Grant County, Indiana - The whole text, 1914 (part 30 of 32)

William B. White. Of the large number of successful men now active in affairs in Grant county, it is a noteworthy fact that con¬ siderable proportion of them started out in life with practical no backing in the way of capital, nor with any special influences outside of themselves to insure their successful advancement. By hard work, close management, unflagging attention to details, and by honorable dealings they have secured many of those prizes for which men are striving everywhere over the world, and one who has special distinction in this class is Mr. William B. White, a prosperous farmer of Pleasant township.

Mr. White was bom in Wabash county, Indiana, March 15, 1850, a son of Hazel and Martha A. (Rigdon) White. Both parents were Kentuckians by birth, grew up in their native state, and married there and in 1846 became settlers in Wabash county among the pioneers. Wabash county continued to be their home until their death. They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are still living, noted as follows: Eliza, wife of Thomas Scott; America, widow of Hiram K. Hendricks; Thomas White of Wabash county; Emeline, wife of Thomas White (not relatives) living in Kansas ; William B. ; Basil White of Wabash county; Jackson White of Wabash county.

On the old home farm in Wabash county, William B. White grew up and most of his early recollections and associations are centered about that place. He attended the public schools of the county during the winter seasons until he was eighteen years of age, and then con¬ tinued to assist his father on the home farm uptil he had reached his majority. The beginning of his prosperity and active career was when he hired his services out to farmers by the month, and in that way he gradually accumulated a little capital for his independent start. He and a brother then rented land and farmed together for several years until their resources were advanced by the ownership of considerable stock and other property.

was born March 20, 1857. They have become the parents of eight children, a fine family of useful young men and women, noted as follows : Ovid White, who graduated from the common school branches, and also attended school at Marion and the Normal College, married Opal Riggs, and they have one child, Miriam. Ethel, a graduate of the common schools, is the wife of Charles Clark, they have one child, Mary Helene. Blanche, who graduated from the common schools, attended Marion High School and graduated from the Marion Business College; she is the wife of Ralph Thomberg. Roy, a graduate of the common schools, married Hazel Dunn. Lucy, graduated from the local schools and the Marion High School, lives at home. Clarence, Bernice, and Margaret complete the family circle. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Jalapa. In politics Mr. White gives his staunch support to Democratic doctrines. He is the owner of one hundred and eighty-seven acres in Pleasant township, and does a prosperous business as a farmer and stock raiser.

Shadrick Lawson. Now one of the most prosperous farmer citizens of Pleasant township, Grant county, Indiana, and a citizen whose services have often contributed to the advancement and public welfare of his local community, Shadrick Lawson began his career practically without any of the material equipment and capital which are supposed to be necessary to successful industry. He is one of the substantial men upon whom the solid prosperity and civic progress of Grant county depend, and though still comparatively a young man built up a good estate, and a place of high esteem in his home vicinity of Pleasant township.

Shadrick Lawson was born in the township where he now lives, September 27, 1874, a son of Nathan E., and Esther A. (Stelts) Lawson. Both parents now live in Kosciusko county, Indiana. Of their family of ten children seven are still living, mentioned as follows: Edward of Decatur, Indiana ; Shadrick ; Nellie, wife of George Silvers of Marion ; Arr, unmarried; Alta, wife of Thomas Sims of Andrews, Huntington county, Indiana ; Lurley, wife of Homar Simmons, who lives near Jalapa; and Lawrence, a single man living in Pleasant township. The family were long members of the Methodist Protestant church at Jalapa.

%Shadrick Lawson grew to manhood in Pleasant township, was a boy whose experiences were similar to those of many others brought up in like conditions and surroundings, and received a fair equipment of education in the local schools. He laid the foundation for his own home by his marriage on August 18, 1896, to Mary Prickett, a daughter of Geo. and Hulda Prickett, of Pleasant township. Their three children are Mabel, a graduate of the local schools and who has had two years of instruction in the high school* at LaFountain, Indiana. Roy, bom March 29, 1900, has passed the county examinations in the common schools. George N. was born July 29, 1904.

Mr. Lawson is a Democrat in politics. His farm comprises one hundred and twenty-eight acres of highly cultivated and improved land, and he epgages in the general farming and stock raising business with much success. In all his dealings 'with his neighbors he has been honor¬ able and a man of the highest integrity, and is accordingly respected in his vicinity.

Sylvester C. Hendricks. For a period of more than fifty-five years the Hendricks family have been known and respected through their citizenship and industry in Grant county. As farmers and mer¬ chants they have always made their own way, and prospered, while in the communities in which their lives have been passed they have never failed to hold up their share of civic and social responsibilities and obligations. Mr. Sylvester C. Hendricks has long been prominent as a farmer, fruit grower and merchant at Fox Station in Pleasant town¬ ship, where he and his son operate the principal mercantile establish¬ ment in that vicinity, and are large property owners.

Sylvester C. Hendricks is a native of Pleasant township in Grant county where he was bom January 13, 1859. His parents were William E. and Matilda (Sigler) Hendricks, who came from Warren county, Indiana, to Grant county, in 1857. Both parents are now deceased. The father was a man who started his career without wealth or influence, but at the end of his active labors possessed three hundred acres of land. He was a Republican voter, and a member of the Methodist Epis¬ copal church. There were four children, all living in 1913, Sylvester C., being the oldest. Grant is a farmer in Pleasant township; Laura is unmarried, and Annie is the wife of James Dove of Pleasant township.

Sylvester C. Henderson spent his boyhood on the old homestead in Pleasant township, and when his presence was not required by home duties he attended the common schools with sufficient regularity to give him a fair equipment in book learning. When he was twenty-one he started out for himself, and from year to year has been getting ahead. Early in his career he married Agnes Holman, a daughter of William Holman. They are the parents of one son, William C. Hendricks, Jr., who was born August 6, 1882. After getting a common school training he was a student in the Marion high school, and has for a number of years been associated with his father in farming and mercantile enter¬ prise. He was married to Hallie Druckemiller. They have two chil¬ dren: Agnes L., bom in 1910 and Catherine, born June 3, 1913. In 1011 Mr. S. C. Hendricks and son formed a partnership, the title of which is S. C. Hendricks & Son, and under this name they operate a general store, and handle coal, grain and hay at Fox Station. A farm of twenty-three and a half acres at Fox Station is also included within the partnership enterprise. In politics the son has taken a stand in the Republican interests while the father has for many years staunchly supported the Democracy. The junior Mr. Hendricks is a member of the Methodist Church in Marion. The father and son have a very pro¬ ductive fruit farm at Fox Station, besides other fruits, raising con¬ siderable quantities of cherries, and also some strawberries.

William 0. Lawrence. In Pleasant township Mr. Lawrence is regarded as one of the most capable farmers and stock raisers ih that locality. His home has been in Grant county since 1900, and for a number of years previous to that he lived in Huntington county. His career has encouragement for young men who start without resources except those contained in themselves. He was a renter for several years, prospered in every undertaking, and thriftily turned his surplus into more land until he found himself independent, and with better provision for the future of himself and family than most men have at the close of a long lifetime.

William 0. Lawrence was born in Adams county, Ohio, June 25, 1862, a son of Philip and Jemima J. (Hull) Lawrence. His father died in Huntington county, Indiana, where the mother still lives on the old home place. There were five children in the family, four daughters and one son. The daughters were : Lizzie E., wife of Fred Diimbauld, of Huntington county; Flora, C., wife of S. J. Brubaker, of Fort Wayne; Ida B., wife of James F. Thompson, of Huntington county; Ora A., who is unmarried and lives at McNatt, Indiana.

at the same time acquiring a fairly substantial book edupation in the local schools. When he was twenty-one years old he started out for himself and made considerable progress towards independence before he was married. On October 2, 1888, he married May Alspach, who was born in Huntington county, Indiana, January 30, 1865, and grew up and was educated in that locality. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have lived in different sections of Indiana and he has conducted stores in various parts of the state. Since 1902, however, he has farmed. Prior to that time for seven years he conducted a store in Marion and for nine years ran a store in Farrville, this county. Both have been diligent workers and good managers, and while providing the comforts for themselves and children, and giving special attention to the liberal training of their son and daughter, have at the same time been able to advance their capital and general prosperity until they are now practically inde¬ pendent. Their two children are : Norval C., a graduate of the comnlon schools, and now his father's capable assistant on the home farm; Jessie Fay, bom March 18, 1906, and a student in the local schools. The fam¬ ily are members of the Methodist Protestant church at Jalapa, and in politics Mr. Lawrence is a Democrat and has served on the township advisory board. His farm, which he has occupied since 1905, comprises one hundred and forty -eight acres, and is well improved with a comfort¬ able residence, good barns, fences, kept in thorough repair, and the fields indicate a high state of cultivation.

William D. Todd. On rural mail route No. 15 out of Jonesboro, and seven miles from the town of Fairmount, is situated the excellent farm estate of William D. Todd in Liberty township. Mr. Todd is one of the younger and progressive farmers of Grant county, all his training and experiences have identified him with agricultural life, and he has al¬ ready become recognized as one of the best in his business in Liberty township. While he raises the general crops, he gives special attention to the keeping of first class stock, and has employed the methods and applied his own energy and industry in such a way as not only to pro¬ duce a good annual revenue from his farm, but also increase its value much beyond what it was worth when he first came into possession of it.

William D. Todd was bom in Center township of Rush county, Indi¬ ana, October 13, 1878, one of the five children of John and Mary E. (Powell) Todd. Only two of the children are now living, and Mr. Todd's brother is Bert S. Todd, also of Liberty township. The Todd family was established in America a number of generations ago, having come originally from Ireland, and later members became early settlers of Indiana. Mr. William D. Todd was one year old when his parents moved to Liberty township of Grant county, and he grew up in that township, received his education in the local schools, and secured a sub¬ stantial training for life by working on the farm in the summer, and attending school in the winter.

His marriage on March 30, 1897, united him with Liza Day, a daughter of Aquilla and Rachel (Reybolt) Day. Mrs. Todd was bom in Green township of Grant county, and grew up and was educated in this vicinity. After their marriage they lived with his father, but after eleven months moved to their present place in Liberty township. The date of their establishment on their present farm was February 24, 1898. To their marriage four children have been bora as follows: Rachel I., bom June 6, 1898; Ora L., bora November 30, 1900; John P., bom July 9, 1903 ; Bertha C., born December 18, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Todd have taken pains to give their children the best of home training and school advantages, and all but the youngest are still attending the v public schools. The family are members of the Radley Friends Church, and Mr. Todd is a member of the Swayzee Detective Association. In politics he is a Democrat, and in 1906 served as road supervisor of his district.

Gamaliel Bailey Goodykoontz. When Abram Goodykoontz, who was among the highly honored pioneers of Liberty, named his sec¬ ond son Gamaliel Bailey, it was in honor of the editor of the National Era, published in Washington, and in the columns of which "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was printed as a serial. The friends of Mr. Goodykoontz call him 4 4 Gay, ' ' and he is a genial gentleman reflecting the name char¬ acteristic. Abram Goodykoontz was a man much in advance of his day and generation in his conception of questions of state, about which the public mind centered, and he was always an independent thinker.

- Abram Goodykoontz was three times married. The mother of his older children was Margaret Phillips, who died when her children were small, leaving with them the precious memory of an ideal mother. Abram Goodykoontz was born in Grayson county, Virginia, and when a small boy, his father's family moved to Madison county, Indiana. He located in Monroe township, Grant county, after his marriage. Sev¬ eral years later he moved to Liberty township where he cleared and improved the homestead now known as Heimat, which is still in the family possessions, and it has always been one of the best cultivated farms in the county.

When Abram Goodykoontz was a young man he attended Frank¬ lin College, being in school with John Ratliff. Together they worked to pay their college expenses, chopping wood at from twelve and onehalf to forty cents a cord. All through life there was evidence of cul¬ ture in this man, - the most genial of all companions because he had read everything and was familiar with all the questions of the day. He was one of the pioneer teachers. He first taught in Madison county, then in Monroe township, Grant county, and later in Liberty township.

While he may not have been the first by whom the new was tried nor yet the last to lay the old aside, Abram Goodykoontz always investi¬ gated for himself, was always a student, and the question of health was early reduced to a science by him. He was temperate and regular in all of his habits, would not eat a meal after the usual evening hour, and when he died it was without sickness, had simply lived out his allotted day, and the whole community realized that it had lost an excellent citizen. All regarded him as a gentleman of culture, and an economist, whom it is well to emulate in many things. His orchard, garden and fields all spoke of the careful husbandman and this tribute written by one who knew him is not a studied compliment, but the proof about Abram Goodykoontz. He had the logic that an apple a day kept the doctor away, and his orchard produced an abundance of that fruit.

Mr. Gay Goodykoontz first married Miss Sarah Booram who only lived a few years. On March 25, 1889, he married Miss Nora J. Mart, who is historian of Liberty township in this Centennial history. She is a daughter of Joseph J. and Mary (Clark) Mart, who came to Lib¬ erty township from Clinton county, Ohio. They were members of the Wesleyan Methodist church. Samuel and Andrew Mart were brothers of J. J. Mart, and all were men who left their mark in the community. There were three Mart farms, and the parents of Mrs. Goodykoontz were among the successful prosperous farmers in the community. When she was only a baby in her mother's arms, they located at the Joseph J. Mart homestead in the spring of 1864, still owned in the family, and they were the first white family to live there. Only one field had been cleared and only one crop raised before they came into possession of it.

While Mr. Goodykoontz was named for the editor of the National Era, Mrs. Goodykoontz was jiamed after a book "Nora Wilmot," which her parents had read and enjoyed. Although she has never been able to procure a copy of this book to read herself as it was long ago out of print, she was often told the story and it must have influenced the life of the child, as it was a temperance story, and Mrs. Goodykoontz has long been an active worker in the Women's Christian Temperance Union, her membership being in the Oak Ridge Union. She is a fre¬ quent contributor to farm papers, always writing about home problems, although not signing her contributions. She is the letter writer in both the Goodykoontz and Mart families, absentees always knowing she will favor them with newspaper clippings of interest, and detail all the news of the community. As historian of Liberty, Mrs. Goody¬ koontz reached many absent friends when the chapter was published in a Marion newspaper.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Goodykoontz attended Marion Normal School and taught in the common schools of the county. Mrs. Goodykoontz also attended Lebanon, Ohio, National University. A country home contains for them highest possibilities of usefulness and happiness, and they have named their home "Good Cheer." It is near the family homestead of each, and includes the old camp-meeting grounds of the colored people. They were moving spirits in the organization of the Bethel Farmers' Club. They affiliate with Bethel Friends Church and she has charge of a class in Sunday school there. Mr. Goodykoontz was a member of the Grange and the F. M. B. A. when those organi¬ zations flourished in the community. He has been a member of the I. 0. 0. F. lodge at Jonesboro for twenty-two years. Mrs. Goody¬ koontz was a charter member of the Grant County Historical Society, and with books and magazines at hand she and her husband are quite content to keep "the noiseless tenor of their way." While Mr. and Mrs. Goodykoontz have no children, their home has-been a haven for some relative or orphan the greater part of their married life. They hope that "Good Cheer" may mean to their guests something of what the name implies.

John Putnam Campbell. As one of the men whose advice and assistance have been furnished the editors and publishers of the his¬ tory of Grant county, the publishers take pleasure in presenting the following brief record of John Putnam Campbell, who is a citizen so well known throughout Grant county that any introduction might seem superfluous.

When he was only two years old John P. Campbell came with his parents from Ohio to Indiana in 1838, and to Grant county in 1847, and for more than sixty-five years he has resided continuously in the same locality. There is a Revolutionary soldier buried in Maple Grove cemetery, James Campbell who fought for seven years in the effort to establish American independence. He came to Grant county in 1847 with the family of his son John P. Campbell, Sr. Because of his association with and admiration of Israel Putnam of Revolutionary fame, both the son and grandson of James Cahipbell have had the in¬ itial "P," although neither used the word Putnam written in full. James Campbell, the Revolutionary veteran, died within a year after becoming a resident of Grant county. Every Decoration Day'his grave is visited and decorated by his grandson who performs a similar office in two other cemeteries, namely : Prickett and Marion Odd Fellows cem¬ eteries. James Campbell lived in Pennsylvania before removing with his son to Indiana. He is one of the three Revolutionary soldiers whose graves are known in Grant county.

John P. Campbell, Sr., on reaching Grant county entered the land along Pipe Creek, and he and his wife lie buried by the side of the Revo¬ lutionary ancestor, not far from the original family homestead. While he was too old for service in the Civil war, having been born September 3, 1797, and dying in Grant county January 29, 1892, John P. Campbell, Sr., furnished two sons to the service, - his namesake and Crayton Campbell. At the present time John P. Campbell, Jr., is the last of his father's family, and represents the third generation of the Campbell family in Grant county, and there are two younger generations after him, who are now active on the state of action. John P. Campbell, Jr., married Miss Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, a daughter of Captain Isaac Hamilton, who came from Ohio to Indiana in 1855. Mr. Campbell and wife lived in the vicinity of Jalapa, where they were married Octo¬ ber 8, 1866, until the election of Mr. Campbell as treasurer of Grant county in 1876. They then moved to Marion which has since been their home. Both Mr. Campbell and wife were school teachers before and after their marriage and they taught in Pleasant and Richland town¬ ship. They have distinct knowledge of pioneer life in all its phases. A son and a daughter constitute their family. Otho B. Campbell, the son, married Miss Elma M. Ammons, and their son, John Otho Camp¬ bell, bears the name of both grandfather and his father. Otho B. Campbell lives in Marion, Campbell & Son being a business partnership well known in the city. Mrs. Gertrude Campbell Weaver, the daughter of Mr. Camp¬ bell and wife, is the wife of S. L. Weaver and lives in Uhrichsville, Ohio. Her children are Lawrence Campbell, Martha Elizabeth and Mildred Gertrude. Mr. Campbell has always been very fond of music, and both his children and grandchildren possess musical talents. Since the Weaver child,ren have lived away from the music center in Marion where they received their training, they have contributed much to the musical activities of their new home, and when they return to Marion there is much music and good cheer around the family homestead. Mr. 0. B. Campbell and Mrs. S. L. Weaver both had the best training avail¬ able and their children have the advantages of cultured homes and the facilities offered by the modern school. Mr. Campbell's war record was with the Thirty-fourth Indiana Regiment, and he was in the thick of the fighting with his comrades all through the Vicksburg campaign. When the memorial sermon is delivered each year he is with the General Shunk Post of the Grand Army at the services. For thirty-nine years the Campbell family residence in Marion was on West Fourth Street. From time to time changes were made in the place and it was looked upon as one of the best residence properties in Marion. Its location appealed to J. Wood Wilson, who desired to erect a mansion in Marion, and after he bought the building and grounds Mr. Campbell moved from Fourth to First Street, where two commodious residence properties were made of the one house. The Wilson mansion now graces the spot where the Campbell family associations for so many years centered. While Mr. and Mrs. Campbell belong to the pioneer civilization, they have ad¬ vanced with it and they are growing old together amid most comfortable surroundings.

Ross C. Harvey. One of Grant county's most progressive farming citizens is Ross C. Harvey, whose home is four miles southwest of Marion, located on the Delphi and Hailey Prairie Gravel Road. Mr. Harvey started out as a renter, and with the aid and cooperation of his good wife has acquired more than the ordinary prosperity in material affairs, and has at the same time borne with public spirit his share of com¬ munity duties.

Ross C. Harvey was bora on a farm in Mill township, Grant county, December 7, 1865, a son of Sidney and Jane (Thomas) Harvey. There were three children in the family, namely: Ellsworth, Ross C., and Julia, the wife of Hubert Kline, ex-recorder of Grant county.

Ross C. Harvey was reared on the home farm in Franklin township, to which locality the family moved when he was a baby, and he had a district school education. During the summer seasons he worked for his father, attending school in the winter, and thus continued until he was twenty years of age. For some time he rented his father's farm, and has always followed the occupation of agriculture. On November 1, 1893, he was united in marriage with Rose Burner, the youngest child of Samuel Burrier. After his marriage Mr. Harvey and wife rented the Burrier homestead, and lived there for some years, after which he established himself on his present place, the situation of which has already been described. As a farmer Mr. Harvey understands the principles and methods of first-class crop-production and keeps the fertility of his land by feeding his grain and other products to his live stock. He keeps high-grade cattle and hogs, and the annual volume of his production places him among the independent farmer citizens of the county. He is the owner of two hundred acres of valuable farm lands, all in Franklin township. Seventy acres are located in section twentytwo near Roseburg, and he has one hundred and thirty acres in the farm on which he lives, in sections fourteen and fifteen, his principle farm home being located in section fourteen.

Mr. Harvey has a birthright membership in the Quaker church, while his wife is a Wesleyan in religion. He affiliates with Grant Lodge, No. 103, Knights of Pythias, and in politics is a Republican. Mr. Har¬ vey has done much to maintain the reputation of Grant county for good roads. He is superintendent of the Delphi and Hailey Gravel Road, of the Fenstermaker Gravel Road, and of the road from Thirteenth Street to Roseburg Pike.

Daniel Edgar Sprong. Although Spring Valley is in Wayne town¬ ship of Huntington county, the family living there is identified with Grant county, and Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Sprong planned to have the Cen¬ tennial History as soon as they knew about it. How closely they are identified with Grant county will be made clear in the following out¬ lines of facts concerning their family history and the economic activities to be found at Spring Valley.

Cornelius Sprong, father of Daniel E. came from Rush county to the vicinity of Independence, now Rigdon, in 1861. On July 30, 1846, he had married Elizabeth Snyder in Clermont county, Ohio, and they had lived one year in Rush county before they came to Grant county. These parents ended their days and found a resting place at Knox Chapel in the same neighborhood where they reared their families.

Daniel Edgar Sprong who was bora while the family lived in Cler¬ mont county, Ohio, April 4, 1854, came as a child to Grant county, and after growing up located in Huntington county, where he is most comfortably situated and still keeps in touch with Grant county and its interests. Mr. Sprong had a common school education and was a teacher in Tipton county. On April 11, 1879, he married Martha Ann Behymer, of Indianapolis. Since that time they have worked together and accumulated a competency. Mrs. Sprong 's father was Daniel Behymer, an architect and builder of Indianapolis, Indiana.

While the virgin forests still prevailed in Green township he located a sawmill there and that was the beginning of an acquaintance between Mr. and Mrs. Sprong that resulted in their marriage. Mrs. Sprong

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel E. Sprong are: Milton Sprong, who died in infancy; Oscar E., who married Nora Dooley, and had children Beulah and Lloyd; Sarah, who married Oliver B. Dooley, and her children are Ethel, Lula, and Waldo Cornelius, one of her children being named for his grandfather; Frank, by his marriage to lea Hollett had children - Ada, Louise, Earl, and Frances and Faye, twins; Frances married Walter F. Bowman, and her children are Ruth, Virgil, Estil and Lillian; Mamie married Homer Garrison; Lawrence and Laura are twins at home; John and Marie are the youngest also at home. Thus there are nine living children and fourteen grandchildren in the family centering at Spring Valley, Wayne township, Huntington county.

While Mr. and Mrs. Sprong reared a large family, they worked hard while doing it, living part of the time on land they owned and part of the time on rented land until they accumulated money enough to buy their present home - Spring Valley, thirteen miles from Marion. Though the home is a long distance away, the Sprongs every Saturday deliver produce to Marion customers, and have supplied some of their patrons for many years. Spring Valley has been the Sprong residence since March 17, 1902. While they paid thirty-eight dollars and twentyfive cents ($38.25) an acre for the ground it would require one hun¬ dred dollars an acre advance to tempt them to sell it. It is a splendid dairy and stock farm, watered from springs, and the improvements they have added make it a desirable home.

The house has been remodeled and two barns and a silo have been # built. With an automobile distance to market has been annihilated, and the Sprongs are entirely satisfied with their investment at Spring Valley. Until Decoration Day in 1911 Mrs. Sprong always marketed her produce in a closed wagon built to order, but it took her all day to make the trip and deliver the products, and that year he chartered a livery automobile and took all the family to Knox Chapel cemetery. They enjoyed the outing so well, that he soon invested in a private touring car and now the produce is delivered before the morning is over and they are at home early in the afternoon. The revenue from the market produce reached one thousand dollars a year, and Mrs. Sprong figures that she has paid for the automobile and that she is entitled to its use on market days.

Mr. Sprong culls the dairy herd closely and only profitable animals remain on his feeding list. He has_ gasoline power for shelling and grinding oats and com at home. The labor problem was solved when the children were born, and all learned the secret of earning bread. Now the youngest is in the Wayne township high school at Banquo. In time the parents will have to give up so much hard work or do like others depend upon hired labor, and then there will probably be less annual surplus.

Mr. Sprong always reads Marion newspapers and all his interests are in Grant county - save his home and family. He located in Hunt¬ ington too late in life to ever have the same interest there. He pays taxes in Huntington, but sells his farm products in Marion. The Spring Valley dairy products help to put Wayne township in the front line in supplying Marion consumers with the necessities of life, no Grant county township marketing more grain, hay, and dairy products than this neighboring township of Wayne, across the line in Huntington county. Mount Aetna near the home of the Sprongs at Spring Valley is called the commercial watershed between Marion and Huntington,

William H. Streib. Some of the leading farmers of Grant county carry on operations on land which has been brought to a state of high development from swamp, prairie and timber land by members of their own family, and take a justifiable pride in the fact. The greater number of these men have spent their entire lives in the sections in which they now reside, and being thoroughly conversant with soil and - climatic conditions are able to attain a full measure of success from their labors. In this class is found William H. Streib, the owner of two hundred and fifty-seven acres of fine land in section 6, Washing¬ ton township, a part of which belongs to the old homestead formerly owned and developed by his father. Mr. Streib was born in Washing¬ ton township, Grant county, Indiana, May 19, 1869, and is a son of Jacob and Caroline (Bowers) Streib.

The founder of the Streib family in America was John Streib, a soldier of the army of Napoleon I, who after the retreat from Moscow came to this country, and located in Rockingham county, Virginia, where his son, Jacob Streib, the grandfather of William H. Streib, was born. Jacob Streib migrated to Preble county, Ohio, thence to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1839 came to the Mississinewa country, in Grant county, where he became one of the section's earliest settlers. For thirty years he was engaged in farming on a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, and after his retirement from agricultural pursuits removed to Marion and engaged in the grocery business, but later returned to Washington township where he died at the age of ninety-seven years. He married Susannah Klingenpiel, and they became the parents of six children, namely: Sarah, who married Christian Buhl, a wealthy brewer of Richmond, Indiana; Catherine, who became the wife of Thomas O'Hara, also of that city; Sophia, who became the wife of Edward Guinan, a musician of Marion, who served during the Mexican War in the American army and later became the organizer and leader of the first Marion band ; George, who was a soldier during the Mexican War; Susan, who became the wife of William Ross, and moved to Colo¬ rado Springs, Colorado, and Jacob.

Jacob Streib, the father of William H. Streib, was born in Rock¬ ingham county, Virginia, June 17, 1831, and was reared on the pioneer homestead place in Grant county, Indiana, where he received one hun- ' dred and twenty acres, of his father's property. He became a pioneer in the cattle business, engaging in selling stock to western feeders, subsequently built the first stock scales in this part of the state, carried on an extensive business with the United States Government during the war between the North and the South, and was known as one of the largest stock growers in Grant county. He became the owner of eight hundred and fifteen acres of land, and at the time of his retirement, in 1890, gave each of his sons a property, and from that time led a quiet life in Marion, dying August 11, 1904. During his long resi¬ dence here he made numerous acquaintances and among these were numbered many personal friends. On December 27, 1853, Mr. Streib was married to Caroline Bowers, of Richmond, Indiana, and they became the parents of five sons, namely: James Monroe, John Thomas, George W., Franklin and William H. The mother died July 23, 1899.

William H. Strieb received his education in District School No. 3, in Washington township, and was reared to agricultural pursuits on the home farm, where he has always resided. At the age of thirty years he bought one hundred acres of land, ' and at the time of his father's death inherited one hundred and fifty-seven acres as his share of the estate, and now has ninety-two acres in his home place and one hundred and sixty-five acres in another tract, this land being valued at $125 an acre. Of this all is under a high state of cultivation except fifty acres of timber land. In 1912 Mr. Streib raised two thousand bushels of corn and one thousand eight hundred and twelve bushels of oats, and cut fifty tons of hay, in addition to selling fifty-five* hogs. He keeps forty head of cattle, twelve horses and twenty-five sheep, and his ventures in stock raising have been as successful as his grain grow¬ ing enterprises. The large eleven-room brick house on this property was erected about 1870, by Charles Hummel, while the bam, a sub¬ stantial structure, was erected by Mr. Streib 's father. The general appearance of this farm indicates the presence of thrift, industry and good management, qualities which have always characterized Mr. Streib 's undertakings.

Homes Cretsinger. The career of Homes Cretsinger in Washington township has been a long and honorable one, and has covered a period that has been marked by this section's greatest growth. While a resi¬ dent here he witnessed the advent of the first railroad, the Arrival of the first street car in the city of Marion, and the building of two court¬ houses, and has seen Grant county grow from a sparsely-settled, unde¬ veloped country into a center of agricultural, commercial and educa¬ tional activity. Although now past sixty years of age, he continues to be actively engaged in affairs and to maintain his position as one of Washington township's most influential and public-spirited men.

Homes Cretsinger was bom July 6, 1853, in Licking county, Ohio, and is a son of David and a grandson of John and Mary Magdalena Cretsinger, of Virginia, who were of German descent. David Cret¬ singer, who was born in Virginia, removed to Grant county, Indiana, in 1857, although for some years he had made his home in Licking county, Ohio. While there he had worked hard as a laborer and csfrefully saved his earnings only to lose his entire fortune when A. J. Smith's bank in Licking county failed. In 1849 he joined the rush to California in search of gold, and when he returned four years later he had earned enough money to buy eighty acres of land in Ohio. On moving his family to Grant county, he settled first on Hummel Creek, but afterwards sold and bought the Henry Prickett place of eighty acres, while a few years prior to his death he sold forty acres of that home¬ stead to his grandson. When he first settled here this land was in poor condition but he succeeded in putting it in a high state of culti¬ vation, and with the assistance of his industrious, hard-working wife and sons he succeeded in accumulating fifteen hundred acres of land and other large holdings. He died February 10, 1910, aged eightyeight years, at the home of his son Homes, who cared for him for the last sixteen years. David Cretsinger married Nancy Wheeler, a native of Licking county, Ohio, bo'rn in 1828, and who died in August, 1896. She was the mother of three children: Homes, Mrs. Mary Ellen Goff, of Grant county, and David, Jr., of Marion, who is the proprietor of a horse sales bam and the owner of a large amount of property.

Homes Cretsinger attended district school No. 4 in Washington township for three months each winter up to the time he was twenty years of age, thus acquiring a fairly liberal education. When twentyone years of age he began working for his father, receiving a salary of $200 per annum for five years. After his marriage he rented two hundred and forty acres from his father, on half shares, and hisj father two years before his death presented each of his sons with five hundred dollars in cash. After farming as a share renter for about six years Homes Cretsinger and his father bought the Sam McClure place, of two hundred and forty acres. This was later sold and the son then bought forty acres from John E. Smith and subsequently another forty acres from Bethuel Smith. In 1902 he became the owner by purchase of eighty acres of the home place, and at the time of his father's death inherited two hundred and forty acres from the estate. At this writing Mr. Cretsinger is proprietor of four hundred acres in section 18 of Washington township.

In 1912 he remodeled and greatly improved his modern residence, a handsome structure of twelve rooms. The main structure had been built in 1870. It now has cement porch and wash houses, running water from tank for bath and other domestic purposes, with excellent plumbing, and all the rooms neatly furnished for comfort and con¬ venience. The water. is pumped to the residence and barns by an engine which also churns the butter and washes clothes. Mr. Cret¬ singer has two barns and good outbildings, and on the old home place, now occupied by his son Floyd, also has a good residence and other buildings. At this time there are about one hundred acres in timber, but that is being cleared. In 1912 Mr. Cretsinger raised a thousand bushels of corn and a thousand bushels of oats, cut thirty tons of hay, and in 1913 planted one hundred and thirty acres in corn and thirty acres each in wheat and oats. Mr. Cretsinger keeps eighteen or twenty horses and colts, mostly of the Belgian stock, has forty head of cattle, forty sheep and sixty hogs, and is recognized as a skilled breeder and excellent judge of livestock. Although rated as one of the wealthiest farmers in the county, he has had no desire to retire from active labor, and still hale and hearty is able to handle his four-horse gang plow to break up meadow land and to cultivate his com fields. His reputa¬ tion in his community is that of an industrious, energetic citizen whose strict integrity has gained him a firmly established position in the con¬ fidence of his fellow citizens.

On February 28, 1878, Mr. Cretsinger was married to Sarah Jane Martin, daughter of Philip Martin, of Wabash county, Indiana. It was a long and happy marriage companionship, and for thirty-six years they walked hand in hand and shared in common the duties and occupations, the joys and sorrows, of existence. On January 11, 1914, Mrs. Cretsinger was called to the life beyond, and her death has been a severe blow to her devoted husband and to her immediate family and the community in which she had long been a friend and kindly neighbor. To their marriage were born seven children, as follows: Clinton, a farmer of Washington township, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work ; Frank, who died at the age of nine years ; Ross, who is a substantial farmer living on the upper farm belonging to his father: Florabel, who married Mr. Pritchett and lives in Wabash county ; Floyd, who resides on the old homestead farm; Cleo, who is now Mrs. Steuber of Grant county, and Minnie, who died at the age of four months.

Like his father, who voted for Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Cretsinger has always been a Republican in national affairs, while in local matters he takes an independent stand, believing it the best plan to support the man most worthy of office regardless of party lines. Fraternally his membership is in Marion Lodge of Odd Fellows, in which order he has numerous friends. Mrs. Cretsinger was an active member of the Christian church, to which her children belong, and Mr. Cretsinger united with the same denomination on July 6, 1913.

Mr. Cretsinger saw the first car come* to Marion on the Pan Handle and Big Four railroads ; he saw the first street car put in opera¬ tion in that city, and at one time knew every man, woman and child within the limits of Marion. He has seen three jails built at the county seat during his lifetime, and assisted in hauling the stones for the sec¬ ond jail, with Jack Baldwin. In the early days he was a great friend of Nelson "Tan Toi" and son of Chief "Shingle Macy" of the Miami Indians. He relates that when a boy and young man he was greatly afraid of the old chief, as was shown by his actions on an occasion when Tan Toi was sick. When Mr. Cretsinger went to see him, the old chief stood in the front yard of Tan Toi's home and forbade him to enter, intimidating him in various ways. Tan Toi 's wife came to the door and insisted on the old chief allowing the young man to stay and see his friend and remain for dinner, and this he did, but during his entire visit kept his eyes on the old savage, who sat by the wall of the house glowering at him. At length the old chief called out: "White boy, ugh! You go! I kill ! y 7 Mr. Cretsinger. relates that his hair fairly stood on end and that it was all he could do to make himself stand his ground, which he did nevertheless, but not until Tan Toi arose in bed and roundly scolded the old chief, who then subsided.

This is but one of a number of interesting incidents of the early days in Grant county, as related from personal experience by Mr. Cretsinger, who is a pleasing conversationalist and has an excellent memory for old days. His life, from pioneer times to the present, has been an active and useful one, and he may well be remembered among those who have borne their full share in the development that has given Grant couhty such unquestioned prestige as a center of popula¬ tion and general advancement in eastern Indiana.

John A. Bowman. Daniel and Mary (Henry) Bowman came from Virginia to Clinton county, Ohio, when their son Daniel Wash¬ ington Bowman was a young man. In Clinton county the latter met Miss Patsy Melissa, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Kim¬ brough) Howell, and early in their married life they moved to Indiana, locating in Grant county at the Bowman homestead in Lib¬ erty. Except one child that died in infancy, and Mary Elizabeth, who married C. W. Gibson, all their children were bom at the old homestead. The only son to carry the name of the family is John A. Bowman, proprietor of the stock farm known as Banner Land, than which there is none better in Liberty township. After Mary Eliza¬ beth, the children in order of birth ran as follows: Samanatha, who first married John Woodward and second N. M. Bealls; John A., Martha A., wife of L. 0. Lines; Loretta E., wife of Prank Gibson ; and Elmire M., wife of W. H. Young.

John A. Bowman married Flora Hungerford on June 29, 1887. A daughter of John and Carolina (Carpenter) Hungerford, Mrs. Bow¬ man came as a child with them from Rush county. Her brothers are Stanley Hungerford, who married Julia Newton, and Branson Hungerford, who married Goldie Beck, and her sister is Lillie, who married Luther Jackson. Two children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Bowman, Paul and Nonnetta Marie. The Bowman and Hungerford family homestead are not far apart, and Banner Land - the home of John A. Bowman - is half way between them, while Mr. Bowman's parents and his stepmother, Mrs. Margaret Kaufman Bowman, are dead, Mrs. Bowman's parents live in Maridn* having left the farm several years ago.

at the Bowman family homestead, but they soon went into debt for land and bought and sold two or three places, always at an advance until in 1902 they located at Banner Land, This is right in the heart of the old colored settlement (See chapter on Negro in Grant county), and they bought the Steele, Ward & Harris land, which Major G. W. Steele declared was the "Garden Spot of Grant county' ' when he owned it. The Weaver school occupies a corner of that quarter sec¬ tion. Mr. Bowman has added to this investment until he now owns more than three hundred acres, and he operates a part of the Hungerford land near Banner Land. Intensive agriculture along extensive lines is his general plan, and he has the faculty of getting results both as a stock and grain farmer. Mr. Bowman is a mechanic and saves many dickels and dimes by doing his own blacksmithing in a little shop on the farm, although he does not bid for custom work at all. Since Banner Land had been a tenant farm, there was a good bam, but a poor house when they moved there, and since then many improvements have been added and there is no better appointed farm house in Grant county.

When Mr. Bowman wants to use cement he mixes and lays it him¬ self. Due to the liberal use of this material, and by careful planning in construction the stables are out of the mud, although the farm is level and it required considerable engineering to install an effective water system with pressure sufficient to force water to all the pasture tanks and to the stalls in the bam, but little difficulties like that do not disconcert him. Mr. Bowman has always employed labor, and the few colored men about Weaver always know there is a day's work awaiting them at Banner Land. When the exodus from Weaver to Marion depopulated the colored community described elsewhere in the Centennial history, the white families occupied the land until only a few negroes remained who depend upon the surrounding farms

Mr. Bowman has always bought and sold anything and everything farmers have use for, and has cleared considerable money at it. He has always handled live stock. He is an exceedingly shrewd busi¬ ness man, and has always kept himself at the head of the procession. He was among the first Grant county farmers to own an automobile, and when anything is wrong with the machine he knows how to fix it himself. Mrs. Bowman has always delivered produce to private families, and with an automobile at her disposal delivery is a small matter and a great economy of time and effort. She has every dairy convenience and the revenue from this source has relieved her hus¬ band of all family expense accounts. While Mrs. Bowman has made butter for the market, the beef type of cattle predominates, there being only a few Jerseys in the herd, with some shorthorn dairy cows. When Mr. Bowman was superintendent of the cattle department in the Marion fair he secured the best exhibits in the whole country, and now that he has been elected president of the Agricultural Asso¬ ciation he will still be alert for the success of all its departments. While he always feeds out from one hundred and fifty to two hundred hogs, when the cholera does not strike them, Mr. Bowman s live stock specialty is the horse (see chapter on Live Stock). His Charmont, a fine Belgian stallion, imported by Crouch & Sons, is one of the finest animals ever brought to Grant county. Charmont was first and champion winner in the 1911 Indiana state fair, and he won the honors at the International Live Stock Show m Chicago m the class of four-year-old and over, and took second place m the free for all show at the International. He is registered in the American Associa-

Palmer R. Edgerton. Liberty township has in Palmer R. Edgerton a farmer who has brought to his work in the agricultural enterprise a comprehensive knowledge of the subject, applying in his daily tasks an understanding of the science of the farm that has given him a place in the community that may not successfully be challenged Intensive farming is demonstrated to the highest degree on his place, and in the breeding of pure bred horses of the Percheron and Bel¬ gian breeds he is admitted to be one of the most successful men in the county. Duroc- Jersey hogs also have been one of his special¬ ties in the breeding feature of his business. It is to men of his stamp that the advance of agriculture in Grant county must be largely ascribed. Others, with a lesser regard for the scientific side of the subject, have blazed trials that have opened up the county widely and prosperously, but the men who have regarded their work as a science, rather than as a hit and miss business, dependent largely upon the proper proportions of sunshine and rain, have carried for¬ ward the status of the agriculturist in Grant county as have none other. As proprietor of the "Wastena Stock Farm" Mr. Edger¬ ton has been active in farm circles since 1906, in which year he con¬ cluded his college training, and his place in section one of Liberty township is one of the highly creditable ones of the district.

Palmer R. Edgerton was born on the farm which now represents his home and the scene of his business activities, on December 28, 1884, and he is the son of Jesse and Sarah (Shugart) Edgerton. The father was born near Amboy, Indiana, in 1858, and his mar¬ riage to Sarah A. Shugart, of Grant county, occurred in 1878. The father is now deceased, but the mother still lives and makes her home in Monroe township. They were the parents of two children, Sula E. being the wife of Dr. Thomas J. Cartel:, of League City, Texas, and Palmer R. Edgerton of this review. The daughter was educated in the schools of her native community, finishing in Fairmount Academy, and is a woman of talent and culture. The son was reared on the home farm to the age of fourteen years, at which age he entered Fairmount Academy, and was finished there when he was seventeen years old. He then entered Purdue University and was graduated therefrom in 1906, with the degree of B. S. in Agri¬ culture. He came back to the home farm with his mother who had accompanied him to school, settling down to farming in real earnest, and two years later he married Mary Zoe McConnell, a native daugh¬ ter of Franklin township, and a graduate of Fairmount academy. She was further trained for three years in the subject of domestic science in the Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan, and is one of the most successful and capable home-makers and keepers to be found in these parts. She is a daughter of John N. and Ellen Bur¬ ner McConnell, and with her husband, she has membership m the Friends Church. Both are highly esteemed in the township and have a host of genuine friends throughout the community. Mr. Edgerton is non-partisan in his local application of politics, but favors the Pro¬ hibition party in matters of state and national import. His farm proper, or that portion of which he is the owner, is made up of fiftyfive acres, the remaining part of the one hundred and sixty acres which he works belonging to his mother, now Mrs. William E. Stout of Monroe township.

Wptain And Mhs. .Ioskpii Lhiau

Captain Joseph Lugar. One of the largest land owners in Grant county, Captain Lugar began his career as a wage-earner at farm labor, went to the war where he earned his title by gallant service, came home, bought land on time, and by hard work, good management, and honorable dealings has become one of Grant county 's most fortunate and esteemed citizens.

Captain Lugar was bom in Grant county, October 16, 1840, a son of Joseph and Mary (Wilson) Lugar. Joseph Lugar was born in Giles county, Virginia, a son of George Lugar, who was one of the very first pioneers of Grant county, settling on Lugar Creek in the year 1828. That was three years before Grant county was formally organized. George Lugar filed on government land, and also farmed land, which is now included within the city limits of Marion. Joseph Lugar, Sr., father of Captain Joseph, was also one of the early settlers who got his land direct from the government and in his time he cultivated land which is within the present city of Marion. He was one of the large land own¬ ers of his day, and in 1848, he took up his residence on a place in Wash¬ ington township. His death was the result of an accident. He fell off a farm building where he was giving his assistance in the raising, and his death became one of the tragedies of the community, and marred an occasion which was usually celebrated with much festivity in early com¬ munities. His wife, Mary Wilson, was a daughter of John Wilson, also an early settler of this county. Joseph Lugar and wife reared eleven children, named: John, Sarah Ann, Jane, James, William, Joseph, Maude, Andrew Jackson, Minerva, Barney, and one who died in infancy.

Captain Lugar as a boy attended some of th,e early district schools of Grant county. He has been a farmer and stock dealer all his life, and at the age of eighteen left school and began working at wages of thirteen dollars per month for Mr. Bradford and for Nathan^ Frazier. He had just about attained manhood when the war came on, and he was one of the Grant county youths who volunteered to preserve the Union. He enlisted in May, 1861, in Company I of the Twelfth Indiana Infantry as a private. His first service was in Virginia, and he fought at Manassas and in the battle of Winchester, and did considerable campaigning in the Shenandoah Valley. He was raised to the rank of lieutenant for personal bravery in battle and in 1863 was made second lieutenant of Company D of the Thirty-Fourth Indiana Regiment. He served his enlisted term out with that regiment, and early in 1865 returned to Grant county, and raised Company D, of the One Hundred and Fifty-Third Indiana Volunteers. Of this company he was made captain, and led his company until the close of the war. In his later service he was in the armies of the west, and for forty-four days participated in the siege of Vicksburg. After the surrender of that river citadel he was sent to New Orleans and was in many skirmishes and on much arduous duty during the rest of the war. He was finally returned to Indianapolis, and there received his honorable discharge.

Coming home Captain Lugar had only his reputation and record as a soldier, and at once turned his industry and ambition to acquiring busi¬ ness prosperity. He bought his farm on time, and paid for it in install¬ ments. His first purchase was one hundred and forty acres at thirty dol¬ lars an acre, the farm on which he has ever since lived. He next bought some more land at forty dollars an acre, and his entire estate is now worth an average of two hundred dollars for each and every acre. The estate of Captain Lugar in Van Buren township deserves more formal description. His home is in section thirty, and there are three hundred and ten acres in the home place. Altogether he owns four farms, the one of three hundred and ten acres, another of one hundred and sixty acres, both lying in Van Buren township, one of twenty-one and a half acres, which is in Washington township, and the fourth contains forty acres, located in Monroe township. This brings the total of land owned by Captain and Mrs. Lugar up to five hundred and thirty-one and onehalf acres. In 1912, his farm produced one thousand bushels of com, sixteen hundred bushels of oats, and ten tons of hay were cut. He is one of the large stock raisers; raises and sells more than two hundred hogs every season, and since 1912 has carried over to the present year one hun¬ dred and eighty-five hogs, and has two hundred and ten young shoats in the spring of 1913. Captain Lugar makes a specialty of the Jersey Red hogs, a very hardy breed for large droves. He has thirty -nine brood sows of this strain. During 1912 he ran a flock of one hundred and fifty sheep, all of which he sold. In 1912 he also sent forty head of cattle to market, and has about thirty head on his pastures in 1913, these being of the Shorthorn and Jersey varieties. Captain Lugar has one of the most attractive rural homes in Grant county, a residence of sixteen rooms well built and furnished which he erected in 1905. It is surrounded by an attractive lawn, and all the comforts of a rural estate. A part of his equipment which indicates the substantial character of the whole are three big red barns, and he has three drilled wells on the farms to supply water for stock and domestic purposes.

In 1865, Captain Lugar married Miss Mary A. Hayes, a daughter of William H. Hayes, also a pioneer of Van Buren. Their eight children are mentioned as follows: Morris, of Van Buren township ; Mrs. Emma S. Weesner, of Washington township; Mrs. Sadie Corey, of Washington township; Erastus, of Van Buren township, a large stock dealer; Riley W., of Van Buren township ; Wilson, on the home farm; Mrs. Nettie Nye, a resident of this .county, and Clyde, of Marion. Captain and Mrs. Lugar have sixteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Captain Lugar has been a Republican since casting his first vote dur¬ ing the war time. For six years he was honored with the position of county commissioner, from 1894 to 1900, and has been placed in various local offices by the vote of his fellow citizens. He is a very public-spirited man, and one of the best known citizens of Grant county. He has always been a dealer as well as producer of live stock, and has bought and sold large quantities. Fraternally he is an active member of the Marion Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his family attend the Methodist church.

Thomas Sheedy. One of the most attractive rural homes of Lib¬ erty township is the place of Thomas Sheedy, comprising three hun¬ dred acres of the fine soil in southwestern part of Grant county. That place represents and is a monument to the labors of a citizen who began his practical career when nine years old. Of Irish par¬ entage, he had the liberality of his race, and the hard labors of his earlier years vanished without any permanent accumulation, but he has more than made up for it in the esteem and lasting respect of friends and neighbors, and in addition has long since passed the point where he might be considered prosperous, and is now as sub¬ stantial and well fixed as the best of his friends in his section of the county.

Thomas Sheedy was born in the state of Louisiana, March 17, 1847, a son of Theodore (better known as Teddy) Sheedy, who came from Ireland. He married Margaret Cravens, and when they came to the United States they landed at New Orleans, where the father soon afterwards died of the yellow fever. The widow then brought her children to Indiana, locating in Fayette county, which was her home until death. She became the mother of seven children, three by her marriage to Mr. Sheedy. Thomas Sheedy has a brother, James Sheedy, who was a soldier in the Civil war, and is now in the Soldiers Home at Marion.

A boy when the family moved to Indiana, Thomas Sheedy spent his early years on a farm in Fayette county, had a meagre schooling in the district schools, and left home at the age of nine years, and was taken into the household of William Dickey, of Fayette county, Indiana, for whom he worked for six dollars a month. He con¬ tinued with Mr. Dickey for five years and afterwards got higher wages, but as he was liberal in helping others he had practically no capital by the time he attained manhood. After that he married and by the industrious efforts of himself and wife was in a few years on a fair way to substantial prosperity.

In the fall of 1872 Mr. and Mrs. Sheedy moved from Fayette county to Grant county, Indiana, and afterwards bought 40 acres in Liberty township, one mile west of his present farm. He resided on and farmed that place for two years, then bought 80 acres more, one mile east of the original 40, and moved to it. From time to time he added to his purchases until he now owns 300 acres. He sold the original 40 acres some time jn the early nineties. Mr. Sheedy put up all the improvements on his present farm and became a well known raiser of stock, principally hogs and horses. He retired from his farm in the fall of 1913, and bought a fine residence on Walnut street, in Fairmount, into which he moved.

Mr. Sheedy first married Rebecca A. Heck, of Fayette county. Their four children, three of whom are now living, are as follows: James who graduated from the Danville Normal College and is now principal of a school in Rush county; Frank, a farmer; Ralph, de¬ ceased; and Thomas, at home. The mother of these children died June 4, 1884. Mr. Sheedy then married Henrietta Gordon, in August, 1884. Mrs. Sheedy was born in Liberty township of Grant county, in 1858, grew up and was educated in the common schools of Lib¬ erty township. She and Mr. Sheedy are active members of the Christian church. He is affiliated with Rigdon Lodge No. 428, I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife are members of the Rebekah Lodge. In politics he has been a Democrat.

Thurlow W. Shugart. To assume that the activities of the above deserve recognition in "The Centennial History of Grant County' ' seems the quintessence of presumption: hence the dedication of this space to his parents. T. W. S.

Bennet and Gulie (Jay) Shugart, of "Willow Lodge." Affaire d' amour! of a pair of youthful Friend lovers - matrimonial culmina¬ tion - 1877. This Friend bridegroom was the eldest son of Friend parents, Rev. Cornelius and Harriet (Coleman) Shugart, becoming a member of the family in 1854. Cornelius Shugart was the son of Friend parents, John and Sarah (Ratliff) Shugart. These, in turn, were of Friend origin. Harriet Shugart 's parents, Elias and Rachel Coleman, were Friends of Friend descent. The bride in question was the daughter of Denny and Anna (Coggeshall) Jay, both Friends, and was bom in 1858. Denny Jay's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Jay, were also Friends, of Friend descent. Anna Jay was the daughter of Nathan and Gulie E. Coggeshall, Friends who, also, were of Friend stock.

he was a teacher of several years' experience, at one time a member of the legislature of Indiana, and the owner of over four hundred acres of Franklin and Mill township land, 370 acres of which are in possession of his# direct descendants. He was, also, an M. D., but never began practice, as other fields seemed more lucrative and other¬ wise desirable. *

Denny Jay also was a prosperous farmer, owning until his decease a large and fertile farm in Mill and Franklin townships. Seldom has an individual acquired and merited, among his friends and business associates, a name for honest integrity of more substantial proportions than did he.

With such ancestry it is not to be wondered that these two home¬ makers considered the personal knowledge of Christianity for each member of the family the paramount issue of the home. Into this home came four children: Nellie Bly, the wife of Charles W. Davis of near Marion; Thurlow Weed; Harriet, wife of Rev. Harold Cooper, Sedalia, Missouri; and Edith Cornelia of Vermilion Grove, Illinois.

Believing education essential for the greatest degree of efficiency in life, personal inconvenience and sacrifice, when pitted against pos¬ sible accruing advantages, were of only momentary consideration to these parents. Cherished educational ambitions for the first-born, Nellie, were unrealized only because of her ill health. She completed the grades, however, and for a time was a student in Marion high school. Possessing a natural and cultivated optimism rarely evidenced, she did not let her limited education become a barrier to usefulness. Thurlow W., as did all the other children of the family, received his primary training in the district school. Upon graduation from Fairmount Academy he entered Earlham College, from which institution he was graduated with an A. B. degree. This was followed by a teaching experience of two years, during the first of which he was principal of the Ridgeville, Indiana, high school. Harriet and Edith Cornelia, pursuing together their unruffled girlhood life, were gradu¬ ated from the grades, following which "Old F. A." (Fairmount Acad¬ emy) became the scenes of now sacred memories. Together they were graduated from this institution. The year following they pursued a post graduate course, when kindly fate intercepted and HarMet became a happy bride - a pastor's wife. With such ancestral and family influences and an inbred affectionate disposition still softened b}r divine love, where was one more fitted for such a station? The post-graduate course in Fairmount Academy and two years' teaching in a rural school merely whetted Edith Cornelia's intellectual appe¬ tite; consequently collegiate work was pursued. From Earlham Col¬ lege she received the degree of A. B. and later did graduate work in Chicago University. At present she is principal of the Friends Acad¬ emy at Vermilion Grove, Illinois.

The reputation of Bennet and Gulie Shugart as reform sympa¬ thizers and supporters is more than county-wide. They have bestowed especial effort upon temperance and W. C. T. U. lines of activities. Since 1884 Bennet Shugart has declared consistently and continuously, at every opportunity, including the biennial early November one, for the dissolution of the National Government's partnership with the legalized liquor traffic. He was at one time his party's candidate for congress and is at present district chairman of the Prohibition party. Gulie Shugart has for twenty-three years been president of the Deer Creek W. C. T. U. and for thirteen years president of the Grant County Women's Christian Temperance Union.

first," untiring effort has been expended to become " chargeable to no man." Improved agriculture per se has not been worth while, but per se non is ever desired and fostered. ' 4 Willow Lodge" comprises an acreage of 210 acres of Franklin and Liberty township land, eighty acres belonging to the son, the remainder also being operated by him. He has for two years been chairman of Grant County Farmers' Insti¬ tute Association, and is at present serving his second term as trustee of Fairmount Academy. In politics he stands "pat" against legalized vice.

Bennet and Gulie Shugart are the grandparents of one boy, Thurlow Kelso Davis, a lad of seven summers, the son of Charles W. and Nellie Davis.

William W. White. Through a good many years of successful management, the late William W. White prospered to such an extent that in his later years he was no longer obliged to devote all his ener¬ gies to the business of making a living, and for some time prior to his passing he occupied a place in the class of retired agriculturists, with his home located in East Converse. There he was the owner of a beauti¬ ful rural estate of a little more than ninety-six acres, and had a com¬ fortable dwelling with all the facilities for a comfortable and easy life.

William W. White was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on March 2, 1845, and died at his home in East Converse. He was a son of George W. and Rachel (Wilson) White, and the father died in Franklin county, his widow passing away in Union county of this state. They were the parents of eight children, but two of whom are now living. Sarah A. is the wife of Thomas McCord, and Rosanna is the wife of Charles L. Davis.

When William W. White was ten years old the family left Franklin county and moved to Union county. It was there that he grew to manhood and received most of his education. His schooling was lim¬ ited to attendance during the winter, while during the open months of the year he remained at home and gave his labors to the cultivation of the farm. He continued at home in the management of the farm until he was twenty-six years of age, and then he married Minerva Comer. They became the parents of one child, who died at the age of seventeen. After the death of his first wife, Mr. White moved out to Kansas, and there he married Ellen C. Hill, who was born in New York state, and at the age of four years went with her parents to Illinois. She was reared and educated in the public schools of Illinois, and afterwards went out to Kansas. One son was born of this second marriage, - William C. White, bom August 8, 1883. He was educated in the common schools and in 1903 married Hallie Smith, and they are the parents of three daughters. Mrs. White is a birthright mem¬ ber of the Friends church.

Mr. White was long affiliated with Beacon Lodge No. 320, Inde¬ pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and with his wife was a member of Rebekah Lodge No. 85, of which he was past noble grand. In his politics he was a Republican, and he served faithfully as a member of the township advisory board. A good citizen in the best sense of the term, Mr. White 's passing was a distinct loss to the community wherein he made his home, and he is mourned by many who knew him for his many excellent traits of character.

Charles Carter Nelson. When Charles C. Nelson married Miss Mary Ferguson, and opened a home for himself, it was "the union of two of the oldest and most prominent families," as both Nelson and

Ferguson are old-time family names in Grant county. Mr. Nelson is a son of Martin and Alivia (Coulter) Nelson, and Mrs. Nelson's line¬ age is given in the A. J. Ferguson family article. The two families lived in Monroe township and Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were married June 12, 1897, and until 1910 their residence was at the Martin Nelson fam¬ ily homestead, which had been acquired by them.

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have two sons: Andrew Martin, who carries the name of each grandfather, and Philip Paul. Their daughter, Doro¬ thy, died when three years old. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Nelson united with Howe Christian church, and after taking up their residence in Marion their membership was transferred to the First Christian church. It used to be the boast that there were more Nelson Democrat voters than in any other Grant county family, and C. C. Nelson desires to be known as ' 4 dyed in the wool" Democrat.

C. C. Nelson has one brother, Milo Orlando Nelson, who is a farmer, and there are two sisters: Mrs. Elizabeth Luranah Strange (see sketch of J. B. Strange) and Mrs. Lucy Jane Stout, the wife of George H. Stout. Another sister, Mary Barthena Nelson, died in childhood. C. C. Nelson is the youngest of the family. Since the death of his father, Martin Nelson, February 3, 1910, his mother has called his house her home - has her own furnished room, but she divides her time among all her children and belongs to the old-fashioned type of woman¬ hood, the kind that can turn her hand to anything. While she was in active life on a farm she knew how to make the most of everything, and now that her days are passing in comfort she cannot be idle, must have something to occupy her hands as well as her mind. Mrs. Nelson knows all about butter making, and gilt-edge prices were given for her product.

Martin Nelson, father of C. C. Nelson, was a son of Martin and Lucy (Futrell) Nelson, and his brothers were Stephen, Winburn, Michael and Benoni, while his sisters were Mahala, Luranah and Jane. Only Benoni Nelson of that generation survives. Mrs. Alivia Nelson, mother of C. C. Nelson, was a daughter of James and Jane Coulter, and her two brothers were Cyrus R. and Stephen Coulter. Her sisters were Mary, Arabella, Isadora and Jeretta. Besides Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Isadora Wilson, Mrs. Jeretta Neitz and Cyrus R. Coulter still repre¬ sent the family. It will be seen that family names are handed down from one generation to another in these pioneer Nelson ancestral fam¬ ilies. Nearly all of Mr. Nelson's ancestors were agriculturists, and some of them w'ere specialists.

While C. C. Nelson lived in the country he devoted his attention to live stock, feeding out a great many cattle, and for several years conducted annual cleaning up auctions at the farm, thereby putting everything on the market before it depreciated in value on his hands. He was among the first Monroe township farmers to ride out in an automobile, and for a few years held an automobile agency. On com¬ ing to town it was to engage in the hardware trade, and the Farmers' Friend hardware store in the Colonial building is well known to the trade. Mr. Nelson has acquired valuable realty at Nos. 513-515 South Adams street, and in the near future the Farmers' Friend hardware store will be in his own business property, store room and ware rooms all under one roof, the building to be completed in the summer of 1914, and hardware and farm implements wTill still be the specialty.

January 1, 1914, Mr. Nelson became county commissioner from the second district, and the duties of the office will still bring him much into contact with farmers - the class of trade to which he caters. Were it left to Mrs. Nelson, the family would live in the country. The two boys are being given school advantages, and Andrew Martin has entered business college, fitting himself to be useful in the Farmers ' Friend hardware store. Mr. Nelson is an active member of the Jefferson Club, and the family is perhaps permanently located in town.

Franklin Streib, who is numbered among the successful agricul¬ turists and representative citizens of Washington township, is the owner of one hundred and sixty-five acres of excellent farming land in sections 6 and 7, and has spent his entire career in this locality. A farmer since youth, through industry and well directed effort he has made a place for himself among the men of independent means in his section, and his connection with matters of public interest has given him the reputation of being a public spirited citizen ever ready to co-operate with others in advancing the welfare of Washington town¬ ship and its people. Mr. Streib is a native of this township, and was born July 29, 1867, a son of Jacob and Caroline (Bowers) Streib.

Mr. Streib belongs to an old honored family, which was founded in this country by his great-grandfather, John Streib, a native of France who was reared in Germany and became a soldier in the army of the great Napoleon. After the campaign that resulted in the disastrous retreat from Moscow, in which he was captured and nearly lost his life, Mr. Streib immigrated to America, and located in Rockingham county, Virginia. There wras born his son, Jacob Streib, who was married in old New England and migrated to Preble county, Ohio, later to Wayne county, Indiana, and in 1839 to the Mississinewa coun¬ try, where he settled down to agricultural pursuits among the sturdy pioneers. He developed a farm of one hundred and sixty acres from the dense timber which covered this section in early days, and for nearly thirty years was successfully engaged in farming. In his later years he sold his farming interests and opened a grocery establishment in Marion, where he continued to reside until his death, at the remarkable age of ninety-seven years. Jacob Streib married Susannah Klingenpiel, and they had a family of six children, as follows: Sarah, who married Christian Buhl, of Richmond, Indiana ; Catherine, who married Thomas O'Hara, also of that place; Sophia, who married Edward Guinan, a musician of Marion and the leader of the first band there ; George, who fought as a soldier during the war between the United States and Mexico; Susan, who married William Ross and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Jacob.

Jacob Streib, the father of Franklin Streib, was born June 17, 1831, in Rockingham county, Virginia, and was reared to manhood on the pioneer homestead place in Grant county, Indiana, where he received one hundred and twenty acres of his father's property. He became a pioneer in the cattle business, engaging in selling stock to western feeders, subsequently built the first stock scales in this part of Indiana, carried on extensive business operations with the Federal government during the Civil war, and wras known as one of the largest stock growers, farmers and land-owners in Grant county. He accumu¬ lated a property of eight hundred and fifteen acres, and at the time of his retirement, in 1890, gave each of his sons a handsome property, from that time leading a quiet life in Marion, in which city he died August 11, 1904. A man of many sterling traits of character, he' was widely known, and the universal . esteem which was granted him was evidence of the confidence in which he was held by his fellow' citizens. He was married December 27, 1853, to Miss Caroline Bowers, of Rich¬ mond, Indiana, and they became the parents of five sons, Jacob Monroe, John Thomas, George W., Franklin and William H. The mother of these sons passed away July 23, 1899.

Franklin Streib received his early education in district school No. 3, and this was supplemented by attendance at the Lafontaine high school in Wabash county. He was reared to pursuits of an agricul¬ tural nature, and continued on the home farm until reaching the age of twenty-four years, at which time he was married and received a tract of one hundred and two acres from his father. To this he added by purchase, in the spring of 1907, an eighty-acre tract in section 7, and all of his land is now under cultivation with the exception of twenty acres in timber. He is also engaged in stock raising, being constantly engaged in buying and selling stock of all kinds. He keeps two teams of horses for his farm work, uses modern machinery and methods, and is ever ready to give a trial to innovations of a progres¬ sive nature. In the spring of 1905 Mr. Streib erected a handsome nineroom frame house, and in addition has substantial barns and outbuild¬ ings, and these all being painted drab present a pleasing and attractive appearance.

In 1891 Mr. Streib was married to Miss Elzora Wagoner, daughter of William Wagoner, of Pleasant towTnship, and to this union there has been born one daughter, Vesta Marie, who is now a student in the Marion high school. In politics Mr. Streib is a Democrat, but his only official service has been as superintendent of gravel roads. With his family he attends the Range Line Christian church.

Peter Gotschall. Franklin township, of Grant county, has no citi¬ zen more highly respected or more entitled to the confidence and esteem of his community than Peter Gotschall, who has lived in this county for more than half a century, and has seen all its development except the very first pioneer work. He came here in 1853, on September 16th, and has always taken a public spirited attitude towards every move¬ ment for the benefit of his locality.

Peter Gotschall was born in Carroll county, Ohio, June 25, 1838, a son of John and Mary (Poland) Gotschall. The parents were both natives of Loudoun county, Virginia, the father bom April 8, 1797, and the mother, January 9, 1795, and each came alone to Loudoun county, where they met and married. The mother 's father was Na¬ thaniel Poland. Their marriage was celebrated in Carroll county in 1816, and the mother passed away March 21, 1845. The father subse¬ quently moved from Ohio to Illinois, and later drove an ox team through to California, where he died April 18, 1880. He was the father of thir¬ teen children, ten sons and three daughters, twelve of whom grew to maturity. Adam Gotschall enlisted in the Civil war and died at the end of one year's service. Of the large family of children, three are still living in 1913. Margaret is the wife of Henry Walton, of Illinois; and Isaac is a farmer in Carroll county, Ohio.

Peter Gotschall was reared to the age of sixteen years in Carroll county, and then in 1853 moved to Grant county, Indiana. His early career was spent on a farm, working for wages by the year, and he worked from the time he was eight years of age until he was twentyone, at which latter time he was possessed of a capital of one hundred dollars. His wife was given ninety-eight acres by her father.

On September 19, 1858, he married Miss Pollie Drueemiller, who was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, and came to this locality with her parents, where she was married. Mr. and Mrs. Gotschall began life poor, and had to rent land at first. They secured one hundred acres, and continued to rent until they managed to get all the land cleared up, and by progressive industry and thrift finally were on the high road to prosperity. Mr. Gotschall was drafted for service in the Civil war on September 21, 1864, and was out until November 2nd, of the same year. He is the father of ten children, six of whom are now living : Franklin, William, John, Elvina, wife of William Heck, Jacob, and Nellie M., widow of Frank Lord. Mrs. Gotschall died March 12, 1911.

Mr. Gotschall is a worthy member of the Methodist church, in politics is a Democrat, but has never held any public office. He is the owner of eighteen lots and an interest in one hundred acres of land, and has enjoyed a quiet yet satisfactory prosperity, which has enabled him to provide well for his family, and to insure his own comforts in later years.

Nelson Wolfe. Some of the best farmers of Grant county have come back to the soil after years spent in other lines of activity, satis¬ fied that in the occupation of their forefathers is to be found the most profit by the man of industry, energy and ambition. In this connection it will not be inappropriate to briefly sketch the career of Nelson Wolfe, of Washington township, whose success in agricultural matters has proven that he made no mistake when he returned to this vocation after being engaged for a period in other pursuits. As the owner of 175y2 acres of land, located in sections 9, 10 and 20, he is one of the substantial men of his community, and the interest he has shown in aU that affects his locality's welfare places him among the men whose public spirit is doing so much to add to Washington township's prestige. Mr. Wolfe was born June 3, 1854, in Preble county, Ohio, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Paulus) Wolfe.

Daniel Wolfe, the paternal grandfather of Nelson Wolfe, was a native of Virginia, and for many years prior to the Civil War was a large planter and slave-holder. From the Old Dominion State he moved to Maryland, and subsequently migrated to Preble county, Ohio, and there his death occurred when he was in advanced age. Jacob Wolfe was born in Maryland, and as a lad removed with his parents to Preble county, Ohio, there being reared, educated and married. On attaining his majority he adopted farming as his life work, and in 1877 came to Randolph county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his life in tilling the soil, and died in 1890. He married Sarah Paulus, who was bom in Ohio in 1849, and they became the parents of fourteen children, as follows: Gideon, Sarah, Henry and Carolina, who are all deceased; Nelson; Lydia, who married Mr. Walker and is now a widow; Jane, who married Mr. Gebhart and resides in Preble county, Ohio; Daniel, a resident of Granville, Ohio; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Katzenberger of Greenville, Ohio; John, of Randolph county, Iridiana ; Lucy, now Mrs. Tryon of that county ; Ida, residing at home with her mother; Clara, now Mrs. White, of Utica, Ohio; and Alice, now Mrs. Hinsley, of Randolph county, Indiana.

Nelson Wolfe received his educational training in the public schools of Preble county, Ohio, and left home at the age of seventeen years to embark upon a career of his own as a carpenter. He continued in this line for several years, two years of which were spent in Illinois, and in 1874 came to Indiana and engaged in the sawmill business, in which he was employed until 1883. He had been married in 1881, and in 1883 was able to purchase from his earnings forty acres of land from his father-in-law, which was the nucleus for his present property, seventy-six acres being subsequently added at the time of his wife's father's death. His land now consists of eighty acres in section 10, seventy-six acres in section 9, and about twenty acres in section 16, and all of this is in a high state of cultivation. That Mr. Wolfe is a capable farmer is shown by the fact that he annually raises more than

3,000 bushels of corn, and has thirty-six acres planted at this time (1913) ; in 1912 he raised 800 bushels of oats on fourteen acres, and now has seventeen acres planted in that grain; his crop of hay in 1912 exceeded forty tons. Mr. Wolfe raises from twenty to thirty bushels of wheat per acre, and in 1913 has fourteen acres planted therein. In addition he has large pasture lands, on which graze twenty-nine head of cattle, thirty-two head of sheep and nine head of horses, all of this stock being sleek, well-fed and content. The property has been improved by the erection of substantial bams and outbuildings, while the frame residence, built in 1900, contains eight rooms and is fitted with every modern convenience and comfort. Mr. Wolfe believes in the use of modem farming machinery and up-to-date methods, and the success which has rewarded his efforts is a strong argument therefor. He has gained substantial position and independence through the exer¬ cise of thrift and able management and his career exemplifies what may be accomplished by the man of industry and perseverance.

Mr. Wolfe was married in 1883 to Miss Margaret A. Bradford, daughter of William R. Bradford, a pioneer settler of Washington township, and to this union there have been born three children, of whom one died in infancy, the others being: Norman, aged thirty-two years, married and living in Colorado ; and Florence, at home, a music teacher of rare attainments. With his family, Mr. Wolfe belongs to* the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been a liberal supporter of its movements, while his daughter has always been active in its work. He is a Democrat in his political views, but has never sought nor desired public office.

Samuel M. Highley. Probably never in all history was so much interest taken in the farmer and in the activities of country life as at present. In the years gone by the story of how a banker or merchant won his way to the top was always attractive, but nowadays we find current literature filled with the annals of the farmer citizens. The process by which a tract of new land is made to respond to plow and ax, and which in years produces a comfortable homestead, a profitable and growing business concern, is properly a subject for study.

One of the prosperous citizens of this township whose career might furnish an instructive story of hard and thrifty management is Samuel M. Highley. Mr. Highley, forty years ago got married and had only enough capital to buy a team. He and his young wife rented land, and since then have gone steadily ahead until few people anywhere are more prosperous than they.

Samuel M. Highley was born in Richland township of Grant county, May 14, 1850, a son of James and Sarah (Myer) Highley. James Highley was born in Virginia in 1827, and was nine years of age when his family moved to Union county, Indiana, in 1836. There he grew to manhood, and in 1847 accompanied his father to Grant county. In the same year the Myer family came to Grant county, and after James and Sarah were married they established a home in Richland township, then an unbroken forest, and the father lived here all the rest of his natural life. His death occurred July 6, 1891. His widow still lives on the old homestead, at the age of eighty-three. In their family were seven children, six of whom are still living, namely : David F. Highley, whose home is in Wells county, Indiana; Samuel M. ; Daniel M., a resident on the old homestead; Lydia A., deceased; Claibom H., a resident at Jonesboro, in Grant county; Martha E., wife of William Eller of Richland; and Jacob M., of Miami county.

winter seasons, and assisted on the farm during the summer. When he reached the age of eighteen he stood the examinations, and secured a license to teach, and for four years was one of the successful educators of Grant county.

On November 3, 1872, Mr. Highley married Miss Catherine Morton, of Grant county. She was born in Jay county, came to Wabash county at the age of eight years, received her education in the district schools of Wabash county, where she was also a teacher, and is a cultured and noble woman, who has proved an excellent helpmate to Mr. Highley and together they have reared their children amid excellent influences. As already stated, after their marriage, they had enough to buy a team of horses, and then started out as renters. Later through their thrift and energy, they accumulated enough to buy the place where they now reside. Their farm is called "The Highlands.' '