Elzy Ensminger
Elzy Ensminger, a prominent young farmer of Brandywine
Township, and the present Trustee of that township, was born in
Liberty Township, this county, June 24, 1850. He was the oldest
of five children born to St. Clair and Sarah (Wilson) Ensminger,
with
whom he remained working upon the farm until he reached the
age of twenty, when he took up the vocation of a school teacher. He taught in all, six consecutive terms with good success.
He
was married March 16, 1873, to Martha E. Hilligoss, a native of
Rush County, this State, born July 21, 1849, and daughter of Jacob Hilligoss,
who also was a native of Rush County. Mr. and
Mrs. Ensminger continued to reside upon a farm in Van Buren
Township for six years after their marriage, and in 1879, they removed to Brandywine Township, and settled upon a farm in
Section 35, where they have ever since resided. They are the parents of
five children, Oscar, Nellie, Urban, and a son and daughter that
died in infancy unnamed. The son was the twin brother of Nellie,
and the daughter was the twin sister of Urban. Mr. Ensminger is
a member of the F. & A. M. Lodge, and a staunch Democrat in
politics. While a resident of Van Buren Township, he held the
office of Assessor one term. He was elected Trustee of Brandywine Township in the spring of 1884, and was re-elected in the
spring of 1886. He owns a farm of eighty-three acres, nearly all
of which is in a good state of cultivation. He is an industrious
and successful farmer, a trustworthy official, and a first class citizen.
History of Shelby County, Indiana, Chicago: Brant & Fuller, 1887,
"Brandywine [Township] Sketches, page 611.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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