Since the family was established on the unbroken and untamed prairies of Prairie Township, a period of more than six decades has elapsed. During this time White County has had the benefit of the sturdy activities and the rugged character of various members of this family. One of the sons of the pioneer settler was the late Robert Alkire, whose life was one of great accomplishment though he did not reach ripe old age. He sedulously confined his attention to the basic industry of farming and stock raising and lived to the advantage of the community and to all around him.
The pioneer of this noted family in White County was Forgus Alkire, who was born February 13, 1813, in Ohio, and in 1837 came to Tippecanoe County, Indiana. In that locality the following year he married Rachel Hayes, who had also been born in Ohio. His career was launched in this section of Indiana in early manhood and with a very modest capital. For a number of years he farmed eighty acres in Tippecanoe County, and in the fall of 1854 removed to White County, where he secured direct from the Government three tracts of eighty acres each. It was wild land, and as his labors subdued and brought into cultivation successive tracts, he continued buying more land, and at one time was one of the largest land owners in Prairie Township, his ownership extending to about 2,000 acres. He pastured large herds of cattle and other live stock on what was practically an open range, and before the railroads penetrated this section of Indiana. He annually drove from 400 to 600 head of cattle either to market at Philadelphia or to Madison County, Ohio. His operations as a stock raiser also extended on a large scale to hogs and sheep. He possessed extraordinary vigor and judgment as a business man, was a high type of the pioneer citizen, and his memory deserves to last long in that community. His first wife, Rachel, died in September, 1871, and at a later date he married Mrs. Eliza A. Hayes, daughter of James and Nancy Griffith. By his first wife there were five children: Mary A., Cynthia J., Isaac R., Robert H., and William T.
A brief record should also be given to the oldest of his children, Isaac B. Alkire, who was born in Ohio, May 2, 1839, was reared in Tippecanoe County, and was still a boy when the family removed to White County. He was likewise a farmer, and his first farm comprised 160 acres in Prairie Township. This he sold and bought another quarter section, and went on from one stage of prosperity to another until at one time he owned about 600 acres. Following the example of his father, he also raised cattle and horses extensively. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1865 Isaac B. Alkire married in Tippecanoe County, Ellen Chilton, who was born in Kentucky, a daughter of James and Mary Chilton. Her father died in Tippecanoe County. By this union there was one child, Olla M.
Coming now to the record of the second son of Forgus Alkire, Robert was born in Tippecanoe County, October 22, 1840. His early training for life was begun in the public schools at Battleground [sic] and with the vigorous discipline of the home farm, and on his fourteenth birthday, in 1854, the family removed to White County. There he came to manhood and at the age of twenty started out for himself, and thereafter made his years useful and profitable as a farmer and stock raiser. He is one of the most successful members of the second generation of the family in White County, and had accumulated about 1,300 acres of land at one time and when he died on December 31, 1897, the nucleus of his estate constituted about 640 acres. He was laid to rest in the cemetery at Brookston.
On January 1, 1863, Robert Alkire married Miss Delilah Graves, a daughter of Johnson and Maria (Kane) Graves. Mrs. Alkire is still living at the fine old homestead near Brookston and in her declining years has the comfort and support of her five children, whose names are: Ida May, Joseph Graham, Asa Heath, Nellie Delphin and Fannie Glenn.
The late Robert Alkire was affiliated with the Masonic Order, but had no church membership. He was a stanch [sic] republican, though he never sought nor held public office. As a matter of history it should be recorded that the Alkire family donated land for the Brookston Academy, an institution which furnished educational advantages to hundreds of the growing youth in White County. Robert Alkire was one of the trustees when the academy was built. Outside of farming and stock raising he formed no business connections but was greatly interested and a liberal contributor to any movement for the benefit of the community. His home was on section 34 in Prairie Township, and every item of imprbvement in that location is the direct result of the enterprise of the Alkire family.
Brief mention in this sketch should also be made of another son of Forgus Alkire. W. T. Alkire was born in Tippecanoe County, February 13, 1843, and was eleven years old when he came to White County. In this county he married Rebecca J. Ramey, daughter of Samuel and Nancy Ramey. Following his marriage he located on a farm in section 28 of Prairie Township within a half mile of Brookston, and in that vicinity has accumulated about 600 acres of land. He is one of the large and prosperous farmers and stock raisers, with a special preference for the shorthorn class of cattle, and not only raises good cattle and hogs but also deals somewhat extensively in live stock. He and his wife are the parents of three children: Reed C., Edward F., and Catharine.
Harrison P. Anderson was born in Ohio, May 20, 1824, where he was married August 23, 1849. Soon after he removed to Indiana and in 1851 settled in Monticello where he engaged in the practice of medicine in which he acquired a high rank. He was a public spirited man, interested in all things pertaining to the welfare of the community and when the new brick school building, which is still standing, was erected in 1869, he was a faithful member of the school board. He died at Monticello, May 21, 1877, leaving a widow, Mary J. Anderson, who died April 3, 1885, and a daughter, Mrs. Annie Turner, who is still living in Monticello, the wife of John M. Turner, cashier of the White County Loan, Trust & Savings Company. He was also the father of one son, Frank, who lost his life in a railroad accident west of Reynolds, September 1, 1873, in his twenty-fourth year.
James Armstrong, son of John and Mary Ann Armstrong, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 23, 1832, and died February 16, 1914. At the age of ten years he went with his parents to Green County, Ohio, where both his parents died. In 1860 he married Elizabeth Langley and when the war came on served his country for three years and was mustered out in Cincinnati, Ohio, about the first of March, 1864. In 1869 he came to Idaville, where he followed his trade as carpenter until 1897, when, having lost his wife by death, he came to Monticello and lived with his daughter, Mrs. Samuel L. Callaway, until her removal to Indianapolis in March, 1911, when he went with her to that city, where he died. He was a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a devoted member of the Odd Fellows. At his death he left two sons, Albert O., of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Robert E., now of Monticello, and one daughter, Mrs. Samuel L. Callaway, now living in Indianapolis.
John Arrick was born in Belmont County, Ohio, June 17, 1812, and died near Monticello, April 12, 1877. In 1837 he was married to Isabelle McMurray, by whom he had eight children. After her death he married Mrs. Sarah Henderson, in 1854, who, with four sons, survived him. In 1857 he came to White County, where he soon became interested in church work and for eighteen years was a ruling elder in the O. S. Presbyterian Church. He was a man of strong convictions and interested in all matters tending to the welfare of the county.
John Arrick, Sr., died at the residence of his son in Big Creek Township in October, 1865, aged ninety-six years. He served in the War of 1812, under Harrison against Proctor. He was a patriot of sterling integrity and opposed the enemies of his country in every way that he was able. When the Civil war broke out he urged all who enlisted to do their duty and faithfully stand by the old flag. He was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Monticello. Many of his descendants still live in the vicinity of Monticello, but after the lapse of fifty years the old pioneer is almost forgotten.
George W. Ashley was born in Georgia, March 4, 1845, and died at his home in Reynolds, January 31, 1908. He was a member of Company D, Thirteenth Kentucky Cavalry, and after the war located in White County. November 30, 1870, he was married to Margaret L. Cowger. For a number of years he resided in the neighborhood of Guernsey and later northeast of Monticello, near Pike Creek. His wife died June 7, 1887, and October 22, 1903, he was married to Mrs. Jennie Bulger, formerly Miss Jennie Casad, of Monticello, and who is still living there. Besides his widow he left two daughters of his first marriage, Mrs. B. C. Jones, of Warren, Indiana, and Mrs. Charles H. Kleist, wife of ex-Recorder Kleist, now residing in Wolcott.