JOSEPH B. AGNEW, Sr., was born in Butler County, Ohio, October 22, 1815, one of the eight children born to Joseph B. and Mariam (McKee) Agnew, natives respectively of New Jersey and Virginia. Our subject left the partental roof at about the age of fifteen, to seek his own fortune. The fall of 1832 found him working by the day in Ripley County, Ind.; he then learned the millwright’s trade. February 25, 1836, he married Louisa Boldrey. In May, 1847, he enlisted for the Mexican war in Company K, Fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and shortly after was made Corporal. While on skirmishing duty near National Bridge, thirty miles above Vera Cruz, he was shot in the right ankle, which necessitated amputation, and he was discharged in December, 1847. On Christmas Day, he left Vera Cruz and reached Ripley in January, 1848, and there worked at his trade until the fall of 1850, when he moved to White County, this State, and a few weeks later came to this county, settled in Franklin Township and engaged in farming and stock-raising until the fall of 1867, when he came to his present place in Winamac, where he owns 137 acres of good land adjoining the town. He was a Whig previous to the Mexican war, since when he has been a Democrat. In 1852, he was elected Clerk and Recorder, which office he held four years and then resigned to become Swamp Land Commissioner under an appointment by Gov. Willard, and in this capacity served four years. In 1874, he was elected and re-elected County Treasurer, serving four years. Since then he has been leading a retired life. Mr. and Mrs. Agnew have had born to them twelve children - Daniel W., William W. (deceased), Mariam S. (deceased), Samuel B., Lucinda, Elizabeth A., Joseph B., John M., Nancy M., Louisa, Thomas J. and Frank.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


CAPT. W.W. AGNEW is a son of Joseph B. and Mariam (McKee) Agnew, and was born in Butler County, Ohio, February 21, 1822, and at the age of three years moved with his parents to Hamilton County, Ohio, remaining there until eighteen years old, during which time he received but very limited school advantages. He learned carpentering, and in 1840 emigrated to Ripley County, Ind., where he farmed for three years. In 1842, his marriage with Eliza R. Harding was solemnized, and the same season they removed to Jackson County, Iowa, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He remained there only a few years; then moved back to Ripley County, Ind., where he began the manufacture of barrels and working at saw milling. In 1854, he moved again to Iowa, but in 1858 returned to Indiana, locating in Jefferson Township, Pulaski County, where he engaged in farming summers and teaching school winters. July 26, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but shortly afterward was appointed First Sergeant. In August, 1862, they started through Kentucky to check Gen. Bragg’s advance, and meeting him fought the battle of Perryville. Mr. Agnew was promoted First Lieutenant December 22, 1862, and officiated in that capacity until the death of Capt. Brown, when he acted as Captain of his company until he received his commission as such dated November 4, 1863. Capt. Agnew participated in numerous skirmishes and pitched battles, prominent among the latter being the engagement of Chickamauga, where his company went in with thirty-three able-bodied men and came out with a loss of twenty-nine killed and wounded and two taken prisoners. He was in the battle of Mission Ridge, all through the Atlanta campaign, and the engagement at Nashville, where he was at the head of a detachment of the Fourteenth Corps. He was discharged June 10, 1865, and from that time up to 1875, followed farming and teaching in Pulaski County. In 1881, he embarked in the grocery and provision trade in Winamac, and is one of the popular merchants of the place. In politics, he is Republican, and he and wife are the parents of four children - Susan E., now Mrs. Jacob Sell; Florence A., Mrs. B.F. Hoefgen; N.L., who is one of Winamac’s best attorneys, and William H.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


NATHAN L. AGNEW, a son of Capt W.W. Agnew, a biography of whom precedes this, is a native of Ripley County, Ind., and was born August 29, 1850. At the age of five years, his parents moved to Iowa, and thence to Pulaski County in 1859. He was reared on a farm, received a common school education in youth, and in January, 1871, was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Allen, daughter of Archibald Allen, of Pulaski County. The spring of 1873, Mr. Agnew began the study of law, having access to the library of Hon. George Burson, at the same time pursuing his vocation as a farmer and school teacher. In 1875, he moved to Winamac and continued his studies with Mr. Burson the remainder of that year, and in the spring of 1876 was admitted to practice his profession in the Circuit Courts. Mr. Agnew is a hard student in literature and law, is a pleasing speaker, thoroughgoing in his profession and is among the leading attorneys of Pulaski County. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court in December, 1879, and with the exception of between the spring of 1877 and the spring of 1880, while in partnership with J.C. Nye, he has been alone in his practice. He is a Republican in politics; his wife is a member of the Christian Church, and they are the parents of three children - Florence R., Myrtle F. and Mabel.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


WILLIAM C. BARNETT (deceased) is one among the revered names of the early settlers of Pulaski County, and among those who, by a life of labor and self-sacrifice, became useful and foremost citizens in building up the best interests of the county. William C. Barnett was born June 11, 1813, in Greene County, N.Y., and died March 17, 1881, at his home in Winamac, Ind. He was one in a family of eight children, five only yet living, of whom William and Maria (Cook) Barnett were the parents. Both of these are now dead, the mother preceding her husband four years, and he dying in Winamac August 10, 1877. William C. Barnett was a man of but an ordinary education, but of keen perceptive faculties and an excellent judgment. In 1837, he came to Logansport, and followed his trade of tailor until 1840, when he returned East, and April 9 of that year was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Porter, of Seneca County, who was born near Waterloo, N.Y., June 9, 1821. Shortly after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Barnett moved to Logansport, where Mr. Barnett still continued his trade. In the fall of 1846, they removed to Winamac, then a small hamlet composed mostly of “board shanties” and rude log houses, with perhaps one hundred inhabitants, and here Mr. Barnett engaged in merchandising for upward of a quarter of a century, and by hard labor, honesty and frugality acquired a competence. Through his enterprise, the steam flouring mill now owned by C.D. Wood was erected, and in all matters of a public character Mr. Barnett was among the leaders. He was called upon to fill numerous positions of honor and trust, and served with fidelity as a Commissioner and as County Treasurer. In 1853, he was elected to the State Senate to represent the counties of Pulaski, Cass and Howard. He was a man of generous disposition, kind and neighborly to every one, always ready to assist the needy, and just such a man whose loss was regarded as a public calamity. He was a member of long standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, as is also his widow. They were the parents of only one son, George H., born September 18, 1842, in Logansport. This son married for his first wife Samantha Clark, who died July 12, 1873, leaving one son, William J. His second and present wife was Mary Raver, who has borne him three children - Charles A., Clarence H. and Francis A.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


W.H. BOUSLOG, of the firm of Keller, Bouslog & Co., wholesale and retail dealers in dry goods, clothing, hats, caps, boots, shoes, groceries, was born in Henry County, Ind., May 18, 1851. After attending the schools of his native place, he finished his education with a thorough business course at a commercial school in Dayton, Ohio. At the age of eighteen he began in business for himself at Luray, Ind., but at the end of two years sold out and shortly after this was employed as book-keeper for a wholesale establishment in Dayton, Ohio. In 1874, he went to Crown Point, Ind., where for some time he served as Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank. In 1877, he came to Winamac and established himself in the boot and shoe trade, but January 1, 1880, he formed his present partnership, which has since continued with gratifying success. The firm of Keller, Bouslog & Co. is one of the heaviest in Northwestern Indiana, and one which commands an extensive trade. Besides their stock of goods valued at $30,000, they are the principal stockholders of the Bank of Winamac, of which Mr. Bouslog is cashier. He was married November 14, 1877, to Miss Mary L. Bundy, daughter of Judge M. L. Bundy, of New Castle, Ind., and to them have been born two children - Martin P. and Olivette. Mr. Bouslog is a son of John T. and Mary A. (Koonts) Bouslog, natives of respectively of Morgantown, W. Va., and Henry County, Ind.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


E.R. BROWN, son of one of the oldest settlers of this county, was born in Indian Creek Township, August 9, 1845, and is one of the eight children, seven still living, born to Ira and Sophia (Blew) Brown, a sketch of whom will be found under the head of Indian Creek Township. E.R. Brown was reared on the old homestead until sixteen years of age. August 12, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry; was sent to the front, and for the first two years was in the Army of the Potomac, under Gen. Banks, and afterward in the Twelfth Army Corps. He took part in the battles of Winchester, Newtown, Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Soon after the last-named battle, he was transferred to the Army of the West, under Gen. Joe Hooker, and was detailed to the office of the Provost Marshal at Tullahoma, Tenn. He was mustered out September 22, 1864, when he returned to Pulaski County, resumed his studies at school, for a time attended the old Male and Female College at Valparaiso, and in January, 1865, entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville, graduating in 1868 with the degree of B.S. The fall of 1868, he entered Lane Theological Seminary, graduating in 1871. The summer of 1871, he went to Mechanicsville, Iowa, and was ordained minister and appointed pastor of the Presbyterian Church at that place, where he was engaged in active ministerial labors until the spring of 1875, when ill health compelled him to relinquish his charge. The fall of the same year he purchased an interest in a store at Pulaski, remained there until 1879, then moved to Star City, and thence, in 1880, to Winamac, where he is still engaged in business. He was married, March 1, 1879, to Miss Emma March, and is by her the father of one son, Arthur H.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


JEROME T. BRUCE was born in Union Township, Fulton Co., Ind., just across the line from Pulaski County, March 14, 1848. His father, Stepehn Bruce, one of the earliest settlers of Union Township, was born in Pennsylvania July 3, 1814, and was a wagon-maker. In 1837, he located at Logansport, and there assisted in the construction of the bridge-work of the canal and the aqueduct. In 1838, he entered land from the Government, and settled in Union Township. March 3, 1844, he married Mrs. (Taylor) Bell, who was born April 9, 1820. This lady died in April, 1855, the mother of eight children, of whom only Jerome T. is now living. In 1852, Stephen Bruce brought his family to Winamac, having previously purchased the old Pearson flouring mill on a branch of the Tippecanoe River, above town. He followed his trade until he fully understood the milling business, when he took entire charge. The original mill long since passed away; he erected a new one, now in ruins, and adjoining it the present mill was begun in 1873, and completed in 1875, at a cost of $10,000. It is a three-storied frame, 28x40 feet, contains two runs of buhrs for wheat and one for corn and chop feed, and has a capacity of twenty-five barrels per day. Originally the mill was operated by water-power, but the dam was removed in 1882 by a decision of the Circuit Court. The case, however, has been carried to the Supreme Court, and is still unsettled. At present there is a twenty-horse-power engine doing the work. The engine-house is of two stories, 26x35 feet, with an office opening from the main mill and also the engine room, which is about twelve feet square. The quality of the flour manufactured has an excellent reputation. Mr. Bruce, on March 20, 1856, married Nancy Jane Rodgers, who was born July 8, 1834, and bore her husband eight children, of whom four are still living. January 16, 1881, Mr. Bruce died. His widow still resides in Winamac. Jerome T. Bruce received a good high-school education in his youth, and in December, 1872, married Artha R. Messerly. He has present charge of the mill, and owns considerable valuable property in and near Winamac. He is a member of the Lodge and Encampment of Odd Fellows, and of the Royal Arcanum. He is a Republican, and in 1880 was elected County Surveyor. He and wife are members of the M.E. Church, and are parents of one son - Charles.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


HON. GEORGE BURSON is a native of Columbiana County, Ohio, born February 24, 1837. He is the oldest of five sons born to James and Fiana (Dickey) Burson, who were natives respectively of Loudoun County, Va. and Columbiana County, Ohio, the last-named place being where they were married. The family moved to Van Wert County, Ohio, where Mr. Burson died, being the Treasurer-elect of that county. Mrs. Burson re-married, but is again a widow, and resides in Winamac. George Burson went to Wyandot County, Ohio, after his father’s death, remaining there until sixteen years old. The fall of 1853, he came to Pulaski County, Ind., where his mother and step-father had moved the preceding spring, and began farming summers and teaching school winters; 1859, he was made Deputy County Sheriff, and while serving in this capacity began the study of law, having access to the library of A.I. Gould. August 28, 1860, he was married to Miss Melinda Lowrey, and October 13, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned First Lieutenant. They were in camp at Logansport until December, then went to Indianapolis, thence to Louisville, and from there went into active campaigning duty through Kentucky, Missouri and other Southern States. Mr. Burson was promoted Captain of his company March 29, 1862, and after serving as such for a time was made Major of the First Arkansas Regiment (colored). Owing to ill-health, Mr. Burson resigned in September, 1863, but he was not finally discharged until December, 1863. On his return home, he purchased the Winamac Democrat, merged that into the Winamac Herald, and continued its editor and proprietor until the fall of 1864, when he sold out and engaged in the practice of law, having been elected Prosecuting Attorney that fall. Mr. Burson has remained in the practice of this profession ever since in Winamac. In 1874, he was elected to the State Legislature to represent the counties of Pulaski, Starke and Fulton, and in 1876 he was elected Presidential Elector for his district. He is a Democrat, and a member of the Christian Church, and he and wife have had born to them three children - Ida (deceased), George and Stella.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


OBADIAH CARPER, deceased, was born at Massillon, Ohio, in February, 1818, and was a son of Nicholas and Rebecca Carper, both of whom where natives of the Keystone State. He learned the trade of inside finisher of houses in his native town, and there, July 5, 1841, was united in marriage with Martha Miller, who was born in Massillon May 24, 1822. The fall of 1841, this couple moved to Iowa, but remained there only a short time; then removed back to Ohio and settled in Harrison County. Whitley County, Ind., was their next place of residence, moving there in 1858, and remaining there three years. In 1861, they moved to Winamac, where Mr. Carper embarked in the grocery trade, and being an excellent business man, he was not long in acquiring considerable property. In 1863, he erected the Carper House (since burned), and was its proprietor until 1872, when he sold out and engaged in farming north of town. After improving that farm, it was sold in 1878, and he then returned to Winamac, built a dwelling house, and died in Jamuary, 1880. Mr. Carper was one of the honorable straightforward men of Winamac, and was Township Trustee at the time of his death. He and wife were the parents of five children - Angeline (deceased), Naham, Ellen (deceased), Maria (deceased) and Marshall. The last named and youngest of the family was born April 7, 1858, in Whitley County. He learned telegraphy, and was employed at different stations along the Pan Handle road until 1874, when he began clerking in Winamac. The spring of 1877, he formed his present partnership with G.W. Dolph in the drug business, and the firm of Dolph & Carper are among the best in Winamac. They carry a stock of about $4,000 value, of everything found in a first-class drug store, and they transact an average annual business of $12,000. Mr. Carper is among the wide-awake business men of the place, and has general charge of the store. He was married, September 5, 1881, to Miss Lola L., daughter of Richard and Nancy (Quigly) Hathaway.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


M.A. DILTS is one of six surviving children in a family of twelve born to the marriage of Frank Dilts and Sarah Weaver, both of whom were natives of Montgomery County, Ohio, and of Scotch and German descent respectively. The family emigrated to Indiana in 1856, located in Elkhart County, but removed to Fulton County in 1857, and from there to Pulaski County in 1860, where Mr. Dilts died in May, 1877. His widow yet survives him and resides on the old homestead, one mile east of Winamac. M.A. Dilts lived with his parents until eighteen years of age, receiving his education from the public schools and finishing with a business course at a college in Xenia, Ohio. When in his twenty-first year, he began traveling for a wholesale agricultural house in Xenia, but in 1871 he engaged in the grocery and restaurant business at that place, continuing until 1874. He then commenced auctioning dry goods and notions at Greenville, but the fall of that year came to Winamac, continuing the same business. The ensuing winter he wholesaled cigars for Dilts Bros., manufacturers of Winamac, but the summer of 1875 again returned to auctioning dry goods and notions. In 1876, he embarked in the drug trade in Winamac, but the following season sold out to Dolph & Carper. Since that time he has turned his attention exclusively to handling real estate, and making it his business to learn of the best lands in the market; he has obtained the agency for these and is enabled to find good homes in Pulaski County for poor men. Mr. Dilts was born February 25, 1849, in the same county as his parents. He came to Winamac in the fall of 1860, a poor boy, but possessed of courage and enterprise. He is a Republican, a member of the Royal Arcanum, and he and wife are members of the M.E. Church. He was married, November 17, 1874, to Mrs. Rachel W. Williamson, of Greene County, Ohio, and to them have been born three children - Minnie M., Florence E. and Reuben A., deceased.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


G.W. DOLPH, a native of Wayne County, N.Y., was born April 8, 1845, and is one in a family of four sons born to Anson and Julia (Bartlett) Dolph, who were also natives of the Empire State. The father was a farmer by occupation but the latter part of his life turned his attention exclusively to dealing in live stock. He and family moved to 1881, and was buried in the cemetary at Burr Oak. Mr. Dolph was a Republican in politics, a member of long standing in the Baptist Church, and was three times married, his first wife, the mother of his four sons, dying in York State April 8, 1854. G.W. Dolph is among the substantial men of Winamac. He was educated in the common schools of his native State, resided with his parents until he reached his maturity, and in 1866 began learning telegraphy in Detroit. In December, 1866, he came to Winamac as night operator for the C. & G.E.R.R. Co., but at the end of eight months was advanced to the position of day operator, a position he has ever since retained, but his employers have changed from those by whom he was first employed to the C., C. & I.C. Company, and from that to the P., St. L. & C. Company, the latter being his present employers. Aside from his duties as operator, Mr. Dolph is a partner in one of the best drug stores in Winamac. This partnership was formed in 1877, under the firm name of Dolph & Harper, the junior member of the firm having general charge of the business while the senior attends to his duties at the deopt. In politics, Mr. Dolph is a Republican, and is a member of both Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities. His marriage with Miss R.F. Walker was solemnized January 17, 1869, his wife having been born in Ohio January 17, 1850.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


JAMES R. DUKES, banker, is a native of Cass County, Ind.; was born April 6, 1833, and is a son of Ephraim Dukes, a native of Ohio and of English descent. Ephraim Dukes, when Indiana was a Territory, came here with his parents in 1818, and settled in Putnam County, and there, in about 1820, married for his second wife Miss Jane Esslinger, a native of Tennessee, but who also came to Indiana with her parents, in about 1818. To this union were born thirteen children, of whom six only are still living. About 1824, the family moved to Cass County, and thence, in 1841, to Fulton County, and thence, in April, 1842, to this county, locating in Harrison Township, where Mrs. Dukes died December 13, 1868, and Mr. Dukes April 28, 1872. Mr. Dukes was a tanner by trade, but chiefly engaged in farming. He was among the early preachers of this county, and preached more funeral sermons and solemnized more marriages than any other man of his day; he also served for a number of years as one of the Associate Judges of the county. He and wife were both members of the Christian Church. James R. Dukes has resided in Pulaski County since nine years of age. He was engaged in farming until August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company E, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, as private, rose to Second Sergeant, and was discharged for disability in March, 1863. He had cut his foot while chopping wood in Kentucky, and erysipelas setting in, amputation became necessary. On his return, he served for awhile as Deputy Real Estate Appraiser; in 1864, he was elected County Recorder, and re-elected in 1868, serving eight years; he then engaged in mercantile trade at Star City, but in January, 1874, moved to Winamac, and continued in trade until 1879; he then sold out and retired to the old farm in Harrison Township, but in 1881 returned and established the Citizens’ Bank of Winamac, of which he is President. Mr. Dukes is a Democrat, a member of the I.O.O.F. and of the O.F. Emcampment. He has been three time married, viz.: in 1852 to Maria Taylor, who died in 1853; in 1855, to Mary A. Rogers, widow of Richard Rogers, and daughter of Samuel McFadden; this lady bore him four children - Ella M., Frank L., Rosa L. and Addie B. (the last married to Charles J. Peters, a teacher of Winamac) - and died January 5, 1850. July 13, 1882, he married his present wife, Mrs. Edna A. McDonald.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


MARK D. FALVEY, merchant, is a native of County Kerry, Ireland, born in about 1827. He is one of two living children of a family of eight, born to Jeremiah and Mary (Ahern) Falvey, the former coming to the United States in 1865, and dying in Winamac in about 1870, and the latter dying in the old country. Mark D. Falvey resided in Ireland until 1848, when he crossed the Atlantic, and found employment for a time on the public works at Winchester, Va. The spring of 1852, he came to Springfield, Ohio, and from there the ensuing fall to Winamac, Ind. He was at the last-named place only a short time; them went to La Fayette, where he remained two years. In 1854, he returned to Pulaski County and engaged in ditching. The fall of 1857, he engaged in merchandising at Winamac, at which he has ever since continued. He was married to Mary Casey in 1853, and they have had born to them six children - Mary (deceased), Mary, the second (deceased), Jerry H., Michael D., James M. and Mark F. Mr. Falvey is a Democrat in politics, and he and wife are members of the Roman Catholic Church.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


J.H. FALVEY, ex-County Auditor, was born in Pulaski County, Ind., October 18, 1854, and is a son of Mark D. and Mary (Casey) Falvey. J.H. Falvey has made his place of residence in Pulaski County the greater part of his life, and he is one of its most promising young men. For seven years, he attended school abroad, and in 1874 graduated from the commercial department of Notre Dame University. In 1877, he was appointed Deputy County Auditor of Pulaski County, and April, 1878, was appointed to finish the unexpired term of his superior officer, who had died. He gave good satisfaction, and in 1878 was elected to a full term in this office. Mr. Falvey has just closed this term, and he leaves it bearing with him the highest commendation of his fellow-citizens, both as a private citizen and as a competent and obliging official. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

"Counties of White and Pulaski Counties, Indiana - City of Winamac" by F.A. Battey & Co. - published in 1883


Deb Murray