USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 48
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 48
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"The man," Mr. Judy has said, "who earns or catches or otherwise acquires a dollar or many dollars and does not grow more than the worth of a dollar or more than the worth of his many dollars, is a failure in dollar-hold- ing and in growth. If he makes the growth and loses the dollars, it matters little ; his ability will get him all the dollars he needs." His principal wealth is his growth, not his dollars. Others may look at the dollars; he uses only part. His growth they do not envy, yet he uses all of that to be happy, and he is happy.
On December 16, 1877, John F. Judy was married to Matilda Hunter, a native of Warren county, Indiana, and the daughter of the late John P. and Elizabeth Hunter. To Mr. and Mrs. Judy have been born four children, namely : Valera, now thirty-three years of age; Ole R., thirty-one years of age, who is mentioned personally elsewhere in this work, and Elsa and Esta, twins, who are twenty-five years of age.
Politically, John F. Judy is a Republican, though he never aspired to holding a political office, except on one occasion, at the age of twenty-two years, when he ably filled the office of justice of the peace, being elected by the largest majority the township had ever given any candidate. He re-
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signed the office of justice of the peace in order, as he says, that he might break the peace and with his own hands give a neighbor a sound thrash- ing. The neighbor being a bully, was pretty badly used up, so much so that his wife, meeting him on the road home after the battle, failed to recognize her husband until he had properly introduced himself. Ever after there was a warm friendship between Judy and the neighbor, that was genuine and which the neighbor showed he appreciated.
The only church that interests Mr. Judy is the church that gives the most freedom here. His practice of religion is to help others do what they most want to do or what they should do, they being willing. Mr. Judy is a deep student and a man who intensely applies his strong natural faculties. He is a man of high personal character and one who to an eminent degree possesses the esteem of those who know him.
\VILL S. NEIL.
Standing in an eminent position among the industrial representatives of Warren county is Will S. Neil, who is recognized as one of Marshfield's lead- ing citizens, having for some time been engaged in general mercantile pur- suits, the reputation of his store being of the best as a result of his able man- agement. . In his career he has seen the gathering clonds that threatened dis- aster, but l'is rich inheritance of energy and pluck has enabled him to turn seeming defeats into victory and promised failures into success. He enjoys in the fullest measure the public confidence, because of the honorable methods he has ever followed.
Mr. Neil was born in the town of Marshfield, Warren county, March II, 1865, and is the son of John and Nancy ( Thornbrough) Neil. The father was a native of Ohio, from which state he came to Attica, Indiana, in the year 1852. He was a wagon-maker by trade, which he followed successfully many years, there being a great demand for his work. Later he moved to Marshfield, where he followed blacksmithing and wagon-making and here he spent the rest of his life, dying many years ago. For some time he also ran a shop on the Wabash river, at a place called Baltimore. His family con- sisted of five children, namely: The eldest died in infancy ; Mary married Aaron Wright, of Steuben township: Clara is deceased; Will S., of this sketch : Bertha died in infancy.
Politically, John Neil was a Republican. He was a school director in
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
his district for some time. Religiously, he belonged to the Methodist Episco- pal church. He was known as an honest and upright man.
Will S. Neil grew to manhood at Marshfield and there received his education in the common schools. On August 4, 1895, he was united in marriage to Daisy L. Nolan, daughter of George and Maria ( Fulton ) Nolan. both natives of Warren county, their parents having been carly settlers here. coming to this county from Ohio, where they spent practically all the balance of their lives, finally moving to the town of Covington, where they both died. They were the parents of six children, two sons and four daughters, all still living.
Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Neil, namely : Geraldine M. and Naoma Ruth, both at home.
Mr. Neil began the mercantile business in Marshfield which he now conducts in 1895. and he has enjoyed a liberal patronage and his many cus- tomers come from a radius of many miles of Marshfield. He carries a large and carefully selected line of seasonable goods at all times and his custom- ers are accorded uniform kind and courteous treatment.
Politically, he is a Republican, and he was township trustce from 1905 to 1909, giving eminent satisfaction to all concerned. He is a loyal member of the Presbyterian church, an elder and leading worker in the same. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 352, at West Lebanon; the Order of the astern Star, Chapter No. 162, at West Lebanon, and the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 7054, at Marsh- field.
JAMES DYSERT.
A man who boldly faces the responsibilities of life and by determined and untiring energy carves out for himself an honorable success exerts a powerful influence upon the lives of those about him. Such men constitute the foundation of republican institutions and are the pride of our civilization. To them life is so real that they find no time to plot either mischief or vice. Their lives are bound up in their duties, they feel the weight of their citizen- ship, and take pleasure in sowing the seeds of uprightness. Such has been the career of the subject of this brief notice.
James Dysert was born on February 20, 1871, in Prairie township, Warren county, Indiana, on the farm where he now lives. He is the son
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
of Eynon and Margaret (Jones) Dysert, the former born in 1831 and died 011 May 11, 1893. the mother also being deceased. They were natives of Ross county, Ohio, removing to Indiana some time in the early sixties.
James Dysert spent his early years under the parental roof and secured a fair education in the public schools of the neighborhood. He has always applied himself to farm work and in his young manhood he and his brother, C. G. Dysert, purchased three hundred and thirty acres of land in partner- ship, paying for it in three years' time as the results of their hard work and good management. Eventually, the subject sold his interest to his brother and removed to the home farm, where he has since resided and where his efforts have been rewarded with a gratifying measure of success. He culti- vates his land according to the most approved modern methods and by hard work and judicious management has achieved a success that has given him an enviable position among his fellow agriculturists.
Mr. Dysert has been married twice, first, on March 20, 1895, to Anna E. Reed, of Warren county, who died in November. 1907, leaving four chil- dren, Earl, Laura, Vera and Lorena. Subsequently, Mr. Dysert was married to Sylvia Van Kirk, who was born in Cabool, Texas county, Missouri. Iler father, Henry Van Kirk, was a former Warren county man, who later moved to Missouri. To this latter union have been born two children, Kenneth, born October 31, 1910, and Milfred, born June 24, 1912.
Politically, Mr. Dysert is a stanch Democrat, but so great is his poput- larity in the township that in November, 1908, he was elected trustee of the township, though the normal Republican majority in the township is about thirty. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist Epscopal church, to which he gives a liberal support. He is regarded as a man of the highest principles and stanchest integrity and justly merits the deep regard in which he is held in Prairie township.
JOHN A. BRYANT.
It is with marked satisfaction that the biographer adverts to the life of one who has attained success in any vocation requiring definiteness of pur- pose and determined action. Such a life, whether it be one of calm, consecut- tive endeavor or of sudden meteoric accomplishments, must abound in both lesson and incentive and prove a guide to young men whose fortunes and destinies are still matters for the future to determine. The subject of this
1
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sketch is distinctively one of the representative business men of line Village, Warren county, Indiana. For a number of years he directed his efforts to- ward the goal of success and by patient continuance in well doing succeeded at last in overcoming the many obstacles by which his pathway was beset.
John A. Bryant was born in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, on the 24th day of October. 1864, and is a son of William D. and Sarah ( Routh ) Bryant. William D. Bryant was born and reared in Ross county, Ohio, and came to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, in 1840. ; here he devoted himself to farming and cattle raising, in both of which he met with success. He was a well known and leading ciuzen of his community for many years. Politically, he was a Democrat, and was a German Baptist in religious faith. He was the father of nine children. namely : Ella, Leander, Tansey, John A., Manford, Maggie, Sarah, Cecil and Guy.
John A. Bryant was reared on the paternal farmstead and his educa- tion was received in the common schools of the locality. He then ran a blacksmith and repair shop at Clark's Hill, Tippecanoe county, for ten years, and in 1898 removed to Pine Village, Warren county, where he still resides and operates a large repair shop and also sells buggies. Mr. Bryant possesses practical mechanical ability of high order, and is the inventor of "The Lightning Bolter," a contrivance for putting nuts on the bolts of a wheel and which is a great time and labor saver.
Mr. Bryant has always taken a keen interest in the prosperity of Pine Village and he was instrumental in organizing the company that erected the brick block, in which he owns one two-story business room. Pine Village is one of the most wide-awake. hustling little towns in the county, the splendid improvement, good walks and other attractive features giving it a splendid reputation, and much of this enviable notoriety is due to the personal efforts of Mr. Bryant. He has served three years as president of the council, which consists of three members. He was also instrumental in organizing and is a director of the Pine Village Building and Loan Association, one of the large contributing elements to the village's success.
In 1888 Mr. Bryant was married to Zella A. Horney, daughter of John and Nancy (Smith) Horney. These parents were natives of Ohio who came to Indiana many years ago, settling in Tippecanoe county, where he success- fully followed farming. They were the parents of seven children, namely : Samuel, William, Oliver and Albert, twins, Zella, Grant and John E. Mr. Horney was a Republican in politics and, religiously, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. To Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have been born the following children : Earl D., Clara B., Snowy Pearl and Nancy Ola.
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
Politically, Mr. Bryant voices his sentiments at the ballot box by his earnest support of the Prohibition ticket in national elections, while in local affairs he votes for the best men, regardless of strict party lines. Religiously, he is a member of the Christian church, while his fraternal relations are with the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Bryant has many friends and is highly regarded in the community, of which he is a progressive and public- spirited member.
CONRAD RICHARDS BOYER, M. D.
Dr. Conrad Richards Boyer, deceased, will be long remembered in the country around Williamsport, Warren county, Indiana, as one of the best educated men in that county. He was a man of sterling integrity and high- est moral character, and, though he was not a native of Indiana, he made the interests of the county in which he lived so many years near and dear to him.
Dr. Boyer was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 7. 1812, and died at Williamsport, Indiana, November 22, 1903, at the age of ninety-one years. His long life was filled with activity, until two years before his death, and he witnessed one of the most interesting epochs in the history of this county.
At the age of nine years, when his father died, Conrad Boyer was sent to boarding school, as was customary in those days, and he remained there until he was prepared for college. He entered the University of Pennsyl- vania, after suitable preparation, and graduated from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts July 30. 1831, when he was only nineteen years of age. He graduated as Doctor of Medicine from the same university in March, 1834. A large and lucrative practice in his profession shortly followed his graduation, until broken health made a change of climate im- perative. He arranged to go to South America and make his home there, but his brother, the late Judge William R. Boyer, then a resident of Warren county, insisted that the Doctor come to Indiana, and he changed his plans and came to this state in 1845.
The first twenty years of his life in Indiana were spent in the practice of his profession, with farming as an avocation, and he was very successful. but farming proved more congenial than his profession, possibly because there he found an outlet for his abundant supply of energy, for labor was the
6. R. Boyer
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Doctor's pride, and he decided to turn his attention to farming entirely. Hle was very successful on his farm and soon had some of the most productive land in that part of the country. This was largely due to the fact that he farmed scientifically, using his head as well as his hands in the management of his farm as well as of his other interests. He took entire charge of his own affairs until he was eighty-nine years of age, when he was struck with paralysis and he became an invalid until his death.
On October 23, 1872, Dr. Boyer married Elizabeth D. French, the daughter of Jeremiah and Elizabeth ( Dudley) French. Mr. French, who was born in Connecticut, near Derby, brought his family west and located near Granville. Ohio, where he died. The mother brought the family to Indiana, and all of the family have made their homes in this state, though they were born in the East. Of the children, three boys and one girl, Elizabeth Dudley French is the only one living. She and her husband had two nieces, Mrs. Charles E. Kate, of Cleveland, who is the mother of Dorothea and Russell, and Mary French, who lives in Pomona, California. They also had two nephews, Harry French, of Baltimore, Maryland, and Herbert French, who is with Proctor & Gamble, at Cincinnati, Ohio. One of Mrs. Boyer's brothers, Josiah, was in the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Indiana Infanty, Company C, and was the sergeant of his company, under Col. O. F. Harmon. He was in the Army of the Cumberland and was killed at Kenesaw Mountain. He was also in Dan McCook's Thirty-sixth Brigade. His body was removed from the South later, and now rests in the cemetery at Cincin- nati. All of the French family were members of the Episcopal church.
Doctor Boyer's life was greatly lengthened by the tender care and gentle management of his wife, and they lived together long and happily, for many years taking an active interest in the social activities of the community. Politically, Dr. Boyer mainly believed in the theories of the Republican party, but his vote was never cast for an unworthy man for the sake of his party. In the days of slavery he was an intense abolitionist. As he believed in the brotherhood of all men, he belonged to no lodge or society, and though he was not a communicant of any church and followed no creed or doctrine, he was a firm believer in God and his omnipotent wisdom.
Dr. Boyer was a learned and polished gu tleman and brilliant and enter- taining conversationali .t. He was physically brave and his moral character was of the highest. He scorned a lie and hated hypocrisy, and unprincipled acts received his most scathing criticism. He was highly respected by his friends and neighbors, and was deeply mourned by all who knew him.
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
OLE R. JUDY.
The gentleman whose name appears above is a native of Warren county. Indiana, and the son of John F. and Matilda ( Hunter) Judy, extended men- tion of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. Judy was reared on the home farm and secured his elementary education in the public schools. He then spent a year working in college at Valparaiso, Indiana, and took a com- mercial course in the business college at Lafayette, Indiana. He learned shorthand and typewriting, then his time became worth so much in buying and selling horses, autos, and handling men in shops and on the farm and roads, there was no time for any desk work that could be avoided, he being too busy in the main management of the horse and mule market.
Mr. Judy has a great capacity for details and a wonderful memory in relation to transactions with which he has been concerned. It has been said that he can look five thousand or more horses and mules in the face and tell who they were bought from, how much was paid for them, what they sold for, who bought them, and their general and special qualities. He can negotiate and trade with ten men at once, changing from one to the other. He can tell at any minute what he told each of his traders; he never forgets what he said or the animal discussed nor the price made. He commenced buying horses and writing checks while he yet wore knickerbockers, writing checks to pay anything or to buy anything he chooses, for any amount he chooses, and has never been asked what he gave a check for.
Mr. Judy's energy and continuous application to business has won for him many friends and the confidence of trade, fifteen thousand customers, that more than doubles the efficiency of the Judy horse market for the good of the market and its patrons. We venture this guess-he has more friends and has done more business with more men than any other man of his age who has lived in the state of Indiana. He ought to have ability. On the paternal side, everybody in western Indiana knows the family record, his father's wonderful business career being its own testimonial. On the maternal side, his grandfather, the late John P. Hunter, was probably one of the most successful, most brainy and best informed men in the state or who has ever lived in Indiana. Mr. Judy is doing work that, if he was drawing a salary. would be worth about ten thousand dollars a year ; yet, he is doing that work in a farm business. With a kcen business sense, courteous in intercourse, and genial with his friends, Mr. Judy occupies an enviable position in the com- munity and he is eminently entitled to representation in this work.
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FOUNTAIN AND WARREN COUNTIES, INDIANA.
JOIN A. BORDERS.
The amount of hard labor required to develop a farm in a new country can scarcely be estimated by the present generation, and all credit should be given the heroes of the period known to historians as "the carly days." of which worthy number John A. Borders, a venerable fariner of Prairie town- ship, Warren county, must be reckoned. To establish a home in the primitive environment referred to was . task that never ended and all members of the family were required to assist early and late and at all seasons of the year. But this persistence brought success and in time the bare acres were spread out before the sun and soon covered with bountiful crops and browsing herds. This was the task of Mr. Borders and his father, and the task was faithfully performed, as will be seen by a study of his life record.
Mr. Borders is a native of the state of Ohio, having been born in Butler county on July 31, 1836, and is the son of Jacob and Sarah (Alexan- der ) Borders. When the subject of this sketch was but three months old, the family removed to Montgomery county, Indiana, where they remained about sixteen years, when the mother died and the father and children moved to Tippecanoe county, this state, where, two years later, the father breathed his last. In March, 1854, at the age of eighteen years, John A. Borders came to Warren county, settling within a mile of where he now lives. Here he farmed one summer and bought and moved onto his present farm in Prairie township. As a boy Mr. Borders did not have very good educational ad- vantages, the public school system not having been established and, his father being poor and in bad health, the son was compelled to work and assist in the support of the family. After his father's death and the settlement of the estate, each of the children found themselves in possession of one hundred and thirty-eight dollars and thirteen cents, which was really the subject's capital in starting out in life for himself. When he was married, in 1860, he was in debt, but his wife nobly joined him in the effort to get ahead and by their united efforts they succeeded admirably. the result being the present fine farm, in which he takes a pardonable pride. The years since Mr. Borders first came to this section of the country have witnessed a wonderful trans- formation in every respect. During his first years here the country was almost a wilderness, with practically no roads, the highways being but patlı- ways across the prairies and through the forests. No drainage had been at- tempted and ponds and sloughs were plentiful everywhere. The scythe and cradle, with the use of which Mr. Borders was thoroughly familiar, have
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given way to the mower and s If-binder, while other farm machinery is now in use that was not then dreamed of. Then the telephone, rural mail deliv- eries and other conveniences have made the modern farmer's existence a paradise in comparison with his former conditions.
On October 11. 1860, Mr. Borders was united in marriage with Nancy J. Foster, who was born in Fountain county, Indiana, on June 22, 1838, and who died on June 29, 1903. Her parents, James Foster and wife. also were pioneers of Fountain county. To Mr. and Mrs. Borders were born seven children, of whom three died in infancy, those living being J. E., who is operating his father's farm; John F., of Okmulgee, Oklahoma; James J., of Benton county, this state, and Roy, who lives about a mile north of the home farm.
Politically Mr. Borders has been a consistent and life-long worker in the ranks of the Republican party and he served his township satisfactorily as assessor for four years. Religiously, he has for many years been a faithful and consistent member of the College Corner Methodist Episcopal church, in which faith the children were reared. He is also a member of the Horse- thief Detective Association, No. 48, Indiana Division. Mr. Borders, thoughi well advanced in years, takes a keen interest in public affairs and is in- tensely optimistic as to the future, believing that the wonderful development that has characterized the past few decades is but the opening chapter of still more wonderful strides in all departments of life. He. is widely known in his section of the county and enjoys a well deserved popularity among the people with whom he has associated for so many years.
LEWIS B. WAGGONER.
It is not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has led an em- inently active and busy life and who has attained a position of relative dis- tinction in the community with which his interests are allied. But biography finds its most perfect justification, nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a life history. Owing to his connection with the business and civic affairs of Fountain county for many years, the name of Lewis B. Waggoner needs no formal introduction to the readers of this history. In a straight- forward, conservative manner he has sought to perform the duties of a pro- gressive citizen and his support has always been depended upon in the
LEWIS B. WAGGONER.
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furtherance of any laudable movement having for its object the welfare of the general public.
Lewis B. Waggoner was born in Warren county, Indiana, on April 2, 1857, and is the son of John I. and Thirza ( Evans) Waggoner, natives, respectively, of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. John I. Waggoner came to Warren county, Indiana, in 1856 and located in Liberty township, where he followed the vocations of stone mason and plasterer during the remainder of his active life. Ilis death occurred in Kansas in 1906, at the age of seventy- five years. He was married three times, his first wife, the mother of the sub- ject, having died in Warren county, Indiana, during the Civil war. For his second wife he married Elizabeth Flint, in Warren county, and his third wife was Minerva Watt, who bore him one child, Winfield. By his first wife he had three children, namely: Mary, who died young ; Hettie, who became the wife of Thomas Hudson, and Lewis B .. the immediate subject of this review. On the outbreak of the great Southern rebellion, John I. Waggoner enlisted for service, becoming a member of Company D, Eighty-sixth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with which he served three and a half years, re- ceiving an honorable discharge at the close of the struggle. Politically, he was a stanch supporter of the Democratic party.
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