USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 45
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the old home place. His wife, the mother of our subject, died in July, 1889, aged forty-four years. She was an estimable woman and a devout Catholic. The father is still living and is farming in Montgomery county.
Mr. Schooler's paternal grandfather, also named William, is a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent. He was a pioneer settler of Montgomery county, Indiana, where he held the offices of sheriff and of treasurer of the county. He had a family of five sons and one daughter and is living, at a venerable age. On the maternal side Mr. Schooler's grandfather Sullivan was born in Ireland and came to America at an early day, settling on a farm in Montgomery county, near Crawfordsville. He had but one child, Anna, who became the mother of our subject.
James W. Schooler was not quite two years old when his parents came to Lafayette, and in that city he was reared and educated. He attended the parochial school until thirteen years old, then clerked for seven years in a dry-goods store and afterward opened a restaurant, which he carried on for nearly three years. For a short time after this he was employed in Ruger's bakery. In 1849 he formed a partnership with William Wilgus in the real- estate and loan and insurance business, in which he is still engaged.
On February 25, 1884, Mr. Schooler was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Brown, daughter of Thomas E. and Martha Brown, of Delphi. Two children, William and James, have been born of this union. Mr. and Mrs. Schooler are worthy members of the Catholic church and Mr. Schooler be- longs to the Ancient Order of Hibernians. He is a stanch Democrat and is always ready to work for his party, but, contrary to the habit of many poli- ticians, he has never been known to say an unkind word of his opponents. Mr. Schooler is a very popular man and is deserving of the high esteem of those who have watched his career as boy and man. He has a pleasant home in which his many friends are always made welcome.
ROBINSON FLETCHER.
Mr. Fletcher, who is a prominent and successful farmer, living about four miles south of Boswell, Benton county, Indiana, was born in Greene county, Ohio, March 22, 1824, and was the youngest but one in a family of seven children born to Robertson and Katherine (Wooding) Fletcher. He is of Scotch-English and German stock, his grandparents, William R. and Sarah Fletcher, being respectively of the nationalities indicated, and the maternal grandfather also being a German. Our subject's father, Robertson Fletcher, was born in Virginia in 1782, and was married to Katherine Wood- ing, who was born in Hagerstown, Pennsylvania, in 1780. He moved with his family to Greene county, Ohio, in 1816, and in 1852 came to Mont-
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gomery county, Indiana, where he died September 26, 1858. His wife also died in that county, in 1878. Their children were Margaret, deceased, the wife of John Pierce, of Springfield, Ohio; Mary, deceased wife of William Lewis; William, a farmer of Montgomery county, Indiana; John and Sarah, deceased; Robinson, our subject; and Naomi, wife of Elias Little, of Mont- gomery county, Indiana.
Robinson Fletcher received his early training on his father's farm, and attended school a portion of the six weeks allowed yearly to the youth of that day in which to receive an education. When he was nineteen he left home and taught school in southern Illinois for a few terms. He then re- turned to Ohio and worked at the carpenter trade and the sawmill business for a few years. In 1852 he returned to the home farm in Montgomery county, Indiana, and remained there until the fall of 1865, when he came to Benton county, Indiana, and rented a farm. Within the same year he bought the two hundred and forty acres he now owns, four miles south of Boswell, known as Fletcher mineral spring farm. The mineral springs, with seven acres adjoining, he sold in 1888. He is also interested in other property, owning a half interest in the opera-house and a business block in Boswell.
He was married August 11, 1844, in Greene county, Ohio, to Katherine Little, daughter of David and Anna (Blue) Little, of Ohio. Her father was a native of Ohio, and her mother of New Jersey, while she was born in Mus- kingum county, Ohio, July 17, 1823. She became the mother of nine chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy. Emaline, deceased, was the wife of Robert Picket; Sarilda, the second daughter, is the present wife of Mr. Picket; Rufus is cultivating the home farm in Warren county; Charles is in southwest Iowa; Amy is the wife of Simon Brown, of Wasco county, Oregon; Nora is the wife of I. Newton Lane, of Lewis county, Washington; and Ura is the wife of William Swingle, of Warren county, Indiana.
Mr. Fletcher is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is the present treasurer of his lodge. He is a Republican in politics, but has never been an aspirant for office, as his time has been occupied with the management of his affairs.
THOMAS L. HUFTY.
Thomas Lucas Hufty, the oldest citizen of White county, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1815, near the village of Jefferson, and he now resides on a farm near the village of Wolcott, Indiana, remark- ably active and shrewd for a man of his years. He is a son of James Bark- ley and Cassandra (Lucas) Hufty, and a grandson of Jacob and Sarah (Bark- ley) Hufty. His grandmother came to America from England when a girl,
Thomas L. Hufty.
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and his grandfather was a native of Philadelphia, who drove a supply team during the Revolution. Some time during the beginning of the present cent- ury he moved to Greene county, Pennsylvania, and entered what was known as a "tomahawk " survey of four hundred acres. He was one of the first white men to settle in that part of the country, when the nearest gristmill was forty miles away. He cleared a part of this ground, and before his death divided it among his children, among whom was James Barkley Hufty, the father of our subject. James was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, Octo- ber 22, 1790, and was a young man when he moved with his parents to Greene county, that state. After the farm was divided he sold his share to his two sisters and bought one hundred and sixty acres one and a half miles north of them. This he cultivated for a number of years and then sold, buying again one mile east of this. This in turn was sold and he retired to Rice's Land- ing on the Monongahela river, where he purchased town property and resided until his death, August 3, 1874. His wife, Cassandra, née Lucas, was born in Greene county, April 4, 1796, and died at Rice's Landing October 20, 1884. She was a daughter of Thomas and Martha (Swan) Lucas, natives of Pennsylvania. Her father received a commission as justice of the peace from congress, and held it more than fifty years. Eight children were born of this union: Thomas, our subject; James, a stock farmer of Ohio; Jacob, residing in Missouri; Martha and Amanda, deceased; Cassandra, widow of John Hughes, residing at Rice's Landing; her husband was captain of the second steamboat on the Monongahela river; Phœbe, the widow of Lucas Pryer, of Iowa; and John, a farmer of that state.
Mr. Hufty attended subscription schools for short sessions until he was twenty, when he attended one long session and had the school-teacher for a room-mate. He drove a team for several years, for his father, between Wheeling and Baltimore, but discontinued it soon after his marriage. He then learned the trade of carpenter and carried it on in connection with his farming, having purchased thirty acres of land in 1842. Later he disposed of this property and moved, with his family, to Monroe county, Ohio, where he rented land and farmed for several years. He then went to Tyler county, Virginia, and bought land, which he sold about the year 1852, and came to his present farm, three miles north of Wolcott. He shipped his goods through to Monon, and followed them with a team and wagon. He first pur- chased fifty acres and located on the north part of the tract. Later he bought another fifty acres adjoining it on the south, which he has since sold to his son, Charles. He has added almost all the improvements now seen on the place, and has a cosy, comfortable home.
He was united in marriage, in Greene county, August 4, 1836, to Louisa Murdock, who was born January 28, 1814. She was a daughter of Charles 60
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and Ann (Campbell) Murdock, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Pennsylvania. Their union was blessed by the birth of a large number of children, four of whom died in infancy, -one in Greene county, Pennsylvania, and the others in Monroe county, Ohio, Tyler county, Virginia, and in White county, Indiana; Ann died at the age of four years; John is a dry-goods mer- chant in Mount Ayr, Indiana; Thomas is a mechanic in Louisiana; Charles resides on the home place; Martha is the wife of Henry Hofley, in this county; Jasper is a farmer near Pittsburg, Carroll county, this state, and George is farming near his brother Jasper. Mrs. Hufty died January 21, 1887.
Mr. Hufty was early impressed with religious convictions and united with the Baptist church at the age of nineteen years. His life has exempli- fied his Christian teachings, and he has the esteem of all for his upright, manly bearing in every path of life. He is a Democrat, but has never taken an active part in politics.
JOHN A. JOHNSON.
Mr. Johnson, who is president of the Star City Machine & Foundry Com- pany, of Lafayette, and is also a well known contractor and builder, was born in Sweden June 12, 1859. He is the son of John and Lavina (Nelson) Anderson, also natives of that country, where the father was a farmer and carpenter and where he died in 1871, aged forty-two years. His wife is still living and resides with her son John. She is now sixty-nine years old. The parents were members of the Lutheran church and they had five children, of whom four are living, namely: John, Gustav, Emma and Charles O. It may be noted that the custom in Sweden is for a son to retain as a surname the Christian name of his father: thus John Anderson's son John would be known as "John's son " or Johnson.
The parental grandfather of our subject, Andrew Johnson, was a farmer in Sweden and died at the age of eighty years. He had two children by his first wife and three by his second. The maternal grandfather, August Nel- son, was likewise a farmer in Sweden and lived to a good old age, being killed by accident, while hauling wood. Mrs. Anderson was his only child.
John A. Johnson was reared and educated in his native land, where he learned the cooper's trade, which he followed for three and a half years and then took up the trade of a butcher for the following three years. He served three years in the sharpshooters, a branch of the regular army of Sweden. Hearing much of the opportunities for acquiring wealth and fame in the United States, he decided to emigrate hither, and on May 14, 1880, landed in New York city. From there he went to Boston, remaining four months,
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after which he came to Indiana and located in Lafayette, which has since been his residence. Here he learned the carpenter's trade and in 1890 be- gan taking contracts, since which time he has erected some of the finest and most substantial buildings in the city. He erected the main building of Purdue University, beginning the work in 1893 and completing it in January, 1894, and three days after it was turned over to the trustees it was burned, entailing a loss of over one hundred thousand dollars. In the same year Mr. Johnson began the rebuilding of the structure, and completed it within the following year. It is a very handsome and substantial brick edifice on the same plan as the original structure. He also put up three other build- ings for the university before he became a contractor, and while working as foreman. The high-school building at Peru also was put up by him.
In 1894 Mr. Johnson, in partnership with Ed. Shambaugh, Buckner Southworth, William Graves and Mr. Creider. organized the Star City Ma- chine & Foundry Company, Mr. Creider afterward selling his interest to the others. The officers of the company are: John A. Johnson, president; B. Southworth, vice-president; E. Shambaugh, secretary and treasurer; and William Graves, general manager. They build engines, boilers and machines of every description and do all kinds of repair work. Mr. Johnson is also in- terested in the Star City Brick Yards.
Mr. Johnson's first marriage took place May 17, 1884, his wife being Miss Sophia Nelson. She died in August, 1890, leaving three children, Rosa, Alice and Roy, the last mentioned surviving his mother but two weeks. Mr. Johnson's second marriage was to Miss Augusta Eak, and they have had four children: Ruby, Arthur, Roy and Algot, the two latter dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, and our subject affiliates with the Odd Fellows, the Red Men and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Politically he is a Republican, and was elected a mem- ber of the city council, from the sixth ward, in 1894, and re-elected in 1898.
Mr. Johnson has a pleasant home on Oakland Hill, and is regarded as one of the representative and well-to-do business men of Lafayette.
ANDREW J. BULL.
Andrew J. Bull was born in Butler county, Ohio, near Hamilton, Octo- ber 27, 1817, son of Jonah and Jane (Crumley) Bull, the former a native of England, born in London, January 24, 1764, the latter a native of Berkeley county, Virginia (now West Virginia). He came to America in 1795, and landed at Charleston, South Carolina. In London he was a bookseller. He was a grandson of Abel Bull, a teacher and bookseller. Jonah Bull received his education in London, and subsequently engaged in teaching. In 1795 he
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
came to America and located first at Charleston, South Carolina, and from there went to Virginia. He married, October 13, 1796, Miss Jane Crumley, a native of Berkeley county, Virginia, her parents being representatives of old Virginia families of English ancestry. After his marriage he located with his wife at Winchester, Virginia, where they lived for many years. He was a soldier of the war of 1812, and fought in the battle of New Orleans, under General Jackson. He also took part in the Florida war. In ISI5 or 1816 he removed from Winchester, Virginia, to Butler county, Ohio, on mules, without wagons, taking his family and negroes with him. In Virginia he owned a plantation. He died in Butler county, Ohio, June 10, 1823. Politically he was a Democrat, and he was a great admirer of General Jack- son, under whom he fought. He was a good scholar, and a man of more than ordinary intellectuality. Though by birth and education an English- man, he was loyal to the republic. His wife's death occurred about a year before his. They were the parents of seven children, two dying in infancy. Of the others we record that Sarah became the wife of William Baker, and died in Sheffield township, in April, 1861, leaving a wife and one child; Thomas died in Pickaway county, Ohio, leaving a wife and seven chil- dren; Jane became the wife of John S. Patton, and died in Sheffield township, Tippecanoe county, leaving four sons; and Andrew Jackson, who is the youngest child of his father's family.
Andrew Jackson Bull was only six years old when he was left an orphan, and from that time until 1827 lived with relatives. In that year he came to Tippecanoe county with his sisters, Mrs. Jane Patton and Mrs. Sarah Baker, and at the age of thirteen he walked to Jefferson, in Clinton county, a bare- foot boy, where he obtained employment, receiving as compensation his board and clothing and the privilege of attending school. When sixteen years old he returned to Sheffield township and worked on a farm. At the age of twenty-one he received eighty acres of land in Sheffield township, which had been entered for him by the administrator of his father's estate, which land he improved and lived on for several years. He then sold his land and moved to Lafayette and engaged in the hardware business, which he fol- lowed until 1848. He then removed to Dayton, Tippecanoe county, where he engaged in commercial pursuits and also conducted a hotel. In 1859 he sold his business in Dayton and removed to a farm in Perry township, and lived there till 1870, and then came to Lafayette, and moved back and forth three or four times, returning to Lafayette permanently about 1894. He has a pleasant home at 2715 South street and still owns his farm in Perry township. This farm, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres of valua- ble land, well improved, with fine buildings, etc., all indicating thrift and long continued industry, is located six miles from Lafayette.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. Bull has been twice married. By his first wife, Sarah Jane Bart- mers, whom he wedded February 14, 1839, he had three children, two of whom are now living,-Oliver P., of Wea township, and Robert Fulton, of Sheffield township, both veterans of the civil war. The third son, Morris, died at the age of twenty years. Mrs. Bull died February 14, 1848. Octo- ber 27, 1848, Mr. Bull married Miss Margaret Dickson, a native of Sheffield township and a daughter of Levi and Margaret (Fry) Dickson, who settled in that township in 1826. To this second union four children were born, of whom two are now living-Roberson and Mary. A daughter, Mrs. Effie C. Eng- lish, died in St. Louis in 1898; she had one child, Talbert J. A son, Will- iam J. Bull, married Miss Ella Wilson, and his death occurred in 1880. Roberson Bull married Miss Helen Pyke, and they live on the old home farm in Perry township, and are the parents of four children, three daugh- ters and one son,-Gretchen, Hazel, Frances and William. Mary Bull married Francis B. Parker, one of the large land-owners of Tippecanoe county. They live on the corner of Ninth and Columbia streets, Lafayette, and have one child, Francis B., Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Bull are Universalists in religious belief. Fra- ternally, he has been identified with the Masonic order for about forty years, and politically he is a Democrat. He was township trustee several years in Sheffield township, and has always taken a commendable interest in public affairs. When the war of the Rebellion was inaugurated he offered his serv- ices in support of the Union, but on account of his age and physical condi- tion was not accepted. He is quiet in demeanor, and has for several years lived retired from active work. His residence in Lafayette dates back further than that of any other person now living at this place, -back to 1827, repre- senting a period of seventy-one years. He is one of the best known citizens of the county and he and his wife are highly esteemed for their many good qualities. Both are well preserved for persons of their years and bid fair to live a number of years to come.
GEORGE MCCLELLAN BRIDGE.
One of the native sons of Union township, White county, and one of the most enterprising farmers of this section is George M. Bridge, the present able and popular county surveyor. In this responsible position he has dis- charged his duties with zeal and due regard for the best interests of the public at large. Politically he is affiliated with the Democratic party.
The father of the above named gentleman was George Bridge, a native of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. His father, Peter Bridge, was like- wise born in the Keystone state, and was. a successful farmer there and later
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
in Indiana. In this state he was a pioneer, and upon his arrival here he en- tered eighty acres of land, this property subsequently being purchased by his son George. Death closed his career when he was in the prime of life. He was the father of eight or nine children. Our subject's father became a resi- dent of the Hoosier state in 1844, and from that year until his death he dwelt in Union township, on the eighty-acre tract previously mentioned. This homestead, the one now managed by George M., is situated about four miles northeast of Monticello, and is a very desirable piece of property. He made numerous valuable improvements upon the place, and continued to cultivate it industriously until his death, in 1877, when he was killed by a stroke of lightning while he was on his way from his wheat-field to his house. He was but forty-two years of age, and his sudden death, when he was at the zenith of all his powers, came as a terrible shock, not only to his immediate family circle but to the whole community. Nevertheless, he was spared a lingering illness and the dread of leaving his home and place in the busy world, and as he was an earnest Christian, who can say that death was not merciful, after all? He had long been a member of the Disciples' or Christian church, and had been foremost in all local works of charity and usefulness.
The mother of the subject of this narrative was a Miss Sophia Rizer in her girlhood. She was born in Maryland, as was her father before her. He was of German descent, a farmer and distiller by occupation. Going west, he bought land and returned after his family, but died at the end of his journey. Mrs. Bridge, who is still living, her home having been for many years past on the old homestead which was owned by her husband, is one of twelve children. In her religious faith she is a Dunkard. By her marriage to Mr. Bridge she became the mother of two sons,-Albert and George Mc- Clellan.
The birth of George M. Bridge occurred in Union township, September 24, 1863, during the progress of the civil war. He was reared on the old homestead, which he now operates, and since he was fourteen years of age, at which time his father was killed, he has taken upon himself the responsibil- ities of a man. His education was mainly acquired in the district schools, and that during the winter seasons, as the rest of the year his time was much occupied by farming duties. By perseverance and private study he became well informed and competent to teach school, and secured a certificate. Al- together, he has taught for some sixteen terms, in the meantime residing on the farm, which is in his mother's name, though he and his brother own shares in the property.
On the 23d of December, 1886, Mr. Bridge married Miss Nancy Dilling, daughter of George and Sarah (Burgett) Dilling. A son and five daughters were born to them, namely: Pearl, Rose, Andrew, Mary, Bertha and Josie.
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Andrew died when eight months old and Bertha when fifteen months.' Mrs. Bridge holds membership in the Dunkard church, in which faith she was reared.
WARREN WILSON.
Born at Goodland, Newton county, Indiana, May 2, 1860, Warren Wil- son is the oldest living white person claiming the town as his birthplace. His interests have always been intimately associated with those of this com- munity, where he is held in the highest esteem.
John Wilson, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of Kentucky, and was of English extraction. He came to Indiana when a young, unmarried man, and established himself in business as a merchant tailor in Lafayette, where he was the first to engage in that occupation. Late in life he traded his business for a farm, and gave his attention to agri- culture thenceforth. He was a Democrat in his political belief, and was a justice of the peace while a resident of Lafayette. His children were seven in number, namely: Charles, Blake, Margaret, John, William, Emma and Ports. The mother subsequently became the wife of David Creek, who came to Goodland (then called Tavola) and, purchasing land on the town site, sold many lots, built houses, and was instrumental in advancing the prosperity of the place. A leader in the business and public affairs of this section, he was also active in the work of the Methodist church and every- thing calculated to advance and elevate the people.
Blake Wilson, the father of Warren Wilson, was born in Lafayette, and when his father died he assumed much of the responsibility of running the farm and taking care of the family. He came to Goodland and purchased the Zimmermann farm, then the only improved homestead in this locality, and several years later he settled in the town named. Here he embarked in the banking business, in which he prospered and continued until two years prior to his death, in June, 1893. A Republican in early life, he finally be- came independent of party ties, voting as he thought best, regardless of poli- ticians. He was a man of strong convictions of right and duty, and endeav- ored to live up to his ideals. He married Amanda, daughter of Caleb Key, who was a native of Virginia, and an early settler of Lafayette, near which place he died. He was a hero of the war of 1812, and was present at the surrender of Hull's army. Mrs. Amanda Wilson had three brothers, Simon, William and Morgan, and a half-sister, Lucy (Mrs. Moorhouse). Five chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson', namely: Edward, who died at the age of thirty-eight years; Mrs. Lucy Wickersham; Warren; George, who died twenty-three years old; and Mrs. Dora Climar. Mrs. Wilson, now
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