Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 59

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

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Mr. Willcuts married Hannah Druckemiller on the 2d of September, 1860. She was born in Carroll county, Ohio, October 6, 1842, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Cutshall) Druckemiller. In about 1850 or 1851 the Druckemiller family made the journey in wagons from Carroll county, Ohio, to Grant county, Indiana, settling on a farm in Franklin township, two and a half miles west of Marion, where the head of the family purchased a farm. He continued to increase his acreage until the boundaries of his farm included about eight hundred acres, and he then gave a farm to each of his seven children, retaining for himself only the forty acres on which his death occurred on the 2d of January, 1888. His wife survived him until the 2d of April, 1894. Mrs. Willcuts was about ten years of age when she came with her parents to Grant county. She now resides at 1702 South Washington street, Marion, and living with her is her sister, Mrs. Margaret Ann Mills. Mrs. Mills was born in Carroll county, Ohio, April 11, 1834, and was a young lady at the time of the removal of the family to Grant county. She married Jona- than Mills, also a native of Ohio, who came to Wayne county, Indiana, when a boy, and as a young man located in Grant county. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Mills resided for many years in Franklin town- ship, Grant county, later moving to West Marion, where Mr. Mills died on the 1st of September, 1899. Of the five children which were given to their marriage four are now living. Four children were born to

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CLARKSON WILLCUTS HANNAH DRUCKEMILLER WILLCUTS

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Mr. and Mrs. Willcuts, all of whom are living in Grant county: W. E. Willcuts, Mrs. Flora B. Fenstemaker, Mrs. Lucy D. Modlin and Calvin Willcuts. There are three grandchildren: Mrs. Fern Morrison, Lois G. Modlin and Walter W. Modlin; also two foster grandchildren, the foster son and daughter of W. E. Willcuts, Frank Loring, formerly an instructor in the University of Illinois, but now residing in Marion, and Miss Mabel Willcuts, also of Marion.

Clarkson Willcuts was a strong and active man up to the day of his death, the 27th of January, 1912, when he met his end at the hand of an assassin, one of the most unaccountable crimes ever committed, for Clarkson Willcuts was a man without enemies. Perhaps the best way to give some idea of the worth of this man would be to quote from the address made on the occasion of his funeral, January 30, 1912. The services were held at the Friends church and conducted by the Rev. Mr. Hiatt and the Rev. Mr. Sweet, both of whom were personal friends of Mr. Willcuts.

The Rev. Mr. Hiatt said: "Clarkson Willcuts was a man of sterling worth, both in matters pertaining to his individual pursuits and also in those things which have to do with the best interests of the community in which he lived. He never was in haste to express a conviction upon questions relating to the public welfare, whether political, educational er religious, but when he had settled in his own mind what seemed to him the part of wisdom he was firm and strong in his advocacy of the right. This rare precaution and care made him a safe counselor and guide to those less experienced in the affairs of life.

"As stated by one who knew him most intimately and who had profited largely by his wise counsel, his advice was always based upon actual experience or the most careful investigation of the question involved.

"The deceased was a life-long member of the Friends church, and in his taking away the church loses one of its safest counselors and most liberal and willing supporters. As he grew older he seemed to feel more and more the care of the church and to desire more deeply her truest success.

" 'A great man is fallen this day in our midst.'

"I want to say some things in reference to the greatness of this man, and as I say them you will understand me to speak not out of a sense of superficial sentiment, but to speak out of a heart that feels deeply the facts which I shall in some measure attempt to express. I want to sug- gest to you at the outset as we think of him that he was a great man in his home. A man who is great at his own hearthstone, a man who is great in the midst of the family circle, a man who is great in the sacred precincts of the home is very likely to be great anywhere. Numbers of you have known the wide open hospitality and charity of that house, its love and comforts, and the encouragement and friendship, if needed, of a warm Christian heart.

"May I not suggest to you, for I am speaking to the church member, the man of business interests in this city and county, may I not suggest to you the fact of his greatness in the world of business? In the world of business a man of practical experience, ripened out of years of actual contact with men moving in the midst of business affairs. Some of you have known him better than I have known him. You have lived beside him, and how you have leaned upon him for counsel. How you have gone to him for advice. And you have never been disappointed. You have never been disappointed because if he were not certain that he could advise you along a safe and sane line, he was frank enough to tell you so. But if he knew that thing for sure which would be to your best

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interest, no one was more ready and free to give forth that counsel which might help a fellow business man to a higher degree of successful busi- ness life than was he. I am sure that the truth of this situation was expressed to me by one of his friends and neighbors. He said he never went out on a mere peradventure; if he didn't know by reason of the painstaking study and examination of the things which were put before him he would not venture into it himself or send any one out along the line experimenting in his behalf. He was frank and honorable in all these things. So in the business affairs of life here was a man whose greatness was certainly unquestioned. A man whose business integrity and fairness and honor is unquestioned, and you who know him best and dealt with him more largely will sustain this sentiment most heartily."

The speaker then goes on to mention his love for the church. He says, "He was not a man of many words in the public assembly or con- gregation, but his interest in the church was unfailing, unflagging. It was manifested every day and week of the year. His face was an inspira- tion to any preacher of religion who, looking into that open countenance, would see the light of welcome to the message the minister might bring. The church was on his heart and mind, and just before coming here this word was spoken to me with respect to moving from the farm to the city, that he had made the expression like this: 'I have moved to the church.' What a mark of greatness. Out here on a splendid old farm with every needful comfort and every needful sustenance, he was going to move to the city, but not to the city only, not to the city chiefly, but 'to the church.' "

And so passed one of those men who have made America the great nation that she is, not a great statesman or public man, but a man of strong and noble character who molded and influenced the lives of all with whom he came in contact.

ALVIN J. THOMAS. It will not be necessary in a volume pertaining to Grant county's representative men to expatiate in cant phraseology upon the well known reputation of Quakers for honesty, integrity and reliability; we may be justified in stating, however, that the mental and moral constitution of the gentleman whose name heads this review is such as to account for his success in the world of agriculture and business and for his high reputation in the confidence of the people of his community. Mr. Thomas comes from an old family of North Car- olina, of Welsh descent, his grandfather, Jesse Thomas, being a native of the Old North state. He came very early to Wayne county, Indiana, and while living there, Eli Thomas, the father of Alvin J., was born August 31, 1825. Jesse Thomas married Mary Cox, a native of North Carolina, and they were probably married just before coming to Wayne county or soon afterwards, as all of their children were born in the Hoosier state. Jeremiah and Enoch were the eldest children, became well educated, and the former was widely known as a penman, keeping the accounts for some years of the old Quaker church, to which all the old stock of this family belong. He died in middle life, while Enoch attained the age of eighty-eight years. The next child in order of birth was Hulda, who died in early life, although she married and left chil- dren as did her elder brothers. Eli, the fourth in order of birth, is still living, and is one of the alert and intelligent old men of Marion, he now being eighty-eight years of age. Mary M. Thomas married, left a fam- ily, and died when seventy-eight or seventy-nine years of age. John Thomas located in Kansas late in life and died there, leaving a widow and family. Robert, who died in 1880, at the age of fifty years, left a

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family, and three sons are still living. Hannah Thomas married Sam- uel Satterthwaite, and lives in Huntington county, being the mother of two sons and two daughters. Noah Thomas, the youngest of his par- ents' children, is a married man of Tennessee and has a family.

Eli Thomas, father of Alvin J. Thomas, was four years of age when the family came to Grant county in 1829, this being before the incor- poration of the county and before the time that the city of Marion was laid out. Here Jesse Thomas entered land in what is now North Marion, and all of his land is within the limits of the city at this time. About two years later he sold. out and moved to what is now South Marion, and continued to follow agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life, dying in 1861 or 1862, when past sixty years of age, while his wife died in 1868, she being about sixty-eight years old. They were birthright Quakers and were connected with the first meeting house of that faith here, the Mississinewa Quarterly Meeting.

Eli Thomas was reared at Marion, received a good education, adopted farming as his field of endeavor, and now resides at No. 2012 South Washington street. He married at Marion, Miss Millie Will- cutts, daughter of Clarkson Willcutts, who came as an early pioneer to what is now Marion, Indiana, and owned land which is now located as north of Fourteenth street and east of Adams street in this city. He lived to be past middle age, and died in the faith of the Friends church. Mrs. Millie Thomas died in 1876, at her home in Marion, aged fifty-one years. She and Mr. Thomas were the parents of the following children : Jesse, a farmer of South Marion, who is married and has two children; Alvin J., of this review; Lucy, the wife of J. L. Massena, an assistant teacher in the Marion high school, who has two children. By a former marriage, with Anna Schoolie, Eli Thomas had these children: Syl- vanus of Marion, who died November 25, 1913. He married, but has no children living. Marcus, a farmer of Franklin township, is married and has two children. By a third marriage, with Minerva Thomas, Mr. Thomas has had no children.

Alvin J. Thomas was born in the city of Marion, Indiana, October 9, 1864. He was reared in that city and secured excellent educational advantages, attending the public schools and the old Mississinewa graded school, and then spending two years in the agricultural department of Purdue University. Thus prepared, he entered upon his career as a tiller of the soil, and continued to work on the homestead farm until 1892, in that year coming to Mill township and buying 200 acres of land in section 25, which he operates successfully as a general farmer and breeder of stock. He makes a specialty of Guernsey cattle, and at the head of his herd has a registered individual of that breed. His home is located on a beautiful part of the property and is fitted with modern comforts and conveniences; his barn, painted red and white, is commo- dious and substantial, and his other buildings for the shelter of his grain and utensils are well built and in good repair. Altogether it is apparent that good management is present and that the owner is a prac- tical man of affairs. About 150 of the 200 acres are under cultivation, and yield handsome crops in response to the intelligent efforts of Mr. Thomas.

At Amboy, Indiana, in 1890, Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Elva Moorman, who was born, reared and educated there. Her family, of Welsh descent, lived for many years in North Carolina, were all Friends, and came at an early date to Indiana, settling in Wayne county. Mrs. Thomas' great-grandfather was John Smith, the founder of Richmond, Indiana. Her parents, John and Lucia (Simons) Moorman, were na- tives of Wayne county, but moved early in life to Miami county, where

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Mr. Moorman entered land which is still the property of the family. He died in 1877, aged sixty-three years, while the mother, who still makes her home at Amboy, was ninety years of age June 21, 1913, and is still alert in mind and body. She was formerly a member of the . Quaker church, but was turned out of that faith under the former stringent rules. Mrs. Thomas has one uncle living, Jesse Moorman, who is now in the Soldiers' National Home, at Marion, and ninety-five years of age. He served in the Union army throughout the Civil War. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Thomas are: Emma and Etta, who are unmarried and live with their aged mother at Amboy; Benjamin, living on the old Miami county homestead, who is married and has a family ; and Flora, deceased, who was the wife of Samuel Heston, formerly of Amboy and now a resident of Canada.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have three children: Eli, born in 1892, edu- cated in the public schools and now residing on the home place; Flora, born in 1896, a member of the graduating class of 1914, at the Gas City high school; and Lillian, born in 1908, the baby. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are devout members of the Quaker church. His political faith is that of the Republican party.

JOHN T. BARNETT, M. D. Among the most successful physicians and surgeons of the medical fraternity of Grant county, is John T. Barnett, M. D., of Jonesboro. Although his residence in this community covers a period of scarcely three years, he has already won a truly enviable reputation for skill and general ability, and has succeeded in gaining a large and representative practice and a firm place in the confidence of the people. He stands high also in the estimation of his professional brethren, and his opinion has great weight in their councils. Doctor Barnett's success has come as a result of his own efforts, for he worked his own way through college, and from early manhood his life has been one of the greatest activity.

Doctor Barnett was born at Hardensburg, Indiana, December 29, 1857. He was given an ordinary education in the public schools of that place, following which he paid his own way through Marengo Academy and adopted the profession of teacher. Having decided upon a pro- fessional career, he devoted what time could be spared from his school- room duties to the study of medicine, and eventually entered the Ken- tucky School of Medicine, where he was graduated with his degree in 1882. He at once entered upon the practice of his profession at Har- densburg, and his reputation as a skillful surgeon grew so rapidly that his services were in constant demand over four counties. His complete and self-sacrificing devotion to his work, however, endangered his health, and accordingly, in 1909, he came to Jonesboro to recuperate, as well as to give his daughter the benefit of better educational advantages. Always a great student, and determined not to retrograde, he has kept fully abreast of all modern discoveries in science pertaining to his pro- fession, especially along the lines of surgery, which comprises his fa- vorite branch of practice, and in which he has been remarkably success- ful. He is a member of the Mississippi Valley Medical Association, the Grant County Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and has been the representative and examining physician for a number of insurance companies. For a long period he has served in the capacity of member of the board of health, and in numerous ways has contributed to the welfare of his community. His offices are maintained in his pleasant residence at the end of Eleventh street, overlooking the river, and he likewise has a well- equipped suite in the Citizens Bank building. Doctor Barnett is a Re-

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publican in political matters and has been more or less active in local matters, although not to the neglect of his practice. His fraternal con- nections include membership in the subordinate lodges of the Masons and Odd Fellows, belonging to Solomon Lodge No. 71, A. F. & A. M., of Hardensburg, Encampment No. 206, I. O. O. F., and Lodge No. 501, of the latter, and in this latter connection has passed through all the chairs and represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the state.

Doctor Barnett was married in Ohio to Miss Lida Osborn, who was born in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1856, and was for ten years a school- teacher before her marriage. Two daughters have been born to this union : Ethel M., a graduate of Hardensburg High school and Marion College, where she took a classical and scientific course and graduated in 1912, and now a teacher in the public schools of Grant county; and Margaret, who received the same advantages and graduated from Ma- rion College in the class of 1914. Doctor Barnett is a Methodist, while his wife is a member of the Society of Friends.

HENRY KELLER WILLMAN. For many years Henry Keller Will- man, of Jonesboro, has been numbered among Grant county's progres- sive business men. The success which he has achieved in life is the re- sult of well applied energy, industry and strict attention to business in all its details. He owes his high standing in the commercial and social world to himself alone, for he started out to make his own liveli- hood when but a lad, and, undaunted by the many obstacles which he encountered, steadily pressed forward to the goal which he had set be- fore him.

Mr. Willman comes of good old German stock, his grandfather, Wil- liam Willman, and his father, Louis Willman, being natives of Long- stad, Hesse-Darmstadt, where the former was born about 1780 and the mother in 1805. William Willman was married in Germany, and his wife died there, leaving two sons: Peter, born in 1803, who passed his life in farming in the Fatherland and there reared a large family; and Louis. Louis Willman grew up to sturdy manhood, and as a large and well-built man was called upon for military service. He retained too keen a remembrance of the appearance of Napoleon's army on its re- turn from the disastrous Russian invasion in 1815, however, to desire the life of a soldier, and managed to secure a substitute, subsequently returning to his home to resume the trade of wagon-maker, which he had learned as an apprentice. He was there married to Miss Christina Keller, and in Germany they became the parents of two children: Eliza- beth and Peter. In 1830, deciding to try his fortunes in the United States, Mr. Willman, with his father, his wife and his two children, embarked at Hamburg on a sailing vessel bound for this country. A voyage of six months followed, during which the ship encountered ter- rific storms, and at one time was reported lost, but after the passengers and crew had nearly died of starvation the vessel finally made port at Baltimore, Maryland. Shortly thereafter the little party of emigrants went to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where Louis Willman secured employment on a railroad, but his refusal to vote the Whig ticket caused him to become unpopular among his fellow-employes and he accord- ingly removed with his family to Germantown, Wayne county, Indiana, where for a few years he worked at his trade. In 1840 he came to Blackford county, and located in Washington township, near the center of the county, where he secured a small farm, on which the grandfather, William Willman, passed away about 1842 when about seventy years of age. He died in the faith of the Evangelical Lutheran church, of which all the family were members. About 1846, Louis Willman moved

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with his family to Hartford City, Indiana, where he resumed the wagon- making business, for a time, and then again took up farming on a prop- erty east of that city. This continued to be his home during the re- mainder of his life, his death occurring thereon in January, 1875. Mrs. Willman had died in Hartford City in 1849, when about forty years of age. The children were brought up in the faith of the Evan- gelical Lutheran church and were confirmed therein. Louis Willman was a Democrat in his political views, although he never entered actively into public affairs save as a good citizen with the interest of his com- munity at heart. The children born in America to Louis and Christina (Keller) Willman were as follows: Christina, wife of James E. Ervin, who left a family at her death; Catherine, also deceased; Anna, who is the wife of George Gable and resides at Hartford City; Louis, who at his death left three sons and one daughter; Henry Keller, of this review; Margaret, who was married and the mother of one son and three daugh- ters at the time of her death; and Mary Ann, deceased, who was married and had two daughters. By a second marriage Louis Willman had one son, Albert, who died at the age of six months.

Henry Keller Willman was born in Blackford county, Indiana, Oc- tober 7, 1841. He received only an ordinary education in the public schools, but since his youth has done much reading, and through study and observation has become a very well-informed man on numerous sub- jects. Although not a strong lad, he received a good start in life, and as a youth learned the trade of custom shoemaker, serving an appren- ticeship of three years, during the first year receiving a salary of twen- ty-five dollars, in the second year forty dollars and in the third year seventy-five dollars. During the next quarter of a century he was ac- tively identified with the shoe business, both as a manufacturer and a dealer. He came to Jonesboro in March, 1868, and a few years later formed a partnership with Calvin Evans, but soon disposed of his in- terest to Mr. Evans and embarked in a separate enterprise of his own, successfully conducting his business until 1891. In that year he sold out to a Mr. Ruley, and in 1892 accepted the appointment to the post- mastership of Jonesboro, during President Cleveland's administration. He was the first third-class postmaster of the place, on a salary, and continued to efficiently perform the duties of his office for four years and six months. When his term of office expired he resumed operations in the shoe business, and continued therein until 1908, since which time he has been living a quiet, retired life in his handsome residence at Sixth and Main streets, a modern eight-room home which he erected in 1908. Mr. Willman is a Democrat in politics, but has been honored by the Republican party by election to the city council, on which he served eight years. For a long period he has been prominent in promoting the educational interests of Jonesboro as a member of the school board. He was four years Chairman of the Council.

Mr. Willman was married in Jonesboro to Miss Hannah Margaret Ruley, who was born in Grant county, Indiana, in 1840, was here reared, and was educated in the public schools of Marion. Her father, Burton W. Ruley, was an early settler and prominent farmer of this county, and served as county assessor for several terms and as county treasurer for nine years. He died in 1874, at the age of sixty-eight years. Mr. Ruley was a native of Virginia, and was married in Miami county, In- diana, to Miss Mahala Jones, who was born in Kentucky, and who died at the age of eighty-six years in Grant county. They came to this county as pioneers and settled on wild land in Mill township, where their four children were born, namely : Joseph J .; Mrs. Hannah Margaret Willman ; Maria E .; and Mary S., who is now the widow of Nathan Weddington and

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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM E. WILLCUTS, MR. WILLCUTS' FOSTER CHILDREN, MISS MABEL WILLCUTS AND FRANK CARLTON LORING AND MR. WILLCUTS' STEP-DAUGHTER, MISS LOLA MOSURE

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lives in Indianapolis with her children. The oldest child, Sarah Jane, deceased, was born in Miami county.

Mr. Willman is a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal faith, and both have been active in church work. They have numerous friends in Jonesboro, who esteem them for their sterling qualities of mind and heart and for the honor- able and upright lives which they have led. Mr. Willman is a valued and popular member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, No. 109, of Jonesboro, of which he is treasurer; and of Subordinate Lodge, No. 82, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of this place, which has been in existence for sixty- four years and of which he is secretary.

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Centennial History of Grant County Indiana, Part 59

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

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