USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 12
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 12
USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 12
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 12
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 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
When he was sixteen years old John H. Short started out to make his
90
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
own way independently. Going to Rockingham, Virginia, he found employ- ment as a traveling salesman for a tobacco manufacturer. His business was to take a well equipped wagon and travel from one town and plantation to another, selling tobacco, of which he had a full supply in all grades and prices, and, as was customary in those days in the south, he followed the courts, which convened at the various county seats. Thus employed, two years rapidly rolled away, and we next find him at school again, in James- town, North Carolina, for he felt the need of better educational training by this time. Afterward he was employed with a railroad engineering force, in the testing of the ground for grades in a line laid out by railroad surveyors.
On the Ist of May, 1857, Mr. Short arrived in Richmond, Indiana, on his way to Kansas, in company with a friend and former schoolmate. With not the slightest intention of remaining here, Mr. Short concluded to stay over until the following Monday, in order to visit with George Irwin, an old friend whom he fortunately met here. For several reasons, and because he liked the looks of the country hereabouts, he stayed and found employment at cutting wood and in manufacturing brick. He helped manufacture much of the brick that went into the houses of Joel Railsback, near Chester, Daniel Brower, near Boston, and John D. Josheaway, of Abington. The next winter he took a contract for cutting one hundred cords of wood and the following year he went to Illinois and worked in a brickyard at Bloomington for one season. The succeeding winter he again cut wood and the next three years he was employed on the farm of Benjamin Brown, of Boston township. He also worked for J. M. Bulla, James Hart and others, some across the line in Union county.
October 4, 1863, Mr. Short married Margaret Conley, who was then liv- ing with her aunt, Mrs. Judith Grimes, lately deceased, and then a resident of Wayne township. Mrs. Short was a daughter of John J. Conley, formerly proprietor of large nurseries and greenhouses in Richmond, and later the owner of the farm which is now the property of our subject and wife. For one year Mr. Short rented a farm of John Ropers, and subsequently leased land of George Davidson. In 1866 he took charge of the toll-gate on the Boston pike, a mile south of Richmond, and continued to occupy that posi- tion for nearly thirteen years, after which he bought his present farm, the old Conley estate. One of the noticeable features of the homestead is the splendid orchard, one of the best in the county, and the fine stately rows of pine trees which adorn the landscape. Oran, the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Short, is an energetic young farmer and is caring for the farm with ability. He built a neat, modern farm house on the turnpike a few years ago and there he and his cheerful, thrifty wife, formerly Minnie Millott, dwell in comfort. Louie, the only living daughter of our subject, is the wife of
91
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
Douglas Druley, and mother of Hattie, Maggie, Eva, John and Ernest. Mattie, youngest daughter of Mr. Short, died at the age of ten years, three months and twenty-three days; and Albert and Walter are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Short are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Short is a Republican.
Four brothers of Mr. Short were Union soldiers in the civil war, -Jasper N., Winster M., Alonzio P. and Albert. Alonzio P. rendered service for four long years in a cavalry regiment, and yet was never wounded. He and the subject of the foregoing sketch are the only sons now living.
OLIVER P. MORTON.
One of the "war governors " of the nation was Oliver Perry Morton, of Indiana. At the period when the country was in the throes of civil war, upon the chief executives of the states rested a responsibility second only to that of the president. The course of the governor at this crisis largely shaped the conduct of his people, and his unswerving allegiance and determined loy- alty, or his strong opposition to the Union, were either greatly instrumental in securing the support of the commonwealth for the national government or in causing the de- velopment of secessionist principles. No governor throughout the entire country manifested greater patriotism or fidelity to the cause of liberty and union, or more courageously upheld the hands of the presi- dent, than Oliver Perry Morton, and under his guidance Indiana won as a loyal state honors exceeded by none of her sister states.
Mr. Morton was born in Saulsbury, Wayne county, Indiana, August 4, 1823, and died in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the Ist of November. 1877. His father, a native of New Jersey, whose ancestors came from England with Roger Williams, dropped the first syllable in the family name of Throck-
morton. At the age of fifteen the son was taken from school and indentured to a brother who was a hatter. After working at his trade for four years he determined to fit himself for the bar, spending two years in Miami University and studying law in Centerville, where he began practice in 1847. He soon attained professional eminence, and was elected a circuit judge in 1852, but at the end of a year, when his term expired by the adoption of a new state constitution, he willingly left the bench, and before resuming practice spent
92
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
a year in a law school in Cincinnati. Having been a Democrat with anti- slavery convictions, he entered into the people's movement in 1854, took an active part in the formation of the Republican party, and was a delegate to the Pittsburg convention the same year, and the candidate of the new party for governor. In a joint canvass with Ashbel P. Willard, the Democratic nominee, he established a reputation for political ability, but was beaten at the polls and returned to his law practice.
In 1860 Mr. Morton was nominated for lieutenant-governor on the ticket with Henry S. Lane, and during the canvass took strong ground in favor of exacting from the southern states obedience to the constitution. Upon con- . vening, the legislature elected Governor Lane to the United States senate, and on the 16th of January, 1861, Mr. Morton took the oath as governor. He opposed every compromise with the secessionist party, nominated to the peace congress men of equally pronounced views, began to prepare for the coming conflict before Fort Sumter was fired upon, and when President Lin- coln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers he offered to send ten thou- sand from Indiana. The state's quota was raised at once. He reconvened the legislature on the 24th of April, obtained authority to borrow two million dollars, and displayed great energy and ability in placing troops in the field and providing for their care and sustenance. He gave permission to citizens of Indiana to raise troops in Kentucky, allowed Kentucky regiments to be recruited from the population of two of the southern counties, procured arms for the volunteer bodies enlisted for the defense of Kentucky, and by thus co-operating with the Union men in that state did much toward establishing the ascendancy of the national government within its borders. When the question of the abolition of slavery arose, the popular majority no longer upheld the governor in his support of the national administration.
In 1862 a Democratic legislature was chosen, which refused to receive the governor's message, and was on the point of taking from him the com- mand of the militia, when the Republican members withdrew, leaving the house without a quorum. In order to carry on the state government and pay the state bonds, Governor Morton obtained advances from banks and county boards, and appointed a bureau of finance, which, from April, 1863, until January, 1865, made all disbursements of the state, amounting to more than one million dollars. During this period he refused to summon the legis- lature. The supreme court condemned this arbitrary course, but the people subsequently applauded his action, and the state assumed the obligations he incurred. The draft laws provoked the secessionists in Indiana to form secret organizations and commit outrages on Union men. They plotted against the life of Governor Morton and arranged a general insurrection, to take place in August, 1864. The Governor discovered their plans and
93
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
arrested the leaders of the Knights of the Golden Circle, or Sons of Liberty, as the association was called.
In 1864 Mr. Morton was nominated for governor, and defeated Joseph E. McDonald by twenty thousand eight hundred and eighty-three votes, after an animated joint canvass. He resigned in January, 1867, to take his seat in the United States senate, to which he was re-elected in 1873. In the senate he was chairman of the committee on privileges and elections and the leader of the Republicans, and for several years he exercised a determining influence over the political course of the party. On the question of recon- struction he supported the severest measures toward the southern states and their citizens. He labored zealously to secure the passage of the fifteenth amendment to the constitution, was active in the impeachment proceedings against President Johnson, and was the trusted adviser of the Republicans of the south. After supporting the Santo Domingo treaty he was offered the English mission by President Grant, but declined, lest his state should send a Democrat to succeed him in the senate. At the Republican national con- vention in 1876 Mr. Morton, in the earlier ballots, received next to the highest number of votes for the presidential nomination. He was a member of the electoral commission of 1877. After a paralytic stroke, in 1865, he was never again able to stand without support, yet there was no abatement in his power as a debater or in the effectiveness of his forcible popular ora- tory. Immediately after his return from Europe, whither he had gone to consult specialists in nervous diseases, he delivered, in 1866, a political speech, of which more than one million copies were distributed in pamphlet form. After visiting Oregon in the spring of 1877, as chairman of a sena- torial committee to investigate the election of Lafayette Grover, he had another attack of paralysis, and died soon after reaching his home.
ALBERT E. WILLIAMS.
This well known farmer and honored citizen of Washington township, has throughout his active business life been prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Wayne county and has for over thirty years resided 'upon his present farm. He was born, however, in Rush county, Indiana, March 26, 1857, and is a son of Thomas and Olive (Elwell) Williams, both natives of Washington township, Wayne county. The father, who was born June 15, 1820, is a son of Joseph and Charity (Adams) Williams, natives of Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. In early life Joseph Williams came with his parents to Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, where his father died. The latter was a member of the Society of Friends. The son was married in Franklin county and continued to make his home there until after the birth of two of his children. About 1814 he came to Wayne county,
94
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
where he entered land and improved a farm. He was one of the pioneer Methodist ministers of this section and was highly respected by all who knew him. After his children had all married and left the parental home, he sold his farm to a son and moved to Fairview, Rush county, where he served as a local preacher until called to the better world in 1856. He was a devoted Christian who labored earnestly for the betterment of his fellow men, and the world is certainly better for his having lived. His children were Wesley, a resident of Hancock county, Indiana; William, a Methodist minister, now deceased; Deborah, who first married a Mr. Pettigrew, and secondly a Mr. Hardin; Mary, wife of John Howard; Thomas, father of our subject; James and Joseph, both farmers, now deceased; Mrs. Rachel Hart; and Polly.
Thomas Williams grew to manhood upon a farm in Wayne county and remained with his parents until his marriage, when he settled in Rush county, where he improved a good farm of over four hundred acres and built thereon a good brick residence to replace his first home, which was a log structure. In 1864 he removed to Knightstown, where he engaged in the marble busi- ness for four years, and then located on the old Elwell homestead in Wayne county, where our subject now resides. After operating this place for ten years he removed to Milton, where he lived retired, though he still owned this farm and one in Rush county until his death, which occurred December 2, 1889, when he disposed of all his property by will. He was an ardent Democrat in politics and served as township trustee in Rush county. He was an active worker in the Methodist church, and was a social, genial gentle- man who commanded the respect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. His widow is still living and continues to make her home in Milton. To them were born seven children, namely: Samantha, who died at the age of nineteen years; Caroline, who died at the age of six; Olinda, widow of L. F. Hinchman, a farmer and stock dealer; Parnitha, wife of Dr. D. H. Miller, a druggist of Franklin, Indiana; Ellen, wife of J. B. Payne, a busi- ness man of the same place; Alice, wife of M. H. Moore, a grocer of Em- poria, Kansas; and Albert E., our subject.
Albert E. Williams began his education in the schools of Rush county, and later attended the common schools of Knightstown and Wayne county, the seminary at Spiceland, Indiana, and the Northwestern University, at Irvington. He was thus well equipped for life's responsible duties and is to-day one of the most intelligent and well informed men of his community. He grew to manhood upon his present farm and after his marriage, in 1878, commenced housekeeping there, his father having given him one hundred acres, to which he has since added eighty acres. He also owns another well improved farm of one hundred and thirty-three acres. This is the original Elwell homestead. He has remodeled the brick residence and made many
95
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
other improvements which add to the value and attractive appearance of the place. He has carried forward quite successfully the work inaugurated by his father, and is to-day one of the well-to-do and prosperous citizens of his community. In connection with general farming he is engaged in stock- raising, making a specialty of Short-horn and Durham cattle. Although an ardent Democrat in politics he has never cared for the honors or emoluments of public office. His honorable, upright life has gained for him the confi- dence and high regard of all with whom he has come in contact, and he has been called upon to act as guardian for others and as executor of his father's will.
In 1878 Mr. Williams married Miss Lizzie E. Beeson, who was born in Washington township May 25, 1858, a daughter of B. F. and Catherine (Howard) Beeson, who are represented elsewhere in this work. Her paternal grandfather, Benjamin Beeson, was a native of North Carolina and a son of Benjamin Beeson, whose father, Isaac Beeson, was of the fifth generation removed from Edward Beeson, a native of Lancastershire, England, who came to America with one of William Penn's colonies in 1682 and first set- tled in Pennsylvania. A number of years later he moved to a Quaker settle- ment in Virginia, and from there went to Brandywine, near Wilmington, Delaware. His descendant, Isaac Beeson, previously mentioned, removed from there to North Carolina, and from him springs the Indiana branch of the family. Three brothers came to this state: Isaac, in 1812, located near Richmond; Benjamin, in 1814, settled where Mrs. Williams' father now lives; and Thomas, in 1818, lived where his son, Elwood Beeson, now makes his home.
B. F. Beeson, Mrs. Williams' father, is one of the most prominent and highly respected farmers of Wayne county, and the poor and needy are never turned from his door empty-handed. He married Catherine Howard, a lady of more than ordinary attainments, who is beloved by all who know her. She was born in Wayne county January 22, 1827, and is a daughter of John and Sarah (Calaway) Howard, who came here from North Carolina about 1814, and entered land and improved the farm now occupied by Elijah Hurst. There all their children were born. Finally selling that place they moved to Madison county, Indiana, but later returned to Wayne county and bought the farm where the Valley Grove church now stands. After his chil- dren were all grown Mr. Howard gave that place to a son and built for him- self a residence in the same neighborhood, where he spent his last days. He was thrice married and by the last wife had one son, Charles. There were two sons by the first union,-Samuel and Joseph, -and by the second there were twelve, including the following: Mary E., Sarah, Mrs. Dwiggins, Lydia, Rachel, Cynthia, Catherine, John A., Neill and Margaret. Mrs.
96
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
Williams is the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children, the others being: William, who died in 1873, aged twenty-two years; Oliver H., a farmer of Wayne county; Joseph, who died in 1873, aged eighteen years; Sanford, who died the same year, aged thirteen years; Elmer, a resident of Cambridge City; Ira J., who died in infancy; May, wife of J. Coyne; and Minnie, wife of F. Flora. The sons and mother, who passed away April 14, 1873, died within four months, of spinal meningitis. For his second wife Mr. Beeson married Miss Kate Roadcap, in 1879. She was born in Virginia August 5, 1844, and came to Indiana with her parents, Henry and Lydia Roadcap, now residents of Henry county. Our subject and his wife have an interesting family of four children: Frank R., born August 23, 1879; Elsie, September 30, 1884; Harry B., July 31, 1886; and Carl P., January 16, 1890.
E. DWIGHT JOHNSTON.
It is seldom that one attains prominence in more than one line. It is the tendency of the age to concentrate one's energies upon a given pursuit, to the exclusion of almost all other interests; yet this is apt to produce an uneven and irregular development and not the symmetrical growth that is indicative of the highest manhood. In Mr. Johnston, however, we find a gentleman who has attained an eminent position in artistic and business circles, and who, in the affairs of society and church, is a recognized leader, enjoying the high regard of all with whom he is brought in contact. His name is now inseparably connected with the industrial interests of Conners- ville, and the extensive concerns which he controls form an important part of the business life of the city, furnishing employment to a very large force of workmen.
A native of Ohio, he was born in Cedarville, October 11, 1861, his par- ents being David S. and Eliza E. (Bogle) Johnston, the father of Scotch descent and the mother of Scotch-Irish lineage. The paternal grandfather, David Johnston, was an extensive land-owner and farmer, who resided near Ripley, Ohio, and in that locality D. S. Johnston was born, in the year 1834. Reared on the homestead farm near Ripley, in early manhood he- engaged in the pork and wool business in Cedarville, Ohio, for about eight years. In 1870 he removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he was engaged in the piano business. In 1878 he removed to Cincinnati, where also he was- engaged in the piano business. For ten years he was prominently connected with musical interests in that city and was well known in artistic circles. In 1888 he removed to Tacoma, Washington, where he is an active factor in musical matters and church affairs. His wife also is a native of the Buckeye- state, and to them were born four sons and two daughters, E. Dwight being the third. J. Stuart, the eldest, for years engaged in the piano business, died
E. D. Johnston
97
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
at Meridian, Mississippi, in 1889. Rev. Howard A. Johnston, D. D., the second of the family, is a graduate of the Cincinnati University, took a post- graduate course at Wooster, Ohio, and is now pastor of the Madison Ave- nue Presbyterian church of New York city, and an able and prominent pulpit orator. The others of the family are: Mrs. James Simon, of Victoria, Brit- ish Columbia; Mrs. Retta J. Shank, a prominent vocalist of Chicago, and Walter, a graduate of Purdue University, now engaged in mechanical engi- neering in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
E. Dwight Johnston obtained his English education in the public schools of Ohio, and at the age of eight years took up the study of music. There were then three children in the family and the father employed a governess, whose duty in part was to determine which one of the children possessed musical talent. Our subject displayed excellent ability in his studies and continued his work under the direction of the governess for a time and later in Portsmouth and Cincinnati, under the best musical instructors of those cities. He then entered the Cincinnati College of Music, in which he was a student and teacher for a number of years, continuing there until 1885. He became widely known in musical circles in both Cincinnati and Dayton, especially as a pianist and vocalist, possessing a superior bass voice and a most delicate and apprecia- tive touch on the instrument.
Mr. Johnston was married in Connersville in 1885, and immediately after- ward became associated with the P. H. & F. M. Roots Blower Company. This was a sudden transition from the close connection with what has been termed " the most intangible and divine of all the arts " to the mechanical construction in a large foundry; but with rapidity he mastered the business, both in principle and detail, and thus indicated the versatility of his powers. He applied himself untiringly to his duties, daily adding to his knowledge of the immense business carried forward in the foundry, and in 1887 he was made treasurer of the company. On the death of Francis M. Roots, in 1889, he became vice-president and general manager, in 1892 purchased a controll- ing interest, and on the 1st of January, 1899, was elected president and gen- eral manager, the other officers being Lewis Roots Johnston, vice-president; Charles Mount, treasurer; and W. S. Calder, secretary. Under the manage- ment of Mr. Johnston the capacity and product of the factory has been trebled, employment is furnished to one hundred and fifty men, and the com- pany is capitalized for seven hundred thousand dollars. They manufacture rotary blowers, rotary gas-exhausters and rotary force-pumps, and their trade not only extends to all parts of this country but also to all other parts of the the civilized world. Recent extensive improvements have been made to the plant which make it by far the largest and most extensive concern of the kind in the world. The foundry building is fifty by one hundred and eighty- 7
98
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
five feet in dimensions, and perhaps the cleanest and best equipped foundry in the state. The erecting room is ninety by one hundred and sixty-five feet, and modern in its facilities. The machine shop is eighty by one hun- dred and twenty-five feet, and three stories high. In all about fifty-five thou- sand square feet of floor space are occupied and utilized in the manufacture of the rotary force-blowers and pumps and gas exhausters of various sizes and weights. In the fall of 1899 an additional machine shop, fifty by two hundred feet with two wings, one thirty by sixty feet, the other twenty by forty feet, was erected, thus materially increasing their manufacturing facili- ties and for the special purpose of manufacturing a patented steam log- loader. The output of this shop has been contracted for for five years.
In addition to his extensive foundry interests, Mr. Johnston is treasurer :and president of the Steel Storage and Elevator Construction Company, of Buffalo, New York, a firm which does an extensive business in the construc- tion of a new system of grain-elevators, and will undoubtedly revolutionize methods of elevator building. They have erected in Buffalo an elevator with a capacity of one million bushels, and on the Canada & Pacific Railroad one having a capacity of a million and a half bushels. He holds letters patent on some very valuable inventions of his own, among which is a special machine for furnishing blower or pump impellers.
On the 8th of October, 1885, Mr. Johnston was united in marriage to Miss Lewis Roots, a daughter of the late F. M. Roots, who was one of the founders of the Roots Blower Company and one of the most distinguished and honored citizens that Connersville has ever known. Mr. and Mrs. John- ston have a family of three children, -Francis Roots, Esther Elizabeth and Sylvia Yale. They occupy a very prominent position in social circles, and their magnificent home in Connersville is justly celebrated for its charming hospitality, which is enjoyed by their extensive circle of friends. Mr. John- ston belongs to the Presbyterian church, takes an active part in its work, is a member of the board of sessions and superintendent of the Sunday-school, and for twelve years was the organist, but resigned about a year and a half ago. 'He is a man of fine personal appearance, of genial manner, always ready to accord to any one the courtesy of an interview, a generous-spirited, broad- minded man, who embodies the spirit of American progress and advance- ment that has drawn to this country in the last few years the admiration of the world.
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.