Probably the most important requisites to success in farming life are hard work, close attention to the business and the exercise of considerable patience and thrift during the period needed to become well established. These traits have been well illustrated in the case of William Dahlenburg, who has for more than thirty years been one of the independent and successful farmers of Honey Creek Township. Mr. Dahlenburg's excellent farm of eighty acres lies in Section 26 of that township on Rural Delivery Route No. 10 out of Reynolds.
William Dahlenburg was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, June 22, 1858, a son of John and Mary (Dahlenburg) Dahlenburg. When he was a small child he lost his father, who died in the old country and the mother subsequently married William Heiser. The Heiser and Dahlenburg family came to the United States in 1873, and from New York proceeded directly west to Monticello, Indiana. William Heiser was for fourteen years a prosperous farmer south of that town on the old McCain farm, and from there moved to Honey Creek Township, where he died October 5, 1908, and was laid to rest in the Reynolds Cemetery. Mr. Dahlenburg's mother died October 15, 1910, and is also interred in the same burying ground. They were both members of the German Lutheran Church, and the late Mr. Heiser was a democrat and in various ways took an active interest in public affairs. He was a general farmer and stock raiser. Soon after coming to White County he was injured by being shot in the hand, and for some time suffered from this handicap and was unable to give much attention to his farm duties.
William Dahlenburg acquired practically all his education in the schools of the old country, and was fifteen years of age when he faced the opportunities of the New World. As a young man he learned the tinner's trade, and might have followed that vocation but for the injury to his step-father on which account he remained at home and took an active share in the farm management. That gave him his permanent bent in a career, and for fully forty years he has been closely identified with farming pursuits in White County.
One of the first important events of his life was his marriage on August 15, 1876, to Miss Minnie Jacobs, a daughter of William and Minnie (Rogge) Jacobs. Mrs. Dahlenburg was born in Germany, where both her parents died, and she came practically alone to the New World. Along with the material evidences of his prosperity Mr. Dahlenburg and wife are entitled to great praise for having brought up and trained a large family of useful boys and girls, ten in number, equally divided between sons and daughters. The names of these children, all of whom are living, are Dora, Minnie, William, George, Emma, Carl, Ida, Walter, Clara and Rinehardt.
It was in the year 1884 that Mr. Dahlenburg located on his present farm. There for thirty years or more he has continued general farming and stock raising, and his period of residence has been marked by many improvements and a great increase in the value of the property over what it was when he first located there. His fellow citizens have likewise shown their confidence in his judgment and ability by electing him to the office of township supervisor. He is a democrat, and all the family are members of the German Lutheran Church.
Daniel D. Dale was a native of White County, having been born near Burnettsville on May 13, 1836. His father, Wm. R. Dale, was the first candidate for the office of clerk on the democratic ticket, but was defeated by William Sill, a whig. To this same office Daniel D. Dale was elected in 1867, having defeated Milton M. Sill, son of the father who had defeated his father in the earlier years. July 22, 1861, Mr. Dale entered the army as a private in Company, K, Twentieth Indiana Volunteers, but was elected second lieutenant when the company was organized. He served until August, 1862, when he resigned on account of injuries received in the seven days' fight before Richmond. He was county clerk eight years, secretary of the state senate in 1879, and was a leading member of the democratic pnrty in White County. Mr. Dale was married in June, 1864, to Miss Ophelia, daughter of Isaac Reynolds, by whom he had four children. For a number of years prior to his death he was a leading member of the White County bar and no man has occupied a more prominent part in the local history of the county. His death occurred at Monticello on March 13, 1886.
Oliver S. Dale, the first telegrapher stationed in Monticello and later
prominent in local history, was born in Butler County, Ohio, July 6, 1833, and
came with his parents to White County about 1849. He served as a musician in the
Ninth Indiana Infantry and in 1867 and 1868 was marshal and treasurer of
Monticello. Later he was a guard in the northern prison at Michigan City and for
the four years following 1885 was postmaster at Monticello and then accepted a
position in the Government printing office in Washington, District of Columbia,
which he held until his hearing became so difficult as to disqualify him for
such work, when he retired to the State Soldiers' home at Lafayette, where he
died August 11, 1911. His first wife was Kate Brown, daughter of the late Capt.
John C. Brown, and at her death he married her sister Alice. He left two
daughters, Mrs. Fannie Trexler of Chicago and Mrs. Mae Woods of Washington,
District of Columbia, and a son, Glen, of Bloomington, Illinois. In July, 1909,
Mr. Dale, while at Monticello, related the story of the first telegram received
at Monticello. It was addressed to Mr. James H. McCollum and read: "Forrest
opens tomorrow night. William Turner." Mr. Turner was the owner of the Dayton,
Ohio, opera house, which was opened by the great tragedian. Mr. Dale also
received the telegram announcing the death of President Lincoln and in his
excitement left the key open, for which he was "called on the carpet."
The home of Mr. Darrow and family is 4 1/2 miles northwest of Wolcott. It is a fertile and well-managed estate and has been in the capable hands of its present owner for many years. Mr. Darrow has lived in White County since early childhood, and his career has been directed along those lines which result in substantial achievements and material accumulations, and also command the confidence and esteem of the community.
It was in the spring of 1863 that the Darrow family established its home in Princeton Township. The head of the family at that time was John H. Darrow, who was born in Kentucky in May, 1825, and in November of the same year was taken by his parents to Hamilton County, Indiana. He grew up in that county and became a prominent factor in local affairs, serving two years as county sheriff. He was a member of the whig party in early days and afterwards became a republican. While living in Hamilton County he married Margaret Hair, who was born in Hamilton County, July 28, 1850, a daughter of James and Polly Hair. She died at Wolcott, February 26, 1894. John H. Darrow and wife brought their family to White County in the spring of 1863, locating on a farm in section 2, range 1 west. After a little more than eighteen months of residence in the county John H. Darrow passed away November 17, 1865. He was a member of the Masonic order and was buried under the auspices of the local Masonic Lodge. Both he and his wife now rest in the Dobbins Cemetery. They were married May 14, 1950, and to their union were born seven children. The oldest, James W., now lives in Des Moines, Iowa, while the others are still in White County. Benson F. is unmarried and lives in Honey Creek Township; Mary E., also living in Honey Creek, has been twice married, first to George Baxter and second to Henry Baker, and both husbands are now deceased; Walter P. lives in Wolcott and married Rosa Allen; the next in age is Isaac N.; Dora B., who lives at Wolcott, is the widow of Peter Scripter; Laura M., the youngest, married Edward Jackson, and they live at Wolcott.
Isaac N. Darrow was born in Hamilton County near Noblesville, Indiana, April 7, 1859, and was about four years of age when his parents located in Princeton Township. He was six years old when his father died and for that reason and as a result of his natural independence he early chose to become self supporting. His education was acquired in the common schools, but since early manhood he has been a vigorous and progressive farmer, managing his crops and other resources in such a way as to give him an excellent reputation as a business man. His father at the time of his death owned 440 acres of land in White County, and the son has been similarly prosperous and his farm, though containing 147 acres, represents a much higher value and many more substantial improvements than the farm left nearly half a century ago by his father.
On March 4, 1891, Mr. Darrow married Georgia A. Hicks, a daughter of Andrew and Belle Hicks, the former a native of England and the latter of Canada, and the Hicks family was established in Jasper County, Indiana, about forty-five years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Darrow have three children: Raymond H., Harry N. and Ethel M. Mr. Darrow has shown commendable public spirit in helping forward any movement for the progress of his community. He is a republican, is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Wolcott and he and his family worship in the Christian Church.
A resident of White County for a period of thirty-six years, the late Jacob W. Daugherty passed his career here principally engaged in agricultural pursuits, although he was likewise a carpenter and at various times followed his trade. More than five years have passed since his death, yet he is still remembered as a man of industry, integrity and public-spirit, who gave freely of his abilities and energies in advancing his community's welfare and the influence of whose straightforward and manly life still remains.
Mr. Daugherty was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1842, and was a son of John and Magdalena (Marcham) Daugherty, the family being of Irish and German descent. His education was received in the district schools of his native county, where he was reared on a farm, and as a young man learned the trade of carpenter, to which he served an apprenticeship. He was engaged in working at this vocation when the Civil war came on, and August 14, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, 133rd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for nine months, and was mustered out of the service in May, 1863. During this service he participated in several skirmishes and the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In 1874 Mr. Daugherty came to White County from Carroll County, Indiana, where he had spent a short time in working at his trade. Here he settled on a farm in Union Township and applied himself to agricultural pursuits, in which he continued to be engaged during the remainder of his active career. He accumulated a handsome property of 153 acres, all of which he put under cultivation, and improved it in appearance and value by the erection of modern and substantial buildings. He retired from active participation in agricultural affairs in 1903, and from that time until his death, which occurred April 24, 1910, he lived quietly at Monticello. Mr. Daugherty was a practical and progressive agriculturist, making the most of his opportunities and directing his operations in an intelligent manner. He was reared in the faith of the United Brethren Church, but after locating at Monticello, joined the Methodist Episcopal Church and continued to be identified therewith until his death. In politics a democrat, he never cared for the doubtful and often disappointing honors of public life, being content to spend his life as a farmer and good citizen. Always ready with aid to those in need, he proved a friend to many who were less fortunate than he, and when he died he was mourned not only by his large circle of friends, but by many who had come to know and respect him because of his many sterling virtues of mind and heart. His death was caused by an attack of Bright's disease, and he was laid to rest in Riverview Cemetery. He was an honored member of Tippecanoe Post at Monticello, and was buried with the honors of the post.
Mr. Daugherty was married January 13, 1876, to Miss Amanda Jane Hornbeck, born in Carroll County, Indiana, October 22, 1848, a daughter of William and Sarah (Hornbeck) Hornbeck, who came to White County from their native state of Ohio. Mrs. Daugherty was the fifth born of their seven children, four sons and three daughters, and four of the children are yet living. The three daughters are residents of Indiana, and the son, Charles A. Hornbeck, has his home in California. Mr. Hornbeck, the father, was born in Ohio, and died in Carroll County, Indiana, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a farmer, and owned an estate of 192 acres in Carroll County. His political affiliations were with the republican party, and both he and his wife were members of the New Light Church. Mrs. Hornbeck, the mother, was also born in Ohio. They now lie buried in the Dyer Cemetery in Carroll County. Mrs. Daugherty still survives her husband and makes her home on South Main Street, Monticello, where she has numerous friends and is well known by reason of her activities in the Methodist Episcopal Church. While Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty had no children of their own, they adopted and reared a daughter, Lora May Van Scoy, who became the wife of Rufus J. Morrison, of Kosciusko County, Indiana, and is now the mother of two children—Walter Adair and Catherine Jane. Mrs. Morrison is a member of the United Brethren Church in Kosciusko County, as is also her husband. Mr. Morrison is a successful farmer, owning an estate of 130 acres near Pierceton, Indiana, and in his political affiliations he is a democrat.
A man of undoubted ability and worth, the late William H. Daugherty was for many years a resident of White County, where he won an assured position as an agriculturist, a business man, and as a citizen, his industry, upright character, and neighborly dealing, gaining for him the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. A native of Indiana, he was born February 19, 1839, in Tippecanoe County, coming from Irish ancestry on the paternal side, and on the maternal side being of Scotch-Irish descent. His parents, Barnabas and Lucy (White) Daugherty, settled in Tippecanoe County in the early '30s, and subsequently moved to Jasper County, where they improved a farm, on which they spent their remaining days.
Brought up on the home farm in Jasper County, William H. Daugherty was educated in the public schools, and having while young obtained a practical experience in the art of tilling the soil, he became a farmer from choice, and during his younger years was an extensive dealer in live stock. Patriotic and public-spirited, he served as a soldier throughout the Civil war, with the exception of the first three months of its progress, not having responded to the call for ninety-day enlistments. Becoming a member of Company K, Forty-Eighth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Mr. Daugherty was mustered into service at Indianapolis, and was there mustered out of the army at the close of the conflict, having been with his regiment in all of its marches, campaigns and battles, and in the Grand Review at Washington.
Returning home after receiving his discharge, Mr. Daugherty engaged in farming. Coming from Jasper County to White County several years later, he bought land lying five miles north of Monticello, and was there prosperously engaged in general farming, including stock raising, for a number of years. When ready to give up the active care of his large farm, he moved to Monticello, where he continued his residence until the close of his earthly life, passing away July 29, 1908. Mr. Daugherty was an earnest supporter of the principles of the republican party, but never cared to hold public office. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and much interested in the good of the organization.
Mr. Daugherty married on October 31, 1869, and two daughters were born, Ora and Myrta, both of whom are living at home. Religiously the family are members of the Baptist Church.
One of the older residents and active business men of Monticello is Charles W. Davis, who grew up in that town, and while following his trade or conducting a successful business as grocer has also manifested those traits of good citizenship which make any man an influential factor in social affairs and the civic life of a county. He is a man of the finest business probity, regarded among his associates as the soul of honor, and his large business is but a reflection of his individual character.
Charles W. Davis was born in Delphi, Indiana, November 3, 1868, a son of Charles C. and Carrie C. (Ruffing) Davis. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of the Atlantic Ocean, she having been born on shipboard while her parents were coming from Germany to America. Both parents are now deceased. Charles C. Davis had an exceptional record as a soldier of the Civil war, in which he served four years and three months. He was first with a company in the Second Indiana Cavalry, and later in the Infantry branch. He fought in many battles, and was twice made a prisoner of war. After his first capture he was incarcerated in Andersonville Prison, and while being transferred to Belle Isle made his escape by cutting through a box car. He was at liberty only a short time until recaptured, and was exchanged and returned to the Union lines a little while before the close of the war. A painter by trade, he followed that occupation for many years and is well remembered for his skill in painting and decorating at Monticello. His death occurred March 17, 1885, while his wife survived until June 2, 1910. They were the parents of two children, and the daughter Fay is the wife of Elvin Hoshour of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Charles W. Davis was two years old when brought to Monticello in 1870. He grew up in that city, attended the country schools, and as a young man learned the trade followed by his father. At the age of fourteen he was earning journeyman's wages. His trade has been the foundation of his business career and he followed it even for two years while a merchant. Mr. Davis established a grocery business at Monticello in 1898, and has continued it with growing proportions and with a widening circle of trade down to the present time.
Mr. Davis has the distinction of having been a member of the first city council after Monticello was incorporated under city government. He is a republican in politics, is affiliated with the independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 107, the Knights of Pythias, Castle Hall, No. 73, and the Independent Order of Foresters, No. 1690, of which he is recording secretary. On November 6, 1889, he married Ida M. Price, daughter of Joseph S. Price, of Carroll County, Indiana. They are the parents of two children, Agnes M. and Ralph W.
Actively and successfully engaged in general farming on section 26, Liberty Township, George E. Davis materially assists in maintaining the reputation of White County as a fine agricultural and stock raising region. A son of the late William H. Davis, he was born February 1, 1866, in Liberty Township, which has always been his home.
Of English ancestry, William H. Davis was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and as a young man migrated to Indiana, locating in White County, probably about 1850. Soon after the breaking out of the Civil war he offered his services to his country, enlisting as a private in the Twentieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. At the expiration of his term of enlistment, being honorably discharged from the service, he returned to White County, and after taking unto himself a wife engaged in agricultural pursuits. Improving his land, he carried on general farming, including the raising of graded stock, until his death, about 1893. He married Ilwilda Imler, who survived him ten years, dying in 1903. They were the parents of four children, namely: George E., of this sketch; Nettie, deceased; David; and Hannah, deceased.
Educated in the district schools, George E. Davis acquired valuable experience in the art and science of agriculture while assisting in the management of the home farm, and has made farming his principal occupation. In 1903 he purchased his present farm of 275 acres, and has since devoted his time and energies to its improvement, having it largely under tillage, and well supplied with comfortable and convenient buildings. He carries on general farming with highly satisfactory results, and is interested to a considerable extent in stock growing, a profitable industry in this part of the country.
Mr. Davis married in July, 1885, Flora E. Welch, a daughter of Abel Welch. Eight children have blessed their union, namely: Glenn R.; Lloyd; Lulu., deceased; Loren F.; Alta N.; Jennie; Bertha; and Orville.
With the death of Isaac M. Davis on November 23, 1911, there passed from White County citizenship one of the highly respected men and one of the older residents of the county. For upwards of seventy years he was identified with the farming and civic interests of this part of Indiana, was a man of genial disposition and thorough integrity of character. Always a hard worker, he prospered in material circumstances and left an honored name to those that follow after him.
Isaac M. Davis was horn at Bunker Hill, Ohio, November 6, 1827, a son of John and Mary E. (Newland) Davis. He was of Scotch-English extraction. His father was a native of Virginia, was married there, and in 1835 came to Indiana, spending a short time in White County two miles from Monticello, and then removing to the vicinity of Brookston, trading two horses and a wagon for forty acres of land. He lived there as a farmer and stock raiser, and died at Brookston in 1882. He was four times married, and by his first wife was the father of ten children. He was a Methodist, held the office of steward in the church for a number of years, and though a republican never sought office.
Isaac M. Davis grew up in the country districts of Ohio and Western Indiana, had a common school education at a time when the public school system was hardly organized, and at the age of twenty-one started out for himself. He was a farmer in Prairie and later in Princeton townships, and laid the foundation of his prosperity in raising field crops and feeding livestock.
The late Mr. Davis was a republican, served as assessor, and for a number of years a member of the school board. In 1889, having retired from his farm, he moved into Monticello, but for several years followed bridge contracting. He was a Blue Lodge Mason, and was a steward in the Methodist Church for years.
In 1849 he married Sarah Mahan, and by that union there are four children: John, Hester Ann, Mary Ann, and George, the last named deceased. On January 10, 1858, Mr. Davis married Judah Ann Franklin, daughter of George and Anna Mary (Patterson) Franklin. Mrs. Davis is still living in Monticello, and her people came to Indiana from Michigan in 1838, settling near the old battleground in Tippecanoe County, subsequently removed to White County, but at death they were laid to rest in Tippecanoe County. There were ten children in the Franklin family, five of whom are living today. Mrs. Davis is the mother of nine children: William, deceased; James King; Luther, deceased; Alexander, deceased; Griffith, deceased; Ella J., wife of M. McPhee; Edward; Lettie, wife of Henry Roller; and Harry B. In commemorating the death of Isaac M. Davis we quote an excerpt from one of the local publications:
"He was one of the oldest settlers in White county, where he has had a continuous residence for 75 years. He united with the Methodist church at the age of 14 years, and at the age of 21 he received an exhorter's license and for 25 years did considerable preaching. He was a familiar figure at Old Settlers' Meetings and at their last annual reunion here received a gold-headed cane as the oldest settler on the grounds.
"He had been in failing health for the past six years, most of the
time confined to his home but able to care for himself. Two weeks ago
last Sunday his 83rd birthday anniversary was celebrated by his children
bringing well filled baskets and spreading a dinner at his home. On
Saturday evening, November 19th, he was stricken with paralysis,
remaining unconscious until he passed peacefully away at 6:30 on the
morning of the 23rd. His funeral took place from the M. E. church Friday
afternoon in the presence of a large concourse of relatives and friends.
The service was conducted by Rev. J. B. Rutter, and the funeral
discourse was delivered by his former pastor Rev. A. T. Briggs, Sup't
of the Hammond District. Interment was made in the Monticello cemetery."
Theodore J. Davis, a pioneer of Jackson Township, and known to everyone in that locality, died March 19, 1912, after an illness of several weeks. Some time during the early '50s he located on a farm six miles north of Idaville and when the railroad was being built through the town he walked back and forth each day and put in a full day's work on the road. He was twice elected county commissioner on the democratic ticket and left a record as a faithful, honest official. He was born January 20, 1829, in Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1848 he was married to Patty Jay, who lived but a few years, and after her death he married Sallie Smith, and to them were born eight children. He was a kindly, genial and charitably disposed man, who filled his station in life to the best of his ability and left, at his death, an honorable name.
For many years Amasiah Davisson was a farmer and extensive land owner in Big Creek Township. Later he moved to Monticello and erected a commodious residence on the northeast corner of Main and Ohio streets. He was born in Preble County, Ohio, May 22, 1832. In 1852 he was married to Sarah A. House and located in White County in 1854. He died suddenly from apoplexy, May 22, 1901, on the sixty-ninth anniversary of his birth, leaving a widow and four children: Anderson, Simeon and Charles, and Mrs. Thomas Dellinger.
Noteworthy among the well-known and highly respected residents of Monticello is Sim Davisson, who is officially connected with municipal affairs as city engineer, and in that capacity is performing the duties devolving upon him with unquestioned ability and fidelity. A native of White County, he was born August 31, 1862, on the parental homestead in Big Creek Township.
His father, the late Amaziah [sic] Davisson, was born in Preble County, Ohio, and there grew to manhood. Coming to Indiana some time in the '50s in search of a favorable place in which to settle permanently, he was pleased with the agricultural prospects of White County, and invested in a small tract of land in Big Creek Township. Meeting with success in its management, he bought other tracts from time to time, becoming possessor of 400 acres of choice land, from which he improved one of the most attractive farms of that vicinity. Retiring from active business in the very early part of 1892, he moved to Monticello, where he continued his residence until his death, May 22, 1901. He was a man of sterling integrity, and held in high regard by all who knew him. He was a republican in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Sarah House, a native of Preble County, Ohio. She is still living, making her home with her daughter, and is the mother of five children as follows: John; Jennie, wife of Thomas Dellinger; Anderson; Sim; and Charley.
Throughout the days of his boyhood and youth, Sim Davisson remained beneath the parental roof, gleaning his early education in the public schools, and assisting his father on the farm. Farming, however, had no charms for him, and in 1881 he began working as a civil engineer with the county surveyor. Beginning in a minor capacity and continuing the work, Mr. Davisson acquired proficiency in the profession, and in 1891 established himself in Monticello, where he is now rendering excellent service as city engineer.
Mr. Davisson married, May 2, 1894, Elizabeth Kendall, a daughter of Erasmus N. and Sarah (Jones) Kendall, and to them four children have been born, of whom but two, Faye and May, are living. Two younger children, both named Roy, died in infancy. Mrs. Davisson is a most estimable woman, and a consistent member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Davisson is a member of but one fraternal order, the Modern Woodmen of America.
Sarah Debra was the oldest person who ever lived in White County. She was born in Newberry County, South Carolina, January 28, 1811, and was one of a family of ten children. When eight years old she removed with her parents to Columbus, Tennessee, and in 1830 to Miami County, Ohio. In 1832 she married Jacob Debra and to them was born one daughter, Elizabeth, and two sons, Samuel and David. In 1840 they came to White County and the husband entered 200 acres of land near the Lowe Bridge, and here they lived in a log hut while building a more substantial log house. This was her home until the death of her husband in 1861. Her son David died in the army in 1861 and the other son died at Oxford, Indiana.
After the death of her husband in 1861, Mrs. Debra bought the farm in Liberty Township upon which her grandson, Ezra Sluyter, now resides. She made her home with Mrs. Hiram Sluyter, her daughter, until the latter's death in 1902. Subsequently, until her death at the home of her grandson, Marion Sluyter, on February 14, 1912, she resided with her various grandchildren. At the time of her decease, Mrs. Debra's age was 101 years and 17 days. Her remains were interred in what is known as the Clark Cemetery.
One of the strong characters of White County for near a half century was David Dellinger, of West Point Township, where he located in March, 1855. He was a successful farmer and stock raiser, warm and hearty in his friendships and dispensed the proverbial hospitality of the pioneer to rich and poor alike. He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, October 1, 1814. Married January 1, 1840, to Barbara A. Warner, who died in June, 1872. He died January 20, 1902, at the home of his son-in-law, John Davisson, in Wolcott, in his eighty-eighth year. He left surviving five children, Mrs. Daniel Irons, Mrs. John Davisson, Lewis, Thomas and David Dellinger.
A farm that represents some of the best improvements and values in West Point Township is the Dellinger place of 160 acres on section 15, described in formal real estate language as in township 26 north, range 5 west. It is a stock and grain farm, Mr. Dellinger making somewhat of a specialty of Poland-China hogs, and its genial proprietor knows farming as a business and conducts it on the same principles that a manufacturer would run his factory or a merchant his store. His judgment in farming matters is regarded as almost infallible, and everything about his place attests the progressive and prosperous business man.
For fully six decades Thomas W. Dellinger has watched the changes and improvements which have come over the landscape of White County. He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, January 10, 1847, and is a son of David and Barbara Anne (Warner) Dellinger, who were among the very early settlers of White County. His father was born October 1, 1814, and his mother on April 20, 1814, both in Fairfield County, and they were married there January 1, 1840. The mother passed away in West Point Township June 29, 1872, while her husband survived many years until his death at Wolcott January 22, 1901. The record of their children with dates of births is as follows: Mary Elizabeth, born April 2, 1842, now Mrs. Dan Irions; Lewis, born February 16, 1845, and living at Monticello; Thomas W., the date of whose birth has been noted; William H., born June 21, 1850, and now deceased; Elvira, born November 7, 1853, also deceased; Emily, born January 10, 1855, now Mrs. John Davison of Wolcott; and David L., born October 23, 1859, and living at Wolcott. The family removed from Ohio in 1855 and settled on the land where Thomas W. Dellinger has the farm above described. Here the father secured a tract of land from Captain Irions, later bought and traded other property and for several years lived in Carroll County, but later returned to Princeton Township and was a farmer there until he retired. He was planning to live quietly and enjoy the comforts of a new home at Wolcott, but died just before taking possession of his residence. He and his wife are buried in the West Point Cemetery. David Dellinger was a democrat and a very sturdy advocate of his party principles, but though time and again urged to do so, never yielded his consent to hold an office. He was a member of no church and no fraternal orders, but his wife was very much interested and an active member of the old-school Baptist. David Dellinger followed farming and the raising of good stock, and was well informed, a man who could discuss affairs with intelligence, and who had a positive opinion as to matters which concerned him and was always loyal to what he believed to be right.
When the family come [sic] to White County Thomas W. Dellinger was about eight years of age. He had already attended school to some extent in his native state, but gained most of his education in White County. Since reaching manhood he has confined his attention closely to farming, and has lived in one community practically ever since childhood. A number of years ago he introduced to his farm some high grade Poland-China hogs, and his stock of that class is regarded as equal to any found in White County. He has all his land under cultivation, and his farm is seven miles southeast of Wolcott, his mail coming from Chalmers over Rural Route No. 12.
Mr. Dellinger married Miss Jennie Haynes. Their marriage has been blessed with the birth of four children: Bert, Edmond, Charles and Ora, the last being a farmer in West Point Township, and married Grace Moore. Though a life-long democrat, Mr. Dellinger has considered his duty done when he casts his vote as intelligently as possible and has a large degree of community esteem on account of the fact that he is noted for attending strictly to his own business. He and his family are not members of any church and he has formed no fraternal connections.
Few persons ever attain to a warmer place in the hearts of the entire community than was attained by Doctor Delzell in his thirty-five years' practice of his profession in Reynolds. He was accidentally killed, May 28, 1905, during a severe wind storm. He was an active G. A. R. man, and with a young man named Clyde Keller he had gone to the Bunnell Cemetery to place markers on the soldiers' graves preparatory to the observance of Decoration day. On their return, about 5 o'clock in the evening, they were caught in a severe storm, a limb of a tree was blown down on their buggy, striking the physician across his shoulders and breaking his neck, Death was instantaneous. Robert M. Delzell was born in Blount County, Tennessee, November 8, 1843. He came to Indiana in the early '60s, and in 1864 enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-second Indiana Volunteers, and was mustered out at Indianapolis, July 14, 1865. In 1866 he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. William S. Haymond, in Monticello, and in 1869 began the practice in Reynolds. December 30, 1869, he was married to Mary B. Bristow, and to them were born two daughters, Anna L. Delzell, who resides in California, and Mary E., now Mrs. Robert Smith, residing in Chicago. Mrs. Delzell died in August, 1897, and on May 11, 1899, he was again married to Miss Gertrude B. Carr, who survived him.
William Delzell, one of Idaville's most respected residents, was born near Greencastle, Indiana, January 29, 1832, and died at his home in Idaville, Sunday night, August 8, 1915. At a very early age he came with his parents, James and Elizabeth Delzell, and settled on Rattlesnake Creek about four miles southeast of Monticello, in Carroll County. In 1854 he was united in marriage to Miss Rosannah Carson and to them were born eight children, three of whom with the mother preceded him in death. At an early age he joined the Seceder Church, but in 1866 he united with the United Presbyterian Church of Idaville, and in 1873 was elected elder. He served as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Forty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, in the Civil war and was a man of high ideals, a good neighbor and a true Christian. His wife died August 2, 1900. Mr. Delzell was survived by one daughter, Mrs. Melissa Million, of Burnettsville, and four sons, Charles, James Hamilton and Frank, of Idaville, and William, of Iowa, also four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Levi C. Develin, born in Cambridge City, Indiana, August 6, 1835, died at his home in Burnettsville, February 6, 1906. He early engaged in railroading, and on May 8, 1864, lost both feet in the Panhandle yards at Logansport. He then learned telegraphy and in 1865 was appointed agent at Burnettsville, which position he held until 1905, forty years, when he was placed on the pension retired list.
Elihu B. Dibell, who died at his home in Wolcott in March, 1912, was at the time
of his decease the oldest banker in point of continuous service in White County.
He had been prominent in the business affairs of that
place since 1885. He was a leading member of the Christian Church and was buried
in Meadow Lake Cemetery.
An honorable business record of many years in White County entitled the late Elihu B. Dibell to a permanent record in the pages of this history. He was long associated with his brother E. J. Dibell, of Wolcott, and throughout his career he maintained a reputation for solid integrity and excellent business ability.
A native of Wisconsin, where he was born May 2, 1857, a son of Elihu L. and Elizabeth A. Dibell, record of whom will be found on other pages, Elihu B. Dibell was a resident of White County nearly forty years, and died at his home in Wolcott March 5, 1912. He received his education in the district schools and attended also Jennings Seminary at Aurora, Illinois. In 1875 he accompanied the family to White County, and for the next nine years was chiefly engaged in farming. In 1884 he bought the grocery and hardware store of A. T. Pitts at Wolcott, but sold the hardware stock in 1887 and thenceforward with E. J. Dibell, his brother, engaged in the general merchandise business. He also became an active factor in banking, and for many years, in fact until his death, was president of the Bank of Wolcott. The late Mr. Dibell was a republican in politics and a citizen who could be relied upon to support every movement for the welfare of the community in which he lived. He was a member of the Masonic Order, and had filled all the chairs in the Blue Lodge. At Wolcott on February 6, 1883, he married Almira J. Gearhart, a daughter of George W. and Elizabeth Gearhart, who came from Ohio to Illinois and later to Princeton Township in White County. Mr. and Mrs. Dibell became the parents of four children: Oscar D., who died in infancy; Earl B., who died at the age of fifteen; Mabel E., who graduated A. B. from the Western College at Oxford, Ohio, took her Master of Arts degree at the University of Illinois and also pursued special studies in the Leland Stanford University in California, and is now instructor in the Biological Department of Western College. She resides at Wolcott and is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Harry C., the youngest of the children, is now a member of the class of 1916 at the University of Illinois. The late Mr. Dibell married for his second wife Vesta J. Lisk, daughter of William and Sarah Lisk.
Industrious, enterprising and thrifty, Elihu L. Dibell, late of Wolcott, was for many years associated with the development of the agricultural possibilities of White County, having cleared and improved a tract of wild land in Princeton Township, where he was at one time a resident. The descendant of one of the early settlers of New York State, he was born October 15, 1825, in Ashtabula County, Ohio, and died March 14, 1902, in Wolcott, White County, Indiana. His father, Obed Dibell, a farmer by occupation, married Patine Baldwin, and settled in Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active life, dying in September, 1874.
Acquiring his elementary education in the rural schools of his native township, Elihu L. Dibell completed his early studies in the academy at Kingsville, Ohio. Leaving the home farm when about thirty years of age, he spent one year in Will County, Illinois, from there going to Wisconsin and thence to Minnesota, where he resided eleven years. Returning to Illinois, Mr. Dibell lived and labored for seven years in Kendall County. In 1875 he came to White County, Indiana, locating in Princeton Township, where he secured title to 160 acres of land that was still in its primitive wilderness. Immediately beginning its improvement, he was there subsequently engaged in tilling the soil until 1886 when he embarked in the lumber business at Remington. He was quite successful in his operations, building up a flourishing trade, which he carried on several years before returning to Wolcott, where his last days were spent in quiet leisure. He was a stanch republican in politics, and, with his wife and children, attended the Baptist Church.
Mr. Dibell married, December 22, 1852, Elizabeth A. Bliss, a daughter of Beriah and Polly Lucella Bliss, natives of Greene County, New York. Four children were born to their union, namely: Elihu B., born May 2, 1857, died March 5, 1912; Arthur, born November 13, 1860, died February 14, 1863; Edwin J., born October 26, 1862; and Homer B., born January 17 1864.
The birth of Edwin J. Dibell, the third child of his parents, occurred in
Fillmore County, Minnesota. He first attended school in Illinois, and later in
White County, Indiana. Beginning the battle of life for himself on attaining his
majority, he was engaged in general farming for four years. Coming to Wolcott in
1886, he established, in partnership with his elder brother, Elihu B. Dibell, a
department store, putting in a stock of groceries and dry goods, and also
organized the Bank of Wolcott, a private banking institution which later became
the Bank of Wolcott. Since 1894 he has been prosperously engaged in the hardware
business at Wolcott, handling a general line of hardware, and being well
patronized throughout this part of the county. Following in the footsteps of his
father, he is identified with the republican party in politics, and is connected
with the Baptist Church. He is likewise a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted
Order of Masons. He married, September 28, 1887, Mary A. Dye, and into their home
two children have been born, namely: Dorrance, born March 21, 1892, is associated
in business with his father; and Ethel, born February 15, 1896. Mr. Dibell is quite
active in public affairs, and is now serving his second term as township trustee.
George Dickey was born in Ohio in 1828, and died at the home of his step-daughter, Mrs. Martha Lucas, in Monticello, Monday evening, November 23, 1914, having outlived all his brothers and sisters. When but a young man he settled near Wabash, Indiana, remaining there but a short time he moved to Pulaski County, but most of his life was spent in White County, where, on April 4, 1850, he was married to Mrs. Emeline Fisher, who died, childless, in 1900.
Mr. Dickey was reared in the Old Dunkard Communion, but was not a member of any church. His life was unusual in that he never suffered from any illness until the infirmities of old age gathered about him. His remains were laid away in the little cemetery at Monon Chapel. Quiet and unassuming, honest and reliable, he left many old-time friends to mourn his departure.
In point of years of continuous service, probably the oldest practicing physician in White County is Dr. Madison T. Didlake, who located at Wolcott nearly forty-five years ago, and for thirty-five years has practiced at Monticello. Doctor Didlake is of old and prominent American stock and his work has made him a credit to the profession, and his name is connected with the public life of White County.
Madison T. Didlake was born March 29, 1844, in Kentucky, a son of Edmond H. and Mildred Gregory (Woodford) Didlake. His mother was a granddaughter of Brig-Gen. William Woodford, who served under Washington in the Revolutionary war, and died in a British prison at New York and was buried with the highest military honors by the British. The founder of the Woodford family in America was Maj. William Woodford, an Englishman who after coming to the United States located in Virginia. Doctor Didlake has a copy of the genealogy of the Woodford family, which shows its relations with many well known and important people.
In 1851 Edmond H. Didlake and wife removed from Kentucky to Bloomington, Illinois, and there spent the rest of their lives. Edmond H. Didlake took a prominent part in public affairs, and at Bloomington platted and put on the market an addition to the city. He and his wife were parents of eleven children, Doctor Didlake being the only survivor.
As a boy his ambitions were directed to the medical profession largely through his associations with an uncle, Dr. Thomas Madison Taylor, of Clark County, Kentucky. He began his studies with Dr. Charles R. Park, and in 1867 was graduated from the Chicago Medical College. While in college he came under the preceptorship of several distinguished men in the profession, among them Dr. Nathan S. Davis and Doctors Andrews, Byford and Johnson. After being admitted to practice Doctor Didlake was located for two years at Augusta, Arkansas, and for three years in Stanford, Illinois, and in the spring of 1871 came to White County, Indiana, and for the following ten years practiced, with office at Wolcott. Since then he has lived in Monticello, and has been the family physician to more than a generation of people in that town and vicinity.
In 1880 Doctor Didlake was elected county treasurer on the democratic ticket, and was re-elected in 1882. For eighteen years he served as a member of the school board at Monticello, and was treasurer of the board. He and his wife have been members of the Christian Church since early childhood, and he has served in official positions in the local church. On December 30, 1880, Doctor Didlake married Miss Litta H. Johnson, daughter of Dr. John B. Johnson, and a sister of Hale Johnson, who a number of years ago was a candidate for President on the prohibition ticket, and was killed on election day. Doctor Didlake and wife are the parents of three children: Roy P., a civil engineer located at St. Cloud, Minnesota; Lucile, a teacher in the high school at West Lafayette; and Edmond H., a civil engineer in the employ of the Big Four Railway Company, with headquarters at Cincinnati.
After a man has perseveringly and industriously pursued his chosen vocation in life for forty or fifty years, it is eminently fit and proper that he should find some relief from the exacting responsibilities of earlier years, and should have the opportunity if not the inclination to enjoy a well-earned rest. That is the condition to which Jacob Diemer has arrived, and for the past ten years he has contented himself with merely the nominal classification as a farmer, and while still a resident of his fine farm of 215 acres in Section 28 of Princeton Township, has allowed its operation to be directed by a tenant through the last decade. His farm is the old Dibell place, and is one of the attractive and highly-improved farms of White County.
The birthplace and early home of Jacob Diemer were in Southern Germany, where he was born May 20, 1848, a son of John Peter and Elizabeth (Buam) Diemer. His parents died in the old country and left five children. Jacob Diemer grew up there, was given a fair education, and an earnest purpose to make something of himself and to secure the broadest possible opportunities led him, at the age of nineteen, in 1867, to set out for America. After landing in New York he came on west as far as far as Peoria, Illinois, and lived there for about eleven years. After that he moved to Livingston County, Illinois, and in 1894 came to White County, where he invested part of his hard-won capital in his present farm. For twenty-eight years Mr. Diemer worked industriously at the trade of blacksmith and was also an implement dealer, and before coming to White County had been engaged in farming in Livingston County about four years. In the twenty years or more of his White County residence he has carried forward the work of improvement on his farm, and has tiled many acres, thus adding a great deal to the value and productiveness of his farm.
His fellow citizens have had every reason to place their confidence in his judgment, and their esteem was demonstrated by his election as supervisor in 1912, and he has also served on the township advisory board. He is a republican and was reared in the Lutheran faith. In 1873, while living in Illinois, Mr. Diemer married Miss Minnie Celt, a daughter of George Celt. Into their home have been born eight children, most of whom have already taken their places as individual workers in life. Their names are: John, Josie, Emil, Minnie, Maud, Fred, Anthony and Katie.
Mr. Diemer has for forty years been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, his home lodge being at Pontiac, Illinois.
One of the younger native sons of White County, Henry Dittman, is a representative of that substantial German-American stock that has taken such a prominent part in the development of many farming sections in Northern Indiana. Henry Dittmann has relied on his own intelligence and industry to make himself prosperous in the world, and his success is well represented in a good farm estate in Union Township, which he bought from the proceeds of his work for others, has improved, and now has an excellent home for himself and wife and as a place to rear his children to lives of usefulness and honor.
Henry Dittmann was born in White County January 29, 1882, a son of William and Sophia (Brand) Dittmann, the father a native of Germany coming to this country in 1875. William Dittmann was likewise dependent on his own efforts, and for several years after coming to Indiana was in the employ of other farmers. Finally he bought eighty-eight acres east of Reynolds in Honey Creek Township. There were some improvements, although the buildings were of little account, and he went to work industriously to cultivate the land, gradually rearranged and reconstructed the buildings, and lived there in increasing prosperity up to the time of his death. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, a man of good habits, and passed away at the age of sixty-eight. At that time he was the owner of 125 acres. His wife is still living in White County. They were the parents of five children, and the daughter Emma died at the age of eleven years in White County.
Henry Dittmann, who was the fourth child, grew up on his father's farm, received a country school education, and was disciplined and prepared for life by a training on the home place. At the age of twenty-one he married Miss Ida Cords, daughter of Carl and Mary (Kruger) Cords. Both her parents came from Germany and were married after reaching this country. Mrs. Dittmann was the oldest in a family of ten children. Her parents located on a farm in Pulaski County, Indiana, where her father died at the age of fifty-three, and her mother is still living.
After his marriage Mr. Dittmann rented land for a number of years, and in 1911 bought an unimproved tract of 160 acres in Union Township. While continuing tenant farming, he gradually improved the land, made the low flat ground cultivable, put up buildings, and having made the place habitable removed his family to it in 1913. It is now an attractive as well as valuable farm, and all the value except the bare land, represents Mr. Dittmann's earnest labors.
He and his wife are the parents of five children, noted as follows: Bertha, born
September 13, 1904; Clarence, born March 24, 1906; Clara, who died in infancy;
Elsie, born February 27, 1910, and Vera, born September 21,
1913. All the children were born in White County except Clarence, whosc birthplace
was in Carroll County. The family are members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Dittmann
is supervisor of Union Township, and politically is identified with the democratic party.
A public-spirited, prominent, and influential citizen of Princeton Township, Moses G. Dobbins is distinguished not only as one of the leading agriculturists of this part of White County, hut as a native-born resident of the place, his birth having occurred, January 25, 1850, on the parental homestead of forty acres lying just east of his own farm. His father, the late Jackson Dobbins, was born in Virginia, one of the seven sons of Samuel and Elizabeth Dobbins, and in 1849 settled in White County, becoming a pioneer of Princeton Township. Further account of him may be found on another page of this volume, in connection with the sketch of Mr. Dobbins' brother, Robert F. Dobbins.
Acquiring his preliminary education in the district school, Moses G. Dobbins afterwards continued his studies for five years in Logansport. He was well drilled in the various branches of agriculture on the home farm, and at the age of twenty-one years began life for himself as a tiller of the soil, assuming management of his present estate, lying in section 36, town 28, range 6, west. An able and skilful agriculturist, Mr. Dobbins has made improvements of value on his farm, placing his rich and fertile land in an excellent productive condition, and is well rewarded for his labor in his abundant harvests from year to year. He takes considerable interest in public affairs, being identified with the republican party, but, with the exception of having served as county councilman, has held no office.
The Dobbins Cemetery was formerly a part of the old Dobbins homestead, the original tract having been given for use as a burying ground by Mr. Jackson Dobbins, father of Mr. Dobbins, who, in 1880, deeded to the cemetery trustees another tract of adjoining land, containing 2½ acres. The first burial in the yard was that of a child named Brown, in 1849. The next to be there buried were a child named Eurice, and then the body of John Porter was there laid to rest. Mary T. Dobbins, a child of eighteen months, was the next one there buried, but after that time the cemetery became more rapidly filled, there being at least 200 people, including the parents of Mr. Dobbins, and other relatives, there buried.
Mr. Dobbins married, February 21, 1877, Rebecca J. Kinney, a daughter of William and Lucinda Kinney, pioneers of White County. Five children blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dobbins, namely: Lena, wife of George H. Hemphill, of Wolcott; Maud, living at home; Minta, wife of Otto Hemphill; Fred J., who married Winna Lear; and Mabel, wife of Elgy Miller. Mrs. Dobbins, who was a most estimable woman, passed to the life beyond May 18, 1911, her body being laid to rest in the family lot in Dobbins Cemetery. Religiously Mr. Dobbins is a member of the Christian Church, to which Mrs. Dobbins likewise belonged. Fraternally he is a member of Wolcott Lodge No. 180, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, at Wolcott.
Occupying a foremost position among the respected and worthy citizens of White County, Robert F. Dobbins, postmaster at Wolcott, is actively associated with the advancement of the industrial interests of town and county, and influential in promoting the public welfare. Of pioneer ancestry, he was born, December 17, 1857, in Princeton Township, a son of Jackson Dobbins, an early settler of that part of the county.
His grandparents, Samuel and Elizabeth (Miller) Dobbins, life-long residents of Virginia, reared a family of seven children as follows: William, Elizabeth Ann, John, Thomas, Martin, Johnson and Jackson. All of these children migrated to Indiana in pioner days, locating first in White County, where three continued their residence, four of them, however, becoming permanent settlers of other parts of the country.
Born in Virginia in 1826, Jackson Dobbins remained in his native state until 1849. In that year, desirous of taking advantage of the wild lands offered for sale in the then Far West, he came with his brothers and sisters to Indiana, locating in White County. Taking up a tract of Government land, he erected the customary log house, and there lived with his family for a time in true pioneer style, in common with his neighbors, which were few, and far apart, experiencing all the trials and privations incident to frontier life. Engaging in farming and stock-raising on a modest scale, he gradually enlarged his operations, from time to time investing in more land until, with his farm and several smaller tracts, he had title to 640 acres. Going to Logan, Indiana, in 1866, he spent eleven years there as a contractor. Returning then to White County, he continued life as a farmer, and likewise dealt largely in hay, grain and feed, building up an extensive mercantile business. He was actively interested in public matters, serving for many years as justice of the peace, and being a candidate on the old greenback ticket for sheriff. He was a member of the Christian Church, and, with Messrs. Johnson, Wright and Lawson, hauled the lumber and built the first building used for public worship in White County, it having been the Christian Church at Palestine. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Elizabeth Miller, six children were born, as follows: Matilda W.; Moses G.; Samuel, deceased; Mary Elizabeth, deceased; Robert F.; and Schuyler C. He passed to the life beyond on December 17, 1881, and his body was laid to rest in the Dobbins Cemetery, beside that of his wife, whose death preceded his.
Completing his studies at Logan, Indiana, Robert F. Dobbins returned to White County, and for fourteen years devoted his time and energies to agriculture. He resided in Monticello until 1887, but has since made his home in Wolcott, where he is now serving as postmaster. He is officially connected with one of the leading industries of the place, being secretary, and a director, of the Wolcott Dredging Company, of which James Burk is treasurer, and Wm. E. Fox is the president, and a member of the directorate. He has accumulated considerable property, owning farming lands in the county and several shares of bank stock.
Mr. Dobbins married first, in 1878, Alice Bunnell, a daughter of John B. Bunnell, and their only child, Mazie A., died in 1898. Mrs. Alice Dobbins died March 14, 1891. Mr. Dobbins subsequently married for his second wife, on November 29, 1904, Norine E. Hughes, a daughter of George K. Hughes, and of their union one child has been born, a daughter, named Vivian.
Politically Mr. Dobbins is an earnest supporter of the principles of the democratic party, and has served as sheriff of the county, having been elected to the office in 1892. Fraternally Mr. Dobbins is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, of Wolcott, and is a Knight Templar, belonging to the Logansport Commandery; he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Knights of the Maccabees, and to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Seventy years ago, when White County was little removed from the wilderness conditions, the Dobbins family located in Princeton Township, and forthwith took up the work of improvernent and cultivation, as a result of which they added a number of acres to the productive area of this section. Of his family in its second generation, Schuyler C. Dobbins is a representative, and has been a well known citizen both in his home locality and in the county seat.
Schuyler C. Dobbins was born in Princeton Township, White County, October 10, 1859, one of the five children of Jackson and Sarah (Miller) Dobbins. The paternal ancestry is Scotch-Irish, and the mother's family was German. Jackson Dobbins was born in Virginia, his wife in Maryland. They were married in the latter state, and in 1844 came to Indiana and settled in Princeton Township. There Jackson Dobbins followed farming and stock raising, but in 1865 removed to Logansport, lived there eighteen years, and finally returned to White County, and died at Wolcott December 19, 1877. His widow survived until July 13, 1909, and the bodies of both now rest at Wolcott. Jackson Dobbins was a republican in his usual political affiliations, but in 1878 identified himself with the greenback party. He was a deacon and elder in the Christian Church, and gave both time and means to the church activities. He was never a lodge man, and the only official positions he ever held were as trustee and assessor after the township was organized. A brief record of the five children is as follows: Matilda W., who became the wife of Charles F. Jones; Moses G., on the old farm in Princeton Township; Samuel I., who died at Warsaw in 1912; Robert F., at Wolcott; and Schuyler C.
Schuyler C. Dobbins completed his education in the Logansport Seminary and business college, and took up life for himself at the age of twenty-two. On February 14, 1885, he married Lucy Kinney, daughter of John and Eliza Kinney. Mrs. Dobbins died in 1889. On June 15, 1894, Mr. Dobbins married for his second wife Miss Ollie Swick, daughter of Oliver P. and Margaret (Griffith) Swick. There are two children: Winifred C., born December 7, 1899; and Dorrance D., born May 18, 1902. Mrs. Dobbins and her daughter are members of the Christian Church.
In politics Mr. Dobbins is a democrat. When his brother Robert was elected
sheriff of White County in 1892, he served under him as deputy, and in 1908 was
elected city marshal of Monticello and spent six years of faithful work in that
office. In the earlier part of his career he was associated with his father in
the grain business at Wolcott until the latter's death. Mr. Dobbins has lived in
Monticello since 1892. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias,
Castle Hall Lodge, No. 73; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 107; and
the Improved Order of Red Men, Council No. 518.
For more than sixty years Scott Donaldson has lived in White County. He grew up on one of the farms in White County, attended the common schools such as existed here during the '50s and '60s, and for nearly half a century his efforts have been directed to the general agricultural activities with considerable incidental service to his community in matters of local improvement and betterment. Mr. Donaldson owns one of the substantial farms in Union Township, and his name is always mentioned with respect due to his character and accomplishments.
Scott Donaldson was born in Wabash County, Indiana, March 17, 1848, and an interesting fact concerning his career is that in all his life he has never been outside the State of Indiana. His parents were John and Sarah (Honeywell) Donaldson, who removed to White County in 1852. The father was a blacksmith by trade and also followed farming, and died in White County in 1876. His wife passed away in 1866. Scott Donaldson's brother, Sanford, a bachelor, lives at the home of the former in Union Township. Sanford was born October 24, 1834, and is now a man past eighty years of age. He was a member of the Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry during the Civil war, having enlisted October 17, 1861, and serving almost through the entire war until his honorable discharge, November 4, 1865. He participated in many of the important campaigns and battles in the South.
Scott Donaldson married Sarah Elizabeth Hardy, daughter of Alexander Hardy. They are the parents of three children: Araminta, wife of Clyde Wheeler; Fred E.; and Pearl Edna, who married Wilson Christy. All these children were born in White County. In 1891 Scott Donaldson located on his present farm in Union Township, where he owns 112 acres of well improved land, and most of these improvements were put in by himself. In the course of his active career he has performed a great deal of the work which might be classified as pioneer labor, including much breaking of the virgin soil in Union Township. His own experiences in buying land indicate how property values have risen in White County during the last quarter of a century. In 1887 Mr. Donaldson paid $33.33 per acre for some land, a little later paid $35, and in 1900 paid $100 an acre for land similarly situated. Mr. Donaldson has served on the township advisory board, is a republican in politics, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Thomas E. Donnelly, who died one mile east of Reynolds on Tuesday, April 14, 1914, in his seventy-second year, was a veteran of the Civil war, in which he served in the same regiment with his father. On his being discharged from the army he entered the employ of the Champion Reaper Company as traveling agent and later served as deputy warden of the Northern Indiana State Prison, at Michigan City, under wardens French and Murdock. After this service he bought a large farm east of Norway, but later moved to Monticello, then to Idaville, thence to his home, where he died. He was a member of the G. A. R. and under the auspices of that organization he was interred in the old cemetery in Monticello.
In section 2, range 4 of Monon Township is situated the fine farm homestead of Mr. Dowell, the same comprising 120 acres of admirably cultivated land and evidences of thrift and prosperity being unmistakable to even the casual observer. The owner is known as one of the progressive men who are exemplifying the best scientific and practical conceptions of modern agricultural and live stock industry and is one of the popular and public-spirited citizens of White County.
Francis M. Dowell was born on a farm in Pulaski County, this state, on the 20th of November, 1849, and is a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of the fine old Hoosier commonwealth. He is a son of William and Eleanor (Evans) Dowell, and his paternal greatgrandfather was a native of Holland, the maternal ancestry, as the name implies, tracing back to Welsh origin. The marriage of the parents of Mr. Dowell was solemnized in Pulaski County and they became the parents of four children: Isaac, who is deceased; Francis M., whose name initiates this article; William, who is a resident of Goodland, Newton County; and James T., who is deceased. William Dowell came with his family to White County about the year 1850 and his first location was on a pioneer farm south of Monticello. Thereafter he made several changes of residence in the farming districts of the county, and in 1856 he established his permanent residence in Monon Township, where he improved a farm and gained a substantial success, this homestead having continued to be the abiding place of him and his wife until the time of their death, he having passed away on the 16th of October, 1876, and his devoted wife having followed him to eternal rest in the following February, so that "in death they were not long divided." The remains of these honored pioneers rest in the cemetery of Monon Chapel. Mr. Dowell was a staunch supporter of the cause of the republican party, took an active and intelligent interest in governmental affairs and local politics but never sought or held public office. He became the owner of a farm of about eighty acres and devoted the same to diversified agriculture and stock raising.
Francis M. Dowell was an infant at the time of the family removal to White County and here he was reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm, the while he made due use of the advantages afforded in the public schools. At the age of eighteen years he began independent work by obtaining employment as a farm hand, and by energy and good management he soon was able to engage in farming on his own responsibility, the best voucher for his success being his ownership at the present time of one of the fine farm properties of White County. His place has excellent improvements of a permanent order, including an attractive residence, and scrupulous attention is given to keeping everything about the farm in good order, so that there is no semblance of neglect or apathetic interest to be found in derogation of the secure status of Mr. Dowell as one of the sagacious and progressive farmers and stock growers of the county that has represented his home from childhood and that has afforded to him ample opportunity for constructive enterprise.
Though he has manifested no predilection for political office Mr. Dowell has never failed to give ready co-operation in the support of measures and movements which he has believed for the best interests of the community, and he accords staunch allegiance to the republican party. He is affiliated with Monon Lodge No. 592, Free & Accepted Masons, and he and his family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church in the City of Monon.
On the 1st of May, 1881, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Dowell to Mrs. Rachel L. Wilson, a daughter of John D. and Sarah E. (Paul) Moore, and of this union were born three children: Cecil and Florence, both of whom still reside in White County; and Omer, who is deceased.
It is a matter of statistical and authoritative record that no state in the Union can claim precedence of Indiana in the high standard maintained in the service and work of the public schools, and this prestige has been gained and maintained by the circumspection shown in the selection of teachers of the best obtainable talent. One of the prominent and influential representatives of the pedagogic profession in White County and one who is giving the best years of his life to the all important vocation of which he is an able and honored representative, is Professor John Calvin Downey, the efficient superintendent of the high school at Chalmers. Further interest attaches to his career by reason of the fact that he is a native son of White County and has himself profited by the advantages of the public schools of the county in which he now holds distinct precedence as an educator and as a school executive of marked discrimination and enthusiasm.
Professor Downey was born on the homestead farm of his father, in Liberty Township, White County, Indiana, June 2, 1876. He is the youngest of six children born to James and Mary (Cowger) Downey, concerning whom specific mention is made on other pages of this work, so that further review of the family history is not demanded in the present connection.
Under the sturdy and invigorating discipline of the home farm and the initiative instructions obtained in the public schools Professor Downey waxed strong in mental and physical vigor and found his ambition quickened for the achievement of higher intellectual discipline. After completing the curriculum of the graded schools he entered the high school at Monticello, the county seat, and was graduated from the same as a member of the class of 1896. Thereafter he attended Indiana University, at Bloomington, and also completed an effective course of study in the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute. His scholastic ambition was not yet satiated, however, for he took a course in King's School of Oratory, in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1907, and later has further advanced himself in academic lines by attending Purdue University of Lafayette, Indiana.
Professor Downey's novitiate as a representative of the pedagogic profession was served when he became teacher in the Saylor School, in Monon Township, where he continued his endeavors during two terms and made a record that augured well for his future success and advancement in the exacting profession which he has signally dignified and honored. After the completion of his work in the district mentioned, he taught one term in the Helfrich School, in the same township, after which he became an instructor in the Union Brick School, in Union Township, where he served two terms as principal. For two years thereafter he held the position of principal of the school in the Village of Buffalo, and the following year found him engaged at Warfel School. In 1907 he completed two years' effective service as principal of the high school at Burnettsville, and then, after a course in the School of Oratory in Pittsburgh, as previously noted, he assumed the chair of oratory in Findlay College of Findlay, Ohio. Save for this one exception all of his work as a teacher has been done in his native county, and after his return from the Buckeye State he held for five years the position of principal of the high school at Wolcott. He then, in August, 1913, assumed his present executive and pedagogic post, that of superintendent of the high school at Chalmers, where his work has been of the highest efficiency and where a corps of eight teachers are under his supervision. The class of 1916 in the Chalmers High School numbers eight persons, and the school is known for its admirably developed system and for its high efficiency.
Professor Downey has given eighteen years of most effective and creditable service as a teacher, and from the age of six years there has been an interim of only one year that has not found him actively identified with school work either as a student or an instructor—a record that finds few parallels in the case of men of the same relative age as himself.
Taking a loyal and broad-minded interest in those things that touch the general welfare of his native county, state and nation, Mr. Downey accords staunch allegiance to the democratic party, as a member of which he cast his first presidential vote in support of the candidacy of Hon. William Jennings Bryan. He is not a radical or intolerant political partisan, however, and subordinates all other interests to the work and demands of his profession. He is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian Church at Monticello. In his native Township of Liberty he is the owner of a well improved farm of ninety acres, and he also owns residence property at Monticello, the county seat.
Professor Downey and his gracious wife have broadened their ken by indulgence in travel in various parts of the United States, and they have derived both pleasure and profit from their activities along this line. They are known as folk of high intellectuality and the gracious culture that makes for refinement, consideration and kindly tolerance, so that it is but natural that they are held in unqualified esteem in White County and that their circle of friends is limited only by that of their acquaintances. Thus it is a matter of definite consistency and satisfaction to be able to accord to them this tribute in the history of the professor's native county.
On the 1st of June, 1910, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Downey to Miss Daisy M. Plunkett, who was born in New Ross, Montgomery County, Indiana, on the 7th of December, 1876, and whose early educational advantages included those of the public schools of Crawfordsville, where she graduated with honors in 1895. Thereafter she was for four years a student in the University of Indiana, from which she was graduated in 1899 with the highest honors of her department and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. The following six years she taught Latin and English in the high school at Brownstown, Indiana. In 1905 she returned to Indiana University to do post-graduate work and assist in the Latin department from which she received the degree of Master of Arts in 1906. Mrs. Downey also gave special attention to the study of art, Greek and philology. In the autumn of 1906 she went to Wolcott, Indiana, where she taught Latin, English and art for seven years. Since 1913 she has been principal of the schools of Chalmers, where she holds prestige as one of those versatile and resourceful teachers who are poets, "born not made." She proves a most efficient coadjutor to her husband and their harmony of ideals and interests is most gratifying to contemplate. Mrs. Downey holds membership in the Christian Church, is specially active as member of the Parents-Teachers Association and is affiliated with the Society of the Daughters of the G. A. R., and Pythian Sisters.
Mrs. Downey is the youngest of three children horn to Abram and Margaret (Mackay) Plunkett.
Her father, Abram Plunkett, was born in Maysville, Putnam County, Indiana, in 1839. He was a farmer boy with few advantages but managed to attend the Ladoga Academy later where he studied Latin and Greek preparatory to the ministry.
In 1861 he answered his country's call and enlisted in Company E of the Seventy-second Indiana Regiment, where he remained till the close of the war, during which time he participated in seventeen pitched battles and many skirmishes, chief of which was Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge. During these trying years the Bible was his closest companion, for during his term of enlistment he read it through three times.
From the close of the war he devoted the remainder of his life to preaching the gospel as he saw it as a minister of the Christian Church. In all of those years he never wrote a sermon nor preached the same one twice in succession.
In those days the lot of a preacher was not always an easy one. No road was ever too long, nor the weather too bad for him to go to his services, or preach a funeral. He never turned the needy away from his door empty-handed, nor was he ever without a place to preach.
When Mrs. Downey was a baby her own mother died and was buried near Vevay,
Switzerland County, Indiana. Afterward her father married Mrs. Louisa E. Martin,
a cousin of Senator La Follette of Wisconsin, and he lived in Crawfordsville till
his death in 1911. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Crawfordsville, Indiana.
It is essentially as a farmer and stock man that William H. Downey has been identified with the general progress and welfare of Cass Township during many years. While his farm is not one of the largest, it is easily one of the best in the quality of improvements and in general productiveness and wherever Mr. Downey is known he commands the respect and esteem of his acquaintanceship. His homestead of 160 acres in section 18 of Cass Township represents many years of steady industry and intelligent management, and he has a dignified place in that section of White county.
William H. Downey was born in Monon Township of White County, October 15, 1857, a son of James and Mary J. (Cowger) Downey. His life has been one of varied usefulness and of earnest purpose from early boyhood. Besides assisting his father and learning the routine duties of a farm, he also obtained a good education and qualified as a teacher, and for about twenty-eight years in succession had charge of a school in the country district. He taught in Cass, Monroe and Liberty townships.
On June 14, 1881, Mr: Downey married Miss Leonia M. Yount, a daughter of Alexander and Emily (Bacon) Yount. The Yount family came to White County before the war, and lived in Big Creek and Cass Township and also for a time in Liberty Township. Mrs. Downey's parents are both deceased, her father being buried in Pulaski County and her mother in Buffalo. The Yount family is of German descent.
About the time of his marriage Mr. Downey moved to the south eighty of the quarter section on which he now resides, and with the exception of four years spent in Liberty Towusbip that has been the seat of his activities and the center of his home associations for nearly thirty-five years. He may be classed as a general farmer, and has been particularly successful with the Aberdeen Angus cattle. His farm has been improved in many ways, and he has laid a large amount of tiling and has also erected buildings in keeping with his prosperity and with the requirements of his business.
In politics Mr. Downey is a democrat, and takes a considerable interest in public affairs. His family are members of the Presbyterian Church at Buffalo. Mr. and Mrs. Downey had two children, William C., who died in 1889; and Homer R., who lives at Buffalo and married Miss Mary E. Renwick. Homer was educated in the common schools and graduated with the class of 1910 in the Monticello High School. He also spent one term in the State University at Bloomington, Indiana, and is successfully engaged in farming with his father. They belong to the Presbyterian Church.
Some of the most interesting records of county history are found in the annals of the Downey family, which since pioneer times has been numerously represented in this region, and one of the well known members of which is Thomas F. Downey, a former sheriff of White County and a resident of Buffalo, whose name will serve as the point of reference for the facts contained in the following paragraphs.
Going back five generations, the family history begins with a Scotchman who spelled his name MacDowney. He was Thomas F. Downey's father's grandfather's grandfather. He held the rank of a general in Prince William's army and fought against James II in the closing years of the seventeenth century and helped to bring about the fall of the house of Stuart. For his services he received fifty acres of land in County Tyrone, Ireland, three miles from Londonderry.
Two generations later we find James MacDowney, a grandson of General MacDowney. James MacDowney came to America in 1792 and settled in Philadelphia, where he served in the militia that put down the Whiskey rebellion in Western Pennsylvania, and also enlisted to work for the United States for three years, during which time the ship Philadelphia was built. James MacDowney dropped the Mac part of his name soon after coming to America. He married Martha Wigton, and moved to Perry County, Ohio, where he died at the age of eighty-five. Of the nine children of their union, only three Nancy, Thomas and James, lived to maturity. Of these, Nancy, married William Glover, and of her four children, James, Benjamin, Samuel and Catherine, all except Catherine died young. This daughter, Catherine Glover married Homer T. Machlan, and they had four children. Homer Machlan, Sr., is deceased, but his wife and children reside in Illinois not far from Terre Haute. James Downey, a brother of Nancy, married late in life and died without issue.
Thomas Downey, grandfather of Thomas F. Downey of Buffalo, and a son of James and Martha (Wigton) MacDowney married Catherine Moore, a daughter of Thomas Moore who married a Miss Powers. Catherine Moore's forebears came from England to America in 1620 on the Mayflower. Her grandfather's name was James Powers. He and his father were Presbyterian ministers and among the first to come west of the Allegheny Mountains. Thomas Moore, father of Catherine Moore Downey, was a graduate of Princeton University. By his marriage to the daughter of James Powers he had four children: Thomas, James, John and Catherine. After the death of his first wife he married a lady by the name of Hughes, a sister of the grandfather of Jones Brearly of Monticello. The two children of this union were Israel and Maria, and the latter married John Wilson and had two children, Benton and Cheever Wilson.
Thomas and Catherine (Moore) Downey had four daughters: Rachel, Martha, Maria and Nancy; and two sons, James and Thomas. Maria died in infancy in the year 1838 and is buried in the old cemetery at Monticello. Thomas Downey and family moved from Derry County, Ohio, to White County, Indiana, landing in Monticello, October 27, 1836.
The description of their journey and first settlement is an illuminating paragraph concerning the pioneer chapter in White County's history. They moved in an old Virginia wagon with a box that curved up about seven feet high at each end. To this wagon were hitched four horses, two abreast. The driver was Thomas Downey's brother, James, who rode the near wheel horse and drove the leaders with a single line and a jockey stick. James Downey, father of Thomas F., was then but four years of age, but he often rode the off wheel horse and thought he was helping. That autumn was a wet season and many movers mired in the mud, but grandfather Downey walked and carried his ax so that when he came to a mud hole he cut his way around it and went on. Not many of the present generation would want the pleasure of moving in that way but the early pioneers had little to move, and that was some consolation after all. It was a difficult matter to find a place to stop at night on account of the houses being far apart. At times only a short day's journey could be made while at other times they had to travel far into the night Grandfather Thomas Downey had already purchased eighty acres of land through John Wilson, west of Monticello, where Harry Wedge now lives, better known as the Isaac Moore Farm. There he built a cabin and passed the first winter in Indiana. It did not take very long to build a house in those days, for all the men turned out and helped to cut the logs and raise the cabin. The cabin was covered with clapboards, weighted down with poles. The floor was made of puncheons hewed on the top side. The door was made of clapboards and hung on wooden hinges. The chimney was built of sticks and daubed on the outside and inside with clay, while the back wall and jambs were made of stones and mortar. The hearth was made of flat stones and a lubber pole was placed in the chimney with chains and hooks to hang the pots on. There was an oven out of doors to bake bread, and for frying meat skillets with legs on and lids were used. When the Downey family came to White County there were but three houses in Monticello: one at the corner known as the old Jost corner, built by Peter B. Smith; one just north of the Forbes hotel, built by Roland Hughes; and one on Tippecanoe Street, built by William Sill.
In the following spring Thomas Downey, having sold his farm west of Monticello, bought land on the Monon Creek in Monon Township that had a cabin on it. This he sold later, bought on the north side of the creek just east of the Hugh Lowe farm, where he constructed a hewed log house and a frame barn. In 1850 the New Albany Railroad was finished and the county began to improve and a home market was established. Prior to this time marketing was done at Lafayette and Michigan City. Farmers joined teams to take a load of wheat to market and lay in a supply of leather, salt, coffee, and other necessities. Wheat sold at sixty cents a bushel and salt was purchased at $7.00 a barrel. In Monticello wheat was as low as 37 1/2 cents and corn 12 1/2 cents a bushel.
Of the children of Thomas and Catherine (Moore) Downey, Rachael, the oldest, never married and died on the old homestead and was buried in the Bedford Cemetery. It should be mentioned that her father was one of the leaders in founding the Bedford Church and cemetery. The next daughter, Martha, married Lewis Graves. Their family consisted of three sons: Thomas, Samuel, Cheever, and three daughters: Minnie, Grace and Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Graves lived to old age, but both are now deceased and buried in the Bedford Cemetery. The daughter Nancy married Eli Cowger, and their children were Alice, Charles, William, Ida, Elizabeth, Thomas and Clara, the first three now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Cowger and the other children are still living on the farm near Monon. Of the two sons of Thomas and Catherine Downey Thomas married Mary Gates of Ohio, and they are still living in Yellow Springs, Ohio. They have a son, Gates, who lives with them, and their daughter, May, died at the age of twenty-five.
James Downey, father of Thomas F. Downey, grew up in White County and started farming on his place near Buffalo, where he resided continuously for thirty-six years. He then moved to Monticello for four years, after which he was again on the farm eight years, and returning to Monticello for five years died there March 5,1909, at the age of seventy-six. He was a farmer all his life, toiling hard to clear the virgin forest and rocks from his land. He never held any public office, but what is better enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew him. Of unassuming character, he was firm in his convictions and ready to stand for what he believed to be right at any cost. He was one of those few men who would rather suffer himself than harm another; consequently his whole life was spent in laboring for others. He is buried in the little churchyard at Buffalo back of the church he helped to found. On December 24, 1856, James Downey married Mary Jane Cowger. To their union were born six children: William Homer, Thomas Francis, Silas Cowger, James Wigton, Elizabeth Catherine, and John Calvin. This family record will conclude with some brief mention of these individual children:
William H. Downey, who was for twenty-eight years a teacher in the public schools, married Leona M. Yount, and lives on his farm two miles east of Buffalo. His son William Carlyle is deceased, and he has a son living named Homer Ray Downey.
Thomas Francis Downey married Ida B. Yount, and they had three children: Mary Catherine, who died in infancy; Clarence O., who is still at home; and William Francis who died in his thirteenth year. Thomas F. Downey married for his second wife Iva B. Cover, and their three daughters were named Verda Mae, Verna Frances and Clara Catherine. Thomas F. Downey has spent all his life on the farm except two years in Monticello when he was sheriff of White County. He also served four years as trustee of Liberty Township.
Silas Downey, who has spent most of his life in Chicago, where he lives at present and is a contractor and builder, has recently adopted the old family name of MacDowney. By his marriage to Hanna S. Imler he has four children: Madge Inez, Golda Hazel, Claude Columbus who died in infancy, and Morris Linden.
James Downey, who is a carpenter by trade, now resides in Monticello, married Emma S. Ross, and their only child died in infancy.
Elizabeth Downey, who is unmarried, is employed with the large Chicago house of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Company.
John C. Downey, the youngest of the family, is superintendent of schools at Chalmers, and married Daisy M. Plunkett of Crawfordsville.
When the Downs family came into White County in 1852 they found conditions such as can now be scarcely imagined. Though the first settlers had arrived some twenty years before, the foundations of development had only been laid and the real task of the pioneer was still before the people. As good citizens the Downs family has furnished their quota to the progress and prosperity of this section of the state. William H. Downs, who was a child when the family came to White County, is an honored veteran of the Civil war and is now living quietly retired at Idaville after a successful career as a farmer.
Samuel Downs, his father, was born in Ross County, Ohio, December 13, 1811, and died at Monticello, March 15, 1884. He was a son of William Downs and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Some years after his marriage he left Ohio, and in 1845 settled in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and after seven years of residence there moved into White County in 1852, locating two and a half miles north of Monticello. He developed a tract of land in that vicinity, and was active as a farmer for about thirty years. In religion he was a Methodist, had no secret order affiliations, and up to the early '50s voted regularly with the whig party, after which he was a strong supporter of the republican organization. He was known as a money maker, but at the same time was very liberal, and was as generous as he was hard working. He owned about 120 acres at the time of his death. Samuel Downs married Anna Hiens, of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. They were married in Ross County, Ohio, October 25, i832, and she died in Monticello, April 15, 1891. Of their nine children three died in infancy, and William H. is the only survivor and the eighth in order of birth.
William H. Downs was born in Ross County, Ohio, June 25, 1843, and was nine years of age when he came with his parents through Tippecanoe County into White County. His education had already begun in the common schools, and was continued in White County in the intervals of his labors on the farm. He was nearing his eighteenth birthday when the war broke out, and a little more than a year later, on August 2, 1862, he enlisted at Logansport in the Union army. His company was organized at South Bend, and became Company G in the Seventy-third Indiana Infantry under Capt. Joseph H. Westlake. The company was mustered in August 16, 1862, at South Bend, went south to Louisville, where they drew arms and rations, then proceeded to Lexington and were ordered to Richmond, Kentucky, but arrived too late for the battle there in the fall of 1862. His command then returned to Louisville, and was assigned to Buell's army and marched on to Nashville. He then went to Murfreesboro and engaged in the great battle of Stone River. From Murfreesboro he was detailed about the first of April in 1863 to take part in Colonel Straight's raid. This organization consisted of about four regiments of infantry, poorly mounted on almost unbroken mules. The object of the expedition was to capture Confederate arms and munitions factory at Rome, Georgia. The raiders were captured by the Confederate army when four or five miles from Rome, but about four days before that Mr. Downs on account of illness had been sent back first to Eastport, Mississippi, and then to Nashville, and accordingly escaped the fate of his comrades. He remained in Nashville until the privates and non-commissioned officers of his regiment were exchanged and returned to Nashville. The commissioned officers were sent to Libby Prison, and some of them subsequently escaped through the famous tunnel. The regiment rendezvoused at Nashville in October, 1863, and was reorganized. From that time forward the command served chiefly on guard duty along the Tennessee River. Mr. Downs was mustered out at Nashville on July 1, 1865, after nearly three years of active service. During the closing months of the war he participated in the battles of Decatur and Athens, Alabama, and many other communities.
On returning home he exchanged the equipments of warfare for those of peaceful agriculture, and was diligent and progressive as a farmer up to 1906, in which year he retired and moved to Idaville. Mr. Downs still owns a fine farm of 266 acres.
On September 25, 1866, a little more than a year after he returned from the army, he married Rachel E. Hamil, daughter of James H. and Nancy (Montgomery) Hamil of Carroll County, Indiana. Mrs. Downs was born in Carroll County May 26, 1846, and her parents were pioneer settlers there. The family is of Scottish-Irish descent. To their union have been born eight children, as follows: Edwin H., Frank W. Charles E., Harry, Samuel, James H., Jennie, and Elsie. Edwin H., the eldest child, is a resident of Jackson Township and a farmer. He was educated in the common schools. He wedded Miss Cora Critchfield and they have two children, Clara Blanche and Eva Birdella. Clara is in high school and Eva in the seventh grade. Mr. Downs is a republican and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. Frank W., a resident of Decatur, Indiana, and engaged in newspaper work and printing, was educated in the common schools and the State Normal at Terre Haute and was a teacher. He married Miss Cora Sharkley, and they have two sons, Charles S. and James H., both in school. Mr. and Mrs. Downs are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he is a republican. Charles E., a resident of Warren, Indiana, was educated in the common schools and is a commercial traveler. He married Miss Catharine Work, and they have one son, William. Charles Downs is a republican and a Mason. Harry died September 20, 1887. Samuel, a resident of Los Angeles, California, and an optician, married Miss May French, and they have three children, Roscoe, Harold and Elsie May. Samuel Downs is a republican in politics. James H., a resident of Jackson Township, and a farmer, married twice, the last time to Miss Bessie Blythe, and they have one son, Howard. Mr. Downs is a republican and a member of the Methodist Church. Jennie, a resident of Riverside, California, is a stenographer. She was educated in the high school and took her stenographic course in Bloomington, Illinois. Elsie is at home. She is a graduate of the State Normal University at Terre Haute, in the class of 1912, and has been one of the successful teachers of White County and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
In politics Mr. Downs is a republican, but has done little work in the party. He is a member of the Grand Army post at Monticello, and he and his wife are both members of the Presbyterian Church. Since coming into Idaville from the country they have lived in a very neat house in that village, and are among the most highly respected people in that part of the county.
David S. Droke, who for more than sixty years had resided near Idaville, died September 26, 1912, in San Jose, California, and his remains were brought to Idaville for interment. He came to Jackson Township in 1849 from Tennessee and two years before his death went to California on account of his health. He had passed his eighty-third birthday and was a consistent member of the United Presbyterian Church at Idaville, in which body he was elected an elder in 1892. He was twice married, but left no surviving children.
One of the founders and now president of the State Bank of Burnettsville, John C. Duffey, has spent most of his life in Northern Indiana, and prior to taking up his career as a successful banker was identified with farming and merchandising.
John C. Duffey was born in Jefferson Township, of Cass County, Indiana, October 19, 1860. His father, James Duffey, was born in New York State, a son of Andrew Duffey. Andrew Duffey came from southern Ireland, and after living a while in New York, moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin. James Duffey took up the business of railroad contractor, and it was his business in that line which brought him in 1859 to Indiana. He settled in Cass County and married there Maria Carson, daughter of John C. and Ellen Carson. The Carson family came from Pennsylvania to Clinton County, Indiana, about 1851, and in 1856 removed to Cass County. James Duffey, following his marriage, located on a farm a mile and a half east of Burnettsville. During the war he enlisted in Company D of the Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was a soldier for about one year, until honorably discharged on account of illness. After the war he returned to the farm, and about 1868 established a general merchandise store at Lake Cicott, in Cass County. Some four years later be returned to the farm and spent practically the rest of his life as a farmer. About two years before his death he moved out to Nebraska, and died at Friend in that state, in April, 1887. His children were: John Carson, now president of the State Bank of Burnettsville. Edward, who is a traveling salesman and lives at Logansport, married Lavina Burkett, and of their four children the three living are: Harry and Thomas, both unmarried; and Blanche, who is the wife of Charles Linton, living at Logansport, and the mother of two children, one of them deceased and the other named Margaret. Andrew, the third in the family, is unmarried and lives at Denver, Colorado. Alice is the wife of F. L. Vanatta, of Perry, Oklahoma, and they have a daughter named Nellie.
James Duffey was a Catholic in his religious affiliation, while his wife was a Universalist. In politics he was one of the strong and ardent adherents of the democratic party. During his residence in Cass County he served about six years as trustee of Jefferson Township, and was once an unsuccessful candidate for county treasurer. In business he met with considerable success and owned a large amount of farm land at the time of his death. He was a man of exemplary habits and a valuable citizen in whatever community he lived. He was buried near Friend, Nebraska.
John C. Duffey spent his youth on a farm until 1879, attending the district schools in the meantime, after which for two years he had business training as an employe [sic] in the stores of McCaffrey & Dolan at Logansport. He then returned to the farm, and on October 20, 1883, married Mattie Chilcott, daughter of Amos and Mary J. (Banta) Chilcott, who were a family of early settlers in Cass County. To their marriage have been born seven children. Fred A., the oldest, is cashier of the State Bank of Burnettsville, and by his marriage to Mary Marsh has four children: John Irving; Thomas E.; Lois, who died in infancy; and Miriam E. Nellie, the second child, is the wife of Harry H. Marsh, a resident of Paxton, Illinois, and has two children, John R. and Alice. James T., who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and is employed by the New York Central Lines, married Fern Callaway of Cass County. John C., Jr., now assistant cashier of the Bank of Burnettsville, married Victoria H. Pierce. Ruth, who is living at home, is teacher in the primary department at Burnettsville. George, a resident of Burnettsville, married Mary Watts, and has one child. Mary J. William, the youngest, is still in the high school at Burnettsville.
After his marriage Mr. Duffey continued to live on the farm until 1885, and then removed to Burnettsville and was engaged in general merchandising until 1901. After being out of business for one year he engaged in the banking business in 1902, as one of the co-partners in the private Bank of Burnettsville, the history of which and its development has been detailed in preceding paragraphs.
Mr. Duffey has been not only a successful business man, but an able
citizen, and one whose public spirit is clearly manifest in all his undertakings.
Politically he is a democrat in national matters, though in local elections quite
independent. For twenty-five years he has served as a member of the school board,
and that has been the office to which he has given his best public service to the
community. It is a matter of pride to him, and other citizens give him much credit
for the fact that the Burnettsville High School is now one of the best in the
county. Mr. Duffey is also a stockholder and director of the Burnettsville
Elevator Company and owns a couple of farms in this section. He is not a member
of any church, though his wife belongs to the Christian denomination. He has
affiliations with the Knights of Pythias at Monticello, and has held the various
chairs in the local lodge of Odd Fellows.
It is as an educator of a quarter century's experience that James F. Duncan is best known to White County, and in no other calling could he have given a greater and better service to humanity. Mr. Duncan is now in charge of the eighth grade of the public schools of Monticello.
James F. Duncan was born in Carroll County, Indiana, November 30, 1865. He was one of nine children, two of whom are deceased. Their parents were William and Wealtha (Briggs) Duncan, substantial people of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and for many years identified with the farming interests of White County. The family came to White County in 1866. William Duncan had in the meantime gained an honorable record as a soldier in the Civil war. He enlisted in Company K of the Sixty-third Indiana Infantry, being mustered in at Indianapolis, and was with his regiment in its various campaigns and marches for about one year. By occupation he was a farmer and stock raiser, and was a valuable member of any community where he had his residence. In politics a republican, he never sought or held office except as justice of the peace. He was a member of the Christian Church. His death occurred February 10, 1904, while his wife died October 19, 1890, and both are now at rest in Princeton Township.
James F. Duncan was reared from infancy in White County, and acquired his early education by attending the local public schools. In the intervals of his work as teacher he subsequently spent two years in the Valparaiso University, and for one year was a student in the University of Colorado. During his long service as an educator he has taught both in the country and in town, and there are hundreds of his old pupils, now established independently in the world, who recall with affection and respect their instructor and the part he played in their young life. In 1908 Mr. Duncan became teacher of the eighth grade in Monticello, and has since lived in the county seat. He is a republican in politics, but without official aspirations, is a Mason and he and his wife are members of the Christian Chnrch.
On December 16, 1891, Mr. Duncan married Miss Dora Sexton, daughter of Louis W. and Sarah (Briney) Sexton. The Sexton family were early settlers in Princeton Township, and Mrs. Duncan's parents now reside at Wolcott.
One of the foremost insurance men of White County, Robert E. Duncan of Monticello, is a man of solid worth, possessing in a high degree those traits that command respect in the business world, and gain esteem among one's neighbors and associates. A son of William Duncan, he was born October 17, 1862, in Monon Township, White County, where his early life was spent.
Born and reared in Virginia, William Duncan came with his parents to White County when but nine years old, this section of the state being then comparatively new, although the settlements were growing rapidly. Soon after the outbreak of the Civil war, he enlisted in Company, Forty-Sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and until the close of the war did brave duty for his country. Receiving his honorable discharge from the service, he returned to Monon Township, and there for upwards of thirty years he was engaged in general farming. In the fall of 1888, soon after the death of his first wife, he moved into the Village of Monon, where he lived retired until his death in 1899. He married first, in White County, Weltha Briggs, who was born in New York State, and of the nine children born of their union, seven are now living. He marned second, Cordelia Elder, who survives him. He was a staunch Lincoln republican in polities, and a member of the Christian Church.
Obtaining a substantial education in the public schools of his native county, Robert E. Duncan began working for wages when young, and in addition to earning his own living, contributed somewhat toward the support of his invalid mother and the family. He moved to Monticello on March 7, 1901. Since establishing himself in the insurance business, Mr. Duncan has met with rare success as an underwriter, his work along this line being very extensive, taking him all over Northwestern Indiana.
Mr. Duncan married, March 26, 1890, Miss Eva R. McCampbell, daughter of David T. and Elizabeth (McCullough) McCampbell, who are of Scotch ancestry. Politically, Mr. Duncan is a straightforward republican; fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and religiously he is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and an elder in the church.
Jeremiah Dunham, born in Logansport, January 16, 1840, located in Reynolds in 1865. He had taught school a few years prior to that time and then took up the study of law in the office of Robert W. Sill; was admitted to the bar in 1868; taught the Reynolds School for three years succeeding 1869. About this time he began the publication of a paper in Reynolds called the Banner. This suspended in 1872, and during the remainder of his life he conducted a small store, repair shop and notary office. On September 4, 1879, he was married to Mrs. Mary B. Arrick, who with three daughters, survived him. For many years prior to his death he had been in poor health, and being a hopeless cripple, he finally concluded to end the struggle, which he did, March 8, 1906, by shooting himself through the head with a target rifle, dying a few minutes later.
With fifty years of residence in White County the Dye family has been one of those most actively identified with the varied industry and business of the county, and Edward R. Dye, who has lived here nearly all his life, is one of the leading coal operators of the state.
Edward R. Dye was born in Mineral County, West Virginia, October 31, 1861, a son of James W. and Nancy (Taylor) Dye. His father was born in Hampshire and his mother in Mineral County, West Virginia, the father being of Scotch ancestry. The Dye family goes back in American history to the time when three brothers came over from Scotland and located in the colonies. James W. Dye and wife were married in West Virginia, and in 1866 came to White County, Indiana, locating on a farm near Wolcott. Here he became well known in the stock business, and was also interested in public affairs. He died January 24, 1904, and was laid to rest at Remington. His widow is still living at Wolcott. Their three sons are: Edward R., Charles T. and George D. James W. Dye was a democrat in politics, and for several terms filled the office of county commissioner. He lived retired during the last few years of his life, and passed away at the age of sixty-nine. He was a member of the Baptist Church.
Edward R. Dye grew up in White County. attended the local public schools, and for a number of years was actively assisting his father on the stock farm. At the age of twenty he took up farming for himself north of Wolcott, but for the past twenty-flve years has been interested in larger affairs. Leaving the farm in 1890 he engaged in the lumber business with his father and brother at Wolcott, and this concern is still carried on by his brother. Mr. Dye is now president, general manager and treasurer of the United Fourth Vein Coal Company of Indianapolis, a company that operates seven mines in the Linton district of Greene County, Indiana. Mr. Dye resides at Monticello, and has a number of other business connections at Indianapolis.
On September 28, 1881, Mr. Dye married Maud Britton, daughter of James and Sarah (Gill) Britton, who came to White County from Newark, Ohio, in 1867, both being now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Dye have been born two daughters, Lulu [sic] E. and Edna. Lula [sic] E. graduated from the Monticello High School and was a student of DePauw University. She is the wife of Russell Gardner and a resident of Monticello, Indiana. Edna is also a graduate of the Monticello High School, and was a student in DePauw University. She is the wife of Everett Gardner, and they are residents of Monticello.
Mr. Dye is generally interested in public affairs, though he has never held office, and belongs to the democratic party. He is affiliated with the lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity at Monticello, and his family practice the principles of the Christian Science Church, with membership in the Mother Church at Boston, Massachusetts.
Prominent among the native-born citizens of White County that have been active and influential in advancing its material prosperity, whether relating to its mercantile, industrial or agricultural welfare is George D. Dye, of Wolcott, one of the leading lumber merchants of this part of Indiana. He was born, July 3, 1870, in Princeton Township, a son of James W. and Nancy T. Dye.
Having laid a substantial foundation for his future education in the public schools, George D. Dye completed a business course of study in Danville, Indiana. Ready to begin life for himself, he went to Benton County, Indiana, and was there engaged in the lumber business for eight years, having had a large yard at Boswell. Returning then to White County, Mr. Dye became interested in the same line of industry at Wolcott, since that time having served as secretary of the Coburn-Dye Company, which is carrying on an extensive lumber business. Mr. Dye possesses excellent financial ability, and has wisely invested a part of his money in farming property, in 1913 having purchased 120 acres of the old Dye homestead.
Mr. Dye married, September 12, 1894, Mintie Irion, a daughter of Robert F. and
Lavina (Carr) Irion, and to them five children have been born, namely: Robert,
Letha, Russell, Helen, and Janet June. Robert M. received his diploma from the
public schools, graduated from the Wolcott High School, class of 1913, and is
now in the junior year at
Purdue University, in the electrical engineering department. Letha L. also
received her diploma from the public schools, and is now a senior in the
Wolcott High School. G. Russell finished the public schools and is in the
second year of the Wolcott High School. Helen E. is in the sixth grade of the
public schools. Janet June is the baby of the home. In his political
affiliations, Mr. Dye is an earnest supporter of the principles of the
democratic party, and at the present writing, in 1915, is serving as treasurer
of the local school board. Fraternally he is a member of Wolcott Lodge No. 180,
Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; and of Monticello Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons. Religiously he and his family worship at the Baptist Church at Wolcott.
Indiana.
George W. Dyer was born in Virginia, July 14, 1831. His father, Zebulon Dyer, came to Indiana in an early day and located on the hill overlooking the river at Sheetz's Mill, an important point in pioneer days. This neighborhood is now more popularly known as "Oakdale," and the house which the elder Dyer built in the early days is still standing. Here the subject of this sketch lived until he bought a farm about three miles east of Brookston, where he died August 15, 1906. In 1866 he was married to Miss Elnora VanScoy, who, with five children, survived him. These were Grant G., of Tippecanoe County; Eliza, now Mrs. Edward Conway; Robert, of Prairie Township, and Grace.