USA > Indiana > Grant County > Biographical memoirs of Grant County, Indiana : to which is appended a comprehensive compendium of national biography with portraits of many national characters and well-known residents of Grant County, Indiana. > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
As a business man Mr. McClure is con- spicuous for the method, exactitude and
256
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
.
promptness of all his transactions. All his energies, impulses, thoughts and intuition, like so many satellites, revolve around this one idea, and in every detail, even the most minute, he observes fixed rules from which he rarely deviates. In his various business transactions he has come in contact with all classes of men, whose confidences he in- variably succeeds in winning, and this, too, by no artifice or blandishment, but by fair dealing and unfaltering loyalty to his en- gagements. Wherever he is known his word has the sanctity of an obligation, and he has always endeavored to shape his conduct in accord with the principles of business ethics, and to meet his fellow man upon the plane of a mutual reciprocity of interests is one of the fundamental elements of his nature. Men who know him best trust him
with an absolute faith in the rectitude of his intentions, and his life has been directed by the genius of industry and perseverance, and the success with which his efforts have been crowned has rather been the result of fideli- ty to purpose than of any remarkable bril- liant transactions.
.
Caution, prudence and penetration are among his most striking characteristics, and he always moves with great deliberation, but when necessity requires he acts with promptness only equaled by a most remarka- ble positiveness and firmness. He possesses both independence of mind and character, and though by no means forward or ag- gressive in his daily intercourse with the ! world, his force, self-assertion and strong individuality never fail to make his presence felt. As a citizen he has always been iden- tified with the public welfare, and to all moral, charitable and like enterprises he con- tributes his share without ostentatious pa- born to them, namely: Caroline, who mar-
rade. Socially he is agreeable and courte- ous and popular with all, and resides on the corner of Fourth and McClure streets, in his beautiful home, where he dispenses an open-hearted hospitality.
ANDREW J. BOBBS, M. D.
Andrew J. Bobbs, M. D., is one of the prominent citizens of Marion, Indiana, and was one of the most successful practition- ers in the medical profession at the time he was actively engaged in the work. He is a native of Woodville, Clermont county, Ohio, and was born February 1, 1833. His father, Adam Bobbs, was born on a farm in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and married Miss Elizabeth McConnel, who was of Irish par- entage, but a native of Ohio. The paternal grandfather was a Frenchman, but came to America from Strasburg, Germany.
Adam Bobbs, on settling in Woodville, engaged in the mercantile and pork-pack- ing business, which he there followed for about twenty years, and then located in Hamilton county, where he continued in the mercantile business eight or ten years longer. Wishing to retire from the bustle and tur- moil of commercial life, he purchased a small farm near Phillipsburg, Montgomery county, where he remained until death claimed him in his seventy-third year. He was a Democrat in politics, but did not ob- trude his views on others. He was an hon- ored member of the United Brethren church, as was his wife, who also died at the age of seventy-three years. Four children were
1
ANDREW J. BOBBS, M. D.
MRS. JOSEPHINE BOBBS.
50دى "
257
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
ried Dr. Tedroe, of Newton, Miami county, and died at the age of sixty years; Eliza- beth, who reached the age of fifty-six years, was the wife of John Henderson; Dr. An- drew J .; and Dr. Adam, who graduated from the Ohio Medical College of Cincin- nati, and is a practicing physician of Pauld- ing, Ohio.
Dr. Andrew J. Bobbs had a busy life during his boyhood, as the time not spent in the public and high schools was spent in his father's store, where he assisted in wait- ing on the trade. This life being uncongen- ial to his taste, and having a fancy for the work of a physician, he entered the Ohio Medical College at the age of eighteen, graduating therefrom in March, 1854, about the time he reached his majority. Being now a full-fledged doctor, he opened an office in Edenton, Clermont county, Ohio, where he remained two years, when he removed to Montgomery county, that state, where he practiced until 1867, making his home in Phillipsburg. He had an extended and lucrative practice and accumulated con- siderable property, as a result of steady ap- plication and close attention to business. In September, 1867, he located in Marion, where he found a broader field of labor and where his skill and efficiency met with ready appreciation. He has been a very busy man in the practice of his profession, and for twenty-one years, until 1888, de- voted his entire time to the work in Marion and surrounding country.
Dr. Bobbs is a member of the Masonic lodge. He has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Mary Cook, of Montgomery county, Ohio, and a consistent member of the Congregational church. At her death she left two children: Zanora, wife of Dr.
1
Shively, whose memoir will be found else- where in this volume; and Emma, wife of John J. Strange, a rising young attorney of this place. November 11, 1891, Dr. Bobbs married Mrs. Josephine ( Butler) Ruess, a most estimable lady whose many pleasing attributes have combined to make her de- cidedly popular.
Curtis Hunt Butler, the father of Mrs. Bobbs, will be remembered by the older residents of Marion as the proprietor of the hotel in that place during the middle part of the nineteenth century, and also as a dealer in real estate. He was born Decem- ber 7, 1800, in Milledgeville, Georgia, where he was reared to manhood and received his education. On July 12, 1827, he was united in marriage with Miss Maria Ann Miller, who was born in Millersburg, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1811. Mr. Butler was closely identified with the growth and progress of Grant county during his twelve years resi- dence here, and was an upright, honorable gentleman. He was a zealous worker in the Presbyterian church, as was his wife, and his death, which occurred September 28, 1852, was a severe blow to that organi- zation and a loss to the entire community. His wife survived him many years, dying December 1, 1885, at the age of seventy- three years. The fathers of both were sol- diers in the war of 1812. Twelve children were born to them, namely : James M., who was born March 12, 1829, and came to Indiana with his parents when a lad. When a young man he went to North Carolina, where he remained until the breaking out of the Rebellion. He then returned to Ma- rion and raised a company, of which he was made captain, and assigned to the Thirty- fourth Indiana regiment. His demise took
258
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
place in 1881; Rebecca Ann, the second in order of birth, died in infancy ; Eliza J. is the wife of Howell D. Thompson, an attorney at law of Anderson, this state: Susanna E., widow of Thomas Helm, resides in Indian- apolis ; Minerva, widow of Jonathan Lamme, a member of the Thirty-fourth Indiana regi- ment, who died in the war; William R., also a member of the Thirty-fourth Indiana regiment ; Perry, who entered the Twenty- ninth Indiana regiment as first lieutenant, and and promoted to the rank of major ; he was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga and taken prisoner, being incarcerated in Libby prison for eighteen long months, and died three years later; his death was the result of the wounds he had received and the ex- posure to which he was subjected while held prisoner. He died at Natchez, Mississippi ; Josephine is the wife of the subject of this sketch : Samuel was sergeant of the Thirty- fourth Indiana regiment under his brother's command, and received his death blow from the rebel guns at the siege of Vicksburg; Warren O. was also a member of the Thirty- fourth Indiana regiment, enlisting when about sixteen years of age : he is at present chief of the fire department of Marion; Andrew conducts a livery barn in Marion ; and Deloras M., who married Otto B. Spicer, resides in Chicago.
Josephine Butler was born November 22, 1841, and reared in Grant county. September 22, 1864, she was married at Anderson, this state, to Captin John Ruess. He was born September 12, 1832, in Stutt- gart, province of Wurtemberg, Germany. His parents, George and Barbara Ruess, came to America during his infancy and settled near Greenville, Darke county, Ohio, where he received his education and was
brought up on a farm. When he was but a young man he came to Marion and opened a grocery, confectionery and bakery, which he conducted on a profitable basis until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he en- tered Company H. Eighth Indiana regiment. as first lieutenant, and served three months. This was in April, 1861, Company H being the first company to enlist from Marion. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted in the same company, was chosen captain, and served during the remainder of the war, taking part in many important engagements, among which may be mentioned: Rich Mountain, Black Water, Sugar Creek, Pea Ridge, Cotton Flats, Champion Hill. Jack- son. Big Black River, Vicksburg, Mustang Island. Fort Espranza, Austin. Carrion Crow. Berryville. Halltown, Winchester, Fisher's Hill. New Market. Cedar Creek and others. After the close of the war he returned to Marion and prosecuted his busi- ness until about two years before his death, when he retired from active work. He died August 1, 1883. He had always been a stanch Republican, and was a charter mem- ber of General Shunk Post, No. 23. G. A. R.
LEWIS C. LILLARD.
During the latter part of the century there has been a movement on foot to make the work on the public streets and highways improvements of a permanent character, so that by a moderate outlay each year a section of durable roads should be built, which in time would enable the traveler to journey with ease and safety over territory that had before been dangerous and often impassable.
259
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
The advantage of good roads to the public, and the farmer especially, has been shown by the macademized roads throughout the state and the facility with which heavy loads have been carried over them at all seasons of the year has proved one of the most po- tent arguments in their favor, and Grant county has not been slow to adopt this meth- od of improvement, and has gone farther, and put down the first brick pavement in the state. Marion took the lead in this mat- ter, and to her must be given the credit of introducing this style of street in the state of Indiana, the work being done by L. C. Lillard, the gentleman whose name appears above, and whose reputation as the leading brick and macadam contractor of the county extends over a wide territory. He was born January 1I, 1846, in Champaign county, Ohio, to Oliver and Nancy (Pence) Lil- lard, and is a grandson of Captain Ben- jamin Lillard.
The ancestral tree of the Lillard family was deep rooted in the soil of old England, but a branch was planted in Virginia dur- ing the early colonial days, and from it de- scended the family of the subject of this sketch. Benjamin Lillard was born in Cul- peper county, that state, and was a large planter there. He was a stanch Whig and served in the war of the Revolution with the rank of captain. Among the children born to him was Oliver, who was born in Culpeper county in 1803 and was there reared to man's estate. At the age of twen- ty-two he located in Westville, Champaign county, Ohio, where he opened a hotel and also conducted a wagon-making shop for almost a quarter of a century. In 1849 he purchased a farm in Simms township, Grant county, Indiana, which he cultivated until
1865, when he met with an accident which caused his death. By his own efforts he had acquired a good education, and was ad- mitted to the Grant county bar and prac- ticed the profession of law and acted as justice of the peace for seven years. In politics he was a Democrat. He was made a Mason at Xenia, this state, and occupied an honorable place in the community. His wife, Nancy Pence, was also a native of Virginia, as was her father, Martin Pence. He moved to Indiana in 1847 and settled in Richland township. Grant county, where he owned a large tract of land and was one of the progressive farmers of his time, his Ger- man lineage showing itself in his industri- ous, sturdy habits. He died at the age of sixty-two years.
Mrs. Lillard was born in 1812, and was a womanly woman and a kind-hearted neigh- bor. She was a zealous worker in the Bap- tist church, and her death, which occurred on the homestead in her seventy-ninth year, came in the nature of a shock to her host of friends. She was the mother of fourteen children, seven of whom died in infancy. Those who reached adult years are as fol- lows: Darius, who is engaged in contract work in this city; Lewis C .; William, who owns and operates the homestead; Mary E., wife of Francis Smith; Susan A., widow of Newton Morgan; Thomas J., who served as private in Company K, Thirty-fourth I. V. I., took part in the opening and closing fights of the Rebellion, and died in 1873 from disease contracted in the army; and Phebe A., who died in 1875.
Lewis C. Lillard remained on the farm with his parents until the early part of 1865, and January 29 of that year, in answer to a call for volunteers, enlisted in Com-
260
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
pany I, Thirty-fourth I. V. I., and served twelve months, visiting Brownsville, Bra- zos Island, Ringgold Barracks and Rio Grande City. He participated in the Pal- metto fight and was on guard duty at that point, the regiment then marching to Brownsville, where they were disbanded and received their discharge on January 29, 1866. His joy in returning home was mixed with sadness, as a loving father had departed during the year's absence, and a vacant chair was in the home circle.
Mr. Lillard remained with his mother until 1869, when he embarked in the mer- cantile business near this place, continuing there until 1874, when he invested his mo- ney in stock and lost it. Two years later he went west and purchased a farm in Sedgwick county, Kansas, where he fol- lowed the pursuits of agriculture and stock raising for a couple of years, when he once more entered the mercantile business. In 1880 he disposed of his stock and opened a store for the sale of hardware and lumber in Converse, Indiana, in which he was emi- nently successful, but, having an opportuni- ty to dispose of the business to advantage, he did so and returned to Marion, where he engaged in the livery business for a short time. Abandoning this, he built a flour mill, as there appeared to be a good opening here, and conducted it until 1888, when, despite his industry and perseverance, he found that it would not pay expenses and turned it over to his creditors. Here his integrity was manifested by turning over everything that he owned, keeping nothing back. He was still $2,600 in debt, and bravely started out to begin anew his battle for prosperity. Borrowing money with which to begin, he turned his attention to
building macadam and brick streets, and has succeeded beyond his wildest expecta- tions. The durability and superior excel- lence of his work is recognized, and he has taken contracts from various parts of the country, giving entire satisfaction to those by whom he has been employed.
Dame Fortune continued to smile upon Lewis C. Lillard, and in 1894 he was able to purchase one hundred and ten acres of land some five miles west of the city, which he has since supervised, and four years later he traded for an additional farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Black- ford county, which lies within the oil belt and has three good wells on it. The management of these farms affords him su- preme pleasure, and shows him to be a man who brings common sense to bear in ob- taining the best results. He employs an army of men to do his work, and they obey instructions both on street work and the farms as soldiers obey their superior offi- cer. He feeds a great many cattle and hogs and also raises horses, as he believes there will soon be a large demand for them at good prices. -
The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Lewis C. Lillard was formerly known as Miss Elizabeth J. Marine. She is a native of Howard county, this state, and a daugh- ter of Ziba and Anna ( Lane) Marine, boch of whom were born in North Carolina, the father of Scotch parentage. Four children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Lil- lard, namely: Flora E. Meyers, a widow; Lora .A., bookkeeper in the glass jar works, lives at home : Oliver, who died at the ten- der age of three years; and Hazel.
Mr. Lillard is an ardent Democrat, but has never been an aspirant for office. He
261
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
is a prominent member of General Shunk Post, No. 23, G. A. R., and is high in Ma- sonic circles, holding a membership in Grant Lodge, No. 105, in the chapter, Command- ery No. 21, Scottish rite, was exalted to the Mystic Shrine at Indianapolis, and belongs to the Indiana Consistory.
HARMON D. REASONER, M. D.
Harmon D. Reasoner, M. D., president of the First National Bank of Marion, is well known as a physician, county official, banker and influential citizen, as he has lived all his life in Grant county, being born here on the 7th day of February, 1840.
His parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Dunn) Reasoner, both natives of Virginia, came to this county in 1832, and were here married, afterwards settling on unimproved government land located in the southeast- ern portion of the county, and there passed the remaining years of their lives. The fa- ther died in 1896, aged eighty-nine years; the mother in 1888, aged seventy-six years. His literary education was obtained in the common schools and at South Hanover. He read medicine in Delaware county, and when twenty-one years of age engaged in the practice of his profession at New Cumber- land, Grant county, and continued for twenty-seven years. He was elected county treasurer two terms and a few years later filled an unexpired term by appointment. In 1889 he, with others, organized the First National Bank and was soon chosen presi- dent, which position he still holds, and the success with which this institution has met is very largely due to his personal attention.
The bank was organized with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, has paid reg- ular dividends, and now has a surplus of fifty-five thousand dollars.
Dr. Reasoner is also owner of consid- erable real estate; is one of the original stockholders and treasurer of the Marion brick works, and has interests in other en- terprises.
He married M. A. McAdow, and they have one daughter, now the wife of W. E. Goldthwait.
HON. HENRY JEFFERSON PAULUS.
Hon. Henry Jefferson Paulus, judge in the forty-eighth judicial circuit, is a na- tive of Indiana, born in Miami county No- vember 16, 1857, and since his infancy has been a resident of Grant county. He is a son of William Paulus, lawyer at Marion, a sketch of whose life is contained in this volume.
The subject of this brief notice passed his boyhood days upon the farm and received such school advantages as the common schools afforded. While yet in his "'teens" he read law in the office of Hon. T. E. Bal- lard, of Crawfordsville, and on the day he attained his majority was admitted to the bar. But as he was young and without mon- ey he did not believe that this profession would yield him a sufficient income, and he thus taught school and devoted his spare time to the further study of law. He taught two terms at the Mier school, one term in Sims township; one term at Converse and one in Pleasant township, all in Grant county, except the term in the school at Converse.
262
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
In the spring of 1883 he located at Marion and formed a law partnership with George T. B. Carr, who was a shrewd law- yer, owning a valuable library, and this part- nership continued about one year. When the forty-eighth judicial curcuit was com- posed of Blackford and Grant counties, our subject was deputy prosecuting attorney foi Grant county under Sidney W. Cantwell, of Hartford City, the prosecuting attorney, elect, and while serving in this capacity he tried many important cases with such marked ability and success that he was numbered among the leading lawyers of Marion.
From July, 1889, to January, 1896, he was the law partner of Judge Hiram Brown- lee, and during these years he was city at- torney for Marion, and when this partner- ship was dissolved, by mutual agreement, Mr. Paulus took in Orlo L. Cline as part- ner, and the firm of Paulus & Cline contin- ued until the fall of 1898, when Mr. Paulus was elected judge of the forty-eighth ju- dicial circuit-the duties of which he en- tered upon the day he was forty-one years of age. During his term of office there have been many important cases and various ones have been appealed to the higher courts, but in only one instance has the decision been reversed.
The Judge is a man of robust constitu- tion and not afraid of hard work, who, while in practice, gave his whole time and attention strictly to law. . His law library is one of the best in the country. He is a member of the State Bar Association and president of the Grant County Bar Asso- ciation.
In politics he is a Republican and always takes an active part in campaign work, both in committee work and on the stump, having
leen the secretary of the Republican county committee two terms, chairman one term, and during the campaign of 1900 a member of the Executive Committee. Socially he is a member of K. of P., I. O. O. F. and B. P. O. E. As a man he is of plain, unassum- ing manners, courteous to all. He has been successful financially and now owns a pleasant home at the corner of Race and Sec- ond streets, and an excellent farm of two hundred and fifty acres.
May 4th, 1884, Miss Louie Fagan be- came his wife. She was born in Ohio and is a daughter of Francis A. Fagan, who for some years served as deputy sheriff of Grant county. Judge and Mrs. Paulus have two children : Georgia and Clarence J.
CHARLES F. MATHER.
Charles F. Mather, dealer in real estate and loans in Marion, was born at Muncie, Indiana, February 24, 1833, his immediate progenitors being John and Nancy Eliza (Hodge) Mather. His grandfather fought in the war of 1812, and the genealogy is traced still farther back to two brothers, Richard and Cotton Mather, who came from England over two hundred and fifty years ago and founded the Mather family in America. They were both learned men whose lives were consecrated to ministering to the spiritual and intellectual wants of the people. Both were ministers of the Gospel and instructors of more than average ability and achieved eminence in their chosen work. Cotton Mather remained unmarried and his brother, Richard, who is the founder of the family, became so prominent a figure that
263
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
he received flattering mention in the publi- cations of his time and is the subject of an article in "Steadman's Work of American Literature."
John Mather was born near Marysville, Ohio, in 1807, on the farm where he passed the early part of his life. He learned the trade of a carpenter, and when a young man went to Muncie, where he worked at his trade, taking contract work and erecting sev- eral of the large buildings of that city. In 1858 of 1859 he moved to Marion, making it his home until about the age of seventy- two, when death removed him to the home above. He was a Whig in early life but later became an advocate of the doctrines of Republicanism, tainkg an active part in politics and becoming a leading politician of his county. He was also active in religious work and a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
His wife was Nancy Eliza Hodge, who was born September 26, 1810, in the state of Pennsylvania and about 1820 came with her parents to Muncie, which they made their home. She was a devout Methodist, and on October 5, 1890, soon after she had passed the eightieth milestone, the sun of her life set behind the horizon which separ- ates us from eternity. Of the eight children she gave to the world, all grew to adult years and the four sons offered their services to their country, taking up arms in its de- fense. They were: Charles F .; Alonzo J., a resident of Georgia, served first as pri- vate, later as sergeant in the Twelfth Vol- unteer Infantry, for one year ; William W., a citizen of Topeka, Kansas, enlisted for ninety days in the Tenth Indiana, re-enlisted in the Eighth, entering with the rank of first lieutenant, and again re-enlisted in the
Thirty-third; Minerva E .; Emeline resid- ing in Indianapolis ; Ella, in Wheeling, West Virginia; Caroline, deceased; John T., who enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1864, at the age of eighteen, and served during the re- mainder of the war. He died in 1894, aged about forty-eight years; and Adaline, de- ceased.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.