USA > Indiana > Miami County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 20
USA > Indiana > Howard County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 20
USA > Indiana > Cass County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 20
USA > Indiana > Tipton County > Biographical and genealogical history of Cass, Miami, Howard and Tipton counties, Indiana > Part 20
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The above is but a meager outline of some of the principal events in the ' life of a worthy and greatly respected citizen of Howard county.
JACOB L. NEFF, M. D .- Successfully engaged in the practice of ;medi- J cine in the town of Walton, Dr. Neff has spent his entire life in Cass county, and is to-day numbered among its leading and representative citizens. He was born in Deer Creek township, Cass county, on the 9th of April, 1856, near the old Studebaker mills. His father died when the Doctor was only six weeks old, and at the age of eight years he was left an orphan by the death of his mother. He then lived with different families to whose care he was entrusted by his guardian, and at the age of fourteen he began working as a farm hand by the month, being thus employed until eighteen years of age, after which the winter season was devoted to teaching school.
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while in the summer months he continued his farm work, until thirty years of age. He was a successsul teacher, having the faculty of imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge he had acquired. He was also a good disciplinarian, and his educational work was most satisfactory. At length he determined to devote his energies to the medical profession and began reading with his brother, Dr. J. N. Neff, then of Walton but now a promi- nent physician of Logansport. Under his direction our subject continued his preparation until he entered the Louisville Medical College, of Louisville, Kentucky, in which institution he was graduated with the class of 1891. He then returned to Walton and entered upon the practice of his chosen pro- fession in a partnership with his brother, which business connection was main- tained for a year. Since that time he has been alone, giving his entire atten- tion and time to the duties of his calling. His success was marked and immediate, and he now has a very extensive and lucrative practice among the best people of this locality.
The Doctor is a very prominent Mason, and holding membership in Walton Lodge, No. 423, A. F. & A. M .; Logan Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M., and St. John Commandery, No. 24, K. T., all of Logansport. He is an exemplary member of that most ancient of all the fraternities, and shows forth in his life its benevolent and helpful spirit. To the duties of his pro- fession he is very devoted and finds in the faithful performance of each day's work inspiration and strength for the labors of the next. He has a broad and comprehensive knowledge of the science of medicine, and- his ability and success are indicated by his extensive practice.
W ASHINGTON NEFF .- One of the progressive and representative farmers of Clinton township, Cass county, Washington Neff is num- bered among the worthy citizens that Ohio has furnished to the Hoosier state. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the Ist of November, 1827, and is a son of Jonathan and Sarah (Kinnaman) Neff. The father was born June 30, 1797, and in September, 1830, came to Cass county, purchasing from the government three hundred and twenty acres of land just southwest of Logansport, developing there a farm upon which he resided until his death, which occurred fifty years later, in February, 1880. He erected a cabin by
WASHINGTON NEFF.
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the spring that is situated on the tract now owned by the widow of his son Daniel, and in true pioneer style began life in the west. The land was still covered with a growth of native forest trees, and soon the woodman's ax awakened the echoes of the forest, as acre after acre was cleared and pre- pared for the plow. His industrious efforts soon placed much of the land under cultivation and he became the owner of a highly improved farm. His work was at length rewarded by a handsome competence, as the result of his ambition, energy and industry, and his farm was equal in improvements and appearance to any in his section of the county. When he had finished the active labors of life he divided his farm, by will, among his children, and spent his last years in retirement. His wife died at the advanced age of eighty-four years. They were worthy farming people, whose well spent lives won them the confidence and regard of all with whom they came in contact, and through a fifty-years residence in the county they became widely and favorably known. Their family comprised the following children: Jacob; Washington; Daniel and Mary, twins, both now deceased; William; Sarah; Jonathan and Lucinda, both deceased.
Washington Neff attended the district school for about three months in the year until reaching his 'teens, at which time his educational training was superseded by manual labor and the text-books were exchanged for the plow. He continued to assist in the cultivation and improvement of the home farm until twenty years of age, when he secured a situation as a farm hand, being employed in that capacity for three years. He was then married, and, building a cabin on a part of the old homestead, has since resided there, devoting his energies to the further development and cultivation of his land, which is now divided into well tilled fields of convenient size. Steadfast purpose has characterized his business career. When a thing is to be done he never falters until it is accomplished, and it is this element that has made him one of the prosperous agriculturists of the community. His success is well deserved and his farm is a monument to his thrift.
On the 3d of November, 1850, Mr. Neff was united in marriage to Miss Nancy J. Carter, daughter of Walter Carter, deceased, and stepdaughter of the late John Watts. The children born of this marriage are as follows: Lucinda, wife of Theodore Miniman, a railroad conductor of Logansport; Amanda J., who married John Shuey, of Clinton township; Emma E., wife of Charles Chambers, of Clinton township; Laura, wife of Oliver Brown, of 13
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Logansport; and Edward C., who married Sarah Cooper, and resides on his father's farm.
Mr. Neff exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democratic party, and his interest in the political affairs of the country leads him to keep well informed on the issues of the day. The honors or emoluments of office, however, have had no attraction for him, and he has never filled an elective public position until December, 1897, when he became a member of the board of county commissioners, to which office he was elected in November of that year. He is proving an able and conservative incumbent, and is recognized by all as a public-spirited citizen, loyal to the best interests of county, state and nation. His religious views are in accord with the Christian church, with which he became united when about thirty years of age.
G EORGE STANLEY has for a period of twenty-seven years been a resi- dent of Harrison township, Howard county, Indiana, and since 1881 has resided upon his present farm near Alto.
Mr. Stanley was born in the neighboring state of Ohio, September 13, 1844, and in his native state spent his youth and early manhood. Some of his remote ancestors came to this country from England and settled in Vir- ginia, and it was in the "Old Dominion " that both the grandfather and the father of our subject, Jonathan and James, respectively, were born. James left Virginia at an early day and moved west to Ohio, locating in Mahoning county, moving thence to Columbiana county, Ohio, where he died in 1875. His history was that of a successful farmer and a conscientious, devoted Christian, a member of the Friends' church. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Johnson, was a daughter of Dempsey Johnson; she died in 1846. She was a Christian woman, kind and sympathetic, and, like her husband, was a consistent member of the Society of Friends; and she was not only a woman of deep piety, but she was also cultured and educated, and was the author of some articles on religious subjects which brought her into local prominence as a writer. Of their five children three are now living: ' Laura, widow of Joshua Bonsell, is a resident of Nebraska; George, whose name heads this sketch; and Eli, also a resident of Nebraska.
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At an early age deprived of a mother's loving care, George Stanley, when he was four years old, went to live with an uncle, in Pennsylvania, Dr. Abra- ham Stanley, in whose family he passed the years between four and thirteen. He then returned to Ohio and from that time forward provided his own sup- port, working on a farm at first and later at the carpenter's trade and in a machine shop. In 1871 he came over into Indiana, and engaged in the sawmill business near West Middleton, Howard county. Next we find him settled on a farm near Kokomo, and since 1881 he has resided on his present farm, he having that year purchased eighty acres of land. Mr. Stanley has been fairly successful in his farming operations, and his nice farmi and comfortable home with its pleasant surroundings are all the result of his own efforts, with a little assistance from other sources, for he started out in life a poor boy with no capital save pluck and energy and a determination to do the best that he could.
Not long after coming to Howard county, September 22, 1872, Mr. Stan- ley was united in marriage to Miss E. J. Terrell, daughter of Richmond Terrell, of this county. They have no children.
Mr. Stanley has for some years been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and maintains a membership in Alto Lodge, No. 276, in which he has passed all the chairs and which he has represented in the grand lodge of the state. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Alto and a trustee and steward of the same.
M W. PERSHING .- The editor and proprietor of the weekly and semi- weekly Tipton Advocate, Mr. M. W. Pershing, was born in Warsaw, Indiana, January 15, 1849, a son of David R. and Sarah M. (Sellers) Persh- ing, his father, a native of Pennsylvania, was also a " newspaper " man, who came to Indiana about 1840 and entered a piece of land in Whitley county, married in Wabash county and was a school-teacher by profession and a plasterer by trade. In 1848, the year of his marriage, he moved to Warsaw, where he soon became deputy auditor and established the first newspaper ever published in that town. Three years later he moved to Rochester, Ful- ton county, this state, and became deputy auditor there also, followed by an election to the same office, and there, too, he was the pioneer in establish-
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ing a newspaper. After a residence there of about ten years he was for a short time on a farm, and then he returned to Warsaw and until about 1873 spent nearly all his time lecturing and organizing lodges of Good Templars. In 1875 he was editor of the Fort Wayne Gazette. In 1876 he purchased a half interest with A. C. Mellette in the Muncie Times, of this state, and, after remaining there a year or more he retired to private life. He died January 15, 1889, at Muncie, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, who was a native of Ohio, survived him four years to a day, leaving the "shores of time " January 15, 1893, at the age of sixty-six years. Both were devout members of the Methodist church. They had four sons and one daughter, viz .: Marvin W., Arthur C., O. Howard, Ivan W., and Cora, who became the wife of William Brown and is now deceased.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in Germany and came to America, settling about the year 1780 in Pennsylvania, where he died many years ago, at an advanced age. Nathan D. Sellers, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Kentucky and of Scotch descent, settled in Ohio in an early day and came to Wabash county about 1840; was a farmer by occu- pation, reached an advanced age, and had ten children. Longevity charac- terizes the ancestry of Mr. Pershing in both lines: both his grandmothers lived to be over ninety years of age.
Mr. Pershing, whose name heads this sketch, was thirteen years of age when his parents returned to Warsaw, and there he began to learn the printer's trade. He first established a paper in Kokomo in 1869, called The Journal, which he conducted for a year; then for some years he was vari- ously occupied; in 1876 he established a journal in Tipton called The Repub- lican, which he ran for a year; the next two years he traveled for a stationery house; and in September, 1878, he founded The Tipton Advocate, of which he has had both the editorial and business management ever since. It is Republican in politics, was only a weekly until the first week in June, 1898, when it was enlarged by the addition of a semi-weekly issue. The printing- office is also well equipped for job work, of which he has a good share. He is the oldest member of the Indiana Republican Editorial Association, has now been a resident of Tipton for twenty-six years, is a member of the Methodist church, of Tipton Lodge, No. 122, I. O. O. F., of Cicero Encamp- ment, of the Knights of Pythias and of the Independent Order of Foresters.
In matrimony, December 24, 1872, he was united with Mrs. Melissa
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Cox, a daughter of G. W. Marsh and Cynthia (Gleason) Marsh. By her first marriage there were three children, -Ella, Hattie and Charles. The first mentioned became the wife of C. F. Swartz, of Los Angeles, California, and has two children, -Marvin and Mellette; Hattie married C. W. Farr, now of Chicago, where he is the assistant county superintendent of schools, and they have two children,-Forest and Merrill. Mr. and Mrs. Pershing have one daughter, Cora. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pershing are members of the Methodist church, and are honorable and highly esteemed in church and social circles. Their home is on North Independence street.
AMES O. LEAS, for many years a well-known citizen of Peru, was born J in Lewisburg, Preble county, Ohio, July 30, 1816, was reared at Eaton, in his native state, and the earlier part of his life was spent in Ohio and Indiana. In 1852 he assumed the duties of freight and ticket agent for the Eaton & Hamilton Railroad, which position he held for fourteen years. December 27, 1866, he became, with his family, a resident of Peru. For a short time alter coming to Peru he was engaged in the sale of sewing machines. Later he was in the employ of O. P. Webb, in the grocery busi- ness, and still later of A. N. Dukes, in the same business. In 1878 he engaged in photography with his son George, which he continued till his death, March 15, 1898.
Mr. Leas was one of the oldest Freemasons in Indiana, having joined that order in 1836. His wife, son George, and three daughters survive him.
H UGH SMITH. - Among the representative young business men who have recently come to the front in Logansport, Indiana, is the subject of this review, Hugh Smith, druggist, at No. 115 Sycamore street.
Mr. Smith is a native of Indiana. He was born in Pulaski county, Sep- tember 7, 1872, and is a son of William M. and Margaret E. (Woods) Smith. William M. Smith, likewise a native of Pulaski county, was born August 23, 1849, his parents being David and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Smith, the former a native of Washington county, Indiana, and the latter of Lexington, Kentucky,
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they being among the primitive settlers of Pulaski county. William M. Smith and Margaret E. Woods were married in the year 1871. They resided on a farm in Pulaski county until 1881, when they removed to Logansport, where they still reside. They have two children, Hugh and Asa.
Hugh Smith was only nine years of age when he came with his parents to this city, where he was reared and received his business training. In the city schools he obtained a fair common-school education and supplemented the same with a course in Hall's Business College. After completing his commercial course he was for a short time assistant bookkeeper for W. C. Routh, of Logansport, and following that accepted a clerkship in the grocery store of Mr. Powlen. He did not, however, remain long in the grocery, but turned his attention to the drug business, becoming a clerk in the store of Dr. H. D. Hattery, with whom he remained five years. During the period he was in Dr. Hattery's establishment, he not only learned the drug business, but he also saved a portion of his earnings, and at the end of five years he engaged in business for himself, -this being in 1897,-since which time he has conducted business at his present location, No. 115 Sycamore street, keeping a nicely stocked store, and by his genial, pleasant manner coming into favor with the trade, and thus establishing a good business.
Mr. Smith was married in 1895 to Miss Laura Bunker. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
R ICHARD R. BRADFIELD is a scientific and prosperous farmer on the old Thomas Bradfield homestead on section 34, Washington township, Cass county. His parents, John and Mary (Reed) Bradfield, natives of Ire- land, never came to this country, his father dying at the age of sixty-three years, and his mother at the age of fifty-eight. His paternal grandfather was Richard Bradfield, after whom he is named; and his great-grandfather, Thomas Bradfield, who was a native of England, lived to be over eighty years of age. John Bradfield was the youngest of eleven children, and he himself had seven children, of whom all are living but one, and of whom only two came to America, our subject and a sister.
Mr. Bradfield, whose name heads this sketch, is a native of county Cork, Ireland, born January 8, 1860, reared in agricultural and kindred pursuits in
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his native land, being thoroughly versed in all the details of farm work and life in the country. In fact he attended a model school where he was espe- cially prepared for a thorough study and understanding of agriculture and all the industrial arts supplementary. When about twenty-four years of age he conceived the desire of emigrating to New Zealand in order to find greater opportunity for the exercise of his talents, but his father dissuaded him and he concluded to come to America, to which his father had but little objection.
Mr. Bradfield landed at New York and came at once to Indiana, engag- ing in farming and stock-raising, having cattle, hogs, etc., on the place already described. He is a systematic worker, readily adapting himself to all unavoidable circumstances. At present he is clearing and reducing to cultivation an additional tract of land.
Mr. Bradfield was united in marriage with Miss Mary Bradfield, and they have two children, -John and Mary.
In his political principles Mr. Bradfield is a Democrat, and in his religion an Episcopalian, as were his parents and ancestry as far back as can be traced.
H ON. J. T. COX, a prominent representative of the judiciary of Indiana now occupying the bench of the Miami circuit court, seems to realize as few men have done the importance of the profession to which he devotes his energies, and the fact that justice and the higher attribute of mercy he often holds in his hands. His enviable reputation as a lawyer was won through earnest, honest labor, and his standing at the bar is a merited trib- ute to ability of a superior order.
The Judge was born in Clinton county, Ohio, January 27, 1846, his par- ents being Aaron and Mary (Skeggs) Cox, the former a native of Ohio and of English descent, while the latter was born in Kentucky and was of German lineage. Several of the maternal ancestors of Judge Cox were soldiers in the war of the Revolution and also in the second war with Great Britain, thewar of 1812. His great grandfather, Thomas Watts, was a native of South Car- olina, and served as an officer in the war which brought independence to the nation. After the close of hostilities he removed to Nashville, Tennes- see, and became a personal friend of Andrew Jackson, under whom his son, James Watts, served in the battle of Talladega. Two great uncles of the
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Judge were killed in the famous battle of New Orleans, and at all times the representatives of the family displayed a loyalty to the country most com- mendable. It was in 1800 when the Cox family became identified with the then territory of Ohio, whither some of the name removed from North Car- olina. In the Buckeye state Aaron Cox was born, in 1819, and some years. after his marriage he removed with his family to Indiana in 1850, locating near Noblesville. He is now a resident of Indianapolis, in which city his wife died in September, 1890. They were the parents of five sons and three daughters, and one of the number, Charles E. Cox, is now judge of the police court of Indianapolis, while another brother, Millard F. Cox, was formerly judge of the criminal court of the same city.
Judge J. T. Cox attended the public schools in his early childhood and later pursued a course of instruction in Westfield Academy. After success- fully engaging in teaching for a number of terms, he began the study of law, the first money that he earned being invested in a copy of Blackstone. After diligently pursuing his law studies as opportunity offered, it became his privilege, in 1865, to enter the law office of Hon. N. R. Overman, of Tip- ton, as a student, and in 1866 he was admitted to practice in the circuit court, and in 1872 in the supreme court.
Judge Cox was married in 1867 to Miss Jennie Price, of Tipton, and on account of his wife's health he removed to Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1875. While there he was nominated on the Democratic ticket, in 1878, for the position of attorney-general of Kansas, but was defeated on account of the large Republican majority of the state, although he ran ahead of his ticket thirty-five thousand votes. On account of the continued ill health of his wife, he soon afterward removed to Colorado, where Mrs. Cox died in the spring of 1882. Not long afterward the Judge returned to Indiana, locating in Peru in April, 1883. Here he soon gained prestige as one of the most able attorneys of the district, and in 1886 he was honored by an election to the state legislature, where he ably represented his constituents, winning high commendation. In 1890 he was elected circuit judge for a six-years term, and in 1896 was re-elected and is still upon the bench. In the hands of such judges the individual and state feel that every interest is safe, and that law will be administered with the broadest intelligence and with a keen regard for equity. A man of unimpeachable character, of strong intellectual endowments, with a thorough understanding of the law, patience, urbanity
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and industry, Judge Cox took to the bench the very highest qualifications for this responsible office, and his record as a judge has been in harmony with his record as a lawyer, distinguished by unswerving integrity and a masterful grasp of every problem that has presented itself for his solution.
In 1884 Judge Cox was united in marriage to Lizzie Meinhardt, of Peru, who died in 1893. In 1895 he married his present wife, who bore the maiden name of Addie Allman and was a native of Huntington, Indiana. Edward E. Cox, of the Hartford City Telegram and Evening News, is a son of Judge Cox, and he has two daughters, -Inez E. and Mary.
The Judge has always been loyal to every duty of citizenship, and in 1864, when only eighteen years of age, he entered the service of the Union as a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Indiana Infantry, serving from the spring until the fall of that year. In politics he is a Democrat, and is everywhere recognized as an able lawyer, a conscientious and upright judge, and a worthy and progressive citizen.
G ODFREY TWELLS .- The gentleman to a review of whose life we now turn, has long been identified with the interests of Logansport and, as a grocer, is now ranked with the representative business men of the city.
Mr. Twells traces his ancestry back to England and is of pure English origin, his great-grandfather having been born in England. Pennsylvania was the home of the Twells family for many years, several generations having resided there. It was in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that God- frey Twells was born, September 28, 1838, son of James S. and Harriet Amelia (Henderson) Twells, the former a native of Philadelphia and the lat- ter of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Godfrey Twells, the grandfather of our subject, was likewise born in the Keystone state. James S. Twells, by his first wife, the mother of Godfrey, had four children, two sons and two daughters, and by his second wife he has two daughters and one son. In the year 1841, accompanied by his family, he came west to Indiana and took up his abode in Bethlehem township, Cass county, where he was engaged in farmning until 1853. That year he sold his farm and he and Mr. Gibert W. Wall laid out the town of Walton. For ten years he lived in that town and from there he removed to a farm in Washington township, Cass county, where
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