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 47
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TERAH BALDWIN.
Among the truly representative citizens of the pioneer families, and one whose own efforts have been of some value in the devel- opment of the county's resources, and than whom no citizen is held in greater estima- tion, is Terah Baldwin. The family history is more fully told in connection with the biography of Asa Baldwin on another page of this volume, and suffice it to say in this relation, that the latter years of the par- ents of Terah ( Thomas and Lydia Baldwin) were passed in the home of this son, whose tenderest and most affectionate filial regard for them was shown to the last by the loving attention to their every want. When it was realized that the infirmities of advancing years were telling upon the devoted parents, the son abandoned his exacting business in- terests, thenceforth making their comfort and happiness the main features of his own life. With unbroken fidelity to each other and unswerving trust in the All Powerful Father, whose precepts they had closely fol- lowed, they trod the pathway of life with unfaltering steps, knowing that, when the shades of eternal night has fallen, they would waken from the peaceful sleep of death to a brighter and better day. After living in the closest fellowship with each other and communion with God for more than sixty years, they were laid in the same grave to await the call of the resurrection morn. It can truly be said of them that their old age was a peaceful day that lasted till sunset. With trust in the Maker and faith in human- ity they were not disturbed by the hollow- ness, pretension and sham that surrounded them, and were not led away from the teach- ings of youth by the attractions of the world,
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but remained true to the blessed ideals and the simplicity of the Society of Friends to which they belonged.
Terah Baldwin was born in Fairmount township, Grant county, on the first of Feb- ruary, 1837, but while still a child the family removed to what is now South Marion. Tak- ing advantage of all the local schools, many oi them being crude indeed, he was able, by the time he had attained his sixteenth year, to teach, and for the succeeding fourteen years devoted his attentions largely to the directing of the youth of the community into the inricacies of the three R's. The winter seasons being thus employed, he was asso- ciated during the summer season in the op. eration of a saw-mill, and between the two he managed to get a handsome start in the world, and able to attempt more ambitious lines of business. In 1880 he removed to the city and established a creamery, the growth of the town demanding extended fa- cilities for the supply of its products to the tables of all. For nearly fifteen years he devoted the greater part of a busy life to the conduct of this establishment, when the demands of filial affection carried him back to attend to the paternal home.
Mr. Baldwin was married January 4. 1859, to Miss Isabella Lucas, and to them seven children have been born. Ket, who is a farmer of Center township; Ida, Matilda, May and Orange have passed to "the farther shore;" Nina is the wife of Eli Unthank, and Ora is at home.
Believing in the truth of the great prin- ciples upon which the Republican party was founded Mr. Baldwin has ever adhered to it, even though some of the later positions it has occupied do not exactly express his views of justice and the carrying out the
foundation principles of the government. He holds, however, that the great mass of the liberty-loving people of this republic are so imbued with the true spirit of human liberty, that no danger can come to the country, but what will be properly handled if the occasion arises. Born into the Society of Friends, he has ever retained pleasant relationship thereto, being looked upon as one of the stanch and reliable supporters of the Society. Being possessed, to a high degree, of those traits that make and hold friendships, he has a wide circle of the warmest associates with whom he is thoroughly at home, finding much of the pleasure of living in the agree- able companionship thus afforded though the place of greatest attraction and comforts is within the bosom of his own family.
ROBERT BURSON.
Among the well known and influential residents of Grant county, Indiana, is the gentleman whose name apears above. He has lived in Center township, on the farm now occupied by him, since a lad of ten years, and has been a participant in the many im- provements and developments that has been bought about in the county in the past half century. He was born in Preble county, Ohio, Febuary 16, 1840, and was one of four sons and five daughters born to Henry and and Mary Burson, only two of whom sur- vive, Robert and Louisa. Henry Burson left Ohio in 1850 and came to Grant county, locating on eighty acres of land in Center township which was his home until he had reached the advanced age of seventy years. when the light of his life was extinguished here on earth to be relit and burn with re-
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newed refulgence in the world above the skies.
Mr. Burson has known no other home than the one he now enjoys, as it was here he passed all but his very earliest years. Hc was educated in the common schools, receiv- ing such advantages as was accorded the boys of his time, and grew up to the life of a farmer. Reaching maturity he chose as his life partner, Miss Ann Marshall, a most esti- mable lady, who has presented to him two children, Ida, wife of Frank Draper and John H., deceased. Mr. Burson is a wide-awake farmer and the eighty acres of land which he has under cultivation bear witness to his thrift and good management. He is a Dem- ocrat.
BERT WHITE.
Bert White, the genial and popular chief of police of Marion, Indiana, was born in this city, January 20, 1874, and has passed the greater part of his life here. He at- tended the public school until he was six- teen years of age, taking a leading part in all athletic sports and gaining considerable renown for his proficiency on the diamond.
At the age of sixteen Bert White entered a tailor shop to learn the trade, working during the winter at the trade and in sum- mer being engaged with different basc ball teams. He is a large, finely formed man, weighing about two hundred pounds, and the dexterity with which he tosses a ball through the air appears to be in- creased from receiving its impetus from his left hand. Local teams clamored for his services and his ability soon be- came recognized among the professionals
who welcomed him eagerly to their ranks, and during the season of 1898 he accepted a position as pitcher with the Saginaw base ball team, one of the teams composing the International League. He played with them part of the season and was then trans- ferred to the Chatham, Ontario, Canada, team, with which he played the remainder of the season.
Returning to Marion in December, 1898, he was appointed on the police force and acted as patrolman one year. December, 1899, he was promoted to the office of chief, which position he has since held to the entire satisfaction of even the most critical. He is a Republican in politics, but has the good will of both parties. He is endowed with an inexhaustable stock of energy which, with the invaluable adjuncts of push and executive ability, have made him a terror to all evil doers who come under his supervision and have gained him the support of all lovers of law and order. He married Miss Alice Thornburg, who is a native of Marion. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias.
MILES J. LEWIS, M. D.
Miles J. Lewis, M. D., a regular prac- ticing physician and surgeon of Marion, Grant county, Indiana, is a native of Sayre, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, was born .April 25. 1875. and was reared in the moun- tainous mining village of Carbon Run. His parents. B. L. and Judith ( Roof) Lewis, are also natives of Pennsylvania, and are liv- ing in Sayre, where the father has long been engaged in merchandising. The fam-
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ily consists of four children, of whom the Doctor is the eldest; the second is Roscoe C., a merchant in Sayre, and the younger two, Winnie and Nina, are still under the parental roof.
Dr. M. J. Lewis received his prepara- tory education in the Sayre high school, after graduating from which he entered the Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia, and after being graduated from the latter took a post-graduate course of one year at the University of Pennsylvania. The Doc- tor began practice at Mount Etna, Hunting- ton county, Indiana, whence he came to Marion September 1, 1899, located at Thir- tieth and Washington streets, and has since been very successful in his professional work.
Dr. Lewis is a member of the Earnest Laplace Surgical Society of Philadelphia, is a graduate from the H. C. Bæning School of Anatomy, Philadelphia, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ben Hur fraternity. In politics he is a Republican, and during his short so- journ in Marion has made so many warm friends that doubtless the future will find this city his permanent home.
ELI HOLLINGSWORTH.
Eli Hollingsworth is one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Grant county, Indiana, and is a prosperous farm- er of Franlink township. He was born in Darke county, November 13, 1822, to Isaac and Jane (Coppock) Hollingsworth. The father was born in North Carolina but moved to Ohio at an early day, and in 1837
located in Grant county, Indiana, near the Soldier's Home. He purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land upon which he lived until his death in 1878 at the advanced age of eighty years. His wife had died in 1863. He was an earnest Quaker, and held the of fice of elder in the church for many years, and was a man who was honored and looked up to.
Eli Hollingsworth was one of ten chil- dren, five sons and five daughters, and was a lad of fourteen when his parents located here. He acquired a common school edu- cation, having to walk one mile to the school, which was a log building whose light was obtained through greased paper set into the building where a log had been omitted.
He remained on the home farm until his twenty-second year, when he was married and moved on the farm now owned by Hen- ry Shugart. He owned this farm and lived there six years when he went to Wabash county and engaged in farming several years, returning finally to take charge of the old homestead and care for his father until the latter's death. In 1897 he moved to his present location where he owns one hundred and thirty acres in partnership with Itis son-in-law, John Wilson. One hundred and fifteen acres are under cultivation, a large amount of stock and farm produce being raised each year.
Mr. Hollingsworth has been a Republican since the organization of the party, but has never been an aspirant for political hon- ors. He is a member of the Quaker church and an elder for a great many years. He was married at the age of twenty-two to Miss Hulda Jones, who bore him ten chil- dren, six of whom survive her, viz .: Mary Jane, wife of Isaac Crompton; Rachel, wife
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of John Wilson ; Amanda, wife of Allen Un- thank, superintendent of the Soldiers' Home farm; Ruth, wife of Stephen Curry; Mar- garet, wife of Alfred Osborn, who conducts a blacksmith shop in Marion; and Clara, wife of William Ratliff. Mr. Hollings- worth chose as his second wife Mrs. Mary Malott, widow of Hiram Malott, and daughter of John and Lydia Pearson. His third alliance was with Miss Mary J. Pee- bles, who is the present Mrs. Hollingsworth, a lady whose pleasing manner makes her & favorite in the social and home circle.
JAMES E. JOHNSON, M. S., M. D.
James Edward Johnson, M. S., M. D., distinguished practitioner of Marion, Grant county, Indiana, was born in Wood- stock, McHenry county, Illinois, November 8, 1872, and is a son of Rev. Alfred P. and Theresa E. (Shively) Johnson.
Rev. Alfred P. Johnson was born in Massachusetts, and having received his ed- ucation in its foremost institution of learn- ing, a stranger could not fail to note in him what was suggested of inherited refinement and acquired culture. After graduating from Harvard University he enlisted in the Forty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Regi- ment. He was a worthy descendant of his great grandsire, who was among the last to leave the battlefield of Bunker Hill and then swam across Charlestown Neck with a wounded companion on his back. Mr. Johnson was emphatically a self-made man; he paid his own expenses through college by funds earned by tutoring ; he was a close and analytical student and had a rare insight into
the finest truth. He was the owner of a most excellent library. After his return from ser- vice in the army he was graduated from Andover Theological Seminary and entered the ministry of the Congregational church.
He married, in 1867, Miss Theresa E. Shively, of Marion, Indiana, the elder daugli- ter of the Hon. James S. Shively, and a sis- ter of Dr. M. T. Shively. of Marion. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Johnson went to the then new west to begin their labors. The usual migration incident to the minister- ial life of that time followed. His longest pastorate was Platteville, Wisconsin, four- teen years. Three children came to bless their home : Blanche J., wife of H. E. Dang- erfield, of Joplin, Missouri; Dr. James Ed- ward; and Theresa E., who died Novem- ber 6, 1896, aged twelve years. The Rev. Mr. Johnson was called up higher June 26, 1894.
Dr. James Edward Johnson was educat- ed in the State Normal School located in Platteville, Wisconsin, and in 1886, when his parents removed to Springfield, Mis- souri, he entered the Drury College Acad- emy where he passed three years in a pre- paratory course. He was admitted to the freshman class in 1889 and in 1893 was graduated with honors. He then returned to the home of his parents and for one year read medicine in private ; he then matriculat- ed for medical services at the Rush Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, and in the fall of 1894 was admitted as a student in that famous institution; was graduated in the spring of 1897 and in the summer of that same year came to Marion and was associat- ed in the practice of his profession with Dr. M. T. Shively. In October, 1899, he went to New York and Philadelphia where he
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made a specialty of eye, ear, nose and throat diseases, and upon his return in May, 1900, opened an office at the corner of Second and Washington streets, where he has since en- joyed a lucrative practice. Dr. Johnson is a member of the Presbyterian church and fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias.
JONATHAN C. HAYES.
Jonathan C. Hayes is a native of the "Buckeye" state, having been ushered into existence in Clinton county, near Sabina, Ohio, on December 20, 1833. His parents were Nelson and Sally ( Underwood ) Hayes, both of whom were born in North Carolina, where they were married and lived for some time. Nine children were born to them, namely : Abi, deceased ; Jesse, deceased ; Em- eline, who resides in Monroe township and is the widow of Matthew Nelson; Chris E., deceased; Keziah, deceased; Jonathan, our subject; Andrew J., of Monroe township; Nelson, deceased; and one who died in in- fancy. In the fall of 1839 Nelson Hayes left Clinton county, Ohio, and with wagon and horses, the latter decked out with rope harness, came to Grant county, settling in Center township where he purchased eighty acres of land at second hand for six hundred dollars. Some ten or twelve acres of this property had been cleared of trees and it had a one-room log cabin, eighteen by twenty feet in dimension, finished with a puncheon floor. He afterward disposed of his prop- erty and moved to Monroe township, where he died in 1875 at the age of sixty-six years.
Jonathan C. Hayes was a little boy of six years when his parents took up their
abode in Grant county, and has been on hon- ored resident here ever since. His early ed- ucation was obtained in the public schools. the old log being his first school. No at- tempt was made to furnish comfort to the children, as their seats were split sap- lings upheld by wooden legs and with no back to support the weary toiler after knowledge.
Jonathan C, remained with his father until he had reached his twenty-second year when he moved on to seventy-four acres of land, which he had purchased, and on which he had built a log house. There was no clearing on this land and it was his work to develop it and make it fruitful. He lived there more than twenty years and made many improvements on it. In 1888 he moved on the farm he now owns, a tract of fifty acres, where he is engaged in farming and wholesale butchering. This business has turned out quite profitably under his skillful management, and shows the ad- vantage of being a man with more than one idea. Mr. Hayes was married Decem . ber II, 1856, to Miss Elizabeth Rock and six children have blessed their union. They arc Josephine, wife of Eli Sams; Jane, de- ceased; William, at home; Eveline, wife of William Wybrough; Sarah E., wife of William Love; and Cornelius, who resides at home. Mr. Hayes is a never failing Dem- ocrat.
HEZEKIAH W. PULLEY.
Hezekiah W. Pulley, extensively engaged in farming and stock raising and also a large manufacturer of tile in Center township, Grant county, Indiana, is a native of this county, having been born in Washington township October 7, 1845, to Adam and Ket-
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ura (Wine) Pulley. The grandfather, Sam- uel, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war and resided in Guernsey county, Ohio, whence he moved to Grant county, Indiana, at an early day and conducted a saw-mill in this-Center-township.
Adam Pulley was born in Guernsey coun- ty, Ohio, in 1819, and came with his father to this county, assisting him in the saw-mill for a few years when he moved on to a piece of wild land, building a log cabin in which Hezekiah W. was born. The land was cov- ered with heavy timber when he purchased it and he cleared it off and resided there until liis death in 1896. He was a Democrat in his politics and an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His marriage with Miss Ketura Wine resulted in the birth of eight children, as follows : Charity, wife of Hensen Pulley, a resident of Iowa; George, who died in the war; Hezekiah; Newton, de- ceased; John, deceased ; Thomas, deceased; Mary, deceased; and Emma, wife of John Farr, of Marion.
Hezekiah W. Puley was born and reared on the old homestead and was educated in the common schools. He was obliged to walk one mile to reach the school, which was a log building, common in those early days. When he reached his majority he rented part of the homestead and cultivated it until 1869, when I:e moved to his present farm. Here he built a two-room log house to which he brought his bride, Miss Mary E. Noble, to whom he had been recently married. Three children blesed their union and are highly respected citizens of this county, viz : Elmer, a farmer ; Sarah B., wife of George Coon, who is en- gaged in business with Mr. Pulley; and Emma, wife of Frank Howard, of Washing- ton township.
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Mr. Pulley owns a fine farm of one hun- dred and fifty-seven acres, which is well adapted to the purpose for which he uses it, i. e. general farming and stock-raising. One hundred and ten acres are under culti- vation and the balance is excellent pasture land. He has cleared the timber from the greater part of this himself, and placed upon it the superior improvements we now see, and is ranked among the progressive and substantial agriculturists of this region. About twenty years ago he embarked in the tile business and has since been engaged in the manufacture of that article, finding it a profitable investment for his time and money. Mir. Pulley affiliates with the Democratic party, but is not an aspirant for political hon- ors as his time is too fully occupied in look- ing after his constantly increasing business to permit of office seeking. He is a shrewd, methodical business man, who stands high in the community both in business and social circles.
LEWIS FOSTER.
Of the many esteemed pioneers of Grant county still living, the name of Lewis Foster stands pre-eminent as one whose life has most frequently touched the lives of others. Standing to-day at his eighty-seventh year, sound in body and mind, and in the full ex- ercise of all powers, he looks back upon the events that have filled his own life with a keen sense of pleasure and gratification that he has been allowed the privilege to take as large a part in the creation and growthofthis section of the state as has been his fortune. Ile was born at Hillsboro, Highland coun- , ty, Ohio, July 31, 1814, and is the son of
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Levis Foster
Mary J. Faster
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Basil and Charity (Jackson) Foster, he be- ing of old Pennsylvania stock.
In 1792 when but a lad of seventeen, Basil Foster came, with an ax on his shoulder, to Highland county, Ohio ; he was married in Greene county, to her who ever after shared his trials and successes. She was born in North Carolina, though reared in Tennessee and was one of those remarka- ble women without whose assistance and con- solation the fathers themselves would not have been the powerful and fearless men that they were. Both of the Friends society, they left a lasting impress upon the community in which they lived. She was one of the great Bailes family, of North Carolina, who have taken so prominent a part in the history of that state. Much of the strength and vir- ility of the parents were transmitted in un- diminished vigor to the children, all of whom became men and women of substantal char- acter. One of them was Dr. John Foster, who located at Marion in 1833, being in active practice until the time of the war, going to Warsaw, Indiana, where he died at the age of fifty-nine years. Lewis had served an apprenticeship of nearly three years, learn- ing the carpenter trade having found his own clothing and washing; and when just past twenty, in February, 1834, started to visit those of the family who were already in Indiana. His uncle, David Branson, whose wife was the sister of Lewis' mother, had become one of the founders of the town of Marion, and owned three or four hundred acres of land, of which nearly all is now com- prised in the city. Together they erected a saw-mill and operated it for some years. He also did some building, saving in the mean- time lumber with which to build a home for himself. He had returned to Ohio, in com- 23
pany with an uncle, and was there married to Miss Susannah Chaney. In the spring of 1836 his father brought them back to Ma- rion, being accompanied by his brother Pleasant and sister Sarah. The eldest brother John had bought, at administrator's sale, a tract of land for his father; and upon this Lewis and Pleasant began to make improve- ments, clearing several acres which they planted in due season realizing four hun- dred bushels of corn from eight acres. Basil Foster was then a man of wealth, but having so many of his children already in this vi- cinity he decided to make this his own future home with the entire family. This then re- mained his home, a new residence being built in 1843, by Lewis, in which he lived till his death, which occurred February 19, 1861, having survived his wife two years. He was one of the old-style Jacksonian Democrats, but held opinions in decided opposition to the institution of slavery. Reading the signs of the times, he could see the great struggle coming that ended only with strife, often making use of some apt remark that showed the keenness of his penetration and the knowledge of the country's history. He preferred not to live to see the country dis- rupted-an event his own fears of the fu- ture had led him to expect-and but a few weeks before the opening gun was fired that was followed with those four memorable years of bloodshed, but while the very air was filled with the scent of approaching car- nage, his spirit took its flight, retaining a characteristic love of peace and good fel- , lowship to all.
The demands for bedsteads and other cabinet work were such that Lewis decided to move into the village, which he did in the fall of 1836, going into a little cabin then
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standing in the woods. The present court house square was then covered with brush, which he assisted in clearing. He had a nice trade with the Indians, who desired to secure the furniture he was skilled in making. In fact the greater part of his income for the next few years came from them. To illus- trate the variation in the money used, he mentions one instance of getting one hundred dollars some thirty miles from his locality, which was worth but about sixty-two dol- lars at his home, the scrip depreciating that much when taken from its own neighbor- hood. In three months thereafter the same scrip brought eighty dollars.
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