Fred Collyer spent the early part of his life on the farm and when his father engaged in the mercantile business at Falmouth on May 3, 1900, he entered the store with him and was thus engaged in business at Falmouth until he left the store to engage in his present line in 1912. During the period which he spent in the store Fred Collyer helped his father to build up an extensive business, which the elder Collyer is still continuing there. In August, 1912, Fred Collyer started his greenhouses at Falmouth, which, under the name of the Penn View greenhouses have become more than locally famous and which are one of the first points to attract the attention of visitors to Falmouth, for the fine plant is far ahead of those usually found in towns of that class, or, indeed, in towns of much greater pretensions than Falmouth.
Though practically inexperienced as a florist when he undertook his ambitious enterprise, Mr. Collyer has made a success of his greenhouses from the very start. He started with a space of one hundred feet by twenty feet under glass, that portion of his plant now known as the north greenhouse, and two years later added a couple of additional greenhouses, now having ten thousand feet in all under glass. Mr. Collyer's original plan was to raise vegetables for the winter trade and flowers for the summer, and he has adhered pretty generally to this plan, furnishing both vegetables and flowers for the Connersville market and also shipping considerable quantities of both to the Cincinnati markets. One of his summer-grown crops during the past season consisted of twelve thousand chrysanthemums and the products of the Penn View greenhouses have attained a wide reputation throughout the territory reached by the enterprising proprietor. Mr. Collyer is energetic and public-spirited and since becoming a resident of Falmouth seventeen years ago, has done much to advance the general interests of that village. He is a member of the local lodges of the Modem Woodmen of America and of the Improved Order of Red Men and in the affairs of these organizations takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
B. F. Thiebaud, president of the Farmers and Merchants Trust Company of Connersville, former county superintendent of schools, former treasurer of Fayette county, former publisher of the Connersville Courier, former president of the Connersville school board and formerly and for years one of the best-known and most successful school teachers in Fayette county, is a native Hoosier and has lived in this state all his life. He was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Vevay, in Switzerland county, December 28, 1853, a son of Justi Thiebaud and wife, well-known residents of that community at that time.
Reared on the home farm in Switzerland county, B. F. Thiebaud received his early schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and after leaving school taught school for two or three winters there, thus earning sufficient money to secure his entrance at the university at Valparaiso, from which institution he was graduated in 1880. Upon leaving college, Mr. Thiebaud came to Fayette county and resumed teaching, being appointed principal of the Bentonville schools, a position he held for four years, at the end of which time he was made principal for the schools at Orange. After three years of such service in the Orange schools Mr. Thiebaud was appointed principal of the Maplewood high schools and served in that capacity for two years, at the end of which time he was elected superintendent of schools of Fayette county. He served for one term in that office and then was appointed principal of one of the ward schools at Connersville. A year later he was appointed principal of the Connersville high school and in 1892 was elected treasurer of Fayette county. He entered upon the duties of that office in 1893 and served for four years, at the end of which time he re-entered the ranks of Fayette county's teaching corps and for a short time was thus engaged at the Columbia township high school, relinquishing that position to become connected with the office of the F. T. Roots flour-mill, where he remained for a year, later resuming school work, accepting the appointment as principal of the Harrisburg high school. A year later Mr. Thiebaud joined the ranks of Fayette county's newspaper men and for two years was engaged as publisher of the Connersville Courier.
In 1902 when the Farmers and Merchants Trust Company was organized at Connersville Mr. Thiebaud was one of the chief factors in that organization and was elected secretary of the company. In 1917 he was elected president. In addition to his years of active service in the school room, Mr. Thiebaud for years also was connected with the schools of Connersville in an executive capacity, for twelve years serving as a member of the city school board, during a part of which time he served as president of the board, and was a member of the building committee that had in charge the erection of the new high-school building. In other ways also he has contributed of his time and energies in behalf of movements having to do with the betterment of local conditions and to the extension of the city's cultural activities, and is president of the Fayette County Chautauqua Association, in the organization of which he was one of the prime factors and in the affairs of which he has ever taken an active interest. He was chairman of the building committee which had in charge the erection of the Fayette County Centennial Hospital at Connersville and from the very inception of the movement which led to the establishment of that useful institution was one of the most active and influential promoters of the same. Mr. Thiebaud and his wife are the donors of a perpetual annual scholarship to Earlham College, given to the Connersville high school in 1915 in memory of their daughter, Marguerite, a graduate of the Connersville high school, of Earlham College, and a graduate student at Brynmawr College at the time of her death in 1914 - an extended and fitting reference to which scholarship is made in the chapter relating to schools in the historical section of this work.
In 1885 B. F. Thiebaud was united in marriage to Alice Lamberson, daughter of William Lamberson and wife, and to this union were born four children, all of whom have preceded them. A daughter, the lamented Marguerite, mentioned above, who died on March 13, 1914, was the last of the children to pass to the higher life. Mr. and Mrs. Thiebaud are members of the Christian church and Mr. Thiebaud has for many years been an elder and was chairman of the building committee that had charge of the erection of that congregation's handsome new house of worship. He is a Mason and a member of the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and of the Improved Order of Red Men, in the affairs of which organizations he takes much interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Elmer E. Murphy, one of Connersville township's most progressive and substantial farmers and the proprietor of a fine farm about two and one-half miles south of Connersville, was born on a pioneer farm about two miles south of Whitcomb, in the neighboring county of Franklin, and has lived in this part of the state all his life. He was born on December 19, 1862, a son of Samuel and Margaret (Crist) Murphy, both natives of Franklin county and well-known and influential residents of the Whitcomb neighborhood, the latter of whom is still living, now making her home at Brookville.
Samuel Murphy was born on a pioneer farm in the northern part of Franklin county, a son of Recompense Murphy and wife, the latter of whom was a Hitchner, who were early settlers and well-to-do residents of the Whitcomb community. Recompense Murphy was horn in New Jersey and came out to this part of Indiana in an early day and here spent the rest of his life.
Samuel Murphy grew up on the home farm in Franklin county and farmed in that county all his life. He married Margaret Crist, who was born on a farm about four miles east of Brookville, about 1841, a daughter of John and Mary Crist, who came here from Pennsylvania and settled in Franklin county. Samuel Murphy died about thirty years ago and his widow is still living, now a resident of Brookville, she being seventy-six years of age. They were the parents of four children, those besides the subject of this sketch being as follow: Perry, who lives in Indianapolis; Harry, who died in his twenty-second year, and Mary, wife of George F. O'Byrne, a well-known lawyer, of Brookville.
Elmer E. Murphy grew to manhood on the home farm in the vicinity of Whitcomb and received his schooling in the local schools there, remaining on the farm, a valued assistant in the labors of improving and developing the same, until his marriage in the fall of 1889, when he began farming for himself on a place four miles east of Brookville, where he made his home until 1902, when he moved to a farm near Camel. A year later, in 1903, he moved to his present farm, two and one-half miles south of Connersville, just west of the railroad, and there has made his residence ever since, long having been regarded as one of the most substantial farmers of that neighborhood.
Mr. Murphy is the proprietor of a fine farm of two hundred and twenty-four acres, which he has improved in excellent shape. When he bought the place it had a good set of buildings on it, back off the road, but in 1916 he built a thoroughly modern bungalow dwelling near the road, equipping the same with electric lights, sanitary plumbing, furnace, a broad concrete veranda, and other modern improvements, the water pressure being provided by an electric pump, and there he and his family are very pleasantly and very comfortably situated. His other house also is equipped with numerous similar improvements and his whole farm plant is in keeping with the progressive spirit displayed in the equipment of the home. In addition to his general farming Mr. Murphy has been giving considerable attention to dairying and has demonstrated that the latter phase of farming may be carried on with profit in this section.
In October, 1889, Elmer E. Murphy was united in marriage to Tina Schiltz, who was born on a farm in the vicinity of Brookville, in the neighboring county of Franklin, a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Stonebraker) Schiltz, well-known residents of that community. Peter Schiltz was born in Germany and came to this country with his parents when he was fifteen years of age, the family settling in Butler county, Ohio, where he remained until he was twenty-one years of age, when he moved over into Franklin county, this state, where he spent the rest of his life, becoming one of the best-known residents of that county. He followed various occupations, such as butchering, stock-trading and farming, and for eight years served the public in the capacity of auditor of Franklin county. Although reared a Catholic, he attended the Methodist church and was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias. Peter Schiltz died at Brookville in 1913. His wife had preceded him to the grave in 1901. They had four children who grew to maturity, those besides Mrs. Murphy having been - Amanda, Lizzie and Alsie, the latter of whom is now deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a proper part in church affairs, as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live. They have two children, - Paul, now living in the older of his father's two houses and giving his attention to farming, who married Eva Moffett and has one child, a daughter, Roberta, and Hazel, at home with her parents. Hazel Murphy was graduated from the Connersville high school in 1916 and is now attending college at Oxford, Ohio, specializing there in music.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Dr. H. S. Osborne, physician and surgeon at Glenwood and the proprietor of the Glenwood garage, is a native son of Indiana and has lived in this state all his life. He was born at New Winchester, in Hendricks county, December 16, 1877, son of Dr. John A. and Harriet W. (Kay) Osborne, the former of whom was born in that same county and the latter, in the state of Ohio, whose last days were spent in New Winchester, a pleasant village seven miles west of Danville, where Dr. John A. Osborne was engaged in the practice of medicine for forty-six years, or until his death on March 1, 1911. He had served a term as recorder of Hendricks county and for sixteen years was a member of the board of pension examiners for that district. Fraternally, he was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife had preceded him to the grave a little more than one year, her death having occurred on Decemher 16, 1909. She was born near Jamestown, Ohio, and was about eight years of age when her parents moved to Hendricks county, this state, where she was living when she married Doctor Osborne.
H. S. Osborne grew up at New Winchester and supplemented the course in the local schools there by a course in the high school at Danville, from which he was graduated. He then attended Bloomingdale Academy and after a further course there entered the Central Normal College at Danville, from which he presently was graduated. From the days of his boyhood, under the able preceptorship of his father, he had been devoting his thoughtful attention to the study of medicine and upon leaving college entered the medical department of the University of Kentucky at Louisville and was graduated from that institution in 1900, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Upon receiving his diploma Doctor Osborne opened an office for the practice of his profession at Pittsboro, in his home county, and was there engaged in practice for twelve years, at the end of which time, in 1912, he moved to Glenwood, opened an office there and has been engaged in practice there ever since, having built up an extensive practice throughout that part of Fayette county and in the neighboring county of Rush. Not long after locating at Glenwood, Doctor Osborne bought the garage at that place and has since been operating the same. He is a Republican and, fraternally, is affiliated with the Connersville lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Dr. H. S. Osborne has been twice married. His first wife, Grace McCowan, died, leaving one child, a daughter, Gladys, and later the Doctor married Madge Morgan, who was born in Benton county, this state, a daughter of Wilbur F. and Addie (Blessing) Morgan, and whose maternal grandfather, George Blessing, was a resident of Pittsboro. To this union one child has been born, also a daughter, Virginia. Doctor and Mrs. Osborne have a very pleasant home at Glenwood and take a proper interest in the general social activities of their home town, helpful in promoting all agencies having to do with the advancement of the common welfare thereabout.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
JOSEPH EMERY MOFFETT.
Elsewhere in this volume of biography, in a memorial sketch relating to Samuel Calvin Moffett, a pioneer of Fayette county, who died in 1892, and who was a son of Samuel Moffett, who came from Tennessee to this section of Indiana in 1833 and settled at the northern edge of Harrison township, this county, there is set out in considerable detail, something concerning the well-known Moffett family in Fayette county, to which the attention of the reader is invited in this connection.
Joseph Emery Moffett was born on the old Moffett home farm in Harrison township, this county, January 11, 1860, son of Samuel Calvin and Exeline (Cox) Moffett, and was about five years of age when his parents moved onto a farm over the line near Beeson, in the neighboring county of Wayne, where he grew to manhood. He and two of his brothers, William S. and Oscar F. Moffett. received a farm located on the eastern edge of Harrison township from their father and there the three farmed together until the early eighties, when Joseph E. Moffett bought the interests held by his brothers in that farm and there continued farming until 1891, when he having married in the meantime, he moved to the old homestead of his wife's people, the old DeHaven farm in the north edge of Connersville township, where he has since resided and where he and his family are comfortably situated. He sold his place in Harrison township and now owns two hundred and forty-six acres of excellent land, comprised in two farms, two miles west of the city of Connersville. Mr. Moffett has conducted his farming operations along modem lines and his place is very well improved.
In 1885 Joseph E. Moffett was united in marriage to Flora DeHaven, who was born in a log house on the farm on which she is still living, daughter of James Isaac and Eliza (Hamilton) DeHaven, both of whom were born in this county, members of pioneer families. James I. DeHaven was born on a farm in the immediate vicinity of Harrisburg, a son of Isaac and Nancy (Stucker) DeHaven, who came up to this section of Indiana from Kentucky in 1816, the year of Indiana's admission to statehood, and settled on a farm in Harrison township, this county, where they established their home, among the earliest settlers of that part of the county. There James I. DeHaven grew to manhood and married Eliza Hamilton, who was born in this county, a daughter of Nathaniel and Lucinda (Tyner) Hamilton, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, May 25, 1798, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Hamilton, natives, respectively, of Ireland and Pennsylvania, who came out West in 1810 and settled just above Brookville, in the then Territory of Indiana, and remained there during the period of the War of 1812, two of the Hamilton sons, John and Adam Hamilton, serving as soldiers during that struggle. In 1815 the Hamilton family moved from Franklin county up into Fayette county and settled on a farm northwest of Connersville, in Connersville township. There the elder Nathaniel Hamilton died in 1823. His widow later went over into Illinois, where her death occurred in 1826. They were earnest members of the Presbyterian church and the elder Nathaniel Hamilton was for years an elder in that church. The junior Nathaniel Hamilton grew to manhood in Connersville township and in 1821 married Lucinda Tyner, daughter of James and Margaret Tyner, pioneers of this county; and he shortly afterward began buying land from the other heirs of the family estate and became the owner of a farm of one hundred acres on which he spent the rest of his life, meeting death in September, 1885, when a load of shingles he was hauling upset with him. He was four times married, but all his children were born to his first union, that with Lucinda Tyner. He was a firm believer in the tenets of the Old School Baptist church and an attendant on the services of the same. He is remembered by the old settlers as a singularly amiable and remarkably well-preserved old gentleman and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. James Isaac DeHaven became a substantial farmer of Fayette county, the owner of more than four hundred acres of land in Connersville and Harrison townships. His wife died in 1892 and he survived until 1900.
Mr. and Mrs. Moffett have two daughters living, Ethel, who married William Semler, who is farming a part of the Moffett farm, and has three children, Marion, Catherine and Emery, and Eva Lucinda, who married Paul Murphy, who is living on a farm two miles south of Connersville, and has one child, a daughter, Roberta Maxine. Mr. and Mrs. Moffett are members of the Christian church, in the affairs of which they take a proper interest; and Mr. Moffett is a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, taking a warm interest in the affairs of that popular organization.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
A. E. Rich, one of Fairview township's well-known farmers, was born in the neighboring county of Rush on September 25, 1857, son of Robert and Nancy (Bishop) Rich, the former of whom also was born in that county, a member of one of the pioneer families, and the latter in the state of Ohio. Robert Rich was the owner of a quarter of a section of land in Rush county and farmed there all his life. He and his wife were the parents of three children, the subject of this sketch having two sisters, Mrs. Mollie Johnson and Mrs. Amanda McCrory.
Reared on the home farm in Rush county, A. E. Rich received his schooling in the schools of his home neighborhood and remained at home, a valuable assistant to his father in the labors of improving the home place, until his marriage when he was twenty-five years of age, when he established his home in Henry county, where he bought a farm and where he lived until 1898, when he and his family moved to the farm in Fairview township, this county, the same belonging to his wife, where they have since resided and where they are very comfortably situated. The farm consists of one hundred and thirty-two acres of well-improved land and the farm plant is arranged along up-to-date lines. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Rich gives considerable attention to the raising of a good grade of hogs and is doing very well in his operations.
On January 24, 1882, A. E. Rich 2as united in marriage to Minnie Hinchman, who was born in Rush county, daughter of Allan and Nancy (Moffitt) Hinchman, the former of whom also was born in that same county and the latter in this county, both members of pioneer families. Allan Hinchman was a son of John and Margaret Hinchman, who came from Virginia to Indiana in early days and settled in Rush county. There he was born and reared and there he remained all his life, becoming a substantial farmer, the owner of three hundred and eighty acres in Rush and Fayette counties. He and his wife were the parents of five children, those besides Mrs. Rich being Margaret, Nora, Grant and George.
To Mr. and Mrs. Rich have been born three children, Allan, who married Callie Crouch and has four children, Neva, Mervin, Earl and Catherine; Gertrude, who married Lloyd Wysong, and Nora. The Riches are members of the Christian church in Fairview township and take a proper part in the good works of their home neighborhood. Mr. Rich is a Democrat, taking a proper interest in local civic affairs, hut has not been a seeker after public office. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is past noble grand of his local lodge, in the affairs of which he ever has taken an active interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Charles C. Hull, president of the Rex Manufacturing Company, of Connersville, vice-president and factory manager of the Central Manufacturing Company of that city, former president of the National Carriage Builders Association of America and interested in various other manufacturing and industrial concerns in Connersville, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in the near vicinity of Alquina, in Jennings township, January 17, 1866, son of John and Maria (Burk) Hull, both of whom also were natives of this county and the latter of whom is still living here, for years a resident of Connersville.
John Hull also was born in Jennings township, son of Matthew R. Hull and wife, the former of whom was born in that part of the Old Dominion now comprised in West Virginia and who came to Indiana in his youth, settling in Fayette county, where he married and established his home in the Alquina neighborhood. His wife died when she was about thirty years of age and he survived her for years, he being sixty-six years of age at the time of his death. They were the parents of six children, Oscar, Jane, Justinian, John, Matthew R. and Alpha. On that pioneer farm John Hull was reared and later took over the farm and lived there many years. Upon his retirement from the farm he moved to the village of Dublin, in the neighboring county of Wayne, and thence to Indianapolis, moving thence to Zion City, Chicago, where he died on May 30, 1913. His widow is now making her home in Connersville. She also was born in this county, daughter of John J. and Nancy ( Snyder) Burk, the former of whom was a native of the state of Maryland and one of the pioneers of Fayette county, a farmer and a man of considerable substance, who lived to the great age of ninety-two years. His wife lived to the age of sixty-five. They were the parents of the following children: Mary, Jackson, Nancy, Rachel, John S., Ellen, Green, Maria, Alice and Stephen. John Hull and his wife were members of the Baptist church and their children were reared in that faith. There were ten of these children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth, the others being as follow: Clifford, deceased; John, of Chicago; Robert, of Connersville; Jennie, who is unmarried and is living with her mother in Connersville; George, of Little Rock, Arkansas; Cynthia, who died at the age of two years; Frank, of Valparaiso, Indiana; Warren, of Connersville, and Mary, who died when about thirteen years of age.
Charles C. Hull was reared on his grandfather's farm in the vicinity of Alquina and received his early schooling in the district school in that neighborhood. This he supplemented by a course in the Central Normal School at Danville, this state, and thus equipped for teaching taught school for a couple of years, after which he engaged in the hardware business and was thus engaged for four years, at the end of which time he accepted the position of assistant superintendent of the plant of the Parry Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of buggies, at Indianapolis, and was there engaged in that capacity for ten years, during which time he thoroughly mastered the details of the manufacture of buggies. Mr. Hull then returned to Connersville and in association with William H. Harris and Frank G. Volz organized the Rex Manufacturing Company and established a plant for the manufacture of buggies in that city. Mr. Hull was made president of the company and has ever since occupied that position, developing the industry into one of the largest buggy factories in this part of the country, the company employing about three hundred persons and shipping its product to all parts of the United States. In addition to his interests in connection with the Rex Manufacturing Company, Mr. Hull also has other and extensive manufacturing interests in Connersviile. In 1902 he became connected with the Central Manufacturing Company of Connersville, he and his business associates buying a controlling interest in the same, and they also bought the plant of the Connersville Wheel Company, which has since been absorbed by the Central Manufacturing Company and of which Mr. Hull was president for twelve or fourteen years. He also is a member of the board of directors of the Lexington-Howard Motor Company, manufacturers of automobiles, and a director in the Hoosier Castings Company. Mr. Hull is a Republican and for three years served as secretary of the Connersville school board and also served for some time as the director of the Elmhurst school. He has been a member of the board of directors of the Connersville Commercial Club for years and served for some time as president of the same. He has for years been one of the most prominent members of the National Carriage Builders Association of the United States and in 1913 was elected president of the same.
On December 5, 1888, Charles C. Hull was united in marriage to Rozzie F. Lair, who also was born in the Alquina neighborhood in Jennings township, this county, July 8, 1865, daughter of Mathias and Discretion (Ferguson) Lair, natives of this county, both now deceased. Mathias Lair, a former sheriff of Fayette county, was for years one of the best-known residents of the county. He was a substantial farmer and was twice elected sheriff of the county. His father, whose wife was a Bell, came to this county from Kentucky and became a substantial pioneer and the father of eleven children, of whom eight grew to maturity, John, Charles, Mathias, Joseph, Harriet, Osie, Sophia and Jennie. The Fergusons also were well-known pioneers. Mathias Lair was thrice married. By his first wife, who was a Ross, he had one child, a daughter, Edna. By his marriage to Discretion Fergson he had four children, Charles, Rozzie, Kate and one who died when six years of age. Upon the death of the mother of these latter children he married a Miss Sparks and to that union one child was born, a daughter, Mattie.
To Charles C. and Rozzie F. (Lair) Hull four children have been born, namely: Ruth M., who married Frederic I. Barrows; M. Lair Hull, who is the assistant superintendent of the plant of the Central Manufacturing Company at Connersville; Rachel, who was born in 1904, and Hollis, who was born in 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Hull are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church at Connersville and Mr. Hull is a member of the board of trustees of the same. In 1916 he was honored by being sent as a delegate to the general conference of his church. He is a Mason, a member of Warren Lodge No. 15, Free and Accepted Masons, and takes a warm interest in Masonic affairs.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
John J. Burger, one of Connersville township's well-known farmers, is a native of the neighboring county of Wayne, but has been a resident of Fayette county since he was seven years of age. He was born at Cambridge, in Wayne county, this state, March 8, 1861, son of Jacob and Veronica (Fager) Burger, natives of Germany whose last days were spent in this county, well-known residents of the community west of Connersville.
Jacob Burger was born in the village of Kuhr, in the province of Hessen, Germany, July 25, 1831 , only son in a family of four children. He lived at home until he was twenty-three years of age, when he had an elder sister came to the United States, landing at the port of New York on July 17, 1854, without means and strangers in a strange land. Jacob Burger had but five cents in money when he landed on the shores of America, but he soon got a job as a gardener in New York, where he worked until he had earned money enough to pay his way to Cincinnati, in the neighborhood of which city he worked, gardening and farming, for nearly two years, or until the last of April, 1856, when he came up into Indiana and located at Connersville, securing employment in that vicinity as a farm hand. He married in 1857 and in 1860 went up into Wayne county, where he remained until 1869, when he returned to this county and bought a farm west of Connersville, the place now occupied by his sons, Louis and John, and there spent the remainder of his life, a substantial farmer, he and his wife both doing well their part in the upbuilding of that community. On May 7, 1857, in this county, Jacob Burger was united in marriage to Veronica Fager, who was born in the grand duchy of Baden, in Germany, August 20, 1829, and who came to this country alone in 1853. After more than forty years of happy married life, she died on July 19, 1898. Jacob Burger survived his wife for nearly twelve years, his death occurring on March 12, 1910. He and his wife were earnest members of the Catholic church and their children w-ere reared in that faith, these children besides the subject of this sketch, being Mrs. Anna Geise, Mrs. Clara Schoenborn, Mrs. Maggie Ariens, Joseph S. (who died in October, 1908), Mrs. Lizzie Greiner and Louis.
John J. Burger was seven years of age when his parents moved from Wavne county to the farm about two miles west of Connersville and in the latter vicinity he has lived ever since. He grew up on the farm and in 1886 bought the farm where he now lives, one and one-half miles southwest of Connersville, and upon his marriage in the spring of 1891 established his home there. Mr. Burger has a well-kept farm of eighty acres and he and his family have a very comfortable home. They are members of the Catholic church and take a proper interest in parish affairs.
In April. 1891, John J. Burger was united in marriage to Katherine Meyer, who was born in Winningen, Bavaria, Germany, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Peffer) Meyer, who, in 1883, came to this country with their nine children, proceeding at once to Connersville. Two weeks later the father bought a farm three and one-half miles east of Connersville, established his home there and there spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1904. His widow is now making her home with a daughter, Mrs. Keller, at Indianapolis.
To Mr. and Mrs. Burger four children have been born, namely: Gertrude, who married George Seffrin, of Connersville, and has one child, a son, Walter Leo; John A., who continues to live on the home farm with his parents; Louise, who died at the age of three years, and Frankie, who died when eight months of age.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
George M. Fries, well-known manufacturer of drain tile and president of the Indiana State Association of Manufacturers of Clay Drain Tile, whose extensive plant for the manufacture of tile, just west of the city of Connersville, is one of the best-equipped plants of that kind in the state, was born at Stavetown, in the vicinity of Brookville, in the neighboring county of Franklin, and has lived in this part of the state all his life. He was born on April 15, 1866, son of Anthony and Margaret (Miller) Fries, natives of Germany, Bavarians both, who came to this country in the days of their youth and whose last days were spent in this county, the latter having been one of the victims of the flood of 1913.
Anthony Fries left his native Bavaria when he was sixteen years of age and came to the United States, locating at Cincinnati, where, when he became of age, he was naturalized as an American citizen. There he married Margaret Miller, who had come to this country from Bavaria when she was fifteen years of age, and, shortly after his marriage, he having learned the cooper's trade in Cincinnati, he moved to Hamilton, Ohio, where he lived until 1864, when he moved over into Indiana and started a cooper shop one mile south of Brookville, in Franklin county, building up quite an extensive business in that line, the settlement which grew up around his coopershop coming to be known as Stavetown, which name the village bears to this day, on account of the stave factory built up there by Mr. Fries. About 1882, the stave timber in that section having by that time become pretty well exhausted, Anthony Fries began to utilize extensive clay deposits that had been disclosed in that vicinity, and established, in the vicinity of Stavetown, the first steam-power brick plant in Indiana. The product of this factory soon attained a wide demand, especially in Cincinnati and in Connersville, some of the best buildings in the latter city, notably the Eighth street school building, the Fifth street school building, the First National Bank building, the McFarlan Carriage Company's building, the Connersville Furniture Company's warehouse and numerous other important buildings in that city having been constructed of Fries brick. In January, 1892, Anthony Fries organized the A. Fries & Sons Company, in partnership with his sons, John A. and George M. Fries, and was perfecting plans for the establishment of an extensive brick manufacturing plant west of Connersville, the present site of the well- known Fries tile factory, but his plans were interrupted by his death in the next month, in February, 1892. The sons, however, went ahead with the perfection of these plans and established an extensive factory on the site. In 1902 they discontinued the manufacture of brick and took up the manufacture of drain tile, soon achieving a wide reputation for the durable quality of their output, and the brothers continued in business together until the tragedy of the flood of 1913 came upon them with all its overwhelming force. During that flood, perhaps the most tragic incident in the history of Brookville, where the brick plant was located, the widow Fries, mother of the subject of this sketch, and John A. Fries and his family, a total of eight persons in the Fries family, were drowned and the big brick plant was practically destroyed. George M. Fries, the remaining member of the firm, bought out the other heirs and has since continued the manufacture of tile at the Connersville plant, sole owner and manager of the plant, one of the best-established concerns of its kind in the state.
In 1912 George M. Fries, who had long been recognized as one of the most expert and enterprising tile manufacturers in Indiana, organized the Indiana State Association of Manufacturers of Clay Drain Tile and has been president of that association from the date of its organization. This association is maintained for the mutual protection of drain-tile manufacturers and has done much in the way of intelligent promotion of legislation for the purpose of facilitating tile draining and the reclamation of swamp lands. The association maintains a publicity and educational bureau, which publishes and disseminates information regarding the wonderful results that have attended under-draining and by this means has done much in the way of educating the public to the value of tiling as a means of reclaiming much otherwise waste land in the state. Mr. Fries is an enterprising, public-spirited citizen and has ever since becoming a resident of this county in 1892 taken an active part in the promotion of the manufacturing and other substantial interests of the community.
In 1893, the year after taking up his residence in this county, George M. Fries was united in marriage to Carrie Hohman, of Indianapolis, who was born in Franklin county, this state, daughter of Tobias and Mary (Schubert) Hohman, who came from Bavaria, Germany, to this country, in 1859, proceeding on out to Indiana and settling on a farm in Franklin county, where they spent the rest of their lives, Tobias Hohman dying in 1896 and his widow surviving until 1908. To Mr. and Mrs. Fries two daughters have been born, Helen, born in 1900, and Nellie, born in 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Fries are members of the Catholic church and take a proper interest in parish affairs. Mr. Fries is a member of the Knights of Columbus, in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
George. W. Prifogle, a well-known farmer and fruit grower of Orange township, this county, was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, October 23, 1848, son of John and Eliza (Huber) Prifogle, the former of whom was born in that same county, a son of Peter Prifogle and wife, pioneers of the Highland neighborhood. Peter Prifogle was born in Germany and was about eighteen years of age when he came to this country. For some time he made his home in Pennsylvania and then came to Indiana, entering a tract of government land in Highland township, Franklin county, and there establishing his home. On that pioneer farm he spent the remainder of his life and there his son, John Prifogle, spent all his life and there the subject of this sketch was born and reared.
Reared on the farm, George W. Prifogle became a farmer and continued, after his marriage in 1877, to make his home in Franklin county until 1882, when he came up into Fayette county and located at Connersville, where he lived for nine years, engaged at work in the furniture factory. He then rented a farm in Columbia township and remained there for four years, at the end of which time he traded his house and lot in Connersville in part payment for a farm of eighty acres in the northeast part of Orange township, where he has made his home for the past twenty years. In addition to his general farming, Mr. Prifogle has long given considerable attention to truck farming and to fruit growing. He has an excellent orchard and besides raises quantities of small fruit and berries, finding a ready market for the products of his farm along these lines. Mr. Prifogle is a Republican and has ever given a good citizen's attention to local civic affairs. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Guttenberg lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes a warm interest in lodge affairs.
George W. Prifogle has been thrice married. In 1877, while living in Franklin county, he married Amanda Tilden, who was born and reared in that county, and to that union seven children were born, of whom two died in infancy and five of whom are still living, namely: Edward, a member of the police force at Redford, Massachusetts, married Mary Agnes Carrol, born at Oldham, England, September 30, 1882, and they are the parents of two children: Frederick, of Connersville, who married Carrie Brooks and has two children: Alice, who married Glenn Loos, of Brookville, this state, and has four children: Joseph, of San Pedro, California, who married Catherine Abercrombie and has two children, and Harry, who is serving his third term of enlistment in the United States army, ow serving as a surgeon in the military hospital at Columbus, Ohio. The mother of these children died at Connersville on February 23, 1889, and on April 11, 1893, Mr. Prifogle married Maggie Reif, who also was born in Franklin county, a daughter of Valentine Reif and wife, and who died on June 10, 1910, leaving two children: Julius, who married Linnie Snyder, of Columbus, this state, and now lives at Indianapolis, and Charles, who is at home with his father.
On September 24, 1911, Mr. Prifogle married Mrs. Mary (Miller) Berger, who was born in Cincinnati, a daughter of Charles and Francesco (Miller) Miller, both of whom were born in Germany, but were not of blood kinship, though both bearing the same name. Charles Miller spent his last days in Cincinnati and there his daughter Mary grew to womanhood and married William Berger, who was born in the Hartz mountains, in Germany, and who had come to this country in the days of his youth. In 1881 William Berger moved with his family from Cincinnati to Connersville and in the latter city became employed as a joiner in the furniture factory and was thus engaged at the time of his death on January 31, 1886. To William and Mary (Miller) Berger eight children were born, namely: Katherine Mary, who married Fred Bronnert (now deceased) and still lives in Cincinnati; Charles, who married Ida Rydman and is now living at Olmsted Falls, Ohio; Freda, who married John Murray, a Connersville druggist, and has four children; Otto, who married Grace Spangler and is living in Connersville; Louisa, who married Eugenio Dahne, the Brazilian commissioner-genera1 of agriculture, commerce and industry, whom she met at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis, and who is now living at San Diego, California, where Mr. Dahne installed an exhibit of his own at the San Diego Exposition, and William, Jr., who died at El Paso in his seventeenth year. Besides these, two children died in infancy. After the death of Mr. Berger his widow continued to make her home in Connersville until her marriage to Mr. Prifogle. While a member of the German Presbyterian church at Connersville, Mrs. Prifogle served for four years as secretary of the Ladies' Society.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Millard Fillmore Cummins, one of Fayette county's best-known and most substantial retired farmers and horsemen, now living at the north edge of the city of Connersville at the foot of Grand avenue, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Posey township, November 19, 1856, son of John D, and Caroline (Williams) Cummins, both of whom were born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and whose last days were spent in Fayette county, substantial and influential pioneers of the northern part of the county.
John D. Cummins was born about 1818 and grew to manhood in Bourbon county, Kentucky. 0n July 30, 1840, he married there Caroline Williams, who also was born in that county, a daughter of Eli and Elizabeth (Hanna) Williams, also natives of that county, the former born on January 30, 1800, and the latter, a daughter of Joseph Hanna, September 4, 1796. After their marriage John D. Cummins and his wife established their home on a farm in their native county and there remained until five of their children were born, Charles, Noah, John, Oliva and Elizabeth. In November, 1851, the baby, Elizabeth, then being but two months of age, the family came up into Indiana, driving through, and settled in Fayette county. John D. Cummins bought the southeast quarter of section 22, in Posey township, three miles southwest of the village of Bentonville, and there established his home, he and his wife spending the remainder of their lives there. Mr. Cummins died in October, 1885, and his widow survived him more than eighteen years, her death occurring on March 16, 1904.
Millard F. Cummins grew up on the farm on which he was born in Posey township and received his schooling in the district school in that neighborhood. Conditions in that region still were in a pretty primitive state during the days of his boyhood and he grew up familiar with the ways of pioneer living. As a boy he used to watch his mother sitting at the spinning wheel and he learned to spin, a boyish accomplishment which he now recalls with much interest. His father was an excellent horseman and took much pride in keeping up his stock, his horses and mules frequently winning prizes in the local fairs and horse shows; and it was thus that, even from boyhood, Millard T. Cummins acquired an interest in good horses that he has retained to this day. After his marriage in 1877 Mr. Cummins continued to make his home on the home farm and there continued to reside until in April, 1917, when he retired from the active labors of the farm and moved to Connersville, where he now resides and where he is very comfortably situated in a pleasant home on the north side of the city, at the foot of Grand avenue. He had long ago bought the interests of the other heirs in the old family home and still-owns that quarter-section tract, which is well improved and profitably cultivated, his youngest son now being in charge of the same. As noted above, Mr. Cummins has from the days of his boyhood taken a warm interest in good horses and he formerly maintained a race track on his farm, raising and training horses for the track. He bought a trotting stallion, "Robert B.," 2:29-1/2, and one of the first colts from this sire, "Lucy C.," developed under Mr. Cummin's training, a speed of 2:12 and had an official mark of 2:20-1/4. Her first colt, "Pine Bush," did even better. Mr. Cummins has exhibited several other horses of more than local note and is now the owner of "Indiana Belle," 2:15-1/4.
Millard F. Cummins has been twice married. In 1877 he was united in marriage to Samantha Hyatt, who was born in Henry county, this state, daughter of Frank Hyatt and wife, the latter of whom was a Plummer, both representatives of old Quaker families in the Dublin neighborhood, and who died in March, 1883, leaving three children, John. Rufus, living on the old Hyatt farm near Strawns, who married Grace Ward and has five children, Elbert, Geraldine, Pauline, Dorothy and Ward, and Lota, who married Howard Sherwood and died in 1908, leaving a daughter, Mildred.
In 1886 Mr. Cummins married Kate McHatton, who was born in Owen county, Kentucky, a daughter of John and Eliza (Sharpe) McHatton, both of whom were born and reared in that same county, and to that union two children have been born, Walter and Nettie. Walter Cummins, who is now operating the old home farm, in Posey township, married Lola Saxon and has two children, Leroy and Roscoe. Nettie Cummins married Roscoe Hall, of Richmond, and has one child, a daughter, Avis.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Gus Bowen, a farmer living a short distance southeast of Orange and who is a member of the advisory board of Orange township, was born on a farm over the line in Noble township, Rush county, and has lived in that neighborhood all his life, being, therefore, one of the best-known residents of that part of the county. He was born on February 11, 1879, the youngest son of Rufus P. and Desdemona (Stone) Bowen, the former of whom also was born in Noble township, Rush county, and the latter, who is still living, now making her home in Rushville, a native of Fayette county.
Rufus P. Bowen was a son of Solomon Bowen, who came to Indiana from Bourbon county, Kentucky, in pioneer days and entered a tract of "Congress land" in Noble township, Rush county, where he established his home and where he spent the rest of his life, one of the substantial pioneers of that part of the county. There Rufus P. Bowen grew up amid pioneer conditions and in turn became a farmer on his own account, farming all his life in Noble township, where his death occurred in 1896. His widow is now living at Rushville. She was born in Orange township, this county, daughter of Silas H. and Martha (Dicken) Stone, pioneers of Fayette county, a record of whose lives is interwoven with the history of that part of the county in which they lived.
Silas H. Stone was a native of Kentucky, born in Scott county, that state, who became a carpenter, millwright and wagon-maker. In the early twenties he came up into Indiana, prospecting in Fayette county, and here married Martha Dicken, who also was born in Scott county, Kentucky, in 1806, and who had come to Indiana with her parents, Henry Dicken and wife, who settled in the west half of the southwest quarter of section 14 of Orange township, this county, and who later moved to the eighty just east of the above described eighty. After his marriage Silas H. Stone returned to Kentucky, but in 1825 he and his wife returned to this county, coming through with a considerable company of Kentuckians who were seeking homes in this region. U pon settling here Silas E. Stone entered an "eighty" in the southwest quarter of section 11 of Orange township and there established his home. As a miller he worked in a grist-mill during the days and as a carpenter he built his house, working on the latter at night. The mill in which he worked was the pioneer mill erected by his brother, Elias Stone, on Garrison creek, in section 11 of Orange township, in 1821. It was in this latter year that Elias Stone had come up here from Kentucky and had settled in Fayette county. He platted that part of the village of Orange that lies north of the cross road. About 1840 Silas H. Stone bought the mill that had been started by his brother, afterward selling the same and building another mill farther down the creek, in the northeast part of the southeast quarter of section 14, and later added to that grist-mill a saw-mill. In connection with the latter he also carried on a carriage shop and made a considerable number of the old-style "Rockaway" carriages, besides buggies and wagons and any other kind of vehicle demanded by the people of that vicinity, his wife operating the grist-mill while he would be thus engaged. He and his brother, Elias, built the Christian church at Orange, said to have been the first house of worship erected for the uses of that denomination in the state of Indiana, the local congregation having been organized on July 4, 1829. Silas H. Stone was a devoted member of the Christian church, but his loyalty to the founder of that sect (Alexander Campbell) was such that he never referred to the church only as the "Campbellite" church. He was always the first person on hand at the meetings of the local congregation and in many ways did all he could to promote the interests of the church. For some time he also served as a member of the board of school directors and in that capacity was able to gratify an early wish to build a good frame school house to supplant the first school house, built of logs, in the settlement. About 1880 he and his wife moved to the village of Orange, where their last days were spent, his death occurring in 1882 and hers in 1883.
On November 28, 1900, Gus Bowen was united in marriage to Ethel Murphy, who also was born in Noble township, Rush county, a daughter of George and Julia (Thompson) Murphy, the former of whom also was born in that township, a son of John and Anna (McCrory) Murphy. John Murphy was born in Butler county, Ohio, a son of Jesse and Charlotte Murphy, who came from New Jersey and after a sometime residence in Butler county, Ohio, came on up the valley of the White Water and settled in the near vicinity of Glenwood. John Murphy was but a child when his parents came up here and he grew to manhood on the farm and remained a farmer all his life. His wife, Anna McCrory, was born in this county, a daughter of Robert and Celina (Saxon) McCrory, the former of whom, a native of Ireland, walked from Cincinnati to the land office at Indianapolis and there entered a quarter of a section of land two and one-half miles northeast of Glenwood, in this county, where he established his home. He married Celina Saxon, who was born in Georgia and who was but a child when her parents came to Indiana, settling in Fayette county at a time when Indians still were numerous hereabout. The Indians at that time were continuing to give such cause for apprehension on the part of the settlers that the little Celina was not permitted to wander far from the house in her play, lest she should be stolen by the Indians. Ethel Murphy was bereft of her mother when she was eight days old and she was reared by her grandmother and by her aunt, Mrs. George, of Orange. She completed her schooling in the high school at Rushville and taught school for a year before her marriage to Mr. Bowen. To that union one child has been born, a daughter, Lela Myrl. The grandfather of Mrs. Bowen, John P. Thompson, was the founder of the Christian church at Orange.
Gus Bowen has been a member of the Orange township advisory board for the past two years or more and gives his earnest attention to public affairs. He is a member of the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men and takes a warm interest in the affairs of the same. He and his wife have a pleasant home and take a proper part In the general social activities of their community.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
Ralph Wright Bowen, a well-known and progressive young farmer of the Orange neighborhood, is a native soil of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm southeast of the village of Orange, in Orange township, March 25, 1885, son and only child of Nicholas F. and Sarah C. (Wright) Bowen, both of whom are natives of this part of the state, the former born on January 24, 1859, in Noble township, Rush county, son of Rufus P. and Desdemona M. (Stone) Bowen, members of pioneer families, whose family record extending back to the early settlement of this part of the country is set out elsewhere in this volume in a biographical sketch relating to Gus Bowen, a member of the Orange township advisory board and uncle of the subject of this sketch. Nicholas F. Bowen grew up on the home farm over in Rush county and in the spring after he was twenty-one years of age he began farming for himself on a rented farm. A year later he married and continued as a renter until in March, 1892, when he bought a farm of eighty acres in the northeast corner of section 22 of Orange township, this county, and there established his home. About eight years later he bought the eighty adjoining that place, in the northwest corner of section 23, and has since been the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all in one body. There he continued farming and stock raising until in March, 1909, when he retired from the active labors of the farm, turning the management of the place over to his son Ralph, and he and his wife moved to Orange, where they have a pleasant home and one and one-fourth acres in the village, together with a good barn, garage and orchard. In the fall of 1908 S. F. Bowen was elected assessor of Orange township, entering upon the duties of that office in January of the following year. His official term of four years was extended by legislative enactment and thus served for six years, his term of office expiring on January 1, 1915. He was urged by both political parties to accept the nomination for a second term, but he declined to become a candidate.
On December 19, 1881, Nicholas F. Bowen was united in marriage to Sarah C. Wright, who was born in Orange township, this county, daughter of the Rev. William and Lucinda (Simmons) Wright and a cousin of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the inventors of the aeroplane. Her parents also were natives of this county, members of pioneer families, their respective parents having been among the early settlers of the county. The Rev. William Wright a minister of the United Brethren church and a substantial farmer of Orange township, spent all his life in that township. He died years ago of typhoid fever and his widow married Anson Moore, who died some years ago. She is still living on her farm two miles south of Orange. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen are members of the Christian church and he is a charter member of the Orange lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men.
Ralph W. Bowen has always lived near Orange. He and his father are farming together, he making his home on the farm, while his father lives in Orange. On February 9, 1909, Ralph W. Bowen was united in marriage to Grace E. Smith, who was born on a farm northeast of Orange, near the Gray-Robinson school house, a daughter of Oscar and Hulda (Jones) Smith, the former of whom died when his daughter Grace was five years of age and the latter when the daughter was ten years of age. Thus bereft of her parents in the days of her childhood, Grace Smith was reared in the household of her mother's sister, Mrs. Edward M. Martin, northeast of Orange. Her mother was a daughter of Thomas and Anna (Trusler) Jones and a cousin of William and Thomas Jones, biographical sketches of whom, presented elsewhere in this volume, give further details of the family's history. Oscar Smith was born in Ohio and his wife was born in Orange township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Bowen have two daughters, Mabel and Hazel. They are members of the Christian church at Orange and Mr. Bowen is a member of the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men at that place.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917
William Callison Brown, a toolmaker in the plant of the Connersville Blower Company at Connersville, is a member of one of the old families in Connersville, his grandfather, William Brown, having settled there in 1836, coming over from Brownsville, in Union county, and establishing a tannery in Connersville, which he operated the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1856. Further mention of this pioneer, one of the leaders in the early industrial life of Connersville, is set out elsewhere in this volume. One of his sons, William Brown, married Paulina Callison and shortly afterward moved to Wichita, Kansas, where his wife died, leaving two sons, the subject of this sketch and his younger brother. Ezra B. Brown, who is also living at Connersville and further mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume.
William Callison Brown was born in Connersville February 19, 1874, and moved to La Porte, Indiana, then to Wichita, Kansas, in a period of six years. After the death of his mother his father brought him and his younger brother to Connersville and left the two boys in charge of their paternal grandmother, the widow of William Brown. The father then returned West, where he presently married again and later moved to the state of Oregon, where he is now living, a resident of the town of Ten Mile. For about a year after he was brought to Connersville, William C. Brown continued to make his home with his grandmother and he then went to live with his father's sister, Harriet, and her husband, Eber Bateman, and by them was reared to manhood, the relations existing between them being as close as could exist between parents and son. Eber Bateman was a native of New Jersey, born on November 2, 1815. When he was a child his parents moved to Ohio and settled at the mouth of the Miami river, just below the city of Cincinnati, where he grew to manhood. His father kept a tavern and operated a ferry across the river at that point. Eber Bateman early became engaged in the flat-boat trade between Cincinnati and New Orleans and was for some time quite successfully engaged in that traffic, making a specialty of transporting salt meat down the river. When the White Water canal was completed in the latter forties he came up on the first canal boat that made the trip through to Connersville and there he stopped, determining to go into business there. He embarked in the general merchandise business at Connersville and was thus engaged until after the close of the Civil War. While thus engaged he brought to Connersville the first oil lamps ever seen in that place, two of them, and five gallons of coal oil. About 1867 Eber Bateman bought the farm now owned by the Reipberger brothers, in the northwestern part of Jackson township, this county, and there established his home and began farming, remaining there the rest of his life. He became the owner of one hundred and ninety acres of land and was regarded as a very substantial citizen.
Eber Bateman’s wife, Harriet Brown, aunt of the subject of this sketch, was born near Brownsville, in the neighboring county of Union, February 11, 1833, daughter of William and Eliza (Bolton) Brown, and was but a child when her parents moved to Connersville in 1836, her father there engaging in the tanning business. She died on December 14, 1902, and her husband survived her but a few months, his death occurring on May 23, 1903. He was an earnest Mason and was past master of the local lodge. Eber Batenlan and wife were the parents of six children, namely: William H., who is now living with his daughter, Mrs. Sherry, in the southeastern part of Connersville township; Elizabeth P., wife of Albert H. Robinson, of Connersville; Albert E., now living at Dallas, Texas; Harriet, of Indianapolis; Lewis E., also of Indianapolis, and Mary L., wife of Charles Grubb, of Indianapolis.
William C. Brown remained on the Bateman farm until he was twenty-three years and then decided to quit farming and take up mechanics. He entered the plant of the Connersville Blower Company as an apprentice and ever since has remained with that concern. He rapidly mastered the details of his craft giving particular attention to the tool-making department and for some time has been engaged in the plant as an expert tool maker. Not long after taking up his residence in Connersville, Mr. Brown married and he and his wife have a pleasant home at 1339 Indiana avenue. He is a Mason and a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and both he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Brown is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Brown is a member of the Episcopal church and Mrs. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On November 3, 1898, William C. Brown was united in marriage to Bertha L. Davis, who was born at Newcastle, this state, a daughter of Vincent R. and Louisa (Shepherd) Davis, the former of whom was born in that same town and the latter of whom was born and reared on a farm near there. Vincent R. Davis was a son of William and Elira (Madison) Davis, who came to this state from North Carolina and settled on a farm which is now included within the city limits of Newcastle. On that farm Vincent R. Davis spent all his life, a farmer. He died on February 12, 1912. His wife, who was born on a nearby farm, was a daughter of Samuel and Delilah (Haguewood) Shepherd, the former of whom also was born near Newcastle, a son of Allan Shepherd and wife. Delilah Haguewood was born in North Carolina and was but a child when her parents came to this state, settling at Newcastle at a time when that place consisted of but one store, a tavern and three dwelling houses. Samuel Shepherd spent all his life as a farmer in the Newcastle neighborhood and there his daughter, Louisa, lived until her marriage to Mr. Davis. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Davis has been spending most of the time at Newcastle, where her daughter, Bertha L., resided until her marriage to Mr. Brown. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown were born two children, both of whom died in infancy.
"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917