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 22
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Mr. Mark E. Winiugs spent his early boyhood at Ashland and New- castle, Indiana, attaining most of his education in the grammar and high schools of Newcastle. His first practical experience in business life was in the employ of Mr. W. A. Fox in the undertaking business. This period of preparation was interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish- American war in 1898, at which time he enlisted in Company G of the One Hundred and Sixty-First Indiana Volunteers, and during his ten months service spent three months in Cuba. He was a private throughout his service. After the war he returned to Newcastle, and again resumed
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his work with Mr. Fox. On June 1, 1900, he was appointed government embalmer of the United States Transport MeClellan. The MeClellan was the boat which carried the senatorial investigating party to the Philippine Islands, towards the elose of President MeKinley's adminis- tration. The trip was begun at New York and after seventy-two days en route, the MeClellan arrived in the Philippines having voyaged twelve thousand and eighty miles. It was on the arrival at Manila that the first news was given them of the assassination of President Mckinley, their information coming from Governor-General Taft, who was then at the head of the Philippine government. The party spent some three or four months in the Philippine islands, visiting and inspecting all the islands and the principal centers. The Mcclellan then returned to New York where it arrived on December 23, 1901, and remained until February 22, 1902. Mr. Winings continued with the service when this boat again started for the Philippines, this time carrying a passenger list chiefly made up of two hundred and fifty school teachers bound for the Philip- pine service. The McClellan reached Manila after a voyage of sixty- five days, and was for some time engaged in transportation between the Islands. It was finally sent to Hong-Kong, China, where the ship was dry-docked and overhauled, and during that time Mr. Winings visited all the important cities of China by rail. With his ship he returned to Manila and thence to New York with a number of soldiers, arriving there in December, 1902.
Returning to New Castle in the spring of 1903, he remained there a few months, and on October 11, 1903, located at Elwood. Here he was in the employ of Mr. F. E. Kramer in the undertaking business, and the following year bought a half interest in the establishment. Then in 1905 he became sole proprietor, and has conducted the business ou sub- stantial and successful lines ever since. He owns the building in which his business is conducted and makes that his residence.
On October 18, 1905, he married Miss Ortha C. Bolt, a daughter of Lincoln and Anna (Young) Bolt. Mrs. Wining's was born in Clinton county, Indiana, where her parents were also natives, and where they still reside. She has one brother, Carl. The two children of Mr. and Mrs. Winings are Carl and Miles. Fraternally he is affiliated with Quincy Lodge No. 230 A. F. & A. M. Eiwood Chapter,. R. A. M .; Tipton Commandery K. T .; and also has membership relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Order of Elks, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Knights of Pythias, and the Sons of Veterans. In politics he is Republican.
HONORABLE JOHN LARUE FORKNER. As a volume of biography on Madison county would hardly be complete without the name of John L. Forkner, who as supervising editor of the present history is naturally modest concerning his own life record, the publishers take upon them- selves the responsibility for the preparation and publication of the fol- lowing sketch of a man who has been known in Madison county for nearly fifty years, and in many important relations with the business and civic life of his home city of Anderson and the county of Madison.
John LaRue Forkner was born near the village of Millville, in Liberty township, Henry county, Indiana, January 20, 1844. His grandfather, Isaac Forkner, born in North Carolina in 1775, settled during the early twenties in Indiana, at Centerville, Wayne county, from there moving to Henry county. Previous to coming to Indiana, he had been a soldier
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in the War of 1812, having entered the service from his native state. Micajah Forkner, father of the Anderson citizen, was born in Virginia, in 1812, and was a young boy when the family moved to Indiana. Mica- jah Forkner married Elizabeth Allen, a daughter of Hugh and Mary (Brooks) Allen, natives of Kentucky. She was born in 1814 and died in 1849. Micajah Forkner, who for many years was a merchant and farmer, died August 11, 1879, at the age of sixty-seven.
Jolin L. Forkner was reared on a farm, attended the district schools until 1856, when his parents went to Millville he alternated between village school and clerking in his father's store. In 1862, at the age of eighteen, he started out to fight the battle of life for himself. In the general store of Lontz Brothers at Hagerstown, Indiana, he was em- ployed as a clerk until the spring of 1863, when he found a similar em- ployment in the store of Honorable Lafe Develin in Cambridge City. In December, 1864, he went to Tipton, Indiana, to represent the interest of an older brother in the mercantile establishment of Forkner & Allen, and remained there until February, 1866. The latter date marked his location at Anderson, where he has had his home and chief interests ever since.
Mr. Forkner soon after locating at Anderson, where he first worked as a salesman in different stores, became interested in local polities, and in 1868, was the successful candidate on the Democratic ticket for the office of city clerk. He was re-elected in 1870, and served three years. During the same time he was also deputy clerk of the Madison county courts, under Hon. William C. Fleming, and under T. J. Fleming, until the fall of 1872. When, in the latter year, Albert J. Ross, was elected sheriff, John L. Forkner became his office deputy, and filled that place for two years. In 1872 he was local editor and business manager of the Anderson Democrat in addition to his duties as deputy sheriff and has been more or less connceted with the Madison county press for the past forty years as a contributor to the newspapers. In 1874 he was nominated on the Democratic ticket, and elected county auditor, and as his popularity showed no signs of abatement, he was re-elected in 1878.
During his last term as auditor, Mr. Forkner purchased a third interest in the Exchange Bank of Anderson, and when he left office in 1883 he took up the duties of president of the bank. In 1892 the bank was reorganized and made a national institution under the name of the National Exchange Bank, in which he became cashier and remained in that position until 1912 when he retired, a period of twenty years, and accepted the position of secretary and treasurer of the Pennsyl- vania Glass Company, having been a stockholder in that company since 1891.
The early political honors already mentioned by no means exhaust the services of Mr. Forkner in a public capacity. In 1884 he was chair- man of the County Democratic Central Committee, and his local leader- ship largely contributed to the signal victory gained by his party for Grover Cleveland, and for the state and county tickets in the campaign of that year. In 1891 he was elected to the city council as a Democrat from the Second Ward, overcoming a large normal majority on the other side. While a city councilman he took an active part in securing for Anderson an electric light and sewerage system, and also the construc- tion of many miles of brick-paved streets. He was elected mayor of the city of Anderson in 1902, and again in 1904. serving two terms.
He takes pride in the fact that during his incumbency the Electric
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Light plant and the waterworks systems were rebuilt and enlarged and a filtering plant built that gives Anderson pure water and ample fire protection. These utilities are not only the pride of Anderson, but are patterns for other cities to follow and are large money earners for the city.
Credit must also be extended to Mr. Forkner for his liberal assistance in co-operation with other men of enterprise in taking advantage of the situation created by the discovery of natural gas and directing these resources to the upbuilding of a great industrial and commercial center at Anderson. He was a member of the board of trade at the time of the discovery of natural gas, and contributed liberally of both time and money in locating industries and otherwise improving the city, which up to that time had been only a small country and county seat metropolis. Mr. Forkuer was one of the incorporators of the Citizens Natural Gas Company, and for five years was its president. He was among the original organizers of the Anderson Iron & Bolt Company, an important local industry which long held the distinction of being the only manu- facturing plant in Anderson, whose stockholders were entirely home capitalists. This plant was sold to L. S. Taylor and others, and removed to Louisville, Kentucky.
In the formative days of the Union Traction Company of Indiana, Mr. Forkner was one of the men who helped to lay the foundation for the present system. He was associated in 1897 with Hon. Charles Henry ; J. A. Van Nosdal and Ellis C. Carpenter of Anderson, and Phillip Matter of Marion, Indiana, in the organization of the Union Traction Company, and the construction of its electric line between Anderson and Summitville, and also in the construction of other links in the system. Mr. Forkner was treasurer of the company from its organization until it consolidated with Marion and Muneie lines.
In 1892 Governor Matthews appointed John L. Forkner a trustee of the Northern Asylum for the Insane at Logansport, and during the three years of his service he was president of the board for two years. From the time he cast his first vote, Mr. Forkner has always been a Democrat, and in his home county and district has probably done as much as any other man to promote the success of the party.
In March, 1873, Mr. Forkner married Miss Anna B. Hernly of New Castle, Indiana. At her death in 1876 she left one child, Emma Neff Forkner. She married Lee C. Newsom, who during the Spanish- American war was sergeant of Company L in the One Hundred and Sixtieth Indiana regiment. In 1878 Mr. Forkner married Miss Mary Carson Watson, of Anderson, whose father, David H. Watson, was a soldier in the Mexican war and at one time sheriff of the county. The two children of his second marriage were: Wade Hampton Forkner. who died in 1882 at the age of four years: and Nellie Grant Forkner. who married Mr. Frank I. Remy of Anderson, who yet resides in the city of her birth.
Mr. Forkner is a Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Elks. and has other fraternal affiliations. In religion he holds to no particular creed, and bestows charity, without ostentation.
While few citizens of Madison county have been more actively im- mersed in the current activities, Mr. Forkner has also taken great pleasure and interest in the things of the past. In connection with honorable Byron H. Dyson, in 1897, he published "Historical Sketches and Reminiscences of Madison County," a book of one thousand pages,
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devoted to local history and events from the organization of the county to the present time. This book has since been one of the standard sources of information concerning Madison county, and has received many tributes and compliments from the citizens of the county, and also many flattering press notiees over the state. Mr. Forkner has always had a high regard and admiration for the "old-timers," and it was this admiration which prompted him to engage in the task of writing his book. He delights in the old songs, the old stories of long ago, and has for a number of years held the post of president of the Old Settlers Association in Madison county. In his private collection he probably has more essential data concerning the history of Madison county than any other resident. For a long time he has kept a faithful record of the important events of the county, particularly of the death of the old settlers, and his chronological tables have from time to time been pub- ·lished in the local press. Mr. Forkner on every hand is justly regarded as the county historian of Madison county. Though he had not held an editor's chair for a number of years he has done much writing for the local press on a great variety of subjects. John L. Forkner stands at the present time in Madison county as one of its ablest and most honor- able business men, is a eitizen of eminent public spirit, and with personal success has also given many returns in the form of public service to the city and county with which he has been identified by residence for so many years.
GEORGE W. SHOWERS. Now filling the office of justice of the peace in Anderson, Mr. Showers has been identified by residence and business with Anderson and with Madison county for more than twenty years. In business affairs he is best known as a building contractor, and has done much substantial work as evidence of his ability in this line.
George W. Showers was born in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1847, a son of John H. and Maria (Hicks) Showers. In 1856, when George was nine years old, the family moved from Pennsyl- . vania to Henry county, Indiana, locating at a little place known as Mechanicsburg, Henry county, Indiana. The father was by trade a brick moulder and shoe maker and, besides his work for his family and immediate community, deserves an honored memory as a soldier of the Union. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E of the Eighth Indiana Infantry, and served under General Grant in the siege of Vicksburg. He died on August 16, 1863. He was taken sick at Vicksburg and died at Jefferson Barracks Hospital, in St. Louis.
George W. Showers was reared and educated in Henry county, attending the grammar and high schools. During boyhood days he assisted his father. At the age of nineteen he became a worker for wages on a farm, but in the following year began learning the carpenter's trade. He followed his vocation with success in other parts of the state, and in 1890 located in Anderson. From an individual carpenter he developed a business as a contractor, and sinee that time many of the stores, shops, churches and school houses in Anderson and vicinity have been erected under his management and contracting. He has a reputa- tion for reliable performance of all his contracts, and is a very skillful and thoroughly versed mechanic.
On June 8, 1871, Mr. Showers married Miss Lucinda A. Harter, a daughter of David Harter. Their marriage has been blessed with eight children, three surviving, Ralph W., John D. and Fred, all residents of
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Anderson. Mr. Showers was elected justice of the peace for the full term of four years in 1910. He dispenses justice with an impartial and capable hand, and has brought much dignity to his present office. Fra- ternally he is affiliated with the Improved Order of Red Men, the United Ancient Order of Druids, and is a demitted Mason. He is a Democrat and filled the office of justice of the peace in Henry county from 1886 to 1890. His religious affiliations are with the Christian church. His attractive and comfortable home is at 75 Bismarck street, in North Anderson.
RANSOM BRONNENBERG. After a long period spent in agricultural pursuits, Ransom Bronnenberg, of Anderson township, is now actively engaged in farming, enjoying the fruits of his years of industrious toil. He has spent his entire life within the limits of Madison county, where he has borne no small part in the wonderful development that has made this one of the garden spots of the Hoosier State, and the success that has attended his efforts is shown in the ownership of a handsome farm of 370 acres, located on the old State road. Mr. Bronnenberg was born on a farm, August 1, 1848, and is a son of Frederick and Hulda (Free) Bronnenberg. His father was one of the earliest settlers of this part of the county, coming here from Preble county, Ohio, in 1821, and here he spent his entire subsequent career, being engaged in farming and the raising of stock. Mr. Bronnenberg was a well educated man, rose to a high place in the esteem of his fellow-citizens, and made a gratifying success of all of his ventures. He and his wife had a family of seven children, of whom three are now living, namely: Ransom, Susan and Calvin.
Ransom Bronnenberg received his education in the Chestnut Grove schoolhouse, this being supplemented by study under the tutorage of his father. As was the eustoin with farmers' sons of his day, he divided his boyhood between the school room in the winter months and the farm during the remainder of the year, thus improving his mind at the same time that he was thoroughly trained in the principles of farming. He continued to remain on the homestead up to two years ago, and from time to time has added to its aereage, until it is now one of the most valuable in Union township. Mr. Bronnenberg continues to direet the operations on his land, contributing his long experience to the enthu- siasm and energy of his sons, who are carrying on the work. In business circles he is known as a man of shrewdness, foresight and acumen, one who is capable of recognizing an opportunity and ready to grasp it and to follow it up to successful termination, but he has been strictly honor- able in all his dealings and has never taken advantage of the misfortunes of others. For some years he was engaged in the raising of stock, and he has never lost his fondness for fast horses, being at the present time the owner of a number of valuable animals.
On October 30, 1869, Mr. Bronnenberg was married in Anderson township to Miss Sarah Seward, daughter of Irvin and Charlotte (Harper) Seward, who came to Madison county from Rush county, Indiana. Six children have been born to this union, namely: Joseph, who is assisting his father; Minnie, who married a Mr. Isonagel and has four children,-Velma, Helen, Robert and Evelyn : Frederick, who mar- ried a Miss Steward, and has two children,-Melville and Arnold; Wesley, who lives with his parents; Sherman, in Kansas; and Ernest, who also lives at home with his parents. The family stands high in the
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esteem of the community and its members are widely known in the vicinity where they have resided for so many years. Mr. Bronnen- berg is a Spiritualist. He is a Republican in politics and was elected trustee of his township in 1884 for two years. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F. at Chesterfield.
JOSEPH R. CAIN was long numbered among the honored merchants of Anderson and as one who saw service in all the grades of its indus- trial activity. He began his business connection here during the Civil war, and at the close of his long and useful life he enjoyed the quiet fruits of his previous industry and good management.
Joseph R. Cain, who for more than half a century was a resident of Anderson, was born in Clinton county, Ohio, near the Butler county line, August 12, 1831. He belonged to an old family with a distinctive military record. His grandfather was John Cain, who was born in one of the Carolinas in 1760, and when seventeen years of age he enlisted in the Patriot army of the colonists as a soldier against the aggressions of the mother county. His son, John H. Cain, the father of Joseph R .. , was born in South Carolina, became a tanner by trade, which business he followed for many years, and later in life moved to Indiana and located in Wayne county. The maiden name of his wife was Katherine Richards, and they had two children, Joseph R. and William.
Joseph R. Cain obtained his early education in the village schools and afterward attended the Wayne county academy, also spending oue term as a student in the Newcastle Academy of Henry county, Indiana. His career from the time he left school until his retirement a few years before his death was almost entirely devoted to his mercantile enterprise. He earned his first money as a clerk in a dry goods store in the town of Economy, in Wayne county, and during his three years there laid a solid foundation for his subsequent business career. Going to Indian- apolis, he became a clerk for the W. S. T. Morton & Coffin Dry Goods Company, and while in their store was engaged to go to Anderson and take charge of the new branch of the establishment opened in this city. It was in this way that he became a resident of Anderson, and he never left the city during the subsequent fifty years of his life. In partner- ship with T. N. Stillwell, he engaged in busines under the name of the New York Store, its stock consisting of dry goods, clothing, boots and shoes. This store was continued until 1870, and during that time the partners built a business block on Main street, at a cost of $15,000, one of the conspicuous landmarks in the business district of the time. The stock of the old store was then moved into the new building, and the business was conducted with ever increasing prosperity for a number of years. But finally Mr. Cain sold his interest to W. S. T. Morton & Company, and then for some time was connected with the establishment of Murphy-Johnston & Company, in what was known as the Indianapolis Wholesale Dry Goods Store. After retiring from his active career as a merchant Mr. Cain invested in two excellent farms, comprising in all two hundred and thirty-seven acres of land, and both are well improved and situated in Madison county. The passing away of this honored and well known citizen of Anderson occurred in April, 1913. at his home at 917 West Sixth street, where his family have their residence.
In 1867 he was married to Miss Anna Nye, of Richmond, Indiana. She died four years later, leaving two children, one of whom is also deceased and the other, Winifred, is at home. In January, 1876, Mr.
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Cain married Mrs. Cassandra Mitchell, who was born in Indiana, a daugh- ter of William Lowes. Mr. Cain had fraternal relations with Anderson Lodge, No. 131, I. O. O. F.
GEORGE W. HUPP. Now retired after a long and successful career, Mr. Hupp represents the earlier business activities of what is now the city of Elwood. He became a merchant in the center of Madison county fifty years ago, when the place was known as Quincy and was only a small rural trading point. Twenty-five years passed before the dis- covery of natural gas and the consequent boom which raised this town to the rank of one of the leading industrial centers of eastern Indiana. Through all this time Mr. Hupp was actively identified with the mer- cantile enterprise and continued a business man for some ten or fifteen years afterwards. His has been an honorable, active and prosperous career, and few citizens of Madison county so well deserve recognition for their achievements as Mr. George W. Hupp.
Born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, near Newmarket, December 3, 1834, Mr. Hupp is now approaching his eightieth year, and in his own long life is typical of the hardy and long-lived stock which has been characteristic of his family on both sides for generations. The family belong to the thrifty German stock which settled in Virginia during the eighteenth century. The paternal grandfather of George W. Hupp was Balsar Hupp, who was a farmer by occupation and spent his life in Shenandoah county. On the mother's side the grandfather was Jacob Kipps, the original spelling of which name was Gipps. The day of his funeral was the day set apart for him to make out his pension papers as a Mexican war veteran. His wife was Elizabeth (Virkle) Kipps. Both were of German descent and natives of Virginia, and he followed the occupation of farmer. The youngest sister of George W. Hupp now resides on the old Kipps farm in Shenandoah county, Virginia. Jacob Kipps and his oldest son were soldiers in the war of 1812. All his brothers and sisters, except two, preceded him to the grave, and he attained the age of more than four-score years. There were nine children in the Kipps family:
Samuel D. and Mary (Kipps) Hupp, the parents of George W .. were born in Virginia, and their eleven children were as follows: Sallie, who died at the age of eighty-eight, and was the wife of Mr. Knupp; Joseph, who lives near Newmarket at the age of eighty-four; Andrew, deceased ; Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife of Mr. Schaefer; George W. of Elwood; Harry, whose death was the first to break the home circle; Samuel, deceased : Catherine, who is single and resides near Mount Jackson, Virginia : Michael, who also lives near Mount Jackson: Jacob, who lives on the old home farm near Newmarket, and Mary. wife of William Olinger, a resident near Newmarket. The father of this family was reared in Shenandoah county, where he was born May 16. 1804, spent his active years as a farmer and died there May 22, 1884, at the age of eighty years and six days. At the time of his death he had thirty- three grandchildren. His wife died four years later at the age of seventy-eight. Both were members of the Lutheran church.
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