Delaware County, Indiana - Sidelights on Local History, 1924 (part 7 of 21)

CHARLES L. BENDER, head of The Bender Company, realtors at Muncie, and a veteran retired clothing merchant of that city, is a native son of Delaware county and has lived here practically all his life, a resident of Muncie for nearly fifty years. Mr. Bender was born in the village of Yorktown on September 27, 1855, and is a son of John W. and Gertrude (Simons) Bender, both of whom were of European birth. The late John W. Bender was born in the ancient city of Strausbourg, the old capital of the French department of the Bas-Rhin (Alsace-Lorraine), where he lived until he was eighteen years of age when, in 1850, he came to the United States and became employed as a shoemaker at Philadelphia. Two years later (in 1852) he came to Indiana and in that same year, at Hagerstown, in Wayne county, he married Gertrude Simons, also an Alsatian. Not long afterward he came to Delaware county and became engaged as a tanner at Yorktown. Some years later he moved to the neighboring village of Daleville, where he opened a tannery and also carried on shoemaking, and there lived for many years, or until his retirement from active labors. He lived to be past ninety years of age, his death occurring on March 29, 1923. To John W. Bender and wife were born nine children, four sons and five daughters. Charles L. Bender, the second of these sons, received his schooling at Daleville and early became a painter, with particular reference to carriage painting and frescoing, and was for some time thus employed, a part of this time working at Indianapolis. He then became employed as a clerk in a general store at Daleville and thus started on a commercial career that was to prove quite successful. Mr. Bender remained at Daleville until in 1877, when he came to Muncie and was for a short time engaged: as a clerk in the Kirby House. He then went to Anderson, an attractive clerkship having been offered him there, but in the spring of 1880 returned to Muncie and became employed asa clerk in the old Globe clothing store, at that time being carried on by Parker & Powell on East Main street. In 1881 this store was bought by James Boyce and others and Mr. Bender was installed as manager of the same. Two years later J. P. Shoemaker, the grain merchant, aided him in the purchase of the Globe store under a partnership arrangement which continued for five years, at the end of which time Mr. Bender took over the business which he thereafter carried on under the name of C. L. Bender & Company, and he thus was engaged in the clothing business at Muncie until in 1907, when he sold his store. For the next five years he was associated in various ways with the clothing business and in 1912 organized the Feeny Manufacturing Company and became sales manager of that concern. In 1918 he disposed of this interest and has since been engaged in the general real estate business at Muncie, head of The Bender Company, realtors, operating in association with his son, Charles V. Bender, with offices at 414 the Wysor building. Mr. Bender was one of the organizers of the Peoples Home and Savings Company of Muncie, an old established building and loan association, and has been a member of the directorate of that institution since its organization. He is a Republican and is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife are members of the Jackson Street Christian (Disciples) church. On May 19, 1880, not long after taking up his permanent residence at Muncie, Charles L. Bender was united in marriage to Isabel Gray, daughter of James M. and Elizabeth (Shoemaker) Gray and a member of one of the old families of Delaware county. Mr. and Mrs. Bender have one son, Charles V. Bender, secretary-treasurer of The Bender Company. They reside at 714 East Main street, which has ' been their home for many years. Mrs. Bender's father, James M. Gray, who for more than a quarter of a century was engaged in mercantile business at Daleville, later moving to Anderson where he became engaged in the sale of buggies and carriages, was a Tennesseean by birth. As a youth he became a resident of Ohio and then came over into Indiana and became one of the pioneers in Salem township, this county, where he married Elizabeth Shoemaker, a member of the pioneer John Shoemaker family, Pennsylvanians, who settled in the Richwoods district in Salem township in the '30s of the past century, and became influential factors in the social development of that section.

EVERETT MOFFITT, an established realtor and insurance underwriter at Muncie and a member of the firm of Moffitt & Piepho, funeral directors of that city, is a native Hoosier, of pioneer stock, and has lived in this state practically all his life, a resident of Muncie for more than thirty years. Mr. Moffitt was born at Thorntown, in Boone county, Indiana, July 23, 1864, and is a son of Joshua and Martha W. (Hiatt) Moffitt, the latter of whom was born in the village of Milton, in Wayne county, daughter of a Quaker minister who had settled there upon coming into Indiana from North Carolina. Joshua Moffitt, former president of the First National Bank of Thorntown and otherwise connected with the commercial interests of that town, as well as being a considerable landowner in Boone county, was born in Randolph county, North Carolina, and was but a lad when he came to Indiana with his parents in 1840, the family settling in Boone county. The Moffitts are of Scottish stock out of the north of Ireland and have been represented in this country since Colonial days. For some years during his young manhood Joshua Moffitt was engaged in teaching school. He became the proprietor of a good farm in the Thorntown neighborhood, also became connected with the commercial and industrial activities of the village and for years served as president of the First National Bank of Thorntown and was thus active in business until his death in 1888. His wife had predeceased him some years, her death having occurred in 1880. Reared on the home farm in the immediate vicinity of Thorntown, Everett Moffitt received his schooling in the schools of that village and in the old Sugar Plain Quaker school and upon leaving school went to Minneapolis, Minn., where he became engaged in the real estate business in association with his uncle. He was thus connected until the death of his father recalled him to Indiana to look after the interests of the home farm and he ever since has remained in this state. For some time Mr. Moffitt was connected with the carriage and buggy business at Thorntown and then in 1892, following the beginning of Muncie's ''new era," consequent on the opening of the natural gas field, he came to Muncie and in association with S. L. Potter bought out the established undertaking establishment of An- derson & Murray, which they carried on under the firm name of Potter & Moffitt for some time. It was this firm, Potter & Moffitt, that brought to Muncie in 1892 the first ambulance used: in that city. Mr. Moffitt then bought the McMillan furniture store and was thus engaged in business until in 1902 when, on account of the illness of his sister, Mrs: Bertha Graves, he sold his interest in this store to C. E. Whitehill. He remained with his sister until her death in the following year and then took up oil development work. In 1907 he became engaged in the general real estate and insurance business at Muncie and has since been thus engaged, with present offices at 203-5 the Wysor building. He also is a partner in the firm of Moffit & Piepho, funeral directors, at the corner of Charles and Jefferson streets, and has other business connections, including a place on the directorates of the Mutual Home Savings Association and the Citizens Finance Association. Mr. Moffit is a Republican and is a member of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce and of the Rotary Club. Heisa Scottish Rite (82°) Mason and is a charter member and a past exalted ruler of the local lodge (No. 245) of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On December 14, 1895, Everett Moffitt was united in marriage to Margaret Mueller, who was born at Muncie, a daughter of Peter and Julia (Huber) Mueller, and he and his wife have two sons, Robert and William Moffitt. The Moffitts reside at 406 South High street.

BENJAMIN F. MOORE, nebentii of education in the Eastern Division of the Indiana State Normal School at Muncie, former superintendent of the Muncie city schools and present head of the board of the Muncie public library, is a native Hoosier, a fact of which he never has ceased to be proud. He has lived in this state all his life and has been a resident of Muncie for the past fifteen years or more. Professor Moore was born in the year 1858, on a farm which lies along the banks of the beautiful Tippecanoe river, in the northern part of White county and across the river from the pleasant village of Buffalo. He is a son of Thomas B. and Louisa (Paul) Moore, both of whom were born in Morgan county, Ohio, the latter a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Harding) Paul. The Hardings of this family were New Jersey folk and were of the same family as that of the late Warren G. Harding, twenty-ninth president of the United States. Three of Mrs. Louisa Moore's brothers, Judson, Joseph and William Paul, were soldiers of the Union during the time of the Civil war. Joseph Paul was killed in battle. Thomas B. Moore was a son of Thomas and Maria (Lupartis) Moore. The father of Thomas Moore was a minister of the Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania and in Perry county, Ohio, and a soldier in the patriot army during the time of the American Revolution. Born in Morgan county, Ohio, Thomas B. Moore became a farmer by choice. In 1853, following his marriage, he came over into Indiana and settled on a farm lying along the banks of the Tippecanoe river in the upper part of White county. There he established his home, developed a fine farm and spent the remainder of his life, living to a ripe old age. He was a man whose influence for good throughout that community persists to this day. For some time after locating there he occupied his winters in teaching the neighborhood school. He also served for many years as justice of the peace in and for his home township (Liberty) and in other ways rendered well his part in the development of the social and civic life of the community in which he and his wife were pioneers, for at the time they settled there, that part of White county was still in its pioneer stage. To Thomas B. and Louisa (Paul) Moore were born five children, Professor Moore (the second in order of birth) having two sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Kitchen and Mrs. R. A. Renwick, both of Monticello, and two brothers, John and Joseph T. Moore. Reared on the home farm in-White county, Benjamin F. Moore supplemented the schooling received in the neighborhood school and the fine home teaching received under the preceptorship of his father and mother with the course in the Monticello high school. He then entered the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute for further preparation for the teaching service to which he early devoted himself. After a period of service in the local schools of his home county he was made superintendent of the Monticello schools. There he laid the foundation for later service which made him one of the best known school superintendents in Indiana. From Monticello he was called to take the superintendency of the schools at Frankfort and from this latter post he was called to Marion. There he remained as superintendent of schools until 1908, in which year the Muncie school board secured his services as superintendent of the Muncie city schools. For ten years Professor Moore continued in this responsible post, rendering a service which will ever be reflected in the high standards maintained in these schools. Then, in 1918, when the state took over the - old normal school at Muncie and established the Eastern Division of the Indiana State Normal School, he was called to take the chair of Education in that institution and has since been rendering service to the state in that important connection. In 1912 Professor Moore secured the degree of Master of Arts from Columbia University, and he also holds a similar degree from Teachers' College, New York city. In addition to his school work, Professor Moore has for years given close attention to the promotion of the interests of the Muncie public library, being the present president of the library board. He is a Knight Templar Mason, and is also affiliated with the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen. On September 10, 1889, Prof. Benjamin F. Moore was united in marriage to Estelle M. Coen, of Monticello, daughter of James S. and Eliza (Hosler) Coen. To this union two children have been born. A son, Thomas B. Moore, is a farmer and a veteran of the World war, and a daughter, Helen, is the wife of Lea A. Sturgeon. Professor and Mrs. Moore are members of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church. They reside at 319 West Adams street.

CHARLES G. ROUSH, principal of the Harrison School at Muncie, has been at the head of that school for nearly ten years and is thus occupying a definite place in the school life of the city. Mr. Roush is a native Hoosier, born on a farm in Newton county, Indiana, February 22, 1880, and is a son of John Edward and Ann Eliza (Kight) Roush, the latter of whom was born in Missouri. The late John Edward Roush was born in Illinois and was engaged in farming all his active life, the owner of an excellent farm in Newton county at the time of his death. Of the five children born to him and his wife three are still living, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Nettie, and a brother, Joseph Roush. Reared on the home farm in Newton county, Charles G. Roush received his early schooling in the schools of that county and as a mere boy began to teach school. Upon the completion of his first term of school he entered Valparaiso University and after a year there resumed teaching and continued thus engaged, meanwhile farming during the summers, until in 1904, when he entered the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. In 1907 Mr. Roush was graduated from that institution and was elected principal of the Central school at Alexandria, Ind., where he remained for several years and then transferred his services to the LaPorte (Ind.) schools. When the Muncie school board in 1915 was making up its teaching staff for the ensuing term Mr. Roush was © appointed principal of the Harrison school and in July of that year he moved from LaPorte to Muncie and has ever since resided here, continuing to preside over the affairs of the Harrison school, where he has fifteen teachers and four hundred pupils under his direction. Meanwhile Mr. Roush has taken post-graduate work at Indiana Uni- versity, in addition to general extension work, and keeps fully abreast of all advances in modern educational methods. He is a Republican, is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1909 Charles G. Roush was united in marriage to Gertrude Monroe, daughter of George and Mary Monroe, of Alexandria, Ind., and to this union three children have been born, Alma, Maurice and Charles Edward. The Roushes reside at 724 North Mulberry. street.

J. M. STETTER, president of the Muncie Cap and Set Screw Company of Muncie, is a native of the old Buckeye state but has been a resident of Indiana and of Muncie for the past thirty years and more and has thus been associated with the industrial development of Muncie almost from the beginning of that remarkable era of expansion which followed the opening of the natural gas field hereabout. Mr. Stetter was born in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, and is a son of John C. and Barbara (Egler) Stetter, the former of whom was an expert marble cutter and sculptor who later became substantially established as a dealer in marble and granite at Mansfield, Ohio. He and his wife had two sons, the subject of this sketch having a brother, Charles E. Stetter, who is engaged in the wholesale plumbing business at Cincinnati. Upon the completion of his schooling in the common schools, J. M. Stetter applied himself to the study of mechanical engineering and became thoroughly qualified along that technical line, a line to which he ever since has devoted his attention. In 1893 he came to Muncie as the superintendent of a nut and bolt factory that was started here at that time and later became superintendent of the plant of the old Republic Iron and Steel Company. In 1917 he promoted the organization of the Muncie Cap and Set Screw Company for the manufacture of cap screws and special screws, and was elected president of the company, which executive position he since has occupied. This now well established manufacturing concern was started in a modest way in a small factory building and has gradually grown into its present extensive quarters at Willard street and Hoyt avenue. The World war came on just about the time this factory was established and during the period of this country's participation in the war the work of the plant was practically wholly devoted to war work. The plant now employs sixtyfive men, has a capacity of 150,000 pieces daily and its products are distributed in a wide market, thus helping to carry far the fame of "Greater Muncie." Mr. Stetter has ever given proper attention to local civic affairs and has rendered public service as a member of the board of park commissioners. He is a Freemason and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. J. M. Stetter married Ivy B. Morris, daughter of George Morris, of Muncie, and has five children, George C., Bertha, Arthur, Mary and John. The eldest son, George C. Stetter, a veteran of the World war, was graduated from the mechanical engineering school of Purdue University.and is the secretary-treasurer of the Muncie Cap and Set Screw Company. He married Catherine Johnson and resides at 704 East Main street. J. M. Stetter and family reside at 1523 South Jefferson street. FREDERICK F. McCLELLAN, a member of the bar of the Delaware circuit court and present county attorney and president of the city school board, is a native son of Delaware county and has lived here all his life. Mr. McClellan was born on a farm in Center township on August 12, 1875, and is a son of Frederick H. and Mary F. (Jewett) McClellan, the latter of whom is still living. Frederick Harrison McClellan was born at Cedarville, Ohio, and was about five years of age when his parents, James and Harriet (Beemer) McClellan, came with their family over into Indiana and in 1845 settled on a farm in the northwest part of Center township, this county, where they established their home and spent the remainder of their lives. James McClellan was a son of William A. McClellan, who was born in Kentucky in 1780, a son of Benjamin McClellan, a Scottish immigrant who had migrated from Virginia into Kentucky when settlers were first beginning to venture into that "dark and bloody ground." William A. McClellan grew to manhood in Kentucky, where he married Kate Creswell and remained until in 1816, when he moved with his family, then consisting of three children, up into Ohio and settled in the Cedarville neighborhood in Greene county. He had been well schooled in his youth and after taking up his residence at Cedarville spent his winters for some years in teaching school. His last days were spent in Greene county, where he lived to be past eighty-three years of age, his death occurring in 1863. James McClellan, one of his sons, was born in Greene county on December 5, 1817, and grew to manhood on the home farm. In 1836 he married Harriet Beemer and then became engaged with his father-in-law, Frederick Beemer, in the operation of a sawmill at Cedarville, where he remained until his removal with his family to this county in February, 1845. He and his wife were the parents of nine children, those besides Frederick Harrison McClellan being the late Capt. William A. McClellan of Company D, '84th Indiana infantry regiment; Frank, who also served as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war, 9th Indiana cavalry; James M., who died in the service of the Federal government; Charles A., who is still living; George, deceased; Julia F., deceased; Kate B., who died in infancy, and McHenry A., deceased. As stated above, Frederick Harrison McClellan was about five years of age when he came to Delaware county with his parents. He grew to manhood on the farm in Center township and during the time of the Civil war rendered service as a private in Company E of the 110th regiment, Indiana Infantry. After his marriage to Mary F. Jewett he settled down on a farm in Hamilton township and there died in 1875, leaving his widow with three children, those besides the subject of this sketch - then but an infant - being Grace E., wife of Dr. U. G. Poland, of Muncie, and Harriet J. McClellan, a teacher in the city schools of Dallas, Texas. Frederick F. McClelland was reared on the home farm and was graduated from the Muncie high school, after which he began teaching school and was for nine years thus engaged, employing his winters at teaching and in the meantime carrying on preliminary studies with the view to adopting the law as a profession, and in 1898 was admitted to the bar. He then entered the law school of Georgetown University at Washington, D. C., and in 1904 was graduated from that institution and took up the active practice of law at Muncie, where he has continued, now senior member of the law firm of McClellan, Hensen & Guthrie, with offices at 12314 West Main street. Mr. McClellan is a Republican and has rendered public service as a member of the board of public works of the city of Muncie, as city attorney, as county attorney, and now is president of the school board of Muncie. In 1907 Frederick F. McClellan was united in marriage to Martha Corbett, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., and to this union have been. born five children, Corbett, Sidney, John, Mary Elizabeth and Frederick. Mr. and Mrs. McClellan are members of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church and he is a York Rite (Knights Templar) and Scottish Rite (32°) Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. McClellan's mother was born in Muncie on August 23, 1848, and is a daughter of Jeremiah Jewett, a native of Highgate, Vt., who came here from New York in 1838 with his wife, who was a Kreissler of New York city, and set himself up as a timberman. He also opened up a limestone quarry on the north bank of the river, of what is now Elm street, and burned the first kiln of lime used in the then new settlement and in other substantial ways made himself a useful and influential citizen of the community in pioneer days.

ROY SIPE, proprietor of the Charles Street Meat Market, Muncie, has been a resident of that city since the days of his boyhood and has been engaged in business on his own account there for the past ten years and more. Mr. Sipe was born at Union City, Ind., in 1883, and is a son of Thomas J. and Mahala E. (Mansfield) Sipe, who became residents of Muncie in 1896. Thomas J. Sipe was born in the state of Pennsylvania. It will be noted by a comparison of these dates that Roy Sipe was thirteen years of age when he came with his parents to Muncie in 1896. He completed his schooling in the Muncie schools and then became employed in the Snodgrass grocery, where he remained until in 1918, when he became engaged in business on his own account and has since been thus engaged, proprietor of his present popular meat market at 121 West Charles street, where he has done well in business. Mr. Sipe is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and of the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In 1908 Roy Sipe was united in marriage to Stella Bryant, daughter of Marshall and Harriet (Leonard) Bryant, of Muncie, and to this union three children have been born, Harold, George W., and Marshall. The Sipes reside at 721 West Willard street.

WILLIAM F. WHITE, senior member of the firm of White & Haymond, Muncie lawyers; a member of the bar of the Delaware circuit court for nearly a quarter of a century, in the days of his young manhood a soldier in the United States regular army, a former teacher in the schools of this county, former county attorney, formerly and for years a member of the Muncie common council, chairman of the County Council of Defense during the time of this country's participation in the World war, and in other ways actively identified with the interests of the city and county, is a native of Michigan but has been a resident of this county for the past thirty years. Mr. White was born in the "big timber" in Saginaw county, Michigan, February 6, 1871, and is a son of Andrew and Margaret White, the former of whom was born in New Brunswick, a province of the Dominion of Canada, and the latter in Ireland. Andrew White was a lumberman and his last days were spent in Michigan. Reared amid the conditions that marked the lumber camps of Michigan during the '70s, William F. White's boyhood schooling was limited to a few terms of uncertain winter school which he attended up to his eleventh year and which carried him along in his studies to about what now is classed as the fourth grade in the graded schools. When eleven years of age he began to work on farms and in a heading factory and thus continued until he was past eighteen when, at Ft. Niagara, N. Y., he enlisted for service in the United States regular army and was attached to Company E of the 11th Infantry, which regiment presently was transferred to Arizona and Mr. White's company was stationed at Ft. Apache, nearly a hundred miles from Holbrook, Ariz., and later at San Carlos. In March, 1893, he received his discharge, his term of service then being over. About that time his lieutenant was appointed adjutant of the guards appointed for service at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago and Mr. White secured a place on this guard and thus served as one of the famed Columbian Guards during the progress of that wonderful exposition. Meanwhile he had been advancing himself in study and when this term of special service was over he entered the university at Valparaiso, Ind., where he applied himself to preparation for teaching, specializing in the scientific and commercial courses and preparatory work in law. In the fall of 1895 he began teaching in the schools of this county, his first work being done in Niles township, later 'going into Union township, and taught six terms of school here, meanwhile continuing his studies at Valparaiso and there completing the courses in teaching, in science and in commercial practice. While thus carrying on these studies he also had been applying himself to the study of law under the preceptorship of McGonigle & Fitch at Muncie, and in 1900 was admitted to the bar of the Delaware circuit court and has ever since been practicing law at Muncie. During the early years of his practice Mr. White maintained an office alone and then in 1904 formed a partnership with Ed.M. White. In 1906 he formed a new association for practice under the firm name of Bingham, White & Haymond, which firm a year later, upon the retirement of Mr. Bingham, became the firm of White & Haymond and has so continued, with present offices at 12814 East Main street. In 1906 Mr. White was elected by the county commissioners to serve as county attorney and was retained in that position for seven years. He is a Republican and has represented his ward in the city common council, that period of service covering about six years. When the County Council of Defense was organized here in the spring of 1917 to direct Delaware county's activities in the World war Mr. White was appointed a member of that council and presently became its chairman, in which position he rendered service until the close of the war, as is set out elsewhere in this work. Mr. White is a member of the directorate of and attorney for he Mutual Home Savings Association of Muncie. He is an active member of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce, has served on the directorate of that body, and is a past president and a member of the present board of directors of the Muncie Rotary Club. He is a past noble grand of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and a past exalted ruler of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1895 William F. White was united in marriage to Ida Mae Wirt and to that union six children were born, Helen M., Lillian A., Walter D., Florence M., Charles W., and Robert W. White. Helen M. White married Frank Sheffield and has two children, Cynthia and Jean. Walter D. White married Catherine Heddin and has two children, William H. and Edwin. Mrs. Ida Mae White died on September 10, 1915, and Mr. White later married Mrs. Nellie K. Bailes. Mr. and Mrs. White are members of the First Presbyterian church.

JOHN WORTHINGTON DRAGOO, secretary of the Western Reserve Life Insurance Company of Muncie and president of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce, is a member of one of the pioneer families of Delaware county and has resided in this county all his life. Mr. Dragoo was born on a farm in Perry township on May 7, 1858, and is a son of William and Amelia \(Gibson) Dragoo, the latter of whom also was born in this county, a daughter of Robert Gibson, one of the early settlers in the eastern part of the county. William Dragoo was a Virginian by birth, born in that section of the old Dominion now included in West Virginia, in 1828, and was seven years of age when, in 1835, he came to Indiana with his parents, Peter and Martha (Jones) Dragoo, the family locating in the New Burlington settlement in Perry township, Peter Dragoo entering from the government a tract of land in section 19 of that township, where the family home was established and where Peter Dragoo spent the remainder of his life, he being ninety-two years of age at the time of his death. Peter Dragoo and his wife had six children, those besides William, the first born, being two daughters, Mrs. Sarah Winget and Mrs. Mary Kerns, and three sons, Lemuel, John and Samuel J. Dragoo, the latter of whom remained on the old home farm. John Dragoo died while serving as a soldier of the Union during the time of the Civil war. William Dragoo grew up on the pioneer home farm in Perry township and after his marriage established his home on a farm in that township and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1890. His widow, who was born in 1833, is still living. William Dragoo and wife had three children, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mrs. Laura B. Childs and Mrs. Nancy J. Clevenger. Reared on the home farm in Perry town- ship, John W. Dragoo supplemented the schooling received in the local schools by attendance at the Muncie high school and at the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. He early began teaching school, thus occupying his winters, and in 1892 was made principal of the Congerville school at Muncie (present Roosevelt school). In 1905 he was made principal of the Avondale school; later was principal of the Washington school and then became employed as a teller in the Merchants National Bank of Muncie. In 1906 he became one of the organizers of the Western Reserve Life Insurance Company of Muncie and was elected secretary of that company, a position which he ever since has occupied, as is set out elsewhere in this work. Mr. Dragoo is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs. In 1892 he was elected county assessor and served for one term in that office. In 1899 he was elected trustee of Center township and for four years served in that capacity, the new Congerville school being erected during this term of service. He is a Freemason and is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, a member of the uniformed rank of this latter body. On May 7, 1884, John Worthington Dragoo was united in marriage to Frances R. Jump, who also was born in this county, daughter of Dr. Samuel V. Jump, of New Burlington, and to this union were born six children, Charles Earl, Samuel Vaughn, Nina F., Mary L., Charlene and Ralph D. Mr. and Mrs. Dragoo are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Dragoo was formerly a teacher in the Sunday School of that congregation. He has rendered official service, in addition to the elective positions above noted, as an officer of the board of children's guardians and of the orphans' home board, and is now serving his second term as president of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce. The Dragoos reside at 500 West North street. DALE SHREEVE, treasurer of the Merchants Trust and Savings Company of Muncie and one of the youngest bank officers in eastern Indiana, was born at Winchester in the neighboring county of Randolph, August 24, 1894, and is a son of Marion E. and Eva L. (Clements) Shreeve, the latter of whom was born and reared in Wayne county. Marion E. Shreeve also is a native of Indiana. He and his wife are now living in Indianapolis. Dale Shreeve was graduated from the high school at Richmond and in 1911, when seventeen years of age, went to Indianapolis and became engaged as a clerk in the Feltman shoe store. Four years later, in 1915, he was sent to Muncie as the manager of the Feltman shoe store here and was thus engaged in business at Muncie when this country took a hand in the World war. In December, 1917, he entered the service of the United States navy and was assigned to the aviation section of the navy as a radio operator and sent to the Harvard Radio school. Upon qualifying for duty Mr. Shreeve was assigned to the radio station at Pensacola, Fla., as an operator, and thence after awhile was assigned _to the submarine coast patrol at Hampton Roads (Virginia), where he continued on duty as a radio operator until his honorable discharge on July 9, 1919, the war then being over. Upon the completion of his naval service Mr. Shreeve returned to Muncie and in December, 1920, was made manager of the insurance department of the Merchants Trust and Savings Company, and so continued until his advancement to the position of treasurer of this institution, which post in the bank he now occupies. Mr. Shreeve is a member of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce and of the local Dynamo Club, as well as of the Muncie Club and the Country Club. He is a Freemason, affiliated with Oriental lodge, No. 500, F. & A. M., at Indianapolis, and with the local chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Muncie. In 1919 Dale Shreeve was united in marriage to Katheryn Nichols, who was born and reared at Muncie, daughter of Fred G. Nichols. Mr. and Mrs. Shreeve are Republicans and are members of the Presbyterian church.

JOHN GUBBINS, of the firm of Gubbins & Curtis, highway and paving contractors, of Muncie and former street commissioner for that city, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life, a resident of Muncie for the past fifteen years or more. Mr. Gubbins was born at Newcastle, in the neighboring county of Henry, October 2, 1887, and is a son of John and Mary (Nolan) Gubbins, the latter of whom was born and reared at Knightstown in that same county. The late senior John Gubbins was an Ohion by birth but the greater part of his life was spent at Newcastle, where he became engaged in road, street and sidewalk construction and was for years thus engaged or until his death in 1908. The junior John Gubbins was reared at Newcastle and in the schools of that city received his schooling. He early became connected with his father's work as a street and paving contractor and thus by the time of his father's death had become thoroughly familiar with the details of that form of contracting. He was twenty-one years of age when his father died and he carried on the business without interruption, presently locating at Muncie, where he ever since has made his home. In 1913 Mr. Gubbins was appointed street commissioner for the city of Muncie and for eight years occupied that important position, during which time much valuable construction work was done on the streets and alleys of Muncie. Upon the completion of this term of public service Mr. Gubbins formed a partnership with E. M. Curtis in the general contracting business as relates to highway, street and sidewalk paving and has since been thus engaged in business, this firm carrying out many of the important contracts in this line let in this part of the state. Mr. Gubbins is a Democrat. He is affiliated with the local council of the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. On December 30, 1914, John Gubbins was united in marriage to Mary E. Guffigan, who was born and reared in Muncie, daughter of John Guffigan. Mr. and Mrs. Gubbins reside at 406 Riverside avenue. They are members of St. Lawrence's Catholic church.

A. FLETCHER HOWELL, vice president of the wholesale grocery firm of Joseph A. Goddard & Company at Muncie and a resident of that city for the past thirty years and more, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life. Mr. Howell was born in the village of Blountsville, over the line in Henry county, January 5, 1872, and is a son of Jonathan B. and Rebecca Ann (Fletcher) Howell, both members of pioneer families in that same neighborhood. The late Jonathan B. Howell, a one-time merchant at Muncie, whose last days were spent at Albany, this county, was born in the Blountsville settlement on November 7, 1844, a son of Hilary and Fannie (Bedwell) Howell, who were among the pioneers of that neighborhood. As a young man Jonathan B. Howell worked for some time as a harness maker but after his marriage became engaged in merchandising at Blountsville, later moving to Montpelier, in the neighboring county of Blackford, where he continued in business as a grocery merchant until in 1892, when he moved to Muncie. For some time he _ Was engaged in business in the latter city and then moved to Albany, where his last days were spent, his death occurring there on January 1, 1900. His widow survived him for nearly twenty years, her death occurring at her home in the New Burlington neighborhood in this county on September 17, 1919. It was in that neighborhood, in Perry township, that she was born, October 20, 1849. She was a daughter of David and Asenath (Thornburg) Fletcher, the latter a member of the pioneer Thornburg family which had settled there back in the early '20s of the past century, in the days before Delaware county as now constituted had come into civic being, as is set out elsewhere in this work. David Fletcher, a son of John Fletcher, came over here from Hillsboro, Ohio, in 1826, the year before Delaware county was organized, he then being two years of age, and became one of the substantial pioneers of Perry township. Jonathan B. Howell was a member of the Christian church and his wife was a Methodist. He was a Republican and for some time during his residence in Henry county served as a justice of the peace in and for his home township. He was affiliated for many years with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. To him and his wife were born three children, all of whom are still living, the subject of this sketch, the second in order of birth, having a sister, Orpha, and a brother, Charles Ross Howell. Reared at Blountsville and at Montpelier, A. Fletcher Howell received a common-school education and from the days of his boyhood was trained to the ways of merchandising in his father's grocery. He was twenty years of age when his parents moved to Muncie in 1892 and not long afterward he found congenial employment in the establishment of Joseph A. Goddard, which then occupied the building at the southeast corner of Walnut and Adams streets. With this establishment, which in 1905 occupied the commodious building in which its business is now carried on in Seymour street, Mr. Howell ever since has been connected, a period of more than thirty-two years, and has been serving as a director of the concern ever since its reorganization as Joseph A. Goddard & Co. in 1901. Mr. Howell became connected with this establishment in 1892 and he thus has been a witness to and a participant in the expansion which has made of it one of the important wholesale grocery houses in Indiana. He started in as a stock clerk, presently was made receiving clerk and at the end of his first year in the establishment was promoted to the office as office salesman. He later was made buyer and sales manager and in 1901, when the present company was organized he became a member of the directorate and on January 1, 1923, was elected vice president of the company. Mr. Howell is a Republican, a member of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce and a charter member of Silver Shield lodge of the Knights of Pythias. In 1895, at Montpelier, Ind., A. Fletcher Howell was united in marriage to Myrtle Maddox, who was born in Blackford county, daughter of Dr. Leander E. Maddox, a physician and banker at Montpelier, and to this union three sons have been born, Leander Fletcher, Joseph Maddox and William Dean Howell, the first named of whom rendered military service in camp during the time of this country's participation in the World war. Mr. Howell is a member of the High Street Methodist Episcopal church and is the president of the men's Bible (14) | class in the Sunday school of that congregation. In 1917 Mr. Howell moved onto a farm of fifty-three acres he had bought on the Yorktown road and he and his family are interested in the breeding of purebred Jersey cattle. They also operate a green house for flowers for the Muncie markets. Mrs. Howell oversees the greenhouse. ERIC BUCHHOLZ, master florist at Muncie and proprietor of the old established Miller greenhouse, is of European birth but has been a resident of this country for the past fifteen years. Mr. Buchholz was born at Spramberg in the province of Brandenburg, Germany, July 22, 1886, and took the high school course in that city. He then entered the College of Horticulture at Bautzen and spent three semesters there in the study of horticulture and floriculture, after which he became engaged in practical work in a prominent floral house and was thus engaged for two years, at the end of which time he entered the University of Jena, where he spent six semesters in the further study of botany, agricultural chemistry and landscape engineering, and in 1907 was given his engineer degree from that institution. In the following year (1908) Mr. Buchholz was attached to the scientific expedition of Professor Stahl, head of the botanical department of the University of Jena, sent under government direction on a botanical research exploration into the jungles of tropical Brazil, and upon the return of that expedition he decided, in 1909, to come to the United States. Upon his arrival in this country, Mr. Buchholz became employed as a practical florist at Springfield, Mass., and while there took a course of practical study in a night school. Attracted by the lure of the Southwest, Mr. Buchholz then went to Texas with a view to getting into business on his own account and at Spring Prairie in that state bought a small tract of land and started in as a vegetable gardener. This venture proved unsuccessful and he lost his investment. He then returned North and became employed as the grower in the E. A. Kuhnke carnation conservatory at Toledo and was thus employed at that place until in 1911. In October of this latter year he transferred his connection to the Sullivan Rose Company of Detroit and was there employed as foreman until in 1914, when he became the head gardener and estate manager on the estate of Mary Mannering (formerly Mrs. J. K. Hackett) at Grosse Pointe, Mich., and was there thus engaged until 1916, when he went to Chicago to take a part in the operations of Wueiter Bros., wholesale florists. In the next year (1917) he came to Muncie and became foreman in the Miller greenhouse. A year later he bought this old established greenhouse and the retail establishment and has since been operating the same as proprietor, with his retail store at 100 South Walnut street. Mr. Buchholz is a member of the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. In 1910, at Oxford, Ind., Eric Buchholz was united in marriage to Anna Motz, who was born at Schmalkalden, Germany, daughter of George and Dorothy Motz, and to this union three children have been born, Dorothy, Fay and Brunhilde. The family resides at 513 South Elm street.

GRANT CALLAHAN, supervising principal of the Whittier school at Muncie and a school man of more than thirty years of experience, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life. Mr. Callahan was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of the pleasant old village of Odon, in Daviess county, Indiana, September 27, 1872, and is a son of S. E. and Margaret (Sears) Callahan, both members of old families in Indiana, the latter born in Lawrence county, daughter of Andrew Sears, who was the owner of 1,300 acres of land in that county. S. E. Callahan also was born in Lawrence county, in the vicinity of Bedford, in 1832, his parents having settled there upon coming over into Indiana from Ohio. He was reared as a farmer and followed that vocation all his life, having settled on a farm in the Odon neighborhood in Daviess county after his marriage. To him and his wife were born twelve children, five daughters and seven sons. Grant Callahan grew up on the home farm in the Odon neighborhood and was graduated from the village school with a diploma which qualified him to teach school. After a course in the county normal school and in the Southern Indiana Normal School at Mitchell he began teaching school and has ever since been actively engaged in school work, meanwhile from time to time, during summer courses, extending his scholastic acquirements by further collegiate work, this including attendance at the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute and Indiana University at Bloomington, from which latter institution he received his A. B. degree in 1914, and during' the summers of 1922-23 he attended Chicago University for his Master degree. It was in 1893, when he was twenty-one years of age, that Mr. Callahan entered upon his career as a practical school man, his first term of school having been taught in the district schools of his home county. For seven years he was engaged in district school work and then became connected with the Odon schools, serving there for a like period, two years of this latter service being rendered as principal of the schools. Following his graduation from the University in 1914 Mr. Callahan was called to the principalship of the schools at

Middletown in the neighboring county of Henry and then was called to a like position in the schools of Selma in this county, where he continued to serve until in 1919, when he was made supervising principal of the Washington school at Muncie. In 1922 he was transferred to the Whittier school and is now serving as supervising principal _ of that school, in charge of student practice, this school being the accredited training school for senior students of the Eastern Division of the Indiana State Normal School at Muncie. Mr. Callahan is a Republican. He is affiliated with the Freemasons, the Knights. of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. On August 8, 1897, Grant Callahan was united in marriage to Rose Ferguson, who was born in the vicinity of the village of Newberry in Greene county, this state, daughter of John and Nancy (Ketcham) Ferguson. Mr. and Mrs. Callahan have one child, a daughter, Zenabe, and are members of the Jackson Street Christian (Disciples) church. They reside at 304 North Tally avenue.

FRED S. KLEIN, a Muncie jeweler, third of his line to carry on in the jewelry business there, was born in Muncie and has lived there all his life. Mr. Klein was born on January 16, 1876, and is a son of Henry C. and Sarah Caroline (Spilker) Klein, both members of pioneer families in Delaware county, the latter of whom was born at Muncie, daughter of George W. and Sophronia (Smith) Spilker, and a sister of George W. Spilker, Jr., who was for many years engaged in the mercantile and banking business at Muncie and who died there in the spring of 1899 at the age of seventy-one years, a resident of Muncie since the year 1842. The elder George W. Spilker was a Hanoverian who came to this country in 1839 and who came over here from Preble county, Ohio, in 1842 and became engaged in the grocery business at Muncie, where he died in 1851. The late Henry C. Klein, who was for many years engaged in the jewelry business in Muncie, also was born in Muncie (then known as Muncietown), November 18, 1842, and was a son of Armstead Mason and Sarah E. (Ethell) Klein, the latter of whom was a daughter of John and Mary (Cunard) Ethell, Virginians, the former born in Fairfax county and the latter in Loudoun county, who became residents of Muncietown in 1839. John Ethell was a soldier of the War of 1812, who had settled in Licking county, Ohio, whence he came to Muncie with his family, as above, and set up as a chairmaker, spending the rest of his life here, his death occurring in 1862, He was at one time postmaster of the town, as will be noted elsewhere in this work, and kept the office in his home at the southeast corner of Main and Franklin streets. His youngest son, Nathaniel Fuller Ethell, of whom further mention also is made in this work, was for years engaged in the newspaper business in Muncie. Armstead Mason Klein was born at Waterford, in Loudoun county, Virginia, June 26, 1817. He learned the jewelry trade at Leesburg and in 1837, when twenty years of age, located at Newark, Ohio, where he presently married Sarah E. Ethell and in the fall of 1838 located at Muncietown, where he started out as a clocksmith and repairer of such watches as then required attention here, making these repairs in the homes of his customers on call. In 1846 he opened a small shop on Main street, the first of its sort in Delaware county, and put in a small stock of jewelry, to which, as the community grew, he kept adding until in time he had one of the best jewelry stores in eastern Indiana, and thus he continued in business until his retirement in the middle '70s. He died at Muncie on October 2, 1888. Henry C. Klein, eldest son of this pioneer jeweler and a veteran of the Civil war, grew up to the jewelry business at Muncie and followed that vocation all his life. Though but eighteen years of age when the Civil war came on he got into that conflict at the very beginning and went to the front as a member of Company E of the 19th regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served with that gallant command until the close of the war, thus participating in some of the most important campaigns and engagements of the war, as the record of the 19th Indiana, a part of the celebrated "Iron Brigade" of the Army of the Potomac, will disclose. Upon the completion of his military service Henry C. Klein returned to Muncie and with his father became engaged in the jewelry business, in 1878 becoming sole proprietor of the store, and he thus continued until his death on July 4, 1908, having then been in business here for more than forty years. It was on February 19, 1866, that Henry C. Klein married Sarah Caroline Spilker and to that union were born four sons, George A., Edward M., who died in 1915; Armstead M. and Fred S. The mother of these sons died on November 17, 1887. Reared at Muncie, Fred S. Klein received his schooling in the local schools and from the days of his boyhood was an assistant to his father in the jewelry store. After his father's death in 1908 he continued to carry on the business until in 1921, when he disposed of his interest in the store. In 1898 Fred S. Klein was united in marriage to Clara Besack, daughter of A. B. and Jennie Besack, of Muncie, and to this union two sons have been born, Robert M.' and

IRA ERVIN SNODGRASS, grocer at Muncie, is a native son of Delaware county, a member of one of the pioneer families of this county, and has lived in the county all his life, a resident of Muncie for more than thirty years. Mr. Snodgrass was born on a farm in Mt. Pleasant township, March 19, 1853, and is a son of James P. and Rosa L. (Smith) Snodgrass, the latter of whom also was born in this county and is still living, now nearly ninety years of age, at Muncie, residing at 719 West Powers street. James P. Snodgrass, a former representative in the Indiana state Legislature from this district (1871-73), was born in Kentucky and was about eighteen years of age when his parents, Samuel M. and Mary Snodgrass, both native Kentuckians, came with their family to Delaware county in 1847, and settled in Mt. Pleasant township. Samuel M. Snodgrass was a substantial farmer and landowner and a minister of the Christian (Disciples) church. Both he and his wife spent their last days in this county, his death occurring in September, 1879, and hers in the following May. Both were born in 1802. James P. Snodgrass took an active part in his father's farming operations when the family settled in this county and in time became a considerable landowner in Harrison township. He also studied law and became a member of the local bar. His activities in local politics made him one of the leaders of his party in this section of the state and for two terms in the early '70s he served this district in the lower House of the Indiana General Assembly. He died in 1879, at the age of forty-eight years, and, as noted above, his widow still survives, for many years a resident of Muncie. Reared on the home farm in Harrison township, Ira E. Snodgrass received his schooling in the schools of that township and remained at home until his marriage at the age of eighteen, | when he began farming on his own account in that township, and was thus engaged until in 1893 when he left the farm and came to Muncie, where he since has made his home. Upon coming to Muncie Mr. Snodgrass became employed in the grocery store of George Hosler and there became thoroughly familiar with the details of the retail grocery business. In 1918 he became engaged in this business on his own account, opening a grocery store and meat market at 485 Hoyt avenue, and has since been thus engaged, proprietor of a well appointed retail establishment there. Mr. Snodgrass is a Republican and is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men and with the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. Ira E. Snodgrass has been four times married. His first wife, Mary E. Reed, died leaving four children, James Emery, Frances, Ulysses D. and Arthur A. James Emery Snodgrass married Maud Seitz, who died leaving one child, Hansel. Frances Snodgrass also is married. Following the death of the mother of these children Mr. Snodgrass married Lizzie Justice, of Harrison township, and following her death he married Viola Ramer, of Muncie, who died leaving one child, a son, Oakley, also now deceased. In 1899 Mr. Snodgrass married Mrs. Rosie L. (Birch) Proctor, of the neighboring county of Blackford, and to this union one child was born, a daughter, Clara Opal, wife of Robert Ingersoll, of Muncie. Mr. and Mrs. Snodgrass are members of the Jackson Street Christian church. They reside at 487 Hoyt avenue.

HOWARD T. CRING, head of the Cring Insurance Agency at Muncie and one of the veterans of the local insurance business, has been engaged in that line for nearly thirty years and thus is widely known in insurance circles throughout eastern Indiana. Associated with Mr. Cring in the Cring agency is his son, Kenneth W. Cring. This agency is the local representative of The John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company of Boston, representing this company in the counties of Delaware, Grant, Blackford, Howard and Tipton. Before establishing his agency in Muncie, Mr. Cring had been for some time serving as the local representative of this same company in Mercer county, Ohio, and is thus one of the real veteran agents of that company. Mr. Cring was born in the historic old town of Ft. Recovery, just over the Indiana line in Ohio, and is a son of Theophilus and Abbie (McGriff) Cring, the former of German descent and the latter of Scottish descent. The Crings of this family, which is numerously represented throughout western Ohio and eastern Indiana, are descendants of pioneer stock which came into the Midwest country from Pennsylvania back in settlement days. Theophilus Cring was for many years engaged in the drug business at Ft. Recovery. He and his wife had two sons, the subject of this sketch having a brother, William Cring. Howard T. Cring married Maude R. Mallen, of Zanesville, Ohio, daughter of Frank Mallen, a veteran of the Civil war, and has three children, Helen Modjeska, wife of Cecil H. Walter; Kenneth W. and Nadine Katherine. Kenneth W. Cring, who is associated with his father in the insurance business, is president of the Lions Club of Muncie. Howard T. Cring and his family reside at 1215 North Walnut street. The Cring Insurance Agency is located at 507 the Wysor building, corner of Walnut and Main streets.

ALONZO C. THORNBURG, president and general manager of the Thornburg Hotel Company, proprietors of the Roberts Hotel at Muncie, is a member of one of the real pioneer families of Delaware county, the Thornburgs having been prominently represented in this county since the days of the opening of lands here in the New Purchase to settlement, some years before Delaware county secured a separate civic organization in 1827. Mr. Thornburg was born on a farm in Liberty township in 1881 and is a son of Eli M. and Mary F. (Hirons) Thornburg, the latter of whom also was born in this county, daughter of Parker C. Hirons, a Virginian, who had left that part of the Old Dominion now comprised within West Virginia and had settled in this county. Eli M. Thornburg, a veteran of the Civil war, also was born in this county and is a son of Joab and Lydia (Howell) Thornburg, the former of whom was born over in Darke county, Ohio, a son of Asahel and Rebecca Thornburg, who had come to Indiana not long after the lands in the New Purchase were opened to settlement in the early '20s of the past century and had settled in the eastern part of what later came to be organized as Delaware county, but which then was within the jurisdiction of Randolph county. Asahel Thornburg, the pioneer, was a Pennsylvanian by birth and was living in Greene county, Ohio, when this country entered upon its second war for independence against England. He served as a soldier during the War of 1812 and later became a pioneer in Darke county, Ohio. When the new lands over here in Indiana were opened for settlement he moved here and in December, 1822, entered a tract of land in Liberty township and established his home there in the then wilderness. The Thornburgs of this line in Delaware county, still numerously represented here, have thus been here for more than one hundred years. To Eli M. and Mary F. (Hirons) Thornburg were born seven children, those besides the subject of this sketch, the sixth in order of birth, being Elmer (deceased), Parker, Laura (deceased), Everett, Charles and Frank. Reared on the home farm in Liberty township, Alonzo C. Thornburg received his early schooling in the schools of that township and supplemented this by a course in a business college, after which he became employed as a clerk in the Hotel Braun at Muncie. There he acquired his liking for the hotel business and presently extended that interest by buying a half interest in the old Kirby hotel at Muncie. When the Hotel Roberts corpor- ation was organized in 1919 Mr. Thornburg became one of the organizers of that corporation and was made manager of the hotel, the position he still occupies. In January, 1924, this corporation was reorganized as the Thornburg Hotel Company and Mr. Thornburg was elected president of the company and general manager of its affairs. The Hotel Roberts, completed in 1921 and opened for service in that same year, with its 200 rooms, has come to be recognized as one of the best and most up-to-date hotels in Indiana, and the friends of Mr. Thornburg very properly attribute much of the high reputation this hotel has gained throughout the Midwest to his effective management. Alonzo C. Thornburg married Mary M. Sample, daughter of Johnson E. and Mary (Swearinger) Sample, of Muncie, and has three children, Karl, Virginia and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Thornburg are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Thornburg is affiliated with the Muncie Ad Club and is a Freemason of high degree and a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also is affiliated with the Muncie lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

DAVID W. STEWART, a retired merchant and former restaurateur of Muncie, where he still makes his home, has been a resident of Muncie for nearly fifty years and has thus been a witness to the development which during that period has lifted the town from its former position as a somnolent county seat town to its present eminence as one of the thriving manufacturing cities of the Midwest country. Mr. Stewart was born on a farm in Warren county, Illinois, May 10, 1851, and is a son of Joseph and Eveline (Roby) Stewart, the latter of whom was born in Marion county, Virginia, in 1829, and was but a child when she came with her parents to Indiana, the family settling in Henry county. Joseph Stewart was born in Highland county, Ohio, in 1827, and was a son of William Stewart, who in 1830 came to Indiana with his family and settled in Henry county, both the Stewarts and the Robys thus being numbered among the pioneers of that county. William Stewart had five sons, four of whom lived to be past eighty years of age, Joseph being the youngest of these. In 1847 Joseph Stewart married Eveline Roby and two years later, in 1849, moved to Warren county, Illinois, where he remained until in 1856, when he moved to Harrison county, Missouri, where he entered a tract of land from the government and settled down. In later years he moved to Randolph county, Missouri, and at the town of Moberly, spent his last days, his death occurring there in 1907, he then being eighty years of age. He and his wife were the parents of six children. David W. Stewart was but five years of age when his parents moved to Missouri and he grew to manhood on a pioneer farm in Harrison county, that state. When nineteen years of age he began his commercial career as a clerk in a store in the nearby village of Madison (Mo.) and was thus engaged until in 1875, he then being twenty-four years of age, when he came to Muncie on a visit to kinsfolk. He found the situation here better to his liking than anything Missouri then had to promise and he ever since has been a resident of Muncie, that "visit" thus having been prolonged for nearly half a century. Upon arriving at the decision to make his home in Muncie, Mr. Stewart became engaged as a clerk in the George W. Stevenson dry goods store, and was thus engaged for six years, toward the end. of which period he married and established his home at Muncie, going to housekeeping in the house in which he is still living at 710 East Jackson street, and which he thus has occupied for nearly forty-five years. Upon leaving the Stevenson store Mr. Stewart became engaged as a clerk in the store of B. Smith & Son and was thus engaged until in 1885, when he took employment as a traveling salesman for the Standard Oil Company. For eight years he was connected with the Standard's sales force and then he went into business for himself, opening a grocery store and meat market at the corner of Beacon and Kirby streets. That was in 1895, during the booming days of natural gas, and he kept that establishment going for five years, or until in 1900, when he opened a lunch room in the building which then stood on the site of the present McNaughton building in South Walnut street. He made a specialty of hamburger sandwiches in this place and gave to the place the name of "The Hamburger.'"' When he was compelled to move in order to make way for the erection of the McNaughton building, he reestablished himself in a room in West Main street, opposite the south or main entrance of the court house, rechristened that place "The Hamburger," a name which it still bears, and there continued in business until in 1916, when he sold out and retired from business, he then being sixty-five years of age, and has since lived retired. Mr. Stewart is a Democrat. He is a thirty-two degree (Scottish Rite) Mason and a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and is a member of the Jackson Street (Disciples) Christian church. It was on January 14, 1880, that David W. Stewart was united in marriage to Anna B. Cecil, daughter of Samuel and Rhoda (Truitt) Cecil, both members of pioneer families of Delaware county, as is set out elsewhere in this work, and to this union three children were born, two daughters, Zenobia C. and Mabel, and a son, Erville B. Stewart, deceased. The mother of these children died in 1910.

J. EARL PATTERSON, a member of the bar of the Delaware circuit court and former deputy county clerk, was born at Muncie on December 11, 1870, and is a son of Robert I. and Mary E. (Lefavour) Patterson, both of whom also were born at Muncie. The late Robert I. Patterson, former county clerk, former postmaster of Muncie and an honored veteran of the Civil war, was born in the village then known as Muncietown, March 28, 1842, and was a son of Samuel R. and Jane (Turner) Patterson, the latter of whom was a sister of Minus Turner, concerning whom there are many references in this work. Samuel R. Patterson was a Vermont yankee who in the middle '30s located at Muncietown. When the Civil war broke out he went to the front as a private in Company I of the 36th regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was with that command when at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain he received a wound which resulted in his death, September 24, 1864, at the military hospital at Jeffersonville, Ind. His widow survived him for many years, she living to be past ninety years of age. To Samuel R. and Jane (Turner) Patterson were born eight children, Robert I. Patterson (the second in order of birth) having had one brother and six sisters. Robert I. Patterson was eighteen years of age when the Civil war broke out. On July 29, 1861, he enlisted and went out as a private in Company E of the 19th regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which in the following October became a part of the famous "Iron Brigade" of the Army of the Potomac, and upon the termination of that period of enlistment he re-enlisted, December 31, 18638, and _continued in active service until on March 21, 1864, he was incapacitated by wounds and on September 9, 1864, he received his honorable discharge, being mustered out with the rank of corporal. Upon the completion of his military service 'Corporal Bob" Patterson returned to Muncie and became employed in the clothing store of his uncle, Josiah Bacon, and after his marriage in 1868 continued his home here. During the legislative session of 1876-7 he served as a clerk in the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly and then became employed as a railway mail clerk. In 1883 he was appointed postmaster at Muncie, his commission running for four years from February 7 of that year. When he left the postoffice he was appointed custodian of the new court house. In the meantime he had been acting as a pension attorney, a service which he continued until his death. In 1902 he was elected clerk of Delaware county and in that office served for four years, after which his time was given up to his pension business and to the interests he had developed in connection with several patented devices which he had put on the market. In his later years he also was a member of the editorial staff of the Muncie Star. He was one of the charter members of Williams post, Grand Army of the Republic, and had served as post commander and also as the senior vice commander of the Indiana Department of the Grand Army of the Republic. Robert I. Patterson died at his home in Muncie on September 29, 1916, and his widow survives him. They had three children, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Inez and Pearl. Reared at Muncie, J. Earl Patterson received his schooling in the local schools and as a boy, during his father's incumbency as postmaster, worked in the postoffice. When his father became county clerk he was made a deputy in the clerk's office and upon the completion of that term of service was employed by the commissioners to work out an orderly filing system for the court's records. In the meantime he had been admitted to the bar and was taking a part in the direction of his father's affairs as a pension attorney, and since his father's death has been carrying on that old established business, with offices in the Patterson building. J. Earl Patterson married Ruth Dickerson, daughter of Mrs. Carrie Dickerson, of Muncie, and has seven children, Marsh, Robert, Helen, Jack, Georgetta, Clinton and Peggy.

JAMES ELMER DURHAM, founder and head of The Durham Manufacturing Company of Muncie, who died at his home in that city in 1918, was a native son of Indiana and had lived in this state the greater part of his life, a resident of Muncie for over thirty years. Mr. Durham was born at Russellville, Ind., March 12, 1862, and was a son of George Spears and Margaret (Black) Durham, the latter of whom was born at Mt. Sterling, Ky., daughter of Miller and Margaret (Whitsett) Black. George Spears Durham was born at Russellville, Ind., a son of Jacob and Hannah (Spears) Durham, and was engaged in farming at Russellville. J. E. Durham was reared in that community, was graduated from De Pauw University in 1885, and in 1888 became engaged in the drug business at Muncie. In 1908 he organized The Durham Manufacturing Company at Muncie and became engaged in the manufacture of juvenile handcars. Eventually this plant was given over to the manufacture of fireless cookers and kindred specialties, and in that line has developed a large business, the Durham products now finding a wide market and doing much to carry far the name and fame of "Greater Muncie." Mr. Durham started his industry here in a small building at Madison and Howard streets, with five employes, and this industry has gradually expanded until it now occupies an up-to-date and well equipped plant at Mound and Cleveland streets. Following the death of Mr. Durham in 1918 the company was reorganized and his interest is represented by his son, Frederic E. Durham, secretary of the company, the other officers of which are E. B. Ball, president; F. B. Barnard, vice-president; H. C. Johnson, treasurer; G. A. Taylor, general manager; H. R. Bard, superintendent. In 1888, at Indianapolis, J. E. Durham married Ella Josephine Edwards who was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, daughter of E. A. and Melvina (Sheren) Edwards, and to this union were born two children, Lois Lovett and Frederic Edwards. Lois L. Durham was graduated from the Art Academy at Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1913 married C. E. Scoggins, of Texas, who is widely known in literary circles, a writer whose stories have attracted much attention. F. E. Durham was graduated from Indiana University in 1915, and has ever since been associated with the operations of the Durham Manufacturing Company, of which he is the secretary. J. E. Durham died on September 8, 1918, and his widow is still living at Muncie, making her home at 704 East Washington street.

JOHN W. RYAN, a veteran of the Civil war, a former representative from this county in the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, a former prosecuting attorney for Delaware county and in his generation one of the best known lawyers in eastern Indiana, a one time law partner of Judge Joseph S. Buckles and in later years continuing his practice in association with his son, Thomas L: Ryan, who is still in practice at Muncie, left a good memory at his passing and it is but proper that here should be carried some slight tribute to that memory. The late John W. Ryan was born in Butler county, Ohio, and was a son of Dr. Townsend Ryan and Susan Wilson Ryan, who later became residents of Anderson, Ind., where Doctor Ryan was long engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery. During the time of the Civil war, Doctor Ryan rendered service in the Union army, a participant in the Point Pleasant campaign in West Virginia, and rose to the rank of colonel. When the war broke out in 1861 John W. Ryan was studying law in the office of Milton Robinson at Anderson. There he helped to organize Company G of the 17th regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and with that command served until veteranized, when he was commissioned a first lieutenant and assigned to the 34th regiment, later being promoted to the rank of captain. During the time of his service in the army Mr. Ryan participated in the West Virginia campaign, comprising Cheat Mountain and Grafton districts, under Rosecrans and was thus at the Little Kanawha, Oakland (Md.) and Camp Pendleton engagements. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Ryan resumed his law studies and presently was admitted to the bar, not long afterward locating at Muncie, where in 1870 he became a partner of Joseph S. Buckles, who had just retired from the bench after a service of . ten years as judge of the Delaware circuit court. Later Mr. Ryan was elected prosecuting attorney for this judicial circuit and in that capacity he served a term. In 1880 he was elected to represent this district in the Legislature and served a term in that important public capacity. Later and for some years he also served as United States ' referee in bankruptcy for this district and in other ways took his part in public service. When his son, Thomas L. Ryan, was admitted to the bar in 1898 a partnership in the practice of law was effected between father and son, under the firm name of Ryan & Ryan, and this firm was maintained until the death of John W. Ryan on September 23, 1919. John: W. Ryan married Lida A. Jenkins, an artist and musician of more than local note, and they were blessed with four children, two daughters, Susan R. and Mildred V., and two sons, Thomas L. and. Walter S. Ryan, the latter of whom is now practicing electrical engineering in New York. Thomas L. Ryan supplemented his local schooling by a course in engineering at the Hoboken Institute of Technology, his studies having been directed with special reference to the technical side of mechanical and structural engineering. Upon completing his law studies under the preceptorship of his father he was admitted to the bar, became a partner in his father's law practice, and has since continued practicing law at Muncie, his special attention being given to practice as a consulting engineer and patent lawyer. He is now the president of the Highlands Manufacturing Company of Muncie, a concern engaged in the manufacture of portable lamps and lighting fixtures, and he has always taken keen interest in the political and social affairs of the city. Mr. Ryan married Lenora Highlands, of Clinton, Iowa, and has three children, Mrs. Marion E. Davis of Cincinnati, Ohio, who was educated at De Pauw University; a second daughter, Florence R., who is attending the University of Cincinnati, and a son, Lawrence S. Ryan, who is now serving in the United States army, in Troop "A", 8th Cavalry, lst Cavalry Division, now in service on the Mexican border, at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Ryans reside at 617 East Adams street. .

MAJOR HOWARD ATKINSON, secretary-treasurer of the Maxon Premix Burner Company of Muncie and a veteran of the Spanish-American War and of the Philippine service, was born at Charleston, W. Va., December 18, 1870, and is a son of the Hon. George Wesley Atkinson and Ellen (Eagan) Atkinson, the latter of whom was born in Waterford, Ireland, and was but a child when she came to this country with her parents. The Hon. George Wesley Atkinson, former Governor of West Virginia, who is still living at Charleston, is a Virginian by birth. In 1896 he was elected Governor of West Virginia and thus served in that distinguished executive capacity during the period of the Spanish-American war. Later he was appointed by President Roosevelt as judge of the United States Court of Claims and served as a justice of that court for twenty years and is now living honorably retired at Charleston. Major Howard Atkinson grew up at Charleston and early became attracted to the sea, the days of his young manhood being spent on sailing vessels of the now extinct "square rigged" type, sailing in them to ports in all parts of the world. When he was twenty-one years of age he was licensed as a master and commanded a number of vessels When this country declared war on Spain in the spring of 1898 he was commissioned a major in the 2nd West Virginia regiment. In June, 1899, he was transferred to the 27th Infantry and was sent to the Philippine Islands, and for ten years thereafter labored in the trying task of helping to get the people of those islands organized along civilized lines. Major Atkinson organized the historic company of Illicano Scouts and later was appointed assistant chief of the Philippine constabulary, the chief of which organization was Gen. Henry T. Allen, continuing thus to serve with these native troops until his final discharge on account of disability due to illness. It was owing to this disability that he was "turned down" when he offered his services during the world war. Upon his return.to the States, Major Atkinson resumed his former life at Charleston and presently established there a machine shop and foundry and was thus engaged in business at that place until in 1920, when he disposed of his interests at Charleston to take part in the affairs of the Maxon Premix Burner Company at Muncie, of which he became the secretary and treasurer, and has since been thus engaged at this company's offices and plant at Jefferson street and the Belt railroad. In 1897 Howard Atkinson was united in marriage to Genevieve Maxon, daughter of Mrs. Genevieve Maxon, a descendent of one of the original French families who settled at the pioneer town of

Gallipolis, Ohio, where she was born and lived until married. Major and Mrs. Atkinson are Republicans and members of the Episcopal church. They reside at No. 10, the Canopic apartments.

C. RAY ANDREWS, motion picture promoter and proprietor of three of the leading amusement houses of Muncie, former head of the board of public works of that city and former chairman of the Democratic central committee for that city, very properly may regard himself as a member of the real "first family" of Muncie, for he is a descendant in the fourth generation of Goldsmith C. Gilbert, the Yankee trader, who was the first white man on the ground here when it came time to establish a settlement on the site of the old Munsee Indian village here at the bend of the river upon the acquisition by the Government of the lands here in the New Purchase more than one hundred years ago. Mr. Andrews was born in the immediate vicinity of Yorktown, in Mt. Pleasant township, this county, August 19, 1882, and is a son of John E. and Hanna F. Andrews, the former of whom, a retired miller, now living at Muncie, is a son of Dr. Daniel H. and Mary Jane (Gilbert) Andrews, the latter of whom was the daughter of Goldsmith C. Gilbert and was the first white child born on the present site of Muncie, as is set out elsewhere in this work, together with much interesting detail regarding the coming of the Gilberts here in the early '20s of the past century, as well as of the coming of Dr. Daniel H. Andrews, the honored pioneer physician of old Muncietown. John E. Andrews grew up familiar with the details of the grain milling business and many years ago became engaged in milling at Yorktown, in the immediate vicinity of which village he also owned a farm. In 1888 he disposed of that mill and returned to Muncie, the town of his birth, and was there further engaged in milling until his retirement in 1919. C. Ray Andrews was six years of age when his parents moved back to Muncie and he received his schooling in the schools of that city. When eighteen years of age he went to New York and there took a course in professional dancing and dramatic expression and presently became engaged with the Davidson Stock Company and for two years thereafter was entour with that company, playing theaters in the East and Middle West. In 1904 Mr. Andrews returned to Muncie and took over the management of the Star theater, then playing vaudeville, and presently became the owner of that house. In 1907 he razed the building in which the Star theater was located and erected the present Star Theater building, at first operating the house under the firm style of the U. S.

C. Ray Andrews

Amusement Company. In 1908 he organized the Andrews Theater Company, which absorbed the old amusement company, and in 1912 organized the Home Motion Picture Company and erected the Columbia Theater building. In 1918 Mr. Andrews personally bought the Lyric theater, which he continues to operate, and thus now is in charge of three busy motion picture houses in the city, all of which have a well established popularity. Mr. Andrews is a Democrat and for twelve years served as chairman of that party's central committee in Muncie, and for four years was president of the local board of works. He is a member of the Theatrical Managers' Association and of the local post of the Travelers' Protective Association and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Improved Order of Red Men. C. Ray Andrews married Annette Levy, daughter of Samuel and Ida Levy, and has one child, a son, Darwin Andrews.

CHARLES W. TESCH, superintendent of the plant of the Muncie branch of the Republic Iron and Steel Company, manufacturers of bolts, nuts, screws and: turnbuckles, has been connected with the affairs of that concern. at Muncie for nearly twenty years. Mr. Tesch was born at Cleveland, Ohio, December 16, 1880, and is the son of Charles Fred and Albertina (Buelow) Tesch, the former of whom is still living, now a resident of Muncie. Reared at Cleveland, Charles W. Tesch received his early schooling in the parochial schools of that. city and at the age of thirteen years became apprenticed to the machinist's trade, a vocation with which he became thoroughly familiar. By attending night school and pursuing correspondence courses of study he extended his knowledge along technical lines and became a graduate stationary engineer, completing his apprenticeship in the plant of the Upson Nut Company of Cleveland. As a journeyman machinist Mr. Tesch became employed in various plants throughout the East and was thus engaged for about five years, at the end of which time he became employed in the plant of the Youngstown Manufacturing Company at Youngstown, Ohio, working there under the superintendency of John Stetter. When Mr. Stetter transferred his connection to the plant of the Republic Iron and Steel Company at Muncie, Mr. Tesch went to Cleveland and in the following year (1906) came to Muncie and was made foreman of the finishing department of the plant of the Republic Iron and Steel Company here, a concern which moved to Muncie from Toledo in 1892-3 and has thus for years been one of the important industries of Muncie, now employing around 350 persons. Promotions in the service of this company followed and upon the death of Richard Starr, superintendent of the plant, in 1921, Mr. Tesch was advanced to the post of superintendent and has since occupied that responsible position. In 1902, in New York state, Charles W. Tesch was united in marriage to Sarah Ann Dibble and he and his wife have four children, Nora, Charles, Martha Jane and Richard Wallace. Mr. and Mrs. Tesch are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Tesch is a member of the Muncie Chamber of Commerce and is affiliated with the fraternal order of Knights of Pythias.

EDWARD W. BARRETT, superintendent of the local division of the operations of the Prudential Life Insurance Company at Muncie, with offices in the Johnson block, and a resident of that city since 1916, was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Salem, county seat of Washington county, Indiana, October 27, 1866, and is a son of Allen L. and Maria (McClannahan) Barrett, both of whom were born in that same county, members of pioneer families there, and both now deceased. Allen L. Barrett was a son of Luke Barrett, who was a son of Luke Barrett who had come to this country from Ireland and had settled in Virginia. After his marriage the junior Luke © Barrett had moved to Kentucky and had come thence up into Indiana and settled in Washington county, where he lived to be past eightyfour years of age. Allen L. Barrett spent all his life on the farm in Washington county. He was twice married. His first wife, Maria McClannahan, was a daughter of Samuel McClannahan, who was born in Virginia, a son of a Scottish immigrant. Samuel McClannahan moved to Washington county, Indiana, after his marriage, and there spent the remainder of his life, living to be more than eighty years of age. To Allen L. and Maria (McClannahan) Barrett were born seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last born, the others being Samuel, Mary, Annis, Margaret L., Charles and John, all of whom are living save Samuel and Charles. Upon the death of the mother of these children Allen L. Barrett married Carsanda Williams and to this union were born eight children, Jennie, Benjamin, Frank, Cyrus A., Bishop 8., Cora, Maude and James, all of whom are living save Cora and Maude. Reared on the home farm - jn the vicinity of Salem, Edward W. Barrett received his schooling in the local schools and at the age of sixteen began clerking in a dry goods store at Salem. Some years later he became engaged in business there for himself, and was thus engaged until in 1898, when his attention was attracted to the possibilities of the life insurance field and he entered the service of the Prudential Life Insurance Company, with which concern he ever since has been connected. Mr. Barrett's initial service with this company was rendered in the Indianapolis office. He presently was promoted to the position of superintendent of the company's Vincennes district and after four years of service there was transferred to Oakland, Cal., where he remained for six years, or until in 1916, when he was given charge of the company's Muncie district affairs and has since been carrying on at Muncie, with present offices at 363 the Johnson block. Mr. Barrett is a Democrat and has rendered public service as a member of the city board of safety. He is a Chapter Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1890, at Salem, Ind., Edward W. Barrett was united in marriage to Clara P. Proe, daughter of F. L. Proe, a lawyer of that city and a veteran of the Civil war, and to this union three children have been born, Forrest P., Percy M. and Mary Virginia. Both these sons are veterans of the World war, the latter rendering service in the navy and the former in the army. Percy M. Barrett is now the managing editor of a newspaper at Austin, Tex. Forrest P. Barrett was for five years connected with the army, a first lieutenant. He saw considerable active overseas service and remained in service until in May, 1922. He is now engaged in the advertising business at Portland, Oregon. NOSSETT BROS., printers and publishers, have been engaged in business in Muncie for years. The two brothers, Lon A. and Stanley I. Nossett, were born in Ohio, were reared in Illinois and have been residents of Muncie since 1907. They were born on a farm in Preble county, Ohio, the former in 1881 and the latter in 1883, and are sons of James M. and Eliza J. (Ashworth) Nossett, both of whom were born in Virginia, the latter a daughter of Hilary Ashworth, also a Virginian, who became one of the pioneers of Preble county, Ohio. James M. Nossett was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, a son of James Nossett, a farmer. In the early '80s James M. Nossett became a resident of Preble county, Ohio, where he married and for some years thereafter made his home, then moving to Illinois, where the Nossett brothers were reared. The brothers received their schooling in the schools of Freeport and Rockford, Ill. Upon completing the high school course in the latter city, Lon A. Nossett took a course in the college at Mt. Morris. At Rockford the brothers had learned the printing trade and as mere boys went to Danville, Ill., where they became employed in the office of the Commercial-News. In 1907 they came to Muncie and in the following year (1908) they bought out the old print shop which had been established by J. W. Perkins at Muncie in 1881. They presently moved that plant to more commodious quarters in the Boyce block on Main street and as their business expanded later found it necessary to acquire larger quarters, moving then to 116 North Mulberry street, where they remained until in 1919, when they bought the building in which their printing establishment now is located at 117 North Franklin street, where they since have carried on their business and where they have a well equipped and up-to-date printing factory, with facilities for taking care of all general commercial printing. Among the edition publica- _ tions taken care of in this shop is The Masonic Review, the organ of the local Masonic bodies at Muncie, which is published by Nossett Bros. Both Lon and Stanley Nossett are past worshipful masters in Freemasonry and are nobles of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. They likewise are members of the Knights of Pythias and Lon Nossett also is a member of the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose. Lon A. Nossett married Nellie Edwards, of Danville, Ill., and has three children, Lonella E., Dorothy M. and Billie J. He and his family reside at 400 West North street. Stanley I. Nossett. married Maude M. Mills, of Mattoon, Ill., and has two children, Stanley C. and Edna Mae. He and his family reside at 324 East North street.