Jacob Ifert was born of German ancestry, near Baltimore, Md., in a little place called Frederickstown, and it is thought his father was a native of Germany. He learned the trade of a blacksmith in Maryland, but when a young man he went to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he lived seven miles from Dayton. There he married Miss Sarah Hetzel, who was born in Pennsylvania, daughter of Jacob Hetzel, and connected with the famous Indian fighter and hunter of that name. For thirty years Mr. Ifert worked in Alexandersville, Montgomery county, and was known as a skilful mechanic, and woodworker. In 1850 he moved with his family to Madison county, Ind., making the trip with wagons in four days. He bought 166 acres of land in Fall Creek township, of which only ten were cleared, and which had a log cabin on it. This he developed into a good farm and became quite well off. During the War of 1812 Mr. Ifert served as a soldier. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but afterward accepted Republican principles, and voted for Lincoln. His children were: William, who served eighteen months in Company B, 89th Ind. V. I., and was honorably discharged at the close of the war; Betsey; Mary; Peter; Emeline; and George W.

George W. Ifert was about thirteen when his father settled in Fall Creek township. He went to the district school in the winter, and worked at clearing the land and farming during the summers. He remained at home until he was twenty-five years of age, and then enlisted at Pendleton, Ind., Sept. 28, 1862, in Company B, 89th Ind. V. I., and served nearly his whole term of three years, being discharged at Mobile, Ala., in July, 1865. Mr. Ifert was in the battles of Munfordville, Ky. LaGrange, La.; Jackson; Mobile; Sheffield Bayou, La.; Pleasant Hill, La.; Fort Scott, Ark.; in the second battle of Franklin, and in the two days fighting at Nashville. He was taken prisoner at Munfordville, with 3,500 other Union men, was paroled the next day, and wandered for a week with no food, except what he could find in the fields. He took part in all the campaigns and marches of his regiment, but was laid up in his quarters for some two months with rheumatism and swamp fever, contracted from exposure. His left leg was so badly disabled by this that he has never recovered its full use.

Mr. Ifert went home after the war and in the following December was married. The next six years were spent on the old Ifert farm, whence he moved to a farm in Vernon township, Hancock county, and from there to his present farm in 1884. His wife inherited twenty acres from her father, and he has improved the place and built a frame house on it. Mrs. Ifert was Miss Mary A. Wynn in her maidenhood, and was married to Mr. Ifert in Vernon township, Hancock county, Dec. 21, 1865. She was the daughter of Joseph and Miriam (Jarrett) Wynn. The children born to this union are: Mary A., who married William A. Wiseman, a lumber man in Vernon township, and has a son, Glenn; and Charles L., residing on the home farm, who married Miss Ida Wells, and has a son Paul. Mr. Ifert is a member of the Sol D. Kempton Post, G. A. R., and is past commander. In politics he is a Republican, and has been from the early days of the party, and voted for Lincoln for his first term. He is a well known and much esteemed citizen, and is somewhat prominent in local affairs. He held the office of supervisor for two terms.

On April 10, 1901, Mr. Ifert met with a great loss in the death of his faithful wife. She had been a help in every sense and a good wife to him, and was much liked in the community, where her death was deeply lamented. She and Mr. Ifert both belonged to the Christian Church.

EZRA ILER is a respected citizen of Anderson, Ind., and a veteran of the great Civil war, and is of sturdy German stock.

John Iler, his grandfather, was a native of Germany, who came to America. He took part in the War of 1812, and was a participant in the battle of Bladensburg. He married Mary J. Fogle, in Maryland, and they both died near Woodsboro, that State, where Mr. Iler had followed distilling. They had children: Conrad, Jacob, Joseph, John, Julia and Mariah.

John Iler (2), son of John, was born Nov. 6, 1806, in Frederick county, Md., and there he received a common school education and followed shoemaking. When a young man he went to Ohio and married Elizabeth Bantz, born in Frederick county, Md., daughter of John and Elizabeth Bantz. John Bantz was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was a weaver by trade, and at an early day removed to Ohio as a pioneer, settling in Preble county, where he cleared up 140 acres of land from the heavy timber. Elizabeth, when a girl of fourteen years of age, was a witness of the battle of Bladensburg. John Iler and wife were members of the Lutheran Church. In his political opinions Mr. Iler was a stanch Democrat. He and his wife were typical Ohio pioneers, and were highly respected in their community, where Mr. Iler died aged sixty-six years, Mrs. Iler surviving him some time, and dying aged eighty-eight years. Their children were: Joshua, John, Ezra, Gideon and Henry.

Ezra Iler, son of John and Elizabeth, was born Jan. 23, 1836, on the old homestead in Preble county, Ohio. He was brought up on the homestead, and received the usual pioneer education, most of his book knowledge being acquired at home. In June, 1862, at the age of twenty-six years, he enlisted, in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a private in Capt. Koontz’s Company G, 81st 0. V. I., to serve three years or during the war. On June 20, 1879, Mr. Iler was married at Noblesville, to Adelia Kaufman, born Sept. 25, 1838, in Berks county, Pa., daughter of Valentine and Catherine (Wagner) Kaufman. Mrs. Iler was brought by her parents to Wayne county, Ind., in 1840. Valentine Kaufman was born in Berks county, Pa., of German descent, and settled as a pioneer in Wayne county, where he ran a potter’s shop for manufacturing earthenware, which latter was his trade. He was a respected citizen and died on his farm in Wayne county, at a ripe old age. His children who lived to mature years were: Jacob, Joseph, Valentine, Sophia, Adelia, Hannah and Mary.

Ezra Iler and his wife, after marriage, settled on the farm in Wayne county, where they lived twelve years, afterward removing to Madison county, and buying land in LaFayette township. Here they remained fourteen years, and in 1890 located in Anderson, where Mr. Iler was engaged in the tin plate works for eight years, since which time he has been engaged in carpenter work. He learned this trade when he was young, when all of the timber had to be hewed out by hand, with a broad-ax, and he became an adept in hewing to the line. He has followed carpentry at different times all of his life, and in his day has built many barns in this section and throughout the county.

Mr. and Mrs. Iler are the parents of these children: Frank, Ada M. and Alice. They are all members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Iler belongs to Major May Post, G. A. R., Anderson. He is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., of Anderson, having joined that order at Centreville, Wayne county, over thirty years ago, and in which he has filled all the chairs. He has represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the State, of which he is a member. In his political opinions he is a stanch Jeffersonian Democrat, while on local issues he is independent of party ties.

Mr. Iler has always been an industrious man of reliable character. When his country needed his services as a soldier, he responded to the call promptly, and always served faithfully, efficiently and cheerfully, and it is safe to say that he has been as good a citizen in the day of peace as he was a defender of his country in the time of war. He is highly respected and esteemed throughout Madison county.

APOLLO S. INGLING, a member of a pioneer family of Indiana, a notary public at Bridgeport, was born in New Jersey, Oct. 3, 1842, and was reared and educated mostly in Marion county. His education has been mainly acquired by his own exertions.

Tent Ingling, great-grandfather of Apollo S., was a native of France, as was also his wife Mary. They came to this country, settling in New Jersey, and there died after a long and useful lives. Mr. Ingling was a natural mechanic, and worked at several different lines of mechanical labor. His children were: John, Tent (Jr.), Thomas, Jacob, Mrs. Sarah Inman, Mrs. Nancy White and Mrs. Frazier.

Jacob Ingling, son of Tent and Mary, was born and reared in New Jersey, in which State he passed a long life and died. His career was that of an honorable and upright farmer. He married Rachel Taylor, who was born in New Jersey, of an old family of English descent, and the children of this union were: Jacob, Jr., whose whereabouts are not known; Mrs. Lydia English; Mrs. Rachel Hadley; and Thomas W., father of Apollo S. For his second wife Jacob Ingling married Jane Green, who bore him one son, George, of Ohio.

Thomas W. Ingling, son of Jacob, was born in Burlington county, New Jersey, June 4, 1819. He grew to manhood and in his native State married Sarah Hughes, a native of New Jersey, who died in January, 1897, in the faith of the Methodist Church. Mr. Ingling married (second) Mrs. Malinda A. (Cravens) Turner, whose first husband was F. Reed, and her second, J. J. Turner. She was born in North Carolina, but had accompanied her parents to Butler county, Ohio, at an early day. For many years she had lived in this part of Indiana; her brothers and sisters were: Wesley (of North Carolina), Jesse, Jerry, W. Reese and Emaline (wife of a Mr. Hoffman). By his first marriage Thomas Ingling had children: Apollo S.; Jacob, a farmer and railroad agent in Illinois, who enlisted for service in the Civil war, and was sent home sick, but upon recovery re-enlisted; Anna, who died aged sixteen; John, a merchant at Bridgeport; Adeline, who married a Mr. Spear, and lives in Illinois; and Sarah, wife of a Mr. Alberson, a nursery man of Indiana. Mrs. Malinda Ingling is a member of the Baptist Church.

Thomas Ingling’s mother died when he was only three years of age, and he lived with relatives until his father’s second marriage, when he was called home. Shortly after his second marriage his father was accidentally drowned, and the young lad was again without a home, until he found a good home with a farmer named English. This was a good man, a friend of the young orphan, and kept him with him until he was twenty years of age. At that age he struck out for himself, and while he was possessed of considerable mechanical skill he preferred farming, and to it very largely gave his attention. In March, 1854, he came to Indiana, and located near Bridgeport on a rented farm. Until the present time he has made this section of the county his home. In a short time he bought a farm for himself, and devoted himself to farming and stock raising. In 1867 he went into a general store at Bridgeport, which he carried on successfully for twenty-one years, with very satisfactory results. At the same time he was also carrying on his farm, and conducting a meat market. In 1892 Mr. Ingling retired from the store, but still remains on the old homestead, and his son John has taken his place in mercantile affairs. Mr. Ingling has been very successful in his work, and has made his way to a most creditable position by unwearied industry and strong integrity. In 184o he cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison. For some years he was a Democrat, but finally became a Republican, and has filled at different times several minor township offices.

Mrs. Sarah (Hughes) Ingling, first wife of Thomas, was a daughter of John Hughes, who was born on the high sea, while his parents were coming to the United States. They settled in New Jersey, where John was reared to manhood. His father was a Tory during the Revolution, but maintained the respect of the community despite their political variations. On reaching mature years John Hughes became a brick mason and contractor, and met with much success. His children were as follows: David, who died in New Jersey; Eliza; John, who died in New Jersey; Sarah, the mother of Apollo S. Ingling; Hannah, who married Mr. Hanes; Priscilla, who died single.

Apollo S. Ingling followed the successive removals of his parents to Ohio, then to Illinois, and returning, again to Ohio, finally locating near Bridgeport, where his life has since passed. Until he reached the age of eighteen years he remained under the parental roof. In 1861 he enlisted in Company B, 11th Ind.V. I., under Col. Lew Wallace. The regiment served under Gen. Grant, and began its historic career at Paducah, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. It was later engaged at Shiloh, and in the campaign around Vicksburg. Moving down the Mississippi it was attached to the army under Gen. Banks, where it was furloughed for thirty days. When the leave of absence had expired the regiment was sent to the Shenandoah Valley, where it came under the command of Gen. Sheridan. It fought at Halltown, Winchester, Cedar Creek, and Fishers Hill, and was then assigued to garrison duty at Baltimore. While there Mr. Ingling was one of a band of forty soldiers who volunteered to rescue the crew of a sinking ship, the feat being successfully accomplished without the loss of a man. The regiment remained at Baltimore until the close of the Rebellion. Mr. Ingling passed through much hard service and experienced all the deprivations of the tented field, but was never wounded and never captured, though he had some narrow and thrilling escapes. He was mustered out at Baltimore, and returned to Indianapolis, where he was honorably discharged in August, 1865.

Mr. Ingling resumed farming, and in the fall of 1866 was married and settled down on the farm, where he remained until 1897. That year he retired to live in Bridgeport, where he is found today. In his active years he was a general farmer and stock raiser, being quite successful in all his enterprises and accumulating a handsome fortune. For some years he did quite a business for a fence company, and was long prominently identified with the activities of this section of the county. For six years he filled the office of justice of the peace, and is now notary public, doing the most of the legal business of Bridgeport and vicinity.

Mr. Ingling was married in 1866 to Miss Elizabeth Milhouse, who was born May 28, 1843, daughter of Thomas and Emily (Burnett) Milhouse, long residents of Indiana. Thomas Milhouse was born in North Carolina, and his wife in Indiana. Both families were members of the Society of Friends. The Milhouse children were as follows: John and David, farmers; Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Ingling; Mary A., who died young; and Dinah, who married Mr. Wilburn. Mr. and Mrs. Ingling had one child, Emma S., who was born Aug. 11, 1891. The wife and mother died May 16, 1892, in the faith of the Methodist Church, to which Mr. Ingling also belongs. He is a member of W. T. Sherman Post, No. 455, G. A. R., and is a highly respected and active member of the Order.

O. H. JACKSON. Few master mechanics have had a wider or more varied experience in their line than this one, now in charge of the works at the Indianapolis Union railroad shops. During his forty or more years service he has at different times been connected with many of the greatest lines in the country, including the Buffalo & Lake Erie, now the Lake Shore; the Atlantic & Great Western; the Big Four; the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix; and many others, his territory extending from the East to the far West. Mr. Jackson was born in Shelby, Richland Co., Ohio, Sept. 16, 1845, and is of Scotch-Irish descent.

His grandfather Jackson was born in the northern part of Ireland, and there received good rearing. At an early date he came to America, and settled in Pennsylvania, where he made a good home for himself and family, and where he died. By his marriage there were seven children, all of whom he reared in Pennsylvania: George, captain of a large schooner on Lake Erie, died of consumption at Sandusky, Ohio, leaving a wife and two sons; James M.; Sally, married a Mr. Pennington; Hannah married a Mr. Hitchcock; one daughter lived near Philadelphia; and Jane and Amanda settled in Ohio.

James M. Jackson, father of O. H., for many years a prominent railroad conductor, was in the service of the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company for nearly thirty years. He was reared to manhood in the Pennsylvania home, and upon reaching manhood married Amelia B. Hughes, who was born in Pennsylvania, daughter of Owen Hughes. Owen Hughes, when a young man, came from Wales, and settled in Pennsylvania, and there became a prominent and enterprising farmer; he died in Sandusky, Ohio, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Jackson. By his marriage there were seven children: Abram, Isaac, Sophia, Rachel, Ann, Amelia B. and Mary, all of whom except Amelia B. and Mary remained in Pennsylvania. Mary came West with her sister, Mrs. Jackson, and married a Mr. Reese, and is now living at Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Hughes belonged to the Methodist Church, and in that faith reared his children. Mrs. Jackson died in 1866. Eight children were born to her and Mr. Jackson: Frances, who married Dr. H. Grothe; O. H., mentioned below; Mary, who married E. Taylor; McDowell, who served in the Civil war, and is now living at the Soldiers’ Home, at Bath, N. Y.; Sally, who married H. Montgomery; Harry, who is now a machinist at Swayzee, Ind.; George, a machinist for the Garr, Scott & Co., at Richmond, Ind., having been in their employ for nearly forty years; and Millie, who married James Taylor, of Chicago.

Mr. Jackson owned and cultivated land, underlaid with anthracite coal, in Pennsylvania. The reports of excellent openings in the Middle West, however, decided him to change his location, and, selling his coal land for ten dollars an acre — now worth many times that sum — he drove across the country with his family and household effects, to Richland county, Ohio, where he purchased a tract of new land, and began making improvements. He erected a cabin home, and cleared up a good farm. He had learned the carpenters trade, and had worked at it in Pennsylvania, and after his removal to Ohio, he again followed it to some extent while on his farm. In 1852 he sold the farm and moved to Sandusky, Ohio, where he was employed in the bridge building department of a railroad for a year, at the end of that time securing a position as conductor for the Mad River & Lake Erie Railroad, the first railroad in Ohio. Proving a highly competent man, he retained his place for twenty-nine years. He died in Sandusky, in 1886. Mr. Jackson was a man of irreproachable character, dignified, decisive, and energetic, eminently qualified for the position he so long and ably filled. He made firm friends and was widely known in his State. Personally he was a large framed, vigorous man and possessed of a great capacity for work. His wife was a leading member of the Methodist Church, and in that faith reared her children.

O. H. Jackson passed the earliest years of his life upon the Ohio farm, and was about seven years old when they moved to Sandusky. In the public schools of that city he received a liberal education, and in 1859, when about fourteen years old, he was apprenticed to learn the machinist’s trade in the shops of the Mad River Railroad. After two years he was thoroughly competent to fill the position of machinist in almost any place. During the year 1861 he worked as such in the Wabash shops at Fort Wayne, and in February, 1862, he took a similar position in the Buffalo & Erie shops, now the Lake Shore, at Buffalo. A year later he entered the Erie shops at that place, and from 1863 to 1865 he acted as agent for Casson & Co., contractors of specialties in railroad boilers and locomotives, who furnished goods to the government to fit the different gauges of roads, etc. While in this company’s employ he was stationed at Indianapolis, taking his place there in 1864, where he had charge of two hundred and fifty-three government locomotives, and about four thousand freight cars, in addition to attending to messengers and receiving goods at Jeffersonville, Ind. The position was a most responsible one, but possessed of a large capacity for directing affairs he filled it to the entire satisfaction of his employers, and remained in their service until the close of the war, in 1865, when he returned to his former position as machinist at the Erie shops at Buffalo, N. Y. After three years he was recommended by his master mechanic to the president of the Farmers’ Railroad, who sent him to Oil City, where he had charge of that road for two years until it became a part of the Pennsylvania system. For the next few years he passed a varied career, acting as engineer on the Louisville & Nashville line for one year; as foreman of two divisions on the J. M. & I. — one from Columbus, Ind., to Cambridge City, and the other from Columbus to Madison — for the next year; then as a participant in the strike of 1873; and finally as an employee of the St. L. & S. E. R. R. Co., until 1875, when, finding it impossible to procure his pay, he resigned. Going to Meadville, Pa., he secured a place as engineer on the Atlantic & Great Western R. R., making his run from Salamanca, N. Y., to Kendallville, Ind., remaining nine years, and was then, in 1883, made foreman of the Gallion railroad shops owned by the same company. After one year’s service the road changed hands, and in 1884 he again began working as engineer, filling a position on the Ohio & Mississippi line. After eleven months he took a position with the same company, as master mechanic, and as such he continued for about five years. Then, in 1890, he secured a similar position with the I. B. & W. R. R., being stationed at Urbana, Ill., and when a year later the road became part of the Big Four system, he was made division master at Brightwood, where he remained until 1895. Hoping to better his prospects in the West, he then resigned, and, going to Prescott, Ariz., he took a position as master mechanic of the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoenix shops, at that place, and there remained for about four years. In 1899 he resigned to accept a similar position at Indianapolis, for the Indianapolis Union Railroad, which position he has since filled with his usual ability and fidelity. As an engineer he has met with but few accidents, the severest one having been in the wreck on the J. M. & I. line, when the engine was overturned, not, however, through his unwariness. He has always kept himself well posted upon engineering and everything pertaining to his line of work, and as a machinist is both progressive and practical. He has devoted his life almost exclusively to his special line of work, giving but little attention to other affairs. Some years ago he purchased a pleasant residence in Indianapolis, where he now lives in the enjoyment of his family.

At Indianapolis, in 1864, Mr. Jackson married Alaphine Hoagland, who was born in Paris, Ill., in 1848, and of this union there have been four children: James W., who is now engaged in the insurance business; Jessie, who married George Pettinger, a locomotive engineer, who died at his post, leaving two children —Charles and George; Reuben O., who is clerking for Arthur Jordan & Co.; and George, a stenographer and typewriter for the Car Association of Indianapolis. Mr. Jackson is a man of many attainments and broad culture, and commands the respect of all who know him. Fraternally he stands high, being a Royal Arch Mason, and a prominent member of the R. A. His wife and children are highly respected members of the Presbyterian Church.

Jacob Hoagland, father of Mrs. Jackson, a successful agriculturist and business man, passed many years of his life in Ohio, residing upon a farm in Hamilton county, near Cincinnati. Later he moved to Illinois, and after some years closed out his business there and in 1862 leased a farm in Marion county, Ind., where he engaged in farming for some years. During this period he also speculated profitably in real estate. His wife, Alaphine, whom he married in Ohio, died in Indiana. Of this union there were three children: Mary L., who married S. Lilly; Alaphine, who is mentioned above; and Herman, who died in 1900, leaving a wife, but no children.

THOMAS WILLIAM JACKSON. Shelby county is a fertile section of Indiana especially fitted for farming purposes, and one of the men to take advantage of this fact and profit by it is Thomas William Jackson, of Addison township, who was born in that township, on the Jackson homestead, Jan. 3, 1848, son of William and Sarah (Richart) Jackson.

The paternal grandfather, Andrew Jackson, was born in Maryland in 1754. He was a soldier in the Revolution, and settled in Franklin county, Ind., in 1816, and died there. He was a son of Thomas Jackson, who in 1766 was killed in Maryland while planting corn. The maternal grandfather of Thomas W. Jackson, was Andrew Richart, who died in Kentucky. He married Phebe LeMaster, who after her husband’s death came with her children and settled in Shelby county in 1824.

William Jackson, son of Andrew and father of Thomas William, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, Dec. 22, 1806, and removed with his parents to Franklin county Ind., in 1816. In 1837 he settled in Addison township, Shelby county, clearing off and improving the farm now occupied by his son, Thomas W., and there he died Feb. 16, 1885, his latter days being spent in the enjoyment of the competency won by years of hard work and economy. For two terms he served the township as trustee, and he was a man who could trust and be trusted. Mr. Jackson was twice married, his first wife being Mary Stafford, and his second, Sarah Richart, who was born March 22, 1809, in Bath county, Ky., and both were excellent women.

Thomas William Jackson grew up on the old homestead, which has always been his home, and to which he is greatly attached. He was educated in the common schools, and for seven years was a successful school teacher, although he has always been engaged in farming.

On April 20, 1873, Mr. Jackson married Martha M., daughter of Harrison and Eliza (Henry) Harrell, of Harrison, Ohio. Six children have been born to this marriage: Emma J., Grace, Edna (wife of Fred Gordon), William, Miles and Thomas. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Christian Church, and takes an active part in its good work, in addition to giving it his generous support. In politics he is a Democrat, and takes an important part in local affairs, having served as county commissioner from 1900 to 1904, in the latter year having been reelected. For a year he has been justice of the peace and is giving marked satisfaction to all who have occasion to call upon him in this office.