Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

GEORGE W. SMITH. Few families of Grant county, Indiana, are more widely or favorably known than that of Smith, which traces its ancestry back for generations in this country, and numbers among its members men prominent in business and agriculture, in the professions and in civic life, and in military circles from the time of the struggle for American independence. A worthy representative of the name is found in George W. Smith, the owner of a farm in section 3, Mill township, who has passed his entire career here and is known as a progressive and public spirited citizen.

The great-grandfather of George W. Smith was born in Virginia, and, at the outbreak of the Revolutionary war enlisted in the Continental army and continued to serve faithfully throughout the period of warfare, being with General George Washington at Valley Forge. He died in Halifax county, Virginia, at the remarkable age of one hundred and four years, and his widow subsequently moved to Fayette county, Ohio, in 1827, and died at the home of her son, James Smith. Like her husband, she reached phenomenal age, having reached one hundred and seven years at the time of her death, a short time previous to which she had walked over a mile.

James Smith, the grandfather of George W. Smith, was born in 1787, in Halifax county, Virginia, was there reared and educated, and when war was declared with England in 1812 enlisted in the American service and continued to fight gallantly until peace was declared. He was married in his native county to a Miss Henderson, who was born there about 1789, and after the birth of several of their children they left Virginia, in 1820, and moved to Fayette county, Ohio, where Mr. Smith secured one hundred and sixty acres of military land, given him by the Government on account of his services, and located near Rattlesnake Creek. There the first Mrs. Smith died in 1856 or 1857, and Mr. Smith was afterward married to Miss Anna Tracy, who died in 1890 or 1891, when seventy years of age, without issue. Mr. Smith was a steady and industrious farmer, and when he died, in 1877, his community lost one of its good citizens and stalwart Democrats. He and his wife were the parents of quite a large family.

Charles Smith, the father of George W. Smith, was born in Halifax county, Virginia, January 26, 1813, and died at his home in Mill township, Grant county, Indiana, March 4, 1879. He was reared and educated in the county of his nativity, and accompanied his parents to Fayette county, Ohio, from whence, in 1852, he came to Grant county, Indiana, and purchased eighty acres of land in sections 2 and 3, Mill township, of Joshua Cannon, twelve acres of this property being improved. Here his first residence was a log cabin, but in 1859 he erected the home now owned and occupied by George W. Smith. The father was a farmer all of his life, had an honorable and upright career, and fairly won the respect and esteem of his fellowmen. He was married in 1845, in Fayette county, Ohio, to Miss Beulah Haines, who was born June 24, 1820, in Fayette county, Ohio, and died at the homestead in Mill township, March 10, 1879, just six days after the death of her husband. She was a woman of many excellencies of mind and heart, and from girlhood throughout her life was a devout member of the Methodist church. Mr. Smith was an early Republican, casting his vote for Fremont, and was always opposed to slavery. Ebenezer Haines, the maternal grandfather of Mr. Smith, was born in Winchester county, Virginia, and his wife's father was Captain Berry, who was in charge of a company during the Colonial wars, and a neighbor of General Francis Marion, with whom he fought during the Revolution. Prior to this he served as a captain under General Braddock at Braddock's Defeat. Captain Berry was also the founder of Berry's Ferry, Virginia. Of the children of Charles and Beulah (Haines) Smith, George W. Smith is the next to the youngest. The others were as follows: Martha J., born December 12, 1845, who became the wife of David Lyon, and died May 30, 1896, leaving two children; Mary E., born in 1847, became the wife of John C. Evans, and died August 16, 1910, leaving three children, Wilber, Chester and Ethel; Samuel N., born July 20, 1850, died April 9, 1881, single; Emma, born July 21, 1852, who became the wife of Eugene Swarts; and Alice, born April 18, 1860, who died July 12, 1905, after her marriage to William Stout, by whom she had one son, Victor L.

George W. Smith was born on the farm which he now occupies April 15, 1855. He received good educational advantages in the district schools of his native locality and the Jonesboro high school, and was reared to agricultural pursuits and to habits of industry and thrift. As a young man he decided to make farming his life work, and the success which has since attended his well directed efforts shows that he made no mistake in his choice of vocations. A Republican in his political views, he has not found time to enter extensively into the public arena, but has displayed his good citizenship by serving in the capacity of deputy township assessor for a period of seven years. With his family he attends the Methodist church, and has always endeavored to live up to its teachings.

On August 26, 1880, Mr. Smith was married in Mill township to Miss Mary E. Hiatt, who was born in Monroe township, Grant county, Indiana, October 16, 1857, and was reared and educated in Mill township. The Hiatt family is one of the most prominent of this section. Mrs. Smith's father, David W. Hiatt, who died on the 22d of January, 1914, was at the time of his death the oldest native-born resident of the county. He was a grandson of William Hiatt and a son of David Hiatt, both born in North Carolina (probably in Randolph county) and members of an old southern family which belonged to the Quaker faith for generations. William and David Hiatt came to Grant county, Indiana, in 1826, the latter entering eighty acres of land on the Mississinewa river, section 29, Mill township, July 12th of that year. This was prior to the organization of the county, there being only seven other families within its borders, and Mr. Hiatt was forced to walk to Fort Wayne to register his entry. Both William and David Hiatt died on the old homestead in advanced years. David Hiatt married first a Miss Hiatt (no relation), and afterward a Miss Adamson, who also attained old age. David W. Hiatt, the father of Mrs. Smith, was born in Mill township, Grant county, Indiana, November 19, 1830, the county being still organized at that time, and with the exception of sixteen years spent in Emmetsburg, Iowa, has lived in Grant county all of his life, which has been devoted to agricultural pursuits. Although now more than eighty-three years of age, he is well preserved, being but slightly bothered by sight and hearing. His political faith is that of the Republican party, and he keeps well posted as to the affairs of importance. Mr. Hiatt was married in Monroe township, Grant county, August 10, 1854, to Miss Lavina Patterson, who was born in Grant county, January 24, 1837, and died in Mill township May 23, 1872, in the faith of the Christian church. They had two children: Mary E., the wife of George W. Smith, and Viola, born August 16, 1860, now the wife of Elmer Dye, of Deputy, Jefferson county, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had the following children: Leo Fred, born January 24, 1882, educated in the public schools and the Marion Business College, and now a carpenter of St. Lawrence, South Dakota, and single; Lawrence Guy, born August 30, 1884, educated in Mill township, and now his father's assistant on the homestead place; Walter H., born September 5, 1887, at home; and Francis Burr, born February 23, 1890,also at home.

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

UZ MC MURTRIE. To see a young, energetic, college bred man, who is making use of his education and working his theoretical knowledge into practical experience, must inspire anyone to a belief in education and in the practically of a university course. Uz McMurtrie, of Marion, Indiana, is one of the best known men of the younger generation in the city, and is a man who has won the respect of everyone, not only through his unmistakable ability, but also through his own well rounded and developed character. He is now county treasurer of Grant county, the youngest county treasurer in the state of Indiana, and is one of the most progressive and active citizens of the community, being always ready to take a hand in any movement that may benefit the city or county.

Uz McMurtrie was born on the 12th of July, 1884, at Attica, Indiana, the son of William and Elizabeth (Starr) McMurtrie. Both of his parents were natives of the state of Indiana, his father having been born in Fountain county, and his mother in Vermillion county. The father of our subject was a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, Company B, 135th Indiana Infantry. Was very young when he entered being one of the youngest members in the company. William McMurtrie and his wife removed to Grant county in 1892, and here they have lived ever since, he being now retired from business. They have had three children, two of whom are now living, Uz McMurtrie and Joseph McMurtrie, who is local manager for Armour & Company in Miami, Florida.

Uz McMurtrie received his preparatory education in the public schools of Attica and Marion, being graduated from the high school in Marion. He then matriculated at Indiana University at Bloomington, where he took a four-year course. He was graduated with the class of 1908, receiving an A. B. degree. He majored in economics and social science, and one of the requirements for a degree in this department was a thesis. Mr. McMurtrie chose for his subject "The Separation of the Sources of State and Local Taxation," the thesis being the result of two years' research work in problems of taxation. He has continued his work along these lines, making a special study of taxation and is now considered an expert in this subject. While in the University he was made president of his class, and to anyone who has ever been a university student this tells a story, for it takes a man with real executive ability and great personal popularity to win this office.

Upon returning to Marion he was elected deputy county treasurer, serving under W. H. Sanders. He went into office in 1909 and served during 1910, 1911, and 1912. In November, 1912, he was elected county treasurer on the Republican ticket, taking office on the 1st of January, 1913, and his previous experience in the duties of the office as well as his training and study along economic lines have enabled him to become a very efficient officer. On February 11, 1914, Mr. McMurtrie married Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Hogin. Mrs. McMurtrie is a member of one of Marion's oldest families. She was graduated from Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and has studied music extensively, possessing a voice of unusual beauty. She occupies an important place in Marion musical circles and is a member of several social and study clubs.

Mr. McMurtrie has always taken a prominent part in social and fraternal affairs, and in social service work. He is a member of the board of directors for both the Young Men's Christian Association and the Federated Charities. He is a member of the Country Club and of the Mecca Club of Marion. In fraternal affairs he is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, being junior warden of Samaritan Lodge, No. 105, of Marion. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Elks. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi college fraternity, and takes a keen interest in the affairs of his alma mater and of his fraternity.

ANTHONY B. ROTHINGHOUSE. Forty years of residence and business activity gave the late Anthony B. Rothinghouse an established position in the citizenship of Jonesboro, where his widow and one son still live, the latter being proprietor of the finest drug store of the city. The late Mr. Rothinghouse had the solid virtues of his German forefathers, was prospered by years of work and business judgment and kept himself in public spirited relations with the community of which he was a part.

At his death on May 8, 1911, the community lost one of its substantial older citizens. He was born at Minister, Ohio, June 24, 1840, and died at the beautiful home he had erected on north Main street in Jonesboro in 1901. He was of German parentage, and both his father and mother died in Ohio, his father having been a cooper. The late Mr. Rothinghouse grew up in Ohio, and after a somewhat limited education was placed under the direction of his father and acquired a skilled knowledge of the cooper's trade. When a young man he came to Indiana, and at Anderson, in Madison county, on July 28, 1864, married Miss Ernestine Rozell. She was born in this state, February 4, 1842, a daughter of Hamlet and Elizabeth (Davis) Rozell, both natives of Indiana, and they were married near New Castle. They started life as farmers, at first in Delaware county, near Yorktown, and afterwards moved to the city of Anderson. Mr. Rozell had learned the trade of tanner, and continued to follow it through most of his active years. His death occurred at Anderson when past fifty years of age, and his wife had passed away some time before. They had five children, two of whom died before the mother, and one, Charles, died not long thereafter. Those yet living are Mrs. Rothinghouse, and Miles M. Rozell, who is a widower living in Anderson and with four living sons.

After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Rothinghouse, they lived in Madison county at Anderson, where he continued his trade as a cooper. In 1869 they located in Jonesboro, and in 1871 bought their first home at the corner of Main and Third Streets. That was a frame house of modest proportions and comforts, and about thirty years later as a visible expression of the generous prosperity which had resulted from his labors, Mr. Rothinghouse built the substantial eleven room brick home, where his widow now resides in comfort and plenty. The late Mr. Rothinghouse followed his trade a time in Jonesboro, but eventually entered the drug store of his son Charles, and finally took up the profession of pharmacy and was connected with the business until he retired. The late Mr. Rothinghouse was an active Republican, much interested in the success of his party and held several local offices. He was a member of the Jonesboro Lodge of Masons and a popular member of the local post of the Grand Army. His membership in that order followed upon a service for some time in the Union army. He worshipped in the Catholic faith, while Mrs. Rothinghouse is a Presbyterian.

Mr. and Mrs. Rothinghouse had three children: Fred, who is a druggist at Gas City, and is married; Albert, who married and lived in Gas City, was killed March 4, 1900, while performing service as a member of the Volunteer Fire Department engaged in extinguishing a fire at the Gas City pottery, his death resulting from a falling wall; and Charles, who is still a resident of Jonesboro, and the druggist above mentioned.

Charles Rothinghouse was born at Anderson, Indiana, May 30, 1865, and has lived in Jonesboro since 1868. When he was twelve years of age he received his first experience in a drug store, and has followed the business with such success as to place him in the first rank of Grant county druggists. For a time he was associated with his brother Fred, but the latter since 1892 has managed the Gas City store. The Rexall Store of Mr. Rothinghouse has been established at its present location since 1896, and he and his father were previously in business on Fourth Street. The Rothinghouse Block is one of the most substantial brick business structures of the town, and Mr. Rothinghouse occupies a portion of it for his business. It is a large and commodious store, and its store furnishings are the best to be found in any similar establishment in the county. Mr. Rothinghouse is a charter member of the Rexall Store Corporation, and stands in the tenth place of the United States for sales in towns of its population of Jonesboro, and thirteenth in amount of sales for any in the state of Indiana, regardless of population. Mr. Rothinghouse believes in selling staple and guaranteed goods, and his success is largely due to that policy. Mr. Rothinghouse married Miss Carrie Livengood, and they are the parents of two children, Porter, who died at the age of two and a half years; and Ernest, born in 1889, educated at Notre Dame, and in a school of pharmacy at New Orleans, and since 1909 has been in business with his father as a registered pharmacist.

JOHN W. MONTGOMERY. As a business man John W. Montgomery is one of the best known in Fairmount. He is a skillful worker in marble and granite, and does a large business as a dealer in monuments at that city. His family record connects him with some of the oldest names in the history of Grant county.

The monument business of which Mr. Montgomery is now at the head was established at Fairmount in 1868 by Mr. J. B. Hollingsworth, who retired in 1891, and this is one of the oldest concerns with a continuous history in the town. Mr. Hollingsworth was succeeded by Kelsay Brothers, who conducted the business from 1893 to 1902. In the later year Mr. Montgomery and William Dye bought the good will and stock and the only important change occurred in 1910, and when J. H. Buchannan bought the interests of Mr. Dye. Since that time the firm has been known as Montgomery & Buchanan, and they have the best plant of its kind in this part of the state. Their stock comprises the finest grade of American granite, selected chiefly from the quarries at Quincy, Massachusetts, and Barre, Vermont. They also have different kinds of foreign granite and marble. Mr. Buchanan attends to the selling end of the business, while Mr. Montgomery is the expert in the cutting department. He learned his trade both in the cutting of granite and marble when a young man, and developed special skill in lettering and scroll work. He was employed by Mr. Hollingsworth, the founder of the business, and after a three years' apprenticeship continued with his employer and later with the Kelsay Brothers until he and his associate bought out the establishment on January 1, 1902.

John W. Montgomery was born in Fairmount, December 4, 1859, and has always lived in this part of the county, having received his education in the public schools, and going from school almost immediately into the trade in which he has been so successful. Mr. Montgomery is the son of Dennis and Maria (Hollingsworth) Montgomery. Dennis Montgomery was born in Grant county, January 31, 1836, and now lives with his son John at the advanced age of seventy-seven years, though he is still a hale and hearty man. He took up during his youth the trade of carpenter, and throughout his active career followed that vocation and from his work was enabled to provide liberally for his children. At the present time he finds attractive employment for his aged years in growing and developing all kinds of flowers about the home. The mother died in October, 1888. She was born in 1840. Her religious connection was with the United States Brethren church, while the father was a Congregationalist, while in politics he was a Prohibitionist.

The family history goes back to the great-grandfather, John Montgomery, who was a native of North Carolina, from which state early in the nineteenth century he moved to Indiana, being an old man at the time. He died when past eighty years of age, in Vigo county. He was of Scotch parents and ancestry. The father, James Montgomery, a native of Randolph county, North Carolina, where he was born in 1809, was a boy when the family moved to Vigo county, Indiana. There he grew to manhood, and soon afterward moved to Grant county, among the pioneers. In Grant county he married Hannah, a daughter of Solomon and Anna (Morris) Thomas. The Thomases were among the very first pioneers of Grant county, entered their land from the government and lived here until their death, Solomon Thomas when past eighty years of age, while his wife died in middle life.

James Montgomery and wife after their marriage found a tract of new and unimproved land and cut out a home for themselves from the greenwoods. There James Montgomery died at the early age of thirty-five years, leaving five children. His widow married for her second husband Jehu Moore, and when they died there were two sons by the second marriage. The Montgomerys through three generations of residence in Grant county have always been recognized as among the very best people.

Dennis Montgomery, father of John W., was the first son and second child in the father's family of five children, and the only one still living. Two of his brothers, John and Solomon Montgomery, enlisted in the one hundred and first Indiana regiment of infantry as privates in Fred Cartwright's company, and both died of the measles at Murfressboro in 1862. Their bodies now are buried side by side in the National cemetery at Murfreesboro. In the family of Dennis Montgomery and wife were four sons and three daughters. Of these Leora died in 1865, Estella in 1871, Elmer in 1887, at the age of twenty, and one infant died in 1887. Ella died after her marriage to R. A. McCoy. Her death occurred in Pennsylvania in October, 1912, and her husband lives in that state with two daughters, Belma and Laura. A brother of John W. Montgomery is George W. Montgomery, a glass worker at Bellaire, Ohio, where he has his home and is married.

John W. Montgomery was married in Fairmount, December 26, 1886 to Ida Hall. She was born in Madison county, Indiana, December 29, 1867. Her parents died at their old home in Madison county. They were Thomas and Elizabeth (Hopes) Hall, and left five children at their death. Mrs. Montgomery's brother John is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery became the parents of one child, Leonard E., who was born December 28, 1888, was educated in the city high schools, and is now in the jewelry business at Summittville in Madison county. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery and son are all active members of the Congregational church and the father served for a number of years as trustee and the son as church clerk.

Deb Murray