Delaware County, Indiana - Sidelights on Local History, 1924 (part 20 of 21)

GEORGE R. ANDREWS, M. D., F. A. C. S., a surgeon at Muncie, a practitioner for more than twenty-five years, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of Delaware county, his paternal grandmother having been the first white person born in the tract now covered by the city of Muncie and his grandfather one of the early physicians of old Muncietown. Doctor Andrews was born in the village of Rome City, in Noble county, Indiana, August 20, 1874, and is a son of John E. and Hannah Frances (Yingling) Andrews, the latter of whom was born in Connersville, Ind., a member of one of the old families of that part of the state, and died at Muncie in 1908. John Edwin Andrews, a retired miller, now living at Muncie, was born in Muncie and is a son of Dr. Daniel H. and Mary Jane (Gilbert) Andrews, the latter of whom was born here on what then was called the Hackley Reserve, an Indian reservation, in 1826, daughter of Goldsmith C. and Mary (Bishop) Gilbert, natives of Washington county, New York, who were among the earliest settlers in what came to be organized as Delaware county in 1827 and at whose trading post here at the bend of the river on the old Indian reserve the county seat was established when the county was erected, a story that is set out with considerable detail elsewhere in this work. Dr. Daniel H. Andrews, grandfather of Dr. George R. Andrews, also was born in Washington county, New York, where he received his early schooling and where he became interested in the study of medicine. Coming West he became a student of Doctor Mussey at Cincinnati and under this preceptorship was prepared for college. Following his graduation at the medical college at Cincinnati he went to Florida and was there engaged in practice for a short time or until in 1842, when he came to Indiana and located at Muncietown, where he found a field for practice awaiting him. On October 31, 1844, he married Mary Jane Gilbert and established his home here, where the remainder of his life was spent in good work, his death occurring in 1856, his widow being left with four children, three of whom are still living, Mrs. Julia S. Williamson, John Edwin and George R. Andrews. There was another son, Samuel Andrews, now deceased. The widow Andrews married Joseph W. Edmunds and lived for many years thereafter, her death occurring on June 24, 1904, as is set out elsewhere, together with much interesting and informative matter relating to this woman who for nearly eighty yeats had been a witness to the development of the place whereon she was born and which she thus had seen grow from a mere trading station in the wilderness to a city of large importance. John Edwin Andrews, second son and third child of Dr. Daniel H. and Mary Jane (Gilbert) Andrews, was born in 1850 and was reared at Muncie, early being trained to the milling business, of which his grandfather Gilbert had been a pioneer here. After his marriage he for some time was engaged in business at Rome City, but presently returned to Muncie, where he since has made his home. To him and his wife were born four sons, the subject of this sketch having three brothers, Daniel A., C. Ray and Forrest E. Andrews. Having been but a child when his parents returned to Muncie from Rome City, Dr. George R. Andrews received his schooling in Muncie and upon completing the course in the high school entered the Medical College of Indiana at Indianapolis and in 1897 was graduated from this institution and in that same year was married. Upon receiving his diploma the Doctor opened an office for practice at Mount Summit, in the neighboring county of Henry, where he remained until in 1904, when he returned to Muncie and in that city ever since has been engaged in practice, with present residence at 401 East Adams street. Not long after taking up practice at Muncie, Doctor Andrews took a post-graduate course in surgery in New York and since 1907 has devoted his practice exclusively to surgery. In 1913- 14 Doctor Andrews built the Muncie Home Hospital, at that time the largest private surgical hospital in the state of Indiana, and continued to operate it as a private surgical hospital until in June, 1921, when it was taken over by the board of governors of the Muncie Home Hospital and has since been operated under semi-public direction. Doctor Andrews also organized and maintained the nurses training (40) school of the Muncie Home Hospital, of which most of the practicing nurses of Delaware county are graduates. Doctor Andrews is a member of the Muncie Academy of Medicine, of the joint medical society of the counties of Delaware and Blackford, a fellow of the American Medical Association and of the American College of Surgeons, and - has served as president of the county medical society. He is a Freemason and an Odd Fellow. It was in 1897, the year of his graduation from college, that Dr. George R. Andrews was united in marriage to Elizabeth Haymond, who was born on a farm just south of the city of Muncie, only daughter of William Allison and Mary (Louthain) Haymond, the latter of whom was born in the neighboring county of Henry, March 17, 1844, daughter of George Louthain, a member of one of the first families in Henry county, and who is now making her home with her daughter, Mrs. Andrews at Muncie. William Allison Haymond, who died at his farm home south of Muncie in 1880, was born at Fairmount, Virginia, now West Virginia, October 26, 1840, and was a son of Octavius Haymond, who was a son of William Haymond, Jr., a son of William Haymond, a major in the Continental army during the War of the Revolution and by right of descent from whom Mrs. Andrews is a member of the local (Paul Revere) chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1859, when nineteen years of age, William Allison Haymond came to Indiana and was living in Delaware county when the Civil war broke out. On November 28, 1861, he enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and went to the front as a member of the 41st regiment (2d Indiana Cavalry), with which gallant command he served for three years. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to Delaware county and on January 18, 1865, was married to Mary Louthain, shortly afterward establishing his home on the farm south of town where he spent the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born three children, of whom Mrs. Andrews is the last born, the others being Warren G. (deceased) and George L. Haymond. Doctor and Mrs. Andrews have one child, a son, Edwin H. Andrews, born on December 9, 1899, who rendered service in the artillery branch of the army at the officers training school at Camp Taylor during the time of this country's participation in the World war and who is now a student of medicine in Indiana University, with a view to following the profession in which representatives of two generations of his family have rendered conspicuous service in this county.

ANDREW JACKSON, a member of the board of county commissioners for Delaware county and a substantial farmer and landowner of Hamilton township, residing on the Wheeling pike, rural mail route No. 1 out of Muncie, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Delaware county for more than a quarter of a century. Mr. Jackson was born on a farm in Owen county on April 17, 1866, and is a son of Andrew and Catherine (Beula) Jackson, the latter of whom was born in Pennsylvania and ~ was but a child when she came to Indiana with her parents, the family settling in Owen county, where she grew to womanhood and was married. She died in 1883. The senior Andrew Jackson was born in Dearborn county, this state, a son of William Jackson, and there grew to manhood. After his marriage he was engaged for some years in farming in Owen county and then moved to Clay county, where he bought a farm of 120 acres and established his home. To him and his wife were born eight children, three of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Susan, and a brother, Charles Jackson. The junior Andrew Jackson was but a lad when his parents moved from Owen county to Clay county and he grew up on the home farm in the western part of the latter county, finishing his schooling in the high school in the village of Riley, over the line in Vigo county. He married when twenty-two years of age and then began farming on his own account, renting a part of the William A. Bell farm of 800 acres in the neighborhood of his home. Two years later he was made superintendent of that farm and was thus engaged for about seven years, at the end of which time, in 1897, he came to Delaware county and took charge of the 400-acre Bell farm in Hamilton township and established his home there. During his long period of superintendency on this farm Mr. Jackson erected the present buildings and improved the place in up-to-date fashion, and there he continued to live until in 1912, when he bought his present place on the Wheeling pike, across the highway from the Bell farm and has since resided there, meanwhile having erected all the buildings there and established a modern farm plant. His first purchase there was forty-five acres. A few years later he bought an adjoining tract of like acreage and now has a well improved farm of ninety acres. Mr. Jackson is a Republican and in 1918 was elected a member of the advisory board for Hamilton township. In 1922 he was elected commissioner from his district on the board of county commissioners and is now serving in that responsible public capacity. In the primary election in May, 1924, he was nominated for a second term in that office. He is a Freemason and an Odd Fellow and he and his wife are members of the Christian church. On November 29, 1888, in Clay county, Andrew Jackson was united in marriage to Effie E. Gard and to that union five children have been born, all of whom are living save Edna, the first born, the others being William Allen, Harvey C., Theodore A. and Mertie C., the latter of whom is a teacher in the Riley school near Muncie. Theodore A. Jackson is now a student in the University of Indiana. William Allen Jackson married Carrie Cochran and has two children, Julia and Martha, and Harvey C. Jackson married Ora Burt and has one child, Helen. Mrs. Effie E. Jackson was born in Owen county, Indiana, daughter of Lorenzo D. and Nancy (Wiley) Gard, who later became residents of Clay county, where Lorenzo D. Gard became the owner of a farm of something more than 100 acres. To Lorenzo D. Gard and wife were born seven children, five of whom are still living, Mrs. Jackson having two sisters, Edna J. and Mertie M., and two brothers, William S. and Harvey Gard.

ROY J. STAFFORD, a substantial farmer and landowner of Delaware county, now living in Hamilton township, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Stafford was born on a farm in Delaware township on April 4, 1881, and is a son of George A. and Sarah A. (Zehner) Stafford, the latter of whom was born in Wayne county, this state, daughter of Benjamin and Hester (Hoppas) Zehner. The late George A. Stafford was born in Delaware township, this county, in 1835, and was a son of Ralph and Jane (Black) Stafford, the latter of whom was born in Clark county, Ohio, a daughter of Andrew and Susan (Ross) Black, who became numbered among the pioneers of Delaware county, as is set out elsewhere. Ralph Stafford was born in Giles county, Virginia, and was a son of George and Catherine (Fair) Stafford, who had come to this country from Ireland, and who in 1811 became residents of Clark county, Ohio. Ralph Stafford became a resident of Delaware township, this county, in 1835. He died in 1876 and his widow survived until in 1888. They were the parents of five children, of whom George A. Stafford was the eldest. During the days of his young manhood George A. Stafford worked as atanner. He also for thirteen years operated a threshing rig throughout his home neighborhood, meantime carrying on extensive farming operations and in time came to be the owner of more than 800 acres of land in this county. He was one of the organizers of the Delaware County National Bank and a director of the same and had business property in Muncie, among the buildings he erected there being the former postoffice building on Walnut street, now occupied by the Liberty theatre, and the building now occupied by the Studebaker automobile sales concern on High street. He died on September 1, 1912, and his widow died in 1917. They were the parents of four children, all of whom are living save one son, David R., the subject of this sketch having a sister, Emma C., and a brother, Cyrus J. Stafford. Reared on the home farm in Delaware township, Roy J. Stafford supplemented the schooling received in the Stafford school by a course in the old Muncie Normal School and for two years thereafter was engaged in photography in the Neiswanger studio at Muncie. He then returned to the home farm and after his marriage farmed the place for a year, at the end of which time he moved to a farm of his own, a place of 240 acres in Union township, two and a half miles west of Shideler, on which he made extensive improvements and on which he carried on extensively in the live stock way. There Mr. Stafford resided until in 1922, when he moved to the place on which he is now living, a "forty" on the Studebaker pike in Hamilton township, the operations of which he oversees as well as those of his Union township farm, he now being the owner of 280 acres of well improved farm land. In 1904, Roy J. Stafford was united in marriage to Ethel Mae Smith, who also was born in Delaware township, daughter of J. Dent and Mary (Williamson) Smith, and to this union were born six children, Edith L., Mary L., Sarah R., George D., Howard and Albert Earl, the latter of whom died in infancy. The mother of these children died on October 29, 1921.

HARRY C. SHROYER, a substantial farmer and landowner of Liberty township, proprietor of a well improved farm on the Centennial pike, rural mail route No. 5 out of Muncie, was born in that township, a member of one of the real pioneer families of the county, and has lived there all his life. Mr. Shroyer was born on September 17, 1878, and is a son of John A. and Margaret (Baughn) Shroyer, the latter of whom was born in the neighboring county of Randolph, daughter of Lester and Susanna Baughn. The late John A. Shroyer was born on a pioneer farm in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in Lib- | erty township, this county, December 21, 1845, and was a son of Melchoir and Rebecca (Jones) Shroyer, Virginians, born in that section of the Old Dominion now comprised within West Virginia, the former a son of Louis Shroyer, a member of one of the Virginia colonial families. Melchoir Shroyer was trained as a blacksmith and gun- smith, vocations he followed at Grafton, Va., until after his marriage in the middle '30s of the past century, when he came into Indiana and after prospecting a bit in Madison county effected a settlement on a . woodland "eighty" in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in Liberty township, this county, where he established his home, reared his family and spent the remainder of his life, one of the useful pioneers of that neighborhood, for his skill as a smith was highly appreciated by his neighbors. He and his wife were the parents of eight children and as most of these married and reared families of their own the Shroyer connection of this family in the present generation is a considerable one. One of the sons of this family, Jacob Shroyer, lost his life in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain while serving as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war. John A. Shroyer was the next to the last in order of birth of the children of this pioneer couple. He grew to manhood on the home farm in Liberty township and assisted in the development and improvement of that place until after his marriage, when he began farming on his own account and in 1879 bought the farm in section 35 of Liberty township on which he spent the remainder of his days, coming in time to be the owner of 230 acres of land in that township and in the neighboring township of Delaware. Mr. Shroyer was a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died on April 12, 1909. It was in 1874 that John A. Shroyer was united in marriage to Margaret Baughn and to that union were born ten children, all of whom are living save one, these (besides the subject of this sketch) being Charles, Everett, Herbert, Arthur, Birch, Walter, Frank and Zella. Reared on the home farm in the northeastern part of Liberty township, Harry C. Shroyer received his schooling in the Mt. Pleasant schools and until his marriage remained on the home farm, aiding in the development of the same. He married at the age of twenty-five and established his home on the place on which he is now living on the Centennial pike, which he had bought prior to his marriage, and has since resided there. Mr. Shroyer's first purchase there was of a tract of seventy acres. As his affairs prospered he has added to this original holding until now he is the owner of 236 acres which he has improved in up-to-date fashion and on which he has two sets of buildings. It was on November 24, 1903, that Harry C. Shroyer was united in marriage to Nellie Phillips, also a member of a pioneer family in Liberty township, and to this union three children have been born, Kenneth, Virgil and John Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Shroyer are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Mrs. Shroyer is a daughter of William H. and Mahala Frances (Keesling) Phillips, the latter of whom was a daughter of Martin Keesling, one of the entrymen in Liberty township. The late William H. Phillips, who at the time of his death in the fall of 1917 had been for years the vice-president of the Delaware County National Bank of Muncie, as is set out elsewhere in this work, also was born in Liberty township, in the spring of 1840, a son of Henry and Susanna (Sweetman) Phillips, Virginians, who in 1836 came to Indiana and established their home on a woodland tract in section 7 of Liberty township, this county. After his marriage William H. Phillips established his home on a farm in section 5 of Liberty township and there developed a good piece of property, at the same time acquiring banking and other interests in the city of Muncie. He is survived by five children, Mrs. Shroyer having two sisters, Mrs. Leora Cecil and Mrs. Gertrude Dragoo, and two brothers, Edgar E. and Harry H. Phillips.

WHORTEN MEKEKS, a progressive farmer and landowner of Liberty township, proprietor of a well improved farm on rural mail route No. 1 out of Parker, is a member of the pioneer Meeks family that has had worthy representation in this community since the late '30s of the past century. Mr. Meeks was born on a farm in Liberty township, February 15, 1877, and is a son of Jacob and Mary Ellen (Wright) Meeks, the latter of whom was born in Edgar county, Illinois. Jacob Meeks, who is now living in the Parker neighborhood over in Randolph county, where he has had his home for near forty years, is a Virginian by birth and was but a child when he came to Indiana with his parents, the family settling in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in Liberty township, this county. There he grew to - manhood and for some time after his marriage continued farming there, later moving over into Randolph county, where he has since resided, now living retired from the active labors of the farm. Of the eleven children born to Jacob and Mary Ellen (Wright) Meeks eight are still living, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Nona, Emma and Anna, and four brothers, Isaac, Josiah, Ira and Leslie Meeks. It was in the early '80s that Jacob Meeks moved with his family over into Randolph county and Whorten Meeks was thus but a boy when he became a resident of that county. He received his schooling in the neighborhood schools and continued farming in association with his father until he had attained his majority, when he began farming for himself on a rental basis. After his marriage he made his home on a rented farm in Randolph county for three years, at the end of which time, in 1909, he bought the farm on which he is now living in Liberty township, this county, and has since resided here, during this period of residence having done much to improve _and develop the place. Mr. Meeks has 120 acres, all but about twenty acres of which is tillable, and in addition to his general farming gives proper attention to the raising of live stock. Whorten Meeks married Mabel Morrow, daughter of Clayton and Sophronia Morrow, and has three children, Lawrence, Howard and Vernon. Mr. and Mrs. Meeks are Republicans and are members of the Parker Methodist Episcopal church.

CHARLES HAINES ANTHONY, who in his generation and for many years was recognized as one of the real leaders in local community development, one of the dominant factors in that amazing movement which thirty years and more ago brought about the practical reconstruction of the city of Muncie and which gave an impetus to all phases of human development hereabout, has been dead for some years, but the memory of his personality and of what he did for the community persists and will long do so. It therefore is deemed fitting that in this definite history of the county in which his lines were cast there should be carried some modest tribute to that memory. Mr. Anthony was a native son of Delaware county, a member of one of the real pioneer families here, and though his business activities took him much away, he always was happy to regard this as his home, even as does his widow, who survives him and who though widely traveled still is happy to call Muncie home, for she, too, was born in this county, and is also of that sterling pioneer stock that has its roots so firmly planted here in the soil of Delaware county. Charles Haines Anthony was born at Muncie on May 10, 1858, and was a son of Capt. Edwin C. and Rebecca G. (Venneman) Anthony, the latter of whom was born at Centerville, in Wayne county, Indiana, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Campbell) Venneman, Pennsylvanians, who became residents of Centerville, where they were living when in 1849 Edwin C. Anthony and Rebecca G. Venneman were married. Capt. Edwin C. Anthony, an honored veteran of the Civil war and for many years in his generation one of the leading citizens of Muncie, was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, May 29, 1818, and was the son and only child of Dr. Samuel P. and Narcissa (Haines) Anthony, the latter of whom died at Muncie - in 1858. Dr. Samuel P. Anthony, concerning whom numerous references are made elsewhere in this work, for he was one of the domi- nant figures in the life of old Muncietown, back in pioneer days, was a Virginian, born at Lynchburg in the Old Dominion, December 2, 1792. As a young man he served as a teamster in the army of the War of 1812, and upon the conclusion of that second war for American independence located at Cincinnati, where he and his father became engaged in the tobacco brokerage business, the first factors in this line west of the Allegheny mountains, it is said. While thus engaged, Samuel P. Anthony became interested in the study of medicine and upon completing a course of professional study, moved up into Clinton county, Ohio, where he was engaged in practice for three years, at the end of which time he moved to Cedarville, in the neighboring county of Greene. Three years later, in common with many other Greene county people, he became attracted to the possibilities then opening up over here in Delaware county and in 1831, four years after the erection of this county, came over here and became a permanent resident of Muncietown, where the remainder of his life was spent, his death occurring here, as is set out elsewhere in this work, in 1876. It has been written of Doctor Anthony that "he seemed to possess a natural talent for making money." It was thus that his son, Edwin C. Anthony early was trained to assume a position of responsibility in the community, for his father was by long odds the largest property owner here. Edwin C. Anthony completed his schooling at Richmond, Ind., and was from the days of his young manhood interested in the development of the Anthony interests in and about Muncie. When the Civil war broke out he went to the front as captain of Company D, 41st Indiana Cavalry, but in 1862 was compelled to resign his commission by reason of a broken arm and the serious impairment of his health and return home. Following his father's death in 1876 he assumed control of the Anthony interests, which he extended by the development of extensive interests in Florida, and thus continued active in business until his death on June 7, 1884, at his winter home at Anthony. His widow resumed her former home at Muncie and survived him until in 1898. To Capt. Edwin C. and Rebecca G. (Venneman) Anthony were born six children, those besides the subject of this memorial sketch (the fifth in order of birth) having been Florence Virginia, who married Elijah Swain; Samuel P., the scene of whose later activities was in Florida; Ella, who married George Gamble, and died at the age of twenty-five years; Edwin C., Jr., who died at the age of twenty-eight years, and Adelia, who married Frank Robinson and made her home in Florida. Reared at Muncie, the late Charles H. Anthony supplemented the schooling received in the local schools by a course in the military college at Chester, Pa., and in 1877, when his father became interested 'in Florida development projects he took an active part in these activities and in time developed there valuable fruit and phosphate interests. Following his marriage in 1886 he established his home at Muncie. This was about the time the new era of development dawned on Muncie in consequence of the opening of the natural gas field here and Mr. Anthony naturally became one of the most influential promoters of the new local interests thus developed. In his case these interests largely centered in real estate and in the promotion of the gas field and in the extension of the growing city's manufacturing interests. With clear vision he saw into the needs of the future and in 1887 erected that big brown stone business block at the northwest corner of Walnut and Jackson streets still known as the Anthony building and which thus for nearly forty years has stood as one of Muncie's chief commercial buildings. As president of the Economy Co-operative Gas Company, he did much for the proper utilization of natural gas as an economic industrial factor and as one of the promoters of the old Citizens Enterprise Company also did much in the way of bringing new factories into the town. Anthony Park (Congerville) is a continuing reminiscence of another phase of his activities. As an ardent horseman he also did much to promote the elevation of the standards of horseflesh hereabout. In other ways, Mr. Anthony impressed himself upon the community, and he continued active in business until his death on October 31, 1921. Mr. Anthony was a Republican and a Freemason and was also affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Improved Order of 'Red Men. On February 10, 1886, Charles H. Anthony was united in marriage to Harriett Bell Mitchell and to this union was born one child, a son, Harvey Mitchell Anthony, a veteran of the World war, who is now a student in the medical college of Indiana University. Harvey Mitchell Anthony was born on February 19, 1890. He had his early schooling at Muncie and upon leaving high school entered Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, where he was in attendance during 1908-11, specializing in mathematics and languages. In 1911 he entered Harvard University, where he specialized in physics, chemistry, geology and astronomy, as well as philosophy, together with experimental work in radio-telegraphy, and was graduated from that institution in 1914. This course was supplemented by a course in electrical engineering at the Hawley Institute, Boston, from which he also was graduated, and by advanced courses in Columbia Univer- sity and the New York Electrical Institute. Upon the completion of | the Muncie high school building in 1914 Mr. Anthony installed a de- | partment of electrical engineering in the school, this including radiotelegraphy, and was made head of the same. In 1916 he was made director of vocational education of the Muncie high school and upon the country's call to arms in the spring of 1917 for participation in the World war, he organized an army signal corps and conducted classes in that behalf in radio-telegraphy at Muncie. He presently was called to train classes at the Great Lakes naval training station, Chicago, and from there was transferred to Washington to reorganize the radio training system in the aviation section of the navy and thus served until the close of the war, with the title of director. Upon the completion of his military service, Mr. Anthony returned to Muncie and resumed his school work and continued thus engaged until he presently resigned to take up medical studies and now is a student in medical college of Indiana University. He married Ruth Leffler. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Charles H. Anthony has continued to make her home at Muncie, though much of her time has . been spent in traveling, her home being at 210 East Adams street. It perhaps may not be regarded as out of place to recall that in 1913 Mrs. Anthony created a bit of a social sensation in New York and the East by the striking character of the gorgeous gowns she wore and by having the heels of her slippers set with diamonds, the newspapers over the country giving her much space and referring to her as the "arbiter of fashions," '"Muncie's creator of American fashions," "social sensation of the East," and the like. In referring to her home at Muncie, Mrs. Anthony told one of the numerous interviewers who sought stories from her in those days of unexpected fame, "I always like to return to it, for in spite of my liking for the brilliant corners of the earth, Muncie is my home town and many old friends are here." In passing, it is but proper to say that this is a very common feeling among Muncie people, the continued attachment to the old home town being expressed by all who perchance wander away. Mrs. Anthony is a daughter of the late Dr. Harvey and Catherine (Ash) Mitchell, who became residents of Muncie in 1864, and the latter of whom was born in Greene county, Ohio, May 380, 1837, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Driscoll) Ash, who later moved with their family over here into Delaware county and established their home in the Granville settlement along the Mississinewa. The late Dr. Harvey Mitchell was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1826, and was a son of Thomas and Sarah (Shideler) Mitchell, both of whom were born in that same county, the former in 1801 and the latter, in 1802, who were married in 1822, and who in 1830 settled in Miami county, Ohio, where Thomas Mitchell died in 1861. His widow survived him for eighteen years, her death occurring at the home of a daughter in California in 1879. They were the parents of six children, of whom Doctor Mitchell was the second in order of birth. At the age of seventeen years, Harvey Mitchell entered upon his medical studies. In 1850 he was graduated from the old Starling Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, and in that same year became engaged in the practice of medicine at Granville, in this county. On October 9, 1853, at that place, he married Catherine Ash. Doctor Mitchell continued to make his home at Granville until in 1864, when he moved to Muncie, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1909. Ten years before that time, by reason of a serious injury received in a fall, by which he suffered a broken hip, he had been compelled to retire from the active practice of his profession. Doctor Mitchell was successful in business and was for years one of Muncie's most active promoters of "down town" real estate, the monumental Mitchell block at the southwest corner of Walnut and Adams streets, being one of the most conspicuous of the continuing evidences of the substantial character of his investments. To Doctor and Mrs. Mitchell were born two daughters, Mrs. Anthony having had an elder sister, Sarah Florence, who died in 1866, at the age of eleven years. SUMNER B. DENNEY, proprietor and operator of a motor bus line at Muncie, was born in the city of Portland, the county seat of the neighboring county of Jay, April 25, 1882, and is a son of Daniel Wilson and Hannah (Jones) Denney, both of whom were born in | that same county, the latter on a farm southwest of Portland, a daughter of Ebenezer Jones. The late Daniel Wilson Denney was a son of Edward Denney, a member of one of the pioneer families of Jay county. He grew up in that county and after his marriage became a farmer, the owner of a forty-acre farm four and a half miles southeast of Pennville, where he died in 1902. To him and his wife were born six sons, the subject of this sketch (the third in order of birth) having five brothers, William Henry, Charles Ebenezer, John Francis, Ira Everett and Edward Nicholas Denney. Mrs. Hannah Denney is now living at Muncie, where she has made her home for some years, residing at 2000 West Twelfth street. Reared on the home farm in Jay county, Sumner B. Denney received his schooling in the neighborhood schools. He was twenty years of age when his father died and he continued farm work until in 1918, when he came to Muncie and here became engaged in teaming. He also for some time took an active part in local horse-racing activities. He later became engaged as a salesman for the Baldwin Piano Company and after two years of such employment became engaged in the piano business on his own account, distributor for the French! & Son piano at Newcastle. In 1918 Mr. Denney bought a motor bus and started in business at Muncie, the initial route of his now well established bus line being the Normal City route. He found this venture to be successful and has since been carrying on along this line, now having no 'fewer than six well equipped busses in service, his line covering the better part of the city. Mr. Denney is a Republican and is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men and the auxiliary bodies, the Hay Loft and the Degree of Pocahontas, and with the Loyal Order of Moose and the Moose Legion. On December 25, 1905, Sumner B. Denney was united in marriage to Sarah Leora Lambert, who was born in the neighboring county of Blackford, daughter of Josias and Lucy (Tharp) Lambert, and to this union four children have been born, Harold Oscar, Hilbert Ernest, Margaret Irena and Sumner Lowell. The Denneys reside at 1408 West Eleventh street. Mrs. Denney is a member of the Avondale Methodist Episcopal church. FRANK R. BRAMMER, a conductor for the Union Traction Company and proprietor of a tailoring and dry-cleaning establishment at Muncie, was born on a farm in Delaware township, six miles north and east of Muncie, July 31, 1880, and is a son of Henly and Margaret (Black) Brammer, the latter of whom was born in that same township, daughter of Andrew and Mary (Fishburn) Black, the former of whom was proprietor of what was widely known as "Black's Mills" there along the Mississinewa. Henly Brammer also was born in Delaware township, in 1841, and was a son of Edmund and Nancy (Hatfield) Brammer, who had come here from Ohio in 1836. Edmund Brammer was born in Patrick county, Virginia, in 1801, a son of Edmund and Mary (Lee) Brammer, the latter of whom was an aunt of General Robert E. Lee. Upon coming to Delaware county the Brammers made their home on a farm in Delaware township, where Edmund Brammer died in 1889. His wife died in 1872. They were the parents of ten children. After his marriage Henly Brammer established himself as a farmer in Delaware township and there spent the remainder of his life. He was twice married and was the father of twelve children, two by his first wife, Selina Black, daughter of William Black, and ten by his second wife,

Margaret Black, a cousin of the first wife. Frank R. Brammer, fourth in order of birth of these children, became employed in the machine shop of the Bauer Window Glass Company at Eaton upon leaving school and was thus engaged until in 1902, when he took employment with the Union Traction Company as a conductor, and has ever since been thus employed, a period of more than twenty years, his present run being as conductor of the "Meteor". In 1910 Mr. Brammer began business as a salesman for traction employes' uniforms and has since gradually developed the tailoring business he now is carrying on at 111 East Seymour street. In May, 1922, he erected his present dry-cleaning and pressing establishment at 808 South Walnut street and has since been carrying on both establishments, at the same time continuing his run on the traction line. Mr. Brammer is a Scottish Rite Mason and he and his family are members of the - First Baptist church. On September 3, 1902, Frank R. Brammer was. united in marriage to Evelyn Baird, who was born in Hartford City, Ind., daughter of Jasper and Sarah Baird, and to this union two daughters have been born, Girladene and Charlene. The Brammers reside at 1000 North Elm street.

HOWARD CECIL, one of Liberty township's progressive farmers, living on the old Cecil home place on rural mail route No. 2 out of Selma, was born on that place and has lived there all his life. Mr. Cecil was born on October 6, 1888, and is a son of Arthur S. and Cora (Bortsfield) Cecil, both of whom were born in that same township, members of pioneer families there, and who are now living at Orlando, Fla. Arthur S. Cecil was born on the farm on which his © son Howard is now living, a son of John S. and Rachel (Legg) Cecil, the former of whom was a son of the pioneer Aaron Cecil, who came over here into the New Purchase from Ohio in 1831 and entered a tract of land in section 32 of Liberty township, this county, where he established his home, one of the substantial pioneers of the eastern part of this county. Aaron Cecil was a native of Virginia and his wife, Anna Springer, was a native of Kentucky. They reared a family of eight children and as all these married and had families of their own the Cecil connection of this line in the present generation is a no inconsiderable one. The Leggs of this line came into Indiana in 1818 and settled in Wayne county. Arthur S. Cecil grew up on the home farm in Liberty township and for some years during the days of his young manhood was a teacher in the neighborhood schools. He followed farming, establishing his home on the home place after his marriage, and there continued to reside until his retirement in 1913 and removal to Orlando, Fla., where he and his wife are now living. They have six children, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Jessie Mabel, Dorothy and Emily, and two brothers, Clarence and Hugh Cecil. Reared on the home farm in Liberty township, the place on which he is now living, Howard Cecil was graduated from the Muncie high school in 1906. He then entered DePauw University and after two years of study there entered Purdue University, from which institution he was graduated in 1912. Upon completing his college work Mr. Cecil returned to the home farm and upon his father's retirement in the next year took charge of affairs there and has since been operating the place, now farming 320 acres in up-to-date fashion. In addition to his general farming Mr. Cecil feeds out about seventy-five head of cattle and 300 hogs a year, feeding all the corn he raises. Last year he had 150, acres in corn. Mr. Cecil is a Republican and a Freemason, his affiliation with the Masons being with Muncie lodge. Howard Cecil married Margaret Wertz, daughter of W. S. Wertz, and has two children, Rebecca Ann and Eleanor Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. Cecil are members of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church at Muncie.

CHARLES A. BARLEY, a substantial farmer and landowner of | Perry township, residing on the Barley pike, rural mail route No. 6 out of Muncie, is a native son of Delaware county, a member of one of the pioneer families here, and has lived in this county all his life. Mr. Barley was born on a farm in Niles township on February 19, 1867, and is a son of Samuel and Angelinah (Haines) Barley, both of whom were born in Virginia, the former in the vicinity of Winchester and the latter, in the Stanton vicinity. Samuel Barley was a son of Peter Barley, a native of Germany, who upon coming to this country had located at Winchester, Va. Two of his brothers came to America about the same time and settled in Pennsylvania. Samuel Barley was about ten years of age when his father died and he later accompanied his mother and brother and sister to Ohio, the family settling in Greene county, where Mrs. Barley's last days were spent. Samuel Barley and his brother John and sister Mary came to Delaware county in settlement days and located in Niles township. Samuel Barley's first farm in Niles township was a tract of forty acres of woodland which he cleared and improved and to which he added until he became the owner of 236 acres, and there he spent his last days. To him and his wife were born six children, three daughters, Sarah Jane, Estaline I. and Emma E., and three sons, David A., Kindrex S. and the subject of this sketch. Charles A. Barley grew to manhood on the home farm in Niles township. He completed his schooling in the Eaton schools and early began farming. After his marriage he established his home on that part of the home farm which came to him by inheritance, a tract of 120 acres. On that place Mr. Barley continued to make his home until in the spring of 1917, when he disposed of his interests in Niles township and bought the place on the Barley pike on which he is now living, in Perry township, and here has since resided, proprietor of a well improved farm of 157 acres. Mr. Barley is a member of Whitney lodge, No. 229, Free and Accepted Masons, at New Burlington. On December 24, 1891, Charles A. Barley was united in marriage to Martha L. McDonald and to this union two daughters have been born, Ruth Angelinah and Helen Malinda, the latter of whom is still in school, member of the class of 1925, Perry township high school. Ruth A. Barley is a teacher in the public schools at Frankfort, Ind. Mrs. Barley was born in Niles township and is a daughter of Sam May and Malinda (Black) McDonald, the latter of whom was born in Niles township, a member of one of the pioneer families of this county. Sam May McDonald, who in his generation was one of the best known teachers in this county, was an Ohioan who came over here in the days of his young manhood and became employed as a teacher in the schools of this county, a profession he followed for sixteen years, meantime carrying on farming operations, and later became a salesman. Beginning in 1872 he served for some time as trustee of Niles township and in the early '80s served another term in that office. In addition to his regular work in the school room, he also for some time conducted a night school for community convenience in Niles township, this being one of the first such schools carried on in this county. Sam May McDonald also was a poet of parts, among his poems which were well received here being "A Tribute to the Union Soldier," "The Hoosier" and "The Haunted House." He died in 1920.

IRVIN V. THORNBURG, trustee of Perry township and a substantial farmer and landowner of that township, residing on rural mail route No. 2 out of Selma, is a native son of Delaware county, born in Perry township, and has lived here all his life. Mr. Thornburg was born on April 19, 1864, and is a son of Joseph H. and Paulina (Swearingen) Thornburg, the latter of whom was born in Virginia and was but a child when she came to Indiana with her parents, the family settling in this county. She died when her son Irvin was but a child, leaving also another child, a daughter, Mrs. Emma Yockey, of Muncie. Joseph H. Thornburg was four times married and was the father of eleven children, those besides the two above mentioned being Francis M., William <A., Elnora, Sarah, Charles O., Jane, Bert, Ora and Myrtle. Joseph H. Thornburg was born in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1831, and was a son of Alexander and Malinda (Huskins) Thornburg, the former also a native of Ohio and the latter, of North Carolina. Alexander Thornburg was twice married and was the father of seven children. He came to Delaware county in 1837 and entered a tract of land in section 13 of Perry township, where he established his home and, spent the remainder of his life, coming to be the owner of more than 300 acres of farm land. He died in 1883 and was buried in Union cemetery. Joseph H. Thornburg was but six years of age when his father settled in Perry township and there he grew to manhood and in turn became a farmer on his own account, his father giving him a "forty" of timber land on which he made his home. As he developed this he added to his holdings until he became the owner of a good farm of 360 acres, and there he spent his last days, his death occurring in 1907. Reared on the home farm in Perry township, Irvin V. Thornburg received his schooling in the Center school (district No. 9) and after his marriage began farming on his own account, presently buying 100 acres of the place on which he is now living, and there established his home. As his affairs prospered Mr. Thornburg has added to this initial in- -vestment until now he has a well improved farm of 479 acres, which is being operated by his sons, Harold and Joseph, who give considerable attention to live stock, feeding out five or six carloads of hogs a year. Mr. Thornburg is a Republican and is now rendering public 'service as trustee of Perry township, his term of office dating from January 1, 1922. For fourteen years he served as road supervisor in his district and during that time did much for the better roads cause. He and his wife are members of the Philadelphia Christian church and Mrs. Thornburg has been treasurer of the Ladies Aid Society of that congregation for nearly twenty years. To Mr. and Mrs. Thornburg five children have been born, namely: Harold Gordon, who married Lona Patty and has one child, a daughter, Helen; Clay, who died in infancy; Joseph, who married Hildreth Farlow and has a daughter, Louise; Thelma, who died at the age of seven years, and Trenton, who died at the age of ten. Mrs. Thornburg was born in Randolph county (Emma Leeka) and is a daughter of Christian and Sidney (Snodgrass) Leeka, the latter of whom was born in that same county, a member of one of the pioneer families there. Christian Leeka was born in Ohio and was but a child when he came to Indiana (41) with his parents, the family settling in Randolph county where, after his marriage, he established his home and spent the remainder of his life, becoming a well-to-do farmer. To him and his wife were born six children, Mrs. Thornburg having two sisters, Sophronia and Elizabeth, and three brothers, Hamilton, Harvey and Arthur Leeka. GEORGE T. S. HELM, a substantial farmer and landowner of Perry township, residing on rural mail route No. 1 out of Selma, was born on the farm on which he is now living in section 19 of Perry township, October 19, 1865, and is a son of Peter A. and Elizabeth A. (Clevenger) Helm, the latter of whom was born in Nettle Creek township in the neighboring county of Randolph, a daughter of William and Mary Jane (Smithson) Clevenger, members of pioneer families in that county. William Clevenger was born in Ohio and was a son of John and Nancy Clevenger, early settlers in Randolph county. Mary Jane Smithson was born in this latter county, a daughter of George W. and Elizabeth (Thornburg) Smithson, who were among the real pioneers of that county. Peter A. Helm, a veteran of the Civil war and a former member of the board of county commissioners for Delaware county, was born in Perry township, on a pioneer farm in section 2 of that township, October 27, 1838, and was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Slick) Helm, who had come to Indiana from Pennsylvania and after a residence of two or three years in Wayne county had moved to Delaware county in 1836 and had established their home in Perry township, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Jacob Helm became the owner of about 300 acres of land and lived to be seventyone years of age. He and his wife had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, so that the Helm connection of this family in the present generation is a considerable one. The late Peter A. Helm was the sixth son and seventh child born to this parentage. He grew up' on the home farm in Perry township and was living there when the Civil war broke out. In the first year of that war he enlisted his services in behalf of the cause of the Union and went out with Company K of the 36th regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered in on September 16, 1861, and with this command he served until mustered out at the end of his three years term of service, Sep- 'tember 21, 1864. In the following December (1864) he married and settled down to farming, a vocation which he followed quite successfully the remainder of his life, coming to be the owner of more than 300 acres of land in Perry township. He died in 1917. Mr. Helm was a Republican and rendered public service in several different capacities. In the early '80s he served for some time as trustee of his home township, during the '90s served as township assessor and for two terms (1903-7) served as a member of the board of county commissioners for Delaware county. He was a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Windsor, an Odd Fellow and a Red Man and he and his wife were members of the Christian church. They had seven children, of whom five grew to maturity, the subject of this sketch and his four sisters, Mary Gilley Leora, Carrie Luella Josephine, Indiana Odie Blanche and Rebecca Jane Alverine. Reared on the home farm in Perry township, George T. S. Helm, better known among his friends as "Shad" Helm, received his schooling in the local schools and from the days of his boyhood was helpful in the labors of the farm. He married when twenty years of age and then began farming on his own account, making his home on a neighboring "forty" he had bought and there resided until after the death of his father, when he moved onto the old home farm, where he was born and where he since has resided. Mr. Helm has done well in his farming operations and is now the owner of a well improved place of 480 acres, 360 of which he is farming. He formerly had more than this but 135 acres of his holdings he disposed of as gifts to his children. Mr. Helm gives considerable attention tothe raising of hogs and feeds out around 300 head annually. In addition to his holdings here he owns a small tract of land in Manistee county, Florida, on which he has an orange grove and ten acres of which he devotes to celery culture, and for the past twelve years he and his wife have spent their winters there. Mr. and Mrs. Helm are members of the Philadelphia Christian church, the congregation of which Mr. Helm has served as a member of the board of trustees, and he also is a member of the Odd Fellow and Red Men lodges at Windsor. He and his family are Republicans and he has served as a member of the township advisory board. It was on November 21, 1885, that George T. S. Helm was united in marriage to Ella May Swingley, who had grown up in his home neighborhood, and to this union four daughters were born, all of whom are living save Neva, the others being Elizabeth Arvilla, Edith Blanche and Margaret Alice Marie, all of whom married. Elizabeth A. Helm married Pearl Meeks and has two children, Thelma and Martin. Edith B. Helm has been twice married and twice left a widow, her first husband having been Arnett Fletcher and her second, Findley Masterson. By her first marriage she has one child, a daughter, Elizabeth, and by her second, two sons, George and John Masterson. Margaret Helm married Clay Jordan and has one child, a son, William Sheridan Jordan. Mrs. Ella May Helm was born in the neighboring county of Randolph and was but a child when. she came to Delaware county with her parents, Caleb and Mary (Thompson) Swingley, the latter of whom is still living, now making her home in Muncie. The late Caleb Swingley was an Ohioan by birth. As a young man he came to Indiana and became a resident of Randolph county, where he lived some years after his marriage. He then moved with his family over into Delaware county and settled on a farm in section 35 of Perry township, where he spent the remainder of his life. Of the ten children born to him and his wife eight are still living, Mrs. Helm having three sisters, Florence, Minnie and India, and four brothers, William, Elmer, Albert and Hugh Swingley.

JOSEPH W. WATT, a substantial farmer and landowner of Liberty township, residing on the Smithfield pike, rural mail route No. 5 out of Muncie, was born on the farm on which he is now living, in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood, August 1, 1865, and is a son of John C. and Sarah J. (Williams) Watt, the latter of whom was born in that same township, a member of one of the real pioneer families of this county, and is still living with her children. The late John C. Watt, who died in 1916, was born in Champaign county, Ohio, and was twelve years of age when he came to Delaware county with his parents, Joseph H. and Emily Watt, the family settling in Center township, where the mother spent her last days. The last days of Joseph H. Watt were spent in the village of Albany. John C. Watt grew to manhood on the home farm in Center township and as a young man bought a farm in the Mt. Tabor neighborhood in Liberty township, the place on which his son Joseph is now living, and two years later married and established his home there. His original purchase there was of a tract of 135 acres and he added to this until he became the owner of 255 acres. To him and his wife were born four children, the subject of this sketch having three sisters, Luella J.. Mary V. and Frances E. Reared on the home farm in Liberty township, Joseph W. Watt received his schooling in the Mt. Tabor schoo! and from the days of his boyhood was helpful in the labors of developing the home farm. As the only son of the family he gradually succeeded his father in the management of the farm and after his marriage continued to make his home there, operating the farm on a rental basis, and was thus engaged for thirty years, or until after the death of his father when he bought the interests of the other heirs and has since been occupying the farm as proprietor, owner of a well improved place of 255 acres. Joseph W. Watt married Stella A. Cunningham, daughter of Benjamin G. and Clara Cun- ningham, members of pioneer families in this county, and to this union were born three children, Lloyd, who died at the age of nine years; Homer, who is farming in association with his father, and Mary, who is a member of the 1927 class of the Selma high school. Mr. and Mrs. Watt are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Selma and Mr. Watt is one of the class leaders of the congregation and a member of the board of trustees. Mrs. Waitt is a member of the congregation's official board and president of the missionary society. of the church, as well as a teacher in the Sunday school. She is the treasurer of the Liberty township local of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and is county superintendent of the antinarcotic department of that organization. Mrs. Watt was born in Perry township, where her mother, who was born in Monroe township, is still living. Her father, Benjamin G. Cunningham, was born in Perry township, where all his life was spent, a substantial farmer. Of 'the five children born to Benjamin G. Cunningham and wife three are still living, Mrs. Watt having two sisters, Nellie and Isca. Benjamin Cunningham's widow married William Phillips and to this latter union were born two children, Susie and Martha.

WILLIAM LAFAYETTE GILMORE, a substantial farmer and landowner of Perry township, residing on the New Burlington pike, rural mail route No. 2 out of Selma, was born in that township, April 20, 1862, and is a son of Thomas E. and Rebecca (Thornburg) Gilmore, the latter of whom was born in that same township, a member of the pioneer Thornburg family, early settlers in that part of the county. Thomas E. Gilmore was born in Ohio and came to this county when eighteen years of age. For some time after his marriage he made his home in Perry township and then moved to Randolph county, where he was engaged in farming for about twenty years, at the end of which time he disposed of his interests there and with his family moved to Dallas county, Iowa, where he bought a farm and where he spent the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born eleven children, of whom ten grew to maturity. Of these the subject of this sketch is the only one residing in Delaware county. William Lafayette Gilmore, more familiarly known to his friends as "Lafe," was but a child when his parents moved over into Randolph county and he grew up on the farm there, receiving his schooling in the schools of that county. He went with the family to Iowa and there, not long afterward, attained his majority, after which he returned to Delaware county and here began farming in association with his uncle and was thus engaged until his marriage five years later, when he established his home on a farm he meanwhile had bought over in Randolph county. Not long afterward, however, he disposed of his interests there and returned to Perry township, renting the farm on which he is now living, a part of the Cunningham estate, where his wife was born. Two years later Mr. Gilmore bought this farm, a well improved place of 215 acres, and has since resided here, engaged in general farming. Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore are Republicans and are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Burlington, Mr. Gilmore being a member of the board of trustees of that congregation. Mrs. Gilmore formerly was superintendent of the Sunday school of that congregation, also served for some time as president of the Epworth League and was for many years the president of the Ladies' Aid Society. It was on August 6, 1889, that William Lafayette Gilmore was-united in marriage to Bertha L. Cunningham, and to this union were born two daughters, Mabel Catherine, who died in her sixteenth year, and Juanita Rebecca, the latter of whom married Ralph H. Keesling and has two sons, Paul Eugene and Dale Gilmore Keesling. As noted above, Mrs. Bertha L. Gilmore was born on the farm on which she is now living. She is a daughter of Alexander B. and Martha Catherine (Hoopman) Cunningham, the latter of whom was born in Maryland, a daughter of the Rev. John and Eliza (Redman) Hoopman. The late Alexander B. Cunningham, who in his generation was one of the most substantial and progressive farmers and stockmen of Delaware county, was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1825, and was a son of Samuel and Julia (Boyd) Cunningham, both also natives of that state and the former of whom, a soldier of the War of 1812, was a son of a soldier of the Revolution. Samuel Cunningham became a resident of Delaware county in 1845 and here died a few years later at the age of seventy-one years. To him and his wife were born ten children and the continuing connection of this family in the present generation is a considerable one. Alexander B. Cunningham was about twenty-four years of age when he came to this county. He had been trained as a carpenter and for some time after coming here followed that trade and also for some time was engaged as a cabinet maker at Smithfield. He then became engaged in railroad work and was thus engaged for four years, at the end of which time he became engaged in mercantile business. Two years later he bought a considerable tract of land in this county and settled down to the development work which in time gave him one of the largest and best improved farms in Delaware county, and here he spent his last days, his death occurring in 1907. To Alexander B. Cunningham and wife were born three children, Mrs. Gilmore having had a sister, Eldora, who died in 1888, and a brother, Frank H. Cunningham. SCHUYLER C. CURRENT, a veteran railway mail clerk traveling out of Selma and formerly and for many years a teacher in the schools of Delaware county, has been a resident of this county since the days of his boyhood. Mr. Current was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Randolph on December 15, 1867, and is a son of John Wesley and Margaret (Norris) Current, the latter of whom was born in that section of Virginia which since the days of the Civil war has been comprised in West Virginia and was but a child when she came to Indiana with her parents, the Norris family settling in Jay county. The late John Wesley Current was born in Jay county, a son of George Washington Current, who was born in Virginia and who came to Indiana with his father, James Current, in 1836, the year in which Jay county was erected as a separate civic entity, and the Currents have ever since been prominently represented in this section of the state. John Wesley Current grew to manhood in Jay county and was there married. Shortly afterward he moved to a farm in Randolph county and in 1871 disposed of his interests there and came over into Delaware county and bought a farm of 120 acres in section 36 of Liberty township, of which he later sold a "forty,". established his home on that place and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on March 3, 1921. His widow survived hint less than two years, her death occurring on August 8, 1922. John W. Current was for some years during the middle '80s the trustee of Liberty township. To him and his wife were born four children, two of whom survive, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Anna E. Another sister, Olive, and a brother, William W. Current, are deceased. Schuyler C. Current was but three years of age when his parents moved from Randolph county into Delaware county and he grew to manhood on the home farm in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in the northeast corner of Liberty township. He early became a school teacher, beginning at the age of seventeen, in 1885, teaching in the district schools during the winters, and was for seventeen years thus engaged, fifteen years of this time being spent in teaching in the schools of Delaware county, meantime supplementing his local schooling by taking the teacher's course in Marion Normal College. He also for a short time attended DePauw University. In 1902 Mr. Current - gave up work in the school room and entered the railway mail service, running on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis road (the

Big Four), and has ever since been thus engaged, a period of more than twenty years, thus making him one of the veterans of the service on this division. He makes his home at Selma, where he has resided for many years. Mr. Current is a Republican and a Freemason and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He formerly was superintendent of the Sunday school of that congregation. Schuyler C. Current has been twice married. His first wife, Alice Hoover, who was born in this county, daughter of Adam B. and Miriam (Schooley) Hoover, died in May, 1908. To that union were born two children, a daughter, Maude, wife of Harry P. Lesh, now living at Clarksville, Tex., and a son, Hugh A. Current, who married Hazel Spaulding and is now living at Muncie. Mr. Current's present wife, Clara Brown, was born in Ohio and is a daughter of Robert and Anna Brown.

WILLIAM CHARLES BALL, one of the members of the Ball Brothers Company of Muncie, who died in the spring of 1921, had for a quarter of a century been a diligent and very energetic factor in the development of Muncie's industrial interests, an inspiring unit in that notable union of brothers whose activities in the glass industry have carried far the name of Ball and the fame of a Muncie product, as is set out elsewhere in this work, together with much interesting detail regarding the Ball family and the development of the Ball interests. The late William Charles Ball was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, August 13, 1852, and was fifteen years old when his parents moved with their family to Canandaigua, N. Y., where he received his schooling in the public schools and the Canandaigua Academy and began his commercial career. They were five Ball brothers and they have held together in all their commercial and industrial enterprises. After their father's death they located at Buffalo, where they became engaged in the manufacture of sheet metal specialties, to which industry they added the manufacture of glass. It was the development of this latter department of their industry which later brought them to Muncie. When the value of natural gas became apparent in the late '80s Ball Brothers were attracted to the possibilities of this important fuel for glass making and in 1887 they located a glass plant in Muncie which through the years since then has been developed into the greatest manufactory of glass jars in the world. While the interests of Ball Brothers were gradually being withdrawn from Buffalo and established at Muncie, William C. Ball remained in Buffalo to close out the affairs of the Company there, and in 1897 he moved with his family to Muncie to take his part in the local operation with whose interests he had been identified from its inception. And here he spent the remainder of his life, a valued factor in the promotion of the best phases of communal civic development, his death occuring, after a brief illness, on April 30, 1921, and at his passing Muncie lost a highly esteemed citizen and he left a good memory and a host. of friends. Mr. Ball is survived by his widow, Mrs. Emma Wood Ball, and by his son, William H. Ball, both of whom are still living here, the former continuing to make her home on beautiful Minnetrista boulevard. William H. Ball, a veteran of the World war, is connected with the operations of the Ball Brothers Company, as is set out elsewhere. William C. Ball was secretary of Ball Brothers Company and was a director of the Muncie and Portland Traction Company, the Indianapolis, New Castle & Eastern Traction Company, the Merchants National Bank and Hillsdale College. He was a past eminent commander, Knights Templar, a 32d degree (Scottish Rite) Mason, a member of the Universalist church and superintendent of the Sunday school.

JOHN FOORMAN, a retired grocer of Eaton, is a native of the old Buckeye state, but has been a resident of Indiana and of Delaware county for many years. Mr. Foorman was born on a farm seven miles west of Springfield, in Clark county, Ohio, in 1846, and is a son of Frederick and Sarah (Newcomber) Foorman, the latter of whom was born in York county, Pennsylvania. Frederick Foorman was born in the western part of Maryland and early settled in Clark county, Ohio. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, a daughter, Mary Alice, and eight sons, those besides the subject of this sketch being Noah, David, William, Adam, Amos, Henry and Eli. The three elder of these sons, Noah, David and William Foorman, who became residents of Delaware county, served as soldiers of the Union during the Civil war and David Foorman died as the result of wounds received in battle. Adam Foorman also became a resident of this county. Noah Foorman lived here for some years and then moved to Illinois. John Foorman early became a railroader and was thus engaged for some years, at the end of which time he became engaged in the grocery and retail meat business at Eaton and was thus engaged until his retirement in 1915, since which time he has been "taking things easy," he and his wife continuing to make their home at Eaton, where they have resided for many years. Mrs. Foorman (Leah Reynolds) is a daughter of Joseph and Hannah Reynolds and a member of the pioneer Reynolds family in this county. Mr. Foorman is a Freemason of many years standing.

WILLIAM CLARKE SWANDER, a substantial farmer and landowner of Liberty township, now living retired at Selma, is a native son of Delaware county and has lived here all his life. Mr. Swander was born on a pioneer farm in Delaware township on August 5, 1859, and is a son of George and Effie (Brook) Swander, the latter of whom was born in Ohio. George Swander, a Pennsylvanian by birth, became a resident of Ohio during the days of his young manhood and in Fairfield county, that state, married Effie Brook. Not long afterward, in 1859, he came over into Indiana and bought a tract of 100 acres of land in Delaware township, this county, where he established his home and spent the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born twelve children, nine of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having six sisters, Josephine, Emma, Louise, Clara, Lillie and Margaret, and two brothers, H. B. and Henry Swander. The deceased members of this family are Oscar, Matilda and Mary Belle. Reared on the home farm in Delaware township, William Clarke Swander received his schooling in the old Hickory Grove school and remained on the home farm until his marriage when he rented a farm in Liberty township. There he made his home for five years, at the end of which time he returned to Delaware township and bought a farm of eighty acres on the county line two miles east of the old home place. There he lived for some years and then sold that eighty and returned to Liberty township, where he bought a tract of forty-eight acres and was living there when the oil "boom" came on. Mr. Swander's land was advantageously situated with respect to the local oil field and until that pool was worked out he had no fewer than twelve producing wells on his place. Part of the profits of this operation in oil were put into land until he came to be the owner of 240 acres in Liberty township, which he still owns and on which he was engaged in farming until his retirement in 1919 and removal to Selma, where he is now living. Mr. Swander is a Republican and has rendered public service as a member of the township advisory board. He and his family are members of the Selma Methodist Episcopal church and he has served as class leader, steward and superintendent of the Sunday school of that congregation, still keeping up a class in the Sunday school. Mr. Swander has been twice married. His first wife, Eliza A. Hirons, died in 1890. She was the mother of four children, Earl A., Nina M., Mark, who died in infancy, and Chester B. By his second wife, Edith E. Orr, a member of the pioneer Orr family of this county, Mr. Swander has two sons, Fred D. and Kenneth D. Swander. All these children are married and have children of their own, Mr. Swander thus having sixteen grandchildren. Earl A. Swander, a former school teacher, married Myrtle Cowgill and has three children, Mildred, Edith and Francis Earl. Nina M. Swander married Firman Pittenger and has six children, Ethelyn, Virginia, Irene, Joseph, Carroll and Mary Alice. Carl, another of her children, died in January, 1924. Chester B. Swander, who was graduated in chemistry from Purdue University and is now a steel tester on the chemical staff of the Wagoner Company at St. Louis, married Elsie Steindorf and has had two children, John and William C., the last named of whom died in September, 1923. Fred D. Swander married Ruth Bullock and has two children, Wesley D. and June Ellen, and Kenneth D. Swander married Fay Meyers and has two children, Sarah K. and Kenneth, Jr.

FREDERICK JOHN LESH, president and general manager of the Hoosier Clutch Company of Muncie, manufacturers of friction clutches for automotive machinery, is a native Hoosier and has been identified with the industrial interests of Muncie for nearly a quarter of acentury. Mr. Lesh was born at Madison, Ind., February 16, 1878, and is a son of Peter and Barbara (Schneider) Lesh, the latter of whom also was born in Indiana, of German descent, and is still living. The late Peter Lesh was born in Kentucky, also of German descent, and from the days of his boyhood had been interested in the woodworking industries, becoming a manufacturer of vehicle spokes at Madison, where for some time after his marriage he made his home, later engaging in business at Union City, Tenn., whence presently he moved to Louisville, Ky., then back to Union City, then to Fulton, Ky., and later at Jackson and Memphis, Tenn. To him and his wife were born three children, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Edna, and a brother, Henry Hernando Lesh. Frederick John Lesh completed his public schooling at Jackson, Tenn., and then took a year of instruction in a business college, specializing in stenography and book keeping and general industrial office detail. In 1899, he then being twenty-one years of age, Mr. Lesh was made assistant secretary of the Weis & Lesh Manufacturing Company, with headquarters at Muncie, and has ever since made his home in that city. For seventeen years he continued thus engaged, or until in 1916, when he promoted the organization of the Hoosier Clutch Company to take over the affairs of the old B. T. K. Gear and Engine Company of Muncie and was made president of the company, a position he since has occupied, general manager of the company's growing interests. This concern, which has a well equipped manufacturing plant in South

Elliott street, is thus one of the oldest continuing industrial concerns in Muncie, having been organized about twenty years ago by Hugh Warner, the inventor and patentee of the first practical automobile - differentials. Since taking over the old engine works the Hoosier Clutch Company has confined its operations exclusively to the manufacture of friction clutches for automotive machinery and when operating at maximum capacity employs about 200 persons. Clarence G. Wood, concerning whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work, is vice president and secretary of the company. Mr. Lesh is vice president of the Delaware Country Club and is also a member of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce and of the Rotary Club. He is a 32d degree (Scottish Rite) and Knight Templar Mason and a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and is affiliated with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1908 Frederick John Lesh was united in marriage to Ethel Louise Busch and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Frances Barbara.

IRVIN B. ALLEN, proprietor of a sheet metal shop and dealer in furnaces at Muncie and one of the veterans in that line in this part of the state, was born at South Bend, Ind., March 17, 1867, and is a son of William and Cynthia (Warner) Allen, the former of whom, a fresco artist, was a native of New York state. Upon finishing his school days Irvin B. Allen started on an apprenticeship to the tinner's trade at Bristol, in Elkhart county, and worked there for two years, at the end of which time he went West and at different places in Kansas was engaged working at that trade, also for some time working on the construction of the Missouri Pacific railroad, and remained West until he was about twenty-five years of age, when he returned to Indiana and in 1892 located at Eaton, in this county, where he began working for Younts & Mansfield. That was in the days of the gas "boom" hereabout and work was plentiful. In the next year he went to Hartford City, but after a short stay there returned to Eaton and put in a shop of his own. Not long afterward, however, he disposed of that place and went to Montpelier, thence back to Hartford City and from there to Marion, and then in 1900 went to Milroy, down in Rush county. Mr. Allen remained at Milroy until in 1914 when he disposed of his interests there and returned to Delaware county, locating at Muncie, and became engaged working on public buildings throughout this part of the state, doing the sheet metal work and installing heating plants. In 1917 he established a shop of his own at Muncie and has since then been in business here, his first shop having.

been at 425 East Main street. In September, 1922, he sold that shop and moved to his present quarters at 1109 East Main street, where he is now operating and where he is well equipped for all local demands in his line, with particular reference to roofing and furnace installations. Mr. Allen married Maude Blair, daughter of William A. Blair, and has three children, Bernice, Lois and Myron. The Allens reside at 419 West Howard street.

ROBERT H. MEEKS, a substantial farmer and landowner of Center township, residing on the Bethel pike, rural mail route No. 1 out of Muncie, was born at Muncie on November 4, 1883, and is a son of James W. and Lucy (Hummel) Meeks, the latter of whom, born at Connersville, Ind., was but a child when she came to this county with her parents, Joseph and Mary Hummel, and is still living at Muncie, residing at 425 East Gilbert street. The late James W. Meeks was born at Muncie, December 14, 1848, and was a son of Robert and Sarah (Jones) Meeks, the latter of whom was a daughter of Jacob and Beersheba Jones. Robert Meeks was for many years engaged in the furniture business at Muncie and further and fitting mention of him is made elsewhere in this work. James W. Meeks was graduated from the Muncie high school in 1870 and in the next year became a member of the firm of R. & I. Meeks & Co. taking the position of superintendent of the furniture factory and was thus engaged until that pioneer plant was destroyed by fire in 1890. The factory was not rebuilt, but the retail establishment and undertaking business was continued and James W. Meeks became head of the furniture department, the business being carried on under the firm name of R. Meeks & Sons, and he continued active in business. His death occurred at Muncie in 1913. James W. Meeks had other business interests in Muncie, was one of the incorporators of the Merchants National Bank of that city and a member of the board of directors of the same. He was for years a steward of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church and was active in the work of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It was in 1876 that James W. Meeks was united in marriage to Lucy Hummel. To that union were born three children, all of whom are living, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Amelia, wife of Oliver J. Campbell, and Sarah, wife of Alfred C. Danks. Reared at Muncie, Robert H. Meeks received his schooling in the schools of that city and upon leaving the high school became connected with the affairs of the Meeks furniture store and undertaking establishment on Main street, and was thus connected until in 1908, when he moved to Rolla, Mo., and there became engaged in farming. About eighteen months later he disposed of his interests in that state and late in the summer of 1909 returned to Muncie and bought the farm of eighty acres on the Bethel pike in Center township, where he ever since has resided. Since taking possession of this _ place Mr. Meeks has erected an entire new set of buildings and has otherwise improved the farm in up-to-date fashion, his farm operations being carried on in accordance with modern standards. Mr. Meeks is a member of Welcome lodge, No. 37, Knights of Pythias, at Muncie; is also affiliated with the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he and his wife are members of the Universalist church. They are Republicans. In 1902 Robert H. Meeks was united in marriage to Etta Payton, daughter of Dr. Lewis and Agnes (Beall) Payton, of Muncie, and to this union six children have been born, namely: Ralph P., born in 1903; R. Milton, 1909; Mary Helen, 1915, now deceased; Nancy Edith, 1918, and Mary Janet and Martha Julia (twins), 1928. Mrs. Meeks also is a member of one of the pioneer families of Delaware county. Her father, Dr. Lewis Payton, who is still practicing medicine at Muncie, is a son of Gabriel Payton, who was one of the pioneers of this county.

MARION A. CUNNINGHAM, a former member of the board of county commissioners, a former trustee of Perry township and a substantial landowner of that township, now living retired at Selma, where he has made his home for nearly twenty years, is a native son of Delaware county and a member of one of the pioneer families here. Mr. Cunningham was born on a farm in Perry township on October 6, 1854, and is a son of Benjamin G. and Mary (Rees) Cunningham, the latter of whom was born in that same township, a daughter of Lewis Rees, one of the first associate judges of Delaware county, as is set out elsewhere in this work, and who was one of the first settlers of what now is Delaware county, he having established his home in the valley of White river in the northwest corner of Perry township in 1822, five years before Delaware county was organized. Benjamin G. Cunningham was born in Pennsylvania, August 28, 1811, and was twenty-five years of age when, in 1836, he came to Indiana and became a factor in the development of Delaware county. After his marriage to Mary Rees he established his home on a farm in Perry township and there continued farming the rest of his life, coming in time to be the owner of nearly 800 acres of land, his death occurring in 1861. He and his wife were the parents of six children, all of whom are living save two, Benjamin and Lewis, the subject of this

- Stephen B. Cunningham. Reared on the home farm in Perry township, Marion A. Cunningham supplemented the schooling received in the local schools and in the high school at Muncie by a course in the old normal college at Valparaiso, Ind., and then gave his attention to the interests of the farm, farming in his mother's behalf, and was thus engaged until his marriage in 1881, when he established his home on the place he still owns in that. township, having bought there a tract of 210 acres, and on that place he created one of the best farm plants in that part of the county. Mr. Cunningham continued actively engaged in farming and stock raising until his retirement, in 1905, and removal to Selma, where he since has made his home, his son, Nelson Cunningham, now looking after the affairs of the farm. Mr. Cunningham is a Republican and has rendered public service in several capacities. For two terms, back in the '80s, he served as 'trustee of Perry township, and in 1891 was elected to the board of county commissioners and by re-election served for two terms in that office. He is a York Rite Mason, affiliated with the blue lodge (Whitney, No. 229) at New Burlington, of which lodge his father was a charter member, and with the commandery (Knights Templar) at Muncie, as well as with the council, Royal and Select Masters, at Muncie. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Selma and he is one of the trustees of that congregation. It was in 1881 that Marion A. Cunningham was united in marriage to Anna Jump, and to this union five children were born, Fannie, Ethel, Manie, and Neva and Nelson (twins). Fannie Cunningham married Ole Hennison and has one child, a son, Ole. Manie Cunningham married Frank Wright and has two children, Dale and Lucile, and Nelson Cunningham, who is now operating the home farm, married Blanche Shoemaker and has one child, a son, Gene. Mrs. Anna Cunningham is a daughter of Dr. Samuel V. and Rebecca (Cecil) Jump, the latter of whom was a daughter of Aaron Cecil, who settled in Perry township in 1831. Dr. Samuel V. Jump, who for many years was recognized as one of the leading medical practitioners in Delaware county, former postmaster at New Burlington and a representative in the Legislature from this district in the late '60s, was born in the state of Delaware but was reared in Wayne county, this state. Upon the completion of his medical studies in Cincinnati in 1848 he came to Delaware county and established himself in practice at New Burlington, where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on August 13, 1887. Mrs. Cunningham's mother died in 1870.

E. ARTHUR BALL, assistant treasurer of the Ball Brothers Company of Muncie, and present commander of the Indiana Department, American Legion, was born at Muncie on December 10, 1894, and is a son of Frank C. Ball, concerning whom further mention is. made elsewhere in this work. E. Arthur Ball was reared in Muncie. After two years of high school work, he entered the Taft School at Watertown, Conn., and after four years of preparatory study there, entered Yale University and was thus in attendance in this latter institution when this country engaged in the World war in the spring of 1917. Returning to Indiana, he entered the first Officers Training Camp at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, and was given a commission as second lieutenant. Thus commissioned, he was assigned to the 42d (Rainbow) Division of the army being assembled at Camp Mills (New York) and as an officer of the 151st Field Artillery of that division sailed for overseas service on October 17, 1917. He was later transferred to the 117th Ammunition Train of the same division. The brilliant record of the 42d Division in its participation in four of the major operations of the war, in Lorraine, in the Champagne region, in the Marne defensive and offensive, St. Mihiel, and in the Meuse-Argonne campaign, with the decisive effects of these operations, and of the later participation in the operations of the Army of Occupation on the Rhine, is a matter of history. In October, 1918, Mr. Ball was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. With his command he left Europe on April 19, 1919, and in the following month was mustered out at Camp Zachary Taylor (Kentucky). Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Ball returned to Muncie and has since been giving his attention to the affairs of the great glass manufacturing plant operated there by his father and uncles, and is now assistant treasurer of the company. When Delaware Post, No. 19, of the American Legion was organized at Muncie in the fall of 1919 Mr. Ball was elected treasurer of that organization and later became commander of the post, which position he occupied at the time of his election in the summer of 1923 to the post of commander of the Indiana Department of the American Legion, an honor conferred upon him by the unanimous vote of the Indiana legionnaires, and to which responsible post he brings, as one of the newspapers said, "a knowledge of military affairs gained on the field of action." In 1921 and 1922 Mr. Ball occupied a position on the staff of the 76th Infantry Brigade, Indiana National Guard, with the rank of captain, and in 1923 was assigned to the staff of the 38th Division, with rank of lieutenant colonel, which position he still holds. Mr. Ball is a Scottish