Industrialist. In the early 1820s, the he moved with his family moved to Adelphi, Ohio and took a job teaching in a school house in Pickaway County. In 1833, Purdue opened a general merchandise store, was successful, bought 240 acres in Tippecanoe County, Indiana and moved there. There he served on the first board of directors for the Lafayette branch of the State Bank of Indiana and with a partner, started the Purdue & Fowler general merchandise store in 1840. In 1846, Indiana Governor James Whitcomb appointed Purdue to a panel of commissioners to sell stock for the railroad and he was elected to serve on the board of directors, which contributed toward a second railroad, the New Albany & Salem, in 1851. When the Civil War broke out, he donated money to the Union cause, became on of the main supplies for the Union Army and armed an volunteer militia, the Purdue Rifles. After the war, Purdue offered $150,000 to the state, as well as one hundred acres of land that he had purchased to establish the new Purdue University Indiana, in 1869. After the college officially opened in September 1874, he remained active with the university’s activities and trustees until his death of an apparent stroke at age 73.
Industrialist. In the early 1820s, the he moved with his family moved to Adelphi, Ohio and took a job teaching in a school house in Pickaway County. In 1833, Purdue opened a general merchandise store, was successful, bought 240 acres in Tippecanoe County, Indiana and moved there. There he served on the first board of directors for the Lafayette branch of the State Bank of Indiana and with a partner, started the Purdue & Fowler general merchandise store in 1840. In 1846, Indiana Governor James Whitcomb appointed Purdue to a panel of commissioners to sell stock for the railroad and he was elected to serve on the board of directors, which contributed toward a second railroad, the New Albany & Salem, in 1851. When the Civil War broke out, he donated money to the Union cause, became on of the main supplies for the Union Army and armed an volunteer militia, the Purdue Rifles. After the war, Purdue offered $150,000 to the state, as well as one hundred acres of land that he had purchased to establish the new Purdue University Indiana, in 1869. After the college officially opened in September 1874, he remained active with the university’s activities and trustees until his death of an apparent stroke at age 73.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Purdue memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
