USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume I > Part 6
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His father, Isaiah Jones, who was a life-long farmer, was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he removed to this state at an early day. In 1865 he removed to Douglas county, Kansas, where he pre-empted a quarter section of land about ten miles southeast of Lawrence. After living there for about four years he went to Brown county, same state, and was engaged in the cultivation of a farm there at the time of his death, March 25, 1872, when he was in his fiftieth year. His wife, the mother of our subject, bore the maiden name of Sarah Rogers.
In his boyhood James E. Jones lived upon farms, but agriculture was not exactly to his liking, and the main part of his mature life has been devoted to other enterprises. He did not leave the parental home perma-
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nently until he was married, after which event he continued to carry on a farm for about one year. Going with his parents to northeastern Kansas in 1882, and settling near St. Joseph, Missouri, he obtained employment in Robinson, Kansas, as a stationary engineer in a mill owned by Samuel Grooninger. After holding that position for six years he entered the employ of the St. Joseph & Grand Island Railroad Company, in the construction . department, later working for the same road in Nebraska, and serving as . section foreman for a number of years. In November, 1897, he returned to this, his native state, and has since been a resident of Winamac. In the spring of 1898 he became an employe of the Panhandle Railroad Company, with which corporation he is at present.
February 13, 1881, Mr. Jones married America Ann Dilts, and the chil- dren born to them are: Mae, March 27, 1882; Sarah Leah, February 28, 1885; Carry Ellen, January 12, 1890; and Lottie Belle, March 25, 1895. Fraternally, Mr. Jones is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and in politics he is a Republican. He and his estimable wife are members of the United Brethren church.
C. ALBERT HARBAUGH, M. D.
Dr. Cyrus Albert Harbaugh, the well known physician and surgeon of Lafayette, stands in the first rank of his profession and commands an exten- sive practice by means of his ability, learning and conscientious discharge of his high calling. No one stands in so close a relation to his fellow men as the family physician, and no one is more often called upon to give advice and sympathy, or is the recipient of confidences which, if abused, would cause untold disaster. Good judgment, tact, caution, benevolence, -- all these must be combined with a thorough knowledge of his profession to make a successful practitioner, and in the gentleman whose name heads this sketch may be found these qualifications.
The parents of our subject were Philip and Marjorie (Stoops) Har- baugh, the former born Brown county, Ohio, and the latter in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The father combined the occupations of farming and school- teaching, and came to Indiana in 1835, settling in Hamilton county, and is now living retired in Cicero. The mother died at Cicero, Indiana, in Sep- tember, 1878. Both were members of the Christian church, in which Mr. Harbaugh served for many years as elder and deacon. Their children were three in number: John R., of Cicero; Cyrus A .; and Lydia C. Hall, of Cicero, now deceased.
Philip Harbaugh, Sr., the grandfather of Dr. Harbaugh, was a native of Germany who settled in Ohio at an early day. He was also a farmer by
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occupation and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He reared eight children and lived to be eighty-four years old. The maternal grandfather of our sub- ject was George Stoops, who was a native of Scotland and a fur merchant. He made his home at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was about seventy-five years old at the time of his death. He also had eight children.
Dr. Cyrus A. Harbaugh was born in Cicero, Hamilton county, Indiana, February 18, 1852. He was brought up on his father's farm and in his boy- hood attended the district school afterward being a student in the Arcadia high school and completing it at Butler University. He began the study of medicine in 1872 and in 1876 was graduated at the Medical College of Indi- ana. Subsequently he attended the Miami Medical College, at Cincinnati. He began the practice of his profession at Arcadia, where he remained for six years, then going to Cincinnati for two years. He then removed to Tip- pecanoe county, where the remainder of his time was spent until 1896, when he took up his residence in Lafayette.
On December 25, 1876, our subject was united in marriage to Miss Arminda B. Martz, a daughter of Moses and Tabitha (McCormick) Martz, and three children have been born to them: Jewell M., Leona M. and Nina A. The Doctor and his estimable wife are worthy members of the Christian church, in whose good work "they take an active part. They have a pleas- ant home, recently built, which is a charming resort for their many friends. Politically, Dr. Harbaugh is a Republican, but has always been too busy to become an aspirant for office. Socially, he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Supreme Court of Honor. He is a genial, companionable man, and very popular throughout the community.
WILLIAM C. BABCOCK.
Mr. Babcock was born and reared in Jasper county, Indiana, near Rens- selaer, where he now conducts an extensive grain market. He was born on the old farm February 19, 1862, and is the only child of Nathan and Mar- garet C. (Terhune) Babcock. His father was a farmer and pioneer settler of Battle Ground, Indiana, coming from the state of New York. He died in 1874, when in his seventy-third year. He married Margaret C. Terhune, a native of Kentucky, who was born in 1816, and lived to reach her seventy- fifth year.
William C. Babcock was reared upon the farm, four and one-half miles southeast of Rensselaer. He attended the public schools and received a good common-school education. After the death of his father, which took place when our subject was but eleven years old, he remained upon the farm in Marion township, and followed agricultural pursuits until about four years
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ago, when he embarked in the grain business, and he enjoys an excellent reputation among the farmers and producers as a safe, reliable buyer, who will pay the full market price each day. He is conservative in his dealings and never speculates, buying and selling at market price, which makes him a safe man to deal with.
He was united in marriage to Miss Avanall Dougherty, whose people were pioneers of Marion township, where she was born. Two children have been sent to brighten their home, William J., aged three years, and Margaret, one year old. Mr. Babcock is a stalwart Republican, and has always taken an active part in politics, although he has never allowed his name to be used as a candidate for office until the fall of 1898, when he was pursuaded to make the race for county auditor, to which office he was elected in Novem- ber, 1898. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, uniform rank, and has served as delegate to the grand lodge. He is also a member of Rensselaer Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
ROBERT H. MCGRATH.
For the past decade the gentleman whose name stands above this brief tribute to his sterling worth has been the sole proprietor of the McGrath Foundry and Machine Works, one of the pioneer enterprises of Lafayette, established almost forty years ago, by his father, whose history follows that of the son. The foundry of to-day is a large and prosperous plant, situated at the corner of Third and Romig streets. All kinds of steam engines and boilers, mill gearings, castings and machinery are here manufactured, and a specialty is made of repairing machinery. Under the pushing, energetic management of R. H. McGrath the business is being enlarged continally and gives promise of yet greater things.
One of the native sons of Lafayette, he has always been closely associ- ated with the upbuilding and growth of the place, and has done his share in promoting its advancement. He was born May 5, 1859, and received his early education in the local schools. Believing that he should receive special business training, his father then sent him to the Lafayette Commercial College, where he was trained in general business routine. Later the young man spent two years pursuing the higher branches of learning in the Uni- versity of Notre Dame, near South Bend, Indiana. In 1876 he became one of his father's employes, in the machine shops here, and, by a period of practical work in all of the departments of the concern, he became thoroughly conversant with each and every detail of the work necessary for him to know. In 1884 he was taken into partnership, which connection continued up to the date of his father's death, in 1889. Since that time the entire con-
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trol of the business has been in his hands, and he has been abundantly able to cope with the responsibilities of the position. Success has crowned his efforts and he may be justly proud of the same. His business methods are upright and honorable and his word is as good as his bond. Politically, he is a Democrat, and in religion is a Roman Catholic. By his marriage to Miss Mary Ward he has four children.
ROBERT M. MCGRATH.
The man who founds a successful business or establishes a factory giving employment to many hands is a benefactor to the public no less than is the man who generously builds school-houses and libraries, churches and asylums. No better way can be found of assisting the poor than to make it possible for them to honestly and industriously earn their own livelihood, and, to the credit of the majority of the great laboring class, be it said that few of the multitude are not willing to work. Forty years have rolled by since the McGrath Machine Shops and Foundry were started in Lafayette, and for almost thirty years of that time the subject of this article was at the head of the enterprise, which he carefully cherished until it became one of the relia- ble and stable plants of the city. He was a fine machinist and an excellent mechanic, understanding thoroughly every detail of his business. Not only that, he was, moreover, a genius and inventor of no little merit, and among his useful and valuable inventions may be mentioned the now well known McGrath Champion cylinder iron corn-sheller for use in warehouses, and a wagon-dump for unloading grain at elevators, etc. Both of these inventions proved very popular and valuable and are now in extended use throughout the country.
The birth of Robert M. McGrath occurred in Reading, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1826. He was a youth of fourteen when he first arrived in Lafayette, where the rest of his life was mainly spent. At that time, however, he did not stay long, but went with a surveying party to survey the course of the Wabash & Erie canal, and it was not before 1844 that he returned to make his permanent home here. Entering the employ of Joe Hubler, the pioneer foundryman of Lafayette, he continued with him for several years, during which time he mastered the business and became an expert mechanic. In 1860 he purchased the ground on which the McGrath machine shops now stand, and soon erected a substantial lot of buildings. Little by little, he extended the capacity of the works, and by square dealing and straightforward methods won the regard and patronage of the public. He continued actively engaged in business until death put an end to his labors, July 4, 1889.
Mr. McGrath left a widow, three daughters and two sons to mourn his
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loss. His eldest son, Charles M., had died previously, when nine years old. Mrs. McGrath was formerly Miss Catherine O'Grady, a native of Ireland. Her surviving children are Mary C., Robert H., Catherine, Helen, Frances and George J. The family are Catholics in religious faith.
In local Democratic circles Mr. McGrath was acknowledged to be an important factor. For a number of years he served in the city council, and at the time that the present court-house of Tippecanoe county was erected he was one of the county commissioners who carried the matter through to successful completion. By his many sterling qualities of mind and heart he endeared himself to all who knew him and his place in the community where he dwelt so long cannot be easily filled.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN GREGORY.
Benjamin Franklin Gregory, deceased, for many years an esteemed res- ident of Williamsport, Indiana, was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, in 1816, the third son of James and Elizabeth Gregory. He was educated at Wabash College, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1836, two years after which he became a resident of Williamsport. Here he soon took high rank both as a lawyer and citizen and he figured prominently in public affairs, his influence reaching far beyond the bounds of his own town and county. An earnest and devoted Christian and at one time an exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal church, he taught both by example and precept. He was elected treasurer of Warren county in 1852 and two years later was re-elected. In 1862 he was honored with a seat in the lower branch of the state legislature, was in 1864 elected to succeed himself; and during the four years he represented his constituency in the legislative halls he performed his duty with fidelity and to the entire satisfaction of all con- cerned. In 1872 he was chosen presidential elector for his congressional district and to him was delegated the honor of carrying the vote of his state to Washington.
Mr. Gregory was married March 31, 1839, to Miss Hannah E. Heffley, who bore him three sons, the eldest of whom died in infancy. The young- est, Benjamin R. Gregory, born in 1848, died in 1896. Benjamin F. Gregory, the father, died at his residence in Williamsport, March 7, 1874, after an illness of three months. His widow, now advanced in years, re- sides with her son in Williamsport.
John Gregory, the second of the sons and the only survivor, was born at Williamsport, January 19, 1844. He read law with his father, and was admitted to the bar, after which he was associated with his father in practice for a number of years. At the general election in 1880 he was elected to
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the general assembly as joint representative for the counties of Benton and Warren, and served one term. In February, 1870, he engaged in the newspaper business, purchasing the Warren Republican, which he still owns and publishes.
Mr. Gregory's wife was formerly Lila Florence Chandler. Her father, Robert A. Chandler, was a pioneer of Warren county, who came here from New Jersey, and died in 1861. She was born in Williamsport, October 3, 1844. They have had eight children, seven of whom, two sons and five daughters, are living.
NATE J. REED.
The present sheriff of Jasper county, Indiana, was born September 3, 1845, in Springboro, Ohio, his parents being William and Mahala (Fox) Reed. His father was born in Kentucky and moved to this state in 1860, continuing his vocation of husbandry. His mother was born and reared in the state of Ohio. Five children blessed their union: Daniel Webster, a soldier in the civil war, now a resident of Warren county; Nate J., our sub- ject; Jahu and Alonzo, both deceased; and William Wesley, a resident of Illinois. The family were brought up in the Methodist faith.
Mr. Reed came to Rensselaer, Jasper county, in 1871, from the county of Warren. His early years were spent on a farm, where he was inured to the trials of country life, helping with the numerous chores during his spare time and attending the public schools, his opportunities for receiving a good education being first-class.
In 1862, when the dark cloud of discord overshadowed our land, and threatened her dissolution, he valiantly took up arms in her defense, and enlisted in Company F, Seventy-second Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with his brother Daniel. He fought in the Army of the Cumberland for three years, taking part in many engagements, among which were the battle of Chicka- mauga and the siege of Atlanta. He passed through many startling experi- ences and had marvelous escapes, his comrades being hewn down around him by shot and shell, while his own life was spared and not even a wound was received as a memento of those terrible times. He was mustered out of service at Edgefield, Tennessee, and returned home July 4, 1865, to resume his old occupation of farming.
Mr. Reed married a lady from Remington, this county, whose maiden name was Miss Maude Lally. She is a lady possessing many superior endow- ments of mind and heart, and is a zealous worker in the Presbyterian church, of which she is a member. Mr. Reed is a Republican, but had given his attention to farming prior to 1891, when his party elected him to the office
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of sheriff, and since then his time has been devoted to the duties of his office. He was renominated again in the fall of 1898, and was re-elected to the important office of sheriff. He is a genial, social gentleman, and everybody in the county knows and likes him. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
JAMES S. MAVITY, M. D.
The character and attainments of the professional men of a city usually determine, to the mind of the stranger, the character of the city itself. Measured by this standard, Fowler stands second to no city of equal size in Indiana. The subject of this sketch stands at the head of the medical pro- fession not only in Fowler, but also throughout the county. This is the unanimous verdict of representative citizens of the community.
Dr. James S. Mavity is a practitioner of twenty-seven years' experience, a quarter of a century in the town of Fowler. He is a " Hoosier " by birth, born in Ripley county, February 19, 1845. His parents, David J. and Lurana B. (Davis) Mavity, were natives of Virginia, where they were reared to years of maturity and were married. In 1836 they removed to Ripley county, Indiana, and hence were among the early settlers of that county. They were the parents of six children, named as follows : Thomas Benton, a contractor and builder at Tipton, Indiana ; William K., who died in Denver, Colorado, at the age of forty-seven years, was a physician and surgeon ; Lavisa A., who became the wife of James W. Lee, and resides at Indianapolis ; Mary Louisa died in childhood ; Sarah E. married Jonathan B. Ward and died in Kokomo, Indiana, at the age of forty-seven ; and James S., the subject of this sketch.
The family trace their genealogy to Normandy, and were established in America by William Mavity, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who located in Greenbrier county, Virginia, in 1765 ; while the Davis family, as represented by the mother, is of English and German descent. David J. Mavity passed away in Ripley county, on the 7th of August, 1872, at the age of seventy-four years. His life had been devoted to agricultural pur- suits. His father, William Mavity, was a soldier from Virginia in the Revo- lutionary war. The following appeared in the Indianapolis Sentinel of November 28, 1895, and is a matter of very great interest, not only as an heirloom, but also as an, unquestioned evidence that the Mavity family is descended from Revolutionary stock :
" In a lonely graveyard a few miles east of the town of New Mar- ion, Ripley county, Indiana, is the grave of William Mavity, a sergeant major of the Second Battalion in the Fourth Regiment, commanded by Colo-
J.D. Mavity. M.
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nel Waller of the Virginia troops of the Revolutionary war. He lived in Virginia, and moved to Indiana in 1824, and died about 1832. As a ser- geant major it was his duty to make daily reports, which he entered in a pocket diary, that has been preserved by his descendants and is now owned by John Mavity, of St. Helena, California. This diary is absolutely unique and very curious. It was made of coarse paper covered with leather tanned by the. owner; and the leather is covered by cloth that was made from cotton raised, carded and spun on his own farm. The writing was done with a goose- quill and sometimes a wooden pen. This little diary of twenty-two pages is- extremely valuable. It contains the names of officers and privates as entered on 'the returns from twenty-one captains of one hundred and eighty-five rank and file.' The sergeant major drew a map of the siege of Yorktown in his diary, showing the positions of the New York troops, Lincoln's and Stev- en's regiments, also Colonel Dabney's and General Washington's headquar- ters, the British redout and the. French troops. What scenes this old weath- er-beaten, even blood-stained little book, has passed through! The edges are ragged, torn and discolored, and on many pages the writing is illegible.
"The following is the exact description of the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Cornwallis given in this diary. This is the first time this account appears in print, and is as follows:
"'IN CAMP AT SPRINGFIELD,
" 'Sept. 28, 1781.
"'Our men marched down to York, and the Rifle men and French Infan- try attacked the British outlines and took their works, which Deprived them of Pasture and ocostined them to kill their Horses; and on the 29th our Rifle- men Drove them into their main works, and General Washington with the Grand Army appeared before York and Pitched their camps in view of the Enemies' works about a mile Distant, and immediately Laid close siege to their whole Garison, both by sea and Land, and raised Bateries without fir- ing a shot till the eight of Oct., when we had three Batteries opened and be- gan to play furiously upon the Enemy and silenced their fire, which they kept continually Pouring upon our men, while they were firing their works; and one 14th, at night our men made an Atackt on the Enemies' Redoubt, where they kept their Picket Guard and stormed them with a considerable loss and made a great Carnage with the Enemy and took fifty-nine prisoners, wounded forty-three, and took several stands of arms. We had one Colonel, two Captains and forty rank and file killed, and one major and twenty wounded; and the 15th at night, our men made a Trench in conjunction with the Re- doubt that they had taken from the Enemy within two hundred yards of the Enemies' lines, and raised three Bateries; and they began to mount their can- 4
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non; but the Enemy came upon our militia and Drove them out of the works, took possession of our Grand Batery and spiked six pieces of our cannon; but the front came up and Drove them off and killed several and took eight; and on the 16th we finished our works; and on the 17th our Grand Batery Began to play very Heavy, and the Enemy sent a flag for terms of Capitulation; and on the 18th the flag continues; and on the 19th they marched out with the honors of War.'"
The Sentinel also contains a cut of this famous little book, and a repro- duction of the map referred to.
In his youth, Dr. Mavity received a liberal education at Moore's Hill College, in Dearborn county, Indiana, and began life's struggles on his own account as a teacher. For six years he was thus employed in Indiana and Illinois. His ambition, however, was to fit himself for the medical profes- sion, and he began the study of medicine under the tutorship of Drs. Smith and Wagner, of Newman, Illinois. In 1870-1 he attended the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, and during the last mentioned year opened an office and began practice, at Tipton, Indiana. In 1884 he took a course of lectures at Central University, Kentucky, in the medical department, and received his degree from that institution. In 1876 he came to Fowler and soon took rank with the first physicians in Benton county. Others have come, tarried for a time and retired to other fields; but Dr. Mavity remains a permanent fixture of the town, each year adding to his popularity as a wise counselor and skillful practitioner. He has filled various positions of a pro- fessional character, among which may be mentioned that of health officer of Benton county; but he has never entered politics as such. In his political principles he is a Republican. His father was a Democrat until the break- ing out of the Civil war. The Doctor has held the position of school trus- tee two terms, and the same period that of councilman or trustee of Fowler. In his religious views he is a Unitarian, while his wife and daughter are mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.
He was married September 6, 1868, to Miss Mary A. Hart, a native of Franklin county, Indiana, and a daughter of Robert and Martha (Crary) Hart, the former a native of Franklin county, of Irish ancestry. The Doctor has had six children, of whom three are living. The eldest, Robert Ernest, died at the age of two years. The eldest daughter and fourth child, Agnes by name, is also deceased, passing to the other life at the age of four and a half years. William Asher, the fifth born, died at the age of eight months. The living children are David Everett, Joseph Haller and Helen Hart.
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