USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial History of Grant County Indiana > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113
In 1894 he was elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress and reelected to the Fifty-fifth, Fifty-sixth and Fifty-seventh Congresses. During his first term of eight years he served on the committees on military affairs, on pensions, and on expenditures in the War Department. During his last eight years he served on the committee on ways and means. Dur- ing this service President Mckinley offered him an appointment as brigadier general in the Spanish-American War, which he had to decline because he had gone to the President in the interest of another gentle- man, whom the President could not favor.
In 1888 while a member of the Fifty-seventh Congress, notwithstand- ing it was Democratic, he introduced and secured the passage of a bill establishing a National Soldiers Home in Grant county, Indiana, the smallest limit of territory that, up to that time, had been thought of in the establishment of such great institutions. The bill was approved by President Cleveland. For fourteen years while Governor of Okla- homa and while Member of Congress, and subsequent to that time, he was a member of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and for the last nine years has been Gov- ernor of the Marion Branch.
There are two children: the daughter, Marietta V., is married and now living in Indianapolis; and a son, George W. Steele, Jr., a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, who has recently performed such service as to prompt the Admiral of the Pacific Squadron and the Secre- tary of the Navy to have recorded official mention and commendation of it.
ELLSWORTH HARVEY. The son of an honored pioneer family of Indiana, Ellsworth Harvey is recognized among the representative busi- ness men of his native county and he has long been a resident of Marion, where he holds the position of cashier of the Marion National Bank, one of the most solidly established financial institutions of the county. Mr. Harvey has made his way in the world unaided by outside influences, but rather through the application of his native ability and inherent character, so that he today enjoys a pleasing place in the city of his residence.
Born on a farm in Franklin township, six miles southwest of the city of Marion, in Grant county, Ellsworth Harvey claims November 22, 1863, as his natal day, and he is a son of Sidney and Jane L. (Thomas) Harvey. The father was born in Morgan county, Indiana, and the mother in Grant county, where her parents were early settlers in the pioneer days, the family having been conspicuously identified with the growth and development of the county. The father, Sidney Harvey, devoted
Digitized by Google
850
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
himself to the farming industry, and he was successful and prosperous in his chosen work. Today he is reckoned among the most venerable and honored pioneer citizens of the county, where he is living practically retired from active business, enjoying a well earned rest after long years of strenuous life on the farm.
He was a boy of about nine years when his father, William Harvey, came to Grant county and settled upon a tract of wild land some three miles west of the present village of Fairmount, and there he finally evolved a productive farm from his wilderness land. He was of English ancestry, and the family is one that had its foundation in America in early colonial days. Born in North Carolina and there reared, William Harvey came as a young man to Clinton county, Ohio, removing to Indiana in an early day. He passed the last years of his life in Grant county, and was known and esteemed as one of the solid men of the agricultural industry in the county. It was on his place that Sidney Harvey, his son, was reared to maturity, but for more than forty years past he has maintained his home on his own place of one hundred acres, six and a half miles from Marion. Mr. Harvey is a man of considerable influence in his community, taking a genuine interest in the political and civic activities of the township and county, and he at one time served as county assessor. A Republican in his politics, he gives his support to that party, and with his wife has membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Of their children, Alvin and Minerva are deceased; Ellsworth, of this review, was the third born; Roscoe C. is a farmer in Franklin township; and Gulie Elma is the wife of H. P. Cline, a farmer residing in the vicinity of Junesboro, Grant county.
Ellsworth Harvey was reared to farm life and in the home of his parents he early learned lessons of practical import that have stood him in excellent stead in the more mature years of his life. He attended the district schools, continuing his studies there for eight years. There- after he was a teacher in Fairmount Academy for one year.
In August, 1893, Mr. Harvey was appointed to the post of deputy county treasurer, and the long period in which he held this office indi- cates something of the character of his services. He continued to serve in his capacity as deputy until January 1, 1901, when he assumed the duties of county treasurer, to which office he had been elected on the Republican ticket in the preceding autumn. His service here was like- wise a praiseworthy one, sufficiently so as to gain to him his re-election in 1902, so that he served two full terms as county treasurer, administer- ing the fiscal affairs of the county in a highly creditable manner.
Soon after his retirement from the office of county treasurer Mr. Harvey was chosen assistant cashier of the Marion National Bank, and here again the character of his services was such as to merit recognition. which came in the form of his advancement to the post of cashier, in February, 1911. He has since that time continued in the office, with all of satisfaction to the directors of the institution and with credit to himself.
Mr. Harvey has, like his father, been a stanch Republican since he came to years of maturity, and with his wife he is a member of the Society of Friends. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Tribe of Ben Hur. He is the owner of a small but well improved farm in Franklin town- ship, which claims a share in his attention.
On September 6, 1899, Mr. Harvey was married to Miss Susan Emma Higgs, of Richmond, Wayne county, this state, where she was born and reared, and where her family has been long and favorably known to the public. Her parents are Robert and Eliza Higgs, both of whom
Digitized by Google
Digitized by
r
LYCWILLIAMS 1103
d.W.WILLIAMS. 15.08.
1
.
i
HOME OF MR. AND MRS. JOHN W. WILLIAMS AND FAMILY
Digitized by
:
851
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
were born in England. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have two children- Robert Sidney, born on November 8, 1902, and Mildred Elizabeth, born May 25, 1906.
JOHN W. WILLIAMS. The history of the village of Upland will always commemorate the Williams family, since it was a man of that name who owned much of the land where the village now stands who laid out the plat on some of his acreage, donated ground for the railroad station, and in many other ways took the part of a leader in establishing and develop- ing that center of trade and population. Mr. John W. Williams, a son of the pioneer at Upland, has for many years devoted himself to farming and stock raising, and his home place in section eight of Jefferson town- ship probably has no superior in its facilities, not only as a home, but as a place of business, his business being the raising of high-grade live stock, at which he has made a big reputation, not only in his community, but in this and adjoining counties.
Mr. Williams comes of Scotch ancestry, and his grandfather Isaac Williams was of an early settled family in central Ohio. He married a Miss Pierce, and they lived in Greene county, Ohio, where James L. Williams was born November 23, 1826. James L. Williams in 1829 lost his father by death, and his mother subsequently married Samuel Staf- ford. During the forties all the families came to Grant county, settling on Walnut Creek in Center township, where Mrs. Stafford died when eighty years of age. Mr. Stafford married again and died in Center township, at the advanced age of ninety. By his first wife he had a son and daughter. James L. Williams was the oldest of his mother's chil- dren, and the others in the Williams family were: Thomas, who lives with his children at Marion; Mary, widow of Israel Lucas, and she lives two miles east of the Soldiers' Home at Marion; Ortha, died after her marriage to Samuel Adamson, and left two sons and four daughters.
James L. Williams was reared after the death of his father by his mother and also in the home of an uncle, and on becoming of age was married in Green county, Ohio, to Miss Nancy Chance. She was born in North Carolina in January, 1831, and when fifteen years old left her home and people, joined a family making the journey to Ohio, and walked practically all the way to Green county, where soon afterwards she met and married James L. Williams. In 1850 they came to Indiana, where Mr. Williams bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in sec- tion three of Jefferson township. A portion of the village of Upland now stands on that land. When the Pennsylvania Railroad was built through this part of the county, Mr. Williams gave six acres for the vil- lage site, and three other parties gave enough to make twenty-one acres altogether. It was on that home that James L. Williams and wife lived for many years, but finally sold and bought a farm near Bluffton in Wells county, and his death occurred at Rockford, in that county, July 12, 1910. His widow passed away August 13, 1913. Both were birth- right members of the Friends church. James L. Wilson did a great deal of building at Upland, and by his own effort gave that community a start which has continued until the present time. He was a strong Republican in politics. The family of children were as follows: Isaac, who died when eight years old; Rev. Thomas lived in California, and his children are Alvin, Iva, and Rev. Charles, the church affiliations of this family being the United Brethren; John W. comes next; Cyrus lives in Huntington county, Indiana, on a farm, has been twice married, and has a daughter by his last union; Anna is the wife of Marion Bedwell, and they live on a part of the old homestead at Upland.
.
It was a distinction of John W. Williams to have been born in a log
Digitized by Google
852
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
cabin, at the site of Upland, on November 28, 1857. At that time a log cabin home did not indicate poverty of resources, and many of the best families of Indiana were still living in houses no better than the one in which Mr. Williams was born. He lived at home until of age, was edu- cated in the local schools, and from youth up has made farming his regular vocation. For the past twenty years he has been identified with the vicinity of Jefferson township on the west bank of the Mississinewa River, where on April 28, 1893, he bought eighty acres of land in section eight. In 1908 Mr. Williams. put a fine bank barn, with ground dimen- sions of fifty by ninety-seven feet, with a concrete basement, and the entire building is light, sanitary, and with facilities that afford conven- ience to the farmer, and tend to increase the general value of the farm output. Close to the barn is a concrete silo of eighty-ton capacity, and there are facilities for the storing of one hundred tons of hay, many tons of straw, and thousands of bushels of grain. The barn is one of the best in this entire section. It is painted a drab color, with red trimmings. Adjoining his main farm, Mr. Williams has one hundred and four acres, purchased about the same time he bought the eighty acres, and that land is improved with a full set of farm buildings. On another section he has forty acres. The homestead is improved with a substantial white frame house. Mr. Williams has made his reputation as a farmer, largely through the raising of fine short horn cattle, Poland china hogs, and Norman horses
Mr. Williams by his first marriage became the husband of Martha B. Brumfield, a daughter of Jacob Brumfield. She was born in Miami county, Indiana, December 9, 1858, and died at her home in Jefferson township, April 24, 1902. She came to Grant county when a child, and was reared in the township where the rest of her life was spent. Her children were Carlos A., who lives in Matthews, and has one son, Ken- neth; Goldy is the wife of Arthur Lunsford, and they have a daughter Elma. Olive is the wife of Ernest Haynes, of Muncie, and they have two children, Virgil and Daniel C; Myrtle is the wife of Emory C. Tripp, of Greentown, Howard county, Indiana, and they have no chil- dren. For his second wife Mr. Williams was married in Blackford county to Nenah Baker, who was born in that county, and reared and educated there, a daughter of William and Sarah (Blankenbaker) Baker, who live on a farm east of Hartford City, her father being sixty-two and her mother fifty-six years of age. The Bakers are active members of the Friends church. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have three children; Oris, aged six years, and in the public schools; Leora, aged four years; and Donald, aged two. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the Quaker church, and in politics he is a Prohibitionist.
LEWIS P. CUBBERLEY. Among the business citizens of Marion whose connection with live, growing enterprises has given them deservedly high positions in their communities, Lewis P. Cubberley is worthy of more than passing mention in a work of this nature. A native son of this prosperous city, he has traveled extensively in various parts of the country during his career, and although he has been engaged in business in Marion since 1901, is still a representative of outside con- cerns, in the interests of which he makes a trip through the West twice a year. Mr. Cubberley was born in Marion, Indiana, February 3, 1852, and is a son of Dr. David P. and Charlotte M. (Frazier) Cubberley.
David P. Cubberley was born in Licking county, Ohio, and came to Grant county during the early forties, here becoming the first dental practitioner in the city of Marion, where he was engaged in an exten- sive and representative practice up to his death in 1884, when he was
Digitized by Google
853
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
the oldest dentist in Grant county. During the Civil War he enlisted for service in the Union army as captain of a company in the Twelfth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and spent three years on southern battle- fields. For years he was connected with the Masonic fraternity, and for a long period was secretary of his Blue Lodge at Marion. Dr. Cub- berley married Charlotte M. Frazier, daughter of Nathan W. Frazier, a pioneer and influential citizen of Grant county, and she survived him until 1888, having been the mother of four children: Lewis P .; Nathan S., who is deceased; and Mrs. Emma C. Hutchinson and Mrs. Belle C. Tukey, both of whom reside in Marion.
Lewis P. Cubberley received his early education in the public schools of Marion. When eighteen years of age he entered the railroad mail service, in which he continued to be employed until 1880, and during this time operated between Toledo and St. Louis, on the Toledo, St. Louis & Western Railroad, and the Wabash and Pennsylvania fast mails. On leaving the mail service, Mr. Cubberley accepted a position with Huestes & Hamilton, wholesale grocers of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and remained with this concern until 1888, when he entered the employ of the Wilson & McCally Tobacco Company, of Middletown, Ohio, con- tinuing with that firm for ten years and then accepting a position as traveling representative for the H. W. Spurr Coffee Company, of Boston and Kansas City, a company with which he has since been identified. In 1900 he returned to Marion and established himself in a wholesale and retail cigar business, a venture which has proved a decidede success and has enjoyed a healthy and continued growth. The various brands handled by Mr. Cubberley have attained a high degree of popularity and now meet with a steady demand in every place in this section of the State where cigars are sold. From modest beginnings, Mr. Cub- berley has built up a flourishing enterprise, and his success may be accredited solely to his own efforts, his strict attention to business and the honorable manner in which he has carried on his transactions.
On September 6, 1905, Mr. Cubberley was united in marriage with Miss Nellie Cook of Toledo, Ohio, daughter of J. D. and Eliza (McClure) Cook, pioneer residents of Grant county. Mr. Cook, a contractor in construction work, was widely known in his field of endeavor, being the builder of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, and attained dis- tinction as the constructor of the only large work in the city of Gal- veston, Texas, which withstood the ravages of the devastating flood of 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Cubberley have had no children. He is a Republi- can in his political views, but has taken only a good citizen's interest in public affairs. Like his father, he has become prominent in fra. ternal circles, being a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Elks, in both of which orders he has numerous friends.
MARK L. SWAYZEE. One of the most progressive men of affairs in the city of Marion, Indiana, is Mark L. Swayzee. He has handled all of his business affairs along the most modern and up-to-date lines and his success is due largely to the methods he has employed in building up his business. He is the founder and proprietor of one of the largest retail groceries in the northern part of the state, and is also connected with other business ventures. He comes of a family for many years honored in the business and industrial world of this community and in his success he is only carrying forward the traditions of the family.
Mark L. Swayzee is the son of Aaron C. and Minerva A. (Hodge) Swayzee, both of whom are now dead. Aaron C. Swayzee was born in the state of New Jersey, but migrated from there to Lancaster, Fair- field county, Ohio, and after living there for a time came to Grant county,
Digitized by Google
854
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
Indiana. He located here in 1836 and was consequently one of the pioneers of this section. By trade he was a shoemaker and shortly after coming to Grant county he entered the manufacturing business as a manufacturer of boots and shoes. For many years thereafter he con- ducted a retail store in the city of Marion and became actively identified with the growth and development of the city. He was recognized as a leader, not only in the business world, but also in the political and civic life of the city. In 1874 he was elected a representative to the state legislature from Grant and Blackford counties, and proved an able spokesman for his people. He was always active in church affairs, being a member of the Methodist church and for many years a member of the official board of this church. He died in 1878 and his widow died in 1890. They were the parents of seven children, two of whom died in infancy. The other children are James W. Swayzee, of Pada- gonia, Arizona; Mrs. W. C. Harrington, of St. Helena, California; Frank C. Swayzee, of Washington, D. C .; and Mrs. George W. Steele, of Marion.
Mark L. Swayzee was born in the city of Marion on the 5th of Sep- tember, 1864. He received his education in the public schools of his native town and in the Miami Commercial College at Dayton, Ohio. It was in 1883 that he began his business career as an employee in Sweet- ser's Bank, which has since become the First National Bank, of Marion. He was thus employed for seven years, gaining a valuable knowledge of financial affairs and of the ways of the business world. He then went into business for himself, being engaged in specialty milling for five years. He then established Swayzee's Market, which has been mentioned as being one of the largest retail grocery and market houses in the northern part of the state. He is also engaged in the feed and milling business on Second street and has made a success of this enterprise also.
In fraternal affairs Mr. Swayzee has always been deeply interested and holds a membership in many societies among them being the Masons, Elks and Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Country Club. In politics he is a member of the Republican party and has taken quite a prominent part in political affairs. He was the last town clerk and treasurer and the first city treasurer after the incorporation of the city, and he is always ready to give his time and service to any movement that may be conducive to the welfare of the city of Marion.
Mr. Swayzee was married on the 25th of May, 1889, to Eugenia Richards, a daughter of L. Y. Richards of Napoleon, Ohio, and they have become the parents of two children, Mark Richard Swayzee and Mary Louise Swayzee.
JOHN A. RHUE. There is special reason for congratulations upon a career like that of Mr. Rhue, the vice president of the Marion National Bank. Beginning his career in service with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, as assistant agent, some fifteen years ago he went into a bank in Greenfield, this state, as a messenger and general utility man. He had only his own record to recommend him for advancement, and yet he displayed such ability that in a few years he became cashier of the institution which he had entered as messenger. He received what might be regarded as a distinct promotion when he was appointed state bank examiner, and from that position became vice president of the Marion National Bank. Mr. Rhue is still a young man, in his thirties, and yet has achieved a position which would be creditable to a man older in years and experience.
John A. Rhue was born in Hancock county, Indiana, December 28, 1876, a son of A. N. and Rosa (Barrett) Rhue, both of whom were
Digitized by Google
Digitized by Google "
MR. AND MRS. ALLEN C. TUDOR.
Digitized by
855
HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY
natives of Hancock county, and now living near Greenfield, that county. The father was for some twenty years a successful school-teacher, and is now engaged in the grain business. Of the three children, John A. is the only one now living.
Born on a farm in Hancock county, and educated in the district schools and in the Greenfield high school, John A. Rhue began his career as above stated with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and spent two years in the service of the same. He then received appointment as a cadet in the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where he remained for two years. On returning from Annapolis, he took the temporary management of the Western Union town office at Greenfield, having incidentally picked up telegraphy while with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Then in 1897 he entered the employ of the Greenfield Bank- ing Company, and ran errands, made collections and assorted checks and all other duties that were required of him. Mr. Rhue remained with that banking institution for twelve years, and enjoyed many promotions up to the responsible post of cashier. As a skillful manager of banking busi- ness, his reputation had extended beyond the confines of his home com- munity, and in 1909, without any solicitation on his part he was invited to become a state bank examiner, and was assigned to the Northern Indiana Territory. His work in this connection brought him into association with all the state bank association officers in Northern Indiana, and as result of this acquaintance and high regard he received another invitation in April, 1911, this time to become vice president of the Marion National Bank, a post which he accepted and which he has since filled. In one phase his experience as a banker is probably unique. He still held his place of cashier in the Greenfield bank, during his term as state bank examiner, and had already accepted and been formally installed as vice president of the Marion National Bank before severing his relations with the Greenfield Banking Company and with the State Banking Department, so that for a short time he held all three posts. Mr. Rhue has been a resident of Marion since July, 1911. He owns a fine farm of one hundred acres situated a mile from Green- field in Hancock county, and the management of this estate is his chief recreation and pleasure aside from business. He is also interested as an investor in various other undertakings.
Mr. Rhue is a lover of music, and during his residence at Greenfield was for twelve years connected with the Home Orchestra at that place. On September 22, 1908, he married Miss Mary Todd, of Bluffton, a daughter of Hon. J. J. and Mary (Studebaker) Todd, one of the best known families of the state. J. J. Todd, her father, was formerly grand master of the Masonic order in Indiana. The two children of Mr. Rhue and wife are Mary, born August 13, 1909, and Jane, born August 9, 1910.
Mr. Rhue is himself prominent in Indiana Masonry, having passed through all the degrees of the York Rite at Greenfield, including the Lodge, Chapter and Commandery, and having attained thirty-two degrees of the Scottish Rite and being affiliated with the Mystic Shrine at Indianapolis. He has served as Master of his Lodge, high-priest of the Chapter and eminent commander of the Commandery, besides having been worthy patron of the Eastern Star. Mr. Rhue is a member of the Marion Golf Club, is a Republican in politics, and he and his family belong to the Methodist church in Marion.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.