USA > Indiana > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Indiana : from the earliest time to the present, with biographical sketches, notes, etc., together with a short history of the Northwest, the Indiana Territory, and the State of Indiana > Part 46
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investments. In IS52, he was united in marriage with Miss Frances Shadley, by whom he is the father of eleven children, Mary J., Eliza- beth A., James B., Margaret E., Francis M., Geo. T., Mattie E., Ursula, Charlie A., and Samuel T., and William, now dead.
HON. KENDALL MOSS HORD. - That every man will follow his own inclinations the best and do it so easily that he hardly seems to put forth an effort, is proof that great excellence and superiority usually are the results of natural endowments, which will always excel mere education and culture. The present Circuit Judge of Shelby County, to those who know him, demonstrates the truth of this as- sertion. In him the voice of nature comes ringing down through the past, lavishing upon him many of her choicest gifts, and mark- ing him with the bright star of genius. The family originally came from Sweden, settling in Virginia at an early day, where Elias Hord, the grandfather of Kendall M., was born, grew up and married, afterward moving to Mason County, Ky., where he spent the latter part of his life. The father of Kendall M., viz .: Francis T. Hord, was born in Mason County, Ky., where he grew to man- hood and married Elizabeth S. Moss, a native of the " Old Domin- ion," who had come to Kentucky with her parents in early girlhood; nine children were born of that marriage, Kendall M. being the seventh in the family, and the sixth son. He was born in Maysville, Ky., Oct. 20, 1840, and his youth was passed in his native county. His father entered the law profession in Washington, Mason County, but upon the removal of the county seat to Maysville, he located in that city, where he continued practice until his death. He was a lawyer of extraordinary natural ability, and one of the leaders of the Kentucky bar. His sons have inherited his talents and love for the legal profession, three of whom are leading law- yers of Indiana, and the balance have become prominent in their respective callings. The subject of this sketch, in early youth, exhibited more than ordinary ability, and when but nineteen years of age, graduated from the Maysville Seminary. In 1859, he be- gan the study of law in his father's office, teaching school in the winter season, but still continuing his legal studies. In the spring of 1862, he underwent an examination before two Judges of the Circuit Court of Kentucky, and was admitted to the bar. He immediately located in practice at Flemingsburg, Ky., where he remained until the fall of 1863, when he came to Indianapolis, and entered the office of Hendricks & Hord, for the purpose of be- coming familiar with the code practice in Indiana, but more espec- ially to await an opportunity of selecting a town in which to locate. In the early winter of 1863, he located at Shelbyville, and the fol- lowing year was elected District Prosecutor of the Common Pleas
Henry Ho. Sortie
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Court, holding the position two years. In 1866, he was elected on the Democratic ticket Prosecuting Attorney of the Circuit Court, which he held two years, during which time he began to be recog- rized as one of the leading lawyers of the Shelby County bar. He was married August 20, 1867, to Miss Emily McFarland, to whom has been born one son - Luther J. Mrs. Hord was born in Springfield, Ohio, and is the daughter of John and Betsey McFar- land, who settled in Shelbyville about 1855, where they resided until death. In 1872, Mr. Hord was again elected as Prosecuting Attorney of the Circuit Court, and in 1876, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court, which position he now occupies. In his practice as a lawyer, and in his experience as a judge, he has exhibited a keen- ness of perception, a firmness of grasp upon legal propositions, and a power of analysis which are given only to the natural jurist. As a practitioner, his abundant theoretical resources never failed to ad- vance the interests of his client: and in his discussions of law to the court, or of fact to the jury, he was ever practical, logical and lucid; and with his personal magnetism, fluency, scope of language and perfect voice, he secured the attention of his auditor and always made deep impressions. He combines within himself rare quali- ties of mental and physical strength, an indefatigable will, keen judgment and quick observation.
HENRY H. JACKSON. - 'The gentleman whose biography is here- with presented is a native of North Carolina, born near the city of Greensborough, on the 25th day of January, 1844. His father, Eliab Jackson, was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about the year 1793. and died in North Carolina in 1873. The mother, Mary (Gassett ) Jackson, was born in North Carolina in 1797, and died at her home in that State about the year IS71. They raised a family of ten children the subject of this sketch being the youngest. Henry H. Jackson spent the years of his youth on a farm, enjoyed such educational advantages as were afforded by the country schools, and while still young engaged as a clerk in which capacity he continued for some time. In 1865, he came to Indiana and for six years thereafter was engaged in the manufac- ture of carriages, at the city of Columbus. At the end of that time he abandoned mechanical pursuits and opened a hotel, in the same place, which he operated until 1873. In the latter year he came to Shelbyville, and after remaining here until 1879, returned to Columbus, where he resided until 1882. He then took charge of the Ray House, Shelbyville which under his successful manage- ment soon became a favorite stopping place for the traveling pub- lic. He has been in the hotel business continuously since 1871. He in January, 1884, furnished and fitted the Hotel English, which
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he continued to operate until May, 1885, and during that time has earned the reputation of a very successful and obliging landlord. February 22, 1871, he married Mrs. Sarah R. Toll, daughter of Capt. G. R. Rader, of Kentucky. Mrs. Jackson was born in the city of Louisville, October 7, 1846. Mr. Jackson is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Masonic fraternity, having identified himself with the order in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have two children, Edward R. and Addie J.
EDWARD P. JEWETT .- The subject of our sketch is a native of Wayne County, Ind., born in the city of Hagerstown on the ISth day of July, 1857. His paternal ancestors came from Eng- land many years ago and settled in New Hampshire, in which State his father, Parker Jewett, was born December 26th, 1809. Parker Jewett was by occupation a blacksmith, and worked at his trade for several years in Cincinnati, having located in that city about the year 1825. Subsequently (1833) he moved to Randolph County, Ind .. and still later to Wayne County. where his death occurred in 1873. The subject's mother, Jane (Bowen) Jewett. was born in Lebanon, Ohio, March 26th. 1820, and is still living. making her home at this time in Wayne County, Ind. Edward P. Jewett is the elder of two children by his father's second marriage. He received a good education in the schools of Hagerstown, Ind., and at the age of seventeen began learning the stone cutter's trade, in which he soon acquired great proficiency, doing his first work in the city of Connersville. In 1879, he came to Shelbyville, and for sometime thereafter was in partnership in the marble business with J. H. Enos, the firm thus formed continuing until 1881. Since the latter year he has been. alone in the business, having in the meantime built up a large and constantly increasing trade, his shop at this time being the largest in Shelby County, and one of the most ex- tensive in this part of the State. Mr. Jewett is a skillful workman and as such enjoys much more than a local reputation. He has been quite successful in his business, and is none the less prominent as a citizen, having the confidence and respect of the community around him. He cast his first vote for James A. Garfield, and since that time has been an earnest supporter of the Republican party, though in no sense an office seeker. He was married in ISS2, to Miss Alma Aten, daughter of Abram and Eliza ( Thompson ) Aten, of Johnson County, Ind. Mrs. Jewett was born in the year 1859, and is the mother of two children, viz .: Charles W. and Chester A. Jewett.
THOMAS S. JONES, physician and surgeon, and Clerk of the Shelby County Circuit Court, is a native of Kent County, Dela- ware, and son of George and Mary (Ford) Jones, of the same
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State, the father, born in 1803, and the mother in 1809. The doc- tor was born on the 29th day of June, 1843, and acquired a good English education in the common schools of his native county. During the progress of this primary course he chose the medical profession as the channel in which his life's voyage was to be made and in 1864, began the study of the same at the town of Hazletville, Delaware, under the instruction of William B. Maloney, M. D., one of the leading physicians of that place. Actuated by a laud- able desire to increase his knowledge of the profession, the doctor in 1866, entered the Michigan University at Ann Arbor, and after taking one course there, became a student of the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he graduated in the spring of 1868. Having thus familiarized himself with the details of his profession he began the active practice of the same, at the town of Marydell, Md., where he continued until his removal to Shelby County. Ind .. in 1869. On coming to this county he located at the village of Flat Rock, where he soon acquired a large and lucra- tive practice. May 29th, 1886, Dr. Jones entered the arena of politics as the Democratic nominee for the office of Clerk of the Shelby County Circuit Court, a position to which he was elected by a very decided majority, and which he now fills to the satisfac- tion of his friends and political enemies. IIe is a member of the Masonic fraternity and an active worker in the Methodist Episco- pal Church, to which he has belonged for a number of years. He married in 1878, Miss Kate Struble, of Bartholomew County, Ind., a union blessed with the birth of three children, viz. : Mary E., Wil- liam S. and Herbert C.
CHARLES E. KARMIRE. - The subject of this biography is a na- tive of Germany, born in Prussia on the 29th day of May, 1829 .. Ilis parents, William and Elizabeth ( Winden) Karmire, were na- tives of the same county - the father dying there when Charles was quite a small boy, and the mother departing this life in the United States about the year 1868. In 1863, he accompanied his mother to this country, and settled with the family in New York City, where he soon obtained employment as salesman in a grocery house, in which capacity he continued until 1865. In January, of the latter year, he went to Toledo, Ohio, where he was similarly engaged until the following fall, at which time he took a thorough course in Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, thus laying the foundation for the successful business career which has marked his subsequent years. After completing his business education, he went to Indianapolis where, until the fall of 1866, he clerked in the hardware house of Wilson and Gorgas, and then went to New Orleans, in which city he was employed as clerk for about one
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year. In August, 1867, he came to Shelbyville, Ind., and began clerk- ing for A. J. Gorgas, in whose employ he continued until January, 1869, when he opened a grocery house, to which he subsequently added a hardware stock, and still later agricultural implements. He continued this business with gratifying success until 1877, at which time, he disposed of his grocery and hardware stock and began dealing extensively in agricultural implements, buggies, wagons, carriages, etc., in which branch of trade he has met with extraordinary success, his annual sales averaging over $65,000. Mr. Karmire has met with success such as few attain in a much longer life, and is a notable example of what a man of energy and determination can accomplish in the face of adverse circumstances. In the year 1885, he made a tour of Europe for the purpose of "regaining his health which had become seriously impaired by close attention to business, and the following year removed from Shelby- ville to his beautiful farm of 240 acres of fine land two miles south- east of the city where he now resides. He still carries on his busi- ness, however, and in addition to his home farm, owns other valuable real estate in both city and country. He was married June 2, 1870, to Miss Fannie Brown, daughter of Jacob and Eliza- beth Brown. Mrs. Karmire was born in Shelbyville and is the mother of four children, viz .: Earl F., Harry E., William J., and Charles A. Politically, Mr. Karmire is a Republican, but not a partisan in the sense of seeking office. He is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, having joined that order in 1880.
JOSEPH KENNERLY was born in Augusta County, Va., January 12, 1822, and is the son of Jacob and Amanda ( Cravens) Kennerly; parents natives of the same State. Jacob Kennerly was born April 5, 1796; emigrated to Jefferson County, Ind., in 1830, and two years later moved to Shelby County, where he resided until his death, in 1867. He was for some years an Associate Judge of Shelby County, and is remembered as one of the most prominent early settlers of this part of the State. Mrs. Kennerly was born on the 6th of October, 1804. and died at her home in this county in the year 1884. Joseph Kennerly enjoyed the advantages of a common school education, spent the years of his youth and early manhood on the farm and at the age of twenty-three began life for himself, choosing agriculture for his vocation. In this he met with much more than ordinary success, having by diligence and in- dustry succeeded in accumulating a handsome competence by means of which he is enabled to spend his declining years in ease and comfort. In his early life he was a hard working man as is attested by the fact that he cleared and prepared for cultivation about 200 acres of land. In 1886, he disposed of his farm and removed to
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Shelbyville, where he is now living a retired life. He was a sol- dier in the war with Mexico, serving twelve months in Company H, Third Regiment, which he accompanied to and from Mexico. He is a Democrat in politics and deserves mention as one of Shelby County's representative citizens.
GEORGE W. F. KIRK first saw the light February 16, 1837, in a house which stood where Love, Major & Morrison's law office now stands in the City of Shelbyville. He is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Fleming) Kirk, and is of Scotch-Irish origin. The Kirk family came to Shelby County in 1832, and has remained ever since save a few years' sojourn in Bloomington, Ind. Mr. Kirk has never received more than a common school education. He began the active duties of life as a painter, beginning at the age of four- teen. He then entered a dry goods store as a clerk, which position he held until 1861. After the war began he entered the Quarter- master's Department under Capt. H. H. Boggess. Here he served until 1863, when he was transferred to the Commissary Depart- ment of the Army of the Cumberland, where he remained until April, 1864. Then coming home he engaged in the boot and shoe business in Shelbyville. In 1875, he quit the boot and shoe trade and became a solicitor of insurance, in which business he has since remained. He is also a director and the Secretary of the Shelby- ville Gas-Light Company. He married Miss Emma Browning of this county and city, October 2, 1875. There are but two of their five children living, Woodville B., and Frank S. Mr. Kirk is an ardent Republican. He was made a Mason in 1862, and since has advanced considerably in that fraternity, being now a member of Baldwin Commandery No. 2, and is the present Right Eminent Grand Commander of Indiana. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife are members of the First Presby- terian Church, and are faithful in their attendance.
OSCAR E. LEWIS. - Prominent among the successful young business men of Shelbyville is Oscar E. Lewis, who was born in Franklin County, Indiana, May 20, 1860. His parents, Alexander and Jane E. Lewis, were natives of the United States and England respectively, the mother coming to this country in 1838. The early years of his life were spent on his father's farm, and in 1872, he came with his parents to Shelbyville, where he immediately became a student in the city schools. He pursued his studies for a period of eight years, graduating from the high school in 1880, and the same year engaged in teaching, which he continued three terms, meeting with encouraging success as an instructor, in the meantime. In 1882, he accepted a position in the mercantile house of II. E. Schortemeier, Shelbyville, and three years later effected a co-
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partnership with his employer in the grocery business, purchasing the large stock of John W. Vannoy. Mr. Lewis, by his courte- ous conduct and honorable dealing, has succeeded in building up a large and constantly increasing trade, his house being at this time one of the best known places of business in the city. He is an en- terprising man and possesses those traits of character calculated to make him popular with the people.
W. F. LITTLE. an enterprising and public-spirited young citi- zen of this city, was born December 24, 1856. His parents were Robert F. and Sarah (Thrasher ) Little, who were natives of Union and Bartholomew Counties, Indiana, respectively; the former was born September 19. 1833. and the latter the IIth day of November, 1834. Both accompanied their parents to this county, of which they continued residents until their death, she dying February 16, 1866, and he February 28, 1874. William F., attended the common schools of this place, working in the intervals between terms with his father, who was a merchant tailor. He became quite proficient at that trade, and served as journeyman for a num- ber of years. In ISSo, he embarked in the business for himself, and he has met with most gratifying success, and now enjoys a large, remunerative and constantly increasing trade. October 4, 1882, Miss Josephene A. Robertson became his wife. He and she are both members of the Christian Church. He also belongs to Lodge No. 39, I. O. O. F. Politically he is a Republican.
BENJAMIN F. LOVE. - It is a fact worthy of consideration that nearly all of the eminent men of this country have struggled up from obscurity to fortune, position and fame. Here industry, learn- ing, talent and genius secure the highest reward of life. In a word, the true nobility -nature's rulers, God's noblemen -come to the front, and the people recognize them. They make our laws. shape our institutions, and free the minds of the masses from that ignorance that would otherwise trammel their intellectual develop- ment. These reflections thrust themselves upon us as we quietly contemplate the many eccentricities of the talented lawyer whose name heads this biography, and whose face we have seen in the legal battle light up with the radiant hope of success, when, with invincible argument of logical fact, he was demolishing the polished sophistries of a wily antagonist. Benjamin F. Love is a native Hoosier, born in Liberty Township, Shelby County, Ind., March 31, IS3I, and is the son of Samuel and Lucy Love, and the ninth in a family of fourteen children. His grandfather, John Love, a native of the Keystone State, moved to Kentucky, where he was married, Samuel being the only fruit of that union. He grew up in Ken- tucky and married Lucy Crisler, a native of the " Old Dominion,"
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and in 1823 came to Bartholomew County, Ind., where the family remained but a short time; and, not being satisfied with the country in that vicinity, they returned to Kentucky. In 1824, Samuel Love and family again came to Indiana, this time selecting a home in Shelby County, where he resided until his death, in the spring of IS43. Snmuel Love was an " early-day " Justice of the Peace in this county, and it is said by some of the oldest inhabitants that Benjamin F., while a boy, was a constant attendant upon the trials in his father's court, and always gave strict attention to the conflicts of the lawyers, and while quite young he displayed great aptitude in grasping and comprehending knotty questions of fact; and from his youth he exhibited a logical and analytical mind, which he to some extent cultivated at neighboring debates with the teachers and bright young men of his locality. He received his education at the common district school, with the exception of a short course of study in the Shelbyville Seminary, and in early manhood followed teaching and surveying. During the latter part of this time, he studied law in his spare moments, and had charge of a few cases, which was his first experience in the legal profession. Hoping to better his condition, and with a desire for change, he went to Mis- souri, and in the spring of 1861, entered the law department of Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., remaining there one ses- sion. He then returned to Missouri, and in a few months went to Jackson County, Ill., and shortly afterward, in the summer of 1861, came back to his boyhood home and located in practice at Shelby- ville, where he has since remained. He was married in Kentucky, in November, 1855, to Miss Elizabeth Johnson, of that State, who died in July, 1857. He was again married, July 3, 1865, in Shelby County, Ind., to Mrs. Martha J. Wooley, nee Winterrowed, daugh- ter of Anderson Winterrowed, one of the early pioneers of this county. Mr. Love is regarded as an eccentric man, which arises from his very unreserved and unpretentious bearing toward his acquaintances, and, when the cares of business are cast aside, his indulgence in his large fund of humor and anecdote: and, having a keen sense of the ridiculous, he enjoys repeating anecdotes and passages from humorous speeches and orations: and at other times rising to great intellectual force and power, when the occasion de- mands it, thus producing an inconsistency in the make-up of the man that is only appreciated by those who know him best. When he presents himself before the court or jury in the conflict in behalf of his client, his combative nature and intellectual power rise to any emergency that presents itself, and his greatest force is only brought out when hard pressed or grave responsibility rests upon him; and the man as surrounded by his friends in the social circle, and the
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man before the jury, presents a change and contrast of intellectual make-up that is striking, and it is not strange that those who know him think him eccentric. While he is a lawyer of extraordinary ability and strong faculties, he yet in an important case appears slow, and labors harder than others of his professional brethren: but a client may always be certain he will fully develop all the strong points in his case. His great caution and genuine solicitude for the cause of his client, and his fear that he might omit something or commit an oversight that would prejudice his client's cause, is the reason of his apparent tardiness in such a case. Nothing would be more mortifying to him than to feel, or to have his client feel, that he had not done all that could possibly be done in a case. Though possessing great combative force, he is not what is understood as an aggressive lawyer until he is sure of his position, and then he presses his point with vigor, deducing from every fact, or seeming fact, a logical conclusion that cannot be broken down or undermined. He has never aspired to office or political preferment, but has de- voted himself to the law, and, though an ardent Republican, his party has not succeeded in obtaining his power and influence upon the stump. He is scrupulously honest and frank in all his dealings with his fellow-man: and in all his agreements or professional engagements with the court or bar, he will not allow himself to vio- late the letter or spirit of any engagement upon any technicality or quibble: but he is slow to make any engagement or contract affect- ing other persons without their full concurrence and approval, but when once made, it must be honestly and fully maintained. He has always been temperate and moral: is a man of generous, kind impulses, and has secured a large circle of warm, sincere friends, who are greatly devoted to him, and in the social circle his fine qualities and jolly good humor cast a glow of sunshine over all who come in contact with him.
JAMES MAGILL, business manager and senior proprietor of the Shelby Times, is a native of Ireland, where he was born April 4, 1839. He is the son of Edward and Mary ( Cauthers) Magill. He grew to manhood in his native country, receiving there a national school education. In 1861, he emigrated to America, land- ing at New York, where he remained three months. He then came to Cincinnati, where he lived four years, thence removing to Butler County, Ohio, where he was married to 'Miss Martha Barnett. In 1868, he came to Shelby County, and rented a farm east of Shelbyville about two miles. Upon the election of Albert McCorkle to the Sheriff's office, Mr. Magill was appointed Deputy, and at the death of his chief he was advanced by the Commissioners to the position of Sheriff. His term only lasted one month. From
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