Randolph  County,  Indiana

Ira  C. Penery

            It requires a peculiar combination of attributes to become a successful newspaper man. It is by no means everyone who can win his spurs in this precarious field, no matter how much courage and perseverance one may have. True, these are characteristics which are indispensible, but there must also be others of more importance, such as the indefinable "nose for news," the ability to discriminate clearly and quickly between local and general news, or what is and what is not news of any kind, the tact to understand the proper treatment of news when it is obtained, the knowledge of how to make a newspaper that will be pleasing to all classes of readers. These things seem to be clearly understood by Ira C. Penery, editor and publisher of The Randolph County Enterprise of Farmland, and The Losantville Independent of Losantville. Although a young man he stands in the front rank of journalists in this section of the Hoosier state and his paper is among the best of its type in the state.             Mr. Penery was born in Monroe township, Randolph county, May 1, 1880. He is a son of Hamilton L. and Sylvera B. (Shaw) Penery, whose family consisted of five children, three sons and two daughters, namely: Nellie G., who lives near Farmland, is the wife of Samuel G. Goddard, a farmer, and they have two children, Jewell and Samuel Allen; Ira C., of this sketch; Ervin R.,
 a farmer living near Farmland, married Minnie Dull, and they have two children, Lester and Mabel; Emory, a marble-worker of Knoxville, Tennessee, married Mamie Presley and they have one child, Carl; Cora B., of Newark, Ohio, married Guy M. Taylor, a machinist.
            Mr. Penery was born in Monroe township, Randolph county, May 1, 1880. He is a son of Hamilton L. and Sylvera B. (Shaw) Penery, whose family consisted of five children, three sons and two daughters, namely: Nellie G., who lives near Farmland, is the wife of Samuel G. Goddard, a farmer, and they have two children, Jewell and Samuel Allen; Ira C., of this sketch; Ervin R., a farmer living near Farmland, married Minnie Dull, and they have two children, Lester and Mabel; Emory, a marble-worker of Knoxville, Tennessee, married Mamie Presley and they have one child, Carl; Cora B., of Newark, Ohio, married Guy M. Taylor, a machinist.
            Hamilton L. Penery is a native of Virginia, where he grew to manhood and was educated and from which state he emigrated to Indiana, when a young man, locating in Randolph county where he has continued to reside to the present time. He operated a saw mill, becoming one of the best known men in that line of business in the county, remaining in the same up to 1897, since which time he has owned and operated a good farm in the vicinity of Farmland, where he still lives, carrying on general farming and stock raising.
//Our subject's mother, Sylvera B. Shaw, is the daughter of Reuben C. and Rebecca P. (Smith) Shaw. The father was a native of Massachusetts, son of David E. Shaw, who was born in Maine in 1801, to which state Reuben C. Shaw was taken when six years old, by his parents where he spent eight years. He received part of his education in Boston, and when a boy took a position as salesman in a china and glassware house in that city. Later he began working at the carpenter's trade which he followed about three years. Then he crossed the continent overland with the “forty-niners” to the gold fields of California where he mined for a time, returning to Boston in 1851, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and resumed his trade. He came to Ross county, Ohio, in 1852, where he remained until 1861, when he moved to Farmland, Randolph county, Indiana, and here established his permanent home, purchasing a farm, and became one of the successful agriculturists of the county, dividing most of his large farm among his children in 1890. He and Rebecca P. Smith were married in May, 1847. She was also a native of Massachusetts. To this union five children were born, namely: Walter C., who became a carpenter and established his home in Tennessee; Mrs. Sylvera B. Penery, mother of our subject; Josephine W., who married Oliver H. Warren; Frank L. and Fred P., both became prominent citizens of Monroe township, Randolph county. Besides farming Reuben C. Shaw became prominently identified with numerous business enterprises, such as an extensive poultry business which was started in 1873 and continued for many years; also he assisted in organizing the bank at Farmland in 1887, of which he was made vice- president and director. He filled the office of drainage commissioner for over three years. He was always a Republican, and he was active in the field of archaeological research, securing a valuable collection of historic relics, Indian curios, etc., regarded as one of the largest and most valuable of its kind in the Middle West He also gave much attention to taxidermy, in which he was exceptionally skilful.
            Ira C. Penery, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the home farm and he received a common school education and in the Tri-State Normal at Angola. He farmed for some time when starting out in life for himself, but determined to enter the newspaper field, so he purchased The Randolph County Enterprise in 1905, which he has since conducted most successfully, building up its circulation and rendering it a valuable advertising medium. Its mechanical appearance is all that could be desired and its columns teem with the latest and best news. Its editorials are convincing and it wields a potent influence in this locality.

Past and Present of Randolph County, Indiana, 1914.
Contributed by Gina Richardson

Biography Index        Main Page

The Randolph County, Indiana INGenWeb family history site is maintained by Phyllis Fleming.  Copying is permitted for noncommercial, educational use by individual scholars and libraries. You may link to this page with prior permission, provided no fee is required to access the link, but no commercial use of this material is permitted.  This message must appear on all copied material.