Biography of James George Lawhead, pages 346/347/348.  
History of DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, 
Inc., Indianapolis, 1914.



Among the men of high personal attainment and exalted 
character who have reflected honor on DeKalb county, and at 
the same time attained to a commendable position among 
their fellow men, was the gentleman whose name appears at 
the head of their review, and man who is every walk in life 
performed his full part and gave his unreserved support to 
every movement for the public welfare and who in his daily 
life so lived as to earn the confidence and good will of 
his fellow citizens.  James G. Lawhead was born in Jackson 
township, DeKalb county, Indiana, on October 1, 1844, and 
was a son of Benjamin and Mary Jane (Essig) Lawhead. Of the 
subjects’ ancestral history it may be stated that his 
paternal grandparents, James and Martha Lawhead, came to 
DeKalb county, Indiana, from Wayne county, Ohio, in 1839, 
and there the father died in 1854, and the mother in March, 
1880. They were the parents of nine children. Of these, 
Benjamin, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on April 1, 1820, accompanied 
his parents on there removal to Ohio in 1834 and to DeKalb 
county, Indiana, in 1839. The family were among the 
earliest settlers in the southern part of DeKalb county, 
and were numbered among the progressive and influential 
citizens of that locality. In 1843 Benjamin Lawhead married 
Mary Jane Essig, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 
1821, and in 1851 Mr. Lawhead bought the homestead in 
section 17. They were the parents of two children, James 
G., the immediate subject of this sketch, and Caroline, who 
became the wife of Charles L. Cool, of Auburn. James G. 
Lawhead was reared on the paternal farmstead near the 
center of Jackson township, where he resided until his 
marriage, on April 17, 1870, to Wealthy B. Nelson, whose 
death occurred on April 27, 1877, leaving two children, 
William B. and Queen Victoria, the latter subsequently 
becoming the wife of Eli Amstutz, of Allen county, this 
state, and she is the mother of four children, two sons and 
two daughters, William Benjamin Lawhead married Sarah 
McKinley is the father of three children, and lives in the 
east end of Butler township, this county. After Mr. 
Lawhead’s first wife died he resided with his parents until 
September1, 1879, when he was united in marriage with Eliza 
Walter, who was born one mile north of Jackson Center in 
Jackson township, November 27, 1851, the daughter of Joseph 
and Sarah (Nixon) Walter.  Her father was a native of Wayne 
county, Ohio, near Orville, the son of Christian and 
Margaret (Keester) Walter. While her mother was a native of 
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Joseph Walter, after his 
marriage in Wayne county, Ohio, came to DeKalb county, 
Indiana, about 1836, being numbered among the first 
settlers here and entered a section on government land, the 
journey from Ohio to this state being made in the typical 
pioneer wagon.  Here he and his wife established their 
frontier home and lived here during the remainder of their 
lives. Mr. Walter gave his attention to farming, in which 
he was eminently successful, owing at the time of his death 
four hundred acres of land. They became the parents of 
fourteen children, of whom thirteen grew to maturity. After 
Mr. Lawhead’s second marriage he and his wife lived a year 
with his parents, at the end of which time he bought eighty 
acres of land, the nucleus of the farm on which Mrs. 
Lawhead now lives.  They lived near that place for two 
years and then moved back to his father’s farm in order to 
care for his parents until his mother’s death.  In the 
spring of 1887 they moved to the present homestead, where 
they have lived until the present time. Mr. Lawhead’s 
father lived with them, remaining there until his death, 
nine years later. In 1888 Mr. Lawhead, the subject of this 
sketch, built the present residence and made many other 
substantial and permanent improvements on the farm, which 
made it one of the best in the locality.  He owned at the 
time of his death three hundred and five acres of land and 
was counted among the substantial and representative 
agriculturists of the county.  In his younger days Mr. 
Lawhead had been engaged in some extent in teaching school, 
but farming was his main vocation throughout his life, and 
in this vocation he attained an enviable success.  
Politically, he gave his support to the Republican party, 
but was too busy a man to indulge much in political 
affairs. To James G. and Eliza Lawhead were born five 
children, namely: Walter, who died at the age of three 
years; Gertrude, the wife of Jesse Hetrick, who lives on 
the home farm and is the mother of two sons, Buster and 
Schuyler; Frank, who lives in Detroit, studied law at the 
State University at Bloomington and has traveled 
extensively; Kirby married Cecil Townly, and lives one mile 
south of the old home farm; he is the father of two 
children, Virginia and Violet; Nixon is a student at the 
State University at Bloomington, Indiana. Mr. Lawhead died 
on  March 27, 1913, and his death was universally mourned 
throughout the locality where he was acquainted, for there 
were combined in his make-up those elements which commended 
him to the good will and esteem of all who knew him. He was 
not only a loving and faithful father, a kind and indulgent 
husband, but to all those with whom he came in contact he 
bore kindly relations and at all times endeavored to spread 
the gospel of good cheer, being generous in his attitude 
toward others, regardless of their faults or foibles. A man 
of good judgment and ripe experience he was often sought 
for advice by those starting out in life’s battles and he 
cheerfully and wisely advised those who sought him.  The 
best that can be said of any man may be truthfully said of 

Mr. Lawhead, namely, that the world was better for his 
having lived, and though he has passed to the better world 
his influence still pervades the lives of those who came 
within the range of his life and character.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com