Mr. Carrell claims the fine old Buckeye state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of an honored pioneer family of that commonwealth. He was born at Xenia, Greene county, Ohio, on the 27th of November, 1830, and is a son of George Bruce Carrell and Censaline (Sherrey) Carrell. Colin Carrell, or Carroll, grandfather of him whose name introduces this sketch, was of staunch Irish lineage and was a native of the city of Cork, Ireland. His parents passed their entire lives in the Emerald Isle and there he himself was reared and educated. He was accorded good educational advantages and in his youth served an apprenticeship to the weaver's trade. Colin Carrell was born in the year 1775 and prior to the beginning of the nineteenth century he immigrated to America. He went to Kentucky, where he finally wedded an orphan girl whose foster parents were wealthy and gave her excellent educational opportunities. Mrs. Colin Carrell was a women of gracious personality and high ideals, active and devoted in the work of the Methodist church, in which her husband was a local preacher. Mr. Carrell had been zealous in church work in his native land and family tradition has it that he was engaged in earnest ministerial work in Kentucky at the time when he formed the acquaintance of the noble woman who became his wife. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Colin Carrell established their home in Berkeley county, West Virginia, the historic Old Dominion. Mr. Carrell purchased a small farm in the county mentioned and in addition to improving and cultivating the same he worked at his trade, weaving cloth for all the settlers in that wild and hilly section and being one of the sterling pioneers of that section. Both he and his wife passed the residue of their lives on their old homestead in Berkeley county, Mr. Carrell having passed to eternal rest in 1806, in middle life, and his widow having been more than seventy years of age at the time of her death. This noble pioneer couple exerted a benign influence upon all with whom they came in contact and they were greatly loved in the state which represented their home. Certain data concerning their children are available and are worthy or perpetuation in this connection: George died in infancy; Eli H., became a prominent citizen of Harper's Ferry, Virginia, where he conducted two hotels and where he died, a victim to the cholera epidemic that swept that section in 1848-9—his wife was drowned in the river at Harper's Ferry and her body was never recovered, no children having been born of the union; Elijah left West Virginia to establish a home in Ohio or Indiana, and while traversing the wilds of southern Indiana he became ill, his death soon resulting and his remains being interred near a pioneer cabin in that part of the state; Margaret, died at the age of 64, unwedded, at Spring Valley, Ohio, was a devoted Bible student and was an earnest member of the Methodist church; Mary Ann, whose husband died in West Virginia, passed the closing years of her life in Logan county, Ohio, two or more children surviving her; Martha, who became the wife of William Griffith, was a devout adherent of the Methodist church, as was also her husband, and they were residents of Greene county, Ohio, at the time of their death; Lydia, who became the wife of Beverly Herbert, accompanied her husband to Illinois, where both lived to advanced age and where they reared a large family of children. George B., father of the subject of this review, was the 2nd son and was born shortly before the death of his father.

George Bruce Carrell was reared to maturity in West Virginia, where he availed himself of the advantages of the somewhat primitive common schools and where he learned the trades of carpenter and cabinet-maker. At Charlestown, West Virginia, the ambitious young man wedded Miss Censaline Shirley, daughter of William and Charlotte Shirley. Mr. Shirley was of English birth and a member of an old and patrician family. He came to America in company with two of his brothers and they settled in Virginia, where he became the owner of a large landed estate and where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, their marriage having been solemnized in that commonwealth.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. George Bruce Carrell continued to reside in what is now West Virginia until their first child, William Colin, was born, in 1828. In the following year they removed to Ohio and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of Xenia, Greene county. Where Mr. Carrell became a successful carpenter and builder, besides doing much work as a cabinet-maker. After the lapse of many years George B. Carrell removed with his family to Logan county, Ohio, where he purchased a small farm. He continued as a farmer and carpenter in that county for many years and was one of the most influential and honored citizens of his community. He served for a long period as justice of the peace, and in his official capacity he wrote many wills, acted as administrator for many estates and officiated at numerous marriages. Besides attending to such responsible duties, his ability enabled him to minister to the ill and afflicted, and he frequently officiated at funerals. He was a leader in public thought and action, a man of impregnable integrity of purpose and one whose broad information and mature judgment made him a valued counselor. In politics he was originally a whig and later a republican, and both he and his wife were earnest and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served many years as the class leader. He passed to his reward after a life of signal usefulness and in the fullness of years and well earned honors, his death having occurred in May, 1886. Mrs. Carrell, who was born in 1805,preceded her husband to eternal rest, her death having occurred, in 1877. This sterling couple became the parents of nine children, of whom two sons and two daughters are now living; Edmund L., who is now an octogenarian, resides with his family in the state of Iowa; Anna E., a maiden woman of seventy-three years likewise, lives in Iowa; Margaret M. (Mrs. Singmaster) is a resident of Missouri and has several children.

Samuel S. Carrell, the eldest of the four surviving children, was reared to the age of seven years at Xenia, Ohio, his native place, when the family moved to Logan county, and there he made good use of such advantages as were offered by the pioneer schools. As a youth he served a four years' apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, under the effective direction of his honored father. He was "given his time" when twenty years of age and thereafter continued to work with his father for some time longer. He continued his active labors as a carpenter and builder for a period of ten years and he was a successful business man of Logan county, Ohio for a number of years. In 1872 Mr. Carrell came to Indiana and established his residence in Hartford City, where he continued to make his home during the long intervening years which he has made fruitful in prosperity and in good deeds. He here engaged in the hardware business, and with the passing of the years he became one of the leading merchants of the town. He built up five different business enterprises and his reputation of honesty and fair dealing has never been questioned, so that it may well be understood that he has the confidence and respect of the entire community. In 1880 Mr. Carrell erected a brick business building, in which he conducted a successful enterprise for many years, and in the year 1873 he completed his present substantial and attractive brick residence, at the corner of Walnut and Kickapoo streets. He at one time owned six hundred acres of land in Blackford county, besides one hundred acres in Ohio. Energy and good management on the part of Mr. Carrell enabled him to acquire a substantial fortune. And since 1912 he has lived practically retired, though he finds ample demand upon his attention in giving a general supervision to his various capitalistic interests. He has shown himself loyal and progressive in his civic attitude and has ever given his ready co-operation in the furtherance of enterprises and projects for the general good of the community. His political support has been given in a generic way to republican party, but in local affairs he has not been distinctively partisan, as he has preferred to use his judgment in the advancing of measures and the election of local officials. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church and he has been affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for a period of sixty years.

Mr. Carroll has been thrice married. In Logan county, Ohio as a young man, he wedded Miss Virginia E. Brown, daughter of Joel and Mary (Jolliffe) Brown, who removed to Ohio from the state of Virginia. After thirty-seven years of happy companionship with the wife of his youth Mr. Carrell was called upon to mourn the death of his loved one, his wife having been called to the life eternal on the 19th of November, 1889, and her birth having occurred March 4, 1832. She was raised a Quaker, but after her marriage became a Methodist and was very active in its work. Concerning the children of this union the following brief record is given: Gertrude is the wife of George W. Hutchinson, of Hartford City, and they have three children, Edna, Martina and Ralph M.; William H., died in infancy; Harry who is a progressive farmer and stockgrower of Blackford county, wedded Miss Laura Swearingen, and they have three children, Edith, Edna and Helen; Shirley, who is engaged in the automobile business in Hartford City, married Catherine Pancoast, and they have no children. The maiden name of Mr. Carrell's second wife was Rebecca Van Cleave, who was of Virginia lineage, and she died eight years after their marriage, at the age of sixty years. No children were born of this union. For his third wife Mr. Carrell married Miss Catherine Gregory, who was born and reared in Howard county, Indiana, of old Virginia lineage, and who was a women of most gracious presence. She was prominent in the best social activities of Hartford City and was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was also the first wife of Mr. Carrell, the second wife having been an active adherent of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Catherine (Gregory) Carrell was summoned to eternal rest on the 22d of January 1910, at the age of fifty-three years and no children survive her.

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

JAMES P. RAWLINGS. The achievements which have marked the business career of James P. Rawlings, president of the First National Bank of Hartford City, Indiana, stamp him as an able financier and a man of excellent judgment and foresight. In large degree the standing of every community is measured by the character of its financial institutions, for unless they are stable, the credit of the municipality and its people is impeached. The First National Bank of Hartford City is an institution which has grown out of the needs of its community, and was organized by men of exceptional standing, whose interests have been centered in it and whose honor and personal fortunes are bound up in its life. Under such desirable conditions, a bank is bound to maintain a high standard, and to make money for its stockholders, at the same time safeguarding the interests of its depositors. As the directing head of its policies, Mr. Rawlings has made the First National one of the strong banks of Blackford county, and he is eminently worthy of being named among his community's most prominent and helpful man.

Mr. Rawlings belongs to an old and honored family whose, members for many years have been prominent in various walks of life and in different sections of the country. It was founded in America during Colonial days by four brothers, one of whom located in Vermont, one in New York and two in Virginia, these being William and Aaron Rawlings, the latter the great-grandfather of our subject. Aaron Rawlings was a farmer and stock-breeder in Loudoun county, Virginia, where he passed his life, and was the owner of a fine string of horses, being, like the greater number of his neighbors a great lover of that animal. He was married in Virginia to an American girl whose name is now forgotten, and they became the parents of a large number of children. They were Universalists in religious belief, and were known as prominent people in the Colony.

William Rawlings, son of Aaron Rawlings, and grandfather of James P. Rawlings, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, and there received a good education attending school during the period just after the War for America Independence. There he met Miss Priscilla Day, a member of a prominent family of Loudoun county, and when she removed to Fleming county, Kentucky, before the War of 1812, young William Rawlings followed her there and they were married. Following this event they settled on a farm in Fleming, ten miles from the county seat of Flemingsburg, where Mr. Rawlings became known as a successful farmer and a raiser of some of the best breeds of horses to be found in a state noted for its accomplishments in this line. Likewise, he was a pioneer preacher of the Universalist faith in the Blue Grass state, and an earnest, zealous Christian. A remarkable man in many ways, when he had passed the age of ninety years he still make it a practice to mount his horse every several days and ride for many miles in the surrounding country, often preaching the Gospel to his neighbors all over the countryside. Even in the last year of his life he was frequently to be seen astride his favorite horse, riding with the enthusiasm and skill of men many years his junior. His death occurred suddenly in his ninety-seventh year, he being found dead in the morning after having retired the previous evening free from all apparent ills. He survived his wife for many years, but was always true to her memory and continued a widower until his death. They were the parents of the following children: William, Jr., Aaron, Fanny, Betsey, Baby and Elizabeth, all of whom married and all living until after the close of the Civil War, upon the issues of which they were divided in opinion, some being slaveholders and Southern sympathizers, while others remained staunch supporters of the Union.

William Rawlings, the father of James P. Rawlings, had grown to manhood in Fleming county, Kentucky, and although he had adopted the faith of the democratic party, was a stalwart Union man. He was married in his native county to Miss Martha Vallandingham, a member of the well-known Southern family of that name, who was born in Fleming county, in 1815 or 1816, being about one year her husband's junior. She was a daughter of William and Mary (Denton) Vallandingham, natives of Virginia, who were married in Kentucky and spent the rest of their lives in Fleming county, that state. William Vallandingham died there as the result of an accident, while his widow survived some years and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Rawlings, at the age of ninety-seven years. She was a member of the Methodist church to which her husband had also belonged. For some years after their union Mr. and Mrs. William Rawlings resided in Fleming county, Kentucky, he being engaged as a farmer and horseraiser. There James P. Rawlings was born March 24, 1847, and he was ten years of age when the family came to Randolph county, Indiana. The first home was a little log cabin, located in the midst of a tract of timber, all deadened from which a few acres had been cleared, and there Mr. Rawlings passed his boyhood. He still has a strong recollection of the years of unrelenting and unceasing labor that followed; of the toil which subdued the wilderness and transformed a useless tract of land into a productive and valuable farm. From early spring until late fall, and often through the winter months, he helped his brothers and his father cut down trees, grub out the stumps, clear away the underbrush, break the land with the old-fashioned plow, dig ditches, and finally sow and reap and gain the well-won fruits of labor. Much was done by the Rawlings in the building of highways and in the draining of useless land, and to their sturdy natures and indomitable energy Randolph county owes much for its rapid development.

William Rawlings and his wife passed away within a week of each other during the month of October, 1892, honored and respected by those who had grown to know and admire them for their many excellencies of mind and heart. Mr. Rawlings was a member of the Universalist church, while his wife was a Methodist and active in the work of her religion. In politics Mr. Rawlings was a democrat, but refused to cast his vote for that party when Horace Greeley became candidate. The old homestead is now owned by his sons, John Day and Oliver A.; another son Aaron, resides at Independence, Kansas, and is single; Mary a daughter, died after her marriage to Anderson Coulter, of Randolph county, and left two daughters; William, another son, died as a single man in Kentucky; and the eldest son, Jeremiah, died in Randolph county, and left two sons, both of whom are now deceased.

James P. Rawlings grew to sturdy manhood on the home place, and from earliest youth showed himself to be possessed of industry, energy and ambition. During the summer months he did his full share of clearing the farm and building roads, and when time could be spared he attended the district school during the short winter terms, thus securing a good common school education and an excellent knowledge of mathematics. Upon reaching his majority he adopted farming and stock-raising as the field of labor in which to spend his career, and in this line gained deserved success, also becoming known as a breeder and lover of horses, the later trait having probably been inherited from his Kentucky and Virginia ancestors. He also spent two years in the dry goods business in Randolph county, but in 1886 came to Blackford county, and when oil and gas were discovered here he was retained by the Standard Oil Company to lease lands and look after their interests. He was very successful in this line and come into contract with some of the leading business men of the state. In 1903, when the First National Bank was organized, he was elected its first president, and this office he has continued to hold to the present time. The institution has a capital of $50,000, with over $200,000 in deposits, and is known as one of the leading organizations of this part of the state. Through Mr. Rawlings' abilities and good management the confidence of the public has been secured, a necessary asset for any financial venture. His associates place in him the greatest confidence, and look to him constantly for leadership and counsel in all matters of importance. Politically a democrat, while a resident of Montpelier he was a councilman during the period of the city's greatest growth, and did much to forward its interests. In 1896 he was elected county treasurer of Blackford county, and in 1900 was reelected with the largest majority given any official in the county.

Mr. Rawlings was married to Miss Lillie Wiggins, of Randolph county, born, reared and educated here, a member of a fine old New England family. Her parents were Lemuel and Mary (Stanley) Wiggins, early settlers of Randolph county, where Mr. Wiggins was a prominent business man. The parents came of Quaker stock, but were themselves Methodists. To Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings there were born the following children: Oran A., a resident of Portland, postmaster, member of the school board and a contractor and builder, married Gertrude Winters, and has three children --- Margaret, Edith and James P.; Lula B., wife of A. G. Emshwiller; Clarence L., engaged in the plumbing business, married Bessie Gettys, and has five children,--- Mary, Roll, Henry, Louis and Esther, living at Hartford City; and Lewis W., like his brothers and sister, well educated, was for four years with his father in the county treasurer's office, then became assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Montpelier, and is now in business in Indianapolis. The mother of these children, who was widely known for her charity and good deeds, died March 17, 1902.

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

M. CLIFFORD TOWNSEND There can be not measure of conjecture as to the efficiency and value of the services that are being rendered to Blackford county by Professor Townsend, who is the able and popular incumbent of the office of county superintendent of schools and who has proved his administrative powers to be on a parity with his high intellectual attainments. He is a native of the county and that he is well known and highly esteemed needs no further voucher than that offered by his present official preferment.

Professor Townsend was born in Licking township, Blackford county, on the 11th of August, 1884, and is a son of David and Lydia (Glancy) Townsend, the former of whom was born in this county on the 8th of October, 1859, and the latter of whom was born in Ohio, on the 14th of November, 1867. David Townsend is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of Blackford county and is a son of Gilbert Townsend, who was born in the State of New York, in 1815, a son of Gilbert and Mary (Saxon) Townsend. Gilbert Townsend, Jr., whose wife was of Pennsylvania German ancestry, came to Blackford county, Indiana, about seventy years ago, his parents having here established their home about the year 1836 and having become pioneer settlers in Washington township, where Gilbert Townsend, Sr., took up a tract of government land and instituted the reclamation of a farm from the wilderness, his old homestead being now known as the Scott farm. The family home was a primitive log house of the type common to the locality and period and the full tension of the pioneer life was endured by the early representatives of the Townsend family in Blackford county. Gilbert Townsend, Sr., was one of the first white settlers in Washington township, did well his part in the social and industrial development of the county and both he and his wife continued to reside in Washington township until their death, at advanced ages. Gilbert Townsend, Jr., likewise became one of the substantial pioneer farmers of the county, and in Washington township his wife died in 1865. Many years later he removed to the State of Kansas, where he died in 1890, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Maria Studebaker, near the city of Hutchinson, his age at the time of his demise having been seventy-five years. He was a man of strong character and well defined convictions, his political allegiance having been given to the democratic party.

David Townsend, one of several children, is the youngest of the number and the only one now living except his sister, Sarah, who has reared a family of children and who now resides in Blackford county. David Townsend was reared to manhood in Blackford county, where he was afforded the advantages of the public schools of the day, and he initiated his independent career as a farmer in Licking township, where he passed the major part of his active career and where he achieved success worthy of the name. In that township was solemnized his marriage to Miss Lydia Glancy, who was four years of age at the time of her parents' removal from Ohio to Blackford county. Mrs. Townsend is a daughter of David and Harriet (Kirk) Glancy, who came to Blackford county in 1871 and the latter of whom died here in 1875, her birth having occurred in the year 1826. Both she and her husband were devoted adherents of the United Brethren church. David Glancy was identified with agricultural pursuits after coming to Indiana but eventually he prepared himself for the medical profession, to which he gave his attention for many years. In 1881 he removed to Kentucky, where he continued in the active work of his profession until his death, which occurred at his home near Denton, Carter county, November 8, 1906, his age at the time having been seventy-five years. Of his four sons and four daughters all are living, except two. David and Lydia (Glancy) Townsend, who now reside in Licking township, Blackford county, are the parents of two children, of whom M. Clifford of this review is the elder; Myrtle is the wife of Frank Hoover, who is engaged in the furniture business at Hartford City.

Professor M. Clifford Townsend duly availed himself of the advantages of the public schools of his native county and then became a successful and popular teacher, his work in the pedagogic profession having been of such admirable order that he was eventually recognized as a most eligible candidate for the responsible office of which he is now the incumbent. He taught his first term of school in the Bailey district of Licking township, in 1902, and he has since continued to be actively and successfully identified with the work of his profession, in the mean while having completed a thorough course at the Marion Normal College, an institution in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1907. He was elected county superintendent of schools in April, 1909, and his administration has been marked by scrupulous attention to the requirements of all the schools in his jurisdiction, as well as by most progressive policies, so that he has gained the earnest co-operation of the teachers of the county and the uniform approval of the general public.

Professor Townsend is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the democratic party and he has been an active worker in behalf of its cause, definite prestige being given by his present incumbency of the position of secretary of the democratic county committee of Blackford county. He has served as delegate to the democratic conventions of this congressional district, and in his native county is a recognized leader in the councils of his party. The Professor is affiliated with the Hartford City lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 25th of December, 1910, was solemnized the marriage of Professor Townsend to Miss Nora Harris, who was born in Grant county on the 17th of December. 1890, and who is a birthright member of the Society of Friends. She is a young woman of most gracious personality and was graduated in the Marion Normal College. Professor and Mrs. Townsend have one child, Maxwell Alexander, who was born January 10, 1913.

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