USA > Indiana > Blackford County > Biographical memoirs of Blackford County, Ind. : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography embellished with portraits of many well known residents of Blackford County, Indiana > Part 52
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James Pressley Rawlings, the date of whose birth is noted in a preceding para- graph, first saw the light of day on the pa- ternal estate near Flemingsburg, Kentucky, and there lived until ten years of age. His father then moved to Randolph county, Indi- ana, and engaged in agricultural pursuits and there, amid peaceful rural scenes, young Rawlings grew to early manhood, assisting his father upon the home farm and attending the district schools at intervals in the mean-
As Rawlings
Villie O Rausings
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time. At the breaking out of the great Re- bellion it was his purpose to enter the army, but by reason of physical disability he was not permitted to carry his object into effect. At the age of nineteen he began life for him- self, choosing for his vocation the pursuit of agriculture, which he followed with en- couraging results until 1890, at which time he moved to the town of Montpelier, In- diana, and engaged in the lumber and timber business.
He continued these lines of trade until the discovery of oil in central Indiana, when he at once turned his attention in that di- rection by accepting a position with the Ohio Oil Company, a branch of the Standard Oil Company, in the employ of which he con- tinued until 1896. Meanwhile Mr. Raw- lings had taken considerable interest in local politics and in the above year he was the Democratic candidate for county treasurer. After a spirited contest he was triumphantly elected and such was the efficiency displayed as custodian of the public funds that at the ensuing election, in November, 1898, he was chosen his own successor by the largest vote ever received by any man in Blackford coun- ty for that office. Immediately after his first election Mr. Rawlings removed to Hart- ford City and here he has since resided, a faithful and painstaking official and a rep- resentative citizen in the widest sense in which the term is usually accepted. On July 18, 1900. Mr. Rawlings received the unanimous nomination of his party for the office of joint representative to the legisla- ture from the counties of Blackford, Jay and Randolph and will make an active canvass for election.
While a resident of Montpelier Mr. Rawlings for a period of six years served as president of the city council and he was 25
in many other ways active in promoting the material prosperity of that thriving place. At the age of twenty-one he was made an Odd Fellow, since which time he has re- tained membership with Losantville Lodge, No. 232, having filled all the offices in the same, besides serving three years as an offi- cial in the grand lodge of the state. Mr. Rawlings was married on the roth day of October, 1869, to Lillie O. Wiggins, daugh- ter of Lemuel and Mary (Stanley) Wiggins. This union was blessed with four children. whose names and dates of birth are as fo lows: Owen A., March 5, 1871, married Gertrude Winters and has two chil- dren, Margaret and James; Lulu Blanche, born December 15, 1874, married A. G. Emshwiller, of Montpelier, and is the mother of one child, James Raw- lings Emshwiller ; Clarence Lemuel, who was born November 11, 1876, and married Bes- sie Gettys, of Hartford City ; Lewis W., born June 27, 1881, at this time deputy county treasurer under his father.
Previous to coming to Hartford City Mr. Rawlings disposed of his real estate in the country and since that time has made judicious investments in Hartford City and elsewhere. Financially his success has been encouraging and at the present time, in ad- dition to his property interests he is con- nected with the Diamond Flint Glass Com- pany of Hartford City, of which he holds the office of vice-president.
Both as official and as private citizen Mr. Rawlings is highly esteemed and it is univer- sally conceded that the county of Blackford has never been honored by a more popular and efficient public servant. Possessing in a marked degree the characteristics of judg- ment and caution, he is exceedingly careful in looking after the people's interests and
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as long as he remains in the office he now holds the people will rest satisfied that their funds are in safe and reliable hands. In the private walks of life he has been a useful member of society, generous of impulse and reliable in all his dealings and he is spoken of by his many friends and neighbors as a gentleman of sterling worth and unques- tioned integrity. His character is above re- proach and his good name entitles him to · conspicuous mention as one of Blackford · county's substantial citizens and representa- tive men.
JOHN W. MOON.
John Wesley Moon, a well-known me- chanic of Hartford City, was born in Fay- ette county, Ohio, November 9, 1843, the son of Harrison and Eleanor (Swift) Moon. On his father's side Mr. Moon traces his genealogy back to Wales, from which country his great-grandfather came to America many years ago and settled in Virginia. The Swifts came origin- ally from Ireland prior to the war for American independence and were among the / early settlers of Pennsylvania. It is a mat- ter of family history that his maternal an- cestors were compelled to flee from their na- tive country by reason of religious persecu- tion and came to America where they could worship God without let or hindrance.
In the subject of this sketch are com- : bined the sterling traits characteristic of the two sturdy races from which he is descend- ed and throughout life he has exemplified the virtues of an honest, earnest and God- fearing ancestry. At the age of two years John Wesley was brought by his parents to Blackford county, consequently his life with
that trifling exception has been passed on In- diana soil. In common with the majority of country boys he carly attended the com- mon schools and grew to manhood on the farm where he assisted his father until reaching his twentieth year. He then began to work at blacksmithing under the direc- tion of James V. Morgan of Wabash, In- diana, and with such assiduity did he apply himself to the trade that within a compara- tively short time he became much more than ordinarily skillful as a mechanic. After be- coming a proficient workman he opened a shop in Hartford City where he carried on a remunerative business until within a few years past and such was his reputation that his shop was, for the greater part of the time, thronged with customers so that sev- eral additional helpers became necessary.
Recently Mr. Moon decided to abandon his trade for less exacting employment. Ac- cordingly he accepted a position in the veneer department of the Jones Glass Works, which place he is now filling. Mr. Moon has long been an enthusiastic member of the Odd Fellows order, having passed all the chairs in Hartford City Lodge, No. 262, besides being sent as representative to the grand lodge and also to the grand encampment, in the latter of which he has been called to important official stations. He has been twice married, the first time, in October, 1867, to Miss Elizabeth Fuller, daughter of Allen and Rachel (Grimes) Fuller, by whom he had four children: Ida, born in March, 1868, died in the year 1869; Leona, born in 1875, died in 1887, and two that died in in- fancy unnamed. Mrs. Moon departed this life in 1877 and subsequently Mr. Moon married his present wife, Margaret A. Blair, daughter of Henry and Hannah (Moon) Blair. Duncan Blair, the grandfather of
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Mrs. Moon, was a native of Scotland, came to America at the time of the Revolutionary war, and, it is supposed, was in the service, for he was taken prisoner. He settled in Virginia, where he died. He married Betsey R. Wethington and they were the parents of eight children : William, Thomas, Nancy, James, Polly, John, Daniel and Peggy. Daniel was the father of Mrs. Moon, was born in Virginia and settled in Ohio, where he died.
Mr. Moon is an orthodox Methodist and an active worker in the congregation wor- shiping in Hartford City; his wife adheres to the same religious belief and both are prized for their many deeds of charity and the great interest they manifest in the moral advancement of the community.
From early boyhood Mr. Moon has earned his bread by the sweat of his brow. and he thoroughly appreciates the true dig- nity of honest toil. What he does is done well and whatever he undertakes is almost sure of ultimate accomplishment. He pos- sesses the gift of determination and once be- lieving he is right nothing can swerve him from his purpose. Honest and upright in character and diligent in business, he has made his influence felt among the people of Hartford City, and the universal verdict of the community is that he measures up to the true standard of manhood as found in the golden rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them."
CHARLES STEPHEN LEONARD.
The history of every community is but an aggregation of the biographies of its citi- zens and the mutual relation they sustain to
each other. Some, of little consequence to the casual observer, yet occupying import- ant places in the body politic, arrest but slight attention, while others, upon whom devolve the control of important interests, are con- spicuous by reason of moulding public senti- ment, and directing in a large measure the destiny of a community. With the latter class it is eminently fitting to include the well-known gentleman whose name intro- duces this biography, a man who by com- mon consent has exercised a potent in- fluence upon the industrial interests of Hart- ford City, and by a long and honorable life devoted to that most powerful of all factors, business, has given strength and stability to a community long noted for the high char- acter of its citizenship.
Charles Stephen Leonard is an American by adoption. He first saw the light of day on the 2d of April, 1836, in the historic old city of Metz, France, of which place his par- ents, Matthew and Anna ( Ballard) Leon- ard, were natives, as were also his ancestors for many previous generations. When Charles was but two years of age his par- ents, thinking to better their condition in a land fraught with greater opportunities, emigrated to the United States, landing in April, 1838, in the city of New York, from which place they immediately proceeded westward to Zanesville, Ohio, where they es- tablished a home and remained until 1843. In that year the elder Leonard changed his residence to Perry county, Ohio, where he was variously employed for a period of ten years, moving, in 1853, to Wells county, Indiana, where he continued until the death of his wife, in September, 1870. He then located in the town of Montpelier, Indiana, and later, about 1878, became a resident of Hartford City, where he made his home
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with a son. John | A. Leonard, auditor of Blackford county, until his death, which oc- curred in the month of February, 1887.
The family of Matthew and Anna Leon- ard consisted of nine children, six of whom were born in France and three in the United States. Of the number but two are now living : John P. A., ex-auditor and retired banker of Hartford City and the immediate subject of this sketch.
It is a fitting tribute to the late Matthew Leonard to speak of him as a man of noble and generous impulses, of more than or- dinary mental endowments, possessing in a marked degree those social qualities which won him numerous friends wherever his lot was cast,-in fact, a conspicuous example of the true born gentleman of the old school. He reached the shores of the new world with exhausted means, the sum total of his avail- able cash at the time being less than one dollar ; yet at his death he was the possessor of a comfortable competence, owning con- siderable personal property, a valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres, the result of his own unaided efforts. Reared a Cath- olic, he was ever loyal to the teachings of his beloved church, and by a life void of of- fense toward God and man exemplified in his daily war and conversation the purity of the faith he possessed. In politics he was a Democrat, believing thoroughly in the un- derlying principles of the party and never swerving in his loyalty from the time of his naturalization until his death.
As already stated, Charles Stephen Leon- ard was but two years old when brought to the United States and he has never known any other country. With the advantages of such an education as the indifferent public schools of early days in Ohio afforded he grew up with but limited scholastic training,
and while still quite young was compelled to contribute to the support of the family and to assist his father in getting a substantial start in life. He remained under the pa- rental roof until attaining his majority, at which time he embarked on the sea of life for himself as a builder of cisterns in Muncie, Indiana, where, in partnership with a friend, Robert Alexander, he carried on the business with fair success for a limited period. In the fall of 1858 he engaged in agricultural pursuits in Delaware county upon land leased for the purpose, and, after remain- ing there till 1862, removed to the county of Wells, where he purchased a farm of forty acres. He greatly improved his place and continued to reside thereon until 1867, when he disposed of the same to advantage, and, removing to Hartford City, opened a meat market, which he conducted with encourag- ing success until his election as sheriff of Blackford county in the fall of 1870. Mr. Leonard entered upon the discharge of his official duties in the fall of 1871 and dis- charged the same with commendable fidelity for two years. At the expiration of his of- ficial term he engaged in contracting and building and during the several years suc- ceeding erected a school house in Celina, Mercer county, Ohio.
Returning to Hartford City, his next en- terprise was the livery business, which he carried on with financial success for a short time, and then turned his attention to the manufacture of lumber. For a period of five years he owned and operated a large saw-mill in Hartford City, which, like the various enterprises to which he had pre- viously turned his hand, proved handsomely remuneratively. Subsequently he moved his mill to a point east of the city and continued the business upon quite an extensive scale
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until 1895, when he disposed of the enter- prise and accepted a position of salesman with the Mercer Lumber Company, contin- uing in that capacity until 1900, when he practically retired from active duties of life.
Mr. Leonard is a married man and the father of three children. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth C., daugliter of Robert and Mary (Wilkinson) Alexander, and to whom he was joined in wedlock in Wells county, Indiana, on the 10th day of December, 1857, was born March 22, 1835, in Logan county, Ohio. She is descended from two old Pennsylvania and Virginia families and has borne her husband the fol- lowing children: Ashel, deceased, Robert F., and Matthew, deceased.
Reference has already been made to Mr. Leonard's public life as an official of Black- ford county, from which fact it will at once be seen that he has been actively interested in matters political. From early youth he has manifested a liking for all affairs per- taining to the public, and being a man of vigorous personality and a natural leader of men he long ago entered the political arena, not as an aspirant for official positions, but for the good of the party, in the principles of which he has ever been a strong believer Receiving his first lessons in politics from his father, who, as already stated, was an unswerving Democrat, he has never departed from that political faith, and the party in this county is indebted to his judicious counsel and aggressive leadership for much of its success in numerous local, state and national campaigns. In addition to the sheriffalty he has at different times held various municipal offices, among which was that of common councilman, he being one of the first mem- bers of that body elected under the city char- ter. While in the council he was ever active
in behalf of the city's interests and brought about much important municipal legislation. He also has a military record, having been one of the brave men who tendered their services in defense of the national Union during the dark and trying period of the great Rebellion. Entering the army Octo- ber 12, 1864, in Company I, Ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Nutt, he was assigned with his command to the Army of the Cumberland, and served under General Thomas one year and thirteen days, taking part in the several campaigns and numerous battles in which that army partici- pated. During his period of enlistment he was never absent from duty an hour and never experienced a day's sickness, a record such as few can boast. He received his dis- charge at Victoria, Texas, October 19, 1865, and since that date has devoted his time and energies to the peaceful pursuits of civil life. In this connection it may be of interest to state that an uncle of Mr. Leonard's, his father's brother, was one of the guards of honor detailed to escort the Marquis De LaFayette on that nobleman's historic tour of the United States.
From the foregoing brief epitome it will be seen that the life of Mr. Leonard, even before arriving at years of maturity, has been one of great activity, devoted primarily to his own private affairs, but in a general way to the growth and development of the various communities where he has been such a prominent factor. A striking character- istic, distinguishing him from the majority of people, is an unusual endowment of en- ergy, a perseverance giving way before no obstacle, however formidable, and a tenacity of purpose which long ago led him to elim- inate from his vocabulary the word "fail." With a mind adapted to the needs and
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emergencies of business, he has steadily and judiciously managed his large and varied interests, achieving most satisfactory results and winning for himself a name for high- minded dealing second to that of no other man of his adopted city or county. Unas- suming in manners and never interfering with affairs that do not concern him, he pos- sesses social and moral qualities that win him many friends.
Upright in all his dealings, his residence in Hartford City and his daily walk and con- versation have been such as to exalt him in the estimation of the public and accord his name a permanent place among the success- ful and substantial men of Hartford City and Blackford county.
JAMES F. GEIGER.
James Finley Geiger, attorney-at-law and county superintendent of schools, is a native of Indiana, born in the county of Jay on the 28th of January, 1868. The father, John Geiger, a farmer by occupation, was born near Columbus, Ohio, and when but a child was brought to Indiana, growing to man- hood on the home farm in Jay county, where the family settled about the year 1840. IIe married there, in 1866, Mary Spahr, who bore him two children, James F., and Addie, wife of Edward B. Addington. John Gei- ger was a soldier in the late Civil war, serv- ing three years in Company B, Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry, during which time he par- ticipated in a number of bloody battles, re- ceiving a severe wound at Champion Hill, on account of which he was compelled to leave the army. Since the war he has fol- Jowed the pursuit of agriculture and stock
raising with success and financial profit. be- ing at this time one of the well-to-do farm- ers of his county, owning four hundred acres of fine land, upon which are many valuable improvements. As a citizen he has always been public spirited, and as a local politician of the Republican party few men are as in- fluential in the community where he lives or possesses as wide and varied knowledge of the leading political, industrial or economic questions of the day.
James Finley Geiger attended the dis- trict schools near his home place until his fourteenth year, from which time until eight- een years old he was a student of the Eastern Indiana Normal School, at Portland, attend- ing the fall and winter terms and working on the farm during the summer seasons.
He completed the scientific course before nineteen and for the four succeeding years taught the home school, at the end of which time he was made superintendent of the schools of Red Key. Mr. Geiger's first license was for one year, after which he re- ceived consecutively two three-years licenses, a fact which speaks much for a youn, man not yet twenty-one. Such was the progress made in his scholastic knowledge and profes- sional success that on attaining his majority he obtained an eight-years license, and a few years later successfully passed examina- tion for a state life license, entitling him to teach for life in the public schools of In- diana.
While discharging the duties of the su- perintendency Mr. Geiger began the study of law, for which he had early manifested a decided liking, devoting thereto his vaca- tions in the office of F. N. Snyder, of Port- land. Subsequently he pursued his profes- sional reading under the direction of La- fallette & Adair, of that city, and then be-
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came a student at the State University at Bloomington, where he took the law course and from which he was graduated after an attendance of two years. Immediately there- after, 1894, he was admitted to the Black- ford county bar by Judge Vaughn and at once entered upon the active practice of his profession, for the first three months alone, and afterward for a period of two years in partnership with Charles M. Fouts. In the meantime he did considerable work as a teacher in the Hartford City high school, where he had charge of the classes in civics and history, devoting thereto one-half of each day and the remainder of the time giv- ing attention to his law business. He was thus engaged for one year, when, upon the urgent solicitation of the school board, lie taught full time during the following term, at the expiration of which, in the spring of 1896, he resumed the practice of law in part- nership with Thomas M. Pierce. The firm thus constituted lasted about six months, when Mr. Geiger purchased his associate's library and continued alone until the fall of 1897, when he was elected by the board of education superintendent of the public schools of Blackford county. This position he has since held, and in the discharge of the duties incident thereto his reputation is such as to place him among the ablest and most successful educators of the state.
During his incumbency Mr. Geiger has introduced a number of much needed re- forms in the general management of rural schools, and by awakening a lively interest in behalf of literature and nature study has brought those two branches to a high state of excellence throughout the county. He has also devoted much time and attention to work in the primary grades, and by per-
sonally attending each township institute has succeeded in arousing much enthusiasm among his teachers, many of whom receive their appointments through his recommenda- tion. Having at heart the best interest of the schools, he selects only those who, by reason of literary ability and professional merit, have proved their efficiency, and as a conscientious public servant he knows no fear or favor in the discharge of his official functions.
Mr. Geiger is a gentleman of scholarly tastes, with a profound knowledge of general literature, while in his special lines of his- tory and mathematics he has few equals and no superiors among the superintendents of the state. His enthusiasm as an educator has been felt among the schools of Blackford county ever since his election as their execu- tive head and the high state of efficiency they now enjoy is largely due to the interest he has manifested in their behalf, by elim- inating as far as is in his power incompetents and supplying their places with teachers of well-known scholastic training and profes- sional experience.
Mr. Geiger is a married man and the fa- ther of one child, John William Geiger. His wife, whom he married on the 20th day of August, 1896, was Miss Lora V. Cline, whose birth occurred in Blackford county September 28, 1867. She is the daughter of W. W. and Harriet (Chaffee) Cline, of Hartford City. Mrs. Geiger is a lady of many excellent qualities of head and heart, having a large circle of friends in this city, and is an active member of the Methodist church, to which her husband also belongs. She is well educated, having been a student at De Pauw University, and also a teacher in the schools of Hartford City several years
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prior to her marriage, which enables her to be of great help to her husband in the per- formance of his school duties.
For some time Mr. Geiger was interested in the industrial growth of Hartford City as a stockholder and director in a glass com- pany, and while not actively identified with any manufacturing establishment at the pres- ent time he is, nevertheless, a public-spirited citizen, heartily endorsing any movement for the material benefit of the city and seconding anything having for its object the advance- ment of the intellectual or moral status of the community. In politics he is a Repub- lican, active in the counsels of his party and contributing to its success as a worker in the ranks during the progress of campaigns, local, state and national.
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