Alexander Maurer was born on December 22, 1848, son of Christian and Susan (Rosell) Maurer, also natives of Switzerland, who spent all their lives there. At the age of twenty-five years Alexander Maurer came to the United States and proceeding to Indiana, settled in Fayette county, where he ever since has made his home. In 1875 he began farming on shares on the Shields farm in Harrison township and after his marriage in 1878 established his home there, continuing to farm that place for thirty-one years, at the end of which time finding that the farm was too big for him to handle as he grew older, he bought a farm of seventy-two acres, where he now lives, just east of Hawkins, in Harrison township. There he built a house and barn and made other improvements in keeping with the same and is very comfortably situated. He has for years given much attention to the raising of fine live stock and has done much to improve the strain of the stock raised in his part of the county. He is a member of the German Lutheran church, as was his wife. The latter died on March 22, 1915. She also was born in Switzerland, Anna Wenger, and there grew to young womanhood, coming thence to this country and locating in Hamilton county, Ohio, where on January 24, 1878, she was united in marriage to Alexander Maurer. To that union two children were born, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Margaret.
Ernest A. Maurer was reared on the Shields farm, where he was born and which he now owns, and received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood. During his youth and young manhood he was the victim of a series of distressing accidents and seemed to have had more than his normal share of misfortunes up to the time of his marriage in 1904, but since then his "luck" seems to have turned and he not only has had no further accidents, but has prospered beyond the average. Seven times during his youth he was laid up with broken bones, his last accident having befallen him on the night before the date set for his wedding, when he was tossed by an angry bull and one of his shoulders and four of his ribs were broken. Just a few days before he had paid out about all his ready cash for a fine horse and two days after coming into possession of the same, the animal killed itself. Though not at all superstitious, Mr. Maurer cannot help recalling that several of his most serious accidents befell him on a Friday.
The spring following his marriage in 1904, Ernest A. Maurer began farming on his own account, starting as a renter on the farm on which he was born, and six years later bought that entire farm of two hundred and fifty acres and has since done much in the way of improving the same and bringing the farm plant up to modern standards. The place has a large brick house on it and this, as well as the barn, he has remodeled in up-to-date fashion, has built a new garage and has otherwise improved the place until it is regarded as one of the best-kept farms in that part of the county. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Maurer has given considerable attention to the raising of pedigreed Hereford cattle and has quite a bunch of fine pure-bred stock of that strain. He has been quite successful in his operations and he and his family are quite comfortably situated.
In 1904 Ernest A. Maurer was united in marriage to Rannah B. Williamson, who was born on a farm near Lyons, this county, daughter of Edmond R. and Lucinda (Strong) Williamson, both of whom also were born in this county and who are now living retired at Connersville. Edmond R. Williamson was born on June 29, 1851, on the old Williamson homestead, one mile south of Springersville, in Jennings township, this county, a son of Samuel E. and Elizabeth (Conoway) Williamson, the former of whom was born in 1807, a son of Moses and Jane (Riggs) Williamson, the former born in 1774 and the latter in 1788, who came over into Indiana from Ohio and settled on a farm one mile south of Lyons, in this county, in pioneer days. There Moses Williamson became the owner of two hundred and forty-three acres and there he and his wife spent their last days. Samuel Williamson spent all his life on that same farm, one of the best-known farmers in that part of the county in his generation, he having been one of the most extensive stockmen thereabout. He died in 1858, leaving his widow with a large family of children. She was born, Elizabeth Conoway, in North Carolina and had come to this part of the country with her parents in pioneer days. She remained on the home farm the rest of her life, her death occurring in 1884.
On that pioneer farm in Jennings township, Edmond R. Williamson grew to manhood. After his marriage in 1874 he continued to follow farming and gardening in that vicinity, living on that portion of the old homestead that fell to his share, and there remained until 1894, when he moved to the old Mount farm in Harrison township, north of Connersville, where he lived for eight years, at the end of which time he moved to the Huber place, where he spent two years and a half. He then returned to the old Williamson homestead, where he remained until his retirement and removal, in March, 1912, to Connersville, where he and his wife are now making their home.
Mrs. Williamson, before her marriage, was Lucinda Strong. She was born in Waterloo township, this county, daughter of Wilson and Eliza (Fiant) Strong, well-known residents of that part of the county, both now deceased. Wilson Strong, who was a veteran of the Civil War, was born and reared in Waterloo township, a son of Moses and Susie (Gebe) Strong, the former of whom was horn in Worth Carolina and became one of the early settlers in Waterloo township. this county, and the owner of a quarter of a section of land there. Wilson Strong bought a farm just on the western edge of Union county and there spent his last days. His wife, Eliza Fiant, was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, and came here with her parents, Martin and Lucinda (Schack) Fiant, of Pennsylvania-Dutch parentage, who moved from Ohio to Indiana and settled in Waterloo township, this county. Rannah B. Williamson was a little girl when her parents moved to the farm north of Connersville and she lived in that locality until her marriage to Mr. Maurer.
Mr. and Mrs. Maurer have one child, a son, Gail Wenger, who was born on December 4, 1913. Mrs. Maurer is a member of the Christian church and Mr. Maurer is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in the affairs of that organization takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Lafe Cokefair, former trustee of Jackson township and a substantial farmer and landowner of that township, now living retired in the village of Alquina, is a member of one of the oldest and best-known families in this part of the state. He was born over the line in the neighboring county of Union, December 8, 1869, son of Sylvanus and Mary A. (Brookbank) Cokefair, the former a native of that same county and the latter of this county, both members of pioneer families.
In an early day the name of Cokefair was one of the best-known in this section of Indiana. Associated with the Cokefair mills it was a synonym of fair dealing and honest service and the first of the name hereabout, Elisha Cokefair, grandfather of the subject of this sketch and the founder of the Cokefair family in this section of Indiana, was widely known, not only up and down the valley of the White Water, but throughout all the eastern part of the state and adjacent section of Ohio by reason of the products of his mills along the creek over in Union county, near the line of Fayette county. Elisha Cokefair was a man of untiring energy and established a woolen-mill, a saw-mill, a flour-mill and other enterprises in that settlement. He prospered in his affairs and at his death in 1864 left an estate valued at above one hundred thousand dollars, a considerable sum of money in those days. It is narrated of Elisha Cokefair that so scrupulously fair and just was he in his dealings with his fellow-men that there was a standing offer at his woolen-mill to replace any product of that mill that showed signs of wear or required patching within one year of service: and it is said that rarely indeed did it become necessary to apply this guaranty, for clothes made of Cokefair goods were expected to last for four or five years.
Elisha Cokefair had a somewhat eventful career in his younger days. He was born in New Jersey in 1798 and was early apprenticed to learn the dyeing trade. Dissatisfied with the nature of that employment he presently escaped the indenture and ran away to sea, but was caught and taken back. Three months later he again escaped and started out to make his fortune in his own way, walking to Philadelphia and thence to Pittsburgh, in which latter city he obtained employment in a mill. His restless spirit, however, caused him to leave that city after awhile and he went on down the river to Cincinnati, whence he and another boy presently proceeded on down to New Orleans. After working awhile in the latter city they decided to make their way to New York and took passage on a vessel that turned out to be a privateer or some such character of piratical craft and before they were long at sea they found themselves involved with the crew of that vessel in an attempt to board a merchant ship with piratical design. The boarders were repulsed, however, and the boys, whose eyes were thus opened to the nature of the craft on which they had taken passage, secured return passage on the merchantman and presently found themselves again in New Orleans. After awhile Elisha Cokefair returned to Cincinnati and remained there and in that vicinity until after his marriage to Frances Miller, in the meantime perfecting himself in the knowledge of the details of the milling business, particularly with reference to woolen-mills, and started a woolen-mill in Ohio, where he remained until 1822, when he sold his interests there and moved over into Indiana and in Union county, near the line of this county, east of Everton, erected a small woolen-mill, operated by power supplied by the creek there. Afterward he built a larger mill and a brick house, hauling the brick for the same for some miles in a wagon, the wheels of which were transverse sections of a poplar log. He also built a saw-mill and a flour-mill, which he operated with success, and was likewise actively interested in other enterprises his various activities giving him a wide acquaintance throughout this whole section of the country.
Sylvanus Cokefair, one of the sons of Elisha Cokefair, the pioneer manufacturer, was born at the old woolen-mills over in Union county in 1832 and grew up to a thorough acquaintance with the details of his father's extensive business. In 1854 he and his brother took charge of the mills and continued to operate the same until 1885, ever maintaining the high standard of excellence which gave to the products of the Cokefair mills such a wide reputation, the mill becoming known to every wool grower in Indiana and eastern Ohio. When the mill finally was abandoned, Sylvanus Cokefair then being the surviving owner, he left it just as it was when the stern competition of more modern and more extensive mills put it out of business and it is still standing there on the creek, its ancient machinery now rusted and useless, a fine old relic of the early industrialism of this section. Sylvanus Cokefair lived to be within four days of eighty- years of age, his death occurring on October 25, 1912, while on a visit to his son and his widow is still living at the old home over the line in Union county, in company with a married niece. She was born on a farm in the southwestern part of Jennings township, this county, February 7, 1845, a daughter of Henry and Lucinda (Corbin) Brookbank, the former of whom was a lifelong farmer in that section. To Sylvanus and Mary (Brookbank) Cokefair two children were born, the subject of this sketch having a sister, Alice May, who married Sanford Keltner and now lives at Anderson, this state.
Lafe Cokefair grew to manhood over in Union county, his earlier years being spent in his father's mill and in labor on the home farm, remaining there until he was twenty-five years of age. He married in 1891 and about three years later came to this county and located on a farm a quarter of a mile north of Everton, where he remained, actively engaged in farming, for nearly twenty years and became the owner of an excellent farm of three hundred and twenty acres, the same, having two sets of houses on it. In I915 Mr. Cokefair sold an "eighty" of his half section, including one of the houses, and moved to Alquina, where he now resides. On April 20, 1916, he bought a tract of one hundred and twenty acres lying near his old home farm and is now the owner of three hundred and sixty acres, all well improved. Mr. Cokefair is an ardent Republican and for four years, 1904-08, served as trustee of Jackson township.
On April 9, 1891, Lafe Cokefair was united in marriage to Mary Caroline Murphy, who was born on July 18, 1873, in Jennings township, this county, on a farm adjoining that now owned by Mr. Cokefair, daughter of Frank and Sarah Elizabeth (Corbin) Murphy, both of whom were born in that same neighborhood. Frank Murphy was born on a farm near the Cokefair farms in Jackson township in 1844, a son of Samuel Murphy and wife, and was living there when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted for service in the Union army and served for three years and four months. Upon the completion of his military service he resumed farming in Jackson township and remained there until his retirement and removal to Connersville, where he is now living with a daughter, Mrs. Sarah E. Sefton. His wife died on July 15, 1916, while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Cokefair. She was born in that same neighborhood, a daughter of Alfred and Katura Caroline (Myers) Corbin, both members of old families thereabout. The Myers family came here in pioneer times from the Carolinas and settled on "Congress land" in Columbia township.
To Lafe and Mary Caroline (Murphy) Cokefair four children have been born, namely: Elisha Alfred Cokefair, born on May 18, 1892, now managing his father's farm north of Everton, who married Alma Hubbell and has one child, a daughter, Carolyn Elizabeth; Frank Sylvanus Cokefair, born on June 10, 1896, now living at Connersville; Sanford Keltner Cokefair, born on September 16, 1899, who is living with his brother Elisha on the old home farm, and Jr., born on May 28, 1908. The Cokefairs are members of the Universalist church. Mr. Cokefair is a member of the local lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias, of the Improved Order of Red Men and of the Haymakers and is affiliated with the encampment of the Odd Fellow order.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Warren B. Murray, a well-known and substantial young farmer of Columbia township, this county, and former trustee of that township, is a native soil of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in Connersville township, a short distance west of the city of Connersville, June 6, 1882, son of William T. and Mary A. (Goble) Murray, well-known residents of this county, who are now living quietly and comfortably retired at Connersville, where they have a pleasant home.
William T. Murray, who for years was actively engaged in farming and in buying and selling of live stock in this county, is a native of the Blue Grass state, born in Mason county, Kentucky, December 17, 1846, son of Jeremiah and Melinda (Steele) Murray, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Kentucky. Jeremiah Murray was a but six years of age when he came with his parents, George Murray and wife, to this country, the family settling in Mason county, Kentucky, where he grew to manhood. His father later moved to Cincinnati, where he died in 1863. Jeremiah Murray married Melinda Steele, a daughter of William Steele and wife, natives of Pennsylvania, who had moved to Mason county, Kentucky. William Steel was a soldier in the War of 1812, a member of a Pennsylvania regiment, and participated in the battles at Ft. Defiance, Ohio, and at Camden border. He later moved to Mason county, Kentucky, as above noted, and in 1854 moved to Cass county, this state, where he died in February, 1864, he then being seventy-six years of age. Some time after his marriage, Jeremiah Murray moved from Mason county, Kentucky, to the city of Louisville and thence to Cass county, Indiana, where he died at the age of thirty-six years. He was both a carpenter and a farmer. His widow later came to this county and here spent the remainder of her life, her death occurring in 1892. They were the parents of five children, of whom William T. Murray was the third in order of birth and the only one now living.
William T. Murray was six years of age when his parents moved from Mason county, Kentucky, to Louisville, and was eight years of age when they moved to Cass county, this state, in 1854. He was but a boy when the Civil War broke out, but on January 23, 1864, he then being but little more than seventeen years of age, he and two brothers enlisted for service in Company K, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was attached to General Sherman's army, thus serving through the Atlanta campaign. He then returned with General Thomas to Nashville, where he was taken ill in 1865 and after recovering was transferred to the Seventeenth Veteran Reserve Corps, with which he was serving when honorably discharged on November 22, 1865. Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Murray returned to his home in Cass county and was there engaged in farming for a couple of years, at the end of which time he moved to Rush county, where he learned the harness-making trade and was engaged working at that trade until 1873, when, he having married the year before, he located on a farm in the Connersville neighborhood and for many years thereafter was actively engaged in farming, stock raising and in the buying and selling of live stock in this county, and has long been regarded as one of Fayette county's substantial citizens. He lived in the southern part of Connersville township until 1901, when he moved to a farm one mile north of Connersville, in Harrison township, where he lived for seven years, at the end of which time he retired and moved to Connersville, where he and his wife are now living, and where they are pleasantly situated.
In 1872, at Connersville, William T. Murray was united in marriage to Mary A. Goble, of that city, and to that union eight children have been born, all of whom are living. Mr. Murray is an active Republican and has for many years paid close attention to local political affairs, a frequent delegate to county, district and state conventions. In 1896 he was elected assessor of Fayette county and for twenty years gave good service in that office. He is a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and has for years given his earnest attention to the affairs of that patriotic organization.
Warren B. Murray grew to manhood in this county, early trained to the work of the farm and has been engaged in farming most of his life. After his marriage in 1904 he began farming for himself on the old Heman Jones homestead in Columbia township, where he now resides, their farm being one of the best-kept and most profitably cultivated places in that part of the county. In addition to his general farming Mr. Murray has given considerable attention to the raising of live stock-and in buying and selling the same and has done very well. He is a Republican and served for some time as trustee of Columbia township, his term of office expiring on January I, 1915.
On February 11, 1904, Warren B. Murray was united in marriage to Nellie Utter, who was born in Columbia township, this county, daughter of Robert and Mary F. (Jones) Utter, the latter of whom is still living on her old home farm in that township, a farm adjoining the farm on which she was born. Robert Utter was born on the farm on which his widow is now living, on January 2, 1843, a son of Zimri and Susan (Winchell) Utter, natives of New York state, the former of whom was born on August 14, 1796, and the latter, June 11, 1798, who came to Indiana with their respective parents in 1816, the families settling in Fayette county, where Zimri Utter and Susan Winchell were married on December 25, 1817, and where both spent the remainder of their lives, the latter dying on November 6, 1864, and the former surviving until January 30, 1880. Zimri Utter was one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of Columbia township in his day and for years served as justice of the peace in and for that township.
Robert Utter grew up on the farm where he was born and on August 22, 1862, he then being nineteen years of age, enlisted at Indianapolis for service during the Civil War, as a member of Company I, Third Indiana Cavalry, serving in General Kilpatrick's command until his term of enlistment expired, when he re-enlisted in Company A, Eighth Indiana Cavalry, and was mustered out with that command on July 20, 1865, with the rank of sergeant. During his service he received an injury to his right arm, which proved permanent and his arm was thereafter seriously crippled. Upon the completion of his military service Robert Utter returned to the farm and engaged in the practical labors of the same. He married in 1877 and continued to make his home on the old home place until his election to the office of county treasurer in 1880, when he moved to Connersville, the county seat. He was re-elected in 1882 and thus served as treasurer of the county for two terms. He had previously, in 1868 and in 1869, served as trustee of Columbia township and was ever interested in local civic affairs. Following his service as county treasurer Robert Utter became part owner of a flour-mill at Connersville and was for a couple of years engaged in the milling business there. He then returned to the old home farm in Columbia township, and there spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on April 1, 1907. His widow, who still survives, continues to make her home there, where she owns two hundred acres of land, besides two hundred and forty acres of the adjoining farm on which she was born, a total of four hundred and forty acres.
In 1877 Robert Utter was united in marriage to Mary F. Jones, who was born on the farm adjoining that on which she now lives, July 12, 1839, daughter of Heman and Lydia A. (Hughes) Jones, the former a native of the state of New Hampshire and the latter of Virginia, early settlers in Columbia township, this county. Heman Jones was born near Hanover, New Hampshire, June 10, 1812, a son of Nathan and Elizabeth (Spaulding) Jones, natives of Massachusetts, of English extraction, who had moved to New Hampshire and after a sometime residence in the vicinity of Hanover had moved to Vermont; thence back to New Hampshire and thence, in 1820, to Huron county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Heman Jones was but a boy when his parents moved to Ohio and when about sixteen years of age he went to Mt. Vernon, that state, where he began learning the shoemaker's trade, completing his apprenticeship at Springfield, Ohio. He spent the winter of 1829 working at his trade at Hamilton, Ohio, and then went to Mason county, Kentucky, where he followed his trade until 1831, when he came up into Indiana and bought a boot-and-shoe store at Liberty, in Union county, where he married in 1835 and where he continued in business until October, 1838, when he sold his store and moved over into Fayette county, where he bought a farm of eighty acres in Columbia township. A few years later he traded that place for a quarter of a section of unimproved land in the same township and there established his home. As he prospered he added to his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of about six hundred acres, besides other valuable holdings, being regarded as one of the well-to-do citizens of Fayette county in his day. In the fall of 1884 Heman Jones retired and moved to Connersville, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on November 22, 1905, he then being ninety-four years and five months of age. His wife had preceded him to the grave about ten years, her death having occurred on July 7, 1895, she then being seventy-seven years of age. She was born, Lydia A. Hughes, in Campbell county, Virginia, November 26, 1817, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Fosdick) Hughes, who became early residents on this part of Indiana, settling in Union county at an early day. Robert Utter was a member of the Christian church, as is his widow, and their children were reared in that faith. There are two of these children living, Mrs. Murray having a brother, Ottis, who is farming his mother's farm. There was another daughter, who died in childhood, while the family was living at Connersville. Mr. and Mrs. Murray have four children living and one, a daughter, who died in infancy, those living being Mary Candace, Frederick Maynard, Robert Milton and John Richard.
Ottis Utter, brother of Mrs. Murray, and who is farming his mother's place adjoining the Murray farm, was born in Columbia township on August 30, 1870, and was reared on the farm, continuing farming with his father until the latter's death and since then taking general charge of the home place, on which he has made a specialty of the raising of pure-bred Duroc-Jersey hogs, his stock attracting much attention at the Indiana and Ohio state fairs. He also lately has been quite extensively engaged in buying and selling cattle. On September 13, 1893, Ottis Utter was united in marriage to Norvella Carroll, who also was born in Columbia township, a daughter of Timothy and Ann (Eddy) Carroll, both members of old families in this county, the former of whom was killed by lightning when his daughter, Norvella, was an infant. His widow later married and thereafter much of the youth of her daughter, Norvella, was spent in the household of her mother's parents, G. W. and Louisa (Cox) Eddy, well-known residents of this county. Ottis Utter and wife have two children, daughters, Marie and Mildred, the former of whom was graduated from the Connersville high school, later attending the State Normal School at Terre Haute and is now teaching school, and the latter of whom is attending the high school at Orange. Mr. Utter is a member of Orange Lodge No. 234, Free and Accepted Masons, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization. Both the Murray and the Utter families are very pleasantly situated in their homes adjoining in Columbia township and take an earnest interest in the general social activities of that neighborhood.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Few men of East Connersville, Fayette county, are more entitled to special mention in the history of the county, than is George M. Williams, a veteran of the Civil War, who was born on July 5, 1845, at Port Washington, Wisconsin, and is the son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Shepard) Williams.
Abraham and Elizabeth Williams were natives of Wales and the state of Ohio respectively, and received their education in the schools of their respective communities, where they grew to manhood and womanhood. As a young man Abraham Williams left his native land and came to the United States. On his arrival in this country, he located in Ohio, where he engaged as a farm hand and where he lived for a number of years. It was in the Buckeye state that he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Shepard. After their marriage the young people established their home in that state where they continued to live for some time, when they moved to Wisconsin, where Mr. Williams engaged in the making of potash. He died in that state at Goodhope, and his wife died in Chicago, of cholera, in the year 1853.
Abraham and Elizabeth Williams were the parents of the following children: Harriett, Sarah, Charles, George and James. Harriett married William Spivey, and she made her home at Beecher City, Illinois, until the time of her death on August 23, 1916; Sarah is the widow of Leander Dodge and lives at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Charles, who was a member of Company E, Twenty-fourth Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and gave three years of his life in the defense of the Union, died at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; James was also a soldier during the Civil War, having enlisted in Company C, Thirty-first Regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and died at his home in Frankfort, Michigan. The parents of these children were among the highly respected people of the community in which they lived and-where they were so highly esteemed.
George M. Williams received his education at a subscription school, held in an old log school house, with slabs for seats, and the writing bench on the side of the wall. He remained at home until he was but a little past sixteen years of age when he came to Connersville, and here in 1862 he enlisted in Company E, Sixteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He later served in Company D, Twenty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, from April to November, when he was transferred to Battery F, Fourth United States Artillery, Regular. Sometime later he was placed in Battery M with the Army of the Cumberland, and still later was with General Thomas in the Army of the Cumberland. He saw much active service, and remained in the service until March 27, 1865, when he received his discharge and returned to Connersville. During his term of service he had the measles, a most dreaded disease for the boys in the field, and lay in the hospital from July 5, 1862, until November of that year, and which left him in a condition of poor health since.
On his return to Connersville, Mr. Williams continued to make Fayette county his home, and here he was united in marriage on January 6, 1870, to Rebecca Reibsomer, a native of Pennsylvania, and who had settled in Fayette county with her parents when she was but a girl. To this union two children were born, Elizabeth and Newton C. Elizabeth is the wife of Thomas Ketchen, a respected resident of East Connersville; Newton C. is a well known mechanic of East Connersville. He is married to Catherine Fritz, and they are the parents of four children, Helen, Blanche, Orville and Frances. Mr. and Mrs. Williams were long active members of the Lutheran church, and until the time of her death on April 9, 1916, Mrs. Williams was a regular attendant and took the keenest interest in all church work. She was a devoted wife and mother, and a kind and helpful neighbor. Her death was mourned by a large circle of friends, who held her in the highest regard and esteem. She took the greatest interest in the moral development of the community. With her family she had lived in East Connersville since 1870, where Mr. Williams was employed in the saw-mill, and for many years he was employed in the manufacture of furniture.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Though not a resident of Fayette county, John M. Beaver has property interests in this county, half of his well-kept farm of one hundred and sixty acres lying in this county, and his home is just across the road, over the line between Fayette and the adjoining county of Rush. He formerly lived in Fayette county and both he and his wife are members of pioneer families in this part of the state. He was born on a farm in Noble township, Rush county, about two miles south and a little west of the village of Orange, January 19, 1842, son of Elijah and Ann Elizabeth (Rhodes) Beaver, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Virginia, who became useful and influential pioneers of Rush county, where they spent their last days.
Elijah Beaver was born in July, 1808, near Georgetown, Kentucky, and was but eight years of age when his father, Michael Beaver, of Irish parentage, came up into Indiana with his family in 1816, the year in which Indiana was admitted to statehood, and settled in noble township, Rush county, where he procured from the government a tract of land at one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre and there established his home. There Elijah Beaver grew up amid pioneer surroundings and helped to clear the farm in the forest. His father spent the remainder of his life on that pioneer farm, living to be more than ninety-one years of age, and he also spent the remainder of his life there, living to the age of eighty-eight years, a continuous resident of Noble township for eighty years. His wife, Ann Elizabeth Rhodes, was born in Virginia in 1816 and was about fifteen years of age when her parents, John and Margaret (Knox) Rhodes, came to Indiana and settled in Noble township, Rush county, neighbors to the Beavers. The Rhodes family came down the Ohio river in a flatboat to Cincinnati and thence overland to Rush county, establishing their home about a half mile from the present village of Orange, then known as Fayetteville, where they spent the remainder of their lives, with the exception of a short time spent in Wabash county, this state. John Rhodes lived to the great age of ninety-two years.
John M. Beaver grew up on the home farm in Noble township and remained there until his marriage in 1867, when he located in Wabash county, this state, where he spent a couple of years, at the end of which time he came back to this part of the state and located on a farm in Fairview township, this county, not far from his boyhood home, and there he lived for seven years, or until 1876, when he moved to his present home on the west side of the county line in Rush county and has lived there ever since. Mr. Beaver has an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, half of which lies in Fairview township, this county, and the other half, in Rush county, and he has long been quite successfully engaged in general farming, stock raising, fruit growing and grows some tobacco. Two of his sons live nearby and the respective interests of the father and sons remain very closely allied.
On October 23, 1867, John M. Beaver was united in marriage to Mary E. Stewart, who was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, in the neighborhood of Mt. Carmel, in 1850, a daughter of James M. and Elizabeth Ann (Waites) Stewart, the former of whom was born in Ohio and the latter in Missouri. James M. Stewart was born in 1817 at a place now called Goshen, in Ohio, and was twelve years of age when his father, Samuel Stewart, came to Indiana and settled in Franklin county. His mother, who was a McClearney, died in Ohio and his father later married Margaret Earhart. James M. Stewart moved to Wabash county, this state, in 1855, and there spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1888, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife, Ann Elizabeth Waites, was born near Lexington, Missouri, and was left motherless at the age of twelve years. Her father later moved to Atkinson county, Missouri. She survived her husband nine years, her death occurring in April, 1897.
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver have four children, namely: Orpha E., who married O. J. Cook, of Richland township, Rush county, and has four children, Willard O., Wallace, Mrs. Emma Lorene Compton and Mary Evelyn; Hugh E., who married Addie Gray and lives on a farm a half mile south of Fairview; Chester, living on the west side of the Rush county line, just south of his father's place, who married Blanche Murphy and has five children, Lucile, Paul, Belva, Calvin and Emma Elizabeth, and Raymond S., farming just across the road from his father's place, who married Etta Tinder and has two children, a son, Robert Harold, and a daughter, Margaret Jeannette. Mrs. Emma Lorene (Cook) Compton, granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, has one child, a daughter, Mary Estelle, thus making Mr. and Mrs. Beaver great-grandparents before their golden-wedding anniversary. For many years Mr. and .Mrs. Beaver have been members of the Glenwood Methodist Episcopal church and have given their earnest attention to church work, as well as to other neighborhood good works and have been helpful in many ways in advancing the common welfare of the community of which they so long have been residents.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Daniel W. Caldwell, member of the board of county commissioners of Fayette county and the proprietor of a fine farm in Harrison township, where he now resides, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life. He was born on July 25, 1860, youngest son of Samuel and Mary (Parrish) Caldwell, further and extended mention of whose history and ancestry is made elsewhere in this volume.
After his father's death in June, 1896, Daniel TAT. Caldwell bought the interests of the other heirs in the paternal estate and is now the owner of a well-improved farm of one hundred and eighteen acres in section 34 of Harrison township, about two miles north of the village of Harrisburg. He has been a lifelong farmer and has been quite successful in his operations. In addition to his farming, for the past thirty years he has been the owner and operator of a threshing-machine rig and is widely known throughout this part of the country. Though he still owns the threshing outfit, he has not personally operated the same for the past three years, turning the same over to his nephews, who are running it for him. Mr. Caldwell has been an active Democrat from the time he could vote and has ever given his earnest attention to local political affairs. In 1913 he was elected a member of the board of county commissioners from his district and is now serving in that capacity. During Mr. Caldwell's incumbency in that office fine new buildings have been erected at the county infirmary and much has been done by the county in the way of bettering the highways. Commissioner Caldwell is an energetic and public-spirited citizen and believes in promoting public improvements in every proper way.
Daniel W. Caldwell was united in marriage to Mary P. Cole, who also was born in Harrison township, this county, daughter of Alfred G. and Mary P. (Emerson) Cole, further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Alfred G. Cole was born on April 5, 1838, while his parents were on their way from Maryland to Indiana and his early childhood was spent in Wayne county, this state. His parents, Joseph and Patience Cole, later moved down into Fayette county and settled on a farm in Waterloo township, where he grew to manhood on the old Cole homestead, east of Waterloo. He was thrice married, his first wife having been Rhoda Harlan, to which union two daughters were born, Mrs. L. G. Henry and Mrs. Shaffner. A few years after the death of his first wife, Alfred G. Cole married Mrs. Mary P. (Emerson) Roby, of Brownsville, and to that union two children were born, Joseph Cole, of Indianapolis, and Mrs. Caldwell. Following the death of the mother of these children Mr. Cole married Matilda Fiant and to that union five children were born, Kate, Bertha, John, Charles and one who died in childhood. About twenty-five years ago Alfred G. Cole moved from this county to Casey, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring on June 2, 1913, he then being seventy-five years of age.
To Daniel W. and Mary P. (Cole) Caldwell three children have been born, namely: Russell Ward, who died at the age of two years and six months; Elsie M., who married Walter Ray, of Connersville, and has two children, Esther and Mary, and Glenn Alfred, who is at home. The Caldwells have a very pleasant home and have ever taken a proper part in the general social activities of the community in which they live. Mr. Caldwell a is a member of the local aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose and in the affairs of both of these organizations takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Hugh E. Beaver, a well-known and substantial farmer of Fairview township, was born in that township on March 13, 1873, son of John M. Beaver and wife, who are still living in that vicinity, for many years residents on a fine farm just over the line in Rush county, and further and extended mention of whom is made in a biographical sketch relating to John M. Beaver, presented elsewhere in this volume.
Hugh E. Beaver was about two years of age when his parents moved from this county over into Rush county and on the home farm in the latter county he grew to manhood and upon attaining his majority began farming there on his own account. In 1900 he bought the farm on which he is now living, a half mile south of Fairview, in Fairview township, this county, and after his marriage in 1902 established his home there. When he took possession of the place, a tract of eighty acres, it had no improvements on it with the exception of a little shop building, which is still standing. He built a good house and farm building and now has a very well-appointed farm plant. His house is fitted with a hot-water heating plant, has a bath room and is piped for hot and cold running water, one of the most convenient and up-to-date farm houses in that section. He has always used progressive methods in his farming operations and is doing very well.
On May 7, 1902, Hugh E. Beaver was united in marriage to Addie Gray, who was born in Union township, Rush county, this state, a daughter of James and Martha (Nichols) Gray, the former of whom was born on the farm on which he still lives in that county, more than eighty-three years ago. He is a son of James and Mary (Nickel) Gray, who came from Monroe county, Virginia, to Indiana in 1816, the year in which Indiana was admitted to statehood, and settled on a tract of "Congress land" in Union township, Rush county, the farm for so many years owned and occupied by their son, the venerable James Gray, who has lived there all his life.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
William H. Tate, one of the best-known school teachers in Fayette county and the proprietor of a well-developed farm in Columbia township, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Bunker Hill, west of Connersville, June 7, 1869, son of James H. and Louisa (Halstead) Tate, further and extended reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume. The Tates have a long and honorable ancestry, the same being traceable back to Nahum Tate, poet laureate of England, born in 1652, who died in 1715. The name originally was Taite, then Tait, but is now generally spelled Tate. Of this same family was Archibald Campbell Tait, archbishop of Canterbury, born in 1811, who died in 1882. William H. Tate has inherited the poetic instinct of his ancestors and has written a number of very creditable poems, an example of which is set out in the chapter in this work relating to the literary history of Fayette county. He also has written much prose and his services are in demand as a public speaker on various subjects.
Until his marriage, when he was twenty-five years of age, William H. Tate made his home on the paternal farm in the Bunker Hill neighborhood. He supplemented his schooling in the schools of his home district by a course in the Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute and then took up teaching and from, that time to the present has spent his winters as a teacher in the public schools, his summers being occupied in the cultivation of his well-improved farm north of the village of Columbia, in Columbia township. Including the term of 1916-17, Mr. Tate has taught twenty-six consecutive terms of school and the children of some of his earlier pupils have been his pupils in the second generation. During that period he taught three terms of school in Rush county, but the remainder of his service as a teacher has been rendered in Fayette county, extending to the schools of Waterloo, Harrison, Connersville, Jennings, Orange and Columbia townships. His longest period of service in one school was in Orange township, where he presided over one school for twelve years. As noted above, Mr. Tate is frequently called to the lecture platform and is widely known throughout the county as a public speaker. In his farming operations he has been successful and has a well-improved farm near Columbia, where he and his family are very comfortably situated.
On June 6, 1894, William H. Tate was united in marriage to Pareppa R. Bryson, who was born at Laurel, in the neighboring county of Franklin, daughter of Thomas C. and Mary C. (Alzeno) Bryson, the former of whom at that time was the proprietor of a stone quarry at Laurel, but who in the spring of 1885, moved with his family into this county and settled in Columbia township, where he became a substantial sawmill man and farmer. To Mr. and Mrs. Tate four children have been born, one of whom, Mary Louise, died in infancy, the others being James Russell, Thurlow Duane and Garnet Lucile. Mr. and Mrs. Tate are members of the Central Christian church at Connersville, and fraternally Mr. Tate is affiliated with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Elwood Hussey, one of the best-known and most substantial farmers of Posey township, and the proprietor of a fine farm and a pleasant home on rural mail route A, out of Milton, was born on that farm and has lived there all his life. He was born on May 4, 1854, a son of Jonathan and Louisa (Frazier) Hussey, prominent pioneer residents of the northeastern part of Posey township, both long since deceased.
Jonathan Hussey was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, July 30, 1813, a son of John and Mary (Thornburg) Hussey, both of whom also were natives of that same county. John Hussey spent all his life in his native county, his death occurring there in 1816. He left three sons, Jonathan, Henry and Joseph. His widow subsequently married Robert Pitman and in 1833 came to Indiana, whither her brother, Henry Thornburg, and two of her sons, Jonathan and Joseph, had come some years previously, and after a sometime residence in Fayette county moved up into Wayne county, where she died in 1864. By her second marriage she was the mother of three children, John H., Milton and Mary Pitman. It was before he had reached his majority that Jonathan Hussey had come out here from North Carolina to join his uncle, Henry Thornburg, who had settled in Posey township, this county, and when he was twenty-one years of age he walked back to his old home in North Carolina to claim his inheritance. He then returned here, bringing with him his brother, Joseph. The brothers had but one horse and as Joseph Hussey was not so well able to walk as was his brother, Jonathan made almost all of his way back by foot. Upon his return here Jonathan Hussey resumed his place on his uncle's farm and there remained until after his marriage, in the spring of 1841, when he established his home on the farm he had bought in the northeastern part of Posey township, the place on which his son, the subject of this sketch, is now living, and proceeded to improve and develop the same, later becoming the owner of two hundred and forty acres of fine land. There he made his home until about five years after the death of his wife, when, in 1883, he retired from the farm and moved to the village of Milton, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring there on June 11, 1897, he then being nearly eighty-five years of age.
On March 11, 1841, Jonathan Hussey was united in marriage to Louisa Frazier, who was born in Posey township, this county, December 2, 1824, daughter of John and Rachel (Bard) Frazier, pioneers of that township, who had settled on section 6, the place now occupied by William Rayle. Both John Frazier and his wife were natives of North Carolina, the former born on June 3, 1796, and the latter, October 23, 1799. They were married in Wayne county, this state, and afterward settled near Milton, where they remained until 1821, when they came down into Fayette county and settled upon the above mentioned farm in Posey township, where they spent the remainder of their lives, John Frazier dying on May 3, 1856, and his widow surviving until June 23, 1871. They were earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church and were among the leaders in good works in the community which they had helped to develop from pioneer days. They had ten children, Malinda, Sarah, Jane, Louisa, Elizabeth, John B., Elias, Jesse, Samuel and Thomas E. Mrs. Frazier's father, Thomas Beard, was a leader among the pioneers throughout this section in the early days. He settled in the neighborhood of Beeson and during the Indian troubles he and his family, together with the other pioneers of that settlement, were driven to live in the blockhouse which afforded protection in that section. Thomas Beard was of Irish descent and was a wonderfully effective extemporaneous speaker, his services on the hustings in that day being of great value to his party. His brother, John Beard, who served for years as a member of the Indiana Legislature from Montgomery county, owed much of his success to the brilliant campaigns conducted in his behalf by his brother. Representative John Beard was an able coadjutor of Caleb Mills, then president of Wabash College at Crawfordsville, during the effectual campaign in behalf of public schools conducted by Mills before the Legislature and did much to put through legislation in that important behalf, the important action he took in that movement earning for him the title among his friends of "the father of public free schools in Indiana." Patrick Baird (Beard), a delegate from Wayne county to the first constitutional convention held in Indiana, was also a member of this family and took an important part in the deliberations of that convention, having been particularly active in the movement that placed the convention on record admitting Indiana as a "free" instead of a slave state.
To Jonathan and Louisa (Frazier) Hussey ten children were born, namely: Elias, deceased, who was married and had a family: Henry, a farmer living near Milton; John, who died when about two years of age; Jesse, who died when about twenty-one years of age; Eunice, who lived to be sixty-four years of age; Lindley, who is living on a farm south of the old home place; Rachel, widow of Joseph Evans; Elwood, the subject of this biographical sketch; Mary Jane, wife of Elwood Moore and Sarah Olive, wife of George W. Baker. The mother of these children died on September 23, 1880.
Elwood Hussey was reared on the farm on which he was born and where he is now living and has lived there all his life. He received his education in the local schools and from the days of his boyhood was an able assistant to his father in the labors of improving and developing the place. Shortly after his marriage in 1884 his father retired from the farm and he since has occupied the old home, owner of ninety-six acres of the tract formerly owned by his father, and is doing very well in his farming operations and he and his family are very pleasantly and comfortably situated.
In 1884 Elwood Hussey was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna (Ohmit) Males, widow of Benjamin Males and daughter of Emanuel and Sarah (Filby) Ohmit. She was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and was but five years of age when her parents came to Indiana and located at Cambridge City. Emanuel Ohmit was a carpenter and followed his vocation at Cambridge City until his death on October 20, 1900. On January 30, 1865, he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry, in which he was promoted to corporal and served to the close of the war. After his death his widow moved to Milton and still later made her home with Mr. and Mrs. Hussey, at whose home she died on Christmas day, 1912. Emanuel Ohmit and wife were the parents of eight children, of whom Mrs. Hussey was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow: William, of Milton; Carson, of Cambridge City; John, also of Cambridge City; Walter, who died leaving a widow, but no children; Cora, who died in infancy; Sarah, who died when eleven years of age, and Frank, a well-known merchant at Cambridge City, where he is engaged in the grocery, furniture and hardware business. Anna Ohmit was married in 1871 at Cambridge City to Benjamin Males, who was a painter by trade and who made his home at Milton until his death on June 15, 1881, he then being thirty-one years of age. To that union four children were born, namely: Lillie, who married Edward Wasson and lived in Indianapolis until in December, 1916, when they took up their residence with the Husseys, where Nr. Wasson died on February 13, 1917, leaving his widow and one child, a son, Everett; Evelyn, born in 1874, who died when two years of age; Charles William Males, born in 1876, who married Stacey and is now living at Omaha, Nebraska, and Frank Benjamin, born in 1879, who died when about a year old.
To Elwood and Anna (Ohmit) Hussey five children have been born, namely: John L., who is living at home, a valued assistant to his father in the management of the farm; Ernest E., who married Cecile Johnson and lives on a farm near Bentonville; Anna Florence, at home; Sarah Olive, at home, and Ina May, who married Arthur T. Manlove, a farmer living near Bentonville, and has one child, a son, Russell Elwood. The Husseys have a very pleasant home and. take a proper interest in the general social activities of the community in which they live and of which Mr. Hussey has been a resident all his life, ever helpful in promoting movements having to do with the advancement of the common welfare in that part of the county and throughout the county at large.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Frederic I. Barrows was born in township, Portage county, Ohio, October 7, 1873. His ancestry is mentioned in the account of his father, Alvin E. Barrows, found elsewhere in this work. When about seven years old his parents brought him to Connersville, Indiana, and though he had attended school for two years in Ohio, he went entirely through the Connerville schools, being graduated in 1890. He taught public schools in Fayette county in 1891 to 1894 and 1897 to 1900. He was graduated from DePauw University, with the degree of Ph. B., in 1897, and from Georgetown University Law School, with the degree of LL. B., in 1901. He was admitted to the bar of Fayette county in 1899, and to the bar of the supreme court of Indiana in 1902. From 1902 to 1907 he was a member of the law firm of Elliott & Barrows, during which time he also served as captain of Company L, First Indiana National Guard, and county chairman of the Fayette county Republican central committee. He was elected mayor in 1905, serving until January, 1910. He became cashier of the Central State Rank, March 9, 1907, and continued until elected vice-president, in 1913. He was also the organizer and a vice-president of the Falmouth Bank until 1916, when he sold his interest. In 1912 he became the secretary and treasurer of the Lexington Motor Car Company, representing the committee of creditors engaged in winding up the affairs of that concern, and was the secretary and treasurer of the Central Car Company and, later, of The Lexington-Howard Company, which position he still occupies.
On October 5, 1915, Mr. Barrows was united in marriage with Miss Ruth. M. Hull, of Connersville, whose ancestry is mentioned in the article referring to her father, Charles C. Hull, and found elsewhere in this book.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Fred Blake Perkins, a well-known farmer and landowner of Columbia township and a veteran of the Spanish-American War, was born in the township in which he is living and, with the exception of three years spent in Connersville, has lived there all his life. He was born on January 10, 1880, son of Oran and Agnes (Blake) Perkins, both of whom also were born in Fayette county and who spent all their lives here, useful and influential residents of Columbia township.
Oran Perkins was born in Columbia township, this county, December 28, 1845, son of William and Mary A. (Klum) Perkins, both members of pioneer families in this county. William Perkins was born in New England and came to Indiana with his parents in the days of his youth, the family settling in this county in pioneer days, becoming substantial residents of Columbia township. His mother, before her marriage, was Susanna Rogers. William Perkins became a large landowner and was a man of considerable local influence in his community. He married Mary A. Klum, a member of the well-known Klum family, which came from New York state to Indiana and settled on Garrison creek, in Columbia township, this county. Oran H. Perkins farmed all his life in Columbia township and was the owner of a farm of one hundred and seven acres, which he bought there in 1870. On May 3, 1868, he married Agnes E. Blake, also a native of Fayette county, who for a time lived at Bentonville. She was born on June 11, 1847, and from her early childhood lived on the Michener farm. She attended Brookville Academy and for three years before her marriage was engaged in teaching school. The Blake family came from Gloucester county, Virginia, Lewis Blake coming here in 1832 and locating in the northern part of this county, later moving to Columbia township. Oran H. Perkins and wife were active members of the Methodist church and the former was a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge. He died on February 24, 1907, at the age of sixty-one years, and his widow survived him a little more than two years, her death occurring on March 29, 1909, she also being sixty-one years of age at the time of her death. They were the parents of eleven children, two of whom grew to maturity and seven of whom are still living, those besides the subject of this sketch being William, Lewis, Frank, Glen, Mrs. Kate Elliott and Mrs. Elizabeth Murray.
Fred B. Perkins grew up on the home farm in Columbia township, receiving his schooling in the local schools, and on August 9, 1899, enlisted in the regular army for service in the Philippines and was attached to Company G, Thirty-fifth Regiment, United States Volunteer Infantry. This company was organized at Vancouver Barracks, Washington, August 16, 1899, and sailed from Portland, Oregon, on October 4 following, disembarking at Manila on the following November 9. Mr. Perkins served about eighteen months, serving under General Lawton until the latter was killed and then serving under Gen. Fred Grant. During that period of service Mr. Perkins participated in the following engagements: Skirmish at San Miguel on December 11, 1899; skirmish at Barrio Holang, June 24, 1900; Engagement at Culodnag Canayan, December 20, 1909; engagement at Banagdan, January 10, 1901; engagement at Camananan, February 1, 1901, and a skirmish at Bindos Binagdan, February 23, 1901. He was mustered out of service at the Presidio, San Francisco, California, May 2, 1901. Mr. Perkins is a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and of the Improved Order of Red Men.
On June 30, 1903, Fred B. Perkins married Florence Wines, who also was born in Columbia township, this county, daughter and only child of John J. and Julia (Custer) Wines, both also natives of Indiana and the former of whom is still living, making his home with Mr. and Mrs. Perkins. John Jackson Wines is a native Hoosier, born in Decatur county, this state, December 24, 1847, a son of David and Sarah Jane (Pavey) Wines, the former of whom was also a native of Indiana, born in Switzerland county, and the latter, of Hawkins county, Tennessee. David Wines was a son of Capt. John Wines, who was commissioned by Governor Noble to lead a company during the War of 1812, serving in the army of General Jackson and participating in the battle of New Orleans. Captain Wines died at the age of sixty-four years and is buried in Shelby county, this state. Sarah Jane (Pavey) Wines was a daughter of the Rev. John Pavey, a minister of the Baptist church, who moved from Switzerland county, this state, to Decatur county and in the latter county spent his last days. When John J. Wines was about one year of age his parents moved from Decatur county to Shelby county, where his father bought a farm and where the family remained until 1864, when they moved to Tipton county, where David Wines and his wife spent their last days. In 1870 John J. Wines was married in Tipton county and he remained there until February 8, 1876, when he came to Fayette county, where he ever since has made his home. For about twenty years, in connection with his general farming, Mr. Wines gave special attention to the breeding of Shropshire sheep and had a fine lot of pedigreed stock. On September 8, 1901, his home was destroyed by fire, the contents of the house, even to the family apparel, going up in the flames. Included in this loss was the pedigree book of Mr. Wine's flock and since then he has given up the raising of pedigreed stock, and has raised sheep simply for purposes of utility. Mr. Wines is the owner of a well-improved farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Columbia township and his son-in-law, Mr. Perkins, and wife own a farm of seventy-eight acres nearby, Mr. Wines making his home with them.
Mr. Wines has been twice married. In 1870, while living in Tipton county, he married Alice Kitchen, who was born in Hancock county, this state, a daughter of Rev. Andrew and Jeannette (White) Kitchen, natives of Indiana. The Rev. Andrew Kitchen, a minister of the Methodist church, was reared in Rush county. To that marriage one child was born, a daughter, Zella, born on August 11, 1872, who died on April 21, 1890. Mrs. Alice Wines died in November, 1878, and in February, 1880, Mr. Wines married Julia Custer, who was born in Columbia township, this county, a daughter of Hiram and Polly (Limpus) Custer, the former of whom came to this county with his parents from Bourbon county, Kentucky, in the days of his youth and here spent the remainder of his life. From the time she was three years of age until her death, on July 19. 1912. Mrs. Julia Custer Wines lived on the farm on which Mr. Wines is now living. Mrs. Perkins is the only child of this second marriage. Mr. Wines is a member of the Methodist church and, fraternally, is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917