Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 56

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034

USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial History of Grant County Indiana > Part 56

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).

REV. J. WILLIAM RICHARDS. A representative in a younger genera- tion of the prominent Richards family so long identified with Grant county, Rev. J. William Richards, has for a number of years been one of the leading farmers in both Grant and Delaware counties, his home being in Washington township of Delaware county, and close to the Grant county line. On December 6, 1902, he was licensed and ordained by the Harmony Primitive Baptist church at Matthews, and has been an active local preacher of his church for the past ten years, having been pastor of the Harmony church since 1904. His Washington town- ship homestead comprises one hundred and sixty acres of land, and he also owns one hundred and eighty acres in Jefferson township of Grant county. Mr. Richards is very progressive in matters of agriculture, does what is known as mixed farming, raises good crops and feeds them all to his live stock, and the substantial improvements about his places indicate the style of thrift and industry employed by him. His home farm has a splendid barn, painted in a tasteful color, and nearby is the comfortable white house of ten rooms. His Jefferson township farm is improved with a large stock and grain barn. All his land is under cultivation, and is well cultivated and well stocked.

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

MR. AND MRS. JOHN SHIELDS, MRS. ARAMINTA SHIELDS OVERMAN, JOHN SHIELDS OVERMAN AND HULDAH MAY OVERMAN.

FOUR GENERATIONS.

€

Digitized by Google

1039

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

J. W. Richards was born in Jefferson township of Grant county, December 1, 1860, and is the first son and second child of Mr. L. G. Richards, whose career as one of the pioneers of Grant county is sketched at length on other pages of this publication.

Rev. Richards grew up on his father's farm, was educated in the public schools, and from early manhood has given most of his time to farming. An interested student of the bible, and of religious problems and having shown much talent as a church worker, he devoted himself diligently to the preparation for work as a local minister, and since his ordination has been one of the spiritual leaders in his community.

Mr. Richards was married in Delaware county, in 1883, to Emma Z. Harris, who was born in Washington township of Delaware county, January 11, 1866. Her parents, John M. and Margaret (Broyles) Harris were also natives of Delaware county, and their respective parents probably came from Virginia in the early pioneer times. Mr. and Mrs. Harris grew up and were married in Washington township, started life as farmers, and Mrs. Harris died on the old homestead when a little past sixty years of age. Mr. Harris is still living on his fine farm of about two hundred acres, and though more than seventy years of age, is still active and gives personal supervision to his affairs. His wife was a devoted Methodist, but he has held to no church creed. He is a Repub- lican in politics. There were six sons and three daughters in the Harris family, of whom, one son and one daughter died after marriage, each leaving children, and all those now living are married and have families. Mrs. Richards grew up in Delaware county, had a common school educa- tion, and since her marriage has proved herself a capable housewife and devoted mother. To their marriage have been born four children : Orpha, died at the age of two and a half years. T. Clayton, born in September, 1884, now occupies a part of his father's Delaware county farm, and by his marriage to Esta Whiteneck, a Grant county girl, has two sons, John L. G. Richards, now eight years old and Forrest Charles Richards, one month old. Gladys is living at home and a graduate of the Matthews high school in the class of 1911. Dilver W., is attending the high school at home. Mr. Richards and the children are also members and workers in the Harmony church, and Mr. Richards in politics is a Democrat.

JOHN SHIELDS, one of the old and honored residents of Franklin township, Grant county, Indiana, now retired from active pursuits, is a member of the good old Irish family of that name, always well known as devout Presbyterians in their native land. A little more than a century and a half ago, there lived at Coot Hill, one William Shields. The elder of two brothers, he sold his birthright to the younger, and when still little more than a lad bid farewell to his friends and relatives and embarked on a sailing vessel for America, arriving at Philadelphia some years prior to the Revolutionary war. There he met and married a Pennsylvania girl, and began his married life as a farmer in the Key- stone state, where his industrious habits soon earned him prosperity. He reared a family of seven sons and two daughters, and later all of the family moved to Augusta county, Virginia, where William Shields and his wife passed their last days, dying in the faith of the Presby- terian church. Their children all grew to maturity and were married, establishing homes and becoming substantial people of their several communities, and the sons enlisted in the Colonial army, assisting their country in its successful fight for independence.

Of the nine children born to William Shields, William Shields, Jr., the grandfather of John Shields, was born in Philadelphia, Penn-

Digitized by Google

1040

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

sylvania, about 1750. He early learned the trade of tailor, and accom- panied the family in 1770 to Augusta county, Virginia, where, with his six brothers, he enlisted in Washington's army as a member of a Vir- ginia regiment. He continued to serve throughout the war, at the close of which he returned to Virginia and resumed the trade of tailor, going from house to house and measuring, cutting and sewing the clothes for the families of his vicinity, as was the custom in those days. He continued to follow his trade until his death, which occurred either in Virginia or Pennsylvania, when he was not yet seventy years of age. He married a Miss Frame, a Virginia girl, and it is thought that she died in her native state. Both Mr. and Mrs. Shields were probably Presbyterians. They were the parents of five children, namely: Wil- liam (III) ; Joseph and Preston, who served in the War of 1812; Ann and Margaret. All lived to advanced ages, and all were married and reared families except Joseph.

Preston Shields, son of William Shields, Jr., and father of John Shields, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, about the year 1790, and as a young man enlisted from that county in the War of 1812, becoming an orderly sergeant in a division of Scott's army, under Colonel McDowell. In early life he had been engaged in teamning between Augusta county and Richmond, Virginia, and it may be that he drove a team during his army service. At the close of the war he returned to his home, and in 1815 migrated to Green county, Ohio, where he began life as a farmer in the wilds, also driving a team to Cincinnati. He was there married to Delila Fulkerson, who was born, reared and educated in Frederick county, Virginia, and who had gone to Green county, Ohio, about 1810 or 1812 with her parents, Richard- son and Clara (Moore) Fulkerson. In 1848 Mr. and Mrs. Shields migrated to Indiana, purchasing slightly improved land in Richland township, Jay county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Shields passed away, aged eighty years, while his widow passed away seven years later, being seventy-nine years old. Mr. Shields was a Whig and later a Republican, but took no active part in party affairs. They reared a fine family of stalwart children, as follows: William (IV), who was twice married and was a farmer in Jay county, Indiana; James, who was married, and died in Franklin township, Grant county, when seventy-nine years of age; John, of this review; David, who died at the age of eighteen years; Joseph, who died when two and one-half years of age; Benjamin, who was a soldier in the 19th Volun- teer Infantry, and died during the war, in Washington, D. C .; Clara, who is the wife of William Wright, of Dunkirk, Indiana; Hannah, who died after her marriage to Siras Bargdol; and Richard, the youngest, who is single and lives in the South.

John Shields was born in Green county, Ohio, July 21, 1826, and was there reared to agricultural pursuits and also engaged in sawmill- ing. He was married December 6, 1849, to Araminta Jane Wroe, who was born in Frederick county, Virginia, in 1829, and came to Ohio with her parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Pagett) Wroe. They had come to Somerset, Ohio, as early as 1831 and in 1836 settled in Green county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives.

In 1851, John Shields, with his young bride, came to Grant county, Indiana, on a visit and they were so favorably impressed with the coun- try that in February, 1852, they returned, to make this their perma- nent home. They located at what is now Roseburg, Franklin township, where Mr. Shields secured a one-fourth interest in a sawmill, the coun- try at that time being almost entirely covered with good timber. A man of industry and energy, he accumulated some small capital, and

Digitized by Google

1041

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

in 1855 made his first investment in farming land, purchasing a tract of seventy-four acres of partly improved property. This he later sold, with his milling interest and some land he owned in Jay county, and bought eighty acres of land in another part of Franklin township. Subsequently, in 1866 he bought a better tract of eighty acres, in sec- tion 16, on which he settled after the war, and which he made one of the best farms in Grant county. For forty years Mr. Shields made this farm his home, erecting handsome buildings, and installing improve- ments and equipments, and at the time of his retirement was consid- ered one of the most substantial men of his community. Although now eighty-seven years of age, he is alert and active, and, having lived a life of temperance and probity, still weighs 165 pounds. He is a pleas- ing conversationalist, and his memory is testified by his entertaining reminiscences of early days.

Mr. Shields is a veteran of the Civil war. On August 10, 1862, he enlisted for a service of three years in Company C, Twelfth Regi- ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being attached to Sherman's Corps. He participated in every battle, skirmish and march from Missionary Ridge to Bentonville, North Carolina, his record including twenty-one battles. Although always a brave and valiant soldier, to be found in the thickest of the fight, he escaped with a slight wound on the side of his nose, this being caused by a ball which glanced from a limb of an oak tree. As he remembers it, his hardest fought battle was that at Atlanta, July 28, 1864, when the men stood face to face and fought it out until the enemy were driven from the field. Mr. Shields never yielded to the temptations of whisky while in the service, and, in fact, has not touched a drop since 1855. He was honorably discharged June 8, 1865, with a record which compares favorably with that of any sol- dier who participated in the great war between the North and the South.

On December 5, 1849, in Green county, Ohio, Mr. Shields was mar- ried to a boyhood sweetheart, whom he met when but twelve years old, Araminta Jane Wroe. She proved a valued and loving helpmeet, and in her death, which occurred in 1909, at the age of eighty years, the community lost a kindly Christian woman, a devout Quakeress, and one who was widely known for her many charities. Mr. and Mrs. Shields became the parents of the following children: Clarinda, who died at the age of eighteen years, a young woman of much promise; Araminta, wife of Allen J. Overman, a grocer of Marion, who has four children, all married except one; Sarah M., the wife of Dr. N. Pierce Haines, of Marion, a physician at the Insane Hospital, and has a fam- ily; Maggie, the wife of Harry Hoadley, living at Spokane, Washing- ton, who has four sons and one daughter; Prestina, the wife of Wil- liam Howe, a farmer of near Landessville, Indiana, and has two daugh- ters; and Benjamin W., twin of Prestina, one of the best-known horse buyers and dealers of Grant county, who married Clara Parks, and has had three sons and two daughters, of whom two sons and one daughter survive. Mr. Shields has eleven grandsons, ten granddaughters, and twenty-one great-grandchildren. Mr. Shields is a Prohibitionist in his political views. He is public-spirited and progressive, and at all times is ready to support measures for the good of his community.

OLLIN GORDON. Barring a brief two years' time in which he was engaged with his father in the grocery business, Ollin Gordon has, dur- ing his entire active career of something more than twenty years, been identified with the enterprise in which he is now occupied-the furni- ture and house-furnishing business. In April, 1895, Mr. Gordon estab-

Digitized by Google

1042

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

lished himself in Gas City, opening a small shop in association with Mr. J. E. Ward at the corner of Second and Main streets. Since that time his advance in the commercial circles of the city has been rapid and today he has a leading position among the most prominent and prosperous business men of the community: Shrewd, careful and con- servative in all his business dealings, he has conducted his affairs in a manner conducive to the best results, and his standing in the city today is one that he has undeniably earned, and of which he may well be proud.

Ollin Gordon was born in Grant county, Mills township, August 8, 1869, and he is the son of Seth and Sarah (Jay) Gordon. Seth Gordon was a native son of Henry county, Indiana, born there in the year 1831 on the 14th day of July. He was for years engaged in farming in Grant county, later interesting himself actively in the grocery business, and was connected with a prosperous grocery business in Gas City, Grant county, until a short time before his death, on his sixty-seventh birth- day anniversary, in 1898. The mother was born on what is now the Infirmary Farm in Mills township, on January 23, 1843, and she is now living in the home of her son, Ollin Gordon of this review. She and her husband were both birthright Quakers and both had served as elders and overseers in the church for many years. The mother is yet active in the work of the church, and still continues an influence for good in her community. Mrs. Gordon was a daughter of James and Lydia (Hollingsworth) Jay, early settlers in Grant county, whither they came from their native state, South Carolina, in early life. They were of the old pioneer stock of the county, and they lived in a time when primitive civilization was at its height in Grant county. In about the year 1807 they settled in Vermillion county, Ohio, there residing until they settled in Grant county. They, too, were birthright Quakers and passed their lives in the church of their fathers.

Ollin Gordon is the youngest child but one of his parents, and he is today the sole surviving member. The other died young, and he alone was left to cheer them in their declining years, his mother making her present home with him.

Mr. Gordon had his education in the district schools, such as were provided in his boyhood in Grant county, and when the Marion Normal College was opened he became one of the first students enrolled there, graduating from its commercial department among the first with the class of 1892. Since that time Mr. Gordon has been steadily engaged in business.

The first enterprise with which Mr. Gordon identified himself was his father's grocery business, as has been stated already. For two years he continued with the elder Gordon, and while he was a deal of assistance to his father, it is also true that he acquired much in the way of practical knowledge of business management that stood him in excellent stead in the years of his earlier private business experience.

It was in 1895 that Mr. Gordon became established in the house fur- nishing business with J. E. Ward. The two were practically without capital, but they were young and courageous, possessing a deal of energy and ambition, and fortified with Mr. Gordon's business training, both in college and in his father's establishment, they were better equipped than many who start in with more of money at their command and less of these other assets. After a year of business activity, Mr. Gordon bought out his associate, Mr. Ward, and since that time has operated inde- pendently. He remained at the old stand on Second and Main streets for a year, then moved to one room in the Peele building on Main street. Here he has continued, and from time to time additions of one room

Digitized by Google

1043

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

have been made to the place, as the business expanded and demanded more space for its proper management. Mr. Gordon has not hesitated to branch out whenever he saw an opportunity for it, and he has from first to last carried on an advertising campaign that has resulted in a continued growth of the business, making necessary additions to floor space, warehouse room and all the appurtenances necessary in the con- duct of a thriving furniture and house furnishing enterprise. In the past six years his advancement has been particularly rapid and substan- tial, and his place today devotes one entire room to carpets and rugs, one to upholstered goods, one to china and other household wares, and another in which staples in house furnishings are to be found in plenty. He carries a fine class of goods, his trade being of a conservative and dis- criminating character, and his place is considered the acme of complete- ness in his especial line in Gas City. The place itself is a building of two stories, with sixty-six by seventy foot frontage, all of which is occu- pied by the business. An overflow wareroom also adds to the floor space required by the business, this being located at the corner of First and Main streets.

As a business man, it will not be gainsaid that Mr. Gordon has been a very successful man. His progress has been steady and consistent with the most conservative and business like advancement, so that he is properly regarded as one of the safe and altogether reliable business men of the city.

Mr. Gordon was married in Jonesboro, Indiana, to Miss Elizabeth Eaton, a native daughter of the state of Illinois, where she was reared and educated. Her parents are both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have no children of their own, but they have an adopted son, C. Fred- erick, born April 5, 1910.

As members of the Friends church of Jonesboro, Mr. and Mrs. Gor- don have carried on the church relations of their parents and grand- parents, and they are among the most useful and active people in that church today.

A Republican in his politics, Mr. Gordon has served his fellow men well in Gas City, for ten years having been a member of the City Coun- cil. He is a citizen of splendid type, and has borne his full share of the civic burdens of the community in all the years of his residence here. He is a member of the Gas City lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has filled all chairs in the local order, while he has also represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the Order.

JOHN B. KING. The late John B. King was born in Washington township, Grant county, Indiana, on May 29, 1843, and he died at his farm home in Mill township on August 4, 1913, when little past seventy years of age. All his life had been spent in Grant county, with but slight exception, and he was one of the best known and esteemed men of the county during his life time. He is remembered, and long will be, as one of the substantial and worthy citizens of the community.

Mr. King was a son of John and Elizabeth (Bloxham) King, natives of Virginia, where the father was born in 1805 and the mother in 1800. The father was a son of John and Sarah King, who passed their lives in Virginia, and who were birthright Quakers and exemplary citizens all their days. John King, the father of the late John B. King, was a small boy when his parents died in Virginia, and he was early bound out as an apprentice to learn the trade of a tanner. He com- pleted his apprenticeship and in early manhood married, coming to Ohio after the birth of the two eldest children in his family. That state.did not long claim his attention, and he soon found himself estab-

Digitized by Google

1044

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

lished in Grant county. This was in the early thirties, and in Wash- ington township he entered eighty acres of what seemed desirable land. He made a good deal of improvements in the place and then sold advan- tageously, intending at the time to go to Iowa to live. Their plan was altered, however, through the protracted illness of their son John, the subject of this review, and they settled in Marion, Grant county, Indi- ana, instead, the father once more resuming his work as a tanner, which he had discontinued when he settled on his Washington township farm. In about 1850 he went to Arcana and established a tannery which he operated successfully until war times, even continuing it through a part of the war period, when he sold it and retired to a small farm in Mill township. Here he died on October 5, 1867, when he was sixty-two years of age. His widow later went to make her home with a daugh- ter, Mrs. Sarah Nelson, and she died there on December 18, 1874, when she lacked twenty days of having reached her seventy-fifth birthday anniversary. She was a daughter of William and Mary Bloxham, who were native Virginians, living all their lives as farming people in that state. They, too, were Quakers. John King and his wife were birthright Quakers, though in later life they became associated with the Methodist Episcopal church. In this body they were active and prominent, Mr. King becoming a class leader and holding that place for some years prior to his death. His devoted wife was in perfect accord with him in all the issues of life, and they lived happily and to excellent purpose, being Christian people of many lovable qualities. Of their three sons and three daughters, two died young, and the names of the six were as follows: Jonathan, William S., Ruth, Mary, Sarah, John B., of this review. Ruth and Mary died in girlhood, but the other four reached mature years and reared families of their own. All are now deceased.

John B. King grew up on the home farm in Grant county and he found his early employment in work on the farm and in his father's tan- nery until the outbreak of the war caused the discontinuing of the tannery activities. On October 10, 1862, he was mustered in as a private in Company M, Fifth Indiana Cavalry, and with his command went to the front, and so continued until the close of the war, being hon- orably discharged in September, 1865. All through that period he proved in many ways his gallantry and devotion to the cause in which he had enlisted, and he participated in practically every engagement of importance in which his regiment was active. Exposure and the gen- eral hardships of war on several occasions caused his disability and con- finement in hospitals, though he was never wounded in action. For years he was a member of the Jonesboro Post of the G. A. R.

After the war Mr. King settled down to farm life on the farm of his wife in Mill township, continuing there until 1897, when the family removed to Jonesboro, three years later coming to Gas City, but retiring to the old farm home some few months prior to his death, it being his wish that his last days might be spent there.

Mr. King was a Republican and a member of the Methodist Episco- pal church. A good citizen all his days, he had his full share in the civic activities of whatever community he lived in, and he enjoyed the esteem and high regard of his contemporaries and is still remembered with genuine affection by those who knew him in the various relations of life.

On March 17, 1867, Mr. King was married to Miss Elizabeth Over- man, born in Mill township on the old Overman homestead on Septem- ber 18, 1840, and there reared and educated. She was the eldest child of Jesse and Jane (Griffin) Overman, an account of which family will be found elsewhere in this work. Since the death of Mr. King, Mrs.

Digitized by Google

1045

HISTORY OF GRANT COUNTY

King has maintained her residence in the Gas City home, where she took up her abode after the passing of her husband on the old home place in Mill township, and she is'still active and energetic at the age of seventy- two. She still has ownership of the Mill township property, which is a fine place of eighty acres, and some desirable property in Jones- boro as well as the Gas City property, make her independent. She is the mother of the following children :

Ida J. is the wife of Lincoln Lamb. They live on the mother's farm in Mill township and their children are Charles, Earl and Flor- ence, the latter the wife of Benjamin Stockwell. She is the oldest of the three children. She has one child, Chelsey James. Charles King is married and has one son, Charles II. James, the second son, of John and Elizabeth King, died after his second marriage, at the age of thirty-seven years. His first wife was Elizabeth Brewer, and this marriage was without issue. Two children blessed the second union. Rea, the first born, died young, and Harry B. now resides with his paternal grandmother, Mrs. King, and is attending the city schools. Jesse Albert King died aged fifteen years.

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.

Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 56

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Rolland Lewis Whitson
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1034