Shelby  County,  Indiana
Biographies

Leroy  Templeton

          Leroy Templeton  was born in Shelby County, Indiana, in 1892.  His parents moved to Warren County, and he grew up in both counties.  He sold out in Indiana, and moved his family to Fayette County, Iowa, in 1854.  He farmed, bought and sold cattle, ran a mill, and packed and shipped pork by boat to New Orleans.  He was a student of Upper Iowa University, and later a Trustee.  In the mid 1850's, he and 56 other Americans under the command of William Walker were sent to take a Central American country to build a canal.  They took over Nicaragua with only Colt revolvers.  Walker declared himself president, but was later removed by the U.S. government.  He served in the Civil War with the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry from 1861-1863, fighting in Missouri and Tennessee.  When he returned to Iowa he sold all of his property.  With the money, he bought horses and mules, transported them to California, and sold them for a large profit.  They were building the Central Pacific Railroad at the time, and they needed all of the horsepower they could get.  He was a financial backer and trustee of the Oxford Academy, and was influential in moving the county seat to Fowler in 1874.  He built a two-story brick house in 1874-75 at 107 E. 5th Street, across from the Court House.  He bought and sold land, and at one time owned up to 18,184 acres.  He died in 1920, and is buried in the Jones Cemetery.
History of Benton, County, Indiana.  Article found in the Templeton family file at the Shelbyville-Shelby County Library, Genealogy Room.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming

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