USA > Indiana > Pulaski County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 64
USA > Indiana > White County > Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana. Historical and biographical > Part 64
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
Before the completion of the road through the township in 1860, farmers were obliged to draw their wheat and produce to Michigan City or to Logansport.
Drainage .- One great hindrance to the advancement of improve- ment and agriculture in Franklin Township has been the great amount of wet lands contained within its borders without means of drainage. The early timers were not of sufficient financial strength to drain their farms effectually, and in consequence no attempt at any extensive drainage was made in the township until about 1855, when the State ditches were constructed. This system of drainage was almost anything else but per- fect or satisfactory, and it was only a short period until county, town- ship, company and private ditching was commenced, and continued for many years, doing much value to hundreds of acres that had hitherto been use- less. Through these means of drainage, in 1882, there was found much land producing good crops of cultivated vegetation, that in 1870 was pro- nounced totally worthless.
It used to be declared of Franklin Township land-owners that the greater number of acres of those wild and wet lands they possessed the poorer they become, but " the saying" is changed to a certain extent ; the land, much of it, is different from what it was in 1850, and to-day a number of fine farms and comfortable homes are found in the township.
Civility .- To such a degree did this element extend in the township
641
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
that officers of the law were not wanted, and for a period of seventeen years, or from the organization in 1855 until 1872, the township was without a Justice of the Peace. The first officer of this kind in the town- ship was John Whalen, who was elected in 1872, and served until 1876, when the last Justice of the Peace, John M. Conn, was elected, his com- mission expiring in 1880. Since that time, the County record shows that the township has been minus a "Squire."
Educational Interest s .- No matter what the agricultural advantages of a township are, no matter what the extent of the resources and in- terests of manufacture, no matter how great the internal improve- ments of a township, it remains incomplete until it is supplied with good schoolhouses and its schools taught by well remunerated and thoroughly qualified instructors.
The first school in the township was taught in a cabin (the kind of that day) in the Jenkins settlement, by Cicero Wait, in the winter of 1854-55. The school was exceedingly small. The teacher was promised $10 per month, and " boarded around." The term was of three months' duration.
The first school taught in the western part of the township was in the winter of 1856-57, in a log cabin that stood near D. R. Freeman's, and Asa H. Freeman was the first teacher. The school numbered ten pupils. The next winter, school was commenced at the same place by Miss Sarah Garrity. The term (a three months' one) was finished in the old "Jacobs House." The first schoolhouse in the township was a mean structure of logs, 16x20 feet, erected in the "Jenkins settlement" in 1856, at a total cost of $87. The first frame schoolhouse in the township was built in District No. 1, in about 1862, and is known as Cooper's Schoolhouse; the second was erected in District No. 4, in 1864; the third in District No. 2, in 1874 ; the fourth in District No. 3, Conn's Schoolhouse, built in 1876 ; and the last erected in the township is the Center Schoolhouse, in District No. 5, 1880. The teachers engaged for the schools in Franklin Township for the winter of 1882-83, are as follows : District No. 1, J. N. Schull ; No. 2, Ella Wolf; No. 3, Tillie Steis ; No. 4, Hattie Freeman, and No. 5, E. G. Freeman.
The average per diem of the foregoing teachers for 1882 is $1.50. Franklin Township is divided into five school districts, has five frame schoolhouses and school property, total value $1,700. The whole number of pupils admitted to the schools of 1882 is fifty-eight.
-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
CITY OF WINAMAC.
JOSEPH B. AGNEW, SR., was born in Butler County, Ohio, Oc- tober 22, 1815, one of the eight children born to Joseph B. and Mariam (McKee) Agnew, natives respectively of New Jersey and Virginia. Our subject left the parental roof at about the age of fifteen, to seek his own fortune. The fall of 1832 found him working by the day in Ripley County, Ind .; he then learned the millwright's trade. February 25, 1836, he married Louisa Boldrey. In May, 1847, he enlisted for the Mexican war in Company K, Fourth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and shortly after was made Corporal. While on skirmishing duty near National Bridge, thirty miles above Vera Cruz, he was shot in the right ankle, which necessitated amputation, and he was discharged in December, 1847. On Christmas Day, he left Vera Cruz and reached Ripley in January, 1848, and there worked at his trade until the fall of 1850, when he moved to White County, this State, and a few weeks later came to this county, settled in Franklin Township and engaged in farming and stock-raising until the fall of 1867, when he came to his present place in Winamac, where he owns 137 acres of good land adjoining the town. He was a Whig previous to the Mexican war, since when he has been a Democrat. In 1852, he was elected Clerk and Re- corder, which office he held four years and then resigned to become Swamp Land Commissioner under an appointment by Gov. Willard, and in this capacity served four years. In 1874, he was elected and re-elected County Treasurer, serving four years. Since then he has been leading a retired life. Mr. and Mrs. Agnew have had born to them twelve chil- dren-Daniel W., William W. (deceased), Mariam S. (deceased), Samuel B., Lucinda, Elizabeth A., Joseph B., John M., Nancy M., Louisa, Thomas J. and Frank.
CAPT. W. W. AGNEW is a son of Joseph B. and Mariam (McKee) Agnew, and was born in Butler County, Ohio, February 21, 1822, and at the age of three years moved with his parents to Hamilton County,
3
644
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
Ohio, remaining there until eighteen years old, during which time he re- ceived but very limited school advantages. He learned carpentering, and in 1840 emigrated to Ripley County, Ind., where he farmed for three years. In 1842, his marriage with Eliza R. Harding was solem- nized. and the same season they removed to Jackson County, Iowa, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He remained there only a few years ; then moved back to Ripley County, Ind., where he began the manufact- ure of barrels and working at saw milling. In 1854, he moved again to Iowa, but in 1858 returned to Indiana, locating in Jefferson Township, Pulaski County, where he engaged in farming summers and teaching school winters. July 26, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company B, Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but shortly afterward was appointed First Sergeant. In August, 1862, they started through Ken- tucky to check Gen. Bragg's advance, and meeting him fought the battle- of Perryville. Mr. Agnew was promoted First Lieutenant December 22, 1862, and officiated in that capacity until the death of Capt. Brown, when he acted as Captain of his company until he received his commis- sion as such dated November 4, 1863. Capt. Agnew participated in numerous skirmishes and pitched battles, prominent among the latter be- ing the engagement of Chickamauga, where his company went in with thirty-three able-bodied men and came out with a loss of twenty-nine killed and wounded and two taken prisoners. He was in the battle of Mission Ridge, all through the Atlanta campaign, and the engagement at Nashville, where he was at the head of a detachment of the Fourteenth Corps. He was discharged June 10, 1865, and from that time up to 1875, followed farming and teaching in Pulaski County. In 1881, he embarked in the grocery and provision trade in Winamac, and is one of the popular merchants of the place. In politics, he is Republican, and he and wife are the parents of four children-Susan E., now Mrs. Jacob Sell ; Florence A., Mrs. B. F. Hoefgen ; N. L., who is one of Winamac's best attorneys, and William H.
NATHAN L. AGNEW, a son of Capt. W. W. Agnew, a biography of whom precedes this, is a native of Ripley County, Ind., and was born August 29, 1850. At the age of five years, his parents moved to Iowa, and thence to Pulaski County in 1859. He was reared on a farm, re- ceived a common school education in youth, and in January, 1871, was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Allen, daugther of Archibald Allen, of Pulaski County. The spring of 1873, Mr. Agnew began the study of law, having access to the library of Hon. George Burson, at the same time pursuing his vocation as a farmer and school teacher. In 1875, he moved to Winamac and continued his studies with Mr. Burson the remainder of that year, and in the spring of 1876 was admitted to
TILDENF
Je Barnett DECEASED.
647
CITY OF WINAMAC.
practice his profession in the Circuit Courts. Mr. Agnew is a hard stu- dent in literature and law, is a pleasing speaker, thoroughgoing in his profession and is among the leading attorneys of Pulaski County. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court in December, 1879, and with the exception of between the spring of 1877 and the spring of 1880, while in partnership with J. C. Nye, he has been alone in his practice. He is a Republican in politics ; his wife is a member of the Christian Cuurch, and they are the parents of three children-Florence R., Myrtle F. and Mabel.
WILLIAM C. BARNETT (deceased) is one among the revered names of the early settlers of Pulaski County, and among those who, by a life of labor and self-sacrifice, became useful and foremost citizens in building up the best interests of the county. William C. Barnett was born June 11, 1813, in Greene County, N. Y., and died March 17, 1881, at his home in Winamac, Ind. He was one in a family of eight children, five only yet living, of whom William and Maria (Cook) Barnett were the parents. Both of these are now dead, the mother preceding her hus- band four years, and he dying in Winamac August 10, 1877. William C. Barnett was a man of but an ordinary education, but of keen percep- tive faculties and an excellent judgment. In 1837, he came to Logans- port, and followed his trade of tailor until 1840, when he returned East, and April 9 of that year was united in marriage with Miss Harriet Porter, of Seneca County, who was born near Waterloo, N. Y., June 9, 1821. Shortly after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Barnett moved to Logansport, where Mr. Barnett still continued his trade. In the fall of 1846, they removed to Winamac, then a small hamlet composed mostly of " board shanties " and rude log houses, with perhaps one hundred in- habitants, and here Mr. Barnett engaged in merchandising for upward of a quarter of a century, and by hard labor, honesty and frugality ac- quired a competence. Through his enterprise, the steam flouring mill now owned by C. D. Wood was erected, and in all matters of a public character Mr. Barnett was among the leaders. He was called upon to fill numerous positions of honor and trust, and served with fidelity as a Commissioner and as County Treasurer. In 1853, he was elected to the State Senate to represent the counties of Pulaski, Cass and Howard. He was a man of generous disposition, kind and neighborly to every one, always ready to assist the needy, and just such a man whose loss was re- garded as a public calamity. He was a member of long standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, as is also his widow. They were the par- ents of only one son, George H., born September 18, 1842, in Logans- port. This son married for his first wife Samantha Clark, who died July 12, 1873, leaving one son, William J. His second and present wife was
38
648
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
Mary Raver, who has borne him three children-Charles A., Clarence H. and Francis A.
W. H. BOUSLOG, of the firm of Keller, Bouslog & Co., wholesale and retail dealers in dry goods, clothing, hats, caps, boots, shoes, groce- ries, was born in Henry County Ind., May 18, 1851. After attending the schools of his native place, he finished his education with a thorough business course at a commercial school in Dayton, Ohio. At the age of eighteen he began in business for himself at Luray, Ind., but at the end of two years sold out and shortly after this was employed as book-keeper for a wholesale establishment in Dayton, Ohio. In 1874, he went to Crown Point, Ind., where for some time he served as Assistant Cashier of the First National Bank. In 1877, he came to Winamac and established himself in the boot and shoe trade, but January 1, 1880, he formed his present partnership, which has since continued with gratifying success. The firm of Keller, Bouslog & Co. is one of the heaviest in Northwestern Indiana, and one which commands an extensive trade. Besides their stock of goods valued at $30,000, they are the principal stockholders of the Bank of Winamac, of which Mr. Bouslog is cashier. He was mar- ried November 14, 1877, to Miss Mary L. Bundy, daughter of Judge M. L. Bundy, of New Castle, Ind., and to them have been born two chil- dren-Martin P. and Olivette. Mr. Bouslog is a son of John T. and Mary A. (Koonts) Bouslog, natives respectively of Morgantown, W. Va., and Henry County, Ind.
E. R. BROWN, son of one of the oldest settlers of this county, was born in Indian Creek Township, August 9, 1845, and is one of the eight hildren, seven still living, born to Ira and Sophia (Blew) Brown, a sketch of whom will be found under the head of Indian Creek Township. E. R. Brown was reared on the old homestead until sixteen years of age. August 12, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-seventh Indiana Volun- teer Infantry ; was sent to the front, and for the first two years was in the Army of the Potomac, under Gen. Banks, and afterward in the Twelfth Army Corps. He took part in the battles of Winchester, Newtown, Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Soon after the last-named battle, he was transferred to the Army of the West, under Gen. Joe Hooker, and was detailed to the office of the Provost Marshal at Tullahoma, Tenn. He was mustered out September 22, 1864, when he returned to Pulaski County, resumed his studies at school, for a time attended the old Male and Female College at Valparaiso, and in Jan- uary, 1865, entered Wabash College at Crawfordsville, graduating in 1868 with the degree of B. S. The fall of 1868, he entered Lane Theo- logical Seminary, graduating in 1871. The summer of 1871, he went to Mechanicsville, Iowa, and was ordained minister and appointed pastor
649
CITY OF WINAMAC.
of the Presbyterian Church at that place, where he was engaged in active ministerial labors until the spring of 1875, when ill health compelled him to relinquish his charge. The fall of the same year he purchased an interest in a store at Pulaski, remained there until 1879, then moved to Star City, and thence, in 1880, to Winamac, where he is still engaged in business. He was married, March 1, 1879, to Miss Emma March, and is by her the father of one son, Arthur H.
JEROME T. BRUCE was born in Union Township, Fulton Co., Ind., just across the line from Pulaski County, March 14, 1848. His father, Stephen Bruce, one of the earliest settlers of Union Township, was born in Pennsylvania July 3, 1814, and was a wagon-maker. In 1837, he located at Logansport, and there assisted in the construction of the bridge-work of the canal and the aqueduct. In 1838, he entered land from the Government, and settled in Union Township. March 3, 1844, he married Mrs. (Taylor) Bell, who was born April 9, 1820. This lady died in April, 1855, the mother of eight children, of whom only Jerome T. is now living. In 1852, Stephen Bruce brought his family to Wina- mac, having previously purchased the old Pearson flouring mill on a branch of the Tippecanoe River, above town. He followed his trade un- til he fully understood the milling business, when he took entire charge. The original mill long since passed away ; he erected a new one, now in ruins, and adjoining it the present mill was begun in 1873, and completed in 1875, at a cost of $10,000. It is a three-storied frame, 28x40 feet, contains two runs of buhrs for wheat and one for corn and chop feed, and has a capacity of twenty-five barrels per day. Originally the mill was operated by water-power, but the dam was removed in 1882 by a decision of the Circuit Court. The case, however, has been carried to the Supreme Court, and is still unsettled. At present there is a twenty-horse-power engine doing the work. The engine-house is of two stories, 26x35 feet, with an office opening from the main mill and also the engine room, which is about twelve feet square. The quality of the flour manufactured has an excellent reputation. Mr. Bruce, on March 20, 1856, married Nancy Jane Rodgers, who was born July 3, 1834, and bore her husband eight children, of whom four are still living. January 16, 1881, Mr. Bruce died. His widow still resides in Winamac. Jerome T. Bruce received & good high-school education in his youth, and in December, 1872, married Artha R. Messerly. He has present charge of the mill, and owns con- siderable valuable property in and near Winamac. He is a member of the Lodge and Encampment of Odd Fellows, and of the Royal Arcanum. He is a Republican, and in 1880 was elected County Surveyor. He and wife are members of the M. E. Church, and are parents of one son- Charles.
650
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :
HON. GEORGE BURSON is a native of Columbiana County, Ohio, born February 24, 1837. He is the eldest of five sons born to James and Fiana (Dickey) Burson, who were natives respectively of Loudoun County, Va., and Columbiana County, Ohio, the last-named place being where they were married. The family moved to Van Wert County, Ohio, where Mr. Burson died, being the Treasurer elect of that county. Mrs. Burson re-married, but is again a widow, and resides in Winamac. George Burson went to Wyandot County, Ohio, after his father's death, remaining there until sixteen years old. The fall of 1853, he came to Pulaski County, Ind., where his mother and step-father had moved the preceding spring, and began farming summers and teaching school win- ters ; 1859, he was made Deputy County Sheriff, and while serving in this capacity began the study of law, having access to the library of A. I. Gould. August 28, 1860, he was married to Miss Melinda Lowrey, and October 13, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Forty-sixth Indiana Vol- unteer Infantry, and was commissioned First Lieutenant. They were in camp at Logansport until December, then went to Indianapolis, thence to Louisville, and from there went into active campaigning duty through Kentucky, Missouri and other Southern States. Mr. Burson was pro- moted Captain of his company March 29, 1862, and after serving as such for a time was made Major of the First Arkansas Regiment (colored). Owing to ill-health, Mr. Burson resigned in September, 1863, but he was not finally discharged until December, 1863. On his return home, he pur- chased the Winamac Democrat, merged that into the Winamac Herald, and continued its editor and proprietor until the fall of 1864, when he sold out and engaged in the practice of law, having been elected Pros- ecuting Attorney that fall. Mr. Burson has remained in the practice of this profession ever since in Winamac. In 1874, he was elected to the State Legislature to represent the counties of Pulaski, Starke and Fulton, and in 1876 he was elected Presidential Elector for his district. He is a Democrat, and a member of the Christian Church, and he and wife have had born to them three children-Ida (deceased), George and Stella.
OBADIAH CARPER, deceased, was born at Massillon, Ohio, in February, 1818, and was a son of Nicholas and Rebecca Carper, both of whom were natives of the Keystone State. He learned the trade of inside finisher of houses in his native town, and there, July 5, 1841, was united in marriage with Martha Miller, who was born in Massillon May 24, 1822. The fall of 1841, this couple moved to Iowa, but remained there only a short time ; then removed back to Ohio and settled in Harri- son County. Whitley County, Ind., was their next place of residence, moving there in 1858, and remaining there three years. In 1861, they moved to Winamac, where Mr. Carper embarked in the grocery trade,
651
CITY OF WINAMAC.
and being an excellent business man, he was not long in acquiring con- siderable property. In 1863, he erected the Carper House (since burned), and was its proprietor until 1872, when he sold out and engaged in farming north of town. After improving that farm, it was sold in 1878, and he then returned to Winamac, built a dwelling house, and died in January, 1880. Mr. Carper was one of the honorable, straightfor- ward men of Winamac, and was Township Trustee at the time of his death. He and wife were the parents of five children-Angeline (de- ceased), Naham, Ellen (deceased), Maria (deceased) and Marshall. The last named and youngest of the family was born April 7, 1858, in Whit- ley County. He learned telegraphy, and was employed at different stations along the Pan Handle road until 1874, when he began clerking in Winamac. The spring of 1877, he formed his present partnership with G. W. Dolph in the drug business, and the firm of Dolph & Carper are among the best in Winamac. They carry a stock of about $4,000 value, of everything found in a first-class drug store, and they transact an average annual business of $12,000. Mr. Carper is among the wide- awake business men of the place, and has general charge of the store. He was married, September 5, 1881, to Miss Lola L., daughter of Rich- ard and Nancy (Quigly) Hathaway.
JOHN R. CONNER, County Auditor, is a native of Montgomery County, Ind., his birth occurring at Conner's Mill February 6, 1846. Of the twelve children born to his parents, only eight are yet living. His parents were both born in Kentucky, but his father, John Conner, at the age of thirteen, moved with his parents to Montgomery County, this State, where he learned the miller's trade, and where he married the mother of the subject of this sketch, Cassandra Carson. In 1861. he and family moved to Pulaski County, settled on a farm in Jefferson Township, and the fall of that year Mr. Conner enlisted as a private in the Twentieth Indiana Volunteers. He served in active duty until the war was virtually ended, then returned home, where he died December 13, 1867, from disease contracted while in the service of his country. His widow is yet living, and resides at Francesville at the age of sixty- six years. John R. Conner resided in his native county until the age of fifteen years, and since that time his home has been in Pulaski County. His educational advantages were very limited in youth, but by self-appli- cation in later years he has been enabled to acquire a good, practical edu- cation. Early in the spring of 1865, he enlisted for the war in Company D, One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but the war soon afterward closing, he was discharged October 5, 1865, returned home and engaged in buying and selling cattle. In 1871, he engaged in mercantile pursuits at Francesville, but the fall of 1876 sold out, and
652
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:
re-embarked in stock business. The fall of 1878, he was chosen by the Democratic party as their candidate for County Treasurer, and in 1879 removed to Winamac to fill that position. In 1880, he was re-elected County Treasurer, and in 1882 was elected Auditor of the county. His term of Treasurer not expiring until 1883, he resigned his position, and the same fall of his election entered upon his duties as Auditor, at which he is at present engaged. He has been a life-long Democrat, and was married to Miss Florence Rishling, February 10, 1881. This lady is a daughter of Samuel and Typhena (Ward) Rishling, of Francesville.
M. A. DILTS is one of six surviving children in a family of twelve born to the marriage of Frank Dilts and Sarah Weaver, both of whom were natives of Montgomery County, Ohio, and of Scotch and German descent respectively. The family emigrated to Indiana in 1856, located in Elkhart County, but removed to Fulton County in 1857, and from there to Pulaski County in 1860, where Mr. Dilts died in May, 1877. His widow yet survives him and resides on the old homestead, one mile east of Winamac. M. A. Dilts lived with his parents until eighteen years of age, receiving his education from the public schools and finishing with a business course at a college in Xenia, Ohio. When in his twenty- first year, he began traveling for a wholesale agricultural house in Xenia, but in 1871 he engaged in the grocery and restaurant business at that place, continuing until 1874. He then commenced auctioning dry goods and no- notions at. Greenville, but the fall of that year came to Winamac, continu- ing the same business. The ensuing winter he wholesaled cigars for Dilts Bros., manufacturers of Winamac, but the summer of 1875 again returned to auctioning dry goods and notions. In 1876, he embarked in the drug trade in Winamac, but the following season sold out to Dolph & Carper. Since that time he has turned his attention exclusively to handling real es- tate, and making it his business to learn of the best lands in the market ; he has obtained the agency for these and is enabled to find good homes in Pu- laski County for poor men. Mr. Dilts was born February 25, 1849, in the same county as his parents. He came to Winamac in the fall of 1860, a poor boy, but possessed of courage and enterprise. He is a Republican, a member of the Royal Arcanum, and he and wife are members of the M. E. Church. He was married, November 17, 1874, to Mrs. Rachel W. Williamson, of Greene County, Ohio, and to them have been born three children-Minnie M., Florence E., and Reuben A., deceased.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.