Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

LAWRENCE W. DAUGHERTY. As one of the representative citizens of Blackford county and as a prominent and influential business man of Hartford City, where he conducts a substantial and prosperous commission trade as a buyer and shipper of grain, hay and other produce, Mr. Daugherty is fully entitled to special consideration in this history, and the high estimate that is placed upon him in his home county is indicated by the fact that he has served both as county auditor and as a member of the board of review. He is a scion, in the third generation, of one of the honored pioneer families of Indiana, with whose history the name has been identified for nearly a century, and in all of the relations of life he has admirably upheld the prestige of his patronymic. In the agnatic line his ancestry is traced back to staunch Scotch-Irish origin, his paternal grandfather, John Daugherty having been born probably in Pennsylvania, though data concerning the early history of the family in America are notably meager. Thus it may be that he was born prior to his parents' immigration to the United States, in which event he was at the time a mere child. He was reared to maturity in the old Keystone State, and there was solemnized his marriage to Rebecca Knox, who was of Welsh parentage. In Pennsylvania were born his elder children, and in 1819, with teams and wagons, he came with his family to the pioneer wilds of Henry county, Indiana, where he entered claim to a tract of heavily timbered land, in Liberty township. He became one of the successful pioneer farmers of that county, and his was the herculean task of reclaiming his land from the wilderness, both he and his noble wife having been well fortified for the responsibilities and labors that ever fall upon pioneers in a new and undeveloped region. John Daugherty was about seventy-six years of age at the time of his death, and his widow attained to the age of about eighty-five years, both having been numbered among the best known and most honored pioneer citizens of Henry county and both having been zealous members of the New Light Christian church; in politics Mr. Daugherty was a Democrat. This worthy couple reared a large family of children, and of the two who are still living it may be recorded that James is a retired farmer of Hagerstown, Wayne county, this State; and that Mrs. Amanda Nordman is a resident of Rushville, Rush county. The names of those deceased are here entered: Priscilla, Clarissa, William, Elizabeth, Samuel, Mary, Rebecca, and Louisa.

Samuel Daugherty, father of him to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born on the old homestead farm in Liberty township, Henry county, on the 23d of August, 1822, and in his native county he was reared to years of maturity, his incidental educational advantages in his youth having been those of the primitive pioneer schools. He learned the trade of cooper, and for the long period of thirty-five years he followed this trade at Millville, Henry county, where he conducted a well ordered cooperage of the type common to the locality and period. He finally established his residence on a farm in Jefferson township, that county, and he made this one of the valuable properties of that district, there continuing to reside until his death, in 1887. He never wavered in his allegiance to the Democratic party, was a man of sterling character and positive views, and ever commanded the high regard of his fellow men, his religious faith having been that of the Church of Christ, of which his second wife was a devout adherent. In Henry county, as a young man, he wedded Malinda Shaw, who was born in that county about the year 1825, and who passed the closing period of her life in Tipton county, where she died in 1861, her religious faith having been that of the Baptist church. Samuel Daugherty eventually contracted a second marriage, and of this union four children were born. Concerning the five children of the first marriage it may be noted that Lawrence W., of this review, was the third in order of birth: Alice, who is the widow of Robert F. Newcomb, resides at Hagerstown, Wayne county, and has one son and two daughters; Elizabeth, who has no living children, is the widow of Leonard P. Harris and resides at Richmond, Wayne county; Jeptha is a mechanical engineer by vocation and now lives in the State of California; and John, who is a prosperous farmer of Wayne county, Indiana, has one daughter.

Lawrence W. Daugherty was born in Henry county, this State, on the 17th of April, 1859, and his early education was obtained in the public schools of that county and Grant county. His independent career was initiated in connection with agricultural pursuits, and he continued to be one of the successful farmers of Grant county until 1896, when he established his residence at 813 North High street in Hartford City, this attractive home having been erected by him within the preceding year and having since continued his place of abode. In 1906 Mr. Daugherty was elected county auditor, and he retained this office four years, his administration having been careful and effective and having gained to him unequivocal popular commendation. He later served, with equal ability, as a member of the board of review. Upon retiring from the office of auditor Mr. Daugherty engaged in the buying and shipping of grain and hay, and with this line of enterprise he has since continued to be actively and successfully identified. He buys produce in the local field and ships to the leading markets of the East and Middle West. In politics he accords stalwart allegiance to the democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, including the Order of the Eastern Star, of which Mrs. Daugherty likewise is an active member; the Knights of Pythias, and the Knights of the Maccabees. Mrs. Daugherty is a women of most gracious social qualities, and besides being State treasurer of the Indiana organization of the Woman's Relief Corps, her eligibility for which is based on her father's gallant service as a soldier of the Union in the Civil war, she is also secretary of the Children's Board of Guardians of Blackford county. She is a most popular and influential factor in the representative social, religious and philanthropic activities of her home city.

The year 1881 gave record of the marriage of Mr. Daugherty to Miss Sarah Walker, who was reared and educated in Grant county, this state, where she was born on the 2d of January, 1861, her paternal grandparents having been numbered among the pioneer settlers in Jefferson township, that county. Mrs. Daugherty is a daughter of Arthur and Rebecca (Rogers) Walker, who passed their entire lives in Grant county, their respective parents having there established homes in the early pioneer days, upon their immigration from Virginia. Arthur Walker became one of the substantial farmers and representative citizens of Jefferson township, Grant county, where he died at the age of sixty-seven years, his loved and devoted wife having been called to the life eternal at the age of fifty-six years and their old homestead place being now owned by Mrs. Daugherty, who cherishes it by reason of the hallowed memories and associations of the past. Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty have one son, S. Ross, who was born in September, 1882, and who completed the curriculum of the Hartford City high school. For the past fourteen years he has been a valued employee of the Hoover Furniture Company, of Hartford City. He married Miss Mabel Rohr, who was born and reared in this city, and they have no children.

Blackford and Grant Counties, Indiana A Chronicle of their People Past and Present with Family Lineage and Personal Memoirs Compiled Under the Editorial Supervision of Benjamin G. Shinn
Volume I Illustrated
The Lewis Publishing Company Chicago and New York 1914
Submitted by Peggy Karol

ELISHA PIERCE has been engaged in the active practice of law at Hartford City, Blackford county, for more than forty years, and is one of the representative members of the bar of this section of the state. As a mere boy he went forth with an Indiana regiment to give valiant service in the Civil war, and the same high principle of loyalty has characterized him in all the relations of life. He has been influential in politics in Indiana and has served with marked ability as a member of the State legislature. He is one of the well known and highly honored citizens of Blackford county, and his character and achievement fully entitle him to specific consideration in this publication.

Mr. Pierce was born in Green county, Ohio, on the 14th of December, 1846, but he has been a resident of Indiana since his boyhood days. His paternal great-grandfather, Elisha Pierce, was born in England, of the staunchest of English stock, and it is thought that his worthy ancestor came to America about the time of the war of the Revolution and established him having been preserved by his descendants. The inference is that he continued a resident of North Carolina until his death. His son James, grandfather of him whose name initiates this article, was born in Northampton county, North Carolina, in 1786, and there he was reared to maturity. His wife was a member of the old DeBerry family of that state, and representatives of the same were prominent soldiers and patriots in the Revolutionary war. After his marriage James Pierce established his home on a plantation in Northampton county, North Carolina, and there all of his children were born, brief record concerning them being here incorporated: Littlebury was the father of Elisha of this review. Lucy became the wife of a man named Oliver and they were residents of Harrisburg, Grant county, Indiana, at the time of their death. Sallie likewise married a representative of the Oliver family, and she died in middle life. Henry became one of the pioneer settlers of Blackford county, Indiana, and here he lived until his death, two of sons and one daughter still surviving him. Elizabeth married a Mr. Jackson and they continued their residence in Ohio until their death. Drew B. is a prosperous farmer in Grant county, Indiana, and he and his wife have six sons and three daughters.

Littlebury Pierce was born in Northampton county, North Carolina, on the 21st of December, 1820, and he was eighteen years of age at the time of the family removal to Greene county, Ohio, where his parents passed the residue of their lives. There he wedded Miss Huldah Graham, who was born in Ohio, about 1831, a daughter of Thomas Graham, whose father immigrated from Ireland to America and who here married. They were pioneers of Ohio, and in that State their death occurred. He died at the age of one hundred and six. The maiden name of the wife of Thomas Graham was Stafford, and her parents, of German descent, were pioneers of Ohio. Within a short time after his marriage Littlebury Pierce established their residence on a farm in Greene county, Ohio, and there were born their first three children, � Elisha, James and Rebeca. In 1851 the family came to Indiana and the home was established on a pioneer farm in Monroe township, Grant county. A number of years later removal was made to a farm in Washington township, Blackford county. Still later the father obtained a farm in Licking township, where he continued to be engaged in general farming until he removed to Hartford City, the county seat, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred September 3, 1898, at the age of seventy-eight. His wife survived him by about two years and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of her death, on the 17th of July, 1900, both having been consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the father was a local preacher therein. He was a democrat in his political proclivities. Of the twelve children Elisha of this review was the first born; James T., who was a member of the Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Infantry in the Civil war died, of illness, while in the service; Rebecca and her husband and children still reside in Ohio; William is a resident of St. Louis, Missouri; Franklin died in infancy; Jesse B. is a real-estate dealer and insurance broker in the State of Kansas; Stephen D is a painter by vocation and resides in Hartford City; Hanford E. is engaged in the plumbing business at Lincoln, Nebraska; Wiley T. resides in Hartford City; Charles Wesley was for years a successful teacher, a graduate of Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, with the class of 1892, is now a member of the Blackford county bar, and he is associated with his brother Elisha in the real-estate business and is also a piano dealer at Hartford City; Mary is the wife of Wesley Atkinson, who is city marshal at Havens, Kansas; and Minnie V. is the wife of Robert E. Smith, a prosperous farmer of Delaware county, Indiana.

Elisha Pierce was about five years of age at the time of the family removal from Ohio to Indiana, and his early education was acquired in the common schools of the pioneer days. He was but fifteen years old when his father was drafted for service in the Civil war, and as the father found that the needs of his family prevented his service Elisha, the eldest of the children, volunteered to become his substitute in the Union ranks. Though a mere boy he became a member of Company I, Fifty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and with this command he served one year, when he was honorably discharged, his term under the draft having expired. He returned home and attended school, one year, and he then responded to the call of patriotism, in 1864, by enlisting in the veteranized Twenty-sixth Indiana Infantry, with which he continued in active service until the close of the war. He participated in fourteen engagements and in the meanwhile served for some time as drill master, so that at the termination of the war he was discharged as a non-commissioned officer.

Up to the time that he first entered the Union service Mr. Pierce could neither read nor write, and after the war his one dominant ambition was to obtain an education. He accordingly made good use of the scholastic advantages afforded him in the public schools, and soon proved himself eligible for service as a teacher. In 1869 he began the study of law, under the preceptorship of John D. Jetmore, of Hartford City, and his receptive mind enabled him to make rapid advancement in the assimilation of the science of jurisprudence, with the result that he was admitted to the bar in 1873. During the long intervening years he has continued in the active and successful practice of his profession at Hartford City, and he has been identified with a large amount of important litigation in Blackford county. In 1886 he was elected a representative in the state legislature, and he was re-elected in 1888 and he gave good account of himself as a loyal and public-spirited legislator, his work having been efficient both in the deliberations of the house and those of the various committees to which he was assigned. He has ever been a staunch advocate of the cause of the Democratic party but in later years has abated somewhat his activity in local politics. Mr. Pierce is a notary public and he is affiliated with the local lodges of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, both he and his wife being members of the Methodist Episcopal church.

The year 1870 recorded the marriage of Mr. Pierce to Miss Ella Beecher, who was born in Pennsylvania, October 30, 1851, but who was reared and educated in Blackford county, Indiana, where her father was a substantial farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have one son, Horace Greeley, who was born in 1872, and who completed his education in Taylor University, at Upland. He now resides in Muncie, this state, is an electrician by vocation, and he and his wife have one son, a lad of ten years.

RICHARD DICK. One of the leading exponents of scientific farming in his part of Blackford county is Richard Dick, the owner of 101 acres of cultivated land, lying in section 10, Washington township. Mr. Dick has made a life study of agricultural methods, of soil conditions and of the possibilities of this region, and his theories and methods have been proved correct by the attainment of a full measure of success from his operations. Mr. Dick is a native of West Virginia, having been born in Morgan county, September 15, 1851, a son of Uriah and Rosa (Michael) Dick.

Uriah Dick was born in Virginia, of Virginia parents who spent their lives there. He died March 26, 1892, at the age of seventy-six years. Reared to agricultural pursuits in his native state, he early adopted farming as his life work, and continued to be engaged therein during the remainder of his life. He was married in Virginia, and there were born the following children: William, who died young; Mary C., deceased, who married Daniel Sills, and had a family of fourteen children, of whom all but the eldest are living, and the greater number are now married; Sarah A., who died in young womanhood; and Richard. Emily and John, two later children, were born in Blackford county. The family came to Indiana about the year 1855 and made a settlement in Harrison township, at that time a comparatively new section, locating in a log cabin on a wild farm, which the parents continued to cultivate during the remaining years of their lives. The mother died a few years after their arrival, and Mr. Dick was subsequently married to Mrs. Sarah J. Kitterman, nee Wickersham, whose birth occurred in Wayne county, Indiana, July 16, 1837,and who died June 26, 1912. She was married to Mr. Kitterman, by whom she had five children: Dorilas, Ellen, Mary Susan, Charles and Annis, all living and all married. Mr. Kitterman died October 7, 1866. In 1876 Mrs. Kitterman married Uriah Dick, and they became the parents of three children: Alonzo and Clinton, who reside on the old farm in Washington township and have families; and one child who died in early infancy. The Dicks have always been democrats. Mrs. Dick was reared in the Quaker faith, from which she was expelled when she married outside of the church, then joining the United Brethren faith. Several of the dogmas of this church she failed to agree with, and there-after worshipped as she believed, being a great student of the Bible, and died a Christian.

The public schools of Blackford county furnished Richard Dick with his educational training, and he grew up a farmer, adopting the calling of his forefathers. He was married February 1, 1877, and following this event spent five years on the old Kitterman homestead in section 1, Washington township. In March, 1882, he purchased 101 acres of good land in section 10, Washington township, on which there had been ten acres already improved, and this he has since put under a high state of cultivation, it now being one of the valuable farms of the township. He has a handsome residence of ten rooms, painted white, and fitted with every modern convenience. His large barn, 40 x 64 feet, was built in 1899, and in addition there are a full set of outbuildings of the most substantial character. The farm is well stocked with Durham cattle, Poland-China hogs and good horses, and Mr. Dick feeds the greater part of his grain. A man of practical ideas, he has also followed the trend of the times and has realized the value of modern ideas, so that at this time he rotates from corn to wheat and then to grass, and back to wheat each three years. He is a man of excellent business ability, and a long life of honorable dealing has placed him high in the confidence and respect of his fellow men.

Mr. and Mrs. Dick have been the parents of the following children: Minnie, the wife of William Ford, a farmer of Washington township, has eight children by this marriage,�Pierl, Ray, Marie, Paul, Mary, Ralph, James and Harvey, and by her first marriage, to Frank Griffiths, has one son, Carl E., Myrtle, the wife of Austin Ely, a farmer of Harrison township, has two children, � Leslie and Esther; Charles a farmer of this township, married Myrtle Knox, and has four children, � Cecil, Crystal, Harold and Mary; Irven, a farmer of Washington township, married Goldy Emschwiler, and has three children, � Forest, Florence and Francis; Harvey, a carpenter of California, who is single; Ross, a resident farmer of Washington township, married Eva Burson, and has one son, � Maxwell; Ennis, single and his father's assistant in the work of the homestead; Sherman, who is also single and resides on the home place; and Lovisa E., who died at the age of seven months. Mr. Dick and his sons are democrats in national politics, but in local affairs are apt to take an independent stand, preferring to use their own judgment in their choice of candidates whom they deem best fitted for public office. All the men of this family are recognized as able, reliable and substantial citizens, credits to their parents, to their training and the community.

JOHN E. WISE. One of the handsome and valuable farming properties of Washington township is the belonging to John E. Wise, a tract of 120 acres located in section 26, all of which is under a high state of cultivation, with the exception of thirteen acres of wood land. Here he has a commodious frame house, a large barn 42 x 60 feet, in addition to other necessary outbuildings, the whole property presenting an attractive appearance and evidencing the skillful management and care of its owner. Mr. Wise was born near Cambridge, Wayne county, Indiana, August 24, 1862, and was two years of age when he came to Blackford county with his parents, Andrew and Catherine (Brier) Wise, the former a native of Switzerland and the latter of Prussia. They came to the United States as young people, and were married in Wayne county, where the father followed the trade of tanner, an occupation which he had learned in his native land. After coming to Blackford county, Mr. Wise purchased eighty acres of land in section 26, Washington township, three acres of which had been cleared and here was located a small log cabin. Mr. Wise cleared his property from the timber, and added forty acres by purchase, and five years after locating here built a hewed log home in which the parents resided until their retirement some eight or ten years before their death. They then removed to Hartford City, where the father passed away at the age of sixty-eight years and the mother when seventy-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Wise were honest, industrious and God-fearing people and led upright, honorable lives, rearing their children to industry and integrity and assisting their community as far as lay in their power. Mr. Wise was reared in the Catholic faith, while his wife was a member of the Presbyterian church. In his political views he was a supporter of the principles of democracy, but was not a seeker after the honors of public life. They were the parents of the following children: Mary, who became the wife of Daniel Knox, who is the owner of 240 acres of good farming land in Washington township, and has five children, � Luther, Selda, Myrtle, Roy and Richard; Joseph, a sketch of whose career will be found in another part of this work; and John E.

John E. Wise received the usual educational advantages granted to the youths of his day and locality, and grew up amid rural surroundings in Washington township. During the winter months he applied himself to his studies in the district school, and the remainder of the year was devoted to assisting his father and brother in cultivating the homestead. He has always devoted himself to farming and stock raising, and since his father's retirement has had charge of the home place, which he now owns. About 1894 Mr. Wise replaced the hewed log home with the present residence, a comfortable, well-furnished home, and about four years later built the grain and stock barn. Each year he has continued to make improvements, and the land is well drained, being tiled throughout. He raises large crops of corn, which averages about fifty bushels to the acre, oats about thirty bushels, and wheat from eighteen to twenty bushels per acre. His livestock is of a good grade, and he has done a successful business in cattle, hogs and horses for years. Mr. Wise is an advocate of the use of modern machinery and methods, and the successful results which have attended his efforts should prove a good argument in behalf of up-to-date operations. In his business transactions he has always strictly adhered to fair and honorable principles, so that his reputation among his associates is high, and his name is an honored one upon commercial paper. During the twenty-four years that he has been the owner of his present property he has formed a wide acquaintance, and the numbers of his friends will testify to his general popularity.

Mr. Wise was married in Blackford county, Indiana, to Miss Lucy Huffman, who was born in Adams county, Indiana, July 13, 1868, and was there reared and educated in the public schools. She accompanied her parents to Blackford county, they being Richard and Sarah E. (Dearduff) Huffman, who spent the latter years of their lives in Harrrison township. Mr. Huffman was a successful farmer and stock raiser of his community, and was not unknown to public life, having for some years served efficiently in the capacity of superintendent of the Blackford county poor farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wise have been the parents of the following children: Bertha, who died in 1905, in the prime of young womanhood, aged sixteen years, four months; Mary, born May 14, 1892, educated in the public schools, and now the wife of Harry Glenn, a prosperous farmer of Jackson township, Blackford county, and has one daughter,�Ruby, born in September, 1912.

Mr. and Mrs. Wise are devout members of the Lutheran church, of which he was for some years trustee. Like his father Mr. Wise is a democrat, but politics have not proven attractive enough to lure him from his fields, and his public services have been confined to stanch support of those men and measures through whom he believes the county will gain the most benefit.

Deb Murray