A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 46

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474

USA > Indiana > Randolph County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 46
USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 46

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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O RLANDO H. SWAIN, the popular ex- sheriff and one of the prominent and most faithful officials of Delaware county, was born in Wayne county, Ind., January 27, 1835, a son of Job and Nancy (Hodge) Swain. The father was born in east Tennessee, January 20, 1806, removed to In- diana with his parents in an early day, and married in Muncie, in 1828, Miss Nancy Hodge, who was born in Beaver county, Pa., on the 3d day of May, 1803. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Swain located in Muncie, where they resided for three years, removing at the end of that time to Wayne county, which was their home until 1835. In that year Mr. Swain returned to Muncie, and for several years thereafter was engaged in the mercantile business. He became a prominent man of the city, served as justice of the peace for many years, and was also mayor for a num- ber of terms. Originally, he was a whig in his political belief, and at the birth of the republi- can party became firm in his adherence to its principles until his death, which occurred April 29, 1877; his wife preceded him to the grave, departing this life in the year 1858. By his first marriage he became the father of seven children, of whom Orlando H. Swain was the third in order of birth. Both Mr. Swain and his first wife were people of deep religious feel- ing, and, as faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, did much toward arousing and keeping alive a religious interest wherever they resided. After the latter's death, Mr. Swain married Mrs. Emily Shafer, who bore him one child. Fraternally Mr. Swain was identified with the Odd Fellows, in which order he took an active part, and in the counsels of which he was ever an earnest and potent factor.

While still an infant of a few months, Or- lando H. Swain was brought to Muncie by his parents, the removal taking place in May,

1835, and he therefore regards the city of his residence with as much affection as if it were the place of his nativity. The educational advantages offered by the schools of that period were his, and after completing his course in the same, he learned the tinner's trade, in which he became quite proficient and which he followed for a period of nine years in Muncie. At the outbreak of the civil war his sympathies at once prompted him to tender his services to his country, accordingly, in July, 1862, he enlisted in company D, Eighty-fourth Indiana volunteer infantry, with which he served gallantry until the cessation of hostilities, retiring from the army with the rank of second lieutenant. During his term of service he shared the vicissitudes and for- tunes of war in a number of hard fought bat- tles, including Chickamauga, the Atlanta cam- paign, Franklin, Nashville, and many other engagements, and thereby earned a reputation of which any brave soldier might feel de- servedly proud. His first commanding officer was Gen. Sherman. Later he was under Gen. Thomas, and his regiment passed through the many fiery ordeals rendered famous in the annals of our country's history by the superior leadership of those two brave and intrepid commanders.

At the close of the war, Mr. Swain re- turned home and engaged in the draying and transfer business until 1869, when he was elected to the office of sheriff of Delaware county, which position he acceptably filled for two terms, or four years. At the expiration of his second term of office he resumed the business of draying, and later received the ap- pointment of deputy marshal of Muncie, the duties of which he discharged very acceptably for a period of nine years. His great personal popularity was again attested by his re-election as sheriff of the county in 1889, and during his third term conducted the affairs of the

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office with credit to himself and in a manner highly satisfactory to the people of the county. In addition to the above mentioned offices Mr. Swain filled the position of city assessor for two years, and also served as member of the city council for the same length of time, hav- ing taken an active part in the deliberations of that body during his incumbency. Politically Mr. Swain is a republican, and as such has been prominent in the councils of his party in Delaware county. Various secret organiza- tions of Muncie find in him a prominent mem- ber and liberal patron, as he is connected with Delaware lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Muncie chapter; is a charter member of Welcome lodge, K. of P .; belongs to DeEmber tribe, No. 30, I. O. R. M., and alsc to Williams post, No. 78, G. A. R. He is a member of the Citizens Enterprise company of Muncie, and has done much toward promoting the material welfare of the city. Mr. Swain was married March 1, 1859, to Miss Clara R. Lenon, daughter of Daniel and Sophia Lenon, of Miami county, Ohio, to which union two children have been born: Mary A., wife of William Russay of Muncie, and Winnie E. Swain. Mr. and Mrs. Swain are members of the Universalist church, being active members in the Muncie congregation.

a HARLES W. MOORE .- The sub- ject of this sketch was born near Portsmouth, Ohio. His parents sold their farm in the beautiful Scioto bottoms near that city in the fall of 1830, at which time they moved in a wagon to Dela- ware county, Ind. He was one of thirteen children, eleven of whom were born in Ohio. His parents entered the land owned by James Boyce, three miles ea:t of Muncie. This was a pioneer family. Then they had but two

near neighbors; Lewis Moore and George Tru- itt. The family consisted of William J., Phillip, Levi, John S., Charles M., Joseph, Milton, Enos, Cynthia and Jemima. Cynthia was the the wife of Jacob Calvert, and Jemima that of James E. Wilcoxon. Said William, Levi, John, Milton and Cynthia are now dead. John S., and Milton both died unmarried. Our subject received the benefit of the com- mon schools of those days but little, and that little only in the winter. His parents did not live long to enjoy the blessings of a useful life, but they had brought the religion of their forefathers with them, and practiced it in the wilds of their new home. The mother was transferred from the rude temporal church of the frontier to that eternal church above in the autumn of 1838, and the father followed to the church triumphant in the spring of 1840. Charles W. was fourteen years of age when his father died, but he found a home with his brother William until he reached his majority in 1847. He then attended the old seminary in Muncie under the superintendency of Profs. J. S. Ferris and R B. Abbott. In the fall of 1850 he entered the sophomore class in Asbury university, graduating at the head of his class in the summer of 1853. In the fall of that year, he was elected professor of mathematics at the Wesleyan Female col- lege at Cincinnati, Ohio. After teaching there and in Muncie, Ind., for a good many year, he studied law and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession at Muncie about the year 1860. He has ever since enjoyed a suc- cessful practice. He was first married in December, 1855, to Sarah E., eldest daughter of Rev. G. M. Beswick, of Greencastle, Ind. One daughter was born tothem, which died in infancy. After his wife's death, in 1857, he remained single till the fall of 1861, four years and two months, when he was married to Clara J., second daughter of Samuel P. Wil-

Frances W. Jempler.

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son, an old and respected citizen of Muncie, and who was the father of Mrs. Mary E., widow of tbe late John W. Burson. Two children were born of this marriage: Charles E. and Mary E. Charles E. was for many years bookkeeper and teller of the Muncie National bank, and its successor, the Burson bank, and the Delaware County bank, all of Muncie. He is now the secretary and treas- urer of the Patterson Glass company, located at West Muncie, in which he is a stockholder. Mary E., long a faithful and efficient teach- er in the Muncie public schools, is now the wife of William R. Youse, of the firm of Youse & Haffner, carpet and paper dealers of Muncie, Ind. Charles W. Moore is pre-emi- nently one of the self made men of our times, having practically worked his way through college by teaching, and finally receiving the degree of A. B., and later that of A. M., from his alma mater. He is withal a modest, un- assuming man, and is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, also, with the I. O. O. F. and Knight Templar lodges of this city, and he has the satisfaction in his decling years of seeing all his family consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal or some other church.

He is a descendant of a long line of hardy, industrious christian ancestry. His father, John Moore, was married in Ohio, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He followed the vocation of a farmer, and as an illustration of this distinctive trait in his character, he never sued a person, neither was he ever sued in his life. His word was as good as his bond.

J AMES N. TEMPLER, lawyer, of Mun- cie, was born near Xenia, Ohio, Febru- ary 8, 1836, and is the eldest son in a family of eight children of George W. and Hannah S. (Medsker) Templer. His an- |

cestors emigrated from England in 1685, set- tling in Loudoun and Prince William counties, Va., where, and in England, representatives of the family yet remain. The original name was Temple, and the final "r" was affixed about the year 1750, by the Virginian branch. They were industrious, enterprising people, at once became planters, and most of their de- scendants have engaged in agriculture. In 1838 George W. removed to Jay county, Ind., and pre-empted some wild land. The region was an unbroken wilderness, and the clearing of the farm continued until 1843. Then the father was elected to a county office, and re- moved to Portland, where he and most of his family yet reside. Mr. Templer acquired a fair education at Liber college, and at eighteen began the study of law, under the instruction of Judge Jacob M. Haynes, of Portland. By teaching school at intervals he was able to con- tinue his studies, and in April, 1857, was ad- mitted to the bar. He opened an office in Portland, but soon afterward formed an equal partnership with Hon. John P. C. Shanks, then a leading lawyer. He remained in that con- nection for ten years, enjoying an extensive and lucrative practice. In 1861 Mr. Templer was elected prosecuting attorney of the Thirteenth judicial circuit, and held the office three con- secutive terms of two years each, seldom fail- ing to sustain his cases, and never having a judgment reversed by the supreme court be- cause of errors or inefficiency on his part. His successes were usually the result of hotly con- tested trials, of which the opposing counsel were the ablest criminal lawyers of the state. In 1871 he removed to Muncie, and, with Ralph S. Gregory, formed the successful law firm of Templer & Gregory, which was long in the front rank of the bar. This law firm con- tinued until in November, 1880, at which time Mr. Templer removed, with his family, to Colorado, and the firm ceased to operate

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as such at that time. This removal was for the purpose of regaining his lost health. He resided in Colorado, actively practising his profession in the state and federal courts of that state until January, 1885, when he return- ed to Muncie again, becoming a partner of John F. Sanders, now deceased, the firm being Templer & Sanders. This firm continued until January 1, 1888, when it was dissolved on account of the failing health of Mr. Sand- ers. From that time Mr. Templer practiced his profession alone until the last of January, 1892, when he associated with him his son, Edward R. Templer, a young lawyer of promise, and the firm then became Jas. N. Templer & Son, and is still in existence. In 1868, Mr. Templer was nominated for contin- gent presidential elector the Eleventh district, in which he then lived, and made a canvass of the same that contributed not a little in giving the electoral vote of Indiana to Gen. Grant. In 1876 he was again put in nomination for presidential elector for the Sixth district, of which he also made a thorough canvass, and secured thereby a majority of about 2,000 in the district; but, as the result is determined by the entire vote of the state, his opponent was elected. Mr. Templer was a democrat until 1861, when, following the example of such democratic statesman as Stephen A. Douglas, he took strong grounds against the asserted right of a state to secede, and in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war for the sup- pression of the rebellion and the preservation of the Union. This course identified him with the republican party, with which he is still connected. He has taken an active part in every political campaign, in conventions, on the stump, and with the pen; though he has not sought office, nor held any, except that of prosecuting attorney, above mentioned. He has declined to be a candidate for congress, although often solicited to serve. Mr. Templer

fosters educational interests to the extent of his ability, and favors a system of compulsory instruction. He is not identified with any church, but is friendly to all churches; a firm believer in the orthodox doctrine of christianity as taught in the New Testament, and violently opposed to sectarianism, he desires the union of all the churches. A selfish indifference to the public good has no place in his nature, and schools, religious institutions, and all move- ments looking to the advancement of the city, county, or state, receive his cordial support. He has long been connected with the Masonic fraternity, has been high priest of the chapter, and now is a Knight Templar. In Odd Fel- lowship he is a member of the encampment. His name is also enrolled on the records of the Improved Order of Red Men, the Knights of Pythias, and the Murphy Temperance club. Mr. Templer married, October 4, 1857, Ann, eldest daughter of John J. and Mary A. Adair. They have had five children, three of whom are living: Edward Rutledge; Florence, wife of Lorenzo D. Thomas, United States express agent at Muncie; and Emma, wife of Thomas J. Slinger, of Muncie, a portrait painter of much ability. Mrs. Templer died in the spring of 1874, of consumption. Mr. Temp- ler was again married July 9, 1876, his second wife being Mrs. Susan Kilgore, widow of the late Hon. Alfred Kilgore. James N. Templer is the peer of his fellows as an advocate, and has few equals and no superiors in the prepar- ation and management of cases. As a writer he is terse, racy and fluent; and, as a speaker, clear and concise in statement, logical and convincing in argument, rising at times to im- passioned eloquence. He is all this from natural endowments and self culture, and has attained his present position solely through the impelling force of his own genius. He possesses not only those powers that render men efficient in the court and political arena, but

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also those gentler traits that mark refined so- cial intercourse. In all his daily affairs he manifests a generous regard for others, and a strict allegiance to principles of honesty and honor, and no man in Delaware county more fully merits and commands the hearty good will of the people.

Edward Rutledge Templer, son of James N. and Mary Ann (Adair) Templer, was born in Muncie, Ind., December 11, 1859. He began the study of the law under his father in 1886, was admitted to the bar in 1890, and became a partner with his father January 1, 1892. His marriage took place, in 1883, to Miss Addie Givens, a native of Muncie and daughter of Adison and Rose (Bonner) Givens, and the union has been blessed with the birth of one child-James N., Jr. Mrs. Addie Templer is a member of the First Christian church, and Mr. Templer is a Knight of Pythias and a re- publican.

a LAYTON B. TEMPLER is one of the prominent and rising members of the bar in Delaware county, Ind. He was born in Jay county, near Portland, June 10, 1850, and is a son of George W. and Harriet S. (Medsker) Templer, natives of Virginia and of Ohio, respectively. The parents were among the early pioneers of Jay county, where they entered a tract of land and where the father became a man of influ- ence and local prominence. He was a stanch democrat, was a recognized leader of his party, served his county as justice of the peace, county recorder, county treasurer, county com- missioner, and in other positions of confidence and trust. He was, also, a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, and at his death, in 1882, the Methodist church lost one of its most devoted and consistent members. Clay-

ton B. Templer is the seventh child in the family of eight born to his parents. His ele- mentary education was received in the town- ship schools, and at the age of sixteen he was sufficiently advanced to secure entrance to the Ridgeville college, in which institution he pur- sued the higher branches of learning with flat- tering success. His early ambition was to be- come a member of the legal profession, and, with this object in view, he early began the reading of Coke and Blackstone, with his brother, James N. Templer, in Portland, and on locating in Muncie, in 1872, he entered the office of Templer & Gregory, and the same year was admitted to the bar, since which time he has practiced in this city. He was asso- ciated with Thomas J. Blount, until the cloud- ing of the latter's mind made a dissolution necessary. Politically he is a republican, and uses his influence ever in favor of the princi- ples of that party. As above stated, Mr. Templer practices principally in the city, where his business is very extensive and lucra- tive. He has been identified with many im- portant cases, prominent among which was the prosecution of James A. Woods, the attendant of his former partner, Thomas J. Blount, Jan- uary 13, 1891, which lasted eleven days and ended in convicting him of murder and caus- ing him to be sent to the Northern Indiana penitentiary at Michigan City for twenty-one years. Mr. Templer was married in February, 1878, to Miss Clara J. Ireland, daughter of A. C. Ireland, of Delaware county. As a lawyer Mr. Templer is well grounded in the principles of his profession, and the high character he has sttained as a practitioner is sufficiently at- tested by the large business which has come to him and which under his skillful management is continually increasing. He is one of the leading spirits of the Muncie bar, and his su- perior legal talents have gained for him much more than a local reputation, his services being

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in demand in important cases in different coun- ties of the state.

J OHN MILTON THOMAS, the popu- lar liveryman of Muncie, was born in Miami county, Ohio, October 13, 1828, and is a son of Price and Ann (Bobo) Thomas, who were among the earliest pioneers of Delaware county, Ind., having come to the county when the son, John M., was but seven years of age. The parents, with their three children, settled ten miles north of Granville, and first lived in a log house without a floor, and with a stick-and-clay chimney that filled one end of the cabin, and for fuel they hauled back logs with an old blind horse. There was no school house in reach for the first three months, and when the old style log building, with puncheon seats and floor, was erected, it was of no avail to John, who loved horses bet- ter than books. At about twelve years of age, he began to "swap" horses, as his father had done, and eventually went to Carlisle, Ohio, and engaged to work in the stable of I. N. Cory, and while there he learned to read, write and cipher. He led and drove horses over the mountains and also to Detroit four times, and, after four years' service with Mr. Cory, came to Muncie, and went to work in a hotel kept by old Joe Davis, at the point where the Patterson block now is-blacking boots and making himself generally useful for about a year. He next drove stage from Muncie to Chesterfield, Pendleton and Indian- apolis, carrying the mail about a year-down one day and back the next-and then the railroad came through.

At the age of twenty-two, at Granville, he married Mary Ann Timmons, by whom he became the father of eight children, viz: Will- iam, a traveling agent for the flouring mill at Milton, Ind .; Lorenzo, agent of the United

States Express company at Muncie; Nellie, clerk in S. C. Cowan's Boston store, Muncie, and five deceased.

While at Granville, Mr. Thomas kept a general store, but continued to trade in horses until he came to remain in Muncie, just forty years ago. During the whole of this time, with the exception of eighteen months, he kept a livery stable on the sites of the present Heath building and the Odd Fellows' building. Twice he was burned out, but he never knew the word "fail," and always recovered himself. For the past year and a half he has occupied his present stable, opposite the National hotel, where he is doing a prosperous business in liv- ery, selling and boarding, and keeping for hire some twelve to fifteen fine animals, and all kinds of vehicles. All these years he has dealt extensively in horseflesh, and during the war made a specialty of cavalry horses, and for many years shipped an average of a car load a week. Before, or during the war, he ran four mail routes between Muncie and other points, carrying the mail bags on hacks which he had been previously running on the same routes for several years.

After the death of his first wife, twenty years ago, Mr. Thomas married Louisa A. Batt- real, of Muncie, who has borne him two chil- dren, Katie, who died at the age of eleven, and Martha, who graduated at the high school of Muncie, in 1893. Mr. Thomas has been a member of the I. O. O. F. for over twenty years, and has always been recognized as a man of energy and of business probity.

ILLIAM A. THOMPSON, a former prominent member of the Randolph county bar, now a leading attorney of Muncie, was born August 8, 1840, in Shelby county, Ind. The families of both

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his parents were among the pioneers of that county, and took an active part it the events of its early and later history. William A. Thompson is the eldest of a family of sixteen children. His early life was spent on the home farm and his early education was ac- quired in the district schools, and the high school of Shelbyville, the latter then known as one of the best in the state. Subsequently, in 1860, he spent one year in Moore's Hill college, leaving the same at the outbreak of the war, and at the age of eighteen became principal of the graded schools at St. Paul, Ind. Later he taught for some time in the district schools of Shelby county.

Mr. Thompson united with the Methodist Episcopal church at the age of seventeen, en- tered the ministry of that denomination in 1862, and joined the Southeastern Indiana conference, with which body he traveled for a seven years. In 1863 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary A. Wilkinson, who died in 1865, leaving one child. After the death of his wife, he again entered Moore's Hill col- lege, where he spent one year, and in 1868 was married to Miss Elizabeth S. Lamb, daughter of Judge Lamb, of Indianapolis, after which he resumed his ministerial relations. On account of failing health, Mr. Thompson withdrew from the conference and retired from the min- istry in 1870, and shortly thereafter began the study of law in the office of Judge Lamb, finish- ing his studies with Gordon, Browne & Lamb at Indianapolis. In, 1871, he located at Win- chester and began the practice of his profession. He was first associated with Gen. Thomas M. Browne from 1871 to 1873, forming partner- ship relations with Judge J. J. Cheney the latter year, which continued until 1874. From the latter year until 1879, he was associated in the practice with Judge L. J. Monks, after the dissolution of which relation he entered into partnership with Capt. A. O. Marsh,

which later became Thompson, Marsh & Thompson, his brother, J. W. Thompson, becoming a partner. Judge Thompson re- moved to Muncie December 25, 1889, where he formed a partnership with Judge Ryan, and has since enjoyed a large practice under the firm name of Ryan & Thompson. As a law- yer Mr. Thompson has achieved marked suc- cess, his legal attainments being of a high order, and he occupies a conspicious position at this time among the leading attorneys of Muncie. He is a safe and reliable counselor, and as an advocate before a jury has few equals in central Indiana. Although an active politician, Mr. Thompson has never been a partisan in the sense of seeking official prefer- ment, having steadily refused to be a candi- date for public position. He is a republican, and as such has contributed greatly to his party's success in a number of campaigns, be- ing very effective as a ready and eloquent speaker. He is a man of positive tempera- ment, firm in his convictions, forcible and fearless in his adhesion to principles, and is esteemed by all who know him as an honor- able man and a christian gentleman. He is an active worker and teacher in the Sabbath school.

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A portrait and biographical record of Delaware and Randolph counties, Ind., containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 46

Author: Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1474

Author:
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1474