USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 38
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The fires of patriotism never waned in the heart of Captain Brown, and he loved to meet his old comrades. He was a charter member of Tippecanoe Post, G. A. R., and was its first commander. In addition to his membership in this society, he was a Mason of long standing, and in the spring of 1839 was initiated into the Odd Fellows order. As an eye-witness of the memora- ble battle between the Monitor and Merrimac, he wrote home a most inter- esting account of this first battle of iron-clads, and predicted the great revo- lution in naval warfare which would soon take place. This prediction was made before it was known which side had been victorious. His company had been deployed along the water's edge, on this occasion, to prevent the enemy from making prisoners of the crew of a disabled wooden vessel of the Union navy.
In concluding this tribute to a worthy citizen and ardent patriot we sub- join a letter which was written to the bereaved wife at the death of the Cap- tain, by his life-long friend, Judge Gould :
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DELPHI, IND., Nov. 23, 1898.
Dear Mrs. Brown :
I have just learned of the death of your husband. Upon a solemn occa- sion like this, mere words seem feeble and often inappropriate. However, as you know that Captain Brown and I were friends for many years, which friendship was never for a moment interrupted, I venture to ask you to ac- cept my heartfelt sympathy in your bereavement.
Captain Brown was a man of heart, of sincere sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, strong in friendship, and forgiving and forgetting in enmity. His faults were few, but his virtues were many. His death will be mourned by all, and his memory cherished not alone by those who are his kindred. As a soldier of the republic he achieved an imperishable name. He served his country faithfully, and he aided in bearing aloft our banners where the greatest battles of the war were fought. To have been at Gettysburg is enough to fill the measure of any soldier's greatness. For more than thirty years he bore upon his person honorable wounds received in battle, and dur- ing all these years he was a constant but patient sufferer from these battle scars. During the darkest days of the terrible conflict, when the land was shrouded in the gloom of uncertainty, his faith in the ultimate triumph of our arms never for a moment faltered. Others served their country with higher rank, but few surpassed him in valor and faithfulness. The post of honor is not always found occupied by those of the highest rank. No matter how humble the place may be that one occupies who offers his life for freedom and humanity, he is thenceforth a hero, and his sacrifices render his name im- perishable.
Captain Brown has left the legacy of a good name which will be a source of pride to his loved ones who survive him. When last I saw him in his helplessness, it seemed to me that the light of the eternal morning was on his wasted face, and I repeated to myself the words of the poet :
" Lo! steadfast and serene, In patient pause between "The seen and the unseen, What gentle zephyrs fan Your silken silver hair, And what diviner air Breathes round you like a prayer, Old man!"
May sunshine and joy illumine the pathway of your remaining years. I very much regret that my health is such that I cannot stand with you to-morrow at the open grave of my friend. Sincerely yours, JOHN H. GOULD.
To Mrs. J. C. Brown, Monticello, Ind.
CHARLES E. THOMPSON.
In no other country are absolute worth of character and real merit the standards of prominence to as great a degree as in America. We are proud of the fact, and devoutly hope that this will always be the rule in this fair
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land of liberty and equality-that the humblest boy may rise to the loftiest heights, and that such incentives to effort may always be in the minds of the young. All credit is due to the subject of this sketch for the brave fight which he made against adverse circumstances, the persistency with which he carried out his earnest purpose to carve a name and place for himself in the annals of his state and time. Of such is the true nobility of America.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was Rev. Jesse M. Thompson, a native of Ohio and, it is supposed, of Irish descent. He was a farmer by occupation and was a "supply" minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the early part of this century. The parents of Charles E. are Thomas B. and Hannah M. (Wood) Thompson, both natives of the Buckeye state, and since 1883 residents of Monon, Indiana. The father of Mrs. Thompson was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock and at an early day he became a pioneer of Highland county, Ohio. Thomas B. Thompson dwelt in Brown county, Ohio, for a number of years and in 1875 went to Kentucky, settling in Pendleton county. Five years afterward he located in Pulaski county, Indiana, and until about fifteen years ago he was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits on various farms. Of late years he has been practically retired, his main work being gardening. During the civil war he was one of the brave boys who wore the blue and fought for the Union.
Charles E. Thompson was born in Brown county, Ohio, July 26, 1867, the second of five sons and two daughters. When he was fifteen years old he left home and, coming to this county, found employment with Jacob Fouts, a farmer of Wayne township. He continued in the service of that worthy man for eight years, a fact which speaks well for the industry and application of the youth. He attended the country schools during the win- ter season and formed the earnest and laudable ambition of becoming well educated. In 1887 one of his dreams was realized, for he entered Purdue University. Manfully striving to keep up his necessary expenses, he made a heroic struggle, but, after being admitted to the sophomore class, in 1890, he was obliged to leave in order to earn sufficient money to continue his education. That winter he engaged in teaching school in this county, and in March, 1891, he came to Lafayette and entered the office of William R. Wood, as a student of law. So industriously did he put in his time that he was admitted to the bar a year and a half later, September 23, 1892.
The manly qualities of his pupil had so won the regard of Mr. Wood, while he was serving in the position of prosecuting attorney for Tippecanoe county, that he appointed Mr. Thompson as his deputy, in 1892. Having thus become posted in the duties of the office, Mr. Thompson was evidently just the man to become the successor of Mr. Wood, when the latter's term expired. Accordingly, he was nominated by the Republican party (whose
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cause he had always advocated) March 17, 1894, for the twenty-third judicial circuit, and was elected in the following November. Again, in 1896, he was the choice of the people for the office, and faithfully performed the difficult duties which fell to him. It so happened that the painful duty of prosecuting for capital offenses was limited to two cases during his term of service. Up to the opening of 1896 he was alone in his law practice, but since that time he has been associated with Daniel E. Storms, under the firm name of Thompson & Storms. The only secret society with which he is identified is the Knights of Pythias.
The marriage of Mr. Thompson and Miss Lizzie Baer, of West Lafay- ette, was celebrated June 7, 1894. The young couple have one child, Gor- don B. by name.
GEORGE W. CRAWFORD.
Born on the old homestead which he now owns and occupies, in Pike township, Warren county, George W. Crawford is one of the honored old residents of this locality. His parents. William Allen and Lutitia (Snod- grass) Crawford, were pioneers of this county, as they came here in 1829, and entered the identical tract of land now in the possession of George W. and cultivated by him for many years past.
William A. Crawford was born in Kentucky, July 23, 1803, and was but two years old when his parents took him to Preble county, Ohio. There he grew to manhood, and was married to Miss Snodgrass March 15, 1827, and within two years the young couple came to this section of Indiana. Here they bravely mastered the difficulties of frontier life, and by industry and persever- ing labor made a comfortable home in the wilderness and reared their chil- dren to be good and useful citizens in whatever community they should dwell. Every one who knew them was their friend and their house was an example of unlimited cheer and hospitality. Faithful and consistent mem- bers of the Christian church, their daily lives were beautiful reflections of that of the Master whose disciples they professed to be. The father passed to the better land April 24, 1854. The mother, born in Harrison county, Kentucky, July 22, 1805, a child of Samuel and Sarah (Sellars) Snodgrass, is still living: Though now in her ninety-fourth year, she is remarkably sound in mind and body, and her senses of sight and hearing are but little impaired. She was about nineteen years of age when she went with her parents to Preble county, Ohio, and there she was married. She became a typical frontiers-woman, brave, self-possessed, industrious and self-reliant, and in the first years of her residence in this section she had abundant need of all the fortitude and endurance which she possessed. She was equal to the burdens placed upon her, and imparted strength and courage to every
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one who caine within range of her helpful, fearless nature. Her home is now made with her daughter, Mrs. Robb, of West Lebanon, Warren county.
William A. and Lutitia Crawford were the parents of seven sons and four daughters. Two of the sons, James Samuel and William Marion, were heroes of the war of the Rebellion-heroes whose lives were offered up willing sacrifies to their loved country. Both enlisted in Company E, Eighty-sixth Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry. James S. was taken prisoner at the battle of Murfreesboro, and died in the hands of the Confederates; and Will- iam M. died at Camp Dennison, September 6, 1862. The eldest daughter, Jane, married Benton Williams and died a number of years ago. Three other children died in early life. The surviving members of the family are George W., John D., of West Lebanon; Harvey, of Dodge City, Kansas; Margaret, wife of Bolivar Robb, of West Lebanon; and Sarah Elizabeth, wife of Henry A. Houpt, of Pike township.
George W. Crawford was born October 30, 1846, and has never lived at any other place than on the old homestead. He is a practical and suc- cessful farmer and in highly respected by a large circle of friends and well- wishers. Socially, he is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias, and a member of the Woodmen of the World, and in his political views he is an uncompromising Republican. One of the notable and interesting events of his somewhat uneventful life was the journey through the western states, commonly known hereabout as the " Pilgrimage," and frequently mentioned in this work, in connection with the history of the participants of this delightful trip. It was made in the autumn of 1891, and over two months were spent by these seven old friends and neighbors in visiting the chief points of interest in the western states, National Park, etc.
January 4, 1875, G. W. Crawford married Miss Sarah E. Porter, daugh- ter of Elias Porter, a pioneer of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford have a son and a daughter, named respectively Donald Porter and Stella L.
DAVID B. WILSON.
Since his first recollections David B. Wilson has been associated with the development and upbuilding of Warren county, and during his mature life he has been a respected citizen of Jordan township, where his present home is situated. He has served his neighbors and friends in various local positions and has been a trustee of this township, etc. The cause of educa- tion finds a sincere friend in him, as does every work of improvement and progress. When he was a youth of about nineteen years, in March, 1863, he enlisted in Company K, Seventy-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry
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(later the Sixth Indiana Cavalry), and continued in the Union army until long after the close of hostilities. He took part in numerous brilliant cam- paigns of the civil war, was engaged in the siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, and in December, 1864, was under the command of General Thomas at Nashville. It was not until October, 1865, that he was granted an honora- ble discharge and was at liberty to return to the peaceful vocations of life.
The parents of our subject, Joseph and Margaret Wilson, were natives of Kentucky, and at an early day they became residents of Putnam county, Indiana. About 1846 they removed to Warren county and became citizens of Warren township. Joseph Wilson died at his home in West Lebanon, Warren county, in 1861. His wife, surviving him several years, died in 1883. They were the parents of four children, one of whom, Robert, the first-born, died in infancy. Sarah married Campbell Gibson and died in August, 1870, and Charlotte is the wife of Matthew Siddons, of Oklahoma.
The birth of David B. Wilson occurred at the parental home in Putnam county, in 1844, and he was but two years old when the family removed to this locality. Here he passed his boyhood, attending the common schools, and here he has always lived, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has met with the success which he thoroughly deserves, and has a good homestead and a competence. In political affairs he is an advocate of the Republican party platform. In 1869 he married Miss Emily Bowles, a daughter of Isaac Bowles, and they have three sons and three daughters, namely: Charles W., Harry, Clarence, Cora, Bertha and Lydia.
JOHN F. JUDY.
Standing at the head and front of a most unique system or series of business enterprises whose inception and successful operations are the result of his own distinct individuality, subtle discernment, original methods and mature judgment, Mr. Judy has gained an almost phenomenal prestige and is known far and wide as a most advanced type of American genius, pro- gressiveness and alert mentality. His reputation has far transcended the limitations of Warren and contiguous counties, and among the able and aggressive business men of the state he must be accorded a distinct and unique position. Capacity undeveloped is but an organized day-dream, and in the composition of the subject of this sketch there is found no nucleus for idle dreams. Absolute capability often exists in specific instances, but is never brought into the clear light of the utilitarian and practical life. Hope is of the valley, while effort stands upon the mountain top; so that advance- ment comes not to the one who hopes alone, but to the one whose hope and faith are those of action. Then we may well hold in high regard the results
Ole R Judy.
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of individual effort and personal accomplishment, for cause and effect here maintain their functions in full force.
It is with marked satisfaction that we take into consideration the life and labors of that energetic, shrewd and talented farmer and man of affairs, John F. Judy, of Judyville, who has contributed in a large degree to the industrial and commercial activities of Warren county. In an attractive little advertising brochure recently issued, Mr. Judy states succinctly that he is a "FARMER," while his incidental reference to the important business enterprises which he has established and built up is to the effect that they are "side lines." While he has many able assistants in carrying on his far-reaching operations in varied lines, he personally controls and guides the entire system of enterprises and assumes the responsibilities without fear of results, confident of his powers, which have so fully withstood the test, and with full appreciation of the dignity and the intrinsic value of honest toil and indefatigable energy. He is proprietor of the Grand Prairie Horse and Mule Market, in which connection he is the owner and founder of what may well be designated a village, -an industrial village located on his farm, eight miles from a railroad,-and this stands as unique and original in its way as does the far-famed town of Pullman. In addition to conducting his extensive business as a dealer in horses and mules, Mr. Judy handles other live stock, vehicles of all descriptions, harness, farming implements and farm produce, paints and oils, dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, hardware, furniture; conducts shops for blacksmithing, buggy and wagon repairing; manufactures and repairs harness; owns and operates a grain elevator; han- dles real estate, owning hundreds of acres of farm lands, and has well equipped livery stables and conducts an undertaking business. The province of a compilation of this nature is such that detailed reference can not con- sistently be made to the manifold details of Mr. Judy's gigantic business operations, but even the list given above will suggest somewhat the extent of his enterprises and bear evidence to his masterly abilities. In the little pam- phlet to which reference has been made are many gems of epigrammatic wis- dom, while as an original type of advertising the booklet is worthy of all praise, but must be read to be appreciated. The pamphlet was written by Mr. Judy, and we can not do better at this point than to quote from the same, making our extracts somewhat at random. In his intro- duction Mr. Judy gives the following information as to what he has done: "I have sold more horses, buggies, wagons and harness than any concern in the world, and have built the largest business of the kind. All originated and started on a farm, without money, eight miles from a rail- road, on the prairie, where I did not own a foot of land. Have drawn a large patronage from twenty counties, besides a good business from other 22
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counties and several states. Have established fifteen branch offices and repositories in ten counties." Continuing, he thus describes what he is doing: "Living in a good house on my own farm, surrounded by my own town, enjoying an increase of business, and building elevators, stores, barns and houses to take care of my help and stock, and building brains to take care of the business, and keeping up the effort to so systematize my business, that everyone who patronizes Judyville or any of its branches will reap an advantage by so doing." The branch establishments are conducted by managers employed by the proprietor, and to facilitate business operations a different firm name is given in the several instances. Thus at Williamsport, Indiana, which is Mr. Judy's postoffice address, business is conducted under the style of Judy & Titus, the lines handled being furniture, buggies and wagons and harness. In the same village the other enterprises conducted are here noted: Judy & Messner, livery; Judy & Smith, livery; Judy & Dar- ling, groceries; Judy & Bertrand, paint supplies. Judy-Lief Buggy Com- pany, Goodland, Indiana, repair shop, buggies, wagons, harness and farm implements; Judy & Irons, Crawfordsville, Indiana, horses, buggies, wagons and harness; . Judy & Judy, Carbondale, postoffice and general merchandise; Judy & Wood, Parr, Indiana, grain elevator, livery, general merchandise, horses, buggies, wagons and harness; Judy & Deslaurie, Morocco, Indiana, harness; Judy & Largent, Judyville, buggy-repair shop; Judy & Bunch, Judy- ville, general blacksmithing; Judy & Leming, Judyville, harness shop; Judy, Clayton & Judy, Judyville, real estate; Judy & Hicks, Milford, Illinois, horses, buggies, wagons and harness; Judy & Landon, Rossville, Illinois, buggies, wagons and harness. On the farm, known as Judyville, there are six barns, one of them being the largest in Warren county, thirteen dwelling houses, a hotel, an office building and numerous outbuildings,-all of modern design and equipped with necessary conveniences. The various departments are provided with telephonic communication, there being ten distinct lines in operation. The residence of the proprietor is a beautiful cottage of modern architectural design and supplied with hot and cold water and other metro- politan facilities. The entire place is a marvel in one sense, and yet it but represents the result of the keen discernment, ambitious energy and resolute purpose of the proprietor, who started without capital eighteen years ago and is to-day financially rated at two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The principles which animate Mr. Judy may be realized by any one who reads his little pamphlet. We can not forbear to quote a few of his epi- grams before turning to the more purely biographical record which will con- clude this sketch.
Whatever takes us from the path of least resistance is work. While we work we are doing good. This is enough to ennoble the meanest toil, and raises the poorest mechanic and the humblest tiller of the soil to be the envy of the idler.
JUDYVILLE.
110
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I taught school several years. I liked my bad boys. Bad pups make good dogs. I have had more trouble with the weakness of men, and always will have, than with their dishonesty. I would rather undertake to reverse the force of a bad man than loan my force to a weak one. I would rather have a runaway horse than a dead one. I can change a runaway horse to a dead one or a good horse. In a dead one I have no choice.
A man whose dignity will not let him do that part of his calling which appears low drudgery fails to put all the links into his chain, and he soon finds success breaking away from him, leaving him alone with his assumed dignity. A man of false dignity is compound matter trying to be supported by a simple mind.
John F. Judy, proprietor of Judyville, Liberty township, Warren coun- ty, Indiana, is a native of the Buckeye state, having been born at Plattsburg, near Columbus, Ohio, on the 18th of March, 1856. When he was about twelve years of age, in the year 1867, he accompanied his parents upon their removal to Warren county, Indiana, the family and their worldly effects being transported hither through the medium of one team and a wagon. The father, Skillman Judy, devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits and continued to reside in Warren county until his death, which occurred in 1890, at which time he had attained the venerable age of seventy-two years. The mother, whose maiden name was Sarah J. Hunter, still survives and contin- ues her residence in Warren county. To this worthy couple eight children were born, and all are living at the present time, death having invaded the home only on the occasion when the venerable father was summoned into eternal rest.
The immediate subject of this review secured his preliminary educa- tional discipline in the common schools, completing a course in the high school at Attica, Indiana. It is interesting to revert to the fact that the first individual efforts of this successful man of affairs after leaving school were along the line which has been followed for a time by so many of the able and representative men of the Union, -he turned his attention to teaching school, thus putting his acquirements to a practical test, and continued to devote his attention to pedagogic effort for a period of five years. It is need- less to say that a man of so forceful individuality as he has been shown to possess was successful in this line of endeavor, as he has been in others. The young man was ambitious, and his ambition was not one of vacillation or uncertain definition. The money which he earned as a teacher he invest- ed in cattle, and his successful business career had its inception in the year 1881. He was encouraged to start in business upon his own responsibility through the timely advice and counsel of James Goodwine, one of the most able and successful business men that Warren county has produced. Mr. Judy had the prescience to realize that material prosperity is a matter of consecutive growth, and, while bending every energy to the winning of suc- cess, he had full recognition of the essential value of details, and his advance-
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ment came as a natural result, though by regular gradations. Step by step he moved forward to the goal, and no further evidence of his industry and his ability is demanded than that shown in his valuable property holdings and the enormous volume of business which he transacts each year, with ever an appreciable increase and broadening of scope. John F. Judy and Judyville are familiar names in Indiana and surrounding states. With the many de- partments of his business, there is little reason to doubt that he conducts the most extensive retail trade in the state, taken in its aggregate.
Mr. Judy attributes his success largely to the novel system of advertising which he has devised aud employed, and this, with his scrupulous integrity and fairness, has enabled him to stand as sponser for the remarkable indus- trial problem which he has so effectively solved. His methods are liberal in the extreme, and he handles every department of his business according to strict principles, employing only those whose capability is unmistakable. He well merits the prestige and success which are his, and with so active a mind and wise a judgment, this success is certain to be cumulative in char- acter.
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