Johnson County, Indiana - The whole text, 1913 (part 3 of 11)

An amusing instance of the ignorance of the time in tlie use of domestic remedies was experienced by Dr. \V. II. AVishard when a young man. One .!ay he chanced to be in a distant pari of the country calling upon a patient v.lien a neighbor woman came in with a small child that was comely and interesting with the exception that its head was a mass of festering ulcers, covered W'ith the horrible incrustations of scald-head. Its hair was matted and <lisheveled and was still further befouled by a liberal application of some oily j'.ibstance that hacHjeen applied for curative purposes, but that was evidently utterly powerless to effect a cure. Dr. Wishard became interested in the poor creature and asked the mother what was the matter with her child. She informed him and he asked her what remedy she was using. She told him that she w-as using goose grease. She said that she had used it for cpiite a while, as it was the best remedy to be had for such diesases, but that it ^ecmed to be of no avail in this case. TIiC doctor looked very grave and said dint i)erhaps the goose had not been killed in the right time of the moon. The woman said, with some little hesitation, that she thought it had been killed 3t the proper time. The doctor then said, "Are you sure it was a goose, per- H^ips you killed a gander by mistake." The woman, with a worried look upon !ier face, said she didn't know that made any difference. The doctor sug- Cfsted that it might, at any rate that something had been lacking in the art ""'t preparation of this oil, ^o that it was entirely inert, that this case was very "'"vorc and other remedies would be required. To this the woman readily and from that time the poor child had tlie best of treatment. A doctor, v/ho while yet young, had the rare ease of temperament that can th;;. humor the whim of an ignorant woman and yet treat the case with scicntii'i. exactness is blessed by the gods indeed, and is predestined to high success.

In these days of comfortable and rapid transit, we can scarcely form evu a feeble idea of the vast effort necessary in those days to get from one pan of the country to another. The roads were mere blazed trails, or were ruJd, built of corduroy cut from the neighboring woods, or were wholly lost i:i bottomless nuid and stagnant ponds. All travel was most laborious ant! slow. A man that once obtained a practice in those days, of necessity bade adieu to the genial glow of his own fireside, tu the nuptial smiles of wife and the sweet companionship of children. Often in the sickly season he found it necessary to station horses in different neighborhoods and sometimes thirtysix and even forty-eight hours were required to make the rounds and reach again his own home. Once in the town of Franklin, of five physicians, al! but two were disabled. Doctors Donnell and Ritchey stood the strain ui' constant work and cared for all tliey could, riding in a gallop from place ti> place and traveling every day a distance of more than fifty miles.

In those lung solitary journeys along bridal paths in the tracldess v/ilder ness, the howling wt'lves often kept tlie doctor company, but his nerves were steady and his courage high and he did irot mind their threats half so mucli as being dragged from his horse at night by the over-hanging branches vi some tree. His life was one of constant self-denial for the good of man. There was never any peace nor quietude for him. Tn his long journcvv through the night, his drowsy senses sometimes failed and, dozing in h:> saddle, he had dreams of home and rest. FJut such bright dreams vanished like a mirage in the boundless gloom, and rousing up, he found again tlic chilling winds, the trackless woods, and suffering ones yet calling for liihelp.

In springtime, when the dogwoods blossomed and the maples were a blur of green; in summer, when the roses bloomed and bare-foot maidens tripped to church; in autumn, when the fiery sun blazed into the putrid swamps, and pestilence, with scorching breath, stalked boldl}'' through the land; in winter, when the frozen world lay dead in shrouds of snow and watching stars turned pale with cold and shivered in the icy air, he wa? abroad on deeds of mercy bent, thinking not of self nor gain nor praise oi men, nor faltered blessings of the poor; but only of the duty and his work arid praying, Ajax-like, for light and strength to bear his portion of the weight of care.

il'.o patlios and the tragedy of Hfe beat into his soul. Humanity all around -.::;-: was crying piteously for help, for light, for life. In heroic strength he »!t^'(l upon the shore lines of a troubled sea of sickness and despair, and, like i great light-house, he sent afar a beam of courage to those that beat against '':x winds.

Personal Mention

The pioneers had no liistorians and the swift flight of time has swept ;:.io oblivion the life work of many physicians who came to the county in an -m\v da}-. Their names and locations and the approximate dates of their -...Ming, dimly revealed by oral tradition, are all that is left of their life -;,'rics of stress and toil.

Dr. Mack Smiley was a pupil of Dr. Pierson Murphy. After practicing -I cdicine in Franklin one year, he went to Edinburg in 1839, where he prac- until 1853. He then abandoned the practice of medicine and engaged -1 farming. He died in 1876.

Dr. Raymond came to Franklin with great picturesqueness of appear- cc. in June, 1847. He was dressed in a United States army surgeon's uni- form and a ^Mexican sombrero. He brought with him a Mexican niusi.n: - and Mexican saddle, a parrot, a gun and a galvanic battery. With this bi/:;:; ' equipment he impressed the credulous pioneers and reaped a rich harvest br a season. But his success was so short-lived that in nine months he fuiii,'; it expedient to take his departure in the niglit. Nothing was ever heard o; him, save that he was not a physician at all, nor even a medical student, bi;; that his vocation before coming to Franklin had been that of bartender o:: an Ohio river steamboat.

Dr. J. T. Jones was one of the physicians of that period, who contim-.c ! to practice till a recent date. He was born in Johnson county, Indiana, January 23, 18.25. Pie was educated in the county schools of the day and l:i Franklin. College. He read medicine in the ofHce of Drs. Webb and Thoii-v. at Franldin and began practicing at Wcstridd, Indiana, in 1S46. Ik r. turned to Franklin for the practice of medicine in 1S51. He went to Providence in 185S and to Bargersville in 1S61. In 1S62 he returned to Franklin and remained until 1870, when he v.cnt to Urnejvillc. In 1S74 he came t- Franklin for the third lime and remained in practice until his death on Scpteniber 30, 1S9S.

In outlying parts of the county i)hysicians early located in little neigbborhoods that gave promise of v.-ork sufikient for a livelihood. Dr. Williap/. Woods located in tlie Smock neighborhood, on the present site of Greenwood, in the year 1S2S. To the same neighborhood came Dr. Benj. ?, Noble, in. the year 1835. He was a brother of ex-Governor Xoah Noble an.; w-as a man of more than ordinary natural ability. Though having iic ct "heard a medical lecture, yet by studious habits and great self-confidence, h- - established a large a!id successful practice. He served one term in the Indian- State Legislature. He left Greenwood in 1853. locating in Iowa, wnere r.'.- in 1869.

Dr. Isaac N. Klberry, the first man to practice medicine in Clark l-\:\- ship, located near tlie present site of Clarksburg in 1S32. He was appninFc' postmaster of Yellou" Springs, as the place wa.s then called. July 24, \^:-.7 In addition to lieing the village doctor and postmaster, he was also a mini.^'^T of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was evidently a useful man to tr>' pioneers, though not brilliant in any sense, for he failed to impress himsd' upon tlie memories of the people living in that neighborhood. Hi? in tlie postofficc of Yellow Springs was appointed June 2, 1S3S. F'r

Jii the year 1832 the people in the opposite corner of Johnson county v.in; also needing medical help and Dr. Trower located in Ilensley township, .i^);it one mile west of the present site of Samaria. Pie w as the first physician !^) locate in Hensley to\vnship.

Six years before Dr. Trower's advent, Arthur Bass, from North Caro- I'tKi, had located among the "bold hills, bearded w'ith trees" just south of In- .!:.vi creek, and not far from the present site of Bethlehem church. lie had : roiiglit with him to the wilderness, a turnkey and a thumb lancet, with which he had rid the pioneers of their aching molars and their sluggish malaria- ]i.jiM:)ned blood. Dr. Trower, before many years, moved to Morgantown, -,\l;ich then consisted of only a few log cabins, so hopelessly bemircd in the primitive mud of Morgan county that it was known only b\- the very ajipropr'ale appellation of "iNludtown."

Thus the people of Ilcnsle}' township, being without a resident physitirn, either called Dr. Trower or Dr. McC'aulcy until 1840, in which year Dr. Ward came from Bloomington and located in the little village of Williamsliurg. Dr. Ward was not a graduate, but people then were not exacting in tli.it respect and his services were soon in great demand. In order to iniTL-ase his medical knowledge, he induced Dr. John McCorkle, an older I'hysician, to come to the village as his partner and preceptor. Thus, while *i'iing a busy practice, he pursued his medical studies under the tutelage of h s older and more experienced partner.

In 1842 Dr. Nathan Schofield came to Williamsburg. lie took a deep interest in his professional work and assisted in the organization of the first J )hnson County Medical Society. Unfortunately, the records of this society are lost and it is impossible to give any data in regard to it.

One of the^earliest in the county was Robert McCaule) , who was born Edinburgh, Scotland, August 22, 1793. His mother died when he was ^'X years old. After this he attended boarding school in Edinburgh for years. Ele worked to pay his board and learned the cooper's trade. Tc even attended boxing school and became quite proficient in that science.

-At the age of eighteen he came to America. lie Hked to travel and vw'- seldom long in one place. When out of money he stopped and replenish ,; his purse by teaching school. The boundless expanse of the great new wiji! ! lured him on and on until in iS22Ave find him in Henry county, KenUickv. Here he met Margaret Banta, a young lady some five years his junior, and in 1824 the two were married. McCauley worked in his father-in-law's distillery, for a couple of years. In October, 1S26, he and his family came t> Johnson county, Indiana, and moved into a little cabin in a hollow, just norlii of where Joseph Vandiver lived. The woods were dense and boundless an.! Franklin, over five miles away, was a little village of only five or six 1iou<ls and contained no doctors. In fact as yet I have not been able to locate amdoctor in the county. So McCauley began at once the practice of medicine. His services were in demand so soon that he had nc)t time to build a door lo his cal)in, but stretched a blanket over the o[icning aiid then rode forth ni^Qlit. and day to see his patients. The wolves came and sniffed and howled aroiin.i the house, while his wife and babies on the other side of the blanket sat an.! shivered with terror till morning came. Soon he rode miles in every directinn. He passed through Franklin, crossed Svgar creek and practiced in Sliollu county; through Edinburg into Bartholomew county, along Indian creek, anil into the rough hills and wild woods whi:h skirted Brown county and \\e>i- 'ward far towards White river. He sonetimes made trips which consumed two or three days. He charged \X'ry litde in those days and collected Ic.-.-;. His neighbors for a mile or two around always paid their bills in work. Ho died August 14. 1842. At the time of his death he owned nearly five huii dred acres of land, but very little of his wealth had been made by the practice of medicine. He was a typical pioneer physician, living and practicini^' in the woods, exposed to wild animals and inclement weather, and encountering all the imaginable hardships incident to his profession in that early day.

Pierson Murphy was, born in Fairfield . county. Ohio, in 1800. Hi-^ childhood and youth were spent on his father's farm. Finally he conchideil to study medicine,, and began reading with the village doctor. In November. 1825, he entered the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, where he attended two

"terms and graduated in the spring of 1827. He returned home, bought a horse, and immediately set out for Franklin, Indiana, which place he reacheu in the sununer of 1827, with no earthly possessions but his horse, bridle and

Rut his troubles were not yet over. His horse died and he was compelled , -- isit his patients on foot, and at last the sting of poverty became so sharp r'n!, in addition to his practice, he was constrained to teach the village school, ;'-.!t he and his wife might not suffer for the bare necessities of life. But he '-.I- ambitious, well informed and a successful practitioner, and after a fev/ :-*ars of undaunted effort, the clouds cleared away and his pathway hence- was bright and prosperous.

In 1828 Dr. Murphy, assisted by Dr. Smith of Edinburg. Indiana, pcr- paracentecis abdominalis by making an incision into the abdominal with a thumb lancet; then, having first remo\ed the bark and pith a small elder limb, they introduced this intcj the incision and drew off ih- (\u\(l.

Dr. Murph}-'s practice became very extensive and he rode o\er a territory --k'lDst as large as that of Dr. McCaulc}-, and, although his charges were '^-crely nominal, he was finall}- able to buy a farm of three hundred and sixty icres one-half mile south of Whiteland. To this farm he retired in 1842, his wife and son Guilford, then eleven years of age. But this move did '^"t stop his practice or even seriously interrupt it. For awhile he lived in a '-"all cabin, but in the year 1845 he built a large brick residence, which is standing and, though unpretentious now, at that time it was the talk and '--iiider of all the neighborhood.

in this house, in .'\pri!. 1852, Mary, the mother of his child and the 'wife his youth, was taken from him. But he still lived in the old home with

In October, 1854, while in Oliio, he was married to ]Mrs. Chloe Ki. . Smith. He came back to the farm and lived for about a year. In Octo', ;. 1S55, he returned to Franklin, and again entered into the practice of his p:,. fession, where he had begun under such inauspicious circumstances ow. tw^enty-cight years before. JMany changes had occurred during his absLh.., His young protege of thirteen years ago, Dr. Donncll, then so discouraged a;. ; gloomy, was now full-fledged and ripe m years and experience.

Others of his craft had also come in; the country liad developed, town had grown into a prosperous county-seat. Moreover his old-time vi-.. : was beginning to yield to the inroads of age, so, while highly respected f .- his experience, he did not en.tcr so energeticall}- into actual practice as !u : been his wont in forujcr years. He died in 1864 in the sixty-fourth year -..: his age.

By Dr. George T..]MacCoy, Columbus, Indiana, all traditions concur i;i giving to Hiram Smith the post of honor of having been the fn-^t doctor i locate in Columbus, his arrival occurring ir. April, 1S21 ; at least he was tb-jic as early as May i, 1821, for on tl;c return made by the assessor fur that \\r-.r (May 14, 1S21) Dr. Smith is charged with a "poll tax and no other [.r-;-

Dr. Smitli came from Mercer county, Kentucky. \\'hat liis mcbu.. education was, or where and how it was obtained, I am unable to learn; b'-" this much I have learned, by the perusal of some old records - tb.at ho uawell read in his profession, better than the average of tliose times, ami tlia: his fine address made hini a favorite at once in the primitive settlement. TIk'.' Dr. Smith was a man above the average may be readily believed from I-- records of St. John's Lodge No. 20, Free and Accepted rvlasons, of Colu-v bus. At a meeting to organize a society, it was found that Dr. Hiram Sinit: was the unanimous choice for master, and when the grand lodge met u\ lesion at Corydon, Occober. 1S22. a charter was granted to St. John's LoiIl;^- aiid Dr. Hiram Smith, although he was not present at the session, was iia'U'- as the first w(M-5hipfu! master. This oflke he held for several years.

As to Dr. Smith's metbiuds in practice, I can say very little. He Vw'.>^ firm believer in the lancet and heroic doses of calomel and Peruvian bar.: Tablespoon ful doses of the powdered bark, in ir-.olasses, given every t^'

Dr. Smith continued in active practice here for many years, until the .!cath of Iiis wife, wliich occurred during confinement. To suppress a uterine hcrii':)rrhagc, the Doctor used large quantities of cold water. She died. His enemies claimed that the cold water killed her. This so worried and embittered him that he left Columbus and located in Mooresville, but shortly after moved to Edinburg, Johnson county, Indiana, where his death occurred October I, 1869, from gastric ulcer.

This is the Dr. Smith who, working conjointly with Dr. JNIurphy of rV.uiklin, performed paracentccis abdomir.alts \vith a thumb lancet and a ciunila made of elder, and which has already been metitioiv-d in the sketch of F)r. Mu-phy.

Dr. John Ritchie was born in Adams county, Pcmisylvania, January 5, iji^j. He had a common school education, which he addt-d to by study after his marriage. He studied medi-^ine with Dr. Warwick, near Er^celands Cross Iv'ads, tvicnty miles west of Pittsburgh. He practiced a few years in Ohio and then located in Columbus, Indiana, in tSjj. where he remained five years. In 1S32 he located in Franklin, Indiana. He was sociable and affah-Ie. a fair public speaker, and a safe practiti'-^ner of medicine.

His wife was an educated vroman and was the first of her sex to teach the higher branches in Columbus. Not only in Colun-bns. but in hVariklin a- well, Dr. Ritchie enjoyed a lucrative practice, and \vr'.5 held in high esteem :"'>r n:any years. He was once a candidate for the ofhco of probate judge, but -vav defeated by a few votes. He died in Franklin October 10, 1S57.

Dr. Tames Ritchie, a son of Dr. Jolm Ritchie, wa-; born in Erie county. 'V-tiiisylvatiia, June 6, 1804. . He studied medicine v.'lh his father and at- --tided one course of lectu.res in the ?N[edicaI College of Ohio in 1S2S-9. After sclioo! he came to Colun-bns and practiced r:-.,- I'cine with his father awhile and then moved to Edinburg. He soon '.eft there and spent one

He,- like hi.s father, was a man of pka.Mng address and of ability in oil;rr lines than medicine. He was twice sent to the Indiana State Legislature ar..! in 1850 was chosen a member of the constitutional convention, which gave i,, Indiana her present Constitution.

It is a matter of tradition that he took a special interest in the care an.; treatment of the insane. He left Franklin in 1S65 for Rensselaer, where i;e <licd in iSSS.

Dr. Samuel Ritchie, a brother of Dr. James Ritchie, began the pract!i.e of medicine in Franklin in 1S35. He left Franklin in 1836 for Fo-Liiitai': county, where he practiced until 1850, when he moved to a farm near Indianapolis, where he lived and practiced until 1865. He then moved to Jasi'i-r county, where he died in 1892. .|

;,.:t tlicre was then no town at Stone's Crossing nor Smith's Valley, nor A;i!tc!and, nor Bargersville. The. nearest town was the now extinct town .1 i'ar West, situated on the bluffs of White river some four miles west.

Dr. Kegley began practicing almost as soon as he was located. He mar- . .-,1 .Miss Jane Doty Octol)er 26, 1837. Year by year his practice grew until ':,- had patients -upon whom he called as far east as' Sugar creek, around I : irksburg, in the Glade neighborhood, and in the territories now' occupied *-. tlio W^hiteland and Bargersville physicians.

On the Avest his territory was practicall)- bounded by White river, but u- v>as often called beyond that natural boundary. The malaria-stricken ;.;.;nocrs were everywhere crying for help, and Dr. Kegiey's whole time was t.'.'KL'ii up in riding far and near over this great territory, along the bridle ;.i',:n and through the mire of the i)riirieval forests. This work was too ^rca: for Dr. Kegiey's strength, lie had the lofty spirit of the pioneer, but '.i.kfd his sturdy sinews. Though he wore leggings to the' knees, and ^-.rallped himself in a great coat, reaching to his feet, yet he often came in -Ircuched to the skin or covered with sleet or mire, the result of labored riilii.g through the swamps of White river bottoms. Siich exposures bi-ought cii recurrent attacks of inflammator)- rheumatism, which grew more severe -.si!h time. Finally in 1850 he became entirely helpless and during the re- --'riiiider of his life he required tlie care and nursing" of a child. He died '.inrary 19, 1861.

Dr. John Hopkins Donnet.L.

J. H. Donnell was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, July S, 1818. ilo came to Indiana with his parents in 1S23. He attended medical college -It t!ie University of Louisville about 1839 and 1840. He came to Franklin January 27, 1841. and was married to Elizabeth Herriot September i, 1842. At one time early in his career he was much discouraged and thought of 'iTiving Franklin, but was fortunate in securing a partnership with Dr. Pier- Murphy, after which his success was assured.

In i860 he left Franklin and located at Hopewell on the "Donnell 'hll." In April. 1865, he located in Greensburg, Indiana, his former home, ''-'t in November, 1865, he returned to Franklin, whtch place was thenceforth --IS home. In the year 1875, after a busy practice of about thirty-five years, retired. His death occurred June 6, 1891.

Dr. J. A. Marshall was born '.- Carroll county, Ohio, October 2\ \ He begain to study medicine at th- age of fourteen, was a student ai over College and of Western Rcs-rve Aledical College. He began the tice of medicine at Mapleton, 01: 'o, where he remain.ed two years v.! he came to Londenville. Meetir.r; financial reverses there, he canic tn diana and located at Nineveh in th;^ county on the loth day of January j He practiced medicine without int:rrnption until his last illness.

Chapter Xvi Highways And Transportation

One of the first problems confronting the pioneer settlers was the estab- of ferries across the rivers and streams. While there were no large

- '.reams in Johnson county, Sugar creek and Blue river were serious hindrances to travel during most of the year. As early as 1831 James Thompson V 3> granted a "license to keep a ferry on his land below his mill on the south

- i.io of Blue river," and he was required "to keep one good, substantial ferry '.-;it and one good skifT," and he was authorized to charge "for setting o\-er a {..--ilnnn, six and one-fourth cents; for a man and horse, twelve and one-half c.-nts; for a two-horse wagon, twenty-five cents, and for a wagon with four fi'trse^ and upwards, thirty-seven and one-half cents." A year later John rrimpbell was allowed to keep a ferry on Su^ar creek west of Edinburg. and it is also remembereel that a ferry was estaljlishcd at the crossing of the Madison and Indianapolis state road and Sugar creek.

Just how early bridges began to be built acre^ss the streams of the cunty luit^known, most of them ha\-ing been erected by the various nelghl^orhoods 'ithuut couritv aid. The first record of the ex[)cnditure of county funds for building of bridges is found at the .Xugust term, 1851, when one hundred '!' 'liars was appropriated for a bridge across Indian creek on the state road -iirth of Franklin, and two hundred dollj^rs was ap[)ropriated for another '-ridge over "Shngar Creek near Garrison's ]\Iill." The first iron bridges frccted in the county were erected at the public charge in 1869-70. In the 'lr^t named year a bridge was ordered at Th ompscjn's mill and in the next year were built at Needham's ford and at Bradley's ford on Sugar creek on South Main street in the town of Franklin. In 1S73 bridges were across Sugar creek at Sniilcy's mill and on the Xineveh road and one at Haniner's ford across Young's creek.

The only stage, coa.ch route ever maintained in the county was establi-lied ^^r>r:g the line of the Madison and Indianapolis state road about the time ''lat railroads began to be built in the strte. Taverns were built along the ' ne of this road about five miles apart for the accommodation of traveler? 3:yj to enable the drivers to change horses -vhcii necessary. In addition to the taverns in the towns of Edinburg and Franklin, there were conntry tawi;!,. one located about a mile north of Sugar creek near tlie present residence c) I; taverns was kept in the town of Greenwood and still another just north r,i' fthe ctninty line near where the internrban railroad now crosses the state road. .| sight: many miles of roads became so execrable that the farmers drovi' alongside in the mud rather than justle their bones over tlie logs and rut-; the artificial roads."

The first of these new planked roads to be built in Johnson county waohe connecting Ediiiburg and Williamsburg in the year 1850. Another wa^ built along the line of the Hopewell road, leading from Franklin to Bargcr- ' ville. These were built without the use of gravel or other material for tliv foundation. Longitudinal trenches were dug and in these were laid the green logs, hewed square, and on these "stringers" were laid spiked oak boards tw' and one-half to three inches in thickness. These boards were not to exccc eight feet in length, so that the road when constructed was too narrow to adir,;i of the passage of vehicles on the improved portion; the loaded wagon \\agiven the right of way, the other vehicle taking to the mud. These t\v' efforts at improved highways met with little favor and the experiment wa-^ not repeated elsewhere. The mistake was soon reali/.ed and they began !-'

Toll roads were authorized by section 13 of the act of :May 12, 1852, ,,.,] ,^gain under the act of l'\-bruary 3, 1865. It was not until after the pas- ..i-c of the latter act tliat gravel road companies were organized in Johnson c -iirilv to construct and improve the highways under the law authorizing the .Inriiing of tolls. In the year 1866 the Mocksferry Gravel Road Comparrv \\.t; organized "to run from William Ditmars, near Frank-'.in, to Drake's <;:'iool-house," about three miles west frum Edinluirg. In the same year the rrnnl-.lin and Sugar Creek Gravel Road Company was organized to construct .1 t.'ll road from the northeast corner of the city of Franklin, on the line of t'f I'ranklin and Greenfield state road, to the Xecdham farm, and thence by ( lirk's mill to the Shelby county line.

In the next year similar organizations were formed to construct toll r.:;!(I? along the line of the Bluff road to Hopewell; along the line of the flr.diini road for a distance of five and one-half miles; along the line of the Stp.le road to Whiteland ; along the line of the Hopewell and Union Village :-.ad, and along the line of the Shelby ville road to the county line. These or.i^anizations were soon followed by similar organizations, so that by 1870 i-ractically all of the main highwa\-s of the county were under control of cor- !"..rations autnorized by law to charge tolls. This system of improvement -.V'.rkcd well for many years, resulting in the construction of many miles of K-'^x! highways, but in the year 1885. when the people had begun to tire of diis system of road maintenance, and had come to believe that the highways r-i.^'ht to be maintained by the county, and when the stockholders of the various fup' )rations began to suffer loss from the lack of sufficient revenues to keep the roads in good repair, the toll roads were on petition made a part of the free gravel road system of the county, and in the year 1887 the last of the ! ^11 roads had been abandoned.

About the time that toll roads were abandoned much interest was taken the farmers of the county in the matter of improving the highways. Many miles of highway in the next score of years were improved upon peti- of the land owners interested, generally under the statute authorizing an ^'H'ssment of all lands lying within two miles of the proposed improvement, the passage of the "Three ^Mile" road law. sexeral of the townships, "-stably Union, Hensley. Blue River, Pleasant and Kecdham, have constructed miles of gravel roads, bonds of the township having been issued to the cost of such construction. The couiity now has two hundred and

According to Levering's Historic Indiana, page 234, the "railroad fr.^; Madison to Indianapolis was the fust one to be built in Indiana. It was tc.;.. structed part of the way by the state at a very gradi;al pace, and the reLriaii;.;_- of the distance by private persons enjoying a subsidy of land from tlie sL.i.; In 1839 this road bad been completed twenty miles to Vernon and so dc;i;- erate was the work of extension that it did not reach Indianapolis until 1S4- With the exception of the ^Madison road, all of the first railways in Indian:;, as in other states, were all laid with strap iron or wooden rails." Accoruiii^ to Judge Eaiita, the Madison & Indianapolis railroad was constructed to I'.rli:: burg in i8.\.^, and it was two years thereafter before the line vsas compl(.'tc ' to Franklin. Others, howe\cr, in.^ist that the road Iiad beun completed ch/. to Columbus in tlic year 1845. John II. W'oolley -is authority for tl^.c stauniejit that con 'Iruction work on the line betsvecn'Edinburg and Franklin w.iin progress during the years 1846 and 1847. ^^^ thub desci-i'ues the maiiiiLr of its cohstiuction : "Trenches were dug along the lines of the track a::-! filled with gravel to a depth ot tv,-elve or fifteen inches. Upon t!ie grave!, wood sills, four Iw tu elve, were placed and upon these tlie ties were laid traa-.- versely, gpaced about four feet apart. To these tics 'stringers,' six by six. were bolted, and upon the inner edge of tliese "stringers' were placed ir.'-- plates about nve-eigiiths by three, uijoh v.hich the wheels ran.'' It is fairlv certain, therefore, that v\h;le the road fnuu INfadison to \'erno:i vcas laid wit'.: rails imported from abroad, the exten.-ion thereof, at least through t!ie coiMi!y of Johnson, was laid with rails of strap iron. Wood-burning engines woi',- used for many years on this railroad, and the funuishing of four-foot c<ir.'- wood to the railroad was a source of large income to man\- of the fanner-; -and workingmen along the line of the road. Shortly after tlie Madison njaii was completed, a road was constructs from Jefferson'-'ille toward the capii;'-' city, and between Edinburg and Columbus the Jeffersor.ville line was b'-i:k paralleling the :».Iadi^on tracks. On April ^o, 1866; the Jeftersonville Railwa;. Company and th«- Indianapolis iS- Madison Rai'roa.di Company consohVlatC'.. the new corporation taking the nan.ie of the JetTersom ille. IMadison cl' h'- dianapolis Railroad Compau} . Upon tliis consolidati<in. that part r.f tl'.e -Madison line !;-et\vecn Edir.burg and Columbus was aband';)ned and the C'^nstruction work removed. On the 26th day of Septcm!)er, 1871, the Jeft'ersoi;- ville, Madison & Indiar.apolis Railr.:.ad Company leased its 5}-stem for a tern' of nine hundred and ninetv-ninc ve..fs to the Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. I.oui^

-In the spring- of 1846," says Judge Banta, -'the project of building a rr.il l>ranch railroad from Franklin to Martinsville was actively discussed, t tAO or three years were consumed before anything definite was accom- i.cil, and the Martinsville and Franklin railroad was not completed until . .-- lime in 1S53. In the fall of 1857 ^^^'-^ '^'^^^ flat-bar iron and the wooden ., :< oave out and trains ceased to run. In the spring of 1866, however, the of the old company passed to a new owner and the line was built :?'.rou:^h to Fairland in Shelby county, thus making a connection with the Ir.ilianapolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Company." In 1876 this road passed ..:n.icr the control of a new* corporation known as the Fairland. Franklin & i:.irlinsville Railway Company, and since that time the road has been under f':r i-ontrol of the Big Four system.

In 1848 the Shelbyville Lateral Branch Railroad, connecting Edinburg ^-. 1 .Shelbyville, was built, but the venture proved unprofitable and it was soon a'andoncd, and about i860 all the iron wa-- removed from the track.

ThQ Indianapolis Southern Railroad Company was granted its fii>t fran- :;'M- in the county February 6. 1905, and work of construction was comi.-'-!cd through the county in the following year. On May 22. 1911, the road ;-.i->cd under the control of the Illinois Central Railroad Company.

The interurban railroad, according to Mr. Fred B. Iliatt, in the Indiana 'j-.nrterly Magazing of History. Volume \', page 122, "had its beginning in a '-!ic between Alexandria and Anderson, over which the Rrst car was run Jan- I, 1898." But it is not at all certain that Charles L. Ilenry, the promoter -m' that line, was the first to realize the importance of this new means of transr"">rtation. James T. Polk, Grafton Johnson and other prominent citizens of as early as 1891, formed a corporation for the construction of an -^'cctric railway to connect Greenwood and Indianapolis, and on April 14th of 'Jnt year were granted a right of way along the state road for the use of that >'Wpany. On November 13, 1894, these rights were transferred to the In- -iianapolis, Greenwood & Franklin Railway Company, and the original incor- ;"r.itors being unable or unwilling to finance the road, asked for an election vote a donation of a subsidy from Pleasant township. A subsidy of two ;Tcent. on the taxable property of that township was voted at a special elec- on December 21, 1894. At that election four hundred and thirty- voted for the subsidy and three hundred and eighty-one against, and this favorable vote a tax of seventeen thousand dollars was ordered on the duplicate for 1895 and an equal amount for the following year.

The law requiring the company to expend an amount of money ciH;;.; i the subsidy levied, and the company not haxing met this requireuKni, . board of commissioners of the county ordered the collection of the tax pendccl in March, 1896. After extended litigation, the auditor of the cuui.!. was, in 1902, and again in 1904, directed to proceed with the collection of subsidy. Another legal action, however, prevented the collection of the s-.;'. sidy and only a small fraction of the tax was ever paid. In the meantime lie line was constructed to Greenwood and cars began to run between that tdv. ;. and Indianapolis in January, 1900. On the loth day of May, 1900, the fi:;-. chise was extended from Greenwood to Franklin and v^'ork begun bctwci.!. these points. The first car left Franklin for Indianapolis on June 6, nyx. On July 7. 1902, the franchise v. as extended from Franklin to Edinbin-L.- Joseph I. Irwin and AA'illiam G. Irwin, of Columbus, successors to the right - of the gentlemen first named, built all that part of the road situated in JohnvMi: county and remained in control of the same until 1913, when it passed undo: the control of the Inter-State Puljlic Service Company. Many other intcnirban roads have been projected through the county, but none of thcni wcrr built. In 1902 a franchise was granted to Frank A. Farnham for a line aloni; the BlufT road, and to J. T. Polk and E. A. Robinson for a line connectiii;.; Greenwood and Shelbyville. In the san.e year a line was projected to connect Franklin and Martins^-ille, and in 1905 a franchise was granted to tlie Indianapolis & Ohio A'alley Tractioii Company along the line of the Thrci Notch road.

, The first franchise for a telegraph line granted by the board of commissioners of Johnson county was given to the Mutual Union Telegraph Conv pany on the 17th of February, 1882, for the construction of the telegraph liiu- 'along the Madison and Indianapolis state road. On June 22d of the sanir year, the Central Telephone Company was granted the use of the high\va\- connecting Franklin and other parts of the county. This franchise was renewed on September 14, 1S96. A franchise was given to Ferd R. Strickk;' on the 15th day of December, 1897, to extend his telephone system then i" use in the city of Franklin to other parts of the county. The New Long Ditance Telephone Company received its first franchise in the county r.u November 26, 1898. The first use of the telephone in the public oftices of the county was on November 24. 1897, when a telephone was contracted for to be placC'; in the auditor's ofifice of the county. The remarkable growth of this meth'^d of communication is evidenced by the fact that there are now in use in Johnson county more than twenty-nine hundred telephones.

mileage : Pennsylvania, main track, 21.71 miles, side track, 7.79 'c>; Dig" Four, main track, 19.97 "n'lcs, side track, 2.44 miles; Illinois Cen- ;!, main track, 20.37 niiles, side track, 1.77 miles; Indianapolis, Colun-il)us s.iutliern Traction Company, main track, 22.12 miles, side track, .99 miles; ,,.!al Telegraph Company, 164.99 miles; Western Union Telegraph Com- ,;:v, 3S5 miles; American Telegraph and Telephone Company, 164.96 miles; r.ir.il Union Telephone Company, 984.50 miles; New Long Distance Tele- .:',c Company, 305 miles; Citizens' Telephone Company of Edinbnrg, 100 :W Franklin Telephone Company, 239.50 miles; Morgantown Telephone -nipany, 36 miles; Providence Telephone Company, 146 miles; Stott's Creek i-I(|iIione Company, 13 miles; Whitcland Telephone Compan}-, 346.50 miles.

Chapter Xvii

By tlie organic act creating- the county of Johnson a commission w,,, named to select a county scat and the cominibsioners were required to meet .-;; the house of John Smile}- on the first Monday in May, iSjj. to fix t]-;c pormanent scat of justice for said county. Of th.e fi\-<: couiiinssioners nair.v,', three met nt the time and place set apart: Col. James Gregory, of Slid!... county, Major ]^,IcE^\ an, of rartholomev,- county, and a third whose naii;i.- j. not known. The commission considered two locations, one on the lands e:' Amos Durbin and near the mouth of Sugar creek, and the other on the la;:.i. of George King at the mouth of Hurricane creek. Tlicsc places were in.^pcct'/.: by thf commis-^ioners and King also agreed to sliow them over the soutlicn-: quarter of section iS, in Franklin tr^wnship, which cornered witii the center nf the county and wliicli tract had been purchjised hy King as a possible locatio;; for the new count)- seat, but a st'^rm coming on. with.out inspecting the otluT site, the CT.mmissioners decided to locnte tlie town Oii the southwest quarts: of tlie southeast quarter of section 13, in townsh.ip 12 uovth. of range 4 east, which forty-acre tract King du^ated to tlie county, fjgecher with eleven acr.-^ lying bctwcp. it and Yc'iuig's creek.

It was not, however, until January 2, 1827, th.at George King deliverc ' his deed for the lands donated to the county as a sc::t of government. In t!:-.- early hIstor\- of thx- town of Franklin, George King was a leading actor. When he came to the comity in 1S20 he was then r.bout forty years of a:;^- and, w-hile not a man trained in. the schools, was a leader in all businL-^ affairs. He was born in A\'ythe county, Virgin.ia. and had moved with !i"^ widowed mother to Kentucky while qu'te a lad. He had been apjirenticed t^' ?- whecl-vvright, of wh.om he learned hi.s trade. The >t-ji-y of King's f rst v;-;t to. Franklin for perni.anent settlement is t'lus told !)y Jtidge Ean.ta : "It wa> !r. the latter part of Februar}- or first of March, 1S23. t!'.at. accompanied by l'.^' two unmarried daughters and Ins married daughter raid her husband, Dan'-' McCasIiji, aiid Simon Covert, whose w-ife stayed b.diind until the ensui:"' fall, and Isaac Voorhies, a } oung and unmarried nran, King left his Kentiir!;;" home and can-ic to Tohn-or-i ct.'untv. The movers found a road cut out

-;,i and warmth of their camp fire that night, dream that they would live to Ki- tl;e day when that knoll would become the site of a college devoted to

"Hardly were teams unhitched that evening when it was discovered that ;';;i! and sieve had been left at Adam 5'; whereupon King, Gilchrist and Mci ,i.-Iin returned, lea\in.g Covert and ^^oorl^ies to occupy the camp alone. Other ;'.;iii,s, it seeu-is, had been left behind also, for the canspers nn'lked into and ''i:\-u< milk out of the bells \\hich had been brought for use in the range. The v.cxt morning, on tlie return of King and McCaslin, the pilgrims sought for and i"tir(l a place to safely cross the swollen stream. A beautiful tract of high Iry land on the north bank of Young's creek, which was afterward graded ^-)\\:\ and occupied by the residence of Judge Woollen and others, was their c-bjective point, but such a network of down logs, overgTown with spice-wood nn<i other bushes, all woven together with wild grape vines, not to mention a :''>rcst of beeches, maples, hackl^erries, sycamores and buckeyes, did they en- <: 't!i ter, that the whole day was consumed in reaching their destination.

"In the evening, wearied and hungry, the emigrants reached the high ;'ri/ ind King had selected for his cabin site. A tent was erected and a hasty »i.'i p made. The meal bag and the sieve having been brought up from Adams' ^ Slipper of corn-cake and bacon was enjoyed. Tin cups took the place of K-'jv bells for drinking vessels. At an early hour the men lay down on a bed by a glowing camp fire, under cover of a tent, to sleep. During t^ic night, howe\er, a tempest of rain, accompanied hy thunder and lightning ^nd wind, arose and such commotion ensued in the forest around them that ;liey felt their lives were imperilled. The ne.xt morning work was begun on Miig's cabin, a two-roomed structure with an entiy between, which served a house for all lintil the little fields were cleared and the crops all laid by."

In the following fall the town of Franklin w-as surveyed and the first sale '^ f lots took place on the 2d day of September, 1823. It was conducted by J 'hn Campbell, of Sugar creek, the first county agent, and, to encourage bid- he laid in a plentiful supply of whiskey for tfee thirsty crowd. One of the earliest records of the county is an allowance to John Caniphcll, a-^: - for two dollars and sixty-one and three-fourths cents for whiskey and statii,;:. ery furnished and evidently used on just such occasions as these.

Of the first settlers' in the town uf h'ranklin was a man hy the naiiir ,,;- Kelly, who built a cabin on the west side of the sriuarc and kept a bakcrv where he sold beer and cakes. The log court house was built in the year iSj.< and about the same time the sheriff, John Smiley, built a log house where t'..- Franklin National P.ank now stands and where for many years a tavern v.;... kept. Just west of the tavern Daniel Taylor built a log store house, the fir : store in the new town. On the west side of the square William Shaffer, ilv, county recorder, erected a dwelling house near where tb.c jail now standi and in 1825 Samuel Herriott and Josei)h Young built a store room on tlir northeast corner of that block. The new settlement grew slowly, and it was not until JMay, 1S27, that me brush was cut out of the public square.

It is not known definitely when the new town was incorporated. Ai; election was ordered held upon the question of its incorporation on the 5t"' of May, 1S34, but no record of the vote at that election is recorded, and there is no evidence that a town government was fornied at that time. The onh. mention of a town government prior to the year 1855 is founchin a record in the commissioners' court, under date of August, 1850, authorizing "the proper authorities of the town of Franklin to maintaifl a market house at tlunorthwest corner of the public square." The first record of a meeting of tho board of trustees of the town of Franklin now preser\ed was dated April 10, 1854. At that time Trustee Benjamin Davis, Fphraim Jeffrey, Barney W'^ Clark, Henry Knc-aster, i\l. ^I. Tresslar and Andrew B. Hunter met at the office of Overstreet &- Hunter and proceeded to organize a town governmen; -AVjlliam^ P. Douthitt served as the first clerk of the town. The first towt; election recorded in the clerk's office was held on the 7th of 1855.

In 1859 an emmieration of the citizens of Franklin was taken and the following figures showing the population of the town are recorded : "In the corporate limits, 1,134 ; in the suburbs and Hog Chute, 115 ; in West Franklin, 204, and in East Franklin, 280." This enumeration was taken as a step toward incorporation, but after such census disclosed the fact that the population was under two thousand, further steps toward incorporation as a cit} were abandoned. Among the early officers of the town corporation were Samuel P. Oyler, assessor; Duane Hicks. J. Hillinan Waters and J. O. clerks: and P. Birchard, W. A. Owens, W. H. Henderson, T.eon Richey. Duane Hicks, Byron Finch and Amos Birchard, marshals.

- !.,.'ht, 1858, showing a total enumeration between the years of five and , ;;!\-onc of two hundred and eighty-five, A year later this number had .'c;i>cd to three hundred and seventy-six.

The first fire department of tlie new town was organized on the 12th of 1S59, and its equipment consisted of four ladders, two hooks and '., ai^oii, purchased at an outlay of one hundred dollars and forty cents. -, Wilson and Henry Kneastcr were appointed foremen of fire apparatus. On August 15, 1861, it was resolved by the town board that inasmuch as irceiit census showed a population of over two thousand, and as one-third iia' votes of the town aslcecl for an election upon the cpicstion of incorpora-

n as a city, a vote was ordered taken on August 27th at the following -i-es: Ilcnry Surface's shoe store; the district school house; the court ,:.e; the residence of G. M. Payne; at Duanc Hicks' furniture store; at J.

The city authorities took no steps toward public impro\-cmcnt until after '-fvcar 186/), and even then the common council \\ere inclined to move slowly tne inittter of public improvement. I'^or example, to encourage property -'. nors to lay sidewalks of brick fronting their residences, it was ordered on '.aii.iry 5, 1867, ''that any owner of a lot or part of a lot in the corporate ::!;l^ of said town'should be entitled to a receipt for all corporation taxes

During the same period the question of lighting the streets of the town '":-,'an to attract much public discussion, and on May 11, 1869, the Franklin and operation of a water works system in the city. The water coir.n.u-. plant was completed in November, 1891, sixty-five water phigs bciny ur.! - - by the city and one hundred and tuenty-five private consumers avaihu^' ti; selves of the privileges of the new utility. An electric light franchise v..,. granted to the same company on June 9, 1891, the same to run for a pcrioi; , eighteen years. The present expenditures of the city for stret lighting aged about six thousand and twenty-five dollars yearly, and for water pn.);,,. tion about four thousand two hundred dollars.

On July 12, 1892, the first ordinance was passed for tlic impro\\.i:.'.: ^ of a street with brick. The ordinance contemplated the improveinciu street from Jackson street east to the Pennsylvania railroad, a:. bids were invited during the months of August and September, hat no annr.. was let tmtil the spring of 1S93. an injunction suit having been institiil'il :: ail effort to stop tlic impro\-ement. The street was finished and acccjifcd I the city en June 10, 1893.

Edinburg is situptcd in tlie extreme southea.-tcrn section of the county ;: thf" area cut ijff by EIuc river, located on the line of trie old Indian trails io."'' ing from the Ohio to the nortli aiid west, and the first section of the cown:- to be settle']. Louis Eishop, \\'illiam nunt, Isaac Collier, John Canv'.bcii ;r. Alexander Thompson v/ere Lhe owucfo of the lau'ls included in the origi:-. plat of the tovwi of Edinburg laid off pi-ubaMy as early as 1S22, but tlie i''.'. was not rec(*rded ur;til abuut the year 1825. .Among tlie very first mercliii!.' of the nev; town uere Booth and Newlw. '/,"ho located tliere iii th.e year iSj. This was the first stock of goods exposed for sale in Johnson county. Bci''' the fall of the year 1822 the town contained but four families scattered ow quite a considerable area. In the year 1825, Israel Watts kept a store on t' west side of Main street, and in the yeai f(.'riowing Thomas Carter was grants a license to keep a ''publick house" in the town, in- board of commiss'.oi'cr having b;cn sa^isfied tluat he had the necessary Louse room, bedding nr st-abling. Other early meroliants of th.e town prior !<;> the year 1S30 were O;- Lyman, John Givcns, George D. Holland, Austin Shipp and Timothy T!;'- keld. Holhnd's licc.:sc under date of July. 1828, reads as follows: "Gc^-: B. Holland ha\ing produced the certificate of twelve freeholders of Blue Riv> township that he is of goc>d moral characttr. an.d tli.'.t a grocery is wanten the town of Edinburg'i; it is therefore onlered th.at said George B. UoV.^-Vhave a license to veiid foreign and d,ni7ier>tic groceries in the town of h-'hr

These mercantile establishments were quite successful, being~at that time (i!ily market between White river and Madison. The town grew very tl.iwiy, however, during the first twenty years of its history, its population in j.<.[5 numbering not to exceed two hundred and fifty, but the construction of ;';c Madison & Indianapolis railroad to that town about that time gave new life I., the place and within a very short time the population was more than .!uib!cd. It early became the leading grain and purk market of the central Kirl of the state, the merchants coming to the railroad from towns as far .'-vt.int as Knightstown, Danville, Gosport, Spencer and Illoomington. After ,;--,(- riilroad was continued to Indianapolis in 1847. the growth of the town .-:l^ checked somewhat, but it has always remained the principal manufactur-

.-\' center of the county. Among the prominent iridustries of the town which «' titiibuted to its early prominence were the llouring mill which James l!v.ni[)Son built at the "State Falls" as early as 1826; a distillery built by Otto i.vir.an as early as 1835; and a second distillery built about the year 1S50; a Miinory established by Pulaslci Runkle aboi:t 1837; a hominy mill erected in tX;^ by Theodore Hudnut ; a second honr'nv mill erected in 1871 by J. L.. i"ner; a woolen niill built in 18(^13 by a stock company; a furniture factory built by a stock company about 1808, All these, hovxcver, have long been abandoned and a new line of 'ndustries have taken their place. ''i' die {)resent factories, by far the most important is the Union Starch and ;'i''ining Companv, o^^'ned b}' the heirs o' josei)li Irwin, deceased, late of ' "Iiinibus. Thi.s factory is the successor of the Blue River Starch Works.

'K'.'.nized by a stock company in 1868. W hen the Xatioual Starch Company '"liiicd a trust and obtained control of t lis plant, it was closed down for ::;;iny years, but when the Irwins started tie street cai" line and obtained con- I'ol of the plant, ostensiblv as a power station they' converted the old starch into a modern plant for the manufactui'e of syrup, glucose, starch and and the factory is now the largest manufacturing plant in the employing two hundred and fifty men. Among the other thriving of the town are the Edinburg Cabinet Company, manufacturing "c'.\iii<r niachines and employing alxjut one hundred men: the W. T. Thomp- and fifty to three hundred men in season; the Wood Mosaic Company, niarir facturing hardwood flooring and employing twenty-five men. In addition i , these manufacturing plants, the town is fa\c)red with a very enterprising ;i;, successful group of niercliants.

The town of Edinburg was not incorporated until the year 1853, l^ut ?,- early as March 3, 1834, an election was ordered held upon the question (,: its incorporation. The first record of the election of trustees relates to i!.. I perhaps, that the management of the plant has been entrusted to one of t!vtrustees and no accurate account has ever been kept as to the income and e.\ pense of its operation. The town clerk, however, is authoritv for the statinient that in the year 1912, when the town was using thirty-six water ])lii.uand fifty arc and incandescent lights, the total cost of the water and li.c:i". system to the town was about seventeen hundred dollars.

The town enjoys an excellent telephone service furnished by the Citizen- Telephone Company, owned and controlled by a local stock company under a franchise granted in the year 1898. The town is bonded for a ten-thousaii'! dollar school debt entered into in 1912, and for a thirty-five-hundred-dollar cemetery debt entered into in 1911.

The town of Edinbnrg has an excellent school system and has had. at ux liead of its schools many of the ablest edncators of the state. Among -N;:i are remembered John H. Martin, John C. Englc. W. P.. Owen, Charles i I'atterson, E. A. Hnmpke. and E. AT. Crouch, the present superintendent. Ihc present corps of teachers is as follows: Smith Brewer, })rincipal of the f .;!i school; E. R. Phillips, Lenora AT. Burnham, Fanny H. Cochran, Myrtle i _ Zigncr, instructors in the high school, witli the following teachers in the ^r.i'ies: A. G. Murrey, Elsa Bowman. IIa;^el Pruitt. Maude Price, Gertrude <;r.il:ain, Ada M. Wright and Minnie Alullen.

The town had a population of but three hundred and fifty-four in the :'<-ar 1869, but since the construction of the electric line the town has thriven -ntil it is now one of the most important towns in the county. Its era of '--<«Iern improvements dates from the year 1894, when a telephone franchise granted to a local stock company. A water and light franchise was K'r.inted to Lewis K. Davis, of Indianapolis, on March 4. 190 1, but Mr. Davis ""t fulfilling the terms of his contract, the ordinance A\as repealed and a fran- was granted on October ist of the same year to Samuel V. Perrott and - -hnry Ulen under the name of the Greenwood Watc:r Company. The plant completed in the summer of 1902, and after a vote was had ui>3n the cpies- tion, the water plant was leased to the town for a term of thirty years -.. rental of nine hundred and fifty dollars yearly, and the light plant incli"' in the same lease for the term of ten years at a rental of three hundred six dollars and fifty cents yearly. This form of municipal ownership pr., unsatisfactory, and on September 4, 1905, an electric light and water fraiKi/. was granted to James A. Craig ami John \V. Henderson, who, somewhat lat, organized the Citizens Water and Light Company and obtained a new fi,.; chise under that name. Dr. Craig, president of the company, soon oblai:, control of a majority of the stock and continued to operate the same until t! year 1913, when it passed under the control of the present owners of tl. intcrurban railroad. The town is now using thirty- four arc ligb.ls, at a c . of seventy-five dollars per liglU, and forty-nine water liydrants, at a co?t <- forty-two dollars and fifty cents annual rental.

After the former school supcrintendciUs the follcwing are remenibc,\'' William ^L Chaille. W. T. Goo.Ien, J. Ed. Wiley, John R. Ov.ens, Profcv- Tripp. Charles F. Patterson, Frofes.^or Carnine, James Robinson and l\. J Fleming.

Othfr Town'S

The town of Trafalgar was incorporated under an election iicid Jan.'.::'!". 7, 1S70, but after a few years tb.c town organization ceased to exist, and i' .charter has never been renewed.

By order of the beard of coniniissioners at the June term, 186'"'. name "Hensley Town" was clringed to Trafalgar, and shr)rtly thercat'- "Liberty" was also included '>vit!iin the limits of tlie town. On ^Nfarc:: - 1869, the count}- board alsri change'! the name of Newljurg to Samaria. -^ other towns whose names \arv from the ones set forth in the town plats t''';: in the appendix owe th.eir ciian-c of names to the L'nited States po<i' - department. I'or exatnplc, \\~illiamsburg is now kno\vn by the name " Nineveh; L^nion Village bv tb.c iiar.'.e of Frovider.ce : Clarksburg by the rry"

!;ocklanc; Bro\vnsto\vn by the liame of Bluff Creek; and the inhabitants ' ;ill these villages, except Xine\eh, being served only by rural free delivery

Appendix Officers Of City Of Franklin

Marshal - William H. Myers, resigned Januarv'- 26. 1862; Soloni";; Gerow, 1862; William Gillespie, resigned August 16, 1862, succeeded by B J. Dickerson, who was shot and killed, and Solomon Gerow appointed h'^ successor January 27, 1863; Gerow resigned February 10, 1863. succeedo'; by Ejuke Hamilton, who resigned April 21, 1863. succeeded by T. F. Mchywho resigned January 26, 1864, succeeded by Tlirani Drake; William Car-

Franklin

Barbers -The Cozy (\V. R. Winchester), Riehl & Green (John au'I Ray). Brown & Allen (Sime and \\"illiam). John H. Boyd, Terhune & Tucker (Jc>hn and Idoyd), James Larmore, Jeff Robinscm, John Fossett, Ed. Xa.-h.

Clothing - Nort Whitesides Company (V. N. Whitesides, Fred S. Staff and Edward C. Bailey). Payne & Son (James li. and Flugh A.), F-duan! Keilhorn.

Groceries - Mike Turney, F. ^^"interberg-, Sr., 15. A. Brown & Son, Ouipi) Brothers, Richard &- Miller. \\\ W. Fordyse. W. A. Cross, Sander's.

Greenwood

Building and Loan Association - "Greenwood," J. T, Grubbs, secretary. Coal - A. L. Carson. A. E. Lemaster, David Demott. Drugs - A. W. Owen.

Robert A. Alexander

\!.'x:uKler, and was born in 1833. on the pa.tcrnal fannstead in Franklin ' An?hip, two miles south of the city of Franklin. George Alexander was a .'.i>e of Tennessee and came to Johnsc>n county, Indiana, about 1S31, en- a tract of land near the Tennessee church, south of Franklin. There V: carried on agricultural pursuits imtil his death, which occurred in 1873. was an active member of the Shiloh church and stood high in the com- -.:.".ity. To him and his v;ife Avere born nine children.

president of the Franklin National Bank, while for tln-ec years, Hjntj . 1908, he was president of the Citizens National Bank, being succeeds', -;-. the latter position by his son, Arthur A. He also assisted in the organizat: ,; and ever since, or a period of twenty years, he has been a director cif i;., Mutual Building and Loiin Association. He is now retired from aciii,- participation in business affairs and is enjoying th;it rest which former yo:,-. of successful activity so richly entitled him to. For half a cer.turv MAlexander lias been a member of and a libera! contributor to the I'rc-l.', - tcrian chutch, and for a number of years he was a member of the board (,; trustees of Franklin College, in the welfare of which he has always taken ,. deep interest. To him and his wife were born t'^vo children, Arthur A., m: : Clara, who died in 1892, the wife of Rev. T. N. Todd, a Presbyterian niliii - ter.

Arthur A. Alexander was born on July i, 1870, in Franklin, and h - early educalion was secured in tlie public school?., which he supplemented by attendance at Franklin College, where he graduated with the class of \St}). Thereafter for several years he was secretary of the Franklin Cannir^g Coiiipany, which he helped to organize and wilb wf>:cli he was connected In ::: official capacity for eight years. In 1903 ]\[r. Alexandci- became vice-presidcii of the Citizens National Bank of Fraaklin, and in 1909, on the retirement ci his father, he became president of tlie institution, which i-^ one of tlie iiir.;; substantial and influential financial concerns in this section of the state. Mr. Alexander is also vice-president of the Franklin Building and Loan Associati'T, and in many \vays is an important factor in the business life of the comtnutiity Fie has met with financial success commensurate with the energy and jud.:- ment displayed in his business transactions and occupies a commanding po :- tion among his fellow citizens. Flaving faith in the city of his residence, a-i 1 believing that the past is but an earnest of still greater growth and mere extensive business development, he has contributed his influence and mater'a! assistance to all laudable enterprises, at the same time endeavoring to realise within himself his highest ideal of earnest manhood and progressive citizenship.

An unswerving Republican, and deeply and actively interested in lv> party's success, Mr. Alexander has rendered efficient and appreciated service as a member of the county executive committee. Fraternally, he is a mejnber of the ^Masonic order, in which he has attained to the rank of Kni;,l;t Templar. He is an earnest member of the Presbyterian church, and in ever} way possible exhibits an interest in all things which tend to enhance th-^ welfare of his fellows in any way.

Johnson Counts, Indiana

On December i8, 1902, Arthur A. Alexander was united in marriage to Kojc Willis Tyner, the daughter of Richard Tyner, of Fairfield, Franklin comity, this state. Mrs. Alexander is a lady of kindly impulses and gracious '<.-rsonaIity, who has long enjoyed a deserved popularity among her large circle of acquaintances.

Hon. William E. Deupree

Indiana has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench aii'l bar. Perhaps none of the newer states can justly boast of abler jurists or attorneys. Many of them have been men of national fame, and among those v.'hose lives have been passed on a cjuicter plane there is scarcely a town or city in the state but that can boast of one o^" more lawyers capable of crossiiig swords in forensic combat with many of the distinguished legal lights of C'x count ry. While the growtli and development of the state in the last half rciitury has been most marvelous, viewed from any standpoint, yet of no one cl,i.>s of her citizenship has she greater reason for just pride than her judges .-".n.l attorneys. In Judge Deupree are found united many of the rare qualities which go to make the successful lawyer and jurist. He possesses per- !;aps few of those brilliant, dazzling meteoric: qualities which have sometimes :ki5licd along the legal horizon, riveting the gaze and blinding the vision for t!ic moment, then disappeariiig, leaving little or no trace behind; but rather Ins those solid and more substantial qualities which shine with a constant luster, shedding light in the dark places with steadiness and continuity.

William E. Deupree, judge of the eighth judicial circuit, comprising J'>hnson and Brown counties, was born on ]\[areh 2, 1864, in Plue River township, Johnson county, Indiana. According to tradition, apparently reliable, the Deupree family is descended from old French Pluguenot stock of northern France, where the family was wealthy and intliiential. However, at the time of the religious persecutions in that country, a!! the members of the family were massacred excepting two brothers, who escaped and eventually <^nie to America, one settling in \'irginia and the other in New Orlea-tS. A 'lescendant of the Virginia branch was William Deupree, who became n large land owner and slave holder and a prominent man in his community. He was so'dier in the Revolutionary war and lived to an advanced age, his death "ccurring in 1850. His son, Thomas J. Deupree, moved to Hardin county, and in 1S20 came to Indiana, purchasing a tract of land in Shelby (36) county, near Eclinburg, where he lived until his death, which was caused - . drowning in the IMuscakitonk river, near Seymour. He married a .M;.> Hatchett and to them were born the following children : William, Abralii::, C, Matthew, Edwin, Parthena and two other daughters. This geneiali(..n .,.; the family were noted for their strong abolition sentiments.- Of the abo\: children, Abraham C. Deupree, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, v.;-, born in Kentucky, but was reared in Indiana, having been brought by his [i.i.-. ents to this state when but nine years old. He was ordained to the inini.sir, of the Christian church at Edinburg and was a powerful influence for go." wherever he went. In 1850 he came to Johnson county, where he retnainc: until his death, which occurred in 1876, at the age of sixty-six years. He follov.-ed agricultural pur.^uits and became ari extensive land owner. He niarrii.,! Hannah Carter, who was born in Xew Jersey in 18 13, came to r.artholo:iu\ county in a;i early day with her parents, and her death occurred in 1903. TAbraham aiid Haraic--.h Deupree were born six children, four sons a;-;;! tv. - daughters. On the maternal side. Judge Deupree is descended from Willl.T;; and Ellyxa (Sh'pp) Sanders, the father of the former having l.ieen a pioneer settler of Johnson county, wliere he operated an t.-:tciisive farm, reared '. large family, and li\-ed to a good old age. William Sanders continued to Hvlon the same farm \-.hicli he purcliased at about the time of his marria^,., a:;.l there he reared a family of nine children. His ^-ife, Ellyza, died in 1S6?, aiv.i he later married Margaret Barker. Among his children was Susan, the sihh ject's mother, who became the wife of Daniel C. Deupree, son of Abraba::, and Hannah Deupree. Daiiiel C. was born in Shelby count}-, Indiana, Apri! 2y, 1838, and in 1S50, at the age of twelve years, he came to Johnson co:!;!!v. where he remained until 1S73, wlien he returned to Shelb}- county. \\'lr''- living in Jolmsun county he married Susan Sanders, whose death occurred in April, i86n, and to them was born one child, William E., the subject of thiskctch. Later, Daniel C. Deupree married Anna V.'a^ker, and eight clnldrc:; were born to this union, one of whom died in infai^cy. The others were Hannah, who became the v/ifo of Charles Tiiomas; Ella; Jesse; Jo! Af-inn'nta, tlie wife of John Stainbrook ; Orpin and Elij':!--..

William E. Deupree vras reared on the Shelby co-.-.r'.LV farm of his fatl'.er"^ and received his education in tlie public schools of Johnson county. Ilis fir>: independent employm.ent v/as as a school teacher, but, having decided u[ion t!:c profession of lav.', he began its study under the direction of John C. Orr. a* Columbus, Indiana, and in Eebruary. 18S7, he was admitted to the bar or Bartholomew county. In the following month he opened an office nt Fdin-

Joiinsox Couxtv, Inpiaxa

where he remained for six years, during which period he earned a splcnj.j reputation as a lawyer of ability and successful in the practice. On March J. 1^93' ^^^ came to Franklin and entered into a professional partnership with v.". C. Thompson, which, however, was dissolved on June ist of the follow- - .r." year. He was then alone in the practice until September i, 1S97, when he ijrtr.cd a partnership with L. Ert Slack, an association of unusual strength >!i! popularity, which lasted until November i, 1906, when Mr. Deuproe v.as t'rctcd to the bench of the eiglith judicial circuit. In the active practice Mr. liviiprec stood admittedly in the front rank of his profession in this county, U-in,!,' one of the most successful lawyers before the local bar. In his present r\a!ted position his career has been all that his previous record promised. His -;;.-iliilcations f')r the otTice of judge are unquestionahle. First of all, he ha?. -.!;'-- intcgrit}- of characcer, and then he possesses the natural ability and es- -<i;tial requirement-, the acumen of the judicial tenipcramciit. He is able to -!:vfst himself of prejudice or fa\oritism and coT.sidcr only the legal aspects question submitted. No labor is too grer^t, however onerous; no applica- ; -.:-. too exrcCting. however se\ere, if necessary to the complete understanding ;-'! correct determination of a question. Those are, indeed, words of high but tlie enromium is justific--^ in every particular, for the Judge has fr'^vcd liini a distinct man in all the term implies, and its implication is wide. career on the bench and ai ilie bar offers a noble example and an inspirav'-jn. while he has never been knov n to fail in that strict courtesy and regard f>r professional ethics which should ever characterize the members of the bar, -:'; career reflecting credit upon the judiciary and dignifying the profession to -^^!'ich he belongs.

Judge Deuprce has long been act!\e in political atTairs. having served six as deputy prosecuting attorney, while for six years the firm of Deuprec >v Slack served as county attorneys. Active in the ranks of the Democratic r-'irty, he served eight years as chairman of the county central committee and J-T two years as a member of the state exccttlive committee of his party, '-diile in 1900 he was a delegate to the Democratic national conventi'r.. "^dr.ch mei at Kat\sas City. He is a good reader of men arid is sagacious a-i 1 'jr-slghted in his political judgment, so that his counsel and advice has held in high regard by his political associates.

Fraternally, Judge Deupree is an enthusiastic member of the Free and Accepted Masons, liolding membership in Franklin Lodge No. 107; Franklin No. 65, Royal Arch ^Jasons; Franklin Commandery No. 23, Knights icmplar; Indianapolis Consistory, thirty-second degree. Scottish Rite: and

Luti-Ier Short Luther Shout

t^ Russell county, that state, where he lived until the fall of 1S02, t-c;i lie moved to the vicinity of Somerset, Pulaski county, Kentucky, and V. i-r came to Indiana, where his death occurred. He was a soldier of the ; f. Jutionary war. His son, Wesley Short, grandfather of the subject of ;.';;> sketch, was born on December 20, 17S0, in Russell county, Virginia, ;.---.Te. in the spring of 1802, shortly before the removal of the family to Ken- T^^-ky, he was married to Rebecca Owen. He \\as a man of high moral .-Kiracter and marked intellectuality and, as one of the pioneer ministers of :'.< ni?ciple, or Christian" church, he held a prominent place in that dcnonn'na- !;;n at the time of his death. His son, and the subject's father, Milton Short,

,c<J tliere until in March, 181S, wheti he moved to Indiana, in which state icmaincd about ten. years, returning to his native state in the fall of 1828. -;o engaged in teaching scb.ool, and later became a farmer, vshich pursuit he - I'owed until 1836, wlicn he again moved to Indiana, locating at Springville,

--V. rctice county, where he bought a tract of land adjoining the tov/n. Sooti ^:':,T'.var(Is he entered cillege and prepared him.self for. the practice of nicdi-

. :-.;-, to which he devoted himself r.ntil 1854, when he engaged in the mcrcan- lujsinoss, which commaiv:kd his attention for a number of years. In 1S6S left Lawrence county, but, after makirig several moves, he returiicd to :\'iyetteville, vvdicre he lived until liis death, which occurred on April 27. 18S7. On January 8, 1829, ^[ilton Short married Mary Tate, the daughte- of and Wiimie (Atkinson) Tate, and to them v/ere born eight children, -1 (.'qual number of boys and girls. Tlie mother of tlic^-e children died on -13. iS>''>4. She was descended from John Tate, a native of the of V'irginia, v,-l:ere he spent his entire life, and wliere his son, Robert, on July 3, 1768. The latter was married to \V"iiuiie Atkinson about and to th.en;, on December 5. iSii. vas born a daughter, Mary, who th.e wife of I\li!ton Short.

Lutlier Short lived in Lau-rertce county, Indiana, uritil sixteen years old, ';v:!'.!ing a portioti of his time in work on his father's farm afid seeuring education in the public scliools of the neighborliood. In 1861. his pati^otic -it aroused by the sanguinary assaults oti his country's flag in the South-

he enlisted in Company F, Forty-third Reginicrit Indiana Voliuiteer --K.iatrv, with v.hich command he served tliree years and two month-, taking . '"t in many of the most noted and hotly contested battles of that great lie proved a faithful soldier and during a part of the period he as a non-commissioned officer. Upon receiving his honorable dis- charge, in October, 1864, he relunied to his home and engaged in the in cantile business until the fall of 1866. In September of that year he Ik:.-, :, his education by one year's attendance at the Northwestern Christian Univ^;: sity, now Ijutler College, at Indianapolis. In the spring of 1868 he ente:- ; Asbury (now DePauw) University, at Greencastle, Indiana, and from tlkrt went to the State University, at Bloomington, where he was graduated ;:; 1869, with a class of thirty-one. In the fall of the same year Mr. Shutentered the law department of the Uni\crsit}- of Michigan, graduating th-.:-, in 1871. During the summers of 1870 and 1S71 he was employed as geiicr; 1 manager of the agricultural implement house of J. Braden, at Indianapoli:-. Upon the completion of his studies, 3>Ir. Short located at Little Rock, Arkai.- sas, where he was actively engaged in the practice of law until April, 187.;. when he returned to Indiana, locating at Franklin, Johnson county, whi:;. has since been his home. In January of the follouing year he was appointi.-.i deputy prosecuting attorney under Prosecutor W. S. Ray. In June, iSjw he formed a partnership with George E. Finney and on the ist of July tlu.y purchased the Hcrahi-Dcinocrat, changing its name to the Dcviiocrai, whic!. they ran until March .?9, 18S0, ^\ hen Mr. Short purchased his partner's iiiterest, and thereafter for a number of years he successfully conducted the newspaper, which became one of the most popular and inlluential of local newspapers. On September 23. 1893, Islv. Sliort was appointed consulgeneral to Constantinople, where his services were of such character as to wii. for him the conjniendation of his government. Of recent years Mr. Shori has not taken a very active part in public affairs, but is quietly enjoying ih'.- fruits of his former years of earnest endeavor.

On April 9, 1883, Mr. Short was married to Emma W. Heineken. a daughter of Samuel I'. Heineken, and the same clay they started on an ex tended trip through Europe, visiting Ireland, Scotland, England, France. Italy, Germany, Switzerland, x\.ustria, Belgium and Holland. In 1S9S Mr and Mrs. Short made a tour around the world, and their summers are usual!} spent among the lakes of the northern peninsular of ^Michigan.

Fraternally, iSIr. Short has for many years been an active and appreciate! member of the Masonic order, in which he has met with distincti\c preferment, having served as grand commander of the grand commandery ft Knights Templar of Indiana, while in he Scottish Rite he has been honorc ! with the thirty-tliird and last degree, one of the most coveted honors in that time-honored order. Mr. Short rendered effective service in the Legislature' in 189 1, and has served as presidential elector for the fifth congressiona!

>T!Ct. In every walk of life Mr. Short has been recc'gnizcd by all classes - >a liii^h-niindccl, talented, courteous gentleman of integrity and moral worth. '-sc ii at present a member and president of the board of trustees of the ';-.i!iana Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home at Knightstown. He has -scil well his part in life and, while primarily interested in his own affairs, ;r has not been unmindful of the interests of others, contributing to the e\- ur.t of his ability to the advancement of the public good and the welfare of ':;-s fellow men. Personally, he is a man of pleasing address, sociably in- ;::!icd, and he enjoys a wide acquaintance atid a large circle of warm and friends. - .

Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Jolmson ..-..-.inty wit'n"n the pages ^f th.is book, citizens who have figured in the growth y.A development of this favored locality and whose interests are identified vlitli its every phosc of progress, each contributir.g in his spliere of action to -'-.c well-being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement '.-!' its nor;r.al and legitimate growth. Among this number is he wliose name a;ipoars above, peculiar interest attaching to his career front the fact that his. entire useful and bus\' life has been spent within tlie borders of this county.

\V. O. Springer, who is a native son of Jolmson county,' was born on jaiuiary 25, 1870, and is. a so'i of A. D. and Sarah Bell (Smithey) Springer. ihe father, who is now deceased, was also a nati\-e of Johnson count}-, laving been born in the city of Franklin., and was by vocation a stationary His death occurred in hVanklin iii 1910, and he is survived by his To them were born the following children: Florence, W. O., one in infancy and Xellic. In politics, 'Mr. Springer was a Republican, not an ofnce seeker. Fraternally, he was a member of the Knights of '"'y'Hi'i-s at Madisun, Indiana, in the early days, and was a member of the old -<"'J well known V.'hiteland Hand, and a singing-school teacher of considera'>le l''>j:iiinence. The subject of this sl:etc!', received his educati^:--:! in the connuijn -'^'iiools of this county and engaged in farming during the -. triy years of his '-'e. In February, 1912, he came to Greenwc>od and engaged in the irnple- bu'iness, in which he is meeting with splendid siicce-^s. He carries not "!ily a full line of fanriing ini[;Ie!ncnts of all kinds, but a large stock of seed, harness, buggies, wagons and such other lines as are usuall}' to be found -" a store of this character. Because of his splendid business ability and well known integrity he enjoys a large patronage throughout the C(jninii!n ' . t ancl i.s nunihcred among the leading business men of his citv-

In 1S94 ^.Ir. Springer married Xora L. Branigin, of Franklin, a siy., - of Elba L. Branigin, the editor of the historical portion of this work. j-'i;.

Elba L. Branigin

that vicinity. William D. Branigin is now an honored resident of E<1.: - > burg, this county, where he is successfully engaged in the implement hv.<- children, of whom five are living, namely: Nora L., the wife of William ' ' .^ Springer, of Greenwood, Indiana; 011i(i A., wife of Samuel Gibbs, of h"' dianapolis; Daisy A., wife of Watson VanNuys. of Hopewell, Indiai!''-: Verne, an attorney at ;^.It. Vernon, W'aehington, and Elba L., the immediat.'

his elementary education in district school No. 6, of Blue River town-'r.;.' ^, In 18S7 the family removed to Franklin. In 1886 Elba Branigin had enterc . the preparator}- department of Franklir College, in which institution he remained six years, graduating with the class of 1892 and receiving the dcg'-^^

.( )::iolielor of Arts. He made a splendid record while in college and in his /-c-iri^in year won the declamation contest, being a speaker of unusual grace i/- 1 eloquence. In 1891 he was president of the State Oratorical Association ^, j in 1892 he represented Franklin College in the state oratorical contest. \!'',cr his graduation, in 1892-3, ]\Ir. Branigin taught a term of district school, jr.ii then served three tenns as principal of the Trafalgar schools, having in '.'.< meantime married and removed to that town. During this period he had Uoii applying himself closely to the reading and studying of law, and on A'-r:i 27. 1896, he was admitted to the bar of Johnson county. On March 7, ;.^''/). he had formed a law partnership with Thomas W. Woollen, who had been attorney-general of the state of Indiana, this association con- -.imiing until the death of Mr. Woollen, on February 12, 189S. About a \c.Tr Inter Mr. Branigin formed ? partnership with Thomas Williams, which ;-!.ition still continues. This is a strong and popular law firm, which has been c ni'.ccted, on one side or the other, as counsel in much of the most important !,'J-ation which has been tried in the local coart, and Mr. Branigin's reputa- -'-.'-'u as a lawyer has steadily increased until now he is numbered among the Is.-.i '.crs of the bar in his county. Well informed in his profession, faithful !» his clients and the law, and possessing a rare equinimity of temper and /indness of heart, Mr. Branigin has not only gained high prestige in his profession, but he has also gained to a notable degree the confidence and good v.ill of the people generally. He is an honest and fair practitioner, taking :' > part in the tricks of tlic pettifogger, which sometimes cast odium upon the ] rofession.

Mr. Branigin is a man of high intellectual attainments, gained by much reading and study and close observation of men and things. He possesses splendid library and some of his most enjciyable hours are spent among his In localhisiory Mr. Branigin is especially interested and he has for -1 number of years given much attention to the collection of a vast fund of --'.luable information and data relative to the early history of Johnson county, 'he fruits of his work being presented in the historical portion of this volume.

On September 19, 1894, Mr. Branigin w^as married to Zula Francis, the daughter of Milton and Mary (McCaslin) Francis, of Fianklin, and tlioy have 'Our children, namely: Gerald F., Edgar 3>I., Roger D. and Elba L., Jr.

Politically, Mr. Branigin has, since att-aining his majority, been actively in the success of tlie Democratic party, having served several years ^'^ secretary of the county committee and one term as chairman of that body. 'n 1896, while teaching at Trafalgar, he was elected county surveyor. From ^9*^6 to 1910 he served as attorney of the city of Franklin and from 19TO to 1913 he served as county attorney, discharging- his duties in these posiii.j-;, to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He has rendered efficient and ;r preciated service as secretary of the Franklin Public Library ever since i: organization, is president of the Franklin Commercial Club, and has \k\-v. .. trustee of and attorney for Franklin College since 1912. Socially, ho l^ :. member of the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity. His religious nien:Lvr ship is with the First Baptist church of Franklin, of which he is a trustee a:;; in the prosperity of which he is earnestly interested, toeing also teacher oi the Bible class in the Sunday school. ''

Fraternally, Mr. Branigin has for a score of years been deeply interc-ti : in the work of the Masonic order, in which he has received distinctive iir^ ferment. In Franklin Lodge No. 107, he was received as an entered a[ii)i\-: tice on October 6, 1893, passed to the degree of fellowcraft on October ^i l<S93, and raised to the degree of a Master Mason on November 8, iSm;, he was made a Royal Arch Mason on October 3, 1901, and received t' Oi'ders of Knight Templar on December 12, 1901. He took the degrees o: the Scottish Rite with the fall class of 1906, and on November 29, 1907, !; became a noble of the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shriiu', b(.Mng a member of Indianapolis Consistory of the former order and of ]\Iu;;i' Temple, Indianapolis, of the latter. Mr. Branigin served as worslii[it::' master of Franklin Lodge No. 107 in 1903. as .eminent commander of Frank lin Commandcry No. 42, Knights Templar, in 1907 and in 191 1 was excellc: - prelate of the latter body. He is now junior grand deacon of the gra;. ' lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the state of Indiana.

While laboring for his individual advancement, Mr. Branigin has. ww forgotten his obligations to the public and his support of such measures a!'' movements as make for the general good can always be depended upon. .^ man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fibre, he has achieved sign.' success in an exacting calling and is eminently deserving of the large presti;; which he enjoys in the community with which hrs entire life has been idcrit; fied.

Grafton Tohxson

Great achievements always excite z dmiration. ]Men of deeds are the n>' whom the world delights to honor. Ours is an age representing the ni" electrical progress in all lines of material activity, and the man of initiat;' is one who forges to the front in the industrial world. Among the ni

,..,^-tivc captains of industry in central Indiana a place of priority must be ac- ^urded to Grafton Johnson, of Greenwood, Johnson county, for to him is ,!nt' the upbuilding of an industry which is not only one of the most imli-irtant in his county, but also one of the most extensive of its kind in the fuiintry, while the comparatively brief time v/ithin which these great results i'lve been obtained further testify to his exceptional administrative power and fxccutive ability. He is, in the fullest sense of the term, a progressive, virile, ^^-If-I^ade American, thoroughly in harmony with the spirit of the advanced a^c in which he lives, conducting all his business matters carefully and system- .iticaliy. and in all his acts displa}'ing an aptitude for successful management. ilc lias not permitted the accumulation of fortune to affect in any way his ;ictions towards those less fortunate than he, being a most sympathetic and ''.road- minded man, and has a host of warm and admiring friends.

Grafton Johnson is descended from a sterling line of ancestors, in whom \uTe embodied the characteristic qualities of the sections of country from ulience they came. His paternal grandparents, James and I\Iary (Ta}-lor) jniinson, were natives, respectively of North Carolina and \'irginia. Coming to Indiana, they located first at Brookvillc, Franklin county, but eventuplly moved to a farm near Peru, Miami counly, this state. Among their children '.v.-^s Grafton Johnson, Sr., who was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, on Doceniljer 14. 1819. The latter recei\ed a common-school education, which -v.T.-; supplemented by two years attendance at Franklin College. In early man- ::'")(! he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Greenwood, Johnson county, and t'.»r nearly four decades he was known as one of the most successful and jToininent merchants of this locality, being, at the time of his death, on Octo- 2, 1883. one of Johnson county's wealthiest men. On February 21, 1859, -;c married Julia A. Xoble, the daughter of George and Louisa (Canby) -\'')b!e, who came to Indiana from Boone county, Kentuck)-. about 1831. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born the following children: Mary L., born 22, 1860; George T., born x\ugust 3, 1861, deceased; Charlotte I., ''>rn June 6, 1863; Grafton, the subject of this sketch; Julia N., born June -/". 1867; Grace, born August lo, 1869; Martha E., born October 10, 1870, ''^-ceased; Albert, born November 6, 1871. ]Mary L. was graduated from De- University, and later married H. B. Fongden, professor of Latin in that

-' .\tlanta, Georgia; Julia X. attended Wellesley College, and Grace pursued -"-'--r studies in both Wellesley College and DePauw University. Politically.

Johnson was a Republican and his religious membership was with the church, his wife being a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

son, and three in Wisconsin, at Clear Fake, Cumberland and Fadysn.iitli, >.. in Michigan, at Three Oaks, and inlerested in other plants in lUip.ois,

the aimoyc-nces of petty details and enablirg him to devote his altentiou t.. i! larger features of the business. In all of these plants none but the n: approved and modern machinerv is used and everythin.g is under a supciF _>. tem. In the busy season over two thousand persons are employed m t!;- plants and it has been estin:atcd that if the crops rai..cd for the Johi.son r tories in a single year recently hod been included in one tract t.iey wo: have made a field over twenty miles lor,g and over one mile wide. Tiie lowing pen picture of a busy season in these plants is reproduced from a 1 cent publication : "If lliere i,- any person who has misgivings as to the si;;c the industry he sliould vi.it one of ^Ir. Johnson's plants - say the one Shelby viUe-- when th.e season is at its height, and watch the farmers' waroll in, kuten with green ears, until t'ney bIo:k the streets for squares :: line up in long rows waiting their chance to unload and then reload with soft, nutritious cobs and husks, which the fanners ta!:e iioine for fc-d hp tu-Q hundred to two hundred aixl twenty-five loads are received at t'lo . :iy viUe canning factor)- every day. The loads average Hv:.re than a t.-. and farmer usually receives about eleven dollars a ton, with the privi'cge^ot loading his wagon with the cobs and husks free Gt charge. The fan merely pulls the coni; never hu.^ks it. The husking Is done at the fact.-ry what 'is kno'.vn as tlie husking department, where about four lu.ndred : iifty persons are employed. The operatives ir, this department are paid by quantity of corn they husk, and the poorest busker can make one dollar :

-'-I'tv cents a dp>y. Since neither a college education nor a civil service examiiialioii is required to make a corn busker, and anybody who is gifted with .'aod hands can do the work, opportunity for remunerative employment is t-iTcrcd to girls and even to cripples who do not have the use of their lower I;!)ii>s. Quite a number of old soldiers, whose failing capacities cpialify them vv.lv for light work, make competent corn buskers.

"The husking bees, v.hich arc a continuous performance at the Indiana c.-nniing factories when the season is in full swing, are not attended by the s.une mirth and hilarity that accompanied the old-fashioned husking bee, which was the prime social event of the winter in backwoods communities, but at that the work is pleasant, enjoyable and healthful. Frecjuently entire families - husbr.nd, wife and children - assist in the husking department. Ordinarily a family of six can thus make more mr)ncy in the canning season than the i:.-a(l of the household could earn in wages at other employment during the i-i'.tire year. The corn packed at Mr. Johnson's plants is usually of the variety known as the 'Country Gentlemen,' which is exceptionally fine, sweet and jialatab'e. The farmers who raise corn for the canning factories are not workv.y^ for their health. Tliey are getting abundant returns. A very ordinary _v!i.ld is three tons per acre of pulled corn, for which the farmer receives, say, eleven dollars per ton, or thirty-three dollars per acre. He has, besides, the c^bs and husks and the stalks, which made prime ensilage and are rated almost t'lual to clover hay in nutritious value. Another advantage is that he does not have to wait until the dead of winter for bis money. He gets his check upon 'i'dive-y of his corn, which means quick returns for a few months' labor. Yields of five and six tons an acre are exceptional, but not unheard of."

One of the strongest sidelights on the character of ]Mr. Johnson is in his treatnent of his employees, which is marked by generosit}- and good natuie. He dismisses his office force at four o'clock ever}- afternoon and will not allow the office to stay open an\' longer. He insists that the managers of his plants take plenty of time off and secure an abundance of good, sound sleep, for be r^'gaids sleep as an essential to a clear head, and he wants every empk^yee in a I'osition of responsibility to get plenty of rest and recreatidu. He makes a !"'int of selecting good men for responsil)le positions and pays them salaries -"'"'niinensurate with the very best service.

That Mr. Johnson is a man of large capacitv in business affairs is ^niphasized in the fact that, with all the demands made upon his time and -"ittention by his canning interests, still he has other lines of activity which require the same cheerful and ceaseless vigilance. He is interested in suburban r"'Oi)erty in fiftv or sixty of the most flourishing cities of nine different states,

Mr. Johnson has no partner, relying absolutely on his own initiative ... administrative ability, and his faith in himself has been abundantly jn.-ti:'... for he has uniformly carried to successful conclusion everything to whiclhas addressed himself. However, Mr. Johnson generously attributes ;i..; of the growth of his business to the ability and energy of the heads of dui,,; .nients and managers of individual plants, in the selection of whom lie 1. .shown exceptionally good judgment. He has the most im[)licit confidence these men and is a strong believer that most men are honest. In return. has the absolute confidence and loyalt)- of the men un<.ier him, and he is iie-, bothered by labor trouble, for he treats his employees in such a way that l; have no cause for dissatisfaction or complaint.