USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana ; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume I > Part 49
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service alone extended over a number of years is a high tribute to the character of any citizen.
Mr. A. W. Cook, who is a birthright member of the Society of Friends, was born in York county, Pennsylvania, June 17, 1833, so that he came from the center of the old Quaker colony into the Quaker settlement of eastern Indiana. His parents were George W. and Elizabeth (Walker) Cook. Both parents were natives of York county, Pennsyl- vania, whence they came to Indiana in 1847 and located as early settlers in Madison county, their location being at Huntsville. The father was a farmer in that vicinity and died there in 1861. His wife survived for thirty years, passing away in 1891. They were the parents of eight children, and six of the family are still living.
Mr. A. W. Cook was reared in Pennsylvania, where he received his education in the public schools, and on October 26, 1854, was married to Hannah C. Garrettson. She was born in the same county as her hus- band, was reared on a farm, educated in the public schools, and after their marriage they located on a farm. Mr. Cook began teaching school when he was nineteen years of age, and his experiences as an educator continued for many years. This occupation he alternated with that of farming, and it was his practice to spend the winters in teaching while he conducted the operation of his farm during the summer. In this way he taught thirty-two terms of school, and twenty-two of these were taught in Indiana in Madison county. For twelve terms he was princi- pal of the Huntsville school in Fall Creek township. Among the older educators of Madison county, probably not one is better remembered and stands in higher esteem among the great number of pupils who still survive and remember him than Mr. Cook.
In 1890 Mr. Cook was elected a trustee of Fall Creek township. After serving some five years he vacated the office, but was soon afterward recalled by the citizenship, and altogether gave nine years of service in the office of trustee. He was also for six years supervisor of his town- ship. Mr. Cook in 1890 sold his farm east of Pendleton and moved to the town of Pendleton, where he has since made his home. At the present time his chief occupation is in writing fire insurance. In poli- tics he has been a Republican practically since the organization of that great party.
The three living children of Mr. Cook and wife are as follows : Teresa C., who is the wife of Joseph H. Michael; Melissa G., wife of George Rogers ; Mary E., wife of Charles Hedrick. The family are all members of the Friends church. Mr. Cook is affiliated with Madison Lodge No. 44 A. F. & A. M. and has been an active member of this fraternity for a great many years. He is in every way a progressive business man, has upheld all his duties of citizenship, and has been honored in his many relations in the useful services to his community.
GEORGE M. OVERMAN. President of the Madison County Abstract Company at Anderson, Mr. Overman has been successful in the real estate and insurance business at Anderson for more than ten years, and in the abstract company is at the head of one of the solid and pros- perous institutions of this county. He has served as president and man- ager since 1907. Mr. Overman has had a varied but generally success- ful career, has been a farmer and stock raiser in early life, followed mercantile lines for a number of years, and finally located permanently
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in Anderson, where he is held in high esteem both as a business man and citizen.
George M. Overman was born in Henry county, Indiana, near Maple Valley, September 17, 1868. He is the youngest of the children born to Nathan and Elizabeth V. (Wales) Overman. His father was born in Pesquotank county, North Carolina, in the vicinity of Elizabeth City, in 1830, and his wife was also a native of that state. The founder of the family in Indiana, was Grandfather Robert Overman, who in the pioneer days settled in Greenwood at Maple Valley in Henry county, and with the labor of his own hands hewed and built a one-room log cabin into which he moved his family. He spent many years in clearing up the farm, and when the settlers had increased in number he laid out a town site which he named Elizabeth City in honor of the town in North Caro- lina where he had spent his boyhood. Robert Overman was a settler in Henry county in 1832, and lived there until his death on January 27, 1875. His wife, Fanny Overman died October 8, 1865. Nathan Over- man, father of George M., was reared and educated in Henry county and was a substantial farmer during his career. He moved to Shirley, Henry county, and afterwards went to California. His death occurred April 10, 1911, in his eighty-second year, while his wife passed away, November 7. 1907.
Educated in the country schools of Indiana, until he was fourteen years of age, George M. Overman completed his education in the high schools of Knightstown and Central Normal College at Danville, Ind. When he left school he returned to the homestead farm where he had received a thorough training in industry and thrifty habits during his vacation periods, and was engaged in general farming and stock raising for nearly two years. He next became a commercial salesman, selling pianos and traveling all over the states of Indiana and Kentucky. Dur- ing 1894-95, associated with J. M. Fisher, under the name of Overman & Fisher he was in a music store for twelve months. After that he rep- resented the firm of W. W. Kimball & Company of Chicago in selling pianos and organs in different territories of Indiana, and in March, 1899, was transferred to the Kentucky territory, where he continued the sale of musical instruments with Montinegro & Rheim, of Louisville, Kentucky. Resigning this position he came to Anderson, and in August, 1901, entered a partnership with his brother, R. E. Overman, under the firm name of Overman Brothers, Real Estate & Insurance. Some time later he bought his brother's interest, and has since amplified the busi- ness to include life insurance and the handling of general real estate and farm lands. He is regarded as one of the best imformed and most reliable real estate men in this section of Indiana, and in consequence enjoys a large and prosperous business.
In August, 1900, Mr. Overman was married to Miss Adda L. Newby of Knightstown, Indiana, a daughter of Jabes and Sarah J. (Stites) Newby. There have been four children born to their union, namely : Donald N., Sarah E., Margaret F., and Harold B. Mr. Overman has been honored with the office of clerk of the Modern Woodmen, Camp 3690, of Anderson, and is one of the very popular men of his home locality. His residence is at 706 East Lynn Street.
HON. WILLIAM A. KITTINGER. A former state senator om Madison county, ex-prosecuting attorney of Madison and Hamilton counties, and for many years closely connected with the political and public
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affairs of the county, Mr. Kittinger has been both a prominent and use- ful citizen of Anderson for more than four decades, and throughout that time has practiced his profession of the law. As a criminal lawyer Mr. Kittinger is probably unsurpassed in this section of Indiana, and is a man of the highest standing in his profession and as a citizen.
Mr. Kittinger was not born to fortune, and probably few successful men in Madison county today have overcome during their youth more obstacles than Mr. Kittinger. He was born in Wayne county, near Richmond, Indiana, October 17, 1849. His father, John Smith, was a native of Germany, a shoe maker by trade and after coming to America settled at Richmond, Indiana. There he married Miss Delilah Turk, who was born in Virginia, where her father died, and was brought by her mother to Wayne county, Indiana, where she grew to womanhood. She died in 1850, when her son William was about one year old, and the father John Smith then returned to Germany, in order to secure his interests in an estate, but was never heard of again, after leaving Indiana. He left behind two children, the oldest of whom, Thomas, died at the age of three years. William A., an orphan baby, was taken into the home of William L. Kittinger, and in this way he adopted the name by which he is now known and honored. Mr. Kittinger in 1855 moved to Henry county, Indiana, and was engaged as a saw mill operator and farmer near Middletown. In that vicinity, William A. grew up and as an orphan boy without influential relatives or friends had only limited advantages and nearly all his time was taken for the work about the home and farm, so that his schooling was very meagre. Industry, ambition and perseverance have always been qualities of his character, and it is owing to these faculties that he won a successful position in life against many and heavy odds. He finally gained a sufficient education to enable him to teach school, and when eighteen years old taught in Union town- ship of Madison county, and was afterwards similarly employed in Lafayette township. The summer seasons were spent in farm work and in reading law, and while a very young man he also became interested in the ministry and was licensed to preach in the Christian church. His first license was obtained in Darke county, Ohio, and his second at Rich- mond, Indiana, and for two summers he supplied vacant pulpits in different sections of the state. Finally Mr. Kittinger took up the study of law in the office of Judge E. B. Goodykoontz at Anderson. On August 2, 1872, he was admitted to practice, and at once moved to Missouri, and opened an office at Bolivar in Polk county. He had just begun to get acquainted and earn his first fees in Polk county when a telegram announced the failure of the bank at Anderson in which his money was deposited, and he at once returned to the city, in order to look after his hard earned savings. On his return he took up the practice of law, and in that way has been engaged in his profession in this city for forty years.
Many important public services have interrupted the career of Mr. Kittinger in his regular profession. He was elected in October, 1880, prosecuting attorney for the twenty-fourth judicial circuit including Hamilton and Madison counties. He was reelected to the position in 1882, and gave a very satisfactory account of his administration during four years. After leaving the office he formed a partnership with Judge R. Lake, which lasted six months. He then fitted up an office of his own on the southside of the public square, but the building in which he was located was burned to the ground in less than a month after he
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had occupied the office, and he suffered a heavy loss for him at that stage of his career. February 1, 1886, he became a partner of L. M. Schwinn, and the firm of Kittinger & Schwinn became recognized as one of the strongest aggregations of legal talent in this section of the state. Through all these years his reputation was growing as a criminal lawyer, and at the present time there is no abler practitioner in this special department in central Indiana than William A. Kittinger.
Mr. Kittinger was in politics a Democrat until 1878, and from that time forward allied himself with the Republicans. In 1888-90 he served as secretary of the Republican county Central Committee and is regarded as one of the strongest and most influential workers for his party in Madison county. In 1888 he was nominated on the Republican ticket representative to the legislature and led his party ticket by about one hundred and twenty-five ballots, though he was unable to overcome the Democratic majority in the county. In 1900 he was elected to the state senate from Madison county and in 1904 he was renominated for this office, and thus served for eight years his term as state senator end- ing January, 1908. In 1908 Mr. Kittinger was nominated and elected state senator on the senatorial district, and as a legislator has an excel- lent record.
At Columbus Grove, Ohio, September 9, 1874, Mr. Kittinger married Miss Martha E. Kunneke, who was born in Dayton, Ohio, and reared in Columbus Grove. The three children of Mr. Kittinger now living are: Theodore, a graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy of Annapolis, Maryland; Leslie F., Tsehentscher of Chicago, Ill., and Helen M. the wife of Blanchard J. Horne. Mr. Kittinger is a Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner. He is affiliated with Mt. Moriah Lodge No. 77 A. F. & A. M., in which he served as master of the lodge; with Anderson Chapter of which he is a past-high priest; and Anderson Commandery No. 32 K. T. of which he has been eminent commander. He also is a member of the Order of The Eastern Star and has a membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and with the Rebekahs. He is one of the well known members of the County Bar Association.
GEORGE GRANT MANNING. In the death of George Grant Manning, which occurred at his home in the city of Anderson, August 8, 1908, there came to a close in its sixty-sixth year a life which contained a great aggregate of usefulness, of kindly relationship with family and community, and one that was successful from the usual material estimate. Mr. Manning gave many years of his life to educational work, and came to Anderson in 1895 as one of the proprietors of the Crystal Ice Company, with which his name continued to be identified until his death.
George Grant Manning was born in Shelby county, New York, December 28, 1842. He was the fourth son in a family of seven children, whose parents were William and Elizabeth Manning. His boyhood was spent on a farm, and he pursued the usual routine of farmer boys of half a century ago, attending the district school during the winter sea- son, and working at home the other months of the year, and also doing much both morning and night in the way of chores and other assistance to the home. At the age of seventeen he entered Medina Academy. The following year in 1860, he accompanied his parents on their removal to DeKalb county, Illinois, and continued his education by attendance in the schools at Sycamore for one term, and was engaged to teach his first
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term in 1861. In 1862 he moved to Lyndon, in Whiteside county, where he was elected principal of the village schools at the age of twenty years. In 1866 Mr. Manning advanced his educational equipment by attendance at the Illinois State Normal School in Bloomington, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1869. He taught for some time in Fulton and in Jacksonville, Illinois.
In 1871 Mr. Manning married Miss Lucia Kingsley, who was a grad- uate of the Illinois State Normal School, and previous to her marriage had been a teacher in the model department of the State Normal Schools. . After her marriage they moved to Peru, Indiana, Mr. Man- ning having been chosen superintendent of the city schools. For twenty- one years he had charge of the city schools of Peru, and his work as an educator and organizer was of the quality which lasts both in the minds and characters of the many generations of children who attended dur- ing that time, and also left a permanent impress on the school organiza- tion of that city. On leaving the work of education at Peru, Mr. Man- ning moved to Anderson, where he became president and manager of the Crystal Ice Company. In 1903 he erected the Manning Block on Meridian Street. He was also one of the stockholders in the Union building, and in the course of a lifetime of effort accumulated a good estate for the benefit of his family. Mr. Manning served as one of the trustees of the First Baptist church in Anderson. He was always much interested in the welfare of his home city, and whenever possible gener- ously supported the movement for the community good. His genial, friendly disposition, brought him many friends wherever he lived, but though he was fond of social life, he found his greatest pleasure in his home.
Mr. Manning is survived by Mrs. Manning and their four children, namely : Miss Lucia May Manning; Mrs. Grace E. M. Downing; Mrs. Edith M. Stein, and George K. Manning. There are also five grand- children to be mentioned in the family record, their names being George Elliott Downing, Mary Elizabeth Downing, Lucia Grace Downing, Margaret Manning Stein and George King Manning.
JOHN B. PRITCHARD. The present superintendent of police at Ander- son has recently completed a record of twenty years with the police force, in which he began as a patrolman, and by efficiency and faithful service has been promoted and under several different city administrations has held his present place. He belongs to one of the old families of Madison county, the Pritchards having been identified with this county for up- wards of seventy years.
John B. Pritchard was born in Madison, Kansas, December 17, 1863, a son of Nelson T. and Magdalene (Nelson) Pritchard. His father belonged to an old North Carolina family, in which state he was born. In 1846 the family came to Madison county, Indiana, and were among the early farmers of this section. The father took up farming and was engaged in agriculture and stock raising for many years. He afterwards moved out to Kansas where he remained a few years, and finally located permanently in Madison county, Indiana, where he still resides.
John B. Pritchard was reared in his home county, and as a boy had the advantages of the district schools. While he was in Kansas he attended a select school. In 1888 at the age of twenty-five he returned to Anderson, and after following different occupations became con- nected with the police force in 1893. He was afterwards promoted to
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captain, and from captain was finally made superintendent of the city police. His service has been unusually satisfactory, and the best evi- dence of this is the fact that he has served under both Democratic and Republican administrations, and has maintained the force at a high state of discipline, and has always cooperated with the agencies of law and order, so that Anderson is regarded as one of the best policed cities in the state.
Mr. Pritchard married Miss Armintha Smith, of Kansas, daughter of William Smith, a prominent citizen of that state. Their union has been blessed by the birth of five children, namely: Hilton M., Essie May, Gladys, John N., and George W. Essie May is the wife of A. Clemmons of Anderson. Mr. Pritchard is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, and the Loyal Order of Moose. His home in Anderson is at 1214 West Fifth Street. By his long residence in Madison county, and his position on the police force he has secured an extensive acquaint- ance not only in this county but in many of the adjoining counties of the state.
DAVID ESHELMAN. The business of contractor and builder has been the vocation of Mr. Eshelman, since his early manhood. The degree of accomplishment in such a career is open to inspection, for there are hundreds of homes, business and public structures through this section of Indiana that are the practical testimony of his skill and ability.
Representing one of the pioneer families of Madison county and one of the leading men in his line of business, Mr. Eshelman was born in Madison county, on a farm four miles north of the city of Anderson in Lafayette township on January 16, 1850. His father was John Eshel- man, a native of Pennsylvania, where he spent his youth and acquired a common school education. He married Mrs. Nancy (Mustard) Elliott, an aunt of Daniel Mustard, so well known at Anderson. Grandfather George Mustard was a pioneer settler of Madison county, and the maiden name of his wife was Miss Delay. After his marriage, John Eshelman, the father, settled on a farm in Lafayette township, and conducted a farm of three hundred acres, a place which he did much to develop from' its original wild state. He continued to live on the farm until his death in 1870. His wife, who survived him, died in 1892.
David Eshelman was reared on the farm just described, and during the winter terms for a number of years attended the district school in the neighborhood. When he was seventeen years old he was qualified and obtained a certificate to teach, and spent about three years in that voca- tion in the country districts. Abandoning the profession of teacher, he took up the trade of carpenter, and in a few years became identified with building and contracting.
In 1875, Mr. Eshelman married Miss Charity Scott. The two sons born to their marriage are Ross W., a carpenter and contractor, and Albert A., who is at home with his father. After the marriage, David Eshelman located on a farm for some time, and later moved into Ander- son. Since establishing himself in business in the county seat, he has erected a large number of the better residences in the city, many store buildings, and had a contract for much of the work on the Union Build- ing, the six-story structure which is one of the best office buildings in this section of the state. On the basis of his performance, he name of David Eshelman stands for quality and efficiency. He does much work in the country districts in Madison county, and in neighboring towns.
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He is noted for his honorable and thorough work, and is himself a skilled workman, a fact which has stood him to good advantage in his business. Mr. Eshelman has a comfortable home at 124 Fifth Street in Anderson. In politics he takes much interest on the Democratic side, and has served as a member of the city council, and was trustee of the township, before he came to Anderson. Fraternally he is well known in Masonic circles, being affiliated with Mount Moriah Lodge No. 77, A. F. & A. M., Anderson Chapter No. 52 R. A. M. and Anderson Commandery No. 2, K. T.
CHESTER F. SCOTT. The firm of Scott & Mead, plumbers and dealers in heating and plumbing supplies, is one of the well known business con- cerns of Anderson, established here in recent years, with Chester F. Scott as junior member of the firm. Mr. Scott was born in Windfall, Tipton county, Indiana, on January 25, 1883, and is the son of Dr. W. F. and Ada V. (Conkling) Scott. The father is a West Virginian by birth and there he spent his early days, coming to Indiana while yet in his young manhood. He is still living, and is in his sixty-first year, making his home at Linwood, Indiana, where he is actively engaged in the practice of medicine, and in the enjoyment of a widespread clientele.
Chester F. Scott is the only son of his parents. He was educated in the township schools of the community where he was born and reared, and he finished his public school training in the Anderson high school, where he continued for three years. Upon leaving school he entered the Voorhees Commercial College in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he secured an excellent business training, that has stood him in excellent stead since he came to be a business man on his own responsibility. During his school years, Mr. Scott had at intervals applied himself to the plumbing trade as a helper, and it was in odd hours of practice thus gained that he came to qualify as a practical plumber. When he had completed his college course, he cast about for a suitable opening for a well trained young business man, and the result of his investigation was that he asso- ciated himself in a business partnership with G. C. Mead, under the firm name of the Scott & Mead. The new firm met with a pleasing success from its inception, and they are known today as two of the most suc- cessful and enterprising young men in the city. They are qualified to do all kinds of plumbing, both in the city and country finding an ample field for their activities, and they carry a full line of plumbing supplies such as might be found in any well conducted establishment of its kind, and both members of the firm being practical and successful plumbers, they are able to carry on the entire work of the establishment with but little outside help. The splendid business training that Mr. Scott received in Indianapolis has been of inestimable value to him in this venture, and their affairs are conducted on a strictly business basis, prominence and success coming to them in generous measure.
Mr. Scott was married on May 22, 1911, to Miss Vera Esther Fin- frock, of Covington, Ohio, a daughter of Frank P. and Emma (Phipps) Finfrock. One son, Benjamin Ferris, has been born to them.
The fraternal relations of Mr. Scott are maintained in Linwood Lodge No. 793, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with membership in Linwood Lodge No. 639, Rebekahs, and the encampment at Anderson.
AUGUSTUS T. DYE. A former county recorder and one of the most popular men in public affairs of Madison county, Mr. Dye has a promi- Vol. 11-4
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nent place in financial circles of Anderson, being assistant secretary and treasurer of the Farmer's Trust Company, of which he was the original organizer. The Farmer's Trust Company is one of the most substantial organizations of its kind in this section of the state, and among its directors are many of the reliable business men and well known citizens of both Anderson and the surrounding country.
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