Andrew Johnson Pumphrey was one of the unique characters of his day. An ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the councils of his party. After his marriage to Elizabeth Lawrence in Kentucky, he moved to Franklin county, Indiana, and from Franklin county to Decatur county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. Both Andrew Johnson Pumphrey and his wife were of English origin, their parents having come from England. Elizabeth (Lawrence) Pumphrey was heir to a large estate in England, but due to the trickery of lawyers was unable to establish proof of her claim. Andrew Johnson Pumphrey died about 1876, and his wife about 1875, the former at the age of eighty-two years. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom Andrew Pumphrey was the sixth child in order of birth. He grew to manhood in Clay township on the old home farm and when about thirty-two years of age was married to Melinda Cooper. They spent their entire married life on a farm situated on the banks of Clifty creek. Although Andrew Pumphrey was a prosperous farmer and a well respected citizen, he was not a man of great wealth. He was a Democrat and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. Rugged honesty was one of his strong characteristics. After suffering for sixteen years with rheumatism, which he contracted in middle life, he was freed of this malady when about sixty years old and enjoyed several years of good health.

He was a man who was especially kind to his family and children, of whom there were five, namely: May, who married James B. Critser, both now deceased; Cyrus W., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Annie Elizabeth Drautz, who lives on the old home place in Clay township; Harvey, a resident of Hope, Bartholomew county, Indiana, and Mrs. Laura M. Applegate, who lives at Greensburg.

Cyrus W. Pumphrey lived on the old home farm until his marriage in 1894 to Cora D. Myers, daughter of John and Semantha (Stevens) Myers, who was born in Westport, Sand Creek township, and who there grew to womanhood. After her mother's death she lived with her grandmother until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Pumphrey, after spending a short time in Burney, lived for three years on the old Andrew Pumphrey farm, at the end of which time he purchased twenty acres of land where he now lives. This land was without buildings of any kind, and Mr. Pumphrey was without funds, having purchased his land on his own note. Today he has sixty acres of as fine land as there is in Decatur county and a beautiful modern home. Ordinarily he feeds about two carloads of hogs every year. He is a stockholder in the Burney State Bank and gives thoughtful attention to the best interests of the community in which he lives.

A prominent Democrat of Clay township, Mr. Pumphrey several times has been a delegate to the district conventions of his party and is keenly interested in politics. He is a progressive farmer and a good substantial citizen, well known and well liked by the people of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Pumphrey are members of the Baptist church, are interested in all local good works and enjoy the most cordial esteem of all their neighbors.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

Benjamin Franklin Littell, Jr., who died at his pleasant farm home in Washington township, this county, on August 7, 1907, at the age of fifty-eight years, was the son of the late Benjamin Franklin Littell, a well-known pioneer of Decatur county, who died in 1915, at his home in Greensburg, at the age of ninety-four years. The elder Benjamin F. Littell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Benjamin F. Littell, who died during the cholera epidemic, leaving a widow and four children, Benjamin F., Elizabeth, Sarah Ann and Clara. The firstborn of these children, the only son, remained in Cincinnati until he had reached manhood's estate, at which time he married Jane Van Sant, daughter of Reuben Van Sant, one time treasurer of Hamilton county, Ohio, and moved to Mt. Pleasant, nine miles north of Cincinnati, where he made his home until 1856, in which year he moved with his family to Ripley county, Indiana, where he engaged in farming until 1863, in which year he came to this county, locating at Greensburg, where he erected a brick-making plant, in the operation of which he subsequently became very successful, being counted among the most substantial citizens of Decatur county. This brick plant is now owned and operated at Greensburg by its founder's son, George S. Littell, a biographical sketch of whom, presented elsewhere in this volume, contains much additional information regarding the Littell family in this part of the state.

To Benjamin F. and Jane (Van Sant) Littell were born ten children, namely: Alanson, a retired merchant of Greensburg, this county; William T., a contractor in brickmasonry at Indianapolis; Benjamin F., deceased; Mrs. Adelia McCoy, housekeeper for her brother, George; George S., brick manufacturer, of Greensburg; Eliza, who married Phillip Weyman, of Greensburg; Samuel B., a Greensburg merchant; James S., a Greensburg merchant; Mrs. C. D. Tillson, of Greensburg, and Curtis R., of Washington, D. C. The mother of these children died in 1900, at the age of seventy-eight years, and the venerable father is making his home with his son, George, in Greensburg.

Benjamin F. Littell, Jr., was about fifteen years of age when his parents moved to Greensburg and he completed his schooling in that city. Upon reaching manhood he engaged in the grocery business in Greensburg, soon becoming one of the most popular and one of the most successful merchants in the city. The close confinement, however, was found to be detrimental to his health and he decided to live in the open and later purchased the beautiful farm on which his family now lives, and there spent the last twenty years of his life, his death occurring in 1907, the widow and six children being left to mourn their irreparable loss. These children, in the order of their birth, are: Elsie, who was graduated from the Greensburg high school, lives at home; John, who is very successfully managing the home farm, taking great interest in operating the same along the lines laid down by modern agriculturists; Lena, a successful milliner in Greensburg; Mrs. Charles Davis, of Greensburg, who has one child; Anna, a teacher in the public schools, and Della, who was graduated from the Greensburg high school with the class of 1915.

Mrs. Diantha Littell, widow of B. F. Littell, Jr., was born in Ripley county, Indiana, daughter of Rev. John and Ruth (Williams) Collicott, the former of whom was a native of North Carolina and the latter a native of New Jersey. When a young man, John Collicott emigrated from North Carolina to Indiana, locating in Ripley county, not far from the Decatur county line, where he became a successful farmer and influential citizen. He was also a local Methodist preacher and few men of his day in this part of the state exerted a wider or more beneficent influence upon their fellowmen than he. He was noted for his tender-hearted ministrations in the community in which he so long was so useful a factor, his hand ever being extended in behalf of those less fortunate than himself. The Rev. John Collicott possessed a most effective manner in the pulpit, his ability to impress upon his hearers the beauties of the Word, and to impart to them the wonderful lessons contained therein, being recalled to this day among those whose privilege it was to "sit at his feet." His knowledge of the Bible was accurate and profound and his great desire to extend the message of the Gospel ever was heavy on his heart. He was a splendid singer, an accomplishment which added much to the effectiveness of his manner of conducting public services. During the trying days of the Civil War, the Rev. John Collicott was a tower of strength in behalf of the Union cause hereabout, and gave two of his sons for the nation's preservation. Few men in the community in which he labored are held in such high esteem, and it is but fitting that a history of Decatur county should carry this modest memorial. During the last fifteen years of his life Mr. Collicott was sadly crippled, but affliction did not dampen his ardor; the influence of his cheerful example under trial being radiated in all directions throughout the neighborhood of his home.

The first wife of Rev. John Collicott was Edna Goins, who died a few years after their marriage leaving no children. By his union with Ruth Williams, his second wife, there were born ten children, namely: Mary Jane, the wife of Wesley York, both deceased; Stephen, a soldier in the Union army, mho went through the Civil War and died soon after the close of that great struggle, from the effects of the hardships he had endured; Henry, who also enlisted in the Union army and died during the early part of that struggle of measles contracted in the service; John, who died when eight years of age; Letitia, deceased; Angelina, deceased, the wife of Steward Ross, deceased, and the mother of Charles Ross living near Moore's Hill, Indiana; George, deceased; Eliza, deceased: Dora, deceased, and Diantha, the widow of Mr. Littell. The mother of these children was a woman of noble character, an able helpmate to her husband in his difficult ministrations; a woman of rare sympathy and understanding, who was greatly beloved throughout that whole countryside.

By his union with Hannah Thackery, the Rev. John Collicott was the father of the following children: Curtis, a well-known farmer of this county, who lives about three and one-half miles from Greensburg on the Vandalia pike; Jacob G., one of the best-known educators in the country, the present superintendent of the Indianapolis public schools; Harmon, who died in 1902, while pursuing his studies in the Greensburg high school, and Lettie, who married Charles Williams, a prosperous farmer of this county, whose home is near New Point. The mother of these children was a woman of refinement and education, who left the impress of her gentle character upon all with whom she came in contact, being also a great help to her husband in his ministrations and especially during his last feeble years.

Mrs. Littell has a delightful home in Washington township, where, with her children, she is quite comfortably situated. Active in all the good works of the community and devoted to the care of her children her influence is exerted toward the promotion of all measures designed to further the best interests of the common good and she is held in the highest esteem by all who know her.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

Thomas E. Day, manufacturer of hard-wood lumber and wholesale dealer in the same at Greensburg, Indiana, was born on a farm in Ripley county, Indiana, on December 22, 1868, the son of Thomas G. and Rebecca (Spenddiff) Day, both natives of England, born in the county of Kent, the former on August 3, 1841, and the latter on June 4, 1841.

Thomas G. Day came to America with his father, Thomas Day, in the year 1844, the family locating on the shores of Rockland lake in the state of New York, where the elder Day established a nursery for the culture of fruit trees. The family remained in New York state until 1851, in which year they moved to Madison, Indiana, where the elder Thomas established another nursery on the edge of the city, where he spent the remainder of his life. It was in the town of Madison, this state, that Thomas G. Day grew to manhood, getting a start in life that enabled him in 1865 to buy a farm in Ripley county, on which he is still living, despite a succession of serious wounds and shocking experiences during the progress of the Civil War that certainly would have killed any man of less rugged constitution than that possessed by him.

Upon the breaking out of the war in 1861, Thomas G. Day enlisted in Company E, Third Indiana Cavalry, for the sixty-day service called for at that time. At the close of this service he re-enlisted for the term of the war and served until peace had been declared. He participated in many battles, being in some of the bloodiest engagements of the war, and twice was left for dead on the field of battle. He suffered all the horrors of the Confederate prison pens, having been an inmate of Libby prison, Belle Isle, Florence and Andersonville. Of the squad of one hundred men with whom he was incarcerated in the latter prison, he was one of but two who survived to reach freedom and regain their own lines. He was once captured by John S. Mosby, the guerilla chief, who, with his men, was masquerading as a Unionist. On this occasion Mr. Day dropped his carbine. Many years later he revisited the scene of his capture and was surprised as well as delighted to find the old army carbine in the hands of the farmer who had picked it up at the time of the capture. Needless to say he has preserved the recovered firearm as a priceless relic of his service.

Upon returning to the pursuits of peace at the close of the war, Thomas E. Day married Rebecca Spenddiff, who was the daughter of James Spenddiff, a native of the same neighborhood in England in which Mr. Day was born. James Spenddiff came to America and spent three years working for enough money to pay the passage of his family to this side. The family arrived in 1850, the passage over requiring nine weeks on a slow-sailing vessel, most of which time heavy storms were raging. The Spenddiffs located first in the Rockland lake district of New York, neighbors to the Days, and later came with the latter family to Indiana, also locating at Madison, where James Spenddiff and his wife spent the remainder of their lives.

To Thomas E. and Rebecca (Spenddiff) Day were born eleven children, eight of whom are still living, namely: Mrs. Harriet Livingston, of Greensburg, this county; Thomas E., the immediate subject of this sketch; Frank G., who lives at Cincinnati; Walter K., a farmer of Jefferson county, this state; Mrs. J. A. Bovard, of North Salem, Indiana; Mrs. William Strubbe, of Versailles, Indiana, and Bertha and Cora, who remain with their father at the family home in Ripley county. The mother of these children died on April 10, 1908.

Thomas E. Day was reared on the paternal farm and received his education in the district schools of his home township and in the high school at Osgood. When he was twenty-one pears of age he bought a farm of ninety-six and one-half acres in Ripley county, adjoining his father's farm, for which he went in debt to the amount of eleven hundred dollars. For nine years he taught school in his home county and by the time he had his little farm half paid for he had incurred an obligation for forty acres additional, adjoining, all of which he gradually paid out of his earnings as a teacher and from the profits on the farm. While engaged in farming he secured the county agency for a well-known brand of buggies of that time. The first year in which he held this agency he sold four buggies, but gradually increased his sales until he was finally disposing of as many as three hundred and twenty-five buggies annually in that part of the state. In the year 1893, Mr. Day engaged in the lumber business in Ripley county and has had phenomenal success. He has five mills for the manufacture of hard-wood lumber, one at Newpoint, one at Westport, two at Millhousen, all in this county, and one at Peach Orchard, Arkansas, in which he employs the services of fifty men. Mr. Day employs ten men at each of his mills and in the course of a year pays out as much as fifty thousand dollars in wages. Though retaining his farm in Ripley county, Mr. Day makes his home in Greensburg, to which city he moved in 1903, buying there a residence, where he and his family are very comfortably situated.

On April 10, 1892, Thomas E. Day was united in marriage to Lucy B. Horton, who was born and reared in Switzerland county, this state, the daughter of John M. and Maria A. Horton, who moved from Switzerland county to Ripley county, and to this union four children have been born, two daughters and two sons, as follow: Hazel, who is a member of the class of 1916, DePauw University, and who was honored while in her sophomore year by election to the office of president of the Young Women's Christian Association of the university and in 1915 vice-president of the student body and student annual: Mabel, who is a member of the class of 1917, same university; Thomas, aged ten, and Raymond, aged eight.

Mr. and Mrs. Day are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church at Greensburg and their children have been reared in the faith of that church. They are active not only in the many good works of the church to which they belong, but are warmly interested in all movements having to do with the elevation of the ideals of the community at large and enjoy the highest respect and esteem of a large circle in and about Greensburg. Mr. Day is a Republican and takes a good citizen's part in local political affairs. He is a Mason and belongs to both the chapter and the council of that order.

Mr. Day is a hustling, energetic man who does things in a large way. It is his custom to buy land, cut the timber on the same and then sell the land. In the vicinity of Newpoint there is much land which he has treated thus which is worth three or four times what it was worth before the timber was removed. In 1912 Mr. Day went to Arkansas and bought timber to the amount of twelve thousand dollars, going in debt for the same, speedily discharging the debt from the proceeds of the timber which he secured from the tract. Mr. Day has the confidence of business circles throughout this part of the state and is held in the highest regard by all.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

William E. Jackson was born in 1866 on the old Jackson homestead, which he now owns, the son of William T. and Margaret (Miers) Jackson, the former of whom was born in Cincinnati about 1829 and who died in 1889 at the age of sixty years. The late William T. Jackson was the son of William D. and Amelia (Hillman) Jackson, the former of whom was born near the mouth of the Chickahominy river in Charles City county, Virginia, on October 13, 1797. The family originally lived in York county, a few miles east of the Chickahominy river, a very unhealthful region. William D. Jackson's parents were stricken with malarial fever, and died leaving a large family of destitute children. The boys in the family were bound out to farmers in the neighborhood and to a life of hardship and toil and the girls were sent to the poor house. William D. Jackson was one of these boys and was compelled to work in the fields with negro slaves of his master under a cruel overseer. Being of Irish origin and of a fiery Celtic nature, he could not endure this life very long and one day crossed the James river and left the scene. After walking about thirty miles, he reached Petersburg and engaged himself to a tailor, thoroughly mastering the trade. In 1823 he married Amelia Hillman, daughter of Samuel Hillman, a trader and merchant, who kept a store at Crockes Ferry. In 1831, William D. Jackson and family emigrated across the Alleghany mountains in a covered wagon to the source of the Ohio river. They came down the river by boat to Cincinnati, where they landed with scarcely any of this world's goods, but with boundless courage and ambition. There William D. Jackson met Nicholas Longworth, a capitalist, and soon found work in the largest merchant-tailoring establishment in the city. His acquaintance with Mr. Longworth proved to be of great value to him, for he presently engaged in the real estate business and in a few years had accumulated a snug fortune, which in 1840 he invested in a farm of a quarter section in Fugit township, this county. He remained in Cincinnati until 1844, when he moved to his farm in Decatur county. In 1847 he sold his Fugit township farm for a profit and moved eight miles west of Greensburg, to a less settled and wilder section of the county, though the land was of a better quality and cheaper. At that time there were still many panthers, bears and wild cats in the forests and deer were abundant. Those were the days of the husking bees, log rollings, apple parings, barn raisings and countryside weddings.

In 1853 William D. Jackson sold his farm and moved to another farm two and one-half miles west of Greensburg, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a man of no ordinary character. His mind was cast in a large mold and, though uneducated, he achieved success. His brain was keen and alert and he was a deep, broad thinker. He was a patriot of the best type. When the Civil War broke out, though an old man, he urged his grandsons to go and do their duty. He was a lover of justice and hated all shams; of that high type of citizens which has made this country what it is, ever standing for the highest and best that life afforded.

William T. Jackson, son of William D. and Amelia Jackson and the father of William E., the subject of this sketch, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1829. After coming to Decatur county, his experiences were those of the average pioneer boy of the day. He was about eighteen years old when the family moved to this county. Later he was married to Margaret Miers, who was the daughter of Thomas Miers, one of the early settlers of Decatur county and one of the wealthiest and most prominent men of pioneer times. William T. Jackson and his young wife began their married life on a farm in Clay township and became very prosperous, he becoming a large landowner. He did not confine himself to farming altogether but subsequently engaged in the mercantile business in Danville, Hendricks county, Indiana, in which he also was quite successful. He was a man of strong individuality and engaging personality, widely and favorably known throughout this section. Although reared a Democrat, he became a Republican. William T. Jackson was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and an officer in the grand lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Indiana. Margaret Miers was only fifteen years old when she was married to William T. Jackson. She died in 1912 at the age of seventy-eight years. They were the parents of six children, Mrs. Anna Pavy, James, deceased; Mrs. Adelaide Bonner, William E., the subject of this sketch; Charles, who died in infancy, and Harry. One can hardly wonder that the representatives of the Jackson family in this county have been successful. They can hardly wonder that William E. Jackson has achieved a flattering success as a farmer. The Jackson family has had the habit of success and William E. inherited that habit.

William E. Jackson was married in 1889 to Alta Moore, the daughter of B. F. and Anna (Bentley) Moore, the former of whom was a native of Decatur county, whose father was a native of Ohio. B. F. Moore was a successful farmer and a highly respected citizen of this county. He and his wife were the parents of four children: Edgar N., of Letts Corner; Mrs. Alta Jackson; Anna L., of Letts; and Luna Roszell of Decatur county. Mrs. Jackson was born on October 22, 1868, in Decatur county.

To William E. and Alta (Moore) Jackson have been born three children, Mary, born in 1897; Jessie, 1901, and Paul, 1904.

After their marriage in 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson began the business of life on a very modest scale. He now feeds about one hundred and fifty thoroughbred Hereford cattle every year and has been very successful as a stock breeder, having specialized in black Poland-China hogs. William E. Jackson is a man who believes in quality, so far as live stock is concerned, this having been the secret of his success. He keeps his land in a high state of cultivation and it is well drained. The corn averages from seventy-five to eighty bushels to the acre.

William E. Jackson is a Republican and takes a deep interest in the political welfare of his country. He and his good wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. A progressive, up-to-date business man, he is broad and liberal in his views, respected and loved by his family, honored and admired by his neighbors.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

Everett L. Deupree was born on December 24, 1880, on a farm near the town of Edinburg, in Johnson county, Indiana, a fine tract of land which was entered by his great-grandfather, Thomas Deupree, a Kentuckian, in 1821. Thomas Deupree was drowned in the Muscatatuck river while returning to his new Indiana home from Kentucky, he having gone back to his native state to settle his affairs there after having located his family on the Johnson county land grant. Thomas Deupree was succeeded by his eldest son, Abraham C. Deupree, who assisted his widowed mother, who before her marriage was Martha Hatchett, a member of a well-known pioneer family in Kentucky, and was instrumental in keeping the new homestead intact. Abraham C. Deupree married Hannah E. Carter, a descendant of the Carter who accompanied William Penn's Quaker colony to this country. Their son, William N. Deupree, married Martha A. Matthis, member of a pioneer family of Johnson county, and is still living on the old home farm, near Edinburg, in that county, at the age of eighty-two years. Thomas M. Deupree, son of this latter union, moved from Johnson county to the town of Westport, in this county, in January, 1885, and for many years was prominently connected with the business life of that village, and is now, with his wife, living retired at Indianapolis. Thomas M. Deupree married Laura B. Pritchard, who was born near the town of Edinburg, in Johnson county, this state, daughter of John M. and Louisa (Robinson) Pritchard, both natives of Johnson county, the former of whom is still living, and to this union seven children were born, six of whom are still living, and of whom the subject of this sketch is the eldest. For further information regarding this interesting family the reader is referred to a biographical sketch of Thomas M. Deupree, presented elsewhere in this volume, as well as to a sketch of Clarence C. Deupree, cashier of the Marion County State Bank of Indianapolis, presented on another page.

When Everett L. Deupree was four years of age, his parents moved from the Johnson county farm to the village of Westport, in Decatur county, and there the subject of this sketch grew to manhood. He received his primary education in the schools of Westport and at the age of thirteen entered the high school at Edinburg, from which he was graduated in 1898. He then attended the normal school at Greensburg, preparatory to a term of service as a teacher in the public schools, and for a time taught school at Westport. He then entered Indiana University and, was graduated from the Indiana Law School with the class of 1904. Upon receiving his diploma, Mr. Deupree formed a partnership for the practice of law with Edwin H. Emrick, with offices at Indianapolis, and the two have practiced together at the capital city ever since. They have a fine suite of offices in the Law building at Indianapolis and have built up a large and lucrative practice. During the past four or five years Mr. Deupree has given special attention to the practice of corporation law and has been very successful. Real estate law also has appealed to him strongly and his practice in that particular department of jurisprudence has gained for him quite as wide a reputation for acumen and grasp of the niceties of this form of practice as has his practice of corporation law.

In addition to his extensive law practice, Mr. Deupree has found time in his busy career to enter largely into the practical side of the real-estate business. He and Edward Sourbier and Edwin H. Emrick some years ago organized the Sourbier-Emrick Realty Company, incorporated for the purpose of building and loaning money on real estate, and during the past two or three years probably no company in Indianapolis has built and sold as many houses as has this company. Mr. Deupree also is actively engaged in the financial life of the capital city. In May, 1912, he and J. M. Gaston, also of Decatur county, and J. L. Duvall organized the Marion County State Bank of Indianapolis, in which he is a director. For some years he also has been a director in the Citizens State Bank of Indianapolis and is regarded as one of the most prominent of the younger financiers of the capital city. He also is a member of the board of directors of various other corporations in Indianapolis; secretary and director of the Home Insurance Agency of Indiana and vice-president and director of the Marion Securities Company, of Indianapolis.

On March 13, 1904, Everett L. Deupree was united in marriage to Edith Wheeler, who was born at Salem, Oregon, daughter of Hillis A. and Elizabeth (Linton) Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler, who was born near Millersville, Marion county, Indiana, is an old-time beef-packer and is well known as a partner in the Wheeler Dressed Beef Company of Indianapolis. His wife, Elizabeth Linton, was born at Wilmington, Ohio.

Mr. Deupree is a member of Indianapolis Lodge No. 13, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and is past chancellor of Excelsior Lodge No. 25, Knights of Pythias, of Indianapolis; a member of Commanche Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men, and of the Marion Club in the same city. He is active, enterprising and energetic and during his residence in the capita1 city has gained a very wide and influential acquaintance, an acquaintance extending to all parts of the state, and has made a large number of very firm friends, among whom he and Mrs. Deupree are held in the highest regard, their admirable social qualities making them prime favorites in the extensive social circle in which they are regarded as among the prime movers. Though his active life prevents him from revisiting the scenes of his youth as often as he would like, Mr. Deupree has a warm spot in his heart for Decatur county and Decatur county people and is never more congenially engaged than when reviving pleasant recollections of "boyhood's happy hour" with old home folk.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

Zachariah Thompson Riley was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, on April 22, 1828, and died at his home in Greensburg, Indiana, on May 17, 1907. He was the son of Williams Wright and Elizabeth (Thompson) Riley, natives of Fayette county, Kentucky, and early settlers in Decatur county. Williams Wright Riley was born in Kentucky in 1804, the son of Gerard and Francis (Wright) Riley, the former born in Kentucky, the son of Ninion and Elizabeth (Taylor) Riley, and the latter born in North Carolina, daughter of John and Ann (Williams) Wright. John Wright was born in Ferguson county, Virginia, in 1728; enlisted from North Carolina in the patriot army for service during the Revolutionary War and died in Surrey county, North Carolina. Ninion Riley, who was born in Montgomery county, Maryland, in 1726, was the son of Solomon Riley, a native of the same county, whose father came to America in 1680. Ninion Riley married Elizabeth Taylor, of Montgomery county, Maryland, and emigrated to Fayette county, Kentucky, where he became prominent in the pioneer affairs of that section of the state and where he spent the remainder of his life.

Following his marriage to Elizabeth Thompson, Williams Wright Riley for a time lived in Clermont county, Ohio. In the year 1835 he and his wife came to this county, settling in the Williamstown neighborhood, where for a time they farmed, later moving to the village of Adams, this county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. They were leaders in that part of the county, taking a prominent part in the social and civic life of the community. Active in the work of the Christian church, they were among the leaders in all good works in that part of the county and were held in the highest esteem by all. In 1856 Mr. Riley was elected to the office of justice of the peace for Clinton township and served in this magisterial capacity for many years, his judgments in such local disputes as arose within his jurisdiction ever being accepted as final. He was an ardent Mason, having become attached to Bethel lodge of that order in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1839. He was a charter member of Greensburg Lodge No. 136, at Greensburg, this county, being the first junior warden thereof, and was the first worshipful master of the lodges of the same order at Milroy, St. Paul and Adams, in this county. He died in 1886 at his home in Adams and his passing was sincerely mourned.

To Williams Wright and Elizabeth (Thompson) Riley were born six children, of whom but one now survives, Mrs. Izora Jones, of Adams, this county. The others were the late Hon. Zachariah Thompson Riley, Mrs. Nancy Wyatt, who died in Kansas; John W., whose last days also were spent in Kansas; Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart and the late Dr. S. H. Riley.

Zachariah Thompson Riley learned the trade of cabinet-maker in the village of Williamstown, but later became a farmer and owned a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres in Clinton township. His native force of character made him a natural leader and he early took a prominent part in the affairs of his home community. He helped to organize the first Farmers Club in this county, in 1882, and was greatly interested in the betterment of farming conditions throughout this county, his influence in that direction undoubtedly producing wholesome and permanent results. He was elected to a seat in the Indiana state Legislature in 1876 and served in the lower house of the General Assembly in a manner very acceptable to his constituents. His first public service was in the capacity of justice of the peace in Clinton township, a form of service performed with the same regard for justice and equity as had marked his father's service in the same connection. He was a member of the Masonic lodge at Adams and ever took an active and prominent part in the affairs of that lodge. For a time he was engaged, in association with Charles Kemble, in the publication of a newspaper at Williamstown.

In 1853 Z. T. Riley was united in marriage to Frances McLaughton, who died in 1854, and in 1857 he married, secondly, Mary Jane Anderson, who was born near Springhill, this county, in 1835, the daughter of Samuel McClure and Mary (Meek) Anderson, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born in Boone county and the latter in Fayette county, that state. Samuel McClure Anderson was the son of John and Ann (McClure) Anderson, natives of Virginia, who emigrated to Kentucky and came thence to this county where they took a prominent part in the pioneer affairs of the Springhill neighborhood. To Samuel McClure and Mary (Meek) Anderson were born seven children, all of whom now are deceased save Mrs. Riley, who is living at her home in Greensburg, at the ripe old age of eighty years, honored and respected of all, and Sophia, who married Robert Tate and lives at Indianapolis. The other children were Mrs. Martha Ann Martin-Tanner, John C., who married Catherine Martin; Thomas M., James A. and Samuel Davis.

To Zachariah T. and Mary Jane (Anderson) Riley were born four children, Mary Libbie, who died at the age of sixteen years; Vessie, who lives at home with her aged mother; Dr. Eden T. Riley, a well-known and prominent physician of Greensburg, and one child who died in infancy.

Such lives as that of the late Zachariah T. Riley do not go out; they go on. In Decatur county Mr. Riley's influence was strongly impressed upon many lines of human thought and conduct, and invariably for the good. Therefore his influence persists, even though he long has been absent from the scenes which once knew him so well, and his memory long will be cherished in the community of which he once was so forceful a part.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

William T. Boicourt was born on April 28, 1858, a mile and one-half east of Westport, the son of David and Mary (Holmes) Boicourt, the former born in June, 1822, and the latter born on October 25, 1828, both of whom died on September 25, 1898. The deaths of these worthy Hoosier pioneers occurred just thirteen minutes apart and their remains were interred in the same grave.

The late David Boicourt, who was a native of Clark county, Indiana, was the son of Felix and Anna Boicourt, natives of Virginia, who came to Indiana about 1812, thus having been among the very earliest settlers of this state. They first settled near Louisville, Kentucky, from which place they crossed the river to Clark county, Indiana, and subsequently, in 1831, came to Decatur county. They entered government land in the southern part of the county, built a cabin and reared their family. The remains of Felix Boicourt are buried in Horseshoe Bend cemetery, east of Westport. Felix Boicourt was of French descent, his parental ancestor having come to America as heretofore stated, as one of Lafayette's soldiers. At the age of twenty he migrated from Virginia to Pennsylvania, settling near Pittsburgh, where he married Anna Elliot, of Puritan ancestry, who had migrated from Massachusetts to Virginia and later to Pennsylvania. From Pennsylvania they migrated to Kentucky and in 1812 to Clark county, Indiana. After settling in Indiana, they lived in a double log cabin near Millstone creek. They were the parents of seven children, namely: Absalom, who died in White county, Indiana, in 1892, at the age of eighty-two; Mrs. Julia Ann Stonesifer, who died near Fredonia in 1886, at the age of eighty-two; Mrs. Isabella Corya, who died in Jennings county at the age of seventy-nine; William, who died near Westport in 1904 at the age of ninety; Mrs. Christina Canfield, who died in 1901 at the age of seventy-eight; James, who died in Missouri in 1904 at the age of seventy-six, and Ruth, who married John Holmes and died in 1881.

Of the children born to David and Mary (Holmes) Boicourt, representatives of the second generation of the Boicourt family in Indiana, William, the subject of this sketch, is the fifth in order of birth. There were six children, four sons and two daughters, as follow: Aaron, who lives a mile and one-half southeast of Westport; Zachariah, of near Westport, who has gained a state-wide reputation in connection with the annual picnics held for sixteen years in the grove on his Decatur county farm; Mrs. Catherine Higgins, of Indianapolis; George, deceased, who resided one and one-half miles from Letts Corner; William T., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Rebecca Corya, who lives on the old home place one and one-half miles east of Westport.

The mother of these children was the daughter of James and Sarah Holmes, natives of Butler county, Ohio, who came to Decatur county, in 1821 and settled near Greensburg. The father helped to clear the land where the Decatur county court house now stands. After settling on a tract of land south of Greensburg, he spent his life as a farmer, principally in clearing his land. The Boicourt family were lifelong members of the United Brethren church, David having become a member in early boyhood. He was a Republican in politics. For more than fifty years, he was a miller by trade and operated the Horseshoe Bend water mill and afterwards a steam roller mill at Westport, which finally was destroyed by fire. He had erected a mill at Horseshoe Bend, succeeding the grist-mill, and, in partnership with his brother, George, erected the Westport mill.

Educated in the old Patterson school house east of Westport, a famous old school which stood near his home; later at the old Binninger school northeast of Westport and still later at the Poplar Grove school two miles northeast of Westport, William T. Boicourt's early life was spent in doing the customary work which falls to the lot of the country boy. For two years he worked for his father in the flour-mill and then operated a stone quarry near Westport for four years. In this enterprise he lost considerable money, and in 1885 rented the farm upon which he now lives and which he now owns. Later Mrs. Boicourt inherited a farm and they have since improved the farm in many ways, making it one of the most beautiful country homes to be found anywhere in this section. The farm consists of two hundred and forty-five acres. They now have a thoroughly modernized home which has recently been remodeled. Mr. Boicourt is an extensive stockman and specializes in Duroc-Jersey hogs. In 1914 he sold one hundred and thirty head for two thousand and twenty-seven dollars and in the same year sold fifty-eight head of cattle, which brought him nearly forty-one hundred dollars. Mr. Boicourt also sold five hundred bushels of wheat in 1914. This farm, which is the old Boyer homestead, the homestead of Mrs. Boicourt's maternal grandfather, lies along the river in one of the most picturesque sections of Decatur county, the scenery in that section being beautiful.

On October 10, 1883, William T. Boicourt was married to Lydia Doggett, who was born at Little Flatrock, one mile east of Downeyville, on October 25, 1857, the daughter of Henry and Margaret Emily (Boyer) Doggett, the former of whom was born in 1824 and died on June 27, 1896, and the latter, born in December, 1826, and died on May 28, 1902, a daughter of Daniel Boyer, a native of Pennsylvania and an early pioneer and prominent citizen of Decatur county, who served as county commissioner for many years. Henry Doggett came to this state from Kentucky when eleven years old with his father, Henry Doggett, Sr., whose wife, who was Nancy Smith, of Virginia, was the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. Henry and Margaret Emily Doggett were the parents of six children, namely: Mrs. Nannie Mobley, deceased; Lydia, the wife of Mr. Boicourt; Ira, who lives in Wyoming; Lafayette, who lives on the old Doggett homestead; Mrs. Loella Glover, deceased, and Frank, who died at the age of thirteen. It is an interesting fact that the first Henry Doggett mentioned in this genealogy married Nancy Smith, of Virginia, the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier.

To William T, and Lydia (Doggett) Boicourt have been born four children, as follow: Mrs. Vessa White, who was born on November 30, 1884, lives in North Dakota and has one child, Ethel Juanita; Forrest Leroy, January 9, 1887, died on May 7, 1898; Ora Hazel, November 11, 1889, who married Pleasant Redington, lives on the old home place and has one child. Walter Lavelle, and Mrs. Ethel Emily King, September 11, 1892, died on March 20, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt have adopted a son, William E., who was born on April 21, 1899, and who now lives at home with his foster-parents.

A Republican in politics, Mr. Boicourt was a candidate of his party in the campaign of 1914 for county commissioner, but was defeated with the remainder of the ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt are active members in the Baptist church and are held in high esteem in the neighborhood in which they have for years been regarded as among the leading factors, their influence ever being exerted in behalf of the general good.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.

Solomon Apple was born on October 20, 1839, in Montgomery county, Ohio, the son of Elias and Magdalena (Slifer) Apple, and was ten years of age when brought to this county by his parents. Elias Apple, who was born on January 26, 1817, and who died in July, 1900, was a native of Ohio, who came to Decatur county in the spring of 1849 and later settled in Rush county, still later going to Waldron, in Shelby county, where he died. His wife was born in February, 1817, and died in 1895. They were married on January 4, 1837, and were the parents of eight children, three of whom, Philemon, Mrs. Lucinda Pence and Elias, Jr., are deceased. The living children are: Solomon, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Susan Griffy, who lives in Rush county; Mrs. Vandalena Isley, who lives in Illinois; Mrs. Elizabeth Lowe, of St. Omer, and Mrs. Sophia Thompson, of St. Paul, this county.

Solomon Apple, who lived at home with his parents during his youth and early manhood, was married on November 12, 1863, to Caroline Kelley, who was born in Rush county, this state, on January 27, 1843, the daughter of Ezekiel and Nancy (Ballard) Kelley, the former of whom was born on November 29, 1800, and died on August 4, 1879, and the latter of whom was born in 1811 and died on March 24, 1877. They were married in 1827.

After his marriage, Solomon Apple gave his father one thousand dollars for the first eighty acres of land that he owned and immediately set to work to clear the land. For a time he and his wile lived in a one-room log cabin, but later caused to be erected a large frame house, which eventually was succeeded by the fine brick house in which they live today. After a time, they were able to buy eighty acres across the road from Mr. Apple's brother's home and this farm was later presented to Mrs. Charles Allison, a daughter, after which they purchased another eighty-acre tract and presented it to their son, Daniel. At one time, therefore, they owned altogether two hundred and forty acres which has been reduced by the gifts to their two children to eighty acres of land. This farm, the original tract, is now equipped with all of the conveniences for farming, including a large bank barn. The house may be seen from the roadside, in a beautiful location, surrounded by trees and shrubbery and set on a hill overlooking the roadway. On the farm is a natural gas well, from which is derived gas for light and fuel.

To Solomon and Caroline (Kelley) four children were born, namely: John W., born on April 15, 1865, and died on February 3, 1875; Daniel W., December 9, 1866, married Minnie Allison and has six children, Ethel, George, Gladys, Charles, Forrest and Caroline; Nina, December 9, 1874, married Dr. Charles D. Allison, of Illinois, and has four children, Nina, Mary, Charles and Caroline, and Nannie, October 28, 1877, died on March 13, 1912, married William Kelsoe and bore him one child, Russell, who has been reared by his grandparents.

Solomon Apple is a quiet and unpretentious citizen, a man who lays no i particular claim to greatness and one who never boasts of his accomplishments or achievements. Though a Democrat, he has always been more or less independent in voting, since he believes that in this way he can best serve the purposes of good government, hence serving not only himself as a citizen of the government, but his neighbors as well. The only office he has ever held is that of supervisor of highways. Mr. and Mrs. Apple are members of the United Brethren church at St. Omer and have been for many years. Both are possessed of strong religious feelings and are naturally governed by these feelings in their attitude toward the church and the principles for which the church stands. To Solomon and Caroline Apple it has been granted that their lives should be spared to see their children established in their own homes and with children at their own thresholds, their satisfaction consisting in having had an affectionate and tender interest in their children's welfare.

"History of Decatur County, Indiana"
Lewis A. Harding
B. F. Bowen & Co.
Indianapolis, Indiana
published in 1915.