USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 29
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The paternal grandfather of the subject was Joseph Little and his wife was Jehila (Decker) Little. They were pioneers of Tipton county. They settled in Tipton county when the Indians were nearly as thick as the heavy timber. He cleared and improved the land and raised his large family there. He died on that farm in 1875 at about the age of eighty-six years. His wife died about the same time. They had a large family : Samuel, T. Jefferson, Joseph, Franklin, Isaac, William A., Aurilla, Melinda, Nancy, Mary, and a twin sister to William A., who died in infancy.
The maternal grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Farley, who were pio- neers in Tipton county and lived there all their lives. Mrs. Farley lived until she was past eighty years of age. They reared a large family, John, Matthew, Joseph, Henry, Jeremiah, Mary and Sarah.
John G. Little, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Cicero town- ship on his father's farm. He received his early education in the district schools of the locality. He then married, rented land and farmed for fifteen years. He owns a farm of. forty acres in Liberty township, near Windfall, which he now rents out. He moved into Tipton August 7, 1908, and went into the implement and hardware business. Later he closed out his imple- ments and now runs a furniture, hardware and stove store.
Mr. Little was married to Etta M. Springer, the daughter of Isaac N. and Lavina ( Roadruck ) Springer, on the 12th day of March, 1891. Her parents were early settlers in Tipton county and Hamilton county, respect- ively. To Mr. and Mrs. Little have been born four children, Edna, Ray- mond, Mary and Orville. Mr. and Mrs. Little are members of the Christian church, and Mr. Little's interest in church affairs is shown by the fact that he is a deacon in the congregation. Politically, he is a Prohibitionist, and has always advocated the principles of that party.
Mrs. Little was born in Cicero townhip, Tipton county, on her grand- father's farm, about five and one-half miles south of Tipton. Her mother died in 1899. Mrs. Little was one of eight children, five of whom are still living, namely : Albert, Melissa, Etta, Cora, Susan and three who died in infancy. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Little were Mr. and Mrs. Newton Springer.
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The well-regulated life Mr. Little has led has gained him the respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens and entitles him to representation in a biographical work of the kind at hand. Genial and unassuming in his relations with his fellow men, he has won and retained the confidence and good will of all with whom he has come in contact. It can indeed be said that the community is better for his having lived in it.
LEWIS SPECKBAUGH.
One of the most active and enterprising young business men of Tipton county, Indiana, is the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this biographical sketch, a man who has progressed in his chosen life work, be- cause he has been a hard and consistent worker. Self-reliant, no matter in what environment he has been placed, he has realized at the outset that a man, to meet with success in life, must depend wholly upon his own resources in his relations with the world, whether in a business or a social way. He has shown that he does not shirk his responsibilities, does not try to thrust them upon the shoulders of others, but pushes ahead and in this way he has made a name for himself, although having been in business for a short time.
Lewis Speckbaugh, of the firm of Harker & Speckbaugh, druggists, of Tipton, was born in Milhousen, Decatur county, Indiana, February 10, 1881. His parents were Henry and Lena ( Huegel) Speckbaugh, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They started to school together in the same school house on the same day, sang in the same choir, were members of the same church, and have been together since earliest childhood. Their natal days are only four days apart. They have been blessed with six children : Lewis, of Tipton; William, of Tipton; Maude, wife of Homer Marcotte, of Lafay- ette, Indiana: Carrie and Stella, of Tipton, and Anna, the wife of William Connolly. Jr., of Muncie, Indiana.
The father of the subject was reared in Decatur county, Indiana, came to Tipton county in 1883, and led the life of a farmer until he moved to Tipton, where he followed the trade of a carpenter. All the members of the family have been loyal members of the Catholic church and have always lived quiet and modest lives.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were Joseph and Mary Speck- baugh, both natives of Germany and among the early settlers of Decatur county, Indiana. They were seven weeks on the voyage across the ocean.
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He died in Decatur county and his wife in North Vernon, both living to ad- vanced age. He amassed a large fortune and was one of Archbishop Pur- cell's creditors. They raised a large family of children: Josephine, Eliza- beth, Catherine, George, Mary and Henry.
The maternal grandparents were Louis and Mary (Hahn) Huegel, he born in Jackson county, Ohio, and she near Oldenburg, in Franklin county, Indiana. He was an undertaker and a cabinet and coffin-maker. They moved to Tipton in 1888 and he died here in 1890, and was buried in the St. John cemetery. She is still living with her daughter in Muncie, Indiana. They had several children, Christianna, Lena, Margaret, John and William.
Lewis Speckbaugh, the subject of this sketch, has lived in Tipton since he was two and a half years of age. He attended the parochial schools and St. John's Academy, being present on the first day of the opening of that school. He then began clerking in the Rosenthal drug store, and studied pharmacy at the same time. After passing the state board examination for registered pharmacist, he went to the People's pharmacy in Muncie and remained there for one year. He then returned to Tipton and began clerking in the Rosenthal drug store. In 1906 he formed a partnership with L. T. Harker, and they have continued the business since that time under the firm name of Harker & Speckbaugh. He is a faithful member of the Catholic church and belongs to the Knights of Columhus. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
WILLIAM T. HARDING.
For a number of years the prominent business man whose name appears at the head of this sketch has ranked among the distinguished citizens of Tipton county, and his influence in promoting the material growth and prosperity of the city in which he resides has won for him a place in the public eye second to that of none of his contemporaries. No other man of the community has been so actively and conspicuously identified with the material advancement of Tipton and certainly no other individual has so indelibly impressed his personality upon the minds and hearts of the popu- lace or exercised so potent an influence in directing and controlling the business interests of the city. The writer realizes the futility of attempting within the limits of this review a succinct account of the life of the man whose achievements form no inconsiderable part of the history of Tipton
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county, the best he can hope to do being but a brief outline of the leading facts in his career and a tribute to his worth as a forceful factor in building up a mammoth business establishment and at the same time laboring assiduously for the general welfare of a people whose interests he has ever had at heart.
William T. Harding, proprietor of the Boston store, at Tipton, Indiana, is a native of Clinton county and was born April 4, 1866. He is the son of John and Mary Elizabeth (Downard) Harding, both of whom are natives of Indiana. He is one of three children, the others being Ora B., wife of Joseph A. Innis, of Tipton, and Dell, wife of W. H. Clemmons, of Fremont, Nebraska.
The father of the subject of this sketch was reared in Clinton county, Indiana, and enlisted at the opening of the Civil war in the Eighty-sixth Indiana Regiment and served a little over two years in the bloody conflict. At the battle of Missionary Ridge, in the fall of 1863, he had the misfortune to lose one of his legs. As a young man he was a blacksmith, and after the war he formed a partnership with Mr. Mckenzie and they ran a general store in Kirklin, Indiana. In 1872 he sold his interest to Mr. McKinzie and moved to Tipton, where he engaged in various business enterprises for over thirty years. He owned a grocery store for several years in Tipton, and died in 1909 at the ripe old age of seventy-five. His wife survives him and still lives in Tipton. Both were members of the Christian church.
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The paternal grandparents of the subject were Thomas Harding and his wife, natives of Ohio and North Carolina, respectively. They were among the first pioneers in Union county, and later moved to Clinton county, where they spent most of their lives. Their children were John, Samuel, William, Marion, Anna and Margaret.
The maternal grandparents were Doctor and Mrs. Thompson Downard, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They lived in Hendricks county. To them were born six children, Thomas, Margaret, Mary, Elizabeth, Ella and Minerva. Doctor Downard was twice married, his second wife being Miss Burke. They had two sons, Allen and Milford, and one daughter, Anna.
William T. Harding was reared in Tipton county, Indiana, and attended the public schools. He began clerking in his father's store when a small boy and he continued to work for his father for a number of years. For the past several years he has been in business in Tipton for himself. He owned the Model shoe store for eleven years, and has for several years owned the Boston department store, which is the equal of any store in the state for a town of this size. Some idea of the magnitude of the establishment
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may be gathered from the fact that fifty people are regularly employed as clerks.
Mr. Harding was married on November 8, 1899, to Irene Compton, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Compton. They have. one daughter, Harriet Compton Harding. Mr. and Mrs. Harding both belong to the Chris- tian church and have been loyal members of that congregation for many years. Mr. Harding has long been an advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, and has as yet seen no reason why he should change his political affiliations to any other party. His wife was born in Edinburg, Indiana. See sketch of W. A. Compton, elsewhere in this volume, for a detailed history of the ancestry of the Compton family.
Mr. Harding is a wide-awake, enterprising and public-spirited business man. He has built up a wonderful business for a town the size of Tipton. He carries a large and diversified class of goods such as are found in cities of much larger size. His long residence in Tipton has given him a large acquaintance with the business men and citizens, and he enjoys the confi- dence and esteem of the public generally. In every line of effort to which he has applied himself he has put out the best that was in him. Because of his upright life and the success which has rewarded his efforts, he occupies a deservedly high position in the estimation of all who know him.
WILLIAM E. WELLS.
Practical industry, wisely.and vigorously applied, never fails of success. It carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary quali- ties of common sense and perseverance. The every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and improvement. The fact having been recognized early in life by the subject of this sketch, he has seized the small opportunities that he has encountered on the rugged hill that leads to life's lofty summit where lies the ultimate goal of success, never attained by the weak, ambitionless and inactive.
William E. Wells, of the firm of Wells & Hedrick Company, was born in Jefferson township, Tipton county, Indiana, January 31, 1862. He was
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the son of Samuel E. and Mary (DeLapp) Wells, the father a native of Ohio and the mother of Indiana. They had six children : Ella, deceased, who was the wife of William Briscoe, of Bloomington, Illinois; William E., of Tipton, Indiana; Jennie, the wife of T. J. Reese, of Kempton, Indiana; Cora E., wife of W. W. Torrence, of Kempton; Howard, who died in infancy, and Alice, who died when about six years of age.
The father of the subject of this sketch came from Ohio to Indiana with his parents when a small child. They located first in Jefferson county, where they stayed until he grew to manhood and was married. They came to Tipton county in 1856 and located in Jefferson township, where he lived until 1869, when he moved to Bates county, Missouri. He remained there six years and a half and then returned to Tipton county, where he remained until the time of his death. He died at Kempton on March 21, 1881, at the age of sixty-two. His wife survived him and died in 1905, at the ripe old age of eighty-four. Both were loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He had formerly been married to a Miss White, and three children were born to this union: John M., who died in Andersonville prison during the Civil war; Henry S., and one child who died in infancy.
The paternal grandparents were early settlers of Jefferson county, In- diana, and both of them died there at advanced age. They had several chil- dren, among them being John M., Samuel E., William, Sarah and Melissa. The maternal grandparents were pioneers in southern Indiana. They had three children, George W., Mary and Elizabeth.
William E. Wells was reared in Tipton county, and lived there . his whole life, except for the six years and a half spent in Missouri. Most of his boyhood was spent on the farm, and his education was secured from the country schools. He lived at home until he was twenty-five. He then mar- ried and clerked in a store at Kempton for about fifteen years. Then he entered business for himself in general merchandising. He came to Tipton March 15, 1896, and entered the employ of Holmes & Shortle, where he remained for several years. Upon the retirement of Mr. Holmes he re- mained with Mr. Shortle for about five years longer, and he made the race in the fall of 1906 on the Republican ticket for clerk of the cricuit court, and was returned the victor. After serving for a term of four years, he returned to the employ of Mr. Shortle and continued here until he formed a partner- ship with Earl I. Hedrick, in the clothing and men's furnishing goods. They keep an up-to-date stock on hand all the time and have built up a very profit- able trade for themselves.
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Mr. Wells was married November 3, 1887, to Cora A. Mitchell, the daughter of Thomas and Adeline (Frazier) Mitchell, and they have two daughters, R. Fern and Charlotte M. Fern Wells is cashier and bookkeeper in her father's store, and was deputy clerk of the circuit court during his term of office She is a graduate of the Tipton high school. Charlotte M. Wells is a graduate of the Tipton high school, and has taught two years. She is now attending DePauw University and is in her junior year at that in- stitution.
Mr. and Mrs. Wells and two daughters are members in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Wells is one of the large number of men of Tipton who belong to Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons.
Mrs. Wells was born in Tipton county, Indiana, November 16, 1866. Her parents have been dead for many years. She was one of seven children, the others being. Etta M., Alice Belle, deceased, Rosa, Melissa, deceased, Maude J. and I. Carl.
Mr. Wells is regarded as one of the leading men of his community in every respect, public spirited, honest and upright in his dealings with the world and winning and retaining friends wherever he goes. His wife is also admired by all those who know her for her congeniality and womanly traits.
WASHINGTON PENN GATES.
The life history of Washington Penn Gates, one of the well known and highly estecmed venerable citizens of Tipton county, now living in honorable retirement, shows what industry, good habits and stanch citizenship will ac- complish in the battle for success in life. His record has been one replete with duty well and conscientiously performed in every relation of life. He has come down to us from the pioneer period and has noted the wondrous transformation from that time to this, playing well his part in the drama of civilization. He has thus been an advocate of wholesome living and clean liness in politics as well and has always stood for the highest and best inter- ests of the community in which so many of his active years have been passed and which has been honored by his citizenship.
W. P. Gates, the son of Uriah and Martha Ann (Chinn) Gates, was born in Indianapolis, November 17, 1833. His father was a native of Con- necticut and his mother came from Kentucky. They had eleven children, all
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of whom lived to be grown and married: John James, David Hall, Mary Ingalls, Nancy, Beulah, Washington, Uriah, Wesley, Peter M., Martha and Eliza.
The father of the subject of this sketch was a carpenter by trade. He was reared in Cincinnati and came to Indiana shortly after its admission to the Union. He came to Indianapolis before the city was even named, and before the capital was moved from Corydon to Indianapolis. When he got ready to get married he had to walk from Indianapolis to Connersville to get his license, and then he and his bride settled in Indianapolis. For several years he worked at carpentry and also farming. He soon had enough to purchase eighty acres of land five miles northeast of Indianapolis, in Marion county. He lived on the farm a short time, but moved back into Indianapolis, locating on Massachusetts avenue, at the corner of Alabama street. In the fifties he moved to Tipton and settled in that town, remaining there the rest of his life. After moving to Tipton he engaged in the tanning business. He died here in 1864, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife died in 1852. He was married four times; his first wife was Miss Gantz, by whom he had two children, both dying in infancy. His father died when he was a small boy, and Uriah was bound out to an Englishman as a baker's apprentice, 'but he left him before he was grown. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. The paternal grandfather of the subject died in Connecticut, as did his wife, but their history has been lost. They had three children, Uriah, David and one daughter. The maternal grandfather was Thomas Chinn, who, with his wife, moved from Kentucky to Iowa and died there. They had several children, John, Mary, Martha, Lucy and Serilda.
Mr. Gates, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Marion county on his father's farm and in the city of Indianapolis. He attended the district and city schools. He went to work in his father's tannery in Indianapolis, and worked there for several years. He then came to Tipton and worked . with his father in the tanning business and later for himself at the same business. In 1873 he began farming in Madison township, Tipton county, Indiana, where he first bought one hundred acres of land, to which he later added until he had two hundred and sixty acres. In 1901 he moved to Tipton, and has since lived a retired life.
Mr. Gates was married to Louisa Jackson in 1858, and they have had four children born to them, Ida, Mary, Torrence and Louie. Ida married David Mitchell and lives in Tipton. They have had three children, Mary, deceased, John and Oral. Mary married Reuben Overman and lived in
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Amboy, Indiana. Torrence, who lives in Hastings, Nebraska, married Mary Cooper, and they have ten children, Margaret, Aurelia, Blanche, Clarence, Clifford, Olive, Chester, Lester, Walter P. and Virginia. Louie married John Long and lives in Tipton. They have four children living, Aurelia, Margaret, Gertrude and Annie. The first wife of Mr. Gates, Louisa, died in 1866 and a few years later he married his second wife, Aurelia Kane, daughter of George and Catherine ( Platter) Kane. Four children are still living as a result of this marriage, Ralph, John, Hattie and Thomas.
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It is interesting to note that the parents of the subject were the first couple to be married in Indianapolis after the donation by the government of the land for a state capitol. Of the children to the second marriage of Mr. Gates. Ralph married Nanny Daily, and they have two children, Ruth and Dale. John married Bertie Lay. They live in Indianapolis and have one son, John Gerald. Hattie lives at home. She is a graduate of the Tipton high school, as are also her brothers, Ralph, John and Thomas. Thomas lives at Amboy, Indiana. He married Lena Hodson and they have one daughter, Viola Aurelia.
Mrs. Aurelia J. Gates, the present .wife of the subject, was born in Adams county, Ohio, near Eckmansville, February 4, 1843. Her paternal grandfather was Stephen Kane and her maternal grandfather was Peter Platter. On Mrs. Gates' side of the family her ancestors have been traced back to Sir Walter Scott.
Mr. Gates has made his influence felt for good in his community. He · is a man of sterling worth and his life has been closely interwoven with the community in which he has resided for so many years, and his efforts have ever been for the advancement of the same, as well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow men. Certainly his life of eighty-one years entitles him to representation in such a biographical work as this.
JOHN F. ALBERSHARDT.
John F. Albershardt, a well-known citizen of Tipton, is descended from a sterling old German family on the paternal side, his father's people having emigrated from the fatherland to this country before the Civil war. His mother was a native of Ohio. Henry and Anna Albershardt, parents of the subject, had two other children, Amelia, wife of J. H. Orndorff, of Indian-
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apolis, and August H., also of Indianapolis. The senior Albershardt came to America when he was sixteen years of age, and located in Cincinnati for a number of years. He served in the Civil war for two long years, being a member of Company B, One Hundred and Eighth Ohio Regiment. He was an orderly sergeant and was wounded while in charge of a supply train. After the war he located in Indianapolis and was one of the elder shoemakers in that city, at one time having the largest business of any shoe merchant in that town. He now lives in Indianapolis, having retired from active partici- pation in business several years ago. His wife died April 1, 1912, at the advanced age of seventy-six years. They were both loyal members of the German Lutheran church, to which they contributed liberally of their sub- stance. While living in Indianapolis, he held several minor official positions.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were also natives of Germany, and died there at a very old age. They had a number of children; Henry, Louis, August, who came to America, and three others whose names have not been recorded.
The maternal grandparents bore the good old German name of Moerker. · They came from Germany and settled in Auglaize county, Ohio, and died there in middle life, leaving children, Anna, Louisa, Henrietta and August.
John F. Albershardt, the subject of this sketch, was reared in Indian- apolis, and attended the public schools in that city until he was thirteen years of age. He then began working in the store of Charles Mayer & Company, remaining there for six years. He then went to Milwaukee and traveled on the road for three years as representative of a Milwaukee firm. He then returned to Indianapolis and was with the Kipp Brothers Company for fourteen years. In 1904 he came to Tipton and bought a third interest in the firm of Brasch, Myerly & Company, finally buying out the whole interest and now runs the entire business alone. Some idea of the magnitude of his business may be gained by the knowledge that he employs thirty-five clerks.
On the 17th day of January, 1893, Mr. Albershardt was married to Lillie Gehring, daughter of Conrad and Lena (Mai) Gehring. They had five children, Harry, William, Frederick, John and Ann May.
Mr. and Mrs. Albershardt are members of the German Lutheran church. Mr. Albershardt belongs to Austin Lodge No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons, and also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks. Politically, he is a stanch Democrat and has strongly advocated the principles of that party.
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