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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 02920 5876
Gc 977.201 G83bi v.l
Biographical memoirs of
Greene County, Ind.
GREENE COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
GREENE COUNTY. 1ND.
WITH REMINISCENCES OF PIONEER DAYS
\[q\ am? 1
Ijk ILLUSTRATED
977. ,20/
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INDIANAPOLIS. INDIANA
1908
B. F. BOWEN & CO.
Allen County Public Library
900 Webster Street
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1351156
PREFACE
All life and achievement is evolution; present wis-
dom comes from past experience, and present commercial
prosperity has come only from past exertion and suffer-
ing. The deeds and motives of the men that have gone
before have been instrumental in shaping the destinies of
later communities and states. The development of a new
country was at once a task and a privilege. It required
great courage, sacrifice and privation. Compare the pres-
ent conditions of the residents of Greene county, Indiana,
with what they were one hundred years ago. From a
trackless wilderness it has come to be a center of pros-
perity and civilization, with millions of wealth, systems
of intersecting railways, grand educational institutions,
marvelous industries and immense agricultural produc-
tions. Can any thinking person be insensible to the fasci-
nation of the study which discloses the incentives, hopes,
aspirations and efforts of the early pioneers who so
strongly laid the foundation upon which has been reared
the magnificent prosperity of later days? To perpetuate
the story of these people and to trace and record the so-
cial, political and industrial progress of the community
from its first inception is the function of the local his-
torian. A sincere purpose to preserve facts and personal
memoirs that are deserving of preservation, and which
unite the present to the past, is the motive for the present
publication. The work has been in the hands of able
writers, who have, after much patient study and research,
produced here the most complete biographical memoirs of
Greene county, Indiana, ever offered to the public. A
specially valuable and interesting' department is that one
devoted to sketches of representative citizens of this
county whose records deserve perpetuation because of
their worth, effort and accomplishment. The publishers
desire to extend their thanks to these gentlemen, who have
so faithfully labored to this end. Thanks are also due
to the citizens of Greene county, Indiana, for the uniform
kindness with which they have regarded this undertaking
and for their many services rendered in the gaining of
necessary information.
In placing the "Biographical Memoirs of Greene
County, Indiana," before the citizens, the publishers can
conscientiously claim that they have carried out the plan
as outlined in the prospectus. Every biographical sketch
in the work has been submitted to the party interested for
correction, and therefore any error of fact, if there be
any, is solely due to the person for whom the sketch was
prepared. Confident that our efforts to please will fully
meet the approbation of the public, we are,
Respectfully,
The Publishers.
L
INDEX
Abbott, John 08
A Burial Vault 139
Adams, Curtis W 315
Ad Quod Damnum 174
Alderson, Thomas 774
Allen, John D 733
Anderson, James 1199
Anderson, Andrew 1198
An Unprovoked Murder 133
Anthony, Geo. R. 815
An Earlier Race 129
A Pre-Historic Murder 142
Arrangement of the Mounds 141
A Short Ceremony 69
A Wedding Without a Honeymoon 70
Axe, William 840
Axe, Thomas J 396
Bach, Benjamin 878
Baker, Henry 624
Ballard, Thomas P 843
Ballard, Mrs. Catharine 1184
Ballard, W. P 662
Ballard, John J 528
Banking Institutions of Linton 273
Barnett, Clarence C 817
Barratry — First Case 200
Bays, A. J 446
Beasley, A. M 1104
Beasley, Joseph E 946
Beasley, Alex 993
Bedwell, James A 998
Bench and Bar 227
Benjamin, Elmer S 939
Bennett, Marion 599
Bennett, William C 358
Berns, John 680
Berns, E 1181
Bingham, Frederick 105
Black Creek Mill Dam 180
Bland, Hon. Oscar E 975
Bland, William H 678
Bloomfield State Bank 278
Blevins, James 89
Bough, Captain William 1190
Bovenschen, William 1010
Boyd, W. D 757
Bradford, D. A. 643
Bradford, Thomas 253
Bredeweg, H. G 1038
Brewer, Joseph 1 1087
Brewer, Mary E 1°36
Bristle Ridge School House 154
Brookshire, George W 1005
Brooks, Alfred L 3G7
Brown, Isaac 716
Brock, David 414
Buck, Rev. J. W 1051
Bull, James E 496
Bunker, Alfred R 968
Burdsall, Asa 584
Burnett, Joshua 90
Bucher, Jacoh ' 820
Burcham, James 539
Buskirk, R. M 834
Byers, Joel 441
Callahan, John 1128
Callahan, R. D ,. ■ 475
Calvert, John O 745
Gavins, Samuel R 400
Cavins, Col. E. H. C 448
Cavins, Col. Aden G 1238
Carrell, Benjamin 1260
Caris Land Suits 219
Caswell, E. K ' 933
Cession Treaties 128
Chambers, B. F., M. D '. 917
Chaney, Francis 90
Chemical Constituents of the Idol 145
Clenny, William 92
Cisney, John W 747
Citizens State Bank, Bloomfield 279
Coffins in Early Times 84
Copper Implements 146
Conway, William 93
Cook, P. M., M. D 1288
Coleman, William 1060
Corbley, Richard J 398
Combs, John D 490
Combs, Charles E 907
Conwav, William 93
Cornelius, W. F 1174
Cotton Was King 266
Court Proceedings 215
Commercial State Bank, Worthington 788
Courts of Greene County, by E. H. C. Cavins 161
Cranial Measurements 143
Cravens, William R., M. D 1016
Cravens, James M 516
Cravens, Samuel Coleman 384
Cravens, Elmer R., M. D 656
Crane, Rev. James Daniel 327
Craig, William A 608
Cromwell, Fred R 870
Crites, John 766
Curtis, Joshua B 1066
Cullison, Kinsey 1262
Cullen, Joseph 1138
Darnell, Rev. William N 828
Danely, William T 668
Danielson, Christian 883
Davidson, John 91*
Davis, William S 1249
Death of Joshua Holding 206
Death of President Lincoln... 212
Deckard, James A 772
Deckard, W. H 1276
Dempsey, S. D 797
Dickinson, David M 811
Dillard, Prof. V. E 929
Dixson, S. P 1032
Dixon, N. G 1080
Dixon Families in Greene County 247
Dobbins, John T 502
Downing, Michael : 110
Downing, Andrew 114
Doney, Harvey L 331
Duke, Richard M 390
Dugger, T. H 792
Dugger, Francis M 632
Early Marriages 69
Early Settlers 247
Easton, George B. M 931
Edington, M. G 1131
Edington, Capt. Elijah 645
Edington, William W 1272
Edwards, Francis L 355
EUis, Stephen 984
Emery, Nathaniel 473
Emery, Chas. A " 388
English, J. D 904
Eminent Legal Practitioners 176
Eveleigh, Robert E 533
Evans, Rev. Alex. R 1014
Famous Slander Suit 167
Faucett, Mason 1266
Faucett, Levi J 752
Faulk, David S 894
Ferguson, Lovell R 462
Fellows, Col. Levi 416
Financial Institutions of Bloomfield 278
First National Bank of Linton 276
First Indictment for Murder 166
First Case of Barratry 200
First Court in Bloomfield . . 168
Fifty-ninth Regiment 29
First Common Pleas Court 196
I
First White Visitors 131
First Log Cabins 251
Fields, Otis G 606 V
Fields, Daniel H 988
Filbert, J. B '. 672
Fitzpatrick, Oscar 960 \
Fields, Ari 460 ;
Flory, Rev, Henry 558 (
Fourteenth Indiana Regiment 19
Forty-third Indiana Regiment 27
Founder of Greene county 253
Forbes, L. S 1176
Foster, Samuel 1264
Franklin, John T : 676
Freeman, Job 336
Fry, Philbert 813
Gageby, Frank A 1170
Gainey, Wm. W 505
Gastineau, John N 943
Gastineau, Henry 1172 ,
Getting an Education Under Difficulties 153
Gheen, John H 564
Good Old Times 55
Good, Chas. F 1067 •
Good, Wm. H 1093
Goad, Clemen Q 350 \
Gordon, William ! 526
Gillett, Lucian 1006
Gilliland, James H 551
Gilliland, John C 554
Gray, John W., M. D 492
Gray, Simeon, M. D 781
Gray, Dr. George B 876
Graham, John W 313
Greene County Sixty-nine Years Ago, by Henry Baker 40
Greene County Towns 236 I
Green, Joseph W 790
Greene, A. E 1218
Hains, Samuel 478
Haig, William M 318
Hall, Lewis R 901
Hale, Jacob A 860 '
Hamilton, William J 1143
Hamilton, John 457
Hanna, Levi 572
Hading Brothers 941
Hart, Homer 0 823
Harrah, John M„ M. D 9.16
Harrah, P. J 1279 j
Harvey, Sipple 95 l
Hassler, Henry 604
Hassler, Frederick 470 \
Hastings, Willard J 1112
Haseman, Prof. J. H 1203
Hattabaugh, Andrew J • 411
Hatfield, Jeremiah 404 \
Hatfield, Jeremiah 638
Hatfield, Joel : 629
Hays, Samuel P 1257
Hays, Wilbur A 659
Haxton, H. D 1254
Haxton, Emery F 890
Heaton, James W 424
Henderson, Hon. Chas. E 706
Hendren, Gilbert H 1048
Hendren, G. H., Jr 955
Henninger, Rev. George S 809
Heitman, William, Jr 1095
Heim, Chas. F 1023
Herrington, William L 885
Herzog, Frederick S 651
Hindman, Alva E 472
Himebrook, Frederick W '862
Hill, Johnson 1091
Hill, Henry C 744
Hixon, W. H 1116
Hixson, Clinton D 1178
Holmes, Helmer 566
Howe, C. C 1187
Holscher, Benjamin F 980
Howard, Thomas H 324
Hurt, Joseph S 1285
Hudson, James M 333
Hunt, H. D 944
Humphreys, Hon. Andrew 690
Humphreys, James M 1108
Humphreys, James H 699
Humphreys, Guy H 1252
Hunter, William 1135
Hunting Incidents 150
Huffman, Henry 95
Hyde, Loren A 1226
Ingersoll, Theodore 723
Indian Occupancy, by Col. E. H. C. Cavins 126
Indian Conspiracies 135
Industrial Development of Greene County 295
Iron Ores of Greene County 280
Irwin, R. P 1110
Jackson, Samuel R 847
James, James S 560
Jean, Charles W 856
Jessup, C. F 739
Jewell, Henry T 769
Johnson, R. T 986
Johnson, William 596
Keys, Robert R., D. D. S 1082
Kelly, Albert B 725
Kirk, Chas. C 927
Kramer, August 995
Lang. Francis 96
Langton, James J 880
Langton, B. F 882
INDEX.
Lamb, John T 344
Laughlin, Seth '.'.'.'.'. 622
Lawrence, Joseph 103
Laymon, Jacob .'.'.'.'.'.'. 588
Leavitt, Joseph D ' 437
Lehman, Wm 1210
Leonard, Joseph 1944
Letsinger, Lewis E 1222
Lester, Peter S 555
Life in the Woods .'.',.'. 261
Linton Coal 298
Linton Trust Co 'm[\\ 275
Linton Bottling Works 941
Lowe, Arthur g53
Lowder, H. R., M. D 418
Low.ry, John M * \ 1154
Mason, William ......'. 107
Mason, Henry 109
MathiaSj H. Julian 444
Mansfield, W. H ..'.'. sls
Marshall, Alfred F 798
Maddock, W. B 464
Maddox, Clyde O 695
Martin, Prof. L. H 845
Maxwell, Samuel A ' 1055
McDowell, J. M '. 898
McDermont, Francis 952
McKee, Robert T 1158
Mcintosh, Hon. D. W 1056
Mcintosh, William J 512
Mcintosh, Hon. J. P 865
Meant Business 71
Methods of Practice , 198
Members of the Greene County Bar 225
Military History, by Col. E. H. C. Cavins ....'. 17
Missionary Work Among the Indians 129
Miller, D. N ' ' 331
Miller, Edward E 785
Miller, Madison 849
Milam, John I '.'. 1244
Milam, A. L.
803
Miller, William H 731
Mitten, Benjamin B 760
Moss, Hon. William G 1064
Moss, Hon. Joseph . . . 307
Moss, Claude S 1275
Moss, William M 544
Moss, Clyde S ,'. 1271
Morgan, C. O ' \ ggg
Morgan, H. C ...\. 965
Morgan, J. B 1000
Morgan, John L 1235
Murder of William Walker 191
Murder of Phoebe Graves .........].... 182
Murder of James Rainwater 204
Murder of Jacob Sicker 217
Murray, William A 837
Mullis, Andrew C 394
Myers, Josiah D 776
Myers, George F 618
Myers, Andrew J 1022
Nash, William 0 801
Neal, Henry T 1192
Neal, Elmer E 368
Neidigh, Daniel 56S
Newsom, John W 1309
New Court House 172
Ninety-seventh Regiment 35
Nickerson, Hoyt H 548
Norvell, Horace V 499
Oakley, Fielding 98
Ockerman, Joseph R 375
Official Record Greene County 229
Olgus, William 1164
Olgus, Charles 1208
Oliphant, Capt. Joseph T 824
Oliphant, J. L 438
Old Log School Houses of Sixty Years Ago 153
Old Methods of Farming 264
One Coat Answered for Both 72
One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment 38
Other Terms of Court 175
Other Interesting Events - . . 272
Other Practitioners 187
Osbon, Guy G 806
Osburn. Nicholas W 509
Owen, Thomas C 480
Owen. Henry C 442
Ore Deposits 289
Padgett, Thomas I i 1114
Parks, W. L 1041
Parker, F. M 421
Person, James H 1220
Phillips, I. N 963
Pioneer Reminiscences -242
Pioneer Mail Carriers 82
Pioneer Physicians 258
Pioneers' Liquor 80
Pearce, Harvey 0 1216
Pottery, Japanese Vases, Images, Etc 143
Porter, George C, M. D 720
Porter, W. A 615
Poe, John A 1119
Probate Court 169
Price, Levi M 1312
Price, Charles A 948
Price, Ivil 0 1200
Ray, Mrs. Anna B 1212
Ramsey. Franklin 1232
Ritter, William Drayton 736
Ritter, Moses 1046
Riddle, Hon. John A 1147
!l
nmuiiM
Reminiscences 194
Revolutionary Pensions 171
Revolutioners 88
Riley, Hon. Camden C 972
Richeson, Oris B 378
Risher, John W 1025
Rose, Bishop Asbury, M. D 352
Roach, James T ji 1230
Roach, David C 541 f
Roberts, C. H 1133 I
Routt, William • 1303
Roth, William G '. 670 i
Rusher, Michael 586
Ryan, Thomas M 536
Sargent, William G 427
Scalp Dance 149
Scott, Joseph P 430
Second Indiana Regiment in Mexico 18
Secrest, Thomas F 853
Second Term of Court 163
Sexson, L. B 640
Sessions of Court After War 214
Seventy-first Regiment of Sixth Cavalry 32 *
Sharpies, Thomas 612
Sharp, George H 1012 \
Sharp, David 406 1
Shaw, Charles G 1072 I
Shepherd, William G 392
Sherwood Family 1292
Sherwood, Elmer T., M. D 576
Sherwood, Clinton T 728
Sherwood, Will H 1019
Sherwood, E. H 959
Sherwood, James B 1151
Shelburn, James 687
Shields, Thomas J 991
Slinkard, Nathan V 1241
Slinkard, William L 888
Slinkard, Cyrus L 1206
Slinkard, John F 1318
Smith, Robert 620
Smallpox in the Early Days 79
Some Early History 256
Smith, John B 1077
Spelbring, Frank 977
Sparks, George M 373
Speeker, John 1 719
Squire, E. B : 1267
Squire. David 0 1039
Stafford, John F 1124
Stafford, Berlin 1089
Stalcup, Eli 872
Stalcup, William T 574
Stockrahm, Peter 997
Stewart, Granville D 592
Stewart, David W 590
Stewart, John 523
Strietelmeter, William 1008
Steelman, Henry 982
Stephenson, Major M. C 664
Stephenson, William L 684
Strauser, Joseph A 363
Storm, John 99
Sugar Making Time 77
Swango, Abraham 613
Sweat-houses 148
Talbott, J. E 1096
Taylor, George D 751
Taylor, John S 1165
Templeton, John A 1321
Templeton, William W 910
Terhune, D. J 592
Terhune, David D 1074
Terry, W. A 891
The Rousseaus 178
The Log Chain Case 201
The Mast Case 203
The Bennett-Patterson Slander Suit 210
The Hardin Murder Case 220
The New Court House 172
The Delawares 127
The; Indians '. 146
The Indian Chief and the Whiskey 271
The Master's Window 155
Thomas, Alva R 455
Thomas, Marion A 1102
Thirty-first Regiment ' 24
Third Term of Court 165
Tlnstman, W. C 899
Treaties 128
Turvey, Hiram 1168
Turner, Joseph E 704
Twenty-first Regiment, First Heavy Artillery 22
Vails, Joseph M 682
Van Slyke, Peter C, Sr 122
Vest, James M 364
Watts, Henry D 648
Waggoner, Silas P 597
Warinner, Rev. John C 1140
Warner, W. H 1079
Warner, L. W. 1062
Warren, George W 630
Watson, Elsworth 602
Warnick, Thomas 118
Weisman, Jesse F 950
Weems, Robert F 778
Wells, George W 1069
Wetnight, David 793
Wheeler, Peter 1126
Wier, James F 409
Wiginton, Henry 570
Wilson, A. F 869
§
«a— f in ■mri«i
— 1
Wild Game 268
Wilson, Prank 741
Wilkerson, William 109
Wilkie, Israel 484
Williams, Henry 920
Wingler, Joseph 1100
Winters, B. F 925
Wolford, Hon. J. W 320
Wolford, Edwin L. . . . : 433
Wolford, William F 1162
Wolf, Henry A 832
Workman, John B 1122
Worthington Mounds 138
Woman's Rights 179
MILITARY HISTORY OP GREENE COUNTY,
INDIANA.
BY COLONEL E. H. C. CAVINS.
From the earliest settlement of Greene county, there
was a marked military spirit exhibited by the settlers, for
an unusually large number of old soldiers settled in the
county. The Revolutionary soldiers, remembered by
some of our oldest residents, were Colonel John Stakely,
who served on Washington's staff, Zion Brewer, Wil-
liam Wilkerson, John Storms, Adam Rainbolt, Joseph
Lawrence, Isaac Hamlin, James Blevins, Joshua Burnett,
John Shroyer, Henry Huffman, Abel Westfall, Cornelius
Westfall, Willis Fellows, William Sulser, Jefferson
Dover, Daniel Woodsworth, Peter Ingersol, David Rust,
John Abbott, John Chaney, William Conway, Fielding
Oakley, Michael Downing, John P. Phillips, William
Clenny, Francis Lang, Solomon Wilkerson, Sipple Har-
vey, Robert Ellis, Solomon Carpenter, William G. Bry-
ant, Abraham May, David Sobie, and a Mr. Branham.
The old soldiers of the Indian wars and the War of
1812 were Elijah Skinner, Ben Skinner, Adam Stropes,
Frederick Bingham, Daniel Dulin, William S. Cole, John
Cavins, Samuel R. Cavins, Jesse Cravens, George Abbott,
2
l8 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Thomas Osborn, Major George R. Sarver, Alumbee Ab-
bott, J. C. Andrews, Cornelius Bogard, Cornelius Van
Slyke, and probably many others.
For fifteen years after the organization of the county
militia musters were fairly well attended, but after that
the interest gradually relaxed, until the musters were en-
tirely abandoned.
The first colonel was Levi Fellows, suceeded by
Thomas Warnick, and the last was Samuel R. Cavins,
who was commissioned by Governor Noble on the 2d
day of March, 1836, to hold the office until he was sixty
years old.
The names of the other militia officers are not well
preserved in tradition, and the writer does not know of
any record of them. Among the majors were J. W.
Wines and John R. Dixson. Among the captains were
D. M. Ingersol, John Burch, William Richey, Tosiah
Buskirk, Charles Shelton, James G. B. Patterson, Joseph
Storm, Leonard Nicholson, Ruel Learned and Norman
W. Pierce. Some of our old residents can remember
the white plume, tipped with red, that decorated the hat
of the militia officer.
SECOND INDIANA REGIMENT IN MEXICO.
On the 8th day of June, 1846, a company from
Greene county was accepted by the governor, and on the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 19
twenty-second day of June was mustered into the service
as Company E, Second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry. Lovell H. Rousseau was captain, Adam
Stropes, an old soldier who was wounded at the battle
of Horse Shoe, was first lieutenant, and David Erwin
was second lieutenant.
The regiment was engaged in the battle of Buena
Vista on February 23, 1847, ar>d Company E lost in
that engagement three killed and seven wounded.
Captain Rousseau became a famous major-general
in the war of the Rebellion, and later was a member of
congress from the Louisville district in Kentucky, and
still later was a brigadier general in the regular army.
FOURTEENTH INDIANA REGIMENT.
On the call of President Lincoln for seventy-five
thousand volunteers, a company was organized in Greene
county and E. H. C. Cavins was elected captain. The
company was not accepted at that time, for the reason
that the call was filled. On the first call for three hundred
thousand the company was accepted, and assigned as
Company D, in the Fourteenth Regiment of Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, Colonel Nathan Kimball commanding
the regiment.
The regiment had been organized originally for one
year, and Company D of the one year's service refused
ft
M
20 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
to enlist for, three years, and the company took its place
in the regiment and reported for duty at Terre Haute,
May 7, 1861, and E. H. C. Cavins was commissioned
captain. The regiment was mustered into the three years'
service on June 7, 1861, being the first regiment mustered
into the three years' service in Indiana. This made
Captain Cavins the junior captain in the regiment, but
on the expiration of its term of service he was colonel of
the regiment, which was armed with smooth-bore mus-
kets altered from flint lock to percussion lock, except that
five Enfield rifles were issued to each company. The
regiment afterwards armed itself with Enfield or Spring-
field rifles from the battlefields on which it was engaged,
completing its arming at Antietam.
On the 5th of July, 1861, the regiment left Indian-
apolis for western Virginia, and was in active campaign
there until June 30, 1862, when it embarked at Alexan-
dria, Virginia, and joined the Army of the Potomac on
the second day of July at Harrison's Landing, and was
assigned to the Second Corps. From that time, during
the term of its service, it shared the fortunes, honors,
dangers and hardships of the Second army corps. The
engagements in which it participated where any of the
regiment were killed, or mortally wounded, were Cheat
Mountain, Greenbrier, Kernstown, Harrison's Landing,
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,
Bristoe Station, Mine Run, Morton's Ford, Wilderness,
m
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 21
Spottsylvania, Totopotomy, and Cold Harbor. The regi-
ment was in fifty-nine' other engagement's, and detach-
ments from the regiment were in six other engagements,
and veterans and recruits were in eleven other engage-
ments.
The losses of the regiment were one hundred and
fifty-five killed or mortally wounded, four hundred and
thirty-seven wounded, seventy-two died of disease, two
hundred and seventy-two discharged on account of
disease, one hundred and thirty-six discharged by general
orders, and forty-nine discharged on account of wounds.
The percentage of killed, excluding non-combatants,
resignations, discharges on account of disease and general
orders and desertions, was over twenty-five per cent., and
excluding the same, more wounds were received in battle
than there were soldiers in the regiment. This does not
include killed and wounded, after the veterans and re-
cruits were transferred to the Twentieth Regiment.
In Company D there were forty recruits, five of
whom were killed and eighteen wounded before the re-
cruits were transferred to the Twentieth Indiana Regi-
ment.
This heavy loss among the recruits was probably
caused by so many of them going into the Wilderness
campaign, just after their enlistment, and before they
learned to protect themselves. The last battle was Cold
Harbor, after which the veterans and recruits were trans-
;;.'i
mmm
b-V
22 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ferred to the Twentieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers,
and participated in all the battles in which Hancock's
famous corps was engaged, the last engagement being at
Appomattox.
The regiment is classed as one of Fox's fighting regi-
ments.
TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, FIRST HEAVY
ARTILLERY.
Late in May, 1861, E. E. Rose, a veteran of the
Mexican war, began to raise a company, of which he
became captain. William Bough, another veteran of the
Mexican war, who was wounded at the battle of Buena
Vista, was first lieutenant, and Spencer L. Bryan was sec-
ond lieutenant. The company was assigned as Company
C, Twenty-first Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
and the regiment was mustered into service on the 24th
day of July, 1861, for three years, with James W. Mc-
Millen as colonel.
The following week it was ordered East, reaching
Baltimore on the 3d of August, where it remained until
February 19, 1862, during which time it participated in
General Lockwood's expedition to the eastern shore of
Virginia.
The regiment sailed from Baltimore to Newport
News, from which place it embarked on the 4th day
1 ;l
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2T,
of March, 1862, and sailed with Butler's expedition.
On the 15th day of April it left Ship Island and was
at the mouth of the Southwest Pass during- the bombard-
ment of Forts St. Phillip and Jackson.
On the 29th day of April a part of the regi-
ment landed in the rear of St. Phillip and waded across
to the Quarantine, while the others went through Pass
L'Outre up the Mississippi to New Orleans. This part
of the regiment was the first of Butler's army to touch
the New Orleans wharf on the 1st of May, and immedi-
ately marched up into the city, the regimental band play-
ing "Picayune Butler's Coming, Coming." ;;.
The regiment went into camp at Algiers, where it
remained until the 13th of May, making frequent i
forages into the interior. It captured many steamers on
Red River and the sea-going blockade runner Fox on the
gulf coast.
On the 1st of June it was landed at Baton Rouge, j
where it remained until the post was evacuated. On the
5th of August it participated in the battle of Baton
Rouge, fighting for over three and a half hours against
an entire brigade without faltering, and sustaining a loss
of one hundred and twenty-six killed and wounded.
On the 8th of September it surprised Waller's
Texas Rangers at Des Allemands, killing twelve and cap-
turing thirty-five persons. In October the regiment was
sent to Berwich Bay, where it remained until the later
part of February, 1863.
24 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
During its stay here portions of the regiment were
temporarily transferred to gunboats, and participated in
almost daily engagements with the iron clad "Cotton,"
and took part in the engagement at Cornet's Bridge and
the destruction of the "Cotton."
In February, 1863, the regiment was changed from
an infantry regiment to heavy artillery, and was desig-
nated as the First Heavy Artillery.
It took part in the engagements at Camp Bisland,
Port Hudson, Sabin Pass, Red River expedition and the
reduction of Forts Morgan and Gaines, and Spanish
Fort, and the capture of Mobile. Captain Rose resigned
on the 8th of December, 1863, after which time Cap-
tain William Bough had command of Company C until
the close of the war.
THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT.
Company F, Thirty-first Regiment, Indiana Volun-
teer Infantry, was organized in September, 1861, with
William B. Squire captain, John T. Smith, first lieuten-
ant, and William Thompson, second lieutenant. The
regiment was mustered into service September 15, 1861,
with Charles Cruft as colonel. Later Lieutenant John T.
Smith became colonel.
Soon after it went to Kentucky and went into camp
at Calhoun, where it remained until February 12, 1862,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 25
when it entered upon its march to Fort Donelson, partici-
pated in that engagement on the 13th and 14th and
lost in killed twelve, wounded fifty-two, and missing
four. Later it marched to Fort Henry, and in the latter
part of March was transported to Pittsburg Landing. En-
gaged two days at Shiloh and lost in killed twenty-two,
wounded one hundred and ten, missing ten.
After this engagement it was assig-ned to the Fourth
Division of the Army of Ohio, under command of Gen-
eral Nelson, and marched toward Cornet, and partici-
pated in the siege of that place.
After the siege was raised, it moved with BuelPs army
through northern Mississippi and Alabama into Tennes-
see. In September the regiment fell back to Louisville
with Buell's army, and after Bragg was driven out of
Kentucky it returned to Nashville. Its next battle was at
Stone River on the 31st day of December, 1862,
and January 1 and 2, 1863, where it lost in killed
five, and wounded forty-six. On the 19th and 20th
of September it was engaged in the battle of Chicka-
mauga, under command of Colonel John T. Smith, sus-
taining a loss of five killed and sixty-six wounded.
The regiment then crossed the Tennessee river and
encamped at Bridgeport. While here, on the 1st day
of January, 1864, the regiment reinlisted, and in February
proceeded to Indianapolis on veteran furlough.
In the Atlanta campaign the regiment was in the
26 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Fourth Corps and participated in many battles and
skirmishes. After the capture of Atlanta it followed
Hood's army to Pulaski, Tennessee, still in the Fourth
Corps, and on the 15th day of December, 1864, par-
pated in the battle of Nashville, where it sustained a loss
of ten killed and thirty-three wounded. After the battle
it followed the enemy as far as Huntsville, Alabama, and
returned to Nashville, where it remained until after the
close of the war. In June and July, 1865, the regiment
moved with its corps to New Orleans, and joining Sheri-
dan's army was transported to Texas, forming part of
the army of observations until December 8th, when it was
mustered out of service.
The engagements in which any of the regiment
were killed or mortally wounded were Fort Donelson,
Shiloh, Resaca, Stone River, Chickamauga, Rocky Face
Ridge, Resaca, Pine Mountain, Chattahoochee, Marietta,
Jonesborough, Atlanta Campaign, and Nashville. The
regiment was present at Fort Henry, Perryville, Hoover's
Gap, Smyrna Station, Franklin and many other smaller
engagements.
The number of reported killed are one hundred and
twenty, wounded three hundred and twelve. The proba-
bilities are that a considerable number of those reported
as missing in battle were killed. The regiment is classed
as one of Fox's fighting regiments.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2.J
FORTY-THIRD INDIANA REGIMENT.
On the 29th day of August, 1861, Company
C, Forty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
was organized with Elijah Edington, capta'in; Henry
Roach, a Mexican war soldier, as first lieutenant, and
Joseph A. Burcham as second lieutenant.
The regiment was organized at Terre Haute on
the 27th day of September, 1861, with George K.
Steele, as colonel. Soon thereafter it moved to Spotts-
ville, Kentucky, and from thence to Calhoun, where it re-
mained in camp until the latter part of February, 1862.
It was then transferred to Missouri and attached to
General Pope's army, engaging in the siege of New
Madrid, and Island No. 10. It was afterwards detailed
on duty with Commodore Foote's gun-boat fleet in the
reduction of Fort Pillow, serving sixty-nine days in that
campaign.
This regiment was the first Union regiment to land
in the city of Memphis, and with the Forty-sixth Indiana,
constituted the entire garrison, holding that place for
two weeks, until reinforced.
In July it was ordered up White River in Arkansas,
and subsequently to Helena. In December it marched to
Grenada, Mississippi, with Howe's expedition, and on
its return to Helena accompanied the expedition to Yazoo
Pass.
28 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
At the battle of Helena, on the 4th day of July,
1863, the regiment was especially distinguished, alone
supporting a battery that was three times charged by
the enemy, repulsing each attack, and finally capturing
a full rebel regiment larger in point of numbers than its
own strength. The gallantry of the regiment on this
occasion was to a great extent over-shadowed by the sur-
render of Vicksburg on the same day, and the resting
on the laurels of Gettysburg after three days of heavy
battle. The regiment took part in General Steele's cam-
paign of Little Rock, and aided in the capture of that
place. On the 1st of January, 1864, the regiment re-
enlisted at Little Rock, the veterans remustered num-
bering about four hundred. In March it moved with the
expedition of General Steele from Little Rock, which
was intended to co-operate with Bank's Red River expedi-
tion, and was in the battles at Elkins Ford, Jenkins Ferry,
Camden and Marks Mills, near Saline River. At the
latter place on the 30th of April the brigade to which
ft was attached, while guarding a train of four hundred
wagons returning from Camden to Pine Bluffs, was furi-
ously attacked by about six thousand of Marmaduke's
cavalry. The Forty-third lost nearly two hundred in
kilted, wounded and missing in this engagement. Among
the captured were one hundred and four of the re-enlisted
veterans. After its return to Little Rock the regiment
proceeded to Indiana, on veteran furlough, reaching In-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 20.
dianapolis on the ioth of June. Upon its arrival the
regiment volunteered to go to Frankfort, Kentucky, then
threatened by Morgan's cavalry, and remained there until
the Confederate forces left central Kentucky. On its
return the regiment had a skirmish with Jesse's guerillas
near Eminence, Kentucky.
Upon the expiration of its veteran furlough, the
regiment was detailed to guard Confederate prisoners, at
Camp Morton, and remained on that duty until the close
of the war.
FIFTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
In December, 1861, Company E, Fifty-ninth Regi-
ment, was organized, and Aden G. Cavins was commis-
sioned captain ; Benjamin S. Brookshire, first lieutenant ;
Merritt C. Taylor, second lieutenant. About the same
time Company D was organized with Russell A. Belden
captain, Andrew J. Mason first lieutenant, and later Gib-
son C. Brandon second lieutenant.
Later Captain Cavins was promoted to major of the
Ninety-seventh Indiana Regiment, and Lieutenant Osbon
was commissioned captain of Company E.
The regiment was mustered into the service for three
years on the nth of February, 1862, at Gosport, In-
diana, with Jesse I. Alexander as colonel.
On February 13th the regiment was ordered
30 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
to New Albany. On the 18th it left on transports
for Cairo, and arrived there on the 20th, and on
the following day embarked for Commerce, Missouri, and
was the first regiment to report to General Pope for duty
with the Army of the Mississippi. It was among the
first regiments to enter New Madrid, and took possession
of Fort Thompson at that place. On the 7th of April
it crossed the Mississippi River and assisted in the capture
of five thousand prisoners at Tiptonville. It returned to
New Madrid on April 10th, embarked and proceeded with
the fleet to Fort Pillow. It returned to New Madrid
and thence to Hamburg, Tennessee, by transport.
From the 24th of April to May 29th the
regiment was engaged in most of the skirmishes
and reconnaissances during the march to the siege of
Corinth, and after the enemy evacuated the city the
regiment followed to Booneville, and then returned to
the locality of Corinth. During the summer the regiment
went on several expeditions, and returned to Corinth, and
was engaged on the 3d and 4th of October in the
battle of Corinth, and after the defeat of the enemy joined
in the pursuit to the Hatchie River, and again returned
to Corinth on the 10th of October.
The regiment was nearly always on a march or a
fight. On the 2d of November it marched to Grand
junction, thence to Davis Mills and Moscow, thence to
Cold Water, Holly Springs, Oxford, Yocan River, thence
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
31
back to Oxford, thence to Lumpkin Mill, thence in front
of the rebel fortifications at Vicksburg, where on the
22<1 of May, 1863, the regiment participated in the
assault, sustaining a loss of one hundred and twenty-six
killed and wounded. The regiment at the time was in
the Seventeenth Corps, General F. P. Blair commanding,
and with it marched up the Yazoo River to Satartia, re-
turning to its old position on the 4th of June, where it-
remained until the surrender on the 4th of July, 1863.
The regiment remained at Vicksburg until Septem-
ber 13th, when it embarked on transport and went to
Helena, where it remained until the 28th of September,
and then embarked for Memphis. On the 5th of October
went by rail to Corinth, thence to Glendale. On the 19th
of October started for Chattanooga, and arrived there in
time to take part in the grand victory of Missionary
Ridge. On the 17th of December, began its return to
Bridgeport, Alabama, where the regiment was transferred
to the Fifteenth Army Corps, under command of General
John A. Logan. On the 23d of December it started
for Huntsville, Alabama, and while there the regiment
re-enlisted as a veteran organization on the 1st day of
January, 1864. After going home on veteran furlough
the regiment returned to Huntsville on the 2d of April.
Thence in June to Kingston, Georgia, where it joined
Sherman's army, on its march to Atlanta. After several
expeditions, one of which was in East Lawrence, after
F
32
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Wheeler's cavalry, on the 14th of November, it moved
towards Atlanta, and shared the honors, dangers and vic-
tories of Sherman's grand march to the sea, and finally
participated in the grand review at Washington. The
regiment was mustered out of service at Louisville, Ken-
tucky, on the 17th day of July, 1865. It traveled by rail
three thousand and seven hundred miles, by water four
thousand six hundred and eighteen miles, and by land
five thousand three hundred and five miles.
SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT,
CAVALRY.
OR- SIXTH
In August, 1862, Company H, Seventy-first Regi-
ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, was organized, and
John J. Starnes was commissioned captain, John T.
Owen, first lieutenant, and H. D. Watts, second lieu-
tenant.
The regiment was organized at Terre Haute, and
on the 18th day of August, 1862, it was mustered into
service with Melville D. Topping as lieutenant colonel.
Before the regiment was drilled, before they received
their promised bounty, and before they were required by
law to leave the state, at the request of Governor Morton,
every man volunteered to go to Kentucky, which state
was then being invaded by a large Confederate force. The
regiment, with a few other troops, met an overwhelming
mmmmm
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 33
force at Richmond, Kentucky, on the 30th of August,
where Lieutenant Colonel Topping and Major Conkling
were killed, the regiment sustaining a loss of two hundred
and fifteen killed and wounded, and three hundred and
forty-seven prisoners. Two hundred and twenty-five
escaped. The prisoners were immediately parolled and
returned to Terre Haute. After they were exchanged
four hundred of them were sent in December, 1862, to
Muldraugh Hill, Kentucky, to guard the railroad, and on
the 28th day of December were attacked by a force of
four thousand men under General John H. Morgan, and
after fighting an hour and a half were captured and
paroled. They then returned to Indianapolis, where they
remained until August 26, 1863.
On the 22d day of February, 1863, the regiment
was authorized to be changed into cavalry, and became
the Sixth Regiment, Indiana Cavalry. In October, 1863,
the regiment was sent to East Tennessee and was engaged
in the siege of Knoxville and active operations against
General Longstreet, losing many meni killed and wound-
ed. In the spring of 1864 it was ordered to Mt. Sterling,
and afterwards to Nicholsonville. On the 29th of April
it left for Georgia and on the nth of May joined Sher-
man's army, then in front of Dalton, and was assigned to
the cavalry corps of the Army of Ohio, under General
Stoneman. In the Atlanta campaign, they participated
in all of the cavalry operations, and were engaged at
3
34
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Tunnel Hill, Red Clay, Resaca, Cassville, Kenesaw
Mountain and other engagements. The regiment aided
in the capture of Altoona Pass, and was the first to take
possession of and raise the flag on Lost Mountain. On
the 27th of July it started with Stoneman on his raid
to Macon, Georgia, and in that expedition lost one hun-
dred and sixty-six men in killed, wounded and captured.
On the 28th day of August it left Marietta and returned
to Nashville.
On September 25th it left Nashville with Croxton's
cavalry to assist in repelling the invasion of middle Ten-
nessee by General Forrest. This expedition was command-
ed by General Loval H. Rousseau, the same officer who
was captain of the Mexican war company, raised in
Greene county. The expedition lasted twenty days and
resulted in the defeat of General Forrest at Pulaski, Ten-
nessee, on September 27th, and his pursuit to Florence
and Waterloo, in Alabama. At Pulaski the regiment
lost twenty-three men in killed and wounded. On the
1st of November it started by rail to Dalton, Georgia,
and on the 26th returned to Nashville; on the 15th
and 1 6th of December it participated in the battle
in front of Nashville and followed in pursuit of
Hood's retreating army. It returned to Nashville
on the 1st of April, 1865, and moved to Pulaski;
with the Second Brigade, Sixth Division Cavalry Corps,
Military Division of Mississippi. On the 17th of June
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 35
part of the regiment was mustered out at Pulaski, Ten-
nessee, and on the- 27th of June the recruits were con-
solidated with the recruits of the Fifth Cavalry, and they
were designated as the Sixth Cavalry, and served under
Colonel Cortlahd C. Matson in middle Tennessee until
the 15th of September, 1865, and was mustered out of
service at Murfreesboro. jnri • t~( »
NINETY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.
The Ninety-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, was organized in the seventh congressional dis-
trict in August, 1862, with Robert F. Catterson as lieu-
tenant colonel. The regiment was largely made up in
Greene county. Aden G. Cavins was commissioned
major and later lieutenant colonel and colonel. The
following companies were made up in Greene county:
Company A, A. J. Axtell, captain ; Nathaniel Crane, first
lieutenant; John Catron, second lieutenant; Company E,
Thomas Flinn, captain; Joseph T. Oliphant, first lieu-
tenant; Elijah Mitchell, second lieutenant; Company C,
John W. Carmichael, captain; Jacob E. Fletcher, first
lieutenant; William F. Jerrall, second lieutenant; Com-
pany G, John Fields, captain ; William Hatfield, first lieu-
tenant ; Henry Gastineau, second lieutenant ; and part of
Company I, and part of Company F.
The regiment was mustered in the service September
20 1862, at Terre Haute.
36
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
On November 9th it was ordered to Memphis, Ten-
nessee, and was assigned to the Third Brigade. First Di-
vision, Seventeenth Army Corps, and marched on several
expeditions and finally went into winter quarters at La-
grange, Tennessee. In June, 1863, it was ordered to
Vicksburg and joined Sherman's army. After the sur-
render of Vicksburg it pushed on to Jackson, Mississippi.
The advance reached Jackson on the 9th of July, and there
was constant skirmishing until the 16th.
The regiment returned to Black River, and after
tearing up many miles of railroad went to Vicksburg,
and thence by boat to Memphis. In October the regi-
ment joined the army near Chattanooga Creek and en-
gaged in the battle at Chattanooga on the 25th of No-
vember, and at Missionary Ridge. They followed the
retreating army to near Ringgold, and there were ordered
to east Tennessee to relieve General Burnside.
After the retreat of Longstreet from east Tennessee
they returned with the corps to Scottsboro, Alabama, and
remained until the Atlanta campaign in May, 1864. At
this time the regiment was in the Third Brigade, Fourth
Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, under command of
General John A. Logan. It moved to Resaca and en-
gaged in battle on the 14th and 15th.
On the 27th it engaged the enemy at Dallas ; on
June 1st at the battle of New Hope Church; on the
15th at Big Shanty; on the 27th at Kenesaw Mountain,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2)7
where the regiment lost in killed and wounded seventy
out of three hundred engaged. It was engaged in the
entire battle of Atlanta, and on July 22d captured the
Fifth Tennessee Confederate regiment, that being the
regiment that killed General McPherson. It was engaged
at Ezra Chapel on July 28th, and later at the battle of
Jonesboro. On the 1st of September it reached Lovejoy,
and on the 3d of October engaged the enemy in pursuit
of Hood. On the 12th of November it started on the
march to the sea. On the 29th of November it engaged
the enemy at Griswoldville, Georgia ; on the 8th of De-
cember engaging the enemy at Little Oghuchu River;
on December 21st it entered Savannah, and was present
at the capture of Columbia, South Carolina, on the 15th
day of February, 1865; on the 25th day of March it was
at the battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, thence moved
to Goldsboro, thence to Richmond, Virginia, thence to
Washington City, and was on the grand parade and re-
view. It was mustered out of service on the 9th day of
June, 1865, at Washington City.
The regiment sustained losses of forty-six killed,
one hundred and forty-six wounded, one hundred and
forty-nine died of disease. It marched three thousand
miles, lost three color bearers in assault on 15th and 27th
of June, 1864.
■*"*■
38 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEENTH REGIMENT.
The One Hundred and Fifteenth Regiment, Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, was organized at Indianapolis, and
mustered into the service for six months on the 17th day
of August, 1863, Colonel John R. Mahan commanding.
Company A was recruited in Greene county, with Spen-
cer L. Bryan captain ; Merritt C. Taylor, first lieutenant,
and Addison C. Sanders, second lieutenant. The regi-
ment left Indianapolis September 16th, and proceeded
through Kentucky to Nicholsonville. On September 24th
it moved to Cumberland Gap, passing through Crab Or-
chard, and reached Cumberland Gap on October 3d. On
the 6th it marched southward, passing through Tazewell
and across Clinch River, Clinch Mountain, and Holsten
River, and entered Morristown on the 8th. On the 10th
it reached Blue Spring, where it met the enemy and drove
them for fifteen miles. Then the regiment moved to
Greenville. On November 6th it marched to Ball's Gap,
where it suffered greatly from the want of food and cloth-
ing, so. much so that the brigade to which they belonged
has since been called "the Persimmon Brigade," on ac-
count of the command living largely upon persimmons for
a part of the time. During the winter of 1863 and 1864
until their term of service expired, they were in the moun-
tains of east Tennessee, marching almost shoeless over
rough roads, and endured many hardships. The regi-
mm
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 39
merit was mustered out of service in February, 1864.
This was the last organized company formed in
Greene county. Before this time many of the boys of
the county had gone into other regiments, and after this
time some went as recruits to the regiments already
formed, some as substitutes for drafted men, and some
were allured into other counties on account of the local
bounties offered.
GREENE COUNTY SIXTY-NINE YEARS AGO.
BY HENRY BAKER.
Sixty-nine years ago, October 20, 1839, the parents
of the writer, with their family of an even half dozen
boys, came in wagons from Niagara county, New York,
by way of Indianapolis, to Greene county, Indiana.
The state was only twenty-three years old, new and
wild, and Indianapolis was less than twenty years old,
with a population of less than two thousand; the first
state house was then new and was the pride of all the
state.
Sixty-nine years ago was eight years before the
first railroad was built in the state, and thirty years be-
fore the first railroad was built in Greene county. How
vast the difference! The first telegraph line in the county
was in 1870. Prior to that date all messages had to go
and come by the old horseback mail routes, through the
dense woods and wild prairies, as best the way could be
found from one point to another, since all the roads went
the nearest way and on the best ground, regardless of
lines, and all rivers and small streams had to be ferried
or forded. Costly bridges have long since taken the
place of cheap ferry boats and puncheon bridges.
;!
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 41
Sixty-nine years ago the entrance price of what was
known as congress land was one dollar and a quar-
ter per acre, and what was known as canal land two dol-
lars and fifty cents an acre, and swamp land was twelve
and one-half cents per acre; there were thousands of
acres of the latter in Greene county that no one wanted
at any price. This same land, after ditching and tiling,
is now the best land in the county. At the date re-
ferred to not one-half of the land in the county had been
entered, and not one-tenth part had been fenced for cul-
tivation.
Land was cheap and there were thousands of acres
of the best land in the county on the market waiting for
buyers. It is notable that the last entries of land was
the best land in the county, and this also held good in
most all parts of the state. Labor was cheap, and the
average farm hand could get only about five or six dol-
lars a month, working from ten to twelve hours a day,
in clearing and plowing among the trees and stumps, a
thing that but few farmers have to do now, all of which
was hard work in the strictest sense of the term, and he
who saved his hard earnings could have at the end of
the year money enough laid by to enter forty acres of
congress land and some to spare at five dollars a month,
and many a young man in this way secured a farm that
made him and his chosen life partner a pleasant home
and a good living in their old age. Most all of the tim-
V
42 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
bered land was covered with the finest saw timber
known in the history of the state, the best of which, at
saw-mill prices, was only about fifty cents a hundred feet,
and with but few buyers. Now, the same grade is worth
five or six dollars a hundred feet. Not sixty years ago
the biggest and best poplar, white-oak and walnut trees
would sell from one to two dollars a tree, according to
the locality ; they would now be worth twenty-five or
fifty dollars a tree.
Most of the houses in the county were log houses
and required but little lumber in the building, and many
were built without any kind of lumber in the construc-
tion, some without nails or glass. The old-time puncheon
floors and clapboard doors were common, and were a
great saving in the lumber in the log cabin homes of the
early settlers. All the first houses of the early settlers were
built in this way for many years, as the nearest place to
get lumber was at Vincennes, Terre Haute, or Indian-
apolis, and until waterpower saw-mills sprung up on the
creeks, early in the twenties, the first of which was the
grist and saw-mill of Colonel Levi Fellows on Plummer
creek in Plummer township, now Taylor township, that
supplied the lumber for the country for many miles around
and also made the meal and flour, doing away with the
hominy block, the hand mills and horse mills that cracked
the com from which "dodger" and pone bread were made.
A good horse or a good yoke of oxen would sell for
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 43
about twenty-five dollars each. Oxen were then used for
heavy hauling more than horses. Two horses or two
yoke of oxen would pay the price of forty acres of con-
gress land, or four hundred and fifty acres of swamp
land. Who wouldn't wish for the prices and times of
sixty or seventy years ago, when a very little monev had
to go a long way? When the average farmer's tax for
a whole year was about five or six dollars— not one-
twentieth part of what it is now ? And this was when
men were honest and grafting was scarcely known.
In the spring of 1861 the writer entered the last
forty-acre tract of canal land at two dollars and fifty
cents an acre in Fair Play township, and the first year's
tax was ninety-three cents, and the cry was hard times.
Sixty-nine years ago there were only two mail routes
in the country and those were horseback routes, and only
once a week. One was from Sullivan to Bedford, the
other from Washington to Point Commerce, both by
way of Bloomfield. What pay the mail carrier and post-
master received is not known to the writer; it is not likely
that any of them got to be immensely rich. So meager
was the pay of the postoffices that postmasters had to
be almost drafted into service. The postage on a single
letter as twenty-five cents. The writer has a few let-
ters bearing the date of 1839 that have the mark of
twenty-five cents, which he is keeping as a relic of olden
times. There were no stamps or envelopes in use at that
riti.
44. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS ,
time; it was cash in advance, or on delivery, just as the
writer saw fit, but almost invariably the receiver had the
postage to pay. Paying the postage by the receiver was
termed "lifting a letter." Money was often hard to get.
The price of a day's work on a farm was twenty-five
cents, working from sunrise until sunset, two and one-
half bushels of corn at ten cents would, either of them,
pay the desired twenty-five, cents for postage, and when
the contents were scanned and found to be a dun for a debt
long past due, or "I take my pen in hand to inform you
that I am well and hope these few lines will find you en-
joying the same blessing," the feeling toward the writer
can better be imagined than told, after the payment of
the twenty-five cents.
At the date referred to there wasn't a frame church
or school house in the county, and but very few frame
houses of any kind. Point Commerce, Fair Play, Bloom-
field, Scotland, Newberry and Linton were the only
towns in the county, and the entire population was
scarcely over two or three hundred. The old court house
at Bloomfield was then new,' and served for many years
as a meeting house for all denominations. The first
church in the county was built in Linton in 1842 (Meth-
odist), where an organization had been made in 1830.
The first name of the town, as well as the first name of
the postoffice, was New Jerusalem, and thus remained
until the name was changed to Linton some time in the
r;
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 45
thirties. Such is the history of the first church in the
county as given by the late Samuel Baldwin Harrah, one
of the first settlers at Linton, a lifelong member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Nancy Fincher, yet
a resident of Linton, and who is nearing the century
mark, is the only person left that was a member at the
time of the building of the first church in the county,
which was at Linton in 1842.
The early preachers had many difficulties to over-
come, as but few of them were college graduates or pol-
ished scholars, so also with the early teachers, and they
well earned the scanty pay they labored hard for. Min-
isters generally preached for the good of the soul and for
whatever the people saw fit to give them. The early
settlers kindly tendered the use of their log cabin homes
to the preachers of all denominations for preaching, and
all other meetings, and in the winter for night spelling
schools. As there were no clubs or secret orders to take
up the time of the average church members and others
not connected with any church, as they do now, nearly
everybody went to meeting, miles and miles away, in all
kinds of weather and over all kinds of roads, in their
homespun suits, either on foot, on horseback or in the
old-time linchpin wagons, seated in hickory bark bot-
tomed chairs, happy as happy could be, and in time of
"big meetings" and "camp meetings," that often lasted
for weeks, everybody went to "meetin'," and nearly
46 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
everybody "jined" the church, and everybody took part
in the singing of the old familiar1 hymns, such as "Happy
Day," "The Old Ship of Zion," "Our Bondage Here
Shall End By and By." The writer hasn't forgotten yet
how the good sisters and brothers, too, used to sing and
shout and shake hands. Times have changed somewhat
in the last sixty years or more, and those whom we knew
in those good old days are about all gone home.
Prior to 1850 all schools were subscription, and for
a term of about three months each winter, and the ruling
price was one dollar or one dollar and fifty cents a stu-
dent, according to the teacher and his or her qualifica-
tions. We used to have some good teachers and some
very poor ones. The opportunities for good schools were
poor and many neighborhoods had no schools.
In the summer of 1840 two brothers and the writer,
who was then under eight years old, attended a three
months' school in an old log house that was but lit-
tle better than a rail pen, so far as comfort was concerned,
the house being without chinking or "daubing," an open-
ing was made for a door, but no door, two openings were
made for windows, but no sash or glass were in them.
An opening for a stick and clay chimney about six feet
square was in one end of our "college in the woods," but
stood open all summer, good ventilation, but in our case
it was a little too much so, on cold rainy days and cool
mornings, as we could not make a fire except in an iron
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 47
kettle set in the middle of the room, in which was placed
a little fire, where we warmed our hands and toasted our
feet, occasionally, for not a child in the school wore shoes
and stockings. A school day was all day long-, and the
days were very long for us tow-headed, barefooted chil-
dren where we sat and wearily swung our-bare feet and
legs all the day, while mosquitoes were not forgetful of
us in plying their bills on our bare feet and legs, thus re-
minding us that they, too, had to live. We had light that
shone in on us between the logs of the house on all sides ;
we had to rule our paper by hand, and write with goose-
quill pens; we had no charts, globes, blackboards or
maps, and but little of anything to make school interest-
ing or instructive. Our teacher was a good Christian
woman and we all loved her as we did our mothers. She
went to heaven a long time ago. Of those who attended
that school there yet live two besides myself.
After this school there was a period of six years that
myself and the rest of our family had no schooling except
what our mother gave us at home, for the reason that
no schools were near enough for us to attend, which
proved a calamity to us. At the end of the six years a
cheap log house was built two and one-half miles away,
after the blacksmith shop style, as most all school houses
were then built. Here we attended school again after a
vacation of six years. This was1 in the fall of 1846. A
few years afterward we had the first public schools, but
<4-
48 Biographical memoirs
not in time to do us much good. As a fair sample of how
cheap many of the first school houses of the county were,
one in Washington township, built by the lowest bidder
for fifty-nine dollars, of the blacksmith shop style, is
called to mind.
The early farmers had hard times and dark days in
more ways than one, while they had sunshine and flowers
in other ways. This the writer knows something about
from actual experience.
Sixty-nine years ago there was but one buggy in the
county. The axles were wooden and with linchpins, the
same as the old-time wagons had. But few of the fann-
ers could afford a wagon, but many of them had a sub-
stitute which they called a truck wagon, a description
of which would be too much to give in print. The old-
time farmers well recollect what a truck wagon was.
Many of the old settlers came here from Tennessee
and North Carolina, and many of them moved all their
household goods on pack horses, not including chairs, ta-
bles and bedsteads. It cost more to raise one bushel of
corn or wheat sixty years ago than it costs now to raise
four or five of either, yet in many ways we lived far bet-
ter than we do now, and we had our "side range," so
called, for all kinds of stock, and the man that didn't own
a foot of land had the same right and privileges that all
big land owners had, and no one dared to molest him in
his God-given right — a right that no poor man can now
enjoy.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 49
Hogs fattened in the woods, that never tasted com
or slop, and cattle that never ate hay made better beef
than we now get from the city markets, and it was as
good as it was cheap ; and meat of some kind we had on
our tables three times a day the year around, which did
not cost twenty or twenty-five cents a pound, as it does
now. And besides this we had all kinds of game and fish
that was unmolested by law, and if hog meat or beef ran
short, as was sometimes the case, we could go to the
woods and lay claim to any part of the game that was
in abundance and no one dared to interfere, and if we
failed to raise turkeys for the holidays or any other time
we could buy a fat turkey for twenty-five cents, and if
we did not have the twenty-five cents we could go to the
woods and shoot the real wild turkey and have the sport
free. The streams and ponds had fish in abundance that
we could catch as we pleased. The heavens swarmed
every fall and winter with wild ducks, geese, pigeons and
prairie chickens more plentiful than blackbirds, and quail
as plentiful as those we read of in Bible times.
Sixty-nine years ago we had the real, genuine maple
syrup and sugar, luxuries that but few can now have.
The prices were five cents a pound for the sugar and
twenty cents a gallon for the syrup. The bees made
honey in the hollow trees in the woods, and we "sopped"
our pancakes and biscuits on both sides in the maple
syrup and honey, and the ham gravy from the hogs fat-
4
50 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
tened in the woods, .and ribs and backbones and "dodger"
bread our mothers used to roast and bake by the old-time
fire-places in our boyhood days can never be enjoyed
again or forgotten in the dim future.
The early settlers lived at home and boarded at the
same place, and their latch strings hung on the outside
of their doors for all their neighbors alike, and in going
to a neighbor's house they rapped on the door and at
the same time called out in a loud voice, "Who keeps
house?" If at home the response, "Housekeeper" — that
meant come in — "Good morning; throw your hat on the
bed and take a 'cheer' (chair). How's all the folks?"
Style and manners had no part in the lives of the earlv
settlers. They wore their homespun and buckskin suits
when and where they pleased. And the young man who
was fortunate enough to be the owner of a horse rode
to "meetin' " with his best girl behind him with her arm
gently twined about her gallant beau, just to keep from
falling off, you see, and many a rosy-cheeked bride in
this way rode many miles behind her happy husband to
the infair, as infairs were then common.
In the long time ago we burned tallow candles, or
"dips," as they were then termed, for lights, and in the
absence of candles we often burned any kind of soft
grease at the end of a rag out of a saucer or other shal-
low dish, that made a good substitute for a light. And,
many a fair maiden entertained her blushing beau by this
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. rj
kind of a light, while the old folks snoozed away the wee
hours of the night. This fact the writer well knows, for
he has been there.
Jack Maber's history of Greene county, written in
1875, recites the fact that the first white man buried' in
Eel River township was interred in a poplar trough made
expressly for the occupant. Mrs. Josephine Andrews
widow of William C. Andrews, one of the founders of
Worthington, tells of early coffins made of hickory bark
when in the peeling season a tree of sufficient size was
selected, the bark chopped around about a foot from the
ground and again about six or seven feet higher up the
tree. The bark was then split up and down the tree
when it was taken off in a whole piece, and so placed in
the ground, and spread open enough to take the corpse
in, when the bark was again closed up and the burial in
a hickory bark coffin was so completed. This was when
there were no saw-mills in the county from which to get
lumber for coffins, and this did not require much skill
or labor in the making. John Weatherwax used to tell
of the making of coffins out of clapboards of white-oak
timber.
The first saw-mills in the county were the whip saw-
mills, but it was a very slow way of making lumber and
about the first mill of the kind in the county was operated
by Benjamin and Jesse Stafford, brothers, on the farm
where now lives Henry C. Morgan, in Stafford town-
52 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ship, where some of the lumber is yet in use that was
sawed about 1818. After the buildings made of the lum-
ber sawed by the first water power saw-mill in the county,
lumber of all kinds was cheap, and coffins were cheap, as
there was but little material or labor used in the mak-
ing. My father was a cabinet maker by trade, so coffin
making was a part of his business. The best grade pop-
lar lumber was only fifty cents a hundred feet, so the
amount used in making a common-sized coffin cost less
than twenty-five cents, and for a child's coffin five or ten
cents, to which add the work, and the aitire cost would
be about fifty cents or one dollar — no lining, no costly
handles, no plates with "Father" or "Mother" engraved
on them. The highest priced coffin I ever knew my father
to make was six dollars, and he made many for nothing.
The first hearse in the county was about the time of the
building of the Indiana & Dayton Railroad, about forty
years ago. In the spring of 1842 two men came to my
father's shop driving a yoke of oxen, hitched to a sled,
drawn through the mud. They wanted a coffin' made as
quickly as possible. It was made while they waited and
placed on the sled without any kind of covering, and was
taken to the house, four miles away, where lay the corpse.
After the corpse was laid in the coffin it was again placed
on the sled and was so followed to the cemetery by the
friends and relatives. Such funerals were quite common
in early times. Contrast the present prices of coffins or
caskets with those of fifty or sixty years ago.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 53
Owing to a scarcity of preachers their services could
not be had at funerals, so funeral sermons were often de-
ferred for many weeks, months or years, as best suited
the early-time preachers.
The early preachers and justices of the peace did not
receive much pay for performing marriage ceremonies.
Many amusing incidents might be related of early-time
weddings, one in particular — that of Robert Inman and
Rhoda Wines, the father and mother of the writer's wife,
in the early spring of 1832. Elisha Cushman, a jus-
tice of the peace of Bloomfield, performed the marriage
ceremony at the residence of the bride's parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Martin Wines, well known, to almost every one in
the county, or at Linton (known at that time as New Je-
rusalem). The distance from Bloomfield was about fif-
teen miles. The justice of the peace rode over in the
morning on horseback, married the happy couple, got his
horse fed and a good dinner and returned in the evening,
and charged fifty cents for his services.
Near where Linton now is lived a young man, in the
early forties, who concluded it was not best to live longer
single. He started to Bloomfield, the county seat, fifteen
miles away, early in the morning and on foot, to get a
marriage license. He was without money to pay the
fee, but trusted to luck for a credit, as the clerk often
trusted his many friends in times of need. The road
was all the way through the woods, and footmen nearly
54 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
always went where their business called them with their
trusty rifles on their shoulders, ready for any and all
kinds of game that might come in their way. So it was
with young Moss (for that was his name), who went
with his trusty gun, and on the way he shot a wild tur-
key, which he carried through to the clerk's office and
traded it for the license.
Jacob Dobbins, a long-time justice of the peace of
Richmond township, was never known to charge more
than twenty-five cents for a marriage ceremony when at
home, and only fifty cents when miles away.
THE GOOD OLD TIMES.
By Henry Baker.
It was in 1839 when my father moved Ins family in
wagons from Niagara county, New York, to Greene
county Indiana. We were thirty-two days on the way
More days than it now takes hours to travel the same
distance, seven hundred and fifty miles. His family cou-
nted of my mother and an even half dozen small boys
I was then just turned into my eighth year Our
parents and half of the boys have been long since passed
away. My father came to the county the winter before
ookmg for land and a location for himself and family
for a home in thq wilds of Greene county, and he found
« Ave mdes east of Bloomfield, where the hills were
almost hke mountains and the hollows were so deep
that we had to look straight up to see the sky. Here
he bought one hundred and twenty acres and entered
nfty-e.ght acres, making in all one hundred and seventy-
e-ght acres, of which about thirty acres was cleared and
was about worn out by continued cultivating in corn A
very cheap log house and barn were about all the im-
provements. My father got carpenter work until the
9th of July following, when he started home for his fami-
56 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ly on foot, and walked the entire distance to New York,
seven hundred and fifty miles, in the hottest weather in
the summer. He arrived at home in just a month, and
this was when he was fifty-two years old. Blackberries
were just in their prime and he said he had blackberries
all along the roadside the entire distance. The day he
started from Bloomfield he mailed a letter to my mother
saying he was going to start to walk home and he beat
the letter through. Most all mail routes then were by
horseback. The postage on a single letter was twenty-
five cents, the price of two and one-half bushels of corn,
or a day's work on a farm. The postage on all papers
was paid by the subscribers.
On the 20th of September following .(1839) he
loaded his family and household goods into two wagons
and bade old New York state a long farewell and drove
through to the wilds of Greene county in just one month,
all tired and worn out, and unloaded our goods and our-
selves into the hardest-looking old log house that ever
sheltered poor mortal flesh — just one room about sixteen
by sixteen feet, with a very low loft. It was very close
quarters for a family of eight, after leaving a good
house in New York. We had everything to buy and but
little to buy with. Corn was ten cents a bushel de-
livered ; wheat, twenty-five to thirty-five cents ; oats, ten
cents. A good cow sold for seven or eight dollars, and
most everybody had something to sell, and awfully cheap,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 57
to the newcomers. Full grown chickens were six and
one-half cents apiece. So great was the strife for a little
ready cash that the prices looked fabulously small.
The winter following was a hard winter and with
many deep snows; the roof to our cabin was of clap-
boards and weighted down with heavy-weight poles (not
nailed) and was a good roof when there was no snow or
rain and not much cold weather.
My two oldest brothers had their bed in the loft,
where it took lots of clothes to keep from freezing. I
shall never forget one night of an awful snow storm
that sent snow all through our cabin, much to our dis-
comfort. Next morning when mother had breakfast
ready I was sent up the ladder to the loft to call my
brothers to breakfast. I found the bed and the loft floor
covered with two or three inches of snow, and my
brothers sleeping soundly and wholly unconscious of the
storm that raged through the night, as they were covered
up head and ears. Before breakfast was over the fire
from the old-time fireplace had warmed the loft floor so
that the dirty snow water began to trickle down through
the loft floor onto everything in the house, in a way that
made us almost wish we were back in old New York
state again. I assure you it was no place for girls with
white dresses. Unfortunately our stick and mud chimney
was wrong end up, as more than half the smoke came
out in the room and up into the loft, to our great annoy-
58 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ance. I haven't forgotten how often my mother cried
over the situation that to her was, almost past endurance.
We wintered through as best we could, roasting on one
side and freezing on the other. Before the next winter
came around my father, with the help of my older broth-
ers, turned the chimney the other end up, and made other
improvements that were badly needed.
Our land was of a very poor quality, and made us
but a poor support ; the timber was first-class, no better
anywhere, poplar, white oak, black oak, red oak, black
and white walnut, sugar tree and beech, and many other
varieties, as good as ever grew anywhere in the state. A
large part of the land was good, while some was poor,
fit only for fruit of various kinds. The virgin soil yielded
bountiful crops of apples and peaches mostly that
were not infested with insects that we now have
to contend with. Nearly all the first orchards were
raised from the seed plantings, and from which we
had good apples ; the yellow Bellflowers, the big Roman-
ces, the Baldwins and many other varities that we now
rarely see, and the peaches that grew in every fence cor-
ner and on every hillside, such as the old Mixon frees
and clings, the Indian clings and frees, and almost a
countless number that can't be named now. No peaches
were then canned as we do now, but nearly every farm
had their dry kilns, where they dried peaches and apples
for the family use, as well as for sale, that yielded a good
•<HJk
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 59
profit. With the coming of white frost we had the wild
grapes and the lusty pawpaws, that would tempt the
appetite of an epicure. A little later on we had the hazel-
nuts and the big shellbark hickory nuts, that were plenty
everywhere, and everybody laid in a good supply for the
long winter evenings and cold days, to crack while they
cracked jokes and ate the big apples that were laid by
for winter use.
Less than a mile away was a waterpower saw grist
mill, where we got logs sawed for the half, and our corn
and heat ground for one-eighth toll, when there was
plenty of water to run the mill, and that was generally
in the late fall, winter and early spring. In the summer
time there was but little sawing or grinding done for lack
of water. Then the only chance was the hand mills,
horse mills and hominy blocks that were then common,
or a trip to the Vincennes mills, forty-five miles away.
That used to take three or four days to make the trip
and return. Milling was often a serious matter to the
man who had no team or wagon to go to mill with. It
would often be the case that families had to live many
weeks in succession without meal or flour — their living
being roasting- ears, hominy and potatoes, with wild meat,
which was then plentiful. Most of the early dry milling
was on horseback, or sleds (without snow) or on truck
wagons drawn by oxen, many, many miles, and in bad
roads and often bad weather.
60 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Here we lived in the old log house until we built
a frame house in the summer of 1844, into which we
moved the next winter. Lumber was all sawed at the
half, shingles were hand-made, and all other work. The
house is yet standing and in good repair, and is about
the oldest frame house in the county. My mother had
the first cook stove in our neighborhood, while there
were but few anywhere else in the county, consequently
nearly all the cooking was done around the old-time fire-
places, where our mothers baked the cornpone and corn
dodgers that showed the finger prints in the baking — the
best bread ever made — the bread that made bone and
nerve. "Go away with your pound cake and nick-nacks,"
the farmers had no use for such feed. They plowed the
land with their wooden mold-board plows and harrowed
the ground with their wooden harrows, and harvested
with reap hooks and wooden cradles; and cradled the
children in sugar troughs and pitched their wheat and
hay with wooden pitchforks, while the women and girls
spun and wove their flax and wool and made their clothes
for every-day wear and Sunday, too.
The happiest days we ever saw in our lives, except
in the fall of the year when nearly everybody had the
real shaking ague that made the dishes rattle in the
chimney corner clapboard cupboard, and the glass rattle
in the windows, where there was any glass, as many
houses had no glass in them. Then it was that we al-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 6l
most wished that we had never been born, almost sick
enough to die. With many the chill came to stay and
did stay a whole year or more.
With the coming of white frosts the chills began to
abate, and the rosy tint began to show on the once pallid
cheeks of all alike.
The cooking stove mentioned cost thirty dollars, the
price of three hundred bushels of corn at ten cents a
bushel, then the standard price, and Vincennes was, the
nearest place to get a stove; and four dollars was the
price of a barrel of salt.
In the summer of 1845, and many years before,
there lived, in fairly good circumstances, in the eastern
part of Greene county, on a small farm, an honest man
in the person of John Cooper, better known as "Uncle
John," a farmer and Campbellite preacher, so called in
early times, who preached the gospel on Sundays, and
on week days worked the farm he earned the price of in
hia early manhood. The living was made almost entire-
ly from his farm, as he was never known to accept a
stated salary for his services, but whatever the good peo-
ple saw fit to give him was thankfully received, and
nothing more. It will be remembered by the old people
that many of the early time preachers knew but little
about stated salaries ; so it was with Uncle John Cooper.
A few of the oldest citizens of Greene and adjoining
counties where his sendees were called for will ever re-
62 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
member John Cooper. He was noted for his honesty
and integrity, and his word and all his acts were in strict
accord. As evidence of this fact, in the summer of 1845
he contracted to a farmer a few miles away fifty bushels
of corn at twelve and one-half cents a bushel, which at
the time was considered the market price, but before
the day of delivery came around the price dropped to
ten cents a bushel, and the buyer demanded the fall in
the price ; not so with Uncle John, for he sternly refused
to accept anything but what his contract called for. Then
the buyer refused to take the corn unless it was shelled,
although this was not stated in the contract. But as
Uncle John was sorely in need of a little ready cash, and
not wishing to have hard feelings or a lawsuit, he agreed
to comply with the buyer's demand. So he and his two
boys shelled the fifty bushels of corn by hand, which re-
quired a whole week's time of hard work for the sum
of one dollar and twenty-five cents, and five dollars for
the corn made a total of six dollars and twenty-five cents.
It will be remembered that sixty years ago the county
was new and wild, and but few farms were clear of
stumps and trees, so that farming could be done with
any kind of machinery ; in fact there was no kind of farm-
ing machinery then in use, and for many years after, when
it cost more labor and time to raise one bushel of corn
than it now takes to raise five bushels. Doubtless Uncle
John Cooper then plowed his ground for corn and laid
wmmmmm
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 63
it off and tended it with the same plow, and dropped the
corn by hand and covered it with a hoe, and corn then had
to be hoed, or a farmer didn't get half a crop among
the weeds and sprouts that were sure to grow without
the good use of a hoe and the sweat of the brow Talk
about hard, times and work for almost nothing, to the
man that rides the four-horse breaking plow, the drag
the roller, the harrow, the planter and the cultivator as
compared with the making of corn crops of fifty or sixty
years ago. When a day's work on a farm among the
stumps was from sunrise until sunset, for twenty-five
cents a day, and often for less money for any and all
kinds of farm work, except wheat harvest, which was
generally about fifty cents a day.
True we had many privileges and favors then that
we don't have now and never can again. Then a neigh-
bor hired to his neighbor to do a day's work or more
It was the rule long established to go before breakfast
and stay until after dark, thus getting three "square"
meals a day and that the best "grub" the country af-
forded, and it was good and very good, and the writer
w.shes he could afford as good as we could sixty years
ago, when wild meat was plenty, of all kinds, on almost
every man's table three times a day; and bacon didn't
cost fifteen to twenty-five cents a pound, nor bread made
out of corn at fifty cents a bushel, and if we had to buy
tree molasses to sop our biscuits, corndodgers and buck-
1
64 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
wheat pancakes in, we didn't have to pa)' a dollar or a dol-
lar and a half a gallon for the sap, but the contrary, only
about fifteen or twenty cents a gallon, or the real tree su-
gar at five cents a pound. Who wouldn't like the sap and
the bread, too, made and baked at an old-time fireplace
such as was in use over sixty years ago?
In the days of my boyhood I saw not a few times
cows milked in a gourd. In early times almost every
family raised gourds, as they were considered a necessity,
and useful in many ways besides for milking in and
placing the milk in to raise the cream. The long-handled
or crooked-handled gourd bad a place in the water pail,
or bucket, also at the well or spring, thus saving the
expense of tin cups or glass, when money to buy them
with was so hard to get. The gourd was all right in
its place, and it had many places to fill in the homes of
the early settlers, and with many it was claimed that the
water, milk or cider drunk out of a gourd tasted "a
heap" better than out of a tin cup or glass, and the writer
believes it, too, especially new sweet cider just from the
press, such as we used to have in our boyhood days when
the boys and girls went to apple cuttings miles and miles
away, and drank cider out of a gourd, as cider was a
prime neccessity at all apple "cuttings," and then we
played old Sister Phoebe and "weevily wheat," sometimes
until the wee hours of the night. Who wouldn't like
to be young again and drink cider out of a gourd as
mmm
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 65
we used to, sixty years ago, when the girls were a
"heap" sweeter than they are now, when it was no dis-
grace to drink cider, milk or water out of a gourd, and
this brings to our memory a little rhyme that was com-
mon then.
We had a little old cow, we milked her in a gourd
and sat it in the comer and "kivered" it with a board,
and mother used to tell how she skimmed the milk with
a mussel shell.
A mussel shell for skimming milk was quite often
used, and many of the old women argued that the butter'
wouldn't come as quick where a tin skimmer was used as
when it was skimmed with a mussel shell.
Back in 1846 poultry and everything else was cheap.
Tame turkeys were cheap and cost but little to raise; wild
turkeys were cheaper, and cost nothing but the hunting
and the sport was free, hence the price of turkeys
sixty years and more ago. In our boyhood days, twen-
ty-five cents would buy many articles of trade and com-
merce that couldn't now be bought for twenty-five dol-
lars and more. The price of a fat turkey, twenty-five
cents, would then buy two acres of marsh land at twelve
and one-half cents an acre, land that now is worth fifty
to one hundred dollars an acre, and five turkeys would buy
an acre of congress land, or ten turkeys would buy an acre
of canal land. A forty-acre tract of either of the last
named lands with timber on would now be an independ-
5
66 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ent fortune. What if we had as good foresight as we
now have hind-sight?
The price of a weekly newspaper at two dollars,
with the postage added, would almost take the price of
a twenty-five-bushel load of corn, or of eight or ten
bushels of wheat or of several fat turkeys.
Turkeys, wild and tame, ranged the fields and wood
and got fat beyond description on the grasshoppers and
beechnuts and acorns.
When the writer was married, in 1858, the license
fee was one dollar, and not many years before, I think,
the fee was fifty cents. Preachers and justices of the peace
were often called on to perform the marriage ceremonies
on credit. A young man of the writer's acquaintance, not
one hundred mites from Bloomfield, whose funds were a
little short, employed David Burcham, an old-time justice
of the peace, to marry him, and the day following the
young man paid for the ceremony by grubbing on the farm
of the justice of the peace. Some of the old people of
Bloomfield well knew Mr. Burcham in the days long
gone by.
A. very little money in early times had to go a long
way in more ways than one. This the writer well knows
from actual experience. The late Baldwin Harrah used
to tell of one Daniel Moss, who, in 1835, lived a few
miles from where Linton now is and who was then a
young man and wanted a marriage license and wasn't
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 67
the owner of a horse and couldn't afford to hire a horse
to ride to Bloomfield to get the coveted document, so
concluded to walk and did walk, with a gun on his shoul-
der, and on the way shot a wild turkey, which he car-
ried through to the clerk's office and paid in part, or all,
for the license. Samuel R. Cavins was then clerk, and
often befriended his many friends in times of need and
when funds were short.
Sixty years ago the average day wages on the farm
was about twenty-five cents, except in harvest time, when
the wages were about doubled. Fifty cents would then
buy one hundred feet of clear yellow poplar lumber, a
better grade than can now be bought for six dollars a
hundred.
A hearse was not then in use or thought of. Friends
and neighbors kindly tendered their services in digging
and filling" the graves. Funeral expenses and doctor bills
were then very light as compared with the present times.
It used to be said that many doctors only studied the
profession from three to six months, when they would
be full-fledged and ready to go out to kill or cure, as the
case might be, a sure "p°P" one way or the other.
Many of the early preachers had hard times in car-
ing for the wants of the body as well as for the soul.
One old preacher whose head is getting white with the
frost of many winters tells of living a whole year on one
circuit where the sum total paid him was seventeen
dollars.
Oo BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Many of the old-time members of the Methodist
Episcopal church constructed the quarterage rule or sys-
tem to mean twenty-five cents every three months, which
no doubt made a lean steak for many of the early
preachers.
One old-time Methodist Episcopal church member
boasted that he had paid his quarterage twenty-five cents
regularly every three months for "mor'n" thirty years.
The old Methodist Episcopal church at Linton was
the first church in the county, and was built in 1842.
Prior to this date no one went to church, but nearly
everybody went to "meeting" (not in buggies or surreys)
but. on foot, on horseback or in the old-time, home-made,
linchpin wagons, riding in hickory bark bottom chairs,
with mother's reticule, hanging on a chair post, with a
pipe stem sticking out of the top of the reticule, as most
all women in those days smoked a pipe.
A reticule was a prime necessity with the old and
young women alike to carry the pipe and tobacco in.
Many of the old ladies and men, too, of Greene county
will recollect this. Col. Levi Fellows, one of the first
settlers in Taylor township in 1819, was the owner of
the first buggy in the county, but it was called a carriage,
and resembled a buggy but had little linchpins, the same as
all the old-time wagons had, the front wheels being about
half as high as the hind wheels. The bed was big
enough to hold seven or eight bushels of corn and was
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 69
all painted in the colors of the rainbow. It was a dandy.
The writer took a ride in this grand old buggy in the
summer of 1840, and it was his first buggy ride; he
thought it was almost heaven on earth.
EARLY MARRIAGES.
By Henry Baker.
Isaac Ward, a stonemason, living near the old Rich-
land furnace, engaged Col. Levi Fellows to marry him
at a fixed day and hour. The day arrived and the colonel,
agreeable to promise, was on time, but the groom failed
to put in appearance. It was soon ascertained that Mr.
Ward had gone about two miles distant to work at
his trade. Two young- men who had come to witness
the ceremony were sent posthaste for the groom, while
the anxious crowd and expectant bride whiled away
the time as best they could. The groom was captured
and soon brought to time, and was not slow in explain-
ing to the colonel and all parties present that he had
forgotten the day.
A SHORT CEREMONY.
About 1826 Colonel Fellows was engaged in build-
ing a mill at or near Fair Play, the main business town
JO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of the county. Daniel Ingersoll and others were in his
employ. The colonel had Just been elected or appointed
judge, and hadn't yet performed a marriage ceremony.
Mr. Ingersoll engaged the newly-fledged officer to
marry him at the home of his intended at Fair Play. As
the wedding was at night all the hands in his employ
repaired to the wedding to witness the young officer's
first marriage ceremony.
All were top-toe with glee, much to the embarrass-
ment of the new officer. The ceremony was gone through
with the groom, but when he came to the bride, his con-
fusion was too great to proceed further. After a little
halt his speech was regained, he told the waiting couple
they might take their seats, saying he guessed they were
married enough anyway.
A WEDDING WITHOUT A HONEYMOON.
Alexander Plummer, an old pioneer flatboat man,
started down the river to New Orleans on a flatboat from
near Gosport and landed on the west bank of White river,
near the home of old Thomas Plummer, the home of his
intended wife, some two or three miles west of Bloom-
field, late in the afternoon in February, 1828. Mr. Plum-
mer at once proceeded to the home of his intended father-
in-law, Mr. Thomas Plummer, a distant relative, and
of the same name, and soon arrangements were made for
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 71
a wedding. A messenger was dispatched to Bloomfield
for a license and a justice of the peace and the happy
couple were married the same night. Next morning Mr.
Plummer bade the wife of less than one day an affection-
ate good-bye, and started on down- the river and was
gone six weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Plummer made honored
citizens and lived to a ripe old age. Thomas Plummer,
the last one of the family of Alexander Plummer, yet
lives in Fair Play township, where he was born and has
lived all his life, and is in his seventy-sixth year in 1908.
MEANT BUSINESS.
Samuel Simons, ex-commissioner and United
Brethren preacher, who once lived where Lyons now
is, was three times a widower, and each time concluded
it was not best for man to live alone, and the last, time
a widow of long acquaintance in his neighborhood was
the center of his affections, and as old folks' courtships
are generally short and mean business, so it was with
Uncle Sam, as he was long and familiarly known. So
early one summer morning he repaired to her home and
gently rapped at her door. The door was opened, and
with a friendly good morning, he was invited to come
in and take a chair, to which he answered that he hadn't
time and that he came to see if she would marry him.
The good widow, somewhat astonished at the abrupt
72 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
manner of popping the question, said she never had
thought about it, but would think it over and give him an
answer. Uncle Sam was bent on business and demanded
an answeii in fifteen minutes and said he would sit down
on the woodpile in front of her house and wait the time
and answer while the good old lady whirled the wheel
and drew out the long home-made yarns, for she was
spinning when Uncle Sam called to see her. Time up,
he went to the door, and laying one hand on each side
of the door and asked what she had concluded to do, to
which she replied that she would marry him. The proposi-
tion was no sooner accepted than Uncle Sam mounted his
horse, and, on double-quick, started to Bloomfield for
the license, returning the same day, and the two were
married before the sun went down. Although both well
advanced in years they lived long to enjoy the sweets of
connubial bliss, as reported by a near neighbor.
ONE COAT ANSWERED FOR BOTH. '
The following good story is related by Samuel Bald-
win Harrah of one Adam Ridingbark and his son, Isaiah,
of Shake-Rag settlement, near the Sullivan county line,
who in 1832 married sisters, and both the same day and
by the same justice of the peace, but with separate cere-
monies. Between the two they had only one' coat, and
the coat had to answer the purpose for each to be mar-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. J$
ried in. The father claimed as he was the older he
should have the use of the coat first, to which the son
readily consented.
After the ceremony was over and the usual hand-
shaking- and congratulations were ended, the old man
shed the coat and the son donned the "linsey-woolsey" and
was soon made a happy bridegroom and the four started
out with fair prospects for a happy never-ending- honey-
moon. A few weeks or months after, the tune changed
and Isaiah concluded if "sparing the rod would spoil the
child," the same would be applicable with his wife, as
he was not slow in frequently applying the birch to her
as a gentle reminder that she must be subject to his
control. Not content with his own way of running af-
fairs, he hied away to parts1 unknown, leaving the young
wife to stem the storms of life as best she could alone.
But like the prodigal son, he found time to repent and
return home to his rejected better half, who didn't care
to meet with a fond embrace, or have a "fatted calf"
killed for the occasion. The repentant asked permission
to come into the house and lie down on the floor. The
request was granted, and the good wife, to keep his
clothes from getting soiled, spread on the floor a home-
made tow-linen sheet for him to lie on. Wearied and
wornout from loss of sleep and hunger, the offer was
gladly accepted, and soon the truant husband fell into
a deep slumber, from which he didn't awake until he
y^
74 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
found himself safely sewed up in the sheet the good wife
so kindly spread on the floor for him to lie on. The
wife, quick to instinct, seized the opportunity, and with
a good cudgel proceeded to administer justice to the way-
ward husband in such a way as to leave a lasting impres-
sion and a call for faithful promises never to desert her
or whip her again, if she would only set him at liberty.
On the 14th day of April, 1832, Elisha B. Cush-
man, a justice of the peace of Bloomfield, married Rob-
ert Inman and Rhoda Wines (afterward the father and
mother of the writer's wife) at the residence of the
bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Martin Wines, one mile
west of where Linton now is. The distance from Bloom-
field was about fifteen miles. Mr. Cushman rode over in
the morning on horseback, married the happy couple and
returned home in the evening and charged fifty cents
for his services. The probability is that the justice of
the peace had to pay twelve and one-half cents for ferry-
age, which reduced the amount to thirty-seven and one-
half cents. At that time ten-cent pieces hadn't come into
general use. The wages of a day laborer then was about
twenty-five cents, so the justice of the peace was ahead
twelve and one-half cents and a good square dinner, such
as was common in those days, when every farmer's table
was) spread with the best "grub" the country afforded in
an abundance.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 75
Mr. Cushman, the justice above mentioned, used to
tell of. a couple that called at his office in 1842 to be
married. After the ceremony had been performed the
happy groom asked what the fee was, and was told that
it was fifty cents. Not a little embarrassed he hardly
knew what to do, as thirty-seven and one-half cents was
the sum total of his pile. Bravery cheered him as he
handed over the thirty-seven and one-half cents, and
with a promise to pay the' remaining twelve and one-half
cents, the first time he should see Mr. Cushman, and al-
though they only lived a few miles away, it is hardly
probable that he ever saw the justice again, as the sum
was never paid. Samuel R. Cavins, who was clerk at
the time, said Mr. Cushman came out better than he did,
as the licenses were obtained on a credit, and never paid
for. Mr. Cavins was noted for his generosity, and the
poor never went from his door empty-handed.
The writer is reminded of a puncheon floor he saw in
the eastern part of this, Greene county, where he attended
a wedding in the spring of 1858, fifty years ago. In
those days puncheon floors and clapboard doors were
quite common, and good poplar timber was plenty, from
which the puncheons were mostly made. The puncheons
in the floor referred to were just five inches in width, three
feet in each puncheon, and two lengths to the room. And
the bride and groom and the justice of the peace who
j6 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
performed the ceremony, all stood on one puncheon, fac-
ing the long way of the room. The floor showed it had
been in use many long years and was as white as soap,
sand, water and a hickory broom could make it, for
the occasion. The house hadn't a pane of glass in it, and
doors stood open all times of the year to afford light.
After the ceremony and the usual handshaking was over
the blushing groom asked what the charge was and was
told that as it was Sunday and the justice of the peace
didn't have to come put a mile, he wouldn't charge but
twenty-five cents. The fee was paid and the justice of
the peace and wife and myself were invited to stay for
dinner. The invitation was cheerfully accepted, and I
shall never forget the nice biscuits, fried ham and eggs
and tree molasses we had for dinner, and what made the
dinner relish the more was that is was all cooked by an
old-fashioned fireplace such as was common in those
times when not one family in ten wanted or thought they
could afford a cookstove and many believed they couldn't
make as good bread by a stove as by the old-time fire-
places and the writer believes it too, especially the corn-
dodgers with the finger prints in it, such as our dear old
mothers used to make. The grand old poplar trees and
log houses with puncheon floors and huge fireplaces, with
their pots, skillets and frying pans sitting around, are
about all gone, and our dear old mothers, too, are gone,
in a space of fifty years.
SUGAR MAKING TIME.
.1
By Henry Baker.
As the season of the year for maple sugar and syrup
of the kind we used to have long years ago approaches,
when men were honest, and when maple sugar and syrup
didn't get into market three months before its season, a :ij
good story is in season as told by a doctor who was many
years a resident of Indianapolis, and whose reputation
for truthfulness and veracity was never doubted. Many jj
of the good citizens of Indianapolis were no doubt ac-
quainted with him.
In the midst of the season for maple syrup an old
farmer, wearing a slouch hat and smoking a cob pipe,
with his better half, seated in a home-made split-bottom
chair, right from the rural district, drove into the city in
a rickety old linchpin wagon, drawn by two old horses
that compared favorably with the wagon and driver, a
type of an old-time, honest farmer. In his wagon were
about twenty gallon jugs corked with cobs, the novelty
of which attracted the attention of the passers by. A
location was sought close by the sidewalk, where there
were many passing.
The old farmer alighted from his wagon and the
78 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
good wife handed the jugs out, and they were placed
in a huddle, and the announcement was made, "Tree mo-
lasses, one dollar a gallon, and ten cents for the jug."
Enquiry was made of the honest old farmer if it
was genuine. The answer was, "Taste it," and it was
tasted, and each with a gusto smack pronounced it all
right. "It's the Val' stuff." And one old man hap-
pening along who had spent his early days on a farm was
asked to sample the molasses.
A taste and a smack, with an honest wink that it
was all right, satisfied the crowd that had formed a
circle around the jugs that they had a rare- treat hefore
them.
A stampede ensued as to which should be the first
to get a jug, and the old farmer was kept busy handing
out jugs and receiving his pay. And soon all were gone
and several were sadly disappointed at being too late.
And one expressed his disappointment by saying he
guessed he was born in the dark of the moon.
After the sale was over the old farmer knocked the
ashes from his cob pipe and filled it anew, and with a
smile assured his patrons that he would return in a few
days with another load and would then pay each one ten
cents for all jugs returned.
The honest old farmer from the rural "deestricts"
wended his way home, but was never heard of after, and
each lucky buyer no doubt, as he wended his way home
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 79
with a jug in each hand, fancied how he would sop
both sides of his pancackes for a long time to come, but
their fancies ended in disappointment when they found
their jugs had been filled almost to the top with cheap
sorghum, with just a taste of hickory-bark tree molasses
at the mouth of each jug, as a taste for the lucky buyers.
Dr. Minich spent several years of the last of his life at
Worthington.
SMALLPOX IN THE EARLY DAYS.
By Henry Baker.
In the summer of 1843 the family of Eli Faucett,
living near the old Fellows mill, had the smallpox in the
very worst form. Joshua Roach, James Elder and my
father and mother were the only persons in the neighbor-
hood who had had the disease and that could minister
to their wants or visit them save the doctor in attendance.
The mother died and the father lost his sight from the
effects of the disease. Mrs. Faucett was buried at the
family graveyard on the farm a few hundred yards from
the residence. Mrs. Faucett was a large woman, weigh-
ing over two hundred pounds. My father made the cof-
fin and with the help of my mother put the corpse in the
coffin, and Mr. Elder and my father and mother car-
ried the coffin and corpse to the grave, which had been
8o BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
made by the neighbors, and after depositing the coffin in
the grave those who dug the grave came and filled it up.
In carrying to the grave Mr. Elder and my father
carried the front end almost balanced on a hand-spike,
and my mother followed behind and carried the head of
the coffin. How they managed to lower it into the
grave I never fully understood, though probably on the
balancing of the rope or lines the same as the carrying
of the coffin and corpse. Considering the weight it was
a herculean undertaking.
Mrs. John Ruth, who died a few years ago, was
the youngest of the family and the last to be called away.
Dr. Heacock was the physician in attendance. Some of
the old people about Bloomfield may have a recollection
of him. Sixty-five years have made many changes.
THE PIONEER'S LIQUOR.
By Henry Baker.
It froze up on him in the winter and soured on him
in summer. f
The worst evil we had in early times, and we have
it yet, only in a more gigantic way, was that of intern-
pearance. There was no beer, but whisky straight and
whisky hot, whisky cold, and it served two purposes be-
side making drunk. In the summer it drove the heat
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 8l
out, and in the winter it drove the cold out, but it didn't
kill offhand as it does now. Cheap whisky was made at
cheap distilleries, or still houses, as they were termed,
and sold cheap, or exchanged for corn, two gallons of
whisky for one bushel of corn, and it was considered al-
most a prime necessity in eve/y home. One old man I
well knew, who loved his dram dearly, was a frequent
patron of one of these cheap still houses, though he lived
several miles distant. He would take a sack of shelled
corn on horseback and go to the still house and ex-
change it for four gallons of the one thing needful, and
the amount would last him about a month. At last, tired
of doing business on so small a scale, he decided to take
a wagon load in the fall and get a barrel, as he thought
that would last a whole year. The exchange was made
and the barrel was carefully set away in his smoke house,
where he could draw at his liking, but when cold weather
set in, and he needed warming up every day, his hopes
were frustrated, for the cheap whisky froze up and his
labor and corn were gone. He was not slow in notify-
ing the distiller of his loss and demanded reparation.
The distiller, not wishing to have his business reputation
wrecked, told him he would make another barrel in the
spring that would be all right. Agreeable to promise, the
barrel was filled again and placed in the smoke house and
better times dawned once more on the old man. But
alas! when the weather warmed, the whisky soured and
6
<52 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the old man's hopes were again frustrated. If the same
grade of whisky was made now it would be a God-send
to the country.
OLD PIONEER HORSEBACK MAIL CARRIER.
By Henry Baker.
James Stalcup, an old pioneer horseback mail car-
rier, died at the home of Thatcher Stalcup in Washing-
ton township a few years ago, aged eighty years. "Uncle
Jim," as he was familiarly known, was a son of Thomas
Stalcup, one of the first settlers in Washington township,
where he made the entry of the land in 1818, that for
many years past has been known as the Charley Harwood
farm. Here "Uncle Jim" was born in 18 19, when Wash-
ington township was almost an unbroken wilderness
and the nearest neighbor was Thomas Plummer, three
miles distant. A family now three miles away would
hardly be known as a neighbor. Washington township
at that time, and for many years after, was the center of
attraction for hunters for many miles around, as game
of all kinds was more plentiful there than elsewhere.
Mr. Stalcup's family were all noted hunters, and could
report the capture of more game than any other family
that ever lived in the township, or perhaps in the county
— except it might be Emmanuel Hatfield, whose equal
was not known in the state.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 83 if
,'1
As there were several Jim Stalcups, as well as Elis !•
and Tommys, confusion sometimes grew out of the same,
and to avoid mistakes he was called "Honest Jim," or ,
"Watermelon Jim," as he was a noted hand at raising
watermelons — hence the name. (l
In early times mails were nearly all carried on horse-
hack, and "Uncle Jim" embarked in the business when !'i
1
quite a young man and said he would rather carry mails
than to eat when he was hungry. His routes were where !
he got the best wages, as he hired to contractors, and this |i
he followed many years.
About 1852 he began carrying the mail from Wash-
ington to Point Commerce, forty miles, and by the way
of Owl Prairie, Newberry, Bloomfield, Fair Play and
Worthington. Over this route he carried until about
the time of the completion of the Indianapolis & Vin-
cennes Railroad, about eighteen years. In the travel be-
tween the two points named he made the trip once a
week each way, eighty miles, and in the time he traveled
over sixty thousand miles, more than twice the distance
around the world, or over six times the distance from
New York to San Francisco.
He had a constitution that never showed defect
until he passed the meridian of life. High water was
all that ever prevented him from delivering mails on
time. One time on the way from Washington to New-
berry in time of high water he came to a stream that
84 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
was full and beyond the banks, and, not knowing the exact
route, he decided to try his horse's swimming faculties,
so he plunged into the water and swam across without
wetting the mail, and upon arriving at Newberry, wet
as water could make him, the postmaster, seeing his
situation, asked him how it happened that he didn't get
the mail wet, to which he replied that he carried the
mail bag on the top of his head while his horse swam
across the stream with him on its back.
"Uncle Jirii" was a bachelor and an honest man. His
memory will long be revered by all who knew him.
COFFINS IN EARLY TIMES.
By Henry Baker.
The first white man buried in Eel River township
was John Banyan, who was buried in a poplar trough
made expressly for the occupant. Mrs. Josephine An-
drews, widow of the late William C. Andrews, one of
the founders of Worthington in 1849, a daughter of
James Stalcup, one of the first settlers in Greene county,
tells how her father said many of the first coffins in the
county were made of hickory bark, if at a time of the
year when the bark would peel, which was May, June
and July. The bark of the hickory is very thick, and by
chopping the bark off around a tree of sufficient size,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 85
about a foot from the ground, and again about six or
seven feet up the tree, to suit the height of the corpse,
and then, by splitting the bark up and down the tree,
the bark could be taken off in a whole piece. It was then
placed in the grave with the open side spread open enough
to lay the corpse in, when the bark was closed up and
the hickory bark coffin was completed and the grave was
ready to fill up. It will be remembered this was before
the days of a hearse or of embalming or of high-priced
burial outfits such as are now common.
Other times of the year troughs were dug out
of solid logs or boxes were made out of clapboards
riven out of the finest white oak tree the world
ever produced. This, too, was before the days of
sawmills of any kind where lumber could be had, al-
though the price of lumber was very low. Often it
was the case that many were not able to pay for the lum-
ber in a coffin so were compelled to take the cheap kind
of coffins, bark, clapboards and troughs, as above men-
tioned. About the first sawmills in the country were at
Terre Haute, Indianapolis, Bloomington and Vincennes.
A few years later mills sprung up on the streams farther
out in the wilds, which were hailed with approval of all
the early pioneers, whose lot it was to encounter many
hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a
new country.
About the first water power saw and grist mill in
86 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the county was built about 1820 by Col. Levi Fellows
on Plummer creek in Plummer township, so named after
the building of the Fellows mill. The writer's father
was a cabinet maker by trade and made many coffins
along in the forties from lumber sawed at the old Fellows
mill when prices ranged from fifty cents for a child's
coffin to one and two dollars for large sizes. The cost of
the material used in the making was from fifteen to
twenty-five and fifty cents each and it was found that
the prices, were about all that could be paid, as times
were hard, and money scarce.
Contrast the prices as compared with the present
prices. A plain, flat lid covered the whole coffin. A lot
of fine, soft shavings was generally put in the bottom of
the coffin for the body to lie on. Sometimes before screw-
ing the lid on, a little piece of cheap muslin was tacked
over an extra lot of shavings in the head of the coffin for
a pillow, and it was a very nice pillow indeed. The
screws used were the common wood screws, and often in
their place nails were used. As an extra the coffin was
lined from the head down to the bend. The corpse, where
the family oould afford it, was always dressed in a
white shroud or winding sheet made by the women or
girls of the neighborhood, who always donated this
work, as did the neighbors in digging the grave.
Sw-eet milk and venitian red applied with a rag made
a very nice finish for coffins, after a vigorous rubbing
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 87
with a handful of fine soft shavings. Sometimes, when
this cheap paint or stain couldn't be had, a very good
substitute was found in summach berries bruised in water
and applied with a cloth, which gave a violet color. The
first raised lid coffin I ever saw was made by my father
in 1848 for Alexander Gault, one of our old-time teach-
ers, who gave orders for my father to make his coffin
and not to spare any pains or expense. It was of white
walnut, and was said to have been the nicest coffin ever
made in the neighborhood, or, perhaps, in the county,
and the cost was six dollars. Six dollars now wouldn't
pay for a pauper's coffin.
I don't think my father ever received cash in full for
a coffin of any kind. Payment was generally made in a few
bushels of wheat or corn, or perhaps work, as best he
could get, and very often getting nothing. The coffins for
my father and mother, who died in the fall of 1861, only
three weeks apart, were made of walnut and cost four
dollars each and were considered nice, and were made by
a regular cabinet maker, whose trade it was to make
coffins. Coffins required but little skill in the making,
as they were generally very plain. About 1855 the first
hearse was brought to the county, and embalming was
many years after, and it was many .years later on be-
fore any one thought of making a charge for digging
graves without it was in the cities or large towns. And
the neighbors kindly tendered the use of their wagons
00 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and team to go for the coffins and also conveyed the
coffin and corpse to the grave free of charge, so it will be
seen that funeral expenses were very light as compared
with the present times. In the spring of 1842, when the
mud was knee-deep and roads almost impassable, two
men came four miles through the mud with an ox team
hitched to a sled to my father's shop and wanted a cof-
fin made as quickly as possible. The order was filled in
two hours or less time and placed on the sled and the
team waded through the mud as best they could to the
house where lay the corpse, and after placing the corpse in
the coffin, the coffin and corpse were placed on the sled and
followed to the grave by the sorrowing relatives and
friends, most of whom were on foot, as the roads were
almost unfit for travel in any other way, as was often
the case in early times.
THE REVOLUTIONERS.
By VV. D. Ritter.
Of the Revolutioners that resided in Greene county
1 give the following reminiscences, with such other facts
as are obtainable : •
JOHN ABBOTT.
Erom "Simp" Osborn, the old Mexican soldier, and
his brother Jesse, I learn that John Abbott, their grand-
lii
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 89
father, was raised near Chesapeake Bay, in Maryland.
They don't know where or under whom he served in the
Revolution, but very likely he was a member of the
"Maryland" line. By courtesy of Frank Pate, in show-
ing me his abstracts of land titles, I learn that he bought
of James Warrick, Sr., on September 13, 1834, the eighty
acres of land which comprises the Bloomfield cemetery.
He gave the first ground for the purpose of burial there
and was one of the early ones himself to be laid there
to rest. Mr. Abbott was a good citizen, and was com-
monly known over the county as "Jack" Abbott. I heard
the name often in my childhood. I knew his sons, Alum-
by and George. The former lived many years near where
Joe Leavitt now lives. George was a soldier of the War
of 1812. "Markers" have been placed to their graves.
Many of the descendants are in this county. A large
number of the Osborns, part of the Skinners and "Abe"
Spainhower's children in Worthington are among the
number. Three of "Simp" Osborn's sons all lay dead
at once in his house many years ago.
JAMES BLEVINS
lived in the neighborhood of Scotland, and very likely
died there. We know no more about him than that he
was a soldier of the Revolution. Blevins was one of the
fourteen I saw march on the Fourth of July in the long
ago. He was a large man physically.
90 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
JOSHUA BURNETT,
the father of Morris R. Burnett, now deceased, late of
Taylor township, who lived and died in the same town-
ship, was a native of New Jersey. He had a conspicuous
natural "mark" that covered one of his temples, but did
not injure his looks. He had bear a man of very fine
physical structure — neither too much nor too little flesh;
nice, manly, rugged proportions and appearance. He
lived nearly a hundred years and was buried in old Plum-
mer (now Taylor) township. We know nothing about
his sendees in the war, save that he was an honored sol-
dier in it.
FRANCIS CITANEY
was a South Carolinian, and when a boy his father took
him to see Lord Cornwallis when he raised the "royal
standard"- in South Carolina under which to sweac the
people to allegiance to the British crown, the "royal stand-
ard" being the great national ensign of England, a flag
a hundred feet long. Mr. Chaney's father had gone to
see the general for a purpose I have forgotten. Corn-
wallis persuaded the boy to enter the British army. He
said he was extremely ignorant of the cause of the war
and would have done so in a minute, but he was under
age and his father would not let him. Cornwallis gave
them each a bottle of wine. On their way home they
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. QI
drank the wine and threw the bottles away. Afterwards
General Sumpter (after whom Fort Sumpter was named)
sab on a log all day and explained to him so that he en-
listed in our army. He was in the siege of Ninety-six,
battle of Eutaw Springs and elsewhere. He was a black-
smith by trade and worked in the shop with Francis Ma-
rion in that ever to be remembered making of swords |
out of mill saws. At Eutaw Springs he saw the use of
his own swords when a battery was playing on the
"Maryland Line." So highly was that body of men
prized that great exert' ns were made to save them. j
There was one thing about these old veterans that can
never be told — the heartfelt reverence the people had for
them wherever they were seen. A man in Greene county
sued Mr. Chaney for twelve and one-half cents (that was \
before the day of dimes), and on trial Mr. Chaney proved
that he had already paid it twice. This was then sup-
posed to be the meanest trick in the world.
When a little boy I was passing a sugar camp in
company with a man driving a wagon in which Mr. Cha-
ney was riding. He said he wanted one more good drink
of sugar water before he died.
The man who drove the wagon and myself got over
the fence and brought a trough of sugar water to the
wagon so he could drink out of it. As we were climb-
ing the fence with the trough, a difficult task, the man
said with an earnestness I never heard equaled, "I do love
to wait on the old man."
$7
92 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Mr. Chaney was a good workman and he had helped
to make anvils and many other articles of the highest use-
fulness. One of his specialties was the making of cow-
bells. He knew how to "tune" his bells. No bell of any
kind can sound at its best without being in tune. He was
very intelligent in regard to the chemistry of metals, tem-
pering, brazing and soldering, as well as making the
combination of chemicals for the purpose he understood
well. He was buried near the old Olley mill on Rich-
land creek.
WILLIAM CLENNY,
the father of "Alec" Clenny, who lived and died north of
Bloomfield, was a Virginian and fought in the Revolu-
tion with the highest and best leaders — both Washington
and Greene. . Washington* always said if he was lost he
wanted Greene put in his plac .
Mr. Clenny was at the closing scene of Yorktown.
He remembered well the names of the French officers
who served there, and to hear him pronounce them as he
did was a rich literary treat to any one. He was an ex-
cellent citizen all his long life and made his own living by
patient, useful labor, tanned his own leather, made his own
and family's shoes, raised wool, cotton and flax, of which
their clothes were made, and made his hand-mill on which
was ground their breadstuff. He had an almost match-
less figure, showing an exquisite model of perfect man-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 93
hood, rugged and stalwart. In his last years he was
entirely blind. His dust lies in the Bloomfield cemetery.
WILLIAM CONWAY
was a native of South Carolina. When a little boy he
was kidnaped on the seashore and taken to Cuba and
kept there three years, then brought back. While there
he picked grapes. He said the pickers were allowed to
eat at the first. and last pickings, but at no other. When
making tree sugar the children were allowed to eat at
the first and last makings, but at none else. He was a
natural mechanic and made his own pocketknives; would
use no other. He made excellent rifles, locks, triggers
and all. The only lock of those days was the flintlock,
much more complex than any lock of the present.
Mr. Conway's locks had to be double-bridled inside
and out and have a "fly" on the tumbler — all these of the
best type ; then the shooting of his gun must be so good
that, to use his own words, he could hit a twenty-five-
cent piece a hundred yards.
He served eight years in the army of the Revolu-
tion. He helped bury so many of his comrades that he
said, when he was at the age of eighty-six, he wanted to
be buried soldier fashion; that is, to be wrapped in what-
ever he died on, like the soldier in his blanket, and laid
in the grave, and yet he had made a great many coffins
94 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
for others, for which lie never would take a cent of pay.
Whether the wish was complied with at his burial I do
not know. He never took a cent of pension. His rea-
sons were that he considered the risking of life in war
to be above money.
He was in good health all the time during the war.
was never wounded, and thought the service to be but
the debt that the able, capable men owed to their coun-
try— that he was as able to make a living as anybody,
and was willing to do it.
He was a pioneer frontiersman, a hunter, farmer
and general mechanic. He put his time to making arti-
cles of the highest usefulness — the axe, plow and all other
tools used in that day. He could build a cabin in all its
parts, then make everything that was usee} in and about it.
He made everything used in making clothing —
spinning wheels, looms, etc. To name all would include
things that people of the present (many of them) could
not understand. He was low of stature, a little stooped
in the shoulders, quick in action, united the quietest mind
to the most dauntless courage.
In the wilderness of Kentucky, where Mr. Conway
would push out alone to hunt a new home, he was calm,
though surrounded by ravenous beasts and savage men.
His health was perfect, even when sleeping on the ground
in all kinds of weather. He did an incredible' amount of
work with the uttermost patience and method. He died
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 95
at the age of eighty-eight years. When alone in the wil-
derness of Kentucky, here is a supper from Mr. Con-
way's own cook book : Stick a piece of fat bear meat
before the fire on a stick to broil. Just under it a piece
of fish on another stick. As the bear meat broils the
grease drops on the fish; then stick the hunter's knife in
the fish, work it around to let the grease down in. Pew-
ter dishes, plates and spoons, as well as the moulds they
were run in, were among the articles of his production.
He was buried at Ooley's mill on Richland creek.
SIPPLE HARVEY
lived near Eel river, in Smith township. The place of
his nativity we do not know. He was one of those who
marched in the squad of fourteen on July 4th in Bloom-
field in the long ago. He was a very large man. Big
"Jim" Harvey, the famous flatboat pilot of old Point
Commerce, was his son; also Anderson Harvey, another
great pilot of the olden flatboat times, was a farmer.
HENRY HUFFMAN,
grandfather of "Dick" Huffman, was a native of Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania, and served in the French
and Indian war, which lasted from 1754 to 1763. It is
not known at what time, where or under whom he served
0.6 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
■ — whether under Braclclock or Forbes or whom, or
whether lie served in company with Washington or not.
Living where he did, it is very likely he served
against Fort Du Quesne, now Pittsburg. If so, he served
with Washington, for Washington was in the two expe-
ditions against that place, the first under Braddock and
the next under Forbes. He afterwards, like Washington,
served through the Revolution, in company with Mr.
Shryer, named in this sketch. They were from the same
neighborhood. In 1819 he, in company with Mr. Shryer,
moved to Indiana, Daviess county — that part of it which
is now Greene county, Taylor township — and lived near
Mr. Shryer a short time, then returned farther east and
lived about two years in Ohio, dying in that state, and
was buried near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, which town is
just at the state line*.
So far as I know Mr. Huffman outranks for length
of service as a soldier any man who ever li»Td in this
county, having fought through both these long and
bloody wars. Other branches of the Huffman family
live in Washington and Daviess counties. He was a
woodturner, wheelwright and chairmaker by trade.
FRANCIS LANG
was a Marylander, a member of the honored famous
"Maryland Line," one of the most notable bodies of men
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. Q)J
that served in the Revolution. He was in the siege of
Ninety-six and saw a woman shot who had come out of
the fort to a spring- to get water. The sentinel at the
spring allowed her to go away with one bucket of water,
but warned her not to come again. She came again car-
rying a babe at her breast. The sentinel ordered her
away, telling her he was compelled to shoot her if she
got water again. She filled her bucket and started to the
fort, and the sentinel shot her dead, but Mr. Land and
Mr. Chaney— (they were both there and saw it) differed
about the babe — one said it was killed, the other that it
was not.
Mr. Lang was in the battle of Eutaw Springs when
the British battery played on the "Maryland Line." Such
was the feeling of the partisan troops held by regulars
that Mr. Lang always thought there never was such a
man as Francis Marion.
Mr. Chaney's answer to this, "Sure as there is a
Francis Lang, there was a Francis Marion," for, as we
have seen in our article on Mr. Chaney, he (Chaney) had
worked in the blacksmith shop with Marion himself, mak-
ing swords of mill saws. Mr. Lang owned land, lived
many years, died and was buried near old. Jerry Work-
man's.
I knew him well and he was a good citizen. Our
old soldier and poet friend, J. R. Corbley, says the road
is cutting and wearing into his grave and that of his wife.
7
w^***mm
98 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
By the way, the wife (Susana) was the last person who
drew Revolutionary pension in all this county.
FIELDING OAKLEY
was a Virginian and was with Washington himself in the
War of the Revolution. He lived in Taylor township,
Greene county, and was the father of the noted Nancy
Hatfield, the grandfather of Captain Fielding Hatfield.
Mr. Oakley was a large man physically.
The last time I was at his house he told his wife she
cheated him in her age when she married him — told her,
she was forty years old then. She disputed his word.
He then said she was thirty-nine years and seven months
old at that time, which she did not dispute. Mrs. Oak-
ley excused herself by saying that young men were
scarce and hard to get at the close of the war; that dur-
ing the war a husband was not to be got at all, and that
owing to the fact that she was good to work and make a
living, she thought there w.ls no wrong in using a little
strategy, a little policy and management, to get a hus-
band ; said she had cleared land, made fence, plowed and
raised corn, raised flax, pulled it and made it into cloth ;
had raised wheat, reaped and threshed it. She was a
good spinner and weaver. She lived some time after his
death, and if her gravestone in Bloomfield cemetery tells
the truth, for she and her husband lie there side by side,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 99
she was over a hundred years old at the time of her
death. She was a small woman, and one of good quali-
ties, great energy and industry being part of them. From
her it was that Nancy Hatfield, her daughter, inherited
the capacity by which she acquired two excellent farms
by her own management after she was left a widow.
TOHN STORM
was bom in Virginia and remained there until he was
fifteen years of age, when the Revolution began. This
places the date of his birth, of which we have no record,
in the year 1760, the war having commenced in 1775.
At the outbreak Mr. Storm, tender as was his age, en-
listed in the "Continental" Cavalry under command of
Colonel Billy Washington, as he was familiarly called.
The colonel was, I think, a cousin to the commander-in-
chief. In this capacity Mr. Storm served faithfully and
very efficiently through the entire dark and bloody strug-
gle, growing and hardening up into a most splendid man-
hood in the constant handling of the saber, and he be-
came in that dreadful eight years a very great expert in
its use. He must have fought in many battles, because
Washington's cavalry was in the battles of Guilford
Court House, Cowpens, Eutaw Springs and many others.
In the final maneuver which drove the British under Gen-
eral Stewart to Monk's Corner, then to Charleston, and
iJL
IOO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
finally out of the state, that ubiquitous cavalry had a very
active part. This ended the war in the South. The sud-
den, tremendous rush, the clang of steel, "the shout and
groan and saber stroke," had all become familiar occur-
rences to Mr. Storm.
Some considerable time after the close of the war he
was married to a Miss Parson, very probably of South
Carolina, for her people afterwards lived in the state of
Alabama. To this union were bom Joseph, long called
"Joe" Storm, who was for years a citizen of Bloomfiekl,
in decade of the thirties. He was several times represent-
ative of Greene county, and a militia captain; Leah, Pe-
ter, Mattie, Annie, from whom are obtained all these
facts, who yet lives in Harrodsburg, Monroe county, and
who is the mother of Dr. Lowder, of Bloomfiekl ; Wash-
ington and Susanna.
In the year 1815 Mr. Storm moved to what is now
Jackson county, Indian Territory. He there on one oc-
casion, with his neighbors, had to "fort up" for protec-
tion from the Indians, and against the advice of his
friends Mr. Storm would go out and plow his corn. He
was blamed for rashness and called "Indian bait." At
one time, while thus engaged, heheard a sudden rush of
footsteps behind him. "I am 'Indian bait' at last,"
thought he. "Ah, if that good blade were in my hand;
one lightning flash of steel, and that uplifted savage arm
would be severed, the tomahawk it held flying to one
1
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. IOI
side, and ere it could touch the earth another quick gleam
and my saber would bury deep in a painted skull," but
he was totally unarmed. "I am outnumbered, too, and
all is against me, but must I run? My children are hid-
den under the flax in the stable loft, and must they be
burned ? Not till after I am dead." So with a warwhoop
he turned, his only weapon (his fist) drawn to make what
show of defense he could. What wonder if in the tone of
that "whoop" there was a touch of despair, for now he
was alone and verging towards sixty years old? The
struggle would be short, his entire family added to the
dreary list of Indian massacres. That voice that rang ex-
ultant at Cowpens did its best, and the aged hero strung
his nerves for the last battle. But, old soldier, you didn't
have to fight that day. It was all surprise — it was only
his two big dogs in a dash of play. But laughingly to
the end of life he said that was the biggest and best scare
he ever had.
From Jackson county he moved to what is now
Greene county and "entered" the northeast quarter of
section 36, in township 7 north, range 3 west, containing
160 acres. This we learn by courtesy of Mr. Smith,
county recorder. He received his "patent" for this land
from the United States October 26, 1816. On this land,
one mile and a half northeast of Hobbieville, just east of
Indian creek, he spent the rest of his days. Even down to
old age he did not forget his loved "sword play." He
102 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
would have a friend to take a stick and himself another
while lie tried to
"Feel the stern joy that warriors feel
At meeting foeman worthy of their steel."
Mr. Storm and his entire family were uncommonly ath-
letic. He was a converted Christian and memher of the
Baptist church ; by occupation a farmer. He lived until
if 35. On his own farm, since called the "Pink East"
farm, and later still divided into other hands, rests his
honored dust till the resurrection.
To understand his character one has but to look
back through the ages at the race from which he sprung.
That race is the "Cavalier." The words cavalry, chiv-
alry, cavalier and chivalier mean very nearly the same
thing. These words express the character of Mr. Storm
— open, above board, hospitable, brave, frank and manly.
The New England states were settled by the "round-
head" from Virginia and the South by the cavalier. It
was but natural for him to go forth to war in the cavalry.
Through the past we may look at the class of mankind
as far as to Leonidas with his three hundred long-haired
men at Thermopylae. Each class — "round-head" and
"cavalier" — had its excellence and defects. One great
defect of the cavalier is laziness. He will fight, but won't
work. In many instances Mr. Storm entirely escaped
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. IO3
this defect, for he was by no means a lazy man, the "ex-
cellencies"— all of them — he had.
JOSEPH LAWRENCE
was a native of North Carolina. When Francis Marion
came to that state to procure recruits for the patriot cause
Mr. Lawrence enlisted under his command, remained and
served with Marion from that time, which was early in
the war up to the time when General Lincoln was trans-
ferred from South Carolina to< Virginia.
Mr. Lawrence was transferred with him, and was
one of his color-bearers. This brought him, in course of
time, to the siege of Yorktown, which, as all know, re-
sulted in the surrender of the entire British army. Three
years before this General Lincoln had to surrender
Charleston, South Carolina, to Lord Cornwallis. Wash-
ington loved and respected Lincoln, and to soothe his
wounded feelings designated him to receive the sword
and surrender of Lord Cornwallis on exactly the Si. me
terms that Cornwallis had exacted of him at Charleston.
On this never to be forgotten occasion Mr. Lawrence
bore his honored "color" with unspeakable pride. There
is much difference in the detail of surrenderers.
Gates at Saratoga received Bourgoyne's surrender
with great privacy and delicacy of feeling"; the terms
exacted of Lincoln at Charleston were very humiliating.
Lord Cornwallis could, of course, raise no question as to
terms set by himself.
^wmmm
104 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Mr. Lawrence, after the lapse of years, moved from
North Carolina to White county, Indiana, and lived there
several years, then removed to Greene county, Center
township, bought land in section 19, township 7 north,
range 3 west, as John R. Combs remembers, by whose
kindness we are furnished with all these facts.
Since Mr. Combs told me this, I myself remember
Mr. Lawrence very well. I can see him yet in his good
old age, on horseback, wearing his excellent "camlet"
cloak made in the comely style of long ago. Our honored
veteran had the distinction of being a soldier longer than
any person ever lived in Greene county. He was of that
size and vitality the very personification of alertness and
activity so often connected with long life. His age at death
was one hundred and four years. He died in 1840 and
was buried one mile and a half northeast of Sylvina
church. By occupation he was a farmer. He knew him-
self to be a relative of Captain James Lawrence of the
navy, who commanded the "Chesapeake" in her battle
with the "Shannon" in the War of 181 2, the man who,
with his dying breath, gave the order, while being car-
ried below, "Don't give up the ship." Here in Bloom-
field is a beautiful walking cane, in possession of Mr.
Frank Edwards, which has been in the family now three
generations, which was made from a piece of that re-
nowned vessel on which Perry fought, and her name, as
all know, was the "Lawrence."
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. IO5
FREDERICK BINGHAM
was bom in Virginia, February 22, 1792, in the same
state and on the same day of the month that produced
Washington. Another coincident in this nation's history
was the year 1732, which gave the world both Washing-
ton and Marion. When, in 1814, the British forces un-
der Admiral Cockburn and General Ross, were operating
in the waters and vicinity of Chesapeake Bay, when the
' city of Washington was captured and burned and Balti-
! more attacked.
It was supposed that Norfolk would be captured, it
being considered the "key" of the bay. Of a regiment of
infantry that marched to defend Norfolk, part of them
were from Virginia and part from North Carolina. Air.
) Bingham was fife major. In the making up of that reg-
iment my father heard him play the fife. Father said his
uniform was red as blood and had round, shiny brass
^ buttons on it the size of musket balls. And the very
sight of him, together with his stirring music, sent a
thrill through the people like an electric shock. No real
attack was made on Norfolk, so Mr. Bingham was in no
\ battle. You all remember that while the British were
fighting to take Baltimore Francis S. Key wrote "Star-
' Spangled Banner."
After the danger was passed and the war over Mr.
1 Bine-ham's regiment was discharged and he returned
IOG BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
home. Under the United States militia law, which con-
tinued in force on up to about 1840, he was still a very
active and efficient fifer, both in Virginia and Indiana.
Virginia was his home until about 1830, when he moved
to Indiana, first on White River, then to Center township,
Greene county, of which he was fife major until the mili-
tia system ceased. To all the people of the county, "Fred-
erick, the fifer," as he was lovingly called, was well and
favorably known.
One of the very first things I remember was the
big muster days in Bloomfield, with Frederick for fifer
and his little boy, Hiram, for drummer. That fife's keen
notes I shall never forget, even one of his old tunes I still
remember that he played in Bloomfield as long ago as
1 83 1. While on parade Mr. Bingham carried himself
with spirit and bearing that was inspiring. The very
breath of his nostrils seemed to be patriotism coupled with
high resolve. A militia muster was a "high day" in those
times of long ago.
In Virginia he was married to Miss Obedience Pow-
ell, and to them were born Hiram; Eliza Ann, now wife
of Elsbery Anderson, of Center township, from whom
these facts are obtained ; Alfred and Edmund. Mr. Bing-
ham owned laud and pursued the occupation of farmer
in section 12, township 7 north, range 4 west. He was
an industrious, honest man, known and read of all men.
- He took a premium on a hogshead of tobacco at
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. IO7
Todd's warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky, about the
year 1836, it being- the best one there that year. You re- ."
member that Mrs. Abraham Lincoln was a Todd, of
Kentucky. The owner of that warehouse was her rel-
ative. Also here in Greene county when a warehouse
was established at old Point Commerce he was appointed
tobacco inspector in it, which office he held for many
years. In March, 1859, he went to the house appointed
for all the living and is buried in the Bingham graveyard
in Center township, near Solsberry. i
WILLIAM MASON.
A respected Greene county citizen and business man,
who was financially ruined in the building of the Bloom-
field, Bedford & Switz City Railway, was he whose biog-
raphy follows.
William Mason was born in- Guilford county, North
Carolina, August II, 1812, and died November 29, 1894.
He came to Greene county, Indiana, with his father's
family November 16, 1821, with whom he lived to man-
hood very near the place where he died, this being the
year Greene county was organized. He had a scholarly
inclination ; was clerk for John Inman and school teacher
in his early majority. The history of the county for 1842
says this of him, in regard to his first appointment as
treasurer : "They selected a young man who had ac-
IOO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
quired a fair education and gave evident indication of
good business qualifications. This young man was Wil-
liam Mason, who accepted the appointment and was aft-
erwards re-elected several times and made one of the
most efficient officers we have ever had."
In 1842 he was married to Mary Ritter, who died
in 1843. Shortly after this he became part owner and
clerk of the steamboat "Richland," the other owners be-
ing Andrew Downing and Captain M. H. Shryer. For
Andrew Downing Mr. Mason did business in the "flat-
boating" way to New Orleans a good many years.
In partnership with his brother Henry, and with
John B. Stropes, other trips were made on the Missis-
sippi. In all business relations — the finances of the
steamboat and flatboats, his seven years as treasurer of
the county — the more he was tried the more it was seen
that he was eminently capable, honest and efficient.
In the forties he was married to Malinda Shaw, who bore
him three sons — John C, Henry and Edward. She died
in 1864. Within these years he had become an exten-
sive landowner and stock raiser, especially of fine cattle.
In the building of the narrow-gauge railway he was so
important a factor that it could hardly have been built
without him. In this enterprise his large property was
lost. Since that time he has lived with his son, John C.
Mason, in Illinois and Indiana, and also with his brother
Henry, just across Richland creek in Taylor township,
this county.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. IOQ
HENRY MASON.
In 1824 a spot was selected and surveyed for the
county seat of Greene county, and named Bloomfield.
Three years before that, November 15, 182 1, Henry Ma-
son, with his father's family, came to within two miles of
that place, where a home was made, on which and near
that vicinity all the family lived long- lives and died.
Henry was the last one, who died May 23, 1895. He
was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, September
22, 1820.
In boyhood he plowed corn when young panthers
"cut their capers" and played like kittens on the fence.
Mr. Mason was married to Mary J. Quillen, December
15, 1853. To them no children were born. He had the
uncommon strong sense to know when he had enough
of this world's goods and the still higher manly and
Christian quality to covet no more. His oldest brother
lost his property in building the narrow-gauge railway.
Henry told him, "While I have anything it is yours till
it is gone." So at his house that brother had a welcome
home until, at past four-score years, all was over with
him on earth.
WILLIAM WILKERSON.
From Professor J. W. Walker's history of Beech
Creek township, published in Goodspeed's history of
IIO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Greene county, we learn that William Wilkerson was
bom in North Carolina, January 5, 1730. He was a
soldier of the Revolution. Particulars of his life in the
army are all now lost. He was the father of Squire
Solomon Wilkerson, who laid out and named Solsberry
in honor of himself.
For one year he lived in an apartment of his son's
house. The day he was one hundred years old he split
one hundred rails on top of the hill where Dr. Axtell aft-
erwards had his dwelling. He died in Brown county in
the summer of 1842, at the great age of one hundred and
six years, six months and one day. He delighted to tell
of his patriotism during his country's struggle for
liberty.
MICHAEL DOWNING,
in all wars a soldier, in peace an honorable, useful citi-
zen, was bom of Scotch-Irish parents, in Ireland, in the
decade of the fifties of the last century. He emigrated
from Cork, Ireland, to Virginia in time of the Revo-
lutionary war. He was in the springtime of early youth
and he felt as had his fathers for ages the grinding heel
of oppression from the British government. In the long
past they had no chance to help themselves. Now he
might strike for God and home and the common rights
of humanity.
He enlisted in a Virginia regiment, marched, toiled,
X
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. Ill
suffered and fought seven weary years against that flag
"that for a thousand years had braved the battle and the
breeze."
From the best that can now be learned it seems that
he was under General Wayne. No particulars are known
of his long career as a soldier in the Revolution. We only
know he was a gallant, efficient, useful man in it.
When the blood and darkness had passed he put his
hand to useful, honorable industry. In no act did these
matchless heroes more show their real manhood than
when they laid down their arms and walked the long,
lonely journey to their desolate homes, with not even
money to pay for a night's lodging— to beg their way,
to work their way or starve their way, just as they could.
Mr. Downing was a home and family man in peace,
and in war was a soldier. To have a home was what
great numbers had left all in the old world for. Just
when Mr. Downing married cannot be told. The Revo-
lution ended early in the eighties of the seventeenth cen-
tury. Early in the nineties occurred Harmer's defeat
here fn the northwest. He was in that, for as long as he
was able, whenever he had a chance, he was in the army
of his adopted country manfully fighting the old, hated
oppressor.
Harmer and St. Clair both having been beaten by
the Indians under British encouragement, Washington
appointed Wayne to command in the northwest. With
j
I 1-2 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the stem joy that warriors feel Mr. Downing marched
under his old, trusted, loved commander of the Revolu-
tion— "Mad Anthony," as he was called. All this my
father told his children when Mr. Downing passed his
house on his way to his son's (Andrew Downing) in
1832.
At Wayne's signal victory at Fallen Timbers, called
also the battle of Maumee Rapids, he took part in, as a
many-times veteran. That victory, like Wayne's other
great victory at Stony Point in the Revolution, was
gained with the bayonet.
The Indians were behind the fallen trees blown
down by a hurricane, which gave the name Fallen Tim-
bers. They supposed the whites would just be good
enough to stand and be shot.
As quick a charge as possible was ordered. The
logs were mounted, the Indians were very still behind
them : there they got the bayonet. Then some getting
up and running took place by the survivors, and they
got the bullet. Forward through that old forest went
our army, and when the foe was driven out of it the
victonr was complete. One may imagine how so splen-
did a veteran as Mr. Downing, every fiber of soul and
body ablaze with battle, would bear himself through such
a bayonet rush as that.
So far the dates of all his service are known to all.
After this he is known to have been long a soldier along
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I 1 3
the frontier on the Ohio River as well as being, as we are
caused to believe, five years in the regular army, taking'
in the War of 1812. Now which of these took place
first we do not know. .i
At Fort Massac, on the Ohio River, in what is now
Illinois, below the mouth of the Tennessee River, he
was on duty; how long is not known. From there he
carried the mail afoot and alone through the wilderness, ;j
likely to the falls of the Ohio, now to Louisville. The
lonely, dangerous journey, the slow hours of night as
they passed over the silent man in his solitary bivouac, the
i
writer never passed Fort Massac without trying to im-
agine. . I
Through the War of 1812, from what little we
know, it seems he was in the regular army. Of his serv-
ice in that war we have no particulars. It is only known i
that he was in it and was still a soldier up to 1818 ; known
that eleven years of his life ere spent in the tented field,
and whether longer is not known. This is the longest
soldierly career in actual war of any man who ever lived
in Greene county. In 1818, on the Kanawha River in
West Virginia, he embarked his family on a flatboat and
came to Louisville. From there he came by land to
Washington county, Indiana, where my father knew him;
settled on Walnut Ridge; lived there until 1832, when he
came to Bloomfield ; lived here some years, then went to
Jackson county, where, in 1852, he passed from earth. In
114 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
that year a land warrant was issued to liim by the gov-
ernment for one hundred and sixty acres. His children
were John Andrew, so long a very energetic citizen of
Bloomfield, having built and operated the Richland fur-
nace, built the old brick court house and jail and many
other buildings, and was part owner of the steamboat
"Richland"; Paul, the great flatboat pilot; Albert and
Gallatin (twins), and Peggy.
ANDREW DOWNING.
Andrew Downing was the third son of Michael
Downing, the veteran soldier of the Revolution, of
Wayne's victory in 1794, and the War of 1812, as well
as five years' service afterwards in the regular army. On
the Kanawha River in West Virginia, in 1818, he em-
barked on a flatboat with his father's family and came
to the falls of the Ohio River at Louisville ; from there by
land to Washington county, Indiana, then to Bloomfield
about 1829.
Across the street from Wolf's blacksmith shop he
built the first brick house in Bloomfield. The first I re-
member of him he was a shoemaker, made the first little
pair of shoes I ever wore that I can remember, as well
as shoes for my two older sisters.
The next business he engaged in was handling
liquors and groceries, sugar, coffee, molasses, etc. As
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
115
early as 183 1 he built and ran the first flatboat ever sent
from Bloomfield.
In 1832 the cholera first came to America. That
year, while on the river, Mr. Downing became acquainted
with the disease. After he came home Thomas Warnick,
clerk of the county, took it. He lived a mile south of
town, where Thomas Patterson now lives. The doctor
gave him nothing but calomel, which was no manner of
use in this case. As soon as Mr. Downing heard of it
he went to him as fast as a horse could carry him. The
patient was in the collapsed stage — the cold sweat of
death already on him ; nothing but mechanical means is
quick enough now. A big- kettle of roasting ears in hot
water was soon ready. These wrapped in cloths so as
not to burn were put in the bed all around the body and
limbs, then this heroic man held the patient still and held
the covers on through the agony of reaction. This is
dreadful (I myself have been there). When the blood
goes back in the cold feet and legs it hurts like hot nee-
dles. All this is just like a sinking chill. I have seen
both, for I had the cholera in New Orleans in 1849. Mr.
Warnick was saved and lived many years, engaging up
Warnick was saved and lived many years. Up to 1837
Mr. Downing engaged in merchandising' and flatboating.
Some of the time his place of business was where the
"Old Stand" (tavern) is. At this time the old brick
court house was on contract. The builder drew his first
I 1 6 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
one thousand dollars and ran away. Mr. Downing was
one of his sureties and had the house to build. In 1839
it was finished. William Evcligh was brought from
Louisville as boss carpenter on the house. This brought
the family, which consisted of three brothers and two
sisters, all fresh from Ireland. The! sisters were very
beautiful.
Mr. Downing and Mr. M. H. Shryer were both wid-
owers. The first event to occur in the fine new court
room was a big ball. The first act of the ball was when
all was in magnificent array, prompter and musicians in
their places, as Mr. Downing and Mr. Shryer and the
two Eveligh sisters stood up and were married.
The brick block north of the square, built by him-
self, was where the largest of his merchandising was
done. The discovery of iron in Richland creek attracted
the attention of Mr. Downing, and for about fifteen years
engaged his great energy. The mill, store, bank, iron,
flatboat, canal-boat and steamboat business all had their
part in his affairs. The first brick house in Blodmfield,
the first flatboat, the brick block on the north side of the
square, the old brick court house, the brick jail that stood
on the east side of the square, the house on the hill where
Mrs. Grismore lives, Richland forge and furnace, the
large mill that was burned where French's mill is, the
town at the furnace, the stone bank that was moved to
Bloomfield and is here yet.
A
V
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 117
The little stone house used for a "bank" at the fur-
nace was built by Mr. Davis, a refugee from Kentucky,
who came some years before the war for the Union on
account of the trouble and danger then rife among the
people. He was a cousin of Jeff Davis — a tall, typical
Kentuckian, who with tenderness cherished his family.
One of his children, Nettie Davis, was as handsome an
object as I ever saw or expect to see on earth.
At the going down of the canal the iron business had
to stop. Mr. Downing went to Texas in 1857, got into
the cattle business and politics, was elected to the legis-
lature from Bosque county. When the war for the Union
came on he was loyal. The "secesh" papers were killing
their enemies until they had more men dead than were in
the whole nation on both sides.
This fact he ventured to point out to them, so he
had to leave the state. At two different times he was
over fifty hours in the saddle, until at Fort Smith, Arkan-
sas, he reached the United States army and safety. Com-
ing to Bloomfield, he stayed all winter with Colonel E.
H. C. Cavins, and when Bank's army entered Texas lie
went with it, and finally home. He was appointed United
States marshal of Texas; held the office some years, and
died in 1872. His oldest son, John, he set up in merchan-
dising in the old brick block mentioned heretofore that
was burned years ago. In a short time John died. His
other sons, Paul and Andrew, are living- in Texas.
Il8 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
THOMAS WARNICK
was the first clerk of Greene county, and he held the office
for fourteen consecutive years. He was the son of James
Warnick, Sr., who came from North Carolina and entered
the land where Joseph Leavitt lives, taking in the Bloom-
field cemetery, March 16, 1818. In 1821 the father was
one of the first county commissioners; in that year the
county was organized. His home was on the knoll just
north of Mr. Leavitt's. On the land where the cemetery
is a cabin was built in the thick woods for a residence,
I should think, because it was like a residence cabin and
not like a school house.
In 1832 the cabin had fallen to decay. Myself and
another boy five years old were out to see it ; looked in
and saw that a person had been buried inside ; no floor in
it. Child-like, we' ran with all our might. This was the
beginning of the cemetery, others being buried. near with
the consent of the land owners on down to the forming of
a public ground for the purpose. Such a rumor as that
Mr. Warnick, Sr., had kept school in the cabin existed
in the long ago. If he did, it was the first school prob-
ably in this vicinity. I knew old Mr. Warnick very well.
He was such a man as might have kept a school — intelli-
gent, capable, trustworthy in office or in any other way.
April 27, 182 1, Thomas Warnick was commissioned
clerk of Greene county for seven years. June 4th fol-
"3
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 119
lowing he was qualified. For some years he lived with
his father, where he was not very far from Burlington,
then the county seat. The first two or three courts were
held at Thomas Bradford's, a mile south of Bloomfield,
at the place where Thomas Patterson lives.
In the Revolutionary war a certain boy served in the
army until he was of age and the war over. His name
was Gillam. On coming home in South Carolina he mar-
ried, went out in the woods to cut logs to build a house,
became so lonesome, being used to the bustle of camp
nearly half of his life, he concluded to run away. Just
then his beautitful young wife came to him with his din-
ner. This reconciled him, the logs were cut, house built,
and there he lived, raised a family and died. One son,
Edward Gillam, was one of the very first settlers of
Greene county. He lived and died where Dan M. Bynum
lives, two miles east of Bloomfield. April 26, 1824,
Thomas Warnick issued his own license to be married to
Lydia. daughter of Mr. Gillam.
When the Warnicks came here there were still a
few Indians wandering about, and frequent were the
tragedies which occurred in the silent forest between them
and the white men. Thirty years ago James Warnick,
son of our subject, told me "if that old hill could talk
(the hill where Joseph Leavitt lives) it could tell of some
of the Indians being laid out." When a child I heard
a story that Thomas Warnick met an Indian and they
120 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
passed each other till fifty yards apart, when Wamick
turned around and shot him.
While serving- as county clerk the three years that
the county seat was at Burlington Mr. Wamick made
his home with his parents. When Bloomfield was laid
out he built his house where the Sarget-McGannon resi-
dence is — a hewed log, two-story, with an "L" for a
kitchen. This was a very great house for Bloomfield
then.
It had to have a brick chimney. One of the most
active young men was then working his way through
college at Bloomington. He could lay brick, walked to
Bloomfield and got the job of building the chimney. In
after years he never made a speech in our town while
running for congress and governor (he was elected to
both) without speaking of his brick chimney. He was
Governor Joseph A. Wright, appointed by Lincoln min-
ister to Prussia.
Towards the last of the fourteen years during which
Mr. Wamick served as clerk he bought the farm where
Thomas Patterson and Clift Dixon now live and moved
to it.
In the decade of the forties the upper story of the
old residence in town was used as the Bloomfield high
school.
Grammar schools and other select schools were kept
there several years, at night as well as day. "The Comet"
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 121
was published there by Alfred Edwards. This was a
Whig paper, advocatitng" the election of William H. Har-
rison for President. I remember to have seen a press in
the kitchen, so this might have been called a "printing
house."
Under the militia law each county had a colonel.
Mr. Warnick for some of these years was colonel of
Greene county. The fashion then was that officers wore
on parade, as part of the uniform, a Suarrow hat with
a plume in the top. This was the most showy hat ever
worn. It was flat from front to rear, stuck out wide at
the corners and high up where the plume was attached ;
in front a silver eagle. Wellington wore one at Water-
loo, as did Napoleon. No one bore himself with more
pride on parade than Mr. Warnick.
While living on his farm my father sent me, then
seven years old, to ask him to come immediately for some
business to town. I was on a very old horse and he was
on foot, but bantered me for a race — said he could beat
me to town, and started to run. All I could do was to
whip up and follow. He laughed at me heartily. The
neat-shaped foot and active form I well remember.
Where is the man now who would like to run a footrace
a mile against a horse?
After fourteen years of service, October I, 1835, his
successor in office, Samuel R. Cavins, was qualified.
At the old sand hill cemetery at Clift Dixon's and
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
122
„ Gfflam graveyard, two mile. - of Bto-W. <*
TETEB C. VAN SWKE, SK.
« QWWe Sr, was not in the
peter Cornell Van S^ * ' ^bought
Revolution, but he was the hrs rf ^^
„„d intending to hve on .t m <- ; ^ ^
Four generauons o i he V J_ .^ d,
who had the name, of Petet^ ^ ^ ^ ,,„
one beiore he *» * ^ rf ^ ,„,
oldest son of the reiei
died in minority. Holland, where
Cornelius was a common ^ Mey vvas the nrst
the VanSlykes came f10rm Co ^ where
manager of the httle ftu-4 adm * ^ who are
NCW ^^ CSWSt^ill keep the name Cornelius
0f the same Dutch stoc .yed a grant of
In 1657 Cornelius Adnan V^hyke ^ goy.
land on die Hudson River near Cat* iU
was governoi seven ycc
named it New York- ^ ^ Moh!mk
A century later finds the > ^ mh_
R,ver. in Schenecta , -noun*, New Yc ^ ^ .^ ^
^^'SXndt-lartotheiand entered her.
1
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I23
taking in Bloomfield and all the land to the river in
sight from the cemetery mound.
This Mr. Wake Edwards, of Louisiana, now seventy-
one years old, who was raised a neighbor in New York,
told me while standing on the mound down towards the
iron bridge known as the VanSlyke cemetery mound.
At maturity he married Margaret Lighthall. Mrs.
Joanna Eveleigh, who was seventy-seven years old in
1897, told me tliat her mother told her he was a soldier
in the War of 1812. Mrs. Eveleigh is his grandchild and
was the first white female child born in the vicinity of
Bloomfield. His daughter, Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Eveleigh's
mother, said he was a very fine-looking man with his
regimentals on. His height was six feet and four inches,
weight at his best 250 pounds — just the same in height
and weight as George Washington.
He dressed with the knee breeches, knee buckles, shoe
buckles and stockings in the fashion of the time. The
Mohawk Indians were numerous and he took many of
their habits. His buckskin dress with fringe round the
hunting shirt and down the breeches legs were made like
theirs. The Mohawks were among the finest athletes
in the world.
He came to Indiana in 1816 and bought land, some
of which is now the L. H. Jones farm, to which he sent
his son-in-law, John Vanvorst, in 1817. In 1818 he with
■his son Cornelius Peter and family moved by wagon,
bringing his own wife and unmarried children.
124 BTOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
His son Cornelius built a dug-out in the south
side of the "burial mound," where there is yet a little
depression which marks the spot. Mr. Vanvorst had
built south of there at the big spring.
The old folks built south of Vanvorst's where they
lived a few years, then built not far west of where Col.
A. G. Cavins now lives. At this place he built a horse
mill, which was a very important thing for the people.
Here they lived until old age when they went to their son
Cornelius, north of the cemetery mound, to spend their
last days.
The first piece of money ever coined by this govern-
ment, a twelve and a half cent piece, was one of his cher-
ised relics.
This with another silver coin of interesting history,
which history, with that of many others of his relics I
have forgotten, were kept to be placed on his eyelids to
hold them shut after death. This was done. A very
small child, I was held up by my father, who had made
his coffin, and saw them on his eyelids there.
Many rare coins of silver and' gold of many nations
were in his collection. The first one thousand dollar bill
issued by the old National Bank in Philadelphia he had
also. This had been at one time kept so long under the
house that it mostly rotted. Afoot he carried it back to
Schenectady, New York, to the man he got it of, and
eot his affidavit of the fact, then still afoot went to the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 25
bank in Philadelphia and showed the remains of the bill
with his testimony. The bank gave him a new bill in its
place, after which the long tramp back home was made.
Owning about seven hundred acres of land including
part of what is now Bloomfield, when Burlington was
abandoned as a county seat he bought fifty acres more
from Samuel Gwathney, of Jeffersonville, and gave the
original town plat to the county on condition that the
county seat was to be placed on it. This deed was made
in 1824.
His past life has been so full of incident that in his
last days he told my father he thought he would write it
out for his friends, but this was not done.
On September 25, 1834, at the home of his son,
Cornelius P., he passed to eternity; was buried on the
mound by his wife, who was laid there only a few days
before, where to this day no stone marks the spot where
the "dust" of the man who left many thousands of
dollars in money and hundreds of acres of land is rest-
ing in the long sleep of death. Since then a stone was
set there, furnished by the war department, in recogni-
tion of his services as a soldier. My father was one of the
men appointed by the executors to count the money. I
went with him to the house of death and saw it. The
silver and gold, or may be only the silver, made their
fingers black like they had been handling lead— when it
was hauled to John Inman's up in town, who lived on
126 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the corner lately burnt out, where the postoffice was.
All this money, land and all was "entailed" by will
to the third "Peter," then a minor, for the name's sake,
Inman trustee and guardian. On coming of age "Peter"
sued Inman for the whole amount; swept it all from
him; left him in old age with no where to lay his head.
Unfaithfulness in duty — not giving it over at the proper
time was the cause of the entire misfortune.
THE INDIAN OCCUPANCY.
By Col. E. H. C. Cavins.
Prior to the year 1767, the land embraced in Greene
county, with a large portion of the state of Indiana, be-
longed to a tribe of Indians called the Piankeshaws.
This people was one of the Algonquin tribes, and was
one of the Miami confederacy. The Miami confederacy
was formed early in the seventeenth century by the vari-
ous tribes of Indians occupying Ohio, Indiana, a part of
Illinois and a part of Michigan. The object of the con-
federacy was for the purpose of repelling invasions of
Iroquois or Five Nations, a very powerful combination
of warlike Indians, who, being pressed toward the setting
sun by the advance of civilization, in turn pressed west-
ward the weaker tribes of Indians. Originally, so far
as history or tradition gives any account, the whole of
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 12J
Indiana was owned and occupied by the Twigtwees or
Miamis, the Weas, and Piankeshaws. At a later date
there were other tribes, called permitted tribes, viz. :
Delawares, or Leno Lenape, as they were originally
called, Pottawatomies, Shawnees, Kickapoos, with a few
Wyandots and Senacas. The Wyandots and Senacas
seem to have had so little claim upon the land that they
were never required to sign any treaty. The Pottawato-
mies seemed to have acquired their interest by conquest,
or rather, by pushing the Miamis back from the north-
west, toward the interior of the state, but they never
claimed any interest in Greene county.
THE DELAWARES.
The Delawares made a treaty with the Piankeshaws
in 1767, by which they came into possession of a large
part of central Indiana, including the White river coun-
try as far south as the lower fork of White river, but to
make the title perfect it was considered necessary to make
a separate treaty with the Miamis. The Delaware In-
dians called White river the Ope-co-me-cah.
Tbe Miamis claimed the northern part of the terri-
tory embraced in the treaty, and the Piankeshaws the
southern part. Greene county was in the part claimed
by the Piankeshaws at that time. In the treaty between
the Piankeshaws and Delawares, it was only a permis-
128 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
sive possession that was given to the Delawares. These
tribes, together with the Weas, were and continued to be,
on friendly terms with eacli other, and all of them occupied
the territory embraced in Greene county, from the date
of the treaty among themselves until they were finally
removed from the state. From some cause unknown to
the writer, the Piankeshaws never ceded to the United
States any land north of a line beginning at the mouth
of Turtle creek in Sullivan county and running in a di-
rect line to Orleans, now in Orange county. But we trust
that the present owners of the land north of this line
will not become alarmed at the discovery of this breach
or broken link in the chain of their title.
THE CESSION TREATIES.
There were three treaties with the Indians, em-
bracing the land in Greene county. The first two were
made on the 30th day of September, 1809, at Fort
Wayne with the Delawares and Miamis, and the last
was made on the 26th day of October, 1809, at Vin-
cennes, with the Weas.
Gen. William H. Harrison, who was afterward
President of the United States, was the commissioner
who made these treaties, and it seems that he regarded
it is necessary to make it with these three tribes, but not
necessary to make a treaty with the Piankeshaws.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 120,
MISSIONARY WORK AMONG THE INDIANS.
After the settlement at Vincennes by the whites, the
Piankeshaws seem to have drifted toward that point, and
near that place were their principal villages and headquar-
ters. They readily took upon themselves the vices of
their white neighbors, but did riot seem to be impressed
with their virtues. They would patiently listen to the
Catholic priests who tried to impress upon them their
mode of worship, and would quietly answer them by as
earnest an effort to get the Catholic priests to adopt the
Indian worship of the Great Spirit. One redeeming
trait in their character was developed at the beginning
of the Revolutionary war, and that was that they were
the first of the western tribes of Indians to take sides with
the patriot cause against the English, and were soon fol-
lowed by the other tribes of the Miami confederacy.
AN EARLIER RACE.
Prior to 1810 no white man resided within the
borders of Greene county. Only straggling or strolling
bands of Indians invaded the territory. They seemed
for many years preceding that time to have had no per-
manent home here, but passed through on war and hunt-
ing expeditions. On many of the hills, and many of the
valleys and on many of the plains, they have left speci-
9
I3O BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
mens of their crude and clumsy axes made of stone, and
their nicely-formed arrow heads of flint. These memen-
toes of another age and of former inhabitants are found
to this day. There seems to be no place in the county
specially noted for their rallies or congregation in large
numbers. No field has been made a scene of carnage ;
no habitation has been made desolate by their fierce, un-
relenting tomahawk, or at least history or tradition have
given us no information of such events. In section 8,
township 6 north, range 5 west, there are clearly-defined
indications of lines of fortifications, embracing about one
quarter of a mile. When they were made, or for what
purpose, is lost in the vista of time. Possibly in the
ages past, before the discovery of America, unrelenting
war swept over that part of Greene county, and possibly
a regular siege was enacted at that place at that time.
In the northeast corner of Richland township, near what
is called Sleath's mill, there is a large rock, which was
used by the Indians as a lookout. The rude steps cut by
them for the purpose of enabling sentinels to ascend to
that point of the lookout are still visible to any person
whose curiosity leads him to the place. At Fair Play
there has been found several specimens of pottery of an
ancient and rather crude type. Across the river from.
Fair Play, after the great flood of 1875, there were
found a great many pieces of pottery, some of which had
impressed ornaments on them. These pieces bore evi-
1
r
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
131
dence in themselves that they were of another age, and
they were washed out of the ground, over which large
timber had been growing' a few years before. On the
ridge coming up to the lower Richland bridge, there was
an Indian village, but deserted before any white man
set foot upon Greene county soil. At Worthington quite
a number of Indian relics have been found in excavating.
— axes, arrow heads, charms, earthenware and many
other curiosities, and among them two copper toma-
hawks.
THE FIRST WHITE VISITORS.
!
In the year 18 13 a party of white men visited the
territory now known as Greene county. They resided at
Vincennes, then known as the Old Post. They came on
a hunting expedition, more for novelty, curiosity and en-
joyment than for any other reason. They started out
from Vincennes in a pirogue, or boat, went down the
Wabash river to the mouth of White river, and up
White river to the fork, and thence up the west fork to
a point above the mouth of Richland creek, and landed
on the east side of the river south of Bloomfield. They
spent several days in that locality hunting. At the time
of this excursion a part of the old Indian burying ground
near their landing was comparatively new. The Indian
burying ground was on the farm since known as the War-
nick farm. In an early day it was no common thing for
_J
1T>2 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the boys of Bloomfield to dig up skeletons of these dead
Indians. Perhaps they were induced to dig into these
graves from an idea that very generally prevailed in those
days that the property of Indians was buried with them.
While it was common to turn up skulls and other human
bones, no valuable discovery was ever made except that
a gunbarrel was found in one of the graves. Nearly all
traces of this ancient burying ground have disappeared
through lapse of time. The stalwart frame of many an
Indian savage, whose war cry and tomahawk sent terror
to the hearts of many an innocent victim, has doubtless
returned to dust, and now forms a part of the soil of
Greene county. Many of the earliest settlers did not get
over the deep and abiding hatred they sustained toward
the Indians, and especially those whose relatives had been
cruelly and wantonly murdered by them. After a treaty
of peace had been made between the whites and Indians,
occasionally an Indian would be found dead from a gun-
shot wound, several were killed in Greene county, one of
whom was at a place a short distance below the mouth
of Richland creek, on the east side of the river, in a
ravine running up from the river, on what is known as
the Lester farm. It was near the old Indian village; and
was a wicked and unprovoked murder. It was in the
year of 1810, while the government survey of land was
being made.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
133
AN UNPROVOKED MURDER.
An Indian had shot a deer in the ravine and was
dressing it when a hunter by the name of Smothers,
who was employed by the surveying party to furnish
them with meat, was in the immediate vicinity, and when
he heard the crack of the Indian's rifle, he at once un-
derstood the situation. Stealthily the white hunter stole
upon his unsuspecting victim, and at the crack of his
rifle the Indian fell, and in a few minutes expired. His
body was concealed in the ravine and covered with
stones, and doubtless his decomposed bones are there now,
unless washed into the river.
At that time the government surveying party were
encamped near the southwest corner of section 2, in town-
ship 6 north, range 5 west. When they learned of the
murder they were fearful that the Indians would find
their murdered companion, and they abandoned that
camp, and never blazed the line dividing sections 2 and 1 1,
so as to throw the Indians off their trail, should they
appear in that locality, and seek to avenge themselves.
At that time there was an Indian trail passing up White
river from Owl Prairie, and the trail crossed Richland
creek, near the place where the lower bridge is built.
OTHER DEATHS.
Another Indian was killed in that locality in 1818.
He was getting honey from a tree and while in the tree
134 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
was shot by a white man. This was on a narrow neck
of land known now as the cutoff, a short distance below
the mouth of Richland creek.
In the latter part of the year 1819 a transient white
man by the name of Osborn came to the settlement on
Plummer creek, and while hunting shot a Shawnee In-
dian, who was also hunting. The Indian at the time he
was shot was sitting on a log, not expecting any danger.
This occurred at a place about one mile southwest of
Mineral City. After the man shot the Indian, he went
to Eli Faucett's cabin. There was snow on the ground
at the time, and it was believed he went to Mr. Faucett's
cabin in order to make the Indians, if they should find
that one of their number had been killed, believe it had
been done by Mr. Faucett. The only settlers in that im-
mediate locality at the time were Col. Levi Fellows, Nor-
man W. Pearce, Eli Faucett and their families, and two
or three hired hands. These settlers, when they found out
about the murder, compelled the murderer to bury the
dead Indian, and concealed his gun and then required
him to leave the settlement, and that was the last they
ever heard of him. There were no courts at that time
nearer than Washington, in Daviess county.
About the same year and probably the summer fol-
lowing, an Indian was shot by a white'man at the mouth
of Doan's creek, only on the opposite side of the river.
A band of Indians were on their wav to a Western
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
135
reservation, and encamped for the night on the west side
of the river. One of them went to the river for a drink
or a pail of water and was shot from the east side and
fell into the river.
INDIAN CONSPIRACIES.
'r:
Notwithstanding the treaties that were made with
the Indians for the purchase of the territory embraced
in Greene county and other portions of the state, yet great
dissatisfaction existed among them about these treaties,
and especially among the tribes or parts of tribes that
were not represented in the treaties. Prominent among
the disaffected and dissatisfied Indians were the cele-
brated Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet. Tecum-
seh was a Shawnee, and his tribe did not originally own
any part of Indiana, and was only permitted to occupy
a part of the territory. In fact, no considerable part of
that tribe ever occupied Indiana, except while on the war-
path. He was a cunning and brave warrior, and an elo-
quent orator, and was very popular with the various
tribes in the northwestern territory. He visited the
various tribes and made speeches to them. In his speeches
he proclaimed that the treaties for the lands northwest of
the Ohio river were not made with fairness, and all of
them should be considered void. That no single tribe
was invested with the power or authority to sell lands
J
I36 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
■without the consent of the other tribes; and that he and
his brother, the Prophet, would resist all further attempts
of the whites to extend their settlements into this terri-
tory. These two famous Indians, by their persistent ef-
forts and wonderful influence, finally brought about a
powerful confederation of Indians, and the treaties were
not made effectual until after the battle of Tippecanoe,
which occurred on the 7th day of November, 181 1. The
Delawares, who at that time occupied the White river
and White Water country, which included the territory
embraced in Greene county, refused to join Tecumseh's
confederacy, and remained at peace with the whites.
Soon after the battle of Tippecanoe, the Indians com-
menced their removal to the west, and the last band left
Greene county in 1819. A few years later a band of In-
dians on their way to the west camped for a few days
just above the mouth of Latta's creek, on the west bank
of White river.
The Piankeshaws were sent to Missouri and Kan-
sas, and finally all to Kansas. The number has grown
smaller and smaller, as they have continually met the en-
croachments of the lower order of whites, with their hand-
maids of destruction, whisky and disease. In 1854 they
were confederated with the Weas, Peories and Kaskas-
kias, and they all numbered two hundred and fifty-nine.
In 1868 they numbered only one hundred and seventy-
nine. There has since been attached to this confedera-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
137
tion the Miamis, who went west of Indiana, and they
have been removed to the Indian Territory. In late
years the dawn of a brighter and better era is upon them.
They now own fifty-two thousand acres of good land and
have three thousand acres in cultivation. They live in
good houses, dress like civilized people and their children
attend schools of their own. Some of their boys have
returned to the land of their ancestors and attended col-
lege in Indiana.
The Delawares, who were the last of the Indians
to occupy Greene county, have been uniformly more
fortunate than the Piankeshaws. Some of them are still
in Kansas. In 1866 one thousand Delawares and Shaw-
nees were incorporated with Cherokees in the Indian Ter-
ritory, and are doing well. They are in an advanced
state of civilization and are worth more per capita than
any other tribe of Indians. Their language is one of the
best known of the Algonquin dialects.
Tammany, whose name figures extensively in New
York politics, was a Delaware chief of the mythical
period. There was an early tradition among the Dela-
wares that they were originally western Indians and at
a very early day emigrated east. At the first settlement
in the United States they occupied the territory along the
Delaware river, from which they take their name, and
it was with them that William Penn made his celebrated
treaty by which he acquired Pennsylvania.
I38 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
During the war of the Rebellion the Delawares fur-
nished one hundred and seventy soldiers for the Federal
Army, who proved brave and efficient soldiers and
scouts.
WORTHINGTON MOUNDS.
The remaining portion of this chapter is from the
report of an eminent state geologist, and is quoted with
slight alterations to suit this volume.
The mound was slightly elliptical, being three hun-
dred and sixty feet wide from north to south and three
hundred and sixty to three hundred and ninety feet long
from east to west ; the extreme height of carried material
at a point a little northeast of the center was nine feet six
inches, sloping rapidly to the east, but with gradual in-
cline south, north and west. The carried material was a
fine loam or clayey earth brought from a neighboring
marsh one-quarter to a half mile north, so that the dis-
tinction between the artificial mound and the natural sur-
face of clear fluviatile sand was easily apparent. This ma-
terial amounted to nearly four thousand cubic yards of
earth — one thousand eight hundred wagonloads — and as
these people had none of the tools of our time we may say
one hundred and eight thousand basketfuls. Allowing
that these workmen or builders would travel as far as
an army under heavy marching orders, they would carry
and deposit about one-half cubic yard per day to each
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 139
man, or eight thousand days for one man. But consid-
ering that each man had to supply himself with food and
that he joined in the dance and festivities common to bar-
barous people on ceremonial occasions, we may more safe-
ly estimate nine basketfuls, or nine cubic feet as a day's
work; consequently it would require the labor of one man
twelve thousand days or two hundred persons full sixty
days.
The outlook due east was up a valley piercing the
eastern bluff of White river, giving- the sleepless priest
who guarded the ever burning fire upon his altar such
opportunity of catching the first rays of sunrise as was
necessary in calling his people by chant and drum to their
morning devotion and worship of the sun— the fountain
of life, light and comfort.
A BURIAL VAULT.
Several years ago W. C. Andrews, in preparing for
the erection of the old Franklin House, excavated part of
the east side and top of the mound. Near the central
apex he found an elliptical vault eight feet long, five feet
wide and three feet deep, surrounded by a sandstone wall
eighteen inches thick, with a narrow entrance at the south
end, and a minor elliptical chamber separated by a wall
at the north extremity. The bottom was floored with
thin slabs or flagstones; it contained no bones or other rel-
I4O BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ics, but the interior contents, a "fat block" earth, indi-
cated the decomposed remains of a cover of black bitu-
minous shale, from the roof of neighboring outcrops of
coal A. This vault was evidently not connected with, but
intrusive upon, the original work after abandonment by
the originators. It seems especially adapted for the pur-
pose of a temporary receiving vault for bodies of those
dying between the epochal national funerals. Such tem-
porary vaults were noticed at Fort Azatlan, in Sullivan
county, and other places in this state. Its location was
invited by the circular depression at the chimney top near
the apex of their predecessors' edifices.
In 1878 the town authorities of Worthington re-
moved considerable part from the north side of the
mound, discovering- none of the ancient remains, but ex-
posing several intrusive Indian graves near the surface,
but on the completion, March, 1880, of the Terre Haute
& Southeastern Railroad to this point, it was necessary in
making a junction with the Indianapolis & Vincennes
Railroad to fill up the abandoned bed of the Wabash and
Erie canal along the track of the latter road. This was
done under the direction of Calvin S. Taylor, by borrow-
ing earth from the mound. Much credit is due Mr. Tay-
lor for carefully observing the developments made for sa-
credly preserving the few relics found and for measure-
ments here reported.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 4 1
ARRANGEMENT OF THE MOUND.
The following interior arrangements were observed :
The surface soil had been stripped away to a depth of
seven or eight inches, exposing a subsoil of compact, fine
sand, which constituted the floor of the mound room.
Near the center was a bed of ashes about ten inches deep
covering an area of ten or twelve feet square, in which
were roasted bones of animals, spikes of deer horn, mussel
and snail shells, charcoal and fragments of earthen ware
pots, indicating the kitchen fire of a large household. The
disturbed nature of the earth above the fireplace, with a
quantity of flat stones reddened by fire, seemed to indi-
cate a chimney, or smoke flue, partly supported by rough
masonry, which in the course of time had fallen in ; black
spots or columns of black mold at the circumference of
the mound and at the interior points showed that trunks of
trees had been utilized as posts to support the earthen
roof, which had entirely decayed. The floor of the build-
ing was covered with fragments of broken pottery, with
a few stone or bone implements of household use. No
warlike weapons were seen — it was a peaceful agricul-
tural people. The whole mound seemed to indicate the
communal home of a large family or tribe, with a com-
mon roof, walls, fire, etc., a mode of life characteristic of
many primitive nations and races. Human skeletons
were found irregularly scattered near the circumference
142 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of a circle, about sixty feet in diameter, having the asli
pit for its center, but more numerous near the eastern
doorway. Tlie bones were badly decayed, and as a rule
went to dust after exposure. They would represent a
possible fifteen or twenty individuals.
A PRE-HISTORIC MURDER.
At once the question arises, What changed his resi-
dence or home of a tribe to a charnal house? A single
circumstance throws a ray of light. On the northwestern
arc of the circular corridor, or area, was found the skele-
ton of a man with household implements widely scattered
about, as if in ordinary use; the back part of the skull was
crushed in by a blow of a large stone hammer from be-
hind and below, or while reclining on his right side, mak-
ing an opening and indentation in the occipital region two
and one-half by th ree inches in area. A murder had been
committed, and unholy death had occurred beside the
household altar, and probably by a law common to some
American and Pacific Island peoples the house was
thenceforward tabooed as unfit for occupation, and dedi-
cated to the dead. The remains of others were then
brought from temporary graves and here deposited in the
national "dead house" for their last sleep. The articles
found on the floor of the mound were: Crania and hu-
man bones, ornamental vase, Japanese image (head), Jap-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I43
anese image (foot), bone whistle, copper ax, flint knives,
a smooth, symmetrical, oblong", spherical stone mnller or
pestle, flint chips, by abrasion showing use, bone im-
plement.
CRANIAL MEASUREMENTS.
The skull was of the typical pyramidal form char-
acteristic of the early Mound Builders, and gave the fol-
lowing measurements: Circumference from eyebrow to
base of occiput, 18.20 inches; frontal arc from ear to ear,
10.10 inches; arc over top from ear to ear, 12.75 inches.
The well closed sutures and worn teeth as examined by
Dr. Brouillette, of Worthington, indicated his age to
have been fifty-five or sixty years, and by measurement
of the tibia, his height when living was only five feet four
inches. The high head showed an unreasoning man of
great firmness and energy, and the projecting lower jaw a
strong fiv sh eater. The cranium was abnormal or lop-
sided, by reason of superior size of the right over the left
side, so that when erect the head would incline that way,
and as a rule he would sleep lying on that side, as was
probably the case when he was killed.
POTTERY, JAPANESE IMAGES, VASES, ETC.
The vase is ornamented by a peculiar fillet, with com-
plementary pendant curves in symmetrical design, and
144 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
shows more skill than is usual in Mound Builders' pot-
tery. It is the most. artistic design, accompanied by regu-
lar form, seen by the writer out of over one thousand
specimens by him examined, and seems to indicate skill of
a higher order than the careless efforts of an occasional
workman. In other words, it exhibits the skill of an hab-
itual mechanic, trained by teachers as well as practice.
The Japanese head and foot were so peculiar as to awaken
the doubts as to the genuineness of the find, hence ex-
haustive inquiry was made, not only of those immedi-
ately engaged in the excavation, but of other citizens, call-
ing in the aid of the well known detective, K. Osborn.
The testimony of all united as to its authenticity. The
superintendent, C. S. Taylor, reports that it was found
by a boy employed on the excavation about sixty feet
north-northwest from the hearth stone center, on the
sand floor, eight feet below the .surface. When first re-
moved from its bed it was soaked with the dampness of
the earth and so softened that in brushing away the ad-
hering dirt the extremity of the nose and ball of the right
eye were slightly abraded, as may be seen. The image
was probably entire, but in the bustle of work, with a
full force of men and teams, only the head and one foot
were preserved. The head is a striking picture ; no artist
could conceive the image of an eagle or lion, and fix it in
pictured art without seeing or knowing of such animals,
the physiognomy here given is as distinct from other
— •*
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I45
races as these animals from other species. The most in-
ventive genius could not join almond eyes, high cheek
bones, strong nose, pouting lips and flabby ears to an
image without seeing familiarly an original Japanese.
Nor would he have done so unless the figure awoke either
ideas of beauty or respect for a superior form, worthy
qualities, as an ancestor, governor, teacher or necessary
protector. Mound pottery, as a rule, is rude, inartistic
and composed of a mixture of clay and coarsely powdered
mussel shells. This image, on the other hand, is an ex-
act presentment of a certain type, and does not contain in
the interior fragments of shells, but in addition to the
other points of superiority has the exterior surface cov-
ered with a well defined coat of grayish white clay, an
art not unusual in our ancient potteries. All these facts
seem to show that this image was the work of an artist
with more than self-acquired skill, and was the result of
generations of men, combining their experience from
teacher to pupil, from master to learner, and was bor-
rowed from some older life center, and this knowledge
of the facial expression, it is suggested, could only be bor-
rowed from Japan or China. The immigration of a fleet
of canoes of Asiatic Esquimaux by Behring strait to
Alaska < n this continent fully sustains this suggestion.
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF THE IDOL.
The material of the image was submitted to Chem-
ical Assistant Hurty for qualitiye analysis, and it was
10
I46 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
found to contain silicates of alumnia, soda and potassium
and sand humus and oxide of iron. If it was of modern
make it would not have contained part of these ingre-
dients, and if imported from Asia would have contained
the common kaolin of eastern Asia. But the ; nalysis
shows that the image was made from common swamp
clay, and still contained humus or organic matter, and the
coating was from fire clay of some adjacent coal bank,
clearly indicating that it was made from local materials,
and therefore of local manufacture.
COPPER IMPLEMENTS.
The copper ax is of the usual size and form discov-
ered in the mounds. On analysis it was found to be com-
posed of copper, with traces of iron and carbon, but with-
out alloy of phosphorus or tin. The analysis shows its
origin from the copper mines of Lake Superior, and in-
dicates their line of immigration by these mines to In-
diana. The other articles mentioned were the household
implements common about the kitchen fires of this race.
THE INDIANS.
It seems that Fair Play township was once the site
of various Indian villages of considerable note. On the
site of the old town of Fair Play a flourishing Pianke-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. \\"J
shavv village had stood in former years before the white
man came to disturb the rude lives of the aboriginal bar-
barians with the arts of social organism. Scattered over
the ground there, especially in early years, were the rude
implements of warfare and of domestic usefulness, and in
various places were tracts of land from which the brush
and sod had been cleared, and upon which the former in-
habitants had grown their crops of corn, and perhaps
vegetables. The village had contained several hundred
wigwams, judging from the extent of open ground where
it stood and the statements of the earliest white settlers.
The Indians were abundantly numerous in the vicinity in
detached bands, under subchiefs, though they were no-
madic, wandering up and down the streams, and locating
for short periods where game was plentiful. They often
came to the cabins of the first settlers for ammunition,
whisky or articles of food, and brought with them to bar-
ter furs, wild meat and curious trinkets of their own man-
ufacture. When in his native element, untrammeled by
the arts of his superior race, was noble, with the strictest
notion of honor, proud of his brave ancestry, happy to
die for his race with a stoicism that challenges admira-
tion, and boastful of his deeds in the chase and on the
cruel fields of barbarous war. He has passed away and
will soon become extinct, though he will leave his blood
flowing in the veins of some of the proudest white fam-
ilies of the land. On the Dixon farm had been a village
I48 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of twenty or more families of Miamis, and on this spot
was a clearing of six or eight acres, where their crops
had been raised by the squaws. The braves were loo
proud to work — that drudgery was placed upon the wo-
men— and spent their time in hunting. Upon this site
were the remains of old wigwams and several sweat-
houses.
THE SWEAT-HOUSES.
The custom of the sweat-houses was as follows : A
pile of stones was heated very hot by fire built over them,
and while in this condition was surrounded by a tight
wigwam, leaving room to move around the pile of stones
next to the sides of the structure. The fire, of course,
was removed before the wigwam was erected. The wig-
wam was placed there while the stones ere yet glowing
with heat, and immediately the braves wanting a sweat
bath entered the sweat-house, and while some of their
number repeatedly dashed water upon the hot stones the
remainder, stark naked, danced around the steaming
stones. The braves were instantly thrown into a profuse
perspiration, which cleansed their skins and toned up
their systems. When each felt that he had enough of the
sweating and exercising he went into. an adjoining tent,
where he was wiped dry and dressed in warm buckskin or
fawnskin. In Setpember, 1820, the large body of the In-
dians was removed west to the reservation prepared for
•*■»
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I49
them. Just before their final departure they assembled
in large bodies on the western bank of White river, in
Fair Play township, about west of Bloomfield, to hold
their farewell ceremonies on the site of their old home be-
fore their departure forever for lands beyond the Missis-
sippi. Several hundred assembled and remained there
four or five days, holding war, scalp, peace, funeral and
ceremonial dances and powwows. At times they were
very quiet, as if sorrowing over their fate of leaving the
graves of their fathers, but at other times they were so
wild, vehement and demonstrative that a rumor spread
out through the neighboring settlements that they con-
templated an attack, and a few of the nearest families left
their cabins temporarily, going to their neighbors for ad-
vice and protection. No attack was meditated, however.
The Indians were simply reviving the cherished customs
of their time for the last time in their old home.
THE SCALP DANCE.
Their scalp dance was thus described : A pole plant-
ed in the center of an open piece of ground, upon which
or around which are bound the captives taken in war to
be burned at stake. Each brave participating in the dance
is provided with a sharp pole, upon which is strung the
scalps he had taken. When all is ready the fagots around
the captives are lighted, and the dance is begun. The
I5O BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
scalps are lighted, scorched and burned, and thrown in
the faces of the tortured captives and the poles are lighted,
and while burning are thrust repeatedly against their
burned and blackened bodies. The braves move slowly
around the fire, dancing up and down, first with a short
hop upward with one foot, while the other is raised as
high as the knee, and then with the other, interspersing
all with a wild succession of scalp halloos, made at first
by a quavering motion of the hollowed hand, upon the
lips, but ending with a force that made the forest ring.
In this instance, on the bank of White river, as they had
no captives nor scalps, they danced in imaginary joy
around a stake where a fire had been built. Immediately
after that only stragglers were to be seen, who had come
back to revisit the scenes of their childhood and the
graves of their dead. •
HUNTING INCIDENTS.
Benjamin Stafford says that one morning he stood
in his father's cabin and counted over thirty deer passing
iii one herd. This was very unusual, as they usually went
in small herds. They were very numerous, and could be
shot almost any hour of the day. William Harrison was
one day hunting in the township when, in passing near
the border of the Goose pond, he saw a bear out to one
side of the woods. It seemed to be coming toward him,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I 5 I
so he concealed himself behind a clump of bushes, and
after priming his rifle awaited the approach of bruin. At
last the animal came shambling- along to within easy rifle
shot, when he took careful aim and fired — stretched it
dead on the ground with a bullet shot through its head.
He skinned it and went to the house to get a team of
horses with which it was loaded on the sled with skids
with the help of some of the Stafford boys. It weighed
when dressed over four hundred pounds. Its flesh was
eaten by nearly all the neighbors. On another occasion
Josiah Johnson was hunting in the vicinity of Goose pond
with two dogs, which soon were heard to bay out in the
woods, barking at something they had treed. Mr. John-
son surmised by their angry and rapid howls that they
had encountered an animal of more than usual size and
ferocity. He accordingly hurried out to see what they
had found. He reached the spot and saw a moderate-
sized bear in a large oak tree, to which it had climbed
after ascending a smaller oak, which stood against the
large one. The animal stood on a high branch composed-
ly watching the raging dogs below. Without deliberating
very long, Mr. Johnson brought the bear to the ground
with a bullet. It was seized by the dogs, but after a few
spasmodic kicks and gasps it became motionless. Mason
Pitts was a hunter of courage and experience. It is said
he claimed to have killed more panthers than any other
resident of Sullivan county (the western part of Greene
152 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
county was part of Sullivan before 182 1). He had an
eye like a hawk, was easy and graceful of movement, pos-
sessed great strength, courage eM endurance, and was
a dead shot offhand with his rifle. He was a blacksmith,
and when not hunting was working most of the time at
his trade. One day, in passing across an open space on
his way to a neighbor's returning something he borrowed,
he saw a heap of grass and leaves, and going noiselessly
up to the spot, kicked the leaves- away and hallooed at the
top of his voice. Instantly two large panthers sprang
out and bounded off like cats into the marshy tract of
land and were soon out of sight and sound. He had no
gun, but came back afterward with a gun and dogs, but
could not find the "painters," as he called them. It is
said he shot one from a tree on another occasion. Old
man Carrico is said to have killed three or four bears in
the marsh near his house. One he wounded, and as it
came at him with open mouth he was compelled to use
his knife to prevent being "hugged" to death. The Staf-
ford boys — Benjamin and Azmabeth — in a very early
day, with the aid of dogs, caught on Black creek four
otters, an animal that was very rare, even at that time.
-J
THE OLD LOG SCHOOL HOUSE OF SIXTY
YEARS AGO.
GETTING AN EDUCATION UNDER DIEFICULTIES.
After the close of our 1840 school there was a blank of
six years in which I nor any of my brothers had a day's
schooling other than what our mother gave us at home,
for the reason that the nearest school was over four miles,
and then there were no gravel roads or cement sidewalks,
but to the contrary most of the way was paths through
the wild woods and thickets of hazel brush aijd briars,
and over hills and hollows, crossing creeks and branches,
that made it difficult for children of school age to attend
the neighborhood schools that served a radius of several
miles.
The Plummer Creek school house not being centrally
located and wholly unfit for winter schools was aban-
doned for all time to come. So for a space of five years
there were no schools in the Plummer Creek neighbor-
hood or settlement, as it was better known. So in the fall of
1845 it became evident to some of the wiser men of the
settlement in which we V..-ed that there would have to
be something done in the way of schooling for the chil-
dren that were already large in numbers, many of whom
154 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
were nearly grown, and had never seen the inside of a
school house. So a few of the wise heads got together
as one man, and decided to build a cheap log house, and
a cheap house it was, as will be seen further on. The
location was on what was known as Bristle Ridge, some
two and one-half miles from my father's home, where the
ground was donated and the school was long known as
BRISTLE RIDGE SCHOOL HOUSE.
and it was well named, as the brush and briars were al-
most too thick for the rabbits and quails to get through,
much less the towheaded children and the older "kids."
The oldest men in the neighbood was appointed general
superintendent. A day was set for work bo begin and
every man that could wield an ax, or a broad ax was noti-
fied to be on hand ready for work.
An old-time saying was, "many hands make light
work," and so it was in the building of Bristle Ridge
school house, the first school in Plummer township.
A few years later it was changed to Taylor township,
in honor of General Zachary Taylor. In an incredibly
short time the logs were hewed and on the ground ready
for use; in. size the house was about 20x20 feet, but it
was to be something extra, as it was of hewed instead of
round logs. The raising of the house, as it was termed,
. was hard, heavy work, but the earlv settlers had the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 55
nerve that but few of the present generation have, and
worked with a will that meant business. Cost, price or
wages was not known in anything but perhaps a few
panes of glass and a few pounds of nails, the probable
cost of which couldn't have been over two or three dol-
lars. Think of a school house with an outlay of less than
five dollars cash, and note the contrast with the present
time school houses.
The owner of a nearby water power sawmill kindly
' donated the lumber for the floor and loft floor, and door,
the price of which at that time was about 50 cents per
hundred feet of the best yellow poplar timber, such as is
now worth five dollars and six dollars per hundred. The
door was with wooden hinges and latch and hung on the
outside, the same as the door to a barn or blacksmith
shop. A six-light window by the side of the door was
called
THE MASTER'S WINDOW.
A male teacher was called the master and the female
teacher the mistress. A log was cut out on one end and
one side of the house, about six or eight feet long, and
just wide enough to take in about eight or ten panes of
8x10 glass, which gave light for the entire house, except
that our stick and clay chimney unfortunately was built
wrong end up, which made it necessary to keep the door
open all the time to keep the room clear of smoke; so the
156 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
open door was a help in more ways than one, but on very
cold days the door had to stand open all the same. It
was "freeze on one side and roast on the other," as our
teacher expressed it. All school houses then were warmed
by the huge fireplaces that took in wood from four to six
feet long. Our fireplace was a six-footer, and it took
four of the biggest boys in school with hand spikes to
carry in a back log and put it in place. Almost a wagon
load of wood it took to keep fire for one day. Wood was
cheap, and cost only the chopping and hauling. All the
big boys were expected to devote a few minutes each day,
at noon or recess, in chopping for everyday use. Many
responded to the call, while others, with myself, were not
much inclined. The house was well chinked and daubed
inside and out, which added much to the warmth as well
as looks. A clapboard roof didn't shed all the snow,
sleet and rains, as in time of drifting storms, and there
were many of them. There would often be almost as
much snow in the loft as on the outside, and when the
snow began to thaw from the heat of the big fireplace,
the dirty snow water began to trickle down through the
loose loft floor onto our heads in a way that can better
be imagined than told in writing. Suffice it to say it was
no place for girls with white dresses. The lumber in
the floor was green when nailed down, so it wasn't long
until the cracks in the floor were open enough to give a
good ventilation, especially when the wind came in tin-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 57
der the floor from the northwest, mingled with snow
and sleet. Imagine the situation and feel for the poor
school boys and girls of sixty years and more ago. The
school houses of sixty years ago were not all twelve feet
stories, but very many of them were but of one six-foot
story like Bristle Ridge school house. We had one schol-
ar that stood six feet four in his shoes, and the joists
overhead were so low that he couldn't stand straight un-
der them, and he had to stand between the joists for
convenience, and much to the merriment of all the other
scholars and the teacher. From his portly and com-
manding appearance we called him Bonaparte, and he was
proud of the name. Had the promoters of the building
known of the height of Bona they would no doubt have
made allowance for him in the height of the room. He
was at that time no doubt the tallest scholar in the coun-
try. The first school taught in the Bristle Ridge school
house was by an old and experienced teacher of his time,
and was what was termed a loud school, which means
that all studied aloud, a perfect bedlam of noises. It
was a subscription school, as all schools were at that time
and for many years after. As money was scarce with
many of the patrons they found it a difficult matter to buy
regular school books for the children, so any old books
were pressed into the service as reading books, and testa-
ments were often used. And one morning, I shall never
forget, when Bonaparte came to school with a patent
I58 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
medicine almanac for a reader, the teacher was not slow
in assuring- him that his book wouldn't fill the bill, so
Bona, not a little chagrined at his defeat, marched away
to his seat, muttering as he went that his lx>ok had some
mighty good "readin' " in it. Many never studied any-
thing but reading and spelling, and a very little
"rethmetic."
The higher branches were not considered at all im-
portant by many of the old residents who never knew
anything of the real worth of an education, and not a few
thought an education only tended to make rascals of their
sons and daughters.
In all the early schools there was no such thing as
compulsory education, consequently there was but little
system or order, for the reason that the services of the
older scholars at home was thought to be of more im-
portance than their education. Rainy days and intensely
cold weather was good enough for schools, so considered,
thus confining the attendance of the average scholar to one
or two days in each week throughout the entire winter,
and often the subscription only covered the time in actual
attendance, so it was policy not to attend much, and the
schooling didn't amounic to much either, so there was no
robbery on either side. Bristle Ridge school house was
centrally located in the territory it was built for. with
paths that diverged from the center to the circumference,
three or four miles away, in all directions through the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 159
dense woods, like spiderwebs from a center. A school
day was from morning until night and often darkness
overtook us before we reached home, as also we had to
be on the way mornings before it was light, to be in
time for school.
In times of intense cold weather and deep snows or
mud and water, that had to be encountered in going to
and from school, the little schooling we got was very
dear to us, as the scanty attire of all the scholars it would
seem was hardly sufficient for the extreme rigor of win-
ter, for not a boy or girl knew anything of the comfort
of an overcoat or cloak, or of overshoes or rubber boots.
In this respect the little "kids" and the big "kids" all
fared alike, but withal they had health to withstand the
terrors of winter, as their rosy cheeks and robust forms
plainly indicated.
By reason of a long continued real shaking ague of
every member of my father's family, that came to stay
with us, and did stay with us, all through the fall and
winter of 1845 and 1846, I was not permitted to attend
the first school at the Bristle Ridge school house, but the
next fall after I, with three of my brothers, came in for
the lion's share of schooling, after a vacation of six years
when we most needed schooling — a long vacation to en-
dure. All the schooling of myself and brothers was sub-
scription and it was dear, and very dear. My oldest
brother, now in his eighty-first year, never went to school
l6o BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
a day after he was thirteen years old, for the reason that
his services were required at home in helping to make
a farm in the wild woods. Such was often the case in
many well regulated homes where necessity had to rule.
It was quite common in nearly all schools to spend
every Friday afternoon in spelling, and many were ex-
perts and could spell the old spelling books through with-
out missing a word. Almost every man's house in the
neighborhood was open for spelling school by turn, one
night in each week, all the fall and winter through, and
the nights were never too dark nor cold, nor the snow
too deep to attend a "spellin' " miles away, especially if
the way was lighted by a hickory bark or clapboard torch.
The days of the old poineer teachers and scholars were
not all sunshine, nor were they all dark and gloomy, as
some would suppose, and no "upper tens" nor "upper
crust" were known, but all met on a level, and every one
was neighbor to neighbor, and all bells chimed together
for the common good in the days of over sixty years ago.
Henry Baker.
L
OLD EEL RIVER AT IVORTHINGTON.
COURTS OF GREENE COUNTY.
The first term of circuit court held in Greene county
was held at the residence of Thomas Bradford, one mile
south of Bloomfield, in September, 1821. J. Doty was
president judge; John L. Buskirk, associate judge;
Thomas Warnick, clerk, and Thomas Bradford, sheriff.
The clerk was not required to give surety on his bond.
Henry Merrick and Amory Kinney were admitted to
practice as attorneys. Henry Merrick was appointed
prosecuting attorney. Amory Kinney was afterward well
known throughout the state as an eminent judge. The
first grand jury was composed of thirteen jurors — John
O'Neal, John Slinkard, Benson Jones, John Goldsberry,
Reuben Hill, James Smith, Levi Fellows, Jonathan Lind-
ley, Benjamin Hashaw, Cornelius Bogard, Cornelius P.
Vanslyke, Eli Faucett and Joseph Ramsomers.
Colonel Levi Fellows was appointed foreman of the
jury. The first court docket has written on the back of
the first leaf in prominent and bold letters this motto :
"Fiat Justicia Ruat Coelum" (let justice prevail if the
heavens fall).
The docket for this term of court contained two
cases only. The first was Thomas Mounts against Zebu-
Ion Hogue, and the action was styled "Trespass on the
11
l62 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
case for slander." It appears that even in that early clay,
when only a few settlers had gathered together, and when
they needed each other's sympathy and assistance, that
the strong passion of malignity invaded the settlements
and arrayed one neighbor against another, and that they
finally resorted to the court for redress. But in this in-
stance it also appears that finally "the better angel of
their nature" prevailed, and the case was dismissed. The
probability is that these litigants made friends, as on the
same day Mr. Hogue went on Mr. Mount's bond as surety
for his appearance at the next term of court. The other
case on the docket at the first term of court was Benja-
min Hashaw against Thomas Mounts, and was styled
"Trespass on the case for debt." This case was also dis-
missed. At this term of court Mr. Mounts seems to have
monopolized the business of being defendant in court.
The grand jury returned four indictments, and they were
continued until the next term. The associate judges were
paid by the county. The first action of the commission-
ers in 1822 was to issue an order to pay the salary of John
S. Buskirk for the year 1821. His salary was not as large
as judges' salaries were at a later period in history, his sal-
ary for the year being two dollars. Judge Buskirk was a
prominent, leading man in the early settlement of the
county, and a relative of the numerous family of Bus-
kirks who have ornamented the bench and bar of the state.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 63
THE SECOND TERM OF COURT.
The February term, 1822, of the court was held at
the same place as the preceding term. It was held by As-
sociate Judges Thomas Bradford and John L. Buskirk.
Thomas Warnick was clerk, and was continuously clerk
until 1835. John Leaman was sheriff, and continuously
so until 1829. Addison Smith was prosecuting attorney.
Craven P. Hester, Thomas H. Blake, Joseph Warner and
Addison Smith were admitted to practice as attorneys,
"they having produced their proper license." The grand
jurors were: Robert Anderson, Alexander Plummer,
Richard Benson, Hiram Hayward, William Clark, Ed-
mund Gillum, John Breece, Jonathan Sanders, Peter In-
gersoll, Samuel C. Hall, Eli Faucett, Isaac Hubbell and
William Bynum. At this term four indictments were re-
turned. On two of the indictments returned in 182 1 the
prosecuting attorney entered a nolle prosequi. One was
continued, and on the other there was a trial by jury.
This was the first trial by jury ever had in the circuit
court of the county. It was a charge of assault and bat-
tery, and against Daniel Carlin. The assault and battery
was said to be on Peter C. Vanslyke. The jury was com-
posed of Joseph Smith, Orange Monroe, James Stalcup,
William Scott, Isaac Hicks, Thomas Stalcup, John S.
Warner, David Deem, Abel Burlingame, Aaron Stepum,
Stephen Dixon and Jonathan Osborn. Craven P. Hester
104 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
appeared for the defendant. The jury found the defend-
ant guilty, and assessed his fine at one dollar. A motion
for a new trial was made and overruled, and excepted to.
A. motion in arrest of judgment was made and held un-
der advisement until the next term, at which time the mo-
tion was sustained and the defendant discharged.
At this February term of court, 1822, one man
pleaded guilty to an indictment that was returned, and
was "censured by the court" and fined one dollar and fifty
cents. Philip Shintaffer, one of the earliest settlers, was
a man of considerable notoriety. He was famous for ox
driving, and it is said that at one time he owned sixteen
yoke of oxen, and could drive as well without as with a
road. He was noted for having a quick temper, which
often brought him to grief. At this term he appeared in
court and caused to be spread upon the record a retrac-
tion of a slander against one of his neighbors. He fig-
ured extensively as defendant in state prosecutions, and
Judge Kinney, his attorney, realized that in one respect he
was a law-abiding man — in this, that he always paid
his attorney's fees at the end of the lawsuit, and that suit
was his attorney's suit.
At this term Robert Anderson, an immigrant from
Scotland, was naturalized, being the first person who re-
ceived naturalization papers in Greene county.
iij.lsj-1,.. ,,_ ! !
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 165
THE THIRD TERM OF. COURT.
The August term, 1822, was held by' William Wick
as president judge and Thomas Bradford as associate
judge. Court convened at the residence of Judge Brad-
ford, and adjourned to meet at the court house in Bur-
lington, the then county seat of the county. Smith El-
kins, Isaac Naylor, Hugh Ross and James Whitcomb
were admitted to practice as attorneys. James Whitcomb
was afterward governor of the state. Several cases
were tried at this term. Four judgments were rendered
and three fines assessed. The grand jury returned ten in-
dictments— one for man stealing, one for selling intoxi-
cating liquors without license, and the others for various
misdemeanors.
The March term, 1823, was held by the same presid-
ing judge and Martin Wines, associate judge. Mr. Mar-
tin Wines was one of the earliest settlers on the west side
of the county. He lived to be an old man, and filled
many places of trust. He was noted for his hospitality
far and near, and for his upright life. He gained con-
siderable notoriety as the author of a series of chronicles
published in papers. Smith Elkins was prosecuting' at-
torney. John F. Ross was admitted to practice. There
was very jittle business at this term. There were six in-
dictments returned by the grand jury, one of which was
for challenging a man to fight a duel. At this term Rich-
1 66 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
arcl Huffman, long known as a quiet, peaceable, orderly
and good citizen, was fined thirty-seven and one-half
cents for fighting.
The October term of that year was held by the same
judges. David Goodwin, Edgar Wilson, John Law and
Calvin P. Fletcher were admitted to practice. John Law
afterward became eminent in his profession and was judge
of the circuit and served several terms in congress.
FIRST INDICTMENT FOR MURDER.
At this term the first indictment for murder in the
county was found. Andrew Ferguson and Julius Dug-
ger were charged with the murder of Isaac Edwards.
The murder was charged to have been done with an ax.
Elkins Smith, the prosecuting attorney, assisted by
Addison Smith and Isaac Naylor, prosecuted the case.
These assisting attorneys were employed by the county
to prosecute. The defendants were defended by Craven
P. Hester and John Law. The defendants demanded sep-
arate trials, and Ferguson was tried at that term and ac-
quitted. The case was continued as to Dugger. Before
the first trial the defendants were sent to Bloomington,
Indiana, for safe-keeping, and after Ferguson was acquit-
ted Dugger was sent to Spencer for safe-keeping.
The trial created much excitement among the peo-
ple throughout the county. The original jury was dial-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. l67
lenged entirely, after which forty-eight others were
brought in, and with these they could not impanel a jury.
Twenty-five others were brought into court, making in
all eighty-five. From this number they selected the jury,
composed of Moses Ritter, John Burch, George Burch,
Simon Snyder, John Uland, Joel Benham, Daniel Inger-
soll, George Padgett, Joseph Mise, Alexander Craig, John
Breece and John Moore.
The case was ably prosecuted, and as ably defended.
The jury found the defendant guilty of manslaughter,
and he was sentenced to the state prison* for four years.
The May term, 1824, was held by Jacob Call, presi-
dent judge, and by Judges Bradford and Wines, associate
judges. Thomas F. G. Adams was admitted to practice.
FAMOUS SLANDER SUIT.
At this term there was a famous slander suit between
parties long and favorably known in the county. The
case was tried by a jury, after having been continued and
passed until the witnesses and parties were brought into
the court on seven different days. The jury, after a long
and laborious trial, returned a verdict for six cents.
At the October term John R. Porter was president
judge, and the same associates as at the preceding term.
Mr. Shintaffer, who had heretofore signed what in com-
mon parlance was called a "lie bill," appears not to have
1
1
IOO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
profited by his past experience, and another slander case
was presented against him. During the year more than
half of the cases were for affray, riot and slander.
FIRST COURT IN BLOOM FIELD.
The May term, 1825, convened at Bloomfield, and
was the first court ever held in that place. At this term
Jacob Call was president judge, John Law was prosecut-
ing attorney, and filled that place until 1830. Judge Por-
ter was president judge at the October term of that year,
and his term did not expire until 1830. This year Wil-
liam B. Morris appeared as associate judge in the place
of Judge Bradford, whose term of office expired. The
first divorce ever granted in the county was in this year,
and in favor of Ezekiel Herrington. General Jacob B.
Lowe was admitted to practice.
In the year 1826 Colonel Levi Fellows and Rob-
ert Smith appeared for the first time as associate judges.
We have been unable to learn anything of Judge Morris
or Judge Smith, but Judge Fellows was one of the earli-
est settlers and one of the best educated and useful citi-
zens. He settled at the old mill seat near Mineral City,
and resided there until 1865, when he moved to Terre
Haute and has since died. During this year there ap-
pears to have been a mania for divorces, and a large num-
ber of cases, considering the population of the county,
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 169
were commenced, but nearly all of them were continued
from time to time, until the parties, wearied by the "law's
delay," were reconciled. At the October term of this year
Hugh L. Livingston was admitted to practice. He after-
ward moved to Bloomfield, and made that place his home
during the remainder of his life. This term was held by
the associate judges without the presence of the president
judge.
There was no change in the officers of the court dur-
ing the next two years. In the year 1827 E. H. Mcjun-
kins, Henry Chase and Mathias C. Vanpelt were admitted
to practice, and in the year 1828 Mr. Griffith was admit-
ted. At the June term, 1829, Samuel R. Cavins, who
lived in Jackson township, appeared as associate judge
to fill the vacancy caused by the retiring of Judge Smith.
At this term Affey Herrington divorced her husband, Eze-
kiel Herrington, this being the first divorce granted in
the county in favor of the wife. This same man was the
first man in the county to divorce his wife, and now in
turn he is the first man to be divorced on application of
his wife.
PROBATE COURT.
This year the first probate judge was elected in the
county, and the first judge of that court was Willis D.
Lester. He was among the very first settlers in the
county, his father having settled there before Willis D.
170 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
was grown. He was elected in 1829 and held the office
until 1843. He was elected again in 1849, and held the
position until the court was abolished in 1853. In the
year 1830 John Law was elected by the legislature judge
of the circuit, and E. M. Huntington prosecuting attor--
ney, each for the term of seven years, but Greene county
it: was soon legislated out of Judge Law's circuit. Corne-
lius Bogard was sheriff, having been elected the year be-
fore. He was one of the earliest settlers, and took an ac-
tive part in the county business for many years. He was
a man universally esteemed. At the April term, 1831,
Tilghman A. Howard was admitted to practice. He was
one of the best men in the state, and certainly for many
years the most popular man in his party in the state. In
1840, at the earnest solicitation of his party friends, he
resigned his seat in congress and became the Democratic
candidate for governor. It was thought that his per-
sonal popularity throughout the state would enable him
to defeat Governor Bigger. But the tide of enthusiasm
for General Harrison against Martin Van Buren was ir-
resistible, and Harrison's popularity elected the whole
Whig ticket. In 1842 General Howard was the choice
of his party for United States senator, while O. H. Smith
was the choice of the Whigs. Neither was elected, but
-( Edward A. Hanagan carried off the prize. General How-
] ard was afterward appointed to an office in Texas, and
while there died. At the October term G. W. Johnson
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. I7I
acted as president judge. Norman W. Pierce appeared
as associate judge in the place of Judge Fellows. Judge
Pierce came to the county in 1819 with Colonel Fellows,
they heing brothers-in-law. He removed from the
county in 1834. In 1832 Amory Kinney appeared
as president judge, and held the office for five
years. John Robison succeeded Judge Pierce as asso-
ciate judge, and John Cook was elected sheriff. After
this term the name of Philip Shintaffer ceased to orna-
ment the records of the court. He finally became dis-
gusted with the "tips and downs" of Greene county life,
and especially with the courts, and silently glided down
the waters of White river, and still downward until he
reached the '"father of waters" — the Mississippi — and on
its banks he erected his cabin. The last time his name
appeared on the docket it was followed by a nolle
prosequi.
REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONS.
Early in this year congress passed a law granting
pensions to all who served in the army, navy or militia
during the Revolutionary war. The applicants were re-
quired to make their proof before the court, and one of
the witnesses was required to be a minister of the Gospel,
if such could be done, and if the applicant could not pro-
cure the testimony of a clergyman,' he must show that
fact, and the reason why. During this year proof for
a
ai
le
|j
I '
n
172 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
John Storms, Peter Ingersoll, Adam Rainbolt and Joshua
Burnett was made.
No attorney was admitted to practice in 1832. In
1833 R. C. Dewey, Delana E. Eckles and Paris C. Dun-
ning were admitted. D. R. Eckles many years afterward
was judge of the same court. P. C. Dunning was after-
ward governor of the state. All of these men were of
first-class ability and achieved distinction in their profes-
sion. In the year 1834 the attention of the board of com-
missioners was called to a defect in the "temple of justice,"
in some degree affecting the comfort of those having busi-
ness there, and thereupon they ordered that the under-
pinning of the court house be repaired so as to keep the
hogs from disturbing the court. This year William S.
Cole succeeded Judge Robinson, and Judge Bradford
again appeared as associate judge, taking the place of
Judge Cavins, who had resigned. David McDonald ap-
peared as prosecuting attorney at one term and John
Cowgill at the other. Mr. McDonald was afterward
judge of the same court, and still later judge of the dis-
trict court of the United States. He is the author of Mc-
Donald's Treatise. Mr. Cowgill afterward was judge of
a common pleas court. George R. H. Moore was sheriff
this year, and held the office four years.
THE NEW COURT HOUSE.
I
In 1835 the board of commissioners decided to bui
a new court house, and they appointed John Inraan, Wil
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 173
Ham Freeland, Levi Fellows, Ruel Learned and Hugh L.
Livingston as a committee to draft plans, etc., and gave
them authority to borrow one thousand five hundred dol-
lars, but not to pay a higher rate of interest than ten per
cent. The report of the committee showed that the court
house would cost five thousand one hundred and fifty-
seven dollars. The committee was authorized to super-
intend the building. The contract was let to Calvin B.
Hartwell for five thousand eight hundred dollars, one
thousand dollars to be paid April i, 1836; one thousand
five hundred dollars November 1, 1836; one thousand
dollars April 1, 1837 ; and balance at completion of build-
ing. The contractor, after receiving the first payment,
left the state, and his sureties, Andrew Downing and
Samuel Simons, were required to finish the building. Mr.
Downing undertook the completion of the building. The
county failed to make payments according to contract ,and
after Mr. Downing had exhausted his means and his
credit the work was about to stop. The committee, on
their own responsibility, borrowed of the Bedford Bank
two thousand dollars at twelve per cent., and the work-
was completed. The building was not finished until 1839,
and cost the county six thousand two hundred seventy-
one dollars and fifty-nine cents. In the year 1835 the
term of service of Thomas Warnick as clerk of the court
expired. Up to this time he held the office of clerk con-
tinuously from the first election of clerk of the county.
mm
174
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Next to Judge Bradford he seems to have been the lead-
ing man in the organization of the county. In the earliest
clays of the county, when no money could be collected on
taxes, he advanced money for the purchase of the neces-
sary books for records. Samuel R. Cavins succeeded Mr.
Warnick as clerk of the court and held the office contin-
uously until after the October election in the year 1856.
AD QUOD DAMNUM.
it
The first ad quod damnum case in the county was in
this year. It was on the application of Ruel Learned for
the purpose of establishing a mill on Richland creek, about
one mile southeast of Bloomfield, and for assessing dam-
ages incident thereto. The jury was composed of John
T. Freeland, Paris Chipman, John Milam, A. B. Chip-
man, Jesse Barnes, Barney Perry, Benjamin Brooks, Hil-
ton Waggoner, James H. Hicks, Thomas Patterson, Car-
pus Shaw and John Van Voorst. The jury reported no
damages to any one, and that all the lands on the stream,
for two miles above the dam, were public lands. Two
years and a half passed without the admission of an at-
torney at the bar. In 1836 Willis A. Gorman was ad-
mitted. He was afterward colonel in the Mexican war
and a general in the Civil war, a member of congress and"
governor of Minnesota. David McDonald was ad-
mitted to practice. In 1837 Elisha M. Huntington
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 75
appeared as president judge. He remained on the bench
only two years, and was appointed judge of the district
court of the United States. George F. Watterman and
William Smith were admitted to practice. The first case
of John Doe vs. Richard Roe was instituted this year.
These mythical parties adorned the court docket almost
every term from 1837 to 1853, when they disappeared
from the state under the practice adopted under the con-
stitution adopted in 1852.
OTHER TERMS OF COURT.
In 1838 Judge Levi Fellows again appeared as as-
sociate judge, to take the place of Judge Cole, whose
term of office expired. Judge Cole lived to be quite an
old man, but was not afterward an officer of the court.
He was a soldier in the War of 1812 from Kentucky. In
his native state he had been a leading, influential man in
his county, and had served one term as sheriff. He was
a Baptist preacher. During this period there is consid-
erable confusion in the records as to who was prosecuting
attorney. David McDonald seems to appear more fre-
quently than any other, but Craven P. Hester, D. R. Eck-
les and others occasionally appear. Thomas J. Throop,
George R. Gibson and Basil Champer were admitted to
practice.
In 1839 David McDonald appeared as judge, and
IJ6 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
continued in office as judge until the close of the year
1852. John S. Watts appeared as prosecuting attorney,
and continued four years, John R. Dixson was sheriff,
and continued in office four years. He was remarkable
for his gallantry toward the ladies, his kindness to chil-
dren and his general cleverness toward the people, with
whom he was very popular. He belonged to the "corn-
stalk militia," and had been promoted to the rank of ma-
jor, and was uniformly called Major Dixson. He was
considerable of a stump speaker, but only a part of one
of his speeches has been reported. It was delivered at
Fair Play, near which place he had resided from the very
earliest settlement of the county. It was as follows:
"Fellow Citizens — It has been circulated at the settle-
ments of the county that I have not been in the county
long enough to entitle me to the votes of the people. I
am glad to meet so many of my fellow citizens today,
for there is not a man, woman or child in this settlement
but what knows I made the first cow track ever made by
a white man on these prairies."
This speech was electrical. Such a charge against
such a man was so preposterous that all parties in that
settlement felt constrained to rebuke the calumniator, and
they voted for and elected the gallant major.
. EMINENT LEGAL PRACTITIONERS.
This year John S. Watts, Thomas H. Carson, Rich-
ard W. Thompson, George G. Dunn, Samuel H. Smydth,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. IJJ
Samuel B. Gookins and Henry Secrest were admitted to
practice — an array of able and distinguished men, most
of whom filled places of trust and distinction after this.
Thomas H. Carson had just located at Bloomfield. He
practiced law about ten years and went to Kentucky, from
whence he came. While here he held the office of auditor
one term. During the war he served as an officer in the
Union army. Samuel Howe Smydth was a very brilliant
young man. He was sent to France as an officer of the
government, and died there. Each of these men have
relatives in Greene county, where the brother of one mar-
ried the sister of the other. John S. Watts was after-
ward appointed judge in New Mexico by President Fill-
more, and remained there during his life. R. W. Thomp-
son was afterward a member of congress, and was sec-
retary of the navy in President Hayes' cabinet. George
G. Dunn was afterward in congress several terms, and
was regarded as the greatest orator in Indiana. Henry
Secrest achieved very high rank in his profession. Sam-
uel B. Gookins was a lawyer and judge of the highest
grade. For a short time he was judge on the supreme
bench of Indiana. In 1840 no change occurred in the
officers of the court. Elias S. Terry was the only attor-
ney admitted to practice that year. He was located at
Washington, Indiana, at that time. He afterward was
judge of a circuit in the northern part of the state. He
was a graduate of West Point, but resigned and devoted
I78 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
himself to the practice of law. He was a man of fine
ability. In what was called an "affair of honor" between
George G. Dunn and James Hughes he acted as second
for Mr. Dunn, while Major Livingston was second for
Judge Hughes. The "affair of honor" was settled by the
seconds in such a manner as to make it satisfactory and
honorable to all parties without the effusion of blood.
THE ROUSSEAUS.
In 1841 Lewis B. Edward and Joel B. Sexton ap-
peared as associate judges, which was the only change in
the officers of the court. Judge Edwards was one of the
earliest settlers where Bloomfield now stands, and filled
many offices of honor and trust. He was a printer and
editor, and worked in the office of the Vincennes Sun
when that paper was first started, and at the time of his
death was the oldest printer and editor living in the state.
Judge Sexton was an early settler in that part of Burlin-
game township, afterward formed into Center, and was
long and favorably known throughout the county. He
held the office until the close of the year 1851, when it
was abolished. He died in 1868. During the year Rich-
ard H. Rousseau and Lovel H. Rosseau located at Bloom-
field and were admitted to practice law. They were both
first-class lawyers. R. H. Rousseau served one term in
the legislature. L. H. Rousseau served two terms in the
j
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 179
house and one in the senate. He was captain of the one
company of soldiers raised in the county for the Mexican
war, and was in the Second Indiana Regiment. He aft-
erward achieved great distinction in the war of the Re-
bellion, and was promoted to the rank of major general.
He served one term in congress, and at the time of his
death was brigadier general in the regular army.
At the time at which R. H. Rousseau, familiarly and
generally called Dick Rousseau, was admitted to practice,
he and George Dunn, Basil Champer, Thomas H. Carson
and Hon. David McDonald, president judge of the court,
were each indicted by the grand jury for nuisance. The
cases were continued one year, when all except the judge
were tried and found not guilty. John S. Watts was
appointed special judge to try the case against Judge Mc-
Donald, and the prosecuting attorney entered a nolle in
that case.
woman's rights.
In that day there seems to have been some grave
doubts about the status of women as persons in their re-
. lation to certain business positions. But the Hoosiers
took a more liberal and sensible view of the question than
Governor Butler, of Massachusetts, has since taken. Sa-
rah Smith applied to have the ferry across White river
near Worthington re-established in her name. Some Ben
Butler of an attorney sprung the question as to whether
l8o BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
such a privilege could be extended to a woman. The
case was held over until the next term for decision. At
the next term Mrs. Smith's case was pressed with great
vigor by Major Livingston, and was resisted vigorously
by L. H. Rousseau on behalf of a man who wanted a
ferry near by. To the honor of the officials of Greene
county Mrs. Smith gained her cause.
Those who have read the history of the courts up
to this time may remember that Ezekiel Herrington was
the first man who divorced his wife in the county, and
that in turn he was the first man against whom a divorce
was granted. This year he is again brought into court
on a complaint for divorce. For two years he and his
wife met only in strife, the case being continued from
time to time for that period. They had a long struggle,
but at last his wife came out victorious.
BLACK CREEK MILL DAM.
During the year 1841 an ad quod damnum case was
commenced by Polly Skomp and Thomas Carrico to es-
tablish a mill dam across Black creek at a point near
where the town of Marco now is. Livingston and Rous-
seaus appeared for the applicants, and Dunn, Hester and
Carson appeared for the various parties who opposed it.
A large number of cases grew out of this mill dam, and
the dockets of the state were not entirely clear of them
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. jgl
for thirteen years. Several parties were indicted for nui-
sance for establishing the dam, and one man was con-
victed and fined, but most of the cases were nolled. The
indictment for nuisance charged that the defendants had
erected a dam seven feet high and that the water in the
dam covered ten thousand acres of land. A large body
of men from between Marco and Linton tore out the dam
on two different occasions, if not more. Several were
indicted for riot, and several suits for damages were
commenced. One suit against eighteen men hung in the
courts for several years, and finally dropped out, probably
without any record as to how it got out. One case was
taken from the county on change of venue, and was sent
to Parke county. There additional attorneys— Usher and
Terry, appeared on the mill dam side, and Gookins and
Maxwell on the other side. In the meantime Josiah John-
son married Mrs. Skomp and appeared as plaintiff. There
was a judgment rendered in this case in favor of the
plaintiffs for two hundred dollars and costs. There was
an immense amount of costs in the various cases. In the
last case alone the costs amounted to seven hundred sev-
enty-four dollars and thirty-three cents.
•Up to 1841 no election returns are preserved and
no records of them kept, which renders it difficult to give
the terms of office. In 1842 no change was made in the
courts and no attorney admitted to practice. In 1843
William G. Quick was the only attorney admitted to prac-
182
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
tice, and lie served as prosecuting attorney for two years.
James Vanslyke appeared as sheriff, having been elected
the year before. He was the son of Peter Vanslyke, and
came to the county in 1819. He was very popular with
the people, and was re-elected at the expiration of his
term and held the office four years. This year John R.
Stone appeared as probate judge. He was an early set-
tler in what is now known as Jackson township, and held
many positions of trust in his township before he was
elected judge. During his judicial career he had the rep-
utation among the members of the bar of deciding his
cases right. If a case was not clear he would take it un-
der advisement and think it over in a calm hour, and then
he would almost uniformly decide the case correctly. He
was one of our best citizens, and had one virtue in an emi-
nent degree that many persons are sadly deficient in —
he was true to his friends. Early in 1842 McHenry Do-
zier went into the clerk's office as deputy. His records
are models of beauty and perfection, and are admired by
all who see them, none others being equal to them. He
enlisted as a soldier in 1846 in Captain L. H. Rousseau's
company in the Second Regiment of Indiana Volunteer
Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Buena Vista in
Mexico.
THE MURDER OF PHOEBE GRAVES.
On the 20th day of June, 1843, Phoebe Graves was
murdered in the county. As to the fact of her being mur-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 83
dered there could be no doubt. She was killed near a
public road, and her body dragged some thirty or forty
yards farther into a thicket of woods, and was laid out
and covered with sticks and brush. Only one person
murdered her, and it was consummated after a great
struggle, as the tracks of the struggle were plainly vis-
ible, and the tracks of the murderer dragging her to the
place of concealment and the tracks fleeing from the scene
of the crime. She was murdered in daylight between 10
o'clock a. m. and I o'clock p. m., and it was done by
breaking her neck. The strong probability was that it
was done before 12 o'clock. Her body was found next
morning before daylight, and an inquest was held on that
day, at which hundreds of people attended. Suspicion
rested upon three persons, and each of them was required
to put his foot in the track. (The track was of a bare
foot.) One person suspected was the brother-in-law of
the deceased, Peter C. Graves, but he came promptly to
the track, and it did not fit him, and besides that he could
prove a clear alibi.
A mute by the name of Christopher Nations was sus-
pected. He was plowing in a field near the scene of the
murder on that day. When he was required to put his
foot in the track he evidently did not understand the ob-
ject of their action and struggled against putting his foot
in the track. He was charged with the crime before a
justice, and tried and bound over to the circuit court, but
184 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS J»
no indictment was ever returned against him. Paris C.
Dunning, R. H. Rousseau and L. H. Rousseau prosecuted
the case, and Hugh L. Livingston defended. There were
two boys working in a field adjoining the field in which
Mr. Nations was working, and knew that Mr. Nations
was not out of the field until after 1 o'clock, but they
were too young to be witnesses under the law at that
time. One of the boys was afterward a resident of
Bloomfield. He remembered the affair distinctly. He
was eight years old at the time and saw Nations the whole
time from 8 o'clock a. m. until 1 o'clock p. m. of that
day. The third man upon whom suspicion rested was
James Graves, the husband of the deceased. Three men
joined in the affidavit against him before William C.
Hicks, a justice of the peace. The case was fully investi-
gated, as the circumstances enabled the attorneys to in-
vestigate it at the time, and the defendant was adjudged
guilty and was remanded into the custody of the sheriff.
H. L. Livingston prosecuted the case and Dunning and
Rousseaus defended. The defendant was taken out of the
custody of the sheriff by writ of habeas corpus, and after
investigation of the case before the associate judges of the
circuit court he was admitted to bail. No indictment was
ever returned against him. In the investigation of the
charges, there being no doubt about the deceased being
murdered, the attorneys for each party tried to show that
some one else perpetrated the crime. The attorney of
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 185
James Graves tried to show that Mr. Nations committed
the crime, and the attorneys for Mr. Nations tried to show
that James Graves committed the crime. The only evi-
dence on the record in the case is the written admission
singed by the attorneys on the trial of the case against
Nations. The admissions were that on the trial of the
habeas corpus case of James Graves that it was in proof
that he (James Graves) was at home at 12 o'clock
on the day of the murder, and that he was pulling
weeds in the garden, and that his little child was with
him. Also it was in proof at the same time, by Franklin
Hodges, that on the same day about 2 o'clock p. m. he
(Hodges) heard some one hallooing, and that he went out
from the field where he was plowing and saw James
Graves about three hundred yards from the place where
the body was found next morning; that Graves was stand-
ing in the road and had his little child in his arms, and
stated that he had sent his little girl to Mr. Dueast's to
hunt for her mother, and that he also stated that Phoebe
(deceased) had gone that morning to Mrs. Nations', and
that he supposed she had gone to Dueast's from Nations,
and that Graves was hallooing for his wife and little
daughter, and that said Graves returned home. The the-
ory of those who believed James Graves guilty was that
he left home at about 11 o'clock a. m. and his wife left
Mrs. Nations' about the same time ; that they met on the
road at a point near the place of the murder, and that the
1 86
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
struggle commenced in the road, and that they struggled
about fort}' to fifty yards from the road, where her neck
was broken ; that after concealing the body he returned
to his home and remained there until near 2 o'clock, and
then took his infant child and came back to a point near
the scene of the murder. This theory 'was supported by
the evidence the state offered, and by all the actions of
the accused. A daughter of the deceased stated that he
left home at 1 1 o'clock, with a curse upon his tongue
against his wife, and the testimony of Mrs. Nations was
that the deceased left her house at 1 1 o'clock, saying that
she must go home to get dinner. Graves proved by the
woman he afterward married that he was at another place
during the whole time in which it was probable that the
murder was committed.
Why the grand jury, under the circumstances, failed
to return an indictment against Graves is somewhat as-
tonishing. For years after this persons would talk about
there being something wrong in the disposition of the case
against Graves, and this same Frank Hodges, who was
a witness in the investigation, publicly denounced James
Graves as a murderer, and reiterated the charge on several
occasions. Three years after the murder Mr. Graves ap-
pealed to the court for redress for what he claimed to be
injured innocence, and he sued Mr. Hodges for slander
for accusing him of murder. Mr. Hodges, by his attor-
ney, answered the complaint by admitting saying the
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 87
words charged against him, and alleging that his words
were true, and that James Graves did murder his wife,
etc. When the issue was thus represented Mr. Graves
dismissed the action, and thus ended all matters in court
connected with or growing out of this cruel murder.
James Graves and his family soon after this moved west
and never returned to this county.
OTHER PRACTITIONERS.
In 1844 H. H. Throop, S. H. Buskirk, W. E. Tay-
lor, A. J. Thixton and John M. Clark were admitted to
practice. H. H. Throop located at Point Commerce, at
that time the most enterprising town in the county. He
was a careful, painstaking and conscientious lawyer, was
educated for the law and was regarded as a very fine
special pleader, hi 1858, while preparing to move to the
county seat, he died. He was one of the best men who
lived in the county, honored by the people when alive
and mourned for when dead. He was the first resident
attorney who died in the county. S. H. Buskirk after-
ward became eminent in his profession and was one of
the ablest supreme judges of the state. Mr. Thixton
located for a short time at Bloomfield. In 1845 Craven
P. Hester, who had been admitted to practice at the sec-
ond term of court in the county, appeared as prosecuting
attorney and continued in that office until the latter part
188 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of 1849. At this term John Osborn, Alanson J. Stevens,
Francis M. Williams and William M. Franklin were ad-
mitted to pratice. W. M. Franklin was afterward prose-
cuting- attorney, judge of common pleas court and cir-
cuit court, and commissioner in 1883 of the supreme court.
In 1846 the only change in the officers of the court was
the election of Edward E. Beasley as sheriff. He was
an early settler of Beech township, and a farmer by occu-
pation. He was very popular with the people, and always
ran ahead of his party strength. He was elected sheriff
for two terms in succession. He was a candidate for
representative in the state legislature at two elections, but
was defeated by a small majority each time. The last
time he was a candidate was in 1856. His friends gen-
erally wished him to indorse Mr. Fillmore for President,
as a large majority of his political friends were in favor
of Fillmore. But he was conscientiously in favor of Mr.
Fremont, and openly avowed himself in favor of the
I "pathfinder." He said he would rather be right and suf-
fer defeat than to be wrong and be elected. He was too
honest to act from policy where his convictions of right
were otherwise. The attorneys admitted to practice dur-
ing the year were Augustus L. Rhodes, Alexander Mc-
Clelland and Robert Crockett. Mr. Rhodes located at
Bloomfield and resided there until 1854. He was a man
of classical education, having graduated at Hamilton Col-
lege, New York, in the next class after Governor A. P.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 189
Willard. He was a close student and fine lawyer. While
in Greene county he was -elected and served one term
as prosecuting attorney of the circuit court. In 1854 he
moved to California, where he took the front rank in his
profession, and where he served sixteen years on the
supreme bench, which was the longest term ever held
by any one, and for two years was chief justice, and
later was superior judge for several terms. Robert
Crockett was also a resident of Greene county. He was
a candidate for judge of the common pleas court, but was
not elected. Mr. McClelland was from Monroe county.
No changes occurred in the officers of the court during
the years 1847 and 1848. In 1847 George H. Munson
and Lewis Boll man were admitted to practice. Mr. Mun-
son was a law partner of George C. Dunn and was a
lawyer of superior legal attainments. He died compara-
tively early in life. Lewis Bollman did not continue in
the practice of law many years. He spent many years at
Washington -city in government service. Nearly forty
years ago an old Whig song ran in this style :
"John Watts and Lewis Bollman made a mighty crash.
They pounced upon poor Whitcomb and tore him all
to smash."
In turned out when the votes were counted that
there was more poetry than truth in the song, and it is
I
190
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
hardly probable that an admirer of Shakespeare or Byron
would regard it very poetic. About this time John V.
Knox was appointed deputy clerk and served five or six
years with great efficiency. He died in 1856. In 1848
James H. Hester, Richard Clements and Samuel W.
Short were admitted to practice. Mr. -Hester was a son
of Craven P. Hester, and afterward became judge in an
adjoining circuit. Mr. Clements was afterward judge
of the common pleas court of another circuit. Samuel
W. Short afterward filled many offices of honor in the
county where he resided. In 1849 Augustus L. Rhodes
was elected prosecuting attorney and continued in that
office until 185 1. Jesse Rainbolt was elected associate
judge to take the place of Judge Edwards. He was an
early settler in Center township. He was one of the lead-
ing and best citizens of this part of the county, and con-
tinued in that office until it was abolished. He lived to
be quite an old man, but has been dead many years.
Judge Willis D. Lester, who has been heretofore noticed,
was elected probate judge. William J. Mcintosh was
elected sheriff. He was one of the early settlers in High-
land township. He was elected for three successive
terms, one being under what was called the old constitu-
tion. He was emphatically a man of the people and was
a candidate each time without a party indorsement. He
was a very entertaining public speaker. While sheriff he
discharged his duties with fidelity and ability, and amid
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. If) I
the most trying scenes of the county. No attorneys were
admitted to practice during the year. About the year
1850 Allen T. Rose and W. R. Harrison were admitted
to practice. Mr. Rose was an able lawyer and advocate.
He was the wit of the circuit, and whenever it was known
that he was to speak he always drew a full house. He
entered the army early during the late war and was bad-
ly wounded. Mr. W. R. Harrison occupied the front
rank in his' profession for many years.
THE MURDER OF WILLIAM WALKER.
In September, 1850, Hiram Bland was indicted,
charged with the murder of William Walker. Contrary
to the usual practice, and in opposition to the opinion of
one of his attorneys, Major Livingston, he entered upon
his trial at that term of the court. The state was repre-
sented by A. L. Rhodes and the defense was conducted
by George G. Dunn and H. L. Livingston. It was a
clear and aggravated case of murder. He murdered his
victim in daylight, for revenge. The main effort in the
defense was to save the defendant's life. He was found
guilty and sentenced to be hanged by the neck on the 15th
clay of November next following. This was the only case
in the county where the accused had the death penalty
pronounced upon him. On the 28th of October, 1850, at
night, the defendant broke jail and escaped. He was con-
192 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
cealed near his house and did not make an effort to escape
from the county. Great efforts were made to find him, but
for a long time they appeared unavailing. His hiding
place was finally revealed by one of his pretended friends
for the price of a new saddle, and on the 2d day of Janu-
ary, 185 1, he was retaken. His hiding place was in a corn
pen, in the center of which was a place prepared for the
I purpose. The corn pen was next to the house in which
his family lived and he had a secret passage under the
floor from one place to the other. At the April term,
1851, a motion was made for a new trial, and affidavits
were read contradicting several particulars in the testi-
mony that was given by the state on the trial. Mr.
George G. Dunn made a powerful effort to procure a new
trial, but it was unavailing. The court pronounced judg-
ment that he should be hanged on the 25th day of April
following. On that day an immense concourse of people
assembled to witness the execution (in that day execu-
tions were public), but it was postponed by the governor
until the supreme court could review the decision of the
circuit court, and Mr. Bland expiated his crime on the
gallows on the 13th day of June, 1851. On that day
another large body of men, women and children as-
sembled to witness the execution. The gallows was erect-
ed a short distance southwest of the place where the
southwest corner of the Monon depot now stands, and
from it, in public view, the unfortunate man was sus-
i
I
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 193
pended by the neck until dead. The land on which he
was executed belonged to Peter C. Van Slyke, and it was
made a part of the contract permitting- the execution there
that the gallows should, after execution, remain on the
ground until it disappeared by decay, and it was left
standing- until it rotted down. William J. Mcintosh was
sheriff at the time, and conducted the proceeding with in-
trepidity and great credit to himself. One thing that
contributed largely toward bringing about the death pen-
alty in this case was the turbulent character of the ac-
cused. He and several brothers were powerful men
physically, and when drinking were very quarrelsome and
dangerous. When not under the influence of intoxicating
liquor, as a rule, they were peaceable. When this trial
came off the public mind was excited to the very
highest pitch, and it is impossible for jurymen to be dif-
ferent from other men. All persons become excited over
a sudden and seemingly unprovoked murder. If the ad-
vice of Major Livingston had been taken and the case
continued one term the probabilities are that after the
first burst of excitement had abated the jury would have
sent him to the state prison for life. During this year
Hiram S. Hanchett, James McConnel, Wells N. Hamil-
ton, William P. Hammond and Aden G. Cavins were ad-
mitted to practice. Mr. Hanchett was a student in the
office of the Rousseaus, and soon after his admission to
the bar moved west. W. P. Hammond was afterward
governor of the state.
13
194
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
REMINISCENCES.
At the September term, 1851. William M. Frank-
lin appeared as prosecuting attorney and continued in
that office until 1853. During the year Daniel McClure
and E. D. Pearson were admitted to practice. Mr. Mc-
Clure was afterward secretary of state, and during Mr.
Buchanan's administration was appointed paymaster in
the army, and later was assistant paymaster general of
the army. E. D. Pearson was afterward judge of an ad-
joining circuit. This year the office of associate judge
was abolished, since which there has been no associate
judges. ,
At the April term, 1852, R. S. Clements, Jr., W. D.
Griswold, Nathaniel Usher, F. T. Brown and John P.
Usher were admitted to practice. During this term J. P.
Usher and George G. Dunn met each other in the legal
arena for the first time. Each of them had achieved
great distinction in their state before that time. It was
the judgment of the bar that each had "met a foeman
worthy of his steel." Mr. Usher was afterward secretary
of the interior in President Lincoln's cabinet. The trus-
tees of the Wabash & Erie canal were indicted by the
grand jury at this term for nuisance. The alleged nuis-
ance was the erection and maintaining of a dam across
White river at Newberry, and thereby backing the water
over the lowlands adjoining the river.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 195
There was a trial by the court and the case was
held under advisement until the next term. At the next
term the court found the defendants guilty and assessed
a fine of ten dollars against each of them. The case
was appealed to the supreme court and reversed. The
revised statutes of 1852 fixed the terms of court in April
and October, but no business was transacted that year
after the September term.
In the year 1852 the court of common pleas was
established, and the act was approved May 14, 1852.
The counties of Clay, Sullivan, Owen and Greene com-
posed one district, but the districts were changed from
time to time afterward. This court was given exclusive
jurisdiction of probate matters, and the old probate sys-
tem was abolished. It had original jurisdiction of all
that class of offenses, which did not amount to a felony,
except over which justices of the peace had exclusive
jurisdiction. State prosecutions were instituted by affi-
davit and information. Under certain restrictions the
court had jurisdiction over felonies, where the punishment
could not be death. But in no case was the intervention
of the grand jury necessary. In all civil cases, except for
slander, libel, breach of marriage, action on official bond
of any state or county officer, or where title to real estate
was in issue, this court had concurrent jurisdiction with
the circuit court, where the sum or damages due or de-
manded did not exceed one thousand dollars, exclusive of
I96 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
interests and costs, and concurrent jurisdiction with the
justices of the peace where the sum due or demanded
exceeded fifty dollars. When the court was first organ-
ized appeals could be taken from it to the circuit court,
but that was afterward changed so that no appeal could
be taken to the circuit court, but appeals could be taken
to the supreme court. The jurisdiction of this court was
enlarged from time to time after its establishment. The
clerk and sheriff of the county officiated in the common
pleas court as well as in the circuit court. The judge of
the common pleas court was ex-officio judge of the court
of conciliation. The court of conciliation had jurisdic-
tion of causes of action for libel, slander, malicious prose-
cution, assault and battery and false imprisonment. The
jurisdiction of this court extended to questions of recon-
ciliation and compromise only. No attorney was allowed
to appear for his client before the court of conciliation,
but the parties were required to appear before the judge
apart from other persons, except that an infant was re-
quired to appear by guardian, and a female by husband
or friend. This branch of the court was abolished in
1867. We go into particulars of this court because it
was afterward abolished entirely.
THE FIRST COMMON PLEAS COURT.
The first term convened in Greene county in Janu-
ary, 1853. William M. Franklin was judge, and con-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 197
tinued in that office for four years. Frederick T. Brown
was the first district attorney for the court and held the
office for two years. At the April term, 1853, James
Hughes appeared as judge of the circuit court. He was
elected by the people and was the first circuit judge ever
elected by popular vote in this circuit. Before this period
judges had been elected by the legislature. He held the
office until the close of the year 1855, when he resigned.
He was elected to Congress in 1856, and was afterward
appointed judge of the court of claims by President
Buchanan. He was a graduate of West Point, and was
a lieutenant in the Mexican war. In 1864 he was com-
missioned major general by Governor Morton and had
command of the Southern division of the state of In-
diana. He was a man of superior ability. He served sev-
eral terms in the legislature as representative and sena-
tor. William E. McClean appeared as prosecuting at-
torney and served two years. John R. Hudson, Sheri-
dan P. Reed, William E. McClean, A. B. Carlton, E. H.
C. Cavins, and Andrew Humphreys were admitted to
practice at the April term of the circuit court and Albert
E. Redstone, Ephraim Jackson and Jacob C. Brown at
the November term of the common pleas court. Mr.
Hudson practiced law here two years and went to Ken-
tucky.
On the 21st day of April, 1853, John I. Milam was
appointed deputy clerk, before he was twenty-one years
ig» BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of age. He took a prominent part in the official and po-
litical history of the county from that time until his
death.
METHODS OF PRACTICE.
In the early practice of the common pleas court the
district attorney would give the names of the persons sup-
posed to have knowledge of misdemeanors to the clerk,
who would issue a subpoena for then to appear in open
court, to be examined as to their knowledge of violations
of law. This practice consumed so much time of the
court that it was soon abandoned and the practice of tak-
ing the affidavit of the prosecuting witness without exam-
ination in court was adopted and followed. As an illus-
tration of the first practice at an early term, a large num-
ber of witnesses were subpoenaed to appear at the same
time from various portions of the county. They came
from Thacker Neck, Paw-Paw Bend, Dog Island, Devil's
Ridge, Swayback, Hardscrabble, Bristle Ridge, Black
Ankle, Wild Cat, Snake Hollow, Buzzard Roost, Cattle
Flat, Tail Holt, Lick Skillet, Shake-rag, Pinhook and
other prominent places in the county. In consequence of
the large number of witnesses to be examined there was
necessarily considerable delay in the investigation of some
of the cases and the examination of some of the witnesses.
Some witnesses were detained several days on expense.
One old lady from the region around- Swayback was con-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 199
siderably demoralized over the annoyance to her, and
with many others gave expression to her opinion of the
recent change from the probate to the common pleas
system. She said: "I don't believe there is any more
jestice in this court of common sprees than there was
in the old crowbait."
At the October election of this year, 1854, A. B.
Carlton was elected prosecuting attorney of the circuit
court for two years and Oliver Ash was elected district
attorney of the common pleas court for two years. Dur-
ing the year, in the order named, William Clark, William
Mack, John N. Evans, John T. Gunn, Francis L. Neff,
Harlin Richards and Arthur M. Neil] were admitted to
practice. William Clark located as an attorney at Bloom-
field, and at once entered into a fair practice, but died
within a year of his admission to practice. William Mack-
located at Bloomfield and resided there for several years
and moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where he at once
took front rank as an attorney and later was speaker of
the house of representatives and judge of the circuit court.
John N. Evans also located at Bloomfield and resided
there until 1862, when he moved to Washington, Daviess
county, Indiana, and there resided until he died. He was
an able lawyer and for a while he was a partner of Mr.
Mack. The other attorneys admitted at this term were
attorneys of adjoining counties, except Mr. Neil], who
200 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
was what was called a "constitutional lawyer," more for
ornament than for practice.
THE FIRST CASE OF BARRATRY.
The first case of barratry ever prosecuted in the
county was prosecuted at the July term of the common
pleas court. It was against Ralph Martindale, an early
settler and well-know citizen of the county. A large
number of witnesses were brought into court to testify
against him. On motion of the defendant's attorney the
affidavit and information were quashed, and he was dis-
charged, and thereupon, on motion of Major Livingston,
and on proof as required by the constitution and laws
of the state, Ralph Martindale was admitted to the bar,
but he never practiced law except in justices' courts, as
he had been in the habit of doing before. This year there
was a case instituted that was new under Indiana prac-
tice. James C. McClarren brought an action against Alva
Dill, charging that the defendant had sold intoxicating
liquor to one James Peden, until Peden became so intoxi-
cated that he could not go home; that plaintiff took
him to his, plaintiff's house, and took care of him until
he died, and plaintiff demanded judgment for two hun-
dred dollars for attention to and care for him. The
court rendered judgment against Mr. Dill for one hun-
dred and fifty dollars. This is the only case of the kind
that has ever been tried in the county.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 201
THE LOG CHAIN CASE.
In 1855 William E. McClean acted as prosecuting
attorney at the April term and Francis L. Neff at the Oc-
tober term. Oliver Ash was district attorney for the
common pleas court. At the October election Francis L.
Neff was elected prosecuting attorney and John M. Hum-
preys clerk. Alfred Dyer, John R. Stone, Theodore
Reed, David Sheeks, Willis G. Neff, Francis L. Neff,
John H. Huff, John C. Palmer, J. W. Burton and E. C.
Flinn were admitted to practice. John H. Martin, of
Owen county, was admitted to practice about this time.
This year a case from Paw-Paw Bend was terminated in-
volving considerable interest in that locality. Two men
got into a dispute about the ownership of a log chain
claimed in the papers to be worth four dollars. The evi-
dence established that the chain was worth from one dollar
established that the chain was worth from one dollar
and a half to two and a half. The plaintiff claimed that
he had purchased the chain from Peter Caress. After
considerable litigation in the justice's court, and on ap-
peal, the case was finally decided in the favor of the de-
fendant. The plaintiff in the first case then brought suit
against Mr. Caress for selling him, plaintiff, a chain that
did not belong to the seller. Caress did not try to prove
that he ever owned the chain in dispute, but proved that
he owned the chain he sold, and consequently the plain-
202 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
tiff was again defeated. The court decided in each case
that the chain in litigation was not the Caress chain. The
costs outside of the attorney's fees and loss of time, in
this log chain litigation amounted to one hundred and
sixty-five dollars and thirty-four cents.
In 1856 J. M. Hanna appeared by appointment to
hold court as judge at the April term, and A. B. Carlton
at the October term of the circuit court. F. L. Neff acted
as prosecuting attorney during the year. This was his
last year of official service in Greene county. He entered
the army early in the war and was killed in battle while
colonel of his regiment. He was an earnest, efficient and
able attorney, and displayed great gallantry in the army.
In the common pleas court A. N. McGindley acted as dis-
trict attorney at the first two terms and J. A. Gormley at
the last two terms. John M. Humphreys appeared as
clerk. Austin N. McGindley, Samuel R. Cavins, L. B.
Maxwell, Sewall Coulson, Joseph Gormley, N. F. Malott,
Robert M. Evans and Theodore Ogle were admitted to
practice. Robert M. Evans had recently located at
Bloomfield. He had been a practicing attorney for sev-
eral years, was a captain during the Mexican war. He
did not remain many years in the county. He died in
1862, at Washington City, while in some position con-
nected with the army. At the October election. 1856, J.
M. Hanna was elected judge of the circuit court, M. A.
Osborn prosecuting attorney, F. T. Brown, judge of the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2°3
common pleas court; Michael Malott, district attorney,
and William G. Moss, sheriff.
During this year there was a small but rather novel
case tried in the common pleas court, wherein Ralph Mar
tindale, one of the "constitutional lawyers of th ta
was plaintiff and John Hash was defendant. The case
was commenced before a justice of the peace and was
brought to the common pleas court by appeal.
THE MAST CASE.
The complaint was drafted by Major Livingston and
stated, among other things, "that the plaintiff was the
owner of a certain tract of land in Center township con-
taining two .hundred acres, and was agent for a large
body of land belonging to Andrew Downing & Com-
pany, and in possession of it. and entitled to the annua
Last growing thereon, all of winch was covered with a
heavy and large growth of timber, counting of white
oak, black oak, p,n oak, burr oa,<, post oah.chestmioa,
chinquapin oak, beech, black walnut, white walnut, hack-
berry hazelwood and grape" vines. The said oak timbei
beech timber, black walnut, white walnut, hackberry and
hazelwood were heavily loaded with oak mast, beech mas
walnut mast and hazel mast, and said grape vines with
grapes And also that the ground underneath said timbe. ,
bazelwood and grape vines growing on said lands were
204 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
deeply covered with said oak mast and beech mast and
walnut mast, hazelnuts and grapes, furnishing to the stock
of hogs, cattle and sheep of said plaintiff a good and suf-
ficient supply of food to last his said stock from the ist
day nf September, 1854, up to the ist day of April, 1855,
of great value, to wit, of the value of two hundred dol-
lars, and the said plaintiff says that the defendant after-
ward, to wit, on the 10th day of September, 1854, at
the county and township aforesaid, did drive in and up-
on said lands of the said plaintiff one hundred head of
large hogs, being the hogs of the defendant, and from
thence, hitherto and up to the time of filing this complaint,
did feed upon and eat up the mast of said plaintiff and
thereby deprived the stock of the said plaintiff of the use
and benefit of said mast, to the damage of plaintiff," etc.
The part of the complaint in regard to the land of
Downing & Company was stricken out, on motion of the
defendant's attorney. There was a trial by jury, finding
for plaintiff, and assessment of damages at six dollars.
MURDER OF JAMES RAINWATER.
On the 4th day of September, 1856, Prettyman
Meuse murdered James Rainwater. The murder oc-
curred in front of Lot No. 8, on Washington street,
Bloomfield. Meuse was a physician who had recently
located at Bloomfield. Rainwater was a young man, a
•lay laborer, who had recently come to town.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2C>5
Dr. Meuse became incensed on account of some re-
mark that he heard Rainwater had made about him in
connection with his conduct at a camp meeting. With-
out saying anything to Rainwater, Meuse approached
him with a rawhide and revolver and commenced strik-
ing him with the rawhide. Rainwater turned and started
to run down the street away from him. Meuse shot at
him as he ran. The first shot struck him and he ex-
pired in fifteen minutes. The bystanders were so amazed
at the suddenness and manner of the assault that for a
few moments they stood appalled -at the scene before
them. After the second shot, however, Thomas Patter-
son, a cool, resolute man, seized the murderer and called
upon some bystanders to assist in his arrest. He was
tried before James D. Knapp, a justice of the peace, ad-
judged guilty and remanded to the county jail to await
the action of the grand jury. At the October term the
grand jury returned an indictment against him, and on
account of the excitement against him in Greene county,
the case, on application of the defendant for change of
venue, was sent to Monroe county. He was tried in
Monroe county and found guilty and sentenced to state's
prison for life. Some years after he was pardoned, but
never returned to Greene county. The last heard of him
he was a surgeon in the rebel army.
In 1857 all the officers of the courts elected at the
October election of the year before appeared and entered
206 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
upon the discharge of their duties. During the year
Jesse Powell, M. F. Burke and Thomas Flinn were ad-
mitted to practice. On the nth of May, 1857, Hugh
Livingston died. He had continuously practiced in the
courts of the county and other counties since 1826, and
was an able and distinguished lawyer in all of its branches
but excelled as a great criminal lawyer.
DEATH OF JOSHUA HOLDING.
On the 10th day of February, 1857, William Buck-
ner murdered Joshua Holding in Greene county, on the
public highway, between Cincinnati, in Greene county,
and Standford, in Monroe county. Buckner was about
eighteen years of age. Holding was probably several
years past fifty. Buckner was indicted at the April term
following. He was prosecuted by Milton A. Osboni,
prosecuting attorney. Paris C. Dunning, S. H. Muskirk,
S. R. Cavins and A. G. Cavins were retained for the de-
fense. Mr. Holding was a resident of the state of Illi-
nois, and at the time of the murder was on his way to
Bl'Oomfield to look after a son who was in jail on some
criminal charge. Not wishing to reveal the object of his
visit, Mr. Holding said his business was to buy cattle.
He was on foot going from Bloomington to Bloomfield ;
Buckner was also on foot, going to some place in south-
ern Indiana. The deceased was found in the road dead,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 207
with a pistol shot through his head, the hullet having- en-
tered from the back part of the head. A light snow par-
tially melted away was on the ground, and a track lead-
ing from the scene of the murder was discovered leaving
the road and pursuing a journey through the woods.
The two had passed a house together a short distance
from where the body was found.
The officers of the law followed the man by a des-
cription of him without knowing who he was and found
him in Pike county a short time after, and he was brought
back to the county. The theory of the prosecution was
that Buckner believed Holding had a large amount of
money with which to buy cattle, and while walking along
together, when they arrived at a secluded place, Buckner
so arranged it as to fall a little behind Holding, and
shot him with a revolver for the purpose of getting his
money. Buckner at first denied all knowledge of the
killing, and said he left the road so as to take a more di-
rect route, while Holding- continued on the road. The
case was called at the term at which the indictment was
found, and Buckner made an application for change of
venue, which was overruled. An application for contin-
uance was then made, on affidavit prepared by Mr. Dunn-
ing. The prosecuting" attorney objected to a continuance,
alleging that the affidavit was false in every material par-
ticular, and that the defendant's attorneys knew it to be
false, and that a conversation between the defendant and
208 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
his attorneys had been overheard in which the defendant
acknowedged that he had shot the deceased. Governor
Dunning made a powerful denunciation of the statement
of the prosecuting attorney, stating with great force and
emphasis that the informer was a liar, and the truth was
not in him. The case was continued until the October term
of court. On the night before the October term con-
vened, Buckner, with some outside assistance, broke jail
and was never retaken.
In 1858 James M. Hanna, judge of the circuit court,
resigned, having been elected as one of the supreme
judges of the state. Solomon Claypool was appointed to
fill the vacancy and held court during the year. At the
April term I. N. Pierce acted as prosecuting attorney,
and David Housten at the October term. During the
year David Housten, Henry C. Hill, Isaac N. Pierce,
John Baker, Elijah Eddington, Mr. Keck, Benjamin F.
Cavins, George W. Throop and Franklin P. Stark were
admitted to practice.
At the October election, 1858, Solomon Claypool
was elected judge of the circuit court and held the office
for six years. I. N. Pierce was elected prosecuting at-
torney and held the office for two years. George W.
Throop was elected district attorney for two years. Mr.
Throop was born and grew to manhood in Greene coun-
ty. He was a young man of great brilliancy and promise.
He was a son of H. H. Throop, a member of the bar, and
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 209
married a daughter of H. L. Livingston, who had been a
member of the bar. He removed to Greencastle, Indiana,
in 1861, and entered upon the practice of his profession,
and died in November, 1862, not yet having attained the
high noon of life.
In 1859 Samuel H. Buskirk held court at the April
term of the circuit court, under appointment from Judge
Claypool. At the October term William M. Franklin
acted as special prosecuting- attorney. During the year
William B. Squire, Henry C. Owen, John T. Smith, Wil-
liam C. Andrews, William J. Mcintosh, Nathan Kimball,
William Blackburn, John Masters, James Jackson and
Joseph W. Briggs were admitted to practice.
At the October election, 1859, John I. Milam was
elected clerk. In i860 no change was made, except John
I. Milam had entered upon his term as clerk.
J. S. S. Hunter, Newton Crook, Elihu E. Rose, A.
J. Axtell, John N. Drake, John Blackburn and Harry
Bums were admitted to practice. At the October elec-
tion Willis G. Neff was elected prosecuting attorney ;
Harry Burns, district attorney; John D. Killian, sheriff,
each for the term of two years. No change occurred in
the others of the court until after the election in 1862.
In 1 86 1 Jacob S. Broadwell, Samuel W. Bonnell, John
B. Hanna and William S. Bays were admitted to prac-
tice. In 1862 Robert R. Taylor, John R. Isenhower,
Thomas Taylor, Thomas R. Cobb and Erasmus Glick
14
2IO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
were admitted to practice. At the October election Willis
G. Neff was re-elected prosecuting attorney, Samuel W.
Curtis was elected district attorney, and John D. Killian
was re-elected sheriff. In 1863 Judge James A. Scott
held court at the April term, under appointment of Judge
Claypool. James R. Baxter was admitted to practice.
In 1864 David Sheeks held court at the October term un-
der appointment. W. H. Dewolfe, N. A. Rainbolt, F.
H. Viche, S. H. Taylor, John M. McCoy, J. H. Louden,
B. F. Havens, J. A. Gormley and James P. Rankin were
admitted to practice. On the 7th day of March, 1864,
Samuel R. Cavins, a member of the bar, died. He had
been intimately connected with the courts as associate
judge, clerk and attorney from 1829, a period of thirty-
five years. He made more records than any other man
in the county, and all of his business was done well. He
was never defeated at an election, although in office over
twenty-five years, and in a county where his party was
in a minority.
At the October election, 1864, Delana R. Eckels was
elected judge of the circuit court, and held the office for
six years. Michael Malott was elected prosecuting at-
torney. William M. Franklin was elected judge of the
common pleas court. Patrick Haney was elected district
attorney, William G. Moss sheriff.
THE BENNET-PATTERSON SLANDER SUIT.
The records of the courts for the years 1863 and
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 211
1864 bear some evidence of the strife that was then
sweeping over the -country like a besom of destruction.
One of the most noted cases growing out of the ani-
mosities and recriminations of war times was an action
for slander brought by John K. Bennett against Thomas
Patterson. The charge made against Mr. Patterson was
that he had called Mr. Bennett a traitor. In the begin-
ning of the action J. M. Humphreys and J. R. Isenhower
were attorneys for plaintiff, and William Mack and S. R.
Cavins for defendant. Before the case finally terminated
David Sheeks appeared as associate counsel for plaintiff
and E. E. Rose and E. H. C. Cavins as attorney for de-
fendant. A large number of witnesses were in attendance
on each side from court to court, until at the October
-term, 1864, the case was dismissed without a trial. Asa
Blankenship, a disabled soldier on furlough, was indicted
for murder at the April term, 1864. The difficulty which
resulted in the killing grew out of the deceased hallooing
"hurrah for Jeff Davis." Mr. Blankenship never re-
turned to the state after being discharged from the army,
and was therefore never put upon his trial. Many other
minor difficulties and several law suits grew out of the
troublous times. All of the judges of that period dis-
couraged that class of litigation. At the April term,
1865, Delana R. Eckels appeared for the time as judge of
the circuit court. On the first day of the term the fol-
lowing proceedings were had and spread on record :
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
At the suggestion (if the Hon. Delana R. Eckels,
judge of the sixth judicial circuit of the state of Indiana,
a meeting of the members of the Bloomfield bar and at-
torneys attending court was held at the court house in
Bloomfield on the 17th day of April, 1865, at which
the following proceedings were had : On the motion of
the Hon. D. W. Vorhees, Elihu E. Rose was called to
the chair and J. R. Isenhower appointed secretary. On
motion of J. M. Humphreys, a committee of three
was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense
of the bar upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln,
President of the United States. The chair appointed J.
M. Humphreys, E. H. Cavins and J. P. Rankin said
committee. The committee submitted the following reso-
lutions, which, on motion of Michael Malott, were unani-
mously adopted :
"Whereas, The members of this bar have heard
of the atrocious assassination of the President of the
United States, and of the attempted assassination of mem-
bers of his cabinet on the 14th day of April, 1865, with
feelings of the profoundest grief for the melancholy and
fatal result, be it
"Resolved, That we view with apprehension and
alarm the condition of the country, when the person of
the chief magistrate is no longer secure from the lawless
assault of murderous violence, and be it further
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 213
"Resolved, That in the death of Abraham Lincoln
at the present juncture of our affairs, we recognize a
great and overwhelming national calamity, from the evils
of which we humbly implore divine providence to protect
the Nation and the people, and be it further
"Resolved, That as a tribute to the memory of the
deceased President, and as an expression of our sense of
the terrible affliction which has befallen the Nation, we
ask that these resolutions be made a part of the records
of this court.
"Elihu E. Rose, Chairman,
"J. S. Isenhower, Secretary.
"On motion of the Hon. D. W. Voorhees, the meet-
ing adjourned to meet at the court house in special session
at seven o'clock p. m.
"Court met at seven o'clock p. m., pursuant to ad-
journment.
"And now comes E. E. Rose and moves the adoption
of said resolution by the court, and addressed the court
in favor of the motion. And the Hon. D. W. Vorhees
seconded said motion and urged its adoption, and
thereupon the court fully approved said resolutions, and
ordered that the proceedings of the bar and said reso-
lutions be spread of record among the orders of the court,
and that, through respect for the memory of the de-
ceased, that the court adjourn."
214 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
SESSION OF COURT AFTER THE WAR.
At the October term Solon Turman acted as judge,
under appointment of Judge Eckels. Patrick Haney, dis-
trict attorney, seldom attended court in Greene county,
and his office was filled by Deputy James Rankin the
first year and Harry Burns the second year. In the year
1865, Michael Malott, Joseph W. Wolfe and Madison
Evans were admitted to practice. Mr. Evans was a very
brilliant young man and of great promise. He after-
ward met with a violent death at his home in Bedford.
On the 4th day of May, 1865, Henry C. Hill, a member
of the bar, died after a lingering sickness of over a year.
He was a first-class lawyer for a man of his age, and
before his last sickness had a large and lucrative prac-
tice. He was for several years law partner of William
Mack. If he had lived he would certainly have achieved
great success in his profession. On the 22d of July, 1865,
John J. Milam, clerk of the courts, departed this life. He
had been in the clerk's office as deputy or clerk from the
time he was eighteen years old. He was a remarkably
efficient officer, a good business man, a prominent leader
in his party, and very popular with the people. He had
been elected clerk twice in succession. Francis M. Hat-
field was appointed to fill the vacancy and appeared as
clerk at the October term. At the October election in
1865 Col. John T. Smith was elected clerk and served
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 21 5
for four years. He had just returned from the army, in
which he had served with great gallantry in a regiment
that made its record for gallantry in hlood, and he swept
the country like a tornado, and was elected by a majority
that astounded his political friends. He declined a re-
election and moved upon a farm, but soon after moved to
Clay county. In 1866 the officers remained unchanged
until after the October election. This was Michael Ma-
lott's last year as an officer of the court in Greene county.
He was an able and efficient officer, and one of a long
line of brilliant prosecuting attorneys of this circuit, ex-
tending before and after him. He has since departed this .
life. During the year John Hanna, Calvin Taylor, John
P. Baird and G. D. Grismore were admitted to practice.
Samuel Hammil was admitted this year or at some prior
year. John Hanna had been district attorney of the
United States, and was afterward member of Congress
and has since died comparatively early in life. John P.
Baird was as able a lawyer as the state produced. He
served in the army as colonel. Soon after his admission
at our bar he became insane and never recovered. He
died in the insane hospital.
COURT PROCEEDINGS.
At the October election, 1866, John S. Broadwell
was elected prosecuting attorney; John C. Robinson, dis-
2l6
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
V
I
trict attorney, and Francis M. Dugger, sheriff. In 1867
Solon Turman held court under appointment of Judge
Eckels. In the common pleas court John C. Robinson ap-
pointed J. S. Isenhower to prosecute at the first term and
Robert R. Taylor was appointed general deputy, but the
deputies did not have much to do, as Mr. Robinson at-
tended court more regularly than district attorneys usual-
ly attended. During the year John D. Alexander ("the
auburn-haired child of destiny"), Moses F. Dunn and
Elias Edwards were admitted to practice.
Soon after Mr. Broadwell's term of office expired
he departed this life. He was a very brilliant young man,
and by his courtesy and gentlemanly bearing in his pro-
fession drew to him an unusual number of earnest ad-
mirers. But he was called away in the bright early morn-
ing of life, barely catching a glimpse of the noontide of
distinction which seemingly awaited him. In 1868
George B. Leavitt, James S. Culbertson and W. Ray
Gardner were admitted to practice.
At the October election in 1868 John C. Robinson
was elected prosecuting attorney for the circuit court ;
Harry Burns, judge of the common pleas court ; C. C.
Matson district attorney and F. M. Dugger was re-elected
sheriff.
In 1869 no change occurred in _the officers of the
court. O. W. Shryer, W. I. Baker, D. W. Solliday,
Cyrus F. McNutt, James B. Mulky, James Rogers, Lu-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2I7
cian Shaw and J. H. Swaar were admitted to practice.
At the April term Cyrus McNutt and John D. Alexander
were appointed to prosecute state cases for the term. Os-
car W Shryer, W. I. Baker and D. W. Solliday were
appointed by the court to defend Patrick Brannon. W.
I Baker located at Bloomfield and after practicing his
profession for several years successfully, moved west. He
was a member of the firm of Isenhower & Baker, and
still later of the firm of Baker & Shaw. O. W. Shryer
started out into the practice very successfully, but soon
retired from the practice to enter into the more lucrative
business of banking. D. W. Solliday was doing a suc-
cessful business, but moved to New Albany, and from
there out west. Lucian Shaw continued the practice at
Bloomfield with great success until 1883, when he re-
moved to California and is now one of the supreme
judges in that state. In 1870 W. W. Carter, W. E. Ditte-
more, G. W. Bartholomew and George W. Friedley were
admitted to practice.
MURDER OF JACOB SICKER.
At the April term, 1870, John Rose was tried on
a charge of murder. The person killed was Jacob Sicker.
The killing grew out of a family feud. The defendant
was a young man not much past twenty-one years of
age and the deceased was quite an old man. The first
2l8
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
difficulty in the family was between Mrs. Rose, mother
of John, and Mr. Sicker, who was her uncle. John came
into the difficulty, as he thought, to redress an insult to
his mother. The family was not related to the family of
Captain Rose at Bloomfield. The case was prosecuted
with great vigor and vehemence by John C. Robinson,
prosecuting attorney, and Cyrus F. McNutt. The de-
fense was conducted by E. E. Rose, E. H. C. Cavins and
J. R. Isenhower. The main object of the defendant's at-
torneys was to save the defendant's life, and to reduce
the expected verdict to manslaughter. The jury found
the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree and
fixed his punishment at a lifetime imprisonment. After-
ward judge, prosecuting attorney, most of the jury and
officers of the county and a large number of citizens peti-
tioned for his pardon, which was finally granted by the
governor.
At the October election in 1870, William M. Frank-
lin was elected judge of the circuit court for six years.
John C. Robinson was re-elected prosecuting attorney ;
C. C. Matson, district attorney; David S. Whitaker, clerk;
and Henry S. Slinkard, sheriff. Mr. Whitaker had been
deputy to John T. Smith, and he appointed A. J. Whita-
ker and George Weatherwax as his deputies. Mr. Slink-
ard appointed Daniel M. Bynum as his deputy. In 1871
Uriah Coulson, John S. Bays, John H. Buskirk, Mr.
Aydelotte, W. D. Bynum, George W. Buff and Frank
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 219
Wilson were admitted to practice. John S. Bays was
born in Greene county, was a son of William Bays,
and was a -leading- citizen of the county. He commenced
the practice at Worthington, afterward moved to Bloom-
field and formed a partnership with James R. Baxter. In
1882 he formed a partnership with Lucian Shaw, with
whom he practiced until the latter part of 1883, when
they left a large practice and moved to California.
THE CARIS LAND SUITS.
In 1821 Simon Caris, Sr., entered several tracts of
land in Greene county, and soon after some of his chil-
dren occupied a part of the lands. The lands were final-
ly abandoned and they were sold for taxes and other par-
ties took possession of them.
In 1872, more than fifty years after the entry, Simon
Caris, Jr., and ninety other heirs of Simon Caris, Sr., liv-
ing in several different states, commenced several actions
for the recovery of these lands. They succeeded in recov-
ering all except eighty acres.
During the year 1872 Willis G. Neff, Benjamin F.
East, Ephraim Mosier, Benjamin Henderson, W. F. Gal-
limore and S. M. McGregor were admitted to practice.
At the October election, 1872, C. C. Matson was elected
prosecuting attorney; Harry Burnes, judge of the com-
mon pleas court; Samuel M. McGregor, district attorney,
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
1*1 i
%J i
and F. M. Dagger sheriff. Mr. Dugger appointed
Thomas Lamb as his deputy at his first term of office,
and at each succeeding term while lie was in office. In
1873 the county in which C. C. Matson resided, being
legislated out of the circuit that Greene county was a
part of, at a special election in October A. M. Cunning
was elected prosecuting attorney. The January term,
1873, was the last term of the common pleas court, the
same having been abolished by the legislature. F. O.
Wadsworth and A. M. Cunning were admitted to prac-
tice this year.
In 1874, and the following years, there were four
terms of the circuit court each year. William M. Frank-
lin continued as judge, and A. M. Cunning as prosecut-
ing attorney. William Wines, Emerson Short and Sam-
uel W. Axtell were admitted to practice. At the October
election this year A. M. Cunning was re-elected prose-
cuting attorney. David S. Whitaker was re-elected
clerk, and F. M. Dugger was re-elected sheriff, it being
his fourth term. The clerk and sheriff continued to
avail themselves of the services of their efficient deputies.
In 1875 J. S. Dean, P. H. Blue, W. S. Shirley, William
Eckles, William H. Burke and Hiram Teter were ad-
mitted to practice.
THE HARDIN MURDER CASE.
At the March term of this year the grand jury re-
turned an indictment against John Fluey, charging him
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 221
with the murder of Elihu Hardin, on the 30th day of
December, 1874, by shooting him with a gun. A. M.
Cunning, John D. Alexander and H. W. Letsinger
prosecuted the case and E. E. Rose and Emerson Short
appeared as attorneys for the defense. The alleged mur-
der occurred at Lyons, and grew out of an old quarrel,
both parties being under the influence of intoxicating
liquors. The defendant was not arrested for several years,
he having fled the county, and was not tried until the Jan-
uary term, 1877. The case was tried with ability on
both sides and the jury failed to agree and was discharged.
The prosecuting attorney then entered a nolle as to the
charge of murder, and the defendant pleaded guilty to
manslaughter and was sentenced to the state's prison for
twenty years.
In 1876 Elijah Moss, H. W: Letsinger and W.
Waggoner were admitted to practice. At the October
election of this year John C. Robinson was elected judge
for six years ; Samuel O. Pickens was elected prosecuting
attorney, and Daniel Bynum was elected sheriff. Mr.
Bynum had been deputy of Henry S. Slinkard while he
was sheriff. Mr. Bynum appointed J. H. B. O'Neall
and Joseph J. Sexon as his deputies.
In 1877 Wesley Coffey, William S. Greene, Edwin
L. Webber, Charles G. McCord, Daniel Sherwood,
Aquilla Jones, Robert G. Evans and John C. Briggs were
admitted. Mr. Webber never entered regularly into prac-
222 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
tice in Indiana, although lie resided at Worthington a
few years. William S. Greene located in Bloomfield in
1882, but moved west in 1883.
In 1878 William L. Cavins, Thomas H. Chapman,
W. A. Massie and George W. Osborn were admitted to
practice. Thomas H. Chapman was a law student, and
never entered into the practice. He was a close student
and gave his whole energy and time to study. Had he
lived he would have become very learned in law. It was
predicted of him while he was a student that he would
become an Abe Lincoln of a lawyer, but the hopes of his
boyhood years were closed by an early and untimely
death.
At the October election, 1878, S. O. Pickens was re-
re-elected prosecuting attorney, John F. Slinkard, clerk,
and D. M. Bynum re-elected sheriff. A. J. Whitaker was
continued as deputy clerk for the first six months, and T,
T. Pringle was also appointed deputy. After the retire-
ment of Mr. Whitaker George Calvert was also appoint-
ed as deputy clerk, and continued during Mr. Stinkard's
term of office. Mr. Bynum continued his deputies. In
1882 Mr. T. T. Pringle was appointed master commis-
sioner, and discharged the duties with great skill and
ability, but voluntarily retired from the office to enter
the store of T. D. Huff as clerk.
In 1879 George P. Stone was admitted to practice.
In 1880 Edwin C. Hartsell, Tames H. Hanna, Gilbert
1
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 22}
Hendren, William McKee and H. J. Hostetter were ad-
mitted to practice. At the October election this year
John D. Alexander was elected prosecuting attorney and
Joseph J. Sexon was elected sheriff. Mr. Sexon con-
tinued J. H. B. O'Neall as deputy sheriff. This year an-
other local member of the bar was called away by death.
William Burke died on the 30th day of November, 1880.
He had been living in the county only a little over three
years, but had endeared himself to the members of the
bar and the people, by his uniform courtesy and upright
conduct.
In 1881 Joseph Phillips, John Downey, Arnold ]"■
Padgett, John W. Ogden, John R. East, Theodore
Pringle and John Wilhelm were admitted to practice.
The legislature met in 1881 and changed the law regard-
ing the manner of selecting juries and required the ap-
pointment by the judge of two jury commissioners, one
from each of two political parties that polled the. largest
vote in the county. At the June term, 188 1, Judge Rob-
inson appointed John O. Burbank and Daniel M. Bynum.
At the November term, 1872, Mr. Bynum retired from
the position and Daniel B. Hatfield was appointed to fill
the vacancy.
In the year 1882, it seems that no attorneys were ad-
mitted to practice in Greene county. At the October
election this year A. M. Cunning was elected judge; J.
D. Alexander was re-elected prosecuting attorney, and
[
224 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Henry Gastineau was elected clerk, and Evan A. Bon-
ham, sheriff. Mr. Gastineau continued George Calvert
as deputy, but he soon went into the treasurer's office as
deputy. George B. Leavitt was appointed a deputy, but
he preferred the duties of his farm, and soon retired.
George R. Weatherwax, the efficient deputy clerk of D.
S. Whitaker, discharged the duties of deputy for a while,
but his health failed him and he retired. Finally D. S.
Whitaker and Horace V. Fields became permanent depu-
ties of Mr. Gastineau. Evan A. Bonham appointed as
his principal deputy Thomas Maddux, who brought with
him considerable experience in that office. The legisla-
ture of 1882 changed the circuit so as to make a circuit
of Sullivan and Greene counties. At the first term of
court after the change was made the Bloomfield bar, in
a body, made a charge on Sullivan, and were received
• with "the pomp and circumstance" of hospitality, and en-
tertained and banqueted with great eclat by the Sullivan
bar during their entire visit. The Sullivan bar returned
in a body at the opening of the first term in Greene coun-
ty, and in like manner were entertained by the Bloom-
field bar.
At the June term, 1883, George W. Buff appeared
as judge of the court. This year another member of the
bar was called away by death. Edward R. Hartsell died
in the month of October, 1883. He was, a young man
just entering into the practice of his chosen profession.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
225
Among the older people he was kind and courteous.
Among the young, who were his associates, he was genial,
talented and a great favorite. In the bright morn of life,
when the future was decked with sparkling hopes and
golden tints, he was suddenly called from the bar to a
Bar where Judge and Advocate never err.
During the year William A. Hultz, William H.
Burke, Jr., Charles E. Barrett, John T. Beazley, James
A. Eaton, John. T. Hays, Arthur A. Holmes, Augustus
L. Mason, John T. Wolfe, F. P. Jarrell, Jesse F. Raper,
T. H. Palmer, J. E. Shipman, F. L. Buskirk, W. R.
Cullep, William W. Moffitt and Theodore Menges were
admitted to practice.
MEMBERS OF THE GREENE COUNTY BAR.
BLOOM FIELD.
Cyrus E. Davis.
Henry W. Moore.
William L. Cavins.
Minor F. Pate.
Oscar W. Shryer.
Guy H. Humphreys.
William F. Gallemore.
Joseph E. Housum.
Gilbert H. Hendren, Sr.
Joseph A. Phillips.
15
William L. Slinkard.
Webster V. Moffett.
James M. Hudson.
Theodore E. Slinkard.
Walter T. Brown.
Harvey W. Letsinger.
Allen Pate.
E. H. C. Cavins.
Theodore T. Pringle.
226
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Gilbert Ii. Hendren, Jr. John A. Riddle.
Oscar E. Bland.
Alfred M. Beasley.
Jesse F. Weisman.
Daniel W. Mcintosh.
Albert M. Richard.
John C. Warimer.
W. Ray Collins.
John P. Jeffries.
Arthur M. Grass.
Ralph H. Necly.
Joe E. Beasley.
James B. Philbert.
Lealdas S. Forbes.
Joseph E. McDonald.
John W. Buck.
George-W. Wells.
Camden C. Riley.
JASONVILLE.
Philander Long.
August Bredeweg.
Jason A. Rogers.
Carey L. Harrell.
Edward S. Bennett.
Lewis E. Letsinger.
WORTHINGTON.
George O. Sample.
Earl Price.
Fred E. Dyer.
Carl Smith.
John E. Braken.
Claude E. Gregg.
NEWBERRY.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 227
Joseph E. Walton.
David C. Roach.
OWENSBURG.
Martin Ashcraft. Elijah Edington.
Circuit court begins :
Second Monday in February.
Fourth Monday in April.
First Monday in September.
Third Monday in November.
Five weeks in a term.
BENCH AND BAR, FROM 1884 TO 1908.
The fourteenth judicial circuit, composed of the
counties of Greene and Sullivan, was created by an act
of the legislature in 1883. Prior to that time Greene,
Owen and Morgan constituted one circuit, and Sullivan
and Vigo were included in one. In the redisricting
Owen and Morgan were made one circuit, Vigo county
was made a circuit by itself, and Greene and Sullivan
created as the fourteenth circuit. George W. Buff, of Sul-
livan, had been elected judge of the old circuit of Sulli-
van and Vigo. When the new crcuit was created Judge
228 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Buff was appointed by the governor as judge of the new
circuit of Greene and Sullivan.
The Fourteenth Judicial circuit since then has had
the following officials :
JUDGES.
George W. Buff, of Sullivan 1883-1888
John C. Briggs, of Sullivan. . . 1888-1894
William W. Moffett, of Greene 1894-1900
Orion B. Harris, of Sullivan 1900-1906
Charles E. Henderson, of Greene 1906-
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
John D. Alexander, of Greene 1882-1886
Samuel W. Axtell, of Greene 1886- 1888
Wlliam C. Hultz, of Sullivan 1888-1892
William L. Slinkard, of Greene 1892-1896
Charles D. Hunt, of Sullivan 1896-1900
Edward W. Mcintosh, of Greene 1900-1902
John A. Riddle, of -Greene 1902-1904
John W. Lindley, of Sullivan 1904-1906
James B. Philbert, of Greene "..... 1906-1908
Walter F. Woods, of Sullivan 1908-1910
OFFICIAL RECORD OF GREENE COUNTY
FROM 1884 TO 1908.
REPRESENTATIVE.
A. S. Helms, 1885.
John D. Alexander, 1887.
William N. Darnell, 1889.
Richard Huffman, 1891.
Thomas VanBuskirk, 1893.
Howard M. Booher, 1895.
Charles E. Henderson, 1897.
Wilbur A. Hays, 1899.
Cyrus E. Davis, 1901.
William J. Hamilton, 1903.
Columbus C. Ballard, 1905.
Wilbur Hays, 1907.
John L. Han-el, 1879- 1886.
James Harrell, 1886.
Andrew J. Cox, 1886- 1900.
Thomas C. Owen, 1890- 1894.
Harvey L. Doney, 1894- 1903.
23°
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
William H. Deckard, 1903-1907.
Peter M. Cook, 1907-.
Henry Gastineau, 1882- 1886.
Franklin Ramsey, 1886- 1894.
John W. Graham, 1894- 1898.
Joseph W. Yakey, 1898- 1907.
Clyde O. Yoho, 1907-.
TREASURER.
Henry T. Neal, 1879- 1883.
E. R. Stropes, 1883- 1887.
J. E. Bull, 1887-1891.
John French, 1891-1893.
Noah Brown, 1893-1897.
C. C. Ballard, 1897- 1902.
Joe Moss, 1 902- 1 906.
B. B. Mitten, 1906- 1908.
Elmer Shirts, 1908-.
SHERIFF.
Nelson M. Quillen, 1884-1886.
Noah Elgan, 1886- 1888.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 23I
William E. Thompson, 1888- 1892.
John H. Johnson, 1 892-1896.
John E. McLaughlin, 1896-1900.
Alonzo F. Wilson, 1900- 1904.
John C. Huffman, 1904-1905.
W. W. Edington, 1905-1909.
RECORDER.
John A. Pate, 1879-1887.
Joseph G. Smith, 1 887-1 891.
Charles B. Kemp, 1891-1895.
James H. Persons, 1895- 1904.
Edgar H. Sherwood, 1894- 1908.
Newton Vaughn, 1908-.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
Sherman Ogg, 1885- 1886.
John T. Lamb, 1886- 1889.
William M. Moss, 1889- 1893.
John L. Cravens, 1893- 1895.
Harvey L. Cushman, 1895-1903.
Newton V. Meredith, 1903-1907.
Christian Danielson, 1907-.
•» COMMISSIONERS.
Members composing the board, and date of taking
office:
Moses Crocket, first district, 1882.
Wilbur A. Hays, second district, 1882.
232 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
David L. Osborne, third district, 1885.
John T. Brceden, first district, 1887.
Wilbur A. Hays, second district.
David L. Osborne, third district.
Simon Bland, first district, 1900.
Wilbur A. Hays, second district.
David L. Osborne, third district.
Simon Bland, first district.
Wilbur A. Hays, second district.
William McCloud, third district, 1891.
Simon Bland, first district.
Henry C. Owen, second district, 1892.
William McCloud, third district.
Stephen E. Anderson, first district, 1893.
Henry C. Owen, second district.
William McCloud, third district.
Stephen E. Anderson, first district.
Henry C. Owen, second district.
William Exline, third district, 1894.
Stephen E. Anderson, first district.
Lafayette Jessup, second district, 1895.
William Exline, third district.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 233
Stephen E. Anderson, first district.
Andrew Bucher, second district, 1898.
William Exline, third district.
George W. Marshall, first district, 1899.
Andrew Bucher, second district.
William Exline, third district.
George W. Marshall, first district.
Andrew Bucher, second district.
James D. Haseman, third district, 1900.
George W. Marshall, first district.
Andrew Bucher, second district.
David L. Squires, third district, 1904.
George W. Marshall, first district.
Horatio Hunt, second district, 1905.
David L. Squires, third district.
Theodore Carmichael, first district, 1906.
Horatio Hunt, second district.
David L. Squires, third district.
Theodore Carmichael, first district.
Horatio Hunt, second district.
James T. Roach, third district, 1907.
234 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
COUNTY ASSESSOR.
James Harrell, 1892-1896.
John F. Freeland, 1896- 1900.
Andrew O'Donald, 1900- 1906.
William O. Titus, 1906-
SURVEYOR.
Francis M. Parker, 1884-1886..
William W. Clogston, 1886-1890.
E. Fide Cox, 1890-1896.
William W. Clogston, 1896-1900.
Samuel N. Yeoman, 1900- 1902.
Roland H. Blacklidge, 1902-1904.
Charles C. Parker, 1904.
William Axe, 1884- 1888.
Phillip Franklin, 1888-1890.
James P. Denton, 1890-1892.
John H. Gheen, 1892- 1896.
William Axe, 1896-1900.
Peter Oliphant, 1900-1902.
George B. Gray, 1902- 1906.
Charles L. Bonham, 1906-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 235
JOINT STATE SENATOR.
Liberty P. Mullinix, 1886-1890, for the district com-
posed of Greene and Sullivan counties.
Charles T. Akin, 1890- 1894, for the district com-
posed of Greene and Sullivan counties.
Andrew Humphreys, 1894-1898, Greene and Sulli-
van counties.
Edwin Corr, 1898- 1802, for the district composed
of Greene, Monroe and Brown counties.
Cyrus E. Davis, 1902- 1906, Greene, Monroe and
Brown counties.
Oscar E. Bland, 1906 — , Greene, Monroe and Owen
counties.
J
GREENE COUNTY TOWNS.
W. D. Ritter tells the names and origin of some of
our towns as follows :
About 1819 Fair Play was laid out as a town by
white men. Solomon Dixon, owner of the town site,
the county's first representative in the legislature, the
leading man of the neighborhood as to wealth and in-
fluence, owner of valuable fast horses, a trainer and racer
whose motto was "fair play," named the town.
Before this, for ages untold, a town had been there
by the aborigines. Earthen pots have been dug up that
were several feet in the ground. The pots had been
cooked — the fire-black was fresh upon them. How the
pots were made is a mystery.
On the outside is the print of grass, as if the mud
of the pot had been plastered inside of a vessel platted
out of prairies grass, then dried and burned. The grass
burned off, the prints showing outside. What caused me
to think of the grass pot was the fact that I saw at Col-
onel DeWitt Wallace's, in the city of Lafayette, a pot
platted from prairie grass that had been made out West,
which was watertight. It was used to make soup in.
Put the grasshoppers and water in, then put in hot peb-
bles to boil it, take out cold pebbles and put in hot ones
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 237
until the cooking is done. The pottery is on both sides of
the river — out on the Grismore and Heaton farms on
the east side of the river, and in the north side of the
town of Fair Play on the west side of the river. Jack
Bradford, in digging his cellar forty years ago, took out
some of the pots. The town of Fair Play is no longer in
existence.
In 1 82 1 Burlington was laid out as the county seat.
It was where Sam Harrah lives, two miles northwest of
Bloomfield.
The water well at the Harrah home was the public
well on the public square of the county seat in the woods.
The name was possibly given it by old Hiram Howard,
of Vermont, in memory of the town of that name in his
native state. Three years of dignity was all that was al-
lowed to Burlington. The well did not supply enough
water, so the county seat was moved. Burlington is no
longer a town.
About this time John O'Neal, my mother's father,
started the town of Newberry, so named in memory of
Newberry, South Carolina.
Judge L. B. Edwards, in his history of Greene coun-
ty, published in the "Indiana Atlas and Gazetteer," says
it was named for a town in North Carolina, or, at least,
the types made him say so.
This is the only mistake in his excellent history.
South Carolina was an Eng-lish colony, and Newberry an
English name.
238
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
In St. Paul churchyard, London, England, is a fam-
ily named Newberry, who were booksellers for ages. Sir
Humphrey Gilbert was a promoter of colonies in the
South. My mother's mother, Hephzebah Gilbert, a dis-
tant relative of his, always spoke of England as "home."
Dr. H. E. Gilbert, D. D., was a man of exceptional
ability.
Looking back in the dim past of Greene county, Scot-
land was named by David Wallace and Jimmy Haig, the
latter the grandfather of the Haigs of Bloomfield, after
the land of their nativity.
Other persons of the same land were of the early
colony — the Anderson family for one, of whom Jack An-
derson, of Taylor township, is a descendant.
Davy Wallace cut a straight tree, cut off a rail cut
and mauled all day; at night he had two rails. Now, this
would not do, so he got Thomas Plummer, Sr., the man
for whom Plummer creek and township were named
(the township since divided into Taylor and Cass),
a man who knew what it was to be in the woods and
what to do in the woods, to show him some trees that
would split. After that Davy could have some rails. Tho
tree that cost so much work and gave so few rails, he
said, he believed they called it "goom" (gum). This en-
tire story, as told by the sufferer in his very broad Scot-
tish dialect, was one of the much-repeated "tales" of the
log cabin age of the county. Scotland now has the en-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 239
viable reputation of being; a place where people mind their
own business, earn an honest living, have no dogger)', pay
their debts, are prosperous and happy.
Maixo was one of the first settlements of the county.
The first entry of land was made by Allen Reaves, in
1816. The Stafford family, who gave the name to the
township, is of the fine old English stock who have for
ages made England famous and wealthy by her splendid
stock, especially cattle. One of the last times I ever talked
with a Stafford he had just been buying some cow halt-
ers. The very rich corn land attracted the Dixons as well
as Staffords. That same land is now feeding the great
herds of the present Morgans. Before these Morgans a
family of the same name lived in the township, who came
from Virginia. These men of the present are sons of
"Georgie" Morgan, a Yankee, who was in the sixties of
the last century a county commissioner.
Members of the Virginia family were relatives of the
famous General Dan Morgan, of the Revolution. Zack
Morgan, of the second generation of the family, is yet
remembered by a very few. The name "Marco" I re-
member a very little about in connection with Hugh Mas-
sey, a useful and very early citizen of African descent,
who had a "cotton gin" when cotton was raised in Greene
county. My father had a cotton gin in Daviess county
at the same time. My mother had cotton cards, with
which she carded cotton into "rolls" to be spun. Our an-
240
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
cestors' clothes were made in part of that material. Who
gave the name, and for what reason, I do not know. The
present town is some distance from the old one.
Jonesboro was so named by the early citizens, and
when the postofnce1 department was applied to for an of-
fice they could not call the office by the town name because
there was an office of that name in Grant county, so they
named the office "Hobbieville."
The two names have had a hard time of it — many
people don't know "which is t'other." In the long ago
the name of "Screamersville" was used because the peo-
ple expressed themselves "out loud" in time of election.
Fifty years ago in Louisville, Kentucky,. a woman asked
me if I lived near "Bibbsville." Long afterward I learned
that that was the best she could do with the name Hobbie-
ville. So in time passed three names that had done serv-
ice for one town.
Libern Owen built a blacksmith shop, laid out a town
in the green woods and named it "Owensburg" in 1842.
'"Dresden" was so named in memory of the native town
in Ohio from which some of the first settlers had emi-
grated. "Mineral City" (Fellow's Mill) was so named
by the railroad authorities because there is coal in the vi-
cinity. Rockwood (Ruth's-ford) by the same authority;
Robinson also.
In the state of New York there are two Bloomfields
(east and west), and in many other states towns of the
same name.
POINT COMMERCE, WHERE THE WATERS MEET.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 24I
Twenty years ago I received a letter from England,
directed "Bloomfield, United States of America." It had
been to six Bloomfields— one in Iowa, one in Illinois, one
in Missouri and one in New Jersey, where the postmaster
had directed, "Try Bloomfield, Indiana." The writer did
not know that the state must be on the direction.
When Bloomfield, Greene county, was laid out and
ready for a name, Dr. Hallet B. Dean, who had been a
citizen of the first county seat, and was raised in one of
the Bloomfields of New York, proposed the name.
Point Commerce was laid out by J. M. H. Allison
and his brother, John F. Allison, in April, 1836, and was
so named because of their intention of buying and ship-
ping produce down the river. An average of fifteen flat-
boats a year for many years were run to New Orleans by
these very enterprising men. Their business was larger
than has been done by any firm in the county. This town
is no longer in existence.
When the canal was built on the west side of Eel
river opposite Point Commerce, Andrews and Barrack-
man, in April, 1849, laid out Worthington, so named be-
cause Mr. Andrews came from a town of that name in
Ohio, which town was named after one of the first gov-
ernors of that state.
Jasonville was named for Jason Rogers, one of the
proprietors of the place.
Linton was named for a Terre Haute man who ran
for congress at the time of the laying out of the town.
16
242 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Dixon, after Daniel G. Dixon, its proprietor.
Switz City, for the landowner of the town site.
Lyons was named by the proprietor, 'Squire Joe
Lyon, of Bloomfield, who for years had been treasurer and
auditor of the county.
Solsberry, for Solomon Wilkerson, one of her citi-
zens, who was a son of William Wilkerson, the Revolu-
tionary soldier, who split a hundred rails on Solsberry
hill the day he was a hundred years old.
Newark was named for the town of that name in
Ohio.
Koleen was named by the railroad authorities be-
cause "koleen" clay, used in making dishes, is found in
that vicinity.
PIONEER REMINISCENCES.
By W. D. Ritter.
As to high connection and good blood, Hugh L. Liv-
ingston possibly stood above any who ever made their
home in Greene county.
Colonel John Stokely, the county's first surveyor,
was "aide" to General Washington and well connected.
One of the family was mayor of Philadelphia in time of
the Centennial, but of his ancestry we know nothing.
Of the Livingstons it is known that four earls (lords)
of Linilthgow, in Scotland, lived before the days of
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 243
"Mary Queen of Scots," and that at her birth (1542) the
fifth Lord Alexander Livingston was one of her guard-
ians, and that his daughter Mary was one of the four lit-
tle girls (all Marys) appointed to be companions and play-
mates of the little queen. In an old ballad of the time it
was said :
"Last night the queen had four Marys,
Tonight she'll ha'e but three ;
She had Mary Seaton and Mary Beaton
And Mary Livingston and me."
It is known that Queen Mary had attendants of the
greatest devotion, who stayed with her through her long
imprisonment and forsook her not at the tragedy of the
scaffold, but whether Mary Livingston was one of these
is not known.
The first American Livingston crossed the Atlantic
in 1674 and settled in Albany, New York. His name
was Robert. At twenty-one years of age he became secre-
tary of Indian affairs. In twelve years he had bought of
the Indians one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land,
now nearly all of the counties of Dutchess and Columbia.
He was a tall, handsome man, of courtly manner. Gov-
ernor Dongan, of New York, erected his estate into the
"manor and lordship of Livingston," which act was con-
firmed by King George I. Down to the Revolution four
244
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of the family were British lords. At that time Robert R.
(chancellor) was lord of the manor. One of the family
was married to the Scottish Lord Stirling, who became
General Stirling of the Revolution.
These four generations were all eminent for culture
and high usefulness, intermarried with the very highest
class. One was the wife of General Montgomery, who
fell at Quebec in 1775.
A three-story mansion of hewn stone in New York-
city — the mansion on the "manor" — and one in Albany,
for generations were kept up by the family, in all of which
much "entertaining" was given to those of the highest in-
fluence in the land. The family of the "chancellor" was
specially noted in all respects — for numbers (five sons
and seven daughters), talent, beauty and the utmost use-
fulness. Three daughters married leading generals of
the Revolution. One (Catherine) married the noted
preacher, Freeborn Garretson. Of her a very fine steel
engraving exists, which shows her to have been superb
in appearance. The Livingstons of the present — one of
them is an admiral in the navy, has been for many years —
there were college presidents, judges, doctors of divinity,
doctors of law, etc. Alexander Hamilton was befriended
when a penniless boy by them. The wife of John Jay was
a Livingston. Among their very particular friends were
George and Martha Washington, especially while the cap-
itol was at New York.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 245
Robert R. (Chancellor) was on the committee to
draft the Declaration of Independence ; would have
signed it, but other duties to his state kept him out of
congress just then. His brother Philip did sign it. The
"Chancellor" administered the oath to Washington at his
first inauguration ; he also assisted Robert Fulton and
made possible the first steamboat, which was named
"Clermont," after his home. This boat ran on the Hud-
son. He sent his friend Roosevelt to Pittsburg, who went
from there to New Orleans in a canoe to see if the Ohio
and Mississippi would do for steamboats. He then gave
money to build the "New Orleans," which made the first
trip to New Orleans in 1811.
Edward, his brother, was our minister to France,
and bought Louisiana from the first Napoleon for fifteen
million dollars.
When the states were invited by congress to set mon-
uments of their greatest Revolutionary leaders in the ro-
tunda of the national capitol, New York responded with
statues of Robert R. Livingston and George Clinton. Gil-
bert Livingston, brother of Robert R., had a son who mar-
ried a Laurens, a relative of the gifted, eminent Colonel
Laurens, of the Revolution. At the old "manor" on the
Hudson, in the year 1800, Hugh L. was born. While a
child the father moved to Charleston, South Carolina,
where he was reared. In youth he entered West Point,
but did not graduate ; went under Captain Bainbridge on
246 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
a cruise on the Mediterranean ; also one on the Carib-
bean sea.
I have heard him name the mathematical terms used
in the rtavy in training the gunners. From certain causes
Americans have been exceptional in skill to shoot. The
first Napoleon was so astonished at their shooting on sea
in the War of 181 2 that he sent for two of their guns to
see what kind they were. He saw at once that it was not
in the gun, but the man.
Once a member of the British parliament moved
that they use means to train their gunners. In his speech
he said: "You might put Americans on a raft and they
would sink the best battleship England owns."
On his return he studied law. His studies finished,
he came to Indiana in 1822. In his very nature dwelt the
instinct of courtly manner and bearing. Such manner I
have never seen equaled.
Dr. Franklin called Robert R. the "Cicero of Amer-
ica" ; Hugh L. was called the "American Chesterfield" by
those who knew him best.
When a child in my father's log cabin home (my
father was a justice of the peace) often have I seen him
address the "court." The phrase "Your Honor" he spoke
with a genuine politeness that was perfect — could not he
more so if the "court" had been the supreme court of the
nation instead of an humble dwelling where the children
had to be — no other place to hold court.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 247
The first circuit court ever held in the county ( 1812)
was by a large log-heap fire, a mile south of Bloom-
field, where Thomas Patterson now lives. I knew him
very well. Forty-two years he has been in the grave.
The late Judge Mack, of Terre Haute, once a citi-
zen of Bloomfield, wrote for the Louisville Journal that
he had to contend with Dewy, Dunbar, Blackford, Whit-
comb, General Howard, Colonel Thompson, at times
Rowan, of Kentucky, George C. Dunn and others who
were equal, but such was his ability that he soon rose to
the head of the bar, where he stood thirty-five years. He
had a great deal of practice in the supreme court. He
died in Bloomfield, May 16, 1857. His surviving chil-
dren by two marriages are: Mrs. Colonel Alexander, of
Denver, Colorado ; Mrs. A. G. Cavins, of Bloomfield ;
Edward, of Missouri, and Mrs. Throop, of Linton. In-
diana.
EARLY SETTLERS.
By W. D. Ritter.
THE DIXON FAMILIES IN GREENE COUNTY.
By far the most numerous and in some respects most
important connections of people who settled first in this
county were the Dixons.
Ancestry. — The Romans called England "Albion"
248
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
while they had it; the ancient inhabitants called it "Brit-
ain"; the Saxons called it "Eng" (grass) land. They
were a pastoral people, and wanted the land to raise cat-
tle on. For ages that island has been famous for her cat-
tle. When King Alfred was a fugitive he stayed, with a
cow herder, whose wife gave him that good scolding for
letting the cakes burn on the hearth while she went out
to milk the cows (he was in disguise and she did not
know who he was). She told him he was willing enough,
to eat them, but was "too good for nothing" to watch
them a little.
The Dixons are of the fine old English stock that
has paid attention to cattle and horses for many gen-
erations. With other immigrants they came to Virginia
as long as two centuries ago ; from there to Tennes-
see, then to Indiana, the first of them in 1816. The very
best of the land in Stafford, Fair Play and Jefferson town-
ships is where they made their homes.
Solomon Dixon entered land first in 1816; in 182 1
he was the county's first representative. His home was
near Fair Play, where the old house still stands. They
had a "deer park" for the pets, of which he generally had
as many as a dozen. The old aristocratic habit of hav-
ing peafowls he kept up to the end of life.
The old English love of good horses, and fast ones,
too, was strong in their breasts. To test the speed and
"bottom" of their young horses, they had a race track
V,
\
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 249
of their own a mile below Fair Play. High old times
were had there for many years. The land is excellent and
in late years used to raise com. When eight years old,
with others, I went to a big race on that track.
We were too late to see the great race of the day.
Smaller races were in progress. The first thing I saw
was a fine young Mr. Dixon roll off to a great distance
from the horse he had been riding in a race. The horse
had fallen with great violence in the struggle. The rider
lay as one dead, but revived, if I remember rightly. The
horse, a very valuable one, was ruined entirely. The
nice proportioned young man, his fine clothes, he laying so
still when he stopped rolling toward the fence — all are a
picture in my memory yet plain as can be. Old Solomon
Dixon had a clock which he took to "time" his horses on
the track. No "new-fangled" stop-watches would do him
— his clock had a second hand to it.
At the tornado at Natchez, about 1842, young Jo-
seph Dixon, who was on his way down the Mississippi
with a boatload of corn, was killed. He was blown two
miles up the river and out into the back-water, where he
was found. This storm was something like the one at Gal-
veston, Texas. This young man was said to have been
the most promising one of all the then numerous con-
nection.
Major John R. Dixon, his cousin, searched several
days for his body before finding it. The major was sher-
250
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
iff of the county of Greene many years, and later was rep-
resentative. The Dixons were relatives of the Pryors, of
Virginia. One son of Solomon Dixon was named Pryor.
He died while a youth. The Pryors are and have been
very high-classed, chivalrous "F. F. Vs."
Roger A. Pryor took a very active part in the rebel-
lion. He it was who crawled in at a port-hole of Fort
Sumter to talk to the commander, Major Anderson, in re-
gard to surrender. A lady of the family is now a very
fine writer of very high standing among the elite of the
Old Dominion.
William Dixon, to whom so much of the property
fell by heirship, has long been numbered with the things
that were. He died-without heirs. He was nearly the last
of the once powerful race in the count)', where they had
held sway so long. Some of the descendants of John H.
Dixon, of Highland township, as well as those of Ste-
phen and Eli, who owned the best farms south of Worth-
ington. are living in the states west of here. Dixon coun-
ty. Tennessee, and the city of Dixon, in Illinois, were
named for the family on account of their settlement there,
their numbers and importance.
The city of the dead, two miles south of Worthing-
ton, is one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in the
county — the Dixon graveyard.
1
FIRST LOG CABIN.
By W. D. Ritter.
Peter Hill is said to have been the man who built
the first log cabin in Bloomfiekl. It was on lot No. 36,
where Asbury Haines now lives; it was built in 1824.
Cabins ranged in size from fourteen by sixteen to
sixteen by eighteen and eighteen by twenty feet. Logs
had to be small, eight to ten inches in diameter, so that
the small force could put them up. Some of smaller di-
mensions and of smaller logs were raised by the pioneer
and his faithful wife. Mr. Hill was from North Caro-
lina. His cabin was of the pretentious kind, larger than
some others and "scutched" down, logs hewn a little in-
side. In very early life I remember of taking the census
of Bloomfield. I stood where the old locust trees are
on the corner of the Colonel E. H. C. Cavins property,
then the home of my father, and counted the cabins in the
county seat. There were ten of them. At my next count
there were twelve. The town looked mighty big then.
Not a nail was used in any of the houses.
The "boards" of the roof were held by weight poles.
The "poles" were kept apart by "knees" so they laid on
252
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the lower end of each "course." The lower end at the eave
was held hy a split pole on the corner logs, so the flat side
came against the ends of the boards. "Ribs," "knees,"
weight poles and butting poles (the latter the split pole the
boards "butted" against) were the "pat" words at a log
cabin raising. Where a goodly number were present a
"raising" was a high old time. "Cornermen" were elect-
ed, to stay on the comers with axes to "saddle" the log
that had been placed and "notch" the next one to fit on the
saddle. These cornermen felt pretty big — would shout
"Roll up your dough" at the hands, meaning roll up the
logs.
The roof was not very steep. The weight poles
would keep a young Hoosier from falling or sliding off.
So up there was a good place to gad about, yell, sing
songs or talk to other young ones on their house, if a
house be near. A quarrel could proceed and the parties
feel pretty safe under such circumstances.
Mr. Hill's wife was a Brooks — kin to the present
Brooks, of Bloomfield. She was by nature a "landlady."
So in a few years, when a two-story tavern was built
where the Hert store is now, the Hills took charge of it ;
kept it for ten years. When the present "old stand" was
built by Joseph Eveligh, they kept that many years longer.
After several removes, Mr. Hill died where Dan Bynum
now lives, two miles east of Bloomfield, about the year
1840.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 253
Two notable descendants, grandchildren of his, who
were reared, one in California and the other in Kansas,
have visited the old home within twenty years — both more
than commonly attractive and beautiful. The one from
California, Nettie Hill, was much astonished at thunder
and lightning — said in her state it never thundered. She
married Steve Huff, of Bloomfield. The other, Gertie
Hill, of Kansas, said she never saw a drunken man in her
life until she saw one in Sandborn, Indiana. Yes, "pro-
hibition prohibits" in Kansas.
THOMAS BRADFORD, THE FOUNDER OF
GREENE COUNTY.
By W. D. Ritter.
Further back than the town of Bradford, county of
Yorkshire, in England, we know nothing- of the Brad-
fords.
Whether John and William Bradford, who came on
the Mayflower and signed the celebrated "compact" at
Cape Cod, November n, 1620, came from Yorkshire, we
do not know, but have reason to think they did. John
was afterward governor of the colony and gave the or-
der to have the first "Thanksgiving" on the last Thurs-
day of November, 1621.
The climate of New England was fatal to many of
254 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the colonists. The first governor, Carver, and half the
people died the first winter. A branch of the Bradford
family removed to North Carolina, where, about 1785,
our subject, Thomas Bradford, was born in Orange
county, of that state. In 1814 he came to Orange county,
Indiana, which county got its name from Orange county
settlers from North Carolina. He was advised to return
to Carolina until the Indians could be removed from what
is now Greene county, which was his destination. This
he did, and in 1816 came back to stay.
Three brothers of them came together; the other
two settled, lived and died in Daviess county. The sand
hill where Thomas Patterson now lives, a mile south of
Bloomfield, was his first home.
In 1 82 1 he took legal steps to organize the county
of Greene. The first court was held at his house, or,
rather, near it, for it was by a large log-heap, on fire
out of doors; the court room was large and airy. For
the next twenty years his life was but the history of the
county. Having at first secured the appointment of com-
missioners to locate the county seat, he entertained them at
his house, filled the office of sheriff pro tern, to notify in
regard to electing county officers, had the election held at
his own house, filled many of the offices required, gave
the officers their certificates of election, and did so many
other things as to the starting into life of the county
government that it makes us think of the fact that his-
1
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 255
torians cal.l the Mayflower compact by the eminent name
of "organization." Associate judges acted with the pre-
siding judges then, and Mr. Bradford held that, as well
as many other offices, for many years. At times it was
impossible for the presiding judge to be present, then the
associate judges held court without him. The office of
associate judge has long been abolished. Mr. Bradford
lived near Burlington, the old county seat, about twenty
years.
Yorkshire, in England, is the home of arts and me-
chanics; Sheffield has no rival on earth for working met-
als. Mr. Bradford had the old mechanic blood in him —
was a blacksmith of more than common capability. Old
persons in all this neighborhood yet remember the skill
as a blacksmith of his son, Garrison Bradford ; it was un-
equaled. For sixty years my father and myself have had
a hand vise, seven inches long, that Thomas Bradford
brought from North Carolina. Not far from 1840 he
passed away. Now all his larg-e family have followed
him. In person he was the genuine Puritan — short stat-
ure, square shoulders, compact chest, figure alert and ta-
pering from shoulders to heels, arm tapering from shoul-
ders to finger ends, showing him to be just what he was —
a man of all-round capability. His descendants in the
county are numerous, all of whom, like himself, are citi-
zens of usefulness and good repute.
t
SOME EARLY HISTORY.
By W. D. Ritter.
The man who built the first log cabin — William
Latta — in 1816, built his cabin on the hill just south of
where the canal railroad crosses the creek now bearing
his name. Jack Baber thought this to be the first white
habitation in the county.
Where Mr. Latta came from we do not know. The
Lindleys were among the first who entered land in the
county, and Zach Lindley, a very famous horsethief
catcher, of Orange county, had part in finding a fine gray
mare which had been stolen, and which belonged to Mr.
Latta, but I do not know if they were relatives or neigh-
bors. From the character of the mare and the way she
had been kept we can construct a very good character
Mr. Lindley, in Orange county, before the owner got to
see her, Mr. Latta made the request that he, with other
for the owner.
The scientists, from a very small part of a skeleton,
can construct all the rest. She (the animal) was, in the
first place, a very good one, and when in possession of
men, be allowed to put his hand in the crack of the log
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 257
stable and let the mare pick out her master. This was
done in such manner that she could not see the men. She
smelled of the hands along without showing interest till
she came to the right one, when she nickered and fondled
and licked the hand in such a way that satisfied all per-
fectly as to the acquaintance that existed between the
parties.
As early as 1818 my father was in "VanSlyke bot-
tom," when piles of deer hair and turkey feathers waist
high lay where the Indians had camped and was at Mr.
Latta's house, which was just across the river. The In-
dians had told the whites of "cold sick" (ague) on Latta's
creek. Professor Latta, of Purdue University, thinks he
is a relative of our "first settler." So he told me when he
was at our farmers' institute some years ago.
The professor is one of the most valuable of citi-
zens, able and honest! in his teaching to the fanners, and
so capable in selecting teachers to send over the state.
So far as I know all these not only teach the people how
to work, but to take care of their earnings. They teach
them not to spend one cent at the saloon.
The Lindleys went to Hendricks county, where the
Quakers made a settlement on White Lick, a perfect gar-
den spot, where many descendants of them and the Jes-
sups now live. The Greene county Jessups are their kin.
I do not think Mr. Latta died here, but whether he went
to White Lick I do not know.
17
PIONEER PHYSICIANS.
By John M. Harrah, M. D.
The first doctor of any prominence whom I remem-
ber was a young man named Fitzgerald, who was located
for a while in the neighborhood of what is now Linton,
in 1840.
He came to visit my great-grandmother in her last
illness, and I can remember how he looked as he bent
over her bed in examining her. He did not long remain
in the neighborhood, and the next doctor I remember was
William G. Skinner, who came to the county early — I
think he must have come in the thirties, perhaps in 1838 or
the year following.
He was said to be well educated for that day and
did much business, riding from his home in Scaffold Prai-
rie, Smith township, to Black creek and all over the west-
ern and northern part of the county. He remained here
until about 1850, when he returned to his eastern home in
New York.
About the time Dr. Skinner located in the county
Drs. Shepherd and Johnson located in Point Commerce
and remained until they died in 1850 or 185 1. I am not
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 259
sure of the exact date, but they died about the same time.
Dr. Johnson died of cholera and Dr. Shepherd, I think,
died of bilious colic.
They were both popular and eminent physicians, and
did much business. Some time in the early thirties Dr.
John A. Pegg came to the county and located in the vil-
lage of Fair Play, where he lived during the epidemic of
cholera and devoted his talents to the afflicted during that
trying time. Some few years after this he moved to the
country, bought land and built a house, in which he died
about the year 1876.
He did an immense practice, and had he been remu-
nerated as he deserved he would have been wealthy. His
children are nearly all dead, I think. He has one daugh-
ter, Mrs. Shoptan, living in Worthington, and one (Mrs.
Parsley) who lives in Indianapolis; also a son, Isaac,
whose home, I think, is the Soldiers' Home at Marion,
Indiana.
About the year 1848 Dr. William F. Sherwood, the
father of Drs. E. T., Ben and Hal Sherwood, now living
in Linton, located there and died there in 1874. He did
much practice and was a man of great influence in the
community, and his sons are among the most respected
practitioners of the county today.
In 1850 Dr. Abram J. Miller, with whom I read med-
icine, located in Linton, where he soon became known as
a skillful as well as a careful and industrious physician,
260 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and he had all the business he could attend to. During the
Civil war he removed to Paris, Illinois, where he soon be-
came one of the leading physicians. He died there about
the year 1903.
Dr. E. J. Jackson came to Linton in the year 1863
and remained there until his death, which occurred about
the close of the century. He was a man of much ability
and left a number of children, who reside in Linton.
At Newberry Drs. Dagley, Stoddard, McDaniel and
O'Neal were among the earliest to locate, and all of these
have passed over from labor to reward.
Dr. Nathan Kimball, who was prominent in the af-
fairs of the army during the war, and who was made a
major general on his merits, practiced medicine in the
county, living in Newberry.
I have not the room in this article to name all the
men who came here early to engage in the healing art,
but will mention only a few. Dr. James A. Mintich came
to Point Commerce in 1854 and died in Worthington in
1897; Dr. J. H. Axton, who located in Worthington in
1850 and moved to Illinois about 1862 ; Dr. W. B. Squire,
who came to Jasonville in 1854, served in the army during
the Civil war, and located in Worthington at its close,
where he died a few years ago; Dr. William L. Greene
lived in Worthington and vicinity before and during the
war, and died in Worthington during the present year
(1908).
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 26l
There are many names which I cannot recall at this
time, and as there are no records of these men I have no
means of knowing about them, although many of them
were reputable and deserving of honorable mention.
The men who are now active in the profession have,
most of them, entered since the middle of the last century,
and while their opportunities for acquiring knowledge
have been far superior to those whom I have mentioned,
they have much to be thankful for in other respects. The
pioneer doctor had a most laborious profession and led
a life of toil. He was subject to calls at all hours of the
day and night, rode horseback over all kinds of roads, ex-
posed to all the weather, through sunshine, rain, hail, sleet
and snow, and with small compensation. Most of the
physicians of whom I have written died rather young, and
few accumulated a great deal of property, but they had
the satisfaction of knowing that they were useful members
of society and that they were held in esteem by the best
people of .the community.
I have only mentioned those who lived west of
White river except those who lived at Newberry, as I was
not acquainted on the east side of the river in early life,
having been reared in the western part of the county.
LIFE IN THE WOODS.
The experiences of the first hardy settlers in Greene
county form a stoiy of trials, privations and sufferings,
262
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and a picture of heroism and triumph, which never lias
been and never will be adequately portrayed. While dis-
tant from their native homes and out of reach of every
civilized comfort, they transformed patches of woodland
here and there into bearing fields, and yielded to nothing
but protracted and blighting disease and death. The rude
log cabins in which they lived were utterly devoid of orna-
ment or adornment. The half of one side of the only
room was devoted to the fireplace, at which the members
of the family toasted their shins, the good wife meanwhile
cooking the simple meal of corn cakes and wild meat on
the same fire. The one room was parlor, kitchen, dining-
room and bedroom, and, in the coldest weather, some of
the few domestic animals were kindly given a night's
shelter from the storm.
The furniture consisted of a few splint-bottomed and
bark-bottomed chairs of the plainest and roughest sort,
made by the use of a hatchet, augur and jack-knife, bed-
steads and a table of a light character, and a scanty set
of cooking utensils, the most important of which were the
skillet and a pot. There were no pictures on the walls, no
tapestry hung at the windows, and no carpets were on the
puncheon floors.
The ornaments of the walls were the rifle and powder
horn, bunches of beans, medicinal herbs and ears of corn
for the next planting suspended from pegs driven into the
logs of which the wall was composed. The windows
needed no curtains, as they were made of a material which
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 263
not only kept out strong sunlight and the fierce winds of
winter, but admitted a sufficient amount of the former for
all practical purposes. In this matter the pioneers dis-
played an amount of ingenuity that could be called forth
only by the mother of invention — necessity. Sheets of
paper were procured and soaked in hog's lard, by which
procesr they became translucent, and these pasted to some
crosf sticks placed in the opening for the purpose consti-
tuted the window of the early log cabin. Puncheon floors
were a luxury and not to be found in every house, as in
many the native soil was both floor and carpet.
The long winter evenings were spent in conversation
over some personal events of the day, or of recollections
of events of the old homes in the east or south from which
they had emigrated. The sunshine of literature did not
circulate very freely. The whole library consisted of a
Bible, an almanac and a few school books. A tallow dip
afforded the only artificial light. In 1830 a clock or watch
was a novelty, and the pioneer marked time by the ap-
proach of the shadow of the door to the sun mark, or the
cravings of the stomach for its ration of corn bread and
bacon.
Daytime was devoted to labor, and great was the
toil. The shouts and exclamations of the gangs as they'
rolled and piled the logs preparatory to burning could be
heard for miles. Corn huskings, grubbings, flax-pullings
and other gatherings were also sources of enjoyment.
Night brought its compensations in the form of the social
264
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
gathering when all the neighbors would crowd into a nar-
row cabin to crack jokes and tell stories, while the voice-
ful catgut gave forth enlivening strains of music, and four
and eight-handed reels, even round, till the break of day.
The fields of the first settlers were not very extensive,
and consequently their crops were not very large. In
fact during the first few years they had no incentive to
raise more than was required for home consumption, as
there was no market for surplus stock. The flail was the
first implement used to thresh the grain with, but was not
so popular as that of tramping it out with horses, which
method was adopted later. The grain and chaff were sep-
arated by the wind, or by a sheet in the hands of persons.
The four-horse ground-hog, as it was called, eventually
supplanted the old methods. It was a rude affair, in com-
parison with the improved machines now in use.
OLD METHODS OF FARMING.
The mowing scythe, hand rake and wooden pitch-
fork were the implements of the hay harvest. The grain
scoop was not known for several years. In cribbing corn,
it was either thrown with the hands or pushed out of the
end of the wagon bed with the foot. Iron scoops did not
come into use until emigration set in from the east. In
the cultivation of corn, the hoe was largely used. "Plow
shallow and hoe well," was the prevailing rule.
We might continue our description of early modes of
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 265
farming, customs and habits to almost an endless length ;
suffice it to say, that in all the departments of life, a cor-
responding simplicity was the rule. How different we
find it now! It is useless to attempt to enumerate the
comforts and modern conveniences now in use. Things
unthought of by the old pioneers abound everywhere. In-
dustrious hands and active brains have been at work, and
we behold on every hand a wonderful, a rapid, a happy
change.
The few cabins scattered over the county were all
made of logs with the traditional "cat-and-clay" chim-
ney, the huge fireplace, the rude chairs, benches, floor and
door, and the hanging herbs, dried venison and beef and
the rifles and axes. The ground, when cleared, was rich,
and on the lower lands fifty bushels of corn could be
raised to the acre. The old wooden mold-board plow was
the principal agricultural implement, or perhaps that an-
cient implement, the hoe, was, as the stumps and roots
were too thick for plows. Corn was ground at Slink-
ard's mill, or at Washington, Daviess county, where the
settlers usually went when the winter's supply of flour
was to be obtained and where the marketing was to be
done,' the trip consuming several days. There it was the
first plows were sharpened. The cutter could be taken off
and sharpened by a blacksmith and reattached. The old
wooden mold-board plow mostly in use was called the
"Bull's plow," and was regarded as a high type of art.
266 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Blacksmiths made them. In a short time shops were es-
tablished nearer than Washington, and homes, mills,
stores, etc., as good as could he found anywhere in the
wilderness rendered useless the long and harassing trip to
Daviess county. Wheat was raised in small quantities
and was threshed with a flail on a puncheon floor, on in
some cases tramped out after the custom so old that the
memory of man runneth not to the contrary. It was the
custom in the reign of the Pharaohs of Egypt, and in the
old Assyrian and Babylonian dynasties, in times ante-
dating authentic history. Cattle were driven around and
around upon the grain in the stalk until all was cut to
pieces, when the grain was separated from the chaff by
the tedious process of winnowing. Corn was raised easier
by the early settlers than wheat, and was the "staff of
life." "Hog and hominy" have become household words
in the Hoosier dialect. Pumpkins were grown in large
quantities and sweetened and prepared for the table, with
maple sugar or syrup, or fed to the cattle. The peavine
pastures of early years were famous for the herds of cat-
tle. Cattle eagerly sought this vine, and though it im-
parled a strong taste to milk and butter, still it was not
unpleasant after a few weeks' use. Hogs ran wild in the
woods, subsisting the year round on the rich "mast" which
covered the ground.
COTTON WAS KING.
It seems strange, but the fact is that in early years
cotton was quite extensively grown in Greene county. The
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 267
early settlers, many of them, had come from the southern
states, where cotton and tobacco were the principal staples,
and where it was thought that "cotton was king" and to-
bacco queen, and that their kingdom was bounded on the
east by the oceans and on the north and south by the Brit-
ish possessions and Mexico. It was not dreamed that the
rich soil of the northern states was to create a revolution
in farm products, placing corn and wheat on the throne
so long occupied by the justly illustrious cotton and to-
bacco. So it came to pass that the early settlers brought
seed cotton and tobacco with them to Indiana. In a short
time a large number of the first residents annually grew
from one to five acres of cotton, and from a few rows to
an acre of tobacco, both of which products were mainly
consumed at home. The cotton was freed of seed by a
neighboring cotton gin and then taken in hand, and in a
short time, by various mysterious processes, transformed
into garments of sundry sizes and hues. Before the gin
was brought in the seed was picked out by hand in pick-
ing bees by the girls and boys. Many a match of pioneer
youth was struck and lighted into fervid flame at these
pickings. Yes, your father and mother, now old and
wrinkled, with palsied hands and tottering feet, were then
young and rosy and strong, with warm, loving hearts un-
der linsey-woolsey and jeans and tow, with spirits
"feather light" in the merry morning of their lives. Soon
you came on the stage in swaddling clothes, very red in
268 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the face, lifting up your voice in doleful lamentations, and
then father and mother were never tired waiting upon
you, tenderly watching your uncertain growth and direct-
ing your energies in healthful pursuits and curbing your
abnormal passions with the specific of Solomon. Can you
do too much for them now ? They are standing on the
brink of the river of death, and can hear the surf beat on
the rocky shore of time, and can see the dark boat in the
distance coming for them. They know, as the Arab ex-
presses it, that —
"The black camel named Death kneeleth once at each door,
And a mortal must mount to return nevermore."
There is no evasion. When the camel comes one must go.
There is time for but one kind word, a clasp of the hand,
a kiss, a last goodby, and the boat leaves the strand and
goes out into the mist of oblivion. Once the old loved
to pick cotton for your little form, loved to meet pioneer
associates with salutations of the backwoods ; but now
they live only in memory, in the happy days of the dead
past where their hearts lie.
WILD GAME.
Wild animals were very numerous and were repre-
sented in this locality by some of the largest and most
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. ■ 269
dangerous species. Bears were often seen and not in-
frequently encountered. Deer were far more numerous
than sheep, and could be killed at any hour of the day or
night. Their hides were worth about fifty cents each,
and a "saddle of venison" brought less than that. In some
cases hogs were as savage as bears, and were known to
attack men when cornered, and when it seemed likely that
they were destined for the pork barrel. The tusks of the
males frequently attained a length of six inches, were
turned up at the points and as sharp as knives. Wolves
were numerous, went in small packs, and it was next to
impossible to keep sheep unless they were guarded by
day and securely penned up by night. Foxes were killed
once in a while. Wildcats infested the woods. Panthers
frequented deer licks. Squirrels were a nuisance. Corn
had to be guarded constantly until the kernel had sent
up a tall stalk and had rotted away. They were hunted
and killed by the hundreds by companies of men organ-
ized for the purpose. Turkeys, ducks, brants, pheasants,
wild geese, otters and a few beavers were also present to
afford the hunter sport and the settler subsistence. One
day Isaiah Hale, who had been away, returned home
through the woods, and while walking along suddenly
came upon a large bear, which had been concealed from
him by intervening brush. He was so close to it that
he could not escape, for it instantly reared up and struck
him with its paw, catching his hand with its paw and
270 ■ BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
badly lacerating it. He then ran back, and bruin left,
seemingly as glad to escape as he was.
John Haddon was an experienced hunter and trap-
per, and he is said to have caught some half dozen or more
otters on the creeks near his cabin. He was a noted deer
hunter, and but three men in the county are said to have
killed more than he in the first year after his arrival. He
was one of the very first settlers in the county, if not the
first, as his date of settlement may have been as early as
1815 for aught any one now living knows to the contrary.
He killed as high as ten deer in one day, and is said to
have confessed that he often tried to exceed that number,
but could not do it. In one winter he is said to have
killed one hundred and twenty deer. The hides were
worth from fifty cents to one dollar. He caught large num-
bers of minks, raccoons, opossums, etc., and always had on
hand many valuable furs, which were regularly purchased
by the traders from Vincennes, who visited his cabin for
that purpose. One day he killed two deer at one shot, and
without leaving his tracks loaded his rifle and shot an-
other. He killed panthers and bears in this county. He
went out near his cabin one morning, so the story goes,
long before daylight, to watch at a deer lick, and while
there, just as daylight was breaking, saw a panther ap-
proaching, which he shot dead at the first fire. One of its
paws hung in his cabin for many years, and was remark-
ably large, with claws two inches in length. The Indians
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 27 1
were numerous when he first came to the township, and
often visited his cabin for warmth or to beg" food or to-
bacco and ammunition. He secured many valuable furs
from them for a comparative trifle, for which he received
a handsome sum from the French traders. He hunted
with the Indians and could beat them shooting- at a mark.
THE INDIAN CHIEF AND THE WHISKY.
It is related that on one occasion an old chief named
Met-a-quah came to his cabin just at meal time and was
invited to eat with the family, which invitation was ac-
cepted. He had no sooner sat down to the rude table,
upon which was wild turkey, potatoes, cornbread, etc.,
than he took from his clothing- a bottle half full of whisky,
and placing the nozzle to his mouth took a long swig,
smacked his lips and passel the vessel to Mr. Haddon. The
latter was nothing loath, and followed the example set by
his guest. The bottle passed around and returned to the
owner empty. The Indian then took from his clothing a
deer bladder containing- a fresh supply, and filling his
mouth squirted the contents into the bottle, to the intense
amusement of all present, and repeated this act until the
bottle was again full, when he handed it out to be again
passed around, but this was refused. All had had enough.
Henry Collins was also a hunter of skill and courage. He
could bring down all kinds of aquatic fowls on the wing
272 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
offhand with his rifle. In one clay he is said to have
killed forty wild geese in and around the Goose pond in
Stafford township. While hunting- in the woods one day
he found two bear cubs in a hollow tree which he took
home and kept until they were large enough to be trou-
blesome, when they were killed. One of the Collins men
had at his home a pet deer which had been captured as a
fawn and had grown up with the family. It wore a bell
on its neck and would pasture with the cattle. At last it
became missing, and after a few weeks it was learned that
the truant animal had been killed for a wild one by a
hunter. Many other incidents similar to the above might
be related.
OTHER INTERESTING EVENTS.
Buck creek is said to have received its name from a
circumstance which occurred on its bank at a very early
day. A large buck frequented the neighborhood, and was
seen there on, several successive seasons, and was an enor-
mous old fellow, with a remarkable spread of antlers, and
was so shy and so alert that no hunter could approach
within shooting distance of him. Emanuel Hatfield and
others in the eastern part of the county came there to hunt
and succeeded in heading the old fellow and killing him.
He is said to have weighed two hundred and sixty pounds.
This creek was a famous resort for the deer, as there
were numerous brackish springs and a succession of dense
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 273
undergrowth which favored their escape when pursued.
Alexander Plummer was another famous deer hunter. He
is said to have killed more deer than any other hunter in
Greene county except Emanuel Hatfield. He had as high
as a dozen dead ones lying in his dooryard in cold weather
at one time. The skins and hams were usually saved, but
the remainder, except the tenderloin, was fed to the hogs.
In later years the wolves became so troublesome that a
small crowd of citizens surrounded a portion of the town-
ship and moved in toward a common center to hem those
inclosed in the circle to smaller limits and shoot them.
Not a single wolf was killed.
BANKING INSTITUTIONS OF LINTON.
The financial institutions of a city are the fortress
of its commercial life. The banking interests of Linton
vie with any other city of similar importance in Indiana
in point of strength and stability of their resources and
the personnel of their officers.
The oldest of these institutions is the Linton Bank,
which was organized in 1895 and chartered as a state
bank, January 1, 1906. The capital stock is fifty thou-
sand dollars. The officers of this bank are : Joe Moss,
president; D. J. Terhune, vice president; James H. Hum-
phreys, cashier. The directors are: W. A. Craig, Peter
Schloot, John L. Cravens, Webster V. Moffett, Joe Moss,
J
274 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
D. J. Terhune and James H. Humphreys. The following
is a condensed statement of the condition of the Linton
Bank at the close of business May 4, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and discounts $187,236.78
Overdrafts 960.14
Furniture and fixtures 2,000.00
Cash on hand and due from banks 136,994.69
Current expenses and taxes paid 2,276.36
Interest paid 923-°5
Cash items 1 10.90
Profit and loss S2-43
Total $330.55495
Liabilities.
Capital stock paid in $ 50,000.00
Surplus and undivided profits 8,327.82
Deposits, time and demand $267,817.99
Due to banks 3-^9
Interest and exchange 4-4°5-25
Total $330,55495
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 275
THE LINTON TRUST CQMPANY.
The Linton Trust Company is the youngest of Lin-
ton's financial institutions, being organized in January,
1906. It has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dol-
lars, and in addition to doing a general banking busi-
ness it acts as administrator, receiver, guardian, or un-
der appointment of court in any trust capacity. They
also loan funds on either real estate or collateral. An-
other feature of their business is their savings depart-
ment, where accounts from one dollar up are received.
The officers of the Linton Trust Company are : W. A.
Craig, president ; D. J. Terhune, vice president ; David
D. Terhune, secretary and treasurer; J. J. Mitchell, as-
sistant secretary and treasurer; directors, Joe Moss, D. J.
Terhune, W. V. Moffett, David D. Terhune, E. L Wol-
ford, Levi M. Price, W. A. Craig. A condensed state-
ment of its condition shows :
Deposits $100,000.00
Surplus 5,000.00
Loans 70,000.00
The trust company has occupied its present magnifi-
cent building since January 1, 1908. The building is one
of the finest in southern Indiana. The exterior is of a
rough concrete, with the first story front of red Syenite
granite and Verde des Alps marble. The interior is mod-
em renaissance adapted from the old renaissance
276 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
style. The interior finish and decorations will compare
favorably with any bank in the state. The fixtures and
woodwork are solid mahogany. The wall decorations are
by Albert Gall, of Indianapolis. A massive concrete vault
encases a Mosley safe, of late design, equipped with a
triple time lock. The equipment in this respect is sec-
ond to none. The safety deposit boxes are contained in
this vault, and these are equipped with a double key
locking arrangement.
FIRSt'nATIONAL BANK OF LINTON.
This institution was organized as a state bank in
1903 and chartered as a national bank in 1904. The of-
ficers of this institution are: W. J. Hamilton, president;
B. A. Rose, vice president; William Bolten, cashier; di-
rectors, W. J. Hamilton, William Bolten, B. A. Rose, N.
G. Dixon, David R. Scott, J. W. Newsom, J. L. Morgan.
Report of the condition of the First National Bank at
Linton, in th state of Indiana, at the close of business
on February 14, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and discounts $103,541.56
Overdrafts secured and unsecured 5,641.81
United States bonds to secure circulation. . . 12,500.00
Premiums on United States bonds 250.00
Bonds, securities, etc 12,238.21
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 277
Banking house, furniture and fixtures 24,690.00
Other real estate owned old banking house. . 4,500.00
Due from national banks (not reserve
agents) 31,019.10
Due from approved reserve agents 19,039.58
Notes of other national banks 5,590.00
Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents 225.08
Lawful money reserve in bank, viz :
Specie $12,000
Legal tender notes 5,000 17,000.00
Redemption fund with United States Treas-
urer (5 per cent, of circulation) 625.00
Total $236,860.34
Liabilities.
Capital stock paid in . 50,000.00
Surplus fund 10,000.00
Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes
paid • 838.13
National bank notes outstanding 11,900.00
Dividends unpaid 72.00
Deposits 163,905.21
Certified checks 145.00
Total 236,860.34
THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF
BLOOMFIELD.
BLOOMFIELD STATE BANK.
The Bloomfield State Bank is probably the oldest
bank in Greene county. It was not, however, the first
bank in the county, as the Richland Bank existed prior to
this. The Bloomfield Bank was organized as a private
bank in 1873, with the following officers: M. H. Shryer,
president; O. W. Shryer, cashier. In 1887 W. M. Haig
became assistant cashier.
This bank was reorganized as the Bloomfield State
Bank, August 1, 1907, with the following officers: E. E.
Neal, president ; C. E. Davis, vice president ; W. M. Haig,
cashier; A. D. Haig, assistant cashier; board of directors,
E. E. Neal, C. E. Davis, W. M. Haig, A. D. Haig, C. L.
Slinkard.
The following is a condensed statement of business
May 14, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and dicounts $113,791.48
Overdrafts 94-34
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 279
Banking house . '. 3,500.00
Furniture and fixtures 2,875.00
Due from banks and trust companies 92,489.06
Cash and cash items 12,760.16
Current expenses 2,537.10
$228,047.14
Liabilities.
Capital stock . . .■ $ 30,000.00
Interest, exchange, etc 7,380.95
Deposits 190,666.19
$228,047.14
citizens' state bank.
The Citizens' State Bank was chartered January 25,
1900. The following officers have served since its or-
ganization: Francis M. Dugger, president; C. C. Bal-
lard, vice president; Otto F. Herald, cashier. These gen-
tlemen also form the board of directors.
The following statement of business was issued Feb-
ruary 14, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and discounts $ 93,194.89
Overdrafts .' 35889
28o BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Banking house and fixtures 5,000.00
Due from banks 71,416.85
Cash 14,491.12
Expenses and dividends 3,729.18
$188,190.93
Liabilities.
Capital stock $ 30,000.00
Surplus ' 6,000.00
Interest and undivided profits 10,394.19
Deposits 141,796.74
$188,190*93
IRON ORES OF GREENE COUNTY.
By Charles W. Shannon.
This chapter, with slight variations, is taken from
the report of the state geologist, to whom the proper and
customary acknowledgment is hereby tendered. This
report, prepared by Mr. Shannon, could be added to, but
it would require months of costly labor, and as it stands
is fairly complete, and while the showing made in this
line is at present not altogether what we should like to
see, yet we predict great development in this county in
the iron industry in the near future.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 28 1
Greene county, ranking second in the state as to ex-
tent and value of its iron ore deposits, is situated as fol-
lows in reference to the other counties of the same ore
area : On the north it is bounded by Clay and Owen ; on
the east by Monroe and Lawrence ; on the south by Mar-
tin, Daviess and Knox counties, and on the west by Sul-
livan county.
The west fork of White river, which runs in a south-
western course through the county, dividing it into two
almost equal parts, is the principal stream of water. The
main tributaries of White river in the county are : Eel
river, Lotta's creek and Black creek, on the west side ; and
Richland creek, Doan's creek and First creek on the east
side. The southeastern portion of the county is drained
by Indian creek, which empties into the east fork of White
river.
The topography of the part of the county to the east
of the river is more rugged than that to the west. PI ills
rise from one hundred feet to three hundred feet in height,
whereas to the" west of the river, with the exception of a
ridge running from Eel river on the north to White river
on the south, in Fair Play township, and passing a short
distance to the west of Worth ington, the county is gen-
erally level, or slightly undulating, a considerable part of
it being prairie. This western portion is the great coal
producing area of the county, and it is also the chief agri-
cultural district. The valuable resources of the eastern
282 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
part are more limited. Thin bedded coals are found; the
limestones and sandstones are of little economic impor-
tance except for local use. There are extensive beds of
shale, which may prove of value for the making of ce-
ment and other products of shale. Most of the fire clays
are rendered worthless by the large percentage of iron
which they contain. The chief interest at the present
time is in the iron ore deposits of this part of the county.
DEVELOPMENTS.
From 1840- 1 860 the iron ore deposits of the county
were worked in a limited way and utilized in two blast
furnaces built expressly for smelting these ores. Previous
to the autumn of 1869, the time of the completion of the
Indianapolis & Vincennes Railroad, this county was with-
out a direct practicable means of communication with the
distant centers of trade. Consequently up to that time
there was no incentive or inducement offered to its citi-
zens to attempt any development of its resources, and for
the same reason any works that were put in operation
soon came to a standstill. Geologists and prospectors
had but little to guide their investigations beyond the
obscure natural outcrops, of the strata, and a few im-
perfect openings of coal and iron mines — the former of
which were only worked to supply the limited wants of
the immediate neighborhood.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 283
Various attempts have been made to revive an inter-
est in the iron ores of the county, but it was not until 1902
that any real prospecting- began. In that year the pro-
moters of the Indianapolis Southern Railroad secured op-
tions on several thousand acres, and, securing the serv-
ices of an expert mineralogist and geologist, began pros-
pecting for ore. The surface outcrops were investigated
and excavations and cuts were made. Many prospect
holes were put down with the core-drill, and although the
company will give out no information, they claim to have
found deposits of rich ore and pyrites apparently of great
extent.
While there are considerable deposits of workable
iron ore in Greene county, the actual extent of the depos-
its has at times been greatly exaggerated. In some cases
large deposits of red shale have been classed as rich de-
posits of ore. Any one familiar with the geology of the
region will not expect to find large and continuous de-
posits. Nevertheless the ores that are found show a fairly
high percentage of iron as compared with other Indiana
ores, and since some of the outcrops show a thickness of
several feet, it is to be hoped that the core drill records
will show the existence of other deposits and depth to the
outcropping bodies of sufficient importance to justify
greater developments at an early date.
THE RICHLAND FURNACE.
The Richland furnace was built by Andrew Downey
284 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and went into the blast about 1841. It was located in sec-
tion 25, township 7 north, range 4 west, near where Ore
branch empties into Richland creek.
The furnace stack was about forty-five feet high and
nine feet across the boshes. Charcoal was used as fuel
and about nine tons of pig iron were produced daily.
Some of the iron was made into hollow wares, stoves, ma-
chinery, etc., but most of the pig iron was marketed at
Louisville. The iron had to be hauled to Mitchell and be
shipped to Louisville, or else hauled all the way in
wagons, the latter being more economical. Although the
iron sold for twenty-six dollars per ton, about twenty dol-
lars was used in the transportation. Hence the cause as-
signed for the blowing out of the old furnace was the
want of a suitable and economical means of getting the
pig iron to market. It went out of blast in 1858 or 1859.
The other furnace using the Greene county ores was
the old Virginia furnace, located in the western edge of
Monroe county, and was long maintained. The pig
iron from this furnace was also hauled to Louisville.
The furnace was poorly constructed and "the only won-
der is that it made pig iron at all." There are to be found
as relics in the homes of some of the citizens a few bars
of the pig iron made from these bars. In appearance it
was a very good quality of iron.
The following from the report of Professor E. T.
Cox (1869) on the iron ores of Greene county is here
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 285
copied for comparison of analysis, location of deposits,
value and uses of the ore and the origin of the deposits :
"It is at the junction of the conglomerate with the
sub-carboniferous limestone that we find the great repos-
itory of limonite ore in this county, and, in fact, it forms
the common horizon of this variety of iron in most of the
western states. The ore lies in pockets of various dimen-
sions, and owes its origin in most cases to a metamor-
phism of the surrounding rocks, produced by the perme-
ating of mineral waters that are strongly charged with
protoxide of iron.
"On Ore branch, section 22, township 7, range 4
west, on Mr. Heaton's land, the base of the conglomerate
has been completely changed by this process into a sili-
ceous ore that is rich in iron to the depth of ten or twelve
feet. Similar ores are seen on sections 21 and 28 of the
same township and range; also in the greatest abundance
at Mr. Law's place, on sections 4 and 9, township 7, range
6, where it cannot be less than twenty-five or thirty feet
, in thickness, and great blocks lie scattered over the side
of the ridge; it is in abundance also on section 12, of the
N same township and range, and in the neighborhood of
Owensboro in the southeast part of the county.
"The principal ore used at the Richland blast fur-
nace, near Bloomfield, from Ore branch of Plummer's
creek, forms a bench on each side of the ravine, and ap-
-. pears to lie between the massive ore and the subcarbon-
1.
'
: ■ :
286
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
iferous limestone which shows itself in the bottom near
by. An excavation was made during' my stay in the
county to show the thickness of the ore bed, which went
to the depth of six feet, at which point the work was
stopped without reaching the bottom of the deposit.
"Captain M. H. Shryer, of Bloomfield, who fre-
quently saw this bed of ore at the time it was being
worked for the blast furnace, assures me that the deposit
is fully nine. feet in thickness. It lies in kidney-shaped
masses in a matrix of ferruginous clay, and contains less
silica than the massive ore. Characteristic samples of this
kidney ore and of the massive siliceous block ore from
the Richland furnace ore banks were analyzed and the
following results were obtained :
'Kidney Ore' (limonite), specific gravity 2.583.
Loss by ignition, water and organic matter, mostly
water 1 1.50
Insoluble silicates 17.00
Sesquioxide of iron, with some protoxite and a
trace of manganese 56.00
Alumina 2.00
Carbonate of lime 10.00
Magnesia 3.50
100.00
Giving 39.20 per cent, of iron.
This ore contains a large amount of lime, and will make
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
287
an excellent quality of metal, and when roasted the per-
centage of metal will be increased to 45. 42 per cent. Spec-
imens of pig iron made from this ore were found at the
furnace and have every appearance of being the best qual-
ity of mill iron.
"An analysis of the siliceous 'block ore' gave the fol-
lowing result :
Specific gravity, 2.585-2.694.
Loss by ignition, water 7.50
Insoluble silicates 34~°°
Sesquioxide of iron 54-73
Alumina 2.50
Manganese 1 • 1 4
Lime 1 -
Magnesia 03
100.02
Giving" 38.31 per cent, of iron.
It was tested for sulphur and phosphorus, but found no
trace. Two hundred grains of this siliceous ore, mixed
with fifty grains of limestone, were fused in a Hessian
crucible, and a button of iron was obtained that weighed
seventy-six grains, equal to thirty-eight per cent. ; very
nearly the same result is obtained by the humid analysis.
The button indicated a very good quality of iron, slightly
malleable, and gave a semi-crystalline fracture. The
roasted ore would yield fully forty per cent, of iron in the
J
258 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
blast furnace, and on account of the manganese which it
contains it is admirably adapted for the manufacture of
steel, either by the Bessemer process or in the puddling'
furnace. Iron made from these ores alone will possess
cold-short properties, but by mixing them in the proper
proportions, with the red-short specular and magnetic
ores from Missouri and Lake Superior, a neutral iron
may be made."
THE ORE MAP.
The ore map, which can be seen in the thirty-first
annual geological report, shows the area over which
the most careful investigation was made. It is
not to be understood from the map that the entire
area under the ore markings is covered by workable ore
deposits. The area includes the chief deposits, which
in most cases are noted on the map by special markings,
and it also includes the area over which more or less
iroivore is scattered, showing the possibility of a deposit
hear by. The map then is more of a guide to lead to
the finding of deposits than a real index of known depos-
its. The existence of deposits outside of the area mapped
may have been found in the core-drilling. A few small
deposits are known farther west and south along the
river, and the surface in many places shows very good
indications of iron and developments may show the pres-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
ence of some workable deposits. The area mapped cov-
ers the chief iron bearing localities.
THE ORE DEPOSITS.
In Greene county the known workable deposits of
iron ore are to be found chiefly along Ore branch, Rich-
land creek, Plummer's creek and in the vicinity of Cin-
cinnati. Some of these deposits will be described and the
analysis appended.
Richland Furnace Ore Bank No. i. — This deposit
lies along the slope of the ridge just south of the old fur-
nace location, on Ore branch. The deposit is of kidney
ore intermixed with much clay and broken sandstone. The
total thickness is twenty to twenty-five feet, but the ore
would aggregate but a few feet. This would now hardly
be considered workable, although considerable ore from
the bank was used in the Richland furnace. The samples
analyzed show an average iron content of thirty-seven
and sixty-five hundredths per cent. This of course does
not include any of the impurities imbedded with the ore.
In the table of analysis the sample marks are No. 6 and
No. ii. The complete analyses are given in the table,
and they would be a fair average for most of the kidney
ores of the county.
Furnace Bank No. 2. — Located in the southwest
quarter, section 25, township 7 north, range 5 west, about
19
29O BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
forty rods southwest of old furnace site. It is sixty-five
feet above drainage. Elevation five hundred and sixty-
five feet. At the creek level is the outcrop of a thin bed
of coal.
This iron ore is very siliceous. It is in a massive
deposit but is very porous. The excavation, which did
not reach the bottom, shows five feet of ore ; it is prob-
ably six feet or more in thickness on the outcrop. The
first drilling was made near the edge of the deposit, then
two more were put down, one about fifteen rods to the
southwest, the third about the same distance to the south-
east, and the fourth was near the first and was drilled at
an angle — i. e., the drill was set perpendicular to the
slope of the hill. The order of succession of these borings
would indicate that the deposit was of small dimensions
and as it thinned out back in the ridge it raised with the
slope of the ridge. The deposit probably does not have
a backward extent of more than fifty feet of workable
ore. This deposit would yield about eight thousand tons
of ore. It shows an iron content of forty and thirty-six
hundredths per cent. In the table of analysis the sample
marks are No. 7 and No. 12.
No. 3, Cincinnati Ore. — In the vicinity of the little
town of Cincinnati, in the eastern part of the county, the
ground in many places is profusely covered over with
fragments of ore, even on the tops and slopes of the high-
est ridges. About two and a half miles northeast of the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 2C)I
town is a U. S. G. S. B. M., marked eight hundred and
fifty-three feet. The mark is in a steel plate imbedded in
a large piece of sandstone at the top of the ridge. Ore
is found at this level, but there are no workable deposits.
On the east side of Cincinnati the ore outcrops in
the shale along the sides of the ridge, and these outcrops
follow around the ridge to the south of the town and more
or less ore is found fringing the hills to the west and
also to the north. The elevation of the town is a little
lower than the surrounding hills. The elevation marked
on a telephone pole by the store at the turn of the road
is eight hundred and twenty-five feet. Another U. S.
B. M. at an elevation of eight hundred and eighty feet
is marked on a steel post about half a mile south of Cin-
cinnati at a fork in the roads.
On the Starling Hudson farm in the southwest quar-
ter of section 28, south of Cincinnati, is to be found con-
siderable ore intermixed with the shale. This deposit of
concretionary ore covers about forty acres. It is to be
found in a thickness of more than ten feet in some places,
but in no compactness that would be considered a work-
able ore. It is, however, very interesting" geologically.
At an elevation of seven hundred and seventy-five feet a
thin bed of very fossiliferous limestone outcrops. Above
this the ore is a constituent of the shales and sandstone;
below the ledge of limestone the ore is concretionary and
contains fossils or fragments of fossils, which have been
replaced from the limestone fossils.
292 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Deposit No. 4. — On Anthony Williams' land, north-
east quarter southeast quarter, section 21, township 7
north, range 4 west, is a deposit with an average thick-
ness of five feet, and has an exposed frontage of two hun-
dred and fifty feet. This is a brown, hig-hly siliceous ore,
which owes its origin to the filling of the sandstone with
iron from mineral charged waters. Three drill holes
were put down on the low ridge above the deposit.
Across the road is another deposit of red hematite,
which is in compact nodular masses imbedded in the clay.
The excavation shows over five feet of this ore.
On the Miller farm, southwest of Williams's, ore
similar to the above is also found.
In the table of analysis sample No. 1 was taken from
the siliceous ore, and sample No. 3 was from the red hem-
atite deposit, but does not include the clay, and sample
marked No. 10 is from another outcrop of the siliceous
deposit on the southeastern point of the hill about forty
rods from the first deposit.
Deposit No. 5. — Southwest quarter of section 22,
just east of the above deposit, is another opening from
which ore was taken in the early days of the iron indus-
try. It is a continuation of the deposit of red ore, but
probably contains less . clay. The hills do not rise to
great height above these ores, and both deposits would
require on the average about fifteen feet of stripping.
Samples Nos. 4 and 9 show the iron content.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 293
Deposit No. 6. — On the John Bryan land, west side
of section 9, township 7 north, range 4 west, is a deposit
of red siliceous ore exposed to the south side of the ridge
facing Richland creek.
The deposit is about forty feet above drainage and
at an elevation of six hundred feet. The maximum thick-
ness is about fifteen feet, and it has a frontage of more
than five hundred feet, but the backward extent is small,
as the ridge is narrow and but little trace of ore is to be
found on the opposite side. The tonnage would probably
amount to about twenty-five thousand tons. A vertical
section of the ridge would be as follows :
Sandstone and clay with glacial material 15 feet
Sandstone 25 feet
Iron ore 15 feet
Sandstone 35 feet
Limestone down to creek 10 feet
The analyses show an iron content of 42.01 per cent.
The sample mark is No. 5.
Deposit No. 7. — Adius B. Hayes's land, section 16,
township 7 north, range 4 west. Along the sides of the
ravines are large accumulations of kidney ore, some pieces
weighing hundreds of pounds. These shales are full of
these ores. In the stream below the' shales is a ledge of
siliceous ore due to the filling of the sandstone with iron.
Only a short distance back in the ledge the iron content
is to be found. These deposits might be worked out
J
294 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
along with the larger dq^osits. Sample No. 8, selected
specimens from a number of concretions from this
deposit.
Deposit No. 8. — In the southeast quarter of section
4 and the northeast quarter of section 9, south of Sols-
berry, are found large blocks of siliceous iron ore, also
some outcropping ledges. This ore has been greatly over-
estimated. It was recently estimated by a prospector as
containing five hundred thousand tons of workable ore.
The ore is due to" the filling and replacing of the sand-
stone, and it is doubtful if this line of deposit will prove
to be of any practical value.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF GREENE
COUNTY.
By Joe E. Turner,
Proprietor Linton Daily Citizen.
How innocent were the aboriginal tribes which
abided in or traversed this part of God's footstool of the
vast stores of wealth that lay beneath the beaten trails of
this, a once famous hunting ground ; and how ignorant
were they of the fertility of the surface which they trod in
their pursuit of game, an abundance of which was then to
be found in this locality. Not only game which afforded
the excitement of the chase was abundant, but also fish
and water fowls — a combination of conditions which made
this spot, even in those early days, one peculiarly favored
by Dame Nature in the lavish bestowal of things which
made it a highly desirable place of abode. When deer
ran wild over the grassy prairies of Nine Mile and
through the virgin forests long since vanished before the
woodman's ax, and thickets lain bare by the advance of
civilization; when the wild geese, ducks, turkeys and
other water fowls sought recreation and sustenance in
swampy regions of the historic old Goose pond — even
then this was known as a favored spot on earth.
296 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
But the ignorance or innocence of the Indian regard-
ing the natural resources other than those which were
necessary to his comfort is not remarkable. Many gen-
erations of his more progressive and intelligent successors
in title to this great hunting ground knew little of the
stored-up wealth within the bowels of mother earth, and,
had they known, they, in all probability, would have been
as unconcerned and passive as the noble red man.
But time, the evolution of human intellect, the in-
vention of wonderful machines, the building of great ships
and railways, the progress of the arts and sciences — all
were necessarily a part of the plan conceived and consum-
mated by the Master Architect when he gave the wealth of
mineral that is the cornerstone of Linton's destiny.
As "necessity is the mother of invention," so inven-
tion is the mother of the discovery and research of things'
a demand for which has been created by such invention.
The great deposits of coal which underlie Linton
and vicinity were here always, yet the black diamonds
were locked, as it were, in strong vaults of earth, whose
doors were to be opened at the behest of Progress. When
the first pound of Linton coal was thrown upon the mar-
kets of the country that was the formal introduction to the
world of what has proven the richest bituminous coal field
in America, and then was set the solid foundation of a
city whose future is resplendent with greatness, whose
present is that of remarkable activity and progress, and
whose past is interesting history.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 297
Had these been diamond fields it would have meant
no more to Linton— possibly less. No commodity has a
more ready market— no raw material is in greater de-
mand and no mineral is more indispensable than coal. Yet,
indiscriminately, as a fuel, no article is so common, but
classed for practical uses the grades of coal are varied.
Therein lies Linton's distinction and wealth. The product
of this field is remarkable in its adaptability to all pur-
poses, wonderful in its extent and unsurpassed in accessi-
bility. The far-famed fields of the Quaker state are not
greater in extent nor do not equal in quality of product the
Linton region, though the latter is comparatively new and
the industry in its swaddling clothes.
To say that Linton is fortunate is a modest statement
of the facts. Not only is the city and vicinity fortunate
iii possessing the great fields of coal, but in other things as
well. No section of country within the great, fertile val-
ley of the Mississippi can justly lay claim to better lands
adapted to agriculture. Time and progression have also
wrought changes in this respect. The drainage of swamps
and the reclamation of marshes have added thousands of
fertile, fruitful acres to the territory. What were, of but
comparatively recent years, bogs and thickets, covered
with shrubbery and marsh grasses, are now vast fields of
cereal. In truth, the desert tracts have been made to blos-
som as the rose and the topography of a great section of
country, particularly that for miles south of Linton, has
298 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
been completely changed. What only a few years ago was
the resort and playground of fowls and animals is now
the home of many a prosperous farmer, whose products
are of exceptionally high grade. There is no exaggera-
tion in the statement that the value of at least three thou-
sand acres of land within close proximity of this city has
been increased during the past decade twenty-fold. The
taxable valuation of Stockton township, eliminating all
reference to mineral wealth, has increased at a remarkable
rate. It is a conceded fact that no tract of land is more
productive of corn crops than those which have been re-
claimed by drainage. Plethoric barns and granaries have
taken the place of modest log stables and pens, and the
spirit of progress and prosperity has superseded squalor
and discontent. In pace with these changes the building
of gravel and macadam roads has also been carried on,
and now, through formerly impenetrable places, high and
dry public roadways are found. Without burdensome
taxation a system of gravel roads not equaled by any
county south of Indianapolis has been constructed, and all
these changes have been wrought within the past few
years.
LINTON COAL.
In time the character of the lands surrounding Linton
would have commanded sufficient attention of itself to
draw investments of foreign capital here, but the coal in-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 299
dustry ranks pre-eminently above all other inducements,
and must be considered the potent factor in the develop-
ment of the country and the awakening of the spirit of
enterprise in a section previously unknown outside of a
limited territory. That the world is now looking toward
Linton as the coming city of Indiana is attributable alone
to the fact that here lies the broadest, richest fields of bitu-
minous coal in America.
Geological conditions such as we have are rare. Not
often can an excellent agricultural community boast of
additional resources, but this is true with ours.
The greatness of the Linton coal fields does not lie
alone in its extent, but in the quality of the product. Sci-
entific investigation and practical tests have set at rest
the minds of those who were,, many years ago, skeptical as
to the quantity of Linton coal and its marketable fitness.
The accessibility of the Linton coal and its adapta-
bility to general purposes, for cooking, for manufacturing
and domestic uses, places it at the head of fuel commodi-
ties. It possesses many points of excellence not contained
in other fuel, and that the great consumers are fast finding
out this fact is evidenced by the growing and unprece-
dented demand this season for Linton coal, even at a price
much in advance of other coals which had many years
been sold on their reputation and not upon their merits.
Linton coal will stand the test in any furnace. Nature has
provided it with all the elements desired in a good and
300 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
economical fuel, and has expunged it of all impurities,
making it clean, compact, containing a larger percentage
of combustible, volatile matter than most other coals, and
yielding a greater amount of heat to a proportionate bulk'.
A PECULIAR COAL.
The coal of Western Greene county is, to use the ex-
pression of a famous patent medicine man, "peculiar to
itself." Geologists call it non-caking- bituminous coal, but
it matters very little, from a practical standpoint, -what
name it may boast; the brawny fireman who shovels it
into the furnace is the man who best knows its virtues.
He knows that when he puts a shovelful of Linton coal
under the boiler every ounce of it goes to make steam.
There are no cracking, sputtering pieces of slate and sul-
phur, and no bulky clinkers to handle after the coal has
burned. Linton coal leaves a white ash and few, if any,
clinkers — a most uncommon thing in other coals. But
the advantages of the Linton coal are manifold. Aside
from its actual heating properties, probably its greatest
advantage lies in the fact that it does not disintegrate by
exposure to the elements. Some coal, upon being taken
from the earth and exposed to air and sunshine or rain,
will crumble into slack, or even dust, making it utterly
unfit for shipment, or even for use after it has been mined
for a few days. Linton coal, however, is as good after
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3OI
it reaches Chicago and other markets, shipped in open
cars and exposed to all kinds of weather, as it is the day
it comes from the pit. It does not rot nor crumble, but
retains its solid, compact form and all its native gases.
This is a great commercial advantage, and gives our coal
an enviable prestige.
Coal containing sulphur cannot be used in working
iron, inasmuch as the sulphur is absorbed by the iron,
making it brittle and less easily worked. This also ap-
plies to the burning of sulphurous coal in highly heated
furnaces, where the sulphur clings to the grate bars,
chokes the draft and causes much inconvenience.
Contrary to conditions in many other fields, the coal
in the great Greene county basin retains an almost nominal
quality throughout the entire district. The coal of the
Island Valley mine, the farthest south, to North Summit,
or even to the new Hoosier, the northernmost mine sunk
in the Linton field proper, varies but little in quality, all
possessing the many excellent qualities enumerated above.
A VAST FIELD.
It is by no means remarkable that the mining indus-
try in Greene county has reached such enormous propor-
tions in the past few years. The output of coal today is
treble that of five years ago, and even at that time it was
feared by many that the Linton coal field had "seen its
3<32 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
best days." But if there is any one now who doubts that
the development of coal land is only in its infantile form
he is a stranger to established facts.
The current report of the state geologist says that
coal was mined in Greene county as early as 1840. and
many citizens of Linton today can remember when the
old Sherwood mine was worked. That was about forty
years ago, and there is a depression in the ground yet in
the northeastern part of the city, showing the location of
the old mine, which was a nucleus around which great
mines have been developed. A few years later the
Thorp mine was opened south of town on what was then
thought to be a magnificent scale, and so following the
Thorp mine came the Peewee, or Griffin mine, south of
Island City, which was really the first shaft in this section
which had anything like modern equipment and steam
hoisting apparatus. By these numerous minings in various
parts of Stockton township it became known that the
country was underlaid with coal, but the superior quality
and the enormous quantities of it were not then dreamed
of. If the facts were really known no one who possessed a
sufficient amount of capital dared invest it in a speculation
the outcome of which was an uncertainty. Not until the
late Colonel S. N. Yoeman, the real father of the coal
industry in Greene county, became interested in the mat-
ter, did the actual development of this coal field begin.
This was in 1893, when, with a company of capitalists
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3O3
known as the Island Coal Company, he opened up the
"Ai" or Island City shaft, equipping it with modern ma-
chinery and inducing the Pennsylvania Company to ex-
tend the branch road to the mine, the coal company build-
ing the roadbed at its own expense. Likewise Dugger &
Neal secured its extension to Dugger, where they had a
paying, well equipped mine in operation.
But even at that late date no one had the courage to
predict that the opening of the coal fields would develop
the slumbering, swampy portion of Stockton township
into an Eldorado and the antiquated village of Linton into
the modern, hustling city it is today.
True, there has been an evolution, but it is not re-
markable, inasmuch as capital hesitated until it found be-
yond doubt that the natural conditions were here, which
only needed the twin brothers of capital and labor to de-
velop. Nature has been lavish in bestowing upon the
western townships of Greene county great riches, yet it
remained for means and men to develop these gifts before
the real fruits thereof could be enjoyed.
Would any one have believed in 1885, or even in
1890, that the enormous quantity of one million seven hun-
dred thousand tons of coal would be mined and shipped
out of Linton in a single year? But it was done last
year, and the labor of nearly four thousand men was re-
quired to accomplish it. This year, under normal condi-
tions, will see an output of two million tons. A corre-
304 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
sponding increase will follow year by year until the coal
industry shall have developed from its budding state into
the full-blown flower of magnitude which means the gath-
ering of other industries and building up of a g-reat county
and a greater city.
We know to a certainty that there are now over two
hundred square miles of undeveloped coal lands in this
vicinity ; we know that what has already been taken out
is comparatively insignificant, though laboring men who
have produced it, whose homes are here and who spend
their money here, have been paid thousands of dollars for
their work. Who, then, can fail to see the brilliant future
of our city and county ?
Fuel is a great inducement for the location of a great
many factories, and while our city has not been as fortu-
nate in the past as our remarkable natural resources would
seem to merit, there are abundant reasons for the hope
that the time is not far distant when we shall locate nu-
merous factories to swell our commercial and industrial
developments. There is a movement of late which prom-
ises great prosperity to coal mining communities — that is,
the tendency of factories to leave the larger cities and lo-
cate where they may be in close proximity to raw mate-
rials. Coal is the chief "raw material" in the manufac-
ture of almost all products.
Linton is already recognized as the first coal produc-
ing city in the state. Superiority of our coal fields and
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3O5
their extent is admitted, and the advantages for the loca-
tion of manufactories are unequaled anywhere. Previous
to 1901 the Linton field had been at a great disadvantage,
compared with other fields, on account of the lack of fa-
cilities for moving the output and placing it upon the mar-
ket. The condition has been overcome by the completion
of new railways, which give us direct shipping facilities to
all the great markets. Three direct lines of railway to
Chicago, others to the east, west and the south, afford
Linton unsurpassed advantages.
In his annual report State Geologist Blatchley, who
has, with his assistants, made an exhaustive research of
the coal deposits in this section of the state, says that the
supply of natural g-as is constantly decreasing and that
the end of that fuel, at least for manufacturing purposes,
will soon be here. He says further that the state of In-
diana contains a coal supply suitable in quantity to supply
their needs for many centuries to come. Of course the re-
port of the state geologist can be relied upon as impartial
and correct, and he does Linton the honor of according
to it the most advantageous conditions in the state for the
location of factories.
There is absolutely nothing that can be said to dis-
prove these statements. In fact, the present is fulfilling
abundantly the predictions of such men as Colonel Yeo-
man, who many years ago pointed out Linton as the com-
ing city of southern Indiana, and what the future has in
store for western Greene county cannot be easily over-
estimated.
Within the past few months (1907-1908) a move-
ment has begun, backed by ample capital, that promises
20
306 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
even more for this community than the most optimistic
citizen had imagined in his mental pictures of the future
greatness of Greene county.
The tests of Linton coal for its coke-making ele-
ments has progressed to the extent that it is practically
assured at this time that within the next two years this
entire field will be dotted by ovens, thus furnishing em-
ployment not only to the. miners of the coal every day in
the year, but to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of workmen
in the coke industry. Then it will naturally follow that
manufacturing concerns, quick to realize our vastly su-
perior advantages, will seek locations here. Even now a
company of millions of capital is promising to set this
great enterprise on foot, and this article, to do justice to
the "industrial development of western Greene county,"
would need to be revised ere the close of this decade.
JOSEPH MOSS.
Standing out distinctly as one of the central figures
in the industrial and financial history of Greene county,
is the name of Joseph Moss, of Linton. Prominent in
local affairs of a business nature and equally so in matters
of public interest, with a reputation for distinguished
service second to none of his contemporaries, there is to-
day no man in the city of his residence more honored, and
all who come within the sphere of his influence unite in
rendering due tribute to his sterling worth as a neighbor,
business man and citizen. The Moss family has been
identified with southern Indiana since the pioneer period,
the name being closely interwoven with the settlement,
growth and subsequent development of Washington and
Greene counties. Aquilla Moss, the subject's grandfather,
a Kentuckian by birth, settled in the former county prior
to the twenties, and about 1825 moved to a tract of land
three miles northeast of Linton where he cleared and im-
proved a good farm on which he spent the remainder of
his life. His wife Sarah Harrah, also a native of Ken-
tucky, now lies by his side in an old family burying
ground on the homestead which he carved from the wil-
derness, and the name of both are honored in the com-
munity they helped to establish more than eighty-three
years ago. Among the children of the worthy couple
was a son by the name of William G. Moss, who was born
in November, 1823, in Washington county, Indiana, and
308 biographical memoirs
who married Jennette Rector in 1841, whose birth
occurred in 1823, in the county of Lawrence. William
G. Moss was reared to manhood on the original home-
stead in Stockton township, and in due season became
a successful farmer and representative citizen, beginning
with forty acres and increasing the same to the home
place of one hundred and sixty acres, later acquiring four
hundred acres in the same locality, this making him one
of the largest real estate holders in the township of his
residence. He continued to live on this place until 1854,
when he removed his family to Linton, and two years
later he was elected sheriff of Greene county, filling the
office by re-election four years, during which time he
made his home in Bloomfield. In i860 he was further
honored by being elected to represent Greene county, in
the lower house of the general assembly, in which he
served one term and in November of the same year he
returned to his farm where he spent the remainder of
his days, dying on January 30, 1899, his wife following
him to the silent land August 7th, of the year 1901. Wil-
liam G. and Jennette Moss were the parents of ten chil-
dren, seven of whom are living, namely: Joseph, whose
name introduces this sketch; Mrs. Sarah M. Turner,
Stephen, Bamet S., Rebecca, wife of Alexander Beasley ;
Mary E. who married Joshua D. Neal, and Julia R.,
now Mrs. George E. Humphreys; the other three dying
at ages ranging from three to six years.
Joseph Moss, whose birth occurred on the 21st day
of September, 1843, spent his early life on the homestead
in Stockton township and received his preliminary edu-
cation in such indifferent schools as the country in those
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 309
days afforded. Later he attended for two years the
schools of Linton and four years in Bloomfield, after
which he took charge of a country school, earning fifty-
nine dollars for sixty days service as a teacher. After
teaching three terms he engaged in merchandising in Lin-
ton and continued that line of business from 1864 to 1869,
handling a general store and hauling his goods by ox
team from Carlisle, a distance of fifteen miles. Dispos-
ing of his mercantile establishment in the latter year he
moved to his farm and devoted his attention to agricul-
ture until 1883, when he sold out and returned to Linton,
where he has since resided, and with the recent business
and industrial interests of which city he has been actively
identified.
Mr. Moss in 1893 assisted in establishing the Linton
Bank, which was operated as a private concern until
1906, when it was reorganized as a state bank, the orig-
inators of the enterprise in addition to himself being
O. W. Shryer, D. L. Terhune and J. H. Humphreys. In
June. 1905, Mr. Moss purchased the several interests of
his partners and doubling the capital stock, reorganized
the institution as stated above, but subsequently sold part
of the stock to Messrs. Humphreys and Terhune, but
retained the presidency, which position he has filled from
the original organization to the present time. Under his
able management, assisted by the fifteen safe and conser-
vative men constituting the stockholders, this bank is do-
ing a very successful business and is now one of the most
extensively patronized and popular institutions of the
kind in the southwestern part of the state.
Mr. Moss was one of the organizers of the Citizens
3IO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
State Bank at Bloomfield, which began business in 1903
with a capital of thirty thousand dollars, and also took a
leading part in the establishing, in 1905, of the Dugger
State Bank, which has a capital of twenty-five thousand
dollars, and of which he is president and director. In
addition to the above well known financial institutions,
he was an influential factor in organizing, in 1906, the.
Linton Trust Company, and he holds the office of presi-
dent of the Commercial State Bank of Worthington,
organized in October, 1906, besides being one of the four
incorporators of the New Linton Hotel, representing a
capital of thirty-five thousand; he assisted in organizing
the Linton Water Company, with a capital of one hundred
thousand dollars, is president and director of the Linton
Mill Company which is capitalized at twenty-four thou-
sand dollars, and he holds a large block of stock in the
Linton Rolling- Mill, of which he is also treasurer, this
enterprise representing investments to the amount of
seventy-five thousand dollars, and he also is a stockholder
and director in the Linton Ice Plant with forty thousand
dollars capital. He is interested quite largely in real
estate, owning in addition to a fine farm of one hundred
and sixty acres, and a half interest in one thousand acres
of farm lands in various parts of Greene county, to say
nothing of private holdings amounting to many thousand
dollars of capital. Financially he ranks not only among
the solid men of the city and county but in business circles
throughout Indiana and other states his name has long
been highly rated, and in various lines of enterprise, with
which his name is connected, he enjoys a standing second
to that of no other man similarly interested.
L
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3 1 I
In his political affiliation Mr. Moss is staunchly
Democratic and as a local politician his opinions have
always commanded respect and carried weight. As early
as 1865 he was elected trustee of Stockton, township, and
after filling the office by successive re-elections for a
period of six years, he served the people of Wright town-
ship four terms in the same capacity.
In November, 1900, he was elected treasurer of
Greene county and took charge of the office January 1,
1902, and in November following was chosen his own
successor, discharging the duties of the position two full
terms and acquitting himself as a faithful and efficient
public servant whose record was above the breath of
suspicion, and whose interest in behalf of one of the
people's most important trusts gained him hundreds
of warm personal friends, irrespective of political ties.
On March 24, 1867, occurred the marriage of Mr.
Moss and Sallie Humphreys, of Greene county, Indiana,
daughter of Honorable Andrew and Eliza (Johnson)
Humphreys, natives of Tennessee and Ohio, respectively.
The parents of Mrs. Moss were married in the county of
Putnam in 1840, moved in 1842 to Greene county, where
Mr. Humphreys became a prominent figure in public and
political affairs, and for many years was one of the Dem-
ocratic leaders in this section of the state. He represented
the county in both branches of the legislature, was In-
dian agent to Utah during the administration of Presi-
dent Buchanan, and in 1876 was elected to Congress of
the United States in which he served one term and made
a very creditable record as a law-maker. He was a
farmer the greater part of his life and a man of fine
mind and will always be remembered as one of the conn-
312 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ty's most distinguished citizens; he died June 24, 1904, his
wife preceding him to the grave on February 4th of the
year 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Humphreys had a family of six
children whose names are as follows: Mrs. Emmeline
Poe; Levi, deceased; Albert G. died in 1880, aged thirty
years; Mrs. Sallie A. Moss, born January 3, 1850; James
Henry, and Andrew, who departed this life in 1875, at
the age of seventeen.
Mr. and Mrs. Moss have never been blessed with
children of their own, but they are popular with young
people and their pleasant home is a favorite resort of the
youth of the city, who find therein a generous hospitality
which the kind host and hostess most graciously dis-
pense. Mrs. Moss is an active member of the Christian
church, a wide reader of religious literature and a care-
ful student of many subjects. She also keeps abreast of
the times in general literature, being a member of the
Twentieth Century Club, of Bloomfield, the Mount Mel-
lick Social Club and Eastern Star, the Christian Aid So-
ciety, and is popular in the best society circles of the city
in which she resides. Mr. Moss subscribes to the Bap-
tist faith and holds membership in the church which wor-
ships in Linton. He has been a Mason since 1865, has
risen to high standing in the brotherhood, including the
Royal Arch Degrees and the Order of the Eastern Star;
he also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks. Mr. Moss was nominated on May 16, igo8, for the
legislature by the Democratic ticket.
Mr. Moss contributed the ground, sixty-six by one
hundred and twenty-six feet, on the northeast corner of
Vincennes and First streets, for the Carnegie Library
building. Mrs. Moss is vice-president of the building
committee.
,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3 I 3
JOHN W. GRAHAM.
Among- the Scotch-Irish immigrants to Virginia at
the close of the seventeenth century were a man and wife
by the name of Graham, whose son Samuel was born in
that state on the 4th day of October, 1807. His father
dying- while Samuel was yet a boy, his mother remarried,
and some time after this occurred the son started out
to seek his fortune in the new and undeveloped West,
with Indiana as his objective point. Reaching his desti-
nation in due time, he located in Lawrence county, where,
in 1827, he met and married Mary Kilgore, who was
born in that part of the state on July 1 1 of the year 181 1.
From Lawrence county Mr. and Mrs. Graham moved to
what is' now known as Raglesville, in the county of Da-
viess, thence, after a brief residence, to Greene county,
locating about three miles northwest of Owensburg,
where they lived and prospered for a number of years.
They next moved to the town of Owensburg, where Mr.
Graham for many years was a justice of the peace and an
influential man of affairs. Later this good couple
changed their abode to Bedford, but subsequently re-
turned to their former place, where, September 21, 1874,
the faithful wife was called to the other world, and on
April 21, 1888, she was rejoined in the land of silence by
the husband with whom she had spent forty-seven years
of happy wedded life.
The following are the names of the children born to
Samuel and Mary Graham: Jane, Basil, Wilson, Ma-
rion, Lafayette, Charles, Averilla, Ritta, Martha, Mi-
nerva, infant that died unnamed, and John W., the sub-
ject of this sketch, whose birth occurred on the 7th day
of October, 185 1.
314 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
John W. Graham was reared under excellent home
influence and grew up with well-defined ideas of life
and duty. After receiving a good English education in
the schools of Owensburg he devoted some time to the
profession of teaching and later accepted a clerkship with
a mercantile firm, in which capacity he continued until
purchasing his employers' Stock and becoming proprietor
of the establishment. He conducted a successful busi-
ness at Owensburg for several years and in 1887 moved
to Bloomfield, where he was similarly engaged until 1894,
meeting with encouraging results the meanwhile and be-
coming widely and favorably known as a careful and
methodical business man.
Mr. Graham early began taking a lively interest in
political matters and in the year 1894 was nominated by
the Republicans for clerk of the circuit court, to which
office he was duly elected, after a very animated contest
against a strong and popular competitor. After serving
a full term of four years and displaying commendable
ability as an able and accomplished official, he was ap-
pointed deputy treasurer of state under Nathaniel U. Hill
in 1903 and continued in that capacity until 1906, when
he returned from Indianapolis to assume his duties as
postmaster of Bloomfield, to which office he was appoint-
ed in January of that year. In the various important
trusts to which he has been called he has discharged the
duties incumbent upon him in a manner satisfactory to
all concerned and his relations with the public have been
such as to win confidence and demonstrate the wisdom
of his official course. He possesses sound sense, mature
judgment, is public-spirited in the true sense of the term
and enters heartily into all measures that have for their
I
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3 1 5
object the material advancement of his city and county
and the moral welfare of his fellow men. A member of
Bloomfield Lodge, No. 84, Free and Accepted Masons,
he has been actively identified with the work of the or-
der, and he is also an Odd Fellow and a Knight of
Pythias.
Mr. Graham's first marriage was solemnized in 1874
with Samantha Hatfield, whose birth occurred on Octo-
ber 16, 1852, and who died September 27, 1882, leaving
cwo children, Inez and Louie S., the former the wife of
J. O. Walker, of Bloomfield, the latter a traveling sales-
man for a wholesale firm. Mr. Graham's second wife,
who bore the maiden name of Emma G. Baker, departed
this life February 5, 1892, by whom he had three chil-
dren, namely: Roxie, now deceased; Virgil, also de-
ceased, and Rex A., now a student of the high schools
of Bloomfield. On July 19th of the following year he
entered the marriage relation with Hattie Burcham, who
has borne him one child, Walter B., now in his eighth
year.
Mr. Graham is interested in the coal mining busi-
ness at Jasonville in company with the Letsinger Coal
Company, which operates the Letsinger mine, which has
an output of thirty cars per day.
CURTIS W. ADAMS.
It so happens that communities, towns, cities, states
and even nations are measured morally by the good or
316 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
evil reputation of their inhabitants. It is an old aphor-
ism, "like king, like people," or "like people, like king,''
and it does no violence to philosophy to say, "like people,
like town," in which respect the city of Bloomfield is pe-
culiarly fortunate. In the course of its history, it has
become the abiding place of a number of substantial and
enterprising men, notable among whom is the wide-
awake, energetic and progressive gentleman a brief re-
view of whose career is herewith outlined, a gentleman
of ideas as well as actions, whom to know is to esteem
and honor and to whom one instinctively turns to find
a representative of what is best and most commendable
in the typical American of the times.
George Adams, the subject's father, was born in
New Albany, Indiana, and his mother, who bore the
name of Sarah Frances Houston, was a native of Paris,
Kentucky, and a near relative of General Samuel Hous-
ton, whose influence and leadership did more to emanci-
pate Texas from Mexican rule than that of any other
agency. Mrs. Adams sprang from an old Revolutionary
family, representatives of which bore prominent parts
in every war in which this country had been engaged, and
the name became especially prominent in North Carolina,
where a number of Mrs. Adams's ancestors settled in a
very early day. George Adams in early life became a
steamboat engineer, which calling he followed on the
Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, until the breaking out of the
Civil war, when he resigned his position, and entering the
Union army served with a creditable record till the close
of the struggle. After his discharge he turned his at-
tention to blacksmithing and was thus engaged at va-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 317
rious places until his removal to California some years
ago, where he is now interested in horticulture, operating
a fruit farm near the city of Napa. To George and Sa-
rah F. Adams five children have been bora, all living, the
subject being the first in order of birth.
Curtis W. Adams is a native of the Hoosier state
and first saw the light of day in the city of Bedford, Feb-
ruary 12, 1865. At the proper age he entered the schools
of that place, and after pursuing his studies until acquir-
ing a practical English education, accepted a position in
the railway service, to which he devoted the seven, ensu-
ing years, rising the meanwhile to the position of con-
ductor of trains. Severing his connection with the road,
he accepted and is holding at this time the responsible
position of bookkeeper of the Summit Coal Mining Com-
pany, of Bloomfield, which corporation regards his ser-
vices indispensable owing to his close application to busi-
ness, coupled with his superior clerical ability.
As a member of the town board of Bloomfield he has
manifested commendable zeal in bringing about much
important municipal legislation, and to him as much per-
haps as to any other is due the creditable standing the
city now enjoys materially and otherwise.
In politics Mr. Adams is a Republican, and as such
wields a strong influence for his party, both in local and
general affairs; but he has never been a partisan in the
sense of seeking office or aspiring to leadership.
On November 4, 1890, Mr. Adams was united in
the bonds of wedlock with Litta Lamb, of Bloomfield,
daughter of J. T. and Mary (Dugger) Lamb, the union
resulting in the birth of one child, a daughter of the
318 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
name of Josephine, who first saw the light of day April
7, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have a beautiful home
in Bloomfield which is the abode of a free and generous
hospitality, and they move in the best society circles of
the city. They are highly esteemed for their many es-
timable qualities of head and heart and enjoy a popu-
larity second to that of none of their many friends and
acquaintances.
WILLIAM M. HAIG.
William M. Haig is a native of Greene county. His
parents were William H. and Mary (Richardson) Haig.
and he was born February 6, 1866. Their home was in
Scotland, in the extreme south part of the county, where,
for many years, the father was a merchant, and where he
ended his days after a most successful effort to gather
a sustenance for himself and family. The mother is still
living. Eight children were in this family — John, a
physician, now living and practicing in LeRoy, Illinois;
James C., who died when only eighteen years of age of
smallpox, and at the same time his father died; Mary E.,
who married E. I. Ingles, of Indianapolis; Charles S.,
who died in childhood; William M., our subject; Leota,
deceased wife of C. E. Welsh, of Bloomfield; Alpha D.,
assistant cashier of the bank at Bloomfield ; Theodosia,
deceased in young womanhood.
Our subject was raised at Scotland until he was six-
teen years of age. He then came with his family to
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 319
Bloomfield, where he attended school, getting a fairly
good education such as the public schools of Bloomfield
could give. While attending school here he also entered
a bank as an errand boy, where he has been identified all
his life, which is now known as the Bloomfield State
Bank. It was organized at first as a private institution,
and known only as the Bloomfield Bank, the proprietors
being M. H. and O. W. Shryer, and it did business suc-
cessfully for over thirty years. In 1907 it was reorgan-
ized, enlarged and given its present name. It now has
a capital of thirty thousand dollars, with two hundred
thousand dollars deposits, and in standing it is the sec-
ond bank in Greene county. The present officers are:
Elmer E. Neal, president ; Cyrus E. Davis, vice-president ;
W. M. Haig, our subject, cashier, and A. D. Haig, as-
sistant cashier.
On Tune 27, 1900, Mr. Haig was married to Pearl
Edwards, daughter of George W. and May Worrall Ed-
wards. His father-in-law was not only a business man
running a successful business in Spencer, but he is also
county auditor of Owen county. Mr. and Mrs. Haig
have had two children bom to them and they are the
pride and joy of their father's heart. They are Helen E.
and Mary G. They have not only a happy but a beauti-
ful home as well, and Mr. Haig takes great pride in glad-
dening the surroundings of his family. He is still de-
voting his energies to the institution in which he has
spent the best part of his life, and as a result of his as-
siduous application to business the bank has grown in
standing and established its stability in the confidence of
all with whom it does business.
320 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Mr. and Mrs. Haig are earnest and consistent mem-
bers of the Baptist church and take great pleasure in their
Christian duties.
JOHN W. WOLFORD.
John W. Wolford, the subject, who is a coal oper-
ator, merchant, financier and public-spirited man of af-
fairs, is of Ohio birth and traces his family history in
this country as far back as the Revolutionary period.
According to the most reliable data accessible, the ances-
tors of the American branch of Wolfords, a native of
Scandinavia, but a resident of Hesse Cassel, Germany,
and one of five brothers and a conscript in the army of
that kingdom, was one of the soldiers hired to King
George III for the purpose of subduing his rebellious
subjects in the American colonies during the latters'
struggle for independence. This unwilling soldier in a
cause he detested was captured by the Americans at the
battle of Trenton, and refusing to return to the former
allegiance, he subsequently settled in one of the western
colonies, where he married and reared a family, descend-
ants of which are now to be met in various parts of the
Union.
John Wolford, father of the subject, was bom
August 3, 1809, in Pennsylvania, but left that state many
years ago, settling in Coshocton county, Ohio, where he
married and lived until about the year 1856, when he
moved his family to Greene county, Indiana, which con-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 32 1
tinued to be his abiding place during the remainder of
his life. Nancy Musgrave, who became the wife of John
Wolford, was born at Alexandria, Virginia, in the year
181 5, the daughter of English parents whose antecedents
were among the old families of Virginia, coming to this
country prior to the war of the Revolution. Mrs. Wol-
ford departed this life in 1872, her husband two years
later. They had five children, Alice, the oldest of whom,
married a Mr. Linus Clayton, dying at Linton in 1905.
John W., of this review, was the second of the family,
following whom are Moses F., of Eureka City, Califor-
nia; Mrs. Nancy J. McBride, a widow, living at Linton,
and Joseph T., a farmer, of Stockton township, Greene
county.
John W. Wolford was born November 20, 1837,
and grew to manhood's estate in his native county of Co-
shocton, his educational privileges being limited to the
common schools of the same. In 1859, when twenty-one
years of age, he came to Greene county, Indiana, and lo-
cated at Linton with the subsequent growth and develop-
ment of which he has since been actively identified, also
deeply interested in various lines of enterprise outside the
city. Not long after coming to Indiana he became inter-
ested in the mineral deposits of Greene county and other
counties, foreseeing with remarkable accuracy the vasl
source of wealth lying hidden beneath the surface of the
ground, and realizing the immense volume to which the
industry would grow when properly developed, he turned
his attention to mining, and in due time opened the first
coal mine in the county.
Since then he has developed other and still larger
21
322 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
mines, and to him more than to any other man is due
the remarkable growth of the coal industry in this part
of the state. At this time he operates seven mines, and
does a very extensive business, giving employment to a
small army of men and proving a source of great wealth
to the owners.
In connection with his mining interests Mr. Wol-
ford is identified with the commercial business of Lin-
ton, where he opened a general store in 1878, which he
has operated since, it now being the largest department
store in southern Indiana, a force of twenty-two clerks
being required to meet the demands of the numerous pa-
trons of the establishment. Mr. VVol ford's two sons, Ed-
win and Thomas, are associated with him in this large
and growing business, the firm known as Wolford &
Sons, being also interested in various other enterprises,
including the Linton rolling mill, the production of coal
and the manufacture of high explosives used in mining.
The amount of business annually done by this firm is
second to that of a few firms or companies in the state,
while its reputation for fair and upright dealing has not
been the least among the various agencies that have con-
tributed to its phenomenal success, and given the names
of the members wide publicity and honorable mention.
In addition to the lines of enterprise they are stockholders
in the Linton bank, of which institution Edmund Wol-
ford is a director, and the firm has also valuable property
interests, both real and personal, in various parts of
Greene and other counties of southern Indiana.
Mr. Wolford has been a notary public for the last
thirty years, and notwithstanding the stress of his busi-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 323
ness affairs, he finds time to devote to the matter of pen-
sions, having prosecuted a large number of claims to
successful issues, in this way bringing help and property
to many families throughout the county, which but for
his interest in their behalf would have felt the blighting
touch of poverty. Mr. Wolford possesses" a well-balanced
mind, mature judgment, business ability of a high order,
and is a natural leader of men. He appears to be en-
dowed by nature for large and important enterprises,
takes broad and liberal views of men and things, and in
no small degree is a moulder of thought and opinion
among those with whom he has business and other re-
lations. A Democrat in politics, he has made his influ-
ence felt in the councils of his party, and while never an
officeseeker, he served two terms as trustee of Stockton
township, and was twice elected mayor of Linton. In
religion he holds to the Baptist faith and has long been
an active worker in the church at Linton, in which he
now holds the position of deacon. In 1872 he was made
a Mason in Bloomfield Lodge, No. 54, and since that
date has been an enthusiastic worker in the fraternity,
including the Royal Arch and other high degrees, serv-
ing eight years as worshipful master of the Blue lodge.
He is also identified with the Order of the Eastern Star,
and has contributed much to the success of that or-
ganization.
Mr. Wolford was married May 31, i860, to Martha
E. Lund, whose parents, Thomas and Christina (Dalby)
Lund, were natives of England and early pioneers of
Greene county. This union was blessed with the birth of
four sons, Edwin L. and Thomas S., already mentioned
324 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
being partners of their father and leading business men
of southwestern Indiana; William, the third in order of
birth, died in 1906, leaving a wife and three children to
mourn their loss. He, too, was a capable business man
and exemplary citizen, and his untimely death was great-
ly deplored by all who enjoyed the favor of his acquaint-
ance; Elmer, the youngest of the family, and a youth
of intelligence and great promise, died at the early age
of eighteen years. The mother of these children, a lady
of large heart and generous sympathies, beloved by a
large circle of friends, was called to the unseen world in
the month of February, 1903. Subsequently, November,
1905, Mr. Wolford married his present wife and help-
meet, Florence McDowell, who was born and reared in
the town of Springville, Lawrence county, Indiana.
THOMAS H. HOWARD.
Thomas H. Howard, of Bloomfield, Greene county,
Indiana, was born at Chillicothe, Ross county, Ohio, Au-
gust] 31, 1837. He is the son of Joseph T. Howard, of
Virginia, who married Mary A. Noble, of Ross county,
Ohio. The father of Joseph T. Howard died in Vir-
ginia. Soon afterward his widow moved with her chil-
dren to Ross county, Ohio, when Joseph T. Howard was
six years old. His mother died there. When he reached
man's estate he married and followed the cabinet maker's
trade, in connection with which he did all kinds of wood-
work. He moved with his family to Greene county, In-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 325
diana, in the spring of 1867. Both he and his wife died
in Washington township, the former at the age of sev-
enty and the latter a year older. They were members
of the Methodist church and the former was a Whig,
later a Republican. They had five children— Sarah C,
now deceased; Thomas H. ; James M. died in Monti-
cello, 111. ; William H., also deceased, who lived in St.
Clair county, Missouri; George W., who was killed in
Pennsylvania in 1866 in a railroad accident. He was a
member of the Eighty-ninth Ohio Regiment during the
war between the states and was wounded at Missionary
Ridge, being shot in the right ami.
Thomas H. Howard was educated in the schools
of his native county, having remained at home until he
was twenty-three years old, working on the old farm.
He was married January 3, 1861, to Miss Mary Jane
Shepherd, of Fayette county, Ohio. She was the daugh-
ter of James Q. and Nancy Shepherd, and was born and
raised on a farm in Fayette county. To this union ten
children were born — Oscar T., who died in infancy;
George E., now living in Bloomfield and working at the
carpenter's trade; Benjamin F., now in business at Lin-
ton, Indiana; Charles and Laura, both deceased; Alfred
A., telegraph operator at Bloomington, Indiana; Mrs.
Mary Cunningham, who has four children, Dale, Delma,
Fern and.Emeline; Abigail E., a teacher, who lives at
home, and Sarah Edith, deceased.
After his marriage Mr. Howard lived in Ohio until
after the war, in which he made a record that is worthy
of commendation. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Com-
pany D, One Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Volunteer
326 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Infantry, at Washington Court House, Fayette county,
Ohio. This company was mustered in at Circleville, Ohio,
and was drilled at Marietta, Ohio, soon being sent to
Memphis, Tennessee, engaging in the battle of Chicka-
saw Bluffs. The company was then sent into Arkansas,
where it remained until the spring of 1863, then moving
to Milligan's Bend and Grand Gulf. It saw service at
Viicksburg, Mississippi, Magnolia Hill and Champion
Hill, being in the charge on the fortifications at Vicks-
burg on May 22, 1863. The company was then relieved
and sent tO' Warrington, Mississippi, to guard the base
of supplies. I^ater it was sent back to Vicksburg. being
present when the city surrendered. Afterward the Ohio
regiment was sent into Louisiana. After several raids
it was sent into Texas, spending the winter along the
coast. In the spring of 1864 they were ordered to New
Orleans. Later the subject was in the Red River expedi-
tion; then was in the battle of Asafala River, after
which he was in camp all summer at Morgandy Bend.
Later he was sent to Beracas, where he remained until
the spring of 1865. Then he was sent across Florida
and was in an engagement at Blakely, Florida. From
Mobile his regiment was sent to Galveston, Texas, to
take charge of some Confederate army equipage after
the surrender. He was mustered out there July 30, 1865.
Mr. Howard's eyes were injured by the sand during
his campaign in Texas, which have given him trouble
ever since. After the war he returned to Fayette county,
Ohio, and in 1866 moved to Greene county, Washington
township, Indiana, where he was engaged in farming up
to 1902, when he retired and moved to Bloomfield, In-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 327
diana, where he has since resided. He takes much in-
terest in the Grand Army of the Republic, being a mem-
ber of the local post at Bloomfield. The hardships and
exposures of the war permanently impaired his health
and of late years he has been nearly blind. He is a mem-
ber of the Methodist church. His wife, who was also
a member of this church, died February 15, 1885.
REV. JAMES DANIEL CRANE.
Rev. James Daniel Crane, whose nativity was Mon-
roe county, Indiana, was bom February 17, 1840, the
son of Nathaniel Crane, of Maryland, born May 28,
1820. His wife, Phoebe Wright, was from Monroe
county, Indiana, where she was bom May 20, 1820. He
came with his parents to Monroe county in 1842. His
father, the grandfather of our subject, was the Rev.
James Crane, of Maryland, a famous preacher and ship-
builder, who died in Greene county, Indiana. He bought
a small farm during his residence in Monroe county and
also erected a mill there, later moving to Beech Creek
township, Greene county, where he bought another farm
•and erected a saw and grist mill combined. He was a
local preacher of unusual ability and was much respected.
Nathaniel Crane was educated in the common
schools and lived at home with his parents until he at-
tained his majority. In 1861 he enlisted in the Civil
war, joining Company C, Forty-third Regiment, Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, for one year. He came home and
J
328 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
made up Company A of the Ninety-seventh Regiment,
which was in many hard-fought hattles and skirmishes,
and also in Sherman's march to the sea. He was in the
service about four years, first as lieutenant, later as cap-
tain. After his return home he first farmed in Beech
Creek township, and later bought a farm in Center town-
ship. It was here he received a stroke of paralysis about
nine years before his death, but he was kindly and ten-
derly cared for during all his last years by his wife and
son, our subject. They had eight children — Rev. James
D., our subject; Mary, deceased; John, who was in the
war and now living in Solsberry, Indiana, a retired doc-
tor and druggist; Sarah, now living at Worthington, In-
diana. She was a teacher for a number of years and
was twice married, first to John Crow; then to a Mr.
Collins. They were successful in business, running stores
in Freedom and Spencer, Indiana. The latter was a trav-
eling salesmau part of the time, but she ran the business
while he was away, serving as postmistress for many
years. They are now retired. Isaac, the fifth child, died
in young manhood. Woodward is now living in North
Platte, Nebraska. He was a music teacher and com-
poser, and also a great politician, serving a term as as-
sistant secretary of state. He is a Populist in politics.
William, the seventh son, is a fanner in Nebraska, and
Edward, who died young.
In his boyhood days our subject had very limited
privileges for an education, although he later attended the
State University at Bloomington for three years. He was
married to Martha A. Carpenter August 24, 1861. Her
mother was the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Bur-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 329
ton) Carpenter. Her father came from North Carolina
and settled on a large tract of land near Stanford. He
was successful as blacksmith, farmer and merchant, and
is well known and highly respected. They had ten chil-
dren— Nancy, Jacob, William, Betsey, William, James,
Phoebe, Martha, Barbara, Jonathan, all deceased except
Jacob, Martha and William. Jacob Carpenter lived in
Monroe. county, Indiana, until 1868, when he moved to
Adams county, Nebraska, where they bought a tract of
wild land and were compelled, for a while, to live in sod
houses. In a few years they moved to Franklin, Ne-
braska, and retired, Mrs. Carpenter dying in 1905. They
had thirteen children — Martha A., wife of our subject;
Sarah C. married R. D. Burton, of Franklin, Nebraska ;
Mary J., deceased, married to Thomas Griggs; Carolina,
deceased, married to M. A. Clay; Phoebe, deceased; Da-
vid, a law student, and admitted to the bar at Hastings,
Nebraska. He and his wife are both successful school
teachers. He is a local preacher in the Methodist Epis-
copal church and is active in church work. William, the
seventh child, who after thirty years as proprietor of a
hotel in Franklin, Nebraska, is retired ; Maggie, a teach-
er, who first married Rev. Hill, a United Brethren
preacher, and then to Rev. Van Meter, also a United
Brethren preacher, now living- in Franklin, Nebraska;
Allen, a real estate dealer in Red Cloud, Nebraska;
Amanda, marrying Chester Rose, of Hastings, Nebraska;
Henry, a farmer ; 'Ella, who died in 1874, was married to
Solomon Drake; James P., a farmer in Franklin, Ne-
braska.
Rev. James D. Crane and wife had two children — ■
33° BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
John Freeman, who died in infancy February 28, 1864,
and Martha Eugene, who died December 4, 1866. Mrs.
Crane's sister, Ella, lived and grew up with them until her
marriage. On her death they took her son James, who
also died when nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Crane
also raised Alma Clay, who, after her common school
graduation, attended school at Greencastle, Indiana, and
became a minister. They are now raising Ethel Crane,
who is attending school at Bloomfield, Indiana. They
also raised James McCormick, a son of Rev. Crane's
sister Maiy. Rev. Crane's ministerial career is not with-
out honor. After his marriage he attended school at
Bloomington, Indiana, three years. His wife also at-
tended a year. In 1874 he entered the Methodist Epis-
copal conference, being ordained deacon in 1876, and
after two years was advanced to the eldership. His va-
rious appointments were as follows : Bloomington, one
year; Pleasantville, one year; Monrovia, one year; Wa-
verly and Morgantown, three years; Putnamville, one
year; Gosport, two years; Harrodsburg, two years:
Bloomfield, one year; New Lebanon, two years ; Princeton,
three years; Plainville, two years; Hymera, three years;
Pleasantville, two years, and Owensburg, three years. In
the fall of 1904 he was superannuated. Since then he
lias a number of times preached in a large tent in differ-
ent places. He owns two farms near Solsberry. He is
a Prohibitionist in politics. But few preachers are as
well known in so many families as Rev: Crane, and wher-
ever known he has warm friends. Not only hundreds
but thousands of people will ever hold this old minister
in dearest memory for the good he has clone in the world
and the words of comfort he has spoken.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 33 1
HARVEY L. DONEY.
A leader in the coal industry of Greene county, and
a business man of wide experience and high standing,
Harvey L. Doney occupies a commanding position among
his fellow citizens, and the tribute of his sterling worth in
the following lines has been well earned. Mr. Doney
was born April 16, 1859, in Taylor township, Greene
county, and is one of a family of thirteen children whose
parents, Harvey and Eliza (Howell) Doney, were na-
tives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively. Harvey
Doney, senior, was born July 27, 181 1, came to Indi-
ana in an early day and followed carpentry and argicul-
ture for a livelihood, meeting with fair success in these
occupations. He improved a farm in this county, on which
he passed the greater part of his life, and died at his home
in Taylor township in the seventy-seventh year of his life.
Eliza Howell, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, May
14, 1819, married Mr. Doney in Coshocton county, that
state, January 1, 1835, and departed this life at the
home of her eldest daughter, Mrs. Pugh, in Greene coun-
ty, at the ripe old age of eighty-six years. Of the thirteen
children, five only, are living, namely: Susan, wife of
William Pugh ; Isaac N. and Elizabeth, who are twins,
the latter the wife of E. W. Seed; Phcebe A., widow
of William W. Hannah, and Harvey L. The eight chil-
dren deceased are: Harvey, died in infancy; Mary, wife
of Samuel Clark'; John W. died in Andersonville prison,
a member of the Fourteenth Indiana Infantry; Rebecca,
died in childhood ; Samuel died young also ; Celestia died
at the age of twenty-two years; Benjamin F. was twenty
S32 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
years old when called away, and one died in infancy, un-
named.
The early life of Harvey L. Doney was very much
the same as that of most country lads, having been spent
at labor in the fields during the spring and summer
months, and in the public schools in winter months. After
finishing the common schools he attended the normal
institute at Bloomfield, where he obtained knowledge of
the higher branches of learning, and at the early age of
eighteen began teaching, which profession he followed
during the fourteen years ensuing, meeting with encour-
aging success as an instructor. During the time he was
engaged in farming in his native township until he was
elected county auditor, in November, 1894, which office
he held eight years and six weeks. Then he engaged
in the coal business, since which time he has carried on the
latter industry with a large measure of success, being
now one of the largest producers and shippers of this
part of the state.
Mr. Doney is the secretary and treasurer of the
Letsinger Coal Mining Company, which was incorporated
with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and
which operates at Jasonville, Greene county, giving em-
ployment to an average of one hundred men, and pro-
ducing from eight hundred to ten hundred tons per day.
The stockholders of the company are H. W. Letsinger,
John W. Graham, John E. McLaughlin, L. E. Letsinger,
L. J. Faucett, R. E. Eveleigh, T. T. Pringle, J. R. Lester,
Emma Weatherwax, W. L. Cavins, Robert E. Lyons
and H. L. Doney, the last named owning a fifth interest
and devoting his entire time to the enterprise.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 333
While residing in Taylor township Mr. Doney was
elected in 1886 township assessor, which office he filled
during- the five years following. He has always taken a
lively interest in public and political matters, being one
of the Republican leaders in Greene county, and has ren-
dered his party yeoman service in a number of campaigns,
both as chairman of the county central committee and
worker in the ranks.
In recognition of his service he was elected, in No-
vember, 1894, auditor of Greene county, and discharged
the duties of the position with credit to himself and to
the satisfaction of the public until January 1, 1903, hav-
ing been re-elected in the year 1898. Mr. Doney is a
member of the Bloomfield Lodge, No. 457, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has been honored
with various official trusts, holding at the present time
the title of past grand. He is a firm believer in the
truths of revealed religion and lives a consistent Chris-
tian life, being an influential member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and an active worker in the Sunday
school and corresponding member of the Young Men's
Christian Association at Bloomfield. Mr. Doney has
never taken upon himself the duties and responsibilities
of the married state, being content to live a life of sin-
gle blessedness, at peace with the world and with his
Maker.
JAMES M. HUDSON.
One of the most successful and best known of the
younger attorneys of Bloomfield, Indiana, is James M.
Hudson, who was born in Center township, Greene coun-
334 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ty, this state, April 17, 1876. He is the son of Henry
and Amanda (Hatfield) Hudson, both having been born
and reared in Greene county, the former in Center and
the la-tter in Jackson township. James Hudson, grand-
father of the subject, was a native of Kentucky, having
been born about forty miles from Louisville in 1818. He
was brought to Indiana by Starling Hudson, his father,
and the great-grandfather of the subject. Starling, Hud-
son settled near Marco, Greene county, where he spent
the remainder of his life. Henry Hudson received a com-
mon school education and devoted his life to farming.
He died when forty-eight years old. Henry Hudson was
the father of ten children. James, the subject of this
sketch, is the oldest. The children are all living in Greene
county, Indiana, except A. M. Hudson, who is a captain
in the Idaho1 National Guard. He served three years in
the Philippines with the United States regular army.
The Hatfield family, of which the mother of the
subject is a representative, is one of the oldest and best
established families in Greene county, one of the first
settlers of Jackson township having been Ale Hatfield,
who came from Tennessee. They were true types of the
hardy pioneers and braved the dangers and welcomed the
hardships and disadvantages of a new and sparsely set-
tled country. It is such people as these that laid the
foundation of our hardy western life and made possible
the immense advantages of the present civilization which
their descendants enjoy.
James M. Hudson, the subject of this sketch, re-
ceived his early education in the common schools of Cen-
ter township, completing the regular common school
course, graduating at the age of fifteen years. He at-
tended the normal school at Bloomfield, Indiana, dur-
GREENE COUNTY,. INDIANA. 335
ing the summer, and taught in the country schools dur-
ing- the winter months. He taught six terms in the dis-
trict schools of Center township, two terms in Koleen,
Jackson township, and was principal of the Owensburg
schools for a period of two years. He attended the law
school at the University of Indiana at Bloomington be-
tween terms and was admitted to the bar of Greene
county in 1903, since which time he has been practicing
in Bloomfield.
The subject was first married to Altona Westmor-
land, a native of Center township, Greene county, In-
diana, April 1, 1896. She died October 1, 1899. She
was the first person buried- in Greene county after the
law requiring burial permits went into effect. Two chil-
dren were bom to this union — Wendell L. and Marie C.
The subject was married again on June 7, 1903, to Ma-
mie Dye, a daughter of W. S. Dye, of Owensburg, In-
diana. She is the sister of Hon. E. K. Dye, formerly a
prominent attorney of Bedford, Indiana. They have
two children — Mary A. and Naoma V.
The subject is a member of Hobbieville Lodge No.
567, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He is also a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at
Owensburg, Indiana, and a member of the Red Men's
Lodge, No. 253, at Owensburg. He is an active worker
in the Democratic party and was a candidate for prose-
cuting attorney in 1906, after serving three years as
deputy prosecuting attorney. He is in much demand
for public speeches and is well and favorably known, and
received the nomination for prosecuting attorney for the
district composed of Sullivan and Greene counties, in the
spring of 1908.
iii«iiinM[
..
336 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
JOB FREEMAN.
No country presents so many incentives to laudable
ambition as the United States of America. Under the
liberal and equalizing policy of our institutions obscurity
of birth is no bar to the attainment of any distinction for
which the head and heart are qualified. They encourage
talent to venture on a career of emulation and insure to
merit a rich and ample reward. Here are found no fa-
vored classes, no privileged few with greatness thrust
upon them. Titles, distinction and name come not by
blood of birth. The contest for honor and power, as well
as the place, is open to all whom philanthropy or patriot-
ism or glory may prompt to participate. No royal munifi-
cence dispenses its patents of nobility or. entwines the lau-
rel wreath around skulls of emptiness. No feudal char-
ter here makes kings or peers. Ours is the nobility of
merit, the offspring of talent, the result of labor and hon-
orable endeavor. Its only patent is the seal of worth, its
only patronage the suffrage of freemen. In glancing over
the biographical history of our country, especially the
great middle west, any man who has not maturely thought
upon the tendencies of our popular institution will be as-
tonished at the number of men holding positions of honor
and trust who have raised themselves from obscurity to
the places they occupy by their own energies, or, in other
words, who have become the "architects of their own fu-
tures." Very forcibly is this idea illustrated by the career
of the subject of this sketch, to whom in youth no ances-
tral fortune unlocked the treasures of knowledge, for him
no ancestral name secured the favor and society of the
GREENE COUNTY, . INDIANA. 337
learned, the opulent or the great, relieving the way to suc-
cess of half of its ruggedness and depriving him of the
motive and discipline which made his struggle of value.
By an energy and genius exclusively his own he has dem-
onstrated that to the deserving alone success is due, to at-
tain which end persevering endeavor as well as eternal
vigilance is the only safe and reliable rule.
The history of the thriving city of Linton during the
past two decades is a story of industrial progress initiated
and carried into effect by men of celar brain, sound judg-
ment and the will to dare, without due credit to whom in
the individual capacities which have made present condi-
tions possible the story would be deprived of half its in-
terest and charm. Pre-eminent among the leaders of en-
terprise to whom belongs the honor of making Linton,
winning for it the title of "the Pittsburg of the West,"
is Job Freeman, a name prominent in business circles, and
whose success has been so inseparably interwoven with the
recent progress of the city that the two are pretty much
one and the same thing.
Distinctively one of the most progressive men of
Greene county, and combining the qualities that enter into
the makeup of the broad-minded, far-seeing American
business man of today, he represents the spirit of enter-
prise manifest in the recent phenomenal advancement of
the city in which he resides and affords conspicuous ex-
ample of the successful, self-made man of the times. Born
and reared amid humble surroundings and beginning life
in the capacity of a common laborer in the mines, he was
nevertheless the possessor of a rare combination of intel-
ligence, energy and tact, which at a comparatively early
22
Ml
338 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
age enabled him to emerge from his obscure environment
and surmount the obstacles in his pathway, until, step by
step, he gradually rose to the commanding position which
he now occupies and became a leader of industry and a
recognized power in the business affairs of his city and
state. Although intensely American in his tastes and an
ardent admirer of the free institutions under which he
was largely reared and the influence of which made pos-
sible the signal success which he has achieved. Mr. Free-
man is not of American birth, being a native of Stafford-
shire, England, where he first saw the light of day Oc-
tober 4, 1844. His parents, Joseph and Susan (Manley)
Freeman, immigrated to the United States when their son
was five years of age and settled at Youngstown, Ohio,
where the father died five years later, the mother subse-
quently removing to the town of East Liverpool, where
her death occurred in 1899. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman were
the parents of six children, namely: Edward, deceased;
Richard, who lives at Bicknell, Indiana ;Jethro, who lives
in Ellsworth, Pennsylvania; Joseph, deceased; Martha,
wife of John Wilson, of Bicknell, Indiana, and Job, the
subject of this review, who is the third in order of birth.
The early life of Job Freeman was spent in Youngs-
town, Ohio, where he received only the rudiments of an
education, the death of his father when the lad was but
ten years old throwing much of the responsibility of the
family's support on his shoulders, in consequence of which
he was compelled to forego further study and turn his
hands to any kind of honest labor he could find to do.
During the years that followed he discharged his filial re-
sponsibilities as became a dutiful son, sparing no effort in
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 339
contributing to the maintenance of the family and doing
all within his power to minister to the comfort of his
mother, over whose interests he continued to watch with
zealous care during the remainder of her life. When
twenty-two years old he left Ohio, and, locating at Wash-
ington, Indiana, accepted employment as a coal miner, in
which capacity he continued until becoming a mine boss
at Edwardsport, Knox county, a few years later. Mean-
time he husbanded his earnings with the object in view
of engaging in some line of business for himself, which
laudable purpose he was afterwards enabled to carry into
effect at the latter place, where in due time he became pro-
prietor of a mercantile establishment, in connection with
which he also became a partner in the Edwardsport and
Indian Creek Coal Company, retaining this interest until
1886.
After a residence of thirteen years at Edwardsport
Mr. Freeman disposed of his interests there and re-
moved to Vincennes, having been an active participant
in public affairs and an influential factor in the political
circles of Knox county. In recognition of valuable serv-
ices rendered the Republican party, with which he affil-
iated, as well as by reason of his great personal popu-
larity, regardless of political alignment, he was nomi-
nated for the office of county auditor, and his elec-
tion to that position in the face of an overwhelming
Democratic majority was signalized as an important
event in the political history of that part of the state, he
being the first and only Republican thus honored since
Knox county became an independent jurisdiction.
Mr. Freeman discharged his official functions with
UI.J—11
340 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people and
gained an honorable reputation as a capable, painstaking
and at all times obliging and exceedingly popular public
servant. After the expiration of his official term in 1893
he removed to Sullivan, where he remained but one year,
when he changed his residence to Linton, with the indus-
trial growth and development of which place he has since
been actively identified, as already indicated, prominent in
promoting the city's material interests and influential in
nearly every enterprise affecting the welfare of the
populace.
Mr. Freeman's financial success has been commen-
surate with the energy and progressive methods displayed
in his various undertakings, and he is today classed with
the substantial men who have given the city its wide pub-
licity as an important business center and added to its
reputation as a safe place for the investment of capital.
It was largely through his instrumentality that the differ-
ent companies and associations with which his name is
closely associated were established, and to his energy and
individual efforts more than to those of any other indi-
vidual are they indebted for the prosperity which they
now enjoy. Among these varied interests are the United
Fourth Vein Coal Company, of which he is president ; the
Green Valley Coal Company, to which he sustains the re-
lation of president and general manager ; the Linton Roll-
ing Mills, of which he is also the chief executive, besides
being president of the United States Powder Company at
Coalmont, president and general manager of the Glen Ayr
Coal Company, four miles east of Terre Haute ; president
of the First National Bank of Jasonville, president of the
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 341
Jasonville Mercantile Company, president of the Linton
Opera House Company, in addition to which enterprises
he is officially and otherwise connected with numerous
other interests in Linton, Jasonville and Terre Haute,
owning much valuable property in these places, to say
■ nothing of his holdings elsewhere, which, with those enu-
merated, represents a comfortable private fortune. Al-
though pre-eminently a man of affairs and a natural lead-
er of men, Mr. Freeman is entirely without pretense and
has never' courted the publicity and ostentation in which
so many favorites of fortune delight. With deference to
his becoming public modesty, however, it would be gross
' injustice to Linton and to the people who hold him in
such high and universal esteem not to award to him at
least a portion of the praise that is manifestly his due and
in some manner to bear witness to the remarkable series of
achievements which have contributed so greatly to the re-
cent growth and development of Linton's business and
industrial enterprises and won for him a conspicuous place
among the leading men of his day and generation in the
city and state of his adoption.
By the sheer force of his powerful personality as well
as by combining within himself the element of the success-
ful politician and leader, Mr. Freeman has forged to the
front in the councils of the Republican party, and, as
stated in a preceding- paragraph, he became an acknowl-
edged power in local political circles before his removal
to Greene county. Since becoming a resident of this part
of the state his activity has grown rather than decreased
and he stands today with few peers as a successful party
leader and campaigner. In 1900 he was a delegate to the
342 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
national Republican convention that nominated William •
McKinley for the presidency and the same year he was
his party's candidate for the upper house of the general
assembly, but by reason of the overwhelming strength of
the opposition failed of election by a small majority. Al-
though deeply interested in the leading questions of the
clay and profoundly versed on matters and issues concern-
ing which men and parties divide, he is not a partisan nor
an aspirant for official honors, being, above all else, a
business man, and making every other consideration sub-
ordinate to his interests as such.
In addition to his long and eminently useful business
career, Mr. Freeman has to his credit an honorable mili-
tary record also, enlisting in an Ohio regiment in the
spring of 1864 and served until the cessation of hostilities,
entering the army at the age of eighteen and sharing with
his comrades the fortunes and vicissitudes of war in a
number of campaigns. Since the close of that memorable
struggle he has devoted his attention closely and exclu-
sively to the various duties and enterprises mentioned in
the preceding lines, with the result as already indicated.
Personally Mr. Freeman is a gentleman of unblem-
ished reputation and strict integrity, his private charac-
ter as well as his career in public places as a custodian of
high and important trusts having been above reproach.
He is a vigorous as well as independent thinker, and has
the courage of his convictions upon all matters and sub-
jects which he investigates. He is also essentially cos-
mopolitan in his ideas, a man of the people in all the term
implies, and in the best sense of the word a representative
of the strong, virile American manhood which commands
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 343
and retains esteem by reason of inherent merit, sound
sense and correct conduct. Much depends upon being
well bom, in which respect Mr. Freeman has indeed been
truly blessed, being a man of heroic mould and of su-
perb physique — in brief, a splendid specimen of well-
rounded, symmetrically developed manhood, with mental
qualities in harmony therewith. His commanding height
and correspondingly well knit frame make him a marked
figure wherever he goes.
He is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to the
old historic lodge in Vincennes, No. i, the first organiza-
tion of the kind in Indiana, and he also holds membership
with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lin-
ton Lodge, No. 866, in both of which fraternities he has
been honored at various times with important official po-
sitions and in the deliberations of which he takes an active
and influential part.
Mr. Freeman is a gentleman of domestic tastes and
takes a loving interest in the palatial and attractive home
of which he is the head and which is perhaps one of the
finest specimens of residence architecture in southern In-
diana. Within the delightful precincts of a charming-
home circle he finds rest from the cares and anxieties of
business life and in the enjoyment of the many favors with
which he has been blessed diffuses a generous hospitality,
as free as it is genuine, to all who may claim it. The pre-
siding spirit of this domestic establishment is a lady of
gracious presence and attractive personality, to whom he
was happily married March 8, 1868, and who, prior to
that time, was Martha J. Tranter, daughter of William
and Margaret Tranter, of Washington, Indiana. Mr.
344 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and Mrs. Freeman are the parents of six children, whose
names are as follows : William and Clarence, of Terre
Haute; Grace, who married W. A. Craig-, of Linton; Ma-
bel, wife of Jasper Schloot, also of Linton ; Lizzie and
Harry, the last two dying in childhood.
Mr. Freeman is a man of generous impulses, whose
hand and purse are ever open to the poor and unfortunate
and who contributes liberally to all worthy enterprises for
the amelioration of human suffering-. He also manifests
an abiding interest in whatever makes for the social ad-
vancement of his city and the intellectual and moral good
of his fellow men, being a friend of schools, churches and
other organizations, through the medium of which society
is improved and humanity lifted to a higher plane. Al-
though a very busy man, with interests that require al-
most his entire time and attention, he is nevertheless easily
approachable, and in the social circle or among the con-
genial spirits with ideas and tastes similar to his own, he
is one of the most companionable and delightful of men.
The better to look after and manage his large and varied
enterprises, he has offices at Linton, Jasonville and Terre
Haute, which he visits as occasion may demand.
JOHN T. LAMB.
Few men in Greene county have been as long before
the public as John T. Lamb, of Bloomfield, and none have
been more active and influential in furthering the inter-
est of the community or done more to promote the wel-
fare of the people of this part of the state. Mr. Lamb
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 345
springs from good old Colonial stock and on the paternal
side traces his family through several generations to Eng-
land, of which country his great-great-grandfather, Col-
onel John Lamb, was a native. This Colonel Lamb came
to America among the early English colonists, and set-
tled at Jamestown, Virginia, where he joined the army
under Washington and served with distinction to the
close of the struggle, rising by successive promotions
from private to the rank of colonel. He was with the
commander-in-chief through all the varied experiences of
battle, defeat and final victory, taking part in the differ-
ent campaigns and engagements which made that period
historic, was at Valley Forge and witnessed the surren-
der of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, which virtually
terminated the war. He was a brave and skillful officer,
distinguished for gallantry in action, and while leading
his command against the enemy was several times
wounded, but not seriously. Gayland Lamb, son of the
colonel, and a member of the Society of Friends in North
Carolina, where the family moved in an early day, was
so radical and outspoken in his opposition to slavery that
he aroused the dislike and enmity of many of his neigh-
bors and fellow citizens, who were wont to apply to him
and his family the epithet of "poor white trash," because,
forsooth, he refused to utilize the labor of the poor un-
fortunate human beings held to involuntary servitude.
Among the children of Gayland Lamb was a son by the
name of Salathel, a native of North Carolina, and by oc-
cupation a mechanic, having been equally skilled as a cab-
inetmaker, wagonmaker and blacksmith. In 1833 Sala-
thel Lamb and John Green, his partner, and grandfather
346 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of our subject, made three wagons, in one of which the
latter moved from Guilford county, North Carolina, to
Hendricks county, Indiana, and settled near Danville,
where he entered land, improved a farm and spent the
residue of his life. Mr. Lamb migrated about the same
time to Monroe county, Indiana, thence removed to
Greene county and entered land north of Owensburg,
where he made a home and became one of the substantial
citizens of the community, dying in that locality a num-
ber of years ago. John Lamb, son of Salathel and fa-
ther of the subject of this review, came to Indiana in the
early thirties and lived on the home farm near Owens-
burg until 1883, when he retired to Bloomfield, where
his death occurred in. the year 1889. He was born in
Guilford (now Greensborough) county, North Carolina,
married there on October 14,- 183 1, Patsy Green, daugh-
ter of his father's partner, and about the year 1833 be-
came a citizen of Greene county, Indiana, settling in the
dense woods which at that time were infested with wild
animals, numerous and some of them quite dangerous.
The original house in which he lived is still standing,
being a two-story structure only five logs high, each log
three feet in diameter.
Mrs. Lamb was a descendant of General Nathaniel
Greene, of Revolutionary fame, and inherited the dis-
like of involuntary servitude which characterized the
Quaker family to which she belonged. She is said to
have planted the cotton, cultivated the plants, picked the
crop, spun the thread and wove it into the fabrics from
which she made her wedding dress. She was a true
type of the noble pioneer mother developed by the period
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 347
in which she lived, whose whole life was a simple though
grand poem of rugged, toilsome duty, faithfully and un-
complainingly performed. To John W. and Patsy Lamb
were born eight children, all but one that died in infancy
growing" to maturity — three" sons and four daughters —
two of the latter being deceased.
John T. Lamb, sixth child and third son of the
above couple, was born in Greene county, Indiana. June
10, 1844, and spent his early life on the home farm near
Owensburg. While still a mere lad he learned by prac-
tical experience the true meaning- of honest toil, and not
many years had passed by ere he began maturing plans
for his future course of action. In connection with labor
in the woods and fields he attended, as opportunities af-
forded, the subscription schools of the neighborhood. By
making' the most of these limited advantages he became
in due time fairly well educated, but it was not until
after 1854 that he was enabled to attend the free schools,
and then for only a brief time. At the early age of six
years he had a severe and well nigh fatal case of spotted
fever which, settling in' his hips, made him a permanent
cripple, thus handicapping" him not a little by keeping
him from carrying into effect plans which otherwise
might have materially modified his course of life.
When but sixteen years old Mr. Lamb entered upon
his career as a teacher, from which time until 1868 he
was engaged 'in educational work in connection with ag"-
ricultural pursuits, discontinuing both these lines of ef-
fort in that year to embark in the mercantile business.
After selling goods for four years he accepted the posi-
tion of deputy sheriff of Greene county, and, the better
348 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
to discharge his official duties, changed his residence to
Bioomfield, where he has since made his home. Retiring
from the deputyship at the expiration of his term of four
years, he resumed teaching and continued the same from
1876 to 1886, the meantime adding considerably to ids
reputation and income by teaching classes in vocal mu-
sic. Mr. Lamb's services as a vocalist were always much
in demand, being a fine singer and a very efficient in-
structor. He organized a number of glee clubs in dif-
ferent parts of the country, one of which, consisting of
one hundred voices, became widely known and quite pop-
ular during the campaign of 1876. On several occasions
during the contest of that year this club, in a large wagon
drawn by forty-eight elegantly caparisoned horses, at-
tended public rallies and was the chief object of interest
to the crowds in attendance.
In 1886 Mr. Lamb was elected superintendent of
the public schools of Greene county to fill a vacancy, and
one year later was chosen his own successor, filling the
office by successive re-elections three and one-half years
and discharging the duties of the office in an able and ac-
ceptable manner, as the continuous advancement of the
schools during his incumbency abundantly proves. Re-
tiring from the superintendency, Mr. Lamb, in 1890,
purchased The Bioomfield News, which he conducted
in partnership with William B. Maddock for a period of
nine years. The News was a weekly Republican
newspaper and commercial job office, and upon, taking
charge of the News seventy-five per cent, of the offices
of the county were held by Democrats, and upon selling
out his interests to his son-in-law the county offices were
held entirely by Republicans.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 349
Mr. Lamb is a pronounced Republican and has long
been an influential factor in his party, attending and tak-
ing an active part in conventions and other gatherings
and contributing largely to the success of the ticket in
Greene county. In 1896 he was elected chairman of the
second congressional district and has also represented the
same district on the Republican state committee, besides
serving repeatedly on the county committee, where his
services were of especial value. Since the above year,
however, he has not been as active in public and political
matters as formerly, devoting his time principally to the
large real estate business in which he is now engaged and
in which his success has been very satisfactory.
On January 5, 1865, Mr. Lamb was united in mar-
riage to Nancy E. Dugger, a native of Greene county,
and a union resulting in the birth of six children — two
sons and four daughters, both the former deceased. The
older son, who lived to maturity, was an engineer, and
met his death by accident in a mill. Litta married C. W.
Adams, of Bedford; Nora is the wife of W. B. Mad-
dock, of Bloomfield ; Charity, now Mrs. Walter T.
Brown, an abstracter and attorney and ex-superintendent
of the Bloomfield schools, lives in Bloomfield ; Mary, an
alumnus of the State University, is still with her par-
ents. Mr. Lamb owns forty-one acres adjoining the town
of Bloomfield, and also platted eight acres, which is called
Lamb's addition to the town of Bloomfield. Mr. and
Mrs. Lamb and family are members of the Christian
church. Mr. Lamb has never used tobacco in any form
and has never used intoxicants, and the family are all
musically inclined.
35<3 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
CLEMON QUILL GOAD.
Littleton Goad, the father of Clemon Q. Goad, the
subject of this sketch, had a brilliant record in the Mexi-
can war, having served from the first until its close. He
worked as a blacksmith during his entire life. Coming
from Tennessee early in life he settled in Richland town-
ship, Greene county, Indiana, where he also farmed and
conducted a shop. He was a Republican and a member
of the Christian church. He married Martha Jane Jones
in Tennessee, who died in Center township. He died
in Richland township. They had nine children, namely:
Annie, deceased; Arms, deceased; Jordan, who lives near
Marco, Indiana, and who was in the Ninety-seventh Reg-
iment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry ; Sophia, deceased ;
Clemon 0., subject of this sketch; Abraham, a black-
smith, living in Crawford county, Kansas, who was in
the same regiment with Jordan during the Civil war;
Susan Jane, deceased; Martha Jane, deceased; Jacob, de-
ceased, who was in Company C, Forty-third Regiment,
Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
Clemon Q. Goad was born in Richland township,
Greene county, Indiana, May 17, 1840. He had no
chance to go to school, and lived at home until 1855,
when he married Lucy Roach, of his own community.
She was the daughter of John Roach, who was a corporal
in the Mexican war, and was a splendid soldier. The
following children were the result of the subject's first
marriage: John, deceased; Isabella, who is married and
living in Arkansas; Sophia, deceased; Frank, deceased;
Lena, who married Ransom Raper, of Washington town-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 35I
ship; James F., a farmer at Plummer Station, Indiana.
The subject married his second wife, Martha J. Goad,
in Greene county. They had one son, Sherman. The
subject married a third time, choosing- Sallie Goad, of
his native township. She was the daughter of Payton
and Sophia (Jones) Goad, natives of Tennessee. They
came to Greene county when children with their parents.
He was a farmer, and they lived here until their death
and were the parents of ten children, namely : Martha
J., deceased; Lucinda, living near Marco, Indiana; Pri-
cella, deceased ; Sallie, wife of the subject ; Berry, de-
ceased; Peggy, deceased; Jacob, Amos and Edith, all de-
ceased ; Dorothy, who now lives in Marco, Indiana.
On August 28, 1 86 1, Mr. Goad enlisted in Company
C, Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and soon
went to Camp Vigo, Terre Haute, to drill. He was sent
into Kentucky, where he spent the following winter. He
went to New Madrid, Missouri, and fought also at Island
No. 10, Riddles Point, Fort Pillow, Memphis, Helena,
Cold Water, Fort Pendleton, St. Charles, Little Rock,
Little Missouri River, Grand Prairie and Saline River.
He was mustered in as a teamster. He was discharged
in the fall of 1864. After the war he located in Rich-
land township and moved to different places until 188 1,
when he bought thirty-five acres of land where he now
lives in his native township. He is a member of the
Church of God and a voter in the "grand old party." He
is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, of Bloomfield,
the teachings of which he applies to his daily life in his
dealings with his fellow men as well as his home life.
(MOTH
352 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
DR. BISHOP ASBURY ROSE.
One of the best general practitioners of medicine as well
as one of the most influential and widely known men in
Linton, Indiana, is the subject of this brief review ; in fact,
his fame as a skilled physician long ago penetrated to the
remote corners of Greene county, where he has justly won
the unqualified esteem of all who know him. He was
born at Nashville, Brown county, Indiana, November
29, 1849, the son of Elihu E. and Ellen A. (Ellett) Rose,
the former a native of East Tennessee, where he was born
in 1825, and the later a native of Monroe county, Indiana,
the year of her birth being the same as that of her hus-
band. Elihu Rose came to Clay county, Indiana, when
four years old with his father, John Rose, a native of
North Carolina, who located on a farm in Clay county,
Indiana, in 1829. His wife was a native of East
Tennessee. The names of the brothers and sisters of
Dr. Rose follow : Josephine, deceased ; Dr. B. A. Rose was
the second child ; Flora R. is the wife of W. H. Brown,
of Indianapolis ; Charles E. is manager of the Grand
Opera House in Linton.
Dr. B. A. Rose, the subject of this sketch, was edu-
cated in the common schools and at Asbury, now De
Pauw University, after which he began study in the
medical department of the Louisville, Kentucky, Univer-
sity. He was graduated from the Ohio Medical College,
at Cincinnati, in 1875, and began practicing at Lyons,
Greene county, Indiana, in 1872, and has practiced con-
tinuously ever since. He took a post-graduate course in
Chicago and later in New Orleans, making exceptionally
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 353
good records in both. He also began in 1869 the study
of medicine in a course prescribed by and under old Dr.
Jason N. Connelly, of Bloomfield, Indiana. In 1870 he
completed a three years' preparatory course under Dr.
John W. Gray (whose sketch appears in this volume).
With one exception, Dr. B. A. Rose is the oldest
physician in Linton. He has a large acquaintance with
the people of his county and the medical men of the
state, among whom he holds a high and honored posi-
tion. For the past twelve years it has been the doctor's
custom to spend the winter at some of his favorite resorts
in the South, especially in Florida and Ocean Springs,
Mississippi.
The subject was happily married in 1876 to Eva
Arnold, of Lyons, Indiana. One son was bom to this
union, Claude E. Rose, now a veterinary surgeon in Lin-
ton. He is a graduate of the Indiana State Veterinary
College at Indianapolis, and he married Dora Penna,
daughter of Phil Penna, secretary of the Coal Operators'
Association of the United States. Mrs. Rose died in
1884, and the doctor chose for his present companion,
Lola M. Rector, the accomplished daughter of Jesse
Rector, of Linton. They were married in 1891. Two
sons were bom to this union, making brighter their
already pleasant home, Embree R. and Delano W., both
in school in 1908, and both giving promise of brilliant
future careers.
Dr. Rose is a member of the Greene County Medical
Society, the Indiana State Medical Association and the
American Medical Association, in all of which his voice
has much weight in their deliberations. He has fre-
23
SN
m
354
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
quently been president of the county organization. He
served nine years a member of the Linton school board.
He is a Democrat in political affiliations. He was one
of the organizers of the First National Bank in Linton
and is a director and vice-president in this organization.
He owns valuable farming lands near Linton, aggre-
gating over four hundred acres, half of which is under-
laid with coal. The doctor owns a large and handsome
residence in Linton and an office building two stories
high, occupying three lots, and he has extensive mining
interests in Montana.
Dr. Rose has been in Linton since it was a village of
only one hundred and fifty souls, when the adjacent farm-
ing lands were almost wholly unimproved. In those
days his professional riding was done on horseback, as
there were but few roads opened and they were of the
worst type. Dr. Rose is a charter member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias and Elks lodges in
Linton and he is past master and a Royal Arch Mason,
Past Chancellor Commander Knights of Pythias and
was one of the first trustees of the Elks.
The subject has had no military experience, but his
father, Elihu Rose, raised a company for the Twenty-
first Indiana Volunteer Infantry and served as captain
of Company E until the regiment was reorganized as
the First Heavy Artillery. Captain Elihu Rose was
transferred with the latter organization to New Orleans
and then was provost marshal of that city under General
B. F. Butler, the military governor, and a warm personal
friend of Captain Rose.
Dr. Rose is a member of the Methodist church and
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 355
Mrs. Rose is a Catholic. They are both highly respected
and regarded in, all circles as among the best people, as
well as the most influential, in Greene county.
FRANCIS LEWIS EDWARDS.
Francis L. Edwards was bom at Bloomfield, Indi-
ana, August 29, 1839, the son of Lewis Baker Edwards,
who was bom August 14, 1796, on Long Island Sound,
New York, and who married Caroline Bamett, of Mas-
sachusetts. The subject's grandfather was Henry S. Ed-
wards, who was born April 24, 1768. He came from the
East to Bloomfield, Indiana, in 1837, having brought
his family through the forests from New York in
wagons. He married Sally Baker. He settled on eighty
acres of land where the subject of this sketch now lives
in the southern part of the city of Bloomfield. It then
had an unfinished cabin on it, but only a little clearing
had been done. He was a tanner and shoemaker as well
as a farmer. He had the misfortune to lose his eyesight
shortly after coming to Greene county. Lewis Baker Ed-
wards came to Greene county, Indiana, in 1819, first on
a visit. He was the third son of Henry Edwards, who
had ten children. The others were Sally, Anna, Charles,
Henry, Esther, Daniel, Alfred, Reuben and Samuel.
The subject's father married Marcia Starr, Sep-
tember 15, 1825. She died December 6, 1836. He next
married Caroline Bennett, May 13, 1838, who died
September 22, 1845. He then married Sarah Van
356 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Vorst, November 11,' 1846, .who died February
26, -1856. His last wife was Charlotte Spain-
hower, who died July 16, 1879. The subject's father
died December 20, 1878. He had one child by his first
wife, Sarah Starr; Francis L. Edwards was the only
child by his second wife. The following were by his
third wife: Caroline, wife of Riley Spainhower, of
Bloomfield. Indiana; Sarah C, who married Fred Whit-
taker, both now deceased ; John H., who was drowmed
in White River June 7, 1874. There were no children
by his last marriage.
Lewis Baker Edwards, who was educated in the
public schools, learned the printer's trade at Buffalo, N.
Y., and went to Ashtabula, Ohio, where he worked for
some time on newspapers. He owned several newspa-
pers, from time to time managing "The Luminary,"
"Farmer," "The Merchants' Advocate" and "The Re-
publican." His first wife died in Ashtabula in 1833 and
he went back to New York state, where he married the
second time, and shortly afterward came to Green county,
Indiana, where he stayed with his parents, taking care
of them until their death. He was one of the first school
teachers of the county. He was also associate judge. He
was first a Democrat and later a Republican, and a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church, being well known and
highly respected, for he was always very active in Sunday
school and church work.
Francis L. Edwards had only a limited education in
the common schools. He lived with his parents until De-
cember 9, 1861, when he enlisted in Company E, Fifty-
ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He was drilled at
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 357
Gosport and was sent to Missouri, and was in the siege
of New Madrid, helped capture Island No. io, joined
the expedition to Fort Pillow and later to Corinth, Mis-
sissippi, having been on a raid through Mississippi to
Oxford and back to Memphis, where he spent the win-
ter. He joined Sherman's army at Milliken's Bend and
was in the entire Vicksburg campaign. He helped cap-
ture Jackson, Mississippi, and the flag of his regiment
was the first to float over that city. He was at Corinth
during the battle there and later was in Grant's army at
Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was in the battle of Mis-
sionary Ridge. He spent the following winter at Hunts-
ville, Alabama, and in the summer guarded the railroads
in 1864. In October of that year he joined Sherman's
army on the march to the sea, was in the Carolina cam-
paign and before Richmond, and was in the grand review
at Washington, D. C, July 21, 1865.
After the war Mr. Edwards farmed for several
years, but has been retired since 1896. He built his
present beautiful home on South Washington street,
Bloomfield, Indiana, in 1902. The subject has always
been a stanch Republican and he and his wife have long
been members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is
a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Lovell
H. Rosseau Post, No. 326, Bloomfield. He was quar-
termaster of the post for eleven years, and has also served
as chaplain, adjutant and commander.
Mr. Edwards was married to Elizabeth H. Scott,
December 24, 1873, who was born February 24, 1847, in
Parke county, Indiana, the daughter of Joseph and Alary
(Dinsmore) Scott. Joseph Scott was the first male child
358
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
born in Greene county, Indiana. His wife was born in
Virginia, June 31, 1816. He was born December 16,
1 82 1, the son of William Scott, of Northi Carolina, who
came to Greene county, Indiana, in 1819, and settled near
Bloomfield. He secured some wild land, cleared it and
made a home, where he and his wife lived and died. He
also worked as a blacksmith. Joseph Scott was in the
Twenty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company C,
later heavy artillery, serving three years.
The following children were born to William Scott
and wife: John, Joseph, Gilbert, Patsy, Sallie, Joshua,
Washington, Samuel, Andrew, Polly and an infant. The
children of Joseph and Mary Scott were: Henry C, who
was killed at Antietam, being a member of the Four-
teenth Indiana Regiment; Mary O. married Jesse Craw-
ford, of Sullivan, Indiana; Harriett, wife of Francis L.
Edwards; Sophelia Ann died in 1853; Sarah C. died in
1861 ; George W., printer, living in Chicago, and an in-
fant. The subject and wife have one son, Lewis, who
was born March 6, 1876, and graduated from the high
school at Bloomfield in 1890. He married Alta Ethel
Terrell, of Bloomfield, August 22, 1906. He is employed
at) that place. They are both members of the Methodist
church and have one son, Lewis Baker.
WILLIAM C. BENNETT.
William Calvin Bennett, late of Bloomfield, was
born in Columbiana county, Ohio, March 13, 1844. and
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 359
entered into rest at Bloomfield, Indiana, May 5, 1907-
His father, Macabees Bennett, was a native of Connect-
icut, while his mother was born in Ohio, her parents hav-
ing'been early settlers in that state. In 1854 Macabees
Bennett was called hence, and the widow, with her fam-
ily, removed to Greene county, Indiana, settling in Taylor
township, where she ended her days. The task devolved
upon her of raising to maturity a family of seven chil-
dren, and to this noble duty she addressed herself with
all the vigor and fortitude she was able to command.
How well she performed her obligations is revealed by
the fruits of her labors. Many hardships and privations
were endured, but through it all she maintained an opti-
mistic spirit and at no time was the note of discourage-
ment to be heard.
William C, our subject, was ten years old when his
father died, and he manfully entered into his share of
the work necessary to maintain the home. He thus re-
ceived the wholesome discipline afforded by the perform-
ance of these duties, and received such education as could
be obtained in the neighboring district schools.
At the age of sixteen he began to lay plans for the
superstructure of life, and attended normal school at
Bloomfield, following this by teaching school for two or
three winters. In the meantime his thoughts became
directed toward the nursery business, and his deep in-
terest in the subject soon led him to make a close study
of the industry. The scientific side of the business held
a strong fascination for him, and although his means
were quite limited, he secured a few acres of land in
Taylor township, and upon this he made the modest be-
360 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
ginning- of an industry which he succeeded in developing
to a magnificent climax of excellence. Success was
bound to follow his thorough, progressive and energetic
efforts, and to the small patch of ground first obtained
he made subsequent additions, until the domain of eight
hundred acres was needed for the work, and became
known as the Rose Hill Nursery, famed far and wide
throughout the state.
Mr. Bennett was a most indefatigable worker, hav-
ing an; investigative spirit and broad views. These won
for him not only unusual financial success, but a most
commendable host of friends. He did not belong to any
church, but contributed liberally to all the demands made
of him, finding, as he thought, something worthy in
them all.
On June 21, 1877, Mr. Bennett was married to Jen-
nie Phillips, a native of Greene county, Indiana, and the
daughter of Alvin and Sarah (Hattabough) Phillips.
The latter was born at Salem, Indiana, and the former
at Bedford. Alvin Phillips came to Greene county early
in life, fanning until his retirement to Bloomfield, where
he and his wife both died of pneumonia within the space
of a few hours in March, 1904. They were buried in
the same grave, an event which impressed itself indelibly
upon the minds of the relatives and friends, forming as
it did a most fitting close to lives of deep and lasting de-
votion. They were members of the Baptist church, and
were .held in the highest esteem by all who knew them.
They were the parents of the following children : Angie.
widow of William Gordon, and now living in Bloomfield ;
Jennie, widow of our subject, and Edmund H., who has
charge of the old homestead in Taylor township.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 361
Alvin Phillips was a soldier in Company A, Ninety-
seventh Indiana Regiment, and served three years.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett became the parents of nine
children : Erne, wife of Nathaniel Ledgerwood, of Pas-
adena, California; Lula, wife of Isaac Isenogle, of Wash-
ington, Indiana; Cora, Verda, Blanche, Leola, Barney
and Clarence, all at home; one child died in infancy.
In 1905 Mr. Bennett's health failed and a trip to
California in an attempt to recuperate his failing strength
proved of no avail, and he went the way of all the earth,
closing a most commendable and praiseworthy career.
The widow and family have their home on West Me-
chanic street, Bloomfield, but Mrs. Bennett still main-
tains the management of the Rose Hill Nursery.
He left one of the largest estates in the county. Pie
was a Republican in political belief and a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
The following is taken from the press of Bloomfield
under date of May 10, 1907 :
"Death claimed one of the most prominent and use-
ful citizens of Greene county last Sunday afternoon when
William C. Bennett passed away at his home on West
Mechanic street after an illness covering a year and a
half. Although born in the neighboring state of Ohio —
the birthplace of many excellent Greene county citizens —
yet all the years of his manhood were spent in this
county, and spent not merely in building up a highly
successful business, but in carving for himself a name
that shall endure — a name that was the synonym of
honor, sobriety and integrity.
"His devotion to his family was beautiful. His
362 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
happiness was perfect only in their presence. And to con-
tribute to their happiness was his highest ambition. And
his devotion was manifested not merely in a generous
provision for their material wants, but in a wealth of af-
fection which he lavished upon every member of his
household.
"He was a generous supporter of the church and
took a deep interest in every religious movement. He
was always public-spirited. Whatever looked toward
the betterment of the community in which he lived al-
ways had his hearty support and sympathy.
"In his death the county has lost one of its most sub-
stantial citizens. By careful management, wise fore-
sight and a close application to business he achieved suc-
cess, and at the time of his death he was one of the
wealthiest men in Greene county. And he had the sat-
isfaction of knowing that gain came to him not by grind-
ing down others or by dishonest means, but by fair and
honest treatment of his fellow men.
"The remains lay in state from eight till two o'clock
Tuesday and many called to get a last look at the fa-
miliar features of one whom all had honored. A pro-
fusion of flowers came from relatives and friends, and
the burial outfit was the richest and most expensive ever
seen in Bloomfield.
"The funeral services were held from the family res-
idence at 2:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon,, conducted by
the Rev. W. H. Wylie, in the presence of a large assem-
bly of sorrowing friends, and the remains were tenderlv
laid to rest in the Bloomfield cemetery."
-j
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 363
JOSEPH A. STRAUSER.
Joseph A. Strauser, the son of Daniel Strauser and
Leah (Altland) Strauser, was born August 24, 1842.
His father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother
of Ohio. Daniel Strauser moved with his father George
in 1836 to Wayne county, Ohio, and George died there.
Daniel married then and later moved to Stark county,
Ohio, where he farmed until 1888. In that year he
moved to Greene county, Indiana, and lived with the
subject of this sketch until his death in 1889. His wife
died in Ohio. He held several offices and was a Demo-
crat and a member of the Reformed church.
Joseph A. Strauser was an' only child. He was ed-
ucated in the common schools of Stark county, Ohio. In
1882 he came to Greene county, Indiana, and settled in
Fair Play township, where he secured one hundred and
twenty acres of land and lived there for eighteen years.
Then he sold his farm and came to Richland township
and bought thirty-nine acres where he now lives. It
was known as the old Timmons place. He conducts a
general farming and fruit raising industry. He married
in February, 1866. His wife was Mary A. Spangler,
of Stark county, Ohio, the daughter of Rev. P. J. Span-
gler, a minister of the Reformed church in that section for
over fifty years.
Mr. Strauser has four children. William is farming
in Fair Play township. He married Lizzie Daubenspeck ;
Minnie married Fernando Rodocker, a farmer of Fair
Play township, Greene county; Frank is also farming in
Fair Play township. He married Nettie Rampley; Leah
married Charles Rampley, of Fair Play township.
364 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
The subject of this sketch has always been a farmer,
but lie has also found time to work at the gunsmith's
trade, being a very fine workman. In fact, he can make
almost anything in that line. He keeps abreast of the
times by miscellaneous reading and he is a good talker on
current topics. He has a large circle of warm friends
throughout Greene county. He is an independent voter
and is well versed in rjolitics.
Joel Strauser, an uncle of the subject, came to
Greene county, Indiana, from Ohio in 1858 and settled
in Center township. He got possession of some wild
land and by clearing and otherwise improving it soon had
a comfortable home. He was a successful farmer. In
1888 he moved to Washington township. In 1900 he
went to Tennessee and died there. He was a soldier in
the Civil war, bavins: enlisted in Greene countv.
JAMES MILLIARD VEST.
Although the early opportunity of James M. Vest, a
well known farmer of Richland township, Greene county,
Indiana, to prepare himself for life's business was not by
any means pronounced, he seized what there was and has
been successful. He was born April 18, 1858, in Taylor
township. He received what education he could in the
country schools and lived at home until he was married,
November 17, 1881, to Dora Rogers, of Guernsey county.
Ohio, born March 17, 1859. She was the daughter of
Joseph and Lydia (Cale) Rogers, who moved near Sols-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 3°5
berry, Indiana, in 1866 and farmed until their death.
James M. Vest and wife have four children, namely:
Clyde, born June 14, 1882, who married Stella Shepherd
April 8, 1905; he is a fanner in Richland township, his
native county ; they have one child, Opal ; Cleather, born
June 14, 1884, is the wife of Emmitt A. Quillen, a farmer
and teacher of Richland township. He is the son of
Christopher D. and Mary (Haywood) Quillen. They
have four children, Merl, Elaine, Victor and Malcolm.
Frank R. Vest, born March 26, 1890, and Parmer, torn
November 22, 1893, live with their father, the subject
of this sketch. Mr. Vest located in Richland township,
in 1 88 1, where he has since resided. He has a sixty-acre
farm well improved and very productive. In 1903 he
formed a company known as Vest & Quillen, for the pur-
pose of building1 macadamized roads. Since then he has
been doing an extensive business. He is a loyal Repub-
lican and a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amer-
ica, Lodge 6449, of Park, Indiana, in which he has held
all the offices. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows
Lodge at Mineral City, Indiana.
George Washington Vest was the father of the sub-
ject of this sketch. He was born February 28, i8?o, a
son of Littleberry Vest, a native of Virginia, whose
family came to Owen county, Indiana, in 1821 and lo-
cated near Spencer, where Littleberry Vest remained
until 1839, when he went to Missouri, working at the
blacksmith trade near St. Louis. He and his wife, whom
he married in Virginia, were the parents of ten children,
namely: Serenia, William, Sarah, Berry, Jackson,
Joshua, George, Fred, two died in infancy. George W.
Vest remained at home until he was nineteen years old,
m
366 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
and in 1839 married Eliza Barker, who died in 1847. They
had four children — William, of Mineral City, Indiana; Sa-
rah married Perm Lancaster and resides in Kansas City ;
Mary, who married John McLaughlin, died at Eureka
Springs, Arkansas; Ohitee, deceased, who married Nancy
O'Donnell. Mr. Vest married a second time March 3,
1850, Polly Ann Allen, of Rush county, Indiana, a claugh-
. °r of Andrew and Elizabeth (Krustenberry) Allen.
They had six children — Jane, Hiram, Ellen, Sarah,
Polly Ann and James. Mr. Allen's second wife was
Polly Ann Rumley. They had ten children, namely:
Elizabeth, William, John, Obitee, Francis, Elias, Emma,
Calvin, Stephen and an infant. His third wife was the
widow of LaRule Melton. His fourth wife was Sarah
Fuller. They had four children — Sherman, Melinda, Al-
bert and Frank. George W. Vest had eight children by
his second wife, namely : Oliver, deceased ; Eliza Ann,
living at Bedford, Indiana, who married George Graf-
ton; Andrew Jackson, a fanner of Areola, Illinois; James
M., the subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth, who first mar-
ried William Angelo, and then married James Mood ;
she is deceased ; Charles, a farmer in Richland township,
Greene county, Indiana; Thomas, deceased; John, a car-
penter, living at Worthington, Indiana.
George W. Vest was a blacksmith by trade. He
lived at Scotland, Indiana, for several years. He enlisted
as a private in 1862 and was with Sherman in many hard
battles. He was discharged in 1865 while a member of
the Ninety-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infan-
try, Company A. After the war he returned to his old
home and farmed, trapped and bought furs until he died,
April 4, 1905. Both he and his wife were members of
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 367
the Christian church from their youth. He was a Re-
publican and was well known throughout Greene county.
ALFRED LYSANDER BROOKS.
Alfred L. Brooks, the subject of this sketch, was
the son of Benjamin and Eliza (Rust) Brooks, and was
bom December 15, 1833, in Greene county. The father
came from New York state and the mother from Ken-
tucky. His parents both came to Indiana when they were
children and were married at Mooresville, Morgan coun-
ty. They removed to Vincennes and later came to Bloom-
field, where he did in 1840. His wife lived until March
1, 1892. Five children were bom to them — Alfred, our
subject ; Caroline, Lucinda, Finley and Selina — all of
whom are deceased. Alfred was a cooper by trade, and
worked at it until he entered the army in 1861, joining
Company H, Thirty-first Indiana Infantry, at Owens-
burg- in August of that year, and served with distinction
for three years. He was in the fiercest of the fights at
Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Fort Henry. After the last
engagement he was taken sick and sent to the hospital
at Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained for several
months. He never fully recovered health and strength,
yet he rejoined his regiment, and being assigned to
lighter work, served to the end of his enlistment, the full
three years. In June, 1857, he was married to Nancy E.
Brock, a native of Lawrence county, born November 28,
1838, and the daughter of Newton and Martha (Mills)
Brock, both natives of Tennessee. They came to Indiana
when children, coming in a wagon, though the children
walked most of the way. Both parental families came
368 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
from the same locality and settled in Lawrence county.
Newell used to flatboat on the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers in an early day. He later came with both families
to Greene county, where he engaged in fanning until to-
ward the close of his life, when; he retired. He died in
1872, and in 1895 his wife followed him. They were
members of the Baptist church. They had eight chil-
dren— Nancy, Ephraim, deceased ; Josephus and John,
each of whom died in the army ; David, twin brother of
John, lives in Bloomfield ; Elizabeth, deceased ; Roena,
who lives in Switz City and is the wife of Aaron Hen-
non ; James died in childhood.
To Alfred L. Brooks and wife were born four chil-
dren. Benjamin F. married Lizzie Webber, who died ift
October, 1896. To them were given two children, Prince
Bismarck and Artillus; Lucinda, wife of James L. Mat-
tox. They live in Linton and have two children, Fay and
Wilbum M. ; Lillie May, wife of William F. Dean. They
have four children, Francis C, Alfred, Wilburn H. and
Newell Watts ; George, who married Maggie Skinner
and is living in Jasper, Dubois county.
Mrs. Brooks, the widow of our subject, is living in
Bloomfield with her daughter Lillie, on North Washing-
ton street. She is a member of the Presbyterian church.
ELMER ELSWORTH NEAL.
The march of progress and improvement is acceler-
ated day by day, and in view of unforeseen exigencies,
each successive movement seems to demand men of wider
intelligence, broader views and greater discernment than
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 369
did the preceding. Successful men must be live men in
this age, bristling with activity, and the lessons of biog-
raphy may be far-reaching to an extent not superficially
evident. There can be no impropriety in justly scanning
the acts of any man as they affect his public business and
social relations, in view of which it is eminently proper
in this connection to call attention to one of the leaders
of industry in Greene county, whose large business inter-
ests, executive capacity and noteworthy success in various
important enterprises, have won for him a conspicuous
place among the notable men of his day and generation
in the southern part of the Hoosier state. It is both grati-
fying and profitable to enter record concerning the career
of such a man, and in the following outline sufficient will
be said to indicate the forceful individuality, initiative
power and sterling character, which have had such a de-
cided influence in making their possessor a leader in en-
terprises requiring the highest order of business talent,
and to gain for him wide publicity among those who shape
and direct policies of far-reaching consequences.
Elmer Elsworth Neal, than whom no man in the
southern part of the state is more widely or favorably
known, was born November 21, 1870, in the town of Ja-
sonville, being the son of Henry T. Neal, a biography of
whom appears elsewhere in these pages.
Young Neal received his education in the schools of
Bloomfield, and some idea of his record as a careful and
painstaking student may be obtained from the fact of his
having completed the high school course and received his
certificate of graduation at the early age of seventeen
years. Inheriting a natural aptitude for business, we find
24
370 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
him, shortly after leaving school, filling the important and
responsible position of weighmaster for the Summit Coal
Company, which post he held three years and then en-
tered the general store of Neal Brothers, at Linton, where
he remained until 1893. I'1 tnat Year 'ie went to Chicago
to take charge of the coal yard of the Dugger, Neal &
Luhnow Coal Company, which was established a short
time prior to the time indicated at 520 West Lake street,
but after two years in that capacity he accepted a position
with the T. C. Loucks & Company, wholesale jobbers of
coal, taking charge of the city sales department, which he
filled for a period of three years with credit to himself
and to the satisfaction of the firm.
The death of his father at the expiration of the time
indicated made it imperative for Mr. Neal to return to
Bloomfield to act as administrator on the paternal estate,
the duties of this undertaking requiring his time and at-
tention until 1899, when the business was satisfactorily
adjusted and everything connected therewith closed. In
the latter year Mr. Neal took charge of all his father's in-
terests except the coal business, and in partnership with
T. T- Ogara, of Chicago, purchased the interest of F.
M. Dugger, his father's former associate, and reorgan-
ized the Summit Coal and Mining Company, with a
capital of twenty thousand dollars, the subject being
elected secretary and treasurer of the concern, also gen-
eral manager, which important positions he has since
filled, as mentioned in a preceding paragraph.
The Summit Coal and Mining Company is one of the
largest and most important enterprises of the kind in the
Indiana coal region, giving employment to a large num-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 271
ber of men throughout the year and doing business of
continually growing magnitude, the daily output amount-
ing to something in excess of twelve hundred tons. In ad-
dition to his connection with this important industry, Mr.
Neal is identified with various other business and indus-
trial enterprises, having a large interest in the United
States Powder Company, at Coal Mount, which has been
incorporated with one hundred and twenty-five thousand
dollars capital, holds the office of president, besides being
a stockholder in the Bloomfield Investment Company,
with a capital of ten thousand dollars ; is vice president
of the Henderson Lumber Company, of White Cliff, Ar-
kansas, an enterprise of large proportions, owning twelve
thousand acres of finely timbered land, of which the sub-
ject holds the sixth interest, the capital representing ten
thousand dollars. Besides the interests alluded to Mr.
, Neal has had something to do in promoting various other
movements and enterprises and takes an active part in
everything calculated to benefit his city and county and
minister to the welfare of the people. He holds stock in
nearly every local enterprise of a business character, pur-
chasing in 1907 a large interest in the Bloomfield State
Bank, of which he was elected president and C. E. Davis
as vice president and W. M. Haig cashier. The growth
of this institution in popular favor and its solidity as
a safe place of deposit is largely attributable to the sound
judgment and superior executive ability of these three
enterprising- and in every respect liable business men.
Mr. Neal's domestic life dates from 1892, on July
17th of which year was solemnized his marriage with
Stella McCloud, whose birth occurred December 15, 1876,
in Delaware county, Ohio, being- the daughter of William
372 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
A. and Margaret (Martin) McCloud, natives of Ohio,
the father being superintendent of mines in the coal re-
gions of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Neal have four chil-
dren, namely: Corinne Hazel, Henry Elsworth, Fred-
erick Mahlon, and Thelma lone, all living and affording
abundant promise of future usefulness.
In his political views Mr. Neal is a pronounced Re-
publican, manifesting an active interest in party affairs,
and by reason of large experience and mature judgment,
his counsel and advice have been of great service in the
making of platforms and the formulating of policies. He
has never sought office, however, being first of all a busi-
ness man and making everything else subservient to his
multiform interests as such. He is a Mason of high stand-
ing and a zealous worker in both blue lodge and chapter,
and is also identified with the Pythian brotherhood and
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His re-
ligious faith is represented by the creed of the Cumber-
land Presbyterian church, to which body his wife and
family also belong, and his prominence in social circles
is indicated by the position he holds at president of the
Bloomfield Social Club, one of the finest organizations of
the kind in the state, owning its own home and enjoying
a flourishing growth almost unprecedented.
Thus in a cursory manner have been set before the
reader the leading facts and salient characteristics in the
life of a man whose interest in all that concerns the prog-
ress and prosperity of Greene county is unabating, and
whose influence has ever been exerted in behalf of the
right as he sees and understands it. "He stands four-
square to every wind that blows," an upright, progressive,
manly man, and those who have known him since his
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. $73
advent into the arena of public affairs are numbered
among his cherished and devoted friends while he com-
mands unequivocal esteem in the community at large.
GEORGE MARTIN SPARKS.
When the grandfather of George M. Sparks, who
was Hardy Sparks, a native of North Carolina, came
to Monroe county, Indiana, he found plenty ©f good gov-
ernment land to choose a one hundred and sixty-acre
tract from upon which to make his home, and being of
sturdy stock he soon had the land cleared and a comfort-
able dwelling erected on it, where he lived and died,
raising a large family and becoming well known even in
those days when the country was sparsely settled. Hem-)'
Sparks was the subject's father. He, too, was a native
of North Carolina, and came to Indiana in an early clay
and got government land, having come to Monroe county
with his parents when he was a boy. He had little oppor-
tunity to attend school. He showed his sterling qualities
by working for some time for Pete Carmichael for the
sum of four dollars per month. He bought a horse for
thirty dollars and worked for it at the rate of the wages
mentioned until it was paid for. He married Sallie Hol-
der, a native of North Carolina, and settled in Indian
Creek township, Monroe county, Indiana, where he
cleared a farm and made a home. Later he sold his farm
and bought another tract, making his holdings five hun-
dred and twenty acres near the Greene county line. He
made his home the latter part of his life in Stanford, In-
.*£•
374 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
diana, where he died October 10, 1905. His widow is
living in Stanford. He was a Democrat and a member
of the Baptist church. He became popular throughout
the county. He had five children, namely : Thomas, who
was a teacher and a merchant at Stanford, Indiana, now
a farmer and stock raiser in Beech Creek township; John,
a fanner in Nodaway county, Missouri ; Martha, who
died at the age of twenty-eight years; George M., sub-
ject of this sketch; Solomon E., who is living near Stan-
ford, Indiana.
Thomas Holder, a native of North Carolina, was
the subject's grandfather, who married in his native state
and moved to Indiana, settling in Monroe county, where
he took up government land. In 1861 he went to Wood-
ford county, Illinois, where he and his wife lived and
died, being survived by six children, namely: Sally,
Francis, John, Katie, Mary and Betsy.
George M. Sparks attended the schools in his neigh-
borhood find managed the home place until he was
twenty-one years old, when he went to McLain county,
Illinois, where he worked a farm which his father had
purchased. He remained there for eight years and then
returned to> his native county and bought one hundred
and seventy-eight acres in Richland township, known as
the George Bennett place, which he has greatly improved.
He raised all kinds of grain and hay and pays a great
deal of attention to stock raising. He married Cornelia
A. Matthews, of Noble county, Ohio, September 29,
1879. She was the daughter of Charles and Nancy (Hid-
dleston) Matthews, the former a native of West Virginia
and the latter a native of Ohio. Mr. Matthews went to
Noble county, Ohio, and farmed there until his death in
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 375
January, 1859. His wife died in March, 1858. They
had two children — James died when young; Cornelia A.,
wife of the subject of this sketch, was left an orphan
when three years old and was then raised by her grand-
parents, Joseph and Nancy Matthews. They settled near
Stanford, where they died.
George M. Sparks and wife had four children,
namely: Charles died June 14, 1904, at the age of
twenty-four years. He married Bertha Wright and they
had three children, Raymond, Olive and Glen. He was
a farmer and mail carrier; Myrtle is their second child.
She married Samuel Cullison, a miner at Jasonville, In-
diana. They have one child, Garnet; William, the third
child, married August 24, 1907. His wife was Lulu
Wade, of Koleen, Indiana, the daughter of Bunyon and
Frances (Clements) Wade; William Sparks works the
home place for his father; Nellie, the fourth child, lives
at home.
Mr. Sparks is a member of the Modern Woodmen
of America, the. camp at Park, Indiana, and a member
of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Mineral City, Indiana ;
also the Red Men's Lodge at Bloomfield, Indiana. His
wife is a member of the Royal Neighbors. She is also
a member of the Church of God.
JOSEPH ROBERT OCKERMAN.
Joseph R. Ockennan, one of the leading agricul-
turists and stockmen of Richland township, Greene
county, Indiana, is an example of what thrift coupled
376 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
with energy and resourcefulness can accomplish, no mat-
ter what obstacles may intervene. He was born in Bar-
tholomew county, Indiana, March 26, 1849. His early
schooling was neglected of necessity and he spent his
time working on the old homestead until he was twenty-
one years old. He then worked in Worthington, Indi-
ana, for Ephraim Brighton in a furniture factoiy as a
finisher until 1875, when he located in Richland town-
ship, Greene county, Indiana, where he lived until 1880
on his grandfather's old place. Then he bought seventy-
nine acres where he now lives, later purchasing adjoin-
ing land as his fortune increased, until he now owns a
fine farm of two hundred and sixty-nine acres, all well
improved, having an excellent orchard and numerous
buildings on it. He married Martha E. Brighton, Octo-
ber 28, 1874. Since 1881 he has lived on his present
farm engaged in general farming and raising Hereford
cattle, Poland China hogs, Percheron horses and sheep.
He is a Republican.
He has six children, namely : Omar, carpenter and
contractor at Kelso, Washington ; Nell, who married
Wesley Chipman and lives in Richland township. They
have three children, Clara Evat Glenmer and Murrell ;
Clarence, a teacher of mathematics and history at Col-
fax, Washington; Edward, of Kelso, Washington:
Khiva F. and Donald O., both at home.
The subject's wife was a native of Wayne county,
Ohio. She is the daughter of Levi and Catherine (Ste-
phens) Brighton. Mr. Brighton came to Greene county,
Indiana, where he taught school several years, and later
engaged in fanning. He died in 1856 and was the first
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 377
to be buried in Tulip cemetery at Tulip, Indiana. His
widow is living in Franklin, Kansas. They had three
children — Laura, Martha and Levi. Mrs. Brighton mar-
ried John Bullock, a native of Indiana. He had one child,
Celestas, who lives in- Grant county, Kansas. Her third
husband was Isaac Gordon. They had six children,
namely: Carl, George, Viola, Daisy, two died in in-
fancy.
The subject's father was David Ockerman, a native
of the state of New York. He came west and worked
on a plantation in Kentucky and later conducted a wood
yard near Cincinnati on General Harrison's farm. Then
he went to Jackson county, Indiana, and cleared some
wild land in 1854. Then he came to Richland township,
Greene county, Indiana, where he got two hundred and
sixty-two acres of land, partly improved, where he lived
until his death in 1880. He married Almira Coppin, of
Cincinnati, Ohio. His wife died in 1888. They were
membersi of the Christian church. He was a Democrat.
They had eleven children, namely : William, living in
Washington, Indiana, was captain in the Thirty-ninth
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil
war; Clarinda, who married John Await, living in Iowa;
Eveline, deceased, married Ephraim Brighton ; Andrew,
deceased ; John, a farmer at Morrisville, Missouri ; Fran-
cis, deceased; George, living at Seymour, Indiana (he
was in the Indiana cavalry) ; Joseph R., the subject ; Char-
lotte, who married Ezra Chaney, now dead; she is living
in Richland township, Greene county, Indiana ; David, a
farmer, lives in the same neighborhood of the former;
Ella, who first married Edward Stewart, later marrying
John Miley, of Pike county, Indiana.
■P
*■
378 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Robert Coppin, the subject's grandfather, was a na-
tive of England. He was five years old when he came
to New York. He went to Cincinnati and was among
the early settlers there, later to Bartholomew county, In-
diana; then to Greene county, Indiana, in 1859. He was
a cooper by trade. He had five children, Joseph, William,
Almira, Charlotte and Henry.
ORIS BUCHNER RICHESON.
On January 4, 1845, there was born in Hendricks
county, Indiana, Oris B. Richeson, who is now living in
retirement at Bloomfield, Indiana. His parents. Daniel
and Tersia (Perigo) Richeson, were both natives of the
Keystone state (Pennsylvania). They were among that
sturdy class of pioneers who left their homes and friends
in the East to build up a new commonwealth in the Mid-
dle West, coming to Indiana at an early day, being still
young themselves.
Daniel Richeson settled first in Hendricks county,
but later removed to Greene county, making his home
upon a farm in Jackson township, where he lived until
1868. He then removed to Kansas, where he passed to
rest in November, 1876. His wife returned to Greene
county arid there completed her days, her decease occur-
ring in 1896. Both of these people were devout mem-
bers of the Christian church.
They were the parents of nine children, whose names
are herewith appended in the order of their birth : VVil-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 379
liam L now a farmer, living in Illinois; Margaret died
October i7> 1849; Mary E., wife of William Holms, liv-
ing now in Kansas; Ann, called to rest in 1868; Miles, an
ex-Union soldier, having served through the war as first
lieutenant of Company F of the Forty-third Regiment of
the Indiana Volunteer Infantry, answered to the last call
in 1876, while living in Kansas. Next follows Oris, our
subject. Then we have John L., who is now farming m
Missouri. Robert H. departed this life while residing tn
Kansas, March 8, 1881 ; Sarah died in East St. Louis,
May 2, 1883.
Oris was brought up on his father's farm and re-
ceived his education in the primitive schools of the time.
The walk to school covered a distance of four or five
miles, but this was not considered a hardship in those
days. At noons the boys would obtain additional exer-
cise by cutting firewood from the surrounding forest to
be used in the big firq>lace in warming the log building.
The usual puncheon floors and seats were not considered
hardsome, and the birch twigs on the wall behind the
master's desk were features of the interior decorations
that often arrested the attention of the laggard student
and stimulated him to renewed efforts along the path of
knowledge.
On March 4, 1864, Mr. Richeson enlisted in Com-
pany F of the Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
and continued in the service until the close of the war.
After being mustered in at Indianapolis he was sent on
duty to New Orleans and made this trip by means of the
railroad and river boats. Later he was transferred to
Little Rock, Arkansas, where he served on guard duty
*i
380 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
until ordered to Camp Nelson, Kentucky. Here he had
charge of the fort guards, and in the spring of 1865 was
ordered back to Indianapolis, and was made guard over
the prisoners at Camp Morton. Here he remained until
discharged from the service, and then went to farming in
Greene county. lie continued on his farm in Jackson
township until he removed to his present residence on
the outskirts of Bloomfield.
On March 1, 1866, Mr. Richeson was married to
Martha E. Dagger, daughter of Thomas and Sarah
(Floyd) Dugger, the former a native of Greene county
and the latter of Tennessee. They were devout people,
members of the Christian church, and finished their days
in this locality, the mother having survived until 1903.
Nine children were born to them, consisting of Sarah,
widow of J. L. Oliphant, of Bloomfield ; Hetta Jane,
widow of Amber Meredith, of Sullivan county; Francis
M., an ex-Union soldier, now residing in Bloomfield;
Martha E., wife of our subject; Nancy E., wife of John
T. Lamb, of Bloomfield ; Susan E. and Mary E. twins,
both deceased ; William R., of Sullivan county, and Thad-
deus, now residing in Bloomfield. The survivors of the
large family are valued additions to the worthy and in-
dustrious citizenship of our state.
Mr. and Mrs. Richeson have followed in the foot-
steps of their ancestors in surrounding themselves with
a generous family, consisting also of nine children. The
first three of these, Viola Ann, Albert T. and Robert H.,
are now deceased. Cora, wife of Charles Luster, lives in
Taylor township; Abbie N., wife of Harry Custer, has
her home in Illinois; Myrtle, wife of Franklin Levett,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 30I
lives in Bloomfield; Bogard married in Sullivan county;
Gambet, who married Maud McKee, also lives in Bloom-
field ; Logan D. married Rose Sparks and is now making
his home at Bloomfield.
Mr. and Mrs. Richeson are members of the Chris-
tian church. Mr. Richeson is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic and affiliates with the Republican
party, and he daily demonstrates his integrity to the
country through an uprig-ht and honest method of dealing
with his fellow man.
DAVID NEWTON MILLER.
David Newton Miller's ancestors were of the hardy
pioneer stock that played their part in the "winning of
the West." His grandfather, John Miller, was a native
of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, who married Elinore
Imboden, of his own community, and came to Greene
county, Indiana, where they got partially improved land
in Richland township. The old log houses on the place
when they went there soon gave way to better buildings.
He farmed and run a blacksmith shop there. He was
active in' church work and helped build, in 1856, the
building- of the Church of God in that vicinity, in which
he was an elder and trustee. He married a second time,
his last wife being Mrs. Elizabeth Hubble, who died
April 15, 1902. His first wife died in 1865. He died in
1901. He had the following children by his first wife:
Henry, John, David, Mariah, Catherine, Caroline, Leah
and Mary.
302 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
The subject's father, John Miller, was born in Leb-
anon county, Pennsylvania. He lived in Wayne county,
Ohio, and then came with his parents to Greene county,
Indiana. He married Sarah R. Miller, of the former
county. She was the daughter of Rev. Samuel and Han-
nah (Phillips) Miller, both natives of Pennsylvania, who
came to Greene county about 185 1 and located in High-
land township, where he preached in the Church of God
and farmed, also taught school. He was very useful and
was highly esteemed throughout the county. He died in
1872, followed to the silent land by his wife in 1877.
They had eight children, namely: Susanna, who married
Henry Miller, of Richland township; Sarah R., the sub-
ject's mother; Eliza, who married Floyd Allen; Anna,
who married Oscar Allen; Mary, who married William
Buzzard; Margaret, who married C. P. Molden ; Eliza-
beth, who married Lafe Jessup; William H, who first
married Ellen Knox, then married Ann Adams. They
live on the old home place in Highland township.
John Miller, the subject's father, stayed at home and
helped clear the farm and married soon after they set-
tled in Greene county, buying land in Richland town-
ship, which he cleared, later trading this farm for four
hundred and forty-five acres in the same community. By
hard work he made the farm pay well and was able to
buy property in Bloomfield. He served as commissioner
of Greene county, Indiana, and was active as a Repub-
lican. He was a trustee and an elder in the Church of
God. He and his wife raised nine children, having thir-
teen in all, namely: David N., the subject of this sketch;
William P., a farmer near Greencastle, Indiana; Han-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 383
nah E., who married Henry Switz, is now dead; Tabitha,
deceased, who married Jacob Gray; Mary Bell, who mar-
ried John B. Lebitt, of Lyons, Indiana; Susan, who mar-
ried Grant Edwards, of Richland township; Daisy, de-
ceased, who was the wife of William Ritter; Ethel, who
married Allen Workman, of Richland township; Oliver,
who is a merchant and real estate dealer in Worthington,
Indiana.
David N. Miller was bom November 23, 1854, in
Richland township. He went to the home schools and
lived at home until he married Florence R. Maddox, Feb-
ruary 28, 1878. She is a native of Monroe county, Indi-
ana, and the daughter of Thomas and Louisa G. Mad-
dox, who came to Greene county in 1870 and located in
Richland township, where he died. His widow survives.
The subject and wife have five children, namely: Nel-
lie V., who married Ivan Stalcup. She died June 27,
1902. They had three children, George Dewey, Nona
and Grace; Charles V. is a farmer in Fair Play town-
ship; Edna V. married on March 4, 1900, William Huff-
man. They have two children, Mary and Ilene. Frank
is single and lives with the subject of this sketch. Rex
is also at home. After marrying Mr. Miller bought a
farm in Richland township, later buying where he now
lives. It is his grandfather Miller's place and comprises
one hundred and eighty-three acres, one hundred and
twenty-five of which are in cultivation. He raises all
kinds of grains and much stock. He was proprietor of a
store at Elmore, Indiana, for one year. He is an active
Republican in politics. He is an elder and trustee in the
Church of God and his friends are many throughout the
county where he lives.
384 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
SAMUEL COLEMAN CRAVENS, M. D.
The distinction accorded the late Dr. Samuel Cole-
man Cravens, of Bloomfield, of being for many years the
leading- physician and surgeon of Greene county and one
of the most eminent men of his profession in the state of
Indiana will not be controverted by those familiar with
his life and character. Throughout his own and adjoin-
ing counties his name and fame were household words.
Achieving success in his choSen calling such as few at-
tain, and holding worthy prestige among the leaders
throughout the medical world, it was not by his profes-
sion alone that he made his influence felt among his fellow
men and won such a large and warm place in the affec-
tion and esteem of those with whom he mingled. Possess-
ing a large heart and broad and generous impulses, he
was distinctively a lover of his kind, and during the
course of a long and eminently useful career his chief de-
light was in ministering to the relief of others, alleviating
their suffering by professional skill and relieving their
distress by contributions from the ample material means
with which his efforts had been so richly blessed. He was
a true philanthropist, in the strict sense of the term, one
of nature's noblemen, whom to know was to esteem and
honor, and it is with a sense of his high standing in his
chosen field of endeavor and his sterling attributes of
manhood and citizenship that this tribute to his worth is
herewith presented.
Dr. Samuel Coleman Cravens was born January 3,
1839, in Jefferson county, Indiana, the son of John C.
and Nancy (Minneaugh) Cravens, who were natives of
t4?/?724<u&H<S
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 385
Pennsylvania and Virginia, respectively, and of Irish and
English ancestry, respectively. In such schools as his
native county afforded the doctor received his preliminary
educational discipline, after which he turned his attention
to teaching'. He taught for some time in the public schools
of Daviess county and in 1861 came to the county of
Greene, where he was similarly employed for portions of
several years, devoting his vacations and other spare time
to the study of medicine, for which he early manifested a
decided taste, his preceptor being Dr. J. N. Conley, under
whose direction he continued until entering Rush Medical
College, Chicago, in 1863.
After one year in that institution Dr. Cravens began
the practice of his profession with his preceptor, but feel-
ing the need of more thorough preparation for his life
work, he subsequently returned to Rush Medical College,
where he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine in the year 1866, later receiving the same de-
gree from Long Island Hospital, New York, where he
finished his course the following year. From 1870 until
1 88 1 the doctor built up an extensive and lucrative prac-
tice at Bloomfield and throug-hout Greene county and in
the meantime took high rank among the leading men of
his profession in this part of the state, his skill as a physi-
cian and surgeon causing demands for his services at
places remote from the field to which his ability and ener-
gies were especially employed. With a laudable ambi-
tion to still further increase his professional knowledge
and efficiency, he took a post-graduate course at Rush in
1880, from which time until his death, about thirteen years
later, he easily stood at the head of his profession in
25
u
386 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Greene county, besides, as already indicated, achieving
marked prestige among the scholarly and successful med-
ical men of his native state.
In the midst of his arduous professional duties Dr.
Cravens found time to devote to various other lines of
activity and to study and promote the intellectual inter-
ests and moral advancement of the city of his residence.
A friend of education, he ever manifested a lively regard
for the public schools, and with sturdy faith and profound
convictions in matters religious, he did much to foster
and strengthen the church organizations of the city, espe-
cially the Presbyterian church, which held his creed, and
to the upbuilding of which he contributed liberally of his
means and influence. Few men of Greene county have
been held jn as high esteem as Dr. Cravens, and none
have exceeded him in strenuous efforts for the public
good or in liberal contributions' to laudable enterprises of
a benevolent and philanthropic character, to say nothing
of the many noble benefactions and private charities,
which, emanating from a heart in close sympathy with the
poor and distressed, were given without stint, and in
such manner as to produce the greatest amount of good.
Financially he was successful beyond the majority in his
calling and might easily have been a wealthy man had the
promptings of his generous nature been less ardent, or
his eyes and ears closed to human suffering. Profession-
ally he belonged to the various local and state medical
associations, in all of which his opinions carried weight
and influence, and during the administration of President
Cleveland he was a member of the pension board, this
being the only public position he ever held.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 387
Dr. Cravens on June 12, 1866, was united in mar-
riage to Mary L. Routt, daughter of William K. and
Esther (Ferguson) Routt, natives, respectively, of Indi-
ana and Kentucky, the union resulting in the birth of
children as follows: William Routt, M. D., one of the
leading physicians and surgeons of Greene county;
George E., a graduate pharmacist, of Bloomfield ; Pearl,
the wife of Y. L. Slinkard, an attorney at law, of Bloom-
held ; Maud, who is an assistant to Dr. William R.
Cravens, and an infant died unnamed.
Politically Dr. Cravens was an influential Democrat,
and was never so engrossed professionally as to lose in-
terest in his party or to cease his efforts for its success.
Always in touch with public affairs, and thoroughly
versed on the questions before the people', he had no
political aspirations and never sought official preferment
at the hands of his fellow citizens.
Socially he was kind, affable and obliging, an ideal
husband and father, the life of the home circle and a gen-
eral favorite with all classes and conditions of his fellow
men, having possessed in a marked degree the generous
sympathy and winning personality that attracted and re-
tained strong and loyal friendships. In addition to his
eminence as a physician and high standing as an esteemed
and enterprising citizen, Dr. Cravens did much work for
Bloomfield in a material way, as the various improve-
ments he made in the city from time to time bear witness,
not the least of these being the Cravens Block, a line two-
story brick structure, erected in the year 1898, and which
will long stand to perpetuate his memory.
In every walk of life Dr. Cravens was easily the peer
388 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of any of his fellows in all that constituted true manhood,
and during his long period of residence in Greene county
his name was synonymous with what was moral and up-
right in citizenship. He adorned every circle in which he
moved and for years to come his character and career will
be cherished by a people who looked upon him as a healer
with few equals and no superiors, as a neighbor without
guile and as a gentleman without pretense, who, seeing
and understanding his duty, strove by all means at his
command to do the same as he would answer to his con-
science and his God. He died at his home in Bloomfield
September 5, 1903, ripe in years and rich in honors, and
was followed by a large concourse of sorrowing friends
and fellow citizens to the beautiful cemetery, amid the
silent shades of which his body, "Life's fitful fever over,
rests well."
Mrs. Cravens, a most estimable lady and fit com-
panion of a husband so signally loved and honored, still
resides in Bloomfield, where her friends are both numer-
ous and loyal. Like the doctor, she, too, is identified with
the Presbyterian church and possesses a beautiful Chris-
tian character, which finds expression in kindly deeds,
generous charities and a life void of offense toward God
and man.
CHARLES ANDERSON EMERY.
Charles A. Emery was born in Coshocton county,
Ohio, March 14, 1839, and is the son of Thomas B. Hays
and an adopted son of Ambrose Emery, of Coshocton
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 389
county. Ambrose Emery married Polly Anderson, both
natives of Pennsylvania, but they spent most of their
lives in Ohio and raised a large family. They moved
to Greene county, Indiana, in 1848 and located in Taylor
township. He got three hundred and sixty acres of vir-
gin land which he cleared, and soon made a splendid
home. He was always a farmer, but became widely
known and was highly respected. Both he and his wife
died in Taylor township.
Charles A. Emery had few opportunities to attend
school, which was held, in the vicinity where he was
raised, in a log house. In i860 he went to Albia, Mon-
roe county, Iowa, and worked at farming. In August,
1861, he enlisted in Company H, First Regiment, Iowa
Cavalry, serving most of the time in Missouri and Arkan-
sas, and was in many skirmishes with the Cantrell gang
and in a battle near Little Rock, Arkansas. He was taken
sick and was in the hospital for some time. He was
later a nurse and also took care of the dead and wounded
soldiers' effects. Having" contracted a disease in his eyes
and other sickness while on his way to Little Rock, he
was discharged August 23, 1864, after which he came
back to Greene county, Taylor township, and later moved
to Stafford township, where he lived for three years. He
lived in Washington township for twenty-one years, again
in Stafford for two years. He finally moved to Richland
township, where he now lives and runs a small farm. He
has always engaged in fanning. He was twice married,
first to Sarah A. Stalcup, of Greene county, in 1866. She
died in a few years and he married Martha Ouillen, of
Taylor township, in 1871, while living in Greene county.
39°
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
She was the daughter of William and Sarah Jennings,
the latter of Kentucky and the former of Virginia. They
were pioneers of Taylor township, Greene county. He
died in Richland township; she died in Bloomfield. They
had twelve children, nine reaching maturity.
The subject had one child by his first wife, Annie,
who married Hubbard Dowden, of Linton, Indiana. Mr.
Emery had eight children by his second marriage — Rosie,
now deceased, married James Blevins; William H., engi-
neer at Bloomfield, Indiana, who married Cora Weaver,
and who has two children, Rosie and Weaver; Harvey
L., a painter at Paris, Illinois, married Edith Chipman,
who has borne him one son, Bruce; Amos E. and Ernest
V. both live at home; Elsie J. married Robert Chipman,
a farmer of Richland township, and they have one son,
Forest ; Vesta E. lives at home, as does also Algie F.
Mr. Emery has always been a fanner. He is well
known throughout Greene county and has scores of
friends there. He never aspired to office, but has always
been a stanch Republican and a member of the Christian
church.
RICHARD MATTHEWS DUKE.
Richard M. Duke was among the Kentuckians who
emigrated from their native state to Indiana in an early
•day, and finding farming conditions better in the latter,
spent the major part of their lives there. He was bom
near Covington, February 13, 1837, and died at Bloom-
field, Indiana. June 20, 1898. He was the son of John
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 39I
and Mary (Matthews) Duke, the former of Tennessee
and the latter of Kentucky. They came to Greene
county in 1855 and settled near Owensburg, where they
undertook to gain a livelihood from an eighty-acre tract
of wild land, succeeding so well that they lived there the
remainder of their lives, rearing eight children. Those
living are: John, at Linton, Indiana; William also lives
there; Sarah Hudson lives at Lyons, Indiana; Lewis in
Jefferson township, Greene county.
Richard Duke had only a meager education. He
spent his boyhood at the old home. He enlisted in the
Ninety-seventh Regiment, Company E, Indiana Volun-
teer Infantry, at Jonesboro, Indiana, and served three
years. Having contracted heart trouble while in the
army he was unfit for duty at the front and spent the
remainder of the time as a nurse. After the war he lived
in Jackson township for two years. Then he moved to
Fair Play township, but came back to Jackson township
and spent seven years there. In 1886 he came to> Rich-
land township and bought eighty acres of land, which
was only partly cleared. He soon erected several build-
ings and made general improvements on the place, which
he continued to improve until his death. He was a Re-
publican, a member of the Christian church and the
Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Duke married early in life and raised four chil-
dren. William J. is single and lives on the old place. He
owns three hundred acres of land and is engaged in stock
raising-; John G. for nine years taught school and is a
farmer in Richland township. He married Belle Greene.
They have three children, Ira, Ona and Hazel. Nannie
^t.
392 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
married Nelson Zook, of Monticello, Illinois. They have
two children, Harold and Cecil. Max, the third child of
the subject, is single and is living on the old place, en-
gaged in farming, fruit and stock raising. Together with
John he raises all kinds of small grains, besides always
keeping about one hundred head of fine Hereford cattle
and the same number of Shropshire sheep, thoroughbred
Poland China and Yorkshire hogs, grade Percheron
horses and Wyandotte chickens. They are regarded as
among the most progressive farmers and the family is
well known in Greene county. Mrs. Duke bore the
maiden name of Hannah McDonald, being a daughter of
Philip and Margaret (McGill) McDonald. She was born
in Jackson township, November 4, 1844, and married
Mr. Duke in December, i860. She resides on the home-
stead with her two sons.
WILLIAM GARRISON SHEPHERD.
Both of William G. Shepherd's grandfathers were
well known men. John Shepherd, who lived in Fair Play
township, Greene county, Indiana, was known throughout
the county where he selected to live, and his maternal
grandfather, Thomas Bradford, was a judge and held
many offices in the gift of the people. He was a Demo-
crat and owned a large tract of land in Richland town-
ship. William G. Shepherd's father was Charles Shep-
herd, who married Lavina Bradford. They were both
natives of North Carolina. The former was educated
, in the home schools and devoted his life principally to
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 393
farming. He was for some time superintendent of the
Greene county poor farm. He was a Republican. He died
in Fair Play township about 1851, his wife having" died
three years previous. They had the following children :
John, who lives on a farm in Jasper county, Iowa; Mar-
tha Ann, wife of William Pluskey. They live in Kansas.
Almira married David Neidigh. They are both deceased.
William G., the subject of this sketch, and James, who
lived in Iowa, now deceased.
William G. Shepherd was born in Richland town-
ship, March 10, 1846. He attended school a few years
at the old log school house in his neighborhood. He and
his brother James lived with their grandfather, John
Shepherd, for two years. The former then lived with
an uncle, Garrison Bradford, of Richland township, up to
1863. He married in 1868 Mary Ann Cook, of Penn-
sylvania. They are the parents of eig'ht children. They
are: Arabella, wife of Fletcher R. Pearson, of Colum-
bus, Indiana; they have two children, Goldie and Harley ;
Charles, a miner, who lives at Linton, Indiana, and who
married Florence Flory; they have three children, Ro-
vena, Olive and Opal ; Emery is also a miner and lives
at Linton ; he married Zoe Greene, and they have four
children, Mary, Leotha, Margaret and Geneve; Annie is
the wife of John Corwin, of Richland township; they
have two sons, Hubert and William Elbert; Stella is the
wife of Clyde Vest, also of Richland township; they have
one child, Opal ; Reed, Elmer and Floyd all live at home.
Mrs. William G. Shepherd is the daughter of Joshua
and Catherine (Layman) Cook, the former of England
and the latter of Pennsylvania. They married in her
native state and came to Greene county, Indiana, in 185 1.
394 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
He was in Company E, Fifty-ninth Regiment, Indiana
Volunteer Infantry. He died during the war and his
wife died in Richland township. They had four children
— Mary 'Ann, the subject's wife; William H., a farmer
in Richland township; John, who died in infancy; Joshua,
who is living in Bloomfield, Indiana.
William G. Shepherd enlisted in June, 1863, in Com-
pany A, One Hundred and Fifteenth Volunteer Infantry
of Indiana, for six months. He was sent to Fast Ten-
nessee and was in the hospital at Knoxville. He re-en-
listed in February, 1864, in Company D, Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, at Bloomfield, and was in the Army of
the Potomac, participating in the battles of the Wilder-
ness, Cold Harbor, Mine's Run, Spottsylvania, siege of
Petersburg, and he followed General Lee to his surren-
der, engaging in many skirmishes. He was discharged
in July, 1865.
After the war he engaged in farming in Richland
township, Greene county, Indiana, until 1868, when he
secured the farm where he now lives. He has sold part
of the old place, now having but fifty-six acres, on which
he carries on general farming, fruit and stock raising.
He is! a Republican, a member of the church and of the
Grand Army of the Republic, is well read and has numer-
ous friends in Greene county.
ANDREW CLINTON MULLIS.
The following brief sketch of Andrew Clinton Mul-
lis does not tell all the important deeds in the various
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 395
walks of this useful man's life, but it will serve to show
what one of grit can do in the face of obstacles. He was
born in Taylor township, December 9, 1832. He had no
chance to go to school. His father dying when he was
twelve years old, he was compelled to stay at home and
work on the farm, where he remained until he entered
the army in defense of his country. Enlisting- in 1862
in Company E, Ninety-seventh Regiment, Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, he served as1 a private for one and one-
half years, then re-enlisted in Company I, Indiana Vol-
unteer Infantry, and served as brigade teamster until he
was discharged in 1865. After the war he rented land
in Taylor township, where he lived for sixteen years.
Then he bought forty acres in said township and built a
home in 1895 and made many substantial improvements,
until he now has a fine home and an excellent farm of
three hundred acres. He is engaged in general farming
and stock raising". He is a Republican and a member
of the Church of God. He married Martha Thompson in
1867. She lived in Bloomfield. They have three chil-
dren, namely: Indiana, who married Willis Leggwood,
of Bloomfield ; Lulu, who married Lucian Chancy, of
Mineral City, Indiana ; he was in the Spanish-American
war; Winona, who lives at home. Mrs. Mullis is a mem-
ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
Mr. Mullis is the son of Reuben Mullis, a native
of Rush' county, Indiana. He married Nancy Knox, of
Ohio. They came soon after they were married to Greene
county, where they secured one hundred and sixty acres
of land. He was a hard worker and! soon had the land
cleared and a good home on it, in which he lived until
396
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
his death. He was a Whig and a member of the Meth-
odist church. He made his influence felt wherever he
went. They had ten children, nine of whom are still liv-
ing. They are: Robert, a farmer at Koleen, Indiana;
Margaret, widow of Benjamin Haywood, of Mineral
City; Sarah Ann, wife of James Chancy, also of Mineral
City; Sophia, who married Daniel Pruett, both now de-
ceased; Andrew Clinton, the subject of . this sketch:
Thomas, a farmer of Taylor township; Eli, of Taylor
township; Alfred, of Taylor township; Malissa. who mar-
ried Charles Hasler, of Taylor township.
THOMAS JEFFERSON AXE.
The parents of Thomas J. Axe, Jacob and Eliza
(Dorough) Axe, were natives of Pennsylvania, of that
sturdy pioneer stock that delights to compel the wild soil
to yield them a living. They both went to Ohio when
young and married there, remaining in the Buckeye state
until 1850, when they came to Greene county, Indiana,
and settled in Richland township, securing some wild
land, which they cleared and soon had a comfortable
home. They were both members of the Church of God.
He was always a Democrat. Jacob Axe died there in
1872 and his wife a few years later. Many of their
ten children survive. Catherine is the widow of Frank
Sullivan, of Washington township, Greene county, In-
diana; the widow of William Branstetter; William, liv-
ing at Bloomfield, Indiana; Thomas J., the subject; Ja-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 397
cob died during the war while a member of the Fifty-
ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry ; John, who
lives in Washington township; Elizabeth, who died in
Ohio; Daniel, living' in Taylor township, Greene county,
Indiana ; Reuben and Almeda, both deceased.
Thomas J. Axe was born in Wayne county, Ohio,
July 8, 1839. He attended school in old log school
houses what time he did not devote to fanning. On July
5, 1861, he entered the Twenty-first Regiment, Indiana
Heavy Artillery, Company C, in which he served for over
two years, during which time he took part in the follow-
ing battles : Donaldsonville, Baton Rouge, siege of Port
Hudson, lasting- thirty-one days, raid through Texas and
many skirmishes. He helped open up the Mississippi
River and concentrate the army on Ship Island. He was
discharged on account of poor health and came home in
September, 1863.
He was married in 1871 to Mary A. Branstetter, of
Brown county, Indiana. She was the daughter of Mi-
chael and Susan (Soliday) Branstetter. They came to
Greene county, Indiana, and entered land under Presi-
dent Van Buren's administration. ' This land is now
owned by the subject of this sketch, who has the original
deed to it. Mr. and Mrs. Axe have had two children.
Laura is the wife of Charles W. Reed, living in Wright
township, Greene county, Indiana. He is a farmer and
has one child, Mary C. Susan died young.
Thomas J. Axe has devoted his life to farming. He
is a Democrat and a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. Mr. and Mrs. Axe are members of the Church
of God and have many friends and acquaintances through-
out the county.
w
398
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
RICHARD JOSEPH CORBLEY.
Richard J. Corbley is a native of Pennsylvania, hav-
ing been born in Lancaster county on June 17, 1833, the
son of Eugene and Rose (White) Corbley, also natives
of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Eugene Corbley was
a stonecutter by occupation. He and his wife were de-
vout people and exerted a wholesome influence on the
life of their community. They were members of the
Episcopal church, and ended their days in that state.
Their children, four in number, consisted of three daugh-
ters, who died young, and our subject, who was reared
to manhood in the vicinity of hisi birth.
In 1854 he made a trip through Ohio, Kentucky
and Maryland, and in 1858 emigrated to Greene county,
Indiana. He began teaching after arriving here, and fol-
lowed this for about forty terms, achieving marked suc-
cess at his work. In connection with this he managed to
carry on considerable farming and to operate a saw-mill.
In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Fourteenth In-
diana Volunteer Infantry, and was sent to Virginia. For
three months he was stationed at Cheat Mountain and
later was sent down the Potomac River, taking part in
many close engagements, such as Cheat Mountain, Win-
chester, Woodstock and others.
Upon being discharged in June, 1862, he returned to
Bloomfield and re-engaged in teaching. In October,
1864, he re-enlisted in the army, this time joining Com-
pany C, of the First Heavy Artillery, being sent to the
South and West. They were located at such points as
.Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Mobile and Fort Morgan,
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 399
and were mustered out in October, 1865. After reaching
home he again resumed teaching. On November 15,
1865, 'he was married to Johanna Elizabeth Casad, a na-
tive of Greene county, Indiana, born May n, 1839, and
a daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Sparks) Casad, pio-
neer settlers in the county, who took up unimproved gov-
ernment land.
In 1861 Samuel Oasad enlisted in the Forty-third In-
diana Volunteer Infantry, being assigned to the Army of
the Southwest. He fell a victim to the fever at Helena,
Arkansas, in 1862. His wife survived him until 1879.
She was the mother of eight children, seven of whom are
still living. They are: Rhoda J., widow of Thomas
Linn, living now at Park, Indiana; Elizabeth, wife of
our subject; Orphie, wife of William Heaton, of
Park, Indiana ; Andrew, fanner near Stockton, Kan-
sas ; Aaron, carpenter at Midland, Indiana ; Anna mar-
ried John R. Allen and died in Greene county in 1902;
Edward, teamster, Greene county, and John, farmer in
Warren county.
Mr. and Mrs. Corbley have a family of three chil-
dren, consisting of Mary E., wife of U. M. Burcham, of
Tulsa, Oklahoma, and mother of one son, Joseph M. ;
Anna, wife of B. L. Johnson, also of Tulsa, Oklahoma,
and parents of three children, Catherine, Frederick and
Richard ; Samuel E. died in his sixth year.
Mr. Corbley has been closely connected with the pub-
lic affairs of the city and county, having- served as deputy
recorder and assistant in the offices of auditor, treasurer
and county clerk. He served as township assessor from
1886 to 1890. For eight years he served as secretary to
rfU,
400
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the Republican county committee. He is a member of
the Grand Army of the Republic, having filled all of the
offices in the post, serving for twelve years as commander.
He is a member of the Bloomfield Lodge, No. 457, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, having filled all of the
chairs and serving for ten years as lodge secretary. His
religious affiliations are with the Christian denomination.
He helped organize the first teachers' institute held in
Greene county. Mr. Corbley is a writer of both prose
and verse.
SAMUEL R. CAVINS.
The ancestors of Samuel R. Cavins were Scotch, and
emigrated to Ireland, settling in that part of Ireland
known as Cavan county.
About the year 1745 three brothers emigrated from
Ireland to the United States, and settled in New Jersey
One of these brothers moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, and
later to Loudoun county, that state, and settled near Wa-
terford. He raised a large family, among whom was Jesse
Cavins, who with one of his brothers, was a soldier in
the Revolutionary war. Jesse Cavins also raised a large
family, and two of his sons, Samuel and John, were sol-
diers under General Wayne, in the Indian war. Samuel
was killed at the battle of Fallen Timbers. John Cavins
was at that battle, and also at River Raisin, and received
a land grant near Lexington, Kentucky. He raised a
large family, among whom was the subject of this sketch.
Samuel R. Cavins was born April 27, 1792, in Greene
iJJRy WtW-vl
8UO-UVKS
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 4OI
county, Kentucky, was a veteran of the War of 1812, a
son of a soldier under Wayne in the Indian war, and a
grandson of a Revolutionary soldier. While a boy he
went to Vincennes, Indiana, and while there General Har-
rison, governor of Indian Territory', gave him the first
schoolbook he ever owned. This circumstance probably
made him a Whig, as his father was a Democrat. About
the year 1813 he went from Vincennes with a hunting
party down the Wabash and up White river, to a point
about one mile south of Bloomfield, where they encamped
during the time the party was hunting. This was before
there was a white man living in Greene county.
In 1 814 he entered the army as a substitute in the
Sixth Kentucky Infantry, and served under General Jack-
son at the battle of New Orleans. He went to the battle-
field of Tippecanoe a year after the battle to assist in gath-
ering up the remains of the dead soldiers.
In 1822 he returned to Indiana from Kentucky, and
resided a few years in Monroe county. His principal oc-
cupation was teaching school.
He studied law at Bloomington, Indiana, in the of-
fice of James Whitcomb, who was afterwards governor of
Indiana. About that time he taught school at Blooming-
ton. Among the persons who attended his school were
Joseph A. Wright, afterwards governor of Indiana and
United States senator, Judge Maxwell and Mrs. Har-
dest)', mother-in-law of Hon. D. W. Voorhees. On the
22d day of December, 1825, he was married to Susan
Gainey, near Springville, Lawrence county, Indiana.
Soon after this time he moved to Lawrence county, near
Springville. His occupation at this time was farming, but
26
I
402
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
he taught school in the winter time, and made shoes at
night. At times he would assist his wife in weaving" in
the winter season. In 1827 he moved to Jackson town-
ship, Greene county. In 1828 he was elected associate
judge of Green county circuit court. His commission
was issued by Governor Ray, on the 20th day of March,
1829.
In 1833 he moved to a settlement on Indian creek,
between Jonesborough and Springville; and clerked in a
general store for John Shirley. In 1834 he purchased a
farm near Bloomfield, and lived on it until 1835, when
he moved to Bloomfield, where he resided until his death
on the 7th day of March, 1864.
In 1834 he resigned as associate judge, and was
elected clerk of the circuit court for a term of seven years,
and recorder for the same time. His commissions as clerk
and recorder were issued on the 22 d day of August, 1834.
He held the offices of clerk and recorder until 1855,
being elected for three consecutive terms, and during that
time was ex officio auditor, except during two years.
On the 2d day of March, 1836, he was commissioned
by Governor Noble as colonel of the Forty-ninth Regi-
ment of Indiana Militia, to hold the office until he was
sixty years old.
After the expiration of his term of service as clerk,
recorder and auditor he entered upon the practice of law,
and had a large practice up to the time of his death. He
died after a short illness from typhoid fever.
It is hardly probable that any man has ever lived in
the county who was more liberal to the poor, more hos-
pitable at his home, or more popular with the people. He
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 4°3
was a Whig in politics at all of the elections at which he
was a candidate, and his county was Democratic, yet Ins
popular majority never went below five hundred.
Samuel R. and Susan Cavins were the parents of
twelve children, of whom four sons and four daughters
grew to mature years, all of the sons entering the army at
the breaking out of the Rebellion and serving with dis-
tinction their full periods of enlistment, none for less than
three years. John, the eldest of the family, died at the
age of fifteen ; Aden G., the second in order of birth, was
colonel of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, Indiana Infantry,
during the late Civil war; Elizabeth, the oldest of the
daughters, now deceased, was the wife of Judge Rhodes,
of San Jose, California, who served as judge of the su-
preme court for twenty years and of the circuit and su-
perior court for several years, when he resigned at the age
of eighty-four on account of defective hearing; Mrs. Sa-
rah O. Hart, also deceased, was the mother of Hon. Eli-
jah Hart, of the appellate court of California; another of
her sons, the late Hon. Augustus Hart, of California, was
the youngest attorney general in the United States at the
time of his election. Colonel E. H. C. Cavins, of Bloom-
field, further mention of whom will be found elsewhere
in this volume, is the fifth in succession, the next being-
Nancy, who died in infancy, after whom was Mrs. Mar-
garet F. Burnam, whose son, Harry Burnam. a promi-
nent lawyer of Nebraska, is now serving as city attorney
at Omaha. Rev. Benjamin F. Cavins, the seventh, is a
well known and highly esteemed Baptist minister of
Texas; he served in the Fourteenth Indiana Infantry and
the Third Indiana Cavalry during the Civil war and
404
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
earned honorable mention as a brave and gallant soldier;
Samuel H. died in infancy, as did also Samuel R. ; Riley
NY., deceased, who served in the Fourteenth Indiana, and
was also a member of a Michigan regiment, was the fa-
ther of Assistant Attorney General Alexander G. Cavius,
(if Indianapolis; McHenry and Susan died in infancy.
Colonel E. H. C. and Rev. Benjamin F. Cavins being the
only survivors of this once large and interesting family
circle.
The mother of these children survived until 1907,
lacking only eighteen months of being aged one hundred
years.
JEREMIAH HATFIELD.
One of the best known and highly esteemed citizens
of Bloomfield is Jeremiah Hatfield, a Civil war veteran
and a sturdy patriot. He was1 born in Jackson township,
this county, on January 10, 1843, being the son of George
W. and Elizabeth (Snyder) Hatfield, both natives of
Tennessee, having come to Indiana with their parents
when still children. When George W. Hatfield came to
Indiana things were still in their primitive state — the
land was uncleared and the forests were full of wild game
of all kinds. He cleared a tract of land in Jackson town-
ship, built himself a log cabin with his own hands, and
soon made a good home for himself and family.
In conjunction with the farm work, Mr. Hatfield did
some gunsmithing, at which he was quite skillful. At
other times he performed work as a blacksmith, being
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 405
himself an adept in this trade. He and Mrs. Hatfield
were members of the Christian church and were the par-
ents of nine children. The first born, Rachel, is de-
ceased; Nancy married Hiram Lamb, of Jackson town-
ship; Joel is in charge of the old homestead; Jeremiah,
our subject, was next in order of birth; Jasper was a
member of the Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
and died in Texas ; John is following farming in Illinois ;
Armsted, who followed mining, is now deceased; James
is engaged in carpentry, and has his home in Lawrence
county; Martha married Alonzo Jackson, of Jackson
township; Martin is engaged as a farmer in this county
also.
Jeremiah had but a limited education, but acquired
the valuable trait of self-reliance, which has been one of
his prominent characteristics. He took an active part
in clearing the farm and remained under the parental roof ■
until his marriage in November, 1866, to Matilda Lamb,
a native of Greene county and the daughter of John and
Patsy (Green) Lamb, both natives of North Carolina.
This union has been blessed with the following family:
John A., a blacksmith of Owensburg, Indiana, and who
married Ella Strosnider and has a family of six chil-
dren—Stanley, Chester, Stella, Ruth, Ruby and May.
The second in order of birth, Laura, became the wife of
Oliver Rush, of Lawrence county, and is (he mother of
four children— Rollie, Earl, Kent and Wayne. The third,
Marion, follows railroading and makes his home with
his parents. Otto, the fourth, is also at home; Nora is the
wife of Marion Dugger, of Bloomfield. Nannie is the
wife of Blaine Workman, of Bloomfield, and is the
mother of one child, Nora L.
406 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
In August, 1861, Mr. Hatfield enlisted in Company
H, Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, at Owens-
burg. He went immediately into service and took part
in many of the famous conflicts of the war. He partici-
pated at the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth,
Stone River, Chickamauga and others, and was with
I Sherman on the march to the sea. At Kenesaw Moun-
tain he sustained the loss of his left forearm. It was
borne off by a shell and he was consigned to a hospital,
being later discharged, November 29, 1864. His recov-
l . ery was very slow, but he ultimately regained his health
and became engaged in farming, continuing at this in
Jackson township, this county, until 1894, at which time
he removed to Bloomfield. Since then he has carried on
gardening and has made some investments in rental
dwellings. For a number of years he served as chief
of police for the city of Bloomfield, and has taken an ac-
tive part in such organizations as the Grand Army of the
Republic and Odd Fellows. For a number of years Mr.
and Mrs. Hatfield have been members of the Christian
church, and in many ways they have contributed gener-
ously to the welfare of the community.
DAVID SHARP.
Obed Sharp, father of the subject of this sketch,
was a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and be-
came a carpenter. He married Catherine Miller, of Leb-
anon county, Pennsylvania, after he had moved to Wayne
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O7
county, Ohio, in 1840, where he worked at his trade
until 1850, when he came to Greene county, Indiana, and
settled in Taylor township on a farm which was only
partly improved, but he finished clearing it and made a
comfortable home, which he lived in until his death in
1874. He was a Republican and a member of the Ger-
man Reformed church. His wife died in Kansas in 1896.
They had three children : Sarah, deceased, who married
twice, John Anderson being her first husband and a Mr.
Pennell the second. They moved to Kansas, where they
died; David, the subject; Josiab, now dead, a farmer in
Kansas.
David Sharp, the subject, attended school only a
short time. He enlisted on December 19, 1861, in Com-
pany E, Fifty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infan-
try, at Bloomfield. He was with General Rosecrans in
the battles of Corinth, Vicksburg, Jackson, Raymond and
Champion Hill; also in the skirmish at Little Rock under
General Steele. He was in the Eleventh Ohio Battery
for two years on detached duty, and was with Sherman on
his march to the sea. He was mustered out in Wilming-
ton, North Carolina, April 4, 1865. He has been partly
deaf since the war, having' had his right ear injured. He
was sick a great deal while in service. After the war he
located in Taylor township, Green county, Indiana. He
first married Mary A. Taylor, November 12, 1867. She
,-was of Richland township and the daughter of Silas and
Elizabeth Taylor. She died September 1, 1881. He
married again, December 31, 1881, his second wife being
Mrs. Angeline Pickard, widow of Isaac Pickard and a
daughter of John and Harriet (Peters) Smith, both na-
w
408 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS '
tives of Guernsey county, Ohio. They came to Greene
county, Indiana, in 1866 and located near Solsberry /where
they fanned, then moved to Casey, Illinois. In 1875 tnev
returned to Indiana and settled in Richland township,
where he died in January, 1896. His widow is still liv-
ing- in Bloomfield, Indiana. They had fourteen children,
nine of whom survive: Angeline, wife of the subject
of this sketch; Henry L., a school teacher in Nebraska;
Elizabeth, a teacher in Monticello, Illinois; Benjamin,
deceased; Edna J., living in Jewell county, Kansas; John
H., a teacher, now deceased; Rosie, who lives in Bloom-
field, Indiana; Charles, deceased; Jehu, a farmer, living
in Windsor, Illinois; Tanny B., recruiting officer for the
United States army, now located at Terre Haute, Indi-
ana, after spending many years in the regular army ; Peo-
ria is living in Jefferson township, Greene county, Indi-
ana; Catherine A. lives in Highland township, Greene
county, Indiana. The subject had three children by his
first wife, one of whom is now living, William Sherman,
of Highland township, Greene county. He is a farmer
and married Florence Crites. They have one daughter,
Mabel. Mrs. Sharp had two children by her first mar-
riage. Annie is the wife of Reuben Shertzer, of Bloom-
field, Indiana. He is a painter. They have two children,
Ballard and Bessie. Maude, the second daughter, mar-
ried Charles Gwinn, of Worthington, Indiana. She mar-
ried a second time Harvey Greene, a merchant of BIooiit-
field, Indiana. She had one child by her first marriage,
Garrett ; also one child, Erma, by her second marriage.
David Sharp lived in Taylor township, Greene
county, Indiana, until 1869, and then located in Highland
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O9
township, where he lived for two years, and then moved
to Richland township on the farm! where George Taylor
now lives, having built a fine home there. In 1879 he
moved to Newark, Indiana, where he lived until 1885,
when he went to Sharkey, Indiana, conducting a store
for nineteen months. Then he moved to Tulip, where
he built a store house, remaining there one year. In 1888
he got a small farm in Richland township, where he now
lives. He has worked at the carpenter's trade since 1869.
He was for one year a justice of the peace, when he re-
signed on account of his deafness. He is a Republican
and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the
post at Bloomfield, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are
members of the Methodist Protestant church and are well
known in Greene county.
JAMES FRANK WIER.
James F. Wier, one of the representative farmers of
Cass township, Greene county, Indiana, was born in
Washington township, Daviess county, this state, Octo-
ber 18, 1843, and is the son of Henry S. and Maiy (Ball)
Wier. The father of the subject is a native of Pennsyl-
vania and the mother a native of Daviess county, Indiana.
The father of Henry S. Wier was a farmer in Pennsyl-
vania, where he spent his life. Henry S. Wier came to
Daviess county early in life and followed his trade of
tanner and shoemaker. He went to Washington, Indi-
ana, where he remained until 1844, when he came to
ftfe
4IO BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Greene county, this state, where he remained until his
death in 1890. Both he and His wife were members of
the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He was a Repub-
lican. Mrs. Wier died July 25, 1897. Four children
were born to this union, namely : Jane, widow of Wesley
Hale, who lives in Stockton, California; Henry S., fa-
ther of our subject; William, who lives in Kansas City,
Missouri; Margaret Eliza married Clark Hill. She died
in Bloomficld.
The subject of this sketch was one year old when
the family came to Greene county, Indiana. He remained
at home, attending school until the war broke out in 1861,
when he enlisted at Bloomfield, Indiana, in the Fifty-
ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Company
E. He fought in the battle of Tipton, Missouri, where
over six thousand Confederate soldiers were captured.
He then went down the river to Memphis and was in the
battle of Corinth and Missionary Ridge, Vicksburg, Mil-
ligan Bend, Jackson and Raymond, Mississippi ; also at
Block River. After the siege at Vicksburg, which lasted
forty-one days, the regiment of which the subject was a
member was sent to the relief of Rosecrans at Chatta-
nooga. Ffe was in the battles around Atlanta, later tak-
ing part in the famous march to the sea. He was in the
grand review in Washington, after which he was mus-
tered out at Indianapolis ini 1865.
Mr. Wier learned something of the tanner's trade
while working with his father early in life, but after the
war he preferred to go to farming, consequently he
bought a piece of land in Cass township, Greene county,
Indiana, where he has since lived.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 4II
He was married November 14, 1869, to Caroline
Ketchum, who was born in Bloomington, Indiana. She
was the daughter of Bland and Perlina (Finley)
Ketchum. The subject's wife died April 9, 1902. Two
children were born to this union — Edna, the wife of
Charles Farnham, a minister of the Christian church. He
and his wife live with the subject. They have two chil-
dren, Thelma and Wier. The subject's second child was
Joseph, who is single and living at home. The subject,
wife and family have long- been associated with the
Christian church.
Mr. Wier is a Republican. He is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodg-e at Newberry,
Indiana, having been through all the chairs. He served
for five and one-half years as trustee of Cass township.
He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Mr. Wier has a well improved farm of three hun-
dred and forty acres and modern implements needed in
keeping- his place up-to-date in every respect.
ANDREW JACKSON HATTABAUGH.
The subject was born in Cass township, Greene
county, Indiana, August 25, 1838. He is the son of Tsaac
and Sarah (Ball) Hattabaugh, the former a native of
Virg-inia and the latter a native of Greene county, Indi-
ana. Isaac is the son of Andrew J. Hattabaugh, who
was a native of Virginia, coming- to Greene county, In-
diana, in a very early day. He took up government land
412
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
in Cass township, entering in all over four hundred acres
in' section 16. He was a successful farmer and also op-
erated a flatboat. He died as the result of an accident
on a boat while down the Mississippi River. Sarah Ball
was the daughter of James Ball, early settlers in Greene
county, Indiana. Isaac Hattabaugh and Sarah Ball were
married in this county and spent their lives on a farm
and died in, Cass township. They were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Isaac was formerly a Dem-
ocrat, but during the Civil war changed to a Republican.
They had seven children, namely: Andrew J., the sub-
ject of this sketch ; Laura Ann lives in Knox county, In-
diana ; James B. is deceased ; William W. died in Cali-
fornia; Isaac died in California; Sarah J. is deceased.
The last child died unnamed. Isaac was married twice,
his second1 wife being Mrs. Sovenia Bailey (nee Sovern)
a widow at the time of her marriage with Mr. Hatta-
baugh. She is still living in Cass township, Greene
county. Two children were bom to this union — Mary,
deceased, and Grant, who lives in Texas.
The subject of this sketch was raised on a farm in
Cass township, Greene count}', and was educated in the
old subscription schools, taught in log houses with seats
hewn from logs and greased paper for window panes.
He remained at home until he reached man's estate. He
went to California in 1872, where he remained for ten
years. He worked on a farm there and did other work,
but the longing to return to his native state never wore
away and he came home, resuming work on a farm,
which he continued to conduct until 1905, when he re-
tired and moved to Newberry, Indiana.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 4I3
The subject was married in Bloomneld to Mrs. Mary
E. Ellington, nee Buskirk, who was born in Vigo county,
Indiana. She was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth
( Pierson) Buskirk. Peter Buskirk was a merchant. He
and his wife were both members of the Baptist church.
They are now both deceased. They were the parents of
eleven children, as follows: Mary (Mrs. Hattabaugh) ;
Dorothy, deceased; Eunice, Elzora, Cassie, Roscoe, Ora.
The last four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Buskirk died
unnamed.
The subject enlisted in defense of the flag in June,
1 86 1, at Scotland, Indiana, and was sworn in at Terre
Haute as a private in Company D, Fourteenth Indiana
Volunteer Infantry, in which he served nearly a year
and one-half. Then he was transferred to the Sixth
United States Cavalry. In this organization he served
out his three years' enlistment. He was in the Army of
thq Potomac and in the battles of Cheat Mountain, Win-
chester, Antietam and Gettysburg, while in the infantry.
At Gettysburg he was taken a prisoner and sent to Libby
prison, where he remained but one night, when he was
transferred to Belle Isle, where he was held six months,
undergoing much suffering. Later he was exchanged
and went to Annapolis, Maryland, where he stayed at a
parole camp. While there his time expired and he cam"
home in 1864 and resumed! fanning. He tells many in-
teresting stories of his varied experiences and hardships
during his career as a soldier. He likes to talk of his
Grandfather Hattabaugh, who was' a soldier in the Revo-
lutionary war. The subject has often seen the overcoat
worn by his grandfather during that war; also the flint-
414 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
lock musket used in. the Revolutionary war, which the
father of the subject owned. Andrew J. Hattabaugh and
family are well known and highly respected by their
neighbors and many friends in Greene county.
DAVID BROCK.
The gentleman whose name forms the heading for
this review was born in Lawrence county, this state, Sep-
tember 27, T843, and was the son of Newell and Martha
(Mills) Brock, natives of Tennessee./ Both came to In-
diana when still quite young. Newell's father, David
Brock, settled with his family in Lawrence county, and
later, about 1850, removed to Greene county. John Mills,
maternal grandfather of our subject, came to Martin
county in an early day and engaged in farming-. He later
removed to Lawrence county, where he finished his days.
He was a veteran of the War of 18 12.
Newell Brock was one of seven children, and re-
mained at home on the farm until his marriage. He op-
erated a flatboat for a number of years on the Mississippi,
running from Bono to New Orleans. On coming to
Greene county in about 1850 he took up one hundred and
sixty acres of new land in Jackson township, which he
cleared and improved, turning it into a good home, where
he ended his days in 187 1. His wife survived until 1899.
They were members of the Baptist church, and stood well
in the community. The family consisted of eight chil-
dren, three of whom still survive. Emma is the widow
4i6
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
rence county, Indiana, and daughter of Samuel and Clara
Byers, natives of Pennsylvania. Samuel Byers passed to
his reward while in Lawrence county in 1862, but Mrs.
Byers is still living at the age of eighty-six years.
Mr. and Mrs. Brock have become the parents of ten
children. Emerson, husband of Minnie Branagan, is a
bookkeeper; Clara married James O. White, of Bloom-
ington, Indiana; Ellis is at home and follows painting;
Grant is deceased ; Fluella, also a bookkeeper, is at home ;
Naomi resides at Bloomington ; Josephine is deceased ;
Lester and Earl are at home.
Mrs. Brock was one of a family of six children. Her
brothers and sisters, in the order of birth, are: Sarah
Ann, deceased; Clara (Mrs. Brock); Taylor, a cai-penter
at Los Angeles, California ; Marion, a farmer in Monroe
county, Indiana ; George, a stock dealer and general mer-
chant at Bedford, Indiana; Monroe is a merchant at
Buena Vista, this county.
In 1892 Mr. Brock took up the painter's trade, and
in 1904 came to Bloomfield, plying his trade there since
that date. Although a Republican, he has not aspired to
any political office. He is a member of the Grand Army
of the Republic and is well known in the community.
COLONEL LEVI FELLOWS.
Colonel Levi Fellows was born in Massachusetts on
February 11, 1793. From that state the family moved
to Watertown, New York, some twenty miles from Sack-
etts Harbor, where they lived in 1812.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 415
of Alfred Brooks ; Ephraim, now deceased, followed car-
pentry ; Josephus, deceased, was a member of Company
G, Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry; John and
David were twins. John was a member of Company G.
Ninety-seventh Indiana Regulars. He was shot at Jack-
son, Mississippi, in August, 1863, and was buried at
Vicksburg; James died in 1863; Bertha married W. E.
Hayden and died at Owensburg, Indiana, in 1867; Ra-
cine married Aaron Hennan, of Switz City, Indiana.
David received but a meager education, but took full
advantage of such training- as was afforded by the times.
This, of course, meant the log' school house with the
usual equipment so well known to present-day readers.
He remained at home until he enlisted in the army in
July, 1862. He connected himself with Company G,
Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and went
into Camp Vigo for drill at Terre Haute, remaining there
for three months.
Following- this he was stationed consecutively at In-
dianapolis, New Albany and Louisville, going from the
last named point by boat to Memphis, Tennessee. He
saw active service at Holly Springs, Vicksburg, Iuka,
Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain,
Knoxville and Scottsboro, Alabama, where he went into
winter quarters. The next spring active work in the
South was again begxin and in the conflicts of Atlanta
Mr. Brock was wounded by a minnie ball, which passed
through the right hand,, causing the loss of a finger and
making necessary a sixty-day furlough. He was dis-
charged from the service May 19, 1865.
In 1863 he was married to Samantha Byers, of Law-
COLONEL LEVI FELLOWS.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. \\"J
When the attack on the latter place was made in the
War of 1812 General Jacob Brown rallied the militia of
the neighborhood and drove the enemy back. Levi Fel-
lows was one of these militiamen. In 1814, when he was
twenty-one years of age, he went to Cincinnati and en-
gaged in building mills and bridges. In 181 7 he was mar-
ried to Betsy Dee.
In 1 81 8 he went to St. Louis and built the first steam
mill ever built west of the Mississippi river. On the last
day of July, 1819, he landed with his family on Plummer
creek, where Mineral City now stands, and went to work
at once to build a grist and saw-mill. The first charge of
lumber on the old ledger is to Andrew Vanslyke — four
hundred feet of plank two dollars, March 30, 1820.
There was preaching often at his house and it was
always a home for preachers of all denominations, where
they could stop and rest without charge. In a very early
day he took a decided stand on the side of temperance and
would not furnish whisky at log-rollings nor house-rais-
ings, although it was customary and many would not help
without it.
He was colonel of the Forty-seventh Regiment of In-
diana Militia and drilled the militia on muster days.
Before and after this time he served many years as
associate judge of the circuit court. Mr. Fellows lived at
the old home and run the mills for forty-eight years, then
moved to Terre Haute, where he lived about two years
and died January 5, 1869. His honored remains were
brought back to Mineral City and laid by the side of Betsy
Dee, his devoted wife, to await and have part in the first
resurrection.
27
4i8
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
HOWARD R. LOWDER, M. D.
This widely known and popular professional gentle-
man, whose lifo and energies have been devoted to the
noble work of alleviating human suffering in his chosen
sphere of endeavor, and as a neighbor and citizen also
occupies a prominent place among his fellow men. Dr.
Howard R. Lowder is a representative of one of the
oldest pioneer families of Lawrence county, Indiana, and
traces his genealogy to an early period in the history of
North Carolina, of which state his grandfather, Ralph
Lowder, was a native. The ancestors came to Indiana in
pioneer times and settled near Springville, Lawrence
county, where he purchased land, developed a farm and
became one of the substantial citizens of the community.
He spent the greater part of his life on the farm he re-
deemed from the wilderness and died at a good old age
in the year 1873. The doctor's father, Milton Lowder,
was born and reared in the county of Lawrence and fol-
lowed fanning for a livelihood. In young manhood he
married Anne Storm, who was born January 12, 1818, on
what was known several years ago as the Pink East farm
on Indian creek, in the eastern part of Greene county,
Indiana. Her father was John Storm, a Revolutionary
soldier and a native of Virginia. During the latter years
of the eighteenth century he settled with his family in
what is now known as Washington county, and from
there moved to Greene county. At that time his nearest
neighbors were ten miles away and he cleared, devel-
oped and tended his farm alone. He was a brave man
and knew naught of fear. When the Indians were hos-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 419
tile lie would conceal his family and carry on his work
on the farm. At one time when there was considerable
danger he hid them under the bundles of flax in the sta-
ble loft. He was a skillful swordsman, having been
trained in the cavalry under Colonel William Washing-
ton. The mother of the subject of this sketch during her
life would frequently tell of seeing her neighbors sur-
round him and with sticks or imitation swords endeavor
to strike him. The blows he always parried, so great
was his skill in fencing. He reared a large family, all of
whom are now dead. From 1830 to i860 they had a
great influence in the affairs of Greene county. Joseph
Storm, one of his sons, was a member of the Indiana
House of Representatives during- the thirties. John Beam
was one of the oldest citizens of Owen county and at the
present time a resident of Spencer is one of his grand-
sons.
Milton and Anna Lnwiler have a family of five chil-
dren, whose names are as follows: Howard R., the sub-
ject of this sketch ; Catherine, Achsah, Milton D. and Ca-
leb M. Catherine and Milton died in youth. Achsah.
now Mrs. Cullison, lives in Kansas, and Caleb M. is a
physician in Sullivan county, Indiana. Some time after
the death of Milton Lowder his widow married William
Anderson. She departed this life in T906 and is buried
at St. Paul, Kansas., Mr. Lowder being- interred in the
old Lowder cemetery near the place of his birth.
Howard R. Lowder was born near Springville, Law-
rence county, Indiana, February 14, 1845, anc' spent his
early life on the family homestead, attending, at inter-
vals, the public schools of the neighborhood. On the 28th
mm*
1
420
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
of August, 1861, when but a few months past his six-
teenth year, he enlisted in Company F, Forty-third In-
diana Infantry, and devoted nearly four years to the
service of his country, having veteranized at the expira-
tion of his period of enlistment. He was with his com-
mand throughout its varied experience of campaign and
battle, participated in the engagements at Island No. 10,
Ruddle's Point, Prairie Du Ann and Helena, Arkansas,
served for some time as company clerk and was also clerk
at headquarters. After re-enlisting he was elected order-
ly sergeant, and later commissioned regimental adjutant
with the rank of first lieutenant, being discharged from
the service with an honorable record June 16, 1865.
Returning home, Dr. Lowder assumed the quiet pur-
suits of civil life, and in due time took up the study of
medicine, for which he had early manifested a decided
preference. After prosecuting a course of preliminary
study under the direction of Dr. F. W. Beard, of Monroe
county, he entered the Medical College of Indianapolis,
from which he graduated in 1875, beginning the practice
in the meantime at the town of Park, Greene county,
where he remained until his removal to Bloomfield, eight-
een months later. For four years he was associated with
Dr. J. W. Gray, but since the expiration of that time he
has been alone in the practice, and, as stated in a previous
paragraph, now ranks with the most successful men of
the profession in this part of the state.
Dr. Lowder stands deservedly high as a citizen and
has ever manifested 'a lively interest in measures and en-
terprises which make for the public good. He served six
years on the United States board of pension examiners.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 42 1
He has also been a member of1 the local school board, but
has never held any elective office nor aspired to such hon-
ors. A Republican in politics, he has rendered valuable
service to his party, and in 1892 was a delegate from the
Second congressional district to the national convention
at Minneapolis.
The doctor is a member of the Masonic fraternity,
belonging to Lodge No. 84, and the Chapter, Royal Arch
Masons. He is also identified with the Pythian Brother-
hood, being at this time the oldest member of that order
in Greene county, and to him, too belongs, the credit of
instituting several lodges in this part of the state. The
professional organizations with which he holds member-
ship are the Greene County and State Medical Societies
and American Medical Association, having served sev-
eral terms as presiding officer of the first named. Dr.
Lowder has been twice married, the first time in 1865 to
Frances J. Kissell, daughter of Jacob Kissell, of Indian-
apolis, by whom he had four children, namely: Mrs.
Ella L. Forbes, of Linton; Lelia M. died in 1870, at the
age of two years; Louis L. died in 1871, aged six
months, and Mrs. Mildred F. Faucett, of North Vernon,
Indiana. Mrs. Lowder died August 3, 1901, and on
July 1 8th of the year following Dr. Lowder was united
in marriage to his present wife, Mrs. Florence Hatta-
baug'h, daughter of William* Cole, of Greene county.
FRANCIS MARION PARKER.
Francis M. Parker was born in Harnett county,
North Carolina, February 13, 1844, and was the son of
422 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
Jacob and Eliza (Spencer) Parker, natives of Cumber-
land county, North Carolina, where they were joined in
marriage before coming to Indiana. Jacob Parker fol-
lowed the profession of teaching, and also farming. He
was a man of original thought and independent tempera-
ment, which showed itself in his political affiliations, hav-
ing been successively a Democrat, then a Whig, and later
a Republican. Mrs. Eliza Parker departed this life in
1862, having become the mother of seven children. She
was a devout member of the Christian church and was
held in high esteem by friends and acquaintances. Mr-
Parker was married a second time, taking as his com-
panion Maiy Beaty, a native of Greene county, Indiana,
also deceased. She was the mother of four children.
Our subject, Francis Marion Parker, was the oldest
of the first family; Effie is the widow of Daniel Cox, of
Lyons ; James Daniel, a retired miller of Jackson town-
ship, this county; John, who followed teaching, died in
July, 1882 ; Marshall, a farmer and later a minister in the
Christian church, is deceased; Sarah, wife of a Mr.
Green, lives at Harrodsburg, Indiana ; Mary, wife of
Lindsey Cox, lives at Windsor, Illinois ; Amanda mar-
ried W. M. Ashcraft, of Idaho; Eliza became the wife of
William Noel, of this county; Robert follows farming in
Center township, this county; William is also farming in
Greene county.
Mr. Parker attended the local schools and followed
this work at the State University, from which he grad-
uated with honors in 1875. He followed teaching for
five years and, having evinced a good knowledge of math-
ematics and civil entjineerin"", was chosen survevor of
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 423
Greene county in 1879, and held the office for eight years.
He was then appointed commissioner of drainage and
served in that capacity for sixteen years, at the same time
doing civil engineering, retiring in 1904 on account of ill
health.
On the 1 8th of February, 1880, Mr. Parker was
united in marriage to Virginia Bottorff, of Charleston,
Indiana, daughter of Joel and Josephine (Harbolt) Bot-
torff, the former a native of Charleston, Indiana, and the
latter of Louisville, Kentucky. The father died in 1864
at the age of forty-one and the mother departed this life
on December 5, 1894. She was the mother of five chil-
dren, as follows: Florence, the wife of Cornelius Hisey
of Corydon, Indiana; Virginia was born October 1, 1856;
Thomas J. is deceased ; Josephine married Wesley Clog-
ston, of Lyons, Indiana ; Charles is a business man at
Charleston, Indiana.
Our subject and wife have become the parents of
four children : Charles C. is a civil engineer and is sur-
veyor of Greene county, elected in 1905. He was edu-
cated in the Bloomfield schools, completing the high
school course. He then attended Rose Polytechnic Insti-
tute, and later Valparaiso University; Lowell Francis,
the next son, is a graduate of the Bloomfield high school,
and follows civil engineering, having- served as deputy
county surveyor; Ruby Blanche is a graduate of Bloom-
field high school and an accomplished musician, attended
DePauw University, and is now taking music and lit-
erary work at Indiana State University ; Verna Pearl also
attended DePauw and is now attending the State Univer-
sity at Bloomington.
424 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
In August, 1862, Mr. Parker enlisted in Company
E of the Ninety-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, go-
ing into drill at Terre Haute. Subsequently he saw ac-
tive service in the Middle West, participating in such en-
gagements as the ones at Memphis, Vicksburg, Chatta-
nooga, Missionary Ridge and many others. His com-,
pany accompanied General Sherman through Georgia to
Atlanta and on the matchless march to the sea. He took
part in all of the important later conflicts of the war, and
marched in the grand review at Washington, D. C. Dur-
ing this service he endured a severe attack of measles and
when unfit for duty at the front was assigned to do guard
work at the army headquarters.
Mr. Parker hasi always been a church member, and
belongs to the Christian denomination. He has done
much as a public-spirited citizen, having had considerable
influence in promoting the movement for good roads in
the county. He is widely known and has a host of warm
friends throughout this vicinity, whose esteem he has
gained through his patriotic spirit and genuine integrity.
JAMES WESLEY HEATON.
On July 2, 1839, there was bom in Richland town-
ship, Greene county, Indiana, the subject of this biog-
raphy, James W. Heaton, a Civil war veteran and a
stanch American patriot. He was the son of William and
Nancy (Stone) Heaton, the former a native of Ken-
tucky and the latter of North Carolina. William Heaton
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 425
came to Indiana with his parents, Kelly Heaton and wife,
who moved hither in an early day to make for them-
selves a home in what was then still new territory. They
took up a tract of land that had never been cultivated and
by dint of hard and persevering effort established for
themselves a comfortable place of abode. But misfor-
tune, often lurking- about, is met with at most unexpected
times. This proved to be the case with the present fam-
ily, for Kelly Heaton met an untimely death by drowning
in Richland creek. The shock to his family was most se-
vere. He left, besides the wife a family of five children,
two sons and three daughters. William, father of our
subject, remained at home until his marriage. He cleared
and improved one hundred and sixty acres of land. His
opportunities for education were very meager, but he pos-
sessed the faculty of applying himself industriously to his
work, and was able in time to make substantial additions
to his original farm. In conjunction with the farm work
he engaged in the handling of stock, and gained a cred-
itable reputation for fair dealing and business integrity.
He died February 6, 1863, and was survived by his
wife until February II, 1893. Seven children were bom
into this family, consisting of James W., our subject;
Sarah C, now Mrs. Harden, of Greene county; David J.,
living in Kansas; Solomon, in Greene county; Eliza-
beth, wife of John Hamilton, of Richland township, this
county; John C, of Missouri, and William E., now occu-
pying the old homestead.
. On the 28th of March, 1867, our subject was united
in marriage to Carrie Burcham, a native of this county,
and daughter of David and Violet (Ritter) Burcham,
426 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
both natives of North Carolina. Mr. Burcham .was a
carpenter and boat builder, but later became an extensive
farmer and stock raiser. He was the father of eleven
children, three of whom still survive. They are: Nancy,
widow of Anderson Buckner, now living at Worthing-
ton ; Isabella married Anthony Williams, of Richland
township; Carrie is the wife of our subject. The de-
ceased children were Joseph, Wesley, Levi, Adam, Henri-
etta, Rachel, Rosanna and Violet.
Mr. and Mrs. Heaton are the parents of four chil-
dren : Elza, a farmer of Richland township, married
Lulu Flater and is the father of two children, Marie and
Dexter; Nora married John W. Branstetter, of Highland
township, and is the mother of six children, viz., Luther,
Mila, Lewis, William, Avis and Wesley; Anna May is a
teacher in the Bloomfield schools; the fourth, Thomas, is
also a teacher. All these children have engaged in
teaching.
On August 11, 1862, Mr. Heaton enlisted in Com-
pany H of the Seventy-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry,
and on August 30, 1862, went into sendee at Richmond,
Kentucky, where he saw his first active service. He was
made a prisoner there, but was soon paroled. Later his
regiment was captured and returned to Indianapolis,
where his company was consigned to the Sixth Indiana
Cavalry. On going back into Kentucky and Tennessee
his company with others was given charge of a train of
three hundred wagons. He accompanied the troops
through the southern campaigns and finally joined Gen-
eral Sherman in Georgia, experiencing considerable ex-
posure and hard service.
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 427
He was shot through the wrist at Hazel Grove, Ken-
tucky, but did not leave the company, preferring rather
to do picket duty, and acted in that capacity for seventeen
days. He was mustered out June 17, 1865, and returned
to farming in Richland township, continuing at that until
1907, at which time he removed to his new residence on
North Washington street, Bloomfield.
For four years he served as justice of the peace. He
is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic of Bloom-
field, and, together with his wife, lends active support to
the Baptist church.
Their many friends in Bloomfield have warmly wel-
comed their removal to the city, congratulating them-
selves on this agreeable addition to the citizenship of the
town.
WILLIAM GILMORE SARGENT.
There is a spirit of unrest in the exceedingly active
life, and events happen with extraordinary rapidity. Such
a character is interesting and the life a useful one in giv-
ing a steady growth to the civilization of any community.
Such seems to be the character of our subject and alike
to ancestry and posterity. Now' a retired fanner, but
his life is full of events that show an exalted purpose to
make something of himself before the end came. He was
born in Russels county, West Virginia, October 6, 1835,
the son of Samuel and Rebecca (Monk) Sargent, both
born in the same county. They were married there and
came to Greene county, Indiana, in October, 1838, set-
428
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
tling in Highland township. He bought a tract of unim-
proved land, and after occupying and improving it for
seventeen years, sold it and moved to Iowa and renewed
his avocation in that state until 1872. His wife died sev-
eral years later. They had ten children: Charles J.,
killed in front of Atlanta in the Civil war. He was cap-
tain of Company F, Seventh Iowa; William G., our sub-
ject; Ephraim, deceased about 1859; David, a soldier in
the Civil war, serving in Company K of the Second
Iowa. He died in 1907; Samuel P. died in infancy;
Elizabeth A., wife of Charles Wright, now living in Okla-
homa; Margaret J., widow of Warren Vowel, living in
Missouri; Mary, widow of George Taylor; Wright, liv-
ing in Iowa; James W. died in infancy; Frances Ellen,
deceased. Samuel was the son of Ephraim Sargent, who
was a teacher, farmer and miller. Later in life he came
to live with his son and soon after died there. He was
a slave owner and his last act was to free his slaves.
Samuel was educated in the common schools of West
Virginia. On coming to Indiana he taught school for
twelve terms of three months each, and often took in pay
the produce of the country, Both parents were members
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the old circuit
rider was often the guest, and preaching in the old log
cabin in Highland township, in Greene county. He was
first a Whig and afterwards a Republican in politics. He
served as township clerk for a number of years. Our
subject was three years of age when the family came to
Indiana. They came through in a wagon. He was raised
on a farm, obtaining his education from that which the
common schools then afforded. When about twenty
J
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 429
years of age he moved with his family to Iowa. On Sep-
tember 6, 1854, ha was married to Mary Jane Simpson.
She was born in Highland township, the daughter of
John L. and Nancy (Buckner) Simpson, both natives of
North Carolina. They settled in Greene county in 1823,
where he engaged in farming. He died in 1884, his wife
having preceded him in 1841. They were both members
of the Presbyterian church, and had three children —
Elizabeth, Andrew and Mary Jane.
John Simpson was married a second time to a cousin
of his first wife. They had six children — Richard, Wil-
liam, Eliza, Marion, John and Josephine. William G.
Sargent, after his marriage in 1854, farmed one year in
Greene county and moved to Iowa and farmed until he
enlisted in the army in 1861. While he was in the war
his wife sold the farm and returned to Bloomfield, In-
diana, and bought the property they now occupy. But
the farm was still interesting, and, renting one, he con-
ducted it until recently, when he retired.
Our subject had four children: Eliza, wife of Wil-
liam G. Jones. They had two boys, John G., a physician
in Vincennes; Charles J., in Purdue University. The
second child was Milton J., who died in 1881. Third
child, Lillie V., wife of John A. Pate, now living in Ja-
sonville. They have two children, Allen G. and Mary
Jane. The fourth was the wife of John R. McGannen,
Nettie, now living with her parents. They have one
child, Frank S.
Mr. Sargent and family are members of the Pres-
byterian church. In politics he is a Republican, casting
his first vote for Fremont. He was a member of both
43°
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS
the Grand Army of the Republic and Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, but has dropped out of each.
On April 27, 1861, he enlisted for three years in
Company K, Second Iowa Infantry, and served until
September following, when he was discharged on ac-
count of disability, being crippled in the hip. On Feb-
ruary 18, 1864, he again enlisted in Company F of the
Seventh Iowa, of which his brother was captain. In the
engagement at Atlanta his brother was shot, the two
brothers standing at the time within fifty feet of each
other. Mr. Sargent then served until the close of the
war, being discharged July 12, 1865, at Louisville, Ken-
tucky. He was in several hard-fought battles, among
which was Snake Creek Gap, May 9, 1864; Lay's Ferry,
Georgia, May 15; Atlanta, where General McPherson
was killed, July 22 ; on the Sandtown Road, July 26.
Here he was sent back to nurse his brother at Marietta,
Georgia, after which he returned and continued with
Sherman to the sea. He also marched with his regiment
from Atlanta to Washington. D. C, where he took part
in the grand review.
JOSEPH PRICE SCOTT.
One of the best known merchants and business men
in Newberry, Indiana, is Joseph Price Scott, who was
born in Martin county, Indiana, May 11, 1843. He is
the son of James and Elizabeth Scott, both from Ken-
tucky, where they were married. They came to Martin
county, Indiana, in 1828, and made a success of fann-
ing in their new home. They were members of the old
r~
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 43 I "
"Hard-shell'' Baptist church. Ten children were born
to them, as follows: John R., William A., Mary E., Da-
vid B., all deceased ; Reason M. is a farmer living' in Mar-
tin county, Indiana ; Emily Jane and Lucinda both died
in childhood; Joseph, the subject of this sketch; James
G. lives in Arkansas; Francis Marion died in infancy.
James Scott was a Democrat until the Civil war, when
he became a Republican.
Joseph P. Scott was reared on a farm and educated
in the common schools, walking four miles through all
kinds of weather to the little log school house, which was
of hewn logs, puncheon floors and seats. He remained
at home until he went to war in December, 1861, enlist-
ing in the Fifty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In-
fantry, Company E, at Washington, Daviess county, and
served until 1862, when he was discharged on account
of disability resulting from an attack of the measles. He
was in the battle of Fort Donelson, and helped to bury
the dead at Pittsburg Landing.
After his experiences as a soldier Mr. Scott married
Mrs. Cynthia Stanley (nee Faith), the (laughter of Thom-
as Faith, in 1863. She died in 1879, leaving three chil-
dren, namely: John, who lives in Knox county, Indiana;
Elizabeth C. and Thomas, also live in Knox county. The
second marriage of the subject was to Jane Walker, a
native of Knox county, and the daughter of Thomas and
Jane (Smiley) Walker, early settlers of Knox county,
the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Tennes-
see. Eight children have been born to this last union, as
follows: Joseph, who lives at Bloomfield, Indiana, and
is engaged as a miller: Cynthia Jane is the wife of Thom-
as Rose, of Taylor township, Greene county, Indiana ;
43 2
BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS.
Sadie, who is single and living at home; William, de-
ceased; Catherine and Delia, twins; Essie, who is living
at home; the last child died unnamed.
Besides farming in Knox county after the war, the
subject went to Missouri for a short time, later returning
to Knox county, and in 1886 came to Newberry, Indiana,
where he was engaged in the undertaking business for
a period of eighteen years. He is now engaged in selling
harness, which business he has built up until he now en-
joys a good patronage and is comfortably situated, both
as to his business and his home.
The subject is a Republican and a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. His wife is a member of
the Christian church.
The subject is proud of his ancestors, who were peo-
ple of sterling worth. Joseph, the great-great-grandfa-
ther of the subject, was a native of Scotland. He came
to America, settling in Virginia, where he lived on a farm
until his death. The grandfather of the subject lived for
some time in Virginia, where he was born, later moving
to Kentucky, where he farmed and spent his life. The
ancestors of the subject's mother were also natives of Vir-
ginia. His grandfather, Cosby Scott, came from that
state to Hardin county, Kentucky, in an early day.
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