Martin A. Cherry
The fact that his ancestors were active in the work
of contributing to the material progress of Shelby county in the way of building roads and making many other improvements
is naturally a matter of pride to Martin A. Cherry, who was born in Shelby township forty-eight years ago,
his parents being Andrew J. and Catherine J. (Larrison) Cherry. They are also
natives of Shelby county. This section of the state was an unbroken forest when William Cherry,
paternal grandfather of the subject, first settled in the county, and the woods were filled with wild animals.
His wife was Cynthia Jackson, a distant relative of Andrew Jackson. They were the parents
of ten children, Andrew, Thomas, William,
Eli, Jesse, Stephen, Mary, Eliza,
Melinda and Sarah. Andrew, the father of Martin Cherry, was reared on a farm and attended
school a sufficient length of time to procure a very good education. He taught several terms of school, but
eventually began to devote his entire time to agricultural pursuits. He is still living, and he and his wife
are devout members of the Christian church. To them were born ten children, including
Martin A., the
others being William, deceased; Cyntha, wife of George S. Jones, of Indianapolis;
Nancy
E., deceased, wife of Albert W. Dobbins; Mary F., wife of Jacob Greggs;
James L. lives in Hendricks township, married Ella Shaw; Robert died in
young manhood; Phoebe J., wife of Louis Drager, Addison township; Harvey, farmer,
of Shelby township, married Ella Plunkett; Franklin, a farmer in Shelby township, married
Lillian Sawyer. Martin A. Cherry attended the public schools and spent a year at the normal school
at Danville, Indiana. He then engaged in the profession of a school teacher, devoting his time thereto for
eighteen years. On October 20, 1885, he married Jennie Florence Shaw, who was born in Jackson township,
Shelby county, and is the daughter of John and Celina (Willets) Shaw. Mrs. Cherry's
father was a stock raiser on a large scale, and an early settler in Shelby county. He died in 1889. His widow
is still living in Shelbyville. She is the mother of five children, including Mrs. Cherry;
James O., of
Greensburg, Indiana, and Harry W., of Shelbyville. Mr. and Mrs. Cherry are the parents of two children
-- Claude C. and Russell. The former is married and the latter lives at home. Mr. Cherry is
a Democrat and takes an interest in politics. He is a member of the local Advisory Board at the present time.
He belongs to the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Shelbyville, and he and his wife are members of the Christian church
at the same place. Mrs. Cherry, who is a woman of high attainments, taught school for twenty-two years, having
begun when she was seventeen years of age. Her son, Claude, is engaged in the same profession. The Cherry's
own one hundred fifteen acres of highly improved land upon which stands a modern eight-room house and a commodious
barn. Mr. Cherry handles a very fine line of live stock, being one of the leading dealers in Shelby county.
Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, by Edward H. Chadwick, B.A., assisted by well known local
talent, B.F. Bowen & Co, Publishers: Indianapolis, IN, 1909, pg 595
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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