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 32
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On October 6, 1867, Mr. Davis was married to Miss Matilda E. Eads, who was born in Madison county, Indiana, September 12, 1848, and who died February 4, 1909. They became the parents of six children as fol- lows: Brittie M., who became the wife of Josiah Morrison; Arthur C., who married Harriet Werts; Joslin E., who is single, and is engaged as a bookkeeper in Dwiggins wire factory; Bessie, who is the wife of Wilson Newton and resides with her father; Roscoe C .. who married Julia Unger; and Weaver B., who married Naney Marice. The members of this family are connected with the Methodist Episcopal church. where they have been active in the work of the Epworth League and large con- tributors to its various movements. Mr. Davis always was a Republican until the campaign of 1912, at which time he transferred his allegiance to the new Progressive party. He has never been an office seeker, how-
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ever, and only takes a good eitizen's interest in matters of a public nature.
Sinee returning from the army, Mr. Davis has been almost contin- uously engaged in agricultural pursuits, and his operations have been attended by the utmost measure of success. At one time he was the owner of 300 acres of land, but much of this has been distributed among his children, and he now has but 160 acres. He was also the builder of the Davis tile factory in Stony Creek township, and continued to con- duet that business from 1884 until 1904, when he disposed of his inter- ests. At all times he has manifested a commendable desire to be of benefit to his township and his fellow-citizens, and few men in the town- ship have a wider circle of friends or stand higher in general publie esteem.
JOHN GEORGE HINDERER. Since 1889 a resident of Anderson, Mr. Hinderer has contributed in no small measure to the creative industry of this city. Though he has spent many years and is known to many local people chiefly as a market gardener, who supplies tables in hun- dreds of homes with choicest of vegetables, he has a special genins in mechanies, is an inventor of no mean ability, has manufactured musical instruments in Anderson and elsewhere, and at his plant in the suburbs is now making and distributing over a large territory some of the most praetieal devices used in poultry and general farming.
John George Hinderer is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Clarion county, April 25, 1858. His father was G. Hinderer, a native of Ger- many. John Hinderer, a brother of G. Hinderer, eame to America and settled at Troy, Ohio. He is deceased. Other relatives of these two brothers came to America, one named Chris, settling at Goshen, Indiana, while Robert settled in Lafayette, Indiana, and Gottlieb was in Kanka- kee, Illinois, and Frederiek in Columbus, Ohio. G. Hinderer was reared and edueated in his native land, and while there served an apprentice- ship in learning the trade of weaver. When his apprenticeship was finished, he immigrated to America, settled in Clarion county, Penn- sylvania, and for some time was employed there in an iron ore smelter. After that he bought a farm one mile southeast of Lickingville, and be- came identified with general farming. He also put in a loom and wove woolens and linen goods for the local trade. Combining those industries until 1870, he then sold his farm and moved to. Ohio, buying another farm at Troy, in Miami county. That was his home for five years. at the end of which time he sold out and bought a place three miles north of Greenville, in Darke county, and continued as a substantial farmer until his death on September 3, 1891, at the age of sixty-six years. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Anna Emminger. She was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of John George and Maria (Slater) Emmin- ger, and a granddaughter of Chris Emminger, a native of Pennsyl- vania, but of German parentage. The wife of G. Hinderer died May 5, 1900, at the age of sixty-four. She reared ten children named as fol- lows: John G., Herman B., Lizzie, Jennie, Daniel, Matilda, Jacob S., Henry, Christie, and Minnie.
John George Hinderer while a boy had the advantages of the rural schools of Washington township in Clarion county. Pennsylvania. In 1867 he was enabled to go to Europe, where he entered the Eslingen Uni- versity, at Eslingen, and took a course of three years in languages and other studies. At the end of that time he returned to America, and hav-
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ing a taste for mechanical work of the finer sort he located at Brattleboro, Vermont, where he served an apprenticeship in the Jacob Estey Organ factory. He was there five years, and became an expert workinan, in organ manufacture. From there he went to Ohio, and for a time was employed in farming with his father until his marriage. He began domestic life on a farm in Darke county, lived there two years, and sell- ing out began the manufacture and trading in organs and pianos at Greenville, Ohio. That business he continued with fair success until 1899, and then moved to Anderson. On the upper floor of the Hancock and Ellison Building on Ninth Street, he established his organ factory, and continued in the musical business until 1894. He put out a very high grade of organs, and gave an individual touch to instruments such as those made in the immense factory never received. In 1894 Mr. Hinderer rented a tract of land in the southeastern part of the city, and began truck farming. On that place he also set up a little shop and began making a rotary slaw and vegetable cutter, a machine which was a great improvement over similar devices then in use. Five years later he was able to buy the tract of land which he had previously leased, and has since continued market gardening. In 1901 Mr. Hinderer began the manufacture of the incubator known as the Excellent Incubator, and since that time has made and distributed thousands of these articles. To breeders and raisers of poultry, the Excellent Incubator is known as one of the best of many on. the market. In 1912, Mr. Hinderer has added to his local industry by establishing a mill for the grinding of corn and feed. His machinery is all operated by gasoline power.
On January 19, 1881, Mr. Hinderer married Mary Elizabeth Voru- holt. She was born in New Bremen, Auglaize county, Ohio. Her father, John Vornholt, was a native of Hesse Cassel, Germany, and a son of John Vornholt, who brought his family to America. coming in a sail vessel that was six weeks between Europe and America. Grandfather Vornholt was one of the pioneers of Auglaize county, Ohio. bought a tract of land in the woods, hewed a farm from the wilderness and made it his home until his death. John Vornholt, the father of Mrs. Hinderer,. was six years old when the family migrated to America. He was reared in Auglaize county, amid pioneer surroundings, and after attaining manhood secured a tract of eighty aeres, three miles from New Bremen. There he built a log house, and that was the home to which he took his bride, and where all his children were born. In the course of years he improved an excellent farm, and continued to live there until his death in 1893. He married Dorothy Bidemier. She was born in Amster- dam, Holland. Her father was a soldier in the Dutch army, and died while in service. After his death his widow and five children started for America, taking passage in a sail vessel which had a long and tedious voyage of nine weeks. The little family settled in Auglaize county, Ohio. and the five Bidemier children were Hettie, William, August, Carrie and Dorothy. The mother of Mrs. Hinderer died in 1903.
To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hinderer were born four children. named John G., Mary M., Lizzie D., and Martin L., and all are married. Mary M. is the wife of Robert Langley, and has one son Clinton. Lizzie married Samuel Farmer, and their three children are Bonita, Evelyn, and Albert. Martin married Artie Greene, and has three elfidren named Jeanette, Paul, and Vivian. Mr. and Mrs. Hinderer are of the Spiritualist faith, and worship in the Spiritualist church in Anderson. Mr. Hinderer has membership in the Knights of the Orient.
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CASSIUS C. JACOBS was born on a farm in West Vincent township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, on September 1, 1845. At the age of five years he moved with his parents and older sister to Madison county, Indiana. He is the son of Charles P. and Esther A. Jacobs. The former is a son of Thomas and Sarah Jacobs.
Charles P. Jacobs was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, on Oc- tober 6, 1816, and died on October 6, 1901. He married Esther Ann Fus- sell, daughter of William and Jane Foulk Fussell in Chester county on October 27, 1842, and they came to Madison county, Indiana, on Novem- ber 28, 1850, locating near Pendleton, Indiana; taking eight days to make the trip, first by stage over the Allegheny mountains, then by steam boat down the Ohio river, then by train to Indianapolis from there tak- ing farm wagon to Pendleton, Indiana, where they continued to reside through the remainder of their lives. They became the parents of two children : Elmira, born September 17, 1843, and who died on March 27, 1865, unmarried; and Cassius C. Jacobs of this sketch.
Cassius C. Jacobs came to Madison county at an early age and here has passed his life from an early period. He attended the public school lasting from two to three months in the year and working on the farm and in his teens was able to attend the Normal school at Lebanon, Ohio. He was twenty-eight years old when in 1873 he married Sarah A. Ver- non and settled down to farm life. She is a daughter of Ederd B. and Hannah (Rogers) Vernon, and she was born on January 23, 1850, and educated in the common schools of Madison county, Indiana. Her fa- ther, Edward B. Vernon, was born in 1816, in Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, and was married in 1843 in Madison county, having come here about 1837. He made this county his home until his death on October 7, 1912. He was the father of twelve children, five of whom are living at the present time.
As a member of the Republican party and an active worker in its ranks, Mr. Jacobs as in past years on many occasions has given valued service to the community in which he has lived. He was a member of the board of supervisors for six years and proved himself a most efficient member of that body. The one instance when Mr. Jacobs was separated from the communal life of this township and from his farming activities was when he located in Anderson and New Castle, Indiana, and had charge of a general agency for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He eventually reverted to his farming interests, however, and has since been thus occupied in sawmilling, buying and selling logs and lumber in connection with his farming, and he has enjoyed much success in the industries. Mr. Jacobs has seen many changes in the life of the town- ship in the years of his association with the community, and of those who lived at Spring Valley and this part of Fall Creek when he first came here, not one is living today in his school district.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs have two sons, Arthur, born March 15, 1874, who was married to Anna Williams; they have two children, Eva M. and Edward W. Jacobs; and Charles Jacobs, born October 5, 1875. He married Fannie D. Budgurs, and they have two children, also: Audra M. and Horace Jacobs.
The Jacobs family through their long and praiseworthy identity with the county of Madison, occupy an enviable place in the esteem and regard of the representative citizenship of the communities in which the various members of the family are known, and taken as a whole, may Vol. II-15
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well be said to be one of the standard type of resident that has borne so worthy a part in the growth and upward development of the county.
REV. ROBERT SELLERS, pastor of the East Main Street Christian Church, at Elwood, Indiana, was born near Franklin, Johnson county, Indiana, February 10, 1857, and is a son of Nelson and Sarah T. (Pritchard) Sellers. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Sellers, was a soldier during the War of 1812, and subsequently became a pioneer of Johnson county, Indiana, where he was for many years engaged in farming, and where his death occurred in advanced years, burial being made near Nineveh. He and his wife were the parents of six children: Martin, Cynthia, Pollie, Sallie, Betsey and Nelson. On the maternal side, the grandparents of Rev. Sellers were Lewis and Susan (Martin) Pritchard, natives of Kentucky, and early settlers and farmers of John- son county, where both passed away. Their children were: Curtis, James, John, Robert, Nancy, Sarah T. and Jane.
Nelson Sellers was born in Indiana, and was reared in Seott county, but subsequently went to Johnson county, where he secured a farm and spent the rest of his life in making a home for his family. A faithful member of the Christian Church, and a loyal and public-spirited citi- zen, he was widely known, and well merited the esteem in which he was universally held. Born July 8, 1825, his death occurred January 6, 1901, while his wife, also a native of Indiana, was born February 16, 1830, and passed to her final rest, November 1, 1905. They were the par- ents of eight sons and three daughters, as follows: William T., a resi- dent of Indianapolis; Mary Elizabeth, who became the wife of II. A. Green, of Jacksonville, Florida; John, who is now deceased; Martin, residing at Franklin, Indiana; Rev. Robert, of this review; Lewis N., living at Franklin ; Susan Jane, who became the wife of S. H. Broughton, of Indianapolis; Rev. Elmer, who lives in Logansport. Indiana; Emma, who is the wife of William Pangburn, of Franklin; Dr. Blaine H., a dentist of Indianapolis; and Dr. Samuel N., engaged in the practice of dentistry at Clinton, Indiana.
Robert Sellers was reared on his father's farm in Johnson county, and there received his early education in the district schools. Sabse- quently he attended Franklin College, and Butler College, at Irvington. Indiana, and graduated from the latter institution in 1884. Following this he read medicine for a short time, but in 1885 began preaching. being first an Evangelist in Johnson county. Tipton became his first pastorate, but two years later he returned to Johnson county, and from there went to South Bend, where he was pastor of the Christian Church for eight years. He subsequently spent two years at Ashtabula, Ohio. and then returned to Irvington, where he became field secretary for Butler College. Rev. Sellers' next charge was Greencasle, Indiana, where he continued for three years, and in 1904 he came to Elwood, where he is now serving his ninth year as pastor of the East Main Street Christian Church, the congregation of which now numbers over a thousand souls. Rev. Sellers is still in the prime of life, is active and alert, and never tires of doing good for his beloved flock. He has endeared himself to all classes, regardless of denomination or nationality, and his influence, always for good, is found in every walk of city life.
On February 24, 1886, Rev. Sellers was married to Miss Lauretta E. Morgan, who was born in Johnson county, Indiana, daughter of Madison and Mary Ann (McCaslin) Morgan, natives of the Hoosier
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State who are both now deceased. Three children have been born to Rev. and Mrs. Sellers: Paul M., of Elwood, who married Lola Enders, and has three children-Dorothy, Richard and Donald; Lucille, who married J. I. Spingler, and lives in Franklin, and Robert, who is a student in the Elwood High School.
PURL DEAN. In the personnel of the live business men of the thriving town of Summitville, Indiana, Mr. Dean, of the well known firm. of Dean & Tomlison, stands for progress, aggressiveness and honesty in the execution of his business interests. He is known in Madi- son county as possessed of rare business acumen, which is a requisite that is a direct aid in the advancement of any village, town or city.
Mr. Dean is a native of Madison county, Indiana, and was born March 29, 1873, the only child born to his parents, Calvin and Dee (Reed) Dean, both residents of Grant county, Indiana. The father is a native of the Blue Grass state of Kentucky, and his life has been spent as an agriculturist, although much of his time has been devoted to the work of an auctioneer.
Mr. Dean of this review has been reared in Madison and Grant counties and received a good practical education in the public schools, and the town schools. Most of his boyhood days were spent on one of the pretty Indiana farms of North Central Indiana, and he well knows the value of that training which the farmer lad receives, if he wishes to lay the proper foundation stones of life. In business he has been eminently successful. As an agriculturist he has met with success, and in the buying and selling of horses he ranks with any buyer in Madison county. Besides this he has followed in the foot- steps of his father as an auctioneer, and his services' are constantly in demand. He has a splendid farm in Van Buren township, contain- ing excellent improvements, and for some years has been a member of the firm of Dean & Tomlison, of Summitville, dealers in all the best makes of buggies, wagons, plows and harness. In 1913 the firm erected one of the best business houses in Summitville for the display of their goods, containing light work rooms and offices, and the building is the pride of the town of Summitville. Mr. Dean is an affable, genial, cordial . gentleman, and by his cordiality of manner wins many customers. He is always ready to greet the stranger with a word of cheer and good will, which is not thrown away.
He wedded Miss Maude North, September 19, 1881, a most estimable lady, and to this union there has been born one son, Rall, now a student in the graded schools of Summitville. Fraternally Mr. Dean is an honored member of the Modern Woodmen of America; the Improved Order of Red Men, Neoskaleta Tribe, No. 149; the Orioles, Nest No. 8, and the Order of the Eagles, Eyrie No. 1755. Mr. Dean and his family are in sympathy with the teachings and doctrines of the United Brethren church, and politically he is a Democrat. They are citizens who are highly esteemed in the business and social circles of Summitville.
WILLIAM E. THOMPSON. Since the pionee days of Madison county this section of Indiana has known and has been influenced by four gen- erations of the Thompson family, and representatives of three genera- tions are now living and are active workers in the business enterprises of Anderson. The four generations of the family have alike been dis- tinguished for exceptional business talent, enterprise and large public
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spirit, and as individuals they have contributed many important serv- ices to the life and activities of the county. William E. Thompson & Son are prominent in Anderson as contractors and builders, and many of the fine business structures and other works are credited to their industry and skill.
William E. Thompson, the head of the firm of William E. Thomp- son & Son, of Anderson, was born in Madison county, in the village known as Prosperity, five miles north of Anderson, March 19, 1858. His father, James A. Thompson, was born October 12, 1834, at Milton, Wayne county, Indiana. The grandfather was the Rev. William A. Thompson, one of the remarkable characters in the early history of In- diana. His regular occupation was farming, but for many years he was devoted to the ministry of the Baptist church, one of the old-time preachers who performed his work without salary, ministering for the good of the souls and the welfare of his community.
An interesting sketch of Rev. William A. Thompson, the pioneer minister, is found in a work previously published of the history of Madison county, and for its intrinsic value it is reproduced almost verbatim in this sketch. "William A. Thompson was born in the state of Virginia, October 12, 1803. He was married on September 26, 1819, to Mary E. Berger, by which union a family of thirteen children were born, eight sons and five daughters, of whom eleven grew to be men and women and eight were living in 1874. He removed from the state of Virginia to Henry county, Indiana, in the spring of 1832, and lived there until the spring of 1839. He then moved to Madison county, which continued to be his home until 1866. He then went to Sullivan county, on the western border of Indiana, and spent his final years in that vicinity. His early trade was that of shoemaking, but when he came to Madison county he abandoned that vocation and chose farming as his occupation, a vocation more congenial to him and one in which he prospered. In 1828 he joined the Methodist Episcopal church, and continued a member until 1830. He then allied himself with the old- school Baptist denomination. On the first Saturday in August, 1830, he preached his first sermon, and continued to preach without inter- mission until the end of his life. He seldom passed a Saturday or Sun- day without delivering a religious discourse. He was always remark- able for his good health and fine physical constitution, and, above all. for his good temper. During his long life he was scarcely ever known to be angry, especially with any member of his family. He stood five feet, eight inches high, was heavy set and had a full, ruddy complexion, blue eyes, black hair. He was a very fluent speaker, and his eloquence was forceful and impressive, as well as fluent. In politics he was a Democrat. His wife died on May 3, 1864, and he later married Mrs. Sarah Richards, widow of John Richards, who had been a Baptist min- ister in Grant county, Indiana. Rev. Thompson was elected a member of the Indiana legislature in 1856, and in that capacity served one term with great honor to himself and the people. He was one of the committee who voted against the state paying the Wabash & Erie canal bonds. In 1863 he was elected a county commissioner for Madison county, and during his one term in that office was mainly instrumental in having Madison county issue bonds to pay bounties to the soldiers who had volunteered for the cause of the Union."
James A. Thompson, the father of William E., was reared in Madi- son county from the age of five years, and has had a successful career
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as a contractor and builder. He has contributed a brief and somewhat original sketch of himself, which is here reproduced: "I came to Madison county in the spring of 1839, and have lived in the county ever since (written in 1913). Was married February 12, 1857, in this county. I am a house carpenter and have worked at the trade for fifty-three years. I joined the Masonie order November 22, 1860, and have been an active worker ever since. The night has never been too hot, too wet or cold for me to attend a Masonic Lodge, and in late years when the family have prevailed on me to remain at home and not expose myself to the eold and disagreeable weather, I have always answered them that 'No man ever suffered by attending the Masonic Lodge.' I am a Thirty-second degree member at Indianapolis. I be- long to no church but attend the service of all denominations .- James A. Thompson." He married Miss Tabitha Mustard, a first eousin of Daniel Mustard, a banker of Anderson. She was born in Madison county, August 30, 1838, and her father, Enos Mustard, was formerly from Ohio.
William E. Thompson, a son of James A. Thompson and wife, ac- quired his early education in the public schools at Anderson, and after leaving the high school he went to Ottawa, Illinois, where he was em- ployed as a clerk in the retail shoe store of Phipps & Company. He was subsequently put in charge of a shoe store at Streator, Illinois, and from there went to Chicago, where he spent a little more than a year as a clerk in a shoe store. With that experience he returned to Ander- son and followed the same line of work for four years. At the end of that time he went to work at the carpenter trade under his father's supervision, and worked with him in the contracting and building busi- ness for two years, at the end of which time he took up contracting on his own account. He was later again engaged with his father for three years, and then joined P. B. Millspaugh in the firm of Thompson & Millspaugh, the partnership continuing for three years. During that time the firm built some of the large residences, school houses and churches in Anderson. They erected the city library building here and at Hartford City and Carthage, Indiana. After the dissolution of the above firm William E. Thompson continued alone until 1913, at which time his son was taken into partnership, and the firm is now known as William E. Thompson & Son. During the busy season Mr. Thompson employs quite a force of men, and his services have been utilized in much of the building construction not only in the city and county but elsewhere in the state. His strict rules of business are well known, and he is a contractor whose undertakings are carried out with most serupulous pains and with the utmost reliability, both as to work- manship and as to time.
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