Loven G. Pritchard.—Among the representative citizens of Johnson County, Ind., worthy of mention in a work of this character, none are more so than Loven G. Pritchard, of Franklin. He is the son of Daniel and Abigail (Parkhurst) Pritchard. The father was born in Maryland, on January 15, 1781, and was the son of James Pritchard, a native of England, who emigrated from his native land to America at an early date, and located in Maryland, and thence removed to Henry County, Ky., where he died. The mother was born in Tennessee, September 29, 1785, and was the daughter of Ezekiel Parkhurst, a native of North Carolina. The parents of our subject were married May 20, 1803. Daniel Pritchard removed with his father to Henry County, Ky., and in January, 1823, came to Indiana, crossing the Ohio River at Madison, on the first day of that year. He located at what is now Edinburg, on Blue River, where he raised two crops, and then on account of the ague, removed, in 1824, to Nineveh Township, where he entered a homestead of 160 acres near the center of the same. He followed farming as a life vocation, and though an uneducated man, met with remarkable success, and out of a family of nine children he gave each a farm of about 135 acres, he having in his possession at the time our subject came of age, over 1,000 acres of land. The records show that he entered more land than any other one citizen of Johnson County, among which were eighty acres which were entered by him and sold to George King, who sold it to the county, and upon that tract Franklin, in part, was built. He was a man who preferred the quiet and independent life of the farmer to that of a public servant, and hence never sought or filled any public official positions. He was a member of the religious organization then known as “The Western Predestination Two-Seat Baptists,” but abandoned that belief two years prior to his death. In March, 1852, he disposed of his property in Johnson County, and removed to Jasper County, Ind., where he died on October 11, 1852. The mother died in Johnson County, on March 9, 1854. To the parents, twelve children were born, as follows: David P., September 16, 1804; Walker D., July 3, 1806; Roland, February 3, 1809; Jonathan H., February 10, 1811; Lewis, March 6, 1818; Curtis, July 15, 1820; Loven G., November 12, 1822; William I., May 15, 1825; Matilda M. December 6, 1831; all of whom are deceased, leaving our subject the only surviving member of the family. He was reared on the farm and secured a limited education in the log schoolhouses of the district, under the old “blue beech system,” when, if a scholar did not succeed as rapidly as the teacher thought he should, the beech switch was liberally used. Nevertheless he secured the rudiments of an education, to which he was since added a large fund of practical information, sufficiently to make a success of his life. He has followed farming as a life vocation, and now owns a fine farm of 115 acres in Needham Township. He removed to Franklin in 1886, and remained for about one year, and then returned to the farm. In January, 1888, he again removed to Franklin, and is now a citizen of the town, residing on his own property, a neat cottage residence. He has always taken an interest in public affairs, and in 1854, was elected justice of the peace from Nineveh Township. He was a democrat until the Kansas troubles in 1854, when he joined the republican party, and has since affiliated with that organization. He was married February 20, 1848, to Nancy Keaton, who was born in Nineveh Township, Johnson Co., Ind., on December 25, 1830, and was the daughter of Judge William Keaton. To this union nine children were born, three of whom survive. The wife died February 20, 1887. He was a member of the Christian Church. He was again married January 25, 1888, to Sarah (Graham) Poffinberger, a native of Ohio. Our subject is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Christian Church, and stands well as a citizen, being generally respected by all who know him.

Transcribed by Cheryl Zufall Parker

Banta, D. D. History of Johnson County, Indiana. Chicago, IL: Brant & Fuller, 1888, page 652.