History of Tipton County Indiana, Part 27

Author: M. W. Pershing
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 701

USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 27

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

John J. Kessler, liveryman, was born in Tipton, Indiana, on August 6. 1876, the son of Jacob and Rasalia ( Vawter) Kessler. His mother was born in North Carolina, and came to Indiana with her parents when two years of age. They settled near Hope, in Bartholomew county, Indiana, where she grew to womanhood. John J. was the only child of this marriage. Mrs.

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Kessler is a faithful member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Kessler was married three times, and to the second union were born four children, Kate, Stephen, Samuel and Mattie. The father of the subject was a carpenter by trade and one of the very first merchants of Tipton, having his store on the present site of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company. He died in Tipton on March 18, 1885, at the age of sixty-nine years.

The paternal grandfather's history, with that of his wife, has been lost. The maternal grandparents were George F. and Charlotte Vawter, both natives of North Carolina and early settlers of Tipton county. He was a . farmer in Prairie township, and later in Cicero township. They both died in Tipton at advanced ages. They were the parents of five children, George, Miles. Samuel, Rosalia and Emma.

John J. Kessler was reared in Tipton and attended the public schools , in this city, and then began working on a farm by the month at eight dollars per month, and continued at farm work until he became of age. After his marriage he went to work for the Tipton Telephone Company and con- tinued in their employ for three years. He then moved to Atlanta, Indiana, in 1900, and worked in a livery stable for a short time. He then subleased the telephone exchange at Atlanta and operated it for a short time. He then engaged in the livery business in Atlanta for himself, buying a place on credit, with only one dollar and a quarter in his pocket. He operated this for three and one-half years and then, in 1904, moved his stock to Tipton, where he has been in continuous business since. He has a large line of buggies, hacks, and does all of the funeral business of the town. His livery barn is equipped with a number of devices for labor saving and cleanliness, such as are found in cities of larger size. He keeps on hand at all times a large number of good horses, and has given general satisfaction to the public.

Mr. Kessler was married on November 7, 1897, to Lillie M. Freeman, the daughter of Joseph C. and Jennie (Cox) Freeman, and to them has been born one daughter, Estelle May, born April 11, 1908. Religiously, Mr. Kessler is a loyal member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife holds her membership in the Missionary Baptist denomination. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Wood- men. He was the organizer of the union delivery system in Tipton, which he inaugurated on May 1, 1906, but disposed of his interest in it two years later, though it is still running under the same plan which Mr. Kessler started.

Mrs. Kessler's parents lived in Russiaville, Indiana, and they were the parents of four children, George W .. Lillie May. Myrtle Ida and Martha A.

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Mrs. Kessler's father was twice married, and had two children by his first marriage, Mattie and William Ulysses. Mrs. Jacob Kessler, mother of the subject, married a second time, her second husband being Joseph T. Goody- koontz, whose death occurred in 1900. There was one child born to this union, Newton J. Goodykoontz, who died at the age of eight years.

Mr. Kessler's career has been strenuous and to a marked degree 'success- ful, and he owes his success to his honorable dealings in all particulars. He is well known throughout the county and is a highly respected citizen, be- . cause of his public spirit and his upright dealings with his fellow men.

MARVIN W. PERSHING.

Marvin W. Pershing, generally known as M. W., was born at Warsaw. Indiana, January 15, 1849, the eldest son of David R. and Sarah M. ( Sellers) Pershing, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania and of Ohio. They were the parents of five children : Marvin W. : Arthur C., of Muncie; Olynthus H .. of Muncie: Ivan W., a commercial traveler of Kansas City, Missouri. and Lillian Corine, deceased, who was the wife of William H. Brown, of Muncie. David R. Pershing was reared in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. as a farmer boy, afterward learning the trade of a plasterer. In about the year 1840 he came to Indiana and located at Liberty Mills, in Wabash county, where, near by, he entered a tract of land from the United States govern- ment. In about the year 1848 he was united in marriage to Sarah M. Sellers, when they immediately moved to Warsaw, and he received the appointment as deputy county auditor, during which time he was the editor of the first newspaper published in that town. In 1852 he removed to Rochester. Fulton county, where he was appointed deputy county auditor, afterward being elected to'that office. He also established the first newspaper published in Fulton county. He was later in years in the mercantile business : until 1875 he was the editor of the Fort Wayne Gasette and in 1876 was one of the pub- lishers of the Muncie Times. Until the breaking out of the Civil war he was a Democrat, but after the war he affiliated with the Republican party. He died in Muncie, January 15, 1889, at the age of sixty-eight years. Religiously. he was a member of the Methodist church and fraternally was an Odd Fellow. He was of German descent, while the maternal grandfather of the subject of

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MARVIN W. PERSHING

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this sketch was Nathan D. Sellers, of Scotch-Irish parentage. His wife was Susanna Hawk, a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent.

Marvin W. Pershing was a child of three years when his parents moved to Rochester, Fulton county, this state, and at the beginning of the Civil war the family moved to a farm in Whitley county, Indiana, returning after the war to Warsaw, where Marvin W. attended the public schools, for a short period, when he taught school for one term. When a small boy he began learning the printer's trade, and in 1869, when twenty years of age, estab- lished a newspaper in Kokomo, Indiana, but suspended the publication of same in the fall of 1870. He continued in the printing business, however, the most of his life. He settled in Tipton in 1872, and he has resided here ever since. He established the Tipton Advocate in 1878, and continued its publication until May, 1901, when he sold the paper to take charge of the postoffice, to which he had been appointed. The Advocate was the first suc- cessful Republican newspaper in Tipton, and during its existence it had a commanding influence in both local and state politics. Mr. Pershing is one of only two surviving charter members of the Indiana Republican Editorial Association and he has the distinction of being the only member that never missed a session of its annual meetings. He served in every official capacity of the association and for more than twenty years was a member of the executive committee. He still retains his membership and is yet called into the councils of the executive committees.

Mr. Pershing assumed the duties as postmaster in November. 1901, and continued in office for eight years and five months, holding the office longer than any other postmaster except one. During his postal stewardship he ad- vanced the office from a third to a second-class office; established an inter- national money order department; was directly responsible for the establish- ment of a county rural mail service; established a free city delivery ; a sub- postal station, near the Lake Erie railroad station. and equipped the office with all modern conveniences. Since his retirement from the postmastership, he has been engaged in newspaper work on different newspapers. In addi- tion to his newspaper work, he has written many articles for publication for the large journals upon subjects that were of public interest, but outside of his newspaper work, that which attracted the most attention was the life of "General John Tipton." This publication was only intended for local circula- tion, but there became a demand for it in all the colleges and historical associa- tions in all parts of the United States. It was a part of the history of Indi- ana that had never been written and it covered one of the most important

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periods in the history of the state. Through the publication of this history, the result of researches made in newspapers, letters, family records and dis- carded manuscripts, records were preserved that might have otherwise been lost. There are very few colleges and historical associations in the United States that have not one or more copies of this publication. Mr. Pershing is familiar with the early history of the state of Indiana and he is frequently consulted as to facts pertaining to the organization of counties, establishment of boundaries and treaties with the Indians.

On December 24, 1872, Mr. Pershing was united in marriage to Mrs. Melissa Cox, the widow of J. V. Cox and daughter of George W. and Cynthia (Gleason) Marsh. To this union has been born one daughter, Cora E., who married A. C. Porter, of Tipton, and they have four children, Helen. Paul, Vern and George. Mrs. Pershing had three children by her former marriage, only one of whom is now living, Mrs. Ella E. Swartz, who is the mother of two children, Marvin and Melite, also two grandsons, Forrest and Merrill, sons of Hattie Farr, deceased.

Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Pershing are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally, he is a member of the time-honored order of Free and Accepted Masons, Knights of Pythias, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Foresters. In the Masonic fraternity his membership is with Lodge No. 128, and he also belongs to Tipton Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and to Tipton Council of Royal and Select Masters. Mr. Pershing is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is enrolled in the Encampment and Rebekah branches of that order.

Politically, Mr. Pershing is an ardent Republican and is recognized as one of the leaders in local and state politics, sharing in the intimate councils of his party, and frequently being heard on the stump. No man in Tipton county has wielded a wider influence politically than Mr. Pershing, and his standing as a party man is such as to command the respect and admiration of all.

Personally, M. W. Pershing is a genial, pleasant gentleman, whom it is a pleasure to meet, and his long residence in Tipton county, which has extended over a period of forty-one years, as well as his large and long experience in the newspaper business, has given him a wide acquaintance throughout the county and has won for him hosts of warm and loyal friends. He possesses a knowledge of the development and growth of this county such as no other man has, perhaps, now living, having made the history of Tipton county a study for many years.

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WILLIAM G. NASH.

It is at all times very interesting to compile and preserve the experiences of the old soldiers who went to fight the country's battles during the slave- holders' rebellion fifty years ago. These grand old fellows are fast passing away, and we should get all their experiences before they pass away and leave no record. It is very important that we preserve the records of our old soldiers, for they made five years of the most important history which we have ever had. When the fierce fires of rebellion were raging in the South- land, threatening to dissolve the Union, the subject of this sketch responded with patriotic fervor to the cause of volunteers, and was in some of the bloodiest battles for which this great war was noted. One of the honest boys in blue who can recall many interesting reminiscences of the great civil conflict of the sixties is William G. Nash, who, after a successful life as a farmer, is now living retired in the town of Tipton, Indiana.

William G. Nash was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on July 6, 1835, the son of Richard and Margaret (Moffett) Nash, his father being a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and his mother a native of Scotland. Richard Nash was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on Decem- ber 3, 1798. He was twice married, his first wife being Polly Hastings, born in Ireland. He went with his parents to Kentucky when fourteen years of age, and in early life began boating on the Ohio river, which pursuit he fol- lowed for more than forty years. He then went to the falls of the Ohio at Louisville and served as station pilot. In 1831 he removed to Fayette county, Indiana, where he purchased land and followed the occupation of a farmer. He was married in Adams county, Ohio, to Polly Hastings, and to this union were born two sons, Robert and Matthew. Some years after the death of his first wife he married Margaret Moffett, who was born in Scot- land, and to this union were born seven children: Ellen Jane, deceased, who was the wife of Joseph Turner; William G., of Tipton; Isaac Thomas, who died at Seattle, Washington, in the summer of 1913: Sarah, deceased, wife of Thomas Pratt; John S., of Chicago; Eliza, widow of Charles Elliott, of Connersville, Indiana, and Oliver L., who died at Rushville, Indiana. After his second marriage he lived in Fayette county and still continued his work as boatman on the Ohio river, part of the time acting as government pilot at the falls at Jeffersonville and Louisville. In the early forties, when he was working here, money was very scarce and the pay of the government for his services at the falls was one way in which he made the money to pay for his

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farm. He died in Fayette county, Indiana, in his ninety-first year. His second wife died in 1873, at the age of sixty-eight. He was a justice of the peace for twenty-five years of his life. He would take salt to New Orleans by flat boat, and would often walk back, a distance of over twelve hundred miles. His second wife came to America when a child with her parents and settled in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania.

The paternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch were Mr. and Mrs. Richard Nash, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. He was a cooper by trade and came to Indiana, settling in Fayette county, and were among the earliest pioneers in that county, and their deaths occurred, he at the age of eighty-four and she at seventy-three. They were the parents of the following children: John, James, Jessie, Jane, Thomas, Richard and Samuel.

The original Nash of this family in America was also Richard Nash, the great-grandfather of William G., the subject of this review. He settled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, coming there from Scotland, and followed the trade of a ship carpenter. The maternal grandparents of Will- iam G. Nash were born in Scotland, and came to America in an early day, settling first in Virginia and later the grandfather went to Kentucky with an army against the Indians and was killed by an Indian in one of the border frays of that state. His wife died in Fayette county, Indiana. They were the parents of several children, Thomas, John, Andrew, William, Mar- garet and Jane.

William G. Nash, the subject of this sketch, was the second child of his father's second union, and was reared in Fayette county, growing up as a farmer's boy. He helped his father clear the land, till the farm, doing all the chores which the farmer's boy is accustomed to doing. He attended the old- fashioned subscription schools in a log cabin, with slabs for seats and greased paper for windows. He later attended an academy at Fayettesville and Fair- view, and afterwards taught school for four years before the war. He lived at home until he was grown, and in 1861 he enlisted in Company F. Third Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, and served a little over three years. His regiment was attached to the Army of the Potomac and he participated in all the important battles of that army corps, being in the second battle of Bull Run, engagements at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancel- lorsville, Brandy Station, Upperville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Petersburg, the Wilson raid and others of minor importance. His service was active throughout the whole three years and often very dan-

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gerous, but he was fortunate in never being wounded. He was honorably discharged at Indianapolis in September, 1864.

After the war Mr. Nash returned to his home in Fayette county, Indiana, and entered the employ of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway Com- pany, and continued in the employ of that company for one year, when he came to Tipton county and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in section 17, Cicero township. In 1866 he again took employment for the same railroad company for a short time and then began the operation of his farm, of which only fifteen acres had been cleared at that time, the re- mainder being covered with brush and native forest timber. The present generation has little conception of the work necessary to clear the land and get it ready for cultivation. All of the work which was done on that farm was done by Mr. Nash and his sons. The house which stood on the farm was a three-room dwelling, built of planks placed vertically, and in this 'home he continued to reside until 1877, when he replaced it with a fine brick residence. In 1873 he built a large barn and added other substantial improvements, making the farm one of the most valuable and attractive in the county. In 1895 he purchased one hundred and seventy acres of land in section 9, Cicero township, giving him a total of four hundred and ten acres in the county.

In November, 1867, Mr. Nash was united in marriage to Rebecca E. Galloway, a native of Greene county, Ohio, the daughter of John and Isabel (Buick) Galloway. To this union were born eight children, Leroy B., Estella, John Richard, Lula and Laura, twins, Bonnie Jean, William Guy and Robert Ray. Robert Ray married Hulda Hobbs, and has one child, Harriett; Leroy .was judge of the circuit court of the thirty-sixth judicial circuit, and married Winona Berryman (see sketch of Judge Nash elsewhere in this volume) : Estella married Carl Gifford, of Tipton, and they have two children, John and Leroy; John Richard, who is cashier of the First National Bank of Tipton, married Jennie Frier, and they have five children, Jean, Alice, Mary, Richard, Margaret and Robert; Lulu married Archibald Lind- ley ; they live in Wayne county, and have one son, William: Laura married Frank Burkhardt, and lives in. Cicero township, and they have three living children, Emily, Hugh and Rebecca; Bonnie Jean married Charles Michel, and they live in Cicero township, and they are the parents of three children, Miriam, Elizabeth and Homer; William Guy, who is a farmer in Jefferson township, married Nola Blazier, and they have two children, Oliver and Martha.

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Mrs. Rebecca Nash died on May 18, 1913, at the age of sixty-five years. She was born in Greene county, Ohio, her parents also being natives of that county and early settlers in Tipton county, Indiana. Her father's first wife, the mother of Mrs. Nash, died in Ohio. His second wife 'was Jane Hardy. Her paternal grandparents, William and Elizabeth (Smith) Buick, were natives of Scotland and early settlers in Greene county, Ohio, where their deaths occurred.

Mr. Nash, despite his fourscore years, is still erect, tall and of athletic build, and is hale and hearty for a man of his years. In politics he has been a life-long Republican and sees no reason why he should change the prin- ciples of that party for any other. He is one of the oldest members of the James Price Post No. 303, Grand Army of the Republic.

Mr. Nash is one of the few old pioneers left in the state. He has made what he has by hard work and is entitled to all the credit for what he has accomplished. He has always stood for all measures tending toward the good of his county and state, and has always been interested in material and moral developments of his community. It can truly be said that there is no man in the county who is held in higher esteem and respect than is Mr. Nash.

WILLIAM NELSON McGRAW.

In examining the life records of self-made men, it will invariably be found that indefatigable industry is considered the basis of their success. True, there are other elements that enter in and conserve the advancement of personal interest; perseverance, discrimination, the mastering of expe- dients, but the foundation of all achievement is earnest, persistent labor. The subject of this sketch is a man who is essentially self-made, having worked his way through the schools, gone through normal school, attended Indiana University, and throughout his whole career he has shown that his success is due to his honesty of purpose and strict attention to business. No pro- fession has been more honored than the teaching profession, and it is the men of vigorous mentality and strong mental fiber who have made our public schools of Indiana what they are today. Such a man is the subject of this sketch.

William Nelson McGraw, grocer, was born in Prairie township, Tipton county, Indiana, on January 10, 1875, the son of Isaac Wilson and Sarah (Purvis) McGraw, who were both natives of Indiana, he of Shelby county

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and she of Tipton. They were the parents of five children, William N., of Tipton; Ada, the wife of Eugene Huston, of Cassville, Indiana; Charles W., of Indianapolis: Gladys, wife of James Myers, of Kokomo, and one child who died in infancy.

The father of the subject of this sketch came to Tipton county with his parents and grew to manhood in Prairie township. His life has been mostly spent in agricultural pursuits. He and his wife now reside in Sharpsville, this county. They have both been for many years active and earnest mem- bers of the Baptist church in that village.

The paternal grandparents of the subject were William and Rhoda (Hoffman) McGraw. They came to Tipton county in the nearly fifties, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land five miles west of Sharpsville. This they cleared and improved and made it one of the best farms in the community. He and his father built a log cabin out of huge poplar logs, which they hewed and put together with mortar and chinked, and this house was so well built that it stood in a good state of preservation until 1911. Here it was that he reared his family and here his death oc- curred in 1860, his wife surviving him nearly a half century, dying in 1908, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. They were the parents of six children who reached the age of maturity: Frank, Wilson. Mary, Aden, Catherine and John, who died when a young man. His widow never re- married.

The maternal grandparents were Luther and Nancy (Jones) Purvis, both natives of Indiana. They lived in Prairie township, but went west in 1877, dying at Louisburg, Kansas, just past middle life. They were the parents of a large family, Nancy, John, Saul, Andrew, Sarah, Susan, Eliza- beth and Charles.

William N. McGraw, the subject of this sketch, was about sixteen years of age when he left the farm and went to Sharpsville. He attended the dis- trict school and the public schools at that place. and continued his education at the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, and later spent several terms in the State University. at Bloomington. Following this he taught school for four years in the country, and four years in the high schools of Goldsmith, Kempton and Hobbs in Tipton country. During the seasons be- tween school sessions, he taught in the county normals at Tipton. In ICOI he opened a grocery store in Tipton, which he still operates very successfully, due to the good class of goods which he carries and the strict business integ- rity which he brings into his business.

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On the 3d of July, 1900, Mr. McGraw was married to Ethel Jones, of Brazil, Indiana, the daughter of William R. and Susan (Crabb) Jones. They are the parents of two children, Eunice and William.

Mr. and Mr. McGraw are faithful members of the Christian church, and Mr. McGraw has been an elder in the West Street Christian church of Tipton for some years. Politically, he is a Democrat and has always advo- cated the principles of that party.

Mrs. McGraw was born in Brazil, Indiana, on October 1, 1881. Her father was a native of Wales, and her mother of Indiana. Her father died in 1901 at the advanced age of seventy-two. Her mother is still living at the age of seventy-eight, her birthday being December 2, 1844. They were the parents of sixteen children, eleven of whom grew to manhood and woman- hood : Catherine, Thomas P., Daniel, Lemuel, Sarah, Eliza, Celia, Mary, Ethel, Ida and Emma. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. McGraw were named Crabb.

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History of Tipton County Indiana, Part 27

Author: M. W. Pershing Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Number of Pages: 701

Author: M. W. Pershing
Publication date: 1914
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 701