Biography of John F. Shuman, pages 141/142/143.  Memorial Record of 
Northeastern Indiana, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1896.

	John F. Shuman.---In no profession is there a career more open to 
talent than in that of the law, and in no field of endeavor is there 
demanded a more careful preparation, a more thorough appreciation of the 
absolute ethics of life or of the underlying principles which form the 
basis of all human rights and privileges.  Unflagging application, an 
intuitive wisdom and a determination to fully utilize the means at hand 
are the concomitants which insure personal success and prestige in this 
great profession which stands as the stern conservator of justice, and it 
is one onto which none should enter without a recognition of obstacles to 
be overcome  and the battles to be won, for success does not perch on the 
falchion of every person who enters the competitive fray and comes only as 
the diametrical result of capacity and unmistakable ability.  The subject 
of this review is one who has attained distinctive precedence in the line 
of his profession and who occupies a position as one of the representative 
practitioners at the bar of De Kalb county, and as one of  the leading 
citizens of the thriving little city of Waterloo.
	Jacob Shuman, the father of our subject, was a native of Franklin 
county, Pennsylvania, where he  was engaged in farming for a number of 
years coming from stanch old German stock and  being a member of one of 
those representative families who have entered into  the annals of 
American history as “Pennsylvania Dutch,” a name synonymous of all that is 
honest, industrious and reliable.  In the year 1855 Jacob Shuman came from 
the old Keystone State to Salem township, Steuben county, Indiana, where he 
remained until 1866, when he removed to De Kalb county and took up his 
abode on a farm one mile distant from Waterloo.  Here he continued to 
reside until within four years prior to his death, when he removed to the 
town of Waterloo, and there lived in peaceful retirement until he was 
called upon to obey the inexorable summons of death, on the19th of July 
1891, at which time he had attained the age of sixty-four years.  He was 
one of the pioneers of Steuben county, and was a man in whose character  
there was no shadow of guile or reproach.  His father was also a native of 
Franklin county, Pennsylvania, and there the family had been established 
for many years, representative of that sturdy yeomany which constitutes 
the bulwarks of our national independence and prosperity.
	Our subject’s mother, whose maiden name was Rachel Ransburg, was a 
daughter of Christian Ransburg, and she was born in the State of Maryland.  
Her marriage to Jacob Shuman was solemnized in September, 1853, and to 
them were born five children, all of whom still survive.  Of them we make 
brief record, in order of birth, as follows: Laura is the wife of F. S. 
Roby, one of the leading attorneys of Steuben county; Charles E. is now 
one of the representative farmers of that county; Lillie M. was the third 
child; John F., is the immediate subject of this review; and Mary C., is 
the wife of G. W. Crooks, of De Kalb county.
	John F. Shuman was born in Steuben county, Indiana, on the 5th of 
May, 1864, and while he was still and infant his parents removed to De Kalb 
county.  His youthful discipline was similar in most particulars to that of 
the average boy who is reared to farm life.  He lent his aid in carrying 
on the details of cultivating the homestead place, and with this alternated 
his attendance at the district schools, where he laid the foundation of 
the broad education which he has gained in later years.  He continued to 
be thus occupied until he had attained the age of seventeen years when his 
quickened ambition prompted him to supplement  the educational advantages 
which had been his, and he accordingly entered the special normal school 
at Waterloo, and after a year of study  in that institution became a 
student in the high school, where he faithfully prosecuted his studies for 
the period of two years, profiting thoroughly by to opportunities thus 
afforded.
	The young man inherited a decisive and reliant nature, and it was 
but to be taken for granted that he should early formulate plans for his 
future.  He determined to prepare himself for the practice of law, and 
with this end in view entered the office of F.S. Roby. Under such effective 
preceptorage, our subject devoted his attention assiduously to his 
technical studies in the law, and in the fall of 1886 realized his 
ambition in the securing of admission to the bar of the State.  After thus 
proving his eligibility, he at once entered upon the practice of his 
profession, associating himself with F. S. Roby, one of his former 
preceptors, under the firm name of Roby & Shuman, and opening an office in 
Angola. This partnership continued until 1888, when Mr. Shuman removed to 
Waterloo, where he has since remained in active practice, retaining a 
distinctively representative clientage,  and being recognized as a man 
thoroughly informed in the minutiae of legal jurisprudence, as a strong 
and forceful advocate, and as a wise and conservative counsel. When W. L. 
Penfield was elected Judge of the Thirty-fifth Circuit, our subject, in 
partnership with F. S. Roby and D. M. Link, took the Judge’s office and 
practice in Auburn, under the firm name of Roby, Shuman & Link,  the 
association being formed for the purpose of holding the large practice 
which had been established by him who had thus been elevated to the bench.  
Mr. Shuman has served for some time as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney of the 
county, and his efforts in this connection have shown him to be one of the 
most alert and capable young attorneys at the county bar.  In February , 
1894, he was appointed, by Judge S. A. Power, to assist in the prosecution 
of Sam. Deetars, who was arraigned on the charge of murder.  Mr. Shuman 
opened the case for the State, making a masterful representation of the 
facts, and showing a wonderful capacity for the utilization of only the 
relevant points and the discarding of all superficial elements which would 
only tend to obscure and involve the cause.  The trial was continued over 
a period of seven weeks, and during this time Mr. Shuman was accorded by 
the press of Chicago, Cleveland and other cities the strongest endorsements 
and commendations for the professional skill he displayed in the handling 
of the  important case.
	In his political adherency Mr. Shuman is an ardent and uncompromising 
Democrat, and he is an active and efficient worker in advancing the party 
cause.   That his agility and services are appreciated is shown in the 
fact that he holds the distinctive preferment as chairman of the De Kalb 
County Democratic Central Committee, being therefore, ex-officio, a member 
of the State Central Committee.  At present he is the County Attorney of 
De Kalb county.  He maintains a lively interest in all that pertains to 
the welfare and advancement of the place of his residence, particularly in 
educational affairs, in which connection he is the incumbent as president 
of the Waterloo Board of Education.  In his fraternal relations he is 
prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
	Reverting, in conclusion, to the domestic chapter in the history of 
Mr. Shuman, we find that on the 10th of July, 1895, was consummated his 
marriage to Miss Blanche M. Jackson, a daughter of John S. Jackson, an 
honored pioneer of Waterloo.

Submitted by:
Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Agoodwin@ctlnet.com