USA > Indiana > Warren County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
USA > Indiana > Jasper County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
USA > Indiana > White County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
USA > Indiana > Newton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
USA > Indiana > Benton County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
USA > Indiana > Tippecanoe County > Biographical history of Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Benton, Warren and Pulaski counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 60
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John Wendt received a substantial common-school education in the "Fatherland " and set out for America in November, 1863, taking passage from Bremen on board a sailing vessel which landed at New York, January I, 1864, about two months later, on that historic "cold New Year's day" which will never be forgotten by any one who experienced its rigors. He came to Francesville, Indiana, and was employed in railroad work and won promo- tion until for some years he had charge of sections of trackage, and from time to time was entrusted with other responsibility, which he discharged to the satisfaction of the corporation employing him. He removed to White Post township in the spring of 1872, to a farm which his savings had enabled him to buy two years before. This farm consisted of eighty acres, upon which a log house had been erected. He cleared and drained this land and provided it with good buildings and modern farming conveniences. His exceptional business ability has enabled him to add to it until he now owns three hundred acres. In a business way his success has been somewhat remarkable, and it is certainly so marked and of such character that it should prove to be an incentive to persevering frugality and endeavor to every young man who reads this. It is not the result of accident or of good luck, but of hard work, good planning and honesty in all the relationships of life. Mr. Wendt is a man of decided character, quick to decide on any important action and energetic in carrying out his purposes. He is a stanch Democrat politically, and has con- siderable local influence in his party. He has been supervisor of his town- ship seven years and has discharged the duties of that responsible office faith- fully and with an eye single to the public good, and he has several times been chosen inspector of elections. He is a member of the Lutheran church and was one of the founders of the church in his township. He has been a con-
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stant and liberal supporter of the material interests of this local organization, and has during the entire period of his residence in the township acted as its secretary.
Mr. Wendt was married at Francesville, Indiana, February, 1866, to Mary Long, who was born September 18, 1837, and who has borne him eight children, named William D., John C., Charles, Mary, Lizzie, Sophia, Minnie and Emma.
ELMER C. WILLIAMS.
The genealogy and personal history of families of any community are always interesting and not without their lessons of honesty, frugality, in- dustry and patriotism; and the measure of the people of any community is the measure of the community's moral, intellectual and patriotic status. The history of the family of the Williamses of which Elmer C. Williams, of Medaryville, Pulaski county, Indiana, is a worthy representative, will be found specially interesting and edifying. This family is of old American colonial stock.
Benjamin Williams, one of the pioneers of Kentucky, settled on land near where Louisville now is, in the historic days of Daniel Boone, as it is related that his wife owned a slave, which she must have inherited, and it is well known that Benjamin Williams was opposed to slavery on principle. The war of 1812-14 was in progress and Mr. Williams was a soldier. Indian outbreaks were not infrequent in those days in " the dark and bloody ground," and block-houses were built at convenient points in which the families of the settlers might gather for protection when peril was imminent. Mrs. Williams, like many other pioneer women, possessed most resolute courage, and she refused to go to the block-house for protection. Her husband could not per- form his soldierly duties and remain at home, and tradition has it that he secured a negro, who was a veritable giant, to guard his domicile during his enforced absence. Thus provided for, Mrs. Williams stayed at home and protected their property from the onslaughts of roving Indians and other thieves.
The children of this sturdy pioneer couple were named as follows: Lawrence, Owen, Arnett, Cordelia, Minerva, Richard A., James, Delilah, Nellie and Vilona. Late in life they removed to Morgan county, Indiana, where Mr. Williams took up land until finally he owned four hundred acres. There he died, aged eighty years, and his wife lived to be ninety, and was long a member of the Christian church.
Richard A. Williams, father of Elmer C. Williams, was born in Ken- tucky, Feburary 1, 1818, and acquired a common-school education. He
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became a farmer, and, still unmarried, accompanied his father to Morgan county, Indiana. There he married Delphina Stout, who was born in Hen- dricks county, Indiana, June 11, 1837, a daughter of Allen and Sallie (Brewer) Stout. Allen Stout was the son of Samuel and Rachel (Hall) Stout. Samuel Stout came of an old colonial family, and was born and died in North Carolina. Besides Allen, his children were Jesse, Harlan, Samuel, Enoch, Joy and Jane. He served the cause of freedom as a sol- dier in the Revolutionary war. Allen Stout, father of Mrs. Williams, was born in North Carolina and there gained such education as was available to him. He married Sallie Brewer, a native of Randolph county, North Caro- lina, and a daughter of William and Elizabeth Brewer. He moved to Mor- gan county, Indiana, about 1828 and later to Hendricks county, where he cleared and improved a farm of two hundred acres and became a substantial farmer. He was politically an old-line Whig, and was a member of the Methodist church. He died in September, 1841, aged sixty-one. His chil- dren were named Andrew, Caswell W. and Delphina Stout. After his mar- riage to Delphina Stout, Richard A. Williams settled at Martinsville, Indi- ana, where he became so prominent and influential a citizen that he was elected sheriff of the county twice. In February, 1861, he removed to White Post township, Pulaski county, and settled on a farm now occupied by Elmer C. Williams, which then consisted of eighty acres of land, on which little improvement had been made. The only house on it was a log structure, but he improved the farm in every way and converted it into a really comfortable home in which the domestic virtues were cultivated and a genuine hospitality was dispensed. He was an old-line Whig and later a Republican from the formation of the party. He voted for Fremont and Lincoln and lived to see his party long triumphant and powerful. For two terms he held the office of township trustee. He and his wife were mem- bers, and he was one of the most generous supporters, of the Christian church. He died September 7, 1880, and left a name honored by all who had ever known him. His children were named Dayton H., Horace E., Elmer C. and Minnie L. Williams.
Elmer C. Williams was born February 1, 1862, on the family home- stead in White Post township. He received a common-school education, became a farmer, because that seemed the natural and rational thing for him to do, and was married, April 20, 1893, at Rensselaer, Jasper county, Indi- ana, to Minnie L. Robinson, daughter of William Harrison and Jemima A. (Faris) Robinson. William Harrison Robinson was a son of William Robinson, a pioneer of Gillam township, Jasper county, Indiana, where he located more than fifty years ago. William Robinson was a prosperous farmer, a Repub- lican and a Methodist, who lived a good life and died in 1897, aged eighty-four
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years. He married Mary Hanley, in Ireland, and their children were Will- liam Harrison, Thomas, Michael, Mary, Daniel, James, Warren, George and Alfred. William Harrison Robinson, father of Mrs. Williams, was born in Gillam township, Jasper county, Indiana, May 30, 1840, and was success- ful as a farmer and business man. He married Jemima Faris, daughter of Eli and Isabel (Jones) Faris, who was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, August 7, 1842. He was a farmer in Gillam township, and died in 1877, at the age of thirty-seven years. William Harrison Robinson's children were Samuel J., Charles E., Minnie L., Sarah M. and William S. Mr. Robinson was a federal soldier in the civil war, and received wounds at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1863, from which he never recovered and which caused his death, October 4, 1877. He was a Republican and a member and liberal supporter of the Methodist church. Mrs. Williams' uncles, Thomas and Michael Robinson, also served in the civil war, as did her uncle, George T. Faris, and her great-uncle George Faris.
Eli Faris, the grandfather of Mrs. Williams, was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, June 28, 1813, a son of John and Sarah (Truitt) Faris. Her father, John Faris, who was a pioneer of Kentucky, finally moved to Indiana, locating as a pioneer upon a farm near Rensselaer, where he passed the remainder of his life. His children were Eli, Minerva, James C., Andrew, John, Mary J., William, Melinda and George. Eli was a farmer who came to Indiana when a young man with his parents, who first settled near Indian- apolis. In that county, Marion, he married Isabel Jones, a daughter of Thomas Jones, and continued as a farmer on eighty acres of land near the capital city for many years, until 1855, when he moved to Jasper county, this state, settling in Gillam township, on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres of land, where he lived until his death, in 1897, at the age of about eighty-three years. He was a member of the Christian church, and in poli- tics a Republican. He was a good citizen. His children were John T., Sarah J., George, Jemima A., Fleming J., Melinda and William H.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer C. Williams settled on the farm which was the nucleus of their present fine homestead of one hundred and forty-three acres. Mr. Williams demonstrated his thrift and business ability by paying off an indebtedness on the original farm of one thousand dollars and by adding to and in every way improving the property. Upon this task he brought to bear the whole force of a frugal and thrifty character and an amount of hard and persevering labor that would have discouraged most other men. A Republican in politics, Mr. Williams is prominent in local affairs. He served his township five yearsas trustee, and in that capac- ity promoted the public welfare so energetically and thoroughly that he was a very popular official. In 1896 he was the nominee of his party for the
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office of county treasurer, and while he was not elected he ran ahead of his ticket by three hundred and seventy-one votes. He is a member of Me- daryville Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 626, has passed all its chairs, including that of noble grand, and has represented his lodge in the grand lodge of the state of Indiana.
Mr. and Mrs: Williams have one child, a son named Roy A. Their home is a pleasant one, and, to employ a phrase once of more literal applica- tion than now, their "latch-string is always out." Their friends and well- wishers are many.
GEORGE J. GRIFFIN.
Prominently identified with the building interests of Chicago for more than a decade, Mr. Griffin has contributed not a little to the upbuilding and improvement of that city, and as a result of his capably managed business interests is now the owner of much valuable property there-the merited reward of his own labors. The portals of success always swing wide to the demands of energy and enterprise, and the storehouse of prosperity yields its treasures to those who diligently and judiciously seek for them. Such Mr. Griffin has found to be the case, and he is now one of the substantial citi- zens of Chicago.
He was born on the 4th of May, 1847, in Delaware county, New York, and is a son of George Slade and Susan Johnson (Akerly) Griffin. The family history is given in detail in the sketch of our subject's brother, Will- iam J. Griffin, on another page of this work. At the age of eighteen Mr. Griffin began learning the carpenter's trade with his uncle, Jonathan Akerly, and after two years commanded journeyman's wages. Later he entered the employ of the Erie & Pittsburg Railroad Company as foreman, in which capacity he served for three years, having the superintendence of sixteen men. He afterward worked in his native county for two years, and subsequently was employed in a ship yard at Conneaut, Ohio, for a short time, after which he went to Cleveland. His next place of residence was at Girard, Pennsyl- vania, where he engaged in contracting and building for two years, and then went to Hammond, Indiana, where he remained three years. On the expira- tion of that period he went to Chicago, and has taken an active part in the building interests of the metropolis. He erected twenty-four houses for Imogene Hanchett, in South Englewood, and fourteen flat buildings on War- ren avenue, near Wood street, besides numerous other buildings on the south side. He has followed his trade for thirty-four years, and for more than a quarter of a century has engaged in contracting on his own account. His marked skill, combined with excellent executive ability, and his honorable
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dealing and careful management have gained him an enviable reputation in industrial circles and also brought to him a very desirable competence.
Mr. Griffin has been twice married. On the 27th of November, 1878, he wedded Louise French, daughter of Edward French. She was born at Bath, Steuben county, New York, October 29, 1848, and died April 4, 1888. On the 3rd of March, 1892, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Griffin and Miss Aurilla Morris, a native of Covington, Indiana. Socially, he is con- nected with South Englewood Lodge, No. 448, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled all of the chairs, serving as treasurer of the lodge at the present time. He and his wife are members of the adjunct order known as Daugh- ters of Rebekah, and in politics he is a Republican. His genuine worth and upright life commend him to the confidence and respect of all, and he is uniformly held in high regard,
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