Mark Ridenour is one of the eleven children of his parents. He was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on the 6th day of July, 1849, and is a son of John and Lydia (Ellwood) Ridenour, old residents of Tuscarawas county. They were natives of the state of Pennsylvania, the father of German parentage and the mother of English. John Ridenour was twelve years of age before he learned to speak the English language, and he learned it after coming into contact with others who were unfamiliar with the tongue of his household and as a result of necessity. He became a blacksmith, and after he had taken up his residence in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, he did a flourishing business in that line, running a shop with five fires. In 1853 the family moved to Indiana. They made the trip in wagons, and their first location was in Wabash county, just south of Wabash, in Noble township, in the heart of the woods. That was also the only home they ever knew in Indiana, for both parŽents ended their lives on the farm they carved out of the wilderness in comparative youth. The wife and mother passed out first, the husband and father following her. Their children were named as follows: Benton; Mark, of this review; John, who died young, as did also James; Melissa, now deceased; Emily, Ellwood, Philip, Catherine and Ida. The first four children were born in Ohio, and Mark Ridenour was a child of four years when the family moved into Wabash county, so that his entire life, barring that brief space in earliest childhood, has been passed within the confines of the county to which he came as an infant with his parents in 1853.

Mark Ridenour grew up in Noble township and attended the district schools. He early began to put in regular hours of work on the home farm, for his parents were thrifty German people who had a high regard for the value of honest labor and believed that their children should be taught to work as well as to be sent to school. So it came about that young Ridenour did his full share in the arduous work of fitting the wild land into a farm, for it was a process of years, as one will readily understand once it becomes clear that the family settled in a virgin forest and finally evolved a clean, clear and productive farm therefrom.

In 1876 Mark Ridenour married. He was then twenty-seven years of age, and he chose for his wife Sarah A. Malott, a daughter of Hiram and Mary (Pearson) Malott. They came to Wabash county from Amboy, Miami county, Indiana, at a time when their daughter, Mrs. Ridenour, was a small child. Both parents were born in Marion, Indiana, and they were people of many interesting characteristics. Quakers in their religious faith, the mother was a minister in the church, and was one of the best known and most successful members the Quaker ministry knew. She had traveled widely in Iowa, North Carolina, Canada, Kansas, Illinois and Indiana, and was loved and esteemed wherever she was known. She was a quiet woman in temperament and manner, well informed in matters pertaining to her calling, and had gained her education solely through her own efforts. She was a devoted wife and mother, and found time to give to the rearing of her large family of twelve children, most of whom reached years of maturity and have reflected credit upon her in their years of independent activity. They were named Levi, Lydia, Sarah, David, John, Susan, Calvin, Sylvanus, Nathan, Albert, Jennie and James.

After his marriage Mr. Ridenour bought a ninety acre farm in Noble township, making the purchase from his father-in-law. A log cabin that graced the place at that time he soon replaced with a frame house, and he later disposed of the farm and bought a place on the Mill Creek pike. Fifteen years he spent in the second location, and then, in 1900, traded it for his present place, the old Hopper farm, as it was called, comprising 167 acres. Mr. Ridenour later gave his son a slice of the farm of eighteen acres, that being the portion lying on the west side of the road, the remainder of 149 acres lying on the east side. The two farm jointly and are among the most successful and progressive farming men in the town.

Their one child is Elmer, who married Eurah Ratliff, a daughter of John and Isabella (Levison) Ratliff. Mrs. Ratliff is no longer living, but the husband has his home in Converse. Elmer and his wife have two children, Marvin and Robert.

Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are Quakers in their natural faith, but the absence of a church of that denomination in this vicinity led them to unite with their present church, a fact that indicates a generous measure of wide-mindŽedness and every-day good judgment as prominent attributes of their character. Mr. Ridenour has one sister who is an ordained minister in the Friends church, and all the family are of that sturdy uprightness that makes for excellent citizenship and moral growth in any community where they may be found. Mr. Ridenour is a stanch prohibitionist and his influence in Lagro township is a worthy and valuable one, while ,he and his family enjoy the esteem and high regard of all who share in their acquaintance.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

Mr. Banister is a native of the Hoosier commonwealth and a scion of one of the sterling pioneer families of this State. He was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on the 28th of September, 1844, and is a son of Nathaniel and Emmeline (Dale) Banister, both natives of Kentucky, where the respective families were founded in an early day. Nathaniel Banister was reared to manhood in his native State, and as a young man he came thence to Indiana and numbered himself among the pioneer settlers of Fayette county. There he was engaged in farming until the autumn of 1844, when he carne to Wabash county, where he improved a productive farm and became one of the substantial agriculturists and stock-growers of the county. He was a man of high principles and distinct individuality, and his ability and probity gave him not a little influence in connection with the civic and industrial development and up building of Wabash county. He continued to reside on his old homestead farm in Lagro township, until he was called from the scene of his mortal endeavors, at the age of eighty-one years, his death having occurred in 1900, and his wife having removed the following year to the village of La Fontaine, where she has since maintained her residence, one of the venerable and loved pioneer women of the county. Of the ten children, six sons and one daughter survive the honored father, and of the ten the subject of this review was the third in order of birth. Theodore is a resident of Springfield, Missouri; Lewis maintains his home at Wabash, the judicial center of Wabash county, Indiana; Alfred is a resident of the city of Valparaiso, this State; Miss Alice remains with her widowed mother and they have a pleasant home at La Fontaine.

Merit Banister was about two months old at the time of the family removal to Wabash county, within whose gracious borders he has continued to reside during the long intervening period of seventy years. He was reared to adult age on the homestead farm, in Lagro township, and he continued to be associated with the work and management of the farm until he was about eighteen years of age, in the meanwhile having duly availed himself of the advantages afforded in the district schools of the period, thereby laying adequate foundation for the broad superstructure of knowledge which he was later to upbuild through his association with the practical duties and responsibilities of life. After severing his association with the home farm Mr. Banister entered upon a virtual apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, in which he became a skilled artisan. In 1863 he established his residence in La Fontaine, where he engaged in contracting and building and had much to do with the material development of the village. He finally removed to Wabash, the county seat, where he followed his trade successfully and also worked as millwright in the paper mill that represented one of the most important industrial enterprises of the town. He continued his residence at Wabash until about 1898, when he returned to La Fontaine, where he has since maintained his home and where he is now living retired from the active labors that so long engrossed his time and attention.

Mr. Banister has always shown a lively interest in all that concerns the well being of the county that has been his home from the days of his infancy, and in a characteristically quiet and unostentatious way he has done well his part in the furtherance of measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the community, along both civic and material lines. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the Democratic party, and he has served since January, 1913, as a member of the board of county commissioners, as representative of the southern district of the county. Fidelity and discrimination have marked his labors in this important capacity, and he has even further fortified himself in the confidence and esteem of the community at large. He attends and gives earnest support to the Christian church in La Fontaine, of which his wife is a devoted member. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He is past grand of his lodge of Odd Fellows and past chief patriarch of its local organization of Patriarch Militant.

On the 24th of December, 1872, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Banister to Miss Ellen Hackney, who was born in Kentucky, but she was reared in Wabash county, having been but three years old when she came here with her parents, William and Mary Hackney. Mr. and Mrs. Banister became the parents of two sons and one daughter, and the only one living is Harry W.; who was graduated in the La Fontaine high school as a member of the class of 1902, and later completed a course in telegraphy and shorthand, he being now employed at La Fontaine.

Robert Lee Banister, the oldest child of Merit Banister, died in August, 1912. He was born November 3, 1873. He married Jessie Rigbee of Wabash. Lucille Banister died August 19, 1907, aged twenty-nine years.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

Mr. Ford was born in Randolph county, Indiana, on February 16, 1868, and he is a son of Doctor Franklin (Doctor is an old family name. He was not a physician) and Emily (Moore) Ford, both natives of Randolph county, also, and a grandson of Royston and Ann (Mills) Ford, pioneers of Indiana, who came to the state as children, and passed their lives in agricultural activities within its borders. The father of Emily Moore, the mother of the subject, was an Ohioan by birth, and he located in the southwest part of Henry county, Indiana, when the entire district was a wilderness.

D. F. Ford, father of the subject, was a merchant for years at Farmland, and he was a veteran of the Civil war. He first enlisted for the three months of service the government called for troops for, and when that time had expired he reenlisted in the Nineteenth Indiana and served until he was discharged for disability. He again enlisted, the third time entering the 147th Indiana, and he saw much service from then until the close of the war. When peace was once more the rule in the land, Mr. Ford was elected sheriff of his county on the Republican ticket, and he was serving his second term in that office when he was killed by an escaping prisoner one night when he went to the county jail on an errand. This was in the year 1872, and he was then 33 years of age. His widow still lives at Farmland, Indiana. They had three children. Anna became the wife of Owen Longsdorf, of Farmland; Marshall Roy is the subject of this review; and Oscar, who died in infancy.

Marshall Roy Ford was a lad of six years when his father was cut down in the prime of life, and he grew up in Randolph county, attending the district schools and also the school at Farmland and at Ridgeville. He early went to work in a general store in Farmland, and he was but twenty-one when he married Arilla McNeese, daughter of Marshall and Regina (Macey) McNeese. They were married February 28, 1889, and soon thereafter Mr. Ford bought a small farm of sixty-five acres in Randolph county, which he sold some time after, coming to Wabash county in 1907 and buying his present farm of one hundred acres. Here Mr. Ford had learned much about farming, and though he was not born to the industry, he has enjoyed quite as material and marked a success as have many of his more experienced neighbors.

A stanch republican, Mr. Ford served two years as superintendent of the Randolph County Infirmary, and proved himself a capable and conscientious official in that time. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Lagro, and with his family, has membership in the Presbyterian church.

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ford. Ethel, the eldest, is the wife of Raymond Jones, and has one daughter, Helen. Nora is engaged in school teaching in Wabash county; Ruth is a high school student; Louie, Frank and Alice are all attending the local schools.

The family is one of the foremost ones in the community, and they have many friends here who have in the few years of their residence in Lagro township, come to know them for the possessors of many admirable traits of character that make of them desirable friends and neighbors.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

Alvin Ward Schuler comes from one of the pioneer families of Wabash county. His parents were Philip and Elizabeth (Buck) Schuler. Philip Schuler was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, and was twelve years old when he came to Indiana with his parents Robert and Elizabeth (Rantz) Schuler. That was the journey accomplished in the early days, and after the pioneer fashion, in wagons and with teams, and after arriving in Wabash county, they located in the woods near Roann. After getting his family established Robert Schuler returned to Pennsylvania on a visit. He went back in a buggy and his horse ran away, and as a result of the injury sustained, lack of proper medical attention and the complication of what was then known as "Black Erysipelas," he died. His wife later went out to Minnesota and died at the home of her son. There were six sons and six daughters and Philip Schuler was third in order of birth. Though only twelve years old when the family came to this county, Philip Schuler had to take his share in the clearing of the land, and was in every sense of the term a pioneer. Learning the trade of carpenter he followed that vocation for a number of years and also bought a farm two and a half miles north of Roann, which he made the basis for the accumulation of a substantial degree of prosperity. He finally retired to Roann and lived there until his death in 1893 at the age of sixty-eight years. He first married a Miss Humerichaus, who died leaving one child Mary also deceased. The second wife, Elizabeth (Buck) Schuler, died four years after her husband, and her children were as follows: Lydia, who is Mrs. J. B. Taylor; Azro and Henry, twins the former being now deceased; Alvin W.; Effie, who married Alex Adams, and both are now deceased; and two that died in infancy.

Alvin W. Schuler grew up on the old farm in Pleasant township, and when he became of suitable age was allowed to attend the district school in that neighborhood, for about three months each winter season. The rest of the time was spent on the farm, but he made the best of his educational opportunities, and for a short time was a teacher himself. Later he took the management of the home place for his father, and also was employed in the tile factory located on his present place. This factory was operated by Mr. Schuler, and Daniel B. McKahan, Jr., who subsequently was elected sheriff. Mr. Schuler served four years as deputy assessor under Assessor H. G. Baer, and in 1908 was elected to the office of county recorder, beginning his term on January 1, 1909, and retiring from office at the same date in 1913. His successor in that office is A. A. Garber. Mr. Schuler is now republican candidate for Trustee of Lagro township, having been nominated April 7, 1914. He bought his present farm from the Daniel McKahan heirs, and under his management has greatly improved it as a country estate. He has erected the different buildings now to be found on the farm, has done a great deal of tiling, and other improvements, and it is one of the best farms for general purposes in Lagro township. Mr. Schuler is a self-made man, and everything he has has been earned by hard and honest work.

On December 20, 1882, he married Miss Florence A. McKahan, a daughter of Daniel and Mary (Barnhardt) McKahan, who were of pioneer families in Wabash county. Mr. Schuler and wife have two children: Myrl B., now deputy sheriff under Sheriff Niccum, was for a time deputy recorder under his father, then filled out an unexpired term as county treasurer, and from that position entered upon his present duties. He later filled unexpired term of deputy sheriff. He married Maude Smith, and their children are Mary E., Dona Catherine, Maxine, Robert and Helen. Clare, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Schuler, is a popular young teacher in the public schools of Lagro. Mr. Schuler affiliates with the Knights of Maccabees, being a charter member of Banner Tent No. 70.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

Noah Milam was born on April 5, 1853, and he is a son of Joel and Anna (White) Milam. The parents were natives of Virginia, who in young life moved to Ohio and there settled on a farm. They moved into Indiana in 1845, taking up their residence almost immediately on the farm in Noble township that has since that early day responded to the vigor and activities of men of the Milam family. At that time, the original purchase was represented by a tract of eighty acres of heavily timbered land. Though covered with a growth of timber that today would be worth a small fortune to any man, the sturdy trees of oak, hickory and walnut shared the common fate of the forests of that time, and were sacrificed to permit the cultivation of the virgin soil.

It should be said in passing that Joel Milam walked the distance each way from Ohio to Wabash county, Indiana, on two different occasions prior to the time of his actual settling here in 1845. In that year he came accompanied by his young family, making the journey in an ox wagon. He built a large log house, more conspicuous for its size than for its elegance, but it served, and they were not people to complain with their lot while the necessities of life were theirs, and there was a prospect of establishing a permanent home in the wilderness. To them were born six children. The first three were born in Preble county, Ohio, and the others in Noble township, Wabash county, Indiana. They were named as follows: Joseph and John, twins; Rebecca, who died young, being the first person to be buried in the Noble township cemetery; Elizabeth; Noah and Esther. Joseph married Elizabeth Blotter and John married Catherine Reddinger. Elizabeth became the wife of Valentine Beamer, and Noah of this review married Louise Rousch, of whom further mention will be made.

The father of Noah Milam reached a ripe old age, being eighty-seven years old when he died in 1902, and the mother died at the age of about sixty. Joel Milam was one of the most ambitious and energetic men the township ever knew, and he reared his sons to know the value of a good day's work, as they will readily testify. He left a good name and a fair inheritance of more material character, and is well remembered among the citizens of this community, as is also the woman who was his devoted companion and the mother of his children. He was a Dunkard in his religious faith, and a republican all his days.

In 1877 Noah Milam married Louise, the daughter of Peter and Christina (Kieffaber) Rousch, natives of Germany and of Ohio, respectively. She was one of a family of nine, the other eight being Adam, Charles, Jacob, Kate, Elizabeth, and Henry and George, who were twins. To Mr. and Mrs. Milam one son was born, Peter Joel Milam, born on February 6, 1881. He married Mabel Clark, the daughter of Frank Clark, and to them one daughter came, - Minerva Christina.

Mr. Milam and his family have membership in the Lutheran church, and he is active in republican politics in the community, being one of the representative citizens of the township, and one who has an excellent standing with the best people in the community. He has prospered through his own activities and energies, and has proven himself worthy of every bit of success that has come to him. He owns 204 acres of land and his son owns 99 acres, making a fine farm of 303 acres, which they operate. He does general agriculture and stock raising. With his family Mr. Milam has a wide circle of friends here who know him for many sterling traits of heart and mind.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

John Williams was born in Kentucky and his wife in Virginia. They were married in Fayette county, Indiana, and there spent some years. He was a cabinet maker by trade, and he plied his trade in Fayette county for some time before he began to turn his attention to farming. In the early forties he moved from Vienna, in Fayette county, to Lagro township, this county, and here he bought 136 acres, and combined farming with cabinet making for a good many years before death claimed him. He was resident there at the time of his passing, and his widow later passed away in Huntington county. She was twice married. Her first husband was a Mr. Jonas, and she bore him two children, William and Margaret, the latter now deceased. Of her marriage with Mr. Williams there were four children. Clay, the eldest, is deceased. Josie married James Reed; Winfield Scott, of this review, and John. The father, too, was twice married, and his first brood numbered seven, and were named Silas, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mattie, Amanda, Harriett and Mary. The five last named are now deceased.

Winfield Scott Williams was born on September 14, 1852, in the round log house common to the time, located just east of the old frame school and church building at Hopewell, Lagro township. Mr. Williams lived at home up to the time of his marriage in 1874 to Miss Anna Reed, a daughter of John and Mary (Martin) Reed, who came from Fayette county, Indiana, to this community, where Mrs. Williams was born. She was one of the four children of her parents, the others being W. M., James and Susan, the wife of Capt. E. Stone.

After his marriage Mr. Williams worked on the home farm for a year, and then they took up their residence at the home place of Mrs. Williams' people, where they continued to operate the Reed farm for eight years. During this time Mr. Williams bought land of his own in Grant county and in Wabash county also, getting his present place in 1907, and moving to it in 1910. How well he has succeeded in his work in the few years of his residence here has already been noted in a preceding paragraph, so that further details of his farming activities are 1lIlnecessary at this juncture.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams have a nice family of seven children, briefly mentioned as follows: Ward, married to Clara Horner, is the father of two children, Hilda and Lowell, and they are residents of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where Mr. Williams is engaged in business activities. Grace married Orren Hummel, and they live in Marion, Indiana. Glenn married Mary Wilson, and their children are Lisle and Vaughan. They are living in Canada. Wade married Varna Poor and they live in Michigan. Ernest married Augusta Wendell, and they have a home in Wabash county. Paul and Pauline, twins, complete this interesting family, and they make their home with their parents.

Mr. Williams is a republican in his politics, and with his wife and family, has membership in the Christian church.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

James Jackson, the son of Samuel, was born in North Carolina in 1819, and came to Indiana as a child of ten years. He was reared from then on to manhood in Madison county and there married Cecelia Thompson of Madison county, Indiana. He and his brothers, Robert and Elias Jackson came out to Wabash county in the early forties and took up a large tract of land in the wilds of Liberty township. They made the trip in a wagon, Robert in charge of the expedition, and James and his young wife found themselves in a new country, without a home ready to receive them, for their log cabin, though well under way, was not yet completed. Robert and Elias lacked the courage to face the untoward and primitive conditions to the end, and returned to Madison county, but James and his wife remained, though in later years Robert returned and made some improvements on his place, and still later Elias came back and with renewed courage, took up the burden of carving out a home for himself, but he was not equal to the Herculean task and a short time after made his way back to the haunts of civilization again. About that time their parents came to Wabash county, too, and settled on land near La Fontaine.

James Jackson cleared up his land in Liberty township, and later sold it and moved to Noble township. He became prosperous and well-to-do and died in Wabash county at the age of seventy-seven years. The mother, however, died at the age of forty-four years, and he later married Hannah Burns. She had two sons, - Daniel and John, by a former marriage. The children of his first marriage were fourteen in number, and Samuel T. of this review was the eldest. The others are named in order of birth. William, now deceased; Mary also deceased; Minerva; James M., deceased; Franklin P.; Melissa E., deceased; Laura; John Willard; Sarah V.; Flora D.; Enola May; Elizabeth I. and David H. All of them reached years of maturity with the exception of the first named daughter, who died in infancy.

Samuel T. Jackson was reared on the Liberty township farm, and he was fourteen years old when the family moved to Noble township. Sixty days in each year up to the age of fifteen years was his allowŽance of schooling, and that attendance was granted at a period in the year when there was nothing to be done on the farm. As the eldest of a large family, much of the hard work of the place fell to him when he was yet a boy of tender years, and he was no stranger to the arduous tasks attendant upon the clearing up of a wilderness tract of land into a productive farm. He remained at home to the age of twenty-two and thereafter for the space of four or five years he divided his time between independent work and work on the home place.

In 1872 Mr. Jackson married Sarah Kemp, and she died in 1876 leaving him three children. Emerson, the eldest, is now married to Luella Sailors, and has children Claude and Catherine, residing in Oklahoma. The others, Cecelia and Elburn, died in infancy.

On November 6, 1879, Mr. Jackson married Hannah Ramsey, a daughter of James and Mary (Welsch) Ramsey. They have one daughter, - Mary, the wife of Prof. William Cushing, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mrs. Jackson was born on her father's farm about two miles south of Lagro. Her parents came to Indiana in 1842 from the vicinity of Philadelphia, and on reaching Indiana spent two years in Richmond, after which they established themselves in Lagro township. Mr. Ramsey died here in 1884, when he was seventy-two years of age and his wife died in 1893 at the age of seventy-eight. They had a family of ten children. Sarah, the first born, died as the wife of Willis McDonald; John T. died in 1909; Lydia E. is deceased; Catherine died as the wife of Mr. John T. Collins; Hannah married Mr. Jackson of this review; William B.; James F.; Lydia, wife of Robert Scott; Phoebe, who married James Barton; and Margaret, the wife of R. G. Fultz.

:Mr. Jackson farmed at various places in the township up to the time when he bought his present place in 1900 and his eighty acre farm is another of the attractive and well kept places in the township. He has remodeled the buildings since he came into possession and many changes have added to the value and appearance of the place. He no longer farms the entire place himself, but rents out certain of his fields, and is thereby relieved of much of the care of the place, at the same time realizing a nice income from the system.

Mr. Jackson is a democrat, and his churchly relations are with the Baptist church. He and his family are stanch members and attendants and have a wide circle of friends in and about the township where they have so long been residents.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

William R. Hunt, the fourth son of Harrison and Diana (Lewis) Hunt, was born near New Salem, Rush county, Indiana, September 29, 1837, and was past seventy-five years of age at the time of his death. His early life was spent on the homestead farm, which he left in 1859, and with a party of young men from his neighborhood went by ox-team to Pike's Peak. The prospects in the gold mines of that region were not promising, and in the same year all the party returned to their homes. Only a little later Mr. Hunt found ample opportunity for the satisfaction of his adventurous spirit in the war of the Rebellion. He made a long and honorable military record. On September 4, 1861, enlisting as a private in Company K of the Thirty-seventh Indiana Regiment of Infantry, he was mustered into the service of the army on September 18th following and went to the front with his regiment. During his service of more than three years he participated in numerous hard-fought engagements, including those at Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and the siege of Atlanta. He was wounded three times and by brave and faithful service won promotion from the ranks. On February 22, 1863, he was commissioned second lieutenant of his company and on October 22nd of the same year was advanced to first lieutenant, a rank which he held at the time of his honorable discharge on October 27, 1864. After the war Lieutenant Hunt returned to his home in Rush county, but in January, 1865, came to Wabash county.

In Wabash county on January 14, 1866, he married Miss Henrietta Poston, who died December 12, 1883. On September 21, 1887, Lieutenant Hunt married Mrs. Alma Z. (Downey) Hunt. By their marriage they had one son, William R., born April 21, 1891. William R. Hunt, Jr., married September 25, 1912, Miriam Grindle, and their daughter Dorothy D. was born June 29, 1913.

No history of Wabash county or of those who have contributed to its material welfare and advancement would be complete that did not make mention of its worthy and energetic women, whose faithful and loving assistance has enabled their husbands to make this one of the thriving agricultural communities of the great Hoosier state. Few are better or more favorably known than Mrs. Alma Z. Hunt, widow of the late Lieutenant Hunt. For twenty-six years Mrs. Hunt has been a resident of Liberty township, and is now living in the suburbs of the town of Treaty.

Alma Z. Downey was born in Rush county, Indiana, March 30, 1855, a daughter of William H. and Sarah E. (Cowan) Downey. Her father was born in Virginia October 6, 1816, and her mother in Ohio on July 1, 1825. They were married in Ohio, moved to Rush county, Indiana, where they spent the remainder of their long and useful lives. Her father died April 25, 1894, and her mother on July 16, 1896. They were known as people of sterling worth and upright character, prominent in church and charitable work, and helpful and useful in their community. Of their seven children five survive: Laura D., widow of William M. Brooks of Rushville, Indiana; Florence, wife of Charles Lines of Knightstown, Indiana; Gertrude, wife of H. S. Carney of Rushville; Thomas J., engaged in farming in Rush county; and Alma Z.

Alma Z. Downey was educated in the public schools of Noble township in Rush county, was reared on her father's farm, and was well prepared for the various responsibilities that she has subsequently assumed. On December 27, 1876, she married Benjamin R. Hunt, a younger brother of the late Lieutenant Hunt. Benjamin R. Hunt was born March 17, 1853, and died November 14, 1879. There was one son by their marriage, Harry C., born December 27, 1878, and died March 25, 1907. He was married on September 30, 1903, to Pearl Miller.

Mrs. Hunt is now living in the environment of Treaty, Indiana, where she owns a farm of 244 acres of well-developed land. A woman of charitable impulses, she has been active in the work of the Christian church at Treaty and a treasurer of the Ladies Aid Society. Mrs. Hunt's acquaintance is extensive and her many excellences of mind and heart make her greatly beloved by a wide circle of friends.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

John Price was born in Kane county, Illinois, and was married in White county, Indiana, to Maggie McCallister, who was a native of the city of Chicago. Later they moved to Monticello, Mr. Price purchasing seventy acres at the edge of the town and embarking in the horse business. When his son, Jesse M. Price, had finished school and was ready to embark upon his career, the father sold both his farms and moved to Lafayette, Indiana, locating one and one-half miles from the Court House. In 1906 he sold off a part of his farm to the Big Four Railroad, for gravel, and since that time has lived practically retired. Mr. Price is a self-made man in every sense of the word. When he first came to Indiana, his capital consisted of a pair of sorrel horses, and these he traded for his first farm. From that time forward his energy, persistence and good judgment rapidly brought him success, and today he is justly accounted one of the substantial men of his community. He is still in good health and spirits, alert in body and mind, and although seventy years of age still takes a keen interest in all that goes on about him . Mrs. Price also survives, being sixty-one years old. They have been the parents of four children, as follows: Jesse M., of this review; Frank, who is a resident of Marion, Indiana; Roy, who died at the age of fifteen years; and Anson, who resides with his parents.

Jesse M. Price attended the district schools in the vicinity of his father's farm, and subsequently took a course in the high school at Monticello. His vacations and spare time were passed in assisting his father in the cultivation of the homestead, and for four years he was engaged in operating the farm at Lafayette. Following this he identified himself with the well-known horse-breeding firm of J. Crouch & Son, and spent five years in their employ, but in 1907, when his father purchased the present farm from Mr. DeHaven, he again resumed the tilling of the soil, in which he has met with excellent success. At that time the barn was the only building standing on the property, but Mr. Price soon put up a large modern residence and other buildings, tiled and ditched the land, and made it into a handsome and valuable farm. He follows general farming to some extent, raises a great deal of alfalfa, and, in common with other progressive farmers of this section, devotes much attention to the breeding of good horses, cattle and hogs. As a business man he has shown himself capable of seeing and grasping opportunities, but his reputation is that of a man who has never taken an unfair advantage of his fellows in commercial transactions. He has been too busily engaged in the cultivation of his land to enter actively into public life, but in political matters supports the policies of the democratic party.

On January 21, 1893, Mr. Price was married to Miss Myrta McQuarg, daughter of Daniel and Amanda (Davis) McQuarg, of Monticello, Indiana, and four children have been born to this union: Morris, Ardis, Margaret and Kenneth.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

Born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, on October 16, 1826, Peter Neff is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Strickler) Neff, and he was one of a family of nine children born to his parents. His mother died in middle life, and the father married Rachel Romick, who became the mother of four children. His third wife was Rachel Landacher.

In 1830 Peter Neff moved to Champagne county, Ohio, with his parents, and there he had his education, which was limited to a few weeks in the district schools each year until he reached his teens. His father was a farming man all his life and he ended his days on the Ohio farm to which he had migrated from his native state in 1830. On February 24, 1861, Mr. Neff married Mary Whiteneck, a daughter of John and Lucy (Kingery) Whiteneck, and to them were born six children, mentioned briefly as follows: Lydia R., who married Ira Dawson; Minnie E., unmarried; Susie, who married John Bond; Jennie M., the wife of Louis Oyler; Alice, single; and Chauncey T., who married Sadie Robinson.

The children were all born in Waltz township, on the farm now occupied by their parents, and it should be said that the Neff farm is the identical one on which the father settled when he came to Wabash county for the first time in 1860. When he came into possession of it, something like two-thirds of it had been cleaned up and brought to a state of cultivation, and he has since put the remaining acreage under the plow so that the whole tract of one hundred and fifty-five acres is crop-bearing. Practically all the buildings now in use were erected by Mr. Neff, and in their neatness and completeness they reflect the spirit and purpose of the man.

Mr. Neff is a stanch democrat, active in politics to a wholesome degree, and has taken a hearty interest in the school work of the township. He is a member of the Progressive Brethern church, and with his family enjoys a foremost place in popular confidence and esteem throughout the community.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

When they settled first in Miami county they found conditions distressingly undeveloped and backward. They literally cut their way through from Peoria, where the old state road ended, and after they had chosen their land the family slept for a number of nights on the ground before the log cabin home was in readiness for a shelter. Later more pretentious dwellings came to take the place of the early buildings, and for something like fifty years the family lived there. The father was a blacksmith by trade, and he built himself a shop, where he spent many a busy and productive hour forging the primitive tools they used in a great many instances and in performing smithy work for his neighbors. There the parents ended their busy and useful careers. The father was twice married, his first wife, Ruth Wessner, being the mother of Rebecca, Phoebe, Elam, Asenath and Daniel. After the death of the wife and mother in February, 1849; the father married Lydia Macy, the daughter of Nathan Macy, and to them were born seven children. Several of the seven died in infancy, and only Emma and Nathan survive today. Joseph Votaw was born and reared in the Quaker faith, and all his days he was active in the work of the church.

Daniel W. Votaw received his early education in Miami and Wabash counties, and he remained at home with his father until his marriage, in 1868, when Louisa Gaunt, the daughter of Uz and Sarah Ann (Whitacre) Gaunt, became his wife. She was born in Ohio and came here when quite a young girl, in company with her family. She had seven brothers and sisters: John, George, Elizabeth, James, Hannah, Allen and Emma. Her people finally settled in Wabash county, and here they passed their remaining days.

In 1869 Daniel W. Votaw settled in Wabash county on a farm of ninety-five acres. He now owns two hundred acres in Wabash county, in two separate farms, and has done all of the improvement work himself. The land is in excellent condition, and reflects the spirit and ambition of its owner in every detail. In more recent years Mr. Votaw has mainŽtained his residence upon a small but well kept and productive place of thirty-one acres, which is quite enough to keep him busy in these days.

To Mr. and Mrs. Votaw were born eleven children, five of whom are living: Millard F., who married Ida Fisher; Joseph W., who married Florence Barnett; Viola, the wife of Joseph Sloop; Phoebe M., the wife of Louis Baldwin and living in Florida; and Ethel, the wife of Milton Barnett and living in California.

Mr. Votaw and his son Millard are life members of the Quaker church, but Mrs. Votaw and the remainder of the children are of the United Brethren faith. Mr. Votaw's father was first a whig in politics and later became a republican, and Mrs. Votaw's father was a life-long democrat. Mr. Votaw has been a life-long republican. The family is well established in the community, enjoying the esteem and confidence of a wide circle of friends in and about the township.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

Born in Pike county, Ohio, on February 28, 1860, R. C. Thompson is the son of George W. and Rhoda (Miller) Thompson, natives of Columbiana county, Ohio, where the father was a farmer. They were the parents of ten children, four of whom are yet living. The parents passed their lives in Pike county. On February 9, 1886, R. C. Thompson was married in Pike county, Ohio, to Lulu Rankin, a daughter of Milton and Martha Rankin, and their first independent home was in Sangamon county, Illinois, where they settled on a farm. They remained there for nine years, when they sold out and bought a farm in White county, Indiana, there residing for six years. It was in 1901 that they came to Wabash county and purchased their present fine place in Noble township.

Mr. Thompson's success has been remarkable, in that he began to work for himself when twenty-one as a hired man on a farm in his comŽmunity, and his possessions today have been acquired through his own skill and good management. He has worked as only a man on a farm may, and today he has a magnificent place to show for his labors. As has been stated, his present home is valued at $40,000. Up to the time when he established himself in Noble township, Mr. Thompson gives much of the credit for their prosperity to his wife, who has done her full share in helping him to accumulate their property. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had about $7,000 when they came to Wabash county and bought their 185 acres, paying $11,500 for the place, and going in debt about $4,000. But he has cleared off that debt and has also bought additional land, about seventy-five acres. He does mixed farming, raising grain and stock. At the present time he is clear of all debts. The place today boasts an entire new set of fences and buildings of all kinds, and altogether, it is one of the most attractive places in the county. The house, a comfortable looking frame affair, is painted white, with a white fence surrounding it, and one of the best kept lawns one might hope to see adds much to the natural beauty of the place. Cloverdale Farm is undeniably one of the finest looking places in the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have four children. Pearl, the eldest, married Minor Bickel, and has two children, Armond and Dorothy Helen; Lenora, the second, is the wife of La Moyne Shellhammer; Lorine is unmarried; as is also Ardath. The family are members of the United Brethren church, and Mr. Thompson is a Democrat in his politics.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914

The late John Alexander Martin was one of the real pioneers of Wabash county. He first saw the light of day in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1821, and came of old and prominent American ancestors. He was a son of Alexander and a grandson of John Martin. John Martin was one of the early volunteers in the cause of independence during the Revolution. He was a pioneer and an Indian fighter as well as a soldier of the regular army during the Revolution, and was associated and intimate friends with such great historic characters as Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton and George Rogers Clark. In the latter years of the eighteenth century he journeyed west to the state of Kentucky, and for his services rendered the government was given a section of land in Greenup county. This property, now worth many thousands of dollars because of its oil and iron deposits, was handed down through several generations of the family, but unfortunately was sold a number of years before the value of its subsurface was realized.

John Alexander Martin spent his boyhood days at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and early in life married Amanda McLean. She was a daughter of Ephriam McLean and a granddaughter of Colonel McLean. Colonel McLean was one of the pioneer engineers of the United States, and was the man employed by the government to layout the Mason and Dixon line from Baltimore to St. Louis. Owing to the fact that the Southern states had complained that this line was surveyed too far south, two London engineers named Mason and Dixon were employed to verify the work done by Colonel McLean. They found his line as nearly accurate as possible, and its course was never changed in any important particular, though it has always borne the names of the Englishmen who covered the ground instead of the man who performed the original work.

Soon after he was married John Alexander Martin moved from Pennsylvania to the section of land owned by the family in Greenup county, Kentucky. In 1847, having sold that property, he came north to Wabash county, Indiana, which was then a veritable wilderness. His cabin home was built at North Manchester, and from there he moved to a farm near Urbana, and subsequently to another farm two miles west of Manchester, and still later to Kosciusko county. Though he was forty years of age• when the war broke out, he enlisted in Company I of the Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry, and first served as wagon-master, and later was commissioned first lieutenant of his company. In April, 1862, while conducting some troops down the river he contracted diphtheria and at Cairo was taken on board a gunboat for medical treatment. The old-fashioned remedy of bleeding was resorted to, and during that operation the surgeon's knife accidentally severed his jugular vein, and he died almost immediately. His body was brought home, and was laid to rest in a soldier's grave at North Manchester. His widow survived him many years and died February 14, 1911, and is now at rest near Liberty Mills. To their marriage were born the following children: M. K.; Sanford C.; Alice, who married Michael Cook, deceased; Manassa Clinton, of Kansas City, Kansas; Jessie F., who married John Folk; and Nellie, Mrs. Life Cloutman, of Kansas City, Missouri.

Sanford Charles Martin, who had a record as a soldier in the Civil war while still a boy, was thirty-five years an active business man of Liberty Mills, and now living retired at that village, was born in Greenup county, Kentucky, April 10, 1846, a son of John A. and Amanda (McLean) Martin. Brought to Wabash county with his parents in 1847, he has lived here ever since. While growing up he attended district schools at more or less irregular intervals, assisted his father in the heavy duties of pioneer farming, and followed the tendencies of his pioneer ancestors in his love of outdoor life and activities. Fishing and hunting, particularly the latter, were pursuits in which he took keen delight as a younger man, and his extensive lore of nature has been gathered not from books, but from daily communion with the woods and fields and streams.

While still a boy he enlisted in Company E of the 118th Indiana Regiment, which was a six-months regiment, and at the conclusion of the first term he re-enlisted in Company G of the 21st Heavy Artillery. He was with that regiment until several months after the close of hostilities, and was honorably discharged at New Orleans in December, 1865. Returning home, a youth not yet twenty years of age, on April 10, 1866, his twentieth birthday he opened a blacksmith shop at Liberty Mills. That was the business at which he prospered and provided a comfortable competence for himself and family during thirty-five years.

Mr. Martin is a republican and has been faithful to the destinies of the party since casting his first vote nearly fifty years ago. In 1904, when he consented to become a candidate on the republican ticket for the office of sheriff of Wabash county, the people showed their appreciation of this sterling citizen and old soldier by giving him the largest majority (2,007) ever given a candidate for any office in the county. His administration was in keeping with the anticipations of his friends and supporters, and he has hosts of warm admirers in every corner of Wabash county. At the conclusion of his term of office he returned to Liberty Mills and built the pleasant home in which he now resides in comfort and plenty.

On November 10, 1867, Mr. Martin married Miss Belle Irene Meek, daughter of L. D. Meek of North Manchester. The children born to this marriage are: Edith, who married E. S. Rittenhouse; Clinton, who married Rose Unger; Eveline, who married Klem Foster of South Whitley; and Ben Carey at home. Mr. Martin has active affiliations with the John A. Logan Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, and though living retired is still keenly interested in every movement pertaining to the growth and development of Wabash county.

"History of Wabash County, Indiana"
Clarkson W. Weesner
Lewis Publishing Co.
Chicago and New York
published in 1914