History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 55

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648

USA > Indiana > Franklin County > History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions > Part 55

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Mr. Fritz was married October 27, 1870, to Rachel Berg, who was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, August 8, 1850, a daughter of Theobold and Eva (Richter) Berg. Her parents were both natives of Germany and were early settlers in Dearborn county, Indiana. Her father died in 1872, and her mother in 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Fritz are the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, married and rearing families of their own, Rachel, Mary, Lizzie, Jacob, George, Peter, William and Ella.

Mr. Fritz is a Republican, as was his father before him. The mem- bers of the family are all earnest adherents of the Lutheran church, and deeply interested in its welfare. actively participating in its various benef- icences. Mr. Fritz belongs to that sterling type of German-American citizens who have done so much for this country. Franklin county is hon- ored by having such citizens within its limits.

ISAAC M. BRIDGMAN.

It is a generally acknowledged fact that journalism is one of the most important factors in twentieth century life, exerting, as it does, an influence on practically every department of society. This relation is just as actual and potent in the smaller cities and towns as in the large cities, and he who directs the policy of a newspaper or wields the pen which gives expression to that policy, exerts a personal control over local thought and action not

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equaled by any other profession. Among the newspaper men of Franklin county, who have, by their progressive attitude toward local affairs, con- tributed in a very definite measure to the advancement of the community, is the gentleman whose name appears above and who is successfully publishing the Brookville American, at Brookville, Indiana. A graduate of Franklin College, Indiana : Cornell University, Ithaca, New York ; and a special stu- dent of Chicago University, Mr. Bridgman came to the editor's chair a well trained man. He has also been a school teacher and for several years served as school superintendent, and there is no position which gives a man better opportunities for the study of human nature than the school room.

Isaac M. Bridgman, the son of William and Catharine ( Varnasdall) Bridgman, was born in Johnson county, Indiana, just west of Franklin, January 8, 1857. His father was born in October, 1825, in old Virginia, and died in 1904. His mother was born near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, November, 1825, and died February 6, 1914.

William Bridgman lost his father when he was a small lad and he later came with his mother and the rest of the children from Virginia to Johnson county, Indiana. There he grew to manhood and bought a farm just west of Franklin, in Johnson county. He farmed successfully for several years, but he finally retired and moved to Franklin, where he spent the remainder of his life. He and his family were all members of the Presbyterian church and deeply devoted to its welfare .. . The father of William Bridgman served in the American Revolution.

Isaac M. Bridgman grew to manhood on his father's farm in Johnson county, and attended the district schools near his home. Later he entered Franklin College and was graduated with the class of 1881. Immediately after being graduated from college, he entered the teaching profession, and for many years was engaged in public school work. After teaching for a few years, he entered Cornell University and received the degree of Master of Arts from that excellent institution. He also took special work in econo- mics and political science at Chicago University.

Among other places, he was superintendent of schools at Salem, Indiana, for several years and superintendent of the Polo, Illinois, schools for seven years. He resigned from his position at Polo, Illinois, to take a position in the Barber Brothers Bank, at Polo, and remained in the bank for seven years. In April, 1909, he came to Brookville, Indiana, and bought the Brookville American, and has since been in active charge of this paper. He is a Re- publican in politics, and, although he is not a partisan in any sense of the word, he advocates the general principles of that party. Mr. Bridgman de-

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votes a goodly share of his paper to local news and has increased the useful- ness of the paper in this community.

Mr. Bridgman was married August 23, 1883. to Alice Farley. She was born in Franklin, Indiana, and is the daughter of John and Elizabeth Farley. Mr. Bridgman is a member of the Presbyterian church and Mrs. Bridgman is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Bridgman has been a member of the official board of his church for many years. Since moving to Brookville, he has taken an active and intelligent interest in the welfare of the town, and in his paper he always stands for those things which will mean a better town. In all respects he measures up to the highest standard of American citizenship; and Brookville is glad to claim him as one of its representative citizens.

ATWELL J. SHRINER.

The Shriner family have been residents of Franklin county, Indiana, since 1822, when the parents of Atwell J. Shriner located on a farm in Fairfield township. The ancestors of Mr. Shriner, on both sides, came from Holland and he has inherited many of those sterling characteristics of that country which have made the people of Dutch descent valuable citizens in the various communities of this country where they have settled. Mr. Shriner has been a life-long resident of this county and has been prominent in many different phases of the development of the county. He has been en- gaged in the mercantile business, has served as county recorder, as superin- tendent of the county infirmary and at the present time is filling the office of postmaster. In every position he has administered the duties connected with his office in such a manner as to reflect credit upon himself, and give univer- sal satisfaction to his fellow citizens.

Atwell J. Shriner, the son of Renatus and Caroline (Jackman) Shriner, was born November 15, 1858, in Posey township, Franklin county, Indiana, in the little village of Andersonville. His father was born at Salem, New Jersey, October 2, 1816, and died in this county in February, 1902. His mother was born in Andersonville, this county, in 1836, and died here in April, 1912. The grandparents of Mr. Shriner were Simeon and Catherine Shriner, both of whom were born. and reared in Holland. They were mar- ried in their native land and engaged in farming and dairving there before deciding to come to the United States. Upon locating in this country, they settled in New Jersey, where they engaged in farming for a few years. In

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1821 Simeon Shriner and his family decided to go west, and finally located in Cincinnati, but remained there only one year. They then moved to Indiana and settled on a farm in Fairfield township, in Franklin county, where they lived the remainder of their days. They reared a family of six children: Henry, who was a banker and carriage maker, died at Liberty, Union county, Indiana; Theodore, a farmer, died in Iowa; Charles, phy- sician of Brownsville, Indiana; Olive, the wife of James Turner; Kate, who married Amos Carry, and Renatus, the father of Atwell Shriner.

The maternal grandparents of Atwell J. Shriner were Atwell J. and Ann Jackman, natives of Virginia. After their marriage they moved to Harrison county, Ohio, and a few years later moved to Indiana and settled in Franklin county, in Posey township, where they lived the remainder of their lives. Mr. Jackman died there while in middle life, but his wife lived to be ninety-three years of age. Both were members of the United Brethren church.

Renatus Shriner was only six years of age when his parents located in this county and, consequently, he received all of his education in this county. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, and then went to the little village of Andersonville, in this county, where he was apprenticed to his brother, Henry, who was a wagon and carriage maker. In 1839 he en- gaged in business for himself in Andersonville, following his trade until 1848. In that year he built a hotel at Andersonville, and at about the same time, he opened a general merchandise store. He continued this dual line of activity until his store was burned down in 1871, after which he confined all of his time and attention to his hotel business until his death, in 1902. During the Civil War, Renatus Shriner was very active in his county in taking care of the widows and orphans of the soldiers who were at the front. He was a life-long Democrat in politics, and a substantial man and influential citizen in the community where he made his home for so many years. He and his wife were the parents of nine children: Theodore, who died in infancy ; Ruth, who became the wife of Martin Bohannon, died at the age of twenty-one: Olive, who married R. M. LaRue, a grocer of Conners- ville, Indiana; Eliza, the wife of C. E. Crowel, a farmer of Posey township, Franklin county, Indiana ; Myrtie, who married Isaac R. Knave, a grocer of Connersville, Indiana; Hattie, who became the wife of Wesley A. Cameron, a retired farmer of New Salem, Indiana ; Atwell J., a twin brother of Hattie; Kate, who married Benjamin Beaver, a farmer of Noble township, Rush county, Indiana; and Carrie, the wife of John Rickets, a farmer, also of Noble township.

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Atwell J. Shriner was reared in the village of Andersonville, in Frank- lin county. He received only a limited common school education, due to the fact that the schools were very poor during his boyhood days. He never attended school more than five months in any one year and, when still a small boy, began to work in his father's store, where he learned the principles of business which have made him so successful in his later career. When only fourteen years of age he became a clerk in W. J. Scott's store in Ander- sonville, and there he received that practical education which is needed by every good business man. He remained with Mr. Scott in his store for three and one-half years, and then went to Rushville, Indiana, where he clerked for one year in the postoffice under Mrs. P. A. Hackelmann. He then re- turned to Andersonville and opened a confectionery and notion store in the village, continuing in that business for the next six years. He then sold out his store and worked on a farm for two years. However, he did not enjoy farming and, after "working out" for two years, he returned to Anderson- ville, where he secured a position as clerk in the store of Samuel Barber. He remained in that position for two and one-half years and, in 1885, was appointed postmaster of Andersonville, during the first administration of President Cleveland. He held this office for four years, and at the same time conducted a grocery and notion store in the town. At the expiration of his four years in the postoffice, he again devoted all of his time and at- tention to his store, but when Cleveland was elected President the second time, he was again appointed postmaster, and retained the position for another four years. Again he retained his store while giving part of his time to the conduct of the postoffice. During the year 1897 he spent part of his time in his store, and about four days of each week on the road, as sales- man for John J. Perkins & Company, a wholesale grocery house, of Cin- cinnati, Ohio. He traveled for this company in Franklin, Rush, Decatur, Shelby, Henry and Fayette counties, Indiana, until 1898, when he quit the road and devoted all of his time to his business in Andersonville. In August, 1901, he disposed of his store to Ora Bryson, having received appointment as superintendent of the county infirmary. He served in this capacity for seven years and four months, until he was elected to the office of recorder of Franklin county. His term of office as recorder expired January 1, 1913, and on June 16, of the same year, he was appointed postmaster of Brook- ville, and still holds this position.

Mr. Shriner has been an active worker in the Democratic party since he reached his majority, and has been ranked with its leaders in the county for

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many years. He was county chairman of his party for six years and led it to victory in the campaigns of 1908, 1910 and 1912. Mr. Shriner is a mem- ber of the Free and Accepted Masons, Knights of Pythias, and Improved Order of Red Men. He is also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Mr. Shriner was married May 15, 1885, to Jennie Spilman. She was born in Andersonville, in this county, and is a daughter of the late Dr. F. J. Spilman. To this union have been born three children: Fred R., Carl and Lena. Fred R. married Laura Branch, and is now a clerk in the Brookville postoffice. Carl married Edith Carpenter and is the manager of a shoe store in Brookville. Lena is still living with her parents.

DR. GEORGE E. SQUIER.

Perhaps the most ennobling influence which can come into our life is the daily and intimate association with some man whose moral and mental structure has been shaped by the Creator in a large and generous mold. We have all known such people and know ourselves to be better for it. And what a boon to a community is the constant guiding influence of a man who measures up to the splendid ideal which we have pictured. Dr. George E. Squier is indeed fully capable of entering the description of our model.

Dr. George E. Squier was born in Butler county, Ohio, near Trinton, at Miltonville, March 25, 1846, and is the son of Ezekiel Ball and Catherine (Ashton) Squier. His father was born in Middletown, Butler county, Ohio, October 16, 1806, and died September 28, 1896. His mother was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 1I, 1805, and died in February, 1893. Doctor Squier is one of nine children, eight of whom grew to maturity : Sarah, Elizabeth, Ann, Ashton, Adam, William C., David, George E., and Augustus. Sarah, deceased, married Thomas Gardner, of Illinois, who is also deceased. Elizabeth married James Winters and lives in White county, Indiana. Ann married Erastus Nice, of Macon county, Illinois, both now being dead. Ashton is a farmer of Carroll county, Indiana. Adam died, at the age of eleven, in Ohio. William C., deceased, was a farmer in Nebraska. David is a retired farmer and lives in Delphi, Indiana. Augustus is a physi- cian in Frankfort, Indiana.

Ezekiel Ball Squier, the father of Doctor Squier, was the son of Abra- ham and Mary (Ball) Squier. He came to Indiana in 1850 and rented a farm in Clinton county for one year. He later located on the north fork of

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Wild Cat creek, in Carroll county, Indiana, and died there September 28, 1896, having lived almost ninety years. By trade he was a brick mason, but followed the occupation of farming during the greater part of his life. He was a Democrat and served for several years as township trustee. In relig- ious views, he was a strong Universalist. He married Catherine Ashton and they had nine children, who have been previously mentioned.

The history of the Squier family goes back to England and the Isle of Wight. Solomon Squier and his father were very rich men and owned all the wharves and docks at Newport, Isle of Wight, England, and died with- out leaving a will. Solomon Squier had three sons who, after his death, came to America in 1679. They gave up their father's religion, the Church of England, and attached themselves to the orthodox Quakers, and their heirs continued in this religion until the Revolutionary War, when they left the Quakers and joined the Christian church, or, as it was then called, the New Light church. The three sons, who immigrated to America, were Daniel, David and John. Daniel, from whom Doctor Squier is a descend- ant, spelled his name, as did his father, Squier. David, who moved to New York state, spelled his name Squire. John moved to Pennsylvania and spelled his name Squires.

Daniel Squier, the ancestor of Doctor Squier, had a son Ezekiel, who joined a dragoon company at the time of the Revolutionary War, and was a very loyal colonist and a New Jersey supporter, that being his home state. His son, Abraham, enlisted as a captain, and four more of his sons were minute men. Ezekiel, the son of Daniel, was a physician and surgeon of reputation. He and Dr. William Ball, his brother-in-law, served with Washington's army, performing all of their duties there without asking any pay. They not only offered their services as physicians and surgeons, but, when needed, were glad to serve as minute men. History shows that Dr. Ezekiel Squier received seven wounds in as many engagements.

Abraham Squier, who was a son of Ezekiel Squier, lived in Passaic Valley, New Jersey. His son, William, was a native of New Jersey, and an early settler of Hamilton, Ohio. Being a carpenter and builder, he built the first jail there, a log structure, which was paid for by subscriptions from the citizens. His son, Abraham, was the grandfather of Dr. George E. Squier. He married Mary Ball, who was a daughter of Ezekiel Ball, one of the first commissioners of Butler county, Ohio.

The Ball family is of English descent, and the ancestry can be traced back to Edward Ball, one of the first settlers in Newark, New Jersey. He and his two brothers crossed the ocean from England to Connecticut. He

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later moved to Newark, New Jersey, and his brothers to Virginia. He was born about 1642 and married Abigail Blatchley, of Connecticut, and to them were born six children. In 1667 he removed, with his family, to New Jersey, and the last mention of him in any available record was in 1724, when he was about eighty-one years of age. He was a prominent citizen of Newark and held many public offices, among them being sheriff, committee- man of boundaries on settlement with the proprietors and Indians, and other offices.

Thomas Ball, the sixth child of Edward Ball, was born in 1687 or 1688, and died December 18, 1744. He was married about 1710 to Sarah Davis, who died February 1, 1788, at the age of eighty-eight. They were the parents of twelve children. He was a blacksmith by trade and served as constable of Newark, New Jersey, in 1715 and 1716. It was probably in the year 1718 that he removed to a tract of land between Hilton and Jefferson village, where he spent his remaining days.

David Ball, the fifth child of Thomas Ball, was born February 5, 1720, and died April 19, 1786. He married Phoebe Brown, July 9, 1740, and they had two children. She died July 10, 1748, and he afterward married Joanna Watkins, of Rahway, New Jersey, November 9, 1748, and to this union there were six children. She died February 18, 1776, and he married a third time, December 12, 1776, the name of his third wife being unre- corded.

Ezekiel Ball, the fifth child of David and Joanna Ball, was born in New Jersey, February 6, 1756, and died January 22, 1826, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Squier. He was married January 26, 1777, to Abigail Robinson, probably of Westfield, New Jersey. She was born Janu- ary 26, 1756, and died September 18, 1794. To this union were born four children. On June 5, 1785, he was married a second time, to Mary Little, who was born December 29, 1756, and died February 3, 1823. To this union were born six children. He served at different times as justice of the peace and postmaster of Middletown, Ohio, and was also judge of the Butler county court. His daughter, Mary, born December 30, 1787, became the wife of Abraham Squier, the paternal grandfather of Dr. George Squier. They had a family of twelve children, including Ezekiel, the father of Doctor Squier.

Dr. George E. Squier was a boy of four years when his parents brought him with them to Carroll county, Indiana, and there he spent his boyhood days, attending school in the winter. He assisted in the work on his father's farm until 1876, at which date he accepted a position as clerk in a drug store

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in New London, Howard county, Indiana. He held this position for three years, and the experience here gained helped him in his later practice. In 1878 he took up the study of medicine under the direction of his brother, Dr. E. A. Squier, who then lived in College Corner, Ohio, and now resides at Frankfort, Indiana. After studying with his brother for some time he entered the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, where he studied until his graduation, in June, 1882. After graduating he located in Brookville, Indiana, where he has successfully practiced ever since. In 1889 he joined the State Medical Association and has since been one of its valued represen- tatives. He performed the first operation in Franklin county, Indiana, in which the aid of the X-ray machine was invoked. This occurred in 1897, and there is an interesting story in connection. Charles Snoddy, having accidentally discharged a pistol, the bullet entered his thigh and lodged be- tween the bones of the knee. Doctor Squier took Snoddy to Cincinnati and had an X-ray photograph made of the lodged bullet. Eminent physicians advised that the bullet be left where it was lodged, but Doctor Squier not only performed the operation and took out the bullet, but restored to the man the free use of his limb. Doctor Squier does all of his own surgical work and has practiced longer in Brookville than any other physician.

The following short paragraph in one of the bulletins of the state board of health shows the determined stand which Doctor Squier has taken in the interest of his community: "Dr. George E. Squier, of Franklin county, discovered that some butchers in Brookville had slaughtered some diseased cattle and shipped their carcasses to Indianapolis. He promptly notified the state board. After vigorous prosecution, the butchers were found guilty, one being fined two hundred and fifty dollars and imprisoned six months; another fined fifty dollars, with six months' imprisonment; and the third fined one hundred dollars, with imprisonment for three months."

In 1889 he married Ella Logan, of Clinton county, Indiana. To them have been born three children, Cora, Eunice Vivian and Ethel Maud. Cora was born October 20, 1870, and died in 1882. Eunice Vivian was born January 30, 1873, and died August 9, 1896. She taught school for some time and then attended the Terre Haute State Normal School, where she contracted typhoid fever, of which she died after reaching home. Ethel Maud was born November 5, 1883, and married Joseph H. Briggs, who is a rural mail carrier of Brookville.

Doctor Squier is a prominent and active member of Harmony Lodge No. 11, Free and Accepted Masons. He also belongs to Oshownee Tribe No. 220, of the Improved Order of Red Men. He was instrumental in its

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organization and was its first past sachem. He has held the important office of Great Mishinewa Indian, Great Council of the Improved Order of Red Men. He has always been a stanch Democrat and served from 1882 until 1892 as coroner of Franklin county. He was also a member of the town council of Brookville one term, and was secretary of the board of health for six years, enforcing the laws very rigidly. Doctor Squier is held in the highest esteem by all who know him and the history of Franklin county would be most incomplete without a short review of his career.

DR. JAMES F. WEST.

It has been just one hundred years since the first members of the West family located in Franklin county, Indiana. In 1815 the grandfather of Dr. James F. West entered a large tract of government land, four miles south of Brookville, and since that time the various members of the family have been active in every phase of the county's progress. Doctor West was a druggist in his earlier years. He later graduated from a medical college, since which time he has practiced medicine in addition to managing a drug store in Brookville.

Dr. James F. West, the son of Benjamin H. and Sarah I. (Carmichael) West, was born May 3, 1857, in Brookville, Indiana, in a house which is still standing just back of the court house. He was one of five children born to his parents, the other four being as follows: William, born February 27, 1848, and died in 1850; Charles E., born February 25, 1850, is a bookkeeper in New York city; George D., born September 20, 1850, and died in 1853; and Robert, born November 25, 1854, is a traveling salesman for a drug firm in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Benjamin H. West, the father of Dr. James F., was born in Brookville township, four miles south of Brookville, July 18, 1818, and died November 18, 1868. His wife, Sarah I. Carmichael, was born in the same township in 1827, and died in December, 1857. Benjamin West was reared on the old home place in Brookville township and was a farmer until the last few years of his life. In 1856 he moved to Brookville and entered into partnership with John King in a grocery and dry goods store, the firm continuing in business until 1865. In that year Benjamin E. West was appointed treasurer of Franklin county, and in the following year was elected to this office, con- tinuing in the discharge of its duties until his death, in the fall of 1868.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 55

Author: Reifel, August J Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1648

Author: Reifel, August J
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1648