Centennial history of Rush
County, Indiana
Edited by A. L Gary and E. B. Thomas
Rushville, Ind.
In Two Volumes
Illustrated
VOLUME II
1921
HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
INDIANAPOLIS

PERRY T. INNIS, president of the Milroy Bank at Milroy and long recognized as one of the most progressive and substantial business men of Rush county, has been a resident of this county all his life and has ever been interested in community betterment and advancement. He was born on a farm in Anderson township on January 12, 1855, son of "William "W. and Jennie (Buchanan) Innis, the former also a native of this county and the latter of Bourbon county, Kentiicky, well known and influential residents of the Milroy neighborhood in their generation and whose last days were spent here. William W. Innis, who was the founder of the Innis- Pierce Furniture Company at Rushville and whose name ever will be inseparably associated with that concern, was born on a farm in Anderson township, son of Alexander and Christina (Kirkpatriek) Innis, the latter of whom also was born in Indiana, a member of one of the pioneer families of this region. Alexander Innis was a Pennsylvanian who left his home in the old Keystone state in the days of his young manhood and came to Indiana, locating in Rush county, where he married Christina Kirkpatriek and established his home on a farm in Anderson township, developing a fine piece of property there and there spending the rest of his life, a helpful factor in the development and prosperity of that community. He and his wife were the parents of six children, those besides William W. having been James, Andrew, Eliza, Ellen and Lucinda. Reared an a farm, William W. Innis for a time after starting out " for himself" was engaged in farming in his home township, but presently left the farm and moved to Rushville where he became engaged in the coal and lumber business, later becoming associated with William M. Pierce in the manufacture of furniture at Rushville under the firm name of the Innis-Pierce Furniture Company, built up an extensive plant and a fine business and was thus engaged the rest of his active life, one of the most influential factors in the development of the industrial activities of the city of Rushville. William W. Innis was for years an elder in the United Presbyterian church and he and his wife were ever concerned in community good works. They were the parents of five children, those besides the subject of this sketch being Elizabeth, Mary Ellen, Robert and Arie. the latter of whom died in infancy. Perry T. Innis "grew up" on the home farm in Anderson township and supplemented the schooling obtained in the Milroy schools by a course in the old Richland Academy, after which he became engaged in farming on his father's place, later engaging in the same vocation on his own account and became the owner of a fine farm of 160 acres in the vicinity of Milroy on which he established his home and on which he was actively engaged in farming and live stock raising until his retirement from the farm to become engaged in banking. It was in 1904 that the Bank of Milroy was organized and at the first meeting of the stockholders for organization Mr. Innis was elected president of the institution, a position which he ever since has held and in the exercise of which office he has made himself a strong figure in the commercial life of this section of the state. In 1906 Mr. Innis moved from the farm to Milroy and shortly afterward began to give his whole time to the affairs of the bank and is still thus engaged, he and his associates having built up a strong and continually growing banking institution there. On January 1, 1S78, Perry T. Innis was united in marriage to Flora Tompkins, daughter of G. W. and Eliza Tompkins, of this county, and to this union two children were born, sons both, Harry Innis, now a resident of Indianapolis, and Rex A. Innis, who married Mary Hammond and makes his home on a farm in Rushville township. Mrs. Flora Innis died on September 23, 1918. Mr. Innis is a member of the United Presbyterian church at Milroy, in the general activities of which congregation he has for years taken an earnest interest and has long served the congregation as a member of the church session. lie is a Republican and in his fraternal relations is a Mason.