USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Richmond > Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County, Volume II Pt II > Part 13
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Dr. Aubrey L. Loop is one of the sterling citizens whom Boone county has contributed to Wayne county, and through his own exertions and ability has worked his way upward from the position of a farm boy to that of one of the leading and successful physicians of the county to which he came as a young man, in 1900. One can readily read between the lines of these statements and must realize that Dr. Loop has had a definite object in view and that he did not dissipate his energies during the preliminary stages of his progress. He was born in Boone county, Indiana, Nov. 18, 1874, a son of Henry and Amanda J. (Cunningham ), Loop, natives of that same county, where they have passed their
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entire lives and still maintain their home, in the village of Ad- vance, that county. They are the parents of two children. The Loop family is of German extraction and has been resident in America the past 150 years. The original immigrants were three brothers, one of whom settled in Canada, one in Pennsylvania, and the third, Christian Loop, from whom Dr. Loop is descended, set- tled in Rockingham county, Virginia. The paternal great-grand- father, Christian Loop, Jr., came to Indiana, in 1834, and settled in Boone county, where he purchased land and also entered a tract of government land. Ilis son, David, grandfather of Dr. Loop, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, Feb. 4, 1818, and came to Indiana with his parents in 1834. He became the father of seven children, one of whom, Henry, father of Dr. Loop, was born March 9, 1845. Dr. Loop gained his early education in the district schools of his native county and then became a student in Wabash Col- lege, later attending Butler College, and his professional educa- tion was received in the Indiana Medical School, at Indianapolis, where he graduated with the class of 1899. Hle then spent one year at the Indianapolis City Dispensary, at the end of which time, in 1900, he came to Economy and opened an office for the practice of his profession, and has been successfully so engaged up to the present time, which indicates the valuation placed upon him and the confidence reposed in him by the people of the community. He is a close student of the advances made in his profession and thus has well deserved the prosperity and success which have attended his efforts. He is a Democrat in politics and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. In June, 1901, Dr. Loop was united in marriage to Miss Lynne B. Young, a daughter of George T. and Catherine Young, of Boone county, Indiana, and of this union have been born two children-Margaret Jane, born April 7, 1903, and Aubrey Young, born Sept. 14, 1910.
Charles Jesse Ballenger is numbered among the progressive farmers and popular citizens of Perry township and has been a resident of Wayne county from the time of his birth, which oc- curred in Perry township, Dec. 4, 1886. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Ballenger, was born in North Carolina, grew to man- hood there, married Sarah Shiveley, and came to Wayne county with his family in 1829. He had four sons-William, Jacob, John, and George. William Ballenger, grandfather of Charles J., was born in North Carolina, Nov. 16, 1824, and hence was five years old when brought to Wayne county by his parents. He grew to manhood and was educated in Wayne county, attending the sub- scription schools in Green township and afterward the school at Centerville. Ile combined teaching with farming and became one of the successful men of his township. On Oct. 30, 1846, he was married to Lydia Starbuck and of this union were born ten chil- dren, of whom George S., Alice, Jacob O., W. L., Addie M., and James E. lived to maturity, Mary E. and Isabelle O. died young, and two children died in infancy. George S. is the father of Charles J., Jacob O. is a merchant in Economy and ex-trustee of the town- ship, W. L. is an ear, nose, and throat specialist in Chicago, and
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James E. is a farmer. George S. Ballenger, retired, was born in Perry township, Aug. 30, 1855, and there was reared and educated. He began life at farming, which vocation he successfully followed until his retirement in 1909. He is a Republican in his political views and he and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Economy. On July 22, 1881, he was united in marriage to Emma C. Weaver, born Feb. 26, 1861, in Wayne county, daughter of Jesse and Martha H. ( lowell) Weaver, the former a native of Virginia who came to Wayne county in 1835, at the age of ten years, and the latter was born and reared in Wayne county. The father followed farming, and he and his wife were the parents of five children-Bennett P., Nelson F., Ozro D., Elmer E., and Emma Clarabelle. To George S. Ballenger and wife were born four children: Lulu V., born May 19, 1882, died Nov. II, of the same year; Zora M., born Aug. 4, 1883, married Frank C. Cain, Aug. 27, 1902, and they have three children-Fan- nie, Forrest, and Martha ; Guy W., born March 11, 1885, was mar- ried Aug. 1, 1906, to Blanche Wilson, and they have three chil- dren-Dorothy, Donald, and Harold ; and Charles J. is the young- est. He was reared in the sturdy discipline of the farm and his early educational advantages were those afforded in the public schools at Economy. He has never wavered in his allegiance to the great elemental industry under whose influence he was reared. After his marriage he moved to his Grandfather Ballenger's farm, where he resided one year, and then removed to the farm where he resides and which is owned by his father. He has well upheld the prestige of the honored name which he bears and is a citizen of loyalty and public spirit. His political support is given to the Re- publican party, but the honors and emoluments of public office have not aught to appeal to him. He is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows at Economy, and he and his wife are held in high regard in the social circles of the community. On Dec. 31, 1907, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ballenger to Miss Ada E. Engle, daughter of Daniel and Martha Engle, of Ran- dolph county, Indiana, and of this union is one child, Doris Lucile, born May 23, 1910. Daniel Engle was one of a family of twelve boys, and he and his wife have also reared a family of twelve chil- dren. He is a prominent farmer in Randolph county.
Henderson B. Oler, one of the representative farmers and stock growers of Perry township, now living retired in the village of Economy, is a native son of Wayne county and a scion in the third generation of one of the sterling pioneer families of this sec- tion of the Iloosier commonwealth. He was born in Perry town- ship, this county, April 9, 1847, a son of Adam Oler, born in a little hut in Green township soon after his parents came to Indiana, in 1819. Henry Oler, the paternal grandfather, was a native of the State of Virginia, as was also his wife. They came to Wayne county in 1819, and he took up a tract of government land in Green township, where he developed a farm and where he and his wife passed the residue of their lives. Adam Oler was reared,in Green township and secured his early educational training in the
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primitive schools of the pioneer period. He became in due time one of the independent and successful farmers of Perry township, where he was a loyal and upright citizen, ever commanding the con- fidence and esteem of his fellow men. He and his devoted wife became the parents of nine children. Henderson B. Oler was reared on the home farm and is indebted to the district schools of Perry township for his early educational discipline. He has never way- ered in his allegiance to the noble art of husbandry and is num- bered among the progressive and popular representatives of the agricultural industry in Perry township, where he has a well im- proved farm, which he has rented out since moving to Economy. Ilis political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and he and his wife hold membership in the Brethren church at Sugar Grove. Oct. 19, 1870, bore record of the marriage of Mr. Oler to Miss Sarah C. Addington, a daughter of Bishop and Delilah Ad- dington, of Wayne county, and of this nion were born four chil- dren: Darry, born Jan. 26, 1872; Cicero, born Feb. 19, 1874; Icic, born May 16, 1877, died Jan. 29, 1882; and Omar, born April 13. 1888. Darry married Minnie Smith, of Wayne county, and they have one child, Marie: Cicero married May Wolford, of Wayne county, and they have a son, Virgil; and Omar married Lulu Harris, daughter of Daniel Harris.
John Martin Manning, a genial farmer and stock raiser of Perry township, was born on the farm where he resides, Ang. 11, 1865, son of George B. and Susan ( Lamb) Manning, the former born in Connecticut and the latter a daughter of Harvey and Lettie Lamb, of Perry township, this county. The Manning family is of English origin, the first immigrant being William Manning, who came from England to Massachusetts in 1634, with his family, and his son, Samuel Manning, took an active part in raising funds for the establishment of Harvard College .. Many of the Mannings served as soldiers in the war of the Revolution. Hezekiah Man- ning, grandfather of John M., came to Indiana from Connecticut in the '2os of the last century and purchased land. He then went back to Connecticut, where he married Mary Jacobs, and about eight months after the birth of their son, George B., father of John M., they came to Indiana and settled in Perry township, this county. George B. Manning married Susan Lamb in 1856, and he followed farming during all of his active career. They became the parents of ten children. John M. Manning received his pre- liminary education in the public schools of Perry township and afterward attended school at Economy, the high school at Hagers- town, and the Valparaiso Normal School. At the age of twenty- one he began teaching school and followed that occupation in Green and Perry townships a period of three years. He then ac- cepted a position in the railway mail service, between Pittsburgh and St. Louis, in which capacity he was employed about six years, but he always kept in touch with farming, with the idea of making it his life's occupation. In igot he returned to his father's farm, that parent dying in the fall of that year. His mother died in 1906, and he and his sister then purchased the old home place, where
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he has since resided, although he owns another farm near by. In politics, he gives adherence to the platform expressions of the Re- publican party, although liberal and independent in his views, and his church affiliations are with the United Brethren church. In October, 1885, Mr. Manning was married to Miss Lora Ballenger, daughter of Jacob Ballenger, ex-sheriff of Wayne county, and of this union four children were born: George A., born Jan. 13, 1888, attended the school in Economy, graduated at DePauw Uni- versity in June, 1911, and is teaching in Randolph county ; Howard, born May 29, 1891 ; Martha Louise, July 24, 1895 ; and Harold, Ang. 28, 1900. Mr. Manning's first wife died in 1900, and on July 21, 1903, he was married to Mrs. Celeste (Conley ) Atkinson, widow of John Cain Atkinson, of Economy, and a daughter of Isaac and Luzena Conley, of Boston township, both deceased. Mrs. Man- ning was born Oct. 22, 1864, and she is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Edgar Irving Manning, a popular agriculturist of the town- ship of Perry, was born on his father's farm in Perry township, Feb. 11, 1878, son of George B. and Susan (Lamb) Manning (see sketch of John M. Manning). He received his education in the district schools of Perry township and in the high school at Econ- omy, and at the age of eighteen finished his studies and there- after worked on his father's farm until married. lle then pur- chased his present farm of 160 acres, upon which he erected a fine dwelling house and commodious barns, and there has since re- sided, successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits. In politics, he gives his unswerving allegiance to the principles of the Prohibi- tion party and his church affiliations are with the United Brethren church, while his wife is a member of the Society of Friends. In 1901 Mr. Manning was married to Miss Clara Mendenhall, daughter of A. Grant and Phoebe A. (Oler) Mendenhall, of Economy (see sketch of A. Grant Mendenhall), and of this union have been born two children-Elizabeth, born Feb. 11, 1903, and Christine, born Nov. 23, 1906.
Alves Mendenhall, a prosperous farmer of Perry township, was born on his father's farm in Clay township, this county, Sept. 23, 1851. Ile is a son of Caleb C. and Luzetta (Dean) Menden- hall, his father born in Clay township, this county, Nov. 21, 1825, and his mother was a native of North Carolina, born Jan. 23, 1827. She came to Indiana with her parents-Frederick and Polly Dean- who located in Wayne county and there her father followed farm- ing. Caleb C. Mendenhall followed farming all of his life in Perry and Clay townships and died March 3, 1866. The paternal grandfather was Isaiah Mendenhall (see sketch of A. Grant Men- denhall). Alves Mendenhall received his early education in the public schools of Perry township and at an early age began to assist in the work of the home farm. When he was fourteen years old his father died, and having no brothers, the management of the farm early fell upon him, the duties of which he attended to until 1881. He then purchased a farm in Clay township, where he resided until 1890, when he sold that place and purchased his
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present farm of 120 acres in Perry township. Ile also owns an- other traet of 160 acres in the same township and to the manage- ment of his landed interests gives his entire attention. On June 20, 1874, Mr. Mendenhall was united in marriage to Miss Susan Shoemaker, daughter of John and Lucinda Shoemaker, of Ran- dolph county, Indiana, where Mrs. Mendenhall was born Nov. 2, 1852. Of this union were born seven children: Carrie is the wife of Aldo Cain, of Henry county, Indiana; Romania is the wife of Frank Osborne, of Denver, Colo .; Roscoe C. resides in Perry township; Effic is the wife of Marion Mull, of Green township; Reba is the wife of Ward Jackson, of Green township; and Virgie and Kelso reside at the parental home. Mr. Mendenhall is a Re- publican in his political views and he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church. The father of Mrs. Mendenhall was born in Wayne county and her mother was a native of North Carolina, from which State she came to Indiana after the death of her parents. Roscoe C. Mendenhall was born on the old home- stead of his grandparents, Aug. 9, 1880, and received his education in the district schools and in the schools at Economy, attending until about seventeen years old. Ile then helped his father on the farm until married, after which he rented a farm for six years and then purchased his present place of eighty acres in Perry town- ship. On Feb. 7, 1901, he was married to Mattie Grace Lester, daughter of John and Susan ( Bowers) Lester, of Henry county, Indiana, where Mrs. Mendenhall was born Dec. 21, 1881. The an- cestors of her parents came from North Carolina. Of this union was born a daughter, Evaline May, July 10, 1907, and she died when four days old. Roscoe C. Mendenhall is a Republican in politics, fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Economy, Lodge No. 150, and he and his wife are members of the United Brethren church.
Milton Cain, a successful and prosperous farmer of Perry township, was born on his father's farm in that township, Sept. 23, 1843. Ile is a son of Jonathan and Priscilla ( Lamb ) Cain, natives of Wayne county. John Cain, the paternal grandfather, served as a soldier through the Revolutionary war, came from North Carolina to Wayne county in the early part of the Nineteenth cen- tury, about the time this region was being apportioned into farms by the government, and he took up some government land in Perry township which he cleared and upon which he founded the first home of the Cain family in this county. His wife was Susan Hembe. Upon this pioneer farm Jonathan Cain was born, and in the district schools of Perry township he received his early educa- tion. He followed the occupation of his pioneer father and followed agricultural pursuits throughout his entire active career. His wife was a daughter of Thomas and Anna Lamb, carly settlers of Wayne county, and to Jonathan Cain and wife were born four chil- dren: Elizabeth married Wilson Pierce, of Perry township, and both are deceased; Ilannah is the wife of Lewis Pierce, residing west of Economy, in Perry township; Milton is the next in order of birth; and Josephine died in early womanhood. Milton Cain
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received his early education in the district schools of his native township. When he was eleven years old his father died and he went to live with an uncle, Perry Hurst, in Perry township, where he resided until twenty-one years old. He then rented a tract of land and later purchased a small farm south of Economy, which he operated three or four years. His frugality and industry then enabled him to purchase his present splendid farm of 120 acres. This land has been greatly improved by Mr. Cain, new fences hav- ing been built, an extensive drainage system instituted, and he built a comfortable home and good barns. He is engaged in gen- cral farming and has been very successful, adding to his landed possessions. In politics Mr. Cain has always been a Republican, but has never sought public office, and he and his wife are affili- ated with the United Brethren church. On March 21, 1872, he was married to Miss Adaline Wilson, youngest daughter of John and Hannah (Bond) Wilson, of Clay township, where Mrs. Cain was born Jan. 8, 1845. Of this union were born five children : Lnella, born in 1873, died at the age of twenty-three years; Ger- trude, born Oct. 17, 1877, resides at home; Zora, born Oct. 29, 1881, is the wife of Albert Gilmer, a farmer of Clay township, and they have one child, Ruby ; Nellie, born Dec. 25, 1884, is the wife of Clarence Fouts, of Hagerstown; and Walter, born Nov. 19, 1886, resides at the parental home.
William Elvin Oler, a prosperous and prominent farmer of Perry township, was born Sept. 10, 1858, on his father's farm, which is now his own, in Perry township. Ile is a son of Adam and Elizabeth ( Ballenger) Oler, natives of Wayne county, the father born in Green township, July 25, 1819, and the mother, born Nov. 2, 1820, in Ross county, Ohio, came to Wayne county with her parents when six years old. They were married Feb. 2, 1843, and became the parents of nine children. The Oler family came originally from Germany, the name of the first immigrant being Henry Oler, and he settled in North Carolina. His son, also named Henry, grandfather of William E., married Sarah Por- ter in North Carolina and came from that State to Wayne county in 1816, entering the land upon which his children were born and which is still in the possession of his son, Henry Oler. The mater- nal grandparents of William E. Oler were Benjamin and Sarah (Shiveley) Ballenger (see sketch of Charles J. Ballenger). Adam Oler, the father, was educated in his native township and later fol- lowed the occupation of his father, that of farming. He acquired a good landed estate of 240 acres in Perry township and it was there he died in 1893, his wife surviving until 1900, when she died at the age of eighty-eight years. William E. Oler received his early education in the country schools in the vicinity of his home. He began working on the home farm and remained with his par- ents until they died. He early engaged in the buying and selling of cattle and hogs, and when his father died, in 1893, he took charge of the farm and made a home for his mother. In 1881 he purchased his first land, it being a tract of 120 acres off the south half of the old homestead, and after the death of his mother added
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the remaining 120 acres by buying out the other heirs. He also owns a farm of 92.5 acres in Jefferson township, which he pur- chased in 1905, and eighty acres in Green township, but resides upon and operates the old homestead. Ile has followed a line of general farming, but has always been a large dealer in live stock, buying and shipping to the markets. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank at Williamsburg and in the Modoc Telephone Company, in which latter corporation he is also a director. In politics he belongs to the Republican party, and he and his wife are affiliated with the United Brethren church at Sugar Grove: On Nov. 2, 1882, he was nited in marriage to Miss Jennie A. Mettert, daughter of George G. and Elizabeth ( Fouts) Mettert, who came from Preble county, Ohio, to Wayne county, the father following farming in Jefferson and Clay townships, and both are now de- ceased. Mrs. Oler was born in Wayne county, Jan. 27, 1859, and to her and her husband were born three children: Clyde G., born March 15, 1884, married Essie L. Taylor, daughter of John W. and Hannah G. Taylor, and of this union was born a daughter, Nola Bess, Nov. 12, 1910; Nola Beryl, born March 13, 1888, graduated in the Economy High School and later attended Earlham College and the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music, and now resides at the parental home, as does also Enther Paul, who was born June 13, 1894, a student in the high school at Economy.
Charles W. D. Jones, deceased, for many years one of the sub- stantial citizens of Cambridge City, was born in Centerville, Wayne county, Indiana, Ang. 5, 1858. He was the son of Oliver T. and Mary ( King) Jones (see sketch of Lincoln H. Jones). He re- ceived his educational training in the public schools of his native village, and was identified with that community in his youth and early manhood until his removal to Cambridge City, where he be- came connected with the First National Bank. He began the bank- ing business with his father in Centerville, at the age of sixteen years, and thus his entire career was spent in financial affairs in- volving care and good judgment. As such he was considered of more than ordinary ability and gained and held the confidence of a large number of patrons. He was long the cashier of the First National Bank of Cambridge City and assisted very materially in successfully conducting its affairs. In 1893 he assisted in estab- lishing the Wayne International Building and Loan Association and continued a member of its board of directors until death. No little of the achievements of that institution are due to his wise and conservative methods. In his political views Mr. Jones was a stanch Republican. On Dec. 14, 1887, he was married to Miss Jennie Elliott, daughter of the late Calvin B. and Rebecca (Swayze) Elliott, of Cambridge City, and their home life was ideal. Of this union was born a son, Herman, who attended the Culver Military Academy with the class of 1910. Ile had previous- ly attended a business college at Richmond, and in 1008 entered the First National Bank at Cambridge City as teller. Mr. Jones' death occurred March 1, 1906, and the widow resides at the home- stead in Cambridge City. Calvin B. Elliott, father of Mrs. Jones,
CHARLES W. D. JONES. .
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BIOGRAPHICAL
was a native of Wayne county, born in Centerville, April 29, 1826, a son of William and Eliza (Branson) Elliott. He was educated in Cambridge City and at the age of fourteen entered mercantile life in his father's store. In 1847 he married Rebecca Swayze, a daughter of John B. Swayze, of Henry county, and in 1866 he died, leaving three children: Emma, who married Albert V. Hodskin, of Springfield, Ohio; Eddie C., and Mrs. Jones. Mr. Elliott was again married, in 1868, to Maria D. Bowman, of Erie, Pa. Through- out the most of his active career he was engaged in the mercan- tile business in Cambridge City, being one of the foremost mer- chants in that vicinity. During the Civil war he was a staunch Union man and was liberal in his donations to the soldiers and their dependent families.
Enos T. Veal, at the present time the incumbent of the office of trustee of Perry township, with residence at Economy, was born on his father's farm in Randolph county, Indiana, Oct. 3, 1851. Ilis parents are George W. and Maria (Sears) Veal, the former born in Clay township, Wayne county, Aug. 19, 1818, and the latter a daughter of Curtis Sears, who came from Ohio to Wayne county and later removed to Keokuk, Iowa. Mr. Veal received the name of Enos from his paternal grandfather, Enos Veal, a native of the State of New Jersey who came to Indiana in the carly part of the last century and settled in this county. He purchased a tract of uncultivated land, which he cleared and on which he erected the first home of the Veal family in Indiana, and he continued to re- main a resident of Wayne county until his death, which occurred in Wayne township. George W. Veal received his early education in the district schools of Clay township and in early manhood removed to Randolph county, where he purchased land and has since resided. In politics he has been a Republican since the birth of that political organization, and he held the office of township assessor in Randolph county many years. In 1890 he was elected treasurer of Randolph county and served one term, refusing a sec- ond nomination, believing that a man should hold the office only two years. In the primary at which he was nominated he received double the number of votes cast for all the other candidates in the field. He has now retired from all active business and is living in Winchester, the county seat of Randolph county. Ile and his devoted wife are the parents of fourteen children. Enos T. Veal, like his father, received his early education in the district schools of his native section, supplemented by two terms in the Lebanon, Ohio, schools, and spent his boyhood on his father's farm. At the age of seventeen he began teaching in Randolph county, follow- ing that occupation four terms, and in 1870 went to Iowa to see the country. Ile liked it so well that he remained two years, de- voting his time to teaching school and working on farms by the month. In 1873 he came to Wayne county and worked on a farm by the month two years. In 1875 he went to Arkansas and worked in a stave and handle factory, beginning as engineer, but after six months was made foreman and afterward had full charge of the factory. The location being in the Black River swamps it was
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