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Classification: Query
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I have quite a large history on this family, going back to Germany. My Grandmother was a first cousin to Sam, and I do remember Jack. He has a couple children that are still in the Wells county area. Please contact me if you would like my information.
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Surnames: KUHNS
Classification: Query
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Daniel KUHNS served in the Civil War for the Union, from 1861-1865, Index of Civil War Pension Application #1154 411, Harrison Guards, Wells County Company, Indiana Legion. These were home guard, national guard, militia, who were never called up to service by the US. Some of the home guard in Indiana in some of the southern counties were called to fight off Morgan's raiders, with the most serious skirmish at Corydon, IN, which at that time was the capital. I looked at the list of the members of this home guard unit and found no one named Nelson.
Daniel's son George W. KUHNS was in the US Army. He may have known your GGF.
George W. KUHNS privatge in Co. A. 34th Regiment, Indiana Infantry Volunteers, discharged Dec. 14, 1863, and again Dec. 14, 1863 to Feb 3, 1866, when he was finally discharge at Brownsville, Texas. He was at Vicksburg, Yazoo River, spring 1863. Family story says he was captured by rebels and about to be hanged, when he was rescued by the US army. No place is mentioned. Actually, the story came down attached to Daniel Kuhns, but there is no evidence that he and his home guard unit ever left Wells County, so I believe the story belongs to George KUHNS. Have you heard any stories from your ancestor's service?
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Nancy Scott,
I don't know if your relative joined with my great-grandfather or not.
My GGF was Solomon B Nelson, joined Company A, 34th Regiment Indiana volunteers on 9/12/1861. They were under the command of Capt William Swaim and attached to the 1st Brigade, 12th Division, 13th Army Corp of the Army of the Mississippi. Campaigns included New Madrid, Biddles Point, Birds Point, Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, Raymond, Ms, Jackson, Champion Hill, the seige of Vicksburg and Jackson. 3/3/62-7/16/63. Unit got as far south as New Iberia, La . There is a monument at Vicksburg for this Regiment. That's about all I know.
Jim
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Surnames: Logan, Maddux
Classification: Query
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Hello James, I e-mailed you re: John & Catherine Arnold Maddox Family Bible. Message bounced. Cathy Burnsed replied to my request for your current e-mail. Had this message on ancestry board. Please send me your e-mail & I'll foreward my lengthy message & attachment with descendants of Ann Maddux. Thanks,
Ellen Barbieri
San Diego, CA elsal(a)cox.net
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Surnames: Maddux, Logan
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I am trying to reach James Maddox who posted the family bible in 2002. I have info on descendants of dghter Ann Maddux 1831-1891 married to Samuel Logan. If anyone knows James' current e-mail/contact info or is researching this family, please contact me. Thanks,
Ellen Barbieri
San Diego, CA elsal(a)cox.net
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Photo of Wilson A. Woodward attached.
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Surnames: Weaver
Classification: Biography
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20th Century Souvenir Edition of the Ossian News. January 1st, 1900, page 48.
Nathan Weaver.
No business man in Ossian has applied himself more closely to his chosen lifework than Nathan Weaver, our enterprising harness manufacturer and dealer. He was born in the year 1857, in Center Co., Pa., a son of Solomon and Julian Weaver, and is of German descent. He received his early education in the common schools of Center Co. By the death of his parents he was obliged to forego his desires for wider knowledge, and was froced (sic) to solve the bread-winning problem early in life. Upon the loss of his parents he left the farm and began to learn his present trade. Habits of frugality and industry conduced to give him many firiends (sic) and patrons. In December 1877, he came to Ossian and settled down to the work. From 1881 to 1883 he was in partnership with his brother Harvey Weaver, who removed, leaving hm to undisputed possession of the territory here. Since that time Nate has successfully supplied the growing demands of the surrounding country. Having the only!
harness shop in town he does a large volume of business each year. He owns a charming residence on Main and LeFever streets, and contemplates the building of a brick business place in a short time.
By careful, judicious management, Mr. Weaver has drawn many patrons into Ossian. Never exorbitant in his prices he nevertheless charges enough to insure a good quality of work. Materials he uses in his business are all of the very highest quality purchaseable. A complete line of every equipment necessary for saddling, driving, hauling or farm work can be seen at his shop on Main street. Mr. Weaver is to be congratulated for his prosperity. He is the sort of business man who builds up and draws trade to his city. He is pleased at all times to show his goods, and is proud of the fact that he controls the trade throughout a large section, drawing patrons from the direct territory of several contemporary businesses.
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Surnames: Woodward
Classification: Biography
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20th Century Souvenir Edition of the Ossian News. January 1st, 1900, page 46, 48.
W. A. Woodward.
Wilson A. Woodward, the genial whole-souled subject of this biographical sketch, was born August 2, 1866, in Jefferson Township, Wells Co., Indiana. As is well known, he is the son of Abraham and Mary Woodward, whose names are connected with the pioneer efforts in this country. Of English descent, respected and widely acquainted, the name requires no introduction to the readers of this volume.
An enterprising, progressive man, Mr. Woodward has friends wherever he is known, and there are few readers of the NEWS unacquainted with his popularity. A friend to those things which promise advancement to his native city, it is probably that the gentleman will always be as highly esteemed by his fellows as at the present time.
Mr. Woodward was educated in the common schools of this city. Like many of our business men, he spent a great part of his early life wrestling with agricultural problems. At last becoming dissatisfied with farm life he came to town, and in 1890, went into the meat market now conducted by his brother John Woodward (whose sketch appears elsewhere). For three years W. A. Woodward busied himself with shop-work, then his political friends showed their esteem, and also faith in his ability, and as a result, in 1893, he became postmaster, which position he filled with credit to himself and the administration in power. In 1897, the wheels of government having again passed into the control of another political party, Mr. Woodward sought other employment, and since that time has been actively and prosperously engaged as one of our foremost dealers in live-stock.
He is one of our most clever, agreeable and sensible men -- a man who is respected by his political connections, and honored by the many friends, scattered over Wells and adjoining counties.
In every way Wils is one of our leading citizens.
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Surnames: Doan, Foundling, Kirby, Blackshaw, White, Cary, Koons, Beaty, Metts, Sutton
Classification: Biography
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From Memorial Record of Northeastern Indiana, Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1896.
THOMAS A. F. DOAN .-- In this enlightened age, when men of industry, energy and merit are rapidly pushing themselves to the front, those who by their own unaided efforts have won favor and fortune may properly claim recognition. There have come hither from foreign lands men of limited resources, but imbued with that sturdy independence and determination to succeed which entitles them to a place on the pages of the history of that section of the Union with which they have been identified. The career of him whose name initiates this paragraph illustrates most forcibly the possibilities that are open to a man who possesses sterling business qualifications. It proves that neither wealth nor social position, nor yet the assistance of influential friends is at all requisite in placing an individual on the road to success. It also proves that ambitious perseverance, steadfastness of purpose and indefatigable industry, as conjoined with sound business principles, will be rewarded an!
d that true success is the natural comcomitant (sic) of individual effort directed under such conditions.
Standing distinctively forward as one of the reprsentative (sic) business men of Wells county, and as one of the most progressive and valued citizens of the thriving village of Ossian, Mr. Doan owes his pronounced success in life solely to his own efforts and is clearly entitled to that proud American title, a self-made man. He has been a resident of America only a quarter of a century, and at the time of his arrival in Ossian his financial resources were represented in a five-dollar bill. The story of his life is simple and honest, and into his career have entered no esoteric elements, his every action having stood open to scrutiny and to the judgment of men Not an eventful life, but one that has been true to its possibilities and its opportunities, and one that has not been denied a goodly harvest in due season. Mr. Doan is a native of England, having been born in Staffordshire, on the 10th of June, 1845, the son of John and Elizabeth (Foundling) Doan, both of whom were of!
English nativity, being people of intelligence and sterling worth, but placed in modest circumstances. They became the parents of four children, namely: Mary A., wife of Samuel Kirby, of Overseal; Emma, wife of John Blackshaw, of Burton-on- Trent; Sarah, deceased; and Thomas A. F., the immediate subject of this review.
Our subject was not afforded educational opportunities of more than meagre order, yet he was a youth whose prescience of the value of knowledge led him to make the best use of the privileges which were his, and his receptive mentality and intuitive judgment have been such that in the practical affairs of life he has gained a wide fund of information and an intellectual strength which mere theoretical discipline could never afford. In his youth he learned the miller's trade, and for several years he was employed in an extensive rnerchant mill at Burton-on-Trent. Prior to leaving his native land he had assumed the responsibilities of connubial life, having been united in marriage to Miss Annie White, who bore him one child, Richard. But the little home, where mutual solicitude and true happiness thus found an abiding place, was destined to be violated by that power whose summons are inexorable: the devoted wife and mother was called to the life beyond on the 8th of October, 18!
69, and on the 28th of the same month the little son was laid to rest beside her.
It was then, when the hallowed associations of the home had been so rudely set at naught, that Mr. Doan determined to seek his fortunes in America, and closing his affairs, he emigrated to the United States, reaching the shores of the New World in the year 1870. Upon reaching Ossian his exchequer was practically depleted, as before intimated, but his was the courage of effort, and he stood ready to do whatever his hand found to do, and for some little time was employed in the stave factory of L. M. Cary. Subsequently he went to Decatur, where he found employment for a time, and then returned to Ossian, having determined to make this place his permanent home. For the succeeding four years he was engaged as an operative in the gristmill and heading factory, and for the greater portion of the time had consecutive employment at fairly remunerative wages. His experience had been such as to show him the value of money and the advantages that were afforded to one who was willing to!
make an earnest effort and to husband his resources. He was determined to so fortify himself by economy and industry that he might eventually engage in business for himself, and that he realized his ambition is evidenced in the fact that, in 1875, he was enabled to purchase an interest in the saw and planing mill business of Koons & Company, his present business associate, William R. Beaty, having at that time been a member of the firm noted. After the course of a few years, Messrs. Beaty and Doan secured full control of the industry mentioned, and they have since continued operations under the firm title of Beaty & Doan. They have thus been associated in their business affairs for the long period of two decades, and the utmost sympathy and harmony have prevailed, and their interests have been identical and have been materially advanced by careful and conscientious methods and by well directed enterprise. Their mill has a capacity for the output of 5,000 feet per diem, and!
employment is afforded to a corps of ten capable operatives. In Janua
ry, 1895, the firm effected the purchase of the Ossian brick-yard, which they are now operating in connection with their mill-the two enterprises being among the most important and valuable industries of Ossian.
Our subject has maintained a lively interest in all that pertains to the legitimate advancement and material prosperity of the county and village, and has not been hedged in by the narrow limitations which are quite likely to confine the efforts of one who has gained success by assiduous labor and individual application. He was one of the organizers of the Jefferson Building and Loan Association, was the first incumbent as president of the same, and is still a member of its directorate. In his fraternal relations he is identified with the Masonic order, being a member of Ossian Lodge, No. 297. Mr. Doan is thoroughly in sympathy with the American spirit, having been admitted to full citizenship on the 18th of August, 1872, since which time he has exercised his right of franchise in support of the Republican party, taking a well informed interest in the questions of the day, and warmly espousing the cause of his party.
The second marriage of our subject was solemnized in Ossian, on the 17th of October, 1872, when he wedded Miss Mary E. Metts, Rev. L. Roberts officiating. Mrs. Doan is the daughter of James and Miranda (Sutton) Metts, who were among the pioneers of Wells county. Our subject and his wife are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in the local organization Mr. Doan holds official preferment as Trustee. They are the parents of two interesting Children -- Maggie Mabel and William Metts. Enjoying the respect and esteem of the community, and having gained a distinctive success in the temporal affairs of life, our subject has no cause for regretting that he has thus cast his fortunes in the United States, and the republic has no more loyal supporter than is he.
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Photo of J. C. Hatfield attached to this message.
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Surnames: Osborn
Classification: Biography
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Photo of Jacob W. Osborn attached to this message.
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Surnames: Krewson, Todd
Classification: Biography
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20th Century Souvenir Edition of the Ossian News. January 1st, 1900, page 46.
Well known by reason of his useful professional service and his share in the social and industrial circles of Ossian, is John S. Krewson, who for sixteen years has been the chief notary public of our city. Born March 4th 1846 in Sarahsville, Noble Co., Ohio, he has lived five decades of varied existence.
Mr. Krewson is of German-Irish descent, and his parents were among the first to brave the hardships of the new country. In November 1846 the family emigrated from Ohio to the old Krewson Homestead, and there underwent all the privations incident to pioneer life. The mother and four small children spent the first two winters alone in a rude cabin in the midst of an almost trackless woods, while the father worked in Fort Wayne for the necessaries of life. Twice, the father, Mr. Simon Krewson, went to California in hope of bettering his fortunes, (1850-1853). He enlisted in Co. G, 191st Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and died at Gallatin, Tenn., in April 1863. The mother survived until January 23rd, 1896, and during all her life of struggle exemplified the beautiful teachings of christianity.
The subject of this sketch surrounded as he was in youth by almost insurmountable difficulties managed to attain a recognized footing early in life.
He was educated in the Ossian Common Schools, at the M. E. College, Fort Wayne, and at the Oberlin Business college. He has passed through many business vicissitudes, having been teacher, clerk in store, deputy recorder in Kansas, and finally owner of a general store in Ossian. In 1894 he disposed of the general store and a year later purchased the furniture store. This business he soon sold, retiring then, to his small farm which adjoins the town on the north, where he now resides. He is at present a raiser of stock, poultry, fine fruit and vegetables. His notary work is still one of the leading features of his professional life. At present he is making a specialty of presenting pension claims, acting under and with Todd & Todd, of Bluffton. As the head of a collecting agency, also as dealer in real estate he is a busy man. He is an especially active church worker and is secretary of the Building Committee for the new church, treasurer of Board of Stewards, and Reco!
rding Secretary for the Quarterly Conference.
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Surnames: Osborn
Classification: Biography
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20th Century Souvenir Edition of the Ossian News. January 1st, 1900, page 45.
The year 1857 was the birth year of Jacob Osborn who is the largest contractor living in Ossian. He is the son of Levi and Catherine Osborn, pioneer settlers of Union Township. These people of good English stock moved in from Eastern Ohio when the broad cultivated acres, upon which they now reside, were massed and covered with heavy timber and thick underbrush. Being people of zeal and pluck, they soon made a showing upon the forests, and became by their efforts, well-to-do, respected farmers.
Jacob Osborn spent his early life in Union Township, getting his education in the common schools, and assisting upon his father's farm. He was, however, possessed of a natural attitude for carpentering -- an attitude which almost amounted to genius, for he mastered the secrets of the trade, and worked his way up to the top notch in the art of building by his own untiring efforts. It is truly a remarkable fact that skilled as he is, Mr. Osborn never served an apprenticeship, having always been his own master and instructor.
In 1891 he moved from a farm upon which he had been working, purchased property in Ossian, and launched himself out on a then to him, almost untried sea. Starting single handed with such a knowledge as came from pure natural ability he made an immediate success, and his work gained forthwith. Soon he was taking contracts and was obliged to get assistance. For the last year he has been running a gang of hands, furnishing four or five men with steady employment almost the year around, at intervals enlarging upon his present force.
As a framer Mr. Osborn has few equals in this part of the country. He does his own designing, and all architectural work which comes in his line of business. He has labor at all times, and is one of our busiest citizens.
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Sally, That would be great. I'd love to see the pictures make their way home. My e-mail address is bub4_60(a)yahoo.com and my snail mail is Bubby Rowe - #5 Southmoor Drive, Parkersburg WV 26101.
Thank you for responding and your help.
Sincerely Bubby Rowe
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When I read my message, I realized I forgot my e-mail. It is stinkel2(a)comcast.net. Hope to hear from you.
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I know Mary Jane Rowe's living relatives. She married Neil Roe and lived in Liberty Township forever. She was the music and art teacher at the Liberty Center School for many years. If you will contact me I can arrange for her niece to get in touch with you. I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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Does this biography contain any additional information on the Rev. James Paxton, M.D. other than he was the grandfather of W.Paxton Burris? Any additional information on him would be greatly appreciated.
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Surnames: Burris, Horton, Hiatt, Paxton, Overman, Hill, Armstrong, Clearwaters
Classification: Biography
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Memorial Record of Northeastern Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1896, pp. 62-67.
PROFESSOR W. PAXTON BURRIS. -- The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpetual record of the verdict establishing his character by the concensus (sic) of opinion on the part of his fellow men. That great factor, the public, is a discriminating factor, and takes congnizance (sic) not of objective exaltation nor yet objective modesty, but delves deeper into the intrinsic essence of character, strikes the keynote of individuality, and pronounces judicially and unequivocally upon the true worth of the man, invariably distinguishing the clear resonance of the true metal from the jarring dissonance of the baser. Thus in touching upon the life history of the subject of this review the biographist would aim to give utterance to no fulsome encomium, to indulge in no extravagant praise, yet would he wish to hold up for consideration those points which have shown the d!
istinction of a true, pure and useful life, -- one characterized by indomitable perseverance, broad charity, marked ability, high accomplishments and well earned honors. To do this will be but to reiterate the dictum pronounced upon the man by his fellow men.
There is another element of particular interest and consistency entering into a review of the career of him whose name initiates this review, for his ancestral history has been one of consecutive identification with that of Indiana since the early period when it secured admission to the sisterhood of States. Elwood Burris, the father of our subject, was born in Indiana on the 27th of June, 1836. He has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, and is a man of high principles and unquestionable honor. He retains his residence at Maple Valley, this State, and is held in the highest esteem in the community. His father, Jacob Burris, was a native of Ohio, where he was born in the year 1801, the son of Daniel Burris, who came to Indiana and located near Maple Valley about the time the Territory assumed the dignity of a State. Daniel Burris espoused in marriage Mary Horton, and to them were born sixteen children, namely: Rachel, Stephen, John, Jacob (grandfather of our subj!
ect), Martha, Daniel and Mary (twins), Bowater, Abraham, Moses, Horton, Miles, Andy, Lewis, Elias and Rebecca. All except the twins, Daniel and Mary, lived to attain venerable age.
Jacob Burris, grandfather of our subject, was the fourth in order of birth of this large family of children, and upon attaining mature years he was united in marriage to Mary Hiatt. They became the parents of eight children, by name as follows: Lucinda, Rachel, Elwood (father of our subject), Elias, John, Oliver, Arthur, and Henry. In 1860 Elwood Burris was united in marriage to Ruth A. Paxton, whose family name is perpetuated in the middle name of her son, our subject. Ruth Paxton was born in Greensboro, Henry county, Indiana, on the 4th of January, 1844, being the daughter of Rev. James Paxton, M. D., a clergyman of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, a man of strong individuality and ability, and prominent and active as an anti-slavery advocate during the period leading up to and marking the late war of the Rebellion. Ruth (Paxton) Burris entered into eternal rest on the 15th of April, 1882. By her marriage she became the mother of six children, of whom we make brief record, a!
s follows: Tabitha, wife of John C. Overman, of Indianapolis; W. Paxton, the immediate subject of this review; Nora, wife of John C. Hill, of Willow; Jacob, a resident of Maple Valley; Mossie, wife of Ulysses Armstrong, of Maple Valley; and Stella.
W. Paxton Burris was born in Maple Valley, Indiana, on the 15th of November, 1863, and until he had attained the age of fifteen years he devoted his attention to attending the common schools, where he applied himself so earnestly and with such signal power of assimilation, that at the early age mentioned he was able to secure a teacher's license. He did not at once turn his attention to this line of effort, along which he has attained to so distinguished success and honor through his later endeavors, but until he was nineteen years of age he assisted his father in the cultivation of the homestead farm and in clerking in the general store which his father owned in Maple Valley. After this he put his theoretical knowledge to practical test by teaching for three years in the district schools. In these preliminary pedagogic labors he gave distinctive evidence of that strong, native capacity which he possessed in the way of imparting knowledge, and interesting his pupils in their!
work,-a talent which has been a potent factor in insuring his pronounced success in the educational field of broader province.
At the age of twenty-two pears Mr. Burris entered the Normal School at Danville, Indiana, where he continued his studies through a two years' course, graduating as a member of the class of 1888. Within the same year he was admitted into the Northwestern Indiana Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was stationed at Pittsboro, where he had assigned to him three different charges. He continued his efforts with success until March 1, 1889, when he resigned for the purpose of entering the College of Liberal Arts in DePauw University. In the autumn of the same year he received the appointment as principal of the graded school at Greensboro, Indiana, and at the expiration of the term he returned to the university and resumed his studies. While he was still a student at this institution he was elected instructor in sciences in the high school at Greencastle, Indiana, and to the duties thus implied he devoted his attention during the morning hours, while in the afternoon!
he pursued his individual study in the university. He completed the course of study at DePauw and graduated as a member of the class of 1891, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy.
In the meanwhile Professor Burris had been elected superintendent of the public schools of Bluffton, and to this city he came after his graduation, assuming the important and exacting duties of his position on the 6th of August, 1891. Possessed of marked executive ability, an indefatigable worker, alert and progressive in attitude, and thoroughly in love with his profession, it comes but in natural sequence that Professor Burris should have become an important factor not only in connection with the educational work in his prescribed province, but in a field far transcending local limitations. His distinctive intellectuality and high mental attainments give him a precedence and prestige among the foremost educators of the State, and his efficiency is shown in a most pronounced way through his work in bringing the schools of Bluffton up to the highest standard. He has instituted many improvements, has perfected the system of operation and has left undone nothing that would ten!
d to conserve effective discipline. In his efforts he has had the ready co-operation of a board of education composed of men of ability and broad views, and in this way has been singularly favored, retaining the confidence and respect of these educators, who have a recognition of his capacity for managing affairs of breadth and for conducting all matters along wise and judicious lines. His annual reports have been documents which should command attention in any portion of the field where popular education is considered, arid his reviews of work accomplished and of improvements to be instituted would prove both lesson and incentive in many quarters outside of the city where he labors.
In November, 1894, Professor Burris was appointed a member of a committee to arrange a course of studies for the schools in the cities and towns of Indiana, with a view to making a more nearly uniform system and to thus simplify and further effective work. He was elected secretary of this committee, and the committee eventually adopted the Herbartian system of study, of which our subject has been a strong advocate. This system of Herbart has received so much attention and endorsement in educational circles within the past few years that there is scarcely a necessity for outlining the same in this connection, but it may be well to say that the system is one of utmost practicality, its aim being not only to conserve culture, but to make the knowledge gained of the practical nature which is so signally demanded when the youth go forth to take their places in the world, to identify themselves with its activities and to make them selves useful American citizens. The system is one!
of true worth and not of sentimentality, and is one whose ultimate adoption throughout the common schools of our nation is to be devoutly wished. Professor Burris is a member of the Indiana State Association of Superintendents of Schools, and in 1893 he was elected secretary, which office he still holds. He is a member of the National Herbart Club, and was on the program at the National Educational Associa-(sic) which met in Denver in July, 1895. He is a member of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy, and is an earnest worker in all that conserves the elevation of his fellowmen, mentally, spiritually and morally. His alma mater conferred the degree of Master of Arts on on him at the annual commencement in 1894, and he is a candidate in absentia for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chicago University. In his fraternal relations he is identified with the Greek college fraternity of Beta Theta Pi and the Masonic order, in which last he has advanced to the Knig!
hts Templar degree. In connection with his work in the public schools
of Bluffton there should not be failure to record the fact that through his efforts the accessories and appliances have been brought up to the most excellent standard, while there has also been established in connection with the high school a public library comprising fully fifteen hundred admirably selected volumes.
December 28, 1891, were solemnized the nuptials of Professor Burris and Miss Harriet Clearwaters. Mrs. Burris is the daughter of the Rev. James Clearwaters, who is now the incumbent pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at New Carlisle, Indiana. The only child of this union was born on the 8th of May, 1894, and its life was spared only until August 23d of the succeeding year. Both Professor and Mrs. Burris are zealous and active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and both are teachers in the Sunday school, maintaining a constant and lively interest in all phases of church work.
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Surnames: Brannum, Ball, Mason, Bennett, Spence, Cottinghan, Ely, Cory, Johnson, McGeath, McGrew, McLead, Bevington
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Memorial Record of Northeastern Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1896, pp. 240-242.
HENRY CLAY BRANNUM is the general manager of the Brannum & Mercer Lumber Company, of Montpelier, Indiana. The study of the character of the representative American never fails to offer much of pleasing interest and valuable instruction. The life work of him whose name heads this sketch, fraught with good results, is most worthy of record. The man who by patient perseverance, arduous effort and well conceived and properly executed plans succeeds in winning prosperity, and a rank among the foremost in commercial circles demonstrates what can be accomplished by determined will and ability, and furnishes an example well worthy of emulation. Such a man is Mr. Brannum.
Our subject was born in Fairfield, Indiana, May 15, 1831, and is a son of Samuel and Nancy (Ball) Brannum. He has descended from an early family of North Carolina, where lived four brothers, -- William, Samuel, Michael and Aquilla Brannum. The first named, the grandfather of our subject, was born February 17, 1774, and his children were John, born May 29, 1797; James, born April 12, 1799; Samuel, born May 25, 1801 ; Sarah, born October 26, 1803; William, born April 24, 1806; Thomas, born July 27, 1808; Aquilla, born November 24, 1814; and Esther, born February 26, 1817. The last named died in childhood.
The father of our subject removed with his parents to New Madrid, Missouri, where they lived at the time of the earthquake there. They were also residents of Arkansas. He was probably married in the former State to Miss Nancy Ball, who was born in Massachusetts in 1808. Mr. Brannum engaged in buying horses, but they were stolen by the Indians. He afterward cut cord-wood, at twenty-five cents per day. Taking up his residence near Liberty, Indiana, he there engaged in operating a sawmill, in 1831, and he went to Fairfield, Indiana, where he assisted his father-in-law, Mr. Ball, who was there teaching school. In 1851 he removed to Chester township, Wells county, locating one mile from Keystone, Indiana. His possessions at that time consisted of an eighty-acre farm, $4 in money, a gray horse, a buggy and a wagon. He erected a residence, began the cultivation of his land, and prospered in his undertakings, winning a comfortable competence. There he resided until his death, which!
occurred January 12, 1877. He was a strong Union man, and from the time when he supported Fremont in 1856 was an ardent Republican. He was also a warm advocate of Henry Clay. From the age of sixteen years the subject of this review, Henry Clay Brannum, has been dependent on his own resources. He at that time began learning the carpenter's trade and subsequently engaged in contracting and building, which he followed until twenty-four years of age. He spent his early life in Union, Wells and Blackford counties, Indiana. In 1861 he located in Chester township, Wells county, that he might care for his aged parents, and made his home in that neighborhood for nine years, when in 1870 he came to Montpelier. Here he established a hardware and implement store, which he successfully conducted until 1887, when he traded the business to George A. Mason for 160 acres of land in Jackson township, Wells county.
There he lived for three years, after which he returned to Montpelier and became manager of the Mercer & Brannum lumberyard. He became a partner in the business by purchasing the interest of H. H. Bennett, and in 1892 the business of the Mercer & Brannum Lumber Company was removed to its present location. Their annual shipments amount to one million feet of lumber. They ship thirty car-loads of lumber per month on an average, and in July, 1895, their shipments amounted to fifty car-loads. They carry in stock everything needed in the erection of a house. William S. Brannum, a son of our subject, now living in Chicago, has been admitted to a partnership in the business and a branch establishment has been located in that city. They now have an office in the Marquette building and the Chicago headquarters are now the principal point of orders and shipments. The firm also conducts a lumber business at Hartford City, Alexandria, Elwood and Eaton, all in Indiana. The firm of Mercer!
& Brannum is now at the head of one of the largest lumber industries in the State, a business which has not only proved a profitable one to them but has also aided greatly in promoting the material welfare of the various towns where the yards are established.
Mr. Brannum's interests and capabilities are by no means limited to one line of endeavor. In the spring of 1894 he aided in the organization of the Royal Oil Company, the officers of which are Charles Spence, president; E. G. Cottinghan, vice-president; H. C. Brannum, treasurer; and George Ely, general manager. These gentlemen, in connection with Jo G. Brannum, of Alexandria, Indiana, were the organizers. They leased 4,400 acres of land in one body and sunk five wells.
On the 3d of October, 1856, Mr. Brannum was married in Dunlapsville, Union county. Indiana, to Miss Rebecca, daughter of William and Martha (Cory) Johnson. She was born May 19, 1836, in Cheviot, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was born near Trenton, New Jersey, August 27, 1808, and died at the home of Mrs. Brannum December 10, 1893. He married Martha Cory March 13, 1834, in Union county, Indiana. She was born in Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, February 16, 1813, and died in Liberty, this State, January 25, 1888. Her father, Jeremiah Cory, was born in Pennsylvania May 29, 1786, of Scotch ancestry, was a tanner by trade, and became one of the earliest settlers of Franklin county. His death occurred in May, 1873.
Daniel Johnson, the paternal grandfather of Mrs. Brannum, died July 9, 1828, at the age of fifty years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Brannum were born nine children: Mary Alice, born July 23, 1857, became the wife of John Perfect McGeath March 15, 1880, and died September 8, 1893. Annie, born June 30, 1859, died February 26, 1862. William Samuel, born September 7, 1861, was married May 28, 1885, to Elna McGrew, and has two children: James Harry, born April 26, 1887; and Marjorie, born November 12, 1894. Joseph Grant, born October 28, 1863, was married January 18, 1893, to Lenora McLead, and is engaged in the lumber business at Alexandria, Martha Etta, born March 19, 1866, died October 29, 1869. Nancy Irene, born June 8, 1868, died November 1, 1869. George, born August 5, 1870, died two days later. Lizzie Edith, born October 25, 1872, married Oscar Bevington, foreman of the lumber-yard in Montpelier; the wedding was celebrated February 12, 1890, and they have three children -- Grace May, born November 28, 1890; Catherine Cairo, born September 23, 1892; and Frederick Grant, born November 1!
2, 1894. Grace, the youngest of the family, was born July 31 , 1876, and is now bookkeeper in her father's office.
The family attend the Methodist Church, and Mr. Brannum is a Republican in politics. Socially, he is a Knight Templar Mason, having been connected with that fraternity since 1856, while since 1855 he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has always been known for his prompt and honorable methods of dealing, and has both deserved and received the unbounded confidence of his fellow citizens. His own interests have now become extensive and varied, and his life fairly illustrates what one may achieve who is actuated by a worthy ambition to make the most and best of his opportunities and talents.
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Surnames: Arnold, Townsend, Welty, Studabaker, Clark
Classification: Biography
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Memorial Record of Northeastern Indiana. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1896, pp. 151-157.
GEORGE ARNOLD. The subject of this review is one whose memory links in an indissoluble chain the trend of events from the early pioneer period in the history of this section of the Union to the latter-day epoch where peace, progress and prosperity crown the end of the century. This personal and ancestral identification with the formative period in the Middle West would alone authorize a review of his life in this connection, but superadded to this there are circumstances which render such indulgence practically imperative if the publication is to be consistent with itself and is to fill its prescribed province. For more than a half century has Mr. Arnold retained his residence in Wells county, is known throughout the length and breadth of the same as one of its honored pioneers, and has been conspicuous in the promotion and furtherance of all measures which have conserved the progress and material prosperity of the locality. He has been associated with enterprises which, tho!
ugh of personal concern, have yet been of inestimable value to the community, and his life has been one of signal usefulness and exalted honor. To him, then, should we render a due tribute of respect in this volume, whose purport is to accord consideration to the men who have been or are representative in the affairs of northeastern Indiana.
A native of the Buckeye State, Mr. Arnold was born at Greenville, on the 28th of September, 1818. His father, William Arnold, was born in South Carolina, where he lived until he attained to man's estate, and was there married to Miss Elizabeth Townsend, who also was a native of that State and a representative of a prominent Southern family. At an early date in the present century William Arnold emigrated with his wife from Newberry district, South Carolina, to Warren county, Ohio, locating on a tract of wild land on Caesar's creek, where they continued to reside for a time, after which they settled at Greenville, in the same State, where the father of our subject again identified himself with agricultural (sic) pursuits, in which line of operations he continued during the remainder of his life, his efforts being attended with a due quota of success. He became a man of considerable prominence and influence in the county and State, having served for a number of years as County!
Commissioner and having gained the confidence and high esteem of the community which sincerely mourned his death, which occurred after he had attained the venerable age of eighty-six years.
The youthful days of our subject were passed upon the parental homestead in Ohio, and it is needless to say that he early became familiar with the manifold details which entered into the reclamation and cultivation of a pioneer farm, this formative period in his life being one that has had its influence upon his entire subsequent career, since he then learned the value of consecutive endeavor and to appreciate that sturdy independence which is ever begotten under such circumstances and environments. His initial scholastic discipline was received in the district schools, and he continued his efforts in this line until he had acquired a thorough common-school education, supplementing this by a course of study in certain special branches, including surveying, in which line he became a practical operative and followed the same as a vocation for some time. As a means to an end, and yet with a full appreciation of the responsibility and duty implied, he engaged in teaching school !
for several years, principally in Darke and Miami counties, being successful in his pedagogic work and wielding a strong and valuable influence over those who came to him for instruction. Just when budding ambition gave itself a definite aim it is difficult to say, but certain it is that our subject looked out and beyond the narrowed mental horizon of the farm home, which was one in which culture and refinement were not absent, and one in which aspirations for a wider sphere of usefulness were readily enkindled. Mr. Arnold's determination was of that sort that only waited a suitable opportunity before exercising its functions, and, as will be shown in succeeding paragraphs, he had sufficient wisdom to take advantage of an opportunity at its first presentation.
While still residing in Ohio our subject was united in marriage to Miss Ann Maria Welty, the date of this ceremony having been November 10, 1840. The offspring of this union was three children: Henry Clay, Sarah L. and Charles A. -- all of whom are still living. About three years after his marriage Mr. Arnold removed to Whitley county, Indiana, and he there located on a farm, if such it might be called, in a section which as yet had been but slightly opened to settlement and which had shown but little metamorphosis from the primitive, sylvan wilds. The Indians still disputed dominion with the white settlers and with the beasts of the field, and they were frequent visitors of the little cabin home of our subject, a fact which is difficult to realize on the part of one who is permitted to meet him in these later days, when that section of the State has to its credit fields that have long been furroughed and refurroughed by the plowshare and which show the unmistakable evidence!
s of the enlightened spirit of the nineteenth century. On this farm Mr. Arnold continued to reside about five years, devoting himself to its improvement and cultivation, and incidentally putting his knowledge of surveying to practical use, as the country was yet new and its boundary lines not well established-thus necessitating the services of a practical surveyor. But the ambition of Mr. Arnold still transcended the scope of the farm, and accordingly, in 1848, he removed to Columbia City, the county seat of Whitley county, and there secured employment in the mercantile establishment of Henry Swihart, with whom he remained for one year, at the expiration of which time he purchased the stock and business and continued the enterprise upon his own responsibility. The business methods at that time were radically different from those now in vogue, and the principal field of operations opened to the country merchant was that of selling merchandise to the farmers and accepting in !
delayed payment a requisite quantity of pork in the packing season. Th
us the business conducted by our subject was not upon the cash basis, since he accepted his pay in the commodity mentioned, in the majority of cases, and then shipped the produce to the Eastern markets as it was delivered in the winter season, and thus realized his profits. He was eminently successful in his mercantile business under these circumstances, which would be considered somewhat extraordinary at the present time, and he continued operations in Columbia City until 1856 when he disposed of his interests and removed to Bluffton, where he has ever since maintained his residence. Here he purchased the establishment of John Studabaker, who was one of the pioneers of the county, and who had been engaged in the mercantile business at this point for nearly a score of years. Mr. Arnold had proved his adaptability for this line of enterprise, and he continued to conduct a mercantile trade here, with but slight intermission, for nearly two decades, after which he was succeeded!
by his son, Henry C. Arnold. So long an association with the business interests of any community can not fail to bring either reward or obloquy, and the sterling integrity and correct methods of our subject could not fail to insure to him the confidence and esteem of those with whom he had dealings. Not only this, but his was the native talent of a leader and a promoter, and his efforts were not confined within narrow personal confines, but he took initiative ground and was able to soon exercise an influence upon the public thought and action.
In 1878 Mr. Arnold entered upon a diametrically different field of endeavor, but one in which his practical ability and his broad intellectuality had a wider sphere of action. He purchased the Bluffton Chronicle, the approved organ of the Republican party in Wells county, and was thereafter identified with its publication and its editorial policy until the spring of I 889, when he disposed of the property and retired from active business. In January, 1880, Mr. Arnold was appointed, by President Hayes, as Postmaster of Bluffton, and during the period of his incumbency in this office, over four years, his newspaper interests were placed in charge of his son, Charles, whose able management was such as to maintain the high standard which our subject had established in the publication of the Chronicle. Mr. Arnold made his paper a decided pourer in the political affairs of northeastern Indiana, and his ability as a writer, his critical acumen and his cogency in argument gave disti!
nctive weight to his editorial utterances, while his practical business ideas were brought to bear in the conducting of the enterprise, which was made a successful one, the Chronicle being a genuine representative of the best interests of the county and city of its publication.
In his political adherency Mr. Arnold was originally a Whig, having been an ardent admirer of that distinguished statesman, Henry Clay. While yet occupying a clerical position in Whitley county he became the nominee of his party for the office of County Auditor, but was defeated by ten votes, running thirty-two votes ahead of the ticket, a fact that he has always considered as a blessing in disguise, since had he then been installed in office he might never have directed his efforts in those commercial lines where he has gained so distinctive success. He continued his allegiance to the Whig party until its dissolution and then identified himself with its normal successor, the Republican party, whose principles and policies he has ever since supported, having been a valuable worker in the cause. From 1844 to 1846 he served as County Surveyor of Whitley county, and Notary Public. In 1870 Mr. Arnold was the Republican nominee for Senator of his district in the State Senate, but!
as the normal Democratic majority in the district was very large he was defeated, though he ran- far ahead of his ticket at the polls. In 1872 he yielded to the solicitations of his party friends and consented to allow his name to be presented in the convention as a candidate for Secretary of State, and in said convention he was second on the list of four candidates, but was defeated. In 1877 Mr. Arnold was a delegate to the National Republican Convention, in which, with the remainder of the delegation from Indiana, he gave his support to Oliver P. Morton until it became evident that Mr. Morton could not receive the nomination, and he then cast his vote for Rutherford B. Hayes for President.
In religion our subject is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1872 he was appointed a lay delegate to the annual conference of the church. He has ever taken a lively interest in the work of the church and has given aid and influence to many of its collateral charities and benevolences, not confining his efforts to the one denomination alone, but having manifested a marked liberality in all lines where good was to be accomplished.
A grievous loss was that which came to Mr. Arnold on the 16th of February, 1889, when his devoted and cherished wife was summoned into eternal rest. She was a woman of gentle refinement and beautiful character, and she had so lived as to gain the esteem and love of a very large circle of acquaintances. She had been for many years a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and hers was the faith that makes faithful. September 3, 1890, Mr. Arnold consummated a second marriage, being then united to Mrs. Angel Clark, who presides with gracious dignity over his attractive home. Mrs. Arnold is a member of the Methodist Church, and is active in all good work.