Personal Reflections and a Study of Six Generations : Life on a Farm in Southwestern Indiana

Abstract

The single family farm in Indiana is dwindling in numbers due to many challenges. Among these challenges are the forces of nature, the changing modes of transportation, the economy, developments in science, mechanization, foreign markets, and politics at local, state, and federal level. Through personal interviews, research involving noted historians, family and county histories, legal records, newspapers, and personal reflections, this study seeks to accomplish two goals. The first is to reflect changes in daily life and agriculture on a representative small farm in southwestern Indiana from the mid-1850s to the present. Secondly, the study seeks to convey the character of six generations of a family who have not just endured challenges, but who also have thrived. Because of a love of and respect for the land, an obligation to be stewards of that land, a desire to pursue new directions, a sound sense of business, and a spirit of persistence, the descendants of a Scots-Irish immigrant have brought this farm into the twentieth century and have nurtured it into a business which now contributes to a world economy.