MR. ROBINSON, our subject, continued to resided on his father's farm for three years after his marriage, when he settled on the place which is yet occupied by his family.  He was a successful businessman as well as a worthy citizen, and at the time of his death he owned about 700 acres of Tippecanoe County's best soil.  In politics he was a Republican.  He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him.  He died January 6, 1872, aged about fifty-two years.  He left a widow and thirteen children, and three children had died before him.  Eight of the sixteen children born to MR. and MRS. ROBINSON are deceased: REUBEN, HARRIET, MARY, MATILDA, ARVILLA, MARTHA ELLEN, JAMES and CAROLINE, all but the last two reaching maturity.  The names of those yet living are: WILLIAM, SALINA, JOHN, JESSE W., IDA D., LUELLA and LUALLA (twins), and GEORGE F.   MRS. ROBINSON and her family have a beautiful home, where they are surrounded by all the comforts of life.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pg. 493
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Adina Watkins Dyer

ALBERT N. McKINNEY, one of the leading citizens of Shelby Township, engaged in farming on section 23, was born in Benton County, Indiana, April 20, 1844, a son of JOSEPH McKINNEY, who was one of the prominent pioneers of Tippecanoe County.  JOSEPH McKINNEY was born at Evansville, Indiana, July 4, 1819, a son of JAMES McKINNEY, who was a leading attorney and very able man in his day.  ALBERT N., the subject of this sketch, grew to manhood on his father's homestead, being reared to the vocation of a farmer, and receiving his education in the common-schools of his neighborhood.  He was a gallant soldier during the war of the Rebellion, enlisting August 4, 1862, in the Seventy-second Indiana Infantry.  He participated in most of the hard fought battles in which his regiment took part, and was honorably discharged from the service July 6, 1865.

A short time later he located on his present farm in Shelby Township, and here he has since devoted his attention to farming pursuits.  His  residence is comfortable and commodious, and his fine barn and other farm buldings are correspondingly good.  His farm is well improved, and is considered one of the best in Shelby Township, everything about the place showing the care and thrift of the owner.  MR. McKINNEY was married April 1, 1866, to MISS MARY BROWN, who was born in Warren County, Indiana, April 4, 1847, a daughter of DAVID and ELIZABETH (EVINGER) BROWN, who were natives of Ohio.  Her mother is now a resident of Washington Territory.  Her father died March 29, 1876.  MR. and MRS. McKINNEY are the parents of seven chldren--DAVID JOSEPH, LILLIE ETTA, VIOLA ESTELLA, VALERIA ELMIRA, ELMER SYLVESTER, ANCIL NEWTON and MARY ELLEN.

In politics MR. McKINNEY is a Republican, and is a strong adherent to the principles of that party.  Both he and his wife are worthy members of the United Brethren church.  He is a man of cordial manners and of strict integrity, and is respected by all who know him.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pg. 551
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Charlene Saunders

M.& J. SCHNAIBLE, proprietors of the soap works at La Fayette, are active and enterprising citizens, and have been identified with the interests of this city since 1853.  The factory now owned by them was started by the firm of Pierce & Cherry, and in 1855 the former sold his interest to E.T. JENKS.  About two years later MR. JENKS bought out MR. CHERRY'S interest, and in 1868 the present firm of M.& J. SCHNAIBLE bought out the works, which they have since operated.  They employ four hands and carry on quite an extensive trade in Illinois and through Indiana.  Their main building is 48 x 60 feet in dimensions, with an addition 39 x 52 feet.  MICHAEL SCHNAIBLE, the senior member of the firm, is a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, born September 1, 1835, a son of MICHAEL AND DOROTHEA (PFOMMER) SCHNAIBLE.  His father being a farmer he was reared to the same vocation.

He lived in his native county until 1853, when the family immigrated to America, going by way of Rotterdam to London, where they embarked on the sailing vessel Prince Albert.  Forty-seven people died of cholera on ship board, among whom was the father of our subject.  The rest of the family landed at New York, November 7, 1853, being on the ocean forty-seven days.  They remained in the city until February, 1854, when they came to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, where MICHAEL began working for his uncle, MR. PFROMMER.  He soon found a position in Pierce & Cherry's soap works, and, as before stated, is now one of the proprietors.

He was married in this city to MISS CATHERINE SATTLER, in October, 1863. She died in September 1867, leaving at her death two children named ELIZABETH and WILHELMINA.  MR. SCHNAIBLE was again married in 1869 to MISS MARY KLAIBER, a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, and to this union six children have been born, named JOHN, LOUIS, GEORGE, EMIL, AUGUST and WILLIAM ADOLPH.  MR. SCHNAIBLE is a member of the German Lutheran church, in which he has served as trustee for many years.  JOHN SCHNAIBLE, the junior member of the firm, is also a German Lutheran in his religious faith, and is an elder in the church.  He was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, July 30, 1837, and was also reared to agricultural pursuits.  After coming to La Fayette he was variously employed until 1858, when he began working for MR. JENKS in the soap factory, with which he has since been connected.  He was married in LaFayette, August 18, 1869, to MISS MARY MERTZ, a native of Baden, Germany.  The three children born to this union are deceased--WILLIE and two who died in infancy unnamed.  In his political views MR. SCHNAIBLE affiliates with the Democratic party.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pp. 553-554
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Charlene Saunders

WILLIAM and DAVID McLAUGHLIN,who own the old homestead of their father, are among the substantial and enterprising citizens of Tippecanoe County, with whose interests they have been identified many years.   Their father was born in Virginia in the year 1797, of Scotch and Welsh ancestry.  When he was four years old his father died, and from his twelfth year he was reared to manhood in Ross County, Ohio.  He was there married to MAGDALENE OVERLY, a native of Ohio, and to them were born nine children, of whom five are living at the present time--JANE, their eldest daughter, first married JOHN IMMEL, and is now the wife of WILLIAM GIBSON, of Perry Township; MARY is the wife of MOSES COLE, of Washington Township; WILLIAM resides on the old homestead in Fairfield Township; MARGARET is the widow of SOSTHENES McCABE, of Missouri, and DAVID, although part owner of the homestead, lives in Washington Township.  The deceased children are--ISAAC, who died at the old homestead in the fall of 1857, leaving a family; JOHN, died in Perry Township, also leaving a family; SARAH was the wife of ALLEN OVERLY, and NANCY, the youngest child, who was the wife of THOMAS HILT.

The parents continued to make their home in Ohio, until October, 1843, when they immigrated to Tippecanoe County, bringing with them eight children.  A married daughter came to the county in the fall of 1844.  Their journey was made by wagon, no railroads being in that part of the country at that date.  The father purchased 240 acres of wild land on section 12, Fairfield Township, the land being covered with a heavy growth of timber.  Here he made a good home out of the forest, living on the land until his death, which occurred November 6, 1878.  His wife died two years after coming to this State.   In politics he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, when he at once identified himself with the latter with which he affiliated until his death.

WILLIAM McLAUGHLIN, whose name heads this sketch, has lived at the homestead where he now resides about forty-five years.  He was born in Ross County, Ohio, September 27, 1832, being about eleven years old when brought by his parents to this county.  He was married to JANE MATTOX, a daughter of ISAAC and NANCY MATTOX, who settled in Tippecanoe County, as early as 1837.  MRS. WILLIAM McLAUGHLIN was born in Clinton County, Indiana, her parents settling in Perry Township, this county, soon after her birth.  Of the four children born to MR. and MRS. WILLIAM McLAUGHLIN, only two are living--WILLIAM E. and IDA J.  Two children died in infancy.

DAVID McLAUGHLIN, the younger brother, was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, in August, 1838, and has lived in Tippecanoe County, since five years of age.  He married MISS SARAH JANE McCABE, a daughter of WASHINGTON and ELIZABETH McCABE, and to them have been born seven  children-- AMBROSE E., LAWRENCE J., MILLIE B., JOHN L., MARY, ROSE E., and JOSIE A., the last two being deceased.  In their political views the McLAUGHLIN brothers are Republicans.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pp. 529-530
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Charlene Saunders

JAMES F. "Uncle Jimmy" BROWN
A relic of bye-gone days-his early history and settlement in Tippecanoe County-He pays for the Leader and then reads it. Mr. James F. Brown, familiarly known as "Uncle Jimmy Brown" called upon me Thursday and subscribed for the Leader, paying for one  year in advance.  "Uncle Jimmy" though now closely grazing four score years, is as a lively a specimen of a granger as we have met in a long time, and give fair promise of celebrating his centennial birthday.  In the course of a few moments conversation we elicited from him a few facts relative to his early history, which are as follows:

Born in Butler County, Ohio, in the year 1799, and in his early manhood he came to where Lafayette now stands, with WILLIAM DIGBY, the founder of our city who was his cousin.  Remaining a short time, he left, but returned again in 1826 and permanently settled in this vicinity.  He entered 160 acres of land near Taylor's Station on the farm later owned by SYLVESTER TAYLOR, remaining there about five years.  He then  removed to Clinton County,  near the forks of the Wild Cat, where he purchased a tract of land of 600 acres, partly from the government at $1.25 per acre.  He continued to reside there 5 or 6 years and then came to Lafayette.  At that time he possessed cash in hand $1,600 in silver (the kind later known as "the dollar of the daddies").  He then bought a tract of land 160 acres from MARTIN WORTHY, located two miles  west of Lafayette, paying him $8 per acre,  half cash, half in a year.   Remaining there a few years, he next rented a hundred acres of bottom land adjoining Lafayette of MR. ELLSWORTH and was authorized by him to fence the tract as an equivalent for rent and stayed there for two years.

MR. BROWN was chosen to sit on the first jury ever impaneled in Lafayette, on the trial of one Mops and Munger for stealing a bolt of calico and an Indian pony, Judges EGGLESTON and NAYLOR presiding on the bench.  After hearing the testimony and argument, the jury retired to a corn house, standing on the bank of the river near the foot of Main street, to deliberate on a verdict.  A decision was gained by placing twelve grains of corn in a hat and drawing there from as a significance of "guilty."  As the entire twelve grains were drawn out a unanimous verdict of guilty was rendered and the prisoner was sent to the states
prison accordingly.

"Uncle" JIMMY was something of a mariner making a river trip to New Orleans for four successive seasons, with cargoes of beef and pork.   Messrs. JOSEPH HANNA, NAT STOCKWELL and JOHN PURDUE being the consignors.  In the earliest history of Lafayette he hauled freight from Cincinnati, the motive power being four yoke of oxen.  The freight would weigh about four thousand pounds, requiring about one month to make the trip.  The oxen were fed by foraging by the road side and in the woods.   There was no sign of a settlement between here and the Ohio State line, and the first trip he took he never saw but one house from the time he left Lafayette until he reached Ohio.  He carried his own provender and did his own cooking.

"UNCLE JIMMIE" had the honor of attending the first wedding ever celebrated in Tippecanoe County, solemnized by Esq. JENNERS at  his home on the Wea Plains.  The bride was MISS HUFF, name of the groom  not remembered.  The Squire with due pomp and solemnity adjured the groom in the following impressive manner, "You take the lady you hold by the right hand to be your true and lawfully wedded wife, to stick to and stand by in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, till it shall please God to separate you?" to which the groom replied, "I will."  When the same words were applied to the bride, she declined to answer, whereupon the Justice refused to pronounce them man and wife and instructed the groom to "take her out and court her over again" which he did and they soon returned.  This time the bride nodded her head  in token of assent and though the Squire vexed at her for not saying I do, pronounced them man and wife.  Six months after they separated, the wife claiming that the husband had married her, but that she had never married him.

MR. BROWN was engaged by HENRY ELLSWORTH for one year as his general manager, then he purchased a farm on the Wea, lying on the Wabash River about eight miles from Lafayette.

MR. BROWN has had the experience of married life with three wives, the first ELIZABETH RICHARDS of Butler County, Ohio, by whom he had eight children, the second, HANNAH WEST of Urbana, Ohio, by whom he had two children and the third lady of Lafayette, who has borne  him three children.  MR. BROWN is in his 79th year, in remarkably good health and still retains his faith in the great God above."

From the Digby Family File, Tippecanoe County, Indiana
Volunteer: Adina Watkins Dyer

ZACHARIAH MITCHELL,contractor and brick manufacturer, of Bentonville, Ark., was born in Tippecanoe County, Ind., in 1837, and is a son of JAMES M. and LUCINDA (CORBIN) MITCHELL, who were born in Kentucky and Indiana in 1810 and 1817, respectively. JAMES M. MITCHELL was of English and Dutch lineage, and when a child was taken to Ohio, and thence to Tippecanoe County, Ind., where he married MISS CORBIN.   In 1840 he located in Harrison County, Mo., where his wife, who is of Irish descent, died in 1884.   ZACHARIAH MITCHELL is the third of eight children, and was only eight years old when his parents moved to Missouri. He grew to manhood on a farm, and in 1857 was married to MISS MARTHA H. McINTOSH, a native of Tennessee, born in 1841.  They have six children living: ALICE, wife of THOMAS MITCHELL, WILLIAM H., JAMES, CHARLES, AARON and —.  In 1867 Mr.Mitchell became a citizen of  Benton County, Ark. His first investment in real estate was forty acres of land about five miles from the county seat. He sold this land, however, in 1872, and moved to Bentonville, and began working in a brick yard, and three years later engaged in the manufacture of brick, which has been his business off and on ever since.  In 1887 he manufactured 120,000 brick and this year (1888) has made 260,000. He is a Democrat in his political views, and was a strong Union man during the war. He is a Master Mason, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife died in 1887, and in 1886 he was married to MRS. MARTHA E. (GILESPIE) LEE, who was born is Mississippi, and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

History of Benton County, Arkansas, page 870

JAMES T. RIDGEWAY, a representative of one of the old and honored pioneer families of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, is a native of this county, born in Tippecanoe Township, March 2, 1840, and is a son of RUNAH RIDGEWAY.  The father of our subject was born in Fayette County, Ohio, February 19, 1812, a son of JAMES RIDGEWAY, who died when his son RUNAH was in his boyhood.  RUNAH RIDGEWAY came to this county when a young man, and was married in Tippecanoe Township, September 28, 1837, to MISS REBECCA CLEVINGER, a daughter of BASIL CLEVINGER, who was also one of the county's pioneers.  RUNAH RIDGEWAY came to this county a poor man, settled on a new farm which he cleared and improved, making a comfortable home out of the forest for himself and family, living on the land on which he first settled until his death, which occurred March 30, 1872, at the age of sixty years, one month and eleven days.

He was in politics a Whig until the organization of the Republican party, of which he was a staunch supporter until his death, and when the war of the Rebellion broke out, none were more ardent in sustaining the old flag than he; and when the Confederate General Morgan invaded Indiana, he took part in the expedition that expelled him from the State.  He and his wife had born to them twelve children, eight of whom grew to maturity, and six are still living--JAMES T., LORENZO D., SAMUEL K., MARY ELLEN, SARAH A. and WILLIAM P.  As will be seen, JAMES T. RIDGEWAY, whose name heads this sketch, is the eldest of the surviving children.

He was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, enlising August 15, 1862, in Company G, One Hundredth Indiana Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war.  He was made a Corporal on the organization of his company, and about a year later was appointed Second Sergeant, in which capacity he served until the end of the war.  He went direct to Memphis, Tennessee, and soon after engaged in battle at Holly Springs, Mississippi.  From there he went to Grand Junction, Tennessee, and
participated shortly after in the battle of Colliersville.  He also participated in the siege of Vicksburg, battles of Jackson, Chattanooga, Mission Ridge and Lookout Mountain.  From there he went to Knoxville, thence back to Chattanooga, taking part in the Atlanta campaign and in the siege of Atlanta, Georgia.  He was also in the battles of Jonesboro and Griswoldsville, and in the march with Sherman to the sea.  From Savannah he went to Columbia, South Carolina, thence to Goldsboro, North
Carolina, after which he took part in the engagements at Mill Creek and Raleigh, North Carolina, the last battle in which he took part.  He marched to Washington and was in the grand review of Sherman's army, and was mustered out in that city on the 8th of June, 1865.

Besides the engagements already mentioned, he took part in the battles of New Hope Church, Peach-Tree Creek, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, and Allatoona Mountain, where he was much disabled.  He was never wounded in battle, but his health was much impaired by the hardships and privations which he endured while in the army.  For a year after the war he traveled for a drug firm, after which he followed farming in Benton County for four years.  He was married January 17, 1867, to MISS
CATHERINE STANFIELD, a daughter of JOHN STANFIELD, and of the ten children born to this union six are living: FLORA J., REBECCA A., CORA ALICE, DORA B., JOHN S. and JOEL P.  Those deceased are MARTHA, SHERMAN, ERNEST and CARRIE.

In November, 1869, MR. RIDGEWAY settled on his present farm in Tippecanoe Township, where he has seventy-two acres of well-improved land, under a fine state of cultivation, and is classed among the enterprising farmers of his township.  Politically he affiliates with the Republican party.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pp. 541-542
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Charlene Saunders

ISAAC L. GARROTT, one of the intelligent and enterprising men of Tippecanoe Township, is a native of Indiana, born in White County, October 29, 1849, a son of JOHN C. GARROTT, who was one of the early settlers of this county, coming here in the fall of 1831.

JOHN C. GARROTT was born in Ross County, Ohio, June 22, 1821, a son of JOSEPH GARROTT, a native of Delaware, who removed to Ross County, Ohio, in early manhood.  JOSEPH GARROTT was married in Ross County to MISS MARY COX, and in 1831 came with his family to Tippecanoe County, Indiana.  He spent several years in this county when he removed to White County, where he spent the remainder of his life.  He died in the year 1871, his wife dying in 1875.  They reared seven children, of whom four are living--ISAAC; JOHN C.; JOSEPH and MARY.

JOHN C. GARROTT was reared a farmer, which he has made the principal avocation of his life.  He was married in 1846 to MISS SARAH A. RUSSELL, a native of Wayne County, Indiana, and a daughter of SAMUEL RUSSELL, and of the six children born to them five still survive--ISAAC L., the subject of this sketch; JOSEPH; ELDEN; JOHN and ARTHUR.  MR. JOHN C. GARROTT, after spending several years in Tippecanoe Township, bought land in White County, on which he settled in 1848.  Here he lived a number of years, when he returned to this county, where he has since made his home.  In politics he is a Democrat, as his five sons.  MRS. GARROTT, the mother of our subject, died in October, 1881.

ISAAC L. GARROTT, whose name heads this sketch, was, like his father, reared to the vocation of a farmer.  He completed his education at Brookston Academy in his native county, and at the age of nineteen years he began teaching school, following that pursuit for thirteen years.  He was united in marriage February  27, 1878, to HANNAH I. McAFEE, a daughter of JOHN R. McAFEE, of Tippecanoe Township.  Three children have been born to this union, of whom only one, named I. FLOYD, is living.   Their only daughter, NELLIE, died in infancy, and a son named JOHN McAFEE, for his grandfather, died May 29, 1887, aged six years.  He was an uncommonly bright and interesting child, and his death was a sad bereavement to his parents.  MR. GARROTT is a member of the Odd Fellows order, belonging to Grand Prairie Lodge, No. 164, at Brookston.  He is a member of the United Brethren church.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pg. 509
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Adina Watkins Dyer

BRANDON LEWIS, and enterprising businessman of Lafayette, where he is engaged in the boot and shoe business, was born in Alcester, England, May 2, 1838, a son of BRANDON and SARAH J. (LUDGATE) LEWIS.  The father was also born in Alcester, England, and was reared and married in his native country.  In 1849 he brought his family to America, locating at Portsmouth, Ohio, where he was engaged as a hotel steward.  He resided at Portsmouth four years, when he removed to Chillicothe, Ohio.  He followed steamboating in the South a number of years, being thus engaged at the breaking out of the war.  He served through the war in Company A, Eighteenth Ohio Infantry.  He is now retired from active business at Chillicothe, aged seventy-four years; his wife is now sixty-nine years of age, and both are active and in good health.

BRANDON LEWIS, Jr., the subject of this sketch, was ten years of age when brought by his parents to America.  He was reared and educated in Portsmouth and Chillicothe, and his first employment was as a clerk in a shoe store in Chillicothe.  He followed steamboating from 1856 until 1865, being first employed as cabin boy and later as a steward, holding the latter position on the Louisville & Cincinnati Mail Line a number of years.  He has visited all the western rivers and lakes and has traveled extensively in thirty-one states and territories.  At the opening of the war he was steamboating from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jacksonport, Arkansas, carrying troops to the front down South, and afterward was on a boat carrying troops to the front in the North.

He was married at Chillicothe, Ohio, March 14, 1864, to MISS MARGARET E. WAMBACH, a daughter of ADAM and JANE WAMBACH.  She was born at Chillicothe, where her parents lived until their death, her father at the age of seventy years, and her mother at the age of eighty years. MR. and MRS. LEWIS have four children living--FRANK A.; MAMIE E.; MARGARET E. and JENNIE B.  Three children are deceased, named--MARY A.; AMY and JENNIE.

In 1865 MR. LEWIS came to this county, and engaged in the restaurant business at Lafayette, which he followed until 1872.  In that year he established his present business, which he has since followed with success.  MR. LEWIS is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity.  He is a high priest of Lafayette Chapter, R.A.M., and has filled the office of  worshipful master of Lafayette Lodge for five years.  He is a grand lecturer of the Masonic Fraternity of the State of Indiana, and in 1885 he was eminent commander of Lafayette Commandry.  He is also a leading member of both the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias orders.   Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party.

MR. LEWIS is one of the pioneer bicyclists of America.  The following extract is taken from the Bicycle Record:  "MR. LEWIS can claim the honor of being the first bicycle rider in Indiana.  In 1872 he visited England, and for the first time saw the bicycle.  His cousin whom he was visiting, was a cycler, and occasionally he would tempt MR. LEWIS to mount the treacherous animal, and be trundled around in the garden, but the machine was too big, and the rider too badly frightened to make any great progress.  MR. LEWIS returned home, and in 1876 his father visited the same relatives, and both agreed that it would be a good idea to buy a wheel for the young heir of the family, FRANK LEWIS.  So the wheel came.  It was a forty-six inch Challenge, and was too large for the boy.  Obviously it would not do to let a good bicycle go to waste.  Some one must ride it, so MR. LEWIS offered himself in the good cause.  In the vacant room over the store the would-be rider wrestled with the obstinate machine until he was its master.  Meanwhile a cruel rumor had got started in the town.  It was to the effect that somebody had rigged up a shop and was doing drop forging in the room over LEWIS' shoe store.  Finally MR. LEWIS appeared on the streets mounted on his novel carriage, and for two years thereafter rode it between his residence and place of business.  By that time his son FRANK had grown some, and was able to reach a forty-six inch wheel, so that the old machine went to him, and the father sent to England for a forty-eight inch Mazeppa.  The old original is still in service at Pittsburg, Indiana.  MR. LEWIS is now mounted on a Columbia roadster, and takes a run occasionally as far as Indianapolis.  MR. FRANK LEWIS has considerable reputation as a fancy rider."

MR. LEWIS takes an active part in the National Retail Dealer's Association, of which he is vice-president.  He is somewhat of an elocutionist, and his services are in demand at most of the entertainments in Lafayette.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pp. 495-496
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Adina Watkins Dyer

GEORGE W. O'DELL, of O'Dell's Corners, one of the prominent and enterprising men of Tippecanoe County, resides on section 2, Jackson Township, where he is engaged in farming and stock raising.  He is a native of this county, born in the township where he now resides, October 14, 1834, a son of JOHN W. and SUSANNAH (BEASLEY) O'DELL, and a grandson of NATHANIEL BEASLEY.   The father, who is now deceased, was born in Berkeley County, Virginia, July 19, 1789.  He came to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, in 1831, and was one of the old and honored pioneers of the county, and here he bought some 200 or 300 acres of land, besides entering 800 acres of land from the Government.  He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and also participated in the Black Hawk war in 1832.  To him and his wife were born fourteen children, thirteen reaching maturity, their names as follows: NATHANIEL B.; SARAH A.; JEROME B.; GRACE C.; TELEMACHUS; ALFRED C.; JOHN W.; GREENLEAF N.; SUSANNAH C.; and MILLA A.  All are now deceased with the exception of SUSANNAH, who is now the wife of JOHN GILMOUR, living near Lawrence, Kansas, and GEORGE W., the subject of
this sketch.

GEORGE W. was reared to agricultural pursuits, his father being a farmer, and his education was received in the common schools of his neighborhood, and at Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana.  He was united in marriage October 4, 1860, to MISS LETTY GILBERT, a daughter of JOHN GILBERT, one of the early settlers of Tippecanoe County, now deceased, who came here from Brown County, Ohio, in the year 1831. Of the eleven children born to this union nine are yet living- HELEN C.; THOMAS A.; T. EUGENE; L. MAGGIE; EDA S.; CHARLES C.; MARY B.; GEORGIANA G. and JEANNETTE E.

MR. O'DELL has met with success in his agricultural pursuits and is now the owner of over 300 acres of valuable land.  He and his family are Methodists in their religious faith, and are among the most respected citizens of Jackson Township.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pg. 690
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Adina Watkins Dyer

SAMUEL GWIN, one of the old and honored pioneers of Tippecanoe County, who is now deceased, was a native of Virginia, and was reared in Greenbrier County, that State.  He was married there to MISS MARY MAGDALENE JOHNSON, who was also a native of Virginia.  After his marriage he came to Tippecanoe County, and early became one of its most prominent citizens.  He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and took an active part in the organization of the first church of that denomination in this county.  He had the best house in the new settlement, having brought with him two carpenters from Virginia for the purpose of erecting his buildings, and religious meetings were usually held at his home.  He hired the first school teacher in the county, paying his salary out of his own pocket, so that his children might be educated.  He removed the first family to the site of Lafayette, which was then covered with hazel brush.  He subsequently removed to Carroll
County, where his death occurred in 1856.  MR. and MRS. GWIN were the parents of two sons and nine daughters, of whom four daughters are deceased.  Of those living--NORMAN was a soldier in the Mexican war, and is now living in Oregon; McILHANEY now resides in Howard County, Indiana; MRS. BETSEY RITCHEY lives in Utah; MARY is the wife of DR.
DARNELL, of Kokomo, Howard County; NANCY also resides at Kokomo, and MRS. JANE HENRY resides in Nebraska.

Biographical Record and Portrait Album of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, pg. 688
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1888.

Volunteer: Adina Watkins Dyer

Biographies Index

Tippecanoe County, INGenWeb Project

Indiana Biographies Project