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 9
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JACOB E. MILLION. When White County was still in the early stages of development it received a substantial addition to its sturdy pioneer stock in members of the Million family, who made homes here, helped to clear up and cultivate the land, have walked uprightly and done good both to themselves and others, and have made their presence one of varied benefit to the community. One of the most successful farmers in the Burnettsville community is Jacob E. Million whose possessions and activities constitute him one of the leading citizens of that locality.
His parents were Ephraim and Martha (Elmore) Million, who back in the early days moved from Miami County, Ohio, to a location ten miles south of Lafayette, and from there came to White County, locating on 160 acres in section 24 of Jackson Township. Ephraim Million had the energy and ability to make a success in a new country, and by farming and intelligent management had acquired more than 580 acres of land at the time of his death. He was born in Miami County, Ohio, December 11, 1811, and on November 2, 1847, was killed in a runaway while coming home from Logansport. He was married August 27, 1829, and was the father of eight children: John, deceased; Anderson, who lives in Taylor County, Iowa ; William, deceased ; Phoebe, deceased ; Robert, deceased ; Francis M., deceased; Elizabeth, deceased ; and Jacob E.
Jacob E. Million was born August 28, 1847, only a few weeks before the unfortunate death of his father. He grew up in the home of his wid- owed mother in Jackson Township, and attended some of the early schools taught in White County. He completed his education at Burnettsville Academy, and since leaving school has applied himself with the energy characteristic of the family to farming pursuits. He is now the owner
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of a fine place of 240 acres, and has considerable town property at Bur- nettsville.
Early in his independent career Mr. Million married Miss Sadie Bishop, a daughter of James Bishop. The Bishop family belongs among White County's pioneers. To this marriage were born four children: Ida, who is the wife of Marion Hanna and of their eight children six are still living; Jane, first married John Galbreath and her present husband is Charles Moore of Burnettsville; Frankie married Charles Sheets of Saratoga, Indiana, and they have four children; Manford, who lives at home with his father, married Victoria Sheets, and their four children are named, Iona, Elsie, Bertha and Blake. After the death of his first wife Mr. Million married Amanda Bishop, a daughter of Peter and Jane Bishop. His present wife before her marriage was Melissa Delzell, daugh- ter of William and Rosie (Carson) Delzell who were pioneer settlers of Carroll County. Mr. and Mrs. Million now reside in one of the attractive and comfortable homes of Burnettsville.
Ephraim Million was a democrat, served one term as township trus- tee in the early days, and he and his wife were Methodists and among the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Burnettsville. Jacob E. Million has followed his father in politics, but has never cared for public office. He has been a liberal contributor to church and to community improvement, and is a member of the Church of God, while his present wife is a United Presbyterian. Mr. Million was one of the charter mem- bers of Burnettsville Lodge No. 663, F. and A. M., and his second wife was affiliated with the Order of the Eastern Star. In all his varied rela- tions he has maintained the high standard of conduct and accomplish- ment that belongs with the record of the Million family in White County.
THOMAS W. SLEETH. One of the old and honored residents of Brookston, whose memory goes back to the time when he picked straw- berries on the present site of this thriving little city, Thomas W. Sleeth is now living in retirement after many years passed in agricultural pursuits in White County. A resident of this county since his infancy, his life has been passed within its borders, and he has seen and taken part in the activities which have transformed this part of Indiana into one of the most fertile sections of the great Middle West.
Mr. Sleeth was born August 24, 1840, in Greene County, Ohio, a son of Alvin and Eliza Ann (Fauquier) Sleeth. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, belonging to a family which originated in Scotland, where the name was spelled Leeth, but which was changed to Sleeth in Ireland. His great-great-grandfather, Thomas Sleeth, was born in County Armagh, Ireland, and came to America about the year 1756, landing
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at Jamestown, Virginia, where Alexander Sleeth was born. He subse- quently moved to what is now Harrison County, West Virginia. In the Revolution he was with a regiment of Virginia infantry till the end of the war. The family was taken to Greene County, Ohio, by grand- father Thomas Sleeth in 1810, who was an infantry soldier in the War of 1812, and who subsequently came to White County, Indiana, in 1839, and settled in Prairie Township, where he built one of the first frame houses erected.
Alvin Sleeth was born in Greene County, Ohio, December 12, 1812, and on first coming to White County settled in Prairie Township in 1841. In the spring of 1845 he purchased a farm of 120 acres in sec- tion 24, township 25, range 4 Prairie Township, a farm which is now owned by his son, Thomas W., but he did not live long thereafter, pass- ing away September 29, 1846. He was an old line whig in his political views, and his religious connection was with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Sleeth was married in Miami County, Ohio, to Eliza Ann Fauquier, a member of a family of English origin, and a daughter of Thomas and Phoebe (Hathaway) Fauquier, and to this union there were born two sons, Thomas W. and William H. Alvin Sleeth was laid to rest in Pretty Prairie Cemetery, while the mother survived him many years, reared her boys to manhood and brought them up to habits of in- dustry and probity, and died January 24, 1892, after a full and useful life, aged seventy-seven years.
Thomas W. Sleeth was one year old when brought by his parents to White County, and his education was secured in the public schools of the country districts. When the Civil war came on he had just about attained his majority, and October 5, 1861, enlisted in the Forty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, as a private in the company, A, of Capt. John H. Gould, of Delphi. During the next thirty-seven months he served with that famous and hard-fighting organization, being honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana, December 1, 1864. His military career was one filled with much active service and he participated in many sanguine battles, in which he bore himself as a brave, capable and faithful soldier. At the great battle of Champion Hills he received two wounds, the scars of which he carries to this day.
His military service completed, Mr. Sleeth returned to the farm, and during the remainder of his active career he devoted himself to the pursuits of the soil, winning success as a general farmer and stock- raiser on his farm of 160 acres, located in Prairie Township. He has lived in his comfortable home since his retirement in 1913. Many years have passed since his boyhood here, but he still remembers the straw- berry patches on the present site of Brookston, at a time when he was
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compelled to go to Pittsburg, Carroll County, for his nearest trading point. He is a member of Anchor Lodge, No. 289, Knights of Pythias, at Brookston. He is a republican in his political views but has been content to remain simply a voter, his only appearance as a candidate being when he was his party's nominee for the office of county treasurer.
Mr. Sleeth married Miss Susanna J. Barr, daughter of Cyrus and Margaret Barr, early settlers of White County, and granddaughter of John Barr, who donated a part of the land on which the Town of Mon- ticello now stands. One child was born to Mr. and Mrs. Sleeth, both mother and child dying at its birth. He was married the second time to Miss Feddie K. Cox, daughter of Richard and Jane (Newell) Cox, and granddaughter of Robert Newell, who was one of the first settlers of Prairie Township, and assisted in the organization of White County, serving for a time subsequently as county commissioner.
William H. Sleeth, brother of Thomas W. Sleeth and son of Alvin and Eliza Ann (Fauquier) Sleeth, was born May 20, 1843, on his par- ents' farm on section 26, range 4, Prairie Township, White County, Indiana. Throughout his active career he was a farmer, but in 1889 retired and moved to Brookston, where he has considerable realty hold- ings, as well as some stock in the Bank of Brookston. He was mar- ried in 1873 to Miss Mary M. Barr, daughter of Alfred and Maria M. Barr, early settlers of White County, and to this union there were born two children: Charles M., an engineer on the M. & St. L. Railway, living, at Oskaloosa, Iowa, has two children, John W. and Paul H .; and Laura M., who is the wife of Paul Linderman, of Lafayette, Indiana, and has two children, Alma Pauline and Lyman S.
On August 12, 1862, William H. Sleeth followed his brother into the ranks of the Union army for service during the Civil war, enlisting in Company D, Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, an organization with which he served for thirty-five months. He was wounded at the battle of Resaca, May 13, 1864, following which he was confined to the hospital for thirteen months, and received his honorable discharge at Jeffersonville, Indiana, July 2, 1865. Other noted battles in which he participated were Vicksburg, Jackson, Chattanooga and Missionary Ridge, and he also fought through the Atlanta campaign, his war record being an admirable one. He has always been an active worker in the ranks of the republican party, and has held several public offices. being postmaster of Brookston from 1890 to 1894, and township trustee from November, 1900, until January, 1905. His fraternal connection is with Anchor Lodge, No. 289, Knights of Pythias, at Brookston.
WILLIAM BESHOAR. One of the solid and reliable business men of Burnettsville is William Beshoar, a representative of the Beshoar
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family which was established in White County half a century ago and which has a numerous relationship with the present generation in the county. Mr. Beshoar has had a somewhat varied business experience. but his life has been one of a rising scale of prosperity, and he has handled with fidelity and efficiency each issue as it has been presented. For a number of years he has been one of the leading merchants of Burnettsville.
It is a fact of some interest that William Beshoar was the nineteenth child of his father, and was the only one of this large family of children born in White County. He was born February 11, 1866, at the Beshoar homestead in Union Township, north of Monticello. His parents were Daniel and Mary (Smith) Beshoar. His father was born in Pennsyl- vania, June 15, 1805 of French lineage, was a man of excellent ability, and in Pennsylvania had some reputation as a linguist, frequently acting as interpreter for the local courts, having a command of the French and German, as well as the English language. On March 15, 1865, he arrived with his family in White County, and a few months later died at his farm north of Monticello, October 27, 1865. Daniel Beshoar was first married March 20, 1828, to Susanna Rothrock, who died December 18, 1847, having been the mother of ten children. Daniel and Mary (Smith) Beshoar were married in Mifflin County, Pennsyl- vania, January 12, 1849. She was born January 12, 1831, and survived her husband many years, passing away October 12, 1905, at the age of seventy-four. By the second marriage Daniel Beshoar had nine chil- dren : Daniel, a well known citizen of Monticello; Adaline, who died in girlhood; Emma, who died in infancy; James, who was born in 1854; Margaret, born in 1857; Hiram, one of the active business men of Burnettsville; Albert, who died in early boyhood; Alice, born in 1864; and William.
William Beshoar lived on the old farm north of Monticello with his mother until she removed to Burnettsville in the spring of 1870. There he attended the public schools, and for a time was a student in the Valparaiso Normal School. Among the early experiences of his career was a service as a teacher, and for about six months he was connected with the United States marshal's office at Washington, D. C., but re- signed and returned to Burnettsville.
On March 1, 1893, Mr. Beshoar married Olive Perry, a daughter of Francis L. and Adaline (Good) Perry. The Perry family has been identified with Carroll County, Indiana, since the very earliest period of settlement. Mr. and Mrs. Beshoar have one child, Guyneth Olive. Following his marriage, for two years Mr. Beshoar was a practical farmer in White County, and subsequently was in the insurance busi- Vol. 11- 6
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ness for a time under James McBeth. On May 17, 1897, he was com- missioned postmaster of Burnetts Creek, and was in charge of that office for almost eight years, finally resigning in favor of his brother Hiram, his successor, in April, 1905. In the meantime Mr. Beshoar had become identified with general merchandising at Burnettsville as early as 1901, and after leaving the postoffice he gave his entire time and attention to the flourishing general store which he now conducts in that village. As a merchant he is known over a wide scope of coun- try around Burnettsville, and his straightforward business methods have gained him a large patronage. For about three years prior to establishing the store at Burnettsville in 1901 he was associated with his brother Hiram in operating a grain elevator.
While Mr. Beshoar has performed considerable public service, he has never been a seeker of office; rather the office has sought him. He is a republican, and has served as town clerk of Burnettsville. Besides his business he is the owner of forty acres of land and also has several pieces of town property. Mrs. Beshoar is a member of the Church of God, or New Dunkards. He was one of the organizers of Burnettsville Lodge, No. 663, F. & A. M., which he has served as Worshipful Master, and both he and his wife belong to the Order of the Eastern Star at Monticello.
STATE BANK OF BURNETTSVILLE. What is now one of the most notable banking organizations of White County was started as a pri- vate bank in August, 1902, under the name Bank of Burnettsville, by W. C. Thomas and J. C. Duffey. Under this co-partnership the capital stock was $10,000, and a building was specially erected for the pur- poses and uses of the bank. Mr. J. C. Duffey was the first cashier. In July, 1907, the private organization was succeeded by the State Bank of Burnettsville, operating under a state charter and beginning with a paid-up capital of $25,000. August 1, 1912, the capital was increased to $30,000.
The stockholders at the time of its incorporation were: J. C. Duffey, W. C. Thomas, L. A. Goddard, the prominent Chicago banker and presi- dent of the State Bank of Chicago, Dr. Walter McBeth, F. A. Duffey, James D. Brown, C. M. Mertz, J. J. Buchanan, Frank Davis, T. F. Pierce, J. W. Foust, F. S. Girard, R. C. Marsh, H. H. Marsh, A. C. Hufford, C. B. Watts, Floyd Million, A. A. McLeland, J. M. Love, Turpie Saunders. The first set of officers were: W. C. Thomas, presi- dent; E. B. Thomas, vice president; J. C. Duffey, cashier; and F. A. Duffey, assistant cashier. The original directors were: W. C. Thomas, J. C. Duffey, F. A. Duffey, James D. Brown, C. M. Mertz, T. F. Pierce.
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In July, 1913, Mr. J. C. Duffey was made president, while F. A. Duffey succeeded him as cashier; W. C. Thomas became vice president, while E. B. Thomas retired from the official position he had formerly held, though still keeping his stock. The directors are still as at the time of incorporation.
The Bank of Burnettsville has made steady gains since incorpora- tion, and has regularly paid 6 per cent dividends semi-annually. What little stock has been sold has commanded prices of $200 a share, and that fact alone indicates the exceptional prosperity of the institution. At the present time the bank has a surplus of $8,500.
A list of the stockholders in this bank at the present time contains the following names: J. C. Duffey, W. C. Thomas, E. B. Thomas, F. A. Duffey, James D. Brown, T. F. Pierce, C. M. Mertz, J. J. Buchanan, Frank Davis, J. W. Foust, F. S. Girard, H. H. Marsh, A. C. Hufford, C. B. Watts, A. A. McLeland, Wilbur Crowell, C. E. Girard, Turpie Saunders, L. A. Goddard, Milt Crowell, Milt K. Reiff, J. R. Doan, F. C. Gibson, Elliott Crowell, John Gorman, Harry Showalter and Walter McBeth.
JOHN C. DUFFEY. One of the founders and now president of the State Bank of Burnettsville, John C. Duffey, has spent most of his life in Northern Indiana, and prior to taking up his career as a success- ful banker was identified with farming and merchandising.
John C. Duffey was born in Jefferson Township, of Cass County, Indiana, October 19, 1860. His father, James Duffey, was born in New York State, a son of Andrew Duffey. Andrew Duffey came from southern Ireland, and after living a while in New York, moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin. James Duffey took up the business of railroad contractor, and it was his business in that line which brought him in 1859 to Indiana. He settled in Cass County and married there Maria Carson, daughter of John C. and Ellen Carson. The Carson family came from Pennsylvania to Clinton County, Indiana, about 1851, and in 1856 removed to Cass County. James Duffey, following his mar- riage, located on a farm a mile and a half east of Burnettsville. During the war he enlisted in Company D of the Forty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was a soldier for about one year, until honorably dis- charged on account of illness. After the war he returned to the farm, and about 1868 established a general merchandise store at Lake Cicott, in Cass County. Some four years later he returned to the farm and spent practically the rest of his life as a farmer. About two years before his death he moved out to Nebraska, and died at Friend in that state, in April, 1887. His children were: John Carson, now president
-
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of the State Bank of Burnettsville. Edward, who is a traveling sales- man and lives at Logansport, married Lavina Burkett, and of their four children the three living are: Harry and Thomas, both un- married; and Blanche, who is the wife of Charles Linton, living at Logansport, and the mother of two children, one of them deceased and the other named Margaret. Andrew, the third in the family, is un- married and lives at Denver, Colorado. Alice is the wife of F. L. Vanatta, of Perry, Oklahoma, and they have a daughter named Nellie.
James Duffey was a Catholic in his religious affiliation, while his wife was a Universalist. In politics he was one of the strong and ardent adherents of the democratic party. During his residence in Cass County he served about six years as trustee of Jefferson Township,
and was once an unsuccessful candidate for county treasurer. In business he met with considerable success and owned a large amount of farm land at the time of his death. He was a man of exemplary habits and a valuable citizen in whatever community he lived. He was buried near Friend, Nebraska.
John C. Duffey spent his youth on a farm until 1879, attending the district schools in the meantime, after which for two years he had busi- ness training as an employe in the stores of McCaffrey & Dolan at Logansport. He then returned to the farm, and on October 20, 1883, married Mattie Chilcott, daughter of Amos and Mary J. (Banta) Chil- cott, who were a family of early settlers in Cass County. To their marriage have been born seven children. Fred A., the oldest, is cashier of the State Bank of Burnettsville, and by his marriage to Mary Marsh has four children : John Irving; Thomas E .; Lois, who died in infancy ; and Miriam E. Nellie, the second child, is the wife of Harry H. Marsh, a resident of Paxton, Illinois, and has two children, John D. and Alice. James T., who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and is employed by the New York Central Lines, married Fern Callaway of Cass County. John C., Jr., now assistant cashier of the Bank of Burnettsville, married Victoria M. Pierce. Ruth, who is living at home, is teacher in the primary de- partment at Burnettsville. George, a resident of Burnettsville, married Mary Watts, and has one child, Mary J. William, the youngest, is still in the high school at Burnettsville.
After his marriage Mr. Duffey continued to live on the farm until 1885, and then removed to Burnettsville and was engaged in general merchandising until 1901. After being out of business for one year he engaged in the banking business in 1902, as one of the co-partners in the private Bank of Burnettsville, the history of which and its develop- ment has been detailed in preceding paragraphs.
Mr. Duffey has been not only a successful business man, but an able
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citizen, and one whose public spirit is clearly manifest in all his under- takings. Politically he is a democrat in national matters, though in local elections quite independent. For twenty-five years he has served as a member of the school board, and that has been the office to which he has given his best public service to the community. It is a matter of pride to him, and other citizens give him much credit for the fact that the Burnettsville High School is now one of the best in the county. Mr. Duffey is also a stockholder and director of the Burnettsville Ele- vator Company and owns a couple of farms in this section. He is not a member of any church, though his wife belongs to the Christian denomination. He has affiliations with the Knights of Pythias at Mon- ticello, and has held the various chairs in the local lodge of Odd Fellows.
CAPT. JOSEPH HENDERSON. The honors paid to a long and useful life were fitly bestowed upon the late Capt. Joseph Henderson, who died at Idaville, in White County, January 3, 1904. He had lived in this community more than half a century, spent his boyhood amid struggles and privations, gave a faithful service of nearly four years in the Federal army during the Civil war, and during the remainder of his active career was a farmer, county official and merchant at Idaville.
Capt. Joseph Henderson was born in Juniata County, Pennsyl- vania, May 16, 1841, one of ten children, only one of whom survive. His parents were Andrew and Martha (Harris) Henderson. Andrew Henderson and family came to Indiana in 1853, locating on a farm in White County. At that time the country was new and improvements. were of a primitive kind. Soon after their removal to White County Mrs. Henderson died and Andrew Henderson passed away in 1855. The children, all of them young, were then parceled out among neigh- bors, and had their bringing up in the homes of strangers. Joseph Henderson was reared in the Hanna family and during boyhood did farm work, helped in the care of a younger brother, and as oppor- tunity afforded attended the district schools. He had not yet reached his majority when on October 10, 1861, he volunteered for service in the Union army. He and other recruits rendezvoused at Logansport, and he was enrolled in Company C of the Forty-sixth Indiana Volun- teer Infantry. He reached the front at New Madrid, Missouri, saw his first real fighting at Tiptonville, later at Fort Pillow, and was with the first regiment entering the City of Memphis. He was afterwards in the campaign against Helena, participated in the White River expe- dition, witnessed the bombardment of Port Gibson, during the cam- paign around Vicksburg received a gunshot wound, was captured at
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Madison but soon afterward exchanged, was again wounded through the arm in the battle of Sabine Crossroads, rejoined his command at New Orleans and there enlisted for three years or during the war. At Lexington he was made first lieutenant of his company, and three months later was promoted to captain. His honorable discharge was dated September 4, 1865. From the official history of his regiment his record is noted briefly as follows: Enlisted November 7, 1861; wounded at Champion Hill, May 16, 1863; wounded April 8, 1864, at Sabine Crossroads, Louisiana; commissioned first lieutenant September 15, 1864, and captain January 1, 1865.
With his return from the army he engaged in farming in White County until 1886. In that year the people elected him sheriff and he gave an efficient administration of that office for one term. In 1889 he was appointed postmaster of Idaville and held that post four years. With the close of his official time he engaged in the lumber business, and continued that the rest of his life.
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