ARTHUR HEATH WOODWORTH, A. M., dean of Hanover College, at Hanover, Jefferson County, in which institution he likewise holds the professorship of social science, was born at Sayre, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1880, and is one of the four children born to John A. and Rose (Wright) Woodworth, both likewise natives of the old Keystone State and both representatives of families that were founded in America in the Colonial period of our national history. Major General Heath, who was a distinguished patriot officer in the War of the Revolution, was one of the ancestral figures in the paternal lineage of the subject of this review, who received his second personal name in honor of that Revolutionary officer. The religious faith of both the Woodworth and Wright families has been for many generations that of the Presbyterian Church, and in this connection it. is pleasing to record that Prof. Arthur Heath Woodworth is not only a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church but is also dean of an educational institution that is maintained under the fostering auspices of that church.

John A. Woodworth's mother was a kin of the old American family named Mount, and a celebrated early American artist was the talented painter of this family name. John A. Woodworth was a man of superior intellectuality and his sterling character found expression in loyal citizenship and in active service in furthering political, educational, religious and general civic interests in his community.

Prof. Arthur H. Woodworth supplemented the discipline of the high school of Sayre, Pennsylvania, by completing a course in Lafayette College, at Easton, that state. In this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1904 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He thereafter did post- graduate work in the great University of Chicago, which conferred upon him, in 1906, the degree of Master of Arts. In 1906-07 he was retained as an instructor in Redfield College, South Dakota, and during the period of 1908- 11 he was professor of history and social science in William and Vashti College, Aledo, Illinois. In 1911-12 he held a fellowship in sociology at the University of Chicago, and he then was called to his position at Hanover College, where he was acting president of the institution in 1927-28.

Professor Woodworth has membership in the American Sociological Society, the American Political Science Association, the American Economic Association, the Indiana Association of Economists and Sociologists, and the Indiana council of the National Economic League. In the World war period he was local director of the drive for the sale of War Savings Stamps and was influential in other patriotic activities in Jefferson County. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party and he and his wife are earnest members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Woodworth, whose maiden name was Mina J. McIntyre, was born and reared in Illinois, is a woman of culture and gracious personality, and is a popular figure in the social life of her home community. Professor and Mrs. Woodworth have no children.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


FRANK J. McMICHAEL, M. D. The medical and surgical fraternity of Lake County has a worthy and competent representative at Gary in the person of Dr. Frank J. McMichael, who has been engaged in practice at that place since 1908, with the exception of the time he was in the military service as an army surgeon during and after the World war. A man of ripened experience, great humanity and vast natural ability, he has reached a high place in his profession, at the same time being no less esteemed for the manner in which he has lent his abilities to the furtherance of beneficial community affairs.

Doctor McMichael was born at Plainwell, Allegan County, Michigan, May 23, 1884, and is a son of John Henry and Mary (Tappen) McMichael. His paternal grandfather, Aaron McMichael, spent practically his entire life in agricultural operations in Erie County, New York, and he and his wife are buried in the cemetery at North Collins in that county. John Henry McMichael was born and reared in New York State, and in young manhood moved to Michigan. At the outbreak of the war between the states, he enlisted in the Union army and fought through a number of hard engagements with the Army of the West, following which he returned to the duties of civilian life and became an early settler of Plainwell, Michigan, at a time when that point was only a junction. From small beginnings as a journeyman carpenter he rose to be a substantial general contractor, and during his day erected many large buildings and handsome residences. He was a Mason, and died June 16, 1898, being buried in the cemetery at Plainwell. Mr. McMichael married Miss Mary Tappen, who was born near Auburn, New York, of Holland Dutch and English descent. Her mother died when she was three and one- half years of age, and the family moved to Sullivan County, New York, whence she came west to Michigan in young womanhood. In the fall of 1908 she moved to Gary and lived with her son until her death, August 1, 1927, when she was buried by the side of her husband in Hillside Cemetery at Plainwell, Michigan. She was active in religious and club work and a woman of superior intellect and character.

The only child of his parents, Frank J. McMichael attended the public schools of Plainwell, where he was graduated from high school as a member of the class of 1902. He then entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, being graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1907 and then served his interneship in the Calumet & Hecla Copper Mining Company Hospital at Calumet, Michigan. On December 1, 1908, Doctor McMichael established his residence and office at Gary, and here has built up a large and substantial practice in general medicine and surgery. During the World war he served on the draft board No.3 as medical examiner and on the appeal board and others from May, 1917, until September, 1918, when he was commissioned a first lieutenant in the United States Army Medical Corps and served at Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina, until after the signing of the armistice. He was then sent to General Hospital No. 11, Cape May, New Jersey, where he was engaged in reconstruction hospital work until receiving his honorable discharge July 12, 1919. At that time he went to St. Luke's Hospital and the Vanderbilt Clinic, New York City, for post-graduate work, specializing in urology, which is his present specialty at Gary, where he has modern and commodious offices at No. 1036 Gary State Bank Building. Doctor McMichael has gone far in his profession, in which he will doubtless reach a high and unassailable place. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the Indiana State Medical Society and the Lake County Medical Society; is senior and consulting surgeon of the staffs of St. Mary's, Mercy and the Methodist hospitals at Gary, and St. Catherine's Hospital at Indiana Harbor, Indiana, and bears an excellent reputation among his fellow-practitioners. Fraternally he is affiliated with Roosevelt Lodge No. 716, A. F. and A. M., Gary; Gary Chapter No. 139, R. A. M.; Gary Council No. 103, R. and S. M.; Gary Commandery No. 57, K. T., and Orak Temple, A. A.. O. N. M. S., Hammond. He is likewise prominent in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being a past exalted ruler and an honorary life member card of gold presented to him by his esteemed loyal knight of the Grand Lodge, B. P. O. Elks, for 1929-1930, and has in his possession a gold card case with his life member card of gold presented to him by his home lodge at Gary at a banquet held in his honor August 1, 1929. Since the age of eighteen years, he has been a member of the Knights of the Maccabees, is a charter member of Gary Chapter No. 365, O. E. S.; a member of the Sons of Union Veterans and of the Gary Commercial Club and Chamber of Commerce; a charter member of the Gary Country Club, a member of the Gary University Club and of Gary Memorial Post No. 17, American Legion, a life member of the University of Michigan Union, a member of the Medinah Athletic Club of Chicago, and a member of the Chicago Motor Club. In politics he is a Republican.

At Gary, Indiana, June 30, 1926, Doctor McMichael was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Irene Fair, daughter of Perry W. and Aurelia (Larimore) Fair. Mr. Fair, who was for many years a prominent architect of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was a Mason and active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died April 8, 1922, and was buried at Fort Wayne, while his widow still survives him and makes her home with Doctor and Mrs. McMichael at Gary. Mrs. McMichael is a graduate of the high school at Fort Wayne, the National Kindergarten College, Chicago, and Mrs. Blaker's Kindergarten College, Indianapolis, Indiana. From 1919 until 1926 she was a teacher in the kindergarten department of the Gary public schools, and is now active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Order of the Eastern Star and women's clubs. Doctor and Mrs. McMichael are the parents of one son: John Perry, born October 24, 1927. If he may be said to have a hobby outside of his professional work, Doctor McMichael inclines toward duck hunting and fishing, and likewise enjoys an occasional game of golf.

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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


EVAN C. TOTTEN, M. D., is one of the representative physicians and surgeons engaged in practice at Madison, the judicial center of Jefferson County. He has membership in the Indiana State Medical Society, the Fourth District Medical Society, and the Jefferson County Medical Society, in his home city is a member of the staff of the King's Daughters Hospital and he formerly served as a member of the city board of health.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


W. R. BOLLES. Among the influential men of Jackson County W. R. Bolles holds a prominent place in the development of the mercantile and industrial business of his time. His activities centered in the town of Ewing, now Brownstown.

In 1869 he established a small general store at Ewing, on the B. & O. Railroad, and from this business developed a trading center unequalled in the county. Mr. Bolles also dealt in timber in its various phases, operating a stave and hoop factory, a cooper shop and spoke factory, in addition to his other business.

He with two members of his family built and established the Ewing Flour Mill and was its first operator. Disposing of this business, he gave his time to his increasing mercantile business and farming interests until 1911, when poor health compelled his to lessen his activities and he retained only the hardware and implement departments of his business. This business he conducted together with the Brownstown Planing Mill & Lumber Yard and his farms until his death in 1924.

Mr. Bolles was prominently connected with every industry brought to the town of Ewing, having been instrumental in establishing the paper industry now owned by John E. Kieffer and operated under the name of Kieffer Paper Mills.

Mr. Bolles was a native of Jackson County, the son of Calvin C. and Sarah Goodridge Bolles, born in New York State ana Vermont, respectively. He married Rachel Robertson, of Jackson County, daughter of John Blaze and Elizabeth Wayman Robertson. Their two children were Charles A. and Myrtle. Charles A. married Mabel Scott, of Jackson County, and Myrtle married Capt. Ralph B. Applewhite, son of James F. Applewhite, who was a native of Mississippi and a son of Judge Ralph Applewhite, who served with distinction on the Indiana circuit bench for a number of years.

Capt. Ralph and Myrtle Bolles Applewhite had one son, James R., now owner of the Brownstown Planing Mill & Lumber Company.

On the death of W. R. Bolles in 1924 Mrs. Applewhite took active charge of his business and is now its sole owner and general manager. The Bolles Hardware Company is one of the leading business establishments of Brownstown and carries a complete line of heavy hardware, implements and farm supplies. Mrs. Applewhite is active in civic affairs and has served for a number of years on the board of trustees of the Brownstown Cemetery and of the Town Library, and has given her support and influence to many community projects.

Charles A. Bolles took over his father's farming interest and is the owner of a large stock farm in the vicinity of Brownstown. He has two sons, Robert and Richard.

W. R. Bolles gained in his better than half century of business activities in Brownstown a lasting reputation for unquestionable honor and integrity in his business relationships.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


HON. WILLIAM T. QUILLIN. A leading member of the Indianapolis bar, Hon. William T. Quillin has been engaged in the practice of his profession since 1913. During this time he has been called upon to fill a number of public positions of responsibility and trust, and in every case has fully vindicated the faith reposed in him by his fellow citizens.

Mr. Quillin was born March 10, 1886, in Greene County, Indiana, and is a son of Nelson M. and Aurelia (Frey) Quillin. He comes of an old and honored Colonial family, members of which took part in the War of the Revolution, while later on men bearing this family name fought valiantly for the Union during the dark days of the war between the states. Nelson M. Quillin was born in Greene County, Indiana, and in young manhood engaged in school teaching, which he followed in conjunction with farming. In 1882 he was elected sheriff of Greene County, and died in office after three and one-half years of service, in 1886.

William T. Quillin was only eight months old when his father died and his education, therefore, was gained largely through his own efforts. After attending the grade and high schools at Bloomfield, Indiana, he pursued a law course at the Benjamin Harrison Law School, Indianapolis, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws as a member of the class of 1913. Mr. Quillin was twenty-seven years of age when he entered upon the practice of his profession at Indianapolis, and since then has built up a large general professional business, his offices being located at 427 Lemcke Building. He is known as a strong, reliable and able attorney, well grounded in the principles and precedents of law and is thoroughly familiar with court routine and procedure. He has taken part in much important litigation with uniform success and has won the confidence of a large following and the esteem and respect of his fellow practitioners. From the time that he entered upon his career Mr. Quillin has taken an active part in politics and public affairs, and in 1924 was elected to the State Senate, in which body he served with ability for four years. In 1926 he was appointed an attorney for the park board, serving one term; was a member of the faculty of the Benjamin Harrison Law School in 1926 and 1927; and in 1928 was nominee for the office of congressman. Mr. Quillin is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and belongs to the Englewood Christian Church. In 1918 he enlisted in Company C, Sixty-third Engineers, with which outfit he arrived in France July 29, and served until receiving his honorable discharge May 12, 1919, having been promoted to the rank of corporal.

Mr. Quillin married Miss Dale Ahern, who was born in Indianapolis, and they are the parents of four children, three of whom are attending school. The pleasant family home is situated at 22 North Temple Avenue.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


GWYNN FOSTER PATTERSON has become a prominent figure in financial affairs in the fair capital city of his native state, as is evident when it is noted that he is now vice president of the Indiana National Bank, one of the staunch and important institutions of Indianapolis.

Mr. Patterson was born at Morgantown, Indiana, October 20, 1879, and is a son of Charles A. and Lucy (Dihl) Patterson, his father having been born and reared in Pennsylvania and having thence come to Indiana in the year 1860. Gwynn F. Patterson acquired in the schools of his native place his early educational discipline, and there likewise he gained his initial experience of practical order, he having been a lad of thirteen years when he assumed the position of errand boy for a local printing establishment. He was thus engaged one year, and he then made advancement by taking the position of messenger boy for the Merchants National Bank of Indianapolis, January 5, 1895. Nine months later he became head messenger for the Capital National Bank, with which institution he rendered a faithful and efficient service in various positions of ever-increasing responsibility until he proved himself eligible for and was advanced to the office of assistant cashier of the institution, in 1906. Two years later, in 1908, he was elected cashier, and of this office he continued the valued incumbent until 1918, when the institution was consolidated with the Indiana National Bank, the title of which has since been retained, and he was made the cashier of the latter. In 1925 Mr. Patterson was elected vice president, the office of which he has since continued the incumbent, and even the brief data of this review indicate how essentially and emphatically he has won success and prestige in Indianapolis banking circles entirely through his own ability, loyalty and constructive service, marked by high ideals and unswerving integrity and fidelity of purpose. Mr. Patterson is a director of the American Central Life Insurance Company, the general offices of which are in Indianapolis, and he is a director and also the treasurer of the local Rotary Club. He gave two years' service as treasurer of the Indiana Bankers Association, and he is now the Indiana State president of the American Bankers Association. In the Masonic fraternity he has received the thirty- second degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, he is a member of the Columbia Club in his home city, and his political allegiance is given to the Republican party. In the World war period he was active and influential in advancing the various patriotic work in the capital city and Marion County, was in charge of the drive of the second Liberty Loan campaign and was a valued member of the Speakers Guild.

Mr. Patterson married Miss Blanche A. Spahr, who was born and reared in Indianapolis, and the one child of this union is a daughter, Elizabeth, who is the wife of Garland D. Wilson, of this city, their one child being a son, Foster Clark Wilson.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


SAMUEL HARRY MILGRAM. Time has proved that the right man and the right opportunity were brought into effective coincidence when Samuel H. Milgram came to Gary, Indiana, and here engaged in the retail shoe business, of which he is one of the influential and representative exponents at the present time, as proprietor of the metropolitan establishment known as the Milgrams M. B. Boot Shops, Inc., at 1336 Broadway, and also of the Peacock Shoe Shop, at 572 Broadway. He has become one of the progressive and successful merchants of the younger generation in the great industrial metropolis of Lake County, and here is a director and heavy stockholder of the Peoples State Bank. He has made a reputation that constitutes one of his best and most potent business assets.

Mr. Milgram was born in Odessa, Russia, March 17, 1892, and was a lad of about seven years at the time the family came to the United States and established residence in Wisconsin. He is a son of Harry and Dora (Springberg) Milgram, who were born and reared in Odessa, where they continued to maintain their home until they came to the United States, about the year 1900. The family home was maintained in Wisconsin until 1911, and there Harry Milgram had been a merchant, first at Merrill and later at Wisconsin Rapids. In 1911 he came to Gary, Indiana, where he lived virtually retired until his death, which occurred in December, 1918, he having passed away at the age of fifty- eight years and his mortal remains having been interred in one of the beautiful cemeteries of the City of Chicago. In Gary he was an earnest member of Temple Beth El, as is also his widow, who here resides at 1534 West Fifth Avenue. Of the seven children the eldest is P. Milgram, who still remains in Odessa, Russia; Morris is a druggist at Gary, Indiana; Edward is engaged in the shoe business at Gary; Samuel H., of this sketch, is the next younger; David likewise is engaged in the shoe business at Gary; Sallie is the wife of Harry Zimmerman, of Gary, and is here a popular teacher in the Emerson High School; and Miss Elizabeth remains with her widowed mother.

In the Wisconsin public schools Samuel H. Milgram continued his studies until he had duly profited by the advantages of the high school at Merrill, and as a youth of ambition and self-reliance he came to Gary, Indiana, where he formed a partnership with his brother Edward in the shoe business, their original store having been established at 1064 Broadway. Fair dealings and effective service made the enterprise successful from the beginning, and in 1915 the firm opened a store at 1336 Broadway. Later a branch was opened at 768 Broadway. In 1919 they sold their original store, and about 1920 they opened a store at 686 Broadway. In the latter part of 1920 was dissolved the partnership in the retail shoe business, an equitable division of which was made, the attractive and well equipped store at 1336 Broadway being now owned and conducted by Samuel H. Milgram, as is also the one at 572 Broadway, as previously noted.

Mr. Milgram is a loyal and valued member of the Gary Chamber of Commerce and Commercial Club, is a charter member of the Kiwanis Club, is a member of the Woodmar Country Club and a life member of the Lincolnshire Country Club. In Chicago he has membership in the Midland Club, and his home City of Gary finds him a popular member of the organization known as Old Scouts. His political support is given to the Republican party, his basic Masonic affiliation is With Roosevelt Lodge, No. 716, A. F. and A. M., he is a member of Gary Lodge, B. P. O. E., and the local Y. M. C. A. He and his Wife are influential members of Temple Israel, and he is actively identified with the Zionist organization of America. Mrs. Milgram is an active member of the Vivian Society, associated with the Elks fraternity, and has membership in representative women's clubs in her home community.

In Cleveland, Ohio, on the 28th of June, 1917, Mr. Milgram was united in marriage to Miss Rose Winn, who was there reared and educated, she having there graduated as a member of the class of 1910 in the Glenville High School and her parents, Reubin and Celia Winn, having continued to reside in that city until their death. Mr, and Mrs. Milgram have two children, Eloise Winn and Shirley Winn Milgram, and both daughters are, in 1931, students in the Horace Mann Public School of Gary.

Mr. Milgram has proved notably loyal, liberal and progressive as a citizen and business man of Gary, gives ready support to measures and enterprises projected for the communal good, and he was active in the forwarding of the various patriotic activities in his home city and county in the World war period. He is an enthusiast in golf and his fraternal affiliations are extended to the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith.

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INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


FLOYD W. ZIMMERMAN is a veteran school man and farmer in Hamilton County. He has been engaged in teaching since early manhood, and has done his work in practically every school district in the township and also one term in Madison County.

Mr. Zimmerman was born in Wayne Township, Hamilton County, August 11, 1861, and his parents were natives of the same township and community. His ancestors came from Pennsylvania and lived in Ohio for a time before coming to Indiana. The name Zimmerman is of German origin, and the name itself has frequently been translated into its English equivalent, Carpenter. Mr. Zimmerman's paternal grandfather came to Indiana and settled in Hamilton County in 1833. His wife was a daughter of Benjamin Fisher, who served as a soldier in both the Revolutionary war and the War of 1812, and came to Hamilton County as early as 1821. John Sullivan Zimmerman, father of Floyd W., was born in Wayne Township March 15, 1837, spent all his active life as a farmer, and died November 10, 1909. He married Margaret Jane Castor, who died February 28, 1910.

Floyd W. Zimmerman grew up in Hamilton County, was a student in the high school of Noblesville and did his first work in his career as a teacher in 1881. During the past half century he has taught in every community in an area of thirty-five square miles around his home. As was the custom in the early days, he held school through the daylight hours, and taught every subject in the curriculum and frequently in the homes of his scholars at night had classes in algebra and literature. Many times he was paid a dollar and a half a day for his services.

Mr. Zimmerman married Miss Pauline Wright, whose people were pioneers of Hamilton County. She passed away in July, 1928. There were three children. Catherine Marie is a graduate of Indiana University and took her Master's degree in Columbia University in New York, and is the wife of Leroy Rhode, of Attica, Indiana. The second child, Jesse Griffith Zimmerman, was educated in Purdue University and is a teacher in the high school at Monticello, Indiana; he married Miss Blanche Beaver and has a son, Robert Arnold. The third child, Ruth Zimmerman, is a graduate of Indiana University, was a high school teacher, and is now the wife of Homer West and has a daughter, Martha Jane. Mr. Zimmerman had three other children, who died in infancy.

Mr. Zimmerman's home is six miles east of Noblesville, on rural route No. 3. There he has a well improved farm and country home, comprising 330 acres. This land and home represent his labor and savings over a long period of years, and he paid for most of it out of his earnings as a teacher. He is a Democrat in politics and has been the candidate of his party for several of the more important county offices. He is a member of the County Historical Society, is a Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, member of the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World and Improved Order of Red Men. He is a member of the Indiana Teachers Association, the National Education Association, and has been active in the Methodist Episcopal Church in his community and for nineteen years superintendent of the Sunday School, and still teaches a class.

Mr. Zimmerman is a former vice president of the Citizens National Bank of Noblesville. As a school mall he has been noted for his thoroughness and his emphasis upon the fundamentals of education. Scores of his former pupils over the state and nation now prominent in the business world and the professions have repeatedly given him a great deal of credit for the inspiration and training that have been the most important factors in their careers.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


HON. JOHN LARUE FORKNER, who died at his home in Anderson, October 26, 1926, at the age of eighty-two, had lived in Anderson sixty years. During that time he had seen a country town, whose chief importance was in being the seat of the county government, grow and expand to one of the most important industrial cities of Eastern Indiana. In the events and influences contributing to this destiny Mr. Forkner had a continuous and responsible relationship. He was himself, successful business man, had a broad vision and the power of getting men to cooperate on enterprises and movements that were for the general welfare. He was for years one of the big men in the Democratic councils of Indiana and held many positions of trust and responsibility in his home city and county. For a great many years he was in the newspaper business, and among other accomplishments is remembered for his literary output, chiefly valuable as local history.

Mr. Forkner was born on a farm near Millville in Henry County, Indiana, January 20, 1844. He was of English ancestry. His great- grandfather, William Forkner, came from England to the United States about 1787 and settled in Surry County, North Carolina, where he acquired land from the state and used slave labor in building up a plantation. He married Susan Wells, who lived to the remarkable age of 101 years. Isaac Forkner, grandfather of the late John L. Forkner, was born on a plantation near Dobson in Surry County, North Carolina, as a young man moved to Grayson County in Southwestern Virginia and about 1820 came to Indiana, no doubt attracted by the settlement of the Quakers in Wayne County. He located at Centerville and later moved to Henry County.

Micajah Forkner, father of John L., was born in Grayson County, Virginia, June 25, 1814. At the time of his birth his father was a soldier in the War of 1812. Micajah Forkner was a small boy when the family came to the wilds of Indiana. He had to be content with the advantages of the common schools and as a young man bought a farm near Millville. In addition to farming he conducted a store at Millville and was a highly respected member of that community, where he lived until his death on August 11, 1879. He married Elizabeth Allen, who was born in 1814 and died in 1849. Her parents, Hugh and Mary (Brooks) Allen, came from Kentucky.

John LaRue Forkner was five years of age when his mother died. He had the wholesome atmosphere of a rural training, attended district schools, helped his father in the store, and at the age of eighteen became self supporting and embarked on an independent career. He clerked in a store at Hagerstown, Indiana, for a few months, in the spring of 1863 became an employee of Hon. Lafe Devlin as clerk in his store at Cambridge City and in 1864 went to Tipton, Indiana, to represent the interest of an older brother in the mercantile firm of Forkner & Allen.

Mr. Forkner in February, 1866, came to Anderson and for several years clerked in the stores of the town, and, being one of the popular young men about the town, he was nominated and in 1868 elected city clerk, and reelected in 1870. He filled that office three years and during part of the time was deputy clerk of court of Madison County, under Hon. William C. Fleming and J. T. Fleming. With the election of Albert J. Ross as sheriff in 1872, Mr. Forkner was deputy sheriff two years. In 1872 also began his 1ong connection with local journalism, when he was made editor of the Anderson Democrat. For forty years he was a more or less regular contributor to the Madison County Press and was also financially and otherwise interested in the newspapers of the county. In 1874 he was elected county auditor and reelected in 1878.

The Eastern Indiana natural gas field was discovered in the 1870s, and the exploitation of that fuel worked a revolution in many towns which had previously been satisfied with a position as trading points for a rural community. It required men of enterprise and vision, however, to turn this new element to the advantage of particular localities. Mr. Forkner joined wholeheartedly with other public-spirited citizens and business men of Anderson in effort to utilize natural gas for the upbuilding of a great industrial and commercial center. He was at, the time a member of the Board of Trade,. and gave liberally of both his time and money to securing industries that would naturally be attracted by the abundance of this unsurpassed fuel. Mr. Forkner was one of the incorporators of the Citizens Natural Gas Company and for five years president of the company. He was also one of the organizers of the Anderson Iron & Bolt Company.

For many years Mr. Forkner was perhaps best known through his banking connections. During his second term as county auditor he bought a third interest in the Exchange Bank of Anderson, and was president of the institution, which in 1892 was reorganized and became the National Exchange Bank. He held the post of cashier until 1912, when he retired. For a number of years he was secre- tary and treasurer of the Pennsylvania Glass Company, in which he had been a stockholder since 1891.

While his political activities covered a long period of years, Mr. Forkner probably enjoyed the greatest satisfaction from the part he had played in the campaign of 1884, when the nation for the first time since the Civil war elected a Democratic president. In that year he was chairman of the county Democratic committee, and the success of both the county and state Democratic tickets was largely credited to his able leadership. In 1891 Mr. Forkner was elected a member of the City Council from the Second Ward, which usually gave a Republican majority, and his presence in the council brought an able advocate to progressive undertakings. While he was in the council steps were taken to build: an electric light and sewerage system, and many miles of brick-paved streets were constructed. In 1902 he was honored by the city in being elected its mayor and was reelected in 1904. During these two terms the electric light plant and water work system were rebuilt and enlarged, and the city was guaranteed an ample pure water supply. In these public utilities the community of Anderson has always taken a justifiable pride, and many other cities have patterned their municipal improvements along the same lines. Mr. Forkner also gave much assistance to the local organization which constructed an electric line between Anderson and Summitville, and later added other links to the system, and he was treasurer of this traction company until it was consolidated with the Marion and Muncie lines. Mr. Forkner in 1892 was appointed by Governor Matthews a trustee of the Northern Asylum for the Insane at Logansport, serving on the board three years and was its president two years.

Mr. Forkner married in 1873 Anna B. Heinley, of Newcastle, Indiana. She passed away in 1876, leaving one daughter, Emma Neff, who is now the wife of Lee C. Newsom, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. Newsom during the Spanish-American war was sergeant of Company L of the One Hundred and Sixtieth Indiana Regiment. Mr. and Mrs. Newsom have three sons. In 1878 Mr. Forkner married Mary C. Watson. who was born at Anderson, daughter of David H. and Lydia (Kendall) Watson, early settlers of the city. Mrs. Forkner was four years of age when her parents died. She survives Mr. Forkner and occupies a pleasant home at 202 West Tenth Street. She has one daughter, Nellie Grant, wife of Frank Irvin Remy, of Anderson. Mr. Forkner and his daughter were always close companions and pals. Among pastimes he never lost his enthusiasm for good riding horses, and even after reaching the age of eighty he was frequently seen on a spirited horse in company with his daughter. Mr. Forkner was a Knight Templar Mason and a life member of the B. P. O. Elks. He was historically minded and one of his recreations was in keeping a record of passing events. His diary, to which he contributed for years, kept track of local marriages, births and deaths, and it was his custom to issue an annual booklet containing a great deal of local history. In 1897 he and Hon. Byron H. Dyson published a volume of about a thousand pages, entitled Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County, one of the most valuable source books of local history found in any county of the state. Mr. Forkner in 1914 was the editor of a history of Madison County published that year.

INDIANA ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OF AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT Vol. 3
By Charles Roll, A.M.
The Lewis Publishing Company, 1931


Deb Murray