USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 14
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 14
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
JAMES THOMPSON.
465
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
the great Hoosier state, and here he has worked out his way from an environ- ment none too promising at the outset to definite success and independence. He has been quick to adapt himself to the changing conditions of the times in their onward course of events and has labored so consecutively and effectively that he now ranks among our substantial and highly esteemed citizens, being held in high regard by all who know him for his life of industry, honesty and public spirit.
Mr. Thompson was born in Van Buren township, Fountain county. In- diana, July 15, 1836. He is the son of one of the sterling pioneer families of this locality. Hartson and Rebecca ( Rusk ) Thompson. The father was a native of Freehold, Monmouth county, New Jersey. He spent his early life in the East and when a young man brought his wife to Fountain county, In- diana, settling in Van Buren township, where he carved out a good home in the carly days and became well known among the pioneers. He was a wheel- wright in early life, but he spent the balance of his life on a farm.
James Thompson grew to manhood in his native county and received his education in the early schools of his community. He turned his attention to farming when a young man and this has continued his chief vocation; however, much of his attention has been directed to handling live stock, hav- ing been widely known as a cattle buyer for years, selling to local shippers and butchers, and no small part of his income has been derived from this source. He prospered by his close application, his honest dealings with his fellow men and his able management and became the owner of five hundred and fifty acres of valuable land. He has given away a good deal to his chil- dren, but has retained two hundred and ten acres, which he has kept well tilled and well improved and it is one of the model farms of Van Buren town- ship. He has a large, pleasant home and substantial outbuildings, and he kept a good grade of stock, before retirement.
Mr. Thompson was married in 1861 to Caroline Lucas, daughter of Joseph, Sr., and Catherine (Smith) Lucas, old settlers of Van Buren town- ship where they became substantial farmers. Three children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : Emma married Charles Dice, now deceased, and secondly she married William A. Marquess, who is farming on the sub- ject's land; Ettie married Fred Layton, a farmer; Joe H. died in 1901.
Mr. Thompson is a Republican, and while he has been more or less active in public affairs, always supporting any movement looking to the gen- eral good of the county of his nativity, he has never sought or held political office. He was a member of the Masonic order at Veedersburg until 1851. Mrs. Thompson is a member of the United Brethren church.
(30)
466
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Mr. Thompson is now living in a beautiful home in Sterling, a village just east of Veedersburg, whither he removed his family some time ago. He has made what he has by hard work and is entitled to a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished, and he is held in high favor with all who know him.
JAMES F. CARTER.
The gentleman whose name heads this review is one of the leading farmers and stock men of his community in Fountain county, and one of the worthiest sons that Davis township has ever produced, and this volume would be incomplete were there failure to make mention of him and his family and the enterprise with which he is identified, his fine farm having been developed from the wilderness by his honored father and later kept modernly improved by himself until today it ranks with the best and most desirable farmisteads in this section of the county. Tireless energy and honesty of purpose are the chief characteristics of this man, as they were of his father, who was well known as a thrifty farmer and large land owner in the earlier years of the locality's history.
James F. Carter was born in Davis township, Fountain county. Indiana, September 18, 1842, and is the son of Samuel and Anna ( Mills) Carter. Samuel Carter was born in Ross county, Ohio, and there spent his boyhood days, coming from that county to Fountain county, Indiana, as early as 1825. The mother of the subject had also been born and reared in Ohio, but she and the elder Carter were married in Indiana. Upon their arrival here they settled in Davis township on the farm which their son, James F. of this sketch, now owns and where he still makes his home. Samuel Carter entered this land from the government and here went to work courageously to hew out a new home from the vast woods with which this country was then covered. And he succeeded.
Six children were born to Samuel Carter and wife, namely: Amanda, who died in infancy; Mrs. Margaret Beach is deceased; Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Bever; James F., of this review; Mrs. Caroline Sayers was next in order; Robert, the youngest, died in infancy.
Politically, Samuel Carter was a Democrat and, while he assisted mate- rially in the early affairs of the county, he never held office. He was a member of the Baptist church. At one time he owned nine hundred acres of land here and was one of the leading farmers in this locality.
467
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIAN.A.
James F. Carter grew to manhood on the home farm and he received a practical education in the public schools of his native community in Davis township. He has devoted his life to farming and is now the owner of a finely improved and very productive place of three hundred and twenty acres, a part of the original homestead. In connection with general farming he handles a good grade of live stock and has a pleasant home.
Mr. Carter was married on April 16, 1865, to Rachael .A. Washburn, daughter of John and Catherine (Drake) Washburn. Mr. Washburn came from Ohio about the same time that Samuel Carter came. 1825, and he settled in Montgomery county, on Black creek, where he remained for some time, then removed to Davis township. Fountain county, where he spent the rest of his life, having now been deceased perhaps a half century. His family consisted of ten children, five of whom grew to maturity, namely : Elmer is deceased: Enoch died when eighteen years old; Joseph died at the age of fourteen ; William lives in Pasadena, California; Rachael A., wife of Mr. Carter of this sketch; Mrs. Elizabeth J. Bowles is living at Joplin, Missouri; Uria Albertine died when four years old; the other two children died in infancy.
Mr. Washburn was a Democrat and a member of the Baptist church, and he was a trustee in his township for two terms, and he was also a trustee in the local Baptist church.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carter, naniely : Lou Emmm married Oliver Dodge and they live at Newtown, this county: Charles W. is a retired hardware merchant at Wingate, Montgomery county ;' Anna Catherine married L. B. Wilson, of Davis township, this county.
Politically, the subject is a Democrat, but has held no office. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife holds membership in the Baptist church.
T. CHALMERS SHULTZ.
T. Chalmers Shultz, cashier of the Newtown Bank and former popular educator of Fountain county, is a native of Indiana, and a son of Thomas and Clara (Gray) Shultz, who are noticed elsewhere in these pages. He was born June 16, 1877, in Fountain county and received his preliminary education in the public schools, this training being afterward supplemented by six terms in the State Normal School at Terre Haute, which he attended with the object in view of devoting his life to educational work. . Fortified
468
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
with this excellent professional training, he taught two years in the graded country schools and then became principal of the schools of Newtown, which position he held for a period of four years, achieving in the meantime dis- tinctive success as an instructor and disciplinarian. Owing to indifferent health, Mr. Shultz, at the expiration of the time indicated, was obliged to discontinue school work and during the three years ensuing he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits in Richland township. . At the solicitation of friends, he was induced, in 1907, to accept the position of cashier in the Newtown Bank, which responsible position he still holds and in the dis- charge of the duties of the same demonstrates business ability of a high order and a regard for the interests of the institution which has gained for him the unlimited trust and confidence of everybody identified therewith. Since accepting the position he now ably fills he has made a careful study of banking until he has become familiar with every phase of the business and he also has a wide and thorough knowledge of financial matters, besides being well versed upon the leading questions and issues of the day and fully abreast of the times in all that concerns the interests of the public. Con- scientious in the discharge of his duties of citizenship, he is a valuable factor in the body politic, and his aim lias ever been to shape his life according to the highest standard of ethics, in which his example may profitably be imitated by those whose characters are yet to be formed and careers achieved. While earnest in the support of his political principles, which are in accord with the Republican party, he is first of all a business man, having never aspired to office nor asked any kind of public recognition at the hands of his fellow citizens. Religiously, he belongs to the Presbyterian church and, fraternally, holds membership with Richland Lodge No. 205, Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Shultz was married on June 3, 1908, to Evelyn Foster, daughter of David B. and Ruth (Stafford) Foster, of Shawnee township, this county, the union resulting in the birth of one child, who answers to the name of Gwendolyn Irene.
M. L. STANTON.
When old age approaches it is quite the usual thing for a person to look back over his life to find out whether the world is any better for his having lived. It must be a gloomy retrospect, indeed, when no good can be found upon such an examination. On the contrary what a consolation it must be to know that one's life has been an example of excellence for the guidance
MR. AND MRS. M. L. STANTON.
469
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
of youth and for the congratulation of age. How pleasant it must be when the evening star of life appears in the western sky, to be able to say truth- fully, "I have lived an honest life and have done my whole duty." How many old persons who read these lines can hold up their heads with pride and say with no compunction of conscience that the world is better for their having lived? M. L. Stanton, who, after a long and successful career as a stock man, now lives in retirement in his attractive home in Covington, is one of the number in Fountain county who can truthfully make such a statement. That his life has been honorable and upright may be surmised from the fact that he is respected by everyone who has the pleasure of his friendship and ac- quaintance. He comes up from the pioneer epoch in this locality, his parents having began life in true first-settler fashion in the days of log cabins and far-reaching forests, in the days when there were neither turnpikes nor steanı roads. when farming was done with crude instruments and when neighbors were few, but the Stantons were progressive and finally became well cstab- lished here.
M. L. Stanton is the scion of a hospitable old Southern family and hails from the old Tar state, his birth having occurred in North Carolina, January II, 1839, but practically all of his life has been spent in the Wabash country. He is the son of Solomon and Charity (Swain) Stanton, who spent their early lives in that state and were married there, and from there they came overland across the Blue Ridge mountains to Indiana in the early days, locat- ing in Parke county in 1841, when the subject was two years old. They built a house in the woods, and by persistent, hard work cleared and developed a good farm there, becoming well and favorably known among the early set- tlers. There the parents of the subject spent the rest of their lives, the father dying on July 27, 1850, the mother surviving until December 21, 1873. Benjamin Stanton, the paternal grandfather of the subject, spent his life in North Carolina engaged in farming. The Stanton family has been well known in that state for a number of generations.
To Solomon Stanton and wife four children were born, named as fol- lows : Elizabeth, who is deceased; M. L., of this review ; Michael was next in order of birth; and Letitia, who lives in Kingman City, Kansas.
M. L. Stanton grew to manhood on the home farm in Parke county and there assisted with the general work during the summer months. He was a studious lad and, applying himself well to his studies, received the best edu- cation that the common schools of that early day offered. He began life for himself by teaching in different graded schools for eight seasons, during which his services were in great demand for he was successful as an instructor from
.
470
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
the first. But finally tiring of the school room he turned his attention to farming and stock raising, also bought and sold live stock in large numbers from year to year, becoming a successful stock man in this locality. He is one of the best judges of live stock in the county. As a careful and progres sive tiller of the soil he also had no superiors, keeping his place under an excellent state of cultivation and improvement. He owns a fine farm at Cole Creck, Fulton township, Fountain county, consisting of one hundred and ninety-eight acres, one-half of which is under cultivation. He keeps a renter on the place. He has a fine, modernly appointed home at the corner of Wash- ington and Eighth streets, Covington, where he has lived in retirement since 1898, enjoying the fruits of his former years of activity.
Mr. Stanton has been twice married, first to Margaret J. Collison, by which union five children were born, namely: Clara, Myrta, Susa, Fred L. and Nellie. The wife and mother passed away in 1894, and in 1896 Mr. Stanton was united in marriage with Mary J. Wann, which union has been without issue.
Politically, Mr. Stanton is a Republican, though he has never been . especially active in political affairs; however, he has always stood ready to support such measures as made for the general good of his county and state, in the material and moral development of which he has ever been greatly interested. He was at one time trustee of Fulton township, this county. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JAMES G. WARFIELD.
Success in this life comes to the deserving. It is an axiom demonstrated by all human experience, that a man gets out of this life what he puts into it, plus a reasonable interest on the investment. He who inherits an estate and adds nothing to his fortune cannot be called a successful man. He who falls heir to a fortune and increases its value is successful in proportion to the amount he adds to his possession. But the man who starts in the world unaided and by persistent industry and correct principles forges ahead and at length reaches a position of honor among his fellow citizens achieves success such as representatives of the two former classes can neither under- stand nor appreciate. To a considerable extent James G. Warfield, of Cain township, Fountain county, Indiana, is a creditable representative of the class last named, a class which has furnished much of the bone and sinew of the country and added to the stability of the government and its institutions.
471
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
James G. Warfield was born in Montgomery county. Indiana, on April 2, 1840, and is a son of George and Mary (Gardner) Warfield, natives, respectively, of Tennessee and Hancock county, Indiana. George Warfield lived in his native state until he was nine years old, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Butler county, Ohio. His father and mother, Adam and Mary (Bowerman) Warfield, were farmers, though the elder Warfield had followed milling in Tennessee. They were persons of strong character and stood high in the communities where they lived. In 1838 they moved to Rush county, Indiana, and two years later their son George, father of the subject, moved to Montgomery county, this state, where he engaged in farming, which he followed during the remainder of his life. He married Mary Gardner and they became the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living, namely: James G., the immediate subject of this sketch; Annie, who became the wife of Robert Herron; Mary, the wife of William Faunce; John A .; Eunice, the wife of William E. Ellis; Emma, the wife of George Hill; Bertha, the wife of Hiram Clark; Williani H., deceased ; Margaret, deceased. The father of these children was a Baptist in religious faith and a Republican in politics. He died in 1884, at the age of seventy-four years, and his wife died in 1865, at the age of forty-eight years.
James G. Warfield received his education in the common schools and upon starting out in life on his own account he took up the vocation of farming, to which he had been reared, and in this line of effort he has labored persistently and with splendid results. In 1872 he moved to Fountain county and located on a rented farm in Cain township, where he remained two years, at the end of which time he removed to his present location, on a farm of his own; where he has lived continuously since. When he located on this land it was raw and undeveloped, but he went energetically at the task before him and the present condition of the place stands in unmistakable evidence that the owner is a man of energy, good judgment and indomitable persistency. The farm comprises one hundred and twenty acres, all of which is in culti- vation but four acres of timber, and here Mr. Warfield carries on general farming, raising all the crops common to this section of the country, giving proper attention to the rotation of crops and the conservation of the soil. He is up-to-date in his ideas and methods and the buildings on the place add to the appearance and valuc, the residence being confortable and attrac- tive, while the barns and other farm buildings are admirably adapted to the purposes intended.
472
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
On October 15, 1872, Mr. Warfield was married to Anna K. Rountree. the daughter of John and Sarah ( Kercheval) Rountree, i Montgomery county, Indiana. To this union have been born the following children: Mary E. is the wife of Edwin E. Utterback, a teacher in the Manual Mit- School at Memphis, Tennessee; Jennie L. is the wife of Manford Livengood. who is represented elsewhere in this work; Gertrude C. died at the age of sixteen years; Edna R. is the wife of Stephen Davis, a druggist at Wayne- town; Lucy died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Warfield is affiliated with the Republican party and is now serving a second term as a member of the county council, where he has rendered efficient and appreciated service. In religion he is a member of the Christian church and is a deacon in the local church, in the welfare of which he is deeply interested, giving liberally of his means in its support. In every line of effort to which he has applied his energies he has put forth the best that is in him and because of his upright life and the success which has accompanied his efforts he occupies a deservedly high position in the estimation of all who know him.
CAPT. SCHUYLER LATOURETTE.
A citizen of the United States can wear no greater badge of honor than the distinction of having served the government in the memorable four years . of war between the states. It is a sacred family inheritance of renown, to be prized like a jewel by all future descendants and kept bright and untar- nished by other acts of valor, patriotism and loyalty in the ; iterests of free government. Even in this day when there are many of the old soldiers liv- ing, no one can see one of them dressed up in his faded uniform without feel- ing a glow of pride and without showing him studied deference. But the ranks of the old phalanx are fast going down before the only foe that they cannot meet, and ere long none will be left to recount the actual experiences of that memorable four years of sanguinary history. In the meantime, while they are still with us, let us pay them suitable honor for their sacrifices, patriotism, gallantry and sufferings. One of these honored veterans is Capt. Schuyler LaTourette, one of the well known agriculturists of Wabash town- ship, Fountain county, and one of our worthiest pioneer citizens, he having
CAPTAIN AND MRS. SCHUYLER LATOURETTE.
473
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
spent his useful and commendable life in this vicinity, laboring for its general development while advancing individual interests. He grew up amid pioneer conditions when this part of the country' was wild and settlers were few and he has lived to see the wonderful transformation that has taken place.
Captain LaTourette was born in Fountain county, Indiana. on the old homestead in Wabash township, August 24, 1834. He is the son of John and Sarah (Schenck) LaTourette. The father was born near Manhattan Island in 1793, and the mother was born in New Jersey in 1799, and they spent their earliest years in the East and there the elder LaTourette learned the weaver's trade, which trade had been handed down for a period of five hundred years from father to son. The subject also followed this line of eu- deavor for a time and his brothers and sister also followed it. John La- Tourette, the father, moved with his wife to Germantown, Ohio, in 1819, and there they remained ten years, then came to Wabash township, Fountain county, Indiana, in 1828 where they established the permanent family home. They were thus pioneers and here they found a wild country, devoid of con- veniences, not even a good road, but they persevered and never permitted the hardships to thwart them and in due course of time had an excellent farm carved from the great forest and here they took much interest in the early affairs of the county in which they spent the rest of their lives, the death of the father occurring on February 22, 1849, the mother surviving to an ad- vanced age, passing away in 1873. 'Of their large family of twelve children, four are still living. John LaTourette followed weaving in connection with farming until his death. He was a Whig and was active in politics, but later in life he became a Jackson Democrat. Ile voted the Whig ticket for a time after locating in Wabash township.
Captain LaTourette grew to manhood on the home farm, where he found plenty of hard work when a boy, and he received such educational training as the old-fashioned schools of his district afforded, and here he has been content to spend his life and devote his energies to general agricultural pursuits. On August 11, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Sixty-third Indi- ana Volunteer Infantry, and he was soon made first lieutenant, and later for meritorious services promoted to captain of this company, in which capacity he served until the close of the war, in the Army of the Cumberland, partici- pating in the campaigns and battles with Sherman as far as Atlanta, then returned, having taken part in a number of important engagements, including Resaca, Atlanta, Nashville and others, in all of which he bore himself with the gallantry and bravery of the true American soldier. He had the con-
474
FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
fidence of his men and superior officers and won the praise of all for his com- mendable conduct on all occasions, never shrinking from his duty no matter how arduous or dangerous. He was mustered out of the service at Knox- ville, Tennessee, in November, 1864.
After his career in the army Captain LaTourette returned to the old home place and here he has since led a quiet life in connection with tilling the soil and raising live stock. He is the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres of rich, valuable land, most of which is under a high state of cultivation and all well improved. About his pleasant old home may be seen some fine old trees of the original forest. He has inade a specialty of raising Red Poll cattle and Shropshire sheep, which find a very ready market owing to their superior quality.
Politically, the Captain is a Republican of the Abe Lincoln type, but in county affairs he prefers to vote for the men best qualified, in his opinion, for the offices sought, and while he takes considerable interest in public affairs he has never been an office holder. He is an active member of Covington Post No. 4, Grand Army of the Republic, and fraternally he holds member- ship with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.