Lake County IN Archives Biographies.....Pixley, Chester P. 1863 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/in/infiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 25, 2006, 9:49 pm Author: T. H. Ball (1904) CHESTER P. PIXLEY. Chester P. Pixley is a member of a prominent family of the name who have resided in Lake county since the middle of last century, and whose identification with its industrial, social and intellectual interests has been a factor for progress and improvement along all lines. Mr. Pixley belongs to the younger class of men who have so energetically taken hold of affairs in West Creek township and increased its reputation as the banner township of the county, and his energy and fine management have given him a large amount of success in life. Mr. Pixley was born on the old homestead in this county where he still resides, on October 9, 1863. His parents were William H. and Nancy Ann (Scritchfield) Pixley, and he was the third in their family of ten children, six sons and four daughters, eight of whom are still living, as follows: Alice, the wife of Charles A. Taylor, a prosperous farmer in West Creek township; Chester P.; Mary, the wife of C. P. Edgerton, a farmer of Center township; Edwin, married, and a jeweler of Lowell; Martha, wife of Obediah Vinnedge, of Creston, Indiana; Calvin, a jeweler of Lowell; Clara, who was educated in the Lowell high school and is a teacher in West Creek township; and Milo M., a salesman in F. E. Nelson's store in Lowell. William H. Pixley, the father, was born in Lake county, Ohio, October 10, 1824, and died January 6, 1897. He was reared in his native state, graduated from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, was a teacher during his youth, and spent most of his life in farming and stock-raising. During the fifties he and his father came to Lake county, and he and his father laid claim to over seven hundred acres of government land. He erected his home on the very farm where his son Chester now resides, and he lived there until his death. He was a prominent and well known man in the community, was noted for his fairness in all business transactions, and honored for his judgment and worth. He adhered to the Whig party till its dissolution, and from then on till his death voted mainly with the Democrats, although he supported Lincoln, and was later a warm advocate of the greenback principles and a great admirer of Peter Cooper. He was a prominent official in the Masonic fraternity at Lowell. His wife was a native of Kentucky and came to this county from her native state when about thirteen years old. She was one of thirteen children in the Scritchfield family, and one died recently at the age of seventy and eleven are yet living, making a remarkable record for longevity. Both father and mother Pixley are interred in the Creston cemetery, where a monument stands sacred to their memory. Mr. Chester P. Pixley was reared in West Creek township and was educated in the common schools, and has made the tilling of the soil his chief occupation. He remained at home with his parents for some years after reaching his majority, and on December 6, 1899, was married to Miss Lydia A. Taylor. They have one little daughter, Mae Belle by name. Mrs. Pixley was born in Crown Point, Indiana, February 9, 1873, being the eldest of six children, three sons and three daughters, of John R. and Susan (Strong) Taylor. She has four brothers and sisters living: Hamlet, a farmer of West Creek township, and married; Maude, wife of John Wheeler, of the same township; John A., a farmer of West Creek township; and Cora E., who married William E. Schofield, of Griffith, this county. Mrs. Pixley's father was born in this county March 13, 1846, was reared as a farmer and educated in the common schools, and is still living in the county. He was a member of the Twelfth Indiana Cavalry, enlisting from Crown Point for three years, and was in various battles and received some wounds during the war, being honorably discharged November 10, 1865. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Crown Point. Mrs. Pixley was educated in the common schools and took three years in the Crown Point high school, after which she was one of the successful teachers of Lake county for six years, being a teacher in one school for five years. She has also taken work in music. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Pixley settled on the old Pixley homestead and have since made this their happy home, where they are held in high esteem for their social and individual worth and where they have a large circle of friends around them. They have one hundred acres of the choice land of the township. Mr. Pixley is an enthusiastic stock farmer, and raises some fine Norman Percheron horses and Poland China hogs, and is doing his share toward bringing the stock of the county up to higher standards. He is a Democrat in politics, has been a delegate to the state conventions, and has loyally supported the party at all times. Additional Comments: Extracted from: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Genealogy and Biography OF LAKE COUNTY, INDIANA, WITH A COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY 1834—1904 A Record of the Achievements of Its People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. REV. T. H. BALL OF CROWN POINT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO NEW YORK THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY 1904 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/in/lake/bios/pixley562gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/infiles/ File size: 5.8 Kb