Tipton County, Indiana - Biographical sketches, 1914 (part 2 of 11)

In examining the life records of self-made men, it will invariably be found that indefatigable industry is considered the basis of their success. True, there are other elements that enter in and conserve the advancement of personal interest; perseverance, discrimination, the mastering of expe¬ dients, but the foundation of all achievement is earnest, persistent labor. The subject of this sketch is a man who is essentially self-made, having worked his way through the schools, gone through normal school, attended Indiana University, and throughout his whole career he has shown that his success is due to his honesty of purpose and strict attention to business. No pro¬ fession has been more honored than the teaching profession, and it is the men of vigorous mentality and strong mental fiber who have made our public schools of Indiana what they are today. Such a man is the subject of this sketch.

William Nelson McGraw, grocer, was born in Prairie township, Tipton county, Indiana, on January 10, 1875, the son of Isaac Wilson and Sarah (Purvis) McGraw, who were both natives of Indiana, he of Shelby county and she of Tipton. They were the parents of five children, William N., of Tipton; Ada, the wife of Eugene Huston, of Cassville, Indiana; Charles W., of Indianapolis; Gladys, wife of James Myers, of Kokomo, and one child who died in infancy.

The father of the subject of this sketch came to Tipton county with his parents and grew to manhood in Prairie township. His life has been mostly spent in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife now reside in Sharps ville, this county. They have both been for many years active and earnest mem¬ bers of the Baptist church in that village.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were William and Rhoda (Hoffman) McGraw. They came to Tipton county in the nearly fifties, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land five miles west of Sharpsville. This they cleared and improved and made it one of the best farms in the community. He and his father built a log cabin out of huge poplar logs, which they hewed and put together with mortar and chinked, and this house was so well built that it stood in a good state of preservation until 19 1 1 . Here it was that he reared his family and here his death oc¬ curred in i860, his wife surviving him nearly a half century, dying in 1908, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. They were the parents of six children who reached the age of maturity: Frank, Wilson. Mary, Aden, Catherine and John, who died when a young man. His widow never re¬ married.

The maternal grandparents were Luther and Nancy ( Jones) Purvis, both natives of Indiana. They lived in Prairie township, but went west in 1877, dying at Louisburg, Kansas, just past middle life. They were the parents of a large family, Nancy, John, Saul, Andrew, Sarah, Susan, Eliza¬ beth and Charles.

William N. McGraw, the subject of this sketch, was about sixteen years of age when he left the farm and went to Sharpsville. He attended the dis¬ trict school and the public schools at that place, and continued his education at the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, and later spent several terms in the State University, at Bloomington. Following this he taught school for four years in the country, and four^vears in the high schools of Goldsmith, Kempton and Hobbs in Tipton country. During the seasons be¬ tween school sessions, he taught in the county normals at Tipton. In 1901 he opened a grocery store in Tipton, which he still operates very successfully, due to the good class of goods which he carries and the strict business integ¬ rity which he brings into his business.

On the 3d of July, 1900, Mr. McGraw was married to Ethel Jones, of Brazil, Indiana, the daughter of William R. and Susan (Crabb) Jones. They are the parents of t\\'o children, Eunice and William.

Mr. and Mr. McGraw are' faithful members of the Christian church, and Mr. McGraw has been an elder in the West Street Christian church of Tipton for some years. Politically, he is a Democrat and has always advo¬ cated the principles of that party.

Mrs. McGraw was born in Brazil, Indiana, on October 1, 1881. Her father was a native of Wales, and her mother of Indiana. Her father, died in 1901 at the advanced age of seventy-two. Her mother is still living at the age of seventy-eight, her birthday being December 2, 1844. They were the parents of sixteen children, eleven of whom grew to manhood and woman¬ hood: Catherine, Thomas P., Daniel, Lemuel, Sarah, Eliza, Celia, Mary, Ethel, Ida and Emma. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. McGraw were named Crabb.

Mr. McGraw 'is a man of genial disposition and enjoys a large popu¬ larity in the community where he has spent his life. In his home life he is a man of marked domestic tastes, and finds his greatest enjoyment in the company of his loved ones and in the entertainment of his many friends, to whom he shows the spirit of true hospitality. He has shown himself to be a man of broad character, kindliness of heart and ever willing to aid in any cause for the betterment of the community and the public with whom he has to deal.

John Richard Nash

To such men as John Richard Nash life is so real that they do not find time to plot either mischief or vice. Their lives are bound up in their duties, they feel the weight of their citizenship, and take pleasure in sowing the seeds of righteousness in order that their contemporaries and their descen¬ dants may be benefited. It is an axiom demonstrated by human experience that industry is the keynote of prosperity. Success comes not to the man who idly waits, but to the faithful toiler whose work is characterized by sleepless vigilance and cheerful celerity, and it has been by such means that John Richard Nash has forged to the front and won an honored place among the substantial citizens of Tipton county.

Tipton county, the son of William G. and Rebecca E. (Galloway) Nash. William G. Nash is the subject of a biographical review elsewhere in this volume, to which the reader is referred for the genealogy of the Nash family.

John Richard Nash was reared on his father's farm in Cicero town¬ ship and attended the district schools, after which he taught for four terms. On the completion of his pedagogical pursuits, the subject rented farm land and engaged in agriculture for several years, at the end of which period he was enabled to purchase ninety acres in Cicero township, which he cleared, improved and added to until he now owns two hundred and thirty-six acres of the best land in the community, on which he has a splendid home and every comfort and convenience essential to an up-to-date agricultural plant.

On September 20, 1913, Mr. Nash became cashier of the First National Bank, in which he had been interested for several years. This financial in¬ stitution is one of the most substantial in the state of Indiana and was or¬ ganized in 1876, its present capital stock being one hundred thousand dollars. The present officers are: J. E. Hawkins, president; W. A. Phares, vicepresident; John R. Nash, cashier, and Horace Matthews, assistant cashier. The subject is also interested in a stock company known as the Grishaw- Nash Sheep Feeding Company, incorporated by Fred Yoiingman, the late Edward Grishaw, J. B. Grishaw and John R. Nash, the objects of this con¬ cern being to bring lambs from Montana and other western states and to feed them by thousands, a large tract of land having been leased on which barns and other necessary improvements have been erected.

On September 30, 1896, Mr. Nash was united in marriage to Jennie Belle Frier, daughter of William Henry Frier, Mrs. Nash having been bom in Clinton county, Indiana, near Scircleville, November 21, 1872. Her par¬ ents were natives of the Hoosier state, the father of Clinton county and the mother of Henry county, both now being deceased. The parents of Mrs. Nash had three children: Alice E., now the wife of Woody Patterson; Mrs. Nash; a son died young. To Mr. and Mrs. Nash have been born five chil¬ dren, Jean Alice, Mary Elizabeth, Richard Leland, Margaret and Robert Lee.

Mr. and Mrs. Nash are members of the Christian church, while the sub¬ ject gives his support in matters of politics to the Republican party. Fra¬ ternally, Mr. Nash belongs to Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons;7 Tipton Chapter No. 114, Royal Arch Masons; Tipton Council No. 80, Royal and Select Masters, and Tipton Commandery, Knights Templar, also holding membership in Tipton Lodge No. 220, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Clinton H. Hobbs

- Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free, outdoor life of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterize true manhood and no greater blessing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has always been the fruitful field from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and the majority of our nation's scholars and distinguished men of letters were born on the farm and are indebted to its early influence for the distinction which they have attained.

Clinton H. Hobbs, retired farmer in Madison township, was born in Tipton county, Indiana, December 20, 1843, the son of Levi and Cynthia (Bowles) Hobbs. His father was a native of Virginia, while his mother was a native of Ohio. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom grew to manhood and womanhood: Iby L.,. deceased, who was the wife of John W. Cook: Elmina, wife of Eli Houser, of Madison township; Clinton H., of Tipton; Martin M., of Hobbs Station; Miranda J., who died in childhood; William B., of Tipton: Ann Eliza, deceased, who was the wife of Jeremiah Ressler; and Preston L., of Hobbs Station, a merchant. The father of the subject of this sketch was reared in Virginia on a farm, and came to Indiana in 1837. For a short time he followed the profession of teaching, and taught several terms in Marion and Tipton counties. Being of a thrifty turn of mind, he saved his money and invested in land, until at the time of his death in 1863, at the age of fifty-six, he owned seventy acres of land in Tipton. His wife died on May 25, 1892, at the advanced age of seventy-six. He and his wife were both loyal supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church and contributed liberally of their substance to its support.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were Absalom and Susan Hobbs, both being natives of Virginia and lived in Lee county, that state, where they died at middle age. He was a farmer and was twice married. To the first union there were born eight children, Job, Absalom, William, Henry, Levi, John, Rebecca and Mary. His second wife was a Miss Olinger, and they also reared a large family of children, Jacob B., Vincent, Clinton, Caleb, Joshua, David C. and Peggy Ann.

Martin. They came from Ohio to Indiana many years before the Civil war and settled in Marion county. Later they moved to Huntington county, where they both died. He was a mechanic, a wood workman and also oper¬ ated a farm. They raised a large family, John, Henry, Llewellyn, William, Cinthia, Martha, Jane, Sophronia, Mary, Ann and Charlotte.

Clinton H. Hobbs was bom and reared in Tipton county, and has spent his entire life, of more than three score and ten, in the county where he was born. He was reared under the parental roof and received all his education in the old-fashioned subscription schools. His father was his first teacher. He lived at home until he was grown, working on his father's farm until his marriage, after which he rented a farm in Madison township, his father-inlaw's farm, and operated this tract of land for three years, then moved back to his father's farm, buying the interest of some of the heirs. After oper¬ ating this farm for a number of years, he bought a farm in Cicero township of forty acres, to which he added eighty acres more, making one hundred and twenty acres in all. He still owns this farm, for which he has been offered two hundred dollars per acre. He can remember when any farm land in this locality could be bought for ten dollars per acre, or even less. He moved into Tipton on the 8th day of March, 1911, and owns a fine residence at No. 433 North Independence street, where he and his wife are now living a re¬ tired life.

On January 11, 1866, Mr. Hobbs was united in marriage to Losada Jane Lea veil, the daughter of Benjamin and Frances (Thornburg) Leavell. Nine children have been born to this union: Nellie A., Minnie M., Thomas B., Melvin W., Jesse T. and Guy Fulton, and three who died in infancy. Nellie A. married Alva Foster, and they live in Madison township; Minnie married J. R. Click, and they also live in 'Madison township and have two children, Leah and John H. ; Thomas B. married Margaret Ford, and lives in Tipton. They have two living children, Mary Jane and Anna V. ; Melvin W. mar¬ ried Frances Simpson, and they reside in Tipton, and are the parents of three children, William S., Cynthia I. and Melvin W. ; Jesse T. died at the age of fifteen; Guy Fulton, who is a practicing physician in Indianapolis, married Gertrude Neville.

Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Hobbs belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and have always been loyal members of that denomination. Fraternally, he is a member of Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons. He was a soldier in the Civil war, belonging to Company C., One Hundred and First Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served about eight months, being discharged on account of disability. He belongs to the James Price Post, Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he is a supporter of the Repub¬ lican party, but has never held any public office, though he was road super¬ visor of his township for two terms.

Mrs. Hobbs was born in Madison township, Tipton county, Indiana, on August 13, 1846. Her father was a native of Kentucky and her mother of Tennessee, and were early settlers of Tipton. Her father died in 1869 and her mother in 1894. They were the parents of seven children, John W., Martha R., Losada J., Nancy V., Sarah E., Mary E. and Josephine.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Hobbs was Robert Lea veil and his wife's 'maiden name was Sarah Leavell, they being second cousins and natives of Kentucky. They raised a family of several children, James, Ezekiel, Benjamin, Caroline, Sarah, Melinda, Nancy, Elizabeth and Mary.

The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Hobbs were William and Martha (Bradshaw) Thornburg, natives of Tennessee. Their children were John. Benjamin, William, Frances, Mary Ann, Melinda and Betsy. The parents of both Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs were among the oldest pioneer families of the county. They used to haul their grain to Lafayette in what was then known as old "schooner" wagons, wagons which were near relatives to the old "Conestoga" wagons of the East. Their nearest market was Lafayette at this time, and all produce had to be hauled there for sale.

The success atttained by Mr. Hobbs in his business affairs has been greatly owing to his steady persistence, strict integrity and excellent judg¬ ment, qualities which have also won for him the esteem and confidence of the public to a marked degree. Prsonallv, he is a man of quiet and unas¬ suming disposition, though genial and friendly in his relations to others, and he has for many years enjoyed a wide acquaintance and large prestige throughout Tipton county.

Jerome Andrew Gleason

The gentleman to a brief review of whose life characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed, is among the favorably known and representa¬ tive old business men of Tipton county, having maintained a mercantile estab¬ lishment at Tipton for over twenty years. He has by his indomitable enter¬ prise and progressive methods contributed in a material wav to the advance¬ ment of this locality, and during the course of a long and honorable career has been very successful. This has been made possible because he is a man of energy, sound judgment and honest principles, and he is therefore well deserving of mention in this volume.

Jerome Andrew Gleason, retired merchant, was born in Glen wood, Rush county, Indiana, on December 25, 1854. He was a son of James Finley and Margaret Jane (Puntenney) Gleason. Both of his parents were natives of Indiana, his father being raised in Rush county. He was a tailor by trade and continued in that occupation until October, 1868, and then retired to the farm for two years. After coming to Tipton he engaged in the grocery busi¬ ness, first in partnership with G. W. Marsh, and, in 1874, with John R. Puntenney, the firm being known as Gleason & Puntenney. They continued this partnership until 1879, when the firm became known as Gleason & Son. They continued in joint partnership until 1883, when the son, the subject of this sketch, bought his father's interest, and his father retired from active participation in the business management of the firm. He died December 4, 1899, at the age of seventy-two, and his wife died September 1, 1888. Both were devoted members of the United Presbyterian church. The subject of this sketch was the only child of this union. Three years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Gleason, Sr., married Elizabeth Morgan, who still sur¬ vives him, living in Tipton.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were natives of New York, and while engaged on a boat in New York harbor the grandfather was acci¬ dentally killed. His wife came west to Indiana and was a pioneer in Mont¬ gomery county, where she died at an advanced age. They were the par¬ ents of the following children: Jerry, Cynthia Ann, James F. and three others not named. The maternal grandparents were Joseph and Martha (Russell) Puntenney, who came from Ohio to Indiana and located in Rush county in the early twenties. She died there in May, 1869, and he and two single daughters came to Tipton in the fall of 1874, living there until his death, which occurred two years later. They had eight children, John R., George H., Fannie, Sarah, Margaret Jane, Martha, Serepta and a son who died in childhood.

Jerome A. Gleason spent his boyhood days in Rush and Fayette counties, Indiana, until March, 1870, when he came with his parents to Tipton county. He received most of his education in the Tipton county schools. He clerked in his father's grocery store until taken in as a partner, and later bought his father's interest and continued the same until January, 1890, when he sold his stock. He has lived all his life since then in Tipton, except for a short time, which he spent in Kokomo. In March, 1878, he bought a small grocery store there, but retained possession of it only a few months. After selling his Tipton store, he bought the hardware stock of Armstrong, Puntenney & Company, and managed that for about nine months, when he sold his entire stock, but retained the building and grounds. Later he put in a stock of groceries and maintained a grocery business for nine months. He then dis¬ posed of this business and retired from active participation in any business at all, looking only after his property interests in the city. He owns a beautiful home, which he began building in the fall of 1900 and finished in 1901.

On January 22, 1879, Mr. Gleason1 married Mary J. Vickrey, the daughter of Absalom M. and Hannah E. (Burton) Vickrey, and to this union have been born three children, Beulah, Ralph O. and Malcolm Earl, who died on July 12, 1908, in his eighteenth year. Beulah married James Mood, a druggist in Tipton, and they have one child, Edith Pauline; Mrs. Mood is a graduate from the Tipton high school; Ralph O. is a graduate of the Tipton high school also, and is now a resident of Kokomo, Indiana. He was mar¬ ried to Teressa John. Mrs. J. A. Gleason, who died on February 18, 1889, was born in Tipton, her parents being natives of Indiana. Her father was a physician and was also in a private banking business in Tipton for a number of years. Mrs. Gleason was his cashier and bookkeeper for several years. His death occurred in Tipton in February, 1886. His widow is still living, and she had one sister who lived to maturity, and was the wife of A. F. Moore, and died three weeks after her sister died.

On the 29th of April, 1896, Mr. Gleason married Dora Tyner, daughter of John Harrison and Louisa J. (Perry) Tyner. There were no children by his second marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason are members of the Presby¬ terian church. Politically, he is a stanch Republican and sees no reason why he should change his affiliations from that to any other party. Fraternally, he belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has always taken a prominent part in political affairs in his community and served two terms in the city council of Tipton, 1885 to 1889.

Mr. Gleason's second wife 'was born in Marion county, Indiana, near Lawrence, and her parents were also natives of the Hoosier state. They' came from Marion county to Tipton, where her father did contracting and also conducted a saw and planing-mill for a number of years. He died in Tipton on March 24, 1899, aged fifty-eight years, while his wife died on August 4, 1908, at the age of sixty-six. He was a member of the Bapiist church, while his wife was a loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Mr. Tyner was always actively interested in the educational and moral wel¬ fare of his city, and served for three terms on the school board. They were the parents of four children, Jennie, wife of C. D. Thatcher, of Elwood; Dora, wife of the subject; Georgia Grace, wife of J. B. Findling, of Cicero, and a son who died in infancy.

The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Dora Gleason was Stephen Tyner, while her grandmother was Elizabeth (Wolf) Tyner, both natives of Indiana. The maternal grandparents were William arid Catherine (Newhouse) Perry, who were early settlers in Marion county, Indiana.

Mr. Gleason has been very successful in a business way, having been a good manager and by nature a man of sound judgment and foresight, and he stands high in the estimation T)f the people throughout Tipton county, and wherever he is known. He is a genial, hospitable and obliging gentleman and his character has never been assailed, honesty and the Golden Rule policy having ever been his principal virtues.

Thomas L. Jackson

In the daily laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a solid career on the part of a business man there is little to attract the casual reader in search of a sensational chapter ; but to a mind thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are noble and imperishable lessons in the career of an individual who, without other means than a clear head, strong arm and true heart, directed and controlled by correct principles and unerring judgment, conquers adversity and toiling on, finally wins, not only pecuniary independence, but, what is far greater and higher, the de¬ served respect and confidence of those with whom his active years have been passed.

Thomas L. Jackson, the proprietor of the largest saw-mill in Tipton, was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, November 28, i860, and is the son of Micajah and Frances E. (Leslie) Jackson. His father was a native of North Carolina, while his mother came from the state of Ohio. They had fourteen children, ten of whom lived to manhood and womanhood: James H., of Tipton: Alfred R., deceased; William H., deceased; Thomas L.. of Tipton; Ida M., deceased, who was the wife of Albert Stewart; Eva E., single, of Cicero township; Lilly L., wife of Fred Sandmann, of Cicero town¬ ship; Daisy, wife of Ezra Overdorf, of Hamilton county; Charley, deceased;

The father of the subject was left an orphan when he was a mere boy and was bound out as an apprentice, but ran off and grew to manhood and earned his own way from a small boy. He settled in Hamilton county when a young man, and ran a saw-mill there for several years. He died in 1899 at the allotted age of three score and ten. His wife survived him only two years. The last six of the above 'mentioned children were by his seA)nd wife. The others were by a former marriage to a Miss Thompson. Thomas L. Jackson was a child of the second marriage. The father was not identified with any church, but his faith was that of 'the Christian or Disciples church. His second wife was an earnest and loyal member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The history of Mr. Jackson's paternal grandparents is unfortunately lost. His maternal grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. James Leslie, both natives of Ohio. They were early settlers in Hamilton county. Indiana, where he ran a farm until the time of his death. They had six children : Parker, Jeremiah Larkins, Sarah, Frances, Henrietta and Hannah.

Thomas L. Jackson was reared in Tipton and Hamilton counties on the farm. He attended the district school and lived at home until grown. Very naturally, he began working in the saw-mill of his father by the day, and has known the intricacies of the saw-mill business all his life. For the past seventeen years he has been in that business for himself in Tipton.

Mr. Jackson was married on January 1. 1882, to Sarah E. Ridge, the daughter of Ransom D. and Naomi Ridge. Six children have been born to them: Myrtle E., LeRoy, Hazel. Paul R. and two who died in infancy. Myrtle, the first-born daughter, died at the age of twelve. LeRoy works with his father in the saw-mill. He was married some years ago to Madge Taylor. Hazel married Arlie Shaw and lives in Elwood. They have one child, George Franklin Shaw. Paul R. is still in school at Tipton. Mr. Jackson's wife died April 7, 1902, at the age of thirty-seven. She was a devoted member of the Christian church, and never wearied in performing all the duties of the church and its societies. She was born in Hamilton county. Her father was a native of North Carolina and her mother of Indiana. She was one of four children, Hannah, Sarah. William and Charles.

On October 8, 1903, Mr. Jackson married again, his second wife being Mrs. Nannie Van Meter, widow of William O. Van Meter and daughter of William M. O'Banion and wife. ^Ir. and Mrs. Jackson are both members of the Christian church at Tipton.

Mrs. Nannie Jackson was born in Rush county, this state, her father being a native of Kentucky and her mother of Indiana. Both were among the early settlers of Tipton county and have been dead many years. They raised a large family of eleven children, six of whom grew to maturity : Anna Behumer, Ira O'Banion, Allia Harlan, Nannie Jackson, Etta Holmes, and Logan, deceased.

In the strictest sense of the word, Mr. Jackson is a self-made man and is deserving of the high esteem which he enjoys among his neighbors. He is the type of hard-working man who has made the state of Indiana grow. A man of sound principles and strength of his convictions, willing to lend his influence at all times to the cause of justice, he is a man upon whom his children may look and admire. Personally, he is genial, unassuming and easily approached, so that he has easily won friends, who are in turn glad to number him as one of their acquaintances.

John G. Little

The following is the sketch of a plain honest man of affairs, who by correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of his patrons has made his influence felt in Tipton and won for himself distinctive prestige in the business circles of that city. He would be the last man to sit for romance or become the subject of fancy sketches, nevertheless his life presents much that is interesting and valuable and may be studied with profit by the young, whose careers are yet to be achieved. He is one of those whose integrity and strength of character must force them into an admirable notoriety which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their con¬ temporaries and their posterity and leave the impress of their individuality deeply stamped upon the community.

John G. Little, of the Tipton Auction Company, was born a mile and three-quarters west of Tipton, in Cicero township, May 17, 1870. He was the son of Thomas Jefferson and Mary (Farley) Little, both of these parents being natives of Indiana. He was one of a family of four children : Ada A., wife of Henry Kinder, of Tipton; Jennie, the wife of Edgar McMunn, of Cicero township; Alice, deceased, who died single, and John G.

The father of the subject came to Tipton county with his parents when a child, and his father entered government land three miles west of Tipton, (20) on what is now known as the Judge Waugh farm. He grew to manhood there and always remained a farmer. He died in the city of Tipton on March 20, 1907, having passed the allotted term of three score and ten. His wife died August 12, 1907, at the age of seventy-three. Their daughter, Alice, died in October of the same year. They were members of the Presby¬ terian church.

The paternal grandfather of the subject was Joseph Little and his wife was Jehila (Decker) Little. They were pioneers of Tipton county. They settled in Tipton county when the Indians were nearly as thick as the heavy timber. He cleared and improved the land and raised his large family there. He died on that farm in 1875 about the age of eightv-six years. His wife died about the same lime. They had a large family : Samuel, T. Jefferson, Joseph, Franklin, Isaac, William A., Aurilla, Melinda, Nancy, Mary, and a twin sister to William A., who died in infancy.

The maternal grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Farley, who were pio¬ neers in Tipton county and lived there all their lives. Mrs. Farley lived until she was past eighty years of age. They reared a large family, John, Matthew, Joseph, Henry, Jeremiah, Mary and Sarah.

John G. Little, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Cicero town¬ ship on his father's farm. He received his early education in the district schools of the locality. He then married, rented land and farmed for fifteen years. He owns a farm of. forty acres in Liberty township, near Windfall, which he now rents out. He moved into Tipton August 7, 1908, and went into the implement and hardware business. Later he closed out his imple¬ ments and now runs a furniture, hardware and stove store.

Mr. Little was married to Etta M. Springer, the daughter of Isaac X. and Lavina (Roadruck) Springer, on the 12th day of March, 1891. Her parents were early settlers in Tipton county and Hamilton county, respect¬ ively. To Mr. and Mrs. Little have been born four children, Edna, Ray¬ mond, Mary and Orville. Mr. and Mrs. Little are members of the Christian church, and Mr. Little's interest in church affairs is shown by the fact that he is a deacon in the congregation. Politically, he is a Prohibitionist, and has always advocated the principles of that party.

Mrs. Little was born in Cicero townhip, Tipton county, on her grand¬ father's farm, about five and one-half miles south of Tipton. Her mother died in 1899. Mrs. Little was one of eight children, five of whom are still living, namely : Albert, Melissa, Etta, Cora, Susan and three who died in infancy. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Little were Mr. and Mrs. Newton Springer.

The well-regulated life Mr. Little has led has gained him the respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens and entitles him to representation in a biographical work of the kind at hand. Genial and unassuming in his relations with his fellow men, he has won and retained the confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact. It can indeed be said that the community is better for his having lived in it.

Lewis Speckbaugh

One of the most active and enterprising young business men of Tipton county, Indiana, is the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this biographical sketch, a man who has progressed in his chosen life work, be¬ cause he has been a hard and consistent worker. Self-reliant, no matter in what environment he has been placed, he has realized at the outset that a man, to meet with success in life, must depend wholly upon his own resources in his relations with the world, whether in a business or a social way. He has shown that he does not shirk his responsibilities, does not try to thrust them upon the shoulders of others, but pushes ahead and in this way he has made a name for himself, although having been in business for a short time.

Lewis Speckbaugh, of the firm of Harker & Speckbaugh, druggists, of Tipton, was born in Milhousen, Decatur county, Indiana, February 10, 1881. His parents were Henry and Lena (Huegel) Speckbaugh, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They started to school together in the same school house on the same day, sang in the same choir, were members of the same church, and have been together since earliest childhood. Their natal days are only four days apart. They have been blessed with six children : Lewis, of Tipton; William, of Tipton; Maude, wife of Homer Marcotte, of Lafay¬ ette, Indiana; Carrie and Stella, of Tipton, and Anna, the wife of William Connolly, Jr., of Muncie, Indiana.

The father of the subject was reared in Decatur county, Indiana, came to Tipton county in 1883, and led the life of a farmer until he moved to Tipton, where he followed the trade of a carpenter. All the members of the family have been loyal members of the Catholic church and have always lived quiet and modest lives.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were Joseph and Mary Speck¬ baugh, both natives of Germany and among the early settlers of Decatur county, Indiana. They were seven weeks on the voyage across the ocean.

He died in Decatur county and his wife in North Vernon, both living to ad¬ vanced age. He amassed a large fortune and was one of Archbishop Purcell's creditors. They raised a large family of children : Josephine, Eliza¬ beth, Catherine, George, Marv and Henry.

The maternal grandparents were Louis ami Mary (Hahn) Huegel, he born in Jackson county, Ohio, and she near Oldenburg, in Franklin county. Indiana. He was an undertaker and a cabinet and coffin-maker. They moved to Tipton in 1888 and he died here in 1890, and was buried in the St. John cemetery. She is still living with her daughter in Muncie, Indiana. They had several children, Christianna, Lena, Margaret, John and William.

Lewis Speckbaugh, the subject of this sketch, has lived in Tipton since he was two and a half years of age. He attended the parochial schools and St. John's Academy, being present on the first day of the opening of that school. He then began clerking in the Rosenthal drug store, and studied pharmacy at the same time. After passing the state board examination for registered pharmacist, he went to the People's pharmacy in Muncie and remained there for one year. He then returned to Tipton and began clerking in the Rosenthal drug store. In 1906 he formed a partnership with L. T. Harker, and they have continued the business since that time under the firm name of Harker & Speckbaugh. He is a faithful member of the Catholic church and belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

William T. Harding

For a number of years the prominent business man whose name appears at the head of this sketch has ranked among the distinguished citizens of Tipton county, and his influence in promoting the material growth and prosperity of the city in which he resides has won for him a place in the public eye second to that of none of his contemporaries. No other man of the community has been so actively and conspicuously identified with the material advancement of Tipton and certainly no other individual has so indelibly impressed his personality upon the minds and hearts of the popu¬ lace or exercised so potent an influence in directing and controlling the business interests of the city. The writer realizes the futility of attempting within the limits of this review a succinct account of the life of the man whose achievements form no inconsiderable part of the history of Tipton county, the best he can hope to do being but a brief outline of the leading facts in his career and a tribute to his worth as a forceful factor in building up a mammoth business establishment and at the same time laboring assiduously for the general welfare of a people whose interests he has ever had at heart.

William T. Harding, proprietor of the Boston store, at Tipton, Indiana, is a native of Clinton county and was born April 4, 1866. He is the son of John and Mary Elizabeth (Downard) Harding, both of whom are natives of Indiana. He is one of three children, the others being Ora B., wife of Joseph A. Innis, of Tipton, and Dell, wife of W. H. Clemmons, of Fremont, Nebraska.

The father of the subject of this sketch was reared in Clinton county, Indiana, and enlisted at the opening of the Civil war in the Eighty-sixth Indiana Regiment and served a little over two years in the bloody conflict. At the battle of Missionary Ridge, in the fall of 1863, he had the misfortune to lose one of his legs. As a young man he was a blacksmith, and after the war he formed a partnership with Mr. McKenzie and they ran a general store in Kirklin, Indiana. In 1872 he sold his interest to Mr. McKinzie and moved to Tipton, where he engaged in various business enterprises for over thirty years. He owned a grocery store for several years in Tipton, and died in 1909 at the ripe old age of seventy-five. His wife survives him and still lives in Tipton. Both were members of the Christian church.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were Thomas Harding and his wife, natives of Ohio and North Carolina, respectively. They were among the first pioneers in Union county, and later moved to Clinton county, where they spent most of their lives. Their children were John, Samuel, William, Marion, Anna and Margaret.

The maternal grandparents were Doctor and Mrs. Thompson Downard, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They lived in Hendricks county. To them were born six children, Thomas, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Ella and Minerva. Doctor Downard was twice married, his second wife being Miss Burke. They had two sons, Allen and Milford, and one daughter, Anna.

William T. Harding was reared in Tipton county, Indiana, and attended the public schools. He began clerking in his father's store when a small boy and he continued to work for his father for a number of years. For the past several years he has been in business in Tipton for himself. He owned the Model shoe store for eleven years, and has for several years owned the Boston department store, which is the equal of any store in the state for a town of this size. Some idea of the magnitude of the establishment

Mr. Harding was married on November 8, 1899, to Irene Compton, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Compton. They have -one daughter, Harriet Compton Harding. Mr. and Mrs. Harding both belong to the Chris¬ tian church and have been loyal members of that congregation for many years. Mr. Harding has long been an advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and has as yet seen no reason why he should change his political affiliations to any other party. His wife was born in Edinburg, Indiana. See sketch of W. A. Compton, elsewhere in this volume, for a detailed history of the ancestry of the Compton family.

Mr. Harding is a wide-awake, enterprising and public-spirited business man. He has built up a wonderful business for a town the size of Tipton. He carries a large and diversified class of goods such as are found in cities of much larger size. His long residence in Tipton has given him a large acquaintance with the business men and citizens, and he enjoys the confi¬ dence and esteem of the public generally. In every line of effort to which he has applied himself he has put out the best that was in him. Because of his upright life and the success which has rewarded his efforts, he occupies a deservedly high position in the estimation of all who know him.

William E. Wells

Practical industry, wisely .and vigorously applied, never fails of success. It carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary quali¬ ties of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and improvement. The fact having been recognized early in life by the subject of this sketch, he has seized the small opportunities that he has encountered on the rugged hill that leads to life's lofty summit where lies the ultimate goal of success, never attained by the weak, ambitionless and inactive.

the son of Samuel E. and Mary (DeLapp) Wells, the father a native of Ohio and the mother of Indiana. They had six children : Ella, deceased, who was the wife of William Briscoe, of Bloomington, Illinois; William E., of Tipton, Indiana; Jennie, the wife of T. J. Reese, of Kempton, Indiana; Cora E., wife of W. W. Torrence, of Kempton; Howard, who died in infancy, and Alice, who died when about six years of age.

The father of the subject of this sketch came from Ohio to Indiana With his parents when a small child. They located first in Jefferson county, where they stayed until he grew to manhood and was married. They came to Tipton county in 1856 and located in Jefferson township, where he lived until 1869, when he moved to Bates county, Missouri. He remained there six years and a half and then returned to Tipton county, where he remained until the time of his death. He died at Kempton on March 21, 1881, at the age of sixty-two. His wife survived him and died in 1905, at the ripe old age of eighty-four. Both w-ere loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He had formerly been married to a Miss White, and three children were born to this union: John M., who died in And^rsonville prison during the Civil war; Henry S., and one child who died in infancy.

The paternal grandparents were early settlers of Jefferson county, In¬ diana, and both of them died there at advanced age. . They had several chil¬ dren, among them being John M., Samuel E., William, Sarah and Melissa. The maternal grandparents were pioneers in southern Indiana. They had three children, George W., Mary and Elizabeth.

William E. Wells was. reared in Tipton county, and lived there, his whole life, except for the six years and a half spent in Missouri. Most of his boyhood was spent on the farm, and his education wras secured from the country schools. He lived at home until he was tw^enty-five. He then mar¬ ried and clerked in a store at Kempton for about fifteen years. Then he entered business for himself in general merchandising. He came to Tipton March 15, 1896, and entered the employ of Holmes & Shortle, where he remained for several years. Upon the retirement of Mr. Holmes he re¬ mained with Mr. Shortle for about five years longer, and he made the race in the fall of 1906 on the Republican ticket for clerk of the cricuit court, and wras returned the victor. After serving for a term of four years, he returned to the employ of Mr. Shortle and continued here until he formed a partner¬ ship with Earl I. Hedrick, in the clothing and men's furnishing goods. They keep an up-to-date stock on hand all the time and have built up a very profit¬ able trade for themselves.

Mr. Wells was married November 3, 1887, t° Cora A. Mitchell, the daughter of Thomas and Adeline (Frazier) Mitchell, and they have two daughters, R. Fern and Charlotte M. Fern Wells is cashier and bookkeeper in her fathers store, and was deputy clerk of the circuit court during his term of office She is a graduate of the Tipton high school. Charlotte M. Wells is a graduate of the Tipton high school, and has taught two years. She is now attending DePauw University and is in her junior year at that in¬ stitution.

Mr. and Mrs. Wells and two daughters are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Wells is one of the large number of men of Tipton who belong to Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons.

Mrs. Wells was born in Tipton county, Indiana, November 16, 1866. Her parents have been dead for many years. She was one of seven children, the others being Etta M., Alice Belle, deceased, Rosa, Melissa, deceased, 'Maude J. and I. Carl.

Mr. Wells is regarded as one of the leading men of his community in every respect, public spirited, honest and upright in his dealings with the world and winning and retaining friends wherever he goes. His wife is also admired by all those who know' her for her congeniality and womanly traits.

Washington Penn Qates

The life history of Washington Penn Gates, one of the well known and highly esteemed venerable citizens of Tipton county, now living in honorable retirement, shows what industry, good habits and stanch citizenship will ac¬ complish in the battle for success in life. His record has been one replete with duty well and conscientiously performed in every relation of life. He has come down to us from the pioneer period and has noted the wondrous transformation from that time to this, playing well his part in the drama of civilization. He has thus been an advocate of wholesome living and clean liness in politics as well and has always stood for the highest and best inter¬ ests of the community in which so many of his active years have been passed and which has been honored by his citizenship.

W. P. Gates, the son of Uriah and Martha Ann (Chinn) Gates, was born in Indianapolis, November 17, 1833. His father was a native of Con¬ necticut and his mother came from Kentucky. They had eleven children, all of whom lived to be grown and married : John James, David Hall, Mary Ingalls, Nancy, Beulah, Washington, Uriah, Wesley, Peter M., Martha and Eliza.

The father of the subject of this sketch was a carpenter by trade. He was reared in Cincinnati and came to Indiana shortly after its admission to the Union. He came to Indianapolis before the city was even named, and before the capital was moved from Corydon to Indianapolis. When he got ready to get married he had to walk from Indianapolis to Connersville to get his license, and then he and his bride settled in Indianapolis. For several years he worked at carpentry and also farming. He soon had enough to purchase eighty acres of land five miles northeast of Indianapolis, in Marion county. He lived on the farm a short time, but moved back into Indianapolis, locating on Massachusetts avenue, at the corner of Alabama street. In the fifties he moved to Tipton and settled in that town, remaining there the rest of his life. After moving to Tipton he engaged in the tanning business. He died here in 1864, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife died in 1852. He was married four times; his first wife was Miss Gantz, by whom he had two children, both dying in infancy. His father died when he was a small boy, and Uriah was bound out to an Englishman as a baker's apprentice, but he left him before he was grown. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. The paternal grandfather of the subject died in Connecticut, as did his wife, but their history has been lost. They had three children, Uriah, David and one daughter. The maternal grandfather was Thomas Chinn, who, with his wife, moved from Kentucky to Iowa and died there. They had several children, John, Mary, Martha, Lucy and Serilda.

Mr. Gates, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Marion county on his father's farm and in the city of Indianapolis. He attended the district and city schools. He went to work in his father's tannery in Indianapolis, and worked there for several years. He then came to Tipton and worked with his father in the tanning business and later for himself at the same business. In 1873 he began farming in Madison township, Tipton county, Indiana, where he first bought one hundred acres of land, to which he later added until he had two hundred and sixty acres. In 1901 he moved to Tipton, and has since lived a retired life.

Mr. Gates was married to Louisa Jackson in 1858, and they have had four children born to them, Ida, Mary, Torrence and Louie. Ida married David Mitchell arid lives in Tipton. They have had three children, Mary, deceased, John and Oral. Marv married Reuben Overman and lived in

Amboy, Indiana. Torrence, who lives in Hastings, Nebraska, married Mary Cooper, and they have ten children, Margaret, Aurelia, Blanche, Clarence, Clifford, Olive, Chester, Lester, Walter P. and Virginia. Louie married John Long and lives in Tipton. They have four children living, Aurelia, Margaret, Gertrude and Annie. The first wife of Mr. Gates, Louisa, died in 1866 and a few years later he married his second wife, Aurelia Kane, daughter of George and Catherine (Platter) Kane. Four children are still living as a result of this marriage, Ralph, John, Hattie and Thomas.

It is interesting to note that the parents of the subject were the first couple to be married in Indianapolis after the donation by the government of the land for a state capitol. Of the children to the second marriage of Mr. Gates, Ralph married Nanny Daily, and they have two children, Ruth and Dale. John married Bertie Lay. They live in Indianapolis and have one son, John Gerald. Hattie lives at home. She is a graduate of the Tipton high school, as are also her brothers, Ralph, John and Thomas. Thomas lives at Amboy, Indiana. He married Lena Hodson and they have one daughter, Viola Aurelia.

Mrs. Aurelia J. Gates, the present .wife of the subject, was born in Adams county, Ohio, near Eckmansville, February 4, 1843. Her paternal grandfather was Stephen Kane and her maternal grandfather was Peter Platter. On Mrs. Gates' side of the family her ancestors have been traced back to Sir Walter Scott.

Mr. Gates has made his influence felt for good in his community. He is a man of sterling worth and his life has been closely interwoven with the community in which he has resided for so many years, and his efforts have ever been for the advancement of the same, as well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow men. Certainly his life of eighty-one years entitles him to representation in such a biographical work as this.

John F. Albershardt

John F. Albershardt, a well-known citizen of Tipton, is descended from a sterling old German family on the paternal side, his father's people having emigrated from the fatherland to this country before the Civil war. His mother was a native of Ohio. Henry and Anna Albershardt, parents of the subject, had two other children, Amelia, wife of J. H. Orndorff, of Indian- apolis, and August H., also of Indianapolis. The senior Albershardt came to America when he was sixteen years of age, and located in Cincinnati for a number of years. He served in the Civil war for two long years, being a member of Company B, One Hundred and Eighth Ohio Regiment. He was an orderly sergeant and was wounded while in charge of a supply train. After the war he located in Indianapolis and was one of the elder shoemakers in that city, at one time having the largest business of any shoe merchant in that town. He now lives in Indianapolis, having retired from active partici¬ pation in business several years ago. His wife died April 1, 1912, at the advanced age of seventy-six years. They were both loyal members of the German Lutheran church, to which they contributed liberally of their sub¬ stance. While living in Indianapolis, he held several minor official positions.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were also natives of Germany, and died there at a very old age. They had a number of children; Henry, Louis, August, who came to America, and three others whose names have not been recorded.

ThQ maternal grandparents bore the good old German name of Moerker. They came from Germany and settled in Auglaize county, Ohio, and died there in middle life, leaving children, Anna, Louisa, Henrietta and August.

John F. Albershardt, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Indian¬ apolis, and attended the public schools in that city until he was thirteen years of age. He then began working in the store of Charles Mayer & Company, remaining there for six yeafs. He then went to Milwaukee and traveled on the road for three years as representative of a Milwaukee firm. He then returned to Indianapolis and was with the Kipp Brothers Company for fourteen years. In 1904 he came to Tipton and bought a third interest in the firm of Brasch, Myerly & Company, finally buying #out the whole interest and now runs the entire business alone. Some idea of the magnitude of his business may be gained by the knowledge that he employs thirty-five clerks.

On the 17th day of January, 1893, Mr. Albershardt was married to Lillie Gehring, daughter of Conrad and Lena (Mai) Gehring. They had five children, Harry, William, Frederick, John and Ann May.

Mr. and Mrs. Albershardt are members of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Albershardt belongs to Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons, and also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevo¬ lent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically, he is a stanch Democrat and has strongly advocated the principles of that party.

her husband was born on Washington street, opposite the court house. She was reared and educated in that city. Her parents were natives of Germany and came to this country when quite young. He was formerly in the book and stationery business in Indianapolis. Both are now dead. They had three children, William, Ottillie and Lillie.

Mr. Albershardt is distinguished by the thrift and honesty which char¬ acterizes all the German descendants who have come to this country. The qualities of the German emigrant have made them the most valuable of all the foreigners who have come to this country. During his business career in this city he has not only gained the confidence of his fellow business men, but as a man of force of character, upright and honest dealings with his fellow citizens in business he has gained the esteem of all who know him.

Joseph N. Russell

The true measure of individual success is determined by what one has accomplished. An enumeration of those men who have succeeded in their special vocations in Tipton county, and at the same time are impressing their personalities on the community, men who are conferring honor on the locality in which they reside, would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of the gentleman whose naijie initiates this paragraph, for he is an important factor in the business life of his community. The splendid success which has come to him has been the direct result of the salient points in his character, for, with a mind capable of laving judicious plans and a will strong enough to carry them into execution, his energy, foresight and perseverance have carried him forward to a position in the front rank of the successful men of his community. He has carried forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken, and his business methods have ever been in strict conformity with the standard ethics of commercial life. He has taken an intelligent interest in the civic life of the community and has earned the high regard in which he is held by all who know him.

Joseph N. Russell, the son of James Madison and Amanda J. (Sellers) Russell, was born in Warren county, Ohio, on February 25, 1859. His parents were natives of Ohio, and reared five children, William A., de¬ ceased; Elizabeth, deceased wife of Taylor B. Durbon; Joseph N., of Tipton; Annie, deceased wife of William Michaels, and Frank, deceased. The senior Russell was raised in Warren county, Ohio. He was a potter by trade and did all of his work by hand. He was successful and very popular until stoneware, made by machinery, came into vogue, after which he suffered heavy financial losses, which finally drove him out of the business. He later went into the drain tile business in Merrittstown, Ohio. He came to Indiana with his family from Ohio in January, 1871, in a covered spring wagon, and located at Frankfort. After farming for four years he moved to Frankfort, where he became a merchant policeman, and continued in that capacity for twenty-two years. He died in 1896 at the age of seventy-one. His wife is still living in this county. His good nature and genial affability won for him the familiar title of "Daddy," and by this he was known to every one in the city of Frankfort. He and his wife were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The maternal grandparents were William and Elizabeth Sellers. They were early settlers of Warren county, Ohio, and died there in the old homestead after having lived about seventy years in that county. They had six children, Ferdinand, Wesley, Robert, Amanda, Mary and Mellie.

Joseph N. Russell was twelve years of age when he came to Indiana. He was educated in the district schools of Clinton county and on October 31, 1874, he started to learn telegraphy. After becoming efficient as a telegrapher he entered the employ of the Logansport, Crawfordsville & Southwestern Railway and remained with them until February 26, 1876, when he took em¬ ployment with what is now the Lake Erie & Western Railway, and followed the occupation of telegrapher and station agent until 1887, when he accepted the position of train dispatcher at Lafayette until 1894. He then engaged in the hardware business at Tipton for three and one-half years, but, not liking this sort of work, he returned to his first love and then resumed rail¬ road work at Lafayette and Peru, Indiana, until 1900. In 1900 he located permanently in Tipton, where he purchased the ice plant operated by James M. Loer and has run that business ever since. Later he added the coal busi¬ ness to his concern, and the two concerns make him one of the most prominent business men of the city.

On the 13th of October, 1881, Mr. Russell married Mary Teter, daugh¬ ter of Asa and Angeline (Cole) Teter, and they had two children, Cleo and Martha. Cleo died at the age of twenty, after having been married to Forest P. Alford. Martha, the other daughter, married Bvron D. Agnew and they live in Tipton. Mrs. Russell was born in Tipton county, Indiana, her parents having come from Virginia and settling in Tipton county early in their married life. Her father died in 1906 and the mother in 1913. They

Fraternally, Mr. Russell is a valued member of the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men. Politically, he is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, although he has never been a candidate for public office.

Mr. Russell has been a very successful man and does a large business in the city and community. He has passed so many years here that his work is well known, and in this county there is nothing heard concerning him but good words. If it is possible to judge of the success that attends a man's life by the estimation in which he is held by his fellow citizens, then Mr. Russell's life has been one which deserves much credit to himself and his posterity. He is one of the most progressive and wide-awake citizens of Tipton. It is noteworthy that he built the first double house in Tipton county, equipping it with private water systems. He put in the first house furnace in Tipton county. He had the first electrically driven pump in the county, and he was the second man in the county to own an automobile. He has been foremost in advocating all improvements to the city and has paid assessment on evenbrick street in the city, and there are over eleven miles of such streets. He is the owner of a gas well in the city of Tipton that has been producing gas for fourteen vears.

On April 19, 1908, Easter Sunday, Mr. Russell suffered the loss, by a boiler explosion, of fifteen thousand dollars damage to his ice plant. Though heavily in debt, he overcame this misfortune and rebuilt his plant and con¬ tinued business at his old stand.

Earl I. Hedrick

The following is a brief sketch of the life of one who by close attention to business has achieved success in the world's affairs and has an honorable position among the enterprising business men of the county with which he is identified. It is a plain record, rendered remarkable by no strange or mys¬ terious adventure, no wonderful and lucky accident and no tragic situation. Mr. Hedrick is one of those estimable characters of strict integrity and strong personality. He commands the respect of his contemporaries in the /every¬ day affairs of his life. J

Earl I. Hedrick, of the firm of Wells & Hedrick Company, was born in Haldane, Illinois, November 12, 1881. He was the son of Charles and Mary (Zollers) Hedrick, both of whom were natives of Illinois. They had five children: Earl I., of Tipton, Indiana; Rozella, Charlotte, Gladys, and Stanley, of Bozeman, Montana.

The father of the subject was raised in Ogle county, Illinois, and was a grain dealer most of his life. He died in Rockford, Illinois, in 1905, at the age of sixty years. His wife is still living at Bozeman, Montana. Both were stanch members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and contributed liberally to the support of that religious body. He was a veteran of the Civil war, en¬ listing when he was only seventeen years of age, and served throughout that long and bloody conflict.

The paternal grandfather of the subject was Alexander Hedrick. He and his wife were both natives of Pennsylvania and early settlers of Ogle county, Illinois. He died in middle life, and she lived on to advanced old age. They had twelve children : Luther, Alexander, William, George, Oliver, Samuel, Charles, Robert. Mary, Lillian and Fanny.

The maternal grandparents came from Germany to Rochester, New York, and from there they moved to Forreston, Illinois, where they lived to a good old age. They had a large family of children, John, Henry, Samuel, Charles, Catherine, Lena, Mary and Sarah.

Earl I. Hedrick lived in Maryland, Ogle county, Illinois, until he was fourteen years of age, and then went from there to Rockford, Illinois. He attended the public schools in that place, and later entered the service of the Buckbee Seed Company, where he continued for three and one-half years. His next work was in a clothing store in Champaign, Illinois. From there he went to Tipton in March, 1910, and worked two years for George Shortle in the clothing store, after which time he and William E. Wells formed a part¬ nership and purchased Mr. Shortle's clothing store, and continued the busi¬ ness up to the present time, under the firm name of Wells & Hedrick Com¬ pany. They have a finely stocked and up-to-date store, containing all the haberdashery materials which are commonly shown in such stores.

Mr. Hedrick was married' to Leone Wright, the daughter of Ira and Mary (Horner) Wright, December 25, 1907. They are both members of the Methodist church of Tipton. Politically, he is a stanch Republican and advocates the policies of that party. Fraternally, he belongs to Austin Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Tipton.

natives of Indiana and now living at Windfall. They had several children who lived' to maturity, Anna, Elizabeth, Viola, Leone, Harold and Herbert.

Mr. Hedrick's life in Tipton county has been filled with activity and usefulness, and his untiring energy and good business ability have won for him in the short time he has been in this county a conspicuous place among the leading men of the county. He makes his presence felt in every endeavor in which he has taken a part, and by his unpretending bearing and strict in¬ tegrity he has elevated himself in the confidence of his fellow citizens.

Nicholas S. Martz

Nicholas S. Martz, deceased, who during his life was one of Tipton's most prominent and public-spirited citizens, represented two of Indiana's earliest pioneer families, while in the generations still further back the names of Martz and McCormick appear among the defenders of the country in its struggles against England. With the same spirit that animated his ancestors, Mr. Martz, in his turn, responded to his country's call for aid against its own sons, and he has a military record which adds new honor to the family name. He was born in Arcadia, Hamilton qounty, Indiana, on November io, 1845, the son of Moses and Tabitha (McCormick) Martz. On the maternal side, Mr. Martz traces his ancestry from a certain McCormick of Scotch stock, who came from the north of Ireland to Virginia in 1700 and settled near Winchester. His son, John, was born on August 13, 1754, and as a young man fought in the war of the Revolution. He enlisted twice in Virginia, - once in 1775 and again later, - while near the end of the struggle he took up arms again as a soldier from Pennsylvania, whither he had moved in the meantime. John McCormick married in Virginia, on March 4, 1785, Cath¬ arine Drennan, and in 1808 the whole family migrated to the territory of Indiana. They journeyed overland with horses and wagons and a part of the journey was made down the Ohio on flatboats, and, as there was trouble with the Indians at the time of their arrival, they remained for some time in a fort, but Mr. McCormick was the first man to leave its protection and venture elsewhere. He located on the land adjoining Connersville, Indiana, and remained there the rest of his life, passing away on April 18, 1837. His wife, who lived until February 22, 1862, reached the ripe old age of ninetythree years. Their large family, who lived to grow up with the exception of

John McCormick, fourth son of John, first, was born near Winchester, Virginia, and was seventeen years old when the family came to Indiana. In 1811 he was married, near Hamilton, Ohio, to Bertha Case, who was bom in Bolton county, Kentucky. Her people were originally from Pennsylvania and eventually settled in Ohio. The following year, when the war of 1812 broke out, John McCormick left his young wrife in order to enlist and served throughout the war. On his return they lived with his parents and remained there until 1820, when they made a home of their own on the present site of Indianapolis, being the first settlers there. So wild was it then that they had to cut a road into their location, some sixty miles, while during their first years there wolves were very numerous, as well as Indians. When the family first came eleven men accompanied them to help put up a cabin, and then left them alone in the forest. Mr. McCormick held a quarter section along the White river under a title from the Indians, given after the peace treaty at St; Marys, Ohio. During the two years he remained there he and his wife kept a hotel, boarding the men who platted the city of Indianapolis, he also keeping the ferry, using a log canoe. In 1822 Mr. McCormick moved five miles up the river to near the present site of Crown Hill cemetery, and there built a saw-mill, with com cracker attached, which he ran for three years before his untimely death, on August 25, 1825, when only thirty-four years old. He was a member of the Baptist church, as his wife was during her earlier years, but later she united with the Christian church. They were the parents of five children, Katie, William, Wesley, Tabitha and Levina. The two last, who were twins, married twin brothers, Moses and Isaac Martz. After her husband's death, Mrs. McCormick married John King, a farmer of Morgan county, Indiana, and they had two sons, Cornelius and John. Mrs. King was again left a widow, and after remaining on her farm for some years she finally moved to Arcadia, making her home with her daughters, and lived there until her death, which occurred in 1875.

The Martz family is of German descent, and was first represented in America about 1700. The earliest definite information is of Nicholas Martz, (21) born February 25, 1762, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. By occupation he was a farmer and a cabinet-maker. He was an immense man, weighing over four hundred pounds at his death, and seems to have been equally unusual in character. One of his eccentric actions was to make his own coffin several years before his demise.

Peter Martz, son of Nicholas Martz, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on February 26, 1787. When twenty years of age he moved from Pennsylvania to Pickaway county, Ohio, and again moved, in 1816, to Indiana. At first he bought a tract of land in what is known as the Twelve- Mile strip, but later he took up one hundred and sixty acres three miles from Cambridge City, Indiana, and, building a log cabin, he there spent the typical life of a frontiersman. Besides farming, he went extensively into milling and owned the first grist mill in the territory. Mr. Martz was a soldier in the war of 1812, was a strong Whig in his political views, and in religion was a member of the Lutheran church. In 1808 Peter Martz was married to Christina Myers, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1790. Her parents moved to Ohio, and there her father died, while her mother's death occurred considerably later in Indiana. The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Martz con¬ tinued until 1872, when Mr. Martz died in Arcadia, whither he had moved four years earlier in order to be near his sons, Moses and Isaac. His wife died in 1879, near Montpelier, Indiana, where she was living with one of her daughters. She and her husband were the parents of eleven children : Henry, who married Barbara Gaylor and died, leaving two children, Edward and Sarah; Charles married Betsy McGill, and they left six children, Peter, Cath¬ erine, Lydia, Andrew J., John and Christina; Moses and Isaac were twins; Sarah married Andrew Doyle, and they and their seven children reside in Wisconsin; Mary, deceased, was the wife of John Reams, to whom she bore five children, Elizabeth, William H., Letta E., John Wesley and Lydia J.; Catherine is the widow of Wesley Swafford, and has five children, Mary, Perry, Harriett, Christina and Martha Ann; Samuel, deceased, married Mary J. Berry, and they had five children, Emma and Linville. deceased. Lewis, Edward and Anna; Eliza, deceased, married Eli McConkey, and had children, Peter, John, Reuben, Mary J., Angelina, Prudie, Rose, Amia, Emma E. and Cynthia; Jacob married Rebecca Ann Price, and both have died, leaving three children, George, Sarah Ann and Jennie; Barbara mar¬ ried Edward Rogerson, and both are deceased, leaving five children, Etta, Delvina, Eliza, Frank and Jennie.

came to Indiana when only four years of age. He received the limited educatiop of most boys on the frontier, and was brought up to be a miller. On March 27, 1834, he married Tabitha McCormick, who was born at Connersville, February 27, 1816, and who had grown up on the frontier like himself, and had received little education, her only school books having been the spelling book and New Testament. After their marriage they lived three years on Peter Martz's farm, and then, in 1837, moved to Hamilton county. Moses and Isaac Martz located there together, owning two hundred and forty acres just west of what is now Arcadia, and both became prosperous and well-known citizens. Moses Martz cleared about one hundred acres of his land, living meantime in a log cabin. He acquired seven acres adjoining Cicero creek, with the water rights and, putting up a flouring mill, conducted the same for more than twenty years, after which he turned it over to his son, John. He was a progressive man always, and had one of the first steam engines used in milling in Indiana, while he was also one of the first to own a reaping machine and sewing machine; also had the first wheat mill used in Indiana, and was one of the first to take stock in the I. P. & C. railroad. Mr. Martz prospered and added to his original share of land bought by the brothers until he owned one hundred and sixty acres, six of these acres lying within the village limits of Arcadia.

The early days, however, had few of the comforts of life, which the Martz family later enjoyed. When they began housekeeping, Mrs. Martz had to weave the cloth from which their clothing was made, and the farming had to be done with the rude implements of the day. When they moved to their own land near Arcadia there was no log cabin on it, and while one was being built Mrs. Martz and her eight-weeks-old baby had only a temporary shelter, warmed by a burning log heap. Having in that period experienced to the full the hardships caused by poor roads or none, Mr. Martz became a firm advocate of good roads and was a stockholder in the first gravel road ever built in this county. Nothing has done njore to develop central Indiana than its gravel roads, and Mr. Martz not only supported with words, but, besides paying his regular taxes for the cause, contributed four hundred dollars. All projects for improvement received his hearty support and he was recognized as a citizen especially identified with the development of his region and deserving of especial honor. Prosperous and influential as he was, Mr. Martz achieved it all by his own efforts, except for a legacy of one thousand' dollars left him by his father.

The children bom to Moses and Tabitha Martz numbered eleven : John, deceased, married Margaret Johnson, and they had six children, Alonzo, who died in infancy, Josephine, Etta, Flora, and Hattie and Mattie, twins; Cornelius, deceased, married Martha Cruzan, and they had two children, Albert E., and Alice, wife of C. M. Burroughs, of Sullivan county, Indiana; Catherine married Henry Hackley, of Kokomo ; Eliza Ann married Stillman Montgomery, of Tipton, and has five children, Rosa, Effie, Minnie, Nola and Bertha; Nicholas S., deceased, the subject of this sketch; Emma is the wife of Samuel Dickover, and they have six children, Clark, Elmer, Minnie, Daisy, Grace and Frank; Christina, deceased, and Peter were twins; the latter, who was treasurer of Hamilton county, married Maggie Gray, of Wayne county, Indiana, and they had three daughters, Leota (deceased), Golda and Bertha; Arminda is the wife of Dr. Cyrus Harbaugh, a practic¬ ing physician of Lafayette, and they have three children, Jewel, Merle and Nina; Moses C. and Isaac C. were twins; the latter married first Alice Wright, who died, leaving one child, Neva. By his second marriage, to Jennie Thomas, there was born one son, Karl. He then married for his third wife Laura Smith, and they had two children, Beulah and Forest. Moses C. Martz, the youngest son of Moses, was born on September 30, 1857. On May 23, 1880, he was married in Arcadia to Clara E. Phyllis, who was born on October 16, 1863, in Hamilton county, Indiana. They were the parents of the following children : Gale, who died in infancy ; Raymond Paul, Edith Shirley, Mildred Alice, Harrison M., and Marjorie (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Martz lived to see thirty grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren, and died surrounded by the devoted care and affection of their posterity. Mrs. Martz outlived her husband, dying in November, 1905*, while Mr. Martz died in November, 1:900. He was a Republican in politics, while in religious faith both were members of the Christian church.

Nicholas S. Martz, deceased, the subject of this sketch, was bom in the Arcadia homestead, November 10, 1845, and grew up amid pioneer sur¬ roundings. He received a common school education, going regularly to the little log school house until he was fourteen, but he was considerably younger when he began to work evenings in a flour mill. In 1862 he enlisted as a drummer boy in Company C, Seventy-ninth Regiment Indiana Volun¬ teer Infantry, and served five months, participating in the battles of Richmond Hill and Perryville, and then was honorably discharged in December, 1862.

He remained at home until June 1, 1863, when he re-enlisted in Company G, Sixth Regiment Indiana Cavalry, under Capt. W. S. Jewell, to serve tnree years, and was on duty until September 15, 1865, at the close of the war, when he was discharged at Murfreesboro. During his term of service he was promoted from a private in the ranks to corporal and then orderly ser¬ geant, while for a time he acted as captain of his company and as sergeant major of his regiment. He was in the great Atlanta campaign and took part in most of its battles, including that o£ Pumpkin Vine Creek, wlien General McPherson was killed. He was also in the battles of Knoxville and Nashville under General Thomas. His company was one which accompanied Fitzpatrick as far as Macon, Georgia, on his raid for the rescue of the prison¬ ers at Andersonville, and they were in almost daily skirmishes. Mr. Martz in the course of his army life was several times wounded by the enemy, but always succeeded in escaping and was never seriously wounded, receiving only slight injury to his left shoulder. Neither was he ever in hospital, but was on active duty throughout his whole military career.

For a year and a half after his return from the war Mr. Martz was in charge of the old homestead, and then went into the grain business with his brother, John, in Millersburg, Hamilton county. At the end of two years his brother sold out, but the younger partner continued in the business six years longer. John Martz meantime had bought his father's old mill, moved the business to Cicero, and later to Kokomo. There he died while still a young man, and Nicholas Martz spent four years in that town settling up his brother's affairs, a task in which his father shared. In 1879 he wrent to Atlanta, Indiana, for a year, and from there to Windfall, where he leased a mill for another year. His next venture was in Greenwood, where he bought a grist-mill, built a saw-mill and embarked extensively in a grain and lumber business, which proved very successful. In 1888 Mr. Martz turned his attention to a new line of industry and opened a canning factory in Koko¬ mo, as a member of the firm of Charles & Martz. Three years later he sold out his interest there, and established a similar enterprise at Tipton, but sold out in 1898 to Grafton Johnson. It is still in operation, but is no\v known as the Fame Canning Company. Meantime he became interested in canning fac¬ tories in both Hamilton and Vermilion counties. He also had various real estate interests and owned valuable property in Tipton, Indianapolis and other places, besides a business block in Cayuga. He was recognized as one of the most enterprising and progressive citizens of Tipton, and was a man of in¬ fluence in the community.

Mr. Martz was first married in April, 1866, to Elizabeth E. Walker, who was born on a farm near Fortville, Hancock county, Indiana, a daugh¬ ter of Tarlton Walker. She died near Fortville, the mother of three chil¬ dren: Charles M., Mary A., who died at the age of three and one-half years, and Minnie T. The mother was a member of the Christian church. Mr. Martz married for his second wife Mary Allen. She died less than four years after her marriage, leaving no children. Mr. Martz was married a third time to Anna Hanson, of Greenwood, Indiana, who survives him. She assisted her husband for a number of years in his canning factories in Tipton and Kokomo, until he sold out and discontinued that business.

After selling out his business the subject and his wife took a trip to California, and on returning to Indiana he managed a canning factory at Cayuga, Indiana, for four years. He then returned to Tipton and built the Martz Opera House block, with a seating capacity of one thousand. While here in the canning factory business he was a member of the city council and took an active interest in street and other city improvements. He also later built the Farmers Loan and Trust Company's bank building and the new Christian church. His bid on that church was one thousand dollars below the lowest bidder, and then he gave several thousand dollars to the church besides.

Mr. Martz was a Republican in politics and was elected mayor of Tipton in 1910, and was serving in that office at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Martz were members of the West Street Christian church, and at one time he was an elder in the church.

Mr. Martz died on May 10, 1912, at the Deaconess Hospital in Indian¬ apolis, where he had submitted to an operation. Fraternally, he was a mem¬ ber of Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons, of Tipton Chapter No. 1 14, Royal Arch Masons, and of Tipton Commandery, Knights Templar.

Mrs. Anna (Hanson) Martz, widow of the subject, was born at Madison. Jefferson county, Indiana, January 21, 1856. Her father, Hiram Hanson, was horn in Maine, her mother in Jefferson county, Indiana, and they were early residents of that county. Her father died there and her mother in Greenwood, Indiana, in 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years. They were the parents of six children: Charles Nicholas, deceased; Alonzo, who died when a small boy; Hirametta, of Greenwood; Calvin I., deceased; Anna, wife of the subject; Mary, of Greenwood. The parental grandfather of Mrs. Martz was Nicholas Hanson, while her maternal grandfather was Capt. John Jackson. His wife was a Miss Hillis. He came from North Carolina in a very early day.

Joseph A. Meinerding

The enterprise of Joseph A. Meindering has been crowned with success, as the result of rightly applied principles which never fail in their ultimate effect when coupled with integrity, uprightness and a congenial disposition, as they have done in the present instance, judging from the high standing of llr. Meinerding among his fellow citizens whose undivided esteem he has justly won and retained, being one of the leading business men of Tipton, Tipton county, Indiana.

Joseph A. Meinerding was born at Fort Recovery, Ohio, February 1, 1875, the son of Wenceslaus and Agnes (Romer) Meinerding, who were natives of the Buckeye state and the parents of seven children : Elizabeth, the wife of W. H. Anthony, of Celiila, Ohio; Mary lives at Fort Recovery, Ohio; Catherine is the widow of J. W. Schrocter, of Fort Recovery; William H., of Petersburg, Indiana; Agnes died at the age of thirty-four; Joseph A.; Wenceslaus, of Great Falls, Montana. The father of the subject was' reared in Mariastein, Ohio, and during his life engaged in the mercantile and lumber business, principally at St. Henry's and Fort Recovery, Ohio. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1884, in his forty-third year, and his wife is still living at Fort Recovery. They were members of the Catholic church and he held a number of offices. The paternal grandparents of the subject of this review were Wenceslaus and Mary Meinerding, who were born in Germany and came at an early pioneer time to Mariastein, Ohio, where they spent their lives in agricultural pursuits and died there, he at the age of sixty-five and she at the age of ninety-seven. They had five children who grew to maturity: Clemens, Mary, Wenceslaus, Charles and Mrs. Tangiman. The subject's maternal grandparents were Joseph and Mary Romer, also natives of the fatherland and early settlers at St. Henry's, Ohio, where they died, both at the age of seventy-three years. They were the parents of seven children. Henry, Bernard. Elizabeth, Mary, Agnes, Catharine and Joseph.

Joseph A. Meinerding spent his boyhood at Fort Recovery, Ohio, and attended the public and parochial schools, this preliminary education being rounded out by a course in Pio Nona College at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from which he graduated in 1894. Completing his studies, Mr. Meinerding engaged in the hardware bushiess at Fort Recovery, Ohio, until 1908, when he removed to Toledo, Ohio, about February 1st, continuing in Toledo until November 1st, when he again removed, coming to Indiana and locating at Petersburg. However, his stay in Petersburg was a short one, for the follow- ing March he came to Tipton, and has been engaged in the hardware business here since, enjoying a steadily growing patronage and enjoying the confidence and respect of the community. .

On September 9, 1900, Mr. Meinerding was united in marriage to Ger¬ trude Forbing, daughter of Peter and Mary (Toneliere) Forbing, of Decatur, Indiana, where she was reared. Her mother died in 1912, at the age of about sixty-five, while the father is still living in Decatur. To Mrs. Meinerding s parents were born ten children : Elizabeth, Margaret, Gertrude, Anna, Elea¬ nor, Rose, Bernadetta, Anthony and Vincent. Mrs. Meinerding, on the ma¬ ternal side, was of French descent. To the subject and wife have been born two children, Paul B. and Catharine, the latter dying at the age of six months.

George A. Leatherman

It is the pride of citizens of this country that there is no limit to which natural ability, industry and honesty may aspire. A boy bom in poverty and reared under the most adverse circumstances may nevertheless break from his fetters and rise to the highest station in the land. And the qualities do not have to be of a transcendent character to enable him to accomplish this result. It is more the way he does it and his skill in grasping the opportunities presented than to any remarkable qualities possessed by him. Accordingly, it is found that very often in this country the president, governor and other high officials possess no higher ability than thousands of other citizens. They have simply taken better advantage of their circumstances than their fellows. And this truth runs through every occupation. The business man who rises above his fellows does so because he has found out how to rise above the sur¬ roundings 'which hold others down. Such a man is the gentleman whose name heads this paragraph, and he is eminently entitled to representation in this volume.

George A. Leatherman was borh June 25, 1847, near Indianapolis, In¬ diana, the son of Daniel and Mary J. (Shields) Leatherman, natives, re¬ spectively, of Maryland and Virginia. The subject of this review was the oldest of a family of five children, the others being: Marion, living near Noblesville, Indiana; Hattie, deceased, was the wife of William H. Huff; Sarah J., the wife of Eli Marquette, is living at Carlisle, Sullivan county, In- diana ; Aaron, of Greenfield, Hancock county, Indiana. The father of these children lived near Fredericktown, Maryland, until his sixteenth year, and then came with his parents to Indiana, they locating north of Indianapolis, where he grew to manhood, engaged in farming for himself and lived there the rest of his life. He died in 1903, in his eighty-sixth year, his wife's death occurring in 1888, in her sixty-ninth year, he being a member of the English Lutheran church and she of the Methodist Episcopal denomination Fraternally, the subject's father was a Mason, belonging to the Millersville lodge and at the time of his death being the oldest member of that lodge.

The paternal grandparents of George A. Leatherman were Frederick and Sarah (Wilhite) Leatherman, natives of Maryland and of German descent. He was a farmer and they both died comparatively young in Marion county, Indiana. They had six children: Daniel, subject's father; Christo¬ pher, Frederick, Joseph, Conrad and Sarah.

On the maternal side the subject's grandparents were named Shields, the grandmother having been a Sinclair. They were also early settlers in Marion county, Indiana, coming to this state from their native state of Vir¬ ginia, and living in this county the rest of their days, engaged in the pursuits of agriculture. He died early in life, the wife surviving to the age of fiftynine. They were the parents of six children: Mary J., Allen, Sarah, Eliza¬ beth, George W. and John M.

George A. Leatherman was reared in Marion county, Indiana, on his father's farm and attended the district schools. On reaching young man¬ hood his father gave him a colt and, with it and a small piece of rented land, the subject started in life on his own account, soon, however, acquiring more land and extending fils operations until about 1890, when he forsook agricul¬ ture and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Noblesville for two years, then removed his business to Cicero for five years, and in 1900 came to Tipton, where he has since been and has built up a splendid business, in addition to the furniture and undertaking branches,' having added pianos Victrolas, carpets, etc., until his establishment has become one of the leading business houses in Tipton.

On November 5, 1879, ^r* Leatherman was married to Geneva A. Cropper, daughter of Sidney and Sarah (Mowery) Cropper, born in Marion county, Indiana, December 21, 1859. Her parents, now deceased, were early settlers in Marion county, the father being being a native of Kentucky. To these parents was born, beside the subject's wife, Mrs. Katie Wall. To Mr. Leatherman and wife have been born two children, Lee S. and Ralph D. Lee

Mr. and Mrs. Leatherman are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which they take an active and earnest interest. In the Masonic fraternity, the subject belongs to Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons; Tipton Chapter No. 114. Royal Arch Masons, and Tipton Council No. 80, Royal and Select Masters. In political matters, Mr. Leatherman gives his support to the Republican party. The subject's sons are also inter¬ ested in fraternal matters, Lee S. being a member of the Knights of Pythias, while Ralph D. is a Scottish Rite Mason and belongs to Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis.

Prof. Emery E. Van Buskirk

That life is the most useful and desirable that results in the greatest good to the greatest numlier, and, though all do not reach the heights to which they aspire, yet in some measure each can win success and make life a blessing to his fellow men. It is not necessary for one to occupy eminent public positions to do so, for in the humbler walks of life there remains much good to be accomplished and many opportunities for the exercise of talents and influence, that in some way will touch the lives of those with whom we come in contact, making them better and brighter. In the list of Tipton county's successful citizens the gentleman whose name forms the caption for this brief biographical review has long occupied a prominent place. In his record there is much that is commendable, and his career forcibly illus¬ trates what a life of energy can accomplish when plans are wisely laid and actions are governed by right principles, noble aims and high ideals. In of¬ fering the following resume of his life history to the present time it is be¬ lieved that it will serve as an incentive to the youth whose careers are yet matters for the future to determine.

Prof. Emery E. Van Buskirk, principal of the departmental schools of Tipton, Indiana, was born in Henry county, Indiana, October 4, 1853, the son of John and Martha Ellen (Williams) Van Buskirk, early settlers in Henry county, Indiana. Professor Van Buskirk's parents had seven children, namely: Emery E. ; Joseph Connell, deceased; Charles Ulysses; Lincoln, de¬ ceased; Esther Fanny, the wife of Drury Alsman, of Omaha, Nebraska; Lou is the widow* of Henry McCov, of Omaha, Nebraska; a son who is the twin brother of Lou. The subject's father was a carpenter and farmer in his early manhood, and came to Tipton county about 1859, locating three and one-half miles south of Tipton on a farm of eighty acres, where he died in 1865 in his forty-fourth year. His wife, who was born in 1833, survived him, her death occurring at the home of her daughter, Lou, near Arlington, Nebraska. They were members of the Christian church.