USA > Indiana > Madison County > History of Madison County, Indiana : a narrative account of its historical progress, its people and its principal interests, Volume II > Part 2
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In politics Mr. Drach is faithful to the principles of the Republican party, and in fraternal matters he is affiliated with Mount Moriah Lodge No. 77, A. F. & A. M., as well as with the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1898 Mr. Drach was married to Miss Agnes Ethell, who died in 1906, leaving him one son,-George Henry. He resides at 728 West Seventh street.
FORREST J. HILL. Two of the important industrial enterprises that are lending commercial prestige to the city of Anderson, are those repre- sented in the Hill Machine Company, and the Hill-Tripp Pump Com- pany. Of the first named, Forrest J. Hill is secretary and treasurer, and of the latter he is treasurer, as he also is of the Hill Stage Company. Mr. Hill is one of the aggressive business men and public spirited citi- zens of Madison county, where he is well known and held in high esteem, so that there are many reasons why he should be given specific recogni- tion in this history of the county and its representative citizens.
Mr. Hill claims the Buckeye State as the place of his nativity, and belongs to a staunch pioneer family. He was born at Carlisle in War- ren county on the 31st. of August, 1859, and is a son of Jasper N. and Rebecca (Keiser) Hill, the former of whom died at Anderson on July 1, 1909, and the latter died in 1SS1. The name Hill has been long and conspicuously identified with general business enterprise in the city of Anderson, and Jasper N. Hill was the founder of the extensive concern with which his son Forrest J. is now actively and prominently identified. Jasper N. Hill was a native of Pennsylvania, and established his residence in Ohio when a young man. He became one of the substantial business men of Montgomery county, that state, where he continued to maintain his home until 1862, when the family came to Anderson, Indiana. In 1889 was effected the organization and incorporation of the Hill Machine Company, of which he became president, and the other officials were likewise members of the family, namely: Forrest J. Hill, secretary; Hugh A. Hill, treasurer, and Ernest N. Hill, superintendent. The pres. ent officers of the company are: Hugh A. Hill, president; Forrest J. Hill, secretary and treasurer ; and Ernest N. Hill, general manager. The Hill Machine Company operates with a capital stock of forty-five thou- sand dollars, and its large and well equipped plant is situated at the cor- ner of St. Charles and Twenty-third Streets. The main building is one hundred and ninety by eighty feet in dimensions, containing the machine shop with an extension of sixty-five feet by eighty feet containing foun- dry and further extension containing cupola, rattler, flasks, pig iron etc. An "L" that is sixty-five by one hundred and fifty feet in dimensions is used for offices and for shipping and crating rooms, as well as for the general sales department. The other apartments are the pattern shop, pattern storage, boiler room, etc. The manufacturing department is equipped with the most improved machinery and power for its opera- tion is furnished by electric motors of seventy-five horse power. In the establishment are manufactured steam, electric and power pumps, espe- cially those designed for the pumping of water from wells of great depth.
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The products of the Hill Machine Company have gained a wide sale, and the trade extends through the various sections of the United States as well as into South America and Europe. Jasper N. Hill was num- bered among the most progressive business men and the most honored citizens of Anderson, and contributed much to the furtherance of the civic and industrial prosperity of his community. After his retirement from business affairs, he continued to live in Anderson until death came as an end of his mortal endeavors, when he was in the fullness of years and well earned honors. His career was guided and governed by the highest principles of integrity, he was strong in his convictions and ever ready to do his part in supporting measures and enterprises advanced for the general good of the community. His name is remembered with lasting honor in Madison county, and he made his life productive for good in its every relation.
Forrest J. Hill is indebted to the public schools of his native city for his earlier educational discipline, after which he attended the public schools of Anderson, completing his studies in the high school. He then entered his father's factory, where he gained a thorough knowledge of the practical details of the business and soon became a valued assistant in the conduct and management of the enterprise. In the field of manu- facturing his advancement has been steady, and his own ability and energy have won him success. In every respect Mr. Hill has well upheld the high prestige of the honored name which he bears. He is one of the liberal and representative business men of Anderson, is a staunch Repub- lican in his political belief, and takes an abiding interest in all matters touching the social and material progress and prosperity of his home city.
Mr. Hill married Miss Tillie Granger, a daughter of Dow Granger of Noblesville, Indiana. The four children of their marriage are: Forrest Jr., Hester, Marybelle, and Mildred.
ROBERT C. SHEPHERD. When the late Robert C. Shepherd died on November 5, 1904, he was the possessor of one of the finest farm homes in Madison county, Indiana, where he had lived for many years and reared his family. Probably no man in Madison county betrayed a deeper inter- est in farms and farming than did he, and it is certain that few if any, reached the pinnacle of success as an agriculturist that he attained. The study of that subject was long one of the most engrossing interest to him, and he possessed a deeper insight into it and was more thoroughly familiar with the secrets of Mother Earth than is often given to any who are not scientific students of the soil. His splendid farm of 260 acres near Anderson was long regarded as one of the finest in Madison county, and his home corresponded to it in all its detail of comfort and capacity.
Robert C. Shepherd was born in Kent county, Maryland, on August 24, 1852, and his death occurred at his home place on November 5, 1904. He was the son of James and Jane (Clendenning) Shepherd, natives both of Maryland, and there they passed their days. The son received his education in Kent county, and in his youth was thoroughly trained in the carpentering business, in which he was for some years occupied as a contractor, and in which he was fairly successful. It was not the work, however, in which his heart was centered, and when he came to Indiana in early life and beheld about him the splendid opportunities for securing land engaging independently in the business of farming,
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he relinquished all activity in building circles, and confined himself to the acquiring and working of a farm of his own.
Success was never a stranger to Mr. Shepherd. His first three years in Indiana were spent in Selina and Chesterfield, and it was then that he took up farming. His first place was one of forty acres, but he early began to add to his holdings and when he died a few years ago he had 360 acres of the finest Indiana land represented on his tax list. He was a man of the most thoroughgoing methods, and one who believed that whatever was worth doing at all was worth doing well. Consequently, he did not farm in a half hearted or indifferent manner. He did not make the mistake of attempting to successfully conduct a farm without acquainting himself with first principles in the art of farming. Rather did he delve deep into the subject, learning the comparative values and qualities of the different types of soil, and applying his knowledge in a manner that was conducive to the best results. His fine home was planned and built by himself, and is a distinet eredit to him as a builder, despite the fact that he abandoned the contracting business to take up one that was of deeper interest to him, and more suited to his natural inclinations. A man of considerable education, he was a citizen of the highest type and ever evinced a proper interest in matters affecting the public weal in his community.
Mr. Shepherd was married on April 10, 1870, to Miss Leona Tread- way Nelson, the only child of Moses and Martha Nelson. Seven children were born to them. Warren, the eldest, married Anna Dean. Thomas C. is married to Mattie Gobin, and they have two children,-Dorothea and Beulah. Charles W. married Ira Abbott. Alzora is the wife of Homer Lawler, and they have one son, William. Mae is the wife of Daniel Boner, and the mother of two sons,-Robert and Theodore. Jessie married Francis Scott, and their two children are Helen Mae and Lavona. Bertha, the last born, is the wife of Henry Hawlor, and has one daughter, Margaret. All have reached places of usefulness and merit and are acquitting themselves honorably in the work to which Life has called them variously.
Mr. Shepherd was an exceptionally public-spirited and enterprising man, and was known widely throughout his county. He was well read on topics of the day, an interesting conversationalist, but a thinker and doer, rather than a talker. He was long a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and was fraternally identified by his membership in the Red Men. He died comparatively young in years, being but little past his fifty-second birth anniversary, but he had accomplished more in that brief span than many who are longer spared to this world and its work, and will long be remembered as one of the most capable and suc- cessful men who ever identified themselves with the business of agricul- ture in Madison county.
W. C. SCOTT. Few men who find pleasure in country life realize more solid enjoyment from their work than does W. C. Scott, well known farmer and stock breeder of this community. His work is his recreation alike, and in it he exercises every faculty in his possession. As a breeder of fine horses Mr. Scott is known throughout the state, and he is espe- cially well known as the owner of Dan R., one of the fastest horses of the country, with a registered speed of 2:0114. As a general farmer, too, as well as in his capacity of breeder, Mr. Scott has gained prominence,
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and his place located on the W. C. Scott Gravel Road, lies about a mile and a half distant from the town of Chesterfield.
Mr. Scott was born on September 12, 1852, in the town named above, and is the son of William and Betsey (Schrayer) Scott, the former a native son of Lee county, Virginia, who came to this region in the year 1836 and here settled. He was variously employed in the community for some years, and was for a considerable time occupied in railroad contracting, a work in which he was particularly successful. Both par- ents died in this locality.
When Mr. Scott was a boy he early gained habits of independence and energy, his first work being that of waterboy to the gang which his father employed in the railroad work. Later he served as pumpman for the tank that fed the engines, and he went to school when it was convenient, rather than otherwise. He also worked on the farm and did teaming for wages, and was occupied in these ways until he reached his twenty- second year, when he set out for himself as an independent farmer. He rented land the first while and later bought the farm, where he has ever since resided most comfortably. Here he has carried on his work and with advancing years and growing independence, he has found it pos- sible to indulge his faney for thoroughbred horses, as well as to keep up the regular work of his place. His ownership of the well known Dan R. has already been mentioned, and is indicative of his taste in horseflesh.
In 1875 Mr. Scott married Rachel Boddel who died without issue, and he later married Hannah Boddel, who bore him three children. Luther, the eldest, married Vina Boner; Jacob married Nettie Dunham, and Hannah is the wife of Charles Owens. The third marriage of Mr. Scott was to Mary A. Parker, and to them have been born two daugh- ters. Angeline, the eldest, married William Boner, and they have one child, Eva. Elizabeth married Elmer Jeffries, and to them two sons, -Walter and Floyd, were born, the first of whom is deceased.
Beyond his home interests Mr. Scott is not concerned with public matters, beyond the interest of any good citizen. He is a Republican in Politics and attends the Christian church.
ALONZO D. NORRIS. Holding prestige as the leading fruit grower of Adams township, Alonzo D. Norris has also the distinction of belonging to that class of men who have achieved their success through personal effort, as he entered upon his career without financial backing or influ- ential connections and has worked his way to the front by steady applica- tion, untiring industry and constant perseverance. From modest begin- nings he has built up a business which adds to the importance of Madison county as a fruit-growing center, and at the same time has identified himself with all movements which have gone to make for the public welfare. Mr. Norris was born in Henry county, Indiana, November 10, 1857, and is a son of John C. and Emmeline M. (Bray) Norris, both now deceased, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Adams township. There were three children in their family, of whom two now survive: Cindora, who is the wife of Isaac Keesling and resides in Kansas; and Alonzo D.
Alonzo D. Norris received his education in the district schools of Adams township, whence he had been brought as a child, and was here reared to manhood. In 1878 he was married to Mary F. Stanley, and about eighteen months thereafter went to Illinois, where he spent two years. Subsequently he went to Kansas, by way of wagon, but after
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three years spent in farming in that state returned to Indiana, and took up his residence in the city of Anderson. During the twelve years that followed, Mr. Norris followed the trade of carpenter, with mod- erate success, and then spent two years in Henry county, but about the year 1898 returned to Adams township, Madison county. His capital at this time consisted of about $100, and part of this he invested in a small tract of land, on which he began truck farming. Here he also began experimenting in the growing of fruit and was so successful with .his initial ventures that he was encouraged to extend his operations along this line. From year to year he has extended the scope of this industry, and today he has seventeen acres set out in small fruits, prin- cipally strawberries and raspberries, and, as before mentioned, is the leading fruit grower of the township. His products find a ready sale in the markets at Anderson, where Mr. Norris is known as a man of excellent business abilities. He has made a thorough study of his call- ing, is recognized as an expert in his line, and has been successful in pro- ducing some excellent varieties of the smaller fruits. It would be diffi- cult to find a better example of self-reliance, progressiveness and per- severing energy, than that displayed in the career of Mr. Norris. He has met discouragements and disappointments, but has not allowed them to make him lose faith in himself, and his steady confidence in his ultimate success has eventually brought him to the vocation for which, it would seem, he is best fitted. In his political views Mr. Norris is a Democrat, but he has found little time to devote to matters of a publie nature, although he endeavors to support good men and meas- ures and to aid other public-spirited men in forwarding movements for the benefit of Adams township and Madison county. His fraternal con- nections include membership in the Improved Order of Red Men, at Emporia, and the Hay Makers at Anderson.
Mr. and Mrs. Norris are the parents of six children: Herbert; Clarence, who is married and lives in Adams township; George, a miem- ber of the cavalry service in the United States army, stationed at a fort in Wyoming, Nebraska; Alva, single and living at home; and Ada and Gladys.
JOHN T. STARR. Adams township can boast of some of the best- regulated farms in Madison county, and here are also to be found some of the most progressive agriculturists of this part of the state. Many of these men have been the architects of their own fortunes, and, ap- preciating their success because it has been self-gained, take a par- donable degree of pride in their own achievements and those of their community, and are striving earnestly in behalf of the public welfare. Prominent among this class stands John Thomas Starr, who has not only won an enviable position in agriculture, but has also rendered his county signal service in the capacity of sheriff. Mr. Starr was born in Henry county, Indiana, November 5, 1852, and is a son of Wiley and Dorcas (Vickery) Starr. His father, a native of South Carolina, migrated to Henry county, here established himself as a farmer, and passed away when John T. was a child. Mrs. Starr was remarried in 1860, but her second husband died four years later. Three children were born to Wiley and Dorcas Starr, namely : John T .; Joel D., who served in the Union army throughout the Civil War, subsequently be- coming a farmer of Anderson township, where he died in April, 1912, one of his community's most highly respected citizens; and Elizabeth,
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who is the wife of Richard Graham, who was also a soldier in the Union ranks.
John T. Starr was educated in the district schools of Henry county, and was there reared to manhood, continuing to reside in the vicinity of his native place until March, 1882, when he came to Madison county and located in Fall Creek township, near Pendleton. Here he com- menced to feed and ship stock, and his operations, commenced in a humble manner, soon grew to large proportions, and he was recognized as one of the substantial men of his community. Since 1898 he has devoted the greater part of his attention to general farming in Adams township, and is now the owner of a valuable, well-cultivated property. He has always been ready to adopt modern methods and ideas in his work, understands his business thoroughly, and because of persever- ance, far-sightedness and good management has been uniformly suc- cessful in all of his ventures. In his political views he is a Republican with progressive tendencies. He was three times nominated in conven- tion without opposition for the office of sheriff and became his party's nominee on another occasion, and served in that capacity from 1894 to 1898, giving the people of Madison county an excellent administration and bringing to the discharge of his official duties the same enthusiasm and well-directed effort that have made him successful in his business affairs. He belongs to Sicilian Lodge, No. 234, Knights of Pythias; has been connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows since 1872, and has twice been noble grand of Mechanicsburg Lodge; and is also prominent in Masonry, being a member of Madison Lodge No. 44, F. & A. M., Pendleton Chapter No. 51, R. A. M., Pendleton Council, R. & S. M., and Anderson Commandery. In all of these he has a wide acquaintance and numerous sincere friends.
Mr. Starr was married to Miss Mary Ann Pring, who was born ard educated in Henry county, Indiana, and three children were born to this union, of whom two are living in 1913: James M., born April 21, 1875, in Henry county, who served four years as deputy sheriff under his father, and is now engaged in the manufacturing business at Ander- son; and J. Ward, born in Madison county, who is a graduate of the common and high schools of Anderson and an Indiana University stu- dent now teaching in Madison county; James M., was married to Miss Maude Ajman, a daughter of Benj. Aiman of Pendleton, and they have two children, Frances and Morris.
JAMES J. NETTERVILLE. It is highly probable that there are few residents of Madison county who are unfamiliar with the name of James J. Netterville. His is the name of a man, essentially self-made and the term in this instance is used in the broadest application possible, being that of one who in early life determined to win success if industry and good management might be held as factors in the ultimate realization of his ambition. With neither the prestige of family nor the open sesame of money to aid him, he has made his way to the front ranks in the citizenship of Anderson, and is today foremost among business and political circles of the city.
Of Irish birth and parentage, Mr. Netterville was born in Ireland, en February 7, 1849. He comes of a family whose paternal ancestors were born in that country. The paternal grandfather, Mr. Netterville, was a well-to-do farmer and landlord in County Mayo, Ireland, and the father was also engaged in the same vocation while he remained on the island,
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but he migrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania, where he died in 1851. Following his death, his widow, who was Margaret Murphy in her maiden days, took her two children to Canada in the fall of 1851, and there made her home with her brother, who was living some sixty miles distant from Toronto. She came to Anderson in 1887, where she resided until her death. Besides James J., of this review, Mrs. Netterville had one other son, Frank, who died at the age of four years.
Young Netterville continued to live in Canada until Le was twelve years old, and at that early age he launched out in independent life. His first stop was at Detroit, Michigan, and there he was employed as check boy at the American Exchange Hotel. After two years he went to Chicago, and from. thence to Milwaukee where he enlisted in the regular army, serving three years in the reconstruction days fol- lowing the Civil war. At the expiration of his term of service he re- turned to Chicago. In that city Mr. Netterville received employment as time keeper in the North Chicago Rolling Mills, but when the works were destroyed by fire in 1871, he went to Cincinnati, there accepting a position in the wholesale and retail dry goods house of H. B. Claflin & Company, of New York City. It was while thus employed that he met and married Miss Amanda, the daughter of James and Emily (Ross) Smith. She was born in Boone township, Madison county, Indi- ana, where her parents, who were well known farming people, were pioneer settlers. Until 1875 Mr. Netterville continued in Cincinnati, and in that year with his wife he located in Anderson, and engaged in the grocery business, investing his entire savings and available capital in the business.
For two years he continued in that enterprise, but it failed to meet his expectations in any way, so that he decided to dispose of it and for some time engaged in farming. This, too, was not satisfactory to Mr. Netterville, and he felt a strong inclination to yield to a latent desire to study law. His indecision resulted in his beginning the study under the tutelage of C. D. Thompson, long since deceased, and within a year after he began his studies he was appointed deputy county clerk under R. H. Hannah, then officiating, and continued in the office through the administration of Mr. Hannali's successor, Jesse L. Henry. After three years of service in the office of deputy clerk, he was appointed Deputy County Treasurer under George Ross. In these departments of public service he was afforded the best possible opportunity to be- come acquainted with the people, and so well did he utilize that oppor -. tunity that the Democratic convention of 1885 nominated him for county clerk, and he was elected with a majority of 350, despite the fact that certain of his fellow candidates for various other offices were ingloriously defeated, some of them by majorities of four hundred,-a simple state- ment, but highly indicative of the position of the man in the esteem of his fellows. Mr. Netterville assumed the duties of his office in 1886. and three years later he was renominated without serious opposition, being elected by a pleasing majority. When he was first the incum- bent of a public office in Anderson the population of the city was 4,520. and during the years of his service the city grew to something like 25,000, three deputies being required to carry on the work of the office of county clerk.
In 1887 Mr. Netterville bought the interests of Mr. Myers, then Secretary of State, in the Weekly Democrat and became associated in its publication with Dale J. Crittenden. In 1891 a daily edition of the
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Democrat was launched, and when Mr. Crittenden was appointed post- master of Anderson by Mr. Cleveland, the paper was sold to the Demo- crat Company in 1893.
Mr. Netterville has been identified with the organization and opera- tion of a number of the more important enterprises that are now in operation in the city, and his relation to many of them today is a highly influential one. He was a leader in the organization of the Anderson Fuel Company, of which he became secretary, and which was organized with a capital stock of $250,000, and owned twenty-five natural gas wells. In 1896 he established the Netterville Insurance Agency, a con- cern that rapidly assumed generous proportions and carried on a large and lucrative business in the city. This was afterwards merged with the Farmers' Trust Company, one of the leading banking institutions of the city, and Mr. Netterville is now president of the concern, with George E. Nichol as secretary and treasurer, and A. T. Dye assistant secretary-treasurer.
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