USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 27
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WILMER H. GEMMER.
William H. Gemmer, son of Major Philip and Lydia E. (Smith) Gem- mer, the present and efficient county surveyor of Warren county, is one of the popular young men of ability which this county has produced. He was born in Williamsport, his present residence, on February 7, 1871, and his education was obtained in the common and high schools of his native city and at Purdue University. At this latter institution he was graduated in June, 1894, with the degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering. Before he had finished his university course Mr. Gemmer had been placed in nomina- tion for county surveyor by the Republicans of Warren county, and in the fall of the same year he was elected to that responsible office by a large and complimentary majority. By re-election after re-election he is still serving,
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now in his third consecutive term of office. He has also been civil engineer of Williamsport since 1894. During his incumbency of this office much labor has devolved on him in this connection. A large number of concrete walks have been laid, much and important street improvement work has been accomplished, and the important water-works system has been introduced. All of these matters have been conducted under Mr. Gemmer's personal superintendence. In 1896 Mr. Gemmer published a wall map of Warren county, Indiana, drawn, compiled and corrected by himself, which met with great commendation and testifies to his accuracy and ability in his profes- sion. A copy of this map hangs in every school-house in the county.
In fraternal organizations Mr. Gemmer has been a valued member of several bodies, and at the present writing (June, 1899) is holding the office of worshipful master of Williamsport Lodge, No. 38, Free and Accepted Masons. Like his gallant father, he has ever given strong allegiance to the Republican party.
In June, 1895, Mr. Gemmer was united in holy wedlock with one of Williamsport's attractive young ladies, Miss Lota M. Biggs, daughter of Elias A. and Lena (Crane) Biggs. They have two children,-Kathleen and Philip.
GEORGE A. BECKETT.
For sixty-five years the Becketts have been residents and land-holders of what is now Kent township, Warren county, and no more honorable, upright citizens have dwelt in this region. They have led quiet, industrious, peaceful lives, have ever endeavored to do their whole duty toward God and man, and have enjoyed the confidence and genuine esteem of all their associates.
The father of the subject of this sketch, George W. Beckett, was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, June 10, 1813, a son of James Beckett, who died in 1816. About 1822 the widowed mother came to Indiana with her three children, two of whom were sons. George W. was reared in the home of his uncle, William Beckett, a pioneer merchant of Perrysville, Vermilion county, Indiana. In the early part of the '3os the young man came to War- ren county, and in 1834 he located at Gopher Hill, now included within Kent township, and, having secured the patent to a tract of one hundred and sixty-three and four-fifths acres of land, he proceeded to develop and improve the property, which has never since left the possession of the family, and now belongs to the subject of this narrative. The patent to the land, which was first owned by Henry Coons, bears date of April 20, 1826, and is signed by John Quincy Adams; and this curious old document is now held by the
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present owner of the farm. George W. Beckett was a Democrat of the Jack- son school. A devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he died, as he had lived, strong in the Christian faith, his death occurring April 12, 1887. He is survived by his widow, who is now living in the town of State Line, Indiana. She was a Miss Amanda Taylor in her girlhood, her parents being William and Amasa (Young) Taylor, and her birth took place in Flem- ing county, Kentucky, August 1, 1821. Eleven children were born to G. W. and Amanda Beckett, and six of the nine who lived to maturity are now liv- ing, namely: William, whose home is in Iowa; Mrs. A. Powell, of this town- ship; John, a citizen of Illinois; George A .; Mrs. Belle Browne, of State Line; and Mrs. Jennie Jones, of Montgomery county, this state. James died when about thirty years of age; Mattie at twenty-five and Josie at thirty. The father of these children, feeling the great desirability of a good education, which he had not been able to enjoy himself, was strenuous in his efforts to procure advantages for them, and was rewarded by seeing each one, with one exception, as he arrived at mature years, become a teacher.
George A. Beckett, who owns and successfully manages the old Beckett homestead, was born thereon, July 2, 1855, and he has never known any other place of abode. He made the best of his educational privileges, and further improved his mind by special study, and for more than twenty years he was accounted one of the leading educators of Warren county. He was actively occupied in teaching from the summer of 1875 until 1895, and in the meantime gave some attention to farming, as well. He is now diligently engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is prospering. In Novem- ber, 1894, he was elected a trustee of Kent township, and is still acting in that capacity. He follows in his father's footsteps in regard to politics, but is not radical, and believes that only good men should be placed in office, no matter what banner they stand under.
On the 24th of November, 1892, Mr. Beckett married Miss Mabel Swit- zer, a daughter of Wesley Switzer. She was born in Vermilion county, Indiana, and by her marriage has become the mother of four children: Lloyd; Ruth, Carl, who died in infancy; and Carter H. They have a pleas- ant home, and are surrounded by many of the comforts and blessings of life.
WILLIAM WILGUS.
William Wilgus, senior member of the real-estate firm of Wilgus & Schooler, Lafayette, was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, near Romney, August 14, 1849. His parents were Samuel and Mary (Foltz) Wilgus, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Pennsylvania, and of their family of four children three are living, namely: Albert, William and Susie.
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The father was a physician and came to Indiana in 1840, locating at Dayton, where he practiced for five or six years. He moved from that place to Romney, where he died in 1856, when only forty-one years of age. His wife survived him for twenty-five years, passing away in 1881, on the same day of the same month, February 3, at the age of sixty years. The father was a member of the Universalist church, while his wife was a Presbyterian. They were prominent and highly respected citizens.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, William Wilgus, was of English descent and a Quaker in his religious belief. He was a long time a resident of Ohio and died near Lebanon, that state, in 1866, at the advanced age of ninety years. He was a farmer by occupation. The maternal grandfather, Jonathan Foltz, was of German extraction and was born in Pennsylvania and carried on farming, and died when sixty years of age.
The subject of this sketch was reared in Tippecanoe county on his father's. farm, attending the district school in the winter and assisting in the various duties of a farmer's lad on vacations. He completed his education at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, and in 1866 began teaching school, which occupation he followed for the succeeding ten years. From 1876 to 1880 he held the office of county recorder, and at the close of his term went into the grain business at Corwin. He has been a member of the present firm of Wilgus & Schooler for some ten years, they doing a large business in real estate and also in loans and insurance.
On December 31, 1884, Mr. Wilgus was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Brunton, a daughter of John and Emily (Webb) Brunton, and they have one child, Emily by name. Mrs. Wilgus and her daughter are members of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church, and are active in church work. Politically, Mr. Wilgus is in sympathy with the Democratic party, and is always ready to give aid and counsel when called upon. He is a man of good judgment, well posted on all questions of the day, and is regarded as an upright, able and successful business man.
MRS. ELIZABETH TAYLOR.
The subject of this sketch, named above, is the widow of John Taylor, and is a highly esteemed resident of Union township.
The Taylors were of an old colonial family of Virginia. William Taylor, the father of John Taylor, moved from West Virginia to Indiana with his family in 1828, settling in Union township, Tippecanoe county, upon land adjoining the present homestead of Mrs. Taylor. (For a full history of William Taylor, see sketch of Sylvester Taylor).
John Taylor, his son, was born August 27, 1816, in West Virginia, and
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was a boy of about twelve years when he came with his parents to Indiana. Here he was brought up on the farm, meanwhile attaining a common-school education. During his active business life he was extensively engaged in the business of dealing in grain, hogs and cattle. In company with his brother Sylvester, he built a grain elevator at Taylor's station, about 1854, where they did a large business for many years. He prospered, and for a rarity met with no reverses, being a man of shrewd foresight. About 1865 he built a substantial and tasteful brick residence, of brick burned on the premises.
On the 6th of March, 1851, on the Wea Plains, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Elizabeth Hall, who was born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1827, a daughter of Major Henry and Mary (Fertig) Hall. The Hall family were of Scotch-Irish descent. Benjamin Hall, the father of the Major, came from Ireland at the age of sixteen years, in company with a wealthy aunt, a Mrs. McGrady. Benjamin Hall was a farmer of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, where he passed his life. His children were Henry, John, James, William, Thomas, Johnson, Benjamin and Robert. Mr. Hall was a gentleman of quiet manners, was a farmer of good management, a neighbor of good principles, and carefully brought up his sons in the princi- ples of industry and honesty. Major Henry Hall was born April 15, 1796, in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, received a good common-school education and also became well educated in practical business. He learned the tanner's trade at Perryville, in his native county, but never followed it as a life occupation. At the age of twenty-one years, at Perryville, he married Mary Fertig, who was born April 15, 1801, in that county, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Geiger) Fertig. Both the Fertig and Geiger families were of sterling Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, from the original settlers. John Fertig was born in the Keystone state, in Dauphin county, was a miller and farmer by occupation, owned a mill and was an honorable citizen. His only children were Mary and John. He was a Lutheran in his religious connec- tions, much beloved by all who knew him. Both he and his wife lived to be about seventy years of age.
Major Henry Hall, after his marriage, continued to reside in Mifflin county, upon a farm which he purchased. His title was given him on account of his having been a major of the old Pennsylvania state militia. The children by the marriage just mentioned, his first, were Catherine, John F., Elizabeth, Henry J. M., Mary M., William T., B. J. and Joseph M. After the death of his wife he became a contractor for public works, engag- ing in canal construction, etc., including work on the early portion of the Wabash & Erie canal, losing thirty thousand dollars on the last job. He moved to Indiana in 1844 with his family, but he had been in this state some years previously. Settling in the Wea Plains, he purchased eight hundred
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acres of land, which he proceeded to improve, and he added to this other land: at the time of his death he was the owner of thirteen hundred acres.
By his marriage, which was in 1844, he was wedded to Miss Julia Price, a daughter of Judge Price, of Vincennes, and by this union there was one daughter, named Julia C., who married Hugh Ritchie. Major Hall was a member of the Presbyterian church. He was a well known pioneer, taking great interest in public affairs, was a stanch Republican, a county commissioner for several terms, and finally died at West Point, in his seventy-first year. He was a man of sound judgment and much respected for his integrity of character.
Mr. and Mrs. John Taylor began their married life on the homestead still occupied by Mrs. Taylor, and, with the exception of two years passed in Lafay- ette for the education of the children, this was their home. The children are Mary F., Virginia E., Julia H. and John H. In his religion Mr. Taylor was a Presbyterian, and Mrs. Taylor is also a member of that church, holding her membership in the Second Presbyterian church of Lafayette. Mr. Tay- lor was a man of high moral character, taking an active interest in educa- tional and religious matters, and in business affairs he was a man of sound judgment. He died at the age of fifty-five years, August 2, 1871, on the old homestead.
DAVID B. PURVIANCE.
David B. Purviance is one of the few remaining of the earliest of the pioneers of Warren county, Indiana, he having come here in 1829, when a child, with his father, Eleazar Purviance, and family. Eleazar Purviance was a native of North Carolina, born in 1782, a son of John Purviance, an officer in the Revolution. From North Carolina Eleazar went to Tennessee, when a young man, and settled in Giles county, where he resided until his removal to Indiana, in 1829. Arrived here, he settled on a farm near West Lebanon, where he lived for many years,-until after his wife died and his children married and left home. He spent his last years with his children. Three sons and four daughters composed their family, but all have passed away except David B. and his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Caroline Lincoln, of Tennessee.
David B. Purviance was born in Tennessee March 21, 1819, and was about ten years old when he came here with his parents. He well remem- bers the frontier appearance of the country at that early day. His school advantages were such as were afforded in the pioneer log school-house, attending a few weeks each winter. Reared on a farm, he engaged in agri-
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cultural pursuits on his own account when he grew up, and farming has been his life occupation. He still owns a farm, but is now practically retired, making his home in West Lebanon, Warren county, where he is well known and highly respected. He laid out a part of what is known as the north addition to West Lebanon.
Mr. Purviance was married, at the age of twenty-five years, to Miss Fanny Hamilton, who died in 1858. They had four children, as follows: Edward D., a dental surgeon of Attica, Indiana; Mary Frances, deceased; Fannie, who resides with her brother at Attica; and Lizzie A., also of Attica. In 1860 Mr. Purviance wedded for his second wife Mary M. Beck, who died in May, 1893. She left three children: Ida V., wife of Frank Burge; Will- iam E., a surgeon in the regular army, now stationed in Alaska; and Rhoda A., wife of A. Francis.
Religiously, Mr. Purviance is a member of the Christian church, with which he has been identified since his twenty-first year.
JOHN B. SHELBY.
This substantial farmer and citizen of Jackson township, Tippecanoe county, is the head of one of the prominent pioneer families of this section of Indiana. His father, Isaac Shelby, was a pioneer here who became a prominent landholder, owning at one time three thousand acres. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, about 1798, a son of David Shelby, who was a representative of the old Virginia family of that name, prominent in colo- nial times and in the Revolutionary war.
Isaac Shelby received a common-school education, but, having an acute intellect for matters of study, he attained an education rather superior to the average and became a school-teacher, in Pickaway county, Ohio, in which county he married Jane Boggs, a daughter of John and Sarah (McMicken) Boggs. Mr. Boggs was a pioneer farmer and a large land-owner there, who afterward entered land in this county. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. His children were William, John, Moses, James, Jane, Lydia and Sydney. He died in Ohio, at an advanced age.
About a year after marriage Isaac Shelby emigrated to the vicinity of Terre Haute, Indiana, about 1828, and a short time thereafter removed to Covington, this state, where he bought land and resided about ten years. About 1838 he moved to Tippecanoe county, settling on land where John B., our subject, now resides. He entered a part of this land and bought more of a Mr. Ellsworth, at five dollars per acre. In Indiana he owned altogether about three thousand acres. He improved his home farm and became a practical farmer, enjoying marked success. He had a good pioneer home.
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His children were John, David, Moses, Minerva and Sarah, living, and James, who died at about thirty-five years of age. When Mr. Shelby first settled on this land he built a pioneer log cabin, but at length he was able to erect a large and substantial frame house, on nearly the same plan as that of the domicile now occupied by the subject of this sketch, but of greater dimensions.
In politics he was an old-line Whig, was a member of the Indiana state legislature several times, and was a man of prominence and extensive influ- ence. Both he and his wife were exemplary members of the Methodist church, and in early days he assisted liberally in the erection of church edifices at various points in the county. He had two sons in the civil war, David and James, in the Seventy-second Indiana Cavalry. David served four years and was in many battles. Mr. Shelby was a man of tireless industry, a large stock-raiser and dealer in live stock, and handled many cattle, being a shrewd, practical business man. He left to each of his children a respectable patrimony, and died aged about sixty years, July II, 1858.
John B. Shelby, our subject, was born September 27, 1827, in Picka- way county, and was about one year old when brought by his parents to Indiana, the journey being made by means of a four-horse wagon. He received the usual pioneer education, in the typical log school-house, which, by the way, his father had built on his farm. The seats were flat rails. His father hired a school-teacher and boarded him, and here young John learned to read and write and to understand some of the other common branches.
April 23, 1861, when he was about thirty-one years of age, in Pickaway county, Ohio, he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret A. Beaver, who was born November 26, 1831, in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of David and Annie (Clapsadle) Beaver. Her father was born near Reading, that state, of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, May 28, 1804; and Mrs. Clapsadle was born in 1801: they were married November 25, 1824. David Beaver was a farmer and one of the earliest pioneers of Pickaway county, Ohio. His children were George W., Mariah, Sarah E., Margaret A., Sarah E. (2d), Rebecca J., Mary E., David C. and Samuel E. In his religious faith Mr. Beaver was a Lutheran. About 1863 he moved to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, locating in Jackson township, where he bought two hundred acres of improved land, and here passed his remaining days, and died at the age of sixty-three years, in 1867. He was a straightforward, upright man.
Since his marriage Mr. Shelby has resided on the Shelby homestead. He inherited three hundred acres of the land and has added to it until he now owns about four hundred and fifty acres. His children are George V. and Jessie. In politics he is a Republican, and both himself and wife are
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sincere and consistent members of the Methodist church, in which he holds the office of steward, and has always been a liberal supporter of religious and moral institutions. In agricultural operations he is extensive and successful, and likewise in the shipping of cattle. He is widely and favorably known as an honest dealer and an honorable citizen.
JOHN CHEESMAN.
An honored veteran of the civil war is John Cheesman, of West Leba- non, Warren county. He was one of seven brothers, five of whom volun- teered their services to the Union and heroically suffered the hardships and dangers of the fierce sectional strife, in order that one flag should continue to float, as it now does, over a united country.
Thomas Cheesman, the father of these brave, patriotic sons, was a na- tive of Scotland, and was a child of eight years when his parents emigrated to America. His father at one time owned the land on which the present Jersey City is located, and the elder man continued to live in the state of New Jersey for years. Thomas Cheesman, a shoemaker, removed to Eagle Works Village, Center county, Pennsylvania, and from the time that he took up his residence upon a farm in that section until his death he never lived a quarter of a mile distant from the place of his first settlement there. He married Silence Mallory, and they became the parents of eight sons and four daughters. Four sons and two daughters are living (1898), namely: John; Roland, an employe of the pension department at Washington; Thomas Calvin, now a resident of Broadtop, Pennsylvania; James I., of Colorado; Mary, of Howard, Pennsylvania; and Mrs. Nora Taylor, of Bellefonte, same state. Mrs. Louisa Evans died several years ago, and the other daughter died in infancy. Wentworth died when a babe, and Alpheus died in May, 1897. The other sons are mentioned below.
When the first gun of the civil war was fired, stern zeal filled the hearts of the Cheesman brothers, and one by one they abandoned all else and went forth to battle for their beloved land. Roland was a major in the Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, and led his men in the famous charge on the Confederate works in front of Petersburg, after the great mine explo- sion. He was many times wounded, and was taken prisoner by the enemy. His leg was so badly injured that it was amputated by the Confederates, and after some time had elapsed, when he was almost dying, he was ex- changed and was taken good care of by sympathetic northerners, and eventually recovered. William, a gallant soldier, was killed at the battle of Spottsylvania. Thomas C. served in the One Hundredth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. Constance I., a member of the Seventy-ninth
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Pennsylvania Infantry, faithfully stood at his post of duty until exposure and privations undermined his health, and his life paid the penalty.
John Cheesman was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1839, and was reared there, learning the trade of blacksmith as soon as he had attained suitable years. He was one of the very first men of his native state to respond to the president's call for troops after Fort Sumter was fired upon, the date of his enlistment being April 21, 1861. He became a member of the First Pennsylvania Cavalry, which was one of the fifteen regi- ments constituting the famous Pennsylvania Reserves, to whose gallant serv- ices were due some of the most illustrious Union victories of the war. The first battle in which Mr. Cheesman took part was Ball's Bluff, where Gen- eral Baker and many of his brave men fell. Then followed innumerable engagements with the enemy, among them being Falmouth, Cedar Mountain second battle of Bull Run, Monocacy, Harrisonburg, the Shenandoah valley, campaign, under General Fremont, Deep Bottom, North Anna, Spottsyl- vania, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In the last named the remnant of the Pennsylvania Reserves occupied Cemetery Ridge, and three times the Confederates, including what was known as the Louisiana Tigers, made des- perate charges, striving to take the ridge, but each time were repulsed by our brave boys, with fearful slaughter. No more fierce fighting took place in the famous three days' battle at Gettysburg proper than this struggle for the possession of Cemetery Ridge, and nowhere were the rebels more signally defeated. In 1864 Mr. Cheesman took part in General Grant's campaign in Virginia, and was active in the battles of the Wilderness, Petersburg, Ream's Station, etc. After the last named battle he was mustered out, by reason of the expiration of his term of enlistment. He had served four months in the state troops of Pennsylvania and upon August 23, 1861, he had enlisted in the United States army, and now, at the close of the three years for which he had volunteered, he was honorably discharged, in August, 1864.
Returning home, John Cheesman resumed his accustomed duties, his home being in Venango, Pennsylvania, until 1866, when he removed to West Lebanon. Here he carried on a blacksmith shop for thirty years, and is well known and esteemed. By industry and honest labor he has accumulated a competence, and his integrity as a man and citizen has always been above question. He has been faithful and true in all the varied relations of life, and as far as known, he has no enemies, but all wish him well.
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