USA > Indiana > Delaware County > A portrait and biographical record of Delaware county, 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 29
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Throughout his long and successful busi- ness career Mr. Johnson has been actuated by the most honorable principles, and his success, indeed very flattering, is the result of carefully planned purposes and dignified business trans- actions. In business circles he enjoys much more than a local reputation, and to such men is due the credit of promoting the growth and
prosperity of the enterprising cities of the gas belt, of which Muncie may be taken as a type.
In his political affiliations Mr. Johnson is a republican. In the Masonic order he stands high, having become a member of the chap- ter, commandery, Scottish rite and of the Mystic Shrine, and he not only bears the honors of these degrees, but his daily life is a practical exemplification of their precepts.
Mr. Johnson was married, in 1872, to Miss Florence Merriman, daughter of Chas. Merri- man of Ashtabula, Ohio; a family of three children has blessed this union, namely: J. Edgar, Ray P. and Florence Grace. The family are members of the First Baptist church of Muncie, in which Mr. Johnson holds the offices of deacon and trustee. He was chairman of the building committee of the new church and contributed liberally, both in time and money, to the successful completion of the beautiful edifice in which the congrega- tion now worships.
J OHN C. JOHNSON .- The thriving city of Muncie, Ind., is very proud of the long list of prosperous and successful business men who have shown such an enterprising and progressive spirit, and have caused the advancement of the place beyond all reasonable expectations. Among those who have largely contributed to the progress of the city, John C. Johnson deserves extended mention. He was born in Albany county, N. Y., May 21, 1843, son of Henry I. and Ellax (Ferguson) Johnson.
At the age of seven years, he accompanied his parents to Herkimer county, N. Y., where he received a common school education, and at the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Union army, entering company K, Forty-fourth New York, known as the "Ellsworth Avengers,"
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and served one year. Being wounded at the battle of Hanover Court House, he was sent to the Albany, N. Y., hospital, and from there to the Lexington Avenue hospital, in New York city, from which he was discharged, after recovery. His school days having been so rudely interrupted, he felt the advisability of continuing his studies, consequently he en- tered the Boys' academy at Albany, N. Y., where he continued for two years, making rapid progress in the meantime. Following this, he took a course at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial college, and then entered the quartermaster's department at City Point, Va., under Captain C. E. Jones, in which capacity he continued until the close of the war.
The next business which Mr. Johnson undertook was a clerkship with the lumber firm of H. W. Sage & Co , of Albany, N. Y., continuing for fifteen years with the same house (with the exception of a short time when he acted as bookkeeper for D. Weidman & Co., wholesale grocers) and thus obtained a thorough knowledge of the lumber business in all of its details. In 1882, he removed to Bridgeport, Conn., and became one of the organizers of the Bridgeport Lumber company, and was made secretary and treasurer of the same. He sold his interests in that concern in 1884, and purchased an interest in the firm of A. L. Johnson & Co., of Muncie, moving to this city in that year and immediately be- coming interested in public matters. He was one of the organizers of the Muncie Skewer company, and in 1891 engaged in the manu- facture of mineral paints and felt roofing, which business was placed in a stock company organized in 1892 and known as the Muncie Paint & Roofing company, of which he has since acted as president. He was formerly a stockholder in the Indiana Bridge company, but sold his interest in that in 1891, and is now a stockholder and one of the prime movers in
the Live Poultry Stock Car company, and is also largely interested in real estate, particu- larly in the Johnson and McCulloch additions to the city of Muncie. He is also stockholder and director in the Farmers' National bank and the same in the Delaware County Building, Savings & Loan association. Mr. Johnson is a representative type of that substantial class of business men who, in a great measure, mold the welfare of the country, for upon the efforts of such citizens depend, in a large degree, the vital interests of the people. Actuated by the loftiest motives, he has ever conducted his transactions in an honorable manner, in consequence of which his reputa- tion in business circles is that of an upright and dignified christian gentleman.
Politically, Mr. Johnson is a republican, and has served as a member of the city coun- cil for the past four years, in which body he has been chairman of the finance, street, light, and a member of the sewer and drainage com- mittees. Fraternally, Mr. Johnson is a mem- ber of the A. F. & A. M., chapter and com- mandery, and a member of the George S. Dawson post, No. 63, G. A. R., of Albany, N. Y.
In 1873, Mr. Johnson and Miss Martha J. Hutchison, daughter of David Hutchison, of Albany, N. Y., were united in the holy bonds of wedlock, and one child, Mary E., has been born to their union. He and wife are active members of the First Presbyterian church, of Muncie, of which Mr. Johnson is a trustee and member of the building committee.
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1858.
EORGE R. JONES, one the ener- getic men of Muncie, dealer in gen- eral groceries, is a native of this city, and dates his birth from October 3, His father, Thomas Jones, was born
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in Greene county, Ohio, March, 1828; married, in 1850, Eliza Coffin, and, immediately thereafter located in Muncie and engaged in coopering, which trade he followed the greater part of his life. He is now living a life of retirement in North View, Muncie, and can easily recall the time when this flourishing city was but a country town of a few hundred inhabitants. He is a democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Protestant church; his wife belongs to the Christian church, and they are both highly regarded by their many friends and neighbors in Muncie. George R. Jones received his educational training in the country schools of Centre town- ship, Delaware county, and, before attaining his majority, learned the trade of coopering with his father, and became quite a skilled workman. He followed his chosen calling un- til his twenty-second year, and then accepted a clerkship in the grocery and feed store of J. P. Adamson, of Muncie, in which capacity he continued for a period of eight years, acquiring a thorough knowledge of every detail of the business in the meantime. Subsequently, in partnership with his employer, Mr. Adamson, he purchased the property on Walnut street now owned by Gilpin & Whetsel, and for five years sold groceries very successfully. In 1891 he moved to the corner of Howard and Liberty streets, where he purchased a lot and erected a comfortable and commodious store room, which is well stocked with a full line of choice groceries, notions, etc., and has since done a very comfortable and safe business. In fact, Mr. Jones is a successful tradesman, con- sults the wishes of his numerous customers, and always keeps on hand a full line of gro- ceries, etc., found in first class establishments of the kind. His store is well patronized, and Mr. Jones is certainly entitled to great credit for the active part he has taken in the com- mercial and industrial developement of Mun-
cie. He is what may truthfully be termed an enterprising business man, and his popularity has for years been a matter of comment among his fellow tradesmen of the city. Mr. Jones was married February 16, 1888, to Mag- gie McConnel, a native of Delaware county, Ind., daughter of David and Christina (Saun- ders) McConnel. Mr. and Mrs. Jones live in a beautiful home on Liberty street and they have a great many friends in Muncie. Mr. Jones is a democrat in politics and a member of the Pythian fraternity; Mrs. Jones is a com- municant of the Christian church.
Is EVI J. JONES, general contractor, Muncie, Ind., was born in Owen county, Ind., on a farm, January 23, 1847, and is a son of Warren and Sarah (Stauffer) Jones, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Pennsylvania. When Levi J. was a lad of fifteen, the family settled on a farm in Randolph county, Ind., on which he was reared until reaching man- hood. At his majority, he became owner of a farm in Washington township, Randolph county, on which he lived until 1883, when he sold out and moved to Muncie, Delaware county, where he teamed for two years, and then began taking contracts for street improve- ments, cellar excavations, and other work of like character, including the City, Anthony, Ball and Opera House blocks, Young & Kess- ler's, Darnell's, Wachtell's excavations, and those for the public schools; Maring Hart glass works; crushed stone on Ohmer avenue, Blaine, Tenth, Walnut, Hackley and Main streets, Kirby avenue and many others; side- walks on Berlin street; constructed the McCul- loch boulevard and all the principal streets in Whitely's first and second additions; has em- ployed from fifteen to twenty men, run six
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teams of his own and hired ten to forty others. He has planned and built his own handsome residence on west Jackson street, and has also had erected five houses on five acres of ground on west Main street. In years gone by he also had a contract for several thousand cross-ties for the railroad from Richmond to Portland, and, later, a contract with the Grand Rapids & Indiana road for a hundred and fifty cords per month for two years.
The marriage of Mr. Jones took place, in 1871, in Randolph county, to Miss Mary A. Wood (sister of W. H. H. Wood, city engi- neer), a native of Richmond, Ind. To this union have been born eight children, viz: Nel- lie, Jessie (died at eighteen months), Walter, Frances, Thomas, Clara, Minnie and Ruby. The parents of Mr. Jones came to Indiana with their parents, located in Wayne county, moved to Owen, and then to Randolph coun- ty. The father is now seventy-three years of age and the mother seventy. They have had born to them eleven children, viz: Melvina (Mrs. Hinsnaw), died at the age of thirty; Levi J .; John Henry, farmer of Randolph county; Edmond, farmer of Jay county; Jacob, teacher in Muncie; Granville, farmer in Randolph county; Lizzie, at home, unmarried; Ruth Ellen, wife of Mr. Duke, farmer of Wayne county; Herod, painter, Cheyenne, Wyo .; Hannah (Bryant), whose husband is a farmer in Randolph county, and Sarah, wife of a farmer of Wayne county, Ind.
Mr. Jones has acquired an enviable reputa- tion as a contractor, gives the strongest secur- ity for the faithful performance of his work, invariably makes his promises good, and does his work in the best manner possible and always in accordance with the specifications in every respect, and is always promptly on time. His name stands without a blemish both as a business man and a citizen, and his position in society is all that could be desired.
S TEPHEN C. KEESLING, proprietor of an establishment for the manufac- ture of vulcanized rubber roofing, one of the well known enterprises of Mun- cie, is a native of Delaware county, Ind., born February 2, 1850, son of Martin and Coressal Keesling, well known residents. Mr. Keesling's boyhood days were spent amid the routine of farm labor until his seventeenth year, and he received an education in the common schools, which he attended at intervals until attaining his majority. He remained with his parents until his twenty. first year, at which time he began life for himself, working for a short time at different occupations, andthen turned his attention to the mercantile business, which he carried on for a limited period in Muncie. Later he was interested in different enter- prises, and in 1886 went to California, where, for four years, he was overseer of a marble quarry, in which he also purchased an inter- est. At the end of the time noted, he re- turned to Indiana, and, for one year thereafter was engaged in merchandising in the city of Anderson, and then opened a merchant tailor- ing establishment in Muncie, which business he carried on until the early part of 1892. In that year he began the manufacture of the well known composition, vulcanized rubber roofing, which he still carries on, and which, as already stated, has become one of the well known and popular enterprises of Muncie. Mr. Keesling's business is already of large proportions and the permancy of his establishment in Muncie is already an assured fact. He has a large pat- ronage the city and the product of his factory is being quite extensively introduced through- out the United States and elsewhere.
Mr. "Keesling is an earnest supporter of the republican party and a prominent member of the order of Red Men. He was married in Muncie to Catharine M. Eber, daughter of Henry Eber. One child was born to this
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union-Ray, deceased-and Mrs. Keesling de- parted this life June 18, 1891.
ENRY J. KELLER, so prominent among the self made men of the gas belt of Indiana, was born August 15, 1861, in Winchester, Randolph coun- ty. His father, George Godfried Keller, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, June 8, 1827, came to the United States in 1852, and located in Bucyrus, Ohio, where he met and married Elizabeth Kayser. After spending two years in Bucyrus, Mr. Keller removed to Winches- ter, Ind., where he was engaged in the boot and shoe business until the spring of 1869, at which date he embarked in the retail grocery trade. In 1883 he retired from business and is now spending his days in the city of Win- chester. George G. Keller has been an active man of affairs and has borne a conspicuous part in the material developement of the city in which he resides, owning considerable prop- erty, including residences and two business blocks. He has been a leading member of the German Evangelical church for a number of years, is a geat reader, and ranks among the most intelligent and progressive men of the county of Randolph.
Henry J. Keller was reared in Winchester and spent his youthful years alternately in the city and on the farm. A common school edu- cation and the practical knowledge gained in his father's store ended in the development of an aptitude for mercantile pursuits, and while still young he became a clerk for a dry goods and clothing firm in Winchester. Subse- quently he was similarly employed with var- ious business houses of that city, and in Janu- ary, 1888, he came to Muncie and entered into partnership with George W. Bliss, of Indian- apolis, in the retail clothing trade, opening a
large stock of goads in the New Anthony block on Walnut street. Under the efficient man- agement of Mr. Keller, his partner being on the road as traveling salesman the greater part of the time, the business grew and prospered, and in time a new and more commodious apartment suitable to the increasing demands of the trade was procured in the Little block. As a business man, Mr. Keller has won a con- spicious place among the successful retail dealers of Muncie, and his place contains one of the largest and most complete stocks of the kind in the city. He began life, if not in the field of adversity, at least comparitively un- aided and dependent almost wholly upon self support, his capital consisting of a full share of brain power, energy and an inbred determi- nation to succeed. Personally Mr. Keller is very popular, eminently sociable, and, in every respect, a kind and courteous gentleman. He belongs to the B. P. O. E., F. & A. M. and K. of P., holding official position in the former order; and he was a leading spirit in the organization of the Ball Business college of Muncie, of which he was made treasurer at the time of incorporation.
The marriage of Mr. Keller and Miss Edna Haynes, daughter of Jesse G. and Matilda Haynes, was solemnized on the 2nd day of April, 1885; three children gladden the home of Mr. and Mrs. Keller, namely: Esther, aged five years; Nellie, aged three, and Paul G., an infant at this writing.
ENERAL WILLIAM HARRISON KEMPER, M. D., is a native of Indiana, born in Rush county, Decem- ber 16, 1839. His parents, Arthur S. and Patience (Bryant) Kemper, were na- tives of Kentucky and of German descent. The doctor's early life was similar in nearly 1
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every respect to that of the majority of coun- try boys, having been reared on the farm, with the rugged usages of which he early be- came familiar. His father died in 1849, and at the early age of ten years he was compelled to rely very largely upon his own rescources. During the succeeding seven years, he was employed in tilling the home farm, attending the common schools at intervals in the mean- time, in which he acquired a practical English education, and, later, pursued the higher branches of learning at the seminary at Greensburg, Indiana. In 1856 he removed to Iowa, locating at the town of Montezuma, where for one year he was employed as clerk in a dry goods house, at the end of which time he accepted a position in a printing office, in which he continued for a period of two years. He returned to Indiana in the winter of 1859, from which time until January, 1861, he resided at Greensburg, attending school as above noted. Having early decided to make the medical profession his life work, he began the study of the same, at the age of twenty-one, in the office of John W. Moodey, M. D., under whose instructions he continued until the breaking out of the war, when he responded to his country's call, enlisting in company B, Seventh regiment Indiana volun- teer infantry, April 24, 1861. This was the first company to enter the service from Deca- tur county, and the doctor served for three months in the capacity of'a private. On Sept- ember 25, 1861, he re-enlisted and was ap- pointed hospital steward of the Seventeenth regiment Indiana volunteers, in which capaci- ty he served until February 20, 1863, when he was promoted assistant surgeon of said regi- ment, a position which he creditably filled un- til the expiration of his term of service, July 27, 1864. While in the army the doctor ac- companied his regiment throughout its varied experiences, participating in a number of hard-
fought battles, including Hoover's Gap, Chat- tanooga, Rock Spring, Chickamauga, McMinn- ville, Farmington, Mission Ridge, Cleveland, siege of Knoxville, Dallas, Big Shanty, Noon- day Creek, Kenesaw Mountain, and the vari- ous engagements before Atlanta.
During the winter of 1864-5 the doctor further increased his knowledge of the healing art by attending a course of lectures at the university of Michigan, and the following spring took a course at the Long Island Col- lege hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y., from which well known institution he graduated in 1865. In the latter year Dr. Kemper located in Mun- cie, Ind., where he has since been engaged in the general practice of his profession. He was coroner of Delaware county from 1870 till 1875, and was one of the examining surgeons for pensions from May, 1872, to June, 1893, with the exception of a period of two years, when he was removed for political reasons. Dr. Kemper is a member of the Delaware County Medical society, the Indiana State Medical society, the American Medical associ- ation and the National association of Railway Surgeons, and takes an active interest in the deliberations of these bodies. In 1879 he was elected treasurer of the Indiana State Medical society, and served as such until 1886, when he was honored by election as its president, presiding during the session of 1887. The doctor is not unknown in the field of medical literature, having at different times contrib- uted a number of valuable papers on various medical subjects. He has studied much, and carefully examined many cases, and being an original thinker and a clear, logical writer, he has made known his investigations from time to time in a number of essays contributed to various medical journals or read before medi- cal societies.
Among the contributions from his pen the following were much discussed: "Operation
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for the Radical Cure of Varicocele," "Ex- ophthalmic Goiter," "Labor Complicated by Peritoneal Adhesions of the Uterus," "Biblical Medicine," "Case of Inversion of Uterus," " Retention of Utero of the Dead Fœtus, Considered Particularly with Regard to its Effects upon the Mother," "Is Labor Pro- tracted by Early Spontaneous Rupture of the Membranes?" "A Case Illustrating the Use of Intrauterine Injections for the Arrest of Post Partum Hemorrhage," "Sequel to a Case of Retained Fœtus," "A Case of Podolcoma," "A Contribution to Medical Jurisprudence," "Four Hundred Obstretrical Cases Statis- tics and Observations," "Affections of the Gall-bladder Tending to Result in Cutaneous Biliary Fistula," "Ligation of the Femoral Artery," "Primary Cancer of the Lungs," "Angel-wing Deformity,". "A Case of Lodge- ment of a Breech Pin in the Brain; removal on the second day; recovery," "Antiseptics in Normal Labor," "One Thousand Cases of Labor and their Lessons," "A Case of Senile Gangrene." The above papers and essays contain much which is of value to the medical fraternity. They are the fruits of reason and experience combined, and met with mnch at- tention in the medical journals both at home and abroad.
The doctor has not neglected, as many practitioners do, to record the result of his experience for the benefit of others. During the session of 1875-6, he was assistant to the chair of obstetrics and diseases of women and children in the college of Physicians and Sur- geons of Indiana, and he has achieved flatter- ing success in the varied fields of surgery and in the general practice of the healing art. In 1872 he formed a co-partnership in the prac- tice with Dr. Robert Winton, a successful physician of Muncie, and at this time is asso- ciated with Dr. Hugh A. Cowing. The doc- tor is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, is an earnest advocate of temperance reform, and labors zealously in behalf of all religious, educational and temperance move- ments, thus setting an example worthy of imi- tation by his fellow citizens. In his person- ality, Dr. Kemper realizes the ideal of a suc- cessful physician and surgeon, adding to a' quick apprehension and thorough professional knowledge the gentle manner and sympathetic heart of a true healer. In every relation with his fellow man he has borne well his part, and now enjoys, in full measure, the confidence and esteem of his brethren in the profession and of his fellow citizens in all the walks of life. Dr. Kemper was married August 15, 1865, to Hattie, daughter of William Kemper, Esq., of Oskaloosa, Iowa, a union blessed with the birth of three children, namely: Georgette Moodey, Arthur Thomson, and William Winton Kemper.
A SBURY L. KERWOOD traces his ancestral history back through a number of generations to England, from which country his great-grand- father, Richard Kerwood, with his family, consisting of wife, two sons and four daugh- ters, started for the United States about the year 1792. During the voyage, both himself and wife fell victims to ship fever and died a few days subsequent to their arrival. The captain of the vessel, who was a member of the Masonic fraternity, to which Mr. Kerwood also belonged, took a kindly interest in the welfare of the orphan children and succeeded in finding them homes. Richard, the grand- father of the subject of this sketch, was ap- prenticed to a blacksmith of Bordentown, N. J., and after mastering the details of his trade, moved to western Pennsylvania, locat- ing in Washington county, where he became a
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prominent and highly respected citizen. He married in New Jersey Mary Minor, who bore him five sons and two daughters, namely: Samuel, William, John R., Abia M., Richard, Nancy and Elizabeth. Richard Kerwood de- parted this life in Washington county, Pa., in 1838. Mr. Kerwood's maternal ancestors were of Irish nativity, James Peden, the grandfather, immigrating to the United States in an early day and settling in Pennsylvania. He married Margaret Love, also a native of Ireland, and in 1835 removed to Ohio, thence subsequently to Henry county, Ind., where both he and wife died. The children of James and Margaret Peden were James, Joseph, David, Milton, Reuben, Hiram and Eliza- beth.
Abia Minor Kerwood, father of Asbury L., was born in Washington county, Pa., where he grew to manhood, working with his father at blacksmithing until attaining his majority. Later he went to Oxford, Ohio, where, in ad- dition to working at his trade, he attended for some time the Miami university. He was married, in 1840, to Miss Rebecca Peden in Preble county, Ohio, and shortly therafter en- gaged in mercantile pursuits at Sugar Valley, a town of that county, where he carried on business for several years, subsequently en- gaging in farming. In 1848 he moved to Wayne county, Ind., where he continued the pursuit of agriculture, varied by teaching school at intervals during the winter season, and in 1852 purchased and removed to a home on West river in the county of Ran- dolph. In the fall of 1854 he entered the ministry of the Methodist church, in which denomination he had long been a local preach- er and traveled various circuits for a period of twenty-five years. In 1879 he was placed on the superannuated list and spent the closing years of his life in Muncie, where he died in April, 1886. The family of Abia M. and
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