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 35
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Homer B. Jones attended the country schools and was engaged in the activities of the farm throughout his school period. He was mar- ried November 21, 1905, to Nell Thornberg, of Anderson, a daughter of Richard and Arabelle (Thomas) Thornberg. Their two children are Richard L., age about six years, and Ralph, age about three. Mr. . Jones is a public spirited citizen so far as local affairs are concerned, but otherwise takes little interest in politics. He and his wife are both young people and find their society in the city of Anderson. Both are members of the Methodist church, and actively interested in church work.
ROBERT OLIVER PERRY THURSTON. The wise and vigorous applica- tion of practical industry never fails of success. It is the medium through which an individual is carried onward and upward, developing bis personal character and acting as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The exercise of the ordinary qualities of perseverance and common sense may form the means through which the greatest results in life are attained, the every-day life, with its necessities, cares and duties, affording ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind, and its most beaten paths providing a true worker with abun- dant scope for effort and self-improvement. In the field of daily activity in his chosen vocation, Robert Oliver Perry Thurston has won success, an enviable reputation and a place among the representative agricul- turists of Madison county, where he is the owner of a well-cultivated farm of eighty acres on the township road between Monroe and Richland. Mr. Thurston is a native of Madison county, having been born near the town of Summitville, March 19, 1861, a son of John F. and Margaret (Morris) Thurston. His father, a successful farmer, was the owner of several valuable farms, and spent his entire life in the cultivation of the soil. He was county commissioner of the county for two terms. He and his wife were the parents of six children: Mary E., who became the wife of James Woolen; Enoch P .; Nannie B., who is now Mrs. Joseph Howard, deceased; Robert Oliver Perry ; George F. and Ora W.
Robert O. P. Thurston received his education in Boone township, where he attended what was known as the Dead Dog school during the winter terms, and, like other farmers' sons of his days and locality, spent the rest of the year in working on the homestead farm. His father gave him a thorough and comprehensive training in the various subjects desirable for the successful farmer to know, and by the time he had reached his majority he was prepared to enter upon a tareer of his own. Accordingly, he left the parental roof and rented a small prop- erty in Boone township, and there, in addition to carrying on general farming he engaged in trading in stock of all kinds, thus accumulating the means with which to buy his present farm in Monroe township. Here he has erected buildings of a modern and substantial character and has made numerous other improvements, his property being one of the
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most valuable of its size in this section. He is a firm believer in modern methods and machinery and keeps fully abreast of the inventions and discoveries of his calling, giving each innovation a thorough trial before its acceptance or dismissal. As one of his community's energetic and public-spirited citizens, he has joined others in their efforts to advance their locality's interests. Personally, Mr. Thurston is popular with his neighbors and acquaintances and has a wide circle of friends.
On March 8, 1884, Mr. Thurston was married to Miss Mary L. Stan- ley, daughter of Isaac E. and Elizabeth (Fear) Stanley, and seven children have been born to this union, as follows: Chester H., of Monroe township, who married Miss Mary Ferguson; Edgar F., also of this township, who married Miss May Stevenson; Samuel S .; Clifford H .; Cletis and Earl, all residing at home with their parents; and Nellie, who became the wife of Samuel Washburn. Mr. Thurston's parents were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mrs. Thurs- ton is a member of the Christian church. In his political views, Mr. Thurston supports Democratic candidates and policies.
JOHN H. SIGLER. As a farmer and stock raiser, Mr. Sigler is one of the most prominent in Boone township of Madison county, and is a suc- cessful representative of a family which has been identified with sim- ilar interests in this county since the era of early settlement. In Pipe Creek township, and other sections of the county, the Siglers have been noted as skillful managers of the resources of the soil and have maintained high standards in the local society and citizenship. John H. Sigler operates and is owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land on the Shiloh road, about six and a half miles northeast of Elwood, and his daily mail facilities lie along that road from Elwood, his rural route being No. 28.
John H. Sigler was born in 1869 in Pipe Creek township near Frank- ton, a son of Andrew Jackson and Mina (Pierce) Sigler. Andrew Jackson Sigler, who is still living, was born in Pipe Creek township, and is one of the oldest living native sons of that township. The two children in his family are: John H. and a daughter, Josie, who mar- ried Mr. Waymire. Mr. and Mrs. Waymire have five children named Vernice, Howard, Vesta, Mina and Louis.
John H. Sigler as a boy was reared in Pipe Creek township, attended the Salem schools, and other local educational institutions. While a school boy he was also learning his practical lessons as a practical agri- culturist, and when his school days were over he applied himself to the work of the home farm until he was twenty-three years of age. He then began his independent career by renting his uncle's farm. Later he moved to Boone township, where he bought his present estate. Mr. Sigler raises most of the crops which can be profitably grown in this county, and concentrates his attention on hogs and horses, being most successful as a stock raiser. On October 20, 1892, Mr. Sigler married Miss Nelia Kimmerling, a daughter of Abe and Mary (Legg) Kimmer- ling. Mr. and Mrs. Sigler are the parents of six children, namely : Russell, Lester, Roliff, Kenneth, Vernon and Mildred. The two oldest sons have both finished their high school courses in Elwood, while the others are still attending the various grades of school. The family worship in the Christian church, and Mr. Sigler is a Democrat in poli- tics, as has been his family throughout their residence in Madison county.
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WILLIAM EMMETT CARTWRIGHT. Young men of character and abil- ity are bound to be recognized in their community and to such a class William E. Cartwright belongs. Mr. Cartwright comes from sterling parentage and ancestry in the county of Madison, as well as of the nation, for he dates his ancestry back to grandfather of the famous Peter Cartwright, well known in the history of our country. Mr. Cart- wright is. the choice of the citizens of Summitville and vicinity as the coming postmaster of the thriving village, and his honesty of character has been a factor that entered largely into his appointment to this office under the Wilson administration.
William E. Cartwright, more generally known as Emmett. has been - a resident of Madison county, Indiana, all his life, for he was born here September 17, 1884, and he is a son of T. E. and Lily M. (Kaufman) Cartwright. The Kaufman family emigrated from Mason county, West Virginia, to Madison county, Indiana, in 1853, and here maintained their residence to the end of their days. Mr. Cartwright's father, T. E. Cart- wright, is one of the leading citizens and business men of Summit- ville, and is a gentleman of more than average intellect. He is one of the best posted men in the county in the matter of Indian lore and in the history of pioneer days in Indiana.
Mr. Cartwright was reared in his native county and had his educa- tion in the graded and high schools, after which he pursued a course in the Indiana Business College. On the home farm he had an especially good training under the tutelage of his father, and he not only was taught the business of farming, but he had inculcated in him principles of integrity and honor that fitted him for the worthy career of his life.
He was in the employ of the Indiana Union Traction Co. for two years and was with the Muncie & Portland Traction Co. for one year, besides which he spent about one year as a commercial salesman in Indiana and Ohio. He has always been a great admirer of William J. Bryan, or since he was a boy of twelve, and he is an advocate of Demo- cratic policies.
Fraternally he is an honored member of the B. P. O. E., Lodge No. 478, at Alexandria. He has taken great pleasure in the profound study of modern psychology, and his library includes the works of the most erudite writer on the subject. Mr. Cartwright is among the social leaders in Summitville, and he enjoys the high regard of all,
ROBERT MOLAIN. The record of Robert McLain, of Summitville, is one distinguished by progressive rise from small things to ever increas- ing responsibilities and success. A native son of Madison county, where he was reared, and where he has been known throughout his career, Mr. McLain has gone from one position to another, always forward, and formerly a teacher he graduated from that work into merchandising, has been a factor in local financial circles, and is well known in politics and in the law, being a member of the Madison county bar.
Robert McLain was born on a farm in Madison county March 26, 1869. His parents were Harrison and Emeline (Thurston) McLain. His father, who was born in Brown county, Ohio, in 1837, came to Madi- son county in 1865 at the close of the Civil war, and bought the old Peter Eaton farm, which for upwards of half a century has been known as the McLain homestead. Of the six children in the family, three are deceased-William, Charles and Ellen, and the three still living are: Mrs. Clara Swaim; Walter, a resident of Missouri; and Robert.
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In the country schools of Madison county, Robert MeLain received his first preparation for practical life, and finally qualified himself for school teaching, a profession which he followed four years. This gave him a start in the world, and in 1893, with a limited capital of one hundred and fifty dollars, he bought a stock of hardware and eventually built up an excellent business in Summitville. Mr. MeLain takes special pride in having assisted at the merging of the Summitville bank, the Farmers and Merchants bank and the Summitville Realty Company into one institution. The new establishment is styled the Summitville Bank and Trust Company, and Mr. MeLain was placed in charge of the trust department. A few years ago he was made a member of the Madison County Bar Association, and this qualification particularly fitted him for this line of work in the Bank and Trust company.
On April 15, 1896, Mr. MeLain married Miss Mary Hannon, a daugh- ter of James Hannon. They are the parents of two children, Harry and Wilber. Mr. MeLain has not only been successful in business but has taken an active part in public affairs. For four years he held the office of township trustee of Van Buren township, was chairman of the Dento- cratie County Central Committee in 1908, and in the campaign of that year had the honor of leading his party to a decisive victory after years of defeat. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. MeLain has ever stood an advocate of improvement and advancement, always aligning himself with those working for a better moral community, and he has had much influence in educational work and in the establishment of a better citizenship.
WALTER W. VESTAL. On a finely improved estate of two hundred aeres in Adams township, Walter W. Vestal is mnost successfully engaged in diversified agriculture and the raising of high grade stock. He was born on a farm adjoining his present estate, has lived here during the entire period of his life, and he commands the confidence and esteem of all who have known him from earliest youth. Mr. Vestal is in fact a man of self-achievements. He began his career without capital, married when he was still a young man and has not only established and main- tained a good home, but has gained his share of prosperity which makes him an enviable figure in the local citizenship.
Walter W. Vestal was born in Adams township February 18, 1868, a son of L. C. and Sophia (Poke) Vestal. Both parents were natives of North Carolina, where they were reared, educated and married, and came to Indiana in 1866, locating in Adams township of Madison county. During the Civil war the father spent four years in the Confederate army. It was not from belief in the principles for which the South fought that he entered the army, since he was personally opposed to Secession, and his service was the result of a draft. He had one brother who fought on the Union side, so that the matter was equalized to a large degree. Mr. L. C. Vestal is now retired from farming, and makes his home in Anderson. In politics he is a Republican and supported that party from its early organization up to the campaign of 1912, at which time he voted with the Progressives. The six children in the family are named as follows: Walter W .; Edgar N. and I. L., both residents of Anderson township; Forest, on the old home farm in Adams town- ship; Esther, who is unmarried and makes her home in Anderson, and
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Myrtle, wife of John Clark. All the children own farms of their own and all have prospered during their individual careers.
Walter W. Vestal was reared on the home farm and in the meantime attended the district school in that neighborhood. When he was twenty- three he began life for himself, and his valued possessions at that time were a horse and buggy. On February 24, 1891, he married Miss Maggie Stanley, who was born in Anderson township of this county, and a daughter of Meridith Stanley. She attained her education in the dis- trict schools. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Vestal spent five years as renters and with the thrifty accumulations from their hard labor as tenant farmers, they got their first substantial start. Buying land and paying for it afterwards and then adding bit by bit in quantity and constantly improving the estate, they now have one of the finest homesteads in Adams township, two hundred acres, and with numerous handsome improvements. In 1908 they built a modern residence, which is heated with a hot water plant and there is also an individual light plant which furnishes lighting for both the house and the outbuildings. The most profitable part of Mr. Vestal's farming enterprise has been in the raising of hogs and cattle, and his successful management in this branch of husbandry has been responsible for his steady increase in prosperity.
Mr. and Mrs. Vestal have one daughter, Elsie, who is a graduate of the Anderson high school, and is now the wife of Forest Ryan. Mr. Ryan is also a graduate of the Anderson high school, and he and his wife now live on the estate of Mr. Vestal. They have one child, Mary Ryan, age one year. The family worship in the Christian church at Ovid, in Adams township. In politics Mr. Vestal is a Progressive, but during all the years previous to 1912 was a Republican.
JAMES M. DONNELLY. Prominent among those who have wielded much influence in connection with the improving and advancing of the live stock industry in Madison county stands Mr. Donnelly, who is one of the largest importers and breeders of high grade stock in this part of the state and who is known as a progressive, liberal and public spir- ited citizen, as well as one who is entitled to the unqualified popular esteem in which he is held in the community.
Mr. Donnelly takes just pride in tracing his lineage back to staunch old Irish origin and also in claiming the fine old Bluegrass state as the place of his nativity. He was born at Maysville, Kentucky, the judicial center of Mason county, on the 15th of September, 1860, a son of John and Julia (Karney) Donnelly, both of whom were born and reared in Ireland, where their marriage was solemnized. Upon his immigration to America John Donnelly settled near Maysville, Kentucky, in which state he continued to reside until 1864, when he came to Madison county, Indiana, and numbered himself among its energetie and loyal pioneers. He purchased a tract of land in Fall Creek township, whence he later removed to Richland township, where he became the owner of a fine farm, and where he was a citizen known and honored for his sterling attributes of character. He continued to reside on his old homestead, comprising seventy-five acres, until his death, and his cherished and devoted wife survived him several years. Of their two children, the younger, John, died at the age of thirty-five years.
On the home farm James M. Donnelly early learned the lessons of practical industry, and after duly availing himself of the advantages
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of the local schools he supplemented this discipline by a course of study in the State Normal School at Terre Haute. He applied himself earnestly and with marked ambition, the result being that he admirably qualified himself for the responsibilities and duties of the pedagogic profession. After devoting eight years to successful teaching in the public schools Mr. Donnelly went to the city of Muncie, this state, where he read law under effective preceptorship and where he was finally admitted to the bar. But such was the condition of his health that after engaging for a short period in the practice of his chosen profession he found it expedient to seek oceupation that would enable him to lead a less seden- tary life. He accordingly turned his attention to farming and stoek growing, his independent operations in this line having been instituted on a farm of forty acres in Monroe township, Madison county. With characteristic circumspection and energy he brought to bear his powers in a most effective way, with the result that his success became cumu- lative and placed him among the representative agriculturists and stock growers of this favored section of the Hoosier state. Concrete evidence of the prosperity that has attended his well ordered endeavors is afforded in the fact that he is now the owner of a finely improved landed estate of about five hundred and fifty acres, situated principally in Union township. He has made excellent improvements on his homestead, and has stood as a man of most liberal and progressive policies in conec- tion with his private business affairs and also those of public or general order. For a number of years past. Mr. Donnelly has given his attention principally to the breeding and raising of the best grades of live stock, and has been an extensive importer as well as one of the leading ex- ponents of this important line of industry in Madison county. He is one of the largest dealers and importers in central Indiana of Belgian and Percheron stallions and mares. He has seventy-five head of horses, has two barns, three hundred by forty-two feet, and carries one of the best stocks in the country. He is an authority in regard to live stock, and has shown the deepest interest in the furtherance of the industry. His homestead farm is situated five miles from Anderson and one mile north of the village of Chesterfield, and is one of the valuable properties of the county. Mr. Donnelly platted the Madison county fair grounds, and for several years was engaged in the real estate business in Ander- son. He is a member of the directorate of the Anderson Trust Company at Anderson, where he is likewise a director of the Anderson Building & Loan Association, another of the important corporations of Madison county. He is a staneh Democrat in his political proclivities, but has manifested no predilection for the honors or emoluments of public office. He and his family hold membership in the Christian church at Anderson, where he is also affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and other fraternal organizations.
On the 25th of February, 1882, Mr. Donnelly was married to Miss Lulu Pence, a daughter of John and Rhoda (Colvin) Pence, of Madison county, and the five children of this union are Wade, Ward, Walter, Fred and Dale. Wade, who wedded Miss Lillian MeClintock, resides in Anderson. Ward, who wedded Miss Florence Bassett, resides in Chesterfield. The three younger sons remain at the parental home. The family have long been one of prominence and popularity in the social activities of the community.
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CHARLES W. DAWSON. Among the business men of Madison county who have from small beginnings made substantial places for themselves among the prosperous citizens of this place, a notable example is to be found in the person of Charles W. Dawson, proprietor of the Dawson Machine Works, at 16th and B Streets in Elwood. His success in the business world is well merited, in that it has come through the medium of well directed industry, while as a citizen he has ever shown a com- mendable inclination to assist in all movements pertaining to the public welfare.
Mr. Dawson is a native of the Hoosier State, having been born at Greenfield, February 12, 1871, and is a son of Henry L. and Mary (Van- landingham) Dawson. The paternal grandparents of Mr. Dawson, George and Rebecca Dawson, were early pioneers of Indiana, where both died in advanced years and were the parents of three children, Henry, Jesse and one other.
Henry L. Dawson was born in Indiana, and has spent his entire life in this state, with the exception of two and a half years, when he served as a private in the Union Army during the Civil war. For a number of years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits, but subse- quently turned his attention to contracting, and is now one of the well known business men of Indianapolis. He first married Mary Van- landingham of Indiana, who died in the faith of the Methodist church in 1877, aged about twenty-six years, and they became the parents of five children, namely : Charles W., of Elwood, Indiana; Jesse G., whose home is in Cleveland, Ohio; John C., who resides at Franklin Park, Illi- nois; Luna, who became the wife of J. R. Leah, of Marion, Indiana, and one child that died in infancy. Mr. Dawson married for his second wife Miss Rhoda McFadden, and they became the parents of two children: Cora and Fred.
Charles W. Dawson was reared in Central Indiana, spending his boyhood and youth in Greenfield and Indianapolis, in which cities he attended the public schools. In 1885 he first came to Elwood, where he completed his education and subsequently accompanied his father to Kokomo, where he learned the trade of machinist, which vocation he has made his life work. While a resident of this place he met Miss Myrtle L. Lewis, daughter of Francis and Almira (Tolbert) Lewis, who afterward became his wife, June 3, 1894. Soon after his marriage he embarked upon his business career as the proprietor of an establish- ment at Alexandria. It was here their son Donald Verne was born May 26, 1895. One year later Mr. Dawson with his family returned to Elwood and has since made this place his home. The son attended the public schools here graduating with the class of 1913. The follow- ing year he entered Purdue University. Immediately on his return to Elwood Mr. Dawson opened a machine shop which he has continued to the present time. In 1908 he began the handling of automobiles, fitting up a well equipped garage, and has principally dealt in Buick cars, since that time. He has built up an excellent business, handling a full line of accessories and parts, and having every facility for the repair of all makes of motor cars. His excellent workmanship has gained him much patronage, and much of his success is due to that fact that he personally inspects all work before it is turned out of his estah- lishment. As one who has the interest of his community at heart, he has withheld his support from no movement of a progressive nature, while personally he has gained and retained many friends in the city
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of his adoption. He is a Republican in political matters, but has taken only a good citizen's interest in affairs of a public nature. His fra- ternal connection is with the local lodges of the Improved Order of Red Men and the Independent Order of Foresters. The pleasant family home in located at 1023 South Anderson Street.
R. F. ETCHISON. A homestead of about sixty-five acres located in the vicinity of Frankton is the residence and the scene of the business activi- ties of Mr. R. T. Etchison, one of the well known citizens of Madison county, and representing an old and honored family in this part of the state.
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