Harley Wilson Griffith, son of Charles W. and Mattie Wilson Griffith, b. Septemer 3, 1893, Bloomfield, Green County, IN.

James McClelland Griffith, son of Louis and Rose Griffith, b. November 1, 1896, Addison Township, Shelby County, IN.

Jesse Jackson, son of Henry and Mary A. M. Jackson, born June 20, 1892, Salem, IN

Otis Clarence Jackson, son of Lindsey C. and Mary E. Jackson, b. March 23, 1891, Harris City, Decatur County, IN.

Paul Stanley Jackson, son of Edward and nancy Jackson, b. May 3, 1898, Versailles, IN.

Ray A. Jackson, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Henry Jackson, b. December 15, 1892, Groveton, N.H.

William Carl Jackson, son of Lorenzo L. and Flora Jackson, b. April 27, 1897, Ripley County, IN.

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Information for the following people can be found in: Biographical and Historical Record of Adams County, IN
William Jackson, native of Ohio, b. Wayne (now Ashland) County, January 16, 1823, son of Henry and Emma (Hoch) Jackson, natives of Berks County, PA.

Biographical and Historical Record of Jay and Blackford Co., IN
I. A. Griffith b. Washington County, PA, May 8, 1836

A Portrait and Biographical Record of Delware and Randolph Co., IN
Roscoe C. Griffith, b. December 15, 1863, Huntington, IN, son of William H. and Seraphina (Clark) Griffith.

Frank G. Jackson M.D. b. Delaware Co., IN, November 25, 1858, son of William N. and Sarah (Collins) Jackson.

James H. Jackson, b. Shelby County, Ohio, February 6, 1823, son of Jesse and Mary Jackson.

John B. Jackson b. Delaware County, IN, September 3, 1846, son of James H. and Elizabeth (West) Jackson.

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Indiana War Records - Gold Star Honor Roll

WARD L. GOUL Engineer, C.A.C. Son of Jesse L. and Alice Goul; born December 15, 1891, Marion, Ind. Moved to Madison County in 1902. Laborer. Enlisted in U.S. Regular Army August 31, 1914, Anderson, Ind. Sent to Columbus Barracks, Ohio. Transferred to Coast Artillery School, Ft. Monroe, Va. Overseas in March, 1918; assigned to 56th Coast Artillery. Died January 25, 1919, in Evacuation Hospital No. 28, from wounds received in action. Buried in american Cemetery, Nantes, France.

JOHN SHIELDS. One of the oldest and honored residents of Franklin Township, Grant county, Indiana, now retired from active pursuits, is a member of the good old Irish family of that name, always known as devout Presbyterians in their native land. A little more than a century and half ago, there lived at Coot Hill, one William Shields. The elder of two brothers, he sold his birthright to the younger, and hen still a little more than a lad bid farewell to his friends and relatives and embarked on a sailing vessel for America, arriving at Philadelphia some years prior to the Revolutionary War. There he met and married a Pennsylvania girl, and began his married life as a farmer in the Keystone state, where his industrious habits soon earned him prosperity. He reared a family of seven sons and two daughters, and later all of the family moved to Augusta county, Virginia, where William Shields and his wife passed their last days dying in the faith of the Presbyterian church. There children all grew to maturity and were married, establishing homes and becoming substantial people of their several communities, and the sons enlisted in the Colonial army, assisting their country in it successful fight for independence.

Of the nine children born to William Shields, William Shields Jr., the grandfather of John Shields, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania about 1750. He early learned the trade of tailor, and accompanied the family in 1770 to Augusta county, Virginia, where, with his six brothers, he enlisted in Washington's army as a member of a Virginia regiment. He continued to serve throughout the war, at the close of which he returned to Virginia and resumed the trade of tailor, going from house to house and measuring, cutting, and sewing the clothes for families of his vicinity, as was the custom in those days. He continued to follow his trade until his death, which occurred in either Virginia or Pennsylvania when he was not yet seventy years of age. He married a Miss Frame, a Virginia girl, and it is thought that she died in her native state. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shields were probably Presbyterians. They were parents of five children namely: William (III); Joseph and Preston, who served in the War of 1812; Ann and Margaret. All lived to advanced ages, and all were married and reared families except Joseph.

Preston Shields, son of William Shields, Jr. and father of John Shields, was born in Augusta county, Virginia about the year 1790, and as a young man enlisted from that county in the War of 1812, becoming an orderly sergeant in a division of Scott's army, under Colonel McDowell. In early life he had been engaged in teaming between Augusta county and Richmond, Virginia, and it may be that he drove a team during his army service. At the close of the war he returned to his home, and in 1815 migrated to Green county, Ohio, where he began life as a farmer in the wilds, also driving a team to Cincinnati. He was there married to Della Fulkerson, who was born, reared and educated in Frederick county, Virginia, and who had gone to Greene county, Ohio, about 1810 or 1812 with her parents, Richardson and Clara (Moore) Fulkerson. In 1848 Mr. and Mrs. Shields migrated to Indiana, purchasing slightly improved land in Richland township, Jay county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Shields passed away, aged eighty years, while his widow passed away seven years later, being seventy-nine years old. Mr. Shields was a Whig and later a Republican, but took no active part in party affairs. They reared a fine family of stalwart children, as follows: William (IV), who was twice married, and was a farmer in Jay county, Indiana; James, who was married and died in Franklin township, Grant county, when seventy-nine years of age; John of this review; David, who died at the age of eighteen years; Joseph who died when two and one- half years of age; Benjamin, who was a soldier in the 19th Volunteer Infantry and died during the war in Washington, D. C.; Clara, who is the wife of William Wright, of Dunkirk, Indiana; Hannah, who died after her marriage to Siras Bargdol; and Richard, the youngest, who is single and lives in the South. John Shields was born Green county, Ohio, July 21, 1826, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits and also engaged in sawmilling. He was married December 6, 1849, to Araminta Jane Wroe, who was born in Frederick county, Virginia, in 1829, and came to Ohio with her parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Pagett) Wroe. They had come to Somerset, Ohio, as early as 1831 and in 1836 settled in Green county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives. In 1851, John Shields and his young bride, came to Grant county, Indiana, on a visit and they were so favorably impressed with the country that in February, 1852, they returned, to make this their permanent home. They located at what is now Roseburg, Franklin township, where Mr. Shield's secured a one-fourth interest in a sawmill, the country at that time being almost entirely covered with good timber. A man of industry and energy, he accumulated some small capital, and in 1855 made his first investment in farming land, purchasing a tract of seventy-four acres of partly improved property. this he later sold, with his milling interest and some land he owned in Jay county, and bought eighty acres of land in another part of Franklin township.. Subsequently, in 1866 he bought a better tract of eighty acres, in second 16, on which he settled after the war, and which he made one of the best farms in Grant county. For forty years Mr. Shields made this farm his home, erecting handsome buildings, and installing improvements and equipment, and at the time of his retirement was considered one of the most substantial men in his community. Although now eighty-seven years of age, he is alert and active, and having lived a life of temperance and probity, still weighs 165 pounds. He is a pleasing conversationalist, and his memory is testified by his entertaining reminiscences of early days.

Mr. Shields is a veteran of the Civil war. On August 10, 1862, he enlisted for a service of three years in Company C, Twelfth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being attached to Sherman's Corps. He participated in every battle, skirmish and march from Missionary Ridge to Bentonville, North Carolina, his record including twenty-one battles. Although always a brave and valiant soldier, to be found in the thickest of the fight, he escaped with a slight wound on the side of his nose, this being caused by a ball which glanced from a limb of an oak tree. As he remembers it his hardest fought battle was that at Atlanta, July 28, 1864, when the men stood face to face and fought it out until the enemy were driven from the field. Mr. Shields never yielded to the temptations of whiskey while in the service, and, in fact, has not touched a drop since 1855. He was honorably discharged June 8, 1865, with a record which compares favorably with that of any soldier who participated in the great war between the North and South.

On December 5, 1849, in Green county, Ohio, Mr. Shields was married to a boyhood sweetheart, whom he met when but twelve years old, Araminta Jane Wroe. She proved a valued and loving helpmeet, and in her death, which occurred in 1909, at the age of eighty years, the community lost a kindly Christian woman, a devout Quakeress, and one who was widely known for her many charities, Mr. and Mrs. Shields became the parents of the following children: Clarinda, who died at the age of eighteen years, a young woman of much promise; Araminta, wife of Allen J. Overman, a grocer of Marion, who has four children, all married except one; Sarah M., wife of Dr. N. Pierce Haines, of Marion, a physician at the Insane Hospital, and has a family; Maggie, the wife of Harry Hoadley, living in Spokane, Washington, who has four sons and one daughter; Prestina, the wife of William Howe, a farmer near Landesville, Indiana, and has two daughters; and Benjamin W., a twin of Prestina, one of the best-known horse buyers and dealers of Grant county, who married Clara Parks, and has had three sons and two daughters, of whom two sons and one daughter survive. Mr. Shields has eleven grandson, ten granddaughters, and twenty-one great-grandchildren. Mr. Shield's is a Prohibitionist in his political views. He is public-spirited and progressive, and at all times is ready to support measures for the good of his community.

Blackford and Grant Counties Vols. I and II, A Chronicle of their People Past and Present With Family Lineage and Personal Memoirs, Complied Under the Editorial Supervision of BENJAMIN G. SHINN, Illustrated, THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, CHICAGP AMD NEW YORK, 1914 - Page 660
Submitted by: Peggy Karol

ELIHU J. OREN. A resident of Monroe Township for more than seventy years and one of the best known and most successful farmers and citizens of that locality. Elihu J. Oren is a product of pioneer environment and of the old-fashioned log school house, of the kind that has passed down into history along with the stage-coach and the hoop-skirt. the school days, even in that rough and primitive institution were limited and much of his education was obtained at his father's knee, and by schooling as he was able to give himself in the opportunity if leisure. In spite of its many deficiencies, however, this old-fashioned training has a way of bringing out sober, industrious, God-fearing men, such as Elihu J. Oren himself, the kind of men who have proved the backbone and mainstay of our nation, and have reared up a steady new generation of able men and women for the honor of the country. Elihu J. Oren was born February 20, 1835, in Greene county, Ohio, a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Evans) Oren, the father a native of Tennessee, and the mother of southern Indiana. Col. Robert M. Evans, an uncle of Elizabeth Evans platted and laid out the site of Evansville, Indiana. Elizabeth Evans was born in Davis county, Indiana. Jesse Oren, the father, was born December 12, 1806, and died September 13, 1874. His father, John Oren, moved to Clinton county, Ohio, in 1818, and his people were Quakers. Jesse Oren was reared in Clinton county, Ohio, and on September 12, 1830, married Elizabeth Evans. Her death occurred May 8, 1863. Jesse Oren and wife moved to Grant county with their family and reached Monroe township, November 12, 1841. They had to cut a road from the Charles Atkinson place to the site of the eighty acres which the father had bought in the midst of the woods. Not an acre of the land was cleared and the first home of the family in this county was a rough cabin built of round logs, and with scarcely any furniture or creature comforts. Jesse Oren bought eighty acres, but soon afterwards a period of invalidism seized him and his son Elihu assumed the obligations of this new land. The nine children in the family of the parents were: John E., deceased; Mrs. Margaret Skinner, deceased; Elihu J.; Mrs. Elizabeth Atkinson, deceased; and. Rebecca S. Hunnicut, deceased; Sarah Jane Benedict; Rachel Kirkpatrick, and Ester Foy; all three deceased; and Henry G. of Blackford county. The father of these children was an excellent scholar for his time, and in default if the poor schools that existed in this section if Indiana, he did much of the work of instruction among his growing children. Elihu J. Oren for a few terms attended the number eight school in Monroe township, and supplied the other deficiencies of his training with the wisdom of his father, and by close observation and practical experience. He lived with his father until the latter's death, and contributed his labor to the support of the family and the care of his invalid father. He then came into possession of the home place of eighty acres and bought other land as he was able until at the present time he is the owner of two hundred acres, with eighty acres in section 20; eighty acres in section 28, and he and his son have a place of eighty acres in section 32, all in Monroe Township. The homestead is in section 28. Mrs. Oren also owns fifteen acres in Blackford county. The crops for 1912 on the Oren estate aggregated two thousand bushels of corn, twelve hundred bushels of oats, twenty tons of hay. He fed and wintered fifty-two hogs, and a considerable bunch of cattle. Each year about seventy hogs are sent to market from the Oren farm, and the other herds of stock include about a carload of cattle every year, some twenty sheep and eleven horses for the work of the farm. Mr. Oren has a very comfortable homestead and it is one of the oldest houses in this section of the county, having been built under his supervision in 1861, more than half a century ago. All the limber for the dwelling was hand dressed, its walls and framing were put together very strong, and there are few houses of modern construction which would stand so long as this one. The dwelling is situated on an eminence, and both house and barns are painted a dark green. The barn was finished in October 1876. Mr. Oren was married March 6, 1871, to Miss Mary Townsend, a daughter of James F. Townsend. Two of their children died in infancy, and they have reared ten, named as follows: Jason, of Gas City; Otto, of Carroll county, Missouri, Jasper, at home in Monroe township; Mrs. Bertha Atkinson of Monroe township; James E. a dairyman of Center township; Bruce C., a blacksmith at Upland in Jefferson township; Fletcher H., of Upland; Warren, at home; Stella Atkinson, of Gas City; Charles at home. In the community life of Monroe township Mr. Oren has long been an important factor. He is a Democrat and has taken active and influential part in party councils. In 1872 he was chosen to the office of township trustee, and by reelection served for eight years consecutively. In 1884 he was again a successful candidate for the same office, and served for four years, making twelve years in all. He has frequently attended state and congressional conventions as a delegate and was a delegate to the last congressional convention in the campaign of 1912. Religiously he supports the Universalist faith. Fraternally he is very prominent in several organizations. He became a member of the Masonic lodge at Jonesboro in 1860, and now affiliates with the Areana Lodge F. & A.M., of Upland, of which he is a charter member and was the first Master. He belongs to the Chapter and the Council at Hartford City. He affiliates with the Shilder Lodge No. 352, I. O. O. F. at Upland, and is also a member of the Encampment. He belongs to the Hartford City Lodge No. 625 of the B. P. O. E. Mr. Oren was the first master and a charter member of the Areana lodge of Masons then at Areana, now located at Upland. He has filled all the chairs in the Odd Fellows subordinate lodge and also the encampment, and has represented both division in state meetings. He serves as a delegate to the state meeting of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Anderson, Ind., in 1912, and also Lafayette in 1913, representing Hartford City Lodge, No. 625.

Blackford and Grant Counties Vols. I and II, A Chronicle of their People Past and Present With Family Lineage and Personal Memoirs, Complied Under the Editorial Supervision of BENJAMIN G. SHINN, Illustrated, THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, CHICAGP AMD NEW YORK, 1914 - Page 543
Submitted by: Peggy Karol

PETER J. WIESE, of Union City, is a son of Ferdinand and Gertrude (Belke) Wiese, and was born in Darke county, Ohio, December 21, 1843. He was reared on a farm until eighteen, but had very good opportunities for an education. He first attended the schools in Darke county, then a German school at Piqua, Ohio, and next learned bookkeeping at a commercial college at Dayton, ohio, and in 1863 began to learn telegraphy in the office of the Bee Line company at Union City, Ind. In November, 1866, he entered the employ of the same company as night operator, and worked at Marion, Sidney, Anderson, Fortville and Indianapolis, until May, 1872, when he became train dispatcher on the Indianapolis division; was promoted to chief dispatcher in January, 1881, and held the position until September, 1892, when he was made trainmaster on the Indianapolis division of the "Big 4" for a distance of 202 miles, having charge of all movements of freight, conductors and brakemen, and during his services for twenty years has never cost the company the loss of one cent by disaster. He has at present supervision over thirty-nine crews, averaging three men each, and over thirty-nine trains daily, with the assistance of one clerk. Mr. Wiese was married in 1871 to Miss Angie, daughter of John and Maria J. (Williams) Brewster, of Fortville, Ind., and to this marriage has been born one son -Frank J., at home.

The parents of Mr. Wiese were both natives of Prussia, who crossed the ocean to Maryland in 1835, and in 1837 migrated to Ohio, where they settled in the woods in Darke county, cleared up the land, made two farms and reared a family of four children, of whom Peter J. is the youngest. The father, Ferdinand Wiese, died in 1861 at the age of sixty-five years, but the mother, Gertrude (Belke) Wiese, survived until 1872, when she was called away at the age of seventy-three. They were members of the Catholic church of Union City, and were liberal in their contributions to the erection of the first Catholic church in that place. Joseph Wiese, the eldest brother of Peter J. (our subject), now lives on the home farm; Elizabeth, a sister, is the wife of John Altenbach, a farmer, and Catherine, who was the wife of P.G. Kennedy, died in 1877. Peter J. Wiese is democratic in politics, and he and his wife are members of the Catholic church. Mr. Wiese is one of the leading and most trusted employes in the employ of the "Big 4 railway company, as may be inferred from what has been said above.

A PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF DELAWARE AND RANDOLPH COUNTIES, IND. A.W. Bowen & Co., 1894 - Page 1436
Submitted by: Dusti

Y.F. WHITE. In November 1912, the people of Grant county chose for the office of sheriff a citizen whose fitness for such responsibility and honor is unquestioned and exceptional. Sheriff White has been a resident of Grant county most of his life, has been a practical and successful farmer, and has always been noted for his honesty and efficiency in every undertaking with which his name has been connected.

Y. F. White was born February 4, 1867, in Fairfield county, Ohio, a son of Levi and Carrie (Borns) White. The father, a native of Pennsylvania, was a farmer by occupation and during the Civil war served as a soldier of the Union. From Pennsylvania he moved into Ohio, where he spent ten years, and then came to Indiana when his son Y.F. was six years of age, locating in Monroe township, Grant county. The following year he transferred his residence into Washington township, where he bought a farm which remained his own home for many years, and was the place where the children grew to manhood. About eight years before his death the father moved into Marion, where he died in 1908. The mother passed away in the same year. They were the parents of five sons, who are all living and named as follows: Curtis A. White of Marion; Y.F.; William E. of Marion; Frank L., and owner of a farm in Van Buren township in this county; and John I., on the old home farm. Mr. Y.F. White was born on the farm, remained a farmer practically all his career, being still engaged in that occupation, though he has for four years resided in Marion. His early education was attained in the district schools and was completed at the Marion Normal College. When twenty-two years of age he left the home farm and spent the next three years on another place owned by his father in Van Buren township. At the end of that time his industry and good management had enabled him to begin business on his own account, and he bought a farm in Huntington county, close to the Grant county line. That remained his place of residence and activities until his removal to Marion four years ago. He lived in Texas with his family, in the winter of 1909, but then returned and opened a real estate office in Marion.

An influential Democrat in this county for many years, Mr. White was nominated on May 11, 1912, for the office of sheriff, made a successful campaign and entered upon the duties of his office on January 1, 1913. Mr. White still retains ownership of a farm in Washington township, and the old home place in Huntington county. In 1889 he married Miss Sarah E. Ridenour, daughter of Solomon Ridenour of Hocking county, Ohio. The two children born to their marriage are Boyd C. and Blanche White, both at home. Fraternally Mr. White is affiliated with the Loyal Order of Moose and the Elks lodge, and he and his family worship in the United Brethren church.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY INDIANA 1812-1912 The Lewis Publishing Company, 1914 Page 751-752 with photo
Submitted by: Dusti

ERNEST G. ZIMMER, M.D. A worthy representative of the medical profession in Grant County, is Dr. Ernest G. Zimmer, who for the past fourteen years has been located at Upland, and whose professional work began more than a quarter of a century ago. Both by his personal character and his technical ability he has dignified his calling, and has won a prestige by which he well merits recognition in this volume of Grant county biography. Dr. Zimmer is a graduate of the Cincinnati School of Medicine and Surgery, with the class of 1886. Soon after leaving medical college he established himself in practice at Santa Fe, Miami county, Indiana, and was in active practice there, until 1899. Then, following a course at the Chicago Polyclinic, he located at Upland, where he has built up a representative clientage and is recognized as one of the leaders of his profession.

Dr. Zimmer was born at Cincinnati, Ohio in 1858. His early advantages after the common schools were secured largely through his own work with an ambition definitely fixed upon a professional career. He was a student in the normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, and spent two years in the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and later graduated with the degree of M.D. at the Cincinnati School of Medicine and Surgery. His father, George Zimmer, had a noteworthy career as a German immigrant to America. Born in Baden, Germany, he was of a good family, and many of its members gained distinction both in military and civic life. He was reared in his land, where he learned the trade of a baker, and then in the revolutionary activities of the late forties he found himself a patriot on the side of the rebels. His uncle, General Wiler, of the German Army, advised young George to flee from his native country and use all secrecy in making his escape, leaving by night, otherwise he would pay forfeit of his life for his rebellion. He escaped from Baden and became a stowaway on a sailing vessel bound for the United States. Arriving in the City of New york without a penny, he begged a loaf of bread, and that was his only food for three days, while in the meantime he spent three nights in a deserted church. At the end of that time he found work at three dollars a week, and finally drifted west to Cincinnati. Within a few years he had saved money enough to send for his sweetheart, whom he had left behind in Germany. Her name was Catherine Sutter, who was born in the same town as George Zimmer. After her arrival in the United States they were married, and started out to make their fortunes. As a baker Mr. Zimmer found regular employment in different places, and finally, with a capital of four hundred dollars, he went to Keokuk, Iowa, during the boom in that city, and invested all his savings in real estate. The boom collapsed, and all his surplus was thus swept away. With his wife and baby, Ernest G., he had to work his way back to Cincinnati, stopping at St. Louis a brief time, and then on to their destination. He soon afterward located at St. Paris, Ohio, where he was engaged in business for himself and lived until his death in 1893. He was born in 1827. His wife was born in 1830, and passed away in 1906. In her native land she had been a school teacher, and throughout her life kept up on current literature. She was a woman of unusual powers of mind and character. Both were members of the Evangelical church in Germany, and in this country worshipped in the Lutheran faith. On first coming to America, George Zimmer espoused the principles of the Whig party, and afterward was a staunch adherent of the principles of the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmer were the parents of eight children, six of whom grew to maturity and are still living and four of these are married and have children of their own. Frank A. is a prominent lawyer in Urbana, Ohio and has one son. Emanuel R. is a dentist engaged in practice in Greenville, Missouri and has one daughter. Fritz is unmarried, being a baker by trade, and also lives in Greenville, Missouri. Mrs. Mary Mitchell, who for a number of years was a successful teacher at St. Paris, Ohio. Dr. Zimmer, the oldest of the children, was married in Ohio to Miss Eva Cook. Detroit, Michigan was her birthplace, and she received superior educational advantages in different places, chiefly in Chester county, Pennsylvania, near the home of Bayard Taylor. Dr. Zimmer and wife, have one daughter, a talented young woman who is well known in Grant county, Miss Edna George Zimmer, who resides with her parents. She was educated in the Upland public schools and Taylor University. She early showed talent as a musician, and by study at home and under excellent instructors has become very proficient as a violinist and is now a member of the faculty of the Marion Conservatory of Music. Dr. Zimmer is affiliated with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his politics is Republican.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY INDIANA 1812-1912 The Lewis Publishing Company, 1914 Page 162-1263
Submitted by: Dusti