Clay County, Indiana - The whole text, 1909 (part 18 of 21)

Jerry M. Kirk, identified with contracting and building interests in Brazil, was born upon the present site of the city June 6, 1842, but at that time the district now enclosed within the corporation limits of Brazil was largely an unbroken wilderness, in which were few traces of the mod¬ ern civilizing influences of the white race. He has lived to witness the entire growth and development of the city and through his business inter¬ ests has contributed in substantial measure to its upbuilding. His parents were William and Sarah (Myers) Kirk. - The father was born in Louis¬ ville, Kentucky, in 1817, and came to Indiana when about fifteen years of age, arriving in this state in 1832 in company with his parents. They drove across the country from Kentucky to Orange county, Indiana, and in 1836 came to Clay county, where Mr. Kirk built a log cabin in the midst of the wilderness where Staunton is now located. Almost the entire countryside was covered with the forest. Deer roamed among the trees and over the prairies, and wild turkeys and other kinds of game were to be had in abundance, furnishing many a meal for the early settlers. The homes were largely log cabins, and the neighbors would frequently gather to aid in a log rolling and thus assist some friend or neighbor to put up his home in the wilderness. It was an arduous task to bring the fields into a state of cultivation, for the brush and stumps had to be cleared away, but the men who came into this district possessed a determined, resolute spirit and soon cleared the forest and converted the land into cultivable fields. Later Mr. Kirk removed to the present site of Brazil, where he built a log cabin in the midst of the green woods, helping to clear away the timber on the present site of the city. lie there made his home until 1852, when he removed to Bridgeton and worked at the cooper's trade for James Mulligan for about three years. He then re¬ turned to his original claim in Clay county, and in 1862 removed to Illi¬ nois, settling in Sullivan, Moultrie county, where he worked at his trade as a cooper. In 1866 he returned to this county and spent his last days in Staunton, his death occurring in 1881. He always voted with the Demo¬ crat party, believing that its principles contained the best elements of good government. His religious faith was that of the Christian church, and he was always loyal to its teachings. His wife survived him for several years, passing away in 1888. They were the parents of nine children, of whom five are now living: Mary, the wife of John Bowles; Nancy, the widow of John Weaver; Jerry M., of this review; Rachel, the wife of Jacob McGlosson; and Juretta, the wife of \Y. D. Stewart.

Jerry M. Kirk as boy and youth remained under the parental roof, assisting in the arduous task of developing new farms. In his boyhood days there were only three houses upon the present site of the city of Brazil. Mr. Kirk in early manhood took a contract to clear the timber on the right of way for the railroad, extending from the smelting plant to the Otter creek coal yards. He also helped to build the frame work for the smelting plant, which was the first of the kind put up in this district. In 1871 he removed to Sullivan, Illinois, where he engaged in the flour milling business for a year, after which he returned to Clay county, locat¬ ing in Staunton. There he carried on business as a carpenter and con¬ tractor until 1873, when he removed to Brazil and for a year was em¬ ployed in a sawmill. He next resumed carpentering and contracting in this city, and was thus identified with its building operations until 1893, when he purchased a farm in Washington township, Putnam county, In¬ diana, there carrying on general agricultural pursuits until 1900. In that year he disposed of his farm and came to Brazil, where he now lives and is again engaged in contracting and in- carpenter work.

In 1871 Mr. Kirk was married to Miss Emma Frances Graham, who was born at Crawfordsville, Indiana, August 13, 1849, a daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Van Cleve) Graham. Her father was at one time the owner of seven hundred acres of land near Crawfordsville, this state, and was also well known as a mill owner. In connection with Air. Decker he built a mill at Staunton, this county, and was in other ways closely associated with the material development and progress of this section of the state, aiding in laying broad and deep the foundation upon which has since been built the present prosperity of the county. In the Graham family were nine children, those still living being: John, who makes his home in Colorado ; Mrs. Martha Strawn, who resides in Ohio ; William, who died in 1907 at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was a leading and prominent attorney, having also served as United States minister at Winnipeg, Canada ; Joseph, who is vice president of the Erie Railroad Company; and Mrs. Kirk.

W., who wedded Mary Girton ; Joseph ; Kenneth, who wedded Margaret Simons ; and Evalyn, the wife of Claude Earhart. The parents are mem¬ bers of the Christian church and are interested in the moral development of the community. Mr. Kirk is a stalwart Prohibitionist in politics. He has long been a stalwart advocate of the cause of temperance and does all in his power to promote its growth and secure the adoption of total abstinence principles. His influence is ever found on the side of right, justice, improvement and truth, and he is recognized as a man of un¬ doubted integrity, ever loyal to his honest convictions.

Frederick J. S. Rodinson. - During recent years the name of Fred¬ erick J. S. Robinson has appeared frequently upon the records of Clay county in connection with important public service as well as in connec¬ tion with its agricultural development. He was born in Fayette county, Indiana, September 19, 1845. His father, James Robinson, was born in Virginia in 1810, and was brought to this state by his parents when a youth of six, the family locating in Fayette county, where James was reared and educated. He was also married there to Eliza Sutcliffe, who was born in London, England, and came to America when about ten years of age with her father, a Methodist minister. She was reared in Indiana. Four children were born of this union - Mary Eleanor Maria (deceased), John F. C., Joseph W. J. and Frederick J. S.

In 1852 James Robinson came with his family to Clay county, In¬ diana, and located near Brazil. In 1855 he moved to Missouri, where he resided two years, when he returned to Indiana. He was a merchant, physician and farmer at Harmony, Indiana, for about seven years, and then purchased an interest in a grist mill in Cloverland. From here he moved to Kansas in the fall of 1867, where he farmed until 1877. His death occurred in Cloverland, February 16, 1877, while on a visit. He was a Republican in his later years, but formerly voted with the Free Soil Democrats. Religiously he was a Methodist.

In the district schools of Van Buren township Frederick J. S. Robin¬ son studied and received his elementary training, later attending Westfield College of Illinois. Returning to Clay county he taught during the term of 1868-9. Purchasing an interest in a general store, he continued therein until 1881, and during four years of that time had entire charge of the store. Selling his store he bought eighty-eight acres of land ia Posey township, the nucleus of his present homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. He has made most of the improvements on his place, and although he devotes much of his time to its improvement and cultivation he is also active in the public life of the community. He was the present nominee for governor on the Populist ticket and a member of its national committee. In 1882, 1884 and 1886 he was elected to the legislature and served three consecutive terms of two years each. In 1896 he was a candidate for the office of state treasurer. He is overseer of the Indiana State Grange, a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, a director of the Brazil Trust Company and president of the County Good Citizens League.- He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the United Brethren church, of which he is the secretary of the quarterly conference and super¬ intendent of the Sunday-school.

On the 2 1st of August, 1870, Mr. Robinson was married to Laura E., daughter of George and Elizabeth Carpenter, of Cloverland, where the daughter was born and reared. Of the six children born to Mr. and

Mrs. Robinson three died in infancy. The eldest daughter, Telulah, is a teacher in the State Normal at Terre Haute. She is also a graduate of that institution and of Westfield College, Illinois, and Stanford Uni¬ versity of California. James A., the only son, is a graduate of Westfield College, and is an ordained minister of the United Brethren church. He is now attending the Union Biblical Seminary at Dayton, Ohio. Jessie B. is a graduate of the State Normal at Terre Haute and the Bloomington University, and is now teaching in Indianapolis.

Llewellyn John. - Among the active and prosperous business men of Van Buren township is Llewellyn John, a well-known merchant and farmer, who during his residence here has won for himself a good record as an honest man and a valuable member of the community. He was born February io, 1852, at Bridgend, county of Glamorgan, Wales, the native place of his parents, John and Mary John. His father spent his entire life in Wales, owning and occupying a farm about two miles from Bridgend. After his death his widow came to this country, and now makes her home with her children, of whom she has eleven, namely: Elizabeth; Christopher; Llewellyn and John, twins; Thomas; Henry; Ivor; Joseph and Catherine, twins; Frances; and Noah. John is living in Australia, Elizabeth and Joseph in Wales, and all of the others are in America.

At the age of eight years Llewellyn John went to live with an uncle, and four years later began trapping in the mines, remaining in his native land until 1879. In that year, ambitious to take advantage of the better opportunities offered to the young men of this country for advancing their financial interests, he emigrated to the United States, and for two years resided in Pennsylvania. Since that time, with the exception of a brief period spent in Alabama, Mr. John has been a resident of Clay county. For a few years after coming here he worked in the mines, and while thus employed accumulated some money. Embarking in mercantile pur¬ suits in 1888, he was for five years located at Knightsville. Desirous of further enlarging his scope of action, he then bought fourteen acres of land on the National Road between Knightsville and Harmony, and here erected a number of buildings, including one for a store and dwelling and another for a stable. Stocking his store with a full line of groceries and of such articles as are of daily use in the household, Mr. John has here built up a thriving trade, his business being one of the largest of the kind in this vicinity.

Mr. John has been twice married. He married first, at the age of twenty-three years, Mary Ann Griffith, a life-long resident of Wales. She died eighteen months later, leaving an infant daughter. On May 2, 1882, Mr. John married for his second wife Mrs. Margaret (Davis) Will¬ iams. She was born at Carmarthen, Wales, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Morgan) Davis. Marrying John Williams, she came with him from Wales to America, and lived here a short time. Going back to their native land, Mr. and Mrs. Williams remained there until 1879. Returning then to Indiana, they located at Knightsville, and shortly after¬ wards Mr. Williams lost his life in an accident at the mine in which he was employed.

Mr. John is very prominent in fraternal organizations, and does his full share in promoting the good of the orders to which he belongs. He is a member of Knightsville Lodge, No. 409, Ancient Free and Accepted

Masons; of Brazil Chapter, No. 59, Royal Arch Masons; of Brazil Commandery, No. 47, Knights Templar; of Colfax Lodge, No. 612, Inde¬ pendent Order of Odd Fellows; and of Iron City Encampment, No. 11. Both Mr. and Mrs. John are members of Knightsville Lodge, No. 328, Daughters of Rebekah, and Mrs. John belongs to Knightsville Chapter, No. 238, Order of the Eastern Star.

Winfield S. Carpenter, a retired farmed of Posey township, was born on the homestead on which he is now living January 30, 1850. His father, George Carpenter, who for many years was one of the most prom¬ inent farmers of Posey township, was born in Bedford county, Pennsyl¬ vania, where he was reared and later married to Elizabeth Anderson, a native of that commonwealth, and they became the parents of nine chil¬ dren, three sons and six daughters, four of whom were born in Pennsyl¬ vania and five in Posey township, and Winfield S. is the eighth child and third son of the family. George Carpenter was a Pennsylvania farmer until 1839, when he emigrated with his family to Indiana and located on the present homestead of his son Winfield, buying about one hundred acres of land, of which he cleared a goodly portion and farmed his land until his death. He was a Republican in politics and a member of the United Brethren church.

Winfield S. Carpenter attended in his early youth the schools of Posev township, and passed from the district schools to the Asbury Uni¬ versity at Greencastle. He was married in 1877 to Lottie Rider, who was born and reared in the state of New York, and subsequently came with her parents to Clay county, Indiana, where her father followed his trade of a brick mason. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have two children, Margaret E. and Sara E., and the elder is the wife of John L. Butsch, a pharmacist and chemist. Throughout the years of his maturity Mr. Carpenter has supported and upheld the principles of the Republican party, and in 1888 he was elected the clerk of the Clay circuit court and served for four years in that position. He w*as a director of the Indiana Reformatory at Jef¬ ferson from 1896 until 1900, and has attained prominence in the public life of this section of Indiana. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the United Brethren church.

George L. Brooks. - During a number of years past George L. Brooks has been identified with the business interests of Clay county. He began learning horseshoeing and carriage making and repairing when but a lad of fifteen years, immediately after leaving school, and worked in Terre Haute until he had reached the age of twenty-four. Coming thence to Clay county, Indiana, in 1900, he began horseshoeing, blacksmithing and general wagon repairing in Center Point, and from January of 1903 until September of 1907 he was in business with a partner, but at the latter date bought his partner's interest, and is now the proprietor of the only establishment of its kind in Center Point.

Mr. Brooks is a descendant of the mother country of England, his paternal great-grandparents having founded the family in the United States and located in New York. His son, James Brooks, located in an early day in Oakland, Coles county, Illinois. He was born in New York, and was married in Fontanet, Indiana, and among their children was a son George, who became the father of George L. George Brooks was born in Ohio in 1828, and moving to Parke county, Indiana, was a mill- wright there until his removal to Terre Haute. In 1868 he went from there to lola, Allen county, Kansas, on account of ill health, and his death occurred there on the 12th of June, 1869, his widow afterward returning to Terre Haute. That city was her home until 1888, since which time she has lived among her children. She bore the maiden name of Marv Black and was born in Delaware in 1826, a daughter of Samuel W. and Lydia C. (Mann) Black, born in Delaware in 1804 and 1800 respectively.

George L. Brooks, the second born of the four children of George and Mary Brooks, two sons and two daughters, was born in Vigo county, Indiana, April 17, 1863. On the 26th of September, 1885, he was married to Laura Flockart, born in Clay county, Indiana, and a daughter of Thomas Flockart, originally from Scotland. On the 26th of February, 1895, Mr. Brooks wedded Minnie C. Englehart, the widow of Philip Neidlinger, by whom she had seven children : Ernest and Jacob, who reside in Parke county, Indiana ; Henry and Theodore, of Brazil ; Alonzo, of Center Point ; and Bertha and Minnie, of Terre Haute. Four children have been born to Mr. Brooks by his second union : Earl B., born December 6, 1895 ; George W., November n, 1897; Ivan M., February 8, 1900; and Marie M., September 13, 1903. Mr. Brooks is a Republican politically, and a member of the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows fraternities in Center Point, Indiana.

George Davis Coble. - An excellent representative of the agri¬ cultural interests of Clay county, George D. Coble is also identified with the horticultural interests of this part of the state, a part of his fine farm, lying in Perry township, being devoted to the growing of fruits. A man of fine business ability and integrity, he stands high among the practical and progressive farmers of his community, and is one of its valued citi¬ zens. A son of Thomas Coble, he was born December 23, 1849, in Carroll county, Ohio, and there spent his boyhood days.

Thomas Coble was born October 17, 1816, near York, Pennsylvania, a son of Philip and Margaret (Thorlev) Coble, natives of Germany. At the age of twelve years he moved with his parents to Ohio, and there lived for many years, as a farmer earning his living by the sweat of his brow. Coming to Clay county in 1864, he invested his savings in land in Perry township, in sections twenty-six and twenty-seven, buying two hundred and forty acres of land. Industrious and energetic, he labored with characteristic German thrift to improve a homestead, and was here prosperously employed in tilling the soil until his death in 1890. He married Catherine Davis, a daughter of Evan and Mary (McGuire) Davis, natives of Virginia. She survived him, dying November 27, 1902. at a ripe old age. Of the nine children born of their union but four are living, two boys and two girls.

The fifth child in order of birth of the parental household, George D. Coble was educated in the public schools of Center Point under the in¬ struction of William Travis, being there fitted for a teacher during his two years of study after coming to this county, in 1864, from Ohio. At the age of nineteen years he began his professional career in his home district in Perry township, and taught there seven years, after which he taught four terms in other parts of the county. Establishing himself as the head of a household in 1873, Mr. Coble purchased one hundred and sixty acres of the parental homestead, eighty acres of it being in section twenty-six, and eighty acres in section twenty-seven. Here he followed general farming almost exclusively until 1908, when he turned his atten¬ tion almost entirely to the culture of fruits of all kinds. In this line of industry he had previously had encouraging success, for in the fall of 1906 he gathered from his orchard, the largest in this section of Clay county, his first crop of peaches, which amounted to twelve hundred bush¬ els, and also about one thousand bushels of apples. Embarking, therefore, more extensively in horticultural pursuits, Mr. Coble now has thirty acres of his land set out to fruit trees, principally peaches and apples, and finds no trouble in marketing his harvests at a good price.

On September 4, 1873, Mr. Coble married Hattie A. Brill, who was born in Vigo county, Indiana, March 17, 1855, a daughter of William Brill. William Brill was born in Lowden county, Virginia, a son of Sam¬ uel Brill, who was a native of Virginia. He married Mary H. Johnson, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, where her father, David John¬ son, a native of Ireland, lived until after his marriage with Mary Mur¬ doch. William Brill came with his wife and family to Indiana in 1853, and after living for awhile in Perry township, Clay county, bought land in Riley township, Vigo county, where for five years he carried on farm¬ ing. Selling out then, he returned to Perry township, where he followed his trade of a carpenter for a number of years, residing here until his death, February 16, 1899. His wife died several years before he did, passing away March 9, 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Coble are the parents of three children, namely: Estella May, born June 4, 1875, is the wife of Howard Huff, of Perry township; Rue L., born May 6, 1881, married Zoe Bennett, and is a resident of Perry township; and Edsil D., born June 8, 18 88, is a telegraph operator, and lives at home. Politically Mr. Coble is a steadfast Republican, and religiously he and wife are active and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was steward from 1870 until 1897, and of which he has been a trustee since the erection of the church at Cory. They have two of the old parchment deeds, one dated October 1, 1835, under the hand and seal of President Andrew Jackson, and the other dated September 5, 1838, under the hand of President Martin Van Buren. They are valuable relics and are the eighth of their kind found in Clay county so far. The estate or homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Coble is known as "Sunny Side Fruit Farm" and shows extra care in detail.

William H. Cutshall. - An extensive, skilful and progressive agri¬ culturist, William H. Cutshall is actively engaged in his independent vocation on one of the pleasantest and most desirable homesteads in Dick Johnson township. It is located on section twenty-six, and with its fer¬ tile and well-tilled acres and its comfortable set of farm buildings, gives visible evidence of the wrise manner in which the proprietor has employed his time and means. A son of Henry Cutshall, he was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, September 28, 1853. His grandfather, William Cutshall, was born on a farm near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His great-grand¬ father Cutshall, who emigrated to the United States from Germany, bought land near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was there employed in tilling the soil until his death. He was very successful in life, acquiring a large estate.

Leaving his native state when a young man, William Cutshall located as a pioneer in Coshocton county, Ohio, and from the government bought a piece of land lying one and one-half miles east of the present site of

Chili. Improving a good farm, he resided upon it the remainder of his life, passing away when upwards of eighty years old. He married a Miss Albert, who was of German parentage, and who had a sister that attained the remarkable age of one hundred and six years. She reared six of her children, William, Nicholas, Henry, John, Jacob and Margaret.

Henry Cutshall was born on the parental homestead near Chili, Ohio, and was there brought up as a farmer. Starting in life on his own ac¬ count, he bought a farm one and one-half miles west of Bakersville, on White Eyes creek, and lived there until 1863. Disposing then of his Ohio property, he came to Noblesville, Indiana, with a view of settling there. Not pleased with the place, however, he returned to Ohio, and remained in that state a few months. In 1864 he again came to Indiana, and after spending a month in Owen county settled in Clay county, moving with his family into a log cabin standing in the southern part of Brazil town¬ ship. The following year he purchased a tract of land in section twentysix, Dick Johnson township, receiving a quit claim deed to the property. Clearing an opening in the forest, he erected a log house, and had lived there but five or six years when a man came along, claimed the land, and paid him one hundred and fifty dollars for the improvements he had made. He then purchased another tract of land in the same section, which in¬ cludes the farm now owned and occupied by his son William. At that time it was covered with the virgin timber, from which he cut down trees to make room for a log house. He improved a valuable farm, replaced the log cabin with a frame house, and there resided until his death, Sep¬ tember 27, 1902, aged eighty-three years. He married Anna Roshong, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, a daughter of Daniel and Fanny (Barnthouse) Roshong, the former of whom was born in France and the latter in Ohio, of German ancestry. She died in October, 1902, aged seventy-seven years, leaving the following-named children, Susan, Frank, William H., Elizabeth, James M., Margaret, Daniel H. and Louisa.

Eleven years old when he came with his parents to Clay county, Will¬ iam H. Cutshall continued the studies which he had begun in Ohio in the public schools, one of his teachers having been A. J. Doak, now of Terre Haute. Since attaining manhood he has been a resident of Dick Johnson township with the exception of the few years when as county treasurer he lived in Brazil, and during the time has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. Succeeding to the ownership of a part of the old homestead, Mr. Cutshall has made valuable improvements, and in 1902 built the house he now occupies. He is busily employed in general farming, gathering pleasure as well as profit in his congenial occupation, and he has also for thirty years been engaged in carpentering and contracting. Since 1895 he has contracted for and built a number of concrete bridges in Clay and Vigo counties.

On August 25, 1880, Mr. Cutshall married Lucy Crabb, who was born and bred in this township, a daughter of Silas Blunt Crabb. Her great-grandfather, William Crabb, Sr., emigrated from England, the place of his birth, to Ohio, and for a number of years lived in either Highland or Clinton counties. Later in life he came to Indiana, and as a pioneer of Clay county entered a tract of government land not far from the pres¬ ent site of Brazil, and there spent his remaining years, dying at a good old age. William Crabb, Jr., the grandfather of Mrs. Cutshall and a native of Ohio, came to Indiana in 1837, settling in Posey township, where he entered forty acres of government land, which he occupied a number of years. Selling out, he moved to Van Buren township, Clay county, where both he and his wife, Susanna (Easter) Crabb, spent their remain¬ ing years. A native of Highland county, Ohio, Silas Blunt Crabb was in his twelfth year when he came with his parents to Indiana, and since that time he has been a resident of Clay county, for thd past forty years occu¬ pying his present homestead. He has watched with pride and pleasure Clay county's transformation from a wilderness to a well settled, wealthy county, rich in its many industrial resources. He married Eliza Wallace, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Thomas and Susanna Wallace, na¬ tives of Scotland. Mrs. Crabb died March 9, 1896.

Mr. and Mrs. Cutshall are the parents of four children, namely: James, Clay, Anna and Lucy. James married Adelaide McGranahan. Mr. Cutshall is a stanch Republican in politics, active in public affairs, and has filled various offices of trust. In 1884 he was elected township trustee, in 1894 county treasurer, and in 1902 county commissioner, in each position performing the duties devolving upon him with the utmost fidelity. Fraternally he is a member of Brazil Lodge, No. 264, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; of Brazil Camp, No. 3418, Modern Woodmen of America, and of Lodge No. 336, Knights and Ladies of Security. Both Air. and Mrs. Cutshall are members of the Christian church.

Charles Cutler Fesler. - Widely and favorably known as the post¬ master at Clay City, Charles C. Fesler takes a genuine interest in every¬ thing pertaining to his adopted township and county, and is among the foremost to forward all enterprises of a beneficial nature. He was born May 13, 1852, in Hutsonville, Crawford county, Illinois, a son of Nicholas Fesler, and is of excellent German ancestry.

A native of North Carolina, Nicholas F'esler was but a boy when he accompanied his parents on their overland journey to Illinois. He sub¬ sequently grew to manhood in Crawford county, that state, and after beginning life for himself was employed at different trades, including those of a wool carder, a shoemaker and a carpenter. He spent his clos¬ ing years in Bellair, Crawford county, dying in 1891 at the venerable age of seventy-nine years. He married Mrs. Lucinda (Sweeney) Dorothy, a widow with one child, Francis M. Dorothy, who passed the last years of his life in Clay City, Indiana. Of this union the following named children were born: James O. ; Emily; Kate S. ; William; and Margaret M. and Charles C., twins.

Brought up in his native county, Charles C. Fesler began the battle of life very young, having been but eleven years old when he commenced to be self supporting. F'or three years he worked as a farm laborer, and at the age of fourteen entered a general store at Bellair, Illinois, as a clerk, and remained thus employed until 1870. Going then to Effingham, Illi¬ nois, he there worked in a lunch room two summers. In 1872 he located at Terre Haute, Indiana, where for seven years he was employed as clerk and bookkeeper in a grocery store. Coming to Clay City in October, 1879, Mr. Fesler was here engaged in mercantile pursuits with his half-brother, the late Francis M. Dorothy, until 1885, when the partnership was dis¬ solved. Opening then a grocery in this city, he operated it alone until 1894. For a few years thereafter he was employed in various ways, in 1897 superintending the building of the first gravel road made in Harri¬ son township. In 1899 Mr. Fesler was appointed by President McKinley postmaster at Clay City, and at the expiration of his term, four years

Mr. Fesler married, in 1883, Mrs. Mary (Reed) Long, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of Samuel Reed. She married for her first husband Brisbon Long, by whom she had two children, namely: Orville, deceased, and Nettie, wife of Dr. H. O. Woodrow. Fraternally Mr. Fes¬ ler is a charter member of Uncas Tribe, No. 68, Improved Order of Red Men, organized in 1882 ; a member of Martz Lodge, No. 360, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and of Clay City Lodge, No. 562, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, organized in 1880, and of which he is a charter member, and was secretary and worshipful master for years. Of the first two lodges he has been treasurer since 1893. Politically he is an earnest advocate of the principles of the Republican party.

Nelson Webster Marshall. - Prominent among the more prosper¬ ous, systematic and thorough-going agriculturists of Lewis township, Clay county, is Nelson W. Marshall, a typical Indiana farmer. Beginning life for himself even with the world, his present financial position is ample evidence of the wise manner in which he has employed his time, and of the ability and good judgment of which he is the fortunate possessor. He is the owner of one of the best appointed homesteads in his com¬ munity, and on account of his strict integrity and high character is num¬ bered among its most valued citizens. A native of Indiana, he was born, March 4, 1842, in Washington county, where his grandfather, Jesse Franklin Marshall, was a pioneer settler, and where his father, Irani Riggs Marshall, was reared from infancy. The parents of Jesse Franklin Marshall were born in Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, and from there emi¬ grated to the United States, locating first in North Carolina, from there going in pioneer days to Kentucky, where he cleared a farm, and resided the remainder of his life.

Born in North Carolina, Jesse F. Marshall was brought up and mar¬ ried in Kentucky. Migrating soon afterwards to Washington county, Indiana, he took up government land, erected a round log house, putting in a split puncheon floor, riving clapboards to cover the roof, and making a chimney from sticks, clay and stone. Improving quite a tract of the land, he there resided until his death, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Waller, survived him but two days, passing away at the age of fourscore and four years. She was born in Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, her parents settling in that state on their removal from North Carolina.

Iram Riggs Marshall wsa born in Kentucky, and when but a few months old was brought by his parents to Washington county, Indiana, where he grew to man's estate. Choosing farming as his life occupation, he lived there until after the breaking out of the Civil War, when he came to Clay county, and purchased land in section five, Lewis township. He was in poor health at the time, and as his health continued to fail he re¬ turned after two or three years to Washington county, where his death occurred a short time later. He married Elender Allis, who was born in Kentucky, a daughter of Peter and Christina (Starnge) Allis. She lived until eighty-two years old, and reared a fine family of children, namely: Catherine, deceased; Nelson W. ; John; Ambrose D. ; Jesse F. ; James; Iram, deceased; Peter; Cyrus; and Christina.

Brought up on a farm, Nelson W. Marshall attended school a part of each year until January, 1862, when he enlisted in Company F. Fiftyninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was attached to the First Bri¬ gade, Third Division, Fifteenth Army Corps. Going South with the command, he was soon in the thick of the fight, and his activities were con¬ tinuous, engagement following engagement. Among the more important battles in which Mr. Marshall took part were those at New Madrid; Tiptonville, where the brigade captured five thousand prisoners ; Shiloh ; Island No. 10; Siege of Corinth; Port Gibson; Champion Hill; Siege of Vicksburg; Missionary Ridge; Siege of Alexandria; was with Sherman on his march to the Sea; and on April 8, 1865, at the expiration of his term of enlistment, was honorably discharged from the service at Golds¬ boro, North Carolina. During the siege of Vicksburg, Mr. Marshall received wounds in the leg and neck that incapacitated him for hard serv¬ ice, but he continued with his company. He was in the hospital but once, that being in Nashville, when he was vaccinated. He remained there three days, when he secured a pass, and getting a negro to secure his knapsack for him rejoined his command, instead of going home, as it was expected he would do.

Returning to Indiana after his discharge, Mr. Marshall came to Clay county, where his parents were living, and here in Lewis township began the battle of life on his own account. Industrious and courageous, he be¬ gan working by the day at farm labor, and by dint of sturdy toil and economy he accumulated some money, and when ready to settle in life bought forty acres of land in section five, Lewis township. The two acres that were cleared, and a log cabin constituted the only improvements on the place at the time of purchase, and there he and his bride set up house¬ keeping. Getting busy, he cleared a large part of the land, and at the end of four years traded it for land in section nine, where he lived about a year. Selling then, Mr. Marshall bought eighty acres of his present farm, and to this has added by purchase until now his home farm contains two hundred acres of rich and highly productive land, while in addition he has a timber lot of twenty acres. .His improvements are most excellent, his buildings being substantial and convenient, his land in a fine state of culti¬ vation, and his many fruit and shade trees are both useful and ornamental.

Mr. Marshall married, in November, 1865, Sarah E. Chambers, who was born in Lewis township, a daughter of Rice and Mary (Crevison) Chambers, natives, respectively, of Knox county, Indiana, and Kentucky. She died February 10, 1901, leaving three children, namely : Charles Clin¬ ton, Ivan Riggs, and Bernice W. Charles C. Marshall, now a minister in the Missionary Baptist Church, is a college graduate, and has been hon¬ ored with the degrees of LL. D., D. D., and Ph. D. His first wife, Estella Trinkle, died a year after their marriage, and he afterwards married Win¬ nie Dautaz, by whom he has two children, Byron and Hubert. Ivan Riggs Marshall, who conducts the management of the home farm, married Addie Spear, and they are the parents of five children, Thelma Ellen, Lavere Clinton, Mildred Madeline, George Nelson, and Oval Gerald. Mary Ellen, who married Thomas J. Crist, died in 1901, leaving four children, Bulus Fay, Thalus Jennings, Nova Zembla, and Naomi. Politically Mr. Mar¬ shall is a steadfast Democrat, and for one term served as township trustee. Religiously he is a member of the Missionary Baptist church, to which his wife also belonged.

Thomas P. Jones is the senior partner of the firm of Jones & Com¬ pany, beef and pork packers of Brazil, Indiana. He is one of the native sons of Brazil, born July 23, 1863, his parents being William R. and Susan (Crabb) Jones. The father, who was born in Wales, April 22, 1827, died February 3, 1901. His parents were Reece and Celia Jones, both of whom were natives of Wales, where they spent their entire lives. William R. Jones came to America when twenty-two years of age, crossing the At¬ lantic in a sailing vessel. Four times after that he made his way across the briny deep, making two visits to his native country to see family and friends there. He became a resident of Clay county, Indiana, where for many years he engaged in farming and in butchering. He bought and killed stock and sold the meat through the country until 1880, when his son Thomas became his partner, and while the father purchased and killed the beeves the son conducted a meat market in Brazil. Mr. Jones con¬ tinued an active, influential and respected business man of Clay county until 1899, when he retired, enjoying well earned rest up to the time of his death. He was a member of Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M., and was laid to rest with Masonic honors. He also belonged to Brazil Lodge, No. 215, I. O. O. F., and gave his political allegiance to the Republican party. On the 21st of April, 1862, near Brazil*, Indiana, he married Miss Susan Crabb, who was born in Clay county, December 4, 1844, and is now living in Brazil. They became the parents of sixteen children, six sons and ten daughters, of whom eleven reached manhood and womanhood and seven of the daughters married. Nine children of the family are now living. Further mention of William R. Jones is made on another page of this work.

Thomas P. Jones was only about a year old when his parents removed from Brazil to a farm near the city. He began his education in the dis¬ trict schools near his father's home and later spent a year and a half as a student in Danville, Indiana. Subsequently he engaged in teaching school for about two years and then, desiring the benefit of further instruction himself, he entered Purdue University, where he remained as a student for about two years. He afterward devoted sometime to assisting his father on the farm and later spent a year in Brazil, working for Charles Herbert as a clerk. In 1880 he embarked in business in partnership with his father, who bought and butchered stock, while Thomas P. Jones man¬ aged the sales, conducting a market in Brazil. He has since been identi¬ fied with this line of business, but the father withdrew in 1899. To-day the business is carried on by Thomas P. Jones and his brother Lemuel un¬ der the firm style of Jones & Company, incorporated, beef and pork packers. Their location is at No. 512 West Main street, where they con¬ duct their packing interests, and in addition they also have eight meat markets and five of these conduct a grocery department in connection. Mr. Jones is associated with his brother-in-law, Harry E. Lett, in the grocery business, and he is also vice president and general manager of the Brazil Ice and Storage Company. His interests are now extensive and are an important element in the commercial and industrial activity of Brazil. He has developed his business along modern, progressive lines, ever displaying an aptitude for successful management, while keen busi¬ ness discrimination and unwearied industry have been marked attributes of his commercial career.

Danville, Illinois, a daughter of David H. and Alary Lewis, both of whom were natives of Wales, but, coming to America in early life, were married in Illinois. They became the parents of eight children, of whom six are yet living: David, Elizabeth, Mary J., Thomas, Benjamin and Daniel, it was in the year 1839 that Mr. Lewis arrived in Indiana, first settling in Clay county, where he resided for a short time prior to his removal to Illinois. In that state he took up his abode near Danville, where he de¬ voted his time and energies to farming and mining, owning and operating coal mines in that locality. He was a man widely and favorably known, his business interests being capably conducted along lines which brought him success and gained him prominence. He was a member of the Bap¬ tist church and his political allegiance was given to the Republican party. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Jones has been blessed with eight children, of whom six are now living: Edna May, Bessie Lucile, Lewis Franklin, Helen, Thomas Paul and Mary Maxine.

Never remiss in the duties of citizenship, Mr. Jones has served as president of the school board for three years and his labors in behalf of education have been far-reaching and beneficial. He belongs to Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M., Brazil Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., Brazil Council, No. 40, R. & S. M., and Brazil Commandery, No. 47, K. T. He is also connected with the Indianola Tribe, No. 61, I. O. R. M., and with Aerie No. 274, F. O. E. His political views are in harmony with the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Jones has spent his entire life in this county and has been closely associated with its interests and development. His record has been that of a business man who, energetic and determined, has pushed forward along honorable paths, his life record proving that success is ambition's answer.

John B. Mershon, who is engaged in drilling for coal and also in drilling wells in Clay county, makes his home in Brazil, his native city. He was born July 14, 1871, of the marriage of Furnnace and Charlotte (Webster) Mershon. His father was a native of Kentucky and was engaged in the lumber business and in the manufacture of shingles on an extensive scale. He was also well known as a driller, in which capacity he was a pioneer, and also had a fine farm with superior improvements in Dick Johnson township. From a humble position in the financial world he steadily rose by his own efforts and determination until he had acquired a handsome competency, and his life record proved that success and an honored name might be won simultaneously. He belonged to Brazil Lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M. and was in entire sympathy with the prin¬ ciples and purposes of the craft. His political views were in harmony with the platform of the Democratic party. He married Miss Charlotte Webster, who comes of the same ancestry as Daniel Webster, the cele¬ brated New England statesman. Three children were born of this mar¬ riage, but only two are now living, the daughter being Ida, the wife of E. T. Aydelotte, now living in Dick Johnson township.

The experiences which came to John B. Mershon in his boyhood and youth were those which usually fall to the lot of the farmer boy, who divides his time between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. He supplemented his early education acquired in the district schools by study at Danville, Indiana, and when eighteen years of age began work as a driller, in which connec¬ tion he has been engaged with the development of the coal resources of the country to a greater extent than any man now (1908), thus engaged in Clay county. He is engaged also in drilling wells for mines. His services have been in constant demand and continuing in this line of busi¬ ness to the present time he has become well-to-do.

On the 3d of December, 1896, was celebrated the marriage of John » B. Mershon and Miss Grace YVeatherwax, who was born in Owen county, Indiana, and was a daughter of John and Magdalena Weatherwax. The father was born in New York and died at the age of seventy-one years. He was one of the pioneer gold seekers to California, and served in the Fifty-fourth Indiana Regiment during the Civil war. The mother's birth occurred in Germany. She still survives and is now a resident of Clay county. Mr. Weatherwax was one of the pioneer farmer* of Owen and Clay counties and aided in the agricultural development of this section of the state while reclaiming wild land for cultivation. Unto him and his wives, he having married three times, were born thirteen children, of whom Mrs. Mershon is the youngest. By her marriage she has become the mother of two daughters and a son: Charlotte M., Verna* E. and John Furnnace.

Mr. Mershon gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party, but an active business life has left him little time for co-operation in political work. He is a faithful and valued representative of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Brazil lodge, No. 264, A. F. & A. M. ; Brazil chapter, No. 59, R. A. M. ; Brazil council, No. 40, R. & S. M. ; and Brazil commandery, No. 47, K. T. He has many warm friends in the city where his entire life has been passed, gaining that regard which is given in recog¬ nition of sterling qualities. In 1907 he purchased ''Orchard place," the most beautiful home in Clay county.

John A. Falls, a retired farmer of Posey township, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, July 8, 1829. His father, John W. Falls, was born in either Ohio or Virginia, but was reared in Ohio and was there married to Mary Marks, a native daughter of the state. Four children were born to them in Ohio - Mary Jane, John, Susan E. and Hester Ann. Mr. Falls, the father, went to Charleston, Illinois, in his later life and died there. He was first an old-line Whig in his political affiliations, finally transferring his allegiance to the Republican party at the time of its or¬ ganization, and he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. The father of John W. Falls was born in Ireland.

John A. Falls came to Indiana from Ohio in 1850, where he was bom and educated, and located in Cloverland, resuming at once his former trade of a potter. After several years at that occupation he obtained a half interest in the business with which he was connected. In company with William Carpenter he later bought seventy-one acres of land in Posey township, of which they cleared about ten acres, and finally Mr. Falls bought his partner's interest in the land and is now the owner of the entire seventy acres. He has also bought other lands in Posey township, and now has in all about one hundred and forty-five and a half acres and property in Cloverland. About 1902, however, he retired from the active work of the farm.

Mr. Falls married, June 26, 1857, Katherine A. Carpenter, who was born in Pennsylvania October 2, 1836, and was but three years of age when brought by her parents to Clay county, Indiana. Her father was George Carpenter, one of the early pioneers of Cloverland, where Mrs.

Falls was reared and educated. She was the fourth in her parents' fam¬ ily of nine children. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Falls - Clara Ellen (deceased), Carrie L. and Harry D., all of whom were born and reared in Cloverland. Mr. Falls has been a life-long mem¬ ber of the Republican party, and he is a prominent and worthy member of the United Brethren church.

Charles Galen Rector. - One of the oldest native-born citizens of Clay county, Charles Galen Rector is an honored representative of the early pioneers of this part of our beautiful country, and a true type of the brave and courageous pioneers who came to this region in territorial days, and out of the dense forests established for themselves permanent homes in this vicinity. A son of John P. Rector, he was born October 2, 1839, in Perry township, Clay county, where his grandfather, John Rector, took up government land in 1835.

George Rector, the great-grandfather of Charles G., removed from Virginia to Claiborne county, Tennessee, in the very early part of the nine¬ teenth century, and lived there a few years. Going from there to Ohio in 1809, he spent four years in Preble county, after which he resided for a year in Miami county. From there, in 1814, he came to the territory of Indiana, locating near Vincennes, then the territorial capital. Afterwards settling in Vigo county, he lived near Mount Pleasant for several years, after which he went with his sons, George and James, to Missouri, set¬ tling in Buchanan county, about three miles below Saint Joseph, where both he and his wife lived to good old ages.

John Rector was born March 2, 1794, in Giles county, West Virginia, and as a boy lived in Tennessee and Ohio. In 1814 he came with the family to Indiana, and from Vincennes, where they settled, explored the surrounding country looking for a favorable location in which to settle. The greater part of Indiana was then a wilderness, owned mostly by the government. Indians still had their reservations in the territory, and deer, panthers, wolves and other wild animals roamed at pleasure through the forests. In the spring of 1816, accompanied by his father, George Rector, Joseph Listcfn, Thomas Puckett, William McClellan, Thomas Ramage and Isaac Barnes, he visited the locality now known as Mount Pleasant, and there established the first settlement in Vigo county. They broke and fenced several acres and planted corn. John Rector erected a log cabin in the settlement, which was about three miles from the present site of Terre Haute, which then had no existence. Locating his family in the cabin in the fall of 1816, he lived there until 1835, when he sold out and came to Clay county. Entering government land in section six, he improved a good farm, and here resided until his death in 1871. He married Catherine Price, who was born October 10, 1798, in Montgomery county, West Virginia, and moved with her parents to Ohio in 1811. She was there married in 1813, came with her young husband to Indiana in 1814, and after her settlement in Vigo county witnessed the landing of the "Plowboy," the first steamer to touch Terre Haute. She died October 24, 1879, at a venerable age. She reared twelve children, and at her death had eighty grandchildren, eighty-seven great-grandchildren and one greatgreat-grandchild. She and her husband were both active and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in early times services were for many years held in their home.

in December, 1816, and there grew to manhood. He came with his par¬ ents to Perry township in 1835, and here, in section six, his father entered land for him. He afterwards entered government land himself in section seven, and upon it built a log house, riving by hand the boards with which it was covered. He built a puncheon floor and a stick and clay chimney, and in this humble abode his children were born. He labored industriously and perseveringly, and on the farm which he hewed from the wilderness spent the remainder of his life, passing away in 1877. His fir^t wife, whose maiden name was Anna Van Cleave, was born in Kentucky and moved when a girl with her parents to Orange county, Indiana, where she was brought up and married. She died in 1847, leaving three children, namely : Charles Galen, the subject of this sketch ; James ; and Sarah. He married second Mrs. Martha (Gross) Lee, who bore him seven children, namely: Joel, John, George, Mary, Laura, Katie and Arminda.

Brought up in pioneer days, Charles Galen Rector obtained his early education in the log schoolhouse with its slab benches, learning to write on a plank placed against the wall, which took the place of the desks of modern times. The family in his boyhood days, in common with their neighbors, lived in very primitive style, dressing in homespun made from material manufactured by the good housewife, who used to card, spin and weave the flax and wool grown on the farm, and fashion the gar¬ ments for her entire family. Traveling was done either with teams or on horseback, there being neither railways nor canals when he was a boy. In August, 1862, Mr. Rector enlisted in Company C, Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and veteranized in 1863. He remained with his regi¬ ment, gallantly participating in all of its hardships, exposures and engage¬ ments, until June, 1864, when in front of Kenesaw Mountain, while throw¬ ing up breastworks, he was severely wounded by a bullet from a sharp¬ shooter. He was first taken to the field hospital, from there being re¬ moved to Chattanooga, thence to Nashville, and from there to the Sol¬ diers' Home at Indianapolis. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Rector was trans¬ ferred to Company A, Seventeenth Veteran Reserve Corps, and continued with his regiment until November, 1865, when he was honorably dis¬ charged from the service and returned home.

Soon after his return to Indiana Mr. Rector bought forty acres of land in Posey township, and in the log cabin that stood upon it he and his family lived for a few years. Selling out then he came to Perry town¬ ship and purchased the land he now owns and occupies in section eighteen. Here he has a well improved and well appointed farm, with an excellent set of frame buildings, and is most successfully engaged in general farm¬ ing, stock-raising and horticultural pursuits.

Mr. Rector married first, in 1866, Delilah Boor, a life-long resident of Indiana. After her death Mr. Rector married Mrs. Phoebe A. (Foulke) Rector, a sister of Silas Foulke, in whose sketch, on another page of this volume, a history of her parents may be found. Her first husband, James Rector, was born in Perry township, Clay county, in November, 1844, a son of John P. and Anna (Van Cleave) Rector; and brother of Charles G., the subject of this sketch. After his marriage Mr. James Rector moved from Perry township to Buchanan county, Missouri, and seven years later removed to Atchison county, Kansas. Locating about nine miles from the city of Atchison, he bought land and was there engaged in farming and horticulture until his death, May 23, 1886. By her first marriage Mrs. Rector had five children: Edwin; Claude, who married Annie McCoy ; Charles, died at the age of thirty-two years ; Ger¬ trude is the wife of George Honeycutt and has one child, George; and Maude, wife of Ross Singhurse, has one child, Lucille. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Rector sold all of her Kansas property and returned to her girlhood's home in Perry township, where she has since resided. Mr. Rector is a stanch Republican and cast his first vote for Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Rector are members of the United Brethren church in Riley township, Vigo county, Indiana.

Jacob Nelson Gard. - Especially deserving of more than passing mention in this biographical volume is Jacob Nelson Gard, of Perry town¬ ship, Clay county, who comes of honored pioneer stock, a man of sterling integrity, a farmer of skill and ability, and who served during the Civil War as one of the youngest soldiers in the Federal army. A son of the late John H. Gard, he was born October 20, 1849, Jackson township, Owen county.

Aaron Gard, grandfather of Jacob N., was one of the earlier pioneers of Union county, Indiana, coming to this state while it was yet a terri¬ tory. Taking up land in that county, he improved a farm and there resided until his death. His wife was born in Virginia and she survived him, and spent her closing years at the home of her son, John H., in Owen county.

Born in Union county, Indiana, in 1821, John H. Gard was there bred and educated. About 1845 he removed to Owen county, becoming an early settler of Jackson township. Purchasing land that was in its primi¬ tive condition, he cleared a space in the timber, and subsequently built the log house in which his son Jacob was born. It was a substantial building, made of hewed logs, and a part of it is still standing and is occupied. Clearing and improving a homestead, he lived there until a short time previous to his death, when he removed to the home of his son Jacob, where his death occurred January 25, 1888, at the age of sixty-seven years. He married Phebe Nelson, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1821, and died in Clay county, Indiana, June 25, 1906. She reared four children, namely : Lorenzo D., Nancy J., Jacob Nelson and Jafnes Monroe.

Before celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of his birth, Jacob N. Gard, inspired by patriotic zeal and enthusiasm, enlisted, in 1864, in Com¬ pany B, Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and from that time until the close of the war was in the thickest of the fight. With his regi¬ ment he took part in Sherman's campaign while on the way to Atlanta, marched with that gallant hero and his troops to the sea, afterwards pass¬ ing through the Carolinas and Virginia on to Washington, where he par¬ ticipated in the Grand Review, and on June 9, 1865, was honorably dis¬ charged with his regiment, all of this taking place before he was sixteen years of age. Returning home, he remained with his parents until taking upon himself the responsibilities of a married man. Going then to Craw¬ ford county, Illinois, he bought a farm and resided there a year. Selling out then, he returned to Indiana, and for a year resided in Owen county. Buying then his present farm in Perry township, Mr. Gard has since been here successfully employed in general farming and stock-raising. He has made improvements of a noteworthy character on his place, having erected good farm buildings, planted fruit and shade trees, and in other ways added to the beauty and value of his estate.

In February, 1868, Mr. Gard married Sarah E. Anderson. She was born in Owen county, Indiana, in Jackson township, a daughter of Robert Anderson, and granddaughter of Isaac Anderson, an Indiana pioneer. Isaac Anderson came from North Carolina, presumably his native state, to Indiana in 1822, with his wife and children making the journey with teams, and bringing all of his earthly possessions. Locating in what is now Cass township, Clay county, he entered a tract of government land, a part of which is now included within the limits of the village of Poland. This section of the country was then a vast wilderness, the home of wild beasts, and the hunting ground of the Indians. Reclaiming a farm from the forest, he continued as a farmer until his death, about 1854. His wife, whose maiden name was Barbara Dyer, survived him, and in 1859, with three of her sons and some of her neighbors, went to Kansas, making an overland journey. Settling in Bourbon county, she was there during the troublous times that preceded and during the Civil War, continuing her residence in that county until her death, at a ripe old age. She reared seven children, namely: James, Joel, Robert, George, Daniel, Isaac and Eliza. Born near Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1813, Robert Anderson was a lad of nine years when he came with his parents to Cass township, Clay county, where he was reared. On attaining his majority, he entered eighty acres of government land in Jackson township, Owen county, and there built the log cabin on which his children were born. For a number of years thereafter Terre Haute, twenty-five miles away, was the nearest market. Deer were plentiful, roaming at will through the woods, which was also the home of bears and wolves. Subsequently clearing a large part of the land, he replaced the log cabin with a frame house, erected a fine set of farm buildings, and there lived until his death, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. He married Lydia Cagel, who was born in North Carolina, and came with her father, John Cagel, to Cass township, Clay county, where he bought land and improved a homestead. She died in 1871, having reared seven children, as follows: Mary Jane, Daniel, John C., Sarah, Edward, Elizabeth and Alice.

Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Gard, namely: Willis L. ; John R. ; Iva F. ; Mary V., who died at the age of eighteen years ; Henry R., who lived but fourteen years; Ada M. ; Frederick C. ; and Fiona E.. who died when sixteen years old, in March, 1908. Willis L. married Dovey Chamberlain. John R. married Martha Jackson, and they have three children, Jessie O., Hugh M. and Vola. Iva F., wife of Ross Tucker, has six children, Edith, Jacob, Sarah, Lucy, Ernest and Velma. Ada, wife of John Knust, has two children, Herbert and Effie. Fred C. assists his father in the care of the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Gard and their family are members of the Christian church. Mr. Gard is a Demo¬ crat and is somewhat independent in his franchise. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post at Cory, Indiana.

Horatio A. Morgan has made his home in Brazil since 1869, and was born in Vermilion county, Illinois, November 22, 1846, a son of Zackquill and Mary (Morgan) Morgan, a grandson of Uriah Morgan, who was born in Virginia, and a great-grandson of David Morgan, the progenitor of the family in America. David Morgan was born in Wales and came to Virginia about the year 1700, his family having been among the first to locate in the Old Dominion state and Morgantown was named in their honor.

Zackquill Morgan was born in Monongahela county, West Virginia, May 22, 1800, became a farmer in the south and in 1841 moved to Grape Creek, Vermilion county, Illinois, making the journey north with team and wagon, and on his arrival bought one hundred and sixty acres of land on the river and erected the little log cabin which became the birth¬ place of his son H. A. In 1848 he bought other government land and located thereon in 1849, and he was numbered among the honored pio¬ neers of Vermilion county. He improved his land, but in 1851 left the farm and located in Georgetown, where he was the proprietor of a flour mill until his retirement from active business life in 1859. He spent his last days in Georgetown, Illinois, and died there in 1883. In Morgan¬ town, Monongahela county, West Virginia, he had married Mary Morgan, who was born in that county in June, 1803, and died in Vermilion county, Illinois, in 1883. They became the parents of eleven children, two sons and nine daughters, but only four of this once large family are now living : Cynthia, the wife of Thomas Prible ; Temperance, the wife of Eli Shepler; Louisa, wife of Enoch Brazelton; and H. A., the youngest child.

Until he had attained his sixteenth year H. A. Morgan remained at home and attended school and worked on the farm. In time he learned to operate a stationary engine, and in 1861 he became a fireman for the Wabash Railroad Company, but in 1869 he left their employ and came to Brazil, associating himself with Ackelmire & Thomas in their woolen mill as engineer, dyer and finisher. He was with that company for about one year, from that time until 1885 was with the Crawford Coal Com¬ pany, and then became associated with the Brazil Electric Light Com¬ pany, having charge of the plant. He also installed the machinery for the first electric light plant in Brazil. In 1891 he entered upon his long connection with the Goodman Manufacturing Company, as a salesman installing engines in Chicago, the headquarters of the company. He has traveled over the entire United States in this capacity, and is still asso¬ ciated with the company. He was a stockholder in and the president of the Weaver Clay and Coal Company for some time, but disposed of his interest therein in 1904, and in 1905 he retired from an active business life.

On the 2d of July, 1872, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage to Lena H. Heller, who was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, at Smokers Cove, a daughter of Frederick and Eva (Furney) Heller, both of whom were also natives of Bedford county. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Heller, but only three are now living, - Elizabeth, the widow of John C. Coleman, Frederick and Mrs. Morgan. Mr. Heller, the father, was a charcoal burner in Pennsylvania, and from there he came to Knightsville, Clay county, Indiana, in 1869, later on removing to Rockville, Parke county, this state, and coming to Brazil he spent his last days in travel, being a man of means. He was politically a Demo¬ crat. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, but four died in infancy and the only one now living is David H., born October 12, 1877. Mr. Morgan is a member of the Masonic order, Brazil lodge No. 264, and of the Methodist Episcopal church. His political affiliations are with the Republican party.

on the 5th of November, 1840. and his parents, Charles P. and Sophia (Vogt) Kumpf, were also natives of the fatherland, the father born in 1809. The mother was the widow of John P. Honk at the time of her marriage to Mr. Kumpf, the former dying in Germany, and they had one son. Mr. and Mrs. Kumpf were married in their native land, and their union was blessed by the birth of four children, two sons and two daughters, all of whom claimed Germany as their native land and John F. was the second born.

In the year of 1847 the family sailed for America, spending their first seven years in this country in Ohio, and in the schools of that state John F. Kumpf learned to speak the English language. In 1854 the family came to Clay county, Indiana, and located in Posey township, where the senior Mr. Kumpf at first bought eighty acres of land. Selling that tract he bought forty acres of the present Kumpf farm, added a oneroom frame addition to a log building, and at once began the task of clearing his land. His death occurred on this farm when he had reached the age of fifty-five years, after a long and useful life in harmony with the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church. His political allegiance was given to the Republican party.

At the time of his father's death John F. Kumpf became the owner both by inheritance and bv purchase of the old family homestead in Posey township, and his farm now contains one hundred and forty-five acres, on which he has made many valuable and substantial improve¬ ments, and in addition to this home farm he also owns two other farms in Posey township, containing one hundred and twenty and fifty-three acres, respectively, and he has improved both tracts, while on one he has cleared ten acres. In 1901 he transferred his residence from the old Kumpf homestead to one of his newer farms. He has attained promi¬ nence in the agricultural circles of Clay county and is well and favorably known. In politics he has been a life-long Republican, favoring the principles of that party, although he votes independently at local elections.

On the 1st of November, 1868, Mr. Kumpf was married to Magdaline Ell, whose parents, John and Anna Margaret (String) Ell, were pioneers in Posey township. The six children, three sons and three daughters, of this union are: Nellie, deceased; Samuel E. ; Charles W. ; Clara, the wife of Gustave Seigling, a farmer; John F., Jr.; and Bertha, the wife of John R. Folke. Mr. Kumpf is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Samuel Sparks. - A well known farmer and highly respected citi¬ zen of Perry township, Samuel Sparks has been actively identified with the agricultural development and growth of this part of Clay county for many years, having cleared and improved an excellent farm. During his long and busy life he has pursued the even tenor of his way as an honest man and a good citizen, and now in his declining years is reaping the reward of his persistent toil and enjoying the regard and esteem of his neighbors and friends. A son of Owen Sparks, he was born April 3, 1834, in Linton township, Vigo county.

Richard Sparks, grandfather of Samuel, was born in Virginia, and from there moved to Kentucky, where he resided a number of years. Coming to Indiana in pioneer days, he was an early settler of Linton township. This part of Indiana was then largely a wilderness, through which wild beasts of all kinds roamed at will, and in which the red man still had his home. Taking up government land, he cleared and improved a homestead on which he lived and labored until his death, at the age of seventy-five years. '

A native of Kentucky, Owen Sparks lived there until after his mar¬ riage. He then came with the family to Honeycreek township, where his father had entered land for him, and for a -few years made that his home. Locating then in Linton township, Vigo county, he purchased a tract of timbered land, and there built the log house in which the birth of his son Samuel occurred. Subsequently selling that place, he rented a farm near Terre Haute, where he lived until 1857. Coming from there to Perry township, he lived on rented land until his death, a year later. He married Lucinda Osborne, a daughter of Abner Osborne, another pioneer settler of Vigo county. She survived him a number of years, and reared eleven children.

Attending school in the rude log house, with its puncheon floor and stick and clay chimney, Samuel Sparks obtained a practical knowledge of the studies there taught. He was reared in primitive times, when his mother, like all good housewives, used to card, spin and weave the ma¬ terial from which the clothes of the family were made, she herself fash¬ ioning the garments without the aid of books giving the very latest styles of dress. As soon as old enough he began to help his father in clearing the land and tilling the soil, remaining with his parents until ready to establish a home of his own. Renting then a place upon which there was a log cabin, he and his bride began life together in true pioneer style, she doing her cooking by the open fireplace. Succeeding well in his agri¬ cultural work, Mr. Sparks subsequently bought forty acres of timber land in section thirty-three, and there built a good hewed log house, improved a large part of the land, and resided for several years. Buying then forty acres in section thirty-three, Perry township, he continued general farming, and afterwards bought eighty acres in section thirty-four, of the same township. He has now a finely-improved and highly-cultivated farm, and ranks well among the leading agriculturists of this part of Clay county.

On April 15, 1858, Mr. Sparks married Maria J. Jackson, who was born in Perry township, Indiana, November 11, 1840, a daughter of Samuel Jackson. Her grandfather, Thornton Jackson, moved from Fair¬ fax county, Virginia, the place of his birth, to Clermont county, Ohio, where he was engaged in boating and fishing until his death, from cholera, in 1832. His wife, whose maiden name was Sophia Short, died in 1834. Samuel Jackson was born June 29, 1812, in Clermont county, Ohio, and was there a resident until 1836. Coming then with his bride to Indiana, he made the journey with a pair of horses, bringing in a wagon all of his worldly effects. Locating in Perry township, he took up government land in section twenty-nine, and at once built a log cabin, riving the boards to cover the roof, which was held in place by weight poles ; made a stick and clay chimney and whip-sawed the boards for the floor. Clear¬ ing about forty acres, he lived there until 1853, when he sold out and bought canal land in section twenty-eight. It was covered with a heavy growth of timber, in the midst of which he erected a log house, which the family occupied a number of years. In 1866 he built a good frame house, in which he lived until his death, December 18, 1883.

of Amos Hixson and granddaughter of Abner Hixson, who served for seven years as a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and spent his last days on a farm near Trenton, New Jersey. Amos Hixson was born in New Jersey, and after learning the shoemaker's trade removed to Penn¬ sylvania, locating near Harrisburg. A few years later he migrated to Hamilton county, Ohio, making the removal on horseback, and being nineteen days on the way. Coming to Indiana in 1835, he bought a small piece of land in the northwest quarter of section nineteen, Perry township, and there during the remainder of his active years followed his trade of a shoemaker, living until ninety-one years old. He married Elizabeth Wolverton, who was born October 25, 1783, and died at the age of seventy-seven years. Their daughter Mary, who married Samuel Jackson, attained the age of eighty-eight years, passing away December 25, I9°S* She reared nine children, as follows: Thornton; Andrew; Maria J., wife of Mr. Sparks; Amos; William F. ; John M.; Samuel; Edwin; and Mary Ellen. All of these children married and reared children.

Eight children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sparks, namely : Sarah A., Mary E., Hiram, James, William, George M., Stella J., and Owen. Sarah, who married James French, died at the age of twentynine years, leaving one son, Ray French. Mary E., wife of Edgar Stoneburner, has five children, Harlan, Elmer, Guy, Worth A. and Audrey May. Hiram married Ella Vandyke, and they have three children, Orville, Everett and Carl. James married Ella Dalrymple, and they have one son, Austin. William married Roxie Larew, and they have one son, Floyd. George M. married Donnie Jackson, and they have two children, Elva May and Mary J. Stella, the wife of Charles Fiscus, has four chil¬ dren, Ethel, Goldie, Lucy and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Sparks have one great-grandchild, Archie, son of Ray and Lula (Longnecker) French.

Marion McCullough. - Numbered among the successful agricul¬ turists of Perry township is Marion McCullough, a man of industry, thrift and enterprise, whose general worth impresses those with whom he comes in contact very strongly. A native of Indiana, he was born December 30, 1848, in Washington township, Putnam county, being the fourth son in succession of birth of West and Matilda (Mills) McCul¬ lough. Further parental and ancestral history may be found elsewhere in this volume in connection with the sketch of W. H. McCullough.

Reared and educated in his native township, Mr. McCullough remained with his parents until his marriage. Coming then to Clay county he lived for two years in Cass township. On April 25, 1873, he bought one hundred and ten acres of land in section 10, Perry township, on which a few cleared acres, a log house and a pole barn constituted the only improvements. Laboring with characteristic energy and ambi¬ tion he cleared a large part of the place, and lived there until March 4, 1886. Selling out at that time, Mr. McCullough bought his present farm in section 3, Perry township, and is here busily employed in tilling the soil, having his one hundred and twenty acres of land in an excellent yielding condition, his annual harvests being most satisfactory in quantity and quality. He and his family occupied the log house which stood upon the place when he bought it until November, 1903, when they moved into the substantial and conveniently arranged frame house which he built.

On February 5, 1871, Mr. McCullough married Nancy C. Mace, who was born August 14, 1852, in Cass township, Clay county. Her father, Isaac Mace, came from Tennessee, his native state, to Indiana, bought timbered land in Cass township, and was there engaged in tilling the soil until his death, about 1856, at the age of fifty-two years. His wife, whose maiden name was Delaney Akre, survived him about a year. Nine of the children born of their union grew to years of maturity, as follows: Robert, Henry, Nicholas, William, Leonard, Jane, Delaney, Nancy and Ellen. By a former marriage, Isaac Mace had four children, Jacob, John, Eliza and Betsey.

Mr. and Mrs. McCullough have reared six children, namely : Laura, Gilbert, Franklin, Seth, Mack and Gladys. Laura, the wife of Grant Nees, has three children, Marion, Marie and Berlin. Gilbert married Etta Jackson. Franklin married Lucinda Jackson, and they have one child, Eula. Politically Mr. McCullough supports the principles of the Democratic party at the polls. Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. McCul¬ lough are consistent and esteemed members of the Christian church.

John George Miller. - Combining in his makeup the elements which constitute him an honest man and a good citizen, John George Miller, of Perry township, is an excellent representative of the agricultural class, and one who has met with unquestioned success in his independent calling. A son of John L. Miller, he was born December 13, 1840, in Bavaria.

John Miller, the grandfather of John G., was born in Bavaria, and there spent the greater part of his life. He was a veterinary surgeon and, likewise, a skilled mechanic, in the latter capacity manufacturing beehives, rakes and hoe and fork handles. After celebrating the seven¬ tieth anniversary of his birth in his native land, he came to America to visit his children, and lived but a short time after his arrival, dying in Hamilton, Ohio. His second wife and their two children, both daugh¬ ters, crossed the ocean with him. By his first marriage he had five chil¬ dren, of whom but two, John L. and Frederick, came to this country. Frederick subsequently married and settled in Shelby county, Ohio, and there reared seven children.

A native of Bavaria, John L. Miller was born, in 1807, in Dernbauch, and was reared to agricultural pursuits. Several years after his mar¬ riage he sold his property, and in July, 1843, accompanied by his wife and two children, started for America, the land of promise. He was two weeks in journeying from his home to the seaport town from which he sailed, and his ocean voyage covered a period of sixty-seven days. Landing in Baltimore, he proceeded to Cumberland, Maryland, thence to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from there going by way of the Ohio river to Hamilton, Ohio, where he spent nine weeks. Pushing his way still west¬ ward, he came to Clay county, Indiana, and bought in Posey township one hundred and twenty acres of land, paying three dollars and a half an acre. Building a hewed log house on the place he at once began the improve¬ ment of the land. Clay county was then mostly timber covered land, and deer, wild turkeys and other kinds of game were plentiful, and the fox squirrels abounded. For several years thereafter there were no rail¬ ways, and in Brazil there was but one store, the one kept by Captain Olds, which was established in the only .frame building the town boasted.

All stock and farm produce was taken to Terre Haute, then a small vil¬ lage, to be disposed of. In 1844 there were not more than a half-dozen dwelling houses within the present limits of the city of Brazil. Clearing a good farm, John L. Miller resided on it until his death, in 1882. He had at that time cleared more than one-half of his land, and in 1859 had built a frame stable, and in 1861 had erected a frame barn. He married Mary B. Miller, who died in 1864. Of the children born to them six lived to mature years, namely: John George, John L., Barbara, Mar¬ garet J., Frederick and Charles.

But four years old when he came with his parents to Indiana, John George Miller obtained his early education in Clay county, the first schools which he attended being on the subscription plan. Free schools were established three years later, sixty-six days constituting a school year. The log schoolhouse was rudely constructed and furnished, having a puncheon floor, slab seats, no desks and a stick and clay chimney. Beginning when young to assist in the pioneer labor of clearing the land, he remained with his parents until twenty-nine years old, in the mean¬ time earning and saving enough money tp buy forty acres of land. At the time of his marriage his father gave him forty acres more, and these two tracts are both included in his present home farm. An earnest and industrious laborer, using excellent judgment in his work, Mr. Miller has made wise improvements on his place, erecting a fine set of log and frame buildings, planting a variety of fruit and shade trees, and has now one of the best and most attractive homesteads in this part of Clay county.

Mr. Miller married, in 1870, Eva Barbara Hoffman, who was born in Perry township, this county, February 24, 1854, a daughter of Matthias and Barbara Hoffman. She died in 1888, leaving two children, Mar¬ garet Barbara and John M. Margaret B. is the wife of George Holderfer, and has two children, Carl and Stanley. John M. is associated with his father in farming, and since the death of Mrs. Hoffman he and his father keep house, and in their pleasant home ever extend a generous hospitality to their friends and acquaintances.

John Bray. - Clay county has had no more efficient sheriff than John Bray, who for four years, beginning in 1903, filled that office and stood loyally for the right in the prosecution of his duties. He was born at St. Blazey, Cornwall, England, January 8, 1851, and his parents, William and Susan (James) Bray, were also natives of Cornwall, where they were married. The father was a miner in England and was first married there to Miss Jane James, a sister of his second wife. They were the parents of three children, all of whom are now deceased, and, the mother having passed away, William Bray wedded Miss Susan James. In the year 1861 he crossed the Atlantic to America, landing at New York City on the 2 1st of May of that year. He then became established in Dover, New Jersey, where he spent his remaining days as a miner, passing away in 1876 at the age of sixty years. The mother of our subject long sur¬ vived him and died in Dover at the remarkably old age of ninety-two years. Their family numbered seven children, five sons and two daugh¬ ters : Thomas, Simon, Eliza, John, Caroline, Joseph and Charles. After becoming a naturalized American citizen the father, as the result of his study of the political issues and questions of the day, became a supporter of the Republican party, and his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church.

John Bray was brought to the United States by his parents when ten years of age and pursued his education in the public schools of New Jersey. At the age of eighteen he became a miner in the iron fields of New Jersey, and at the age of nineteen went to Maryland, where he remained for about two years. He then came to Indiana, locating at Brazil, being employed in the mines in this vicinity. He was afterward engaged in the liquor business for fifteen years and in 1903 was elected sheriff of Clay county, in which office he discharged his duties so promptly and efficiently that he received public endorsement by the re-election in 1905. He therefore continued in the office until 1907, when at the end of a four years' incumbency he retired and accepted the position of pit boss with the Progressive Coal & Mining Company.

On the 20th of December, 1872, Mr. Bray was married to Miss Pearl Romans, who was born in Kentucky May 19, 1848, a daughter of Samuel and Emily (Nichols) Romans, who were likewise natives of the Blue Grass state, but both are now deceased. The father was a Demo¬ crat, and throughout his business career followed the occupation of farm¬ ing in Kentucky. Unto him and his wife were born three children: John, Mrs. Bray and Adaline.

Mr. Bray is a member of Knightsville Lodge, No. 409, A. F. & A. M., Brazil Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., Brazil Council, No. 40, R. & S. M., and Brazil Commandery, No. 47, K. T., while both he and his wife are members of William Black Chapter, No. 80, of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Bray is also connected with Brazil Lodge, No. 762, B. P. O. E., and Brazil Lodge, No. 30, K. P. He has many friends among his brethren of these fraternities and has also many warm admirers among the Republicans as well as among the supporters of the Democratic party, with which he has been allied since age conferred upon him the right of franchise.

John W. Winn, who follows farming and stock raising in Jackson township, Clay county, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, September 30, 1847, and his parents, Andrew and Abigail (Raynor) Winn, were born in New Jersey and New York respectively, but both were reared and married in Orange county, New York, of Scotch-Irish and Dutch descent respectively. They moved from New York to Ohio soon after their marriage, and in 1856 came to Clay county, Indiana, where Mr. Winn purchased from Samuel Weaver one hundred and sixty acres in Dick Johnson township, paying two thousand dollars in gold for the farm, and he cleared about one hundred acres of the tract and placed his land under cultivation. He also owned one hundred and sixty acres in another tract in Dick Johnson township, and they continued their resi¬ dence on the former homestead until 1883, when Mr. Winn spent a short time in the west and returning to Clay county bought another farm of one hundred and forty acres. He became well known throughout the county, and died at the age of seventy-eight years, a life-long supporter of Democratic principles. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Winn were eleven children, nine sons and two daughters.

John W. Winn, the eighth born of the eleven children, received his educational training in the Carter school of Dick Johnson township, and after his marriage he rented land of his father for twelve years. He then bought eighty acres from Elijah Smith, but in 1883 he left the farm and went to Worth county, Missouri, but in a short time returned and located on his present homestead in 1884. He now owns one hundred and five acres of rich and fertile land, on which he has placed many valuable improvements, and has done his own carpenter work on his buildings.

On the 26th of April, 1869, Mr. Winn was married to Eliza K. Lemmons, who was born in Vigo county, Indiana, September 22, 1851. Her father, William Lemmons, was a native of Kentucky, but coming to Indiana after his marriage located in Vigo county. He was three times married and had eighteen children. Mr. and Mrs. Winn have had twelve children, four sons and eight daughters, all of whom were born in Clay county. Throughout his mature years Mr. Winn has given his political allegiance to the Democracy, and from 1890 to 1895 he served as the trustee of Jackson township and for six years was also a member of its advisory board. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1872, affiliating with Brazil Lodge No. 264, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Sargent Staggs. - Having accomplished a satisfactory work as an agriculturist, acquiring a competency on which to live during his declining years, Sargent Staggs is now living retired from active pur¬ suits in Cory, enjoying to the utmost the well-merited reward of his longcontinued, unremitting toil. Coming from pioneer stock, he was born, October 23, 1835, in Riley township, Vigo county, a son of Athel Staggs.

Born in Ohio in 1812, Athel Staggs came with his parents to Indiana when he was about twelve years old, and was brought up in Sullivan county, which was then in its original wildness. After his marriage he removed to Riley township, Vigo county, being one of the early settlers of the place. Buying a tract of timbered land, he built the log cabin in which his son Sargent was born. When the Erie and Wabash canal was begun he was employed on its construction, and at the same time his mother boarded a part of the employees. In 1840 he traded his Riley township property for land in sections 29 and 32, Perry township, Clay county, that in section 29 being covered with timber, while the other was prairie. A log house and a few acres cleared constituted the sole im¬ provements that had been previously made. He at once began clearing the land and breaking the prairie, and as the years passed by succeeded in placing the larger part of the land in a good state of cultivation. He replaced the log buildings with substantial frame structures, and there resided until his death, at the age of sixtv-four years. He married Sarah Harris, a daughter of Benjamin Harris, who moved from Ohio to Indiana, becoming a pioneer of Sullivan county. She survived her husband for a long time, attaining the venerable age of eighty-one years. She reared six children, namely: Newport, Sargent, Sarah J., Elijah, Tyra J. and Annie.

But five years old when his parents settled in Perry township, Sargent Staggs has been a witness of almost the entire growth and development of this part of the county. At that time deer were very plentiful, and his father, an expert marksman, killed many of them, and Mr. Staggs, himself, killed four, shooting the last one from his own dooryard in 1859. His father kept sheep and raised flax for many years, and his mother, an adept in domestic arts, used to card, spin and weave the homespun in which she made garments for the family, the clothes and food of the household being produced on the farm. Sargent Staggs attended the pioneer schools as a boy and youth, in the meantime becom- ing familiar with the work on the farm, remaining at home until his marriage. His father then gave him a deed to one hundred and twenty acres of land in section 32, Perry township. Industrious and ambitious, he improved the land, bought more, and has in his farm one hundred and sixty acres, all well improved and highly productive. Here Mr. Staggs lived until 1890, when he rented his farm, and has since resided at Cory, as before mentioned.