USA > Indiana > Fayette County > History of Fayette County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 83
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Ezra William Brown, who is now living in Oregon, was born in the old Brown home in Connersville on July 5, 1843, and there grew to manhood. On August 30, 1871, he married Paulina S. Callison, who was born at Laporte, this state, a daughter of William J. Callison and wife. Both she and Ezra W. Brown had lost their hearing in youth, as the result of scarlet fever, and their acquaintance was formed while they were students in the state school for the deaf at Indianapolis. After their marriage they lived in Connersville for a short time and then moved to Wichita, Kansas, where Mrs. Brown died early in 1876, leaving two small children, William Callison and Ezra B. The bereaved husband and father brought his motherless chil- dren to Connersville, where they were cared for by his mother. He returned West and in Kansas married again, later moving to Utah, thence to Mon- tana and thence to Oregon, where he is now living, a resident of the town of Ten Mile.
Ezra B. Brown was born at Wichita, Kansas, July 25, 1875, and was but an infant when he was taken in charge by his paternal grandmother at Connersville. There he grew to manhood, early turning his attention to mechanics and became an expert mechanic. He worked at that trade about seven years and then recognizing that the automobile had come to stay, left a position that was paying him twenty-five dollars a week to enter upon an apprenticeship in an automobile factory at four dollars a week. He readily mastered the details of automobile mechanism, rapidly worked his way up in the ranks of the workmen in that line and for the past three years or more has been superintendent of the extensive plant of the Lexington-Howard Company, manufacturers of the Lexington automobile, at Connersville. Mr. Brown is still living in the old Brown home, built by his grandfather in 1846, and his children are of the fourth generation of the Browns who have con- tinuously occupied that house since the time it was built. Mr. Brown mar- ried Edith Nave, who was born at Andersonville, in the neighboring county of Franklin, a daughter of Isaac R. and Myrtle (Shriner) Nave, the latter of whom also was born and reared at Andersonville, daughter of Renatus Shriner, who was the proprietor of the first tavern or inn at that place. Isaac R. Nave was born in England and is now engaged in the grocery business in Connersville, his store being situated on Fourth street, opposite the court house. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have four children, Caroline, Robert, Azalea and Pauline.
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WILLIAM HENRY DEVANEY.
William Henry DeVaney, president of the Hoosier Castings Company, one of the new and most progressive industrial concerns in Connersville, is a native of the great Empire state, born in the city of Brooklyn on Novem- ber II, 1880, a son of Martin J. and Catherine (Hayes) DeVaney, both of whom were born in that same city. Along in the middle eighties Martin J. DeVaney and family moved from Brooklyn to Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in the latter city William H. DeVaney grew to manhood, receiving there a thorough course of instruction along the lines upon which have been based his present substantial success in the industrial and manufacturing world. As a boy he was taught by his mother to reject and spurn the whining phrase, "It can't be done"; and to substitute for the same the nobler motto, "Where there's a will, there's a way." From his early youth he was conscious of an investigating and analytical frame of mind and early learned that "Neces- sity is the mother of invention," an axiom which has been of much value in shaping his whole course of life.
Upon completing the course in the public schools of Bridgeport William H. DeVaney turned his attention to a business training and in the I. S. Brown Business College and in the Enos & Cunningham Business College in that city became thoroughly grounded in business forms, in the mean- time studying at home, and by the latter course acquired a comprehensive knowledge of the technical side of mechanical engineering, mechanical draw- ing, pattern-making and the like. Upon leaving business college he secured employment in a Bridgeport foundry, with a view to adding to his store of technical knowledge a thorough practical knowledge of the processes of molding, core-making and kindred lines as applied to foundry work, beginning work there at a wage of one dollar and fifty cents a week. After a compre- hensive apprenticeship along those lines Mr. DeVaney took up pattern-mak- ing and after acquiring a practical knowledge of that department of foundry work was given charge of the pattern room of the Abraham Skaats Pattern and Model Company, with which concern he remained about eighteen months, at the end of which time he transferred his services to the Lake Torpedo-boat Company at Bridgeport, being given charge of the experimental pattern and model department of that company, supervising the making of patterns and models of parts used in the construction of torpedo-boats up to the point of launching, his duties requiring him to follow the models from the inception to the end of their construction. While thus engaged Mr. DeVaney made
WILLIAM H. DeVANEY AND FAMILY.
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the models of the boat the Lake people had on exhibition at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis and was with the company up to and includ- ing the time it launched "The Protector," which was submitted to the United States government in 1901, when the Lake people were in strong competition with the Holland people.
Upon concluding his service with the Lake Torpedo-boat Company, Mr. DeVaney went over to the employ of the American and British Manufac- turing Company at Bridgeport, manufacturers of all kinds of battleship accessories, including gun mountings, high-powered marine motors and the like, and was given charge of the "lay-out" work in the pattern department of that company, supervising the consummation of plans in that department. After about a year of service with that company Mr. DeVaney was given charge of the construction of the Charles F. Herschoff Company's high- speed racing boats, taking the boats through their course of construction, and while thus engaged supervised the construction of the "Den I." and the "Den II.", which later, competing in the international races at Sheepshead Bay, became world famous. From that concern Mr. DeVaney transferred his services to the Locomobile Company of America at Bridgeport and while with that company made patterns and models for the car that competed for the Vanderbilt cup in 1905. His services then were secured by the American Locomotive Company at Providence, Rhode Island, which placed him in charge of the pattern and experimental department of its works and he was thus engaged when that company began building the Berliet automobile, securing the American rights for the manufacture of the French car, which was later named the Alco car. In 1909 Mr. DeVaney was called to Indi- ana, his services being secured by the Warner Gear Company at Muncie, which placed him in charge as superintendent of pattern and foundry work, his duties being to oversee the equipment and production in the foundry and pattern line. From that concern Mr. DeVaney presently went over to the employ of the Muncie Foundry and Machine Company, which installed him as mechanical engineer of the plant, and after a sometime service there he was called back East, the Inter-state Foundry Company of Cleveland secur- ing his services as production engineer of its plant.
On May 21, 1915, Mr. DeVaney returned to Indiana and located at Connersville, which he recognized as an ideal point for the establishment of a manufacturing plant which he long had had in mind and there he organ- ized the Hoosier Castings Company and erected and equipped a plant for the manufacture of automobile castings of gray iron and semi-steel. The his-
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tory of the Hoosier Castings Company, which is set out at some length in the chapter relating to the industries of Connersville, presented in the his- torical section of this work, shows that from the very beginning the company has been a success, now employing more than two hundred men and includ- ing among its customers some of the greatest automobile concerns in the country. Mr. DeVaney is president of the company and takes an active part in the direction of the practical and technical part of the work of the plant, a position for which his past experience has so thoroughly qualified him. Though a comparative new-comer in Connersville, William H. DeVaney is recognized as one of the leaders in the industrial life of that city and his energetic and purposeful methods have done much to stimulate the spirit of industrialism which of late years has meant so much for the develop- ment of the old capital of Fayette county. Mr. DeVaney has made his way to the front by hard work, close application and diligent study, having from the very beginning of his industrial career worked with the determination of making himself worthy of advancement in his chosen calling, and that he has succeeded is evidenced by his present position as head of one of Conners- ville's most important industrial concerns.
In 1904, at Bridgeport, Connecticut, William H. De Vaney was united in marriage to Margaret Meehan, of that city, and to this union four children have been born, Martin Raymond, William Emmet, Laurence Francis and Mary Margaret. Mr. and Mrs. DeVaney are members of the Catholic church and take a proper interest in parish affairs. Mr. DeVaney is a mem- ber of the local council of the Knights of Columbus and of the local lodge of the Benevolent and Fraternal Order of Elks and in the affairs of these two organizations takes a warm interest.
ELMER EARL STEVENS.
Elmer Earl Stevens is a well-known merchant of Orange, this county, member of the firm of Stevens & Son, dealers in general merchandise, which was established by the late Amos W. Stevens, whose interest in the store continues to be represented by his widow. He was born on a farm in the southern part of Orange township, this county, July 6, 1887, son of Amos Wells and Mary Elizabeth (Fortner) Stevens, the latter of whom is still living, continuing her interest in the store established by her late husband at Orange some years before the latter's death. The farm on which Elmer E.
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Stevens was born was entered from the government by his great-great-grand- father, who was one of the early settlers of this part of the state, the Stevens family having been represented hereabout since territorial days.
Amos Wells Stevens was born over in Union county, a son of John H. and Mary E. (Neptune) Stevens, the former of whom was born in Orange township, this county, a grandson of the original settler of the Stevens land in section 26 of that township. The second log house erected there, which was situated on a rise well back in the middle of the tract, near a spring, was still standing when Elmer E. Stevens was a boy. John H. Stevens was born on that pioneer farm in 1828, son of Wells and Agnes (Carwile) Stevens, the former of whom had come to this part of the country from North Caro- lina with his father, Robert Stevens, who came here in 1809 or 1810 and some time later entered the southwest quarter of section 26 of Orange town- ship, the government deed, bearing the signature of President Monroe, carry- ing date of June 2, 1823. Robert Stevens, the pioneer, spent the remainder of his life on that farm. His son, Wells Stevens, moved to Jay county in 1838, but moved back here two or three years later and spent his last days on the home farm. His wife, Agnes Carwile, was a native of South Carolina. John H. Stevens grew up there and farmed all his life in Orange township. He married Mary Jane Neptune, who was born near Blooming Grove, in the neighboring county of Franklin, a daughter of Amos and Hetty Neptune, who had come here from Maryland. John H. Stevens died on February 23, 1896. His wife had predeceased him just nine years, her death having occurred on February 23, 1887. They were the parents of eight children, of whom five grew to maturity and lived to be more than fifty years of age, and all of whom are still living save Amos Wells Stevens, who died in September, 1914, the others being James G. Stevens, who is living near Anderson, this state; Eliza Jane, wife of Abijah Hunt Stephen, of Orange township: Hannah Elizabeth, wife of F. M. Johnson, also of Orange township, and Lena L., wife of Harlan E. Stephen, also of Orange township.
In 1886 Amos W. Stevens was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth Fortner, who was born in Brown county, Kansas, a daughter of James Wes- ley and Eunice (Barnard) Fortner, both of whom were born and reared in Franklin county, this state, where they were married, later going to Kansas to take up a homestead. When Mary E. Fortner was about five years of age her parents returned to this state from Kansas to take care of Mr. Fortner's mother in Franklin county and remained here until after their daughter's marriage to Mr. Stevens, she then being nineteen years of age, after which
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they returned to Kansas. Some years later two of their children homesteaded tracts in Oklahoma and Mr. and Mrs. Fortner joined them in that state, where they are now living, residents of Stillwater, Mr. Fortner now being past eighty-five years of age. For some time after his marriage Amos W. Stevens made his home on a farm near the old Stevens home and then bought a farm one and one-half miles south of Orange, where he lived until about 1903, when he moved to Orange. He continued farming, however, until about 1909, when he and John Dawson bought the Hamilton store in Orange and in 1911 he and his son bought the interest of Mr. Dawson and continued to operate the store under the name of Stevens & Son, which firm style has been continued since the death of the elder Stevens in 1914, his widow main- taining her interest in the store in association with her son. Amos W. Stevens died on September 4, 1914. He was an active member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and took an earnest interest in the affairs of the same. To him and his wife three children were born, of whom the sub- ject of this sketch is the eldest, the others being Olive Ruth, who married Earl Heeb, of Orange, and has one child, a daughter, Ruth, and Nellie May, who is still in high school.
Both the Stevenses and the Fortners are representatives of two of the oldest families in this part of the state. As noted above, it was about the year 1810 that Robert Stevens and his wife, Sarah Bean, came to the then Territory of Indiana from North Carolina. At first they settled in Franklin county, later for a time living in Union county and then, as noted above, coming over into Fayette county and settling in Orange township in 1823. Robert Stevens and wife were the parents of twelve children, Allie, King, John, Jane, Nathan, Henry, James, Mary A., Jemima, Isaac, Isom and Wells. The latter, who was the second in order of birth, married Agnes Carwile in Franklin county and later settled on Garrison's creek, in Columbia township, this county, where he remained until 1838. when he moved to Jay county ; but in 1845 he returned to this county and here he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1884. He and his wife were the parents of five chil- dren, Levi, Elizabeth, John H., Keziah and Henry. The children born to John H. and Mary Jane (Neptune) Stevens have been mentioned in a pre- ceding paragraph. James Wesley Fortner, father of Mrs. Stevens, was born in Franklin county, a son of Sion and Elizabeth ( Pasley) Fortner, the former of whom was born in 1806 and the latter in 1802. Sion Fortner was a son of Levi and Keziah ( McClure) Fortner and Elizabeth Pasley was a daughter of Hugh and Mary ( Yost) Pasley, who moved from Virginia to Kentucky
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and after a sometime residence in the neighborhood of Lexington, in that state, moved up into Ohio and settled about twelve miles west of Cincinnati, which at that time was but a straggling village, later, about 1812, coming on up the White Water valley into the Territory of Indiana and settling in Franklin county, where Sion Fortner grew to manhood and established his home.
Elmer E. Stevens was about sixteen years of age when his parents moved from the farm into the village of Orange, in order to secure the better edu- cational advantages offered there, and he was graduated from the high school there in 1905. He then took a course in a commercial college at Indianapolis and for about two years thereafter worked in that city ; later, for about eight months being engaged as a traveling representative of the American Tobacco Company. He then spent a year on his father's farm and then began work- ing in the general store of L. O. Hamilton at Orange, and was thus engaged when his father and John Dawson bought that store in 1909. In 1911 he and his father bought the Dawson interest and the father and son conducted the business, under the firm name of Stevens & Son. until the former's death in 1914, since which time Mr. Stevens and his mother have been owners of the store, the old firm name being maintained. Mr. Stevens is an energetic business man and takes an active interest in the general affairs of his home town. For the past two years he has been the secretary of the Orange Mutual Telephone Company and is secretary-treasurer of the Orange Ceme- tery Association. Stevens & Son have a well-stocked and up-to-date store, occupying a large two-story building and also occupy another two-story building as a warehouse. They deal in groceries, dry goods, shelf hardware and general merchandise and also keep a huckster wagon on the road. Mr. Stevens is a member of the Christian church and his wife is a member of the Methodist church. He is a member of the local lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that organization.
In January, 1914, Elmer E. Stevens was united in marriage to Helen Link, who was born at Glenwood, daughter of John H. and Effie ( Foote) Link, proprietors of the Glenwood Inn at that place, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, Janice Marie. John H. Link was born at White's Mill, in Union township, in the neighboring county' of Rush, January 27, 1863, son of Emanuel H. and Sophronia ( Hokleman) Link, the former a native of Georgia and the latter. of Ohio, whose last days were spent on a farm in Fairview township, this county. Emanuel H. Link was born in 1829 in the state of Georgia, son of Jolin and Barbara ( Hansbarger) Link, the
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former a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1777, and the latter, of Virginia, born in 1780, who were married in Virginia and after a sometime residence in Georgia moved to Washington county, Tennessee, and later to Greene county, same state, where John Link died in 1852. His widow, who sur- vived him for more than twenty years, spent her last days in this county, where she died in 1875. As a young man Emanuel H. Link began clerking in a store at Rushville, this state. In 1857 he took a trip to Nebraska, but returned to Rushville a year later and in 1859 married Sophronia Holdeman, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, July 5, 1835, a daughter of John and Amima (Shideler ) Holdeman, who had moved from Pennsylvania to Preble county, where Jolin Holdeman built the first grist-mill put up in that county. In 1860 Emanuel H. Link started a general store at White's Mills and in 1864 he moved from there to Falmouth, where he was engaged in the mer- cantile business until 1873, when he left the store and bought a farm in Fair- view township, where he spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in November, 1887. His widow survived him many years, her death occurring on October 17, 1914.
John H. Link was variously employed until after the death of his father, after which he took up the barber trade and in 1890 started a barber shop at Glenwood, where he has been located ever since. For the past six years or more he and his wife have been conducting the Glenwood Inn. It was in February, 1894, that John H. Link was united in marriage to Effie Foote, who was born and reared at Marysville, in Union county, Ohio. She was born in May, 1873, daugliter of Edmund B. and Rebecca Ann (Hoff) Foote, the former of whom was a soldier in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty- sixth Regiment, Ohio National Guard, during the Civil War and received the thanks of President Lincoln for services rendered during that period. He died at Marysville, where he had been for many years engaged as a black- smith, in September, 1902. His wife, whose parents were Virginians, died in July, 1906. She was a member of the Woman's Relief Corps and was identified with the activities of the Congregational church. Her daughter, Mrs. Link, also was a member of that church until her marriage, but now, together with her husband and children, is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Link is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Red Men. To Mr. and Mrs. Link four children have been born, namely : Helen and Hazel, twins, the former of whom married Mr. Stevens and the latter of whom married Clyde Matney and has one child, a son, John Lewis; Myrtle Elizabeth, who died in infancy, and Leslie John.
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FAYETTE COUNTY, INDIANA.
WILLIAM A. CARSON.
Among the well-known, successful and substantial farmers and stock- men of Fairview township, Fayette county, Indiana, is William A. Carson, trustee of the township, who was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, on August 20. 1870, and is the son of Scott and Nancy J. (Cruzan) Carson.
Scott Carson was born in Hamilton county, Indiana, and Nancy J. Car- son was born in Rush county. They received their education in their respective districts, and after their marriage they established their home in Hamilton county, where Mr. Carson engaged in the butcher business and where he died in 1872. He was a man of pleasing personalities and had many friends throughout the county, and his untimely death was the cause of much sorrow in the community, where he had lived and where he had been held in high regard by all. He was a hard-working man, and was devoted to his family and the interests of his home. He and Mrs. Carson were the parents of three children, William A. being the only one now living. Mr. Carson was a member of the Masonic order and was ever active in the inter- ests of that organization. Mrs. Carson was for many years a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist church and devoted to its principles. She was a woman universally beloved for her kindly disposition and many traits of womanhood. Some time after the death-of her husband, Mrs. Carson with her son, William A., left her home in Hamilton county and came to Fayette county, and located at Glenwood, where she died in 1901, and is buried in the cemetery of that place.
William A. Carson having been left an orphan at the age of two years, received but a limited education in the public schools, and when but a lad he was compelled to help himself in the work of life. When a young man he worked on a farm and has since devoted his life to that work. In1 1890 he was united in marriage to Bertha Hinchman, the daughter of J. H. and Amanda ( Moffett ) Hinchman, of Rush county. Mr. Hinchman was a suc- cessful farmer and died at home some years ago, since which time his widow has made her home with her children.
To William A. and Bertha Carson have been born two children, Guy WV. and Hazel. Guy W. is one of the well-known young farmers of the county. He is married to Vida Ayers and to them, three children have been born: John, Eva and Lowell. Hazel Carson is single and at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Carson have long been prominent in the social life of their home township, where they have many friends, who hold them
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in high regard. They are interested in those things that have a tendency to the betterment of the conditions of their home community and the county generally. Their influence on the moral, educational and social life of the district has been marked. They have been devoted to the interests of their children, to whom they have given the best possible advantages. They were educated in the public schools of Glenwood, where they received their high school training. They have a pleasant country home, where they take much pleasure in the entertainment of their neighbors and their friends.
The year after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Carson purchased their present farm of sixty-three acres in Fairview township, and here they have made their home and have reared their children. By hard work they have obtained the home through their own efforts. They have made many sub- stantial and valuable improvements on the place, which is today one of the ideal country honies in the county. Mr. Carson carrys on general farming, and raises a good many Poland China hogs and Jersey cattle, in which he has been successful. He has always taken much interest in the political life of the township and the county, and has served his township for ten years as assessor and for two years as trustee, which latter position he is now filling. He has made a most capable and obliging public official and has received the commendation of all.
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