James  W.  Means

          As a member of the younger generation of farmers of Shelby county, Indiana, James W. MEANS, of section 29, Moral township, is one among those most widely known as a progressive agriculturist and landowner. He was born near Brookville, Moral township, on November 9, 1853, and a son of Thomas P. and Elizabeth (DAKE) MEANS, whose sketches appear in this volume.
          James W. MEANS was reared on a farm and always had a natural inclination to farm life. He was educated in the district schools of the county and lived with his parents until he was married in 1883 to  Miss Ida Jane MARTIN, a daughter of Henry and Sarah (MURPHY) MARTIN.  Mrs. MEANS died October 15, 1891, leaving one child, Clara Belle.  The deceased was a member of the Brookfield Baptist church and a woman of kind and gentle qualities.
          The second marriage of  James W. MEANS  was consummated with  Miss Eliza Jane McGUIRE  on October 26, 1892.  She was a native of Brookfield, Indiana, and a daughter of Steward and Anna (MURPHY) McGUIRE, who are now living in Brown county, Indiana.  A sketch of James McGUIRE, a brother, appears in this volume.  To this union was born one child, Madge Adeline, whose date of birth was November 7, 1897.  Mrs. Anna McGUIRE is a native of Shelby county.  Steward McGUIRE is a native of Tyrone, Ireland.  He came to America at the close of the Civil war, and was one of the pioneers in this section of Shelby county, where he worked for some time on a farm and became known as a man of enterprise and honorable character.
          After the marriage of  James W. MEANS he and his brother purchased seventy-three acres of land where James now lives.  He later bought his brother’s interest and added to the original purchase until his farm now consists of two hundred eighty-seven acres of fine land.  There are one hundred twenty-seven acres in his home farm, and one hundred sixty acres in the old homestead farm.  He has made many improvements and brought his farm up to a high degree of cultivation.  He built an elegant farm home and is said to have one of the best farms in the county.  He carries on a general line of agriculture and stock raising.
          James W. MEANS is a member in good standing of the Brookfield Baptist church, a Democrat in political faith and a citizen who loves his community and is respected and esteemed by the people who know him, as a result of a very industrious life, which has been highly successful and honorable.
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, Page 768.
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