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 47
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Louisa Virden received her education in the country school of those times, and on April 2, 1846, was married to Stratton Virden, of Pick- away County, Ohio. IIe was born May 10, 1817, was a son of William and Lydia (Hopkins) Virden, both of whom were natives of Ohio, and had come to what was later White County in 1833. Mr. Virden owned a farm in Tippecanoe County; there they took up their abode until 1866, when they sold this farm and came to Big Creek Township and located on a farm of 200 acres, and here on August 22, 1874, he was killed by a stroke of lightning while feeding his stock.
Mrs. Virden was always an enthusiastic attendant at the annual meetings of the Old Settlers and delighted, on such occasions, to recite the incidents connected with pioneer life and hardships. She was one of those sturdy characters whom we all delight to honor and her death, on June 9, 1898, left a place in the Old Settlers' Association which can not be filled.
THOMAS S. HAYES, for nearly forty years one of the best known citizens of Brookston, was born in Kinderhook, New York, in 1835. Ilis parents, Hiram and Mary (Lee) Hayes, were born in England but were brought to America when quite young and both died in Columbia County, New York. Mr. Hayes passed his early life in Canaan, New York, where he was educated and later married Adelia Stickle, daugh- ter of William P. Stickle, and in 1878 came to Brookston, where he is still living. Soon after coming to Brookston he engaged in the grain business and in 1892 he was nominated by the republican party for the office of county auditor, but was defeated by Morris J. Holtzman, his democratic opponent. For several years he served as justice of the peace, is an adherent of the Baptist Church and it is needless to say is one of the most respected citizens of Brookston.
JOHN W. BRANNAN, a son of Adam and Rachel Brannan, was born in Perry County, Ohio, November 2, 1841, and four years later came with his parents to Monon Township, which has been his home for
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seventy years. Here he grew into manhood and in 1861 enlisted in Company K, Twentieth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and participated in the engagement between the Monitor and Merrimac, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, was in the first battles of the Wilder- ness and was not discharged until July, 1864.
Mr. Brannan was twice married, first on October 26, 1865, to Louisa J. Line, a daughter of David Line, by whom he had three children. She died December 27, 1872, and on March 17, 1874, he married Mrs. Mary E. Dunlop, the widow of John Dunlop, and to this union were born four children. As a citizen, soldier and man Mr. Brannan has a record of which he may justly feel proud, and no one stands in higher repute in the locality in which he lives.
WILLIAM F. WESTFALL. A few years ago, after many years spent in productive farm enterprise in Prairie Township, William F. Westfall laid aside some of the heavier cares and responsibilities of farm manage- ment, and being able to take life somewhat more easily moved to the Village of Brookston, but did not divorce himself entirely from the attractiveness and interests of his former occupation, and while enjoying all the conveniences of life in the town his home is just on the edge of the village, and is surrounded by a beautiful little estate of fifteen acres, which furnishes him ample employment and also most of the means required for the wholesome comforts of his home. His large farm of 175 acres in Prairie Township is now operated through a renter.
For many years the Westfall family and their connections have been well known in the rural and village communities of White County. The name Westfall is of German origin and was originally spelled Westphal. They are people of sturdy German ancestors, have been hard workers, liberal providers, and more than once have furnished effective service to their communities and country. Mr. Westfall's father was a soldier in the Civil war.
Charles N. Westfall, father of William F., was born in Germany, March 21, 1837, and had a long and profitable career in this section of Indiana, and before his death had accumulated 375 acres, all of which represented the thrift and industry of a self-made man. He was the youngest of four children born to John and Christina (Kruger) West- fall. John Westfall was a soldier in the German army during the coali- tion against Napoleon early in the nineteenth century. He followed farming as an occupation, was a member of the Lutheran Church, and died in the old country in 1873. Charles N. Westfall, after his educa- tion in German schools set out for America in 1853, when only sixteen years old. For a year or so he was employed at different occupations in New York State, and in 1855 located at Michigan City, Indiana, where
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he worked one year, and then went to the City of Chicago, and from there to Racine, Wisconsin, in both places finding employment in lumber yards. Returning to Michigan City in 1858, he spent the following two years as a fisherman, and then moved to Round Grove Township in White County. He was at that time still in the flush of young man- hood and had not yet acquired sufficient capital to engage independently in farming. For two years he was employed on farms by the month, then spent a year in Jasper County farming on the shares, and next came an interruption to his vocations of peace when he responded in the fall of 1861 to the call of patriotic duty and enlisted in Company K of the Forty-eighth Indiana Infantry. He was in the service until June, 1862, and was then honorably discharged for disability. After his return from the army he spent six more months as a farmer in Jasper County, then lived for three years in Tippecanoe County, and two years in Benton County. Charles N. Westfall permanently located in White County in the spring of 1866, purchasing eighty acres of land that had scarcely any improvements upon it in Round Grove Township. From that time forward his prosperity visibly increased until he was the owner of 240 acres, and eventually had landed possessions still greater. In the spring of 1883 he engaged in the grocery business, and followed that for a time.
Not long after his army experience Charles N. Westfall married in 1863 Alice S. Hickok, a native of Ohio. She was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and died in that faith in 1873. The names of her six children were: William F .; George W .; Edward M .; Annie May, deceased; Emma A., wife of Henry E. Harmon; and Mary Olive, deceased. In 1874 Charles N. Westfall married Adelia Vineyard, who was born in White County. By this marriage there were five children : John, Elizabeth, Henry LeRoy, Lewis T. and Charles, all now deceased excepting Lewis T. and Henry L. Lewis T. Westfall was born in Round Grove Township, November 25, 1887. He is now one of the thrifty young agriculturists of his native township, where he owns eighty acres of fine land, and he also owns a touring car. He married Miss Edith Regina Schrader on May 7, 1907, and they have a son, Paul Charles, born Decem- ber 25, 1911. Mrs. Lewis Westfall was born in White County, January 18, 1889, a daughter of William and Alice (Christopher) Schrader, who were the parents of two children, Mrs. Westfall and her brother, Harry Schrader. The last named was born in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, February 20, 1891, and is now a resident of Round Grove Township, owning twenty acres in Prairie Township. Mrs. Westfall has a farm of twenty acres in Prairie Township, adjoining that of her brother. Mr. Lewis Westfall is a Jacksonian democrat. Henry LeRoy Westfall was born in Round Grove Township, April 10, 1889, and now resides in Cadillac, Michigan, where he has forty acres of land, and also owns
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eighty acres in Round Grove Township. He wedded Miss Rosa War- wick. He is also a democrat. The living children of the first marriage of Charles N. Westfall are: William F .; Emma, the wife of Henry Harmon, of Brookston, Indiana, and they have three children, Wilbur, Elmer and Bessie; George W., a farmer of Kingfisher, Oklahoma, mar- ried Miss Effie Goble, and their four children are Irene, Alta, Clifford and Harold; and Edward M., a retired farmer living at Oklahoma City. He married Miss Jennie Alkire, and they have two children, Goldie and Ord. The senior Westfall was a democrat in politics and was a member of the Methodist Church.
After this brief record of the family it remains to note briefly the career of William F. Westfall. He was born in Tippecanoe County, dur- ing the time his father was a farmer there, on December 22, 1863, but was reared and has spent practically every day of his life since early infancy in White County. His education came from the public schools, and a short time before his twenty-first birthday, on October 17, 1884, he married Miss Eliza M. Hagen, a daughter of John and Sophia Hagen and Mrs. Hagen died October, 1906. The Hagens were among the early settlers in the vicinity of Monon. John Hagen was born in Ger- many, January 1, 1830, the youngest of three children of John and Margaret (Holtz) Hagen. John, Sr., followed the occupation of sawyer in the old country, but in 1859 followed his son to the United States and lived with the latter until his death on April 16, 1860. John Hagen, Jr., grew up and was trained to the life of a farmer in the old country. He lived there until July, 1854, when at the age of twenty-four he brought his wife to the United States. Soon afterward they became identified with the little community known as New Bradford, now the City of Monon in White County, but subsequently moved to Reynolds. John Hagen had nothing but his industry to commend himself to the attention of the world and as a basis for prosperity. The first two years of his residence in White County he was a laborer on the New Albany Rail- road, and his effective work then secured him promotion to foreman, and in that capacity he remained for fifteen years. In 1870, leaving railroad work, he bought eighty acres of wild land in Honey Creek Township, and subsequently added to it forty acres more, and lived the life of a prosperous and substantial farmer until his death on November 11, 1900, when nearly seventy years of age. On June 7, 1854, he mar- ried Sophia Schrader, and they made the journey to the United States practically as a wedding tour. She became the mother of nine children, and the two now living are Mrs. Eliza M. Westfall and Emma L. The last named is the wife of Chas. Buss, living near Reynolds, Indiana. Mr. Hagen was a democrat in politics and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church.
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Mr. and Mrs. Westfall had only one son, Edward F., who was born January 17, 1888, and is now living at Michigan City, Indiana, and he is one of the progressive merchants of that city. He married Florence Westphal of that city.
When Mr. Westfall embarked in farming as an independent enter- prise at the time of his marriage his land had few improvements. Since then practically every acre has been brought under cultivation and after many years of successful cropping he found himself in a condition whichi justified a relaxation of the severe toil and responsibilities which he had previously borne, and about four years ago he moved into Brookston and secured the little place of fifteen acres at the edge of the village. Mr. Westfall is democratic in politics, but has never held any official position. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Brookston and he is one of the most esteemed members of that community.
JOHN G. TIMMONS, one of the best known men who ever lived in White County, was born in Greene County, Ohio, in 1837, being one of four children born to Sothey K. and Twilla Timmons, natives of Dela- ware. His father moved to White County some years later, locating in Jackson Township, and became quite prominent in business and poli- tics, serving for a time as county commissioner. He died at the age of forty-nine years and his grave is one of the landmarks in the Idaville Cemetery. He had been engaged in the lumber and livestock business and in this business John G. received the most of his education. On March 10, 1860, he married Ruth Price, a daughter of Aaron and Mary (Hancock) Price of White County, and to this union were born eight children, one of whom died in childhood, and the other seven are yet living. They are Miranda J., wife of Perry Patton; Nancy E., wife of William H. Sidenbender; Sothey K .; Mary U., wife of Albert Godlove; Cora B., wife of James Million, all of White County; Harvey E., now living in Chicago, and Rosell, wife of Homer Bowman, of Delphi, In- diana. Mr. Timmons was for many years engaged in the shipping of livestock at Idaville, near which he owned a large farm, but about 1893 he moved to Rockfield, in Carroll County, where he was in business until a few years ago, but at present has retired and is now living with his children. In 1876 his wife died, and on March 4, 1877, he married Mrs. Martha McCully, widow of John M. McCully, a former well-known citizen of Idaville.
In politics Mr. Timmons is an ardent democrat and has served as trustee of Jackson Township. In 1884 he was elected to the Legislature from the district composed of Benton and White counties and in 1888 and 1890 he served as a member of that body from the counties of
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Pulaski and White. Mr. Timmons has always been identified with the welfare of White County and is known as one of our most public spirited citizens.
JOHN T. BARNES. Few men in the eastern part of White County were better known than John T. Barnes, who for many years was promi- nent in the business affairs of that section. He was born in Clarke County, Ohio, November 29, 1828, and was the oldest son of five chil- dren born to David and Elizabeth (Gedd) Barnes, natives of Ohio and of Scotch-Irish descent. When he was six years old his parents moved to Carroll County, Indiana, and nine years later his parents died. In 1850, he married Miss Sarah J. Shaver, born in East Tennessee in 1831, died in White County, August 6, 1903. Ten children were born to this marriage, but two of whom, Henry M. Barnes, of Idaville, and Mrs. Ada M. Callaway, of Cass County, survive. In 1849, Mr. Barnes pur- chased a forty-acre farm in Jackson Township, but in 1851 traded this for a farm of 120 acres, and about this time moved to White County and opened a general store in Idaville, in which he was engaged until 1864, when he located on a farm two miles north of Idaville, but a year later he engaged in business in Idaville again until 1868, when he traded for a 300-acre farm three miles northwest of Idaville, but in August, 1882, he again entered business in Idaville as a member of the firm of Hall, Barnes & Co., but for several years prior to his death he was not actively engaged in any business. In the year 1878 he was elected county commissioner as a republican, an office which he filled to the satisfaction of his party and the public. Mr. Barnes was a pioneer of Idaville, in which he claimed to have erected the first building. He was a man highly respected and merited the esteem of the public. He died in Idaville, January 23, 1905.
HANNAH MOORE BURGET was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, June 14, 1826, and when she was less than two years old her parents moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, where she lived until married to Frederick Burget on September 2, 1847. In November, 1873, she came with her husband and family to Big Creek Township, locating on a farm about two miles east of Chalmers, where the husband died October 30, 1896, when the family moved to Chalmers, where Mrs. Burget died November 8, 1915, in her ninetieth year. She was the mother of four children, three sons and one daughter, namely: Silas, who died in infancy; William, now of Monticello ; Morgan, of Chalmers; and Mrs. Lura Belle Stephan, of Rolla, Missouri. Mrs. Burget at her death was the oldest resident of Chalmers, a woman of splendid character, lofty ideals and highly respected. Some fifty years prior to her death she united with the
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New Dunkard Church at Pious Chapel, about seven miles northeast of Monticello, but about four years before her death transferred her mem- bership to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Chalmers, in which she was a faithful and consistent member until her death.
JESSE L. WATSON was born in Bedford County, Virginia, April 23, 1806, and was a son of Thomas and Robetta (Moheman) Watson. At the age of five years his father moved to Greene County, Ohio, where he engaged in the mercantile business and to Jamestown, where he con- ducted the same line. Here Jesse remained, assisting his father, until he married Mary McCart, February 7, 1828.
On October 30, 1829, he came to this county and the following spring moved his family, consisting of his wife and one child, locating on land he had entered in this county between Brookston and Chalmers, known as the John P. Carr homestead. In 1833 his father moved to Tippe- canoe County, buying what was known as the Davis Ferry, four miles northeast of Lafayette. Here Jesse assisted his father with the ferry four years and then went into partnership with his brother, Charles M., in the mercantile business at Battle Ground. In 1845 Jesse returned to this county and bought lots in New Bradford (now Monon). His wife died in April, 1842, and in June, 1844, he married Sarah Peck of Dear- born County, Ohio, who died in 1846, leaving one child, William W. In 1848 he married Mary Langdon of Dearborn County, Ohio, by whom he had five children, one of whom, James S., survives. This wife died in 1855, and in 1857 he married Delinda Dewace of Ohio. The same year he purchased the only hotel in New Bradford, but later engaged in the mercantile business, which he continued until 1870, when he traded it for a farm. Later he was engaged in the lumber business, and prior to his death, which occurred December 22, 1884, he had held the offices of justice of the peace and postmaster, also acting as notary. When Mr. Watson first came to the county, there were but five men in ít and at the time of his death he was the oldest settler in the county. There were no railroads or even highways in those days, and trails afforded the dim outline to direct the travelers. Indians were numerous and at times threatening and disagreeable, especially when inflamed with liquor. They would fight desperately among themselves when intoxi- cated, not infrequently resulting in tragedy. Mr. Watson at one time while riding horseback from Lafayette after dark, came across the dead body of an Indian, which lay across the trail and was first discovered when the horse refused to go forward without being led. Though a pioneer, Mr. Watson was progressive and always kept abreast of the times. He was an ardent republican and for many years was a con- Vol. II-28
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spicuous figure in county conventions as chairman of the delegations from his township. Two sons survive, William W., of Barea, Florida, and James S., of Monon. The latter has been identified with the mail service many years, part of the time as deputy postmaster under his father, and as rural carrier since the establishment of the service at Monon fourteen years ago. One of Jesse's sisters, Mrs. Eliza Holmes, died December 31, 1914. Another, Mrs. Mary E. Burnau, died Feb- ruary 9, 1909.
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SUSAN MURRAY SHACKELFORD was born in Miami County, Ohio, No- vember 24, 1834, and died in Monon, Indiana, September 30, 1914, aged seventy-nine years, ten months and six days. She came to this county when a girl and was married to John McManis, January 30, 1855. To this union nine children were born, all dying in infancy but one, a daughter, Jennie, who at the age of seventeen, married James P. Gwin, agent of the Monon Railroad Company and ex-sheriff of White County. She died July 17, 1881. The husband of Mrs. McManis died January 20, 1866, and in 1876 she married Jonathan Kellogg, who died in 1896. After his death she lived alone about a year and then for several years made her home with James P. Gwin and family, later returning to her own home and still later having her sister, Mrs. Minerva Chamberlain, with her until her death. Mrs. Kellogg had resided in the township sixty years and had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church fifty years. She was a woman of many commendable virtues and was highly esteemed wherever known. She was known familiarly as "Aunt Susan" far and near until latterly it was changed to "Grandma." During her active life she was a strong factor in the social life of the community. She was a helpless invalid for six years prior to her death, but the tender regard of those who loved her went far toward relieving the bitterness of affliction. When the end came, it was truthfully spoken, "A good woman has passed to her reward."
GEORGE W. POTTER. Born in the township of his present residence and near the farm which he now occupies and cultivates, and which his grandfather took up in a totally wild and unbroken condition from the Government more than seventy-five years ago, George W. Potter bears an unusual relation to the soil in this locality and presents in his history elements of unusual interest. He represents the third generation of his family in White County. Since they located here in the pioneer days remarkable transformations have come about in the material as- pects and actuality of the country, and the Potter family have been
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by no means least in bringing about material betterment and a general elevation of social and civic life.
George W. Potter was born in Prairie Township, White County, September 21, 1851, and has himself lived in this one locality nearly sixty-four years. His parents were John and Margaret (Hartman) Potter, and the family is of English extraction. John Potter was born in Indiana, while his wife was a native of Chillicothe, Ohio. They were married in Tippecanoe County, and George W. is their only son and child. John Potter was born February 18, 1825, and was brought to White County about 1838, the Potters locating at that time in Prairie Township. He followed the career of farmer and stock raiser until his death in the spring of 1864, and is buried in the Pierce Cemetery in Tippecanoe County. The mother was born February 18, 1834, and died December 6, 1871. Also buried in Pierce Cemetery.
George W. Potter was educated in White County and at Battle- ground. At the age of thirteen the death of his father threw him upon his own resources, and from that time forward he had to work steadily and unceasingly in order to pay his way and get a start. For four years he was employed at monthly wages, and then at eighteen took up farming for himself in Prairie Township. Beginning with eighty acres, he now has 180 acres in sections 28 and 27, and practically every acre is under cultivation and represents a value many times greater than it had when he grew his first crops on the land. He is the owner of the old Potter homestead, and few places have been longer in one family possession than that.
On January 1, 1873, Mr. Potter married Lucinda C. Russell, daugh- ter of John and Rachel (Martin) Russell. The Russell family came to White County among the early settlers, and John Russell in 1850 secured a contract for building a portion of the first railway line through White County. John Russell died November 20, 1893, and his wife passed away August 9, 1895, both being now at rest in Brookston. John Russell and wife were both born in the year 1818 and were married March 14, 1838, and of their large family of fourteen children six are still living. John Russell was a farmer and stock raiser during the greater part of his career, was a democrat in politics, and a member and deacon in the Methodist Church. Mrs. Potter is a native of White County, born February 23, 1852. She is the ninth child in a family of seven sons and seven daughters, three of whom are residents of White County, one lives at Battle Ground, Indiana, and two at Riverside, Cali- fornia. Mrs. Potter received her education in the county schools. She is one of the leaders of the Methodist Church, being a member of the Foreign Mission Society and Ladies' Aid Society.
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Mr. and Mrs. Potter have had four children : Everett B., Nola I., Roy E. and one that died unnamed. Everett B. received his education in the county schools and at Brookston High School. He is an agriculturist by vocation, a democrat in politics and a member of the Masons and Knights of Pythias. Nola I. graduated with the class of 1895 from the Brookston High School; she is the widow of Samuel W. Marlow, who was one of the popular engineers of the Monon Railroad. He was the son of John and Eliza (Foster) Marlow, and an honest and upright man devoted to his home and a model husband. He was a Mason and was buried with Masonic rites at Brookston. He was also a member of Lafayette Lodge No. 15, I. O. O. F., and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen. Mrs. Marlow is a member of the Methodist Church and belongs to the Pythian Sisters, Rebekahs, Order of the Eastern Star. Roy E., the youngest of the Potter children, was educated in the common schools and at the Brookston High School and also took a business course in Indianapolis. He is a resident of Riverside, California, where he has been bookkeeper for six years. He is a member of the Masons and the Elks.
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