USA > Indiana > Blackford County > Blackford and Grant Counties : Indiana a chronicle of their past and present with family lineage and personal memoirs > Part 42
USA > Indiana > Grant County > Blackford and Grant Counties : Indiana a chronicle of their past and present with family lineage and personal memoirs > Part 42
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Mrs. Russell, the mother of Mrs. Winslow, was a member of the Methodist church, though her husband held to no religious creed. He was married a second time, but of his later marriage there was no issue.
Mrs. Winslow is the youngest of her mother's children, of whom there were eight, and she is the only one living at this writing. Prior to her marriage with Mr. Winslow, Mrs. Winslow was the wife of Capt. William Shugert, who died in the south in the prime of life. He was a soldier in the Union Army in the Civil war, and after the return to peaceful pursuits he engaged in the cotton business, dying in Arkan- sas. His only child, William R., died as a young man. Of her second marriage, Mrs. Winslow has one son, Glen B. Winslow, who runs the old home farm. He was born on August 3, 1870, and lives on the home place with his mother, being unmarried.
On March 25, 1896, Mrs. Winslow contracted a third marriage when she became the wife of Levi Winslow, a relative of John Winslow, her second husband. He was born in Fairmount township on July 20, 1836, and his principal occupation in life has been that of a carpenter. He has enjoyed an excellent reputation as a master hand at his trade, and has assisted in the building of some of the best residences and other buildings in the township and county. He is a son of Henry and Annie (Binford) Winslow, natives of North Carolina and Virginia, respect- ively. They met and married in Fairmount township and here they passed their lives. Mrs. Winslow died there in 1863, and Henry Win- slow married a second time. By his first marriage he had ten children, of whom Levi Winslow, the husband of Mrs. Winslow, was one, and by his second marriage he had three children. Of the ten of his first marriage, Levi Winslow is the second of four who are yet living.
Mr. and Mrs. Winslow live at the old home and their declining years are being passed in peace and contentment after busy and fruitful lives. He is a birthright Quaker of the Fairmount Society, and Mrs. Winslow has membership in the Presbyterian church in Jonesboro. She first became a member of the church when attending school in Marion, under the tutelage of Professor Sawyer, one of the best known instruct- ors of his day in Grant county.
Mr. Winslow, by a former marriage, had eight daughters. Two of them died very young, and of the six who reached maturity five were married. Those living are: Sarah, the wife of John Flanagan, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work; Aletha, the wife
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of Homer Stephens, and living in St. Louis; Elizabeth, the wife of Jesse Thorp, living at Geneva, Indiana, and they have two children, Paul and Aletha; and Bessie, the wife of H. Asthorp, a banker of Cairo, Illinois, they have two children, Mary and Ada. The four deceased daughters of Mr. Winslow were: Elmina, who was kicked by a horse and died twenty-four hours later, aged four years; Anna, who died, aged two weeks; Alice, who died in 1891; and Gertrude, died in 1903.
WILLIAM J. RICHARDS. Like thousands of his fellow countrymen who in their native land saw naught for the future except long years of hard work, with but little chance of the attainment of a competency, William J. Richards decided to try his fortunes in the United States and accordingly, when still a young man, migrated to these shores. He has had no reason to regret his action, for from the time of his arrival here his advance has been steady and his labor well remunerated, and at this time, as assistant treasurer, director and paymaster of the In- diana Rubber and Insulated Wire Company, of Jonesboro, he occupies a recognized position among the foremost business men of his adopted place. Mr. Richards was born at Glanmorganshire, near Swansea, Wales, December 11, 1864, comes of an old and honored Welsh family, and is a son of William and Jane (Jenkins) Richards, natives of the same place, where they spent their entire lives, the mother passing away in 1880, at the age of fifty-two years and the father in 1892, when he was seventy-six. Mr. Richards was a tin-plate manufacturer and for many years carried on a profitable business in his native land. Both he and his wife were devout members of the Presbyterian church and made many friends by reason of their many sterling qualities of mind and heart.
After receiving an ordinary education in the public schools of Wales, William J. Richards learned the trade of tin plate manufacturer in the business of his father, with whom he continued until reaching the age of twenty-six years. In 1890 he decided to try his fortunes in the United States, and on first coming here was employed in a steel plant at Pittsburgh. In 1891 he came to Elwood, Indiana, where he was con- nected with the establishment of the tin plate plant of that place, and there, under the superintendency of his brother, he rolled the first sheet of tin plate made in that establishment. When conditions for the tin plate people began to become unsatisfactory at Elwood, Mr. Richards went to the East, and upon his return was sent as superintendent of the plant at Gas City for the Morewood Tin Plate Company, who later sold out to the United States Steel Corporation. He took part in the building of that plant and was at its head for nine years, going from that point to the plant of the same company at Atlanta, Indiana.
When the gas at that place gave out Mr. Richards was sent to Mid- dletown, Indiana, where he remained until 1905, and then came to Jonesboro to accept his present office. In his long and active business career Mr. Richards has sustained a reputation for the highest integrity and business ability, and by his associates he is held in the highest esteem and confidence.
Mr. Richards was married at Jonesboro, Indiana, to Miss Martha J. Seiberling, who was born in Doylestown, Ohio, in February, 1864, educated in the Ohio and Pennsylvania schools, and is a daughter of James H. Seiberling, president of the Indiana Rubber and Insulated Wire Company, a sketch of whose career will be found on another page of this work. Mrs. Richards died at her home in Jonesboro, July 6, 1912. She was the mother of no children, but Mr. Richards now has an adopted daughter, a niece, Victoria May, who is twelve years of
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age and is now attending the city schools. Mrs. Richards was a mem- ber of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Richards still adheres to that faith. He has been well known in fraternal circles for some years, being a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, of Jonesboro, the Chapter and Knights Templar, of Marion, and the Consistory of Fort Wayne, and recently took his thirty-second degree. He is a Republican in his political views, although he has never been a seeker after public office.
ELMER E. MASSEY, who has been holding one of the leading cleri- cal positions in the offices of the Indiana Rubber and Insulated Wire Company, at Jonesboro, since March, 1904, is well known to the people of this city. He was born at Malta, Morgan county, Ohio, June 18, 1862, was educated at Muskingum College, of New Concord, Ohio, and at the Normal College of Valparaiso, Indiana, and then took up the vocation of teacher, which he followed in Morgan county for a period of four years. He first came to Indiana during the winter of 1883-4, and here taught as the principal of the Harrisburg (now Gas City) school for three years, following which he spent two years in the cleri- cal department of the Deering Manufacturing Company, Chicago. On his return to Indiana, Mr. Massey again adopted the vocation of educa- tor, and this he followed until accepting his present position in March, 1904. He was a successful teacher, was popular alike with pupils and parents, and had an excellent record, and in the line of his present vocation he is also showing marked ability. He has profited by his long and thorough training, may be said to be an expert in his calling, and has the confidence and respect of the business men among whom he has labored for so long.
Mr. Massey is a son of John Massey, also a native of Morgan county, Ohio, and a son of William Massey. The grandfather was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood, in an old Quaker family descended from William Penn stock. At an early day, with four brothers, he left his home in the Keystone state and jour- neyed to Ohio, where he remained, although his brothers pushed on and finally located in Western Indiana. He was married in Muskingum county, Ohio, to Mary Gay, and they became pioneers of Morgan county, settling in the depth of the woods and living in a little rude log cabin. They hewed themselves a home from the wilderness, lived to see the wolves and deer desert their native hiding-places, driven forth by the relentless march of civilization, and became prosperous and highly respected citizens. The grandfather passed away at the age of ninety-one years, while the grandmother was sixty-seven years of age at the time of her demise.
John Massey was reared to agricultural pursuits and was given the usual education obtainable in the public schools of his day and locality. On attaining manhood he was married in Morgan county, Ohio, to Mary C. Crawford, who was also born in that county. Together, they cleared and improved a good and valuable farm, added to their holdings as the years passed, and accumulated a valuable property, which they left to their children along with the priceless heritage of an honored name. Mr. and Mrs. Massey were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a stalwart Republican, although not an office seeker, but took a keen and sincere interest in all that affected the wel- fare of his community or its people and endeavored to assist movements which had for their object the progress of his locality in any way. At the time of the Civil war he showed his patriotism by enlisting in an Ohio regiment in the Federal army, and after serving for one year received his honorable discharge and returned to the duties of a civilian. Of the
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children, two died in infancy : W. J. is a successful attorney at law of Zanesville, Ohio; a sister, Mary E., was a teacher for some years and died while thus engaged; Charles L. is in the tire department of the Indiana Rubber and Insulated Wire Company, is married and has a family ; and Elmer E. is the other child. The father died at the age of seventy-seven years, while the mother reached the age of eighty- two years.
While a resident of Richland township, Grant county, Indiana, Elmer E. Massey was married to Miss Maggie U. Walker, a native of this township, who was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools. Two children have been born to this union, namely : Emil L., born October 9, 1896, a graduate of the Jonesboro High school, class of 1914; and Pauline Retta, born July 14, 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Massey are active members of the Methodist Protestant church, in which he is serving as a member of the board of trustees, and in the work of which both are very active. He is popular in fraternal circles as a member of Amana Lodge, No. 82, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Jones- boro; Junior Order United American Mechanics; Grant Lodge, No. 7; the Knights of Pythias, at Converse, Indiana; and the Tribe of Ben Hur, at Jonesboro.
JAMES A. CURLESS. One of Grant county's citizens who has done his. share of public service, particularly in educational lines, James A. Curless is now best known as cashier of the First National Bank of Swayzee, and one of the leading business men of that city. The First National Bank of Swayzee is a very strong institution, having a capital stock of thirty-five thousand dollars with surplus and undivided profits. of ten thousand dollars. Mr. Curless has been with this institution from its beginning. It was organized in August, 1907, and he stood behind the wicket and accepted the first moneys paid on deposits. The other officers of this well known bank are: Darius Nesbitt, president; George W. Smith, and W. J. Nesbitt, vice presidents; James A. Curless, cashier; Isaac Spiker, assistant cashier; Tessie C. Plackard, assistant cashier. The directors are Darius Nesbitt, George W. Smith, W. J. Nesbitt, Marion Curless, J. M. Leer, John H. Miller, John A. Peterson, H. T. Munea and Jarret Echelbarger.
James A. Curless was born in Green township, of Grant county, September 20, 1875, and belongs to one of the old and substantial families of this section of Indiana. His parents were Marion and Mary A. (Covalt) Curless, both of whom are now residents of Swayzee. They were the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living.
James A. Curless spent his boyhood on a farm in Howard county, during which time he attended the district schools of his township, and also had one term in the Greentown high school, and one year in the Fairmount Academy, completing his education by two years' course in the Valparaiso University, and the Terre Haute Normal School. He prepared himself thoroughly for his work as teacher, and taught his first term of school in 1895. He was very successful as a schoolmaster and continued the work consecutively until 1907, in the public schools of Howard and Grant counties. In August of the latter year he gave up teaching to become one of the bankers of the county.
Mr. Curless was married on Christmas Day of 1897, to Miss Anna M. Matchett, who was born and reared in Grant county, was educated in the common schools, in the Marion Normal College and in the State Normal School at Terre Haute and taught in the public schools for six years. The two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Curless are both now deceased. The family are members of the Methodist church, and fra-
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ternally he is affiliated with Grant Lodge, A. F. & A. M., the Lodge and encampment of Odd Fellowship, the Knights of Pythias Lodge, and the Daughters of Rebekah. He is past noble grand in his fraternity. A Republican in politics, he is now serving as a member of the Swayzee town council. Besides his other interests Mr. Curless owns sixty-six acres of land situated a mile southwest of Swayzee on the Kokomo and Gas City Pike. Though no longer a teacher Mr. Curless maintains the same interests in educational affairs which he had when in the work of the school room. At the present time, in order to promote scholarship and the wholesome rivalry among the scholars, he has a standing offer of an International Webster's Dictionary to the student making the best grade in the Sims and Green townships schools. His wife takes an equal interest with him in educational affairs, and both are energetic and progressive members of the social community in which they live.
HENRY CLAPPER. The career of Henry Clapper, now one of the honored retired citizens of Jonesboro, has been crowded with experi- ences of an interesting nature, and with activities that have brought him financial independence and public position. He is a member of a pioneer family of Indiana, and has seen the state grow and develop from a sparsely settled wilderness of timber into one of the leading agricultural, commercial and industrial commonwealths of the Union. He has borne no small part in this great development, and as soldier, citizen and public official has ever merited the esteem in which he is universally held.
Henry Clapper, the great-grandfather of Henry of this review, was probably born in Holland, and came early to America, settling in Bed- ford county, Pennsylvania, where he spent the greater part of his life as a farmer. It is thought that he died after the close of the Revolu- tionary war, but he was not a soldier in that struggle. His son, Henry Clapper II, was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and there spent his entire life, being married twice and both of his wives dying in that county. By his first union he had a son, Henry Clapper III, the father of our subject, who was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, in 1791. His mother died when he was a child, and when his father married again the youth could not live peaceably with his stepmother and ac- cordingly, when seventeen or eighteen years of age, left home and journeyed to Ohio, where he settled in the vicinity of Zanesville. At. the outbreak of the War of 1812, Mr. Clapper enlisted in Captain Shane's company, and throughout the struggle that followed served valiantly as a soldier. When peace had been declared, he drew his pay of ninety-six dollars, and this he placed in his saddlebag and started out for Stark county, Ohio. While crossing Sugar Creek on horseback, his horse, although a good swimmer, lost its footing and rolled over, losing the saddlebag and the silver therein, which was never recovered. Mr. Clapper was near his destination, however, the home of Christopher Smith, with whom he secured employment, and not long thereafter, about 1817 or 1818 he married the daughter, Mary Smith, who had been born about 1798. Her grandfather, Christopher Smith's father, had come from either Holland or Germany prior to the outbreak of the American War for Independence, through which he served as a soldier in General Wayne's Command. He subsequently located in Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, where Christopher Smith was born. The latter was there married to a Pennsylvania girl and at a very early day they journeyed across the mountains to Stark county, Ohio, secur- ing government land near Sugar Creek, where they founded a home and spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Smith attained the ad-
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vanced age of ninety-six years, while the mother passed away some three years later, being past ninety. Their daughter, Mary, the mother of Henry Clapper, was born in Pennsylvania, but was reared and educated in Stark county, Ohio. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Clapper located on a small farm, in addition to cultivating which, Mr. Clapper followed the trade of cooper, a vocation which he had learned in his youth. They resided in Stark county for many years, but just prior to the outbreak of the Civil war came to Blackford county, Indiana and located one mile southwest of Hartford City, where they spent the remainder of their lives, Mr. Clapper dying at the age of eighty- four years and the mother when past seventy-four. They were not professed members of any religious denomination, but were kindly Christian people who won esteem and respect for their many sterling qualities. Mr. Clapper was a whig in his political views and later joined the ranks of the Republican party, although he never sought public pre- ferment as an office holder. Of the children of Henry and Mary Clap- per, but two are living : Henry, and Mrs. Rachel Diskey, of Hartford City. Two brothers of Henry Clapper of Jonesboro were soldiers during the Civil war: John and Christopher. The former returned safely to his home and lived for a number of years after the close of the struggle between the states, but the latter died while in the Atlanta campaign with General Sherman, at Huntsville, Alabama, of pneumonia. They had both enlisted from Blackford county, Indiana.
Henry Clapper was born in Stark county, Ohio, January 6, 1827, and was twenty-two years of age when he removed to Blackford county, Indiana. Three years later, with a company of twenty adventurous spirits, he started for the gold diggings of California by way of the Isthmus, but the vessel, an old and unseaworthy ship, was driven by the trade winds far out of its course, and before a landing was effected in the Hawaiian Islands the crew and passengers were nearly starved. The trip to the Golden state consumed almost six months, and there Mr. Clapper spent some two and one-half years, with but indifferent success. Returning to Indiana at the end of this period, he soon equipped himself for a trapping and hunting trip in Michigan, and there spent a year, killing sixty-eight elk and many deer, and securing on an average of twenty-five pelts of smaller animals a day. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Clapper answered his country's first call for troops, enlisting in the Twelfth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infan- try, under Capt. Thomas Doan, Col. Lew Wallace commanding. While he enlisted for three years, the regiment was assigned to the one year's service. Mr. Clapper saw much active service and received his honorable discharge, following which he returned to Blackford county and during the next thirty years was identified with the movements and activities which built up that section in various ways. He was a dry goods merchant at Hartford City for twelve years, and served in the capacities of justice of the peace and drainage commissioner for a long period. In 1893 he came to Jonesboro, retired from active pur- suits and still makes this his home.
Mr. Clapper has been married five times, and his first two wives bore him two children each, all dying young. By his third union he had no children, and by his fourth marriage he had two children: Max- well, a resident of Hartford City, Indiana; and Mrs. Edna S. Kirk- patrick of the same city. Mr. Clapper married for his fifth wife, Mrs. Mary J. Snyder, nee Colgan, who was born October 28, 1856, in Miami county, Ohio, of Irish parentage. She came to Wells county, Indiana, with her parents, John H. and Eunice (Patterson) Colgan, and when sixteen years of age was brought to Hartford City. Mr. Colgan served
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as a soldier during the Civil war in an Ohio volunteer regiment, and died at the Soldiers' Home, Lafayette, Indiana, November 18, 1910. The mother, who was seventy-five years of age September 20, 1913, still survives and makes her home at Jonesboro. She is a member of the Friends Church. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clap- per: H. Clyde, a glass blower of Jonesboro, who is married and has a daughter, Beulah; Fred H., connected with the stove factory at Jones- boro, who is married and has a son, Wayne; Paris, a stove mounter and inventive genius, who lives at home with his parents; and Herbert, who is in his second year in the Jonesboro High school. Mr. and Mrs. Clapper are consistent members of the Seventh Day Adventist church. He is a Republican, takes a keen interest in the success of his party, and is ever ready to support movements which his judgment tells him will make for better conditions in his adopted community.
LEANDER CAREY. Now living retired at Jonesboro, Leander Carey has spent the greater part of his life in Grant county, represents some fine old Quaker stock in this region, and in his own career has ex- emplified the quiet industry, effective virtues and the religious devotion, which have been noteworthy in the various members of the Carey house- hold.
Leander Carey was born in Fairmount township, May 10, 1855, and lived and grew up in the county, was educated in its country schools, and followed farming here until 1880. The following fourteen years were spent in the states of Kansas and Nebraska, and since then he has once more resumed residence in the county of his birth.
Grandfather John Carey, Sr., was born in Pennsylvania, lived most of his life in Ohio, where he died, and his death occurred following a visit to Pennsylvania, where he had some duties to perform. He was born in 1783, and died about 1850. John Carey, Sr., married Margaret Green, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1782, and died in Ohio when quite an old lady. They were both Quakers, and of old Pennsylvania stock, being very devout in their religion and simple and unworldly, but successful people.
John Carey, Jr., son of John Carey, Sr., and father of Leander Carey, was born in Ohio, March 17, 1818. For his first wife he mar- ried Eliza Moon, who was born in Ohio, about 1820, and was married in that state. She died in 1847, and was the mother of eight children, two of whom died young and the others are mentioned as follows: Elias, Pleasant, Charles, Panina, Margaret, and Susanna, all of whom are deceased, except the last, who is now Mrs. Scott of Fairmount town- ship. John Carey after the death of his first wife brought his family to Wayne county, Indiana, and there married Mrs. Lydia Hollings- worth, who was born a Jones, daughter of Richard and Hannah (Thomas) Jones. Some years after their marriage John Carey and wife moved to Grant county, settling in Fairmount township, and acquired ownership of considerable land both in that township and in Mill township. Their home was many years in Fairmount township, but late in life he moved to Jonesboro, and died here in July, 1895, his wife surviving him and passing away in Fairmount in 1909. She was then very old, having been born in 1822. Both were birthright Quakers, and for forty-five years John Carey was a hardworking and faithful preacher of the Friends church. He lived up to his creed, and was a man of deep spiritual nature, and one of the best evangelists of his locality. While he succeeded in business he was ever ready to neglect his own affairs in order to carry on his religious work. In politics he remained true to the Republican party until 1884, but after that was
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