Mrs. Mary Failing, daughter of Rowland and Nancy Hughes, was at the time of her death probably the oldest continuous resident of Monticello. She was born in Green County, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1834, and came with her parents the next year. February 22, 1854, she was married to Peter R. Failing. To them were born five children, three of whom, Florine, Jennie and Nellie, are still living, the first being Mrs. Frank P. Berkey of Monticello. Besides these she left surviving two sisters, Mrs. Jeptha Crouch of Lafayette and Mrs. John I. Purcupile. She died December 29, 1907.
For many years Peter R. Failing was one of the best known men in Monticello. Being a son-in-law of Rowland Hughes, some years of his early life were spent in the latter's store. Prior to that time he had been a track master on the New York Central Road and later on other roads. He came to White County in 1853 and superintended the grading of the railroad between Logansport and Reynolds. On February 24, 1854, he was married to Mary Hughes. To them were born three daughters, Florine, Jennie and Nellie, all of whom are yet living. He was born November 19, 1820, in Wayne County, New York; died in Monticello, December 15, 1899, from paralysis.
As a graduate veterinary surgeon, Hobart Fairfield has been known to the farmers and stock owners of White County for five years. He is the founder and proprietor of the Monticello Veterinary Hospital, an institution that in point of equipment and general facilities ranks with the best of its kind in the state. He has spent a large amount of money and utilized his varied experience and observation in equipping this hospital with all the conveniences for the care and treatment of the domestic animals that come under his charge.
Hobart Fairfield was born in Quebec, Canada, July 31, 1883, a son of Samuel and Helen (Phelps) Fairfield. Both parents were born in Canada and his father died October 21, 1914, while the mother is still living in Quebec. His father was a farmer and stock raiser. Mr. Fairfield is of English, Irish and Scotch descent.
His early education was obtained in the Canadian schools, and in 1900 he went to Lowell, Massachusetts, remaining there about two and a half years. After another year in Canada, in 1903, he took charge of the State Colony for Insane at Grafton, Massachusetts, holding that position about two years. He then had charge of a ward in the Hartford Retreat Hospital at Hartford, Connecticut, and next entered the Grand Rapids Veterinary College. During the vacations he served as guard for the criminal and dangerous insane at Ionia, Michigan. Later for a short time he was in the service of the Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, and then accepted a place with the State Hospital in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. In the fall of 1908 Mr. Fairfield entered the McKillip Veterinary College at Chicago, and was graduated in 1910 with the degree Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. In the meantime, during vacations, he had been connected with the McEvers Veterinary Hospital, so that when he came to White County in 1910 he was thoroughly trained and qualified both in the practical and theoretical branches of his profession. He took up active practice at Chalmers in 1910, and in May, 1912, moved to Monticello. The Monticello Veterinary Hospital he built in 1914.
On April 2, 1910, Mr. Fairfield married Miss Evelyn German, daughter of Israel and Susan German. He is republican in polities, is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, belonged to the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry of the State Militia while a resident of Lowell, and his wife is a member of the Christian Church.
Such a citizen as Edgar M. Ferguson of Prairie Township, is a credit to any community. Few men make better use of their opportunities. About thirty years ago he was one among a thousand, distinguished only by a willingness to work hard and to get his advancement on merit. He has since earned a prosperity such as few men in the county possess, and is one of the largest land holders in the vicinity of Brookston. His personal life has alike been above reproach, and his principles of clean living and his high standards of moral conduct have counted for a great deal in his community. The people of his home township could not have made a better choice in electing him to the position of township trustee, to which he is now giving his attention.
His grandfather was Thomas Ferguson, a son of William Ferguson of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Thomas Ferguson early in life settled in the State of Illinois, but in 1854 came to White County and settled in Union Township. He lived in this county until his death in 1866. His body was laid to rest in the Bunnell Cemetery, southeast of Reynolds. In politics he was identified with the whig party until its dissolution, and afterwards was a republican, while his church was the Methodist. Thomas Ferguson, it is interesting to record, married Dauphalia Hood, who was a sister of the famous General Hood, one of the conspicuous leaders in the Confederate army during the Civil war. The eight children of Thomas Ferguson and wife were: Francis R., father of Edgar M.; Mary; Howell; John; Edgar M., who is now the only survivor of this generation and at a good old age is living quietly at his home in Monticello; Edmond M.; Ellen; and Jane.
Francis R. Ferguson was born in Illinois, January 26, 1837, grew to manhood in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and after a long and active career as a farmer died in White County, June 17, 1899, and is buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery at Brookston. He was a republican and a Methodist. He married Mary Dewberry, daughter of Jesse Dewberry of Prairie Township. She was born August 9, 1839, and died September 2, 1901.
A son of these parents, Edgar M. Ferguson was born April 20, 1862, in the Prairie Church neighborhood of Tippecanoe Township, Tippecanoe County. In the spring of 1863 his parents removed to White County and located just west of Badger Grove in Prairie Township, but six years later went over into Carroll County, where Mr. Ferguson grew to manhood and obtained what the common schools had to offer in the way of education. When he was a young man of about twenty-three, in 1885, the road of destiny led him to the home of John Russell, for whom he worked as a farm hand one year. During this time his acquaintance with Clara E. Russell, a daughter of John and Rachel Russell, ripened into an affection which was sealed by their marriage on January 31, 1886. Mrs. Ferguson's parents were among the early settlers and prominent people of White County. Her brother, John M. Russell, served as a commissioner of White County some years ago. Chief among the blessings which have come to them during their thirty years of married companionship Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson place their ten children: Edgar M., Jr., who now lives in Nez Perce, Idaho, and married Amice White; Francis R.; Clara B.; John W., deceased; Mary R., secretary of township schools in institute work; Ida, deceased; Minnie R.; Charles I.; John H.; and Alta. All the younger children are still living at home.
Mr. Ferguson, as already indicated, started life with neither influence nor with money supplied from home, and has never inherited a cent. He is a self-made man in the best sense of the word, and is now the owner of 520 acres of land, which in improvements and general acreage value can be measured with the best to be found in White County. The year before his marriage was spent in the employ of Mr. Russell, and he then started to farm for himself. A year later he invested all the capital he had in seventy acres in Prairie Township near Pine Grove. Hard work combined with aspirations for success have kept him continually prospering. After four years he sold his seventy-acre farm and bought 190 acres south of Brookston, and in 1896 bought 230 acres three miles east of the town, and he now lives in that part of Prairie Township.
As a man who has been diligent at his own business and has had a wide experience, he has enjoyed the confidence of the community and has filled several local offices and has proved a valuable worker in any scheme of general improvement. In politics he is a republican, and for eight years held the office of township supervisor. In 1912 he was a candidate for county commissioner from the first district. In January, 1915, he assumed the duties of township trustee. For four years, from 1900 to 1904, he held a commission as notary public. During his eight years of service as township supervisor he built and turned over to the county about eight miles of gravel road, more than all the other supervisors in the county constructed during the same period. He took the leading part in petitioning for the construction of the Thompson Road from Brookston toward Badger. About thirteen years ago Mr. Ferguson led the temperance fight in Prairie Township. He and his wife are active members of the Baptist Church, and for 10 1/2 years he was superintendent of the Sunday School. In his fight for temperance and moral issues in his locality, he is himself a worthy exemplar of his principles. It is said that Mr. Ferguson has never drunk even a cup of coffee, has never chewed nor smoked tobacco, and never spent a cent in a saloon. He is a man of clean and wholesome personality, positive in his convictions yet kindly and charitable in his relations with others, and is the type of citizen best deserving the honors of public position.
A comparatively recent addition to the citizenship of White County, Charles W. Field of Monticello has contributed his energies as a farmer, stock man and stock shipper, is considered a financial and business factor in that community, and is a live and enterprising citizen.
Charles W. Field was born November 19, 1858, at Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois, being one of the four children born to Harry C. and Elizabeth P. (Reasoner) Field. His parents came out from Berkshire County, Massachusetts, were early settlers in Central Illinois, and spent a large part of their lives on a farm in that rich and prosperous agricultural section of Bureau County.
Charles W. Field grew up in Bureau County, acquired his education there in the common schools, and followed farming after the high standards maintained in that section. In October, 1902, he removed to Union Township in White County, Indiana, but left his home in the country in 1912 and has since lived in Monticello. He still owns and operates through a renter his place of 320 acres. His success has come as a general farmer and stock raiser, he is an expert judge of live stock, and in the course of his career has shipped many carloads.
A republican in politics, he is without ambition for office, but has shown an interest in public affairs and recently has exerted his influence in behalf of some candidate who he considered deserved his support. Mr. Field is an elder in the Presbyterian Church.
In 1889 he married Carrie B. Lathrop, daughter of M. T. W. Lathrop of Princeton, Illinois. She died in April, 1897, the mother of one daughter, Hazel. June 12, 1899, Mr. Field married Laura C. Moore. Mrs. Field is the daughter of Robert S. and Martha (Sperry) Moore of Chillicothe, Missouri, where both of them are now at rest. Mr. and Mrs. Field have two children: Harry, born June 3, 1902; and Marjorie, born October 9, 1903.
David Fisher, an old and respected citizen of White County and son of John and Nancy (Fraser) Fisher, of Pennsylvania, was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, November 7, 1812, and died in Chalmers, June 23, 1904. His father was by trade a blacksmith but was also a farmer and died in 1853. Young David early in life learned the blacksmith trade with his father and this was his occupation until he was forty-seven years old. He came to White County in the spring of 1836, and entered 240 acres of land. He then went back to Pennsylvania and in 1850 bought a farm in what is now West Virginia, on which he lived three years, when he returned to Pennsylvania and for six years was engaged in mining, at the end of which time, in 1859, he again came to White County, where he lived until his death. On July 30, 1839, he was married to Sarah J. Huston of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, who was born December 11, 1820, and who died in White County, December 24, 1900. To this marriage were born ten children. Two sons gave their lives to the Union during the Civil war and another son, Albert G., is now serving his second term as auditor of White County. David Fisher was a staunch democrat, a good citizen and highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
David L. Fisher was born in Carroll County, Indiana, on the 14th day of October, 1839. Both his parents were of old English descent and married in Ohio in 1824 and soon after removed to Carroll County, where the subject of this sketch was reared on a farm and learned the miner's trade. His father was a German Baptist preacher and died February 5, 1871, at the age of sixty-seven. For a few years prior to 1861 be conducted an old-fashioned grist mill near Camden in Carroll County. From there he moved to Cass County and in 1862 came to White County, where he lived for two years, when he returned to Cass County, but not being satisfied with this change, in 1866 he returned to White County and purchased a home about a mile west of Burnettsville. Later he engaged in the farm implement business with the late James M. Love. He was married June 12, 1859, to Miss Nancy Murray, and to this union was [sic] born five children. Mr. Fisher served for a time as county commissioner, in which office he left an enviable record. He was a republican in politics and an active member of the German Baptist Church. He died at his home about two miles west of Burnettsville, July 11, 1902.
Four and one-half miles north of Sitka is located the well-cultivated farm of 200 acres, which represents the agricultural holding of William Marion Fisher. This is not, however, the extent of his possessions, for he has been identified with various business ventures which his judgment and foresight have recommended as good investments, and is therefore well known in business circles. At the same time he is one of his community's progressive men, and realizes that the prosperity of the locality means the prosperity of the individual, and his contributions to the welfare of his part of White County include service in various public offices in all of which he has acquitted himself admirably.
Mr. Fisher was born July 25, 1861, at Crooked Creek Mill, Jefferson Township, Cass County, Indiana and is a son of Benjamin B. and Lydia (Barnard) Fisher, and a grandson of David and Susannah Fisher. The grandfather was a native of Virginia, and at an early day removed to Indiana, settling in Cass County, where he passed the remaining years of his life in agricultural pursuits. Benjamin R. Fisher was born January 11, 1835, and on coming to White County settled in the vicinity of Norway, where he followed farming and also the milling business in Norway until his death, November 29, 1866. His burial was the first to take place at Pike Creek Cemetery, at the Church of the Brethren in Union Township, of which he and Mrs. Fisher were faithful members. She was a daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Myers) Bernard, early settlers of Carroll County, Indiana, and was the mother of five children, all still living: David F., who is a minister of the Church of the Brethren, residing at Mexico, Indiana; Mary; Emma; William Marion, of this review; and Ida.
William Marion Fisher received a public school education, and at the outset of his career started to teach school, a vocation which he followed for eight years during the winter terms. However, he has always followed agricultural pursuits. His father's first property was the Ora Eldrige Farm, two and one-half miles east of Norway in White County. Mr. Wm. Fisher's present property is four and one-half miles northeast of Sitka, a tract of 200 acres which is finely cultivated and modern in every respect. He has good buildings, excellent equipment, and all up-to-date appliances and appurtenances, and carries on general farming and stock-raising in a practical and progressive manner. He has invested his capital in enterprises which have their home and conduct their operations in his native state, being a stockholder in the White County Loan, Trust and Savings Company, at Monticello, the Sterling Fire Insurance Company, of Indianapolis, and the Farmers Elevator, at Monticello. The success he has gained has come solely through his own efforts, for when he started upon his career he was possessed of naught save his ambition and determination, and since that time has not been aided by financial or other influences. Politically a republican, he has been an active party worker, and has always stood for those things which have contributed to White County's welfare. During three years he was county drainage commissioner of White County, and for four years was a member of the county council, it being during this latter period that the White County Farm Infirmary was erected. At one time he was candidate for sheriff of White County on the republican ticket. He belongs to the Church of the Brethren at Monticello.
Mr. Fisher was married in April, 1889, to Miss Nettie Timmons, a daughter of John M. and Martha (Van Meters) Timmons, early settlers of White County, and to this union there have been borne [sic] two children, both of whom are single and live at Monticello: J. Earl and Ray. The last named graduated from the Monticello High School and spent a part of one year at Purdue College. He is an electrician. On March 23, 1904, Mr. Fisher was again married when united with Miss Ethel Antrim, daughter of David and Martha (Kistler) Antrim, early settlers of Cass County. Two children have been born to them: Elizabeth G. and William D., both of whom live with their parents.
An old and well known resident of Princeton Township, White County, Robison Fleeger was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1829. He was married to Isabella Logue, a native of Canada, October 14, 1851. They located in Princeton Township in 1854, where they resided until 1881, when they removed to Reynolds, where he died November 21, 1906. He left a widow and three children—two sons and one daughter, the latter being now Mrs. John S. Grissmer, of Honey Creek Township.
Distinguished not only as a veteran of the Civil war, but as a worthy representative of the able agriculturists of White County who have accumulated a competency, James P. Foltz is now living retired from active pursuits, having a pleasant home in Wolcott. A native of Pennsylvania, he was born, July 24, 1845, in Juniata County, a son of Joseph and Nancy (Sigler) Foltz, the former of whom was of German descent, and the latter of Welsh and Irish ancestry. Joseph Foltz died in 1849, and in 1862 his widow came with her little family to White County, and here resided until her death, in May, 1913, at Wolcott, where her body was laid to rest. She was the mother of four children, as follows: Thomas M., deceased; Anna, deceased; James P.; and John B.
Although yet in his teens when the tocsin of war rang throughout the land, James P. Foltz, fired with patriotic zeal, enlisted, August 12, 1861, at Harrisburg, in Company A, First Pennsylvania Cavalry, in which he served three years. Soon after being mustered out, he re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company K, Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, with which he remained until the close of the conflict. A gallant soldier, Mr. Foltz took part in many engagements of importance, including the Battle of the Wilderness, and those at Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain, Hampden Cross Roads, and others of equal note.
Receiving his honorable discharge from the army, Mr. Foltz joined his mother in White County, and embarked in farming in Princeton Township, in the management of his eighty acres of land meeting with exceptionally good results. He still owns forty acres of fertile land, but has given up active farming, since 1893 having lived retired in Wolcott. Mr. Foltz uniformly casts his vote in favor of the republican ticket. He is ever interested in the welfare of town and county, and has served as township assessor two terms, and as township trustee the same length of time.
Mr. Foltz married, January 16, 1870, Elizabeth Nordyke, and into the household thus established four children have been born, namely: Alta, deceased; Effie; Gertrude; and Edith. Mrs. Foltz is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but Mr. Foltz is not affiliated with any religious organization. He is a member, however, of Robert Spencer Post No. 432, Grand Army of the Republic, at Wolcott.
Though not an early settler, William N. Forbis was for nearly twenty years closely identified with Monticello and her material growth. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, May 14, 1889, and came to Monticello March 1, 1889, purchasing the farm on the Norway hill north of Monticello, where he made his home, and where his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Rinker, still reside. Some years later he built the Forbis Hotel on the northeast corner of Main and Harrison streets in Monticello, and though he did not run it himself he took much interest in its success under other management. He died March 7, 1908, leaving a widow, two sons and three daughters.
For many years prior to his death in Monon on March 5, 1893, few men in White County were better known than "Uncle Billy" Ford. He was born in England, but the date of his birth is not known. On June 6, 1846, he enlisted from Jackson Township and served with honor in the war with Mexico. He was a natural-born soldier and seems to have enjoyed a really good fight. In the battle of Cerro Gordo he received a saber cut in his left thigh, a lance thrust through one wrist, a pistol ball through the other wrist, a bayonet wound under the chin and his right leg was cut off by a cannon ball. For several days he had but little care, but finally pulled through and lived to receive a veteran's bronze medal, which he highly prized. By trade he was a tailor, but for many years prior to his death he was bailiff in the White Circuit Court, where his familiar figure was well known. He left at his death a widow, six sons and one daughter.
One of the hard-working newspaper men of White County, Charles L. Foster, is now the editor and general manager of the Democrat-Journal-Observer Company, at Monticello, and has been in the profession actively in White County for more than ten years.
Mr. Foster is a White County citizen by birth, residence and ancestry, having been born in Jackson Township, near Idaville, June 19, 1879, on the farm where his grandfather, Lewis Foster, settled in 1865, and which his father, Joshua D. Foster, bought from the heirs of the estate in 1870 and resided upon for over thirty years. Joshua D. Foster was a Civil war veteran, having served four years in the Seventy-second Indiana Mounted Infantry, which was part of the famous Wilder Brigade. His wife, Alice Moore, was born in Iowa, March 15, 1856; their other son, William, died from tuberculosis in 1907.
Mr. Foster secured his education in the common and high schools of Idaville and was a member of the first class to graduate after the high school was founded in that village. His first work was as a teacher, and he spent five years in that occupation. In May, 1904, he bought the Idaville Observer, and was instrumental in founding the Reynolds Journal in 1910. In November, 1912, he bought the Daily Journal at Monticello, and then effected a consolidation of the three papers with the White County Democrat. He became a third owner in the new company, which took the name Democrat-Journal-Observer Company, and in May, 1914, assumed the duties of editor and general manager. Mr. Foster was reared in the faith of the democratic party and has always been loyal to those principles.
On March 18, 1903, at Idaville, he married Pearl Schopf. She was also graduated from the Idaville High School, and they were the first graduates to cement the associations of school life by the ties of matrimony. They have two children, both born at Idaville: Charles Frederick Foster, born February 18, 1906 and William Francis Foster, born May 9, 1908.
A history of Monticello for the thirty years succeeding the war would not be complete without mention of Peter Fox, for many years senior member of the well known firm of Fox & Karp. They were retail liquor dealers in the days when that business was not regarded as it is now in Monticello, and their contributions to the material growth of the town testify that they were much above the average of those engaged in that line of business. Mr. Fox was born in Bavaria, Germany, August 10, 1841, and came to America when a boy, locating in Pennsylvania. Here he joined the Second Artillery, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and soon after the war located in Monticello, where he worked at his trade of carpenter and contractor, but soon after engaged in the saloon business, in which he continued until his death, January 4, 1898.
Few if any families in White County have a better claim to distinction by reason of length of residence than the Frasers, a family which settled in the wilderness of this section of Indiana more than eighty years ago, and in its various generations has given both men and women who have been effective workers in their respective spheres and have contributed much both to early and later developments.
Mahlon Fraser, the founder of the family in America as well as in White County, was a native of Scotland. He and his wife Elizabeth first located in Ohio, and from there removed to White County, Indiana, in 1832. Very few white people inhabited this county at the time, and the Indians were more numerous than the whites. Mahlon Fraser located in the woods of Union Township, and built a hewed log house about two miles south of the present site of Monticello. While still engaged in his pioneer activities his life was cut short by death January 15, 1841, aged fifty-one years ten months. His wife Elizabeth died November 26, 1868, aged seventy-one years eleven months two days. They had a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, namely: John, Joseph A., George, Mahlon, William, Anna, Mary, Maximillie, Elizabeth and Mariah.
William Fraser, one of the sons of this family born to Mahlon and Elizabeth Fraser, had as his birthplace the old homestead south of Monticello, and there he grew to manhood. He was born October 6, 1836, and died May 23, 1879, aged forty-two years seven months seventeen days. He was married December 2, 1858, to Miss Maria L. Roberts, who was born March 31, 1839. She still survives and has her home at Delphi. After their marriage they lived for one year on a farm in Monon Township and then returned to the old Fraser homestead. William Fraser and wife were the parents of three children: Martha S., who was born February 22, 1860, and is now the wife of John Van Natta and lives in Carroll County; Lincoln M., born September 15, 1861; and Edwin J., who was born January 26, 1866, married Hattie Murphy and is also a farmer in Carroll County. William Fraser spent all his life as a farmer, in politics he was a republican, while he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Concerning his religious life as well as his secular career the following article written at the time of his death will serve as a valuable record: "Brother Fraser belonged to a pioneer family of White County, his parents having emigrated to the county over fifty years ago and constituted one of those families in the neighborhood of Pretty Prairie. He was nurtured and educated in western habits and formulas and from his early manhood became an important factor in building up the material and moral interests of society. At an early period of his life he identified himself with the M. E. Church, of which he continued an efficient and honored member to the time of his death. For several years he was a citizen of Monticello and by his correct deportment and habits impressed himself upon the community as one of her best citizens and upon the church as one of her most consistent members. Brother Fraser was not simply a nominal member of the church but an ardent lover within her gates and an earnest worker within her walls. He was emphatically a worker in the vineyard of the Lord. He held an official relation to the church for a long time, always ready to give his counsel in devising plans for her spiritual and temporal advancement and supporting it most liberally with his means. Of him it may be said he did what he could but he is gone from us to dwell in the Church Triumphant. To his family and to the church it seems a mystery that he should thus early have been called away. But God knows all things and in submission to his will we humbly bow, feeling that in his death the community has lost a good citizen, the church a valuable member and his family an irreparable husband and father. His funeral sermon was preached the Sabbath following his demise at his residence, attended by a large concourse of people who exhibited a deep sympathy of feeling and after the sermon following his remains to the cemetery in Monticello, where his mortal body was interred. The prayer of the writer is that God may bless the family and friends of the deceased, make them good and bring them ultimately one and all to heaven."
Lincoln M. Fraser, son of William Fraser, was born September 15, 1861, in Monon Township, but when a year old came with his parents to the farm where his grandfather had settled nearly thirty years before. He grew up in that neighborhood and received a fair amount of schooling in the local institutions of learning. On November 23, 1883, he married Miss Lydia M. Worthington, and they have one daughter, Millie.
In 1884 Mr. Fraser began the buying of stock, and has been in that business ever since and is one of the chief buyers in this section of Indiana. He also buys produce, and has an interest in a meat market in Monticello. Mr. Fraser is now a progressive in politics. He served two terms as a member of the town council of Monticello, and for a number of years has had his home in that city. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees, with the Lodge and Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also with the Order of Rebekahs, with the Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters, the Improved Order of Red Men and the L. O. O. M. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church.
Mahlon Fraser was one of the first white children born in White County. He was born a short distance below the present site of Monticello, May 14, 1833. With the exception of four years, spent in Kansas, he was a resident of Monticello and vicinity all his life. Died at his home on West Washington Street, September 2, 1899. He was married to Etta G. Davis in 1858. To them were born eight children, all of whom preceded him in death, except one son, Morton Fraser, who still lives in Monticello.
Maximilla Fraser lived in Monticello over sixty years. She was born in Champaign County, Ohio, February 1, 1821, and when she was but a child her parents brought her to White County, making the journey with an ox team. She united with the Methodist Episcopal Church about 1864, in which communion she lived until her death. She spent the last fifteen years of her life a cripple and died at the home of her son, Mahlon Fraser, in Monticello, on February 11, 1894. Many of her relatives and descendants yet live in White County.
Some of the most capable citizens White County has ever had have been members of the French family, which for nearly fifty years has been identified with Prairie Township. They have been farmers, manufacturers and business men, and there has been an almost invariable record of success in every enterprise with which they have been connected.
William French, the founder of the family in White County, was born in Miami County, Ohio, November 27, 1833, and grew to manhood in his native state. His father, Asa French, was a native of New Jersey and moved to Miami County, Ohio, during the pioneer days. Asa French was notable for his fatherhood, and by his two wives had twenty-one children.
William French, who was one of the sons born to the second marriage, had a sister, Sarah Ripley, who was born June 25, 1825, married William Ripley and now lives at Brookston, Indiana, at the advanced age of ninety years. William French married Mary Susan Ash on March 12, 1861. His married life endured a little more than six years until his death March 27, 1867. William French and his brother Moses French and his brother-in-law William Ripley came to White County, Indiana, in March, 1856. He settled in the northeast part of Prairie Township on a farm, and became known as a law abiding, hard working man. He commanded respect from all who knew him, and his death at an early age was a loss to the county. The three children of William French and wife were: Charles J., James F. and William. All three of these sons were reared at Brookston, where they received their schooling.
Charles J. French was born February 5, 1862. He followed farming in Prairie Township until the age of twenty-one, and then went out to West Union, Iowa, where he was married and engaged in business. He wedded Emma Adell Archer and their two children were William A. and May. Subsequently he moved to Piru City, California, and for several years was in general merchandising. Returning to Indiana, he organized at Brookston a stock company for conducting a canning factory at Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and while actively identified with that business died there.
James F. French, who is the only surviving son, was born on the home farm in Prairie Township February 7, 1864, was brought to Brookston when four years of age, and grew up and obtained his education in the local public schools. His life was spent as a farmer until 1888, at which date he and his brother William bought a hardware store, and subsequently expanded their stock to include furniture. This was his principal business enterprise until 1910, when Mr. French sold the store to A. L. Backenridge & Son. While looking after this mercantile concern, the brothers also operated their farm and became actively identified with the canning industry. James F. French was married March 26, 1907, to Anna Hildebrandt. Mr. French is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is a republican in politics.
William French, the youngest of the three sons, was born August 18, 1866, and was accidentally killed in a gasoline explosion on August 16, 1911. He spent all his life in Prairie Township, and from early manhood was closely associated with his brother James in business affairs. He was essentially a business man, keen, capable and apparently possessed of a special genius for business undertakings. William French married Miss Ruth Burget. He died when life was at its best for him.
The activities and interests of the French family in White County have received considerable attention in these pages, and of the generation which was native to this locality none stood higher in esteem and compelled greater respect for his ability and attainments than the late William French, for many years a progressive and successful business man at Brookston.
William French was a son of William and Mary S. (Ash) French, and was born in Prairie Township of White County August 18, 1866. The family had located in White County many years before, and William French, Sr., was one of the powerful figures in the early development of the farming and stock raising industry in Prairie Township.
William French, Jr., was helping to earn his own support as early as eleven years of age. His education came both from schools and from practical experience, and he was always diligent, faithful to duty, a man of sure decision, and stood steadfastly by all the rules of honor. In 1887 he went to Brookston and for three months was engaged in conducting a meat market. In about the year 1891, with his brother James F., he bought the hardware establishment formerly conducted by D. E. Murphy and they continued this store on a partnership basis until August 1, 1910. The store was then sold to Mr. A. L. Breckenridge. The brothers had also become interested in a local canning factory about 1891 and under their direction this became one of the most substantial business industries of Brookston.
The late William French took a general interest in public affairs, but not as a politician or office holder. His death occurred August 16, 1911, from the effects of severe burns inflicted in an accident in the canning factory. Mrs. Ruth French, his widow, is the only survivor, their marriage having brought no children.
On April 6, 1898, Mr. French married Miss Ruth Burget, who was born in White
County, Indiana, September 2, 1870, the eldest of three children, two sons and
one daughter, of Henderson and Mary E. (Cawood) Burget. Only two of the children
are living, Mrs. French and her brother Ross, who is a farmer in Prairie
Township. He wedded Miss Eliza Mohler, and they have two children, a son and a
daughter. Mr. Burget, the father, was born in Indiana, was educated in the schools
of his native state, and his life's work has been that of an agriculturist. He
owns a fine farm of 160 acres in White County and also land in South Dakota, and
he is a resident of Brookston. His political party is the republican, but he is
not bound by party ties and supports the men which are, in his judgment, best
fitted for official positions. Mrs. Burget was born in Ohio and was fifteen
years of age when she came to Indiana. Mrs. French graduated from the Brookston
High School with the class of 1890, and was a student in the University of
Valparaiso for a short time. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church at
Brookston and also of the Ladies Literary Club, known as the "Thursday P.
M. Ladies Club," of which she is the treasurer. She presides over a beautiful
and modern home at the corner of Prairie and Second streets in Brookston, a home
of beauty, culture and refinement, whose portals are ever open to her many
friends. She enjoys life to its fullest, and has crossed the continent several
times, visiting Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and Canada, and the past year she
spent in the eastern states, including Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire,
New York and Pennsylvania. Her home in Brookston is known as "Erceldene Lodge."
George W. Friday, a former well known business man of Idaville, was born at Canton, Ohio, February 22, 1841, where he acquired a good business education. For many years he was the principal grain dealer at Idaville, giving this business over to his son, Fred, in 1906. He was for many years an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and lived a devoted Christian life. On April 3, 1866, he was married to Margaret Woods, who, with four children, survived him. His death occurred at Idaville, May 25, 1909.
For practically all his lifetime Jacob M. Fross has lived in White County, where he spent his early youth and manhood in the rural districts, and now occupies a place with substantial improvements, containing sixty acres, in Section 4 of Liberty Township. Mr. Fross has for many years been active in the ministry in the Church of God, but at the same time has carried on farming as his regular business, and is now largely retired, having shifted the burdens of farm management to the shoulders of his sons. His home is on Rural Route No. 3, out of Monticello.
Jacob M. Fross was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, July 14, 1863, a son of John and Elizabeth (Cochran) Fross. The paternal line is German and the maternal is Scotch-Irish. John Fross was born January 13, 1828, in Greene County, Ohio, while his wife was born July 27, 1836, in Carroll County, and they were married in the latter locality, July 14, 1854. Of their eleven children the only two now living are George W. of Indianapolis, and Jacob M. In November, 1869, the family moved to White County, and located in Liberty Township, where the father followed farming and stock raising. By trade he was a harnessmaker, though he did not make that the basis of a profitable business in White County, but in connection with his farming enterprise he made many pairs of boots and shoes for the local trade. His death occurred March 15, 1889, while his wife passed away June 5, 1893, and both are now at rest in the Hughes Cemetery. John Fross was known as a radical democrat in politics, though he was not a participant in office seeking and belonged to none of the social or fraternal orders.
Jacob M. Fross was about six years of age when the family removed to White County, and came to manhood in Liberty Township, having acquired his education by attending the public schools in Liberty Township and at Idaville. With the death of his father he assumed the active management of the old farm, and for several years helped to care for the mother and children. At the age of twenty-six he began for himself, and on March 26, 1890, married Miss Ida Royer, daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Shaffer) Royer, a family well known in White County and mentioned on other pages of this publication. To their marriage have been born four children: Allison L., born February 10, 1891; Edna G., who was born June 11, 1893, and is now the wife of James Bowsher; Harry L., born July 25, 1896; and Leonard R., born August 15, 1899.
Mr. Jacob M. Fross was ordained to the ministry of the Church of God, June 5, 1886, and now for nearly thirty years has been connected with ministerial work. He was pastor of the New Dunkard Church at Idaville, and of several others, and at the present writing is moderator of the conference. He takes an independent stand in general politics, but has strong prohibition tendencies. He belongs to no secret fraternities. Mr. Fross located on his present farm in Section 4 of Liberty Township, November 13, 1903, and has done much to improve and complete the livableness and value of his sixty acres. He has made additions to the barn and other buildings, and now has a comfortable home and enjoys the high regard of all his neighbors.
It was thirty-five years ago that John Fry and wife identified themselves with the agricultural community of Cass Township, and at that time they were possessed of only a small share of the prosperity which they now enjoy. Few families have more to show for thirty-five years of continued efforts, and their homestead, situated in section 7, comprises 200 acres of well cultivated lands.
John Fry was born in Boone Township of Cass County, Indiana, July 29, 1854, a son of Caleb and Mary (Hamilton) Fry. His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio, and they are of German and Irish extraction. They were married in Cass County, Indiana, and of their nine children six are still living. Caleb Fry moved to Cass County, Indiana, many years before the war, about 1845, and for the greater part of his life was a farmer and stock raiser. In the early days he was noted for his splendid physique and marvelous physical activity, and there was no one in his section of the county could excel him as a ditch digger. He possessed other virtues corresponding with his big frame, and altogether was a man of usefulness in all the relations of his long life. He died in 1908, and his widow passed away about six years later. They are now at rest in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Caleb Fry was a lifelong democrat and served as township supervisor.
John Fry spent his early life in Cass County, attended the district schools, and had the ordinary experiences of a farm boy. A short time after reaching his majority he was married on September 10, 1876 to Miss Evelyn Bingaman, a danghter of Christopher C. and Mina (Kestler) Bingaman. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have now worked together for nearly forty years. In that time nine children have come into their home: George, deceased; Mina, deceased; Earl; Lewis, deceased; Edward; Milton; May; Vernal; and Grace. Earl Fry was educated in the Indiana State School for the Deaf and Dumb, where he remained ten years and graduated, and is now with his parents. Lewis, deceased, married Annie Hinshaw, and they had a son, Ivan H., now ten years of age. The widow afterward married S. K. Liter, of Ohio. Edward is a farmer in Alberta, Canada. He married Miss Gertie Benjamin, and they have had five children, three daughters and two sons, Vera, Dale, Bertha, Lavern and Francis. Mr. Edward Fry is a democrat and a member of the Church of God and of the fraternal order of Odd Fellows. Milton completed the work of the common schools and spent one year in the high school at Monticello. He married Miss Rilla Boller, and they have three children, Reva, Louise, and Edith Grace. Mr. and Mrs. Fry reside on a farm in Cass Township, and are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. May received her diploma from the common schools, and then entered the Monticello High School and graduated with the class of 1913. For two years she has successfully taught school in White County, and she is also proficient in both instrumental and vocal music. She resides with her parents and is a member of the Methodist Church. Vernal completed the common school course and spent one year in the Monticello High School. He is now in Colorado for his health. Grace has finished the common school and has studied instrumental music. She is the youngest of the children. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have given all their children good, practical educations, and have well fitted them for life's duties. Mrs. Fry is a native of Cass County, Indiana, born April 29, 1857. She has been a resident of White County for thirty-five years, and has performed well her part in the training of her children. She is a member of the Church of God. Both her parents are deceased and lie buried in the Kline Cemetery in Cass County. The father was a native of Carroll County, Virginia, and was a farmer. The mother was born in Cass County, and was a member of the Church of God.
In November, 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Fry arrived in White County and located on sixty acres which is included in their present large homestead. They have made all the improvements, and now have all the land under cultivation, employed for general farming and stock raising purposes. The farm is well tiled, and its present value represents several times the figures at which it could have been sold twenty-five or thirty years ago. Mr. Fry has also been active locally, and for five years served as township trustee. In politics he is a democrat.