John Purdue
John Purdue (/pɜːrˈduː/; October 31, 1802 in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania – September 12, 1876) was a wealthy American industrialist in Lafayette, Indiana, and the primary original benefactor of Purdue University.
Most details of John Purdue's early life were either not recorded or lost. His father was Charles Purdue and his mother was Mary Short Purdue. He had eight sisters and no brothers. Sometime after 1813 (possibly as late as 1823), the family moved to Ross County, Ohio. During the move, the second oldest daughter, Nancy, died, and shortly after the move, his father Charles died. Shortly thereafter John was apprenticed to an Adelphi merchant and his mother and at least a few of his sisters moved north and settled near Westerville, Ohio.
From 1823 to 1831 he was employed as a school teacher around Ohio and in Michigan.
As stated in the 1979 Marion County History Book, on March 13, 1831, he bought a 160-acre (0.65 km2) farm in Salt Rock Township in Marion County, Ohio. He sold the same on August 20, 1832, at a profit. He derived additional gain from collecting a commission taking his neighbor's hogs to market.
Purdue developed a farm products brokerage that covered the Adelphi, Worthington and Columbus area. In 1833, he and Moses Fowler opened a general merchandise store in Adelphi. On December 9, 1834, Purdue purchased 240 acres (0.97 km2) of land in Indiana from Jesse Spencer for $850 which he partially paid for in store goods. The land that he bought currently lies northeast of the intersection of Creasy Lane and McCarty Lane in Lafayette, Indiana.
In 1838 or 1839, Purdue and his associate Fowler liquidated their Ohio holdings and permanently moved to Lafayette. Once there they opened a dry goods business on the courthouse square. Purdue continued to gain wealth and prestige over the next several years. Most accounts show a man devoted to leading a good civic life, donating time, money and expertise to various local projects including a bridge over the Wabash River, a railroad from Lafayette to Indianapolis and serving on various boards.
...
Wikipedia