USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 13
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 13
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 13
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 13
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
Mr. Wilson was born in Virginia, on the 7th of April, 1812, and when six months old was taken by his parents to Greenbrier county, that state, where he was reared to manhood. Determining to seek a home and for- tune in the then wild western district, he came to Cass county, Indiana,
120
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
about 1829, making the journey by team, for it was before the era of rail- road travel. Purchasing a farm near Waverly he continued the cultivation of that land until 1840, when he secured a government claim, developing therefrom the fine farm upon which his widow now resides. He bought the tract of two hundred and ten acres of land in Tipton township for a dollar and a quarter per acre and at once began its development, for it was covered with timber and was wholly unimproved. The effort required in clearing a farm is long and laborious. Trees were cut down, stumps grubbed up, the land plowed, the seed planted, and in due season abundant harvests were gathered, but all this was the work of years, and unremittingly Mr. Wilson worked on until he had transformed his wild land into a rich and valuable farm.
Mr. Wilson's parents lived with him during the first few years of his res- idence upon this place, for at the time of his removal thereto he was not married. It was on the 10th of November, 1842, that he was joined in wed- lock to Miss Eleanor D. Tucker, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, on the 17th of December, 1824, a daughter of James and Charlotte Tucker. Her father was a native of the Buckeye state and her mother was born in Augusta county, Virginia, and came to Cass county about 1829, having for a year previous resided near La Fayette, Indiana. They located in Clay town- ship, Cass county, where the father purchased a tract of wild land from which he developed his homestead farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were born twelve children, eleven of whom reached years of maturity and were married. They are William H., born December 4, 1843; Harry G., born in 1845; Marcellus T., born in 1847; Alice, born December 26, 1848; Cara, born May 4, 1851; Linnie J., born August 8, 1853; Mary L., born June 22, 1855; James A., who was born October 5, 1857, and died in infancy; Jennie, born February 24, 1859; Charles B., born July 26, 1861; Martha E., born November 1, 1863; and Laura, born October 12, 1868.
On locating on his farm Mr. Wilson built a little log cabin, which was afterward replaced by a commodious and substantial log house near the site of the present Wilson residence. The land was covered with a heavy growth of walnut, beech and elm trees, and soon the sound of the woodman's ax awakened the echoes of the forest as one by one the trees fell beneath his sturdy strokes. When the land was left free for cultivation he plowed and planted it, and soon golden harvests rewarded him for his indefatigable labors. He continued his farming operations until his death and became
121
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
the owner of a very desirable property of one hundred and seventy-two acres. He passed away December 22, 1892, and his remains were interred in the Anoka cemetery. He was a member of the United Brethren church, and in his political affiliations was a Republican. He never slighted any duty of public or private life, and his career is that of an honorable, upright man, whose record won him the respect and esteem of many friends. His widow still resides on the old homestead, whither she went as a bride, having lived there for fifty-six years. She is widely known throughout the com- munity and held in the highest regard by all with whom she has been brought in contact.
E
DWARD S. SHAUMAN .- At the head of Kokomo's fire department,
filling the responsible position of chief, is Edward S. Shauman, a well- known citizen, who is numbered among Indiana's native sons. He was born in Peru, this state, on the 8th of July, 1856, and on the paternal side is of German descent. His grandfather, John P. Shauman, was a native of Mary- land, and at one time was the owner of the land upon which the battle of Antietam was fought. Leaving the state of his nativity he removed to Penn- sylvania and in an early day went to Peru, Indiana, where he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1864, at the age of seventy-two years. He had a family of ten children, one of whom, John Shauman, was the father of our subject. He was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and about 1848 became a resident of Peru, Indiana, where he carried on agri- cultural pursuits for many years. In 1864 he joined the Union army and defended the old flag until the close of the war. Later he engaged in team- ing, and in 1875 removed from Peru to Stanton, Michigan, where he has since engaged in the news business. He and his wife belong to the Method- ist church. Mrs. Shauman bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Worley, and is a native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They became the parents of nine chil- dren, six of whom are now living, namely: Adelia, Ozro, Edward S., Charles WV., Omer and May. The last named is the wife of Frank Crick.
Edward Shauman was reared in the city of his nativity, acquired his education in its public schools, and at the age of fifteen began learning the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for twenty years. In 1881 he came to Kokomo and conducted a smithy until 1885, when he went to Henderson,
122
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
Kentucky, where he spent three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to his native state, making his home in Evansville for four years, after which he again located in Kokomo, where he has resided continuously since. In 1882 he became a volunteer of the fire department, and was cap- tain of a hose company at the time of his removal to Kokomo. After his return he was made chief, May 3, 1893, the department having, in 1891, been organized as a pay department. For five years, by election of the city council, he has been continued in that position, the duties of which he dis- charges in a most satisfactory and acceptable manner. He is cool in times of danger, and his sound judgment and discretion make him a valuable chief.
On the 6th of October, 1880, Mr. Shauman was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Smith, daughter of Francis M. and Nancy (Godfrey) Smith. They became the parents of two sons and four daughters: Carrie, Frederick, Addie, Edward, Hazel and Nellie. Carrie died in 1896, at the age of sixteen years, and Nellie died in infancy. The others are still with their parents. Mr. Shauman is a member of the Odd Fellows' society, and in politics is a Republican, keeping well informed on the issues of the day and giving an intelligent support to the party of his choice. The headquarters of the fire department are in the rear of the city building, and there is a force of six men who receive pay. All sleep at the headquarters in order to answer a sum- mons at any time, and the department is characterized by the utmost neat- ness and system. An engine, hook and ladder and hose cart constitute the equipments for fighting the fiery elements, and these are manipulated in a most commendable manner by the members of the fire department, under the direction of their worthy chief.
D ANIEL MILLER .- A native son of the Keystone state, Daniel Miller was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1831, and spent his boy- hood days on a farm there. His educational privileges were somewhat meager, owing to the fact that at the early age of ten years he started out to earn his own livelihood and in consequence had no time to attend school. For five years he received no compensation for his services save his board and clothes. At the age of sixteen he received a mowing scythe and five dollars in money for a year's work, in addition to his board and clothes. He
123
CASS. MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
continued his labor as a farm hand until attaining his majority, when he removed to Ohio and worked at the carpenter's trade for one year. On the expiration of that period he returned to Pennsylvania, where he followed carpentering for five years, after which he married and turned his attention to farming. He was thus connected with the agricultural interests of his native state until 1865, when he again went to Ohio, where he carried on farming until 1884, and at the same time operated a saw and grist mill. Through the past fourteen years he has resided in Tipton township, Cass county, Indiana. On his arrival here he purchased a farm of two hundred and fifty acres, upon which he made his home until 1896, when he removed to his present farm, comprising one hundred and forty acres of rich and arable land.
Mr. Miller has three children, -Levi, Annie and Lizzie, -the last named now the wife of James Wilson, of Tipton. His attention has ever been largely given to the interests of his family and his business, yet he never withholds his support from any enterprise or movement which he believes will prove of public good. He has worthily won the proud American title of " self-made man," for all that he has acquired is due to his own efforts and energy. He possessed resolute purpose, and by earnest labor and unfalter- ing determination he has overcome the obstacles in his path and worked his way upward to success. His example may well serve to encourage others, who, like himself, have to begin life empty-handed. He has not only won a comfortable competence but also shares in the high regard of his fellow citizens, and justly merits the esteem which is so freely accorded him.
F RANK N. STRATTON, of the firm of Herron & Stratton, attorneys at law, with offices in the Ruddell building, Kokomo, Indiana, is one of the promising young lawyers of this place and is at this writing (September, 1898) a candidate for the office of prosecuting attorney on the Republican ticket. From a recent reference to him in one of the local papers, we clip the follow- ing: "Mr. Stratton has the right sort of stuff in him for this office. With- out means, and solely by his own efforts, he has fought his way from the saw- mill, the clearing and the farm to the front rank at our bar. An untiring student, he has so educated himself by the 'midnight oil' that there is per-
124
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GEVEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
haps no one in the county better versed in the wide field of literature, and especially in the domain of history, sacred and profane, and upon questions of law his opinion is respected by the oldest members of our bar. His expe- rience with men and affairs has been very wide and varied. He has been engaged in many cases, criminal and civil, some of them of local celebrity."
Mr. Stratton was born in Madison, Indiana, September 18, 1860, and is a son of Francis J. and Hester A. (Donnellan) Stratton, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ohio. Of their family of five children, four sons and one daughter, Frank N. is the only one now living. Francis J. Stratton was for some years in the United States secret service, until he was severely wounded, and then practiced medicine in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and for a time was surgeon in the penitentiary. He had formerly practiced in Preble county, Ohio, having moved to Ohio from New York, and it was in Preble county that he was married. On account of poor health, having been wounded through the lungs, he was obliged to resign his position as surgeon in the penitentiary, and through Secretary of State William H. Seward he received a good position in the patent office at Washington, D. C. He died there in 1863. In the early part of the Civil war he offered his services to the Union but because of his wound was unable to pass muster and was not accepted. Under these circumstances he did the best he could; he was active in relieving sickness and suffering among the soldiers in and about Washington. While in the detective business he succeeded in putting a stop to a large amount of work done by the Stephen Wing gang of counterfeiters, on the St. Lawrence river, in Canada, capturing the entire gang. The mother of our subject, after remaining a widow for some time, became the wife of Samuel E. Strattan, who at the time of their marriage was county commissioner of Howard county. By him she had one child, who died in infancy. She died September 18, 1894, at the age of fifty-eight years.
Referring to the grandparents of Frank N. Stratton, we find that his grandfather Stratton was a native of Vermont, a farmer by occupation, and for many years a resident of New York state, where he died. He was a strict Covenanter. His family was composed of three children. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Nelson Donnellan. He was born in Virginia, the son of an aristocratic planter of the " Old Dominion," who was a native of Ireland. Being refused by his father the permission to marry the girl he loved, he left home and, though without money, married
125
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
the girl and took her with him to the wilds of Ohio, their settlement being in Preble county, where he practiced medicine and accumulated considerable property. He afterward moved to Indianapolis and subsequently to Ander- son, and at the latter place died near the age of eighty years. He joined General Lew Wallace in the defence of Cincinnati during the war of the Rebellion, belonging to the organization known as the "Squirrel Hunters." The Strattons were intimate with the Seward and Lincoln families.
Coming now to the immediate subject of this review, Frank N. Stratton, we record that when he was six years old he was brought by his mother and stepfather to Howard county, and in Monroe township, this county, he grew to manhood, spending his youthful days in working on a farm and in a sawmill. He attended school for a short time at New London and later spent six months in a business college. In 1892 he began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in August, 1894, and began the practice of his profession in Kokomo, having formed a partnership with Joseph C. Herron, under the firm name of Herron & Stratton.
Mr. Stratton and his family reside at No. 222 Fort Wayne avenue, Kokomo. He was married, March 8, 1888, to Miss Otilie Shellsmith, daugh- ter of Ferdinand and Kate Shellsmith, and they have three sons, Frank, Frederick and Ferdinand. Mrs. Stratton at the time of her marriage was a teacher in the public schools of Indianapolis. Her father was a musician by profession, and the whole family are musically inclined.
Fraternally, Mr. Stratton is identified with the Improved Order of Red Men.
H JORATIO F. FIELDS, whose pleasant home and fine farm are located on the road leading from Logansport to Peru, in Tipton township, Cass county, Indiana, is a native Hoosier.
Mr. Fields was born near Peru, in Miami county, Indiana, January 22, 1857, eldest of the three children of William D. Fields by his third wife, whose maiden name was Martha Ryan. Mr. Fields has a brother, Adrian Fields, who is a resident of Logansport and employed as engineer on the Pan Handle railroad. When Mr. Fields was three years old his father removed to Champaign county, in the state of Ohio, where he lived for five years. Returning to Indiana at the end of that time, he settled in Lewis-
126
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
burg. Here young Horatio F. passed from boyhood to man's estate. At the early age of thirteen he became self-supporting. For ten years he was employed by the month on farms, being thus occupied up to the time of his marriage. Renting the farm he now owns and occupies, he settled on it immediately after his marriage, and for two years resided here, after which he rented his father-in-law's farm in Tipton township, which he cultivated one year. Following this he cultivated another farm three years and still another twelve years, at the end of which time he took up his abode at his present home, that being in 1896. This last place, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, he purchased in 1893, is utilized for general farming and stock-raising, is well improved and under a high state of cultivation, and is one of the most desirable farms in this locality.
Mr. Fields was married in 1878 to Miss Mary C. Smith. Having no children of their own, they adopted a little girl, Dora May, daughter of Mrs. Fields' brother, George Smith, whom they are rearing as their own.
Mr. Fields has always affiliated with the Democratic party. He is a worthy member of the Masonic order, fraternizing with New Waverly Lodge, No. 484, F. & A. M.
L YCURGUS EMMETT is an offspring of two noted families of marble and granite workers, the Emmetts and the Powells - the former hailing from Yorkshire, England, and the latter being scattered through the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina.
His father, William Emmett, one of several brothers noted for their con- summate skill with mallet and chisel, spent a large portion of his earlier life in the construction of the noted Liverpool docks, the massiveness and per- manent character of which are not surpassed by even the pyramids of Egypt. Later he came to America, and after pursuing his vocation for some time in Seneca Falls, New York, he went to Galveston, Texas, where he embarked in the marble and tombstone business, on a large scale, becoming very pros- perous, and also famous for the excellence and beauty of his workmanship and designing.
The Civil war came as a crushing blow to his high aspirations and dreams of the future, and he finally found his way to the north land, to re-enter the
127
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
battle for fame and fortune. After serving several of the principal marble dealers in Indiana and states adjoining, he settled in Logansport, and ou January 1, 1864, was married to the mother of Lycurgus, Miss Mary M. Powell, daughter of Lycurgus and Hannah (Foster) Powell. During his business career in Logansport he executed, from his own designing, such cel- ebrated pieces of work as the unrivaled monument to the memory of the gallant Captain Palmer Dunn, which consisted of an Italian marble shaft, fluted and molded, upon which hung in bas relief a counterpart of the sword carried by this gallant officer when he was killed at Chickamauga; the figures on the clasp, the rings and straps, even the stitches in the leather, were so plainly reproduced in the marble that people looked upon it as one of the proudest achievements of art. It would be impossible to enumerate here all of the celebrated pieces of carving and designing executed by this wonderful man, but his last and greatest work was a design and drawing for a monu- ment to the memory of our martyr president, Abraham Lincoln, which was awarded the prize, as the best and most appropriate, but on account of a lack of funds they were obliged to adopt a cheaper monument.
Lycurgus Powell, the grandfather of our subject, was a pioneer in the tombstone business in Indiana, and all his sons, six in number, worked more or less at this calling, some of them arriving at great proficiency before engaging in other lines of enterprise. What wonder then that young Emmett should spring into prominence as a man well fitted to carry forward the work so well begun by his efficient ancestors, -a work for which he was well fitted both by birth and education? for he spent his babyhood playing around the benches of his father's fine workmen and later on received such advice, instruction, and example as to equip him for the honorable position he now holds.
His father despised a " botch " workman and would not tolerate him for a moment; he despised cheap-John work of any sort, and he was as scrupu- lous regarding the solidity of his foundations as he was of the beauty and symmetry of the noble shaft which he designed and executed. Lycurgus was a chip of the old block, and though beginning his career as a business man in the face of the most discouraging circumstances, having become an orphan early in life and having lost a limb in a railroad accident, he forged his way to the front, and encouraged by the example of his father, the prayers of his sainted mother, and the help and assistance of a good, true
128
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY OF
wife, he has achieved a success equaled by few young men of this busy age. He is building monuments of a high order, embodying beauty,. art and per- manency, he is conducting an honest, straightforward business, relying only on the merit of his product and the integrity of his intentions for success. He believes in good honest work, at a fair living price, and upon this founda- tion he has built up a business that has no equal in its line in this part of the country.
OHN A. MORRISON, county treasurer, Kokomo. - It is not worth while J here to expatiate in cant phraseology upon the well known reputation of Quakers for honesty, integrity and reliability; but we may be justified in stat- ing that the mental and moral constitution of the honorable gentleman who is chosen as the subject of this brief sketch is such as to account for his suc- ·cess in business and his reputation for fidelity in public office. Despite all his efforts to prevent his left hand from knowing what his right hand doeth, the public recognize in him a merit that should have its reward, and they would elevate him to a still higher position had they the opportunity. All his life has been an open record, right here in Howard county, wherein he was born.
His parents- were Daniel and Margaret (Haslet) Morrison, natives of Ohio, who had five children, namely: Mary E., who is now the wife of W. J. Dake, of Preston, Kansas; Hannah J., now Mrs. Mulford Horseman, of Kokomo; William A., a resident of this county; John A., the subject of this sketch; and Sadie, the wife of William Weddell, of Russiaville, Indiana. Mr. Daniel Morrison, a farmer, emigrated to Indiana in pioneer times, locating upon a tract of land in the western part of Howard county, and he finally -died there, near New London, in 1879, aged fifty-three years. His wife sur- vived him until 1893, when, at the age of seventy-two years, she was called to her eternal rest. They were pious and exemplary members of the church .of the United Brethren in Christ. Mr. Morrison proved his loyalty and heroism by serving as a private soldier in the great war of the Rebellion, in which he received a wound. William Morrison, the grandfather of our sub- ject, was a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish descent, had a large number of children, came to Howard county in an early day, and lived to a great age. Mr. Morrison's grandfather on his mother's side married Miss
1
Yours Truly Sohn. A. Morrison
129
CASS, MIAMI, HOWARD AND TIPTON COUNTIES.
Hamilton, who was a direct descendant of the celebrated statesman, Alex- ander Hamilton, and died in middle life.
Mr. John A. Morrison was born June 10, 1857, and reared to farm life at his native place, attending during the winter seasons the district schools and the high school at New London. At the age of eighteen years he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years. Being a scholar, a good disciplinarian and apt to teach, he taught school for twenty winter seasons. This statement brings the account in this brief outline up to the year 1896, when Mr. Morrison was elected county treasurer, which office he now fills, with satisfaction to all concerned, having been renominated in March, 1898, for a second term. He is a Republican in his political views, a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias (uniform rank) fraternities, and the Improved Order of Red Men, Junior Order of American Mechanics, Sons of Veterans, Elks, Daughters of Rebekah and the Ladies' Aid Society.
The 13th day of July, 1882, is the date of his marriage to Miss Flora A. Young, daughter of Oliver and Catharine (Pyle) Young, and they have two children, named Nida H. and Audra M.
Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are members of the Society of Friends, unas- suming but strictly consistent in their Christian character. Mrs. Morrison is a noble woman and is a member of the order of Daughters of Rebekah.
R OBERT HUMPHREYS. - Among the enterprising, progressive men whose business interests have made Logansport one of the thriving cen- ters of commerce in Indiana is Robert Humphreys, who is numbered among the native sons of the Keystone state. He was born in Allegheny, Pennsyl- vania, on the 8th of August, 1857, and is a son of John C. and Nancy C. .(Ross) Humphreys. His father was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1831, and is a son of Robert and Margaret J. (McCord) Humphreys, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The grandfather engaged in the grocery business for many years near Pittsburg, and in later life, retiring from busi- ness, removed to Venus, Washington county, Pennsylvania, where his death ·occurred. The father was through a long period connected with the building interests of Pittsburg, and since 1893 has resided in Logansport. His wife
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.