USA > Indiana > Tipton County > History of Tipton County Indiana > Part 49
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On May 15, 1862, Mr. Shook was united in marriage to Sarah Jack- son, the daughter of Samuel and Mary (Waters) Jackson. Mrs. Shook's father was born in 1813 and came to Ripley county in 1826. He was a farmer and his father and mother were Hezekiah and Rebecca (O'Neil) Jackson. Samuel Jackson was the father of the following children: Sarah. Amos, Rebecca, Tabitha, John and Kaizirrah are deceased; Mildrey; Mar- garet is deceased; Silas; Mary ; Rebecca is deceased.
To the subject and his wife have been born eight children: Morton C.,
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who married May Peters; Elmer is married and the father of four children, Esther, Floyd, Glen and Helen Gertrude; Willard is married and the father of three children, Hazel, Carrie and Roscoe; Nora is the wife of William Smith; Lorenzo is married and the father of three children, Gladys, Donald and Doris; Bernice married Ira Melson and has a son, Ralph; Albert is married and the father of two children, Alpha and Wilber; Flora is still at home.
Although never having sought public office, Mr. Shook has ever taken an active and intelligent interest in political affairs, casting his ballot with the Republican party, while his religious membership is with the Baptist church.
CALVIN SHOOK.
The best title one can establish to the high and generous esteem of an intelligent community is a protracted and honorable residence therein. The subject of this sketch is one of the best known and highly esteemed men of Tipton county. He has resided in the state for eighty-two years and in this county for more than thirty. His career has been a most commendable one in every respect and well deserving of being perpetuated in the pages of an historical work of the present nature. Like his sterling father before him, he has been a man of well defined purpose, and has never failed to carry to a successful completion the works of enterprise to which he has addressed himself. He is one of those old pioneers who is familiar with all the dis- advantages of farming a half century ago. He has let nothing deter him during the four score years of his life, and during that time he has led a life which has commended him to a long list of loyal friends. The young far- mers of today little appreciate the advantages of their surroundings, and it is by perusing the sketches of such men as Calvin Shook that they will under- stand what our forefathers had to contend with. Mr. Shook began life in a practically new country and certainly under unfavorable auspices for success- ful farming, and yet he let nothing deter him and before the lapse of many years he had a fine farm under cultivation. All honor to these good fore- fathers of ours who have made it possible that the farmers of today are able to possess the valuable farms which are scattered throughout the length and breadth of our fair state.
Calvin Shook, a retired farmer of Sharpsville, was born June 17, 1832, in Ripley county, Indiana, the son of Lorenzo and Maria (Ludwig) Shook.
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His father came from Maryland to Dearborn county, Indiana, and followed the occupation of a farmer all his life. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was John Shook, who came to Indiana, bringing his family with him, buying land in Dearborn county, and made that his home throughout the remainder of his life. To him and his wife were born the following children: David P., deceased; John, Hezekiah, Peter, Amos, David, Susan. Lorenzo, Lydia A., Margaret, Sarah and Jabez. Lorenzo Shook's wife died in Tipton county, Indiana. They were the parents of a large family of eleven children, of which the subject is the oldest child. L. V. Shook, who is represented elsewhere in this volume, is a brother of Calvin. James, a brother of Calvin Shook, came to Tipton county and engaged in the mer- cantile business. Later, in 1884, Calvin came to this county and rented a farm from Mr. Grishaw, which he managed for a period of five years. He then went on his brother's farm, where he remained for seven years. By the exercise of thrift and frugality he saved his money and purchased a farm of eighty acres in Wildcat township. A few years later he bought another farm in Liberty township, which he conducted for a few years, after which he moved to Sharpsville, where he has since lived a retired life.
Mr. Shook has been married four times, first to Martha Holman, to which union was born one child, Mary, who married Peter Archibald. His second wife was Sarah A. Harper and to this union were born four children. Mr. Shook's third wife was a Miss Jackson, and to them were born five chil- dren. Daly E., Charles D., Daisy P., Bessie and one who died in infancy. His fourth wife was Mary Ewing, and to them was born one child, Bertha M. His last wife was the daughter of James and Jane ( Richards) Ewing, both of whom are now deceased. They were natives of Pennsylvania and spent their lives in Holmes county, Ohio, being buried in Holmes county, that state.
Mr. Shook has been a life-long Republican, and has always advocated the principles of that party, but his own business affairs demanding his time and attention, he has never been a seeker for public preferment, although in- terested in all the current questions of the day and giving of his earnest support and influence to all movements looking toward the welfare of his community. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for more than fifty years, and during all this time he has contributed liberally to its support and taken an active interest in the various departments of the church work. He has always taken a deep interest in all the affairs of his community, social, moral, material and educational, and has so
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ordered his life that he has won the esteem and affection of a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He has the satisfaction of looking back over his four-score years and feeling that he has done his best; that his life has not been lived in vain, and as one of the old and substantial citizens of his county he enjoys the esteem and confidence of all who know him.
ALLEN F. SPAULDING.
The success of any man should be judged by the good which he does, by the friends and enemies he makes, and the benefit society derives from his presence in the community. Within the last few years there has been coined an expression which is deeply significant, and which has aroused an endless amount of discussion. Just what an "undesirable citizen" is, prob- ably no two people could agree, and yet there are such people in nearly every community. Judging a man's success by the criterion set forth in this para- graph, the subject of this immediate review is a successful and a very desir- able citizen, for his wholesome influence has been a potent factor for good in the community where he has spent his whole life. He comes from an old and highly honored family whose various members have been promi- nent in the affairs of the county for many years, and have always acquitted themselves with credit to themselves and honor to the county.
Allen F. Spaulding, the son of Nathan and Mary M. Spaulding, was born in Liberty township, Tipton county, Indiana, October 1, 1865. Nathan Spaulding was a native of Jennings county, this state, and was born October 9, 1827. He came to Tipton county when a young man and purchased land on which the present town of Sharpsville is situated. Nathan Spaulding was married to Mary M. Franklin, the daughter of Allan and Nancy Frank- lin, of Hancock county, Indiana, and to them were born twelve children : William, who lives in Montana; Joseph, who is a farmer in this county; Allen, the subject of the present sketch; Frank, who is a farmer in this county ; Monteville, who is a farmer in this county; Leora, Edgar and Ward are in Council Bluffs, Iowa : Walter lives in Tennessee; Jerr, deceased; Ella May and one child which died in infancy. Nathan Spaulding has the unique honor of being the oldest Mason in Tipton county and the only living char- ter member of Reserve Lodge No. 363.
Allen F. Spaulding received all of his education in the Sharpsville schools and after graduation he spent five years in the West as a traveling
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salesman. He then returned to Tipton county and took up farming with his father, continuing to reside under the parental roof until his marriage in 1889.
On December 12, 1889, Mr. Spaulding was married to Viola Rayl, the daughter of William H. and May (Wiles) Rayl. and this union has been blessed with two children: Belva, who married Lora Van Bibber and has one child, Lowell Ward, and Mary L., who is still at home. Mr. and Mrs. Rayl were both natives of Switzerland county, Indiana, and were the parents of a family of ten children : Elwood, deceased; Green, who married Amelia Reese; Caroline, the wife of James Smith; Nancy, the wife of Rodis White; Thomas, who married Mary Hunt: Richard, who married Jane McCreary, deceased, and then Flora Ramseyer; Oscar, deceased, who married Emma Smith; Mary, the wife of Lewis B. Lee: Viola, the wife of A. F. Spaulding, and Joseph, who married Mary Goodknight.
Mr. Spaulding has been allied with the Republican party for many years and has been actively identified with the campaigns which it has car- ried on in this county. An evidence of the esteem in which Mr. Spaulding is held in his township is shown by the fact that he was nominated for the office of township assessor, and despite the fact that the township has always been strongly Democratic, he was elected as the first Republican official the township has ever had. His efficient administration of the affairs of the of- fice brought him the commendation of all his fellow citizens irrespective of party affiliations.
Mr. Spaulding has taken a very prominent part in the fraternal organ- izations of his community, being a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a past grand of the Odd Fellows lodge at Kempton. The honesty of Mr. Spaulding stands as an un- questioned fact in his career and his many strong qualities have won for him the unqualified confidence of those with whom he is associated.
WILLIAM E. CLINE.
Whenever a man shows a special aptitude for any particular work, the community of which he is a member usually recognizes the fact. However. past experience has shown that the community is not always infallible in its choice of public officials, and the tendency of the present time is to elect only such men for our public offices as have the necessary qualifications to fill them to the best interests of the public. The public school teacher was the first
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public official in the United States to be compelled to pass an examination to show his fitness for the position he was seeking, but within the last fifty years the number of offices to be filled by competitive examinations has been rapidly increasing. Every one admits, of course, that there is a special train- ing along particular lines which the teacher must undergo before he can suc- cessfully perform the duties of his position. As it is in Indiana today, there are only two officials who are required to pass an examination, and neither one of these is directly elected by the people. The public school teacher must pass an examination, but he owes his place to appointment, while the county superintendent of schools must pass an examination, but he owes his election not to the direct vote of the people, but to appointment by the trustee of his county. The office of township trustee, one of the most important offices within the suffrage of the people of Indiana, is of such importance that a man should possess special fitness in order to perform its duties in an intel- ligent manner. It is readily seen that the men who appoint all the teachers who are to instruct the youth of our state should possess more than ordinary education in order to do this in a satisfactory manner. It has often been said that the township trustee exercises more authority in his chosen sphere than does the President of the United States. It is greatly to the credit of the. people of Indiana that they are choosing, as a rule, the best qualified men for this important office. What has just been said in regard to the qualifications for public officials has a special bearing upon the life of the man whose his- tory is here briefly set forth. William E. Cline has not only been a success- ful teacher of several years' experience in Tipton county, Indiana, but he is now, and has been since 1908, performing the duties of township trustee of Prairie township in a manner which shows that he is eminently qualified for this responsible position.
William E. Cline was born April 15, 1876, in the township where he has always lived. His parents were George and Mary Alice Cline, both of whom were natives of Ohio. George Cline was born March 20, 1831, and died April 26, 1912. His wife was born February 24, 1833, and passed away September 15, 1905. George Cline received his education in Ohio, where he lived until after his marriage, when he moved to Indiana and settled in Clin- ton county, this state, in the year 1853. Since he was a minister in the Ger- man Baptist church, his residence was not confined to one place, a fact which is true of practically all ministers of the Gospel. After living in Clinton county for a few years he returned to Ohio and remained in that state a few years. In 1864 he returned to Clinton county, Indiana, where he remained for a short time, returning again to Ohio, where he remained until 1872, when
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he came to Tipton county, Indiana, where he remained until his death. He was married to Mary Ellis January 1, 1852, and this union was blessed with ten children: John T., who married Artie Smith, of Clinton county, Indiana; Nancy, the wife of J. A. Armstrong, of Prairie township, this county ; Joseph, who married Alice Mott, lives in this county; Ida, the wife of Philip McClelland, of Girard, Kansas; Mary, the wife of John Tash, of Kokomo, this state; Sarah, whose first husband, William Kemp, died shortly after their marriage, is the wife of Perry Stewart, of Lebanon, Indiana; David married Agnes Watson, of Jefferson township, this county ; Martha, the wife of Oscar Watson, lives at Monon, this state; James, who married Cora Miller, lives in Prairie township, this county.
William E. Cline, the youngest of these children, received his elementary education in the district schools of Prairie township, this county, and after graduating from the common schools he attended the high school at Kemp- ton. Upon graduation from this high school, he became a student in the nor- mal college at Tipton, Indiana, and finished his education by graduating from the Central Normal College at Marion, this state. This extended course in college has given him the basis for a successful career as a public school teacher, and for the seven years following his graduation from college he taught in the schools of his home township. At the same time he farmed every summer and was able to combine successfully the two professions. By good management and thrift he accumulated a farm of eighty acres and was very successful in inanaging it. In the summer of 1908, when the Demo- cratic party of his township began to look over the field for a suitable candi- date for the office of township trustee, they selected Mr. Cline as being the best candidate of their party in the township. Accordingly he was nominated for the position and was triumphantly elected in November of that year, and has been serving his township continuously in that capacity up to the present time.
On September 4, 1905, William E. Cline was married to Hester O. Mil- ler, the daughter of Franklin and Evelyn Lydia Miller, and to this union have been born two children, Ernest E. and Aubrey Beryl. The parents of Mrs. Cline reared a large family of ten children, Myrtle, Cora, Louis, Wil- liard, Hester, Tiffin, Cornelius, Gladys, Olive and Mary: All of these chil- dren are living except two, Myrtle and Mary. Mr. Miller died September 13, 1911, his widow still surviving.
Mr. Cline, as has been stated, is a Democrat and has always taken an active part in the deliberations of his party. Owing to his education and in-
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formation on the great political questions of the day, his counsel has been frequently sought and he has been recognized for several years as one of the leaders in his township and county in the body politic. He is a devoted and earnest member of the United Brethren church and recognizes the great work which the church does for every community by throwing his influence toward the church in its various activities. Mr. Cline has been successful in more ways than one. As a public school teacher he was one of the best in the county, and as a farmer he was progressive and wide-awake, while as a public official his services have been in every way eminently satisfactory not only to his own party, but to all the citizens whom he serves. Such men are a blessing to any community and have a value which can not be estimated. Mr. Cline is a genial gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet and makes and retains friends wherever he goes. He stands as one of the most representa- tive men of his township and a man who is certainly well worthy of mention in this volume.
THOMAS CARTER.
Some one has said that there is a niche for every man, and he who is the most successful is the man who finds his particular niche. It is true that a man's value to the community is determined by the service which he ren- ders it, whether it be the result of professional skill, or that of the common, ordinary, every-day laborer. Some men help their community by doing one thing and some another. Some are doctors, some are lawyers, some are teachers, some are preachers, some are manufacturers or commercial men of some kind, while still others cultivate the land. The 1910 census showed that in one particular township in Indiana there were thirty-two different occupations represented, each one of which occupied a distinct place in the welfare of the community and no one of which could have been dispensed with without retarding the welfare of the community. In this day of spe- cialization, there is work for every man in a particular field. It is not as it was in the days of our forefathers when each one of them was his own physician, his own tailor, his own blacksmith, and so on. The pioneer farm- ers of the thirties and forties in Indiana successfully combined the occupa- tions which are now held by more than a score of different professions and performed them well enough for their time. Farmers we have always had, and farmers we will continue to have in the future, and until such a time comes when there will be no necessity for bread and meat the farmer will
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continue to be the most important figure of the life of any nation. Among the prominent farmers of Tipton county, Indiana, who are contributing their share to the welfare of the community in which they live, there is no one who is more deserving of mention in this volume than Thomas Carter, of Prairie township.
Thomas Carter, the son of Samuel and Ruth (Quakenbush) Carter, was born in Prairie township, where he has always lived, November 18, 1852. Samuel Carter was born in Orange county, this state, and received his early education in his native county. After leaving school he worked on his father's farm until his marriage. Immediately after this event he removed to Tipton county, Indiana, where he purchased forty acres of land in Prairie township, and here he remained in the active operation of his land until his death, at which time he was the owner of one hundred and thirty-six acres of fine land in the township, which he had brought to a high state of cultivation. His wife was the daughter of Thomas and Hannah Quakenbush, and to their union were born ten children, Hannah, who became the wife of Franklin Fitzsimmons, and after his death married Edward Graham; Martha died in infancy ; James married Alvera Rigley: Sarah and George, who both died at the age of seven : Cyrus, whose first wife was Etta Wright, and who. after her death, married Elizabeth Huser: John and Samuel died when young: Oliver married Martha Gray for his first wife, and subsequently married Christina - Samuel Carter's first wife died December 26, 1866, and later he was married to Nancy ( Wiles) Glenns, the widow of Joseph Glenns and daughter of Richard and Sarah ( Atwood) Wiles, and to this union there were born three children, William G., May and Laura, none of whom is now living.
Thomas Carter received the best education which his district school af- forded, and at an early age started out to work by the month for the farmers in his neighborhood. By thus working for the different farmers, he ac- quired a good knowledge of the practical side of farming, which has stood him in good stead in his later career as a farmer. Upon his marriage he settled in Howard county, Indiana, on a farm of twenty acres which he bought and there he remained for four years. He then purchased his pres- ent farm of one hundred acres in Prairie township, Tipton county, Indiana, and has continued to operate this tract up to the present time. He carries on a general system of farming and raises considerable live stock. As a farmer he is one of the most progressive and wide-awake agriculturists of the locality in which he resides and believes in keeping pace with modern. scientific methods.
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Mr. Carter married Louisa A. Runk, daughter of Samuel and Margaret Runk, and their union has been blessed with two children, Milton, who mar- ried Daisy Orr, is the father of two children, Everett and Opal: Lillie, who married John Ramseyer, is the mother of three children, Mabel. Merle and Richard. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Runk, the parents of Mrs. Carter, reared a family of nine children; William, who died in the service of his country during the Civil war: Jacob, unmarried: Matilda, wife of Joseph Elliott ; Hannah, wife of Marion Duncan: Miles married Sarah Orr; John married Mariah Brim: Louisa, the wife of Thomas Carter; Maggie, wife of George T. Lindley ; Lincoln, who married Leary Heaton.
Mr. Carter has been a Republican since he was old enough to cast a ballot. and although he takes an intelligent interest in the political issues of the day he has never been an aspirant for any public office. Mrs Carter is a woman of more than ordinary intelligence and culture, and is a devoted wife and mother, realizing that in performing these duties she is performing the highest function of woman. She is actively interested in church work and as a member of the Christian church she engages in the various activities of that denomination. Mr. Carter is a type of the aggressive American farmer, who starts out in life with nothing and, with sheer determination and force of will, builds up for himself a fortune as a tiller of the soil. Such men are valuable members of any community in which they live. and if it were not for such substantial citizens the affairs of this country would soon be in a bad shape. Mr. Carter takes an interest in the various enter- prises in his community which seek to ameliorate conditions, and is a man of broad and liberal mind, being justly regarded as one of the most repre- sentative citizens of his locality.
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WILLIAM JOSEPH VAWTER.
Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Tipton county within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured in the growth and development of this favored locality, and whose interests are identified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well-being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is William Joseph Vawter, one of the rural residents of Prairie township. Tipton county, In- diana.
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The subject of this sketch was born in Howard county, Indiana, on April 23, 1871, the son of Samuel and Katie ( Etherington) Vawter, both of whom were natives of Switzerland county, this state. When Samuel Vaw- ter was seven years old his parents came to this county, locating in Prairie township on the farm where the subject now lives. He received his education in the district schools of Prairie township, and after leaving school he farmed with his father until he was about eighteen years of age, when he started out in life for himself, hiring out to the neighborhood farmers by the month. This he continued until the time of his marriage, when he pur- chased a farm of forty acres, where he has since made his home. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Vawter had a family of six children, namely: Nora, who mar- ried James M. Maggart : John, who took as his wife Nellie Russell; Irene, who became the wife of William Overholser, and, beside William Joseph, the immediate subject of this sketch, two children died when small.
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