Bartholomew County IN Archives Biographies.....Godfrey, James 1825 - 1903
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Author: B. F. Bowen (1904)

p. 187-189
JAMES GODFREY.

   James Godfrey, deceased, was born in Dresden, Coshocton county, Ohio, on the
12th of May, 1825, his birthplace being his father's old farm in Virginia
township. He was a son of James and Sarah Godfrey, the former a native of
Maryland born in 1792, while the mother's birth also occurred in that state.
When a young man James Godfrey, Sr., removed to Ohio and there he began teaming.
He also aided in clearing the wild land and did whatever work came to his hand
that would yield him an honest dollar. Pioneer conditions existed and the
hardships and trials of frontier life were to be borne. There was a great deal
of wild game in the county and to some extent Mr. Godfrey engaged in hunting.
There were also wild animals in the forests and Indians still lived in the
neighborhood. The father of the subject did his full share in reclaiming- the
wild district for the purposes of civilization and for the uses of the white
race. He became one of the progressive and substantial farmers of the locality
and for many years carried on agricultural pursuits, in fact, made farming his
life work. He was the owner of seventy-two acres of land which he had cleared
and improved and his farm was a monument to his life of industry and enterprise.
In his political views in early life he was a Whig and took an active interest
in politics. He passed away in the year 1849 and his wife died when the subject
of this review was about seven years of age. This worthy couple were the parents
of seven children: William, John and Thomas, all of whom are now deceased;
James, whose name introduces this article; Charles, a resident of near Lebanon,
Indiana; and Elizabeth and Sarah, who have also passed away.

   James Godfrey was reared amid the wild scenes of pioneer life in Ohio and
witnessed many changes during the three-quarters of a century in which he
traveled life's journey. The farming methods of today are very different from
'those followed in his boyhood and the implements which he used in. plowing,
planting and harvesting bore little resemblance to the improved farm machinery
of the present. He early learned what it was to work in the fields, tramping
back and forth across the large tract of lands as he turned the furrows arid
dropped the seed which in due course of time was to bring forth abundant
harvests. His youth was a period of earnest toil in which he had comparatively
few advantages, but as the years passed, through the improvement of his
opportunities and his unfaltering diligence in his business affairs, he won
success. He always followed farming and was the owner of two hundred and
seventy-six acres of valuable land, situated in Bartholomew county. Nearly all
of this is under a high state of cultivation and a part of it was cleared by Mr.
Godfrey. In his youth he worked on the Ohio canal, driving a horse that hauled a
canal boat used in transporting flour for the Adams Flour Company. He always
made the most of his opportunities through life and at his death was the
possessor of a handsome competence which enabled him to live retired.

   Mr. Godfrey was united in marriage to Miss Adeline Thompson, a daughter of
Joseph Thompson, and their union was blessed with three children: Harvey W.;
Howard J. is engaged in the marble business in Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisa is
the wife of Poe Duffey, a farmer of Cheney, Kansas, who was formerly engaged in
the grocery business in Golden City, Missouri. After the death of his first wife
Mr. Godfrey was again married, his second union being with Sarah Irwin, a
daughter of Captain Whitesides, a former miller of Columbus. She died March 25,
1901, leaving one child, Nellie, who is still at home.

   In the year 1887 Mr. Godfrey purchased property in Columbus and lived retired
until his death on September 3, 1903. Since the organization of the Republican
party in 1856 he gave it his unfaltering support when questions of state and
national importance were involved. At local elections, however, he voted
independently, casting his ballot for the men whom he thought best qualified for
office. For fifty-nine years he was a resident of Columbus township and could
relate many incidents which affected the history of the county and molded its
progress and upbuilding. He always took an active and helpful part in matters
pertaining to the general good and took a just pride in what had been
accomplished in this portion of the state. He was never an office seeker, being
content to do his duty as a private citizen. His friends and neighbors speak of
him in terms of praise and of high regard and there was no doubt in his life
record much that is worthy of commendation and of emulation. With very limited
educational privileges and with no financial assistance at the outset of his
career, he steadily worked his way upward and at the time of his death was one
of the wealthy men of the county whose portion of this world's goods had been
worthily secured through honorable business methods. He has favored everything
pertaining to the benefit of his fellowmen along material, intellectual and
moral lines and well does he deserve their respect and regard.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF BARTHOLOMEW COUNTY
INDIANA

INCLUDING BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GOVERNORS AND OTHER REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS OF INDIANA

ILLUSTRATED

1904

B. F. Bowen PUBLISHER

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