Montgomery County, Indiana - Biographical sketches, 1911 (part 1 of 14)

Henry Lane Wilson

Henry Lane Wilson, present American Ambassador to Mexico, was born in Crawfordsville in 1857, his father being James Wilson, who was born in the same place and whose ancestors came to Indiana through Kentucky from Virginia, and his mother, Emma Ingersoll, of a New England family. James Wilson, the father, graduated at Wabash College at the age of seventeen in 1842 and from the Indiana Law University in 1844. He later served two terms in Congress, winning his election the first time over Daniel W. Voorhees, the Democratic candidate, on the issue of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill and State Sovereignty. In that day the joint discussion between these two young leaders of opposite political opinions attracted attention throughout the North and is still remembered by some of the older people in Indiana. At the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion, James Wilson entered the ranks of the Union Army and went to the front, from whence he was recalled by President Lincoln and commissioned to defend the Emancipation Proclamation throughout all New England, Pennsylvania. New York and Ohio. At the close of the war he was brevetted Brigadier General. Some time after he took an active and high part in the councils of the Republican party and would undoubtedly have been sent to the Senate or made Governor but for his opposition to negro suffrage without educational preparation. He was appointed Minister to Venezuela by Andrew Jackson and died in that country at the early age of forty-two, at almost the beginning of what would undoubtedly have been a distinguished career.

Henry Lane Wilson passed all of his earlier years, with the exception of two years in Venezuela, in Crawfordsville. receiving a primary education in the public schools, and entered Wabash College in 1875. At that time Joseph F. Tuttle was President of the College and Edmund O. Hovey, Caleb S. Mills, John L. Campbell and Samuel S. Thompson were yet in the full vigor of their usefulness and affording splendid examples of rugged piety and devotion to duty and of dignity and profound learning, and it is to the deep impressions made by these men that he owes in a considerable measure for whatever success he has achieved in Hfe. During his college years he divided his time and interest between extensive and thorough reading and politics and political discussions, never missing a political speech that he could possibly hear and listening with eagerness and profit to the homely discussions of the farmers and odd characters for which Crawfordsville used to be famous. His education and ecjuipment for the world did not come easily, as at the threshhold of his college career the family fortune was largely swept away. To the devotion, energy and self-sacrifice of his mother, he ascribes all of his success in life as well as the inculcation of those principles of morality, honesty and truthfulness without which no man can attain lasting success.

Among the members of his class who still remain in Indiana are : Albert B. Anderson, United States District Judge, Arthur B. Milford, Professor of English Literature at Wabash College, and James H. Osborne, Professor of Latin in the same institution. Others who were in college at the same time, though not classmates, w^ere : Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall, Charles B. Landis, Albert Baker, James Daniels, Harry J. Milligan and Harold Taylor.

In his earlier days he listened to the political speeches of Oliver P. Morton. Thomas A. Hendricks, Benjamin Harrison, Joseph E. MacDonald, and the gifted, but erratic, Thomas H. Nelson, one of his predecessors in Mexico. He also received valuable political instruction from Col. Henry S. Lane and from his uncle, William C. Wilson, of Lafayette, a distinguished lawyer and orator. He made his first political speech at the age of twenty at Waveland, in Montgomery county, in company with James A. Mount, who afterwards became Governor of Indiana. From that time on he was engaged in politics, and his public speaking has been carried on with greater or less success until the present day.

Following his graduation from college he secured a position as engrossing clerk in the State Legislature at Indianapolis and later entered the law office of MacDonald & Butler. He soon purchased the Lafayette Daily Journal, and, as it did not prove a successful venture, sold it a year later without loss. In 1885 he married Alice Vajen, a daughter of John H. Vajen, a prominent and well known citizen of Indianapolis, and moved to the town of Spokane, in the eastern part of the state of Washington. There he resumed the practice of law, making a specialty of land practice. In this he made a pronouced success and his fortunes improved rapidly.

About this time Spokane began the marvelous growth which has now made it one of the great cities of the Union, and he commenced investing in real estate with immediate and astonishing success. In the course of a few years he amassed a large fortune and became interested in banks, buildings, real estate and promoting companies. In the panic of 1893 ^^^ of this fortune was swept away, not through unwise investments or inability to meet his own debts, but through the failure of two banks in which he was heavily interested and b\- reason of being called upon almost simultaneously to bear the burden of the failure of other men for whom he stood as endorser or surety. He gave up all of his property and afterwards paid more than one hundred thousand dollars to clear his name and credit. During this period he was largely identified with the development of the state of Washington and with its politics, and his name was connected with a majority of measures of a public character in that section of the country. Politics to him at that time was simply a diversion or perhaps a practical method of being of service to his brother, John L. Wilson, who was then, and continued to be until his death, an active figure in that state.

When Benjamin Harrison was elected President, our subject had been living some time in the state of Washington, and he, with his brother, managed to create a sentiment favorable to Harrison's nomination, which resulted in his having a third of the state delegation. When Harrison was elected, he spontaneously offered Mr. Wilson the post of minister to Venezuela, but, as he had no ambition in the direction of the diplomatic service at that time, he declined the offer. \\'hen William McKinley was elected President, Mr. Wilson took a large part in the manageinent of the campaign in Washington, Idaho and IMontana, and also spoke continuously for forty days in the face of generally hostile and sometimes boisterous free-silver audiences. Early in 1897, President McKinley offered him the post of minister to Chile, and he accepted, going to that country with his mother, wife and three children. He remained at that post for eight years, his services being in every way successful and useful to his government. He came in time to exert great influence - an influence born of confidence and faith with the Chilean people, and was able not only to render substantial aid to the business and political interests of his own country, but to contribute in a large measure on two occasions to prevent war between Chile and the Argentine Republic. Mr. Wilson's respect and liking for the Chilean people was very profound and this feeling was reciprocated, and the Chilean government has never ceased to follow him with marks of respect and esteem. Only recently the University of Chile, the oldest in America, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Humanities and Literature, a degree that has never before been conferred on an American. During Mr. Wilson's residence in

Chile he was twice transferred to other posts, once to Portugal and once to Greece, but was allowed to remain in Chile upon his own request. In 1905 President Roosevelt promoted him from Chile to Belgium and upon announcing the appointment to the Associated Press along with those of two other gentlemen, said, "These appointments are not made for political considerations but solely for meritorious service performed." This was surely true in Mr. Wilson's case, since his appointment was opposed by both Senators from Washington.

Mr. Wilson remained in Belgium five years, and during that time saw King Leopold pass away and. as the special ambassador of the President, stood at the right hand of King Albert when he was enthroned. He had really only one important question to handle while in Belgium, namely : the Congo question, a most delicate and trying piece of diplomacy, which was managed to the entire satisfaction of the President and Secretary Root. The locality of the post gave him access to many opportunities for study, observation and travel in France, Italy, Germany, Holland and England, and the experience was altogether a useful one.

In 1910 President Taft, after tendering Mr. Wilson two embassies in Europe which he could not accept for financial reasons, sent him as ambassador to Mexico. Since he has been at that post, four Presidents have held office in that country : Diaz, De la Barra, Madero and Huerta. Three revolutions have been inaugurated, and the times have been troublous and dangerous. There are forty thousand Americans in Mexico ; nearly ten thousand in Mexico City. There is a larger investment of American capital there than in any other country and there is double the amount of work in that embassy than in any other of our diplomatic posts. Mexico is, therefore, aside from the glamour of social precedence which surrounds a European post, the most important diplomatic post in the service. Mr. AVilson's work in Mexico always had the full approval of President Taft and his cabinet, the former saying a short time after his retirement from office, "^^^hat a misfortune it is that our rotten system of politics seems to require changes in our diplomatic service and thus bring about the loss of a man of the experience and ability of Mr. Wilson, who has served his country so faithfully for so many years and deserves the respect of his country's people. Men of his type should never be forced out of the field of usefulness."

Mr. Wilson has been sixteen years continuously in the diplomatic service, is in time of service the senior member of the diplomatic corps, and has served longer in these capacities than anyone else since the foundation of our government.

Montgomery Couxtv. Indiana Charles X. Williams

In placing the name of Charles N. Williams in the front rank of business men who have at one time or another honored Montgomery county with their residence, simple justice is done a biographical fact, recognized by all who are familiar with his history. A man of rare soundness of judgment, wise discretion and business ability of a high order, he has managed with tactful success important enterprises, and is at this writing president of the Farmers Trust Company of Indianapolis. What of the man and what of his work? This is the dual query which represents the interrogation at least nominally entertained whenever that discriminating factor, the public, would pronounce on the true worth of the individual. The career of Mt. Williams indicates the clear-cut and distinct character, and in reviewing the same from an unbiased and unprejudiced standpoint, interpretation follows fact in a straight line of derivation. In this publication it is consistent that such a review be entered, and that without the adulation of ornate phrases, for he has stamped the mark of definite accomplishment on the highest plane of industrial activity.

Mr. Williams was born, April lo, 1856. on a farm in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and his family moved, when he was two years old, to Crawfordsville, Indiana, where his father purchased the northwest corner of Wabash avenue and Grant avenue, and there they lived until 1870. He is a son of Henry and Martha Barnum (Haight) Williams. The father was born on July 4, 181 8 in Maryland, and his death occurred on February 17, 1904. The mother w^as born in Connecticut, on June 14, 1816, and her death occurred on May 27, 1884. These parents grew to maturity in the East, received good common school educations and were married in Connecticut, when they came west and located in Lafayette, Indiana, and in 1858, they located in Crawfordsville, M^ontgomery county, having engaged in the mercantile business in Lafayette.

The mother of our subject was twice married, first, to John F. Caven, by which union six children were born, only one of whom. Eva Caven, who has remained single, is living; she resides in Crawfordsville, in the old home located at the northwest corner of Walnut and College streets. After Mr. Caven's death she married the father of our subject, and to this union two children were born. Laura, wife of Benjamin F. Crabbs, of Crawfordsville; and Charles N., of this review.

tended Wabash College. On April 6, 1898 he married Margaret Lawrence Doll, who was born in New Albany, Indiana, and is a daughter of James A. and Marinda (Martin) Doll. She graduated from the high school at Lafayette, Indiana, later attended Purdue University there, also an art institute in Chicago. She is a lad_y of culture, talent and refinement. The union of our subject and wife has been without issue. After Mr. Williams left college he went into the post-office at Crawfordsville as clerk, in which capacity he served for three years, and later went into the real estate business. He studied law, but was not admitted to the bar, finally deciding upon a business instead of a legal career. In 1881 he assisted in the organization of the Citizens National Bank of Crawfordsville, and did much to make it a success. In 1888 he was appointed state correspondent for the Provident Life Insurance Company, of Philadelphia. It was his business to invest the monev of that company in farm and city properties in Indiana and Illinois, and he has continued, in a measure, at least, to fill this position to the present time or for a period of twenty-five years, his long retention being sufficient evidence of the implicit trust reposed by the company in his business ability and integrity, and during that period he has done much to increase the prestige of the company in these states.

In 1895, seeking a larger field for the exercise of his talents, Mr. Williams removed to Indianapolis where he has since resided. Soon after arriving here he opened a private banking house under the firm name of C. N. Williams & Company, of which he was sole owner and proprietor. It was a success from the start and continued with dver increasing popularity as a private bank until 1905, .when he organized the Farmers Trust Company of Indianapolis, with which he consolidated his private bank, and since that time Mr. Williams has been president of the Farmers Trust Company, and his able, conservative and judicious management has made it a strong and rapidly growing concern, and it now ranks among the leading and most popular institutions of its kind in Indiana. It is incorporated at one hundred thousand dollars.

Mr. Williams is also state correspondent for the Prudential Life Insurance Company, and a number of private investors of New York City. He is president of the Marion Title & Guarantee Company, and under his able management it has been very successful from the start and its business now covers a wide field.

Fraternally, Mr. Williams is a member of the Masonic Order, including all the subordinate lodges in Crawfordsville, including the Blue Lodge, the Knights Templar and the Order of Eastern Star. Also belongs to the

Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Murat Temple at Indianapolis. He is prominent in Masonic circles, having attained the thirtysecond degree. Religiously, he is a member of the First Presbyterian church of Indianapolis, and is treasurer of the same. He belongs to the Columbia Club, the University Club and the Country Club, all of Indianapolis. He holds membership with the Sons of the American Revolution. Politically, he is a Republican.

John Thomas H.Vrwood

Few dealers in live stock in Montgomery county and western Indiana have ever been so widely known or done a more extensive lousiness than John Thomas Harwood, of Crawfordsville, one of the enterprising, progressive and at the same time genial and obliging gentlemen who is deservedly popular with a very wide acquaintance.

Mr. Harwood was born in Brown township. ^lonlgumery county, April 23, 1862, and he is a son of Jackson and Carolina (Harrell) Harwood. The father was a native of Ohio and he came to Brown township, this county, in an early day and became the owner of eighty acres, and here farmed until the winter of i86'i when he enlisted in Company C, Fortieth Indiana Volunteer Infantr}', and served faithfully for six months when he was sent home on account of sickness. His death occurred here in August, 1862. He left a widow and se\en small children, the oldest under fourteen years of age. The mother of our subject was also a native of Ohio. Siie was a woman of courage and fortitude and by a hard struggle managed to rear her family in comfort and respectability, and she departed this life on the home farm in 1881.

John T. Harwood remained on the home place until he was nineteen years of age, assisting with the general work and attending the common schools during the winter months, then came to Crawfordsville and began working for a stock buyer, which he continued for a period of ten 3'ears, giving his employer entire satisfaction, then, lia\ing learned the ins and outs of -the business he branched out for himself, and has continued to the present day with ever increasing success. He operates in Montgomery and adjoining counties, and his total average business by months runs over twenty thousand dollars. He is one of the best known stock men in western Indiana and it would be difficult to find a more excellent judge of all grades of livestock. If all the stock purchased by him and shipped to the various markets during his business career were to be placed in one train it would reach over eight hundred miles. He has won the confidence and good will of all the farmers because of his honest dealings with them, and is regarded by all as a man of unquestioned integrity and honesty of purpose. He makes trips with live stock to Chicago, Indianapolis and East Buffalo, New York.

Politically, Mr. Harwood is a progressive Republican. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he belongs to the United Brethren church.

Hon. John L. Wilson

In the largest and best sense of the term, the late John Lockwood Wilson, United States Senator from the state of Washington, proprietor of the Seattle P ost-Intelligenccr , one of the greatest of American newspapers, and for many years one of the most prominent and useful citizens of Montgomery county, Indiana, was distinctively one of the notable men of his day and generation, and as such his life record is entitled to a conspicuous place in history, both local and national. As a citizen he was public spirited and enterprising to an unwonted degree; as a friend and neighbor, he combined the qualities of head and heart that won confidence and commanded respect; as a newspaper proprietor he had a comprehensive grasp upon the philosophy of journalism, and he brought honor and dignity to the public positions he filled with distinguished success; he was easily the peer of his professional brethren throughout the Union, and as a servant of the people in high places of honor he had no superiors.

Hon. John L. Wilson was born August 7, 1850. He was the son of James Wilson, who was the son of John Wilson, for whom the Senator was named. The grandfather came from Kentucky to Montgomeiy county, Indiana, when this section of the state was a wilderness and sparsely settled, and here James Wilson grew to manhood, and after his marriage he built a home in Crawfordsville on the north half of the quarter of the block which skirts the west side of Grant avenue between Wabash avenue and Pike street. It was a one-story house which later was purchased and repaired and which is now the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house. Here Senator Wilson was born. Later his father built a house on West Wabash avenue. It is asserted by some of the older citizens that James Wilson was the first white child born in Crawfordsville. When James Wilson grew to manhood he became one of the leading lawyers and most powerful speakers in western Indiana. He was the associate and practiced his profession at the same bar with Daniel W. Voorhees, Benjamin Harrison and Joseph McDonald, and was the peer of any of these distinguished citizens. In a race for Congress, Mr. Wilson defeated Mr. Voorhees. This campaign was a hotly contested one and the joint debates of these candidates is still a subject of interest to the older citizens of the country. James Wilson was later appointed minister to Venezuela, South America, by President Andrew Johnson, and while living there he died, and was buried there, but Ins remains were later removed to Oak Hill cemetery, in Crawfordsville.

John L. Wilson grew to manhood in Crawfordsville, and here received his educational training in the public schools and Wabash College, taking the classical course in the latter and was graduated with the class of 1874. He was a stanch supporter of his alma mater ever afterward. He never forgot Crawfordsville, and he told a friend just before his departure for Washington City of his plans to purchase a suburban home near the city of his birth and spend his declining years in it. He had even carried the plan so far as to have the place he wanted to buy selected.

In October, 1880, Mr. Wilson entered upon his political career when he was elected to the legislature of the state of Indiana. He there met the late Benjamin Harrison and a strong friendship grew out of this acquaintance. It was through the influence of Mr. Harrison when he was a United States senator that Mr. Wilson was named land agent at Colfax, which was then a frontier village in the territory of Washington. When our subject received this appointment he was in the abstract business in Crawfordsville and he fully expected to return when he left. But he failed to do so. He was sent to Congress as a delegate from Washington and was elected to Congress when that state was first admitted into the Union. Later he was chosen United States senator and held his office for four years, giving eminent satisfaction to his constituents and winning a national reputation as an inelligent, far-seeing, honorable statesman, who had the welfare of the people at heart. He discharged his duties with an ability and fidelity that won the admiration and confidence of all classes. In 1910 he started on a trip to Europe, but was recalled when he reached Crawfordsville, Indiana, by an urgent telegram from some of his influential political friends in Seattle, who insisted that he make the race for senator again. He reluctantly consented to sacrifice his personal comfort and gi\e uji the trip and went back to make (.SO)

The Senator's domestic Hfe began when he married Edna Hamihon Sweet, a lady of talent and culture, and a daughter of Samuel Hartman, a well known Crawfordsville business man. She survives as does one daughter, Mrs. H. Clay Goodloe of Lexington, Kentucky. Henry Lane Wilson is the only brother surviving. Howard Wilson, another brother, died in Crawfordsville about twenty years ago. Henry Lane ^Vilson is the present ambassador to Mexico.

Senator Wilson and the Post-Intclligcnccr, the great newspaper he built up in Seattle, were a power in the formation of the northwest. He was absolutely fearless in conducting his paper and many a man unworthv of the political preferment he sought felt the sharp sting of the editorial lash in that influential journal. Senator Wilson and his wife had started on a trip around the world, and they spent several days in Crawfordsville, visiting old friends, early in November, 1912, and from here they proceeded to Washington, D. C, where the Senator was suddenly stricken and died with little warning on Wednesday morning, November 6, 1912, at the age of sixty-two years. The body was brought back to Crawfordsville, Indiana, for interment in Oak Hill cemetery besides the graves of his father and mother. The funeral was one of the largest ever seen in this section of the state, and the floral tributes were never surpassed in either number or beauty, many of them coming from Seattle, Spokane, and other parts of the nation where the Senator was held in high esteem. Among the distinguished men attending the obsequies were Gov. Thomas R. Marshall and Charles W. Fairbanks, ex-Vice-President of the United States. Of the deceased the latter said: "We have learned with inexpressible sorrow of the death of Senator Wilson. This comes as a distinct shock to me for it was only a few days ago that I had the pleasure of chatting with him in this city. He was one of the best men I ever knew - a friend whom I esteeined in the \'ery highest degree."

President and Mrs.' Taft were among those who sent elaborate floral tributes, in memory of the great man who reached the highest office in the gift of the American people save one, a man who had a mind and a love for public affairs. His was an extraordinary series of achievements, made in competition with bright and ambitious minds in a community not exceeded in the world for enterprise and enthusiasm for success. We must ascribe to tlie man who did so much in thirty years certain qualities which differentiate him from the ordinary man. He climbed with dauntless persistence from comparative obscurity to large and honorable publicity.

"Senator \\'ilson was sincere and (_le\oted in friendship. Tn him a friend, even a political friend, was nut a mere stepping-stnnc. lie haled ingratitude and avoided it. In the most passionate and seltish game known to men he came through with the heart whole and the hands clean. Even when out of office and apart from direct political influence, no man was more sought by those desiring advice and help. The people of the country in which he lived and wrought for thirty years belie\ed in him. Xo one could ask for a greater reward.

"We would expect a man of -Mr. Wilson's temperament to be of generous disposition. Here we shall not be disappointed. He l>elie\ed in the great human right, a decent living. He urged that a fair day's work demanded fair pay. But what is far more important he illustrated his theory in every-day life. In the great publication enterprise he helped to fashion and perfect in the city of Seattle every man he paid to the limit of his earning, and ever}- bit of machinery is the latest and most efficient type. But this is mere justice to employes and the public. Generosity is something finer and of a more subtle beauty, even than justice. It is akin, if not identical, with mercy and mercy is the crowning quality of God himself. It is a great good fortune to those who are nearest our departed friends that they can think of him as one who loved much, who forgave much and was kind. God is merciful and far down the highway which all humans must travel and beyond that turn in the way which we call death we confidently hope to find those whom we ha\-e loxed and lost. In parting with Senator W^ilson, one who labored much, loved much and was generous, though he doubtless failed some, we say goodbye, but not farewell."

In private and political life Senator Wilson was a man of the strictest integrity, a bitter opponent of dishonesty, both public and private, a militant apostle of the Republican party which his father helped to found, died as he had lived, fighting for the principles he had espoused. The son of a father who had devoted his life to public service and helped to form the greatest political party of the United States, Senator \\'ilson will long be remen-ibered as a nian of fearless honesty, one w ho performed great services for the young state which he represented at the national capitol, a fighter for all that was just and helpful to the commonwealth. In 1894 when he appeared before the state convention at Spokane, he said of the trust reposed in him as Congressman from the state, 'You have clothed me with honors and authority,

Pending formal action by the board of trustees of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, of which Senator Wilson was an active member, the committee on state legislation of which the former Senator was chairman, and the committee on national affairs, of which he was acting chairman, together with the offices of the chamber met and adopted the following resolutions :

"In the death of Senator Wilson the state of Washington and the Chamber of Commerce sustained a loss which in many ways is irreparable. Since his retirement from active participation in politics two years ago, Senator Wilson had devoted practically all of his talents, time and indomitable energy toward the promotion and upbuilding of this state, and the territory of Alaska. He spent the whole of last winter and the preceding fall as the agent of this chamber, in organizing and combining the commercial bodies , of the entire Pacific coast in behalf of Alaska and pressing that territory's claims for relief before the various Congressional committees in Washington City. It is the simple truth to say that in three months Senator Wilson spent at the nation's capital in behalf of the measures in which the city of Seattle and the territory of Alaska are vitally concerned, he accomplished more in the way of actual results than all other efforts combined in the past five years. He wielded an influence at a time when he was an active member of the upper body.

"His intense loyalty to this city, state and the entire Pacific coast is exemplified by such monuments as the Puget Sound navy yard, Seattle assay office and other government institutions, the existence of which are due either wholly or largely to the influence, resourcefulness and persistence wielded by him in the halls of Congress.

"All his public utterances in the past two years have been an appeal to the patriotism of the people of this nation, and particularly to the younger men. The lofty sentiments which he expressed in recent addresses in this city, particularly at times when disloyalty and disrespect to the American flag was being evidenced in some quarters proved an inspiration to all patriotic men. His reverence for the constitution and its underlying principles as the foundation upon which the liberties of the American people rest, was breathed in his every public and private utterance."

The following appeared editorially in the Post-Iutclligcncer, and is from the pen of Scott C. Bone, present editor of that great daily, he having formerly been a resident of Indiana, and a man who knew the lamented Senator very intimately :

"To write of Senator Wilson today is more than heart can bear. So many memories of him crowd clear and fast; so many visions of him as he was last among us, that words lag, thoughts grow dim, wavering in tear mists, and the hand, hardened to the play of life and deatli wants courage for the task. We in this otifice knew him best and loved him best. Here he was father, brother, comrade, friend, and now, when grief is lieavy on us, when silent sorrow is sweet with consolation, we must treat, wlio was so dear, as a part of the dark day's work.

"He is gone. This we know. Never will lie be with us again. All the machinery of this newspaper, which was a part of him, his pride and his ambition, will move today, tomorrow, and the ne.xt da)'. But 'the Senator' will be no more. The nation has lost a patriot, the state a loyal, tireless servant and the city an eager friend, but the Post-Intelligencer has lost a heart and spul, a big, warm heart and a fine, clean soul. We cannot stop to mourn him, we to whom he was so very dear in lite. We can but go on as he would have wished us, telling the news of the day, the big and the little things of life, making a newspaper. And so, though dulled with pain, we will.

"No man in this state heard the news that John L. Wilson was dead but to pause and pay a tribute to him who had marked himself so deeply in the history of this common-wealth. Yet how idle to say that he will be missed and mourned. How futile any computation of the widespread regret! How empty-sounding the generalities of encomiums ! Every person in this state knows what manner of man John L. Wilson was, some better and more truly than others, perhaps, but all know him as a big, honest, fearless citizen, and can appraise their own loss.

"John L. Wilson loved his God, his country and his fellow man. He was true to himself, and of consequence to all else was true. The old strain of Nonconformist blood that ran in his veins held him fast to his ideals. Right to him was a thing to be fought for without compromise, and friendship was a duty, holy and enduring. It was for what he held to be right and in the cause of friendship that he fell and died as he himself would have wished, amid the clash of big events. Warned long since tliat his heart could stand no strain, certain only of defeat. Senator Wilson, weak ami weary though he was, against all pleas and advice went into the national contest undaunted. And now like a good soldier he lies, taking his rest.

"To make any adequate summing up of his life would need be the work of a biographer less hurried than a newspaper writer. To even enumerate his services to state and city is beyond newsjiaper limitations. Time will do him full justice and his name will loom large among the men of Washington. "Just now there is small solace in that thought to those in whose lives he played a daily part. We can't forget that he will not come, bantering and genial, into the editorial rooms at night, with a playful word for a copy boy, an anecdote for a reporter, or a mock anger to tease some editor. 'The easy boss' has said his last 'Good-night, boys," and has gone out into the long darkness, and we hope he hears us when we say, 'Good-night, Senator.' "

William Bryant

Whether the elements of success are innate attributes of the individual, or whether they are bred by the force and progress of circumstances, it is impossible to clearly decide; this much is certain - a great deal depends upon the person. In the person of the worthy old pioneer, now deceased, whose name heads this sketch, we have a sample of the race of people to whom this country is indebted for its development and progress. To such as William Bryant, Indiana owes much. Here and there, scattered over the broad acres of untilled and unbroken land, he and his people toiled - cleared, grubbed, ditched, burnt, and hewed - gradually opening the way, the result of which we see today in the broad and fertile farms of Montgomery county. Such were the pioneer farmers. They did not care for public gaze or approbation : their lot was an unpretentious one, and so they lived, quietly, happil)-, and in the love of their Master who guided their destinies.

William Bryant was born in Ross county, Ohio, on March 28, 1824, the son of William and Catherine (Lancisco) Bryant, who came to Ohio from the state of Virginia in a very early day. William Bryant, the subject of our sketch, came to Montgomery county, Indiana, as a boy from Ohio. At the age of twenty-one years his father gave him a team of horses and five hundred dollars cash. With this nucleus he built up an estate valued at two hundred thousand dollars. Starting in a log cabin hewn from the forest adjoining the prairie to which he came, he started the unequal struggle for the mastery of a new country. His energy and perseverance, always rewarded with substantial profit, gave courage to others and facilitated the settlement of this part of Indiana.

The first purchase that Mr. Bryant made was of forty acres of land. From his childhood days Mr. Bryant had been acquainted with the cattle business and when he came to the Hoosier state the whole land was a pasture

Colonel Hamilton was born on May 7, 1852, in Montgomery county, Indiana. He is a son of Nathaniel and Jane (Keeney) Hamilton. The father was born in Ohio, and the mother was born in Kentucky. The father was a carpenter by trade. Politically, he was a Republican, but was not a public man. He was twice married.

Colonel Hamilton received a good education in the common schools. He was married first to Lizzie Barnett, a native of Montgomery county. She is now deceased. Our subject was married the second time, his last wife being Rose Ballard, born in Montgomery county. Mrs. Hamilton was educated in the public schools.

Eight children were born to Colonel Hamilton and his first wife, six of whom are still living, namely: Mabel, Jennie, Albert, Hector B., Jessie and Wallace. To the last marriage one child was born, Walter.

Our subject made his start in life on the farm and this work has claimed his chief attention through life until today, having prospered with advancing years he is the owner of several good farms in Montgomery county, and he spends his summers in the country and his winters at his commodious home in Crawfordsville. He started as an auctioneer in 1878, having had a great deal of natural ability in that direction, as all must have who make a success, and he soon had quite a reputation here in his native county, and his reputation continued to grow, covering surrounding territory, and soon he found that his services were in great demand in Indianapolis, and he has been a successful and popular auctioneer in that city for the past twenty years, and he is well known throughout the state. One of his finest farms is that of three hundred and fifty acres in the western part of the county which is well improved and under a high state of cultivation. He believes in adopting all modern methods, wherein they are applicable to farming in this section of the country, and he studied modern methods of all k ids. He is a lover of fine live stock and some excellent grades are always to be seen on his farms.

Colonel Hamilton was reared in the faith of the Methodist church. Fraternally, he belongs to Lodge No. 223, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and to the Tribe of Ben-Hur, also the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically, he is a Progressive, and he made the race for sheriff of Montgomery county on that ticket in the campaign of 1912, but was defeated with the rest of the ticket, although making a splendid race.

Leroy L. Miller

All credit is due a man who succeeds in tiiis untoward world of ours in spite of obstacles and l)y persistency and energy gains a competence and a position of honor as a man and citizen. The record of Leroy L. Miller, widely known to the publishing world of western Indiana, where he has for decades been regarded as an exceptionally adroit printer, is that of such a man, for he came to Montgomery county in the days when she was beginning her rapid growth following the pioneer period, and here worked out his way to definite success. He quickly adapted himself to changing conditions, and has labored so consecutively and eiTectively that in due course of time he became proprietor of a thriving business in Crawfordsville.

Mr. Miller was born on November 7, i860 at Cambridge Cit}-, Wayne county, Indiana. He is a son of Abraham and Sophia (Potts) Miller. The mother was born in October, 1834, in Chillicothe, Ohio, and when a young girl she moved with her parents to Logansport, Indiana, where she grew to womanhood, received her education and there she and Abraham Miller were married in the year 1848. The mother of the subject died on Julv 12, 1883, in Crawfordsville.

Seven children were Ijorn to Abraham Miller and wife, named as follows; five of them still living: Mary died in Logansport; Charles A. died in Indianapolis; Nora, Leroy L. (subject), Isaac Newton, living in South Bend; Otis is in the grocery business at Frankfort; W'illiam R., born I-'ebruary 3, 1879, is in the office with his brother, Leroy L.

The father. Abraham Miller, was a contractor and builder l)y occupation and became well known in this section of the state. Fraternally, he was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Knights of Pythias, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a charter member of the Knights of Pythias here. During the Civil war he enlisted in an Indiana regiment in 1864, and served very faithfully.

In view of the prominence of Abraham Miller in this locality and of the good he did as an Odd Fellow and the splendid example he set as a citizen, the biographer deems it entirely appropriate to here reproduce the memorial address delivered by J. R. Etter before Bethesda Encampment No. 15, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Mount Zion church, Crawfordsville, June 24, 1906. He said:

Brother Abraham Miller, deceased. I accepted the charge, feeling sensibly my inability to render to his memory even a tithe of the excellencies which his noble, self- sacrificing life deserves. I feel that honor should have been assigned to older and wiser heads than mine - to some of the old and true patriarchs who had so long labored side by side with him in the cause of humanity, practicing friendship, love and truth, - faith, hope and charity.

"Patriarch Miller was born in Germantown, Hamilton county, Ohio, April 21, 1905, being at the time of his death a few days over eighty- four years old. Though old in years, in his happy and joyous nature, he was ever a boy when with the young, feeling that it was his duty to mingle with them on their own level, to joke and have fun with them, to cheer them on to better and nobler lives, to make them feel that they need no fear of him on account of his gray hairs, but that he was their friend and counselor at all times. By virtue of this one trait in his character, he was enabled to do much good among the rising generation. He was never too busy to give a smile or kind word to a child, to a youth or to one of mature years - no one spoke to him that they did not get a kind and courteous answer.

"His parents moved from Ohio to Cambridge City, Indiana, in 1826. He worked on his father's farm until he was nineteen years old, and then went to Logansport, Indiana, being gone two years before his parents knew where he was. When they had located him they sent G. W. Miller on horseback all that distance to learn of his condition - to know what he was doing. Mr. Miller arrived there September 6, 1848, just two days before Patriarch Miller was married to Sophia Potts, wath whom he lived a little over thirtyfive years. To them five sons and two daughters were bom. All the sons became Odd Fellows. Can a stronger proof be offered of his devotion to the Order than that he led five sons into its fold? He lived in Crawfordsville forty year.s - long enough that all might be able to measure his good or bad qualities. He was a positive man ; when he saw wrong he did not hesitate to condemn it in the most positive terms, and when he saw good, he was ready to praise it - thus he was a man whom everyone knew where to find. He was not a friend to your face and an enemy to your back; he did not hide his light under a bushel to please the public; but he did what he thought was best for the individual and community, regardless of what might be said about him. Oh, how much better would the world be, if all men could be so easily found - could be relied on to stand by their convictions. When he formed a friend.ship, or entered into an alliance with anyone, he was never knewn to betray it, but he stood on the full measure of his promise.

"In trying to hnd out when Patriarch Miller was initiated into Odd Fellowship, and when he joined the encampment, I wrote to the secretary of Wayne Lodge, No. 17, Cambridge City, Indiana, also to the scribe of Hormah Encampment, No. 11, at that place. Both of these informed me that their records had been burned up in 1876, and that they had no way of telling when he joined either the Subordinate Lodge or the EncamjMnent there, Init they atlded that old members said that he was a memlier of the Subordinate Lodge and Encampment before the records were Ijurned. The secretary of Wayne Lodge added, 'But, from all to whom I have talked, I learn that he was a good and true Odd Fellow.'

"Can I say more than this - that he was a good and true Odd Fellow? Can you think of a higher tribute to any man, than that he was a good and true Odd Fellow? If a man lives up to the teachings of Odd Fellowship, he must be one of God's noblest sons. After much investigation, I have ascertained from reliable authority, Patriarch Miller joined Wayne Lodge, No. 17, 1855, and that he affiliated with Hormah Encampment, No. 11, 1837. Patriarch Miller was admitted to Bethesda Encampment, No. 15, at Crawfordsville, December 15, 1868, and was mustered into Canton Fidelitv, No. 50, September 8, 1901, Fie was a member of Mai'tha Washington Rebekah Lodge, No. 13. He was a Past Grand and a Past Chief Patriarch, having received all the honors that a Subordinate Lodge and Encampment could confer on him.

"He placed his foot on the first round of the ladder of Odd Fellowship in \\'ayne Lodge, No. 17, where man was represented as in darkness and in chains; he gazed there on the emlalem of the last resting place of man, and was restored to light and liberty. He was taught to faithfully regard the mysteries of the Order as sacred - he learned the lessons of the Past Grand. Then he journeyed on, and the love of Jonathan and David was exhibited, and he learned the lesson w'hich he never forgot. He traveled down the road to Jerico - oh, how many of us travel that road, and how many are beaten and robbed on the way! He saw the Israelite wounded and bleeding on the highway : he saw the Priest and Le\ite pass by on the other side ; he saw the Good Samaritan pour balm intu his wounds, take him to the inn and pa}' for his care. He learned that the true priest was not of the temple, and the true Levite not of the altar. As a good Samaritan he went about doing good. No Odd Fellow was ever sick within his reach, that he did not visit almost daily. The principles of truth, as taught in our Order, were

"When he had learned the lessons of friendship, love and truth, as taught in the Subordinate branch of the Order, he longed to know more, and entered the Encampment, serving his time as a herdsman, visiting Abraham's tent, partaking of the symbol of hospitality. He passed to the Golden Rule, where he was instructed in the principles of toleration and had impressed on his mind the beautiful lesson, "Do unto others as you would that others should do unto you.' He was exalted to the Royal Purple Degree, traveling across the wilderness of Paran, meeting and overcoming the difficulties on the way, and learning that the evil reports so often circulated against men, are not always tnie. Thus faith, hope and charity were added to his store of knowledge - the greatest of which charity, which was his guiding star throughout his life.

"He was mustered into Canton Fidelity, No. 50, September 8, 1901, and was an honored Chevalier at the time of his death. Thus he had advanced, step by step, through all tlie gradations of Odd Fellowship, until he has fully attained a knowledge of its intrinsic excellencies, of its adaptation for the promotion of good will among men, and of its fitness as a minister in the trials and adversities which are inseparable from human life, and that it thus presented a broad platform upon which mankind could unite in offices of human benefaction.

"On the evening of January 29, 1902, it being the forty-first anniversary of Crawfordsville Lodge, No. 223, brother Abraham Miller was presented with a 'Veteran Jewel', which emblematical of twenty-five years or more of continuous membership in the Order. During all these twenty-five years and more, he had been in good standing, had paid his tithe to assist his brothers in all the adversities that fall to human life. This is the best evidence we have that he learned well the lessons of friendship, love and truth - three cardinal virtues that go to make up the sum of human life, that bind up the wounds of distress, soothe the weary heart, and make life worth the living. No more constant friend could anyone have than he was. His love for his fellow man should be to us a guiding star for our actions along the journey of life. He was one of the most regular attendants at lodge in all the branches. If he was not there, the first question was, 'Is he sick?' To visit the sick and relieve distress was his great aim in life. Even in his old days the weather was never too bad for him to visit a sick brother almost every day. His constant looking after the sick became so well known that, when there was any doubt as to a sick brother's condition, everv member instinctixely would say, 'Brother Abraham Miller will know.' He was always busy; he was industrious; he never loafed when there was anything to do; and let me say, in passing, that an industrious man lias no time to gossip about his neighbors or to meddle with their business. 1 have not the talent of a Raphael, or might have painted a picture more pleasing to the eye - I have not the oratory of a Demosthenes, or 1 might have done him more justice in words. But I have said enough, and said it truthfully, that those who knew him can fill in between the lines, and thus finish the story of this grand and useful life devoted to amelioration of his fellow men.

"Although a peace-loving man, he never forgot the injunction that 'you can not become an Odd Fellow in spirit and in truth, unless you are grateful to your Creator, faithful to your country, and fraternal to your fellow man.' In the late war, he gave his service for the cause of the Union, enlisting in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged at the end of that bloody conflict. As Odd Fellows, we are taught 'To be faithful to the country in which we live.' How well he learned the lesson recited above, was pro\'en Ijy his offering his life for his country.

"The life and labors of Patriarch Miller should be a talisman to point out to us the way we should go. He has crossed over the great sea that divides the now from the future. Our feeble eulogies can not make him Ijetter or worse - now. But what lessons can we, as Odd Fellows, learn from his life! One is that we should recognize the good qualities of a jjrother while he lives - should give him praise for what he does ; this will make him know his efforts are appreciated by us. .\nother is that we should emulate his example and 'do unto others as we would that others should do unto us.' If his life-work taught us only this one thing, he did not live in vain. When the spark of life had fled from him and he was but inanimate clay, we cast flowers on his bier. Oh, how much more happy would he have been if we had scattered flowers along his pathway while he lived - flowers of gratitude and appreciation for what he was doing. How much nmre would all of us do for humanity, if only our brothers would show that they realized our worth. But how silent they are, till the clods of the valley cover us from the sight of human eyes. Let us, as Odd Fellows, adopt a new tablet on which shall be written, 'the good that each member does' - while he lives."

Leroy L. Miller, the immediate subject of this sketch, was seven years old when his parents brought him to Crawfordsville in 1867. Here he grew to manhood, received a common school education, and here he has spent most of his life ever since. He began in the printing business in 1875, remaining thus engaged until 1883, mastering the ins and outs of the same and getting a good start in hfe. He then entered the same field of endeavor for himself in 1884. but soon he went to Peru, Indiana, where, with a partner, he started The Peru Daily Journal, but returned to Crawfordsville in the spring of 1885 and purchased the business he formerly owned. In 1888 his business was christened the New Indiana Printing Company. It is a private business, Mr. Miller being the sole manager and his energ\' and good judgment has resulted in building up a very large and rapidly growing business. His plant is well equipped with all modern presses, styles of type and other necessaiy apparatus found in an up-to-date printing house, insuring prompt and highgrade work, and only skilled help is employed. Besides his large printing establishment he owns a comfortable home in Crawfordsville.

Mr. Miller was married on Apri 30, 1885, to Harriet A. Binford. She was born on February 17, 1863, in Montgomery county. She is a daughter of Caleb and Emily Jane (Allen) Binford. The father was born on April 22, 1834, and the mother was born on October 30. 1835. The death of Caleb Binford occurred on January 11, 1879, and his wife followed him to the grave a few months later, dying on August 18, 1879.

Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Miller, namely : Binford R., born February 20, 1887, received his education in the public schools and Wabash College, and he is now associated with his father in the management of the Indiana Printing Company; Agnes Emily, born October 17, 1890, is a graduate of the high school; Hugh H., born March 12, 1893, is a graduate of the high school and a student in Wabash College at this writing.

Politically, Mr. Miller is a Republican, and fraternally he belongs to the Masonic Order. Montgomery Lodge, No. 50, also the Council, Chapter and Commandery and is a Shriner; he is also a member of the Tribe of Ben-Hur and the Modern Woodmen. He holds membership with the Center Presbyterian church in Crawfordsville.

David H. Remley

It is a matter of doubt which is the greater heritage, a distinguished name or a goodly estate. Some persons would choose one and some the other, depending wholly on their feelings and judgment combined. But wben the two are sent down to descendants together, the permanent standing of such descendants in the community will never be questioned, so far as the heritage is concerned. The average citizen of the United States can hand down no greater heritage to his children than an unblemished reputation, as has been done in the Reniley family, one of the best known, oldest, and most highly honored in Montgomery county. David H. Remley, the immediate subject of this sketch, was fortunate in being the son of such a worthy character as John Remley, who, for a long stretch of years was one of the most representative citizens of this county, a man whom to kmiw \\;is tr> trust and admire, for he was enterprising, genial, neighbnrly. kind and public-spirited, never failing to lend such aid as was possible in furthering any principles of good. The subject of this sketch, one of our worthiest native sons, most substantial agriculturists, and widely known citizens, has long ranked among the leading men of affairs here, and it is to such enterprising spirits as he, his father, and brothers, that this locality is indebted for its marked and continuous growth and for the high position it occupies as a center of agriculture, live stock and industrial activity. He has always been held in the highest esteem by the people of this locality owing to his life of industry, public spirit and exemplaiy habits, and thus for many reasons he is eminently entitled to a conspicuous place in the pages of the present biographical compendium.

David H. Remley was born in Union township, Montgomery county, Indiana, December 21, 1S44. He is a son of John and Sarah (McCain ) Remley. In view of the fact that a complete sketch of John Remley and family appears on other pages of this \-olume, it is not deemed necessary to repeat same here.

David H. Remley was reared on the home farm and here he has always resided, never caring to follow the wanderlust spirit to unexplored fields or much less to the false allurements of the city. When a boy he assisted with the general work on the farm and he received his education in the district schools. On March 10, 1870 he was united in marriage to Elizabeth A. Busenbark. She was a native of Montgomery county, Indiana, where her people have long been well known, and here she grew to womanhood and received her educational training.

Mr. Remley has kept the old homestead well improved and under a high state of cultivation, so skilfully managing the same that it has retained its original strength and fertility of soil. He carries on general farming on an extensive scale and has paid special attention to handling li\'estock, of which he is a good judge. Everything about the place denotes good management and good taste. He is one of the leading members of the local Presbyterian church.

Samuel N. Warbritton

One of the venerable agriculturists of Montgomery county and one of her worthiest native born sons is Samuel N. Warbritton, of Scott township, a man who has lived to see and take part in the great development that has characterized this nature-favored Wabash Valley country, he having come down to us from the pioneer period, his life of eighty-two years being fraught with blessings to those with whom he has come into contact, for he has sought to live uprightly and honorajsly and faithfully discharge his every duty as a public-spirited citizen. In the development and upbuilding of the community in which is situated his home, Mr. Warbritton has ever borne his part, and his faithful performance of the duties of citizenship deserve all credit. It has often been said that the farmers are the backbone and strength of a country's prosperity, and this has been proven to be true time and again in the history of nations. In the person of the subject we see one of those who, following that peaceful vocation, have "builded wiser than they knew," and have left to their children and country the benefits accruing from their years of well-spent toil and effort, and are therefore eligible to representation in the pages of the histories of their country.

Mr. Warbritton was born on December 3, 183 1, in Scott township, Montgomery county, Indiana, and is therefore one of the oldest native born citizens in this township or even the county. He is a son of Peter and Phoebe (Nelson) Warbritton. The father was born in Virginia, from which state he came to Kentucky when four years old and there grew to manhood. The date of his birth was February 13, 1804. His death occurred in 1897. The mother of our subject was born in Kentucky in the year 1814, and her death occurred in 1886. These parents spent their lives engaged in agricultural pursuits, and by hard work and persistency established a good home. They were the parents of thirteen children, nine of whom are still living, including all the sons, eight in number. These children were named as follows : Martha J., who married a Mr. Grimes, is deceased; Samuel N., of this sketch; John, Reuben, Charles; Sarah Frances is the only surviving daughter; Henry, Andrew J., Minnie, Cynthia Ann, and Mahala are all three deceased ; Daniel and George are the two youngest.

Samuel N. Warbritton grew to manhood in his native community and when a boy he assisted with the general work on the home place. His education was limited to the common schools in his district and to one term in the graded school at Ladoga. The home school he attended was in a log cabin, with split logs for benches, greased paper for \vindo\v panes and a wide fireplace in one end of the room, logs six feet long being used in building fires. There were no free schools in those days, only subscription schools, each pupil paying a small tuition fee.

On December 20, 1855, Mr. Warbritton was united in marriage to Amelia Ann Seaman, who was born in Brown township, Montgomery county, November 12, 1836. She was a daughter of Benjamin F. and Winifred (Jones) Seaman. Her education was also obtained in the log school houses of her native community. Ten children were born to our subject and wife, four of whom are still living, namely : Mary is deceased ; Emma, bom October 22, 1857, married W. C. Kern, and they live in New Market, this county; Allilia L. is deceased; Lula was next in order; John F. and Albert are both living; Bertha, Pearl, Stella and Mabel are all deceased.

Mr. Warbritton began farming for himself early in life, and this continued to be his vocation until 1910, when he retired. He was a hard worker and good manager, and a large measure of success as a general farmer and stock raiser attended his efforts. He farmed in Parke county a few years, living in the city of Rockville. He became the owner of one hundred and seven acres of valuable and productive land in Scott township, adjoining the town of New Market, every foot of which is tillable. He sold this farm in 1910. In connection with general farming and stock raising, Mr. Warbritton bought and shipped live stock for a period of twenty years, becoming one of the best known stock men in this part of the country. He owns a comfortable home in New JMarket, also three acres of valuable land within the limits of the town.

Religiouslv, he is a member of the Christian church, and was a trustee in the same for a period of thirty years. He has always been a Republican until the fall of 1912, when he allied himself with the new Progressive movement. He feels that he has always been on the right side religiously and politicallv. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party back in the fifties. He has long been influential in local political affairs, and has served seventeen years in Montgomery county as justice of the peace, having been elected in 1862. He has served in this capacity in both Scott and Brown townships. He gave eminent satisfaction in this office, his decisions being noted for their fairness and comprehensive knowledge of the basic principles of jurisprudence, and few of them ever met with reversal at the hands of a higher tribunal. He regrets to say that he feels he has seen the beginning and the end of the great Republican party. He has always been a great reader (51) and is exceptionally well posted on current events. He says he has read everything from "Peck's Bad Boy" up. He has an excellent library, and he is an intelligent and interesting conversationalist. Notwithstanding their advanced ages, the subject and wife in the summer of 1912 traveled through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa alone, and very much enjoyed the trip. They have comparatively good health, are alert and active in both mind and body, and they are often visited in their cozy home in New Market by their many friends, their home being one of the best, largest and neatly furnished in this town. It is a nine-roomed, two-story home in a large, well-kept lawn and with a fine barn in the rear of the well-located lot. They are a fine old couple, and it is a pleasure to know them and share their hospitality.

Clyde Harvey Hunter

The prosperity and substantial welfare of a town or community are in a large measure due to the enterprise and wise foresight of its business men. It is progressive, wide-awake men of affairs that make the real history of a community and their influence in shaping and directing its varied interests is difficult to estimate. Clyde Harvey Hunter, formerly a hotel man, now engaged in the lumber business at the town of Wingate, Montgomery county, is one of the enterprising spirits to whom is due the recent substantial growth of the town whose interests he has at heart. With a mind capable of planning, he has a will strong enough to execute his well- formulated purposes and his great energy, keen discrimination, and sticktoitiveness have resulted in material success. Many of these commendable qualities he seems to have inherited from his worthy father, who has also long been one of the substantial citizens of Paxton, Illinois.

Clyde H. Hunter was born in Belle Rive, Illinois, December 5, 1883. He is a son of William Harrison Hunter, who was bom in Rush county, Indiana, in 1847. He has for many years been one of the enterprising business men of Paxton. Illinois, where he is living a retired life.

The mother of our subject was known in her maidenhood as Olive Rotramel, and she was born in Illinois in 1855. These parents are now living in the town of Paxton, Illinois. William H. Hunter has always followed the lumber business and is one of the best known lumber men in this section of the state. During the Civil war he enlisted in 1861 in the Forty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was later transferred to the Ninety-fourth

Clyde H. Hunter received a good common school education, later attending the Culver Military College, then spent a year in the University of Wisconsin at Madison, also one year in the University of Illinois at Champaign. Thus well equipped for life's duties he took charge of the Inn Hotel at Wawasee, Indiana, which he conducted successfully for a period of two years. On January i, 191 2 he came to Wingate and took charge of his father's lumber yard, which ix:)sition he still holds, and is doing much to further the prestige and business of the same, being in partnership with his father. They own the only lumber yard in Wingate. They own a large, substantial brick building, and they handle on an average fifteen thousand feet of lumber. This yard was purchased by the father of our subject in 1909.

Clyde H. Wingate is a Republican ])olitically. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally is a member of the Masonic Order.

Basil Tr.Acey Merrell

There is no positive rule for achie\'ing success, and yet in the life of the successful man there are always lessons which might well be followed. The man who gains prosperity is he who can see and utilize the opportunity that comes in his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same, the surroundings of individuals differing but slightly, and when one man passes another on the highway of life to reach the goal of prosperity before others who perhaps started out in life before him, it is because he has the power to use advantages which probably encompass the whole human race. Today among the prominent and successful agriculturists and business men of Union township, Montgomery county, is Basil Tracey Merrell, who maintains his pleasant home in Crawfordsville. The qualities of keen discrimination, sound judgment and executive ability enter very largely into his makeup and have been contributing elements to the material success which has come to him.

Mr. Merrell was born in Wayne township, this county, July 17, 1853. He is a son of Daniel and Anna (Tracey) Merrell, a pioneer and highly respected farming family of Wayne township. The father was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1819. His grandfather was a native of England, and died there at an advanced age. Benjamin Merrell, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Ohio, being a representative of one of the first settlers of that state, and from there he came with his family to Montgomery county, Indiana, in 1827, locating among the pioneers, being one of the first settlers in what is now Ripley township, entering land from the government on the Perryville road, and here his death occurred a few years later before he had finished the hard task of developing the place from the wilderness. It was in the year 1833 that he died, but his widow survived many years, dying at an advanced age in 1879. Six children were bom to them, namely: Daniel, father of our subject; Sarah, who married William White, of Illinois, and died in Wayne township, this county, Anna, who first married a Mr. Boyd, and after his death became the wife of a Mr. Brown, who died while on a trip to California; Effie who married a Mr. White and lived in Illinois thereafter until her death; James, who was born after the family came to Indiana, established his home in Grant county, and who married Rosanna Reede; and John, who was also born in this state, was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and died from a disease contracted while in the army.

When Daniel Merrell started out in life for himself, he went to Waynetown, where he worked at the cooper's trade. Saving his earnings, he subsequently purchased eighty acres of land, continuing to work at his trade until he had paid for the place. As he prospered' through hard work and good management, he added to his original eighty, from time to time, until he became the owner of one hundred and one acres of valuable land, and this he placed under good improvements and a fine state of cultivation. While living in Waynetown, fire destroyed his residence, but nothing daunted, he forged ahead and became a man of easy circumstances, building a substantial residence and barn on his farm in 1880.

Daniel Merrell and Ann Tracey were married in Wayne township, this county in 1843. She was a daughter of Basil Tracey and wife. After a happy married life of eighteen years, Mrs. Merrell was called to her rest in 1861. Eight children were born to them, namely: Mary Elizabeth, born in 1844, married a Mr. Shipman, a farmer of Benton county, Indiana; Sarah Ann, born in 1847, died in 1848; Lydia, born in 1849, married J. H. Biddle, of Benton county; Thomas, born in 1851, died in 1852; Basil T., subject of this sketch; Nancy A., who was born in 1856, died in 1886; William B., who was born in 1858, married a Miss Rusk, of Moundsville, Missouri; and John D., who was born in i860, married Maggie Johnson, and lie established himself on his father's farm. Daniel Merrell, father of the above named children, was a second time married, in 1863, this time to Mary Combs, who was a native of Kentucky. In 1S91 his second wife died.

Daniel ]\lerrell was a Democrat in politics, and a Baptist in religious matters. He took the interest of a good citizen in local public affairs and held a number of minor offices, having for many years discharged the duties of justice of the peace and assessor, also supervisor of his township. He was known to all his neighbors as a man of unblemished reputation, kind, honest and charitable. He was summoned to his eternal rest in 1897.

Basil T. Merrell grew to manhood on his father's farm and there he assisted with the general work when a boy, and he received a common school education. He left the farm when sixteen years of age and learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for some time, finally branching out into the contracting business which he followed with success for four years, then entered a furniture store, in connection with which he had an undertaking establishment, at Waynetown, and this line of endeavor he continued for a period of fifteen years with much success, then he purchased the old home farm which he has continued to operate, keeping it well improved and under a high state of cultivation, and in connection with general farming he has handled a good grade of live stock. In company with William Rider he organized the Waynetown Bank, of which he became vice-president, spending twelve years in the bank and on the farm, making both a pronounced success. In 1898 he was elected county treasurer in which ofiice he sensed two years with much satisfaction to his constituents, and they re-elected him to the same important position in 1902, and again in 1906, thus serving six years in this office in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the praise of all concerned.

Mr. Merrell assisted iriithe organization of tlie Crawfordsville State Bank in 1904, since which time he has served as director in this popular institution. All the while he has continued to manage his farm. He has an attractive residence in Crawfordsville. He has been \'ery successful from a financial standpoint. He is business manager of the Craivfordsville Review.

Politically, he is a Democrat and has long been active and influential in the ranks. He was county chairman for three times, and he piloted the party into power the last two campaigns.

Fraternally, Mr. Merrell is also well known. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, having attained the Knight Templar degrees, also belongs to the

Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, also is a member of all branches of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and holds membership with the Tribe of Ben-Hur, the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

The domestic life of Mr. Merrell began on July 13, 1873, when he was united in marriage to a lady of refinement and a representative of a highly esteemed family, Nannie Bonnell, daughter of Alfred and Catherine (Edwards) Bonnell.

The union of our subject and wife has been blessed by the birth of six children, namely: Alfred D., of Crawfordsville; Etta, wife of C. B. Munns, of Waynetown ; William, a farmer of Wayne township ; Stella is the wife of E. Bold, of Waynetown; Clarence F., an attorney at Fargo, North Dakota; Ruth, is attending college at Oberlin, Ohio.

Daniel Remley

In many respects the career of Daniel Remley, long one of the most progressive agriculturists and stock raisers of Montgomery county, who is now living, practically retired from the active duties of life, in the city of Crawfordsville, is peculiarly instructive in that it shows what a^well defined purpose, supplemented by correct principles and high ideals, can accomplish when one has ambition to succeed along legitimate and well defined lines. The splendid success which has come to Mr. Remley is directly traceable to the salient points in his character. With a mind capable of planning, he combined a will strong enough to execute his well-formulated purposes, and his great energ)', sound judgment, keen discrimination and perseverance have resulted in the accumulation of a handsome property. He is a scion of one of the old and influential pioneer families of Montgomery county, the excellent reputation of which he has kept unsullied.

Daniel Remley was born on the old homestead west of Crawfordsville, on July 8, 1841. He is a son of John and Sarah (McCain) Remley, a complete sketch of whom is found on other pages of this volume.

Our subject grew to manhood in Union township, assisting with the general work on the large home farm, and he received his early education in the district schools. He continued to work at home until he was thirty-two years of age, when he removed to a farm given him by his father, a valuable piece of land in Walnut township. It was a very attractive, productive and desir- able farm, comprising two hundred acres of well-tiled land, highly cultivated and provided with a modern and well-appointed set of buildings. Here he continued to carry on general farming and stock raising until a few years ago when he removed to Crawfordsville for the purpose of educating his children. He had been very successful in a financial way, haxing managed well, especiall)- as a stock man, haxing kept standard grades of Ii\-estock of all kinds on his place.

Mr. Remley was married on January 25, 1872 to Angie Stout, who was born March 29, 1854, in Union township, this county, and here she grew to womanhood and was educated in the local schools. She is a daughter of Joel and Lucinda (Switzer) Stout. Joel Stout, was a farmer who owned a good farm west of Crawfordsville. He was lx)rn in Fayette county, Indiana, and was a son of William Stout, who came to tliis state from Butler county, Ohio. He married Esther Turner, and to this union nine children were born. \\'ilson Stout was one of the early settlers of the county, and located on an excellent farm west of Crawfordsville. Joel Stout came to Montgomery county when a young man and here he and Lucinda Switzer were married. She was a daughter of Peter Switzer, and a relative of General U. S. Grant. The father of Peter Switzer was a native of Virginia, whose father had come to this country from Switzerland. Peter Switzer's mother was a daughter of Peter Grant. His parents were reared and married in Kentucky, and in 1829, removed to Indiana, settling on a farm west of Cra\vfords\'ille. Peter Switzer lived to up towards the century mark. The Switzers were all Methodists in religion, and Republicans in politics. Ten children were born to Peter Grant Switzer and wife. The death of Mrs. Lucinda Stout occurred on January 25, 1888.

To Daniel Remley and wife three children were born, namely : James Albert, is a successful farmer in Union township, this county; Ollie, who is deceased, was an artist of rare ability, painting in oils or using crayons with equal skill; Ethel, who is also talented as an artist, is living at home.

Daniel Remley has long been numljered among the liest citizens of his native county, and his home is associated with much that has forwarded its interests, both materially and in a higher sense. He is active in religious matters, being an elder in the Union Presbyterian church of Walnut township for many years. His father was one of the founders of that church. His wife and children are also members of this church, and all have been identified with Sunday school work. Politically, Mr. Remley is a Republican. He is a member of the National Horse Thief Detective Association.

William S. Coon

Among the well-to-do and reputable agriculturists of Montgomery county none occupy a more honorable position in the regard of his colleagues than the gentleman whose name heads this article. He is a student of everything that pertains to his vocation and has always adopted the best of improved methods of cultivating the soil and in raising live stock. He is well regarded in his community not only because of his industry but also because of his readiness to lend whatever aid that is demanded of him in furthering movements calculated to further the material, civic and moral affairs of Coal Creek township, and Montgomery county.

William S. Coon was born on February 20, 1856 in Fountain county, Indiana. He is a son of Isaac and Ruth (Stephens) Coon. The father was born in Ohio in 1823, and the mother was born in Indiana in 1826. Here she grew to womanhood, received a common school education and spent her life, dying on September 29, 1859. The father of our subject spent his earlier years in his native state, and there received a public school education, but removed from Ohio to Indiana when a boy and here he spent the residue of his years, devoting his life to general farming, becoming well established in Fountain county. He reached the advanced age of eighty years, being called to his reward on January 5, 1893.

Isaac Coon became the father of sixteen children, nine of whom are still living. He was twice married, and there was an equal number of children born of each marriage - eight.

William S. Coon grew to manhood on the home farm and there in Fountain county he received a good common school education. On September 4, 1878 he was united in marriage to Mary C. Koon, (no relation). Mrs. Coon was born on September 4, 1859, in Coal Creek township, Montgomery county, and hence she grew to womanhood and received a common school education. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Temple) Koon, the father a native of Kentucky, and the mother of Ohio. They received the usual educational advantages of their time and spent their mature years in Indiana, becoming well established in Coal Creek township, Montgomery county. Two children were born to them, Mary C, wife of our subject; and a son, deceased.

Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. William S. Coon, namely : Calvin, born July 2. 1879, is married and lives at Wingate; Christopher, born July II, 1880, is married and lives on the county line; Clarence, born August 31, 1881, is married and also lives on the county line; Clifford, born June 4,

1883, is married and lives in Coal Creek township, this county; Clyde, born May 27, 1892, lives at home, assisting his father with the general work on the farm; Cora, born October 24, 1901, is attending the home schools.

William S. Coon has always devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, with ever increasing success, until he is today owner of one of the choice and finely improved faniis of Coal Creek township, consisting of two hundred and eighty-four acres. It is all tillable and is under a high state of cultivation, and is well tilled. On.r subject has always handled a good grade of live stock. He built the residence which he and his family still occupy when he first took possession of the place.

John R. Crane

The name of John R. Crane is well known over the northwestern part of Montgomery county wliere he has long been engaged extensively as a buyer and shipper of live stock, and he has also followed general farming successfully in the vicinity of the town of Wingate. He is a man whom the farmers have learned to rely upon, consequently he is one of the most successful stock buyers that this locality has ever known.

Mr. Crane was born on September 28, 1857 in Fountain county, Indiana. He is a son of Joel and Mary (Taylor) Crane. Tlie birth of the father occurred in 1817 in Warren county, Ohio, from which state he came to Indiana when a boy and here he became a prosperous farmer and a well known citizen of Fountain county, dying in the year 1902. The mother of our subject was born in Kentucky, and she too reached an advanced age. dying in 1900. The\' were a hard-working, hospitable, honest couple who were well liked by all their neighbors. They recei\'ed meagre education in the common schools of their day, and they spent their lives engaged in general farming. Their family consisted of seven children, all sons, namely : Oliver H., Louis C, Cyrus, John R. (our subject), A. F., J. W., and Ira A. They were all reared on the farm and assisted tlieir father with the work on the same during their boyhood days, and they had the advantages of good common schools.

John R. Crane began life for himself as a general farmer which had remained one of his chief vocations, however, he now turns his attention very largelv to handling of live stock, which he raises, buys, and ships, and is doing an extensive business. He is the owner of eighty acres of land in Fountain county, which is well improved and productive. He resides in a pleasant, large home in Wingate, and he has a fine ten acre feed lot in the same town. He has been very successful in his life work, and is one of the substantial men of Coal Creek township.

Politically, Mr. Crane is a Republican, but he has never sought public office. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias, both at Wingate.

Mr. Crane has been twice married, uniting with his second wife on November 27, 1902. This union was to Mrs. Carrie O. (Webb) Butler, she having been previously married to a Mr. Butler. She is a daughter of Horace and Sarah Ann (Phillip) Webb, a highly respected family. Mrs. Crane received a good common school education.

Mr. Crane's second union has been without issue, but there were three children by his first wife, living, namely: Abel C, Lulla and J. Forrest. These children are all living at home and have received excellent educational advantages of which they are making the most. The family is well known in this neighborhood and, being neighborly and of good personal characteristics thev are liked by all who know them.

Ben S. Myers

The Old Dominion, "the mother of Presidents," has perhaps sent from her vast domain of rich valley and rugged mountain more people "worth while," who have gone into other states of the Union and there proved their mettle by what they have done in the way of upbuilding new localities, than any other, the great Empire state not excepted. The Virginians are also universally noted for their hospitality and genial address. One of these worthy sons, one of the few who has selected Montgomery county, Indiana, is Ben S. Myers, for many years one of the most extensive and active contractors of Crawfordsville, known throughout the United States and Canada, also as an expert poultry judge. He maintains here a large establishment, making shipments of his superior grade of fowls and fancy eggs, and no man in Indiana is regarded as a better authority in this line, or indeed, in any other state as to that matter. Poultry raising has been given a great impetus by him, and he has done much to better the grades. Not so very long ago when those who de\-oted their attention exclusively to raising poultry were com- paratively few, this line of endeavor was sort of a side line with farmers; but during the past decade conditions have changed and e\erywhere we find men prospering bj^ giving their exclusive attention to the raising of poultry, all kinds and colors being raised, each fancying his breed is the best. But notwithstanding this increase, the demand is still far in excess of the supply, which fact renders it certain that the poultry business will continue to be one of the important industries of the country.

Mr. Myers was born in the state of Virginia on June 20, 1852, and he is a son of James W. and Anna E. Myers, who spent their earlier \ears in that state, remaining there until 1854, when they removed to Danville, Illinois, the subject being then two years old, and there they established the family home, the parents spending the rest of their lives there.

Ben S. Myers grew to manhood at Danville and received a limited education in the common schools, having been thrown out into the world on his own resources when a boy as a result of domestic troubles. He apprenticed himself to a brick mason, and after learning same followed that for several years and was regarded as an expert. On August 10, 1872, he came to Craw fords ville, Indiana, and worked in the building of the old high school. The following spring he went into the contracting business with A. S. Newton and built several buildings in Irvington and Spiceland, Illinois, then returned to Crawfordsville and' worked on the court house, and continued contracting under the firm name of Myers & Swan, and tlie\- did a large and successful business in this part of the state, many of the most important buildings in this and nearby cities standing as monuments to their skill as builders, such as the old Y. M. C. A. building, Carnegie library. Masonic temple. Center Presbyterian, Baptist and Christian and United Brethren churches, the Crawfords\-ille Trust Building, the coffin factory, the nail factory, Poston brick plant and Big Four station. In 1904 this partnership, which had been so successful for several years, was dissolved, after which Mr. Myers engaged in the business alone, continuing with ever increasing success. During this period he built the following school houses in Crawfordsville: Breaks. Garfield and Smartsburg: the Darlington Addition, and addition to the wire works, the J. J. Darter and Poston residences.

In 1877 Mr. Myers turned his attention to poultry and began raising the famous "Black Langshans," and he is possibly the oldest breeder of that stock in the United States. From that time until the present, a period of over thirty-five years, he has had ever increasing success, until they have been the means of carrying his name broadcast throughout the land and into foreign countries. His first exhibit was in Indianapolis in 1887, '" the

Meridian Rink Building. Since tliat time he has had prize winners in Kansas City, Denver, New Orleans, Nashville, Columbus, Chicago, Indianapolis, New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati and St. Louis. For twenty-two years he has been one of the credited judges of the American Poultry Association, and was one of the first to have a judge's license in this large association. He has gone all over the United States and Canada as a judge of poultry shows, and his decisions have ever been characterized by fairness and sound judgment and satisfactory to all concerned. At this writing he has about one hundred pure-bred "Black Langshans," and inquiries about them are coming in constantly from all over the country. He is well equipped for the proper care of his poultry and eggs, everything about his poultry yards being of the most approved kind. He owns one of the commodious and attractive residences in Crawfordsville, beautiful from an architectural standpoint. This pleasant dwelling is presided over with commendable grace by a lady of refinement, known in her maidenhood as Frances Brandecamp, representative of a highly respected and well known familv of this city, where she grew to womanhood and was educated. She is of German parentage.

The union of Mr. Myers and wife has been blessed by the birth of five children, namely: Paul J., Charles J., L. J., Benjamin Herbert and Bessie Helena, the two latter being twins.

Mr. Myers is prominent in fraternal circles, holding membership with the local lodges of Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America. The Elks home in Crawfordsville was built by Myers & Son. Politically, the subject is a Republican. He is a good mixer and, being an obliging, jovial gentleman, is popular with all with whom he comes in contact.

There could be no more comprehensive history written of a community or county or even of a state and its people than that which deals with the life work of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed themselves where they well deserve the title of "prominent and progressive," and in this sketch will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less able plodders on the highway of life, one who has been consistent in his life work and never permitted the "grass to grow under his feet," one who, while advancing his own interests has not neglected his full duties to the general public, at the same time upholding an honored family name. Such a man is F. F. Cummings, of the Cummings y\uto Company, a well known and rapidly growing concern at Crawfordsville.

Mr. Cummings was born in Chainpaign county, Illinois, May 23, 1883. He is a son of Marshall F. and Minerva (Porter) Cummings. The father was a prosperous planing mill man and contractor of Indianapolis, spending the latter part of his life in the Hoosier capital and dying there on March 7, 1910. His widow survives and still makes her home in Indianapolis.