Short Biography of John B. Dougan

John B. Dougan, Cashier Second National Bank, Richmond, Ind., was born in Niles, Mich., in 1847, a son of William and Ann (Gray) Dougan. His grandfather, Isaac Gray, was a native of Ireland, and came with his wife, Martha Bartley Gray, to the United States when a young man, settling in Virginia, and in the third decade of the present century became a merchant of some note in Richmond. He afterward removed to Niles, Mich., where he died of fever in 1831. Our subject became a resident of Richmond in 1857, and here acquired a fair education, completing it at Niles, Mich. He has been Cashier at the Second National Bank since its organization, and is now one of its Directors. He is an enterprising business man, and is one of the promising youg men of Richmond.

Source: "History of Wayne county, Indiana, from its first settlement to the present time : with numerous biographical and family sketches" ³⁸

John B. Dougan has gained prestige as one of the able and popular men of affairs of Wayne county and is at present occupying the position of president of the Second National Bank at Richmond. He is a member of one of the prominent families of Wayne county, with whose annals the name has been identified for more than half a century. He was born at Niles, Mich., Dec. 14, 1847, a son of William and Anna (Gray) Dougan. The father was born in the north of Ireland, in 1809, and with his brother, George Dougan, came to the United States about the year 1820, locating at Pittsburgh, Pa., where he learned the carpenter's trade, following that occupation in the Keystone State seven years. He also mastered cabinet making and became an expert mechanic. He later removed to Niles, Mich., where he engaged in carpentering and contracting, erecting the greater number of buildings of that city during his residence there. He became not only one of the substantial men of that place, but was also a citizen to whom was ever accorded the fullest measure of popular confidence and esteem. He was a man of forceful individuality, guided his life according to the strictest principles of integrity and honor, and wielded much influence in public affairs of a local nature. He married Anna Gray, a native of the north of Ireland and a daughter of Isaac and Martha (Bartley) Gray. Her mother was an English lady, but married Mr. Gray in the Emerald Isle, and they emigrated to America in the early '20s, their daughter, Anna, who remained in Ireland, joining them in America a few years later. Their first home was in Rockbridge county, Virginia, but after a short residence there they came to Richmond, Ind., Mr. Gray being one of the leading pioneer merchants of that city. His last days were spent in Niles, Mich., where his death occurred in 1831. William and Anna (Gray) Dougan became the parents of six children: Isaac G. is a retired farmer of Spring Gove, Wayne county; William is a practicing physician at Niles, Mich.; George B. is of the firm of Dougan & Company, insurance, of Richmond; David is a banker at Denver, Colo.; John B. is the next in order of birth; and Martha is the wife of I. T. Foster, of Richmond. The father of this family died in August, 1849. Eight years later, in 1857, the mother became the wife of Daniel Reid and by this union had tow children: Daniel G., president of the American Tin Plate Company; and Virginia, who became the wife of O. H. Bogue, of Wabash, Ind., and died Nov. 28, 1911. Mrs. Reid died in September, 1898, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. John B. Dougan spent the first ten years of his life in Niles, Mich., and in 1858 came with his family to Richmond; and he passed the remainder of his boyhood days under the helpful influences and discipline of the home farm where the family resided. There he became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, and in the intervals of farm work improved the educational advantages afforded by the district schools of the neighborhood. In the fall of 1865 he returned to Niles, Mich., where he attended school for a year, and, thus equipped for the practical and responsible duties of a business career, again came to Richmond, in September, 1866, and entered the First National Bank, as "messenger boy." For six years he remained with that institution, and his close application, his faithfulness and his ability won him promotion from time to time until he was made general bookkeeper. In 1872, when the Second National Bank of Richmond was organized, he was tendered and accepted the position of cashier of that institution, continuing in that capacity until Jan. 1, 1898, when he was elected vice-president, and in August, 191, he became president, in which position he still continues. He is a close student of the banking business, in all departments of which he keeps in close touch with the advances made from year to year. In politics Mr. Dougan shows an abiding faith in the principles of the Republican party, of whose cause he is a zealous supporter, and in a fraternal way is identified with the Masonic order, being a member of Richmond Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; King Solomon's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Richmond Commandery, Knights Templars; and Indianapolis Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. In October, 1876, Mr. Dougan was united in marriage to Miss Helen L. Scott, a daughter of William G. Scott, deceased. They hold membership in the Presbyterian church, and for many years Mr. Dougan has served as one of its trustees.

Source: "Memoirs of Wayne County and the city of Richmond, Indiana; from the earliest historical times down to the present, including a genealogical and biographical record of representative families in Wayne County" ⁶⁶⁹