John Wesley Underwood, Jr. During his long and honorable career in Miami county, J. W. Underwood, Jr., has worked out an admirable destiny and from small beginnings has drawn around him for the comfort and happiness of his later years such substantial compensations as wealth, the affectionate devotion of his well established children, the credit for having contributed largely to the general development of the community and the confidence and good will of his, business and social associates. Mr. Underwood, a resident of Monroe township, was born in this township July 29, 1855, a son of J. W. and Margaret (Hoover) Underwood. His parents, life-long farming people of this locality, were among the highly respected people of the Tippecanoe City vicinity and were much esteemed for their many admirable qualities of mind and heart. J. W. Underwood, the younger, secured his education through attendance at the rural schools and passed his boyhood and youth in much the same manner as other farmers' sons of his day, the short winter terms being passed in study and the long summer months in assisting his father in the work of the home place. He married December 12, 1878, Catherine, daughter of Daniel and Agatha (Werthern) Foreman, and to this union there have been born the following children: Zelda, the wife of Oscar Karns; Carrie, the wife of Perry Emerich; Raymond, who is farming with his father-in-law, he married Clara Antonides, and they are the parents of four children: Albert, Luella, George W., and Ester; Noda, the wife of Howard Shearer; Foreman, a farmer in Monroe township, who married Hilda Elman, and they have one child, David Wesley; and Gertrude, the wife of J. C. Robbins, who is now managing the Underwood farm and they have one child, Forrest Edwin. Following his marriage, Mr. Underwood began farming operations on his own account. His beginnings were small, but he possessed the necessary ambition and perseverance, and gradually worked his way to a place among the substantial tillers of the soil of his township, and is now the owner of eighty acres, besides other property. In 1913, he purchased the old Martindale farm, his present property, and here he has made numerous modern improvements. In his career he has demonstrated what a man can accomplish through straight-forward and practical methods, and by exercising always in his associations with his fellow-men the qualities of integrity, consideration and kindness. During the war period, Mr. Underwood was actively engaged in assisting the various movements, and acted as solicitor for the war chest drive in his part of Monroe township. He is a Republican, and was director of the Miami county infirmary for six years. He also served as squire for one term. He is a member of the United Brethren church, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also the encampment.