USA > Indiana > Rush County > Centennial history of Rush County, Indiana, Volume II > Part 49
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been born, namely : Elsie, who married Elbert C. Davidson and has two children, Paul and Lawrence, the first named of whom mar- ried Ruby Gwinnip and has one child, a son, Paul, Jr .; Fred, who married Mary Offutt and has one child, a son, Albert Offutt; Charles, who married Lena Wesling; Earl B., who married Jessie Finley and has one child, a daughter, Mary E .; Lillian, who mar- ried Donald Powers, to which union was born one child, a son, Don- ald, and who after the death of Mr. Powers married Vincent Young, and William Winship, who is unmarried. Albert L. Winship is a Mason, a Knights Templar, a noble of the Mystic Shrine and a Knight of Pythias. He is a member of the board of trustees of St. Paul's Methodist Church at Rushville and is numbered among the most earnest supporters of the church. Ile has always been ac- counted one of the stalwart workers in the Republican party, and his efforts in behalf of the party have been no small factor in the success of the party in Rush county. His keen judgment not only in political but in business affairs rightly entitles him to a foremost position in the esteem of his fellow citizens, and it is to be recorded that just consideration is not withheld.
WALTER E. SMITH, an attorney of Rushville, was born in that city on April 19, 1878, the son of William H. and Frances O. Smith, the latter of Franklin county, Indiana, the former of South Carolina, whence he came to Rush county when a boy with his parents, Ebenezer and Mary A. Smith. They were among the pioneer settlers of Union township, and did their full part in the conversion of the land from a wilderness to a beautiful and highly cultivated farming district. William H. Smith grew to manhood on the farm and received his early schooling in the local schools. Later, having decided on a professional career, he attended the old Asbury Academy, now DePauw University, and then went to the Western Reserve Medical college at Cleveland, Ohio, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He first practiced at Laurel in Franklin county, and then at Fairview, Fayette county. Later he moved to Rushville where throughout a practice of about fifty years he obtained and kept the confidence of the entire community. He was active in the work of the local medical organization, and was eminently successful in his profession. He was interested in farming, and invested a part of his earnings in a 132-acre farm in Rushville township. He was the father of seven children, four of whom are now living : Anna, wife of John H. Frazee; Dr. William C .; Luella, wife of J. E. Fish; and Walter E., the subject of this sketch. Walter E. Smith obtained his elementary education in the schools of Rushville township, and also attended the old Graham Academy in Rushville. After being graduated from the high school he matriculated in Indiana University, where for two years he pursued the Literature and Arts course. He then entered upon the law course of the Indiana Law School at Indianapolis, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws
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in 1902. He then returned to Rushville where he commenced the practice of the legal profession, but soon enlarged his business interests by taking up the negotiation of loans, in which he has met with excellent success. On November 29, 1919, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Hazel K. Thomas, of Summitville, Madison county, Indiana. Mrs. Smith received her early schooling in the public schools of Summitville and then entered Fairmount Academy, from which she was graduated. She then entered the Metropolitan School of Music at Indianapolis, where she specialized on the violin, becoming very proficient. Mr. Smith is a member of the Christian church at Rushville. Fraternally, he is a member of the Rushville lodge, Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, and as the principles of the Republican party coincide most nearly with his own views on political matters, he is counted among its ardent supporters.
WILLIAM M. BROOKS, one of the enterprising young agricul- turists of Rush county, whose valuable farm of ninety-eight and one-half acres is located in Noble township, was born in that town- ship, on November 18, 1884, son of William M. and Laura Delphina (Downey) Brooks, natives of Nicholas county, Kentucky, and Noble township, respectively. When he was about ten years old the elder William M. Brooks came to Rush county in company with his parents, and located at Rushville, where he later embarked in a drug business in partnership with Andrew Hinchman, this association continuing until Mr. Brooks's marriage, when he retired from the drug business, moved to Noble township and began to farm. Finding this occupa- tion congenial and profitable he continued to invest in land until at one time he owned 600 acres of land in Rush county. His death occurred in 1896 and his widow is now living at Rushville. They had ten children, five of whom survive, namely : Minnie, Edith, Harry, Leslie, and William M. After completing his schooling in Noble township William M. Brooks took a commercial course in a business college at Richmond, Indiana, and then, returning home, began oper- ating the homestead. Subsequently he moved to his present farm in Noble township. He has always been a general farmer and stock- raiser, and feeds out from seventy-five to 100 head of hogs annually. On October 10, 1907, Mr. Brooks was married to Maxie Griffin, daugh- ter of Marion Griffin, and they have two children, William and Howard. In his membership with Little Flat Rock Christian Church Mr. Brooks finds expression for his religious life, and he is honored in that congregation. The Republican party has in him a firm sup- porter, but he has not come before the public for office.
CLIFF N. WINSHIP, a well-known farmer and stockman of Anderson township, was born on the farm which he now occupies in that township, December 27, 1872, a son of Amos and Elizabeth J. (Hunt) Winship, the latter a native of Franklin county, Indiana, born in 1849. Amos Winship was born on the farm now operated by his son, in 1847, and was reared and educated in the same community,
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where he continued to be engaged as a general farmer and stock raiser during the remainder of his active life. He retired several years before his death, which occurred on July 23, 1915. Mr. Winship was one of the highly esteemed men of his community and his long and honorable career was crowned by the acquirement of a gratifying property. His widow still survives him and makes her home with her son, Cliff N. Beside the latter, Mr. and Mrs. Winship had a daughter, Gertrude, wife of Arra Bennett, who died in 1912. After attending the district school in the vicinity of his father's farm in Anderson township, Cliff N. Winship pursued a course in the normal school at Rushville, and upon completing his studies returned to the home farm, where he became his father's associate. At the time of his marriage, Mr. Winship purchased 110 acres of land and began his independent career, which has been devoted to farming and the raising of live stock. Mr. Winship improved his original purchase by the erection of substantial buildings and the installation of modern machinery and labor-saving devices, and in addition to cultivating this tract also applies himself to the operation of the home farm, of which he had assumed management at the time of the retirement of his father. He is now operating 270 acres and as a stock feeder has a herd of good graded stock and feeds out about 500 head of hogs annually. Mr. Winship married Cora L., daughter of Darius and Irene (Hite) Patterson, and to this union there has been born one child, Miriam T., who is attending school at Milroy. Mr. Winship is a Democrat. but has never aspired to public office. He is a York Rite Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, affiliated with Murat Temple at Indi- anapolis and also holds membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Winship is known in his community as an industrious worker and a shrewd and well- informed man of business, and has been identified with numerous phases of town and country life.
ROBERT E. PHILLIPS, a well-known farmer of Richland township and accounted among the strong and influential citizens of Rush county whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section, is a native son of the old Hoosier state, having been born in Franklin county, Indiana, on May 1, 1869. His parents, Henry and Julia (Harris) Phillips, were natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and educated. Some- time after their marriage they moved to Franklin county, Indiana, settling near Andersonville, where Henry Phillips farmed rented land for a number of years. He and his father then bought a farm and together ran a saw and gristmill. Later he sold his farm interests to his father and thereafter to the time of his death le devoted his time to the sawmill, in which he was successful. To him and his wife were born nine children, namely : John (deceased) : Josephine, Sarah, Eli, Catherine, Robert, William, Thomas and Alden. Robert E. Phillips received his educational training in the schools of Franklin county and then assisted his father in the operation of the sawmill.
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He also bought a threshing machine, which he ran until 1905, when he bought the farm which he now owns, comprising eighty-two acres of fine land, and here he is energetically carrying on general farming operations, in which he is meeting with commensurate success. He also handles live stock, feeding about 100 head of hogs annually. Mr. Phillips's place is well improved and he carries on his work in a practical and efficient way that brings maximum results. Mr. Phillips married Elizabeth Davis, the daughter of John and Emeline Davis, and their union has been blessed in the birth of four children, namely : Ethel, who became the wife of Gay Simons; Lola, who became the wife of John King and the mother of one child, Robert; Clara, who married Merlin Senour and has one child, Theodore; and Julia Emeline, deceased. Mr. Phillips is a stanch Republican. He is deeply interested in everything pertaining to the advancement of the general welfare and enjoys the confidence of all who know him.
J. E. WALTHER, M. D., who has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Glenwood since he secured his diploma in 1912, is a native son of Missouri but has been a resident of Indiana since he was fifteen years of age and has thus long since come to regard himself almost as much a Hoosier as though "native and to the manner born." Doctor Walther was born in Jefferson county, Missouri, July 25, 1883, son of Ferdinand and Louise (Null) Walther, the latter of whom was born in that same state. Ferdinand Walther, a miller, who is now living at Indianapolis, is a native of New York state. He and his wife have two sons, Doctor Walther having a brother, Cornelius Walther. As noted above, Doctor Walther was about fifteen when he became a Hoosier by adoption. When he was about twelve years of age his parents moved from Missouri to Athens, Illinois, where they remained until 1898 when they came to Indiana and located in Parke county, where Doctor Walther completed his common school training, being graduated from the Bloomingdale Academy in 1903. Upon leaving the academy he entered the United States civil service and was presently sent to the Philippine Islands, where he was engaged in Government civil service until 1908, in which year he returned to the states and at once entered Indiana University, from the medical college of which institution he was graduated in 1912. Upon securing his diploma Doctor Walther, who in the meantime had married, established his home at Glenwood in this county, opened an office for the practice of his profession there and has since resided in that pleasant village, having an extensive practice in the countryside thereabout. It was in 1910 that Dr. J. E. Walther was united in marriage to Winona McCampbell, danghter of Charles and Esta McCampbell, and to this union two children have been born, sons both, Joseph and John. Doctor and Mrs. Walther have a very pleas- ant home at Glenwood and take an interested part in the community's general social activities. They are Republicans and the Doctor is a member of the local lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons at Fal- mouth and of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is affiliated with
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the Rush County Medical Society, with the Indiana State Medical Society and with the American Medical Association and is a member of the college fraternity Phi Chi, in the affairs of all of which organ- izations he takes a warm interest.
OLLIE N. BROWN, a well known farmer of Posey township and one of the most highly esteemed citizens of his community, is a native son of Rush county, having been born in the township in which he now lives on December 10, 1884. His parents, Jerry and Cora (Taylor) Brown, were natives, respectively, of Rush county and the state of Kentucky and were reared and educated in their native localities. Jerry Brown was a lifelong farmer in Posey township, where he owned eighty acres of good land. He and his wife became the parents of three children, two of whom, Bertha and Ollie N., are living. Ollie N. Brown pursued his educational training in the Beaver Meadow school and two years in the high school at Arlington. He then devoted his energies to work on the home farm, where he remained until his marriage. In 1906 Mr. Brown rented a tract of land from his grandfather Brown, which he operated for five years, at the end of that period going to Henry county, Indiana, where he bought a sixty-acre farm. Two years later he returned to Rush county and, in partnership with his father-in-law, bought the farm where he now lives, comprising 100 acres of land, the subject operating half of the land. He later bought thirty-two and a half acres of land across the road from his other land, thus giving him eighty-two and a half acres of land, to which he has since devoted his attention. He is thorough and methodical in his work, giving due attention to rotation. of crops and the maintenance of soil fertility, and is meeting with well-deserved success. He also gives some attention to the raising of live stock, feeding two carloads of hogs annually. On February 21, 1906, Mr. Brown was married to Ava Downey, who was born, reared and edu- cated in Posey township, the daughter of John P. and Mary (Stevens) Downey, there being one other child, Fern, in this family. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have had three children, Wilson E. (deceased), Jean E. and Fern I. Mr. Brown and his wife are members of the Christian church at Arlington. Mr. Brown is a member of the Farmers' Associa- tion and is a Democrat in his political faith.
CHARLES W. ERTEL, an enterprising and successful farmer in Washington township, this county, belongs to one of the fine old families of this section that has had much to do with agricultural development. He was born in Washington township, March 9, 1881, a son of Philip and Mary (Burnau) Ertel. His father was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and in boyhood came to Indiana with his parents, Philip and Mary (Estel) Ertel, the family locating in Rush county. Grandfather Philip Ertel was born in Germany, came to the United States when a young man, was married in Philadelphia and later in life came with his family to Indiana. He entered eighty acres of land in Washington township, Rush county, and engaged in farming and raising stock. For a time he operated a cordage mill in Union
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township. He and wife had four children, Philip, George, Elizabeth and Charles. Philip, the eldest son, obtained his schooling in Wash- ington township and early showed business capacity that led to his being engaged as a traveling representative by a Philadelphia business firm. After he returned to Washington township he acquired and cleared land and sold lumber for the next ten years, after which until his death he followed farming and stockraising on what is now the farm owned by Mrs. G. Abernathy. He married Mary Burnau, of New Paris, Ohio, and they had five children: Thomas H., Mary, Charles W., living, and George and Ida, deceased. Charles W. Ertel obtained his public school training in Washington township. When he first engaged in farming he rented 160 acres that he operated for eight years, then settled on his present place, where he has 215 acres. Mr. Ertel is a careful, practical farmer and operates his land accord- ing to modern methods. He married Mrs. Marie (Messersmith) Zehner, who was born in Franklin county, Indiana. In politics Mr. Ertel is a Republican. He is a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Mason and a Shriner.
GEORGE W. YOUNG, senior member of the law firm of Young & Young at Rushville and former prosecuting attorney for this judicial district, is a native son of Rush county and has lived in this county all his life, a resident of Rushville since the days of his young man- hood, for many years thus an influential factor in the cause of good citizenship hereabout. Mr. Young was born in Center township, this county, January 29, 1847, son of James and Margaret (Davis) Young, well known residents of that township in a generation that has passed. James Young was a native of the Buckeye state who came from Ohio to Indiana as a carpenter at the age of twenty-one and located in Rush county. Not long after coming here he bought a quarter of a section of land in Center township and there developed a good farm, spending the rest of his life as a farmer. James Young married Margaret Davis, who was born in County Leitrim, Connaught, Ire- land, who had come to this country with her parents when twenty- two years of age, and to that union ten children were born, of whom two are still living, George W. Young having a brother, Samuel H. Young. But three of the others grew to maturity, David, James and William A. Young. George W. Young grew up on the home farm in Center township and supplemented the schooling he received in the neighborhood schools of that township by a course at Spiceland Academy, after which for four years he taught school in Jackson and Union townships. During this period he found his inclinations turning him to the study of law and presently he entered the law office of William Cullen and Benjamin Smith at Rushville, under whose preceptorship he was prepared for admission to the bar. Upon his admission Mr. Young entered the practice of his profession at Rush- ville and has ever since continued thus engaged, long one of the best known attorneys in the Sixth district. His son, James V. Young, has been associated with him in practice for some years, a quite mutually
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agreeable arrangement which has proved successful. In 1894 George W. Young was elected on the Republican ticket as prosecuting attorney of the judicial district comprising the counties of Rush and Decatur and served for one term. He also has served as attorney for the city of Rushville and during his long years of legal practice has ever been devoted to the cause of the welfare of his home community. Mr. Young is a Knight Templar and Royal Arch Mason, a member of the blue lodge, the commandery and the chapter at Rushville, and is also a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church. Mrs. Young also is a native of Rush county. She was born, Nancy Hinchman, in Union township, a member of one of the pioneer families in that part of the county. To Mr. and Mrs. Young three children have been born, James V., Della, wife of Judge Will M. Sparks, and Iola M. (deceased). James V. Young, junior member of the law firm of Young & Young, was born on November 18, 1874, and has been a resident of Rushville all his life. Upon completing the course in the Rushville school he continued his studies at the university at Valpa- raiso, Ind., and at the law school at Indianapolis and upon com- pleting his law course was admitted to the bar, immediately thereafter forming a partnership with his father for the practice of his profes- sion at Rushville. Mr. Young is a Republican, as is his father, and is a Scottish Rite Mason and Knight Templar, a member of the con- sistory at Indianapolis and of the commandery at Rushville. He also is a member of the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Rushville. Mr. Young and his wife are members of the Methodist church. Mrs. Young, who was Lillian Power, also was born at Rushville.
THE MULL FAMILY has had representation in America since Colonial days, and in Rush county since the year 1826, five years following the erection of this county as a separate civic unit in the then growing group of counties which make up the Hoosier commonwealth. The first of the name in this country was David Mull, who came to America from Germany in 1740, and settled in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, later, in 1757, moving to Loudoun county, Virginia, where he spent the remainder of his life and where the family became well established. David Mull was the father of seven children, his last born being George Mull, who was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1772. When twenty-one years of age, in 1793, George Mull married Catherine Long, who was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1774, and after his marriage continued to maintain his home in Loudoun county until 1814, in which year he moved with his family to War- ren county, Ohio, where his wife died in 1823. George Mull sur- vived his wife about four years, his death occurring in this county in December, 1827, while on a visit to his sons who had come over here from Ohio the year before and effected a settlement in Ruslı county, where the family has ever since been represented. The
MR. AND MRS. CYRUS MULL
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body of George Mull was taken back to Warren county and laid beside that of his wife in the old home cemetery there. George and Catherine (Long) Mull were the parents of seven children, three of whom, George, Jacob and Frederick became pioneer resi- dents of Rush county, the brothers coming here in March, 1826, George locating in Rushville township and Jacob and Frederick in Walker township. Jacob Mull was born in Loudoun county, Vir- ginia, in 1803, and was thus but little more than ten years of age when he moved with his parents into Ohio, where he grew to man- hood and where he married Margaret Richinson, who was born in New Jersey in 1805, of Scottish stock. It was not long after his marriage when Jacob Mull, in the spring of 1826, settled in Rush county, locating on a farm in the eastern part of Walker township, where he remained until 1836, when he left the farm and moved to the village of Manilla, where he became engaged in mercantile business and where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring in June, 1861. He and his wife were the parents of four children : Cyrus, of whom more below; George, who died at the age of seven years; Catherine, who married Dr. James W. Trees, and Mary Ann, who married Dr. John J. Inlow. Cyrus Mull was born on the home farm in the eastern part of Walker township on March 19, 1829, and was seven years of age when his father moved from the farm to Manilla, where he received his schooling and early became trained in the ways of business in his father's store. When he reached his majority his father admitted him to partnership in the business, in which his brother-in-law, Dr. J. W. Trees, also was interested, the firm doing business under the style of J. & C. Mull & Trees. In addition to carrying on a general mercantile business at Manilla this firm also made a specialty of buying and selling live stock, and in this latter department Cyrus Mull became one of the best known stockmen in this section of Indiana, his opera- tions covering a wide territory hereabout. His interests in other directions also expanded and he was for years a member of the board of directors of the Rushville National Bank and of the First National Bank of Shelbyville. He also had considerable land in- terests and to a fine farm he owned at the edge of the village of Manilla he gave much of his personal attention, erecting there one of the good homes of Rush county, a place in which he took much delight, for his home ever was a delight to him, and in that home his last days were spent, his death occurring there on July 7, 1883, he then being fifty-four years of age. His widow survived him for many years, her death occurring on December 19, 1920, she then being in her eighty-first year. Mrs. Mull was Eleanor Josephine Kerrick, born at Blooming Grove, Franklin county, Indiana, Jan- uary 28, 1840, daughter of the Rev. Nimrod and Mary (Masters) Kerrick, the former of whom was born in Loudoun county, Vir- ginia, and the latter in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. The Rev.
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