USA > Indiana > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Indiana > Part 56
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John N. Graham, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farm, to the operation of which he gave his attention until he was thirty- eight years old. He had secured a good practical education in the public schools and gave practical and intelligent direction to his business affairs. In 1898 he came to Franklin and during the following two years he engaged in the buying and shipping of spoke and handle timber, in which he was success- ful. He then engaged in the manufacture of coil hoops, buying out John Schinnerer, south of the Pennsylvania stock yards, and afterwards leased the old Jones & Bergan planing mill on West Jefferson street. In 1900, with Victor Smith, he formed the Franklin Coil Hoop Company, of which, on its incorporation, he became president and general manager. This concern was first engaged in the manufacture of hoops, but has enlarged its scope and now deals extensively in lumber by retail and wholesale, in connection with which they conduct a well equipped planing mill and manufacture porch furniture. They also operate a coal yard. The business of the concern has been on a prosperous basis from the beginning and has continued to grow during the years until it is now one of the most important industries of Franklin. Much
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. of this success has been directly due to the untiring efforts and good manage- ment of Mr. Graham, who has been indefatigable in his labors to further the interests of the concern. He is a shrewd and sagacious business man and is held in high esteem in the business world.
On the 5th of October, 1890, Mr. Graham was united in marriage with Elizabeth A. Oliver, who was born in the Hopewell neighborhood, near Frank- lin, the daughter of John Oliver. To Mr. and Mrs. Graham have been born two daughters, namely: Mary J., a graduate of Franklin College with the class of 1913. and Ruth Elizabeth, who will graduate from the Franklin high school with the class of 1914.
Politically, Mr. Graham is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party and served one term as a member of the city council. However, the heavy de- mands of his business precludes his giving much attention to public affairs. Fraternally. he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, while his religious membership is with the Presbyterian church, to which the other members of the family also belong. Socially, Mr. Graham is a pleasing companion, who en- joys the friendship of all who know him. Of marked domestic tastes, his great- est enjoyment is found in his home where, surrounded by his family, he passes his happiest hours. He takes a commendable interest in the general welfare of the community and his support can always be counted upon for all measures which have for their object the educational, moral, social or material ad- vancement of his fellows.
HON. L. ERT SLACK.
Indiana has been especially honored in the character and career of her active men of public service and the professions. In every section have been found men born to leadership in the various vocations, men who have domi- nated because of their superior intelligence, natural endowment and force of character. It is always profitable to study such lives, weigh their motives and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activity and higher excellence on the part of others. These reflections are suggested by the career of one who has forged his way to the front ranks and who, by a strong inherent force and superior ability, controlled by intelligence and judgment of a high order, stands today as one of the leading men of his state. No citizen in central Indiana has achieved more honorable mention or occupies a more conspicuous place in the public eye than L. Ert Slack, of Franklin, who, though just at the threshold of the prime of life, has already an enviable
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reputation as a lawyer in a community noted for the high order of its legal talent, while as the representative of his community in the Legislature of his state he achieved a success creditable to himself and an honor to his con- stituency. Success is methodical and consecutive, and Mr. Slack's success has been attained by normal methods and means-the determined application of mental and physical resources along a rightly defined line. A self-made man in the truest sense of the term, Mr. Slack is eminently deserving of representation in the annals of Johnson county.
L. Ert Slack is descended from sterling old Scotch-Irish ancestry, though the family, in both the paternal and maternal lines, has been identified with this country for a number of generations. Reason Slack, the subject's paternal grandfather, who was born in Ohio in 1803, came to Indiana with his parents in 1813, and in his youth he took an active part in the arduous labors incident to the clearing up of the land and the opening of a farm in Hensley township, Johnson county. In that township he later entered land for himself and there he spent the rest of his days, dying at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He attained to considerable prominence in the civic and public life of Johnson in his day and at one time served as a member of the board of county commissioners. He was twice married and reared a family of nine children.
Henry Teeters, maternal: grandfather off L. Ert Slack, was a native of Kentucky, and later became a ;pioneci bule; Hoosier state, coming here in young manhood and locating in Green township. Morgan county, spending the remainder of his life on the farm on which he originally located, dying in 1899, at the age of seventy-eight years. He too, was married twice, children being born to both unions.
Elisha O. Slack, son of Reason Slack, was reared on the paternal home- stead in Hensley township, Johnson county, and during his active years devoted himself to the pursuits of farming and stock raising, but is now practically retired from active life. For many years he has been one of the most highly esteemed men of his section of the state and in all the relations of life-family, church, state and society-he has displayed that consistent spirit, that innate refinement and unswerving integrity that have won for him universal confidence and respect. He has taken a large interest in the public affairs of his locality and at one time served efficiently as assessor of his township. He married Nancy A. Teeters, daughter of Henry Teeters, and they are both earnest members of the Christian church. To them have been born five children, two sons and three daughters, namely: Mary, the wife (37)
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of Prof. Webb Hunt, formerly of Trafalgar, Johnson county, now con- nected with the public schools of Muncie, Indiana; Maude: Jessie, the wife of Guy Clore, of Union township, this county; L. Ert. the immediate subject of this sketch, and Henry T., who died at the age of twelve years.
L. Ert Slack was reared on the old homestead near Trafalgar and he is indebted to the common schools for his educational advantages. That he was a diligent and faithful pupil is evidenced in the fact that for a period of five years he neither missed a day at school nor was once tardy. Intensely ambitious and energetic, Mr. Slack, even during his school days, spent his leisure hours in learning the trade of a blacksmith, which vocation, however, he never followed, for at the age of seventeen years he secured a position in the Central Hospital for the Insane, at Indianapolis, where he remained for four and a half years. In the meantime he had decided to make the practice of law his life work and to this end was employing all his odd hours in the study of Kent, Blackstone and other standard authorities, in which he prepared himself so well that, in the fall of 1896, he was enabled to enter the senior year in the Indiana Law School and was admitted to the bar at Franklin on September 6, 1897. He immediately formed a partnership with W. E. Deupree, now judge of the circuit court, under the firm name of Deu- pree & Slack, and on the same day he was appointed deputy prosecuting attorney for Johnson county, the duties of which position he discharged with efficiency and with credit to himself until November 15, 1898, when he re- signed. From the beginning of his professional career Mr. Slack demon- strated ability of a high order, and on December 4, 1899, he received the appointment as county attorney for one year, an honor which was repeated six times consecutively. Mr. Slack had from his youth taken a deep interest in public affairs and the current issues of the day, on all of which he held positive opinions, and he had so impressed himself on the Democratic party of his county that on February 24, 1900, he received the nomination for rep- resentative to the General Assembly, by four hundred and fifty votes over a popular competitor, John M. Dill, and on November 6th following he was elected over Eugene A. Robinson by five hundred and twenty-eight votes. In the Lower House he was assigned to the committees on judiciary, educa- tion, county and township business, cities and towns, and mileage and ac- counts, where he rendered such efficient and satisfactory service that his con- stituents wisely decided that he had earned a re-election, his renomination, on November 29, 1901, being without opposition. He was recognized in the Legislature as a man of unusual ability and force, a tireless worker, and devoted to the best interests of the people he represented, and in the session
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of 1903 he was the choice of his party, which was then in the minority in the House, for speaker of that body. In 1904 Mr. Slack was elected state sen- ator from the district composed of Johnson and Shelby counties, serving during the sessions of 1905 and 1907. In thought, speech and act Mr. Slack became one of the most distinguished members of the General Assembly of his state, his splendid and efficient work in committees, his eloquent and sparkling speeches in the legislative halls, and the measures of legislation which he inaugurated and accomplished comprising a record alike creditable to himself and an honor to his county.
In the practice of law L. Ert Slack has achieved an enviable reputation, for years of conscientious work have brought with them not only increase of patronage, but also that growth in legal knowledge and that wise and accurate judgment the possession of which constitutes marked excellence in the pro- fession. He has evinced a familiarity with legal principles and a ready per- ception of facts, with the ability to apply the one to the other, which has won for him the reputation of a safe and sound practitioner. In the trial of cases he is uniformly courteous to court and opposing counsel, caring little for dis- play, but seeking to impress the jury by weight of facts in his favor and by clear, logical argument than by appeal to passion or prejudice. In discus- sions of the principles of law he is noted for clearness of statement and can- dor. He seeks faithfully for firm ground, and having once found it nothing can drive him from his position. His zeal for a client never leads him to urge an argument which in his judgment is not in harmony with the law, and in all the important litigation with which he has been connected no one has ever charged him with anything calculated to bring discredit upon him- self or cast a reflection upon his profession. His life affords a splendid example of what an American youth, plentifully endowed with good com- mon sense, energy and determination, may accomplish when directed and con- trolled by correct moral principles.
On October 31, 1897, L. Ert Slack was united in marriage to Mary Shields, of Columbus, Indiana, the daughter of F. G. Shields. To them was born one child, which died in infancy. Mrs. Slack is a lady of many gracious qualities of heart, which have endeared her to a large circle of warm friends.
Fraternally, Mr. Slack is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 2640; Johnson Lodge No. 76, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Franklin, while in the Masonic order he is affiliated with Franklin Lodge No. 107; Franklin Chapter No. 65, Royal Arch Masons; Franklin Commandery No. 23, Knights Templar; In- dianapolis Consistory, thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite, and to Murat
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Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Religiously, he is a member, with his wife, of the Christian Science church at Franklin. Through the years of his residence in this locality, Mr. Slack has been true to every trust reposed in him, whether of a public, professional or private nature, and he has com- manded the respect of all who know him. Possessing a kindly and genial disposition, he readily makes friends and is a very agreeable companion. Mr. Slack possesses a splendid library and is well read in the world's best litera- ture and well informed on a wide range of topics, his public speeches exhibit- ing familiarity with facts outside his profession often found lacking in those who confine their study and thoughts to their life vocation. Johnson county has been dignified by his life and achievements and he is eminently deserving of this feeble tribute to his worth as a man and a lawyer.
PHILANDER W. PAYNE, M. D.
Among those who stand as distinguished types of the world's workers is Dr. Philander W. Payne, one of the able and honored pioneer physicians and surgeons of Franklin, Indiana, who is now spending the serene Indian summer of his years in honorable retirement from the more active duties of life. He is a man of fine intellectual and professional attainments, of most gracious personality, of strong and noble character, and who has labored with zeal, devotion and success in the alleviation of human suffering. As one of those who have lent dignity and honor to the medical profession in Indiana and who brought to his chosen vocation the strength and devotion of a great soul and a broad mind, it is most consonant that in this publication be entered and perpetuated a tribute to his worth. He is plain and unas- suming, a fine type of the self-made man. He is charitable and benevolent; those in need or distress of body or mind seek not his aid in vain. These and many other commendable qualities have won for him the good will and esteem of the people of Johnson county. It is no very rare thing for a boy in our country to become a prosperous man and occupy a commanding position in the world's affairs, but many who have fought their way to a place of influence in the various relations of life, retain some marks and scars of the conflict. They are apt to become narrow and grasping, even if not sordid and unscrupulous. Doctor Payne, however, is an instance of a man who has achieved success without paying the price at which it is so often bought; for his success has not removed him away from his fellow men, but has
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brought him into nearer and closer relations with them, and he has through the years been a potential factor for the upbuilding of the community and the advancement of the highest and best interests of the people with whom he has mingled and been associated.
Philander W. Payne is a native son of the old Buckeye state and good old Yankee blood flows in his veins. He was born on March 9, 1832, in Bedford, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, and is the son of George M. and Susan (Holcomb) Payne, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Con- necticut. George M. Payne was during the early part of his life a farmer, but later engaged in the furniture business and he was fairly successful in his enterprises. From his native state he removed to Pennsylvania, and from that state to Ohio, where he lived until 1855, when he came to Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, where for a number of years he was one of the prominent merchants of the town, being a dealer in furniture. His death occurred here in his ninety-fourth year; his wife had died at Queensville, Jennings county, Indiana, at the age of sixty-six years. Fraternally, George Payne was a member of the Masonic order during practically all of his mature life and devoted much of his time and attention to the work of the order. His religious membership was with the Christian church. To him and his wife were born seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor.
Philander Payne accompanied his parents on their removal to Johnson county in 1855. His early education had been received in the common schools, which was supplemented by study at Wabash College, af Crawfordsville, this state. Having determined to take up the practice of medicine, he pursued a course of technical study in the medical department of the' University of Michigan and in Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Later he took a post- graduate course in the medical department of the University of New York and at Bellevue Hospital Medical College and the Post-Graduate School of New York City. Thus well equipped, Doctor Payne came to Franklin and was here actively engaged in the practice of medicine continuously up to the time of his retirement, about a year ago. Local conditions at the time he entered upon the practice were vastly different from conditions today, and the lot of the pioneer physician was far from pleasant. Bridgeless streams, almost impassable roads and the absence of almost all the modern conveniences of transportation and communication mark a sharp contrast to the present- day environments of the physician. Doctor Payne in his early practice rode
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horseback to almost every corner of Johnson county and was probably as well known as any man in the county. He was very successful in the practice and was often called to distant points for consultation. Recognizing the univer- sal brotherhood of man, and the truth that he serves God best who serves humanity most, he gave to his calling a devotion and concentration which often called for great self-sacrifice and personal inconvenience. Large- hearted and sympathetic, he carried with him the spirit of cheerfulness and optimism, which made him a welcome visitor wherever he went, whether professionally or otherwise.
Doctor Payne was married to Mary Forsythe, of Franklin, and to them were born seven children, namely: George, who is a successful farmer in Needham township, this county; C. F., a well known and successful physi- cian of Franklin; R. W., also a practicing physician at Franklin; Artemissa, wife of M. J. Voris, of Franklin; Levonia, the wife of S. C. Newsom, of Tucson, Arizona; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Martin, of Indianapolis, and Mary, the wife of E. L. Beck, of Mexico City, Mexico. Mrs. Payne, who is deceased, is remembered as a lady of splendid character, who was to her devoted husband a helpmate in the truest sense of the term and who was beloved by all who knew her.
Politically, Doctor Payne is a supporter of the Republican party, while, fraternally, he has been a Mason since attaining his majority. His religious membership is with the Christian church, of which he has long been a faith- ful and earnest member. He gives conscientious attention to the spiritual verities and is a deep student of the Holy Writings, being a stanch believer in the divinity of Christ and the other fundamental principles which underlie the Christian religion. Personally, he is a man of excellent parts and en- joys to a marked degree the confidence and good will of all who know him.
HARRY BRIDGES.
The gentleman whose name appears at the head of this biographical re- view needs no introduction to the people of Johnson county, since his entire active life has been spent here, a life devoted not only to the fostering of his own interests, but also to the welfare of the community at large. An honor- able representative of one of the esteemed families of his section and a gentle- man of high character and worthy ambitions, he has filled no small place in the public view, as the important official positions he has held bear witness.
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He is a splendid type of the intelligent, up-to-date, self-made American in the full sense of the term, a man of the people, with their interests at heart. As a citizen he is progressive and abreast of the times in all that concerns the common weal. Although a partisan, with strong convictions and well defined opinions on questions on which men and parties divide, he has the esteem and confidence of the people of the community and his personal friends are in num- ber as his acquaintances, regardless of party ties.
Harry Bridges, the present efficient and popular treasurer of Johnson county, was born on his father's farm near Trafalgar, Hensley township, Johnson county, Indiana, on December 12, 1872. He is the son of William A. and Alice M. (Hunter) Bridges, both of whom were born in the same locality, and both now live in Franklin. The father, who during his active life was an industrious and successful farmer, is now practically retired from active pur- suits. For many years he was prominent in the public life of Johnson county, having served two terms as a member of the board of county commissioners during the eighties and, beginning with January 1, 1900, he served two terms as county treasurer, discharging his duties in a, manner highly creditable to himself and his fellow citizens. The Bridges family is originally from Ken- tucky, the subject's grandfather, George Bridges, who was born in 1800, hav- ing come to Johnson county in 1827, settling in Hensley township, where he became a successful farmer. His death occurred there on August 22, 1872. He was married three times, first to a Miss Forsythe, by whom he had seven children; then to Martha Clarke, the grandmother of the subject of this sketch, to whom was born one child, the subject's father, and the third marriage was to a Miss Prather, by whom six children were born. To the subject's par- ents were born three children: Otis, who resides on his father's farm in Hensley township; Dell, the wife of Wiley E. Waggoner, of Franklin, and Harry, the immediate subject of this sketch.
Harry Bridges spent his youthful years on his father's farm, in the cultivation of which he gave his assistance as soon as old enough. He at- tended the district schools and also the school at Franklin, graduating from the high school, after which he spent three years in Franklin College, thus be- coming well prepared for life's duties. Under President Cleveland's last administration he was deputy postmaster of Franklin and then returned to the home farm, to the cultivation of which he gave his attention until 1900, since when he has been identified with the public affairs of the county with the exception of four years when he was an employee of the Big Four railroad as assistant agent at Franklin. He served four years as deputy treasurer of Johnson county under his father, and then after quitting the employ of the
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railroad he served as deputy treasurer under T. J. Forsythe. He thus became well acquainted with the duties of the office and, his general efficiency and trust- worthiness having been demonstrated to the satisfaction of his fellow citizens, he was, in 1912, elected on the Democratic ticket to the office of county treas- urer, the duties of which he assumed on January 1, 1913, receiving the largest majority ever given a candidate for public office in Johnson county, which cer- tainly stands in marked testimony to his popularity among his fellow citizens.
On October 20, 1897, Mr. Bridges was married to Kate Vaught, the daughter of Andrew and Anna Vaught, of Franklin, and to them have been born three sons : William A., Jr., Charles E. and Harold. Religiously, Mr. Bridges is a member of the Baptist church and, fraternally, a Mason, belong- ing to both the York and Scottish Rites. In Franklin Commandery No. 23, Knights Templar, of Franklin, Mr. Bridges has taken a deep interest and is a past eminent commander of that body. He is widely known throughout the county and is deservedly popular among all classes of people by whom he is known.
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