Jasper Newton Finney, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Jasper Newton Finney
JASPER NEWTON FINNEY. A retired farmer living in Valparaiso, Jasper Newton Finney has accomplished a satisfactory work in his independent occupation, acquiring a competency to live on in his declining years, and is now enjoying to the utmost the reward of his long-continued and unremitting toil. Public-spirited and patriotic, he has ever been loyal to the highest interests of his country, which he bravely served during the dark days of the Civil war as an able and faithful soldier. A son of Alanson A. Finney, he was born November 24, 1842, in Center township, Porter county, Indiana, of New England stock. His grandfather, Cyrus Finney, was born, of English ancestry, in Connecticut, the founder of the branch of the Finney family from which he was descended having come from England to America in 1630, with the Puritans.
Born in 1805, in Madison county, New York, Alanson A. Finney there grew to manhood. In 1834, lured to the western wilds, he migrated to Porter county, Indiana, and after looking about for awhile went back to his native place, where he wooed and married his first love. In 1836, accompanied by his young wife, he returned to Porter county, and on the tract of timbered land that he bought in Center township began the improvement of a farm. With true pioneer bravery he labored unceasingly in his efforts to establish a home for himself and family, and on the homestead which he redeemed from the grubs and hazelbrush spent his remaining years, passing away in 1867. He married, in 1836, in Madison county, New York, Laura Allen, who was born in that county in 1810, and died in Porter county, Indiana, in 1885. Of their children five grew to mature years, as follows: Elizabeth, widow of S. Scott Cobb, of Valparaiso; Eliza A., wife of Wilbur Wait, of Evanston, Illinois; Jasper Newton, the special subject of this brief biographical review; Hattie L., deceased; and Frank A., living in Illinois.
The eldest son of the parental household and the third child in succession of birth, Jasper Newton Finney was educated in the district schools and well trained in the science of agriculture on the home farm. On August 7, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, Fourth Indiana Cavalry, with which he was subsequently connected until the close of the conflict. Serving under General Thomas, in the Army of the Cumberland, he took part in numerous battles, and for seven weeks was confined in Andersonville prison. Making his escape through heroic effort, he rejoined his command, and was again with his regiment in numerous engagements, always serving with characteristic fidelity, and though never himself seriously wounded, he had two horses shot from under him on the battlefield. With his regiment he was at Macon, Georgia, at the time of Lee's surrender. Being honorably discharged from the service at Nashville, Tennessee, he returned to Porter county, Indiana, and was here successfully engaged in general farming until 1906, when he removed to his present home in Valparaiso. Mr. Finney is a member, past commander and the chaplain of Brown Post, No. 106, Grand Army of the Republic, and belongs to the Baptist church.
On September 5, 1872, Mr. Finney was united in marriage with Matilda A. Jones, who was born in Jackson township, Porter county, Indiana. Her father, John Jones, who was of Welsh descent, married Maria Duck, who was of German ancestry. They were married in Ohio, from there coming to Porter county in 1846, and here spending their remaining years, the mother of Mrs. Finney dying when she was a child of four years, and her father dying five years later. Mrs. Finney was one of a family of twelve children, all of whom, with the exception of one little girl, grew to years of maturity. Mr. and Mrs. Finney are the parents of six children, namely: Stella M., wife of George Wade, of Valparaiso; Edith, living at home; Leslie W., who was killed in a railroad wreck at the age of twenty-five years; Arthur A.; Earl T., of Valparaiso, a commercial traveler; and Grace M., wife of Ernest J. Cotterman.
Arthur Alanson Finney, the fourth child of the parental household, was born in Center township, Porter county, Indiana, May 5, 1878. Acquiring his elementary education in the common schools, he completed his studies at the Valparaiso University in 1896, having taken a commercial course in that institution. In August, 1902, he became associated with the Valparaiso National Bank, with which he remained four years. In August, 1906, he was appointed assistant postmaster of Valparaiso, and at the death of the postmaster, John W. Elam, was made his successor. He is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons, belonging to the Blue Lodge of Valparaiso, Indiana.
On December 21, 1899, Mr. Arthur Alanson Finney married Florence Lewis, a daughter of Thomas H. Lewis, and they have two children, namely: Charlotte, born November 13, 1900; and Harriet, born March 1, 1904.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 775-777
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