USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 23
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 23
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County), Joseph (who lives on the old place in Cass Township), James M., Amelia G., Margaret J. and Mary A. (deceased).
J. H. MCCOLLUM, of McCollum & Turner, was born in Greene County, Penn., November 10, 1834, but was removed, when a boy, by his parents, Thomas M. and Sarah (Hughes) McCollum, to Coshocton County, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood. He was educated in the common schools, and in the fall of 1854 came to Monticello a poor boy, and here clerked six years for Roland Hughes, his mother's brother, and was then taken in as partner. Two years later, Mr. Hughes sold out his interest to Mr. McCollum and D. D. Dale. The stock was removed to the building now occupied by McCollum & Turner, and here McCol- lum & Dale carried on an extensive business for two years. Having been appointed a county official, Mr. Dale, in 1864, sold out to Mr. Mc- Collum, who, in October, 1866, admitted J. M. Turner as partner, and in 1867 H. H. Hamlin, of Pennsylvania, was admitted, the firm name being McCollum, Turner & Hamlin. The firm now enlarged their busi- ness, erected their grain elevator, and began buying and selling grain, lumber, coal, etc. Three years later, Mr. Hamlin's interest was pur- chased by the other two partners, and since then the firm of McCollum & Turner have continued uninterruptedly. In conjunction with others, in 1880, they erected their hay barn directly north of their elevator. where they now carry on a large hay business. Their store is stocked with first-class dry goods, valued at over $30,000, and their average annual transactions amount to over $55,000, exclusive of their other interests. Mr. McCollum is a Democrat in politics, and although not an aspirant for political honors, has served as School Trustee six years, and by the Board of Trustees was elected Treasurer, serving his entire term in this capacity. At that time, the finances of the school were much embarrassed, and of the nine months' sessions during the year, tuition only for six months was free. Through his management, the finances have been placed in a healthy condition, the whole of the nine months' tuition made free, heaters put in the building, a library worth about $700 presented by Mr. McCollum, and when he retired from the treasurership, there were left a tuition fund of $2,000, and a special fund of $1,800, for heating purposes. He has been twice married -- first, June 15, 1858, to Nancy Jane Hughes, who was born in Monticello January 3, 1842, and who died March 22, 1862. His second and present wife was Miss Mary M. Turner, who was born August 17, 1844, and to whom he was married August 23, 1864. To this union have been born four children-Lillie M., May 16, 1866; Edna M., October 23, 1873; Stuart T., August 11, 1876, and William Earl, August 20, 1881. The mother is a member of the Pres- byterian Church. Mr. McCollum's parents came to White County in
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1874, and here his mother died January 2, 1878, and his father August 13 .. 1880.
RANSON MCCONAHAY, deccased, was born in Bourbon County, Ky., November 30, 1803, and was the son of David and Jane (Ranson) McConahay, the former a native of Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish descent. Ranson received a good practical education, and when a young man taught school ; he also learned blacksmithing and shoe-making, and followed either trade for a time. and also engaged in farming, March 26, 1829, he married Mary Thompson, in Campbell County, Ky., and in the same year moved to Tippecanoe County, this State, where he farmed un- til 1832, when he came to what is now White County, and located about thirteen miles south of the site of Monticello. There he farmed and
and taught school ten or twelve years, and then moved to Liberty Town- ship, where he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of William Sill, who died while serving in the capacity of Clerk, Auditor and Recorder of White County, under the official name of County Clerk. At the ex- piration of the term, Mr. Mcconahay was elected to the office, and re- elected, his last term closing in 1858, when his son Orlando succeeded him. He then engaged in mercantile business in Monticello, Burnetts- ville, Norway, and also in Pulaski County. In about 1867, he retired from active life, and April 22, 1868, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Haworth, in Pulaski County. His remains lie interred in the cem- etery in Star City. His first wife died in White County September 19, 1849 ; she had borne him eight children, of whom six reached maturity -Orlando, Laura, James A., Horace T., Mary and Melissa A. He was married, December 17, 1850, to his second wife, Mrs. Elizabeth (Haworth) Sturgeon, who has borne him two children-Ranson C. and John W. She is still living and resides in Jasper County. Orlando Mc- Conahay, the eldest son, was born in Tippecanoe County February 14, 1831, but was reared in White County. For eight years, beginning in 1859, he served as Clerk of Courts of White County, and is now engaged in the practice of law and is serving as Justice of the Peace. He was married, December 25, 1854, to Sarah A. W. Ritchey, who died Feb- ruary 28, 1862, leaving one son-Samuel T. His second wife, Maria L. Price, to whom he was married January 18, 1865, has borne him one daughter-Asenath B. Up to 1863, Orlando Mcconahay was a Democrat, but differing with his party in war views, he then became a Republican.
JOHN McCONNELL was born in Greenfield, Ohio, November 6, 1838, and is one of fourteen children born to James B. and Sarah D. (Stewart) McConnell. James B. McConnell was a physician, located in Cass County, Ind., in 1852, and there died in 1855; his widow resides
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in Monticello. John McConnell was reared until he was fourteen in Ohio, then passed three years in Indiana, then five years in Illinois ; he then returned to this State, where he has resided ever since. In August, 1862, he enlisted from Cass County in Company G, Seventy-third In- diana' Volunteer Infantry. He fought in Kentucky and at Stone River. He was captured while on special duty at Rome, Ga., was sent first to Atlanta and then to Richmond, where he was exchanged ; the remainder of his service was passed in detached or special duty, and he was discharged in the fall of 1865. For a year, he engaged in merchandising with his brothers, in Logansport; he then came to Monticello and engaged in the drug trade, and now carries a stock valued at $6,000, consisting of a full line of pure drugs, books, etc., and during the holidays a very full line of toys. Mr. McConnell was married to Miss Martha Cowger, who has borne him two daughters- Gail D. and Sarah F. Mr. McConnell is a member of the A. O. U. W., and is a Republican. Mrs. McConnell is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
ISRAEL NORDYKE is of Dutch extraction and was born in Guilford County, N. C., June 10, 1824. There were born to his parents, Robert and Elizabeth (Shaw) Nordyke, a family of eleven children, seven of whom still survive. In 1830, the parents came to Tippecanoe Coun- ty, Ind., and here Israel Nordyke was reared to man's estate. He re- ceived such schooling as was common in that early day, and in 1844 came to White County for the purpose of making it his future home, followed by his parents two years later. Both parents and son settled in Prince- ton Township, and shortly after their arrival the father died, his widow following in about 1861. Israel Nordyke farmed until the spring of 1859, when he sold his farm in Princeton Township and embarked in mercantile pursuits in Pulaski, Pulaski County. He remained only one year, when he removed his goods to Seafield, White County, and from there to Wolcott two years later. He there enjoyed a profitable trade until 1873, when he removed to Monticello to fill the position of County Treasurer, having been elected to this office the preceding fall. Mr. Nor- dyke served two terms of two years each as Treasurer of White County, and at the end of his second term left the office with an established repu- tation for honor and ability. Since that time, he has been engaged in the hardware trade in Monticello, and the firm of which he is senior member and his oldest son junior, is one of the well-established business houses of the place. Mr. Nordyke, in politics, is a Republican ; he is a mem- ber of the F. & A. M., and has been twice married. His first wife, Jemima Stewart, to whom he was married in 1848, bore him four chil- dren-Albert S., Ellis (deceased), Theodore (deceased) and Mary E. L.
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The mother died in 1859, and in 1862 he married his present wife, Eliza Kahler. One son is the result of this marriage-John P.
ALFRED R. ORTON, Surveyor of White County, was born in Perry County, Ohio, November 5, 1833, and is one of two surviving children of a family of three born to John B. and Matilda (Reynolds) Orton, who were natives of Vermont and Pennsylvania respectively, and of English origin. John B. Orton followed the calling of an attorney throughout his entire career; and while a resident of Perry County, Ohio, was called upon to represent his county in the State Legislature two terms. He died in 1844, and the year following Mrs. Orton and remainder of the family came to White County, settling in Union Town- ship. This has since been the home of the Ortons, and here Mrs. Orton died in July, 1879. Besides a close attendance on the common schools, Alfred R. Orton received the benefits of a three-years' course in Wabash College, after which, for a time, he contracted and executed Government surveying in the West. For the past twenty-three years, he has been chiefly engaged in merchandising in Monticello, but in 1880 he received the appointment of County Surveyor, to fill an unexpired term. In 1882, he was the Republican nominee for that position, and, strange to say, he was the only one of his party elected. The marriage of Alfred R. Orton and Miss Addie C. Parker, of Bedford, Ind., was solemnized December 27, 1859, and to this union three children have been born-Ora, Julius and Emma, deceased. The parents are members of the Presbyterian Church of Monticello.
H. P. OWENS, editor and proprietor of the White County Demo- crat, is a son of Robert L. Owens, who was born in Culpeper County, Va., February 2, 1800, and who moved to Kentucky with his parents in 1805. Succeeding his marriage with Mary Perry, Robert L. Owens en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, and both he and wife are yet living on their farm in Shelby County, Ky. He was the father of thirteen chil- dren, was three times married, but to his marriage with Mary Perry only one son was born, the subject of this sketch. H. P. Owens was reared in his native State, and received the greater part of his education at Georgetown College. Shortly after completing the scientific department of that school, he took a commercial course at Bryant & Stratton's busi- ness College of Louisville, and then graduated from the law department of the New York State University. The spring of 1868, he entered the law office of Webb & Harlan, of Newcastle, Ky., remaining with them two years, both as a student and an assistant. In 1873, he came to Monticello and formed a partnership with J. H. Matlock, in the practice of law, which continued until Mr. M.'s death in 1878. In about 1879, he became a partner of W. E. Uhl, and besides carrying on their law
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practice this firm, in 1882, founded the White County Democrat, and continued its publication until January, 1883, when Mr. Uhl severed his connection with the paper in order to give his undivided attention to the practice of his profession. Mr. Owens formed a partnership with A. B. Clarke in February, 1883, and this firm now conducts the only Demo- cratic paper in White County, and it is needless to add that it is a suc- cess. One son-Harry-has been born to Mr. Owens' marriage with Miss Lillie L. Switzer, which was solemnized August 6, 1879.
TRUMAN F. PALMER was born in Steuben County, Ind., Janu- ary 7, 1851, and is one of the two children born to Truman F. and Plumea (Perry) Palmer. His father, a native of New York, was a gradu- ate of Allegheny College, of Meadville, Penn., and a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died ten days after the birth of our subject, and his widow shortly afterward came to White County and engaged in school teaching ; she is now living in Burnettsville. Truman F. Palmer, Jr., was reared in this county and attended the public schools ; then for two years attended the Battle Ground Collegiate Institute, then for nine months at the Farmer's Institute at Clinton, and graduated from the State University at Bloomington in 1872, receiving his degree of LL. B. He taught school and practiced law until 1875, and then for four years was Deputy County Clerk at Monticello. He then resumed prac- tice, and in March, 1881, formed his present partnership with M. M. Sill, under the firm name of Sill & Palmer. Mr. Palmer is a Republican, a Mason, an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias.
B. F. PRICE was born in Union Township, this county, September 27, 1838, and is one of the five surviving children of nine born to Peter and Asenath (Rothrock) Price. Peter Price was a native of Berks County, Penn., and was born in 1799. He became a weaver, and, in 1821, in Mifflin County, was married. In June, 1831, he came to what is now Union Township, White County, built up a home from the wilder- ness, served his fellow-citizens for a while as County Treasurer, and died, an honored member of the community, July 19, 1877. His widow, who was born in 1802, yet survives him. Of the six sons and three daughters born to them, four sons and one daughter are yet living. Three of the sons were soldiers in the late war, and one of these, John, rose from the ranks to be First Lieutenant in Company K, Twentieth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry. Benjamin F. Price enlisted June 20, 1862, in Company D, Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but on the organization of the company was elected Second Lieutenant. At the battle of Richmond, Ky., his entire company, with but few exceptions, was taken by the enemy-Mr. Price being one of the few who accidentally escaped. In November, 1862, he was stationed at Memphis, and then under Grant
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near Vicksburg, and next he went through the Jackson campaign; Sep- tember 12, 1863 he was promoted to be First Lieutenant, and to the Captaincy of Company D, May 6, 1864. At Resaca, May 13, 1864, he was wounded severely in the left thigh. June 8, 1865, he received his discharge, and returned home to engage in farming. In 1873, he married Miss S. E. Kiefhaber, a native of White County, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Capt. Price is the owner of 120 acres of land, is a Republican, and is a member of the I. O. O. F.
A. W. REYNOLDS was born in Perry County, Ohio, September 16, 1839. His father, Ebenezer Reynolds, was a native of Pennsylvania, but was married in Perry County, Ohio, to Elizabeth Yost, who became the mother of seven children, two of whom are still living. The mother died about a week after the birth of the subject of this sketch, and the father married Martha Wright, who bore two children and died in 1856. Mr. Reynolds next married Mary Sellers, who died without issue in 1877, preceded by her husband in 1861. A. W. Reynolds was reared in Ohio until November, 1856, when he came to Monticello. For two years, he attended the high school here, and subsequently Wabash College, at Crawfordsville, and the college at Monmouth, Ill. He then began the study of law in the office of Hon. David Turpie, of Monticello. After two years' study he began practice in Winamac, but at the end of a year returned to Monticello. January 1. 1874, he formed a copartnership with E. B. Sellers, and the firm still continue in active business. Mr. Reynolds is a Democrat in politics, and for eight years was Prosecuting Attorney for the counties of Carroll, White and Benton. He married Louisa G. Magee, who has borne him one son-George.
A. REYNOLDS, superintendent of paper mill, Tippecanoe Station, Carroll County, Ind., was born in Monticello August 7, 1845, to Isaac and Mary J. (Hughes) Reynolds, the former deceased and the latter liv- ing in Monticello. When twenty-two years of age, A. Reynolds went into partnership with his father in merchandising. In 1872, he with- drew, and organized the Monticello Paper Company, with the following stockholders : William Braden, P. A. Hull, John C. Blake, James H. McCollum, O. S. Dale, S. F. Southard, D. D. Dale and A. Reynolds. The assessed stock was $50,000, one-half of which was paid up. A one- story frame building, 30x150 feet, was erected one mile below town limits, and about fifteen hands were employed. In 1874, Braden & Hull pur- chased the stock, and, admitting A. B. Robertson as partner, conducted the business until 1879. In August of that year, the Tippecanoe Paper Company was organized and incorporated under the laws of Illinois. Mr. Reynolds, the only stockholder at Monticello, was made Superin-
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tendent. The building was enlarged, its dimensions now being 181x140 feet, and its ground plan that of the letter T; new machinery was intro- duced, and its capacity increased to fifteen tons of paper per week, and twelve tons of dry pulp. Forty hands are employed night and day ; the product is a superior quality of No. 2 news, and the average annual business about $120,000. Mr. Reynolds was married, in 1868, to Miss Elizabeth Blake, who has borne him two children-Guy and Charley. In politics, he is a Democrat, and he is a member of the A. O. U. W.
R. D. ROBERTS was born in White County, Ind., January 21, 1837, and was one of eight children born to John and Martha (Dyer) Roberts. John Roberts was born in Martinsburg, Va., July 16, 1804, and when only about a year old his parents moved to Franklin County, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood. He was married about 1827, and the follow- ing year he and wife, a native of Ohio, immigrated into Indiana, locating in Tippecanoe County. In the spring of 1831, they moved to this county, and entered 160 acres of Government land, three and one-half miles southwest of where Monticello now stands, moved into an Indian house standing on the land, and commenced farming. Here they resided until 1866, when they moved to Monticello, where Mrs. Roberts is now liv- ing and where Mr. Roberts died September 7, 1872. Of their four children still living-William D. is married, and resides in Cowley County, Kan .; Maria (Mrs. William Fraser), Susanna (Mrs. Perry Spencer) and R. D. Roberts (our subject) have always made White County their home. R. D. Roberts, in his youth, received a fair common school education, and at the age of twenty-four began doing for himself. November 7, 1861, he married Miss Susan Scouden, a native of Tippecanoe County, and to this union have been born eight children-Celesta (deceased), Martha E., Eva S., Maria, Indiana, Katie, Robert E. and Mary. Mr. Roberts began married life as a farmer ; has continued the occupation, and now owns 640 acres in Union Township. In 1876, he and William B. Keefer, under the firm name of Roberts & Keefer, purchased a building which had been used as a woolen factory, christened it the " Crystal Mills," put in flouring mill machinery, consisting of three runs of buhrs, and began the manufacture of flour. A year later, Mr. Roberts purchased his part- ner's interest, and then ran the business individually until March, 1879, when he admitted as a partner his nephew, Fred Roberts. This firm, under the name of R. D. Roberts, added another buhr, but, in 1881, dis- carded the millstones and introduced a " gradual reduction " plan, known as the "Jonathan Mills System." They produce a superior flour, keep employed two experienced millers, and run night and day ; they have a capacity of 125 barrels per twenty-four hours, but average about 100. The building is three stories high, is 42x76 feet, and the machinery is
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operated by water-power. In politics, R. D. Roberts is a Republican, and he is one of White County's most substantial citizens.
DR. F. B. ROBISON was born in Miami County, Ohio, August 28, 1843, and is one of six children, three of whom are yet living, born to Thomas A. and Elizabeth P. (Hathaway) Robison, natives of Pennsylva- nia and Ohio respectively. Thomas A. Robison, a farmer, was married in Ohio ; he came to Indiana in 1844, and died in Camden, Carroll County, about 1855. The widow married the Rev. Mr. Mitchell. After his death, she came with her son, our subject, to Monticello, where she died in April, 1873. From the time he was nine years old, Dr. Robison has had to do for himself. He was reared a farmer, acquired a good common school education, and at the age of twenty began the study of medicine at Delphi, with Dr. F. A. Schultz. He studied three years. In 1865, attended his first term, and February 12, 1867, received his diploma as M. D. from the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati. He then located at Delphi, and was in partnership with his former preceptor until April, 1869, when he came to Monticello, where he has met with ample success. He is a Democrat, a K. of P., and a member of the A. O. U. W. In April, 1867, he married Miss Kate Davis, of Burnetts- ville, who has borne him two children-Lillian J. and Margaret A. Mrs. Robison is a member of the M. E. Church of Monticello.
PROF. J. G. ROYER, Superintendent of the Monticello Public Schools, is a native of Union County, Penn., where he was born April 22, 1838. He is next to the youngest in a family of seven children born to Jacob and Susan (Myers) Royer, who were of Swiss and German descent respectively. He remained on his father's farm until the com- pletion of his fifteenth year, when, at that almost unprecedentedly young age, he began his career as a public teacher. In 1856, he entered Union Seminary, New Berlin, Penn., intending at the time to take a prepara- tory course before entering college, but, owing to ill health, and much to his disappointment, was obliged to abandon the plan. From that period until 1863, he steadily followed the profession of teaching. In the last- mentioned year, he removed to Darke County, Ohio, and accepted the Superintendency of the Versailles Schools. Here his reputation as an instructor of youth was fully ripened. In 1871, he came to White County, purchased a farm in Jackson Township, and in the following year became connected with the schools of Burnettsville. In 1876, he was engaged as Principal and Superintendent of the Monticello High School, and in 1879 was appointed Superintendent alone, the school board creating that position at the time. Thus he remains at present, enjoying a reputation which his energy, skill and natural qualifications have secured. He has at present a well improved farm of eighty acres
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in Union Township, which he conducts on scientific principles. He is a Republican ; also a minister of the German Baptist Church. His mar- riage with Miss Lizzie Reiff occurred in 1861. They have eight chil- dren-Galen, Susie, Mary, Ida, Nettie, Lillie, Phenie and Myrtle.
DR. C. SCOTT was born in Wayne County, Ind., October 2, 1821, and came with his parents to Cass County, this State, in 1833. He is the eldest of the six surviving children of nine born to Alexander and Unity R. (Watts) Scott, and when a young man was engaged in teaching school. January 7, 1845, he married Rebecca Hicks, and in 1847 came to Jack- son Township, this county, and began farming. Mrs. Scott died No- vember 29 of the same year, leaving two children, of whom one died in infancy, and the other, Arney, was starved to death in Andersonville Prison. May 25, 1848, Dr. Scott married Mary Ann Sheppard, who bore him five children (two, Marcellus P. and Horace, yet living), and died May 29, 1857. He next married, January 10, 1858, Elizabeth Healy. In November, 1866, he moved to Liberty Township, and thence to Monticello in April, 1882, and here he is still actively engaged in the practice of medicine. Of the nine children borne him by his present wife, seven are yet living-Mary R., Harriet L., Maggie. A., Florence G., Viola C., Sylvester A. and Henry M. Dr. Scott is still the owner of eighty acres of land in Liberty Township; in politics, he is a Repub- lican, having united with the party in 1856, although he was reared a Democrat, and he and wife are members of the Church of Christ. The parents of the Doctor came to White County in about 1850, and both ended their days in Liberty Township.
E. B. SELLERS, of the firm of Reynolds & Sellers, attorneys and counselors at law, is a native of Ohio, and his birth occurred in Perry County, July 4, 1851. Of the' six children born to his parents, Isaac and Mary (Rhodes) Sellers, five are yet living. The mother dying in about 1854, the father afterward was joined in marriage with a Miss Randolph. To their union were born two children who are yet living, but both parents are now dead. At the age of fourteen years, E. B. Sellers left his native State, and came to Indiana to seek a home and fortune. His life is not one filled with remarkable public incidents, but it has been an active one and very practical throughout. He first found employment as a farm hand for Josephus Lowe, near Monon, White County, remaining with him three years. With the money saved from the proceeds of his labor, he began educating himself at Brookston, where was then situated the best school in the county. He alternately taught and attended school until the age of twenty, when he began the study of law in the office of A. W. Reynolds, his present partner. In 1870, he attended the law department of Bryant & Stratton's Business College,
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