In the book's own words, not ours, with obvious scanning errors fixed. Families often supplied these stories to the publisher, so check key dates.
From Past and present of Randolph County, Indiana : with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families (1914)
WILLIAM H. BALES.
Since coming to Randolph county three-quarters of a century ago the Bales family has witnessed wide-sweeping and very important changes in this locality, in many of which they have taken a conspicuous part. But change is constant and general, generations rise and pass unmarked away, and it is the duty of posterity as well as a present gratification to place upon the printed page a true record of the lives of those who have preceded us on the stage of action and left to their descendants the memory of their struggles and achievements. The history of this honored family is a part of an indissoluble chain, which links the annals of the past to those of the latter-day progress and prosperity and the history of Randolph county would be incomplete without due reference to them, the various members of the family having lived useful and successful lives, among the best known of the present generation being William H. Bales, long a leading business man of Winchester. Like his father before him, generous and big-hearted, kindly in disposition, he has never lacked for friends, and many of them will pursue his life record, as written here, with deep interest although brief and fragmentary.
William H. Bales was born in Randolph county, September 11, 1857. He is a son of Isaac X. and Martha J. (Piatt) Bales, and is one of a family of three children, the eldest, Mary E., dying in infancy; and the youngest. Magnolia M. married W O. Bales, a farmer living south of Winchester, and they have two children, Stella M. and Burley N.
Isaac X. Bales was born also in this county, and here he grew to manhood, received his education in the old-time schools and devoted his life to general farming. He lived ona farm adjoining the land which our subject's paternal grandfather took up from the government, cleared and developed. Isaac X. Bales was a soldier in the Sixty-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry for three years, seeing much hard service and proving to be a gallant soldier for the Union. He was in the last charge of the war, which took place at Mobile, Alabama. He was in the battles at Richmond, Kentucky, in the siege of Vicksburg and was with General Banks on the Red River Expedition, and other general actions. He enlisted August 5, 1862, and was honorably discharged in July 1865. He was never wounded but bullets pierced his hat and clothing.
William H. Bales grew to manhood on the home farm and there worked hard when a boy. He received a common school education. At the age of thirty-seven he moved to Winchester where he has conducted a paint and wall paper store during the past ten years, building up a large and rapidly growing business and carrying at all times a large and carefully selected stock of modern paints and wall paper. His store is one of the best of its kind in this section of the state and would do credit to a city much larger than Winchester. His prices are always right, and, dealing uniformly with his hundreds of customers in an honest and courteous manner, he has become one of our most popular and substantial business men.
Mr. Bales was first married on February 9, 1878, to Mary A. Fisher, whose death occurred march 5, 1905. To this union three children were born, namely: Newton A., who died in early life; Charles E. C., a farmer, lives at Muncie; he married Pearl Powell and they have two children; Russell H. is bookkeeper for the Western Drop Forge Company of Marion; he has remained single. William H. Bales was married again, espousing on October 29, 1908, Minnie Burnside, of Albany, Indiana, a daughter of James F. Burnside, and she is one of a family of eight children, an equal number of sons and daughters. To this second union one child has been born, Esther, the date of whose birth was October 3, 1910.
PoHtically Mr. Bales is a Progressive. He has been a member of the Christian church for a period of thirty-eight years, and is faithful in his support of the same. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and is a member of the Sons of Veterans.
As printed in Past and present of Randolph County, Indiana : with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families (1914). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.
The printed record stops around 1914. We trace your line from there down to you, with every source cited.