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 34
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been drained, no less than three thousand rods of tile being laid on the farm. He has commodious, tasty and modern buildings, which complete the general line of improve- ments that occupied the greater part of his attention and effort for many years. For the past two years he has given his son the conduct of the farm, he, himself, only giv- ing it a general supervision and continuing the making of improvements. Scarcely a day passes but finds him at the old home, where his life efforts were spent, and where he can see the result of his own handiwork, every acre bearing his impress in the form of increased growth of grain or grass.
One son, James, was born to his first wife. He now resides at the village of Swayzee. Another son, Armaldo, claims the second wife for his mother. He won that was his home until his removal to Mari- ; the heart and hand of Miss May Shroyer, daughter of Lewis Shroyer, a man of some local prominence in Blackford county. This son operates the farm, and is counted among the progressive men of the community. He has one daughter-Lucile.
Jonathan Bechtel is a man who holds a high place in the esteem of those who know him best, being free of all sham or preten- sion, and, while not obnoxious in the ex- pression of opinion, is looked upon as one of the few whose opinion is really worth having. Not loud or showy in any sense, he has endeavored to so live as to constantly enlarge a circle of friends whose estimate is of some value.
He is a Republican, though holding views that would nearly coincide with the great principles of Democracy-the exten- sion of personality and individuality, the benefit to the many rather than to the few, and a constitutional expansion of territory.
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A member of the Jalapa Methodist church, he has been for many years somewhat iden- tified with the prosperity and support of the society.
JOHN WESLEY KELLEY.
John W. Kelley, the late candidate of the Social Democratic party for Governor of the state of Indiana, was born in Washington township, Grant county, September 14, 1857, his parents being Lewis and Elizabeth ( Ross) Kelley.
Lewis Kelley, or Quelet in the original French, was born August 23, 1821, in the former fortified city of Blamont, near the city of Belfort, the scene of the last stand of the French against the victorious Germans during the Franco-Prussian war. The fam- ily came to America in 1832. the memora- ble year of the scourge of the cholera, one of their party even dying of the dread dis- ease at Paris. Sixty-eight days were spent on the water; and. having supplies for but thirty days, there was much distress in con- sequence. From New York they were towed on a barge to Albany, making the trip from there to Buffalo on the Erie canal. After some years spent near Buffalo, they removed to near Meadville, Pennsylvania, and in 1840 to Highland county, Ohio. Lewis was there married, in 1844. to Eliza- beth Ross, and after securing part of the old homestead, came in 1851 to Grant county, Indiana, having about $500 with which to operate. He bought eighty acres six miles north of Marion, and turned his attention wholly to its improvement, living for many years in a most primitive manner. Being of a mechanical turn, he soon became
interested in the owning and operation of a grist mill, and, having success in this line, devoted several years to the business, dur- ing which time he owned several different mills. He later returned to Washington' township for the third time, making exten- sive improvements on his farm until he de- cided to retire from active operation of it, and for some years has lived in the retire- ment of a pleasant home in the city.
At the age of fifteen young John Kelley went to Illinois, where his elder brother then was, but not liking the west at that time, returned and found work on the farm of a neighbor. He soon came back to the old home and there remained till his mar- riage. May 12, 1878, to Miss Ella McCoy, of Huntington county, who has borne him two children,-Mabel and Roy Fordham. One year later he opened a furniture store at LaFountain, where he remained for three years, having a very satisfactory business. In 1882 he came to Marion, purchasing the old established business of Whistler & Cox, and for three years this was also a very good business and which he sold to a good ad- vantage. He then engaged in the opera- tion of a bazaar, but this proved the reverse of satisfactory, for in two years his capital was annihilated. He then went on the road for the Lawrenceburg Furniture Company. covering the territory east of the Mississippi river, and visiting nearly every town of im- portance in that field. His attention had al- ready been drawn somewhat to the actual condition of the common people, and while on the road he had excellent opportunities to study the subject more thoroughly, find- ing that the greatest poverty existed right in those towns where the greatest wealth was produced. He continued on the road for
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JOHN W. KELLY.
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seven years, regaining a substantial finan- cial footing. In 1895 he purchased the pres- ent business, though it was then scarcely the beginning of what it has now become. It was small, all the stock being carried in one small room. It has grown constantly till now about eighteen thousand dollars in stock are carried, distributed through four handsome store rooms and consisting of everything needed in the line of house fur- nishings. Where the first year's sales were but about five thousand dollars, they have extended till the last year's business amount- ed to more than sixty thousand.
Mr. Kelley is a Mason, an Odd Fellow and a Modern Woodman. In politics he was reared a Republican, but, realizing the trend of that party toward the betterment of the classes rather than to the advance- ment of the masses of the people, he be- came identified with the populist idea, feel- ing that here, at least, was an honest at- tempt to counteract some of the evils that had grown out of the Republican policy, and acted with the Bryan followers during the campaign of 1896. After the disastrous defeat, he, feeling that the party in power had become so firmly established that it
would require an entire revolution of the political policy to reverse the tendency of affairs, and, after giving the matter careful and studious consideration, identified him- self with the Social Democracy. The or- ganization of this party in Marion showed thirty-five men had subscribed to its plat- form, and it was deemed advisable to place candidates in nomination for aldermen at the coming city election, the unanimous choice falling upon Mr. Kelley for one of them. In order to have his position under- stood and that any one who cast a ballot
for him could do it intelligently, he issued a manifesto, in which he set forth the posi- tion of his party on the various questions that had a direct bearing upon municipal legislation and the reform of city government. These are, stated briefly : Ist. Municipal ownership of all street railways, telephones, heating and electric light plants for the dis- tribution of power, heat and light. 2d. All public work to be done by the municipality, eight hours to be a day's work, $1.50 to be the minimum wage, and payment to be made weekly. 3d. A rigid inspection and orderly distribution of milk. 4th. Erection by the city of opera house and library or public hall. 5th. Abolition of all taxes on improvements and the products of labor, and an increased tax on land values. 6th. The conduct by the city of a free employment bureau.
The result of the election could not be looked upon but as a hearty endorsement of these ideas, and the willingness of the public to extend a system that had already been applied to the establishment of a fine water works and the street lighting plant. As a member of the council, Mr. Kelley, by the co-operation of others of the board, has placed some of these ideas into more com- plete and harmonious operation. The stand he had taken in the municipal affairs em- phasized the force of his connection with the party, the result being that, when the convention was held for the nomination of state officials, he was chosen for the head of the ticket-that of Governor. Never having any pretension as a public speaker, he felt himself handicapped, but entering into the full spirit of the movement and with the encouragement given by the earnest and able work of the candidate for the presi- dency-Eugene V. Debs-he soon began
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to attract attention throughout the state, be- ing in demand to exemplify the principles of the party. His pleasing and affable man- ner won friends for himself and the cause wherever he was heard, and the casting of ballots for the movement, in the state, proved the popularity of the ideas of right and jus- tice embodied in the principles. The move- ment has taken such root that it is bound to grow, the near future seeing its princi- ples being gradually embodied in legisla- tion throughout the land. It is an interest- ing subject, but space precludes entering into full discussion of the matter. Any thinking man who will examine the trend of events will realize that amelioration of the present social condition must come from the general adoption of the principles of the Social Democratic party.
PARIS A. HOOVER.
One of the present highly business-like members of the board of county commission- ers, and one whose personal popularity is second only to a capable official reputation, is Paris A. Hoover, who is justly entitled to the well earned standing he enjoys as a wide awake and most responsible contrac- tor.
The history of a community is told most accurately in the lives of a comparatively small number of its leading citizens; and certainly in the record of the growth of Grant county no name. among the repre- sentative people of to-day, demands more careful consideration than that of Mr. Hoover.
The birth of this gentleman occurred August 11. 1851. in Miami county, Indiana,
and he is a son of Harvey and Rebecca Hoover. The father was a native of Miami county, Ohio, where he married, and soon after came to Indiana. He settled on a wild tract of land in Miami county, there devoting his life to the clearing and improve- ment of a valuable farm, and died at the ripe age of eighty-three. His was a life devoid of that ambition satisfied only with the emoluments of a public career, but filled with the more laudable ambition to be an upright, respected citizen, doing his whole duty by both man and God.
The boyhood of young Paris was not dissimilar to that of average country lads who, being reared on a new farm, become thoroughly familiar with all the hard work incident thereto. At the age of nineteen, his mother having died, he left the parental roof, being led into the state of Michigan by the alluring stories he had heard re- counted of that state. While at Hastings he began that preparation for the mason's trade which, being followed up with further effort along the same line after a return to Miami county, gave him a suitable fitting for the active duties of life. The first rec- ompense received by him at the trade was six dollars per month and board, but he was advanced by degrees, receiving after the first year one dollar per day, and this was again increased to two dollars per day. After working some years for others, he began contracting at Bunker Hill, taking anything along his line of work, the prin- cipal contracts being, however, for bridge work. His reputation as a successful bridge constructor soon became well established, and for the succeeding fifteen years most of the masonry for bridges in Miami county was constructed by him.
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Having operated the stone quarries near recognition of business capacity. The wis- dom of the choice has been made apparent repeatedly since, many instances demonstra- ting the actual benefits derived to the county from having a proper supervision of the public work. In harmony with his colleagues -John T. Williams and Isaac W. Carter- he has made the duties of the position first in importance, subordinating his private af- fairs to the demands of the county. the Childs mill at Marion, and having the contract on stone work over the Mississin- ewa, near the National Soldiers' Home, as well as other contracts in the county, he was led to remove to Marion, which he did in 1892. For the greater part of ten years his operations have been largely in Grant county, working quarries as well as con- (lucting the line of general contracting of which he makes a specialty. He gives em- Ever true to the principles of the Repub- lican party in the advocacy of its cardinal points of sound money and expansion, he has not antagonized the opposition by the undue display of objectionable partisanship ployment to about twenty-five men, inclu- ding those working in the quarries, being thus one of the substantial contributors to the general business interests of Marion .: The monuments to his ability are too numer- to the exclusion of the broader demands of ous to admit of special mention, further 1 a citizen first, a partisan second. From youth he has been identified with the cam- paigns of the party, being ever found in its gatherings, whether local or otherwise. Mi- ami county was normally some three to five hundred Democratic majority, but by the judicious campaign work of Mr. Hoover and other ardent men this was materially re- duced. than to speak of the substantial and hand- some bridge at the Charles mill, and the one at the Home, as above mentioned. He is the principal builder of cellar and founda- tion masonry, to which, since his selection to the official board, he has directed much of his attention. The public life of Mr. Hoover, ! however, began at Bunker Hill, when he was chosen a member of the school board, to which position he was repeatedly elected, serving in that capacity for a period of six years.
The need of a practical mechanic on the board of county commissioners had been keenly felt in the past, and when the thor- ough fitness of Mr. Hoover had been so fre- quently demonstrated, the occasion was im- proved of securing him as one of those in whose hands so much of the county's inter- ests rests. In November, 1898, the Republi- cans placed his name upon their ticket as commissioner, and almost regardless of po- litical lines he was elected by a majority that can be construed as a substantial general
Mr. Hoover was united in marriage No- vember 26, 1872, to Miss Mary Ellen Lari- mer, who was also born in Miami county. Their children are Emmet R., Omar T., and Bessie Lois.
The eldest of these, by nature of a me- chanical turn, was reared to business under his father's instruction, and since the age of eighteen has been entrusted with the super- vision of important work. Being of a care- ful and methodical inclination, the contract left in his hands is certain of having that at- tention to detail and adherence to design that its importance merits. Especially for- tunate has he proven in the handling of men, there existing between him and the work-
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man a bond of sympathy that makes for the advancement of the mutual work. The younger son is a graduate of the Marion schools, while Bessie is a school girl.
Reared under the tutelage of the Bap- tist faith, Mr. Hoover and wife hold a con- nection with the church at Marion, he be- ing a deacon. He is an ancient Odd Fellow and is also identified with the Knights of the Maccabees.
While not given to professional sports- manship, Mr. Hoover finds great enjoyment in the field with dog and gun, and has made several quite interesting excursions into the wilds of Michigan, in company with other congenial spirits.
CHRISTOPHER C. CRONKHITE.
Christopher C. Cronkhite, M. D., promi- nent among the leading physicians and sur- geons of Marion, Indiana. was born in Warren county, this state, October 8, 1856, and is a son of Elijah and Martha ( Wiles) Cronkhite.
Elijah Cronkhite was a native of New York state, and was of Holland or Dutch descent, and was a farmer by occupation. On coming to the west he first located in Illinois, where his marriage took place, and later, sometime in the 'thirties, he came to Indiana and settled in Warren county, where he passed the remainder of his days. Mrs. Martha ( Wiles) Cronkhite was born in Ken- tucky, was of Irish parentage, and when young was taken to Illinois by her parents.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Cronkhite were born five sons and one daughter, of whom Luke and Henry, who were members of the Eighty-sixth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, were killed at Kenesaw mountain and Mis- sionary Ridge, respectively, and Philander was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun. Augustus is a farmer in Warren county, Indiana, and Leanna. the daughter, is now Mrs. Johnson and resides in Chicago.
Dr. Christopher C. Cronkhite was edu- cated in the Wabash College and the Indi- ana Normal College, graduating from the latter with the class of 1886, and for ten years was engaged in teaching. He had begun the study of medicine in 1880 under private tutors, and continued his studies in connection with his college work and during his career as a teacher. In 1887 he entered the Rush Medical College at Chicago, was graduated therefrom in 1890, and has ever since been in active practice, principally in Marion, and is classed with the most suc- cessful physicians of the city. He is a mem- ber of the Grant County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Society, to which he has contributed many valuable papers on professional subjects, and is a recognized authority in both medical and surgical practice.
Dr. Cronkhite was united in marriage in 1876, in Warren county, with Miss Min- erva Frame, a daughter of Samuel M. and Videria Frame, Mr. Frame being a very prominent farmer of his county and a public official, and Miss Minerva having been well educated in the schools of West Lebanon. To the Doctor and Mrs. Cronkhite have been born two sons and two daughters. Albion C. and Burton E., and Goldie V. and Celeste C., the eldest being twenty-two years old and the youngest but twelve years of age. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Doctor
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is also past master of Hedrick Lodge, No. 465, F. & A. M., of Marshfield, Indiana, and he is likewise a member of Ben Hur Camp, No. 48, M. W. of A., at Marion.
Dr. Cronkhite is local examiner for sev- eral life insurance companies, including the Northwestern of Milwaukee, the New York Life, the Manhattan Life, the Phoenix Mu- tual, the Indiana State Life, the John Han- cock Life, and the Penn Mutual, as well as for the C. M. B. A., and Ben Hur, and is also assistant surgeon for the Inter-urban Railway Company. The duties pertaining to these positions, together with his exten- sive private practice, to keep the Doctor quite busy, as may well be imagined.
JOHN KILEY.
John Kiley, a representative citizen of Marion, is a native of county Tipperary, Ire- land, was born July 22, 1832, and when eight years old lost his father. John re- mained until sixteen years old on the home farm with his mother, and then came to America, landing in New York city, after a voyage of five weeks, March 17, 1848, whence he went to Albany, New York, where he had two cousins in business, and a few days later went to see a brother, who was working on a farm twenty-five miles west of Albany.
As young Kiley now had only one dollar and fifty cents in his pocket, he went to work in a paper mill for a short time, and then, in 1851, went to Darby Plains, Ohio, and worked on a farm at the compensation of thirteen dollars per month for the first year, and for the second year at sixteen dollars per month. He next went to De-
catur, Illinois, and with a brother put a construction team on the railroad then be- ing built, and also took a contract for chop- ping five hundred cords of wood for the railroad company, but received a part of his pay only. He next went to Springfield, Illi- nois, and for two years farmed on shares with a certain doctor, and while there fre- quently saw "Abe" Lincoln, who was a frequent visitor at the doctor's house.
In 1857, Mr. Kiley returned to Ohio and was married, at Milford Center, Union county. He there rented a farm for two years, and in the spring of 1860 came on horseback to Marion, Indiana, and a short time afterward was joined by his wife, of whom further mention is made. Here Mr. Kiley purchased a farm in Centre township, on which he lived three years, then sold his stock and bought a home in Marion, in which he placed his family and started for the Pacific coast, via New York, Aspinwall, and the isthmus, and north via the Pacific to Portland, Oregon, whence he went to Canyon City, where he had a brother living, and there was employed in mining for about six months, at six dollars per day, keeping "bachelor's hall" with two other miners. He next purchased two claims for eight hundred (lollars, but went in debt for part of the pur- chase money. Inside of three weeks he paid the balance due, and had netted five dollars per day beside. He had, however, a partner in this enterprise, and employed, besides, two men, and when the mine was worked out had made about twenty thou- sand dollars.
Mr. Kiley next paid five thousand dol- lars for a placer claim which he worked one season, but lost his entire fortune. He then went back to his old claim, retrieved his
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loss to some extent, and next went to War- ren's Diggings in Idaho, where he had a good claim and twenty men at work. He was taking out rich dirt, but as the force could only work four months in the year, at the approach of the bad weather, Mr. Ki- ley returned to his home in Marion. He expected to go back to the Diggings in the spring; but domestic felicity proved to be too attractive to him and he remained at home, letting his claim go for naught, al- though he could have sold his interest in it for two thousand dollars. He brought home two thousand dollars, which he invested in the grocery trade, later in a saloon and butcher shop, and for a short time dealt in real estate.
The marriage of Mr. Kiley, before al- luded to, took place May 4, 1858, to Miss Catherine Day. She was born in county Limerick, Ireland, and was left an orphan when young. At the age of about ten years she came to America with an elder sister and made her home with a still older brother in Marion. To Mr. and Mrs. Kiley have been born twelve children, of whom three died in infancy; Adelia died when nine- teen years old; James died at the same age; Nora is the wife of Joseph Corbett, presi- dent of the Indiana Brewing Company; Mary is married to William Maher, of Marion; Frank is clerking in a clothing store; Catherine is the wife of Thomas Mahaffey; Anna Celia is the wife of John Rucklehouse, of Indianapolis, and Nellie and George are at home. The family are mem- bers of St. Paul's Catholic church, to the support of which they most liberally con- tribute.
In politics Mr. Kiley is an active and sol- id Democrat, and is very popular with his
party. For four years he served as a mem- ber of the city council, and on again run- ning for the office was defeated by only four votes, although the Republican majority in the ward is three hundred and four. Mr. Kiley was one of the leaders in establishing the Citizens' Gas Company's plant, and when it went into the hands of a receiver was one of the first to assist in restoring the plant to the original owners.
Mr. Kiley owns a good home, a business block, and five tenement dwellings. He at one time owned a farm, on which he hired the work done, but has sold the place. He has been the "architect of his own fortune," and is one of the most respected and substan- tial men of Marion.
MARSHALL T. SHIVELY, M. D.
Marshall T. Shively, M. D., is a native of the city of Marion, where he still resides, and was born July 10, 1849, a son of Dr. James S. and Harriet O. (Marshall) Shively, a name not infrequently found in this volume.
Dr. James S. Shively was born in Mor- gantown, West Virginia, April 8, 1813, and Harriet O. Shively was a native of Wayne county, Indiana, born May 28, 1819; they were married in Marion, Indiana, in 1838. Dr. James S. Shively was graduated from the Medical College of Ohio, and began the practice of medicine in 1835 in Muncie, In- diana, where he remained until April, 1836, when he came to Marion and was actively employed in his medical duties until 1890; when he retired, and after a short surcease of labor was called away April 11, 1893, at the age, it will be noticed, of eighty years and three days, while his wife survived un-
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til May 27, 1899, dying a few hours before her eightieth birthday. They were the par- ents of six children, of whom the eldest two and youngest-Lethea, Tilman, and Or- ville-are deceased; the survivors are Terry E., a widow; Mary C., wife of Cyrus Math- er, of Marion, and Marshall T., whose name opens this notice.
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