Howard County IN Archives Biographies.....Jessup, John W. 1861 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 16, 2006, 2:34 am

Author: Jackson Morrow

JOHN W. JESSUP.

   Upon the roll of representative citizens and prominent and influential
agriculturists of Taylor township, Howard county, appears the name which
initiates this paragraph. Mr. Jessup has been a resident of this county since
his youth and has worked his own way to a position of marked precedence in both
business and political affairs, while he is held in unqualified esteem by the
people of his community.

   John W. Jessup was born in Howard county, February 4, 1861, the son of Jacob
and Nancy (Sparks) Jessup. His grandfather and grandmother on his father's side
were natives of Pennsylvania, who first moved to Ohio, later to Parke county,
Indiana, where he owned and operated a good farm, having come to that locality
seventy-seven years ago, dating back from 1908. Here he reared his children,
nine in number, and spent his remaining years. He was a member of the Christian
church while his wife was connected with the Methodist congregation.

   Jacob Jessup, father of the subject, was the eighth child in order of birth,
having been born in Ohio, June 7, 1823, being brought by his parents from that
state when eight years old to Indiana. His early education was received in the
district schools of Parke county. He worked in his youth on his father's farm,
assisting to make a farm and a home, working thus with his parents until his
father's death when he fell heir to the home place, on which he remained for
several years, when he sold out and moved to Howard county in 1852, buying a
farm in Taylor township of one hundred and sixty acres, of which only seven
acres were cleared. He had to make his own road to Center, where he had to
purchase supplies for his family. This town was called Tampico at that time and
there were but few settlers, only a small portion of the country being cleared.
But our subject's father was always a man of thrift and he cleared the land
gradually, assisted by our subject, also added to it as his fortune increased
until he had two hundred and eighty acres. He not only cleared, but improved the
farm by draining it and otherwise transforming the wild land into a first class
farm, the land having originally been swampy and would scarcely raise anything
of value at that time, but it is today very productive as the result of years of
patient labor of Mr. Jessup. The original log house occupied the same site where
the present modern, substantial and commodious dwelling now stands and the
fields are well drained by tile. In addition to this our subject has an
eighty-acre farm adjoining, which is under a high state of cultivation. 

   Ten children were born to Jacob Jessup and wife, all but one living to
maturity, and seven of them have raised families. The father is a member of the
Christian church and was always an active member of the same until he became too
feeble to take much interest in church work. The mother of the subject was a
Methodist. She passed away January 19, 1866, having been born in 1831. The
father is now living with our subject. He has been twice married. He has been a
very rugged man, being for many years considered the strongest man in the
district. He was long an active worker in the Democratic party, but he never
held office.

   John W. Jessup, our subject, was born on the farm where he has since resided,
aiding in his youth with the farm work and attending the district schools as
occasion afforded. He worked in building up the farm until he was of age; he
then rented a farm from his father and is still continuing to work the old
homestead and in addition works his own farm. He has always been an extensive
stock raiser, dealing in both cattle and hogs, the Poland cattle having received
his attention, for the most part feeding cattle for the meat market. He feeds
all the corn raised on the place and in addition buys much other corn which he
feeds there. He has kept the farms under his management in a high state of
productiveness through a skillful rotation of crops, raising one corn crop and
one of small grain, then one of clover on the land before another crop of corn
is placed on it. He uses no commercial fertilizers and he now raises larger
crops than at any former period. He is of the opinion that his land can be kept
perpetually up to its present state of productiveness by continuing his present
system of modern farming. No more up-to-date and painstaking farmer is to be
found in Howard county than our subject.

   Mr. Jessup was married in 1886 to Georgia Augusta Hobson, daughter of Absalom
and Martha Jane (Foster) Hobson, her father having been a native of Indiana and
her mother a native of Ohio. Robert Foster, a brother of Mrs. Jessup's mother,
was a soldier in the Union army, having enlisted early in the war from Indiana
and served during the entire war, having been captured and sent to Libby prison.
Having been wounded in battle he never entirely recovered and he is now in a
soldiers' home. There were seven children in the family of Mrs. Jessup's
parents. Her- father died at the age of eighty years. He was a Methodist, having
long been active in that church. He was also active in politics, voting the
Republican ticket. Her mother is now living at the age of seventy years in 1908.
She is also a strict Methodist.

   Only one child has been born to the subject and wife, Fred, whose date of
birth is November 29, 1887, is a graduate of the Kokomo high school and in 1908
is in his third year at the State University, where he is making a brilliant
record, being a young man with much talent and having a bright future. They are
raising an adopted daughter, having taken her when five months old. She is Mr.
Jessup's sister's child, whose mother died when the child was young.

   Mr. Jessup is an active member of the Christian church while Mrs. Jessup
subscribes to the Methodist faith. The former is an active Democrat, having been
trustee of his township for two terms, handling the duties of this important
office with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned
during the four years of his incumbency. In 1908 he was his party’s nominee for
re-election. He is a public-spirited man and is well and favorably known
throughout the township where he resides for his honesty and uprightness in all
his business dealings. He is a man of pleasing address and is known for his
hospitality and kindness to the poor.


Additional Comments:
From:

HISTORY OF HOWARD COUNTY INDIANA
BY
JACKSON MORROW, B. A.
ILLUSTRATED
VOL. II
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

(circa 1909)

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