USA > Indiana > Shelby County > Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Vol. 2 > Part 10
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Mr. Boals owns a highly improved farm of seventy-eight acres in sec- tion 33. which he cultivates according to approved methods, being a careful student of agricultural science and seldom failing to reap bountiful returns from his land.
In his political views Mr. Boals is a firm Democrat, always taking an active interest in county, district and state affairs. In religion the Methodist Episcopal church holds his creed, to which body his wife also belonged. and under the influence of which his children were carefully reared and instructed.
In common with the majority of his fellow men. Mr. Boals has felt the stern hand of suffering and bereavement. the angel of death having invaded his household in December. 1902, and removed from thence its presiding spirit in the person of his faithful and loving wife. She bore her husband eight children, namely : Mary B., born December 18. 1857. married Thomas Finley, and died some years ago: Samuel, whose birth occurred January 19, 1861, died December 3. 1863: Thomas M. was born October 11, 1863, mar- ried Sarah Brim, and lives in Cincinnati, where he holds the position of wheat inspector: Hattie, born December 3. 1866. married Lorenzo Murphy, and makes her home in Burlington. Jowa, their family consisting of three children. Benjamin C., Ruby Bell and Margaret. Albert W., whose birth occurred De- cember 22, 1868. lives on the home farm: he married Mary P .. daughter of John T. and Sarah ( Weaver ) Porterfield, who has presented him with chil- dren as follows : Ophae. Lcona Bell, Harold Ward, Stanley Robert and Lloyd Frederick: Sadie E., the sixth in order of birth, and the wife of Charles Parker, first saw the light of day on June 16th, of the year 1871 : Martha J.,
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the youngest of the family, was born February 6. 1875, and departed this life on January 20, 1883. In addition to the above there was an infant son, who (lied shortly after birth, without being named.
ELMER BASSETT.
An attorney-at-law and a representative of one of the earliest pioneer families of Southern Indiana is Elmer Bassett, a native of the Ilcosier- state and a son of James M. and Clarinda Bassett, both parents born in Shelby county, where they still reside. James M. Bassett, whose birth occurred on the 12th day of April, 1840, and who is a large land owner and successful farmer, lives on the family homestead in Marien township, which his grand- father, Nymphus Bassett, purchased from the government in 1828, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the land at this time being conservative- ly estimated at one hundred and twenty-five dollars per acre. Sylvester Bas- sett. son of Nymphus and grandfather of the subject, was born in Ohio, in 1814, and at the age of six years was brought to Indiana by his parents, who settled in Marion township. Shelby county, as early as 1820, being among the first permanent white settlers in this part of the state. The country was wild and heavily timbered and to clear land and fit it for cultivation required hard, continuous labor, such as the young men of the present day have no. adequate conception. The Bassetts cleared a number of acres in Marion township, the original homestead of one hundred and eighty-five acres being one of the finest and most valuable farms in the county.
Nymphus Bassett was a man of high standing and wide influence in his community, and for many years ranked among the successful farmers and representative citizens of the township in which he lived. Ardently religious and a leading member of the Baptist church, he took an active interest in spreading the truths of the Gospel among the settlements of Shelby and ad- jacent counties and to him, more perhaps than to any other, was due the carly growth and subsequent advancement of the Baptist denomination in Shelby- ville and various other localities. He made and donated the brick for the ยท original Baptist church on East Washington street. Shelbyville, and when the college at Franklin, the leading educational institution of that denomina- tion in Indiana, was about to be sold for debt, he rode on horseback from Shelbyville to the latter place, a distance of twenty-one miles, in time to, bid it off and turn it over free of incumbrance to the proper authorities. For this and other meritorious acts he greatly endeared himself to his denomina- tion and his name is still revered in Baptist circles through ut the state as che of the champions and liberal patrons of the church during the time of its
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trials and struggles in the Middle West. This good man and his faithful wife lived together until an advanced age, and when the latter died the hus- band was so overwhelmed with grief that he determined. if possible, to seek relief in new scenes under new circumstances. Accordingly at the old age of ninety-one years he disposed of his interests in Shelby county and started overland for Arkansas for the purpose of entering land and beginning life anew, but died ere reaching his destination.
When a young man James M. Bassett married Clarinda Norville, daugh- ter of Thomas Norville, who wife's family, the Hankins, were also among the early comers to Shelby county. Robert Hankins, the father of Mrs. Nor- ville, migrating from Virginia to this part of Indiana when there were but few sparse settlements to break the monotony of the dense wilderness. Susan Menroney, wife of Sylvester Bassett, was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in the year 1820. and when quite young came to Shelby county with her father, James Monroney, who took an active part in the development of the locality in which he settled and in due time became one of the well-to-do men and public-spirited citizens of the community. The Bassetts and Monroneys were not only near neighbors, but became closely related by the ties of mar- riage, three of the Bassett brothers marrying three of the Monroney sisters. and it is a fact worthy of note that each of the latter bore a son whom they named James in honor of their husband's father.
James M. Bassett, the father of our subject, rearel a family of seven sons, six of whom survive. all being residents of Shelby county, with the ex- ception of one son who resides in Thorntown. Boone county. Indiana. All were reared and educated in this county, each became prominent in business circles, and they are now at the head of important enterprises, and among the substantial men in their respective lines of endeavor.
Elmer Bassett, whose name introduces this sketch, was born on the fam- ily homestead in Marion township. January 10. 1867. and remained with his parents until his eighteenth year, attending the public schools at intervals in the meantime. Desiring to acquire an education as thorough as possible he entered the Shelbyville graded schools, two and a half miles from his home. which distance he walked twice a day for a perial of seventeen months, and during that time was never absent nor tardy. By diligent application he made rapid progress in his studies and in 1885 began teaching, which he continued for fourteen consecutive terms, meeting with success.
While teaching in Marion, a village of Shelby county. Indiana, Mr. Bas- sett on January 1, 1900, was appointed clerk of the Census Bureau at Wash- ington, D. C., and shortly after entering upon his official duties in that city he began the study of law at the National Law School, which he attended during the evening and night sessions until completing the prescribed course, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Science on May 31st of the year
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1902. Returning in June of the latter year to Shelbyville. he entered the law office of Hord & Adams, where he continued his legal studies for a period of two years, practicing part of the time, and in January, 1905, moved to his present office in the K. of P. builling, where he built up a large and Incra- tive business the meanwhile and gaining a conspicuous place among the suc- cessful attorneys of the Shelbyville bar. In 1904 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, composed of the counties of Rush and Shelby, and during his term of two years was untiring in his efforts to enforce the law and mete out justice to its violators. He made a most credit- able record as Prosecutor. Since the expiration of his official term he has practiced alone, and. as already stated, commands an extensive business which is continually growing.
Mr. Bassett is a gentleman of attractive personality and pleasing ad- dress. In politics he is a Republican and as such has rendered efficient ser- vice to his party. In religion he subscribes to the Methodist church. being a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Shelbyville. His fra- ternal relations are with the Masonic and Pythian orders, and he is also iden- tified with the Modern Woodmen and Court of Honor.
Mr. Bassett on September 6. 1888, was united in the bonds of wedlock with Minnie E., daughter of David and Amanda ( Hughlett ) Ford. the for- mer a son of William Ford. one of the pioneers of Shelby county, and for many years a leading farmer of Addison township. Mrs. Ford, a native of Kentucky, was one of thirteen children who came to Shelby county in an carly day. Mrs. Bassett, who is the second of a family of five children, was educated in the district schools of Shelbyville, and is a lady of high standing. having many friends in the circles in which she moves.
ANDREW WILLIAM KUHN.
Over a half century ago the parents of Andrew William Kuhn set sail from Germany to make for themselves a new home on the American conti- nent. Four boys, of whom Andrew was one. made up the family of children. The biographical facts regarding the parents will be found in the sketch of Jacob Kuhn, one of the four brothers, elsewhere in these pages. No country of Europe has contributed to American civilization a better class of citizens than Germany. Her people are thrifty, honest. law-abiding and energetic. and America has profited much by having had infused into her population such a goodly percentage of this desirable nationality.
Andrew William Kulm was born in Bavaria, Germany, July 14. 1842. He grew to manhood on the farm, attending the district schools in the winter
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time, and thus received a fair common school education, and this, coupled with the rigid discipline of the home, developed him into that type of sturdy man- hood that characterizes so many of our German-American citizens.
On January 23. 1873. Mr. Kuhn married Margaret Kessler, who was also born in Germany. June 15. 1854. in the Province of Bavaria. In 18;2. at the age of eighteen she came to America alone. It was often the case that one or two members of the emigrating families would come over first in order to form an estimate of the life in this country, and in a year or two others would follow. The mother and one brother of Mrs. Kuhn came over later. and in due time located in Shelby county.
Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn have become the parents of seven children, namely : Sophia was born November 27. 1877. married William Kehrt, and is the mother of four children. Otto F .. was born July 22, 1880, and is at home with his parents. Harry Conrad was born March 18, 1882, and married Ed- na DeBunn. Their home is at Liberty, and one child has graced their union. John F., born September 30, 1884. married Maud Harvey; their home is in Marion township, and they are the parents of one child. George Michael was born March 24. 1887, and he is still at home with his parents. Laura Anna Mary, born April 6. 1891, and Paul Jacob, born February 17, 1896, are both at home.
Mr. Kulin has devoted himself to farming and in this work he has met with pronounced success. He has an excellent farm with modern improve- ments and every convenience. He manages to get splendid returns from his land, and makes every move count for good. The family belongs to the Ger- man Evangelical church, and Mr. Kuhn is a member in good standing of time Blue Ridge Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
JOHN THOMAS MEANS.
Moral township received many ci its first settlers from North Carolina. and the founders of some of the county's strongest families came from that section of the South. Among them is the influential and widely distributed family of Means. Thomas Pinkney Means. the pioneer founder, was born in Rockingham county. North Carolina, April 22. 1807. Having lost his father by death, he brought his mother to Shelby county, and entered land in Moral township, near Brookfield, being one of the very first settlers of that region. His mother eventually removed to Minnesota, where she died as an occupant of her son Joseph's household. Thomas Pinkney Means married Elizabeth, daughter of John Dake, developed the farm where his sor now lives, reared a large family and became one of the most influential men of the
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RESIDENCE OF JOHN T. MEANS.
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township. In the course of time he and his wife passed away on the farm to which they devoted so much toil and anxious thought. His death occurred May 12, 1884. His wife, who was born May 25, 1824, died December 13. 1907. They had seven children; Ruth, deceased; Mary Ellen, wife of Fletcher Mc- Clain, both deceased : Francis MI., a resident of Moral township : John Thomas ; James William, of Moral township: Columbia, wife of Willis Hoop, of Sugar Creek township, and George W., deceased.
John Thomas Means, the fourth in the foregoing list, was born in Moral township, Shelby county, Indiana. March 3, 1852. He was three years old when his parents removed to the farm where he now lives, and it has been his home ever since. It consists of one hundred seventy-five acres, in a high state of cultivation and its soil will compare in productiveness to the best in the township. He has never undertaken any fancy farming, contenting himself with the methods usually pursued in his neighborhood. the returns from the farm consisting in the products from the cereal crops and stock raising. Mr. Means stands high in the community both as a farmer and a citizen. fulfilling all his duties as a good neighbor.
HENRY S. CORY.
Shelbyville has never had a finer family than the Corys. They have been identified with Shelby county from a time running well back into the pioneer period, and have figured conspicuously in the mercantile, social, industrial and general life of the county. The founder was Alexander Cory, who was born in Preble county. Ohio, June 20, 1820, and reared by . Alexander Ritten- house, an uncle, who for many years was prominent in business at Freeport. He was only seven years old when brought to Shelby county, but under his uncle's tutelage developed into a merchant of broad views, unflagging indus- try and a sagacity that eventually made him one of the leading promoters of his day. An evidence of his precocity is furnished by the fact that he be- came his uncle's partner when only fifteen years old. He married when twenty-one years old and then engaged in business for himself. having three hundred dollars in cash and five hundred dollars' worth of merchandise. He dealt in grain and live stock later in life, marketing the grain at Madison, In- diana, and Cincinnati, Ohio, delivering the same in wagon trains and return- ing home with merchandise. He also drove hogs and cattle to those points. He built a saw-mill and cut the lumber to build the Hanover Mills. He achieved success and accumulated wealth, by combined operations in mer- chandising and milling and dealing in real estate. It was in 1850 that he built the Hanover Mills, at that time the largest concern of its kind in the
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county and one of the best in the state. In 1847 he assisted in building the Knightstown and Shelbyville Railroad, of which he was made a director. At his own expense he built a large warehouse and depot to accommodate public traffic. In 1855 he removed to Shelbyville and purchased the Shelby Mills, where he did a large business in flour and grain, besides conducting a general store on the public square. In fact his enterprising spirit led him into many activities, both of a public and private nature, and he was a factor in the de- velopment both of city and county. One of his public services never to be forgotten, was his interest and aid in constructing gravel roads and building iron bridges in the county. Shelby county's first step forward towards modern development. He was a Democrat and served as county commissioner. when the county poor house was built. When he died. March 14. 1864. the feeling of general sorrow was attested by a public funeral such as is seldom accorded a private citizen. Rev. J. J. Smythe. a prominent Presbyterian minister and life-long friend. conducted his funeral.
February 23. 1841. Alexander Cory married Loretto, daughter of Rev. Samuel Morrison, a noted Methodist minister of his day. She was born at Kingwood, Preston county. Virginia. November 30, 1823, and came with her family to Shelby county in 1826. Their marriage was happy, for both hus- band and wife were possessed of a distinct individuality and were above the average in strength of character. Their seven children all inherited more or less of the parental traits. Anna E., the eldest daughter, is the widow of Quincy A. Parker, of Shelbyville: Mary E., the second daughter, married Samuel Parker Wadley, of Dubuque, Iowa : S. Frances, who married William S. Major, has long been one of the social lights of Shelbyville: Frank, the eldest son, is now a resident of Petoskey: Laura G., now Mrs. George W. Stout, of Indianapolis, and Loretto, are the two younger sisters.
Henry S. Cory, the fifth child, was born at Shelbyville. Indiana, Novem- ber 30, 1856, and attended school as he grew up until the completion of his sixteenth year. He then went on his mother's farm and continued in this line for three years, when he began clerking in different stores of his native city. Meantime he kept an eye on the farm, assisted his mother in her business af- fairs and exercised a fraternal outlook over the welfare of his younger sisters. Finally he decided to go into the grocery business at Indianapolis, but soon returned to Shelbyville. For a while he held a position in the First National Bank, but gave this up to establish himself in the furniture business in which he has since been exclusively engaged. His place on South Harrison street has long been one of the city's business features, and Mr. Cory, by the exer- cise of good judgment. watchful care in selling and buying, as well as seru- pulous honesty in his dealings has made a success and prospered. His busi- ness occupies two ficors, forty-isur by one hundred feet. employing four clerks and always containing a fine assortment of the best selected furniture.
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January 1. 1893. Mr. Cory married Elese Phillips, of Indianapolis, by whom he has a daughter. Katherine, born in December. 1894, and now in school. Mr. Cory is a member of the Order of Ben Hur and Court of Honor, a gentleman of much affability, of pleasing address and decidedly a maker and holder of friends. He ranks high in the business circles of Shelbyville, and the county has no more popular citizen.
PHILIP F. AND CHARLES P. SINDLINGER.
For more than forty-five years the name of Sindlinger has been a house- hold word in Shelbyville. During all of this time it has been synonymous with thrift and energy, progress and public spirit. Philip Sindlinger. the founder, was the embodiment of all those fine qualities which make the Ger- man-American such a desirable citizen. While working, of course, primarily for himself, his labors redounded to the benefit of the whole community, and the industry he established was one of the city's most valuable assets. He came from a family which for generations had been engaged in the meat busi- ness, imbibed tastes and temperament suitable for success in this line, and by the exercise of his strong mind and splendid physical constitution, established the reputation of his house on a firm and enduring basis. Philip F. Sind- linger was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 25. 1837. of Ger- man parents, who were unable to do much for him in a financial way. He started out when seventeen years of age, and drove an omnibus from Cin- cinnati to Sedansville. a suburb of Cincinnati. When a young man he went to Rock Island, Illinois, and began in a small way the business of butchering. It was the period of gold excitement in the West and Philip caught the fever and joined the crowd of expectants whose motto was "Pike's Peak or Bust." En route to the Eldorado, however, the ambitious gold-seeker was captured by the Indians and held prisoner for three months or more. After finally effecting his release he was entirely cured of the gold fever and decided to settle down to the less adventurous but safer pursuit of the dollar by the more orderly process of dealing in meat. It was in October. 1862, that he got free from the red-skins, and on May 5, 1864. he took the step that even- tually led to fame and fortune. In that year he located at Shelbyville, then a small town of a thousand or two inhabitants. and his whole capital consisted of his training as a butcher and his endless capacity for work. In after life when prosperity had smiled upon him he was fond of telling that his first beef was bought on credit and the money obtained by retailing the carcass, the first capital to give him a start. Soon. however, he was able to buy from Peter Spitzfadden the old meat shop that stood on the site of the present
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Sindlinger establishment. Another purchase of vital importance was three acres of ground northeast of the city, where his slaughter house ever after- wards stood. The confidence of the creditors of this energetic young Ger- man was not misplaced. He worked hard and long, used good judgment in buying as well as selling, met his obligations promptly and soon had a grow- ing trade and excellent credit. There was growth from the start and in ten years' time Mr. Sindlinger was able to buy real estate apart from his regular line of business. In 1873 he built a business block on the corner opposite and east from his store. Before long he had acquired another block at the north- west corner of the public square. but this being burned down in 1878, he erected in its stead a handsome six thousand dollar structure which at that time was regarded as a notable addition to the city's architecture. In 1883 he demolished all the old buildings used in the beginning of his career. and on the site erected the substantial brick structure in which his business was afterwards conducted. At the same time he built on the adjoining lot a com- modious brick dwelling house, which has since been the residence of the fam- ily. In 1882 hog-killing became a feature of the business, at first on a small scale, with the slaughter of twenty head a week, which was increased steadily until a long time past three hundred hogs are killed every week. Back of the store, occupying space to the next street is a strongly built packing house. with a capacity of eight thousand hogs. There are smoke-houses, where the bacon gets its flavor from the green hickory wood, various kinds of modern machinery for grinding, cutting and mixing, with every convenience and process known to an up-to-date slaughter and packing business. In the storage rooms the visitor sees meats cured or in the process of curing, piled up like cord-wood, almost to the ceiling. Dressed beet hangs in tempting rows, ton upon ton of the best kettle rendered lard are arranged around and every- thing is kept so clean and inviting that the most skeptical board of health could find no fault with the sanitary conditions. The firm has enjoyed for years a widely extended market for their goods, both wholesale and retail. shipments being made as far south as Memphis. In April. 1900. a fine farm of two hundred forty-five acres. lying just west west of Shelbyville. was pur- chased to be used as a feeding and fattening ground for their cattle and hogs. Much other property, bought from time to time, made Mr. Sindlinger one of the largest holders of rental property in the city. In 1898 he helped organize the Farmers' National Bank, of which he became a stockholder and director. He was also a charter member of the Shelby County Joint Stock Agricultural Society, whose successful annual fairs have gained state-wide fame and done much to stimulate the county's farming interests. Mr. Sindlinger spent the closing years of his life on the farm, enjoying something of a rest from a long and strenuous career. and his death on February 5. 1904, was regarded as a distinct loss to the business activities of Shelbyville.
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