History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 92

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

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CHARLES RUSTERHOLZ.

One of the most active and successful of the young business men of Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, is Charles Rusterholz, a member of the firm of Rusterholz & Son. This is a time when men are coming into a suc- cessful business career early in life, and Mr. Rusterholz is one of those young men who has made a splendid start in the direction of a most success- ful career.

Charles Rusterholz was born March 28, 1887, in Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, the son of Henry and Lottie (Fiekert) Rusterholz, the former born February 21, 1860, in Zurich, Switzerland, and the latter at Laurel, Franklin county, Indiana, August II, 1861, a daughter of John and Lottie (Herman) Fiekert, both of whom were born at Yachenbach, Ger- many. They were early settlers to Franklin county, and died in this county, he in 1883, and she in 1902.

Henry Rusterholz came to Franklin county in 1881, and located at Laurel, and there was married. He later went to Connersville, Indiana, and finally returned to Laurel, where he engaged in the occupation of a tinner. He established a business in Laurel, but in 1894 moved to Brookville and worked for the firm of Feiber & Holmes for sixteen years. In 1910 Mr. Rusterholz, Sr., engaged in business in Brookville under the name of Ruster- holz & Sons, remaining in this business until his death, September 9, 1914, since which time the business has been carried on by his two sons, Charles and Harry. Henry Rusterholz was a Democrat and always took an active inter-

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est in the political affairs of his community, nine years having served as a member of the town board of Brookville, the last two terms of which before his death he served as president. He and his wife were members of the Lutheran church, in which denomination they took an active and interested part. They were the parents of eleven children, Ida, Emma, Charles, Clara, Harry, Fred, William, Edward, Walter, Helen and Arthur, all of whom are living with the exception of Emma, the second daughter.

Charles Rusterholz was reared in Laurel, Indiana, and was educated in the public schools of Laurel and Brookville. After leaving the Brookville high school he worked for the firm of Feiber & Holmes, hardware and lumber dealers in Brookville, for eight years, and in 1910 became a member of the firm of H. Rusterholz & Sons.

Mr. Rusterholz was married February II, 1914, to Miss Christina Zim- mer, of Hamilton county, Ohio, and both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church at Brookville. Mr. Rusterholz is an ardent Democrat. although he has never held public positions nor aspired to office.

Mr. Rusterholz has attained not only a large measure of success in his chosen business, but he has not neglected his duty to the public welfare, which no doubt accounts for the high esteem in which he is held by a large circle of friends.

JOHN LUCK.

Many of the most progressive and successful farmers of this country were either born in Germany or were born of native German parents, the German fatherland having given to this county many of her most suc- cessful and enterprising citizens, one of whom is John Luck, a retired farmer, now living in Brookville.

John Luck was born in Germany May 9, 1847, the son of George and Christiana (Rollig) Luck, both of whom were born in Germany and spent all of their days there, he dying in 1864 at the age of forty-eight and she in 1891 at the age of seventy-four. Mr. Luck's place of nativity was Weisen- thal by Dermbach, Sachsen Weimer, Eisenbach, which he left to try his for- tune in America.

John Luck was reared and educated in Germany and was a rectifier by trade for ten years before coming to this country in 1872. During his first two years' residence in this country Mr. Luck worked for John D. Rockefel- ler in Cleveland, Ohio. Later he came to Franklin county and bought forty

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acres of land, to which he added from time to time until in 1896, when he retired to Brookville, he had one hundred and twenty acres, comprising a splendid and well improved farm.

Mr. Luck was married in 1872 to Fredericka Gesell, who was born in Germany April 16, 1850. She was the daughter of Henry and Margaret (Habb) Gesell, both of whom died in Germany, the former in 1871 at the age of seventy-two and the latter in 1888 at the age of sixty-nine. They were the parents of six children: Albert, who died in Pennsylvania ; An- drew, who died in Cleveland, Ohio: Louis, who died in Germany ; Christ, Fredericka and Adam, who died in Cincinnati. Mr. and Mrs. Luck have one son, John F., who is still single and resides on the old homestead.

Mr. Luck's father had three brothers who gave their services to their adopted country in the Civil War, Carl, Wilhelm and Valentine. His par- ents had seven children : Catherine, deceased, Daniel, Mary, John, Christian, deceased, Andrew and Bernhart, deceased.

Mr. Luck is a Democrat, although he has never been active in political affairs, preferring simply to exercise his political duties by voting for the best candidates within his party. He is a member of the Lutheran church and is accounted as among the most highly respected citizens of Franklin county, where he has lived for so many years and where he has prospered to an exceptional degree.

JACOB DANIEL WISE.

Young men of this generation are coming to learn the necessity of thorough preparation for whatever career they have in mind to follow. In fact, the greatest business successes of the last generation were made by men who knew every phase of the work with which they were identified. To succeed in the stone and tin business one must know not only the his- tory of the materials ordinarily kept in such a store, but the history of prices and the best uses to which all materials may be put. In fact, success in the stone and tinware business means far more than the mere buying and selling of the stock in trade. A few men have been exceptionally successful in this business because they have studied carefully the respective needs of the communities which they seek to serve.

One among the successful stone and tin merchants of Franklin county, Indiana, is Jacob Daniel Wise, who was born in Brookville November 19.

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1866, the son of Jacob and Mary (Stoerkel) Wise, both of whom were born in Franklin county.

Mr. Wise was educated in the public schools of Brookville. Early in life he learned the tinner's trade and engaged in the stove and tin business about twenty years ago in Brookville. He has built up not only a large but a profitable business, an evidence of his habits of fair dealing and care- ful management covering a long period.

Mr. Wise married Louise Ripple, who was born in Brookville, the daughter of Jacob Ripple, now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Wise two chil- dren have been born: Frank Jacob, born April 26, 1890, who was a grad- uate from the Brookville high school and is now a traveling salesman, and Alfred Paul, born January 26, 1895, who likewise was a graduate from the Brookville high school, and is now a teacher in the public schools.

The paternal grandfather of Jacob Daniel Wise was Jacob Wise, who was born in Germany in July, 1803, came to the United States in 1844, and settled in Brookville township, where he died in 1857. His wife died in 1867. They were the parents of ten children: Lizzie, born in 1832, died in 1841; Jacob, born in 1834, died in 1835; Jacob, born in 1836, died in 1870; Henry, born in 1838, died in 1875; Lizzie, born in 1841; Barbara, born in 1843, now deceased ; Daniel, born in 1845; Louis, born in 1847, died in 1875; George, born in 1849, died in 1870, and John, born in 1851, died in 1853.

Jacob Wise, the father of Jacob D., was associated with his brother, Henry, in the manufacture of brick near Brookville. He was a life-long Democrat, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. They were the parents of two children: Jacob D., the immediate subject of this sketch, and George Louis, now deceased.

Henry Wise, an uncle of Jacob Daniel Wise, was born in Germany in 1838. and came with his parents to Franklin county, Indiana, when six years of age. He was reared in this county and married Wilhelmina Minneman, a native of Brookville township, and a daughter of John and Lena (Myers) Minneman, both born in Germany, he in 1795, and she in 1804. They came to the United States and settled in Franklin county in an early day, and here they spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1878, while his widow survived him until 1881. John and Lena Minneman were the parents of seven children, Frederick, Herman, John, Mary, Wilhelmina, Annie and Maggie.

To Henry Wise and wife were born five children: Louis, who died in infancy : Barbara, who also died while young: Cora, born in 1872, is a teacher

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in the Brookville township schools; Henry, who died in infancy, and Charles. born January 14, 1876, was educated in the Brookville public and high schools and is living at home with his mother in Brookville. Henry Wise was a life-long Democrat, and a member of the Lutheran church.

The maternal grandparents of Jacob Daniel Wise was Daniel and Christ- ian (Ritze) Stoerkel, both natives of Germany, where they were married. After their marriage, in the early forties, they came to Franklin county, Indiana, where he secured employment on the Whitewater canal. They were the parents of four children: Frederick, a farmer of Brookville township; Caroline, deceased: Mary, who is the mother of Jacob D. Wise, and Jose- phine, the wife of Lewis Horning, of Brookville. Mr. Stoerkel was a Demo- crat, and a member of the Lutheran church.

Jacob Daniel Wise is a Democrat, but has never aspired to office, pre- ferring to leave such matters to others and to devote his whole time and attention to his business and to his family. Mr. Wise and his family are all devoted members of the Lutheran church, to which denomination they are liberal contributors of their time and means. Mr. Wise has a wide circle of friends in the community where he lives, his rugged honesty and genial disposition having gained for him a high place in the regard of his friends.

JAMES JOHN SPRATT.

The morale of any community is standardized by the examples set by a few men whose intelligence and judgment are respected by their neighbors. If these men take the wrong attitude toward any public question, or if they deliberately adopt a course of wrong doing, the evil influences are incalculable, but if they exert the weight of their influence toward the betterment of the condition of their fellows, the result of this good example necessarily is wholesome and far reaching.

An influential man whose every word and deed encourage the best in those who look to him for guidance is James J. Spratt. for more than half a century one of Franklin county's best known citizens. Mr. Spratt was born in Cincinnati on November 11, 1845, his parents being John and Rebecca (Gibson) Spratt, both of whom were natives of Ireland and who were the parents of three children, two of whom died in infancy. John Spratt and his wife married in Ireland and came to America, settling in Cincinnati, where

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he died in April, 1848, aged about thirty-five years. He was a machinist. In 1057 Kebecca Spratt remarried, her second husband being Daniel Cowan. l'or a-time after this second marriage she lived in Adams county, indiana, but in 1806 came to Franklin county, where she died in 1894, at the age of seventy-two.

The education of James Spratt was obtained in Cincinnati, where he went to school with his cousin, john Beggs, the future senator, and in the public schools of Franklin county. On May 8, 1804, Mr. Spratt enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Intantry, for the hundred-day service in the Civil War. He served Six months and after the war came to Laurel township and took up the cultiva- tion of the soil. He has lived in Franklin county for fifty-one years, and has a splendid eighty-acre farm.

On March 26, 1871, Mr. Spratt married Melissa Taylor, who was born in Blooming Grove township on April 28, 1853, the daughter of Richard and Sarah (Morgan) Taylor, the former a native of South Carolina, and the latter of North Carolina, the two coming to Franklin county in the early days. They lived on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Blooming Grove township, where Richard Taylor died in January, 1866, aged seventy-three, and his wife died March 13, 1902, at the advanced age of eighty-five. They were the parents of Charles, Oscar, Melissa and Kate, of whom Oscar and Melissa survive.

To James John and Melissa (Taylor) Spratt were born six children, as follows: Cora, born February 24, 1872, died in 1897, was the wife of Dore Stevens; Catharine, born in 1874, died June 19, 1900, was the wife of Eli Warner; William, born April 11, 1875, was educated in the public schools and became a farmer, and on August 27, 1899, enlisted in Company B, Forty- fourth Regiment United States Army, in the Philippine Insular Service, and was mustered out January 30, 1901, having been in the Philippines for seventeen months and ten days, and since his return has lived with his father on the farm: Della Grace, born December 27, 1878, died in infancy ; James, born January 12, 1880, died May 15. 1901 ; Edna, born September 22, 1883, lives at home.

The political beliefs of Mr. Spratt and those of his son coincide with those of the Republican party. He is a faithful member of the United Brethren church, his son being a Methodist. The Spratt family always has been held in the highest esteem and James Spratt well upholds the family prestige. He is a thoughtful man, who is found in the forefront of any movement which has as its object the uplift of local conditions.

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MRS. SARAH L. LACY.

To have spent a life in arduous industry ; to have reared a family of children and to have cared for a home surely are the better parts of the duties of noble womanhood. In writing the history of any community, or country or people, too little attention usually is paid to the part which women play in that history. The happiness and prosperity of men depend largely upon the love, patience and industry of their mothers or wives, yet men are not always prompt to acknowledge this basic truth. One of the noble women of Franklin county is Mrs. Sarah L. (Farmer) Lacy, who is descended from one of oldest families of the county and who is held in the highest esteem by all who know her.

Mrs. Sarah L. (Farmer) Lacy, the wife of Henry Lacy, was born in Brookville township, Franklin county, Indiana, in 1847, a daughter of Stephen Benjamin and Elizabeth ( Allen) Farmer, he a native of Virginia and she of New York state, the former born in 1810 and the latter in 1819. Stephen B. Farmer came to Ripley county, Indiana, with his parents. David and Nancy Farmer, who spent their last days with him in New Liberty, Union county, Indiana.

Mrs. Lacy was reared and educated in Brookville township. She has always been a very industrious woman and one of good judgment. She now owns a good farm in Brookville township, consisting of ninety-one acres, and property in Whitcomb, located in the same township. Her first husband and the father of her children was Adam Fogle, who was born in Brookville, November 5, 1846. His father was Adam Fogle. a native of Germany, and a pioneer of Brookville and Franklin county. Adam Fogle, Jr., was for many years employed in a paper mill in Brookville. He was a life-long Democrat in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Fogle were the parents of two daugh- ters. Lillie, born in 1870, who became the wife of Thomas Castle, who now lives in Brookville. She died on June 12, 1895. leaving one child, a son, Raymond, who now lives with his grandmother. the immediate subject of this review. The second child born to Adam Fogle, Jr. and wife was Olive. who died in 1890. aged six years and nine months.

Stephen Benjamin Farmer, the father of Mrs. Lacy, was reared and educated in Ripley county, Indiana. He married in that county and moved to New Liberty, where he owned a farm. In 1845 he came to Brookville township, Franklin county, and resided at Whitcomb for many years, but his last days were spent in Brookville with his daughter, Mrs. Lacy, his · death occurring in 1885. Mrs. Lacy's mother was born in 1819 at Ticon-

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deroga, New York. When she was a small child her parents settled in Ripley county, Indiana, where both died. Mrs. Farmer died in 1890 at her daughter's home.

Stephen Benjamin Farmer was an ardent Republican throughout his life, and he and his wife were members of the United Brethren church. They were the parents of fourteen children, Caroline, Eleanor, David, John A., Francis M., Malissa, Lucretia, Milton, Nancy, Louis, Sarah and Andrew (twins), George and Mary Jane, all of whom are living with the exception of David. who died in infancy.

Mrs. Sarah Lacy is held in high esteem in the community where she lives, and where she has acquired a large circle of friends because of a long life of good works and a sympathetic interest in all movements having to do with the betterment of the social and moral conditions of the neighborhood, to all of which movements she gives such support as she can.

ALBERT B. CLARK.

The advent of automobiles in this country called forth talents and mechanical genius of scores of young men who before had been compelled to go to the larger cities to work out their mission in life. Automobiles are now so common that the garage, where skilled mechanics are necessary, is to be found everywhere, and the business has become highly profitable for those young men blessed with sufficient brains to carry on the work. Albert B. Clark is a young man who has made the most of his opportunities in this respect.

Albert B. Clark was born in Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, Sep- tember 7, 1879, the son of Alfred and Phoebe (Gant) Clark, both of whom were natives of Franklin county, Indiana.

Mr. Clark received his education in the public schools of Brookville until he was fourteen years of age, when he went to Whitcomb, Brookville township, this county, and there was connected for several years with the management of a large sawmill. Later he established a machine shop and garage on Main street in Brookville, which he since has conducted with much success, and for the past six years has made his home in the county seat.

Mr. Clark has been twice married, his first matrimonial union having been with Stella McClure, now deceased, the daughter of Thomas McClure, a brother of John McClure, of Springfield township. On August 23, 1905,

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Mr. Clark married, secondly, Bessie Harriet Ruth Shepard, who was born in London, England, a daughter of Job and Eliza Shepard, who came to Frank- lin county, Indiana, in an early day, and both of whom are now deceased. Two children have been born to Albert and Harriet Ruth (Shepard) Clark, Dorothy Mildred and Donald Palmer.

Mr. Clark is a Republican and a member of the Christian church, his wife being a member of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is affiliated. with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Brookville. Few men can boast of the possession of warmer or stancher friends than Albert B. Clark, a tribute not only to his genial disposition, but to his habits for fair dealing in the community where he has always lived. The large measure of success which has attended the efforts of this young man can be attributed in great part to these qualities.

JOHN JEFFERSON JAMES.

That man who so lives that the memory of his good deeds and the influence of his upright life will live on and on, long after he has left this troubled sphere, has indeed fulfilled his life mission. Such a man was the late John Jefferson James, in his time one of the best known men in Franklin county, whose every word and deed were indicative of a benevolent disposi- tion, a kindly heart, and a sincere desire to better the lives and the conditions of living of those with whom he came in contact.

Mr. James came into this world December 2, 1823, the son of Samuel and Catharine (Larsen) James, who settled in Rush county, Indiana, when John was a small child, afterward moving to Franklin county, where they farmed until death. Samuel James was a Republican and a devout member of the Methodist church.

A brief account of the children of Samuel James and his wife follows : John J. is the subject of this article. Phoebe married Thomas Carter, and they have three children, Curtis, Florence and John. Samuel, who married Nancy Irvin, was the father of six children, Willard, Frank, Mary, Edna, Walter and Fred. William married Fanny Worthington, and their daughter, Leatha Fanny, married Carl Rayhan, and has two children, James Herman and Lawrence Walter. Parmelia became the wife of Richard Bell. Mary married Mr. Wilson. Mrs. Carter is the only one of these children now living.

Educated in the public schools of Franklin county, John James followed

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his natural inclination and became a farmer, acquiring a farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres, located one mile north of Laurel. He made all the improvements on the place, building a fine brick house in 1872. In this house he died in 1903, and his widow still lives on the homestead.

On January 26, 1860, Mr. James married Melissa Reed, who was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on November 21, 1834, daughter of Hugh and Axa ( Moore) Reed, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter in New York state in 1797. As a young man, Hugh Reed came to Franklin county, where he married and then went to Fayette county, where he lived a rural life. He died in 1840. Axa Moore came with her parents to Indiana at the age of twelve. Mr. and Mrs. James, who died in Fayette county, Indiana, reared nine children, Margaret Ann, John, Robert, Arthur, Mary Jane, Sarah Elizabeth, Melissa, Martha and Minta.

No children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James, but they reared two girls, one of whom is now Mrs. Sylvester Cramer. She was a daughter of John Reinbarth, of Cincinnati, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Cramer four children were born, Russell, Zella, Clinton and Freddie. Leatha, the other girl raised by Mr. and Mrs. James, was a daughter of William James, a brother of John. She married Carl Rayhan, and they have two boys, Herman James and Lawrence Walter. John James was a Republican, and a was a devout and active member of the Methodist Evangelical church. Mr. James did his full share in developing his community to its present state of advanced civiliza- tion, and his entire life was lived in such a manner that he faced the Great Hereafter with a serene faith.

ROBERT JOHN CAIN.

A prominent figure of the past generation who long was connected with the history of Franklin county was Robert John Cain. The Cain family were early settlers in Franklin county. and Robert J. Cain, through his long and vigorous career, became one of the most influential men of the county. He was a veteran of the Civil War, an exceptionally strong and active business man and a public-spirited citizen whose influence always was exerted in behalf of all worthy movements. In all respects he measured up to the highest standard of American citizenship and left a name untarnished before the world, a reputation based upon kindliness of disposition, benevolence of char- acter and charitableness of motive.

ROBERT J. CAIN.

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Robert John Cain was born in Brookville, Indiana, August 26, 1844, and died in this city August 9, 1909. He was a son of Jonathan and Sarah (Winans) Cain and was one of a family of five children, the others being William J., the recorder of Fayette county, Indiana; George, a farmer of Fayette county, Indiana, who died August 8, 1909; Harry, a hardware mer- chant at Connersville, Indiana; and Charles, who died in Connersville in 1901.

Jonathan Cain, the father of Robert J., was born near Dover, Delaware, March 6, 1819, and died at the age of eighty-seven years, five months and seven days. The parents of Jonathan Cain came from New Jersey to Frank- lin county, Indiana, when he was a small boy, making the long overland journey in wagons, and settled near Brookville shortly after coming here. The father of Jonathan Cain died, leaving his widow with a large family of small children. Consequently, at an early age Jonathan was thrown upon his own resources and demonstrated even in the days of his youth his native vigor by proving fully competent to cope with all of the discouragements which he met. He was married in 1843 to Sarah Winans and settled down to the life of a farmer. In 1870 he united with the Methodist church at Brookville and remained a consistent member of that denomination until his death. His wife died in 1876.

Robert J. Cain was reared in Brookville and was given a good education in the seminary and college of his home city. He enlisted in the Civil War in Company B, Fourth Indiana Cavalry, under Capt. William H. Bracken. He was mustered into the service July 29, 1862, the company camping for the first three days at Greensburg in Decatur county. The next ten days were spent at Camp Morton in Indianapolis, where the recruits were drilled and where they received their equipment. The regiment was immediately sent south, was attached to the Army of the Cumberland and fought in all the battles in which that army participated. Mr. Cain finally was discharged at Nash- ville, Tennessee, June 29, 1865.

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History of Franklin County, Indiana : her people, industries and institutions, Part 92

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