Bartholomew-Jennings County IN Archives Biographies.....Storey, John V. 1826 - 
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Author: B. F. Bowen (1904)

JOHN V. STOREY.

   Among the leading citizens of Columbus, Indiana, none are better known or
more highly esteemed for their sterling traits of character than John Vawter
Storey, who for over half a century has been a resident of this city, and for
most of that long period was closely identified with the business interests of
the community. Mr. Storey is a native of Indiana and on both sides of his family
is descended from pioneers of the state. The Storey family is of Irish origin,
their ancestry being traced direct to the Emerald Isle, where John Storey, the
grandfather of the subject, was born and reared. He emigrated to America at an
early date and settled in Kentucky during the latter part of the eighteenth
century, where he married and continued to reside the balance of his life. The
father of the subject was Thomas J. Storey, who was born in the Blue Grass state
on November 20, 1796. When a young man, he left Kentucky and came over into
Indiana, locating first at Indianapolis, where he followed his trade of
carpentering and contracting. While residing in Indianapolis he was married to a
daughter of John L. Spann, of Vernon, Jennings county, Indiana. After a short
residence in Indianapolis, he removed to Columbus, where his wife died.
Subsequently he located permanently in Vernon, and there was married to Jane
Vawter. The Vawter family is one of the oldest and most prominent in the Hoosier
state. The family is of Saxon stock and its origin in America dates back to the
close of the sixteenth century, when three brothers, by the name of John,
Bartholomew and Angus, emigrated from England. The name at that time was
"Vawlter," but the brothers changed it on coming to America .by dropping the
letter "l." Of the above brothers, Angus settled in the New England colony,
Bartholomew in South Carolina and David in the colony of Virginia. The Virginia
Vawter was the ancestor of the subject. The Christian name of John has come down
in the Vawter family for five generations. The great-great-great-grandfather of
Mr. Storey was John Vawter, who had four sons, Bartholomew, Angus, Richard and
David, and two daughters, Winnifred and Margaret, David was the subject's
great-great-grandfather. He had three sons Jesse, Philemon and William, and
three daughters, Winnifred, Margaret and Mary. Jesse, the eldest son of David,
was the subject's great-grandfather. He was born December 1, 1755, in Virginia,
and on March 29, 1781, married Elizabeth Watts, who was also born in Virginia
December 30, 1762, and was the daughter of John and Sally Watts, both of English
stock. Jesse Vawter and wife had nine children, as follows: John was born in
Madison county, Virginia; William, James, Fanny, Sally and Mary were born in
North Carolina (now Sullivan county, Tennessee at that time, called the state of
Franklin); Julia, Achilles and Ann were born in Kentucky. Jesse Vawter was a
blacksmith by trade, served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war and was an
elder in the Baptist church. His death occurred in Kentucky March 20, 1835. His
wife died September 10, 1830. The grandfather of the subject was Colonel John
Vawter, who was born in Virginia January 8, 1782, and went with his father Jesse
first into North Carolina and thence came to Shelby county, Kentucky, In 1806 he
came into Indiana, bringing his young wife and an infant son. He settled first
at Madison, Jefferson county, and in 1818 removed to Jennings county, where he
purchased two sections of land. On one of these sections he laid out the present
town of Vernon, the county seat of Jennings. He was a remarkable man of the
town. He was the leading exponent of internal improvement in Indiana in his day,
and was a prime factor in the movement which resulted in the building of both
the Madison Railroad and the Wabash and Erie Canal. Later he was interested in
the building of the Franklin and Martinsville road, of which he became
president. He served for sixteen years as United States marshal in Indiana and
for nine years was a member of the Indiana senate. His versatility was
remarkable and at one time in his life he was a landlord, merchant, surveyor,
lawyer and preacher, all at the same time.

   Thomas J. Storey, the father of the subject, served as a soldier in the war
of 1812. He was a member of the Christian church. He and his second wife became
the parents of the following ten children: John V., the subject; Emila, born
December 12, 1828, died July 20, 1842; Mary, born April 21, 1831, died March 4,
1900; Smith W., born December 23, 1833, died October 7, 1903; David, born
January 27, 1836, died April 5, 1842; Thomas H., born July 18, 1838, died
January 23, 1890; Joseph M., born October 17, 1840; Riley C., born December 18,
1842, died September 17, 1902; George W., born July 26, 1845; Emma, born May 2,
1848, married Daniel Lattimoor, a clerk in the United State pension office at
Washington. Thomas J. Storey, the father, died July 16, 1878. His wife, Jane V.
Storey, was born July 17, 1809, and died March 8, 1864.

   John V. Storey was born in Vernon, Jennings county, Indiana, on December 17,
1826. He attended the public schools. He learned the saddler's trade, at which
he worked for a short time after finishing his apprenticeship, and then began
business on his own account in that line, and at which he continued for a period
of six months. He then traded his saddlery business for a half interest in a
drug store in Vernon, where he continued for five years. In 1853 he removed to
Columbus and continued his drug business in this city for eighteen years. In
1871 he retired from active business life, though continuing to hold large
interests which he had acquired from time to time by judicious investments. He
has always been progressive in his ideas, safe and conservative in his business
dealings, and his career has been one of uniform success. He served for several
years as a member and treasurer of the school board of Columbus, and during his
incumbency of that office he had an experience which demonstrates the kind of a
man he is. The school money, was deposited in a local bank, which failed. Mr.
Storey at once applied to Judge Walter O. Gresham, then United States judge of
Indiana, and obtained from him an injunction prohibiting the receiver of the
bank from paying out one dollar to any source until the school money had been
returned to the school board. This was finally done, but in the meantime there
was no money to run the schools, and for two terms Mr. Storey supplied the
expenses from his private means.

   On November 15, 1846, Mr. Storey married Mary J. Storey, a cousin, who was
born in Kentucky on November 15, 1824, and. they became the parents of the
following children: Martha J., born August 31, 1847, married Joseph L. Smith,
present postmaster of Richmond, Indiana, an ex-sheriff of that county and a
Civil war veteran; William D., born January 31, 1849, died February 27, 1900;
Ezra, born October 8, 1853; Cora V., born August 15, 1855; Frank, born December
16, 1856, died January 11, 1896; Charles, born October 16, 1859. Mr. Storey's
first wife died September 27, 1891, and on November 23, 1894, he was married to
Mrs. Addie M. Moore, widow of A. M. Moore. She was born at Milford Center, Union
county, Ohio, on September 19, i860, the daughter of Andrew S. and Catharine
(Dobbins) Sprague. Mr. Storey is a member of the Masonic fraternity and he and
wife are members of the Christian church, of which for several years he was a
trustee. Mr. Storey's political affiliations have ever been with the Republican
party. During his boyhood days Mr. Storey found great pleasure in fishing and
hunting and spent his vacation periods in that way. This taste has always
remained with him as one of his strong characteristics, and in these ways he has
found recreation and rest from business care. He greatly enjoys the sport with
the rod and gun, and frequently goes to Turkey and Webster lakes and Pigeon
river in order to enjoy himself. As a follower of both Isaak Walton and Nimrod
he has won considerable local fame and his mind is stored with interesting
incidents of his experiences, in the relating of which he often whiles away dull
time for himself and friends. Mr. Storey possesses a genial, jovial disposition
and is always an enjoyable companion. His life has been a busy one, but he has
always found time to discharge his social obligations. Possessed of more than
ordinary business ability and acumen, he has met with gratifying success in his
undertakings, and is today regarded as one of Columbus's solid citizens, and his
success has been the result of his own ability and energy, his efforts having
been entirely unaided by outside influences. His life has been wholesome and
exemplary in every respect and his course in all matters has been such as to win
him the respect and regard of all with whom he has been in contact. As a
gentleman, citizen, business man and Christian, his life has been well rounded
out.


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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