USA > Indiana > White County > A standard history of White County Indiana : an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. II > Part 30
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His fellow citizens have had every reason to place their confidence in his judgment, and their esteem was demonstrated by his election as supervisor in 1912, and he has also served on the township advisory board. He is a republican and was reared in the Lutheran faith. In 1873, while living in Illinois, Mr. Diemer married Miss Minnie Celt, a daughter of George Celt. Into their home have been born eight children, most of whom have already taken their places as individual workers in life. Their names are : John, Josie, Emil, Minnie, Maud, Fred, Anthony and Katie.
Mr. Diemer has for forty years been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, his home lodge being at Pontiac, Illinois.
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EDWIN E. McKILLIP. A worthy representative of the native-born citizens of White County, Edwin E. McKillip is industriously engaged in the prosecution of a calling upon which the support and wealth of the nation largely depends, and in which he is meeting with genuine suc- cess, being one of the leading farmers of Princeton Township. A son of Jackson MeKillip, he was born on the parental homestead, September 1, 1861, coming of pioneer stock.
A native of Indiana, Jackson McKillip was born in Tippecanoe Coun- ty, about a mile and a half from the Layfayette Public Squire, a son of Daniel McKillip. About 1850 he located in White County, and hav- ing purchased a tract of land that was still in its virgin wildness, lying in Princeton Township, near Palestine, he cleared and improved a valuable farming estate of 200 acres, on which he lived and labored until his death, September 29, 1913, at an advanced age, during the later years of his life, however, giving up the active management of his homestead. He was a man of much force of character, and held in high esteem throughout the community in which the larger part of his long and use- ful life was spent. He married Jane Hughes, who preceded him to the better world. Seven children were born of their marriage, as follows: Elda, deceased, was the wife of James Jacobs; Edwin E., the special subject of this brief sketch; Alva died in infancy; Lottie, who married John A. Patton, died at an early age; Karah, deceased; Effie, wife of Thomas H. Covington; and Alberta, wife of William T. Cory. Both parents were faithful members of the Baptist Church, and reared their children in the same religious faith.
Edwin E. McKillip was early initiated into the mysteries of agricul- ture, and, finding farming congenial to his tastes, determined when young to adopt it as his life occupation. Accordingly, the day after taking unto himself a wife, he assumed possession of his present farm, advantageously situated on section 3, Princeton Township, and in its management has met with eminent success. He has now 439 acres of land, all of which is well tiled, and the greater part of it under culti- vation, it being well adapted to the production of the cereals common to this part of the country. Mr. McKillip has made improvements of great value, having erected substantial buildings, including a commod- ious residence, and has equipped his farm with all the most modern approved machinery necessary for successfully carrying on his work. Inheriting the political and religious faith in which he was reared, he is a democrat and a Baptist.
On July 22, 1890, Mr. McKillip was united in marriage with Miss Mattie Rogers, a daughter of James and Sarah A. (Spencer) Rogers, and into their attractive home three children have made their advent,
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namely : Fern, born September 6, 1892; Frank, born March 11, 1895; and Fae, born August 19, 1898.
ROBERT ANSON JEWETT. The enviable possessions of a comfortable home, a productive farm, a happy family and the esteem of many friends, belong to Robert A. Jewett, long one of the most substantial citizens of Princeton Township. His home is in section 13, and his farm comprises the southwest quarter of that section. Few men of his age have had more experiences since starting out in the world, and his life has touched some of the essential points in the history of Indiana, beginning with his birth in a log cabin, with a service as one of the youngest boy soldiers of the war in the '60s, varied experience as a railroad man, and latterly, with the co-operation of his noble wife, prosperous accomplishment as a farmer.
His birth occurred at Palestine, in White County, February 10, 1849. The Jewetts have lived in this county since the early '40s, his grandparents, Anson and Mary (Webster) Jewett, secured about 240 acres of government land and went through all the trials and hardships of pioneering in a new country. The grandfather died at Reynolds, in 1865, and is buried in the Bunnell Cemetery. Robert A. Jewett is a son of John Sanford and Jane (Royster) Jewett. His father was a cabinetmaker by trade, and died at Sheldon, Illinois, about 1899. One of the interesting records of his life was that he followed the trail of the gold seekers to California in 1850, but what his experiences were and to what degree he was successful as a miner cannot be stated. He and his wife were the parents of three children: Louis Johnson, who died in 1869; Robert A .; and John Sanford, now deceased. The mother of these children, by a previous marriage to Joseph Campbell, had one daughter, Elizabeth Campbell, now deceased. John S. Jewett was a man who was known for his thorough industry, scrupulous honesty, a general interest in public affairs, and as a working member in the Metho- dist Church. He was one of the organizers of the lodge of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows at Monticello. He was educated beyond the average man of his generation, and accordingly exercised not a little influence among his neighbors and in the community where he lived. At one time he owned 120 acres in Princeton Township.
Robert Anson Jewett did not come to manhood through the com- fortable and easy way of many boys of later times. His schooling was somewhat irregular, and he attended the common schools found in Indi- ana during the '50s and '60s. When only fourteen years of age he con- trived to get himself enrolled in the Federal army, enlisting July 7, 1863, in Company K of the 116th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and Vol. II-18
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being mustered in at Camp Orth, at Lafayette, under Capt. Elijah Davis. Most of his duty as a soldier was in guarding the arsenal at Dearborn, Michigan, for twelve weeks and then he went to the front with the Army of the Cumberland. He was discharged from the army at Lafayette, March 15, 1864, having been out about eight months.
For thirteen years Mr. Jewett followed railroading, five years with the Panhandle Route, twenty-six months with the Wabash Railroad, then to Midland Railroad, then to Chicago with the C. & A., and at different times had his headquarters in Chicago and was as far west as Nebraska. As a brakeman he rode back and forth on daily trips through White County on the Panhandle train for several years.
The substantial beginning of his career of prosperity began with his marriage, on November 22, 1880, to Miss Sarah C. Allen. Mr. Jewett credits her with an important part in their success. She is a daughter of Calvin and Mary (Fraser) Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Jewett have six children : Ione Myrtle, now the wife of Guy P. Houston in West Point Township; Louis Anson, who is living in Princeton Township and mar- ried Bertha Batts; Robbie, who died fifteen days after his birth; Blanche K., wife of Marion Wright of Princeton Township; Earl Tucker and Robert Spencer, both at home.
Mr. Jewett is a democrat in politics, and for eight years has served as a member of the county council, his present incumbency. Since the early years of his life he has taken much interest in public affairs and has followed the course of politics both nationally and locally. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and she is an active church worker. As farmers they content themselves with the general crops and with the raising of graded stock, and have done a great deal in the course of years to increase the value of their land and its improvements and conveniences. They have a comfortable home, all the land is tiled and under cultivation, and it is such a place as they may be well contented with for the spending of their last years.
REUBEN R. PETTIT. Conspicuous among the pioneers of White County was the late Reuben R. Pettit, a man of enterprise and ability, who became well known throughout this section of the state on account of his many and varied interests. For nearly half a century a resident of the county, he witnessed wonderful transformations in the face of the country, the log cabins of the original settlers being replaced by commodious frame houses, while the small hamlets grew into thriving villages and populous towns and cities. A native of New Jersey, he was born, November 18, 1826, in Burlington County, and there was bred and educated.
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Following the emigrant's trail to Indiana in 1849, he spent a few weeks at Burnettsville, after which he spent a short time at Lake Cicott, Cass County. Returning from there to White County, in 1850, Mr. Pettit opened a store at Reynolds, where he carried on a good business as a general merchant for ten years. Then, after living at Palestine three years, he established himself in a new industry, becoming a huck- ster at Helena, Arkansas. In 1863 he returned to Reynolds, and from 1865 until 1870 was engaged in farming in Princeton Township. He subsequently bought a hotel in Remington, and after running it for a year traded it for a farm. Selling that property at an advance, Mr. Pettit moved to Remington, and was there a resident until his death, October 30, 1897. Mr. Pettit was a democrat in politics, and as an inter- ested member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, did much to promote the good of the organization. Uniting with the Chris- tian Church, April 13, 1836, he was afterwards one of its most earnest workers, for several years serving as superintendent of its Sunday school. His wife, however, was a Methodist in religion, having joined the church of that denomination on September 18, 1862.
On April 2, 1848, Mr. Pettit was united in marriage with Ann Eliza Pettit, who was born April 2, 1824, and died January 15, 1904. Six children were born of their union, namely: Anna V., born August 18 1849, married, January 3, 1868, Charles McCulley ; William H., born October 14, 1851, died March 28, 1858; David J., born June 3, 1853; Mary L., born July 28, 1855, married, December 24, 1873, Simon P. Leatherman, and died September 7, 1894; Catherine I., born December 17, 1857, married, December 17, 1897, William Legg; and Ella M., born October 1, 1861, married, July 26, 1885, George Stout.
David J. Pettit, the third child in succession of birth of the parental household, was brought up and educated in White County, and as a young man chose farming, which he has found both pleasant and profit- able. He has a fine farm of 400 acres in Princeton Township, where he holds a place of prominence among the successful farmers and stock raisers of that vicinity. He is a democrat in his political relations, and one of the directors of the Citizens State Bank. He married, March 28, 1875, Delitha Alice Pitts, daughter of John L. and Lucy A. (Chris- topher) Pitts, and they are the parents of two children, namely: Maud Pearl, born January 9, 1878, is the wife of James A. Jacobs; and Leila Majora, born June 30, 1881, married Tabor Spencer. Mrs. Pettit is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
RICHARD C. PUGH. In the fine rural community of Princeton Town- ship the Pugh family has been residents for more than forty years.
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As a family they have lived close to the soil, enjoyed peace and pros- perity, and their lives have been led along the paths of quiet industry and in helping to make the community what it is today. Richard C. Pugh, himself, is now actively and industriously engaged in agricultural enterprise on a part of the farm formerly owned by his father, but for a number of years in earlier life was a business man.
The Pughs are natives of Wales, and came to America in 1868. Rich- ard Pugh, father of Richard C., was born in Wales, April 6, 1820, and died September 27, 1892, his body being now at rest in the Meadow Lake Cemetery. He came to Princeton Township in 1872, from Kane County, Illinois. He was a progressive and active farmer in Princeton Town- ship and had accumulated about 150 acres there before his death. In politics he was a republican, a member of the Baptist Church, and was somewhat conservative in principles and is never known to have had any difficulty with his neighbors, and, on the contrary, his natural kind- ness led him to many acts of practical charity. He was married in Wales to Margaret Evans, a daughter of Thomas Evans. She was born February 23, 1824, and died June 18, 1904. There were six children of the union. Jane E., now living at Wolcott, is the widow of E. A. Jones; Eleanor is the wife of J. C. Jones, living in Monticello; Richard C .; Thomas E., who lives in Ashland, Wisconsin, first married Mary Kinney and for his second wife, Clara B. Adams; John B., now deceased, married Mamie E. Lilevus, who is now living at Antwerp, Ohio; Eliza- beth died in infancy.
Richard C. Pugh was born December 6, 1850, near Newton, Mont- gomeryshire, Wales, and received all his education in his native coun- try, having been about eighteen years of age when his parents emigrated to this country, first locating near Toronto, Canada, proceeding on to Kane County, Illinois, and finally to White County. Up to 1880 Mr. Pugh assisted in the business of farming at home, and then engaged in the music business at Lafayette. He was at Lafayette twelve years and spent three years in the same line at Grand Rapids, Michigan. After the death of his father, about 1893, he returned to Princeton Town- ship, and has since given all his attention to farming. He is the owner of eighty acres in section 35, 21/2 miles southwest of Wolcott, and enjoys a comfortable home, a good wife, and the esteem of the entire community around him.
In 1893 Mr. Pugh married Miss Mary Humphreys, a daughter of John and Mary Humphreys. All of them were born in Wales. Mr. Pugh is a republican, but has never sought official honors. He and his wife are faithful members of the Baptist Church, and in fraternal affairs
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he is affiliated with Wolcott Lodge of Masons and with the royal arch chapter at Kentland.
LEWIS W. SEXTON. A leading representative of the agricultural in- terests of Princeton Township, Lewis W. Sexton has spent practically all of his life here and has taken an active part in the various movements which have made for progress and development. Mr. Sexton was born in Hancock County, Indiana, September 22, 1852, and is a son of Jacob H. and Acantha (Hinchman) Sexton.
The Sexton family originated in Germany, but for generations its members have lived in America, being early settlers of Virginia. Jacob H. Sexton was born in Cabell County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and in the spring of 1852 moved to Hancock County, Indiana. In the following fall he moved to Jordan's Grove, West Point Township, White County, and in the next spring came to Princeton Township, settling on property on section 21, where he made his home until his death, January 24, 1896. He was buried in Wolcott Cemetery. Mr. Sexton married, in Virginia, Miss Acantha Hinchman, a daughter of William Hinchman, and a sister of William Hinchman, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Three children were born to this union : Sarah J., who died at the age of fourteen years; William T., who mar- ried Permilia Cain, lived for a time at Wolcott and died at Medary- ville, Indiana; and Lewis W. Jacob H. Sexton was a democrat, and at one time was a candidate for the office of county commissioner. He was steward and treasurer of the Methodist Episcopal Church. A quiet, unobtrusive, rather cautious man, he was not one to thrust himself for- ward or to be liberal with advice. Physically he was a large man, weigh- ing 220 pounds, and was considered the strongest man in the township for his years. When he came to White County he had but $700, but through ability and industry he accumulated a handsome property and at the time of his death was the owner of 240 acres of good land, well cultivated and improved with modern buildings and the latest farming- appliances. Mrs. Sexton, who was born September 28, 1828, still sur- vives her husband and makes her home with her son.
Lewis W. Sexton was an infant when brought to White County, secured his education in the country schools, and has passed practically his entire life in the atmosphere of the farm. He is a believer in the use of modern methods, belonging to the energetic, pushing class that maintains agricultural standards, and for about eight or nine years has also been engaged in the fire insurance business. He owns 160 acres of good farming land, highly improved, also has a good deal of city realty, and owns stock in the newly-organized Farmers' Co-operative
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Elevator Company at Wolcott. He is a democrat, but has not been in- clined toward public service, save as a good and public-spirited citizen. With his family, he belongs to the Christian Church, of which he has been deacon and elder for seven or eight years.
In 1873 Mr. Sexton was married to Miss Sarah O. Briney, a daugh- ter of Perry and Anna Briney, early settlers of White and Carroll counties. Two children have been born to this union: Dora E., who married J. F. Duncan, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; and Lulu B., who married Lester J. Morrow, proprietor of a harness store at Linden, Indiana, and has two children-Eugene Francis and Rex Byron.
EDWARD W. IRWIN. The development of the Wolcott Brick and Drain Tile Company from a non-paying investment to a prosperous enterprise and a substantial industry of the community, has been the achievement of Edward W. Irwin, its president and general manager, and it is typical of twentieth-century progress. When Mr. Irwin and his father took charge of this industry, it had been conducted for a score of years without paying a dividend; from the time of their advent, its business has been such that until recently the company could not supply the demands of the field.
Mr. Irwin is a Hoosier by nativity, born December 25, 1870, near Remington, Jasper County, a son of James F. Irwin, and a grandson of William Irwin, who was a grain dealer and stock raiser at Wolcott from about 1865 until 1870, and in the latter year removed to Remington, where his death occurred. James F. Irwin was born in 1840, in Ham- ilton County, Indiana, and in early life was a farmer, a vocation which he followed until his election to the county clerkship of Jasper County, in 1894. In 1902, at the expiration of eight years of faithful public service, he engaged in the real estate and loan business at Rensselaer. In the meantime, in 1900, he had become interested in the tile business at Rensselaer and conducted a plant there for several years. While he was interested variously at Wolcott, and particularly in the tile and brick business here, he maintained his home at Rensselaer until his death. He was a republican politically, and in addition to serving as county clerk, as mentioned, was for fourteen years trustee of Carpenter Town- ship, and his public life was characterized by the same high ideals and energetic activities that made him so successful in business. His frater- nal connections were with the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows. Mr. Irwin married Miss Mary Ravenscroft, who was born near Rem- ington, Indiana, daughter of Edward and Sarah Ravenscroft, the latter of whom is still living near Remington at the age of ninety-four years.
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Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Irwin: Schuyler C .; Frances M .; Edward W .; Alice, who is the wife of I. N. Warren; Maude, the wife of Alexander Wallace; Fred; and Marguerite, who is single and resides at Rensselaer.
Edward W. Irwin received a high school education at Rensselaer and in his boyhood worked on the home farm, gradually entering business life in his father's enterprises. In 1908 he came to Wolcott, where he has since grown to be one of the leading business factors in the town. The Wolcott Brick and Drain Tile Company was founded by Mr. Wol- cott, and February 17, 1908, was incorporated under the above name by Edward W. and James F. Irwin and William D. Hill, with a capital stock of $20,000, Mr. Hill having been conducting the business for two or three years previous to this time. This plant had been operated at Wolcott for about twenty years and had never made one cent for its owners, but with the coming of the Messrs. Irwin new machinery was installed, business methods were revolutionized, and the concern began enjoying a prosperity which has continued unabated to the present time. The annual output is $20,000 worth of drain tile and silo blocks, the demand for these products being so great that it was not until the last year that the company was able to fill its orders. After several years Mr. Hill retired from the organization, and when James F. Irwin died, May 12, 1912, Edward W. Irwin, who had formerly been secretary and treasurer, ascended to the presidency.
Like his father, Mr. Irwin is a republican and has taken a keen and active interest in civic affairs, having been president of the town board of Wolcott for six years, during which time was installed the present modern waterworks system, a decided credit to the community. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the movements of which he has supported liberally. Fraternally his connection is with Wolcott Lodge No. 180, A. F. & A. M., of which he is past master, and Wolcott Lodge No. 171, Order of the Eastern Star, of which he is worthy patron and of which his wife is also a member.
Mr. Irwin was married December 25, 1901, to Miss Nina Sweet, a daughter of Mr. F. M. and Emily Sweet, formerly of White County, but now a resident of Rensselaer, Indiana. They have no children.
ELIHU L. DIBELL. Industrious, enterprising and thrifty, Elihu L. Dibell, late of Wolcott, was for many years associated with the develop- ment of the agricultural possibilities of White County, having cleared and improved a tract of wild land in Princeton Township, where he was at one time a resident. The descendant of one of the early settlers of New York State, he was born October 15, 1825, in Ashtabula County,
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Ohio, and died March 14, 1902, in Wolcott, White County, Indiana. His father, Obed Dibell, a farmer by occupation, married Patine Baldwin, and settled in Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his active life, dying in September, 1874.
Acquiring his elementary education in the rural schools of his native township, Elihu L. Dibell completed his early studies in the academy at Kingsville, Ohio. Leaving the home farm when about thirty years of age, he spent one year in Will County, Illinois, from there going to Wisconsin and thence to Minnesota, where he resided eleven years. Re- turning to Illinois, Mr. Dibell lived and labored for seven years in Kendall County. In 1875 he came to White County, Indiana, locating in Princeton Township, where he secured title to 160 acres of land that was still in its primitive wilderness. Immediately beginning its improve- ment, he was there subsequently engaged in tilling the soil until 1886 when he embarked in the lumber business at Remington. He was quite successful in his operations, building up a flourishing trade, which he carried on several years before returning to Wolcott, where his last days were spent in quiet leisure. He was a stanch republican in politics, and, with his wife and children, attended the Baptist Church.
Mr. Dibell married, December 22, 1852, Elizabeth A. Bliss, a daugh- ter of Beriah and Polly Lucella Bliss, natives of Greene County, New York. Four children were born to their union, namely: Elihu B., born May 2, 1857, died March 5, 1912; Arthur, born November 13, 1860, died February 14, 1863; Edwin J., born October 26, 1862; and Homer B., born January 17 1864.
The birth of Edwin J. Dibell, the third child of his parents, occurred in Fillmore County, Minnesota. He first attended school in Illinois, and later in White County, Indiana. Beginning the battle of life for him- self on attaining his majority, he was engaged in general farming for four years. Coming to Wolcott in 1886, he established, in partnership with his elder brother, Elihu B. Dibell, a department store, putting in a stock of groceries and dry goods, and also organized the Bank of Wolcott, a private banking institution which later became the Bank of Wolcott. Since 1894 he has been prosperously engaged in the hardware business at Wolcott, handling a general line of hardware, and being well patron- ized throughout this part of the county. Following in the footsteps of his father, he is identified with the republican party in politics, and is connected with the Baptist Church. He is likewise a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons. He married, Septem- ber 28, 1887, Mary A. Dye, and into their home two children have been born, namely : Dorrance, born March 21, 1892, is associated in business with his father; and Ethel, born February 15, 1896. Mr. Dibell is quite
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