Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

DAVID L. H. PEARSON. Five miles southeast of the City Square of Marion, on the Soldiers' Home pike, in Center township, is located Cedars Farm, a property that has been brought to a high state of cultivation through the industry, enterprise and good management of its owner, David L. H. Pearson, one of Grant county's old and honored residents. Although not a native of Grant county, he has lived here since infancy, and his long and honorable career has been one made conspicuous by upright dealing and fidelity to the duties of citizenship. He was born in Clinton county, Ohio, February 7, 1836, and is a son of Jonathan and Violet (Haugha) Pearson.

The parents of Mr. Pearson were born in the mountain country of Virginia, and were both taken from the Old Dominion State as children to Clinton county, Ohio. There they were reared and educated, growing up in the same vicinity, and were eventually married. In September, 1836, the same year as that in which occurred the birth of their son David L. H., they came to Grant county, Indiana, and settled in Center township, settling down in pioneer style to clear a farm from the wilderness. They became highly respected people of their community, succeeded in developing a good property, and reared a family of twelve children, as follows: William H. Thomas, David L. H., Isaac, who died in army during Civil war, John, Matilda, Polly A., Rebecca J., Susan, Elizabeth, Evaline and Sarah. Of these three are living at this time—David L. H., John, and Thomas, who is now 84 years of age.

David L. H. Pearson was reared on the home farm in Center township, and secured his early education in the primitive subscription schools of his day, subsequently supplementing this by 45 days' attendance at the first public school in Center township, which was held in a log schoolhouse. During this time his agricultural training was not neglected, for when he was not engaged at his studies in the short winter terms, he was assisting his father in farm work. He was married at the age of twenty-one years, and at that time began to farm on his own account, and so continued throughout his active career. His present property, a well-cultivated tract of 187 acres, is one of the most valuable in the township, having been improved with good buildings and equipment. As his children have grown to manhood and womanhood, he has presented them with land and financial assistance, enabling them to start their careers under favoring circumstances. An honorable man of business, his transactions have ever been of legitimate character, and he has never been engaged in a lawsuit of any kind. As one of the men who are worthily representing the best type of Grant county citizenship, he is worthy of the high esteem and regard in which he is universally held.

Mr. Pearson was married in September, 1857, to Miss Susanna Griffin, who was born and reared in Center township, and three children were born to this union. Of these one died at the age of two years; Martin R. was given a common school education and is now a farmer in Center township; and Louisa is the wife of James B. Wilson of this township. Mrs. Pearson died in September, 1880, and on March 18, 1883, Mr. Pearson was married to Mrs. Mary E. (Carter) Bradford, the widow of Benjamin Bradford. She was born in Washington township, Grant county, Indiana, August 21, 1853, was educated in the district schools there, and married Benjamin Bradford. They had two sons; Lewis E., who is engaged in farming in Washington township; and Jay B., a resident of Laporte, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Pearson have one son: Burr W., a graduate of the district schools and of Marion Normal College, who was educated in telegraphy and followed that vocation for some time, but is now a merchant at Adrian, Michigan. He married Eda Sangster, of Wauseon, Ohio, and they have a son and a daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Pearson are members of Griffin Chapel of the Methodist church, and Mrs. Pearson also holds membership in the Women's Christian Temperance Union, her husband also being an ardent supporter of prohibition. He was a charter member of Necessity Grange, and for a number of years served as an overseer of that order. In political matters he is independent, although other things being equal he gives his support to the prohibition candidate.

"BLACKFORD AND GRANT COUNTIES INDIANA, A CHRONICLE OF THEIR PEOPLE PAST AND PRESENT WITH FAMILY LINEAGE AND PERSONAL MEMOIRS"; Complied Under the Editorial Supervision of BENJAMIN G. SHINN; vol. II ; THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY; CHICAGO AND NEW YORK; 1914
Submitted by:Peggy Karol and Karen Overholt

WILLIAM PENN BRADFORD. A preface is hardly needed for the following article concerning one of the ablest of Grant county farmer citizens, and a family which properly belongs among both the first and the best. As will be seen three generations have lived on Grant county soil, not including the children of William P. Bradford, so that Grant county really spells home to a large number of Bradfords. Theirs have been lives of fruitful toil, of unselfish sharing of burdens, and mutual helpfulness and esteem.

William Penn Bradford of Centennial Place in Washington township—the farm having been his since 1876—was born October 11, 1853, within a short distance of his present home, and his life has been spent in one neighborhood. He was married in 1875 to Miss Ida Alice Armstrong, who died May 6, 1886. The children born to them are Mrs. Nora May Beekman, Mrs. Louella Burris, Charles J. Bradford, Albert E. Bradford, Mrs. Carrie Dell Maynard, Earl Blame Bradford and Vernon Eber Bradford. Mrs. Bradford, the mother of these children, was born after the death of her father, although James C. Stallings, who married her mother, Mrs. Jane Armstrong, was always as a father to her, and as a grandfather to her children. There was a wide-spread belief that there was virtue in the breath of a woman who had never seen her father, and before and after marriage Mrs. Bradford was frequently importuned to blow her breath in the mouths of children afflicted with thrush—an idea kindred to another about measuring children for small growth, which prevailed in the country. While she never had a fee for such service, she performed the office for many who came to her with afflicted children.

Mr. Bradford was left with a family of small children, and the following year he was married to Miss Nancy Jane Moore, and their children are: Mrs. Rosa Ethel King, Mrs. Lily Esta Weaver, Wilbur Arthur Bradford, Mrs. Hazel Ann White, Homer Leroy, Nellie Marie, Minnie Belle, Merlie Gladys and Belva Bernice. Thus there were seven children in the older family, and nine in the younger, seven sons and nine daughters.

In the family of Mr. Bradford's grandfather, George Bradford, who had come into Grant county soon after it was organized, were four sons and twelve daughters, all having the same mother, and all of whom lived to bring up families, and as all of the children of his family are living, and in the next generation are seventeen grandchildren, it is a large family circle when all are gathered at Centennial Place. While the seven older children had a different mother, Mrs. Bradford came into the home when they were small, and to them she is mother. All the children were given a common school education, the girls learning domestic science at home, and the boys learning up-to-date farming methods at Centennial Place—one of the best managed farmsteads in Grant county.

When Mr. Bradford went into debt for his farm in the Centennial year, he was young and determined to win and while he has reared a large family and has had sickness and its attendant expenses, his ambition has been to make breadwinners of all his children, and they were thrown on their own resources early, and like the older generation of sixteen Bradford children, those who have taken up the struggle for themselves are winning the same success.

William Penn Bradford is a son of William H. Bradford and Elizabeth (Gaines) Bradford, and his father who died in 1895, had reached seventy-nine years, while his mother who died in 1911, has been an octogenarian for four years. The old home of the family adjoins Centennial Place and is owned by H. L. Bradford. There are Bradford farms all around, and Mr. Bradford recently commented on the size of them. Only a few years ago they were all large farms, but in the process of settlement of estates, the shares of heirs causing the smaller farm areas, gradually Grant county is shifting into conditions surrounding older countries—broken farms on account of the division of property.

Mrs. Bradford is a daughter of Patterson and Amanda (Forest) Moore, and both are of pioneer Washington township stock. While the name "William Penn" suggests Quaker parentage, many of the Bradfords are in fact Friends, but the W. P. Bradford family are members of the Methodist congregation at Morris Chapel, although Fairview Wesleyan church overlooks Centennial Place. Fairview is the original Bradford farm—the farm now owned by Mrs. Nancy Bradford having been named from the church, and the Bradford family burying ground where all the family pioneers lie buried is near Fairview church and in plain view from Centennial Place. There has never been a family in Grant county of stronger personal characteristics than the original Bradford family, and for years they have met in annual reunions, commemorating their ancestry and having pride in the Bradford family coat-of-arms in early American history.

There are many practical farmers in Grant county, but none have better understood the soil requirements and capabilities than Mr. Bradford who has always been a "farm agent" on his own account. His crop rotation always includes oats which he thinks places the ground in better condition for a meadow instead of following corn with wheat, and in feeding out stock he finds oats worth as much as corn or any other grain, therefore, his meadow land is always level. Centennial Place is undulating and well adapted to meadow farming, and the stock kept there renders plenty of pasture a necessity. While Mr. Bradford is a conservative citizen and has no political ambition, he is abreast of the times and in favor of good road advantages. The farm is well supplied with buildings, and the modern house built in 1910 is one of the best arranged farm houses in the country. The daily mail and telephone keeps the family in touch with things, and water—soft and hard and warm and cold—only a faucet to turn, and natural gas in abundance with acetylene lights all over the house—why should the Bradfords move to town? All the improved machinery has been installed on the farm and all the conveniences are in evidence in the house, and as yet the domestic service or farm labor problems have not touched Centennial Place. The dinnertime guest will always find the table well spread, and with young children in the home the future will take care of itself for many years.

REV. J. WILLIAM RICHARDS. A representative in a younger generation of the prominent Richards family so long identified with Grant county, Rev. J. William Richards, has for a number of years been one of the leading farmers in both Grant and Delaware counties, his home being in Washington township of Delaware county, and close to the Grant county line. On December 6, 1902, he was licensed and ordained by the Harmony Primitive Baptist church at Matthews, and has been an active local preacher of his church for the past ten years, having been pastor of the Harmony church since 1904. His Washington township homestead comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land, and he also owns one hundred and eighty acres in Jefferson township of Grant county. Mr. Richards is very progressive in matters of agriculture, does what is known as mixed farming, raises good crops and feeds them all to his live stock, and the substantial improvements about his places indicate the style of thrift and industry employed by him. His home farm has a splendid barn, painted in a tasteful color, and nearby is the comfortable white house of ten rooms. His Jefferson township farm is improved with a large stock and grain barn. All his land is under cultivation, and is well cultivated and well stocked.

J. W. Richards was born in Jefferson township of Grant county, December 1, 1860, and is the first son and second child of Mr. L. G. Richards, whose career as one of the pioneers of Grant county is sketched at length on other pages of this publication.

Rev. Richards grew up on his father's farm, was educated in the public schools, and from early manhood has given most of his time to farming. An interested student of the bible, and of religious problems and having shown much talent as a church worker, he devoted himself diligently to the preparation for work as a local minister, and since his ordination has been one of the spiritual leaders in his community.

Mr. Richards was married in Delaware county, in 1883, to Emma Z. Harris, who was born in Washington township of Delaware county, January 11, 1866. Her parents, John M. and Margaret (Broyles) Harris were also natives of Delaware county, and their respective parents probably came from Virginia in. the early pioneer times. Mr. and Mrs. Harris grew up and were married in Washington township, started life as farmers, and Mrs. Harris died on the old homestead when a little past sixty years of age. Mr. Harris is still living on his fine farm of about two hundred acres, and though more than seventy years of age, is still active and gives personal supervision to his affairs. His wife was a devoted Methodist, but he has held to no church creed. He is a Republican in politics. There were six sons and three daughters in the Harris family, of whom one son and one daughter died after marriage, each leaving children, and all those now living are married and have families. Mrs. Richards grew up in Delaware County, had a common school education, and since her marriage has proved herself a capable housewife and devoted mother. To their marriage have been born four children: Orpha, died at the age of two and a half years. T. Clayton, born in September, 1884, now occupies a part of his father's Delaware county farm, and by his marriage to Esta Whiteneck, a Grant county girl, has two sons, John L. G. Richards, now eight years old and Forrest Charles Richards, one month old. Gladys is living at home and a graduate of the Matthews high school in the class of 1911. Dilver W., is attending the high school at home. Mr. Richards and the children are also members and workers in the Harmony church, and Mr. Richards in politics is a Democrat.

JOHN SHIELDS, one of the old and honored residents of Franklin township, Grant county, Indiana, now retired from active pursuits, is a member of the good old Irish family of that name, always well known as devout Presbyterians in their native land. A little more than a century and a half ago, there lived at Coot Hill, one William Shields. The elder of two brothers, he sold his birthright to the younger, and when still little more than a lad bid farewell to his friends and relatives and embarked on a sailing vessel for America, arriving at Philadelphia some years prior to the Revolutionary war. There he met and married a Pennsylvania girl, and began his married life as a farmer in the Keystone state, where his industrious habits soon earned him prosperity. He reared a family of seven sons and two daughters, and later all of the family moved to Augusta county, Virginia, where William Shields and his wife passed their last days, dying in the faith of the Presbyterian church. Their children all grew to maturity and were married, establishing homes and becoming substantial people of their several communities, and the sons enlisted in the Colonial army, assisting their country in its successful fight for independence.

Of the nine children born to William Shields, William Shields, Jr., the grandfather of John Shields, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about 1750. He early learned the trade of tailor, and accompanied the family in 1770 to Augusta county, Virginia, where, with his six brothers, he enlisted in Washington's army as a member of a Virginia regiment. He continued to serve throughout the war, at the close of which he returned to Virginia and resumed the trade of tailor, going from house to house and measuring, cutting and sewing the clothes for the families of his vicinity, as was the custom in those days. He continued to follow his trade until his death, which occurred either in Virginia or Pennsylvania, when he was not yet seventy years of age. He married a Miss Frame, a Virginia girl, and it is thought that she died in her native state. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shields were probably Presbyterians. They were the parents of five children, namely: William (III); Joseph and Preston, who served in the War of 1812; Ann and Margaret. All lived to advanced ages, and all were married and reared families except Joseph.

Preston Shields, son of William Shields, Jr., and father of John Shields, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, about the year 1790, and as a young man enlisted from that county in the War of 1812, becoming an orderly sergeant in a division of Scott's army, under Colonel McDowell. In early life he had been engaged in teaming between Augusta county and Richmond, Virginia, and it may be that he drove a team during his army service. At the close of the war he returned to his home, and in 1815 migrated to Green county, Ohio, where he began life as a farmer in the wilds, also driving a team to Cincinnati. He was there married to Delila Fulkerson, who was born, reared and educated in Frederick county, Virginia, and who had gone to Green county, Ohio, about 1810 or 1812 with her parents, Richardson and Clara (Moore) Fulkerson. In 1848 Mr. and Mrs. Shields migrated to Indiana, purchasing slightly improved land in Richland township, Jay county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Shields passed away, aged eighty years, while his widow passed away seven years later, being seventy-nine years old. Mr. Shields was a Whig and later a Republican, but took no active part in party affairs. They reared a fine family of stalwart children, as follows: William (IV), who was twice married and was a farmer in Jay county, Indiana; James, who was married, and died in Franklin township, Grant county, when seventy-nine years of age; John, of this review: David, who died at the age of eighteen years; Joseph, who died when two and one-half years of age; Benjamin, who was a soldier in the 19th Volunteer Infantry, and died during the war, in Washington, D. C.; Clara, who is the wife of William Wright, of Dunkirk, Indiana; Hannah, who died after her marriage to Siras Bargdol; and Richard, the youngest, who is single and lives in the South.

John Shields was born in Green county, Ohio, July 21, 1826, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits and also engaged in sawmilling. He was married December 6, 1849, to Araminta Jane Wroe, who was born in Frederick county, Virginia, in 1829, and came to Ohio with her parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Pagett) Wroe. They had come to Somerset, Ohio, as early as 1831 and in 1836 settled in Green county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives.

In 1851, John Shields, with his young bride, came to Grant county, Indiana, on a visit and they were so favorably impressed with the country that in February, 1852, they returned, to make this their permanent home. They located at what is now Roseburg, Franklin township, where Mr. Shields secured a one-fourth interest in a sawmill, the country at that time being almost entirely covered with good timber. A man of industry and energy, he accumulated some small capital, and in 1855 made his first investment in farming land, purchasing a tract of seventy-four acres of partly improved property. This he later sold, with his milling interest and some land he owned in Jay county, and bought eighty acres of land in another part of Franklin township. Subsequently, in 1866 he bought a better tract of eighty acres, in section 16, on which he settled after the war, and which he made one of the best farms in Grant county. For forty years Mr. Shields made this farm his home, erecting handsome buildings, and installing improvements and equipments, and at the time of his retirement was considered one of the most substantial men of his community. Although now eighty-seven years of age, he is alert and active, and, having lived a life of temperance and probity, still weighs 165 pounds. He is a pleasing conversationalist, and his memory is testified by his entertaining reminiscences of early days.

Mr. Shields is a veteran of the Civil war. On August 10, 1862, he enlisted for a service of three years in Company C, Twelfth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being attached to Sherman's Corps. He participated in every battle, skirmish and march from Missionary Ridge to Bentonville, North Carolina, his record including twenty-one battles. Although always a brave and valiant soldier, to be found in the thickest of the fight, he escaped with a slight wound on the side of his nose, this being caused by a ball which glanced from a limb of an oak tree. As he remembers it, his hardest fought battle was that at Atlanta, July 28, 1864, when the men stood face to face and fought it out until the enemy were driven from the field. Mr. Shields never yielded to the temptations of whisky while in the service, and, in fact, has not touched a drop since 1855. He was honorably discharged June 8, 1865, with a record which compares favorably with that of any soldier who participated in the great war between the North and the South.

On December 5, 1849, in Green county, Ohio, Mr. Shields was married to a boyhood sweetheart, whom he met when but twelve years old, Araminta Jane Wroe. She proved a valued and loving helpmeet, and in her death, which occurred in 1909, at the age of eighty years, the community lost a kindly Christian woman, a devout Quakeress, and one who was widely known for her many charities. Mr. and Mrs. Shields became the parents of the following children: Clarinda, who died at the age of eighteen years, a young woman of much promise; Araminta, wife of Allen J. Overman, a grocer of Marion, who has four children, all married except one; Sarah M., the wife of Dr. N. Pierce Haines, of Marion, a physician at the Insane Hospital, and has a family; Maggie, the wife of Harry Hoadley, living at Spokane, Washington, who has four sons and one daughter; Prestina, the wife of William Howe, a farmer of near Landessville, Indiana, and has two daughters; and Benjamin W., twin of Prestina, one of the best-known horse buyers and dealers of Grant County, who married Clara Parks, and has had three sons and two daughters, of whom two sons and one daughter survive. Mr. Shields has eleven grandsons, ten granddaughters, and twenty-one great-grandchildren. Mr. Shields is a Prohibitionist in his political views. He is public-spirited and progressive, and at all times is ready to support measures for the good of his community.

PETER SOLMS. One of the well established business men of Gas City is Peter Solms, who at the corner of E and Third streets has for a number of years conducted a grocery store and a butcher shop. His operations have been carried on with a generous measure of success as a result therefrom, and he has come to be a property owner of considerable scope in the place. The entire block from D to E streets on Third street is his property, and in addition to the butcher shop and meat market he operates a grocery and bakery. Eighteen years ago he first opened a little shop in this vicinity, and the progress that he has made has been worthy of the quantity and quality of the interest he has put into his labors. Each year has witnessed the addition of something to his realty accumulations, and progressive ideas have been the mainspring of his business success. Mr. Solms does his own killing, so that the product of his market is second to none in the land, and the equipment of his shop is undeniably good.

Mr. Solms is a native of Germany, born in Hesse Darmstadt, on November 24, 1842, and he comes of old Hesse stock. He is a son of Adam Solms, who was thrice married. The mother of Mr. Solms was the first wife of Adam Solms, and she died when he was a small boy. The second wife of his father was Christina Howard and they lived and died in their native province, Mr. Solms being sixty-five years of age when he passed away. His wife preceded him, and was at about middle life when her death came. The family was one of the Roman Catholic faith, and Mr. Solms is likewise a member of the church of his fathers.

Peter Solms was the third child born to his parents. He has two sisters. One of them, Mrs. Margaret Straub, is now a resident of New York City, and Gertrude Sieben, the widow of Michael Sieben, is without issue, and is a resident of Gas City. Mr. Solms grew up in his native province and learned his trade there. All his life has been devoted to the butcher business. It was in the year 1863 that he took passage on a steamer and came to America. A short stay in New York sufficed him and he then came on to Grant County, where he had a married sister, Mrs. Gertrude Sieben, living in Monroe township. From that time to the present he has been in business at his present location, with what success has already been set forth.

Mr. Solms was married in 1865 to Miss Lena Bower, in New York City. She was born in Prussia on May 1, 1843, and came to America when she was about six years old, settling in New York City with her parents, where she was reared. Her father was a merchant tailor and followed that line in New York all his days. Both parents died there in advanced age. They were members of the Roman Catholic church, and their daughter was also reared in the same faith.

Mr. Solms has been twice married. His first wife died in New York City before Mr. Solm moved to Gas City, the mother of nine children, but only three are now living. Peter, Jr., is engaged as a bookkeeper. He is married but without issue. Lillie married Ancel Fatter, and they live in New York City. They have two children. George is living in Brooklyn, New York. He is a coal, wood and lumber dealer, and a successful business man. He is married and has three children.

The second marriage of Mr. Solms took place in New York when Miss Barbara Raimer became his wife. She was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, on November 30, 1859, and was there reared and educated, coming to the United States in 1889. She continued a resident of New York City until her marriage.

Mr. Solms is one of the live men of the community, and is one of the leading citizens of the place. He is up and doing in all matters that have any bearing upon the advancement of the town. Though he has never been an office seeker, he was named to represent the Fourth ward on the City Council, and though running far ahead of his ticket at the polls, he lost the election by three votes. His influence, however, has been quite as efficient and far reaching as it could be in an official capacity, and his citizenship is a credit to himself and the community.

Deb Murray