USA > Indiana > Shelby County > Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, Vol. 2 > Part 23
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October 8. 1872. Mr. Greene married Margaret J., daughter of Robert G. McDuffee, her birth occurring in Liberty township. Shelby county. In- diana, June 26, 1848. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Greene, whom they christened Elva May, was born August 12. 1873. and died January 28, 1889. The family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Waldron. Mr. Greene belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, at Shelbyville. May 2. 1864. Mr. Greene enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Vance and Captain Allen and helped do guard duty. He became ill at Nashville, Tennessee, and was in the hospital until his discharge in the fall of 1864. The family occu- pied a neat and commodious home at Waldron, where everything indicates happiness and prosperity. Mrs. Greene is a member of the Eastern Star, and
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active in matters connected with that popular order. She is a sister of G. B. McDuffee, and the family is one of the old and well established social con- nections of the county. Mrs. Greene's ancestors on the other side were from Scotland, and her father's people were from Ireland.
JAMES EDWIN KEELING, M. D.
The family of this name were Kentuckians, but sent representatives to Indiana in time to be classed among the earliest of Shelby county pioneers. The first comers located on land in the vicinity of what is now the town of Geneva, and there reared a family, of whom the most noted was W. W. Keeling. He was born a mile from the village in Shelby county, Indiana, October 10, 1830, and after growing up became a school teacher. Later he studied medicine and was one of the pioneer physicians of the eastern part of Shelby county. He was always fond of politics and figured as one of the local leaders of the Democratic party. After removing to Nebraska he was elected a member of the Legislature and became well known as an advocate of the Democratie party principles. He met Marian Spier, a native of Switz- erland county, Indiana, born July 25. 1837. and the child of parents who came from Edinburg. Scotland. Doctor Keeling and this lady were married at Omaha, Nebraska, June 22, 1858, and are still residents of that state. hale and hearty for their ages. They had five children. John R .. a resident of Shelby- ville ; Charles MI .. a physician in South Dakota : William F .. a citizen of Mon- tana : James Edwin and Mrs. Marian R. Cullver, of Omaha. Doctor Keeling still does a little practice in his Nebraska home, but has changed politics to the Prohibition party and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
James Edwin Keeling, his father's fourth child. was born in Geneva, Shelby county, Indiana. October 20. 1867. After finishing in the country schools he attended Hartsville College and the Hope Normal, laying the foundations for a good education with a view to a professional career. Even- tually he became a student of the Indiana Medical College, from which he was graduated in the class of 1891, after which he took a post-graduate course in one of the best medical institutes of New York. He holds membership in the American Medical Association, also in the county and state association's de- voted to physicians. Doctor Keeling began practice at Geneva and remained there for twelve years, when he established himself at Waldron, since which he has enjoyed a good and steadily growing patronage. He is popular with the profession as well as the people, and is regarded as one of the county's most prominent physicians of his age. He is a member of the Masonic Order. Modern Woodmen. Ben Hur and Knights of Pythias. He is also a member
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of the Methodist church and Prohibition party, holding views on the im- portance of temperance and the necessity of moral education for our youth. April 12, 1891, Doctor Keeling was married to Lizzie Benjamin, by whom he has had one child. Roy E., born Jannary 29. 1892. The mother dying Feb- ruary 9, 1895. Doctor Keeling was married to Mary J. Mitchell on April 28, 1896. She was born February 20. 1876, in Tipton county. By this union there were four children : Forest E., born June 8. 1897: Irene, born September 16, 1898. died June 29. 1899; Fredrick A., born March 9. 1900, and Lucille Gladys, born December 8, 1902.
JACOB FEITIG.
The family of this name were Germans, long residents in the State of Bavaria. The only member who seemed to catch the emigration fever was the present well known farmer of Liberty township, who decided at an early age that America offered far better opportunities for the young and adven- turous than could be afforded in the older countries of Europe. So while his parents, Nicholas and Mary Feitig, decided to adhere to the Fatherland, Jacob had formed other plans and was ambitious to try his fortunes and acquire wealth in the powerful republic beyond the sea. He was born in Bavaria. Germany, April 29, 1854, and nineteen years later was on board a steamer bound for New York. He stepped ashore full of hope and vigor, but poorly supplied with the one thing needful to enable a man to do business in the world. However, he pushed on into the interior until he reached Cincinnati, the great headquarters for incoming Germans, and here he halted to see what he could do. Fortunately he had learned the baker's trade before leaving Germany. and had no difficulty in securing work in one of the Cincinnati bakeries. He held to this for seven years, and was wise enough to save money as he went along, which stood him in good stead when he made his next move on the world's checker board. He received fair educational advantages in his native country, and this also came into good play when he entered the tasks of the future. It was in 1880 that he arrived in Shelby county and soon afterward we find him on a farm, working and managing it after the thrifty and ener- getic way peculiar to his nationality. He met with success from the start, gradually increasing the value of his farm by improvements and good man- agement, and today ranks as one of Shelby county's prosperous and reliable . farmers. All of the later improvements on his land, such as barns. outbuild- ings and other necessary adjuncts, were made by Mr. Feitig himself. On the outskirts of Waldron he has built a residence which makes one of the coziest and most inviting homes in this part of Shelby county. Mr. Feitig
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is a member of the German Lutheran church in Union township, and is con- nected with the Masonic Order at Waldron.
In 1879 Mr. Feitig married Margaret Eck, who was born in Shelby county, April 19, 1849. Her father was George Eck, who was descended from Germans who emigrated from Bavaria in the early part of the last century. and became pioneers in Union township. Mr. and Mrs. Feitig have two children, Anna M., born August 2. 1880, married Roy McDaniel, and resides in Liberty township: Flora, born April 12. 1888. married Clemens Siefer and resides in Shelby township. The Ecks and Feitigs are fine samples of the German-American population, which has been such an important factor in building up all of our western states. Shelby county got her share of these desirable people. and they have left their impress in many ways on the county's development.
JOSEPH ALFRED HAYMOND.
The records of this family carry us back to old Virginia, in the eighteenth century, before the Declaration of Independence had been issued, and long before the United States Government was organized. We read of the first John Haymond as being born as far back as April 7, 1773. and marrying Dorcas Holt. December 3. 1793. He was married a second time to Mary Hollenbeck. December 18, 1806, by which union there were ten children. Some years later the family came west and settled on land in Shelby county, before the state was admitted to the Union. On this farm the elder John Hay- mond died, August 21, 1834. His oldlest son, John Haymond. Jr., who was born in Virginia, September 12. 1807. came with his parents to Indiana when about five years old. They reached Franklin county in 1812, and lived awhile in Brookville, later pushing on farther west until they found a suitable loca- tion in the northwestern part of Shelby county. The junior John Haymond located at Middletown and engaged in farming and merchandising. In 1826 he bought a farm on which was subsequently laid out the town of Waldron, in Liberty township. The original platting of the village was made in 1853- 54 and the site took up a part of the Stroup and Haymond farms. John Hay- mond rose to prominence in the business world of that day, was captain of militia, and connected with every enterprise of importance that was set on foot in his community. He married Margaret Cummins, a native of Miami- town, Ohio, who came to Shelby county with her parents in 1830. She died in Shelby county after completing the ninety-third year of her age. John and Margaret ( Cummins) Haymond became the parents of three children : Cynthia A .. Cecilia J., who married Delos Thompson, and Joseph .. The father died April 9. 1840. when in the prime of life and fullness of promise of future usefulness.
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Joseph Alfred Haymond, his youngest child, was born in Shelby county, Indiana. July 10, 1839. . As a boy he became acquainted with the inside of the log cabin school-houses with their puncheon floors, greased paper win- dows, and "boarding around" teachers. Education was hard to acquire and few of the pioneer children were able to get beyond the rudiments. When fourteen years old he entered a country store as a salesman, and his whole life has been devoted to mercantile pursuits. As a merchant at Waldron, he became known the county over and his name became a householdl word in the townships doing business with the progressive little village. For years he has been the most influential man and one of the most popular of Liberty township's citizens. He served as Trustee several terms, held other minor offices, and was a wheel-horse in the Democratic party. In fact he was one of the builders of Waldron, one part of which is known as Haymond's Addition. His store is the largest, as well as the oklest, in the town and has been a land- mark for more than a generation. In 1904 Mr. Haymond established a pri- vate bank. located in a part of his store building, and owned and officered by himself and family. He is an excellent business man of high integrity and conscientious in dealing with the public, shrewd in bargaining and safe in every way. He has achieved success and deserves it. as there is no cleverer man in Shelby county than Joe Haymond. At the beginning of the Civil war he had a short military experience as a member of the Seventy-sixth Regi- ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
May 27, 1879. Mr. Haymond married India, daughter of Thomas .A. Cotton, member of one of the most prominent families of Union township. and descendant of the earliest pioneers of that part of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Haymond have two sons. Frank H., and Earl J. The former was born March 20, 1880, and married Minnie, daughter of Jerry Layton, of Lebanon. Indiana. He is vice-president of his father's bank, and acts as manager of his mercantile interests. Earl J. was born July 31. 1882, married Myrtle Mc- Neeley, resides at Waldron, and is cashier of his father's bank.
WILLIAM TAYLOR SHROUT. M. D.
Though originally Virginians, the Shrouts became domiciled in Ken- tucky at an early period of the last century. A. W. Shrout. who was born in Bourbon county. Kentucky, October 12. 1823. of Virginia parents, was perhaps the most noted man that ever bore the name. His business was farming and merchandising. success being achieved in both lines, and his en- tire life. with the exception of five years, was spent in his native state. He was quite versatile in his habits, possessed of boundless energy, and during
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his long and active life he was engaged in many enterprises. Among his ventures were a saw mill and lumber yard, which he managed with his usual vim and skill. always extracting a profit from what he undertook. After a career of much prominence and popularity in Kentucky, he came to Shelby county about 1902 and purchased land. He made his home at Waldron until 1907, at which time it could be truly said of him that he was one of the most respected men of the county. He joined the Masons in Kentucky when the siege was being conducted against Masonry and was a Royal Arch Mason all his life. He also joined the Grangers, when that movement among the farmers for the betterment of conditions had invaded Kentucky. He married Sarah Highland, who, of German parentage, was born in Bourbon county. Ken- tucky, June 20. 1817, and died July 1. 1886. They became the parents of eleven children : Amelia J .. Abraham T .. James D., William T., Isaac MI .. Samuel J., John W., Hannah E., Mary C., George Andrew and Annie L.
William Taylor Shront, fourth of the family, was born in Nicholas county, Kentucky, May 15. 1845. He attended school at Sharpsburg and took the preparatory course at Richmond, Virginia, in medicine. Later he was graduated from the Richmond Medical College, and went to Missouri, with a view to taking up the practice of medicine. He was licensed at the age of nineteen and opened an office at Pleasant Hill, where he was captured by Confederate soldiers and sent to Price's army as an conscript. After the war. Dr. Shrout married Lucy Virginia Neal, who was born in Kentucky, April 19. 1851. He then went to farming and after four or five years removed to Boone county, Indiana. spent two years there and returned to Kentucky. In 1889 he came to Shelby county and ever since his fortunes have been identified with the people of this section. He has since taken post- graduate courses in the Eclectic College of Physicians and Surgeons at In- dianapolis and the Bellevue Hospital Medical College at New York, and has certificates from national and state medical societies. He has a fine practice at Waldron and throughout the surrounding territory. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with the Patriarch Militant degree. He has been quite prominent in lodge work. going through all the chairs, but of late years has left such matters to the younger brethren. To Mr. and Mrs. Shrout six children have been born : Lee W., Sarah Nora. deceased: Lucy Mary, wife of Allen Reese, of Jennings county : Nannie R., wife of Otto Wagoner. of Rush county; J. W., a physician at Shirley. Indiana, graduate of Bennett College. Chicago, married Emma Martin : Virginia Ethel, at home. Doctor Shrout practiced medicine at Blue Ridge for sixteen years and has been at Waldron for about nine years. He is progressive in his methods and up-to-date in practice, keeping an auto- mobile for the purpose of answering calls speedily. He is popular with all classes and stands well in his profession.
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. JEFFERSON BARGER.
In about the year 1840 Phillip Barger, of Virginia, with his family, set- tled in Rush county, Indiana. He took up government land and prospered. One of his sons, Milton, took up his father's work. He married Malvina Lightfoot and to this union were born three children. of whom the subject of this sketch. Jefferson Barger, was one. Jefferson was born May 20, 1848, near the present town of Rushville. His grandfather died on the farm he homesteaded, and his maternal grandparents passed away in Shelbyville. They were the parents of five children : John. Jefferson, Eliza, Milton and Lott. Of these Lott is the only surviving member of the family, he living in Indian- apolis.
The ancestors of Jefferson Barger were classed among those who did things and were identified with the community life in which they lived. The subject's grandfather. Mr. Lightfoot, married Ruby Peasley, of Ohio, and was identified as one of its leading citizens. He died there and his widow came to Rush county in the latter part of the thirties, where she obtained land and lived out her life. They were the parents of two sons and five daughters as follows: Montgomery. McCall, Sarah. Malvina, Margaret. Emily and Catherine.
Milton P. Barger grew up in Rush county, Indiana. Like other boys of his time he had to work hard and received only a common school education. To obtain that he had to walk from three to five miles to school each day of the brief term. He married before he was of age and removed to Shelby county in 1850 and located near Boggstown. Here he secured forty acres of land and lived there two years. He sold out and moved to Shelbyville and entered the grain and grocery business for H. P. Johnson for two years. Then he went into the grain business for himself and still later into the dry goods and grocery trade and in the livery business. In the meantime he bought land in section 30, Addison township, known as the Dixon farm. . It was heavily wooded. very rough and all under water. He cleared a good portion of the land, put up buildings and eventually made an excellent farm out of what was once virtually waste land. Here he carried on general farm- ing and stock raising. Milton was a self-made man, widely known and highly respected. He was a Republican, after the dissolution of the old Whig party, and in later years was elected City Treasurer of Shelbyville and at another time Township Constable. Milton was born in 1827 and died December 22. 1905. His wife was born in 1828 and died in January, 1907. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and at one time a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. They had three children, Jefferson, George Washington and James Monroe.
Jefferson was educatedl at Shelbyville. Indiana, and lived at his parents'
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home. He was in business with his father until the age of thirty years. In 1878 he married Jennie Morarity, of Buffalo, New York. She was a danghter of Patrick and Mary Morarity, who came from Ireland and later went to Ohio. To the marriage were born the following children : Mary, of Indian- apolis: Josephine and Margaret, of Indianapolis: Jennie: Nellie, of Cleve- land, Ohio: Dennis, of Indianapolis; Jack, of Ohio; Michael, who lives in Arkansas. One daughter, Jessie D., married Harry Elbert Roth, of Shelby- ville, February 12, 1907. They reside with Jefferson and conduct a dairy farm.
After his marriage Jefferson Barger lived in Shelbyville until 1883. He was marshal of the town for several years and later moved to the farm where he now lives. His wife died June 20, 1906. He owns one hundred acres of fine land in Addison township, which is in an excellent state of cultivation. He raises fine hogs of the Poland China and Berkshire breeds, and Jersey and Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Barger has always taken a great interest in poli- tics, is a Republican and a patriotic citizen. He is known throughout the environs of his county for his sterling character and has many warm friends.
ANTON WISKER.
Anton Wisker was born in Decatur county, Indiana, March 6, 1841. while his wife. Catherine Wanstrath, was a native of Franklin county. They grew up together and married in the latter county in 1863. where they farmed until 1887, when they removed to Shelby county. Indiana, where he obtained eighty acres of land in section 23. Shelby township. He has since erected a residence and barn and made many material improvements. He has now a well stocked, nicely drained farm, which produces equal to any farm in the county. He and his helpmeet are well preserved and have a legion of friends. He is a Democrat and a member of the St. Vincent Catholic church.
John G. Wisker. father of Anton Wisker, was a native of Hanover. Neuenkirchen, Germany, who married Catherine Nienaber, of the same town. They came to America in 1837 on a sailing vessel and the voyage took up twelve weeks. They landed without accident at Richmond, Virginia, where they lived for one year. finally going by a slow stage to Cincinnati. Ohio, where he worked as a day laborer. Later they removed to Decatur county. Indiana, where he obtained forty acres of wild land, erected a log cabin and made a lowly home for himself and family. Still later he removed to Frank- lin county, Indiana, where he secured sixty acres of land and began improve- ments which made it a good farm, and here they lived until the day of their deaths. He passed away in 1894, his wife having died in 1881. They were
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both members of the Catholic church. Their children were: Henry, who died on the voyage to America; Mary, deceased, married Edward Helmich: Catherine, wife of William Laker, both deceased: John married Luzetta I. Horst. Ripley county, Indiana ; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Osterling, now de- ceased : Henry married Mary Schrant, Franklin county, Indiana.
The children of Anton Wisker and wife are as follows: John married Julia Cord. farmer. Shelby township, whose children are : Edward, Richard. Erma, Leonard, Arthur, George and Charles, twins, the latter dead. . Anthony : Mary married Andrew A. Rummebohm, Prescott. Indiana. Mary Rumme- bohm's children are: Albert, Lewis, deceased: Bernard. Andrew, the latter dead.
On October 16. 1895, Anthony Wisker married Annie Rosenfeld, of Liberty township. Shelby county. The children of Anthony Wisker and wife are: Emma, born December 3, 1896: Irene, born November 29. 1808: Clara. born April 24. 1901; Anthony, Jr., born September 9, 1905: Mary, born February 2. 1909.
EDMOND PARRISH.
Among the leaders of the younger generation of agriculturists of Shel- by county is Edmond Parrish, a breeder and driver of trotting horses. who resides within the environs of Shelby township. He is a son of James Par- rish, and was born April 21. 1873. His father was born July 14, 1833. in the same county, and he was a son of Edmond Parrish, a native of Madi- son county. Kentucky, who married Martha Floyd, a woman of Scotch-Irish descent. His father was of Virginia.
The great-grandfather of the present Edmond Parrish was a native of Scotland, of Irish extraction, and settled in Virginia in the early days, and later located in Madison county. Kentucky, where he died. A large family of the Parrishes grew to maturity, and Edmond's grandfather was twice mar- ried. He was a great hunter and woodsman. He and his family came over- land from Kentucky, driving a team composed of a horse and an ox. and located in Hendricks township. Later they moved to Shelby township, in section 36, and were among the very first settlers. Farmers of that section at that time hauled their grain overland to Cincinnati, Ohio, and while on one of these trips he was run over by a wagon, and died. The wife kept her little brood together until they grew up. There were six children, as follows : Lear. married twice, first to a Mr. Campbell, and later to Martin Stephens. one daughter of the second marriage. Kate Harris: Levi, farmer and dray- man at Shelbyville, married, and died in 1907 : William, a soldier of the Mex- ican war and a farmer, married four times and was the father of five chil-
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dren ; E. K. Parrish, known as "Kip," drove an ox team in 1849. through to California. He returned to Shelby county in later years and bought a farm. removing to near Kokomo in 1885, where he purchased land and still resides ; he married. first. Nancy Swinford, who became the mother of five children : John W., a farmer and contractor and later a builder of railroad-, died in Shelby county: Theodore, of Frankfort. Indiana, married Sallie Stephens, and the following children were born to them: Harriet, deceased: Sarah. de- ceased : John B., teacher : Charles and Allen, North Vernon, Indiana: Cora. Alfred and Lettie: James F .. father of Edmond.
James received what education he possessed from the little log school in the neighborhood. He was largely self-educated ; he married Frances Clarke. of Shelby county, in 1855. She was the daughter of William Clarke and Mary Van Benthusen. Mrs. Clarke's father was the first representative from Shelby county to the State Legislature and assisted in revising the statutes of the state with Thomas A. Hendricks. He also helped to lay out the pike roads of the state and blaze the way through from Shelbyville to Columbus. Indiana. He owned a large farm, and was an influential man in the county. He died of cholera when that plague swept Indiana. William Clarke was born in Cheshire. England, and he came to America. He taught in an acad- emy in England, and was considered a learned man. When he arrived in America he located in Baltimore, and later in Pittsburg and Cincinnati. He went to Jackson township. Shelby county, and took up government land, which he steadily improved. It was here his wife died. There were six children born to the union: Frances, mother of Edmond Parrish: Elizabeth. widow of Isaac Watson, Kokomo, Indiana: Mary Ann married James Green, of Shelby township: Margaret married William Chesser. deceased : she is now a resident of Washington township: John, soldier of Civil war, deceased, mar- ried Kansas Doran: William, deceased, who married Plicebe Osborne, who now lives on the old home place.
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