USA > Indiana > Wells County > Biographical memoirs of Wells County, Indiana : embracing a comprehensive compendium of local biography, memoirs of representative men and women of the county whose works of merit have made their names imperishable, and special articles by Hugh Dougherty [et al.] > Part 68
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been born two children, viz: William R ... love is married to Lizzie Huffman and rents the home farm, and Martha, who died at the age of five years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Baptist church. In politics Mr. Smith is a Democrat and has been prominently identified with the party ever since he has been entitled to exercise his franchise. He is very popular with the party as well as with the public at large. In the spring of 1900 Mr. Smith was nominated by the Democrats as their candidate for township trustee, and in the November following was elected by a handsome ma- jority to fill that responsible office. He has filled the office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the people. A cardinal principle of his is the mainte- nance of good roads and good schools and the imposition of light levies, and in the car- rying out of this principle he is an un- ceasing worker.
Mr. Smith's farm comprises seventy- four acres, on which he conducts not only general farming, but makes a specialty of breeding Chester White hogs, of which he makes an annual exhibit and sale, which is patronized by many stockmen of north- ern Indiana. He has proved himself to be one of the most successful agriculturists and stock breeders in the county of Wells,. and no family in the township and county is more respected than his.
S. E. SHEPHERD. 1
S. E. Shepherd was born in Harrison township, Wells county, Indiana, January 29, 1848. His parents, Harrison and Eliza-
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beth Shepherd, were natives of Ohio. His grandfather was a soldier of the war of 1812, and located in Ohio soon after peace between the United States and Great Britain was de- clared, but he did not long survive, and the bereaved mother, considering that the newer field of eastern Indiana might give to her and her children a better opportunity of mak- ing their way in the world, moved to Wells county and entered land, north of the county infirmary in Harrison township, where she afterwards made her home until death. Mrs. Shepherd was a woman of dauntless courage and it required women of that kind to brave the perils and hardships of pioneer life. How- ever, her son Harrison, the oldest of the family, was a youth who could be relied upon. He was a tireless worker, sincere and conscientious in all that he did. He cleared and developed the land into a good farm and honie, became interested in the work of edu- cation and religion and devoted much time from his own private affairs for the public good. On this farm he lived and labored and here his brave, good mother, after years of toil and privation for her children, died in the sanctity of her Christian faith. Here he married Miss Elizabeth Richels; here his children were born, reared, educated and given their first lessons in good citizenship, and here, eventually, after a well spent life, he was gathered to his fathers at the age of sixty-six years. At the time of his death he was financially well-to-do and was the owner of two hundred acres of choice land. To Harrison and Elizabeth Shepherd were born nine children, four of whom are dead. They are: Reason, deceased; Daniel, de- ceased; S. C., the subject of this sketch; Sylvester, deceased; Arminda, wife of Wal- lace Ripple ; Ellen G., wife of Lewis H. Col-
bert; Rosetta, wife of Hiram A. Folk, a farmer living upon the old homestead ; Han- nah, deceased; Bertha, wife of E. N. Corey, a merchant at Pennville, Indiana.
Upon the farm, hewn out of the wilder- ness by the industry of his father, S. E. Shepherd was born and reared and during the fifty-five years of his life he has never had a residence outside of Harrison town- ship. In his youth and early manhood he worked by the side of his father, and under the care and direction of that good man re- ceived the advantages of a good common school education and later the benefits of a knowledge of the higher branches of learn- ing in the schools of Bluffton under the tutorship of Colonel McClerry. When old enough, he became a teacher in the public schools of the county and followed that call- ing for a number of years. His license was always of the highest grade, few in the county equalling and none excelling it. When in his twenty-fourth year, October 26, 1871, he was united in marriage to Minerva C. King, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Bolander ) King, who were natives of Ohio, but had emigrated to Indiana and located near the present site of Craigville, Lancas- ter township. Mrs. Shepherd is a lady of good education, amiable disposition and many accomplishments. For a year after their marriage they resided upon and culti- vated part of the old Shepherd homestead, but then purchased one hundred acres in Harrison township, where he now resides. It then consisted principally of woods, but did not remain long in that condition under its new owner. He immediately erected a substantial and commodious barn, forty by seventy feet, and a well arranged residence. This farm is now well drained, fenced and
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splendidly improved, and is recognized as one of the most productive farms, for corn, in the county. In favorable seasons Mr. Shep- herd has raised as high as eighty-five bush- els to the acre. His favorite products are corn, hogs and clover and out of these he has made the greater part of the competence which he now enjoys. To Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd have been born three children, as follows : Leora E. was born February 23, 1873, received a good education and is now the wife of Walter L. Fetters, of Bluffton; Alma E. was the wife of Dr. H. W. Mark- ley, but died August 13, 1901 ; Rosanna E. lives at home.
Politically Mr. Shepherd has always af- filiated with the Democratic party, in the success of which he has always taken an ac- tive part. For seventeen years he has served his township as justice of the peace and notary public. For some years he has been employed as a generalagent for patent rights, and in this capacity has travelled over many states, among them Indiana. Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee, Geor- gia, Alabama and Kentucky. During these travels he has acquired a fund of information about each locality and its people. With the qualities mentioned it is needless to say that he has been most successful in every line of business he has undertaken.
ROBERT F. GAVIN.
A single statement will sometimes give a far better insight into the character, dis- position and mental trend of a person than would the contents of a volume. In these days of party strife, when the political
organization is supreme, to say of a man or to have a man say of himself that he "never voted a straight ticket in his life" is to say that he is a man of independence, a man with the courage of his convictions, a man of marked and pronounced individu- ality. Robert F. Gavin, of Liberty town- ship, makes that assertion regarding him- self, and in doing so inadvertently pays himself a very high compliment. It is such votes as his that "turn the rascals out" of office and keep them out. Whatever the partisan politician may say, there is no question but that the independent voter is the true patriot.
Robert F. Gavin was born in the city of Galway, Ireland, December 11, 1838. His parents were George and Mary (Ben- ton) Gavin, he of Kings county and she of Queens county, in the province of Leins- ter, Ireland. His parents were James and Mary Gavin, while her father was Henry Benton, who for many years was connect- ed with the customs department of the gov- ernment in Ireland. February 23, 1838, George and Mary were united in marriage in the cathedral in the city of Galway, and for ten years thereafter he was connected with the royal Irish constabulary. The family emigrated to America in 1848, land- ing in the city of New York. They did not tarry long in New York, but came to Ross county, Ohio. There he engaged in farming until 1854, when they moved to Wells county, established themselves upon a rented farm in Harrison township. There they remained until 1857, when they moved to Liberty township, having bought eighty acres of land in the woods. When he arrived in America he possessed some five hundred or six hundred dollars,
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but by industry and economy he succeed- ed in accumulating a handsome property, so that at his death he was recognized as one of the most substantial farmers of the county, being the owner of two hundred and ten acres. He died December II, 1882, being survived by his wife about three years.
To George and Mary Gavin eight chil- dren were born, viz: Robert F .; Mary A., deceased; Sarah, wife of Harrison Snow, resides in Marshall county, Kansas; Hen- retta died on the voyage across the At- lantic and was buried at sea; James B. is a resident of Liberty township, Wells county ; Henry J., and Eliza, both deceas- ed.
Even as a child Robert F. Gavin was imbued with ambition and thirst for knowledge, and although but ten years old when he arrived in America, he was by no means a novice in the common school branches. In mathematics he es- pecially excelled, for it is a current belief in Ireland that a man who pretends to learning without a thorough knowledge of figures, is either an impostor or an igno- ramus. Problems in the "voster," the Irish arithmetic, that were quite easy of solution to him, would puzzle many an older head. Here he attended the district schools and had the benefit of one term in the seminary at Murray, Indiana. In 1859 he entered the school room as a teacher and continued that occupation each year during the winter months until 1871.
March 4, 1866, Mr. Gavin was united in marriage to Miss Martha McFarren, daughter of Jacob and Rachael (Foust) McFarren. Jacob McFarren was a native
of Pennsylvania, the son of John and Elizabeth McFarren, also natives of that state. When Jacob was a small boy his parents emigrated to Highland county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and married Rachael Foust, March 4, 1841. That same year the young couple moved to Huntington county, Indiana, and there Martha was born, February 27, 1842. In 1857 Jacob moved to Liberty township, Wells county, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. She died October 10, 1873, his own demise occur- ring August 24, 1895. To them were born ten children, viz: Martha A., George F., John, deceased, Andrew, Sarah, Jonathan, William, Mary, Emma and Joseph M. Soon after marriage the subject and his wife settled on the place now owned by M. Johnson. He had one horse, and his wife a cow, but he cleared some thirty acres and in 1871 sold to Absalom Funk and purchased one hundred and fifty acres of the farm upon which he now lives. The land was wet, wild and wooded when he got it, but it is now a most desirable, pro- ductive farm of three hundred acres. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in section 24. In addition to managing his big farm and other interests, he has been interested in a grain elevator at Poneto for several years, his partners being H. A. Man, Frank Kizer and William Walker.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gavin eight children have been born, viz: George; Rachel A. married C. 'B. McAdam and they are the parents of two children, Arthur E. and an infant daughter, deceased; Mary J. married Charles P. Eaton and died Decem- ber 14, 1891 ; John F. ; Winona married W. H. Weinland, May 22, 1895, and they have
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one child, Iantha Ann; William; Austin, and James H., who died at the age of five years. John and Austin have attended the Marion Normal School, the former teaching for a time. Mr. Gavin is a mem- ber of the Methodist Protestant church, holding membership at Blanch chapel, of which he is trustee. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church at Poneto. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., being treasurer of Poneto Lodge No. 752. In politics he is as free and inde- pendent as the breezes of the plains, be- ing bound by no party ties or hedged in by any organization. His vote is his own, not being influenced by any man, set of men, circles, clique or political party.
LEWIS A. MINNIEAR.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Huntington county, Indiana, and the son of Joseph and Rachael A. (Searles) Minniear. Joseph's parents were Isaac and Lydia Min- niear, natives of Virginia and Ohio. They moved to Huntington county as early as 1838, but after a residence there of about twelve years changed their abode to the coun- ty of Wabash, where they spent the remain- der of their lives, Isaac dying May 9, 1855, his wife surviving him until about the year 1870. To this couple were born fourteen children, whose names are as follows : Lucin- da, Charity. Minerva, Nancy, Tabitha, John, Isaac, Charles, Frances, William, Mary, Blufford, Joseph and Lydia.
Joseph Minniear, the thirteenth of the family, was reared to maturity in the counties of Huntington and Wabash,
and by reason of the death of his father was early in life obliged to assume the re- sponsibility of caring for his widowed moth- er and provide means for his own support. On the 4th day of July, 1861, he was united in marriage to Miss Rachael Ann Searles, who was born near Lebanon, Ohio, June 6, 1841, the daughter of William and Char- lotte Searles, the father a native of England, the mother of Ohio. William Searles was born about one hundred miles from London and grew to young manhood in the land of his nativity. His mother having found a home in the United States, William and his brother Thomas decided about ten years af- ter she had left England to join her in the new world. Accordingly they made their way to the harbor from which they were to sail and on applying for passage found all but one berth engaged for the voyage. Which of the two should have this berth was now the question. The brothers had a long and bitter controversy over the matter and would perhaps have settled it by a resort to fisticuffs had not the captain interfered by persuading Thomas, who was the older, to wait for the next vessel. In due time he took passage, but was ship-wrecked and for some time the passengers and crew were without food, other than a mere pittance of tallow candle allotted to each as his day's rations. The vessel was finally sighted and towed to har- bor, but the sufferings endured by the immi- grants had almost reduced them to living skeletons. William Searles settled near Leb- anon, Ohio, and for a number of years there- after worked at the shoemaker's trade. His first wife was Anna Dehaven, who bore him three children: Theophilus, Alpheus and John, the last named deceased; by his sec- ond wife, whose maiden name was Charlotte
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Parker, a native of Ohio, he was the father of children as follows : F. M., Jasper, Jonah, Joseph, David and Rachael. Mr. Searles finally ceased working at his trade and moved to Huntington county, Indiana, where he en- tered a tract of government land, from which in the course of a few years he developed a good farm. He and his wife died on this place a number of years ago and their mem- ories are still cherished by their descendants and by the people of the community who for- merly knew them. Ever since his marriage Joseph Minniear has lived in Huntington county and is today regarded as one of the enterprising farmers and progressive men of his township. He is the father of nine children.
Lewis A. Minniear was born October 10, 1869, on the farm which his maternal grand- father purchased from the government and it was there that his childhood and early youth were spent. He entered the district schools at the proper age, continued to attend them at intervals until his twenty-first year and after attaining his majority took a course in the Central Normal College at Danville. Sub- sequently, in the fall of 1889, he entered the Bluffton Normal School, where he prose- cuted his studies one term, at the end of which time he again took up the public school work, in which he was graduated the following year. Meantime he became acquainted with the more practical affairs of life by beginning to work on a farm when but thirteen years of age, receiving fifty cents a day for his services. Subsequently he labored about three years at fifteen dollars per month, dur- ing which time he turned over to his mother the greater part of his earnings, retaining for himself barely sufficient to pay for his cloth- ing and to meet a few other necessary ex- 34
penses. In the fall of 1886 his wages were increased to sixteen dollars per month and during the succeeding six years he worked diligently with the object in view of ulti- mately purchasing land and becoming an agriculturist upon his own responsibility. Meantime, on the Ioth of December, 1893, he was united in marriage to Miss Viola P. Clark, daughter of J. I. and Nancy A. (Helm) Clark, and in the latter part of the same month moved into a little old log cabin which stood on the farm he now owns and cul- tivates. In due time this primitive structure gave place to the comfortable modern dwell- ing which the family now occupies, Mr. Min- niear the meanwhile bringing his place to a successful state of tillage by careful cultiva- tion and a thorough system of tile drainage. He has studied closely the science of agri- culture, understanding the nature of soils and their adaptability to the different products, and by a judicious rotation of crops never fails to realize abundant returns from his labors. Like other successful farmers of the county, he has not been backward in the mat- ter of stock raising, his breeds of Hereford cattle and fine hogs being among the best in the township, in addition to which he also devotes considerable attention to domestic fowls, being especially fortunate in raising Plymouth Rocks and Rosecomb Leghorn breeds. Mr. Minniear is indebted to his own energy and superior management for what advancement he has made, as he began life for himself with no aid from any other source. His well directed industry has been crowned with a large measure of success, and this, too, when confronted by conditions calculated to discourage one of less will power. He has always looked upon the bright side of life and is optimistic enough
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to believe that honest toil, when directed by sound judgment, cannot fail in the end of rewarding those by whom it is exercised. Mr. Minniear reads much and is one of the well-posted men of his community. He be- lieves in education and moral training, uses his best endeavor to promote these interests in his neighborhood and also lends his in- fluence to all movements having for their ends the material prosperity of the township in which he lives.
Mr. and Mrs. Minniear have three chil- dren, namely: Elmer V., born September I, 1894; Lloyd, born June 7, 1899, and Clar- ence H., whose birth took place on the 21 st day of December, 1901. Since his twenty- second year Mr. Minniear has been a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist Protestant church, filling a number of im- portant official positions in Beemer Chapel, with which he is identified, including among others those of steward, class leader and superintendent of the Sunday school. He is an active church worker and a liberal, con- tributor to the support of the gospel both at home and abroad. Mrs. Minniear united with the church when eighteen years old and has lived an earnest, devoted Christian life from that time to the present.
At the age of seventeen Mr. Minniear was initiated into the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Warren, but at this time his membership is with Liberty Center Lodge. He has passed all the chairs in the latter or- ganization and has the reputation of being one of its most earnest and zealous workers. Politically he was born and reared a Demo- crat and has always remained loyal to the old historic party of Jefferson and Jackson, de- fending its principles at all times and labor- ing earnestly for its success when campaigns
are in progress. He has never asked nor de- sired office, but takes an active interest in the selection of candidates and spares no reason- able effort in working for their success at the polls.
GEORGE M. GAVIN.
George M. Gavin was born May 23, 1871, in Liberty township, on the farm up- on which he now resides. He is the son of J. B. and Rebecca (Hedges) Gavin, to whom an independent article is herein de- voted. His grandfather was George Gavin, 'who in his native land was a member of the royal constabulary (governmental po- lice), but who became an educator in Ohio and later in Indiana and is so remembered by the older citizens.
Early in life George M. Gavin develop- ed a talent for learning. He attended the public schools, securing such benefits as they could confer until he received a cer- tificate to teach, though he continued the better to prepare himself by attending the State Normal School at Terre Haute. He taught six successive years in Liberty, Harrison and Chester townships and at- tained a high standing among the valued educators of the county. Realizing that the financial return was not commensur- ate with the ability demanded, he opened a hardware and undertaking establish- ment at Poneto in 1898, which he con- ducted successfully for about two years, then selling the hardware department and continued the undertaking practice. In 1900 he was elected township trustee, largely in recognition of his interests in the schools, and, placing his mercantile
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business in other hands, he moved to his farm, the same that was owned by his grandfather nearly twenty years before he was born. He does general farm- ing and stock raising, finding the celebrat- ed Poland China hogs the most profitable source of income.
December 24, 1892, Mr. Gavin was united in marriage to Miss Lucy E. Huff- man, a daughter of Frederick and Mary (Ruse) Huffman, natives of Darke county, Ohio, he being a son of Henry and Cather- ine Huffman. Frederick Huffman now lives at Warren, though he formally lived in Jackson township. Mr. and Mrs. Gavin have one son, James Frederick, born July 25, 1894. They have also opened their hearts and home to two orphan children, Mathae and Ralph Irick, they being but eleven months old when they became in- mates of the Gavin home. These are the children of Mrs. Gavin's sister, Phebe Catherine, who married George H. Irick, both of whom died of typhoid fever and within twelve hours of each other, and were buried in the same grave in Lawn cemetery at Warren.
Mr. Gavin is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, while Mrs. Gavin affiliates with the German Baptist, or Dunkards, each enjoying the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of his own conscience. Mr. Gavin is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge at Poneto, of which he is secretary. He has ever been a Democrat and it was upon that ticket he was elected township trustee and has the distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to that office. As trustee his interest in edu- cation and theories regarding conduct of
school have more ample scope than when a mere teacher only. Believing in the cen- tralization of school effort, he endeavors to give his township the benefit of the most advanced and tried experience in that line. Liberty township now has eight schools with fourteen teachers, four of them being in the Liberty Center high school and four in Poneto. The build- ings are all in a first class condition and this capable corps of able instructors af- fords the youth of the township facilities equal to any in the county.
JACOB J. SMITH.
Jacob J. Smith was born June 19, 1841, in Fairfield county, Ohio, his parents being Bartholomew and Mary (Eversole) Smith, natives of Virginia and Ohio respectively. He had come with his parents when they moved to Fairfield county, Ohio, in the early part of the last century and always lived on a farm, both dying in Fairfield county at ad- vanced ages.
The youth and early manhood of Jacob J. Smith were spent in his native county of Fairfield and he received a fair education in the public and subscription schools. For two years he had cultivated his father's farm, pre- vious to September 2, 1861, when he entered the United States service as a volunteer soldier, joining Company F, Seventeenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving under Captain Rickett, Colonel Collins and Gen- eral Cook. He was out two years and four months and participated in numerous im- portant and sanguinary battles, among them being Wild Cat, Kentucky, Mill Spring, Ft.
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Donelson and Shiloh. In the latter part of 1863 his left arm was fractured and for this and other disabilities he was discharged at Nashville, Tennessee. While in the hospital at Huntsville, Alabama, all of the sick not able to be moved were taken prisoners when Cook's brigade abandoned that territory. All were kept there, treated by rebel sur- geons, and in three months he was exchanged and sent to the Federal hospital at Nashville, from which he was discharged six weeks later, and on his way to Louisville he called upon his regimental commander, then sta- tioned at Gallatin, Tennessee. As a Demo- crat he entered the service, fought as a Dem- ocrat and has continued to vote as a Demo- crat ever since. When he had recovered sufficiently he resumed the cultivation of his father's farm.
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