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 47
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ISSO to ISS2, he served as Deputy under James L. Brown. In ISS4, he received the nomination of his party for Sheriff and was elected. In 1886, his term expired, and he immediately took con- trol of the Shelby Times, with which he has since been connected. In February, ISSo, he suffered the bereavement of losing his be- loved wife. To their union seven children were born, of whom six are now living, Mary, Martha. Ida B., James, Margaret J. and Annie L. May 9, 1883, his and Belle McDougal's nuptials were celebrated. By his last wife he has two children, Katie and Effie. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. In politics he has always been an ardent Democrat, and has always worked hard for the success of his party.
JOSEPH MAGILL, brother of the above and Editor-in-Chief of the Times, was born in the County of Fermanagh, Ireland, November 22, 1852, being the youngest of a family of seven children. In 1867. he came to the United States, going immediately to Cincinnati. and there joined his brothers with whom he made his home, four years, when in 1871, he came to Shelbyville and en- gaged as a clerk in the shoe store of John Shelk, with whom he remained something over one year. While there he conceived a desire to adopt the profession of Journalism. With that in view he set to work, commencing at the foot of the ladder as a typo in the office of the Shelby Republican. At intervals, until 1876, he was engaged at the trade of his adoption on important work on the following papers: Cleveland Herald, New Albany Ledger- Standard, Louisville Ledger, Cinainnati Commercial and Chicago Times. In 1876, he took charge of the Literary Department of the Southern Rural Gentleman, at Grenada, Miss. Owing to ill health he was compelled to retire from that position in the latter part of that year. He then returned to Shelbyville, remaining a short time when he went to the West Indies via New York. In 1877, he returned to the United States. With the exception of three years when he was engaged in the Dramatic profession, he has made Journalism his life profession. After his return from the West Indies he took the position of City Editor of the Evansville Tribune. In 1879, he took the same position on the Courier of that city, with which he was connected in that capacity for three years; 1883 and 1884. he was City Editor of the fournal at that place : the latter part of ISS4, he severed his connection with that paper and secured employment with R. G. Dunn's Mercantile Agency, stationed at Minneapolis and Omaha, but as that did not prove agreeable to him he took a position as Reporter on the Chicago News and Mail about two years, when he came to Shel- byville in 1886, and has since been in charge of the Times. De-
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cember 31, 1886, his marriage with Miss Anna Deprez was sol- emnized. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
HON. STEPHEN MAJOR .- Few men are more entitled to have their biography handed down to posterity than the subject of this sketch, and few men leave their footprints so indelibly impressed upon the sands of time. He is one of the rare men we meet with in life, about whom we have no unpleasant recollections. Honor- able, honest and sensitive, he has vindicated, in his long life of use- fulness, that love of justice and fair play that characterizes the Irish race from its lowly laborer to its Emmet, its Burke, its Grattan, its Shields and its Sheridan. The Majors came from Normandy, France, to England, with William the Conqueror; and the branch from which the subject of this sketch descends settled in Scotland; but, during the time of Cromwell. three brothers of the family moved to Ireland, two of whom settled in Granard, County of Long- ford, where Stephen Major was born March 25, ISII. He is the son of Allen and Martha (Hysop) Major. natives of the County Longford, Ireland, and was the second in a family of eight children -three sons and five daughters-five of whom are yet living. In early boyhood, he attended a neighboring school, where he acquired a ready knowledge of mathematics, going from there to a classical school at Granard. He then attended Edgeworth School, which was quite a noted classical and scientific educational institution. In 1829, when but eighteen years of age, Mr. Major came to the United States and settled in Shelby County, Ind. Soon after coming, he entered the law office of Philip Switzer, of Columbus, who was then one of the most noted lawyers at the bar of Indiana. By dil- igent application and rigid study, he soon mastered the fundamental principles of the law profession and was admitted to the bar in IS31. On account of ill health, he did not begin active practice until IS34, when he located in Shelbyville. In 1836, he was ad- mitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Indiana, and, in IS43, moved to Indianapolis, where a more extensive field awaited him in which to exercise his then well known ability as a lawyer and jurist. Soon after locating in that city, he was appointed by Gov. Whitcomb as one of the Commissioners of the Indiana Hospital for the Insane, which he held until the spring of 1853, when he was appointed by Gov. Wright as Judge of the Indianapolis Circuit, com- posed of six counties; and, in the fall of that year, he was elected, by a large majority, as his own successor, and occupied the seat six years. During the early practice of Mr. Major in Shelbyville, a young man-who has since risen to eminence as a lawyer and a statesman-entered his office as a student: and, in 1864, Mr. Major was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court,
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on the motion of that student, the Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, who was then a prominent member of the United States Senate. In 1869, he returned to Shelbyville and entered into partnership with Alfred Major, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profesion. Ile was married in Shelby County, Ind., April 9, 1840, to Miss Phæbe Gaskill, daughter of Dr. George Gaskill, to whom were born three sons. Mrs. Major was born in Dearborn County, Ind .: was a conscientious member of the Epis- copal Church, and died October 4, 1874, with a strong and abiding faith in a happy immortality. Mr. Major was a member of the Episcopal Church, and belonged to the Masonic fraternity.
ALFRED MAJOR, Shelbyville. - There is not in Shelby County a professional or business man who possesses, to a greater degree, the unlimited confidence of every citizen than Alfred Major. In his professional and business experiences of more than forty years in this county, he has won and retained the friendship and respect of every one with whom he has had dealings or been associated with in any capacity. Men in every grade of society and station in life, place the most unbounded trust in his word, honor and in- tegrity. The Majors originally came from Normandy, France, to England, with William the Conqueror, and the branch from which the subject of this sketch descended, settled in Scotland, two broth- ers of which afterward removed to Ireland, and located at Granard, in the county of Longford. Here Alfred's father, Stephen Major, was born and educated, and after reaching manhood, purchased a com- mission in the British Army: he went with his regiment to the West India Islands, where the unhealthy climate so affected his constitu- tion that he was compelled to retire from the service as a half-pay officer; he settled in Quorndon, Derbyshire, England, close to the city of Derby, where he was married to Miss Harriet Bigsby, of Quorndon, whose family were connections of the noted banking firm of Smith, Payne & Smith, of London, England: the eminent English author, Sydney Smith, being also a member of this family. Of this union were born six children, Alfred, being the fifth in the family, his parents residing at Leamington, at the time of their death. Alfred Major was born at Quorndon, May 8, 1828, and grew up in his native village, finishing his education at the Isle of Man College, located on the island of that name: in IS20, his uncle, Arthur Major, had come out to Indiana and entered a large tract of land on Flat Rock, in Noble Township, Shelby County, which fell by heirship to Alfred and his brother Stephen, and in 1846, Alfred Major came out for the purpose of examining, and, if suitable, set- tling on his property. In 1847, he entered the law office of Thomas A. Hendricks, where he remained, studiously applying himself in
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mastering his chosen profession, until admitted to the bar: soon after, he formed a law partnership with Eden H. Davis, which con- tinued in a large and successful practice for several years. He was married in Rushville, Ind., May 20th, IS51, to Miss Jane Lowrey, daughter of William and Elizabeth Lowrey, natives of Ireland. Mrs. Major was born in Philadelphia, January 1, 1828, and had the following children: William S., Harriet, Elizabeth and Alfred L. After dissolving partnership with Eden H. Davis, Mr. Major con- tinued alone, and, in 1857, became a partner in the banking firm of Elliott, Hill & Co., which was sold out to Samuel Hamilton, Janu- ary I. 1858, and in 1859, he and John Elliott established the bank of Elliott & Major, which they operated successfully until January, 1865, at which time they disposed of their bank to Elliott & Co., this finally merging into the First National Bank of Shelbyville, in August of that year; in 1867, he became a stockholder in that in- stitution, and December 31, 1868, when the capital stock was in- creased, he became the largest stockholder, and January 12, of the following year, was elected Vice President, which position he has filled continuously to the present, with the exception of the year 1875, when he was President of the Bank ; during all this time he was still actively engaged in the practice of his profession, and in 1869, he entered into partnership with his cousin, Judge Stephen Major, which constituted a legal firm second to none in this part of In- diana. Upto November 4, 1874, nothing had occurred to mar the happiness of his successful career, but on that day the devoted Chris- tian wife and fond, loving mother, died, passing away as she had lived, a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, with a strong and abiding faith in a blissful immortality. At the age of seventeen, she became an active member of the church, and for a space of nearly thirty years was a constant attendant upon all the regular services; to the poor in their need, she was a warm friend, not by word alone but by substantial help; to every call of benevolence, she made some response in her quiet unostentatious way, using her money freely for the interests of the Gospel: and she went further: she advocated and practiced self-denial for the sake of doing good. Mrs. Major was peace loving in her disposition, and prudent to an ex- traordinary degree, yet she possessed that decision of character and that heroic devotion to her own ideas of right, which is one of the noblest characteristics of a true Christian. One interesting pecul- iarity of her character that shone out conspicuously through her entire sickness, as it had been before an ornament of her life, was her unselfish thoughtfulness of the interests and comforts of others. Her presence of mind and carefulness even about her household, never forsook her. To all her family she gave repeated and most
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tender admonitions and expressions of her wishes and views for them. and especially for their Christian hope and welfare. There is a power in such a character that is really deep, and there is a force in its simple truth that is felt and acknowledged far more than the mosf lofty pretentions. Mr. Major was again married November 28, 1878, to Miss Helen Thomson, a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., and daughter of the Hon. James Thomson, a prominent citizen of that city. Mrs. Major is a member of the Presbyterian Church, who, by her liberality to God's poor, and her kindness and benevolence at all times, fulfills the true conception of the Gospel. Mr. Major is a consistant attendant of the Presbyterian Church, but is a commu- nicant of the Episcopal Church, to which denomination he has ever adhered with that tenacity of purpose which is one of his strongest characteristics. In his profession, he devotes his time principally to the settlements of estates, doing an immense probate business, and is noted for the large amount of cases which he settles without resort- ing to the uncertain process of the law. In giving legal advice. he is always cautious, ever remaining within the strict letter of the law, so that he may be relied upon as one of the safest of counsellors. He is well versed in legal lore, and his law points are always well taken, and founded on the highest authority, making him a safe lawyer, whose decisions are candid, whose conclusion are carefully and logically reached, and who aspires only to be right and do right under the law. As a business man, Alfred Major is a model to be followed. Industrious, careful, painstaking, polite, earnest, unvield- ing, and withal, accommodating, his business and social life has been marked with no extravagance, no ostentation, no entangle- ments: quietly, smoothly, his fortune and reputation have grown to proportions attained by few. Since the formation of his first polit- ical ideas, he has been a cordial supporter of the Democratic party, and, though a man of great earnestness and clearly defined ideas of political questions, he has avoided politics. He is a man of extreme, retiring modesty, largely conservative in his views on every subject, a man of undoubted integrity in all the relations of life, and imbued with that spirit of liberality and progressiveness, which, coupled with his cultivated and genial disposition, have won him hosts of the warmest friends throughout Shelby County. He is now a chief member of the law firm of Love, Major & Morrison.
CHARLES MAJOR is the second of three children, born to Step- hen and Phoebe (Gaskill ) Major. His early boyhood was spent in Indianapolis, where until the age of thirteen he attended a private institution of learning, obtaining a thorough rudimentary education in the meantime. In 1869, he accompanied his parents to Shelby- ville, in which city he pursued his literary studies until 1872, grad-
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uating from the high school that year, and the following year entered the Michigan University at Ann Arbor, where he re- mained until 1875. Returning to Shelbyville after completing his literary education, he began the study of law. under the able instruc- tion of his father and Alfred Major, and in IS77, was admited to the bar, and at once entered upon the successful practice of his profession. In 1881, he effected a co-partnership with H. S. Downey and the firm thus constituted, continued until ISS4, since which time Mr. Major has been alone in the practice. He is and always has been an earnest supporter of the Democratic party, and as such was elected in 1885, City Clerk of Shelbyville, the duties of which position he discharged until his election to the General Assembly the following year. His race for the Legislature in the primary election was made against one of the most prominent men of the county. and his majority of votes attests to his personal popularity and standing. He defeated his competitor in the election by a majority of 520, and has proved himself an able and trustworthy member of the House, participating in all the deliberations and tak- ing an active part in the debates upon the leading measures pre- sented for discussion. As a lawyer Mr. Major, though still a young man, has already won some prominence in the profession. He is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows fraternities and a friend and liberal patronizer of every movement having for its object the welfare of the city and county. In IS83, he married Miss Alice Shaw. of Shelby County. Ind.
CHARLES X. MATHEWS, editor of the Shelby Republican, is a native of the Old Dominion State, having been born in Wythe County, Va., December 26. 1851. His father was Alexander S. Mathews, who was at one time a noted writer on agricultural sub- jects and one of the leading importers and breeders of live stock in Virginia, to which State he was the first to introduce the famous breed of Shorthorn cattle. His grandfather, Gen. Alexander Smythe, was an eminent lawyer in his time. a general in the War of ISI2, and for many years a member of Congress from the Old Staunton dis- trict in Virginia. The ancestors of Mr. Mathews were people of more than ordinary ability, and were among the first in a State that contained many families of prominence. He attended school for sev- eral years at Georgetown College in the District of Columbia and afterward graduated at the University of Virginia. Not long after his graduation he came to Shelby County and at once began his career as a successful newspaper man and editorial writer. In June, 1878, at the founding of the Shelby Democrat, he was editorially con- nected with that paper, a position he occupied for more than two years. On severing his connection with the Democrat he became
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the Indianapolis correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a place that is of more than ordinary importance, owing to the large circu- lation of that paper throughout Indiana. In February, 1882, Mr. Mathews returned to Shelbyville and took charge of the Volunteer, a paper that had been revived. In politics it was an independent Democratic sheet and opposed the ticket nominated by the regular Democratic organization for the county offices. The course of the paper, which was maintained with much ability and vigor, created a bitter factional fight in the Democratic ranks and caused the over- whelming defeat of that party in the county. Through the columns of the Volunteer he advocated temperance legislation, re- form of the civil service and independent political action as the method of remedying abuses of the old parties. In June, 1884, a stock company purchased the Shelly Republican, refitted the office and offered editorial control of the paper to Mr. Mathews. He accepted the offer and has since become one of the principal stock- holders. Under his management the Republican has been placed among the leading and most ably edited papers in Indiana. His fearlessness of expression and his scholarly attainments have con- tributed very much toward this end.
GEORGE C. MCCONNELL, lumber dealer and successful business man of Shelbyville, is a native of Shelby County, and the youngest of a family of six children born to George W. and Catherine (Morris) McConnell. The McConnells were among the pioneer families of Indiana, settling in what is now Dearborn County, where George W. McConnell, father of this subject, was born in the year 1812. They subsequently, in 1822. moved to the western part of Shelby County, and assisted in founding the earliest permanent set- tlement of that locality. Catherine McConnell was born in High- land County, Ohio, 1815. and died at her home in this county in 1873. Her husband preceded her to the grave, departing this life in the year 1868. George C. McConnell was born August 16, 1853. He received his early educational training in the common schools, and amid the active and rugged scenes of farm life, spent the years of his youth and early manhood. He began life for him- self as a farmer, and followed the pursuit of agriculture until Sep- tember, ISSo, at which time he moved to Shelbyville, and one year later engaged in the lumber business, which he has since successfully continued. April, 15, 1875, was solemnized his marriage with Miss Laura D. Smith, daughter of David and Delitha Smith, who were among the early settlers of Shelby County. David Smith was born in Clement County, Ohio, March 28, 1813; came to Shelby County in 1829, and died October 22, ISSI. Miss Delitha Denley, whom he married in 1834, was born in Virginia, March 25, 1817.
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Mrs. McConnell was born in Shelby County, May 16, 1855. Po- litically, Mr. McConnell is a Democrat, and in religious belief is a Presbyterian, he and his wife being active members of the church in Shelbyville.
SAMUEL P. McCREA, M. D., one of the enterprising business men of Shelbyville, is a native of Shelby County, and the youngest of a family of ten children born to John and Elizabeth McCrea. His paternal ancestors came originally from Scotland, and settled in New York, in which State John McCrea was born on the 26th day of July, 1787, being the youngest son of Samuel McCrea. John McCrea, on the 27th day of November, 1828, was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Templeton, who was born in Virginia in the year 1807. The family came to Indiana in 1835, and settled in Hendricks Township, Shelby County, locating at what has long been known as McCrea's Mountain, where the father entered land and developed a farm. being one of the early settlers of that section of country. Mr. McCrea was by occupation a tanner. but after loca- ting in the county, engaged in agricultural pursuits, which he fol- lowed until his death in 1859. Mrs. McCrea preceded her husband to the grave, departing this life on the 23d day of November, 1852. Dr. McCrea was born February 2, 1845, and grew to manhood on the farm with the rugged duties of which he early became familiar. He received his rudimentary education in the common schools and sub- sequently, in 1861, entered Franklin College, in which institution he obtained a knowledge of the higher branches of learning. Hav- ing decided upon the medical profession for his life work, the doctor, after a course of preliminary reading, entered in 1865, the Rush Medical College of Chicago, from which he graduated in 1868. Having thus prepared himself for the duties of his calling. he be- gan the active practice of the same in Shelbyville, in partnership with the late Dr. W. T. Green, a firm which lasted until 1870. In the latter year, the doctor abandoned the practice and engaged in the drug business, which he has since successfully continued, being at this time in partnership with C. Bishop. Dr. McCrea, in addi- tion to his profession and business relations. has taken an active in- terest in the welfare of the city, and at one time served as a member of the Common Council. He was made a Mason in 1868, and stands high in the order having taken the orders of the Temple, and at this time is the Eminent Commander of Baldwin Commandery, No. 2. Politically, he is a Republican, but not a partisan in the sense of seeking official position. The doctor was married No- vember 21, 1878, to Miss Phebe A. Robertson, of this city, a union blessed with the birth of one child, viz., Florence J. McCrea.
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THOMAS J. McLANE was born in the County Darry, Ireland, March 4, 1827, and is the son of William and Anna ( Irvin ) Mc- Lane. He is the third of five children. Most of his school educa- tion he received in Ireland, but went to school for some time after coming here. Mr. McLane came to America in 1844, and landed at Philadelphia. thence coming immediately to Shelbyville. In the same fall he began learning the carpenter's trade under the instruc- tion of Smith Wingate. This has been his occupation through life. In 1846, he enlisted in Company H, Third Indiana Regiment and spent one year in war against Mexico, and was in the Battle of Buena Vista. He was married in 1862, to Miss Margaret A. New- ton, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Gray) Newton. The chil- dren of this marriage are: William C., Thomas D., Elizabeth, Harry, Margaret and Dunn. Mr. McLane is a Democrat in politics. He has been a member of the I. O. O. F., for more than thirty years. He and his family are members of the First Presbyterian Church of this city. For about eight years, Mr. McLane has been giving special attention to bee-culture. He has the largest apiary in Shelby County, numbering over seventy stands. Not only in this latter work, but in everything else undertaken has the subject of this biography been successful. He stands very high in this com- munity as an honest, Christian gentleman.
ALEXANDER McLANE was born in County Darry, Ireland, October 28, 1831. He is the son of William and Anna (Irvin) McLane, both of whom were natives of the Emerald Isle. The family came to America in 1851, and on June 1Ith of that year, settled in Shelbyville. Here his father died in August, 1851, and his mother in October, 1869. The subject of our sketch is the youngest of five children, two of whom are now living. He was educated in Ireland before his family came to the United States. In the summer of 1851, Mr. McLane began learning the carpenter's trade, and has since continued that occupation with considerable success. In 1866, he went to Ireland, and while there wedded Miss Mary A. Given. Mr. McLane, with his wife, returned to Shelbyville during the same year. Only one child was born to this union, Annie I. Mrs. McLane died in 1870, and the subject of this sketch has since wedded Miss Angeline E. Linton, a native of Pennsylvania. They have five children, Gertrude, James, Bertha, Robert and William. In politics, Mr. McLane is a Democrat. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and are faithful in their attendance. He is a respected and honored citizen.
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