Biography of William Scott Forney, pages 834/835/836/837.  History of 
DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 
1914.



William Scott Forney



	The life of the scholarly or professional man seldom exhibits any 
of those striking incidents that seize upon public feeling and attract 
attention to himself. His character is generally made up of the 
aggregate qualities and qualifications he may possess, as these may be 
elicited by the exercise of the duties of his vocation or the 
particular profession to which he may belong, But when such a man has 
so impressed his individuality upon his fellow men as to gain their 
confidence, and through that confidence be retained in important 
positions, becomes a conspicuous figure in the body politic of his 
community.  The subject of this review is one of the scholarly men of 
his county, who, not content to hide his talents amid life’s 
sequestered ways, but the force of will and a laudable ambition forged 
to the front in an exacting and responsible calling and earned and 
honorable reputation in one of the most important branches of public 
service.  A well-educated, symmetrically developed man, his work as an 
educator has for many years been of such a high standard of excellence 
that his position in the front rank of his profession has long been 
conceded.  Keeping abreast of the times in advanced educational 
methods, and possessing a broad and comprehensive knowledge, he is, 
because of his high attainments, a well rounded character and of large 
influence, eminently entitled to representative in the annals of his 
county.

	William Scott Forney, the present efficient superintendent of the 
high school at Ashley, Indiana, was born on October 3, 1882, on a farm 
in Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, and is a son of Adam 
Adic and Nancy (Cole) Forney.  Adam A. Forney was born in Stark county, 
Ohio, about ten miles east of Canton, on April 22, 1847, and was the 
son of Henry and Nellie N. (Marks) Forney.  Henry Forney was born near 
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, spending his boyhood days in that state and 
came with his parents, Henry and Mary (Ritter) Forney, to Ohio, where 
they settled on a farm.  There he followed the trade of brick making.  
In 1849 he came to DeKalb county, Indiana, the trip being made by boat 
from Toledo, thence by canal to Fort Wayne and by wagon from that city 
to DeKalb county.  They settled on a farm of thirty acres, all of which 
was covered with timber and located in Smithfield township.  This land 
Mr. Forney cleared and put in good condition and also assisted in 
clearing land for John Hamman, a farmer owning land adjoining.  He 
followed the brick-making trade here also and was one of the 
serviceable men in the early life of the community.  His death occurred 
in 1863, on the homestead farm.  His wife, who was a native of Ohio, 
was married in 1836, to Henry Forney, and she, too, was a leading 
factor in the early life here, assisting not only in the rearing of a 
large family, but in the general work of the farm.  She was a queen to 
her children, who adored her as a mother and who found in her a 
sympathetic helpmate and companion.  Her death occurred in 1884 on the 
homestead farm.  To Mr. and Mrs. Forney were born twelve children: one 
who died in infancy, Julia Ann, John, Elizabeth, Henry and Samuel are 
deceased; Adam A.; Jacob, who is a farmer in LaGrange county, Indiana, 
married Elizabeth Walters, and they have one child; Abraham, a farmer 
near Ashley, Indiana, married Anna Zent, and they have two children; 
David, a carpenter at Ashley, Indiana, married Maggie Humphrey; Mary 
Ann, who is the wife of William Stoleberger, a farmer in LaGrange 
county, Indiana. is the mother of two children. William is a farmer in 
Kosciusko county,  Indiana, married Maggie Lyons, to which union has 
been born one child.  Adam A. Forney was about two years when he came 
with his parents to DeKalb county, Indiana, and he received his 
education in the township schools, working on the home farm as soon as 
old enough to assist in the work and also learning the brick-mason 
trade. He remained on the parental homestead until attaining his 
majority, and after his marriage, in 1881, he bought forty acres of 
land across from the homestead farm, which he ditched, tiled and 
fenced, and on which he built a splendid residences.  He is still 
active as a farmer on this place, which he has developed into one of 
the best farms in the community, having served two terms (six years) as 
supervisor of Smithfield township.  He has been an active supporter of 
the Democratic party, and, though not a member of any church, has been 
a Lutheran in his religious faith.

	On July 21, 1881, Adam A. Forney married Nancy Cole, the daughter 
of Smith and Mary (Whistler) Cole.  Smith Cole was a native of Seneca 
county, Ohio, and was reared to the life of a farmer.  He came with his 
parents to DeKalb County in young manhood and here followed 
agricultural pursuits until his death.  On October 12, 1862, he was 
drafter at Waterloo for military service and went to the front as a 
private in Company D, Thirtieth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 
under Capt. Wheeler W. Griswaldt.  He was discharged from the service 
in Tennessee on July 30, 1863.  He was twice married, having six 
children by the first union, namely: Ellen, William, Sarah, Elizabeth, 
Mary Ann and Nancy M., and three children by his second union, Edward, 
John, and Katherine.  To Mr. and Mrs. Forney were born seven children: 
William Scott, the immediate subject of this sketch; Cora B., Herbert, 
Worthy, Earl, Adam Floyd and Nellie.

	William Scott Forney received his education in the schools of 
Smithfield township, graduating from the Ashley high school in 1903. He 
then taught school at Smithfield Center for one term and four terms in 
the graded schools of Ashley.  In 1908, soon after his marriage, Mr. 
Forney went to the Philippine island, with his wife, as supervising 
teacher, having about thirty-five native teachers under his charge, and 
during the three years in which he held this position he performed 
splendid service in advancing the educational status of the locality in 
which he was placed.  Returning to the United States in 1911, in the 
fall of that year he entered Indiana University at Bloomington, and two 
years later he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Returning 
to Ashley, Indiana, he here assumed the position of superintendent of 
the high school, to which he had been chosen, entering upon his new 
duties on September 15, 1913.  He has demonstrated his eminent fitness 
for the position, and through his untiring effort and able management 
the high school at Ashley had advanced to position among the foremost 
high schools of this section of the state. A constant student and deep 
reader, Mr. Forney keeps in close touch with the most advanced thought 
relative to pedagogical affairs and gives thoughtful and intelligent 
direction to the school under this charge.  He has won the favor of 
patron and pupil and experts a beneficial influence on not only the 
educational but he private lives of those under his care.

	On April 19, 1908, William S. Forney was married to Ina Gurtner, 
the daughter of Henry and Joan (Clark) Gurtner, Henry Gurtner was born 
in DeKalb county, Indiana, and during his active years followed farming 
pursuits, though he is now retired and is living at Hamilton, this 
state.  His wife, who was a native of DeKalb county, died in September, 
1885.  Mr. Gurtner was twice married, having five children by the first 
union and three by the second, these children in the order of birth 
being named Delbert, Mrs. Minnie Wolfe, Mrs. Ella Arnold, David, Mrs. 
Hattie Miller, Mrs. Irena Fee, Freeman, deceased, and Ina.  Mr. and 
Mrs. Forney are the parents of a son, Paul.

	Politically, Mr. Forney is an active Democrat and, fraternally, a 
member of the Knights of Pythias. A man of kindly impulses and 
humanitarian spirit, he takes a deep interest in everything pertaining 
to the welfare of the community, in which he resides, and is numbered 
among the representative citizens of his locality.



Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com