John M. Felton, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of John M. Felton
JOHN M. FELTON.
JOHN M. FELTON, one of the most prominent citizens of Porter County, Indiana, who has held many official positions of trust and responsibility, among them county clerk, and treasurer of the county, was born January 6, 1834, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. His parents, William and Margaret (Mourer) Felton, were natives of that State also, and of Scotch-Irish and German extraction, respectively. On coming to this country the Felton family settled in the Keystone State, and the grandfather, Robert Felton, died in Huntingdon County, that State. The maternal grandfather, Adam Mourer, was a miller by trade, and followed that for the most part all his life. He died in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The father of our subject was a railroad man. In his early life he drove a stage. Later he became a civil engineer, and was one of the men to survey the Pennsylvania Central R. R. This was a very difficult task, and he was one of the first to get through with the route. His death occurred at Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1862, and the mother followed him to the grave in 1871. To their marriage were born seven children, five of whom survive: John M.; Samuel; Mrs. William Blair; George C., the station agent at Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and Mary. John M. Felton, our subject, was reared in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania. Afterward, or in 1856, he was employed on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, and was one of the party that laid out the city of Corinth, this being before any timber was cut. In 1857 he came west and helped survey the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R. from Grovertown to Chicago. Two years later he returned to his native State and assisted in surveying the road from Cresson Springs to Ebensburg. In 1860 he came to Valparaiso, Indiana, and engaged in the hardware business, which he carried on until 1874, when he was elected County Treasurer. He then disposed of his store and held that office for four years, conducting the financial business of the county in a very able and efficient manner. In 1883, after the expiration of his term of office, he engaged in the livery business, and follows this at the present time, his son, Robert, being connected with him in the business. Their barn is one of the best in the county, and is a valuable acquisition to the business interests of Valparaiso. Previous to engaging in the livery business Mr. Felton was elected County Clerk, and held that position for four years. He is one of the representative men of the county and is universally respected. Mr. Felton was married in 1863 to Miss Mary J. Marshall, a native of Indiana, and two children were born to the union: Robert and Elizabeth M. As a Democrat Mr. Felton is well known throughout the county, although his father was a Republican. He had two brothers in the Civil War, and one, Robert, was killed at the battle of Petersburg in February, 1865. Mr. Felton lost his wife in 1873. She was an earnest Christian and a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Source: Goodspeed Brothers. 1894. Pictorial and Biographical Record of La Porte, Porter, Lake and Starke Counties, Indiana. Chicago, Illinois: Goodspeed Brothers. 569 p.
Page(s) in Source: 287-288
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook