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Note: Thanks to Alan R. Wambold (awambold@@powercom.net) for the following bio on William McKinsey:
William McKinsey biography from: Biographical Memoirs of Hancock County, Indiana. Logansport, IN: B. F. Bowen, 1902. Pages 736-9.
WILLIAM McKINSEY.
Nearly sixty-eight years ago this old citizen of Brown township came to the wilds of Hancock county and has literally grown up with the county. In all the local works of progress and improvement he has borne his part and his influence has always been exerted in behalf of good government and a high order of citizenship. Vast changes have taken place in this portion of the state since he was a boy, changes of which he has not only been a deeply interested witness, but an active participant and a potent factor in promoting the material and moral development of the community. Mr. McKinsey�s earliest recollections are of deep and dense forests, broken at intervals by the settlers� cabins, and his ears were often saluted by the howls of the wolf or the shrill screams of the panther. The red men were yet in the land of their fathers and they viewed with feelings of mingled sadness and rage the oncoming wave of civilization which was soon to sweep from their hunting grounds the last! vestige of a once numerous and daring people. The subject remembers how they would frequently come to his father�s cabin to warm themselves, or to satisfy their hunger with the food which the good pioneer mother always had on hand in anticipation of their visits.
Richard McKinsey, grandfather of William, was a Kentuckian and a true type of the daring backwoodsman of the early day. He was one of the first white men to locate within the present boundaries of Rush county, moving to that part of the state as long ago perhaps as 1819 or 1820 and clearing a small farm in one of the most thickly wooded sections of the country. Later he went to Coles county, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life, dying a number of years ago at a good old age. Richard McKinsey was the father of the following children: John, Cynthia, Joseph, Mary and David, all of whom have followed their parents to the land beyond the river.
John McKinsey, the oldest son, was a youth of nineteen when the family left Kentucky and from 1820 to 1834 he lived in Rush and Madison counties, Indiana. In the latter year he came to Green township, Hancock county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of government land, which was six miles from the nearest settlement. Here he hastily constructed a round-log cabin, eighteen by twenty feet in size, and began the herculean task of clearing away the dense forest growth with which his place was covered. He experienced all the hardships and vicissitudes incident to pioneer life, made a good farm and became one of the leading citizens of his neighborhood. The subject of this sketch recalls with much interest those early experiences when the county was new, and tells how the deer and other wild animals could be seen almost any day from the cabin door. For some years wild meat constituted an important item in the daily bill of fare, as all kinds of game were plentiful a! nd easily obtained. The choicest venison could be procured in abundance at any time, while wild turkeys, geese and many other species of fowl, together with smaller game such as squirrels, were hardly worth the little trouble required to kill them.
Mr. McKinsey was a hard-working man, generous almost to a fault, and stood high in the esteem of his neighbors and friends throughout the settlements. He loved his home and cared little for any thing in the way of public life, having never aspired to any of the local offices for which he was eminently qualified to fill. He married Lucinda Jackson, whose father, Stephen Jackson, a native of North Carolina, moved in a very early day to Ohio, in which state Mrs. McKinsey was born. Subsequently he came to Hancock county, Indiana, and settled in Green township where he purchased and cleared a farm and became a well-to-do and widely-known citizen. He was three times married, his first wife being Catherine Waymer, who bore him the following children: Rebecca, Elizabeth, Frederick, Henry, Lucinda, Sarah, Richard and John. His other marriages were without issue. John and Lucinda McKinsey had born to them children as follows: William L., of this review; James C. died at the age of nin! eteen; Nancy J. departed this life December 2, 1901; Alfred T. lives in Emporia, Kansas, and John R. also lives in that state. The father of these children died in 1846, the mother preceding him to the silent land six years previous.
William L. McKinsey was born January 17, 1831, while his parents lived in Madison county. He was a child of three or four years when the family came to the county of Hancock, consequently has a very faint recollection of the scene of his birth. When a lad he attended the indifferent subscription schools for a couple of months each winter season until old enough to be of use on the farm, after which his time was spent in a ceaseless round of toil, clearing land and otherwise fitting the soil for tillage. He had to work very hard and knew not what it meant to spend a day in idleness. Occasionally he would take a day off for hunting, but this was as much from necessity as for sport or recreation, as his gun was one of the means of replenishing the table when meat became scarce of the family desired a change of diet. He remained with his father until his twenty-fifth year and being the oldest son much of the labor and responsibility of the farm naturally fell upon his shoulders.! He faithfully did his duty to his parents and when starting into the world for himself had the satisfaction of knowing that they were in comfortable circumstances.
On the 13th day of June, 1855, Mr. McKinsey and Miss Mary Jane Rigby, daughter of Josiah and Nancy (Milner) Rigby, were made man and wife and immediately thereafter they began housekeeping on a part of the old homestead. Mr. McKinsey continued to farm the place for a number of years and became a successful agriculturist. He acquired a comfortable fortune and it was not until October, 1901, that he purchased his present beautiful farm on Willow Branch, Brown township, and retired from active participation in farm work. He now owns a finely improved place of two hundred and forty acres, nearly all under cultivation and well adapted for general farming and stock raising. It is admirably situated and with the improvements added since he took possession is one of the richest as well as one of the most attractive and desirable places in the township of Brown.
In his younger days Mr. McKinsey learned carpentry and became a very efficient and skillful workman. He worked at the trade in connection with agricultural pursuits until a recent date and erected many houses, barns and other buildings in various parts of Hancock and adjoining counties, thereby adding considerably to his income. He has always taken a lively interest in the general growth and welfare of the country, and at different times has been honored with local office, among which were those of assessor and trustee. He filled the later position while living in Green township and proved a capable and popular official, discharging his duties in such a manner as to win the good opinion of the public. He is a stanch Republican.
Mr. McKinsey is an excellent citizen and has borne well his part in life. His aim has always been to help his fellow man and how well he has succeeded in this laudable desire is attested by the high esteem in which he is held by his neighbors and friends. He has seen the county steadily emerge from a wilderness state to become one of the finest and most prosperous sections of Indiana, and during all these years he has contributed his share towards bringing about this important and much desired condition.
Mr. and Mrs. McKinsey have a family consisting of the following children: James O., a farmer of Green township, who has charge of his father�s old place in that part of the county; he married Alice Aikin and is the father of two offspring, Frank and Mabel; Alice, the second of the subject�s children, died in infancy; Martha Jane, who married W. P. Bussell, died at the age of eighteen, leaving two children, Maude O. and Leonard M.; Ida M. is now the widow of the late William M. Wilson; she lives in Green township and is the mother of four children, Hattie B., Mary J., deceased, Ray and Clay, the last two twins; Clara Ellen is the wife of James Alby, a merchant of Willow Branch, this state, and has two children, William E. and Hazel D.; Walter T., the youngest of the family, married Daisy Roberts and lives on a part of his father�s place in Green township.
Mrs. McKinsey�s father was born in England and her mother in the state of Kentucky. The former was twice married, his first wife dying in his native country. Josiah Rigby was a weaver by trade, but after coming to America devoted his attention exclusively to the pursuit of agriculture. He first settled in Union county, this state, and in 1852 changed his residence to the county of Hancock, locating in Green township where he purchased a farm, on which his death occurred in 1856; his widow survived until 1864, when she too was summoned to the other life. They had two children, George, deceased, and Mary Jane, wife of the subject of this sketch.[TLWalters2005.FTW]
Thanks to Alan R. Wambold (awambold@@powercom.net) for the following bio on William McKinsey:
William McKinsey biography from: Biographical Memoirs of Hancock County, Indiana. Logansport, IN: B. F. Bowen, 1902. Pages 736-9.
WILLIAM McKINSEY.
Nearly sixty-eight years ago this old citizen of Brown township came to the wilds of Hancock county and has literally grown up with the county. In all the local works of progress and improvement he has borne his part and his influence has always been exerted in behalf of good government and a high order of citizenship. Vast changes have taken place in this portion of the state since he was a boy, changes of which he has not only been a deeply interested witness, but an active participant and a potent factor in promoting the material and moral development of the community. Mr. McKinsey�s earliest recollections are of deep and dense forests, broken at intervals by the settlers� cabins, and his ears were often saluted by the howls of the wolf or the shrill screams of the panther. The red men were yet in the land of their fathers and they viewed with feelings of mingled sadness and rage the oncoming wave of civilization which was soon to sweep from their hunting grounds the last! vestige of a once numerous and daring people. The subject remembers how they would frequently come to his father�s cabin to warm themselves, or to satisfy their hunger with the food which the good pioneer mother always had on hand in anticipation of their visits.
Richard McKinsey, grandfather of William, was a Kentuckian and a true type of the daring backwoodsman of the early day. He was one of the first white men to locate within the present boundaries of Rush county, moving to that part of the state as long ago perhaps as 1819 or 1820 and clearing a small farm in one of the most thickly wooded sections of the country. Later he went to Coles county, Illinois, where he spent the rest of his life, dying a number of years ago at a good old age. Richard McKinsey was the father of the following children: John, Cynthia, Joseph, Mary and David, all of whom have followed their parents to the land beyond the river.
John McKinsey, the oldest son, was a youth of nineteen when the family left Kentucky and from 1820 to 1834 he lived in Rush and Madison counties, Indiana. In the latter year he came to Green township, Hancock county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of government land, which was six miles from the nearest settlement. Here he hastily constructed a round-log cabin, eighteen by twenty feet in size, and began the herculean task of clearing away the dense forest growth with which his place was covered. He experienced all the hardships and vicissitudes incident to pioneer life, made a good farm and became one of the leading citizens of his neighborhood. The subject of this sketch recalls with much interest those early experiences when the county was new, and tells how the deer and other wild animals could be seen almost any day from the cabin door. For some years wild meat constituted an important item in the daily bill of fare, as all kinds of game were plentiful a! nd easily obtained. The choicest venison could be procured in abundance at any time, while wild turkeys, geese and many other species of fowl, together with smaller game such as squirrels, were hardly worth the little trouble required to kill them.
Mr. McKinsey was a hard-working man, generous almost to a fault, and stood high in the esteem of his neighbors and friends throughout the settlements. He loved his home and cared little for any thing in the way of public life, having never aspired to any of the local offices for which he was eminently qualified to fill. He married Lucinda Jackson, whose father, Stephen Jackson, a native of North Carolina, moved in a very early day to Ohio, in which state Mrs. McKinsey was born. Subsequently he came to Hancock county, Indiana, and settled in Green township where he purchased and cleared a farm and became a well-to-do and widely-known citizen. He was three times married, his first wife being Catherine Waymer, who bore him the following children: Rebecca, Elizabeth, Frederick, Henry, Lucinda, Sarah, Richard and John. His other marriages were without issue. John and Lucinda McKinsey had born to them children as follows: William L., of this review; James C. died at the age of nin! eteen; Nancy J. departed this life December 2, 1901; Alfred T. lives in Emporia, Kansas, and John R. also lives in that state. The father of these children died in 1846, the mother preceding him to the silent land six years previous.
William L. McKinsey was born January 17, 1831, while his parents lived in Madison county. He was a child of three or four years when the family came to the county of Hancock, consequently has a very faint recollection of the scene of his birth. When a lad he attended the indifferent subscription schools for a couple of months each winter season until old enough to be of use on the farm, after which his time was spent in a ceaseless round of toil, clearing land and otherwise fitting the soil for tillage. He had to work very hard and knew not what it meant to spend a day in idleness. Occasionally he would take a day off for hunting, but this was as much from necessity as for sport or recreation, as his gun was one of the means of replenishing the table when meat became scarce of the family desired a change of diet. He remained with his father until his twenty-fifth year and being the oldest son much of the labor and responsibility of the farm naturally fell upon his shoulders.! He faithfully did his duty to his parents and when starting into the world for himself had the satisfaction of knowing that they were in comfortable circumstances.
On the 13th day of June, 1855, Mr. McKinsey and Miss Mary Jane Rigby, daughter of Josiah and Nancy (Milner) Rigby, were made man and wife and immediately thereafter they began housekeeping on a part of the old homestead. Mr. McKinsey continued to farm the place for a number of years and became a successful agriculturist. He acquired a comfortable fortune and it was not until October, 1901, that he purchased his present beautiful farm on Willow Branch, Brown township, and retired from active participation in farm work. He now owns a finely improved place of two hundred and forty acres, nearly all under cultivation and well adapted for general farming and stock raising. It is admirably situated and with the improvements added since he took possession is one of the richest as well as one of the most attractive and desirable places in the township of Brown.
In his younger days Mr. McKinsey learned carpentry and became a very efficient and skillful workman. He worked at the trade in connection with agricultural pursuits until a recent date and erected many houses, barns and other buildings in various parts of Hancock and adjoining counties, thereby adding considerably to his income. He has always taken a lively interest in the general growth and welfare of the country, and at different times has been honored with local office, among which were those of assessor and trustee. He filled the later position while living in Green township and proved a capable and popular official, discharging his duties in such a manner as to win the good opinion of the public. He is a stanch Republican.
Mr. McKinsey is an excellent citizen and has borne well his part in life. His aim has always been to help his fellow man and how well he has succeeded in this laudable desire is attested by the high esteem in which he is held by his neighbors and friends. He has seen the county steadily emerge from a wilderness state to become one of the finest and most prosperous sections of Indiana, and during all these years he has contributed his share towards bringing about this important and much desired condition.
Mr. and Mrs. McKinsey have a family consisting of the following children: James O., a farmer of Green township, who has charge of his father�s old place in that part of the county; he married Alice Aikin and is the father of two offspring, Frank and Mabel; Alice, the second of the subject�s children, died in infancy; Martha Jane, who married W. P. Bussell, died at the age of eighteen, leaving two children, Maude O. and Leonard M.; Ida M. is now the widow of the late William M. Wilson; she lives in Green township and is the mother of four children, Hattie B., Mary J., deceased, Ray and Clay, the last two twins; Clara Ellen is the wife of James Alby, a merchant of Willow Branch, this state, and has two children, William E. and Hazel D.; Walter T., the youngest of the family, married Daisy Roberts and lives on a part of his father�s place in Green township.
Mrs. McKinsey�s father was born in England and her mother in the state of Kentucky. The former was twice married, his first wife dying in his native country. Josiah Rigby was a weaver by trade, but after coming to America devoted his attention exclusively to the pursuit of agriculture. He first settled in Union county, this state, and in 1852 changed his residence to the county of Hancock, locating in Green township where he purchased a farm, on which his death occurred in 1856; his widow survived until 1864, when she too was summoned to the other life. They had two children, George, deceased, and Mary Jane, wife of the subject of this sketch.
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