USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 68
USA > Indiana > Parke County > History of Parke and Vermillion Counties, Indiana : with historical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 68
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Joseph D. Adams, inventor, manufacturer, and president of the noted firm of T. D. Adams & Company, of Indianapolis, Indiana. was born on December 12, 1853, in Parke county, Indiana, and is a son of Harvey and Eliza (Caruthers) Adams. The father was born in Ohio, July 25. 1825. spending his boyhood years in his native state, but when a young man he removed to Indiana and established the family home in Parke county, where he devoted his life successfully to general farming and stock raising, and here his death occurred on April 3. 1904. Politically he was a Republican, and while he was influential in local public affairs he was not a politician and led a quiet home life. The mother of the subject was born on November 4, 1826,
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in Parke county, and her death occurred June 15, 1912. Eight children were born to these parents, six of whom are still living, namely : John W .; Mary Ott is deceased; Joseph D., of this sketch; Mrs. Emma I. Trublood; Albert, who married a Miss Bullock; Laura is deceased; L. Alice married a Mr. Overman; L. Edgar also married into the Overman family.
Joseph D. Adams was reared on the home farm and there made himself generally useful when he became of proper age. He received his primary education in the common schools of his locality and later attended the Bloom- ingdale Academy. He began life for himself as a farmer and school teacher and soon had a good start, but, being of an inventive turn of mind and hav- ing a decided bent toward industrial affairs, he gradually drifted into his present business in 1882. He originally designed and built the well known machines, "The Little Wonder Grader," "The Road King," "King Junior," "Giant Road King," and "The Reclamation Ditcher." which have been sold in enormous numbers all over the country. The "Reclamation Ditcher" was so named because it was first used in the United States government in its vast reclamation works, with much success. Mr. Adams came to Indianapolis in 1887, and from that year until 1893 engaged in the manufacture of road machinery and bridge building, with a partner, under the firm name of Hunt & Adams. The firm dissolved partnership in 1893, and the subject estab- lished the firm of J. D. Adams & Company, under which he has continued with ever-growing success from that time to the present. He has had to enlarge his quarters from time to time and constantly add new machinery and equip- ment and employ additional men, until he now has one of the largest, best equipped and superbly managed manufacturing plants in Indianapolis, every- thing being managed under a splendid system, only skilled artisans being em- ployed and nothing but high grade work turned out. He built his present substantial and convenient factory in 1907. His products cover nearly all of the United States, especially the Mississippi river country, the Gulf and Pacific coast, and large consignments are sent to foreign countries. Owing to the superior quality and honest workmanship of his products there has long been a very ready demand for them.
Mr. Adams was married on April 13, 1876, to Anna Elder, who was born in April, 1851. She is a lady of culture and refinement, and has long been a favorite with a vast circle of friends. She is a representative of one of the influential old families of Parke county, a complete sketch of whom will be found on another page of this volume, under the caption of James Elder, who is a brother of Mrs. Adams. The latter grew to womanhood in
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her native community and received her education in the public schools and Bloomingdale Academy.
Three children have graced the union of the subject and wife, namely : Anna Laura, who was educated in the schools of Indianapolis, and at DePauw University, at Greencastle, Indiana, married Edward Henry. She is now deceased. Roy E. Adams was educated in Purdue University at Lafayette, Indiana; he married Miss Leona Haywood, of Lafayette, Indiana, and lives at No. 3255 Washington Boulevard, Indianapolis, and he is in business with his father, as manager of the factory. William Ray Adams was also educated at Purdue University ; he married Miss Helen Johnston, of Indianapolis, and they live at No. 3131 Washington Boulevard, Indianapolis ; he, too, is in busi- ness with his father, as assistant manager. S. C. Trublood, brother-in-law of the subject, is treasurer of J. D. Adams & Company.
Personally, Mr. Adams is a gentleman of pleasing address, always ob- liging, genial and an advocate of wholesome living and clean politics. He is a fine type of the successful. self-made, honorable American of the twen- tieth century-alert, energetic, broad-minded, progressive.
J. H. MARK.
The people of Florida township, Parke county, point to J. H. Mark as one of their most valuable citizens, admiring him for his skill as a farmer, his persevering industry and his high moral character, for his life among them for sixty-two years-all of his life -- may well be likened to an open book. He made his advent into this world in pioneer days, and is a connecting link between that period and the present, during which time he has lived to see and take part in the great changes that have occurred here.
Mr. Mark was born in Florida township, this county, June 23, 1850, on the Halbert farm, and is a son of John W. and Elizabeth ( Jordan ) Mark. The father was born in Kentucky, from which state he came with his parents to Indiana, his father, John Mark, having entered land from the government near the city of Greencastle, he having been the first one of the Mark family to settle in this state, and the family was influential in the early history of Putnam county.
J. H. Mark first went to school in Putnam county, this state, later finish- ing in the schools of Parke county, including the Friends Academy at Bloom- ingdale. He then took a course in DePauw University. After coming into
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this neighborhood he bought land from his father-in-law and has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits with a marked degree of success. He is now the owner of a finely improved and productive farm of one hundred and seventy-two acres, on which he keeps a good grade of live stock and on which stand a commodious home and convenient outbuildings.
Mr. Mark was married to Charlotte D. Lewis, daughter of Barnett and Rebecca (Forbes) Lewis, and to this union three children have been born, namely : Rose Ella, who married J. D. Porter, of Brazil, Indiana, and they had three children, Mearl (deceased), Josephine and Henry Mark D. Ovid Ellsworth Mark married Pearl Vestal and they have one child, Frank L. Ovid Ellsworth Mark is a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church at Boston, Massachusetts. Elizabeth Rebecca is the wife of Fred Wentworth, of Terre Haute, Indiana.
In religious matters Mr. Mark is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his family, and politically, he is a Prohibitionist.
WILLIAM F. BROWN.
Wherever he is found, the Scotchman always stands for honesty and integrity. He is reliable and his sturdy determination and persistence make the Scotch blood in this country one of the most valuable of European strains. We find in these children of bonny Scotland a droll humor and an unvarnished kindliness that makes them very successful in their relations with their fellowmen, especially in positions of authority. William F. Brown. of Clinton, Vermillion county, Indiana. exemplifies these invaluable traits of his race, and he is one of the most highly respected citizens in his com- munity.
Mr. Brown was born in Scotland. February 15. 1857, of William F. and Isabelle (Faulds) Brown. His father was a native of that country, being born there in October. 1831, and he lived there all his days, dying in March, 1897. His mother was born in Scotland in 1836 and died one year after the birth of her son. William F. Brown, Sr., was a teacher when he was young, but at the time of his death he held the position of cashier in Mc- Dowel's Foundry at Johnstone. William F. Brown, Jr., was the only child. and he came to the United States in December, 1882. He first made his home in New York, but later went to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Brown was married November 27, 1881, to Mary McIntyre, who
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was born April 31, 1857, in Scotland, where she received a rather limited education. They have three children: William F. lives in Terre Haute, Indiana ; James B. is at home and Margaret married Dave Downey.
During Mr. Brown's residence in Pennsylvania he was employed in coal digging, but he stayed there only about a year, and in 1883 moved to Clay county, Indiana, where he remained until 1887. During this time he was a machine boss. Mr. Brown continued to climb the ladder of suc- cess, and he soon went to Sullivan county to act as general superintendent for the New Pittsburgh Coal and Coke Company. In 1901 Mr. Brown left this place for a position of still higher trust in Jencave, W. S. Bogel's mine. There he was superintendent of all of the interests of the Clinton Coal Company in Vermillion county. Needless to say, this position was held to the credit of Mr. Brown and his company, and he is now acting as con- struction superintendent for the same company. During all his activities Mr. Brown has stood strictly on his own merits, gaining every promotion by hard work and foresight.
Mr. Brown is active in a number of interests in his county, as well as the state at large. He is a Mason, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Clay City, Indiana, of the Knights of Pythias at Clay City, and is identified with the Redmen at Sullivan. Mr. Brown's family are Presbyterians and are active in the work. Politically speaking, William F. Brown is a Republican. He does his duty to his community politically and socially, as well as in a business way, and is one of the foremost citizens of Clinton. Mr. Brown owns his own home, near Clinton, as well as a number of lots in the town. It is such men as he who build up a community by being thrifty, honest and reliable, proving that some of America's most successful children are those who are adopted from across the water.
STEPHEN JENKS.
For various reasons Stephen Jenks is deemed eligible for specific men- tion in this volume, not the least of which is the fact that he was one of the brave "boys in blue" who offered his services in defense of his country during the dark days of the sixties. His life has been one of honest endeavor and filled with good deeds throughout, and now, in the golden Indian summer of his life, he is enjoying a respite in his serene home at Dana. He has passed his eighty-third milestone and during his long, useful and industrious life
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he has been a most interested spectator to the crowding events of that mo- mentous period in our history, having seen and taken part in the develop- ment of western Indiana, witnessing its phenomenal growth from a wilder- ness to its present advanced state of civilization and prosperity.
Mr. Jenks was born in Washington county, Indiana. June 8, 1829, and he is a son of Tilly and Feroma (Taylor) Jenks, the father born March 12, 1800, in Vermont, from which he eventually moved to New York, and later to Washington county, Indiana, locating in the vicinity of Salem, and in the fall of 1848 he moved his family to Vermillion county and here he spent the rest of his life, dying on May 6, 1882. The mother of the subject was born in New Hampshire. The subject's father was a blacksmith by trade, and he also farmed some. His family consisted of eight children, three of whom are still living.
Stephen Jenks grew to manhood in his native community and received his education in the common schools. On October 5, 1864. he was married to Mary James, who was born April 7, 1837, and to this union four children were born, three of whom are still living, namely: Alma, who married L. E. Brown; Mayme, deceased, married George Sparks; Stephen Jenks, Jr., and Floyd B.
Stephen Jenks began farming early in life and this vocation he followed through all his active career; however, he worked some with his father at blacksmithing. He was very successful in his life work and laid by a com- petency for his declining years.
When the Civil war came on Mr. Jenks enlisted in August, 1861, in Vermillion county in Company C, Eighteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Washburn, who, being promoted, John C. Jenks, brother of the subject, was made captain of that company; he, too, was promoted to major and was later killed in battle. Stephen Jenks served three years to almost an hour and during that time he participated in many memorable campaigns and engagements, including the battles of Pea Ridge and Mag- nolia Church (or Raymond), also the siege of Vicksburg, and the battles around that stronghold, including Jackson; later served in Texas and was in a great many skirmishes, always performing his duty faithfully. Major Jenks, mentioned above, received his mortal wound while gallantly leading a charge on the forts at Vicksburg, dying some thirty-six hours later.
Stephen Jenks is now making his home with his oldest daughter at Dana, he having made the improvements on the home place here himself. and they are very comfortably located. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order at Dana. Politically, he is an ardent Prohibitionist.
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ELBERSON HATHAWAY.
Dependent very largely upon his own resources from early youth, Elber- son Hathaway, one of the best known business and representative citizens of the town of Perrysville, Vermillion county, has attained to no insignificant success, and though he may have, like many another man of affairs, met with some misfortune and encountered many obstacles, he has pressed steadily forward, ever willing to work for the end which he has in view. He has become one of the leading merchants of his section of the county, having built up an extensive trade in the grocery business and he has done much to promote the general progress of Perrysville.
Mr. Hathaway was born November 6, 1867, in Fountain county, In- diana. He is a son of Asher P. and Martha Allen ( Clifton ) Hathaway, both also natives of Fountain county, the father's birth occurring on March 22, 1844. There they grew to maturity and were married on February 14, 1864, and there they established the home of the family until 1873. when they moved to Perrysville, where they spent the rest of their lives, the father dying on January 17, 1900, and the mother passed away eighteen years previously, October 2, 1882. Their family consisted of four children, three of whom are still living.
Elberson Hathaway was reared to manhood in his native community and there he received a good common school education. On April 5, 1892, he was married to Lottie Richardson, who was born August 18, 1872, in Fountain county, Indiana, and there she grew to womanhood and received her educational training in the public schools. She is the daughter of Ste- phen and Elizabeth (Ricketts) Richardson. The union of the subject and wife has been without issue.
Mr. Hathaway started out in life as a farmer and in that manner got a good start. Later taking up the optical business in the town of Perrysville, he built up a very satisfactory patronage. He had for years made this sub- ject a close study and in order to perfect himself in the same took a course in the Chicago Northern Illinois Optical College, where he made a splendid record and from which institution he was graduated in 1904. Soon after that he went into the grocery business in Perrysville, which he has con- tinued with ever-increasing success to the present time, enjoying a large trade with the town and surrounding country, always carrying an extensive and carefully selected stock of staple and fancy groceries at all seasons.
Fraternally, Mr. Hathaway is a member of the Knights of Pythias
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and the Court of Honor, both at Perrysville. He is a member of the Chris- tian church, and in political matters he is a Democrat and while he is more or less interested in party affairs and in whatever tends to promote the gen- eral good of his town and community, yet he has not been a seeker after public office or mixed especially in political matters.
ROSS VANSICKLE.
It is not the man who is content with the ideas of his fathers, who is content with things because they have always been so, and who undergoes hardships because others have undergone the same, who makes his mark on a community, and from there on the state and the country ; but the man who is progressive, the man who is constantly looking for opportunities and mak- ing the most of those which present themselves, studying obstacles to find a way to overcome them. Such a man is a blessing to his family and neighbors and his influence extends far. Among the men in Vermillion county who have shown themselves to be progressive, in business, social, and political life, is Ross VanSickle, who has been for many years one of the most high- ly respected, substantial men in Clinton, Indiana.
Mr. VanSickle was born May 5, 1851, the son of Samuel and Jaley (Donaldson) VanSickle. His father was a native of Indiana, being born in this state in the eighteenth century, and dying here in 1867. He married Jaley Donaldson, who has also lived in this state all her life, and is still dwelling here. His parents were honest, hardworking people, of the stock to whom the state owes her early growth. They received only a common school education, but gained from their every-day experiences and such read- ing as could be easily gained in those days a knowledge of human life of which their son reaped great benefit. Samnel VanSickle was a farmer and an engineer, and was highly respected in his neighborhood. He had five children by Jaley Donaldson. Ross VanSickle has one brother, and one half-brother and half-sister living.
Ross VanSickle received a very limited education, living his early life on the farm. In 1887 he married Clara Coalman. She was born in 1868 in Indiana and went to school in this state. They had eleven children, eight of whom are still living: Harry is single and staying at home: Joe is mar- ried and is the engineer at Oak Hill Mine No. 5: Bertha. Ruby, Gertrude. Jim. Helen and Ruth are all at home.
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Mr. VanSickle is a member of the Owl order, Lodge No. 1149, at Clinton, Indiana, where he is now making his home. He has always fol- lowed mining as his occupation, with the exception of about one month when he took a position as a railroad carpenter. The work, however, in the latter place was not to his liking, so he returned to the mines and is now engineer at Oak Hill mine No. I, a position where he has served for four years. Mr. VanSickle is a competent engineer. He is active in all of the public movements in his community, and a man whose calm judgment and unprejudiced decision has made him popular with his friends and neighbors.
BENJAMIN F. LANG.
One of the best known citizens and representative business men of Dana, Vermillion county, is Benjamin F. Lang, who has maintained a grocery store there for the past twenty years and who during that period has done much toward the upbuilding of the town, being a man of public spirit and unselfish motives, desiring the general good and assisting his fellow towns- men while laboring for his own advancement. He bears an unblemished reputation and therefore has always enjoyed the good will and confidence of those who have had dealings with him in a business or social way.
Mr. Lang was born July II, 1851, at Rockville, Parke county, and he is a son of Joshua and Susan (McKnight) Lang. The father was born in Ohio, and when a young man he removed to Indiana, and his death occurred in Parke county, where he had long resided, in 1896. The mother of the subject was born in Scotland and from that country emigrated to America when a girl, here grew to womanhood, met and married Mr. Lang, and her death occurred in 1867, thus preceding her husband to the grave by nearly thirty years. Joshua Lang engaged in the brick manufacturing business, being the first man to make brick in the town of Rockville. Early in life he taught school several years. His family consisted of eight children, five of whom are still living.
Benjamin F. Lang grew to manhood in Rockville and there he received his education in the common schools. He was married to Sarah McMaster, who was born January 2, 1856. To the subject and wife eight children have been born, five of whom are still living, namely: Gertrude, Lawrence, Grace, Ethel and Walter.
Mr. Lang began life for himself as a railroader, following that with
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success for a period of six years and was climbing up in that line of endeavor rapidly when he decided to abandon the road and take up a more peaceful pursuit ; consequently he turned his attention to merchandising, and for the last twenty years he has been engaged in the. grocery business at the town of Dana, during which time he has enjoyed a large and constantly growing trade with the town and surrounding country. He has a large, well stocked store, and owns a commodious dwelling and other valuable property in Dana. In politics he is a Democrat, and he belongs to the Odd Fellows at Dana.
WILLIAM JARDINE.
One of the most reliable young miners of whom Vermillion county can boast is William Jardine, a typical Scotchman, whose industry and sterling integrity have made him a valuable man to the company with which he is connected near Clinton. The Scotch have been unusually successful in the work in the mines, both in this and the old country. They have a pride in their work for the work's sake, and their persistence and natural ability have placed them in positions of responsibility and trust. Their strong physique is also a big asset and they bring to their work a great force, which they seem to have gained direct from Mother Earth.
Mr. Jardine's father, Alex. Jardine, was born in Scotland, in Dumfries- shire, in 1838. His mother, Martha (Steven) Jardine, was born January 28, 1847, and is still living, having her residence in Clinton, Indiana. Alex Jardine was a shepherd, a man who knew nature in all her moods, and loved the hills where he tended his flocks. He gave the boy many valuable lessons of life there in his natural pursuits, and the memory of the gruff but kindly shepherd will stay with William Jardine in all his work. There were eleven children, seven of whom are still living.
William Jardine was born January 17, 1882, in Cumberland, England. The family moved to Scotland when he was eight days old. He received a common school education in that country, and spent his leisure time wan- dering about the hills with his father or watching the fascinating work in the nearby mines. At the age of twelve years he went to work in the mines. and has been in them ever since. His first experience in the mines was in Lanarkshire, Scotland, with the Palace Coal Company at Hamilton, the model colliery of Scotland. He began at the bottom and his progress has
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been steadily up the ladder until he has, since he has been in this country, held some of the highest positions in the mine.
In 1908 Mr. Jardine came to the United States and started to work in the mines at Salina, Pennsylvania. He only stayed there two months, how- ever, and came on to Indiana, settling near Clinton, Vermillion county, In- diana, where he immediately identified himself with the Clinton Coal Com- pany at mine No. 3. He next worked at No. 8 and then in the Klondike mine, from which he went back to No. 8, leaving No. 8 to go to Bunsen since September, 1911. It is because men like Mr. Jardine, who have come to this country to find increased opportunities and an equal chance for everyone, and have seen how much is needed here before that condition pre- vails ; it is because these men have not ceased to believe that their hopes can be realized, that socialism is having such a phenomenal growth. To such men this country owes much.
JOHN R. MC. MILLER.
The subject of this sketch is known as one of the best farmers of Rac- coon township, Parke county, where he has spent most of his life, he being a descendant of two of our worthy pioneer families, members of which played no inconspicuous part in the development of this section of the country and it has been to such as they that the country owes its debt of gratitude. All honor is due to the men who were willing to make the sacrifices necessary to prepare the wilderness for the success and comfort of coming generations.
John R. Mc. Miller was born on February 9, 1849, one mile below his present home in Raccoon township, Parke county, Indiana, on the farm which his maternal grandfather, Jimmy Crabb, developed from the virgin soil. He is a son of John B. and Nancy (Crabb) Miller. The father was also a native of this township and county, the Miller family having been among the earliest settlers here. The mother of the subject was born in Ohio. These parents received such public school instruction as those early times afforded, and they spent their lives engaged in general farming. and were the parents of three children, namely: James C., J. T. H., and John R. Mc., of this sketch.
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