Among the most enterprising and successful agriculturists of Rock Creek township, Wells county, Indiana, is found Matthew J. Park, who was born in county Donegal, Ireland, January 26, 1853, a son of Matthew and Jane (Buchanan) Park, farming people and quite well-to-do. Matthew Park, about 1850, having heard glowing descriptions of the success which attended a number of his fellow countrymen who had made their homes in the United States, determined to follow their example. Accordingly he left his family behind him and came to America and lived two years in Wooster, Ohio, where he engaged at mason work with his cousin. He then returned to Ireland, and, in 1853, came back with his family to America, worked in Wooster three years and then came to Wells county, Indiana, settling in section 30, Lancaster township, on forty acres of wild land he had purchased in the woods. He cleared up a farm and there passed the remainder of his life. He was educated in a high school in the old country, and was an elder in his church. The latter fact implies that he was a moral man, and as his walk through life was modest and unassuming, it is inferable that he was deeply imbued with the teachings of his Divine Master. His death took place in April, 1893, and he was mourned by all who knew him. His widow still survives and makes her home with the subject, being in her ninety-first year. To the marriage of Matthew and Jane (Buchanan) Park were born nine children, of whom the following attained mature years: Rebecca, now the widow of Joshua Perkins, of Murray, this county; James A., who resides in Bluffton; Ellen, deceased wife of John Burnett; Joseph W., a blacksmith in Murray; Rev. Robert H., a graduate from the National Normal University of Lebanon, Ohio, and from the Xenia Theological Seminary, and now officiating in Valencia, Pennsylvania, and Matthew J., of this review, the next to the youngest member of the family and the youngest one who grew to maturity.

Matthew J. Park was a child but ten weeks old when his parents started for America and not quite four years of age when brought to Wells county, Indiana. He was educated in the district schools and when old enough and strong enough was set to work as an assistant to his father on the home farm. He attended school, however, until completing the graded school course of Bluffton and at the age of seventeen years was licensed to teach, a vocation he followed in the winters of 1871 and 1872 in Harrison and Liberty townships. He then entered the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, where he took a teacher's course, the better to qualify himself for the profession he had chosen, and for ten years afterward met with eminent success in his calling in Wells county. On the 29th day of December, 1881, Mr. Park was joined in marriage with Miss Rachel O. Lee, a daughter of John Lee, a well known resident of Rock Creek township. She was born in Wells county, Indiana, April 5, 1860. Mr. Park had no money nor any other capital save good health, energy and a determination to win in the battle of life. He therefore rented a farm, and, thoroughly understanding the management of this line of industry, was able, at the close of fourteen years, in 1895, to purchase his present place of one hundred and four acres, but which place at that time was cleared off to the extent of thirty acres only, with no buildings whatever. In 1896 Mr. Park erected his present substantial and handsome dwelling and in 1902 built his convenient barn, sixty-six by sixty-six feet in its ground plan, with a cement floor, and finished in a style unsurpassed by that of any other barn in the county, the cost of erection reaching about sixteen hundred dollars.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew J. Park has been blessed with three children, namely: John C., who was born April 24, 1883, attended the common schools until about 1899, and in 1900 attended the high schools of Murray and is now in Purdue University; Harold M., born September 27, 1887, will graduate from the common schools this year, and Archie Glenn, the youngest of the three, was born August 24, 1892.

Mr. and Mrs. Park are members of the United Presbyterian church at Murray, of which Mr. Park is an elder and a trustee. In politics he is a Republican, but has never been a seeker after office. Mr. Park has long been an active member of the Farmers Institute and was its secretary in 1901, and in 1903 was elected president. He is at present the solicitor for the Rock Creek Township Mutual Insurance Association, which was organized in 1875 and has a real estate capital worth three million dollars. Mr. and Mrs. Park are classed among the most intelligent of the residents of Rock Creek township and consequently enjoy the respect and esteem of their neighbors to an unusual degree, and no words of commendation that can here be added could enhance the esteem in which they are held.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 452-453.

MRS. CYNTHIA A. PARKER, residing on section 21, Jackson Township, was born in Randolph County, North Carolina, September 18, 1830. Her parents, Simeon W. and Nancy (Irwin) Swaim, were also natives of the same State, the father born in Stokes County and the mother in Guilford County. In the fall of 1833 they removed with their family to Preble County, Ohio, living there until 1836, coming thence to Indiana, and locating in Huntington County, where the father entered 120 acres of land. There the parents lived until their death, the father dying May 9, 1841, and the mother in September, 1866. They were the parents of ten children, of whom only five survive, one son and four daughters, the son being now the owner of his father's old home in Huntington County. The parents were active and earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the first meetings of that denomination in their neighborhood were held at their house. Mrs. Parker, the subject of this sketch, came with her parents to Indiana and grew to womanhood in Huntington County. She received her education by attending the common and subscription schools of her neighborhood and by private study at home, and subsequently engaged in teaching school, which she followed several terms in Huntington and Wells counties, for which she received as low a salary as $7 a month, out of which she boarded herself. She was united in marriage September 9, 1851, to Albert G. Parker, who was born in New York State in August, 1828, coming with his parents to Huntington County, Indiana, when a young man. Nine children were born to this union—Cecelia M. (deceased), Simeon S., Christopher C., Ellis C., Mary E., William H. (deceased), Samuel E., Ruth C. and Edith M. Mr. Parker now resides in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Mrs. Parker settled on the farm where she now resides in September, 1872, where she has eighty acres of choice land. Samuel E. is living at home with his mother and is engaged in broommaking. Mrs. Parker united with the Methodist Episcopal church when eleven years of age, and is still a believer in the doctrines of that church.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 946-947.

WILLIAM J. PARKISON, son of Ebenezer and Isabella (Johnston) Parkison, was born in Wayne County, Ohio, October 25, 1845. In September, 1847, he was brought by his parents to Wells County, they settling on section 4 of Lancaster Township. He was reared on the home farm to agricultural pursuits, remaining with his parents until attaining his majority. When twenty-one years of age he began life for himself. May 30, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Martha J. Maddux, who was born in Wells County, October 28, 1845, a daughter of Jacob Maddux, who settled in the county in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Parkison are the parents of six children: Delner Grant, Charles F., Anna Belle, Harry C., Minona F. and Oliver W. Mr. and Mrs. Parkison began housekeeping on a farm owned by John Osborne, located in Jefferson Township, where they spent one year. They then removed to section 83 of the same township, and commenced improving a small farm. Two years later they removed to Cass County, Indiana, where they followed farming three years, returning to the homestead of Mr. ParkisonÂ’s parents, in Lancaster Township. Two years later they went to Allen County, returning to the old homestead in Wells County in 1880, where Mr. Parkison has since been extensively engaged in the manufacture of tile and terra cotta at Kingsland Station in connection with his farming pursuits. He has made most valuable improvements in ovens used for burning tile and terra cotta, and for utilizing the heat in drying sheds, by which he believes two-thirds of the fuel generally used can be saved. Ebenezer Parkison, the father of our subject, was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, June 13, 1818, a son of Thomas and Eunice (Coe) Parkison, the father born in Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, and the mother a native of Virginia. They were pioneers of Jefferson County, Ohio, and in 1816 removed to Wayne County, Ohio, where they lived until their death. Ebenezer Parkison was married in Wayne County, September 24, 1840, to Isabel Johnston, who was born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1811, a daughter of William Johnston. They came to Wells County in 1847, as before stated, bringing with them two children, a daughter, Margaret A., who is now the wife of Elisha O. Huss, and William J., the subject of this sketch. Three children were born to them after coming to Wells County, as follows: Philo John, who died aged fifteen years; Eunice, and Johnston S., of Ossian, Wells County. On coming to the county the father purchased 240 acres of land in Lancaster Township, of which a few acres had been cleared, and a log cabin built. Here this old pioneer cleared and improved his land, bringing it under good cultivation, and has since made his home on the land on which he first settled in Wells County. He was bereaved by the death of his wife, June 26, 1886.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 989-990.

In the general conduct of life, as well as in specific vocations, intelligence, energy and honorable motives are essential to the highest success. With the two former qualities, a man may succeed in a certain sense, but that life is not a full or complete one into which the moral element does not enter as a controlling factor. The career of Mahlon I. Paxson, of Lancaster township, one of the largest land owners and most successful farmers of Wells county, is a forcible illustration of this fact, and it is a pleasant duty on the part of the publishers to present a brief review of his life and achievements. It is not known who was the founder of the Paxson family in America, but it is a well authenticated fact that the name was familiar in various parts of Virginia at a very early period in the history of that Commonwealth. Joseph Paxson, the subject's grandfather, was born in that state, but in early life was taken by his parents to Ohio where he married, subsequently moving to Indiana and entering land in Penn township, Jay county. He was one of the earliest settlers in the township of Penn, settling there in the year 1836. He cleared and developed a good farm there and died on the same a number of years ago at about the age of seventy-two. Among the children of Joseph and Martha Paxson was a son by the name of Joshua, whose birth occurred in Columbiana county, Ohio, about the year 1820.

When a youth in his teens he accompanied his parents to Jay county where he subsequently married Mary Irey, daughter of Phineas Irey, one of the pioneers of Jay county and later a resident of the county of Wabash. After his marriage Joshua Paxson settled on a farm in Penn township and in due time became a successful agriculturist and substantial citizen. He was an honest, hard working man and belonged to that large and eminently respectable class of yeomanry who in a quiet way add to the stability and moral tone of the community. He lived a useful but uneventful life and finished his earthly course in November 1878, his wife surviving until the year 1891. Eight children were born to Joshua and Mary Paxson, the subject of this sketch being the second in order of birth; the names of the others are Martha, wife of Morris Thompson; Phillip, a resident of Pennville, Jay county; Eli lives at Winona, this state; David, the next in order of birth, was last heard of in Missouri and it is not known whether he is now living or dead; the oldest and youngest members of the family died in infancy unnamed.

Mahlon I. Paxson was born in Penn township, Jay county, Indiana, November 11, 1842. To him was accorded the privilege of growing to manhood on a farm, from whence has sprung not only the moral bone and sinew of the body politic, but also the majority of leaders in our industrial life and many men of eminence in the affairs of state. Inheriting a robust constitution and superb health, young Mahlon grew up a finely developed lad and, being the oldest son, upon his shoulders early fell a large share of the family support. By reason of his services being required on the farm he had little opportunity of acquiring an education, the sum total of his schooling consisting of only four or five terms and that before he had reached the age of seventeen. This deficiency he has largely made up in after years by reading and observation, while his contact with the world in various business capacities has given him a wide practical knowledge of much greater value than the learning ordinarily derived from books.

Mr. Paxson was a young man of nineteen when the great Civil war broke out and, like thousands of other patriotic sons of the north, he tendered his services to the government in the hour of its greatest need. On the 30th day of July, 1862, he was mustered into the service as a member of Company F, Seventy-fifth Regiment Indiana Infantry, and from that time until his discharge, in June, 1865, he did his duty as a brave and loyal soldier on a number of bloody battle fields. He first met the enemy at Hoover's Gap, Kentucky, and later was with General Thomas in the various campaigns which that intrepid commander conducted, participating in many engagements, notably among which was the terrible battle of Chickamunga, where so many brave men laid down their lives in defence of the Union. During Mr. Paxson's military experience he was never in the hospital a day as a patient and, being ever ready for duty, he earned the good will of his officers and comrades. After his discharge he returned home and on February 27 of the following year was united in marriage with Miss Matilda E. Keese, of Penn township, daughter of Stephen and Sarah Keese, who moved to Jay county, from Vermont, as early as 1838. Meantime Mr. Paxson had come into possession of a small farm of sixty acres which he purchased with money saved while in the army, and to this place he moved his bride and set up his first domestic establishment. Within a short time he exchanged this farm for eighty acres of woodland on which he built a modest log dwelling, sixteen by eighteen feet in dimensions, and shortly after installing his wife therein he put up a blacksmith shop which proved a great benefit to the farmers of the vicinity.

When not engaged in clearing his land he worked in the shop and soon had more than he could do, his earnings from this source constituting by far the larger part of his income. After clearing and reducing to cultivation about fifty acres of his land, Mr. Paxson again made a good trade, exchanging the place for one hundred acres in Nottingham township, Wells county, to which he moved about the year 1883. On February 2, 1876, prior to moving to Wells county, he suffered a grievous bereavement in the loss of his wife, who died after bearing him four children, namely; Florence, now Mrs. David Kelly; Nathan, deceased; Nealy P., wife of George Lanning, of Kansas, and Adrian, who died in infancy. Later, on the 13th of October 1878, Mr. Paxson chose a second wife in the person of Mrs. Rebecca Paxson, widow of the late Miles Paxson, of Jay county, and daughter of Isaac and Rebecca Walker, who were among the early settlers of that part of the state.

Mr. Paxson's original farm in Nottingham township lies about one mile and a half southwest of the village of Petroleum and for many years was locally known as the Robert Smith place. He made many improvements on this farm, including among others one of the largest barns in the township and a beautiful two-story modern dwelling costing twenty-five hundred dollars. He brought the land to a high state of cultivation and by his energy, foresight and successful management added continually to his possessions until within a comparatively few years he was numbered among the wealthiest men in his part of the county. In 1896 he purchased a fine residence in Bluffton, to which place he removed the same year, but after a short time there he returned to the country, subsequently trading his city property for a farm in the township of Lancaster. In 1898 he moved to the latter place and has since made it his home, although still retaining possession of his farm in Nottingham township.

Mr. Paxson has been exceedingly fortunate in his farming interests and business affairs, as witness the fact of his owning at this time seven hundred and fifty-two acres of valuable land, three hundred and twenty-four acres of which are in Lancaster township, one hundred in Nottingham, one hundred and sixty-eight in Jay county and one hundred and sixty in Stafford county, Kansas, and also six valuable lots in Pennville, Jay county. He is now looking after his large landed and agricultural interests, but does little manual labor himself, devoting considerable of his time to the raising of fine live stock in which his success has been most encouraging. He is a large breeder of Galloway cattle, of which he now has one hundred and twenty-three head, several of them thoroughbreds, while his herd of Jerseys cannot be excelled by any like number of animals in this part of the state. He also buys and ships stock quite extensively and in this, as in his other business affairs, realizes handsome profits from his efforts.

Mr. Paxson is a man of expedients, resorting to many different enterprises to increase his fortune. He owns a fine threshing outfit, which yields him a liberal profit on the investment, and also operates a shredder at certain seasons of the year. He still keeps his blacksmith shop open, doing all of his work and as much for his neighbors as the capacity of his establishment will admit. Mr. Paxson never addresses himself to an undertaking without careful considering the consequences, but once engaged never stops short of successful completion. Thrown upon his own resources at an age when most boys are still under their father's care, he has made his way in the world unaided and is indebted to nobody but himself for the large fortune which he now commands. He is probably as good a specimen as can be found of the extraordinary uplifting and rebuilding process which American institutions seem so well calculated to foster in the case of clever young men who in the midst of humble circumstances are not afraid to dare and do. There have been many hard knocks and rough experiences in his career, but from the beginning he has been controlled by those high, manly principles which, while according to every one his just dues, holds on to the right regardless of consequences and in the end seldom if ever fails to reach the goal of success.

Mr. Paxson is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Bluffton and is also identified with the Improved Order of Red Men, joining the latter organization at Keystone. In matters political he is absolutely independent, giving his allegiance to the party whose principles in his judgment work for the best interest of the people. He supported the Greenback party while it was in existence and later became a Populist, but in local affairs he is free, voting for the man regardless of his political affiliation.

By his second marriage Mr. Paxson is the father of four children, namely: Telfer, who married Miss Elva Eihorn and lives on the farm in Nottingham township; Sherman married Clara Gregg, and lives on a part of his father's farm in Lancaster township; Orval, also a member of the home circle, and Ernest, who was accidentally shot and killed at the age of eleven years. Mrs. Paxson has been a member of the United Brethren church ever since her childhood and is one of the active members in the congregation to which she now belongs. Mr. Paxson is not identified with any religious organization, but appreciating the value of the church to a community, gives liberally of his means to its support. His hand is ever open to a friend in need and his generous hospitality is free to all who claim it. He is indeed one of the county's most energetic and enterprising men and his right to be classed with its representative citizens is cheerfully conceded by the public.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, p. 403.
Transcribed by KL Watson

For many years actively engaged in the prosecution of a calling upon which not only our nation, but upon which the world largely depends, Joseph V. Pease has met with deserved success in his undertakings, and holds a position of importance among the leading farmers of Kirkland Township. He was born, August 27, 1866, in Adams County, Indiana, a son of Elijah Pease, and grandson of Adam and Barbara (Winters) Pease, natives of New Jersey.

Elijah Pease, through whose veins flowed pure Indian blood, was born, August 1, 1836, in Ohio, from whence he migrated to Indiana. After his marriage, in 1861, he settled in Adams County, on section 33. He bought a tract of heavily timbered land, and having cleared an opening in the forest built the customary log cabin, in which he and his bride began housekeeping, and in which all of their children were born. He labored with true pioneer grit and courage, and in due course of time had a well improved and well equipped farm. He married Mary V. Walter, who was born, in 1841, in Berne, Switzerland, and as a child came to America with her parents, John Adam and Mary Anna (Jacqueimai) Walter. To her and her husband six children have been born, namely: Alva, deceased; John A.; Mary Lillian and Joseph V., twins; Cecil, deceased: and Dora. Both parents are living, and are in comparatively good health for people of their age.

Leaving school at the age of twelve years to assist his father on the farm, Joseph V. Pease gained agricultural knowledge and experience that has been of the utmost value to him in his life work. Soon after his marriage he located in French Township, Adams County, where for two years he had charge of the farm of his father-in-law, Samuel Hoeker. Returning to Kirkland Township, he managed the parental homestead for three years, being quite successful in his operations. In 1901 Mr. Pease bought, in section 33, Kirkland Township, the eighty acre farm which he recently sold at an advantage, and has since purchased a farm in Adams County, and another in Wells County, one containing eighty acres, and the other seventy-seven acres. In the management of his farms he is meeting with gratifying results, his land being fertile, and well adapted to the production of the cereals common to this part of the state. He has eighty acres in his home.

The maiden name of the wife of Mr. Pease was Mary V. Hoeker. She was born in French Township, Adams County, Indiana, a daughter of Samuel Hoeker, who owns and occupies a farm of eighty acres in French Township, where he is now living. Mr. Hoeker married Rachel Cline, who spent her entire life in Indiana, dying on the home farm in 1895. She was the mother of two children, Lueinda, and Mrs. Pease. Five children have brightened the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pease, namely: Carl H., born April 21, 1896; Walter E., born January 5, 1898; Lester R., born July 1, 1900; Luzerne E., born July 4, 1903; and Paul M., born May 4, 1913. Politically a prohibitionist, Mr. Pease is actively interested in the work of his party. Religiously he and wife are members of the Christian Union Church, in which he has held important offices. He is a public-spirited, loyal citizen, and has served ably as trustee of Kirkland Township, filling the office for four years.

James Perdue was born in Delaware county, Indiana, February 28, 1834. His father was James Perdue, Sr., a native of North Carolina, and who was a son of John Perdue, also a native of the same state. James Perdue, Sr., married Mary Price, who was likewise a native of North Carolina, a daughter of Ellen (Lowery) Price, the wedding taking place in North Carolina. The births of both parents took place on the site of the battle of Guilford Court House, North Carolina, where the British were commanded by Lord Cornwallis and the Americans by General Greene. James Perdue, Sr., settled down to farming, but later came to Indiana, stopping a while in Wayne county, about 1830, and then came to Delaware county where he died, in November 1833, before James, Jr. was born. While in Delaware county he farmed and taught school. James, Jr., has the instrument of writing, in his father's hand, that the latter made of the section of land set apart for the purpose of the school fund in the township where he settled. James, Sr., was the father of four children, of whom two are yet living: John, deceased; Emily J., William, now residing in Warren, Indiana, and James. Mary, the widow of James Sr., married Francis McNairy in Delaware county and they later moved to Fayette county, Indiana, when James Jr. was about ten years old, and the latter grew to manhood in that county. He was educated in the public schools until he was about twenty years of age. The last term of school he attended was taught by a Presbyterian minister, who preached in the Ebenezer meeting house and taught a select term of school in an old log church. He had worked there during the summer, by the month, and boarded with the same man for whom he worked, attending the school during the following winter. He remained there the next summer, and in the fall returned to Delaware county and worked by the month for his stepfather, remaining with him that fall. He remained in Delaware county during the winter and worked until harvest the next summer. September 2, 1855, the subject of this sketch was married to Mary Wall, a resident of Delaware county, Indiana, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Christian and Hannah (Moss) Wall. The parents of Mary removed to Delaware county in an early day, settling on the land before there was any house on it and when it was all in woods. The father improvised a sort of shelter tent with brush, in which he kept his family until he could build a house. Christian Wall was the father of six children: Amanda, deceased; Alexander, deceased; John, deceased; Margaret, deceased; David, probably dead, went to California and not heard from, and Mary, who married James Perdue, was born May 8, 1830. After his marriage James Perdue and wife settled in Fayette county, Indiana, where they remained for two years, when they removed back to Delaware county and farmed in that county from 1857 until the former date inclusive. They came to Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Perdue had six children, three sons and three daughters, all deceased but two. Francis M. has two children, Frederick and Carl P.; Walter L. was born August 23, 1861, and died September 13, 1862; William R. was born December 17, 1862, and died August 19, 1882; Mary L. was born March 8, 1865, and died December 23, 1873; Olive, born November 7, 1866, died September 13, 1867; Hettie, born November 15, 1870, married Darwin Lee, now a resident of Jackson township, Wells county, Indiana. They have two children, Jay and Burle. James Perdue and his wife are members of the Christian church at Perry Creek. He was an elder of the church in Delaware county for several years, also of the church at Dillman, Indiana, until it was disbanded several years ago.

Mr. Perdue is a member of Lodge No. 392, I. O. O. F., of Warren, Indiana, and has passed the chairs twice; he has been secretary and representative to the grand lodge, and was also deputy grand master under D. B. Shideler. Mr. Perdue was formerly a Democrat, voting for Buchanan and Douglas, but since that time he has been a Republican. He has never missed an opportunity to vote since he was old enough and has been active in politics. He served as assessor five times in his native township in Delaware county and was at one time a candidate for treasurer of Wells county, Indiana.

James Perdue has lived in this state all his life, a period of more than two-thirds of a century. He has been a citizen of three counties of Indiana and has been a witness of and aided in their development. While his life has not been essentially that of the original pioneers of the state, he has been conversant with most of the changes through which they passed, and the improved methods which has been adopted, both in work and manner of living. He has witnessed the development of the state of his nativity from a semi-border commonwealth until it occupies today a position midway in the great chain of highly cultivated agricultural domains which constitute the integral divisions of our wonderful country. He has acted well his part in life, seeking to improve his own environments and in the performance of his duties as a good citizen and neighbor has added to the general welfare of the communities in which he has lived.
[Note: please check original source for verification, especially of names and dates, as the microfilm from which this biography was transcribed was nearly illegible in some places.]

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, pp. 118-119.

John Perfect --- born in Monongalia County, Virginia, October 23, 1826, removed with his parents, Robert and Catherine (Hickman) Perfect, to Wells County in 1847. His business is that of farming. He was married on the 13th day of September, 1849, in Henry County, Indiana, to Sarah Coffel, who was born in Wayne County, Indiana, October 5, 1828, and who is a daughter of Henry and Rebecca (Williams) Coffel, settlers of Wells County in 1849. John Perfect's children are: Catherine (Wilson), born November 14, 1850; Miles, September 30, 1852; Rebecca (Foust), November 28, 1854; Jossina, October 3, 1857, died October 23, 1875, ; Sarah E. (Jacobs), October 1, 1860; Samantha E., April 3, 1863, died February 25, 1865; John W., November 5, 1865. Address, Montpelier, Blackford County, Indiana.

Historical Hand-Atlas, With Complete Reference Map of the World, History of Wells Co., IN, Chicago & Toledo: H. H. Hardesty & Co., 1881, p. 220.

EPHRAIM PERRY, farmer, Chester Township, was born in Washington County, Ohio, October 24, 1834, son of Thomas and Matilda Perry, natives of Ohio. The father was born in Columbiana County, and the mother in Washington County. They were married in that county and lived there until 1848, when they moved, by team, to Indiana. The first year they lived in Blackford County, and in the summer of 1849 removed to this County, where the father purchased 240 acres of land in Chester Township, where he now resides. He afterward bought 260 acres more, making a total of 500 acres. The farm was one unbroken forest, and no improvements had been made. They moved into a pole shanty and worked what is now known as the McCaffrey farm for one year. In the meantime they cleared a place on their own land to build a cabin, and after the buildings were completed the family proceeded to occupy it. They made a permanent home there. Mrs. Perry, the mother, died in 1878. Ephraim was fifteen years old when his parents settled in Wells County, and he has resided here ever since. He owns 160 acres of land with about eightyfive acres of clearing. When he first made his purchase the land was covered with a heavy growth of timber. He has made all the improvements himself and erected the substantial buildings on the place. He was married, February 3, 1861, to Miss Margaret Elizabeth McConkey, a native of Fayette County, and a daughter of James and Sarah McConkey, early settlers of Wells County, and now residents of Chester Township. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have had four children, of whom one, Charles Clarence, is deceased. The living are: William Marion, who married Miss Laura McIntyre; Mary Ellen, wife of Joseph Ballenger, residing in Grant County, and Eugene. Politically Mr. Perry is a Greenbacker.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 1008-1009.

Thomas Perry, son of Thomas and Catherine (Fisher) Perry, born in Columbiana county, Ohio, January 10, 1808, settled in Wells county, in June, 1849. He is a resident of Chester township; his business is that of farming. His wife, Matilda, to whom he was married in Washington county, June 5, 1874, was born in that county in 1819; her parents are Edmund and Anne (Taylor) Perry. Thomas Perry’s children are: Ephraim, born October 24, 1835; Phineas, October 11, 1836; Francis M., December 28, 1837; Lucy A., December 24, 1839; Mary J., October 2, 1841; Priscilla, May 29, 1843; Walter T., December 17, 1845; Amy A., October 14, 1847; Aries, December 6, 1849; Betsy, May 26, 1851; Daniel, December 21, 1853; Matilda E., February 15, 1855; Emery R., March 16, 1858. Phineas and Walter were soldiers of the war of 1861, Phineas being a member of the 138th and Walter of the 130th, Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Two of Mr. Perry’s brothers were soldiers of 1812. His father was a soldier of 1776. Business, farming. Address, Montpelier, Blackford county, Indiana.

Historical Hand-Atlas, With Complete Reference Map of the World, History of Wells Co., IN, Chicago & Toledo: H. H. Hardesty & Co., 1881, p. 223.
Transcribed by Kathy Davis

WALTER T. PERRY, farmer, Chester Township, was born in Washington County, Ohio, December 17, 1845, son of Thomas and Matilda Perry. When he was in his fifth year his parents removed to Blackford County, this State, and one year later, came to Wells County, where the father purchased land in Chester Township. Walter has always made his home in this county ever since his arrival here. He has owned his present farm of eighty acres since 1879, but resided on it some time previous to his purchase. He was married March 16, 1868, to Miss Anna E. Brannum, a native of Fayette County, and daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Ball) Brannum, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter of Windsor County, Vermont. They were married in Missouri, and removed to Wells County in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Perry are the parents of five children--Arthur W., Russey T., Lillie V., Rosa A. and Nellie E. When a few days over eighteen years of age, Mr. Perry enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Infantry, and joined his regiment at Kokomo. From there he went to Louisville, thence to Nashville, where they were assigned to the Twenty-third Army Corps, under Major-General Schofield. His first engagement was at BuzzardÂ’s Roost; after that he participated in the battles of Resaca, Pumpkin Vine Creek, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain, Decatur, siege and capture of Atlanta, Pine Mountain, battle of Nashville, December 15 and 16, 1864, and Kinston, North Carolina. He also participated in the heavy battle at Franklin, Tennessee, in which battle his regiment was not engaged. He accompanied Sherman in his march through the Carolinas, being in Washington about two weeks before joining the army in North Carolina. He was discharged at Charlotte, North Carolina, December 2, 1865, and returned by rail to Indianapolis, thence home. Mrs. PerryÂ’s youngest brother, Joseph Brannum, born in 1841, enlisted in 1861, a member of the Forty-seventh Indiana Zouaves. He was severely wounded at the battle of Champion Hills, below Vicksburg, was taken prisoner by the rebels and paroled, was brought a way under a flag of truce, was sent to hospital at Memphis, Tennessee, and died June 24, 1863, aged twenty-one years and five months.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 703-704.

This gentleman, who has been a resident of Wells county, Indiana, since 1866, was born in Jackson township, Perry county, Ohio, April 7, 1823. His father, Martin Poling, was a native of Pennsylvania, born October 18, 1781, and was a son of William Poling. He grew to manhood and was married in Pennsylvania, choosing for his bride Hester Reaver, also a native of the Keystone State and born April 7, 1786. Martin Poling removed from Pennsylvania to Perry county, Ohio while he was in the vigor of his younger manhood and for some few years employed himself in farming in the woods. After having developed a farm of no mean proportions he sold out his property and removed to Hocking county, in the same state, purchased an eighty - acre tract, also woodland, and wrought out another farm, which was his home until his death, which occurred January 18, 1855. Mrs. Hester Poling survived until June 14, 1867, when she was summoned to join her husband in the unknown land, taking her departure from the home of her son, Silas. The children born to Martin and Hester numbered fourteen, of whom three only are now living. These children were born in the following order: Jacob, Richard, Katherine, Pollie, Elizabeth, Elijah, Silas, Isaiah, Jefferson, Anna, three whose names cannot be recalled or who died in infancy unnamed, and Matilda. Of the survivors of this family of fourteen Eliza is the widow of John Confare, of Wells County; Silas whose name opens this record and Matilda, wife of Peter Prough, who has his home in Missouri.

Silas Poling grew to manhood in Hocking county, Ohio and lived with his father on the home place until he attained his majority. At the early age of thirteen, however, Silas began working out for the neighboring families, but finally turned over the proceeds of his labor to his father. Upon attaining mature years, he was married, December 10, 1843, to Miss Margaret Goss, a native of Hocking county, Ohio, and a daughter of Henry and Hester Goss, the former of German and the latter of English descent. Mrs. Margaret (Goss) Poling, however, was called to rest June 26, 1875, having borne her husband ten children, namely: Zelda, who was born April 18, 1845, is now the widow of John Edgar and the mother of six children: John, Edgar, Alice, Atkinson, Minnie and Ruth; Almeda, born May 13, 1847, is the wife of Harvey Irick and has two children, Effie and Pearl; Hester, born December 10, 1849, is the widow of Nathan Lewis and the mother of seven children, Ollie, Francis, Zetta, Frank, Mollie, Gertie and Bertha; Emily, born March 6, 1852, is the wife of Thomas Clampit and has two children, William and Eldora; Jefferson, born July 7, 1854, married Sarah Stenson, who has borne him three children, Effie, Earnest and Charley; Amos, born April 25, 1856, married Sarah Evans, who has become the mother of four children, Harriet, Mabel, Emmett and Ora; Mary M., died at three years of age; George D. died aged four years; Athalinda, born May 7, 1863, is the widow of Oliver Lewis and has one child, Blanche; Anna E., born February 3, 1866, is married to Jacob Schafer.

At his marriage Silas Poling located on a farm in Hocking county, Ohio, where he lived until the fall of 1864, when he came to Indiana and rented land in Huntington county, on which he lived until 1866 and then purchased the tract of one hundred and thirty acres in Wells county, on which he still lives. This land was in a swamp in the woods and covered with water that would reach his neck had he attempted to wade through its depths. Mr. Poling, however, hewed down some timber, built a cabin and furnished it with a split log or punchion floor, with which he was contented until he had time to get to Warren and secure some planking. For the reason that he was unable to drain his land unassisted, he went three miles to Huntington county and worked for Israel Black on a farm now owned by John Huffman, and also for several years worked for the farmers until his own land could be drained. To show the condition of the country at this time, it may be related that when Wilbie Barton came to survey the first ditch through Mr. Poling's place he was compelled to roll up his trousers as high as he possibly could. Mr. Poling now has his farm as well drained as any tract in the township, having tiled into the public ditch. The farm comprises seventy acres, of which Mr. Poling owns fifty and Mrs. Poling twenty.

After the death of his first wife, Silas Poling married, June 26, 1875, Lucinda Petty, widow of Joseph Petty and daughter of John and Elizabeth Stiveson, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in Hocking county, Ohio, and in the latter county were married and passed the remainder of life. John Stiveson and wife had a family of twelve children, namely: Catherine, deceased; Emanuel, deceased; Zoel, Lemuel, Susan, Sarah, deceased; Elizabeth, Mary; Lucinda, Johnnie, Eliza, deceased. To a second marriage there were two children, namely: Dessie, who had her nativity March 23, 1864; Mary A., born September 18, 1866, and married to William Hadden; Josephine, born July 25, 1868, is married to A.T. Merriman and has three children, Jeston, Dawn and Floyd. Joseph Petty was called away June 20, 1868, or about seven years prior to the second marriage of his widow. To the second marriage of Silas Poling have been born two children, viz: Halleck, September 21, 1880, and married to Jennie Mounsey, but makes his home with his father, and Curtis Eugene.

Silas Poling still maintains supervision over his farm, on which he has six oil wells which produce a handsome income. He and wife are members of the Mount Zion United Brethren church, of which Mr. Poling has been a class leader for forty years and also Sunday school superintendent. He has been a Republican in politics ever since the organization of the party and cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont. Mr. Poling signified his patriotism, April 1, 1864, by volunteering in the Union volunteer infantry and serving ninety days against the rebel general Early. He was then honorably discharged, having fought in West Virginia and Maryland with Company H, One Hundred and Fifty-first Ohio Volunteers. He is one of the honored residents of Wells county, and his straightforward and useful life fully entitles him to all the respect which is shown him.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, p. 540.
Transcribed by Ron Poling

The Popejoy family of Wells county, Indiana, and pioneers of Union township, came from Ohio in the winter of 1840, about fifteen years prior to the adoption of the state's present constitution. Christopher Popejoy, the father of Lawson Popejoy, was a native of Virginia, whence he removed to Kentucky and later to Ohio, where he married Nancy Bowers, a native of the last named state, and who was his first wife. Their children who reached maturity were named, in order of birth, as follows: Eliza A., Susan, Margaret, Lawson, Joseph, Edward C., and two who died young.

Lawson Popejoy was born in Fayette county, Ohio, March 26, 1838, and was about two and a half years of age when his parents settled in the northeast quarter of section 24, Harrison township, Wells county, Indiana, which quarter section the father entered from the gorvernment. The land was covered with a dense forest of timber and since becoming the property of the Popejoy family has had but three owners. The father of Lawson Popejoy cleared up their tract from its primeval condition, working night and day to accomplish his purpose, and there made his home until his death. In religion he was a licensed local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church, as well as class leader for many years, and in politics was a staunch Democrat.

Lawson Popejoy, until twenty-two years of age, lived on his father's farm, in the meanwhile attending a subscription school, later a public school and still later became a teacher in the schools of his township. He began his business career by working out by the job at splitting rails, ditching, clearing off timber and at such other work as aided the neighbors in developing the country and in making it worthy of being the abode of civilized man, such as it is today, of which class of work he has done his full share. Through his labor he accumulated six hundred dollars, and then married Miss Orpha Davis, daughter of Elias Davis and a native of Wells County. At his marriage Mr. Popejoy rented the homestead in partnership with his brother, Edward C., but a few years later purchased the proprty, and still later sold it and bought his present farm of ninety-six acres. To the marriage of Lawson and Orpha (Davis) Popejoy have been born the following named children, who still live to adorn the home of the parents: Lousia, Alice, Hattie, Sherman and Lawson.

In politics Mr. Popejoy is a Democrat and has served as assessor of Harrison township six years and as township treasurer four years, leaving the treasury in first-class condition in 1876, and in 1878 was nominated for county treasurer, to which he was elected and in 1880 re-elected, thus serving a continuous period of four years. In 1883 Mr. Popejoy erected his present brick residence, of which he at once took possession and which he has since occpuied. He and wife are widely know throughout Wells county and are highly respected for their amiable personal traits of character and their upright lives. They are good neighbors, charitable of thought and action, and Mr. Popejoy is especially public spirited and ready at all times to aid with his funds and his influence all those improvements which tend to elevate their condition and advance the happiness of his fellow citizens.

Biographical Memoirs of Wells County, Indiana. B.F. Bowen, Logansport, Indiana, 1903, p. 540.
Transcribed by Mark Allen Mann

William Poulson a native of Harrison county, Ohio, was born August 11, 1818. He is a son of James and Elizabeth (Arnold) Poulson. His son, James R., born June 4, 1844, is deceased. He served in the war of 1861, a member of the 130th Regimnet Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Martha J. was born August 21, 1846; William J., February 26, 1848; Thomas W., August 25, 1850; Barbara A., November 10, 1852, died February 10, 1881; John W., March 4, 1854; Isaac N., March 13, 1856; Alonzo C., March 6, 1858; Cyrus H., August 22, 1860; Lewis H., August 26, 1863. William Poulson was married in Harrison county, Ohio, November 24, 1842, to Deborah, daughter of James and Martha (Phillips) Ross. She was born in Maryland, November 14, 1822. William Poulson is a resident of Chester township; settled in Wells county in 1864. Business farming. Address, Montpelier, Blackford county, Indiana.

Historical Hand-Atlas, With Complete Reference Map of the World, History of Wells Co., IN, Chicago & Toledo: H. H. Hardesty & Co., 1881, p. 223.
Transcribed by Kathy Davis

WILLIAM POULSON, retired farmer, Chester Township, was born in Harrison County, Ohio, August 11, 1818, son of James and Elizabeth (Arnold) Poulson, natives of Maryland, the former of Irish and the latter of Welsh descent. They were married in Maryland, and early removed to Harrison County, Ohio, where they were pioneers. They passed the remainder of their lives in that county, the father dying about 1876, and the mother in 1836. William was reared to farm life in Harrison County, and was married there, November 24, 1842, to Miss Deborah Ross, born in Bedford County, Maryland, and daughter of James and Martha (Phillips) Ross, who removed to Harrison County, where they lived until their death. In 1847 William Poulson and his wife started for Indiana by team, and after a tedious trip of seventeen days, through the muddy roads of November, they arrived in Blackford County, December 7. There Mr. Poulson bought eighty acres of land at $2 an acre, which contained a cabin and a small cleared space. After a residence there of seven years, they came to Wells County and bought 160 acres of land for $4,000. He afterward sold forty acres of the land. There was a small house and barn on the place, but Mr. Poulson has made all of the improvements that are now on the place. He has about ninety acres cleared. Mr. and Mrs. Poulson have had ten children, of whom two, James R. and Barbara Ann, are deceased. James R. was a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirtieth Indiana Infantry, going out when only twnety years of age. He was in Sherman's army; was taken sick on the field, and was taken to the hospital at Cleveland, Tennessee, where he died May 20, 1865. He was buried at Cleveland. The living children are William Jasper, who married Rebecca Dodds; Thomas Wilson, who married Ellen Dodds; Martha Jane, wife of Allen Wilson; John W., a carpenter, of Des Moines, Iowa, who married Rose Hunter; Isaac Newton married Lucinda Lake, and lives in Delaware County, Indiana; A. C., who married Amy Sutton; Henry, who married May Smith and lives in Montpelier, and Lewis Harvey. The parents are members of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Mr. Poulson is one of the trustees of the congregation. He has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and has served as supervisor of the district.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 667-668.

WILLIAM JASPER POULSON, of Chester Township, was born in Harrison Township, Blackford County, February 26, 1848, son of William and Deborah (Ross) Poulson. When he was sixteen years of age his parents removed to this county, and here he has since resided, with the exception of twenty months spent in the West. About 1873 he moved to Smith County, Kansas, but returned again to Indiana after a brief sojourn. He purchased his present farm in February, 1881, which consists of eighty acres, sixty acres being cleared, and good improvements. He was married October 17, 1867, to Miss Rebecca Jane Dodds, a native of Butler County, Pennsylvania, and daughter of David and Elizabeth (Duncan) Dodds. Her father was also a native of Butler County, of Scotch-Irish descent. Her mother was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, also of Scotch-Irish descent. Her parents were married in Allegheny County and located in Butler County. In 1855 they removed to Harrison County, Indiana, thence to Wells County in the spring of 1866, and to Blackford County in 1873, where the father died February 14, 1879, and the mother August 17, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Poulson have two children - Mary Alice and James Harvey. Politically Mr. Poulson is a Republican, and has held the office of supervisor. He is a member of the Christian church, and Mrs. Poulson of the Missionary Baptist church.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 759.

JOHN J. PRIBLE, farmer, Liberty Township, was born in Eaton, Preble County, Ohio, December 28, 1832, son of Enoch M. and Lydia (York) Prible. The father was born in Kentucky, son of Benjamin Prible, who was of English ancestry. The mother was a daughter of Jepthah York, and was born in Ohio. When John J. was four years old his parents removed to Huntington County, Indiana, where the father entered a tract of Government land three miles west of where Warren now stands. He passed his youth in assisting his father in clearing and improving the farm, and in attending the subscription schools that were taught in the primitive log schoolhouse. The first house in which he attended school stood on his father’s farm. It had no floor, and greased paper was used for windows. When he was eight years old his father died, and his mother subsequently married Noah McGrew, with whom he resided until he was seventeen years of age. At that time he commenced working for himself, working by the month on a farm, and he also worked four years in a carding-mill. He was married December 28, 1854, to Miss Maria A. Becker, daughter of Peter and Lydia Becker, who came from Cayuga County, New York, when she was about seven years of age, settling in Huntington County, this State. After his marriage Mr. Prible settled upon the land his father had entered from the Government, and has followed farming ever since. July 20, 1861, he removed to this county and purchased 160 acres of heavily-timbered land on section 5, Liberty Township, and commenced the work of clearing and improving a farm. December 5, 1863, he enlisted in Company A, Thirteenth Indiana Cavalry, going to Indianapolis, thence to Huntsville, Alabama, the following summer. He participated in the battles of Nashville and Mobile, then went to Columbus, Mississippi, where he remained until the close of the war. He was honorably discharged and mustered out of the service November 18, 1865, at Vicksburg. He then returned to his home in Wells County and continued farming. He now owns 320 acres of well-improved land, in a good state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Prible have had five children—Byron H., Lurany, wife of John T. Buckner; Lucretia H., James, and Flora Jane, who died at the age of four years and nine months. Both are members of the Disciple church. Mr. Prible is a Republican in politics, and is a member of King Lodge, No. 246, A. F. & A. M.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 844.

LEWIS PRILLAMAN, farmer, Harrison Township, was born in Miami County, Ohio, March 26, 1825, the oldest son and the second of nine children of William and Sarah Prillaman, natives of Virginia. The father was a son of Christopher Prillaman, probably of German descent. The mother was a daughter of Obadiah Winter, a native of New York and of English ancestry. William Prillaman came to Miami County when eight years of age, with his parents, where he was reared on a farm, and was there married. He followed farming until 1830, then removed to Shelby County, remaining until May 14, 1838, when he removed with his family to Wells County and purchased eighty acres of land on section 12, of David Miller, for $500. He afterward purchased 200 acres, for which he paid $2.50 per acre. He bought it of Jesse Whitmore. Mr. Prillaman has served as county commissioner, and in 1842—'43 he represented his county in the Legislature. Himself and wife were active members of the Christian church, and politically he affiliated with the Democratic party until 1854, then joined the People's party. He died March 16, 1855. His wife survived him eighteen years, and died April 8, 1873, at the age of sixty-eight years. They started in life without means, but by dint of hard labor and close attention to his business he accumulated a large property. By honest and upright dealings he won the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. Our subject was thirteen years old when he came with his parents to Wells County. His youth was spent in assisting his father in clearing and improving his farm, and in attending the subscription schools of the early day. In 1845 he commenced teaching school, teaching for two years at $12 per month. He was married May 27, 1847, to Miss Maria Studebaker, a daughter of William and Sarah (Thompson) Studebaker. After his marriage he settled upon a portion of the farm his father had purchased, and turned his attention to agriculture. In 1855 he purchased his father's farm, and now has a landed estate of 280 acres of improved land. It is conceded to be one of the best farms in the county. They had eleven children, ten of whom are living—Albina, died at the age of three years; Maria, wife of P. Rogers; William; Sarah J., wife of John Bixer; Lucinda J., wife of Charles Capp; Henry A., Cora Bell and Cora May (twins), Zella L., Mary L. and Lewis D. Mrs. Prillaman died May 1, 1850, and March 30, 1855, Mr. Prillaman was married to Miss Elizabeth M. Bayman, daughter of William Bayman, a native of Darke County, Ohio. The second wife died in 1868, and September 1, 1870, Mr. Prillaman married Maria Masterson, a native of this county, and daughter of Conklin Masterson. She lived until January 12, 1873, and June 1, 1883, he married Laura A. Ripple, of Mahoning County, Ohio, and a daughter of John Ripple, who came to Adams County in 1864. Mr. Prillaman has served in several township offices, and in 1808 was elected county commissioner for three years, being the only Republican commissioner elected in the county. Himself and wife are members of the Christian church.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, pp. 899-900.

LEWIS PRILLAMAN, farmer, Harrison Township, was born in Miami County, Ohio, March 26, 1825, the oldest son and the second of nine children of William and Sarah Prillaman, natives of Virginia. The father was a son of Christopher Prillaman, probably of German descent. The mother was a daughter of Obadiah WINTER, a native of New York and of English ancestry. William Prillaman came to Miami County when eight years of age, with his parents, where he was reared on a farm, and was there married. He followed farming until 1830, then removed to Shelby County, remaining until May 14, 1838, when he removed with his family to Wells County and purchased eighty acres of land on section 12, of David MILLER, for $500. He afterward purchased 200 acres, for which he paid $2.50 per acre. He bought it of Jesse WHITMORE. Mr. Prillaman has served as county commissioner, and in 1842-'43 he represented his county in the Legislature. Himself and wife were active members of the Christian church, and politically he affiliated with the Democratic party until 1854, then joined the People's party. He died March 16, 1855. His wife survived him eighteen years, and died April 8, 1873, at the age of sixty-eight years. They started in life without means, but by dint of hard labor and close attention to his business he accumulated a large property. By honest and upright dealings he won the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. Our subject was thirteen years old when he came with his parents to wells County. His youth was spent in assisting his father in clearing and improving his farm, and in attending the subscription school of the early day. In 1845 he commenced teaching school, teaching for two years at $12 per month. He was married May 27, 1847, to Miss Maria STUDEBAKER, a daughter of William and Sarah (THOMPSON) Studebaker. After his marriage he settled upon a portion of the farm his father had purchased, and turned his attention to agriculture. In 1855 he purchased his father's farm, and now has a landed estate of 280 acres of improved land. It is conceded to be one of the best farms in the county. They had eleven children, ten of whom are living-Albina, died at the age of three years; Marie, wife of P. ROGERS; William; Sarah J., wife of John BIXER; Lucinda J., wife of Charles CAPP; Henry A., Cora Bell and Cora May (twins), Zella L., Mary L. and Lewis D. Mrs. Prillaman died May 1, 1850 and March 30, 1855, Mr. Prillaman was married to Miss Elizabeth M. BAYMAN, daughter of William Bayman, a native of Darke County, Ohio. The second wife died in 1868, and September 1, 1870, Mr. Prillaman married Marie MASTERSON, a native of this county, and daughter of Conklin Masterson. She lived until January 12, 1873, and June 1, 1883, he married Laura A. RIPPLE, of Mahoning County, Ohio, and a daughter of John Ripple, who came to Adams County in 1864. Mr. Prillaman has served in several township offices, and in 1868 was elected county commissioner for three years, being the only Republican commissioner elected in the county. Himself and wife are members of the Christian church.

Standard History of Adams and Wells Counties Indiana. John W Tyndall for Adams Co and O. E. Lesh for Wells County. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1918, p. 899.

Contributed by Colleen Rutledge

Willaim Prillaman was born in this county June 31,1856, oldest son of Lewis Prillaman. He was reared on a farm and attended the common schools of his father's district. He remained with his parents until his marriage, which occurred November 20, 1973, with Miss Isabel Markley, daughter of Gabriel Markley, and they settled on a part of the old homestead, which contains eighty-six acres of improved land, in a good state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Prillaman are the parents of two children- Millie Myrtle and Ethel. Mrs. Prillaman is a member of the Christian church, and Mr. Prillamanis a Republican in politics.

Biographical and historical record of Adams and Wells counties, Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Co., 1887, p. 992.

Diligent and ever alert for his chance of advancement, Grant Pyle has progressed steadily along the road to success until he is recognized today as one of the foremost business men of Bluffton. Here he is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens, who honor him for his ability and for his fair and straightforward career. He is district manager of the Farmers National Life Insurance Company, his headquarters being at Bluffton.

Grant Pyle was born on a farm in Rock Creek Township, Wells County, the date of his nativity being July 3, 1867. He is a son of Robert and Mary A. (Clinger) Pyle, the former of whom was born near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 23, 1831, and the latter in Ohio, September 10, 1836. Mrs. Pyle accompanied her parents from the Buckeye State to Jay County, Indiana, and there was solemnized her marriage. In 1863 Mr. and Mrs. Pyle located on a farm in section 27 of Rock Creek Township, Wells County, and part of their land now forms the Town of Rockford. They cleared and improved their homestead and continued to reside thereon until 1912, when they retired from active work and settled in the city of Bluffton. Here he died February 22, 1915, and she was summoned to eternal rest July 16, 1917. They were both devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and helped organize the church of that denomination at Rockford. After their arrival in Bluffton they affiliated with the First Methodist Episcopal Church, where they gained many warm friends, by whom their demise is uniformly mourned. Politically Mr. Pyle was a stalwart republican. Mr. and Mrs. Pyle became the parents of two sons and three daughters: Emma is the wife of W. A. Redding of Muncie, Indiana; Grant is the immediate subject of this review; Huldah M. married G. B. Johnson, of Bluffton; Melissa A. is the wife of Robert Dickey, of Rock Creek Township; and C. P.

Grant Pyle passed his boyhood and youth on tie old homestead farm in Roek Creek Township, attending the public schools during the winter months and working on the farm during the spring and summer. He remained at home with his parents until he had reached his majority. His preliminary educational training was supplemented by a course of two years in the Methodist Episcopal College at Fort Wayne, Indiana, now Taylor University at Upland, Indiana. He initiated his business career as a traveling salesman for the St. Louis Range Company, covering Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Two years later he severed his connection with that concern and entered the employ of the Alpaugh-Dover Company, of Chicago, as superintendent of agencies, his territory being the eastern and New England states and Kentucky. He was with the latter company for three years, during part of which time he traveled as far west as Oklahoma and Wisconsin. He then engaged as salesman for the W. H. Hood Company and the Tobacco Company of Fort Wayne, remaining with those firms for seven years. April 16, 1914, he engaged in the life insurance business as district manager of the Farmers National Life Insurance Company, his territory comprising the counties of Wells, Adams, Blackford, Jay, Randolph and Delaware. His main office is in Bluffton and he stands in the front rank as an enterprising insurance writer. Mr. Pyle is a member of Bluffton Lodge No. 145, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he is past master; Bluffton Chapter No. 95, Royal Arch Masons; Bluffton Council No. 63; and Bluffton Commandery No. 38, Knights Templars. He is likewise affiliated with Bluffton Lodge No. 114, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been a member of that organization since July 4, 1892. He is an enthusiastic republican and is an active politician. He was nominated for the office of county recorder in 1894, and came within 200 votes of being elected. He is a stockholder in the Alpaugh-Dover Company and the Farmers National Life Insurance Company, both of Chicago.

In the year 1893 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pyle to Miss Ida M. Cassell, who was born in Darke County, Ohio, January 1, 1873, and who was educated in the public schools of her native place. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Pyle: Edna, Russell, Naomi, Mildred, Harved [sic], Kenneth and Merriam. Russell, second oldest child, is a graduate of the Bluffton High School and is now a successful teacher in Wells County. The entire family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to whose good works they are liberal contributors.

Standard History of Adams and Wells Counties Indiana. John W Tyndall for Adams Co and O. E. Lesh for Wells County. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1918, pp. 476-477.