Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

MANSON WILLIAMS. The record of Manson Williams of Harrison township is known to every citizen of that section of Blackford county. His is a man of excellent judgment, an industrious and progressive farmer, thoroughly public spirited, and the community has already shown its confidence in his ability and rectitude by conferring upon him official honors.

Manson Williams is a native of Henry county, Indiana, where he was born January 12, 1870, a son of John and Amanda E. (Martin) Williams. His father was a native of the old Dominion State of Virginia, while his mother came from Pennsylvania, and she is still living in Blackford county. The father was a soldier in the Civil war, and spent four years in that great struggle between the states. His death occurred in 1871, and his widow subsequently married a second time, and finally moved to Blackford county. To the first marriage were born three children, and the only one now living is Manson Williams.

The latter spent his early childhood in Henry county, and attended the public schools of that county and of Blackford county. His early life was spent in his mother's home, and he finally left to establish a home of his own after his marriage to Mary A. Hart, a daughter of William and Rosanna (Mussetter) Hart. Mrs. Williams was educated in the common schools of Blackford county. Their two children are : John W., born September 29, 1903; and Ruth Hart, born May 5, 1909.

Mr. Williams has a wide acquaintance among the citizens of Blackford county, and fraternally is affiliated with Montpelier Lodge, No. 188, Knights of Pythias, and with the Lodge of Red Men at Montpelier. A democrat in politics, he has been honored with the office of justice of the peace for twelve years. At the present time he is the nominee of his party for the position of trustee of Harrison township. In business he is known as a quiet, industrious worker, and enjoys the thorough regard of his entire circle of acquaintance.

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

ALPHONSE LEFEVRE. Jackson township has no more respected and prosperous citizen than this native of Belgium, who came as a poor boy across the ocean to America, and after various experiences in the manufacturing districts of the east, arrived in Blackford county, and has since closely applied himself to the business of agriculture, and now owns a beautiful farm home, which in point of productiveness ranks among the best in Blackford county. It is known as the Shady Nook Farm, located four miles north of Dunkirk, on the Chapman stone road, and consisting of 75.8 acres.

Alphonse Lefevre was born in Rantsart, Beligium, November 15, 1865, a son of Jules and Marceline (Loriaux) Lefevre. His parents were Belgium people, and Alphonse is the only one of the family that came to the United States. As a boy he attended the schools of his native country, and acquired a substantial training in his mother tongue. At the age of nineteen, having earned enough money to pay for his passage, he left Belgium and landed at New York City on September 26, 1885. His first location was at Bel Vernon, Pennyslvania, where he was employed as a window glass worker for three years. He found employment in the line of his trade at different places, and finally arrived in Dunkirk, Indiana.

He worked altogether twelve years at the glass trade, eight years of that time at Dunkirk. He was also a stockholder in and the secretary of the Upland Co-operative Window Glass Company.

On December 24, 1888, at Meadville, Pennsylvania, Mr. Lefevre married Estella Duler. She is also a native of Belgium, born June 8, 1871, and was brought to the United States at the age of eleven years, her education having been acquired partly in her native land and partly in this country. Mr. Lefevre and wife have lived on their present place in Jackson township since July 4, 1898. His first purchase was a run-down farm of thirty-five acres, and he proved himself just the man to rehabilitate its resources and make of it a tract of land valuable and highly productive.

With the proceeds of his management he subsequently added a little more than forty acres, and now owns a farm that is worth several times what he paid for it, and furnishes ample returns to provide for his family's needs. They make a specialty of dairy products.

Mr. and Mrs. Lefevre are the parents of six children: Marcel, a graduate of the common schools, who married Zelda L. Cortright; Georgette, the wife of J. E. Dickson; Harold V., born June 19, 1903; Arena A., born February 5, 1905; Edgar D., born December 22, 1907; and Dorothy B., born August 3, 1911.

The family worship in the Methodist Protestant church at Trenton, of which Mr. Lefevre is a member of the official board. He also affiliates with the Lodge No. 156 of the Improved Order of Red Men, and Lodge No. 306 and also the Encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he has aligned himself with the Progressive party.

ORLANDO SHERMAN FORD. Owing to the straightened circumstances in which part of his boyhood was passed, Orlando S. Ford began his career as an earner by carrying water to a gang of section hands. That was many years ago, and in the meantime he has never ceased to be a productive worker, a man of unusual success, and at the present time is considered the wealthiest citizen of Jackson township, the owner of extensive lands, proprietor of a beautiful farm of three hundred and sixty acres, situated eight miles southeast of Hartford City. Altogether his landed possessions aggregate six hundred acres, located at different places in Jackson township.

Orlando Sherman Ford was born in Preble county, Ohio, July 5, 1864, a son of David and Mary (Richards) Ford. Both parents were natives of West Virginia, went to Ohio when children, and David Ford began his career as a bricklayer, in 1868 engaged in the milling business near Olney, Illinois, and four years later brought his family to Indiana. He operated a flouring mill, and was at one time accounted a man of considerable means, but at his death about 1873 left his widow and two sons in reduced circumstances. His older son had already found a home in Blackford county, and the widow and Orlando joined this son, James H. For a number of years they experienced considerable hardship, and it was during that period of his life that Mr. Ford found work as a water boy. He had no shoes, and as some kind of footwear was necessary for his work he went in debt for a pair and paid for them at the end of the season' work. He had varied experiences as a young man. He was employed on a farm during the summer, and obtained his education as best he could by attendance at the common schools during the winter. On April 6, 1886, with his brother he made his first purchase of land, comprising eighty acres, all but ten acres of which was covered with a heavy growth of timber. To get this property he went in debt, and finally paid off and has since invested most of his surplus in additional land, until at the present time he owns as much improved farm property as almost any other citizen in the county. While a general farmer and a raiser of large amounts of corn, oats, wheat and other feed stuffs, he has found his profits as a cattle raiser, and every year for a long time has shipped a number of carloads.

On December 17, 1885, Mr. Ford married Emma F. Anderson, a daughter of Dr. James Anderson. Mrs. Ford was born in Blackford county. They are the parents of two daughters: Ruby, who after finishing the common schools took a musical course, and is now the wife of Charles Brown of Mill Grove, Indiana; and Crystal, who graduated from the common schools and was also trained in music, and lives at home.

Mr. Ford has passed all the chairs and is a member of the Grand Lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men. While not a member of any church he has been liberal in his support of religious institutions, and his father was a preacher in the Baptish denomination. Politically, Mr. Ford is a democrat.

JOHN W. GREEN. Though now a farmer, the owner of a fine place in Harrison township, Mr. Green was for many years connected with the oil industry in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and it was while identified with that business in this section of Indiana that he invested his accumulations in land in Blackford county, and finally devoted all his attention to the growing of crops and live stock rather than the production of mineral resources. Harrison township has no more substantial nor public spirited citizen than John W. Green.

Highland county, Ohio, was the place of his birth, and he first saw the light of day August 29,. 1871. His parents were David and Sarah (Reveal) Green. His father died in the state of Michigan, and the mother is still living. Of their five children three are alive: Henry, whose home is in Michigan; James, also of Michigan; and John W.

John W. Green, who was born in the village of Greenfield, Ohio, attended the common schools of Highland county, and a farmer boy, early became acquainted with the work of field and meadow. At the age of nineteen he was employed at work in the oil fields, and there followed a number of years in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, in the capacity of a pumper for the Ohio Oil Company. Later he was promoted to the position of field foreman in Indiana and Illinois, and worked along that line for eight years. Finally Mr. Green bought the 102.45 acres in Section 20 of Harrison township, and applied his experience and industry to farming. His farm has many advantages of location as well as of fertility and improvement. It is situated along the line of that L. E. & W. railroad and the Indiana Union Traction, five miles southwest of Montpelier. Mr. Green is still a comparatively young man, and his prosperity is all the better for having been won entirely through his own efforts.

Mr. Green married Jennie Baker of Huntington county, Indiana. Their marriage was celebrated July 20, 1895, and Mrs. Green was born in Jackson township of Wells county, being educated in the common schools of that county. They are the parents of five children: Nora, who is graduate of the common schools; Wade, Jacob, Don and Edna. The family worship in the United Brethren church at Pleasantdale, and Mr. Green is a member of the Mount Zion Lodge No. 684, I.O.O.F., and the Encampment at Warren. In politics a republican, he has for some years cast his vote independently so far as local matters are concerned.

JOHN BURNS. Throughout the history of the country, the majority of our most distinguished men have been those who have been fitted for public service through the study and practice of the law. One of this profession is, therefore, more likely to lead his community than those who have not enjoyed such advantages and training, and in the business world lawyers are frequently found at the head of large enterprises which demand the directorship of a keen, analytical mind. Among the prominent members of the Blackford county legal profession, one who has not only attained distinction in the line of his calling, but has also held positions of responsibility and trust in public affairs and is influential in business circles in John Burns, of Hartford City, whose career has been marked by constant advancement and large achievements.

Mr. Burns was born at Scuffle Creek, Chester township, Wells county, Indiana, April 10, 1871, the eldest of the ten children of Joseph and Ann (McCaffrey) Burns. His father was born in Manchester, England, in 1846, of Irish parents, Michael and Emily (Fitzgerald) Burns, who came to the United States in 1849. They were ninety days in crossing the ocean, and on the journey cholera developed on shipboard, many of the passengers died, and two of the Burns children, Mary and Emily, were victims of the dread disease and were buried at sea. The survivors of the little party finally landed at New Orleans and made their way up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati, going thence to Mount Pleasant, Ohio, where for a few years they resided on a farm. Subsequently they came to Jay county, Indiana, and during the Civil war Michael Burns' eldest son, John, enlisted in the Union army as a member of an Indiana regiment of volunteers, and lost his life in the battle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, by the explosion of a shell. This left only one son surviving, Joseph Burns, who is still living. Just after the close of the war the family removed to Wells county, Indiana, and started a home in Chester township, where they resided for some years, but finally went to Montpelier, Blackford county, where Michael Burns died some twenty odd years ago, aged sixty-eight years. Mrs. Burns survived her husband some five years, and passed away at the home of her son, Joseph, in Wells county, being about seventy years of age. They were consistent members of the Roman Catholic church and were active in religious and charitable work. Mr. Burns was a democrat, but did not care for public office, although ever ready to discharge the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.

Joseph Burns was three years of age when he accompanied his parents to the United States, and here his boyhood and youth were passed in much the same manner as those of other Indiana farmers' sons of his day. He secured an ordinary common school education and grew up a farmer, assisting his father to clear and cultivate the homestead farm and learning thoroughly all the details of agricultural work. On attaining manhood he was married to Miss Anna McCaffrey, who was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1851, and in 1858 came to the United States and to Wells county, Indiana, with her parents, James and Elizabeth (Ervin) McCaffrey. Mr. McCaffrey became a substantial farmer and the owner of a valuable property, on which he had a handsome residence and other modern improvements, and there he died at the age of sixty-eight years, the mother passing away when she was seventy-five or seventy-six years old. They were members of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Burns are still living, and are prominent and highly esteemed people of their community. They hold membership in the Roman Catholic church, in the faith of which they were reared and to which they have always belonged. Mr. Burns has long been engaged in farming, in which he has met with a full measure of success, has been prosperous as a business man, and is known as one of the best auctioneers in Wells county, conducting frequent and well-attended sales. In politics a democrat, he has a wide following and considerable influence in political circles of his vicinity, and in addition to holding numerous minor offices served as a member of the Indiana State Legislature in 1907 and 1908. Of the ten children born to Joseph and Ann McCaffrey Burns, John is the eldest, all are living and five are married and have families.

After securing his preliminary educational training in the Scuffle Creek district school in Chester township, Wells county, John Burns attended the Bluffton Normal school, and thus received his teacher's certificate. Having decided upon a career in law, he began teaching school during the winter terms, while he devoted the summer months to his studies, first in the office of Congressman A. M. Martin, of Bluffton, in 1890, and later as a student of the Correspondence School of Law, of Detroit, Michigan. Finally, in 1804, he took his examination at Bluffton, while Judge Vaughn was on the bench, and was admitted to the bar, following which he went to Montpelier and entered upon the practice of his profession. For two years he served as deputy prosecuting attorney for Blackford county, and continued in practice at Montpelier until 1900, when he came to Hartford City, and was elected prosecuting attorney for the Twenty-eighth Judicial District, Blackford and Wells counties, subsequently being re-elected to that office and serving in all four years. He next acted for four years as county attorney for Blackford county, but during all of these years has continued his private practice, which is a large and representative one. Mr. Burns is an able lawyer, devoted to his calling and with a broad knowledge of its various branches, and his connection with a number of important cases has given him a firmly established place in the confidence of the public and high standing among his professional brethren. He has shown his strength politically as well as in his vocation, for from 1902 until 1906 he served as chairman of the Democratic County committee, has served his party in numerous ways at state and county conventions, and in 1904 was a delegate to the National Convention that nominated Judge Alton B. Parker.

Mr. Burns is equally well known in business and financial circles of Hartford City. In 1903 he was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Hartford City, was one of the first directors, and in 1906 was elected vice-president, a position which he has filled to the present time in addition to being attorney for the institution. He is vice-president of the Hartford City Hotel Company, organized in 1913, and president of the Rook Construction Company, organized in 1910 for the construction of roads, highways, streets and all kinds of drains. Mr. Burns is interested in agricultural pursuits as the owner of a well-cultivated farm of 345 acres, located in Harrison township, Blackford county. In each of his various lines of endeavor, he has shown a careful and conscientious attention to detail, an appreciation of the possibilities and a keen foresight in grasping and making the most of opportunities. His associates rely on his acumen, shrewdness and good judgment, and he has at all times been known as a man of the highest integrity, loyal in his friendships and true to each and every trust.

While a resident of Wells county, Indiana, Mr. Burns was united in marriage with Miss Zina Hyer, who was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1875, and educated in the public schools of her native place and Wells county. She is a daughter of Daniel N. and Ella (Collier) Hyer, natives of Ohio, the former of German ancestry and the latter of Scotch descent. They were married in Ohio, subsequently removed to Wells county, Indiana, and finally removed to Dewey, Oklahoma, where they still live. They are consistent members of the Methodist church, and earnest, honest, God-fearing people. Mr. and Mrs. Burns are the parents of two children: William Alonzo, born April 25, 1895, educated in the parochial school and the Hartford City High school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1912, and now a teacher in the public schools; and Lillain E., born March 24, 1897, who is a member of the class of 1916, Hartford City High school. Mr. and Mrs. Burns and their children are all members of St. John's Roman Catholic Church. His is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

BENJAMIN C. KELLER. The home of Benjamin C. Keller is in Section 13 of Washington township. His residence has been in Blackford county for many years, and his reputation as a progressive farmer and public spirited citizen has long been secure, and his name requires no introduction in any account of Blackford county citizens.

Mr. Keller is of Pennsylvania ancestry, and of substantial German stock. His grandfather, David Keller, was the founder of the name in this county, and on crossing the ocean located in Pennsylvania. In that state he married Miss Elizabeth Karnes, a Pennsylvania girl, and there three children were born to them: Conrad, David and Martin. With these three children the parents left Pennsylvania and at an early day found a new home in Fairfield county, Ohio. David Keller was there at a time when government land was to be secured, and he entered a homestead in Walnut township, in the midst of the woods, and beginning his labors during the early thirties eventually cleared up a good farm and was a man of prosperous condition. There his first wife died when in the prime of life and only a few years after their settlement, and he subsequently married Mrs. Mary Swisher. David Keller survived his second wife and lived to be about eighty-five years of age. There were no children by the second marriage. The three sons of the first union all grew up in Fairfield county, married and lived and died in that vicinity. They had farms in Walnut township and all became heads of families.

Martin Keller, the father of the Blackford county citizens above named, was the youngest of the three brothers. He was born about a hundred years ago in Pennsylvania, but reached his majority in Fairfield county, Ohio, and continued a successful farmer in that locality until his death on December 28, 1904. He married Catherine Rudebaugh, who was born about 1818 either in Pennsylvania or Ohio, and was a girl when her parents established their home on a farm in Fairfield county. Martin Keller and wife after their marriage lived on a part of the old Keller homestead, which comprised about half a section of land, and there spent the rest of their active careers. The first wife of Matin died in 1854 , when in the prime of life. Her children were: Elizabeth, who first married Albert Ellis, who was killed in the army, and had one daughter by him, and for her second husband took Alexander Parkinson, by whom she was the mother of a son; Lucinda married Daniel Patty, and at her death left a daughter; Almeda, who lives in Blackford county and has a son and daughter, was the wife of Thomas Gimes, a Blackford county citizen and a soldier in the war; Benjamin C. was next in order of birth; Edward lives in Jennings county, Indiana, and has a family. Martin Keller for his second wife married Miss Mary Rudebaugh, a relative of his first wife, and she died in 1901, being then quite old. She became the mother of one daughter, Margaret C., who is the wife of George Dailey of Perry county, Ohio, and they have a family of three daughters and one deceased.

Benjamin C. Keller was born on the old homestead in Fairfield county, Ohio, February 17, 1848. His youth was spent in a country still not far removed from pioneer conditions, and his education was limited to the local schools. At the age of twenty-four, in 1872, he came to Indiana and for a time was employed on the farm of his uncle, Louis Rudebaugh, in Harrison township. In 1873 he spent some time in Kansas and Illinois, and after his return to his uncle's home in 1874 made his first purchase of land, comprising fifteen acres of timber. His youthful strength went to the clearing and improving of this small estate and he finally sold it to good advantage. He and his wife subsequently bought forty acres in Section 13 of Washington township, and that for nearly forty years has been the basis of his substantial industry as a farmer. His land holdings have since been increased to fifty-four acres, and there are few residents of Washington township who have worked more steadily and effectively to improve their land than Mr. Keller. He has put in tiled drains, has built substantial fences, kept up the fertility of his soil, and among more conspicuous improvements are a good house, a barn on a foundation of 40 x 48 feet, and a fine bearing orchard with more than a hundred trees. He is a successful grower of all the cereal crops, and keeps up his stock to high grade.

In Washington township of Blackford county Mr. Keller married Miss Sarah Angeline McConkey, of a prominent old family in this section of Indiana. She was born in Washington township, Blackford county, November 22, 1851, was reared and educated here, and it has been her home all her life. She is esteemed for her fine neighborly qualities and her wholesome Christian character. Her father was Eli McConkey and her grandfather James McConkey. James McConkey was a young Irishman who left his native land and settled at an early period in Blackford county, entering large tracts of government land in Washington township during 1834 and 1835. That land he held and improved, and was an honored pioneer citizen of Blackford county who died during the Civil War. He was then past seventy years of age, and his wife had preceded him about seven or eight years. James McConkey married Prudence (Cook) Manlove, who was born in England, but was reared in Indiana. She was about seventy years of age when she passed away. She was the mother of children by both husbands, and all of them are now deceased. Eli McConkey, father of Mrs. Keller, was born in Fayette county, Indiana, January 30, 1824, grew up there and married Eliza Matz, who was born in Fayette county in October, 1824, of parents who came from Germany and lived and died in Fayette county, where they were pioneers. After the marriage of Eli McConkey and wife in 1845, and the birth of two children, Lafayette B. and Mary J., they moved to Blackford county in 1849, and spent the rest of their days on their old homestead in Washington township. Eli died in November, 1899,and his wife, who was born October 21, 1824, passed away in 1884. Both were members of the German Baptist church, and the democratic political faith of Eli McConkey was also characteristic of all the Keller family. Mrs. Keller had the following brothers and sisters: Mary J. is the wife of Matthew Parks of Muncie, Indiana, and has a son and two daughters; William T. McConkey, now deceased, is survived by his widow, Eliza E. (Ketterman) McConkey, whose home is in Montpelier; James P. lives in Madison county, Indiana, and has two daughters; Cynthia E., deceased, married Calvin Eiler, whose home is in North Manchester, and they were the parents of seven children; Prudence C. is the widow of Moses Wolfe and has four children living;Ruth A. is the widow of George Washington Wilson, and has seven children, four sons and three daughters; Reuben E., deceased, left a family of four daughters, three of whom are living; Emme E. is the wife of Charles McPherson, living near Nabb, Indiana, and they have two sons and two daughters.

Mr. and Mrs. Keller have the following family: Eliza C., who married Virgil D. Hart, a glass worker of Hartford City, has two daughters: Maybell F., born December 26, 1898, and now in the eighth grade of school, and Hazel Lindsey, born December 19, 1900, and attending the sixth grade. Eli Martin, the second child, lives on a farm in Grant county, and by his marriage to Zina Nestleroad has two daughters and one son, Gladys, Cecil Esther and Cleobis. Albert Erwood, whose home is near Flat Rock, Illinois, has five children, named Floyd, Claud, Gerald, Thelma and Benjamin A. The daughter, Elsie A., died at the age of nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Keller are members of Bethel United Brethren church, and politically he belongs to the democratic party.

Deb Murray