\osborne\biograph\newbio16  Updated: 1/28/2015

Bio. of Stephen Osborn-6464


   An Illustrated History of Baker, Grant, Malheur and Harney
   Counties (Oregon), Chicago, Western Historical Publishing Co.,
   1902.  Page 242.  (Contributed by Joe Osborn)
   [See the bio. of M.S. Warren-6465]

STEPHEN OSBORN
   The birth of Mr. Osborn was on January 8, 1847, near Milan, Sullivan
county, Missouri, his parents being Hiram and Drusilla Osborn.  One year
after his birth he was taken by his parents to Grundy county in the same
state and there he remained until he was fifteen years of age, receiving
meanwhile his educational training in the public schools of that county.
When he had arrrived to that interesting age of fifteen years he accompanied
his father across the plains, making the entire journey with ox teams and
the following year, 1863, he settled on the place where we find him at the
present time, eight miles west from Baker City; the remainder of the family,
the father and son, followed in 1864.  His farm is well improved with
substantial buildings, and thrift and taste are manifested throughout; while
in additon to this place he owns about twelve hundred acres of hay and
farming land, which also is well improved and tilled.  He feeds every winter
about five hundred head of cattle, being one of the leading stockmen of the
county.  He affiliates with the I.O.O.F., Wingville Lodge, NO. 69, and is
also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, where he is well
esteemed and a prominent figure, being an ardent supporter of his faith both
by precept and practical exemplification of the principles of Christianity.
   Mr. Osborn and Miss Lettie, daughter of John W. and Mary Coleman, were
married in Wingville on March 2, 1871, and the fruit of this union is nine
children, six of whom are at home, their names being as follows: Orin,
Pearl, Beulah, Jessie, Rowena, Louis. The three eldest, George, Homer and
John, died with the diphtheria.


Bio. of M.S. Warren-6465


   An Illustrated History of Baker, Grant, Malheur and Harney
   Counties (Oregon), Chicago, Western Historical Publishing Co. 1902.
   Page 234.  (Contributed by Joe Osborn)
   [See the bio. of Stephen Osborn-6464]

M.S. WARREN
   The birth of Mr. Warren occured on July 3, 1837, in Somerset, Pulaski,
Kentucky, being the son of William and Elizabeth Warren, and in his native
he spent the first eighteen years of his life, being but poorly favored with
school advantages, which lack, however, he has well made up by careful and
continuous reading since.  In 1855 he came to Grundy county, Missouri, and
there engaged in farming until 1864, when he joined the stream of
immigration to the pacific coast and with ox teams made the weary and
dangerous journey from Missouri to his present ranch, consuming six months
on the road.  He immediately set himself to the task of development and
improvement of his western home, and his efforts were soon apparent in the
thrifty appearance an substantial returns that he received from his land.
In 1877 he went to Union county and for twenty years he labored and gained
success there and then he came back to his old homestead and is there now,
spending the golden years that begin to draw on apace, comfortably
established on the land where he first broke the sod in the wild scenes of
the west.  Mr. Warren has passed the days of the years of his stay here in
most commendable manifestations of unswerving integrity and real moral worth
of the highest type.
   The marriage of Mr. Warren and Miss Mary A., daughter of Hiram and
Drusilla Osborn, and a native of Franklin county, Missouri, was solemnized
on June 20, 1860, and they have become the parents of the following
children: William; Lora; Leah; Tyra, wife of Pearl Cornell, and living in
Union; Hiram.


Bio. of John M. Osborn


   History of Hillsdale County, Michigan, Philadelphia, Everts &
   Abbott, 1879.  Page 185.  (transcript)
   [See the 1888 bio. of John M. Osborn]
   [See the 1903 bio. of John M. Osborn]

Hon. John M. Osborn.
   John Osborn, the father of our subject, was a native of Connecticut, who
in early life was married to Mercy A. Swift, of Eastern New York.  In 1840
he emigrated to Michigan, and settled in the village of Hudson, where for
the next eight years he worked at his trade, that of carpenter and joiner,
and also as contractor in laying the superstructure of the Michigan Southern
Railroad.  In 1847 he and his son purchased a farm of eighty acres, on the
east line of the township of Pittsford, in Hillsdale Co., adjoining the
village of Hudson, to which John M. added sixty acres more; this became the
permanent home of the family.  Mrs. Mercy Osborn died in 1865, at the age of
seventy-two years, and Mr. John Osborn two years afterwards, at the age of
seventy-six years.  They were the parents of two children, -- John M. and
Delora.
   John M. was born in the town of Perrinton, near Fairport, Monroe Co.,
N.Y., on the 9th day of March, 1819.  Until sixteen years of age he was kept
at school, and he became proficient in the  English branches, especially the
mathematics.  After nineteen years of age he was alternately engaged winters
in teaching, and summers in farm labor and other employments, for the next
eight years.  About the time he reached his majority he came with his father
to Michigan, and was soon after employed in the engineer corps of the
Michigan Southern Railroad, in establishing the grade for superstructure of
that great thoroughfare.  Having accumulated some capital, he, in 1846, in
company with his brother-in-law, Wm. Baker, went into the mercantile trade,
which in those days comprehended and included dry-goods and groceries,
buying and selling all kinds of farm produce, in short, general traffic in
everything there was to buy or sell.  This business was carried on with some
changes in the company, such as at first the firm-name of J.M. Osborn & Co.,
Osborn, Eaton & Co., and then again J.M. Osborn & Co., until 1858, when he
retired from the business.  From this time until 1851 he was extensively
engaged in the purchase and shipment of black-walnut lumber, at all
available points in Michigan and Indiana.  He then again became engaged in
the mercantile business in Hudson, under the name of Osborn & Eaton; at the
expiration of five years they closed up their business.  Soon after this, in
order to protect his own financial interests, Mr. Osborn was compelled to
purchase the stock of an insolvent firm, for whom he had been a heavy
indorser.  He again carried on the mercantile business for two years, when
he closed up and retired from trade.  In 1867 he organized and opened the
banking house of Osborn, Perkins & Co., of Hudson, in which he continued
until 1876, when he retired from the firm,since which he has not been
actively engaged in business, except in overseeing his farm and various
other property interest in Hudson and elsewhere.  Mr. Osborn has been
married twice.  His first wife was Miss Elizabeth E. Daniels, of Hudson.
They were married in 1851, and her death occurred in 1866, at the age of
thirty-nine years.  After four years of dreary loneliness he filled the
vacancy in his home by choosing another companion, -- Mrs. Harriet A. White
Robinson, daughter of the Rev. Wm. White, of Linden, Mich.
   His union with this intelligent and companionable lady has been
productive of much happiness to both, and they ware known and appreciated in
society by a large circle of warm and admiring friends.
   Mr. Osborn's business life has been one of success; his sound, practical
judgment, shrewdness, and sagacity, with his large experience in so many
different branches of business, his keen, intuitive perception and knowledge
of human nature, together with an open-handed, generous disposition and an
honesty of purpose in all his dealing that no love of gain could swerve,
have gained for him the unlimited confidence and esteem of all.  He has
served, with honor to himself and profit to his constituents, two
consecutive terms in the Legislature of the State, as representative, and
afterwards one term as senator, besides numerous other less important
positions of trust and responsibility in his locality.
   Politically, he was originally a Democrat, but on the unholy affiliation
of that party with the cause of Southern slavery he repudiated it, and with
his characteristic zeal and influence has been known ever since as an active
adherent of the Republican party.
   His sister, Delora, was born at the old home in New York, on the 9th day
of March, 1821.  The birthdays of the brother and sister both occurring on
the same day of the same month, their custom is (and one they never miss) to
dine together on that anniversary.
   She was in early life married to William Baker, a well-known business man
of Hudson, who died in 1870, leaving his widow and two sons -- named John M.
and Gamaliel O. -- in good circumstances.  She resides in a beautiful home
in the suburbs of Hudson, near the residence of her brother.
   Mr. Osborn is at this time erecting a substantial brick residence on his
farm, a fine view of which may be seen on another page of this work.


Bio. of John M. Osborn


   Portrait and Biographical Album of Lenawee County, Mich.,
   Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1888.  Page 1180.  (transcript)
      The same bio. appears in
   Portrait and Biographical Album of Hillsdale County, Mich.,
   Chicago, Chapman Brothers, 1888.  Page 255.  (Bio. accompanied by
   a portrait of John M. Osborn)
   [See the 1879 bio. of John M. Osborn]
   [See the 1903 bio. of John M. Osborn]

HON. JOHN M. OSBORN was born in Perrinton, Monroe Co., N.Y., March 9, 1819,
and is the scion of an excellent old family which came to this country from
England during the Colonial days.  His paternal great-grandfather was loyal
to the Crown during the Revolutionary War and afterward returned to England.
Tradition reports that his estate was confiscated as the result of Colonial
success and the absence of claimants.  The paternal grandfather of our
subject was, it is supposed, a native of Connecticut, where he was married
and where his son John, the father of our subject, was born.  The latter was
quite young at the time of his father's decease, and soon afterward became a
member of the family of one Mr. Kellogg, of Eastern New York, with whom he
lived until able to support himself.
   John Osborn, the father, learned the trade of cabinet-maker and
subsequently that of carpenter and joiner.  Upon the outbreak of the War of
1812, he enlisted, and was among those who crossed the river at the storming
of Queenston Heights.  After a severe engagement, for want of support and
being confronted by British reinforcements, the Federals were ordered by the
officer in command to lay down their arms, which they did by throwing them
with their utmost strength into the Niagara River.  John Osborn was soon
afterward paroled, but did service quietly in aiding the transportation of
supplies for soldiers on duty during the war.  After peace was declared he
settled in Perrinton, N.Y., among its earliest pioneers.
   The father of our subject now resumed his trade as carpenter and joiner,
and at one time took a contract for excavation on the Erie Canal, then in
process of construction.  In 1838 he visited Michigan Territory, and
purchased a tract of land on section 17 in Pittsford Township, this county.
He then returned to New York State, where he remained a resident until 1840,
then made his way westward again and worked at his trade in the village of
Lanesville, as the present Hudson was then called.  In the fall of that year
he went back East, and on the 20th of October started with his family for
their new home in Michigan.  They proceeded via the Erie Canal to Buffalo,
and thence by lake to Toledo, where they took cars for Adrian on the Erie
& Kalamazoo Railroad.  The remainder of their journey was made by team.
   Mr. John Osborn located in the village of Hudson and followed his trade
until 1847, when an exchange was made of a residence which John M. had
obtained in Hudson, for eighty acres of the land in Pittsford, the place
which his son, our subject, now occupies.  He followed his trade but little
after this removal, but gave most of his attention to the improvement of the
home, which by the joint efforts of father and son, was transformed into a
most desirable piece of property, both attractive and valuable.  Here the
father resided until his death, which occurred April 28, 1867.  His wife,
formerly Mrs. Mercy Ann Eaton, was a native of Duanesburg, N.Y., and there
were born to them three children: Eliza Ann, who lived to be only about six
years of age; John M., the subject of this sketch, and Delora O., who is now
Mrs. William Baker.  As the birthdays of the two latter occur on the same
day of the same month, namely, March 9, they since 1821 have always visited
together on it recurrence and usually with some extra "lay out" befitting
the occasion.
   Our subject acquired his education in the common schools and mainly prior
to fourteen years of age, after which time he commenced to earn his own
living, working on a farm at $6 per month, with the exception of the winter
season, during which he continued his studies at school.  That early
experience which taught him self-reliance, proved of inestimable value in
after years.  As time progressed and his usefulness increased, his wages as
a farm hand were raised, and when sixteen years old he commanded $13 per
month.  All this time he had not suffered his mind to rust, but had availed
himself of every opportunity to peruse instructive books, acquire a
knowledge of business principles, and keep himself posted upon current
events.  When nineteen years old he commenced teaching school near Fairport,
N.Y., and two years later found him a resident of the new State of Michigan
and a teacher in the young town of Hudson.  He first presided over one of
the pioneer schools which was located on the east side of the river.  The
session was commenced in the rear part of a building, the front of which
was utilized as a grocery.  In the meantime a school-house was in process of
construction and the term was finished in the new building.
   Young Osborn followed teaching in the winter season several terms in that
locality, and during the summer seasons worked first on the Michigan
Southern Railroad, then operated by the State, and in process of
construction from Monroe, Mich., westerly across the State.  As the result
of his reading and study, he proved an efficient assistant to the civil
engineer who was establishing and perfecting the grade, estimating quantity
and value of excavation of embankment, also for material furnished, or for
special labor done.  Mr. O. subsequently aided as laborer in construction,
and afterward in keeping the road in repair in the locality.  When not thus
employed he confined himself to general farm work until 1846.  During that
year, in company with William Baker, engaged in mercantile business, the
firm name being J.M. Osborn & Co.  Their stock consisted of almost
everything required in the household and about the farm, which they parted
from in exchange for all kinds of farm produce, termed "dicker," which had a
broad meaning in those early days of pioneer life.
   Mr. Osborn continued merchandising with some change of partners until
1851, and for seven years was engaged in buying and shipping black walnut
lumber eastward.  In 1858 he opened up as a dry-goods dealer in company with
Mr. S.A. Eaton, under the firm name of Osborn & Eaton, and they conducted
business successfully until 1863; they then sold out, dissolving the
copartnership.  Subsequently Mr. Osborn engaged in a like enterprise three
years, during which time occurred the death of the mother, wife and father.
All this tended to lessen termporarily his life of activity.
   Finally, being strongly importuned, Mr. Osborn lent his aid in organizing
a private bank, under the firm name of Osborn, Perkins, & Co., and which for
several years was conducted under the personal supervision of the senior
partner, and continued until his retirement from the firm.  The institution
is now perpetuated by Thompson Bros.  About 1883 Mr. Osborn was a member of
the company which purchased the Hudson Woodenware Manufactory, which up to
this time had never been a success.  He was chosen to conduct the business,
and under his judicious management the enterprise became a paying
institution.  His business capabilities and his growing experience were now
contributing to make of him one of the leading men in mercantile circles,
and his cool and temperate judgment in all his dealings seldom led him to do
anything in haste or that which was unadvisable.
   Mr. Osborn was a Democrat, politically, in his early manhood, and until
the Free-Soil movement, but as he was conscientiously opposed to slavery,
he identified himself with the Republican party at its organization.  He has
always taken a lively interest in National affairs, and in his township has
been honored with the various offices within the gift of his
fellow-citizens.  He was Clerk of Hudson Township in early years, and
represented Pittsford Township in the County Board of Supervisors three
terms.  In 1869 he was elected a member of the Michigan Legislature, and
succeeded himself in 1871.  In 1875 he was selected to represent his county
as State Senator, and thus has come honestly by his title of Honorable.
Among the social orders he is an affiliant with the Masons, and has
knowledge of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery degrees; also of
thirty-two degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry, and ninety-six degrees of Rite
of Memphis.  He claims to general Christian theology, and favors the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
   Mr. Osborn has been twice married, being first wedded in 1851, to Miss
Elizabeth Daniels, a native of Wayne County, this State.  This lady remained
his companion fifteen years, her death taking place in 1866.  Our subject
was subsequently married, April 5, 1870, to Mrs. Harriet A.W. Robinson, of
Jacksonville, Tompkins Co., N.Y., and who was born May 28, 1832.  Her
father, Rev. William White, was of Quaker parentage, and born in
Rensselaerville, Albany County.  He, however, became connected with the
Baptist Church when quite young, and was a lad fond of reading and study.
He commenced teaching at an early age, and thus earned money which enabled
him to secure a college education.  His ministerial duties began in the
Baptist Church at Trumansburg, N.Y., and he afterward preached at Ithaca.
He left the Empire State for Ohio in the year 1842, and preached in the
cities of Monroeville, Chardon, Clarksfield and Fairfield.  In 1852,
deciding upon another change of location, and also of occupation, he came to
this county and purchased a farm in Wright Township, which he occupied a few
years, then sold out and purchased in Linden Township, Genesee County, where
he spent the rest of his days.  He had married, in early manhood, Miss
Prudent Wickes, who was born at the head of Cayuga Lake, N.Y.  Her father,
Israel P. Wickes, was a carpenter by trade, and owned a fine farm, which
through his manipulation became one of the most beautiful homesteads of that
section.  His wife, the mother of Mrs. O., is still living, being now in her
eightieth year, and makes her home with a son and daughter in the village of
Linden, Genesee County, this State.
   Mr. Osborn was one of the inaugurators and stockholders of the
Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Railroad which runs through Hudson, and which
was constructed in 1887.  He worked earnestly and successfully in behalf of
this road, giving to it the same zeal and conscientious support which has
marked his career as a helper in the various other enterprises which have
tended to the welfare of the people at large.  After this half century or
more of an active and busy life, it is pleasant to not that in all the
vicissitudes of business Mr. Osborn has invariably paid full value for every
obligation incurred.  He is now in the seventieth year of his age, and has
lost little by the accumulation of years, being still active and vigorous,
and possessing in a marked degree the energies and capabilities of his
younger years.  His pictured features in the fine lithographic portrait
accompanying this sketch will be looked upon with interest by the people to
whom his name has been familiar for such a length of time, and to whom his
business talents have proved of such effective service.


Bio. of John M. Osborn


   Compendium History and Biography of Hillsdale County, Michigan,
   Chicago, A.W. Bowen & Co., nd<1903?>.  Page 176.  (transcript)
   [See the 1879 bio. of John M. Osborn]
   [See the 1888 bio. of John M. Osborn]

HON. J.M. OSBORN.
   Nearly ten years have passed since, on December 9, 1893, death ended the
useful labors of Hon. John M. Osborn, of Pittsford township of this county,
and, in that time, his reputation for integrity and force of character, fine
business capacity, uprightness of life and for all the graces of an elevated
manhood has grown and strengthened.  He was born at Perrinton, Monroe
county, New York, on March 9, 1819, the son of John and Mercy Ann
(Swift-Eaton) Osborn, the scion of an excellent old English family, members
of which settled in this country in Colonial days.  His paternal
great-grandfather remained loyal to the crown during our Revolutionary
struggle and at its close returned to England.  At his death, tradition
reports, his estate was confiscated, because the heirs were all citizens of
the new republic on this side of the Atlantic.  His son was a native of New
England, where he married, and where his son, John, father of John M.
Osborn, was born and reared.  After leaving school he learned the trade of
cabinetmaking and subsequently that of carpenter and joiner.  When the War
of 1812 began, he promptly joined the army in his country's defense, and was
in the force that crossed the Niagara River at the storming of Queenstown
Heights, and, after a severe engagement, at great odds against them, for
want of support and by reason of the British receiving reinforcements, they
were ordered to lay down their arms, which they did by throwing them as far
as they could into the river.  Mr. Osborn was soon after paroled, but, to
the end of the war, he quietly did service to his country in aiding the
transportation of supplies to the troops on duty.  After the war was over he
settled at Perrinton, New York, as one of the earliest pioneers of the
section, resumed work at his trade of carpenter and joiner, and, at one
time, took a contract for excavation work on the Erie canal, which was then
in building.  In 1838 he visited this state and bought a tract of land in
Pittsford township, Hillsdale county, and, in 1840, became a resident of the
county, locatings at Lanesville, as Hudson was then called, and there worked
at his trade, in the fall of that year bringing his family to his new home.
He continued work at his trade until 1847, when his son, John M. Osborn,
traded a residence which he owned in the village, for eighty acres of
farming land in the township, which thereafter was a part of the family
homestead, and here the parents died.  They had three children, Eliza Ann,
who died at the age of six years; John M., and Delora O., the recently
deceased wife of William Baker.
   John M. Osborn attended the public schools near his home until he was
about fourteen years old, then began to earn his own living by working on a
farm at six dollars a month, except during the winter months, when he was
able to still attend school, although irregularly.  As time passed, and his
usefulness increased, his wages were increased until they reached the
munificent sum of thirteen dollars a month when he was sixteen.  He was a
great and reflective reader and utilized his spare time on the farm in
improving his education, gaining a cumulative knowledge of business
principles and keeping posted on current events.  When he was nineteen he
began teaching school at Fairport, New York., two years later becoming a
resident of this state and continuing this occupation at Hudson.  His first
school here was opened in the back room of a grocery, but, before the term
had closed, a schoolhouse was built and occupied.  Mr. Osborn remained in
that section of the county for several years, teaching in the winter and
working on the construction of the Michigan Southern Railroad in the summer,
actively assisting the civil engineer in establishing the grade, estimating
the quantity and value of the excavating work, the amount and cost of the
material, and the worth of special labor.  He subsequently worked as a
laborer in constructing and, later, in keeping in repair, the section of the
road near which he lived.  At other times he was engaged in the cultivation
of the soil, farming until 1846.  In that year he formed a partnership
association with William Baker and started a merchandising business under
the name of J.M. Osborn & Co., they trading goods for every kind of farm
produce, and he continued in this enterprise with some change of partners
until 1851.  For seven years following that date he bought and shipped black
walnut lumber to eastern markets.  In 1858 he opened a drygoods store in
partnership with S.A. Eaton, as Osborn & Eaton, and they conducted a
flourishing business until 1863, when they closed the partnership by selling
out.  Mr. Osborn afterward conducted a similar business alone for three
years and during this period death robbed him of both parents and his wife.
A little later, yielding to strong importunity, he formed a partnership with
Moses Perkins, and, as Osborn, Perkins & Co., they organized a bank at
Hudson, which was carried on under the personal supervision of Mr. Osborn
until he retired from the firm.  The institution is now conducted by
Thompson Bros. and is in a flourishing condition.  In 1883 Mr. Osborn was
chosen to manage the affairs of the Hudson woodenware manufactory, and, by
his judicious management, he made the enterprise a paying one, which it had
never been before.  In early life he was a Democrat in politics; but his
opposition to slavery made him a Free-Soiler when that party was organized,
and later he became a Republican.
   Mr. Osborn was honored with almost every office in its gift, and, in
1869, and again in 1871, he was elected to the Legislature.  In 1875 he was
chosen to represent his county in the State Senate, in that body enlarging
the usefulness he had shown and the reputation that he had won as an active
and far-seeing lawmaker in the lower house.  He always took a sagacious
interest in all national affairs, and, although never seeking a Federal
office, he was appointed a U.S. inspector of wagons by President Garfield,
in this position, as in all others, rendering efficient and valuable
service.  In business, in political affairs and in public life, Mr. Osborn
always kept prominently in view the advancement and development of the
community in which he lived.  He was potential in inaugurating and pushing
to a successful completion the construction of the Cincinnati, Jackson &
Michigan Railroad, which runs through Hudson and was completed in 1887.  He
subscribed liberally to the stock of this enterprise and, in every way, gave
it his most zealous and helpful support.  In fraternal circles he was an
enthusiastic Freemason, belonging to lodge, chapter and commandery,
ascending thirty-two round of the mystic ladder of the Scottish Rite, and
ninety-six of that of the rite of Memphis.  In religious affiliation he
belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church.  Mr. Osborn was married three
times.  His first marriage was in 1851, with Miss Elizabeth Daniels, a
native of Wayne county, Michigan, who was his companion for fifteen years,
dying in 1866.  On April 5, 1870, he married with his second wife, Mrs.
Harriet A. (White) Robinson, of Jacksonville, Tompkins county, New York,
who was born on May 28, 1832, the daughter of Rev. William and Prudent
(Wickes) White, of that state.  Her father was of Quaker parentage, but
became a Baptist minister, and, for many years, he was actively engaged in
preaching in New York and Ohio.  In 1852 he settled in Hillsdale county on a
farm he purchased in Wright township, which he sold after a few years'
residence on it, and bought another in Linden township, Genesee county,
where he passed the remainder of his days, dying in old age.  His widow
survived him several years, passing away in 1889, at the home of her son at
Linden in that county.  His third marriage occurred on October 3, 1891, with
Sarah Tucker, a native of Meridian, Cayuga Co., New York, a daughter of
William and Anna (O'Connor) Tucker, natives of Limerick, Ireland, where they
were reared and married, soon after that event coming to America, settling
at Meridian as farmers.  They lived there until their deaths in the later
sixties.  Mrs. Sarah Osborn was reared and educated in New York and came to
Michigan in 1878.


Bio. of Eugene Osbon


   History of Hamilton County, Indiana, Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen & Co.,
   1915.  Page 666.  (transcript)

EUGENE OSBON.
   Indiana has been especially honored in the character and career of her
men of industry.  In every section of the state have been found men born to
leadership in the various vocations; men who have dominated the cause they
represent by reason of their superior intelligence, natural endowments and
force of character.  It is always profitable to study such lives, weigh
their motives and hold up their achievements as a study fitting to inspire
greater activities and a desire for higher excellence on the part of others.
These reflections are suggested by the career of Eugene Osbon, who has
pushed his way to the front ranks and who by a strong and inherent force and
much business ability, directed and controlled by intelligent judgment of
high order has stood for many years as one of the leading business men of
Noblesville.  His success has not come suddenly, but has been the result of
methodical and consecutive labor and the determined application of mental
and physical resources along a rightly defined line.  He has been an
influential factor in the business life of his city for many years.  He has
gained his success, solely through legitimate and worthy means, and stands
today as an admirable type of the self-made man.
   Eugene Osbon, of the firm of Sowerwine and Osbon, was born November 17,
1869, in Federal Hill, a suburb of Noblesville, Indiana.  He is a son of
John Robert and Mary (Gosney) Osbon, both of his parents being born in
Hancock county, Indiana.  Robert Osbon and his wife were raised to maturity
in Hancock county and married there, coming to this county about 1865.  John
R. Osbon engaged in farming in this county until his death in 1882.  His
widow is still living, in Noblesville.
   Eugene Osbon was reared in Noblesville, and received his education in the
public schools of his home city.  His first regular employment was with G.
Heylmann, a wagon and carriage manufacturer of Noblesville.  There he
learned the painting business and followed this occupation with this firm
for five years.  He then became a clerk in a novelty store of D.F. Moss in
Noblesville and after two years service in this store became a clerk in the
dry goods store of the Underwood Brothers.  Two years later he became a
clerk in the Daniel Craycraft store and remained there until the death of
Mr. Craycraft.  At the death of the senior Craycraft Mr. Osbon bought an
interest in the store and continued his connection with George Craycraft
until the firm of Sowerwine & Osbon was established in 1910.  The firm of
Sowerwine & Osbon is one of the most prosperous mercantile establishments in
the city of Noblesville today, and does a large and increasing business in
the city and in the county.  A description of this store is given elsewhere
in this volume in the sketch of Mr. Sowerwine, the other member of the firm.
It is sufficient to say here that Mr. Osbon brought to the firm a record of
years of useful and efficient service in the mercantile business, and is
equally deserving of the remarkable success which has attended the firm.
   Mr. Osbon was married in Louisville, Kentucky, September 14, 1893, to
Gertrude Taylor, the daughter of D.K. Taylor and Anna (Boton) Taylor, at
that time residents of Louisville.  D.K. Taylor was an experienced newspaper
man and had been connected for many years with the Louisville Courier
Journal.  Both of Mrs. Osbon's parents are now living in Noblesville.  Mr.
and Mrs. Osbon are the parents of two daughters, Dorothy M., who was
graduated from the Noblesville high school and who is now a student in the
College of Music at Indianapolis; and Carolyn A., who is now a student in
the Noblesville high school.
   The Republican party has always claimed the support of Mr. Osbon and he
has always taken an interest in political affairs but he has never been an
applicant for any public office.  He has been so busy with his mercantile
business that he has not had any time to devote to the political game.  He
is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and has attained to the chapter
and council degrees, in that fraternity.  He also holds membership in the
Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America.  He and his family are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church and give it their earnest support
at all times.  The life of Mr. Osbon has been such as to elicit just praise
from those who know him best, since he has always been loyal to trusts
imposed upon him.  He is a man whose interests have always been connected
with the business world and he has been uniformly fair in all his dealings
with his fellow men, while at the same time he has always given his support
to the advancement of any cause pertaining to the welfare of the community
at large.


Reminiscences of James Riley Osborn


   The Osborn Oracle, Vol. III, No. 1, March, 1972.

Page 5.
I have been intending to give a short sketch of my father's and mother's
people, so far as I have learned it from them.  I now set about the sketch;
I am the oldest of the Osborn family living in this section of the country.
I probably know as much or more abouth this matter as anyone.  My
grandfather, Elijah Osborn, was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia.  There
was a large family of them.  I remember hearing my father speak of James,
John and Levi as brothers of Elijah, my grandfather Osborn.  The male
members of the family moved from Virginia.  Some went to Ohio, some to
Indiana and my grand father to Kentucky and settled in Casey County on
Green River Knobb.  He married a woman by the name of Mary Warren.  They
raised a large family of children, eight men and two women.  The names of
their children are as follows: Elizabeth, James, Levi, John, Mary, Bayley,
Caswell, Warren, Gilbert, and Riley.  Elijah Osborn was a tall man of fair
complexion and lived to be quite an old man.  His wife was a good woman.
She was of medium height, rather dark complexion and quite heavy built,
possessed of good strong sense, a good wife, a loving and affectionate
mother and had the confidence of the children.  His wife lived to see her
children grow up.  She died about the year 1835.

Page 3.
Elizabeth, the oldest child of Elijah and Mary (nee Warren) Osborn was born
1805.  She lived to be quite an old woman.  Her complexion was fair, light
hair, rather under medium height and quite stout build.  She married a man
by the name of Travis Elliot.  They had born to them five children, viz:
James Porter, John Warren, Travis Gaylin, Mary Ann and Angeline.  James P.
their oldest child, grew up to be a stout rugged man; and having lost his
father, his mother had settled in the eastern part of Montgomery County.
There was in Audubon a steam grist and saw mill.  James P. was employed as
a fireman for the mill at first and finally became engineer.  He bacame
quite an expert at engineering.  He died quite young.  Mrs. Elliott finally
moved to Gentry Count, Missouri and died there about the year of 1875.

James Osborn was born in Casey County, Kentucky in 1806.  He was rather a
tall man of light complexion, light sandy hair, blue eyes.  He came to this
county with my father and mother in the fall of 1830.  He came single, but
married a year after he came to Miss Ann Grantham, a worthy and good woman.
She became the mother of two children, both girls; named Mary and Elizabeth.


Bio. of Leander Osborn-1255


   History of Cass County, Michigan, Chicago, Waterman, Watkins & Co.,
   1882.  Page 100.  (transcript)
   [See the 1882 Bio. of Charles Osborn-1016]

   Dr. Leander Osborn was born December 27, 1825, in Wayne Co., Ind., and in
1835, removed with the family of his father, Josiah Osborn, to Cass County,
settling in Calvin Township, then an almost unbroken wilderness.  There were
no schools in the neighborhood, and he received the rudiments of an
education at home, his mother being his teacher.  The first occupation to
which he devoted himself after arriving at his majority was teaching a
district school.  He was examined by and received a certificate from Dr.
Taylor and the Rev. George Miner, who complimented him highly upon his
acquirements.  His school was in what was known as the "Shavehead District,"
in Porter Township.  Shortly after this he made the acuaintance of Dr. E.J.
Bonine, then a young practitioner in Cassopolis, and determined to study and
follow the medical profession.  He commenced reading with Dr. Bonine in
1847; attended the usual course of lectures at the Rush Medical College, of
Chicago, in 1851 and 1852, and commenced the practice of his profession in
Vandalia in 1853.  For two years he was in partnership with Dr. Bonine.  In
1856, he was elected Justice of the Peace, and has since occupied that
office continuously, with the exception of an interval of two years.  He had
previously held the office of Supervisor of Calvin Township.  In 1866, he
was elected to the State Legislature, served two years and had the pleasure
of voting to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States.  Dr. Osborn was married November 12, 1854, to Miss Helen M.
Beall, of Centerville, Wayne County, Ind.


1882 Bio. of Charles Osborn-1016


   History of Cass County, Michigan, Chicago, Waterman, Watkins & Co.,
   1882.  Page 261.  (transcript)
   [See the 1872 bio. of Charles Osborn-1016]
   [See another 1882 bio. of Charles Osborn-1016]
   [See the bio. of Leander Osborn-1255]
   [See the bio. of Jefferson Osborn-1254]

CHARLES OSBORN.
   Charles Osborn was born in Guilford County, N.C., in 1776, and commenced
the ministry in the Friends Church about 1806 or 1808.  He traveled and
preached wherever there were Quakers for thirty years.  A copy of his diary,
as published, shows that his journeys in the interest of his religious
belief extended to the British Isles and nearly all continental Europe, as
well as the United States.  He was accorded a head seat wherever he was,
even Joseph John Gruney refusing to take a seat above him, and was held in
esteem wherever the name of Quaker was known.  He was one of the earliest
and most extreme of the abolition preachers, and devoted much of the
energies of the best portion of his life in promoting the interests of the
cause he so heartily espoused.  There was a controversy on this subject
within the Richmond Yearly Meeting (Indiana), which proscribed Osborn and
several others "for their zeal in the cause of anti-slavery," but refused to
state the cause in those words; but said they were disqualified for their
position.  This resulted in a separation, and Osborn died in 1850, before
the two wings came together.  They did come together, however, and the
testimonial of his church, written soon after his death, shows that, having
at an early period of his life seen the injustice and cruelty of slavery, he
"engaged in the formation of associations for the relief of its victims,
under the denomination of Manumission Societies."  His diary shows that he
began their formation in 1815 in Tennessee, the first society being
organized with six members.  He endeavored not only to enlist the feelings
and the secure the co-operation of members of his own society, but also all
others, and at that early day advocated and maintained the only true and
Christian grounds -- immediate and unconditional emancipation.  In 1816, the
Colonization Society was formed, which he promptly and energetically
opposed.
   The first paper ever published which advocated the doctrine of immediate
and unconditional emancipation, was issued by Charles Osborn, at Mount
Pleasant, Jefferson Co., Ohio, in 1816, entitled the Philanthropist, which
was published about one year.  He was one of the first, if not the very
first, in the United States who advocated the doctrine of the impropriety of
using the products of slave labor.  Benjamin Lundy, who was also a Quaker
preacher, became imbued with Osborn's doctrines, worked in the office and
occasionally wrote for the paper, and it was here that was originated the
germ of Lundy's subsequent operations.  Mr. Embree commenced the publication
of a paper called the Emancipator at Jonesboro, Tenn.  Lundy purchased the
material for the paper, and in 1821 issued the Genius of Universal
Emancipation, which was a successor to the Philanthropist, established at
Mount Pleasant by Charles Osborn.  Lundy has been erroneously credited in
all histories hitherto published with having published the first
anti-slavery paper, whereas he was simply an occasional contributor to its
columns.
   In 1833, he was chosen as Indiana's delegate to the World's Anti-slavery
Convention, which was held in London, England, and started to attend the
convention, but was forced to return home on account of poor health.  Let
honor be accorded to whom honor is due, and no more fitting tribute can be
paid his memory than that paid by William Lloyd Garrison, who, on meeting in
Cleveland in 1847, a friend of Oshorn's who mentioned his name, said:
"Charles Osborn is the father of all us Abolitionists."
   From 1842 to 1847, Charles Osborn was a resident of Penn, owning a farm
opposite James E. Bonine's.  His death occurred in Indiana, to which place
he removed at the latter date.  He was twice married, having by his first
wife, nee Neuman, seven children, only one of whom, Elijah, in Calvin, is
still living.  Jefferson, of Calvin, and Dr. Leander Osborn, of Vandalia,
both sons of Josiah Osborn, are his grandchildren.  By his second wife, nee
Hannah Swain, he had nine children, five of whom are still living; two in
this county -- Jordan P., who is a resident of Cassopolis, and Mrs. James B.
Bonine, of Penn, at whose residence her mother died, some three years since.


Bio. of Jefferson Osborn-1254


   Portrait and Biographical Record of Berrien and Cass Counties,
   Michigan, Chicago, Biographical Publishing Co., 1893.
   Page 215.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of Charles Osborn-1016]
   [See the 1882 Bio. of Charles Osborn-1016]
   [See the bio. of Isaiah Osborn-1224]
   [See the Genealogy of the Sharpless Family]

JEFFERSON OSBORN, one of Cass County's leading horticulturists and one of
the earliest pioneers of the township of Calvin, was born in Wayne County,
Ind., near Richmond, January 2, 1824, a son of Josiah and Mary (Barnard)
Osborn.  Josiah Osborn was born in Tennessee in March, 1800, and was next to
the eldest in a family of sixteen children.  His father, Charles Osborn, was
twice married, there being seven children by the first and nine by the
second marriage.  Charles, the grandfather of Jefferson, was born in North
Carolina, August 8, 1775, and was the son of Daniel and Margaret Osborn.
   The ancestry of the Osborn family came from Wales.  The exact date or the
name of the original emigrant is not within reach of the writer, but the
fact that Charles was born in North Carolina in 1775, and that his father,
Daniel, was also born in that State, would seem to indicate that it must
have been early in the eighteenth century that the family became identified
with the history of the State.  Back to the most remote date to which we
have been able to trace them, we find that the Osborns were prominent
Quakers and very influential in that society.  Grandfather Osborn was the
most noted of all the family.  Early in life he showed his devotion to the
faith of his forefathers, and while his parents were people of moderate
means, he applied himself to his studies and through his own exertions
became a very learned man.
   At the age of twenty-three years Charles Osborn was united in marriage
with Sarah Newman.  In 1808 we find him in Tennessee, one of the most
powerful and eloquent Quaker preachers of his day and generation.  He was a
most pronounced Abolitionist, and in 1814 he took a bold stand for the
abolition of human slavery; in fact, he advocated with tongue and pen the
immediate and unconditional emancipation of the slaves, and was the first
man in the United States to date to take such a stand and publically
advocate it.  This departure on his part created wide-spread consternation
throughout the entire country, but more especially in the South.
So determined was he on this course that it caused a division in his own
(the Friend's) church, and two years later, or in 1816, he was so persecuted
for upholding his views that he was compelled to leave Tennessee.
   With his family and those of his church who upheld him, Charles Osborn
went to Ohio and settled at Mt. Pleasant, where he established a paper
called The Philanthropist, which was the first paper ever established to
advocate the emancipation of the slaves.  He did not meet with a very hearty
endorsement of his plan in Ohio, and three years later we find him and his
followers wending their way to Indiana and locating in Wayne County.  There
he not only preached the Gospel, but continued to publicly advocate the
emancipation of the slaves, and his sermons, lectures and newspaper articles
were published far and near and in many cases most severly criticised, but
he was nothing daunted.  He kept right on in what he believed to be right
and in what he hoped to see accomplished in his day.
   In 1832 Charles Osborn made an extended tour of the Old World, ostensibly
in the interests of his church, but more likely it was to work up a feeling
against human slavery in his own "free" land, and in this way to add
strength to his position on this all-important question.  He remained abroad
for a year and a-half and then returned to Indiana and continued his work in
that State until 1842, when he came to Michigan, locating in Vandalia, Cass
County, where he remained until 1848.  He then returned to Indiana and
located at Clear Lake, in Porter County, where he lived until his death,
December 29, 1850.  The ambition of his life had been to see the slaves
free, but he died without witnessing the fruits of his labor, though still
confident that the day of emancipation was not far distant.  He knew much of
the workings of the so-called "underground railroad" and was known to have
kept one of the stations inside of which a runaway slave was safe.  When he
passed away the negro lost a true friend, the church an eloquent preacher,
and the country an able and forcible writer; yet his writings were not all
applauded and were sometimes bitterly condemned, still they had much to do
with the final emancipation of the slave.
   As above state, Charles Osborn was twice married, his first wife being
Sarah Newman, who bore him six sons and one daughter.  James, the eldest,
was prominent as a teacher; Josiah, the father of our subject, was a
mechanic; Lydia married Eli Newlan, who was an influential preacher in the
Quaker Church;  John was well known as one of the leading horticulturists of
his day; Isaiah was a preacher in the Society of Friends; Elijah followed
the occupation of a farmer; and Elihu also engaged in farming pursuits.  The
mother of this family died in Tennessee, and Mr. Osborn afterward married
Hannah, the daughter of Elihu and Sarah Swain, leading Quakers of Tennessee.
She bore him nine chidren, four daughters and five sons, as follows:
Narcissa, Cynthia, Gideon, Charles N., Parker, Jordon, Benjamin, Sarah and
Anna, all of whom were engaged in the ordinary pursuits of life.  Jordon is
living in Cassopolis; Anna married Jesse East and resides in Buchanan,
Mich.; Charles and Parker make their home in Clinton County, Ohio.
   Josiah Osborn, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a
cabinet-maker by trade, a man of but ordinary education but well informed.
He was a prominent member of the Quaker Church and like his father was a
most pronounced Abolitionist.  It was not his privilege either to see the
emancipation of the slaves, as he died in 1862, during the progress of the
Civil War.  He married for his first wife Miss Mary, the daughter of Uriah
and Elizabeth (Macy) Barnard.  The Barnard and Macy families were natives of
the Island of Nantucket, and were of English ancestry.  By occupation they
were sea-faring men and whalers.  The mother of our subject was born in Ohio
October 19, 1800.  Her father was born at Nantucket on the 27th of August,
1761; her mother, who was the daughter of Joseph and Mary Macy, was born at
Nantucket October 14, 1763.
   The family of Mr. and Mrs. Macy consisted of ten children, as follows:
Jethro, who was born on Christmas Day, 1782; Joseph, whose birth occurred in
1784; Love, December 31, 1786; Hannah, in 1788; Elizabeth, March 26, 1790;
Anna, May 28, 1794; George, September 7, 1798; Mary, October 19, 1800;
William, June 29, 1803; and John, March 2, 1806.  Josiah and Mary (Barnard)
Osborn were the parents of seven children.  The eldest, Elison, married
East, who died leaving two sons and two daughters.  Thy now live in
Missouri, where he is engaged in the occupation of farming and is a
prominent member of the Quaker Church.  Jefferson, the next in order of
birth, will be mentioned more fully further on in this sketch.  Leander, the
third child, married Mary Helen Beal, and they have two children, both boys.
He is a graduate of the Chicago Medical College and a successful physician
at Vandalia, Cass County, Mich.  Obid married Jane Taylor, and after her
death he again married, choosing as his wife Miss Priscilla Glass; they have
had three children, only one of whom is now living.  Their home is in Van
Buren County, Mich., where Mr. Osborn is engaged as a farmer, although in
early life he followed the profession of a school teacher.  Louisa married
Alonzo Evans; Angeline became the wife of James Oron; Charles chose for his
wife Miss Mary Glass, and now lies at Eureka, Kan., where he is a successful
stock-raiser.
   The mother of these children died in Cass County in 1851, and the father
afterward married Eliza Malory, a native of the State of Vermont.  There
were no children by this marriage.  After the death of Mr. Osborn, in 1862,
his widow returned to Poultney, Rutland County, Vt., where she now makes her
home.  The gentleman whose name heads this sketch came to Michigan from
Indiana in 1835, when he was eleven years old, and settled with his parents
in Calvin Township, Cass County.  What education he received was in the
schools of Indiana prior to removing to Michigan, for the advantages in this
part of the State were limited in those days.  He had to help clear up the
farm in the then heavily timbered country, and experienced the hardship
incident to life in a new country.
   At the age of twenty-three Jefferson Osborn married Frances Tharp, the
daughter of Levi and Nancy Tharp, pioneers of Michigan and members of old
Virginia families.  After his marriage he located on a farm hear his
father's home and just south of where he now lives.  His wife died in 1851,
leaving two children.  LeRoy, who was born June 15, 1848, was educated at
Niles and Ann Arbor, Mich., and now lives in Cassopolis.  He married Miss
Lydia E. Chess, and they have three children: Don F., Louis J. and Robert.
Clara E. was born January 21, 1850, and was educated at Niles.  She died at
Jacksonville, Fla., in May, 1888, where her father had taken her, hoping
that the change of climate would benefit her health.
   In 1853 Mr. Osborn married Mrs. Susanna (East) Osborn, the daughter of
Joel and Sarah East.  Her father was born in Grayson County, Va., September
26, 1802, and was the son of William East, likewise a native of the Old
Dominion and a member of a well-known Quaker family.  Joel East was a
leading preacher in the Society of Friends, and went to Tennessee from
Virginia and from there to Richmond, Ind., where Mrs. Osborn was born
October 10, 1829.  Her mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Bulla, was born
in Wayne County, Ind., in 1809, her parents, Thomas and Susanna Bulla, being
members of an old North Carolina family.  The East family was represented in
Calvin Township during the very first days of its development.  Mrs. Osborn
was a widow at the time of her marriage to our subject, having formerly been
the wife of his uncle Benjamin, the youngest son of Charles Osborn.
Benjamin Osborn died in September, 1849, leaving one child, a daughter,
Cynthia Ann, who afterward married an Englishman, George Pullen, and now
resides in Calvin Township.  Mrs. Osborn came to Michigan with her parents
in 1832, when she was but three years of age, and has lived in Cass County
ever since.
   Two children have been born of the second union of Mr. Osborn.  Mary
Frances, who was born December 8, 1853, married Irving Mitchell,
Superintendent of Schools at Milwaukee, Wis.;  they have no children.  Frank
Russell, whose birth occurred on the 7th of September, 1858, married Miss
Mary Lee, and is now a successful orange-grower at De Land, Fla.  The three
children born of this union all died in infancy and the wife and mother
passed away in the spring of 1893.
   Like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, the subject of this
sketch was formerly an Abolitionist.  His first vote was cast in that party,
and like his forefathers he was known to have been a "director" in the great
"underground railroad."  In 1854 he was elected County Treasurer of Cass
County and filled the office most creditably for four years.  He has also
served as County Supervisor, Township Treasurer, and was for more than
twenty years a Justice of the Peace.  Upon the organization of the
Republican party he cast in his lot with that organization and from that day
to this has been a most ardent supporter of its principles.
   Mr. Osborn's life occupation has been that of a farmer and
horticulturist.  In 1867 he went to Niles, where he resided for some years
while he was educating his children.  Upon his return to Calvin Township,
some seventeen years ago, he located on the farm where he has ever since
resided and where he and his most estimable wife are spending their
declining years, surrounded by all the comforts of life in their pleasant
home.  They have ever adhered to the religion of their forefathers and are
most exemplary members of the Society of Friends.  Many years ago Mr. Osborn
became a member of the Masonic fraternity, which is a little out of the
usual order of the Quaker Church, yet not prohibited in later years.


Bio. of George R. Osborn-6217


   History of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Chicago, S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
   1921.  Page 504.  (transcript)  (bio. accompanied by photograph)
   [See the bio. of Jonathan William Osborn-6208]

GEORGE R. OSBORN, M.D.
   Dr. George R. Osborn, a member of the medical profession in Tulsa, making
a specialty in his practice of obstetrics and gynecology, was born in Perry,
Iowa, February 17, 1875, his parents being Jonathan W. and Eliza Osborn,
both of whom are natives of Laporte county, Indiana, and now reside in
Hanna, Indiana, the father having put aside the active work of the farm, so
that he is living retired.  Some years ago he removed to Iowa, where for a
long period he profitably carried on agricultural pursuits and then returned
to Laporte county, taking up his abode in Hanna.  He is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also of the Methodist Episcopal church.
To him and his wife have been born eight children and theirs is a notable
record, inasmuch as the family circle remains unbroken by the hand of death.
   Dr. Osborn was educated in the public schools, passing through
consecutive grades until he completed a high school course, and later spent
a term as a student in the Valparaiso (Ind.) University.  He then entered
the University of Illinois as a medical student and won his professional
degree upon graduation with the class of 1906.  He practiced in Laporte,
Indiana, from June, 1906, until January 6, 1918, when he was called to
service in the United States army.  While a representative of the profession
in Laporte he became a member of the Laporte County Medical Society, the
Indiana State Medical Association and the American Medical Association.  He
joined the army in response to the country's need for medical officers in
the World war and was stationed for a time at Fort Riley, after which he
went overseas to France.  Dr. Osborn entered the service with the rank of
captain and was later promoted to the rank of major.  He saw fourteen
months' active service in the hospitals of Paris and other parts of France,
being in the American Red Cross Military Hospital, No. 8. and also in
Military Hospital, No. 3, his attention being devoted to surgical work.
After the signing of the armistice he spent four months as a student in the
University of Paris School of Medicine and on the 28th of July, 1919,
returned to the United States, receiving his discharge on the 13th of August
following.  He then came to Tulsa and through the intervening period his
practice has steadily increased in volume and importance.  While he has been
a resident here for a comparatively brief period, his ability has made him
one of the leaders of the profession and he is now successfully practicing,
especially as a gynecologist and obstetrician.  He belongs to the Tulsa
County, Oklahoma State and American Medical Associations.  In 1921 he was
elected to fellowship in the American College of Surgeons.
   In 1895 Dr. Osborn was married to Miss Della Bunnell of Laporte, Indiana,
and they became the parents of two children, Barbara and John A., aged
respectively fourteen and seven years.  Dr. Osborn belongs to the Kiwanis
Club of Tulsa and he is a Mason, having membership in the lodge at Laporte,
Indiana.  He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
in which he has filled most of the chairs.  While residing in Laporte he
served as coroner for two terms and was county health commissioner for four
years, but has never sought office outside the strict path of his
profession.  He belongs to the Christian church and the sterling worth of
his character is attested by all who know him.


Bio. of Nathan Osborn-12652


   History of St. Joseph County, Michigan, Philadelphia, L.H. Everts & Co.,
   1877.  Page 231.  (transcript)  (bio. accompanied by photograph)
   [See the bio. of George W. Osborn-15561]

HON. NATHAN OSBORN.
   He, of whose life we write a brief sketch, was born in Windham, Green
county, New York, on the 10th day of March, 1803.  His father was the
Rev. Enos Osborn, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and who
was born in Middlebury, Connecticut, in 1774, and removed to St. Joseph
county, Michigan, with his son Nathan in 1838.  He preached for several
years to the people of St. Joseph county, among whom he lived nearly
forty years, dying in their midst in February, 1876, at the advanced age of
ninety-two years and six months.  His wife was Naomi Wooster (a descendant
of General Wooster, of Revolutionary memory).  Nathan Osborn was the
youngest of her four children, and was educated in the district-schools
of Catskill, New York.  He studied surveying, however, under Professor
Gilbert and Surveyor-General Campbell, of Otsego county, New York.
   Judge Osborn moved from Windham to Milford, Otsego county, and
engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods for about two years, removed
thence to Cooperstown for a short time, thence to Middlefield, in the
same county, and began the study of law in the office of James Brackett,
of Cherry Valley.  In the spring of 1831 he removed to Hornellsville, New
York, where he read law in the office of Judge Baldwin, and was admitted
to the bar of Steuben county in the year 1836.  On his first arrival in St.
Joseph county he located in Florence, on section sixteen, and began the life
of a farmer.  In 1842 he removed to Park township, on the “Reserve,”
where he lived a few years, going from thence to South Bend for a time, and
finally removed to Marcellus, Cass county, where he still resides.  He was
admitted to practice in the St. Joseph county courts in 1839, but did not
give his attention to the legal profession as a business.
   He was elected county surveyor of St. Joseph county in 1842, and also an
associate-justice of the circuit court of the county subsequently; and, when
the county court was reorganized, was elected its first second-judge, and
then to the position of presiding or county judge of the same court.
   Judge Osborn was united in marriage, February 15, 1821, to Miss Polly
Claflin, in Catskill, who was born February 15, 1804.  Their children
were: Jeannette, now Mrs. Robert Crawford, of Kansas; Amanda, afterwards
Mrs. Lewis Kimball, but now dead; George W., and James D., now a
leading lawyer of Goshen, Indiana (and former circuit judge of that State).
Mrs. Osborn died February 8, 1852.
   On the 1st day of November following, Judge Osborn took another companion
Mrs. Rebecca B. Foster, of Ottawa, Illinois, a daughter of Christian
Adler, of Philadelphia.  Two children were the fruits of this marriage,
Lizzie and Bell, the former now Mrs. George W. Jones and the latter
Mrs. L. Poorman, both residing at Marcellus, Cass county.
   On the 3d of February, 1862, Mrs. Rebecca Osborn died, and Judge
Osborn, finding a lonely life insupportable, brought to his hearth another to
make glad his desolate home, Miss Emma J. Blowers, of Lake county.
Illinois, -— whom he married January 22, 1863, and by whom he has had one
child born to him, Ida L., who resides at home.
   Judge Osborn has always been a staunch Democrat in politics, and was an
ardent supporter of General Jackson.  He is liberal in his religious views,
and looks for the elucidation of the mystery concerning man’s past and
future in a correct knowledge of the laws of nature rather than in tl1eological
dogmatising or deductions.


Bio. of George W. Osborn-15561


   History of St. Joseph County, Michigan, Philadelphia, L.H. Everts & Co.,
   1877.  Page 231.  (transcript)  (bio. accompanied by photograph)
   [See the bio. of Nathan Osborn]

GEORGE W. OSBORN.
   The subject of the present sketch was born August 30, 1827, in Middlefield,
Otsego county, New York.  With his parents, Nathan and Polly Osborn
he came to St. Joseph county at the age of eleven years, settling
with them in Florence, and four years later removing to Park, where he
lived at the parental home till 1849, and after his marriage returned again
and assisted his father on his farm until 1853.  From that time until 1863
he pursued the avocation of a farmer in Mendon and Nottawa, and also
engaged in machine-work in Goshen, Indiana.  After a short sojourn in
the latter place, he returned to Parkville, where he followed the trade of
a shoemaker until April, 1876, when he again returned to Mendon, and
leased the farm of Jacob Van Ness, on which he now resides.
   Mr. Osborn was elected supervisor of the township of Park in 1866, and
was retained in the office until he removed from the township, ten years
afterwards. He held also the oflice of justice of the peace in that township
eight years, besides other minor offices.  He has invented lately an improvement
on grain-drills, which bids fair to be of great advantage to the farmer.
   Mr. Osborn was married January 24, 1849, to Ann Eliza, daughter of
Jacob Van Ness, of Mendon.
   Mrs. Osborn was born in Victor, Ontario county, New York, September
4, 1831.  Mr. and Mrs. Osborn’s children are Morris, now married, and
residing in Parkville; Catharine C., now Mrs. Albert Perrin; Fitz Roy
and Al Zoa, —— the two latter at home with their parents.
 In politics, like his father before him, Mr. Osborn is Democratic, and he
and his wife are both liberal in their religious views.