USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County Indiana : From its earliest settlement to the present time with biographical sketches and reference to biographies previously compiled, Volume II > Part 48
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Willard Ault received his education in the district schools of his native locality, and in 1885 located on his mother's farm in Adams township, on the Cass county-Miami county line. There he continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits for five years, and in 1890 came to his present farm, a tract of one hundred acres, on which stood a little log stable and a shack which passed for a house. Here Mr. Anlt settled down to clear his land, and soon replaced the primitive buildings with others of a more substantial character. As the years passed, he put more and more of his land under cultivation, and his equipment and improvements increased as his finances would permit. Maplehurst Farm is now one of the valuable properties of Adams township, made such through hard and intelligent work, and in addition Mr. Ault owns thirty-five acres located one mile east of his home, which is a beautiful location. Although he has been busily engaged in agricultural pursuits, Mr. Ault has found time for other activities, following contracting with a large measure of success, and being the builder of all of his own buildings as well as those of a number of his neighbors. He is recognized as a business man in whose word the highest confidence may be placed, and his integrity and honorable dealing have attracted to him a wide circle of friends. While a resident of Miami county, prior to coming to Cass county, he taught school for fourteen years, and became a well known and popular educator. Although not an aspirant for public preferment, Mr. Ault takes a keen and intelligent interest in political matters, and has always given his hearty support to the policies and candidates of the Democratic party. His religious affiliation is with the Christian church.
On March 28, 1890, Mr. Ault was married in Howard county, Indiana, to Miss Kathryn Morrison, daughter of Enoch and Sydney (Snyder) Morrison, farming people of Howard county, and to this union there have been born two children: Ina M., born November 16, 1891, who resides on the home farm; and Elizabeth, born March 23, 1893, who married Dwight M. Kime. Probably no family in Adams township is
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better known or more highly esteemed, and the name has always stood for business integrity, public spirit and good citizenship.
WILLIAM CARSON. The general citizenship of Adams township is made up of people of sterling character, good morals and a pleasant friendliness which fine schools and many church privileges encourage. Many of the substantial families have been known here for years and the present heads of some of them are not only residents but also natives of Indiana. They are largely agriculturists and their well-cultivated fields and herds of sleek cattle and healthy looking stock proclaim that many of them lead particularly pleasant and profitable lives amid pros- perous surroundings. William Carson, whose valuable farm of eighty acres lies in a very desirable section of Adams township, has not, how- ever, always been a farmer, for three long years and three months of his early manhood were given to the service of his country when se- cession raised its gory head during the dark days of the Civil war. Mr. Carson is a native of the Hoosier state, having been born in Jennings county, September 10, 1841, and a son of John and Julia (McCammott) Carson. His paternal grandfather, William Carson, died January 12, 1841. Mr. Carson's father was born January 12, 1818, and his mother July 17, 1818, and they came from Rutherford county, North Carolina, at a very early day, locating in Jennings county, where they spent the remainder of their lives in agricultural pursuits.
William Carson was reared in Jennings county, and there received his education in the public schools. He was engaged in work on his father's farm, when the Civil war broke across the country, calling all classes and conditions of men to the defense of the flag. Mr. Carson, with youthful patriotism, offered his services and was accepted as a member of the Sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Perhaps it was the military blood of his ancestors stirring within him, for his grand- father and great-grandfather had both been valiant soldiers in the American army during the Revolutionary war and the War of 1812-14. At any rate he made a brave and faithful soldier, and during the three years and three months in which he fought under the Stars and Stripes, he gained commendation for his bravery and respect for the cheerful manner in which he performed every duty assigned to him. When he had completed his long and arduous service and had received his honorable discharge, he returned to the quiet occupations of peace, which he resumed with. added zest and self-reliance. Not long there- after he made his advent in Cass county, settling first in Noble town- ship, where he spent three years, and then coming to Adams township, where he rented land from Paul Taber for some years. Finally he purchased his present tract of eighty acres, on which he has since made his home. At the time he purchased it there was considerable timber still on the property, the buildings were of a mediocre order and the land was without fencing. The timber has been cleared away, the farm thoroughly and neatly fenced, and the old buildings replaced with new ones of architectural beauty and substantial character. This work has consumed years, but the present value of the farm repays in full the labor expended upon it. Mr. Carson is known as an excellent farmer, thoroughly conversant with every detail of his vocation. He has not
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devoted his entire attention, however, to agricultural matters, as he has been identified with the Twelve-Mile State Bank since its organization . in 1911 as a director, and holds a like position with the Twelve-Mile Telephone Company, an enterprise which has been successful since its organization in 1903. Among his associates, Mr. Carson is known as a shrewd, far-sighted man of business, whose word is as good as his deed. His religious connection is with the United Brethren church, to the movements of which he has been a liberal contributor. In politics a Republican, he has served as a member of the board of trustees of his township for six years. Mr. Carson has been interested to some extent in fraternal work, and since 1867 has been a member of the Masons.
On January 12, 1870, Mr. Carson was married to Miss Elizabeth Hicks, daughter of James Hicks, and to this union there were born five children, as follows: Joseph A., born July 4, 1871; Frederick, born July 26, 1875; Jessie, born October 17, 1879; and two who died in infancy. Mr. Carson was married (second) February 23, 1888, to Miss Lorinda Leffel, daughter of William and Catherine (Haney) Leffel, of Cass county, and they have one daughter-Inez, born March 1, 1889, who married Hugh Skinner and lives in Adams township.
Mr. Carson has one of the old parchment deeds, which is a valuable heirloom in the home. This is the eighth deed found in the county and bears the signature of President Van Buren. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and this gives Mr. and Mrs. Carson and children place in the Sons and Daughters of the Revolution.
Mrs. Carson was born in Cass county, November 17, 1857. Both her parents are deceased. She was reared and educated in Cass county and she is a member of the United Brethren church. Mrs. Carson is of German and Mr. Carson of Irish descent.
DANIEL R. CARSON, general farmer, who owns seventy-two acres of some of the best land lying in Adams township, has been a resident of Cass county for a number of years and is identified with all that goes to make up its best citizenship. He was born on a farm in Jennings county, Indiana, May 4, 1857, coming from ancestry largely agricul- tural in its vocation but not lacking in patriotism when called on, for both his grandfather and great-grandfather took part in the War of 1812 and Revolutionary war, while his brother, William Carson, served gallantly in the Union ranks during the War of the Rebellion. His paternal grandfather, William Carson, of Rutherford county, North Carolina, died January 12, 1841. His parents were John and Julia (McCammott) Carson, the former of whom was born January 12, 1818, and the latter July 17, 1818. From Rutherford county, the family came to Jennings county, Indiana, and here the parents of Mr. Carson spent the remainder of their lives in agricultural pursuits.
D. R. Carson received his education in the district schools of Jennings county, but as a young man came to Cass county and first located on the Taber section in Adams township. His first dwelling was a house made of rough boards, in which four of his children were born. Mr. Carson continued to rent on the Taber section for a period of fifteen years, and then purchased his present tract of seventy-two acres, in 1903. Here he erected almost all of the buildings, put up new fencing,
"COUNCIL CREST," RESIDENCE OF MR. AND MRS. GEORGE HI. SHIREY
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graded and drained the land, and made numerous other improve- ments, all of which have served to enhance its value. He is an able agriculturist, bringing to his work the knowledge gained during many years of experience in his vocation. His standing among the citizens of his community is high, and his transactions have always been marked by strict integrity. Mr. Carson is a member of the Odd Fellows, in which he has many friends, and his political faith is that of the Prohibi- tion party. With his family, he attends the United Brethren church, of which he is a member of the board of trustees.
On January 13, 1881, Mr. Carson was married to Miss Lucy McCassline, daughter of George McCassline, and to this union there have been born six children, as follows: John McCassline; Fred D .; Doris, who married Walter McGuire; Everett; Ovie; and Ernest, the eldest, who died at the age of five years.
GEORGE H. SHIREY. The quality of a man's usefulness in his com- munity is in no wise impaired by the fact that he leads a quiet and unpre- tentious life, is seldom seen in public places and takes little part in the political activities of his district. If he goes on in a straightforward manly and enterprising way, giving his best energies to the work before him and performing his share in matters of civic responsibility, he proves the quality of his citizenship as forcibly as does the most prominent indi- vidual. George Shirey is one of those plain and unpretentious char- acters who find their chief interest in their own private affairs, and he has made his home in this township and community for the past eight years, in which time he has added his full quota to the products of the township as the seasons come and go.
Born in Roanoke county, Virginia, on June 3, 1851, George Shirey is the son of John and Leannah (Miller) Shirey, who died in 1885 and 1882, respectively. They were the parents of four children,-those besides the subject being William R., Walter G. and Emma (deceased).
Mr. Shirey came to Bethlehem township in 1895, and eight years ago acquired his present farm, which is a representative place of one hun- dred acres, handled by himself, without any other help. He is pros- perous and comfortable, and plays the part of a good citizen in the varied activities of communal life in his own unassuming and quiet manner. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, as is also his wife, and his politics are those of a Republican.
Mr. Shirey wedded Miss Addie L. Montgomery, September 12, 1883. She was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, July 26, 1854, the second child in a family of eight children, one son and seven daughters, born to James H. and Mary E. (Brindle) Montgomery, and five of the children are living. Father Montgomery was a well educated gentleman and was a school teacher by profession. He was one of the valiant men who went from the old Keystone State of Pennsylvania in defense of the Union, and served his country nobly and received his honorable dis- charge. Politically he was a Democrat. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Montgomery died September 3, 1912, and his wife died August 31, 1889.
Mrs. Shirey was educated in the common schools and she has nobly performed her part in counsel and advice with her husband. Mr. and
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Mrs. Shirey have a beautiful home situated near the Michigan pike and it is known as "Council Crest." Mrs. Shirey's brother, Strock Mont- gomery, makes his home with them. Mr. Shirey is a gentleman who dearly loves good driving horses, and has been the owner of many. They have a fine five passenger touring car and take great comfort in life. They made a pleasure visit to the Pacific coast recently. Besides their fine property in Bethlehem township they have 240 acres in Gray county, Kansas.
L. C. MILLER, M. D. There is no profession to which men devote themselves more dignified in its ethics or more reasonably helpful to the world than that of medicine. Similar claims are made by the church and by the law, but they, while essentially true enough, are based on other foundations. The healing art demands of its real followers that natural reverence for the dignity of the human body that commands the exer- cise of all the skill that years of study and training have brought to them; to cure its ills, even when they well know their services will receive no monetary reward. Where or when does a real physician refuse to give help, and, to what other body of men does the world owe so much ? Its scientific discoveries have not only eased the bed of former torture, but have found the cure for almost every bodily affliction. Justly is this noble profession in the fore-front. Methods may differ, systems may not be quite alike, and personality counts for much, but the aim and principle remain the same. Among the members of the medical pro- fession well known in Cass county is Dr. L. C. Miller, whose skill and faithfulness, together with his determined hopefulness and cheerfulness, have made his presence valued in many households during the last eighteen years, which period has covered his residence at Twelve-Mile. Dr. Miller was born at Alliance, Ohio, March 24, 1869, and is a son of Levi and Alma (Lazarus) Miller, grandson of Samuel Miller and George Lazarns, and great-grandson of John Craig.
Dr. Miller was reared at North Benton, Ohio, at the home of an aunt on his mother's side, Anna Lazarus, who gave him excellent edu- cational advantages. On determining upon a medical career, the young man went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and entered the University of Mich- igan, where he was graduated from the medical department and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1895 Dr. Miller came to Twelve-Mile, and purchased the practice of Dr. Harding, who is now located at North Manchester, Indiana. Here lie has remained ever since, his practice being a large and lucrative one and extending out into Adams township for a number of miles. He keeps fully abreast of the new discoveries and inventions by subscription to a number of the leading medical periodicals, and takes a deep interest in the work of the various medical organizations of which he is a member. It is not alone as a physician, however, that Dr. Miller is well known, for he has identified himself with every movement that has affected his com- munity, and is at this time connected with several of the leading busi- ness enterprises of this place. In 1911, when the Twelve-Mile State Bank was organized, he was chosen president, a position he has held to the present time, wisely directing the institution's policies and popu- larizing its coffers. A new, one-story bank building has been completed,
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furnishing a handsome home for this enterprise. In 1903 the Twelve- Mile Telephone Company was organized, and since that time !Dr. Miller has acted in the capacity of secretary. He is recognized by his associates as a shrewd, forceful man of business, with high ideals and possessed of the strictest integrity. His connection with any enterprise is a warranty of its legitimacy, and he firmly holds the confidence of the people among whom he has lived for so long. He has taken an inter- est in fraternal work, belonging to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Masons and the Odd Fellows, and for a number of years was treasurer of his lodge in the latter order. With his family, he attends the Twelve- Mile United Brethren church.
Dr. Miller was married in 1897 at Deedsville, Indiana, to Miss Mary J. Snider, daughter of Solomon Snider, and they have three children, as follows: Galen, born April 28, 1898; Alma, born June 23, 1905; and Donald, born August 29, 1907.
WILLIAM H. DILLMAN. One of the oldest families of Cass county is represented by William H. Dillman of Adams township, whose post- office address is Hoover No. 20. The Dillman family have been residents in this vicinity on the present farm just mentioned since 1840, a year which was not removed from the period of first settlement, and at which time the present Dillman farm, as well as nearly all the rest of the coun- try was almost in a condition of primitive wilderness. The present proprietor of the well improved and profitably managed place, was a mere child when the family came to this location. The various mem- bers of the family have been well known, have been industrious workers, and substantial citizens, and have borne the responsibilities of their relations with man and God in a way that is deserving of a permanent place in the record of Cass county.
W. H. Dillman was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the ninth of October, 1839, a son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Aukerman) Dillman, The maternal grandfather was John Aukerman. Daniel Dillman, the father, was born in 1804, and was a Virginian, from which state, when quite young he came to Ohio and was married there, and several years later in 1840 moved to the present homestead in Cass county. His death occurred here in 1875, and his remains now rest on the home farm in Adams township. At one time he served as trustee of the township, and was also a justice of the peace. The wife of this venerable pioneer was born in 1808 and died March 21, 1859.
W. H. Dillman was the fifth in a family of eleven children. The others being as follows: Mary; John H., born February 19, 1832; Aaron A., born October 5, 1834, and died April 16, 1837; Elizabeth C., born July 16, 1837 ; Maria V., born June 15, 1841 ; Solomon F., horn February 20, 1843; Eliza L., born April 26, 1845; Lovina E., born May 20. 1847; Isabelle H., born August 7, 1849; Margaret A., born June 6, 1852.
Reared in Cass county, where he received his education from such schools as existed during his youth, and growing to manhood Mr. Dillman assumed the responsibilities of farm life. He and his brother conducted the farm for some years, until they finally divided the farm, and he has
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1
ever since been proprietor and manager of this estate, which has been in the family possession almost since the earliest period of settlement. At the time his father came here, the entire tract of land was covered by woods and a small log house was the first habitation for the family. Father and sons worked together to clear up the land, and in time it became a very productive homestead, which it still remains. The father, during his life time, built a very fine barn, and it is still standing, but Mr. Dillman has erected the present home.
Mr. W. H. Dillman was married April 21, 1895, to Miss Elizabeth Teel, a daughter of Joel H. and Elizabeth (Kenzie) Teel. Her people came to Indiana from Virginia. Her father died when she was quite young, and her mother brought the family to Cass county. Mr. and Mrs. Dillman became the parents of three children, namely: Gale Marie, born October 14, 1896; Carl Teel, born January 16, 1899; Daniel R., born June 6, 1901.
The pretty home of Mr. and Mrs. Dillman is known as "Pine Lodge."
GEORGE W. McCOY. As a merchant, George W. McCoy is one of the enterprising men in the little town of Galveston, the metropolis of Jackson township. Mr. McCoy is a native of Indiana, has spent all his life in this state, received only a district school education, as prepara- tion for a practical career, but has used such energy and thorough busi- ness ability in his endeavors, that he has for a number of years been marked as one of the successful and prosperous men of his community.
George W. McCoy was born in Ripley county, Indiana, October 21, 1870. He is a son of Robert W. and Lutetia (Scothorn) McCoy. The father passed away in 1906, and the mother in 1884. Mr. McCoy received his early schooling in Ripley county, though only in the dis- trict schools. He was reared in the influences of a good home, and his parents were both people who gave him all the advantages they could afford. His father, during the war, had served as a homeguard, though never going to the front for service.
In February, 1896, Mr. McCoy married Miss Laura B. Harness, a daughter of A. J. and Jane (Rosberry) Harness. Mrs. McCoy is a native of Cass county, and her father's people were among the oldest settlers. Her great-grandfather, George W. Harness had come here during the pioneer period, and he lived to the very unusual age of 108 years. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. McCoy are as follows: Ivan R., born October 23, 1897; Russell Morton, born October 15, 1899; Robert Loran, born November 6, 1901, and Frederick Damon, born October 5, 1905; all the children reside at home.
Mr. McCoy has been a member of the board of trustees of the Methi- odist church in his locality, and his fellow citizens have also shown their confidence in his judgment and capacity by choosing him to the school board. He has been a resident of Galveston, since 1900. Previons to that time he had followed farming to some extent, and in 1900 entered upon his mercantile career. He established a business here in partner- ship, but after its existence for about a year, his partner died, and he then bought out the other interest, and has since conducted a very flourishing grocery business. In politics, Mr. McCoy is a Republican.
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WILLARD BURROWS. Three generations of the house of Burrows have lived on the old farm that came to be the property of the grand- father of Willard Burrows of this review many years ago in Deer Creek township, and which was then a virgin wilderness. The axe of the pioneer had not as yet penetrated the dense forest region, and the man who first settled on the farm that is today one of the fine productive tracts of the fertile Cass county, proved his hardihood and courage in no uncertain terms when he fared forth on his home seeking expedition and located in a wilderness. But those were the dominant character- istics of our ancestors, and it was qualities of that order that made possible the race that has brought forth so much in the way of achieve- ment in the present generation.
Willard Burrows was born in Deer Creek township on March 4, 1883, and is the son of John T. and Susan A. (Lenon) Burrows, the father being the son of Joseph Burrows, who established the family in Indiana. He was a native of the state of Ohio, and soon after his marriage came to Cass county, where he settled on the farm, men- tioned above, and which is now owned by the father of the subject. There the old pioneer passed his life, leaving the place to his son when he passed on. He brought about many improvements of no mean order, and the buildings which stand there today are those that he erected in the years of his activity upon the place.
Logansport, in those early days, was a mere trading post, and the wildest and most primitive conditions prevailed on every hand. The old pioneer came to be the owner of some five hundred acres of land, and was regarded as one of the prosperous men of his day. John E. Burrows was reared there and since the passing of his father, retains the old homestead, and carried on the work of the place in a worthy manner, up to 1905, since when he conducts a drayage business with good success.
Willard Burrows is one of the two children of his parents, the other being Mabel, who married Herbert A. Keller. In recent years Mr. Burrows engaged in the grocery business at Galveston and has enjoyed a pleasing measure of success in that industry. He is one of the prominent and popular men of Galveston, and takes an active part in the best social and civic activities of the place. He has long been a member of the United Brethren church, in which he is a trustee, and treasurer of the church as well. He is a Mason, affiliating with the East- ern Star and Galveston Lodge A. F. & A. M., No. 244, as well as the Knights of Pythias, Amity Lodge No. 262. Politically, he is a Prohi- hitionist and is enthusiastic on the subject of prohibition.
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