USA > Indiana > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Indiana > Part 83
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George W. Simon, than whom a more popular man has not lived in Franklin township, Johnson county, was born in Hensley township, this coun- ty, on October 19, 1864, and is a son of John B. and Sarah E. (Wallace) Simon. The father was a native of Prussia, and came to America, landing in New York City at the age of eighteen years. He remained in that locality two or three years, and in 1850 came to Trafalgar, Indiana, where he remained for five years. He there married and took up the vocation of farming, which he followed during the remainder of his life. He was a man of unusual energy and enterprise, and his efforts in a business way were rewarded with abundant success, as is evidenced from the statement that when he came to this country he was practically penniless, while at the time of his death he possessed an estate valued at sixty thousand dollars. He was the father of four children, George W., Ida M., Charley and Edward.
The subject of this sketch received his education in the common schools of his home neighborhood and assisted his father in the operation of the home
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farm. Upon attaining mature years he took up the vocation of farming on his own account and is now the owner of eighty-six acres of land in Frank- lin township, to which he gives his undivided attention. He is enterprising and progressive in all his methods, and combines stock raising with the pur- suit of agriculture, feeding everything he raises on the place to his live stock, of which he breeds and raises large numbers annually.
In 1892 Mr. Simon was united in marriage with Susan Anderson, the daughter of Peter and Nancy (Gibson) Anderson. The father, who was a native of the state of Kentucky, came to Johnson county with his family in his early youth and spent the remainder of his life in this county.
Politically, the subject of this sketch is a staunch supporter of the Demo- cratic party, but has had no aspirations for office holding, being content with the exercise of the right of franchise. Fraternally, he is a member of the Order of Eagles at Franklin and takes an active interest in the workings of that order. Mr. Simon is a man of many praiseworthy traits, being scrupu- lously honest in all his dealings in the business world, and possessing rare fortitude and good judgment, advocating clean politics, wholesome living and honesty in business. It is needless to add that such a man has hosts of friends and stands high in the estimation of all who know him.
HON. HENRY EDWARD LOCHRY.
The history of a county or state, as well as that of a nation, is chiefly a chronicle of the lives and deeds of those who have conferred honor and dignity upon society. The world judges the character of a community by those of its representative citizens and yields its tributes of admiration and respect to those whose words and actions constitutes the record of a state's prosperity and pride. Among the prominent citizens of Johnson county who are well known because of the part they have taken in public affairs is Hon. Henry Edward Lochry.
Henry E. Lochry, who operates a splendid farm of four hundred and ten acres in Clark township, Johnson county, Indiana, and who has been honored by election to the Legislature of his state, is a native of the old Blue Grass state, having been born at Louisville, Kentucky, on November 27, 1863. He is the son of Fountain and Rebecca A. (Bridges) Lochry, natives respectively of Kentucky and Indiana. The father was born in 1809 and died in 1881 in Kentucky, where he had lived a life of honor and respectability.
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To him and his wife were born four children: Mrs. Fannie Small, who lives in the state of Washington; Harry, deceased; Henry Edward, the sub- ject of this sketch, and George, who died young.
Henry E. Lochry attended the schools in his native community and in 1881, after his father's death, he and his mother came to Johnson county, Indiana, where his mother's relatives lived. She was the daughter of George Bridges, a pioneer of this county and numbered among the prominent citi- zens of his day. The subject and his mother settled in Trafalgar, where the mother is still living at the age of seventy years. In the spring of 1886, Mr. Lochry located on his first farm, where he lived seven years, and during the following eleven years operated the farm of Mr. Landers near by. In 1903 he returned to his first place, to the cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his full attention. It is one of the best farms in Clark township, and the splendid modern residence, commodious and substantial barns, the well-kept fences and the splendid condition of the fields indicate the owner to be a man of rare judgment and wise discrimination in the operation of the place. He exercises. good judgment in the rotation of crops and pays due attention to other modern ideas relative to the suc- cessful tilling of the soil. In addition to the ordinary products of the farm, he pays due attention to the raising of live stock, which he has found a valua- ble and profitable auxiliary to successful farming.
Politically, Mr. Lochry has always been affiliated with the Democratic party, in the campaigns of which he has taken an active interest. In Novem- ber, 1912, he was elected representative from Johnson county to the General Assembly for a two-year term, and was assigned to the following committees : Agriculture, natural resources, public library, public expenditures and minis- terial. He is a man of progressive thought and sound judgment and his legislative career during the first session of the sixty-eighth Legislature was highly commendable to him and an honor to his constituents.
Religiously, Mr. Lochry is a member of the Hurricane Baptist church, to which he gives a liberal support. Fraternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the time-honored order of Free- masonry, in which he has attained to the degree of Knight Templar, and is also a member of Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Indian- apolis.
On October 22, 1885, Mr. Lochry was married to Lillie A. Ream, a daughter of Dr. J. B. Ream, of Trafalgar, this county. To them have been born two children, Harry R., who was born.on September 4, 1886, and Ralph
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L., born on July 22, 1888. Harry R. graduated from the Franklin high school and then entered Purdue University at Lafayette, where he graduated on June 11, 1913. Ralph L. also graduated from Franklin high school, and from the State University at Bloomington in June, 1912, and is now engaged in the study of medicine at Indianapolis. Mr. Lochry has always lived along high planes of thought and action, consequently he is admired by a large circle of friends for his honorable career, his integrity, honesty and genuine worth.
WILLIAM J. SHEETZ.
There could be no more comprehensive history written of a city or coun- ty, or even of a state and its people, than that which deals with the life work of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed them- selves where they well deserve the title of "progressive," and in this sketch will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less able plodders on the highway of life, one who has not been subdued by the many obstacles and failures that come to every one, but who has made them stepping stones to higher things and at the same time that he was winning his way in material affairs of life gained a reputation for uprightness and honor.
William J. Sheetz is a native son of the old Hoosier state, having been born in Benton county, on the 13th of November, 1861. His parents were Robert and Lucy (Templeton) Sheetz. The former was the son of John Sheetz, a native of Virginia, and the latter was the daughter of Isaac Temple- ton, also a native of the Old Dominion, both becoming early settlers of Ben- ton county, Indiana. To Robert and Lucy Sheetz were born the following children : Newton, Fannie (or Frank), Agnes, James, William, Isabel, Min- nie and Albert. The subject of this sketch was educated in the schools of his native county, and at the age of twenty-five years he located at Millersville, Marion county, where he remained on a farm for three years. In 1889 he located near West Newton, Marion county, and seven years later came to Johnson county and commenced the operation of his present farm. In 1901 he bought three hundred and seventy-six acres in Morgan county, and he operates eight hundred acres of his aunt's land in Johnson county. Mr Sheetz is up-to-date and scientific in his agricultural operations and by the exercise of sound judgment, keen discrimination and indomitable energy he has met with a flattering success in his enterprise. He carries on general
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farming, raising all the crops common to this section of the country and also gives much attention to the raising of live stock, his annual output being . three hundred hogs, one hundred cattle, one hundred sheep and one hundred mules, the latter being shipped to the Southern states. Mr. Sheetz has made many fine improvements on his farms and has skillfully rotated his crops and kept his fields fertilized until the land has retained its original strength and is today considered one of the most valuable tracts of farming land in this section of the state. Mr. Sheetz, while devoted to his special line of effort, as a successful man should be, finds time and has the inclination to give a proper share of attention to the public affairs of his county and his support is unreservedly given to every movement which has for its object the welfare and upbuilding of his community. He is a man who would win his way in any locality where fate might place him, for he has sound judgment, coupled with great energy and business tact, together with upright principles, all of which make for success wherever and whenever they are rightly and per- sistently applied.
Mr. Sheetz has been married twice, his first marriage having occurred in 1888 to Margaret Davis, who died in 1894, and in 1898 he married Eva Robertson, the daughter of Coleman and America (Sandidge) Robertson, of Morgan county. He is the father of two children, Mark and Sheldon.
Politically, Mr. Sheetz is an earnest supporter of the Republican party, while his fraternal affiliations are with the Free and Accepted Masons. Re- ligiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes a deep interest in the prosperity of that society. Personally, he is a man of genial and unassuming character, who, because of his genuine worth and his staunch integrity, has won and retains the unalloyed respect and good will of all who know him.
ED SIMON.
Success in this life comes to the deserving. It is an axiom demon- strated by all human experience that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it, plus a reasonable interest on the investment. The individual who inherits a large estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a successful man. He that falls heir to a large fortune and increases its value is successful in proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the man who starts in life unaided and by sheer force of will, controlled by cor- rect principles, forges ahead and at length reaches a position of honor among
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his fellow citizens, achieves success such as representatives of the two former classes can neither understand nor appreciate. To a considerable extent Ed Simon, a well known farmer and stock man of Franklin township, is a creditable representative of the class last named, a class which has furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the stability of our government and its institutions.
Ed Simon, one of the best known and successful farmers in Johnson county, Indiana, was born on February 21, 1880, in this county, and is a son of John and Sarah (Wallace) Simon, natives respectively of Germany and of this county. The subject's father was born in 1832 and died in 1910. He came to this country a poor emigrant boy in 1850, and by the most patient and persistent industry and rigid economy, saved his earnings and eventually left an estate worth sixty thousand dollars. He reared four children : George, of Franklin township; Mrs. Ida Smith, also of Franklin township; Charles, who died in 1911, and Ed, the subject of this sketch. The latter received his education in the district schools of the neighborhood and resided under the parental roof until 1901, when he moved onto his present farm, having bought a tract of sixty-eight acres. He has added to his land from time to time as he has been prospered and is now the owner of three hundred and sixty- five acres of as good land as can be found in Johnson county. Probably no farm in this section of the country is as completely and permanently im- proved in every respect as Mr. Simon's farm. He has here carried on the raising of grain and in connection therewith has given much attention to the raising and feeding of live stock, in which he has achieved his greatest suc- cess. He sells about three hundred hogs annually, feeding all the grain which he raises and also purchasing a large amount for this purpose. He has one hundred and sixty acres of corn planted, all of which will be fed to live stock. Besides the hogs which have already been mentioned, he feeds about sixty head of cattle and also buys many calves which he raises, and keeps about one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five horses and mules. Mr. Simon is a firm believer in live stock as a valuable adjunct to keeping up the fertility of the soil and he gives special attention to this feature of agricul- ture. In its material aspect the farm is up to date in every particular. In addition to a magnificent barn and other necessary outbuildings, Mr. Simon has two fine silos on the farm, in which he stores away ensilage for use dur- ing the winter. He also produces about one hundred and fifty tons of hay on his farm, some of which he sells. In the spring of 1913 Mr. Simon sold a load of two-year-old mules at an average price of one hundred and eighty-
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five dollars per head. As an example of the fertility of the soil, Mr. Simon has one hundred and ten acres planted to wheat and in 1912 raised a crop of wheat which averaged forty-two bushels to the acre, and it being a year when wheat was practically a failure elsewhere, his entire crop was sold for seed. The farm buildings and yards are equipped with a fine water sys- tem, the water being pumped from a well and supplied to cement tanks wher- ever needed.
Politically, the subject of this sketch gives his support to the Democratic party, while, fraternally, he is affiliated with the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
In May, 1901, Mr. Simon married Ellen Pool, the daughter of Scott Pool, of Brown county, Indiana, and to them have been born six children, four sons and two daughters, namely : Effie, Thomas, Nellie, Samuel, Charles and John. He is a man whose genial good nature and sterling qualities have won for him many friends, for he is esteemed as one of the township's solid and substantial citizens, a man who has been successful both in the accumu- lation of property and in the formation of a strong character, and one whose judgment is much respected. He is well known throughout the country and enjoys the good will and confidence of a wide circle of friends.
H. G. WILLIAMS.
Improvement and progress may well be said to form the keynote of the character of H. G. Williams, a well known and influential farmer and stock raiser of Clark township, and he has not only been interested in the work of advancing his individual affairs, but his influence is felt in upbuilding the community. He has been an industrious man all his life, striving to keep abreast the times in every respect, and as a result every mile post of the years he has passed has found him further advanced, more prosperous, and with an increased number of friends.
H. G. Williams is a native of the county in which he now lives and in which he has spent practically his entire life, his birth having occurred in Clark township, January II, 1847. He is a son of James and Juda (Wheeler) Williams, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Kentucky. Soon after their marriage these parents came to Indiana, locating near Edinburg, Johnson county, where the father spent the rest of his days engaged in agri- cultural pursuits. He resided at Edinburg from the time of his arrival here in 1820 until 1832, when he located in Clark township, where he made his
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permanent home. His death occurred in 1897, at the age of eighty-seven years, his wife having passed away the year before, at the age of eighty years. They reared a large family, of whom five are still living and two are residents of Johnson county. In politics, James Williams was a Democrat until the outbreak of the Civil war, from which time on he gave his support to the Republican party. He was a stanch supporter of the Union during the trouble- some days of the early sixties and three of his sons enlisted for service in the defense of their country. Mr. Williams was an active and public spirited citizen and for the long period of twenty-nine years he rendered efficient and appreciated service as trustee of his township. During that period he erected three sets of school houses, one of which was the first log school house in Clark township. He was keenly alive to the best interests of the people and was an earnest and enthusiastic supporter of the free public school system. He was a man among men and enjoyed to a notable degree the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
H. G. Williams was reared on the paternal farmstead and secured his early education in the common schools, supplemented by a course at Hope- well Academy and two terms' attendance at old Northwestern University, now Butler College, at Irvington, Indianapolis. He then taught school for three years, but at the end of that time turned his attention to farming. He was also a machinist, for which he had a natural talent. In the early eighties Mr. Williams went to Brookings. South Dakota, where he spent two years, and while there he operated a steam threshing outfit. He is now the owner of one hundred and twenty-two acres of land, one hundred of which is under cultivation or ready for the plow and here he has successfully carried on his farming operations. Mr. Williams has given special attention to the buying, breeding and raising of live stock, in the handling of which he has been re- markably successful, being an excellent judge of stock and knowing how to handle them to the best advantage. He has made many permanent and sub- stantial improvements on his farm, which is one of the valuable and attractive farm homes of Clark township.
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In 1864 Mr. Williams enlisted as a private in Company G, One Hundred and Thirty-second Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and saw about five months of service in the field.
On December 24, 1868, Mr. Williams married Martha E. Tracy, the daughter of John and Rhoda (Brown) Tracy, the former of whom was for thirty years trustee of Pleasant township and active in local public affairs. He was a good business man and had the contract for the construction of part of the first railroad built in the state of Indiana, running from Indian-
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apolis to Madison. He died in 1898 and his wife in 1893. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born four children, namely: Flora A., who is at home with her parents; Lulu, who became the wife of Webb Walden, of Franklin; May, the wife of G. A. Lambert, of Anderson, Indiana; John, who is a well known educator, being at the present time principal of the Franklin high school. Besides their own children, Mr. and Mrs. Williams, out of the kind- ness of their hearts, reared a boy, Lee, who is a graduate of Franklin College and is now connected with Young Men's Christian Association work at Chicago.
Politically, Mr. Williams was for many years a warm supporter of the Republican party, but is now a Progressive. He was trustee of Clark town- ship for six years, giving a businesslike and satisfactory administration; organizing the high school and erecting the first building. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Grand Army of the Republic. Personally, genial and unassuming, he has, by his upright life and business success, won the respect of all who know him. He enjoys a wide acquaintance in Johnson county, among whom are many warm and loyal personal friends.
CHARLES J. BOONE.
The biographies of the representative men of a county bring to light many hidden treasures of mind, character and courage, well calculated to arouse the pride of their family and of the community, and it is a source of regret that the people are not more familiar with the personal history of such men, in the ranks of whom may be found tillers of the soil, mechanics, teach- ers, as well as lawyers, physicians, bankers and members of other vocations and professions. The subject of this sketch is distinctively one of the lead- ing citizens of the township in which he lives, and as such has made his in- fluence felt among his fellow men and earned a name for enterprise, integrity and honor that entitles him to worthy notice in a work of the nature of this volume.
Charles J. Boone, who for many years has been one of the foremost citizens of his township, is a native of Johnson county, and was born in Pleasant township on a farm now forming a part of the Whiteland town site, the date of his birth being July 23, 1866. His parents were Amazon and Emmeline Freeman, natives respectively, of Ohio and Johnson county. Amazon
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Boone, who was born in August, 1831, and died on July 11, 1910, was reared in his native state, coming to Franklin, Johnson county, this state, when a young man. He completed his education in Franklin Academy and after- wards engaged in teaching school in Pleasant township, his school being on the present site of the Tile factory at Whiteland. After three years in this vocation he engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he was very successful and acquired the ownership of one hundred and sixty acres of good land. For many years he rendered efficient service as justice of the peace, being familiarly known as "Squire Boone," and during the Civil war he gave ardent service to the Union, but his active service was limited to membership in the Home Guards and service in the field during Morgan's raid. Religiously, he was a Presbyterian and his political faith was that of the Republican party. To him and his wife were born five children, of whom four were reared to maturity, namely : Elmer, of Jackson county; Mrs. Eva Tracy, of White- land; Charles J., the subject of this sketch, and Clara, who is a bookkeeper for the Whiteland Telephone Company. The four children are members of the Presbyterian church.
Charles J. Boone received his education in the Whiteland schools and was reared to the life of a farmer. At the age of twenty-two years he mar- ried and then located on the farm, where he has lived continuously since and to the operation of which he has devoted himself assiduously. By dint of the most persistent effort, sturdy industry and the exercise of sound judgment, he has achieved splendid success in his vocation and is today numbered among the leading farmers of his locality. He and his wife are the owners of one hundred and thirty acres of splendid land, forty acres of which lie in Pleasant township, and here he raises all the crops common to this section of the country, and also feeds and sells a number of live stock, his annual output being about one hundred and fifty hogs and a carload of cattle.
In 1888, the subject of this sketch married Laura M. Ballard, a daughter . of John Ballard, whose death occurred in 1911. To them have been born three children : William, a student in Franklin College; Hazel, who is study- ing to be a teacher in the Terre Haute Normal School, and Monys, a senior in the Clark township high school.
Politically, Mr. Boone has been a life-long Republican, and in 1904 was elected trustee of Clark township, serving four years in this position and giv- ing a very satisfactory administration of the office. His church membership is with the Whiteland Presbyterian society, while, fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Greenwood. Mr. Boone is a man of splendid personal qualities and has for many years been numbered among the leading
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men of his community. He is possessed of strong musical talent and for a number of years was a member of the famous Whiteland Military Band, playing solo alto. This band was one of the most efficient in the state, winning first prize at every military band tournament which they attended. Another evidence of Mr. Boone's efficiency and progressive spirit was shown during his service as trustee when he introduced the teaching of music in the schools of the township, being the first official in this county to inaugurate this innovation. He takes a just pride in his community and can always be de- pended upon to lend his influence and support to all worthy movements for the moral, educational or social advancement of the community. Because of his fine personal qualities and the eminent success he has won and is deserving of the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens.
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