USA > Indiana > Decatur County > History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions > Part 117
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that he was called upon to go higher. Beginning his telephone service in the town of Greensburg in 1898, Charles M. Nesbitt has mastered the details of telephone management so thoroughly that now he occupies one of the most responsible positions in the gift of the telephone service in the middle states, being general superintendent of the department of commercial tele- phones of the Central Union Telephone Company for the state of Indiana.
Charles MeHargh Nesbitt was born in the city of Greensburg, Decatur county, Indiana, on April 20, 1877. the son of John James and Mary (McHargh ) Nesbitt, the former of whom was the son of John and Martha Nesbitt, early settlers of this county, who came here during the early youth of Jolin James Nesbitt, locating on a farm near Spring Hill. On this farm John James Nesbitt grew to manhood, acquiring a wide acquaintance throughout the county. He entered the horse business in Greensburg, becom- ing a large buyer and shipper of horses, continuing in this business all the rest of his life, his death occurring in December, 191I.
John James Nesbitt's name is inscribed on the great monument erected to the memory of Wilder's Brigade at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the fol- lowing highly laudatory terms: "John J. Nesbitt, one of the bravest men in Wilder's Brigade." And the honor of being thus held up to the admira- tion of the ages is well deserved. John J. Nesbitt served through the Civil War as a member of Wilder's famous brigade, being attached to General Wilder's staff. At one time, by an act of special bravery, he saved the brigade from probably annihilation by riding through the line of the oppos- ing army to carry essential dispatches to his general, and to perpetuate the memory of this heroic deed his name was given a special place on the impos- ing battle monument.
John J. Nesbitt was united in marriage to Mary McHargh, who was born in Decatur county, the daughter of Peter McHargh. Peter McHargh was a native of Scotland, who emigrated to America in his youth and after prospecting a bit over the country located in this county, where he became a man of large influence. He was a prosperous farmer and was one of the first county officers in the county, performing excellent service therein. He was an ardent Republican and took a leading part in the political affairs of the county, his name being deeply impressed upon the political history of this section.
Mr. and Mrs. Nesbitt were members of the Presbyterian church and for many years were active in all good works in and about Greensburg, where they were held in the highest regard by all. Mr. Nesbitt was for years one of the leaders in the Republican party in this county, his counsels
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receiving the utmost consideration from the party managers. He was not of the office-seeking class, however, preferring to devote his chief attention to his- business affairs. He was one of the most prominent members of the Greensburg post of the Grand Army of the Republic and ever displayed the deepest interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and had attained to the chapter degree in that order. His death, in 1911, was sincerely mourned, for he was a good man and his influence ever had been directed in behalf of the best interests of the community in which nearly the whole of his long life had been spent.
Charles M. Nesbitt received his elementary education in the schools of Greensburg and was graduated from the high school there. He supple- mented this course of instruction by a course in the Alexander Hamilton Institute and in the International Correspondence School, later serving as deputy postmaster in the postoffice at Greensburg until 1898, in which year he was made manager of the plant of the Central Union Telephone Com- pany at Greensburg, later being transferred to the general offices of the company at Indianapolis. in which he served in several capacities until his promotion to the important position of superintendent of the commercial telephone service for the entire state of Indiana, a position which he still occupies.
On October 20, 1911, Charles M. Nesbitt was united in marriage to Beulah Merriken, who was born in Alexandria, Indiana, daughter of Will- iam S. and Mary Merriken, the former of whom is a well-known real-estate dealer at Alexandria. To this union one child has been born, a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who was born on February 5, 1915.
Mr. Nesbitt is a Republican and during his residence in Greensburg was an active worker in the ranks of that party, retaining his interest in political affairs after moving to Indianapolis to the extent of his ability and the limited time he has for the exercise of such activities. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Elks and the Knights of Pythias, his membership in these fraternities at Greensburg having been retained; and is a member of the Columbia Club at Indianapolis, the leading Republican club of the state of Indiana. Mr. Nesbitt retains the heartiest interest in Decatur county affairs and is ever sure of a hearty welcome upon his return to this county. He still retains a one-third interest in the extensive mule- sale stable at Greensburg which was founded and so successfully conducted by his father, beside owning other property in that city and property at Indianapolis. His activity and energy have made him a leader in the field
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of endeavor in which his later years has been occupied and he has the entire confidence and respect of the heads of the company with which he so long has been connected.
GEORGE A. WEADON.
In a biographical sketch relating to his honored father, the late Frank M. Weadon, presented elsewhere in this volume, the genealogy of the gentle- man whose name the reader notes as the caption of this sketch is set out at some length; revealing there that he is a scion of the union of two of the most prominent families in the history of Decatur county, the Weadons and the Jamisons, his father having been a former county auditor of Decatur county and for years deputy postmaster at Greensburg; later revenue collec- tor for this district, under appointment by Abraham Lincoln, and later and for many years prominently connected with the offices of the Big Four Railroad Company, in the division headquarters of that company at Indian- apolis, in which city his death occurred on December 21, 1914. His widow, who is the daughter of Francis Jamison, for many years a prominent mer- chant of Greensburg, this county, whose father, Martin Jamison, a native of Scotland, was the leading merchant of Greensburg in the pioneer days of that city, still is living in Indianapolis, the object of the most affectionate regard of many devoted friends, who take pleasure in honoring her beautiful old age.
George A. Weadon was born in Greensburg, Indiana, on December 25, 1863, the son of Frank M. and Mary Jane (Jamison) Weadon, of pleasant memory in this county, and received his education in the Greensburg schools, being a graduate of the high school in that city. He enjoyed an excellent preliminary training in the dry-goods line in his grandfather's old-established store at Greensburg, devoting his attention particularly to the millinery department of the same, and in 1885, went to Indianapolis, forming a busi- ness connection with the old firm of Griffiths Brothers, wholesale millinery, in that city. This connection continued until 1891, in which year he trans- ferred his services to the firm of Fahnley & McCrea, well-known in the millinery trade throughout the middle states as wholesale, milliners and dealers in millinery supplies. Beginning practically at the bottom of this line of business, Mr. Weadon, by close application and the proper exercise of a native talent for that business, has risen to the top and is now and for some years past has been a member of this well-established old firm, occupy-
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ing a most substantial position in the commercial life of the state's capital city.
George A. Weadon was united in marriage to Jennie A. Nicholson, of Indianapolis, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, who is now a student at Fairmount Seminary, at Washington, D. C.
Mr. and Mrs. Weadon are members of the Methodist church and are active in good works in the capital city. Mr. Weadon is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being connected with Oriental lodge at Indianapolis, and is warmly interested in the affairs of that order. For years he has been one of the most active workers in the state organization of traveling sales- men and is now the vice-president of that popular association. He is a Republican and takes a good citizen's part in the political life of the city and state, his sound judgment and close acquaintance with business conditions giving much weight to his political opinions. He is one of the really suc- cessful of the younger business men of Indianapolis and enjoys the firm confidence and respect of business circles in that city. He has a very exten- sive acquaintance in the millinery trade throughout this section of states and no one in that line is more popular than he.
FRANCIS GATES KETCHUM.
Among the prominent younger attorneys of Greensburg, Indiana, is Francis Gates Ketchum, who was born on Jannary 30, 1888, on a farm four miles south of Greensburg, Decatur county, the son of the Rev. William E. and Sarah (Meredith) Ketchum.
The Rev. William E. Ketchum, the son of William Stanley Ketchum, a veteran of the Civil War, who migrated to Decatur county at the close of this war, is the president of the Holiness Christian denomination, and is a traveling evangelist, although he owns a farm of ninety-eight acres in Decatur county. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Sarah Meredith, is a native of Decatur county, Indiana, and has been the mother of five children. Francis Gates is the eldest. The others are Laura Rebecca. Ina May, Isom Stanley and Carrie Anderson.
Reared on the old William Anderson Robbins farm, in Decatur county, Indiana, and educated in the public schools of Decatur county, and in the Greensburg high school, Francis Gates Ketchum read law during odd times and in law offices in Greensburg, and was admitted to the practice in
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March, 1909. Although he is still a comparatively young man and has been engaged in the practice of his profession but a few years, he has won many friends in Greensburg, and promises in time to become one of the leading attorneys of Decatur county. He is a young man of engaging personality, though modest and unassuming in his manners, and one who for his years is well versed in the profession in which lie is engaged. With his capacity for profound and thorough studentship, and for making and maintaining cordial relations with the people with whom he comes in contact, it would appear that Francis Gates Ketchum has a bright future.
Mr. Ketchum is a member of the Democratic party and in time is expected to take his place among the leaders of the party in this county. Mr. Ketchum is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is identi- fied with the Loyal Order of Moose.
OLIVER F. WELCH, M. D.
A prominent Hoosier writer and historian has said: "There is but one end in life that is worth while, and that is to conquer adversity, pain, envy, regrets, and the varied obstacles that are put in our path and to develop our fortitude, our courage, and our brains." This seems especially true in the life of the physician, particularly when he has become distinguished in his profession through his own efforts. The sons of farmers in the early days of Indiana had not the educational facilities that they enjoy in this genera- tion, and this, apart from any financial considerations, for there seemed to be a very widespread sentiment then to the effect that the sons of farmers should work on the farm as soon as they had finished the meager course offered in the country schools. This sentiment became one of the obstacles which every ambitious youth had to meet and, therefore, should all credit and praise be given to the man who, through his own unaided exertions, came to be one of the ablest and most popular men of his profession in the vicinity in which he lives. This may be said truly of Dr. Oliver F. Welch, a well-known physician of Westport.
Oliver F. Welch was born on September 25, 1871, in Jay, Switzerland county, Indiana. He is the son of Thomas S. and Lucinda ( Jackson) Welch, both natives of this county. The former, born in 1853. was the son of Benjamin Welch, a native of Virginia, who came with his father, Metel- lus, at an early date from Virginia to the Hoosier state. Lucinda Jackson
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was the daughter of John A. and Elizabeth Jackson, of Cross Plains, Indiana, who formerly lived in Kentucky. Going back another generation, we find that John A. Jackson was the son of Will Jackson, also of Cross Plains, and a native of Kentucky. The latter died in 1877, at the age of seventy-six. With others, he had migrated with his family from his native Southern state in the days when there were no railroads, and when every foot of land had to be cleared before it could be plowed and cultivated. Perhaps it was from this sturdy pioneer character that the subject of the present sketch inherited the qualities which have enabled him to conquer obstacles and rise to the head of his profession.
The father of Oliver F. Welch moved to Ripley county, Indiana, in 1881, and from the first became a well-liked and successful farmer. There were born to Thomas Welch and his wife four sons, two of whom are members of the medical profession: Dr. Oliver F. is the oldest son; Dr. J. A. Welch, of Letts, who was born in 1874; William Benjamin, 1878, and residing near Versailles; and Albert W., 1881, who is a farmer and engaged in the poultry business.
While the education of Oliver F. Welch began in the country schools, it was not completed until he had studied in other states than the one in which his home was located, and so great was his ambition to excel in the medical world that he pursued his studies even after his marriage. His first schooling was at New Marion, and the Normal, after the courses offered in these schools were finished, he taught during four terms of the Ripley county schools. Determining upon the career of a physician, he began the study of medicine in 1895 in the Illinois Medical College at Chicago, grad- uating in 1897. He then entered the Hospital College of Medicine at Louis- ville, and after his marriage, located in Westport. In 1899 and 1904 he took post-graduate courses in the Chicago Polyclinic, and four years later went to New York, where he became a post-graduate student. Doctor Welch is remembered as an earnest, conscientious student, thorough and painstaking in his work, and scientific in his mental processes.
Oliver F. Welch was married to Mary E. Robertson on July 4, 1897. His bride was the daughter of John A. and Margaret ( Merrell ) Robertson, of Ripley county, but formerly of Jefferson and Jennings counties, respect- ively. John Robertson died in 1906, having attained the age of eighty- one years.
There were born to Mr. and Mrs. Welch three children : Gladys M .. born in May, 1899, now in her second year of high school; Bertie, Septem- ber 20, 1903, and Scoville Frank, June 29, 1907.
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The place occupied by Doctor Welch among the members of his chosen profession may be evidenced by the fact that he is a prominent member of the American Medical Association and takes an active part in their delibera- tions.
Doctor Welch's tastes and interests are varied, and while he has concen- trated his time and thought and strength upon the exacting demands of his profession, he has found time to ally himself with the organizations which broaden the mental horizon as well as the moral nature, and which contribute something to the sum total of human betterment. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and an elder in the Christian church of Westport.
As a young man Doctor Welch was imbued with the qualities that made it impossible for him to be satisfied with anything but success of a high order, no matter in what field of human activity his choice or fate might lead him. So great are the demands upon the physician of modern time that success for him means strength of character, resoluteness of purpose, mental acumen, and, withal, a sympathy that is human, and, therefore, gen- uine. Doctor Welch has been fortunate in the possession of all of these essentials, and he is now a representative man in the medical profession of this state.
JOHN HENRY DENISTON.
John Henry Deniston, a leading farmer and stockman of Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, on his paternal side, is descended from sturdy Scottish ancestry and in his long career as a resident of this town- ship has exhibited many of the worthy traits which characterize the Scotch people. His large capacity for business he, no doubt, has inherited from men who were famous centuries ago for their warlike dispositions, but who in recent years both in this country and abroad, have become great masters of industrial enterprise. His father, a prominent citizen of this country at the time of his death, was a successful farmer after coming to this county from Butler county, Ohio.
John Henry Deniston was born on May 3. 1862, in Butler county, Ohio, near Scipio, the son of John Franklin and Mary Ellen (DeArmond) Deniston, the former of whom was born on September 4. 1833. and died on January 22, 1889, and the latter of whom was born on January 26, 1842, and died on February 11, 1867. John F. Deniston was the son of John Deniston, a native of Scotland, who came to America with his parents
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and settled first in Franklin county, Indiana, where he was a tanner and shoemaker. After he moved to Butler county, Ohio, he operated a tannery and made shoes and boots at that place. In 1866 John Franklin Deniston came to Decatur county and located at Sardinia, followed closely by his brother, William H. They farmed in partnership and operated two hun- dred acres of land until 1879, when John Henry Deniston purchased the land. Mary Ellen ( DeArmond) Deniston was a native of Butler county, Ohio, and the daughter of James DeArmond, who, after living in Decatur county for a few years, returned to Butler county, where he died.
John Franklin and Mary Ellen Deniston had two children, John Henry, the subject of this sketch, and James William, who resides with his brother. John F. Deniston was an ardent and loyal Democrat, a member of the Uni- versalist church and the Knights of Pythias.
John Henry Deniston has lived on the farm of two hundred acres which he now occupies since in 1867. Altogether he owns three hundred seven and one-half acres of land, two hundred acres of which comprises the home farm. He has a good home and the farm is well-equipped with out- buildings for extensive farming and stock-raising. For more than thirty years, Mr. Deniston has been handling live stock and, for the past twenty- seven years, has been a large shipper. He ships from fifty to seventy- five carloads of stock annually and, aside from this business, is an extensive breeder of Hereford cattle, having begun raising this breed in 1905. He keeps only purebred and registered stock and breeds solely for commercial purposes.
On August 19, 1883, John Henry Deniston was married to Eliza Eden Seal, who was born on May 28, 1865, in Decatur county, near the Liberty church, the daughter of John B. and Emily Seal. Mrs. Deniston passed away on August 20, 1907, leaving two children, J. Ray and Audrey Dawn. The former was born on December 20, 1884. at Sardinia. He married Bertha Smith, of Greensburg, and is now engaged in managing the farm owned by his father. Audrey Dawn, who was born .on January 29. 1893. is her father's housekeeper. Two other children born to Mr. and Mrs. Deniston are deceased: Blanche, who was born on August 7, 1886, died on October 4. 1886; and Joy Maude, January 31, 1888, died on November 4, 1888.
For nearly half a century John Henry Deniston has been an active Democrat and is considered one of the "wheel horses" of the Democracy in Decatur county. For many years he was a Democratic central commit- teeman and influential in the county councils of his party. His son, J. Ray.
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is now a committeeman for the Democratic party. The father has served as delegate to congressional, judicial and state conventions of his party and attended the national conventions of the party at Denver and Baltimore. He is always looked upon as a man of dependable counsel in the organiza- tion of his party and the management of its campaigns. He has never as- pired to office but he is a man who is equipped to fill almost any office within the gift of his party. He is a member of the Universalist church at Mt. Carmel, Franklin county, and prominent in fraternal circles in this county, being a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Alert, the Knights of Pythias at Westport, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Greensburg, and the Modern Woodmen of America at Sardinia.
John Henry Deniston has fully measured up to the responsibilities of citizenship in this great country. He has borne his share of the responsi- bility for every movement which has reflected the advancement of his home neighborhood, his township and his county. His great-grandfather came to America seeking greater political liberty and a larger measure of personal opportunities. The third generation of the family in America, thoroughly imbued with our notions of government and citizenship, has measured up nobly to the standard of his day and generation.
HENRY BLANKMAN.
Among the several farmers of Decatur county who are descended from native-born German parents is Henry Blankman, of Marion township, one of the foremost citizens of this township, who owns a splendid farm of two hundred acres, which he has, by careful cultivation and painstaking attention to the details of agricultural, developed to a very high state of productivity. Although he now owns two hundred acres of land, he began about thirty-six years ago by purchasing forty acres of uncleared land, and after cutting away a place to build his home, improved the land from year to year, eventually erecting fine buildings, including a comfortable house, barn and outbuildings. His claim to honorable distinction among the farmers of Decatur county is not confined wholly to his success in agriculture, but in this period he has reared to honorable and useful lives a family of nine children, and herein has performed a service to his county and to his state which is of far reach- ing influence.
Henry Blankman was born on December 6, 1849, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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the son of Bernard Henry and Mary Angela (Lucken) Blankman, both natives of Germany, the former of whom was born in 1818, and died in 1896. After coming to America in 1839, Bernard Blankman worked on a flathoat on the Ohio river for two years and as a farm hand in Kentucky. Later he drove a team in Cincinnati, and after his marriage, about January, 1856, removed to Marion township, Decatur county, where he bought timber land with only a few acres cleared. From time to time he added to his original tract of fifty acres another fifty and still another fifty-two acres and one-half, all of which he cleared and improved. Bernard Henry and Mary Angela Blankman were the parents of five children who grew to maturity. namely : Mrs. Mary Hardebeck, deceased ; Henry, the subject of this sketch ; Herman H., of Marion township; George, a well-known farmer; and Mrs. Caroline Klosterkamper, of Ripley county. There were several children who died in infancy. In the early days when they were getting a start in the world they lived in a log cabin and could look through the cracks in the roof, and in the winter time it was not unusual for the family to find their beds covered with snow. Subsequently, a large brick house was built on the farm, and it is in this house that Herman H., a son, now lives. Bernard Henry Blankman passed away in 1896, and ten years later, in 1906, his beloved wife, who had been associated with him during all his trials and struggles, also passed away.
Henry Blankman lived at home with his parents until his marriage, and for three years afterwards lived on the farm owned by his father-in-law, Bernard Goldschmidt, and at the end of that period he purchased forty acres of land for four hundred and fifty dollars, and since 1879, when this land came into his possession, he has prospered year by year, until he is now recog- nized as one of the substantial farmers of Marion township.
On April 15, 1875, Henry Blankman was married to Mary Goldschmidt, the daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth Goldschmidt, who was born in 1857 in Cincinnati, and who came with her parents subsequently to a farm near Mill- housen in Decatur county.
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