WILLIAM GILMAN STYERS.
Our affection rises and the tenderest and sweetest sentiment of which we are capable flows freely from our hearts when the memory of those whom. we have loved comes back to us. This is especially true of the memory of a man who, upon passing to the other shore, leaves behind a devoted wife and loving children. It is a grim fact that we never quite appreciate those who are near and dear to us until their work is fully ended and they are gone from us. Somehow it is difficult to get or retain proper perspective on the life of one who lives among us. This may be especially true of a father or a mother, or a son or daughter. The late William Gilman Styers, of Sand Creek township, was a man who performed worthily the common and simple duties of life, who gave a full and liberal measure of service and unstinted love and affection to his wife and to his children. And notwithstanding the fact that he now belongs to a past generation, his work and his love and his tenderness go on to affect for good the lives of those whom he knew best and loved best on this earth.

William Gilman Styers was born on January 16, 1844, in Greensburg, Indiana, and died on March 20, 1915, on the old home farm in Sand Creek township. His parents were intimately connected with the very earliest history of this county. His father and mother moved to a farm south of Greensburg, where was located the famous old House mill in 1854. The father died on the farm, but his wife lived in Greensburg during the six years immediately preceding her death. William and Sarilda (Robbins) Styers, the parents of William Gilman, had three other sons. Only one member of the family, Charles F., who was born on March 16, 1856, is now living. His home is at Indianapolis. Of the deceased children, John M., the eldest, died in infancy; William G. was the second born; Samuel E., the third born, was born on July 8, 1868.

William Gilman Styers' mother, who before her marriage was Sarilda Robbins, was the daughter of William and Eleanor (Anderson) Robbins, and was born in October, 1823. She had three brothers, as follow: John E., who was born on February 20, 1825, and who married Nancy O. Hunter; James G., who was born on June so, 18127, and who married Elmira Stout; and Merrit H., who was born in 1829, and who married Jeannette Gilchrist. William Robbins died on February 3, 1868, and his wife, Eleanor, died four years later.

The genealogy of the Robbins family in America begins with Bethiah Vickery, who was born December 1, 1760, and who married William Robbins. To them were born three children, Albe, Charity and Benjamin. William Robbins was killed in the Revolutionary War soon after enlisting and his widow married a second William Robbins in Guilford county, North Carolina. To this couple were born nine children, namely: Elizabeth, born on February 5, 1788; Marmeduke and Jacob, May 15, 1783; Polly, April 9, 1791; Nathaniel, April 5, 1793; John, February 8, 1795; William, August 6, 1797; and Dosha, May 20, 1804. William Robbins, the second husband of Mrs. Robbins, was born on October 21, 1761, in Randolph county, North Carolina. In October, 1777, when sixteen years of age, he enlisted in the Revolutionary army, serving until 1781 under Capt. Joseph Clark and Colonel Dugan and Col. Anthony Sharp. He left Virginia for Henry county, Kentucky, and 1821 came to Decatur county, settling nine and one-half miles south of Greensburg. Here he made a home among the timbered hills. Trees were cleared away and a new log house of one room was erected, with a shed in which was built a loom for weaving carpet and many kinds of cloth.

On September 11, 1834, William Robbins passed away and was buried at Mt. Pleasant cemetery. The third William Robbins, heretofore referred to in the children born to the second William Robbins and Bethiah Vickery, was born in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. He was taken by his parents to Henry county, Kentucky, and accompanied them to Indiana, when the family came in 1821, when he was twenty-four years of age. He selected the site for a home for himself about one and one-half miles north of his father's home, but the next year returned to Kentucky and was married to Eleanor Anderson, of that state. Upon returning to his new home with his bride, three sisters and two brothers, John and Nathaniel, settled in the same vicinity. A short time later other relatives of the Robbins family came to the same township. The Robbins family became prominent both as to numbers and influence in the early affairs of this section. Nathaniel Robbins was the first justice of the peace in Sand Creek township. William and Eleanor Robbins lived on the farm originally selected as their home the remainder of their lives.

On May 16, 1568, William Gilman Styers was married to Dorinda Frances Wright, who was born on March 28, 1849, north of Harris City, and who is the daughter of Thomas A. and Mary J. (Wallace) Wright, natives of Rockbridge county, Virginia, and early settlers in Decatur county. Mrs. Styers' mother died when she was four years old. Thomas A. and Mary J. Wright were the parents of seven children. Of these children, George W., the oldest, died in 1890 at the Styers home; James, in the Odd Fellows home in Greensburg; Franklin is deceased; Charles Whitcomb lives in Indianapolis; John M. is deceased; Mrs. Styers was the next born; Joseph A., the youngest, who lives at Madison, Indiana, was born in 1851. Joseph A. was reared in Decatur county and has made his home in Madison for twenty years. He is a traveling salesman and married Mary Squires, who is now deceased. They had one child, Emma.

After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Styers they began housekeeping just south of Greensburg in a little cottage on the hill, where they lived for two years, and then moved to a farm a short distance away. Subsequently they removed to another farm, where they lived for one year, and in 1873 moved to Missouri. Seven years later they returned to this state, and purchased a farm near Harris City, where Mr. Styers now resides. Originally, Mr. and Mrs. Styers owned a hundred and seventy-five acres, but they have sold a part of the land, and now have a hundred and forty-three acres.

William Gilman Styers served in the hospital corps of the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. He was a Republican in politics until 1905, when he identified himself with the Prohibition party, on account of his strong and violent dislike of the liquor traffic. A member of the Baptist church before his marriage, he later identified himself with the Union Baptist church. For many years before his death he had charge of the cemetery where he is now buried.

Mr. and Mrs. William Gilman Styers had four children, the youngest, Charles, died in 1896. Of the other children, Mrs. Effie Robbins, the wife of Charles Robbins, of Horace, has five children, Harry Walter, Marie, Corina and Millard, of whom Walter married Grace Ferris and they have three children, Gerald, Roy and an infant. William T., the second child, who lives in Indianapolis, married Par1 Wright, of Adams, and they have two children, Wayne and Mary. Mrs. Minnie Jackson, the third child, has three children, namely: Mabel, who married a Mr. Samuels and has one child, Martha; Ruby Frances, who married Charles Folkerson; and Hazel. The memory of the late William Gilman Styers will not fade as the years go by, or be dimmed by passing events. His place in the hearts of his family, his neighbors and his friends is secure. He was a good husband, a good father and a good citizen.

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



WILLIAM S. FEAR
Among the farmers and citizens of Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, who are natives of this township and county and who in the course of long lives have established comfortable homes here and taken a place in the foremost ranks of the citizens of this county is William S. Fear, who owns a hundred and thirty-three acres of land in Jackson township. Mr. Fear purchased this farm in 1900, and took up his residence there the same year. He has a splendid farm home situated on a well-graveled and widely-traveled highway, a farm which is well improved and made up of very rich soil, one of the best to be found in Jackson township.

William S. Fear was born on August 22, 1860, in Jackson township and has lived in Decatur county all his life. He is the son of the venerable John Fear, who is now a resident of Sand Creek township, and who was born in 1823 in Kentucky. At the age of ninety-three years he is now one of the oldest men in Decatur county. At present he makes his home with Julia Holmes, of Sand Creek township. He is the son of William H. Fear, also a native of Kentucky, who brought his family to Decatur county and settled in Clay township in 1833 with the Gartins, of Clay township. John Fear married Harriet Williams, the daughter of Samuel Williams, a native of Virginia, who came to Jackson township about 1830. Mrs. John Fear was born in 1833 and died in August, 1911, at the age of seventy-eight.

Eight children were born to John and Harriet (Williams) Fear, as follow: Mrs. Julia Holmes, of Sand Creek township; Levi, a resident of Jackson township; Mrs. Artemesia Holmes is deceased; William S. is the subject of this sketch; Barrett, John, Ida and Nancy Ann are all deceased. John Fear is a Democrat and is a member of the Baptist church.

On April 12, 1899, William S. Fear was married to Mattie E. Thurston. They immediately purchased their present farm and built on it a new residence in which they have since lived. Mr. Fear has greatly improved the farm by fences, drains and the erection of out-buildings.

Mrs. Fear was born on November 21, 1864, in Jackson township, the daughter of William and Mary (Evans) Thurston, the former of whom was born in 1839, and died on September 11, 1897, and the latter was born in 1845 and died on August 27, 1897. William Thurston was a native of Jackson township, the son of Lewis and Martha Thurston, natives of Virginia and Franklin county, Indiana, respectively. Lewis Thurston was an early settler of Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana. Mary Evans Thurston, a native of Jackson township, was the daughter of Ratliff Evans, who died in 1910 in the West. William and Mary Thurston lived and died in Jackson township on the old Thurston homestead. Of their children, Edward A. lives in Jackson township, Jacob L. lives in Jackson township, and Ora A. in Bartholomew county.

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Fear are members of the Christian church. Mr. Fear is a Democrat.

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



ROBERT J. DAVIS
The farm is the granary to the office, the store and the shop. It is the farm which must feed and clothe that section of the population which produces no food or raw material for clothing. Prices for food and clothing have experienced an upward trend for many years and are becoming next to prohibitive for great sections of the population. The conclusion is obvious that the production must be increased if the non-producers of food are to be fed. It is very generally agreed that a shortage of supply has enhanced the price for all classes. There are many causes and explanations for this condition, but the chief cause perhaps is that many of the more capable young men who might be successful farmers are moving into the cities. Consequently, when we find a young man who was reared in the country and who chooses agriculture for his life's vocation and strives to increase the productivity of his land, we must recognize he is doing a social service of inestimable value. Robert J. Davis, a farmer of Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, who inherited from his father a large tract of land in Clay township, and who might have chosen any occupation or vocation, by remaining upon the farm has conferred upon society a distinct benefit which future generations will not be slow to recognize, since it is such men as he who are helping to maintain the balance between the producers in the country and the consumers in the city.

Robert J. Davis was born on August 3, 1870, in Adams township, on the old Davis homestead, the son of James G. and Sarah E. Davis, both of whom are deceased. The former was born April 26, 1829, and died May 5, 1904. The latter, who, before her marriage, was Sarah E. Braden, was born January 10, 1837, in Decatur county, Indiana, and died June 12, 1911. James G. Davis came to this country from Mayo, Ireland, in 1840, at the age of eleven years, a poor Irish lad, without friends and without resources. Settling in Adams township, Decatur county, he lived there for many years and prospered. A natural trader and financier, he became very wealthy and at the time of his death owned nearly three thousand acres of land. He was a man known far and wide for his sterling integrity and rugged honesty. Of his great holdings in real estate, twelve hundred acres were situated in Daviess county and the remainder in Decatur and Shelby counties. On many occasions, he was called upon by the courts of many counties to administer estates, a most trustworthy and responsible position and one which bears evidence of his reputation, not only of honor and integrity, but of ability as well.

James G. and Sarah E. Davis were the parents of eight children, as follow: Cecelia Jane, deceased; George M. C., deceased; John H., deceased; Mrs. Charles Templeton; Robert J., the subject of this sketch; James G. and Edward W., twins, the former lives on the home farm and the latter near Milford; and Mrs. Luna Smith, of Clay township.

After living on the home place with his parents until he had reached his majority, Robert J. Davis was married and moved to the farm in Clay township. The next year he erected a new house on this land and here he has lived ever since.

On August 13, 1891, Robert J. Davis was married to Jennie Copeland, daughter of Jerome and Nancy O. Copeland. The former was born in Shelby county in 1834 and died on August 17, 1913, and the latter was born on September 15, 1832, in Tennessee, and died on March 25, 1906. Jerome Copeland was the son of Milton L. Copeland, an early settler in Shelby county, Indiana. Mrs. Robert J. Davis, who was the only child born to her parents, was born August 30, 1873, in Shelby county. He married, secondly, Myrtle Harmon, and they had four children.

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Davis are the parents of five children, all of whom are now living, namely: Fern, born July 13, 1893; Ligonel Wellington, March 4, 1896; Fay, March 9, 1898; Roland J., March 16, 1904; and Violet, January 18, 1909. Ligonel W. was graduated from the Greensburg high school in 1913. Fay was graduated from the common school in 1913.

Mr. Davis received four hundred and eighty-seven acres of land, his present farm in Clay township, from his father and has kept the farm in a very high state of cultivation. He has one of the best tracts of land to be found anywhere in the township and it is especially so because of the skillful methods used by its owner. Mr. Davis is a well-known citizen of Decatur county and is recognized today as one of its leading farmers and business men. Mrs. Davis is a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Davis is a stanch Democrat but has never aspired for office.

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



JOHN H. WOODRUFF
The gentleman whose name heads this sketch has been content to let "well enough" alone, and make the best of the goods the gods provided, with the result of which he should be more than satisfied. He has also done his share towards developing good citizenship in the township in which he resides. He is second to none in his standing in the estimation of his neighbors, and his business transactions have always borne the stamp of honest dealing.

John H. Woodruff, of "Maple Hill Farm," Jackson township, was born, August 10, 1862, on the old Woodruff farm, now owned by Doctor Oldham. He is a son of Enos and Susan (Bowen) Woodruff. After his marriage, Mr. Woodruff lived on the home place until 1902, and after renting for one year he bought the ninety-acre tract on which he now lives. In politics he is a Democrat, and his fraternal membership is with the Knights of Pythias at Letts, Indiana.

Enos Woodruff, father of our subject, was born in September, 1822, in Butler county, and died, August 12, 1899, in Bartholomew county. He was a son of Samuel Woodruff, an early settler of Butler and Franklin counties. His wife was Susan (Bowen) Woodruff, who was born in 1824, and who was a native of Franklin county. She died in August, 1908. They were married in the thirties, in Franklin county, and came direct to Jackson township, where Mr. Woodruff became a prosperous farmer. To Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff were born the following children: William, Nathan, Eliza, Ezra and John. William Woodruff lives in Hartsville, Indiana; Nathan lives in Jackson township; Eliza became the wife of a Mr. Williams, and lives in Clay township; Ezra lives in California.

John H. Woodruff was united in marriage on January 1, 1888, with Emma Wilson, who was born, December 15, 1863, in Bartholomew county, four miles northeast of Hope. She is a daughter of John and Rachel Wilson, natives of Franklin and Decatur counties, respectively. They moved from Bartholomew county to Jackson township, Decatur county, in 1867, where Mr. Woodruff met his future wife.

John and Rachel Wilson, the parents of Mrs. Woodruff, settled on a farm and lived there until Mrs. Wilson died, on June 18, 1899. Mr. Wilson later moved to Hartsville, where he died May 30, 1910. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom the following grew to maturity, namely: Mary, Barton, Emma, Lida, Nannie, Hattie, Henry and Roy. Mary lives in Burney; Barton is now living at Elizabethtown; Jane is deceased; Lida is living at Hartsville; Nannie married a Mr. Carroll, and lives at Hartsville; Hattie lives at Hartsville; Henry lives in Clay township, and Roy is living at Elizabethtown. Mr. Woodruff is well respected by all who know him, and has always been an industrious, quiet, law-abiding citizen and active in his attention to his business interests.

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



GEORGE M. MYERS
For thirty-five years George M. Myers, a successful farmer of Sand Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, has lived on the same farm in this township. Here he has followed farming from year to year, and here he has grown prosperous with each succeeding harvest. He and his good wife have lived to rear a family of two children, who now have homes and families of their own. Here in Sand Creek township the people have had opportunity to know George M. Myers and their verdict should be accepted as to his worth as a citizen. He is a man who is popular in the neighborhood where he lives and a man who is admired for his strength of manhood and moral courage.

George M. Myers, who owns a farm of seventy acres in Sand Creek township, where he has lived since February 24, 1880, was born on August 11, 1849, near Horace, the son of William H. and Elizabeth (Annis) Myers, the former of whom was born all August 6, 1824, and died on August 8, 1904, and the latter was born on June 29, 1827, and died on May 1, 1900. William H. Myers was a native of Kentucky, the son of George Myers, who settled in Decatur county in the early thirties one mile east of Horace in Sand Creek township. He was a well-known citizen during his day and generation. He was one of four children born to his parents, but he was the only son. The father died at his son's house in 1875. After settling on land one mile east of Horace, William H. Myers subsequently removed to a farm in Sand Creek township. He was known in this community as a hard working, industrious and honest farmer.

William H. and Elizabeth Myers were the parents of ten children, as follow: James A., who was born on July 22, 1847, is a well-known farmer of Washington township; George M., the second born, is the subject of this sketch; John Thomas, October 21, 1851, a farmer of Clay township; William K., July 24, 1854, died in infancy; Alice, July 21, 1857, married a Mr. Sanderson, died, September 11, 1897, near Forest Hill; Eliza L., February 21, 1859, lives in Webb City, Missouri; Harvey M., October 18, 1861; Merritt E., November 25, 1864, lives in Indianapolis; Mrs. Nancy Berry, September 26, 1871, lives in Indianapolis.

George M. Myers was married on March 19, 1873, to Mary A. Taylor, who was born on June 20, 1852, in Sand Creek township, the daughter of George and Hannah (Hill) Taylor, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Myers are the parents of two children, as follow: Wilbur Taylor, of Indianapolis, married Lillie Van Treese, and they have one child, Walter; Grace Pearl married William H. Mobley, a mule dealer of Clay township, and they have two children, Mary and Franklin Wayne.

Before Mr. and Mrs. Myers removed to their present farm they lived in Clay township for a few years, and after renting land in Sand Creek township for a few years the farm was purchased in 1880. They first purchased fifty-three and one-third acres, most of which was covered by timber. This land has been cleared and in the meantime they have added two tracts until the farm now consists of seventy acres. Originally they lived in an old log cabin made of round logs daubed with mud, having a brick chimney. Several years later Mr. Myers erected a frame dwelling and now has a comfortable country home, well kept and adequate outbuildings, and good fencing. He and his good wife have endured many hardships, but they have as a result of their early toil and labor a substantial competence for their declining years. Mr. Myers is a Democrat. The Myers family are all members of the Mount Aerie Baptist church and active in the affairs of this congregation.

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



JOHN FRANK ROBERTSON
Farming is becoming in these later days a vocation for highly specialized and trained minds. Perhaps there will never come a time when farmers will be able to avoid manual labor altogether. Nevertheless, the work of the farmer has been greatly lightened by the invention of many modern devices and the improvements of many of the instruments of agriculture which it is necessary for the farmer to use. Among other things, farming requires careful planning, the inauguration of a system which is the equal of systems in business. The farmer of the present generation who has failed to catch the progressive spirit of the twentieth century is one who will be left behind sooner or later. With the devices which are now available to the man in the country, the devices which are used for the conveniences not only for the farmer, but also his wife in the home, he is able to live in comparative luxury, while his forefathers were compelled to struggle against much greater odds.

John Frank Robertson, a farmer of Adams township, Decatur county, Indiana, is prosperous mainly because he has caught the spirit of the twentieth century, and has made of farming a real business. John Frank Robertson, who is the owner of one hundred and twenty-four and five-tenths acres of land in Adams township, where he has lived for nearly thirty-five years, was born on June 17, 1856, in the township where he resides, three-fourths of a mile from his present home. He is the son of Oliver P. and Mary Ann (Davis) Robertson. Oliver P. Robertson was born on August 1, 1825, and died in 1905, while his wife was born on June 15, 1833, and died on May 25, 1907. Oliver P. Robertson, an early settler of Adams township, though born in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn county, Indiana, was a son of John and Ruth (Kidlen) Robertson, natives of Maryland and early settlers in Dearborn county, Indiana. After coming to Adams township in 1829, the family became prosperous, and for nearly a century was recognized as one of the leading factors in the agricultural life of the community. Mary Ann (Davis) Robertson was a daughter of John W. and Sarah (Forsythe) Davis, natives of New Jersey, who came to Decatur county about 1830, and settled in Adams township. Oliver P. and Mary Ann (Davis) Robertson were the parents of seven children, all of whom are living, namely: Josiah W., a well-known farmer and stockman of Adams township; John Frank, the subject of this sketch; William, also a resident of Adams township; Charles, living at Acton, Marion county, Indiana; Edwin, a farmer of Adams township; Lydia, the wife of Elmer Shelhorn, and Ruth, living with her two brothers, Josiah and Edwin, for whom she is housekeeper.

Oliver P. Robertson was first married to Nancy Edrington, who was born in 1831, and who died in June, 1852. She was a daughter of Hiram and Rhoda Edrington, natives of Kentucky and pioneer settlers in Adams township, in this county. After corning here they cleared land, built a log house and later erected a large brick house, now owned by E. Shelhorn. Oliver P. and Nancy (Edrington) Robertson had two children, Louisa L., who is deceased, and Lafayette, a farmer of Adams township.

John F. Robertson was educated in the public schools of Adams township and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age. Soon after his marriage, he came to his present farm in Adams township and here he has resided ever since.

John Frank Robertson was married on February 22, 1882, to Jennie M. Patterson, who was born on June 3, 1858, in Clinton township, the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Bird) Patterson. The former was a native of county Antrim, Ireland, born on July 12, 1839, the son of Roger and Mary Jane (Hall) Patterson. Roger Patterson, after coming to America, in 1845, located in Clinton township, bringing his family of two sons to this country. He died at the age of thirty-seven years in 1855. The mother was later married to Michael Ryan and had three children by the second marriage. She lived to an advanced age.

In September, 1857, Joseph Patterson was married to Mary Bird, the daughter of William and Maria Bird, natives of Kentucky and Virginia, respectively, who came to Decatur county, Indiana, in the late twenties. William and Maria Bird had eight children, of whom Mrs. Patterson was the seventh. She was born on July 31, 1839, and died on May 1, 1908. Four years after her death, Joseph Patterson married Minerva Bird, a sister of his first wife. The marriage took place on December 9, 1912. Of the children born to Joseph and Mary Patterson, Mrs. Robertson was the eldest. The others were, Harriet, Elizabeth, Nora, John William, James, Charles and Ina.

To Mr. and Mrs. John F. Robertson has been born one child, Millie E. She was born on February 9, 1884, and was married on February 25, 1907, to Charles W. Lines, who was born on March 1, 1880, the son of William and Lina (Snedeker) Lines, of Rush county. They have one child, Edith Robertson, seven years old, who was born on November 23, 1907.

Mr. Robertson is a Progressive. He and his wife attend the Baptist church at Adams. John F. Robertson is a man who is well known for his industry, his rugged sincerity and his noble and kind impulses. He is preeminently worthy to be regarded as one of the representative citizens of Decatur county.

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



EDWARD A. PORTER, M. D.
Representative of one of the oldest and best-known of the pioneer families of Decatur county, no citizen of this county is imbued with a loftier spirit of public service than that which animates the life of Dr. Edward A. Porter, a well-known and popular physician of Burney, this county. Interested in all measures which have as their object the elevation of the communal interests hereabout, Doctor Porter brings to the exercise of his duties of citizenship the highest ideals and loftiest impulses; being regarded as one of the most influential of the younger professional men in the county. Admirably trained in the best practices of the healing art, he brings to his practice a mind schooled in the highest ideals and traditions of medicine and a heart warmly devoted to the cause of the amelioration of human ills. Capable and conscientious, it is but natural that Doctor Porter should have a wide and constantly growing practice in the neighborhood in which he has labored so earnestly and unselfishly, and it is not improper to say that no physician in the county enjoys a fuller measure of popular esteem than he. To his public service he brings the same high impulses that actuate his professional services and is regarded as a most useful and helpful citizen, one to whom his fellow citizens are bound by many ties of social obligation. Though having been in practice less than a decade, Doctor Porter has established himself in a manner that speaks well for his professional skill, and his professional brethren in this and neighboring counties extend to him frequent evidences of their confidence and high esteem.

Edward A. Porter was born on a farm in Washington township, three and one-half miles southwest of Greensburg, Decatur county, Indiana, June 16, 1881, son of Matthew E. and Clarissa (McKinney) Porter, both members of pioneer families in this county. Matthew E. Porter was born in 1836 in a log cabin that is still standing on the Porter farm in Washington township, and was the son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Elder) Porter, the former of whom was born in Dearborn county, this state, son of a Virginian, who was one of the earliest settlers of Indiana Territory, and the latter of whom was the daughter of Rev. Matthew Elder, a pioneer preacher of the Baptist church, who built the first church in Union county, and was a power for good throughout this entire section of the country. In a biographical sketch relating to James Porter, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out in full a genealogy of the Porter family from pioneer times and the reader is respectfully referred to that genealogy for further details regarding Doctor Porter's interesting family connection.

Edward A. Porter was reared on the home farm and was given excellent educational advantages. Following his completion of the course in the local schools, from which he was graduated in 1900, he entered the medical department of the University of Kentucky, where he studied for two years. He then entered Indiana University and in 1908 was graduated from the school of medicine of that institution. Upon receiving his diploma he entered upon the practice of his chosen profession at Burney and from the very start was successful, completely refuting the oft-repeated statement that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." Previous to beginning his practice, Doctor Porter had endeared himself to the community by a period of intimate public service in which he gave the best there was in him to the common weal, even as he has done since entering upon his practice. For six years before finishing his medical course, he had taught school in and about Burney, pursuing his medical studies during the summer months and teaching during the winter months. He loved teaching and devoted the whole of his ardent nature to the interests of the children entrusted to his care, with the inevitable result that he made a decided success as a teacher, endearing himself to the whole community by his unselfish and faithful service. Upon entering upon the practice of medicine he continued the same ungrudging and unselfish service to the people and, naturally enough, has built up an extensive practice, having achieved a notable success, both from a professiona1 and financial standpoint. Doctor Porter very modestly takes some measure of pride in the success which has attended his practice in the treatment of the diseases of children and in the practice of obstetrics, in both of which he has enjoyed an unusual degree of success.

On August 23, 1910, Edward A. Porter was united in marriage to Hester M. Alley, a member of an old and prominent family in this county, daughter of J. L. and Lucy (Ewing) Alley, the latter of whom was the daughter of Joshua Ewing, one of the famous triplets in the family of Patrick Ewing. On other pages of this biographical history there are presented genealogies of the Alley family and the Ewing family, to which the reader is respectfully referred for additional details concerning Mrs. Porter's interesting family connections. To Dr. Edward A. and Hester M. (Alley) Porter have been born two children, Martha Lucile, born on October 14, 1911, and Jonathan Edward, June 10, 1913.

Doctor and Mrs. Porter are members of the Baptist church at Burney and are consistent in all good works of the community to which their lives are so earnestly devoted, being regarded as among the leaders in the better thought of the neighborhood. Doctor Porter is a Democrat and his ardent public spirit is a continual stimulus to his unselfish efforts on behalf of good local government, his intelligent interest in political affairs giving him a prominent place in the councils of the party managers in this county. In January, 1914, Doctor Porter was appointed coroner of Decatur county, and has given to the administration of the affairs of that important office his very best thought, even as he gives his very best thought to all his duties as a physician and as a citizen. As a family physician, Doctor Porter necessarily has been brought into the most intimate relations with the people of the community and in all his relations in life has so comported himself as to merit the confidence and esteem of the whole countryside.

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



HENRY TOWNSEND
Generally speaking, the man who remains in one place, using the opportunities which are within his grasp and is satisfied with a reasonable measure of progress or profit at the end of each year, makes on the whole the greatest success of a vocation whatever it may be. This is particularly true of farming and it is no matter for wonderment that Henry Townsend, a well-known and well-to-do farmer of Adams township, Decatur county, Indiana, has achieved a satisfactory measure of success on the farm. Now fifty-five years old he lives in the neighborhood where he was born, and it is here that all his struggles and his toil have been staged. By saving something from the profits of each year's work he has been able to buy more land from time to time until he now owns three farms-ninety-four acres in the home place, eighty acres across the road and a hundred and twenty acres southwest of his home two hundred and ninety-four acres in all. Here he has found a realization of his boyhood ambition, and here he has been able to surround himself with all of the comforts which life in the countryside may afford.

Born on December 27, 1860, Henry Townsend is the son of James C. and Susan (Warren) Townsend, the former of whom was born on December 22, 1826, in Decatur county, Indiana, the son of James and Sarah Townsend. James Townsend was a native of New Jersey and came to Decatur county in 1830 and purchased a tract of a hundred and sixty acres of timber land. Susan Warren was a daughter of James Warren, who entered land on the south side of the road opposite the tract entered by the Townsends. James C. and Susan Townsend became the owners of a tract of land comprising two hundred and eighty acres in all. Mrs. Townsend was born in 1818, and died in October, 1889. Of their four children, Henry, the subject of this sketch, was the youngest. The other children were Mrs. Sarah Bailey, of St. Paul; John, a farmer near St. Paul, and James S., a farmer.

After attending the schools in the neighborhood where he was born, and especially the Murphy school, Henry Townsend lived with his parents after his marriage, and when his mother died he remained on the home farm. When he purchased his first tract of forty acres he bought it with the intention of moving to the farm, but changed his plans and continued to reside on the home place. His land has been acquired by the purchase of forty acres at a time, and he has thus not only grown in wealth and affluence, but he has grown in influence as well, since his success is pointed out as a splendid example of what may be accomplished by diligence and unceasing effort. Not so very long ago Mr. Townsend erected a splendid modern home of ten rooms on his home farm, costing approximately four thousand dollars. With well-kept and attractive outbuildings the farm is equipped for the most successful operations. He no longer, however, is engaged in active farming, but during recent years has been accustomed to rent out his land to others.

On December 13, 1887, when he was twenty-seven years old, Henry Townsend was married to Maggie Garrigan, the daughter of Patrick Garrigan, a native of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Townsend had only one child, Maudie Cecil, who died at the age of eleven years.

For at least three generations Democracy has been the prevailing politics of the Townsends, Henry Townsend's father and grandfather both having been identified with the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Townsend are members of the United Brethren church, and belong to the Union Chapel church in Adams township. He is a worthy citizen of the township and county where he resides and where he has always lived. Men who know Henry Townsend admire and respect him for his rugged honesty and his interest in the comforts and happiness of his fellows. He makes no pretention of great achievement, but nevertheless all are ready to say that his life has been well spent in sowing seeds of good. He takes a commendable interest in all worthy public enterprises, believes in good roads, public improvements, and especially in good farming.

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



FRANK S. ALEXANDER
Frank S. Alexander, who owns a farm of two hundred and seventy-six acres two miles south of Burney on the Columbus pike, is one of the representative farmers and stock breeders of Decatur county and one of the alert and progressive business men of this community. He has never permitted himself to fall into the rut which has ruined so many otherwise capable men but has studied and experimented in every department of agriculture and has thus been able to obtain the maximum results from his efforts. Not only this, but he has so ordered his career as, at all times, to command the confidence and respect of the people of this county. The time has been when he was a great borrower of money and the substantial credit which he enjoyed at a time when credit was necessary to large-scale operations, is the basis of his present affluence and prosperity. interested in public improvements, he has played no small part in the progress and prosperity of the county as a whole.

Frank S. Alexander was born in 1871, in Bartholomew county, near Hartsville, the son of A. J. and Charlotta (Steward) Alexander, the former of whom was a native of Butler county, Ohio, born in 1839, and who moved to Bartholomew county when he was eighteen years old. He owned eighty acres of land near Hartsville but traded this for one hundred and sixty acres where his son, Frank, now resides, to which he moved and where he spent the remainder of his active business life. Charlotta Steward, who was born in Ireland, came with her parents to America when six years old. They settled in Bartholomew county, Indiana, where she was married to A. J. Alexander. By industry, economy and shrewd management, they became prosperous farmers of the county.

Born and reared on a farm, Frank S. Alexander established the foundation for his business success by working for his father on the farm he now owns for one dollar a day. After working this way for two years, he purchased sixty-acres of land on the banks of Clifty creek and there lived for four years. Upon selling this farm he moved to Tipton county, where he purchased one hundred and five acres of land. The purchase and sale of this land was really the substantial foundation of his greater fortune. After selling seven hundred dollars worth of timber from the farm, he sold it in two years at an advance of fifteen dollars an acre. He came back to Decatur county and purchased the old home farm, where he now lives. On the day that President William McKinley was killed he paid his father one thousand dollars to close the deal for the purchase of the home farm. Since 1901 his rise in the business world has been rapid. Mr. Alexander owns two hundred and seventy-six acres of land and has a modern home worth at least five thousand dollars. He is a heavy stockholder and a director in the Burney State Bank. He handles two carloads of cattle and six carloads of hogs every year as well as four loads of mules. He has a large silo and two barns, one sixty by eighty feet, and one forty by fifty feet. In I914 he raised eight thousand bushels of Yellow Dent corn on one hundred and thirty-two acres. Mr. Alexander has always farmed on a large scale and to some extent has been a land dealer. In 1909 he purchased eighty acres of land near the home farm and after cultivating it for two years, sold it at a profit of two thousand dollars. In fact, Mr. Alexander has been alert to every possible opportunity for making money, being quick to recognize a bargain. He is a man of courage in business and, while not now a borrower, formerly operated his land on a considerable amount of borrowed capital.

Frank S. Alexander married Elizabeth E. Pumphrey, the daughter of William and Loduska (Jewell) Pumphrey, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky and the son of Andrew Pumphrey, whose family was of English origin, and who came to Kentucky in pioneer times. Andrew Pumphrey immigrated to Decatur county in pioneer times and settled in Clay township, west of where Burney is now situated. He was a successful farmer, a Democrat in politics and well respected as a citizen. He had seven children, of whom William, the father of Mrs. Alexander, was the fourth. William grew to manhood on his father's farm and began life for himself after his marriage to Loduska Jewell. They settled on a farm which William Pumphrey owned and to which he added until, at the time of his death, he owned thirteen hundred acres of land, all in Clay township.

He was a very successful farmer and business man, a Democrat and a member of the Methodist church. A man of decided convictions and moral courage, he was more than the ordinary type of citizen. Generous in his impulses, he had a host of friends in this county and township. He died at the age of eighty years. William and Loduska Pumphrey reared a family of ten children, eight of whom are now living, namely: James A., Francis M. and Edward P., all of whom are residents of Decatur county; William P., who is a resident of Shelby county; Doad P. and an unnamed child are deceased; Elizabeth E., who is the wife of Mr. Alexander; Fannie, who is the wife of a Mr. Miner, of Decatur county; May, who is the wife of Clyde Elliott; and Josephine, who married Earl Littell, of Indianapolis.

Mr. and Mrs. Frank S. Alexander have six living children, as follow: Ralph, born on June 25, 1894; Ethel, April 14, 1900; Paul, November 6, 1904; Ruth, June 28, 1909; Dennis, July 12, 1912, and Mazie E., June 6, 1915.

For many years Frank S. Alexander has been prominent in the councils of the Republican party of Decatur county and, in a measure, his services were rewarded by his party when in 1908 he was elected a member of the Decatur county board of commissioners, an office in which he served until 1912. Politics is the one diversion from his personal business which he permits himself to enjoy. One might search the length and breadth of Decatur county and not find a man, who, in the same length of time, has enjoyed a more rapid rise in farming and in business than Frank S. Alexander. He has been successful in life because he has applied himself assiduously to his business and because he is so constituted that he has not feared to take reasonable chances. In an official way he is well known to the people of this county because of his efficient record as a public officer. In a private way he is known as an estimable citizen and a prosperous farmer.

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



JAMES M. BOSTIC
The Union soldier during the great war between the states builded wiser than he knew. Through four years of suffering and hardships, through the horrors of prison pens and amid the shadows of death he laid the foundation of the greatest temple ever erected and dedicated to human freedom. The world looked on and called those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach up a mighty arm of power and strike the chains from off the slaves, preserve the country from dissolution and to keep unfurled to the breeze the only flag that has ever made tyrants tremble. One of the noble men, now deceased, who contributed his time and effort to this honorable struggle, was James M. Bostic.

James M. Bostic was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1846, the son of Titus and Sarah (Jones) Bostic, both natives of Dearborn county, who removed to Decatur county in pioneer times, and here lived the balance of their lives. After being reared to manhood on his father's home farm, James M. Bostic enlisted in 1862, in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, a regiment which saw very hard service during the Civil War. It was attached to Grant's army of Middle Tennessee, add participated in the battle of Vicksburg, the battle of Fort Donelson and many others. James M. Bostic came through the strenuous struggle without ever receiving a wound, and without having been sick. He was a brave and efficient soldier and was actuated by the highest motives of true patriotism. He possessed a hatred of slavery and its injustice, and was willing, if necessary, to give his life to suppress the institution.

At the close of the war, James M. Bostic came home to Decatur county, and in 1867 was married to Melissa Hancock, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Lemonds) Hancock, the latter of whom was a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Lemonds, natives of Lawrence county, Indiana, and of English extraction. They moved to Lawrence county, Indiana, direct from North Carolina, where the first Lemonds family settled on their arrival from England in America. John Hancock was born in North Carolina and moved to Lawrence county about 1840, bringing with him his wife and two small children. After remaining in Lawrence county for some eight years, the family came to Decatur county, and settled near St. Paul, in Adams township. Later they moved to Clay township, and settled near Milford. Here John Hancock lived the remainder of his life. He was a well-known, honest and respected citizen. Of his six children, Mrs. James M. Bostic was the fourth in order of birth. She was born in Lawrence county in 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Bostic began life together in Milford, where Mr. Bostic followed the occupation of a farmer until some twenty-five years ago, when he retired.

Mr. and Mrs. James M. Bostic were the parents of eight children, as follow: George, a resident of Shelby county, Indiana; Fannie and Carrie, residing at home with their mother: Stella, the wife of Charles Mote, of Jackson township, this county; Emmett, living at home; Nannie, the wife of James Thornburg, a resident of Daviess county, Indiana; Isophene, the wife of Roy Herndon, lives at St. Paul, where her husband operates a saw-mill and threshing machine; and Ora Dale, who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

James M. Bostic was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, having been affiliated with Pap Thomas Post at Greensburg. For six years he served as township assessor, and was well known and well liked by the citizens of Decatur county. A Republican in politics, he was stanch and true to the principles of the party of Lincoln, and it is not too much to say that he belonged to that class of citizens of whom Decatur county may well be proud. Mrs. Bostic is a member of the Presbyterian church. Although now sixty-seven years of age, she enjoys good health. She is a woman of noble Christian instincts, and has a large circle of friends in this township.

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



On the Columbus and Greensburg road four and one-half miles southwest of the pleasant village of Burney, in this county, there is situated a comfortable farm house within whose walls good cheer and cordial hospitality ever reign. Here live a delightful old couple who have made their home on that spot since their marriage in 1867 and who are known far and wide throughout that community, being held in the highest regard by all.

Andrew Williams was born on that spot, his present home being a part of the original tract entered by his father from the government back in pioneer days. His wife, who was a Woodruff, also was born in this county, member of a prominent pioneer family, and the two have witnessed the development of the wilderness to its present high state of cultivation. Beginning their home life on this spot in a little log cabin, they prospered and presently their present comfortable and commodious home was erected, where they are living in peaceful content, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all who know them. Mr. Williams has displayed enterprise and energy in the operations of his farm and is recognized as one of the most substantial citizens thereabout. He has always been a hard worker and is now enjoying the fitting reward of his life of well-directed toil. Mrs. Williams is one of the gentlest of women, whose benignant ways have endeared her to the entire neighborhood. A woman of exceptional native ability, she has been a helpmeet indeed to her husband and shares with him the ample rewards of their life of earnest endeavor. Mrs. Williams is of the broad-minded type, charitable to all and a good Christian woman. She has the utmost reverence for the memories of the earlier clays in that part of the county and delights to talk of those days, her fund of reminiscences making her a very entertaining conversationalist.

Andrew Williams was born on the farm on which he now lives, in Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, November 16, 1844, a son of Richard and Dorcas (Dunn) Williams, the former of whom was a native of Virginia, born on July 4, 1804, son of Felix Williams, of English extraction, and the latter of whom was a native of this county, a member of one of the earliest settlers in that part of the county.

Richard Williams came from Virginia to this county about the year 1825 and entered a section of land in Clay township. He then returned to Virginia, but presently returned to Decatur county and proved up his claim. He married Dorcas Dunn, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Swinney) Dunn, prominent pioneers of this region, and to this union were born nine children, namely: Mrs. Nancy McClintick, of Clay township; Mrs. Martha Evans, deceased; James, deceased; Felix, living in Hartsville; Andrew, the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Mitchell, deceased; Mrs. Louisa Pumphrey, deceased; John, deceased, and Mrs. Minerva Smith, deceased; one died young. Richard Williams became one of the heavy landowners of Decatur county, adding to his original tract until he owned fifteen hundred acres of land. He was a man of strong character and one of the shrewdest farmers in the western part of the county. He was reared a Whig, but upon the dissolution of that party entered the ranks of the Democrats, and remained faithful to the principles of Jefferson and Jackson the rest of his life, his death occurring on November 16, 1882.

Andrew Williams was reared on the home farm in Clay township, receiving such educational advantages as the somewhat limited facilities for schooling offered in those days, and grew up properly trained for a life of farming. On October 30, 1567, he was united in marriage to Eliza Woodruff, daughter of Enos and Susan (Bourne) Woodruff, early residents of Jackson township, this county, the former of whom was a native of Delaware and the latter of whom was a native of Massachusetts, of English and Dutch ancestry, respectively.

Enos Woodruff and his wife came to this county from Ohio at an early day in the settlement of this region, settling in Jackson township, where they prospered, having been numbered among the most substantial and influential residents of that part of the county. Enos Woodruff was born on September 22, 1822, and died in August, 1899; his wife having been born on January 8, 1824, and died on August 4, 1908. They were members of the United Brethren church and were prominent in the good works of their neighborhood. Mr. Woodruff was a Democrat and took an intelligent interest in the political affairs of the county.

To Andrew and Eliza (Woodruff) Williams have been born four children, as follow: Mrs. Lena Galbraith, born on December 30, 1868, lives southwest of the village of Burney, in this county; John Wesley, May 16, 1871, lives in Bartholomew county, this state; Elza Edgar, August 3, 1874, lives in Clay township, and Susan Elsie, 1890, married Clyde Thorpe, lives at Milford.

Upon their marriage, in 1867. Andrew Williams and wife settled on a part of the Williams home acres, for some time living in a log cabin thereon, but as their affairs prospered and the demand of the growing family required more room, they built a comfortable residence and are very pleasantly situated.

Mr. Williams is a Democrat, following the earnest convictions of his father in his political faith, and takes an earnest interest in political affairs, being much interested in good government. He has a farm of two hundred and sixty-five acres, which is under excellent cultivation, and he has been h quite successful in his farming operations. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for the past thirty years.

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



Deb Murray