William E. Mason
Home of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Mason
Mill Township
One of the fine farms in Grant County is the property of William E. Mason, of Mill Township, comprising one hundred and eighty three acres of rich and valuable land in Section 12 and known as "The Glencoe Farm." The owner is accounted one of the most progressive and practical agriculturists of his township; he uses the latest improved machinery in the cultivation of his property; studies the best methods for producing the various cereals adapted to the climate; practices rotation of crops; devotes a great deal of attention to the raising of all kinds of thoroughbred livestock; and above all brings to his work that unflagging industry which seldom fails of accomplishment. It is this factor that has brought him a full measure of success and gained him a place among the well-to-do farmers of his community.
Mr. Mason is a worthy representative of one of the pioneer families of the state, the name having been interwoven with the development and advancement here through several generations. the family in the United States originated in the Pennsylvania Dutch section of the Keystone State, but John Mason, the paternal grandfather of William E. Mason, was born in Virginia, and the grandmother, Miss Crull, was probably a native of Kentucky, in which state the family lived for several years and where Michael Mason, the father of William E. Mason, was born October 15, 1827. Shortly after this event the family came to Wayne County, Indiana, entering land and improving a farm, which was subsequently sold when the Masons moved to Miami County. There they located on a property that was partly improved, and John Mason continued to be engaged in agricultural pursuits and working at the cooper's trade, of which he was a master, until the time of his death, at the age of eighty-four years, the grandmother passing away at about the same age several years later. They were faithful members of the old Dunkard Church, and were the parents of the following children: Samuel, David, Jacob, John, Jr., Michael, William, Daniel, George, Elizabeth, Mary Magdalena, Hannah, Katharine Sarah, and Lucinda. All grew to man and womanhood, all married, and George and Daniel are still living.
Michael Mason was an infant when brought to Indiana by his parents, and here he was reared to the cooper's trade by his father. He also made and mended shoes for his family, and his wife spun and wove cloth to be made into blankets. Michael Mason was also a good farmer and as a young man he came to Grant County and settled on a farm in Mill Township, the place being now owned and occupied by William E. Mason. Subsequently he moved to a farm in Franklin Township, there remaining until 1879, when he returned to the Mill Township property on which he had first settled, and there his death occurred on the 18th of October, 1880. His wife survived him until the 12th of August, 1907. During the Civil War Michael Mason enlisted in Company C, Twelfth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and as a Private participated in a number of engagements, but after about a year of service was taken ill and was finally honorably discharged on account of disability.
Mr. Mason was united in matrimony in Mill Township to Miss Anna Coleman, who was born in Belmont County, Ohio, July 1, 1827, and came to Grant County with her parents in 1829. When Thomas Coleman, her father, came here he established one of the first six families in the county, traveling a tedious route over the roads from Ohio until he struck Granville, Indiana, on the Mississinewa River. There he sold his wagon and loaded what good he had, with others that he had purchased, onto a flatboat and came down that river until he reached the site of his future home, on the banks of the stream in Mill Township. The country was almost in its virgin state, wild and forbidding, with numerous savage Indians and many wild animals, and when he had settled in his little log hut Mr. Coleman kept his fierce dog underneath the structure to warn him of the approach of red men or the beasts of the forest. His nearest market, Granville, lay in a direction that was inaccessible for his wagon, and in order to take his grain to that point it was necessary for him to send his son ahead leading the team of horses, one in front of the other, to break the path for him along the old Indian trail, each journey being fraught with the utmost danger. Sturdily this brave pioneer worked each year making some improvements to his land and equipment, and gradually he saw the land around him develop into one of the garden spots of the state. His original tract of one hundred and five acres, in Section 12,, was put under cultivation, and he then entered forty acres more, and as the years passed continued to buy more property until he became one of the most substantial men of his community. This farm is now the homestead of William E. Mason. He also rose high in public offices of public trust and responsibility. His death occurred May 1, 1871, when he was seventy-three years of age. His first wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Bates, died some years before, when fifty-four years of age, and he married for his second wife a Mrs. Carter. Mrs. Mason, the mother of William E. Mason, was one of six children by the first union, all of whom are deceased except one, Mrs. Mary Heal, of Mill Township.
To Michael and Anna (Coleman) Mason there were born the following children:
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Daniel, who died at the age of two years.
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Mary E., who died when twenty-one years of age.
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John, who died in the spring of 1913, having had seven children, of whom five are living.
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James, who died at the age of twenty-four years, unmarried.
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Mahala, who died when two years old.
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Samantha Florence, the wife of James H. Kirkpatrick, of Fairmount Township.
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Ida, widow of Leander Parks, and she resides in Jonesboro, the mother of three sons and one daughter.
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George, who died when an infant.
Michael Mason was one of the study figures of his day and well merited the high esteem in which he was universally held. His long life was one of usefulness, and he will long be remembered among the honored men who died so much to advance the interests of his section.
William E. Mason was born in Franklin Township, Grant County, Indiana, March 17, 1862, and in that vicinity grew to young manhood and secured his educational training in the public schools. At the age of seventeen years he came to the farm which he now owns, with his parents, who had formerly lived thereon but who had spent some twenty years or more in Franklin Township. Mr. Mason has continued to make this property his home, and at this time is the owner of the one hundred and forty-five acres, which was entered by his grandfather Coleman. He has since added thirty-seven and one-half acres more to this farm making him 183 acres in all. This is one of the best farms in Mill Township, and has been made so by Mr. Mason's industry, perseverance and well applied effort. His large white house, red barn, seventy-ton silo and substantial outbuildings are surrounded by well tilled fields and in the pasture land are found great numbers of Short Horn cattle and Shropshire sheep, sleek, well fed and contented. Another specialty may be found in Mr. Mason's Poland China swine, some of the best in the township. The equipment on this homestead is of the most modern manufacture, and the general air of prosperity which hovers over the entire property bespeaks the presence of thrift, progressiveness and excellent management.
Mr. Mason was married in Fairmount Township to Miss Rebecca A. Marine, who was born in Jefferson Township, Grant county, Indiana, December 10, 1868, a daughter of Nathan and Rebecca (Nelson) Marine, the former deceased and the latter now a resident of Gas City, Indiana. A complete review of this family will be found in the sketch of Daniel Marine, an uncle of Mrs. Mason, in another part of this work. The following children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mason:
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Earl J., connected with the Canton Glass Company at Marion, was educated in the Indiana Business College and is single.
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Flossie M., the wife of George Ice, of Jennings County, Indiana, and the mother of one child, Velma.
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Ethel May, who graduated August 13, 1913, from the Normal Institute at Muncie, Indiana, is now a teacher of elocution in the same school, with a very promising outlook.
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Chester and Charles, living at home with their parents, and both now in the third year of the high school at Gas City, Indiana.
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Alice, the first born, who died when but one week old.
Mr. and Mrs. Mason are consistent members of the Methodist Protestant Church, in the faith of which they have reared their children. Mr. Mason is a Democrat. His business methods are ever honorable and straightforward, and his close application, perseverance and unabating energy have enabled him to work his way steadily upward, and onward to a position of affluence and high esteem. His home is his castle, and he is never so happy as when surrounded by his family. In his comfortable residence he has numerous relics of pioneer days, and among the most interesting and valued of these are the rifles which belonged to his great-grandfather and grandfather, the latter of which in the days of its usefulness killed probably one hundred deer in Grant County, a meat that in the early day largely provided the family with food. He also has his great-grandfather Coleman's Bible, bearing dates that were written in the year 1786, which he highly prizes.
Source: Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914, page 1255, 1256, 1257.