, and most of the
larder was supplied by the abundance of wild game which existed in
the woods and on the prairies and could be had by any ordinary hunter.
This pioneer settler was noted among many other things for his fine
markmanship. A story that is related of him tells how he killed with
one bullet from his trusty rifle eight wild turkeys. He dug a trench,
scattered corn in it, and concealing himself allowed a number of tur-
keys to collect along the trench, then whistled, and when all had raised
their heads out of curiosity he took aim and his shot brought down
eight fowls.
Few of the early Indiana settlers were so successful either as farm-
ers or business men as Albert C. Weaver. As a manager and director
of the labors of others he had few superiors. His landed possessions at one
time aggregated six hundred acres. When fifty years of age he left his
farm and moved to Dunkirk in Jay county, and there went into business
as a general merchant with his son Newton G. Their enterprise pros-
pered, and its management had some points worthy of note. They em-
ployed several clerks, getting boys from the country to perform the
work, and all the money collected during the day was deposited in a
drawer at night, and there was never a case of dishonesty or irregularity
in the conduct of the business. Albert C. Weaver had never received
any mercantile training, and when he started the store he used his
splendid common sense to guide him. He was a successful overseer,
and while he never bought or sold a dollar's worth of goods himself,
he saw to it that his subordinates were well instructed in the manner of
how to do it, and his management was such that he made his fortune
as a merchant. His death occurred in Dunkirk in 1902.
The late Albert C. Weaver was a man of very ripe knowledge, pos-
sessed rare judgment, and his influence could not otherwise be but ex-
tremely helpful to any community. For many years he was regarded
as one of the leading Democrats of Jay county, though never a politician,
and exerted his influence only in behalf of his friends and for the sake
of good government.
In Ross county, Ohio, he was married to Elizabeth Wiltshire, who
was a native of Virginia, and who died when past sixty years of age in
Dunkirk. Her fine qualities of womanhood were not less remarkable
than her husband's many virtues. She did much to rear her children
carefully and prepared them for lives of usefulness. There were six
children, of whom James D. was the oldest. Henry W., who now lives
in Dunkirk a retired farmer, has a wife and children; John W., who
died in Dunkirk in 1912, was for many years his father's successor in
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 135
merchandising, and left a family ; Newton G., who is a retired business
man of Hartford City, is married and lias a family of children; Mary F.,
who died without children as the wife of A. S. Ilartman, and her husband
by a second marriage has two children ; Cornelia S., died unmarried
when about twenty-five years of age.
James D. Weaver, who was the only one of the children born in
Ohio, first saw the light of day in Highland county, February 20, 1845.
After a few years his parents moved to Delaware county, Indiana, in
1847, and he grew up on a farm in the midst of the wilderness which
then prevailed in Xiles township of that county. After becoming of
age he started life on his own account, and was for years a farmer,
combining in later years a grocery store with his farming, and was the
first and last postmaster of Niles Postoffice. He was able to retire in
1908 with a substantial prosperity. In that year he moved to Hartford
City and bought his present home at 300 Conger street, where he is
now enjoying life with none of the cares of business. Besides some
property interests in Hartford City, Mr. Weaver owns a well developed
farm of forty-five acres in Blackford county.
Mr. Weaver was first married in Niles township of Delaware county
to Miss Rebecca Worster. She was born of one of the good old families
of Delaware county, and died ten years after her marriage. There
were four children : Amos A., who is married and lives in Dunkirk
and follows the business of glass worker, spent three years as a soldier
during the Cuban and Philippine wars and was a non-commissioned
officer. William died at the early age of seventeen in Colorado Springs,
Colorado. Elwood M., who has been twice married and has a son and
two daughters by his first wife, was a farmer for a number of years, but
now is in business in Dunkirk. Oscar D. enlisted and saw service in
Cuba during the Spanish-American war, and afterwards entered the serv-
ice for the Philippines, and remained in those islands two or three years ;
he was wounded in the arm while in Cuba ; at the present time he makes
his home with his family in a houseboat on the Ohio river, and spends
most of his time as a fisherman.
Mr. Weaver for his second wife married at Dunkirk. Mrs. Mary J.
McMullen. whose maiden name was Salsbury. She was born in Greene
county. Ohio, and grew up there and in Jay county, Indiana. Her
father died from illness contracted while serving with an Ohio regi-
ment in the Civil war. Mrs. Weaver first married John McMullen, who
was a veteran of the Civil war and died of consumption several years
after the close of that war. There were three McMullen children : Harry
W., Hattie B., and Frederick Greer, all of whom are married and have
families. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have just one child, Orley 0., who is a
well driller and a worker in the oil and gas fields. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver
are both members of the Methodist church, and as a practical religious
worker Mr. Weaver also affiliates with the Salvation Army.
Philip H. Johnson. Of the younger generation of farmers whose
efforts promise to lend vigor and prestige to the future of Blackford
county, one to whom more than passing mention is due, is Philip IT.
Johnson, who is the owner of a well-cultivated tract of land in section
15. Washington township. Mr. Johnson comes of an old and prominent
family of Ohio, his grandfather. Detrick Johnson, being a native of the
Buckeye state. He grew up there and was married, and began his active
career as a farmer, but during the latter 'forties or early 'fifties came
to Indiana, where he entered land from the government, and from the
wilderness developed a good and productive farm. He accumulated IfiO
acres, on which he erected a substantial home and other buildings, and
136 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
became known as one of the solid and successful men of his community.
His widow survived him some j'ears, but both were well advanced in
age, although but little is known of these pioneers save that they were
rugged, sturdy and God-fearing. The grandfather met his death as
the result of a runaway accident. A brother of the grandfather, Lemuel
Johnson, came to Indiana at the same time, developed a valuable farm,
was married and at the time of his death, in 1909, left a large family.
AVilliam Johnson, the father of Philip H. Johnson, was one of six
sons and three daughters, namely : John ; William ; Dr. Emanuel, a
physician of Lima, Ohio, who is married and has a single daughter;
Lemuel, a resident of Grant county; Thomas and James, deceased;
Mary A., who is the wife of Henry Roy, of Marion, Indiana, and has a
family; Eliza, who is the wife of James Crevenston, and lives at Con-
verse, Indiana, the mother of two sons; and Maggie. William Johnson
was born in 1855, in Grant county, six miles west of Marion. He was
there reared and married a Wabash county girl, Leah Bradley, who
was born, reared and educated there, a daughter of Ohio parents who
spent the latter years of their life in Wabash county and there died
well advanced in years. All the children of William and Leah Johnson
were born in Grant county, but later he went to Howard county, where
he resided for some years and was the owner of 207 acres of land. He is
still the owner of 143 acres in the vicinity of Marion, in which city
he and his wife are now living retired, hale and hearty, and surrounded
by the comforts which their honest and industrious lives have brought.
In the fall of 1910, Mr. Johnson purchased 160 acres of land in section
15, Washington township, Blackford county, where his son, Philip H.
Johnson, now resides, and which he is operating most successfully, grow-
ing the various cereals, fine grades of swine and staple grades of stock.
He has good farming utensils, substantial buildings and improvements'
of the best type, and largely through his own industry and energy has
made one of the finest farms in his part of Grant county.
Mr. Johnson was born in Grant county, Indiana, December 16, 1879,
and was educated in the public schools of Sycamore, Howard county,
where he resided for some years. Subsequently, he returned to Grant
county, where he was married to Miss Susie Bowman, who was born
in Wabash county, in 1881, and died December 18, 1904. One daughter
was born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, namely : Edna L., born February
9, 1902, who resides at home and is attending the public schools. Mr.
Johnson was married at Marion, Indiana, to Mrs. Gladys (Hipp)
Krebs. who was born at Warsaw, Indiana, October 28, 1880, educated
there and in Fulton county, and married Joseph Krebs, who was
born July 27, 1878, at Peru, Indiana. They became the parents of
two daughters: Silva M., born February 4, 1900, and now attending
high school; and Lagretta, born May 23, 1904, who lives with an aunt
at Marion. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson,
namely : Everett D., born July 10, 1911 ; and Lester L., born May
27, 1914. Mr. and Mrs, Johnson are members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather,
Mr. Johnson is a democrat, but has been too busy with his farming in-
terests to engage actively in political matters.
Lawrence W. Daughertt. As one of the representative citizens
of Blackford county and as a prominent and influential business man
of Hartford City, where he conducts a substantial and prosperous com-
mission trade as a buyer and shipper of grain, hay and other produce,
Mr. Daugherty is fully entitled to special consideration in this history,
and the high estimate that is placed upon him in his home county is
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES L37
indicated by the fad that he has served both as county auditor and as
a member of the board of review. He is a scion, in the third generation,
of one of the honored pioneer families of Indiana, with whose history
the name has been identified for Dearly a century, and in all of the rela-
tions of life he has admirably upheld the prestige of his patronymic.
In fhe agnatic line his ancestry is traced hack to staunch Scotch-Irish
origin, hi.s paternal grandfather. .John Daugherty having been horn
probably in Pennsylvania, though data concerning the early history
of thi' family in America are notably meager. Thus it may he that he
was horn prior to his parents' immigration to the United States, in
which event he was at the time a mere child. He was reared to ma-
turity in the old Keystone State, and there was solemnized his marriage
to Rebecca Knox, who was of Welsh parentage. In Pennsylvania were
horn his elder children, and in 1819, with teams and wagons, he came
with his family to the pioneer wilds of Henry county. Indiana, where
he entered claim to a tract of heavily timbered land, in Liberty town-
ship. He became one of the successful pioneer farmers of that county.
and his was the herculean task of reclaiming his land from the wilder-
ness, both he and his noble wife having been well fortified for the respon-
sibilities and labors that ever fall upon pioneers in a new and unde-
veloped region. John Daugherty was about seventy-six years of age at
the time of his death, and his widow attained to the age of about eighty-
five years, both having been numbered among the best known ami most
honored pioneer citizens of Henry county and both having been zealous
members of the New Light Christian church ; in politics Mr. Daugherty
was a Democrat. This worthy couple reared a large family of children,
and of the two who are still living it may be recorded that James is a re-
tired farmer of Hagerstown. Wayne county, this State : and that Mrs.
Amanda Nordman is a resident of Rushville, Rush county. The nam--s
of those deceased are here entered: Priscilla, Clarissa. William, Eliza-
beth, Samuel, Mary, Rebecca, and Louisa.
Samuel Daugherty, father of him to whom this sketch is dedicated,
was born on the old homestead farm in Liberty township. Henry county.
on the* 23d of August, 1822, and in his native county he was reared
to years of maturity, his incidental educational advantages in his youth
having been those of the primitive pioneer schools. He learned the trade
of cooper, and for the long period of thirty-five years he followed this
trade at Millville. Henry county, where he conducted a well ordered
cooperage of the type common to the locality and period. He finally
established his residence on a farm in Jefferson township, that county,
and he made this one of the valuable properties of that district, there
continuing to reside until his death, in 1887. He never wavered in his
allegiance to the Democratic party, was a man of sterling character and
positive views, and ever commanded the high regard of his fellow men,
his religious faith having been that of the Church of Christ, of which
his second wife was a devout adherent. In Henry county, as a young
man, he wedded Malinda Shaw, who was born in that county about the
year 1825, and who passed the closing period of her life in Tipton
county, where she died in 1861, her religious faith having been that of
the Baptist church. Samuel Daugherty eventually contracted a second
marriage, and of this union four children were born. Concerning the
five children of the first marriage it may be noted that Lawrence W., of
this review, was the third in order of birth; Alice, who is the widow
of Robert F. Newcomb, resides at Hagerstown, Wayne county, and
has one son and two daughters ; Elizabeth, who has no living children,
is the widow of Leonard P. Harris and resides at Richmond. Wayne
county : Jeptba is a mechanical engineer by vocation and now lives in
138 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
the State of California ; and John, who is a prosperous farmer of Wayne
county, Indiana, has one daughter.
Lawrence W. Daugherty was born in Henry county, this State, on
the 17th of April, 1859, and his early education was obtained in the pub-
lic schools of that county and Grant county. His independent career
was initiated in connection with agricultural pursuits, and he continued
to be one of the successful farmers of Grant county until 1896, when
he established his residence at 813 North High street in Hartford City,
this attractive home having been erected by him within the preceding
year and having since continued his place of abode. In 1906 Mr.
Daugherty was elected county auditor, and he retained this office four
years, his administration having been careful and effective and having
gained to him unequivocal popular commendation. He later served,
with equal ability, as a member of the board of review. Upon retir-
ing from the office of auditor Mr. Daugherty engaged in the buying
and shipping of grain and hay, and with this line of enterprise he has
since continued to be actively and successfully identified. He buys
produce in the local field and ships to the leading markets of the East
and Middle West. In politics he accords stalwart allegiance to the
democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, in-
eluding the Order of the Eastern Star, of which Mrs. Daugherty like-
wise is an active member; the Knights of Pythias, and the Knights of
the Maccabees. Mrs. Daugherty is a woman of most gracious social
qualities, and- besides being State treasurer of the Indiana organiza-
tion of the Woman's Relief Corps, her eligibility for which is based on
her father's gallant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war,
she is also secretary of the Children's Board of Guardians of Blackford
county. She is a most popular and influential factor in the representa-
tive social, religious and philanthropic activities of her home city.
The year 1881 gave record of the marriage of Mr. Daugherty to
Miss Sarah Walker, who was reared and educated in Grant county,
this state, where she was born on the 2d of January, 1861, her paternal
grandparents having been numbered among the pioneer settlers in Jef-
ferson township, that county. Mrs. Daugherty is a daughter of Arthur
and Rebecca (Rogers) Walker, who passed their entire lives in Grant
county, their respective parents having there established homes in the
early pioneer days, upon their immigration from Virginia. Arthur
Walker became one of the substantial farmers and representative citi-
zens of Jefferson township, Grant county, where he died at the age of
sixty-seven years, his loved and devoted wife having been called to the
life eternal at the age of fifty-six years and their old homestead place
being now owned by Mrs. Daugherty, who cherishes it by reason of
the hallowed memories and associations of the past. Mr. and Mrs.
Daugherty have one son, S. Ross, who was born in September, 1882,
and who completed the curriculum of the Hartford City high school.
For the past fourteen years he has been a valued employe of the Hoover
Furniture Company, of Hartford City. He married Miss Mabel Rohr,
who was born and reared in this city, and they have no children.
Elisha Pierce has been engaged in the active practice of law at
Hartford City, Blackford county, for more than forty years, and
is one of the representative members of the bar of this section of
the state. As a mere boy he went forth with an Indiana regiment
to give valiant service in the Civil war. and the same high prin-
ciple of loyalty has characterized him in all the relations of life. He
has been influential in politics in Indiana and has served with marked
ability as a member of the State legislature. He is one of the well
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 139
known and highly honored citizens of Blackford county, and his char-
acter and achievement fully entitle him to specific consideration in tins
publication.
Mr. Pierce was born in Green county, Ohio, on the 14th of Decem-
ber, liSib, but he has been a resident of Indiana since his boyhood days.
His paternal great-grandfather. Elisha Pierce, was born in England,
of the staunchest of English stock, and it is thought that his worthy
ancestor came to America about the time of the war of the Revolution
and established his residence in North Carolina, but little authentic
data concerning him having been preserved by his descendants. The
inference is that he continued a resident of North Carolina until his
death. His son James, grandfather of him whose name initiates this
article, was born in Northhampton county, North Carolina, in L786,
and there he was reared to maturity. His wife was a member of the
old DeBerry family of that state, and representatives of the same were
prominent soldiers and patriots in the Revolutionary war. After his
marriage James Pierce established his home on a plantation in North-
ampton county, North Carolina, and there all of his children were
born, brief record concerning them being here incorporated : Little-
bury was the father of Elisha of this review. Lucy became the
wife of a man named Oliver and they were residents of Harrisburg,
Grant county, Indiana, at the time of their death. Sallie likewise mar-
ried a representative of the Oliver family, and she died in middle life.
Henry became one of the pioneer settlers of Blackford county, Indiana,
and here he lived until his death, tw-o of sons and one daughter still
surviving him. Elizabeth married a Mr. Jackson and they continued
their residence in Ohio until their death. Drew B. is a prosperous
farmer in Grant county, Indiana, and he and his wife have six sons
and three daughters.
Littlebury Pierce was born in Northampton county, North Carolina,
on the 21st of December, 1820, and he was eighteen years of age at
the time of the family removal to Greene county, Ohio, where his par-
ents passed the residue of their lives. There he wedded Miss Huldah
Graham, who was born in Ohio, about 1831, a daughter of Thomas
Graham, whose father immigrated from Ireland to America and who
here married. They were pioneers of Ohio, and in that State their
death occurred. He died at the age of one hundred and six. The
maiden name of the wife of Thomas Graham was Stafford, and her
parents, of German descent, were pioneers of Ohio. Within a short
time after his marriage Littlebury Pierce established their residence
on a farm in Greene county, Ohio, and there were born their first three
children, — Elisha. James and Rebeea. In 1851 the family came to
Indiana and the home was established on a pioneer farm in Monroe
township. Grant county. A number of years later removal was made
to a farm in Washington township. Blackford county. Still later the
father obtained a firm in Licking township, where he continued to be
engaged in general farming until he removed to Hartford City, the
county seat, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred
September 3. 1898. at the age of seventy-eight. His wife survived him
by about two years and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of her
death, on the 17th of July. 1900. both having been consistent members
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the father was a local preacher
therein. He was a democrat in his political proclivities. Of the twelve
children Elisha of this review was the first born; James T., who
was a member of the Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the Civil
war, died, of illness, while in the service: Rebecca and her husband and
children still reside in Ohio: William is a resident of St. Louis. Mis
140 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
souri ; Franklin died in infancy ; Jesse B. is a real-estate dealer and in
suranee broker in the State of Kansas; Stephen D. is a painter by
vocation and resides in Hartford City; Hanford E. is engaged in the
plumbing business at Lincoln, Nebraska; Wiley T. resides in Hartford
City; Charles Wesley was for years a successful teacher, a graduate
of Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, with the class of
18y2, is now a member of the Blackford county bar, and he is asso-
ciated with his brother Elisha in the real-estate business and is also
a piano dealer at Hartford City; Mary is the wife of Wesley Atkin-
son, who is city marshal at Havens, Kansas; and Minnie V. is the
wife of Robert E. Smith, a prosperous farmer of Delaware county,
Indiana.
Elisha Pierce was about five years of age at the time of the family
removal from Ohio to Indiana, and his early education was acquired
in the common schools of the pioneer days. He was but fifteen years
old when his father was drafted for service in the Civil war, and as
the father found that the needs of his family prevented his service
Elisha, the eldest of the children, volunteered to become his substitute
in the Union ranks. Though a mere boy he became a member of Com-
pany 1, Fifty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and with this com-
mand he served one year, when he was honorably discharged, his term
under the draft having expired. He returned home and attended
school one year, and he then responded to the call of patriotism, in
1864, by enlisting in the veteranized Twenty-sixth Indiana Infantry,
with which he continued in active service until the close of the war.
He participated in fourteen engagements and in the meanwhile served
for some time as drill master, so that at the termination of the war he
was discharged as a non-commissioned officer.
Up to the time that he first entered the Union service Mr. Pierce
could neither read nor write, and after the war his one dominant am-
bition was to obtain an education. He accordingly made good use of
the scholastic advantages afforded him in the public schools, and soon
proved himself eligible for service as a teacher. In 1869 he began the
study of law, under the preceptorship of John D. Jetmore, of Hart-
ford City, and his receptive mind enabled him to make rapid advance-
ment in the assimilation of the science of jurisprudence, with the result
that he was admitted to the bar in 1873. During the long intervening
years he has continued in the active and successful practice of his pro-
fession at Hartford City, and he has been identified with a large amount
of important litigation in Blackford county. In 1886 he was elected a
representative in the state legislature, and he was re-elected in 1888
and he gave good account of himself as a loyal and public-spirited leg-
islator, his work having been efficient both in the deliberations of the
house and those of the various committees to which he was assigned.
He has ever been a staunch advocate of the cause of the Democratic
party but in later years has abated somewhat his activity in local poli-
tics. Mr. Pierce is a notary public and he is affiliated with the local
lodges of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, both he
and his wife being members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The year 1870 recorded the marriage of Mr. Pierce to Miss Ella
Beecher, who was born in Pennsylvania, October 30, 1851, but who
was reared and educated in Blackford county, Indiana, where her
father was a substantial farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have one son,
Horace Greeley, who was born in 1872, and who completed his educa-
tion in Taylor University, at Upland. He now resides in Muncie, this
state, is an electrician by vocation, and he and his wife have one son, a
lad of ten years.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 141
Richard Dick. Our of the leading exponents of scientific Earming in
his part of Blackford county is Richard Dick, the owner of L01 acres
of cultivated land, lying in section 10, Washington township. Mr. Dick
has made a life study of agricultural methods, of soil conditions and
of the possibilities of this region, and his theories and methods have
been proved correct by the attainment of a lull measure of success from
his operations. Mr. Dick is a native of West Virginia, having been
horn in Morgan county, September 15, 1851, a son of Uriah and Rosa
(Michael) Dick.
Uriah Dick was born in Virginia, of Virginia parents who spent their
lives there. He died March 26, 161)2. at the age of seventy-six years.
Keared to agricultural pursuits in his native state, lie early adopted
farming as his lite work, and continued to be engaged therein during
the remainder of his life. lie was married in Virginia, and there
were born the following children: William, who died young: Mary
O, deceased, who married Daniel sills, ami had a family of four-
teen children, of whom all but the eldest are living, and the greater
number are now married; Sarah A., who died in young womanhood ;
and Richard. Emily and John, two later children, were born in Black-
ford county. The family came to Indiana about the year 1855 and made
a settlement in Harrison township, at that time a comparatively new
section, locating in a log cabin on a wild farm, which the parents con-
tinued to cultivate during the remaining years of their lives. The
mother died a few years after their arrival, and Mr. Dick was subse-
quently married to Mrs. Sarah J. Kitterman, nee Wickersham, whose
birth occurred in Wayne county, Indiana. July 16, 1837, and who died
June 26, 1912. She was married to .Mr. Kitterman. by whom she
had five children: Dorilas. Ellen. Mary Susan, Charles and Annis,
all living and all married. Mr. Kitterman died October 7, 1S66. In 1876
Mrs. Kitterman married 1'riah Dick, and they became the parents of
three children : Alonzo and Clinton, who reside on the old farm in
Washington township and have families; and one child who died in
early infancy. The Dicks have always been democrats. Mrs. Dick was
reared in the Quaker faith, from which she was expelled when she
married outside of the church, then joining the United Brethren faith.
Several of the dogmas of this church she failed to agree with, and there-
after worshiped as she believed^ being a great student of the Bible, and
died a Christian.
The public schools of Blackford county furnished Richard Dick with
his educational training, and he grew up a farmer, adopting the calling
of his forefathers. He was married February 1, 1 S 7 7 . and following
this event spent five years on the old Kitterman homestead in section 1,
Washington township. In March. 1882, he purchased 101 acres of
good land in section 10, Washington township, on which there had
been ten acres already improved, and this he has since put under a
high state of cultivation, it now being one of the valuable farms of the
township. He has a handsome residence of ten rooms, painted white,
and fitted with every modern convenience. His large barn, 40x61 feet,
was built in 1899, and in addition there are a full set of outbuildings
of the most substantial character. The farm is well stocked with Dur-
ham cattle, Poland-China hogs and good horses, and Mr. Dick feeds
the greater part of his grain. A man of practical ideas, he has also
followed the trend of the times and has realized the value of modern
ideas, so that at this time he rotates from corn to wheat and then to
grass, and back to wheat each three years. He is a man of excellent
business ability, and a long life of honorable dealing has placed him
high in the confidence and respect of his fellow men.
142 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Mr. and Mrs. Dick have been flie parents of the following children :
Minnie, the wife of William Ford, a farmer of Washington township,
has eight children by this marriage, — Fieri, Ray, Marie, Faul, Mary,
Ralph, James and Harvey, and by her first marriage, to Frank Griffiths,
has one son, Carl E. ; Myrtle, the wife of Austin Ely, a farmer of Har-
rison township, has two children, — Leslie and Esther; Charles, a farmer
of this township, married Myrtle Knox, and has four children, — Cecil,
Crystal, Harold and Mary; Irven, a farmer of Washington township,
married Goldy Emsehwiler, and has three children, — Forest, Florence
and Francis; Harvey, a carpenter of California, who is single; Ross,
a resident farmer of Washington township, married Eva Burson, and
has one son, — Maxwell; Ennis, single and his father's assistant in the
work of the homestead ; Sherman, who is also single and resides on the
home place ; and Lovisa E., who died at the age of seven months. Mr.
Dick and his sons are democrats in national politics, but in local affairs
are apt to take an independent stand, preferring to use their own judg-
ment in their choice of candidates whom they deem best fitted for public
office. All the men of this family are recognized as able, reliable and
substantial citizens, credits to their parents, to their training and the
community.
John E. Wise. One of the handsome and valuable farming proper-
ties of Washington township is that belonging to John E. Wise, a
tract of 120 acres located in section 26, all of which is under a high
state of cultivation, with the exception of thirteen acres of wood land.
Here he has a commodious frame house, a large barn 42x60 feet, in addi-
tion to other necessary outbuildings, the whole property presenting an
attractive appearance and evidencing the skilful management and care
of its owner. Mr. Wise was born near Cambridge, Wayne county, In-
diana, August 24, 1862, and was two years of age when he came to
Blackford county with his parents, Andrew and Catherine (Brier)
Wise, the former a native of Switzerland and the latter of Prussia.
They came to the United States as young people, and were married in
Wayne county, where the father followed the trade of tanner, an occu-
pation which he had learned in his native land. After coming to Black-
ford county, Mr. Wise purchased eighty acres of land in section 26,
Washington township, three acres of which had been cleared and here
was located a small log cabin. Mr. Wise cleared his property from
the timber, and added forty acres by purchase, and five years after
locating here built a hewed log home in which the parents resided until
their retirement some eight or ten years before their death. They then
removed to Hartford City, where the father passed away at the age of
sixty-eight years and the mother when seventy-two years of age. Mr.
and Mrs. Wise were honest, industrious and God-fearing people and
led upright, honorable lives, rearing their children to industry and in
tegrity and assisting their community as far as lay in their power.
Mr. Wise was reared in the Catholic faith, while his wife was a member
of the Presbyterian church. In his political views he was a supporter
of the principles of democracy, but was not a seeker after the honors
of public life. They were the parents of the following children : Mary,
who became the wife of Daniel Knox, who is the owner of 240 acres
of good farming land in Washington township, and has five children,—
Luther, Selda. Myrtle, Roy and Richard ; Joseph, a sketch of whose
career will be found in another part of this work; and John E.
John E. Wise received the usual educational advantages granted to
the youths of his day and locality, and grew up amid rural surround-
ings' in Washington township. During the winter months he applipd
BLACKFORD AND GRAM 1 COUNTIES 143
himself to his studies in the district school, and the remainder of the
year was devoted to assisting his father and brother in cultivating the
homestead. He has always devoted himself to farming and stock rais-
ing, and since his father's retirement has had charge of the home place,
which he now owns. About 1894 Mr. Wise replaced the hewed log home
with the present residence, a comfortable, well-furnished home, and
about four years later built the grain and stock barn. Each year he
has continued to make improvements, and the land is well drained,
being tiled throughout. He raises large crops of corn, which averages
about fifty bushels to the acre, oats about thirty bushels, and wheal
from eighteen to twenty bushels per aire. His livestock is of a good
grade, and he has done a successful business in cattle, hogs and horses
for years. -Mr. Wise is an advocate of the use of modern machinery
and methods, and the successful results which have attended his efforts
should prove a good argument in behalf of up-to-date operations. In
his business transactions he has always strictly adhered to fair and
honorable principles, so that his reputation among his associates is
high, and his name is an honored one upon commercial paper. During
the twenty-four years that he has been the owner of his present prop-
erty he has formed a wide acquaintance, and the numbers of his friends
will testify to his general popularity.
Mr. Wise was married in Blackford county, Indiana, to Miss Lucy
Huffman, who was born in Adams county, Indiana, July 13. 1868, and
was there reared and educated in the public schools. She accompanied
her parents to Blackford county, they being Richard and Sarah E.
(Dearduff) Huffman, who spent the latter years of their lives in Har-
rison township. Mr. Huffman was a successful farmer and stock raiser
of his community, and was not unknown to public life, having for some
years served efficiently in the capacity of superintendent of the Black-
ford county poor farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wise have been the parents of
the following children: Bertha, who died in 1905. in the prime of
young womanhood, aged sixteen years, four months; Mary, born May 14.
1892, educated in the public schools, and now the wife of Harry Glenn,
a prosperous farmer of Jackson township, Blackford county, and has
one daughter, — Ruby, born in September, 1912.
Mr. and Mrs. Wise are devout members of the Lutheran church, of
which he was for some years trustee. Like his father Mr. Wise is a
democrat, but politics have not proven attractive enough to lure him
from his fields, and his public services have been confined to stanch
support of those men and measures through whom he believes the county
will gain the most benefit.
Samuel A. Mills. The present sheriff of Blackford county is not
only filling this important office with marked circumspection and ability
but he also has the distinction of being one of the first candidates of
the progressive party to have been elected in the State of Indiana.
He has been a resident of Blackford county from the time of his na-
tivity, and is a member of a well known pioneer family of this section
of the state. His present official preferment denotes the estimate placed
upon him in a popular sense, and he is proving specially efficient as
a public official.
Mr. Mills was born in Washington township, Blackford county, on
the 9th of September. 1852. and is a son of Thomas G. and Nancy Ann
(Lilliebridge) Mills, the former of whom was born in Braxton county.
West Virginia, which state was at that time an integral part of Vir-
ginia, and the latter of whom was bora in Providence. Rhode Island.
Thomas G. Mills was a son of Samuel and Ann ("Shields') Mills, both
144 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
representatives of staunch Scotch lineage and both natives of Virginia,
where all of their children were born and reared, tne respective laimlies
having been founded in the historic Uld Dominion in the colonial era.
Thomas G. Mills was reared in that part of Virginia that now con-
stitutes tlie State of West Virginia, and there his marriage was solemn-
ized. To this union had been born one son and two daughters in West
Virginia, and then Thomas G. Mills, accompanied by his wife and chil-
dren, as well as by his venerable parents, came, in 1S49 or 1850, to
Blackford county, Indiana, the long journey being made with team and
wagon and several weeks having elapsed before the ambitious family
of immigrants reached its destination. At that period the march of
development in northern Indiana had not been carried far, as much of
the land was still covered with the native timber and entirely unre-
claimed. The Mills family obtained land in Washington township,
Blackford county and the tract of 160 acres was entirely undeveloped,
the former owner having made no effort to improve the property. In
the midst of the wilds was erected the little log house that was to con-
stitute the family domicile, this structure having been erected on the
land purchased by Samuel Mills, grandfather of the present sheriff of
the county, and the entire family having for some time occupied the
one dwelling, the while Thomas G. Mills carried forward the reclama-
tion of his farm of 160 acres. In the pioneer log house just mentioned
Samuel Mills and his wife passed the residue of their lives, each attain-
ing to advanced age. Samuel Mills was a son of John Mills, who was a
patriotic soldier in the war of the Revolution, he having volunteered
his services while a resident of North Carolina and his having been the
distinction of attaiuing to the patriarchal age of one hundred and one
years, the remains of this loyal soldier of the Revolution being interred
in the Hadden cemetery, in Washington township, Blackford county.
Indiana, a fact that indicates that when the family came to this state
it was represented by four generations. His family name was Hadley,
and under this name he served in the Revolution, but after the close
of the war, for some reason not known to his descendants, he changed
his name to Mills, which has since been retained by the generations
that have followed. Thomas G. Mills developed a productive farm of
ninety acres, and he was one of the substantial agriculturists and highly
esteemed citizens of Washington township at the time of his death, in
1817, at the age of fifty-five years. He was a democrat in his political
proclivities and took a loyal interest in public affairs of a local order.
His wife was about sixty years of age at the time of her death, and
they became the parents of three sons and three daughters, Mrs. Mills
having also been the mother of two sons by a former marriage to Charles
Stockton. One of these sons is still living, Charles Stockton, who is a
resident of Ohio, and the other son, Edward Stockton, died at the age
of seventy years. Of the second marriage the only two now living are
Samuel A., of this review, and his younger brother, Bluford A., the
latter being now the head of a department in the Indiana Epileptic
Village, at New Castle, Henry county.
The present sheriff of Blackford county was reared to the sturdy
discipline of the old homestead farm, in Washington township, and his
educational advantages were limited, owing to the exigencies of time and
place. He attended the pioneer schools of the neighborhood during the
winter terms and in the summer seasons he early began to contribute
his quota to the work of the farm, so that he soon learned the dignity
and value of consecutive industry. The Sheriff recalls that in his boy-
hood days his shoes were made by an itinerant shoemaker and for the
purpose was utilized the hide of a calf that had been on each occasion
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 145
of requirement killed the year previously, so that the leather might be
properly tanned in the pioneer tannery at Hartford City. At times
certain delays in the tannery deprived the ambitious youngster of the
necessary foot-covering ami prevented him from entering sdmol at the
opening of the term.
Mr. Mills continued to be actively identified with agricultural pur-
suits in his native county until 1879, when he went to Kansas and lo-
cated in Smith county. lie thus became a pioneer of tin- Sunflower
State, but its attractions and inducements seemed to him so much less
than those of Indiana that at the end of one year he returned to Black-
ford county, this one digression having been his own abatement of
allegiance to the place of his birth. lie became a successful farmer in
Licking township, where he continued his operations until 1902, when
he was appointed superintendent of the county poor house and farm, to
the management of which he devoted himself, witli marked efficiency,
for the ensuing eight years. After his retirement from this position he
passed two years on his well improved farm of eighty acres, in Jack-
son township, and in the autumn of 1912, coincident with the national
election, he was chosen sheriff of his native county, the duties of the
office having been assumed January 1, 1914. He received a gratifying
majority at the polls, and tins was the most significant by reason of the
fact that he was candidate on the ticket of the newly organized pro-
gressive party, to which lie had transferred his allegiance, his political
affiliation prior to that time having been with the democratic party.
He is affiliated with Knights of the Modern Maccabees and he has a
host of friends in the county that has been his home during the course
of his entire life.
Mr. Mills first wedded Miss Mary Ann Tatman, who was born in
Ohio and who come to Blackford count}- with her parents when she was
a girl. She died when about thirty-five years of age, and was survived
by two sons and two daughters, concerning whom the following brief
record is entered : Bessie M. is the wife of Lawrence L. Fortner, a suc-
cessful farmer of Washington township, and of their eight children six
are living: Francis M. died at the age of nineteen years, having been
at the time a student in a business college; Alice was twenty-one years
of age at the time of her death; and Lemuel L. died at the age of
fifteen years. On November 14. 1892, Mr. Mills married Miss Esther
Elvina West, who was born and reared in Tennessee but who was a
resident of Crawfordsville. Montgomery county, Indiana, at the time
of her marriage, no children having been born of this union.
Aaron L. McVicker. It was in the first years of the decade of the
thirties that the McVicker family wash established in Blackford county.
The different generations have produced industrious and honored citi-
zens, men and women of substantial worth, well able to carry the burdens
of individual and social responsibilities, and as few families have lived
longer in this section, so likewise the esteem in which they are held has
been increasing with length of years.
The founder of the family in America was Archibald McVicker, who
was born in Scotland, and so far as information is available on that point
emigrated to America about one hundred and twenty-five years a?o. He
subsequently became one of the pioneers of Guernsey county, Ohio, mar-
ried there, established a family, and thus gave origin to the different
generations that have succeeded him. He was a farmer, a man of fine
physical constitution and oftentimes took the lead in community affairs.
He and his wife both died in Guernsey cotinty.
Next in line of descent comes Aaron McVicker, who was born on the
146 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
old homestead farm in Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1811. In 1832, hav-
ing reached manhood and ambitious to establish himself in a new coun-
try, he walked all the distance from Ohio to Blackford county, and en-
tered a tract of government land in Section 10 of Licking township, six
miles from the courthouse in Hartford City. He was alone, and for
some days swung his axe in the native forest, felled the trees and with the
aid of some friendly neighbors put up a rough log cabin. That work
completed, he returned on foot to Guernsey county, and soon after-
wards celebrated his marriage to Elizabeth Brunei'. She was born
probably in Ohio and of Irish stock, and was reared by foster parents
in Guernsey county. In the spring of 1833 this young couple set out
with wagon and team and made the long journey overland until they ar-
rived in Blackford county, and took up their abode in the cabin which
the husband had built the preceding year. Prom the wild tract of one
hundred and sixty acres of land their united labors eventually created
a good farm, and prosperity smiled upon them. When they journeyed
from Ohio they had as companions two brothers of Aaron McVicker,
Joseph, who entered land in Delaware county, and David, who estab-
lished a home in ( irant county, besides their sister Mrs. Anna Lyons,
who also went to Grant county. All these reared families, and their
descendants are still found in the three counties named.
As the years passed the old log cabin was supplanted by one of
hewed logs, and that in turn by a good frame dwelling house, in which
Aaron and his wife spent their last years. He died in 1861 and his wife
in November, 1876, she being then past sixty years of age. All their
years had been passed as hard workers, and both were devoted to the
religion of the old-school Baptist church, while in politics he was a
democrat. The children of Aaron and Elizabeth (Bruner) McVicker
were : Mary A., who married James A. Gadbury, and died leaving a
family of two sons and two daughters, one daughter having preceded her
in death; David Cyrus, who died about six years ago, had one son and
two daughters, and his second wife, who was a Mrs. Stevens, and whose
maiden name was Harrington, is still living; Eliza married Randolph
Boney, lives in Grant county, and is the mother of three children; the
next in the family was James A. McVicker ; Harriet is the wife of Adison
Atkinson, a farmer of Licking township, and their children are Grant,
Corey, George, Joseph. Keturah, Alonzo, Joseph, and Harvey; Nancy
died unmarried when past fifty years of age ; Alice died after her mar-
riage to George Powers who is also deceased, and their children were
Mark, Anna, Pearl and Fred ; Eli is a farmer and miner in Colorado,
and by his marriage to Malinda Gassup Collins, has a daughter Maud ;
Joanna married Eli Hamilton, both being now deceased, and they left
children, Frank, Claud and Pearl.
James A. McVicker, of the third generation of this family in
America, was born in Blackford county on the old homestead above
mentioned on September 27, 1840. He is still living, in his seventy-
fourth year, one of the oldest native sons of this county. As a boy he
attended the primitive country schools, but in the discipline of hard
work in the clearing and improvement of a pioneer farm. He still
owns the old homestead on which he was reared, and has long been
known as one of the most substantial farmers in that part of the
county. The house he occupies is the one built by his father many years
ago, though many improvements have since been made. James A.
McVicker is a prohibitionist and applies to his personal practice the
principles which he would have govern in community and state. His
activities have never extended outside of his farm and family, though
in community esteem he stands very high.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 147
James A. McVicker was married in his native township and count} to
Sarah C. Cunningham, who was born within a mile of her present home
on August 13, 1844. She belongs to the old Cunningham I'amih that
was likewise among the early settlers of Licking township, and full de-
tails concerning them will be found elsewhere in this publication. Mr.
and Mrs. -James A. McVicker are both members of the German Baptist
church, and he is treasurer of his local society. Their children were:
Aaron L.; Alary Lavina, who is the wife of John R. Carman, a Blackford
county farmer, ami their children are Carl. Alma, Esther and Jason;
Julia A. died at the age of twenty-one years six months after her mar-
riage to Riley R. Reasoner; I'retta J. died at the age of eleven years; t lie
next child iu infancy; George M., who is a farmer in Licking township
and married Cora Watts, and has children, Leroy, Cecil, Otto and Cath-
erine; Ella M. is the wife of Joseph Merrett, a carpeuter of Hartford
City, aud their children are Crystal. Erlin and Lucile; Alice died un-
married at the age of twenty-seven years: Nettie is the wife of 0. M.
McAdams of Bridgeport. Illinois, and they have a son Bernard; Ida is
unmarried and lives at home.
Aaron L. McVicker, whose name appears at the head of this article,
was boru on the old farm established more than eighty years ago by his
grandfather, still occupied by his father, on March 10. 1864. His early
youth was spent in the country where his family had so long Been known,
and he found the source of his education in the local schools. His
years until twenty-nine were spent on the old farm, then moved to Hart-
ford City, and for the past nineteen years has been identified with the
Sneath Glass Company, working in the different departments and still
holding a position with that important industry. Air. McVicker is a
prohibitionist in politics, and affiliated with the Knights of tin- Macca-
bees.
On March 9, 1890. he married Sarah E. Hollingshead, a relationship
which brings another pioneer Blackford county family into this sketch.
She was born in Delaware county near Granville July 17. 1868, was edu-
cated in her native county, and lived a few years in Blackford county
before her marriage. Mrs. McVicker is devoted to the work of her
home, and is the mother of one daughter. Esther Grace, who was born
August 16. 1891. She graduated from the Hartford City high school
in 1909, studied music in school and later under private instruction,
and is now the wife of James A. Lewis, who was born in Kentucky and
is a machinist and electrician with the Sneath Glass Company. Mr.
and Mrs. Lewis live at 542 W. Kickapoo street. They have two children :
Harold Paul Lewis, born March 8, 1911 ; and Mary Louise, born October
12. 1913. Mr. McVicker and his family are all active in the Methodist
Episcopal church, and he is serving on the board of stewards.
J. Frank Kellet. Many of the successful farmers of Blackford
and Grant counties have resided on their homesteads all of their lives,
and have gained all their experience in tilling the land on the prop-
erties they now own. In this way they have gained a thorough knowl-
edge of soil and climatic conditions and are ably fitted to judge which
product will prove the most profitable crop. J. Frank Kelley has resided
on the homestead farm in sections 8. 16 and 17. Washington township.
all of his life, and owns and controls 280 acres of fine land, the greater
part of which is under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Kelley grows a
large acreage of corn, wheat, oats and rye. with a high average in bush-
els in all kinds of grain, although he feeds almost all that he grows,
with the exception of hay. having good grades of cattle, red and black
hogs and Polled and Short Horn cattle. The land is well drained, ditched
148 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
and fenced, and its modern buildings and equipment reflect the pro-
gressive spirit and individuality of its owner.
Mr. Kelley was born about one mile from his present farm, Feb-
ruary 15, 1874, and was educated in the public schools and at the Dan-
ville normal school. Reared on the farm, he early decided upon a career
as a tiller of the soil, and at the age of thirty years took over the
management of the home place, of which he has been in charge ever
since. Mr. Kelley is a son of William H. and Rebecca E. (Haines) Kel-
ley, natives of Ohio who were married in Grant county, Indiana, and
spent their lives after marriage in Blackford county on the farm which
they improved, and on which they resided until their retirement. At that
time they removed to Pemiville, Jay county, Indiana, where Mr. Kelley
looks after his extensive agricultural interests. The mother, who died in
1905, at the age of sixty-one years, was a daughter of James A. and Nancy
E. (Smith) Haines, who came from Fayette county, Ohio, to Grant
county, Indiana, at an early day, and secured land from the Government,
on which they spent the balance of their lives, the father dying when,
seventy years of age, and the mother when about eighty. They were
consistent members of the Methodist church, and in his political affilia-
tions Mr. Haines was first a whig and later a republican. William H.
Kelley was a son of Benjamin F. and Rebecca (Hall) Kelley, of Vir-
ginia, who came to Ohio as young married people and subsequently
removed to Blackford county, Indiana, with their family, entering
government land in section 17, Washington township. Here they passed
the remainder of long and useful lives, the grandfather dying when
about seventy-five years of age, and the grandmother some years before.
They were prominent pioneer members of the United Brethren church,
in which both were very active. Mr. Kelley was first a whig and later a
republican, and his descendants have been identified with the latter party.
J. Frank Kelley is one of two children, his elder brother being Prof.
Luther E. Kelley, superintendent of schools of Montpelier, Indiana.
He married Elizabeth Speace, a Montpelier girl and they have one
daughter, Elizabeth, who is now eleven years of age. J. Frank Kelley
was married at Bluffton, Indiana, to Miss Myrtle E. Palmer, who was
born in Washington township, Blackford county, Indiana, and educated
in the public schools of this township and the Marion Normal school.
She is a daughter of William W. and Nancy R. (Tharp) Palmer, natives
of Ohio, who are now well-known farming people of Wells county.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelley have had the following children: Grace E., who
was born in October, 1905, and is now attending the public schools ; Ruth
R., born January 12, 1907 ; Esther C, born July 1, 1908 ; and Frances
P., born February 13, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Kelley are attendants of the
Methodist Episcopal church which they attend at Roll. He was for
many years a republican, but with the birth of the progressive party
transferred his support to that organization. Fraternally he is connected
with the Knights of Pythias, at Roll, and has passed the chairs in that
order, being past chancellor thereof and having represented his lodge as
a delegate to the Grand Lodge of the state.
Alfred Miles. Nearly three-quarters of a century have passed
since Alfred Miles came to Blackford county and settled on the farm
home on which he now resides. The oldest man in the county, he has
watched its growth and development with the eye of a proprietor, and
his contributions to its welfare and advancement have been of a nature
to entitle him to a place among its most honored citizens. Although
now at the remarkable age of ninety-five years he retains his interest
in the affairs of the community in which he has lived so long and which
he has served so faithfully and well.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES L49
Mr. Miles belongs to the distinguished .Miles family which produced
that great military figure, Gen. Nelson A. Miles. II. • was born in the
state of Ne\i Jersey, April 7. L819, and is a sou of William and Keturah
(Casterline) .Miles, the former born in Massachusetts in 1795 and the
latter in New .Jersey in 1797. They were married in the latter state
and m 1824 left Jersey for Steuben county, New York, where they made
their home for a period of ten years. In 1834 they came overland with
teams in Indiana and tirst located in Payette county, bu1 in February,
1841, moved on to Washington township. Blackford countj and settled
on virgin soil in section 32. where the father purchased a trad of
eighty acres of land. The parents of William .Miles, Thomas and .Mary
(Underwood) Miles, came on from their New York state home, .joined
their son in Indiana, and there passed away in advanced years. During
the Revolutionary War Thomas Miles enlisted for service in the Amen
can army, following the Bunker Hill battle. He is reported to have
never been hurt or captured, the greater part of his service being con-
lined to duty as a home guard. He and his wife were laid to rest in the
.Miles Cemetery in Washington township, a plot laid out by later mem-
bers of the family on their farm.
William Miles continued to be engaged in farming throughout the
remainder of his life in Washington township, but died in January, 1875,
aged about eighty years, at Rockford, Illinois. He was a Jacksonian
democrat, as had been his father. Although not a member of any re-
ligious denomination, he was a believer in the good accomplished by
churches, and was a ready contributor to movements of a worthy nature.
Mrs. Miles, who died November 3, 1842, in Washington township, at the
age of forty-five years, was a member of the Free Will Baptist church.
Six sons and four daughters were born to this worthy couple, of whom
two sons and one daughter were married. Alfred is the only survivor.
Alfred Miles was a child of five years when taken to New York by
his parents, and was fifteen years old when he made the long overland
trip to Indiana. He was twenty-two years old when he came to Black-
ford county, and from that time to the present has been connected with
its agricultural interests, a period of seventy-three years. Mr. Miles
is the owner of a farm of 145 acres, in section 32. and 80 acres of the
old William Miles homestead is still owned by him. Although he is
ninety-five years of age, he still retains his faculties in a remarkable
degree, is active in body and alert in mind, and is able to accomplish
more than many men who are thirty years younger. His memory is
excellent, and he recalls readily the scenes and incidents of the early
days when neighbors were few and far between, and the county, still in
its infancy, gave but little promise of the wonderful development which
was to take place within its borders. He has led a clean and industrious
life and to this may be attributed his good health and great acre. Like
his father, he has been a lifelong democrat, but has not desired public
office and has been content to do his full duty as a citizen, without ask-
ing political favors of any kind. He is a devout and God-fearing man,
but has held to no particular creed, supporting all churches and chari-
table organizations.
Mr. Miles was married in Grant county. Indiana, in 1845. to Miss
Lucinda Galispie, who was born in Fairfield county. Ohio, August 13,
1820. She was a young lady of seventeen years when she accompanied
her parents to Grant county, they being James and Mary (Peter 1 Galis-
pie, who came to Grant county in 1837. located on a new farm, which
they improved and cultivated, and passed the remaining years of their
lives in Monroe township, the father passing away when eighty-four
years of age and the mother when several years younger. Mrs. Miles
150 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
passed away at Jier home in Washington township, May 22, 1906, when
in her eighty-sixth year. She had been ever a devoted wife and mother,
and was able to assist her husband materially in his efforts to gain suc-
cess. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Miles, namely : Jeffer-
son and George, both of whom passed away in youth; Junius, a suc-
cessful farmer of Washington township, who makes his home with his
father, married Almira Townsend, and has had four children, — James,
Carrie and Harry, who are married and have children, and Ella, who is
deceased ; and Rebecca, who is the wife of Andrew J. Townsend, a farmer
of Grant county, has four daughters and four sons, — Elmore, deceased,
George N., Franklin and Thomas, Lucy, Gertie and Polly, who are all
married and Mary, who is single and resides with her parents.
Adam Winslow Miles. The Miles family has been identified with
Grant and Blackford counties for more than three-quarters of a century.
In the earlier generations they were not only pioneers who helped to
clear up the wilderness, but both the grandfather and father plied
their trade as shoemakers and made all the boots and footwear for hun-
dreds of the early settlers in their community. Mr. A. Winslow Miles,
who is now retired from business and living in Hartford City, is not
without knowledge of pioneer undertaking himself. In his earlier
years he cleared up a farm from the woods, and literally hewed out his
own fortune, since he started practically at the bottom of the ladder.
It is his honorable distinction to have seen service on the Union side
during the Civil war, and he has also been honored in the county as
commissioner and with other offices, and people have long trusted him
for his business judgment, his public spirit, his integrity, and his
devoted Christian character.
Mr. Miles' grandfather was Thomas Miles, a native of England
and of English family. He was one of three brothers who left the
mother country and established homes in America during the colonial
days. Thomas Miles saw service as a soldier in the Revolutionary war,
and few Blackford county citizens have more interesting colonial and
revolutionary antecedents than Mr. and Mrs. Miles. Thomas Miles was
with a Massachusetts regiment. He was married either in Massachu-
setts or New Jersey, and began life as a farmer near Boston, Massa-
chusetts. While the family lived there Lorenzo, father of A. Winslow
Miles, was born in 1802. Also another son, William, and two daughters,
Rebecca and Fannie, were also added to the family while living near
Boston, and after their birth the parents moved to New Jersey, and
some years later removed from the vicinity of Newark to Steuben
county, New York.
It was about 1835 or 1836 that the Miles family started on its long
migration from Western New York to the state of Indiana. They first
found a home in Fayette county, lived on a farm, and both Thomas
and Lorenzo Miles followed their trade as shoemakers in that locality.
There were very few cobblers in any of the early communities of In-
diana, and as practically all footwear was made by hand their services
were appreciated accordingly, and it was easy for them to exchange
their service at their trade for work performed in clearing up their
land, and in that way they improved their little farms. Both were men
comparatively humble in circumstances, but were honored for their in-
tegrity and useful citizenship, and gradually got ahead in material
goods. In 1840 they moved to Grant county, and both Thomas and
Lorenzo entered eighty acres of land. Lorenzo entered his in Jefferson
township, Grant county, and Thomas in Blackford county, Washing-
ton township. Once more they took up the work of pioneer settlers and
MR. AND .MRS. ADA.M W. MILES
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 151
combined the vocations of farming with shoemaking. Their curly home
was a double round-log house with a puueheon Moor, aud people for
miles around frequented that plaee in order to get their shoes made.
Gradually their land was cleared up, and they lived in prosperous cir-
cumstances for their time. Lorenzo .Miles was one of the men engaged
in the early transportation business before the era of railroads, and for
about ten years hauled goods from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Hartford City,
it was necessary for him to resort to this occupation since it was more
profitable than cutting cheap wood or working at his cobbler's bench,
and he had a large family of twelve children to provide for and every
dollar was appreciated. Lorenzo Miles spent the rest of his years on
the farm which he had acquired direct from the government, and died
August 20, 1866. The Revolutionary soldier, Thomas Miles, had died
on an adjacent farm, also acquired from the government in 1838, his
death occurring in 1849, when a little past eighty years of age. it is
from this same general stock of the Miles family that the noted soldier,
Nelson A. Miles, at one time head of the United States army, is de-
scended. Further data concerning the Miles connections will be found
elsewhere in this publication.
In 1825 Lorenzo Miles was married in Steuben county, New York,
to Miss Phoebe Wass, who was born in New Jersey in June, 1805. Her
early childhood and young womanhood were spent largely in Steuben
county. New York, and she died at the old homestead in Grant county
in March, 18611. Her father, Adam Wass, was a native of New Jersey,
but died in New York state, and was of Dutch ancestry. In the earlier
generations the Miles family was not especially noted for religious affili-
ations or work, but Phoebe Wass was a member of the Methodist de-
nomination. Lorenzo Miles and wife, as already stated, had twelve chil-
dren, and A. Winslow was the ninth in order of birth. The only one
who did not attain maturity and marry was one who served as a chaplain
in a Nebraska regiment during the Civil war, and while returning from
the South was stricken with illness and died in a hospital at St. Louis,
his body now resting in an unknown grave. The only survivors of this
large family are the Hartford City resident and Mrs. Fannie Snyder
of Maxwell, Nebraska, the latter being eighty years of age.
Mr. A. Winslow Miles was born on the old homestead previously
mentioned in Jefferson township of Grant county, March 17, 1844, and
has already passed the mark of three score and ten. His recollections
include many interesting circumstances of pioneer da3's in Grant and
Blackford county. The school he attended was kept in a log building
and was known as the Bunker Hill schoolhouse, but he learned more
from the practice of doing things in the woods and on the farm than
through the literary instruction supplied the children of that day. On
November 15. 1864, when a little past twenty years of age, he enlisted
for service in Company B of the Twenty-third Indiana Infantry, and
continued with his command until the close of hostilities, being honorably
discharged in May, 1865. It was from the exposure and hardships of a
soldier's life that he suffered more than from actual conflict with the
enemy. Sleeping out on the hare ground or on a hard board, in all kinds
of weather, finally resulted in typhoid fever, and in addition during his
long illness his sufferings were aggravated by bed sores, so that he re-
turned from the war much shaken in health. After that trying experi-
ence he lived with his father at the old home until the latter's death in
August, 1866. and somewhat later started out in life on his own account.
It was only after several years of hard work and careful economy that
he was able to make his first purchase, and his first deed called for fifty
acres in Section 3 of Licking township in Blackford county, and is dated
152 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
November 12, 1872. He got a start financially by cutting off and selling
some large hickory butts which stood on his land, and from this gradually
went ahead until he was regarded as one of the successful farmers and
business men of Blackford county. In 1883, he increased his land by the
purchase of twenty-eight acres, and gradually all of it came under the
plow and has ever since been one of the productive farms of Blackford
county. It was improved with a good barn and a substantial eight-room
house. On February 5, 1911, Mr. Miles sold this good homestead which
represented so much of his early labors and sacrifices for eight thousand
nine hundred dollars.
Many years ago his business judgment and popularity brought him
into the public life of the county, and in 1888 he was elected county
commissioner and re-elected for a second term, serving six years alto-
gether. It was during his administration that the present county court-
house was built. In 1891, Mr. Miles moved to Hartford City, went back
to the farm in 1895, but in 1898 returned and has since resided at 606
West Kickapoo street.
In the hard work, thrift and careful watch over all details, by which
his prosperity has been won, Mr. Miles gives full credit to his wife,
whose helpfulness has been an important factor in the acquisition of
their modest fortune. She was always ready with a willing heart and
skilful hands to assist her husband in hard labor to accumulate enough
of this world's wealth to provide for themselves a comfortable home and
a good living. During the last three and a half years while on the farm
she milked three cows and made two thousand four hundred and
forty-four and a half pounds of butter to sell, receiving twenty -five cents
a pound, also raising numbers of chickens and selling many dozens of
eggs at the same time, and always attending to her home duties. She
is a Blackford county woman and Mr. Miles met her in that county and
they were married January 17, 1867. Her maiden name was Mary
Casterline, and her family likewise goes back to the old days of colonial
history and the revolutionary war. She was born in Licking township
of Blackford county August 28, 1849, and has spent all her life in this
county. Her parents were Ira and Melinda (Saxon) Casterline, who
were both born in New Jersey, but were married in Steuben county, New
York, and in 1836, an early year in Indiana history, brought their family
to Fayette county, driving all the way with ox teams and wagons, and
were six weeks between New York state and Indiana. In 1840 the Caster-
line family settled in Blackford county, and acquired a tract of wild
land in Licking township, from which was developed in the course of
years a good farm. Ira Casterline died there November 16, 1898, at the
venerable age of ninety-three years, three months and fifteen days. His
wife had passed away in 1863 when fifty-six years old. Going back
still another generation in the Casterline genealogy, Ira was a son of
Loamo and Charlotta (Fairchilds) Casterline, who were born either in
New Jersey or New York. Loamo Casterline when eighteen years of
age enlisted for service with the American troops under Washington at
Winsted. New Jersey. That was during the memorable winter follow-
ing the battle of Trenton, when the American troops were encamped
in New Jersey, and suffered almost as severely as they did at Valley
Forge. Charlotta Fairchilds, who married Loamo Casterline, was the
daughter of Phineas Fairchilds, a New Jersey resident who was likewise
with General Washington during a large part of the revolution, and Mr.
Washington fed himself and had his horse cared for at the home of the
Fairchilds during a portion of the cold winter just mentioned. Phineas
Fairchilds also did some good service by using a six-horse team to haul
wood for the armv. Both Phineas Fairchilds and wife were prominent
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES L53
people in their community, and belonged to the New York Statu branch
of that old and prominent relationship. Loamo Casterline and wife
were married just about the close of the Revolutionary War, spent some
years in New Jersey and later in New York, and died in the latter state.
Mr. and Mrs. Miles have no children. For the past three years they
have been active members of the Seventh Day Adventist church in Hart-
ford City, and Mr. Miles serves as a trustee and treasurer. He is an
earnest church worker, and has always been liberal in the use of time
and means to promote any good cause and improve the moral and spirit-
ual welfare of his fellow men. Besides his public service as county com-
missioner, lie served in 1893 as superintendent of construction during
the erection of the courthouse, lie has also for some years held office as
drainage commissioner in the county.
George W. Sweigakt, B. D. S. Who peruses the pages of this His-
tory of Blackford and Grant counties can not fail to note that in the same
is given specific recognition to a very appreciable percentage of the rep-
resentative professional men of the two counties, and to such considera-
tion Dr. Sweigart is eminently entitled, as he is one of the leading ex-
ponents of the science and art of dentistry in Blackford county, with
finely appointed offices at Hartford City. That he has shown great civic
progressiveness and commands high place in popular confidence and
esteem needs no further voucher than that afforded in the fact that he
has served as mayor of the metropolis and judicial center of Blackford
county. The Doctor was graduated in the Central Dental School, in the
city of Indianapolis, as a member of the class of 1902, this institution
being now consolidated with the Indiana Dental College of Indianapolis.
Dr. Sweigart was born at Newcastle, Henry county, Indiana, on the
7th of July, 1874, and there he attended the public schools until he had
completed the curriculum of the high school. As a youth he served a
thorough apprenticeship at the trade of carriage painting, and in pre-
paring himself for his chosen profession he depended upon his own re-
sources, his expenses at the dental college having been defrayed through
the money which he earned as a workman at his trade. He became a
wage-earner when only twelve years of age and has known fellowship
with personal responsibility since his boyhood days. The family line-
age is traced back to German origin, as the name implies. In 1799 John
and Christian Sweigart, two young men of Germany, severed the home
ties and came to the United States, the two brothers following the
example of many of their countrymen by establishing a home in Pennsyl-
vania, where they settled in the vicinity of Chambersburg, the judicial
center of Franklin county. They became substantial farmers of the
type that has made the German agriculturist of Pennsylvania a national
model and in Franklin county they passed the remainder of their lives.
From one of these brothers Dr. Sweigart of this review is a descendant,
as a scion of the sixth generation of the family in America. Of the
next generation his great-grandfather was a sterling representative and
nearly his entire active life was passed on a farm in the vicinity of
Chambersburg. Pennsylvania. After the death of his wife and when he
was of venerable age he came to visit one of his sons at Newcastle. In-
diana, and shortly after his arrival in the Hoosier State he died at the
home of his son Michael, after having attained to the psalmist's span of
three score years and ten. Michael Sweigart, grandfather of him whose
name initiates this article, was born in Franklin count} 7 , Pennsylvania.
about a century ago and there he was reared to man's estate. In the old
Keystone State was solemnized his marriage to Sarah Young, and in that
historic old commonwealth were born their elder children. Finallv, in
154 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
company with one, and possibly two, of his brothers, and another friend
from the same locality in Pennsylvania, he came to Henry county, In-
diana, and established his residence in Henry township, two of the
brothers having there entered claim to eighty acres of government land
each, this land lying just outside of the present corporate limits of New-
castle, the county seat. Michael and Christian Sweigart made the jour-
ney from Pennsylvania to Indiana on horseback at the time when they
made this selection of land, in the early '40s. Christian Sweigart re-
claimed his farm from the forest and on his old homestead passed the
residue of his life, but his brother Michael resumed work at his trade,
that of blacksmith. He established a smithy at Middletown, Henry
county, and several years later he established his residence in Newcastle,
where he continued a stalwart and honored workman at his trade until
his death, in the '80s, when of advanced age. He was a citizen of up-
rightness and strong character and he ever commanded secure place in
the esteem of his fellow men. His wife survived him many years and
passed the closing period of her life in the city of Indianapolis, where
she died in 1911, her remains being interred beside those of her husband,
in the cemetery at Newcastle. Both were earnest and consistent mem-
bers of the German Lutheran church, which represented the original
faith of the Sweigart family both in Germany and Pennsylvania, but
with the changes of passing years Michael and his wife became com-
municants of the English Lutheran church. They became the parents
of nine children, the major number of whom are still living. Of these
children Christian Sweigart is the father of Dr. Sweigart of Hartfo
City.
Christian Sweigart, just mentioned, was born near Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, and was a child at the time of the family removal to
Henry county, Indiana, where he was reared and educated. There he
became a substantial farmer and stock-grower and lie is now living retired
in the city of Newcastle, where he is known and honored as a man of
rectitude and of genial and kindly nature. After severing his associa-
tion with agricultural pursuits he served nearly twenty years as a
section boss in the employ of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad Com-
pany. He married Miss Jane Sweigart, who was born in Henry county,
this State, and who died at Newcastle, that county, in 1905, at the age
of fifty-seven years, she having been a distant kinsman of her husband.
Of the children of this union the eldest is Elsetta, who is the wife of
Samuel Williamson, of Newcastle; Dr. George W., of this review, was
the next in order of birth ; Charles is a resident of Newcastle ; Nellie died,
in that city, in April, 1913, having been the wife of Claude Byers; Edna
is the wife of Walter Wilkinson and they reside in the old Sweigart
homestead in Newcastle, with the venerable father of Mrs. Wilkinson.
Dr. Sweigart has been engaged in the practice of his profession at
Hartford City, during practically the entire period since his graduation
in the dental school, and his large and representee patronage indicates
alike his personal populartiy and his technical skill in both laboratory
and operative dentistry. He has shown distinctive progressiveness and
loyalty in a civic way and has been unwavering in his allegiance to the
democratic party, as a representative of which he was elected mayor of
Hartford City in 1909 for four years, which term expired in January,
1914, his service having inured greatly to the civic and material benefit
of the city.
Dr. Sweigart is an appreciative and popular affiliate of several fra-
ternal orders and both he and his wife are zealous members of the
Christian church. He holds membership in the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, in which he is past noble grand of his lodge, and in this
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 155
lodge he is a trustee, besides having served as district deputy. In the
Fraternal Order of Eagles he has held the office of worthy president
and been a delegate to the grand aerie of the order in the United States,
besides having served seven years as secretary of the local aerie of this
order. lie is the present record keeper of the Hartford City tent of the
Knights of the Modern Maccabees; and lie has the distinction of holding
the office of great sachem of the Improved Order of Red -Men in In-
diana, this being the highest office in the gift of the order in the State,
the organization having 60,000 members in Indiana. The Doctor is
affiliated also with the Masonic fraternity. Benevolent & Protective Order
of Elks, and the Loyal Order of Moose.
In the year KS97. nt Blnffton, "Wells county, was celebrated the mar-
riage of Dr. Sweigart to Miss Lillie B. Poulson. who was born in that
county on the 25th of November. 1875, of Welsh extraction. The two
children of this union are Veva and George Arthur, both of whom are
attending the. public schools of their native city.
William B. Chaney. The industrial and commercial interests of
the thriving little city of Montpelier. Blackford county, have an able
and popular representative in Mr. Chaney. who here conducts a large
and prosperous business as a dealer in heavy and shelf hardware, stoves,
ranges, farming implements, paints, oils, etc., his well equipped
establishment showing at all times a comprehensive and select stock
in all lines and his trade being of that representative and extended
order that gives evidence of his fair and honorable dealings and pro-
gressive policies, the while he is known as one of the lo.yal and public-
spirited citizens of the community in which he lives and in which he
has secure place in popular confidence and esteem. In his present busi-
ness enterprise he has proved a worthy successor of his honored father,
who was long numbered among the leading merchants and influential
citizens of Montpelier.
William B. Chaney was born in -Jay county. Indiana, on the 14th
of December, 1875, and was thirteen years of age at the time of the
family removal to Blackford county, within whose gracious borders he
has continued to maintain his home during the intervening years. He
is a son of Charles II. and Catherine (Shirk) Chaney. both of whom
were born in Ohio and the marriage of whom was solemnized in Jay
county. Indiana. In the earlier period of his life the father had been
identified with agricultural pursuits, and later he achieved success as
a contractor and builder and as a manufacturer of tile, having erected
many houses in both Jay and Blackford counties. In 1887 he re-
moved with his family from Jay county to Montpelier. the second city
of Blackford county, where he purchased the well established hard-
ware and implement business of the firm of Johnson & Saunders, the
establishment having been at that time one of less extensive order than
that demanded for the accommodation of the large business which he
built up through aggressive methods and inflexible integrity in all
dealings and transactions. In 1895 Mr. Chaney and Albert II. Bonham
manifested their civic loyalty and liberality by erecting, at a most
eligible location on Main street, the Opera House Block, in which were
provided the best of accommodations for the hardware business in
which they were at the time associated. Later Mr. Chancy became the
sole proprietor of both the fine building and the business, and he con-
tinued at the head of his extensive hardware and implement business
until his death, which occurred in February, 1908. Charles II. Chaney
was a man of lofty principles, of unfailing kindliness and consideration
and of high ideals, so that he gained and retained not only the con-
156 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
fidence and esteem but also the affectionate regard of those who came
within the sphere of his gracious influence. He was a careful and far-
sighted business man and he was at all times ready to give his influence
and tagnible co-operation in support of measures and enterprises ad-
vanced for the general good of the community. His political allegiance
was given to the Republican party and while not ambitious for public
office his civic loyalty was such that he consented to serve three terms
as a member of the city council of Montpelier. He was a most earnest
and zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his
widow, and he served most efficiently as a trustee of the church in Mont-
pelier, besides having been an influential member of the committee that
had general supervision of the erection of the present large and modern
church edifice. He was fifty-seven years of age at the time of his demise,
and his widow, who will celebrate her sixtieth birthday anniversary in
1915, still resides in the fine old homestead in Montpelier, the home and
the city itself being endeared to her by the hallowed memories and
associations of the past. Mrs. Chaney is a leader in church and social
activities in Montpelier, and her circle of friends is limited only by that
of her acquaintances. Of the children "William B., of this re-
view, is the eldest; Cleo is the wife of Charles Hart, who holds an
executive position in the Blackford County Bank, at Hartford City,
their only child being a son ; Hilda remains with her widowed mother
and is one of the popular young ladies in the social circles of her home
city.
William B. Chaney acquired his early education in the public schools
of his native county, was thirteen years of age at the time of the family
removal to Montpelier, and here he continued his studies until he had
completed the curriculum of the high school. As a youth he became as-
sociated with his father's hardware business, and he learned all de-
tails of this line of enterprise, as is fully attested in the success which
he has achieved as successor of his venerated father. Both as a citizen
and a business man he is fully upholding the high prestige of the family
name and he is one of the leading merchants and loyal citizens of the
city that has been his home from his boyhood days. His political sup-
port is given to the republican party, he is affiliated with the Improved
Order of Red Men, and both he and his wife hold membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church.
At Hartford City, in the year 1905, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Chaney to Miss Anna DuChane, who was born in the year 1882 and
who was reared and educated in the State of Massachusetts, and who
was a young woman, their only child, when she accompanied her par-
ents on their removal to Hartford City, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Chaney
have no children. Both are representative factors in the best social
life of the community, and their pleasant home is a favored rendezvous
for their many friends.
Omeb L. Risinger. For several years one of the most solid en-
terprises of Hartford City has been the Risinger & Huffman depart-
ment store at 112 W. Main street on the public square. The proprietors
of this establishment have succeeded in furnishing a trade service which
gives the people in that community the best selection of goods at mod-
erate prices, and freshness of stock, reliability and fairness in dealing,
have been important factors in the success of this concern. The store
occupies floor space 30x120 feet on two floors, besides basement, and they
handle all the goods usually found in a general store. The business
has been under its present title since February, 1910, and Omer L.
Risinger is the active manager of the business, a young merchant whose
BLACKFORD AND GRANT- COUNTIES 157
success has been much in advance of his years. This store was originally
started by James Fulton some years before it eame under the owner-
ship of the present firm. Mr. Levi Huffman, the second partner in the
establishment, is a prosperous farmer of Wells county, and practically
the entire management of the business devolves upon Mr. Risinger.
It was in the store conducted by Mr. Fulton that Omer L. Risinger
got his first experience in merchandising, and he was a clerk there while
still attending the city schools. Omer L. Risinger was born in Wells
county, Indiana, November 12, 188!), and was about thirteen years
old when he came to Hartford City with his parents. His father is
Daniel Risinger, now retired, and his mother is Savilla R. (Jackson)
Risinger. Both were born in Ohio, and were of German ancestry.
From Ohio they moved to Peru, Indiana, in which city they were mar-
ried. After the birth of their three first children they moved to Wells
county, and the father was a prosperous farmer, owning one hundred
and twenty acres of land in that section, until he moved, in August,
1902, to Hartford City. His Wells county farm had been brought by
his hard labor and good management from a wilderness condition to a
valuable estate, and two years after he located in Hartford City he
sold out. The senior Risinger was for a time in the meat market busi-
ness, but is now retired and lives on North High street. He acquired
the principal interest in the Fulton store, with Mr. Huffman as partner,
and has turned the management of the business over to his son.
Daniel Risinger is a democrat and he and his wife are active mem-
bers of the Dunkard church of Hartford City. There were eight chil-
dren in the family, seven of whom are living, as follows. They include :
Mattie, wife of J. L. Mahon, farmers in Blackford county and they
have a number of children: Oliver, who is married and lives in Mont-
pelier, Indiana, and has three children; Harry, who lives in Hartford
City and has one son ; Omer L., Phanuel E. who is unmarried, and at
home; Clara, wife of Alison Ruble, of Hartford City. Mr. Omer L.
Risinger is unmarried, and is one of the popular young men of Hartford
City.
Amos L. Nelson. The fine section of country lying about and
tributary to the fine little city of Montpelier, Blackford county, has
precedence as one of the admirable agricultural sections of the Hoosier
State, and in the placing of its products upon the markets in an ex-
peditious and effective way Mr. Nelson has interposed with marked
ability and success, his operations, as a member of the firm of Arnold
& Nelson, being of extensive and substantial order, in the buying and
shipping of grain, hay and other products. The firm maintains its
headquarters in Montpelier and has an unassailable reputation for pro-
gressiveness and for fair and honorable dealings, — an effective basis
for any line of business enterprise.
The firm initiated operation on the 1st of November, 1899. and its
operations now include the buying and shipping of grain and hay, the
handling of seeds, the conducting of a well equipped feed mill, and the
handling of coal at retail. The equipment includes a modern elevator
of adequate facilities and the enterprise contributes materially to the
commercial prestige of Montpelier. From July. 1891, until the estab-
lishment of his present enterprise, Mr. Nelson was associated with his
present partner, Henry C. Arnold, in the grain business at Bluffton,
the judicial center of Wells county, and since the founding of the Mont-
pelier branch of their extensive enterprise Mr. Nelson has had charge
of its affairs, Mr. Arnold still continuing his residence at Bluffton.
Amos L. Nelson was born on the old homestead farm of his father,
158 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
iu Harrison township, Wells county, Indiana, and the date of his
nativity was May 27, 1858. He was reared to the sturdy discipline of
the farm and received his early education in the public schools of his
native county, both experiences having tended admirably to fortify
him for a successful business career in connection with his present line
of enterprise. He is a son of Jacob B. and Eliza (Schoonover) Nelson.
Jacob B. Nelson was born in Ohio, in 1832, and was a boy at the time
of the family removal to Wells county, Indiana, in the early pioneer
days. He was a son of James and Sarah (Bales) Nelson, who were
numbered among the very early settlers of Lancaster township, Wells
county, where the father reclaimed a productive farm from the forest
wilds, having there established his home in the early '40s. He was one
of the sterling pioneers of that county and there continued to reside
until his death, which occurred when he was about seventy years of
age, his wife having preceded him a few years earlier, and both hav-
ing been devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and lie
having been a democrat in his political proclivities.
Jacob B. Nelson was the eldest in a family of eight sons and four
daughters, all of whom attained to maturity, 'except one, who died in
childhood, and all of the others of whom married, with the exception of
two sons. Sanford and William both sacrificed their lives in defense
of the Union while serving as soldiers in the Civil War. William died
as the result of wounds received in battle and Sanford died in one
of the military hospitals, as the result of illness, both being young men
and bachelors. Two others of the sons, Solomon and Silas, served
during virtually the entire period of the war, took part in many en-
gagements and saw most arduous service, as shown by the fact that
each of them was nearly blind at the time of their return home. As
before intimated, Jacob B. Nelson was a boy at the time of the family
immigration from Ohio to the wilds of Wells county, Indiana, where
he was reared to maturity under the conditions and influences of the
pioneer days and where his marriage to Eliza Schoonover was con-
tracted when he was a young man. There he initiated his independ-
ent career as a farmer but he finally removed to Allen county, where
his wife died at the birth of their fourth child, she having been at the
time in the flower of gracious womanhood. Jacob B. Nelson was there-
after twice married, and of the third marriage one son and one daugh-
ter are now living. When well advanced in years Jacob B. Nelson re-
tired from his long and successful association with the agricultural in-
dustry, and he passed the closing period of his life in the home of one
of his daughters, in the city of Munice, this State, where he died of an
attack of smallpox, about a quarter of a century ago, his age at the
time having been about sixty years. He was a democrat in polities
and was a man of strong character and utmost rectitude. Of the four
children of the first marriage three attained to years of maturity and
of these the youngest is the subject of this review. James T. is a pros-
perous mechanic and farmer in Noble county, Indiana, and his only
daughter, Mrs. Eliza Turner, resides in the city of Munice, her chil-
dren being two in number. Joseph, the other of the brothers, resides
at Kendallville, Noble county, and has two sons and three daughters.
On the old homestead farm which was the place of his birth Amos
L. Nelson passed the days of his childhood and early youth, and it is
needless to say that he soon gained fellowship with honest toil and
endeavor, the while his educational advantages were those of the local
schools, as previously stated in this context. Aside from his active
association with the great basic industry of agriculture his independent
career has been mainly in connection with his present line of enterprise.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 159
in wheh his success has been substantial and unequivocal. He is a
loyal and public-spirited citizen, has been influential in the local coun-
cils of the Democratic party and he served for several years as a mem-
ber of the city council of Montpelier.
At Bluffton. Wells county, in the year 18S7, -Mr. Nelson wedded
Hiss Mary E. Huffman, who was born in that city on the 7th of No
vember, 1S(>7, and who was there reared and educated, her parents
having been pioneers of Wells county. Mr. and .Mrs. Nelson have one
son, Howard E.. who was born on the 8th of April, 1891, who was
graduated in the Montpelier high school, as a member of the class
of 1909, and who soon afterward went to Houston, Texas, where he
is now assistant to the chief clerk of the Houston Street Railway Coin
pany. — a young man of tine character and marked ability.
Constant Andre. Not mere temporal affluence but success that
has touched and dignified generic industrialism has been the achieve-
ment of this well known citizen of Hartford City, the metropolis and
judicial center of Blackford county, and through his character and
services Mr. Andre has honored the land of his adoption. He was
long aud prominently identified with the glass works in Hartford
City, as a skilled and valued artisan, and here he is now living virtually
retired, the labors of the past years having given to him a competency
for the gracious twilight of his useful life.
Mr. Andre was born in Belgium, on the 31st of January, 1845,
and is a son of Alexander and Virginia (Eden) Andre, both of whom
passed their entire lives in Belgium, with whose history the res] live
family names have been identified for many generations. The father.
who was a skilled glassworker by vocation, was seventy-four years of
age at the time of his death, and his widow attained to the venerable
age of eighty-six years, both having been devout communicants of the
Catholic church. They became the parents of two sons and three
daughters, the eldest of the number being Alixina, who is the wife of
Henry Gingnard, a civil engineer in Belgium, and their children are
two sons; Philomena has been twice married and is now the wife of
Alexander Bellete, a glassworker in Belgium, they having no children:
Eliza is the wife of Jules Vironit, who is likewise a glassworker by
trade but who is now living retired at Gas City, Indiana, their chil-
dren being two sons and seven daughters. Virginia died one year after
her marriage to Louis Jose and left one daughter; Constant is the
immediate subject of this review; Peter J., is Belgium consul in Uruguay,
South America, a position which he has held since 1SS8, and he is
married and has two children; and the other three children are de-
ceased.
Constant Andre was reared to adult age in his native city, and re-
ceived his early education in the national schools of Belgium, his dis-
cipline including a thorough course in chemistry in the Government
College, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1865.
As an expert chemist and glassworker he served thirty years as manager
of an extensive factory in the city of his birth, having held this post
from 1870 until 1900. in which latter year he came to the United States
and established his residence in Hartford City, where he has main-
tained his home the greater part of the time during the intervening
period and where he has been an able and valued workman and executive
in connection with the glass manufacturing industry. He brought to
America the exceptional skill that has made the glass manufacturing
enterprises of Belgium gain such distinctive precedence and he did much
to further the success of the same line of industry in Indiana. After
160 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
coming to Hartford City he was engaged in work principally in the
flatening department of local glass manufactories, and as an expert
in the making of mirrors and silvering of the same he now finds em-
ployment in an independent way, though he has retired from the more
arduous and exacting labors that long engrossed his attention. He is
the owner of an attractive residence property, and the grounds about
his home have an area of one and one-half acres, at 621 South Walnut
street, the property having been notably improved and beautified under
his personal direction. Mr. Andre takes a lively interest in all that
tends to advance the civic and material welfare of his home city and
both he and his wife, as well as their children, are earnest communicants
of the Catholic church.
In his native city, in the year 1867, was solemnized the marriage
of Mr. Andre to Miss Omerine DeBatty, who was there bom on the
22nd of May, 1846, and who has proved a devoted companion and help-
mate to her husband as well as a loving and self-abnegating mother.
Of the nine children eight are living, Aglae, who became the wife of
Alexander Martin, having died in 1902, and being survived by two
daughters. Cesarine is the wife of Armand Faux, of Hartford City,
and they have four children. Valeria is the wife of John Dumont, of
Hartford City, and they have one daughter. Homer J., who is a glass-
cutter, employed at Fairmont, West Virginia, as boss glass-cutter, is
married and has three sons. Carmille, who resides in Hartford City,
is married to Pierre Fievet and has two daughters. Gustave E., married
Georgette Danday, but has no children. He is a vocal and instrumental
music teacher, being a graduate of some of the best musical schools
of his native country. Gustave E. Andre is employed as a glass-
worker in Hartford City. Lea A., like others of the children, gained
her education largely in the public schools of Hartford City, and she
remains at the parental home, as one of the popular young ladies of
the city. Carlos C, who is a talented and well educated musician, de-
voted his time principally to the teaching of the ' ' divine art. ' ' He mar-
ried Miss Bessie Rhinehart, of Hartford City, where they maintain
their home. Ralph R., who remains -at the parental home and is a glass-
cutter by vocation, is a member of the Hartford City band and he and
all of his brothers are affiliated with the Knights of Columbus, Gustave
E. being Grand Knight of his lodge.
Bleam Hayden. During twenty years of residence in Hartford
City, Mr. Hayden has exercised his enterprise and business ability in
siich a way as to gain the respect of the community and enlarge his own
prosperity, has performed those various obligations that fall upon the
members of the social community, and has been particularly active in
the Christian church at Hartford City, his forefathers having accepted
that religion almost at the time of its origin as a separate denomina-
tion, and Mr. Hayden has long practiced his faith and worked for the
good and upbuilding of the church.
His grandfather, John W. Hayden, was born in Pennsylvania, of
Dutch stock. He married a Miss Crawford, and some of their children
were born in Pennsylvania. In the early twenties he emigrated to
Ohio, and a few years later to Indiana, locating on Silver Creek in
Union county. In that locality John W. Hayden built a grist mill near
the town of Liberty. He had been reared in the trade of millwright
in Pennsylvania, his father before him having followed the same occupa-
tion. John W. Hayden operated his grist mill in Union county for a
number of years. While there his first wife died, and after his second
marriage there occurred a family estrangement as a result of which he
BLACKFORD AND CHANT COUNTIES
161
and his wife went west and he died there, practically nothing of Ilia
history being known to the present family after he left Indiana.
William Hayden, father of Bleam, was born in Pennsylvania, was a
boy when the family moved to Ohio, and grew up in Union county,
Indiana. As both his father and grandfather followed mechanical
trades, he took up and learned that of blacksmith and finally established
a smithy in Union county, moving his home and vocation from thai
locality to Wayne county. His home was not far from Cambridge City,
and some years later he moved to Straughn in Henry county, lb- was
regarded as a capable and skillful workman, and conducted a shop which
furnished excellent service to a large community until some eight or
ten years years before !n> death in 1884. He was then quite an old
man. He was a member of the Christian church and a Republican in
polities. At Liberty. Indiana, he married Phalenia Howren, who was
born, reared, and educated in Union county, coming of North Carolina
parentage and ancestry. She died at Straughn. in Henry county, in
1893. at the age of seventy. She was likewise of the Christian church
and most of tin- marriages of the family seem to have connected people
of this faith. William Hayden and wife had five sons and seven daugh-
ters, ten of whom reached maturity, and all were married except one
and all but one had children.
Bleam Hayden, who is one of the younger members of the family,
was born in Union county. Indiana, October 15. 1857. His youth was
spent principally in Henry county, and the public schools afforded
him his education. In Henry county on December 22, 1886, lie mar-
ried Flora B. Martindale, a granddaughter of Elijah and Elizabeth
(Boyd) Martindale, natives of Pennsylvania, from which state they
moved and became early pioneers of Henry county, Indiana. Her grand-
father was a farmer and in Henry county cleared up and improved a
good estate and lived there until 1865. finally moving to Newcastle and
both he and his wife spent the rest of their days in that community.
Elijah Martindale did a great work for the early community of Henry
county as a pioneer preacher in the Christian church. He was a close
friend of Dr. Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Church of the
Disciples, had known him back in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and
a number of occasions preached with him. Elijah Martindale went
about the country on horseback, carrying the ministry of the gospel and
of Christianity to many isolated communities, and was a man of saintly
character and did practically all his work without remuneration. His
son, Robert Martindale, father of Mrs. Hayden, was born in Henry
county, Indiana, in 1S33, being one of a large family of fifteen, all of
whom reached manhood and womanhood. Robert Martindale married
Margaret Turner, who was born in Ireland, and when three years of
age was brought to this country by her parents, Robert and Jane Turner.
The Turners also settled in Henry county, and Robert obtained and im-
proved one hundred and sixty acres of land and lived there until he
died at a good old age. Robert Turner in Ireland had been educated
for the priesthood, but after coming to this country accepted, with his
wife, the faith of the Christian church, and always lived and prac-
ticed according to that religion. The parents of Mrs. Hayden spent
most of their lives in Henry county, but died in Hartford City, her
father at the age of seventy-two. and her mother at the age of sixty-
eight. Her father was one of the elders in the Hartford City church,
and in polities a republican. Mrs. Hayden was one of three sons and
three daughters, all of whom married and became heads of families.
Twenty years ago Mr. and Mrs. Hayden established a home in Hart-
ford City, and he has been an active worker and has a profitable busi-
162 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ness as a transfer and dray operator. They are the parents of two chil-
dren: Maude, who was graduated from the Hartford City high school,
is now a widow and has a daughter, Forest F., aged nine years and
living with her grandparents; Ralph, who was also educated in the
public schools, is now in the insurance business at Hartford City, and
married Mabel Lieber. All the family worship in the Christian church
at Hartford City, and Mr. Hayden is a deacon and his activity as a lay-
man has been pronounced not only in his home society, but he has
attended a number of couventions of the church' and is interested in
all phases of its work.
Frank M. Beaty. Since its establishment, September 24, 1911, the
business enterprise of Frank M. Beaty has supplied a many-sided need
at Montpelier and has realized the reasonable expectations of its pro-
prietor, one of the most energetic and progressive men of the town.
In addition to a first-class confectionery and candy parlor, Mr. Beaty
conducts a wholesale bakery, and the business during the comparatively
short period of its existence has grown to extensive proportions. Mr.
Beaty was born at Ossian, Wells county, Indiana, August 15, 1875, and
is a son of William R. and Oliver Orlina (Woodward) Beaty, natives
of Ohio, and born near Warren, that state. They came as children with
their parents to Wells county, Indiana, where they were married, and
from Ossian William R. Beaty enlisted in Company F, Thirty-fourth
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Civil War.
After completing his first service, in 1861, he veteranized and continued
to serve until the close of hostilities, making a record for bravery and
faithful discharge of duty which placed him high in the esteem and
regard of his comrades. On his return to his home he engaged in
agricultural pursuits until 1875, when he engaged in the lumber busi-
ness as a miller, and also bougbt and sold tracts of timber. His industry
and energetic operations gained for him a handsome competence, and
ten years ago he retired from business. He is still residing, at Ossian,
being active and alert despite his seventy-two years. He has long been
active in public affairs and has served repeatedly as councilman of
Ossian, being elected to that office as a republican. Mr. Beaty 's first
wife died in 1882, leaving these children: Clark A., Alberta, Frank M.,
Harry H., Irene and Hattie Pearl, who died young. Mr. Beaty married
for his second wife Laura J. Woodward, and two children have been
born to this union : Cletus V. and Gerald D., both of whom are married.
All the children were well trained for lives of usefulness and honor-
able living, and all have families.
Frank M. Beaty was reared and educated at North Manchester,
Wabash county, Indiana, and later took a commercial course at Val-
paraiso, Indiana, which he completed with the class of 1896. At that
time he became a merchant's clerk at his native place, and so continued
for four years, thoroughly learning the principles of business life. He
then became the proprietor of a restaurant, known as the Palace, at
Warren, Indiana, but after two years returned to Ossian and worked
with his father until January, 1903, when he came to Montpelier, and
here associated himself with George Braitinger and engaged in the
grocery business. A short time later he became sole proprietor, but
after a period disposed of his grocery interests and September 24, 1911,
opened a bakery on Huntington street. In 1912 he came to Main street,
near the post office, and with H. H. Nill opened a candy store, but in
November of the same year, bought Mr. Nill's interests, and in January,
1913, built an addition to his store and began the manufacturing of con-
fectionery. In November, 1913, he brought his bakery from Hunting-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 163
ton to Main street, and lias since operated the entire plant as one busi-
ness. He has a large business in wholesale bakery goods of the staple
kind, and his plant lias a capacity of 800 loaves of bread per diem. Mr.
Beaty is a hustler, alive to every opportunity for business advance-
ment, and has a high reputation in commercial circles. As a citizen
he lias shown himself ready to advance any good movement, and he
is favorably known in every community in which his goods an- in de-
mand, his friends being as many as his acquaintances.
Mr. Beaty was married at Ossian to Miss Mary J. Johnston, who
was born at Ossian, Wells county, in March, L878, ami reared and
educated there, daughter of Benoni I), and Matilda J. Johnston, natives
of Pennsylvania, who were married then-. Mr. Johnston was a handler
of horses for a number of years at Ossian and was also engaged in the
undertaking business. He owned a farm of 320 acres in Iowa. He is
now seventy years of age, and Mrs. Johnston sixty-six, and they re-
side at Montpelier. .Mr. and Mrs. Beaty have had these children: Mil-
dred and Benjamin J., who are attending the public schools; Robert,
who died at the age of eighteen months; and Katherine. Mr. and Mrs.
Beaty are Presbyterians. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and a Pythian
Knight, and both he and his wife belong to the Eastern Star. His sup-
port is giv»n to the candidates of the progressive party.
Forney 0. Stewart. Long and effective identification with the
great basic industry of agriculture has given to .Mr. Stwart the privilege
of living virtually retired in his native county, where he commands
secure place in popular esteem and has a pleasant home at 612 North
Cherry street in Hartford City, the judieial center of Blackford county.
He is a scion of a family whose name has been worthily linked with
the history of this county since the pioneer days, and the place of his
nativity was the parental farmstead, in Licking township, where he was
born on the 21st of June, 1857. He is a son of Adam and Louise ( Wil-
son) Stewart, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter
in Indiana, their marriage having been solemnized in Blackford county.
They continued to reside on their farm, in Licking township, until the
close of their lives, the mother having passed away in 1865 and the father
in 1870, and the latter having reclaimed his land to effective cultivation,
so that he had become one of the prosperous agriculturists of the county,
even as he was a citizen who had the sterling personal attributes that
ever beget popular confidence and good will, his political allegiance
having been given to the democratic party, and his wife having been
earnest and consistent in her Christian faith and practice. Robert Stew-
art, grandfather of him whose name initiates this review 7 , was born in
Virginia, of Scotch ancestry, and the family was early founded in the
historic Old Dominion State, which gave many sterling pioneers to In-
diana. Robert Stewart came from Virginia to Blackford county in the
early period of Indiana history ami obtained a tract of government land
in the midst of the primitive wilds of Licking township, where he and
his wife passed the residue of their lives, their names meriting place
on the roster of the honored pioneers of this favored section of the State,
where they contributed their quota to social and industrial progress.
Adam and Louise (Wilson) Stewart became the parents of ten children,
of whom only four are now living. — three of the number continuing their
residence in Blackford county and the other being a resident of Nebraska.
Before he had attained to adult age both the father and mother of
Forney O. Stewart had passed to the life eternal, and he was reared on
the old homestead farm, his share of which he eventually sold to the
other heirs of the estate. He had in the meanwhile attended the local
164 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
school and laid adequate foundation for the substantial superstructure
of knowledge that he later was to gain in the school of practical ex-
perience. After selling his interest in the old homestead he purchased
a tract of forty acres in Section 25, Licking township, and on this place
he made excellent improvements, the buildings being of substantial and
attractive order. He remained on the farm five years and then sold, later
buying 50 acres, which he soon sold. He has maintained his residence
in Hartford City since 1888. For five years he had the supervision of
the court house and he is now the head janitor of the fine Interurban
Building, the Carnegie Public Library, and the Citizens Bank, so that
he finds ample demands upon his time and attention, the while he is
known as one of the prosperous retired farmers of his native county.
Mr. Stewart is a staunch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party,
is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men, and his wife is a
zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
In Licking township, on May 30, 1888, Mr. Stewart wedded Miss
Martha Williams, who was born in that township in March, 1867, and
who is a daughter of Edwin and Sarah (Lewis) Williams, both natives
of Cardiff, Wales, where they were reared and educated, and where
their marriage was solemnized. Upon their immigration to America
they resided for a few years in the mining districts, principally in
Pennsylvana. They then established themselves on a farm in Ohio,
from which State they came to Blackford county, Indiana, and pur-
chased a small farm in Licking township, where they reared their chil-
dren. They finally removed to Hartford City, and here Mr. Williams
died after he had attained to the psalmist's span of three score years
and ten, his wife later died while on a visit to Wells county, at an ad-
vanced age, both she and her husband having been consistent adherents
of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have two
children, — Nora T., who is the wife of Harry Love, of Hartford City,
their only child being a son, Robert; and Hazel, whose husband, John
Turner, is an employe in the office of the Hartford City Evening News.
Mayer M. Weiler. It is a full half century since the house of Kirsh-
baum & Weiler was established in Hartford City as a mercantile enter-
prise with a general stock which was gradually evolved into departments,
giving the community its first department store. Only the older resi-
dents recall the Kirshbaum store, for many years ago it was succeeded
by the Weiler interests and the Weiler department store has long
stood pre-eminent in the estimation of the shopping public of Blackford
county.
It was in 1861 that the Kirshbaum store was established in Hartford
City. In 1866 Mr. David May became a partner, and in 1876 Mr. Abe
Weiler succeeded Mr. May. Mr. A. R. Weiler bought an interest in 1887,
and in 1888 there came into the firm Mr. M. M. Weiler, who succeeded
to the interests of Mr. Kirshbaum. At that time the business was
organized under the name of A. Weiler & Brothers, and that has ever
since continued the business designation of this large store, though
some changes have occurred in the personnel. In 1897 was erected the
splendid large store at the northeast corner of the public square, on a
foundation 100x120 feet, three stories high, and all the floor space is
occupied by the extensive stock, which is divided into departments, in-
cluding clothing, millinery, carpets, furniture, men's and women's ap-
parel and all goods required both for city and country trade. The
Weiler store has always represented progressive enterprise has dealt
in reliable goods, lias used methods for stimulating trade, and the repu-
tation of the house has been behind every article sold over the counters.
PIONEEE HOM
ANDREW J. SHANNON
in 1848)
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 165
In 1911 Mr. A. Weiler, who had been head of the firm, died, but the
name is still kept. The sole proprietors at present are Mr. A.dolph
Weiler and M. M. Weiler. The Eartford City store is one of a chain of
stores, and this modern principle of merchandising has been carried
out with great success by Weiler Brothers. Other stores are loeated at.
Portland and Farmland, Indiana, and at Fori Recovery, Ohio. The
Hartford City store is under the personal management of Mr. M. M.
Weiler. In the busy season eighty people are employed in thai large
emporium, and taking all the stores together they furnish employment to
about two hundred people. Since the Weilers came into the business
they have developed it beyond all comparison with its earlier stages, and
its capital and volume of trade aggregate four or five times whal they did
twenty or twenty-five years ago. Each store has its separate buyer and
is under separate management.
.Mayer M. Weiler. lead of the Hartford City store, was born in Ba-
varia, Germany, of a tine Hebrew family, and is an educated gentleman
not only a successful merchant but a public spirited and leading citizen.
He was born fifty-three years ago. was reared and educated in his native
country, and in 1882 came to the United States, locating at Farmland,
Indiana. It was there that he sold his first goods, and then in 1887
came to Hartford City and in the following year became associated
with his present business. He was at that time twenty-six years of age,
and has long been one of the foremost merchants of Blackford county.
In all local matters Mr. Weiler takes an active part, and is popular
with all classes of citizens and has membership in various fraternal
orders. He is affiliated with both the Knights of Pythias and Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, has served in the different chairs of
those lodges, is a member of the Encampment at Winchester, and be-
longs to the Blackford Club. Mr. Weiler was married at Peru. Indiana,
to Nellie Levi, who was born at Peru, and educated in the public
schools there. Her father, William Levi, a native of Germany, and
for many years identified with merchandising at Peru and now one of
that city's bankers. He is sixty-nine years of age, and he married
Frances Falk, who was the first white child born on what is known as
the Indian Reservation in Miami county. Indiana. She is now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Weiler have one son, Adolph R.. now attending the city,
schools. Mr. Weiler is a Republican, and he and his wife are members
of the Hebrew Temple on Delaware street in Hartford City.
Arthur M. Shannon. Among the native sons of Blackford county
who have worthily succeeded to the responsibilities and usefulness of
earlier generations is Arthur M. Shannon, who has long had the reputa-
tion of a man who does things in a thorough and successful manner,
and his farming activities in Harrison township have given him a sub-
stantial degree of material prosperity.
Arthur M. Shannon was born on the farm where he now lives in
Harrison township. May 17, 1865. His parents. Andrew J. and Mar-
garet (Teach) Shannon, were both natives of the state of Ohio, and came
from there to Indiana, establishing a home in Blackford county many
years ago. The father died in 1902 and the mother is still living. Of
their nine children, four still living are : John, a farmer in Harrison
township; Dennis F., a teacher in Blackford county; Arthur M. ; and
Andrew A., a Michigan farmer.
While growing up to young manhood in Harrison township Arthur
M. Shannon attended the district schools and was given a thorough dis-
cipline in his life work by the duties of the home farm. Some years
after attaining bis majority he was married in May, 189T). to Lucy Jack-
166 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
son, who was born in Wells county, Indiana. Their five children, com-
prising a happy family of boys and girls who are being trained to lives
of usefulness, are Carl, Forest, Flora, Fay and Avilda. Politically Mr.
Shannon is a Republican, but has found little time for mingling in poli-
tics and has done his best work for the community through his regular
vocation.
The Shannon home comprises a hundred acres of fine land, located
two miles east and two miles south of Montpelier. While the general
crops and staples of Blackford county have claimed his chief attention,
Mr. Shannon is also recognized as a successful breeder of the English
Berkshire hogs. At the head of his herd is ' ' Hoosier Wonder, ' ' a splen-
did animal whose regular weight is four hundred pounds. All the stock
on the Shannon farm is graded up and kept in the finest condition, and
he makes profits whether sending his stock to the. regular market or in
the sale of breeding animals.
Thomas C. Neal. It is uniformly conceded by those best entitled to
express an authoritative opinion that there is in Blackford county no
citizen who exemplifies in so high and worthy a degree the spirit of pro-
gressiveness and unselfish civic loyalty in so eminent a degree as does
Thomas C. Neal, the present mayor of the beautiful little city of Mont-
pelier. He has been a resident of the county for somewhat more than
forty years, and there are few lines of productive enterprise in this sec-
tion of the State that he has not touched in such a way as to give to them
clearer demarcation in the realm of constructive and progressive ad-
vancement, In him the qualities of initiative energy and distinct fore-
sight are shown in strong relief, and he has not only made things move
to his own benefit but has also prompted constructive action on the part
of others. He is one of the honored and influential citizens of the county,
and rather to express in this introductory paragraph an estimate of the
man and his achievement it were better to permit the following brief rec-
ord of his career tell its own story.
Further interest attaches to the peculiarly successful and somewhat
spectacular career of Mr. Neal by reason of the fact that he is a native
of Indiana and was reared in that section of the State that is still the
field of his manifold and prolific operations in various and important
phases of industrial, manufacturing and commercial activity. Mr. Neal
was born at Marion, the judicial center of Grant county, Indiana, on the
12th of February, 1852, and his lineage is traced back to the staunchest
of Scotch origin. He is a son of Charles W. and Nancy (Roberts) Neal,
the former of whom was born in West Virginia and the latter in the
State of New York, their marriage having been solemnized at Marion,
Indiana, where the father followed his trade of carpenter for a num-
ber of years and where he later engaged in mercantile pursuits. He
finally resumed, in 1858, the work of his trade, and thereafter he con-
tinued for many years as one of the leading contractors and builders
at Marion, where he continued to reside until his death, at the age of
seventy years. He was a man of positive character, inflexible integrity
and marked business acumen, and he commanded the implicit confi-
dence and high regard of his fellow men. His devoted wife preceded
him to eternal rest by several years and was but thirty-four years of
age at the time of her demise. She was a devout member of the New
Light church, a branch of the Christian or Disciples' denomination,
and her life was gentle and kindly, she having been a member of one
of the well known pioneer families of Grant county. Charles W. Neal
was originally a whig and later a democrat in politics, and he was an
influential figure in public affairs in Grant county for many years. Of
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 1G7
the two children Thomas O, of this review, is the elder, and John C, who
died at Montpelier, Blackford county; in L894, a1 the age of thirty-six
years, wedded Miss Mary Gavin, who survives him, as do also their
three children, — Hugh. Jessie ami Ella.
Thomas C. Xeal is indebted to the public schools of Marion, his native
place, I'm- his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by a
commercial course in a business college at Bloomington, this State. For
live years he was employed a.s representative of the firm of Switzer &
Turner, of Marion, engaged in the grain business, ami later he was in
the employ of .1. A. Gause, of the State of Delaware, in whose interest
he came to Montpelier, Blackford county, in 1871. lie was so favorably
impressed with the attractions and bright outlook of the town, which
was then a mere village, that he determined to establish his permanent
home in Blackford county and in this place. Early in 1872 he engaged
in the grain and live-stock business at Montpelier, ami through energy
and good management he soon developed a substantial and prosperous
enterprise in the buying and shipping of grain ami stock. Mr. Xeal
early identified himself with the agricultural and live-stock industries
in a more independent way. and he has at the present time one of the
iiui' landed estates of Blackford county. He became a breeder of
standard-bred horses and also introduced the first pure-blood Jersey cat-
tle into Blackford county. This tin,' farm, devoted to diversified agri-
culture, engrossed much of Mi-. Neal's time and attention from 1S72 until
1899, when he sold the property, in order to meet the exigent demands
placed upon him by his other important capitalistic and business inter-
ests. Later, however, he purchased another valuable and well im-
proved landed estate in Harrison township, and to this he gave the name
of the West Side Stock Farm. He has made many improvements on
this place, and its value is greatly enhanced by reason that on the same
an- oil wells that yield from eighteen to twenty barrels per day. and
natural gas wells that give an appreciable and available supply of gas
for general and industrious purposes. Mr. Xeal i.s the owner also of
a splendid farm of 200 acres in Jackson township, and his political pro-
clivities are measurably indicated when it is stated that to this place he
has given the title of the Bull Moose Stock and Fruit Farm. This is
known as one of the finest farms in the entire State of Indiana, and here
is found a tract of forty acres devoted to fruit orchards, besides which
the place has one of the best gravel pits in this section of the State.
Eleven oil wells have been drilled on this farm and they are in the
control of the Standard Oil Company. The succinct and pertinent
statements that appear on the business envelopes used by Mr. Xeal in
connection with his various operations are well worthy of reproduction.
They are as follows: "Tf it's live-stock to buy or sell, we are always in
tlie market; if it's high-grade gravel for good road, we have it: if it's
fruit, we have it in season: if it's ice to cool, we have it." The Bull
Moose Stock and Fruit Farm is eligibly situated five miles northwest
of Montpelier. and the place is a source of much and well merited
pride to its progressive owner.
Mr. Neal is general manager of the National fastings Company, of
Montpelier. and this represents one of the most important industrial
enterprises in this part of the State. The erection of the company's
plant was initiated in 1896. but before it was completed the business,
as originally projected, went into the hands of a receiver. A failure is
something that Mr. Xeal ever contemplates with great disfavor, and in
this instance he promptly came to the rescue of the budding enterprise
that was thus summarily nipped. He became associated with others in
the purchase of the plant, at the receiver's sale, and by energy and de-
168 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
termined purpose he and his associates succeeded in placing the enter-
prise upon a substantial basis. He was president and general manager
of the company from the latter part of 1897 until 1901, when he severed
his executive connection with the company. In 1902, however, he again
assumed the office of general manager, of which position he has continued
the incumbent, the business having been signally prospered under his
able and progressive supervision and direction. The output of the well
equipped and thoroughly modern plant includes all kinds of heavy and
light castings, and the products are sold in the most diverse sections of
the Union. The corps of employes varies from 150 to 250 men and the
output is now averaging fully 500 tons per annum. G. Max Hoffman,
of Fort Wayne, is now president of the company ; James O 'Donnell, of
Montpelier, vice-president; D. F. Bash, of Indianapolis, secretary; and
Mr. Neal general manager. The board of directors has seven members
and Messrs. O 'Donnell and Neal are the resident members of the
board.
In politics Mr. Neal was aligned with the democratic party until
the national campaign of 1912, when he vigorously cast in his lot with
the newly organized progressive party, under the leadership of Colonel
Roosevelt, of whom he is a great admirer. Mr. Neal served 1884 to 1887
as a member of the board of county commissioners of Blackford county,
and later he was employed to fill out two years of an unexpired term
in the same office. The aggressiveness and liberality of Mr. Neal have
not been shown entirely in his business and political activities, but he
has been a leader in the furtherance of measures and enterprise pro-
jected for the general good of the community. He was elected mayor
of Montpelier in November, 1913, and it may well be understood that
his administration is proving characteristically vigorous and progressive,
his dispensation as head of the municipal government of his home city
being such as to insure due conservatism in the handling of the city's
finances and yet such as not to curb proper expenditures for public im-
provements and incidental contingencies. Mr. Neal was the first citizen
of Montpelier to have a telephone installed in his residence, at a time
when the telephone business was still comparatively in its infancy in
this section of the State ; and he was also the first in Montpelier to utilize
natural gas for illuminating and domestic purposes. He was one of the
organizers of the Farmers' Deposit Bank of Montpelier, and he assisted
also in the organization of the First National Bank of Montpelier, of
which he is a director and also vice-president. He is affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias, as a charter member of the lodge at Montpelier. He
attends and gives liberal support to the Baptist church, of which his
wife is a zealous member.
In November, 1872, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Neal to
Miss Susan Angeline Spalding, who was born in Wells county, this
state, in 1853, and who was but one year old at the time of her parents'
removal to Blackford county, where she was reared and educated and
where her circle of friends is limited only by that of her acquaintances.
Her father, Franklin B. Spalding, was numbered among the extensive
and representative farmers of Blackford county, his old homestead, one
and one-half miles northwest of Montpelier, being still in the possession
of the family. On this homestead both he and his wife died, and he sur-
vived her by a number of years, both having been consistent members of
the Baptist church. Mr. Spalding was one of the sterling pioneers of
this section of Indiana and he wielded in earlier years not a little influ-
ence in public affairs of a local order, his support having been given to
the Whig party until the organization of the Republican party, when
he transferred his allegiance to the latter, to remain thereafter a stal-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 169
wart advocate of its principles. Mr. and Mrs. Neal have one son, Charles
Mitchell Neal, who was born in lSTll and who was afforded the ad-
vantages of the public schools of Montpelier, and those of the institu-
tion now known as the Valparaiso University, at Valparaiso, this State,
He now resides upon ami has the general supervision of Ins lather's
West Side Stock Farm, of which mention has been made in a preceding
paragraph, and he is one of the popular and enterprising citizens of
his native county, lie married Miss Emma Degler, ami they have two
children. — Eleanor ami Thomas .Mitchell, the former being thirteen and
the latter eleven years of age at the time of this writing.
Francis M. Reynolds, M. D. Engaged in the successful practice of
his profession in the attractive little city of Montpelier, Dr. Reynolds
is not only recognized as one of the representative physicians and sur-
geons of Blackford county but also as a progressive citi/en whose suc-
cess has been distinctive along both professional and material lines. In
addition to owning and occupying one of the most substantial and mod-
ern brick residences in Blackford county, the same having fifteen rooms
and being heated by an effective hot-water system, he is also the owner
of a well improved farm of 160 acres, eligibly situated in Wells county,
at a point about 6 miles northeast from Montpelier. His residence in
Montpelier has been consistently pronounced the finest in Blackford
county, and it is made a place of most cultured and gracious hospitality,
as a center of much of the representative social activity of the com-
munity.
Dr. Reynolds was born in Adams county. Indiana, on the 16th of
February, 1870, and after duly availing himself of the advantages of
the public schools of his native county he completed an effective course
in the Northwestern Ohio Normal School, at Ada, and he then turned his
attention to the pedagogic profession, of which he was an able and pop-
ular representative, as a teacher in the public schools of Indiana, for a
period of five years. He supplemented his education also by a course in
the commercial department of the Northern Indiana Normal School &
Business College, an institution now known as Valparaiso University.
In consonance with his laudable ambition and well formulated plans,
the Doctor finally was matriculated in the Indiana Medical College, at
Indianapolis, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1807
and from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He forth-
with established his residence at Montpelier, and here he has continued
in active and successful practice during the intervening period of more
than a decade and a half, all extraneous interests having been subordi-
nated to the demands of his profession, which he has significantly dig-
nified and honored by his services and his observance of the highest
ethical code of his chosen vocation. In 1900 he completed an effective
post-graduate course in the New York Post Graduate Medical College,
in the national metropolis, and since that time, though continuing Ids
labors as a general practitioner, he has given special attention to the
treatment of the diseases of the eye. ear, nose and throat. Dr. Reynolds
has been essentially a close and appreciative student of the best of the
standard and periodical literature of his profession, and he furthers his
technical precedence also through his active affiliation with the Ameri-
can Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Society and the
Blackford County Medical Society.
Dr. Reynolds is a son of Pleasant and Caroline (Bolton") Reynolds,
the former of whom was born in Virsrinia and the latter in the State of
New York. The lineage of the Reynolds family is traced back to staunch
English origin and representatives of the name settled in the historic Old
170 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Dominion State in an early day. The marriage of the parents was
solemnized in Adams county, Indiana, and Pleasant Reynolds became
one of the prosperous and highly esteemed farmers of French town-
ship, that county, where he continued to reside until his death, which
occurred in 1895, his birth having occurred in the year 1816. He came
from Virginia to Indiana in the early pioneer days, in 1839, and at that
time the city of Bluffton, judicial center of Wells county, was repre-
sented by only four houses. There he remained for a time and finally
removed to Adams county, where he purchased wild land and eventually
developed a productive and valuable farm. His cherished and devoted
wife, who was his veritable helpmeet, was bom in the year 1833 and,
surviving him by a number of years, she was summoned to the life eternal
at the age of sixty-six years. Both were zealous members of the New
Light Christian church and in politics Mr. Reynolds was first a whig
and later a republican. Of the five children, all sons, the Doctor was the
third in order of birth, and all are still living, with well established homes
and attractive family relations.
Dr. Reynolds is a most enthusiastic advocate of the principles and
policies of the progressive party and he took a specially active and influ-
ential part in effecting the organization of its Blackford county con-
tingent, the party gaining decisive victories in electing a number of its
candidates in the county in the election of 1912. For six years he was a
member of the Montpelier school board. He was also instrumental in
obtaining for Montpelier the Carnegie library. He sketched the plans
for the building and was chairman of the building committee. Also a
member of the library board for eight years. In a fraternal way the
Doctor is affiliated with the Hartford City Lodge of the Benevolent
& Protective Order of Elks, and in his home county it may consistently
be said that his circle of friends and admirers is limited only by that of
his acquaintances.
In Wells county, this State, in the year 1899, was solemnized the
marriage of Dr. Reynolds to Miss Lillie M. Sehott, who was born in that
county, in June, 1872, and who is a daughter of George and Hannah
(Keller) Sehott, both natives of Ohio and of German lineage. Mr. and
Mrs. Sehott came from Ohio to Indiana after the close of the Civil war,
and he had become one of the extensive landholdei-s and influential citi-
zens of Wells county, where he owns three admirably improved farms,
besides which he has valuable landed interests in Ohio and Missouri.
Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds have two daughters, Grace C. and Ruth, both of
whom are students in the public schools of Montpelier. Dr. Reynolds
is the owner of one of the largest private libraries in the county.
Chester I. Brickley. In the colonial days four brothers came from
the German fatherland and found homes in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the home of the first two or three gen-
erations, and from that state the descendants scattered to the West, and
since early in the history of eastern Indiana one line has been repre-
sented in Blackford county and vicinity, and it is to that branch Chester
I. Brickley, of Hartford City, belongs. Quiet but effective citizenship,
usefidness as members of the community, prosperity in business affairs,
and worth and integrity of character have been prominent elements in
the family history.
John Brickley, grandfather of Chester I., grew up in Pennsylvania
and became a farmer and coal miner. While still young and unmarried
he moved to the vicinity of Youngstown. Ohio, and there married Mary
Woodward, who was a native of Ohio. On a farm in that neighborhood
they spent the rest of their days, and reared their family of seven sons
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 171
and the old homestead is still in possession of their descendants near
Youngstown. One of these sons, Joshua, still lives at Akron, Ohio, is
quite old and has a son aud daughter.
Jehu Brickley, father of Chester 1.. was the lift 1 1 in the number of
seven sons, and was horn in 1835. After his youth had been spent in
Ohio he moved to Indiana just before the war, and Located at Portland,
in Jay county. From there he went out as a private in the Seventieth
Regiment of Indiana Infantry, and saw one year of service, returning
without wounds. On again taking up the duties of civil life lie learned
the trade of harness maker in Hartford City, and that was his occupa-
tion until his health failed, when he turned his attention to the timber
business and in that way regained his strength. He was next a grain
dealer for twenty years, and finally retired, and the three years of
his life prior to his death, in 1903, were spent quietly, though he as-
sisted to some extent his son in the conduct of the latter 's business.
Jehu Brickley is remembered as a man of solid worth and quite active
in local affairs. He was a democrat, served several years in Hartford
City as city marshal, and was at one time commander of the Jacob Stahl
Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Jehu Brickley was married in Blackford county to Mrs. Esther Brick-
ley, the widow of his older brother. She was born in Pennsylvania of
Pennsylvania parents, but of German stock, the family having moved
out from Pennsylvania first to Wayne county and later to Wells county,
Indiana, and died in the latter county. Her parents were Henry and
Esther M. (Wagner) Kerschner. Both lived to a good old age, were
substantial farming people and members of the Lutheran church. Mrs.
Esther Brickley is now eighty-eight years of age, and quite feeble in
both mind and body. To the marriage of Jehu Brickley and wife were
born five children, of whom Chester I. is the only son. The four daugh-
ters were : Armitha, wife of John H. Sailor of Richmond, Indiana, and
their daughter, Edna, is the wife of Ralph Diffendoffer of New York
City ; Emma married Frank Forney of Hartford City, and their chil-
dren are Harry, Minta and Lucile, Minta being city librarian in Hart-
ford City ; Alice died when a young woman ; Lydia is the wife of Frank
MeEldowney of Hartford City, and their son Erie is a baker by trade,
while their daughter, Marie, is a trained nurse in Chicago.
Mr. Chester I. Brickley was born in Hartford City in a house that
stood on the lot now occupied by his bakery establishment. His birth
occurred December 14, 1867, and as he grew up he attended the local
schools and chose for his vocation the trade of baker. There is no more
useful calling than that of furnishing good food to the people, and it is
through that business that Mr. Brickley has performed his best service
to this community, and he is not only a good baker, but an excellent
citizen in all the word implies. His first business establishment was on
West Main street, but in 1913 he built his present quarters at 120 East
Main, having a building 60x120 feet. It is equipped with all the modern
facilities for first-class work, and his name has come to be associated with
high-class products.
Mr. Brickley was married in Hartford City to Ella Hughes, who
was born, reared and educated here, a daughter of Eli and Susan Ash-
baugh Hughes, of a Blackford county family that receives more de-
tailed mention on following pages. Mr. and Mrs. Brickley are the par-
ents of three children: Paul J., eighteen years of age and a member
of tin- class of 191-4 in the Hartford City high school; Verda S.. who
has finished the grade schools and is fourteen years of age; and John
F., aged five years. Mrs. Brickley is a Lutheran, while her son and
daughter are Methodists. Mr. Brickley has affiliations witli the Knights
of the Maccabees and in politics is a democrat.
172 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
The Hughes family to which Mrs. Briekley belongs had a part in the
pioneer development of Indiana. David Hughes, father of Eli and
grandfather of Mrs. Briekley, was born in Virginia, of Scotch ancestry,
and the name has been identified with Rockingham county prior to the
Revolutionary War. David Hughes was born about 1800 in Rockingham
county, and married there Eliza Gochnauer, also a native of Rocking-
ham county. She died when her son, Eli, was an infant. For his sec-
ond wife David Hughes married Martha Blunt, and in 1836 they moved
out to Indiana and began life as pioneers on raw government land.
David Hughes died when about sixty years of age, and his second wife
survived him and was also past three score mark. They left a family
of six or seven children, two of whom are yet living.
Eli Hughes, who was the only child of his mother, was reared by his
maternal grandparents, Samuel and Catherine (Gochnauer) Gochnauer.
They were likewise natives of Rockingham county and of German ances-
try. In 1836 they made the long overland journey across the mountains
and across the state of Ohio to Indiana, and entered two hundred and
forty acres of land in Jackson township of Blackford county. After
selecting his land Samuel Gochnauer walked the entire distance through
the woods and across the prairies to Fort Wayne in order to perfect
his claim and pay the usual fees at the Land Office. All the experiences
of the typical pioneer were the common lot of the Gochnauer family in
Blackford county. Samuel Gochnauer was remarkable for his strength
and endurance, and by actual test it is said that he could walk further
in a day than a horse. When he settled there it was cleared only in
spots, and practically every home was a rude log cabin, with a puncheon
floor, a rough door hung on leather straps, tables made of slabs, and
nearly all the domestic implements of the crudest sort. The original
log house was replaced by a hewed log habitation, and eventually this
farm of two hundred and forty acres was cleared and cultivated and
became the seat of prosperity. Samuel Gochnauer was a cooper by
trade, and one of the most expert workmen in all the pioneer community.
There was no vessel made of wood which he could not perfect, and it is
related that, in spite of his skill, he worked many a day for a dollar
per diem, which was considered high pay. He was one of the strong
adherents of the Jacksonian Democracy in Blackford county, and was
honored by election as county commissioner. His death occurred when
seventy-six years of age on his farm in section 6 of Jackson township.
He passed away during the decade of the seventies, and had been pre-
ceded several years by his wife, when past sixty. In religion they were
German Reformed.
Eli Hughes was born on the old homestead on section 6 of Jackson
township, February 19, 1840. That was the scene of his boyhood and
youth, and while on his grandfather Gochnauer 's farm he gave his
labors to clearing up and improving much of the land. Eventually he
came to possess one hundred and ninety-six acres, and continued its
active management until 1878. In that year public duties withdrew him
from active farming, and he moved to Hartford City to assume the
duties of the office of county treasurer, in which he served four years,
two terms. After that he engaged in the grocery business in Hartford
City, and purveyed reliable goods to this community for twenty years.
Mr. Hughes is still living, having retired from business about ten years
ago, and is the owner of much valuable property in the county seat.
His home is at 501 East Water street, For the past eight years he has
served as a member of the county council, having been a member of that
body practically since its creation. Politically he is one of the most
influential men in Blackford county, and has been a delegate to county,
congressional and state conventions.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 173
Mr. Eli Hughes was married in Washington township of Blackford
county, to Susan Ashbaugh, who was horn in Pennsylvania, in 1844,
and when a young girl was brought by her family to Blackford county,
locating on a new farm in Washington township. Her parents were
Jesse and Catherine (Stahlsmith) Ashbaugh, both natives of Pennsyl-
vania. They took up their residence in Blackford county during the
early fifties, and her father entered and improved eighty acres of Land.
That homestead was the place where both he and his wife died, when
past sixty years of age.
Mr. and .Mrs. Eli Hughes are the parents of seven children: Malinda,
deceased; Catherine. Samuel J.. Flora, Emma, deceased; Louisa and
Walter. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes are both active members of the Lutheran
church of Hartford City.
Frederick G. .Miller, From the great empire of Germany the
United States has had much to gain and nothing to lose, for Germany
has given to our republic an element of citizenship than which can be
found none superior in intellectual and material productiveness and ster-
ling worth of character. Of this element an honored and venerable repre-
sentative in Blackford county was the late Frederick Miller, who passed
the gracious evening of his life, retired from active labors, in the little
city of Montpelier and who had the unqualified respect and high re-
gard of the entire community.
Mr. Miller was born in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, on the 11th
of November, 1836, aDd he sturdily and without perturbation passed the
psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, admirably pre-
served in both mental and physical powers, his death occurring at his
home in Montpelier on the 4th of June, 1908. He was a scion of an
old and influential family of Bavaria, where in past generations the
name was one of prominence in connection with industrial and civic
affairs. Christoph Miller, grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was
born in Bavaria in the latter part of the eighteenth century and there
he died about the year 186(1. having been successful in business, as
operator of both grist and flour mills, and having been influential in
local affairs of a public order. He was survived by only one child.
Christoph, Jr., who was born about the j r ear 1795. and who was reared
in his native town, where he eventually succeeded to the substantial
milling business of his father and where he continued to reside until
his death, at the age of sixty-two years. In 1815 was solemnized his
marriage, the personal name of his wife having been Margaret, and
she having been born and reared in the same vicinity as her husband,
and both having been zealous members of the Lutheran church. Their
eldest son, Andrew, passed his entire life in Bavaria, was operator of a
grist mill for a term of years and though he married he left no children ;
Margaret reared her children and passed her entire life in her native
land, as did also her sisters, Elizabeth and Anna ; Henry came to the
United States in 1838 and became a pioneer of Wells county. Indiana,
where he passed the residue of his life and where he reared his family
of ten children: John A. G. resides in Montpelier. this county, and is
individually mentioned on other pages of this history; Catherine came
to the United States and in Ohio she married a fellow countryman
named Geo. Fensel, her home having been for many years in Blackford
county, Indiana, where she died, leaving two sons and one daughter:
and Frederick G., of this review, was the youngest of the number, the
devoted mother having been fifty-one years of age when she was sum-
moned to the life eternal.
Frederick G. Miller was a youth at the time of his mother's death.
174 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
aud at the age of fifteen years lie severed the ties that bound him to
home and fatherland, where he had been reared to the trade of miller
and had received the advantages of the schools of his home town, and
he came with his sister, Catherine, to the United States, residing for a
time in Ohio, and thence coming with the same sister to Blackford
county, Indiana, where he became identified with the milling business
on Salamonie creek, near Montpelier, this milling enterprise having been
founded by his elder brother, Henry. In the ownership and operation
of this early grist mill Mr. Miller later became associated with his
brother, John A. G., and they there continued the enterprise success-
fully for many years. Frederick finally retired from this field of busi-
ness and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He purchased
a farm near the village of Montpelier, and he developed this into one
of the model places of the county, the fine old homestead, adjacent to
the town, having continued to be his place of abode until he was called
from the stage of life's mortal endeavors, in the fullness of years and
well earned honors. Mr. Miller was a man of strong individuality, posi-
tive and well fortified in his convictions, and endowed with fine mental
powers, and these attributes combined with his sterling integrity to
make him a man of influence and one worthy of the unequivocal con-
fidence and esteem that were always accorded to him. He was a staunch
supporter of the cause of the democratic party, was liberal and public-
spirited, and both he and his wife were earnest members of the Baptist
church.
In 1856, in Wells county, this State, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Miller to Miss Charlotta Lowrey, who was born in Guernsey county,
Ohio, on the 12th of May, 1838, and who was twelve years of age at
the time of her parents' removal to Wells county, Indiana. She proved
a devoted and loved companion and helpmeet to her husband and her
memory is revered by all who came within the compass of her gentle
and kindly influence. She survived her husband only a brief interval
and her death occurred on the 9th of June, 1910. The eldest of the
children is Andrew, who is a well known citizen of Montpelier, who mar-
ried Miss Katherine Murray, and who has three sons and one daugh-
ter; Hanna is the wife of William Bonham, of Montpelier, and they
have six children; Miss Jennie R. remains at the old homestead and has
kindly supplied the data from which this brief memoir to her honored
father is prepared ; Benjamin died in childhood ; Lillie May became the
wife of George Kelley, and died when a young woman, leaving one son,
Frederick; Lottie is the wife of Daniel Davis, of Sharon, Pennsylvania,
and they have three children, Jeanette, Adelbert and Glenn; Mollie is
the wife of Dr. Charles G. Mulvey, of Auburn, New York, and they
have one son, John Sellers Mulvey ; and Kittie is the wife of John Bain,
of Mount Etna, Huntington county, she having one son, Max, by her
first marriage, to the late Harry O'Donnell.
Miss Jennie R. Miller acquired her early educational discipline in the
public schools of her native county, and her deep filial love and solici-
tude caused her to care for her parents during the declining years of
their lives, — a service which is an enduring source of satisfaction to her
now that the loved ones have passed forward to the "land of the leal."
She remains in the attractive old family homestead, on Warren avenue,
Montpelier, and the place is a favored rendezvous for her many friends,
who are ever assured of gracious welcome and good cheer.
John S. Leach. That deep affection for Nature, as the chosen handi-
work of God, which invests the plants, the flowers and the trees with a
kind of companionable personality, is not given to every man to exper-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES n.j
ience, but where this gift is bestowed the world finds one in whom vet
lingers the faith and gentleness of childhood, combined with the strength,
courage and patience of maturity. In this connection mention may be
made of John S. Leach, proprietor of the Hartford City Floral Com-
pany, located at the corner of Seventh and Walnut street, which was
established some twenty years ago by Mr. Leach in a modest manner,
and which has grown to extensive proportions, including 15,000 square
feet of glass, and a plant finely equipped in every way. Mr. Leach grows
titty varieties of pelargoniums, and forty-five varieties of Rex begonias,
for the wholesale market, grows about 50,000 of these plants annually.
and from one customer alone has orders for 30,000 plants. In addition
Mr. Leach grows vegetables for commercial purposes. His steam beating
plant is of the most modern design and equipment, and heats his green-
house and his home, and the plant is located on eight acres of land .just
outside of the city limits, well adapted to its present purposes. Flow-
ers and plants are here grown for the local trade, as well as transferable
plants, and his floral pieces for funerals are of the finest and most beauti-
ful design.
John S. Leach was born at Perryopolis, Fayette county. Pennsyl-
vania, May 26, 1853, and there grew up and was educated. He learned
as a youth the trade of window glass cutter, and followed that occupa-
tion for some years after coming to Hartford City, but abandoned that
occupation when his floral business grew to such proportions that it
demanded all of his time and attention. He has always been a thrifty
man of progressive spirit, characteristics which he has inherited from a
long line of sturdy ancestors. He comes of old Pennsylvania stock, his
grandfather, Richard Leach, having been born in the city of Philadel-
phia, about the year 1800. A maker of staves and shingles, he con-
tinued to reside in his native state until his death at the age of eighty-
four years. The grandfather was twice married, his first wife dying in
Pennsylvania in early life, while the second wife, who also passed away in
Pennsylvania, left two sons and two daughters: Ann, Samuel, David
and Catherine, all of whom are now deceased, and all were married
except Ann.
Samuel Leach, the father of John S. Leach, was born in Somerset
county, Pennsylvania, about 1830 or 1832, and was a window glass con-
tracting packer in his native state. There he married Julia Husher, who
was born in Pennsylvania about the year 1835, of Pennsylvania-Dutch
ancestry. In 1872, with his wife and family, Mr. Leach removed to
Ohio, and settled in Carroll county, but five or six years later returned
to MeKeesport, Pennsylvania, and became a small fruit grower. In this
occupation he was engaged until his death, which occurred in 1907. Mrs.
Leach had passed away about five years before, when she was seventy-
eight years of age. They were strong Methodists, Mr. Leach being class
leader for a number of years. During a long period he supported the
candidates and principles of the republican party, but eventually turned
his attention to the prohibition party, with which he voted until his
death. Three children were born to Samuel and Julia (Husher) Leach,
as follows: John S. of this review; Samuel, an ironworker of Pennsyl-
vania, who is married and has a family; and Catherine, the wife of
Albert Golf, who is engaged in selling houses by the installment plan
at Butler, Pennsjdvania, and has a family.
The public schools of his native locality furnished John S. Leach
with his educational training. While still a resident of Carroll county,
Pennsylvania, Mr. Leach was married to Malissa Keith, who was born in
Iowa, in August. 1861, was there reared and educated, a daughter of Eli
Keith, of Pennsvlvania. now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Leach have been the
176 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
parents of three children: Charles E., born in Carroll county, Ohio,
September 12, 1874, educated at McKeesport, Pennsylvania, was for
eleven years a practical glass cutter, and is now engaged in business
with his father, near whom he lives, married Leatha Butler, of Shingle-
house, Pennsylvania, and has four children, Eleanor, John, Keith and
Gilbert, the elder three in school; Alda, born also in Carroll county,
educated in the public schools of Hartford City, Indiana, and now the
wife of Dr. William A. Hollis, a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose
and throat, at Hartford City, and has four children, — Esther, William,
Arthur and John; and Albertie, who died at the age of three and one-
half years.
Mr. and Mrs. Leach are members of the Seventh Day Adveutist
Church of Hartford City, being a local elder, an office to which he
was ordained in August, 1907, for seven years. In political matters he
is a republican, with prohibition tendencies.
William G. Braden. The enterprise which has continued the de-
velopment begun by the pioneers of Blackford county is well exemplified
in the career of William G. Braden, whose home is in Harrison township,
and whose farm is one of the best in its general equipment and pro-
ductive management in that section of the county. Mr. Braden came to
Blackford county some years ago to work in the oil fields, and finally
turned his attention to farming, and the generous success which is his
has been the result of his undivided attention to business.
William G. Braden is a native of Illinois, born in Sangamon county
December 29, 1868, a son of Orlando and Mary J. (Farley) Braden.
Both parents were also natives of Illinois. In 1859 the family moved
out to Neosho county, in southeastern Kansas, and Orlando Braden
was one of the pioneer settlers in that locality. He still lives there,
is a prosperous farmer and stock raiser, and the father of a family of
eight children. The five now living are Charles, George, William G..
Alonzo and Melissa, the wife, of J. M. Davis. All the children live in
Kansas except William G. Pheba died aged twenty -six years; Roy died
aged thirty-nine years, and Wallace died aged six years.
William G. Braden was a year old when the family moved from Illi-
nois to Kansas, and it was in the Sunflower state that he grew up, acquired
a district schooling, and on leaving school took up the serious business
of life as a farmer. He married in Kansas Miss M. E. Bennett, and they
began life as a renter on his father's farm. Five years were spent in
that way, and in 1896 Mr. Braden was attracted to the oil fields of East-
ern Indiana and thus located south of Montpelier in Blackford county.
After about two years in the oil fields, he purchased a farm in 1898.
and is now proprietor of sixty acres in Harrison township. His profits
have come from the raising of cattle, hogs and horses, and all his crops
are fed on his land.
Mr. and Mrs. Braden have had three children : Wallace, who died
at the age of three years; Samuel 0., who is a graduate of the com-
mon schools, lives in Montpelier; Ilena, a graduate of the Montpelier
high school, is now the wife of Oscar Iber, who lives in Chicago. The
family are members of the Baptist church, and Mr. Braden is a deacon
and trustee in that church at Montpelier. He also affiliates with Mont-
pelier Lodge No. 188, Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a pro-
gressive.
William II. Thaep. One of the highly progressive and thoroughly
capable farmers of Blackford county, who now owns and operates a well-
improved farm in section 8, Washington township, was born on the old
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 177
Tharp family homestead hi Mercer county, Ohio, August 22, 1862, and is
a sou of William and Lucy (Woodard) Tharp, natives respectively of
North Carolina and Virginia. They both came of Southern parentage,
and soon alter their marriage in Virginia -moved to Mercer county,
Ohio, locating on a new farm in Monroe township, where Mr. Tharp
developed a property of sixty acres. There his family of ten children
were born, eight of whom lived to come to Indiana, four sons and four
daughters. On locating in Blackford county, the family sell led mi a
partly improved farm of eighty acres, in section 7, Washington town-
ship, and there the eight children grew to maturity. Oue, John, married
and is now deceased, as is also his wife, while one daughter survives
him; George E., a merchant at Bluffton, was struck by an engine while
crossing the Lake Erie tracks, hurled 300 feet and instantly killed, in
.March. 1913, when he was forty-two years of age. he leaving a widow but
no children.
"William II. Tharp was the tilth in order of birth of his parents' chil-
dren, and was fourteen years of age when he came to Blackford county
in the fall of 1875. Two years later the father died, at the age of
fifty-one years, while the mother survived until 1881, and was also
fifty-one years old. They were well-known Christian people, and Mis.
Tharp was especially active in the work of the Christian church. Mr.
Tharp was a lifelong adherent of the principles of the democratic party.
Mr. William H. Tharp grew to manhood in Washington township, ami
entered upon a career of his own when he purchased a tract of forty
acres, in 1892, on which he resided for some two years, then renting the
William Kelley farm, which continued to be his home and the seem- of
his operations for eight years more. In 1901 he purchased thirty acres
in section 17, to which he subsequently added thirty acres in section 8,
and he now has the land all under a high state of improvement, with
good barns, tool shed, granary and other buildings and an attractive
eight-room white residence. Good water facilities are found on the
farm, but it is well drained and very productive. Mr. Tharp is a good
business man and bears a high reputation among his neighbors.
Mr. Tharp was married in Washington township, to Miss H. Ella
Cunningham, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, January 3. 1862, and
came to Blackford county as a young woman with her parents, George
W. and Elizabeth (Hasketf) Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham died at
Gas City, Grant county, Indiana, at the age of sixty-five years, while
the mother passed away at the age of fifty-one years, at Muncie, Indiana.
They were faithful members of the Christian church. These children
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Tharp : Harry, born September 2,
1884. educated here and married Verdie Frank, lives on his father's
farm and has two children. — L. Twylah, born October 22. 1912. and Opal
Deloris. born May 31, 1914; Burr F.. born August 8. 1887, educated in
the graded schools and now employed with a fire extinguishei ocern,
married Pear] Pry, of Grant county, and has one child. — Xevil ('Ian-
Marie, born October 29. 1896. a graduate of the Hartford City High
school, class of 1915; and I. Maybell, born November 6. 19f)0. attending
the graded schools. Mr. and Mrs. Tharp attend various churches ami
are generous in their support of religious and charitable movements. In
polities Mr. Tharp is a democrat.
Solomon E. Harter. The oil industry has brought a number of
enterprising citizens to Blackford count.v, and among them is Solomon
E. Harter. who a few years ago retired from a work in which he had
gained a reputation as one of the most successful oil well drillers in the
middle west, and having bought a farm in Washington township has
178 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
since applied himself no less successfully to its management and culti-
vation.
Mr. Harter comes of German ancestry on the paternal side. His
grandfather Henry Harter, who was born of German parents at Ilion,
New York, more than a hundred and ten years ago, spent all his career
in that state, and died near the town of Panama near Chautauqua not
long after the close of the (Jivil War. His last few years had been
spent in retirement. As an active man he was a successful farmer.
His wife was also a New York state woman and her death occurred at
Panama, when about four score years of age. They were Methodists,
and Henry Harter was first a whig and later a republican voter.
Of the children born to Henry Harter and wife, Jared L., father
of Solomon, was one of the older. He was born June 21, 1818. His
brothers and sisters were: Henry, Jr., who lived and died at Buffalo,
New York, where he was a business man, and reared a family; James
lived and died on his father's homestead in Chautauqua county, New
York, and was about eighty years of age at the time of his death,
leaving two sons and three daughters; Harvey, who spent most of his
life in New York state but subsequently went out to Minnesota and
died there when about seventy years of age, was in business lines
and married and had a family ; Mary married Samuel Paddock of New
York state, both died in Panama when about seventy years of age, and
they reared a family of several children; Eliza first married George
Johnson, by whom she had two sons, and later married a widower,
Solomon Edwards; Vera became the wife of Henry Woodrick, and
when they died in Jamestown, New York, they left a family.
Jared L. Harter grew up in New York state near the town of Ilion,
and eventually became a thrifty farmer in Chautauqua county. He
married Cynthia E. Paddock, who was born in Chautauqua county
and was reared there coming of English ancestry. After four children
had been born to them, named Henry, Darwin, Vera and John, the
parents in 1854 moved to Pennsylvania, settling in the western part
of the state in Crawford county, and a farm in that locality was the
home of Jared and wife until the close of their years. Jared died
January 14, 1905, and his widow, who was horn March 26, 1820, sur-
vived him two years. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and while in politics he was a Republican, he was especially
strong in his support of the prohibition principles. He was one of the
influential citizens of Richmond township in Crawford county. In
addition to the four children born in New York state the three born in
Pennsylvania were Solomon E., Lucy and Gilbert. These seven chil-
dren are all now living, and are the heads of families.
Solomon E. Harter, who was born January 20, 1857, grew up on
the western Pennsylvania farm, was educated in the local schools, and
his early youth was spent near the great oil district of Pennsylvania.
On becoming of age he went to what was then the far west, the state
of Nebraska, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of government
land in Holt county, thirty miles from O'Neil, the county seat. After
proving up his claim he returned to Pennsylvania, and later was mar-
ried in Ohio to Miss Hattie J. Counts. She was born in Allen county,
Ohio, April 15, 1875, was reared and educated there, and has many
noteworthy family connections. Her parents were Squire and Eliza
(Monroe) Counts. Squire Counts was born in Virginia August 7,
1839, and his wife in Putnam county, Ohio, October 2, 1836. They
were married in Allen county, Ohio, and he began his career as a
groceryman at Delphos and later in Spencerville, in Allen county.
Subsequently he was engaged in business as a contractor, and now lives
in Spencerville, Ohio, the possessor of means and the honor and esteem
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 179
that accompany good citizenship. He and his wife are members of
the Christian church, and he is a republican. Squire Counts when
a young man ran away from home in order to give his service to the
preservation of the Union during the Civil War. He was a member
of the Thirty-tirst Ohio Infantry, and escaped with only a slight gun-
shot wound in the right shoulder. He was one of rive brothers, all
of whom saw military service, the others being Isaac, Conrad, William
and John. John was killed on one of the battlefields of the South.
The parents of Squire Counts were Virginia people who moved to Ohio
and were pioneers of Allen county, where they died on t he farm that
their labors had improved from the wilderness, and both were quite old.
Mrs. Eliza Counts, the wife of Squire Counts, was born in Ohio, the
daughter of Dr. John and Adelaid (Stewart) Monroe. Her mother
was a daughter of Nathaniel Keziah Stewart. Dr. John Monroe was
born iu New York state about 1820 and came with his parents to Ohio
in 1836. Both the Stewart and Monroe families were pioneer settlers
in Uuion county. Ohio, and in that vicinity Dr. John Monroe and wife
were married, later moving to Putnam county, and finally to Allen
county, where Dr. Monroe practiced medicine at Spencerville until his
death. Pie was a prominent physician, .served as a member of the state
legislature for some time, and was one of the leading men in the Demo-
cratic party in that section of Ohio. His widow, who was born August
24, 1S20, died February 2, 1906. She was a prominent worker in the
Christian church at Spencerville, of which she was a charter member.
Solomon E. Harter first became interested in the oil development
in Blackford county in 1892, and after his marriage in Ohio moved
his home to this county. As a contractor drilling wells for the Stand-
ard Oil Company and other parties in the Eastern Indiana field, he
was for some years constantly employed, and his record as a driller
includes the sinking of an aggregate of two hundred thousand feet
of wells in Blackford, Wells and Grant counties. In the developing
of oil fields he was for some time associated with Frank Corn. Xo
man in eastern Indiana had a reputation for more skillful or successful
work as a w r ell driller than Mr. Harter. In 1906, having bought a
fine farm of one hundred and forty-five acres in Sections 11 and 12
of "Washington township, Mr. Harter retired from the oil industry and
is now a contented and prosperous producer of the crops of the soil.
His farm when he bought it was well improved, and since that time he
has erected in 1907 an excellent barn, and also a comfortable dwelling
house. After the completion of his residence he moved his family from
Montpelier. His land is made to produce heavy crops of corn, oats
and hay, but very little of this finds its way to market, since he derives
his revenues chiefly from horses and cattle. His excellent business
judgment has stood him in good stead as a practical farmer.
Mr. and Mrs. Harter are the parents of two children: Ruth Emma,
born October 7, 1903, is a bright young lady now in the sixth grade
of the public schools; Boyd Edward was born May 21, 1908. Mr.
and Mrs. Harter attend the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics
he is a republican.
Philip Schmidt. The agricultural labor of Philip Schmidt has
spanned upwards of a half a century of Blackford county history, and
has resulted in the ownership of valuable tracts of land in Washington
township. During thirty-seven years of this time Mr. Schmidt has
been the owner of the property on which he now resides, a handsome,
well-cultivated tract lying in section 2. to the improvement of which
he has devoted his constant time and attention. In his community he
is recognized as a man of substance and worth, and his accomplish-
180 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
merits have been such as to give him a prominent place among the
developers of his county.
Mr. Schmidt, as his name would indicate, is of German descent, his
grandparents spending their entire lives in the German province of
Hesse-Darmstadt. There his father, Wilhelm Schmidt was born in
1807, was educated in the public schools, and learned the trade of
weaver. Wilhelm Schmidt was married in 1839 to Anna M. Schwinn,
who had been born in the same province, February 23, 1819, and
whose parents died when she was a child. Soon after their union they
started for the United States, the trip across the ocean in a sailing
vessel requiring seven weeks, and the young couple settled at Cham-
bersburg, Pennsylvania, where the father pursued his trade for some
time, receiving as wages eighteen cents per day. He accepted
whatever honorable employment presented itself, and out of his
meagre earnings was able to purchase an outfit, and with this
moved to Indiana and established a home in Delaware county, where
his wife's half-brother had located some time before. There Mr.
Schmidt cleared land under lease, improved and drained it, and de-
veloped one of the fine farms of the locality, a tract of eighty acres.
Within five years, through tireless industry, thrift and economy, he
had saved enough money to come to Blackford county and purchase
204 acres of excellent land, located in section 3, Washington township,
which was partly improved, with ordinary farm buildings and a few
primitive implements. Mr. Schmidt settled down to drain this land,
putting in the greater amount of drains himself and these being con-
structed of wood. Probably no man in the state has done more hard
work in clearing, draining and improving- land than did Mr. Schmidt,
for he was a large and powerful man, capable of accomplishing much,
and with tireless ambition and determination. Mr. Schmidt died on
his farm in 1869 and was buried in a small cemetery on his
farm which he had donated for the use of the public, while his
widow survived him many years, and passed away at the old place
in May, 1905. She was a true and faithful wife and devoted mother,
and like the father was industrious, energetic and painstaking. They
were faithful members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr.
Schmidt was a strong democrat. The children of Wilhelm and Anna
M. (Schwinn) Schmidt were as follows: William, who was drafted
into an Indiana regiment during the Civil War, served about two years,
returned safely to his home and engaged in farming, and died at the.
age of seventy -three years, leaving a widow and five sons; Peter, who
had a similar military experience, was married in Wells county, Indi-
ana, and has had two sons and one still is living, — Daniel; Margaret,
deceased, who married Christopher Blody, also deceased, and left two
daughters, — Mary A. and Dora ; Jacob, who died some twenty-five
years ago, after his marriage, leaving a son and a daughter. — William
J. and Maggie, who both married and had children : Michael, a farmer
and miller, who conducted a mill for many years in Washington town-
ship, married Hannah, the only daughter of David McConkey, both
deceased, and later married Miss Hughes, and at his death left
two children, — Lena M. Ray and Laura, now deceased; Mary A.,
who became the wife of Jasper McConkey, and died without issue;
Louisa, who married late in life, after the death of her sister, Mr. Mc-
Conkey, and had no children ; Adam, a sketch of whose career will be
found in another part of this work; Philip, of this review; and Har-
mon, who died at the age of eleven years.
Philip Schmidt was born in Delaware county, Indiana, February
18. 1856, and was six years of age when he accompanied his parents to
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 181
Blackford county. Since that time he has resided within the countj s
borders. He received his education in the public schools, and inherited
the farm which he still owns in section 3, in November, 1877, a trad of
eighty acres to which he subsequently added twenty acres by purchase.
All of this land is now under a high state of cultivation, and is known
as Forest Grove Farm. The large barn, 36x56, built in 1902, is well
equipped with the most modern improvements, and is well adapted to
stock feeding. He built his comfortable eight-room, yellow house in
1S86, and has various other structures, which all combine to give
the farm an attractive and prosperous appearance, hi addition to
carrying on general farming Mr. Schmidt grows Poland-China regis-
tered swine, blooded cattle of the Short Horn breed, a good grade of
horses and Cotswold sheep. His business transactions have ever been
characterized by a strict adherence to the highest principles and his
reputation among his associates is therefore an enviable one.
Mr. Schmidt was married in Washington township, to Miss Martha
J. Shrader, who was born May 8, 1858, in Blackford county, Indiana,
daughter of John R. and Mary Ann (Cochran) Shrader. The family
was founded in this locality by Absalom Shrader, the grandfather of
Mrs. Schmidt, who came from Germany and entered land in Washing-
ton township which is now owned by Mr. Schmidt, and here the grand-
parents spent the remainder of their lives, as did the parents. All
were well known and highly honored people of their community, where
they were numbered among the solid and substantial residents. To
Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt there have been born the following children:
Orville, a mechanic of Dundee (Roll P. 0.), married Dora Stevenson,
and has three daughters and two sons, — Lillie M., Bertha. Milo W.,
Laura and Glenn ; Rexford, a farmer of Washington township, mar-
ried Addie Sills, and they have no children ; Herbert L., born January
11, 1887, was well educated in the public schools and the Marion Nor-
mal school, for eight years has been a teacher and has been very
popular with his pupils and their parents alike since taking his first
school at the age of eighteen years, married Bertha Littlebridge, who
was born in Blackford county in 1889, educated at Eaton, Indiana,
and Celina, Ohio, and is the mother of two children, — Martha E. and
Herbert L. ; and Frances Cordelia, who was well educated, being a
graduate of the Dundee High school, and is now residing at home with
her parents.
Philip Schmidt is a member of the Lutheran church, but Mrs.
Schmidt, while supporting all religious bodies, is affiliated with none.
The father and sons are all earnest democrats, but merely as voters.
Herbert L. is a member of the Indiana State Teachers' Association.
Noah Dearduff. Iu every community are found men who started in
life with little education, without capital or influence, and who have
established themselves securely in their communities by means of un-
restricted industry, by adherence to the best ideals of citizenship and
personal worth, and enjoy their prosperity all the more for the fact
that it is of their own creation. In this class of Blackford county citizens
Noah Dearduff of Harrison township is a sterling representative, and he
also belongs to an old and respected family of the county.
Noah Dearduff was born on a farm in Harrison township, July 24.
1862, a son of Jacob and Ellen (Miller) Dearduff. Both parents were
Ohio people, came to Blackford county many years ago. and established
a home in Section 31 of Harrison township. At that place the father
died in 1892 and the mother in 1891. They became the parents of a
large family of eleven children, and the eight who are now living are
182 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
mentioned briefly as follows: Jane, wife of William Randolph, living
in Hartford City, Indiana; James L., a farmer in Harrison township;
Ann, wife of John Todd, of Marion, Indiana; Thomas, of Montpelier;
Mary E., wife of Charles Blair of Harrison township; Noah; John, of
Illinois; and Stella, wife of Abe Coulter of Hartford City.
While Noah Dearduff was growing up on the old farm in Harrison
township his services were required at home somewhat to the neglect
of his school education, but his own industry and energy have supplied
the deficiencies of early training. He lived at home until twenty-one,
and then was employed partly on the home farm and partly in the serv-
ice of neighboring farmers until the age of twenty-four. On February
19, 1888, occurred his marriage and the beginning of his independent
start in the world. The maiden name of his wife was Mary E. Taylor,
who was boru in Harrison township of Blackford county, April 4, 1863,
a daughter of William C. and Mary E. (Canter) Taylor. Both her par-
ents came to Indiana from Clinton county, Ohio, and her girlhood was
spent in Blackford county. Mr. and Mrs. Dearduff started out without
money, and made their first capital as renters, and worked land of
others for a period of nine years until ready to invest in their own
home. Their present place was bought in 1897, and they own a good
farm of fifty-three acres.
They are the parents of three children: Charles, deceased; Esther,
who is a graduate of the common schools and the wife of Chauncey
Roush, living in Montpelier; Albert E., born May 3, 1905, and now in
the third grade of the district school. The family have membership in
the United Brethren church, and they attend worship close to their own
home. In politics Mr. Dearduff is a prohibitionist and a strict believer
in the principles of temperance.
George W. Persinger. Nearly fifty years ago the Persinger family
was established in this section of Indiana, and George W. Persinger
through a long and active career has been identified with both Grant
and Blackford counties, and his accomplishments have been of such
a varied nature as to make him known not only as a prosperous farmer
but also as a building contractor whose operations have covered a large
scope of territory.
George W. Persinger is a native of West Virginia, although at the
time of his birth on April 7, 1850, it was Virginia. He was born near
Newcastle in Gregg county. His parents were Alexander and Pathma
(Robertson) Persinger. His father was born in what is now West Vir-
ginia in 1822. and his wife in North Carolina about 1825. They were
married in West Virginia, began life there as farmers, and continued
to live there until after the war and the separation of the western
section of old Virginia and its establishment as a sovereign state. In
May 1865 the Persinger familv migrated to Indiana, locating in Mon-
roe' township of Grant county.' The father continued his vocation as a
farmer and late in life moved to Washington township in Blackford
county' where his closing years were spent in peace and comfort. He
died in 1904 at the age of eighty-two. His widow had passed away
some twenty years previously. Both were people of many excellent
qualities of' heart and mind, and while communicants of no church
were in every essential true Christians. In politics he was a democrat.
Their children are briefly mentioned as follows: Zachanah, who
died leaving a family; George W. ; Martha A., who married Benjamin
Clark both of whom are deceased, being survived by a son and a
daughter- John Oliver, a Grant county farmer, who is married and
has a son and daughter: Emily, the widow of Isaac Emmett. lives in
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 183
Grant county and lias a sou aud three daughters; James E. is now a
mechanic employed in Gas City and has a son aud two daughters;
Frank is a farmer in Grant county and has a son and daughter; Lewis
died in young childhood; Mary D. is a resident of New York.
George W. Persinger Was about fifteen years old when his parents
moved to Indiana. From that time until beginning for himself, he
attended school and trained himself for the serious business of life,
and then took up the pursuits of farming and carpentry. Some years
ago he came to Blackford county aud bought one hundred and twelve
acres in Washington township. Subsequently he sold thirty acres of
his land, but still has eighty-two acres, and it is practically all im-
proved land and a very valuable estate. It is his home, but he rents
the land and devotes all his active attention to the building business.
His homestead is well improved with buildings. There are two barns,
and be recently erected one of these for stock purposes, the dimensions
being 30x50 feet. The large house or dwelling was built by him in
1911.
Mr. Persinger was married in Blackford county to Miss Hannah
Smithgall. She was born in Wells county, Ohio, May 7, 1855, was
reared and educated there, a daughter of George Smithgall, an early
Wells county settler and now deceased. Mrs. Persinger 's mother died
many years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Persinger are the parents of two chil-
dren : Harley died at the age of fifteen ; Lulu Fay, who was educated
in the common schools and now lives at home. The family are mem-
bers of the United Brethren church, and politically Mr. Persinger affili-
ates with the democratic party.
Isaac R. Harrold. Belonging to that class of workers whose prac-
tical education, quick perceptions and great capacity for painstaking
industry have had their influence in advancing them to positions of
prominence, Isaac R. Harrold is justly accounted one of the strong,
capable and stirring men of Blackford county, a progressive farmer, a
public-spirited citizen and a man of philosophical trend of mind. For
some years he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits in Washington
township, and through earnest and intelligent effort has made a place
for himself among the substantial and solid representatives of the farm-
ing industry here.
The Harrold family is Scotch origin, and early settled in Stokes
county. North Carolina, where the grandfather of Isaac R. Harrold.
Ithamer Harrold. was born in 1811. The family belonged to the
Quaker faith and for several years its members devoted themselves
principally to farming, but the grandfather w^as taught the hatter's
trade in his youth and followed this vocation for some years. He was
married in his native state to Miss Ruth Clampitt. of the same comity,
who came of similar ancestry and they became the parents of the fol-
lowing children, of whom all save the last-named were born in North
Carolina: Adeline, deceased; George E., father of Isaac R. ; Elizabeth,
Lewis and Hamilton, all deceased; Jane; William: Dr. John R.; Elias,
deceased, and Christian M. The family came to Indiana in 1852 and
settled on a farm in Jackson township. Wills county, where Ithamer
Harrold started to carry on agricultural work. His first labors in this
line were conducted on new land in Jackson township, which he cleared
and cultivated, and on which he resided until his death, in 1881. He
was first a whig and later a republican in bis political views and was
an influential factor in the affairs of his community. Mr. Harrold
was reared in the faith of the Quaker church, but later left that
denomination and became independent, in his views, although he was
184 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
at all times known as a devout and God-fearing citizen and a generous
contributor to all worthy movements. One of his brothers, Stroud Har-
rold, served for a time in the Confederate army, but was drafted
against his inclinations and at the first opportunity deserted, but was
captured and sentenced to death. The wife of lthamer Harrold was
born in 1812, in North Carolina and died in 18%, in the faith of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Of their large family all grew up and
were married, and three sons went through the Civil War as Union sol-
diers, two of them being wounded at the battle of Chickamauga. '
George E. Harrold, the father of Isaac R. Harrold, was born in
North Carolina, March 31, 1837, and was fifteen years of age when he
accompanied the family to Wells county, Indiana. He secured his
education in the public schools, and early adopted the vocation of
farming, in which he has been engaged all of his life. He is now
partly retired, but is still the owner of a property in Chester township,
where he makes his home, and in which locality he is highly esteemed
and respected. He is a republican in politics, and was reared in the
faith of the Methodist church, but is independent in his views both in
religious and political matters. Mr. Harrold married Sarah (better
known as "Sally") Minnich, who was born in 1840, in Ohio, of Ger-
man ancestry, the family having lived for a good many years in the
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, later moving to Clark county, Ohio,
and then to Wells county, Indiana, where about 1850 the, parents of
Mrs. Harrold, Jacob and Christina (Ebersole) Minnich, settled on
government land. Prom the days when they lived in a little log cabin
home until the time when they had a modern and substantial residence
and all the comforts of life, they witnessed the growth and development
of that section of Indiana, and accumulated a farm of 160 valuable
acres. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Minnich married
Mrs. Ann (Wright) Hamilton, who left no issue. Mrs. George E.
Harrold, the mother of Isaac R. Harrold, died in 1870, in the faith of the
United Brethren church, and Mr. Harrold was married to Mary
Minnich, a cousin of his first wife, who is still living and has had
six children, two sons and four daughters, all married. Isaac R. Har-
rold is the eldest of three sons born to the union of George E. and Sally
Harrold, the others being: Ross, who is engaged in the livery business
at Keystone, Indiana, is married and has three children, — Virgil, Grace
and Bernice; and James a farmer of Chester township, Wells county,
who is married and the father of two children : Helmer and Delmer.
Isaac R. Harrold was born in Jackson township, Wells county, Indi-
ana, September 17, 1861, and was educated in the district schools of his
native locality, and the high school at Bin lift on. As a youth of eighteen
years he adopted the vocation of teacher, starting his career in 1879 at
the Slacum school, Wells county, and remaining two years in this wild
flat swamp section of Indiana. Following this he taught the first school
in Mount Zion, where he continued for several years, and remained as
one of Wells county's best known and most popular educators until
1881, in which year he secured a half interest in a drug store at Dun-
dee (now Roll) with his uncle, Dr. John R. Harrold. Three years later
he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, when he purchased
forty acres of good land in section 8, Washington township, and this he
improved into a fertile and productive property, and as his finances
permitted added to his acreage from time to time. His first additional
purchase was a tract of twenty acres, later he added thirty acres adjoin-
ing, in section 8, and finally bought another thirty-nine acres, located
in section 4, on which were located good farm buildings. His home im-
provements include a fine red barn, commodious and well equipped, and
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 185
a seven-room white residence, which is well furnished with all modem
comforts ami conveniences. Mr. Harrold is one of the best educated
and best trained men in his part of the county, and since coming to his
present farm has served for five years in the capacity of principal of the
Dundee schools, lie grows a good grade of stock and is a practical
rotating farmer, but corn and oats are his stable crops. There is no
part of the farm that is not utilized profitably, even the woodland being
used as au adjunct for its supply of fuel. Mr. Harrold is a democral of
the active kind and in 1904 was elected to the office of township trustee,
a position in which he served for two years.
In 1885 Mr. Harrold was married in Blackford county to Miss At-
lanta M. Cunningham, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, September
1. 1MI6. was educated in Blackford ami Adams counties. Indiana, ami
was fourteen years of age when she came to Washington township with
her parents, William and Elizabeth (^Floyd) Cunningham. The father
was horn in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and tin- mother in
(bin., and they were married in the Buckeye state, subsequently coming
to Indiana and both passing away in Washington township, the father
in 1908. when nearly eight-one years of age, and the mother in 1900,
when nearly seventy-eight years old. They were the parents of five
children who grew to maturity, and of these four are still living. Mr.
and .Mrs. Harrold are the parents of four children: Sherman, born in
1887. educated in the country schools and Marion College, engaged in
farming on one of his father's properties, married Victoria Grabenstott,
of this county, and has two children, — Vesta .May and Francis M.; Ozro.
born March 10, 1890, educated in the public schools and residing at
home; Edna, born April 6. 1896, well educated and residing with her
parents; and May, born in March, 1906. now a student in the public
schools. Three children are deceased; Lillie who died at the age of ten
months; and George William, who died at the age of eleven months; and
Jay, who was four and onedialf years old at the time of his death.
Jacob Burnworth. The little village of Mollie in Harrison town-
ship has as one of its chief enterprises the store and factory of Jacob
Burnworth. Mr. Burnworth 1ms spent most of his life in eastern Indi-
ana, and many years in Blackford county, and every undertaking with
which he has been identified has helped him on his way to substantial
prosperity. Mr. Burnworth is a merchant and also does a large busi-
ness as a manufacturer of drain tile, building blocks and brick, and there
is probably not a resident in all the country tributary to Mollie who is
not acquainted with and who does not esteem Mr. Burnworth for his
valuable part in the citizenship of the county.
Jacob Burnworth is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Fayette county
November 15, 1840. a son of Mitchell and Susan (Riggle) Burnworth.
Both parents were Pennsylvanians. the father a native of Fayette county
and the mother of "Washington county. Some years after their mar-
riage they moved to Ohio, and after a few years came to Indiana and
located in Randolph county in 1861.
Jacob Burnworth grew up and was educated in Pennsylvania, Ohio
and Indiana, and after coming to Randolph county was married Novem-
ber 26. 1865. to Sarah E. Fidler. Her birthplace was Knox county, Ohio.
and when six years of age she accompanied her parents to Randolph
county, Indiana. There she grew to womanhood and her education
was acquired by attendance in the schools of Randolph county.
Mr. and Mrs. Burnworth moved to Blackford county in 1878. and
have therefore been identified witli this county for more than thirty-five
years. They are the parents of eight children, and it should also lie
186 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
noted that they have twenty grandchildren and three great-grandchil-
dren. This family record is one that indicates the usefulness and honor
of Mr. Burnworth and wife as much as his activity in business affairs.
The children's names and locations are as follows: Laura, who is the
wife of Albert E. Sutton, now serving as deputy sheriff of Blackford
county ; Lucius S., unmarried and living at Mollie ; Linus, who married
Stella Wilson; Elza, who married Emma Mourer, and lives in south-
western Indiana; Cora, the wife of Edward Ickes; Albert, who married
Kittie Bales; Ransom, who married Viola E. Heniser; John F., who
married Laura Gardner.
Mr. Burnworth is a democrat who has been honored in his community
and several years served as justice of the peace of Harrison township.
H. S. Thornburg. With a record of more than thirty years as a
resident of Blackford county, Mr. Thornburg has made his success as
a farmer, is a man of broad and thorough experience in the general lines
of agriculture, has spent practically all his life in the eastern Indiana
counties, and both for what he has done in practical affairs and for the
quiet influence which he has exerted in his community is one of the
highly esteemed men of Harrison township.
H. S. Thornburg was born in Delaware county, Indiana, August 16,
1855, a son of Curtis and Mahala (Clevenger) Thornburg. Both par-
ents came from Ohio to Indiana, and were married in Delaware county.
The father died in Delaware county, and the mother in Blackford county.
There were fourteen children, five of whom are still living, namely :
H. S. ; John, a retired farmer at Montpelier ; Jane, wife of Melville Hart,
of Harrison township ; Mary S., wife of David Yarger of Washington
township ; C. E., wife of Luther Williams of Jay county.
The early life of H. S. Thornburg was spent on a farm in Delaware
county until he was nineteen years of age. In the meantime he had
attended the public schools, and also had some schooling after the fam-
ily moved to Wells county, locating in Nottingham township. Early
in his manhood Mr. Thornburg was married in Wells county to Nancy
Emmons of Wells county. She became the mother of two children, both
of whom died when children, and Mrs. Thornburg is also deceased. After
her death he married Nettie Fetters of Randolph county.
Mr. Thornburg lived several years in Randolph county, moved from
there to Wells county, followed his regular vocation as a renter, and
about 1882 came to Blackford county. He acquired his present farm
of forty acres in Harrison township, and while providing for his family
has not neglected his duties as a neighbor and as a member of the com-
munity.
Mr. and Mrs. Thornburg are the parents of three children : Clayton,
who married Lillie Heniser; Anna, who finished the common school
course and is the wife of Charles Russell ; and Herbert Wayne, a grad-
uate of the Muncie Business College and now bookkeeper for the Muncie
Heat & Power Company.
The family have membership in the Christian church at Montpelier.
In politics Mr. Thornburg is a republican, and while never a seeker
for political honors has served as deputy assessor. It has been through
the exercise of the qualities of industry, as a good father and neighbor.
and a public spirited citizen that he has contributed his best service to
this locality.
Arthur M. Hart. In the township where he was born and reared,
Arthur M. Hart has for many years enjoyed a place of usefulness
and honor. His business is that of farmer, and in this section of Indiana
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 187
he has acquired considerable reputation as a breeder of fine hogs. Some
of the best Duroc Jersey swine in Blackford county have come from
his herd, which is headed by "Joe H." No. 22,897, and also by "Fernall
Pride's Model" No. 96,158. Every hog raiser in Harrison township
understands Mr. Hart's thorough qualifications for his special line of
industry, and his work has not only contributed to his own success but
has helped to raise the standards of live stock in this section of tin- .state.
Arthur M. Hart was born in Harrison township on a farm two miles
west and two miles south of Montpelier, May 1, 1871. His parents
were William and Rosanna (Mussetter) Hart. Both father and mother
came from Ohio, where they were born and reared, the former coming
to Blackford county at the age of thirteen, the latter accompanying; her
mother to the same county where the parents were married. The father
is still living in this county, and four of his children are living as fol-
lows: Mary, wife of Manson Williams; Arthur M. ; Rufus P., a farmer
in Blackford county ; and Lizzie, the widow of Edward Knox.
Arthur M. Hart grew up on the old homestead, attended the common
schools, but his education was somewhat neglected, and the deficiencies
in that direction have been supplied by close observation and industry
in his chosen career. His life was spent at home until the age of
twenty-four, and in September, 1894, he married Nola Kitterman. Mrs.
Hart was born in Wayne county, Indiana, attended district schools, and
was brought to Blackford county at the age of eleven. They are the
parents of one child, Helen B., born February 26. 1901.
Mr. Hart is affiliated with Roll Lodge No. 347, Knights of Pythias.
As a republican he has been somewhat identified with party affairs, and
has been honored by election to the office of supervisor of his township.
His home place comprises eighty acres of land, and besides his activity
as a hog raiser he has been successful in the production of the general
crops.
Charles J. Clamme. In business affairs probably no citizen of Jack-
son township lias more extended relations with the community than
Charles Clamme, who is known as a farmer and stock raiser, a shipper,
and a contractor in road building. He belongs to one of the well known
families of the county, and several of his brothers are associated with him
in the contracting business.
Charles J. Clamme was born in Washington township of Blackford
county, March 18, 1878, and is still a young man for all the success
that he has won. His parents are Pierre and Elizabeth (Spyre)
Clamme, both well known residents of Jackson township. His mother
was born in Cincinnati. Ohio, and the father in Germany, emigrating
to America, and after landing at New York city found his way to Black-
ford county, Indiana, in 1867. There are eight children in the family,
named as follows: John, a former sheriff of Blackford county and noted
as a successful raiser of fine stock. Shorthorn cattle and Poland China
hogs; Charles J.: Catherine, who is the wife of A. W. Stoll of Jackson
township : Albert, of Jackson township, a contractor and a stock feeder ;
Perry W., a farmer and contractor in Jackson township: Harry, also in
the contract business and a fanner; Lewis, a Jackson township farmer;
and Anna, unmarried and living with her parents. The sons Charles
J., Albert. Perry W. and Harry carry on an extensive business ;is con-
tractors under the name of Clamme Brothers, and have united their
interests in the construction of roads and the furnishing of material,
and also in the shipping of live stock. The active business manager of
the Clamme Brothers enterprise is Charles J.
Reared in Washington and Jackson townships, with an education
188 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
acquired in the local schools, Charles J. Claninie has spent nearly all
his life in Blackford county but for two years was in the state of Tennes-
see. The old home sheltered him until he was twenty-three, but from
the time he attained his majority he has been actively identified with
farming. Later he took up the contracting business in furnishing gravel
and stone materials for the construction of improved roads, and has
also been particularly successful in the buying and shipping of live
stock. Mr. Clamme owns a fine farm of two hundred and eighty-six
acres in Jackson and Harrison townships, and practically all that estate
represents his individual enterprise and management. On his farm he
feeds from one to two carloads of cattle every year, and raises most of
the feed stuffs to fatten his stock for market.
On December 24, 1901, Mr. Clamme married Arminda Empsweiller,
who was born in Jackson township. They are the parents of four chil-
dren: Charles J. P., born September 23, 1902; Harold H., born May
19, 1904; Minnie E., born December 30, 1906; and Edna H. born June
5, 1909. The family worship in the Evangelical Lutheran church at
Hartford City, and Mr. Clamme is one of the active members of the
Farmers Club. A Democrat he has been quite active in politics, has.
served as a local committeeman, and is now a member of the county
council, having been elected at large.
Samuel Landon. The Landon family have been identified with this
section of Indiana for fully half a century, and Samuel Landon has won
prosperity as a farmer and influence as a citizen in Jackson township,
with which community his efforts have been identified for the past forty
years.
Ripley county, Indiana, was the locality in which Samuel Landon was
born November 4, 1848, a son of William and Priscilla Powell Landon.
His father was born in Butler county, Ohio, and his mother in Maryland,
but they were married in Ohio, and moved from that state to Ripley
county, Indiana. In May, 1864, the father came to Blackford county,
but after five months bought a farm in Jay county, and that community
was his home until his death. There were twelve children in the family,
ten of whom reached maturity, and the three now living are Samuel,
William and George, all of whom are respected citizens of Jackson town-
ship. Samuel Landon as a boy had a country environment, attended the
district schools, and when about eighteen left his books in order to take
up the serious business of life. Leaving home at the age of twenty-one,
he found employment as a wage-earner in a sawmill, and then became
interested in farming in Jay county. On February 23, 1870, Mr. Landon
married Margaret Philabaum, who was born and reared in Blackford
county, a daughter of Jacob A. Philabaum. After their marriage they
started out to make a home of their own, and for four years Mr. Landon
rented his father's farm. He then moved to Jackson township, in Black-
ford county, and bought a place of forty acres, and still owns that land.
The improvements of his land when he first took possession was chiefly
a little cabin house, and with only a few acres cleared. The many
improvements which mark his farm and its productive state are the
results of his undivided attention continued through many years, and his
prosperity has been worthily won.
He aiid his wife have four children : Willam A., who married Eliza-
beth Upp and lives in Jackson township ; Edward M., who married Cora
Gair and lives in Jackson township ; Maggie, who is the wife of Charles
Baker, of Jackson township ; and Leroy, who married Florence Creek.
Mr. Landon is fraternally affiliated with the Masonic Order. In politics
he has always stood with the Democratic party, and has performed an
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 189
important service in the community as superintendent of the Pike road
of Jackson township.
1'iiivii 1). Sills. Among the many fine farmsteads of Jackson town-
ship one that has a distinctive character by reason of its improvements
and also its name is the Rattlesnake Farm, comprising seventy-seven and
a half acres of land and situated a mile north and a mile and a half west
of Millgrove. Its name is derived from the circumstance of the killing
on the place of a double-headed rattlesnake a few years ago. Its pro-
prietor. Uriah D. Sills, has for a number of years been actively identified
with farming enterprise in Blackford county, but spent most of his
younger years in Wells county. Besides his home place Mr. Sills owns
thirty-six acres west of the Rattlesnake Farm. He carried 011 general
farming and stock raising, and though starting in life a poor man has
now a secure position among his fellow citizens.
Uriah D. Sills was born in Chester township, Wells county. Indiana.
January 27, 1873. a son of Daniel and .Mary C. (Dick) Sills. The founder
of the family in Indiana was grandfather Daniel Sills, Sr.. one of the
early settlers of "Wells county. Daniel Sills. Jr., was horn on tin- same
place in Wells county where Uriah first saw the light of day. and is still
living there, having reached a good old age. His wife, who died in Sep-
tember. 1S98. was born in Virginia, and her parents subsequently moved
to Blackford county. Indiana. In the family of Daniel and Mary Sills
were fourteen children, thirteen of whom are still living, briefly men-
tioned as follows: Arvilla, who is now deceased, and was the wife of
Charles E. Snyder, by whom she had a family of children; Lettie F. is
the wife of William Briney, and has nine children; Rosa I., is the wife
of Isaac B. Lowery of Wells county and has two children; Uriah I). is
next in order of birth: Jennie M. is the wife of Oliver Risinger and has
three children ; W. H. married Mary E. Cutler and has one child ; Addie
D. is the wife of Recksford Schmidt ; Charles C. married Emma Turner
and has one child: Elijah B. married Alma Beeks and has one son : Bertha
M. is unmarried; Susie 0. is unmarried; Alta H. is the wife of Arthur
Keller ; and Mary C. and Noah D. are unmarried and live at home.
Uriah D. Sills spent his youth on the home farm in Wells county,
and his schooling was acquired by attendance at the district school at
Five Points in Wells county. His days in school continued with more or
less regularity until he was twenty-one. He worked on the home 1 farm
until the age of twenty-six. and then with very small capital he started
in life for himself and settled down to the productive enterprise which
has since brought him a substantial condition.
On February 19, 1899. Mr. Sills married Flora Newhou.se. She was
born in Blackford county ami was educated in the common schools. Mrs.
Sills inherited some land, and a few years after their marriage they
traded that for the present farm in Jackson township. Blackford county.
To their marriage have been born seven children, all of whom are living:
Floyd II.. Dorsie D.. Joseph 0.. Ivan D., Uriah I).. Jr., Burl B.. Hannah
C. Mr. Sills is a democrat, but has taken little part in political affairs.
His relations as a kindly neighbor and helpful friend, and his substantial
industry as a farmer have comprised his best contribution to community
life.
William II. Chapman. Thirty years of residence in Blackford
county have been sufficient to make William H. Chapman one of the well-
known citizens, and in that time practically all his ample prosperity lias
been acquired. Mr. Chapman has a tine farm home in Jackson township,
and every one in that locality knows how well he has utilized bis oppor-
tunities and esteems him for his solid worth and good citizenship.
190 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
William H. Chapman was born in Delaware county, Indiana, March
31, 1854. When he was four years of age his parents moved to Jay
county, and in that locality he grew up and attended the district schools
during the winter, with plenty of work on the home farm during the
summer to develop his muscles and prepare him for his regular calling
in life. That was the routine followed by him until about eighteen or
nineteen years of age. He continued at home until twenty-one, and since
starting for himself has slowly progressed to prosperity. At the present
time he owns two hundred and twenty acres of land, two hundred of
which is located in Jackson township, and twenty acres in Knox town-
ship of Jay county. This entire estate represents his individual efforts
except six acres, which was his sole inheritance. He got a start by work-
ing for others at wages, for many days, swinging an axe in the woods,
working in the fields and in harvest time, and in the meantime doing
a small business as a buyer of calves and colts. It was a long and gradual
process, but finally he had accumulated enough to buy forty acres. This
was the nucleus around which he has developed his present fine estate.
On March 10, 1881, Mr. Chapman married Sarah C. Waldo, who was
born in Randolph county, Indiana, January 10, 1856, and spent most of
her early years in Jay and Blackford counties. Mr. Chapman and wife
moved to Blackford county in the fall of 1883, and for some time lived in
the midst of the heavy woods, their home being a log cabin. At this time
they have three living sons: Roy, born May 31, 1882, educated in the
common schools, and married to Emma Scott, and has a son, Wilber A.
Chapman ; Merritt, the second child, married Alice Teegarden, and they
have two children, Edwin William and Ethel Lucile ; Roscoe, the young-
est, is unmarried. Ralph W. died aged 1 year, 8 months and 21 days. Mr.
Chapman in politics is a Republican.
James B. Fear. One of the most useful members of Blackford
county's citizenship is Dr. James B. Fear, whose activity in several
different lines has brought him individual success and has been the
means of serving a large community. Dr. Fear is a veterinary surgeon,
has practiced in Blackford county for twenty-six years, and almost every
stock raiser in Harrison and adjoining townships has at some time or
other availed himself of the services of this capable veterinary. Dr.
Fear has a practical interest in farming and the stock business, and for
the past sixteen years has maintained breeding stables and has had a
line of fine horses whose stock is now found in many parts of the state.
The Elm Grove Stock Farm, of which Dr. Fear is proprietor, is sit-
uated four miles west of Pennville, and is one of the most valuable estates
in Harrison township.
James B. Fear was born in Decatur county, Indiana, November 21,
1856, a son of Henry N. and Mary A. (Updike) Fear. Both parents now
live in Blackford county. Dr. Fear, who was the oldest of the family,
grew up on a farm in Decatur county, and acquired his education from
the district schools. After his marriage, having always been interested
in stock, he took up the study of veterinary surgery, and several years
later was awarded a license to practice by the State Board of Examiners.
On April 18, 1878, Mr. Fear married Mary Hackey. They became
the parents of seven children : Rosanna, the wife of Ben Tolbert ; New-
ton W., who married Florence Hudson; Eva B., wife of John L. Price;
Edward, who married Rebecca Gaskill ; Ora H., who married Iva Horn-
baker; Ida E., unmarried; Ollie M., the wife of DeWitt Stroud.
Dr. Fear is a past master of his Masonic lodge, and was honored ten
years with this office in Priam Lodge at Trenton. Politically he is a
democrat.
MR. AND MRS. JAMES B. PEA]
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 101
In his stable at the Elm Grove Stork Farm Dr. Fear has two stal-
lions, one being Pal No. 17. Its!; ami the other Huber, No. 25,296. He
also keeps one tine jack. Gabriel, ti,494. The Elm Grove Stock Farm
comprises one hundred and thirty-five acres, all in Blackford county,
and in its improvements is classed as one of the high-grade farms of
this section.
James M. Coktright. Since 1908 the administration of the schools
and other liseal affairs of Jackson township have been in the capable hands
of James M. Cortright. the trustee. This township takes special pride in
its school system and other improvements, ami it is only due to the
energy and efficiency of Mr. Cortright to say that this condition of affairs
has been greatly improved under his official management. .Mr. Cortright
is one of the substantial men of Blackford county, and yet twenty years
ago he was on the bottom round of the ladder of life, and his prosperity
is the direct result of his honorable activities and capable industry.
A native of Blackford county, born on a farm in Jackson township,
half a mile west of Trenton. January 12, 1869, James M. Cortright is a
son of Hiram ami Sarah (Shull) Cortright. His father was born in
Ohio and his mother in Indiana, and the latter is now living at the age
of seventy-four. The father by his first marriage had one son, Morris,
deceased, and the children by his marriage to Sarah Shull are : Rettie, wife
of Ben Constable of Utica, Ohio; James M.; Charles, of Jackson
township; Amanda, wife of J. II. Wright of Jay county, Indiana; Nellie,
wife of Charles Saunders of Montpelier.
James M. Cortright was reared on a farm in Jackson township,
attended the common schools, later the Eastern Indiana Normal College
at Portland, and for two terms was a teacher of country schools in this
county. His life was spent in the quiet environment of the old home
until twenty-one, and for a time he was employed as a clerk in a hardware
establishment at Hartford City.
On January 7, 1893, Mr. Cortright married Miss Calista M. Wingate,
who was born in Jackson township and educated in the local schools.
After their marriage they had to begin without capital, and found their
first opportunities as renters on a farm in this county. Mr. Cortright
applied himself energetically to the cultivation of his acres, while his
loyal wife aided him in the management of the household, and in a few
years they had some surplus, and after making their first purchase of
land have been steadily progressive. Mr. Cortright is now the owner of
a fine farm of seventy-four acres a mile and three-quarters west of
Trenton.
To their marriage have been born two sons: Herbert, born in August,
1895, and Clayton. The older son is a graduate of the common schools
and of the Hartford City high school, has taught school, and is now a
student in the Munsey Normal College. The younger son finished the
common school course and is now interested in farming.
Mr. Cortright has affiliations with the Improved Order of Red Men
at Mill Grove and is a junior in the order. Politically a democrat, it was
on his party's ticket that he was elected trustee of the township in 1908.
In his party and throughout the community he stands high and is known
as a man who can be trusted to discharge efficiently all public duties
imposed upon him.
Manson Williams. The record of Manson Williams of Harrison
township is known to every citizen of that section of Blackford county.
He is a man of excellent judgment, an industrious and progressive
farmer, thoroughly public spirited, and the community has already shown
192 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
its confidence in his ability and rectitude by conferring upon him official
honors.
Manson Williams is a native of Henry county, Indiana, where he was
horn January 12, 1870, a son of John and Amanda E. (Martin) Williams.
His father was a native of the old Dominion State of Virginia, while his
mother came from Pennsylvania, and she is still living in Blackford
county. The father was a soldier in the Civil war, and spent four years
in that great struggle between the states. His death occurred in 1871,
and his widow subsequently married a second time, and finally moved
to Blackford county. To the first marriage were born three children,
and the only one now living is Manson Williams.
The latter spent his early childhood in Henry county, and attended
the public schools of that county and of Blackford county. His early
life was spent in his mother's home, and he finally left to establish a home
of his own after his marriage to Mary A. Hart, a daughter of William and
Rosanna (Mussetter) Hart. Mrs. Williams was educated in the common
schools of Blackford county. Their two children are : John W., born Sep-
tember 29, 1903 ; and Ruth Hart, born May 5, 1909.
Mr. Williams has a wide acquaintance among the citizens of Black-
ford county, and fraternally is affiliated with Montpelier Lodge, No. 188,
Knights of Pythias, and with the Lodge of Red Men at Montpelier. A
democrat in polities, he has been honored with the office of justice of the
peace for twelve years. At the present time he is the nominee of his
party for the position of trustee of Harrison township. In business he is
known as a quiet, industrious worker, and enjoys the thorough regard of
his entire circle of acquaintance.
Alphon.se Lepevre. Jackson township has no more respected and
prosperous citizen than this native of Belgium, who came as a poor boy
across the ocean to America, and after various experiences in the manu-
facturing districts of the east, arrived in Blackford county, and has since
closely applied himself to the business of agriculture, and now owns a
beautiful farm home, which in point of productiveness ranks among the
best in Blackford county. It is known as the Shady Nook Farm, located
four miles north of Dunkirk, on the Chapman stone road, and consisting
of 75.8 acres.
Alphonse Lefevre was born in Rantsart, Belgium, November 15. 1865,
a son of Jules and Marceline (Loriaux) Lefevre. His parents were Bel-
gium people, and Alphonse is the only one of the family that came to the
United States. As a boy he attended the schools of his native country,
and acquired a substantial training in his mother tongue. At the age
of nineteen, having earned enough money to pay for his passage, he left
Belgium and landed at New York City on September 26, 1885. His first
location was at Bel Vernon, Pennsylvania, where he was employed as a
window glass worker for three years. He found employment in the line
of his trade at different places, and finally arrived in Dunkirk, Indiana.
He worked altogether twelve years at the glass trade, eight years of
that time at Dunkirk. He was also a stockholder in and secretary of the
Upland Co-operative Window Glass Company.
On December 24, 1888, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, Mr. Lefevre mar-
ried Estella Duler. She is also a native of Belgium, born June 8, 1871.
and was brought to the United States at the age of eleven years, her edu-
cation having been acquired partly in her native land and partly in this
country. Mr. Lefevre and wife have lived on their present place in Jack-
son township since July 4, 1898. His first purchase was a run-down farm
of thirty-five acres, and he proved himself just the man to rehabilitate its
resources and make of it a tract of land valuable and highly productive.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 193
With tlir proceeds of his managemenl he subsequently added a little more
than forty acres, and now owns a farm that is worth several times what
he |>aiil for it. and furnishes ample returns to provide for his family's
needs. They make a specialty of dairy products.
.Mi-, and .Mrs. Lefevre are the parents of six children : Marcel, a grad-
uate of the common schools, who married Zelda L. Cortright; Georgette,
the wife of -I. B. Dickson; Harold V., born -June in. 1903; Arena A., lion,
February 5, 1905; Edgar D., born December 22, 1907; and Dorothj I:.
born Augusl :;. lull.
The family worship in the Methodist 1'rotestant church at Trenton, of
which Mr. Lefevre is a member of the official board. He also affiliates
with the Lodge No. 156 of the Improved Order of Red Men. an,] Lodge
Xo. 306 and also the Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Pel-
lows. In politics he has aligned himself with the Progressive party.
Orlando Sherman Ford. Owing to the straightened circumstances
in which part of his boyhood was passed. Orlando S. Ford began his
career as an earner by carrying water to a gang of section hands. That
was many years ago. and in the meantime he lias never ceased to he a pro-
ductive worker, a man of unusual success, and at the present time is con-
sidered tlie wealthiest citizen of Jackson township, the owner of extensive
lands, proprietor of a beautiful farm of three hundred and sixty
acres, situated eight miles southeast of Hartford City. Altogether his
landed possessions aggregate six hundred acres, located at different pit s
in Jackson township.
Orlando Sherman Ford was born in Preble county, ( )hio, July 5, 1864,
a son of David and Mary (Richards), Ford. Both parents were natives
of \Vcsi Virginia, went to Ohio when children, and David Ford began
his career as a bricklayer, in 1868 engaged in tin- milling business near
Olney. Illinois, and four years later brought his family to Indiana. He
operated a flouring mill, and was at one time accounted a man of consid-
erable means, but at his death about 1873 left his widow and two sons in
reduced circumstances. His older son had already found a home in
Blackford county, and the widow and Orlando joined this son. James H.
For a number of years they experienced considerable hardship, and it
was during that period of his life that Mr. Ford found work as a water
boy. He had no shoes, and as some kind of footwear was necessary for his
work he went in debt for a pair and paid for them at the end of the
season's work. He had varied experiences as a young man. He was
employed on a farm during the summer, and obtained his education as
best he could by attendance at the common schools during the winter.
On April 6, 1886, with his brother he made his first purchase of land,
comprising eighty acres, all but ten acres of which was covered with a
heavy growth of timber. To get this property he went in debt, and finally
paid off and has since invested most of his surplus in additional land,
until at the present time he owns as much improved farm property as
almost any other citizen in the county. While a general farmer and a
raiser of large amounts of corn, oats, wheat and other feed stuffs, he has
found his profits as a cattle raiser, and every year for a long time has
shipped a number of carloads.
On December 17, 1885, Mr. Ford married Emma F. Anderson, a
daughter of Dr. James Anderson. Mrs. Ford was born in Blackford
county. They are the parents of two daughters: Ruby, who after finish-
ing the common schools took a musical course, atid is now the wife of
Charles Brown of Mill Grove, Indiana: and Crystal, who graduated from
the common schools and was also trained in music, and lives at home.
Mr. Ford has passed all the chairs and is a member of the Grand Lodge
194 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
of the Improved Order of Red Men. While not a member of any church
he has been liberal in his support of religious institutions, and his father
was a preacher in the Baptist denomination. Politically, Mr. Ford is
a democrat.
John W. Green. Though now a farmer, the owner of a fine place
in Harrison township, Mr. Green was for many years connected with the
oil industry in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and it was while identified with
that business in this section of Indiana that he invested his accumulations
in land in Blackford county, and finally devoted all his attention to the
growing of crops and live stock rather than the production of mineral
resources. Harrison township has no more substantial nor public spirited
citizen than John W. Green.
Highland county, Ohio, was the place of his birth, and he first saw
the light of day August 29, 1871. His parents were David and Sarah
(Reveal) Green. His father died in the state of Michigan, and the
mother is still living. Of their five children three are alive : Henry,
whose home is in Michigan ; James, also of Michigan ; and John W.
John W. Green, who was born in the village of Greenfield, Ohio,
attended the common schools of Highland county, and a farmer boy, early
became acquainted with the work of field and meadow. At the age of
nineteen he was employed at work in the oil fields, and there followed a
number of years in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, in the capacity of a
pumper for the Ohio Oil Company. Later he was promoted to the posi-
tion of field foreman in Indiana and Illinois, and worked along that line
for eight years. Finally Mr. Green bought the 102.45 acres in Section 20
of Harrison township, and applied his experience and industry to farm-
ing. His farm has many advantages of location as well as of fertility and
improvement. It is situated along the line of the L. E. & W. railroad and
the Indiana Union Traction, five miles southwest of Montpelier. Mr.
Green is still a comparatively young man, and his prosperity is all the
better for having been won entirely through his own efforts.
Mr. Green married Jennie Baker of Huntington county, Indiana.
There marriage was celebrated July 20, 1895, and Mrs. Green was born
in Jackson township of Wells county, being educated in the common
schools of that county. They are the parents of five children : Nora, who
is a graduate of the common schools ; Wade, Jacob, Don and Edna. The
family worship in the United Brethren church at Pleasantdale, and Mr.
Green is a member of the Mount Zion Lodge No. 684, I. 0. 0. F., and the
Encampment at Warren. In politics a republican, he has for some years,
cast his vote independently so far as local matters are concerned.
John Burns. Throughout the history of the country, the majority
of our most distinguished men have been those who have been fitted for
public service through the study and practice of the law. One of this
profession is, therefore, more likely to lead his community than those
who have not enjoyed such advantages and training, and in the business
world lawyers are frequently found at the head of large enterprises which
demand the directorship of a keen, analytical mind. Among the prom-
inent members of the Blackford county legal profession, one who has
not only attained distinction in the line of his calling, but has also held
positions of responsibility and trust in public affairs and is influential in
business circles in John Burns, of Hartford City, whose career has been
marked by constant advancement and large achievements.
Mr. Burns was born at Scuffle Creek, Chester township, Wells county,
Indiana, April 10, 1871, the eldest of the ten children of Joseph and Ann
(McCaffrey) Burns. His father was born in Manchester, England, in
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 195
1846, of Irish parents, Michael and Emily (Fitzgerald) Burns, who came
to the Tinted States in 1849. They were ninety days in crossing the
ocean, and on the journey cholera developed on shipboard, many of the
passengers died, and two of the Burns children, Mary and Emily, were
victims of the dread disease and were buried at sea. The survivors of
the little party finally landed at New Orleans and made their way up the
Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati, going thence to Mount I 'leas
ant, Ohio, where for a few years they resided on a farm. Subsequently
they came to Jay county, Indiana, and during the Civil war Michael
Burns' eldest son, John, enlisted in the Union army as a member of an
Indiana regiment of volunteers, and lost his life in the battle of Mur-
freesboro, Tennessee, by the explosion of a shell. This left only one son
surviving, Joseph Burns, who is still living. Just after the close of the
war the family removed to Wells county, Indiana, and started a home in
Chester township, where they resided for some years, but finally went
to Montpelier, Blackford county, where Michael Burns died some twenty
odd years ago, aged sixty-eight years. Mrs. Burns survived her hus-
band some five years, and passed aw T ay at the home of her son, Joseph,
in Wells county, being about seventy years of age. They were consistent
members of the Roman Catholic church and were active in religious and
charitable work. Mr. Burns was a democrat, but did not care for public
office, although ever ready to discharge the duties and responsibilities
of citizenship.
Joseph Burns was three years of age when he accompanied his parents
to the United States, and here his boyhood and youth were passed in much
the same manner as those of other Indiana farmers' sons of his day. He
secured an ordinary common school education and grew up a farmer,
assisting his father to clear and cultivate the homestead farm and learn-
ing thoroughly all the details of agricultural work. On attaining man-
hood he was married to Miss Anna McCaffrey, who was born in County
Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1851, and in 1858 came to the United States and
to Wells county, Indiana, with her parents, James and Elizabeth (Ervin)
McCaffrey. Mr. McCaffrey became a substantial farmer and the owner
of a valuable property, on which he had a handsome residence and other
modern improvements, and there he died at the age of sixty-eight years,
the mother passing away when she was seventy-five or seventy-six years
old. They were members of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs.
Burns are still living, and are prominent and highly esteemed people of
their community. They hold membership in the Roman Catholic church,
in the faith of which they were reared and to which they have always
belonged. Mr. Burns has long been engaged in farming, in which he
has met with a full measure of success, has been prosperous as a business
man, and is known as one of the best auctioneers in Wells county, con-
ducting frequent and well-attended sales. In politics a democrat, he has
a wide following and considerable influence in political circles of his
vicinity, and in addition to holding numerous minor offices served as a
member of the Indiana State Legislature in 1907 and 1908. Of the ten
children born to Joseph and Ann McCaffrey Burns, John is the eldest,
all are living and five are married and have families.
After securing his preliminary educational training in the Scuffle
Creek district school in Chester township, Wells county, John Burns
attended the Bluffton Normal school, and thus received his teacher's cer-
tificate. Having decided upon a career in law, he began teaching school
during the winter terms, while he devoted the summer months to his
studies, first in the office of Congressman A. M. Martin, of Bluffton, in
1890, and later as a student of the Correspondence School of Law, of
Detroit, Michigan. Finally, in 1894, he took his examination at Bluffton,
196 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
while Judge Vaughn was on the bench, and was admitted to the bar,
following which he went to Montpelier and entered upon the practice
of his profession. For two years he served as deputy prosecuting attorney
for Blackford county, and continued in practice at Montpelier until 1900,
when he came to Hartford City and was elected prosecuting attorney for
the Twenty-eighth Judicial District, Blackford and Wells counties, subse-
quently being re-elected to that office and serving in all four years. He
next acted for four years as county attorney for Blackford county, but
during all of these years has continued his private practice, which is
a large and representative one. Mr. Burns is au able lawyer, devoted to
his calling and with a broad knowledge of its various branches, and his
connection with a number of important cases has given him a firmly es-
tablished place in the confidence of the public and high standing among
his professional brethren. He has shown his strength politically as well
as in his vocation, for from 1902 until 1906 he served as chairman of
the Democratic County committee, has served his party in numerous
ways at state and county conventions, and in 1904 was a delegate to the
National Convention that nominated Judge Alton B. Parker.
Mr. Burns is equally well known in business and financial circles of
Hartford City. In 1903 he was one of the organizers of the First National
Bank of Hartford City, was one of the first directors, and in 1906 was
elected vice-president, a position which he has filled to the present time
in addition to being attorney for the institution. He is vice-president of
the Hartford City Hotel Company, organized in 1913, and president of
the Rook Construction Company, organized in 1910 for the construction
of roads, highways, streets and all kinds of drains. Mr. Burns is inter-
ested in agricultural pursuits as the owner of a well-cultivated farm of
345 acres, located in Harrison township, Blackford county. In each of his
various lines of endeavor, he has show T n a careful and conscientious atten-
tion to detail, an appreciation of the possibilities and a keen foresight in
grasping and making the most of opportunities. His associates rely on his
acumen, shrewdness and good judgment, and he has at all times been
known as a man of the highest integrity, loyal in his friendships and true
to each and every trust.
While a resident of Wells county, Indiana, Mr. Burns was united in
marriage with Miss Zina Hyer, who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in
1875, and educated in the public schools of her native place and Wells
county. She is a daughter of Daniel N. and Ella (Collier) Hyer, natives
of Ohio, the former of German ancestry and the latter of Scotch descent.
They were married in Ohio, subsequently removed to Wells county,
Indiana, and finally removed to Dewey, Oklahoma, where they still live.
They are consistent members of the Methodist church, and earnest, honest,
God-fearing people. Mr. and Mrs. Burns are the parents of two children :
William Alonzo. born April 25, 1895, educated in the parochial school and
the Hartford City High school, from which he was graduated with the
class of 1912, and'now a teacher in the public schools ; and Lillian E., bom
March 24, 1897, who is a member of the class of 1916, Hartford City High
school. Mr. and Mrs. Burns and their children are all members of St.
John's Roman Catholic Church. He is a member of the Knights of
Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Benjamin C. Keller. The home of Benjamin C. Keller is in Section
13 of Washington township. His residence has been in Blackford county
for many years, and his reputation as a progressive farmer and public
spirited citizen has long been secure, and his name requires no introduc-
tion in any account of Blackford county citizens.
Mr. Keller is of Pennsylvania ancestry, and of substantial German
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 197
stock. His grandfather, David Keller, was the founder of the name in
this country, and on crossing the ocean located in Pennsylvania. In that
state he married Miss Elizabeth Karnes, a Pennsylvania girl, and there
three children were born to them: Conrad, David and .Martin. With
these Hirer children the parents left Pennsylvania and at an earlj day
found a new home in Fairfield county, Ohio. David Keller was there at
a time when government land was to lie secured, and he entered a home-
stead in Walnut township, in the midst of the woods, and beginning his
labors during the early thirties eventually cleared up a good farm and
was a man of prosperous condition. There his first wife died when'in
the prime of life and only a few- years after their settlement, and he sub-
sequently married .Mrs. .Mary Swisher. David Keller survived his second
wife and lived to he about eighty-five years of age. There were no chil-
dren by the second marriage. The three sons of the first union all grew up
in Fairfield county, married and lived and died in that vicinity. They
had farms in Walnut township and all became heads of families.
Martin Keller, the father of the Blackford county citizen above named,
was the youngest of the three brothers. He was horn about a hundred
years ago in Pennsylvania, hut reached his majority in Fairfield county,
Ohio, and continued a successful farmer in that locality until his death on
December 28, 1904. He married Catherine Rudebaugh, who was horn
about 1818 either in Pennsylvania or Ohio, and was a girl when her par-
ents established their home on a farm in Fairfield county. Martin Keller
and wife after their marriage lived on a part of the old Keller homestead,
which comprised about half a section of land, and there spent the rest
of their active careers. The first wife of Martin died in 1854, when in the
prime of life. Her children were: Elizabeth, wdio first married Albert
Ellis, who was killed in the army, ami had one daughter by him, and for
her second husband took Alexander Parkinson, by whom she was the
mother of a son; Isaac, now deceased, was a soldier in the Civil War and
left one son; Lucinda married Daniel Patty, and at her death left a
daughter; Almeda, who lives in Blackford county and has a son and
daughter, was the wife of Thomas Grimes, a Blackford county citizen and
a soldier in the war; Benjamin C. was next in order of birth; Edward
lives in Jennings county, Indiana, and has a family. Martin Keller for
his second wife married Miss Mary Rudebaugh, a relative of his first
wife, and she died in 1901, being then quite old. She became the mother
of one daughter, Margaret C, who is the wife of George Dailey of Perry
county. Ohio, and they have a family of three daughters and one
deceased.
Benjamin C. Keller was born on the old homestead in Fairfield county,
Ohio, February 17, 1848. His youth was spent in a country still not far
removed from pioneer conditions, and bis education was limited to the
local schools. At the age of twenty-four, in 1872, he came to Indiana and
for a time was employed on the farm of his uncle. Louis Rudebaugh, in
Harrison township. In 1873 he spent some time in Kansas and Illinois,
and after his return to his uncle's home in 1874 made his first purchase
of land, comprising fifteen acres of timber. His youthful strength went
to the clearing and improving of this small estate and he finally sold it
to good advantage. He and his wife subsequently bought forty acres
in Section 13 of Washington township, and that for nearly forty years
has been the basis of his substantial industry as a farmer. His land hold-
ings have since been increased to fifty-four acres, and there are few resi-
dents of Washington township who have worked more steadily and effect-
ively to improve their land than .Mr. Keller. He has put in tiled drains,
has built substantial fences, kept up the fertility of his soil, and among
more conspicuous improvements are a good house, a barn on a foundation
198 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
of 40x48 feet, and a fine bearing orchard with more than a hundred
trees. He is a successful grower of all the cereal crops, and keeps up his
stock to high grade.
In Washington township of Blackford county Mr. Keller married Miss
Sarah Angeline McConkey, of a prominent old family in this section of
Indiana. She was born in Washington township, Blackford county,
November 22, 1851, was reared and educated here, and it has been her
home all her life. She is esteemed for her fine neighborly qualities and
her wholesome Christian character. Her father was Eli McConkey and
her grandfather James McConkey. James McConkey was a young Irish-
man who left his native land and settled at an early period in Blackford
county, entering large tracts of government land in Washington town-
ship during 1834 and 1835. That land he held and improved, and was
an honored pioneer citizen of Blackford county who died during the
Civil AVar. He was then past seventy years of age, and his wife had
preceded him about seven or eight years. James McConkey married
Prudence (Cook) Manlove, who was born in England, but was reared in
Indiana. She was about seventy years of age when she passed away.
She was the mother of children by both husbands, and all of them are
now deceased. Eli McConkey, father of Mrs. Keller, was born in Payette
county, Indiana, January 30, 1824, grew up there and married Eliza
Matz, who was born in Fayette county in October, 1824, of parents who
came from Germany and lived in died in Fayette county, where they
were pioneers. After the marriage of Eli McConkey and wife in 1845,
and the birth of two children, Lafayette B. and Mary J., they moved to
Blackford county in 1849, and spent the rest of their days on their old
homestead in Washington township. Eli died in November, 1899, and his
wife, who was born October 21, 1824, passed away in 1884. Both were
members of the German Baptist church, and the democratic political
faith of Eli McConkey was also characteristic of all the Keller family.
Mrs. Keller had the following brothers and sisters: Mary J. is the wife
of Matthew Parks of Muncie, Indiana, and has a son and two daughters ;
William T. McConkey, now deceased, is survived by his widow, Eliza E.
(Ketterman) McConkey, whose home is in Montpelier; James P. lives in
Madison county, Indiana, and has two daughters; Cynthia E., deceased,
married Calvin Eiler, whose home is in North Manchester, and they were
the parents of seven children ; Prudence C. is the widow of Moses Wolfe
and has four children living ; Ruth A. is the widow of George Washing-
ton Wilson, and has seven children, four sons and three daughters;
Reuben E., deceased, left a family of four daughters, three of whom are
living; Emma E. is the wife of Charles McPherson, living near Nabb,
Indiana, and they have two sons and two daughters.
Mr. and Mrs. Keller have the following family: Eliza C, who mar-
ried Virgil D. Hart, a glass worker of Hartford City, has two daughters :
Maybell F., born December 26, 1898, and now in the eighth grade of
school, and Hazel Lindsey, born December 19, 1900, and attending the
sixth grade. Eli Martin, the second child, lives on a farm in Grant
county, and by his marriage to Zina Nestleroad has two daughters and one
son, Gladys, Cecil Esther and Cleobis. Albert Erwood, whose home is
near Flat Rock, Illinois, has five children, named Floyd, Claud, Gerald,
Thelma and Benjamin A. The daughter, Elsie A., died at the age of nine
years. Mr. and Mrs. Keller are members of Bethel United Brethren
church, and politically he belongs to the democratic party.
Admoee A. Thomas. For twenty years Admore A. Thomas has been
a resident of Licking township, Blackford county, and during fifteen
years of this time has been located on his present farm of ninety-five
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 199
acres, located in section 18. Mr. Thomas, who is familiarly known as
Adam Thomas, lias devoted the greater pan of his active career to farm-
ing and stock raising operations, ami the success which be has gained lias
been commensurate with the labors he has performed. Mr. Thomas was
born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania. February 22, 1863, and is a sod
of Jacob and Mary (Yengst) Thomas, both of Pennsylvania Dutch stock.
Ilis father, ail agriculturist by vocation, resided in Pennsylvania until
the year 1863, when he went to Washington county, Kansas, and there
his death occurred in 1865, when he was thirty-eight years of age. Be
was a hard and active worker, and his death was caused by a sunstroke.
Following her husband's demise, Mrs. Thomas went back to Pennsyl-
vania, where she now resides in Lebanon county, near the city of that
name, is seventy-eight years of age. and is suffering from paralysis. She
is a member of the Lutheran church, to which her husband belonged.
Admore A. Thomas is the youngest of five children born to his parents:
Mary E., who is the wife of Frank Brown, a farmer of Lebanon county,
Pennsylvania, and has one daughter. — Maybell G.; Alice, who is the
wife of George Reifine, living on a farm in Lebanon county, Pennsyl-
vania, has three sons and three daughters; Sallie, who became the wife
of Elmer Shawley. living on a Pennsylvania farm, and has two daugh-
ters; Cora, the wife of Mr. Heisie, a Pennsylvania farmer, ami now the
mother of a family; Minnie, the wife of a prominent Lebanon county
farmer and public official; and Admore A. A stepdaughter. Lillie, be-
came the wife of George Like, and has one son. William, and a daugh-
ter. Amanda, and lives at Lebanon. Pennsylvania, with .Mrs. Thomas.
Admore A. Thomas was reared and educated in his native county,
and as a youth of eighteen years left the parental roof, and for a short
time resided in Kansas. Later, for fourteen years he was associated
with the Fort Wayne Gas Line, and from his wages saved enough means
to purchase a farm, upon which he at one time had two gas and oil wells,
although it is now devoted exclusively to farming and stock raising. This
land consists of ninety-five acres, all improved with the exception of
four acres of wood, and is improved with excellent farm buildings, and
machinery and equipment of the latest manufacture. The property
possesses a pleasing and attractive appearance, the large white residence
standing in the midst of other structures, and everything upon tire farm
is in the best of repair. Mr. Thomas has thirty acres of corn, fifteen
acres of oats, some wheat and some rye. and breeds good cattle, horses
and hogs, being known as an excellent judge of stock. He is a business
man of more than ordinary ability, and through honorable dealing and
integrity has gained an enviable reputation.
Mr. Thomas was married in Blackford county, Indiana to Miss
Amanda McYieker, who was born in Delaware county, Indiana, in 1860.
a daughter of Dennis and Polly (Marshall) McVicker, both of whom
now live on a farm in section 7. Licking township. They were the par-
ents of two chidren: Mrs. Thomas; and David, who was married and
left three children at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have
one son, Charles D., born September 2, 1S99, who is now being educated
in the public schools.
( 'iiarles L. Smith. Prominently identified with a line of enterprise
that has important bearing upon the civic and material prosperity of
every community, this well known and honored citizen of Montpelier,
Blackford county, has for nearly twenty years been one of the leading
factors in real estate operations in the county, and his fair and honor-
able dealings have gained to him popular confidence and esteem, the while
his operations have proved of distinctive benefit to his home city and
200 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
county. He has done much to further the social and material progress
of Montpelier and is known as one of its most progressive and public-
spirited citizens.
Mr. Smith was born on a farm in Jefferson township, Wells county,
Indiana, on the 22nd of February, 1870, and his advancement in the
world lias been the result of his own ability and efforts, as he became
largely dependent upon his own resources while yet a mere boy. His
initial experience was in connection with the arduous work of the farm,
and in the meanwhile he attended the district school whenever oppor-
tunity offered. As a youth he was employed in a bakery and confection-
ery store in his home county, and later he was a traveling salesman for
three years. Since his retirement from this vocation he has maintained
his residence in Montpelier, where he has found ample opportunity for
the winning of definite success. His father, Leroy L. Smith, was born
in Ohio, in 1843, and was a son of Leonard Smith, who was of New Eng-
land stock, but who was born in Ohio, as a member of a pioneer family
of that state. He was reared and married in Ohio and finally came to
Wells county, Indiana, where he reclaimed a good farm from the forest
wilds, both he and his wife attaining venerable age, and both continuing
their residence in Wells county until their death. They were members
of the United Brethren church and Leonard Smith was first a Whig
and later a Republican in politics. His old homstead farm is now owned
by his son George.
Leroy L. Smith was a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil War,
as a member of an Indiana volunteer regiment. He served through the
last year of the war and though he took part in numerous engagements
he was never wounded. He and his wife now reside in the city of Fort-
Wayne and they are in excellent health, though he has attained to the
age of seventy years. Of the ten children, two died in infancy, and of
the number the eldest is Charles L., whose name introduces this sketch.
Of the three sons and five daughters that are living, all are married,
except one of the sons.
Mr. Smith has been a resident of Montpelier since 1894, and. as
already stated, he has here built up a large and prosperous real estate
business, in which he handles both farm and town property. He is a
Republican in his political allegiance, is affiliated with the Knights of
Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, and both he and his wife are zealous members of
the Methodist Episcopal church of Montpelier, of which he is a trustee.
In 1896 was solemnized the marriage, at Montpelier, of Mr. Smith
to Miss Sarah J. Alexander, daughter of James Alexander, a representa-
tive farmer and member of a sterling pioneer family of Wells county.
He lived retired in Montpelier until his death. At this juncture is given
record of the names and respective dates of birth of the children of Mr.
and Mrs. Smith : Frederick A., January 7, 1897 ; Leroy E., February 13,
1901 ; Florence E., November 1, 1903. All of the children are attending
the public schools in their home city and the eldest, Frederick A., is a
student in the high school.
Dr. Judge Corey Kirkpatrick. High on the list of medical men who
have achieved success in their calling in Blackford county, is found the
name of Dr. Judge Corey Kirkpatrick, who for some years has been
engaged in practice at Roll. A man of broad and comprehensive train-
ing in his own profession and other lines, he is accounted one of the
substantial citizens of his community and one who lends strength and
substance to its importance as a center of education and professional
activity. Doctor Kirkpatrick belongs to a family which traces its an-
BLACKFOKD AND GRANT COUNTIES 201
cestry back in Scotland to the days of the great Bruce, it being tradi-
tional that one of the early Kirkpatricks fought under that warrior
and was named and knighted by him upon the Held of battle, exclaim-
ing: '•You are no longer named Kilpatriek, but Kirkpatrick, " as lie
iiad saved the Church of Scotland from the Church of England. Prom
this early ancestor Doctor Kirkpatrick is removed nine or ten gener-
ations.
• Indue Thomas Kirkpatrick, the great-grandfather of Doctor Kirk-
patrick, was an associate judge of Guernsey county, Ohio, where he
settled on coming to the United States from Scotland, lie married Marj
Henthorne, daughter of William Henthorne, of the old Pennsylvania
family of that name, and among their children was William M. Kirk-
patrick, the grandfather of Doctor Kirkpatrick, who was born Decem-
ber 31, 1811. He married .Margaret Crothers, who was born in 1812,
daughter of .lames Crothers, one of the early government surveyors of
this part of Indiana, who laid out the old government lines. In 1841,
William M. Kirkpatrick came to Indiana with his family and entered
land in Van Buren township, Grant county, where he became the owner
of one-half section of land, upon which he lived until 1880. At that
time he retired to Landisville, and there his death occurred in 1889,
when he was nearly seventy-nine years of age, Mrs. Kirkpatrick having
passed away September 1. 1S87. Mr. Kirkpatrick was a farmer all of
his life and one of the influential and prominent men of his community.
He was an early member of the Presbyterian church, but later with his
wife joined Union Chapel, of the United Brethren church. He was first
a whig and later a republican, and became a stalwart abolitionist.
William K. Kirkpatrick, the eldest son and third child of his par-
ents, was born July 1, 1841. and grew up and was educated in Van Buren
township, Grant county. He was given meager advantages, as were his
brothers and sisters, two of the latter, Margaret and Susan, becoming
well known educators of Grant county. His brother. George W., was a
well known veterinary surgeon, and in addition to George there are two
sisters, Eliza and Martha, living, and two sisters deceased. William K.
Kirkpatrick was married in Van Buren township, Grant county, Indiana,
to Minerva J. Corey, an aunt of Dr. Charles W. Corey. She was born
in that township, December 13, 1842, and was there reared and educated,
and died March 7, 1888. Mr. Kirkpatrick. hale and hearty in spite of
his seventy-three years, still resides on his farm. He is a republican in
politics, and a prominent and influential man of his community, where
he is held in the highest esteem by those who have had occasion to come
into contact with him in any way. He is an official member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, of which he has been a trustee for twenty years,
and built as such the first Methodist Episcopal church in Van Buren
township.
Judge Corey Kirkpatrick is the eldest living and third son of the
children of his parents, having two brothers. William M. and Otto L.,
who are married and progressive agriculturists of Van Buren township.
and the latter also a vuleanizer, and a sister, Lulla. who is the wife of
Morgan Beasley. a barber of Warren. Indiana, who has a daughter,
Martha, attending school; one sister, Lelah, died October 28. 1912, and
left one daughter. Margaret, nine years old. Judge C. Kirkpatrick' was
born on the old original Kirkpatrick homestead in Van Buren town-
ship, Grant county, Indiana. September If), 1867, and was educated in
the public schools, from which he was graduated in 1886. Returning to
the home farm, he remained until 1890 and then went to Nebraska and
was for one year a student in the normal college. In September. 1892,
he went to Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he taught until 1896. and
202 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
then went to the state normal school at Winona, Minnesota, where he also
attended for a time. Returning to South Dakota, he remained one year,
and then came back to Indiana, and attended the normal school at Val-
paraiso. Subsequently he went back to South Dakota, where he was
engaged in educational work five years, four years as principal of the
Bath high school. On September 1, 1903, Doctor Kirkpatrick came back
to Indiana to commence his medical studies, having long cherished an
ambition to be a physician. Entering the Indiana Medical College, now
known as the medical department of the State University, he remained
there for several years, and subsequently was a student in the medical
department of Cornell University. He also studied at the university at
Buffalo, New York, and graduated in 1907 from the Indiana Medical
College, at once establishing himself in practice at Roll, where he has a
well-appointed and well-equipped office and a beautiful eight-room resi-
dence, which he has largely rebuilt since purchasing. His practice has
steadily advanced in size and importance, and he is now accounted one
of Blackford county's ablest medical men. Doctor Kirkpatrick is a
member of the American Medical Association, the Indiana Medical So-
iety, the Blackford County Medical Society and the Indiana Eighth
District Medical Society, and the high esteem in which he is held by
his fellow-practitioners has been evidenced by his election to the pres-
idency of the county society from 1911 to 1912. He keeps fully abreast
of the various advances continually being made in his calling, and spends
much of his own time in research and investigation. In politics, Doctor
Kirkpatrick is independent; he has always taken an interest in the wel-
fare of his adopted place, and is foremost in movements calculated to
be of benefit to its people.
Doctor Kirkpatrick was married at Roll, Indiana, to Mrs. Martha M.
Bordner, nee Griffith, who was born in Jackson township, Wells county,
Indiana, and reared here and for eight years was manager for this end
of the Mount Zion Telephone Company, the interests of which she still
looks after, being a thoroughly capable business woman. Her only child,
Dale, by her first marriage, died at the age of four years. She is a
member of the Church of God, while the Doctor belongs to the Meth-
odist Episcopal faith. He belongs to the Encampment of the Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows, in South Dakota.
Abraham Hahn. During his long residence within the borders of
Blackford county. Abraham Hahn has become one of his community's
substantial citizens. From small beginnings he has drawn about him
for the comfort and happiness of his later years such substantial com-
pensations as wealth, the affectionate devotion of his well established
children, the credit for having contributed materially to the general
progress of his section, and the confidence and good will of those among
whom he has lived for so long.
Mr. Hahn is descended from German ancestry, his grandfather, Jacob
Hahn, being a native of the Fatherland who emigrated to America prior
to the Revolutionary War, or about the time of that struggle, and located
in Virginia. Later he served as a soldier in the American army during
the War of 1812. He was married in Virginia and then went to Pennsyl-
vania, where his children, Jacob, Jr., John and Hannah were born. All
married, spent their lives and died in Pennsylvania, except Jacob Hahn.
Jr. He was born in Pennsylvania about the year 1780, and there mar-
ried Rachel Shoemaker, a native of Maryland who had moved to the
Keystone state with her parents in young womanhood. After the birth
of two children, Jacob III., and Margaret, who were born shortly after
1800, the family moved to Ohio. The journey, over a long and cir-
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 203
cuitous route, was a tedious aud hazardous one. but eventually the little
party of emigrants settled in what is now the vicinity of Greenville,
Darke county, the father taking up government land at a time when
Indians were still numerous. Wild game was to be found in plenty, and
Mr. Halm, an able hunter, not alone supplied the family larder, bu1
also hunted as a vocation and conveyed produce to the Indians in the
vicinity of Peru. It was not unusual at that time for the white hinders
to be held by the red men, ami Mr. Hahn was thus made a captive for
three years, but so fearless and brave was he, and possessed id' such
prodigious strength, that he won the respect of the Indians, whom he
frequently led on their hunting trips. Upon securing his release, .Mr.
Hahn returned to bis family in Darke county, but after his daughter
had died of the ague, he decided to seek a more healthful country, and
accordingly moved to Muskingum county, in the same state, where he
engaged in teaming to Cincinnati, taking grain to that city and exchang-
ing it for produce of various kinds for the early settlers. lie spent a
number of years in this vocation and in farming, but in 1852 pushed
still farther west, locating in Jay county, Indiana, where he passed the
balance of his life as a farmer, and died about the year 1875. being then
ninety-eight years old. Mr. Hahn was a remarkable man in many ways.
Possessed of wonderful strength, it is related of him that he could drink
from the bung hole of a whiskey barrel raised by the chimbs, and could
pitch a barrel of salt easily and throw it into a wagon. About the time
of the War of 1812 he had been captain of a mustering company at
Greenville, Ohio, although he did not go to the front in that struggle.
He had never missed a meal until within a few days of his death, and
his doctor bill during the ninety-eight years of his life would not have
totalled more than five dollars. Mr. Hahn voted for John Quincy Adams.
and all the democratic presidential candidates who followed during his
lifetime, and his religious connection was with the United Brethren
church. During his residence in Ohio he was a factor in the opening
of the Walington Canal, running from Coshocton, Ohio. Mrs. Hahn
died when seventy-five years of age, in Madison county. Indiana, having
been the mother of the following children: Jacob, Margaret, George,
Hannah, Elizabeth, Isaac, Jackson, Abraham and Rachel, all of whom
grew up and married, and all, except one, of whom lived to be past
sixty years of age. Those living at this time are : Abraham, of this
review; Elizabeth, the widow of Elijah Cox, whose husband died re-
cently at the age of ninety-eight years, she being a resident of Okla-
homa, and the mother of several married children ; and Rachel, of Red
Key, Jay county, Indiana, the widow of John Bechnel, and the mother
of several married children.
Abraham Halm was horn in Muskingum county. Ohio, May 6, 1837,
and was a lad of fifteen years when he accompanied the family to Jay
county. There he grew to manhood, and subsequently purchased his
first land for a farm in Harrison township, Delaware county, a tract of
forty acres, all in its wild state, on which he erected a log hut and made
some clearing. Later he purchased a tract of forty acres in Jefferson
township. Grant county, which he improved partially, and still later
bought forty acres near Upland, in the same county. In 1885 Mr. Hahn
bought eighty acres in section 24. Licking township, and on that prop-
erty continued to make his home for a quarter of a century, selling out
in 1910 for $6,300, and at that time buying forty acres of land where
he now resides. He has a well improved property and a comfortable
home, and although now retired from the active labors of life still takes
a keen interest in affairs, and is active in body and alert in mind.
During the Civil War Mr. Hahn served in the Union army for
204 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
eighteen months, and still bears scars of the great struggle between the
North and the South. He was a member of Company C, One Hundred
and Fortieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Capt. H. H. Darter,
Col. Thomas J. Brady, and took part in numerous heavy engagements,
being present at the final surrender of General Johnson's army at
Greensboro. He was mustered out of the service July 11, 1865. Mr.
Hahn was known as a brave and faithful soldier, always to be found
in the thick of the battle, and during his service lost an eye and the
ends of two fingers. He still loves to meet his old eomrades of the
stirring days of the 'sixties, and is a popular member of Capt. Jacob
Stahl Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Hartford City.
Mr. Hahn was married in 1862, in Delaware county, Indiana, to
Miss Lavina E. Hill, who was born in Henry county, Indiana, Novem-
ber 4, 1840, and reared and educated there, daughter of John and Nancy
(Connor) Hill, natives, respectively of Ohio and Virginia. Mr. Hill
had been married before, in Ohio, but after coming to Henry county,
Indiana, his first wife died, and be then married Miss Connor. Following
this, Mr. Hill returned to Ohio, but in a short time again came to
Henry county, where he owned a farm in Harrison township, until
selling out and going to Delaware county. In his later years he moved
to Grant county, and there Mrs. Hill died at fifty-four years of age.
Mr. Hill passed away at the home of his eldest daughter, Mrs. Rachel
Nicodemus, near Peru, when past ninety years of age.
Mr. and Mrs. Hahn have been the parents of the following children :
John, who died at the age of twenty-one ; Josephine, who died at the age
of nine ; and Truman, who died in infancy ; Frank, a farmer of Jackson
township, who married Martha Hartley, and has three children, — Lula
Josephine, Vessie G., and Locia M., all at home ; Emsley, living at Mill
Grove, Indiana, married Bertie Smith, and has one son, — Asel F. ;
Minnie, the wife of Charles Younce, a groceryman of Hartford City,
and lias two children, — Clifford A. and Dorthea A. ; Lillie, who married
Elmer Pike, of Montpelier, and has two daughters, — Violet and Helen;
and Mathias, who married Carrie M. Cooper, lives on the old homestead,
and has a daughter, — Charlotte Gertrude.
Lewis C. Johnson. As postmaster of Hartford City since 1910,
Lewis C. Johnson has performed a large amount of useful public service
for his home city, and has managed the affairs of his office to the best
advantage and convenience of the citizens. Though a native of Wells
county, Mr. Johnson has been a resident of Blackford county many
years, and the family name has been identified with worthy citizen-
ship and business and professional ability throughout its residence.
Mr. Johnson received his first commission as postmaster of Hartford
City on July 21, 1910, and after a short service was re-commissioned
on January 1. 1911. The Hartford City office is of the second class, and
Mr. Johnson has had the responsibilities of enlarging and perfecting
the efficiency of his organization, largely due to the introduction of new
features of service, notably the parcels post, and also the extension and
co-ordination of the rural delivery service. He has an assistant and
four clerks, and four city carriers. Seven rural routes radiate from
Hartford City.
Lewis C. Johnson was born June 9, 1865, in Jackson township of
Wells county, was liberally educated for his time, and in 1884 was
granted a license to teach. It was as an educator that he was best
known for many years, and his efficient work in that profession is still
well remembered by hundreds of his old pupils. He was engaged in
teaching in Wells county until 1892, when he settled at Montpelier, in
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 205
Blackford counts-, and did individual work as a teacher, and also as a
principal until 1900. For a little more than two years .Mi-. Johnson
was employed in a bureau of the department of the interior, and in the
fall of 1902 was elected county auditor of Blackford county, taking
up his official duties on January 1. 1903. During the four years spent
at the court house, in Hartford City, Mr. .Johnson made many friends
in the county seat, ami at the close of his term he became cashier of the
First National Bank. That was his work until he took up his duties
as postmaster.
.Mr. Johnson is a grandson of Milton Johnson and a son of I'ercival
(i. Johnson, both of whom were born in Ohio. Ilis grandfather was a
substantial pioneer farmer of Greene county, Ohio, where he married.
He died in Blackford when about sixty-five years old. He and his wife
were both members of the Christian church, and in polities he was a
whig. Percival G. Johnson, who was born in Greene county, Ohio, No-
vember 7, 1835, grew up as a farmer, and in his young manhood moved
to Indiana, and in Wells county was married to Margaret Cloud. He
is now living a retired farmer at Montpelier in Blackford county, and
is enjoying the fruits of a well spent life. In politics, a republican, he
has often participated in public affairs, and he and his wife are members
of the Christian church. They were the parents of two sons and four
daughters: Emma, who died leaving three children; Elnia, who lives
in Montpelier, and has three living children; Lewis C. ; Loetta, who
died leaving two children; Winfield W., who is an oil worker in Wells
county, and has four children; and D. L., who died in early childhood.
Mr. Lewis C. Johnson was married in Wells county, Indiana, in 188b,
to Miss Catherine L. Knott, who was born in Indiana and received her
education in Wells county. The oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson
was Zeffie E., who died at the age of six months. Their daughter, E.
Dale, who is a graduate of the Hartford City high school, is now the
wife of James C. Lucas of Hartford City, and their daughter, Catherine,
was born February 14, 1913. The son, Lewis Sydney, born October
18, 1904, is still in the grade schools. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are active
members of the Christian church of Hartford City, and he serves on
the official board. He is a Republican, and affiliates with Hartford City
Lodge No. 135 of the Knights of Pythias.
William L. Ervin. Blackford count}' has profited by the worthy
citizenship and consecutive industry of the Ervin family since pioneer
times, the first of the name having come in the year 1837. Practically
all bearing the name have been interested in agriculture, but they have
also discharged their full share of duties in society, education, religion,
and polities, as well as in upholding their country's honor on the field of
battle. A worthy representative of this family is found in the person
of William L. Ervin, of section 2, Licking township, a veteran of the
Civil War, a successful agriculturist and a citizen who has won the
respect and esteem of his fellow men through a long life of integrity and
honorable dealing.
The Clan of Ervin found its origin in Scotland many years ago, and
members of the family were early settlers in Maryland, where John
Ervin, the grandfather of William L. Ervin. was born about the year
1790. In the latter years of his life he came to Blackford county. In-
diana, and here died prior to the year 1850. He was married twice,
his wives being half-sisters and natives of Maryland, and by his first
marriage he had seven children. His second union resulted in the birth
of eight children, of whom Rev. Joshua Ervin. a Methodist divine of
Munice. Indiana, still survives. There were three sons ami four daugh-
206 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ters in his first wife's family, and among these was Samuel Ervin, the
father of William L. He was born September 7, 1815, in Maryland,
and was still young when he accompanied his parents to Perry county,
Ohio, there growing to manhood. In 1837 he accompanied his parents,
and most of the children, of whom several had married, to Indiana,
where some of the children secured government land for homes in
Delaware county, Samuel taking up one hundred and sixty acres in
the vicinity of Eaton. There he erected a good frame home and made
considerable improvements, but in 1850 traded his farm for one hun-
dred and sixty acres in Section 2, Licking township, Blackford county,
near the present residence of William L. Ervin. There the father
continued to be engaged in farming until his death, October 2, 1880,
being known as a successful agriculturist and a good citizen, a staunch
republican, and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
of which he was an organizer and church leader. He was married three
times, first in Indiana, on March 25, 1841, to Miss Jane M. Haight, who
was born in New York state May 15, 1815, and died on the old home-
stead at Eaton, Delaware county, Indiana, July 22, 1849, when her
son William L. was just one month old. She also left a daughter, Naomi,
who is the widow of Harrison Strong, has a son and two daughters,
and resides in Union township, Delaware county. Samuel Ervin mar-
ried for his second wife, Miss Nancy Alexander, daughter of Rev.
Robert Alexander of Wells county Indiana. She died in Licking town-
ship at the age of twenty-four years, and left two children : Robert
Volney, now deceased, married Flora Veach, and their three children
were : Moffitt H. Ervin, of Los Angeles, California ; Robert Paul, of
Eaton, Indiana; and Ora Beryl, who is the wife of Henry Shannon,
formerly of Blackford county, but now of Denver, Colorado, and they
have one son, Ervin. John Benson, the second son of Samuel and
Nancy Ervin, died July 4, 1855, at the age of two and a half years.
Samuel Ervin 's third marriage was to Anna Galbreth, who survived
her husband about two years, and died when sixty years of age with-
out issue.
William L. Ervin was born at Eaton, Delaware county, Indiana,
June 22, 1849, and secured his education in the public schools of Lick-
ing township, Blackford county, whither he was brought by his father
as an infant. He was still but a boy when he enlisted for service in the
Union army during the Civil War, becoming a private in the One Hun-
dred Thirtieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he
served until the close of the war, a period of about two years. In spite
of his extreme youth he proved himself a good and faithful soldier and
saw much hard fighting, being wounded in the scalp by a Confederate
bullet at the battle of Buzzard's Roost, Georgia, May' 9, 1864. Upon
his return to his Indiana home he worked on his father's farm and also
attended school in Hartford City and at Richville College, and taught
in the country schools five successive terms, beginning with the autumn of
1868. Since then his career has been that of a substantial agriculturist,
and he is now the owner of a handsome property. Mr. Ervin has made
all the improvements upon his land, which include two large farm
houses, two commodious barns and a full set of substantial outbuildings,
as well as a thorough complement of modern farm machinery and equip-
ment. He has engaged in general farming and has also met with suc-
cess as a stock raiser, having good hogs, sheep and horses, and a val-
uable herd of Polled Angus and other good cattle.
Mr. Ervin was married in Licking township, December 29, 1870, to
Miss Henrietta Slater, who was born in this township, August 20, 1849,
daughter of James and Jane M. (Kirkpatrick) Slater, and granddaugh-
BLACKFORD AND CHANT COUNTIES 207
ter of Jacob Slater, who brought the family to Indiana from Ohio in
pioneer days and became one of the substantial men of Blackford county.
James Slater was married in Guernsey county, Ohio, and in L836 came
to Blackford county, and located on wild land' in Licking township, here
continuing to reside until his death. .James and Jane Slater were the
parents of thirteen children, twelve of whom grew to manhood and
womanhood. These children have each brief mention as follows: David.
the eldest son. spent several years in the California gold fields when
a youug man, returning home in 1862 to engage in agriculture, having
purchased nearly two hundred acres of land, and in 1869-70 under-
took, in association with his father, a sub-contract for grading mi the
Lake Erie & Western Railroad, hut the failure of the chief contractor
caused them to lose nearly all they had. David Slater in 1863 married
Julia Everett, a daughter of a Jackson township pioneer, and t hex-
were the parents of nine children. David Slater died in March, 1870,
and his widow and most of his children moved to Colorado. The sec
ond son was Rezin Slater, who married Lucy Hughes, of Licking town-
ship, a daughter of Aaron Hughes, a pioneer, and they had six chil-
dren. The third son. Joseph Slater, died in early manhood, having
for several years taught school. Next in the Slater family was the
seven daughters. Elizabeth married Ilarve Harmon of Licking town-
ship, a farmer, and is still living, the mother of five children. Eliza
married John Sims of Licking township, a farmer, and she is now
deceased, having been the mother of ten children. Sarah died in early
womanhood. Maria married Tice Hudson, they lived in Hlackford
county, and she was the mother of six children. Dona Martha married
Dodge Swift of Licking township, a farmer, and became the mother of
three children. Mary Ann married David W. Stewart, a Jackson town-
ship farmer, and is still living, the mother of two children. Henrietta
was the daughter who is now Mrs. W. L. Ervin. John A. Slater, the
next son after these daughters, was twice married. His first wife was
Ellen Lytle of Licking township, and their two children are living,
Bruce in Colorado, and Mae M., a trained nurse in Indianapolis. John
A. Slater married for his second wife, the widow of Samuel Emsweller
of Hartford City. John A. Slater was a lifelong school teacher, and
was engaged in the work of his profession in the Hartford City schools
when a stroke of paralysis caused his death. Lemach Slater was
the only one of the thirteen children to die in infancy. Thomas I. Slater,
the youngest son, was twice married. His first wife was Margaret Davis
of Licking township, who lived only a few years, and left no children.
Thomas Slater then went out to Gilpin county, Colorado, and there
married Maggie Murphy of Idaho Springs, and their one daughter,
Katharine, is engaged in teaching at Durango, Colorado. Thomas Slater
is now engaged in mining at Alice, Colorado.
James Slater, the father of these children, died at the age of seventy
years, in 1877, in Licking township. His widow. Jane M., was by his
death left alone at home, and then gave up housekeeping and lived
with her youngest daughter, Mrs. William L. Ervin, for eleven years,
until her death in November, 1888.
Mr. and Mrs. Ervin have been the parents of the following children:
Satyra J. married Melvin Ray. who died leaving two children, Charles
and Marguerite, and married for her second husband. P. W. Dunn, a
farmer of Union township, Delaware county, by whom she has two chil-
dren, Ruth C. and Betty J. ; Aurora Blanche, formerly a teacher in
the public schools of Hartford City, is now the wife of William 1'
Modlin, a Licking township farmer, and is the mother of two children.
Hazel and Mary. Robert Franklin died at the age of nine years. Oscar
208 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Slater, who is now engaged in the operation of his father's homestead,
married Ada Craig of Licking township, and their two children are
Catherine and William C. ; Thomas W., who graduated at the Terre
Haute Normal School, is a teacher by vocation, and now assistant sup-
erintendent of the chemical works at Hammond, Indiana, and married
Ora Hurlock of .Madison county.
Mr. and Mrs. Ervin are consistent members of Mount Carmel Meth-
odist Episcopal church, in which he is a class leader and prominent in
religious movements. Theirs is an ideal country home, known for its
refinement and hospitality, and both Mr. and Mrs. Ervin have long been
accounted leaders in the social life of the community. Since 1884 Mr.
Ervin has been a staunch supporter of the prohibition party, having
in that year east his vote for John Pierce St. John, presidential candi-
date of the prohibition party.
David Cole. Although the conscientious and well-directed labor
of David Cole belongs to the past history of Blackford county rather
than to the present, evidences are still to be found of his sojourn within
its borders, and particularly of his diligence in developing the farm now
owned by his wife, in section 10, Washington township. Throughout a
long career he proved himself a useful citizen and helpful member of
society, and at the time of his death, April 26, 1002, was considered
one of the substantial and forceful men of a stirring community.
Mr. Cole was born April 3, 1836, in Fairfield county, Ohio, and was
a son of Broad Cole, who was born in Ohio and came of an honored family
of the Old Dominion. The grandfather entered land near Royalton.
from the government. There Broad Cole grew to manhood and mar-
ried Leah Peters, who had also been born in Ohio, her parents settling
in the same locality as did the Coles. Both the Coles and Peters were
enterprising and progressive farming people, and the parents on both
sides lived to advanced years, and were successful in accumulating
much property. After their marriage Broad and Leah Cole located on
his father's large farm of 300 acres, which he later owned, and where
he and his wife spent their active years, the father dying at the age of
seventy-eight, and the mother when eighty-five years of age. They were
old school Baptists by religion, and one of their sons, Thomas Cole, be-
came a prominent minister of that faith, being known in various parts
of the country. He finally died in the South, when about eighty years
of age, leaving a large family.
David Cole was the third in a family of eleven children, of whom
Jonathan, Henry and Joseph are yet living, are all married and have
families. Jonathan is a resident of Lakota, North Dakota, where he is
county superintendent of schools; Henry is a resident of Lancaster,
Ohio, where he and his wife conduct a successful hotel; and Joseph
is a worker and writer of local county historical works and is now mak-
ing his home in West Virginia.
David Cole was reared in Fairfield county, Ohio, where he received
an educational training which fitted him for work as a teacher, being
thus engaged in Fairfield county, Ohio, until November 19, 1868, when
he came to Blackford county, Indiana, and purchased a farm of 120
acres, in section 10, Washington township. From a practically worth-
less waste, he developed this land into a valuable and productive farm,
building good structures and installing numerous improvements of a
modern character. Later he sold forty acres of this property, and subse-
quently platted two and one-half acres, which he sold off in lots, this
section now being an addition to the village of Dundee (Roll P. O.).
The balance, a property of seventy-seven and one-half acres, is still
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COrXTlKs 209
owned by Mrs. Cole. In addition to his farming operations, Mr. Cole
was for some years engaged in teaching school in Blackford countj . and
was very favorably known as an educator. His citizenship was such
as to gain him the confidence and respect of the community, and those
with whom he had business dealings invariably found him a man of the
strictest business principles. Originally a democrat, he transferred his
support to the prohibition party during his later years and on everj
occasion upheld the cause of temperance.
In 1859, while still a resident of Fairfield county, Ohio. Mr. Ode
was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Williamson, who was born
in that county, April 26, 1837. She was reared and educated there,
and. qualifying as a teacher, "kept" school for two years prior to her
marriage. She remained on the home farm until 1912, when she began
living with her daughters at Montpelier, between whose homes she
now divides her time. Mrs. Cole is a daughter of .Jacob and Eliza
(Odell) Williamson, her mother being a cousin of ex-Governor Odd],
of New York. Mr. Williamson was born in Virginia, and four years
later was taken to Fairfield county, Ohio, where his parents. Theodore
and Rhoda (Cox) Williamson, spent the remaining years of their lives
on a farm. They were Methodists, and belonged to the substantial class
of pioneers who made the Buckeye state great. .Mrs. Eliza (Odell)
Williamson was a daughter of James and Catherine Odell. who came
from Virginia to Highland county, Ohio, and took up and improved
wild land. Still later in life they went by ox teams to .Michigan, and
again began life in a primitive way in a new community. In that state
they continued to spend the remaining years of their lives. This old
couple, probably Methodists, had the spirit of the pioneers, and their
labors did much to advance the development of the various communities
in which they made their homes. After their marriage. Mr. and Mrs.
Williamson, the parents of Mrs. Cole, settled on a farm and there con-
tinued to engage in agricultural pursuits until death claimed them, the
father when he was seventy-three years of age. and the mother at the
age of eighty-seven years. They were faithful and consistent members
of the Methodist church, in the faith of which they reared their children.
In early life Mr. Williamson was a whig in his political proclivities,
but later joined the ranks of the republican party. He was not an office
seeker nor politician, but was content to spend his life in the peaceful
pursuits of the soil, free from the jealousies and bitterness of public
life. Mrs. Cole w T as the sixth of eleven children, of whom six daugh-
ters and one son are still living, all married, while four of the daugh-
ters are widows.
Mr. and Mrs. Cole were the parents of the following children : Enos,
a well-known attorney of Hartford City, Indiana, married Bertha Clap-
per, and they have three children, — Leah. Ruth, and Burr, the two
former at the City High school: Amos, a hardware dealer of Bluffton.
Indiana, married Addie Oppenheim, and has no children; Laura, widow
of Elmer C. Storm, lives on her farm near Dundee, and has two daugh-
ters, — Ruth and E. C. : Mary E.. married Nathan B. Certain of Illinois,
a practical carpenter and builder who is looking after the high school
buildings at Montpelier, and they have four children, — Dorothy, a grad-
uate of Montpelier High school, class of 1913, and now a student at the
Terre Haute State Normal school, Howard Guy. also a high school grad-
uate and student at the normal school. Laura E., a student in the high
school, class of 1915, and Neil V.. now in the eighth grade of the public
schools: Eliza L.. the wife of Abe Gruver. of Warren, Indiana, has one
son. — Calvin Cole, aged ten years, who is attending the public schools:
and Magdalene, who is the wife of Ira P. Nelson, representing a Chicago
210 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
piano house, lives on High street, Montpelier, and has two daughters, —
Jessie M., aged twenty years, a graduate of high school and now en-
gaged in teaching, and Janice, aged nine years.
Mrs. Cole is still active and strong in body and is in full possession
of her mental faculties. Her residence in Blackford county has covered
a period of forty-six years, and during this time she has watched the
growth and development of this section into one of the richest in the
great Hoosier state. Throughout this time she has continued to con-
tribute her full share toward the general welfare, and is entitled there-
fore to mention among the builders of the county.
William Carroll. The late William Carroll, who for many years
was one of Blackford county's most prominent and influential farmers,
came of tine old Irish ancestry. His great-grandfather, Robert Carroll,
was born of Protestant parents, in Ireland, about 1750, and there mar-
ried Mary Bell, who was also of a good family, and in 1770 they came
to America, being accompanied by Mr. Carroll's two brothers and his
sister. Locating in Morriss township, Washington county, Pennsyl-
vania, they took up land and engaged in agricultural pursuits, continuing
to be thus engaged during the remainder of their lives. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Carroll lived to advanced ages and were well known and highly
respected in their community. They had seven children, including
James Carroll, the grandfather of William Carroll.
The eldest child of his parents. James Carroll was born in Washing-
ton county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1771, and in his native locality
he was married to Miss Margaret Marshall. They reared a family of
ten children, among whom Robert Carroll, the father of William Car-
roll, was the second in order of birth, and was born June 14, 1800, in
Washington county. Pennsylvania, where he was united in marriage
with Margaret Gregory, who was also born in Pennsylvania at about
the same time and came of Scotch-Irish stock, being a kinswoman of
many prominent Pennsylvania people, among them General Abercrom-
bie's family. After the birth of several of their children, including
William, who was born September 10, 1828, Robert Carroll and his wife
migrated overland by way of teams to Delaware county, Indiana, lo-
cating upon wild land on the Mississinewa river, sixteen miles north-
west of Municetown, as it was then called, not far across the river from
Eaton, in 1838. Mr. Carroll had disposed of his Pennsylvania farm
for the sum of $2,000, and accordingly was able to make quite a pur-
chase of land when he came to Indiana. The family settled in a little
log cabin home, in which were born Samuel and Margaret, both of whom
died young. The father was a thrifty and industrious land owner,
made a success of his undertakings through business acumen and good
management, and when he passed away was known as one of the sub-
stantial men of his community and the owner of one of the finest farms
in his part of the county.
William Carroll was the last of his parents' children to die, passing
away at his home in Licking township, Blackford county, October 8,
1902. He had grown up on a farm in Delaware county, and from young
manhood proved himself a steady, hard-working man. When about
of age, he with his brother Wesley, went to the mountains of Colorado
and Montana, where they were engaged in mining for seven years and
met with good success. Returning to Indiana, they purchased some
COO acres of land in Licking township, Blackford county, located in
section 5 on Licking Creek, which stream ran through, watered and
drained the land. After his marriage, in 1866, Mr. Carroll settled on
this property, bringing his mother with him, and she died here in 1869,
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 211
the father having passed away a long period before when only forty
years of age. She was sixty-l'onr years old and passed away in the
faith of the Methodist ehnreh.
After settling on his large farm in Licking township, Mr. Carroll
began to concentrate his energies upon its cultivation and improve-
ment, and as the years passed added to its acreage from time to time,
until he had nearly 1,000 acres, the greater part of his land being im-
proved. A thrifty farmer and stock raiser, his cattle, sheep and horses
were of the best breed and of every variety, and his live stock of all
kinds met with a ready sale in the large markets. He was known as
a leading exhibitor at all the stock shows, county fairs and agricultural
exhibits, won numerous prizes with his animals, and was known as an
authority on all matters pertaining to the breeding of stock, being a
frequent and valued contributor to agricultural papers on the subject.
In political matters he was prominent as a republican in his early years,
but became a Bryan democrat with the advent of the brilliant young
Nebraskan, and continued a supporter of that party until the time of
his death, taking an active part in political matters. His last years
were passed in semi-retirement, in his beautiful home, and there he
passed away, mourned by a with- circle of friends who had been at-
tracted to him by his many manly and sterling qualities of mind and
heart.
Mr. Carroll was married at Hillsboro, Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth -J.
Elton, who was born and reared at that place and educated at Billard
Academy, a female institute, in the work of the alumni of which she has
since taken an active interest. She still resides at the beautiful, modern
country home which was built by Mr. Carroll to replace the modest little
house in which they settled at the time of their marriage. Mrs. Car-
roll is a daughter of John and Phoebe (Shoemaker) Elton, natives of
New Jersey. Her grandparents, English people, emigrated to Nova
Scotia not long after their marriage and then came to the United States
and settled in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. In their native land they
had been prominent, and here they were also known as among the
leading families, and later when they moved to Salem, New Jersey, be-
came connected with the Shoemakers, another well-known family, by
marriage. John Elton died at the age of seventy-eight years, and his
wife when seventy-six. Both were members of the Presbyterian church,
were talented vocalists and belonged to the church choir. In their
family there were six sons and four daughters, all of whom grew up,
married, and reared children, and all survive except three.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Carroll, and of these, four
died young, while Margaret passed away as a young woman in 190L
Three children are living: Charles E., Elizabeth and Anna. Charles E.
Carroll, following in the footsteps of his father, has become one of the
leading farmers and stock raisers of this part of the state, and is also
an authority on stock matters and an able writer on the subject. He is
engaged in looking after his father's large estate, and is a leading fac-
tor in business affairs in the county. He has for some years been a mem-
ber, of the Sheep Breeders' Association. In public matters he has also
been prominent, and is serving as a joint member of the Legislature from
Blackford and Grant counties for the term of 1912-14. Ann Carroll
married Dr. C. J. Stover, of Eaton. Delaware county, Indiana; and
Elizabeth, who resides with her mother, is widely known is vocal and
instrumental musical circles, being a teacher of music with classes at
Hartford City. She also is possessed of a beautiful voice adapted to
church work, and has frequently acted as soloist in the choirs of large
Indianapolis churches and at other points. With her mother she at-
212 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
tends the Presbyterian church at Hartford City, and both have been
active in its work.
Jay A. Hindman. He whose name initiates this review, has achieved
national reputation in his chosen profession, and may well be termed
one of the representative members of the bar of the United States. He
is a native of Indiana and is thus fully entitled to definite recognition in
this volume, though he has recently established his residence at Modesto,
Stanislaus County, California.
The genealogy of the Hindman family is traced to Dutch and Irish
sources and his lineal ancestors were conspicuous in the colonial period
of our national history, one of whom, on the maternal side, having come
to this country in 1620, on the Mayflower, and the great-grandfather,
on the paternal side, was a valiant soldier and officer in the War of the
Revolution.
The maternal ancestry was of Irish extraction and, as a part of the
Plymouth Colony, settled in Massachusetts, while the paternal line was
Dutch and formed a part of the Dutch West India Company, to which
was committed the care and colonization of "New Netherland. " This
company, in 1626, purchased Manhattan Island and erected a fort thereon
called "Fort Amsterdam." Soon afterward, this company purchased
other tracts of land in the vicinity, including Governor's Island and
Staten Island, and to this source certain of Mr. Hindman 's kinsfolk to
this day trace title to valuable real estate in the cities of New York and
Brooklyn.
James Hindman, grandfather of Jay A., of this sketch, was born
in the state of New York near the close of the eighteenth century, and
there was reared to maturity. After his marriage, he emigrated to what
was then regarded as the "far west" and became one of the pioneer
settlers near Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio. He became one of the
representative citizens of the state, and was a member of the convention
which met at Chillicothe in November, 1802, and drafted, and for the
people ratified, the first constitution of Ohio.
Crooks Hindman, son of James Hindman, was born in Wayne County,
Ohio, February 23, 1821, and was married at the same place, November
30, 1848, to Matilda, daughter of John J. and Sarah (Mercer) Brown,
her birth having occurred March 27, 1823, in the same county. To this
marriage were born Frances E., September 13, 1849; Albert M., February
20, 1851, who died in 1859;. Mary E., September 13, 1855, who died in
the state of Oklahoma in the year 1907 ; Clarrissa J., August 24, 1857 ;
Thomas J., October 2, 1859 ; Jay A., September 1, 1861, and Louisa A.,
April 23, 1864.
Both of these parents were educated at the Wooster Academy, a
Presbyterian school, and at that time one of the leading educational
institutions of the Buckeye state. The father excelled in mathematics,
while the mother had an especial aptitude in music, and attained a
remarkable proficiency in the languages, including Greek, Latin and
Hebrew, and to the time of her death delighted to read her Bible in the
original Hebrew tongue. Both were devout Presbyterians of the old
school, and they applied their church discipline to their family govern-
ment with rigorous exaction.
Soon after their marriage, yielding to a desire for adventure, as
their ancestors had done, they left their native heath where they were
surrounded with comfort and refinement, to make their home in the wdds
of the ' ' distant west, ' ' They settled in Jefferson Township, Wells County,
Indiana, and in the spring of 1849, built a cabin in the woods and for
many years endured the hardships and privations incident to pioneer
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 213
life. Here were their children born and reared, and by parental tutor-
age, were educated. Here also the father died in 1876, bul be bad lived
to see those dismal forests disappear before the resolute blow of the
woodman's ax, and in their stead were fertile farms, fruitful fields
blooming orchards, and happy homes, with schools and churches, low us
and villages and good roads on every hand to reward him and his fellow
pioneers for the many hardships and privations they endured while
subduing an obstinate wilderness. The wife survived him many years,
and in 1909 she departed this life at the home of her daughter, Frances
E. Bowman, near the old homestead, ripe in years and rich in the love
of all who knew her.
Jay A. Hhidman was born in the original log cabin on the old home-
stead, and has not only tasted, but drank deeply of the cup of pioneer
experience. While a mere lad, he helped not only to clear away the
forests and to ditch and fence the farm, but helped also to build the
public highways of the township through bramble, swamp and woods,
and many were the days during which he drove an ox team drawing logs
to build corduroy roads across impassable "swales" that abounded in
that region in those days.
The demands upon his labor were too pressing to allow him to attend
public school, but the educational attainments of his parents stood him in
good stead, and by their aid he kept abreast of those who enjoyed the
privileges of the public schools. When he was but fifteen years of age,
his father died. This bereavement cast upon him a heavy burden for
one so young to bear, but he was old beyond his years, and soon so
shaped his home affairs as to enable him to go away to school. Placing
the income of the farm at the disposal of his mother and sisters who
were yet at home, he entered the Methodist Episcopal College at Fort
Wayne, Indiana, from which institution he graduated at the age of
nineteen years. This college was later removed to Upland, Grant County,
Indiana, and is now the Taylor University. Later, he entered the
Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana, now called the
Valparaiso University, where he graduated from the Teachers' Depart-
ment in the year 1883, and in the year 1887, he graduated from the
Scientific Department of the same institution, receiving the degree of
Bachelor of Science. These achievements were phenomenal from the fact
that not only was he deprived of all privileges of the public schools, but
that he made his way through college without any financial aid whatever,
and in the meantime paid off a mortgage indebtedness of $800 on the
home place in addition to contributing to the support of his mother and
younger sister who remained upon the farm.
While pursuing his first course in college, through the influence of a
fellow student from Blackford County, he was employed as teacher in
one of the rural schools of that county, in which capacity he demon-
strated superior ability and to which position he was recalled for five
successive terms, during the intervals of which he attended college, where
he also taught four hours a day in addition to carrying the regular work
of the prescribed course, and was thus enabled to complete his college
education with the other members of his class.
In the year 1889, he was elected County Superintendent of the public-
schools of Blackford county, and was re-elected to the same office in the
year 1891. Entering upon the duties of the office, he found the county
without any definite educational system and the schools disorganized, and
he laid hold of the work of bringing order out of chaos with that zeal
and determination which has characterized his whole career. He inau-
gurated a system of gradation and reports, prescribed a uniform course
of study, raised the moral and educational requirements of teachers and
214 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
strove to make teaching a profession and not a "job," and gave impetus
to the educational interests of the county which is felt to this day. Such
was the transformation in so short a time as to attract wide attention
and the methods employed by him were largely adopted in many of the
counties of the state. As an index to the esteem in which he was held
by the educational fraternity, we take pleasure in quoting from The
American School Journal, a periodical devoted to the cause of education
and of wide circulation in the middle west :
"Perhaps nowhere can be found more striking evidence of the value
of efficient, vigorous and intelligent supervision than in Blackford
County, Indiana. Although the youngest county superintendent in the
state, Prof. Hindman has wrought a marvelous transformation in the
rural schools of that county. He has been at the head of the educational
interests of the county but three years, and within that brief time has
inaugurated and put into successful operation a public school system
which is equal to the best and which has brought the schools under his
supervision boldly to the fore-front. But to know the man, is to discover
the cause. He is energy personified and his soul is in his work. While
he is primarily, and in every true sense, a "school man," he is also a
man of affairs and possessed of wonderful versatility. He is not only a
scholar, but an organizer as well. He is an orator of high rank, possessing
a fluency of language, ease of manner, dignified poise, graceful gesture
and pleasing voice so harmoniously blended as to place him in the front
rank as a forceful and pleasing platform speaker, with few equals and
none superior in the state.
"In politics, Mr. Hindman is a democrat and is the present chairman
of the county central committee of his party. And while a partisan with
strong convictions, he is too broad to allow party politics to enter educa-
tional affairs, as even his political opponents admit. He has ever been
a close student of political history and the science of government, and
is strong in the conviction that a tariff levied for the purpose of protec-
tion is wrong in theory and unjust in practice. His public utterances
on this and kindred questions, coupled with his superior oratorical
ability, soon attracted wide attention and his services are in great demand
as a public speaker, especially in political campaign work. As early as
the national campaign of 1884, he canvassed this and adjoining states
under the auspices of his party organization and was billed as 'The Boy
Orator of Indiana, ' and in each subsequent campaign, including the one
just closed, he has been heard throughout the states of the middle west
and is universally esteemed as one of the ablest and most convincing
advocates of the principles for which his party stands."
Early in life, he resolved to become a lawyer, and this purpose to
him was a "polar star" in guiding his subsequent career. His choice
in this respect was determined by an incident which occurred in his early
childhood. His father was a justice of the peace of the township in which
he lived. A case was tried before him which, at that time, was considered
an important event, and the people,— men, women and children, — from
"all the regions round about Jordan," came out to hear it. To accom-
modate the assembled hosts, the floor of the double log barn was converted
into an improvised temple of justice. There in the presence of the motley
throng, the case was tried before a jury which had been summoned from
all quarters of the township. Appearing for one of the parties to the
action, was the Honorable Joseph S. Dailey, a rising young lawyer of
Bluffton. subsequently judge of the supreme court of the state. The
occasion was an auspicious one to the future disciple of Blackstone. With
wide-eyed admiration and every faculty alert, he drank in every word
which fell from the lips of the young attorney, and then resolved to
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 215
emulate him in his chosen profession. As an interesting sequence, years
afterward, and when both had become prominent, these men were warm
personal, politieal and professional friends and mutual admirers, and
they were engaged, as opposing counsel, in the midst of the trial of an
important ease at the time of the sudden and untimely death of Judge
Dailey, whom Mr. Bondman had so long regarded as his patron saint.
Mr. Hindman's rise in the legal profession was rapid and brilliant.
From early in life, he was a elose and interested student of lilaekstone.
Kent, Greenlief, Chitty and other eminent authorities and before begin-
ning the active practice, few lawyers were better grounded in the basic
principles of the law. During his incumbency of the office of county
superintendent, he pursued the study and practical application of the
law in the office of Shinn & Pierce in Hartford City. In 1892, he was
nominated, without his solicitation, as candidate, on the democratic ticket,
for the office of prosecuting attorney for the forty-eighth judicial circuit
of Indiana, then composed of the counties of Grant and Blackford, and
although the normal political majority in the circuit was overwhelmingly
against him. he was defeated in the election by a very narrow margin.
At the next session of the state legislature, by a special enactment, the
forty-eighth judicial circuit was changed by segregating Grant county.
and Blackford county was united with Wells county, creating thereby
the twenty-eighth judicial circuit. In this circuit there was a vacancy
in the office of prosecuting attorney and, on March 8, 190:!, Mr. Hindman
was appointed by Governor Matthews to till this vacancy, to accept which
he resigned the county superintendency.
On assuming the duties of the office. Mr. Hindman displayed the
same energy and ability which had characterized his previous efforts
and he soon became recognized as one of the strongest prosecuting attor-
neys in the state. Instead of devoting his attention to petty infractions,
he looked more especially to grave violations of the law and soon struck
terror to the hearts of hardened criminals. In disehargine- the duties of
the office, as in all of his undertakings, he was conscientious to a high
degree, and was guided by the theory that it was as much the duty of a
prosecuting attorney to protect the innocent as to convict the guilty, and
in cases where he had reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused, he
frankly told the jury so and asked for an acquittal.
At the expiration of the term for which he was appointed, lie was
nominated by his party for the ensuing term and stood for election in
November. 1904. During his incumbency, the criminal and lawless ele-
ment had learned that they eoidd receive no quarter at his hands, and
that party fealty afforded them no immunity from prosecution. Accord-
ingly, the lawless element of all parties combined to encompass his de-
feat, and tin- war was on. Courageously, he hurled defiance at his
opponents and would make no bargain. He warned all criminals that,
if elected, their only means of protection from prosecution was to violate
no law. He was importuned by influential members of Ins party to
dismiss certain prosecutions then pending in the courts, as a c lit ion
upon which he would receive the support of a powerful criminal element,
but he replied that his self-respect was not for sale and that he could
not be purchased at any price. As a result, the law-abiding voters.
regardless of party affiliations, came to his support. That election was
a republican '■land-slide - ' throughout the state and his party went down
to defeat, but he was elected by a large majority, and was the only candi-
date on the democratic ticket that carried his home county.
At the expiration of the term of office for which he was elected, he
engaged in general practice of the law in Hartford City, and his advance-
ment in his profession was rapid and distinctive, as shown by the success
216 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
he has achieved. Oil and natural gas having been discovered in that
part of the state, he made an especial study of the law pertaining to this
class of property and soon his clientage extended to all of the oil and
natural gas fields in this country and in the Dominion of Canada, and
he is everywhere recognized as authority on this branch of the law. So
great has been the demand for his services in this class of litigation that
in late years it became necessary for him to abandon the local practice
and devote his time to this special class of work, much of which was in
the Federal Courts and in the highest courts of various states..
While, for a number of years, he has been well known among "oil
men" of this country, it was not until the year 1909 that he came into
national prominence.
For many years natural gas was known to exist in southern Kansas,
and the supply had been regarded as inexhaustible. The Kansas Natural
Gas Company and the Wichita Gas Company were organized by eastern
capitalists as distributing companies. Contracts were made with local
companies in the various cities of Kansas and Missouri by which these
distributing companies obligated themselves to deliver a designated sup-
ply of natural gas to the local companies for a fixed period of years.
Replying upon these contracts, the local companies, in turn, made similar
arrangements with their customers to supply them with this valuable
fuel. Pursuant to these arrangements, systems of pipe lines of enormous
capacity were laid, pumping stations were installed and other equipment
supplied, representing an expenditure of many millions of dollars. In
1906, the supply began to fail, and in 1909, these companies were unable
to fulfill their contracts for want of an adequate supply of natural gas.
Across the state line, in the state of Oklahoma, was an abundant supply,
and these companies made arrangements to extend their trunk lines into
that state to acquire this much-needed supply, whereupon the legislature
of the state of Oklahoma enacted a statute, the purpose of which was to
prevent the piping of natural gas out of the state. Efforts to lay a
pipe-line into the state were met with armed resistance. The state line
was patroled by the state militia, who, by command of the governor,
tore up the pipe lines which were laid into the state, and threw them
back into the state of Kansas. To protect their investments and to make
good their contracts, it was necessary for these gas companies to resort
to heroic measures. The question was, What could they do? Resort to
the state courts would be useless, and to pursue the usual method of
reaching the Supreme Court of the United States after traversing the
tedious routine of the State Courts, meant financial ruin by delay. The
ablest lawyers in the country were consulted and retained, among whom
were Parker, Hatch & Sheehan of New York ; Scarrett, Scarrett & Jones
of Kansas City ; Zeveley, Givens & Smith of Muskogee, Oklahoma ; Lee
& Mackey of Pittsburgh, and Jay A. Hindman of Hartford City, Indiana.
After careful consideration, it was determined to go into the Federal
Court, in the first instance, to enjoin the Governor, Attorney General,
and all of the executive officers of the state from attempting to enforce
the Oklahoma statute in the State Courts, on the ground that the statute
was in violation of the Commerce Clause of the Federal Constitution,
and also of the XIV Amendment. Although without a precedent for
such procedure, the action was brought in the Circuit Court of the United
States for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and, because of his ripe
knowledge of the questions involved, Mr. Hindman was selected by the
counsel engaged to present the case, which he did, and the briefs which
he filed in the courts are regarded by the legal fraternity as classics on
the subject of Constitutional Law. The case was won in all of the courts
through which it passed, including the Supreme Court of the United
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 217
States, and the derision rendered therein is a valuable precedent on Un-
important questions involved.
Mr. Hindman is now engaged in what he regards as the crowning
legal battle of his lit'.'. An action was brought in the Circuit Court of
the United States for the Eastern District of Illinois, in which the con-
trolling question involved affects the validity of more than ninety per
cent, of the contracts for the production of oil and gas in this country.
Previous to the bringing of this action. Mr. Hindman had raised the same
question in a case in the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, and had
secured a favorable decision. The vital question involved relate. 1 to the
effect of what is known as a ■'surrender clause" in Leases on land for
oil and gas purposes. It was the contention of Mr. Hindman that a
provision in a lease which gave the lessee the right to terminal.' it at ,m\
time, by implication, gave the same right to the other party; that an
estate at the will of one of the parties, is equally at the will of both;
that contracts, unperformed, optional as to one of the parties.- are
optional as to both. The Supreme Court of Illinois adopted this view,
and as practically all oil and gas leases contain a clause giving the
lessee a right to terminate the lease at any time, this decision, it' it should
become a ruling precedent, would practically nullify all leases for oil
and gas purposes in this country. For this reason all of the great oil
companies, especially the Standard Oil Company, were eager to neutralize
the Illinois decision, and this was the purpose for bringing this action
in the Federal Court. In that court. Judge Wright refused to follow
the State Supreme Court, but announced a different rule, although the
lease in controversy was executed in Illinois, related to property in
Illinois and could be performed nowhere except in Illinois. Mr. Hind-
man contended that the decision of the highest court of the state created
a rule of property in that state which was binding upon the Federal
Courts, and, refusing to abide by the decision rendered, he appealed to
the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in
which court his contention prevailed, and the decision of the lower court
was reversed. The case was entitled Smith et al. vs. Guffey et al., and
the decision is reported in Vol. 202 Federal Reporter at page 106.
Having thus failed in their purpose to nullify the ride established by
the Supreme Court of Illinois, this case was taken to the Supreme Court
of the United States by writ of certiorari, where it is now pending. Being
defeated in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, the allied oil
interests added to their previous array of eminent counsel other lawyers
of national fame, among whom were the firms of Philander C. Knox of
Pittsburgh, Levey Mayer of Chicago. J. W. Moses of Washington, D. C.
and Senator Joseph W. Bailey of Texas.
Representing the respondents. Mr. Hindman is alone. Such is the
confidence which his clients have in him that, although the amount in-
volved is a princely fortune, they are willing to stake all on his ability
to cope with his distinguished adversaries. They prefer to give him free
rein and leave him unhampered, and the brief and argument which he
has filed in the highest court of the land fully vindicate their judgment
in this respect. The paramount question involved is the relation existing
between State and Federal Courts, under the Constitution, and the duty
of the Federal Courts, under our dual system of government, to follow
precedents established by the decisions of the highest courts of the State
when such decisions establish rules of property within the state. His
brief consists of more than two hundred pages and is a masterful pre-
sentation of the questions of "Judicial Comity" and "Stare Decisis."
Although in the prime of life. Mr. Hindman has retired from the
general practice and his talents, in the future, will be employed in an
218 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
advisory capacity only. Having earned a competency sufficient for the
necessaries and conveniences of life, he has gone to the Pacific Coast,
where he hopes to enjoy his remaining years amid the perennial flowers
and sunshine of "The Golden West."
John H. Philebaum. The able and popular incumbent of the office
of county recorder, Mr. Philebaum, is one of the loyal and valued citizens
of Blackford county. He has deed interest in the history of this favored
section of Indiana and has given definite co-operation in the preparation
of the publication here presented, so that the publishers would mark
their appreciation in the work of a brief review of his ancestral and
personal record.
The lineage of Mr. Philebaum in the agnatic derivation is traced back
to the stanchest of German origin, and he is of the fifth generation of the
family in America. The founder of the branch in the United States
immigrated from Wurtemburg, Germany, and in the fatherland the
family name has long been identified with the grape-growing and wine
manufacturing industries. It is supposed that this worthy ancestor of
John H. Philebaum was married prior to coming to the New World,
where he established his home about the time of the war of the Revolution.
It is a matter of record that the voyage to America was specially long
and tedious, owing to the primitive type of the vessel and the adverse
conditions encountered at sea, the food supplies on the sailing ship having
been nearly exahusted before it arrived at its destination. Mr. Phile-
baum, who was the great-great-grandfather of him whose name initiates
this review, settled in Pennsylvania and was a representative of that fine
type of citizenship which has made the German agriculturists of the old
Keystone State famous in the nation's history. The religious faith of the
family was that of the German Lutheran church, and the early repre-
sentatives in America retained the best traditions and customs of the
German fatherland, the while they assimilated fully with the spirit of
the land of their adoption. The great-grandfather of John H. Philebaum
likewise passed his life as one of the substantial farmers of Pennsylvania,
and of his children the one next in line of descent to the present county
recorder of Blackford county was Jacob A. Philebaum, who was born and
reared in Pennsylvania, where he continued to give allegiance to the
basic industry of agriculture until he severed the home ties and as a
young man, came to Indiana, being accompanied by two of his brothers,
one of whom was George. George Philebaum established his home at
Port Wayne and the other brother, Samuel, located at Peru, .Miami
county, the while Jacob A. selected Payette county as his place of abode.
In that county was solemnized the marriage of this sterling pioneer
to Miss Sarah Sherry, who was of German ancestry and probably a
member of a family that originally settled in Pennsylvania. In Fayette
county Jacob A. Philebaum followed the pursuit of farming and there
he remained until about 1850. when he sold his property there and came
to Blackford county. Here be became the owner of the southwest quarter
of section 25, Jackson township, and the original family residence was
a log house of the primitive type common to that period. This, cabin
had no floor save that provided by loose boards and as originally used
the entrance door was represented simply in a quilt hung over the
opening.
Jacob A. Philebaum and bis family lived up to the full tension of
pioneer days and courageously set to themselves the task of reclaiming
a farm from the wilderness. In that early period wild game of all kinds
was plentiful and contributed much to the family larder, and wolves
often gave their ungrateful serenades about the little log house. And in
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 219
this house both he and his wife passed the remainder of life, which was
marked by consecutive industry, sterling attributes of character and
utmost kindliness. He was sixty-three years of age at the time of Ins
death, August 14. 1863. After the death of his first wife he contracted
a second marriage, the second wife, whose name was Eliza Ford, becom
ing the mother of two children, -James and Edward; she survived her
husband by a number of years and was a resident of Blackford county at
the time of her death, though the closing days of her life were not passed
on the old Homestead Farm just mentioned. .Mr. Philebaum was the
father of fourteen children, twelve by his first wife and two bv the
second. Brief record is here entered of the children of the first mar-
riage. David, the oldest son, was killed by a limb falling from a
burning tree. April 28. 1856, at Id o'clock I'. M., while Daniel, a soldier
in the Union army, contracted and died of pneumonia at Franklin, Ten-
nessee, and was buried at that place in 1862 ; William H. is representative
farmer of Jackson township and has two sons, William .M. and Jacob
Asa; Perry E., who is now living virtually retired in Montpelier, Black-
ford county, has five children, Willard, Bazzil B., Clem, Charley and
Lydia, now the wife of Samuel J. Fan-ell. present county clerk of Black-
ford county; Joseph Jacob R. owns and resides upon a farm in Fayette
county and has three children, Martin, Annie and Edna; Martin M., a
retired carpenter and blacksmith of Fayette county, has one daughter,
Carrie; Henry F. is a retired farmer of Jackson township, Blackford
county, and he has nine children. Amos. Estella, George. John \\\. Wil-
liam, Harry, Mary, Sophronia and Lucy ; George A. is the father of him
whose name introduces this article; Maggie is the wife of Samuel Landon,
a farmer of Jackson township, Blackford county, and they have four
children, Arthur, Edward, Maggie and Lee; Mary Ann, who 'first wedded
tlie late Newton Bowman, has one child by this union. Ethel, wife of
D. W. Donivan, principal of the Hartford City High School, and she is
now the wife of William Smith of Jay county, there being no children
of the second marriage; John W., who is a widower ami the father of
six children. Etta. Robert, Asa, Russell, Ronald and Perry, now resides
with his sister, Mrs. .Mary A. Smith, just mentioned; Emily, now the
wife of Sylvanus Davis, living in Fayette county, has one daughter.
Prances, living and two children dead. The last death in the immediate
family represented by the above mentioned children of Jacob A. Phile-
baum occurred more than half a century ago.
George Abraham Philebaum was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on
the 2nd day of November. 1846, and he and his wife now reside at Albany.
Delaware county, Indiana, where he is living retired, after many years
of earnest and fruitful endeavor. George A. Philebaum was reared to
manhood on the old homestead farm in Blackford county, and as a young
man he returned to Fayette county, when- May 31, 1869, was solemnized
his marriage to Miss America Ann Corbin. who was born in that county
on the 6th day of December, 1851. After his marriage Mr. Philebaum
continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in Fayette county
until 1872, when he came with his family to Blackford county, where be
once more established his residence on a farm in Jackson township, own-
ing the north half of the west half of Section 25. in Jackson township.
There he continued to be actively and successively engaged in farming
and stock-growing and gardening until December. 1912. when he re-
moved to Albany. Indiana, his present place of abode. He is a stalwart
supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and he and his wife
are earnest and zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
In the following paragraph is given brief record concerning the children
of Mr. and Mrs. Philebaum.
220 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
May Tillie is the wife of Ross D. Peterson, of Hart county, Kentucky,
and they have four children living, — Merrill, Ralph, George W. and
Vera ; their fourth child, Lala, met a tragic death, resulting from injuries
received when her clothing took fire. John II., of this review, was the
second in order of birth of the children of George A. Philebaum. Elijah,
who is now a widower, resides with his son, Paul, on a farm in Jacksou
township, Blackford county. Webb, who is a prosperous farmer of
Jackson township, wedded Miss Orella C. Blankenbeker, and their chil-
dren are Carl E., Alma C, Mazy Lucile, Delmar N., Lavanna L. and
one, Floys Allen, their first born, dying in infancy. Miss Sarah Phile-
baum presides over the domestic economies of the home of her brother
Elijah. Marshall, living in Dunkirk, Indiana, wedded Miss Goldie Hiles
and their children are Dorothy, Richard and George. Maggie Viola is
the wife of Arthur Armstrong, likewise a farmer and stock-raiser in
Jackson township, and they have one son, James Vaughn. Omer, who is
engaged in farming in the same township, married Miss Bertha Flatter
and they have two children, Valeda and Christena Belle. Ruth Alice is
the wife of Harry Cunningham, a farmer of Delaware county, and they
have one daughter, Beatrice Marie. America Ann, the youngest of the
children, remains with her parents in their pleasant home at Albany,
Delaware county.
John H. Philebaum was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on the 26th
day of February, 1872, and was thus an infant at the time of his parents
removal to Blackford county, in the same year. He was reared to adult
age on the home farm in Jackson township and he continued his studies
in the public schools until he had completed the curriculum of the county
schools. Thereafter he availed himself of the advantages of the Indiana
State Normal School at Marion, and from 1893 until 1909 he devoted
his attention to teaching in the schools of the districts in Jackson town-
ship, where he became a most successful and popular representative of
the pedagogic profession.
In 1908 Mr. Philebaum was elected county recorder, and his excellent
record resulted in his re-election at the expiration of his first term of four
years, his present term expiring January 1, 1918. Since the time he was
sixteen years of age Mr. Philebaum has manifested a lively and intelli-
gent interest in political and general public affairs, and for some time
he served as a member of the democratic county committee of Blackford
county, as representative from Jackson township. In a fraternal way
he is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men, and in his home
city and county his circle of friends is limited only by that of his
acquaintances.
On October 14, 1899, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Philebaum
to Miss Louesa Alice Blankenbeker, who was born in Jackson township,
Blackford county, December 11, 1870, and who is a daughter of Robert
B. and Cordelia C. (Batten) Blankenbeker, still residing on their fine
farm in that township. Mr. and Mrs. Philebaum have no children.
Dennis F. Shannon. Probably the oldest living educator in Black-
ford county who is actively engaged in the practice of his profession is
Mr. Dennis F. Shannon. His entire life has been passed in the school
room, and his high intellectual and literary attainments, and peculiar
ability to impart his own knowledge to others, combined with a pleasant
personalty, have made him one of the most popular and efficient teachers
that the county has known.
Mr. Shannon belongs to an old Irish family, whose members were
earlv pioneers of Tuscarawas county, Ohio. His great-grandfather, John
Shannon, whom, it is probable, was born in Pennsylvania, married there,
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 221
and migrated to Ohio about the year 1805 or 1S06. He had three sons:
Anion, Zacheus and James. All the sons gave their attention to agri-
cultural pursuits during their younger years, but Zacheus subsequently
became a successful inventor, and at one time also believed that be had
solved the mystery of perpetual motion. He also followed millwrighting
and married and died in his native county of Ohio, leaving a family.
James Shannon grew up a farmer, and in later years left Ohio for Iowa,
but after some years moved on to Oregon, and there passed away. He
was also married and had a family.
Anion Shannon, the grandfather of Mr. Shannon, was horn in Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania, about 1800 or 1802, and grew up in Tus-
carawas county, Ohio. As a youth he displayed a high order of skill
with his ritle and soon achieved more than a local reputation as a hunter
and trapper, killing great numbers of deer and turkeys and trapping
numerous fur-bearing animals. Both in Ohio and this part of Indiana
his prowess as a nimrod was well known, and probably much of his skill
was inherited from his father, who had spent the greater part of his
life among the Indians, by whom he was highly respected and feared.
Amon Shannon married Catherine Collors, of Tuscarawas, also a member
of a pioneer family of Ohio. They were the parents of three children,
namely: Eliza, who married Seth S. Siminton, who served as a soldier
during the Civil war, in the Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, spent his later years in Harrison township, Blackford county,
and there died, leaving a family; Tabitha, who married John Poy, of
Blackford county, Indiana, who met a soldier's death on a southern
battlefield during the Civil war, was buried south of the Mason and
Dixon line, and left two children, — Amon and Emma ; Tabitha married
for her second husband Frank Potter, both deceased, leaving one daugh-
ter, — Maggie, also now dead ; and Andrew J., the father of Dennis F.
Shannon.
Andrew J. Shannon was born on the old homestead farm in Tuscara-
was county, Ohio, July 3, 1830. He was sixteen years of age when the
family came to Indiana, in 1846, traveling overland with teams, through
the swamps, timber, brush and prairie to the wilds of Blackford county.
Here they secured a green wild farm, covered with timber, a part of
which was first cleared for the erection of a log cabin home, and following
this the work of clearing went rapidly on until they had a good farm of
ninety-three acres, yielding full and handsome crops. Andrew J. Shan-
non became owner of the old homestead and later added forty acres to
this property, the greater part of which still remains in the possession
of the family, twenty-five acres being owned by Dennis F. Shannon, and
the greater part of the balance by his brother Arthur. Andrew J.
Shannon died on his farm December 2-4, 1892, his death being the second
in the family for a period of thirty years. His son, Carey, died just a
week later, aged seventeen years, and a daughter. Mrs. Ann E. Blunt,
died a short time before, all of typhoid fever. Mr. Shannon was married
in Harrison township, Blackford county, to Miss Margaret E. Teach, who
was born in Darke county. Ohio. November 1, 1833, and still lives, being
active and well preserved, and in possession of all of her faculties,
making her home with her son Arthur. She was fourteen years of age,
in 1847, when she came to Harrison township, Blackford county, with
her parents, John and Ann (Muster) Teach, the former of whom was
born February 10. 1803, and the latter November 5, 1802. both being
natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Teach was of either German or Pennsyl-
vania-Dutch parentage, while Mrs. Teach was of Irish stock. They were
married in 1830, and with their family came from Virginia to Ohio and
then to Blackford county, Indiana, in 1847, locating on new laud in
222 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Harrison township, where they cut out and started to make a farm.
First a log cabin was erected and Mr. Teach engaged in agricultural
pursuits until 1849, when he became infected by the gold fever which
swept over the country following the discovery of the precious metal in
California, and made the trip to that state. He was heard of for two
years, but soon his letters ceased abruptly, and nothing more was ever
heard of him. His widow, believing that he had met a violent death,
after many years was married to Robert Duffey, and during the seventies
moved to Lincoln county, Kansas, where both died when past seventy-five
years of age, Mrs. Duffey July 21, 1878, and Mr. Duffey a year or two
before. They had no children. By her first marriage, Mrs. Teach had
the following children: William Johnson, born April 1, 1831, died in
Kansas, when quite old, after a career spent in agricultural pursuits,
married Elizabeth Duffy, deceased, and left a family; Margaret E.
became the wife of Andrew J. Shannon ; Avilda C, born December 18,
1841, in Ohio, married Jacob Simonton, October 10, 1861, and died
June 16, 1913, her husband passing away September 23, 1913, and leav-
ing a family of three children, — Asbury E., married, and an oil worker
in Oklahoma; Margaret Ann, the wife of George M. Rains, living on a
farm in Harrison township; and C. Meta, the wife of John Fox, of
Montpelier.
Dennis F. Shannon is the second son and child of four living : John
Amon, born July 8, 1854, a farmer of Harrison township, married
Maretta Chandler, and have five children, — Ellen, Virgil, Leslie, Scott
and Clarence, all of whom are married and have children except the
last-named; Clarence; Arthur M., born in 1870, a successful farmer of
Harrison township, married Lucy Jackson of this township, and they
have five children, — Carl, Forest, Flora, M. Avilda, and Fay, all of whom
are single ; and Andrew Arlinda, born in 1873, a farmer near Coldwater,
Michigan, married Miss Carrie Lockett, and they have two sons,—
Clifford and Charles. Clifford married, and has two children; Charles
single, living with his parents.
Dennis F. Shannon was born in the little log cabin home on the farm
in Harrison township, Blackford county, Indiana, January 20, 1858.
There he was reared amid rural surroundings, securing his early educa-
tion in the district schools. This he later supplemented by attendance at
the Fort Wayne College, where his future wife was also a student, and
in 1881 commenced upon his career as a teacher in old district school
No. 9. Mr. Shannon has continued to teach in the schools of Blackford
county to the present time, with the exception of four years in Wells
county, and from the first has been an earnest promoter of the cause of
education, faithfully giving, even at an age when many men excuse
themselves from active life, his time and thought and work to the cause
which enlisted the earliest sympathies of his young manhood and the
matured interest of his later years. Mr. Shannon has resided at his
cottage home, No. 223 East Green street, Montpelier, Indiana, since 1883,
the year in which he was married, on September 20th. His bride was
Mrs. Amanda J. (Bonham) Thornburg, who was born at Montpelier,
Indiana, December 5, 1852, and was reared and educated here, completing
her education at Fort Wayne College. She has a son, Frank B. Thorn-
burg, of Meadows, Idaho, from her former marriage. She has also been
a teacher of more than ordinary success, and has taught both in the local
township and city primary schools, before and after her marriage. She
is a daughter of Lyman and Lydia (Ballard) Bonham, the former born
in Sandusky county, Ohio, in 1827, and the latter in Ontario county,
New York. They were married on or near the farm entered from the
United States Government by the grandparents of Mrs. Shannon, Peter
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 223
and Susanna (Yost) Bonhaiu, who had come from Sandusky county,
Ohio, to Blackford county, Indiana, and made their entry in 1839. There
Peter Bonham died in 185<i, at the age of fifty-nine years, while the
grandmother died in the southern part of the state in 1887, at the age of
eighty-seven years. They were members of the Primitive Baptist church,
Lyman Bonham. the father of -Mrs. Shannon, became a cabinetmaker in
this comity, and was a pioneer at Montpelier in this line of work. In
connection witli this trade lie made coffins, at a time when all such articles
were made by hand, and was frequently called upon by the early set this
to do this kind of work. He came to Montpelier in 1851, soon after his
marriage, prior to which time lie had carried on carpenter work at
Muncie. He died in Montpelier, March 20, 1883, having been born Feb-
ruary 11, 1827, while Mrs. Bonham was born February 25, 1*32. and
died November 2. 1863. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Mr. Shannon's parents were members of the New Light Chris
tian church.
Mr. Shannon and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist
Episcopal church. In politics he was for many years a republican, and
served for a number of years as town clerk of Montpelier and also as
census enumerator of his district from 1890 to 1900. During the cam-
paign of 1912 he transferred his allegiance to the progressive party, and
has since continued to give his support to its principles and candidates.
His life has been a full and useful one, in which he has been permitted
to share in and contribute materially to the growth and development of
an important community. His life has been lived in such a manner that
he has the respect and esteem of those with whom he has come into con-
tact, and his literary efforts have given him more than local prominence.
Mr. and Mrs. Shannon are the parents of the following children:
Lena M., horn March 14, 1885, educated in the graded schools of Mont-
pelier, graduated from the City High school, class of 1904, and is a young
lady of many attainments. She is now society editor of the Kokomo
Dispatch, and a part of the time works as a linotypist. Formerly pipe
organist at the Montpelier Methodist Episcopal church, she is a talented
musician, and is now a student in the Sherwood Music School. Chicago,
under Mrs. C. H. Brown, a branch worker, under whose instruction she
is making rapid progress. Edna A., the other child of Mr. ami .Mrs.
Shannon, was born January 30. 1887, and is also a graduate of the City
High school, class of 1905. She is well known in musical circles, being a
teacher of some reputation, formerly a student under Mrs. C. H. Brown,
and now in charge of the local branch of the Sherwood Music School, of
which she is an affiliated teacher. She is now the pipe organist of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Montpelier. filling the place vacated by
her sister.
Ashley G. Emshwiller. One of the present, active practicioners of
the Blackford county bar is the subject of this sketch, Ashley G. Emsh-
willer. He was born at the city of Montpelier. Indiana. November 14,
1875. and is the son of John Emshwiller and Mary A. (Bare) Emshwiller.
who were both natives of Blackford county. Indiana, John Emshwiller
having been born in that county in June, 1842. His paternal grandpar-
ents were Abram Emshwiller and Emily (Painter) Emshwiller. who
came originally from Rockingham county, Virginia, and settled in Black-
ford county, Indiana, about the year 1836, both of German stock; and
his maternal grandparents were Henry Bare and Philena (Cortright)
Bare, both of German ancestry, who came from Pennsylvania at an early
date and settled in Blackford county and remained until their death,
both of the latter having been dead a number of years. John Emshwiller
224 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
located in Montpelier, Indiana, in the year 1875, and engaged in the drug
business and continued in that business from that date until his death
in 1911. He was the father of six children, one of whom died in infancy,
and the remaining five: Marion A., Robert M., Daisy, Fred 0. and Ash-
ley G. are living in the county; the four former at Montpelier, and the
latter at Hartford City, Indiana.
A. G. Emshwiller was graduated from the Montpelier High School
with the class of 1892, and entered the law department of the Northern
Indiana University, at Valparaiso, Indiana, the fall of 1892, and grad-
uated therefrom in 1894 with a degree of L.L.B. He located at Mont-
pelier and immediately engaged in the practice of the law and after a
period of two years formed a partnership with C. A. Taughinbaugh,
which continued about two years, and until his appointment of deputy
prosecuting attorney, under the Hon. A. M. Waltz, after which for a
period of four years he engaged in the practice alone. Later he formed
a partnership with Joseph Burns, and with him continued the practice of
law until the election of Mr. Emshwiller, in the year 1904, to the office
of prosecuting attorney of the 28th Judicial District of Indiana, com-
prising the counties of Wells and Blackford. After his election as
prosecuting attorney Mr. Emshwiller continued to reside at Montpelier,
Indiana, until September, 1905, when he moved his family and business
to Hartford City, Indiana, where he has resided since. He was re-elected
(without opposition) to the office of prosecuting attorney in 1906, and in
all served as such for four years. During his term of office as prosecut-
ing attorney, many noted and important cases were disposed of in which
were included State v. William, Earnest and Otto Cook, for the murder
of Preston Sanderson, State v. Kingsbury for attempted murder of
Mussetter, and State v. Landfair, abortion.
From 1901 to 1904 Mr. Emshwiller served as the county attorney for
Blackford county, Indiana, having been selected three times by the Board
of Commissioners as their advisor.
In January, 1909, he formed a partnership for the practice of law
with Aaron M. Waltz, and the firm of Waltz and Emshwiller have com-
manded a very large practice in Blackford and surrounding counties, and
have been and are engaged in all noted and important cases in this
section.
Since January 1, 1910, Mr. Emshwiller has served continuously as
city attorney of Hartford City, his second four-year term having been
initiated in January, 1914.
Mr. Emshwiller has for years been active politically, and in 1907, he
was selected a member of the Democratic State Committee, and served
his party as such a period of two years, representing the 11th Con-
gressional District.
At Montpelier, in June, 1897, Mr. Emshwiller wedded Miss Lula B.
Rawlings, who was born in Randolph county, Indiana, a daughter of
James P. and Lillie O. (Wiggins) Rawlings, who became residents of
Blackford county when she was a child. Mr. Rawlings was born in
Kentucky and came to Indiana as a young man. He served two terms
as treasurer of Blackford county, and is now president of the First Na-
tional Bank of Hartford City, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Emshwiller have
three sons, all of whom are attending the public schools of Hartford City ;
James R., Richard B., and Ashley G., Jr.
Daniel DeWitt. During a long period of years the late Daniel De-
Witt was identified with the agricultural interests of Blackford county,
and during his career advanced from obscurity and modest circumstances
to prominence and independence among the substantial men of his day.
JftA ^J JM 4o*Cal 4f%$
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 225
He was born in Randolph eouuty, Indiana, September L3, 1848, and died
at his home in section 2U, Washington township, Blackford county, No-
vember 21. 1910.
Daniel and Elizabeth DeWitt, the grandparents of Daniel D.Witt,
came to Indiana from some one of the eastern states, engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits fur many years, and became prominent farmers and
well-known members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the faith of
which they died in advanced years. Two of their sons were ministers
of that faith: Rev. Elisha, who died in Delaware county, Indiana, when
past ninety-six years of age, leaving a family; and Rev. Leonard, who
lived in the West and at his death there left several children. There
were several other brothers, including John \\\. Daniel and 1'riah, and
several sisters. Uriah DeWitt, the father of Daniel DeWitt. was horn
in Indiana and there married Elizabeth Holloway. also a native of the
Hoosier state. They began their married life in Randolph county, but
subsequently moved to Huntington county, where .Mrs. DeWitt died in
middle life. Subsequently, Mr. DeWitt was married a second time, his
wife bearing the name of .Martha Estell, and they had a family, two of
whom died when small, two grew to maturity and one is still living. The
children of Uriah and Elizabeth (Holloway) DeWitt were: Sarah, who
married and is now deceased ; Mary, who is married and has a foster son ;
Daniel: John R., deceased, who was a factory worker, married and left
a family; and Mrs. Martha De Witt still lives in Anderson.
Daniel DeWitt grew up at Anderson, Madison county, Indiana, and
became a farmer, having had no education. In 1885, he came to Black-
ford county and for four and one-half years lived on the George Mussetter
farm in Washington township, later renting the farm for three years and
then purchasing eighty acres of land in section 20, then known as the
Harry Smith farm. Here he began in earnest to establish himself as an
agriculturist, and had begun extensive building operations when he struck
oil of some value. He later purchased the forty-acre tract adjoining,
and there his son now resides, having a well-improved farm with a good
set of buildings. Mr. DeWitt was a progressive and practical farmer,
and whatever success he made in life was due to his own efforts, aided
by those of his worthy wife. He was an active republican in political
matters, and for a time served as superintendent of the turnpike in his
township and county. At all times he could be relied upon to support
movements of a beneficial nature, and his honesty and integrity gained
him widespread confidence among his associates. For many years he was
a devout member of the Church of Christ, and died in that faith.
Mr. DeWitt was married in Madison county, Indiana, in 1872, to
Miss Mary E. Childress, who was born in Hancock county, Indiana,
September 19. 1848. She was reared and educated in Madison county,
whence she was brought at the age of two years by her parents, Alfred
and Ruenwa (Childress) Childress, natives of Virginia who had been
relatives prior to their marriage. On coming to Indiana. Mr. and Mrs.
Childress located at a point near Warren, and there most of their chil-
dren were born, but later they moved to Madison county, where they
spent a few years. While on a trip back to Virginia, Mr. Childress was
thrown from a fractious colt which he was attempting to break, and his
injuries resulted in his death. August 19, 1848, when be was still in the
prime of life. Mrs. Childress was married in 1851 to a Pennsylvanian,
Hugh B. Stephenson, and they returned to Madison county. Indiana, he
dying there at the age of seventy years, in 1873. and she in January, 1 ^77.
at the age of sixty. Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson were members of the
Church of Christ, while Mr. Childress was a Baptist.
Vol. 1—15
226 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Mrs. DeWitt has been the mother of three children and the foster
mother of eight children. Her daughters, Anna Mary and Danna May,
died young, while her son, Charles R. is still living. He was born August
15, 1876, and was educated in the public schools, following which he
became a farmer and at his father's death took charge of the homestead.
He married Miss Florence E. Drinnen, and they have had the following
children : Cleo A., a graduate of the public schools; Bertha E., Catherine
M. and Thelma M., attending school ; and Ivaline M., James D., Charles
R., Jr., and John H.
Mrs. DeWitt has taken to her heart and home the following children :
George Rush, who died unmarried after growing to manhood; Albert
Howard, who died after his marriage ; Bertha Riley, who died in young
womanhood; James C. (no relation) DeWitt, an employe of the flour-
ing mill at Pennsville, Jay county, is married and has three children:
Daniel P., Clarence R. and Violet I. ; George Miller, who died when
eighteen years of age; Jane Estell, who married Archie Carson, and
died in Greely, Colorado, leaving one daughter; and Alura Angelina
Diltz, who is single and has been in Mrs. DeWitt 's home for fifteen years.
Mrs. DeWitt has been a member of the Christian church for more than
fifty years, and is one of the well known and best beloved ladies of this
part of the county.
James A. E. Alfrey. The claim of James A. E. Alfrey upon the
consideration and esteem of his fellow-citizens in Jackson township is
based upon thirty years of effective and energetic agricultural work, upon
an honorable record as a Union soldier during the war between the
North and the South, and upon his helpful co-operation in advancing
the best interests of his community. Coming here in 1884, he has de-
voted his attention to the tilling of the soil, and so well directed have been
his efforts that today he is the owner of one of the handsome farming
tracts of the township, a property of 140 acres, located six miles east
of Hartford City.
Mr. Alfrey was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, November 1,
1845, and is a son of James and Nancy (Helms) Alfrey. His parents,
natives of Tennessee, came as young people to Switzerland county, In-
diana, where they were married, and there resided until James Alfrey 's
death in 1850. 'Mrs. Alfrey subsequently married James Craig and
moved to Blackford county", and later to Hamilton county, Indiana,
where she died in 1882. By her first marriage she was the mother of
eleven children, of whom three are living at this writing : Elizabeth, who
is the widow of Mr. Hultz ; Martha J., who is the widow of A. J. Reynolds ;
and James A. E. The subject of this review was five years of age when
his father died, and he went to live at the home of a brother, a farmer
of Hamilton county, Indiana. There he received his education in the
district schools, and applied himself to farm work until 1864, when he
enlisted for service in Company I, One Hundred Thirty-second Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained four months, and
was then honorably discharged and mustered out of the service. He had
an honorable record as a soldier, and faithfully performed every duty
that devolved upon him. Upon again taking up the occupations of
peace, Mr. Alfrey went to Hamilton county, and there was engaged m
farming until 1886, in which year he came to Blackford county. Here
he secured a tract of land in Jackson township, to which he has since
added from time to time as his finances have permitted, and now has a
well-cultivated tract of 140 acres, upon which he has made improve-
ments of a modern and substantial character. He is one of the hustling,
progressive men of his community, and has a thorough knowledge of the
most approved methods of farming and stock raising.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 227
In March, 1871, Mr. Alfrey was married to Miss .Mary A. Vail, of
Hamilton county. Indiana, who was born in Claremont county, Ohio ami
came to Indiana as a child, being reared on a farm in Hamilton county.
Pour children have been born to -Air. and Mrs. Alfrey, namely: Ida E.j
who is the wife of Thomas Barnes, of Hartford City; Charles B., of
Jackson township, who married Ida Van Gordon; James A., also a resi-
lient of Jackson township, who married Edith Strait; and Frank V.. who
is single and assists his father on the homestead. The family is con-
nected with the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Alfrey is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the
Republic, and of Blackford Lodge, A. P. & A. M., at Hartford City.
In politics, a republican, he has served his precinct as committeeman,
has taken some interest in local affairs, and is at present his party's
nominee for assessor of Jackson township. He is looked upon as an
intelligent, progressive, and public-spirited member of the community.
Philip E. Wentz. The agricultural region lying in Jackson town-
ship is ably represented by Philip E. Wentz. a highly respected citizen
who has lent strength and substance to the community in which he has
resided for so long.
Mr. Wentz is a native son of Jackson township, and was born Au-
gust 11, 1850, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Ramge) Wentz.
The parents were born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, the father in 1807,
and the mother in 1809, and there grew up, were educated and married.
On coming to the United States they landed at Baltimore. Maryland,
from whence they went to Pennsylvania, and after three years came to
Indiana, and located on a new farm in Jackson township, on the Cam-
den turnpike, two miles east of Hartford City. There they passed the
remainder of their lives, the father dying June 6, 1874, and the mother
in September, 1881. They were the parents of seven children, of whom
three survive : Elizabeth, the widow of Peter Schmidt, living at Seattle,
Washington; Henry, a resident of Harrison township, Blackford countv;
and Philip E.
Philip E. Wentz was raised in a log cabin, 12 by 16, with its log stick
chimney, with its puncheon floor, with its one six-light window 8 by 10,
with its rough lumber door, with its wooden hinges, with its string latch
always hanging out to welcome those who wished to enter, with its roof
covered with clapboards and long straight weight poles to hold the
boards in place, and tied down at each end with twisted hickory withes.
This cabin went up in flames on the 4th of July, 1856. Mr. Wentz
attended the district schools, where he received an ordinary educa-
tion, and remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-four years,
when he founded a home of his own by his marriage with Mary A. Smith,
July 25, 1874. She was born in Highland county, Ohio, January 26,
1857, and came to Blackford county, Indiana, in 1861. Mrs. Wentz died
August 8, 1890, having been the mother of three children, of whom two
are living: William A., born April 22. 1876, a farmer of Jackson town-
ship ; and Charles M., born August 5, 1888. On July L':!. 1891 . .Mr. Wentz
married Catherine Murphy, and four children have been born to them ;
Orville, born May 8, 1892; Mabel, born May 25, 1894; Floyd, born July
25, 1896 ; and Wayne, born January 30. 1899. He is a member of Zion
Lutheran church, at Hartford City, and in his political views is a demo-
crat. He is well and favorably known in Jackson township, where he has
been engaged in general farming and stock raising for many years, and
owns a good property of forty-eight acres, located one-half mile south
and two miles east of Hartford City. He moved to his present place in
1882. It was all swamp and he ditched it and cleared off the timber
and planted his orchard.
228 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
William A. Wentz, son of Philip E. Wentz, is one of the young and
energetic farmers of Blackford county who are doing so much for the
progress of agricultural standards here. He is the owner of Maple Grove
Farm, consisting of forty acres, and located in section 18, one and three-
quarters miles southeast of Hartford City. He was born April 22, 1876,
in Jackson township, and attended the district schools here until reach-
ing the age of eighteen years, following which he worked for his father
until attaining his majority. He was married September 12, 1901, to
Jennie M. Spears, who was born in Adams county, Ohio, July 31, 1875,
daughter of J. H. and Catherine (Walker) Spears, both now deceased.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wentz went to the farm on which
they now live, at that time located in the midst of heavy woods, and
this Mr. Wentz has cleared, erecting good buildings and installing numer-
ous modern improvements, so that today it is one of the valuable farms of
the township. In addition to his general farming operations, Mr. Wentz
is agent for the counties of Blackford and Wells for Pioneer Herbs,
and in this line has met with decided success. Like his father, he is a
democrat, but has found little time for public affairs. His religious
belief is that of the Lutheran faith, while Mrs. Wentz belongs to the
Christian church. They have no children.
John B. Willman. During a long and active career John B Will-
man has contributed materially to the agricultural welfare of Blackford
county, and has succeeded in establishing himself firmly in a foremost
position among the substantial men of his community as well as in the
esteem of his fellow-citizens. A man of progressive ideas and spirit, he
represents the most enlightened tenets of agriculture, and his handsome
farm, located two miles east of Hartford City, evidences eloquently his
mastery of his vocation. Mr. Willman was born in Morrow county,
Ohio, March 10, 1846, and is a son of John M. and Rebecca (Bailey)
Willman.
John M. Willman was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1810,
and in 1832 emigrated to the United States, landing at Baltimore, Mary-
land, from whence he went thirty miles north and secured employment
in digging a canal. At that point he was married to Miss Rebecca Bailey,
who was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1808, and after two years
they went to Richland county, Ohio, and later to Morrow county, in the
same state. The parents came to Indiana in 1855, settling on a farm in
the vicinity of Hartford City, and there passed the remaining years of
their lives," the father dying at the age of seventy-seven years, and the
mother when she was eighty-two. They were the parents of the follow-
ing children: John B., of this review; George, who lives on the old
Willman place ; and five others, since passed away.
John B. Willman was nine years of age when the family came to
Indiana, and he was reared amid pioneer surroundings, assisting his
father to clear up the homestead and securing his educational training
in the early district schools. On November 16, 1869, he was married to
Miss Caroline Kessler, and to their union were born six children : George
F., a resident of Jackson township; Mary, who is the wife of David
Bennett, of Licking township ; Rebecca, who is the wife of Riley Stephen-
son, of this township ; Sarah, the wife of Charles Ruble, of Jackson town-
ship ; and Elizabeth and Catherine, who are single and reside with their
father. Mrs. Willman died in 1885, and Mr. Willman married Nancy
Lindley, and they had five children, of whom three died young. Jacob
L., met death by drowning, July 5, 1914, aged twenty years, three months
and twenty-one days, and Hazel B. is single and resides with her father.
Mrs. Willman died July 30, 1898. The members of the family are asso-
ciated with the Lutheran church.
BLACKFORD .VXD GRANT COUNTIES 229
Mr. Willman has always engaged in fanning, and at this time is the
owner of 500 acres of land, all accumulated through his own well-directed
efforts He has always been honorable in his dealings, thus insuring for
himself the confidence of his associates, and a review of his career discloses
that he has never taken an unfair advantage of an adversary. Ee is qo
politician, but supports democratic principles and candidates, and takes
an interest in the welfare of his township. All in all. Mr. Willman may
be accounted a reliable, representative citizen of this part of the state.
Thomas Bryson. The late Thomas Bryson was a man of prominence
and influence in Wells and Blackford counties, in the former of which
he established his residence on his immigration from the old Keystone
State, more than half a century ago. He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry,
the original progenitors of the line in the Emerald Isle having left their
native Scotland and established a home in the north of Inland, where
they were zealous members of the Presbyterian church, clinging to the
somewhat stern, but still benignant, tenets of faith that significantly
marked the Presbyterian church in Scotland in the early days. Mr.
Bryson was a man of impregnable integrity, of distinctive business
acumen, and he left a definite and worthy impress upon the history of
Wells county, Indiana, whence he eventually removed to Montpelier,
Blackford county, in which attractive little city he continued to reside
until his death, which occurred in February, 1898. about four months
prior to his eighty-fifth birthday anniversary. He did much to foster
the social and material development and progress of this section of the
Hoosier State, and as a sterling pioneer, his name and deeds merit a
memorial tribute in this publication.
Thomas Bryson was born in Butler township, Butler county, Pennsyl-
vania, on the 28th of June, 1813, and was a son of Robert Bryson, the
maiden name of his mother having been Dobbs. Family tradition indi-
cates that Robert Bryson was born on the primitive sailing vessel in which
his parents voyaged to America upon their emigration from Ireland,
a few years after the close of the war of the Revolution. His parents
established their home in Butler county, Pennsylvania, where they
passed the residue of their lives, the father having become the owner of
an extensive landed estate and having been one of the representative
farmers of that section of the Keystone Commonwealth. Robert Bry-
son was reared and educated in Butler county, where he not only held
distinct prestige as a substantial farmer and successful miller, but where
he also was known and honored as a citizen of enterprise, loyalty and
influence. He and his wife were not long separated in death, and each
was slightly past the age of seventy years when summoned to the life
eternal, both having clung earnestly and zealously to the faith of the
Presbyterian church, and having regulated and moulded their lives in
harmony with the high Christian principles which they held with much
of consecration.
Thomas Bryson was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm
and was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality
and period that compassed the days of his boyhood and youth in Butler
county, Pennsylvania. In his native county he did not sever his allegiance
to the great basic industry of agriculture until his removal to Indiana,
in 1864. In Butler county. Pennsylvania, he wedded, and in that county
all of their children were born on the old homestead place. Upon coming
with his family to Indiana, shortly before the close of the Civil war,
Thomas Bryson purchased a tract of land in Wells county, and he
eventually became one of the extensive land holders and leading agricul-
turists of that county, where he ever held the unqualified esteem of all
230 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
who knew him, and where he continued to be honored as a citizen of
dignified worth and beneficent influence until he retired from the active
labors that had long engrossed his attention and removed to Montpelier,
Blackford county, in 1892. In an attractive home, in this fine little city,
both he and his wife continued in loving and devoted companionship
until death severed the gracious ties, he having passed to the "land of
the leal" in 1898. Both he and his wife were zealous and consistent
members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Bryson was
originally a whig and later a republican iu his political proclivities. This
worthy couple marked the passing years with kindly words and kindly
deeds, and their memories are revered by all who came within the sphere
of their gracious influence. Concerning their children brief record is
given in the following paragraph, and it will be recalled that all were
born in Butler county, Pennsylvania.
James C, who was born on the 12th of October, 1836, was a prominent
lumber dealer at Pinckneyville, Perry county, Illinois, at the time of
his death, in January, 1911, and he was survived by his widow and five
sons and one daughter. John A., who was born March 30, 1838, died at
Montpelier, Indiana, in February, 1871, and his two children likewise
are deceased, his widow having survived him and having contracted a
second marriage. Joseph B., who was born February 24, 1810, died
in the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in middle life, after having served
with distinction throughout the Civil war, in which he was a member
of Company I, Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. His widow
is still living, as is also one daughter. William F., twin brother of Joseph
B., was a member of the same company and regiment, as was the latter
in the Civil war. He died November, 1913, his wife having preceded
him to the life eternal, two sons and one daughter surviving them.
Eli X., who was born June 26, 1842, was actively identified with the lum-
ber industry during virtually his entire business career, and he died at
Salida, Lake county, Ohio, in November, 1911, leaving a widow, four
sons and one daughter. Sarah Nellie, who is familiarly known to her
wide circle of friends as Nellie, was born December 7, 1844, and her
early education was acquired in the schools of Butler county, Pennsyl-
vania, and Wells county, Indiana, in which latter county she continued to
reside with her parents on the old homestead until their removal to Mont-
pelier, in 1892. Here she continued to care for her venerable parents
with the utmost filial love and solicitude until they passed from the stage
of life's mortal endeavors, and she still resides in the fine old home,
at 117 North Main street, she being the owner of this and other valuable
real estate in Montpelier, where her circle of friends is limited only
by that of her acquaintances. Miss Bryson is a zealous member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and this faith has been held also by the most
of her brothers and sisters. Ida J., who was born March 9, 1858, like-
wise resides in Montpelier. She became the wife of George Lattie, and
the two children of this union are George and David. Prior to her mar-
riage Mrs. Lattie was a successful and popular teacher in the public
schools of Wells and Blackford counties. David A. Bryson, who was
seventh in order of birth of the nine children, is individually mentioned
on other pages of this work, and is president of the First National Bank
of Montpelier.
David Alonzo Bryson. Blackford county claims as one of its rep-
resentative men of affairs and progressive and public-spirited citizens, the
popular president of the First National Bank of Montpelier. Mr. Bry-
son, in this important executive capacity, is giving a most able adminis-
tration and his efforts have done much to make the bank one of the
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 231
staunch and conservative financial institutions of this favored section
of the Boosier State. Its capital stock is $50,000, and it has a surplus
fund oi $12,000, with total deposits in excess of $317,000, as shown bj
the official report of March 4. L914. The personnel of the executive corps
of the First National Hank of Montpelier is as here indicated: D \
Bryson, presidenl ; T. C. Neal, vie presidenl ; and II. o. Stewart, cashier!
Besides the president and vice presidenl the directorate includes also
I.. C. Johnson, II. R. Maddox. II. B. Lancaster, Phanuel Mclntire and
J. II. Twihell.
Mr. Bryson is a son of the late Thomas Bryson, to whom a memoir
is dedicated on other pages of this publication, til.' family data appear-
ing in that connection being so complete as to render it unnecessary to
repeat the same in the sketch here presented, as ready reference may
he made from the index to the article mentioned. David Alonzo Bryson
was horn in Butler township. Butler county. Ohio, on the Kith of May,
1852, and he was about two years of age at the time of the family re-
moval to Wells county. Indiana, where he was reared to manhood' and
afforded the advantages of the public schools. From 1881 to h^ he
there had the active management of the old homestead farm of his father,
and in the latter year he came to Blackford county and established his
residence in the village of .Montpelier. Here he purchased the saw mill
and incidental business of George Saunders, and with this plant he built
up a substantial and prosperous enterprise, with which he continued
to he identified for about ten years, as one of the representative factors
in the lumber business and manufacturing industries of the county. He
finally sold the mill and became one of the leading stockholders of the
bank and principal figures in the organization of the First National Hank,
which was incorporated in April, 1900. and of which he became cashier.
the other members of the original official corps having been C. Q. Shull,
president; and T. C. Neal, vice president. Upon the death of Mr. Shull.
in June, 1912, Dr. H. R. Maddox was elected president, and he retained
this incumbency until November, 1913. when .Mr. Bryson became presi-
dent of the institution to the development of whose substantial busjness
he had contributed much, both in a financial and executive way, as be
continued to serve as cashier from the time of the organization of the
bank until he became its president. The bank has paid to its stockholders
regular and appreciable dividends, and the progressive policies of Mr.
Bryson have met with distinctive popular and official approval, as his
course has been guided along safe and conservative lines and with punc-
tilious regard for the responsihilities involved.
Mr. Bryson has shown a most loyal and vital interest in all that has
concerned the civic and material welfare of his home city and has w ielded
much influence in puhlic affairs of a local order, as well as being a leader
in the business activities of Montpelier. The confinement and exacting
duties of the hank finally prompted him to seek connections that would
afford him more outdoor life, the while he should not in the least abate
his active administrative duties in the First National Bank. He com-
passed this end when, in March, 1910, he repurchased the saw mill and
lumber business, to which he has since given his personal supervision,
the incidental activity having proved of distinct benefit to his health.
Mr. Bryson is essentially liberal and public-spirited in his civic attitude,
and is influential in the councils of the republican party in this section
of the state. In the time-honored Masonic fraternity In- is affiliated with
the lodge of Free and A< pted Masons in Montpelier, the chapter of
Royal Aivh Masons at Hartford City, and the commandery of Knights
Templars at Bluffton. the judicial center of "Wells county. He has served
many years as treasurer of his lodge. Mr. and Mrs. Bryson and their
232 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
daughter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and the family
is one of distinctive prominence and popularity in connection with the
representative social activities of Montpelier.
At Celina, Mercer county, Ohio, in the year 1880, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Bryson to Miss Sarah Ryan, who was born in the
year 1862, of staunch Irish lineage. Her father, John Ryan, was a mem-
ber of an Ohio regiment in the Civil war, was captured by the enemy
and thereafter held for some time as a prisoner of war at Andersonville
prison. After his release he started for the north on the ill fated Missis-
sippi River steamer, "Sultana," and while attempting to swim to shore
after the wrecking of the packet-boat he was drowned, many other sol-
diers having likewise lost their lives in this disaster. Mrs. Bryson was an
infant at the time of the tragic death of her father, and she was reared
in the home of her uncle, Patrick Ryan, of Greensburg, Decatur county,
Indiana, her education havig been received principally in Oldenberg
Convent, conducted near that place by Sisters of the Catholic church.
Mr. and Mrs. Bryson have one daughter, Cora, who remains at the
parental home and is one of the popular young women of Montpelier,
where she was afforded the advantages of the public schools, later at-
tending an institution of higher academic functions, in the city of Port
Wayne.
Oren P. McFerren. The distinctive place of Mr. McFerren in the
citizenship of Hartford City, is due to his enterprise in developing and
maintaining a first-class grocery store to supply the needs of the people
of a large community with all kinds of staple and fancy goods. His
store is located on West Washington street, where he occupies a room
20x120 feet, well stocked with goods, and he makes a point of catering
to the best class of customers. Mr. McFerren has been in business on
his own account in Hartford City for the past fifteen years, and in his
present location for four years. For a number of years he was clerk
in a grocery and dry goods establishment in Hartford City, and it has
been by careful husbanding of his savings, a thorough knowledge of
trade conditions, and by strict business methods that he has reached a
place of comparative independence.
Oren P. McFerren was born in Jackson township of Blackford
county, August 20, 1869. He grew up and received his education there,
and took the normal course at Valparaiso, Indiana, and was given a
license to teach school. However, he never did any actual work in the
schoolroom as a teacher, but when twenty years of age accepted a place
as a clerk, and has been continuously identified with merchandising ever
since.
Mr. McFerren 's parents were John A. and Elizabeth (Everett) Mc-
Ferren, his father, a native of Fayette county, Indiana, and his mother
of West Virginia. The McFerrens came to Blackford county in the
early days, and the paternal grandparents were Harrison and Lydia
(Beaver) McFerren, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter
of Pennsylvania, their marriage occurring in Fayette county, Indiana.
Among the children of Harrison and Lydia McFerren there are three
sons and a daughter still living ; one daughter of Auglaize county, Ohio,
being deceased, Mary Casseldine, who had several children ; Oliver, who
is married and has a son named Alonzo, and is a farmer in Jackson town-
ship ; Henry, who is a farmer in the state of Louisiana, and has three
daughters; Daniel, who lives at Newcastle. Indiana, and has a daughter.
Forest; and Hannah Stewart, who lives in De Ridder. Louisiana, and
has a family of three daughters and one son, namely, Maude, Gertrude,
Edith and Alva.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 233
.Mrs. Elizabeth I Everett I McFerren, the mother of the Hartford City
merchant, was oue of the children of William and Emily (Riley) Everett,
who were both born in thai par! of Virginia now Wesl Virginia, other
members of the Everett family are: Josephus, who is now living re-
tired in Hartford City, and has our daughter, Leota, wife of Walter
Nogle; John, who lived the most of his life in Blackford countj and died
at Mill Grove when about sixty-eight years of age, had children, William,
deceased. Abraham, who lives in West Virginia, and Elza, deceased ; Cath-
erine Everett married a Mr. Weirick, lives near Warsaw. Indiana, and
has a family of Eve children; Cena, now deceased, was the wife of a Mr.
Shields of West Virginia, and had several children; Laurana died after
her marriage to Daniel McFerren, leaving a daughter who is now the
wife of Mr. Beaver; Cyrena Everett is the wife of M. D. Powell of
Muncie, Indiana, and has a family of two hoys and one girl; Mary Jane
is the wife of .Mr. [ngram of Wist Virginia, and has a large family.
The McFerren and Everett families established homes in Blackford
county in time to take part in the development of some of its land from
pioneer conditions, and some prosperous agricultural acreage in -lack-
son township is the result of their toil and management. The grandpar-
ents, McFerren, lived to good old age, passing away when seventy-five
or seventy-six years old, ami were among the substantial supporters
of the United Brethren church in their community, while the grandpar-
ents on the Everett side were of the Methodist faith and enjoyed high
esteem in Jackson township, where the grandmother passed away at tin-
age of forty-six, and the grandfather at the age of seventy-six.
After the marriage of John A. McFerren and Miss Everett they be-
gan life on a farm near Mill Grove, and it was there that the elder Mr.
McFerren passed away, July 6. 1912, when seventy-one years of age.
He was a staunch democrat in politics, and in his religious views was in-
clined towards the Methodist church. lie was a soldier in the Civil war
and honorably discharged after about four years of service. His widow-
is still living at her home in Mill Grove, and is sixty-six years of
age, and a regular attendant of the Methodist church. Their children
were as follows : Oren P. ; Albert, who is now living in the state of Idaho,
engaged in the lumber business and is forty-one years of age and is un-
married ; Arthur, thirty-five years of age, a commercial salesman for a
wholesale hardware house of Colorado Springs. Colorado, and was mar-
ried some years ago in New Mexico, but has no children.
Oren P. McFerren was married in Hartford City. February 6, 1901,
to Miss Ella Nora Reck. She was born in Darke county. Ohio. April 13,
1871, but was reared and educated in Blackford county, from the schools
of which community she acquired her education. Her father. Amos
Reck, was well known in Blackford county, where he died over thirty
years ago. He was an honorably discharged soldier of the Civil war.
Her mother, Elizabeth Newbaurer, is still living in her second widow-
hood, being now Mrs. Roby, and a resident of Hartford City, at the age
of seventy. Mrs. McFerren has two sisters. — Mrs. Clara Stewart of
Dunkirk. Indiana, who has thr children, Ruth, Ralph and Harriett,
and Mrs. Almina Seinoble of Vincennes, Indiana, who has one daugh-
ter, Elizabeth. Mr. ami Mrs. McFerren are the parents of two children:
Oren Russell, who is twelve years of age and attending grade schools,
and Geraldine, who is ten years old and also in school. Both Mi-, and
Mrs. McFerren are members of the Hartford City Methodist church,
while he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias order, and in politics
so far as national issues are concerned, supports the democratic ticket.
234 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Aaron M. Waltz. The bench and bar of Blackford county have
from the earliest period to the present time been represented by men of
high character and marked ability, and of the prominent attorneys and
counselors at law now engaged in successful practice at Hartford City,
the judicial center of the county, one of the leaders is he whose name
initiates this paragraph, and who is senior member of the firm of Waltz
& Emshwiller, in which his coadjutor is Ashley G. Emshwiller, individ-
ually mentioned on other pages of this publication.
Mr. Waltz read law under the effective preceptorship of Benjamin
P. Mason, of Hagerstown, a prominent member of the bar of Wayne
county, this state, and he made progress in the absorption and assimila-
tion of the involved science of jurisprudence, with the result that he
gained admission to the bar in February, 1889. In the following year
he established his residence in Hartford City, where he has since "con-
tinued in the successful practice of his profession and where he has
gained marked precedence as an able trial lawyer and well fortified coun-
selor. In the earlier period of his professional activities here Mr. Waltz
was associated in practice with David H. Fouts and afterward with
Ethan W. Secrest, and later he formed his present alliance, which has
proved in every respect satisfactory and prolific in results. The mem-
bers of the firm of Waltz & Emshwiller are eligible for practice in all
of the courts of Indiana, including the Federal tribunals. Mr. Waltz
has shown his admirable powers in the handling of many important cases,
and has won through ability and fidelity, his well merited reputation
as a specially resourceful and versatile advocate. In the domain of
criminal law he has been most successful, and one of the celebrated cases
in which he appeared was that of the State of Indiana versus Alfred
Musser, the defendant having murdered Eliza Stolz, of Portland, Jay
county, his specific purpose having been robbery. Mr. Waltz appeared as
the leading prosecutor and Musser was convicted, with sentence to life
imprisonment in the state penitentiary. On change of venue this case,
which attracted wide attention, was transferred from Jay county to
Blackford county. Mr. Waltz also appeared for the prosecution in the
Crouse case, involving divorce and murder, and defended in the Under-
wood case, in which a young lady school teacher shot a drug clerk whom
she accused of the seduction of her sister, the shooting having occurred
at Muneie, Delaware county. All of these cases were given special at-
tention by the metropolitan newspapers.
Mr. Waltz was born in Wayne county, Indiana, on the 8th of May,
1864, and his early experiences were those gained in connection with
the home farm. He duly availed himself of the advantages of the dis-
trict schools and later attended the normal school at Valparaiso. Indiana,
after which he began the study of law, as indicated in a preceding para-
graph. The genealogy of the family is traced back to sturdy Swiss
origin, and the name was spelled Waltzer by the earlier generations,
the title having been given because an ancestor, many generations ago,
had danced before and gained the approval of a king of Switzerland.
The founders of the American branch came to this country from Switzer-
land in the early part of the eighteenth century, and two brothers of the
name were found enrolled as valiant soldiers of the Continental line in
the war of the Revolution. In this great conflict they became separated
and after its close one established his home in Pennsylvania, the other
becoming a pioneer of Ohio, where he passed the remainder of his life.
To one of these Revolutionary soldiers Aaron M. Waltz traces his ances-
tral line.
Peter Waltz, grandfather of him whose name introduces this article,
was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, within the period between
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 235
1790 and 1795. He became a substantial farmer in the old Keystone
State, where he married and where Solomon Waltz. Aaron's father and
his children were born. Aboul 1820, he removed with Ins family to
Montgomery county, Ohio, and a few years later removal was made to
Germantown, Wayne county, Indiana. Peter Waltz died about the time
of the outbreak of the Civil war, at the home of his son Solomon, of his
other children. Isaac died in Iowa and left a family; .Mary married a
man named Look, and she passed the closing years of ho- lit',- on the
Pacific coast; Elizabeth, whose husband bore the name of Boyd, con-
tinued to reside in Wayne county, Indiana, until her death, and was
survived by at least two children; Peter, dr.. and John both reside in
Henry county, this state, the former having a family, and the latter
having never married; Samuel was a resident of Iowa for a number of
years prior to his death and left a number of children; Jacob sacrificed
his life while serving as a soldier in the Civil war.
Solomon Waltz was horn in 1813, and his death occurred October I'd.
1895. He wedded Miss Mahala Fonts, of Henry county. Indiana, who
was born in the year lS-Jo. in that county, and died in Wayne county,
in 1902, on a farm adjoining that on which she was born. Solomon Waltz
was a communicant of the German Lutheran church, and his wife held
membership in the German Baptist or Dunkard church. His first presi-
dential vote was cast for General Andrew Jackson, and he voted for
Lincoln at the time of his first election, thereafter continuing an ad-
herent of the democratic party until his death, his father having hern a
staunch whig. Solomon Waltz was reared to manhood in Wayne county,
this state, and in his youth lie learned the trade- of carpenter, which In-
followed successfully until he had attained to tin- age of fifty years.
He then became a farmer in the vicinity of Hagerstown. Wayne county.
where both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. He was a
man of superior mentality and though his early educational advantages
were necessarily very meager, he applied himself diligently to reading
and study, with the result that he became known for his broad fund of
knowledge and mature judgment. His great integrity and marked
wisdom caused his counsel to be sought frequently by his neighbors, who
had implicit faith in him and his sense of justice. Solomon and Mahala
(Fonts) Waltz became the parents of twelve children, and all of the sons
have followed either agricultural or mechanical pursuits, with the ex-
ception of Aaron M., who was the only one to enter professional life,
and who was the tenth in order of birth of the twelve children. He was
born in Wayne county, this state, on the 8th of May, 1864, and in pre-
ceding paragraphs have been given adequate data concerning his prep
aration for the profession in which he has achieved much of distinction
and success.
In politics Mi-. Waltz has given unswerving allegiance to the demo
cratie party, and he lias been an effective worker in behalf of its cause,
as well as in furthering the election of its candidates to office, his in-
flui nee in this line having been noteworthy, the while he has had no de-
sire for official preferment, save along the line of his profession. He
made an admirable record in the office of prosecuting attorney for Black-
ford and Wells counties, which constituted the 28th Judicial Circuit, a
position of which he was the incumb.-nt from 1896 to L900. Since the time
when he attained to his lejral majority Mr. Waltz has been affiliated
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which In- has passed
the various official chairs in both the lodge and encampment bodies, the
bitter of which he represented in the Indiana grand encampment. lb- is
a member also of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Benevolenl
and Protective Order of Elks, in the latter of which he is a past exalted
236 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ruler of Hartford City Lodge No. 625, an organization that he has rep-
resented in the national assemblies of the order. He was a delegate to
the Democratic National Convention of 1900, in Kansas City, and has
been a delegate to the local and state conventions of his party in Indiana,
besides serving a number of times with marked ability as chairman of the
Democratic County Committee of Blackford county.
At Hartford City, on the 21st of December, 1893, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Waltz to Miss Anna Geisler, who was born at Win-
chester, Randolph county, Indiana, December 23, 1869, her parents hav-
ing removed to Hartford City when she was a child. She is a daughter of
George and Magdaline (Swope) Geisler, the former of whom was born in
Alsace-Lorraine, Prance, now a part of Germany, and the latter of whom
was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, a member of a prominent and
wealthy family ; when a girl of sixteen years Mrs. Geisler came along to
America and she never visited her native land until half a century later,
when she had the pleasure of renewing many of the grateful associations
of her childhood. George Geisler, a shoemaker by trade and vocation,
died in Hartford City, in middle life, and here his widow passed away
in 1906, at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. and Mrs. Waltz have no
children of their own, but in their home they have reared Clyde Harris,
a nephew of Mrs. Waltz.
Joseph Louis Hoover. A business man whose home for sixteen years
was in Hartford City, whose mercantile enterprise was by no means
confined to one locality, and a citizen of remarkable energy and public
spirit, the death of J. L. Hoover on June 15, 1914, was a sad bereavement
to his home city, his extensive business connections in many communi-
ties, both in Indiana and Ohio, and especially to the happy little family
which had always honored him as husband and father. To quote the
editorial statement of a local paper: "J. L. Hoover was a man this
city could ill afford to lose. He was a leader among men and was a big
asset to the town, being always interested in the advancement of the
city. His work here is done, but his energies, which were as those of
a dynamo, will continue to be an inspiration to those who knew him
best. He was formerly president of the Merchants' Association, and
was active in the organization of the Commercial Club, and his latest
activities for the city's betterment were directed toward making the
newly organized Commercial Club a success. He was a member of the
soliciting committee and besides personal work had intimated his readi-
ness to lend financial assistance. The Fall Festival Association and the
Business Men 's Association will also greatly miss the excellent advice and
hard work of J. L. Hoover."
Mr. Hoover had a genius for commercial organization, and for some
years before his death had been vice president and was probably the
most influential member of the Hoover-Rowlands and the Hoover-Bond
Furniture Syndicate, operating a chain of stores in many cities, includ-
ing the Ohio cities of Columbus, Zanesville, where two stores were under
that management, Lima, Marion, Mansfield, Lancaster, Ashtabula, Steub-
enville, Tiffin and Mount Vernon; at Kalamazoo and Lansing, Michi-
gan; and at Richmond, Columbus, Hartford City and Montpelier, In-
diana. Though he began life with his own resources as his chief asset,
he rose to a place of prominence in the business world, and at the time
of his death was among the wealthiest citizens of Hartford City, with
extensive interests outside of the furniture trade, including the owner-
ship of a large amount of property at Hartford City, Marion, and
other places. He was the owner of the Marion Hospital, where on the
day before his death he was operated upon for appendicitis.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 237
Joseph L. Hoover was born in Lima, Ohio, April 7. L865. Be ram.' of
an old ami substantial German family, and in that country the name was
spelled Von Haffer, and it was the late John Hoover, father of J. L.
Hoover, who changed the spelling when he came to the United States.
John Hoover was born in Germany, in 1839, and when aboul fourteen
years of age. in IS."):!, accompanied an older brother to the United States.
and after a residence of some time in the east, probably in Pennsylvania,
the two lirothers became separated, and John, having acquired a skill
in tl abinet making trade, moved to Lima. Ohio, and there assisted
to start the first furniture store, which mighl be considered the nucleus
of a business with which the Hoover name lias been associated success
fully for a long period of years. John Hoover was married in Bremen,
near Columbus, Ohio, to -Miss Barnadena Busse, who was horn in thai
section of Ohio, and of German ancestry. After his marriage John
Hoover located near Lima, in Allen county, and there he and his wife
spent the rest of their days, being honored for their worthj character
and their helpfulness in church and community affairs. They were
devout members of the Catholic faith. John Hoover .lied in June,
1911, and his wife in August. 191(3. They were the parents of six sons
and four daughters, and the late .1. L. Hoover was the fourth child and
third son.
His boyhood was spent in Lima, with an education in the public
schools, supplemented by attendance at a night school, and at tin- age
of fifteen he was at work in the store of a Mr. Musser, and besides
learning the trade of cabinet maker, was also getting experience as a
furniture salesman and in the undertaking work. Four years of appli-
cation in this way gave him that thoroughness of knowledge of detail
which characterized all his career. At the age of eighteen or nineteen
Mr. Hoover went to Marion and was employed by Keller & Mead Chair
Co. as traveling salesman for the Keller & Mead (hair, later as manager
of Keller Furniture Store, and continued that work until the age of
twenty-three. In the meantime, when twenty-two years of age, he had
married and established a home of his own, and a little later moved to
Lima and engaged in the furniture business with John, Henry and
William Hoover, under the firm name of Hoover Brothers. Five years
later, having sold his interest to his brothers, with the determination to
come to Marion, instead Mr. Hoover engaged in business a short time
at St. Mary's, Ohio, and then sold out at an advantage and moved his
enterprise to Hartford City, which was his home and the center of his
business activities for sixteen years, until his death. In 1898 he bought
the J. U. Moore Furniture Store, in the Elton Block, opposite the
Methodist Episcopal church, and subsequently moved his place of busi-
ness to its present location. In 1899 his stock was destroyed by tire, but
he started anew and by shrewd business management soon had the chief
business of its kind in the city. With the foundation of his local success
in merchandising, Mr. Hoover became one of the active organizers of the
Hoover-Rowlands Company, a syndicate that established furniture stores
in a number of cities, of which company he was vice president, and was
also one of the organizers and a director of the Hoover-Bond Company,
engaged in the same line of business. At tin- time of his death .Mr.
Hoover had an interest in sixteen furniture stores in different cities, and
was president of the Hoover Furniture Company of Hartford City, this
enterprise being owned by himself, his youngest In-other. Frank, and
Arthur Smith of Hartford City.
The late Mr. Hoover was a democrat in politics, and not being a mem
her of any church, he was wont to attend the Presbyterian church with
his wife, ami in religious, social and civic affairs was a man of unusual
238 BLACK-FORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
breadth and liberality. He was a member of three Hartford City
the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Maccabees, and the Lodge" of
Elks attended his funeral in a body, and a special mark of respect to
this prominent merchant was paid when the Hartford City business
houses remained closed during the funeral hour. Mr. Hoover was also a
member of the Blackford Club, a social organization, which during the
past year has been greatly depleted by the hand of death, Mr. Hoover
being the fifth of its membership to be called away.
Another comment on his passing is the following from the Marion
Leader-Tribune: "Coming at a time when Mr. Hoover had reached a
prominent place in the business world, when he was in the prime of life
and was so essential to the happiness and welfare of his family, his death
is a crushing blow to his household. Another feature which makes the
passing of the father particularly sad, is the fact of the approaching
marriage of his eldest daughter, Miss Helen Hoover, prominent socially
in Hartford City. Mr. Hoover was a man who made friends by the
scores. He was highly regarded by his associates, and will be greatly
missed in the community as well as by his family and relatives."
Mr. Hoover was married at Marion, Indiana, January 4, 1888, to
Miss India Kimball, whose family has long been one of the most promi-
nent in the city of Marion. She was born at Converse, Indiana, February
12, 1866, was reared there and educated partly in the Holy Angels Acad-
emy at Logansport, and since her husband 's death has taken up the active
administration of his varied interests.
The Kimball family of which Mrs. Hoover is a member has a long
and interesting lineage. Moses Kimball, who was a native of England,
came to America with some brothers during the Colonial era, and in the
Revolutionary war served on the American side as a sergeant. His son,
Abner, became a pioneer settler in Coshocton county, Ohio, and died
there, an old man after a long career as a farmer. Abner married a Miss
Jeffries, who died in Coshocton county, Ohio, and they were the par-
ents of a number of children. Among these was Moses Kimball, who
was born in Coshocton county, and married Miss Louisa Powell, who was
born in Ohio, and was descended from Lord Powell of England, and was
also a cousin to William Dean Howells, the famous American novelist,
whose early boyhood and manhood was spent in eastern Ohio. Moses
Kimball and wife, after their marriage, moved to Miami county, Indiana,
took up wild land and improved it, and subsequently once more moved
out to the frontier, going to Kansas and in Wilson county acquiring a
tract of virgin soil, and in the course of years developing one of the best
farms in the entire state. It was improved with a fine large stone house,
and a part of the Kimball land is now the site of the city of Neodesha.
Moses Kimball and wife spent their declining years in Kansas and are
buried in Wilson county. They were the parents of ten children, six
sons and four daughters, including two well known physicians. One of
these was Dr. Thomas Kimball, the father of Mrs. Hoover, and the other
was Dr. Abner D., who was the first physician and surgeon at the Na-
tional Soldiers Home in Marion, and held that place until his death. Dr.
Abner saw six months of active service during the Civil war, while Dr.
Thomas was a member of Company I in the Eighth Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, enlisting at the age of eighteen and serving for three years.
He participated in eighteen battles and skirmishes, was almost con-
stantly on duty, and though in many narrow escapes, came out un-
scathed. His superior officers were Major Steele, Captain Williams
of Indiana, and Colonel Shunk. After the war Thomas Kimball grad-
uated in medicine from the Rush Medical College of Chicago, estab-
lished himself as a practitioner, and throughout his lifetime was sincerely
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES l>;;:»
devoted to his profession and took a Dumber of post-graduate courses. It
was Dr. Kimball who built and for a number of years was the active
head of the Marion Hospital. During the Spanish-American war ('resi-
dent McKinley appointed him chief division surgeon, and as such he
served with General Breckenridge 's, division at Chattanooga. His death
occurred at Jacksonville, where he was seeking health, on March 5, 1905.
Dr. Kimball was born November 23, 1S42. He was a republican in poli-
tics, and he and his wife were .Methodists, and fraternally he was identi
tied with tlie Masonic Lodge, Knight Templar Commandery, Scottish
Rite degrees, and the Mystic Shrine, and both he and his wife were char-
ter members of the Eastern Star Chapter, of which .Mrs. Kimball was
chaplain.
Dr. Thomas Kimball was married in Miami county. Indiana, to Miss
Louisa Vinnedge, who was born in Richmond, Indiana, January 21,
1844, was educated there and at Converse, and was a daughter id' M v
and Elizabeth (Jump! Vinnedge. Her maternal grandfather was Rev.
Jump, an Episcopalian minister. The Vinnedge family came originally
from Germany, and for many years beginning with the pioneer era
were identified with Hamilton county, Ohio. Moore Vinnedge 's father
was William Vinnedge. Moore Vinnedge was born in Hamilton county.
Ohio, moved from there to Richmond. Indiana, when a young man. and
after his marriage continued to live there and in Howard county, Indiana,
and died at Kokomo, at the age of sixty-six. His widow died in Chicago,
in 1892, at the age of sixty-nine. They were Methodists, and Mr. Vin-
nedge was a Douglas democrat.
The late Dr. Thomas Kimball and wife had the following children :
Mrs. Hoover; Carl, who is a lumberman at Jackson, Mississippi, and has
two sons; Dr. Glenn, a Marion physician and ex-member of the Indiana
legislature from Grant county, married Minnie Murdoff, a talented
musician whose name was long prominent in musical affairs ; Earl, who is
a furniture dealer, and is married.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Hoover are briefly mentioned
as follows : Irma Louise was born December 30, 1888, and died February
20, 1893. Helen Elizabeth, born May 8, 1891, educated in the city high
school and also at Los Angeles. California, and at Glendale College, near
Cincinnati, was married June 25, 1914, to Paul A. Moore, furniture
dealer, formerly connected with the Hub Clothing House of Chicago, and
later in the furniture business at Marion ; Mr. and Mrs. Moore now have
their borne in Hartford City. Inez Louisa was born January 21, 1899,
and died the same year. Harriet Esther was born May 19, 1900, and
is now in the eighth grade of the Hartford City schools, and was also a
student for a time in Los Angeles, California. It was these two living
daughters who were the chief pride of the late Mr. Hoover, and he
lavished upon them the riches of his affection as well as his abundant ma-
terial means. The Hoovers have membership in the Presbyterian church.
W. E. Hutchexs. For the past twelve years Mr. Hutchens has
been manager of the United Telephone Company 's branch office at Hart-
ford City, with supervision over all the lines controlled by that company
in Blackford. Jay, Delaware, Grant and Wells counties. Mr. Hutchens
took the management of the Hartford City office when the local telephone
business was of insignificant proportions compared to its present develop-
ment. There were about three hundred and fifty patrons of the local
exchange when he first became manager, and at the present time there
are a thousand subscribers, with many more party lines reaching into
tlie various counties already mentioned. Mr. Hutchens also has charge of
Montpelier exchange, and has about twenty-five people under his manage-
240 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
ment. For one year his services with the United Company kept him at
Portland. Mr. Hutchens is a business expert in this important public
utility, and one of the best known telephone men in the state.
W. E. Hutchens was born in Jay county, Indiana, about forty years
ago, was educated in the city schools and in the Jay County Normal,
and in 1890, before he was quite seventeen years of age, was given a cer-
tificate and elected to take charge of a country school. That was the
start of a career which made him well known in educational circles
in the eastern section of Indiana. He taught in both Jay and Mercer
counties, and for seven years was connected with the Portland city
schools and principal of the Garfield school there. Mr. Hutchens han-
dled the varied responsibilities of a school in the same systematic manner
which he has introduced into the telephone work, and the success which
characterized him as an educator has been continued in his new field of
endeavor.
Mr. Hutchens is a son of Alexander and Sidella A. (McLaughlin)
Hutchens, both natives of Indiana, and from families that were early
settlers and prominent people of Jay county. Alexander Hutchens, who
was born in 1832 and died in 1887, began his business career at Sala-
monie in Jay county, and was a grocery merchant until his death. He
was also an active republican and at one time was candidate for a county
office on that ticket. His widow, who is now seventy years of age and
still possessed of the vigor of life, lives with her son Eugene W. at Hart-
ford City. She is a member of the Christian church. Her children are
briefly mentioned as follows: Ida B., who died unmarried in February,
1913 ; William E. ; and Eugene W., in the real estate and insurance
business at Hartford City, and by his marriage to Bessie Moore has a
daughter Catherine.
William E. Hutchens was married at Portland, Indiana, in June.
1894, to Miss Lola L. Butcher. She was born at Geneva in Adams county,
Indiana, was educated in the public schools, and it was while a student
at the Portland Normal that she met Mr. Hutchens. She is the mother
of two daughters: Modjeska, eighteen years of age, graduated from the
Hartford City high school in 1913, and her talents in music are now
being trained by study of piano and pipe organ preparatory for a con-
servatory course ; Marjorie is thirteen years of age and in the Freshman
class of the Hartford City high school. The family are members of the
Presbyterian church, and Mr. Hutchens has filled several chairs in the
Knights of Pythias Lodge and in polities is republican.
Elbert Smilack. This valued citizen of Hartford City is a native
of Russia, came to America fifteen years ago, and after some varied
experiences which did not bring him any capital he arrived in Hartford
City within a few months after landing at Philadelphia. He had to
borrow money to get his start in the county seat of Blackford, but since
contrived to prosper so that he is regarded as one of the wealthier men
of that city. Much has been said of the boundless opportunities presented
in the New World to the immigrant from the old. but it will usually be
found that an exceptional degree of enterprise, initiative, industry, and
courage are important factors in the creation of such a success as has
been acquired by Elbert Smilack.
In Russia Mr. Smilack 's name was spelled Smilackoff. He was born
in Smolanks, October 15, 1872. His father Abraham was an attorney by
profession and is still living in the old country, sixty-six years of age.
The mother of the Hartford City business man died when this son was
eighteen months old, he being the youngest of four children. The father
is now living with his second wife, and by that union there is one son
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 241
who still lives in Russia, but recently returned from America. One of
Mr. Sniilack's brothers died young, a sister is married and living in
Russia, and another brother is still single in the old country.
Elbert Smilaek grew up and was very well educated, being a member
of a fairly prosperous family. He learned the trade of confectioner, and
after a few years was employed as commercial representative for a loaf
sugar manufacturing concern. He was with that house from the age
of sixteen to twenty-one, being secretary and bookkeeper in the office
the first year, and after that traveling extensively over a large part of
the Empire. At twenty-one Mr. Smilaek was impressed into the military
service for a period of six years, belonging to the dragoons, but after four
years and six months was relieved from further duty because of his
exi client record. At the time of his discharge he was at Kiev, from there
set out for his home, and thence went to Antwerp, Belgium, where he
took passage on the ship Penn for the United States. After sixteen days
en route he was landed in Philadelphia, and there began bis American
adventures. It was in 1899, and from the east he journeyed west as far
as Kalamazoo. Michigan, worked there six weeks, went to Chicago, was
employed in that great city three days at a dollar and a quarter per day,
but being dissatisfied with his employment made his way to Marion,
Indiana, and there found work which gave him a small amount of capi-
tal. With this he purchased a horse, buggy and harness for thirty-five
dollars, and drove across the country to Hartford City, where he arrived
with thirty-five cents in his pocket. In deciding to remain there he
chose wisely and well. A friend loaned him five dollars to make a start
in the junk business, and in a short time he had repaid the advance fund
and from that beginning has built up a business which has enabled him
to invest extensively and he is rated at a fortune of over fifty thousand
dollars. He owns a large business property. 40x120 feet on East Wash-
ington street, a fine home at 306 East Main street, five acres of land as
grounds about his residence, and also has property in Buffalo, New York
laud in Dewey, Oklahoma, and forty-seven oil wells in this state, located
in Blackford, Wells and Randolph counties. Few native Americans could
exhibit a better record of business prosperity than this former Russian
citizen.
Mr. Smilaek took out his naturalization papers some years ago, and
has since affiliated with the republican party in politics, and takes much
interest in local affairs. On October 31. 1905, at Muncie. Indiana. Mr.
Smilaek married Gertrude Rubin, who was also born in Russia, in the
year 1885, and in young womanhood emigrated to America in 1904 to
join her brother Jacob in Toledo, Ohio. Later she went to live with an-
other brother. Louis, in Muncie, Indiana, where she was married. Mr.
and Mrs. Smilaek have two children : Celia, who is seven years of age
and in school, and Sophia, six years old. Mr. Smilaek is active in lodge
and fraternal work, has taken fourteen degrees in Scottish Rite Masonry,
is a member of the Blue Lodge. No. 106 ; of the Chapter. No. Ill ; of
Council. No. 76. He is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 625, and be-
longs to both the Lodge, No. 262, and the Encampment of the Odd Fel-
lows in all their branches. He is also a member of the K. of P. Lodge,
No. 135. of the Rebekah Lodge, No. 394, and Mrs. Smilaek is a member
of the Eastern Star, all of Hartford City.
William T. McConkey. Although twenty years have passed since
the death of William T. McConkey, he is still remembered by the older
residents of Washington township as an industrious, enterprising and
practical farmer, a reliable and thoroughly progressive citizen and a
242 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
neighbor whose loyalty to his friends was proverbial. He was taken
away in the prime of life, yet he had already achieved much that was
worthy and helpful to his community, and a review of his career is
therefore eminently worthy of mention in a work of this nature.
Mr. McConkey was born in Washington township, Blackford county,
Indiana, January 7, 1850, and died on the farm owned by him there
February 1, 1892. He was a son of Eli and Eliza (Marts) McConkey,
natives of the state of Ohio, the former of Scotch-Irish ancestry and the
latter of German stock. James McConkey, the grandfather of William
T. McConkey, was reared in Pennsylvania, and was married in Fayette
county, Indiana, to Mrs. Prudence (Cook) Manlove, a North Carolinian.
By her first marriage she had a family of six children. James McConkey
was a widower when he married Mrs. Manlove, having formerly married
a Miss Burt, in Pennsylvania, by whom he had five sons and two daugh-
ters, viz: John Joel, Hannah, Betsey, David,, James and Zephaniah.
His marriage with Mrs. Manlove resulted in the birth of three children :
Eli. Sophronia and Thomas Cranor. Sophronia married Reuben Allen;
David came to Blackford county about 1836 and settled on land here
entered by his father, who took up four sections and one eighty-acre
tract at the same time; James came next and had a large family, but
only three lived to mature years, a son, Walter, a daughter, Margaret,
■who married Ephraim Perry, and another daughter who married a
son of Daniel Sills, and after his death married a Mr. Fritz; Zephaniah
came to Blackford county in 1849, and Eli in February of the same
year. James and Prudence McConkey by their marriages had altogether
sixteen children, of whom Eli was the last survivor.
Eli McConkey was born January 30, 1825, and was married in Novem-
ber, 1845, to Eliza Marts. She was a daughter of Peter Marts and his
wife. Christena (Myers) Marts, who were reared in Pennsylvania and
never learned to speak the English language until they came to Fayette
county, Indiana. They became the parents of a large family, among
whom were: Henry, Charles, Sarah, Moses, Isaac, Christena, who mar-
ried Newman Shinn, Eliza, Samuel, Jacob, Barbara, Mary, Catherine and
Gideon. Christena Shinn was born November 14, 1820, and died at
Hale, Carroll county, Missouri, March 22, 1912. Moses and Isaac were
twins and married twin sisters named McCormick, and each had twelve
or thirteen children. Moses' youngest children were twin sons who
looked almost exactly alike. Peter Marts subsequently sold his farm
and went to Arcadia, Indiana, where he died when nearly eighty years
of age. while his widow subsequently located at the home of the Mc-
Conkeys, and died there in her ninetieth year.
In February, 1849, Eli McConkey and wife moved to Blackford
county, and settled on a farm which had been entered by his father
James McConkey, and they continued to reside there during the remain-
ing years of their lives, succeeding through thrift and industry in devel-
oping an excellent farm. Eli McConkey passed away at the age of seven-
ty-five, while Mrs. McConkey was fifty-two years of age at the time of
her demise. They were faithful members of the Dunkard church, with
which they were identified for years, and in the faith of which they
died. In politics Eli McConkey was a democrat but not an office seeker,
although he was known as a good and helpful community worker, and
both he and his wife had in the highest degree the respect and esteem
of those about them. They were the parents of a large family of
children.
The next to the oldest child of his parents, William T. McConkey, grew
up amid rural surroundings, and much of his boyhood was spent in
assisting his father in his agricultural duties, while his education was
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 243
being obtained in the district schools. At the time of his marriage. .Mr.
MeConkey received eighty acres of the one hundred and sixty acres
belonging to his father, and then settled down to farming on his own
account, making the old homestead his residence during the remainder
of his life, lie was successful both as a farmer and stock raiser, showed
himself at all times a good business man, and had the complete confidence
of his associates. Since his death the farm has been owned by his widow,
who has now retired to her home at Montpelier, where she is living with
her son, Harvey W. .MeConkey.
William T. MeConkey was first married on September 4. 1875, to
Margaret E. Mason, daughter of Thomas and Harriet Mason. To that
union were horn two children, twin daughters, Viola and Leora, on July
14, 1876. When these babies were live days old their mother died, July
19th, and the daughter Leora died when sixteen days old. Viola is now
the wife of William F. Minnich of Wells county, and they have a nice
farm of sixty-seven acres in Jaekson township. Mr. and Mrs. Minnich
are the parents of three children, as follows: Lawrence YY., horn March
15, 1898, now attending high school at Warren, Indiana; Emma Pern,
born September 16, 1901; and Sylvia Pearl, horn October IS. 1905,
After the death of his first wife Mr. MeConkey was married in Har-
rison township, at the home of the bride, to Miss Eliza B. Kitterman.
She was born in Wayne county, Indiana, January 8, 1859, and was
brought in childhood to Washington township, Blackford county, by her
parents. Harvey and Sarah J. (Wicksham) Kitterman, in 1865. Harvey
Kitterman died October 7, 1S66, at the age of thirty-two. His widow
subsequently married Uriah Dick, whose first wife was named Rosie and
left, him five children, including Richard Dick, in whose sketch in this
work complete details of the family history may be found. Sarah J.
Kitterman-Dick died June 26, 1912, at the age of seventy-four, both
she aud her husband having passed away in Blackford county.
To "William T. MeConkey and wife were born the following children :
Lawrence, born September 6, 1878, was educated in the common schools,
is a railway fireman residing at Huntington, Indiana, and married Zelda
Foreman of Blackford county, and they have a daughter Thelma. horn
November 20, 1904, and now attending the city schools: Frederick, who
was born March 24, 1881, has for several years been in poor health ami
is now recovering in a sanitarium at Newcastle, Indiana; Clarence A.
was born March 14. 1884, died at the age of sixteen years; Guy, born
July 14, 1888, married Ethel Markin, and their son Ennis Kail was
born .May 24, 1911; Harvey William, horn .July 12, 1891, is a harness
maker and unmarried and lives with his mother at 548 S. Franklin
street, Montpelier. The son Guy MeConkey now operates The Old Home-
stead, as the home property in Section 12. Washington township, is
appropriately named. On it Mrs. MeConkey has erected a line stuck
and grain barn, 40x50 feet, and the improvements are all of the best,
making it a very valuable property. Mrs. MeConkey and her husband
never united with any church, hut as the Dunkard was the most con-
venient to their home it was the one which they usually attended. The
late Mr. MeConkey was a democrat in his political views, although his
sons are all republicans. The people bearing this name have always
been industrious, enterprising and true to their engagements, and have
been decided factors in the upbuilding and general welfare of the com-
munity in which they have made their homes.
Charles A. Sellers, M. D. Engaged in the practice of medicine
and surgery at Hartford City, the county seat of Blackford county. Dr.
244 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Sellers is fully upholding the prestige of the family name, both as a
physician and as a loyal and public-spirited citizen. His father, Dr.
John S. Sellers, concerning whom individual record appears on other
pages of this publication, lias long been numbered among the prominent
representatives of the medical profession in Blackford county, and is
now living virtually retired in Hartford City. Dr. Charles A. Sellers
controls an excellent professional business and is one of the highly
esteemed physicians of Blackford county, where he is now serving as
secretary of the Blackford County Medical Society, showing that he has
secure place in the confidence and esteem of his professional confreres.
Dr. Sellers was born at Alexandria, Madison county, Indiana, on
January 14, 1875, and is indebted to the public schools for his prelimi-
nary educational discipline. He thereafter completed a preparatory
course in a school at Irvington, a suburb of Indianapolis, a preparatory
school of the University of Indianapolis. As a licensed pharmacist he
was identified with the drug business for three years, and in 1901 was
matriculated in the Fort Wayne College of Medicine at Fort Wayne,
Indiana. In this institution which is now consolidated with the medical
department of the University of Indiana, he was graduated as a member
of the class of 1904, duly receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of
Medicine. While an undergraduate he had gained practical experience
along professional lines through being a student with Dr. Miles M. F.
Porter, one of the prominent physicians of Fort Wayne. After his
graduation he devoted eighteen months to service as an interne in a
leading hospital in the city of Fort Wayne, and he then returned to
his home city, Montpelier. Blackford county, where he was associated
in practice with his father and finally assumed the major part of the
large professional business which the latter had there controlled for a
long period. In 1909 he went to the State of Utah and was there four-
teen months. In January, 1911, for the purpose of obtaining a broader
field, he removed to Hartford City, and' here his success has been on a
parity with his distinctive professional ability, and he has a place in the
confidence and good will of the community. He is affiliated with and is
physician for the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose, and is also
local examining physician for the Prudential, Metropolitan Life, Lin-
coln Life and other representative life insurance companies. The Doctor
is identified with the Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical
Association, the Blackford County Medical Society, the District Medical
Society of the Eighth Medical District, and the Tri-State Medical Society
which* draws its membership from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Of the
District Medical Society he has served as president and vice-president,
and is at the present time secretary of the county society. In the Ma-
sonic fraternity Dr. Sellers is affiliated with Montpelier Lodge No. 600,
F. & A. M., and holds membership also in Hartford City Lodge No. 625,
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Dr. Sellers first wedded Miss Margaret Greiner, who was born and
reared at Madison, Indiana, and who died at the birth of her first child,
which died at the same time, in June, 1908. In the year 1909. at Mont-
pelier, Blackford county, was solemnized the marriage of the Doctor
to Miss Catherine Chapman, who was born at Fowlerville, Michigan, on
the 30th of June, 1879, and who was for some time a popular teacher
in the public schools at Montpelier, Indiana. She was graduated at the
Michigan State Normal School at Ypsilanti, as a member of the class of
1904, and was actively engaged in teaching in Michigan and Indiana
from the time of her graduation until her marriage. She is a daughter
of Orville and Emma (May) Chapman, who were born in the state of
New York but whose marriage was solemnized in Michigan. Her father
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 245
was a farmer in Michigan and became also one of the representative phj
sicians of that state, having been a graduate of Rush .Medical College of
Chicago. He died at Gregory, Livingston county, Michigan, in L893,
and his widow passed away in L910. Dr. and .Mrs. Sellers have two
children: Gertrude E., born August 2. L910, and Betty Virginia, born
October 13, 1912.
Rowland J. Sidey. The difference between the generations of any
country with a history is commonly not one of principle bu1 of emphasis.
Our great American republic owes its magnificent upbuilding and the
exploitation of its wonderful resources to the fact that it has almosl
automatically developed men of great initiative and executive power.
There has beeu room for such men in every progressive business, no mat-
ter how crowded its ranks might be. The strength of the man with ini-
tiative is one of the ideas and the ability to shape those ideas into definite
achievement. He knows how to make beginnings and how to expand his
practical ideas according to demands or utilitarian possibilities. Such a
man in the industrial life of Indiana is Mr. Sidey, who has been activelj
connected with the development of the extensive oil-producing industry
of the state. His knowledge of the business is one fortified by experience
that has extended from his boyhood to tin- present day and his advance-
ment has come as a result of his own ability and the mastering of cir-
cumstances, for he has been virtually dependent upon his own resources
from the time he was a lad in his teens. At the same time he has overcome
in the practical school of experience and self-discipline the educational
handicap of his youth. He is a prominent and influential figure in con-
nection with the oil industry in Indiana, especially in Blackford county,
where be maintains his home in Montpelier, one of the fine little cities
of this favored section of the State.
Mr. Sidey was born April 20, 1873, at Harvard, Ontario, Canada, a
son of William and Emmeline Reed (Anthony) Sidey. His father was a
pioneer in the oil fields of the old Keystone state. The lineage is traced
back to sturdy Scotch-Irish stock. The family was founded in America
by George and Catherine (Morris) Sidey, who were born in Angus, Scot-
land, and on coming to America in 1817 settled and lived for three years
at Ogdensburg, New York, and in 1820 moved to Port Hope, Canada.
They lived there until 1836, then settled on a farm eight miles from the
same town, where George Sidey died in 1850. Their family comprised
two sons and three girls: John, born at Ogdensburg, New York; Mar-
garet, Jane and Mary, and James, all of whom were born in Canada. The
son, James, is still living in Toronto ; is a man six feet three inches high,
weighs two hundred and twenty pounds, is straight as an Indian, and
since early life has been noted for his prowess as a hunter. This charac-
teristic pertains to nearly all the members of the different generations,
and in occupation the family have been farmers and carpenters, physi-
cians and always men and women of substantial character.
John Sidey. grandfather of Rowland J., and the son of George, was a
child when the family moved to Canada, and there prepared himself for
the profession of medicine and began practice in 1838. In 185 1 / he moved
to Bewdley, ami there conducted a farm and a store and also established
a postoffie'e. In 1859 he returned to his old farm for two Mars, but in
1861 was once more in Bewdley and continued as a merchant and as a
practitioner of medicine until his death in 1892 at the age of seventy-
three. He was the owner of a large amount of land, and one of the most
prominent and influential citizens of his community. Or. Sidey was a
man of buoyant and optimistic nature, of strong and upright character
and of fine mentality, and was well equipped for leadership in thought
246 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
and action. In 1840 he married Agnes Sackville. She was born May 29,
1820, at Gedboro, Scotland, and in 1830 came with her parents and five
brothers, sailing from Whitehaven on the ship Hetherington, and arriv-
ing in Port Hope, Canada, in the following June. The Sackvilles located
on a farm eight miles north of Port Hope, and that place is still owned
in their name. Mrs. Dr. Sidey lived to the extreme age- of ninety-two
years, passing away in 1912, and at her death there were left seven chil-
dren, twenty-nine grandchildren, twenty-nine great-grandchildren, and
three great-great-grandchildren. To the marriage of Dr. Sidey and wife
were born twelve children, eight of whom reached mature years and are
named as follows : Jackson, who was killed in a railway accident in Can-
ada, and was the father of eight children ; James, who had two children ;
William, six children; Albert, two children; Catherine, three children;
Thomas, six children ; Frank, a bachelor ; and Jennie, two children.
William Sidey, father of Rowland J., was born at Bewdley, Province
of Ontario, in 1848, was reared and educated in his native
Province and served as a soldier in the Dominion Militia at the time of
the Fenian raid. When a young man he came to the United ritates and
established his residence in the Oil Creek district of Pennsylvania, became
a pioneer worker in the oil fields, and his entire active career has been
one of close and influential identification with the oil industry. He has
drilled innumerable oil wells in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio and
Indiana, and in 1913 became concerned with the same line of enterprise
in the state of California. His home is now in the new city of Taft, Cali-
fornia, and he is still active as an expert oilman. In Pennsylvania he
married Miss Emmeline Reed Anthony, who was born and reared in that
state, and who died in Taft, California, in March, 1913, at the age of
sixty-three years, a devoted wife and mother, and one whose children may
well "rise up and call her blessed." She was the daughter of George
and Phoebe (Edwards) Anthony, who were likewise natives of Pennsyl-
vania, where her father died at the age of forty-six years. The widowed
mother later came to Indiana and spent her declining years in the home
of her grandson, Rowland J. Sidey, until her death in 1908 at the age of
seventy -nine. She was a member of the Free Methodist church.
Of the children of William and Emmeline R. (Anthony) Sidey, the
eldest is Lafayette M., an oil worker at Martinsville, Illinois, and who
has four sons and two daughters : Roland J. ; Phoebe, the wife of John L.
Hunter, employed in the oil business in Oklahoma, and they have four
sons and two daugters ; Carrie is the wife of Courtland Rood, an oil man
of Taft, California, and has one son and one daughter ; Emmeline is the
wife of Otis Burklo, also in the oil business at Lawrenceville, Illinois, and
has one son, Clarence, a resident of Oklahoma, and married, but without
children.
Rowland J. Sidey attended the public schools of Pennsylvania until
thirteeen years of age, and though now considered a man of liberal edu-
cation it is to his credit that he has developed his powers and acquired
his attainments as a result of experience, the hest of all teachers. Since
early youth his work has been in connection with the oil industry, and
his experience includes every detail. In 1893 he became associated with
the Manhattan Oil Company of Ohio, and in March, 1906, this company
sent him to Montpelier, Indiana, as manager of its operations in the local
field until the expiration of its charter in 1909. During his development
work in the Indiana fields his executive functions, expert work and inde-
pendent operation have been attended with pronounced success. As an
operator with extensive connections Mr. Sidey maintains his general
business office in Montpelier, with offices in the Cloud Block, at the
corner of Main and High streets. As a citizen he manifests the same
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNT IKS 247
progressiveness that has brought him success as a man of affairs, and is
affiliated with Montpelier Lodge of Knights of Pythias, the Hartford City
Lodge of Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, and his wife is an active
member of the .Montpelier Baptist church and a popular figure in the
community's social activities.
The scope and importance of the business associations of Mr. Sidey
deserve some more detailed mention. In 1!H2 he organized the Central
Oil Company, incorporated with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars,
lie is secretary and treasurer of the company, and its operations have
yielded the stockholders twenty per cent on their investment annually.
Its holdings include much valuable oil lands and fifty wells, all of them
in the producing class.
At St. Marys. Auglaize county. Ohio, in 1903, Mr. Sidey married Miss
Prederica Claus, who was horn in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Ger-
many, July, 1873, and was fifteen years of age when her parents came
to America. She is a daughter of Frederick and Louise (Neftley) Claus,
who now reside in Allen county, Ohio, and both are past seventy years
of age. Mr. and Mrs. Sidey have three children: Clarissa Goldie is the
wife of Robert Boyd, of Montpelier, and they have a little daughter,
Helen Lucile; Emmet R. and Rowland J., Jr., are still at home and attend-
ing the public schools.
L. L. Davis. In Jackson township, four miles south and four miles
east of Hartford City, and one mile north and four miles west of Dunkirk,
is found Catalpa Farm, a handsome tract of sixty-nine acres, the propri-
etor of which, L. L. Davis, is one of his locality's most progressive agri-
culturists. Although not a native son of Blackford county. Mr. Davis has
lived here since his infancy, on his present farm, of which he lias been the
owner since 1906, and is generally conceded to be one of his community's
substantial men and public-spirited citizens.
Mr. Davis was born in Randolph county, Indiana. September 22. 1*76,
and is a son of Hugh and Charlotte (Robbins) Davis. His parents were
both born in Randolph county, were there reared, educated and married,
and in 1877 came to Blackford county, settling on the farm now owned by
their son, L. L., and where they passed the remainder of their lives, the
father passing away in 1901, and the mother five years later. Thej were
the parents of seven children, as follows: Alice, who is the wife of Boyd
Woods: William J., a resident of Delaware county. Indiana: E. H., of
Paulding county, Ohio; Benjamin, of Blackford county, residing a1
Millgrove; Charles, a resident of Fulton county. Ohio; and Lillie, the
wife of Don Sealey, a resident of Missouri.
Tin- youngest of his parents' children. L. L. Davis was reared on the
homestead farm, to which he had been brought as a child of our year,
and after completing the curriculum of the district schools became a
student in the Tri-State College and the Marion Normal College, from
which latter institution he received a teacher's license for thirty-six
months. He has been teaching since 1897. At the time of his mother's
death he purchased the property from the other heirs.
On February 26, 1898, Mr. Davis was married to Miss May ( lurry, who
was born in Kentucky, an adopted daughter of T. H. Curry, and to this
union there have been born four children, as follows: Pauline, who grad-
uated from the graded schools with the class of 191.°,. and is now a high
school student: Cledith. Francis and Mary, who are all attending the
public schools.
Since purchasing the old homestead in 1906. Mr. Davis lias made
numerous improvements thereon, including the erection of sound and
substantial buildings and the installing of machinery of modern char-
248 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
acter. He uses the most approved and up-to-date methods in his work,
and thus has been able to achieve a full measure of success from his
labors, at the same time improving the appearance of Catalpa Farm, one
of the handsomest in this part of the township. In addition to general
farming he has met with success in breeding Poland-China hogs, his stock
being registered and in great demand. Politically, Mr. Davis is a demo-
crat, but has never taken a very active part in politics, being too
engrossed with his private affairs. He is highly esteemed in his com-
munity for his many admirable traits of character, and his wife's circle
of friends testifies to his general popularity.
Adam Schmidt. No richer or more fertile land may be found in
Blackford county than that lying in Washington township, where is
located the fine farm belonging to Adam Schmidt. This property attracts
the attention of the passerby and wins his admiration, for its modern
cottage home and its other fine buildings, its up-to-date equipment, its
fat and well-fed cattle and its general air of prosperity are such as to
gain the approbation of the most casual observer. Mr. Schmidt's career
has been one of tireless energy and well-directed management, and has
been crowned by a success such as comes only to the men of ability and
resource. While his life has been a singularly busy one, and his private
interests of an extensive character, he has still found time to devote to the
advancement of his community's welfare, and has honorably earned the
reputation of a public-spirited and useful citizen. Mr. Schmidt was born
March 31, 1854, in Delaware county, Indiana, and is a son of Wilhelm
and Anna M. (Schwinn) Schmidt.
Wilhelm Schmidt was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1811,
and was there married to Anna M. Schwinn, who had been born in
another province of the Fatherland in 1817. Their respective parents
spent their entire lives in Germany, and soon after their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Schmidt emigrated to America during the early thirties. After
a long and tedious trip in a sailing vessel, they landed at New York City,
and from that point made their way to Hagersburg, Pennsylvania. Mr.
Schmidt had been a weaver in his native land, but in Pennsylvania was
glad to accept any kind of honorable employment that opportunity placed
in his path, and his work was invariably well done. Two children were
born in Pennsylvania, William and Peter, and when the latter was still
an infant Mr. Schmidt brought his family to Indiana, locating on a farm
as a renter in Delaware county. There were born their remaining chil-
dren: Margaret, Jacob, Michael, Mary, Louisa, Adam, Philip and Her-
man, and in 1860 the family came to Blackford county and located at
what was then the hamlet of Dundee, now Roll. Here Mr. Schmidt pur-
chased 240 acres of land in Washington township, known as the Roderick
Crag farm, a large property which Mr. Schmidt put under a high state
of cultivation, and upon which he continued to make his home during the
remainder of his career. He died in 1874, one of the substantial and
highly respected men of his community, while Mrs. Schmidt survived
until 1905, and was also well known and greatly beloved among her many
friends. They were consistent members of the Lutheran church, and at
all times endeavored to live up to its teachings. Mr. Schmidt was a
democrat, but took no more than a good citizen's interest in political
matters. The children of this honored couple who are now living are as
follows: Peter, a successful farmer of Wells county, Indiana, has been
twice married and has a son, Daniel, by his first union ; Louisa, the wife
of J. N. McConkey, lives in North Carolina, and has no children ; Adam ;
Philip, a farmer of Washington township, married Jane Shrader, daugh-
ter of John Shrader, and has three sons and one daughter.
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 249
Adam Schmidt was given his education in the common schools of
Washington township, whence he accompanied Ids parents from Dela-
ware county in 1860. He resided at home until attaining his majority.
at which time he purchased eighty acres of land in section 9, Washington
township, and later added to tins an additional purchase of thirty acres.
Tins was supplemented by an additional purchase of seventy two acres
of the homestead property, and all is now under a high state of cultiva-
tion and produces large crops of wheat, corn, oats and rye. .Air. Schmidt
is a progressive ami enterprising farmer, thoroughly al rl to every
advancement made in Ins vocation. lie has met with success both in
general farming and in the breeding of all kinds of good live stock, and
his business ahility has enabled him to secure top-notch prices for his
products, lie has a red barn, 30x60 feet, and a very pretty nine-room
white house, surrounded by other buildings of substantia] character and
attractive appearance. In his community Mr. Schmidt hears a high repu-
tation as a man of integrity and honorable dealing, and has drawn about
him a wide circle of appreciative friends.
Mi-. Schmidt was married in Wells county. Indiana, to .Miss Nancy
E. Griffith, who was born in that county. April 2, 1856, and was then-
reared and educated, a daughter of Samuel and Charlotte \\'il,\ Uril'
fith, early settlers and farming people of Wells county . u here thej lived
and died in Jackson county, the father passing away at the age of seventy
years, while the mother was past eighty at the time of her demise. Both
were faithful members of the Church of God. .Mi-, and Mrs. Schmidt
have been the parents of the following children: Pearl .M.. horn in 1888,
a graduate of the Dundee High school, and now. living with her parents:
Hazel G., born in 1890, educated in the Dundee High school, ami now tie-
wife of Walter C. Ratliff, living on a farm in Washington township, has
one child, Francis Bartell, born in December, 1913; Francis E., who
passed away at the age of twenty years, a promising young man who had
been educated in the Dundee High school; Mable, residing at home, a
well-educated girl, a teacher in the public schools during the winter
months, and during the summers a student in the normal school at Mtin-
cie; and S. Raymond, aged fifteen years, who is attending the Dundee
High school. Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt are consistent members of the
Church of God, at Dundee, and have been liberal in their contributions to
its movements. Mr. Schmidt is a democrat, but has not taken much part
in political affairs, although always ready to promote and support move-
ments for his community's betterment.
Manford M. Clapper, M. D. The medical profession in Blackford
county has a specially able and popular representative in the person of
Dr. Clapper, who maintains his residence and headquarters in Hartford
City, the judicial center of the county, and who controls a large and
exacting practice. He has a clear realization of concentration of effort
and thus gives special attention to the treatment of the diseases of tie-
eye, ear, nose and throat, in which lie is a recognized authority, as his
study and investigation have been directed closely along these lines. The
Doctor was graduated in the Chicago Medical College as a member of the
class of 1890. and received from this admirable institution the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. He has been engaged in practice in Hartford
City since 1891. and since 1898 has devoted his attention almost entirely
to the special lines just noted.
Dr. Clapper is a native of Blackford county, where he was born on
the 11th of July, 1863, and after duly availing himself of the advan-
tages of the public schools he continned his studies in turn in the National
Normal University at Lebanon. Ohio, and in what is now Valparaiso Uni-
250 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
versity, at Valparaiso, Indiana. He devoted five years to teaching in the
public schools and then began the study of medicine, in which domain he
has fortified himself by constant study since his graduation in the Chi-
cago Medical College as well as by effective post-graduate work. The
Doctor traces his lineage back to sturdy German origin and the original
orthography of the name was Clappe. His great grandfather, Henry
Clapper, or Clappe, emigrated with his family from Prussia to America
prior to the war of the Revolution, and his first wife died after his home
had been established in Bedford county, Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania
he contracted a second marriage, and there were children from each
union. Henry Clapper became a successful farmer of the type that has
made the German agriculturist of Pennsylvania nationally famous for
thrift, and as his descendants became scattered one of its branches
changed the spelling of the name to Clapper, while another branch
dropped the final "e," the Clapp families, of this genealogical line having
been prominent in both Michigan and Wisconsin, which latter State has
at the present time a representative of the name in the United States
Senate.
Henry Clapper, Jr., grandfather of Dr. Clapper, was born in Bedford
county, Pennsylvania, in 1787, and he represented his native common-
wealth as a valiant soldier in the war of 1812, as did he also in the Mex-
ican war. After the close of the latter conflict he established his home in
Stark county, Ohio, where he built up a prosperous business as a cooper
and where he died at the venerable age of eighty-four years. In that
county he wedded Mary Smith, who died in 1869, at the age of seventy-
two years. They were folk of steadfast character, true to duty in its
every presentation, and both were devout Christians. The early repre-
sentatives of the Clapper family in America held the faith of the German
Lutheran church. In later generations a number of them became mem-
bers of the Dunkard denomination, three cousins of Henry Clapper, Jr.,
having become clergymen of that church in Bedford county, Pennsyl-
vania. The early political allegiance of the Clapper family was with the
whig party, but later members were found aligned with both the repub-
lican and democratic parties, intrinsic loyalty and patriotism having
been distinctly in evidence as one generation has followed another onto
the stage of life. Henry and Mary (Smith) Clapper became the parents
of nine children, — Ann, Jacob, Rachel, Henry, Christopher, John. Mary
and two who died in infancy. Of the seven designated by name all at-
tained maturity and married, and all but Ann and Mary reared children.
Rachel, who was born in 1824, is now ninety years of age, and is a resi-
dent of Hartford City, her husband having died a number of years ago.
Henry was born in 1827, and now resides in Grant county, this State.
Christopher Clapper, father of him whose name introduces this sketch,
was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1832, and was there reared to man-
hood. He received good educational advantages and became a successful
teacher and farmer in his native county. There was solemnized his mar-
riage to Miss Catherine Hall, who was born in that county in 1832, and
who is a daughter of Daniel and Susan (Swagert) Hall, the former of
whom was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1802, and the latter of whom
was born in Pennsylvania about 1805 ; their marriage was contracted in
Stark county, and there they passed the remainder of their lives, Mr. Hall,
who was a farmer by occupation, having attained to the age of eighty-
four years and his wife having been somewhat past the age of seventy at
the time of her demise. Both were earnest members of the Presbyterian
church. Mr. Hall was a son of David Hall, who emigrated to America
from Durham, England, and who was a son of James Hastings Hall, the
mother of the latter having been a kinswoman of Warren Hastings, a
prominent character in English history.
BLACKFORD AND CHANT COUNTIES 251
In 1854, soon after his marriage, Christopher Clapper came from
Ohio to Blackford county, Indiana, and lie settled on a trad of virtually
unreclaimed land in the southeastern part of the county. There he gave
his time and attention to the development and cultivation of his farm
until he responded, in 1861, to the call of patriotism and tendered his
services in defense of the Union. He enlisted in Company K. Fifty-first
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and he continued in service until he was
attacked with double pneumonia, his death having occurred at Ilunts-
ville, Alahama, on the 22d of January, 1865. He was a private and as
such participated in a number of important engagements marking the
progress of the Civil war, in which he sacrificed his life. His widow still
survives him and retains remarkable mental ami physical vigor, she being
now a cherished member of the household of her son. Dr. Clapper, of this
review, she is a member of the German Dunkard church and her hus-
band held membership in the Presbyterian church. Of the children the
eldest is Theodore, who is a representative farmer in Meigs county, Ohio;
Alice is the wife of George Marley, of New ( lastle, Indiana ; and Dr. .Man
ford M. is the youngest of the three, he having been about two years of
age at the time of his father's death.
The tenets of the democratic party have received the unequivocal
approval of Dr. Clapper, but he has had no desire to enter the arena of
practical politics. lie is identified with the American Medical Associa-
tion, the Indiana State .Medical Society and the Blackford County Med-
ical Society. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Knights of the
Modern Maccabees.
In 1893 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Clapper to Miss Auretta
Kleetisch. who was born and reared in Blackford county, and who is a
daughter of Philip and Matilda (Cline) Kleetisch, the latter of whom
died in 1912, when sixty-seven years of age. Mr. Kleetisch was born in
Germany, whence he emigrated to America in 1865, becoming a resident
of Blackford county, ami where he still resides, his home being now at
Hartford City, and he having reached the age of seventy-nine years, in
1914. Dr. and Mrs. Clapper have two children. — Erskine Marion, who is
a member of the class of 1915 in the high school ; and Louretta Gertrude,
who was born in 1900 and graduated from the parochial school of the
Catholic church in Hartford City this spring, and who will enter first
year high school in the fall. The Doctor and his family hold membership
in the Methodist Episcopal church.
Since this sketch was written. Dr. Clapper has dosed his office in
Hartford City and in February entered the New York Post Graduate
Medical School, from which he graduated in June. June 12th he sailed
for Europe, and is at present doing Post Graduate work in The Royal
London Ophthalmic Hospital and also in the Royal Central London
Nose, Throat and Ear Hospital. After graduating there he expects to
(liter school in both Edinburgh. Scotland, and Vienna, Austria.
Alonzo W. Dick. The progressive younger element of citizens in
Blackford county is particularly well represented by Alonzo W. Dick.
whose enterprise as a farmer has brought him individual success, and
who stands as one of the public spirited and efficient citizens of Ins emu
munity in Harrison township.
A native of Harrison township, and born on the farm where he qow
lives, Alonzo W. Dick first saw the light of day on January 26, 1*77. His
family have lontr been identified with Blackford county. His father.
Uriah Dick, was born in West Virginia, and his mother, whose maiden
name was Sarah -I. Wickersham, was a native of Wayne county, Indiana.
The father died in i892 and the mother in 1912. They had just two chil-
dren, and Clinton Dick is engaged in farming in Washington township.
252 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
The childhood and youth of Alonzo W. Dick were spent on a farm, and
in addition to the advantages furnished by the district common schools
he took a course in the Marion Normal College, and was given a license
to teach school, although farming has always been his choice of vocation.
On February 8, 1902, Mr. Dick married Mary E. Jarrett of Wells
county, Indiana. She was born and reared in Wells county, and finished
the course in the common schools.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dick moved to his father's estate,
and has since made it a matter of pride as well as of vocation to bring
his land into the highest state of cultivation and improvement and man-
aged the resources of his farm to the best possible advantage. Mr. Dick
is the owner of fifty-six acres in his home place in Harrison township, and
fifteen acres in Washington township.
To their marriage have been born five children, namely: Grant A.,
born in 1903 ; Howard J., born in 1904 ; Bacil T., born in 1906 ; Waldo E.,
born in 1907 ; and Ethelbert J., born February 9, 1914. Politically, Mr.
Dick since attaining his majority has been steadily devoted to the repub-
lican cause up to the campaign of 1912, when he found himself in sym-
pathy with the principles of the progressive party and cast his vote in
that way.
Willard W. Warfield. In each large community every line of
endeavor is necessarily represented and in the degree of ability in which
it is handled rests the material welfare of the people. No vocation
requires more tact or greater consideration for the feelings of others than
that of the undertaker and embalmer, and his position in the confidence of
the people of the commtuiity is second only to that of the minister of the
Gospel. In this connection it may be stated that Willard W. Warfield, a
representative of this line of business, is known as one of the esteemed
citizens of Montpelier, Indiana, where he has been a resident since 1907,
on September 1st of which year he took over the business formerly owned
by L. L. Howard.
Mr. Warfield was born in Pulaski county, Indiana, November 28,
1880, and is a son of Elijah Warfield. His father, a native of Hampshire
county, West Virginia, was born in 1841, and as a lad accompanied his
parents to Pulaski county, Indiana, where he grew up amid rural sur-
roundings. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Seventy-
third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close
of the Civil War, receiving his honorable discharge July 30, 1865, at
Nashville, Tennessee, after a brave and meritorious service. Upon his
return to the pursuits of peace he located again in Pulaski county, where
he was married to Miss Mary Alice Olds, a native of that locality. She
was reared and educated in that county, whence her parents had come at
an early day. Elijah Warfield died in 1883, having been the father of the
following children : Ora, who became the wife of Richard Johnson and
died without issue ; Willard W. ; and George, who died in infancy. Mrs.
Warfield married Frank Osborn, of Jasper county, Indiana, and both
are now deceased, having had no children.
Willard W. Warfield was given his education in the public schools of
Pulaski county, and was fifteen years of age when he embarked upon a
career of his own, securing employment in furniture and piano factories
at Newcastle. Subsequently, he moved to Anderson, where he was asso-
ciated with Stephen Mark, with whom he learned the undertaking busi-
ness. He came to Montpelier in 1907, and here purchased the business
of L. L. Howard, who had decided to go to Florida, and since that time
has continued to be in business here. Mr. Warfield has been successful in
his business enterprises because he possesses the qualities which go to make
BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 253
for success — good judgment, business faculty, a high sense of honor and
a just appreciation of the rights of others. He has every equipment i -
essary for dignified and effective funeral directing, including two funeral
cars, and also carries a large line of caskets.
Mr. Warfield was married at Newcastle, Indiana. July 8, l!" 1 ". to
Miss Eva May Lowe, who was born at that place, August 21, 1884, a
daughter of Henry s. ami Catherine (Counseler) Lowe, natives of New-
castle. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe for a number of years engaged in farming,
but retired from active life in 1912, and since that time have resided in
their comfortable residence on Hast Tenth Street. Indianapolis. .Mrs.
Warfield's sister, Mrs. Ella Beard, is the mother of two children, and
like her two brothers. George and William, resides in Indianapolis. One
son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Warfield: George W.. born Augusl
8. 1908. They are consistent members of the .Methodist church, ami
Mr. Warfield affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order
of Red Men of Montpelier, and the Blue Lodge of the Masonic fraternity.
He is a republican, but has never been an active politician.
Henry Philebaum. Sixty years have passed since Henry Philebaum
took up his residence in Blackford county, and during this time lie has
been steadfastly associated with the agricultural interests of this section
of the state. His energetic and well-directed labors have resulted in the
attainment of a well-developed property, and today he is justly accounted
one of the representative agriculturists of Jackson township. Mi'. Phile-
baum is a native son of the Hoosier state, having been born in Fayette
county. January 6. 1S-15, his parents being Jacob and Sarah I Sherry I
Philebaum.
After their marriage the parents of Mr. Philebaum migrated from
their native state of Pennsylvania to Fayette county, and there spent
several years on a farm, but in 185-1 came to Blackford county and here
continued to follow the pursttits of the soil until their deaths. Of their
children the following are living at this writing: William, who was a
soldier in the Union army during the Civil War, and is now a farmer
residing north and one-quarter mile east of the village of Trenton, In-
diana; Perry, a resident of Montpelier; Joseph, who makes his home at
Connersville. Fayette county ; Martin, also a resident of Connersville ;
Henry, of this review ; Maggie, who is the wife of Samuel Landon; Mary,
who married Mr. Smith; John, a resident of Jonesboro, Indiana; and
Emily, the wife of Mr. Davis, of Fayette county.
Henry Philebaum was nine years of age when he accompanied the
family to Blackford county, and here he grew to manhood amid rural sur-
roundings, being reared a farmer. His services were almost constantly
needed on the home farm, and for this reason he was given but little op-
portunity to attend the district school, but made the most of his chances,
and in later years his close observation and experience have made him
a well-informed man on important subjects. He married Miss Eliza J.
Clark, who died September 23, 1888, and to this union there were born
nine children, namely: Amos, George. Estella, John, Mary, Sophronia,
James, Harry and Lucy.
Mr. Philebaum has always been a farmer, and through individual
effort has been able to accumulate a property of eighty acres, lying two
miles south of Trenton. On this he has made improvements of a sub-
stantial nature, which give evidence of his progressive spirit and good
management, and his buildings have been erected with a view of simp-
lifying his work. He has ever held a high reputation among his fellow-
citizens as a man of honorable dealing and fidelity to trust, ami lias dis-
played his public spirit on more than one occasion.
254 BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES
Mr. Philebaurn is a member of the Protestant Methodist church, the
movements of which he has actively supported. His fraternal connection
is with the Blue Lodge of the Masonic order. In his political views he
is a prohibitionist, and while a quiet and unassuming man, not given
to seeking notoriety, he has been outspoken in his support of temperance.
All in all, he may be accounted one of Jackson township 's representative
men.
Rev. Aaron S. Whetsel. A long life of service to his community
and fellow men has been that of Rev. Aaron S. Whetsel, of Jackson
township. Mr. Whetsel has for many years been an active minister of
the United Brethren church. He was ordained as a minister by Bishop
Weaver at Dunkirk, Ohio, in 1889, and traveled as an itinerant minis-
ter for three years. His work in the cause of the church has been given
without remuneration, and he has presented an example of religious
faith, fidelity to every trust, and earnest and self-sacrificing effort in
behalf of moral and community affairs. Outside of his religious profes-
sion, Mr. Whetsel is best known as proprietor of the Verger Farm, com-
prising one hundred and sixty acres of fine land, located two and a
half miles northwest of Dunkirk and three miles east of Millgrove.
Mr. Whetsel has spent nearly all his life in Blackford county, as a
boy grew up in the midst of pioneer conditions, and through his service
as a soldier during the great war between the states, as a farmer and
business man, and as a minister of the gospel has made a worthy name
and one long to be held in honor by his descendants. He was born in
Clinton county, Ohio, June 26, 1843, a son of William J. and Sarah
(Hartman) Whetsel. His father was a native of Warren county, Ohio,
and his mother of Harrison county, West Virginia. They were married
near Wilmington, Ohio, in June. 1842, and after three years of resi-
dence in Ohio moved to Blackford county in 1846, locating in Jackson
township, which remained their home until death. Of their three chil-
dren all are now deceased except Aaron S.
Three years of age when his parents came to Jackson township, Rev.
Mr. Whetsel had almost reached manhood before the real pioneer era
closed in Blackford county. The schools at that time were irregular
and ill-supplied with means of instruction, and he had no opportunity
to attend until after he was twelve years of age, and then only in the
winter seasons. What he lacked of definite school training as a boy he
has more than supplied by later years of active study and close and inti-
mate knowledge of men and affairs. When about twenty years of age
in July, 1863, he enlisted in Company E of the Seventh Indiana Cavalry.
The colonel of the regiment was J. P. C. Shanks of Portland, and his
lieutenant-colonel was Thomas M. Brown of Winchester. As a soldier
his service continued until his honorable discharge in the spring of 1866.
Returning to his father's home, he applied himself to farming, and in
the course of two years was ready to establish a home of his own. On
October 10, 1868, he married Martha J. Kelley, who was born in Clinton
county, Ohio, June 2, 1848. Her parents were B. F. and Elizabeth (Hall)
Kelley, and her brothers were Joshua T. Kelley and William H. Kelley.
On January 1, 1869, Mr. and Mrs. Whetsel located on a part of the
farm where he now lives. The land was entirely covered with woods,
and partly under water. It presented a heavy task to be accomplished
before the land was really profitable and productive. In the years that
followed Mr. Whetsel proved himself an energetic worker, cleared off
the timber, ditched the low ground, has erected buildings and fences,
and now has what is conceded to be one of the best improved farm
in that section of the county.
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BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES 255
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Whetsel were born twelve children,
eight of whom are living at this time, as follows: Lewis M., who lives
in Ohio; Nora E.. the wife of Edward McConneU of Pennville, Indiana:
Sarah A., wife of O. D. Starr of Jay county; William B., whose wife is
deceased and he now lives with his parents; B. F. of Jackson township;
Olive M., wife of John Goodyear of Jay county: .Mary E., wife (if lv
E. Starr of Jay county; Harry W. and Shanks B., both of whom are
unmarried and live at home. The four deceased children are: Law-
rence V.; John F. : Lucretia R., who was twenty-four years of age at the
time of her death ; and Hazel.
.Mr. Whetsel is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic
of Hartford City. In polities be adheres to the prohibition cause, and
at one time was active as a Republican.
John II. Stotler. That individuals of wide experience and varied
attainments are best qualified for the vocation of farming is doubted by
no one familiar with the intellectual and general demands placed upon
the present day exponents of scientific agriculture. -Modern methods
of treating the soil have in a large extent revolutionized this world-old
occupation, and it is not unusual to find at this time members of the pro-
fessions, business men, manufacturers and financiers, devoting their time
to the cultivation of land. In Harrison township, Blackford county, one
of the most successful farmers is John II. Stotler. M. D.. who after secur-
ing his college degree returned to the soil, in the cultivation of which he
has met with prosperity and in which he has found a congenial occupa-
tion.
Mi-. Stotler was born at West Alexandria, Ohio, on June 16, 185S, and
is a son of Edward Sorber and Sarah (Halderman) Stotler. His father,
a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, migrated to Preble county,
Ohio, in the fall of 1833, and there continued to be a resident during a
long and active career. In the famous year of 1849. when the discovery
of gold caused thousands to make the wearisome and perilous journey to
California, he joined the hardy adventurers, by way of Panama. In
I860, with others, he completed the erection of a mill at West Alexandria,
which he operated a number of years, but eventually turned his atten-
tion to banking, and organized and served as [(resident of several financial
institutions in the Bnckeye State. He has long been known as one of
the prominent and influential men of his community and has taken an
active part in public affairs. Mr. Stotler had two children by his first
mar