Grant County, Indiana - The whole text, 1914 (part 11 of 32)

Of English ancestry, it is said that three brothers named Peacock came to America during the colonial era, and located among the Penn colonies in Pennsylvania. Later some of their descendants moved in from South Carolina, where their home remained for several generations. The first definite members of the family to be mentioned in this article were Asa and his wife Dinah Peacock. Asa Peacock was born in the Rice belt of North Carolina, was married there and afterwards took his family into North Carolina. Then during the decade of the twenties they all came to Indiana. That journey was made in true pioneer style, with wagons and teams across the long distances of forest trail, and they finally located in the Friends settlement at Newport, now Fountain City in Wayne county. From there about 1830 they came to Grant county, and entered land from the government in Liberty township. Thus the Peacock name has been identified with Grant county for eightythree years. Asa Peacock and his first wife lived and died in Grant county. He was past eighty years of age at the time of his death. His second wife was Dorcas Jones, nee Hale, who survived him and died in Kansas. By her first husband she had a family of children. Asa Pea¬ cock and his first wife were the parents of William, Levi, Joseph, Betsey D., Martha (Patsey) and John. Of these, Levi died recently at Rich¬ mond, Indiana, when past ninety years of age. Joseph is still living, over eighty years of age, in Kokomo. Patsey and another sister died young. Betsey D. married and reared a family of children. John died an old man and left a family of children. William Peacock, son of Asa and Dinah, was born in South Carolina, November 4, 1812. He was still a boy when his parents moved to Indiana, and he reached maturity in Grant county. In 1833 he went to Newgarden in Wayne, where he married Phoebe Haisley, who was bom October 9, 1812. They began their married life in Grant county, and in a wild and unbroken section of Liberty township. They secured land direct from the government and improved a good farm. There William Peacock died April 30, 1867, and his remains were laid to rest at Oak Ridge. His death resulted from a fever contracted during attendance of his wife, who was stricken with the disease while on a visit to Newgarden, Wayne county, and died March 23, 1867. To William Peacock and wife were born eleven chil¬ dren, mentioned as follows: 1. Hannah, bom in 1839, and died in 1913 in the state of Oregon, married Mordecai M. Davison, also deceased; they had no children. 2. Josiah, bom in 1836 and died in 1867, married Cynthia Rich, and they had five children. 3. Anna, born in 1839 and died in 1882, became wife of Barkley Moon and had four children. 4. Susanna, bom in 1840, and died in 1912, married Lewis Hackett, and they died without issue. 5. Levina, born in 1842, and died in 1874, married Aaron Comer, and had no children. 6. Joseph H. born Feb¬ ruary 9, 1844, and died May 5, 1874, is the special subject of this article. 7. Jane, bom in 1846 and died in 1868, married Thomas H. Johnson, and left one son. 8. Sarah died in infancy. 9. Diana, born in 1852, lives in Fairmount, the widow of Nathan Hinshaw. 10. William, Jr., bom in 1854, lives in Sedgewick, Kansas, married Lyda Smith, and has children. 11. Levi died in infancy.

The late Joseph H. Peacock was reared on his father's farm in Lib¬ erty township, was educated, and trained in the local schools and in a good home where prevailed a high atmosphere of moral and religious influence. In 1869 in the Quaker church at Fairmount and with the orthodox Quaker ceremony, he married Elizabeth Radley, who was born near Chelmsford, Essex county, England, June 6, 1843.

Mrs. Peacock, who now lives in Fairmount with her children, comes of an old English ancestry. Her parents were Samuel and Mary (Bull) Radley, her mother a sister of John Bull, one of the early settlers of Fairmount. Samuel Radley and wife were married in Essex county, England, and all their four children, Mary A., Elizabeth, Alice C., and Samuel John were bora in England. The father was by trade a plas¬ terer and brick layer. While the children were all small the family embarked on a sailing vessel named Westminster, under Captain Doan, and voyaged from London to New York, six weeks being spent on the ocean. Locating near Fairmount, Mr. Radley followed his trade and engaged in farming, his later years being mostly spent on the farm. He died March 11, 1877, when about sixty years of age. His wife passed away October 24, 1888. She was born in the Presbyterian faith, but early in life joined the Friends church, and her father was a birthright Friend. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Peacock were the parents of two sons. William A., born November 23, 1871, and died at the age of eighteen; John Henry, bom June 14, 1873, received a substantial education in the Fairmount Public Schools, and graduated from the biblical department of the Fairmount Academy and also the Wesleyan Theological Semi¬ nary. He with his mother now owns 230 acres of land and is a thrifty and successful farmer and devoted Christian. He married Ruth Reese, of Michigan. Their two sons are Myron R., at home, and a graduate of the Fairmount Academy; and Joseph Edward, who died when nearly seven years of age. The farm upon which Joseph H. Peacock died lies northwest of Fairmount, near where Fairmount Academy now stands.

lies just northeast of Fairmount. There are over two hundred acres of land, and a comfortable farm house, the well painted barns, the improve¬ ments in fences and cultivation, all indicate the thrift and prosperity which have been associated with the Peacock name throughout its con¬ nection with Grant county.

Richard H. Dillon. Through all his career Mr. Dillon has quietly followed the vocation of farmer. Since he left school each recurring spring has meant to him a time of opportunity, the planting for the later harvest. Many of his hopes have had fruition, as well as his crops. He has been prospered, has performed his share of the responsibilities that come to every man and the extent of his riches is not to be meas¬ ured alone by his material store.

Concerning the family of Mr. Dillon it may be said that his grand¬ father was also Richard H. Dillon, and was probably born in one of the southern states, of Irish ancestry. His death occurred in Ohio. He married Elizabeth Unthank. They lived in Clinton county, Ohio, for some years, and in 1848 moved to Madison county, Indiana, where they were among the early Quaker settlers. Of their children, the youngest son, Oliver, lived to be 60 or 65 years of age and died near Indianapolis, and Allen became the father of Richard H. Dillon.

Allen Dillon was born in Clinton county, Ohio, March 13, 1836, and was twelve years of age when the family moved to Madison county, Indiana. There he grew to manhood, and for a number of years con¬ ducted a saw mill, did carpenter work, lived on a farm which he owned. In 1856 he moved to Grant county, and lived in this county until his death on January 3, 1899, passing away in Fairmount. In 1857 Allen Dillon married in Fairmount tow'nship Kaziah Henly, who was bom in North Carolina in 1832, and came north from Randolph county, North Carolina, to Grant county with her parents in 1837, and continued to reside in Grant county either in Fairmount township or the city until her death in 1911. Her parents were staunch Quakers whose ancestors came to America with William Penn, and Allen Dillon was also of that faith. She was the mother of two children, one of whom died in infancy.

Richard H. Dillon was born on the old home farm in Fairmount township, August 14, 1858, received his education in the public schools and Purdue University, and has always followed the vocation of farm¬ ing. He built his present good brick home at 919 North Buckeye Street in Fairmount in 1891. He and his wife own seventeen acres of land in an adjacent section, also another tract of 40 acres in Fairmount town¬ ship and valuable farm lands in Marshall county, Indiana.

Mr. Dillon was married in Grant county to Alice R. Coahran, who was bom April 4, 1861. When she was six years of age, she moved to Madison county, Indiana, with her parents, who were John and Susan (Hammond) Coahran. Her parents lived on a farm in Madison county until 1879, when they moved to Fairmount City, and here they both died, the father at the age of eighty-four and the mother at the age of seventy-two. They were also of Quaker religion. Mr. and Mrs. Dillon are the parents of one child, Mary Allen, born July 14, 1892. She received her early educational advantages in the Fairmount public schools and the Academy, and is a member of the class of 1914 at Earlham College at Richmond. In politics Mr. Dillon is a Republican voter.

John Smith. For many years one of the most prosperous farming men in the county, John Smith, with the organization of the Upland State Bank, stepped into the office of president of that young financial institution, and he has since continued in his dual capacity of farmer

Some time after her husband's death Mrs. Peacock sold that farm and later purchased the farm upon which the Peacocks now live. This farm and banker, with equal success in both enterprises. As a well-to-do agricultural man, he is widely known in the county, and his land hold¬ ings aggregate something like 525 acres, designated much as follows: The home farm of 210 acres located in section 25 and section 26 ; forty acres adjoining the home place on the north ; forty acres in section 24 ; and one hundred acres in section 36, making about four hundred acres in Monroe township. He also owns one hundred and twenty acres in Blackford county. The bulk of the land he rents for a yearly cash rental, but the home place of two hundred and ten acres he operates himself. * He is also a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted February 1, 1865, in Company B, 153d Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until September 4, 1865, when he was discharged at Louisville, Ken¬ tucky. Did detached duty during the most of his service.

John Smith was born in the northeast part of Mahoning county, Ohio, on November 15, 1843, and is a son of Thomas and Mary (Leonard) Smith, who reared a family of seven children, as follows: Wesley, of Huntingdon county; John, of this review; Jane, who is deceased; Emily and Lavina, also deceased ; Mrs. Maria Smith, a resident of Milford Cen¬ ter, Ohio; and Hiram, of Hartford City. The father of this family, Thomas Smith, moved to Grant county in the spring of 1845 and here entered a tract of government land, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, and the home of John Smith is built upon one forty of this original acreage. The land was a dense wood at that time, and before he was able to build the rude log cabin that sheltered his little family in those early days, he was obliged to cut a road from the nearest settlement through his place. He gradually cleared up the place, and in later years came to be the owner of one hundred and twenty acres in Blackford county, together with another forty adjoining, but he was swindled out of this land through his investment in a railroad line that was projected through those parts. Thomas Smith died July 23, 1876, and his wife passed away January 7, 1901.

Mr. John Smith's progress has been fairly rapid, and at all times certain. No element of chance has entered into his operations, and when he bought a new piece of land, he did so secure in the knowledge that he was getting it at a fair price, and that the top of the market had not yet been reached. When he married in 1873 he was the owner of a 100- acre tract. He soon bought another forty from his father and engaged in potato growing, sometimes having as high as forty acres planted to that indispensable tuber. He has raised as high as four hundred bushels to the acre, but would average about three hundred bushels, which at a market of twenty-five to thirty cents, made money for him every year. He was dubbed the "Potato King" of his locality, and was well entitled to the name. For twenty-five years he devoted himself to the cultivation of this crop, his shipments running well into the carloads each season. He continued to buy land until he had a large acreage to his credit, and as has already been stated, much of the land he rents, confining himself to the cultivation of the home place alone. An example of his thrift in the matter of buying land may be cited in the instance of his purchase, with his brother, of a forty lying on a creek. The price paid was $100 and the consideration was offered in a colt and $50 in cash. This forty, then considered worth little or nothing, is today well drained and worth $100 an acre. Mr. Smith has paid high prices for some of his land, however, much of it coming at $25 and $30, while some of it cost him as high as $50 an acre.

likewise one of the best improved and kept up. In 1889 a fine eleven-room house was built on the place, modern in many ways, and decidedly orna¬ mental to the landscape. A beautiful sloping lawn adds to the natural beauty of the place, and numerous barns and other buildings contribute to the general attractiveness of the ensemble.

On February 12, 1874, Mr. Smith was married to Lucy Bocock, the daughter of James and Hester Ann (Shannon) Bocock, of Clark county, Ohio, and Brown county, Ohio, respectively. They were married in Indiana and lived many years in Grant and Blackford counties, this state. They have reared a family of eight children! Raleigh, former principal of the Jonesboro schools, is now assistant cashier of the Upland State Bank; Pluma is at home; Arthur is a furniture dealer in Hart¬ ford City; Thana is deceased; Ira, also deceased; Harry A. is a practic¬ ing dentist in Seattle, Washington ; Charles is a farmer in Monroe town¬ ship; Lelah is at the Lewis Institute, Chicago, Ill., studying domestic science.

Concerning Raleigh 0. Smith, who is assistant cashier of the Upland State Bank, it may be stated that he was born on November 22, 1874. in Monroe township, and received his education in the district schools in Fairmount Academy and Marion Normal College, finishing his train¬ ing in the State Normal College at Terra Haute, Indiana, in 1906. He began teaching at the age of nineteen in 1894, and taught seven terms in Marion at different times; two terms were taught in Franklin township, and he served as teacher of the j\Iississinewa schools, finishing his peda¬ gogic service with three years as principal of the Jonesboro High School. In May, 1912, he became assistant cashier of the bank, of which his father is president, and which was organized in 1909.

John Smith is a Republican and is a member of the Friends church, his son Raleigh sharing in his politics and his religion. The parents of Mr. Smith were Methodists, but he embraced the faith of the Friends some years ago, and has ordered his life largely in accordance with the demands of that sect. He is especially enthusiastic on the subject of temperance, and is one of the stanch and true citizens of the community, where he has done his full share in the good work of development and upbuilding.

Samuel Charles Wilson. A resident in Grant county since pioneer times, large family relationship, with a high character of moral and industrious citizenship, strict and active membership in the Friends church, - such are some of the significant attributes attaching to the Wilson family in Grant county. There are a number of Wilson families included within the general scope of the name, but this particular article is concerned with the immediate ancestors and the individual career of Samuel C. Wilson, who is now living retired at his beautiful country home in Fairmount township on section sixteen, and is almost eligible to the Grant county octogenarian club.

If the history of the family were written in detail, it would be found that the first members came over to America with William Penn and assisted that great Quaker in founding and developing the city of Phila¬ delphia. Through all the generations, 'with hardly an exception, the different members of the families have been orthodox Quakers. Some years after the family was founded, one of its members moved into North Carolina, that being before the Revolutionary war. He located in Randolph county, a county which probably sent more settlers to Grant county, Indiana, than any. other eastern locality. There he be¬ came one of the organizers and early builders of the Back Creek Quaker meeting. It is not known exactly how many years elapsed between this first settlement and the birth of Joseph Wilson, grandfather of the Samuel C. Wilson of this sketch. Grandfather Joseph Wilson was bom in Randolph county, North Carolina, about 1760. His occupation was farming. He was a faithful atendant at the Quaker meeting, and it is related that he would desist his labors in so important an undertaking as a barn raising in order to attend church services. His death occurred in North Carolina, and it is supposed that he was quite old. He was married in his native locality to a Miss Charles, whose family had also for a long time been residents in North Carolina, and of the same strict sect of Friends. At her death she left three sons and two daughters. These children, so far as information is obtainable, are mentioned as follows: 1. Samuel, born in Randolph county, was married there to Ruth Thornburg, and came north to Indiana about 1836 or 1837, settling and developing a fine homestead and all that goes with it in Hamilton county, Indiana. His wife Ruth died in Hamilton county, at a good old age, and he then went out to Kansas, where he died shortly afterwards at the home of a son. 2. Henry was born on a North Caro¬ lina farm, was married there, and soon afterwards moved to Washington county, Indiana, where he improved a good farm and established his home and family on a substantial basis. His wife died in Indiana, at a comparatively early age, and for his second marriage he was united with a Mrs. Alberson. He had children by his first marriage, as did his second wife, though there was no issue by their second union.

3. Abigail was married in Randolph county, North Carolina, to a Mr. Simons, came to Henry county, Indiana, where both died, after careers of substantial and honorable prosperity. They left a family of children.

4. This was a daughter who married Owen Lindsley, and they moved to Orange county, Indiana, where Mr. Lindsley was a prominent and wealthy man and farmer. It is a curious circumstance that all these children on coming north to Indiana located in different counties, and all of them in staunch communities of Friends.

The name omitted from the above list of children was John Wilson, the oldest of the five. He was born in the Back Creek Meetings in Ran¬ dolph county, North Carolina, in 1784. He grew up there on his father's farm, and was married in early manhood to Mary Winslow. She was born in the same section of Indiana, about thirteen years after her husband. Her father, Henry Winslow, later moved to Grant v county with his family, that migration taking place late in the decade of the twenties, so that the family was among the earliest in this county. The Winslows bought government land and made a fine farm in Fairmount township, where Mr. Winslow died at a good old age. The Winslow family were prominent members of the Quaker church. John Wilson and his wife after their marriage and after the birth of all their children in Randolph county, set out from their native state in April, 1837, to find a home in the fine old country of Indiana. Their journey was accomplished somewhat in state, and it is evident that the circum¬ stances of the Wilsons from a material point of view were more pros¬ perous than those of a great many who settled in Grant county at that early date. A large wagon drawn by four horses carried many of the household possessions and the male members of the family. Behind came a carriage, with the wife and younger children. They journeyed on day after day along the roads, camping out at night and on Sun¬ days, and were several weeks in performing this interesting trip. On reaching Grant county, John Wilson and family located on Section six of Fairmount township. The land had never been broken with the ployv, and there were few evidences of the work and industry of civilized man anywhere on the three hundred and sixty acres. With the aid of the sons, this land rapidly was cleared and brought under cultivation, and all members of the household lived happily there until 1856, when John Wilson and wife moved into the town of Fairmount, where his death occurred in June, 1864, lacking only a day of being eighty years of age. His wife afterwards made her home with a son, Milton, in Center township, and died there about 1870 at the age of seventy-two. Both were among the early members of the Back Creek Friends Church in Fairmount township, though they were not among the organizers of that community, and took a very prominent part in its affairs.

The children of John Wilson and wife are noted as follows: 1. Jesse E., who died in Fairmount township in 1883 at the age of sixty-seven years, was a farmer, a member of the Back Creek Church, and a charter member of the Fairmount Meeting, married and had a large family of children. 2. Nathan, who died in Fairmount in 1880 at the age of sixty-two, was an early member of the Fairmount Quaker Meeting, and had a family of twelve children. 3. Cyrus died in middle life at the age of forty -five in November, 1864. His home was in Liberty town¬ ship. He married and his three children are all now deceased. 4. Henry, who died at the age of forty-four in June, 1863, lived in Fairmount township, and had four children. 5. Nancy, who died in April, 1913, at the very advanced age of eighty-nine years, married Elam Doherty, who died a number of years ago. They left three sons and one daugh¬ ter. 6. Micajah, who died on his farm in Fairmount township, July 1, 1906, at the age of eighty-one married a Miss Neal, also deceased, and there were no children. 7. Elizabeth, better known as Betsy, married William Cox, and a full history of the Cox family will be found under the name of Nathan D. Cox elsewhere in this work. 8. Eliza, who died in 1856, in middle life, was the wife of Eli Neal, who is deceased, and two of their sons are living. 9. John Milton, who was a farmer all his life, spent his last days in Wabash, where he died in 1895, leaving a family of four sons still living. 10. Lindsay, who died May 20, 1906, at the age of seventy-three years and five months, married a Miss Davis, who left five children living. 11. The eleventh in the family is Samuel C. Wilson, and now the only survivor. 12. Abigail was an infant when the family came to Grant county, and died here at the age of nine years.

Samuel C. Wilson was born in the Back Creek Meeting of Randolph county, North Carolina, October 14, 1834. Since he was only two and a half years of age when the family accomplished its memorable journey to Grant county, he naturally remembers nothing of the incidents of that event. On the old farm in Fairmount township, he spent his early days, had a fair amount of schooling, and after his marriage operated a part of his father's estate. In 1864 he moved to section sixteen in Fairmount township, which has now been his home for nearly half a century. There he bought one hundred and three acres of partly im¬ proved land, and in 1884 built the fine old homestead which since has sheltered him and his children. From the standpoint of building, it is all very comfortable, and in the best of repairs, and there is not a foot of waste land on the entire farm, a fact which shows his thrifty enter¬ prise in handling the soil. His crops are hay, oats, wheat and com, also considerable potatoes, and steadily throughout the years his prosperity has been growing so that he has been able to make liberal provisions for himself and his family.

Mr. Wilson was first married in Liberty township of Grant county on April 22, 1857. His marriage was in the Qua^er church and accord¬ ing to the attractive Quaker ceremony. His bride was Miss Rachael Overman, who was born in Center township of this county in March, 1842, and who died in October, 1865, without children. On January 10,

1867, in Rush county, Indiana, Mr. Wilson married Elizabeth Jessup, who was bom near Carthage in Rush county, October 11, 1842. She died at her home in Fairmount township, on the fourth of June, 1913. She was a birthright Quaker, and from 1867 until her death, a period of forty-five years, was one of the active members of the Back Creek Meetings. The children of Mr. Wilson and wife were: 1. Lindsay, bom March 9, 1870, was educated in the district schools and at the Fairmount Academy, and has been one of the sturdy farmers of this section for a number of years. In 1911 he became a member of the board of directors of the Fairmount Academy, and as a staunch Republican is also a present member of the County Council. In December, 1894, he married in Fairmount township, Miss Essie Griffin Davis, a daughter of Attorney Foster Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay Wilson have two chil¬ dren: Doftnda Elizabeth, born in August, 1895, and who graduated a member of a class of forty- four in 1913 and is now at home ; Hubert D., bom July 31, 1897, a senior in the Fairmount Academy. 2. Jessup, bom November 21, 1872, was educated in the Academy, has never mar¬ ried, and is now his father's active manager on the home farm. 3. Thomas, bom in 1874, died in 1880. Mr. Wilson and his sons are staunch Repub¬ licans, and throughout his life he has been a member of the Back Creek Quaker Church. For ovet twenty-five years he has served on the con¬ trolling board of the church, also an elder and a clerk in the monthly meeting for a long time. His long and honorable business career and prominence in church and civic affairs were worthily honored in 1890 with his election to the state legislature in which he served one term.

Joseph Newby. A fine citizen, who knew farming, who was always ready to bear his share of responsibilities in the community, was the late Joseph Newby, who died at his home in Fairmount township on section sixteen, June 15, 1913. Mr. Newby has spent practically all his life in Grant county, and belonged to one of the earliest families.

Joseph Newby was born at the old Newby homestead in Fairmount township on August 21, 1857. He was fifty-six years of age at his death, and just at the climax of his powers and usefulness. His parents were Thomas W. and Sarah (Hill) Newby, both of whom were natives of Randolph county, North Carolina. They were children when their respective parents and families left North Carolina, and came north to Indiana. It was a typical emigration, one made with teams and wagon, and between their departure and their arrival in Indiana many days of travel intervened, and there were many incidents to break the monotony of such a journey. Both families arrived in Grant county towards the close of the decade of the twenties, previous to the organization of Grant county, so that they are very properly classed among the pioneers and founders of civilization in this section of the state. Both the Newbys and the Hills got their first land from the government, and improved homesteads in Fairmount towhship, were early members of the Quaker church, and lived long and industrious lives. Thomas W. Newby grew up amid pioneer scenes, attended one of the old-fashioned log school houses, such as are described in the general history of this work, and always followed farming. About sixty-five years ago he and his wife were married, and they started out to make their fortune on a farm. There they lived until death closed their quiet and useful careers, he dying at the age of seventy-nine, and she when eighty-six years of age. All the qualities of good citizenship and upright, moral and Christian people belonged to Thomas W. Newby and wife. They had six children in their family.

youngest son, received his education in public schools that were consid¬ erably advanced above the character of those which his father had attended. After his marriage he settled on eighty acres of land, given him by his father, and thus had a substantial start towards success. He had as his companion a woman who was industrious, thrifty, and very attentive to the household and to the moral training of her children, and under such conditions they steadily prospered. During the thirty years of their residence on the farm in section sixteen of Fairmount township, the eighty original acres grew to one hundred and twenty, and the entire place was well improved in buildings and cultivation. It is an attractive rural estate, and through the shade and fruit trees may be seen the front of the comfortable white house, while an evidence of farming thrift is the good red barn standing near by.

Mr. Newby was married in Delaware county, Indiana, on* September 30, 1879, to Mi$s Laura L. Foster. She was born in Davy county, North Carolina, December 25, 1857, and was ten years of age when her mother brought her to Madison county, Indiana. She was the daughter of Henderson W. Foster, who, though opposed to Secession, was forced to join the Southern army, * and in consequence of ill health died a few months after his enlistment at the age of thirty years. Henderson W. Foster married Louise Ribelin, who was born in Davy county, North Carolina, of German parentage. Left a widow with two small children, she joined a party of Friends going north and in 1867 arrived in Indiana. She later married Josiah Winter, and they finally located on a farm in Fairmount township of Grant county. There Mr. Winter died at the age of seventy-nine. In his religious views he was a Dunkard. His widow, who died July 24, 1896, when about sixty-nine years of age, passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Newby. She also in later life affiliated with the Dunkard Church. By her first marriage there were two children, one of them Mrs. Newby, and the other Louisa, the wife of Leroy Homer, of Mill township in Grant county. By his former marriage Mr. Winter had two sons and five daughters, the only one of whom now living is Mrs. Christianna Hiat of Madison county, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Newby became the parents of the following children : 1. Harmon T., born March 11, 1882, was educated in the common schools and a business college, and is now in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad Company at Las Vegas, New Mexico. He married Miss Lillian Withers. They have no children. 2. Arthur W., born November 17, 1884, was educated in the Fairmount Academy and the Marion Busi¬ ness College, and is now managing the home estate for his mother. 3. John F., bom October 5, 1887, is a farmer in the township of Jeffer¬ son, and married Ethel B. Corn, a daughter of Joseph Cora. They have two children, Grace M., and Ernest A. 4. Mary L., bora August 25, 1891, received a good education, attending Fairmount Academy, and is now the wife of James A. Corn, living 'in Fairmount township. Their children are Laura M., Jason I., and Evert Earl. During his career as a citizen, the late Mr. Newby voted the Republican ticket regularly, and his son has taken up the same political faith. Mrs. Newby is a mem¬ ber of the Methodist Protestant church.

Hill Brothers. Vigorous enterprise has been the keynote in the successful establishment of Hill Brothers at Fairmount, where they carry on a butchering and meat refrigeration and market business which is one of the best managed plants of its kind to be found anywhere out¬ side of the largest cities. To furnish people with good food products has always been an honorable vocation, but in recent years it has come to be seen that such a service is one of the most important that man can ren- der to his fellow men. That is the sole business of Hill Brothers, and they deserve the greatest credit for the manner in which they are per¬ forming it. The firm comprises James T. Hill and S. Brooks Hill. Some mention of their individual careers and their families will be of interest in this history of Grant county and are briefly sketched in the following paragraphs.

The parents were Israel and Sarah J. (Sharpe) Hill, both natives of Pennsylvania. The Hill family is of English and German origin, while the Sharpes are of German and French extraction. Israel Hill and wife were married in Fulton county, and spent their lives there as farmers, the father being a member of the Primitive Baptist faith, while his wife was of the Christian denomination. Israel Hill died at the age of seventy-three and his wife followed him at the age of seventy-six. Their children are mentioned as follows: Louisiana is the wife of Jack Hixson, a farmer in Miami county, Ohio. Their three sons are Ira, Charles and Walter. Howard is a merchant at Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania, and married Norah Runyon, and their chil¬ dren are Cora and Verna.

James T. Hill, the senior member of the firm of Hill Brothers, and third in order of birth in the family, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1868, received an education in the public schools about in the same man¬ ner as his brother, and starting out to make his own way, learned the butcher's trade at the National Soldiers Home in Dayton, Ohio. While at Dayton, he was married, and then established an enterprise as a breeder and raiser of fine hogs, of the improved Duroc Jersey strain. He did a good business in that line, raising from three hundred to four hundred every year. After eight years in that work he moved to Fairmount City, in 1904, and became associated with his brother in the meat market business. These two have since combined their energy and experience in building Up a flourishing enterprise. James T. Hill was first married at Dayton, Ohio, to Miss Fannie Heckman, of Montgomery county, that state. She was bom, reared and educated in the vicinity of Dayton, and died five years after her marriage. The three children left at her death were Anna, Harry and Hallie, all of whom are now in the Fairmount public school. Mr. James T. Hill for his second wife married Miss Eva Bell Butts. She was a native of Montgomery county, where they were married. They are the parents of William B. and Mary G.

S. Brooks Hill was born in the foothills of the Alleghany mountains in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1873. His early training and home influence were on a farm and he belonged to a thrifty Penn¬ sylvania family. He grew up and was educated in the common schools and first qualified himself for a career as a teacher. When a boy he got his education by walking night and morning two and a half miles to a district school. Later he went to the county normal, and then 'spent three years as a teacher.

S. Brooks Hill, after he gave up his occupation as a school teacher, having about that time reached his majority, moved out to Dayton, Ohio, and spent four years in the meat and grocery business. That was the foundation of his experience which enabled him to start out on his own account when he came to Fairmount in January, 1898. Here he first took the management of a local telephone company, and spent seven years in that work. In 1904, he established a meat market, and after a few months bought out his partner, and was then joined by his brother. The Hill Brothers enterprise is much above the average scope of a local meat market. They not only have a well equipped shop for disposing of their meat on the block, but maintain a slaughter house, and have a complete refrigerating plant for the preserving and curing of all their products. Electricity is the power which operates the entire plant. A large part of the business is the preparation of the meat consumed by nearly all the farmers in this section of Grant county, and their equip¬ ment has been especially designed to meet the demands of this class of trade. By careful management and efficient service they have built up a very profitable business..

Mr. S. Brooks Hill was married in Mercer county, Ohio, to Miss Caro¬ line Johnsman, who was bom in Mercer county on a farm, received a public school education, and has been a most helpful companion to her husband. Their children are: Thelma, now eleven years of age and attending the city schools; and Clemons Lamont, who is five years of age.

Milton B. Hill, the youngest of the Hill Brothers, was born in Fulton county, Pennsylvania, October 4, 1876. He married Bertha Lake, and they have two children, Vivian and Kittie. Mr. Hill resides on the old home farm in Fulton county, Pennsylvania.

Elihu J. Oren. A resident of Monroe township for more than seventy years, and one of the best known and most successful farmers and citizens of that locality, Elihu J. Oren is a product of pioneer envir¬ onment and of the old-fashioned log school house, of the kind that has passed down into history along with the stage-coach and the hoop-skirt. The school days, even in that rough and primitive institution were lim¬ ited, and much of his education was obtained at his father's knee, and by such schooling as he was able to give himself in the opportunity of leisure. In spite of its many deficiencies, however, this old-fashioned training had a way of bringing out sober, industrious, God-fearing men, such as Elihu J. Oren himself, the kind of men who have proved the backbone and mainstay of our nation, and have reared up a steady new generation of able men and women for the honor of the country.

Elihu J. Oren was bom February 20, 1835, in Green county, Ohio, a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Evans) Oren, the father a native of Ten¬ nessee, and the mother of southern Indiana. Col. Robert M. Evans, an uncle of Eliabeth Evans, platted and laid out the site of Evansville, Indiana. Elizabeth Evans was born in Davis county, Indiana. Jesse Oren, the father, was bom December 12, 1806, and died September 13, 1874. His father, John Oren, moved to Clinton county, Ohio, in 1818, and his people were Quakers. Jesse Oren was reared in Clinton county, Ohio, and on September 12, 1830, married Elizabeth Evans, who was born June 6, 1808, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Evans. Her death occurred May 8, 1863. Jesse Oren and wife moved to Grant county with their family and reached Monroe township, November 12, 1841. They had to cut a road from the Charles Atkinson place to the site of the eighty acres which the father had bought in the midst of the woods. Not an acre of the land was cleared and the first home of the family in this county was a rough cabin built of round logs, and with scarcely any furniture or creature comforts. Jesse Oren bought eighty acres, but soon afterwards a period of invalidism seized him and his son Elihu assumed the obligations for payment of this new land. The nine children in the family of the parents were: John E., deceased; Mrs. Margaret Skinner, deceased ; Elihu J. ; Mrs. Elizabeth Atkinson, de¬ ceased; Mrs. Rebecca S. Hunnicutt, deceased; Sarah Jane Benedict; Rachael Kirkpatrick, and Esther Foy, all three deceased; and Henry G. of Blackford county. The father of these children was an excellent scholar for his time, and in default of the poor schools that existed in this section of Indiana, he did much of the work of instruction among his growing children.

Elihu J. Oren

Elihu J. Oren for a few terms attended the number eight school in Monroe township, and supplied the other deficiencies of his training with the wisdom of his father, and by close observation and practical experience. He lived with his father until the latter's death, and con¬ tributed his labor to the support of the family and the care of his invalid father. He then came into possession of the home place of eighty acres and bought other land as he was able until at the present time he is the owner of two hundred acres, with eighty acres in section 20, eighty acres in section 28, and he and his son have a place of eighty acres in section 32, all in Monroe township. The homestead is in section 28. Mrs. Oren also owns fifteen acres in Blackford county. The crops for 1912 on the Oren estate aggregated two thousand bushels of corn, twelve hundred bushels of oats, twenty tons of hay. He fed and wintered fifty-two hogs, and a considerable bunch of cattle. Each year about seventy hogs are sent to market from Oren farm, and the other herds of stock include about a carload of .cattle every year, some twenty sheep and eleven horses for the work of the farm. Mr. Oren has a very comfortable homestead and it is one of the oldest houses in this section of the county, having been built under his supervision in 1861, more than half a century ago. All the lumber for the dwelling was hand-dressed, its walls and framing were put together very strong, and there are few houses of modern con¬ struction which would stand so long as this one. The dwelling is situ¬ ated on an eminence, and both house and barns are painted a dark green. The bam was finished in October, 1876.

Mr. Oren was married March 6, 1871, to Miss Mary Townsend, a daughter of James F. Townsend. Two of their children died in infancy, and they have reared ten, named as follows: Jason, of Gas City; Otto, of Carroll county, Missouri; Jasper, at home in Monroe township; Mrs. Bertha Atkinson of Monroe township ; James E., a dairyman of Center township; Bruce C., a blacksmith at Upland in Jefferson township; Fletcher H., of Upland; Warren, at home; Stella Atkinson, of Gas City; Charles, at home.

In the community life of Monroe township Mr. Oren has long been an important factor. He is a Democrat and has taken active and influ¬ ential part in party councils. In 1872 he was chosen to the office of township trustee, and by reelection served for eight years consecutively. In 1884 he was again a successful candidate for the same office, and served for four years, making twelve years in all. He has frequently attended state and congressional conventions as a delegate, and was a delegate to the last congressional convention in the campaign of 1912. Religiously he supports the Universalist faith. Fraternally he is very prominent in several organizations. He became a member of the Masonic lodge at Jonesboro in 1860, and now affiliates with the Arcana Lodge F. & A. M., of Upland, of which he is a charter member and was the first Master. He belongs to the Chapter and the Council at Hartford City. He affiliates with Shidler Lodge No. 352, I. 0. 0. F. at Upland, and is also a member of the Encampment. He belongs to the Hartford City Lodge No. 625 of the B. P. 0. E. Mr. Oren was the first master and a charter member of the Arcana lodge of Masons then at Arcana, now lo¬ cated at Upland. He has represented the Masonic order in the Grand Lodge frequently. He has filled all the chairs in the Odd Fellows subordinate lodge and also the encampment, and has represented both divisions in state meetings. He served as a delegate to the state meeting of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Anderson, Ind.. in 1912, and also at Lafayette in 1913, representing Hartford City Lodge, No. 625.

Henry A. Hanley. A number of years ago prosperity came to Henry A. Hanley, and entirely through his own efforts and through the medium of progressive agriculture and stock raising. Mr. Hanley, when a child lost his father, as a result of exposure and disease, during service in the Union army. That caused him to be thrown upon his own resources at an early age, and while his education was neglected he grew up familiar with hard work from a tender age, and has earned his own support from a time when most modern children are in the lower grades of grammar school. Mr. Hanley had the perseverance and the ambition to succeed, and long since arrived at a place where his success has been subject of commendation by his neighbors.

Henry Alva Hanley, the third in his parents' family, was born near Hartford City, Indiana, November 25, 1857. He comes down through a family of respectable and worthy people, and his grandfather lived for a number of years, in Ohio, where he died. He was a farmer. Of the grandparents' children, Washington, Burr, James and Lafayette were all born in Ohio, and 'later settled in Indiana, wh£re they followed farming. The only survivor is Lafayette, who is a retired farmer living in Muncie. Burr Hanley was born in Ohio, and was a young man when .he came to Indiana, and started life as a farmer in Blackford county, near Hartford City. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted as a private in the Thirty-four Indiana Infantry, his brother Lafayette being in the same regiment, and after some months of service contracted the measles and was sent home on a furlough of forty days. Apparently recovering from his illness, he returned to join his com¬ mand, but about twenty days later was stricken with a severe cold, and his brother Lafayette sent him back home. When within twenty miles of his home, and at Muncie, he died, and his body was brought on to Blackford county, where it was buried, but subsequently was removed to the Masonic cemetery near Hartford City, where it now rests beside that of his second wife. Burr Hanley first married a Miss Roberts, and their two daughters were : Evaline, who is married and lives in Martin's Ferry, Ohio and Permelia, who died after her marriage to Sherman Fields. Burr Hanley's second wife was Hannah Atkinson, who was born in Indiana. After Mr. Hanley's death she married William Ord, and she died in Hartford City when thirty-seven years of age. There was one son by her marriage to Mr. Ord, Sherman, who died accidentally in a saw mill at Portland, Oregon. Burr and Hannah Hanley had the following children: John, who died after his marriage to Mary Deeren, who now lives in Muncie, and has a family; William, who is married and has a family and lives in Alexandria, Indiana; Henry A.; and Mary, who died in early girlhood.

Henry A. Hanley was reared until nine years of age in the home of his parents in Blackford county, lived with his step-father a few years, and at the age of nine was taken into the home of James Pugh, a farmer in Jefferson township of Grant county. That was his home, and there he learned the lessons of industry, but very little by attend¬ ance at school, until he was twenty-four years of age. With his savings he then bought forty acres of land, in section fourteen of Jefferson township, and was the third successive owner of that land, its pioneer settler and owner having been a Mr. Oswald, who got it direct from the government. Mr. Hanley has continued his business career in this vicinity ever since, improved his first estate and has developed and increased his property until his farm will now bear favorable compari¬ son with that of any to be found in the township. The forty acres were first increased to eighty acres, and subsequently he bought eighty acres lying in section fifteen. It is in section fourteen that a few years ago he built his fine ten-room modern home, and in 1890 put up a substantial red barn on a foundation forty by forty feet. His other farm buildings and all his cultivation and improvement show the thrifty farmer. A believer in the modern system of cultivation which conserves the fer¬ tility of the soil, he keeps a lot of high-grade stock, and feeds prac¬ tically all his crops to his cattle and hogs. The most commendable thing of all is that all of the property thus described represents the concrete achievements of a career which was begun practically in poverty- and with many handicaps such as the majority of Grant county farmers did not have to contend with.

In Jefferson township in the spring of 1882, Mr. Hanley married Miss Emma Gadbury, who was born in Licking township, Blackford county, Indiana, in February, 1863, and was reared and educated in that vicinity. She died at her home in Grant county April 1, 1891, and is buried in the Elizabethtown cemetery. Four children born to them are named as follows: Tillbury, who died in infancy; Louis, the man¬ ager of his father's homestead, and one of the enterprising young farmers of Grant county, married Lois Simons of Jefferson township, who was reared and educated in this locality, and they have one child, Herbert Simons; Nira Myrtle, who is a graduate of the Upland high school; and Cora May, who is likewise well educated, and is the wife of Samuel Bishop, of the state of Montana. Mr. Hanley's parents were com¬ municants of \he Methodist Episcopal church, and he is likewise of the same denomination and attends worship at the Shiloh Methodist Epis¬ copal church. He and his sons are of the Democratic political faith.

Anderson D. Mittank. Few families of Grant county have been longer identified with the practical working of the farm, and with civic and social affairs than the Mittanks, whose residence here began nearly eighty years ago, and who as farmers, as business men, as faithful workers for church, morality, and good government, have been effective factors in their community. Anderson D. Mittank has spent practically all his life in Jefferson township, is the owner of a beautiful rural estate in section twenty-nine, and is a man of practical energy and business ability, his standing in the community also being well indicated by the fact that he has served as president of the Farmers State Bank of Matthews, since the reorganization of that institution in 1910.

Mr. Mittank 's grandfather was Christopher Mittank, a native of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and of Pennsylvania parents and of Dutch ancestry. At one time the name was spelled Mettong, but suffered the usual American change to a form which is more easily pronounced. Christopher Mittank married a Bedford county girl, and after several children were born to them in that state, including David, father of Anderson D., the family moved in 1831 to Ohio, and in 1835 continued their pioneer migration as far as Delaware county, Indiana. Christo¬ pher Mittank found a home on a new tract of land in Washington town¬ ship, and Nvent through all the experiences characteristic of pioneer life, in trying to improve his land and make satisfactory provision for his growing household of children.

Christopher Mittank since died in Delaware county, and both he and his wife were past seventy years of age. They were active mem¬ bers of the New Light Christian church, and honorable and upright souls, loved by all in their community. Besides David, there were several other children : John, Michael, and George, the last named being killed early in the war while fighting the battles of the Union army. John and Michael are still living, the former in Pendleton, Madison county, Indiana, and the latter at Fairmount. Of the daughters, Hannah is the widow of George Kolp, of Bureau county, Illinois ; Catherine died after her marriage to Coleman Sanders, leaving a family of children ; Eliza is the wife of John Dunlap, near Fairmount, and they have no children; Mary died after her marriage to Albert McCoy, of Delaware county.

David Mittank, who was born in Pennsylvania, November 15, 1824, was seven years of age when the family went to Ohio, and four years later became a resident of Grant county. He grew up to manhood, in the midst of pioneer conditions, and his schooling was of the most limited character. After his marriage he started out to work out his salvation on a place in Jefferson township. He first leased land, the old McPherren farm, the property of his wife's father, and situated on the Mississinewa river. There he lived, developed a good home, bought out the other heirs to the estate, and finally was possessed of a homestead of one hundred find thirty acres. His death occurred on that place, November 16, 1897. He came of age during the declining years of the Whig party, and probably supported that organization by his vote, and when the Republicans perfected a party organization in 1856, he was one of the supporters of its first candidates, and steadily voted that ticket until his death. However, he was reared in a family of Demo¬ crats, and according to the belief of that party. He was long an active member of the Shiloh Methodist church, in Jefferson township. Throughout his career he was known and respected for his upright¬ ness, his honesty, his worthy citizenship, and his thrift add enterprise. While he had no early advantages in education, he became by self effort a thorough student, read history extensively, was constantly studying the Bible, and it is said that by virtue of his remarkable memory seldom forgot a fact acquired through reading or observation, and could repeat for a long time afterwards the substance, and even the greater part of the words of the sermons which he heard. Few men have so splendid a natural endowment of intellect.

David Mittank was married in Jefferson township,* October 3, 1850, to Margaret McKeeber. She was born in Clinton county, Ohio, July 29, 1833, and when two years of age was brought to Grant county, so that practically all her life was spent in this section of Indiana. Her parents were Moses and Sarah (Moore) McKeeber, both natives of Vir¬ ginia, but were married in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1832. Her father on coming to Grant county bought land in Jefferson township, and set¬ tled in the rough log cabin which was almost the only improvement on the place. The cabin had no floor, and for a time the fleas were so numerous that the family suffered constant discomfort from their ravages. Moses McKeeber died on the old homestead in middle life, while his widow married a Rev. Mr. Wheat of the Methodist Protestant church, and had one child by that union, and was afterwards twice married, but without children by either of her last husbands. Mrs. Margaret Mittank, wife of David, died June 16, 1900, at the home she had lived on practically all her life. She was for many years a devoted member of the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal church. Her children were as follows: John W. and Amanda, both of whom died in childhood; Amariah, who lives on a farm in Jefferson township, is married and of her three sons and two daughters all are married, except one son; Mary Etta is the wife of William Tibbett, of Marion, and they have four sons; Edward died in infancy.

Anderson D. Mittank was bom on the old home farm, February 17, 1861, received a public school education, and as soon as he reached his majority, he started out on his own account, and has effected a generous prosperity. He now owns the old McKeeber homestead, where his father lived for so many years, comprising one hundred and thirty- three acres in sections twenty-one and forty-eight and half acres in sec¬ tion twenty-nine. All his land is kept up to the highest notch of modern cultivation and improvement, and in 1908 a comfortable rural dwell¬ ing of eight rooms, painted brown, and with all the modern furnishings and facilities was built. The bam is now about seventeen years old, and all the improvements show how progressive a farmer Mr. Mittank is.

Anderson D. Mittank was married at Upland in 1885, to Miss Clara Gadbury, who was born in Licking township of Blackford county, Indiana, in September, 1861. Her parents were James and Mary A. McVicker Gadbury, the former of whom died on his father's farm in Licking township, in Blackford county, having been born April 25, 1833, and dying May 12, 1891 ; while his wife, who was born in Ohio, May 14, 1832, was brought in childhood to Blackford county and died there December 28, 1874. James Gadbury was an active member of the United Brethren church, a Democrat in politics, and a prominent and influential citizen of his community. Mrs. Mittank, who was reared and educated in Blackford county, was one of six children, as follows : Hulda, who died when ten years of age ; Mrs. Mittank ; Emma, who died after her marriage to Henry Hanley, and left three children ; Riley, who is a farmer in Licking township of Blackford county, has two sons and three daugh¬ ters; John, who lives on the old homestead in Blackford county, has five children; Jennie, who died when nine months old. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Mittank has been bora one child, William B., on Feb¬ ruary 21, 1886. His education was in the public schools, and since taking up the serious responsibilities of life he has proved a capable manager of his father's farm in Jefferson township. William B. Mit¬ tank married Gertrude Sutton, of Jefferson township, and to their mar¬ riage two children have been born as follows: Eva Marjorie, born March 28, 1909; and Opal C., born December 10, 1911. Mrs. Mittank is an active member of the Kingsley Methodist Episcopal church.

Warren Fergus. In 1832, one year after Grant county govern¬ ment was organized, the Fergus family was transplanted from Ohio to the unbroken wilderness and hills and valleys of Jefferson township. Many lives have entered into the development of Grant county, and of those of pioneer stock none have done more credit to their lengthy residence than those of the Fergus kith and kin. Warren Fergus, whose ample and fruitful acres and establishment makes him one of the most prosperous of Grant county's farmers, was born here before the county had finished the first decade of its existence, and is the grandson of a patriot who bore arms for the colonies in the war of the Revolution.

His ancestry is Scotch-Irish, and his grandfather, Francis Fergus, was bom September 8, 1752, in the north of Ireland, and of that people of Protestant lineage, who several generations before, had been trans¬ planted from Scotland to the northern counties of Ireland. Francis Fergus with two brothers came to America some time previous to the Revolutionary war, and he and one of his brothers took up arms and fought in behalf of the colonies, during that struggle. The other brother, however, was a Tory, and in his loyalty to the mother country returned during the course of the war to England, and remained there until the final triumph of the American cause, when he returned to this side of the Atlantic and spent the rest of his years in the independent colony. Francis Fergus and his brothers lived in Virginia, the former was a farmer, and after the death of his wife, whose maiden name was McCormick, of the same family which produced the makers of harvest¬ ing machinery, he went to live with a daughter in Tennessee, where he

Sawyer B. Fergus, a son of Francis and father of Warren, was one of the younger in a family of children, and was bom in Rockbridge county, Virginia, March 18, 1802. When a young man he joined his brother James in Miami county, Ohio, and later had an experience in running a flat-boat down the Mississippi River carrying a great variey of produce from the upper Ohio Valley to New Orleans. In the mean¬ time in Miami county, in October, 1829, occurred his marriage with Julia McFadden, who was born of Pennsylvania parents and of Scotch- Irish stock. Her birth occurred in Miami county, Ohio, December 31, 1809. In 1832 Sawyer B. Fergus and his family of twro children came to Indiana, locating in the wilds of Jefferson township in Grant county. As one of the' very first settlers in his community he had to cut a roadway two miles through the timber, in order to reach his land. His title to the land was received by patent direct from the government, and there had never been an improvement made on the place, until he erected his log cabin. Some years later that rude shelter was replaced by a good frame house, and there he lived prospering quietly, and steadily improv¬ ing and increasing his possessions until, with one hundred and fifty-one acres in his estate and after providing liberally for his family and per¬ forming his varied obligations to the community, he died honored and esteemed, June 24, 1864. First a Whig and later a Republican in poli¬ tics, he became a member of the Methodist church, and was always ready to do his part in community affairs. His wife, Julia (McFadden) Fergus died at the old home in Jefferson township in 1882 at the age of seventy-three. She likewise was a working member of the Shiloh Metho¬ dist church, and she and her husband rest side by side in the old ceme¬ tery at that place. Her children were named as follows: Samuel, Mary, Clinton, Edwin, Warren, Harriet and Juliet, twins; Rachael, Sarah J., Margaret, Sawyer A., and James. All these grew to manhood and womanhood and most of them were married. Four sons and three daughters still live, and of these Sarah J. and Margaret are unmarried, The oldest of the living children is eighty years and the youngest sixtyone.

Warren Fergus was born on the old farm near his present home in Jefferson township, September 21, 1837. His early life was spent in the primitive surroundings of that time and his educational advantages were more practical than theoretical. When eighteen years of age he started for California, but on account of the "Border Ruffian' ' war of 1856, he only went as far west as- Kansas. He traveled all over Kansas, then practically unsettled except by Indians. In 1860 he was married and in the following year he and his young wife went out to Iowa, locating in Paige county. There on August 9, 1862, he responded to the call for volunteers in defense of the Union, enlisting in Company F of the Twenty-Third Iowa Infantry. As a private he served until his honor¬ able discharge, which was delivered to him on August 11, 1865. He made a splendid record as a soldier, was always on duty, never in the hospital, was never wounded nor captured, and the record of the Iowa regiment to which he belonged is practically the record of his individual service. He was in many of the great campaigns of the war, including the long series of operations about Vicksburg, Fort Gibson, Raymond, Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, where the regiment lost its colonel, through the forty-nine days of the actual siege of Vicksburg, later went down to New Orleans, and into Texas, participated in the Red River Campaign, where he saw some of his hardest fighting, was at the siege of Mobile, and so continued until the close of the great conflict.

John H. Moore Mrs. John H. Moore

In the fall of 1866 Mr. Fergus returned to Grant county where he was bom, and bought eighty acres of land. There he began farming and carpenter work, a trade which he had learned in young manhood, and has since enjoyed a degree of success which ranks him among the most progressive men of Grant county. His estate now com¬ prises one hundred and eighty acres in Jefferson township, besides sixty acres in Washington township, Delaware county, Indiana. The property is all Veil improved and well kept, and about thirty years ago Mr. Fergus built a fine bam on a foundation fifty by fifty-six feet, and also a comfortable nine-room white brick dwelling house.

The wife whom he married in 1860 in Jefferson township was Miss Nancy Jane Homer, who was born in Ohio, September 9, 1837, and when fifteen years of age was brought to Jefferson township by her parents, Andrew and Nancy (Walker) Horner. Her father was born in Pennsylvania, and her mother in Rockbridge, Virginia, and after their marriage in the latter state, moved to Miami county, Ohio, where they improved a homestead, later going to Darke county, Ohio, and afterwards to Jefferson township in Grant county, Indiana. Mr. Horner was an industrious citizen and hard worker and after a worthy lifetime died in Jefferson township in 1873 at the age of sixty-seven. His wife died later at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Fergus, April 1, 1895, aged eighty-seven years. They were Presbyterians, and Mr. Horner was a Republican in politics. Mrs. Fergus has one brother living, Calvin Horner, who is a farmer at Upland.

The children bom to Mr. and Mrs. Fergus are as follows : Ida M., is the wife of Eugene Heal, living in Delaware county, Indiana, and their children are Caroline and Alma. Oscar W. lives on a ranch near Santa Ana, California, and his children are Nevada, Floyd, Fern, and Grant. Emery W. and Elnora E. are twins, and the former by his marriage to Maude Lang has a son, Ernest R., and their home is in Santa Barbara, California. Elnora E. married J. William Richards, a farmer in Jefferson township, and they had one son, Ord, who died aged two and a half years. Lois A. is the wife of D. L. Richards, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this publication. Orv'il L. is a farmer in Delaware county, Indiana, and by his marriage to Della Owen has two children, Eva and Forrest. Edward C. lives near Santa Ana, California, on a ranch, and married Pearl Powers. Clyde H. operates the home farm and married Olive Vida Watson of the state of California, and their one child is Warren R., Mrs. Fergus is a mem¬ ber of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Fergus attends that church. In politics he is aligned with the new Progressive party. ,

John H. Moore. Successful and prosperous in all his undertakings in Monroe township, it is highly probable that John II. Moore is best known in these parts as a horse breeder and owner of fast horses. In this he is especially prominent, and he has an aggregation of horseflesh on his acres from year to year that is highly creditable to his judgment in those matters, the while he has bred and sold a number of horses that have gained lasting names on the race track. He is the owner of a considerable farm land in the township and county, and has accumulated a goodly portion of property of varied nature in the district. A man of the keenest business qualities, he has never stood a loss on any of his real estate transactions, in many instances doubling his money and always realizing a handsome profit. His property, of a farming nature, lies mainly in section 27, and his is among the finest farm land in the state. Eighty acres in Monroe township, devoted to grazing purposes, and one hundred and twenty acres in Jefferson township, put to the same use, comprise a part of his farming properties.

John H. Moore was born in New Cumberland, Guernsey county, Ohio, on October 20, 1855, and is the son of Henry and Rachel (Seaton) Mioore. The father was a volunteer during the Civil war, and was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness, while serving as a member of Company G, 112th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Union army. His widow was left almost defenseless as regards material welfare with a family of six small children, all of whom she succeeded in raising to years of maturity. When the father found that it would be necessary to leave his little family, despite the fact that he could not provide for them in his absence, he bought a small place of three acres in Muskingum county, Ohio, and there established the mother and children. When he went away the mother heroically applied herself to the task of support¬ ing her family, and the death of the husband and father on the field of battle made necessary her continued activity in that work. She sewed and performed every kind of honest labor that came to her hand, but she maintained the growing family in comparative comfort, and gave them some sort of schooling, and when she died in October, 1901, she departed this life with the knowledge that she had been able to establish each of her children firmly in the way of life. The children are named as follows: Mary, the wife of George Lane, of Zanesville, Ohio; Charles, of Muskingum county, Ohio ; John H., of this review ; Andrew, of Perry county, Ohio; William, who was struck by lightning and killed in Guern¬ sey county, Ohio, in 1883.

John H. Moore left home at the age of eighteen years and came to Upland in October, 1874. He applied himself to such tasks as came to his hand, and his first work was in husking corn at $12 a month. He then went to work clearing land for $9.25 an acre, and while thus engaged just about made his board. In 1875 and 1876 he worked on a farm at the wage of $18 a month, and in 1877 he rented a piece of land and raised a fine crop of grain. In the fall of 1877 he bought eight head of big, raw boned cattle for $100 and found after fattening them for the market that he was in a position to make some money in that enterprise, after which he continued to feed live stock and crop his rented land on shares. In 1881 he engaged in a partnership with an acquaintance and they conducted a buying and selling business in live stock for the six years following, when lie married and settled elsewhere. For twelve years thereafter he lived in Upland, engaged in the hotel business. During that time he invested $755 in a piece of corner property in Upland, which he held for eighteen years, renting it meantime, and then sold it when the oil and gas boom was on for $2,550. His hotel, which cost him $1,400, was a place suitable to accommodate forty guests, and in 1900 he traded the place for an eighty acre farm, where he now resides, and which is held assessable at $110 an acre. When Mr. Moore moved on this farm it had no buildings suitable for a dwelling, but he erected a nice home and also some barns. Through his wife, Mr. Moore has added eighty acres of desirable land to his other possessions, she having been the owner of that when she married him.

When Mr. Moore went to live on his present farm, the land was greatly impoverished, but he has since that time successfully built it up to a high state of productiveness. He is a firm believer in the conserva¬ tion of the soil through the breeding of live stock, and he has a fine herd of twenty head of Hereford and Shorthorn cattle. He has twelve horses, all high bred roadsters and racers, and for fifteen years he has been a noted breeder in these parts. Several well known horses have been foaled on his premises, and he has sold a number of famous racers from his stables. In 1904, Dolly Etta C, with a record of 2:19:4, and a product of his stables, brought him a fancy price, and others that have gained name and fame in racing circles are Coast Marie, 2 :11 :25 ; Rock Line, 2 :16 ; Princess Margrave, about three years old, and starting the season of 1913, which won the three-year-old in Muncie, Ind., and he sold her for $1,175 to S. B. Smith of Chicago. She is now in Wisconsin and has never lost a race; Colored Girl, 2:22:5, is another well known horse of his. In addition, Mr. Moore has several high bred colts that promise well for the future.

Mr. Moore got his start in fast horses by securing a well known racing mare, Alexis, owned by Alvin Dickinson. This mare has produced several fine racers, and three of her foals have been sold from his stables at an average price of $1,162.50. One of them, Rockline, won first money at Manchester, Indiana, in the fall of 1912 in the 2 :22 class.

On March 24, 1887, Mr. Moore was married to Mrs. Minnie Johnson, of Upland, and to them has been born one child, Bertha, who is now deceased.

William Alonzo Bole. The residence of the Bole family in Jef¬ ferson township dates back to the year 1877. In section twelve of that township, one of the most productive and valuable farms in the com¬ munity is that of Mr. Bole, who in later years has retired largely from active participation in farming, but has sons who are carrying forward the work and continue to increase the prosperity so long enjoyed by this family.

The name Bole is of Dutch origin, and Grandfather William Bole was bom in Pennsylvania in 1791, and died in Shelby county, Indiana, in 1862. He was married in Pennsylvania, and they moved out to Ohio and lived at Georgetown in Brown county, where all their children were bom. Their family were: David, John, William, Abraham, and James, and four daughters, Jane, Ann, Elizabeth and Mary.

William Bole, father of the Jefferson township resident, was born in Brown county, Ohio, in 1814, and though reared on a farm, early in life he began an apprenticeship at the shoemaker's trade, and finally located at Neville, in Clermont county, Ohio, where he married Rosanna A. Melvin, who was born at Snow Hill, Maryland, in 1810, and came to Ohio with her father, William Melvin, who located at Neville, on the Ohio River. William Melvin was likewise a shoemaker, and William Bole worked in the same town with him after his marriage, but later moved to Foster's Landing in Kentucky, and in 1856 brought his wife and three children to Fayette county, Indiana, later lived both in Madi¬ son and Henry counties, and finally in Delaware county. In 1874 he moved to Grant county, but returned to Muncie, where his death occured in 1898 at the age of eighty-four years. His wife passed away in 1895 and she too was past eighty years of age. William Alonzo Bole, the oldest of the family, was bora at Neville, Ohio, March 6, 1841. His sister Melissa, born in 1845, married J. S. Petty, a prominent and wellknown man whose death occurred in Martinsville, Indiana. For her second husband she married a Mr. Fisk, a Massachusetts banker, and since his death her home has been in Muncie. She was at one time a skilled instrumental musician, and is a cultured and highly intelligent woman. She had two sons: Wilber and Walter, both of whom died after being married. James M. Bole, brother of William A. Bole, is a farmer in Jefferson township, and has a family.

William Alonzo Bole grew up in his father's home in the different localities of their residence, and was still under age when he enlisted September 5, 1861, in Company E of Eighth Indiana Infantry. One of his early engagements was the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and in the course of that conflict he passed his twenty-first birthday. With hia regiment he saw a long and varied military service. From the early Missouri and Arkansas campaigns, the regiment went east of the Mis¬ sissippi, and took part in the battles preliminary to the capture of Vicksburg, at Fort Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, and the Siege of Vicksburg. The regiment later was sent to the east, and was placed under the command of Sheridan, which valiant leader they followed in the battles of Winchester and Cedar Creek. He was never in the hospital a day, never wounded or cap¬ tured. On returning home to Delaware county, he took up the quiet vocation of farming, but after five years learned telegraphy, and be¬ came an operator. While living at Muncie, he married Miss Ida V. Hill, who was born in Indiana and died two years after their marriage. The one son of that union is Robert Bole, who is married and lives in California. In 1877 Mr. Bole came to Jefferson township in Grant county, and here married Mrs. Mary D. (Havens) Payne. She was born in Mill township of Grant county, July 29, 1845, was reared in Jefferson township until her marriage, and represents an old and prominent family in Grant county. Her parents wrere Jonathan and Gabriella (Clark) Havens, her father a native of Ohio, and her mother of Pennsylvania. They married and came at an early day to Grant county, where Jonathan Havens improved a farm in the midst of the timber in Jefferson township, and spent the rest of his years there until his death in 1863 when forty years of age. His wife is still living, her home being in Fowlerton. For further information concerning the Havens family, the reader is referred to the sketch of Jonathan Havens, elsewhere in this volume.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bole are as follows: Roily, born October 14, 1875, educated in the public schools, a resident of Hartford City, married Ann Hickman, and they have four children, two sons and two daughters, Clarence, Robert, Clara and Pauline. Capitola, born November 12, 1877, is the wife of Alonzo G. Monroe, a farmer of Jeffer¬ son township. Their living children are four sons and one daughter: Raymond, Doris, Derward, Dwight and Dean. Winifred, born in 1880, is the wife of Walter Deddys of Hartford City, and they have one son and two daughters: Helen, Catherine and John. Jesse, bom in 1882, is unmarried, and is the active superintendent of his father's farm of one hundred acres, a place thoroughly improved and kept up to the best standards of Jefferson county country life. Jennie is the wife of Dwight Blumer of Toronto, Ohio, and they have two sons and a daugh¬ ter, Clifford, William and Helen. Arley E. lives at home, and also assists in managing the farm. He was well educated in the local high school and in a business college. Mr. Bole belongs to the Christian church, while his wife is of the Primitive Baptist. He is a Republican in national politics, and in local affairs gives the strength of his influence in every movement to make life better and more comfortable in his town¬ ship and county. His three sons are all members of the Socialist party.

James Noah Johnson. Of the old-time families of Grant county', none better deserve perpetuation in the biographical annals of this section than that of Johnson, the first record of whom begins here in 1835, only a few years after Grant county was organized, and which has been con¬ tinued with honor down to the present. The Johnsons have for years been reckoned among the largest land holders in the county, and as they acquired their property by good business judgment and strictest honesty, so likewise were they always worthy factors in the development and in the civic and social activities of the county.

The late J. Noah Johnson, who died at his home at Upland in 1893, was of the third generation of the family in its identity with Grant county, and his children in turn have taken honored positions in the social and business affairs of this county. He was born on the old Johnson home in Jefferson township in 1858. His grandfather John Johnson of Scotch ancestry and of that substantial stock which formed so important an element in early Pennsylvania settlement, and of course of Presbyterian faith, was born in Pennsylvania, March 22, 1787, was a pioneer setler in. Ohio, and spent most of his active career in Guernsey county of that state, where he died in 1862. He was a man of enter¬ prise who saw much beyond his immediate horizon, and one evidence of this was given when in 1835 he came to Indiana, and entered one hun¬ dred and sixty acres in section eight of Jefferson township in Grant county, and entered land to twice that, amount in Delaware county. Securing this land, he returned to his old home in Guernsey county, where he lived until his death. He was married in that county to Mary Burns, and her birth also occurred in Pennsylvania, so far as known, its date being October 17, 1793. She died in Guernsey county in 1866. Both were strict adherents of the Presbyterian church. Their children were named as follows: John, James, Jane, William, Ebenezer, Jess, Martha and Nancy. All these children were married except Jess, who is now the only survivor, and is a resident of Mill township, this county. James, Nancy, and John many years ago came out and settled on the land entered by their father in Indiana. Nancy married a Mr. Crow and they spent their lives in Delaware and Grant counties, Indiana, dying on the Crow farm, now occupied by W. 0. Modley, near Matthews. John J. died not many years after he came to his father's farm in Jefferson township, Grant county.

James Johnson, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, November 2, 1821, was married July 4, 1843, in that county to Elizabeth Schriver, who was born in Guernsey county of German ancestry in 1825. In a month or two after their marriage they came out to Indiana, and took possession of the quarter section of land in Jefferson township entered by his father in 1835. Though the early settlers had been at work for ten or fifteen years, Jefferson township still presented a great expanse of uncleared wilderness, and it was in the midst of the woods that James Johnson and wife began life in a log cabin. Eventually they de veloped their land into a beautiful farm, and the substantial frame house which finally replaced the log cabin is still in a state of fine repair, and occupied by the granddaughter of James Johnson. Besides the large dwelling house, James Johnson put up many other buildings, cleared up a large acreage for cultivation, and actually added by his own labor and management thousands of dollars in practical value to his home community. Few men of that time were more successful than James Johnson, who extended his possessions until at one time he was the owner of more than three thousand acres, most of which was situated in Grant county. He raised more cattle and sheep than any other man in Jefferson township, and was also an extensive dealer in timber. His death occurred at the old homestead in Jefferson township, December 1, 1908, when in advanced years. His wife passed away in January, 1902. They were Presbyterians, and belonged to the strict sect of that religion, and endeavored to bring up all their children in the same faith. Their children were John, Solomon, Emma and James Noah, all of whom were farmers, and were married and had children of their own except Solo¬ mon, who, while married, has no children.

increased the talents inherited from the preceding generation. He lived on the farm in Jefferson township until after his wife's death, when lie moved to Fairmount. He was engaged in the banking business there a short time, when his father, James Johnson, organized the Upland Bank and Noah Johnson became its cashier and remained so until his death, November 10, 1893.

J. Noah Johnson married Bell Conley, who was bom at Upland, and who died May 16, 1890. The Conleys were likewise a well known old family of Grant county. The children of Noah Johnson and wife were: Bertha, wife of Charles Snyder, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; Alva, engaged in the real estate business at Marion, and who has a family of two children; and Elva, a twin sister of Alva, and the wife of Charles F. Marley, whose individual sketch appears on other pages. Mrs. Marley was born on her grandfather's farm, April 30, 1885, was well educated in Grant county schools, and through her grandfather's will has become the owner of five hundred and eighty acres of land. She was married February 8, 1909, to Charles F. Marley.

Barzilla B. Pancoast. The following paragraphs contain a brief outline of the family history and the varied career of one of the most venerable men of Jefferson township, where he has lived and prospered as a farmer for the past thirty years. Mr. Pancoast is now over eighty years of age, has always borne the reputation of being a hard-working, honest and upright citizen, and in his community enjoys the esteem of a large acquaintance.

The Pancoast family is said to have been originally Swedish, and their early residence in New Jersey would bear out that assumption. The grandparents of the Jefferson township farmer spent all their lives in New Jersey, and so far as known practically all members of the dif¬ ferent generations have followed farming as a vocation. The father of Barzilla B. Pancoast was Henry Pancoast, born in Salem county, New Jersey, and died there in August, 1835. The other members of his family were: Edward, who was a farmer and lived in Salem county, was twice married, but had only one daughter, Sarah; William, who spent his life on a farm in Salem county, New Jersey, was married twice and had one son, Stacey ; Samuel, who lived and died on his farm in Salem county, was also twice married, had one son by his first wife, and a son and two daughters by the second; Sarah married Samuel Dickerson and her life also was spent in New Jersey.

Henry Pancoast belonged to a family that adhered to Quaker doc¬ trines, and that was also his own religious faith. He was a Jackson Democrat, and all members of the Pancoast family have been strongly inclined in that way of political thinking. Henry Pancoast was mar¬ ried in his native county to Hannah Hackney, who was born in Salem county in 1788, and came of English stock. After a long widowhood she died in New Jersey in 1878. She belonged to the Methodist church. Her five children are mentioned as follows: Mary, who in October, 1913, was ninety-five years of age, and a resident of New Castle, Dela¬ ware; she married Hiram Cook, by whom she had a family. Caroline died after her marriage to Isaac James, a machinist, and they had one son and a daughter. Rebecca married James Cook, a brother of Hiram Cook just mentioned, and they spent their lives in New Jersey, and of their children, two sons and three daughters are living. Edward, whose home is at Riverton, New Jersey, and who is seventy-eight years of age, and retired, had a very successful career as a contractor and builder, and by his marriage to a second cousin, Rebecca Hackney, he has 'one son and a daughter still living.

Barzilla B. Pancoast was born at Woodstown, Salem county, New Jersey, May 23, 1831. When he was four years of age his father died, and he was then reared by his mother and his uncle Samuel until he was sixteen years of age. His education was somewhat limited, and acquired in the schools at Woodtown. His preparation for a practical career of usefulness in the world began at sixteen when he entered an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, and at twenty had become a master workman and started out as a journeyman. He worked in Cincinnati and various places in Ohio ; also in Indiana and Tennessee, and finally went back to Ohio, and at Beavertown, Montgomery county, Ohio, where he was married, he established a smith and carried on a good business there and elsewhere until 1883. That was the year he came to Grant county. In the meantime, by his many years of hard work and by the thrifty habits which he had acquired early in life, he had enough money to buy eighty acres of land lying in sections eleven and twelve of Jefferson township, in Grant county. Since turning his attention to agriculture, Mr. Pancoast has seldom known a year which he could not call prosperous, and at the same time he developed and improved his land, until as a farm its equal is hard to find in this com¬ munity. All his land is in cultivation with the exception of five acres in timber. He has a comfortable dwelling, a big red barn, and has put up several other buildings for the home of his son. In December, 1857, in Beavertown, Montgomery county, Ohio, Mr. Pancoast married Sarah Bridgeman, who was bom there September 24, 1841, and reared and educated in that part of Ohio. She has been a devoted wife and an able helper to her husband for fifty-six years, and their married companion¬ ship has not only endured much beyond half a century, but each year has strengthened the bond of their affection. Mrs. Pancoast's parents were Thomas and Esther (Johns) Bridgeman, her mother of Welsh stock, and her father born of Virginia parents. Mr. Bridgeman in his early day, when a young man, walked all the way from Harpers Ferry in Virginia to Montgomery county, Ohio, carrying his trusty rifle over his shoulder to protect himself from danger and also to shoot game on the way. He met Miss Sarah Johns in Montgomery county, where she was born, and after their marriage, they started life as farmers. She died, leaving two sons. He later married Esther, a sister of Sarah Johns. Mr. Bridgeman died in Montgomery county, in November, 1882, when eighty-four years of age, and his wife passed away at about the same age., They were both members of the Christian diurch.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Pancoast are : Leonidas, a blacksmith whose home is in Eaton, Indiana, and who has been three times married, having three daughters by his first wife, and one son by his second; Ella is the widow of William Runyon, and lives at Indianapolis; Harry is a blacksmith at Eaton, and has a son and daughter; Charles C. is a baker by trade, in business at Muncie, and has two sons and a daughter. Warren occupies and is the active manager of the old homestead, and by his marriage to Bertha Thompson of Grant county has two daugh¬ ters, Hazel Ferne, and Mildred Delight, both daughters being highly educated. Maggie died when twenty-two years of age, and there were four other chil4ren who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Pancoast attend worship in the Methodist Protestant church, in which he formerly served as trustee, and his son Warren is Sunday school superintendent. Mr. Pancoast and his sons are Republicans in politics, and his first vote was cast for John C. Fremont, who was the first standard bearer of the Republican party in 1856.

He himself was born close to his present home, was reared and educated in his native environment, is a product of local schools, and since attain¬ ing manhood has been closely identified with farming and stock raising interests of the locality. As a stockman he is easily one of the most suc¬ cessful in Grant county.

Near the little village of Arcana, in section 9, of Monroe township, is located the excellent homestead of Mr. Strange. He has four hundred and ten acres of land, most of it under cultivation, and including a fine tract of thirty acres in timber. In 1886 he erected on this place the comfortable dwelling of twelve rooms, where the family has since had their home, and about which all the family associations center. About three sides of this house is a concrete porch, a large lawn surrounds it, and an evergreen hedge wTith trees and flowers serves to beautify the home and increases its attractiveness. Mr. Strange is a progressive farmer, who believes in housing his stock and machinery in the best fashion, and has a large red barn, and a concrete poultry house 14x90 feet. He and his wife are knowrn all over the township for their success as poultry raisers, and they breed the Rhode Island Reds and the Blue Andalusians. Each year he raises about five hundred chickens, and from one hundred and twenty-five hens, his weekly output of eggs is fifty dozen. Some of his crops in 1912 show the extensive scale on which he does busi¬ ness. He raised four thousand bushels of corn from sixty-five acres of land, six hundred and sixty bushels of oats, cut one hundred tons of hay, and sent out to market one hundred hogs. He also keeps a number of cattle and horses, raising the Durham cattle.