Warren County IN Archives Biographies.....Tomlinson, Jesse August 9, 1795 - March 31, 1853
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James Tomlinson Jamesjayt22@hotmail.com November 27, 2006, 1:19 am

Author: Published in 1899 by Lewis Publishing Company

                         Biography Of Jesse Tomlinson 

     Jesse Tomlinson. One of the first pioneers of Warren County was Jesse 
Tomlinson, a son of Joseph and Mary Tomlinson. He settled here in 1826, and 
bravely encountered all the difficulties, dangers and privations common to 
frontier life, and after more than a quarter of a century's struggle with his 
environments closed his eyes in death March 31, 1853. He was one of the 
forerunners of civilization, one of those hardy, courageous souls who were 
among the founders of this commonwealth, and to whose labors and confidence in 
the final outcome of the county and state is due much of the credit of their 
later prosperity. 

     A native of Cumberland County, Maryland, born August 9, 1795, Jesse 
Tomlinson did not remember his father, who died when the lad was a young child. 
His mother afterward became the wife of a Mr. Dean, and one son, Francis D., 
was born to that union. Jesse Tomlinson had one own brother, William, who died 
in Ohio, about 1824, leaving a widow and two children. When Jesse was six years 
old he and his brother William were taken to Chillicothe, Ohio, and were reared 
in the home of a maternal aunt. The half-brother, Francis Dean, died many years 
ago and left a family to mourn his loss. 

     In his early manhood our subject learned the trade of brick-mason, and 
worked at that calling, at intervals, for several years. December 24, 1818, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Mary McFarland, who was born May 5, 1799, in 
Chillicothe, Ohio. The year following his marriage Mr. Tomlinson built the poor-
house in the vicinity of Chillicothe, and was busily employed on public and 
private buildings in that section of the state until he removed to Indiana. As 
previously stated, it was in 1826 that he came to Warren County, and here he 
entered a quarter section of land in Steuben Township, also buying an eighty 
acre tract from a Mr. Sisson. This was his home for life and here he 
established the family cemetery, which is beautifully situated near the old 
orchard. He willed this cemetery plat to himself as a family burying ground, 
and here were tenderly laid to rest not only himself but also the other 
deceased members of the family. He made the journey hither on horseback, and 
was accompanied in his trip by Thomas Johnson and Messrs. Woolverton, Boyer and 
Ridenour. The following spring a considerable party came to take possession of 
frontier homes here, among them being Mr. Tomlinson and his immediate family, 
his mother-in-law, two brothers-in-law, two unmarried sisters-in-law, John 
McFarland and William Slater. Our subject settled on the land which he had 
previously entered, and with characteristic energy he proceeded to clear and 
develop a farm. His nearest neighbor for some time was five miles away, and 
when, after much difficulty, he had managed to raise a crop, he was obliged to 
transport the grain to Chicago in wagons, and there trade it for necessary 
provisions and supplies, the journey being one of about a week's duration, as 
there were as yet no roads and only irregular Indian trails. In 1839 he took 
what pork and farm products he had to sell on a raft to New Orleans, and there 
did such trading as he desired. In 1845 and 1846 he entered some eighteen 
hundred acres of land in Vermilion County, and by that time already possessed 
fifteen hundred acres of land in Steuben and Kent Townships, Warren County. He 
certainly was an excellent businessman and financier, and in all his 
enterprises he had the earnest cooperation of his devoted wife. United in all 
their aims and endeavors, death did not long separate this estimable couple, as 
Mrs. Tomlinson died January 11, 1853, and in less than three months the husband 
was placed to rest at her side in the quiet cemetery, both dying of typhoid 
fever. At that time all but one of their eleven children were left to mourn the 
loss of their loved parents. Only three now survive, namely: Frances, who is 
unmarried; Mrs. Juliett Miller; and Francis D., of Rossville, Illinois. The 
deceased children are John, Mrs. Mary Jane Watkins, William, Mrs. Hester Kent, 
Zeruiah (who never married), Jonathan, Mrs. Nancy Summers and Jesse, Jr. 

     Considering the fact that he never had more than three months' schooling 
in his life, Jesse Tomlinson was a remarkably well-informed man. A great reader 
of such books as came into his possession, he stored his mind with facts and 
fancies, and was especially well versed in the Scriptures. Though a birth-right 
member of the Society of Friends, he and his wife were consistent Methodists, 
and were deeply interested in religious and educational affairs. Twice did he 
contribute liberally to build Crawfordsville Seminary --- once on its first 
erection, and again after it was burned. They were loved and admired by all who 
knew them, and their noble lives left a lasting impress for good upon the 
community in which they dwelt. 


Published in 1899 by Lewis Publishing Company


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