\osborne\biograph\newbio8  1/22/2001

Bio. of William M. Osborn-668


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 120.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of W.T. Osborn-3878]
   [See the bio. of Abner De Haven-680]
   [See the War of 1812 Bounty Land Claim for America Osborn]

   W.M. Osborn, farmer, Covington, is a native of Indiana, and was born
March 9, 1823.  He is the son of Jesse and Margaret (Orr) Osborn, who
became residents of Fountain county in 1824.  They settled on the prairie
in Troy township which has since become known as Osborn's prairie.  There
he entered and bought 480 acres of land.  In 1839 he moved to Missouri,
where he died in 1845.  Mrs. Osborn's death occurred in 1847.  The subject
of this sketch returned to Fountain county, and in 1845 married Miss Mary
E., daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Dickens, who were early and prominent
pioneers of Fountain county.  They have a family of seven children:
Margaret, wife of A. De Haven; Effie, wife of I.M. Brown; Homer, America,
Josephine, Edward and Emma.  Mr. Osborn has one of the finest farms in the
county, consisting of 540 acres.  He has held the office of county
commissioner for a term of four years, and is a man of energy and
enterprise, as was also his father, who was a soldier in the war of 1812,
and who was probably the only survivor of the American troops that were
engaged in the battle of River Reason.


Bio. of W.T. Osborn-3878


   History of Daviess and Gentry Counties, Missouri, Historical
   Publishing Co., Topeka-Indianapolis, 1922.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of William M. Osborn-668]

   W.T. Osborn. a former business man of Gallatin, Daviess County, is now
a traveling salesman but maintains his residence at Gallatin.  Mr. Osborn
is well known in and around Gallatin, where he was born on Nov. 14, 1862.
His parents were Thomas J. and Susan A. (Peniston) Osborn.
   Thomas J. Osborn was born in Fountain Co., Ind., and came to Daviess
County, in the '40's.  He was in the mercantile business in Old Victoria,
an inland town in Jefferson Township, for several years.  In 1850 he located
at Gallatin, where he was in business throughout the period of the Civil
War.  His parents, Jesse Osborn and his wife, settled at Winston, at the
same time that Thomas J. Osborn came to Daviess County.
   Thomas J. Osborn was married the first time to Miss Owen, and to that
union four children were born: James, deceased; Robert O., now a resident
of Los Angeles, Calif.; Homer A., deceased; and Alice, now Mrs. Harvey of
St. Louis.  Mr. Osborn was married the second time to Susan A. Peniston.
She was born three miles east of Gallatin in 1838, the daughter of William
P. and Miss (Walls) Peniston, both natives of Kentucky.  Mr. and Mrs.
Peniston settled in Daviess County, in the early '30's, and Mr. Peniston
became a well known man of the community.  He was instrumental in getting
the first court house of the county erected; served as the sheriff of the
county, and later as the clerk and recorder of the county.  He was a captain
in the State Militia during the trouble in Missouri known as the Mormon War.
   To the union of Thomas J. and Susan A. (Peniston) Osborn the following
children were born: W.T., the subject of this review; Mrs. Frank Casey,
living at Wilson, Okla.; Jesse B., with Wolff Brothers Mercantile Company,
Kansas City, Mo.; Mrs. S.W. Armentrout, Marshall; H.C., a traveling salesman
of Gallatin; Mrs. W.S. Townsend, deceased; and Mrs. Iva Schofield, living in
Oakland, Calif.  Thomas J. Osborn died in 1876 at the age of 52 years, and
his widow now lives with her son, H.C. Osborn, and is, today, the oldest
native born Daviess Countian.
   W.T. Osborn was reared and educated in Gallatin.  He graduated from the
Gallatin High School, and entered the hardware business with T.J. Crain.
He remained in that work for about ten years, then sold his interest in the
business.  He became connected with the Gallatin Dry Goods and Grocery
Company, but disposed of his share of that enterprise a little later.  He
went into the hardware business again as a member of the firm of Osborn
Brothers.  In 1920, the partners in that firm sold the business to C.K.
Connel.  Mr. Osborne<sic> then accepted a position as traveling salesman
for the Tootle-Campbell Dry Goods Company at St. Joseph.  He has northwest
Missouri and southwest Iowa for his territory, and is accounted one of the
most successful men in his line of work.  In 1896 Mr. Osborn built an all
modern home in Gallatin, and he spends every week end there.
   Mr. Osborn was married April 26, 1888 to Minnnie Higgins.  Mrs. Osborn
was born at Brunswick.  Her parents, both now dead, were Robert H. and
Rebecca Higgins, natives of Virginia, and early settlers of Chariton County,
Missouri.  Mr. and Mrs. Osborn have three children: Robert T., born in 1890,
graduated from the Gallatin High School and the Missouri State University,
entered at once the employe of the Refinery of Standard Oil Company, married
Miss Bess Troy of California, and is now Assistant Superintendent of the
Standard Oil Company at Point Richmond, Calif.; Edwin C., graduated from the
Kansas City Dental College at Kansas City, Mo., was commissioned first
lieutenant during the World War, and served in the Dental Corps in various
camps from California to New York, now practicing his profession in St.
Joseph; and Mary Frances, a student in the Gallatin High School.
   Mr. Osborn is a Democrat, and has served on the city council fo a number
of years.  He is identified with the Methodist church, takes an active
interest in the church work, and is a member of the local board of stewards.
He is also a member of the board of directors of the Young Mens' Chritian
Association; is a director of the Gallatin Chautauqua Association; and
belongs to the following lodges; the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodment<sic> of America, and
the progressive citizens of Gallatin, where he is held in high esteem.


Bio. of Robert S. Osborn-731


   The History of Daviess County, Missouri, Birdsall & Dean,
   Kansas City, MO, 1882.  Page 840.  (transcript)

   Robert S. Osborn is a native of Boone county, Missouri, and was born
October 31, 1826.  In April, 1841, he accompanied his parents in their
removal to Daviess county, and has lived upon the farm upon which they
settled in Jefferson township for forty years.  He owns a very desirable
tract of land containing 544 acres, upon which he lives and is engaged in
farming and stock-raising.  His parents, who were natives of Scott county,
Kentucky, are both dead.
   Mr. Osborn was joined in marriage to Miss Maria Osborn, on the 14th of
March, 1850.  Their union was blessed with five children; named,
respectively, Mary E., born March 11, 1851, died November 22, 1856; Parmelia
E. born January 30, 1856; Richard J., born January 8, 1859; Ruth A., born
February 6, 1863; and Stella L., born May 28, 1866, died January 13, 1867.
Mrs. Osborn died April 15, 1872, and her remains repose in their last
resting in Victoria Cemetery.  On the 2d of February, 1873, Mr. Osborn and
Mrs. Agnes Reid were married.  They have two children by this union:
namely, Dudley C., born December 9, 1873; and Clay, born September 28, 1979.
Mrs. Reid was the mother of five children by her first marriage as follows:
Adelbert W., born November 10, 1861; Sarah A., born August 31, 1863; Elsie,
born June 19, 1865; Oscar B., born September 18, 1869, died June 9, 1872;
and Merritt, born June 23, 1871.  Mrs. Agnes Osborn is a regular descendant
of the Randolphs of Virginia.  Mr. Osborn has a vivid remembrance of the
early pioneer days when he ground corn with a hand-mill and had to go
fifteen or twenty miles to a blacksmith shop to get a plow sharpened.


Bio. of Abner DeHaven-680


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 123.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of William M. Osborn-668]

   Abner De Haven, farmer, Covington, is the son of Jacob and Susan (Osborn)
De Haven, whose settlement in Fountain county dates back among the pioneers
of 1828.  They raised a family of eight sons and four daughters.  They
settled in Troy township, where Mr. De Haven, by energy and industry, became
one of the successful and extensive farmers of the township, owning 320
acres of land.  He was a very active member of the Baptist church, a
democrat, and a friend to all educational enterprises.  He was a man whose
name and reputation were above reproach.  He died February 14, 1865, leaving
a widow and family of devoted children to mourn his loss.  Abner De Haven
was born and brought up on a farm.  Having early in life been taught by his
father the true principles of farming, he has followed it as a business
since he grew to man's estate.  He is an energetic, thorough farmer, and
though he now has but eighty acres of land, it is of the choicest kind, and
is being managed by him in such a manner as (should no ill-luck befall him)
to enable him soon to add to it.  In 1868 he married Miss Margaret Osborn,
by whom he has three children.


Bio. of Lucien B. Osborn-174


   Centennial History of Rush County, Indiana, Indianapolis, Historical
   Publishing Co., 1921.  Vol. II, page 275.  (transcript)

   LUCIEN B. OSBORN, a well known farmer of Rushville township now living
retired in Rushville, was born in Union county, this state, but has been a
resident of this county most of his life.  He was born on July 25, 1849, son
of Larkin and May (Howell) Osborn, both of whom spent their last days in
this county.  Larkin Osborn was a native of Kentucky who came up into
Indiana from the Blue Grass state in the days of his young manhood and
settled in the neighborhood of Fairfield, where he married and where he
remained until in 1851 when he came to Rush county with his family and
bought a farm of 225 acres two miles south of town in Rushville township.
In addition to his general farming Larkin Osborn engaged quite extensively
in the raising of live stock, with particular attention to hogs, and
developed a fine piece of property on his farm.  On that place he spent his
last days.  He and his wife were the parents of eight children, three of
whom are still living, the subject of this sketch having two brothers,
Theodore and Lewis, the former of whom also is a resident of Rushville
township.  Lucien B. Osborn grew on the farm and received his schooling at
the Sugar Grove school.  He was but fourteen years of age when his father
died and he thus early began to assume mature responsibilities, he and his
brother Theodore operating the home farm after their fathers's death.  After
his marriage Mr. Osborn bought a farm of sixty-nine acres west of town and
there made his home for about three years, at the end of which time he sold
that place and moved to Shelby county, where he bought a farm of
seventy-nine acres.  On this latter place he made his home for sixteen years
and then returned to Rush county and bught back his old farm west of
Rushville and again established his home there.  As his affairs prospered
Mr. Osborn added to his holdings until he became the owner of a fine farm of
102 acres, all under cultivation, and on this place he continued to make
his home until his retirement from the farm and removal to Rushville, where
he and his family are very comfortably situated.  Though retired from the
active labors of the farm Mr. Osborn continues to take a supervisory
interest in the place and is still quite extensively engaged in the raising
of hogs, with which he has had much success.  It was in 1880 that Lucien B.
Osborn was united in marriage to Harvina Gruell, who was born in this
county, daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Young) Gruell, both of whom also were
born in Indiana, the former in the vicinity of Waterloo.  Isaac Gruell came
to Rush county with his parents in the days of his youth, the family
locating on a farm west of Rushville where he grew to manhood.  After his
marriage he established his home in that same vicinity and there spent the
remainder of his life.  In addition to his general farming Isaac Gruell
carried on a wide practice as a veterinary surgeon and was widely known
throughout this and neighboring counties.  He and his wife were the parents
of eleven children, of whom seven still survive, those besides Mrs. Osborn
being Charles, George, Laban, Newton, Samuel and Jennie.  To Mr. and Mrs.
Osborn three children have been born, Bert, Fred and Jennie.  Bert Osborn
has been twice married.  His first wife, Lavon Hilligoss, died, leaving him
one child, Lowell, and he then married Myrtle Smith, by whom he has two
children, John and Thomas.  Fred Osborn married Beatrice Austin and has one
child, Wilma Mae.  Jennie Osborn married Chase Cross and has three children,
Ollie, Mary Ellen and Anna Belle.  Mr. Osborn is a Republican.  He and his
wife are members of the Methodist church.


Bio. of Theodore Osborn-179


   History of Rush County, Indiana, Chicago, Brant and Fuller, 1888.
   Page 736.  (transcript)

   Theodore Osborn, of the firm of Brann & Osborn, proprietors of saw mill
and lumber yard, was born in Union County, this State, January 22, 1846.
He was the seventh of eight children -- four sons and four daughters --
born to Larkin and Mary (Howell) Osborn, with whom he came to this county
in 1852.  They located upon a farm about two miles south of Rushville, where
the father spent the rest of his life, his death occurring in October, 1863.
He will be remembered by the older residents as "Uncle Larkin," by which
title he was familiarly known all over Rush County.  His wife and the mother
of our subject resides at present in Rushville, and is now in the
seventy-seventh year of her age.  His paternal gradfather was Thomas Osborn,
a native of Kentucky.  His three brothers were: Aaron T., Lewis L. and
Lucien B., the first of whom is deceased.  His four sisters were: Sarah J.,
Mary E., Clemma A. and Julia E., the last of whom is deceased.  He was
raised upon his father's farm, and as early as seventeen he assumed the full
management of the farm, his father having died many years before.  He
continued upon the farm until in 1880, when he went to Marshall County,
Kan., where he spent some time looking after some land interests he had
there.  In 1882, he returned to Rushville and formed a partnership with
Noble Brann in the lumber trade, which has occupied his entire attention
ever since.  In politics, Mr. Osborn is a Republican.


Bio. of John Osborn-81


   Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and
   Franklin Counties, Indiana, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1899.
   Vol. I, page 314.  (transcript)

JOHN OSBORN.
   One of the wealthy and influential citizens of Liberty township, Union
county, is John Osborn, whose birth occurred in this county sixty-odd years
ago.  He has always been actively connected with everything which has
tended to promote the development of this region, and has been confidently
counted upon at all times to endorse progressive measures and to uphold the
law and right and justice.
   The Osborns are old and honored residents of this county, coming here as
early as 1812.  The father of our subject was Levi Osborn, who accompanied
his mother, Rachel Osborn, to this section of Indiana, from their former
home near Georgetown, Kentucky.  The father of Levi Osborn had died prior
to the birth of Levi, leaving a large family.  The Osborns settled in
Quakertown, Harmony township, and there the mother dwelt until her death at
the advanced age of over ninety years.  Of her sons, Larkin, Bennett, Aaron
and Levi all married and reared families in this county, and lived to reach
three-score and ten years.  Bennett died in Harmony township, and one of
his sons, Bennett, is a citizen of Dunlapville.  Larkin removed to Rush
county and died there, and none of his children remain in this locality.
Aaron lived and died in Franklin county.  Levi married Rebecca West, who
came to this state from New Jersey, and whose father, Thomas West, was a
prominent farmer of Liberty township.  When the subject of this narrative
was a lad of ten or twelve years the family removed to Franklin county and
located in the vicinity of Blooming Grove.  There the father died when
eighty-two years of age, and his son George is his successor on the
homestead.  Mrs. Rebecca Osborn departed this life when she was
seventy-eight years of age.  Both were members of the Methodist church and
were loved and respected for their many noble qualities.  In his political
opinions Mr. Osborn was a Jacksonian Democrat.  The eight children born to
this worthy couple were named as follows: Adeline, Elizabeth, Mary Jane,
Almira, Louisa, Serilda, George and John.  All married and with the
exception of Almira and Mary Jane they are all living.
   John Osborn was born in Harmony township, Union county, January 27, 1831,
and passed his early boyhood here.  Then, until he arrived at his majority,
he made his home under the parental roof in Franklin county.  The most
important step taken by him in his young manhood was his marriage to Miss
Elizabeth Neptune, of Franklin county, September 28, 1854.  She, too, was
a native of this county.  She proved a most faithful helpmate, aiding her
husband in all his enterprises and giving her womanly support and sympathy
to him in times of depression and discouragement.  At last, after
forty-three years of happy companionship, the devoted wife received the
summons to the better land, dying March 20, 1897.  Their three children are
living -- Albert and George, residents of this neighborhood, and Laura at
home, her father's main comfort and his cheerful, helpful housekeeper.
   In his various undertakings Mr. Osborn has been very fortunate for the
most part.  He owns good farms in Franklin and Fayette counties, in 1863
bought a fine homestead in this township of Albert Collins, and in 1871
purchased the old Abney place, which is situated in the rich bottom land of
the Whitewater river.  The last-mentioned farm, a place of one hundred and
eighty-five acres, is used for the raising of corn and wheat and other crops
suitable to this section, and, in addition, the proprietor keeps a good
grade of cattle and hogs.  He rents some of his land and derives a good
income from this source.  By sturdy, industrious toil he has won a
comfortable fortune and needs have no fear for his futre competence.  While
he has attended strictly to business and to the discharge of all of his
duties as a husband and father, he has not neglected the remoter obligations
resting upon him as a citizen.  He has voted the Democratic ticket for
years, but has not taken an active part in politics.  Reared in the faith of
the Methodist Episcopal church, he has followed the broad principles of
Christianity, and, though not a member of the local church, he attends its
services and contributes of his means to the support of the congregation.


Bio. of John H. Osborne-1059


   History of Rush County, Indiana, Chicago, Brant and Fuller, 1888.
   Page 735.  (transcript)

   John H. Osborne, the present Recorder of Rush County, and one of her
worthy and honored citizens, was born in the village of Fairfield, Franklin
County, this State, January 27, 1821.  He was the oldest of nine children --
five sons and four daughters -- born to James and Alice (Armstrong) Osborne,
the former a native of South Carolina, of Scotch descent, and the latter a
native of Scott County, Ky., of English descent.  His father was the son of
John Osborne, also a native of South Carolina.  His mother was the daughter
of John and Elizabeth (Eads) Armstrong, the former of whom was born near
Fredericksburg, Md., and the latter was born in Kentucky.  When our subject
was but five years old his parents came to Rush County, but three years
later they returned to Franklin County, where he was reared upon a farm.
When he was twelve years of age, he went to live with his grandfather, John
Armstrong, with whom he remained until he was twenty.  At that age, he went
to Metamora, Frannklin Co., where he remained a few months, then went to
Fayette County, and there worked upon a farm one year.  He then returned to
Metamora and there was employed as a clerk in a store one year.  He was
married, February 25, 1845, to Nancy Evans, a native of Franklin County,
born August 11, 1823, and was the daughter of William Evans, one of the
early settlers of Franklin County.  After his marriage, Mr. Osborne farmed
two years, then took up the avocation of a teacher, to which his attention
was directed four years.  He then took a position as a clerk in a store of
Metamora, and from that time until 1858, his attention was given to
clerking, farming and school teaching.  In 1858, he moved to this county
and engaged in general merchandising at New Salem.  He opened his store
April 6th, of that year.  He then removed to Waldron, Shelby Co., and took
a position as traveling salesman for a wholesale house in Cincinnati.  He
was thus employed one year.  He then became a resident of Indianapolis, and
engaged there in the dry goods business.  He resided in that city until
1874, during which time his attention was given to the dry goods trade, to
selling on the road and to the real estate business.  In 1874, he returned
again to this county, and engaged in the dry goods trade at New Salem.  In
1876, he was the candidate of his party for the office of Recorder, but was
defeated.  In January, 1876, he moved his family to Rushville.  In 1878, he
was elected County Recorder by his party, and took the office in 1879.  In
1882, he was re-elected.  Mr. and Mrs. Osborne are the parents of one
child, George W., born July 11, 1848, now a resident of Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mr. Osborne is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and an ardent
Republican in politics.  He is an honest man, an efficient and trustworthy
official and one of the esteemed citizens of Rush County.  He and wife are
the parents of one adopted daughter, Dora Osborne, who has been with them
since four-and-a-half years old.  For the past ten years she has occupied
a position as teacher in the Rushville High School.  They had another
daughter of their own named Angeline G., born in December, 1845, died in
June, 1846.


Gen. of Reuben Osborn-6076


   Genealogy of the Sharpless Family, Gilbert Cope, West Chester,
   PA, 1887.

Page 479.
   933. JANE WOOD HOWARD(6), William(5), b. Philadelphia, 7/7/1813;
m. 5/10/1838; at Yazoo City, Miss., REUBEN OSBORN, b. 7/12/1814, in
Scott Co., Ky.; son of John Osborn, b. N.C., and Susan Williams, b.
Culpepper Co., Va., a cousin to Richard M. Johnson.  They settled on
a farm in Missouri, where all their children, except the eldest, were
born.  He is a licentiate of the Baptist Church.  Their present address,
411, Steubenville St., Peoria, Ill.  Children, --
        3297. Martha Susan, b. 9/28/1839; m. Benjamin L. Moore.
        3298. Mary Jane, b. 4/6/1842; m. Thomas N. Pierson.
        3299. Noah Flood, b. 2/29/1844; m. Martha E. Patton.
        3300. George W., b. 1/14/1846; m. Mary Kirkman.
        3301. Reuben Brooks, b. 1/27/1848; m. Virginia Tennessee Dubree,
                10/8/1878, and lives at 1106, Third St., Peoria, Ill.
                No children.
<Note: From page 301, Jane Wood Howard's parents were William Howard,
 b. 1772 in Rockland Co., NY and Mary Butcher, b. 1780 and d. 1841.>

Page 480.
        3302. Estella Olivier, b. 1/7/1852; m. 6/11/1872, Thomas James
                Wasson, Peoria, Ill.  They have Zir, aged 12, and Laura
                Jane, aged 9 years.
        3303. Jephthah B., b. 12/22/1853; m. Jennie Taylor.
        3304. Laura Ashton, b. 9/6/1856; d. 2/12/1862.
        3305. Matthew Linn, b. 7/31/1858; m. Anna Sherry.

Page 926.
   3297. MARTHA S. OSBORN(7), Jane(6), b. Yazoo City, Miss., m. Peoria,
Ill, 7/27/1862, BENJAMIN L. MOORE, b. Todd Co., Ky., 2/11/1838: son of
Garland Moore and Mary Cockrum (Cochran?), of Eureka, Ill.  He is a
photographer at Eureka, Woodford Co., Ill.  Children b. there, --
        7260. Ola, 3/8/1864: Willie, 3/21/1866; d. 3/23/1866: Amber,
                3/24/1867: Roy L., 2/23/1872: Susie, 12/14/1879;
                d. 12/16/1880: Carl B., 11/4/1881.

   3298. MARY JANE OSBORN(7), Jane(6), b. New Bloomfield, Mo., m.
9/22/1868, THOMAS N. PEIRSON, b. Lancashire, Eng., 4/4/1832.  Children,
Morton M., b. 12/14/1869: Milton N., b. 5/29/1873: Byron Deforest, b.
7/24/1874.  P.O., Peoria, Ill.

   3299. NOAH F. OSBORN(7), Jane(6), b. Callaway Co., Mo., m. Metamora,
Woodford Co., Ill., 8/27/1866, Martha E. Patton, b. 8/22/1845: dau. of
S.R. Patton and Jane Haines, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.  P.O., Peoria, Ill.
Children, Jennie Brooks, b. 3/15/1868: Samuel, b. 12/20/1869: William,
b. 8/15/1871: James F., b. 3/18/1880: Jessie F., b. 8/18/1874; d.
9/25/1875.

   3300. GEORGE W. OSBORN(7), Jane(6), b. Mo., m. Eureka, Ill., 2/27/1865,
Mary Kirkman, b. Morgan Co., Ill., 8/7/1846: dau. of William D. Kirkman
and Susan E. Moore.  He is a bricklayer and plasterer, owning a nice
residence in Eureka, Ill.  Children, b. there, William G., 11/15/1865:
Benjamin A., 3/9/1868: Ernest Howard, 1/10/1871: Adella See, 5/13/1876:
Guy Moore, 7/16/1881: Mary Louise, 8/12/1883.

   3301 1/2. MILTON H. OSBORN(7), Jane(6), b. Fulton, Mo., 10/17/1849;
m. Philadelphia, Pa., 12/2/1882, Emma Heaton Fuller, b. Boston, Mass.,
1/24/1850: dau. of William Heaton and Maria Barstow, of Philadelphia.
They own property at Boston, Mass., and Holly Beach, N.J., but reside at
130, N. 15th St., Phila.  (His name was accidently ommited by his mother
in sending her record.)

   3303. JEPTHATH B. OSBORN(7), Jane(6), m. Jennie Taylor, b. Liverpool,
Eng., 3/2/1856; dau. of Rev. Joseph and Harriet Mary Taylor, of
Philadelphia, Pa.  He is a professor of music.  Address, Holly Beach,
Cape May Co., N.J.  Children, Joseph M., b. 9/4/1879: Reuben C., b.
5/26/1881: Jephthah L., b. 4/2/1884.

   3305. MATTHEW L. OSBORN(7), Jane(6), m. Phila., Pa., 8/21/1880, Anna
Sherry, b. there, 12/30/1858; dau. of John Sherry and Sarah Alice Spear.
Res. Philadelphia, Pa.  No children.


Bio. of Milton W. Osborn


   Centennial History of Rush County, Indiana, Indianapolis, Historical
   Publishing Co., 1921.  Vol. II, page 207.  (transcript)

   MILTON W. OSBORN, manager of the plant of the Pinnell-Tompkins Lumber
Company at Mays, this county, is a native son of the Hoosier state, having
been born in Franklin county on June 21, 1859, and he is the son of James
T. and Elizabeth (Sutton) Osborn, both of whom were born and reared in
Franklin county.  James T. Osborn was a veteran of the Civil war, having
enlisted as a private in the Sixty-eighth regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, with which he served over three years, taking part in a number of
the most important battles of that great conflict, including those of Stone
Mountain, Chickamauga and Cumberland Gap.  AFter the close of the war, he
returned to Franklin county and was engaged in farming for about ten years.
He then worked at the carpenter trade for a few years, and then purchased a
general store at Buena Vista, Franklin county, becoming also postmaster at
that place.  To him and his wife were born eight children.  The subject of
this sketch received his educational training in the common schools of
Franklin county and after leaving school he was employed as a farm hand up
to the time of his marriage.  He then moved to Connersville, where he lived
until 1896, when he moved to a farm of 145 acres, which he operated for
about four years.  In 1901 he moved to Mays and engaged in carpentering and
contracting, in which he has met with pronounced success, being now one of
the largest contractors in Rush county.  He has done a great deal of
construction work and enjoys an enviable reputation because of the high
quality of his work and his fair dealing.  In 1918 Mr. Osborn became
manager of the Pinnell-Tompkins Lumber Company at Mays and is still holding
that position.  Mr. Osborn was married to Margaret A. Evans, a native of
Decatur county, Indiana, and they have had three children, namely: Myrta,
who became the wife of Berry Rush, of Mays, and they have two children,
Elmyra and Russell; Maude became the wife of Fred Jackson, of Washington
township, and they have five children William, Byron, Morris, Thelma and
Luella; Glodys, who was born in 1888 at Connersville, received her education
in the schools of that city and at Mays.  She became the wife of P.H.
Kirkpatrick, of Center township, and they had two children, John W. and
Floretta.  The mother of these children died in December, 1918, of
influenza.  Politically, Mr. Osborn is an active supporter of the Republican
party, while, fraternally, he is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.
He is a man of kindly manner and generous impulses, keenly alive to the best
interests of the community and stands high in the esteem of the community.


Bio. of D.K. Smith


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 303.  (transcript)

   D.K. Smith, farmer and stock raiser, Veedersburg, is a son of Silas and
Clarrissa (Chapman) Smith.  The former came to Fountain county with his
parents, Cetus and Nancy (More) Smith, in 1824.  Cetus Smith was a native
of Connecticut, and when a young man went to New York, where he married and
then moved to Ohio, where he rented land of General Harrison, which he
farmed five years, and then came and settled in Fountain county where he
died in 1840.  His wife, Nancy More, moved to Kansas, where she died.
Silas, son of Cetus, was born in 1816.  Shortly after coming to Fountain
county he married and settled on Sec. 31, where he lived till his death,
in 1852; except five years of this time he lived in Iowa.  Clarrissa
(Chapman) Smith, is a native of Kentucky, and daughter of Joshua and Rachel
Chapman, settlers of Fountain county in 1824, then residents of Iowas five
years, then returned to Fountain county, where they both died in 1856, the
father aged seventy-six, and the mother aged eighty.  Silas Smith raised a
family of five children, three of whom are living: D.K., America E., Laura
E.  D.K. lives near the old town, Chambersburg.  He was married in 1864 to
Alcinda Walker, daughter of Wesley and Margret Osborn, early settlers of
Fountain county.  By this marriage D.K. has three children: James C.,
Charles W., and Silas M.  He and his wife are members of the order of
christians known as Disciples, at Cool Creek church.  He has a fine farm of
266 acres, all under fence and well improved.  D.K.'s mother, an old
soldier of the cross, and member of the church at Cool Creek, lives with
him.  D.K. is, and ever has been, a staunch republican, a well-to-do farmer,
and good citizen.  His early education was such as he could procure in the
district school.  While he is a successful man in business, he is a lover
of literature and moral development in society.


Bio. of D.C. Smith-884


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 311.  (transcript)

   D.C. Smith, farmer, Veedersburg, is a native of Fountain county, Van
Buren township, born in 1823.  His parents, Rhodes and Catherine (Conner)
Smith, were settlers of Fountain county as early as 1828.  The former is
a native of Kentucky, born in 1803, and now lives in Illinois near Danville,
where he settled in 1847.  The latter, D.C.'s mother, was born in North
Carolina in 1808, and lived to be fifty-four years old.  They raised a
family of nine children, seven of whom were boys.  D.C. is the only one now
residing in Fountain county.  Mr. and Mrs. Smith both emigrated to Indiana
with their parents, and were married in Connersville, Indiana.  The Smith
family came to Kentucky from Virginia.  Mrs. Smith's people, the Conner
family, originally came from Ireland.  D.C. Smith was reared in Fountain
county, where he has remained, except four years of his life which he spent
in Wisconsin.  His education he received at the common school.  In 1851 he
was married to Mary Osborn, a native of Fountain county, born in 1834, and
daughter of Daniel Osborn, a pioneer settler on Osborn's prairie.  By this
union there are five children: Hannah M. (now Mrs. Minick), Thomas O.,
Lizzie R., William G., and Martha (now Mrs. Oliver).  Mr. Smith has a fine
farm of 163 and a fraction acres, located two miles northwest of
Veedersburg.  He keeps a good grade of common farm stock.  He began life in
limited circumstances, following the carpenter's trade some six years.  He
and his wife, like his parents before him, are supporters of christianity.
His parents believe in the doctrine taught by the Predestinarian Baptists.
D.C. and wife are members of the sect of christians known as Disciples, and
hold their membership at Veedersburg.  Mr. Smith is a member of the ancient
order of Masons, Veedersburg, lodge No. 491.  In politics he is a
republican.  Several times has he been called upon to settle the estates of
his deceased friends, and assume the position of a father over their
children.


Bio. of E.M. Osborn-888


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 312.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of E.B. Osborn-889]

   E.M. Osborn, furniture dealer and undertaker, Veedersburg, came to
Fountain county from Ohio in 1829, with his parents, Oliver and Hulda
Osborn; the former a native of New Jersey, the latter of Ohio.  They
settled on Coal creek, three miles east of Osborn prairie.  Here he
finished a mill which had been begun some time previous.  He continued to
operate till his death, which occurred in 1838, when he was thirty-eight
years of age.  By trade he was a mason, and built many of the brick
dwellings in Fountain county which are still standing.  His wife is still
living on the old homestead, and is in her seventy-seventh year.  He was
married in 1846 to Catherine Applegate, a native of Ohio, and daughter of
Aaron B. and Jane (Blackburn) Applegate, by whom he has five children:
Orpha W., Oliver S., Mary C., Elizabeth E., and Freman.  He and his wife
are members of the denomination known as Christians, or Disciples, in which
he has filled the office of elder for the past seven years.  Mr. Osborn
began life with fifty-one acres of land and $10 in money, and an education
such as he was able to obtain in pioneer schools.  He operated a saw-mill
from 1834 to 1847, wholly within Van Buren township.  In 1872 he and his
brother, E.B. Osborn, erected a planing-mill in Veedersburg, which he was
connected with till 1874, when he sold his interest to his brother, E.B.,
and engaged in furniture dealing and undertaking with his son, in which
he still continues.  He owns a good farm of 160 acres and considerable
town property.  In politics he is thoroughly republican.  Mr. Osborn has
ever been an active, industrious citizen, and one who has paid close
attention to the moral standing of the community and how it might be
improved.


Bio. of E.B. Osborn-889


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 320.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of E.M. Osborn-888]

   E.B. Osborn, dealer in lumber, groceries and dry goods, Veedersburg, is
a native of Van Buren township, born 1836 and was educated in the pioneer
schools.  His parents, Oliver and Hulda Osborn, the former a native of New
Jersey, the latter of Ohio, settled on Coal creek, east of Osborn's prairie
some three miles.  There the former died in 1838, age thirty-eight years.
By trade he was a millwright and a mason.  He erected the first mill on
Coal creek, in Van Buren township, in 1829.  Many of the houses built by
him are still standing.  He was a member of a society called "Lodyists,"
and at one time its president.  Its motto was "Borrow but never return."
His mother still lives on the old homestead, and is now in her
seventy-seventh year.  In 1861 he was married to Mary E. Phebus, daughter
of Lewis and Mary Phebus, both natives of Ohio, and settled in Fountain
county, in 1838.  By this union he has four children, John L., James M.,
Emma, and Charley, and he has raised a boy named Wm. Shipman, whom he
regards with great affection because of his good traits of character.  He
and his wife are members of the New Light order of christians, at Osborn's
prairie.  He began life in moderate circumstances, but by his energy and
good judgment he has steadily advanced in business.  He now is sole
proprietor of a saw-mill at Hillsborough, and the saw and planing mill at
Veedersburg; the former valued at $1,200, the latter at $4,000, and has a
forty-acre farm, besides considerable town property, and is operating a
dry-goods and grocery store in Veedersburg; stock in trade valued at
$7,000.  When he and his brother, E.M. Osborn, erected, in 1872, the planing
mill of which he is proprietor, at this place, there was not so much as a
single dwelling in Veedersburg.  He is strictly a temperance man, and is an
active member of the "Blue Ribbon Club," of this place.  He is willing and
ready to lend his influence and give aid to whatever is in the interest of
business or moral culture.


Bio. of Oliver D. Osborn-5647


   History of Fountain County, Chicago, H.H. Hill and N. Iddings,
   Publishers, 1881.  Page 358.  (transcript)

   Oliver D. Osborn, farmer, Attica, is the second son of Thomas and
Margaret Osborn.  In 1824 his grandfather, Daniel Osborn, bringing his son
Thomas with him, settled on the north fork of Coal creek, about a mile north
of Veedersburg.  The "Osborn saw-mill," built by him on this stream, was one
of the landmarks in the early history of the country.  Mr. Osborn was a
Disciple preacher and Thompsonian physician, who both preached and practiced
through the country, with a good deal of success, from the date of his
settlement till 1848.  Thomas Osborn in 1846 married Margaret Herbaugh, and
in 1848 moved to Dane county, Wisconsin; abut two years later he was
followed by his father, who died there in October 1854.  It was in this
place that the subject of this notice was born, February 2, 1852.  This was
the natal place also of two sisters and a brother.  His father is a preacher
in the New Light denomination, and was licensed over twenty years ago.  In
1858 he left Wisconsin and moved back to Fountain county, and in April,
1873, settled with his family in Tulare county, California, where he now
resides, engaged in sheep husbandry.  The family returned in the fall of the
present year, on a visit to Indiana.  Oliver was married in the spring of
1873 to Miss Melissa Claypool, daughter of Abel Claypool.  When his father
removed to California he and his wife went with the family on a pleasure
trip of a few months.  In 1876 he and his wife again went to California.
The latter died there, and he remained two years mining, teaching school,
grazing sheep, and operating a saw-mill.  He received a good common
education, and before this period had taught school in Indiana and Illinois.
Having returned to the former state he married again, in April 1879, Miss
Kittoria, daughter of Dempsey Redden.  By his first wife he had one child,
Frank, living with the grandparents in California.  Mr. Osborn was census
enumerator for Shawnee township in 1880.  He is a decided republican.  He
owns 159 acres of land in Shawnee township, eighty acres in Fulton county,
eighty acres in Ross county, Ohio, and some mining claims in the Mineral
King mining district, Tulare county, California.


Bio. of George M. Osborn-1688


   Pictoral and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke
   Counties, Indiana, Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers, 1894.
   Page 486.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of William Osborn-1689]
   [See the bio. of William W. Osborn-1690]
   [See the bio. of Samuel Osborn-1696]

GEORGE M. OSBORN. (DECEASED.)
   The scythe of Time cuts down all; nothing of the physical man is left.
The monument which his children or friends may erect to his memory in the
cemetery will crumble into dust and pass away; but his life, his
achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be
forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.  To preserve the
lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits, for the same reason
we collect the attainable facts of their history.  The time has now arrived
when it is the duty of the people of the country to perpetuate the names of
their pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement and relate the
story of their progress.  Among the very first settlers of Starke County,
Indiana, stands the name of George M. Osborn who was born in Pennsylvania,
July 30, 1802.  When a boy he immigrated with his parents to Delaware
County, Ohio, where the family was among the first pioneers.  Here our
subject was reared on a farm and married Miss Anna Hull, a native of New
Jersey.  For a number of years after his marriage he engaged in farming in
the Buckeye State, but in 1840 he sold out and removed with his family to
Starke County, landing in what is now Washington Township in June of that
year.  He entered eighty acres of land near Eagle Lake.  At that time his
family consisted of his wife and six children: Japheth, Lucy, William, John
W., Eliza and Samuel.  There were but five other families in the county at
that time, not a church or school house, nor even a road laid out.  In fact
there was no school for several years afterward.  Preaching was held in the
log cabins of the settlers and the Osborn home was the resort for religious
services and Sunday School.  The first white man to die in the county was
Peter Tuman who came from Ohio.  His death occurred in 1842 and Mr. Osborn
made the coffin for interment.  Our subject also laid out the first road in
Starke County, and built the first frame house in 1843 for his
brother-in-law, William Atkinson.  This house is still standing, three miles
east of Ober.  At the time Mr. Osborn settled in what is now Washington
Township, Starke County was not organized but was attached to Marshall
County.  He erected a log cabin and began at once to clear and improve a
portion of the wilds.  In those early days they had nothing to help
themselves with except their own strong hands and sturdy independence.
Indians were numerous and wolves were plentiful and troublesome, often
killing sheep and other stock.  Mr. Osborn did not live to see many
improvements made in the county, his death occurring in July, 1844.  His
wife had died during the April previous.  Shortly after his residence there
Mr. Osborn got apple seed from the east and planted the first orchard in the
county, some of the trees still standing on the old place.  The death of Mr.
and Mrs. Osborn left six orphans alone in the world, in a new country among
Indians and wild animals.  The eldest was twenty years of age and the
youngest four.  The eldest, Japheth, was born in Delaware County, Ohio, July
24, 1824, and died July 2, 1882.  He never married and was a substantial
farmer of Starke County for many years.  Lucy, the eldest daughter, died in
the spring of 1867.  When Mr. Osborn first settled in the county he was
obliged to go to mill over in Marshall County, a distance of four miles, it
being the only mill in the section.  This mill had but one set of burrs, and
corn, rye, wheat, buckwheat and everything went through the same hopper.  No
complaints were made about poor flour in those days.  It was considered
first-class and a luxury to have wheat bread.  Mr. Osborn was a cooper by
trade and made barrels, and half-bushels for the surrounding country.  Flax
was raised from which the clothing was made.  Wild game furnished them meat;
they frequently feasted on venison, and at times killed a wild hog.  They
had very little sugar at that time and used wild honey instead as it was
very plentiful.  Of the other children born to Mr. Osborn's marriage, Eliza
became the wife of William Turnbull and now resides on a farm in North Bend
Township, this county.  Her husband died about 1891.


Bio. of William Osborn-1689


   Pictoral and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke
   Counties, Indiana, Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers, 1894.
   Page 487.  (transcript)
   [See a more recent bio. of William Osborn-1689]
   [See the bio. of George M. Osborn-1688]
   [See the bio. of William W. Osborn-1690]
   [See the bio. of Samuel Osborn-1696]

WILLIAM OSBORN.
   Among the prosperous farmers of Starke County who came from the Buckeye
State, and have here made an indelible impress upon the agricultural
districts of the county, none deserves more honorable mention that does
William Osborn, for he is not only well to do in worldly goods, but is rich
in friends and in the respect of all who know him.  He is a product of
Crawford County, Ohio, born August 4, 1827, while his parents were residing
in that section for a short time.  From his first year until his thirteenth,
his home was in Delaware County, but in June, 1840, he was brought by his
parents to Starke County, Indiana, of which he is now the oldest settler
living.  He well remembers the wilderness which existed at that time, and
that the redman was numerous but not troublesome.  A man by the name of
Garver had previously settled in the neighborhood in which the Osborn family
located, and had rented some land to the Indians, who had raised a few acres
of corn, and the father of William Osborn purchased corn.  At the age of
seventeen years, William was left an orphan, and as he was the eldest of a
family of six children, the entire burden of their support fell upon his
youthful shoulders, and he was compelled to work early and late to "keep the
wolf from the door."  After clearing considerable land in Washington
Township, he, with his younger brothers and sisters, moved to North Bend
Township in 1846, where they entered a forty-acre tract of land, which was
much more fertile and valuable land than where they had first settled.
Owing to the great responsibility that rested upon him at the death of his
parents, which occurred about four years after the family had located in
this section, he was deprived of educational advantages.  For some time, he
worked out by the month for $6.00 per month, and never received over $12.00
per month for his services.  By hard work, careful management and economy,
he at last got a start, and has long been classed as one of the most
successful farmers and substantial and influential citizens of the county.
During the first years of his residence here, there was no way of obtaining
money except in the sale of furs and skins from deer and other wild animals.
There was no market and no use for a market, as there was only enough raised
for home consumption.  Later, he hauled wheat to Michigan City, a distance
of forty-two miles, and after paying toll over bridges and plank roads,
would receive fifty cents per bushel for his grain, and then thought he was
doing well and driving an excellent bargain.  In this way, years passed by,
new settlers arrived, the county was organized and towns began to spring up
here and there, real estate began to be more and more valuable, until at the
present time the estate of 380 acres of which Mr. Osborn is the owner, is
considered one of the finest and most valuable in the county.  The owner has
spared no pains in its cultivation and improvement and on this place are
three dwelling houses, three barns and three wind pumps, two of the places
being given over to tenants.  Mr. Osborn is one of those few men whose word
is as good as his bond, and during the long term of years that he has been a
resident of the county, his good name has remained untarnished, and much has
been said in his praise for the faithful manner in which he has discharged
the duties that have come to him through life.  He is of a commanding
presence, is intelligent and well posted on all matters of general interest,
and he has ever been a stanch supporter of the Democrat party.  He wields a
wide influence in the political affairs of his section and has frequently
been urged to become a candidate for different offices, and could have held
any office within the gift of the county had he desired to do so, but he has
always steadfastly refused political preferment, much preferring to devote
his time and attention to his own private affairs.  In February, 1849, he
was married to Miss Louisa Owens, a native of Bartholomew County, Indiana,
by whom he has the following children: Amos, who resides on and tills a part
of the old homestead; William W., a resident of Ober; John, a banker at
Marmont; George M., who also resides on the old homestead; Leonard, and
Della, who married Albert Overmeyer, and resides in Marshall County.  Mr.
Osborn and his worthy wife are members of the Advent Church, in which he has
served as deacon.


Bio. of William Osborn-1689


   A Standard History of Starke County, Indiana, The Lewis Publishing
   Co., Chicago & NY, 1915.  Page 734.  (transcript)
   [See an older bio. of William Osborn-1689]
   [See the bio. of John W. Osborn-1694]

   WILLIAM OSBORN.  As the oldest living representative of the Osborn
family, which since 1840 has played so conspicuous a part in the development
and social and civic life of Starke County, this publication should contain
a sketch of William Osborn, now living at the venerable age of eighty-seven
in Culver.
   William Osborn was born in Delaware County, Ohio, in 1827.  The American
ancestors of the family were New Yorkers, and his paternal grandfather,
James Osborn, was born in that state July 21, 1774.  The family removed to
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and afterwards to Delaware County, Ohio,
where James Osborn died January 12, 1844.  George M. Osborn, father of
William Osborn, was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, July 30, 1802,
and died at Eagle Lake in Starke County, Indiana, July 15, 1845.  George M.
Osborn married Anna Hall, who was born in New Jersey, March 25, 1806, when
a child removed with her parents to Delaware County, Ohio, and was married
there in 1822.  She died at Eagle Lake in Starke County the same year as
her husband, on April 25, 1845.  Their children were: Japhet, Lucy, William,
Eliza, John W. and Samuel.  When the parents died the oldest of these
children was twenty-one years of age, and the youngest four.
   In 1840 George M. Osborn brought his family to Starke County, Indiana,
locating at Eagle Lake in what is now Washington Township.  As described on
other pages, the Osborns gave the name to the lake on account of the many
eagles found there.  They came to the county a number of years before it
was organized, and helped to convert the wilderness into a landscape of
farms and make the land available for the uses of civilization.  It is told
how George Osborn, after bringing his family to the county, walked through
the woods thirty miles to Winamac, the seat of the land office, in order to
enter his land.  They had very few neighbors, and had their farm improvements
well under way before other settlers followed their example.
   The oldest son in the family, the responsibilities of the household and
of the younger children devolved upon William Osborn at the death of his
parents.  He was at that time a vigorous young man, and had received part
of his education in the first primitive schools established in Starke County.
He established a home of his own finally in North Bend Township, five miles
northwest of Culver, and was successfully engaged in the business of farming
until he retired and moved to Culver.
   William Osborn married Louisa J. Owens, who died at the age of
seventy-six.  She was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, and became the
mother of six children.


Bio. of William W. Osborn-1690


   Pictoral and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke
   Counties, Indiana, Chicago, Goodspeed Brothers, 1894.
   Page 489.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of George M. Osborn]
   [See the bio. of William Osborn]

WILLIAM W. OSBORN.
   Many of the most successful and enterprising citizens of North Bend
Township are natives of this county, and have here spent the greater part of
their lives.  In them we find men of true loyalty to the interests of this
part of the State, who understand, as it were, by instinct the needs, social
and industrial, of this vicinity, and who have a thorough knowledge of its
resources.  They are therefore better adapted to succeed here than a
stranger, and are probably without exception warmly devoted to the
prosperity of their native place.  William W. Osborn, one of the foremost
agriculturists of North Bend Township, Starke County, Indiana, was born on
the homestead in this township, June 30, 1856, and is a son of William and
Louisa (Owens) Osborn.  He was reared in the old home place, and like the
average farm boy, received his early education in the common schools.  Later
he attended the public schools of Plymouth, and in this way secured a fair
education.  On the farm of his father he learned habits of industry and
perseverance which have remained with him through life, and which have
brought him in substantial returns.  When twenty-two years of age he took
charge of his father's large estate, and carried on the work very
successfully for a number of years.  In April, 1891, he moved to Ober, where
he has a handsome and commodious residence, and he is now engaged in buying
and shipping stock and hay.  His annual shipments amount to over 100 car
loads, his markets being at Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington and other
eastern cities.  In addition to his business at Ober he owns 200 hay meadow
acres in Washington Township and 200 acres more pasturage growing with a
good flowing well on same, in North Bend Township.  Although a young man our
subject has accummulated a fair share of this world's goods, and as a
farmer, as well as business man, has displayed excellent judgment.  His
happy domestic life began September 18, 1880, when Miss Inez Anderson, a
native of Somerset, Indiana, became his bride.  She is the daughter of James
and Susanna (Drook) Anderson.  The marriage of our subject has been blessed
by the birth of two children: Maud P., born September 28, 1881, and Ralph,
born September 20, 1890.  Mr. Osborn is a member of the K. of P. at Knox,
and is one of the trustees of that order.  He and his wife hold membership
in the United Brethren Church, in which Mr. Osborn has served as steward,
and they are active and earnest workers in the same.  In politics Mr. Osborn
affiliates with the Democratic party, and was a candidate for the nomination
of County Treasurer in 1892.  Although Mr. Osborn has met with many losses
and discouragements, he has ever persevered, and is now one of the
substantial men of this section.  In the spring of 1881, shortly after his
marriage, he lost nearly all his stock by fire, but he went actively to work
again, and is now on a firm foundation.


Bio. of Samuel Osborn-1696


   A Twentieth Century History of Marshall County, Indiana, Chicago,
   The Lewis Publishing Co., 1908.  Page 484.  (transcript)
   [See the bio. of George M. Osborn-1688]
   [See the bio. of William Osborn-1689]

   Samuel Osborn, a substantial farmer living in retirement at Culver,
Marshall county, who also owns considerable property in that town, is a
native of Delaware county, Ohio, born on the 18th of January, 1840.  His
prosperity and high standing as a citizen have been fairly earned, as will
be strikingly evident from the facts of his life here set forth.  The
earliest American ancestors of the family were New Yorkers, the paternal
grandfather, James Osborn, having been born in the Empire state July 21,
1774.  The family removed to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and afterward to
Delaware county, Ohio, where Mr. Osborn died January 12, 1844.  George M.
Osborn was one of the sons born in Luzerne county (July 30, 1802), who came
to Delaware county with his parents and there spent the remainder of his
life.  He married Anna Hull, a native of New Jersey, born March 25, 1806,
who in her childhood also removed to Delaware county, Ohio, with her
parents.  Their marriage occurred in 1822, and resulted in the birth of the
following children: Japhet, Lucy, William, Eliza, John W. and Samuel (of
this sketch).  An<sic> April 25, 1840, the elder Mr. Osborn, with his
family, removed from Delaware county, Ohio, to Stark<sic> county, Indiana,
where both parents died during the year of their location.  The eldest of
the six children thus bereft was twenty-one years of age and the youngest
(Samuel) was but four.
   For about five years after the death of his parents Samuel Osborn
remained with his brothers and sisters, but at the age of nine he went to
live with his brother William, who had just married.  At this time Stark
county was a wild and sparsely settled region, and when the family first
located within its limits there were but five other white families in that
section of the state.  Samuel attended the first school organized in the
county, held in a crude log house, and within its walls imbibed what
education he could.  But he was a sturdy, ambitious boy, and early saw the
necessity of individual exertion as a duty he owed to other members of the
orphaned family.  He recalls the proud period of his life when, as a young
boy, he earned his first money in digging snake root and selling it to the
good people of Plymouth.  With the proceeds of his sale he purchased two
calves.  In the following summer he went to Illinois and worked upon a farm
for eight dollars per month, which enabled him to maintain both himself and
his infant herd.  In fact, before long he had saved twenty dollars in gold
and had become the owner of four more calves.  From this small beginning his
perseverance and thrift enabled him within a few years to start himself well
on the road as a prosperous cattleman.  In 1863 he sold the sixty head of
cattle of which he was the owner and paid $1,700 in cash for an eighty-acre
tract of farm land in North Bend township, Stark county.  Upon it he erected
a log cabin as his bachelor home and there he lived alone until his marriage
to Henrietta Rice, on April 18, 1867.  She died in March, 1883, the mother
of four children -- Olive A., Cora R., Carrie D., and one son, the eldest,
who at the age of four years was scalded to death.
   Until 1871 Mr. Osborn lived in a log cabin on his Stark county farm,
which already had the reputation of being one of the best in the county.  In
the year mentioned he erected a handsome frame house and added eighty acres
to the place.  Later he purchased another tract of farm land in Stark
county, his estate therein then comprising one hundred and fifty-five acres.
Since that year he has made still other purchases of agricultural lands,
until now he is the owner of three hundred and fifteen acres.  In 1900 he
ceased active control of his properties and moved to Culver, on January 18th
of that year marrying Rebecca McDonald, widow of George Alleman and a
daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Porter) McDonald, both of whom were Marshall
county pioneers.  For many years Mr. Osborn was either a Democrat or a
Greenbacker, but is now affiliated with the Republican party.  Fraternally
he is a member of Henry Speyer Post, No. 489, G.A.R., of Culver, having
served during the Civil war as a member of Company H, Fifty-third Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry.  He is also earnest in the work of the Church of
God, and donates a commendable share of his substance to the allied causes
of religion and charity.