John J. Pruitt (deceased).—Few of the early pioneers of Johnson County were more widely and favorable known, than the late John Pruitt, brother of Pleasant Pruitt, whose biography appears below. John J. Pruitt was born in the district of Abbeyville, South Carolina, on the 9th day of August, 1814, and when less than a year old was brought by his parents to Indiana, in which state he grew to manhood. His youthful years were spent in the counties of Franklin, Fayette and Shelby, and like the sons of all early settlers, he was reared in a time when hard work and manifold privations were the common lot of all. He early developed extraordinary powers of endurance, and choosing agriculture for a life-work, bent all of his energies to the accomplishment of the one purpose of founding a home, in which he was more than ordinarily successful. In 1836 he married Miss Jane Kyle, a native of Fayette County, Penn., daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Nixon) Kyle, who were among the early settlers of Shelby County. To this marriage were born eleven children, seven of who are living, namely: William N., Pleasant, Mrs. Elizabeth Sergeant, Joseph, Mrs. Mary Thompson, David and Jacob. The deceased members of the family are as follows: Moses, died at New Orleans, July 9, 1861; Herman, died November 15, 1861; Abigail, wife of Robert W. Medkirk, died April 12, 1870; Belle, wife of G. W. Overstreet, of Franklin, died March 24, 1876. Mr. Pruitt, was very successful in his business affairs, and during a long and very active life, accumulated a large property, much of which consisted of valuable real estate, in Johnson, Shelby and Bartholomew counties. He was a liberal patron of all public enterprises, and a man prominent in the circles in which he moved. In his death, which occurred on the 5th day of November, 1861, the family suffered the loss of a kind husband and father, and the citizens of the community, a wise counselor and faithful friend. Mrs. Pruitt departed this life on the 21st day of November, 1887, aged sixty-nine years and a day.