Blackford County Biography Ref. Page

ASHTON HORNER. Among the large class of substantial, progressive farmers and stockraisers who make their home in Grant county, none are more deserving of mention because of their contributions to the development of their community than Ashton Homer, the owner of a well developed tract of land in Mill township. Mr. Homer has the added distinction of belonging to an old and honored family of Grant county. His grandfather, John Horner, was a native of the Keystone state, and after his marriage to a Pennsylvania girl moved to Preble county, Ohio, and in 1840 made removal to Grant county, Indiana. Mr. Horner was a farmer by vocation and for many years carried on operations on his Mill township property, the farm upon which stood the old pottery at Gas City. But he also devoted his attention to preaching the Gospel as a Primitive Baptist minister. He experienced the various hardships and privations of the pioneer preacher, being forced to cover great spaces of country on horse-back, and gave his services freely where needed without thinking of remuneration. Of the children of this sturdy and God-fearing pioneer, John Jr., the father of Ashton Homer, was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1826. He was still a lad when he accompanied his parents to Grant county, and here he grew to manhood as a pioneer youth, dividing his time between the hard, unremitting work of clearing the home farm from the heavy timber, and securing such educational advantages as were offered during the short winter terms in the primitive subscription schools, held for the most part in log cabins. When he was ready to establish a home of his own, he was married to Miss Clarissa McCormick, of Fairmount township, a daughter of Robert McCormick, a pioneer of that township and at one time one of the largest landholders in this part of the county, having two and one-half sections in his several farms, the greater part of this land being located adjacent to the Muncie turnpike in Mill township.

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. John Horner settled in Mill township, and there both became the owners of eighty-acre farms. Mr. Horner met an accidental death, being killed October 8, 1870, by the fall of a tree, and the mother subsequently contracted a second marriage, being united with George Horner. They spent the remainder of their lives in Mill township, and there the mother passed away in 1903, at the age of seventy-two years, the husband having passed away some time before.

Ashton Horner was born March 16, 1860, in Fairmount township, was here reared and educated, and learned the various things essential for the successful farmer to know. In 1908 he purchased his present farm, a tract of seventy acres lying in section 10, Mill township. Here he has made many improvements which have increased not alone the homestead's beauty, but its value as well. He has two drilled wells, two red barns, of substantial character and modern design, and a large white residence, fitted with the latest comforts and conveniences. His other buildings, for the shelter of his grain, implements and stock, are commodious, sanitary and well-lighted, and, taken all in all, this set of farm buildings compares favorably with any in the township. While general farming has occupied the greater part of his time and attention, he has also met with a full measure of success in raising stock, and at this time is making a specialty of Short Horn and Jersey cattle, and Duroc and Poland-China hogs. Among his associates, Mr. Horner is known as a man of the utmost integrity, whose word is synonymous with honorable dealing.

Mr. Homer was married at Upland, Indiana, to Miss Maggie Burns, who was born September 22, 1858, in the city of Toledo, Ohio, and came to Grant county as a baby, following which she lived at Matthews, Indiana, continuously until the time of her marriage. She is a daughter of John and Mary (McConnell) Burns, natives of Ireland, who came to the United States as young people and were married in New York. They were residents of Toledo, Ohio, for some time after their marriage, but ultimately came to Grant county, and spent the remainder of their lives at Matthews, the father dying there in 1893, at the age of sixty years, and the mother dying in 1911, when eighty years old. Mr. and Mrs. Horner are the parents of the following children: Maude V., who was educated in the public and high schools and now resides with her parents; Nellie May, a member of the graduating class of the Jonesboro High school, 1915, also living with her parents; and Eva, who died as a child of eighteen months, the result of an accident. Mr. and Mrs. Horner are members of the Presbyterian church and have been active in supporting its various movements. In political matters Mr. Horner is a Republican, but he has not cared for the activities of public life.

"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

BENJAMIN F. DICKEY. One of the big farmers of Grant county, a far-sighted business man, the accumulator of a generous prosperity, Benjamin F. Dickey about forty years ago, after his marriage, began his career as a renter. He has lived the quiet, plain life of a farmer, and in his character the love of land, of peace and industry, have been cardinal virtues. His success, which has been of a large and worthy nature has been won as the result of his own well directed efforts, and he has proved himself an efficient farmer, and a valuable citizen. Mr. Dickey is owner and proprietor of what is known as The Maples Farm, in section thirty-three of Liberty township, situated one mile south and four miles west of Fairmount, on the rural delivery route No. 21.

Benjamin F. Dickey was born in Fayette county, Indiana, March 14, 1841, a son of William and Jane (Miller) Dickey. William Dickey was a son of Hugh and Margaret (Spence) Dickey. The father of Hugh Dickey was reared and married in the north of Ireland, from which country he set out on a sailing vessel about the time of the Revolutionary war for America. During the voyage the ship was foundered, and all the women and children were taken off by the crew in the life boats. As the boat in which his family were placed was pulling away from the vessel, the father in his anxiety and despair leaped into the water, and seized the edge of the boat, and hung on until the captain struck off his hands with a saber, cutting him loose, so that he was lost. The family were saved and came on to the United States, locating first in Pennsylvania, and afterwards moving to Kentucky, locating in Scott county near Georgetown. From there Hugh Dickey moved to Batavia, Ohio, and finally to Fayette county, Indiana, where he was one of the pioneer settlers and lived until his death. William Dickey, father of Benjamin F., was born in 1797 in Kentucky, moved from there to Ohio, and accompanied the family to Fayette county, Indiana, where he grew to manhood and was married. His wife, Jane Miller, was a daughter of John Miller, who was born near Marion courthouse, on the little Pedee river in South Carolina. From that state he immigrated with his family to Tennessee, where he lived a year, then moved to Georgetown, in Scott county, Kentucky, where he was a farmer for about twelve years, and about 1816 located in Fayette county, Indiana, which was his home until his death. William Dickey and wife moved to Grant county, Indiana, in 1870, and there spent the rest of their lives. In their family were eight children, four sons and four daughters, and two are now living. The brother of Benjamin F. is John M., a retired farmer in Fairmount. William S. Dickey, another of the sons was killed while serving in the navy near Charleston, S. C., during the Civil war. All the others grew up and had families of their own.

Mr. Benjamin F. Dickey was reared on a farm in Fayette county, Indiana, and lived at home until he was twenty-nine years of age. As a boy he had the advantage of the district schools during the winter, and was trained to the vigorous pursuits of the farm in the summer seasons. His school days were finished when he was about eighteen, and at the age of twenty-one he rented his father's farm and it was conducted under his successful management until he was twenty-nine years of age. He accompanied his parents to Grant county in 1870, but soon returned to Fayette county.

In the latter county on October 11, 1871, occurred his marriage to Miss Cecelia Tingley, who was born and reared in Fayette county, received her education in the local schools. Her father, Dr. U. B. Tingley was for many years a practicing physician in Harrisburg of Fayette county. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dickey located on the farm, which is now a portion of their fine country establishment. Buying forty acres of land, Mr. Dickey with the aid of his wife set himself energetically to its cultivation and improvement, gradually extended his buildings, fences and area of cultivated land, and at the same time added to his acreage from time to time, until his home place now comprises three hundred and sixty acres in one body. Besides that he is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres elsewhere in Liberty township, and altogether has five hundred and twenty acres in that township, besides one hundred and sixty acres in Green township. Besides these generous landed possessions he is the owner of property in Marion and Fairmount.

To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dickey was born one son, Oscar Dickey, on December 26, 1874. He grew up on the home farm, received a good education, and has taken up the vocation of his father for whom he is the practical manager of the large estate under the family ownership. Mr. Dickey spends most of his time supervising his large property interests, and does little of the practical work of the farm. He and his wife are active members of the church of Christ at Rigdon. In politics his vote was cast in the Republican interests for a number of years, but during the past twenty-eight years he has always cast his ballot for the Prohibition ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Dickey have preferred to spend their declining years on their beautiful and attractive home place in the country, and have surrounded themselves with many comforts and advantages, at the same time enjoying the increasing respect and esteem of all who know them.

JESSE JAY. It was in the year 1849 that Denny Jay settled in Grant county, and from then until now there have been found men of the name living worthily in and about the county, carrying on the name, which is one of the old southern origin, and generally conducting themselves in a manner becoming and praiseworthy. They have filled useful places in the civic life of their various communities, and have built homes that have reflected credit upon themselves and their progeny. They have come to be property holders, all generations having tilled the soil to excellent advantage, and best of all, they have been citizens of a high type from first to last.

Jesse Jay, representing the second generation of the family in Grant county, has been no exception to the general rule of the family. He is the grandson of Jesse Jay, born in South Carolina and the scion of a stanch old southern family of Quakers. More than a hundred years ago he was wedded in the Quaker church of his native community and with his bride set out for the north in search of a new home in a new land. They settled in Miami county, Ohio, at a time when the country was in a wholly unimproved and almost uncivilized state, located on a wilderness farm, and there passed their remaining days. He died at a fine old age, in 1840.

Of Jesse Jay's children, Denny Jay was the youngest, and he became the father of Jesse Jay of this review. He was born in Miami county, Ohio, in 1808, soon after the arrival of the parents in the north, at a time prior to the incorporation of the state as such, and it should be mentioned here that his parents were among the leaders in the organization of the Friends church in Ohio. Denny Jay was reared in Miami county, farm life being his portion, and there in young manhood he married Mary, the daughter of Elisha Jones. Of the latter it should be said that he was born and reared in South Carolina, and there was married; that he came early in life to Miami county, Ohio, where his daughter, Mary, was born in 1807, and that they passed the remainder of their lives in Miami county, well known as farming people and as fine old Quakers.

It was in 1849 that Denny Jay, accompanied by his wife and their five children, came to Indiana and settled on a 200 acre farm along the Mississinewa River in Mill township. They paid for their land $17.00 per acre in gold, and it is a notable fact that they carried the golden coins in a bag that had its resting place under the seat of the buggy in which they made the long and tedious trip. The farm today is one of the ideally located ones in the district, and part is owned and occupied by Jesse Jay. In that early day Mr. Jay found a ready market for his every product, and they prospered there as long as they lived. The father died in 1870 and his widow survived him for three years. She was one year older than her husband, having been born in 1807. Mr. and Mrs. Jay were early members of the Back Creek Quarterly Meeting Association, and he was for some years an Elder in the church. Politically, Mr. Jay was in early life a Whig, but later he became a Republican with the birth of the new party, and he voted for John C. Fremont.

Of their five sons and five daughters, nine grew to years of maturity. All married but three of the nine. Three of the nine are yet living,�Jesse Jay of this review; a brother, Lambert B., for the past thirty-two years a resident of Kansas and now about sixty-one years of age; and Mrs. Cynthia Anne Winslow, aged eighty-two years. One brother, David, a graduate of the law department at Ann Arbor, Michigan, died at the untimely age of twenty-five years, though most of the others reached middle age before they passed on.

Jesse Jay was born on February 17, 1840, in Miami county, Ohio, and he was nine years old when the family came to Grant county. Barring three years, he has spent the entire time here since the family migration thither in 1849. He was reared on the home farm which is now his property, or at least eighty-five acres of it is his, his place being one of the fine ones of the township, lying along the Marion and Jonesboro pike, and being admirably located for convenience and a pleasant outlook. Fine and commodious buildings grace the place, and his is one of the best kept and most productive farms in the township, according to common repute.

Mr. Jay was married in Fairmount on February 16, 1865, to Miss Susan Winslow, born near Fairmonnt village on August 2, 1846, and a daughter of Jesse Winslow, a representative of the old and honored Winslow family, already mentioned more or less fully in the history of the Winslow family appearing elsewhere in this work.

Mr. and Mrs. Jay have four children, concerning whom the following brief facts are set forth.

Lawrence, the eldest, is employed by the United States Glass Company at Gas City; he married Miss Louise Richardson and they have two children, Erasta and Jessie, who live at home.

Adelpha, the wife of L. R. Gift, a druggist of Converse, Indiana, is the mother of six children: Wendel, Weldon, Juanita, Mary A., Robert and Elizabeth. The older children have received college educations, and the younger ones will doubtless share in the same privileges as they reach the proper age.

Mary became the wife of Albert Kiser, who is employed in the tire department of the Indiana Rubber Plant; they make their home with Mr. and Mrs. Jay and have one daughter, Fay Sue.

Watson D. is now assistant cashier of the Jonesboro State Bank, and he is one of the most progressive young business men of the town. He, like his brothers and sister, was given a splendid education, and is proving himself a capable man in matters of finance, having in charge the entire business of the Jonesboro institution with which he is connected, including loans, etc. He is making excellent progress in his work, and will doubtless be heard from in fields higher up in the future. He is unmarried and makes his home with his parents.

The parents and their sons and daughters are members of the Quaker church, and Mr. Jay and his sons are stanch Republicans and citizens of the most approved type. Their place in popular confidence and esteem is no uncertain one, and they enjoy the friendship of a large circle of genuine friends in and about Jonesboro.

WATSON D. JAY. In estimating the financial strength of Grant county the banks and bankers of its smaller municipalities are deserving of very prominent mention, for they are the tributaries of larger financial institutions and have an important part in swelling the stream of the county's prosperity. To the town bank comes the farmer from the surrounding countryside and deposits the golden fruits of his toil. From the proprietor of that bank his customers may ask and receive sound financial advice. He is their friend and adviser as well as their banker. The farm loan, that solid rock of financial investment, is placed with him or is negotiated through some larger banking institution through his agency. Upon the stability and security of these smaller banks as well as upon the honor and integrity of those in control of them, rests the whole superstructure of the confidence and trust reposed in them.

In this connection may be given a short review of one of Grant county's substantial citizens. Watson D. Jay, assistant cashier of the Citizens Bank of Jonesboro, an institution which has long occupied an established place in public confidence. Mr. Jay is a native of the county, having been born on a farm in Fairmount township, May 2, 1872, a son of Jesse Jay, a sketch of whose career will be found on another page of this work. Mr. Jay's education was secured in the public schools of Marion, the Normal school of that city, from which he secured his diploma, and the Stenographic Institute of Indianapolis. For five years he was employed in a business office in Gas City, and then became identified with banking in the First National Bank of Marion, where he arose to the position of teller and remained for ten years. He then came to his present position as assistant cashier of the Citizens Bank of Jonesboro, and during the past three years has been in practical charge of its affairs. The institution was founded in 1905 under the present officials and is a branch of the Gas City Bank, being practically under the same management, although operated as a private bank under state supervision. The shareholders have a combined net worth of over $1,500,000, which is a pledge for the security of its depositors, and the stock of the bank is largely held by local business men. Mr. Jay has shown himself an able and conservative banker, who may be absolutely depended upon to protect the best interests of the bank and its patrons. He is courteous and obliging, and during his period in Jonesboro has made and retained numerous friends. He has been active in local matters, although not a politician, and still makes his home with his father on the old Jay farm.

While a resident of Marion, November 16, 1913, Mr. Jay was married to Miss Marian F. Stover, who was born in Grant county and educated in the high school, daughter of William J. and Rose (Housley) Stover, natives of this state, who were married in Grant county and now are residents of Marion, where the father is connected with a large business house. Mrs. Stover is a member of the Baptist church, and both she and her husband are well known in their community. Their two younger daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, reside at home and are still pursuing their studies. Mr. and Mrs. Jay are attendants of the Friends church. He is well known in fraternal circles having passed through the chairs of Masonic Blue Lodge No. 109, and Lodge No. 102, Knights of Pythias, and has represented both in the Grand Lodge of the state.

DeWITT CARTER. Courageous grasping of opportunities, steadfast effort and hard, honest toil�these have been the means through which DeWitt Carter, of Jonesboro, has brought himself to a position among the leading men of Grant county. Not only this, but he has gained among them the reputation of being a clearheaded man whose advice is always sound, and now occupies a position in the office of the Indiana Rubber and Insulated Wire Company, Jonesboro, Indiana. Mr. Carter was born on his father's farm in Mill township, Grant county, Indiana, April 29, 1873, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Knight) Carter.

George and Mary (Buller) Carter, the grandparents of DeWitt Carter, were natives of North Carolina and at a very early date left the Old North state and came overland to Grant county, here entering from the Government what became known as the William Carter farm, and which still bears that name. They erected a farm in the woods, living in the meanwhile in a little log cabin and sharing in the hardships and privations always incident to life in a pioneer community. They became well and favorably known throughout their locality, and were regarded as substantial, Christian people and as devout members of the United Brethren church, in the faith of which they died. William Carter was born in 1847 on the old homestead farm in Mill township, and there grew up to agricultural pursuits, in the meantime securing his education in the early district schools. At the time of his father's death he became the owner of the home land, which he subsequently converted into one of the finest farms in the county, fitted with every modern improvement known to country life. He erected a handsome white house, and two large and well-equipped barns, with every improvement, one for stock and one for grain, each with cement floors, while the latter had accommodation for sixty-five tons of hay and one thousand bushels of grain. The water was secured from a drilled well and drawn by a gasoline engine and modern machinery did all of the heavy work. Fine live stock of all kinds were bred here, Mr. Carter taking a particular interest in this branch of agricultural work. On this fine property he died in 1911, aged sixty-four years, while the mother still survives at the age of sixty-one years and is making her home in the vicinity of Marion. She belongs to the Friends church at Marion, with which the father was also connected. A man of great industry and strict integrity, Mr. Carter occupied a prominent place in his community, and as a citizen always demonstrated his willingness to support measures which promised to be of benefit to the community in which he lived and labored.

The only child of his parents, DeWitt Carter received his early education in the public schools, following which he took a course in Fairmount Academy, being graduated in 1892. At that time he received his introduction to business life as assistant cashier of the First National Bank and later, in 1909, was made cashier of the Citizens Bank of Jonesboro. He was also for one year connected with the First State Bank of Gas City, and in 1912 became a stockholder and employee of the Indiana Rubber and Insulated Wire Company.

Mr. Carter was married to Miss Grace Lawson, who was born in 1878 in Grant county, Indiana, educated in Marion High school. Her mother makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Carter. They have one daughter: Colene, born April 8, 1895, and now a student in Jonesville High school, class of 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are Methodists. He is a member of Masonic Blue Lodge and the Knights of Pythias and Tribe of Ben Hur. In politics a strong Republican, he has been a real worker in the cause of progress and advancement in his city, was a former member of the city board, and is now a member of the board of school directors.

SAMUEL SMALL. Owning and occupying a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in the southeast quarter of section thirty-one of Franklin township, Samuel Small is one of the men whose careers have been effective and valuable contribution to the progression and history of Grant county. He is now past his eightieth birthday and has spent the greater portion of his career in Grant county.

Samuel Small is a native of Henry county, Indiana, where he was born November 25, 1831, a son of Nathan and Polly (Small) Small, the parents being distantly related. The father was born in Highland county, Ohio, and the grandfather came from Virginia. Nathan Small's wife came from Guilford county, North Carolina. Nathan Small was a boy when he moved to Indiana, living near Richmond for some years, and worked until he got a little property, after which he was married, and then in 1838 brought his family to Grant county, locating in Center township. After three or four years of residence there they returned to Henry county, but a few months later moved back to Grant county, and finally located in Franklin township. The father in 1882 moved to Howard county, Indiana, living in Kokomo, until the time of his death. Farming was his regular occupation, and his residence in Kokomo was in the declining years of his life, after he had won sufficient competence to enable him to spend his latter years in comfort. He was the father of five children, three of whom are living in 1913, namely: Samuel; Sarah, widow of Boes Petty, and Louisa, who lives with her brother Samuel.

Samuel Small attended the common schools when a boy, and was on the home farm until he was twenty-five years of age. On January 8, 1857, he married Ruth Marshall, who was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, May 3, 1838, a daughter of Joshua and Tamer (Osborn) Marshall. Mrs. Small was educated in the schools of Indiana, and has proved a most valued helpmate to her husband. Their children are named as follows: Ellen, wife of Charles Lloyd; Lydia, wife of James T. Kelly; Abraham L. Small, who married Adeline Capron; Emma, widow of Caleb T. Jacques; Oliver, who married Martha E. Poe; Levi, deceased; Anna, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Small have twenty-eight grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. Mrs. Small worships with the Friends church. In politics Mr. Small is a Republican and has always taken an active part in local party affairs, having been a delegate to county and other conventions. He is one of the oldest men in Franklin township.

Deb Murray