USA > Indiana > Daviess County > History of Daviess County, Indiana : Its people, industries and institutions > Part 63
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John Jepson worked in a woolen factory in Utica, New York, his first place of residence in this country after coming to the United States, with his wife and two children, when about thirty years of age. Later he removed to Ohio and settled near St. Clairsville, where he engaged in farm- ing, and where he spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring at the advanced age of ninety-one years. He was badly crippled by an accident at the raising of a barn. His widow survived him some years, her death occurring at the age of eighty-four. Both were stanch members of the Presbyterian church, as were all of their children. Both Mr. Jepson's pater- nal and maternal grandparents lived and died in England.
Nathaniel H. Jepson was reared in St. Clairsville, Ohio, and received a common-school education in the schools of that place. He began clerking in his father's grocery at the age of fourteen, and for some years followed this vocation. He then began learning the watchmaker's and jeweler's trade in Cadiz, Ohio, and has followed this business for more than fifty years. He moved to Washington, this county, in 1870, and has lived there for a period of forty-five years. In the first place he bought out a small concern, which has been considerably enlarged. Mr. Jepson carries a large and fine assortment of watches, clocks, jewelry, silverware and optical goods, and has a flourishing business in Washington and vicinity.
Mr. Jepson was married in 1863 to Elizabeth Black, the daughter of Samuel and Barbara Black, and to this union three children were born, John Samuel, Lucy and Jessie. John Samuel is deceased. He represented a wholesale jewelry manufacturing house in Newark, New Jersey, and was the Pacific-coast representative of that firm. Lucy also is deceased. She was the wife of Felix L. Cadou and the mother of three sons, Eugene Jep- son, Edward Leon and Felix L., Jr. Eugene Jepson is now attending the Indiana State University, at Bloomington, and stands at the head of his class. Jessie, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Jepson, married Harry S. Smith, chief train dispatcher at Seymour, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one daughter, Elizabeth.
Mrs. Jepson was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1840. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively, her father having been a major in an Ohio regiment during the Civil War. He was later a cap- tain of one of the gunboats on the Ohio and Mississippi river during the
(42)
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war. He died in Ohio, leaving five daughters and four sons, Lycurgus, Samuel, Frank, George, Elizabeth, Bertha, Emma, Alice and Mary.
Nathaniel Hunt Jepson was a soldier in the Civil War, a member of Company B, One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served between four and five months. After the close of the war he returned to Ohio and located in Steubenville for a time. Mr. Jep- son is a Republican and served for ten years as a member of the Washing- ton city council, and for three years as a member of the Washington city school board. Mr. and Mrs. Jepson are members of the Presbyterian church in Washington, in which Mr. Jepson is an elder.
Nathaniel Hunt Jepson is a representative citizen of Daviess county. He is a man who has worked to good purpose and who in his declining years. is able to enjoy the fruits of his early labors, but he has worked unselfishly through all these years. He has been a good citizen, a kind neighbor, a loving husband and father, and will go down in the history of Daviess county as one of its most substantial citizens.
EDWARD C. FAITH.
It is not an easy task to adequately describe the character of a man who has led an eminently active and busy life in connection with the great legal profession and who has impressed his individuality on the people of Daviess county in one of the most exacting fields of human endeavor. Among the truly self-made and representative men of Daviess county, none ranks higher than Edward C. Faith, a conspicuous figure in the civic life of the community. A man of tireless energy and indomitable courage, he has won and held the unqualified esteem of his fellow citizens. With the law as his profession, he has won a splendid reputation. Mr. Faith has also succeeded admirably as a civil engineer and performed efficient public service in this profession.
Edward C. Faith was born in Bogart township, Daviess county, Indiana, on October 12, 1868. He is the son of Thomas W. and Matilda J. (Strange) Faith, a history of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. Edward C. was reared on his father's farm in Bogard township, Daviess county, and attended the district school and the Southern Indiana Normal College at Mitchell, graduating in the teachers' class in 1887. He then taught school five years, during which time he was principal of the Plainville schools,
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from 1892 to 1893. He was elected county surveyor in 1894 and served two terms in that office. He graduated from the Indiana Law School of the University of Indianapolis in the class of 1897, and was admitted to practice in all the courts. Mr. Faith took the two-year law course in one year and was graduated with honors. He began to practice in Washington and has continued there since 1897. Three brothers, Grant, Edward C. and George A., were first associated together, but Edward C. is now practicing alone.
After returning from the law school Mr. Faith was elected city civil engineer of Washington in 1898, and served for four years. In February, 1904, he was appointed postmaster and served until 1912, eight years. Since that time he has devoted himself entirely to the practice of law.
Edward C. Faith was married to Lena Bach, at Bloomfield, June 14, 1894. She was the daughter of Emanuel and Laura (Stropes) Bach. Mrs. Faith was born in Bloomfield, Indiana. Her father was a native of Swit- zerland, who came to America, locating in Kilbuck, Ohio, when twelve years old. He later came to Indiana and located at Bloomfield. He was a soldier in the Civil War, and died in 1894, at the age of sixty years. His wife survives him and still lives at Bloomfield. They had six children, Rolla E., Sadie E., Jesse J., Leroy, Lena B., and Zula, who died in infancy. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Faith was Emanuel Bach, whose children were as follow: Elizabeth, Eda, Emanuel, Mary, William, Eliza, Louis, Edwin and Caroline. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Faith was Jere- miah Stropes. His wife was Sarah (Franklin) Stropes. Their children were: Adam, Laura, Serinda, Jeremiah, William and Sarah, who died in infancy.
Edward C. and Lena (Bach) Faith are the parents of two children, Don C. and Harold B. Don C. graduated when sixteen years old from the Washington high school in the class of 1912. He had a license to teach before that time. He is now teaching his third term of school at Maysville, in Washington township, and Harold B. is now sixteen years old and is employed in the automobile department of the Hatfild & Palmer Company.
Mrs. Faith is an active member of the First Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Faith belongs to the Odd Fellows and the Elks and is a Republican. He has a farm of fifty acres in Washington township on the Maysville road, which is his home.
Edward C. Faith is a man of broad experience, a good lawyer and a man who commands the respect of his fellow citizens.
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AARON D. BECHTEL.
Success is achieved only by exercising fundamental qualities of nature. Those by whom great epochal changes have been made in the agricultural world began early in life to prepare themselves for the peculiar duties and responsibilities. It has been only by the most persevering and continuous endeavor that they have succeeded in rising superior to obstacles and reach- ing the goal of their ambition. Such lives are an inspiration to others who are less courageous and more prone to give up the fight before their ideal is reached. In the life history of Aaron D. Bechtel there is much evidence of those peculiar characteristics which make for achievements and for success, such qualities, for instance, as persistency, fortitude and indefatigable indus- try. Mr. Bechtel is one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of Madison township, Daviess county, Indiana.
Aaron D. Bechtel was born on September 4, 1850, in Coshocton county, Ohio. He is the son of Abraham and Rachael (DeKamp) Bechtel, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Abraham Bechtel was the son of Martin Bechtel, who married Elizabeth Williams. Martin and Elizabeth Bechtel had five children, Abraham, John, Elijah, Martin and Elizabeth. When Abraham Bechtel was a young man he started in life as a farmer in the state of Pennsylvania. He came to Indiana in 1862 and located in Daviess county, farming here the remainder of his life. Abraham and Rachael Bechtel had ten children: Samuel; Aaron D .; Sarah Ann, who died at the age of seven ; Martha M .; Mary; William; Hester; James, who died in his youth; Jane and Benjamin F. Abraham Bechtel and wife were members of the Baptist church, while Mr. Bechtel was a Republican.
Aaron D. Bechtel was educated in Madison township, Daviess county. When a young man he farmed during a part of the time and at other times worked at the brick mason's trade. Mr. Bechtel purchased a part of the farm upon which he now lives in 1874, and owns two hundred acres of splendid land, which is highly productive. He is engaged in general farm- ing and stock raising and has accumulated an exceptionally large compe- tence.
Mr. Bechtel was married on January 1, 1874, to Mary Jane Taylor, the daughter of Henry Taylor. To this union seven children were born: Albert, deceased; Nancy, who married Frank Pugh and has had four chil- dren, Lester, Herford (deceased), Glenn and Neva; Iva, deceased; James, who married Blanche Bogle and has one child, Harold; Jacob, who mar-
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ried Lizzie Richison and has two children, Palmer and Russell; Zula, who married Claude Sipes, and Fay. The mother of these children died in 1912, and Mr. Bechtel was married, March 13, 1913, to Hannah Howard, a daughter of Daniel and Minerva (Brummett) Howard. At the time of her marriage, Mrs. Bechtel was Mrs. Hannah Ledgerwood, the widow of Henry H. Ledgerwood. By her first marriage, Mrs. Bechtel had six children: Sarah, who married John Vaughn and has two children, Darrell and Gladys; Minerva, who married James Maham and has one daughter, Catherine; John W., Candice, Henry and Ava.
Aaron D. Bechtel is a member of the Baptist church, while fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Bechtel is a Republican. Aaron D. Bechtel is a man not easily disturbed by passing fancies or present-day fads. He is a man who takes the world as it comes, who believes in the honesty and integrity of his fellow citizens, but who, nevertheless, has been wise enough in his personal and private relations to rely strictly upon his own personal resources. He has made an exceptional success of farming, and now has in his possession more than a sufficient competence for his declining years. He has been too busy with his own personal and private affairs to take much part in matters of public moment.
WILLIAM H. McCARTER.
An enumeration of those men of the present generation who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have hon- ored the locality to which they belong would be incomplete were there fail- ure to make specific mention of William H. McCarter. The qualities which have made him one of the prominent and successful men of Daviess county have also won for him the esteem of his fellow men. His career has been one of well-directed energy, strong determination and honorable methods.
William H. McCarter was born on April 4, 1847, in Madison township, Daviess county, Indiana. He is the son of Moses and Sarah (Ketcham) McCarter, the former of whom was born on September 4, 1813, in Ten- nessee, and who died, December 27, 1856, and the latter of whom was born in Kentucky, of German descent, on June 21, 1812, and who died in 1863. Sarah (Ketcham) McCarter was the daughter of Joseph Ketcham. The grandfather of William H. McCarter was Joseph McCarter, a farmer of Tennessee.
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Moses McCarter ran away from home at the age of seventeen years. He came to Indiana about 1830 and located in Monroe county. He was one of the early settlers in this part of the country. He settled in the woods in Madison township, this county, and cleared much of the land. Later he located on a farm of about five hundred acres in that township. Moses and Sarah (Ketcham) McCarter had eight children: Joseph; Catherine; Jane; Daniel L .; Nancy; William H., the subject of this sketch; John and George died in youth. Moses McCarter and wife were members of the Methodist church, and he was identified with the Republican party.
William H. McCarter was educated in the subscription and public schools of Madison township, Daviess county. When a young man he started farming in Madison township, and has farmed here all his life. He owns two hundred and sixty acres, which he has accumulated by dint of hard labor and careful management, as well as frugal and economical living. He does general farming and makes a specialty of raising a great deal of live stock. All of the buildings on Mr. McCarter's farm he himself has erected. They are a credit to his fertile and well kept farm and a credit to the com- munity where he lives.
Mr. McCarter was married on March 29, 1866, to Miranda C. Laugh- lin, who was born on August 1, 1846, in Martin county, this state, and who is the daughter of John O. M. and Elizabeth Laughlin. To this happy union nine children have been born: Minerva E. married Philip Miller ; Rufus D. married Ada G. Wallick and they have three children, Densel, Clenton and Glen; Ida A. married Edward Hubbard; John K. married Della Jollif ; Edna married Ora Richardson; Walter is living at home; William, Thadius and Elizabeth, the last three, died young.
Mr. McCarter is a Republican. He has been honored by the people of Daviess county in a political way, having served two terms as commis- sioner of the county and two terms as trustee of Madison township, and in both of these offices Mr. McCarter acquitted himself as becomes one who is moved by the spirit of public service and honest consecration to the duties which he accepted at the time of his election.
William H. McCarter is one of the most highly respected citizens of Daviess county. His two terms as county commissioner and his two terms as trustee of Madison township have given him a wider experience in pub- lic life than falls to the lot of most men. Mr. McCarter's son, Rufus D., is a very prominent farmer of Madison township, and at present is the efficient trustee of this township.
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GEORGE W. POWNALL.
Not too often can be repeated the life history of one who has lived so honorable and useful a life and attained to such distinction as George W. Pownall. As a private citizen he has been a pronounced success in everything with which he has been connected. There are individuals in nearly every community, who, by reason of ability and force of character, rise above the heads of the masses and command the unbounded esteem of their fellow men. Such individuals are characterized by perseverance and a directing spirit, two virtues which never fail. They always make their presence felt and the vigor of their strong personalities serves as a stimu- lant to the young and rising generation. To this energetic and enterprising class George W. Pownall very properly belongs, as he is one of the substan- tial and extensive farmers of Madison township, Daviess county, Indiana, and is still active at the age of seventy-three, and was doing a man's work when he sat down to give the outline of the facts set forth in this brief biography.
George W. Pownall was born on September 10, 1841, in Portage county, Ohio, the son of Jesse and Nancy (Swift) Pownall, the former of whom was born on April 15, 1815, in Virginia, and who died in 1905, and the latter of whom was born in Vermont. Jesse Pownall was a son of John Pownall, a native of Virginia, who died in Portage county, Ohio.
Jesse Pownall moved from Virginia to Ohio in 1827, and lived in Portage county until after his marriage, when he moved to Wabash county, Indiana, where he lived for sixteen years on a farm. In 1860, he came to Madison township, Daviess county, and lived there on a farm the remain- der of his life. He was the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land in Madison township, and was a general farmer and stock raiser. He did most of the clearing of his land himself.
The children of Jesse and Nancy (Swift) Pownall were six in number : Louisa, who became the wife of Hiram Hughner; George Washington, the immediate subject of this review; Amy, the wife of Blackburn Ferguson; Melissa, the wife of William Moore; Byron, who married Mrs. Ketchem, and Elnore, who became the wife of John Lyle. Jesse Pownall and his family were earnest and loyal members of the Christian church. Mr. Pow- nall was a Democrat.
George W. Pownall attended school in Wabash county for about three months each year for two years. A few years before Mr. Pownall moved
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his family to Wabash county, it was a dense wilderness, over-run by Indians. When a young man, Mr. Pownall began farming on the tract of land where he has since lived, in Madison township. He is the owner of four hundred acres of land in .that township, and does general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of breeding Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. He also raises a great many mules. During Mr. Pownall's farming experi- ence, he has cleared between two and three hundred acres of wild land,. with his son's assistance, within the last twenty years.
On November 18, 1867, George W. Pownall was married to Alwilda Ferguson, who was born on November 26, 1849, the daughter of John and Salina (Conkle) Ferguson, and to this union four children have been born, Florence, who is the wife of Jonas M. Winklepleck; Clarence, who married Minnie Woodruff; Teletha, the wife of Daniel Osborn, and Theodore Clem- ens, who married Randa E. Pate.
George W. Pownall is identified with the Democratic party, while he and his family are earnest and loyal members of the Christian church. That Mr. Pownall has lived an honorable and upright life is evidenced by the fact that he is beset by no qualms of conscience, and is able to do a man's work at the age of seventy-three. In clearing and draining the land, George W. Pownall has done more for the prosperity and progress of Daviess county than any other man who may be living in it today. His service has been. of the practical kind, not only the kind which counts, but the kind which can easily be measured.
THEODORE C. POWNALL.
To attain worthy citizenship by correct habits of living, even from: childhood, deserves more than mere mention. One may take his place in public life as a consequence of some vigorous and untoward stroke and even abide in the hearts of friends and neighbors, but to gradually rise in the same position, winning one's way through sterling worth and faith- fulness to daily trust rather than by craving for exaltation and popularity, is worthy of the highest praise and commendation. As such, the career of Theodore C. Pownall is viewed by the people of Madison township,. Daviess county, Indiana, where he lives.
Theodore C. Pownall was born in Madison township, Daviess county, Indiana, on December 24, 1873. He is the son of George W. and Alwilda (Ferguson) Pownall, the former of whom was born on September 10, 1841,
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in Portage county, Ohio. George W. Pownall is at present one of the well-known farmers of Madison township and is still active at the age of seventy-three.
George W. Pownall is the son of Jesse and Nancy (Swift) Pownall, the former of whom was born in Virginia on April 15, 1815, and died in 1905, and the latter a native of Vermont.
Theodore C. Pownall was educated in the public schools of Madison township. When a young man, he started farming, and throughout his. life has been engaged in farming in partnership with his worthy father. He owns eighty-two acres of land and does general farming and stock rais- ing. On the place where he now lives in Madison township, he has erected all of the buildings, some of which were erected in 1913.
On July 10, 1900, Mr. Pownall married Randa E. Pate, the daughter of William Pate, and they have had four children. Herschel D., Hallet C., Georgia A. and Geneva.
Mr. Pownall is a Democrat. Fraternally, Mr. Pownall is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He belongs to a very wealthy family in Madison township and one which is highly respected in this sec- tion of Daviess county. Theodore C. Pownall, himself, is a worthy young farmer and an enterprising citizen of his locality.
THOMAS E. RESLER.
The present generation has been especially productive in men of action, clear-brained men of high ideals and noble purposes, who give character and stability to the communities honored by their citizenship, and whose. influence and leadership are easily noticed in the various enterprises that have added so greatly to the high reputation which Daviess county enjoys among her sister counties of this great commonwealth. Conspicuous among this class of men whose place of residence is in this community, is the pro- gressive citizen under whose name this review is written.
Thomas E. Resler was born on April 2, 1876, in Stark county, Ohio, and is the son of Isaac J. and Susannah (Shanower) Resler, both natives. of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, born on March 26, 1844, and November 19, 1848, respectively. To the paternal grandparents, John and Barbara Res- ler, were born the following named children: David, who enlisted in the service of his country and died during the Civil War; Isaac J., subject's:
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father; John Henry; Jacob; Harvey, Mary, who married Joseph Rosen- burg, and Phoebe.
Isaac Resler received his early education in the public schools of his native county and in his early manhood had a desire to become a cook in the army and actually started to join a regiment of soldiers. His father came after him and caused his return home on account of his youth. After this experience he began farming and settled down to hard work in this line in Ohio. At a later date he decided to move to Indiana and came to the town of Loogootee, Martin county, near where he lived on a farm for the ensuing four years and acquired one hundred and sixty acres of land. In 1890, he made a trade which brought him into possession of eighty acres of land in Elmore township, Daviess county, where he lived and farmed until the time of his death, December 15, 1903. His wife still survives him. To their union were born the following named children: David, deceased at the age of twenty-three years; Jacob, who married Clara Bechtel and lives in Elmore township; Cora, who married A. L. Fielder; Frank, who married Martha Fielder; Ellen B., who married Frank Bechtel; Jennine, who died at the age of sixteen years; Thomas E., the subject of this review ; Isaac, who married Arla Roberts; Suda, deceased; Jessie, who married Min- nie Bynum; Ida, who married Victor Bray; Roy, who died in infancy. They are members of the United Brethren church, and the lamented father also belonged to that institution. He was a supporter of the Republican ticket, but did not take any active part in politics. Personally, he was well thought of and held in the very highest esteem by all who knew him.
Thomas E. Resler was educated in the public schools, partly in Ohio, and later in Loogootee, then again he attended the schools in Elmore town- ship. In his early manhood, and after leaving school, he secured a position in the city of Indianapolis, with the wholesale commission house of John W. Neumann & Company, where he remained for a period of five years. Following the work around the commission house, he went out as a travel- ing salesman and continued to travel for two years. At a later date, he purchased a general store in West Indianapolis, and which he conducted for about a year, then returned to the home farm in Elmore township, where he farmed for the next two years. In the year 1904 he went to Knox county, where he rented two hundred acres of river bottom land, which place he cultivated for four years; he then returned to Elmore township, Daviess county, and bought out the home place and sold it within the same year. After this sale Mr. Resler rented what is known as the John Swartz farm, in Elmore township, continued to farm this for a year and gave it up for the
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purpose of managing his father-in-law's farm, which consists of one hundred and seventy-six acres and where he makes his home at the present time.
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