USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 36
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John F. Borders, the father of our subject, was the eldest son in a large family, and was born near Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, July 22, 1834. His life has always been devoted to agricultural pursuits, he having owned several tracts of fine farm land in the county at different times, disposing of them to advantage and buying others which he improved and again sold. Twice he enlisted as a soldier of the civil war, and at its close again took up his work on the farm. In his business affairs he has prospered more than most men, and is to-day one of the most successful and influential citizens of
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Pulaski county. In 1855, just previous to reaching his majority, he pur- chased a farm, upon which he built a house and began to do for himself, his intelligent judgment carrying him safely through many times of crisis when other men would have gone down. He has been upright and honorable in all the relations of life and always ready to further the welfare of the com- munity by any means in his power. In all the vicissitudes of life he has had the ready sympathy and encouragement of a most cheerful and helpful wife, Nancy Elizabeth (Benefield) Borders, to whom he was united September 9, 1855. The children who have blessed the home of this most worthy couple, a more extended account of whose lives is elsewhere given, are as follows: Burlingame, a lawyer of Hammond, Indiana, whose reputation has been far reaching and whose success is phenomenal; Minerva Anise, born September 10, 1858, now the wife of Jay Edwin Wagner, of Wagner, Arizona; Elmina, born December 31, 1860, is the wife of William Robert Frazier, a butcher of Winamac, and is the mother of three children, Nellie, Estella and Raymond; Martha was born July 25, 1862, and is the wife of Frederick Rorenbaugh; Franklin was born November 15, 1864; Addie, Mrs. Frank Long, was born November 31, 1866, and is the mother of Tolbert, Cleo, Argene, Elmer and Maude Long; William Warren is our subject; Walter was born May 10, 1872, and resides at home; Fred was born April 8, 1874, and has been numbered among the best instructors in the county for several years, as is also his youngest brother, Charles Hayes, who was born May 14, 1876. The par- ents of Mrs. Borders were William and Jane (Kane) Benefield, her father being a carpenter and farmer of the state for many years.
Warren William Borders is a man of enterprise and push, and worked his way to the front largely by his own efforts, teaching school that he might obtain a college education. He was a student in the high school and then entered the normal school at Ladoga, Indiana. At the age of eighteen he taught his first school, in Harrison township, and easily acquired a high repu- tation for his ability in imparting his information in a clear and lucid man- ner. The following year, 1889-90, he accepted the school in Salem town- ship, and the summer following went to Washington, where he was ap- pointed as a clerk of the census bureau, a position he filled until the fall of 1891, when he entered the University of Indiana. He was a student in this university two years, taking a literary and second-junior law course. He then entered the office of his brother, Burlingame, in June, 1893, where he finished his studies, and two years later formed a partnership with him under the firm name of Borders & Borders. The next January the brother re- tired from the firm to open an office elsewhere, and his place was taken by Leonard Felker, although the former's name was retained, the firm being known as Borders, Borders & Felker. Two years later this firm was dis-
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solved, and our subject has since continued alone. He has a large practice, and is known to be straightforward and capable, thus winning the confidence and good will of those with whom he comes in contact. He is logical and earnest in his arguments and convinces his hearers through their reasoning powers rather than through their sympathies.
April 15, 1896, Mr. Borders was joined in matrimony to Miss Mary Ce- celia Moore, a daughter of James and Margaret (Walch) Moore. She is a native of the vicinity of Pottsville, Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, where she was born September 6, 1870. It is a coincidence worth mentioning that the great-grandfather of Mr. Borders was also born in Schuylkill county. Our subject has been identified with the Republican party, and is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, No. 274, of Winamac, and of Lodge No. 66 of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Logansport.
ABEL J. HOLTAM.
Abel Jesse Holtam, a retired business man and agriculturist of Rey- nolds, Indiana, was born in Gloucestershire, England, June 9, 1826, and is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Harrison) Holtam. The father was a native of the same place and came to America in 1850, landing at New York, whence he went to Canajoharie, New York, purchasing eighty acres of land, which he farmed for several years. In 1858 he moved to White county, Indiana, and located at Reynolds, where at that time there were but two houses, subsequently moving to Indian Creek, where he remained on a farm for a few years, and then returned to Reynolds and engaged in general merchan- dising. His sales was very large, averaging one thousand dollars a month. He continued in business until his death, which occurred in White county, in 1888, when he had reached the age of seventy-four years. His wife, who also was born in Gloucestershire, England, died about 1885. Three children were born to this worthy couple, namely: Abel J., our subject; Thomas, the father of Jesse Holtam, of Earl Park, whose sketch occurs elsewhere in this volume; and Emma, who died in early youth.
Abel J. Holtam attended the public schools of England and later was apprenticed to the baker's trade, which he followed until fourteen years old, when he accompanied his parents to America. Upon his arrivai in this coun- try and for many years afterward he followed his chosen vocation in New York, Cincinnati, Lafayette and Reynolds, establishing a bakery at the lat- ter place and carrying on a lucrative business until 1888, when he retired. In 1878 he purchased eighty acres of land, partly lying within the city lim- its, and of this he still retains sixty-one acres.
The marriage of Mr. Holtam took place in 1860, at Reynolds, Indiana,
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when he was united to Miss Pauline Swantz, who was born in Germany, in 1850, and whose parents were natives of that country. Mr. and Mrs. Hol- tam are the parents of two children: Josepli, who owns one-half interest in the opera-house at Monticello, Indiana; and Ida, who is attending the public schools of Reynolds. Mr. Holtam is a member of the church of Eng- land but attends the Methodist church at Reynolds. In politics he is a Democrat.
LOUIS BROWN.
There is no element which has had more potent influence in conserving the progress and stable prosperity of our great republic than that represented by the sturdy sons and daughters of the German empire who have come hither to establish their homes and to rear their children to lives of honor and usefulness. Among the representative and highly esteemed farmers of Wea township, Tippecanoe county, is Louis Brown, who may well feel pride in the fact that he is to be numbered with the class to whom reference has just been made. He was born in the village of Ensberg, province of Wurtem- berg, Germany, the date of his nativity having been November 25, 1832. His parents were Louis and Margaret (Brem) Brown, the former of whom was a farmer, owning a small farm in the province of Würtemberg, and be- ing a man of the stanchest integrity. His wife was likewise a representative of sturdy German stock, and by her marriage to Mr. Brown she became the mother of seven children, namely : Katharine, Johannis, Louis, Jacobina, John, Alexander and Carl. Mr. Brown was an industrious, God-fearing man, being a member of the Lutheran church, and he lived to attain the age of about sixty years, his death occurring in his native land.
Louis Brown, the subject of this sketch, who inherited the full paternal patronymic, received his educational discipline in the excellent common schools of the German fatherland, which has so long been celebrated for its superior school system, and grew up in a home where honesty and integrity were instilled into his mind as the most essential of virtues. The influence of this Chris- tian home he has had reason to appreciate throughout the many years of his life of active toil and endeavor. In his youth he assisted in the work of the farm and was also engaged in teaming. When he arrived at years of maturi- ty the young man felt a desire to try his fortune in the New World, having been deeply impressed by the information he had gained concerning the op- portunities afforded in the United States. Accordingly, on attaining his legal majority, he bade adieu to home and fatherland, July 3, 1853, and prepared to seek his fortune in America. He embarked on a sailing vessel at Havre, France, in July, 1853, and by reason of severe storms the boat was retarded
Louis Brawn
Mrs. Louis Braun .
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in its progress through the north seas, so that the voyage was protracted to more than twenty-eight days ere the vessel cast anchor in New York, on the 28th of August.
Mr. Brown secured employment in Hoboken, New Jersey, for a time in connection with the construction of a plank road, and thereafter he engaged in teaming until May, 1856, when he came westward to Springfield, Ohio, where he was employed in a brick-yard until January, 1857, when he came to Lafayette, Indiana, where he engaged in such work as he could find to do by the day for a time, eventually turning his attention to farming. In Decem- ber, 1858, while a resident of Lafayette, he was united in marriage to Mary Groschaus, who, like himself, was a native, of Würtemberg, Germany, where she was born on the 4th of January, 1840, the daughter of John and Kather- ine (Haslswart) Groschaus, who were the parents of five children, -Margaret, Mary, George, Christina and Jacob. The father, who was a farmer and laborer in his native land, emigrated to America with his family in 1854, set- tling a few miles south of Lafayette, Indiana. He remained in this county until the time of his death, which occurred when he was about sixty-five years of age. He was a member of the Lutheran church and was a man of indus- trious habits, unbending integrity, straightforward in all his dealings, and was respected by all who knew him.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brown rented a farm one-half mile west of their present home, and Mr. Brown devoted himself to its cultivation for a period of three years, after which he rented for one year one hundred acres of Henry Earle, at the expiration of which latter period, in the year 1862, he effected the purchase of his present farm, which he has since oper- ated with success. This success has come as the direct result of his own efforts, and such has been his industry, enerergetic application and honorable methods, that he has been enabled to add to his landed estate until he now has a fine farm of over five hundred acres, well improved and under effective cul- tivation. All of this prosperity but tends to show that the statements made at the opening of this sketch have substantial basis in fact. To his faithful wife, who has seconded his every effort and given a devoted encouragement, Mr. Brown attributes much of his success in life, and they are well worthy of the high esteem in which they are held in the community. The happy home has been brightened by the presence of seven children, namely: Mary, Carrie, John, Lizzie, Annie, Ella and Tillie.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are members of the Lutheran church, to whose work and collateral benevolences they contribute liberally. In politics our subject renders allegiance to the Republican party and its dominating princi- ples. Animated by the most sterling attributes of character, Mr. Brown has by industry and wise economy achieved a worthy success, has given to his
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children excellent advantages, and has gained an enviable reputation. To no family in the community do esteem and confidence go forth more freely and appreciatively.
PHILEMON BEVIS.
The popular and efficient secretary of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion at Lafayette was born at Lancaster, now Philadelphia, Cass county, Illi- nois, April 26, 1865. His parents, Henry and Sarah (Stout) Bevis, were natives of Ohio, and had five children, namely: Flora B., widow of Joseph McIntire, of Urbana, Illinois; Albon, living in Urbana; Philemon; David H., deceased; and Grace.
Henry Bevis was a contractor and builder by trade and came to Illinois in 1857 or 1858, living at different times in Virginia and Urbana, at which latter place he died in 1895, aged fifty-nine years. He was an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church, and his children were most carefully brought up. He was for many years superintendent of the Sunday-school and lived a consistent Christian life. He was one of a family of twelve chil- dren, all of whom were church members, as are also his own children. The paternal grandfather was David Bevis, a native of Ohio and of Scotch-English descent. He was a large fruit-grower and resided in the town of Bevis, near Cincinnati, where he died in 1894, aged eighty-five years. He was a man of retiring disposition, but was influential and highly respected in his com- munity. The maternal grandfather was Philemon Stout, who was born in New Jersey, and who, at an early day, pre-empted land in central Illinois, where he spent the remainder of his life. He had seven children, of whom six grew to maturity. Mr. Stout was a farmer by occupation and was a dea- con in the Baptist church.
The subject of this sketch resided in Virginia, Cass county, Illinois, until reaching manhood, and was a graduate of the Virginia high school. He sub- sequently was a student in the University of Illinois, at Champaign, where he took an architectural course of three years, but on account of failing health was obliged to leave college before completing the entire course. In 1890 he was appointed secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association at Dixon, Illinois, where he remained one year, after which he went to Macomb, residing there for the following three years. The declining health of his father at this time called Mr. Bevis to Urbana, where he remained for three years, within which time his father died.
In 1897 Mr. Bevis removed to Lafayette, Indiana, and accepted the secretaryship of the Young Men's Christian Association, a position for which he is well qualified. This association has been in existence in Lafayette for
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twenty-five or thirty years, but the present organization was founded in 1889. It has accomplished a great deal of very effective work in reaching the young men, has been steadily growing in the last few years and is wielding a good influence. It has a membership of about three hundred aud fifty, which is constantly increasing. The association occupies the entire building in which it is located and is fairly well equipped, having a reading-room, audience- room, parlor, gymnasium and bath rooms. Services are held every Sunday afternoon, and classes in various studies, conducted by prominent instructors, are held on week-day evenings. A course of entertainments, comprising lectures, concerts, etc., all of a high order, is carried out during the year. An efficient ladies' auxiliary forms an important adjunct of the work. The officers of the association are: George F. Keiper, president; Edward Ayres, vice-president; M. K. Weakly, recording secretary; George M. Blackstock, treasurer; Phil. Bevis, general secretary; W. A. Stilwell, physical director. Advisory Committee, - James H. Smart, W. W. Alder, B. Brockenbrough, Sr., Samuel Moore, Sr., and M. H. Timberlake. Board of Directors,-W. J. Rosebery, W. C. Latta, J. W. Morgan, J. F. Kinsey, George B. King, W. W. Lane, Edward Ayres, E. B. Vawter, R. C. Stader, C. A. Waldo, George W. Switzer, T. F. Moran, George F. Keiper, G. M. Blackstock, and M. K. Weakly. The building of the association, which was at one time one of the handsome residences of the city and contains fifteen rooms, occupies a prominent location at the corner of Fifth and South streets. Mr. Bevis is deeply interested in his work, and no more efficient or popular officer has ever been connected with the organization.
The marriage of our subject took place December 24, 1889, his wife be- ing Miss Leura B. Palmer, daughter of John M. Palmer, of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, but now residing in Augusta, Kentucky. Her mother's maiden name was Augusta Butterfield. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bevis, -Philemon Palmer and Albon Ledru. Our subject and his wife are members of the Second Presbyterian church, in whose work they take an active part, and they have a large circle of friends.
BURLINGAME BORDERS.
Among the men who have won enviable reputations in their chosen pro- fessions our subject stands conspicuous. He is a lawyer whose ability is recognized throughout northern Indiana, and his services are in frequent demand all over this section by people whose cases demand skillful handling. He was born November 9, 1856, in Pulaski county, and grew to man's estate in this neighborhood, lately locating in Hammond, where his rapidly increas- ing clientele speaks most flatteringly of his merit. His parents are John F.
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and Nancy Elizabeth (Benefield) Borders, well and favorably known in this part of the state, and his grandparents are Wesley and Sarah (Eldson) Borders.
Wesley Borders, the venerable grandfather, is now in his ninety-second year and in the enjoyment of excellent health. For more than half a cent- ury he was earnestly engaged in spreading the gospel in Indiana and Kan- sas, and the experiences through which he passed when thus employed seem almost incredible in this modern and more advanced age of civilization. He was considered an able, eloquent speaker,-one who boldly proclaimed his views and most logically defended them. He was a shrewd man of busi- ness, as well, and accumulated quite a little property. He was a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia, where he was born August 27, 1807. His father, Christopher, was born in Pennsylvania, but sought his fortunes in Virginia, and soon after the birth of Wesley moved with his family to Ohio. Here Wesley Borders married Miss Sarah Eldson, in 1832, and to them the following children were born: Martha Jane, John Fletcher, Sarah Eliza- beth, Frances Marie, Miranda Anice, Ezra Watson, and Emeline. The wife and mother died January 22, 1846, and three years later he was united in wedlock with Mrs. Lydia Jane Gregory, widow of Nathan Gregory. The children who blessed this union were: Albert, William (deceased), Orpha, Elnora, Ida Rebecca, Emory Firman, and Wesley Strange. His descendants of the second and third generation number more than one hun- dred. He has been a lifelong Republican.
John Fletcher Borders, for many years one of the most highly esteemed and substantial citizens of Pulaska county, Indiana, resides near the town of Winamac on a forty-acre tract of land, which has been placed under fine cul- tivation and adorned with neat and substantial buildings by him, in order that his declining years might be passed in comfort and amid pleasant sur- roundings. He was born near Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, July 22, 1834, and at the age of twenty-one bought a piece of land in Harrison town- ship upon which he built a house and began to work for himself. To this home he brought his bride, Miss Nancy Elizabeth Benefield, on September 9, 1855, and a most willing and helpful wife has she proved to be. After farm- ing in various places until 1861, he entered the army and served one year, when he was mustered out. He purchased an interest in one hundred and sixty acres of land and farmed a couple of years, when he again joined the army and became a member of Company G, One Hundred and Fifty-first Indiana Infantry, remaining until the close of the war. With the exception of three years spent in the milling business at Moorsburg, he has given his entire at- tention to farming, and is to-day considered one of the best informed men on that branch of science in the county. In this county he has owned some
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valuable land, of which he has never failed to dispose to advantage, retain- ing only two tracts of forty acres each, both in Harrison township, upon one of which he now resides. In every transaction he has been characterized as fair-minded and honorable, and the efficiency with which he has discharged the duties of township trustee has caused him to be retained in that office for a period of more than eleven years, a fact which bespeaks his integrity. He is a Republican in politics and is an intelligent worker in that organiza- tion. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Borders were as follows : Burlingame is our subject ; Minerva Annis, born September 10, 1858, married Jay Ed- win Wagner on October 7, 1884, and is now a resident of Wagner, Arizona ; Elmina, born December 31, 1860, is the wife of William Robert Frazier, a butcher of Winamac, by whom she has three children, Nellie, Estella and Raymond ; Martha, born July 25, 1862, is the wife of Frederick Roren- baugh and resides on the N. A. Murphy farm ; Franklin was born Novem- ber 15, 1864 ; Addie, born November 21, 1866, married Frank Lang and is the mother of five children, Talbot, Clio, Argene, Elmer and Maude ; War- ren William, represented elsewhere in this work, was born March 11, 1870, and is a prominent lawyer of Winamac ; Walter, born May 10, 1872, lives at home ; Frederick, born April 8, 1874, is a very successful teacher, as is his brother, Charles Hayes, who was born May 14, 1876.
William Benefield, the maternal grandfather of our subject, came at an early age from his native state, Pennsylvania, and worked at his trade of carpentering for many years in Delaware county, this state. Later he moved to Pulaski county, where he engaged in husbandry until his death, in Octo- ber, 1870. His wife, whose maiden name was Jane Kane, was of Irish extraction and was the third youngest of a large family of children born to John Kane and wife.
Burlingame Borders, our subject, attended the country schools in his earlier years and for a short time was a student in the Winamac schools. He was later found enrolled at the school at Lebanon, Ohio, where he made a good record in his studies. He then entered the Bryant & Strat- ton Business College at Indianapolis, taking a complete business course. He was a great student, and soon turned his attention to the study of law, entering the office of N. L. Agnew, of Winamac, and applying himself with such persistency that he had soon mastered the labyrinthine maze of that most difficult profession, and was admitted to the bar in 1878. Previously to this he had been engaged in teaching school, while carrying on his law studies, and continued it five years after being admitted to the bar. The schools presided over by him were located in Pulaski, Cass and Miami coun- ties, Indiana, the last school being at Mexico, Miami county, where he was principal during the year 1882-3. He began the active practice of his pro-
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fession in March, 1883, having his office with his preceptor, N. L. Agnew, and a year later entering into a partnership with him under the firm name of Agnew & Borders. They continued together for six years and enjoyed a large and lucrative practice, being recognized as the leading lawyers in this section of the state. For a short time he was alone and then became asso- ciated with F. S. Dukes for about two years, when that gentleman was succeeded by Warren William Borders, a brother of our subject and a law student under him. The firm of Borders & Borders was well and favorably known, and continued to practice until the first of January, 1897, when our subject withdrew, allowing the old firm to retain his name in the business. Mr. Borders now left Winamac to seek a more desirable location, as the opportunity offered in that field for the expansion of the business was limited. He again formed a partnership with his old friend, Mr. Agnew, and opened two offices, -one at Valparaiso, conducted by that gentleman, and the sec- ond at Hammond, in charge of our subject. This has proved to be a most desirable location, and the business has so flourished that Mr. Borders found it necessary to have assistance in the business, and secured the co-operation of Lawrence Becker, with whom he formed a partnership in April, 1898, the old firm being dissolved. This firm do a general law business and have pleasant, commodious offices in the Tapper Block, where they receive clients from the greater portion of northern Indiana. Mr. Borders is a strong and forcible speaker and seldom loses a case, being noted for his persistency and tenacity of purpose. He had an exceptionally large practice in Pulaski county, and has been accorded a most flattering reception in Hammond, where he is known as thoroughly upright and trustworthy. It was his mis- fortune in early boyhood to be afflicted with an incurable disease of the hip, which resulted in the removal of the right leg at the hip joint, and this has necessarily caused him great inconvenience.
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