USA > Indiana > Grant County > Centennial History of Grant County Indiana > Part 96
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Mr. and Mrs. Kirk are active members of the Friends church. In politics he is a Republican, has always supported the party and its candidates, and like his father has worked in behalf of his friends but never for himself in the direction of local offices or other political honors. Mr. Kirk owns a well improved homestead of thirty-three and a half acres, located nine miles southwest of Marion.
WILLIAM HARVEY RYBOLT. A native son of Grant county, Mr. Rybolt grew up in Green township, was at one time a teacher in the country schools, began married life with little money, and by steadily following his chosen calling as farmer, has contrived to prosper and now enjoys a fine rural home and has done well by his family. His country estate is located at Point Isabel, in section twenty-seven of Green township, six miles south of Swayzee on the rural free delivery route No. 32.
William Harvey Rybolt was born in Green township, Grant county, June 24, 1859, a son of Jarret and Rachel (Foster) Rybolt, both of whom were born in Brown county, Ohio, where they were reared and educated and married. They came to Grant county, in 1850, and the father bought his land from the government, a portion of that original estate being now owned by his son, William Harvey, and never having had any owner except the Rybolts. The father was a man of exceptional industry, and business judgment, prospered, and at one time owned three hundred and twenty acres in Green township and eighty acres in Sims township. The family were members of the Methodist church at Point Isabel, of which organization the father was one of the charter members and always a liberal supporter. In politics he was a staunch Republican, and was always considered one of the influential men in this community. When he first settled in Grant county, he built a cabin of round poles, in the midst of the woods, and that was the first home of the Rybolts in Grant county. There were seven children in the family, and four are now living. The father died in May, 1907, and the mother in June, 1911. Of their living children Frank is a farmer in Sims
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MR. AND MRS. JARRET RYBOLT
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WILLIAM H. RYROLT AND FAMITV
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township; Angeline is the wife of George Wesley Kilgore, Emma is the wife of William Miller of Fairmount.
William Harvey Rybolt was reared on the old farm in Grant county, had a common school education, and fitted himself for the career of teacher, an occupation which. he followed for three terms in Green town- ship. Then when he was twenty-one years of age on January 13, 1881, he married Laura O. Noble, who was born in Rush county, but was reared from the age of eleven in Madison county, in which locality she received most of her education. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Rybolt set themselves resolutely to carve their fortunes, and made a beginning without a great deal of money, but have managed to live well and enjoy things as they went along, and have a nice property for their declining years. Mr. Rybolt taught school during the winter seasons for several years after his marriage and farmed in the summer. At the present time he is the owner of two hundred and thirty acres in Green township. His farm adjoins the village of Point Isabel. He raises the general crops and also considerable stock.
The two children of the family are Ben E., a graduate of the common schools, married Goldie Burgan, and has one child, Morris B. He is a farmer in Green township. Ansenia, a graduate of the common schools, is the wife of Carl Livezey of Green township, and has one son, Earnest. The family are members of the Methodist church and Mr. Rybolt is a trustee and has also served as Sunday school superintendent. In politics he is a Prohibitionist and has given all his influence to the promotion of temperance and the cause of his party.
J. W. SMALLEY. In Grant county, where they have spent nearly fifty years of their lives, Mr. and Mrs. Smalley have long had a place among the most prosperous citizens, have through their efforts and good management acquired large possessions, and along with material pros- perity, their names and characters have increased in the esteem of all those who live about them. Their home is in Liberty township.
Joseph W. Smalley is a native of Adams county, Ohio, where he was born on the twenty-seventh of February, 1838, a son of William and Elizabeth (Eakins) Smalley. The parents were reared and spent all their lives in Adams county, where the father died December 14, 1860, and the mother in 1880.
Mr. Joseph W. Smalley received his early training in Adams county, grew up on a farm and lived there until his marriage on November 7, 1866, to Maria Flora, who was born in Rush county, Indiana, May 14, 1847, but her family was also from Adams county, Ohio. Her parents were Joseph and Dorothy (Keever) Flora. Joseph Flora was reared in Adams county, and was a son of Joshua Flora, who moved from Adams county to Rush county, Indiana, where he entered land from the govern- ment, and was one of the pioneer settlers. Joseph Flora was sixteen years old when the family moved to Rush county, and there grew up and married Dorothy Keever, who was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, and was brought to Rush county by her parents. Maria (Flora) Smalley was reared on a farm in Rush county, was educated in the common schools and was eighteen years old when her marriage occurred.
Mr. and Mrs. Smalley spent the first year of their married life in Adams county. From there they moved to Grant county, and bought three hundred and twenty acres of land in Liberty township. That land comprises their present home farm. Afterwards they acquired one hundred and twenty acres in another location. All of this land repre- sents their united efforts and enterprise, excepting a small nucleus of capital given to Mrs. Smalley by her father. Mr. and Mrs. Smalley
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have one son Joseph A. Smalley, who was born January 1, 1879, had an education in the local schools and married Jennie Campbell. To their marriage have been born two sons John D., aged four, and Joseph R., aged one year.
In politics Mr. Smalley is a Democrat, but has never been an office seeker, though always public spirited in his attitude toward community growth and welfare. Besides his possessions in Grant county, Mr. Smalley owns two hundred and forty acres in Oklahoma. He and his wife have always been money makers, and they are pleasant and affable people, honest and honorable in all their relations, and enjoy the complete respect and esteem of their fellow citizens.
WOODY F. CLARK. In the present enterprising citizenship of Grant county are a number of men, comparative newcomers who have brought with them the ideas and methods of other localities, and have served to modify and strengthen community life and activity. From the old commonwealth of Virginia, comes Woody F. Clark, now prosperously established at farming in Liberty township.
Born in Virginia, May 5, 1878, Woody F. Clark is a son of William H. and Temperance (Vaughan) Clark. The mother is now deceased, while the father still lives in Virginia, in Grayson county. There were four children : Woody F .; Dal S. Clark of Green township; Bertha B., wife of Mont Vaughan of Virginia, and Sallie, wife of Elbert Vaughan.
Woody F. Clark was reared and educated on the old homestead in the state of Virginia, attending the district schools there. He spent the first twenty-one years of his life in Virginia, and then came west and located in Grant county, where he found employment on a farm for four years. On October 9, 1907, he married Pearl Flora, a daughter of George W. and Mary (Blue) Flora. Mrs. Clark was educated in the common schools, and attended the Marion Normal College, having received a license to teach in Indiana. Two daughters were born to their marriage, Mary T., born December 19, 1908; and Blanche F., born November 22, 1912. In politics Mr. Clark supports the Democratic ticket, but has never been a politician. He is the owner of a fine and well improved estate of one hundred and ten acres on section twenty- nine, in the west half of the northwest quarter of that section in Liberty township. The farm is situated six miles west of the Fairmount Academy. Under the able supervision of Mr. Clark it is devoted to general farming and stock raising and is a fine home and a prosperous enterprise.
OLIVER M. SMALL. Practically all the married career of Mr. and Mrs. Small has been spent on their present homestead farm in Liberty township. They own one of the attractive places in the beautiful landscape in this section of Grant county, and for many years have industriously cultivated and prospered as farming people. Their home estate comprises eighty acres in section five of Liberty township, located three miles east and two miles south of Swayzee. General farming and stock raising are the industries most in vogue on the Small farm, and while they possess material prosperity Mr. and Mrs. Small have always stood high in the esteem of their neighbors, and have done their share of the social and civic duties which fall to the lot of every family in a rural community.
Oliver M. Small was born in Franklin township, of Grant county, December 19, 1866, a son of Samuel and Ruth Marshall Small. The parents still live in Franklin township, a venerable old couple, who represent a family long established in this county. Oliver M. Small was
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reared on the home farm, and at the proper age entered the district schools, his education being attained in the school at Maple Run. After his school days were ended he took up his part in the working of the home place until he was twenty-two years of age. At that time occurred his marriage to Martha E. Poe, a daughter of Robert L. and Kate (Cabe) Poe. Her parents are likewise respected citizens of Franklin township. Mrs. Small received her education in the schools of Rhodesburg. After their marriage they lived for one year on his father's place and then occupied his present farm, which with its modern improvements represents the united labors and management of himself and wife.
Twelve children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Small, and the older ones have already finished their education and taken useful places in the world. They are named as follows: Lawrence, a graduate of the common schools, the Swayzee high school, and a student for a time in the Marion College, and now living at home. Harold, a graduate of the common schools and the Swayzee high school; Ruth at home; Verna, now a student in the Swayzee high school; Orpha, a graduate of the common schools in 1913; and Jessie, Luther, Claude, Nina, Marguerite, and Herman, who are the youngest of the family. Mrs. Small is an active member of the Friends church at Maple Run. In politics Mr. Small always consistently supported the Republican ticket, up to the campaign of 1912, when he voted with the Progressives.
ISAAC N. EAVES. One of the old and respected residents of Grant county, Mr. Eaves is a veteran of the Civil war, between the states, and for many years has been one of the well known farmers of Sims town- ship, his home being on section thirty-four.
Isaac N. Eaves was the only son of William and Rachel (Jones) Eaves, and was born in Knox county, Ohio, May 7, 1847. His father and mother were both Pennsylvanians by birth, and moved to Ohio early in their lives. The father died in Ohio, and the mother was cared for by her son until her death, July 4, 1905.
At the age of fourteen Isaac N. Eaves went to Howard county, Indiana, and lived there until his marriage. He was educated in the local schools, and grew up in such surroundings and with such advantages as the young men of the forties and the fifties enjoyed. At the age of eighteen he became one of the boy-soldiers of Indiana, enlisting in Company F of the Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was a soldier until the close of the struggle, participating in the last general engagement of the war. He is now drawing a modest pension as a recognition of his services in preserving the integrity of the Union.
In 1869 Mr. Eaves was married in Howard county to Mary Lewellan, who died in 1881. There were four children in the family and all are now deceased. For his second wife, Mr. Eaves married Mary C. Mor- gan, who was born in Sims township of Grant county. They have one son, Simon, who was born February 7, 1899, and is now in the eighth grade of the public schools. Mr. Eaves is a member of the Christian church at Swayzee and is affiliated with Swayzee Lodge No. 637 A. F. & A. M. He is a Democrat in politics, but has never been very active in party affairs. He started the battle of life a poor young man, and all he has made represents his industry and good management. Besides the present accumulations he has provided well for those dependent upon him. He is the owner of a nice farm of fifty acres, two miles south and a quarter mile west of Swayzee, on the township line between Green and Sims township.
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NATHAN J. LEISURE. A successful career has been that of Nathan J. Leisure. Many things constitute success, and it is not alone in his . material possessions, ample though they are, that the success of Mr. Leisure is measured. When just entering manhood he went away to the war, was fighting for the union three years, and came out with the rank of lieutenant. He then began a farming career in Grant county, and with the help of a noble wife accumulated the rewards of industry and good management, until he ranks as one of the largest land owners and most substantial men of the county. At the same time he has discharged the obligations of citizenship, and dealt squarely with all men, so there are none to begrudge him his well-won prosperity.
Nathan J. Leisure, whose home is on section thirty-three of Green township, being proprietor of what is known throughout this part of the county as Sugar Grove Stock Farm, was born in Rush county, Indiana, February 18, 1841. His parents were George W. and Lucinda (Myers) Leisure. The parents were born near Staunton, Virginia, moved out to Kentucky, and later to Rush county, Indiana, where the father entered land, from the government and both he and grandfather Leisure lived there until their death. The grandfather was a very popular citizen and had hosts of friends, wherever he lived. The father was a good business man, and a public speaker of local reputation, but divided his activities and interests in such a way that he never prospered greatly financially. He was Democratic in politics and one of the active workers. There were fourteen children in the family, twelve of whom lived to have families of their own.
Nathan J. Leisure was reared on a farm, and assisted his father. His father was a stock buyer and shipper, and the son thus became well versed in all the details of handling stock. While growing up in Rusb county, he attended the district schools, and was twenty years old when the first events of the great war between the states occurred. He en- listed in Company H under Captain Dyke, in the Fifty-second Indiana Infantry, in 1861, and was with his company and regiment for one year. Illness then compelled him to return home, and he received an honorable discharge at Indianapolis. Then in the fall of 1863, having been restored to health he again enlisted, and assisted in the raising of a company known as Company M of the Ninth Indiana Cavalry. He continued with that command until after the close of the war, and was mustered out at Vicksburg on September 20, 1865. In the course of his second service he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. At Sulphur Springs, he was wounded in the right leg, and came out of the war a veteran who had seen much arduous service in behalf of the Union.
On his return to Rush county he spent only two weeks there and then moved to Grant county, where he bought eighty acres of land and started out to make a living on somewhat of a humble scale. Since then he has prospered year in and year out until he is the owner of about two thousand acres of land in this state. He has a section of land in Pulaski county, Indiana. At the present time he is farming seven hundred acres of land in Grant county, and all of this property represents the accumulations of his own thrift and industry, though like many suc- cessful men he owes and gives credit to his wife for her encouragement and practical assistance.
On September 23, 1866, Mr. Leisure married Miss Sarah J. Moore, who was born in Rush county, Indiana, and who died July 21, 1895. She was the mother of ten children, six of whom are still living, as fol- lows: George W. Leisure, a farmer in Tipton county ; B. F. Leisure, a
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MRS. NATHAN J. LEISURE
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farmer in Madison county ; J. O. Leisure, farmer in Green township; B. H. Leisure, whose farm is in Tipton county; Gertrude A., wife of John A. Peterson; and O. E. Leisure, who lives at home with his father. They also raised a girl, Sarah King, now Mrs. Charles Reel, of Point Isabel.
Mrs. Leisure, the mother of this family, was born on a farm in Rush county, Indiana, September, 1846, and when a girl attended the district schools. Her father died when she was a child, and her early life was not altogether one of luxury. She developed many fine traits of char- acter, and gave liberally of the riches of her heart and practical assets to her husband and children, who will always revere her memory. Her death made a great gap in the family life, and was also widely re- gretted among the friends and acquaintances who had esteemed her during her many years of residence in Grant county:
Mr. Leisure is a member and liberal supporter of the Christian church. In politics he is a Democrat and has served two terms as town- ship trustee of Green township. He is a man of broad interests both in business and civic affairs. He is a stock holder and one of the directors of the Elwood State Bank, and is the second largest stock holder in the State Bank at Fairmount, is a stock holder in the Curtisville Tile & Brick Works, a stock holder in a fertilizer plant at Indianapolis, and also a stock holder in the Franklin, Madison County Bank.
CHARLES MORTEN ECHELBARGER. For upwards of sixty years the Echelbarger family has lived in Grant county, their labors having been chiefly identified with the honorable arts of agriculture. The original Echelbarger homestead on section twenty-two of Green township, five miles south and half a mile west of Swayzee is now occupied by C. M. Echelbarger, who has spent all of his years on this place, and in his time has witnessed and assisted in development from an area of timber and lowland to a farm measuring up to all the high standards of Grant County agriculture.
C. M. Echelbarger was born on this homestead, September 6, 1863, a son of Michael and Frances A. (Bell) Echelbarger. His father was a native of Brown county, Ohio, and the mother was born in Henry county, Indiana. The father moved from Brown county to Henry county, where he met and married his wife, and about 1856, they came to Grant county, locating on the farm which is now the property of C. M. Echelbarger. The father gave himself energetically to the improvement of his land, cleared and ditched a large portion of it, and was the owner of a nice homestead of eighty acres. He was the father of eight children, four of whom are living, in 1913, namely : Phoebe C., wife of William Eakens; John, who married Ellen Eakens; Thomas, who married Emeline Hawk; and C. M., the youngest. The father died August 11, 1886; the mother died August 3, 1893.
Mr. Echelbarger was reared on the homestead, attended the district school in the neighborhood, and has been a tiller of the soil practically all his life. He has always lived on the home place and took care of his father and mother as long as they lived. On January 10, 1884, Mr. Echelbarger married Flora Williams, who was born in Liberty township of Grant county, May 14, 1855. Her parents were Ben F. and Mary (Jackson) Williams, the father a native of Kentucky, and the mother a native of Wabash county, Indiana. Her father came from Kentucky, and located in Wabash, Indiana, where he was married. From this state he enlisted for service in the Union army, during the Civil war, and was through a small portion of the hostilities. He was
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the father of four daughters, all of whom are living in 1913, the other members of the Williams family besides Mrs. Echelbarger being : Nancy . B., wife of Hiram Bolton; Anna, wife of Homer G. Hale of Elwood; and Elizabeth, wife of Lewis Bates, of Jennings county, Indiana. Mrs. Echelbarger's father, Ben. F. Williams, died in 1887, and the mother is still living.
To Mr. and Mrs. Echelbarger have been born two daughters: Verdie, a graduate of the common schools, and on February 11, 1904, became the wife of D. M. Wimmer; Minnie is the wife of Orvil Stevenson, of Green township. They were married March 18, 1913. The family are mem- bers of the Methodist church at Point Isabel. Fraternally Mr. Echel- barger is affiliated with Point Isabel Lodge No. 510, I. O. O. F., and has also taken the encampment degrees of the order and is past chief patriarch. He and his wife are also members of the Rebekah Lodge, and Mrs. Echelbarger is past noble grand in the organization. In politics Mr. Echelbarger is a Republican, and has been one of the influential men in his section of the county. On his farm he does general farming, and is the owner of one hundred and thirty-two acres. He has also bought and shipped stock a considerable extent, and is an enterprising and shrewd business man.
JOHN F. PINKERMAN. A native son of Grant county, John F. Pinkerman gave the greater part of youth to assisting in the labors of the home farm, and when he was married he and his wife started out with no capital, and by earnest effort and good management year in and year out, they established for themselves a good home, reared and pro- vided well for their children, and Mr. Pinkerman is now one of the most highly respected residents of Liberty township. His wife is deceased, and he now lives among his children enjoying the fruits of a well spent and altogether happy and prosperous career.
John F. Pinkerman is a native of Grant county, born in Green town- ship, January 31, 1857, a son of William and Rebecca (Titus) Pinker- man. Both parents died many years ago. They came from Pennsyl- vania to Ohio, afterwards settled in Grant county, some years before the war, from here went back to Ohio, and afterwards moved out to the state of Missouri. They both died in Grant county, Indiana. The five children of the family were: James Pinkerman, a farmer in Nebraska; Vina, wife of William Bayless; John F .; Warren C., of Marion; and Lydia, wife of Charles Leer.
When John F. Pinkerman was five years old, the family made their removal to the state of Missouri, and he spent most of his boyhood days there. His education was acquired partly in Missouri and partly in Indiana, and he had the advantage of a common school until he was about eighteen years old. He continued at home farming with his father, until the latter's death. Thirty-two years ago Mr. Pinkerman married Mary Ball. She was born in Rush county, Indiana, but grew to womanhood in Grant county, where she met and married Mr. Pinkerman. As already stated, they began without money and lived as renters for a number of years, gradually accumulating enough capital to buy a farm of their own and set up a home and establishment. Mrs. Pinkerman died Sep- tember 24, 1912. She was the mother of four children: William is a graduate of the Marion Normal College, followed teaching for a number of years, and is now married and has a home of his own; George B. grad- uated from the high school, is a teacher by profession, and is also mar- ried; Bertha, after graduating from the local schools, took up the work of teacher, and is now the wife of Ben Steele, of Green township; Rebecca graduated from the Marion Normal College and is now the wife of Berness Dickey. Mr. Pinkerman has ten grandchildren.
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In 1904 Mr. Pinkerman bought his present farm, and has made all the improvements and has a comfortable modern dwelling. The farm comprises eighty acres of first-class Grant county land, situated half a mile from the village of Hackleman. Mr. Pinkerman, as was his wife, is a member of the Christian church at Leisure. Fraternally he is affiliated with Hackleman Lodge No. 551, I. O. O. F., and with the Improved Order of Red Men at Rigdon. In politics a Democrat, he has never taken any special part in public affairs, although as a good citizen he has cast his vote according to his judgment, and has been willing to cooperate in any movement for the welfare of his home locality.
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