Biography of P. A. Shurts, pages 970/971.  History of 
DeKalb County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., 
Indianapolis, 1914.



A man who has won a competence by working long and hard in 
the proper direction and is now living surrounded by the 
comforts of life as a result of his former years of 
strenuous endeavor, is P. A. Shurts, of Concord township, 
DeKalb county, Indiana. He is one of the sturdy spirits who 
contributed largely to the material welfare  of the 
locality in which he resides, having been one of the 
leading farmers and stock men for many years, and as a 
citizens he has always been public spirited and progressive 
in all that the term implies.  P. A. Shurts was born on 
April 6, 1849, in Spencerville, DeKalb county, Indiana, the 
son of George and Martha  E. (Miller) Shurts, natives of 
Ohio. These parents had the following children: Mrs. 
Samantha Kimes, who died in 1908; Uriah, who died in March, 
1913; Mrs. Emily C. Woodcocks, of St. Joe, this county; 
John, of Chicago; P. A., the immediate subject of this 
sketch; Mrs. Hattie R. Culberson, of Auburn, this county, 
and George T., who lives in Columbus, Ohio.  P. A. Shurts 
secured his education in the common schools of his native 
locality and Auburn and was reared to manhood mainly in the 
home of William Phillips, his own father having died when 
the subject was but four years of age. He did not need his 
father's attention, however, as Mr. Phillips gave the lad 
all the love and protection that his own father would have 
done and Mr. Shurts took up the vocation of teaching and 
was thus engaged for ten terms, several of which were in 
the school located on the farm that he now owns.  The farm, 
which consists of sixty acres, is  known as Locust Grove 
farm, named by Mr. Shurts in 1901, and has for many years 
been considered one of the most fertile and productive 
farms in Concord township. Mr. Shurts has given careful and 
intelligent direction to his efforts, supervising every 
detail of his farm work, and his efforts have been rewarded 
with abundant returns for his toil.   On June 8, 1873, Mr. 
Shurts was married to Maggie M. Boyle, daughter of Jonathan 
and Susan Boyle, and to this union were born two daughters, 
Ella Myrtle and Pearl, the former of whom died in early 
childhood. Mrs. Shurts was born in Concord township, this 
county, on March 1, 1852, and died on July 9, 1913, in the 
sixty-second year of her age. Early in life she was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Spencerville, 
but after her marriage she united with the Concord 
Methodist Protestant church. She was a true Christian, 
faithful wife and loving mother and her death left a void 
in the community which cannot be filled. Personally, Mr. 
Shurts is a very congenial gentleman, always ready to 
assist in any worthy cause looking to the betterment of his 
community and he has a host of friends throughout the 
county who esteem him for his high character and genuine 
personal worth. Politically, he is a party Prohibitionist, 
being the first to endorse that movement in Concord 
township in 1884.

Submitted by:

Arlene Goodwin

Auburn, Indiana

Agoodwin@ctlnet.com