USA > Indiana > Howard County > History of Howard County, Indiana, Vol II > Part 8
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paid the transportation to Richmond, where the regiment was or- ganized. His military experience was replete with duty bravely and conscientiously performed, and his record, which is a proud one. forms one of the brightest and most honorable chapters in the his- tory of the state. Colonel Blanche was married in Kokomo in the year 1847 to Anna Shaul, whose ancestors, with his own, came from France in an early day, their respective grandfathers having been neighbors in the Old World and companions in their voyage to the New. Mrs. Blanche was born May 27, 1827, in Clark county, Ohio, and is still living, being now in her eighty-second year, but retaining to a marked degree the possession of faculties, physical and mental. She was brought to Indiana when quite young and claims a resi- dence in the state of eighty-one years' duration.
JOSEPH M. LINDLEY.
Among the enterprising, progressive and public-spirited men whose activity in business and private circles as well as public affairs has made Howard county one of the thriving counties of Indiana and the city in which he resides an important center of commerce and industry is the subject of this brief review, who is at present holding the responsible office of sheriff of his county and who is regarded as one of the most influential men of Kokomo.
Joseph M. Lindley was born in Liberty township. November 9. 1857. the son of James and Rebecca ( Hobson) Lindley, both na- tives of Henry county, this state, who settled in Howard county about 1850 on a farm where Joseph, our subject, was born, and where they successfully farmed until they removed to another farm in Liberty township, known as the Collins Willits farm. Later he moved to a farm half a mile west of Greentown, where he spent
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the remainder of his life, dying when our subject was four years old and leaving a widow with seven children, Joseph being the youngest and Jesse O. the oldest. The children were able to care for the farm for a time until the widow moved successively to Sol- omon, Parsons and Fairmount. Indiana, but later returned to the farm and moved the family to Fremont county, Iowa, when the subject was twelve years old. She later removed to Red Cloud, Ne- braska, where she was called from her earthly labors. The parents of the subject were people of sterling qualities and made every ef- fort to rear their children in the paths of rectitude.
After the death of the subject's mother Joseph and his young- est sister, Nancy Elizabeth, returned to Howard county. She is now the wife of William Johnson, of Kokomo. Joseph was then eighteen years old. and he has since spent his life in his native county. following farming as a life work. He worked for Collins Willets on his father's old farm until he was married at the age of twenty years to Frances Fry, daughter of Noah Fry, of Liberty township. She was born in Henry county and came to Howard county about the time Joseph Lindley went to Iowa. Mr. Lindley worked one year for his father-in-law. Then he rented land in Union township for five or six years, then bought a farm near Vermont, not far from the old Willits farm, buying the house which his father had built. removing it from the Willits farm to his own. His farm was small and he did considerable work for others in the neighborhood. finally selling the place to Mr. Fry and worked for the Clover Leaf Rail- road Company as section boss of the Kokomo section that ran to Vermont. Mr. Lindley then removed to Kokomo after remaining with the road for one year. Then he went to contracting and dig- ging open ditches. He secured some good jobs and made money at this undertaking, as indeed he did of whatever he turned his at- tention to. He continued contracting for eight or nine years, then
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worked for W. H. Higgins, superintendent of the gas company. The head office was in Chicago and Mr. Lindley had charge of a gang of men in Kokomo and was with the former when the first gas well was struck in that vicinity, and worked for that company for a period of ten years, until the gas grew weak, helping lay all the pipes around Kokomo, and while engaged in this work he made a wide acquaintance. The company opened a plumbing shop, with which the subject was connected for one year, when he went back to the gas fields, but returned to his shop in February, 1904. and be- came a candidate for sheriff. He was triumphantly elected, having become generally popular in that vicinity, and held the office for two years, giving entire satisfaction to all his constituents, conse- quently he was re-elected, his term expiring January 1, 1909.
Mr. Lindley has been a Republican all his life and has been ac- tive in all campaigns for many years, being willing to give his time to the furtherance of his county's interests regardless of his per- sonal ambitions, and has shown that he is a most capable public serv- ant, being of a turn to win and hold friends, at the same time devot- ing his undivided attention to his work in a manner that elicits no unfavorable criticism, even from his political rivals. Mr. Lindley composed songs and sang his way into public office. He has a splen- did bass voice. Mr. Lindley lives at the jail and everything about the place is kept scrupulously clean under his supervision. Mr. and Mrs. Lindley have the following children : Jesse O., a plumber : Charles, a plumber : Worley, also a plumber, all three living at Ko- komo: Blanche, wife of William DeLon, of Logansport. Indiana.
The subject is identified with the Red Men and takes an active interest in lodge work. He is well and favorably known in Howard county, for his life has been singularly free from all suspicion of evil doing or wrong of any kind and he has faithfully discharged his duties at all times.
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OF HOWARD COUNTY.
GEORGE A. HANSELL.
The following is the sketch of a plain honest man of affairs. who by correct methods and a strict regard for the interests of his patrons has made his influence felt in Kokomo and won for himself distinctive prestige in the business circles of that city. He would be the last man to sit for romance or become the subject of fancy sketches, nevertheless his life presents much that is interesting and valuable and may be studied with profit by the young, whose careers are yet to be achieved. He is one of those whose integrity and strength of character must force them into an admirable notoriety which their modesty never seeks, who commands the respect of their contemporaries and their posterity and leave the impress of their individuality deeply stamped upon the community.
George A. Hansell, proprietor and manager of the Hansell Coal Company, of Kokomo, is a native of Howard county, Indiana, and the son of Jonathan and Sarah ( Swaney) Hansell, the father born in Ohio, and the mother in Pennsylvania. These parents were married in the latter state and moved to Howard county in an early dlay, settling in the woods of Center township, from which in due time Mr. Hansell cleared a fine farm on which he and his good wife spent the remainder of their days, and which is still in the family name, being now owned by the subject of this review, who has added much to the original tract. George A. Hansell was a man of great industry and sterling worth. He labored diligently to make a home and provide comfortably for his family, attended strictly to his own affairs and combined in his nature many of the best elements of manhood and citizenship. He died in 1869, while still a young man, his widow surviving him until the year 1884. when she too was called to the unseen world.
George A. Hansell was born October 10, 1857, on the home
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farm in Center township, and there in close touch with nature in the woods and fields he grew to manhood's estate. Early in life he im- bibed those principles of honesty, integrity and concentration of purpose which make for character and success and in the district school not far from his home enjoyed the best educational advan- tages the township afforded. Reared amid the stirring duties of the farm he took his place in the fields as soon as old enough to be of service and from that time on nobly bore his part of the cultiva- tion of the crops, and harvesting of the same. in the meantime swinging his ax in the woods much of which fell before his sturdy blows as the place was being developed. His early experience as a tiller of the soil very naturally led him to make that honorable voca- tion his life work, and after the death of his father, while still a mere youth, he assumed the responsibility of managing the farm, later succeeding to the ownership, and in due time became one of the most enterprising and successful agriculturists of his township.
Mr. Hansell continued on the family homestead from his birth until 1902. a period of forty-five years and in addition to cultivat- ing the soil devoted about ten years to the dairy business, in which his success was very satisfactory. In February of 1902 he turned his land over to other hands, moving to Kokomo, engaged in the grocery business, which he followed during the ensuing two years as a member of the firm of Sellers & Hansell, but at the expiration of that period became interested in the coal business which he still carries on, being at this time proprietor and manager of the large coal and wood yard on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. No 179 Buckeye and Main streets, where he commands the largest and most lucrative patronage of the kind in the city. This business, which was established in May, 1904, has steadily grown in magnitude and importance until the yard now occupies two large lots on which have been erected the buildings, sheds and other improvements nec-
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OF HOWARD COUNTY.
where his birth occurred on the 14th day of July, 1858. His fa- ther, Gottlieb Schwenger, a farmer by occupation and a man of in- telligence and good social standing, lived and died in his native land, as did also the mother, both of whom are sleeping the sleep of eternal silence in the old ancestral burial ground near the place where the even tenor of their lives was passed.
The subject of this review received a good education in the land of his birth, but laid aside his studies at the age of fourteen to serve a two years' apprenticeship at the baker's trade, in addition to which time he was obliged to pay the sum of fifty dollars as a partial remuneration for the knowledge imparted to him. In due time he finished his apprenticeship and became quite efficient in his chosen calling, after which he worked at various places until his twentieth year, when, like all young men in Germany, he was obliged to enter the military service, to which the ensuing three years were devoted. At the expiration of his period of enlistment he resumed his trade and continued to work at the same in his native land until 1885, when he became convinced that better op- portunities and more favorable openings were to be found in Amer- ica for men of moderate means, and he decided to try his fortune in the country beyond the sea. In the meantime ( 1883) he mar- ried the young lady of his choice, Caroline Schaufler, so that by the time he was ready to embark upon his new enterprise he had, besides himself, a wife and two children to provide for. Nothing daunted. however, but with a spirit of determination in the new world, when new scenes greeted him in which he was to "lay" the foundation of a fortune and carve out a new destiny, he began at once his ca- reer here.
Shortly after arriving in America Mr. Schwenger proceeded as far west as Chillicothe, Ohio, which place he reached with one hin- dred and two dollars in his pocket, this being the sum total of his
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earthly possessions. He soon secured remunerative employment in that city, where he continued to work at his trade until 1894. when he left the shop in which he had worked for nine consecutive years and came to Kokomo, engaging soon after his arrival with a baker with whom he remained for a period of eighteen months. Sev- ering his connection with Mr. Zuttermeister, his employer, at the end of the time indicated, he and a friend decided to go into the business for themselves. Accordingly each contributed one hundred and twenty-five dollars to equip the establishment, and with this capital they began operations with the most encouraging prospects. the superior grade of their product bringing to the bakery in a short time a large and liberal patronage. Within less than two years Mr. Schwenger purchased his partner's interest and became sole proprietor. Under his able management, progressive methods and honest desire to treat his customers fairly he gradually extended the scope and magnitude of the business, replacing the old bakery in 1904 with the large and splendid modern structure on the corner of Union and Syracuse streets, where he owns one-fourth of a block sixty-seven by one hundred and thirty-three feet in dimen- sions. the building being thoroughly equipped with all modern ap- pliances of first-class establishments of the kind. Mr. Schwenger is not only himself a skillful baker, but in his desire to keep pace with the times and furnish his customers with high-grade bread, cakes, pastry, etc., retains in his employ first-class men only and spares neither effort nor means to make the business of which he is the head representative in its character and second to no other of the kind in the city. This adherence to a straightforward and honorable policy and the treating of his patrons with the considera- tion due them is the key to much of the success which has attended him since locating in this city, and that he is destined to continue the
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OF HOWARD COUNTY.
upright course he has thus far pursued and reap still greater finan- cial rewards is the belief of all who know him or are familiar with his methods.
In connection with baking. in which he leads all competitors, Mr. Schwenger also conducts a large and well appointed restau- rant, which is extensively patronized by the people of Kokomo and transient visitors to the city, the traveling public, as well as farm- ers, mechanics and all classes of artisans finding it an ideal place of entertainment as far as satisfying the appetite and nourishing the physical man is concerned.
Mr. Schwenger came to Kokomo with little of this world's goods, but is now classed with the financially solid and reliable men of the city, having given strict attention to business, honorable deal- ings and a straightforward course, from which no motive has ever caused him to deviate. He has accumulated a handsome fortune. including valuable real estate in the city and large private capital not represented in his business enterprise. His personal relations with his fellow men have ever been mutually agreeable, and the high esteem in which he is held indicates the universal hold he has on the confidence and respect of the people, regardless of class or condition.
He is an active and influential member of the Improved Order of Red Men. the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. the Order of Eagles and Modern Woodmen, and with his wife belongs to the Grace Methodist Episcopal church, the largest religious or- ganization in the city.
His family consists of himself and wife and five children, the two older. Pauline and Sophia, ages twenty-three and twenty-two. respectively, having been born in the old country. The others are : Albert, aged twenty: William, aged seventeen ; and Katherine. a young lady of fourteen years.
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SOLOMON A. PENNINGTON.
Howard county was not lacking in duty during the dark days of the Rebellion, when the ship of state was almost stranded on the rocks of disunion, but contributed her full quota of brave and val- iant men to assist in preserving the integrity of the government. prominent among whom was the well known gentleman and enter- prising citizen whose name appears at the head of this review. Loyal to his country in its hour of peril and extremity, as was demonstrated on many bloody battlefields, he has ever been its stanch supporter in times of peace, and today there are few ex-soldiers of the county as widely and favorably known and none that can boast of a more honorable record. The ranks of the noble organization to which he belonged in the days of his youth are fast being decimated by the one invincible foe, and it is fitting that in every publication of the nature of this volume special tribute be paid to those during the greatest civil war known to history.
The Penningtons trace their genealogy to England, and it is a matter of record that one of the subject's ancestors at one time held the high and honorable position of lord mayor of the city of London. The family was early represented in America and the name appears in connection with the pioneer history of Kentucky, later becoming quite well known in certain parts of Indiana. A. J. Pennington set- tled in Marion county, this state, a number of years ago, and was there married in 1840 to Pollie Avery, whose people moved to In- diana from Pennsylvania, she being a native of the latter state and a descendant of an old and highly esteemed family that settled at quite an early period in one of the eastern colonies. About one or two years after their marriage A. J. and Pollie Pennington moved to Howard county, where they lived for a number of years, Mr. Pennington devoting his attention to agricultural pursuits and meet-
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ing with fair success in his chosen field of labor. Later he disposed of his interests in Howard county and changed his residence to the county of Clinton, where he purchased a farm and continued to live the remainder of his days. Of the four children born to this es- timable couple three sons are living, the subject of this sketch being the first in order of birth.
Solomon A. Pennington is a native of Howard county, Indiana, born on the Ioth day of May, 1846. His early life on the farm was a continuous round of hard work, the country being then compara- tively new, and much labor was required to remove the forest growth and fit the soil for cultivation. Young Solomon contributed his full share to these ends and by reason of his services being in constant demand he had few advantages in the way of obtaining an educa- tion. When fourteen years of age he lost his mother, after which sad event home had for him few attractions. The year following her (lecease he decided to sever the ties which bound him to the family circle and proffer his services to his country. Accordingly in the month of August, 1861, he enlisted in Company I. Thirty-ninth Indiana Cavalry, and was at once sent to the front and his com- mand attached to the Army of the Cumberland. Without narrating in detail his military career, suffice it to state that his command ex- perienced as much hard service as any other regiment in the army. during all of which he bore the part of a brave and gallant soldier. sharing with his comrades the vicissitudes and dangers of war in many of the most noted campaigns and battles in that great strug- gle. among the latter being Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Averysborough, Atlanta and many others, in all one hundred and twenty-seven battles and skirmishes. In the engagement at . Averys- borough, North Carolina, he had two horses shot from under him. besides receiving a serious wound which necessitated his retirement from active service until sufficiently recovered to rejoin his com-
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mand. At the battle of Stone River he had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the enemy, and during the ensuing three months he experienced all the suffering and privation for which the vile den of horrors at Libby Prison, where he lay a prisoner, was noted. In due time he was exchanged, and rejoining his regiment continued to do valiant service for his country until the expiration of his pe- riod of enlistment in August, 1865, when he returned to his home in Howard county and once more resumed the quiet pursuits of civil life. Mr. Pennington's military career is replete with duty faithfully and uncomplainingly performed, and if written in detail would make a volume of deep and absorbing interest. He not only experienced the common lot of the soldier on the many bloody fields of conflict, but frequently found himself in dangerous and hazardous situations besides performing numerous acts of valor, among which was the capture of two Confederate flags with his own hands, one a brigade, the other a headquarters flag, for which signal service he received complimentary notices from his superiors and received due mention in their reports.
In his youth Mr. Pennington became quite a skillful shoemaker, and it was to this trade that he devoted his attention a short time after retiring from the army. Subsequently he accepted a clerkship with a clothing firm, and in 1870 came to Kokomo and engaged in the clothing business, which line of trade he continued with encour- aging success for a number of years, the meantime becoming favor- ably known in commercial circles and taking an active interest in the city's advancement. In 19044 he organized the Finch-Penning- ton Clothing Company, of which he is president, this being the lead- ing establishment of the kind in the city as well as one of the most important mercantile establishments in this part of the state. Since becoming a resident of Kokomo he has been public-spirited in all the term implies, has aided with his means and influence in inaugu-
OF HOWARD COUNTY.
rating and carrying to successful issue a number of important en- terprises, and today there are few men in Howard county as highly esteemed or to whom the public is under so great a debt of gratitude.
Mr. Pennington's married life dates from the year 1869. when he was married to Mary Wickersham, of Howard county, who de- parted this life after a brief wedded experience of less than a year's duration, the union resulting in the birth of one child, who died in infancy. Later he was united in marriage with Emma Welch, who died in September, 1895, leaving two children-a son, Dixon Du- rett, who resides in Victor, Colorado, and a daughter by the name of Clara, who is a member of the home circle and a popular young lady of high social standing. Before her marriage the present Mrs. Pennington was Josephine Austin, of Henry county, Indiana, the daughter of Dr. E. Austin, who lived for a number of years in Hamilton, at which place Mrs. Pennington was reared and educated.
Ever since the close of the Rebellion Mr. Pennington has man- ifested an active interest in military matters, and in addition to sery- ing as major and adjutant in the state militia he was elected junior vice department commander at Terre Haute of the Department of Indiana, Grand Army of the Republic, besides holding other posi- tions in the service from time to time. For a number of years he has devoted considerable attention to all matters relating to the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he is an influential member. and to him more than to any other is the post at Kokomo indebted for its existence and prosperity, having been the leading spirit in bringing about its organization and filling at intervals every office connected with the same. He has also been a lender in the Pythian order, manifesting especial interest in Company No. 6 of the or- ganization and participating in all the contests in which the Kokomo company has taken part. In addition to this fraternal society he holds membership with the Order of Ben-Hur, and is also identified
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with various other enterprises having for their object the social ad- vancement of the community and the moral improvement of his fellow men.
Mr. Pennington affiliates with the Republican party, and since old enough to exercise the rights of citizenship has been an active and influential political worker, being at this time a leader in local affairs and not unknown in the wider domain of state politics. Dur- ing the session of 1898-1899 he served as doorkeeper of the lower house of the general assembly and in 1904-1905 he was chief door- keeper of the state senate, in both of which capacities he rendered valuable service and became widely known among the political lead- ers of the state. In matters religious Mr. Pennington has decided views and earnest convictions, being a devout believer in the sacred Scriptures and a consistent disciple of the meek and lowly Nazarene. Himself and family are identified with the Main Street Christian church of Kokomo, in which he holds the office of deacon. and his daily life affords a commendable example of the beauty and value of the pure and simple faith to which he yields allegiance.
PROF. ELLSWORTH E. ROBEY.
The life of the scholarly or professional man seldom exhibits any of those striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and attract attention to himself. His character is generally made up of the aggregate qualities and qualifications he may possess, as these may be elicited by the exercise of the duties of his vocation or the particular profession to which he belongs. But when such a man has so impressed his individuality upon his fellow men, as to gain their confidence and through that confidence rises to high and im-
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