JOHN W. CURRENT.
John W. Current, trustee of Wayne township, is a native of Richland township, Jay county, Indiana, where he was born on the 27th of January, 1854. He is the eldest child in a family of three sons and two daughters living and two dead, born to Benjamin F. and Louisa (Clore) Current. Both parents were natives of Virginia, the father born in 1831 and the mother in 1830. They were married in Jay county, Indiana, in April, 1853. They have spent their lives principally upon their Richland township farm, where our subject was born and both parents are now living. The names of their children were as follows:
- John W., of this sketch,
- Isaac Henry, who is a prosperous mechanic in Redkey, Indiana. He is married and has two children.
- Albert F.is also a mechanic, interested with his brother Isaac at Redkey. He is married and has four children.
- Mollie F. and
- Esther M. are young ladies still under the paternal roof.
- William S. died in childhood, and
- Laura A. was about sixteen years old when she died.
Our subject received a common-school education in the district school of Richland township, and worked upon the home farm until he was nineteen. He then became an apprentice to the carpenter's trade, and followed carpentry and building for some six years. While thus employed he became convinced that there was a fine business opening in the manufacture of brick in Portland, and he established a plant there, which he still owns and operates on an extensive scale. the plant turns out from six hundred thousand to a million brick annually, and gives employment, in season to some twenty men. The product is mostly used in Portland and the adjacent country territory.
Mr. Current is a careful, conservative business man who merits and receives the confidence and esteem of all who know him. He is quiet and unobtrusive, yet wielding a potent influence in the social and business affairs of Portland. He is not a politician in any sense, yet he is a most uncompromising Republican and is thoroughly identified with the interests of his party. He has never sought public office, preferring to devote his time to his business interests, yet at the general election in 1900 he was elected to the responsible position of trustee of Wayne township and was duly installed in office in November of the same year. this position is one of great responsibility, since it involves the collection and distribution of a large proportion of the public money of the township, including, also, the city of Portland. The office largely controls the interests of the poor, the schools, roads, public buildings, taxes, etc. Mr. Current was the United States census enumerator of Wayne township at the taking of the census in 1900.
Our subject was married June 24, 1883, to Miss Almeda Myers, a native of Jefferson township, Jay county, and a daughter of Jacob P. and Sarah Myers, old settlers of the county. Four children have been born to this union, one of whom is dead. The living are: Sarah L., Jacob B. and David W.
Mr. Current is not identified with any religious organization, though a believer in the divinity of Christ and a liberal contributor to the support of the Gospel and other worthy religious enterprises. He was reared in the faith of the Baptist church and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. His wife is a member of the Order of Eastern Star, by virtue of her father's membership in the Masonic fraternity.
The Current family is descended from Irish ancestors and was established in Virginia in colonial days. It is a numerous family in Indiana, and an annual reunion is held in one of the three counties of Jay, Henry or Randolph, at which the attendance numbers about four hundred.
