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 35

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago: Bowen
Number of Pages: 1000

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 35

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In religion Mrs. Shively was a Metho- dist, but the remainder of the family were or are Presbyterians. In politics, Dr. James S. Shively was a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Andrew Jackson and his last for Grover Cleveland. The Doctor served four terms in the lower house of the state legislature of Indiana, and one term in the state senate, and was an important and influential factor in the management of his party's affairs.

Mrs. Harriet O. Shively came to Marion in 1829, floating down the Mississinewa with her father and family on a flatboat. The father was a farmer; was the first clerk of the county, and the first court in the county was held in his house. Mr. Marshall first located three miles north of Marion, where he improved a large farm, and where he made his home until about 1835, when he bought what is now the site of the north end of the present city of Marion-then con- sisting of several hundred acres-where he built the old homestead, known yet as the "Bradford homestead."

The father's name was Riley Marshall, and his wife's was Betsy (Cravens) Mar- shall. Mr. Marshall resided with his family on this place until about 1854, when he sold and went to LaGro, Wabash county, where he bought land along the canal, and there resided for many years; but finally sold and went to Pierceton, Kosciusko county,

Indiana, where he passed the remainder of his life. Grandmother Marshall was born in Pennsylvania, Grandfather Marshall in Bed- ford county, Virginia, and in 1820 they rode horseback from Wayne county to Bedford county, Virginia, Grandmother Marshall carrying in her arms the mother of Dr. M. T. Shively, several hundred miles.

Dr. Marshall T. Shively attended the common schools until twenty years of age, and then read medicine under his father until 1872. He then entered the Ohio Med- ical College at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1874, and then began act- ive practice with his father, with whom he remained associated until 1886, since when he has been alone, and is now one of the foremost and most experienced practition- ers in Grant county.

Dr. M. T. Shively was married in Ma- rion May 17, 1876, to Miss Zamora Bobbs, a native of Montgomery county, Ohio, born June 7, 1858, and a daughter of Dr. A. J. and Mary (Cook) Bobbs, and to this union have been born seven children, viz .: James H., who is graduated from the Washington and Lee University at Lexington, Virginia, and was valedictorian of his class; Mary L., at home; Bernard Bobb, Thisbe, Lyle, Dor- othea and Emma. The family attend the Presbyterian church, and in politics the Doc- tor is a Democrat.

Dr. Shively is a member of the Grant County and Indiana State Medical Socie- ties.

HON. GEORGE A. OSBORN.

Among those men of Grant county who deserve careful consideration at the hands of the biographer is the Hon. George A.

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Osborn, the joint senator from the district composed of Grant, Blackford and Wells counties.

Mr. Osborn was born in Grant county on the 15th day of January, 1850, Monroe township being the home o the family at the time. His parents were George C. and Margaret (Nace) Osborn, who were mar- ried in Ohio, coming, in 1849, to the newer part of Monroe township. When George was about six years old the permanent home was made in Franlkin township, and there the parents resided until the mother's death, at the age of fifty-six. The father there- after lived mainly with his various children, dying finally at Gas City at the serene age of eighty-three, in the year 1896.

George C. Osborn was a native of New Jersey, coming, as a boy, to Guernsey coun- ty, Ohio, where his own father died, he re- moving later to Marion county, that state. His two children, by a former marriage, are Lewis Osborn, of Wabash county, and Mary A., wife of William Oliver, of Gas City. Theopilius Osborn is a well-known mechanic of Marion; Jennie is Mrs. Amos Fowler, of Converse; and Margaret is the wife of Elihu Weesner, of West Marion. These, beside George A., constituted the second family.

George early developed a desire for an education, availing himself of the advan- tages of the country schools; but having to (lepend largely upon himself, studying dili- gently in the home, where he received such encouragement from his parents as they could give. While still in his teens he be- gan to teach, the desire for higher educa- tion growing upon him, and to supply which he carried such studies as algebra and geom- etry along simply by his own efforts. En-

tering the Marion normal, he was afforded the opportunity of partially paying his way by assisting to teach some of the branches, taking special instruction, and thus acquir- ing an all-round education. This prepara- tion had been going on until he had reached the age of twenty-nine, having in the mean- time served two terms as trustee of Frank- lin township. He taught not only in the country schools, but also in various villages and graded schools, having taught in the Gas City schools as well as being principal of the high school at Marion. In 1879 he was chosen as county superintendent of schools, a position he filled with such ac- ceptability that he was re-elected three times, and that regardless of political influence or identification. Having been a careful stu- dent of educational work and of the meth- ods in Massachusetts, New York and other states, where the most modern ideas were being applied, he set to work to make ad- vancement over the old staid ideas in vogue in Indiana. During the past twenty years the progress made in school work in this state has been remarkable, and much satis- faction is taken by Mr. Osborn that it has followed along the lines adopted by him, long before there had been any statutory regulation systematizing the work in the state. Fully realizing the benefits from systematic effort, he first applied his official authority to the grading of the country schools ; but, in the lack of statutes, he found it a slow and laborious process. Prepar- ing a course of study suitable to the de- mands of the district school, he placed a copy in the hands of every patron in the county, and found to his great satisfaction that the idea was received with the favor commensurate with the recognized intelli-

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+ gence of the people of Grant county. To his surprise the teachers of the country schools were slower to fall into line than were the patrons. Teachers, with the strength of prerogative, feeling their rights infringed upon, hesitated to identify them- selves with these new and radical ideas ; but, many of them having taken something of a course in the normal schools, ranged them- selves on the side of their superintendent, the leaven soon permeating all ranks of the instructive force. By constantly agitating the subject, the people soon recognized the value of the ideas and the devotion of the superintendent, so that within a short space of time the fruits of the system were real- ' ized.

But one other county in the state had taken steps in this direction when this one was established. Its value to the teachers and schools has been beyond all computation, ani improvement being observed in all, especial- ly on the part of those who take up the work of teaching as a profession. Probably that idea in the school system of to-day that is making itself most keenly felt is that of the graduation from the common schools, the same incentive to the pupil, to the parent and to the teacher existing as in the city schools, the superintendents in the counties of Wayne, Henry, Madison, Union and Grant being the first to adopt the plan. The. state superintendent and the governor be- came converts and it was embodied into law,. Mr. Osborn having the privilege of casting as senator a vote in its favor. At the cere- monies attending the last public graduation. held in Marion, in June, 1900, he was chosen .. as one of the speakers of the occasion, the: opportunity being taken by his many friends of publicly honoring him for the part he had taken in shaping, introducing and ope- rating the system. By this plan inducement is offered to all ambitious students to excel, as by so doing they became credited with a standing in the county that may mean much to them in future.

During the eight years that Mr. Osborn remained at the head of the school system of the county remarkable progress, not only in this county, but throughout the state, was made. A few other advanced superintend- ents had fallen into line and were working to the same end. The value of the plans soon became so apparent that suitable legis- lation was shaped, giving, in the end, one of the finest school systems to the state of Indiana to be found in the country. Credit is accorded to Mr. Osborn throughout the state for the admirable and untiring work done by him, not only in the matter just Upon his retirement from the superin- tendency, in 1887, Mr. Osborn continued to teach, mainly in the Marion schools, un- til he became the Republican nominee for county auditor, to which position he was elected, and to the duties of which office he devoted himself during the four succeed- ing years. mentioned, but in all that made for better schools and well-qualified and enthusiastic teachers. Much of this latter was accom- plished through the results of the Teachers' Library, which was the first of its kind to be established in the state. It was started upon voluntary association, but the value soon was so widely recognized among the While thus serving, in 1892, he organ- ized the Osborn Paper Company, to which teachers that all availed themselves of its use, and all were enrolled among its patrons. | his business attention has been wholly di- 17

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rected since his retirement from the official position. The business was started in a modest way, jobbing in paper and notions and manufacturing of tablets and school supplies. From a business of about twenty- five thousand the second year, it has steadily grown until it now demands the services of eight traveling salesmen, who cover the ter- ritory from Buffalo to Des Moines, and sell fully one hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars' worth of goods annually.

In 1898 Mr. Osborn was chosen as joint senator for the district composed of Grant, Wells and Blackford counties, over George Thompson, a strong and popular man; and though it was considered a close district, he received a majority of seventeen hundred votes. He had, through his official life and long connection with the Republican party, become widely and, as was thus shown, fa- vorably known. The work done by him in former campaigns had counted to the bene- fit of the party, he having been the chairman of the county central committee during the first campaign of President Harrison, serv- ing the following six years on the state com- mittee. His service in the senate was of an important nature, benig made chairman of the committee on fees and salary and a member of the railroad committee, and on that of contested elections. His impartial- ity was shown upon several occasions, in one instance, at least, the Democratic con- testant being seated by his vote. He took an active and influential part in shaping the legislation of the session, the law placing the county commsisioners on salaries espe- cially receiving his hearty endorsement and advocacy. The bill making the county coun- cil also received his support, feeling that such enactment would tend to place the pub-

lic business upon a safer and more conser- vative basis.

While the oratorical powers of Mr. Os- born are such as to attract the attention and admiration of his compeers, having an easy and logical delivery that illustrates the main points under discussion, clearing the subject of obscurity and assisting materially to a proper understanding, his principal value as a legislator lay in the strength of his per- sonality in the closer relation of members in the committee rooms or in the social gathering, where greater opportunity was had to impress with the importance of the subject matter. Few men are more suita- ble for the shaping of men's minds by the subtle influence of personal magnetism, coupled with persuasive argument in the privacy of home or club life. As an organ- izer, whether in the general political field or in the halls of legislation, he has few compeers and no surpassers in the state. His native social qualities, coupled with pleasing personality and ever good nature make him one of the most genial of gentle- men, whom to know is to respect. That in- clination to fraternal fellowship led him to become an Odd Fellow, in which society he carried the work to the higher degrees. He was one of those whose fame became well established as members of the famous Marion canton, the renowned military or- ganization that carried off the highest hon- ors wherever it entered the contest. With a squad of twenty-seven men it won the first prize at Cincinnati, following this vic- tory with another at Columbus, and later at Chicago. The Stokes medal was won by it three times in succession, when it was ac- corded a duplicate of the medal and ruled out from all future contests. This canton

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was given special honors by being chosen as the guard of honor to accompany Gen- eral Underwood, of Kentucky, on a trip to California to attend the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows. Carrying the idea of fellowship into other bodies, Mr. Osborn is a member of Grant Lodge, No. 103, K. of P., and of Knights of Khorassen.

In 1881 Mr. Osborn married Miss Cora Jay, daughter of Walter and Nancy Jay; she was born near Marion, and received ad- vanced education in Earlham College. Ar- thur E., Anna and Lois are the three chil- dren born to them. Both Mr. Osborn and wife are active in the Methodist church and Sunday school, he having served the latter as superintendent.

JESSE D. WRIGHT.

Among the farmers who are devoted to their calling and bring skill to the aid of agricultural art may be mentioned the gen- tleman whose name appears above, and who is a reputable citizen of Marion. He was born in Henry county, Indiana, near the village of Spiceland, October 10, 1843, to Joab and Malinda (Elliott) Wright. His grandfather, also named Joab, belonged to an old southern family and was probably a native of Tennessee, whence he migrated to this state. The father was also born in Ten- nessee and was reared on a farm and as- sisted in running a mill, coming to Indiana with his parents when a young man. As that was during the early history of the state, it is probable that they entered gov- ernment land in Henry county, but as to this it is uncertain. Here he met Miss Malinda Elliott, who afterward became his wife. She was a native of North Carolina, but

came with her parents to Henry county, Indiana, where she was maried and lived until 1844, when her husband located in Grant county, where she died at the age of sixty-one years. Both she and her husband were members of the Quaker church, and in its doctrines reared their little flock, who were eight in number. Death did not appear in the family circle until all had reached mature years, when three were called to cross the dark waters. Joab Wright purchased a farm of one hundred acres of Amos Small, lying about one and one-half miles from where the town of Marion now stands. Here he spent the remainder of his days, dying at the advanced age of eighty years. He was a Republican in early life, but at the birth of the Prohibition party transferred his allegiance to it. He was honorable and upright in all his transactions and was generally liked by all who knew him.

Jesse D. Wright was the second child born to his parents, and was but a few months old when they came to Grant coun- ty. His boyhood was spent in assisting on the home farm and in attendance at the public schools. When he was a lad of fif- teen his father purchased the farm adjoin- ing the corporation of Marion, and this is now in the possession of Mr. Wright. It consists of one hundred and fifty acres and has a valuable sand pit, from which all the sand and gravel used in Marion is supplied. When he was twenty-one he rented a farm for one year and then purchased eighty acres, upon which he built his residence and has since made his home. A few years later he began dealing extensively in cattle, sheep and hogs, and for a few years bought a large portion of the hogs that were raised

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in this county. His success was phenom- enal, and in 1893 he retired from the stock business. He owned one hundred and fifty acres of land in what is now termed East Marion, where the power-house and many other buildings stand, and this, except the forty acres he reserved for his home, has all been sold in town lots. In addition to this and the old homestead of his father, he owns five houses which he rents, twenty- five or thirty lots in the city, eighty acres of land in Mills township, and seventy in Pulaski county, this state.

He was united in marriage September 29, 1867, to Miss Caroline Sears, of this county. She is a daughter of Christopher and Jennette Sears, who, during the early settlement of the county, entered land from the government, which land they cleared and lived upon until their death. He attained the advanced age of eighty-five and she of seventy-nine, and both were members of the Wesleyan church. Four children have been sent to bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wright, namely: Lela, who married Paul Jones and resides in Richmond, Indiana; Arthur, a hardware merchant in Marion; Mary, wife of Max D. Aver, of Philadel- phia; and Orvil, who is a student in the high school. The children have all received superior educational advantages, and the elder two are graduates from reputable col- leges, and Arthur and Mary from Du Pauw University. They represent the better ele- ment of society, and in religion are Qua- kers. Mr. Wright is a prominent Mason, and until recently has been a Republican, but continued hard times has caused him to see as he thinks the necessity of a change in the policy of the administration and a re- duction of the tariff.

BENJAMIN CROWELL.

In the midst of the whir and turmoil of life, let us pause a moment to pay a pass- ing tribute to the memory of one who has been closely identified with the growth and prosperity of Marion, and will be remem- bered as one of her most prominent and honorable business men-Benjamin Crowell, who was born in Newark, New Jersey, January 1, 1827, and was a son of Joseph and Margaret ( White) Crowell.

Joseph Crowell was born in New York city and was left an orphan at an early age. He was given a home by his uncle and learned the trade of a shoemaker while he was still young, following it for many years, and later turned his attention to farming. He took part in the war of 1812, and in 1830 moved to Darke county, Ohio, locating some eight miles from Greenville, where he lived and prospered until his eighty- third year when he was called to his re- ward. He was a Republican, and took an intelligent interest in political affairs. He was married to Margaret White, a native of Cheshire, England, who came to New York during young womanhood and lived to the age of sixty-four years.

Benjamin Crowell was three years old when his parents moved to Darke county, and he remained on the farm assisting his parents until he was about twenty years of age, when he entered the ranks of peda- gogy, teaching eleven terms in the schools of Darke county. In 1852 he came to Ma- rion, where he embarked in the grocery and bakery business until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he enlisted and served until the close, when he received an honora- hle discharge and returned to the duties of

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private life. He purchased a small tract of ground, about eight acres, which is included in South Marion, at Thirty-eighth street, and carried on gardening, in which he was eminently successful.

Mr. Crowell was a strong Republican, and was township assessor eight years and coroner of Grant county for twelve or fif- teen years. He was deputy sheriff two terms and was appointed to fill the unex- pired term of Mr. Hialts as sheriff.

Mr. Crowell was united in marriage Oc- tober 1, 1857, with Miss Matilda Stevens, by whom he had eight children, two of whom died in childhood. The six who sur- vive the father are among the most respect- ed citizens of Grant county, namely : Ed- gar, conductor on one of the Marion street car lines; Elias Morton, representing the Singer Sewing Machine Company here; Mary, wife of Alfred B. Comer, a farmer; William, who resides with his mother and is employed at his trade in the window glass factory ; Frank, a glass blower in the same factory ; and Anna, who resides at home. They are all industrious, and are a family of whom any parents might be proud.

Mr. Crowell was a charter member of General Shunk Post, No. 23, G. A. R., took a deep interest in every question pertaining to the general prosperity, and the news of his death came as a shock to all and was received with profound sorrow.

Mrs. Crowell, nee Matilda Stevens, was born March 24, 1836, in Fairfield, Ohio, and remained with her parents until her marriage. Her father, Elias Robert Stevens, was also a native of Fairfield, where he grew to man's estate and followed his vo- cation of blacksmith until 1844, when he came to Grant county, Indiana, and settled

on a farm in Pleasant township, four miles northwest of Marion. The trip to Fort Wayne to enter this forty-acre tract was made on horseback-a common mode of travel in those days. He put up a shop and worked at his trade, and at the same time cleared the timber from his land, getting it in readiness for cultivation. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. In religion he was a Methodist and a good, true man whose life extended over a period of sixty- five years. His grandfather was a native of Wales, and it is thought his father, John Crowell, was born in one of the New Eng- land states, and moved at an early day to Fairfield county, Ohio, where he ran a dis- tillery until his death at the age of seventy years.

The mother of Mrs. Crowell, Matilda Rose, was born in Pennsylvania and sur- vived her husband but one year, dying in her seventy-first year. She was a member of the Methodist church and always took an active part in church work. Her parents were William and Martha ( Brown) Rose, natives of Pennsylvania, the father receiv- ing his death wound in middle life during the war of 1812. His widow, who was of Irish descent, came West, where she lived to the advanced age of eighty-six years. Mrs. Crowell has a pleasant home in South Marion, where she enjoys the friendship and esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances.

OLIVER M. THOMAS.

Among the more important of the many industries of the thriving city of Marion is that of the manufacture of breadstuffs, one of the principal establishments in this line

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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.

being that of the Marion roller mills, ope- rated by the Burge & Lake Milling Com- pany. This plant, located on the Pan-Han- dle Railroad at the crossing of Branson street is a pretentious three-story brick building, erected some six years since, after the de- struction of a smaller mill. It is what is termed a one-hundred-barrel full roller mill, and is thoroughly fitted with all the mod- ern and approved appliances for the manu- facture of a high-grade article. The busi- ness demands the investment of about twen- ty thousand dollars; and having grown un- der the present management from a small plant, has now become one of the principal factors in the commercial prosperity and importance of the city.

A mill was erected about 1882 on this site by L. C. Lillard & Company, who trans- ferred the property in 1888 to the firm of Marks, Burge & Lake, this firm assuming the present style early in this year, when Mr. Marks retired, his interest being taken by Oliver M. Thomas.

Oliver M. Thomas was born in Cass county, Indiana, on the 8th of November, 1863. His parents were Addis and Anna (Burge) Thomas, the father being also a native of the state, and who had been for some years a well-known teacher. His death occurred when Oliver was a mere child of four years. The mother then mar- ried Abram Surber, and when Oliver was but seven she also died, leaving her two children to the care of relatives. One of these died while still in early childhood, thus placing Oliver wholly alone and de- pendent upon those who might feel an in- terest in his welfare. For the next two years he was cared for mainly by his grand- mother, then becoming a member of the | every emergency, put forth every effort to

family of his uncle, William Burge, with whom he has ever since maintained close relations. He looks back with a great deal of satisfaction to the home influences that surrounded him in those formative years. The Burge family had no mother at the time, but did have the attentions of a re- markably able and devoted woman in the person of Miss Delilia Bragg, who had be- come the housekeeper some years before, upon the death of Mrs. Burge. The many excellent qualities of this amiable lady it would be impossible to recount ; suffice it to say that no family in the community had a more devoted or consecrated overseer than she. Here, under her care and the over- sight of an uncle, who seemed to see some- thing of promise in the boy, he grew to manhood, having such educational advan- tages as the home schools afforded. Show- ing some aptitude in school work, he was given the opportunity to carry his educa- tion beyond the common schools by attend- ance at the Marion Normal. supplementing this with a business course in the larger institution at Valparaiso. At the age of twenty he had begun to teach, a work that, while it was not exactly to his liking, he continued for some four terms, mainly in the home or nearby districts. Upon the securing of the mill by his uncle, he was in- stalled as bookkeeper, a position he filled most creditably for two years, or until the retirement of the then manager, Mr. Lil- lard, when he was placed in the charge of the operation of the mill. The reputation he had made as bookkeeper had reachedl to all the banks and other institutions, he re- ceiving highly commendatory compliments ; and, having the desire to do his duty in

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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 35

Author: Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago: Bowen Number of Pages: 1000

Author:
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago: Bowen
Number of Pages: 1000