John C.
DePrez
John C. Deprez, prominent citizen and manufacturer of
Shelbyville, is a native of Ohio, born in the city of Cincinnati, November 8, 1844.
His parents, John and Mary (Corwein) Deprez, were natives of Germany, the former born, 1803, and the latter in
the year 1817. They came to the United States in 1832, and after
a short time spent in Shelby County, Indiana, removed to Cincinnati, which city was their home until their return to Shelby County
in 1855. The father died in August, 1867, the mother is still living
in this city. The subject of this sketch is the oldest son of seven
living children. He enjoyed the advantages of a common school
education, and in 1855, accompanied his parents to Shelbyville, of
which city he has since been a resident. In 1866, he became interested in the woolen mills at Shelbyville, and from that time until
1873, continued the same, abandoning the business the latter year
and affecting a co-partnership in the manufacture of furniture with Messrs. Conrev &
Wallar, a firm which still continues. The factory operated by this company is one of the largest manufacturing
establishments in Shelby County, and the goods turned out here, all
kinds of furniture, will compare favorably with that made in any
other city of Indiana or the west. He is a Mason, having identified
himself with that order in 1868, and in politics votes the Republican ticket. He
was married April 11, 1871, to Miss Zera Miller, of this
county, daughter of Col. Alexander and Lucy (Templeton) Miller.
Mrs. Deprez was born in this county in 1850, and is the
mother of four children, whose names are as follows, to-wit: John
D., Harry W., Herbert B., and Russell, who died June 15, 1887.
Mr. and Mrs. Deprez are members of the Presbyterian Church.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, Brant & Fuller, 1887,
"Shelbyville Sketches," pages 478-79.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming.
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