James Aiken, a farmer of Manchester Township, and a native of this county, born November 15, 1822, is a son of John and Mary (Johnston) Aiken, natives of Fermanagh County, Ireland. The maternal grandfather James Johnston, with his wife and part of his family, immigrated to America in 1818, landing at New York, thence came to Pittsburgh, where he built a family boat and came down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, where he left his family and walked to Manchester, this county, and stopped with Daniel Plummer, an early serrler, and a Methodist minister. soon after, he entered eighty acres of land in Section 3, this township, where erected a log cabin opening out right in the woods, into which he moved with his family, and commenced the work of making a farm. He was then sixty of age, yet he performed much hard pioneer work.

He lost his wife by death, in 1839. He died in 1848, aged ninety years. There two of his sons, Jarret and Charles,who came to this county soon after their father,the former died at Louisville, and the latter settled in New Orleans, where resided till the war of the Rebellion, since which, nothing has been heard of him.

Mr. John Aiken came to America in 1821, was married at Philadelphia, and in the fall of the same year came to Indiana, and settled with his father-in-law, James Johnston, on Section 3, living in their house until he built a log house near where Mr. James Aiken present residence stands. Here he resided until his death, July 2, 1865, aged seventy one years. They had two sons, and two daughters: James,Marvin Ervin, who, in April, 1859 went to California, where he resided, the last known of him; Elizabeth Ann, wife of Nathabiel Lewis, who resides in McDonald County, Mo., and Mary Jane, who died young. James Aiken, the eldest of his father's family, has never removed from the old home place where he was born and raised, having resided here sixty-two years. he was married May 1865 to Miss Eliza Strain, daughter of Robert and Mary Strain, natives of Ireland, he being of Scotch descent; they liveddied in their native land. Mrs. Aiken has one sister, Mary, wife of William R. McConnel, residing in Dearborn County. Mr. Aiken and wife have six children; Robert James, Mary E., Jennie, Aggie, Hattie, and William Marvin. Mr. Aiken havoted his life to farming and stock raising, and by industry and close application to business, has been very successful. Je now owns 220 acres oof lan, with good new buildings which he has erected, with other improvements. His farm now embraces all the land that was in possession of his ancestors. It is a pleasant farmer's home. Mr.Aiken is one of the prominent, reliable and honored farmers of Manchester Township.