USA > Indiana > Fountain County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 59
USA > Indiana > Warren County > Past and present of Fountain and Warren Counties, Indiana, Volume 2 > Part 59
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F. R. Pence is a native son of Warren county, having been born here on September 16, 1868. He is the son of Gabriel and Louisa A. (Mehaffey) Pence, the father born in Warren county, Indiana, on June 19, 1845, and the mother, a native of Ohio. The subject's paternal grandfather, George Pence, was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, on March 29, 1804, and in early youth accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio. In 1820 he came to Bartholomew county, Indiana, and in 1827 to Warren county. Here the Pence family have always followed the vocation of farming, in which they have been successful and have been numbered among the community's best citizens. The subject's father died on May 15, 1885, and his mother passed away on June 17, 1905. They were the parents of five children, Frank R., Zara E., George A., Albert R. and Abner W., deceased. Gabriel Pence was a Republican in political belief.
Frank R. Pence received his education in the common schools and was reared to the life of a farmer. His first employment was as a farm hand and then for ten years he operated a farm on his own account. In 1898 he went to Williamsport and engaged in the grain business, but a short time later came to Pence and promoted the branch of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad. Following this he laid out and promoted the upbuilding of the town of Pence, which was named after his family. He sold a large number of town lots and in many ways advanced the interests of the place. He is the owner of forty acres of land in the town and one hundred and sixty acres of
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excellent farming land adjoining the town, which he operates with gratifying success. He is practical and up-to-date in his methods and has gained an excellent reputation in the community as a man of high business qualifications and unimpeachable character, his dealings being always characterized by justice and fair dealing.
On March 29, 1891, Mr. Pence was married to Delia M. McCandless, the daughter of James A. and Susan ( Hunt) McCandless, both now deceased, but who during their active years were well known farming folk of Jordan township. Mr. and Mrs. Pence are the parents of one child, Harold M., born April 9, 1894.
Politically, Mr. Pence was a life-long Republican up to the organization of the Progressive party in 1912, since which time he has been stanchly aligned with the "Bull Moosers." Fraternally, he is a member of the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons at Hedrick and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at the same place. In every relation of life he has been true to every trust and in the community where he has spent his life no man stands higher in public esteem than he, a position he has gained through right motives and correct actions.
ALBERT S. PEACOCK,
Since the days when the classic name of Attica was fastened upon the bustling village that sprang up among the sycamores and hazel brush on the banks of the Wabash the name of Peacock has been a prominent one in its annals. Among the first dozen families to locate in the place was that of Joseph Peacock, a blacksmith and wheelwright, who came from New Jersey in. 1824 to locate in this land of promise. In his family was a son, Joseph, Jr., who when he grew up inherited his father's business and for sixty-five years was a respected and influential citizen of the city. He was a leader in Meth- odist affairs and was prominent politically. In 1866, when Attica was in- corporated as a city, he was honored by election as one of her first aldermen. His wife was Rebecca Martin, who, with her parents, had come to the new settlement from Maryland in 1828.
Albert S. Peacock, the subject of this sketch, was their son and he was born in Attica, April 15, 1853. He was educated in the common schools of the city-there were no other kind then-and at fifteen years of age gradu- ated from there into the office of The Attica Ledger, which proved a veritable university to him, though the course occupied many years of his life. Start-
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ing in as "devil" and carrier boy, he persevered and worked so faithfully that at nineteen he was one of the owners of the paper. Happily, in journalism he found his calling and for thirty years he was connected with the Ledger as owner and editor. During those years the paper became known far and wide as the best newspaper in western Indiana. The Ledger was Republican in politics and the influence it exerted through the facile pen of its editor finally brought him recognition.
He was appointed postmaster of Attica and held that office four years under Arthur and Cleveland and for nine years under Mckinley and Roose- velt.
During his incumbency as postmaster Mr. Peacock had disposed of his interest in the Ledger and. at the end of his term of office felt called back to the "fourth estate." Purchasing the Saturday Press, he re-equipped it, in- jected new life into it and operated it for two years, when illness interfered with his work to such an extent that he leased. the paper and three years later sold it to the Ross Brothers. He devoted some time to recovering his health, which he did to such good purpose that he is now actively engaged in the advertising department of the Indiana Springs Company. As the writer of clear, forceful editorials, touching character sketches or clever historical matter, he is regarded as having few equals among Hoosier journalists. His history of Attica, written in 1880 and incorporated in a county history published at that time, was very carefully written and remains to this day the best history of the city ever compiled.
Aside from his active business affairs, Mr. Peacock has found time for many other enterprises and there is scarcely a movement of any consequence within the past thirty years that has not had the influence of his name and the aid of his experience and counsel. He has served fourteen years on the Attica school board and at present is its president. He is also president of the Attica Industrial Bureau, president of the county board of children's guard- ians, vice-president of the Attica Industrial Company, and a director in the Attica Building and Loan Association, a position he has held since its organi- zation in 1883. In addition to these and many other interests, he has been since 1909 the superintendent and general manager of the Attica Chautauqua, which in that time has been built up to a position excelled by few in the whole state.
In his married life Mr. Peacock has been unusually happy and the Pea- cock home has long been known as one where love and joy rule and where the guest was assured of sincere hospitality. His wife was Miss Nellie Dewey, of Delphi, to whom he was married April 15, 1874. One child,
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Mazie D., came like a ray of sunshine into their home, but when the swiftly passing years soon brought her to womanhood she passed out as Mrs. E. R. Campbell and now reigns over a home of her own in Irvington, Indianapolis.
There are few men who have exerted greater influence in Attica than Al Peacock. His integrity, his never-failing courtesy, his readiness to render a favor, his inspiring optimism have made him the friend of every resident in the city from the raggedest kid in "Texas" to the richest men in town and including everybody from the preacher in his pulpit to the "river rats" that eke out a precarious existence along the Wabash. All know and love him and the universal respect in which he is held in his own city is the greatest real success that could come to any man.
PAUL PERRIN.
Rising above the head of the masses are many men of sterling worth and value, who by sheer perseverance and pluck have conquered fortune and by their own unaided efforts have risen from the ranks of the commonplace to positions of independence, and at the same time have commanded the trust and respect of those with whom they have been in any way thrown in con- tact. Among the earnest men whose depth of character and strict adherance to principle excite the admiration of his contemporaries, Mr. Perrin is prom- inent, and he is now recognized as one of the leading agriculturists of · Prairie township, Warren county, Indiana.
Paul Perrin is a Hoosier by birth, having first seen the light of day in Floyd county, Indiana, and he is the son of Francis and Adeline Perrin. These parents were natives of France and the father, who is still living in Floyd county, is a veteran of the Civil war, having served in the Union army. His wife is dead.
The subject of this sketch attended the common schools in his boyhood and when old enough he began working at the cooper's trade, at which he was employed until the spring of 1882. In that year he came to Warren county and was employed here at farm labor. At the time of his marriage, in 1888, he began farming for himself on a rented farm about two miles south of his present home, being also somewhat in debt. Later he rented land for a time in Jordan township and then bought of Mrs. Perrin's father part of the farm which he now owns and to which he has since applied him- self. He began operations conservatively, improved little by little as he was
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able, and eventually added to his possessions until today he is the owner of as fine a farm as can be found in Prairie township. He has been, in the truest sense of the term, the architect of his own fortune and is entitled to great credit for what he has accomplished. He conducts his farming opera- tions in a careful and conscientious manner, being in touch with the most advanced ideas relative to agriculture, with the result that he has been able to realize gratifying returns for his labor.
On the 30th of October, 1888, Paul Perrin and Estella Clark were united in the holy bonds of matrimony and she has been to him a helpmate indeed, much of his subsequent success being attributable to her encouragement and sound advice. She was born on May 24, 1866, near Carbondale, Warren county, Indiana, and is the daughter of John W. and Eliza (Talbott ) Clark. John W. Clark was born on August 27, 1824, and died on January 23, 1883. and his wife, who was born March 25. 1842, is now living with a daughter at Lafayette, Indiana. They were married on December 5, 1861, and to the union were born nine children, of whom Mrs. Perrin is the third in order of birth. To Mr. and Mrs. Perrin has been born a son, Clark, his birthday hav- ing been March 3, 1892. He is now in the high school and intends to make farming his vocation.
In matters political, Mr. Perrin has nominally been aligned with the Democratic party, but he places men and principles above party, voting at all times in accordance with the dictates of an enlightened conscience. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Ambia and to Miquon Tribe No. 407, Improved Order of Red Men, at Rainsville, Indiana. Mr. Perrin is a public spirited man and is well and favorably known throughout the township where he resides for his honesty and up- rightness in all his business dealings. He is a man of pleasing address and is popular with all who know him.
WARREN SHAFER.
This well-known farmer and stock raiser was born April 27, 1884, in Scioto county, Ohio, being the son of Joseph and Rue Shafer, both natives of the Buckeye state. Joseph Shafer, whose birth occurred in Adams county, went to Illinois when a young man and engaged in agriculture near the town of Milford, where he still resides. He is a successful farmer and the owner of considerable real estate and as a citizen stands well in public esteem. The family of Joseph and Rue Shafer consists of the following children : . Ward,
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Robert, Scott, Lida, Ida, Stella, Williams and Warren, all except the first born are living.
The early life of Warren Shafer was similar in most respects to that of the majority of country lads, being devoid of striking incident and devoted principally to labor in the fields, varied at intervals by study in the public schools. When old enough to begin life for himself, he turned his attention to agriculture, which honorable calling he pursued in Illinois first as a farm hand and later as manager of the large farm belonging to J. M. Herron, which responsible position he held with credit to himself and to the satisfac- tion of liis employer for a period of four years. At the expiration of the time indicated he came to Fountain county, Indiana, and took charge of the Patterson farm, consisting of five hundred and twelve acres, which he has since managed. In the discharge of the duties incumbent upon him Mr. Shafer has gained the implicit confidence of his employer, and earned a reputation such as few men of much more mature age attain. He possesses a sound mind, well balanced judgment, wise foresight and executive ability of a high order, which, with his knowledge of agriculture and ability to apply the same to practice, have made him one of the most intelligent and broad minded men of his vocation in the community where he resides.
Mr. Shafer has made a careful study of the nature of soils and for what they are best adapted, and in the management of the farm his judgment "is seldom at fault, as his abundant crops bear witness. He has been in Fountain county only a short time, but has already made a good showing as a superintendent and bids fair to fill a larger and more important place among the agriculturists of his township in the near future. Steady, indus- trious and with keen practical intelligence, his determination is to make the most of opportunities and his many friends predict for him a long and honorable career at the vocation he has selected for his life work.
Mr. Shafer married at the youthful age of seventeen, choosing for a wife and helpmate a popular young lady by the name of Myrtle Cook, of Adams county, Ohio, and a member of a very prominent family of that part of the state. Four children have been born to this union, viz: Walter Lee, Ernest Floyd, Gladys Marie and Freda Pearl, all living and, with their parents. constituting an interesting and happy family circle.
Politically, Mr. Shafer wields an influence for the Democratic party and fraternally belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a believer in revealed religion, and with his wife is identified with the United Brethren church, in which both are zealous and consistent workers.
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THE ROSS BROTHERS.
Harry Fenton Ross and Will Garfield Ross, who constitute the firm of Ross Brothers, publishers of The Attica Ledger-Press, were born in Medina township, Warren county, Indiana, the former on January 31, 1879, and the latter on February 22, 1881. Early in their childhood the family moved to Pine Village, Indiana, and there the boys grew to maturity. Their parents were James and Susan Turman Ross, the father being the only son of an Irish textile weaver, Francis Ross, who emigrated to this country from Armaugh, Ireland. The mother on her maternal side was descended from the Campbell family with clearly traced lineage running back into Scotland many generations ..
The Ross boys lived the life of the average carefree lad in a country village and acquired their education in the local schools. Harry early developed a literary taste and, with the intention of becoming a school teacher, spent a brief period at the Northern Indiana Normal School (now Valparaiso University:). He was but seventeen years of age at that time and being unable on that account to secure a position as teacher, he and his father purchased The Pine Village News in December, 1896, and began its publi- cation. The News was a very unpretentious four-page sheet, but it served for a beginning and a natural love for the work began to manifest itself at once in the improvement of the paper. Will was still in school, but the next year the firm was changed to Ross Brothers, enough money was saved to buy a new press and some type and from that time the paper made such gains in prestige that after operating it three years the plant was sold for six times the purchase price.
In May, 1899, and opportunity came to lease the Warren Review at Williamsport and for fourteen months they edited and published it very successfully. Feeling then that they needed more experience than a country shop afforded, they went to the city, Harry entering the Chicago Art Institute to take up drawing and designing, while Will found employment among the large printing shops and newspapers of that city. He soon got tired of city life and accepted an offer to become foreman of The Attica Ledger at Attica, Indiana. After a year there he entered the firm as a partner with E. R. Campbell. After three years in this connection he sold out and went to Indianapolis, where he took up the work of instructor in typography and superintendent of printing at the Indiana State School for the Deaf.
In the meantime the elder brother had left the Art Institute and taken a place in the big printing and publishing house at Zion City. He remained
WILL G. ROSS, HARRY F. ROSS.
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there three years and in that time saw the famous city reared by John Alexander Dowie reach its zenith and begin its decline. As special correspon- dent for several Chicago papers and the Associated Press, he furnished to the world the greatest part of the history of that widely known city during its most thrilling period, and in that connection received metropolitan news- paper training of the highest order. From Zion City he went back to Chicago and a few months later joined his brother in Indianapolis, where he took up work on The Indianapolis Star as a reporter, resigning this later to accept a day position as proofreader in the printing plant of Levy Bros. & Company.
On June 1, 1908, an unusual opportunity came for the brothers to embark again in the publishing business together and they leased The Sat- urday Press at Attica, Indiana, which they operated successfully for three years. At the end of that time they bought the Press and merged it with the Ledger, which they purchased at the same time at receiver's sale, the former publisher having failed. The union of the two papers clarified the situation and made the Ledger-Press the recognized leading newspaper of Fountain and Warren counties, a position which carries wide influence in the city and surrounding territory.
Will was married October 22, 1903, his wife being Miss Elsie Stephens, elder daughter of John C. Stephens, a well known real estate lawyer and abstracter of Williamsport. They have two children: Harold Leroy, born October 28, 1906, and John Leonard, born May 18, 1912.
On October 5, 1904, Harry was married to Miss Katherine Mae Leitch, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Leitch, of Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. Their family consists of three children: Dorothea, born August 10, 1905; James Ronald, born December 22, 1906, and Kathleen, born June 25, 1911.
WILLIAM COOPER.
One of the leading farmers and stock raisers of Warren township is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He is a native of Hamilton county, Ohio, and was born near the city of Cincinnati on the 14th day of November, 1846. His father, John Cooper, who immigrated from England to the United States a number of years ago, was the first of the family to come to this country, and his mother, prior to her marriage, bore the name of Ruth Darling. In his young manhood John Cooper learned carpentry in New York, which trade he followed in that state until his removal to Cincinnati, thence
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to Indianapolis where he became foreman in a large livery and sales stable. Subsequently he transferred his residence to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his days, dying some years ago and leaving to his family the memory of a useful life and an honorable name.
John and Ruth Cooper were the parents of the following children : Willianı, Thomas, James, John, David (deceased ), Matthew, Edward, Harry, Sarah and Louisa.
William Cooper attended in his childhood and early youth the schools of his native county and the different places in Indiana where his family lived, and during the spring and summer months he devoted his time to farm labor. Later he bought live stock, which he shipped to the western markets and in this way made considerable money, which he judiciously invested in real estate. He became a resident of Fountain county when about eighteen years of age and has made this part of the state his home ever since, in the meantime forging to the front as a farmer and stock raiser and taking high rank as an enterprising man of affairs.
Mr. Cooper has achieved more than a local reputation as a breeder and raiser of fine horses and for a number of years has been shipping the finer grade of animals to England, where they command exceedingly fancy prices. He owns a valuable farm of one hundred acres in Hendricks county, besides renting about two hundred acres two miles north of Rainsville, in Fountain county, where he now lives and where he has achieved marked success as a tiller of the soil and earned honorable repute as an intelligent and progressive citizen who spares no reasonable efforts to promote the welfare of the com- munity.
Mr. Cooper is a married man and the head of a family of four children, the mother of whom, previous to taking the name which she now honorably bears, was Isabella McMullen. The following are the names of the children born to them: Clara, wife of C. A. Deming; H. W., who married Mattie Dingan; Laura and Pauline, the last two still with their parents. In his reli- gious belief Mr. Cooper is a Methodist, to which church his family also belongs. Aside from voting his principles and defending the soundness of his convictions, he takes little part in public matters, being essentially a farmer and stock raiser, making every other consideration subordinate to his interests as such. Personally, he enjoys a large degree of popularity in his neighbor- hood where he is held in much esteem for his many estimable qualities of mind and heart, and where his influence is ever exerted in behalf of law and order and a high standard of manhood and citizenship.
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WILLIAM FRENCH.
This former well-known citizen was an excellent representative of the better class of farmers of Indiana. He came from ancestry that distinguished itself in pioneer times in this state. When the country was covered with an almost interminable forest of large trees and the woods filled with wild ani- mals, his people came to this part of the state and began to carve from the primeval forests, build schools and churches, and assisted in introducing the customs of civilization in the wilderness. They were genuine pioneers, willing to take the hardships that they might acquire the soil and the home that was sure to risc.
William French was a native of the old Hoosier state, having been born in Vigo county, near Terre Haute, and was the son of David French. The latter was distinguished as being one of the earliest permanent settlers in the state of Indiana, and he was a man of influence and prominence in his day. William French's boyhood days were spent much as were those of other pioneer boys, their environment being vastly different from that of boys of the twentieth century. His education was secured in the carly subscription schools, which was conducted in the log-cabin home of one of the settlers. As soon as old enough he took his part in the work of clearing the land and getting it ready for cultivation, which in itself was a task of no small propor- tions. During his boyhood he made several journeys to Chicago with ox teams, the trip requiring several days. Before attaining his majority he came to Warren county with his father and they settled on the Barrens, where the McBloom farm is now situated, and here William gave his father valuable assistance in creating the new farm. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-five years old, when he started out for himself. His first land purchase was a modest one, but hy patient persever- ance and indefatigable effort he was able to add to his original tract until eventually he found himself in possession of two hundred and fifty-five acres of good land. Since the father's death, his two sons, Cornelius and Ezekiel, have carried on the work so well inaugurated by him. The improvements on the farm 'are of a permanent and substantial character and the productivity of the soil has not been diminished by careful cultivation, but, on the con- trary, so careful has been the management of the same that it is considered one of the choice farms of the township.
William French married Martha A. Fleming, and to them were born eleven children, namely: Rebecca J., Mrs. James; Sylvester F., deceased;
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