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 89
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
Mr. Slater is a member of Lodge No. 383. Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Matt- hews, and both he and his wife are members of Lodge No. 447, Daughters of Rebekah. Mrs. Slater being the present treasurer. having filled all the chairs from presiding officer down. Mr. Slater has also occupied all the chairs of his lodge and is one of the trustees of the body. He is also a member of the Council of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics of Upland. He and wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Matthews and have done their share in the building of church edifices in this locality, having contributed towards the Methodist Episcopal church of Salem, and the United Brethren church at Matthews.
H. McDONAAUGH.
H. McDonaugh is the genial representa- tive of the Pensylvania Railroad at Upland, Indiana, and is a self-made man in the true acceptance of the term. Left along in the world when a child of tender age he has worked his way by industry and honesty to his present position where he enjoys the con- fidence and esteem of the company for which he works. He was born in New Philadel- phia, Ohio, February 23. 1853, and was the younger of two children born to Enoch and Sarah McDonaugh. The elder child, Anna, is the wife of Jacob Delaughter, a farmer of Onward. Indiana. Both parents were na- tives of Ohio, where they engaged in tilling the soil. The mother was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church and the father was an okl-line Whig in early life but later affiliated with the Republicans. They
died when our subject was a little child of seven.
The educational advantages enjoyed by Mr. McDonaugh were of limited order and he was brought up to do such work as is common to the farmer boy. He folowed this life until he was twenty-six, having been given a home by relatives, but agriculture was not an employment calculated to suit his requirements as it afforded no scope for his abilities, and he began looking about for something more to his liking. The railroad which run past the farm upon which he was employed carried his thoughts to the outside world and'made him long for an active life among its busy people, and when a young friend learned telegraphy it opened the way for our subject, and he at once set about mastering the mysteries of the telegraph system. He applied himself diligently to his task and soon became master of the secret, and on November 1, 1879, he was given a position as night operator on the old Penn - sylvania line at Pikesville, Ohio. He was faithful in the performance of his duties and remained at night work six years. He was advanced to the position of night operator at Marion, Indiana. in 1880, and remained there until April 14. 1885, when he was placed in charge of the business of the same road at Upland. This is one of their impor- tant offices, doing a great deal of shipping, and his long service in the business has made him as conversant with the work as is the al- phabet to the school boy. During the twen- ty-one years he has made a record of which he may justly be proud. He has never failed in taking a train order perfectly, has never had an accident to his account. and has never cost the company a cent for carelessness or non-performance of duty. This is a record
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few men can boast and his faithful perfor- mance of duty is fully aprpeciated by the company by whom he is employed. He is of genial, kindly disposition and looks closely after the comfort of the patrons of the road and has hosts of friends who rejoice in his prosperity.
May 6, 1880, Mr. McDonaugh was joined in the holy bonds of matrimony .to Miss Clara L. Dora Latourette, who was born in Cass county, this state, September 28, 1855. She is a daughter of Henry and Maria (Quick) Latourette, and traces her ancestry to France. She was educated in the common school and is a woman whose lovely charac- ter has endeared her to a wide circle of friends. She has presented her husband with two bright children who promise to be a comfort to their parents in years to come. Courtney is a student in the high school of Upland and will graduate in the class of '02. Eva, the daughter, is in the eighth grade. Mr. and Mrs. McDonaugh are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which faith he was reared. He is a member of the Shider Lodge, No. 352, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are members of Rebeccah Lodge, No. 34?, and she has passed through all the chairs. He is a Republican and a strong supporter of Mc- Kinley. ' He owns a neat and comfortable residence on one of the pleasant streets of Upland, where a cordial welcome is ex- tended their many friends.
MARCOLENIUS NEEDLER.
Marcolenius Needler resides near Matt- hews, Grant county, Indiana, and is a type of the progressive, prosperous farmer for
which that locality is noted. He was born in Jefferson township November 17, 1835, and is a son of James and Rebecca ( Ward ) Needler, old and well remembered pioneers who live in the affections of the older resi- dents as a couple who did much to promote the advancement of civilization.
James Needler was born in Bucks county, Virginia, about the year 1802, and received but a limited education. He moved with his parents to Guernsey county, Ohio, and ater, in 1834, to this county, where he entered four hundred acres of virgin land, laying the foundation of his future success. His wife, Rebecca Ward, was a native of Guern- sey county and born about 1812. Her father, John Ward, was a captain in the war of 1812. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and exemplified its teach- ings by her every-day life. Her cheery, sunny nature did a great deal towards brightening the little log cabin they called their home, and the memory of the kind- hearted mother will always be treasured in the hearts of her children. The primeval habitation of the Needles family was con- structed of round logs with punceon floors while the doors and the table was riven from the same material. A hole was cut in the wall, with a piece of muslin pasted over it to let in the light and keep out the cold, answered for a window, while the room was heated by a huge fireplace which occupied about one-third the entire end of the build- ing. The chimney was constructed from mud and sticks and in the fireplace hung the hook and crane upon which the housewife cooked. Here was born most of the twelve children who were added to the family. Of the six sons and six daughters who composed their family, seven are now alive, viz. : George, a
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farmer of this township; Jolin, a resident of Hartford City; Marcolenius, our subject ; Joseph, a farmer of Jefferson township; Elizabeth, wife of Riley Simons, also a farmer of the township; Rebecca, wife of Isaiah Dawson; and William, the youngest of the family, who resides in Kansas. Economy and industry enabled them to add to their property until he was possessed of seven hundred and twenty acres of land, all in Jefferson township. He was a Democrat of the Jackson type. He died in 1886, some fifteen years after his wife.
The gentleman whose name heads this sketch grew to man's estate amid the scenes we have described, and received his education in the old log school-house. He was wedded to agricultural pursuits as was his parents before him, and did a great deal towards the development of the county. He remained with his parents until he was twenty-one and then began for himself. September 10, 1865, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Secrist, who has been a valuable helpmate and adviser. They began their wedded life on the one hundred and twenty acres which is still their home and is one of the model farms of Grant county. They set up house-keeping in the little log cabin and the stable was also of logs, while the forest trees stood so thickly around their dwelling that Mrs. Needler used to fear that they would fall on the little house and crush it. This early life was not without its privations and suffering, but like the fire which refines the gold, it brought out all the resources that would otherwise have lain dormant and furnished us with a hardy, wholesome people who are capable of sharing the graver re- sponsibilities of life and are a credit to their surroundings. It has been more than thirty-
five years since Mr. and Mrs. Needler began life's journey together, and they have never been found wanting when public interest called. Thrifty and energetic in their per- sonal affairs they brought the same quality to bear on whatever they undertook and the zeal they exhibited exerted a commendable influence over the entire community. As their marriage has been without issue, they have opened their home and their hearts to two children and gave them the affection which had been denied a natural outlet. The elder was formerly Miss Carrie Smiley, now Mrs. Oliver Reasener, of Upland. She was edu- cated in the public schools and enjoyed every advantage which they could have given a daughter. The second child is Charles H. Nickerson, who is now in his eleventh year and is given the love of a son. He is a bright, studious boy who gives promise of making a place for himself in the business world, for which the example in his home life will prepare him. Mr. Needler is a Democrat but is not a man to whom the emoluments of office have any attraction. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Cumberland, Indiana, and are universally respected and esteemed. Their genial natures assure them welcome in any gathering while their benev- olent dispositions have caused them to be regarded as public benefactors.
Mrs. M. Needler was born in Jefferson township, Grant county, Indiana, May 31, 1844, and is one of seven children born to Abraham and Mary ( Fishel) Secrist. Three are living, namely : William Kile, a resident of this township; Mary E., wife of Mr. Needler; and Sarah, who married Joseph Reasener, a carpenter and joiner and a pros- perous resident of Pasadena, California.
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BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
Abraham Secrist was born in Virginia, in 1811, and as did many young men of his day, came to this state and entered govern- ment land. He was of Scotch extraction and from that race, no doubt, comes his sterling character and stanch integrity. He died in this township in 1875. His wife, Mary Fishel, was born about the year 1817 and died at the age of sixty-nine years. She was of German stock, her father being a man of superior attainment and a graduate from the schools of the mother country. Both parents united with the Methodist Episcopal church in the later life. Mrs. Needler at- tended the same school as did her husband, made of logs on the same plan as the houses. She recalls the desk upon which the boys and girls laboriously traced their writing lesson with the old goose-quill pen which was made and repaired by the master. The desk itselt was a wide board which rested upon wooden pins implanted in the walls of the house. She secured a good education for those days and became a successful teacher in Madison county, this state, but soon gave up the pro- fession of teaching to become the wife of our subject.
PROF. JAY DEE BRUNNER.
Prof. Jay Dee Brunner, president of the business college of Marion, Grant county, Indiana, was born in Stratford, Canada, October 5, 1861, and is the fourth of fifteett children that blessed the marriage of Jacob and Dora (Voelker) Brunner, who were born in Germany.
Jacob Brunner was a child when taken to Canada by his parents and was reared on a
farm. In 1872 he went to Iowa and set- tled in Floyd county, near Charles City where he now owns several large farms, all gained through his personal exertions and good management. In politics he always was a Republican and still votes the Republic can ticket at the age of seventy-three years. Mrs. Dora (Voelker) Brunner was but eight years old when taken to Canada by her par- ents, and is still living at the age of sixty- five years, and her fifteen children likewise all survive, the youngest being seventeen years old.
Jay Dee Brunner, was ten years of age when the family settled in Iowa, and he was there reared on the home farm, was educated in the common schools and at the high school in Marble Rock, also at the Davenport Bus- iness College, Davenport, Iowa, where he graduated in August, 1884. He took a post- graduate course in penmanship at Cedar Rapids Business College, from which he graduated in 1886. He then went to Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, for a literary course, finishing in 1889 and then taught short-hand and commercial branches in the business college at Lincoln, Nebraska, for five years, and in 1893 came to Marion, In- diana, and established his present business college, which is now in a most flourishing condition and in facilities the equal of any in the state of Indiana. He employs four teachers and assists in the commercial law and business departments, while his wife supervises short-hand, typewriting, etc., and the institution has an attendance of about one hundred and forty pupils from Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and In- diana.
Prof. Jay Dee Brunner married at Lin- coln, Nebraska, in 1891, Miss Florence
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Baker, and this union has been graced with one child, Genevra, now seven years old.
In politics Mr. Brunner is a Republican, and when he had the time to spare was very active in his support of the party, and when young was a delegate to several Republican county conventions. Mr. Brunner is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Foresters, and in this order, also, he has used his best exertions to promote harmony and unity of action and to otherwise advance and in- crease the usefulness of the brotherhood.
At the early age of thirteen years, Prof. Brunner united with the Baptist church, has since been steadfast to this profession of the faith, and conscientious in following its pre- cepts and teachings. He has held all the church offices, and has served as superinten- dent of the Sunday-school for many years and been assiduous to a marked degree in inculcating in the minds of the young people under his charge the sublime lessons depicted in the life of the meek and lowly Master, as well as the great system of morality and wisdom displayed in every passage of the Gospel and in the Books of the Prophets. Mrs. Brunner is also a devoted member of the Baptist church, has been a superior Sun- day-school teacher and a sweet singer of the Gospel, and has done her full share of church work. Socially the family stands very high, having so lived that respect and esteem have come to them unsought.
DAVID C. LUCAS.
David C. Lucas, an old and highly re- spected citizen of Jonesboro, is by birth a native of the Buckeye state, was born near Hillsboro March 29. 1827. a son of Elijalı and Matilda Lucas, and is one of seven children.
Elijah Lucas was a prominent and well- to-do farmer of Ohio, but with the prospects of bettering his condition he equipped a wagon with all necessary articles for travel- ing and with a four-horse team to propel them started westward. Many were the experiences they had, and some of them not pleasant ones either, though in after years they enjoyed telling their children and grandchildren how by night they would sit by the camp fires, the mother preparing their meals over the fire. They reached Grant county in October, 1835, and being well pleased with the prospects offered them en- tered a one-hundred-and-sixty-acre farm in Union (now Fairmount ) township, where A. Newton Lucas now lives. Upon this farm they built a log house consisting of but one room, 18x20, but it was home, and many happy days were spent in this one room, which served them as parlor, bedroom, dining-room and kitchen combined. The material used in the construction of this house was cut from the timber which was abundant on this farm, it looking more like a forest than a farm, but with continued labor Mr. Lucas carved from this forest a pleasant home and which is now a farm under a high state of cultivation.
Mr. Lucas was also a brickmason, which trade he followed along with general farm- ing, making the bricks to build the Friends church on Bock creek, not only making the bricks but also built the church. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and lived to the advanced age of seventy- four years, his wife passing away in her fifty-fifth year. He was popular among his many friends and for a number of years served as justice of the peace.
David C. Lucas was but eight' years of
SARAH LUCAS.
DAVID C. LUCAS.
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age when he came with his parents from Ohio to Grant county, Indiana, where he remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-three years of age; during these years he attended school during the winter and assisted his father on the farm, where there was indeed plenty to be done, and the father found in him a willing helper and valuable assistant, but wanting to attain something for himself he went still further west and rented land in Kendall county, near Oswego, Illinois; while living here he wooed and won Miss Sarah Burr, who was born in Canada September 27, 1832, and who, when but six months old, was brought to America, locating in New York, remain- ing there until she had reached the twelfth year of her age, and was brought to Os- wego, where she lived until married.
Mr. and Mrs. Lucas have had born to them eight children, named in the order of birth as follows: Scott, who died in 1895; Ella, now the wife of Elias Hamilton, re- siding near Muncie, Indiana; Kate, who died when just budding into young woman- hood, at the age of fourteen ; Nora was also called away when but a child of nine years of age ; Freeland A., who lives in Jonesboro; Frank, still under the parental roof ; Carrie, who lived to be but five years old; and the last born, Burr D., who is also at home with his parents. Mr. Lucas, with his fam- ily, lived in Illinois from 1850 to 1857, when they removed to Mill township, and bought the old homestead where Mr. Lucas was reared to manhood; with this return to the old familiar haunts of his childhood it afforded many an interesting evening for the children around his knee being enter- tained with what their father did when he was "a little boy." After remaining on the 43
old farm three years he thought to give the children better advantages for school; pur- chased twenty-four acres of land joining Jonesboro and remained there until 1867, when he moved to Jonesboro, where we now find him. For the past twenty years he has been successfully conducting a meat market.
When the opportunity of serving his country afforded itself Mr. Lucas enlisted in 1864 in Company B, Thirty-third Indi- ana Volunteer Infantry. He with his com- pany went from Louisville, Kentucky, and became engaged in their first battle at Nash- ville, Tennessee. They then followed Gen- eral Hood to Decatur, Alabama, then back to Chattanooga and was again engaged in a battle at Nashville, after which they went by boat to Parkersburg and on to Washing- ton, from which point they marched to Alexandria, where they again took boats to the mouth of Cape Fear river and on up to Wilmington, North Carolina, from which point they again took up their march, going first to Richmond, Virginia, then on to Alexandria, thence to Washington, D. C., where they participated in the grand review. He had varied experiences during his en- listment and saw much of the hardships which was endured by "the boys in blue," and seldom allows an opportunity to pass where he may recite some of his army stories. He is an honored member of Magnolia Post, G. A. R., also has been a member of the I. O. O. F. since 1861. Mrs. Lucas is a devoted and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which she is an active worker.
Politically, Mr. Lucas is a stanch Re- publican and a faithful supporter to the cause for which he suffered many privations. He has served on the town council in Jones-
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boro, in which body he rendered valuable assistance.
Mr. Lucas is numbered among the old and highly respected citizens of Jonesboro and has justly earned the high esteem in which he is held by all who know him.
Dennis F. Lucas is a son of John and Susannah (Comer) Lucas, who were re- spectively born September 18, 1797, and July 12, 1806. Dennis F. gives some valu- able additional genealogical information touching the Lucas family, which is here incorporated in this sketch.
Dennis F. Lucas was born February 15. 1830, and his wife, Elizabeth, was born July 15, 1831. Their children were born as fol- lows : Augustus N., August 23, 1851 ; Ben- jamin F., July 4, 1852, died July 2, 1886; Mary F., January 26, 1854, died July 2, 1858; John W., born June 19, 1855; Charles F., January 29, 1857; Sarah E., May 31, 1858; Birch E., December 4, 1859; Cassius H .. December 26, 1860, died February 9, 1861; Emma J., born December 2, 1861, (lied December 20, 1861 ; Elmer E., born September 3, 1863, died April 27. 1888; Frank H., born September 20, 1864; James O., born January 17, 1867, died August 10, 1888; Carrie A., born August 19, 1868; Mollie B., born July 11, 1872, died April 3. 1895 ; and Maggie J., born January 14, 1874.
JOSHUAA STRANGE.
Joshua Strange is a conspicuous citizen of Grant county, Indiana, as he has been prominently before the public in commercial. social, agricultural and political affairs. He has had a rich and varied experience in busi-
ness, such as is attainel by few men, and his success and extreme popularity is no doubt owing to his practical common sense and good judgment. Thoroughly democratic and unostentatious in his manner, readily ap- proachable and courteous to all. Mr. Strange is popular alike in the general community and ir. commercial circles. He is endowed with vigorous intellectual powers and fully ap- preciates the labors and responsibilities im- posed upon him, meeting them with a zeal and earnestness which gives promise of a career of usefulness and honor creditable alike to himself and his county.
Joshua Strange was born November 18, 1844. and is a native of Grant county. His parents, George and Lydia (Duckwall) Strange, were among the old pioneer set- tlers in this community and are classed as her most worthy citizens. The family were orig- inally from England, but the grandfather, AAbsolom Strange, was born in Kentucky, in 1797. He moved to Ohio in the early part of the century and died there in 1873. His wife was Margaret Tedrick, a native of Ran -. dolph county. Virginia, where she was born iti 1801. She departed this life in 1845. Four of the eight children born to them are living at this time.
George Strange, the father, was born in Ohio November 12, 1819, and was the eklest of the family. A more extended review will be found on another page. He was educated in the primitive schools and from an indus- trious youth grew into a man of prompt action and shrewl business ability. He mar- ried Miss Lydia Duckwall February 13. 1840, and five of their children are residing near them. Margaret, widow of George Roush, lives with her parents; Joshua, the subject of this article; Catherine, wife of
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Isaiah Wall; John, a prominent lawyer of Marion ; and James B., a prosperous farmer of this township, completes the list. The mother was born September 18, 1819, in Highland county, Ohio, and is a daughter of George Frederick and Catherine (Ellis) Duckwall. Habits of industry and frugality were instilled in the minds of their children by example and precept and they grew up a credit to the parents who are highly esteemed prosperous agriculturists of this township. His education was obtained in the common scools, but it was of a primitive character. ard so eager was Joshua Strange for knowl- edge that he seized every book he could get hold of and studied by the light from the blazing log-fire as well as lamp light that precious time might not be lost. Later a more comprehensive course of study or read- ing was taken up and the naturally strong mind was made the store-house of a varied and useful knowledge which has placed him among the most thoroughly posted and well- read men of the day. Thirty-six days at- tendance at the Marion Academy constituted all the advantages he received in higher schooling, but he was so far along with his studies that he was granted an eighteen months' certificate and this was followed by one for twenty-four months. He was emi- nently fitted for the duties of teaching and was one of the most efficient in his township, where he was employed during many of his earlier years. His life has been an unusually active one, his energies directed by a shrewd judgment that has made him peculiarly suc- cessful in all his undertakings. A man ot ripe experience, exceptional capacity, and a thorough knowledge of business, his private interests have grown under his hand until to- day he is a rich man. He has no one but
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