USA > Indiana > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Indiana > Part 79
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the lower house of the state Legislature for two terms during the years 1887 to 1889; Silas A. lives on the home farm in Nineveh township; Edward F., who died on October 12, 1902, was also an attorney by profession and had served as county attorney and as deputy county clerk; Mary D., Viola, Martha J .; William W. lives on a farm south of Franklin, and is the father of three children.
George I. White, the immediate subject of this sketch, lived on the paternal farmstead until the fall of 1889, when he accompanied his mother on her removal to Franklin. He had received his elementary education in the schools of Nineveh township and in the high school at Franklin, and com- pleted his scholastic training in Franklin College. He then engaged in teach- ing school for one year and then decided to follow the vocation of a lawyer, to which end he entered upon his legal studies in the office of Buckingham & White in 1894. On November 8th of that year he was admitted to the bar and immediately formed a law partnership with his brother, Edward F. White, under the firm name of White & White, a partnership existing until his brother's death. After that event he formed a law partnership with Fred R. Owens, which still exists and which is numbered among the strong legal firms of Johnson county. Mr. White gives his attention to general practice, although he makes a specialty of work in probate 'court, for which he has especially qualified himself and in which he has achieved a noted suc- cess. He was county attorney of Johnson county for three years, in which position he gave eminent satisfaction, and in 1905-7 was a member of the lower house of the Indiana Legislature, having been elected on the Demo- cratic ticket. In 1907, Governor Hanly appointed Mr. White a member of the legislative visitation committee to visit the state institutions, and in the discharge of this duty he rendered valuable service to the state. For years Mr. White has stood high in his profession and, as already indicated, has met with gratifying success. His name has appeared in connection with much important litigation, in addition to which he does a large and lucrative office business, being esteemed and honorable, as well as an able lawyer, faith- ful to the interests of his client and above the suspicion of reproach as a counsellor. As a business man he is prompt and methodical, as a lawyer careful and critical, and as a private citizen, a man of unbending integrity and unfaltering conscientiousness.
On November 7, 1905, Mr. White was united in marriage to Leila L. Lagrange, a daughter of P. D. and Margaret B. Lagrange, of Johnson county, and to them has been born one child, Pauline Margaret.
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Religiously, Mr. White is a member of the Christian church, in the ac- tivities of which he has taken a deep interest. He served as deacon for six or seven years, and for the past five years has been elder. His social relations are with the Delta Theta college fraternity, of which he was an active member in school. A man of high ideals, social and of affable address, Mr. White is popular with all classes throughout the county, where he is well known, and because of his genuine worth, high character and personal in- tegrity, he is eminently deserving of representation in a work of the charac- ter of the one at hand.
EDWARD HILL.
One of the best known and most enterprising of the younger agricul- turists of Johnson county is Edward Hill, now in the very prime of life and usefulness, and his influence as an honorable, upright citizen is productive of much good upon all with whom he comes in contact. His past success gives assurance of something yet to come, and he is evidently destined to con- tinue a potent factor for substantial good for many years to come. He is the owner of fine farming lands in Johnson county, which he conducts in a man- ner that stamps him as fully abreast of the times.
Edward Hill, one of the most successful farmers in Blue River town- ship, Johnson county, Indiana, was born on November 5, 1873, in Shelby county, this state, and is the son of John and Margaret (Leslie) Hill, natives respectively of Bartholomew county, Indiana, and Edinburg, Johnson county. They were the parents of five children, Ida, Edward, Manuel, Jesse and Gertrude.
The subject of this sketch received a good, practical common-school education and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation which he has never forsaken. In 1898 he moved to Johnson county, and for thirteen years resided on the T. E. Valentine farm, to the operation of which he gave his undivided attention. In February, 1904, he purchased his present farm in Blue River township, and for a number of years successfully conducted both farms, moving to his present home in 1906, where he has since resided. His place is well improved in every respect, the improvements comprising a nice residence, substantial barn and other necessary outbuildings, and he has twenty-five acres sown to rye and seventeen acres to corn. His annual output of live stock comprises two hundred hogs and he also has fifty head of cattle
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on his place. He gives proper attent the cereals common to this locality, his intelligent conduct of his affair: which he is held among his fellow a In January, 1892, the subject o Ada Ensley, and to them have been Frank, Ruby, Ruth, Oscar and Arth Politically, the subject is a sup ticket he has voted since attaining 1 member of the Edinburg lodge of Fre of which he takes a deep interest. M ests of the community and gives a v for the good of his fellows. He has by all who know him.
EDGAR D
Among the enterprising, progress township, Johnson county, Indiana, is the head of this sketch, who is the Ov of land splendidly located near White! gressive agricultural methods, his emi sonal character, won the warm regard home, which is set in the midst of a s a beautiful drive, fronts on the interu: pect to the passerby. Mr. Brewer has those who know him best are warmest
Mr. Brewer was born on March : south of Whiteland, and is a son of who was born in 1814 and died in 18 Brewer, who was a pioneer settler of P ty in 1832, filing on one hundred and ject's farm in Pleasant township. He owning over one thousand acres in this a tract of land by inheritance and wa owning over six hundred acres of lar ried four times, first to Mary Jane F pioneer of this county, her death occur
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To them were born two children, one of whom is deceased, the survivor being Mrs. William L. LaGrange, of Franklin. For his second wife Mr. Brewer chose Magdalene Ditmars, who was born in 1827 and died in April, 1862. They became the parents of four children, two of whom died young, the others being Edgar, the subject of this sketch, and Margaret, the wife of P. D. LaGrange. Daniel Brewer's third wife was Olive McClintock, who died one year after marriage, and his fourth wife was Lucretia Beazley, who died May 17, 1910.
Edgar D. Brewer received his education in the public schools and in the Hopewell Academy, and in 1869 he engaged in the mercantile business in partnership with R. V. Ditmars, of Franklin, in which he remained until 1871. He then returned to his farm, where he has since lived. For the first three years, or until 1874, he was with his father on the farm, and from 1874 until 1881 he lived on the old Brewer place, locating on his present farm in the latter year. He has been an industrious and persistent worker, his aim being to maintain his place at the highest possible state of excellence and in the achievement of this ideal he has been eminently successful, his farm now being considered one of the best in the locality. He follows modern meth- ods of agriculture and leaves no detail unattended to in his management of the place. His splendid home, commodious barns and other appurtenances of an up-to-date farm indicate him to be a man of good judgment and sound · discrimination.
On October 21. 1873. Mr. Brewer married Sarah M. Beasley, daughter of Augusta and Sallie Ann (Webb) Beasley, natives of Virginia who emigrated from that state to Kentucky, the subject's marriage occurring in the latter state. To the subject and his wife have been born four children, namely : Mrs. Norma Pitman, of Indianapolis, who is the mother of three children, Sallie Ann, Edgar Nelson and Norma Elizabeth; J. D., who resides on the home farm, is the father of two children, William Ditmars and Charles Don- ald; Mrs. Neva Sharp, of Whiteland, is the mother of a son, Thomas Edgar, and Magdalena, who is at home with her parents.
Politically, Mr. Brewer has given a life-long support to the Democratic party and has taken an intelligent interest in all public affairs. Religiously, he gives his support to the Presbyterian church, of which he is a faithful member and to which he contributes liberally of his means. In all the rela- tions of life he has proved a man among men and because of his sterling per- sonal qualities and of his staunch integrity he is deserving of the confidence which has been placed in him by his fellow men.
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PETER D.
Conspicuous among the represen Johnson county is the well known g of this article. He has made his infl Franklin township, being a man of st interwoven with the history of the co efforts have always been for the ma' as for the social and moral welfare o life he has led, thereby gaining the 1 citizens, entitles him to representation tended in the present work.
Peter D. LaGrange, who owns township, Johnson county, Indiana, w Hopewell neighborhood and is a son Grange. The subject's mother died ( subsequently married Mary List. At scent, reared four children by his fir: wife of Dr. G. W. Covert, of Long Newton, of Franklin, and Peter D., th his marriage with Mary List the folk Brewer, Mrs. Josephine Ransdell, dec Cain, of Franklin, and Samuel, also of Peter I). LaGrange attended the then was a student at Hopewell Acad over College, and he therefore receive After his marriage in 1874 he engage with Isaac N. LaGrange, his brother, father's farm, while for the past eighte farm, which comprises two hundred a improved with good and substantial 1 as characterize an up-to-date farm. Ir. bungalow in which he is now living wl to take active charge of the same. F looked after by him during his active successful and practical farmers of the
In 1874 Mr. LaGrange married M three children: Mrs. Leota White, (
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daughter, Pauline; Edgar Adonis, of the Franklin Hardware Company, who married Una Dixon, and they have had three children, of whom two survive, Loren and Richard; Roy, who has charge of the milk receiving station at Whiteland, married Helen Boon, and they have two children, Edwin and Janette Evlyn.
In politics Mr. LaGrange has given his support to the Republican party, but has never been a seeker after the honors and emoluments of public office. Religiously, he gives his earnest support to the Presbyterian church, of which he is a faithful member, while his fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic order, in the workings of which he is deeply interested. Mr. LaGrange has during his life time shown himself worthy of the high esteem in which he is held. His life has been filled with activity and usefulness, while his untiring energy and ability have secured for him a conspicuous and honorable place among the citizens of his community. His strict integrity and unpretending bearing have elevated him in the confidence of his fellow citizens, and his in- fluence has always been exerted in the interests of those things which have helped to elevate his fellowmen socially, morally and educationally. Because of his successful career and his high personal character, he is eminently en- titled to representation among the leading men of his county. -
ALBERT LIST.
The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an intelligent community is a protracted and honorable residence therein. Albert List, one of the best known and most highly esteemed men of Johnson county, has resided here many years, and his career has been a most commendable one in every respect. Beginning life under none too favorable auspices, he allowed nothing to deter him and, by persistent industry and the exercise of sound common sense in his operations, he gained the rewards for which he labored, and is today numbered among the substantial and influential men of his community.
Albert List was born in Shelbyville, Shelby county, Kentucky, on Novem- ber 4, 1830, and is a son of Garrett and Elizabeth (Voris) List. Garrett List, who was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1808, was a farmer and came to Johnson county, Indiana, in 1829, entering one hundred and forty acres of government land, a part of which he cleared and on which he built a log cabin. In 1834 he brought his family here and here they remained for twenty-five
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ALBERT LIST
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years, when he moved to a farm near Indianapolis, in Marion county, where his death occurred in 1891. The subject's mother, who also was a native of Kentucky, died in Johnson county in 1844. They were the parents of eight children, of whom Albert is the eldest. After the death of his first wife, Garrett List married Melinda Alcorn, to which union were also born eight children. Politically, Garrett List was aligned with the Democratic party until 1856, when he joined the Republican party, with which he remained identified until his death. He never was an office seeker, but while a resident of Marion county he rendered efficient service as justice of the peace. Re- ligiously, he was a member of the Presbyterian church, of which he was an elder for many years.
Albert List received a somewhat limited school education in the log- cabin schools of the pioneer period, and at the age of fourteen years his father hired him out until the age of eighteen years, when he was given his time. At the age of fourteen he began work as a farm hand and the following years were characterized by labor of the most strenuous kind. He was steady in his habits and economical in the use of his money, so that when twenty-three years old he was enabled to buy one hundred acres of land in Marion county. To the operation of that land he applied himself and in his operations met with splendid success. After remaining on that farm for twenty-five years, Mr. List returned to his present farm in Franklin township, where he has since resided. He is the owner of one hundred and ten acres of high-class land. which he rents, having retired from active labor some years ago. He re- sides in a fine old brick house, which he remodeled into a home of comfort and convenience, and here he is enjoying the rest which his former years of toil so richly entitle him to. The farm is up-to-date, the buildings, fences and other details of the place reflecting great credit on the owner.
Mr. List has been twice married, first, in 1854, to Eliza Hoefgen, a native of Pennsylvania, who died in 1868. To this union were born five children, namely: Adeline, who, on September 6, 1876, was married to Charles C. Van Nuys, to whom she bore four children, Watson M. (who lives on the old Van Nuys homestead, which is one of the landmarks of Johnson county), Edna (who became the wife of Rev. Gilbert Voorhies, now of Rockwell City, Iowa), Ruth (the wife of Charles McGeehe, of Redondo Beach, California) and Catharine (the wife of A. E. Granger, of Marion. Iowa) ; Ella became the wife of T. R. Alexander, of Marion, Iowa, and they have a daughter, Mabel; Mattie, who married J. B. Jones, of this county, and they have three children, Mellie, Maxwell and Dorothy, all residents of John- (52)
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son county ; George and Melinda are deceased. On September 29, 1870, Mr. List married Amelia Lockwood, the daughter of William and Eliza (Arm- strong) Lockwood. William Lockwood was born in Providence, New Bruns- wick, and moved to Springfield, Ohio, in 1835, where he followed his vocation, that of a carpenter. Sometime after the Civil war he came to Indiana, locat- ing at Southport near Indianapolis, where his death occurred some time after his retirement from active life. To him and his wife were born twelve chil- dren, of whom only two are living, Mrs. List and a sister. Politically, Mr. Lockwood gave his support to the Republican party. Religiously, he was formerly a member of the Episcopalian church, but later affiliated with the Presbyterian church. To Albert and Amelia List were born two daughters, Mary Louise, the wife of Professor Smith, of Bloomington, and the mother of one daughter, Winifred, and Nellie, deceased.
Politically, Mr. List is a Republican, while his religious membership is with the Hopewell Presbyterian church. He was formerly a member of the Masonic order at Southport, but subsequently transferred his membership to the lodge at Franklin. Personally, Mr. List possesses those qualities which gain friendships and in the community where he has lived for three decades he is held in the warmest regard, because of his splendid business career and his high character.
HARRY B. SHEPHARD.
The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed is among the favorably known and rep- resentative citizens of Clark township, Johnson county. He has by his indomi- table enterprise and progressive methods contributed in a material way to the advancement of his locality and during the course of an honorable career has been fairly successful in his business enterprises, having been a man of en- ergy, sound judgment and honesty of purpose, and is thus well deserving of mention in this volume.
Harry B. Shephard, who is successfully engaged in the mercantile busi- ness at Rock Lane, Clark township, Johnson county, Indiana, was born in Jefferson county, this state, on April 5, 1880. He is a son of John T. and Anna Bell (Reeves) Shephard, natives also of Jefferson county. John T. Shephard was born on February 14, 1854, and died on November 28, 1910. He was a son of Miles and Serena Shephard, and was married on January I, 1874, to Anna Bell Reeves, to which union were born six children, three sons
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and three daughters, namely : Grace, Irene, Harry B., William F., Fannie and John. The subject's father spent his entire life in Jefferson county, excepting about two years in Johnson county, and was a man of eminent respectability, who enjoyed the esteem of all who knew him.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of Dupont, where he attended until eighteen years of age. In 1898, fired by a spirit of loyalty and patriotism, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Sixty-first Regiment Indiana Volunteers, for service during the Spanish- American war and served one year. His regiment was one of the first to march to Havana after the occupation of that city and the regiment was dis- charged after the army left the island. Mr. Shephard was present at the of- ficial evacuation of Cuba, which occurred at Havana on January 1, 1899. After the war Mr. Shephard took up the vocation of photography and land- scape artist at Dupont, Jefferson county, for which work he had a natural aptitude. About a year later, however, he engaged in contract painting, which he carried on with fair success for six months. On March 16, 1900, he engaged in the merchandise business at Rock Lane, under the firm name of Day & Shephard, a partnership which lasted about one year and ten months, when Mr. Shephard bought his partner's interest. He then continued busi- ness under his own name until November, 1912, when the firm name was changed to H. B. Shephard & Company, J. W. Trulock buying an interest in the business. Mr. Trulock had been in the employ of Mr. Shephard for about five years, having begun work in the store at the age of fifteen years and proved a man of not only good habits, but of marked business ability. The business has been remarkably successful from the beginning when Mr. Shep- hard started in with a capital of less than two hundred dollars. However, when Mr. Shephard bought Mr. Day's interest, the business invoiced fifteen hundred dollars, and now about five thousand dollars' worth of merchandise is carried in stock. Sound business judgment and courteous treatment of his patrons have been the elements which have contributed to the success of the business and now Messrs. Shephard and Trulock are numbered among the most successful business men of their community. Mr. Shephard owns the building in which the store is located and also a nice residence at Rock Lane.
On July 16, 1900, Mr. Shephard married Grace L. Rayborn, of Jefferson county, the daughter of Frank Rayborn, though she was born and reared in Canaan, Indiana. To them has been born one child, Monta L., born in 1902. Mr. Shephard is a member of Lodge No. 385, Knights of Pythias, at Acton, and his religious membership is with the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr.
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Shephard is one of the highly respected citizens of his community, having es- tablished a firm reputation for honesty of purpose in his dealings with his fellow men and by being the advocate of clean and wholesome principles in the home, society and politics.
GARRETT DITMARS.
A review of the life of the honored subject of this memoir must of neces- sity be brief and general in its character. To enter fully into the interesting details of the career of the late Garrett Ditmars, touching the struggles of his early manhood and the successes of his later years, would far transcend the limits of this article. He filled a large place in the ranks of the active, ener- getic and public-spirited citizens of his day and generation, and the memories which attach to his name and character form no inconsiderable chapter in the history of his adopted county, where he did his work and achieved his success.
Garrett Ditmars was a native of New Jersey and was the son of Peter Ditmars, also a native of that state and the descendant of good old Holland stock, a lineage which played a large part in the settlement and development of various sections of this country, various lines from which he descended being mentioned in the early annals of the colonies. In April, 1830, Garrett Ditmars emigrated from Somerset county, New Jersey, to Warren county, Ohio, where he remained six years, and in the spring of 1836 he came to Johnson county, Indiana, locating on a tract of land about two miles north of Franklin. Two years later he moved to Union township. Garrett Ditmars took an active part in the early development of his locality, of which he was a pioneer, and among those men of courage and stamina who laid the founda- tion for the subsequent splendid civilization which has characterized this locality, Garrett Ditmars deserves his full share of credit.
Garrett Ditmars was married to Sarah Verbryck, who also was born in New Jersey, on January 20, 1785, the daughter of William and Rebecca (Low) Verbryck. Her father, who was an honored citizen of his locality. had been a soldier in the war of the Revolution, attaining to the rank of major, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years. To Mr. and Mrs. Ditmars were born thirteen children, of whom twelve were reared to maturity, and four are now living, namely: Cornelius, who lives west of Franklin; John T., of Hopewell : Mrs. Rebecca Donnell, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Richard
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