History of Johnson County, Indiana, Part 57

Author: Branigin, Elba L., 1870-
Publication date: 1972
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen, [Evansville, Ind.], [Unigraphic, Inc.]
Number of Pages: 981

USA > Indiana > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Indiana > Part 57

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J. A. THOMPSON.

In a brief sketch of any living citizen it is difficult to do him exact and impartial justice, not so much, however, for lack of space or words to set forth the familiar and passing events of his personal history, as for want of the perfect and rounded conception of his whole life, which grows, develops and ripens, like fruit, to disclose its truest and best flavor only when it is mellowed by time. Daily contact with the man so familiarizes us with his virtues that we ordinarily overlook them and commonly underestimate their possessor. It is not often that true honor, public or private, that honor which is the tribute of cordial respect and esteem, comes to a man without basis in character and deeds. The world may be deceived by fortune, or by ornamental or showy qualities, without substantial merit, and may render to the undeserving a fortuitous and short-lived admiration, but the honor that wise and good men value and that lives beyond the grave must have its foun- dation in real worth, for "worth maketh the man." Not a few men live unheralded and almost unknown beyond the narrow limits of the city or community wherein their lots are cast, who yet have in them, if fortune had opened to them a wider sphere of life, the elements of character to make statesmen or public benefactors of world-wide fame. Compared with the blazon of fame which some regard as the real seal or stamp of greatness, there is a lowlier and simpler, and yet true standard whereby to judge of them

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J. A. THOMPSON

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and fix their place in the regard of their fellow men. During his life of near- ly sixty years. in Edinburgh, its people have had means to know what manner . of man J. A. Thompson is. The record of testimony is ample that he is a good citizen in the full sense of the term, and worthy of honor and public trust, ever doing worthily and well whatever he puts his hand to do-an encomium worthy of being coveted by every man.

J. A. Thompson was born on, October 1, 1855, at Edinburg, Johnson county, Indiana, and comes of a long line of sterling Southern ancestry. He is, the son of Alfred C. and Mariah (Carvin) Thompson, the former born in Grainger county, Tennessee, in 1811, and the latter born in Virginia in 1812. Alfred C. Thompson was brought to Indiana by his parents in 1816 and, owing to their modern circumstances and the lack of local educational facilities, his school training was meager. However, he was a man of large natural endowment and force of character and, by dint of the most persistent industry, enterprising spirit and able management, forged ahead until he became one of the leading and most influential citizens of his community. In. 1870 he established a private bank in Edinburg, under the name of A. C. Thompson Bank, to the active management of which he devoted his atten- tion, with splendid success until his death, which occurred on January, I, 1889. He had forged his way to the front lahks in Johnson county by his strong inherent force and superior business ability, and he left the impress of his personality on the community. He was essentially a man among men and as a citizen he easily ranked with the most influential of his compeers. He had a deep interest in the general welfare of the community and every movement looking to the advancement of his eity received his warm support.

Politically, A. C. Thompson was originally a Whig, but on the formation of the Republican party he gave it his support, though he never aspired to public office of any nature. He was an ardent and earnest member of the Christian church, in which he held office and to which he gave a liberal support.

To A. C. and Mariah Thompson were born the following children : Edward C., who also had been engaged in the banking business, died at the age of sixty-five years; Hannah E. is the widow of Gideon McEwen, who during his life was an extensive farmer near Columbus, Indiana, in which city she is now residing; J. A., the immediate subject of this sketch.

J. A. Thompson received his elementary education in the public schools, supplementing this by attendance at the Northwestern Christian College, now Butler College, at Indianapolis. Upon the completion of his education, in 1875, he entered his father's bank as a bookkeeper, where he quickly mas-

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tered the "ins and outs" of financial transactions, and eventually became a partner with his father in the bank, which has always remained a private bank. In 1872 his father had erected a splendid and substantial building especially for the bank and it is still located therein. This bank ,has had a most successful career and has long been numbered among the most sub- stantial institutions of Johnson county, largely due to the wise and conserva- tive management of Mr. Thompson, as well as the liberal policy of the bank towards those who have deserved its assistance and support. The present officers of the bank are as follows: President, J. A. Thompson; cashier, A. J. Loughery; assistant cashier, Frank D. Thompson. The statement of the condition of the bank on June 14, 1912, was as follows: Liabilities-Capi- tal stock, $50,000.00; due to other banks, $381.71; exchange, discounts and interest, $6,408.83; deposits, $326,283.47; total, $383,074.01. Resources- Loans and discounts, $242,842.76; taxes, $477.14; overdrafts, $388.75; other bonds and securities, $7,836.23; due from banks, $109,585.08; cash on hand, $19,733.66; current expenses, $2,210.39; total, $383,074.01. Mr. Thompson is widely known in banking circles and at the meeting of the American Bank- ers' Association, which met at Detroit in 1912, he was chosen vice-president of the association for the state of Indiana.

Politically, J. A. Thompson is a staunch Republican and takes an active interest in the success of that party. He is deeply interested in educational affairs and served efficiently on the board of education for twenty years. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order at Edinburg, and has also attained to the Knight Templar degree in the York Rite, belonging to the commandery at Franklin, while in the Scottish Rite he has been honored with the thirty-third degree, the highest possible attainment in Masonry. He is also a member of Murat Temple, Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis.

In 1879 J. A. Thompson was united in marriage to Clara Denning, the daughter of D. J. and Heppy (White) Denning, and to this union have been born two children, namely: Rebie, who became the wife of Clarence Cut- singer ; Frank D., who is assistant cashier of his father's bank.

PROF. JESSE C. WEBB.

The men most influential in promoting the advancement of society and in giving character to the times in which they live are two classes, to-wit, the men of study and the men of action. Whether we are more indebted for the

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improvement of the age to the one class or the other is a question of honest difference in opinion; neither class can be spared and both should be encour- aged to occupy their several spheres of labor and influence, zealously and with- out mutual distrust. In the following paragraphs are briefly outlined the lead- ing facts and characteristics in the career of a gentleman who combines in his make-up the elements of the scholar and the energy of the public-spirited man of affairs. Devoted to the noble and humane work of teaching, he has made his influence felt în the school life of Johnson county and is not unknown in the wider educational circles of the state, occupying as he does a prominent place in his profession and standing high in the esteem of educators in other than his particular field of endeavor.

Jesse C. Webb, the present efficient and popular county superintendent of schools, is a.native of Johnson county and was born on June 12, 1874. He is the son of John S. and Nancy E. (Welliver) Webb, the former a native of Shelby county, Indiana, and the latter of Butler county, Ohio. John S.Webb, who was a farmer, came from Shelby county to Johnson county in 1856 and thereafter followed agricultural pursuits in Needham township until 1875, when he removed to Franklin township, where he spent the remainder of his life. Religiously, he was an earnest member of the Baptist church, while, politically, he was a Democrat, having cast his first presidential vote for Buchanan in 1856. The subject's grandfather, Zachariah Webb, was a son of John and Nancy (Taylor) Webb and came to Clark county, Indiana, in 1815, and to Shelby county, this state, in 1817. Zachariah Webb's grand- mother, Nancy ( Davis) Webb, was a cousin to Zachariah Taylor, President of the United States. The subject's great-grandmother, Nancy A. (Huff) Webb, was born in Xenia, Ohio, and came with her parents, Joseph and Han- nah (Finley) Huff, to Shelby county, Indiana, where her father followed the vocation of a millwright. He built and operated the old Red mill in Shelby county, which was afterwards converted into a woolen mill, and later re-con- verted into a flouring mill. Mr. Webb's maternal great-grandmother, Han- nah (Finley) Huff, was a sister of Rev. James B. Finley, a celebrated Meth- odist minister in Ohio in early days. The subject's great-grandmother, Nancy Davis, was a daughter of Richard Davis, who was the brother of Samuel Davis, the father of Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Con- federacy. The Webb family line of ascent is traced back to the royal family of England. John S. Webb died in March, 1907, and his widow in March, 1908. They were the parents of twelve children, eight of whom are living. namely : Mrs. Nina B. Branigin, of Canton, Mississippi; Mrs. Helena A. Core, of Franklin : Mrs. Lulu E. Hunt, of Franklin; Daniel C., also of Frank-

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lin; Jesse C., the immediate subject of this sketch; Samuel J., of Franklin; Marquis D., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; Mrs. Mary E. Clore, of Franklin.

Jesse C. Webb attended the common schools, from which he graduated in 1890, and then attended the Franklin high school where he graduated in 1894. He then entered Franklin College, where he was graduated in 1898, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, taking the Master's degree in 1900. He also attended Chicago University, where he studied under Joseph Pratt Judson, now president of the university, and Ella Flagg Young, now superintendent of the Chicago public schools, while at Indiana State University he studied under William Lowe Bryan, president.

Thus well prepared for his chosen life work, Mr. Webb, in 1899, engaged in teaching and for a number of years was successfully employed in the town- ship district and high schools. So eminently satisfactory were his services that he attracted the attention of the township trustees of the county who, in 1903, elected him county superintendent of schools. In that position he demonstrated abilities of such high order that he was re-elected to the posi- tion in 1907 and again in 1911, and is now discharging the duties of that responsible position to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned. Prof. Webb is the holder of a teacher's state life certificate, granted in 1905. He is an active and prominent member of the National Superintendents' Association and from 1910 to 1913 he was a member of the state board of education. His work in every department of education has been characteristically practical and in superintending and in devising or modifying the course of study he possesses to a remarkable degree the sense of proportion and fitness. Con- tinuous application has given him a clear and comprehensive insight into the philosophy of education and the largest wisdom as to methods and means. Although a school man in the broadest and best sense of the term and, as such, making every other consideration secondary to his professional and official duties Superintendent Webb has never become narrow or pedantic, but is a well-rounded, symmetrically developed man, fully alive to the demands of the times, thoroughly informed on the leading questions before the public and takes broad views of men and things. He believes in progress in every de- partment of life and manifests an abiding interest in whatever makes for the material advancement of the community in any way. While in college he was actively interested in athletics, playing on the football and baseball teams, and he is still in hearty accord with all laudable and healthful pastimes and sports that tend to strengthen and develop the physical powers.

On August 6, 1902, Jesse C. Webb was married to Estelle Jones, of Franklin. the daughter of W. C. and Margaret E. Jones and a great-great-

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granddaughter of David Forsythe, the first. She is a member of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution and the Tri Delta Delta sorority and is a popular member of the social circles in which she moves. To Professor and Mrs. Webb has been born a daughter, Dorothea L. Welliver Webb.

Fraternally, Professor Webb is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and in the former order has attained to the orders of Knight Templar, holding membership in Franklin Commandery No. 23. Religiously, he is a member of the First Baptist church and has served as superintendent of the Sunday school for the past three years.

COLUMBUS HORATIO HALL, A. M., B. D., D. D.

The life of the scholarly or professional man seldom exhibits any of those striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and attract attention to him- self. 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 may belong. But when such a man has so impressed his individuality upon his fellow men as to gain their confidence, and through that confidence be retained in im- portant positions, he becomes a conspicuous figure in the body politics of the community. The subject of this review is one of the scholarly men of his state, who, not content to hide his talents amid life's sequestered ways, by the force of will and a laudable ambition forged to the front in an exacting and responsible calling and earned an honorable reputation in one of the most important branches of public service. A well educated, symmetrically de- veloped man, his work as an educator has for many years been of such a high standard of excellence that his position in the front rank of his pro- fession has long been conceded. Keeping abreast the times in advanced edu- cational methods, and possessing a broad and comprehensive knowledge, he is, because of his high attainments, well rounded character and large influence, eminently entitled to representation in the annals of his county.

Columbus H. Hall, who, after nearly four decades of active and effective labor in the educational field, is now retired from the activities which formerly commanded his best efforts, is a native son of the Hoosier state, having been born at Chili, Miami county, on November 17, 1846. His parents, Nelson C. and Letitia (Griswold) Hall, were natives, respectively, of New York and Vermont, both descending from sterling old Eastern families, from whom they inherited those characteristics which enabled them, in an early day, to

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forsake the comforts and ties of their old home and take up life in the new and still comparatively undeveloped West, of which Indiana was then a part. However, Nelson C. Hall, with a sagacity and courage characteristic of the pioneers of that day, boldly cast his lot with the new community and there he identified himself with the life of the people and, as the proprietor of "the village store," he became a man of considerable local importance and influence. With the exception of seven years which were spent by the family at Akron, Indiana, the village of Chili remained the home of Columbus Hall during his boyhood and early manhood. His early education was received in the schools of his home neighborhood and in'the high school at Peru. In 1862 he was converted in a Methodist church at Akron, and about two years later he joined a Baptist church in the country near his home. He had an intense longing for a higher education than was afforded him thus far, and in the fall of 1866 he became a student in the Ladoga (Indiana) Seminary. A year later he fol- lowed Prof. William Hill from Ladoga to Franklin College, which Professor Hill was then re-opening, and here he remained until the middle of his senior year, February, 1872, when the college suspended. He at once entered Chi- cago University, where he completed his course and was graduated in the following June. He had "seen the vision of the Christ" and had consecrated himself to the ministry and, to the end that he might prepare himself for his life work, he entered the Baptist Theological Seminary at Chicago, where he graduated in April, 1875, receiving, the same year, the degree of Master of Arts from Franklin College and the University of Chicago. In May, 1874, he was ordained a minister in the Prairie Vine church, in Newton county, Indi- ana, and at once entered enthusiastically upon his long cherished career as a minister of the gospel. However, early in 1875 he was invited and urged to become a teacher in Franklin College, and, though it meant the breaking up of his plans and purposes, he obeyed the call to duty, and, moved by his intense interest in the educational progress of his native state, began his work there in September of that year. He taught, in turn, Greek, science and Latin, but in 1879 was placed permanently at the head of the Greek department and under his guidance and direction Franklin College became noted in this department. The study of Greek language and literature is generally con- ceded to be one of the best disciplines for the mind in the entire college cur- riculum, besides which, the language itself deserves a close and critical study. A country's literature inevitably exhibits the characteristics of the people, and, as in the realm of art Greece stands without a peer, so its language is the most artistic and expressive the world has ever known. Doctor Hall loved Greek

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for its own sake and he was able to impart to his students a love and apprecia- tion for the language that they had not had before. Possessing marked poetic instincts, he was able to catch the beauty of the rhythm and the music of the cadence and, catching his inspiration and enthusiasm, those under him were stimulated to greater study and larger results than could otherwise have been attained.

In 1885 Doctor Hall was elected vice-president of Franklin College, and in 1894 he spent several months traveling in Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land, and in 1911 Dr. Hall and Mrs. Hall spent two months traveling in Europe, visiting Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, France, England and Scotland. On June 12, 1912, after thirty-seven years of continuous service as an educator, all of them with Franklin College, Doctor Hall resigned and has since been living quietly in his comfortable home at Franklin. In addi- tion to his college work, Doctor Hall continued to perform some work as a minister and for thirty-three years he has served as pastor of the Hurricane Baptist church. As preacher and teacher he always did his very best and the good he accomplished passes any finite measure. In the cause of Christian education he devoted the best years of his life, and it is not possible to measure adequately the height, depth and breadth of such a life, for its in- fluence will continue to permeate the lives of others through succeeding gen- erations. Doctor Hall has ever held the unequivocal confidence and esteem of the people among whom he has labored so long and so earnestly.

On June 15, 1875. Doctor Hall was united in marriage with Theodosia Parks. She was born at Bedford, Indiana, on July 13, 1856; a daughter of Rev. R. N. and James (Short) Parks. Rev. R. N. Parks was one of the pioneer Baptist preachers of Indiana. Mrs. Hall graduated from Franklin College, class of 1875. being the youngest person ever graduated from the college. For one year after graduation she was a tutor in the college. To Dr. and Mrs. Hall have come nine children, as follows: Zoe Parks Hall, deceased, who was the wife of John Hall. and died on December 21. 1907: Mary Griswold Hall is the wife of Dr. G. M. Selby, and they reside at Sheridan, Wyoming: Albert Arnold Bennett Hall, assistant professor of political science in the University of Wisconsin: Theodore Hall, who died on June 18, 1884: Letitia Theodora Hall is the head of the Latin department in the Emerson School, Gary, Indiana: Warren Short Hall is assistant mana- ger of the Fame Laundry, Toledo, Ohio: Nelson Clarence Hall is a teacher in the Rock River Military Academy, Dixon, Illinois; Esther Marguerite Hall is attending Franklin College; Florence Christine Hall is a student in the public school.

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JAMES THOMAS POLK.

The two most strongly marked characteristics of both the East and the West are combined in the residents of the section of country of which this volume treats. The enthusiastic enterprise which overleaps all obstacles and makes possible almost any undertaking in the comparatively new and vigorous Western states is here tempered by the stable and more careful policy that we have borrowed from our Eastern neighbors, and the combination is one of peculiar force and power. It has been the means of placing this section of the country on a par with the older East, at the same time producing a re- liability and certainty in business affairs which is frequently lacking in the West. This happy combination of characteristics is possessed by the subject of this brief sketch. Additional interest attaches to the subject because dur- ing the dark, troublesome days of the sixties he proved his love and loyalty to the government by enlisting in its defense and in the Southland he por- formed valiant and courageous service for his country. To such as he the country is under a debt of gratitude which it can not repay and in centuries yet to be posterity will commemorate the splendid defense of national integ- rity which characterized the boys in blue during the sixties.

J. T. Polk was born in Gibson county, Indiana, on February 25, 1846, and is the son of George W. and Mary (Emory) Polk, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Gibson county, Indiana. The father, who was born south of the Ohio river, across from Evansville, was a furniture-maker and cabinet-maker by vocation, having learned the trade at Evansville at a time before machinery had been installed in such factories, and all of the work was done by hand. Later in life he followed the saw-mill business and then took up farming, cultivating one hundred acres of land. In 1861 he came to Greenwood, Johnson county, Indiana, and bought his first farm, which was covered with timber and to the clearing and cultivation of which he gave his attention. At that time Greenwood was a village of but little prominence or promise of future prosperity, containing but one store of any importance and a few cabins. Here Mr. Polk remained until his death. He was the father of six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only one living.

J. T. Polk secured a practical common school education, supplemented by extensive home reading. He was very ambitious to secure a better education, but his plans were interrupted by the Southern rebellion and he ardently de- sired to enlist in the national army, but he was too young and was compelled to remain inactive until 1863, when, without his father's consent, he enlisted

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in Company M, First Indiana Heavy Artillery. The command was assigned to the Army of the South, and at Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Mobile Bay they took an active part in the campaigns of that army. This company of artillery fired the last shot of the war and to Mr. Polk belongs the distinction of having helped to fire the last cannon ball that closed up this conflict in as- sisting in the capture of Mobile Bay. After the close of the war Mr. Polk returned home, and, after attending the common schools for a short time, he went to Shurtliff College, at Alton, Illinois, where he studied for one year and a term, when, because of failing health, he was compelled to desist from his studies and for awhile engaged in work as a bood salesman. He then came home, but a short time later he was compelled to go to the Danville Sanitarium. where for nine months he endeavored to regain his health. He was then with his father in a tile factory for a short time, when, feeling that his health was again established, he entered Chicago University, but his health would not stand the strain and he was again compelled to give up his studies. Return- ing home, he took up farming, in which he began to specialize with the view of starting and operating a canning factory. Planting a half acre to tomatoes, he commenced canning the fruit, which he sold to restaurants and hotels at Indianapolis. He was successful in this enterprise, gradually branched out and in the course of time he had one of the largest and most complete canning factories in the country, employing from two hundred to three hundred men. and during the busy season as high as one thousand to two thousand men, women and children. Eventually be sold this factory and started in the dairy business, in which his greatest success has been achieved, his business now being one of the largest in the United States in this line. This business, which has been under Mr. Polk's management now about twenty years, has gradually grown in scope and importance, the Indianapolis factory being enlarged from time to time until today there is nothing to compare with it in the Middle West. Mr. Polk's first activity in the dairy business was in 1888, at which time he had a herd of Holstein and Jersey cattle, the most of the product of which he sold to the Tanglewood Dairy Company. Eventually he bought the latter company and began the delivery of milk to the dairy company which he organ- ized in Indianapolis. Mr. Polk has owned the major part of the stock and has controlled the business policy of the company from the start and to his sound judgment and progressive methods is its spendid success due, though credit also should be given to Samuel O. Dungan, Mr. Polk's son-in-law, who is vice-president and secretary of the company and who has had active charge of the Indianapolis business. The company first began business at No. 613

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History of Johnson County, Indiana, Part 57

Author: Branigin, Elba L., 1870- Publication date: 1972 Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen, [Evansville, Ind.], [Unigraphic, Inc.] Number of Pages: 981

Author: Branigin, Elba L., 1870-
Publication date: 1972
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen, [Evansville, Ind.], [Unigraphic, Inc.]
Number of Pages: 981