USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 5
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
William Stidham, the grandfather of our subject, was descended directly
Jasper. H. Stidham.
Residence of Jasper De. Stidham.
33
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
from one of the early colonists of Delaware, was born on a farm in that state, served as a captain in the old state militia, and in 1820, with several families, emigrated to Indiana, making the journey with horses and wagons, and becoming one of the pioneers of this state. He settled on land in Wayne county and developed and improved a farm, making his home in that county until his death, which occurred when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-two years. In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious faith he and his family were Episcopalians. He and his wife, Eliza Stidham, had five children: Thomas, John P., George, Ann and Eliza.
John P. Stidham, the father of our subject, was born in Delaware, three miles from Wilmington, on the 1st of September, 1799, received such educa- tional privileges as the common schools of his day afforded, and came to Indiana with his father when twenty-one years of age. In 1824 he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Union township, becoming a resident there in 1830; and this is the farm upon which our subject now resides. He afterward purchased forty additional acres from the government, and this deed bears the signature of Andrew Jackson, then president of the United States. Part of this land was prairie and part timber. After making the purchase Mr. Stidham returned to Wayne county, and on the 14th of August, 1829, took up his abode in Tippecanoe county. The following year he set- tled upon the old homestead farm in Union township, and at once began its development, transforming the wild land into richly cultivated fields and erecting substantial farm buildings. He was an industrious, energetic man, and by the aid of his children accumulated about four hundred acres of land, -a very valuable property which he placed in a high state of cultivation. He was also a well known pioneer and respected citizen, and all who knew him held him in high regard. He married Terrissa Nort, who was born in Germany, March 4, 1800, and when twelve years of age came to Delaware with her father and half-brother and sister. The mother died in Germany when Terrissa was quite young. The father had been married before in that country, the children of the first union being John and Appolonie. The father, Mr. Nort, died on the passage to America. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stidham were born three children: Elizabeth Ann, who was born May 13, 1830, and died March 20, 1894, when sixty-three years of age; Eleanor P., born October I, 1831; and Jasper H., born August 18, 1833. The father lived to be seventy- two years of age, and died on the farm in Union township, March 26, 1871. In politics he was a Democrat, and in all life's relations he was true to the trust reposed in him and the duties that devolved upon him.
Jasper H. Stidham, whose name forms the heading of this article, has spent his entire life in Tippecanoe county. The farm which is now his home was his playground in youth and his training school for business cares. The 3
34
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
occupation to which he was reared he has made his life work, always devoting his energies to farming, stock raising and dealing in stock. His capable management, his systematic methods and his energy have brought to him a well deserved success. After the death of his parents Mr. Stidham and his two sisters resided upon the farm together until 1894, when the elder sister died. Since that time the remaining sister and brother have lived together, and through their combined efforts the old homestead ranks among the best homes in this part of Indiana. As the years have passed Mr. Stidham has made judicious investments in land, has extended the boundaries of the home farm, and now has a valuable property of over one thousand acres, much of which is under cultivation of a high order and yields to the owner a golden tribute in return for the care and labor he bestows upon it. The farm is splendidly drained, with about twenty-five miles of tiling.
Mr. Stidham shows a number of traces of his Swedish ancestry, having the thoroughness, reliability and perseverance so characteristic of the race. He is a man of kindly and genial disposition, of generous impulses, and broad-minded, and no citizen of the community stands higher in the public regard. In politics he has always been a Democrat and keeps well informed on the issues of the day, but has always refused office. He is a friend of public improvement and a strong advocate of good roads, good schools and all measures tending to the general advancement and progress. He and his sister are worthy representatives of one of the old and honored families of the county, and well deserve mention in this volume.
HON. DUNCAN McARTHUR WILLIAMS.
So closely allied with the interests of Benton county is the history of Duncan McArthur Williams that a work of this character would be incom- plete without a record of his career. His name is one prominently connected with the business enterprises of the county, with its pioneer de- velopment, with its political record and with its material and educational advancement; and he ranks to-day among the distinguished citizens of northern Indiana,-a man who stands high in the regard of his fellow men and commands the respect of all by his sterling rectitude of character.
Mr. Williams is a native of the Buckeye state, born in Woodstock, Champaign county, January 16, 1832, a son of Samuel and Margarette (Lansdale) Williams. His father was born January 10, 1807, in Prince George county, Maryland, and his mother in Washington, D. C., Septem- ber 22, 1805, and they were married September 30, 1828, at his mother's birthplace, and immediately thereafter located in Woodstock, Ohio. About three years later Mr. Williams bought a farm of three hundred acres near
7
Eleanor P. Stidham.
Elizabeth A. Stidham.
35
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mechanicsburg, purchasing the same of Duncan McArthur, a family friend for whom our subject was named and who presented him in later years with one hundred acres of land. Mr. Williams' mother accompanied her parents to Mechanicsburg when she was a child of ten years; but on the death of her parents a few years later she returned to Washington and re- mained there until after her marriage.
The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Williams, was also a native of Prince George county, Maryland. His parents were among the earliest settlers of that state and the family was a prominent one in the early history of Maryland. John Williams was a ship carpenter by occupation, and was a captain in the war of 1812, stationed at Annapolis. After the war he located on a farm overlooking the Potomac, but his death occurred at Mechanicsburg, Ohio, in 1838, when he had attained the age of fifty-four years. He married Miss Nellie Duval, a lady of French extraction, who was born and reared in the vicinity of Baltimore, and who died in Prince George county.
1362802
The maternal grandfather of our subject was Thomas Lansdale, who married Miss Jemima Hyatt; they were both of Welsh ancestry and natives of Maryland, owned the property upon which is located the town of Hyatts- ville, rendered somewhat noted in recent years as being the camping ground of Coxey's "commonweal army " on its tramp to Washington. Mr. Lans- dale, the grandfather of our subject, was a miller by occupation, and was the original proprietor of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, where he erected a flouring mill, which he owned and operated until his death. These ancestors both died young.
Mr. Williams, whose name heads these paragraphs, was denied the advantages of a classical education, though he has supplemented his youthful training by a life-time of careful reading and systematic study: his literary pursuits in later years have been largely conducive to this end. He attended the common schools in Mechanicsburg and for a brief time the London Academy. On leaving this institution he received a certificate of qualifica- tion to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, English grammar and natural philosophy. This honorable introduction to the world was prefaced by the statement over the signature of his professor, " He has and will sustain him- self in his studies." This expression of implied confidence in his ability and determination to win has been a life incentive to him, and to this is largely due his persistent effort at self-culture.
At the beginning of life's struggles, independently of parental authority and aid, Mr. Williams was imbued with the idea that the stock business was prolific of flattering results. Coming to Indiana in 1852, he followed farming and stock-raising for some years in Parish Grove township, Benton county,
1
36
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
where he once owned seventeen hundred acres of land. He drove one hun- dred and twelve head of cattle, unassisted except the first day, from his farm to market in Chicago. After the civil war he thought that the south pre- sented a profitable field for investment of northern capital and industry, and accordingly he purchased a plantation near Jackson, Mississippi, whither he moved; and while a resident there he was a member of the constitutional convention under reconstruction measures in 1867. The year following he was a delegate from Mississippi to the national Republican convention at Chicago and assisted in the nomination of Grant and Colfax.
But his investment in southern property did not prove satisfactory, and in 1869 he returned to Indiana and entered journalism. But it was in 1873 that he purchased the Central Clarion, the first newspaper published in Fowler. In 1876 he disposed of the Clarion, but repurchased it in 1878, changing the name to Fowler Era, and continued to be its editor and pro- prietor until 1880, when he finally retired from journalism. Until 1873 the family home was on the farm in Parish Grove, but since that date in Fowler.
In 1876 Mr. Williams was commissioned postmaster and served about four years. He then went on the road as a general agent for a school-sup- ply house, serving in that capacity for six or eight years. Next he engaged in the real-estate and loan business in Fowler. In recognition of his special fitness for the position, he was made chairman of the Republican county central committee in 1888 and was continued in that position until 1898, re- tiring when he was commissioned postmaster of Fowler, on the Ist of Febru- ary, 1898. During his administration as leader of the Republican party in Benton county he prosecuted an aggressive policy, redounding to its success and increasing its majority threefold.
Mr. Williams was one of the prime movers in the county-seat contest, which resulted in transferring the seat of government of Benton county from Oxford to Fowler; and to accomplish this end he and his friends resorted to much strategy known only to the successful politician. One means employed was the purchase of a complete newspaper outfit at Chicago and the estab- lishment of a fearless organ favorable to the transfer; and through its columns able articles were published which brought together the previously disinte- grated fragments of the party favorable to the new movement. About this time the Patrons of Husbandry became a strong factor in politics, their pol- icy being to defeat the dominant party, whatever its name.
In 1896 Mr. Williams was chosen a presidential elector from his con- gressional district and performed valiant services for the success of the Mckinley ticket. No man in Benton county has performed greater service to the Republican party than D. McA. Williams. Not only this, but he has also watched the growth and prosperity of Benton county from its infancy to
1
37
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
the present day, and has always encouraged and fostered everything of public interest and value. He is public-spirited and enterprising, and liberal to a fault. For two years he held the office of county assessor, receiving his appointment in 1891. In the pioneer days of 1858 he held the office of justice of the peace, in Parish Grove township.
He owns some land in Kansas and a comfortable home in Fowler. He is devotedly attached to his family, and enjoys the comforts and seclusion of his happy home ; has been an industrious worker all his life, and whatever he has done he has done " with all his might." Though well along toward the traditional "three-score and ten years " in life's journey, he is still active and energetic and in the enjoyment of good health. No man in Benton county is more worthy of representation in this work than Mr. Williams ; in fact his life history is so closely interwoven with the public affairs of Benton county that a work of this character would not fill its mission to posterity were he not given the prominence his worth demands.
Mr. Williams was married in Parish Grove, March 22, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth B. Boswell, a daughter of Parnham and Adah (Chenoweth) Boswell. Her father was born in Prince William county, Virginia, Septem- ber 30, 1798, and was one of the prosperous farmers and pioneers of Benton county. The town of Boswell, in this county, is named in his honor. His death occurred at that place in April, 1882, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-six years. His wife, who was born near Piketon, Pike county, Ohio, died in Parish Grove, June 8, 1878, and both are buried at Oxford, where their remains are no more disturbed by the awful lightning flash of the midnight storm than by the calm rays of the next noon- day's sun.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams have had three children, one of whom is deceased. The eldest of these, Edward P., was born at Waco, Texas, August 7, 1858, and is now his father's efficient deputy in the post-office. Adah M. was born at North Hickory Grove, Benton county, Indiana, October 13, 1860, and died in Fowler, August 29, 1889 ; and Lizzie L., a beautiful and accomplished young lady still at her parental home, was born at Parish Grove, May 10, 1870, and has been for a number of years the official stenographer for the thirtieth judicial circuit of Indiana.
SAMUEL C. HANSON.
Samuel C. Hanson, city superintendent of the public schools of Will- iamsport, Warren county, Indiana, and the author of a series of popular school music books, was born at Pana, Illinois, January 12, 1850. His par- ents were John and Alcinda (Cox) Hanson. In 1857 the family removed to
38
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Decatur, Texas, and engaged in farming and stock-raising. It was soon after this that the feeling of hatred that existed on the part of the people of the slaveholding states for men from the north culminated in war. Mr. Hanson, being one who freely expressed his sentiments, -which were, of course, on the side of the Union,-was compelled for the safety of himself and family to leave the country, and he returned to his former home in Illinois, where his death occurred April 14, 1898. The wife and mother passed away thirty-seven hours before the death of her husband, and the remains of husband and wife, father and mother, were consigned to the same tomb.
Professor Hanson is one of a family of six members, all of whom are living. He received his primary education in the public schools, and grad- uated at the Westfield College in 1874, and later was for some time a student of the Miami Conservatory of Music, where he made a specialty of vocal culture and harmony. He has since had a wide experience as teacher and has won an enviable reputation in educational circles. He taught for some time at Green Hill Seminary in Warren county, and was for four years prin- cipal of Edwards Academy, at Greenville, Greene county, Tennessee. He has been connected with the schools of Williamsport as superintendent since 1885. He organized the first regular high school at this place, the course being one of three years. This high school was recognized by the state board in 1888, and that year graduated its first class, which numbered four members. The number of graduates to date is fifty-three. In 1898 there were no graduates, as a year had been added to the course of instruction, making it four years in length. About one-half of the graduates of the high school have entered a college or university and a number have graduated there. The schools of the city are conducted in one large central building and employ eight teachers. Under the superintendency of Professor Hanson the schools of Williamsport have reached a high degree of efficiency and are numbered with the best in the state.
Professor Hanson is the author of a number of school music-books, which have attained a wide popularity. Among them may be mentioned "Merry Melodies," "Silvery Notes," "Merry Songs," "Primary and Calisthenic Songs," "Golden Glees," and "Living Gems" for Sunday-schools. For a number of years the Professor has been employed by county superintendents in different parts of the country, during his summer vacations, to give vocal instruction at teachers' institutes. This has given him a wide reputation as an instructor in vocal music, and his books on this subject are everywhere esteemed for their excellence. In educational and musical fields Professor Hanson has accomplished and is doing a great work. He is thoroughly absorbed in his labors, is a gentleman of attractive appearance, courtly
39
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
manners and winning personal magnetism. His culture and sensitiveness to high artistic influences have caused him to become a power in an extended circle of the best minds of the state.
In 1876 Professor Hanson married Miss Nannie E. Edmondson, a native of Indiana, and five sons and a daughter have been born to them, viz .: A. Wayne, Whittier L., Lillian G., Robert E., John C. and Samuel C.
PROFESSOR JOHN F. BARNES.
There is always a great incentive to the young in a perusal of the life history of a successful man, one who has risen to a high place in any community by sheer force of character and the exercise of determination and perseverance. In the person of the subject of this sketch is found such an one. Left an orphan at an early age, he was thus thrown largely upon his own resources, but his was an undaunted spirit and he persisted in his efforts to acquire an ex- cellent education, wisely concluding that with such a foundation success would more surely come to crown his labors in the world's busy highways. He has had wide and varied experience as an educator of the young, .and few are better qualified to judge of their needs and capabilities. He thoroughly loves his work, and in this fact doubtless lies the secret of his success.
The Lafayette Business College, of which Professor Barnes is the presi- dent, is an institution whose value and high standing in northern Indiana are too well admitted to require a specific testimonial in this connection. Yet a brief recapitulation will be apropos. Without doubt it is one of the best commercial colleges in the state and enjoys numerous and peculiar advan- tages. Its faculty is composed of live, enterprising men, who, by long ex- perience in business and educational fields, are finely fitted to instruct young men and women in actual business forms and requirements. Pupils are grad- uating from this college continually, thence to go into business channels and to occupy positions of responsibility and desirability in the great cities and in smaller towns. Scores of them are now valued employes of leading com- mercial firms in the cities of Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, St. Louis, etc. Moreover, many a young man has doubled his salary by taking a course of stenography, bookkeeping or typewriting. It is well known that many firms nowadays prefer to employ a person who is competent to keep books and to handle their correspondence also, and thus it is infinitely to the ad- vantage of an applicant for a position if he thoroughly understands both kinds of work.
It would seem that no argument should be needed in this day of spe- cialization, of progress, of enterprise, to convince every one, in whatsoever station in life, that he ought to fit himself for some kind of practical work.
10
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Wealth takes unto itself wings, and nothing is certain save what is stored within the mind. It alone is a treasure-house to be depended upon in the struggle for a livelihood, which comes sooner or later to the great mass of mankind. Every farmer, every business man, every man of whatsoever occupation or station in life is much better qualified to manage his property and look after his financial interests if he is posted in the various trans- actions of business life, if he has a practical knowledge of banking and notes, checks, drafts, etc., of contracts and business law. All of these things are carefully drilled into the minds of the students of the Lafayette Business College by a skilled and competent corps of teachers. One specially desir- able feature of this college lies in the fact that a point is made of getting its students good and paying positions with reputable firms as soon as said pupils are competent. In the commercial colleges of the great cities this personal interest in scholars is impossible, but here every reasonable effort is made to place graduates in desirable positions, and one member of the faculty makes this his chief business and occupation. Board is, of course, much more reasonable in a place of this size than in a larger city, and all of the environments of students here are more beneficial and conducive to earnest, hard work and study. Among the faculty are the well known edu- cators: J. F. Barnes, the president of the college; E. D. Douglas, who is principal of the English and commercial departments; R. A. Grant, principal of the shorthand and penmanship departments; and Frank Reinier, assist- ant in the commercial department. Lectures are given on the different lines of business by the leading business men of Lafayette.
Professor John F. Barnes was born in Spencer, Owen county, Indi- ana, October 13, 1860, a son of Joseph B. and Eliza R. (Smith) Barnes. He was an only son, and his only sister, Eliza R., died when between six and seven years of age. The father, who was a farmer, bravely responded to the call of his country in the civil war, enlisting in the Fourteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. After he had gallantly served in many a hard cam- paign for about three years, his life was laid down as a sacrifice at the second day's battle of the Wilderness. His wife having died but a few weeks previously, our subject was thus left an orphan, but a few years old. His paternal grandfather, who was of German descent, was a farmer and early settler in this state. He died in middle life, at his home near Spencer, Owen county. His children comprised four sons and three or four daugh- ters. The maternal grandfather of our subject, William Smith, was a native of Virginia, and of English descent. A successful farmer and stock-raiser, he resided for years in Greene county, Indiana, where he was a pioneer. He reared a large family and died when about seventy-five years old.
The boyhood of John F. Barnes was spent upon his maternal grand-
41
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
father's homestead in Greene county, and his education was that of the common schools and that of the Worthington high school, where he graduated, He then took a normal and commercial course, after which he taught for several years in the graded and district schools. In 1884 he went to the west and for four years traveled and lived in the western part of Kansas, the Indian Territory, Colorado and Texas. In 1888 he returned and for a year was an employe of the Union Milling Company, at Union, Indiana. The following two years he was occupied at his old vocation, that of teaching, and attending the normal school at Princeton, Indiana. During the winter of 1890-91 he was a member of the faculty of the Busi- ness University of Indianapolis. In August, 1891, he came to Lafayette, and was the principal of the commercial department of the college up to February, 1897, when he became president of the institution, as well. The college has prospered under his management, having about two hundred students enrolled.
June 30, 1898, Mr. Barnes married Miss Vina Price, daughter of James WV. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Price, and their pleasant home is at No. 420 North Seventh street. They are members of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church and are interested workers in its various departments of usefulness. Mr. Barnes is superintendent of a mission Sunday-school and is president of the Epworth League of the church. His parents were identified with the same denomination and he was reared in its creed. Politically, he is a loyal Republican and fraternally a member of the order of Knights of the Macca- bees, being record-keeper of the local organization with which he is identified.
JAMES ELI JONES.
James Eli Jones, one of the trusted employes of the Panhandle Rail- road, and a resident of Winamac, Pulaski county, is a native of Fulton county, Indiana, his birth having occurred near Kewanna, July 27, 1856.
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.