USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 25
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 25
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Fraternally, Mr. Kerr is a member of t): . Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Lodge No. 171 at Newtown.
Charles Cooper, father of Mrs. Kerr, was born in Virginia, and his wite was born in Liverpool, England. From there she came to America with her parents and settled in Chicago. Mrs. Ke 's mother is living in Merom, In- diana, now advanced in years.
IRA ALONZO HEAD.
That an American farm offers opportunities for a happy, contented and independent life is shown by examination into the conditions surrounding the homes of very many Fountain county farmers, among them he whose name heads this review. Though his farm is not of the largest he is one who is realizing the lesson of modern agriculture ; that it is intensive farming which is profitable ; that the same amount of work applied to a few acres yields a much larger return than if applied to many; that every bit of additional care given to a crop or a faim brings a double profit, while the owner of a smaller farm is not compelled to earn so large an interest on his investment, nor held to so great a burden of upkeep. So he has found his farm much more profitable than many larger, and much less expensive.
Ira Alonzo Head was born on the old homestead where he now lives on March 9, 1872, the son of Richard and Lucy ( Landers) Head. His parents were natives of Bullitt county, Kentucky, who came to Fountain county, In diana, in 1862, rented land at first, and finally bought the farm where the sub- ject was born and now fives. Richard Head was a cabinet-maker by trade, but devoted his time to farming while in Fountain county. Ile died in 1901.
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TAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
aged seventy-six; his wife chied in 1888, aged fifty-four. They were the par- ents of nine children : William T., a farmer of Hendricks county ; Samuel B., a farmer, who died on June 21, 1912: Mary, deceased, the wife of Clinton Royal; James, a farmer, who died when twenty-eight: George, superinten- dent of a wholesale grocery. of Colorado Springs, Colorado; John, who died at the age of fourteen: Charles, a farmer of the San Luis Valley. Colorado: and Ira Alonzo.
Mr. Head attended the schoo's of Rob Roy and Lafayette, and has since followed arming. He was married on April 1. 1895, to Laura Harris, the daughter of William Harris, of Shawnee township. this county. They have two children, Louis, born Jul. 14, 1896, and Lida, born April 24, 1901. He is the owner of eighty acres of productive and fertile land, which was well improved by his father. In politics he is a Democrat, and is now superinten- dent of gravel roads in his county. He and his family are members of the Union Christian church and take their full part in church work. He is a member of the Horse Thief Detective Association, and, fraternally, is one of the Odd Fellows, of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Elks. He is a man whose many excellent qualities of good fellowship have made for him many friends, and he is well known and well liked in his section of the county.
FRED HOLTZ.
Fred Holtz is of German descent and, like so many of that nationality. he has made himself of much importance in his community by being thrifty. honest and industrious, and building up his own business to such a high standard that his good judgment and business sagacity is highly respected. He is a dealer in feed and coal in Williamsport, Warren county, Indiana, and one of its most substantial and prominent citizens.
Fred Holtz was born January 27, 1870, in Williamsport, on Monroe street. Ilis father was Jacob Holtz and his mother, Frederica ( Meitzler) Holtz. They were both born in Germany, his mother being born in Mancken, and his father probably near the same place. They came to this country in their youth, and were married near Attica, Indiana, Jacob Holtz having re- ceived his education in Germany. They raised a family of eight children. One child died in infancy, and Catherine. William and Elizabeth are also dead. Charles, George, Lena and Fred Holtz are living. Fred Holtz was born and raised in the city of Williamsport, receiving his education there.
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
During his vacation he worked, as he was always very industrious, and often went into the country in the sanmier and worked on his mother's farm. In 1887, at the age of seventel. he went into busines for himself, and kept a grocery for about two year- At the end of that time he sold out a very thriving establishment, to take up his new duties Ile was elected postmaster at that time, in the face of very strong competition. The . were eight can. li- dates for the place, and it was finally decided to put the question before the people and permit them to choose their own postmaster. The resul was that Fred Ifoltz. though the youngest of the candidates, was chosen, because of his well-known ability, his sterling qualities and unquestioned integrity. This was during Cleveland's second term as President and he was the youngest candidate running at that time.
After holding this position for four years with great credit to himself and his party, he entered into the coal and feed business, beginning modestly, and has made a very marked success. He now has a flourishing business. Mr. Holtz was married in 1000 to Minnie Alberta Anderson, the date of their wedding being May roth. They have one child, Charles F. Holtz, who is three years old. His wife is the daughter of James and Marjoric (Grames) Anderson. James Anderson was a farmer and lived in Prairie township, where he was a large land owner and one of the most prominent citizens.
Mr. Holtz is one of the thoroughly reliable men, who have made Will- ianisport grow. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is a Knight of Pythias. H- is energetic and progressive, and anxious to see his native town enjoy all the municipal improvements possible. It is men of his stamp, of which there are so many among the Germans, that add substan- tiality to a community, and make it progressive in government, business meth- ods and social life.
JOHN F. RITENOUR.
Warren county has long been favored in the personnel of its public officials, a rule to which the present efficient and popular clerk of the circuit court is no exception. John F. Ritenour, the incumbent of that office, is a native of Warren county, Indiana, and dates his birth from the 4th day of June, 1878, having first seen the light of day in the beautiful little city of which he has been a life-long resident. Henry Ritenour, father of the sub- ject, also of Hoosier birth and a native of Warren county, was a teacher by
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FOUNTAIN AND WARLEN COUNTIL. INDLASSS.
profession and for many years actively identified with the edge donal inkre of his part of the state. He taught a number of tears in diferent township and villages of the county and in 1874 was elected county sipainten dent of schools, the duties o lich position be discharged with credit to ijgensi ,il to the satisfaction of the public, proving a very capable and indian- which Later he was made deputy county auditor, in which capacity bas cervell a time ber of years and which joost he is holding when his des'yoccurred. The maiden name of Mrs. Henry Ritenour was Martha Pepper. She was reared and educated in ' arren county and is a lady of beautiful life and character w hose home has long been a popular resort for the best society circles of Will- jamsport, especially the younger people who have ever found her a kind a gracious hostess whose hospitality has become proverbial. The paternal grand- father of the subject was Frederick Ritenour, a native of Maryland and one of the pioneer settlers of Warren county. He migrated to Indiana when the savage still roamed the forests, in due time secured land, which he converted into a good farm and a comfortable home and bore his full share in the de- velopment and subsequent growth of the part of the country in which he located. He died many years ago and left to h's descendants the memory of a useful life and honorable name.
The early years of John F. Ritenour were passed in his native ton, in the public schools of which he received his preliminary education. After being graduated from the high school he entered the Northern Indiana Nor- mal University at Valparaiso, where he took the full classical course and earned an honorable reputation as a student, having stood among the first in his classes and demonstrated marked ability in his studies and investigations.
On leaving the above institution, Mr. Ritenour turned his attention to educational work and during the several years ensuing, taught in the country districts and later taught his last terms in the graded schools of Williamsport, shortly after the close of which he was chosen assistant cashier in the Will- iamsport State Bank, the duties of which position he discharged with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the management of the institution for a period of six years. A scholar and thinker, Mr. Ritenour very naturally became interested in public affairs and took pains to keep himself well informed on the great questions before the people and in close touch with the trend of thought on matters political. Believing the principles of the Republican party to be for the best interests of the body politic he gave them his earnest and uncompromising support and it was not long until he forged to the front as one of the influential young politicians of the county. He rendered valuable service to his party, both as an adviser in its councils and a worker in the
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COPERTURE, ISOTANY
ranks, in recognition of which, as well as by reason of mas thug . for the past tion, he was nominated in February, 1910, bet the office of death of the Wartel circuit court, his opponent being a popular man who stood af with his party and proved a strong candidate. Mr. Ritengo made out ofice canvass, dur ing which he visited every part of the county and left .. Honorable means untried that he thought would weaken the opposition and ware to hi. ad vantage. Notwithstanding the strength and popularity of Ir- competitor. \ Ritenour was elected by a handsome majority, receiving more than the norm !! Republican vote and greatly reducing that of the opposition. The entered upon the diserge of his official duties in January, 1912, and thus far ht- course fully . ects the expectations of his friends and the general public and justified the wisdom of the party in his election. Capable, painstaking and courteous to all who have business to transact in his office,' he has already won the confidence of his fellow citizens, irrespective of party ties, and it is the general opinion that the place he now holds has never been filled by an abler more popular official.
Mr. Ritenour, on December 25, Igor, was united in marriage to Esther Citizen, the accomplished daughter of Calvin and Adah ( Ogborn) Citizen. both parents natives of Indiana, Mr. Citizen being a contractor for various kinds of cement work and a successful business man. Mr. and Mrs. Ritenour have one child, a daughter, Esther M., who is three years of age and the sun- shine of the household.
Fraternally, Mr. Ritenour is a member of the Masonic order and at tl .. present time, is junior warden of the lodge to which he belongs: he is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a trustee of his lodge, and he has been through all the chairs of the Knights of Pythias lodge which holds his membership and is now filling the office of treasurer of the same. Religiously, he subscribed to the Presbyterian creed and belongs with his wife to the local church in Williamsport, being a member of its board of trustees.
Mr. Ritenour has one brother living, Jacob, older than himself, who is a farmer of Warren township: Fred, his son, is the deputy in the clerk's office. Thus, in rather a cursory manner, have been set forth the leading facts in the life of one of Warren county's most enterprising and up-to-date citizens and accomplished officials. In closing this brief sketch it is needless to state that he combines the sterling qualities which win success and gain the good will and applause of his fellow men, or that he occupies a place in the respect and confidence of the public record in importance to men of his contemporaries. Vigorous in action, resolute of purpose and with a will that hesitated at no
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
opposing circumstances. he has made his presence felt as a leader circles, also as a neighbor and citizen and the high esteem in which be is hebt by all classes and conditions of people has been well and faithfully can In his official capacity he has widely extended his circle of friends, bath ; sonal and political, and as he is in the prime of life with most favorable futam prospects it is predicted that still higher honors await bim.
A. L. RATCLIFF, M. D.
He whose name initiates this paragraph is a representative of one of the old and honored families of Fountain county, Indiana, where he has lived fromy the time of his birth and where he has gained personal prestige and success in one of the most noble and exacting of all . ocations to which a man may devote himself, being a practicing physician at the town of Kingman, and controlling a large patronage in that vicinity, while he has gained precedence by reason of his devotion to his profession and his marked ability as an exponent of ad- vanced and practical medical science, at the same time establishing a recor 1 of honor.
A. L. Ratcliff was born east of Kingman, Indiana, February 12, 1872. He is a son of William R. and Mary Catherine ( Ewbank ) Ratcliff, an excellent old family of this county. He was educated in the common schools in Mil Creek township. later entered Union Christian College, at Merom, Sullivan county, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1894. He taught two terms of school in the rural districts before his graduation. After leaving college he taught for several years, being principal of the Yeddo schools one year; at New Lebanon, one year; at Alvin, two years, and lie taught at Rossville, one year, and at Cates, three years. He taught mathe- maties in the high school at Sullivan two years. He was very successful as a teacher and became one of the most sought-after and prominent teachers in this section of the state, and, no doubt, if he had continued in this field of endeavor he would have become one of the leading educators of the state. He kept fully abreast of the times in school work, was an excellent organizer and disciplinarian and his record everywhere he was employed is a most commendable one. But he had decided upon a medical course, and all the while he was engaged in teaching he devoted his spare hours to perusing med- ical treatises and standard text books. Finally he gave up teaching and entered the Illinois Medical College in 1898. He made an excellent record
a. L. Ratcliff
FOUNTAIN AND WAREN COUNTIES, ARNASA.
andI was graduated from that in Grofom in app. de Hotel i Kongres Indiana, and here he has since Then exeras fok created by the posting of he- profession, building up a large .plom butey w rin_ setmontage flussoshout the sathorn part of the county. He has oman Na dose Indent of all That pertams to materia medica ani le sale of the user successful genera pancti- tioners in this locality.
Doctor Ratebff was marad september 10. 18q . @ Tocco Mrliens. daughter of Prof. B. F. McHemy. DE Union : kristian Codage A erom. Ja ti ana, her father being one of the Modely kr pel professor of the vege 36 the Doctor and wife six children have been born, nome ?- Wilfred, bort: August 16, 1896; Gilbert Alon. o. born October 7, 1897 : Orville MeHlenry. born November 1, 1899; Frank William, born November 6, 1904; Cathinar A., born March 23, 1909; Howard Loren, born March 12, Ili.
Dr. Ratcliff is a member of the Pleasant Grove Christian church. He is a Republican and was formerly president of the school board at Kingman. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masons, Knights of Pythias and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Fountain and Warren Counties Medical Associations and the Indiana State Medical Association. Dr. Ratcliff has been very successful in a business way and he is the owner of a fine and well improved farm of one hundred and seventy-two acres.
ELMER E. McKINZIE.
The blood of the Scotch Highianders has made one of the strongest and most enduring strains in the life of the American people. Where you find the Scotch name you may find that sterling integrity which always passes without question, together with a kindliness and justice that endears itself to those who fall under its influence. One of the best known names in Warren county is McKinzie, and Elmer E. McKinzie, who has given it such promin- ence there, stands, not only for the name of his Scotch ancestors, but exempli- fies their candor, honesty and justice.
Mr. McKinzie was born in Warren township, Warren county, Indiana, on June 17, 1873, the son of Jolin T. and Josephine ( Banes) MeKinzie. John T. McKinzie was a native of Ohio, and came to Indiana in 1850 with his father, Andrew Jackson McKinzie. They sett'ed on a farm in Adams town- ship, Warren county, where they both hved all their lives. Both Elmer E. McKinzie's father and grandfather were farmers, coming here when the
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FOUNTAS ND WARREN TOUR DE, PEDIASA
country was just being opened up and sietrong the land for agriculture from the forest Andrew Jackson MeKnow's father. the great-grandfather ist Ehner E. Mckinzic, was a full bloodod Scotchman. Elmer E. Mchina paternal grandmother was Salic Ann Wallace, of Delaware; she and her hus- hand bo died at the age of seventy-two, he in 1865 and she in 1904. John f. Mekinzie still lives on the farm in Watret township, with his wife, who was Josephine Banes. They were the parents of eight children: Hiram W. " s born in 1875 and died in 1880; William F. was born in W. ren toun ship February 6, 1877: Addie, who was born September 21, 1880, is the wife of Charles B. McAdams and lives near her parents in Warren townshy John Alva, who is the dej my postinaster at Willian. port, was born Januar 21, 1882; Anna, who is The wife of James Stacker, a merchant of hide pendence. Indiana, was born November 17, 1884 : Laura was born Septembre 18. 1888, and married Earl Stacker of Independence, Indiana, of the firm of Stacker Bros .; Bertha, who was born May 4, 1893, is the wife of Thoma- Crane, of Warren township; Elmer E Mckinzie is the oldest son. His mother was a daughter of Watson Banes, a native of Ohio, who came 1 . Indiana about the time that the MeKinzie family moved 'o Warren county. and they settled in Pine township. near Rainsville, which was then the lean,- ing town in the county.
Elmer E. McKinzie received a good common school education, and after- wards attended the State Normal School at Terre Haute, Indiana, for three months. He lived on the farm until he was twenty years old, and then went to Winthrop. Indiana, and, after clerking in a general store for two years, went into business for himself. He kept this general store for three years, and then sold out and moved to Williamsport in 1895. Here he clerked in a store for about two years, and again went into business for himself, buying a partnership in a grocery store with Roy Judy. AAfter staying here two years, he sold out to his partner and commenced clerking again. He soon went to Attica, Indiana, and became the " fent for the Standard Oil Company, which position he retained for about a year and a half. Mr. McKinzie then returned to Williamsport, and after clerking in a hardware store there for two years, became assistant postmaster at that place. Beginning in January, 1905, he held this office for five years, and served the public so well dur- ing that time that he was appointed postmaster January 20, 1910, by Presi- dent Taft.
On November 15, 1892, Elmer E. McKinzie married Euma Laura Dove, daughter of Christopher and Mary Ann ( McKinney ) Dove, who was born in 1870. Christopher Dove was a native of Fountain county, Indiana, where
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
he was very prominent. He was a farmer and a school teacher, and a men- ber of the Christian church. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and died in 1893. Mary Ann Dove was also born in Fountain county, and is still living, making her home with Elmer E. McKinzie and her daughter. She was also the mother of Jasper N. and James H. Dove. Jasper lives in Liberty town- ship, Warren county, and James lives in Grant county, near Marion, Indiana.
Elmer E. and Mary Ann MeKinzie have two boys: Lawrence D. was born August 7, 1894, and will graduate from high school in the clas of 1913; Lloyd A. was born October 8, 1898, and is also a student in high school.
Mr. McKinzie is a Mason, being a member of the blue lodge at Will- iamsport. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Repub- lican. His mother's people were Quakers, and Mr. McKinzie has inherited the high moral standards of that sect. Mr. McKinzie is highly regarded by all who know him, and respected by the entire community. His word is as good as a bond among 1 is neighbors and friends, and his daily life exemplifies the highest moral precepts.
THOMAS C. POWELL.
Though a number of our best men gave their lives in the cause of liberty, and many who could not call this their native land were just as loyal, many of those who fought in the Civil war were able to return and take up again the round of civic life, giving to their private lives, and homes, the benefit of their experience as men who had been through those paths in life uni- versally regarded as most terrible. Among those who returned from this great civil strife was Thomas C. Powell, of Williamsport, Indiana, a retired farmer and one of the foremost citizens in that community.
Thomas C. Powell w. born August 25, 1840, and was the son of Martin and Jeanette (Churchill) Powell. . Martin Powell was the youngest of a family of eleven children, and was the only one who came to the United States to seek his fortune. They came from England when he was twelve years old and went directly to Baltimore. He later came to Cincinnati, Ohio, by raft down the Ohio river and then settled near Lawrenceburg, where he purchased land. In 1855 he came to Warren county and bought two hun- dred and forty acres of land and continued farming. He was married in Dear- born county to Jeanette Churchill, and they had seven children, all born in that county : William M., Thomas C. and Mary .\. are still living. Dan C., Eliza J., Alva M. and John are dead.
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Thomas C. Powell came to Warren county when he was about fifteen years old. Ile worked there until he was twenty-one with his father, and then enlisted. When the call came in 1861 he joined the Thirty Third Indi- ana Infantry, Company K, and served three years. He was with Sherman marching from "Atlanta to the sea," fighting battles at Wild Cat Mountain, Kentucky, Thompson's Station, Tennessee, Resaca, Tennessee, and was in the Army of the Cumberland under Col. John Coburn. After serving three years, he was discharged at Atlanta, Georgia, when he returned home, and went 1) farming on his father's land. His father owned a great deal of farm land, and Thomas C. Powell did much of the overseeing of the holdings. At one time he was on his father's place in Vermillion county, Illinois, for three years. He then bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in this county of his father, and there he was very successful farming and has brought his land up to a high state of cultivation. Later he was elected sheriff on the Republican ticket, and was active in public affairs of the com- munity. He retired to private life after that, and d. ired to remain quietly at home, but was so well known for his justice and clearheaded judgment that he was soon made justice of the peace, and . 'Il retains that position.
Mr. Powell was married in 1867 to Margaret Logan, and they had one child, Lillian Myrtle, who is the wife of Arthur Wiliams and has a son, Marion. In 1893 he was married to Ella Delaney, and they had two children, Thomas C., who has lately graduated from high school, and Martin Porter.
Mr. Powell is very active in the organizations of which he is a member. He is identified with Bryant Post, Grand Army . the Republic, and is also a member of the Grand Army Circle, which is an honorary auxiliary to the Woman's Circle. Mr. Powell is also a Mason and belongs to the Eastern Star. He is a member of the Baptist church, and he and his wife are highly respected in the neighborhood in which they live.
CHARLES STARNES, SR.
Only those who come in personal contact with Charles Starnes, Sr., widely known apiarist and farmer of Cain township, Fountain county, can understand how thoroughly nature and training, habits of thought and action have enabled him to accomplish his life work and made him a fit representative of the enter- prising class of people to which he belongs. Ile is a fine type of the sturdy, conscientious Hoosier of today-a man who unite a high order of ability
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