USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 46
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
JACOB O. BURGAN.
The history of Hendricks county, as an integral part of the great com- monwealth of Indiana, reveals the handiwork of many a great and noble soul who wrought heroically and unselfishly. Her splendid homes, her high- grade institutions, her happy, prosperous people speak volumes of some one's steadfastness of purpose, of some one's strength of arm, courage of heart and activity of brain. Among the men of this county who have been actively iden- tified with the commercial life of Lizton for many years, is Jacob O. Burgan, the present postmaster. Today we have a division of labor which was not dreamed of fifty years ago and in a small village there are frequently as many as two score occupations represented. Each man fills his particular part and the minister is no more important than the blacksmith, the teacher is of no more intrinsic value to the community than the section boss, and the barber performs as useful a mission in life of the community as any of the others. Society needs all of these professions and it would be impossible to determine the approximate value of each one to the general welfare of the community.
Jacob O. Burgan, postmaster and merchant of Lizton, was born June 17, 1865, in Eel River township, Hendricks county. His parents were Alex- ander and Pernetia (Toney) Burgan. Alexander Burgan was born in Floyd county, Virginia, January 20, 1825. The Burgan family originally came from Sweden and probably have as complete and detailed a family genealogy worked out as any family in Hendricks county. At the present they have the ancestral tree traced back to eight generations. The first Burgan of whom they have definite record was Jonathan, who was born in Sweden in
478
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
1560. He had one son, John or Jonnie, who was also born in Sweden in 1601. John married in due course of time and had one son, Yerick, who was born in the land of his father in 1640. Yerick went to Germany, where he married and had one son, Jacob, who was born in that country in 1695. Jacob grew to manhood, married and had one son, by the name of James, who was born in Germany in 1744. James was the first one of the family to come to this country and settled in Maryland about the last quarter of the eighteenth century, where he married and had one son, Isaac, born in 1786. Isaac grew to manhood, went to Virginia, married and had one son by the name of Alexander. Alexander came to Hendricks county, Indiana, mar- ried here and became the father of Jacob O. Burgan, whose history is herein portrayed.
Alexander Burgan spent his boyhood days upon the farm which his father entered in Union township and, upon his marriage to Prenetia Toney, moved to his own farm of forty acres adjoining the old homestead farm. He lived on two or three different farms in the township and five years before his death he moved to Lizton, where he remained until he passed away Sep- tember 28, 1879. Alexander Burgan and wife were the parents of five chil- dren : John Wesley, who died in 1883; Tranum, of Indianapolis; Harvey, of Indianapolis ; Jacob O., the subject of this review, and Mrs. Almanda Swift, of Kokomo, Indiana.
Jacob O. Burgan was given a good practical education in the schools of his township and when twelve years of age moved to Lizton with his parents, where he has spent the remainder of his life. While still a young man he learned the barber trade and for sixteen years operated a barber shop in Lizton. He then engaged in the retail meat market and mercantile business which he continued up until his appointment as postmaster in 1904. He has been postmaster at Lizton for the past ten years, during which he has given conscientious attention to the duties of this official position.
Mr. Burgan was married September 10, 1902, to Margaret, the daugh- ter of John and Sue (Vandever) Halfaker. John Halfaker was a native of Johnson county, Indiana, but several years ago moved to Hendricks county and settled in Middle township where he owns a fine farm about two miles north of Pittsboro. Mrs. Halfaker is a native of Boone county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Halfaker are now living at Pittsboro.
Mr. Burgan is a member of the Knights of Pythias and he and his wife are members of the Pythian Sisters. He was also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. Politically, he has always been a Republican and has
479
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
been interested in the activities of his party. He and his wife are both members of the Christian church of Lizton, to which they give freely of their means. Mr. Burgan has lived a successful and honorable life and has exer- cised those qualities of generosity, hospitality and loyalty to friends, with the result that he is a man who is much admired and esteemed by all with whom he comes in contact.
GEORGE ORF.
To write the personal records of men who have raised themselves from humble circumstances to positions of responsibility and trust in a community is no ordinary pleasure. Self-made men, men who have achieved success by reason of their personal qualities and left the impress of their individuality upon the business and growth of their place of residence and affect for good such institutions as are embraced in the sphere of their usefulness, un- wittingly, perhaps, built monuments more enduring than marble obelisk or granite shaft. Of such we have the unquestionable right to say belongs the gentleman whose name appears above.
George Orf, the son of Adam and Catherine Orf, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, September 24, 1863. His parents died when he was very young and he was reared in an orphans' home and for this reason knows very little of his family history. He came to Hendricks county when a small boy of five years and made his home with Addison Hadley, remaining there until he was nineteen years of age. He then went to Butler county, Ohio, where he worked on a farm for three years, after which he returned to Hendricks county, Indiana. Until 1910 he rented farms, being very suc- cessful as a renter and making a very satisfactory tenant. In 1910 he pur- chased his present farm of forty acres in Clay township, which he is now improving in every way and bringing to a high state of cultivation.
George Orf was married September 11, 1890, to Hattie Henderson, the daughter of Alpheus and Maria (Lancaster) Henderson, and to them have been born the following children: Lucy, Claude, Elizabeth, Chloe, Vera, Kenneth, Dorcas, Ruth, Ernest A., deceased, and Georgia. Lucy is the wife of Hurley Rector and has one child, Mark. Mrs. Orf's parents had a family of six children, William, Hattie, James C., Sarah, Jesse and Mary A. William married Minnie Cassidy; Hattie is the wife of the subject of this sketch; Joseph married Eva Kersey; Jesse married Mattie Sanders;
480
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
Sarah died in infancy; Mary became the wife of Fred Cassidy. Mrs. Orf's father died May 23, 1907. Mrs. Orf's grandparents were both natives of North Carolina and had a family of three children, James Alpheus, Marinda and Clark.
Mr. Orf is a Republican and takes an active interest in local politics, although he has never been a candidate for any public office. He is a mem- ber of the Improved Order of Red Men and in his religious faith is an ad- herent of the Friends church of Danville. He is a fine example of the self- made man, who, starting out with nothing, by the sheer force of will and determination rears a family to a life of usefulness and becomes an im- portant factor in the welfare of the community. This he has accomplished because he has been upright in all of his dealings and willing to do his share in the life of the community and because he has done this he has won the respect and sincere regard of all of those with whom he has been associated.
JACOB L. KURTZ.
The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an intelligent community is a protracted and honorable residence therein. Jacob L. Kurtz, one of the best known and most highly esteemed men of Hen- dricks county, Indiana, has resided in this locality all his life and his career has been a most commendable one in every respect, well deserving of being perpetuated on the pages of a historical work of the nature of the one in hand. Like his sterling father before him, he has been a man of well-defined purpose and never failed to carry to successful completion any work or enter- prise to which he addressed himself. Beginning life in a new country and under many unfavorable auspices, he let nothing deter him and before the lapse of many years he had a fine farm under cultivation. Knowing that the country was destined to take a high rank in the productive and rich localities of the North, he applied himself very closely to his work and waited for the future to bring its rewards, and today he is one of the substantial men of his county.
Jacob L. Kurtz, who is now living retired in Danville, was born on July 22, 1854, in Putnam county, this state, the son of Henry F. and Mar- garet (Vannice) Kurtz, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. Henry F. Kurtz came to Putnam county, Indiana, with his father from Kentucky, and
JACOB L. KURTZ
481
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
lived in that county until his marriage and in Hendricks county the remainder of his life. Henry Kurtz served in the Civil War as a member of the Ninety- ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry and gave three years of his life to that memorable struggle. On July 22, 1864, on the tenth birthday of his son, Jacob L., he was taken prisoner and was held seven months, four months being spent amid the horrors of Andersonville prison. Upon his return from the war he settled in Marion township, this county, where he lived until his death, June 10, 1913. His wife died on May 28, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kurtz were the parents of eight children: Caroline Francis, the wife of John F. Underwood, of Danville; Jacob L., the immediate subject of this sketch; Eliza, the wife of James A. Hadley, of Danville; William H., who died in infancy; Jennie, the widow of Charles Hadley, of Danville; Charles, whose present home adjoins the old homestead in Marion township; Oscar, a farmer of the same neighborhood in this county, and Wilbert, who died in infancy.
Jacob L. Kurtz received his common school education in the district schools of Marion township and lived the life of the ordinary farmer's boy until he grew to manhood. He worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-five years of age, when he married and began to farm for himself on the farm adjoining his father's farm. Here he continued to live until his removal to Danville, on August 15, 1913. Mr. Kurtz was very successful in his farming operations and when he left the farm in the fall of 1913 he left behind him a record of fifty years' splendid service as one of the leading agriculturists of the county. He kept apace with modern methods of agri- culture and introduced the latest improved machinery and as a result his farm was one of the most highly improved and best equipped farms in the county.
Jacob L. Kurtz was married January 12, 1881, to Lucy Tinder, of this county, daughter of William and Catherine Tinder, and to this union there were born five children, three of whom are living, Everett, an attorney in Miami, Florida, and Asa and John, farmers of this county. His first wife died December 9, 1886, and on August 15, 1888, Mr. Kurtz was married to Jennie Tinder, a sister of his first wife, and to this union there has been born one son, Lawrence Stanley, who is now a student in the high school at Dan- ville.
Mr. Kurtz has always been affiliated with the Republican party, but has never taken an active interest in the deliberations of this party. In his re- ligious faith he has adhered to the Presbyterian church, and at the present tinie
(31)
482
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
is a ruling elder in that denomination. Mrs. Kurtz is a member of the Regu- lar Baptist church. Fraternally, Mr. Kurtz is a member of the Knights of Pythias, holding his membership at North Salem. Mr. Kurtz. who is now in the evening of life, can look back upon a career which was well spent in every particular. He can have the satisfaction of knowing that he has never done anything which would bring upon him the censure of his fellow citizens. Personally, he is genial and unassuming and easily makes friends. He is a man of good habits and kindly impulses and is deservedly popular in the community where he has spent his whole life.
JOHN F. STEVENSON.
Among the representative citizens and prosperous farmers of Hendricks county, Indiana, is the gentleman whose name appears above, who is the owner of a fine landed estate in Marion township, and is carrying on the various departments of his enterprise with that discretion and energy which are sure to find their natural sequence in definite success, having always been a hard worker, a good manager and a man of economical habits, and, being fortunately situated in a thriving farming community, it is no wonder that he stands today in the front rank of the agriculturists of this favored locality.
John F. Stevenson, the son of Patton and Elizabeth (Ragland) Steven- son, was born in 1852 in Marion township, Hendricks county, Indiana. His father's birth occurred in Kentucky in 1798, and after reaching maturity he came to Hendricks county, Indiana, settling in Marion township, near New Winchester. Patton Stevenson was married three times, his first marriage occurring before he came to Indiana, and to this union there were three chil- dren born, all of whom are deceased, Vincent, Mrs. Sallie N. Pierson and Morgan. After the death of his first wife, Patton Stevenson married Cath- erine Brandenburg, and to this marriage were born three children, Tolliver, deceased; Squire and Mrs. Susan Ann Graham. His second wife died and he afterwards married Elizabeth Ragland, a native of Kentucky, and to his third marriage were born six children, Patton, deceased; Elsie Jane, de- ceased; Mrs. Pattie Graham; George Howard; Mrs. Cassandra Flynn, de- ceased, and John F., the immediate subject of this sketch. Patton Steven- son was a quiet, hard-working farmer, who accumulated an estate of over three hundred acres of excellent land in Marion township. He was a mem- ber of the Missionary Baptist church and in his church affiliations he was
483
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
both consistent and faithful. Politically, he was a Democrat, but was never active in the councils of his party.
John F. Stevenson received his early education in the district schools of his home neighborhood and lived at home until his marriage, which occurred in 1875, at which time he was united to Paulina Harris, the daughter of Thomas W. and Eliza Jane (Stephenson) Harris. Her father was a native of Kentucky and came to Putnam county, Indiana, with his parents at the age of four years, settling in Jackson township. William Harris came from Kentucky at an early date and entered a large tract of land from the govern- ment in Putnam county, and his son, Thomas WV., spent his entire life on this farm, his death occurring January 5, 1910. He was one of the largest land owners in the county and had over one thousand acres at the time of his death. His wife is still living on the old homestead farm in Putnam county at the advanced age of eighty-four. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Harris were the parents of three children, William, Paulina, wife of Mr. Stevenson, and Melinda, deceased.
Mr. Stevenson began farming one mile south of his present farm and lived there for thirty-two years, coming to his present place on October 16, 1907. His farm of nine hundred twenty acres, two hundred of which is in Putnam county, is one of the largest individual farms in central Indiana. He has brought it to a high state of cultivation and has improved it in every way until it is one of the model farms of the county. It is needless to say that he has been a successful farmer, since his place will bear witness to his ability along agricultural lines. He still has active charge of the manage- ment of his farm and takes an active interest in everything which pertains to the conduct of his large estate.
Mr. Stevenson has long been a member of the Democratic party, but has never held any public office or evinced any desire along that line. His ex- tensive land holdings have necessitated his concentrating his attention upon his property interests with the result that he has had little time to mingle in politics. He and his wife are loyal and consistent members of the Mis- sionary Baptist church at New Winchester, and are generous and willing contributors to its support. Mr. Stevenson has always been a hard worker, and although he has been very successful along material lines he has never allowed his success in worldly affairs to blind him to the higher duties which he owes to society. Thus he has always been a supporter of all public-spirited movements in his community and all worthy enterprises enlist his hearty co- operation. Consequently he is highly esteemed by all of those with whom he has been associated.
484
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
JOHN E. VESTAL.
It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an emi- nently active and busy life and who has attained a position of relative dis- tinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of all that is de- manded and of the painstaking scrutiny that must be accorded each state- ment, and yet with a feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as has been that of the honored subject whose life now comes under review.
John E. Vestal, the son of Benjamin and Anna Vestal, was born in Hendricks county, Indiana. His father also was a native of Hendricks county, his grandfather having come from North Carolina in the early his- tory of the state. The Vestals trace their ancestry back to colonial times and have even traced a direct descent back to the Vestals of old England. The mother of John E. Vestal was born in Hendricks county, and both his father and mother are still living at the hearty age of eighty years, making their home with their son, John E. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Vestal were the par- ents of five children : Willis S., born May II, 1858, and died October 8, 1875: Mrs. Alice Mills, born April 9, 1866, the wife of Elwood Mills, a farmer of this county; Benjamin Corydon, a farmer and stock raiser of Washington township, married Cora Belch; Charles Louder, born Janu- ary 18, 1873, a farmer of Guilford township, married Sallie Parks and has one daughter, Esther.
John E. Vestal received his early education in the district schools of his township, and early in life began to follow the occupation of a farmer. There is no angle to the agricultural profession which he does not understand, and has always made it a point to keep in close touch with all the latest ideas on farming. A glance at his fields of corn and wheat will convince the casual onlooker that he has been a successful farmer. On his farm of three hundred and sixty acres he raises all of the crops of this part of the state as well as a large amount of stock annually for the market. However, he has made a specialty of stock raising, as his father did before him; his father had the reputation of being one of the best stock raisers in the central part of the state. His son is following in the footsteps of his father.
Mr. Vestal was married December 28, 1887, to Antoinette Moore, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Moore, of Plainfield.
485
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
Mr. Vestal is a member of the Friends church and a generous supporter of its various activities. In his political relations he has always adhered to the Republican party, but has never been a seeker for any public office. How- ever, he was treasurer of Hendricks county in 1904 and 1905. Mr. Vestal is a man of vigorous mentality and strong moral fiber, and has achieved great success in his calling and is eminently deserving of the esteem in which he is held in the community where his entire life has been spent.
JOHN T. LEE.
It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has won a definite goal in life, whose career has been such as to command the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such in brief is the record of the well known farmer whose name heads this sketch, than whom a more whole-souled man it would be difficult to find within the limits of Hendricks county, where he has long maintained his home and where he has labored not only for his own individual advancement and that of his immediate family, but also for the improvement of the entire community, whose interests he has ever had at heart.
John T. Lee, well known farmer of Brown township, Hendricks county, Indiana, who was born in this county on April 19, 1864, about three miles north of Plainfield, is of Irish parentage, being the son of John and Catherine (Dugan) Lee, both of whom were natives of county Galway, Ireland. John Lee (father of the subject) was bereft of both parents while still a boy and emigrated to America when twenty years old, landing at Quebec in Canada. He remained in the Dominion for one year, when he came direct to Hendricks county, Indiana, where he passed the remainder of his life. When first com- ing here he worked out among the farmers of the county by the month, and for three or four years after his marriage, in 1861, continued this mode of employment. Then, with the aid of a brother, he purchased a forty-acre farm near Tilden. There he lived for perhaps a couple of years, when he disposed of that land and bought the forty-acre tract where the subject of this sketch now makes his home. John Lee was energetic, thrifty and prosperous and to his original forty acres he added from time to time until at the time of his death he had accumulated one hundred and fifteen acres of excellent farm- ing land. His death occurred on July 4, 1879, preceding his wife by a num- ber of years, as her death took place on June 26, 1904.
486
HENDRICKS COUNTY, INDIANA.
John T. Lee, subject of this sketch, received his education in the schools of Hendricks county. He was one of a family of six children and remained under the paternal roof until the time of his marriage, in 1902, to Ellen E. Flynn, born in Marion county, Indiana, on April 15, 1870, the daughter of Patrick and Mary (Kelley) Flynn, both of whom were natives of Ireland, the former coming from county Roscommon and the latter from county Galway. They both came to this country when about seventeen or eighteen years of age, both landing in New York City. Patrick Flynn worked in New York for a few months and then went into New Jersey, where he was employed on a truck farm for seven and one-half years. Mary Kelley went direct to Philadelphia, upon landing in this country, where she worked for a short time and then went to Woodbury, New Jersey. It was there she and Patrick Flynn met and were married. They came to Indiana in 1857, settling in Marion county, where they remained one year, and then removed to Hend- ricks county, southeast of Plainfield, where for four years he worked on various farms for a share of the crops. He then returned to Marion county, where he purchased a farm and lived there the balance of his life, his death occurring February 18, 1901. He outlived his wife, who passed away on July 13, 1888. It was on this homestead in Marion county that Ellen E. Flynn was born in an old log cabin, and there she lived until the time of her marriage, with the exception of one year spent in the city of Indianapolis.
After Mr. Lee's marriage, he took his bride to his old home where he and his mother had lived for several years and where the subject is living at the present time. The farm is about six miles northeast of Brownsburg and is in an excellent state of cultivation. Mr. Lee, in addition to general farm- ing, pays considerable attention to a good grade of live stock, it being his belief that no strain is too good for general purposes.
Politically, Mr. Lee has always given his support to the Democratic party, in the affairs of which he has always taken an active, though quiet, part. His fraternal affiliation is with the Ancient Order of Hibernians and both he and his wife are communicants of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Lee have but one child, a daughter, Mary Catherine, who remains at home with them. The family is one of the most highly respected in the community and Mr. Lee does his full duty as a citizen in all the affairs of the locality affecting the moral, social or material welfare of his fellow citizens. He is a man who makes friends and holds them by reason of his sterling worth. He is well known in Hendricks county and is eminently deserving of mention in a book of the scope intended in the present work.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.