Isaac Tullis, a well-known retired farmer of Bearcreek township, living on his well-kept place on rural mail route No.1 out of Bryant, is a member of one of Jay county's pioneer families and has been a resident of this county all his life. Mr. Tullis was born on a farm in Noble township on March 12, 1853, and is a son and the only surviving of the four children born to Jonathan and Jane (Grattis) Tullis, both of whom also were born in this county, their respective parents having been pioneers here. Jonathan Tullis was born here in 1829, not long after his parents had come up here from Cincinnati (Hamilton Co.) land settled in this county, his father having entered from the Government a tract of 120 acres in Jay county about the time the county was organized. The Grattis family came here from Virginia from that section of the Old Dominion that later came to be set off as West Virginia, and both they and the Tullis family were substantial pioneers of this section of Indiana. Isaac Tullis's mother died when he was twelve years of age.
He received his schooling in the old Hode log school house in Noble township. He early became engaged as a farm hand in the neighborhood, making his home at the various places of his employment during the time of his young manhood, and was thus engaged until his marriage, after which he rented a forty-acre farm in Noble township and there made his home for nine years, at the end of which time he bought a farm of forty-eight acres in Jackson township. On this latter place he made his home for twenty years, meantime increasing his acreage by the purchase of an adjoining tract of thirty acres, and then he sold that farm and bought eighty acres of the place on which he has since resided in Bearcreek township. When Mr. Tullis bought this latter place there were but sixteen acres of it cleared and the task of clearing and improving the farm fell upon him, but he got the job done in good time and has long had a comfortable home there and a well improved farm plant, everything being kept up in "shipshape" fashion. As his affairs prospered on this farm Mr. Tullis bought an adjoining tract of fifty-five acres and now has a good farm of 135 acres. Since 1914 he has been living practically retired from the active labors of the farm, the place being rented by his son, Charles Tullis, who thus has the active management of the farm. Mr. Tullis is a Democrat and he and his wife are members of the West Liberty Christian church.
In November, 1875, Isaac Tullis was united in
marriage to Nancy J. Fairchild and to this union ten children have been
born, all of whom are living save Mrs. Margaret Layman, who died at the age
of thirty-five years. The other members of this family are Mrs. Mollie
Bowler, Mrs. Ida Flauding, Mrs. Anna Butcher, William, Henry and Charles
Tullis, Mrs. Essie Macklin and Mrs. Hattie Glentzer. Mrs. Tullis was born in
the neighboring county of Adams and is a daughter of Smith and Margaret
(Johnson) Fairchild who had come over here into Indiana from Greenville,
Ohio, [Darke Co.] and established their home in Adams county. Smith
Fairchild was a substantial farmer and he and his wife were the parents of
ten children, five of whom are living, Mrs. Tullis having a brother,
Griffith Fairchild, and three sisters, Rachel, Charity and Elizabeth.
SOURCE: Milton T. Jay, M.D., History of Jay County Indiana,
Historical Publishing Co., Indpls. 1922, Vol. II, pp.379-380. Transcribed by
Eloine Chesnut