Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

ALFRED PUGH.. One of Grant county's native sons who has attained distinction in business circles and who ranks among the most enterprising and progressive citizens of Upland is Alfred Pugh, notary public and insurance man, who is widely known in fraternal activities of the state. Mr. Pugh comes of Welsh ancestry, his grandfather , Azarish Pugh, being an emigrant from Wales to the United States and an early settler in Virginia. Records of this ancestor have been lost, and little is know of him save that he died in Frederick county, probably in middle life, and that his wife likely died there. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters: Michael, the father of Alfred Pugh; Jesse, who died unmarried as a young man; Catherine, who was married; and Elizabeth, who married Jess Trowbridge and died in Frederick county, Virginia.

Michael Pugh was born in that county about 1795, and there grew to manhood, being reared to agricultural pursuits. He was there married to Elizabeth Candy, who was born in Hampshire county, Virginia (now West Virginia), in 1805, daughter of James Candy, a native of Ireland, who came to the United States when young. Her mother was a Miss Lyon, whose father came from Ireland. They were married in Virginia where they lived to advanced years and died in the faith of the Methodist church. After their marriage, Michael and Elizabeth Candy removed to Guernsey county, Ohio, and there settled on a farm, but following the birth of their first child, James, came overland to Indiana, with a yoke of oxen, one horse and a covered wagon, camping by the roadside at night in true pioneer fashion. In 1834 they located on a farm in section 13, Jefferson township, Grant county, where the father entered 160 acres of land, and for some years thereafter was compelled to walk over a blazed trail through the woods all the way to Fort Wayne, this journey taking four days. On this farm Mr. Pugh made numerous improvements, building two log cabins and then a frame house, the latter of which is still standing on the old homestead and occupied by his grandson. The old home farm has never gone out of the family name, but is kept as an inheritance. Mr. Pugh was a sturdy, industrious man, whose tireless industry and unbounded energy assisted him in making a success of his operations in the agricultural field. He stood six feet tall, was a man of iron nerve, and while he never saw active military service at the front, owing to his age, was captain of a local militia company at the time when soldiers were being mustered into the service. He was liberal in his donations to all worthy enterprises, and although he was a member of the Methodist Protestant church made a gift of the land for the cemetery at the Shiloh Methodist Episcopal church. He died August 23, 1863, widely mourned throughout the community, while the mother, who was a charter member of the Shiloh church, died at the old home in 1890. They belonged to the strong old pioneer stock which faced the dangers of the unknown forests, where the father with his trusty flintlock supplied the family with game, while the mother remained at home and wove and spun the cloth for the clothing and blankets. Politically a Democrat, Mr. Pugh never cared for public office, preferring to devote himself to making a home for his family. To Mr. and Mrs. Pugh there were born the following children: James, who died after his marriage to Nancy C. Stephens, by whom he had three children; David Wesley, who married Margaret Smith, both of whom died in Grant county, leaving a son and daughter; Josiah, who died in Colorado, was married and had a family of children; John W., who died in Upland, was twice married and had three children by his first union; Mahlon, deceased, who was married and is survived by one son; Branson, who died leaving a widow and one daughter, one daughter having previously died; Amos, deceased, who left a widow and had one son who had previously died; and Alfred, Sally, Margaret and Maria Jane, all of whom died before our subject was born; Arminda H., who married Joseph Horner, both now being deceased; and Eliza E., who married John Needler, both being now deceased. Both Arminda H. and Eliza E. left children.

Like most of his brothers and sisters, Alfred Pugh was born on the old Pugh homestead in Grant county, Indiana, his natal day being May 26, 1846. He grew up on the home farm, assisting his father and attending the district schools and those at Hartford City, and on completing his education adopted the vocation of instructor and for five years taught school in Grant and Blackford counties, where he was widely and popularly known. Later Mr. Pugh gave up the teacher's profession to enter the business field, becoming the proprietor of a livery establishment, a business which he followed for six years. During the time that he was thus engaged he became interested in the insurance business, and after having engaged in this as a side line for some time determined to turn his entire attention thereto and accordingly disposed of his interests in the livery stable. He has continued to follow this line ever since, and the success that has rewarded his efforts demonstrates that he made no mistake when he changed vocations. It takes a peculiar talent to gain a full measure of prosperity in the insurance line�an ability that is a little different from that needed in almost any other. Strict integrity and honorable dealing play a large part, of course; energy, persistence and enterprise are essential, and a persuasiveness and stick-to-itiveness that knows not the meaning of the word failure. Mr. Pugh handles both life and fire insurance and their various branches, represents some of the leading companies in the country, and has become widely known in the insurance field as a man who can attain results. He has also for some years served in the capacity of notary public. As early as 1878 Mr. Pugh was commissioned a justice of the peace, and served until 1882, and again in 1886 was commissioned a justice and served until 1906, thus occupying this office for almost a quarter of a century. He was the incumbent of this position when a justice had the same jurisdiction as a justice of the peace, and through performing twenty-five marriages during the first year he acted in his official capacity became widely known as "the marrying justice."

Mr. Pugh was himself married in 1872, in Grant county, to Miss Hester Miles, who was born in Jefferson township, this county, May 13, 1852, and died February 22, 1892, daughter of Lorenzo and Phoebe (Wass) Miles. Her parents came from Steuben county, New York, to Rush county, Indiana, at an early day, and not long thereafter made removal to Jefferson township, Grant county, where both passed away, the father when about sixty years of age, and the mother in advanced years, she having contracted a second marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Pugh there were born three children: Ocie V., who resides with her father and keeps house for him; Malevie L., the wife of John W. Doherty, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, who has three children, Miles A., Gayvelle E., and May H.; and Orie Hodd, single, a well known horseman of Wisner, Nebraska, who works for contractors.

Mr. Pugh is a Democrat in politics, and has been active in local and state affairs, having been a delegate to numerous conventions of his party. He is one of the best known figures in the fraternal life of Grant county, being made a Mason in 1868. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the following year, and is past grand and past chief patriarch of Shideler Lodge No. 352 and Upland Encampment No. 213. In addition he has four times been representative to the State Masonic Grand Lodge, three times to the State Grand Lodge of the Odd Fellows, and twice to the Grand Encampment of the latter order. His friendships are only limited to the number of his acquaintances, not alone in fraternal life, but in business, public and private circles of the city.

"BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES INDIANA, A CHRONICLE OF THEIR PEOPLE PAST AND PRESENT WITH FAMILY LINEAGE AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS"; Complied Under the Editorial Supervision of BENJAMIN G. SHINN; vol. II ; THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY; CHICAGO AND NEW YORK; 1914
Submitted by:Peggy Karol and Karen Overholt

HARRY WILLIAMSON, M. D. Among the most popular men in Marion, Indiana, not only in his own profession but among people at large is Dr. Harry Williamson. He has the advantage of a thorough scientific education, long experience in his profession and a charming sympathetic personality that makes him a welcome guest even though he comes in his professional capacity. He has a large general practice and holds a high place in the regard of the people of Marion and Grant county.

Dr. Harry Williamson was born in Butler county, Ohio, on the 16th of September, 1864, the son of David and Frances (Siegrist) Williamson. Both of his parents were born in the state of Ohio and they are both living.

Dr. Williamson was educated in the public schools of Butler county, Ohio, until he was of age to go away to school, when he was sent to the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana. He received his medical education in the Indiana Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1892. He later took courses in medical work in the New York Polyclinic.

The doctor first began to practice at Knightstown, Indiana, only remaining there a year, however, before he removed to Chicago. He practiced in the city for seven years, and in the boundless opportunities of a general city practice he had the finest of practical training. In 1900 he came to Marion and began to practice. He has been located here ever since and has many warm friends throughout the city. His offices are located in the Marion Block and the practice which he has built up is now one of the largest in the city.

The doctor is very much interested in the affairs of the various fraternal societies of which he is a member. In the Masons he is a Knight Templar and he is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Elks. He is very fond of athletics and holds membership in the Country Club and in the Golf Club.

On the 30th of November, 1892, Dr. Williamson was married to Mary L. Davis, of Glenwood, Rush county, Indiana. No children have been born to the doctor and his wife.

THOMAS D. BARR. Practically all of the years of Thomas D. Barr's life have been spent in faithful service to the people, not, as a man in public office, alone, but as a teacher of their children, and although his service in his various public positions is recognized and appreciated it is as a teacher that he is best known and respected. He taught in the schools of Indiana for twenty years, accomplishing much for the cause of education and although his time is now filled with the duties of his office as deputy county auditor of Grant county, Indiana, he is still keenly interested in the cause of education.

Thomas D. Barr is a descendant of one of the very first settlers in Grant county, being a great-grandson of Thomas Dean, who settled in Grant county, in Jefferson township, at a very early day. He was also one of the first school teachers in this section and in 1860 was auditor of Grant county. Thomas D. Barr is the son of John L. and Elizabeth (Dean) Barr, his father being a native of Pennsylvania and his mother having been born in Grant county, Indiana. John L. Barr was a soldier throughout the Civil war, being a member of the First Volunteer Infantry of Iowa. After the war he practiced law in Missouri and there he died when his son was quite young.

Thomas D. Barr was born in Saint Clair county, Missouri, on the 18th of October, 1870, being one of two children born to his parents and he is now the only living child. In 1874 he returned to Grant county with his mother and two years later in 1876 she died, leaving him an orphan of just six years of age. Although deprived of his parents he received a good education. He first attended the public schools of the section and then entered Fairmount Academy. He later attended the Indiana State Normal College at Terre Haute and then completed his education with a business course at the Indianapolis Business College.

Mr. Barr began life as a teacher, first teaching in Grant county, in Monroe, Van Buren and Liberty township. He also taught in other parts of the state. For a time he taught in Richsquare and Lewisville, in Henry county, Indiana. He was principal of the Van Buren, Indiana, high school and taught in both the Fairmount Academy and the high schools in Fairmount.

Always keenly interested in public matters and in political questions, he took an active part in such affairs but it was not until 1906 that he accepted a public office. At this time he was principal of the high school in Van Buren and he was appointed deputy sheriff, serving in the office over a year. He resigned this office to enter the government service as a meat inspector and in 1907 resigned from this position to accept that of deputy clerk. His love for his old profession called him back once more to accept a position as teacher in the Fairmount Academy. From this school he went to the high school of Fairmount but he resigned from its teaching staff in 1911 to accept the office of deputy auditor of Grant county. He is a man full of energy and industry and has made a most efficient public official. During his vacation he has worked on the newspapers of Marion, writing the advertisements.

Both Mr. Barr and his wife are members of the Friends church, his wife being very prominent in this church. In politics Mr. Barr is a member of the Republican party and in fraternal affairs he belongs to the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Mr. Barr was married in November, 1893, to Miss Daisy Douglas Brushwiller, who was born in Jonesboro, Grant county, Indiana. Mrs. Barr is a grand-daughter of George Douglas, who was one of the early pioneers of Grant county and for seventy years was a minister of the Methodist church in Grant county. Mrs. Barr is a woman of rare intellectual attainments and is the pastor of the Friends church in Muncie, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Barr have one son, Raymond Barr, who was born December 18, 1895, and is now in high school.

STEPHEN G. BALDWIN. A scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of Grant county, the late Stephen G. Baldwin here passed his entire life, and his exalted integrity of character, as well as his large and worthy achievement in connection with the practical activities of life, gave him prestige as one of the representative citizens of his native county, where he ever held inviolable place in the confidence and high regard of his fellow men, so that there is all of propriety in according to his memory a special tribute in this publication.

On the old Baldwin homestead farm, situated on the banks of Deer creek, in Mill township, Grant county, Indiana, Stephen G. Baldwin was born on the 3d of August, 1850, and has passed the closing years of his life in the city of Marion, the judicial center and metropolis of the county, where he was summoned to eternal rest on the 13th of October, 1909,�known and revered as one of the noble and loyal citizens and representative business men of the county's capital city. The conditions and influences of the home farm compassed the boyhood and early youth of Mr. Baldwin and he thus learned the lessons of practical industry in the formative period of his life. After completing the curriculum of the Deer Creek district school he continued his studies in the graded school at Jonesboro, and thus he laid a firm foundation for the broad and liberal education which he later gained through self-discipline and active association with men and affairs. He was, however, afforded also the advantages of the Bryant & Stratton Business College in the city of Indianapolis, and the training further fortified him for the responsibilities and actions of active business affairs. As a boy he had not only assisted in the work of the home farm but also in that of the shoemaker's shop maintained by his father in the village of Jonesboro.

In 1874, at the age of twenty-four years, Mr. Baldwin established himself in the insurance and loan business at Marion, and in these lines he was one of the first in the city to build up a large and substantial business. In this important line of enterprise he continued, with large and worthy success, until his death, when he was succeeded by his only son, who still remains at the head of the S. G. Baldwin Insurance & Loan Agency, which perpetuates the name of its honored founder.

Mr. Baldwin was a man of broad views, was generous and tolerant in his judgment, was loyal and progressive as a citizen, and his name and memory are revered by all who came within the circle of his benignant influence. Though he had no desire to enter the turbulent stream of practical politics, he was well fortified in his views concerning matters of governmental and economic import and was a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party.

He was imbued with great love for nature "in her visible forms," and found great pleasure in the propagation of flowers and ornamental shrubbery about his attractive residence premises, on South Washington street, the place becoming a veritable floral bower under his effective labors and artistic predilections. He took vital interest in all that touched the progress and prosperity of his home city and county and was a valued member of the Marion Commercial Club, of which he was a director at the time of his death.

On the 23d of August, 1877, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Baldwin to Miss Elizabeth C. Horne, who was born and reared in Grant county and who is a daughter of the late Dr. Samuel S. Horne, Sr., of Jonesboro.

Moe H. Baldwin, the only son of Stephen G. and Elizabeth C. (Horne) Baldwin, was born in the city of Marion on the 19th of January, 1879, and is a scion of the third generation of the family in Grant county. He fully profited by the advantages afforded in the public schools of his native city and after his high-school course he entered Hanover College, at Hanover, Jefferson county, after which he was matriculated in Purdue University, at Lafayette, afterward attending the celebrated University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor.

After leaving the last mentioned institution Mr. Baldwin turned his attention to the illustrating and designing business.

A few years ago he collaborated with M. B. Edmiston in the compilation and publication of a book of caricature of Marion business men, which was entitled "Some Greater Marion Faces," and which met with high commendation and which showed many admirable specimens of his skill as an artist. Upon the death of his honored father he succeeded to the insurance and loan business established by the latter, one of the largest and most important of the kind in the state but one that is conceded to take precedence of all other in Grant county.

Mr. Baldwin is well know in his native county, where his circle of friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances, and he and his wife are prominent figures in the representative social activities of their home city. He pays allegiance to the Republican party, is president of the Mecca Club, holds membership in the Marion Country Club, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.

On the 3d of September, 1901, Mr. Baldwin wedded Miss Lela Lutz, daughter of the late John Lutz.

AUSTIN POLSLEY. Among the citizens of Grant county who started out in life facing obstacles and with many disadvantages to overcome, and who have prospered and now stand among the county's substantial men, is Austin Polsley, who has an excellent farm on section twenty-four of Jefferson township, and has lived there for the past forty years.

He comes of an old Virginia family. His grandfather John H. Polsley was born in that state about 1800, married a Virginia girl, and some of their children at least were born in the state. They finally came west and settled in Henry county, Indiana, where they were pioneers. His first wife died there, leaving a large family of children, and in Henry county John H. Polsley married for his second wife, Pheobe Jones. In 1853 he went on further west, and again became a pioneer in the state of Iowa, in the southwestern section in Page county. His death occurred sometime in the seventies, when more than eighty years of age, and he was a man of unusual intelligence and information. He had been a farmer most of his life, and also merchandized for many years. By his two wives he became the father of twenty-three children. His second wife passed away in Iowa, and was likewise advanced in age. Robert W. Polsley, father of the Grant county resident above named, was born in 1824, probably in Virginia, and was a child of his father's first marriage. He grew up in Henry county, Indiana, and learned the trade of carpenter and cabinet maker. When about twenty-two and still unmarried he came to Jefferson township in Grant county, and here met and married Mary Fergus. She was born in Miami county, Ohio, in 1832, and was a small child when her parents came to Indiana. Her brother is Warren Fergus, a well known Grant county citizen, and a more complete account of this family in Grant county will be found elsewhere under the Fergus name in this volume. Mary Fergus was sixteen years old when she married, and her death occurred in December 1851, at the age of nineteen. She left one child, Austin Polsley. Robert W. Polsley, soon afterwards, married Mrs. Josina (Powers) Swearingen, a widow of Henry Swearingen, who died leaving one son, Mark Swearingen, who is now married and is a prominent banker in Muncie, Indiana, and has three children.

Robert W. Polsley by his second marriage had one child, Mary, and after her birth, and when she was about six months old in 1855, the family moved out to Page county, Iowa, spending six weeks in going across the country with team and wagon. He took up government land in southwestern Iowa, and started the labor required for making a home in a new country. His second wife died in Iowa, in 1859. A year or two later the war broke out, and Robert W. Polsley enlisted with a Page county company, but was attached to Co. F of the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, and served for about one year. He took part in the battle of Shiloh, but was soon afterwards stricken with dysentery, and was sent to the hospital in Paducah, Kentucky, where he died during the summer of 1862. He left two children: one of them being Austin, by his first wife, and the second being Mary, the child of his second union.

After these children were left orphans they lived with strangers and kinsmen, and thus their early advantages were of a motley character, and they started in life with many disadvantages.

When Austin Polsley was thirteen years old, he came to live with his grandfather, S. B. Fergus, in Grant county. At the age of nineteen he returned to Iowa, but on reaching his majority, again found a home in Grant county and in 1873 bought his present farm of eighty acres. There he has lived and prospered, has improved his land in many ways, and has put up a fine set of farm buildings, which distinguish the place as one of the most valuable in that section. The large red barn and the good white house are conspicuous in the group of farm buildings.

By his first marriage to Miss Adaline Scott of Guernsey county, Ohio, who died November 17, 1908, at the age of fifty-seven, Mr. Polsley had seven children: Milo J., unmarried, now lives in Oklahoma; Arvina, died at the age of sixteen; Orloff is a farmer in Blackford county, Indiana, and by his marriage to Lettie Kirkpatrick has one son, Wayne. The other children died in infancy or early childhood. Mr. Polsley after the death of his first wife married Mrs. Hattie (Benson) Peele. She was born in Morgan county, Indiana, July 28, 1867, a daughter of Temple S. and Mary (Hickman) Benson. He was a native of Ohio while the mother was born in Kentucky but was raised in Indiana. He moved to Shelby county, Indiana, in the early days, and later moved to Morgan county, Indiana, where they lived as prosperous farmers. Temple Benson was twice married, the maiden name of his first wife having been Katie Carroll of Shelby county, where she died, leaving children. Mr. Benson afterwards married a third time, and moved from Morgan county to Indianapolis, where he died in 1905, having been born in 1830. During the Civil war he was a soldier in the Twenty-seventh Indiana Regiment. His widow now lives in Indianapolis. Mrs. Polsley by her marriage with Tirey Peele, has a daughter, Naomi, the wife of Omer Huntzinger of Jefferson township. In 1900 the present Mrs. Polsley was left a widow with three children. In 1901 her house in Matthews burned and two of her children, Nina, aged sixteen months, and Merrill, aged three years, were burned to death. Mr. and Mrs. Polsley are Methodists in religious faith, and in politics he is an Independent Republican. His prosperity as a farmer may be further gauged by the fact that his is director of the Matthews State Bank.

Deb Murray