Grant County, Indiana - The whole text, 1914 (part 26 of 32)

Clark Mills. Among the men who have been actively associated with the business and political world of Marion and Grant county for many years may be mentioned the name of Clark Mills. Mr. Mills is a native of this section and is consequently deeply interested in the welfare of the county and its people. He is now engaged in the contracting business and has made a great success of this work, as the number of con¬ tracts he has carried out for the city of Marion indicate.

Mr. Mills was bom in Franklin township, Grant county, Indiana, on the 27th of October, 1855. He is the son of Job and Elizabeth (Willcutts) Mills, both of whom were natives of Grant county. His father was a farmer and died many years ago in October, 1872. His mother only lived a month after his father's death. Eight children were born to Job Mills and his wife, all of whom are now living. These children are as follows : Clark Mills ; Sarah A., who married Thomas L. Shaw, a farmer of Liberty township, Grant county; Curtis Mills, who is engaged in farming in Fulton county, Indiana; Job Mills, also a farmer in Franklin township, Grant county; John Mills, a resident of Liberty township; Jehu Mills, of Marion; Otis Elton Mills, of South Marion, and Mary G. Mills of Marion.

Clark Mills lived on the farm where he was bora until he was sixteen years of age. He attended the common schools of the district, but as the eldest in a large family he was early forced to leave school to aid in the support of the family. He went with his family to Kansas when he was just a boy, but after living there for a time he returned to his old home and there engaged in teaming. After a while he married and then went back to farming. He operated the old home place in Franklin township for many years with a considerable amount of success. In 1902 his first election as sheriff of Grant county took place. He served until 1906 in this office, two terms in all, having been re-elected in 1904. He made a highly efficient officer and won the respect of everyone for the way in which he carried out the duties of his office.

After retiring from the office of sheriff he resided in Marion for a year and then returned to the farm. For two years he operated the farm and then he came back to Marion and here went into the con¬ tracting business, doing a large amount of sewer and street building. As has been mentioned he has done a large amount of work for the city of Marion, and has handled other large contracts.

Mr. Mills was married on August 16, 1880, to Miss Almeda Overman, a daughter of George Overman and Mary J. (Jones) Overman, of Grant county, Indiana, Mrs. Mills having been born in Marion. Seven children have been born to this union, namely: Myrtle, who married Harley Farr, of Marion; Edgar G., of Wayne county, Pennsylvania; Mary, the wife of Arthur Shuggart, of Franklin township ; Maud, who is Mrs. Ed

Mrs. Lydia Frazier Seegar. The following is more or less detailed mention about some of the "first families of Grant county.' ' Mrs. Seegar is the widow of the late Jasper Newton Seegar, who was a son of Jonathan and Mary (Hendricks) Seegar. Jonathan Seegar was an early day resident, coming within two years after the organization of Grant county. It was in 1833 that he located on the farm in Pleasant township which has never gone out of the family name since he entered the land, Mrs. Lydia Frazier Seegar owning it since the death of her husband.

Jonathan Seegar was married four times, and reared four sets of his own children, one set of step-children, and two sets of grandchildren. He was both father and mother to a large family, each wife leaving an infant at the time of her death. The first wife was Hope Inskep, whom he married and buried in Ohio. Her three children were Nelson, Louisa and Martha. The second wife, Mary Hendrick, whom Mr. Seegar married at the old home at Belle Fontaine, Ohio, had six children, namely: David, Jasper N., James, Margaret, Mary Jane, and Viola. The third wife was Mrs. Margaret Davis-Gard, who had two daughters by her husband, Frances and Adeline, and her two children by Mr. Seegar were Byron and Sarah. The fourth wife was Sarah Osborn, and she had two children, Edward and Benton. Thus Mr. Seegar extended fatherly care to fifteen children and reared two sets of his grandchildren - an unusual record in Grant county.

Jonathan Seegar was bom in 1803 and died in 1873. Thus he lived the allotted period and certainly did his part toward the biblical injunc¬ tion about multiplying and replenishing the earth. He was "one in a thousand,' ' when it came to coping with difficulties, and although stern, and his word was law, he was a provident father who had the best inter¬ ests of his children at heart, and none of his children were turned out to shift for themselves because adversity pursued his domestic affairs and because all his wives were short-lived.

The late Jasper Newton Seegar was raised on the Pleasant township farm wrhich became his estate at his death. When the brick was burned on the farm from which that old-fashioned homestead was built, he hauled water in barrels, although he was so small a boy that he did not wear trousers and wore only a ' 4 tow linen slip ' ' as his garment. It was an old-time custom to make and burn brick on the farm, and Jonathan Seegar made the brick for the court house that was razed to make room for the present structure. It had to be hauled over the "forty foot pitch," but it was down hill from the Seegar farm to Marion. The See¬ gar farm was well improved in the day of Jonathan Seegar, and when his son came into possession of it he had the same general policy, and as road superintendent of the Chapel Pike alongside this farm, Mr. Seegar exerted an influence all along the highways, and had pride in the fact that all were well kept farms - the most attractive highway in Grant county. "All Grant County a Park" was his policy along this roadway.

On October 22, 1865, Mr. Jasper Seegar married Lydia Frazier (See chapter on Antebellum Society). Mrs. Seegar relates that the night she was born, February 9, 1844, her father, Nathan Way Frazier, was enroute to Cincinnati with a wagon and was relieved of all his money, $60, at a "half-way" house, but as he had in his wagon produce such as pork and lard, he went on to market and brought back a load of mer¬ chandise in exchange, although not all he had planned, because he had lost his ready money. Nathan Way Frazier, whose name will live in Grant county history on account of the 4 'Frazier Farm," adjoining Matter Park, was bom in North Carolina, October 1, 1808, and was a son of Abel and Lydia (Way) Frazier. The parents emigrated to Wayne county, Indiana, when he was a baby, and they walked and took turns riding a mule and carrying their small son with them. They were Quakers and it was slavery which caused them to migrate from North Carolina.

When he was nineteen Mr. Frazier was married in Wayne county to Mary Turner, and like Jonathan Seegar he located in Grant almost as soon as the government land was on the market. The children bom to the first marriage were Charlotte Jane, John Turner, James Morrison, and Ruth Ann Frazier. Mr. Frazier's second wife was Martha, daugh¬ ter of Martin and Mary (OT>ell) Boots (see chapter "From Savagery to Civilization") and their children were: Sarah, Lydia, Monroe, Francis, and Matilda Frazier.

It is not straining a point to say that the marriage of Jasper N. Seegar and Lydia Frazier was the union of two of the "first families of Grant county." Aside from a short residence in Iowa, and a few years on the Frazier farm, they always lived on the Seegar farm in Pleasant until March 1, 1897, when they abandoned farming and lived in Marion. Mr. Seegar 's death occurred November 18, 1903, and while Mrs. Seegar owns the farm, she continues her residence in town. Three children were born to their marriage : Viola Nellie, widow of A. W. Friermood, has one daughter, Lucile Friermood, and two step-sons, Roger F. and Glen O. Friermood; Frank Frazier Seegar married Carrie E. Wall (See Wall family) has four daughters - Helen, Dorothy, Mildred and Miriam; Helen Gertrude, who married R. A. Heavilin, has two children, Marguer¬ ite and John Seegar Heavilin. Mrs. Seegar has one son and one grand¬ son in her family of ten, and while the two daughters live in Marion, the son is in the hardware business at Greentown. It was the policy of Mr. and Mrs. Seegar to afford their children the best possible education. Mrs. Friermood was a music teacher before her marriage, while Frank F. Seegar and Mrs. Heavilin were public school teachers in their early experience. It was no hardship for the parents to practice self-denial when it meant future efficiency on the part of their children. While Mrs. Seegar has her permanent home with Mrs. Friermood, she is free to visit all her children, and spends considerable time in travel. She is always interested in the welfare of the community.

The late Mr. Seegar was among the first volunteers of the Union army, going out in the three months service in 1861. Later, when he veteranized, he was transferred from the Eighth Indiana to the Thirtyfourth. Resigning, on account of ill health, as lieutenant in Company F, he later re-enlisted in the Eighth Regiment and remained with his regiment until all were discharged in July, 1865, at the close of the war. While he escaped gun shot wounds, he lost his health from ex¬ posure in the field, and it shortened his days. He was past commander of General Shunk G. A. R. Post of the Grand Army, and Mrs. Seegar is past president and for several years has been secretary of the Women's Relief Corps, the organization of women which always cooperates with the "boys in blue," who are now so rapidly answering the last bugle call and joining the army of the worthy on the other side of the mystical river. Like other women of her age Mrs. Seegar looks forward to a reunion with those she has known on earth. There are few persons now living who are more intimately identified with the early history of Grant county than Mrs. Lydia Frazier Seegar. She was glad to remember each of her children with a copy of the Cen¬ tennial History.

Judge Robert M. Van Atta. No one in Marion county, Indiana, is better known than Judge Robert M. Van Atta, judge of the superior court of this district. He is a man who has won his position through genuine merit. He has had to work for all that life has given him ever since his boyhood days, and as a judge he has not given up the habits of a lifetime, but is just as hard working as he was when teach¬ ing school in order to earn the money for his legal education. Judge Van Atta was a brilliant and successful lawyer before he was elected to the bench and he was widely known for the care and study which he put on all of his cases, and the successful outcome of many law suits in which he was the attorney. As a judge he is popular, both with the lawyers and the people, proving that he has the qualities of the judicial mind, combined with a far reaching knowledge of the law and tempered with a keen sense of justice.

Judge Robert Van Atta was born at Rensselaer, Indiana, on the 15th of January, 1871. He is a son of John R. Van Atta, who was born in Hoopstown, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1846. John R. Van Atta became a merchant and spent all of his active life in that business. He married Tirzah Coen, who was bom on a farm in Fountain county, Indiana. They reside now in Rensselaer, Indiana, Mr. Van Atta having retired from active life. Two children were bom to them, a daughter who died August 20, 1906, and the Judge.

Robert M. Van Atta attended the public schools in Rensselaer until 1888, at which time he was graduated from the high school. He then entered the Indiana State University at Bloomington, and in 1893 was graduated from the school of liberal arts, receiving the degree of A. B. During the time in which he was a student at the University, he taught school in order to pay his expenses. He taught for two terms in Jasper county, Indiana, one term being in 1888-89 and another in 1891-92. In this way he was able to complete his college course. Not content with this general education he determined to take up the study of law and after his graduation he again became a teacher with this end in view. He became principal of the Remington, Indiana, high school, remain¬ ing at this post for the two years following his graduation. In the fall of 1895 he went to Monroeville, Indiana, as superintendent of the schools in that place. He remained there for two years and then was able to return to the University and enter the law school. He remained here during 1897-98 and completed his work for admission to the bar of the state.

It was on September 10, 1898, that he began the practice of law in Marion. He was first alone in his work but later became a partner with C. K. Holloway, the firm being known as Holloway & Van Atta. After this partnership was dissolved he became the senior member of the firm of Van Atta & Myers, George E. Myers being his associate. After the dissolution of this partnership Mr. Van Atta practiced alone until 1903, when he formed a partnership with Field W. Swezey, under the name of Swezey & Van Atta. This firm continued in a very suc¬ cessful way, with a large clientele until the spring of 1909. During this time Mr. Van Atta became keenly interested in the public improve¬ ments of the city and as a member of the board of public works during 1908-09, he was very influential in the forwarding of the work of this board.

judge of the superior court of Grant and Delaware counties and he was elected at the ensuing election for a term of four years, which expires on December 31, 1914. The convention which nominated Judge Van Atta was a notable one and one which will be long talked of in this section. It was held at Fairmount with thirty-six delegates from Grant county and thirty-five from Delaware in attendance. The candidates were George W. Cromer, F. M. McClellan of Muncie, Charles T. Parker of Fairmount and Judge Van Atta. The convention began its sessions at one o'clock on the afternoon of August 31, and continued until five o'clock in the morning of September 1, when Judge Van Atta was nominated on the three hundred and third ballot.

Judge Van Atta is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Marion Golf Club and to the Mecca Club.

Judge Van Atta married Ella A. Buskirk of Bloomington, Indiana, on the 23rd of December, 1896, at Anderson, Indiana. Mrs. Van Atta is a daughter of John and Ella (Broadwell) Buskirk ; Mr. Buskirk is a well known lawyer of Bloomington, Indiana, and his wife was bora in Lafayette, Indiana. Two children have been bom to the judge and his wife, Marjorie and a child who died in infancy.

Marion Public Library. Prior to the year 1884 there had been no successful attempt to establish a free public library for the city of Marion. There was, it is true, a private library established in 1880 by prominent citizens of the then town of Marion, who were to pay annually $5.00 for its maintenance. The library was located in the old Court House. It was open on Saturday afternoon to subscribers only.

In the year 1884 at the suggestion of Professor Hamilton S. McCrae, then Superintendent of the Marion Public Schools, R. W. Bailey, Elkanah Hulley and Elijah Kitch, then trustees of the school town of Marion, decided to establish a free public library in conjunction with the public schools. On June the 4th of that year the following was spread of record on the minutes of the Board: "On motion it was decided to levy a tax of 1-3 of a mill on the dollar of all taxable prop¬ erty in the school town of Marion for the purpose of establishing a free Public Library in connection with the common schools of the town of Marion." This was the beginning of the present City Library. While the amount of the levy for library purposes has varied at times it has always been maintained.

While the levy for library purposes was made in 1884, the library was not fully established until July, 1888. Professor McCrae was succeeded in the management of affairs April 19th, 1887, by Professor J. K. Waltz, who took charge of the library at its opening and became the librarian. He continued in this capacity until he was succeeded by Ida R. Gruwell. Mrs. Gruwell remained in this office for a number of years. It was largely through her efficient work that the library grew to its present dimensions.

The library opened with about 1,000 volumes, most of which had been purchased from the proceeds of a small tax levy. A few, however, were gifts from the Citizens' Library before mentioned, from private libraries and other sources. In 1898 the number of volumes had in-' creased to 5,000. At the present time the number of volumes exceeds 24,000.

For the first four years the library was open to the public only on Saturdays. Since that time it has been open daily except Sunday and from 1895 to 1902 it was open two evenings each week from 7 to 9 o'clock. In September, 1897, the "Open Shelf" system of selecting books was adopted and a public reading room fitted up.

The library first occupied quarters in the Tharp Block, comer Fourth and Branson Streets. In 1889 it was moved to the second floor of the Board of Trade Building on Adams street. In 1890 it was moved to the second floor of the Charles Block on Washington street. In 1891 it was moved to the basement of the High School Building where it remained until 1895 when it was removed to the Mather Block comer Fourth and Branson Streets. In 1897 it was removed to the G. A. R. Hall, 307-311 East Fourth Street where it remained until removed to the new building.

Very early in the history of the library it became evident that it must have a permanent home. The rapid increase in the number of books and the corresponding increase in necessary fixtures made fre¬ quent change of location next to impossible. Besides this the Library had grown to such proportions that adequate and convenient quarters for its accommodation could no longer be rented.

The first step towards the consummation of the plans for a new building was taken December 3rd, 1900, when at the regular meeting, all members being present, the Board ordered the following for record in their minutes: 4 'The matter of a location for a City Library Build¬ ing was taken up and it was finally decided that the Flinn lot, corner Sixth and Washington streets was most desirable. A report showing the growth of the library and the need of a permanent home was adopted and the consent of the City Council asked to purchase the lot."

At the meeting of December 7th, 1900, the following additional record was made : ' ' The report of this Board to the City Council hav¬ ing been approved and the action of the Council having authorized the purchase of a lot for a library building^as requested, it is ordered that the lot on the southwest corner of Washington and Sixth streets be pur¬ chased, the consideration being $6,600 less $600 donated by Peter G. Flinn, the owner, and that warrants be issued in payment therefor to the amount of $6,000.

The next step was to secure funds for the erection of the building. To do this the Board first decided to secure through legislation the privi¬ lege of issuing bonds. Accordingly a bill was prepared which passed in the legislature being approved and in force February 13th, 1901, authorizing Board of School Trustees, in cities with population of 15,- 000 and over to issue bonds in any sum not exceeding $100,000 for the purpose of erecting buildings for library and school offices to be used in connection with the common schools of said city.

Before proceeding with the bonds the Board having heard of the generous bequests of Hon. Andrew Carnegie, decided to appeal to him for help. Accordingly a letter was draughted and forwarded to Mr. Carnegie, asking aid to which he quickly responded. The present hand¬ some structure of which every citizen of Marion is justly proud being the outcome.

The library has grown greatly since the new quarters were occupied. The number of volumes is at present more than double the number moved from the little building on Fourth street. Under the present administration many improvements have been added. It is the desire of all in authority to make the library not only attractive to the eye but of real service to the community.

William R. Young. The business enterprise of the firm of Young Brothers at Marion has manifested itself in the business of artistic interior decoration, and in that field they occupy an enviable position. As interior decorators and contractors for painting and paperhanging, both William R. and B. F. Young are specialists. They came to Marion on Labor Day, 1899, and " labor' 9 has been the program since that time. W. R. Young bought an interest conducted by the late G. D. Elliott, and at his death the firm became Young & Michaels, and sub¬ sequently Young Brothers, when B. F. Young acquired an interest.

While the Young Brothers came direct from Elwood to Marion, they are natives of Carthage, Indiana, where their father and grandfather before them had been contractors along the same line - painting, paper¬ hanging and interior decoration. They have always lived in Indiana, and have had their share of patronage since catering to the Marion public as decorators and painters.

They carry a full line of paints in stock, and while not making special efforts to supply the retail trade, they furnish material for all the contracts taken by them. Both W. R. and B. F. Young understand all the details of the business, and furnish estimates on prospective jobs. A specialty with them is interior church decoration, and they have handled a number of contracts in other towns. A considerable part of their patronage conies from farmers, and they recognize the fact that country homes have all the ornamentation which is placed in town houses, and all real estate dealers as well as property owners know the value of paint when offering property on the market. The firm gives employment to a large force of men, and the man who holds a place under Young Brothers must understand the art of painting and decorating in order to hold his position.

Though citizens of Grant county only fifteen years, Young Brothers are permanently located in Marion, and are interested in all that per¬ tains to the community welfare. W. R. Young married Miss Anna Thatcher of Windfall, and twin daughters, Hazel and Helen, consti¬ tute his family. B. F. Young married Miss Eva Rabbitt of Warsaw, and has three sons, Leroy, Robert and Nicholas. As young men the brothers were members of the Friends church at Carthage, and the old saying, "once a Quaker always a Quaker/ 9 seems to hold with them although W. R. Young accompanies his family to the Methodist church, while B. F. Young goes with his household to the United Brethren meeting. They never asked for letters from the Friends church at Carthage, and never united with any other denomination. They are classed as Republicans in politics, though independent in local elec¬ tions, choosing to vote for the man rather than the party. Both brothers stand for good citizenship.

A. Jones. Probably no educational institution in Marion has a more practical relation to the business community and to the individual welfare of many young men and women, than the Marion Normal Col¬ lege, which has now completed more than twenty years of successful work and is recognized as one of the leading educational institutions in this part of Indiana. The founder and president, Mr. A. Jones, has gained a local reputation as an educator and within a few years of its founding the Normal School has gained a more substantial footing than many of the older educational institutions.

The Marion Normal College was organized in 1891 by Professor Jones with a corps of four instructors. The first quarters were in the building at the corner of Thirty-eighth and Washington Streets. The curriculum during the first year comprised a business course, music and some academic work. Being a practical educator and a superin¬ tendent of public schools, Professor Jones was quick to see the need of high grade work for the thorough preparation of teachers. With this purpose in view the business course was discontinued and a four year course adopted, embracing both theoretical and academic work.

Both the scope and quality of the instruction was raised to as high a plane as that in the average state Normal schools. The Normal Col¬ lege maintains a four year course for general students, courses in science, mathematics and literature taking the place of the studies in profes¬ sional course. In 1894 the college was moved from its first location to an attractive building between Washington and Harmon Streets, this building having been erected expressly for the use of the college by Dr. T. W. Johnson and Professor A. Jones the proprietors. The col¬ lege building is of brick, occupying a ground space of ninety by eighty feet, three stories high with basement, its chapel having a capacity of five hundred seats. It possesses all the modern improvements of school architecture and includes laboratories for scientific work.

Professor A. Jones was bom in Shelby county, Indiana, in 1855, and was the only child of Elijah and Sarah (Wagner) Jones, both par¬ ents being also natives of Indiana. The paternal ancestors came from Scotland, and were among the early settlers of Pennsylvania, while the Wagner family came from Germany and traced a kinship with the same family to which the noted composer Richard Wagner belonged. Both families came to Indiana among the early settlers and were promi¬ nent in the counties of Shelby and Rush. Grandfather Jones and great¬ grandfather Wagner were both well known ministers in the Methodist church.

Professor Jones was reared in Shelby county, and attained much of his early education at Danville, where he completed a teacher's and scientific course and also graduated from the department of Civil Engineering. His first experience as a teacher was in the grade schools at Glenwood, Indiana, where he spent two years, and then for four years had charge of the public schopls at Bronsville, Indiana. His last expe¬ rience in public school work was as superintendent of the schools of Danville, and from there in 1891 he came to Marion, and laid the foundation for the present splendid Normal College. As a student his inclination for many years has been along scientific lines, and he has done much investigation with the microscope, with results that have been both pleasing and profitable to him. He takes an active interest in all lines of educational work, and has served as editor of the teachers' journal.

In 1884 Professor Jones married Jessie M. Davis, who was bora in Payette county, Indiana, a daughter of William and Emily (Williams) Davis, her family having been residents of Glenwood, Indiana. Profes¬ sor Jones and family worship in the First Methodist church at Marion.

Joseph Hulley. The Hulley Foundry and Machine Works at Adams and Eighth streets in Marion is the pioneer industry of its kind in this part of Indiana. In an early day the Hulley family drew patronage from many surrounding counties. It was founded by Sam¬ uel Hulley, an uncle of Joseph Hulley, who was for many years its sole proprietor and whose family still owns the plant. Associated with Samuel Hulley in the operation of the foundry was John Cochran for a number of years.

The Hulley family came from England, and after a few years in Pennsylvania moved on to Switzerland county in Indiana, lived at Mooresfield, and some of them finally located in Marion. The first Hul¬ ley in Grant county was Samuel Hulley, and the name has long been a part of the history of this community. Samuel Hulley had no chil¬ dren, and was survived many years by his wife. There is mention of him in the history of the Marion water system, and it was Joseph Hulley who brought the alligator from Florida which was kept for twenty- eight years at the water works and at Matter Park in the summer time. Samuel Hulley was the uncle of both Joseph and Elkanah Hulley, who were cousins.

When Joseph Hulley came to Marion in 1857 he recognized the pos¬ sibilities of the Hulley family, and in order to utilize his opportunities to the best advantage he went to Philadelphia and spent three years in the Baldwin Locomotive Works as a machinist's apprentice, obtain¬ ing a thorough knowledge of the business, and on joining his uncle at the Marion plant was equipped for any kind of work brought to the foundry. Soon afterwards he acquired the interest of Mr. Cochran, and the firm name was S. & J. Hulley for about a quarter of a century, when Samuel Hulley retired and Joseph became sole owner of the foundry. He continued at its head until his death on April 26, 1909. By the terms of his will his wife has continued the business without division of the property. L. P. Hess, a son-in-law, and who has been identified with the business a number of years, was installed as manager after the death of Mr. Hulley, so that his demise made no changes whatever in the management of the plant.

Joseph Hulley married September 12, 1871, Miss Harriet Mowrer, a daughter of Daniel and Catherine (Beam) Mowrer. To them were born two daughters, Ida and Katharine. Both the young ladies gradu¬ ated from the Marion high school, and Miss Ida Hulley from the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, in both the classical and musical departments, and Miss Katharine Hulley from Mrs. Noble's School of Expression and Languages in Detroit. Ida Hulley is the wife of Lu¬ ther P. Hess, and is actively associated with the musical life of the community (see chapter on Music). Katharine Hulley became the wife of W. O. Washburn, who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and their three sons are: Joseph Hulley, Albert Owens and Will Owens Wash¬ burn.

Mrs. Joseph Hulley has always lived in Marion. Her father, Dan¬ iel Mowrer, operated the woolen mill that was later owned by D. R. Mc¬ Kinney and converted into a flouring mill, located near where Boots Creek empties into the Mississinewa at Spencer avenue, but in the earlier times its location was at Mowrer 's mill pond, elsewhere men¬ tioned in this Centennial History. "The Mowrer carding mill was a big thing in its day," said a man who remembered all about it. "When people made -their own 'wear' they brought their wool to the carding mill to have it made ready for them. Mr. Mowrer was a good man in the community."

Daniel Mowrer was an active member in the Presbyterian church, and his daughter Mrs. Hulley is a member there. Samuel and Joseph Hulley both retained their membership in the Church of England, and were both active Democrats in politics and stood for good citizenship in the community. When the Lyric Club, the first musical organization in the county, was organized, Mrs. Hulley drafted its constitution, and after twenty-five years, when the club reorganized, few changes were necessary in it. She has always been a patroness of all events musical, and continues the custom of travel which she and Mr. Hulley had so frequently enjoyed together. She has seen picturesque America, and believes in knowing more about America and then the rest of the world. Since giving up the family homestead Mrs. Hulley has apart¬ ments in the Cecilian.

Pierce H. Davis. A resident of Grant county since 1881, Mr. Davis has been a substantial farmer in Jefferson township, his home being in section nine and he has a reputation for successful management of his

The original ancestry of Mr. Davis is Welsh, but the family located in Virginia, previous to the Revolutionary war, and the line from the first ancestor to the present runs as follows, according to the best in¬ formation obtainable: Thomas Davis, great-grandfather of Pierce H., was born in Wales, but spent the greater part of his life in Virginia. The family in Wales was very wealthy, and Thomas, as one of two sons, had a large inheritance. However, when he left for the new world, he left his credits and funds in banks in his native country, and through some loss of records, or for some other cause not now known, he practically lost all his heritage. Thomas Davis was a Quaker when he came to America, married a Virginia Quaker girl, and all the sub¬ sequent generation have been of the same faith. The children of Thomas and wife were: Harmon, Joseph, Isaac, Jehu, Rachel. Sarah, Ann, Hannah, and Eunice. All these children were married, all had families of their own, and all except Eunice lived to be quite full of years. Some of them lived and died in Virginia, while others went west to Ohio, and died in that state. Farming was their regular voca¬ tion, and all were of the Quaker faith.

Harmon Davis, grandfather of Pierce H., was bom in Grayson county, Virginia, about 1775, grew up on a farm, and married Hannah Middleton, a native of Grayson county, and of Quaker stock. Her father enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and owing to his Quaker principles refused to fight, and was consequently transferred to the rear and served as a cook, finally being discharged on account of illness. After some of his children had been born in Virginia, Har¬ mon Davis moved in the early part of the last century to Ohio, settling on a piece of unbroken land, and in the pioneer home thus established the rest of his children were born, and all were reared to years of maturity. Then the family came to Wayne county, entering land where the little city of Dublin now stands. Some years later Harmon Davis sold out that property and bought land elsewhere in the same county, where he lived until his death. His widow outlived him some years, and died in Fenton county, Indiana, about 1857, when past eighty years of age. Their children were: Joseph, Isaac, Thomas, Jehu, Rachael, Sarah, Ann, Hannah, and Eunice. It is a curious fact that all these children were named for some of their uncles and aunts. They all grew up and were married and had children, and most of them spent their final years in Indiana.

Thomas Davis, third in the above family, was bom in Grayson county, Virginia, in 1805, and was a small child when his parents moved to Ohio, and was grown when they reached Wayne county, Indiana. Though reared on a farm he acquired the trade of carpenter, and followed that profession for a number of years. In Wayne county, he married Hannah, a daughter of Abraham and Mary (Pierce) Moore, natives of Pennsylvania, where Hannah Moore was born about 1810. All the family located in Wayne county, and Abraham Moore and wife died there when old people. They were farmers, and among the hardy early settlers, and brought with them their religious faith as Friends. Thomas Davis and wife settled on a farm in Wayne county, and later moved to Greens Fork, where both died, Thomas in 1894, and Hannah in 1888. The names of their children were as follows: Susan, who died after her marriage, leaving a daughter; Abraham, who died in infancy ; Pierce H. ; Tacy, who died after his marriage, but left no children ; Rachael, widow of Luther Frazier, now lives in Rich¬ mond, Indiana, and has a son and daughter ; Naomi, the wife of George

J. Nicholson, of Greens Fork, Wayne county, has one daughter; Wil¬ liam and Wilson, twins, the latter dying in infancy, and William, now a resident of Uplands, and the father of five children.

Pierce H. Davis was bom in Greens Fork, Wayne county, May 29, 1834. His boyhood was spent in his native locality, and he is one of the few men still living whose attendance at school was in a log cabin. He well remembers that old school house with its greased paper windows, its puncheon floors, its rough slab benches and desks, the old quill pens, and other primitive facilities and methods of instruction. Mr. Davis is also one of the men who in early years swung the cradle in reaping grain, has also handled a flail and thresher, and has used a plow with the old-fashioned wooden moldboard.

After he became of age he was married in Hamilton county, at Noblesville, to Mahala A. Cook. She was bora in Morgan county, Indiana, May 19, 1834, and is the daughter of Abraham M and Mary L. (Carson) Cook. The Cooks were likewise natives of Grayson county, Virginia, were of substantial Quaker stock, and on migrating west¬ ward, Mrs. Cook rode a horse all the way to Morgan county, Indiana. They were young people then and quite equal to enduring the hard¬ ships of pioneer existence. From Morgan county, Mr. and Mrs. Cook moved to Hamilton county, where he entered three tracts each of eighty acres, four and a half miles west of Cicero. There he worked steadily for many years in the improvement of his land, built up a good home, and farm, and died there about 1873. He was born about 1807. His wife died five years later when seventy years of age. They were both birthright Quakers, and charter members of the Friends church in Ham¬ ilton and Morgan counties. Mrs. Davis is the only one of the five Cook children still living, the others having been: Caleb, Jessie, Caroline, and Malinda. All were married, but Caleb and Caroline had no children.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Davis are : Viola Ellen, born October, 1857, has been twice married and is now living in Marion, and she has the following children by her first marriage - Oscar, Estella, Burr, all of whom are married; Mary H., born in June, 1860, is the widow of Harmon Ballenger, and the wife of Monroe Pence, and they live near Converse, where they are farmers, her children are - Volney, Viola, Bertha, Claude, Ithamar, and all are married except the youngest; Charles V., born in August, 1863, is a master carpenter at Marion, and by his marriage to Elizabeth Roberts has children, Clyde, Glenn, Nina, Thelma, and Leo, Clyde and Glenn being married; Pella May, is the widow of John Deeren, and lives in Crawford county, Kansas, and her children are - Dolly, Minnie, John, Anna; Rosa Bell is the wife of James McConway, a Missouri farmer, and their children are Norma, Beather, and Morris; Dora is the wife of Elmer McCrait, of Upland, and their children are Mary A., Resa, and Eva, the last two being twins, and Bernice; William P. W. lives at home and assists in the management of the homestead, his strong affection for his parents never having allowed him to stray into the field of matrimony: Syl¬ vester S. A. is a farmer in Jefferson township, owning eighty acres of improved land, and by his marriage to Hattie Curtis has one daughter Lula.

Mr. and Mrs. Davis have lived in Jefferson township of Grant county since 1881, and in 1883 bought their present well improved farm. Among the interesting relics of the past to be found about the Davis homestead, is an old flint-lock rifle, still in good repair, and showing unusually thorough and careful construction in both stock and barrel. This heirloom has come down through the Davis' family, and belonged to the great-grandfather before the Revolutionary war. It is an inter¬ esting old weapon, and in its time no doubt killed a great number of deer, bear, and other wild game, and has never been outside of the family ownership, being passed down from one generation to another.

L. H. Conley, M. D. On November 4, 1913, the people of Gas City elected to the office of mayor, Dr. L. H. Conley, who for more than twenty years has practiced medicine in that community, and in both his professional and private life has always enjoyed a special esteem and prominence.

Almost from the beginning of his residence here he has had about all the practice he could attend to, and in addition has given important service in the office of city physician. Dr. Conley has lived in Gas City, since 1892. He is a graduate from the medical department of Wooster University at Cleveland, Ohio, with the class of 1883, .so that for thirty years he has been in active practice. He began his professional career at Middlebury, Indiana, later practiced at Mount Vernon, Ohio, his old home, and then came to Gas City. Dr. Conley is a member of the Grant County Medical Society, which he has served in the office of chairman, of the State Medical Association, and the Mississippi Valley Medical Association.

Dr. L. H. Conley was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio, April 27, 1857. His early education was supplied by the public and normal schools, and he then entered medical college. He is of Irish ancestry. His grandfather, Hugh Conley, was born in Ireland, and married there Rose McDonald. Both came of good stock and of old families. Their children were Mary Flora, Hugh, Jr., Nancy, Daniel, Malinda, and Rose. The first four children were born in Ireland, and the rest in the United States. Grandfather Conley with his wife and four chil¬ dren emigrated in a sailing vessel, and after a voyage lasting several weeks and not without hardships, landed in the United States in the year 1825. They settled in Perry county, Ohio, where the parents lived until their deaths. They were devout and active members of the Catholic Church, and reared their family in that faith, which has been the religion of the subsequent generations. All their children mar¬ ried, and all had families. The only two still living are Flora, widow of Bartholomew Crosby of Perry county, Ohio; and Rose, now Mrs. Murphy of Nebraska.

Hugh Conley, Jr., father of Dr. Conley, was bom in Ireland in 1821, and was about four years old when the family came to America. He grew up in that locality and learned the trade of marble cutter, an occupation which he followed throughout his active years. He was married at Mount Vernon, Ohio, February 27, 1854, to Miss Matilda Colopy, who was born in Knox county, Ohio. In 1859 Hugh Conley and wife located at Columbus, Ohio, and in 1861 moved to Davenport, Iowa, where he died April 15, 1863. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Catholic church. His widow later lived with her son Dr. Conley and died in Gas City, September 5, 1896. She was bom December 17, 1817, a daughter of Timothy and Sarah Adrian Colopy. Her father was a native of Ireland, came when a young man to Amer¬ ica, and settled in the state of Maryland, and some years later moved to a farm in the vicinity of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, spending his last years in the city of Mt. Vernon, where he died when past sixty years of age. He was an active Catholic, and his body now rests in the Catholic cemetery at Danville, Ohio, beside that of his wife. His wife, who was bom in Maryland was a convert to the Catholic church. Their home in Mt. Vernon was the first meeting place for the Catholic church in that vicinity, and the altar used by the priest in the pioneer service was a bureau, a piece of furniture which is now carefully cherished by Dr. Conley and has a place in his home at Gas City. The children of Timothy Colopy and wife were named as follows: Jacob, Mary, Sarah, Benjamin, Mrs. Conley, and William. All of these married except William and Benjamin and all are now deceased. The son William was a California forty-niner, and died in that state. Dr. Conley was the second in a family of three children: Mark, died February 14, 1866, in infancy; and Anna, is the widow of Dr. A. E. Walker, and lives in Cincinnati, her children being - Clary, who is married and lives in Dayton, and Hugh and Florence, who live at home.

Dr. Conley was married in Middlebury, Indiana, to Miss Elizabeth A. Hixon, of a very prominent family in that section of the state. She was bom in Middlebury in 1867, was reared and educated there, and by her marriage to Dr. Conley has become the mother of the following children: Hugh H. Lamar, who received his education at Gas City, and is now an electrician at Niagara Falls, Ontario, and is unmarried; Edna E., who was educated in the Gas City high schools, and lives at home; F. Jenett, who had a high school education, is the wife of Chauncey Faust, living in Chicago; Warren H., died when thirteen years old; Robert E., is in school; Kathleen and Geneva, the youngest are both in school.

Dr. Conley and family all worship in the Catholic church at Gas City, and are well known and popular members of social circles in that community.

Hon. John T. Strange, State Senator and leading legist of Marion, Indiana, is a native of Grant county, having been born in Monroe town¬ ship, April 7, 1850, a son of George and Lydia (Duckwall) Strange, pioneers of this county. Mr. Strange was reared on the home farm and attended school at the pioneer log schoolhouse. His educational opportunities were meagre, but by dint of diligent study he prepared himself for teaching, and at eighteen years of age was given his first school. In 1872 he entered Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, Indiana, and graduated therefrom in 1877. After his college work, he applied himself to the study of law, and in the fall of 1877 was admitted to the bar of Grant county, soon attaining high rank in his profession. Mr. Strange has taken an active interest in politics, and in 1896 became a delegate to the National Democratic Convention, held at Chicago. He is at present a member of the Indiana Legislature, and during the recent session of that body was an influential man in the Upper House.

On July 3rd, 1879, Senator Strange wras married to Miss Emma Bobbs, daughter of Dr. A. J. and Mary (Cook) Bobbs. Two children were born to this union, Esther and John, the latter dying in infancy. Esther is now the wife of Dr. G. G. Eckhart, of Marion, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this wrork.

James W. Westfaul. One of the progressive real estate dealers and substantial citizens of Marion is James W. Westfall, a life-long resi¬ dent of the county, and the business associate of Frank Mullen, con¬ cerning whom extended mention is made in a sketch of him appearing elsewhere in this work. Mr. Westfall has had experience in the busi¬ ness of farming sufficient to place him in the class of successful agri¬ cultural men, the best years of his business career thus far having been given to that industry, for it was not until 1911 that he engaged in the real estate business with Mr. Mullen. The success he has already met with in this field of enterprise is a most flattering one,

Born in Franklin township, Grant county, Indiana, on April 14/ 1868, James W. Westfall is the son of James and Angeline Westfall, both native born Ohioans, who came to Grant county in an early day of their life. James Westfall, Sr., was a farming man, and for some years he lived on the old Steele farm, later making his home on the fine old place known as the Judge Paulus Farm, also in Franklin township. When James W. Westfall, Jr., was but ten months old the father died, but the mother survived until 1911. They had six children, four of whom are living today, and are named as follows : George T., the oldest, lives on a farm near to Landisville, in Grant county ; Mrs. Libby Tippit, living at Wabash, Indiana; Mrs. Lulu Warner, living near Hartford City, Indiana, and James W. Westfall, of this review.

Mr. Westfall was educated in the country schools, and he lived the life of a rural man until 1903 when he moved to Marion and established a residence here. For ten years he lived in Wayne township, Huntington county, near to the Grant county line, and there he owned and operated a fine farm. He still owns a farm of one hundred and twenty acres and one of one hundred and ninety-four acres, both of them situated in Washington township. After he gave up active operation of his farms, he established himself in Marion and thereafter gave his entire attention to the directing of the affairs of these two country places until two years ago, when he became associated with Mr. Mullen in their present real estate enterprise. Mr. Westfall still finds some time to look after his country affairs, but his main interests are in the real estate business. Indiana farming properties are the specialty of this firm, as well as some western and southern lands, and the two years in which they have been operating they have achieved a consider¬ able success.

Mr. Westfall is a stanch Republican, and though never an office seeker, he has done good work for the party interests in his community wherever he has been, and has in many ways demonstrated the high character of his citizenship. He is a member of the First Christian Church at Marion, of which he is a deacon and a trustee, and his wife likewise has membership in that church body.

Mr. Westfall was married in March, 1891, to Miss Minnie M. Hunt, the daughter of J. M. Hunt, long a resident of Rush county, Indiana. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Westfall, - Orla R. WestfaU.

Thomas C. Kimball. A life of kindly capable service to the com¬ munity and to hundreds of individuals came to a close with the death of Dr. Thomas C. Kimball at his home in Marion in 1906. Among his contemporaries it is doubtful if any medical man enjoyed greater love and respect among so many people in Grant county as Dr. Kimball. He possessed broad human sympathies, and it was love as well as duty that kept him at work so many years in a profession which more than any other is one of personal service. For a number of years his son. Glen D. Kimball, was associated with the father in general practice and in the management of the Marion hospital, and the younger Dr. Kimball is still one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Grant county.

Dr. Thomas C. Kimball was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in 1844. a son of Moses and Louisa Jane Kimball. Moses Kimball, a farmer, came from Ohio to Miami county, Indiana. Thomas C. Kimball was a soldier during the war between the states, a private in Company I of the Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. After the war he studied medicine, was engaged in practice in Miami county for some years, and in 1883 moved to Marion and continued his profession there until his death. Dr. Kimball was one of twelve chief surgeons with the rank of major appointed by President McKinley for the United States volunteer troops during the Spanish-American war. He was always an active Republican, and was the first pension examiner for the dis¬ trict of which Marion was the center, and held the office from his first appointment until his death excepting four years during the first Cleve¬ land administration. In Masonry he attained thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite.

With his son Dr. Glen D. Kimball the elder Kimball in 1896 founded the Marion Hospital, and it remained practically under their management until his death. A great deal of his time and means were spent in main¬ taining this valuable institution, and in the earlier years it was a work of philanthropy, since the hospital did not become self-supporting until recent years.

Dr. Thomas C. Kimball married Louisa J. Vinnedge, who was born in Indiana, and is now living in Chicago with a son. Their four chil¬ dren were: Indih, wife of J. L. Hoover of Hartford City, Indiana;

He finished his literary education at Marion, was a student in Notre Dame University at South Bend, and in 1892 was graduated M. D. from the Rush Medical College in Chicago. After three years at Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Kimball returned to Marion and took up the work of founding the Marion Hospital in association with his father. Besides his services in connection with the hospital and in caring for his large private practice, Dr. Kimball is county health officer and county coroner, and in 1903 was elected to the lower house of the Indiana legislature.

He is one of the active Republicans of Grant county. On October 22, 1902, Dr. Kimball married Minnie Murdoff, daughter of Ashley Murdoff of Marion. Mrs. Kimball has a prominent part in Marion musical affairs.

Adam Wolfe. The late Adam Wolfe, for many years a merchant of Muncie, Indiana, and one of the best known and most highly esteemed % men of his day, was bora in Washington county, Pennsylvaia, on % December 9, 1807. He was of German ancestry, his paternal grand¬ father having come from Germany prior to the days of the American Revolution, and settled in Little York, Pennsylvania, where he married a German lady, afterward removing to Washington county, that state. There the family continued to reside through the generations.

Adam Wolfe was the son of John and Catherine (Devore) Wolfe, the mother of Irish parentage, and he was one of their eleven children, all of whom reached years of maturity and most of whom reared goodly families. While yet in his infancy, the parents of Adam Wolfe moved from the place that had so long represented the ancestral abiding place of the Wolfe family in America and came to Coshocton, Ohio. There the boy, in company with his brothers and sisters, gained an acquaint¬ ance with the simpler branches of learning, spelling and the Three R's, as tiie term goes, making up the sum and substance of his training in books. His time was mostly employed on the home farm until he reached the age of twenty-one. His father died then, and the young man, taking the event somewhat in the light of a release from his con¬ nection with the farm, planned to gratify a long cherished ambition to engage iri mercantile activities. He accordingly set up in business at New Guilford, in Coshocton county, and there he remained until May, 1830, when he lost all his capital through the dishonesty of his partner.

Mr. Wolfe then removed to Westfield, Delaware county, and there he established another store. Here he was engaged until 1841, when he went into the pork packing business, and again misfortune overtook him. He lost his entire savings and when he adjusted his affairs, found himself in debt to the sum of several thousand dollars. From 1842 until 1855 Mr. Wolfe was engaged in the manufacture and sale of fanning mills in connection with the mercantile business, and during this period he amassed a fortune of more than $100,000.

Having debtors in Indiana and also having opened three stores in that state, Mr. Wolfe resolved in 1855 to move to Muncie. There he engaged in merchandise activities, also entering the banking business at Marion and at Columbia City. Prosperity still smiled upon his enterprises, and he found himself, besides the owner and proprietor of two banks, the owner of five stores in the state, all in excellent condi¬ tion, and located in the counties of Delaware, Madison, Grant, Hun¬ tington and Blackford. All of these he continued to own and operate to his profit until he died at his home in Muncie, Indiana, on March 8, 1892.

Mr. Wolfe was a member of the Independent Ordeh of Odd Fellows, and had passed all chairs of the subordinate lodge, being at the time of his death connected with the Encampment. He was a lifelong Demo¬ crat, and cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson. His large business interests prevented him from entering into politics to any degree, and though he was often urged to enter the lists for public office, he never consented to do so. His church membership was maintained in the Universalist church.

On April 26, 1832, Mr. Wolfe was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Elliott, the daughter of Samuel Elliott, of New York. Seven children were bom to them, four of whom reached years of maturity, but Mrs. Jason Willson, of Marion, Indiana, is the only surviving member of Mr. Wolfe's family.

Mr. Wolfe was continuously engaged in business for a full half century, and the success he experienced in a financial way, if in no other, proved his possession of extraordinary business abilities. He gained his wealth honorably and he used it worthily as long as he lived, engaging largely in both public and private charities and assisting most eommendably in the building of schools, colleges and churches. His life was fruitful, and he is remembered affectionately in the communities where he was best known.

Samuel. Leer. One of the finest stock farms in Liberty township, on section twenty, has been in the possession and under the enterprising management of Samuel Leer for the past quarter of a century. His neighbors testify a,s to his efficiency as a farmer, who makes his business pay, and yet does not fail to provide liberally for the comforts and attractive things of life. The Woodlawn Farm, as his estate is called, is run on a system, pays generous returns on capital and labor invested, and is a home for a family which through many years have enjoyed the highest personal esteem.

Though he has spent practically all his life in Grant county, Samuel Leer wras bora in Fayette county, of this state, August 21, 1862. His parents were Samuel and Mary (Williams) Leer. The father was a native of Kentucky, while the mother was born in Fayette county, Indiana. Samuel Leer, Sr., moved from Kentucky to Fayette county when a boy, was married in Fayette, and in 1863 transferred his home to Grant county, locating on a farm in Green township, one mile east, and half a mile south of Point Isabel. He had owned a farm in Fayette county, and selling that he invested the proceeds in two hundred and six¬ ty-nine acres in Green township, and that continued to be his home until his death in 1876. The mother is still living, having her home in Marion. There are six children now living: Mary J., wife of John A. Jackson; Lydia, wife of Luther T. Hale of Marion; William, who lives on the old homestead in Green township ; Malinda, wife of Alfred Fay Keminer of Liberty township; Samuel; and Charles, of Green township.

One year of age when the family came to Grant county, Samuel Leer was reared on the old homestead in Green township, and while a boy there spent his winters in the district schools. He continued alter¬ nately between farm and school until he was seventeen years of age. He then remained at home, assisting in cultivating the farm, under the general supervision of his widowed mother, until he was twenty-four years old. He was then married to Laura B. Cavault. She was bom and reared in Green township. Their two children are: Fred E., a graduate of the common schools, and formerly a student in the Marion Normal, now engaged in farming in Liberty township; Anna L., wife of Fred M. Elbert, and she is also a graduate of the local schools. They have twin girls, Maxine and Pauline. Mrs. Leer died in 1891. Later Mr. Leer married Sarah J. Cavault, a daughter- of Jared Cavault. Their one child is Wayne E., bom June 5, 1897, and a graduate of the common schools, and having already completed two years in the Fairmount Academy.

Mr. Leer moved to his present farm in 1888. He is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres, located five miles west of Fairmount, and it easily ranks among the best farms in the township. Mr. Leer is affiliated with the Point Isabel Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and is a past noble grand. Both he and his wife are members of the Rebekahs, at Hackelman, and Mrs. Leer served as the first noble grand of the Point Isabel Lodge, and both she and her husband are members of the Grand Lodge of the state. In politics Mr. Leer is a Democrat. As a farmer he does much in the stock business. He buys cattle by the carload, ships them to his farm, prepares for market, feeding his own crops, and buying much besides, and when his steers are ready for market, he ships direct to Buffalo, New York.

Henry Weser. Along the highways of Green township lie many pleasant farmsteads with their wood lots, variegated grain fields and meadows, and the barns and dwellings which crown the picture of honest thrift and profitable industry. One of these is the Catalpa Grove Stock and Grain Farm of Henry Weser,. located on section nine. Its owner is a practical man of modern agriculture, and out of his own industry and the assistance of a capable wife has produced all the prosperity which they enjoy.

Henry Weser is a native of Indiana, born in Ripley county, March 1, 1858, a son of Christian and Elizabeth (Yantman) Weser. Both parents were bom, reared, educated, and married in Germany, came to the United States when young people about twenty years old, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and four years later moving to Ripley county, Indiana, about 1848. In 1881 the family moved to Howard county, where the father spent the remainder of his days. There are six living children of the Weser family: Philip, of Indianapolis; Ed, of Kokomo; Lizzie, wife of F. H. Schultz, of Dayton, Ohio; Josephine, wife of Christ Brier, of Cincinnati, Ohio; Joseph, of Indianapolis; and Henry.

On a farm in Ripley county, Indiana, Henry Weser was reared to manhood and from there moved to Howard county. His education was obtained in the common schools of Ripley county. After following various occupations, chiefly farming, for some years, he was married on March 10, 1886. The name of his wife was Susan S. Martin, who was bom in Howard county, May 22, 1867, grew up and attended the public schools of that county, and belonged to a well known family there. On March 25, 1886, only a few days after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Weser moved to Green township in Grant county, locating on a place two and a quarter miles south of Swayzee. They lived there and prospered for about sev¬ enteen years, and on December 3, 1903, located on their present estate of one hundred and twenty acres, four miles south and a mile and a half west of Swayzee. Their home is the old McClain farm, and in improve¬ ments and crops measures well up to the best farms to be found in Green township. Mr. and Mrs. Weser began their married career with little capital, and all they have has been made by their united efforts.

Mr. and Mrs. Weser have seven children, named as follows: Clara E. is the wife of John E. Hannah, of Howard county, and they have one child, Burle ; Frank is a graduate of the common schools, is still unmarried and lives at home ; Edna B. is the wife of William Reneker and has one child, Agnes; May E. is a graduate of the common schools and the Swayzee high schools; George A. graduated from the common schools; Orpha T. and Josephine B. are the youngest of the family. Mr. Weser is affiliated with the Modem Woodmen of America, and the Improved Order of Redmen. In politics he is a Socialist, and has never interested himself actively in party affairs, although at one time he was candidate for county commissioner from his district in Grant county. He is a stock holder in Intelligencer, a Socialist publication issued at Marion.

John A. Peterson. As a breeder and raiser of fine horses, particu¬ larly the Percheron and Belgian Breeds, John A. Peterson has a reputa¬ tion far beyond the limits of Grant county. The Prairie Grove Stock Farm, in section ten of Green township, one mile west and three and a half miles south of Swayzee, is a model place of its kind, and its im¬ provements and adaptations to the uses of modern stock raising are the results of an exceptional degree of enterprise on the part of Mr. Peterson. Mr. Peterson began his career in this county as a school teacher, and by shrewd management and square dealing has come to be regarded as one of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of Green township.

John A. Peterson has spent all his life in Grant county, and was bom on section ten of Green township, where he now lives. His birthday was April 21, 1862, and he is a son of Ralph Van Dyne Peterson and Viannah (Jones) Peterson. The parents were both from Adams county, Ohio, where they were bora, reared, educated and married. They moved to Grant county in 1860, locating on section fifteen of Green township, where the father cleared out a place in the midst of the woods, built a cabin, and thus founded the home of the Petersons in Grant county. This old homestead is now owned by John A. Peterson, and the father and mother lived there the remainder of their days. The father was a member of the Church of Christ, and an officer in that denomination. He prospered as a farmer and business man, but never took much interest in politics. There were seven children in the family, five of whom are living, and two died young, one aged six years and one aged one year and six months. Julia is the wife of Thomas J. Cobbler, and was formerly a teacher in Liberty township. John A. is the next in order of age; James A. R. Peterson is a farmer in Green township; Birdie L. is the wife of B. F. Leisure of Madison county; Mahlon B., after graduating from the common schools of Grant county, studied in the College of Medicine and Surgery at Chicago. Prior to that he took the course in the Chiropractic School at Davenport, Iowa, and is now a practitioner in the latter school of medicine in Chicago.

John A. Peterson spent the years of his childhood and youth on the home farm, and all his memories and associations center about this old place. White growing up he attended the common schools, and later was a student in the Marion Normal College and in the Kokomo Normal School. With this excellent educational preparation, he began teaching when he was nineteen and for twenty-three consecutive years was identi¬ fied with the work of the school room, and there is hardly a locality in this section of Indiana, where Mr. Peterson does not meet some of his old pupils, who have grateful memories of him as a teacher. During his early career as a teacher he spent his summers in attending school, but later took up farming and thus alternated in the two vocations for a number of years.

On February 5, 1902, Mr. Peterson married Gertrude A. Leisure, who was bora in Green township, a daughter of Nathan J. Leisure, one of the prominent men of this county. She received her education in the common schools of Green township. They are the parents of two sons, Ralph E., bom July 13, 1904, and John G., bom June 7, 1907.

Mr. Peterson and wife are members of the church of Christ at Leisure, in Madison county, and his fraternal associations are with the Inde¬ pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a Democrat in politics, but has not taken much part in party affairs. His home estate in Green town¬ ship comprises five hundred and fifty acres of land, all of which is highly improved and is regarded as one of the best farms in this part of Grant county. His interests include many relations and activities outside of his home farm. He is one of the directors in the First National Bank at Swayzee, a stock holder in the Farmers Trust & Savings Company at Marion, one of the stock holders and directors in the Farmers National Life Insurance Company of America. At Swayzee he maintains a breed¬ ing bam, and for more than twenty years has been successful as a horse breeder, making a specialty of the thoroughbred Percheron and Belgian horses. Mr. Peterson is the owner of more than twenty thousand dollars worth of business and residence property in Danville, Illinois, while his wife owns an interest in a section of land in Pulaski county, Indiana. Mr. Peterson got his start towards this ample success by teaching school He invested wisely his earnings, and has always maintained an unim¬ peachable reputation for honest dealings, so that his success has been worthily won. Among his other properties he owns a building in Muncie, Indiana, and he and his family reside in a very attractive and comfortable home. He employs a Studebaker automobile for both business and pleasure.

Joseph Q. Hannah. Since he was a boy of six years, Joseph Q. Hannah has had his home in Grant county. He remembers the county when not a single line of railroad traversed it, and practically all the facilities of modem life - the railroads, improved highways, telephones, interarban transportation, rural mail delivery - have come as events of his own lifetime. Mr. Hannah has a fine farm in section twenty-eight in Green township, has prospered in a material way, has reared a house¬ hold of children, and has his record clean in all the varied relation¬ ships of the world.

which so many present residents of Grant county came, on April 15, 1850, a son of David and Elizabeth Carter Hannah. His father was a native of Kentucky, and Grandfather Joseph Hannah was born in Ire¬ land, came to the United States, locating in Kentucky, where he was a farmer, and where he spent the balance of his life. He dropped dead while hoeing com at the extreme old age of ninety-five years. Elizabeth Carter, the mother, was bom in Kentucky, a daughter of Arthur Carter, of that state. David Hannah and wife grew up in Kentucky, were married there, moved to Rush county, which was their home for about ten years, and in 1856 moved to Grant county, locating in Green town¬ ship. David Hannah continued here as a prosperous farmer, until his death. There were six children of David Hannah and wife living in 1913, namely: Arthur, William, James, J. Q., Frank, and Isaiah. Two of these live in Howard county.

On the home farm Joseph Q. Hannah grew up, attending the district schools as opportunity was presented, and when ready to take up the responsibilities of life for himself, he established a home by his marriage to Iva A. Toole. They became the parents of two children : Myrtle, wife of Warren Bear, and they had two children, Estel and Locia A., but the latter is dead; and one that died in infancy. Mr. Hannah's first wife died in 1876. In August, 1878, Mr. Hannah married for his second wife, Ida Langston, who was bom in Rush county, Indiana, February 22, 1860, and moved with her parents to Grant county, where she lived until her marriage. She is the daughter of Edgar and Deborah Langston. Mr. and Mrs. Hannah have six children living in 1913, namely : Bertha M. is the wife of Michael Gavin, and they have two children, Ernest and Harriett; Clarence E., born August 6, 1881, is a graduate of the common schools, was a student in the Marion Normal College, and for some years a teacher, and now lives at home; Halsie Olive, born October 2, 1883, is the wife of Roy Toole, and has one child, Pauline ; Herman A., bom July 20, 1887, graduated from the common schools, studied in the Marion Normal College, and lives at home ; Ada G., was bom November 27, 1889, passed through the common school and the high school, also took studies in the Marion Normal school and is now the wife of Joseph Read ; Hazel F. was born November 1, 1892, and is a graduate of the coihmon schools. Mr. Hannah is a Democrat in politics and has taken much interest in local affairs. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Green township.

Frankun Rybolt. In every community there are a few public spirited men, who, regardless of the fact that they usually can least afford the time, spend much time and energy and money in promoting and engineering any project for the public good. Such a man is Franklin Rybolt, of Sims township, Grant county, Indiana. One of the most suc¬ cessful farmers in the county, and with various business interests in addition, he finds time to aid in any movement which has as its end the improvement of civic or social conditions in the county. Broad minded and clear visioned, Mr. Rybolt would be a valuable citizen for any community and the universal esteem in which he is held in Grant county proves that the people realize his worth.

Franklin Rybolt was bom in Green township, Grant county, Indiana, on the 8th of November, 1854. His father was Jarret Rybolt and his mother was Rachel (Foster) Rybolt. Both of his parents were bom in Brown county, Ohio, where they were reared and where they later married. It was in 1851 that Jarret Rybolt and his young wife started out for the newer lands to the west. They had very few personal posses- sions and still less ready money but they were animated with courage and filled with high hopes. They brought all their household goods across the country in a one horse wagon and fifty dollars was the sum they owned in cash. With this money Mr. Rybolt entered forty acres of land a half mile south of Point Isabel in Green township. He cleared a spot large enough to build a cabin upon and when this was done set about the difficult task of clearing the rest of the land by his unaided efforts. Indomitable will it took and many months of hard work but the task was accomplished. He prospered as a farmer and at the time of his death was the owner of four hundred acres all of which he had gained by his own efforts. He was a prominent and influential man in the community, taking an active part in the life of the district He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was class leader in the church of that denomination in Point Isabel for many years. He always gave liberally to the support of the church and many times aided a struggling congregation to build a church by liberal gifts. He was a member of the Republican party in his political views. Seven children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Rybolt, four of whom are living today, namely : Frank¬ lin; Mary A., who is the wife of G. W. Kilgore; William H., who is a farmer in Green township, and Emma, who married William H. Miller and resides in Fairmount, Indiana.'

Passing through the years of childhood and boyhood on his father's farm, young Franklin lived the life of a normal country boy, but he was always eager for an education, and began to attend the common schools as soon as he was old enough. After completing the course of study they had to offer, he was still unsatisfied, but since he could no longer be a student, he did the next best thing and became a teacher, for nothing fixes knowledge as does the imparting of it to others. He began to teach at the age of seventeen and for ten years he was a teacher in the common schools of this county. During this period he also farmed and part of the money which he earned in the two occupations went into a further education, for he attended the Holebrook School at Lebanon, Ohio, for a time. During these ten years he farmed in summer and taught school in the winter, and until 1888 he lived on a farm in Green township.

In 1888 Mr. Rybolt was elected recorder of Grant county, Indiana, running on the Republican ticket. This is strong evidence of the high regard in which he was held by his fellow citizens and he was to realize this even more later in his career. He served as recorder for four years, from August 4, 1889, to August 4, 1893. Previous to this, at the age of twenty-two, he was elected assessor of Green township on the Repub¬ lican ticket, being the first Republican assessor the township had ever had, and at the time of his election the Democratic party was conceded a majority of fifty. In 1880 Mr. Rybolt took the census in Green town¬ ship and in 1910 he took the census for the northern half of Sims town¬ ship. After his term as recorder was finished Mr. Rybodt located on his present farm, which is situated on section 25, one mile south and one mile and three-quarters east of Swayzee. Part of the one hundred and sixty acres of which he is the owner is located in section 36 and part in section 25. The farm itself is known as the Orchard Grove Farm, and he owns one hundred and sixty acres of land all told. He is a general farmer and stock raiser. Mr. Rybolt is a stock holder in the Sweetser Bank and is also a large stock holder in the Sweetser Telephone Company, having been president of the latter corporation for four years.

In October, 1874, Mr. Rybolt was married to Miss Mary J. De Vore, who is a native of Henry county, Indiana, a daughter of Elbridge and Deborah (Lenington) De Vore. She was reared and educated in Green township, Grant county. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Rybolt, six are living, as follows: Minnie L., the wife of Homer Trueblood, of Whittier, California; Rachel B., who married John B. Shaw, and has three children : Roscoe, Catharine and Franklin ; William E., who iparried Otha Sharp and has two sons, Kenneth and Gerald; Christian, who married Goldie Burrier, and has one child, Alene; Luella, who is the wife of Roger Lake, and has one child, Mary Ellen; and Oral, who married Uda Bragg.

Levi E. Hummell, of Sims township, Grant county, Indiana, is one of the most respected and well liked men in the county. Quiet and absorbed in the work of his farm, he yet has many friends, who have been attracted to him by his strong character, and the honesty and uprightness of his nature. Mr. Hummell has been a hard worker all of his life and his success is no more than he deserves. He is now the owner of one of the best farms in Sims township, and has his land in a fine state of cultivation.

Isaac Hummell, the father of Levi E. Hummell, was bora in Penn¬ sylvania, and married Barbara Ann Bowers, who was a native of Ohio. To them Levi E. Hummell was bom on the 8th of February, 1858, in Allen county, Ohio, near Delphos. Just six months later, on the 8th of August, 1858, Mrs. Hummell died, and for two years her little mother¬ less son was cared for by relatives. Then his father married again and he went to live with his father and step-mother. He attended the com¬ mon schools in Allen county, Ohio, and later Van Wert county, Ohio, and then in 1867 he accompanied his father to Indiana. Here they located in Richland township, in Grant county, and the boy went to school in Richland and Sims townships until he was twenty years of age. He then attended the county normal school for a year and the end of the year found him ready to go to work. He began life on a farm, work¬ ing by the day, month or year. His sole possession at this time was a horse and buggy. He continued in this way, gradually laying aside money with which he eventually purchased land. Shortly after his marriage in 1886 he bought eighteen acres of land but he was in debt for some of it. He now owns eighty-three acres of well improved and valuable land, and is a general farmer and stock raiser. His farm is located on section 26, in Sims township, a mile east and a quarter of a mile south of Swayzee.

Mr. Hummell and his family are members of the Primitive Baptist church and he is one of the deacons of the church. In politics he is a member of the Democratic party, and he has served as constable of the township. He is a stock holder in the Swayzee Co-operative Tele¬ phone Company and was one of the charter members of that concern.

Mr. Hummell was married on the 1st of December, 1886, to Miss Anna U. Pence, a daughter of Lewis C. Pence and Mary J. (Mauler) Pence. Mrs. Hummell was born and reared in Sims township, where she also attended school. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hummell. Basil W., who was born on the 20th of May, 1890, having been graduated from the Swayzee high school, had one term in the Marion Normal College and is now a teacher in the public schools. He married Miss Laura B. De Vore and lives on a farm in Washington township, but is still teaching. Dea May, who was bom on February 7, 1895, is a graduate of the Swayzee high school and is living at home.

Ernest Pence. It is when we meet such men as Ernest Pence of Grant county, Indiana, that we realize that in spite of the corruption in politics, the apparently hopeless tangle into which we American people have wound our lives, and the vice and crime everywhere appar¬ ent, there are men of the same mold as those forefathers of ours of the days of 76, and that in the young men of the country, men of edu¬ cation and high ideals, strong in morals and intellect, is the country's strength. Mr. Pence is one of the young, progressive farmers of Sims township in Grant county, and is well known as a successful man and one of whom greater success is to be expected in the future.

Ernest Pence was born on the 7th of August, 1876, in Sims town¬ ship, Grant county, Indiana, on the old Pence homestead, the son of Lewis C. Pence and Christina (Go win) Pence. He was the second child of his parents and he grew up on his father's farm, attending the public schools of the township in the winter and in the summer assisting his father on the farm. After he was graduated from the public schools he devoted all his time to the work of the farm and became a farmer of practical experience. He remained at home until he was twentyfive years of age, when he bought his present farm. Prior to that, for four years, he was a partner with his father on the old home place. He is now the owner of seventy-five acres of land, the farm being located on section 34, in Sims township, one mile south of Swayzee, on the Wabash Pike. He raises a good grade of Duroc hogs, and his principal crops are com and clover. He rotates his crops in clover, com and oats, and raises a fine quality of product. The land itself is worth $225 per acre, and Mr. Pence is continually adding improvements.

In addition to his farming interests he has other business interests. He is a stock-holder in the Swayzee Co-operative Telephone Company and is also a stock-holder in the Farmers' National Life Insurance Com¬ pany. Much of his time is also employed in his duties as secretary of the Farmers' Institute of Grant county, for it is a flourishing institution.

On the 21st of September, 1901, Mr. Pence was married to Miss Pearl Outland, of Howard county, Indiana. She was educated in the public schools of Howard county and is a graduate of the Sycamore high school. Mrs. Pence is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sims. She and her husband have no children.

Mr. Pence is an active member of the Democratic party, but he has never cared to hold office. He is an honorary member of the Modem Woodmen of America, but he has little time for political or fraternal societies, his farm and business interests being so exacting.

Owen C. Kimbrough. In a comfortable rural home in Liberty township resides one of the old soldiers of the Civil war, a veteran who brought to the business responsibilities of his career the same qualities of efficiency and fidelity which he displayed as a soldier of the Union during the days of the sixties. Mr. Kimbrough has been a resident of Grant county for more than forty years, was for a number of years connected with lumber milling at Fairmount, and is now engaged in the quiet duties of agriculture at his home place in Liberty township.

Owen C. Kimbrough was bom in Clinton county, Ohio, October 3, 1845, a son of Eli and Margaret (Townsend) Kimbrough. Mr. Kim¬ brough's maternal great-grandfather, Mendenhall, was a soldier in Revolutionary war. The Kimbrough family have been prominent in this section of Indiana since 1867, in which year the parents moved to Liberty township, and in that vicinity spent the balance of their lives. There was a large family of children, eleven in number, and these have borne honorable parts not only in this part of Indiana, but in various localities and states. The names of the children and their locations are as follows: John T., of Mill township, Grant county; Owen C. ; Mary, wife of Sam Stewart; Amos H., a resident of the state of Oregdn; Zack T., and William B., both of Marion; Thomas J., of Kansas; Martha, wife of James Stewart of Fairmount; Sarah E., wife of Jasper Howell, of Wells county, Indiana; Allie A., unmarried; and Clark H., who lives in Oregon.

Owen C. Kimbrough spent his early years on a farm, attended district schools up to the time he was eighteen years of age, and in the meantime struggling between his duties at home and his desire to become a soldier of the Union. Finally he could resist the call of patriotism no longer, and enlisted in Company C of the One Hundred and Ninety-Third Ohio Regiment. He served with the Army of the Potomac, during 1864-65, and was a soldier on the field until the war was over. Coming home with an honorable record as a soldier, he first located in Ohio, and later moved to Richmond, Indiana. He worked as a machinist in Richmond until 1880. In 1868 he was married at Richmond to Lydia King, daughter of Lorenzo D. and Elizabeth King, and lived there a few years, and in 1872 brought a sawmill outfit into Liberty township of Grant county, but remained in Richmond, and worked at his trade until 1880. Many- of the older residents will remember the Kimbrough Mill at Fairmount, which was conducted as a local institution there until it was burned in 1888.

To the marriage of Mr. Kimbrough were born three children: Lillian, wife of John M. Wright of Jonesboro; Margaret J., wife of Charles Bergan, who lives near Fairmount; and Maude J., who is unmarried, is a graduate of the common schools, and a student in the business college of Marion.

Mr. Kimbrough has served as commander of the Grand Army Post No. 328. In politics he has been a Republican since casting his first vote soon after the war, and has always taken much interest in local politics. His farm, located at the village of Radley, contains seventy acres, and under his management has been brought to a high state of improvement and furnishes a good home and a profitable living for himself and family.

Lewis D. Morgan. On section thirty-five of Sims township, two miles south of the town of Swayzee, and on the Wabash Pike, is sitoaied the fine country home of Lewis D. Morgan, one of the most substantial and highly respected citizens of western Grant county. Mr. Morgan has lived in this county nearly all his life, and the family are well known for their industrious character, and honorable citizenship.

Lewis D. Morgan was born in Rush county, Indiana, August 25, 1855, a son of John T. and Catherine (Phillips) Morgan. The father was born in Ohio, came to Rush county, Indiana, and afterwards settled in Sims township of Grant county where he lived until his death. He took up land in its wild state where his son, Lewis D., now lives. He was married in Rush county, and he remained a farmer all his active career. There were 12 children in the family, of whom seven are now living, namely: Amanda, wife of Milton Woodbeck, of Andrews, Indiana; Josephine, wife of Jesse Modlin; Jane, wife of Frank Collins, of Green township ; William H. and Lewis D., who are twin brothers; Mary, wife of Isaac Eaves, of Sims township; Nilie, wife of John Brown, of Hunt¬ ington, Indiana ; Electa, wife of J. E. Matchett ; Jacob, of Swayzee.

his neighborhood. With a common school education he began his career as a farmer, and for more than thirty years has energetically plied that vocation. On December 7, 1883, he married Miss Caroline Matchett, who was bom in Green township of Grant county in 1859. Her educa¬ tion was obtained in the common schools and she is a woman of many fine attributes of character. They have two living children. Ortha M., a graduate of the Swayzee high school and the State Normal School, has been a successful teacher and now lives at home. Clyde J., a farmer in Sims township married Cleta Lemons, and they have one child, Nadine Morgan. In politics Mr. Morgan is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in party affairs, although a good citizen who gives his support to any community enterprise.

Samuel E. Thrawl. In Grant county, as in every similar com¬ munity, are men who have acquired a satisfying share of material prosperity coupled with civic esteem, and yet when they were youths on the threshold of the world and its responsibilities, their prospects and advantages as measured in terms of capital or the aid of influential friends were remarkably limited. They had their latent ability, their ambition, and out of themselves wrought all the fortune which later years associate with their names.

Such a citizen is Samuel E. Thrawl of Green township, a substantial farmer on section three, three miles south of the village of Swayzee. His home is on the Curless Extension Pike. Besides his other interests Mr. Thrawl is now serving his community in the office of township assessor.

Samuel E. Thrawl was bora in Tipton county, Indiana, near Wind¬ fall, on November 3, 1868. His parents were William and Amanda (Earhart) Thrawl. The mother is still living, her home being in Swayzee. The father died January 15, 1905. There were only two children in the family, the daughter being Maggie, the widow of E. Downing.

Samuel E. Thrawl was four years old when the family moved to Green township in Grant county. He therefore spent his boyhood days in this section and attended the district schools Nos. 1 and 8 in Green township. Only during the winter season was he privileged to attend school, and all his summer days were spent in the work and varied activities of the home farm until he was about eighteen years old. On November 7, 1886, he married Miss Mattie Ball, of Howard county, and together they set to work to establish home and independence. Mrs. Thrawl was born in Rush county, was taken to Howard county when a girl, and received most of her education in the schools of Jerome. The one son bom to their union is Guy 0., who graduated from the common schools and from the business college at Marion, is married to Effie Shull, and they have their home in Green township. Mr. and Mrs. Thrawl are members of the New Life Church of Green township.