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E. P. WILLARD. The credit for a large share of the enterprise which helps to make Elkhart one of the most thriving and bustling cities of northern Indiana, belongs, in a considerable degree, to the worthy gentleman whose name is at the bead of this sketch. He is a son of John H. and Eliza Willard, of New Hampshire, and was born at Alexandria, N. Y., July 22, 1842. When he was but three years old his parents moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended school until the age of thirteen years. They then removed to St. Joseph county, Mich., where he remained on the farm until the beginning of the Civil war between the North and South. He was one of the first to enlist in defense of the" stars and stripes" in the three years' service, going into Company C, Eleventh Michigan Infantry, and participated in the battle of Stone River, Laverne, and was on the raid through Kentucky after Gen. Morgan. After leaving the army he became engaged as news agent on the railroads and succeeded so well that he was appointed superintendent of the first office opened in Elkhart by the "Union News Co." of New York, which position he took December 1, 1869, and held until December 1, 1891. He was married to Miss Lillian Alvord, of Jonesville, Mich., September 24, 1872, and lays most of his success in life to her kind and devoted attention to all his business affairs, she having kept all books for him, and entered most graciously and enthusiastically into whatever interested him, and we venture to say that in all this broad land there can not be found a happier home or a more devoted couple. There is probably no new enterprise located in Elkhart, or anything of a public nature gotten up in which Mr. Willard is not interested. He is a public-spirited man in the broadest sense of the word, and above all, his labors are not performed with the expectation of always getting a "plum" for his trouble. Among the various enterprises which he has helped along can be mentioned the Elkhart National Bank, of which he is vice-president, and has been a director since its organization. He helped to organize and procure a charter for the Elkhart Street Railway Company, and has been one of the directors from the beginning, and is its present treasurer. He is one of the owners of the "Elkhart Opera House," and has each year served as a director, and has been the secretary for the past four years. The next enterprise to which he turned his attention was to help organize the Elkhart Electric Light Company, both for arc and incandescent lighting, and Mr. Willard's home was the first private residence in Elkhart lighted by electricity, he having the incandescent lights put throughout his house. This company has a capital stock all paid up of $100,000, and Mr. Willard is its present treasurer, and in fact, there is hardly a public enterprise in which his name is not found. He is a man of money, and assists vigorously any commendable enterprise that points to the glory of Elkhart. He possesses a most genial disposition, and is called by his friends "the sunshine of life," always ready with a joke or a story; he has but recently gone into the real estate and insurance business, and can sell you a nice corner lot in Chicago "if you must have it," but banks on Elkhart every time. Mr. Willard is a moderate dresser, a good liver, and has a handsome home beautifully furnished, and with an elegant wife to preside over all we leave him with the assurance to our readers that never has his honor been questioned, and that his integrity is above criticism, and unto him in very troth can be applied the remark: "Well done thou good and faithful servant." Mr. Willard is a member of the Electro-Galvanic Belt & Appliance Company of Elkhart, an organization backed by strong testimonials as to the high merits of its products. The electric belts of this company are fast superseding all others in existence. Their building, offices and factory are the largest extant. As an evidence of their enormous sales their records show that in one town of 9,000 inhabitants over belts were sold in one year. The large sales and constantly growing field of operations give evidence of immense possibilities for the future for this company. At this day no one can dispute the beneficial effects of electricity upon the human system, and the efficacy of the belts of this company in the treatment of many forms of disease has long ago been fully established.

�Pictorial and Biographical Memoirs of Elkhart and St. Joseph Counties, Indiana
Together with Biographies of Many Prominent Men of Northern Indiana and the Whole State, Both Living and Dead�
Goodspeed Brothers Publishers, Chicago
1893
John Morris Co. Printers and Binders

HENRY W. HIXON, a prosperous banker of Middlebury, Ind., is descended from the oldest pioneer of Middlebury township, which has the honor to still number among its inhabitants the original pioneer settler, Solomon L. Hixon, now a venerable and respected citizen of eighty-seven years. The latter was a son of John Hixon, of German descent, but of old colonial American ancestry, who was born, reared and married in New Jersey, his union being with Miss Mary Landis, a daughter of Henry Landis, of German descent, who was the father of twenty-four children by two wives. Soon after his marriage Mr. Hixon moved to Union county, Penn., and purchased 200 acres of land, and on this well conducted farm he passed the remainder of his days, and died when his son, Solomon L. Hixon, was twenty-one years of age. His wife reached the advanced age of one hundred and two years. David Hixon, the brother of John, was a Revolutionary soldier, becoming a member of the patriot army at the age of sixteen years, and served under the celebrated Gen. Washington throughout the entire war, having been present at the battle of Princeton, N. J., as well as taking part in a number of other severe engagements. Like many other patriots, he did not cease his allegiance to the colonial cause until Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the American colonies. Solomon L. Hixon was born on his father's farm in Union county, Penn., near the Susquehanna River, December 13, 1805, where he received the common school education which his day afforded, and acquired a knowledge of farm life. After the death of his father, on the 11th of September, 1829, he left the old homestead and proceeded to Portage, now Summit county, Ohio, making this journey by means of the old-fashioned stage coach, which was then the usual mode of conveyance, and on foot, by which latter means he covered no inconsiderable portion of the journey. He purchased 100 acres of land near what is now Akron, Ohio, and which afterward proved to be a very valuable property, a vein of coal seven feet thick having been discovered on it, so that years after it had passed from Mr. Hixon's hands, it sold for $500,000. In Ohio Mr. Hixon followed the trade of a carpenter. In 1827 he married Miss Nancy Ann Remile, daughter of Stephen W. and Nancy A. (Curtis) Remile, the former of whom was of English descent, a native of Vermont, and was one of the early pioneers of what is now Summit county, Ohio, settling near Akron. In 1833 he entered land where Toledo, Ohio, now stands and was also one of the first settlers of Middlebury township, Elkhart Co., Ind., and gave it its name from his native town in Vermont. He died in the fall of 1834. In 1833 Solomon L. Hixon, hearing glowing accounts of the St. Joseph county of Indiana, made a prospecting tour through the State, and in 1834 located land on Section 10, on which he remained one year. He then moved South and took up his residence in a log cabin, on 200 acres of land which he had purchased, and which was slightly improved. On this place he resided for many years, and by industry and hard labor accumulated property. He met with a severe accident in 1842, by the falling of a tree, which deprived him of his right leg. On April 1, 1866, he came to Middlebury, where he has since made his home. He was one of the first permanent settlers of the township. He was the father of five children by his first wife, two of whom are now living: Henry, who was born on March 22, 1833, and Livonia, deceased wife of Charles S. Martin, of Middlebury. Those deceased are: Elizabeth, Stephen and Charles R. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hixon were members of the Baptist Church, and the latter shared with her husband the trials incident to pioneer life, and paid the last debt of nature in 1864, aged forty-nine years. Mr. Hixon is a man of remarkable constitution and despite serious accidents which have made him lame for many years, he has not seen a sick day since 1864. He is an excellent example of the old-time pioneer settler; honest, upright and straightforward, and willing to make his way in the world by his own unaided efforts, he did not hesitate to bravely enter the wilderness and assist in subduing nature and to make possible the pleasant homes of today. To such men as he the people of the present are indebted for the improvements, well cultivated farms and thriving villages which they now enjoy. Mr. Hixon has lived over the entire epoch of the settlement of the great West, for when he was a boy the ax of the settler had scarcely been heard west of Pennsylvania, and today the most remote and almost inaccessible regions of his country have prosperous communities. Mr. Hixon, at the patriarchal age of eighty-seven, retains his mental facilities to a remarkable degree. On December 24, 1866, he took for his second wife Mrs. Susan R. Bailey, of Michigan, who is still living. Her parents were Isaac and Lucy (Dickennan) Pardee, both of whom were born in New Haven, Conn., and were pioneer settlers of Knox county, Ohio, but in 1849 removed to Berrien county, Mich., where the father soon after died. He was of French descent, although an American born, his father having been born in France. Henry W. Hixon, son of Solomon L. Hixon, is one of those who, when his country needed his services, did not hesitate to risk his life as a soldier for the preservation of the Union. He was born in Portage county, Ohio, and was brought by his parents to Indiana when an infant, of which section he has been a resident since April 4, 1834. He received a common-school education, and like many of the practical business men of today, he was reared a farmer, which occupation he followed until he was over thirty years of age. On August 16, 1862, in the stalwart prime of his manhood, he enlisted at Middlebury in the Twenty-first Indiana Battery, of which W. W. Andrews was captain, and was soon after detailed for service on the gun-boat, "Orient," plying on the Cumberland River, Lieut. Patton being commander of this vessel. This service was principally against the guerrillas who infested Tennessee and were a great injury to the Union army. Mr. Hixon was in many skirmishes with these desperate and lawless characters, and many of the scenes and incidents connected with this exciting warfare are impressed upon his mind with a vividness which is still unimpaired, and he possesses a fund of interesting reminiscences which he relates in the off-hand manner of the old soldier. On one occasion, while the "Orient" was passing under a rocky precipice, at least 150 feet high, the guerrillas poured a galling tire upon her decks from their muskets. A brave but foolhardy Confederate officer exposed himself upon a high rock and lustily cheered his men to encourage them to capture the boat. He was shot through the heart by one of the Union sharpshooter and sprang from the precipice at least ten feet into midair and fell heavily through the top of a cedar growing in a crevice of a rock into the water 150 feet below. His face and figure were imprinted on the mind of Mr. Hixon with the distinctness of a photograph, and can plainly be recalled to this day. In one of their skirmishes with the rebels, on March 25, 1863, Mr. Hixon was in charge of two guns, and after the first discharge, while in the act of reloading one of the pieces, it prematurely discharged and shot away Mr. Hixon's right arm. The gun was badly rusted and honey-combed in the breach, so that kernels of rice could have been dropped into it and sparks of fire had thus been retained. Gen. Crook, then commander of the entire left of Rosecrans' army, then at Carthage, Tenn., afterward examined the gun and told Mr. Hixon that the accident was entirely the result of the defective gun and that it should long before have been condemned, for such carelessness was the cause of maiming many a good officer. After receiving this wound, Mr. Hixon refused to go to the hospital, but secured a private room at Carthage, Tenn., of a lady who was a bitter Confederate and Southern sympathizer, but who kindly cared for him while recovering. He remained at that place until May 18, 1863, then went to the hospital at Gallatin, Tenn., and here was honorably discharged on account of his wounds, June 4,1863, and returned home, where he arrived June 7, 1863. His last act for the Government before leaving the service, was assisting in the arrest of a notorious and desperate Confederate spy, named Wood. Mr. Hixon had rendered a service to a Union spy, called "Minnesota Jack," who was suffering from extreme exhaustion, after a severe and long continued fight with the Confederate scouts and guerrillas across the Cumberland River, by allowing him to lie down on his bed, after which this man handed Mr. Hixon his revolver and told him he wanted him to assist him in the capture and arrest of a Confederate spy who was then seated in a neighboring saloon, and to precede him thither. Mr. Hixon at once acquiesced and they immediately proceeded thither. With cocked revolver, Mr. Hixon opened the door and leveling his weapon at the spy, ordered him to throw up his hands. The spy, taken by surprise, did so, when the Union spy, exclaiming: "Shoot him if he moves his hands!" promptly shackeled him, the Confederate meanwhile remarking: "Billy, you've got me this time." Four revolvers were found on his person and be was known to be one of the most resolute and fearless spies of the Confederacy. He met the usual fate of spies and four days later was shot. After his return home, Mr. Hixon resumed farming for one year and then began buying and selling grain and wool in Middlebury, and there, on July 15, 1865, he was married to Miss Nettie Curtiss, a daughter of Charles and Eunice (Creager) Curtiss, the father being a native of Vermont. To Mr. Hixon's union three children have been born: Elizabeth A., born February 11, 1867; Fred, born March 3, 1870, and Edna, born March 13, 1873. Elizabeth married Dr. L. H. Conley, of Knox county, Ohio, and has three children. Fred has been well educated in the graded school of Middlebury, is a good business young man and is associated with his father in the banking business, to which the latter turned his attention on October 21, 1890. Mr. Hixon is a member of the G. A. R., O. & M., Foster Post, No. 172, and now fills the office of commander. He belongs to the civic society of the K. of P. and politically is a stanch Republican. He commands the unbounded respect of the community at large and has held the office of justice of the peace continuously for twenty-two years. As a soldier he was prompt and reliable, and as a man of business, he is considered intelligent, shrewd and strictly honorable. His name for many years has been synonymous for integrity and good judgment, and has proven himself one of the most capable and practical of banking men, and his institution holds the confidence of the entire public. His deposits are heavy and his capital large.

W. B. VANDERLIP. Twenty-five years ago a piano was a luxury enjoyed only by a few wealthy families, and the church choirs and parlors that could boast of an organ were not many. Now thousands of houses and choirs resound with the rich tones of the best instruments, and the change marks a revolution in musical education. In reviewing the cause of this revolution we are compelled to recognize the valuable influence of the trade in pianos and their precursors, cabinet organs, and the valuable work of Mr. W. B. Vanderlip, dealer in musical instruments at Elkhart, in elevating and systematizing the sale of an instruments. The instruments he has sold have been instructors, musical missionaries, winning their way into the hearts of the people, and inciting to such better appreciation of the noble art that they became teachers of all classes, and much of the results before us is the high standard of musical culture established in the city and vicinity, and the enviable reputation of Elkhart in the musical circles of the country is due to the honorable and consistent efforts of Mr. Vanderlip. This gentleman has been a resident of the city for thirty-five years, and during that time his career as a business man and citizen has been above reproach. He built the first business house on the south end of Main street, which was then in the country, and afterward had five more business houses erected adjoining him. He engaged so actively in business that the people soon invested around him, and it was not long before a thriving town had started up. Mr. Vanderlip was born in Weatherfield Springs, Wyoming Co., N. Y., December 13, 1838, and his parents, George R. and Mary W. (Wiley) Vanderlip, were natives of Connecticut and Vermont, respectively. The ancestors were of German and Scotch descent. The mother was a first cousin of General Scofield and died in California in 1891, in her eighty-sixth year. The grandparents were well off financially. The maternal grandparents had one son, Perkins Wiley, who sat in the Vermont Legislature for thirteen years. George W. Vanderlip, father of subject, was a wool and cloth manufacturer. In 1847 he came West, making the journey through from Detroit in wagons, and settled in Mishawaka, St. Joseph Co., Ind., where he secured a position as foreman of Henry Johnson's woolen mills. He subsequently superintended John Harper's mills in South Bend, Ind., and was thus engaged for a number of years. Mr. Vanderlip contracted a cold and died with typhoid fever in the year 1852. To his marriage were born six children, five sons and one daughter, and his life was one of hardship and privation in providing for his family and keeping the wolf from the door. He received as compensation for his services $1.50 a day, and was obliged to take three-fourths of that in goods from the store of his employer. All his children are living, viz. O. W., in Elkhart; George N., in California; John T., of San Francisco, Cal.; W. B., Elkhart; Frank, in California, and Mary, also of the Golden State. The original of this notice was but nine years of age when he came with his parents to St. Joseph county, Ind., and as he still wore aprons, the boys made fun of him and he took them off. His scholastic training was received in the public schools, such as they afforded in that day, and when sixteen years of age he was set to work in the woolen mills of South Bend. He operated two custom cording machines and received as compensation $8 per month and board. The first dress he bought for his mother he paid 10 cents per yard for, and the same goods can now be purchased for 4 cents per yard. He can now get $30 per month for making the same goods and yet it was then good old free-trade times. After working in the mill for one year, Mr. Vanderlip was bound out to a man in Mishawaka to learn the carriage-making trade, receiving $40 for his first year's service. The following year he received $60, and the third year $80. After working nine months the firm broke up and he mounted a wagon and returned to his home. Following this he hired out to L. W. Pickering for $18 per month and board, doing all kinds of ornamental painting, and continued with him until cold weather, when he entered the school-room where he remained that winter. The following spring he bought out a $400 stock and went to work for himself. He was engaged very actively as a painter and decorator and followed this successfully for twenty-three years, and his last work in that line was to fresco the Goshen Court-house, which is still there as good as new. About 1880 Mr. Vanderlip engaged in his present business and has succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations in this occupation. He was the first man to engage in the business in Elkhart to exclusively handle musical instruments, and has Steinway, Hardidad, A. B. Chase, Sterling and Webster pianos, Story & Clark, Sterling, Chicago Cottage, Hilstrom organs, and also handles all small instruments. He was one of the projectors of the Bucklen opera house and was its first secretary, serving in that capacity for two years. He decorated the building and is still a stockholder. Mr. Vanderlip is also a stockholder in the Driving Park and is half owner of a cattle ranch in Arizona, at Flag Staff. He and his partner have about 1,500 head of cattle. Our subject is also the owner of several business blocks and is one of the wealthy, substantial men of the place, all the result of his own industry and good management. He owns a number of dwelling houses in the city and an elegant home at the corner of Second and Harrison streets. Mr. Vanderlip may very truly be termed a self-made man, for he came to Elkhart without a dollar, and all he has obtained in the way of this world's goods, has been the result of industry and economy. He was married in 1859 to Miss Belle Hammond, and the fruits of this union were four children, as follows: Lorena, Frank, Leona and W. B., Jr. Mr. Vanderlip has shown his appreciation of secret organizations by becoming a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has reached the degree of Knight Templar. He was the first chancellor commander. He and wife are members of the Episcopal Church and are worthy and much esteemed citizens of the town in which they reside. They take an active interest in all enterprises for the good of the county, and are well worthy the respect of all.

JOHN H. SMITH is an intelligent and enterprising gentleman who from boyhood has been interested in agricultural pursuits. He is a thorough master of his business, has spent many years of his life in developing the country and is in comfortable circumstances. He was born in Sussex county, Del., September 29, 1809, a son of Cannon and Charlotte (Handy) Smith, who were also born in Delaware. Cannon Smith was reared in his native State and during his younger days spent a portion of his time on the ocean. At the time of his marriage he engaged in farming and this occupation received his attention the balance of his life. His wife was a daughter of John and Elizabeth Handy, who were born and spent their lives in Delaware. In the spring of 1828 Cannon Smith and family emigrated west, stopping a short time in Delaware, Ohio, where a brother resided at that time, but in the fall went to Cass county, Mich., and the winter of 1828-9 was spent on the northern border of Beardsley's Prairie in a log cabin which Mr. Smith erected. In the following June land in that vicinity came into market and Mr. Smith entered 160 acres in the southwest part of Beardsley' s Prairie. The winter of 1829-30 was spent in the log cabin in which they had resided the previous winter, near which Mr. Smith had rented some land. In the fall of 1829 he began the erection of a house on his own land, which was completed the following spring and the family at once moved into it. It was a frame structure and Mr. Smith himself did the hewing and sawing of the materials, and while the lumber was not finished with modern machinery, and was somewhat rough compared with that of the present day, the building was a substantial, comfortable structure and was the first building of the kind erected in that section, and one of the very best. The land which he owned was in its native state, and before it could be developed the family had to under so many privations and hardships. Mr. Smith was successful in his undertakings and before his death, which occurred on the old homestead in August, 1844, he had accumulated over 1,000 acres of land. He was a great worker and it was due to this, more than to anything else, that his death occurred when it did. His wife survived him until the spring of 1869. They were the parents often children: John H., Wesley, Cannon, Lydia and Emeline being the only ones now living. John H. Smith was about thirty years of age when his parents settled in Cass county, Mich., but prior to that time he had received a common-school education in his native State and was brought up by his father to be industrious, economical and honest. At the age of twenty-three years he bought a farm of his own in Cass county, Mich., on which he lived a few years, then disposed of it to a good advantage and purchased 160 acres on the State line in Cass county, and joining the farm on which he now resides. It was in January, 1842, that he settled on his present farm, which now consists of 253 acres, 200 of which are under cultivation. In June, 1832, he volunteered his services to fight the Indians under Gen. Williams, for which purpose he marched as far as Chicago. He was out about one month but did not take part in any engagements. Chicago at that time consisted of a few houses and a great deal of marsh land. Mr. Smith was married January 3, 1833, near Adamsville, Mich., to Clarissa Beardsley, born near Columbus, Ohio, October 14, 1814, and daughter of Darius and Dorothea (Cone) Beardsley, the former a native of Connecticut, and the latter of New York. Mr. Beardsley was a pioneer of Cass county, Mich., for there he settled in January, 1832, having been a resident of Butler county, Ohio, for thirteen years' previous. He was frozen to death in the winter of 1832-3 on his way home from Edwardsburg, being found in the snow three days after, only a short distance from his home. His widow survived him several years. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith thirteen children have been born, the following of whom are living: Edward, Henry, Walter, Cannon, Angeline A. and Ann H. Those deceased are: Catherine, Charlotte, John, Harriet, Havilah and one that died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years, but at present are not connected as members of any society. Mr. Smith has always voted the Republican ticket, and has ever interested himself in the affairs of his section and is a wide-awake and public-spirited man.

ORAMEL O. PRESCOTT. One of the most ancient and honorable of American families of old Colonial times were the Prescotts, whose genealogical history was written by the venerable Dr. William Prescott, of Concord, N. H., and discloses the characteristics of one of the most remarkable families of this country. Springing directly from English stock, they were pioneers in the dreary forests of New England, the founders of new settlements and towns, fought in the numerous Indian wars of early times, freemen of the ancient boroughs, and church and town officials. At a later period they were among the most fearless advocates for liberty, and numbered many officers and soldiers in the struggle for American Independence, among whom was Col. William Prescott, who commanded the American forces at the battle of Bunker Hill. Since the Revolution they have been prominent soldiers in the War of 1812, the Mexican war, and the great Civil war of this country. The Prescotts sent nearly two hundred and fifty of their gallant sons to do battle for the Union, many of whom held important official positions. In science, literature and art the name is highly honored, and William H. Prescott, the distinguished American historian, was a grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill, but needs no eulogy in this volume. Suffice it to say that they are historical monuments clothed in the purest English and the most graceful figures of speech. The family has been noted for generations, not only for the distinguished ability of some of its sons, but for the sturdy worth and sterling characteristics which go to make up our best citizens and law-abiding and industrious men.

The name Prescott is of Saxon origin, and is formed by the contraction of two Saxon words, priest and cottage, therefore signifying priest-cottage, or priest's house. The name has long been known in England, and was given to a street in the ancient city of London. Prescott is also the name of a market town in Lancaster county, England, which was the ancient seat of the Prescott family. Orders of knighthood were conferred upon some branches of the family, and they were among the nobility of that country. A metallic coat of mail and armor, such as were worn by ancient knights, were brought to this country by the emigrant, John Prescott. There is also preserved by the descendants in this country a family coat of arms, which was conferred upon one of the remote ancestors for his bravery, courage and successful enterprise as a man and a military officer. This coat of arms had an ancient origin, and was owned both by the Prescotts, of Theobald's Park, Hartfordshire, Barts.; and by those ancient families of Lancashire and Yorkshire. The first mention of the name of Prescott is in "Thomas Rymer's Foldera," wherein a conformation of a grant made concerning aqueducts of the city of London by H. de Patershall, treasurer to the king, is addressed to Walter Prescott, vice-chancellor, and others (named).

The direct lineage of the Prescotts who came to America is traced back to the time of Queen Elizabeth. James Prescott, who was descended from the ancient family of Prescott, England, was a gentleman of Standish, Lancashire. He was required, by an order of Queen Elizabeth, dated August, 1564, to keep in readiness horsemen and arms. He married a daughter of Roger Standish, of Standish, England, and sister to Ralph Standish. From this marriage descended both John Prescott, who landed at Boston in 1640, and James Prescott, who settled in Hampton, N. H., in 1665. John Prescott sold his lands in Shevington, parish of Standish, in Lancashire, to Richard Prescott, of Wigan, and removed into Yorkshire, and resided for some time in Lowerby, in the parish of Halifax, where several of his children were born. From conscientious motives and to avoid persecution, he left his native land of Yorkshire to seek an asylum in the wilderness of America. He first landed at Barbadoes in 1638, where he became an owner of lands, but in 1640 he came to New England, and after landing at Boston, he almost immediately settled at Watertown, where he had large grants of land allotted him. In 1643 he associated himself with Thomas King and others, for the purpose of purchasing of Sholan, the Indian Sachem of the Nash away tribe of Indians, a tract of land for the settlement which was to be ten miles in length and eight in breadth. This purchase being completed, John Prescott, who was a stalwart blacksmith, proceeded to vigorously pursue the interests of the plantation till his exertions were crowned with success. He was the first settler of Nashaway, now Lancaster, Mass., and was in every respect a gentleman and an influential member of the original Puritan stock of New England. Like most of the early emigrants of that section, he left his native home to escape the relentless persecutions with which the Puritans and Nonconformists were harassed. He was a man of marked character, devoting his time to mechanical and agricultural pursuits. At a very early day he became a leading spirit and a prominent and influential man, as very many of his descendants have been in each and every subsequent generation.

He was a man of strict integrity, great energy and perseverance, and took an active part in all measures calculated to improve and enhance the interests of the town of Lancaster, Mass. He took the oath of fidelity in 1652, and was admitted a freeman in 1669. By occupation he was not only an agriculturist, but was also a blacksmith and millwright. In November, 1653, he received a grant of land from the Indians on condition that he would build a "corn mill," which he did, at the same time erecting a saw-mill. John Prescott and family were conspicuously identified in the defense of Lancaster against the Indians. He was a strong, athletic man of stern countenance, and when he had any difficulty with the Indians would clothe himself with his coat-of-mail, helmet, cuirass and gorget, which gave him a fierce and formidable appearance, and greatly astonished the Indians when they found that they could make no impression upon him with their tomahawks. This John Prescott was the ancestor of a distinguished branch of the Prescott family in America, and a second cousin of James Prescott, the original American ancestor of the subject of this sketch. Among the distinguished descendants of John Prescott, was Col. William Prescott, the commander of the American forces at the battle of Bunker Hill, also the eminent historian, William H. Prescott.

James Prescott, the original emigrant to America, the remote ancestor of this branch of the family, and the second cousin of John Prescott, of Lancashire, came from Dry-by, in the county of Lincolnshire, England, in 1665, and settled in Hampton, N. H., which then, and for some time after, was comprised within the old county of Norfolk, Mass. Mr. Prescott opened a farm (on which he resided until he moved to Kingston. in 1725), in that part of Hampton which, since 1712 has constituted the town of Hampton Falls. This town is situated some one and a half, or two miles, north of Hampton Falls Academy, on the high road to Exeter, of late years owned and occupied by the late Wells Healy, Esq., and is a fine desirable farm.

Mr. Prescott was a member of the Congregational Church, as he was admitted a freeman in 1678, none but members of the church being eligible to that important and earnestly sought position. He was transferred to the church at Hampton Falls soon after its incorporation as a town in 1712, and thence he was transferred to the church at Kingston, on September 29, 1725. In 1768 he married Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Grace Boulter, her birth occurring at Exeter, May 16, 1645. The Boulters were of English origin. James Prescott was a man of integrity and influence, possessing good sense, a sound and discriminating mind, and one whose judgment was much sought for, and in whose opinion the people placed the utmost confidence and reliance. In 1692 James Prescott is mentioned as a creditor of His Majesty's province.

In 1694 the town of Kingston was granted, by Lieut. Gov. Usher, to James Prescott, Ebeneezer Webster and others, who became extensive land holders and influential proprietors. December 19, 1700, James Prescott was moderator of the meeting of the proprietors of Kingston, at which meeting James Prescott and Ebeneezer Webster were chosen a committee to run the line between Kingston and Hampton, in conjunction with a like committee from the latter town. At the game meeting it was voted to grant to James Prescott, Thomas Philbrick and Jonathan Sanborn, each 200 acres of land in the westerly part of the town of Kingston. On July 18, 1701, James Prescott was again chosen moderator of the proprietors' meeting, when the house, or near meadow was granted to him. Besides the above, the proprietors of Kingston voted him tracts of land in 1705, 1710, 1715, 1719,1720 and in 1721. In 1708 the Commons of Hampton voted to give to James Prescott ten acres of land where his house then stood, John Sanborn dissenting. On April 10, 1711, they voted him four acres of land for �2.

James Prescott was a prominent public man, and his name appears signed to numerous petitions. He removed from Hampton Falls to Kingston in 1725, and here he died November 25, 1728, at about eighty-five years of age. The record of his death on the books at Kingston, reads thus: "James Prescott, an aged father, died." His wife Mary, died at Kingston, October 4, 1735, aged over seventy-eight years.

James Prescott. Jr., son of the above and the sixth generation from the subject of this sketch, was born September 1, 1671, and was married March 1, 1695, to Maria Marston, daughter of William Marston, Jr. and Rebecca Page, daughter of Robert and Lucy Page, who were among the first settlers of Hampton. She was born May 16, 1672, and both became church members October 10, 1697. After the death of his wife Maria, Mr. Prescott was married June 17, 1746, to Widow Abigail Sanborn, the daughter of Edward Gore, one of the first settlers of Hampton. Prior to this marriage she had been married twice, first in 1690, to Deacon Philemon Dalton, and after his death to Deacon Benjamin Sanborn, in 1724, whose third wife she was. James Prescott, Jr., was a farmer, and resided near his father on the opposite side of the road leading from Hampton Falls to Exeter. He was styled sergeant, for by the Hampton records he was made one of the constables in 1707. He was at Port Royal six months in 1701, and was a deacon in his church.

Samuel Prescott, his son, was born March 14, 1697, and December 17, 1777, married Mary, the daughter of Joseph and Mary (Gore) Sanborn, the former a son of John Sanborn, Sr., and the latter the daughter of Edward Gore, Sr. Mary Prescott was born July 28, 1697, and July 13, 1740, she and her husband became members of the church. In 1746 Mr. Prescott, with Hon. Meshach Weare, was appointed an appraiser of the estate of Capt. Jonathan Prescott, who was in the expedition under Sir William Pepperell against Louisburg on the Island of Cape Breton, the stronghold of the French in America, when that fortress was captured, and in Louisburg died of typhus fever in January, 1746. Samuel and his wife became the parents of five sons. He served several years as a selectman, town clerk and in other capacities, and resided, as a farmer, at Hampton Falls, where he died of fever June 12, 1759, at the age of sixty-two years and three months. At one time he acted as one of a scouting party along the frontier. His will was approved June 26, 1759.

Jeremiah Prescott, his son, was born September 29, 1710, baptized November 22, 1724, and was first married January 15, 1741, to Mary Hayes. He settled as a farmer at Epping, and was extensively known as Sergeant Prescott. In April, 1755, he composed one of the company commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Folsom, of Exeter, and in the regiment commanded by Capt. Joseph Blanchard, of Dunstable (now Nashua, N. H.), which was sent on an expedition against the French forts Du Quesne, Niagara and West Point. In May, 1756, he again engaged in an expedition against Crown Point in the company commanded by Capt. Nathaniel Doe and in the regiment commanded by Co1. Nathaniel Meserve. He signed the Association Test in 1776. After the death of his first wife he was married February 10, 1780, to Mary, the widow of Lemuel Towle, and a daughter of Gideon Shaw.

William Prescott, son of Samuel, was born about 1746, and was married to Mary Dearborn, daughter of Henry and Margaret (Sherburne) Dearborn, of North Hampton, N. H, where she was born between 1740 and 1750. William Prescott settled as a farmer in Vershire, Vt., and in 1815 died at the age of sixty-nine years. He was the father of three sons and three daughters: Mary, Sarah, Elisha, Mercy, Jeremiah and Sherburne. Mr. Prescott was a soldier in the Revolution, and was a substantial farmer and a highly respected citizen.

His son Jeremiah was born August 16, 1781, and received the limited education of his day, the principal part of his education being self acquired. He learned to write a good hand, also to successfully keep accounts and became a well informed man. He was but seven years of age when he went with his father from Sanbornton, N. H., to Vershire, Vt., where he grew to manhood. He assisted his father to clear up his farm, and in Vershire was married to Betsy Pomeroy, whose parents were Elisha and Sarah (Stratton) Pomeroy. After his marriage Jeremiah Prescott settled in Vershire, where he bought a grist-mill, which he operated for many years in connection with farming. He was a very zealous member of the Congregational Church, and lived to the age of fifty-three years, dying in 1834. Like his ancestors, he was a man of honorable and upright character, whose word was as good as his bond. His union resulted in the birth of seven children: Elmina, born March 2, 1809, and died February 7, 1823; Lewis, born October 28, 1811, was married March 15, 1842, to Lucinda Derby, who was born October 3, 1818, and resided in Vershire, Vt., until his death in 1869, at the age of fifty-eight years; Elisha P., born June 7, 1814, married July 9, 1839, Mary Davis, who was born November 9, 1812, and resided at West Fairlee, Vt.; Lyman, born January 31, 1817, married March 27, 1842, Mary Jewett, and resides in Waterbury, Vt.; Rev. Chester M., born June 19, 1821, married Lucy Baldwin, in March, 1844, who was born July 25, 1821, now resides in Lake View, Penn., and is a minister of the Free Will Baptist Church; Oramel O.; and Asaph S., a resident of Middlebury, Ind. Elisha H. Pomeroy, the maternal grandfather of these children, was a carpenter and a substantial farmer of Vershire, Vt., and lived to the patriarchal age of ninety years, dying in 1855. He was the father of nine children: Betsy, Sophia, Phila, Anna, Asaph, Stratton, Lydia, Sarah and Electa.

Oramel Prescott, son of Jeremiah, is of the twelfth generation from James Prescott, of England, of Queen Elizabeth's time. He was born in Vershire, Vt., on his father's farm, January 12, 1824, received a good common-school education, and attended the old academies of his native State, which were excellent institutions for obtaining a good practical education. He learned the trade of a jeweler and watchmaker, and at the age of nineteen began traveling in the line of his business, and for a period of ten years traveled throughout the Eastern and Western States. In 1847; while yet a single man, he visited Middlebury, Ind., where he spent one winter, after which he made trips throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri. In 1849 he went to Vermont, and in 1851 returned and settled at Middlebury on land which he had purchased in 1849, and which he still owns. During his travels, by frugality and industry, he saved enough money to give him a start in life, and in 1851 he engaged in the jewelry and watchmaker's business in Middlebury, which he continued until 1857, when he and a brother, Asaph S., formed a partnership in the general hardware business, under the firm name of O. O. & A. S. Prescott, which business prospered, and in 1880 they retired from the active duties of life, having become widely known as honorable business men. Mr. Prescott is a man of independent views, and although for many years in sympathy with the Republican party, he has lately become a Prohibitionist, for he realizes the wickedness of the whisky traffic. In 1892 he was candidate in the Prohibition party for senator, receiving 332 votes in his own county. In 1851 Mr. Prescott married Eliza A. Bickford, daughter of John and Abigail (Martin) Bickford, the former of whom was of English descent, a member of an old colonial family. He was a farmer, a soldier in the War of 1812, and in 1852 became a settler of Middlebury, Ind. He and his wife were the parents of five children: Laura, Eliza, Levinia, Flavella and Norris. Mrs. Prescott died November 8, 1888, having borne her husband six children, one living, Leona, an intelligent and refined young lady. Mr. Prescott's second marriage was to Mrs. Jane Abel, a daughter of Asa S. Carr, who was of English descent, born November 23, 1799, in New York, in which State he was married to Sarah Osterhout, of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, their union resulting in the birth of eight children, four of whom lived to grow up: Rice W., who died when eighteen years of age; Julius, Jane, and Mariah. Mr. Carr was for many years a farmer of Tompkins county, N. Y., but he finally moved to Orleans county, N. Y., and about 1849 came to Middlebury, Ind., where he erected and operated a carding-mill until his death, September 9, 1847, having for many years prior to that time been a member of the Baptist Church, of which his wife, who died October 9, 1858, was also a member. Mrs. Prescott was born in Tompkins county, N. Y., October 6, 1828, and when a young lady of seventeen came with her parents to Middlebury, and here has since resided, being an earnest member of the Baptist Church. William Abel, a farmer and carpenter, who was born in New York, December 15, 1810, and was among the first settlers of Middlebury, Ind., was her first cousin. He was the father of one child who died at the age of ten years, and at the age of seventy-one years he, himself, was called from life. Mr. Prescott has been an honored citizen of Middlebury for many years, and was township trustee and clerk before the town of Middlebury was organized, and has since been trustee of the town. He has always been a friend of education, has taken an active interest in the work of the schools of his section, and as a financier has prospered. He has 300 acres of land, an elegant residence in Middlebury, and is otherwise well supplied with worldly goods. He is a well-informed man of broad and liberal views, and is an intelligent and extensive reader. In every respect he has been an honor to himself and to his illustrious ancestry.

C. W. GREEN, treasurer of the Old People's Mutual Benefit Society of Elkhart, Ind. The pursuits of life are as varied as are the tastes and capacities of men, and it is an interesting and useful study to observe the degrees of their assimilation. A narrative of success in life affords a lesson from which others can profit. In Lake county, Ill., there was born in 1844 a son to Isaiah and Mary (Gage) Green, and there he grew up, a sturdy youth, and remained until seventeen years of age. His father and mother were born in New Hampshire and Vermont, respectively, their progenitors having participated in the early wars of this country with Great Britain. In 1832 Isaiah Green removed to Illinois and located in what is now Lake county, from which section he was compelled to go to Chicago to mill, drive a four-horse team, and would then often get stuck in the mud. In 1861 he removed to Elkhart, in which city he was called from life in December 1864, his widow still surviving him in her eighty-ninth year. She is still in the enjoyment of fair health, is quite active, and can get around quite well without assistance. She bore her husband three sons and two daughters, of whom one son and one daughter are living: Mrs. J. W. Ellis, and C. W., the subject of this biography. The early education of the latter was received in the district schools near his home, and he assisted his father on the farm in Illinois until their removal to Elkhart in 1861. In February, 1862, he ran away from home and enlisted in the Forty-fourth Indiana Infantry, the fortunes of which he followed until the war closed by the surrender of Gen. Lee. He was captured at the battle of Chickamauga, and for six long months was confined in Libby Prison, after which he was taken to Macon, Ga., thence to Charleston, where he and his fellow prisoners were under fire for about six weeks. He was next removed to Columbus, then to Goldsboro, N. C., at which place he was paroled after seventeen months of prison life. The hardships he suffered during this time can not be told, and the terrible scenes he witnessed will ever remain a blot upon the South. After being paroled he went to Camp Chase, thence to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he reported to his regiment and was mustered out of the service. He was in the engagements at Shiloh, Stone River and Chickamauga, besides a number of other pitched battles, but of less note than those mentioned. He returned to Elkhart and engaged in the grocery business, continuing for eighteen months, when he sold out and entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, with which he was connected for about twenty-two years. He spent five years as ticket agent at Elkhart, and seventeen years as freight agent, and in each of these capacities he showed himself courteous, obliging and efficient. He resigned his position with this company in March, 1888, to accept his present one with the Mutual Benefit Association, and in this capacity has shown himself to be the right man in the right place. He is a stockholder in the Electric Light & Street Railway & Indiana Buggy Company, besides several minor institutions. He is a stockholder in the St. Joe Valley Bank, was a member of the council when Elkhart was organized as a city, and filled the same position six years later. He is considered one of the leading business men of the city, and as a member of the Masonic fraternity he has attained to the thirty-second degree. In 1867 he was married to Miss Rachel L. Hudson, who died in 1887.

CORNELIUS A. FRENCH. The inventive genius of this progressive age has found one of its most fertile fields in devising implements designed to lighten the labor of the agriculturist; and the progressive farmer of the day is provided with machines which, to a great extent, relieve him from heavy manual labor. Among the prominent dealers in this line of business is the firm of Neff & French, which, in addition to a large stock of agricultural implements, shelf and heavy hardware, tin roofing and spouting, make a specialty of the Osborn & Milwakey binder, Imperial plow, Flying Dutchman sulky plow, Standard mower, Nappanee buggy and road wagon and the Steel Star wind mill. The business house of the firm is 3l x 132 feet, affording ample accommodation for their increasing business, and the members of the firm are fully alive to the times and are vigilant to watch all details. The business was established in 1891 and from the first the trade was excellent. Mr. French was born April 5, 1851, in Saratoga county, N. Y., and his father, Cyrus French, was a native of the same county, born in 1819. The grandfather, George E. French, was a native of Massachusetts, born in 1785, and was of good old Puritan stock. He was a blacksmith by trade and at an early date moved to New York State where his death occurred in 1862. He was a noted man of his time. In politics he affiliated with the Democratic party. The four children born to his marriage were named as follows: Sarah, still a resident of New York State; Hiram, died in 1858; Malinda, still living, and Cyrus. The latter, the father of our subject, was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that business up to the time of his death, February 20, 1860. In politics he was first a "Know Nothing," but later an Anti-Slavery Democrat. In his choice of a life companion he selected Miss Phoebe J. Stancliff, who was born in 1818 and who was the daughter of Louis M. and Jane (Gillis) Stancliff. Her mother was born in Scotland and the father was reared by a Scotch lady. The latter served in the Revolutionary war. After the death of her husband, Mrs. French removed to Indiana, settling in Elkhart county, Jefferson township, on a farm of 500 acres, known as the Stancliff farm. and there reared her family of eight children, as follows: Alma J., now Mrs. R J. Smith, of Jefferson township; Almira L., wife of Anthony C. Manning, of Elkhart City; George E. died April 25, 1877; Louis J., residing in Emmet county, Mich.; Seth died at three years; Covert died when one year of age, and Phebe J., died when four years of age. Mrs. French was highly respected by all acquainted with her. Her death occurred on June 20, 1874. The original of this notice remained with his mother on the farm until 1874, when he married Miss Sally M. Ashley. Shortly afterward he moved to Elkhart, thence to Goshen and finally, in 1881, to Nappanee, where for some time he was engaged in carrying on a meat market. Later he embarked in the hardware business with Mr. Neff, and this he has since continued. He is a member of the city council, bearing in part the great responsibility of its present management, that of instituting a complete system of water-works, electric light, etc. He takes an active part in all public enterprises and is one of the representative men of the city. A Republican in politics, he is loyal to his party and an ardent supporter of its platform. His wife is a native of the Buckeye State, born June 14, 1853, and the daughter of Rev. Jonas and Polly (McGee) Ashley. She was reared on a farm in Cass county, Mich., and was one of twelve children, nine of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. French had born to their marriage four children, as follows: Edith L., Ardena L., Phebe B. and Cyrus J.

D. A. LEHMAN. D. A. Lehman, founder of the Lehman Medicine Company, was originally from the Buckeye State, born in Williams county, June 4, 1843, and is the son of Benjamin and Susan (Spitnole) Lehman. Benjamin Lehman was born in Lancaster county, Penn., to the marriage of Daniel and Esther (Burkholder) Lehman, and was of German descent, his father being a native of the old country. Grandfather Lehman came to America with his parents at an early day, settled in Lancaster county, Penn., and there married, and reared a family of nine children, as follows: John, Jacob, Mary, Benjamin (father of subject), Solomon, Abraham, Samuel, Anna and Nancy. The father of these children moved from Pennsylvania to Williams county, Ohio, when that county was but sparsely settled, located on a farm, and became well known as a substantial and wealthy farmer. He was connected with the Mennonite Church, in which he was an active worker, and in politics was a Republican. Of his children six are living in Ohio, one in Illinois and two in Elkhart county, Ind. Nancy married Jacob Christophe1. The mother of the above-mentioned children was a pious woman and one widely and favorably known for her many estimable qualities. Benjamin Lehman left Ohio and came to Indiana in 1853, settling on a farm of 120 acres in Elkhart county, where he resides at the present time. His farm has been greatly improved and is one of the best in the township. In religious and educational matters Mr. Lehman takes a decided interest, and he is public-spirited and enterprising. He is a member of the Mennonite church, and in politics is a stanch Republican. He married Miss Susan Spitnole, a native of Maryland, who was left an orphan at an early age and who was reared by the family of Joseph Myers, in Putnam county, Ohio, with whom she lived until her marriage. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lehman, viz.: Daniel A. (subject), Fanny (who is living with her father on the old home place), Joseph S. (practicing medicine in Erie county, N. Y., and a mar�ried man), David (a farmer of Marshall county, Ind., died in 1887), Hattie A. (wife of B. F. Letherman, of Marshall county, Ind.), Jacob (married, and resides on the old homestead), Menno (single, a music teacher, resides in Elkhart county), and George W. (a school teacher). The mother of the above-mentioned children is now deceased. The eldest of this family, Daniel A. Lehman, came with his father to Elkhart county, Ind., at an early day, and received a good practical education. When eighteen years of age he learned the carpenter's trade, and followed this for seventeen years, after which he took up the study of medicine as a manufacturing chemist. In 1866 he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Culp, a native of Mahoning county, Ohio, born in 1844, and the daughter of Anthony and Susan (Bixler) Culp. She came to Elkhart county, Ind., with her parents, in pioneer days, and was here married. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lehman, as follows: Henry B. and Susan U. (twins), born November 18, 1867; Albert A., born July 5, 1869; Solomon E., born September 24, 1871; David F., born August 10, 1874; Lydia A. and Joseph M. (twins), born July 28, 1877, and Martha M., born August 16, 1883. Henry, the eldest of these children, married Miss Catherine Cook, and resides in Kansas City, Mo. He is professor of penmanship in Spaulding's Commercial College. Susan U. married Joseph Hamshire, and has three living children, Frank, Mary and Henry. Mr. and Mrs. Lehman are active members of the Mennonite Church, and he is superintendent of the Sunday-school. He was at one time elected a member of the city council, but resigned. He is interested in all worthy movements or anything that benefits the community. In politics he is a Prohibitionist.

JOHN S. INKS, M. D. The value to any community of a professional man is not marked merely by his learning and skill, his proficiency in medical and surgical practice, but also by his character, both private and professional, his honorable adherence to medical ethics and his personal integrity and benevolence of purpose. When a physician combines these characteristics it is with pleasure that we record his life work, and such a man do we find in Dr. John S. Inks. This gentleman, who is one of the prominent physicians of Elkhart county, has been practicing the healing art in the town of Nappanee for the last four years, and his skill and signal success in this calling are well known. He was the eldest child born to the union of Thomas and Elizabeth (Moore) Inks (the father of one of the pioneers of Elkhart county), and in addition to a common-school education, he attended high school at Bristol, Ind., Elkhart and Mishawaka Normal and the Valparaiso Institute. He subsequently attended the Chicago Medical College of Physicians and Surgeons and graduated from the same in the year 1884. The same year he began practicing in ---- and continued there until 1888, when he removed to Nappanee, of which city he has been a resident since. He has ever been public spirited and is interested in all enterprises for the advancement and progress of the city. He is a member of the State and district medical association, and has obtained a position placing him in the front rank of the medical fraternity. The political views of the Doctor have brought him into affiliation with the Democratic party and he is an earnest upholder of its principles and policy. For a number of years he was a resident of St. Joseph county, Ind., and while a resident of the same he held the office of justice of the peace thirteen years. During that time he taught school thirteen terms and was well known as one of the most popular educators of the county. The marriage of Dr. Inks with Miss Mary E. Yant took place in 1869, and to them have been given three interesting children, as follows: Henrietta, now Mrs. Gore, is the mother of one child, Agnes; Charles, who is now sixteen years of age is still in school; and Nellie who died at the age of two years. Mrs. Inks is the daughter of Andrew and Eva (Lower) Yant, early pioneers of Elkhart County. She was born in Ohio and was a small girl when she came with her parents to Elkhart county. Dr. and Mrs. Inks are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and have a pleasant home on West Market street.

THOMAS INKS. England has ever numbered many representatives among the best class of citizens in Indiana. There is a sterling quality about the nationality that particularly fits them for pioneer life and we as Americans are greatly indebted to settlers of English origin for the rapid advancement made in our civilization. The Inks family came originally from England, the first representatives in this country being three brothers, John, William and George, who settled in Pennsylvania at a period antedating the Revolution, married, and reared large families. John Inks, the grandfather of our subject, was one of these brothers. To his marriage eight children, two sons and six daughters, were born, as follows: Thomas, John, Nancy, Mary, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Sarah, Parmelia and Eleanor. John, the second in order of birth of these children, all of whom are deceased, was the father of our subject. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1777, and there passed his boyhood and youth. At an early date he emigrated with the rest of the family to Ohio, and was there married to Miss Eleanor Camton, a native of New Jersey, born in 1779, and one of five children: Job, John, Eleanor, Sarah and Nancy, born to the marriage of John Compton. Soon after his marriage John Inks went to Indiana and settled one mile below Benton, in Elkhart county, on Elkhart River. This was in 1828, and the following year he built the first saw-mill in the county, and sawed the first lumber. In the fall of that year he returned to Ohio and brought his family to the almost unbroken wilds of Elkhart county. Five years later he moved to Goshen, then a small town, and made his home there until 1840, when he bought a farm near Milford. Later he sold this and moved to Olive township, where he operated a saw-mill until his death in 1853. He was one of the very earliest pioneer citizens and a man of good judgment and sound, practical sense. His wife also passed a way in 1853. Their union was blessed by the following children: William, John, Sarah, Ezekiel, Joseph, James, Beecher and Thomas (subject). Mr. Inks was a member of the United Brethren and his wife a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics he was a Whig. His children were all born in the Buckeye State, and the older ones were married there. Joseph and Thomas are the only ones living. Thomas Inks was born in Franklin county, Ohio, in 1823, and attended the subscription schools of that early day. When six years of age he came with his parents to Elkhart county, Ind., and is now probably one of the oldest pioneers of this county. When twenty-one years of age he started out on his own responsibility, and in 1845 was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Moore, a native of New York State, born in 1825, and the daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Anderson) Moore. She was one of a large family, John, Thomas, Hugh, William, Margaret, Mary and Jane. The parents of these children came to the county in pioneer times, and the father died here in 1855 and the mother in 1867. Thomas Inks and wife settled on a farm in this county, and in connection with his farming interest Mr. Inks was engaged in the marble business for many years, being a stone cutter, and has met with fair success in all his undertakings. During the Rebellion Mr. Inks enlisted in Company K, Thirtieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served his country faithfully for three years. He was a faithful soldier and ever ready for duty. Some of the principal engagements in which he participated were: Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga and the siege of Atlanta. During service his eyesight was injured and he is now almost blind. He was discharged on September 26, 1864, and returned to his home and family. For the past ten years he has retired from the active labors to which he devoted himself after his return from the war, and now lives in the enjoyment of the comfortable home which he owns in Nappanee, where he has resided for the past two years. His marriage resulted in the birth of six children, who are named as follows: John S., one of the leading physicians of Nappanee; Elbridge; Anthony W.; Mary; Emma, and Cora, all living, and four residents of Elkhart county at the present time. In politics Mr. Inks is a Democrat, and he and his wife are worthy and exemplary members of the United Brethren Church. He comes of good old fighting stock, his ancestors serving in the Revolution, his father in the War of 1812 and he himself in the Civil war.

Deb Murray