A hundred-page volume has been written concerning the life and the works of Francis M. Roots and it is all so fascinating and instructive that strangers, as well as those who knew him well in life, lay down the book reluctantly, wishing there were more of it. The ancestors of Francis M. Roots, thought to have been of French Huguenot descent, came from Balby, near London, and were among the earliest settlers of the colony of Massachusetts. The subject of this memorial sketch was of the sixth generation in direct male descent from Josiah Rootes, who emigrated from England and settled in the Massachusetts colony in 1634. Among the descendants of this Josiah who were the direct antecedents of Francis M. Roots, native ability, the desire for education, tireless industry, with a deep religious conviction controlling all, have been dominant characteristics.

Francis M. Roots was born at Oxford, Ohio, October 28, 1824, a son of Alanson and Sylvia (Yale) Roots (the latter a member of that family of Yales from which sprang Eli Yale, the founder of Yale University), who had emigrated from Charlotte, Vermont, in 1824 and had settled at Oxford, where Alanson Roots set up a woolen-mill, which became a big institution for that time and place. At an early age Francis M. Roots became thoroughly familiar with every department of the mill and even from boyhood his mechanical bent of mind was finding an outlet in constant efforts to improve the processes of milling. His local schooling was supplemented by a short course in Miami University. At the age of nineteen he received a religious awakening that proved a dominating factor in all his later life and he united with the Presbyterian church. When he was twenty-one years of age he was sent out by his father with a wagon to visit the sparsely settled districts of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, selling goods and making collections, and thus enlarged his experience. In the summer of 1846 Alanson Roots and his son, .Francis M. and Philander H., secured the right to the water power carried in that portion of the canal from Connersville to Cambridge City and in Connersville, on Sixth street, at the west side of the canal, erected a large, four-story frame building for a woolen-mill and equipped the same with the best machinery obtainable for that purpose at that time. In the meantime, Francis M. Roots continued to make his headquarters at Oxford, though most of his time was spent on the road with his goods wagon. Letters written to his sister at various times during that period of travel are filled with expressions of love and thoughtfulness for those at home, his love of nature and his constant striving to live the true, earnest life of a Christian.

After locating at Connersville Francis M. Roots became engaged to marry Esther E. Pumphrey and being thus filled with a laudable ambition to have something more of a competency before asking her to share his lot, made the long overland journey to the newly-discovered gold fields of California. It has been .noted that upon starting on this venturesome quest Mr. Root's greatest misgiving was not of the physical perils he should encounter, though they were real and many, but he was most concerned lest he should be spiritually and morally injured by the unavoidably close association with the lawless characters that also were flocking to the gold fields. Space here will not permit the recounting of his experiences, his sadness at parting from home friends, his adventures and how he won the respect and friendship of his associates and his influence over them, although the incidents of that trip alone would furnish material for a good book. Mr. Roots was more fortunate than many in his quest for gold and found a claim that-paid. Having worked that claim to his satisfaction he started home, by way of Panama, in May, 1850, and on October 8 of that same year was united in marriage to the lady for whose welfare he had undertaken the long trip across the continent. It may be mentioned in passing that on going on their wedding trip to Mammoth Cave, Mr. Roots and his bride were all night going by through stage from Cambridge City to Indianapolis, with horses changed every ten miles, for at that time even the best roads in the state were full of quagmires.

Following his marriage Francis M. Roots lived at the old home in Oxford until his father died on October 16, 1851. After that the mill at Oxford was discontinued and he moved to Connersville, where his brother, Philander H. Roots, had been living for several years, in active management of the milling interests of the family at that point. In 1853 a New School Presbyterian church was organized at Connersville and in 1856 the brick building at Seventh street and Central avenue was erected. It has been said that the physical and spiritual history of that church is largely a biography of Francis M. Roots. He and his brother, Philander, worked on it with their own hands, and although it has since been remodeled and modernized, some of their work is still to be seen there. From that time forward Francis M. Roots held one or more positions of responsibility and activity in the church and Sunday school. When he was elected an elder he remarked with deep feeling that he considered it more honor to be an elder in the Presbyterian church than to be President of the United States. After the removal of F. M. Roots to Connersville the business of the two brothers at the woolen-mill was carried on energetically and with success. Mr. Roots was of a mechanical and inventive turn of mind and his improvements of the looms and other machinery of the mill from time to time had been productive of the most gratifying results, both in the way of greater production and in the saving of labor. About 1859 the two brothers became engaged in devising an improved form of water-wheel to take the place of the old one which was providing the motive power for the mill. After years of effort and experiment they found their device was not practicable as a waterwheel, but was an excellent device for a positive-pressure blower. They took out their first patent on this blower in 1866 and calling the same the Roots positive-pressure blower.

In 1869 the Roots brothers took a trip to the leading industrial capitals of Europe in the interest of their blower patents and by much effort and the exercise of constant tact succeeded in introducing their invention in England and on the continent. In 1872 F. M. Roots and his wife, together with a small party, went by railroad to California, visiting in comfort the places Mr. Roots had reached in the days of his young manhood only by slow, toilsome travel and through many perils. By this time Mr. Roots had severed his connection with the woolen-mills and was giving his undivided attention to the upbuilding of the blower factory. In 1874 the two brothers again went to England, France, Germany, Austria, Saxony, Wurtemburg, Alsace and Belgium. While in Ghent, on his fiftieth birthday, F. M. Roots wrote a letter to his wife in which he reviewed his life's unremitting struggle, the many high hopes of youth that were unfulfilled and the resolute determinations that had been blocked by undreamed-of obstacles. In that letter he so well expressed himself in simple words of deep feeling and great longing, the sincere outpouring of an honest and ardent heart, that the letter is worthy to be preserved as a classic. In 1876 the Roots brothers were foremost among the exhibitors in the machinery section at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia and received a gold medal for excellence of workmanship and adaptation of invention to mechanical uses. Philander H. Roots died in 1879. In 1881 F. M. Roots so improved the blower that the improvement amounted to a new invention and in August of that year he took another trip to Europe in that behalf. In 1882 business necessities and a new patent for a rotary pump induced him to take another trip to Europe.

It was in 1873 that, in connection with his brothers, Philander H. and Guernsey Roots, and his friends, Charles Mount and William Huston, F. M. Roots bought up the capital stock of the First National Bank of Connersville. Philander H. Roots was then made president of the bank and continued in that position until his death, a period of six years, after which F. M. Roots was made president and so continued until his death, the affairs of the bank being uniformly prosperous under his wise administration. In 1888 the present handsome bank building was erected at the corner of Central avenue and Fifth street. Mr. Roots also was for seven years president of the Connersville Furniture Company, organized in March, 1882, for the manufacture of bedroom furniture. There, as at the bank, the meetings of the directors during his administration were always opened with prayer, and if a peculiarly difficult problem arose Mr. Roots would say, "Well, gentlemen, let us take this matter home with us and lay it before the Lord for His guidance. We shall then know better how-to manage it." As is well known, the Roots business enterprises were successful, and the furniture factory became one of the largest in Indiana.

Francis M. Roots was called to his eternal home on October 25, 1889, just three days before his sixty-fifth birthday. Although it is customary to say, "He is dead," yet his influence still lives in Connersville. His widow survived him for nearly thirteen years, her death occurring on August 22, 1902.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

JAMES HERON.
In the memorial annals of Fayette county no name is entitled to better remembrance than that of James Heron, who died at his home in Connersville in 1876 and whose widow is still living in that city, one of the honored and most highly respected old settlers of this county. James Heron was a native of Maryland, but had been a resident of this county since the days of his boyhood and had consequently been a witness to and a participant in much of the more substantial development of Connersville during the period which marked the beginning of that city's permanent industrial expansion. Though he lived only to middle age, being taken from the community by death just in the prime of his busy and active life, he had done much for the development of the community in which he took so earnest an interest, and his memory is cherished by all who hold the history and traditions of this county closely to heart.

James Heron was born in the city of Baltimore in June, 1824, and was but twelve or thirteen years of age when he came to Indiana with his parents and settled in the vicinity of Connersville in the year 1837. His parents, James and Barbara (Kevan) Heron, were natives of Scotland and upon coming to this country located at Baltimore, where the elder Heron engaged in the dry-goods business and was thus engaged for years, becoming a very successful merchant and being regarded as a quite well-to-do man for that period. His health failing, he was advised to seek relief in the free, open life of what, by Easterners, was then regarded as the "wilds" of the West. With this object in view he disposed of his mercantile interests in Baltimore and with his family made the long trip by stage out to Indiana. When the stop was made at the old Claypool tavern at the southern edge of what is now the expanding city of Connersville both Mr. Heron and his wife were so charmed with the location and the possibilities of the same for carrying out the purpose of their journey Westward that they made inquiries as to whether the place was for sale. Upon being advised that it was, James Heron offered the owner ten thousand dollars, cash "in hand," for the farm and straightway entered upon the ownership of the same and there established his home. With the city man's notions of farming he introduced some innovations in his methods of managing his place and became known in the pioneer community as "the gentleman farmer."

James Heron was just beginning to see his way clear to the successful fruition of his plans as a farmer when death overtook him, his decease occurring about two years after his settlement in this county, as a result of injuries received while loading hay. He was a native of Wigtonshire, Scotland, and had been an extensive traveler, having crossed the ocean seven times. His widow continued to manage the farm, reared her children there and there spent the rest of her life, living to the great age of eighty-six years, one of the most honored pioneer residents of this county. The elder James Heron and his wife were the parents of six children, five sons and one daughter, James, Alexander, Samuel, Nathan and William and Helen, who married George Hibben, of Chicago.

As noted above, the junior James Heron was about twelve or thirteen years of age when he came to this county with his-parents and upon the death of his father about two years later, as the eldest son, much of the responsibility of helping his mother continue the management of the home place fell upon his youthful shoulders, a trust which he faithfully performed until presently his brother, Alexander, relieved him of that responsibility, becoming the farmer, while he engaged in mercantile pursuits in the then rapidly developing city of Connersville. James Heron seemed to have inherited his father's native ability as a merchant and business man and for years was actively identified with several of the leading business concerns of Connersville. In connection with the Caldwells he became heavily interested in the pork-packing business and helped to build up a large industry in that line in his home town, the firm doing business under the name of the White Water Caldwell Pork-racking Company. The packing house was situated at what is now the intersection of Fifth street and the Big Four railroad, a site now occupied by the Andrea theater, and the slaughter pens were located on the river bank in East Connersville, at the point now occupied by the bathing beach. James Heron was but fifty-one years of age at the time of his death on June 17, 3876, but he had performed a great service to the community by reason of his activity in helping to develop Connersville's industrial life, and his memory is not forgotten. He was a Democrat and was a member of the Masonic fraternity.

On May 8, 1855, James Heron was united in marriage to Caroline McCarty, who was born on a pioneer farm three miles south of Brookville, in the neighboring county of Franklin, on the grounds where the first land entry in that county was made, a daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth (Logan) McCarty, who were among the most influential pioneers of that community. Enoch McCarty was a son of Benjamin and Sarah or "Sallie" (Conner) McCarty, natives of North Carolina who settled in Culpeper county, Virginia, and later came to Indiana, settling in Franklin county during Territorial days. Benjamin McCarty was appointed first judge of Franklin county, under the territorial administration, and made the first land entry in that county, May 25, 1803, and built the first log cabin in Franklin county. His first act as a judge was to appoint commissioners to take charge of the school lands of the county and to dispose of them for the public good. Judge McCarty and his wife spent their last days on their pioneer farm in the vicinity of Brookville and it was there that Enoch McCarty grew to manhood and later established his home. Enoch McCarty became one of the most active and influential men in Franklin county. He was a member of the Territorial Legislature, was a member of the first state constitutional convention and continued his legislative service after the state was erected. He also served the public in a local way and was, at one time and another, elected to nearly every office in the gift of the people of Franklin county, including that of judge of the court. He became a large landowner and both he and his wife lived to ripe old age. In their later years they moved to Brookville and there their last days were spent.

Enoch McCarty's wife, who before her marriage was Elizabeth Logan, was a daughter of William and Jane (Buchanan) Logan, natives of Pennsylvania, and the latter a full cousin of President James Buchanan, and who became pioneers of Franklin county, this state, and there spent the remainder of their lives. William Logan was a soldier of the patriot army during the Revolutionary War and became one of Franklin county's substantial and influential citizens. To Enoch McCarty and wife thirteen children were born, Sarah, Jane, Franklin, Monroe, Jonathan, Alfred, Mary, Desdemona, Caroline and Catherine (twins), Milton, Helen and Thomas J. Jonathan McCarty, a brother of Enoch McCarty, was a soldier during the War of 1812, and Monroe McCarty, a brother of Mrs. Heron, received a commission as a colonel during the Mexican War and commanded a regiment in General Scott's army.

To James and Caroline (McCarty) Heron three children were born, Katharine, James M., a well-known manufacturer of Connersville and a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, and Noreh. Katharine Heron completed the course in the Connersville public schools and later attended the Wesleyan University at Cincinnati. She has been an extensive traveler, has visited nearly all points of interest in this country and in 1890 made a comprehensive tour through Europe, including all points of chief interest on the continent, as well as in the British Isles and the Scandinavian peninsula. Miss Heron has written quite extensively concerning her travels, her articles for publication having attracted much attention, and she has for years given her most earnest attention to all movements having to do with the cultural activities of her home town. She was secretary and treasurer of the local library board at the time the Connersville public library was erected and continues as a trustee of that institution. Miss Heron was the organizer of "The Merry-go-round," Connersville's leading social club, is a member of the Wednesday Club and was a charter member of the "A. D. 0. U." She also organized the Connersville Humane Society and has been of large influence in this community in the way of securing to orphaned or neglected children proper home influences. Noreh Heron married Samuel M. Johnson, of Portsmouth, Ohio, and has five children, Heron M., Emma K., Sherrard Mc., Kanyon M. and Karleene.

Mrs. Caroline Heron is a member of the Presbyterian church, as was her husband, and has since the days of her girlhood taken an earnest interest in church work. Despite the fact that she is now well past eighty-seven years of age, Mrs. Heron retains her mental and physical vigor to an extraordinary degree and continues to take the liveliest interest in current affairs. Her long residence in Connersville and her earlier residence in the neighboring county of Franklin make her life a veritable epitome of the history of this section of the state and there are few matters of importance relating to the earlier history of this section on which she does not retain a clear and most informative recollection.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

Daniel T. Roots, of Connersville, capitalist and landowner, was born in Connersville and has lived there all his life, for many years one of the most active factors in the industrial and commercial development of that city. He was born on October 22, 1859, son of Francis M. and Esther E. (Pumphrey) Roots, both now deceased, who were for years accounted among the most prominent and influential residents of Connersville. In a memorial sketch relating to Francis M. Roots, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out at some length something of the distinguished service rendered by that gentleman during the days of his active career in Connersville, together with interesting details of his busy and useful life, and it is not necessary here to go into those details or to repeat the genealogical information relating to the Roots family, the reader's attention being respectfully invited to that memorial sketch in this connection.

Upon completing the course in the public schools of his native city Daniel T. Roots entered Chickering Institute, a private school, at Cincinnati, and after a course of four or five years there became practically connected with the large affairs of the P. H. & F. M. Roots Company, a history of which concern is set out in the memorial sketch above referred to, and early learned the details of the management of that concern, one of the greatest industrial establishments in Connersville. He presently was made manager of the company's extensive plant and after the death of his father became president of the company, a position he retained for ten years or more. Mr. Roots formerly was a heap- stockholder in the Roots Company and still holds some of the stock. He also was a stockholder and a member of the board of directors of the Connersville Furniture Company, of which his father for years was the president, and is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Connersville and was a member of the board of directors of that institution until recently, when he retired from activity in that regard. About ten years ago Mr. Roots sold most of his stock in the P. H. & F. M. Roots Compamy, the concern created by his father and his uncle for the manufacture of positive-pressure blowers, and invested in farm land, being now the owner of about four hundred acres of fine land just north of Connersville, extending north from the railroad bridge. Farm land adjoining that tract has sold for two hundred and twenty-one dollars an acre. Mr. Roots has ever been interested in the upbuilding of his home city and one of his most notable contributions to the same is the large office building, the D. T. Roots building, he erected on Central avenue.

On February 6, 1892, Daniel T. Roots was united in marriage to Irene Ellis, who was born in Harrison township, this county, daughter of Melvin and Harriet (King) Ellis, who moved from the farm into Connersville when she was about six years of age. For some time Melvin Ellis was engaged in the hardware and agricultural-implement business at Connersville and there he spent his last days. Mr. and Mrs. Roots are members of the Presbyterian church.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

HON. MILTON TRUSLER.
It is probably not too much to say that no more enduring reputation ever was built up in Fayette county than that established by the late Milton Trusler, who for many years was regarded as one of the leading and most influential citizens of Indiana. For many years the head of the Grange in this state, Hon. Milton Trusler was one of the most useful pioneers in the movement for the improvement of rural conditions not only in Indiana but throughout the country at large, and he is generally recognized as having been the "father" of the present well-established system of rural mail delivery in the United States. As a representative from this district to the state legislature and as state senator he for years occupied a responsible and useful position in the public life of Indiana, and his influence in behalf of the common welfare in that connection was fruitful of much good to the people of the state at large. A pioneer of the Everton neighborhood, he was the owner of a fine bit of farm property in Jackson township and made that his home until his retirement from the farm in 1894 and removal to East Connersville, where he spent his last days.

The Hon. Milton Trusler was a native Hoosier, a fact of which he was always proud. He was born on a pioneer farm in the neighboring county of Franklin on October 31, 1825, a son of Samuel W. and Martha (Curry) Trusler, the former of whom was a son of James Trusler, a Virginian, who came to Indiana territory with his family about the year 1812 and settled near the Fairfield settlement in Franklin county, where he developed a good farm and where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring about 1840, he then being eighty-two years of age. James Trusler was a soldier in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War and was a man of strong individuality, influential in his community and successful in his operations. He and his wife were earnest Methodists and their children were reared in that faith. There were seven of these children, five sons and two daughters, and the descendants of this active pioneer now form a numerous family in this part of the state.

Samuel Wilson Trusler, son of' James Trusler and father of Milton Trusler, was born in Virginia on July 9, 1795, and was about seventeen years of age when his parents came out here into what then was the "wilds" of Indiana Territory and settled in Franklin county. There he presently married and made his home until in 1830, when he moved up into Fayette county and settled on a farm in Jackson township, where he spent the remainder of his life, a substantial farmer, the owner of a well-developed farm of one hundred and twenty acres, and an active and useful citizen, who, as township officer and as school officer, did much for the development of Jackson township in the early days. Samuel M. Trusler died at his home in Jackson township on August 4, 1846, and the homestead place passed to his son Milton.

Milton Trusler was five years of age when his parents moved from Franklin county to Fayette county, and he grew to manhood on the home place in Jackson township, continuing to make that place his home until his retirement in old age. His schooling was completed in the high school at Liberty and after his marriage in 1848 he established his home on the old home place that had come to him after the death of his father, and continued developing that place, at the same time gradually enlarging his holdings until he became the owner of a half section of land, all well improved and profitably cultivated. During the time bf the Civil War Milton Trusler was appointed enrolling officer for Fayette county and in that capacity performed a notable service in behalf of the cause of the Union. Two of his brothers, Nelson and Gilbert Trusler, were officers in the Union army during the long struggle between the states. Milton Trusler was an ardent Republican and for many years was regarded as one of the leaders of that party in this part of the state. He rendered excellent service in behalf of his local community in township offices and was holding the office of township trustee when, in 1872, he was elected to the state Legislature as the representative from this district. Mr. Trusler served two terms in the lower house of the General Assembly and then, in 1876, was elected to the state Senate, in which he served for a term with equal faithfulness. In the campaign of 1892 he was the nominee of his party for the office of secretary of state, and although he ran two thousand votes ahead of his ticket, went down to defeat in the Democratic "landslide" of that year. It was perhaps in his long and unselfish service in behalf of the Indiana State Grange that Mr. Trusler achieved his most distinctive fame, and it was during that period of service that he did much for the promotion of the best interests of the farmers of Indiana as well as of the farmers of the country at large. For seven years Mr. Trusler was master of the state Grange and in that capacity rendered a notable service in behalf of that then powerful organization. It was he who conceived the idea of a free mail de1ivery service for the rural patrons of the post office and his indefatigable labors in that behalf undoubtedly advanced the establishment of the present system of rural mail delivery in the United States, a fact so universally recognized that Milton Trusler will ever be known as the "father" of rural mail delivery in this country. Mr. Trusler was a charter member of the Everton Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and for more than fifty years, or as long as he lived, took an active part in the affairs of Odd Fellowship in this state, for years one of the most influential figures in the grand lodge of the state. On April 17, 1894, he left the old home place and moved to East Connersville, where he passed his last days in quiet and comfortable retirement.

It was on March 9, 1848, that Milton Trusler was united in marriage to Isabelle Thompson, who was born in Fayette county, a member of one of the pioneer families in this part of the state, daughter of Joseph D. Thompson, who settled in Jackson township, this county, about the year 1820. Joseph P. Thompson was descended from Maurice Thompson of Hampshire, England, who at one time was governor of the East India Company. To Milton and Isabelle (Thompson) Trusler eight children were born, namely: Anna, who married Daniel Brumfield; Laura J., who married James M. Backhouse; Samuel F., a farmer, of Jackson township; N. Henry, also a Fayette county farmer; Sidney E., of Anderson, this state; Nina C., who married J. B. Rose, of Miami county, this state; Ira T., a lawyer at Connersville, now deceased, and Juanita, who married William S. Stewart, of Idaho, and who, as well as her husband, is also deceased.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

Though for nearly twenty-five years past, Jefferson H. Claypool, lawyer, publicist and banker, has been a resident of the city of Indianapolis, his extensive real-estate and other interests having taken him to the capital city of Indiana in 1893, he has ever retained the most earnest interest in the affairs of the city and county of his birth and no review of the times in Connersville or Fayette county would be complete without passing mention of this, one of the best-known and most influential of the sons of old Fayette. Indeed, so closely interwoven with the history of Fayette county is the history of the Claypool family during the past four or five generations that reference to the one hardly could be made without touching in a general way the history of the other, and the reader of this volume will find throughout this general review of the history of Fayette county frequent reference to the part taken by the Claypools in the general social, political and industrial life of this community, even from the days of the beginning of a social order hereabout, for the Claypool family has been represented in this county since territorial days, the founder of the family in Indiana having settled here in 1813, among the very earliest of the pioneers of this section of the state.

Jefferson Helm Claypool was born in Connersville on August 15, 1856, son of Benjamin F. and Alice (Helm) Claypool, prominent and influential residents of that city, whose last days were spent there. Benjamin F. Claypool, for many years one of Indiana's most distinguished citizens, also was a native son of Connersville and spent all his life there, an influential lawyer, statesman, banker and landowner. He was born on December 12, 1825, son of Newton and Mary (Kerns) Claypool, pioneers of Fayette county and potent influences for good during the formative period of this now well established and flourishing community and further and fitting reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume of history and biography. Newton Claypool was a Virginian who came over into Indiana from Ross county, Ohio, in 1813 and established his home in this county, becoming a considerable landowner at the very edge of what after awhile came to be the thriving city of Connersville. He was a man of education, of great native force of character and naturally became one of the leaders in the new community, it being undoubted that his influence had very much to do with the establishment of the firm foundation upon which this community now rests. In his day he represented this district in both the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Indiana General Assembly and in other ways contributed of his time and his talents to the public service.

Benjamin F. Claypool was reared in Connersville and supplemented his course in the public schools of that city by a valuable course of private instruction under the efficient tutelage of Professor Nutting, a prominent local educator of that period, who had come to this state from Massachusetts, acquiring under that tutelage a knowledge of the various branches taught in the seminaries of that day, together with an acquaintance with the Latin and French languages. In the fall of 1843 he entered old Asbury (now DePauw) University and remained there until the spring of 1845, when he entered the law office of the Hon. 0. H. Smith at Indianapolis and after a thorough course of reading under that able preceptor was admitted to the bar in March, 1847. Shortly thereafter he opened an office for the practice of his profession in his home city and it was not long until he was occupying a foremost position at the bar of Fayette county. Mr. Claypool's practice was not confined to the local bar and for many years he was found engaged on one side or another of most of the important cases tried in the courts of this part of the state. Reared a Whig, Mr. Claypool took an active part in political affairs even before he had reached his majority and when the Republican party was organized he was one of the most active men in Indiana in that behalf. In 1856 he was a delegate to the convention at Philadelphia that nominated John C. Fremont for the Presidency: in 1864 was presidential elector for the fifth congressional district and in 1868 one of the electors for the state at large. In 1860 Mr. Claypool was elected state senator from the counties of Fayette and Union and in that capacity took a prominent part in the legislation of Indiana during the period of the Civil War, being regarded as one of the leaders in the various patriotic movements based upon the emergencies of that trying time. In 1874 he was the nominee of his party for Congress from this district, but went down to defeat in the memorable Democratic "landslide" of that year. In addition to his extensive legal practice, Mr. Claypool gave considerable attention to his banking and real estate interests and became one of Connersville's well-to-do men, owner of a large farm and for some years president of the First National Bank of Connersville, having also been president of that concern's predecessor, the Connersville branch of the Bank of the State of Indiana.

On August 4, 1853, Benjamin F. Claypool was united in marriage to Alice Helm; who was born at Rushville, this state, a daughter of Dr. Jefferson and Eliza (Arnold) Helm, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of the Isle of Wight, England. Dr. Jefferson Helm for years was one of the best-known medical practitioners in Rush county and his daughter was a highly cultivated woman, who contributed much toward the successful career of her husband. She died in August, 1882, and her husband survived her for six years, his death occurring on December 11, 1888. Of the children born to Benjamin F. Claypool and wife, Jefferson Helm Claypool, the subject of this biographical sketch, is the only survivor. Benjamin F. Claypool was the second in order of birth of the four sons born to his parents, Newton Claypool and wife, the others being Austin B., Abraham J. and Edward F. The latter years ago published a very interesting volume of autobiography in which much valuable material relating to the history of the Claypool family in this county was preserved.

Reared in Connersville, the city of his birth, Jefferson Helm Claypool was prepared for college in the public schools and by private tutors and in the fall of 1870, he then being but fourteen years of age, he entered Miami University and after a course of three years in that institution entered the University of Virginia, class of 1875. Meanwhile he had been giving close attention to the study of law, under the able preceptorship of his father, and in 1877 was admitted to the bar, beginning the practice of his profession in partnership with his father at Connersville and continued thus connected until the latter's death, the firm having an extensive clientage in this and adjoining counties. During this time Mr. Claypool was gradually enlarging his real-estate interests in Indianapolis and in 1893 he moved to that city, where he since has made his home, giving most of his time to his private business, which includes banking, farming and real-estate development. Mr. Claypool has been an active Republican from childhood, receiving inspiration from his father, who was one of the founders of the party, and in the sessions of 1889 and 1891 represented this district in the Indiana General Assembly, thus being the third in direct descent of the Claypool family to represent the district in the Legislature. For fourteen years Mr. Claypool served as a member of the Indiana state board of election commissioners and during the memorable campaign of 1896 was a member of the advisory committee of the Republican state central committee. For many years he has been a frequent contributor to magazines and newspapers, many of his articles on public questions being widely copied on account of their force and clearness of expression.

In 1893 Jefferson H. Claypool was united in marriage to Mary Buckner Ross, who also was born in Connersville, daughter of the late Major John W. Ross, a memorial sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, and to this union one child has been born a son, Benjamin F. Claypool, who was graduated from Miami University in 1916 and is now a student in the agricultural department of Purdue University. In 1912 Jefferson H. Claypool received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Miami University. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa (honorary) and the Delta Kappa Epsilon college fraternities.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

Milton Henry Trusler, a well-known retired farmer of Jackson township, former trustee of Jackson township and present truant officer for Fayette county, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in the Bentey neighborhood (the old Ireland settlement) in Jackson township, December 7, 1857, son of Milton and Isabelle (Thompson) Trusler. The father was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, in the vicinity of Blooming Grove, a son of Samuel Trusler and wife, pioneers of this section of the state, further and extended mention of whom is made elsewhere in this volume.

Milton Trusler was born about 1824 and was but a child when his parents moved up from Franklin county and settled in the Bentley neighborhood in Jackson township, this county, where he grew to manhood and where he continued to make his home after his marriage until about twenty years before his death, when he retired from the farm and moved to Connersville, where he died in August, 1906, he then being in the eighty-second year of his age. As a youth, Milton Trusler studied with a view to becoming a physician, but before he had qualified for practice his parents died and he was compelled to return home to look after the farm and the interests of the younger children. He then abandoned the plan of becoming a physician, later bought the interests of the other heirs in the home place and there remained engaged in farming until his retirement. When twenty-two years of age he married Isabelle Thompson and to that union nine children were born, one of whom died in infancy and eight of whom, four sons and four daughters, grew to maturity. Of these, four are now deceased, Mrs. Anna Brumfield, Mrs. Juanita Stewart Nichols, Sidney E. and Ira Thompson Trusler. The survivors, besides the subject of this sketch, are Fred, Mrs. Laura Backhouse and Mrs. Nina Rose.

Milton H. Trusler was reared on the home farm in Jackson township, receiving his schooling in the neighborhood schools, and from early boyhood was a valued assistant to his father and brothers in the labors of developing and improving the farm. When twenty-six years of age he married and after the death of his wife, about four years later, again made his home with his parents until his second marriage, three years later, after which he made his home at Bentley, his second wife having been postmistress at Bentley at that time, though for another year he continued to help his father on the home farm. He then moved onto the Myers farm, in that same neighborhood, continuing, at the same time, to farm the home place, and when his father moved to Connersville moved onto the old home place, which he continued farming for thirteen years. At the end of that time he bought a place of eighty acres a short distance east of the home place, and there made his home until in March, 1915, when he moved to Everton, where he is now living. Mr. Trusler has for years given close attention to local political affairs and in 1900, while living on the farm, was elected trustee of Jackson township, a position he held for four years. In May, 1916, he was elected county truant officer and is now serving in that important public capacity, giving his best attention to the duties of his office.

As noted above, Mr. Trusler has been twice married. He was first united in marriage to Angie Smith, who died about four years after her marriage, leaving a son, Alton G., then about three years of age. About three years later, in 1891, he married Agnes Kingery, who also was born in the old Bentley neighborhood, and who, as noted above, was serving as postmistress of Bentley at the time of her marriage. To this union two children have been born, Ava, who married Dempsey Britton, who is farming the Trusler farm, and has a daughter, Marjorie, and Lelia, who for the past five or six years has been teaching school in this county, two years in the Bentley neighborhood and three years in the schools at Harrisonburg. Mrs. Trusler is a daughter of Michael and Lucy (Webb) Kingery, who came to this county from Ohio and settled in Jackson township, where Michael Kingery engaged in blacksmithing and where he died when his daughter, Agnes, was three months of age. The widow kept the children together until they were grown and after the marriage of her daughter, Agnes, made her home with the Truslers the most of the time until her death, which occurred in July, 1913, she then being eighty-six years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Trusler are members of the Universalist church and take a proper interest in church affairs, as well as in the general good works of the community in which they live. Mr. Trusler is a member of the Everton lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

The late Major John Wesley Ross, an honored veteran of the Civil War, former postmaster of Connersville, former auditor of Fayette county, former revenue collector for the sixth Indiana district, United States internal revenue bureau, and for many- years one of Connersville's best-known and most representative merchants, was born in the neighboring county of Franklin, but had been a resident of Fayette county and of Connersville since the days of his youth. He was born on September 30, 1837, and was but a boy when his parents moved from Franklin county up into Fayette county and here established their home. Here he received his schooling and here he was living when the Civil War broke out. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of the Third Indiana Battery of field artillery and went to the front, serving with that command for two years, at the end of which time he was transferred to the Twenty-third Battery, as a second lieutenant. His promotion to the rank of captain soon followed and during the Atlanta campaign he served with the rank of major on the staff of General Schofield, one of the most highly trusted and efficient members of the staff of that commander. Major Ross was with Sherman on the march to the sea and participated with the army of that commander in the Grand Review at Washington at the close of the war.

Upon the completion of his military service Major Ross returned to Connersville and in the December following was married. A few years later he engaged in the retail grocery business in that city, in partnership with M. C. Buckley, and later was engaged in the same line of business, on Fifth street, in partnership with Norman Morrison. Still later Major Ross became associated with John Lair and later with J. M. Conner, in the hardware business on Central avenue, and with that concern his name was associated until his retirement a few years ago. During the seventies and early eighties Major Ross served under the federal government as collector for the sixth Indiana revenue district and in 1883 was appointed post-master of Connersville, in which office he further served the public for a term of four years.

Some time afterward he again was called to the public service and served for a term as auditor of Fayette county. The Major was an ardent Republican and for many years was looked upon as one of the leaders of that party in this part of the state. In 1896 he was a delegate from this district to the Republican national convention that nominated William McKinley for the Presidency. Active in business as well as in civic affairs, Major Ross was for years one of the most influential merchants in Connersville and during the long period of his commercial activity there did much to promote the advancement of the city's rapidly growing mercantile and industrial interests.

His death occurred on May 9, 1916, and he was widely mourned for his had been a life of wide influence in the community of which he had been a resident since the days of his boyhood.

On December 18, 1865, Major John W. Ross was united in marriage to Sarah M. Hanson, who died on September 13, 1913, and to that union one child was born, a daughter, now living at Indianapolis, wife of Jefferson H. Claypool, a biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume. Major Ross was a Knight Templar Mason, a member of the local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and a member of the Indiana Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, in the affairs of all of which organizations he took a warm and active interest.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

Frank D. Hackleman, a well-known and energetic merchant at Bentonville and trustee of Posey township, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm two miles east of Fairview, in the township of that name, March 27, 1870, son of John W. and Martha A. (Shortridge) Hackleman, the former of whom is still living in Fairview township and a biographical sketch of whom, presented elsewhere in this volume, gives a detailed history of the Hackleman family from the time it first became represented in Indiana in pioneer days. Elsewhere in this volume there also is further and fitting mention of the Shortridge family and it is therefore not necessary to repeat these genealogical details in connection with the story of the life and career of the subject of this sketch.

In the days of his early boyhood Frank D. Hackleman moved with his parents from Fairview to Harrison township and there lived for six or seven years, at the end of which time he returned with the family to Fairview township, his father having bought the farm on which he is now living, and there he grew to manhood. He was married in the fall of the year before he attained his majority and. after that happy event, began farming on his own account, beginning on a farm two miles east of Falmouth where he lived for a couple of years. It the end of that time he moved to Hawkinsville, in Harrison township, where he engaged in farming for another period of two years, after which he moved to a farm two miles north of Falmouth, where he lived five years. He then moved to a farm just west of the place on which he established his home after his marriage and, after five years spent in farming there, in November, 1904, moved to Bentonville, where he since has made his home. Upon locating at Bentonville, Mr. Hackleman bought a blacksmith shop and was engaged in the blacksmithing business there until in the spring of 1912, when he and Charles W. Mason started a hardware store at Bentonville, putting in a general stock of shelf hardware and farming implements. In 1915 they added to this line the local agency for the sale of the Ford automobile. They also carry a line of fence posts and operate a coal yard. Their store is well stocked, carrying a stock larger than that usually found in stores in towns the size of Bentonville and in 1916 did a business aggregating about seventeen thousand dollars. Mr. Hackleman is an ardent Republican and has for years given his earnest attention to local political affairs. In 1914 he was elected trustee of his home township and is now serving in that important public capacity.

On September 16, 1890, Frank D. Hackleman was united in marriage to Mary J. Pattison, who was born in Madison county, this state, a daughter of George and Nancv (Miller) Pattison, the latter of whom was born in Posey township, this county, daughter of John and Cynthia (Manlove) Miller, who came to this county from Pennsylvania in pioneer days. Nancy Miller grew up in Posey township and there married George Pattison, later moving to Madison county and settling near Frankton, where she died when her daughter, Mary, was about two years of age. The latter's father also died there not long afterward and her grandfather, John Miller, brought her to Fayette county and she remained with him on his farm in Posey township until her marriage to Mr. Hackleman. John Miller was one of the real pioneers of Posey township, having settled there before the Indians had all left this part of the country and there both he and his wife spent their last days. He was the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres in section 27 and was long regarded as one of the substantial and influential residents of that part of .the county. Mr. and Mrs. Hackleman are members of the Christian church and take a proper part in church work, as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all movements 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

The Hon. Richard N. Elliott, member of the law firm of McKee, Wiles & Elliott, of Connersville, and former representative in the Indiana state Legislature from this district, is a native son of Fayette county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm in Jackson township on April 25, 1873, son of Charles W. and Eliza A. (Nash) Elliott, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of this county, and the latter of whom is still living at her home in this county.

Charles W. Elliott was born at Brooksville, Kentucky, and was about four years of age when his parents came to Indiana, about 1832, and settled in Jackson township, this county, the senior Elliott there buying a tract of land from the man who entered it from the government. There Charles W. Elliott grew to manhood and became a substantial farmer, owning a farm in Jackson township and one in Columbia township. During the days of the gold excitement in California he started for the new Eldorado, by wav of Panama, but was seized with an attack of yellow fever on the Isthmus and upon his recovery returned home without concluding his quest for gold. In the days preceding and leading up to the Civil War he was a "war Democrat'' and voted for Abraham Lincoln for President, ever afterward being rather independent in his political views. He voted for James G. Blaine for President and died firm in the Republican faith. His parents, John and Rachel (Pigman) Elliott, who came to this county from Kentucky in the early thirties and established their home in Jackson township, spent the rest of their lives there, being counted among the most substantial and influential pioneers of that part of the county. Though John Elliott came to Fayette county a poor man, he died quite wealthy and was long looked upon as one of the most prominent men in the county. He and his wife had eight children who livedl to maturity, Jesse P., Charles W., Elijah, James M., John, Elizabeth, who married Elijah Jamison, and Jane and Adam, who died unmarried.

Charles W. Elliott married Eliza A. Nash, who was born in Fairview township, this county, duagher of Richard and Margaret (Moffett) Nash, natives of Pennsylvania, who became pioneers of this county and here spent the rest of their lives. Richard Nash in his young manhood was a flatboatman on the Ohio river. His father entered a tract of land in Fairview township, this county, which he later owned, and he and his wife died there. They had a good-sized family, their children, besides Mrs. Elliott, having been Mrs. Jane Turner, William G. Nash, Mrs. Sarah Ann Pratt, Isaac T. Nash, John S. Nash and Oliver L. Nash. All four of the sons were soldiers of the Union during the Civil War and the first-named participated in the battle of Gettysburg. Richard Nash was twice married, by his first wife having had a son, Robert Nash. To Charles W. and Eliza A. (Nash) Elliott five children were born, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: Cecile, wife of Walter Sefton, of Connersville; Charles W., who died in 1897, at the age of nineteen years, and two daughters who died in their girlhood. The senior Charles W. Elliott died at his home in Jackson township in 1891, he then being sixty-three years of age, and his widow survives him, she now being seventy-five years of age. She is a member of the Methodist church, as was her husband, and has ever given her earnest attention to the work of the church.

Reared on the paternal farm in Jackson township, Richard N. Elliott received his elementary schooling in the district school in the neighborhood of his home and later taught school for three years, in the meantime continuing to assist with the labors of the home farm, and remained at home until he was twenty-two years of age, when he went to Connersville and entered upon the study of the law in the office of Conner & McIntosh, beginning his studies there in July, 1895. In the following year, 1896, he was admitted to the bar and has ever since been engaged in the practice of his profession at Connersville. For some time Mr. Elliott was in partnership with the late Ira T. Trusler and later, for some time, was in partnership with Frederic I. Barrows. He later formed another partnership, which was maintained under the firm style of McKee, Frost & Elliott until the formation of the present firm, McKee, Wiles & Elliott, with which Mr. Elliott is now connected. Mr. Elliott is a Republican and has long given his most thoughtful attention to the political affairs of his home county and of the state at large. For nine years he served as county attorney of Fayette county and for four years as city attorney of Connersville. In 1904 he was elected representative from this district to the Indiana state Legislature and was re-elected in 1906, thus serving for two terms, during which time he rendered valuable service not only to this district but to the state at large. Mr. Elliott was a member of the Indiana tuberculosis commission and was the author of the bill that, enacted into law, created the Indiana state tuberculosis hospital at Rockville. Mr. Elliott has for years been an active worker in the political field and for some time was chairman of the county Republican committee and chairman of the city Republican committee. He now is a member of the advisory committee of the state Republican committee and in that capacity rendered admirable service during the campaign of 1916. Mr. Elliott was a delegate to the Republican national convention at Chicago in 1916, and has for years been a familiar figure at the district and state conventions of his party.

On January 20, 1898, Richard S. Elliott was united in marriage to Lizzie A. Ostheimer, who was born in Harrison township, this county, daughter of Simon and Mary (Simpkins) Ostheimer, the former a native of Germany and the latter of the state of Ohio. Simon Ostheimer was but a child when he came to this country with his parents and he grew to manhood in this county. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted for service in the Union army and served for about three years. His father, George Ostheimer, also served as a soldier during the war between the states and was killed during a skirmish in Kentucky. George Ostheimer and wife were the parents of seven children, Peter, Mrs. Mary Walters, Simon, Charles, George, Alice and Joseph. Simon Ostheimer became a thrifty farmer in this county and served for four years as county treasurer of Fayette county. He married Mary Simpkins, who was born at Bethel, Ohio, and who came to this county with her parents, and of the children born to that union seven lived to maturity, namely: George A., Mrs. Ella M. VanPelt, Mrs. Hattie G. Barker (deceased), Mrs. Elliott, Laura, Ruby and Quincy. Simon Ostheimer died on April 1, 1906, and his widow is still living.

Mr. and Mrs. Elliott are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take a proper interest in the various beneficences of the same, as well as in the general social activities of the city. Mr. Elliott is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of Warren Lodge No. 15, Free and Accepted Masons; of Maxwell Chapter No. 18, Royal Arch Masons, and of Fayette Council No. 6, Royal and Select Masters. He also is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men and in the affairs of these several organizations takes a warm interest.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917

Scott Thomas, assessor of Fayette county, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a pioneer farm just at the northern edge of the city of Connersville, in Harrison township, November 24, 1831, son of Benjamin and Eliza ( Savage) Thomas, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of Maine, who became pioneers of this county and here spent their last days.

Benjamin Thomas was born at Olean Point, New York, eldest of the four sons born to his parents, the others having been Gilbert, Jesse and Stephen. He grew to manhood there and married Eliza Savage, who was born at Bangor, Maine, shortly afterward coming to Indiana and settling on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Harrison township, this county, which farm is now included in the present limits of the city of Connersville, and there he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1881, he then being eighty-six years of age. Benjamin Thomas was thrice married. His first wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died in 1854, and he later married Francena Reed, upon whose death he married Mrs. Mary Keener. He was the father of eleven children, of whom the subject of this biographical sketch was the tenth in order of birth, the others being as follows: Mrs. Ann Clark, now deceased; Jesse H., deceased; Oliver, who died while serving as a soldier of the Union during the Civil war; Samuel, a veteran of the Civil War, now living at Morocco, this state; Austin, of Harrison township, this county, also a Civil war veteran; Walter, of Logansport; Margaret, wife of Joseph J. Cole, of Connersville; Jane, who married E. R. Carson and is now deceased; Mary E., a1so deceased, who was the wife of John Coss, and Kate, the wife of George Drischell, of Cambridge City, this state.

Scott Thomas was reared on the paternal farm on the northern edge of the city of Connersville and remained there for some years after his marriage, a valualbe assistant to his father in the 1abors of the home place. His earliest schooling was obtained in the old subscription school in the neighborhood of his home, and he later attended the public schools in Connersville and the old Frost school, known locally as "Elephant College." He married in 1879 and for seven years thereafter continued to make his home on the old home place, operating the farm. He then opened an omnibus and transfer line in Connersville and for twenty-two years conducted the same, afterward engaging in the real-estate business in that city and was thus engaged until his election to the office of county assessor in the fall of 1914. He entered upon the duties of that office on January 1, 1915, and is now serving in that important public capacity, one of the most popular public officials in Fayette county. Mr. Thomas is a stanch Republican and for years has been regarded as one of the leaders of that party in this county.

On June 3, 1879, Scott Thomas was united in marriage to Ella Enyart, daughter of Samuel Enyart, and to that union three children were born, Margaret Ethel, who married Louis Wines Bremmerman and lives in Chicago; Guy M., who married Cynthelia Jorns and is in the employ of the Lexington-Howard Automobile Company, and Archie D., an electrician, who lives at home. The mother of these children died at her home in Connersville on September 2, 1915, at the age of fifty-three years. She was a member of the Episcopal church. Mr. Thomas is a Methodist in his religious faith and has ever taken a proper part in the good works of the community.

"History of Fayette Counties, Indiana"
published by B. F. Bowen & Co. Indianapolis, IN 1917