USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 46
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came a prosperous agriculturist in his day. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. By going security to the amount of twenty thousand dollars for a treasurer of his county he lost almost his whole property, but had left five horses and a two-wheeled chaise and other vehicles, and this evidently put it into his mind that he would seek a new home and better fortune elsewhere, using the available property as a means of conveyance. Accordingly he re- moved to Darke county, Ohio, but in a short time, in 1832, in company with the pioneer, William Peter, he came to this county and settled in Dayton. He entered a quarter-section of land, cleared it and made a good homestead of the place. While he was building his first log cabin on the farm he camped with his family in a tent under a huge oak tree on his premises, and once, during a fearful storm, the great tree was blown to the ground, nar- rowly missing the tent in its downfall. Peter Burkhalter lived to the ripe age of eighty-one years. He was an honored member of the German Re- formed church. He married in his native county a Miss Bury, and ten chil- dren were born to them, namely: Henry, Peter, Joseph, Eli, Reuben, Ed- ward, George, Polly, Katie and Elizabeth.
Edward Burkhalter, father of our subject, was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, in 1808, and came to Indiana with his parents. When he had arrived at maturity he married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Lytle) Rycraft and a native of Butler county, Ohio. Mr. Rycraft was a pioneer settler in Dayton, Ohio, and became a well-to-do farmer and dis- tiller. Mrs. Burkhalter was one of nine children, the others being: John, George, Joseph, Squire, Harriet, Peggy Ann, Catherine and Mary. Edward Burkhalter entered one hundred and seven acres of land in Ross township, Clinton county, Indiana, going to Crawfordsville, to the land-office, one night after dark, in order to forestall another man who wanted the same property. The money for the purchase, one dollar and a quarter per acre, was furnished by the worthy old pioneer, William Peter, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Having cleared and otherwise improved his land, the young man purchased ten acres more for water rights, and built a sub- stantial brick house. In 1866 he moved to Sheffield township and bought one hundred and thirty acres of improved farm land, and later he erected a house near Dayton, living there until his death in the fall of 1879. Politic- ally, he was a Republican after that party was organized.
William H. Burkhalter, born September 6, 1841, in Ross township, grew up with his brothers and sisters, who were Sarah A., Mary C., Eliza- beth J., Margaret, Nettie, Louisa, Alice, Lydia, George and Solomon. He received a common-school education and engaged in farming until the civil war came on. December 11, 1863, he enlisted for three years, or for as long a period as the war should last, and was assigned to the Tenth Indiana
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Volunteer Battery, Captain William Naylor. Later he was transferred to the Eighteenth Indiana Battery, commanded by Lieutenant William Rippe- tow. The young man served all through the Atlanta campaign and took part, among others, in the great battles of Kenesaw mountain, Resaca, Buzzards' Roost and Cook's raid. Then he was stationed at Calhoun, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee, and was transferred to the gunboat service until the close of the war. At Indianapolis, Indiana, he was granted an honorable discharge July 10, 1865, having served faithfully and well in the defense of his loved country.
On the 27th of March, 1866, the Rev. Robert Baker united the destinies of William H. Burkhalter and Miss Polly Roth, by performing a marriage service. She was a daughter of Daniel Roth, of Ross township, Clinton county, Indiana, and was born in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania. Death claimed her a few years after her marriage, September 27, 1870. Mr. Burk- halter chose for his second wife Miss Sovilla Idle, a native of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and they were joined in matrimony October 17, 1872. One child, Jennie, was born to this marriage. Subsequently to the death of his second wife, our subject married her sister Mary, who was born in Clinton county, Indiana, July 29, 1857, and is a daughter of Franklin and Sarah (Adams) Idle. The father was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and was married there. He removed to Indiana at an early day and bought land north of Franklin, and a few years later he located in Ross township, Clinton county, and there spent his last years, dying at seventy. He was identified with the German Baptist church. Six children bless the marriage of W. H. Burkhalter and wife: Sovilla, Hattie, Jerome, Mary, Lydia and Moarette.
For four years after his first marriage Mr. Burkhalter managed the old family homestead in Clinton county, after which he rented land of an uncle, in Sheffield township, and lived on that farm for fourteen years. He then bought his present farm, which is now one of the best in the neighborhood, as a result of his labors and unceasing care. He is a Republican and a Mason, belonging to Dayton Lodge, F. and A. M., and religiously is con- nected with the Reformed church.
WILLIAM B. AUSTIN.
William Baden Austin, of Rensselaer, is of Scotch-Welsh extraction, by a union of the families of Austin and Webb. Austin is a good old Scotch Presbyterian name, known through more than two centuries in America as the synonym of integrity and uprightness. For several years the family lived in Virginia, whence John Baden Austin, grandfather of our subject, born in
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1788, emigrated to Kentucky about the opening of the present century and settled in Cynthiana, Harrison county. The first of the Webbs came to this country from Wales and settled in the colony of Connecticut near the begin- ning of the eighteenth century. Some of them bore a conspicuous part in the Revolutionary war, and many have at different times been honored with important political offices in various states. Frederick Webb, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, removed from Connecticut and settled in Xenia, Ohio, from which place he moved to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where his family was reared.
William Baden Austin, the son of John Martin Austin and Sarah Jane Webb, was born in Rensselaer, Indiana, April 21, 1860. His mother was the daughter of Frederick Webb and a native of Lawrence county, Ohio; his father was the son of John Baden Austin, and was born at Cynthiana, Har- rison county, Kentucky, in 1823, removed with his father's family from Ken- tucky to Indiana in 1838, and settled in Crawfordsville, where he engaged in mercantile business for nearly twenty years. In 1857 John M. Austin removed to Rensselaer, where he continued the business of a merchant until his death, in 1877. William B. was then a youth of seventeen. He had already acquired a good common-school education, and was, in fact, pre- pared to enter college. He inherited about two thousand dollars from his father's estate, which he placed at compound interest by investing in the essentials of a broad and liberal education. Entering Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, in the fall of 1877, he completed the course and was gradu- ated a Bachelor of Science in 1881. Two years later the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the same college for proficiency in literary pursuits.
After attendance for one term at the Union Law School, Chicago, he was admitted to the bar in 1881, and entered upon the practice with Hon. Simon P. Thompson, his former employer and preceptor. By absorption, association, observation and study he had already acquired a good general and practical knowledge of the law. From the age of eight years until the completion of his collegiate education, except the terms spent in school, he was employed by Mr. Thompson as office boy and clerk. During the first six years of active practice his association with Judge Thompson was con- tinued, three years of the time as a member of the firm of Thompson & Brother. In 1887 he became associated in the partnership with Hon. Edwin P. Hammond, now of Lafayette, which was dissolved when Judge Hammond assumed judicial duties on the circuit bench. For three years thereafter he was a senior member of the firm of Austin, Hollingsworth & Company, which controlled a very large law business along commercial lines. Since the dis- solution of this firm, in December, 1895, Mr. Austin has not formed any
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partnership relations, but has continued in the practice alone. He is a good lawyer and very much in love with his profession. He has been remarkably successful in the management of all enterprises with which he has been actively connected, and at the same time has built up for himself a comfort- able fortune and a reputation for business sagacity.
In the year 1888 he organized the Rensselaer Building & Loan Associa- tion, which enjoys the exceptional record of never having closed a mortgage. He organized the Rensselaer Water, Light and. Power Company in 1889 and served as secretary and treasurer of the corporation until the plant was purchased by the city, in 1897. In 1890 he organized the Rensselaer Land & Improvement Company, of which he has been a director from the beginning. This company has had a prosperous career. Mr. Austin is the largest stockholder in the Jasper County Telephone Company, organized in 1896. During that year he platted and placed on the market Austin & Pax- ton's first and second additions to the city of Rensselaer. In April, 1895, he organized the Commercial State Bank of Rensselaer, and held the controlling interest for a long time. He sold his interest at a good profit in 1897.
While eminently successful in the advancement of his own interests, he has always been active and efficient in promoting such public enterprises and improvements as conserve the general welfare. His discernment is keen and his apprehension quick, so that he is able instantaneously to grasp and determine the merits of a proposition. He is never balked by indecision or hesitancy, but is prepared to decide or to act with equal alacrity. He is alert, energetic and judicious, moving forward resolutely to the accomplish- ment of a clearly defined purpose. In 1896 he instituted and endowed for Wabash College the " Austin Prize Debate." This provides for the annual award of a fifty-dollar prize to the member of the junior class who stands highest in a debating contest. Mr. Austin has always been an active mem- ber of the Republican party and a liberal contributor to its campaign expen- ses, but has not been a candidate for political office. In the recent senatorial contest he advocated the cause of Hon. Albert J. Beveridge. Mr. Austin is a member of the Marquette Club, of Chicago, and the Lafayette Club, of Lafayette, Indiana. In 1882 he married Miss Louie, eldest daughter of Judge Edwin P. Hammond, and has one child, Miss Virginia, born in 1883.
JOSEPH SMITH PERRY.
A venerable and highly honored citizen of Tippecanoe county is Joseph Smith Perry, of Dayton. He springs from two of the most distinguished families of colonial America-the Perrys and Lees. Of the former we need but mention Commodore Oliver Perry, and of the latter General Robert E.
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Lee. The Perrys were of Welsh origin, three brothers of the name having come to this country in the last century, one settling in New York state, one in Rhode Island and one in Virginia.
David Perry, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Wales, and during the Revolutionary war came with the British army as a private soldier to fight against the Americans. He took part in several battles and finally was captured by the colonial forces. Experiencing a change of heart toward his late foes, he became thoroughly in sympathy with them in their struggle to throw off the yoke of tyranny, and aided them, fighting until the close of the war. Wounded in battle and disabled, he then made shoes for the ragged, barefoot soldiers, so sadly in need of covering for their poor, bleeding, frozen feet, and he passed that memorable winter at Valley Forge, where he came to know General Washington personally. When hostilities had ceased, he settled in Newburg, New York, where he married Levina Smith, a descendant of Joseph Smith, who owned a grant of land in the Empire state in the time of Queen Anne, and whose large estate has never been settled. David Perry and wife were the parents of five children: William, Hugh, Joseph, David and Catherine. For many years the father lived on a farm near Newburg, and death did not overtake him until he was almost ninety years of age.
William, father of Joseph Smith Perry, was born July 4, 1792, near Newburg, and, having acquired a good education for that day, became a teacher. He went to Franklin, Ohio, at an early day in the history of that state and taught school. He enlisted in the war of 1812 and held some office not now remembered, and was a participant in the battle of the Thames. On his return to Franklin he married Mehitable Campbell. Her mother was a Miss Lee before her marriage to Alexander Campbell, and she came from the Virginia Lee family, while Mr. Campbell was of the same original stock as was the noted man who bore the same name, Alexander Campbell, who advocated a return to the simple teachings and forms of the early Christian church, in contradistinction to the elaborate, empty ceremonies with which the church of Christ had become encumbered in its passage down the cen- turies. This Alexander Campbell was styled the founder of the " Camp- bellite " church, but he and those who adhere to his principles disclaim this, quoting the words of Paul, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid," and the church is called, after its true founder, Christ, the " Christian church." The marriage of William and Mehitable Perry was blessed with seven children, namely: Jane, Levina, Joseph, Mary, Susan, Robert Lee and Charlotte. After living at Franklin for a few years the family settled in Middletown, Ohio, where the father taught school for a number of years. Having inherited some property in New York state, he went east to look
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after the business and was never seen by his relatives at home again. It is believed that he was a passenger on the ill-fated steamer Roanoke, which was burned on the Ohio river. He was a man who possessed the good will and high regard of his neighbors and associates; was intelligent, broad- minded and of excellent moral character.
The birth of Joseph Smith Perry occurred June 12, 1812, in the town of Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, and as he was but eleven years of age when his father died he was thrown upon his own resources at a tender age. He entered the cotton factory at Middletown, Ohio, at thirteen, and later worked for four years in a woolen mill, thoroughly mastering the business. In 1836 he came to Indiana, and at Lafayette embarked in the manufacture of woolen goods and flax. In 1844 he engaged in general merchandising at Peru, and in 1847 sold out and started in the boot and shoe business at Cold- water, Michigan, also buying land on the St. Joseph river. He was burned out and lost heavily, but in 1849 he began merchandising again at Burling- ton, on the St. Joseph river. In 1855 he went to Kansas City, Missouri, was very ill while there, and for some time stayed at Greenville, Missouri, in the Ozark mountains. Regaining his health, he once more entered into commercial life and prospered. From time to time he loaned large sums of money to the large slave-holders of the vicinity, and the civil war coming on he was financially ruined. Moreover, he was taken prisoner by General Hardee's troops, but was treated kindly by the general, and by wise manage- ment he finally escaped with about five thousand dollars in gold, all that re- mained of his once large possessions. Going to the neighborhood of St. Louis he invested this in a small fruit farm, which venture proved a success, as he cleared fifteen hundred dollars a year for the next two years from the farm. After the war he returned east, and has since lived in Dayton, where for several years he loaned money and was interested in various investments. A stanch Democrat until the war, he then became active in the ranks of the Republican party. . For twenty years he served as postmaster of Burlington, Michigan, and Greenville, Missouri. In all his relations with others, whether in the home, in business, or in society, he has been honorable, true and just, winning the confidence of everyone by his noble traits of character.
In the old village of Americus, on the Wabash river, Joseph S. Perry was married, November 5, 1837, to Harriet C. Dryer, who was born at Vic- tor, New York, January 16, 1818, a daughter of James and Catherine (Cron- over) Dryer. She was of Holland-Dutch extraction on her mother's side, the name originally being spelled Covenhoven, while her father was probably of English descent. As they had no children of their own, our subject and wife reared a niece, Katie Stanley, to whom they gave an excellent education and good advantages. Her mother, Mrs. Mary A. Stanley, a sister of Mrs.
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Perry, is now keeping house for our subject, whose wife died September II, 1895. Mrs. Stanley, who was born September 26, 1819, at Victor, New York, was reared in Middletown and Dayton, Ohio, and for some time resided in Cincinnati. Her father, who died in Troy, Ohio, in April, 1833, was a mechanic and contractor, and at one time kept a hotel. May 10, 1852, Mrs. Stanley was married, in St. Louis. Her husband, Sheldon Stanley, was born October 19, 1804, in New England, a son of Amzi Stanley, of the old Puritan family of Stanleys. Amzi Stanley was born October 23, 1770, and died August 23, 1825. He married Lucy, daughter of Joshua Webster, September 28, 1807, and their children were named as follows: Walter, Sheldon, Maria, Philip and Amzi. The last named was killed in the Mexican war. The wife and mother departed this life August 8, 1823. They were farmers and settled near Marietta, Ohio, in pioneer days. Sheldon Stanley saw the first steamboat that ever ran on the Ohio, and for thirty years he was an engineer on boats plying the western rivers. His first marriage was to Miss Susan McDonald, who died April 20, 1850, leaving two sons, George W. and Sheldon. After Mr. Stanley's marriage to Miss Dryer he lived in St. Louis for several years and then located in southeastern Missouri, at Greenville. During the civil war he resumed his former occupation as an engineer on the river, but in 1868 he settled in Dayton, Indiana, where he died about ten years later, August 3, 1878, when nearly seventy-four years of age. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and was a Repub- lican in his political views and a strong Union man. A daughter by his first marriage, Jane M., married W. P. Gordon, of New Orleans. He was a pilot on the same steamboat on which Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens). was employed for a period, and the latter also paid marked attention to the young lady at one time. Frank D., eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, was born March 26, 1853, in St. Louis, and died August 10, 1854. Kate M. was born in the same city, July 16, 1857, and Joseph B. was born October 10, 1859, at Greenville. Since the death of Mr. Stanley his widow has made her home with her brother-in-law, Mr. Perry. She is a member of the Pres- byterian church and is loved and respected by a large circle of friends.
BENJAMIN B. FRANKLIN.
One of the successful agriculturists of Prairie township, White county, is Benjamin B. Franklin, who, bearing an illustrious name, has kept it un- tarnished. Left an orphan when at a tender age, he has been obliged to. fight his own battles unaided, but long ago won a position among the sub- stantial business men of this community.
George Franklin, the father of the above, was a native of Pennsyl-
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vania and his chief occupation was that of agriculture. He married, in Indiana, Miss Anne Patterson, a daughter of James Patterson. She was born in New York state and came to the Hoosier state with her parents, who located in Tippecanoe county. Her family were influential members of the Methodist church and were actively associated with the upbuilding and prosperity of their neighborhood. The father, who was much loved and honored, died at the advanced age of eighty-four years. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Franklin were Caroline, Almira, Vanetta and Judah.
Benjamin B. Franklin is the youngest of six children, the others being Mrs. Harriet Gowan; Mrs. Judan Davis; Harmon, now of Iowa; John, a farmer of Tippecanoe county, Indiana; and Mrs. Jane Ogden. The birth of B. B. Franklin occurred in Tippecanoe county, September 29, 1849, and his boyhood was passed in the home of an uncle, with whom he remained until fourteen years of age. He then struck out for himself as a farm laborer, and was thus employed until his marriage in 1873. Renting a farm, he· perseveringly and industriously worked to gain a competence, and to provide for his little family. In 1890 he became the owner of a small farm, to which he added more land at the end of three years, and now has one hundred and twenty-seven acres, all under high cultivation. Numerous improvements, including tiling, have been inaugurated by him, and the homestead is now one of the best in this portion of the township. Like a true patriot, Mr. Franklin takes a part in local affairs, and in politics his preference is for the Republican nominees and principles.
The marriage of B. B. Franklin and Miss Elizabeth Primmer was sol- emnized in 1873. Mrs. Franklin was born in Ohio, July 8, 1854, the eldest of the nine children of Noah and Barbara (Guyer) Primmer, the others being as follows: Mrs. Minnie Younger; Mrs. Susan Winters; Mrs. Ellen Hinch- man; Mrs. Mary Hefler (deceased); William and Jesse, farmers; Mrs. Alice Heffley, and Burta, unmarried. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Franklin was a native of the Keystone state, while her maternal grandfather, Fred- erick Guyer, was a native of Holland, who first located in Ohio and later carried on a farm in Tippecanoe county, Indiana. Noah Primmer was born in the Buckeye state, and about 1864 went to Tippecanoe county, where he rented land for several years, and then bought a farm, where he resided until his death in 1893. He was an auctioneer of local prominence, as well as a successful tiller of the soil. A leader in the United Brethren church, he frequently conducted religious services and was an exhorter. His widow, now in her sixty-fifth year, lives with her children. To the happy union of our subject and wife five children have been born, namely: Lulu J., wife of J. Balkema; George A .; Jesse M .; Everett and Roy. The boys are still at home and render invaluable aid in the management of the farm.
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CAPTAIN JOHN M. CROSSON.
The subject of this biographical review is a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, born October 19, 1832. His father, James Crosson, was a native of Belfast, Ireland, born February 14, 1787, and came to the United States alone in 1816, settling in Pennsylvania, where, September 20, 1820, he married Margaret Jane Brown, who was a native of the Keystone state, born January 5, 1795. The father bought a farm in Washington county, that state, afterward disposed of the same and moved to Perry county, Ohio, where he followed farming on the shares until he came to this (Benton) county in 1849. He resided in Oak Grove township until his death, April 14, 1866. He joined the Masonic fraternity in Ireland and was well advanced in the mysteries of Masonry. He brought with him from Ireland an old family chest, which is now in the possession of his son, George W., at Wina- mac, Indiana, and which contains valuable records relative to the early his- tory of the family in the old country. This contains unquestioned evidence that the family is descended from royal ancestors. The great-grandfather was a baron, and others of his family and time were equally distinguished. The mother of our subject was descended from German ancestry, and died in Oxford April 14, 1865.
The parental family consisted of seven children, of whom our subject was the sixth in order, namely: Robert, born October 11, 1821, died at the age of eight years; Thomas, born April 18, 1823, died in Tippecanoe county, this state; William N. was born March 14, 1825, and died in Linn county, Missouri; James, born November 21, 1827, died in Nebraska; Margaret J., born June 1, 1830, died in 1897, the widow of John Hopper; but previously she had been married to Elisha Littler; the subject of this sketch is the next in order of age and is the only survivor of his family except his brother, George W., who was born July 28, 1837, and resides upon a farm at Wina- mac, Indiana.
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