Randolph County, Indiana - Biographical sketches (2 of 2 so headed), 1914 (part 11 of 20)

March 25, 1889, Mr. Huston assisted in organizing the Winchester Home and Savings Association, and became a member of the board of directors, and has served as president of the board for fifteen consecutive years. His wise counsel has been responsible for the large success of this concern in no small degree. It is a solid institution and is thriving. One remarkable feature of the record of the company is that it has never foreclosed a mortgage given to secure a loan. Mr. Huston also took an active part in organiz- ing the Eastern Indiana Telephone Company, and assisted in building the first independent toll line in the county, connecting all the towns in the county with the county-seat. He was a member of the first board of directors and served one year as secretary of the same. Owing to the rapid increase of the telephone business he was compelled to resign as secretary because of lack of time to give it proper attention together with his other numerous duties. He continued a member of the board for a few years and was a member of the building committee which constructed lines through Randolph and all toll lines beyond the county limits. In a few years he resigned from the board on account of the growing business to which he did not have time to give proper attention. He has other business interests in Winchester and elsewhere, and has been very successful in a financial way.

Politically, Mr. Huston is a Republican and has long been active in public affairs. He has frequently been urged to accept public office, but has declined. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and for many years was active in its affairs. He was a member of the building committee which constructed the magnificent new home of this lodge in Winchester. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a member of the official board and is at this writing superintendent of the Sunday school. He has a beautiful home on South Main street and he and Mrs. Huston are popular in the best social circles of the city.

Fernandis B. Mullin

One of the most extensive and reputable lumber dealers of the state is Fernandis B. Mullin, of Winchester. Most of the mature life of Mr, Mullin has been devoted to the lumber business, and it would be hard to find one more expert in its details than he. For the last nine years he has been manager for the Greer-Wilkinson Lumber Company, one of the big concerns of the country. Mr. Mullin knows the lumber traffic from the invasion of the forest to the disposition of the finished product. There is "no process through which the tree goes that he is not thoroughly familiar with. This intimate knowledge enables him to figure with the greatest accuracy and to close contracts with a surety and rapidity that are quite surprising. The reputation of a community, it is said, rests chiefly with its leading citizens, and Mr. Mullin is one of those who have made Winchester famous among the towns of the state.

of Elihu Mullin and Mahala (Edwards) Mullin. He is one of seven children. Lewis Mullin, a brother, of V/ashington, married Flo Canfield, and is by occupation an architect. They have one child. Calvin, also of Washington, married Hattie Canfield, a sister of Flo, and is a farmer. They have three children living. Minnie, of Chadburn, North Carolina, married W. H. Hunt, a farmer, and has a family of eight children. George, of Muncie, who is a builder by occupation, married Flora Wysong, and has two boys. May, the wife of Ed. Heaston, of Randolph county, a farmer, has three boys and one girl living, and one died in infancy. Mary died in infancy. Mr. Mullin's father, of Irish stock, went originally to Wayne county and was for thirty years a carpenter and builder in Winchester. He died at the age of sixty-eight from a fall off the roof of a building he was erecting. His wife, a native of Randolph county, sruvives, at the age of seventy-nine.

Mr. Mullin was married December 31, 1882, to Adella B. Naftzger, of Ohio, a daughter of Ephraim Naftzger, a miller. Two girls and one boy were the fruit of this union. Grace, the eldest, was born in Minnesota, January 4, 1885, and married John Bishop, agent of the Big Four at Winchester. She taught school five years with success. Cecil, who was born in Minnesota, February 17, 1887, died at the age of two years.

Vera K., the youngest, was born August 31, 1891, in Winchester, and has a national reputation as a platform entertainer. She has made a feature of vocalism and is directed by the Central Lyceum Bureau. Nothing is more difficult in the realm of art than voice culture. Its secrets are harder to acquire and master than those involved in the vibration of musical instruments. There is that in the cultivation of the vocal cords which taxes the genius of the most intellectual speakers and singers, and probably no one has ever confessed to a complete understanding of their mysteries. Sarah Bernhardt and Nazimova, among dramatic artists, and Mary Garden and Tetrazzini, among lyric artists, are considered the greatest living exponents of vocal culture. And certainly no instrumentalists rank above them. Vera Mullin is one of the younger aspirants in the supreme art of vocalization and has not yet attained the maturity of her powers. She has range and timbre, the essential qualities of great voices, and has that extraordinary faculty of cultivation that makes control seem perfect. Miss Mullin belongs to the higher order of artists who have that rarest of combinations, genius and cultivation. Her reputation grows from season to season, and in the list of Lyceum Bureau entertainers she ranks with the top notchers. She is an ardent devotee of her art and claims that no great achievement comes easily. Besides her remarkable attainments in voice culture. Miss Mullin is eminent as a whistling soloist, rivaling in this peculiar department of art the renowned Alice Shaw. She is one of the most constantly employed and highest priced artists under lyceum direction.

Fernandis B. Mullin has been trustee and is a member of Masonit lodge No. 56, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows No. 121, both of Winchester. He was educated in the public schools and attends the Methodist church. He is a member of the Republican party.

Charles D. Wysong

It is a great privilege to be able to spend our lives on the old home place. roof that heard our earliest cry," in the language of the poet Tennyson, has a charm and fascination for us which we can not find elsewhere, and no matter where on earth our restless footsteps may wander we ever long to be back under the old roof -tree of our parents. However, this is not always the privilege of man. For many reasons, often through necessity, we leave our childhood home and seek our fortune in other countries, and seldom revisit the hearthstone around which we played as a child. So those who, like Charles D. Wysong, one of Randolph county's most successful and extensive farmers, are fortunate enough to spend, if not all, the major portion of their lives at their birthplace, are to be envied, and, no doubt, being a fair-minded man, he fully appreciated the privilege and he has labored hard to keep the old place well tilled and well improved, so that it has retained, rather than lost, its original strength of soil, and the home has been carefully looked after and tastily kept.

Mr. Wysong was born May 27, 1875, on a farm three miles south of Winchester, where he now lives. He is a scion of one of our worthiest and most prominent pioneer families, being a son of Harvey and Mary (Summers) Wysong. The mother died when our subject was only five days old and he was reared by relatives, being taken by an uncle when fifteen months old. He grew up, therefore, in the home of John D. Summers and wife, remaining with them until he was about eighteen years of age, assisting yiv. Summers on his garden farm, his uncle having been a gardener. During that period our subject attended the Winchester public schools. The death of his father occurred on September 6, 1893, and, he being the only heir to the homestead and his father's entire estate, moved to the home farm, which consisted of three hundred and ninety acres. He went to work with a will and prospered with the advaftcing years, adding to his original holding until he is now owner of five hundred and twenty acres in one tract, and also one hundred and forty acres in West River township. His land ranks with the best in Randolph county, and he has placed it under modern improvements and a high state of cultivation. It is nearly all tillable. It is all well fenced and well drained. He carries on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale, and was formerly one of our best known fancy stock breeders, but has abandoned that department. He is one of the most substantial farmers of his township and one of the best posted on farming and livestock.

Mr. Wysong was married October 12, 1898, to Margaret T. Anderson, a daughter of Edmund L. and Lydia (Paxson) Anderson, who lived at Union City, Indiana, 'at the time of our subject's marriage. They are now residents of Anderson, this state. Four children have been born to our subject and wife, namely: Mary Lydia, born December 17, 1900; John Harvey, born August. 1 2, 1902;! James Edmund, born February 21, 1907; Robert Anderson, born June 21, 1909.

Politically, Mr. Wysong is a Democrat and he has always given his support to such measures. as make for the public weal. He belongs to the Masonic Order, including the Blue Lodge, No. 638, Chapter No. 35, Council No. 20, Comraandery, also belongs to the Knights of Pythias No. 91. Mrs. Wysong is a member of the Eastern Star. He and his family are members of the Main Street Church of Christ. The family is prominent in the social life of the community, and the picturesque Wysong home is frequently the gathering place for their many friends, the best people of the county.

John Fletcher Middleton

Specific mention is made within these pages of many of the worthy citizens who have honored Randolph county with their residence, citizens who have figured in the growth and development of this favored section of the Hoosier state, and whose interests are or have been identified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of activity to the well being of the community which he selected for the arena of his life labors and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this worthy number none have been more influential in Greensfork township, at least, than John Fletcher Middleton, who, now that he has passed his three score and ten mile-post and has accumulated a comfortable competency through a long life of close application to general farming, is living in retirement in the hamlet of Spartanburg. Practically all of his busy and useful life has been spent in this locality where he has seen and taken part in many great changes, he being one of our venerable native sons and one who has come down to us from the pioneer epoch. There is added interest in his record in that he is a veteran of the Union army.

Mr. Middleton was born in the township and county named in the preceding paragraph, November 26, 1842. He is a son of Thomas A. and Sarah (Borders) Middleton, the former of whom was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, November 5, 1799, and the latter in Greenbrier county. Thomas A. Middleton was a son of Benedict and Hannah (Harrison) Middleton. Benedict Middleton was born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, but most of his life was spent in Guilford county. North Carolina where his death occurred, and there his wife also died. In 1827 Thomas A. Middleton and his brother, Samuel, came from North Carolina to Randolph county, Indiana, making the long overland journey in a wagon. Thomas A. Middleton first married Margaret Webb, in 1825, and to this union four children were born, namely: Minerva, Calvin, Caroline and Sidney. In 1830 he settled in Greens fork township, entering from the government eighty acres which our subject now owns, and here he cleared and developed a farm and spent the rest of his life, dying November 14, 1883. Politically, he was a Republican, and religiously a member of the Methodist church, i'n which he was a trustee. His wife died in 1836. Two years later he married Sarah Borders, and to this union three children were born, namely; Wesley, deceased; Sarah A., who married Thomas Reagan; and John F., of this sketch. The father passed the remainder of his life on the eighty acres mentioned above. The death of Mrs. Sarah Middleton occurred December 28, 1862, at the advanced age of fifty-eight years. '; John F. Middleton was reared on the home farm and he received his education in the common schools, and in the Industrial Academy in Wayne county which he attended three terms. On August 18, 1862 he enhsted in Company F, Sixty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and saw much active and hard service in the south. He took part in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, where he was taken prisoner and after three days was paroled and sent to Camp Wayne, at Richmond, Indiana, where he remained for two months. At the expiration of that time he was exchanged and sent to the department of the Cumberland under General Grant. He was in the battle of Chickasaw Blufif, where he was stunned by a shell. He was also in the engagement at Arkansas Post, then went into winter quarters at Young's Point. During the campaign of 1863 he took part in numerous battles, including Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Champion Hill, the siege of \^icksburg and others. He was transferred to the Gulf department in the fall of 1863, and spent the following winter at Indianola, Texas. From there he was sent to assist Banks in the Red River expedition, and with a marine corps detailed to guard the river between New Orleans and Vicksburg until November i, 1864, then he was sent to Mobile Bay, in the vicinity of which he spent the following winter. From there he was sent to Florida, thence to the siege of Fort Blakely in Alabama, after which he returned to Mobile, where he spent the summer. Mr. Middleton was a crackshot and served as a sharpshooter in a faithful manner. At the battle of Chickasaw Bluff he was disabled, his gun broken and his blanket cut from his shoulders, and his comrades on either side killed, but he remained on the field. He was honorably discharged and mustered out of service July 5, 1865.

He returned home immediately after his discharge from the army and settled on the old homestead, and, with the exception of one year he farmed thereon with much success until 191 1 when he retired and is now living quietly in his cozy home in Spartanburg. When his father retired from active life he purchased the home place, and he added to it as he prospered until he became owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres which he keeps highly improved.

Politically, Mr. Middleton is a Republican. In 1880 he was elected trustee of his township and served two terms satisfactorily. He subsequently served five years as township assessor, and also two years as county assessor, giving eminent satisfaction to all concerned. He also served three terms as member of the county council, a period of twelve years. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for a period of forty-five years, and has passed all the chairs. He was one of the first members initiated in the local lodge. He is also a member of the Encampment in which he has held a number of officers. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, a charter member, in fact, of the post at Spartanburg, and has filled all the offices in the same. He and his wife are members of the Christian church and have long been active in the work of the same. In view of the fact that he was a strong man, prior to the war, and that he contracted an ailment which has ever since left him somewhat disabled, he is remembered by the government with a substantial monthly pension. He comes of a fighting stock, and it might not be amiss to mention here that his maternal grandfather, Christopher Borders, who was a native of Germany, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, fighting

Mr. Middleton was married August 20, 1865, to Serena . Alexander, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, April 21, 1847, near the city of New Paris. She is a daughter of Clement F. and Rebecca (Parks) Alexander, the former born in Ohio, May 2, 1817, and the latter in Indiana, December 18, 1 8 16. They moved to Randolph county, Indiana in 1849, locating near Spartanburg, where he became a successful farmer; at one time owning two hundred and seventy-five acres of land. The latter part of his life was spent in retirement in Spartanburg, dying in October, 1892. His widow survived until October 19, 1900. She was a daughter of George and Catherine (Reed) Parks. Her father was a native of Virginia and in early life emigrated to North Carolina and from there to Indiana and lived to a very old age. Her brother, James Parks, lived to the great age of one hundred and one and onehalf years and was an active man until the very end of his life. Mrs. Alexander was reared in the earliest days of Indiana and was one of the pioneer women of the state and in her early life passed through the struggles and hardships of the backwoods days of Indiana. She and Mr.Alexander were married September 10, 1840, and to them six daughters, all of whom grew to womanhood, were born, namely : Mary, born in 1842, married A. M. Rubey; Martha J., born October 29, 1843, married John Kelly; Nancy A., born April 25, 1845, married Pat Trammel; Serena who is the wife of our subject; Sarah J., born June 11, 1850; Lizzie, born May 7, 1855, married Ambrose Rubey. Mrs. ICelley and Mrs. Trammel died many years ago. From the date of their marriage, the parents of the above named children, resided near New Paris, Preble county, Ohio, until 1848 when they moved to Randolph county, Indiana, to the farm near Spartanburg where they lived until 1890 when they located in Spartanburg, there they lived until the death of Mr. Alexander, October 27th, two years after his retirement. Then for about two years his widow lived in Lynn then came back to the old homestead where she remained with her daughter, Mrs. Ambrose Rubey and her daughter, Julietta, until death. She joined the Christian church in her earlier years and with her husband remained faithful to its precepts until the end of life. Her field of labor was her home where she exemplified all the sweet Christian graces for which she was noted, being always active in her labors of love and tenderness, never sparing herself when she could do something to assist her family. She was a model housewife as well as mother, and her home was a typical house of the olden days when hospitality was the crowning virtue of the Christian home. Her fifty-two years of married life were passed in harmony, no discord ever marring the joy of their long union. After she became a widow her life and love were devoted to her children. She was patient in all her sufferings and when the time came for her to cease from earthly labors she was fully prepared for the change, and left behind her an example worthy of emulation. Clement F. Alexander was county commissioner for six years, was a notary public for two terms, was an elder, deacon and trustee in the Christian church and was a good and useful man.

To Mr. and Mrs. John F. Middleton were born two children, namely : Ida May, who married Ephraim Anderson, was born May i8, 1866, and they live in Hagerstown, Indiana. By this marriage two children have been born, Effie R., born August 15, 1886, and Earnest, born April 10, 1891 ; Thomas A., born February 14, 1871, married Elnora Hunt, who died October 23, 1893, leaving one child, Frances Edna, who died November 29, 191 1. Mr. Middleton's second marriage occurred March 30, 1895, with Miss Emma Goudy- They have four children: Harold, born March 12, 1886; Maurine, born March 21, 1898; and Albert and Alma, twins, born December 22, 1900. He is operating the home farm, since the retirement of the subject of this sketch, and is one of the progressive and up-to-date farmers. Socially, he and his Avife stand in the front rank.

Mr. Middleton is a pleasant gentleman to all whom he meets, his word is that of a man of a high sense of honor and he is worthy in every respect of the esteem of his fellow citizens.

Curtis K. Wright

By a life consistent in motive and action and because of his many fine personal qualities, Curtis K. Wright of Union City, Randolph county, has earned the confidence and respect of the people of this locality, and in his home, which is the center of a large social circle, there is always in evidence a spirit of generosity. He was in his earlier years engaged in various pursuits, but the latter years have found him one of the leading undertakers of this section of the state. He has been content to maintain his home here most of his life, where he has not only attained a high degree of success in his business ventures but also established a reputation for uprightness in all the relations of life.

Mr. Wright was born in Wayne township, Randolph county, December 4, 1850. He is a son of William Wright, a contractor, and during the last year of his business life he was engaged in the furniture business in Union City. His death occurred in 1909 at the age of seventy-seven years. He married Margaret Jane Kerlinger, who was born in Maryland, and her death occurred in March, 1905, at the age of seventy-six years. These parents were members of the Disciple chu/ch and were loyal to its teachings. John Wright, the paternal grandfather, was a native of Pennsylvania. In early life he followed farming, later conducting a hotel. His death occurred in Wayne county, Indiana, in 1874, at the age of seventy-six years. His wife was Elizabeth Stewart. She was a Disciple and she died in the early eighties. The maternal great-grandfather was James Stewart, who was born in northern Ireland, from which country he came to America when a young man and settled in Pennsylvania. The mother of our subject was known in her maidenhood as Margaret Jane Kerlinger, and was of German ancestry; she was but three years old when her parents both died, and she was brought up in the home of an uncle who lived in Baltimore, Maryland. When she was about eighteen years old she came to Wayne county, Indiana, where she met William Wright and they were afterwards married.

Curtis K. Wright was educated in the common and. high schools, graduating from the latter at Union City in 1868. When a boy he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked until he went into the grocery business as a clerk with B. F. Stewart, continuing in the same ten years, enjoying a good trade and then returned to carpentering. In 1883 he went to Muncie, Indiana, and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business, which he continued there with very gratifying results for a period of nine years, then sold out and removed to Union City and again followed the grocery business for two years, then formed a "company, under the lirm name of Wright & Snell, in the undertaking business, which they conducted four years, then our subject resumed carpentering for eighteen months, then bought out the undertaking firm of J. M. Campbell, changing the name to C. K. Wright & Worth, and for a period of sixteen years they continued doing a large business in Union City, Mr; Worth selling his interest in 191 1 to Gerald S. Van Dyke, and the firm is now Wright & Van Dyke. They are modernly equipped in every respect for their work and have well-kept parlors, and high grade and prompt service is their aim. This is one of the most popular and best firms of its kind in this section of the state.

Politically, Mr. Wright is a Republican. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Improved Order of Red Men and Rebekahs.

Mr. Wright was married March 23, 1871, to Sarah M. Polly, who was boin in South Salem, Indiana, January 9, 1849. She is a daughter of David Polly, who died several years ago. His wife, Anna Spencer, is also deceased. Mr. Wright has one brother, John T. Wright, a merchant in Kansas City, Kansas, and a sister, Mrs. Katherine O. Headington, died in Toledo, Ohio, in 1904.

Mr. Wright was graduated July i, 1901, from the Indiana State Board of Embalmers. He took a post-graduate course October 17, 1900, at the Chicago CJollege of Embalming; also received diploma from Clark's School of Embalming at Cincinnati, Ohio, March 24, 1899, also received diplomas signed by Auguste Renouard March 18, 1897, at the Renouard Training School of Embalming, also a diploma from the Indianapolis School of Embalming, in May, 1892. Pie is thus exceptionally well c[ualified for tlie successful carrying on of his chosen business. He is a close student and is constantly on the research for improved methods in this field.

To Curtis K. Wright and wife one child has been born: Harry H., born January 26, 1873, in Union City and was educated in the schools of Muncie, finishing in the high school in Union City; he married Emily Grooms, who was born in Flint, Michigan, in 1881, and was graduated from the high school there; three sons have been born to them, namely, Curtis G., was born in, Pontiac, Michigan, July 5, 1903; Frederick, born in Flint, Michigan, April 5, 1906; William J., born April 5, 191 1, at Orellia, Ontario, Canada. Harry H. Wright had full charge of the painting department of the Standard Vehicle Company, of Pontiac, Michigan, from 1902 to 1906, and in 1907 he had charge of the body department there, where automobiles are finished, and one hundred men under his direction. From 1907 to 1909 he had charge of the Buick painting department, and from 1909 to 191 3 he had full charge of the painting department for the Tudhope Carriage and Automobile factory at Orellia, Ontario, Canada. He is regarded as being one of the best in his line of business and is known in every important factory of automobiles and vehicles in the Union and Canada and his services are in great demand. He has a method of preparing paints which is superior to any yet devised and it is known only to himself and many factories are offering him handsome sums for it, but he prefers to keep the same under his own control.

Elmer E. Franklin

Elmer E. Franklin, is one of Randolph county's prosperous farmers who has become so by close application and the exercise of sound judgment, rather than by inheritance and Jay depending upon others to do what he deemed best for him to do with his -own hands and brain. While each succeeding year has found him further advanced in a business way it also has found him a better and more public-spirited citizen, for he takes an abiding interest in the general progress of Winchester and Randolph county.

Mr. Franklin was born December 6, 1862, on a farm two and one-half miles south of Sulphur Springs, Henry county, Indiana. He is a son of John M. and Elizabeth (Denny) Franklin, both parents having been natives of Henry county, this state. They grew to maturity there, were educated and married, and there the father became a well-known miller, and also farmed some. It was in 1868 that the family removed to Richland county, Illinois, where the father followed his trade of miller, with the exception of the first year, which he devoted to farming. The family remained in the Prairie state for about fifteen years, when they returned to Indiana, locating at Newcastle, Henry county, in which city John M. Franklin soon devoted himself to milling, and there the family continued to reside. The death of his wife occurred in the spring of 1882. He then removed to Montpelier, Blackford county, Indiana, where he continued his trade for three years, then followed it two years in Pennville. We next find him in Yorktown, Delaware county, where he built a mill, then in partnership with a Mr. Maloney, continuing to engage in the nlilling business there until his death in July, 1906.

Elmer E. Franklin left home when ten years old and came to Randolph county, making his home with his half-brother, William H. Snyder. During his boyhood he attended the public schools in the various localities, where the family lived. After coming to this county he attended school during the winters, for two or three years. During this time he was employed at farm work, continuing thus until he was married, July 29, 1887, to Ada Ruble, daughter of Walter and Catherine (Harmon) Ruble, of this county. Mr. Ruble was born in Randolph county, Indiana, but his wife was a native of Ohio. To our subject and wife was born one daughter, Lola, a graduate of the Winchester high school with the class of 1909; she also attended the State Normal at Terre Haute, completing the training course preparatory to teaching; however, desiring to further equip herself she then went to the Valparaiso University for five months. She has since been a successful teacher in the primary grade at the Lincoln school in White River township. She attended the summer school at Winona, Indiana, in 1913.

After his marriage Mr. Franklin settled on the Steven Moorman farm, just south of where he now lives, remaining there four years, during whith time he got a good start; then he moved to a farm near Maxville cemetery, where he lived for four years. In 1895 the family moved to their present fine farm, four miles west of Winchester, on the Muncie road, the place consisting of sixty acres. On it stands one of the most modern country homes in the county. It is equipped with electric lights, telephone, etc., and an interurban line is at the door, a stop being just in front of the house. Mr. Franklin has always followed farming, with the exception of two years, being engaged in the farm implement business in 1909 and 1910, in Winchester. He returned to the farm in 191 1, preferring the country life to that of town, although he was making a success as a merchant. At present he is not as active as formerly, gradually retiring from active life. His farm is well improved and he keeps a good grade of livestock.

Mr. Franklin has always been a Republican and he says he always will be, and he has been deeply interested in public matters. He takes an especial interest in educational affairs. He is a well read man, familiar with the world's best literature in all branches, having a large and well selected library, where he spends a great deal of time. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Encampment and his wife and daughter belong to the Rebeccas ; the two latter also are members of the Economics Club, an organization of White River township for the study of- economic questions. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are prominent in the social life of the community.

John Hawkins

Standing for upright manhood and progressive citizenship, John Hawkins, long one of Randolph county's active agriculturists has been an influential factor not only in the material welfare of his community but also the moral welfare of the same. He is one of the gallant "boys in blue," having fought for his country's honor in its hours of direst need in the great rebellion of the sixties. He comes of an old and highly esteemed Hoosier family,, the genealogy of which is traceable to the earliest period in the history of this section of the Middle West, the Hawkinses having braved the Avilds of the same a decade before the commonwealth was organized, for it was over a century ago that our subject's grandfather established his log cabin home in the wilderness here, amid wild beasts and scarcely less wild men, this country still being the undisputed domain of the Indians.

John Hawkins was born near Richmond, Indiana, September 18, 1836, and is thus jDast seventy-seven years of age. He is a son of Nathan and Sarah Hawkins. Nathan Hawkins was born in Wayne county, Indiana, April 15, 1808, and was a son of John and Lydia (Comer) Hawkins, who emigrated to Indiana in 1806. John Hawkins entered three hundred and twenty acres of land in Wayne county, and began the development of a farm. He also engaged in the saw mill business, and there he prospered and was a prominent man among the first settlers. His death occurred in 1859, at the age of eighty-two years. He at one time owned a large tract of land which he divided up among his children. He was a member of the Society of Friends, was an Abolitionist, afterwards a Whig and later a Republican. His children were Tamar, Sarah, Nathan and John.

Nathan Hawkins was reared in the usual manner of pioneer farmer lads and like his father followed agricultural pursuits in connection with the operation of a saw mill. He was successful in a business way, and the last years of his life were spent in retirement in the city of Richmond, where his death occurred July 14, 1890. He was married in 1829 to Sarah Wright, who was born in Wayne county, this state, in 181 1, and was a daughter of Elijah and Susanna (Hoover) Wright, natives of North Carolina. The familjf numbered ten children, named as follows : William established his home on a farm in Illinois; Eliza, who married Daniel Comer, is deceased; Lydia married C. Terpening, of Arkansas; John, of this review, was next in order of birth ; Henry became a leading citizen of Lynn, this county ; Eli is deceased ; Jennie married J. Burgoyne ; Allen remained in Randolph county ; Charles is deceased; George became a citizen of Richmond, Indiana. The mother of the above named children died October 10, 1867, and in 1873, Nathan Hawkins married Minnie Long, by whom he had two children. Belle, who married O. Quigg, of Lynn, Indiana; and Omer, of Richmond. The second wife died in 1884. Nathan Hawkins became owner of two hundred and fifty acres of land in this county and other valuable property. Politically, he was a Republican and he was a member of the Society of Friends.

John Hawkins grew up in his native community on his father's farm, and he received a meager education in the old-time schools. He enlisted in January, 1862 in. Company I, Fifty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he saw much hard service and proved to be a faithful defender of the Union. He fought in the great battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga. In the last named battle he was wounded in the right arm and side and in the left breast by bullets and on top of the left foot by a shell. He was in the hospital two months, and was honorably dis- charged from the service in September, 1864. He returned home and took up general farming and stock raising in which he was very successful and which he followed until he retired from active life in 1901. He lived many years in Darke county, Ohio where he still owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and he also owns forty acres in Randolph county, Indiana.

Mr. Hawkins is a Republican. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. He has filled all the offices in the Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Hawkins was married in January, 1865, to Martha Jessup, whose death occurred May 3, 19 13. She was a woman of beautiful Christian character and proved to be a most faithful helpmeet. Five children were born to our subject and wife, named as follows : William H., of Bradford, Ohio ; Sarah B. is at home ; Charles N. lives on the home farm ; John E. lives at Ashtabula, Ohio; and Oliver N. who lives in Lynn, this county.

Alvah C. Hindsley

Among the pioneer families of Randolph county, who, by act and deed have made for themselves a prominent place in the county's history is the Hindsley family. While not among the earliest settlers of this section, this family located in Jackson township in the early eighteen forties. They are of North Carolina stock, migrating from that state in the early part of the last century, and settling at New Madison, Darke county, Ohio, where many of them now reside. Some twenty years later several members of the family located in Jackson township, this county where they have since lived, and are well and favorably known.

Alvah C. Hindsley, the subject of this sketch, son of Rufus and Malinda Hindsley, was born in Jackson township, Randolph county, December 24, 1872, and is the oldest of a family of seven children. After acquiring the usual common school education, he took up the vocation of teaching. While following that vocation, he added to his educational training by taking a course of study in the Central Normal College, at Danville, Indiana, where he also began the study of law. He was admitted to the Randolph county bar in 1893, when but twenty-one years of age. After teaching. school for several years he retired, to take up the practice of law, which profession he followed for a short period.

In 1898 Mr. Hindsley purchased The Winchester Democrat, at Winchester, Indiana and most successfully published that paper for nearly thirteen years. By his tireless energy and aggressive policies, he made it not only a political organ of power and influence, but a newspaper second to none in the county. He was for years a member of the Indiana Democratic Editorial Association, and at the time of his retirement from newspaper work, was treasurer of that association.

Air. Hindsley is by nature, aggressively inclined in his political affiliations, and by reason of such has bgen often called by his party into positions of leadership. In 1896 and again in 1898, he was the candidate of his party for prosecuting attorney of the Twent\-fifth Judicial Circuit. In 1904 he was nominated for joint representative for the counties of Randolph, Jay and Blackford, but his party being then hopelessly in the minorit}-, was defeated as a matter of course. From 1900 to 1904 he was secretary of the Randolph County Democratic Central Committee, and in 1904 was made chairman, which position he continued to hold for a period of eight years.

In December, 19 10, Air. Hindsley was tendered the position of second assistant Secretary- of State of the state of Indiana and accepted the appointment, which position he yet holds. In April, 191 1. he sold his newspaper and soon thereafter, with his family, moved from A\'inchester to Indianapolis, where they now reside.

Air. Hindsley was married in November, 1898 to Gracie Simmons, and they have one child, Forrest Hindsle}-. a boy now past ten }-ears of age.

Air. Hindsley has pro^-en to be a most faithful and trustworthv public ser\'ant, uniformly courteous and affable and is popular with all with ^^-hom he comes in contact.

Daniel E. Hoffman

The fifty-five years which Daniel E. Hoffman, widely known marble worker of Winchester, has spent in Randolph county have brought to him not only proper financial rewards, but also the esteem of a very wide ecquaintance. During that long period he has seen wonderful changes take place here and has not been by any means an idle spectator, doing a good citizen's part in it all, for he was impressed from the first with the future possibilities of the cit)' and county and has manifested a heart-felt interest in them. He has led a life that might well be studied by the young man just starting on his career, for it has resulted in a comfortable living for himself and family, gained entirely by honorable means and in a way that has won and retained a host of friends and given offense to few.

1838, and is a son of John S. and Kate (Iba) Hoffman. The father died when our subject was ten years of age, and the latter was reared for the most part by strangers. After attending school until he was fourteen years of age he began learning his trade of marble cutting at Lebanon, but later moved to Philadelphia and thence to Baltimore, finally to Buffalo, New York. By the tirne he was twenty years old he was a most skilful workman. He came to Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1857, passing through Winchester, with which town he was so favorably impressed he returned a year later and established his permanent home, thus having lived here since 1858. He had but a little over one hundred dollars when he began business here, and soon after his arrival bought out his only business competitor in town, and in due course of time was doing an extensive and rapidly growing business, maintaining one of the finest, best equipped and largest yards in eastern Indiana and enjoying a reputation for high-grade work second to none. He manufactures marble, granite and all kinds of stone for structural purposes, or chisels them into objects of beauty for monuments and ornamental purposes in general. He has managed to keep out all competition, his being the only establishment of its kind in this section of the state, and by close application, strict attention, highclass workmanship and honest dealings, Mr. Hoffman has long enjoyed a prosperous business, amassing a handsome competency for his old age, and owns besides his valuable plant a splendid farm and attractive residence. All of this he has purchased with the proceeds of his own hands since coming to Winchester.

For many years Mr. Hoffman has manifested an abiding interest in the agricultural and horticultural development of Randolph county. For several years he served as secretary of the Agricultural Society of this county, and he has attended several meetings of the State Horticultural Society, as a delegate. He was a member of the executive committee of the society for several years, and one of its vice-presidents. He is an enthusiastic horticulturist, and has done as much perhaps, as any one in Randolph county to encourage improvement in orchards and awaken an interest in modern methods of this vocation.

Although active in the affairs of the Republican party he has preferred to devote his attention to his individual affairs rather than seek political preferment, however, he served as marshall of Winchester many years ago, to the entire satisfaction of his constituents.

Mr. Hoffman was married in Winchester, December 4, 1862, to Angle Carter, who was born in Randolph county in 1843, and is a daughter of Edmund and Polly (Diltz) Carter, a sterling pioneer family of this county.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman, named as follows: Riley, formerly of Union City, is now connected with his father in the marble works at Winchester; Dora N., Katie and Abbie are all deceased; Nellie married Grant Clevenger and they live in Muncie, Indiana.

Mr. Hoffman is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle and the Improved Order of Red Men, and he has filled all' the chairs in both orders. He is a man of wonderful information on a wide range of topics and is a lover of good books, having a large collection of the best in his library. He is one of the best authorities on fruit growing in the county, and he is one of our most extensive fruit growers, his orchards being among the largest and most carefully selected varieties in the state. He is not only an enthusiastic horticulturist, but also a lover of fine livestock, a number of good horses and large herds of cattle and hogs being found on his fine farm at all seasons. It would be hard to find a better judge of livestock. His residence on South Meridian street is one of the interesting places in Winchester, the commodious, rambling, picturesque house bfeing surrounded by a broad, shady, wellkept lawn, on which shrubbery, flowers and fruits grow in abundance. And in the grounds a fountain plays around which many varieties of birds gather, which are carefully guarded.

Personally, Mr. Hoffman is a gentleman of the old school and a pleasant man to meet, plain, unassuming, obliging and courteous, a Nature lover, something of a naturalist, a strong-minded, clean-living high-thinking man, whose example is worthy of emulation.

F Marion Harter

This gentleman is another of the old soldiers whom it is a delight to honor. They are getting fewer and fewer in number and their march is not as quick and full of meaning and fire as it was fifty years ago when they were fighting for the perpetuity of the Union. But it thrills one to see them in their old uniforms, with their tattered flags flying and their forms bent as they hobble along on their canes at reunions or on Memorial day or the Fourth of -July. And how interesting it is to hear them tell the story of the dreadful hardships they endured in the hospitals or on the harassing marches, or in the battles and skirmishes, or in the prison hells of the Southern Confederacy. But their time is short now, so all persons should join in honoring them for the sacrifices they made when they were young and full of the love of life, but which was offered free and gladly on the altar of their country.

F. Marion Harter, for many years one of the successfvil agriculturists of Randolph county, who is spending his old age in cjuiet retirement in his cozy home in Winchester, was born in Union county, Indiana, near College Corner, Ohio, on jNIay 20, 1833. He is a son of Joseph and Catherine (Adams) Harter, The father was born in Pennsylvania and the mother was a native of Butler county, Ohio. They grew up in their respective communities and received meager educations in the old-time schools. The father came to Ohio when a boy and there married and he and his wife came to Union county, Indiana with the early pioneers and traded a horse, saddle and bridle for one hundred and sixty acres of land in the woods. They were coui"ageous and set to work with determination, clearing the land and erected thereon a log cabin. Their possessions increased with the years and they had a good home and farm there. In this log cabin the subject of this sketch was born, and, being a pioneer child, he found plenty of hard work to do when growing up. He received only a meager schooling, attending schools in his neighborhood for only three months a year for a fe\\- years. The parents spent the rest of their lives on this farm, the mother dying in 1837 when our subject was four years old. The father survived some twenty-six years, dying in 1863.

F. Marion Harter was married on September 3, 1857 to Mary Ellen Murphy, daughter of Eli J. and Mary (Booth) Murphy, both natives of Hamilton, Butler county, Ohio, and there also occurred the birth of Mrs. Harter. She received the usual common school training.

On August 13, 1862 Mr. Harter enlisted in Company H, Eighty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served very faithfully until August 12, 1865. He was never at home from the day of his enlistment until he was mustered out of the service. He was in the army in the Southwest and fought in twenty different battles, including the last battle of the war, some of which were among the most important of the war. He was under General Grant at the siege of Vicksburg. At Carion Crow, Louisiana, September 3. 1863, he was taken prisoner and confined in a prison camp on Red J:^iver at Alexandria not far from New Orleans. He was confined for six months and then exchanged and rejoined his regiment at Pensacola, Florida. With all his active service he was never wounded. His regiment traveled by rail over six hundred miles, by steamboat over seven thousand miles and marched o^'er eighteen hundred miles before its mustering out at Galveston, Texas, on August 12, 1865. Mr. Harter immediately returned home and rejoined his family in Oxford, Ohio, to which place his wife and two children had removed, and soon thereafter he removed with his family to Greensfork township, Randolph county, Indiana, and here engaged in farming until 1878 when he moved to White River township, near Winchester, and continued farming with his usual success, also was engineer at the pumping station of the Big Four Railroad until 1888. He continued general farming and stock raising until 1904, when, having accumulated a sufficient competency to insure his declining years from want, he retired from the active duties of life and moved to Winchester where he has since resided.

Four sons have been born to our subject and wife, also four daughters, named as follows: Joseph P., of Oklahoma; Sarah C, deceased; Franklin, deceased; Mary is at home; Emma is deceased; Catherine who married Lawrence Myers, lives in Texas; Howard lives in Wayne county, Indiana; Edward is deceased.

For many years Mr. Harter voted the Republican ticket, but in 1896 he turned Democrat and has since been loyal in the support of that party. He has always been active in public matters. He is a member of the Nelson Trusler Fost, Grand Army of the Republic, at Winchester. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1856. He and his family affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church. He is now eighty-one years of age, but is as well preserved as many men ten or fifteen years younger, having been a ipan of good habits all his life. He is widely known in Randolph county and highly respected.

Harry E. Barrett

One of the best known business men of the younger generation in Union City, Randolph county is Harry E. Barrett, druggist ancl banker, a man who is deserving of the large success that he has. achieved in view of the fact that his life has been above all idle cavil, both from a business and social viewpoint. He is a man of persistent inckistry, sound judgment and wise foresight and would have no doubt made a success wherever he might have desired to have cast his lot. He is a man of proper public spirit and has done much for the general upbuilding of the city of his residence, being a leader in all movements calculated to result in the general good.

Mr. Barrett hails from the great Prairie state, his birth having occurred in Hillsborough, Illinois, December 28, 1875. He is a son of Charles E.

liarrett, who was born in 1848. He spent his early life in farming and is now living retired in Union City, having accumulated a handsome competency for his old age. He married Elmaretta S. Sipe, who was born in 1847. The paternal great grandfather, Elisha Barrett, was a pioneer farmer and a neighborhood preacher, going about among the frontiersmen doing such good as he could without thought of compensation. The maternal great grandfather was Henry Sipe, whose wife was Jane Nickey. The maternal grandparents were Alfred J. and Nancy Sipe.

Two children were born to Charles E. Barrett and wife, namely : Harry E., of this sketch; and Pearl, who married Robert Hill, at Saratoga, Indiana, and he is interested with his father in business.

Harry E. Barrett was educated in the high school at Ridgeville, Randolph county, Indiana, the family having moved from Illinois to this locality when he was young. After graduating from the high school he attended the Ridgeville College for three years, making a special study of languages and literature, also mathematics. .After leaving college he entered the Atlas Bank of Union City as assistant cashier, and he has virtually spent his active life in the banking business, becoming one of the best known and most mfluential financiers in this section of the county. On January i, 1913 he purchased the drug store of G. Adolph Rosenbush, who met his death in an automobile accident. Since taking over the drug store, he has devoted the major part of his attention to the same with the result that the business doubled the first six months, and he is enjoying a very large trade. He has a neatly kept and well stocked store that would be a credit to any city much larger than Union City. However, he still owns stock in the Atlas Bank and is director in the Permanent Savings & Loan Association of Union City, being treasurer of the same, and is also treasurer of the Federal Club, of which he is a member. He also belongs to the Hoosier Club, of Union City. Fraternally, he is a Mason and also holds membership with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically, he is a Democrat. He owns a fine and valuable farm in Wayne township.

Mr. Barrett was married December 12, 1900 to Myrtle S. Skiver, who was born in Winchester, Indiana, February 28, 1878. She is a daughter of David S. Skiver, an extensive farmer, who makes a specialty of feeding cattle.

Ozzie O. Fraze

The essential conditions of human life are ever the same; the surroundings of individuals differ 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 their careers before him, it is because he has the power to use advantages which probabl}- encompass the whole human race. One of the leading business men of Union City, Randolph count}', who seems to have had the sagacity to see readily and grasp instantly opportunities that led to success is Ozzie O. Fraze, widely known embalmer and funeral director, he having been engaged in this line of endeavor for a number of years.

Mr. Fraze was born in Randolph county, October 20, 1874. He is a son of W. H. and Etta (Fields) Fraze, for many years residents of this county, later moving to Van Buren county, Michigan, where the father was engaged in general agricultural pursuits. His death occurred in 1899. The mother is now living in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The paternal grandfather, John Fraze, was also a farmer all his life. He died at an advanced age in 1908. His widow, known in her maidenhood as Nancy Lasley, is now past eight-six years old.

Ozzie O. Fraze was reared on the farm and educated at Benton Harbor, Michigan. He was graduated from the Benton Harbor College with the class of 1896. He took up the study of embalming and received his Indiana license in 1908 and his Ohio license in 191 1. He began life as a farmer, which he continued until he was was twenty-one years old, and after leaving the farm he engaged in the hotel business until 1902, when he moved to Winchester, Indiana, and entered the employ of S. E. Fraze in the undertaking business, remaining with him until 1909, when our subject moved to Lynn and established an undertaking business on his own account, conducting the same successfully until 19 10, when he sold out and removed to Union City and bought out the business of D. W. BickeU undertaker, and in July, 191 1, he formed a partnership with his uncle, S. E. Fraze, under the firm name of S. E. & O. O. Fraze, and this is one of the best and busiest firms of funeral directors in Randolph county, enjoying a lucrative and rapidly increasing business. They are well equipped in every respect and maintain a neat and modernly appointed office and parlors. They understand every phase of the embalming and undertaking business. S. E. Fraze has been in the undertaking business about twenty-five years.

of Joseph Watts, of Winchester, Indiana. He is in the postal mail service. Mrs. Fraze grew to womanhood at Winchester and was educated in the common schools there. To our subject and wife one child has been born, Harry Watts Fraze, Vihose birth occurred in Winchester, March i6, 1909. The wife and mother was born in that city April 14, 1880.

Politically, Mr. Fraze is a Republican, and religiously he is a member of the Christian church. He belongs to the Masonic Order, the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Owls.

Bert E. Woodbury

While yet a young man Bert E. Woodbury, of the firm of Dunn & Woodbury, well known attorneys of Union City, has shown how energy, persistency and lofty aims win a definite degree of success early in one's career, and, judging from what he has already accomplished and from his evident innate abilit}^ we predict for him a future replete with much larger things and fully gratified ambition. He seems to have inherited many of the attributes that win from his worthy progenitors, he being a scion of an excellent pioneer family of Randolph county. He is the present able and popular prosecuting attorney of the county.

Mr. Woodbury was born in Wayne township, Randolph county, Indiana, December 19, 1881, and is a fine example of the self-educated and self-made man. Early in life he worked on a farm and taught school one term in the country, and four terms in Union City, and by hard work, economy and self-denial he acquired means whereby he was enabled to get the professional education which he so ardently desired when a boy, and thus is deserving of much credit for making himself one of the leading lawyers of Randolph county while still quite young. He received his early education in the common schools of his native community and in 1907 attended the Indiana Normal School at Muncie, Indiana, and in 1908 commenced the study of law with Shockney Brothers. He took a three years' correspondence course in law, and was graduated from that school in 19 10. He had been admitted to the bar in 1909, and began practicing his profession in 19 10 in Union City, he and Ernest M. Dunn, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, formed a partnership on August i, 1911, under the firm name of Dunn & Woodbury which still continues, having been very successful from the first, and these bright, determined young men are rapidly forging to the front rank of Randolph county lawyers, enjoying a lucrative and constantly growing

Mr. Woodbury is a loyal Democrat and active in the ranks of his party. He was elected prosecuting attorney of the twenty-fifth judicial circuit, which comprises Randolph county, in the fall of 1912. He won in the face of a large Republican majority, and has the distinction of being the only Democratic prosecuting attorney ever elected in Randolph county.. This indicates that he is a man of exceptionally high standing among his constitvients who place much faith in his ability and integrity. He is discharging the duties of this important office, with the assistance of Mr. Dunn, in a highly creditable manner and is winning just praise from all classes. He is not only profoundly versed in the basic principles of law and the statutes of Indiana but is stickler for rigid law enforcement.

He was married February 29, 1908 to Ethyl Belle Ward, who was born in Darke county, Ohio, December 26. 1885. She is a young lady of education and affable disposition which makes her a favorite with her many friends. They have one child, James Eugene Woodbury, born May 23, 1914.

Joseph M. Snodgrass

One of Randolph county's most scientific and progressive agriculturists, dairymen and stock raisers is Joseph M. Snodgrass whose fine farm lies near the city of Winchester. He is a man deserving much credit for what he has accomplished in a business way, having started in life under none too favorable auspices, and he has gained a position of comparative ease and prominence in his community through his own unaided efforts, by hard work, good management and sound common sense which always brings tangible results when properly exercised. Because of his industry, honesty of purpose and his public-spirit, coupled with his loyalty to all movements looking to the good of the locality where he lives, he is highly respected b}'- all who know him.

Mr. Snodgrass was born in Clinton county, Indiana, on a farm. He is a son of Thomas and Anna (Coffman) Snodgrass. The father was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana and the mother was a native of Tennessee. She died when our subject was three years old, and the following year the father passed away, so Joseph M. was brought up by an aunt until he was twelve years of age when he began the battle of life for himself. He managed to get some education in the country schools, which has been greatly supplemented in after, life by wide and miscellaneous home reading and study. He worked as a farm hand until he was twenty-one years old, when he was married, November ii, 1886 to Josephine Holmes, a daughter of John W. and Rosanna (Calanbaugh) Holmes, of Franklin county, .Indiana. To this union two sons and three daughters have been born, namely: Mary, Verne, Waldo, Carrie and May who are all at home.

After his marriage Mr. Snodgrass engaged in farming in Clinton county, Indiana for a period of eighteen years, then engaged in the nursery business in Clinton county for a period of ten years, building up a large and remunerative business. Meanwhile he gave his closest attention to the study of horticulture. While farming he experimented raising sugar beets and enjoys the distinction of being the first man in Indiana to make a successful demonstration of the practicability of the sugar beet. These experiments were under the instructions of the agricultural department of Purdue University. Mr. Snodgrass also experimented along horticultural lines while in the nursery business, especially in small fruits, berries and potatoes. His home and grounds near Kirklin, Indiana, were a delight to visitors, and were regarded as constituting the most beautiful country home in the state. It was visited by large numbers of people because of its combined natural and artificial beauty, the tastily kept grounds, artistically appointed residence and the panorama of the surrounding landscape being truly inspiring. While in the nursery business he also made a specialty of the hardy catalpa tree, and grew them by the millions, shipping them all over the United States. He carried a full and finely assorted line of all kinds of nursery stock, and became one of the most widely known men in this line of endeavor in the state.

In March, 1910, Mr. Snodgrass left Clinton county and bought a farm in Green township, Randolph county, where he lived one year, sold out and purchased his present valuable farm two miles south of Winchester. It consists of one hundred and sixty-six acres of well located and productive land, and it is Mr. Snodgrass' ambition to make this one of the model farms of this section of the state, and, judging from its present well-kept and attractive appearance and his past record there is no doubt but that he will succeed. It is his aim to specialize in dairy products. He has at this writing a fine herd of Jersey cows, one of the few registered herds in Randolph county. General farming will also claim much of his attention. He has long been regarded as one of the most influential and learned contributors to the agricultural and horticultural press of Indiana. His papers are always of high class workmanship from a literary standpoint and what he says on any subject is regarded as authority and his articles have been watched for and eagerly read for years. He was formerly a member of the -Indiana Horticultural Society, and is a regular correspondent of the Farmer's Guide, published at Huntington, Indiana, recognized as being one of the best agricultural papers in the country.

Politically, ]\Ir. Snodgrass is a Prohibitionist and has long been active in the affairs of the party, and while a resident of Clinton county he \\as a candidate for county offices. He is a member of the Masonic Order, also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Randolph County Corn Growers' Association, and is secretary of the County Farmers' Institute and is doing much to arouse general interest in better methods of agriculture in this county. Religiously he is a member of the Church of God. His wife and members of his family are affiliated with the Missionary Baptist church.

John H. Lee

An illustration of skill as a farmer as well as of the ability to concentrate efforts along some special line until success is achieved in that undertaking is found in the case of John H. Lee, one of the progressive citizens of Randolph county, who is not only a successful tiller of the soil as the term is usually understood but has proven himself to be a standard authority on livestock, giving special attention to that department of his work from which no small part of his annual income is derived. He has spent most of his life in this locality, well knowing that no better place could be found in this or any other state for general agricultural purposes, not only on account of good soil, but proper climatic conditions, easy access to large market centers and other minor reasons.

]\Ir. Lee was born in West River township, Randolph county, April 3, 1859, on a farm. He is a son of Ephraim and Elizabeth Jane (Ledbetter) Lee, both natives of ^^'ayne county, Indiana, where they grew to maturity, were educated and married and from which locality they eventually moved to Randolph county, locating on a farm in West River township in the latter fifties, and here the father prospered, becoming one of the extensive land owners of this township.

John Lee, the great grandfather of our subject was a native of England where he spent his early life, finally emigrating to the United States, being shipwrecked when crossing the Atlantic, he and only two others escaping with their lives. He established a home in the east, and his son, Samuel Lee, grandfather of our subject, finally settled in Wayne county, Indiana, and there his death occurred when his son Ephraim Lee, father of the gentleman whose name initiates this review, was only four years of age- Politically, Ephraim Lee was a Republican and was for many years active in public matters, but was never an office seeker. He and his family were members of the Friends church. His death occurred in 1906, his wife having preceded him to the grave in August, 1899. They were the parents of nine children, namely : Riley is a retired farmer of Modoc ; Phoebe is deceased ; Edward is a farmer of West River township; Minus lives in Muncie; Arminta is deceased; John PL, of this review; Ruth is the wife of John Jones, of Modoc; Samuel is a carpenter and lives at Modoc; Liverna is the wife of Jacob Ross, a farmer and they live in Iowa.

John H. Lee was reared on the home farm and he attended the rural schools in his district, and he remained with his parents until his marriage on November 28, 1880, to Ellen Keever. She is a daughter of Solomon and Mary (Earner) Keever, of Randolph county, the father now deceased, but the mother is living in Modoc. Mrs. Lee grew to womanhood in her native community and received a common school education. To our subject and wife one son has been born, Boyden, whose marriage took place March 22, 1902, when he espoused Emma Miller, a daughter of Isaac and Margaret (Roadcapp) Miller, of White River township, and they have two children, Lura and Willard Woodrow.

When John H. Lee was first married he began farming for himself on a farm near Modoc. In the fall of 1891 he moved to Wells county, Indiana, where he lived five years engaged successfully in general farming, but in the fall of 1896 he returned to Randolph county and settled in White River township. In the fall of 1903 he moved to his present farm four miles southwest of Winchester, which place consists of eighty acres, well improved and under a high state of cultivation, and on which stands one of the most attractive and modern rural homes in the county. He also has substantial and convenient outbuildings, and he devotes much of his attention to stock raising and feeding for the markets. Mrs. Lee is a lady of decided artistic temperament, a lover of nature, especially flowers, and the spacious, shady and well-kept lawn bears evidence of her taste and work as a floriculturist.

Politically, Mr. Lee is a Democrat, having been loyal to the principles of this party since 1892, and has been an active party man. He has been precinct committeeman several years, but he has never been an office seeker.

He and his family are members of the German Baptist church and are active church workers, and influential in the various affairs of the community whether religious, educational, civic or material.

Allen R. Hiatt

One of the notable institutions of Randolph county is the James Aloorman Orphans' Home, situated two ,miles west of Winchester in the midst of a beautiful tract of 174 acres. The institution was endowed by James Moorman October 8. 1888. and is in charge of Allen R. Hiatt, of Winchester. No better choice, it seems, could have been made of a superintendent, for under the fostering care of Mr. and yirs. Hiatt the home has become everything that such a home should be. The children are healthy and happy, and that is the best evidence of the ability and devotion of the superintendent and his wife. The little orphans imder their charge are treated as carefully and tenderly as they ever treated their own children. The home has become famous throughout the state, and that which has given it its reputation is the character of the children taken from it. The labors of Mr. and ^Irs. Hiatt here proceed equally from the head and heart, and that is why they are so eminently successful.

Allen R. Hiatt, the son of Amos and Martha (Robertson) Hiatt, was born in Randolph county, April 30, i860, and is therefore fifty-four years of age, just in the prime of his mature manhood. He is one of a family of seven children, the names of whom are Hannah C, the wife of William T. Roszell, a Randolph county farmer; James C, a builder of ^^^inchester, who married Lizzie Ferman; Charles, a Minnesota farmer, who married Mary Cox; Rosa Elmeda, the wife of Nelson Culbertson, of Albany; Mary Ehzabeth, who died at the age of eight years : our subject, Allen R. ; and Ella, who died at thirty-seven. The latter was'the wife of James Reitnour and left three children.

The ancestors of the Hiatt family in Indiana were the Van Hiatts *of ^^'ales. Four brothers came together to this country and from these the present family sprang. In the course of time the Van was dropped, the name assuming the simple form of Hiatt. The name is now quite common in the nomenclature of American cognomens. Amos Hiatt, the father of the subject of this review, was born on a farm in Guilford county, North Carolina, and has been a farmer all his life. He was married twice, and by his first wife, nee Bales, he had five children - John Wesley, who died in the army; Samuel IMartin. Louisa, Melissa and Evaline.

February lo, 1883, Allen R. Hiatt was married to Emma E. Trueblood, daughter of Jonathc^n Trueblood, a farmer of Blackford county. Six children were born to them, only two of whom are living. The eldest, Edith May, married Ottis Hoskinson, an Adams county farmer, and has one child, Helen Louise, born May 16, 1913; the son, Lawrence Douglas, born ni October, 1892, is with his father on the farm. The other children died in infancy.

Mr. Hiatt took up the business of farming equipped with a liberal education of the local schools, and this he has enlarged by application in various branches of information. Anything pertaining to the advancement or more scientific treatment of his business he is especially interested in. It is by adopting the methods of such advanced farmers as Mr. Hiatt that farming has been brought up to its present great productive capacity. He believes in the application of scientific methods, making of farming a more intellectual occupation. To him it is something of an ideal, presenting equal advantages for both mental and physical culture. Mr. Hiatt is a member of the Christian church and is a Progressive in politics. And in both church and political matters he takes a deep interest. All beneficent and charitable enterprises of the church receive his hearty approval and assistance. He is not one of those confirmed pessimists who believe that the church has lost its spirituality and has declined into a mere practical and material organization, but that it has all the vigor of its palmy days and is growing in potentiality. The Progressive movement, Mr. Hiatt considers essential to the development of political and social conditions.

Oliver Perry Mote

The gentleman whose name initiates this paragraph is one of the worthy native sons of Randolph county and we are glad to give our readers a brief outline of his life record, for he is deemed eminently worthy of representation along with the industrious citizens of the locality embraced by this work, owing to the fact that he belongs to the energetic class that has contributed to the later-day progress .of this favored section of the great Hoosier commonwealth. He enjoys the respect of all who know him for he has led an honorable life, and he is known to be a man of practical intelligence and mature judgment.

June I, i860. He is a son of Henry and Emilia (Mikesell) Mote. The father was born near New Madison, Ohio, June 7, 1816. He was a son of Jonathan and Alary Mote. Jonathan Mote was born in Georgia in January, 1788, and in 18 10 he emigrated north to Ohio, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he cleared and farmed until i860 when he sought another new country, removing to the state of Iowa where he bought six hundred acres- of land, which he farmed on an extensive scale until his death in 1873. His wife died in earty life in 1835. Henry Mote, our subject's father, grew to manhood amid pioneer conditions and assisted his father with the work on the farm. Owing to the newness of the locality where he lived when a boy he had little opportunity to obtain an education. In 1856 he moved to Randolph county, Indiana and located in Wayne township, where he purchased one hundred and seventy-six acres,, which he cleared and farmed practically until his death on November 28, 1878. Politically, he was a Republican, and he was justice of the peace for a number of years. He was an influential man in his neighborhood and was respected by all who knew him. Fraternally, he belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and Emilia Mikesell were married in 1836. She was born February 14, 1818, near New Madison, Ohio, and her death occurred July 3, 191 1, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. To the parents of our subject thirteen children were born.

Oliver P. Alote grew up on the home farm and received a common school education. In 1878 he began farming for himself on the home place. In 1892 he moved near the village of Crete. In 1902 he purchased seventyfive acres there which he has since farmed, making a specialty of tobacco raising.

Politically, Mr. Alote is a Progressive. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and religiously he belongs to the Christian church. He was township trustee from 1904 to 1908, filhng this office to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Mr. Mote was married September 29, 1883 to Emma A. Thomas, who was born October 16, 1864 on the farm where she now lives. She is a daughter of Henry and Alary A. Thomas.

Nine children, one of whom is deceased, have been born to Air. and Mrs. Alote, named as follows: Carl H. lives in Indianapolis; Grace L. is the wife of Roy H. Starbuck, of Winchester; Cleo is at home; Alary is the wife of O. L. Spahr, of Portland ; Nellie is teaching school in Greensf ork township ; Rufus, Donald and Ray Dean are all at home.

John William Crist

It is the custom with many farmers, even in this day of known advantage of putting all corn and hay raised on a farm into stock, to sell the grain which they raise and only deal to a limited extent in livestock. Time has shown that this course is unwise, and those farmers who still stick to that obsolete custom are the losers. It is found that the best results are obtained from making the sale of live stock the first consideration, and it is not necessary to point out that most of the successful farmers have adopted long ago this practice. Aside from the improvement of the farm and perhaps the deal - ings in farms, it is probably the fact that the great majority of the wealthiest farmers have obtained the major portion of their wealth in the judicious handling of live stock.

One of the successful farmers and stock raisers of Randolph county is John William Crist, who was born near Spartanburg, Indiana, February 2, 1868. He is a son- of Sanford and Mary A. (Corbett) Crist. The father was born in Hancock county, Ohio, November 17, 1842, and was a son of Charles and Mary (Flatter) Crist. Mary A. Corbett was born near Spartanburg, October 9, 1849. Charles Crist was born in Pennsylvania in 1809, where he lived until he came to Ohio and from that state he removed to Randolph county, Indiana in 1856, locating near Spartanburg, where he bought seventy acres of land, which he operated until his death in 1889. Politically, he was a Democrat, and in religious matters was a Universalist. Sanford Crist grew up on the home farm and received his education in the rural schools. He devoted most of his active life to farming, retiring in 1909 and moved to Spartanburg where his death occurred in June, 1913. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in August, 1863, in Company B, Seventh Indiana Cavalry, One Hundred and Nineteenth Regiment. He did guard duty at Indianapolis, where, six months later he took typhoid fever and was discharged. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, belonged to the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His widow is still living, making her home with their son, John W. Crist, of this sketch, their only child.

John W. Crist grew up on the home farm and received a common school education. He has remained on the home place and has followed farming and stock raising all his life. Being the only child he inherited the homestead of seventy-five acres which he has kept well improved and well cultivated. The farm is all tillable and it has a good set of buildings. He makes a specialty of raising Poland-China hogs.

Mr. Crist was married May 19, 1888 to Pearl Hill, and to them four children have been born, namely : Fae is the wife of Wendell Middleton, of Spartanburg; Roy is at home; Thomas died December 29, 191 1 at the age of twelve years ; Russell is at home.

Politically, Mr. Crist is a Democrat. He belongs to the Masonic Order, the Knights of Pythias, also the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Encampment, having passed all the chairs in both local lodges, and is now secretary of the Odd Fellows and recorder of the Encampment. He is also a member of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. Religiously, he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.

William H. Mote

The people who constitute the bone and sinew of this country are certainly not those who are unsettled and unstable; who change from one occupation to another; who take no interest in public affairs, never assist in establishing schools, churches and in encouraging the enforcement of laws. The backbone of this countr}' is made up of the families who have made their homes; who are alive to the best interests of the community in which they reside; who are so honest that it is no trouble for their neighbors to know it; who attend to their own business and are too busy to attend to that of others; who work on steadily from day to day, taking the sunshine with the storm and who rear a family to a comfortable home and an honest life. Such people are always welcome in any community. They are wealth producers. Randolph county has been blessed with a goodly number of such, among whom is the subject of this sketch.

William H. Mote, the present popular and efficient postmaster at Union City was born June 7, 1869, in Wayne township, Randolph county. He is a son of Rufus G. and Elmira (Turner) Mote. The father was bom in Darke county, Ohio, and is still living. The mother was born near Winchester, Indiana, and is also still living. Rufus G. ]\Iote was a soldier in Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantr^^ under Captain Nefif, having enlisted in 1863, from Randolph county, serving until the close of the war in a most creditable manner. He was with Sherman in the Atlanta compaign and was with Thomas at Nashville. He thus took part in many important battles and campaigns. He has devoted his active life to general farming but is now living retired in Union City.

William H. Mote grew to manhood on the home farm where he worked hard when a boy and received a good education in the common schools, later was graduated from the Eastern Indiana Normal at Portland, also was graduated from Valparaiso College. He was clerk in the county treasurer's office under Turner and Harland Ruby. He then returned to the farm and successfully engaged in tilling the soil in this county until 1899. in which year he organized a business at Bartonia, now known as the Farm Supply Company, dealing in farm implements, hardware and a number of things used by all farmers. He got a very good start, but discontinued the business there in 1901, and moved the same to Union City. Mr. Mote was at that time head of the concern and his energy, sound judgment and honest dealings made it a pronounced success and it has steadily grown to the present time. He is now a stockholder in the same.

]\Ir. Mote has ever taken an abiding interest in public affairs. He served four years in the common council of Union City to which he was elected in 1906, his term expiring in 19 10, and during that period he did much for the permanent good of the city. He is a loyal Republican and has been influential in local political affairs for some time. He was appointed postjnaster at Union City February 16, 191 1, under President Taft. His term expires in February, 191 5. He is discharging the duties of the same in a highly acceptable manner to the people and the administration. He owns a pleasant home in Union City. Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights of the Golden Eagle at Bartonia, also is a member of the Masonic Order at Union City. He is a member of the Christian church and is chairman of the official board of the same.

Mr. Mote was married October 12, 1892, to Florence E. Woodbury, who was born south of Union City in Randolph county, June 18, 1874. She is a daughter of Samuel C. and Alice (Galloway) Woodbury, the father a native of Indiana and the mother of Ohio. Mrs. Mote received a common school education, was also graduated from the high school at Union City (on the Ohio side). She taught one term of school before her marriage.

Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mote, namely : Harriet A., born September 8, 1893, is now a student in Northwestern University; she is a talented musician and is studying both vocal and instrumental music. Seibert W., the son, was born July i, 1898, and is now attending high school in Union City.

Albert C. Hinshaw

It is a good sign when so many of the residents of a county are found to have been born within her borders. It indicates that they have found right at home all the opportunities necessary for the gratification of their ambitions in a business, political and social way, and it also indicates stability. One is reminded that "A rolling stone gathers no moss." That young man is evidently the wisest who, when conditions will permit, remains in his native locality and addresses himself to the improvement of conditions he finds there and to his personal advancement along such lines as he may choose, selecting those things for which he is best fitted by nature. One such is Albert C. Hinshaw, the present able superintendent of Fountain Park cemetery, at Winchester, Randolph county.

Mr. Hinshaw was born at Lynn, Randolph county, October 28, 1873. He is a son of Rev. Simpson S. and Rachael (Peek) Hinshaw. The father was born near Lynn, this county, but the mother was a native of North Carolina, from which state she came to Randolph county, Indiana, with her parents when about three years old. The father was an earnest minister in the Friends church and served various charges in Randolph county with much satisfaction to his congregations, and was pastor of the Winchester church of this denomination for about seven years. His death occurred June 26, 1901, in Winchester, in which city his widow still resides. To these parents three daughters and two sons were born who are still living and three children died in infancy, namely : Millie A., formerly Mrs. Grant Ward, of Muncie, Indiana,- married second to John Best; Albert C, of this review; Myrtle, now Mrs. Charles Albright, of Winchester; Lillie is the wife of Porter Chenoweth, of Lynn, Indiana; and Dr. H. E., of Richmond, this state.

Albert C. Hinshaw was nine years old when he came with his parents to ^Vinchester and here he has remained to the present time. He received a public school education. He began life for himself as clerk which occupation he followed several years. On November 21, 1893, he married Mary Weaver, who was born September 16, 1873. She is a daughter of John and Caroline (Henizer) Weaver, of Winchester, both parents still living here.

Mr. Hinshaw learned the painter's trade, becoming quite an expert and for a period of ten years he was in the employ as painter of Knecht and Thomas, pump manufacturers, then became a house painter with the firm of Coats & Kem, of Winchester, with whom he remained for several years.

giving eminent satisfaction as he had his former employers. For awhile he was in business for himself, then, in 1912 he was elected superintendent of Fountain Park cemetery at Winchester and has since devoted his attention to this with fidelity and energy which have proven him to be a good man for the position. This cemetery is one of the most artistically platted and beautifully kept of all the cemeteries in the Middle West, and Mr. Hinshaw has a just pride in the tasty appearance of his charge.

Politically, he is a Republican, and while interested in public matters is not especially active. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and his family are members of the Friends church and are active in church and Sunday school work.

Union B. Hunt

No one perhaps in Randolph county is more widely known than Union B. Hunt, who was born in Nettle Creek township, September 2, 1864. He is a son of Joshua P. and Rachel Howell Hunt. Having been born during the Civil war and his father being a loyal supporter of the Federal Government, he was christened "Union". His paternal grandfather, John Hunt, was a native of Kentucky and was colonel of a regiment in the war of 1812.

The greater part of the life of Mr. Hunt has been spent in Randolph county, the early years of his boyhood having been spent in Vermilion county, Illinois. During his boyhood days, he worked on a farm, later clerked in a store and engaged in other occupations. He studied law in the office of Watson and Watson and was admitted to practice in 1889, forming a partnership with John R. Wright under the firm name of Wright and Hunt. This partnership continued for a number of years, when a new partnership was formed with C. L. and T. W. Hirtchens under the firm name of Hutchens, Hunt and Hutchens, the latter partnership continuing up to 1898, when he was nominated by the Republican party for secretary of state of Indiana, to which position he was elected and re-elected in 1900. In 1892 he engaged in the newspaper business, buying a half interest in the Winchester Herald, one of the leading Republican newspapers in the state, assuming practically the entire editorial charge of the paper and continued in that work for about four years, in the meantime keeping in close touch with his law practice. At the expiration of his term as secretary of state, Mr. Hunt returned to Winchester and re-engaged in the practice of law with Hon. Enos L. Watson under the firm name of Watson and Hunt. This partnership continued until 1903, when he was appointed a member of the Indiana Railroad Commission and was by his colleagues elected chairman of that Commission, which position he filled until December i, 1908, when he resigned to accept the presidency of the Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias Insurance Department, which position he now holds. This position is one of importance in the business world, as the institution of which he is president has a membership of 71,000, representing one hundred million dollars ®f insurance, the society having assets of more than six million dollars.

Mr. Hunt has occupied many prominent positions in the Order of Knights of Pythias, having served in various grand lodge offices in Indiana, first being appointed Grand Instructor, following which he was elected Grand Vice Chancellor and elected Grand Chancellor in 1897. He was chosen as Supreme Representative in 1901 and continued as such representative for ten years.

While Mr. Hunt does not at this time take an active part in politics, he is a Republican and was for many years active and influential in the work of that party, having made speeches in every county in the state except one and has spoken several times in a number of counties ; not only has he addressed audiences in behalf of the political party he represents, but since he became identified with the Knights of Pythias, he has spoken before the grand lodges in every state in the Union and in many of the Canadian provinces in behalf of fraternal organizations and especially in behalf of the Insurance Department of which he is the president.

On November i, 1891, he married Mary M. Hinshaw, who was the daughter of Absalom and Eliza Hinshaw. To them was born one child, Ethel, who is now the wife of K. R. Davis, of Indianapolis.

James M. Hamilton

One of the best-known and highly respected citizens of Randolph county is James M. Hamilton, who, for over three continuous decades has been employed as railway mail clerk, his long retention being a criterion of his faithful and able service. He is a scion of one of our best old families, but he has attained his present high standing among his fellow-men almost solely through the impelling force of his personality. He possesses not only those powers which render men efficient in the material affairs of life, but also the gentler traits that mark genial and correct social intercourse. In his daily affairs he manifests a generous regard for his fellows, actuated by principles of altruism and honesty and no man in the county commands and merits more fully the good will of the people.

Mr. Hamilton was born at Waterloo, Fayette county, Indiana, September 2, 1845, and is the third son of Captain Robert Washington Hamilton and Malinda (Matthews) Hamilton. Captain Hamilton was a prominent man in his day and generation, one of the leading physicians and surgeons of this section of the state. He was born in Montgomery county. West Virginia, March 4, 1818. He was a son of J. S. and Eliza (, Courtney) Hamilton, and the third of a family of twelve children. His father was born in Baltimore, Maryland, November 5, 1792, and his mother in Castle Dawson, Ireland, in 1796. When twelve years of age, she came with her parents to America, the family locating in Montgomery county, in what was then Virginia, and there she grew to womanhood, met and married Mr. Hamilton, and in that locality they resided until 1832 when they came west to Fayette county, Indiana, where they bought a farm on which they spent the rest of their lives, his death occurring in 1879, she having preceded him to the grave in 1875.