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 75
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Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he holds the office of trustee. He has also taken a leading part in the Sunday-school for a number of years and is one of the most faithful teachers enrolled. He is an ardent Republican and has been since he cast his first presidential vote in 1880 for James A. Garfield.
JOHNSON EAKINS.
October 10, 1825, of Pennsylvania parent- age, was reared on a farm and attended sub- scription school until eighteen years old, when his school days closed, and from that time forward his time has been devoted to the pursuit of agriculture.
In 1852 Johnson Eakins came to Green township, Grant county, Indiana, and pur- chased the tract of one hundred and sixty acres on which he still resides, and of which he has one hundred acres under a high state of cultivation and improved in all essential particulars, but for several years past has lived in retirement from active labor, as he is a sufferer from rheumatism.
In May, 1844, Johnson Eakins married matilda A. Nesbit, daughter of William and Dorothy (Spurgeon) Nesbit, to which union have been born nine children, namely : William, Wesley, Hamilton ( deceased), Cyrus, Elizabeth (deceased), Sarah Ann, (deceased ), Catharine (deceased), and Ju- lia Ann (Mrs. Millard Swan), of Grant county, Indiana. One died in infancy.
The ancestors of Mr. Eakins were all like himself, of military characteristics, and of patriotic tendencies. His maternal grand- father assisted in erecting the first fort built on the Ohio river during the early Indian wars, and his father, who was of Scotch- Irish parentage, served in the war of 1812.
Johnson Eakins himself enlisted in Com- pany H, One Hundred and First I. V. I .. at Normal. Grant county, and was mustered into the Union service at Indianapolis Au- gust 2, 1862, and served throughout the en- tire war. Among the famous battles in which he took part was that of Chicka- mauga, where he was wounded in the arm. and again while being transferred had a leg
John Eakins, a prosperous and respected farmer of Green township, Grant county. Indiana, was born in Adams county, Ohio, broken in a railroad collision. Mr. Eakins,
Cooking Johnson
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however, was a brave and faithful soldier and took part in all the marches, skirmishes, sieges and engagements in which his regi- ment had a share, receiving an honorable dis- charge at the close of hostilities, when he re- turned to his home in Grant county, Indiana, where he now resides as one of the most hon- ored of Green township's citizens. In poli- tics Mr. Eakins formerly was a Democrat, but of late years votes with the People's party. Mr. Eakins is a member of New Light church, but of late years owing to ill health has been very inactive in the cause.
GEORGE HAINES.
George Haines was born April 15, 1850, on the Haines homestead in Monroe town- ship, Grant county, Indiana, and is one of the influential farmers of that section. His ancestors were among the early settlers of the state, and, although he has barely reached the meridan of life, he has done his share toward the development of a country that was covered with thick forests and un- trodden by the foot of the white man a few years before his birth. If the reader will glance out over the broad prairies of Indi- ana to-day he will see large cities and flour- ishing towns, and in place of the wigwam of the Indian amidst the trees he will see the fertile field and handsome residence of prosperous farmers. The councils of the red man have been replaced by the fairs and conventions of the white man where congregate the intelligent farmers with their splendid array of farm produce and stock, while church and school-house dot the coun- try over, and proclaim to the world the im- 36
provement that is still going on within her borders. The iron horse has traversed the country from side to side over the network of rails that has been laid, carrying freight from point to point in an incredibly short time, but even that mode of travel is becom- ing too slow for the present age and the steam engine bids fair to be replaced by the electric motor. The tallow dip of pioneer days is only a memory, the electric and gas lights having turned darkness into daylight, while new machinery of all kinds have so lightened the load of the laborer that the methods of the workman have kept well abreast of the new modes of locomotion, and a surprising amount of work can be accomplished in a day by the industrious laborer.
James Haines, the father of George Haines, was born in the old Buckeye state in the year 1818, and was educated in the primitive schools of the early part of the century. He was a tiller of the soil, and in 1844 brought his family to this county, having previously made the trip on horse- back and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land here under the hand and seal of President Van Buren. The family made the journey by wagon, and a slow, tedious journey it was, as they had to cut their way through the dense trees and brush that covered the entire country, no roads being made in the uninhabited land. The house was made of rough logs, heated by the ine- vitable, wide fireplace whose capacious mouth required a stick of cord wood for the back-log and whose ruddy blaze threw a cheerful light over the room, lighting it from corner to corner. Here the good housewife cooked her meals, as stoves were then unknown, and while the latter article
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had done much to lighten the work of womankind, there certainly were never more savory meals prepared than those roasted dinners of Mrs. 'Haines whose skillful hands knew just the moment they were done to a turn. The chimney was built up of sticks and mud, the only mater- jal at hand. The forest was full of all kinds of game, deer and wild turkey form- ing a conspicuous part, while the wolves were also in evidence and would prowl around the little cabin.
Mr. Haines was a highly successful man, and at the time of his death, at the age of sixty-five years, ten months and eighteen days, he had accumulated one thousand acres of land in Grant and Blackford coun- ties. He was an old line Whig and a strong abolitionist, who became identified with the Republican party when it was formed and remained true to its principles throughout his life. He chose as his wife, Miss Nancy W. Smith, who was a native of Ohio, born in 1819, and died in her eighty-first year. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and aided in the construction of the first church built in this county. Mrs. Haines was a woman of great strength of character and a kind, affectionate mother. She gave birth to eight children, six sons and two daughters. and is survived by six, namely : Susannah, wife of James A. Boller, a prosperous far- mier of this township; Rebecca E., wife of William H. Kelly, a farmer of Blackford county ; George, our subject; Samuel W., an agriculturist of Van Buren township, Alfred, who cultivates the old homestead . and Constantine, a successful fruit-grower and horticulturist of Verdugo Park, Cali- fornia.
George Haines was born in the log cabin which was the first home of the family in Indiana, and remembers vividly both the home and its surroundings, when the near- est market was Huntington, Wabash and Lagro, where the grain was hauled by wagon soon after the canal was built. His first school was the old log cabin, heated by one of the first stoves invented, and the split sapling seats, upheld by wooden legs, with the broad board desk supported by pegs driven into the walls, completed the fur- nishings. This schooling was supplemented by a course in the Marion Normal and a still wider knowledge has since been gained from the three years spent by him as d teacher and by systematic reading.
George Haines was married April 11, 1885, to Miss Margaret Benbows, daugh- ter of Thomas and Hannah Elizabeth ( Jeu- kins) Benbow, who are represented on an- other page of this history. She was born December 21, 1861, in this vicinity and here received her education and grew into love- ly womanhood. She has been the able' assistant of her husband in his efforts to secure a competency, and has been a wise and careful mother to the family entrusted to her care. Three of the five children are yet living, viz .: Lena J., a student in the eighth grade who is a bright scholar and good musician : Willis W., and Wilmont.
Mr. Haines and his bride began their married life on one hundred and twenty acres of land which had come to them by inheritance and was covered with a thick timber and in many places by swamps, neces- sitating a great deal of hard labor before it was ready for the cultivation of crops. The first residence was built of the logs which covered the farm. They set to work
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in earnest and during the fifteen years of their married life have made rapid strides in the improvement of their property. A beautiful country residence, surrounded by commodious barns and other outbuildings, have been placed there during recent years, their comfort and convenience more than makng amends for the early hardships. The original one hundred and twenty acres has always been their home, but as their pros- perity increased they added additional land until they have now accumulated some three hundred and forty-five acres of fertile, high ly cultivated and desirable land. The low lands have been tiled and are now as val- uable for cultivation as any.
Mr. Haines is a Republican, casting his first vote for Ulyses S. Grant, the soldier president. He has been repeatedly chosen to represent his party in county, judicial and congressional conventions. Both he and his wife are consistent and zealous members of the Christian church in Center township, which they helped to build, as well as aiding in the erection of some half-dozen others within a radius of six or seven miles of their home. They are friends of education and do all in their power for the advance- ment of superior methods and the employ- ment of superior teachers. They have lived upright, Christian lives and well merit the deep respect in which they are held.
FREDERICK STRAUSBURG.
Frederick Strausburg, a retired farmer of Sims township, Grant county, Indiana, and now residing in Swayzee, was born Feb- ruary 22, 1822, and is a son of Frederick and Magdaline (Gentis) Strausburg. Of
the maternal side of the house of Frederick Strausburg a brief history will be given, before tracing his paternal pedigree.
Daniel Gentis, the founder of the family in America, was born in Wurtenburg, Ger- many, in 1747, and when a young man came with a sister to this country and first lo- cated in Virginia, but later removed to Clarke county, Ohio, where for several years he taught school, but in his later years engaged in farming, a vocation he followed until his death in 1840. To his marriage with Eva Foglesog there were born the fol- lowing named children: George; Isaac; Nancy, married to George Sours; Magda- line, married to Frederick Strausburg; Cath- erine, wife of John Wolf; Julia, married to John Harnour; Betsey, married to Peter Brough; Eva, married to J. Keeney ; Lulu Sally, married to Mathias Staley; Barbara, married to Henry Wolf; Daniel, Jr., who married a cousin, Nancy Gentis, who has borne him three children; an infant, de- ceased, Susannah (Mrs. George Harder- shire) ; and John.
Isaac Gentis, of the above family, mar- ried Sarah Watts, to which marriage were born eight children, viz .: Daniel, William, John, two that died in infancy, Catherine, Julia and Sarah Jane.
John Gentis, son of the Junior Daniel, above mentioned, was born in Clarke coun- ty, Ohio, April 24. 1808, married Catherine Zirkle, who has borne him thirteen children, four of whom died in infancy; those who reached adult years were Mary Ann, who was married to David Heller; Sarah, wife of J. Crephs; Eliza, wife of George Heller ; Noah; Lutricia, now Mrs. John Slaughen- haus ; George; Jacob; Amanda (Mrs. James Heller) ; and Frederick.
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Frederick Strausburg, Sr., was born in Germany, in 1770, and with his brother John came to America in 1784 and located in the state of Maryland. He first married Catharine Fundergurg, who bore him five children-John, William, Solomon, Eli, and Daniel -- and died about 1810, and for his second helpmate Frederick Strausburg mar- ried in 1815 Magdaline Gentis, a daughter of Daniel Gentis, of whom mention has been already made. To this union were born six . children, viz: Jacob, born in 1816; David and Samuel (twins) in 1818; Frederick, February 22, 1822; Nancy, in 1824, and married to Jonas Michael; and Betsey, born in 1828, and married to Barney Zirkle.
Frederick Strausburg, Jr., was first mar- ned February 14, 1844, to Barbara Rust, a daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Baker) Rust, and to this union were born four children, namely: John, Abraham. Mary (Mrs. Eliza Galbreath), and Jane (Mrs. E. Moorhead). Mrs. Barbara Straus- burg, who died December 1, 1882, and for his second wife Mr. Strausburg married Mrs. Amanda Zirkle, a widow and a daugh- ter of John and Nancy ( Dickerson) Zirkle.
John Strausburg, eldest child of Fred- erick Strausburg, Jr .. and Rebecca (Rust) Strausburg, married Lucinda Whitneck, to which union four children have been born : Jane, Bertha, Lucy and Lizzie. Abraham, the second of Frederick's family, married Alice Grasshorn, who bore him six children, viz: Frank. Myrtle, William, May, Fred- erick, and Emma. Mary, the third of Fred- erick's children, is married to Elijah Gal- breath, and is the mother of two children- Elmore and Frederick. Jane, the youngest of Frederick, Jr.'s, family, is the wife of E Moorehead, and has two children-
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Ersie and Callie. Jane, eldest daughter of John, and granddaughter of Frederick, Jr., is the wife of Arthur McGee; Bertha, John's second child, is the wife of Elmer Snyder, and has one child; Lucy is married to a Mr. Haines; Frank, eldest son of Abraham Strausburg, married Belle Fouts, who has borne him one child, and Myrtle, the eldest daughter of Abraham, is married to Otto Pennington.
JOHN W. KEEVER.
John W. Keever is one of the best-known farmers of Monroe township, Grant county, Indiana, this having been his birthplace and residence for the past fifty years. He first opened his eyes upon this mundane sphere of February 22, 1850, his being the fifth arrival in a family of nine children that were welcomed to the home of Daniel C. and Nancy J. R. (Asher) Keever.
Daniel C. Keever was'a native of Preble county, Ohio, became a farmer, moved to this state in early manhood and was one of the pioneers who did much toward trans- forming the wilds of the new country into a civilized and prosperous state. He was born July 3. 1816, and when he had attained his twenty-fourth year located in section 35, Monroe township, Grant county, bringing with him his young wife, who was formerly Miss Nancy Asher, born January 17, 1817, in the state of Virginia. They had few conveniences and no luxuries, and even the necessaries of life were not always easy to obtain, but these were minor considerations with the sturdy men and women who had located in the Indiana forest to carve out a fortune from its depths. They were indus-
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trious and frugal and succeeded in accumu- lating two hundred and eighty acres of land, quite a fortune for those days.
Mr. Keever was at one time a Jackson Democrat, but later affiliated with the Re- publicans. He was a kindly, charitable man, and a member of the Friends' Society. His wife was a Methodist and a woman of ex- cellent traits who instilled into the hearts of her children principles of truth and hon- esty that have had much to do in forming their characters. 'She was called to the bet- ter life on September 12, 1876, and on March 18, 1895, her husband also entered the heav- enly kingdom. One daughter, deceased, and eight sons were born to them, viz .: Addi- son, Martin, George, John W., William, Franklin, Elmer E. and Walter, the last named an engineer, and the others are all engaged in agriculture. The two eldest boys were soldiers in the Civil war, serving all through those troublous times, the elder of the two, Addison, sacrificing his sight and suffering agony untold for his country's honor.
John W. Keever has always been known as a hard-working man whose character is above suspicion or reproach, and is regarded as one of the solid, substantial husbandmen of Monroe township. Little time was de- voted to schooling, such as he received being obtained from the common schools, but he must not be regarded as a man of small cal- iber, as quite the contrary is true. Some of the smartest men of our nation had few ad- vantages in this direction, as, for instance, Henry Clay, one of the most able and bril- liant statesmen and orators America has pro- duced, and, in later years, Lincoln. Mr. Keever is a shrewd, intelligent man of af- fairs, thoroughly posted on all of the im-
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portant topics of the day and a pleasant con- versationalist who has traveled considerable in this country and has picked up a valuable fund of knowledge, which he gives expres- sion in clear and concise language. He re- mained at home until he was of age, giving his father such assistance as was in his power. He had an acquired as well as an inherited love for farming, the Keevers for generations having been engaged in that oc- cupation, and when he started to do for him- self it was to hire out as a farm hand by the month.
At about the age of twenty-two Mr. Keever went west, visiting Iowa and Kansas. He was also in Nebraska two years, and then took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Kansas, which he partially improved. Having an opportunity to sell, and desiring to return to his native soil, he disposed of the property and came back to Grant county, where he purchased eighty acres of timber land. As this was virgin soil and no improvements had been attempted on it, he rented until such time as he could clear it off and erect a frame house for his family. Here industry and economy have brought him the prosperity he so well de- serves, and he has added to the original pur- chase a second eighty-acre tract, which ad- joins the first, and now has a home suited to his wishes.
John W. Keever was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Kifer on November 14, 1878, and three years later located on his present property. She is an Iowa lady, hav- ing been born in Marion county December 2, 1869. She is an industrious, capable housekeeper and has kept the home cosy and attractive for husband and children, with always a cheerful welcome to those who seek
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her hospitable roof, and it is to her encour- agement and help in a great measure that the secret of their success is to be attributed. Three daughters have been born to them, one of whom is deceased. Rosanna Belle and Blanche M. are left to brighten the home. Mr. and Mrs. Keever are members of the Friends' Society and are consistent in their religion, aiding the needy and lend- ing a helping hand to those in distress. They go to make up the better class of society and occupy a high place in their neighborhood. Mr. Keever is a Republican.
JOHN T. ANDERSON, M. D.
John T. Anderson, M. D., physician and surgeon of Swayzee. Grant county, Indiana. is a native of county Carlow, Ireland, was born September 13, 1842, and is a son of James and Mary (Timmons) Anderson. His boyhood education was acquired through an itinerant pedagogue, who went from house to house imparting such instruction as he possessed to the youth of the neigh- borhood, but his studies under this teacher closed at the age of nine years, when he came to America with his parents, who first located at New Haven, Huron county, Ohio, but shortly afterward removed to Pennville, Wayne county, Indiana, where young John T. attended school until 1861, when the fam- ily removed to Rush county, in the same state.
In 1862. in Rush county, John T. Ander- son enlisted in Battery Twenty-second, In- diana AArtillery, and after being detailed to duty in Kentucky had a dispute with an of- ficer, left his corps and went to Illinois and
worked on a farm about two years ; he next went to the city of Springfield, Illinois, where he clerked in a store until 1869. then re- turned to the home farm and worked two years for his father. His next occupation was in saw-milling and threshing, and in the latter branch operated three machines until 1873. March 17th, of that year, he went to Knightstown, where he read medicine under Kennedy & Crouse until 1874, when he at- tended a course of lectures at Indianapolis. His financial condition at this time being none of the best, he began the practice of medicine, which he has since successfully followed in Indiana at Eden, Hancock coun- ty, Mechanicsburg. Henry county, Sulphur Springs, Henry county, Honey Creek, in the same, and in 1890 came to Swayzee, and is now the most popular and oldest physician of the town.
Dr. Anderson married, in 1878, Miss Emma Reasoner, daughter of Dr. William K and Catherine ( Reasoner ) Reasoner, and this union has been graced with one son, Charles W., born in February, 1879.
In his societary relations the Doctor is a Freemason and an Odd Fellow, being in the latter order a member of the Daugh- ters of Rebekah branch. He is also a mem- ber of Lodge No. 41. Woodmen of the World, at Swayzee. In politics he is a Democrat, and for nine years has been a member of the board of health, in which position his great experience has been of vast importance to the residents of the town.
The Doctor has been very liberal in the treatment of the indigent, and he never fails, be the weather what it will, pleasant or in- clement, to answer a sick call from any di- rection, regardless of the question of finan- cial emolument. He is wrapped up in the
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practice of his profession and the study of its mysteries and the best means of utilizing them for the benefit of suffering humanity ; but on the other hand he is the favorite practitioner of the better class of the resi- cents of his town and township and has se- cured an extended list of remunerative patrons.
SMILEY M. FARR.
Few men have exerted a wider or strong- er influence in Grant county, Indiana, or have proved a more potent factor in its progress than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. Born in North Carolina April 28, 1827, he came to this state in childhood and for sixty years has been identi- fied with the farming interests of this coun- ty. He is the youngest of a family of nine children born to Samuel and Mahala (Wal- lace) Farr, but two of whom are living, William M., a resident of Van Buren town- ship, and Smiley M., the subject. Grand- father Farr was a soldier of the Revolution. Samuel Farr was born in Virginia and died when Smiley M. was a child of five years, so that his memory of that parent is neces- sarily faint. The mother was a native of Georgia and lived to the good old age of seventy-eight years, bringing her children up to lives of honor and usefulness. Left a widow, she moved with her young brood to Richmond, Indiana, when Smiley was a lad of eight years, the journey being made in a carriage, while the household goods were conveyed in a four-horse wagon. She lived there several years and then moved in the same manner to Grant county, where the eldest son, Thompson H., entered one thou-
sand acres of land from the government. The deed bears the date of 1836. Their first residence was in section 1, Monroe township, and the roads in that vicinity were cut out by this family in order that they might get through the heavy timber and swamps. Bear, wolves and deer were plenti- ful, especially the latter, numbers of which Mr. Farr has killed, and the antlers which adorn his walls are souvenirs of those early days. The mother died in 1860.
Mr. Farr came to this county soon after it was organized and has been an honored citizen since 1841, doing his part in the de- velopment of its resources. He began with no capital, but industry and perseverance has blazed his way to prosperity and suc- cess. The old log school-house which he attended afforded but meager opportunity for an education, with its seats of split sap- ling, puncheon floor and writing desk made of a wide board supported by wooden pins driven into the walls. He has now in his possession his first spelling book-Webster's -which was bought for him by his father. His first property was one hundred and twenty acres of virgin soil, which he de- veloped and cultivated, gradually adding to it from his hard-earned savings until he be- came the proprietor of four hundred and eighty acres of land, situated in Grant, Wells and Blackford counties, all improved by their present owner in a manner creditable to him. Among the improvements he has witnessed perhaps none have been more prominent than is shown in the thriving little city of Marion, with its twenty-two thou- sand population, then a struggling village from whose streets the stumps had not yet been grubbed, proud of the three small stores which were kept by James Sweetzer, James
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