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 8
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Mr. Preston is a native of Indiana, born at Cloverdale, Putnam County, March 28, 1881, a son of Joseph L. and Ella J. (Jones) Preston, the latter of whom died the same year of Mr. Preston's birth, while the former still survives and makes his home at Cloverdale. Charles S. Preston was given good educational advantages, attending the public schools of Cloverdale and the high school at Greencastle, Indiana, and after his graduation from the latter entered De Pauw University. There he was not only a good and assiduous student but also entered actively into other branches of college life, being a member of the 'varsity foot- ball and baseball teams and a skilled athlete, as well as being admitted to the exclusive Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Mr. Preston was duly graduated from De Pauw in 1904, and in 1905 came to Monticello, where in August of the same year he became a teacher in and principal of the Monticello High School. While thus engaged he was constantly on the lookout for an opening in a business way, although he continued with his educational work until June, 1910, when he became his party's can- didate for clerk of the Circuit Court. He was elected to this office in November of that year, and so satisfactory were his services that in No- vember, 1914, he received the re-election. He is continuing to serve his community in an entirely capable and conscientious manner. Mr. Preston is a republican in his political views, has taken an active in- terest in politics since attaining his majority and is known as one of the stirring workers of his party at Monticello, where he wields a strong influence. On January 1, 1915, he began a business career here, when he acquired an interest in the Monticello Herald Company, of which he became secretary at that time. He is the active manager of this con- cern, which under his energetic and progressive management is pro- gressing and developing rapidly. He has also interested himself in a number of other ventures, and at this time is a stockholder in the State Bank of Monticello.
Very Truly yours. Charles A Presto.
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On August 7, 1907, Mr. Preston was united in marriage with Miss Helen Hurst, daughter of Alfred D. and Iva (Bridges) Hurst, formerly of Anderson, Indiana, and now both deceased. Two children have been born to this union: Charles S., Jr., born June 1, 1911; and Joseph Dixon, born March 22, 1914. While Mr. Preston finds his chief pleasure in his home, he is also fond of the companionship of his friends, and is a popular member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Improved Order of Red Men. Mr. and Mrs. Preston are consistent members of the Methodist Church.
JAY BRUCE VANBUSKIRK. Nearly all the work of importance accom- plished by civilized white men in White County is comprised within the record of the last eighty years. There are a few families still repre- sented whose residence and activities are coincident with this period, and among them is that of VanBuskirk. There is thus a basis of special fitness, apart from his individual qualifications for the position, in the relationship of Jay Bruce VanBuskirk to the White County Historical Society as its secretary. Mr. VanBuskirk is himself a native of White County and was born at Monticello, November 5, 1850.
While it is not possible to trace his lineage in direct line to the orig- inal American ancestors, there is considerable evidence favoring his descent from a Danish pioneer who settled on the coast of New Jersey about the middle of the seventeenth century. In the third series of the collection of the New Jersey Historical Society, Volumes 3 and 4, Laurens Andriessen, a native of Denmark, is named as the founder of the VanBuskirk family in America. He was a manufacturer of wooden shoes, bowls and other utensils. He came to America in 1655, after having lived in Amsterdam, Holland. After the taking of New Ams- terdam by the English he added to his name the suffix "VanBoskerch," meaning "from the church of the woods." About four years after his arrival in this country he married Jannetje Jans, widow of Christian Barentson. By this marriage he had four sons-Andries, Laurens, Pieter and Thomas. All of these sons had a number of children, and within a century the family had greatly multiplied and was scattered all over the United States. Andriessen held a number of important positions under appointment from the proprietors of New Jersey. He and his wife died in 1694 but a few months apart.
A widespread tradition among the VanBuskirk family takes no account of the Andriessen story, but assigns their origin to three brothers who came over from Holland together at a later date. What- ever their source of origin, they are found in almost every state of the
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Union, some of them still carrying the full name of VanBuskirk, while others, having dropped the Van, are known only by the name Buskirk.
The founder of the family in White County, Indiana, was Zacha- riah VanBuskirk, father of Jay Bruce VanBuskirk. Zachariah was one of a family of ten children born to John and Elizabeth VanBuskirk in Hampshire County, Virginia. Of John VanBuskirk little is known except that he had a brother Isaac. He lived near Patterson Creek in the western part of Hampshire County, which, upon the division of the state, became Mineral County, West Virginia. His wife was Eliza- beth Welch, whose father, Isaac Welch, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution. Isaac Welch was born in 1739, and at the beginning of the war, in 1776, had a family and was living in Northumberland County, Virginia. He enlisted January 27, 1777, as a private in Capt. Thomas Blackwell's company of foot in the Tenth Virginia Regi- ment, and after serving successively in the Tenth and Sixth regiments and a detachment of the Second Virginia Brigade his name was still on a muster roll of January 28, 1780, which shows his term of service expiring February 24th of that year. While living in Hampshire County, Virginia, in 1819, at the age of eighty years, he was granted a pension of $96 per annum. His son William, who lived to a great age, was a well known local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He also had two other sons-Benjamin and Dempsey; and three daugh- ters-Elizabeth, wife of John VanBuskirk; Rayner, wife of Thomas Hogan; and Sarah, wife of Sylvester Mott.
Zachariah VanBuskirk was born in Hampshire County, Virginia, August 18, 1808. His education was meager, being obtained mostly without a teacher, by the light of a pine knot in the fireplace, as he lay, book in hand, on the floor of his rustic Virginia home. He came to White County, Indiana, in 1833 with practically no possessions but the clothes he wore. He began working at his trade as a carpenter, which he followed for twenty-two years sometimes in the employ of Jonathan Harbolt or other pioneer builders, and sometimes as a contractor. Soon after his marriage he built a residence for himself on lots 61 and 62, a few doors south of the public square on Main Street, in Monticello, Indiana, which still remains in good preservation, though removed long since to a site on West Jefferson Street. Being a sufferer from asthma, he was compelled to abandon the carpenter trade, and in later years took up other occupations. For several years he followed house paint- ing, and later engaged in the grocery business, which was his vocation at the time of his death, on June 24, 1866. He was at that time in partnership with Matthew Henderson.
Zachariah VanBuskirk was married December 25, 1848, to Miss
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Sarah McMinn, a school teacher who had come to Indiana a few years before with her mother and brothers from Greene County, Pennsylvania, the place of her birth. Before coming to White County she had taught school in the Wea neighborhood in Tippecanoe County. Her mother, Mrs. Leacy McMinn, was a native of Ireland and was a widow at the time of her arrival in White County. She died at the home of her daughter in Monticello, November 24, 1857, in her seventy-second year. The daughter herself, the devoted wife and mother of the home, died June 25, 1864, leaving a sainted memory to this day to those still living who recall her devout spirit, her life of sacrifice for her household, and her unselfish devotion to the good of others.
Mr. VanBuskirk being a Virginian, was naturally a democrat in politics. His integrity was unquestioned, and on several occasions his name appeared on his party ticket for minor offices. During his earlier residence in the county he was county assessor, which at that time meant a canvass of the whole county by the assessor in person. He performed this duty on foot, gaining, in addition to his saving of livery hire, a reputation as a pedestrian. In 1859 he was elected trustee of Union Township, and in 1864 coroner of the county, which office he held at the time of his death. Both he and his wife were Presbyterians. Three children were born to Zachariah and Sarah VanBuskirk: Jay Bruce, William Hays, and Leacy Caroline. The last named died in her seventh year. Her twin brother, William H., removed in 1874 to Elwood, Indiana, where he was married and still resides.
Jay B. VanBuskirk, the older son, was educated in the Monticello schools and at Asbury University. Being at first inclined to the study of medicine, he read one year with Dr. W. S. Haymond and took a course of lectures in the Ohio Medical College. At this time an oppor- tunity offered to enter the newspaper field by buying a half interest in the Monticello Herald, and in November, 1874, he began his con- nection with that paper, which terminated after forty years, in January, 1915, by his sale of the Herald office to the Monticello Herald Company. Until January, 1888, he was associated with W. J. Huff in the business, at which time he bought Mr. Huff's interest and continued sole owner until 1915, a period of twenty-seven years. During the first eleven years of his connection with the Herald he was assistant postmaster for W. J. Huff, postmaster, and again from January, 1898, to March, 1903, for Postmaster W. W. McColloch. At the latter's death he served as acting postmaster until George W. Van Alstine was com- missioned in April, 1903, remaining by agreement in the office six months during the latter's administration. During four years of this
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time, from 1900 to 1904, the Herald was conducted by Ed F. Newton under lease.
In politics Mr. VanBuskirk is a republican. His church is the Methodist, and he is an official member of the Monticello Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and is secretary of the White County Historical Society. During most of the time of his. newspaper connection he was secretary of the White County Republican Central Committee.
At Monticello, November 25, 1875, he was married to Miss Emma Coen, daughter of James S. and Eliza Coen, the latter of whom is still living in Monticello. Her father was Benjamin F. Hosler, of Fountain County. Two sons and one daughter were born to this union, the sons dying in infancy. The daughter, Sadie, who was born July 9, 1883, graduating from the Monticello High School in 1901, and after- ward attended De Pauw University and the Illinois Woman's College. She was married June 11, 1907, to John T. VanSant, and is now living in New York City, where her husband is a teacher in the Horace Mann School.
JOHN A. BATSON. Forty years a resident of White County, John A. Batson has been identified with varied interests in Honey Creek Township, both as a merchant and as a farmer.
He was born in Berrien County, Michigan, August 31, 1842, a son of William and Lorinda (Robertson) Batson. His father was of Welsh and his mother of German ancestry. They were married in Henry County, Indiana, and both died and are buried in Michigan.
John A. Batson was one of a family of twelve children. His youth , was spent in Michigan, where he acquired his education, and at the age of twenty-one he started out to make his own way in the world. In the spring of 1875 he came into White County, and established his home at Reynolds. For five years he was engaged in the drug business, and was also a justice of the peace four years. In 1879 Mr. Batson was admitted to the practice of law, but has not been steadily identified with that profession. From 1884 to 1894, he was traveling representa- tive for the Heath & Milligan Company, paint manufacturers of Chi- cago. He now has one of the fine farms of the community, 208 acres lying in Big Creek Township, and he has erected thereon one of the most sanitary and up-to-date barns in Western Indiana. In addition he also has a block of five lots and two residences. Mr. Batson is a man of research, a reader and thinker, and he has aimed to keep abreast of the times.
Mr. Batson is a republican in politics, and takes a keen interest in local and national affairs. On September 16, 1872, he married Marian
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H. Beam, daughter of John Q. Beam and Hannah M. (Wheeler) Bean !. To their union were born two children: John B., who died in 1892; and Lula B., the wife of Arthur H. Rice of South Bend, and the mother of one daughter, Zelda. Mr. Batson is a charter member of the Royal Arch Chapter of Masons at Monticello.
CAPT. PATRICK HAYS. When Captain Hays came into White County to become a permanent resident in the Idaville community, though only about twenty-three years of age, he bore the distinguishing marks of a long army service and for about a year had held a captain's com- mission in the Union army. In the past half century he has lived with honored usefulness in the county, and no man enjoys and better de- serves the esteem of a greater number of people in the county than this veteran of the great war between the states.
Captain Hays was born at Nenagh, in Tipperary County, Ireland, March 3, 1843, a son of Andrew and Johanna (Quinlan) Hays. In 1845 the family set out for America, locating first in Dundas, Canada, and after moving to the United States in several places, but finally settled in Michigan City, Indiana. Andrew Hays died at Niles, Michi- gan, and his wife at Keokuk, Iowa. Andrew Hays was also a soldier in the Union army and for three years was in Company B of the Thirty- fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, known as the "Wild Irish Regiment." The children of Andrew and wife were: Patrick; Mary, who is living in Indianapolis; and Catherine and Margaret, both deceased.
There was a good deal of hardship in the early life of Captain Hays. When eleven years old he was "bound out" and for several years lived in the family of Job Northam, eight miles south of LaPorte, Indiana, where he was employed on a farm and for about one year with a railroad section gang. During all his life in White County Captain Hays has passed as a man of good education, and yet as a boy he attended the common schools very little and got most of his training while in the army. While a soldier, and in fact throughout the rest of his life, he has been constantly going ahead, and has learned all that was requisite for his advancement as he needed it. Before entering the army he began learning the shoemaker's trade with George Thomas at Medaryville, in Pulaski County. Six or seven months later he abandoned the apprenticeship in order to enlist at Medaryville on August 22, 1861, and about one month later was mustered in at LaPorte in Captain Allen's Company C of the Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was sent to Indianapolis, and thence to Mumfordsville on the Tennessee River, where his command was organized as a part of the Army of the Ohio, afterward known as the Army of the Cum-
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berland, under General Buell. The late General Lawton was in the same brigade with Captain Hays. At the end of three years Captain Hays re-enlisted with the regiment for the remainder of the war. At the beginning of his service his command marched through Nashville and arrived at Shiloh in time to participate in the second day of that great battle. From that time on he participated in almost every battle of the Army of the Cumberland, until on the field of Chickamauga he was twice wounded. While recuperating he was sent on recruiting duty in Pulaski County and succeeded in getting twenty-two men. He filled up the quota of three townships and thus enabled those communi- ties to avoid a draft. In April, 1864, he joined the army as first lieu- tenant, and from that time on participated in a number of battles and skirmishes. He was finally mustered out and given his honorable dis- charge at Marietta, Georgia, November 9, 1865, more than four years after his first enlistment. From time to time his services were given merited advancement. He was made corporal in February, 1862, fifth sergeant in May, 1862, orderly sergeant February 15, 1863, was com- missioned first lieutenant April 11, 1864, and was captain from Novem- ber 1, 1864, until the end of the war. After the war Captain Hays determined to finish his apprenticeship at the trade of shoemaker. In the meantime his employer, George Thomas, had moved to Jackson Township, in White County, and thus the young soldier became iden- tified with that section of Indiana which has ever since been his home. In January, 1870, Captain Hays married Lauretta Irelan. The Ire- lans were pioneer settlers in White County. Mrs. Hays died at Ida- ville, February 3, 1893. In June, 1894, he married Elle Fry, daugh- ter of Daniel Fry, also an early settler.
Having mastered the trade of shoemaker, Captain Hays steadily worked in that vocation until about 1875. From that he transferred his attention to merchandising at Idaville, and acquired large and substantial interests as a merchant and farmer, his business career being continued until his retirement in 1900. He owns a couple of hundred acres of land, considerable town property, and is one of the most substantial citizens of White County.
As a democrat, Captain Hays has long been the recognized leader of his party in the country around Idaville. He served on party com- mittees a number of times, but has never been in politics for gain, and his many friends testify to his disinterested service. At one time or another he has been offered almost every office in the county. He was elected and served three years, from 1909 to 1912, as county commis- sioner, and in 1912 was elected state representative from Caspar and White counties, and served in the Legislature of 1913-14. This was
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an honor which he accepted with reluctance, and it was practically forced on him. Mrs. Hays is a member of the Church of God at Ida- ville, but his only fraternal association is with the Grand Army Post at Monticello. His religion is to do right, and few men have better fulfilled the scriptural injunction to walk uprightly and do good. There are few men in that part of the county who have given more liberal assistance to poor people and unfortunate than Captain Hays.
JAMES D. BROWN. A community prospers and grows in proportion as it contains men of enterprise and liberal progressiveness in its pop- ulation. During the last twenty years one of the lantern-bearers of progress in the community of Burnettsville has been James D. Brown, whose activities, while mainly associated with the drug business, have also been a factor in other important developments, and when help is needed in a movement that requires co-operation and the combined resources of many he is always quick and liberal in his response.
This branch of the Brown family has been identified with White County more than fifty years, and members of several generations have contributed their labor and influence to local affairs.
It was in 1852 that George Washington Brown, grandfather of the Burnettsville merchant, moved from Bradford, Ohio, to Liberty Town- ship, in White County. For about two years he lived in the vicinity of Norway, and then moved to the old Brown farm about a mile south and a half mile west of Buffalo, on the Tippecanoe River. By his marriage to Miss Wilburn he was the father of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters. Late in life George W. Brown moved to Attica, Indiana, where he died in 1884, at the age of eighty. In politics he was first a whig, and later joined the grand old republican party. He was rather successful as a farmer and was able to provide an abundance for his numerous children. It was a record to be proud of that he had seven sons in the Civil war at the same time. He was noted for his generosity, and besides his own children he reared one of his grand- sons, and at different times provided homes for several orphan children. He was Scotch-Irish descent.
Curtis Henry Brown, who was the tenth in the family of children of George W. Brown, was born near Bradford, Ohio, May 12, 1849, and was only three years of age when brought to Liberty Township. He lived on the old farm and when only fourteen years of age enlisted in Company F of the One Hundred Twenty-eighth Indiana Infantry. His service continued until April, 1866, about a year after Lee's surrender, and he received his honorable discharge when still a boy in years. After returning from the army he
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lived with his brother James for several years. After his marriage, in 1870, he spent a few years as a farmer, then moved to Idaville, where he became foreman of a railroad section gang, and about 1881 moved to Burnettsville. He continued in the employ of the railroad for about twenty years. In politics he was a republican, and he and his wife were not members of any church. He was affiliated with Bur- netts Creek Lodge, No. 740, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and went through the chairs of the lodges at Idaville and Burnetts Creek. His widow is still living at the family home in Burnettsville. Curtis H. Brown owned eighty acres of land and had considerable town property. Public honors were also bestowed upon him, and in 1890 he was elected township assessor on the republican ticket by a majority of one, at a time when the township was regularly demo- cratic. On December 1, 1870, he married Goretta L. Shoop. The Shoop family came originally from Pennsylvania. To their marriage were born five children: One son that died in infancy; Charles J., who lives in San Diego, California, and has a wife and one living daughter ; James D .; Clinton E., who lives at Lafayette, Indiana, and married Maggie Shell; Cecil M., who is unmarried and lives in Jefferson Township of Cass County.
James D. Brown was born at Idaville April 26, 1875. After getting himself established in a business way he was married on March 22, 1900, to Maude Bishop, a daughter of Peter F. and Mary (King) Bishop. The Bishop family have long been identified with Jackson Township. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have one child, J. Clayton, who is now being carefully reared and attending school at Burnettsville.
Since he was about six years of age Mr. Brown has lived in Burnetts- ville, and attended the public schools of that village. His first experi- ence in a business way gave him an opening to his permanent career. He was clerk in J. W. Schneider's drug store at Burnettsville, and later left the store to take a course in the School of Pharmacy at Purdue University, where he was graduated Ph. G. with the class of 1895. Following this, he was employed for eight months at Alexandria, and then bought out J. W. Schneider's drug store at Burnettsville in the fall of 1896. This has since been his principal business and he has conducted a fine store and is one of the most capable pharmacists in White County. This does not complete his business record, since from time to time he has acquired other influential connections, and is a stockholder in the State Bank at Burnettsville and has been a director in that institution since its organization. He is secretary and treasurer and a director of the Burnettsville Elevator Company and was one of the organizers of that company on July 1, 1911. The company has a
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capital stock of $14,000, and its operations have been an important factor in making Burnettsville a center of trade in a wealthy farming district. He also owns considerable town property in the village, and has recently completed a new home, the best and most modern resi- dence in the town. It has all the conveniences and facilities of a city place, with an individual light plant and waterworks. Several years ago Mr. Brown bought a portion of the Hanna estate and has put on the market Brown's Addition to Burnettsville.
In a civic capacity Mr. Brown has always taken an active part in republican politics, but has accepted office more for the opportunity it affords to perform good service to the community than as a reward of political activity. For seven years he served as town treasurer, and for the past five years has been a member of the school board and is now its treasurer. He is not a member of any church, though he gives liberally to the Baptist denomination, of which his wife is a member.
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