USA > Indiana > Union County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 1
USA > Indiana > Fayette County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 1
USA > Indiana > Franklin County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 1
USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Biographical and genealogical history of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin counties, Indiana, Volume II > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
LILLY LIBRARY
EARLHAM COLLEGE
Gift of
Overton and Mildred Pendergast
BIOGRAPHICAL
ANI)
GENEALOGICAL HISTORY
OF
Wayne, Fayette, Union and
Franklin Counties, INDIANA
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1899
CARLHAM COLLEGE TUG 15 1988 LIBRARY
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY
. OF
WAYNE, FAYETTE, UNION AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES
INDIANA.
CHARLES W. STARR.
On New Year's day of 1819 Charles West Starr arrived in Richmond, Indiana,- a mere hamlet on a western frontier, -with whose history he afterward became closely identified. A few years passed, however, before he made a permanent settlement, but for three decades he was a prominent factor in the development and progress of the city, and his name is insepara- bly interwoven with the record of its advancement. The upbuilding of the town was largely due to his enterprising spirit; and the introduction of many of the business interests which have promoted the prosperity of the city were the work of this progressive, public-spirited pioneer.
Charles West Starr was of Scotch-Irish lineage, the family having been founded in America by James Starr, a native of the north of Ireland, who on crossing the Atlantic to the New World became a resident of Philadelphia, in which city he spent his reinaining days. He was then eighteen years of age, and he sold his time to the ship captain in order to pay his passage. By trade he was a shoemaker, and during the war of the Revolution he made boots for Generals Washington and La Fayette. John Starr, the grandfather of Charles W., was a native of Philadelphia, and made his home in that city until his life's labors were ended in death, at the age of forty-four years. He was a salt merchant and carried on a successful business. Like his father he belonged to the Society of Friends, and adhered closely to the ways of that kindly people. He wedded Miss Mary West, a cousin of Benjamin West, the celebrated painter of Philadelphia, and they became the parents of four sons and three daughters: James, Joseph, Samuel John, Charles W., Mrs. Anna Lipincott, Mrs. Sarah Lipincott and Lydia.
In the "City of Brotherly Love" Charles West Starr was born Febru- 34
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
ary 28, 1792, and during his minority served an apprenticeship to the car- penter's trade, but on attaining his majority he engaged in the coasting trade between Charleston, South Carolina, and Philadelphia. Subsequently he engaged in the lumber business in the former city, but the institution of slavery becoming abhorrent to him, he sold his lumber-yard and invested part of his capital in a cargo of rice, which he shipped to Lisbon, Portugal, crossing the ocean on the same vessel. That year, however, he returned home, and soon made his first visit to the west. On the 21st of September, 1818, he started on horseback for the Mississippi valley, and visited Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. As before stated he arrived in Richmond, Indiana, on the ist of January, 1819, and visited John Smith, who owned the entire south half of the village. He thoroughly explored Wayne county and being pleased with the location, the land, and the future prospects of the locality, he entered a claim near Economy, with the inten- tion of some day making his home in the Hoosier state.
Mr. Starr then resumed his homeward journey, and on the Ist of Feb- ruary, 1819, having crossed the Susquehanna river, hitched his horse in front of a Friends' meeting-house, in order to take part in the services. At the close of the meeting he met, for the first time, Miss Elizabeth Wilson, who became his wife November 14, 1819. They made their home for a time in Philadelphia, and in the spring of 1825 removed to Richmond, Indi- ana. They first resided on Front street, almost opposite the present site the court-house. The village was a settlement of Friends, and con- tained a population of about seven hundred. There was not a turnpike or bridge in the county or state, and such a thing as a railroad had not been dreamed of.
In 1826 Mr. Starr purchased the Jeremiah Cox farm, on which the north half of the town was laid out, the purchase price being twenty-five dollars per acre. The place comprised two hundred and twenty-two acres, and thereon a brick residence had been erected, but the barn and other outbuild- ings were constructed of logs in the usual manner of pioneer days. From this time forward Mr. Starr was an active factor in the substantial growth and upbuilding of Richmond. He laid out North Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth streets, divided some of his land into town lots of a quarter of an acre each and sold them for one hundred dollars apiece. That was an excellent price for those days and he steadily invested the proceeds of his sales in the erection of new houses. He firmly believed that a bright destiny lay before Richmond, and he did not hesitate to invest his means for the im- provement and progress of the town. He also erected a number of business houses, all after the old Philadelphia style of architecture, to which he was accustomed in the east. Realizing the importance to a new community of
The Lewis Publishing Co.
531
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
transportation connection with the outside world, he lent his influence and aid to the construction of the Richmond and Brookville canal, which was begun in 1837. He was the treasurer of the company and the work was prosecuted until the hard times of 1840 blocked its progress. A financial panic followed in the west, as in many other sections of the country, and many of the business men of Indiana were forced into liquidation. Mr. Starr, however, with the assistance of his brother in Philadelphia, managed to weather the storm and pay every debt, dollar for dollar. Nor was he forced to sacrifice his property, and when the financial sky was cleared and business was resumed he again became an active factor in the improvement of the city. He laid the foundation for much of the present prosperity of Rich- mond, and to him is due great credit for his successful achievements in behalf of the city.
Mr. and Mrs. Starr became the parents of ten children, of whom John, Mary and Samuel died in infancy; the others are William, James M., Hannah, Lydia, Nathan, Joseph and Benjamin. Of these, James, Hannah, Joseph and Benjamin are the only ones living.
The father possessed a scholarly nature, and read extensively works of all periods of literature, -standard poetry and moral philosophy being his favorite works. His broad and comprehensive knowledge enriched his con- versation and made him an entertaining companion. A refined humor also added sparkle and life to his talk, and his frank, generous and outspoken inanner gained him the regard and admiration of all. His word was as good as his bond, and his business integrity was at all times above question. He passed away May 1, 1855, at the age of sixty-two years. Richmond has had no more valued citizen, and by the pioneers who knew him, and who are still residents of the city, his memory is revered. His wife continued to inake her home in Wayne county until July, 1884, when she, too, was called to the honie beyond.
A portrait of Charles W. Starr appears as the frontispiece of this volume.
COLONEL WILLIAM C. STARR.
The poet, the historian and the singer, from the earliest ages, have largely found their themes in the deeds of valor of the soldier, who in the face of danger and death defends his country, his home or his principles. The wars of this nation have called forth a heroism unsurpassed in the his- tory of the world, and the victories achieved by our armies have awakened the highest admiration of all civilized peoples. Among those who followed the stars and stripes upon the battlefields of the south and aided in the pres- ervation of the Union was Colonel William C. Starr, whose patriotic service was of great value to the cause he espoused, He was born in Philadelphia,
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
Pennsylvania, July 25, 1822, and was the second son of Charles West and Elizabeth Starr. When only three years old he was brought by his parents to Richmond, where he was reared to manhood, acquiring a liberal education in the city schools.
When about twenty-four years of age he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he secured a position as traveling salesman for the firm of Standford & Clark, druggists. In 1848 he married Miss Anna M. Chipman, of Cincin- nati, Ohio, daughter of Horace D. Chipman, a prominent grocer at Sixth and Elm streets. Soon afterward he became a salesman in the wholesale grocery house of William Glenn & Sons. He served in that capacity until 1855, when he accepted the superintendency of the Coal Ridge Salt Works, at Pomeroy, Ohio, managing the same for several years, after which he was given charge of the Mason City Salt Works, in Mason City, West Virginia. Colonel Starr was serving in that capacity at the time of the outbreak of the civil war. He had studied closely the events which preceded and brought on hostilities, and resolved that if the south attempted to overthrow the Union he would enter the service in its defense.
When Fort Sumter was fired upon he turned his business interests over to others while he gave his attention to the organizing of the loyal forces in the new state of West Virginia. He was instrumental in raising the Fourth and Ninth West Virginia regiments, and was made lieutenant-colonel of the latter. Having been one of the delegates to the Wheeling convention, which divided the state, he was an object of especial hatred to the people of east- ern Virginia, - so much so that a reward of two thousand dollars was offered for his head, dead or alive. Sending his wife and children to his mother's home in Richmond, Indiana, that they might be away from all danger, he managed to elude those who would have shot him for this reward. In 1862, when stationed with two companies of his regiment at Summerville, West Virginia, awaiting orders to go to the front, he and his men were surprised at daybreak by three hundred Confederate cavalrymen, commanded by Major Bailey. All were taken prisoners and sent to Libby prison. After ten days' confinement they were among the first prisoners exchanged after the signing of the cartel between the north and the south, and all returned . to their regiment. Later they were sent to the Shenandoah valley, and par- ticipated in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek and other engagements in the valley of Virginia. There Colonel Starr was detailed for duty upon the staff of General Sigel, and was provost marshal of West Virginia. Later he was placed upon the staff of General Hunter as judge advocate general, and later still npon the staff of General Crook, where he remained until a few weeks before the fall of Richmond, at which time he received an honorable discharge.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
Colonel Starr was known in West Virginia as the "fighting Quaker," and upon his return to civil life to the home of his mother and his family at Richmond, Indiana, he found a battle still to fight, - that of reconciling the non-resistant Friends (Quakers) to the course he had pursued. The patriot- ism of the Society of Friends, however, asserted itself, as all of them had paid war taxes, had rejoiced at Union victories and mourned at the defeat of Union arms, and they came to regard themselves as aiding and abetting the cause for which he fought. This made it easy for them to overlook the Colonel's transgression of their non-resistant principle.
Upon his return from the war Colonel Starr engaged in sheep-raising, afterward in the manufacture of hames. In 1873 he admitted his son Hor- ace to a partnership in the business. Later they entered the manufacture of chains and saddlery hardware. Colonel Starr continued in this business until his death, and his son Horace continues the business left by him.
His children were Charles West, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1849; Horace Chipman, born in Cincinnati, in 1853; Francis Cist, born in Pom- eroy, Ohio, in 1856; William C., Jr., born in Mason City, West Virginia, in 1859. The latter two died in infancy, Charles W. and Horace C. surviving their father.
Colonel Starr was called to his final rest May 17, 1897. He was a member of the Army of West Virginia, the Grand Army of the Republic, and an honored member of the Loyal Legion. He was elected senior vice commander of the Indiana Commandery of the Legion for the year 1892-3. He was a writer of acknowledged ability. His paper, the Battle of Cedar Creek, was read before the Indiana Commandery of the Legion, and was published in a volume of the Legion's war papers in 1898. He was a birth- right member of the Society of Friends, an ardent believer in the teachings of the society, and most faithful in his attendance on its services. He was for a long time a teacher of an adult class, and at one time superintendent of a Friends' Sabbath-school. The last work of his able pen was a paper on "The Quaker in the War," which was read at a meeting of the Loyal Legion held in Richmond, Indiana, in May, 1897. Colonel Starr was in failing health at this time, so that he could not attend this meeting, his wife, Anna M. Starr, having to read this, his last paper, for him.
His life was at all times honorable and upright. He was reliable in business, faithful in friendship, loyal in citizenship, and most true to family and church. He believed most firmly in the Christian religion, and when the hour of his departure came he said to his wife: "I want to die; I wish I was at home." His death came as to one who
" Wraps the drapery of his couch about him
And lies down to pleasant dreams."
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
JAMES M. STARR.
This gentleman is now a resident of Washington, D. C., but various ties bind him to Richmond, and in Wayne county he has a host of warm friends who will gladly receive this record of his life. He was born in Phila- delphia, September 18, 1824, a son of Charles West and Elizabeth (Wilson) Starr. He was only nine months old when his parents came to Richmond, and in the subscription schools of the frontier region he acquired his educa- tion. When a young man he traveled through Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi as a solicitor for books, but, returning home at the time of his father's death, assumed the management of his estate. He continued the work begun by his father, laying out the land into town lots, erecting resi- dences and selling both unimproved and improved property. Until 1896 he was thus engaged, and his judicious management, wise investments and prudence brought to him a handsome income.
Mr. Starr, however, is a man of resourceful business ability, and his efforts were by no means confined to one line of endeavor. In December, 1856, he rented the Richmond Artificial Gas Works, and, having operated them continuously in the meantime, purchased the plant in 1863. With excellent success he conducted this enterprise until 1893, when he disposed of it to the Richmond Light, Heat & Power Company, of which corporation he is vice-president. In 1886 he purchased what is now known as the Starr piano factory and developed that enterprise to extensive proportions, employ- ing one hundred and fifty or more men. Under the firm name of James M. Starr & Company he carried on that industry until 1893, when he sold out. He now resides in Washington, but spends much of his time in Richmond, superintending his real-estate interests and looking after his other investments.
Mr. Starr has been twice married. In 1847 Lydia Briggs, of Cincinnati, Ohio, became his wife, but her death occurred in 1850, and her little daugh- ter, then nine months old, died two months after the mother. In 1853 Mr. Starr married Miss Sarah J. King, of Richmond, with whom he lived happily for forty-four years, but in 1897 he was again deprived of his wife by death. They had an adopted son, Edward, who died in 1891, at the age of twenty- nine years.
Mr. Starr is a member of the Society of Friends. He was long recog- nized as one of the most able business men of Richmond, his sagacity and foresight enabling him to make judicious investments, while his diligence, indomitable energy and undaunted perseverance won him a prosperity that numbered him among Wayne county's most substantial citizens. He not only advanced his individual interests but did much toward promoting the general welfare by encouraging trade and commerce. His circle of friends in this
.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
section of Indiana is very extensive and embraces those who have been identified with the pioneer epoch and the latter-day progress. His career, both public and private, is marked by the strictest integrity and faithfulness to every trust reposed in him. The record of his life is unclouded by wrong, and he, is known as an honorable man and a pleasant companion.
JOHN M. TATMAN.
John Milton Tatman, a well known resident of Laurel township, Frank- lin county, Indiana, is a representative of one of the early families of the county. His father, Stephen Tatman, was born in Fleming county, Ken- tucky, March 5, 1789, and grew up in his native state, whence he went to Ohio, where, November 26, 1815, he was married to Miss Nancy Ross, who was born in what was then the territory of Ohio, January 21, 1802, and who at the time of their marriage was but thirteen years of age. They came to Indiana about 1836 and to Laurel township, Franklin county, in 1842. The family first settled just east of the Laurel cemetery, but did not make any purchase of land there. About two years later the father bought the place which is now owned and occupied by his son, John M., at Mount Auburn or Kokomo, a short distance from the town of Laurel. Stephen Tatman built the residence which still stands on this farm. Here he passed the rest of his life, his death occurring December 12, 1865. His wife survived him until October 15, 1876. They were the parents of eight children who grew to mature years, -five sons and three daughters. Three sons and a daughter are living in 1899, namely: James Harvey, a resident of Connersville, Indiana; Joshua D., also a resident of Connersville; John Milton; and Mrs. Mary Weber, of Des Moines, Iowa. Those deceased were: Mrs. Lizzie McIntosh; David D., who died at his home in Indianapolis; Johnson R., who died in Shelbyville, Indiana, where he had lived for several years; and Nancy Jane, who died in 1854.
John Milton Tatman, who resides at the homestead, was born in Ohio, October 28, 1832. He accompanied his parents to Indiana and has always lived at the old home, taking care of his parents in their old age and coming into possession of the homestead when they passed away.
He was married March 1, 1863, to Miss Sarah Malone, daughter of John and Joan Malone. The former was born June 17, 1795, and his wife April 6, 1795. In 1836 they emigrated from Butler county, Ohio, to Franklin county, Indiana, and settled near Andersonville. They lived there many years and reared a family of ten children, five sons and five daughters, four of whom are now living (1899): Mrs. Julia Ann Stevenson, Mrs. Tatman, Mrs. Margaret Lewis and David H. Those deceased were Hiram, Phœbe, Isaac, Harriet, John M. and James Harvey. The parents passed the last
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
years of their lives in Laurel. The mother died February 3, 1879, and the father March 13, 1884.
As already stated, Mr. and Mrs. Tatman are representatives of early pioneer families of Franklin county. They have a pleasant home, sur- rounded with the comforts which years of toil have brought, and are esteemed by all who know them. They are members of the Methodist church of Laurel, of which Mr. Tatman has been a steward for many years.
L. L. BURKE.
L. L. Burke, of Brookville, was born in Clarke county, Indiana, March 2, 1829, and is a son of James McConn and Adeline (Roby) Burke. The pater- nal ancestors of the family were from the north of Ireland, whence repre- sentatives of the name crossed the Atlantic to America in the early part of the seventeenth century. A settlement was made in Virginia, and there the father of our subject was born. The family, being lovers of liberty and desir- ing to escape from the baneful influences of slavery, left the old Dominion and went to Nashville, Tennessee. Later they removed to Louisville, Kell- tucky, and in 1811 the family was founded in Clarke county, Indiana, by the grandparents of our subject and their children. The latter located on Gen- eral Clarke's grant of land, in what is now Clarke county, Indiana, but the grandparents spent their last days in Morgan county.
.James M. Burke was born in Bedford county, Virginia, in 1803, and in 1824 married Adeline (Roby) Green, who was born in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, in 1807. . After their marriage they removed to Martinsville, Indiana, and subsequently to Putnam county. Indiana, where the father's death occurred in 1862. His wife survived him ten years, and passed away in Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, in 1872. In religious faith they were Methodists, and in politics Mr. Burke was a Democrat until the time of the civil war, when he espoused the canse of the Republican party, which stood so loyally by the Union. In his family were six sons and two daugh- ters who grew to years of maturity, namely: William, now deceased; L. L., of this review; Luke A., who was a captain in the Ninetieth Indiana Volun- teers and inspector general of the Twenty-fourth Army Corps, under General Scofield; Leonard G., who was sergeant of the Ninety-first Illinois Infantry; James W., who died in Illinois, in early life; John W., who was more familiarly known as Guy, and who was one of the five thousand minute-men who in twenty-four hours were organized to drive Morgan out of Indiana, after which he joined the Twentieth Light Battery and served until the close of the war, dying three or four years later; Mrs. Mary Clement, of Duluth, Minnesota; and Mrs. Sarah McMahan, of Lafayette, Indiana.
In taking up the personal history of L. L. Burke, we present to our
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY.
readers the life-record of one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Brookville, -the popular editor of the Brookville American, and until recently the efficent postmaster at this place. He was reared in Morgan county, Indiana, and educated in the public schools of Martinsville. In 1 846 he became connected with the printing business in New Albany, Indiana, where he learned his trade and was made war news editor on the New Albany Bulletin, which was the property of his uncle. He remained on the staff of that paper for three or four years, and then worked on the Louisville Journal and on other papers for about nine years. In 1861 he accepted a position in connection with the Indianapolis Journal, and after serving as city editor for a time was appointed to a position in the adjutant general's office. On the close of the war of the Rebellion he went to Washington, where he served in the government printing office for over eleven years, and in April, 1888, he purchased the Brookville American, which he has since published. The paper was established in 1833, by C. F. Clarkson as a Whig organ, and since the organization of the Republican party it has upheld the principles of this polit- ical body. During the existence of the paper it has had some able editors, including Rev. T. A. Goodwin, of Indianapolis, and William H. Greene, of Shelbyville. Mr. Burke is a very able editorial writer, and the American is now extensively quoted throughout this section of the country. He studies closely the important questions of the day, and after mature reflection his opinions are given to the public through the columns of his journal and have awakened deep thought and earnest consideration of the topics involved. He has ever been a stalwart Republican, and his labors have been most effective in promoting the growth and securing the success of his party.
In connection with his journalistic duties Mr. Burke is serving as a mem- ber of the board of directors of the Brookville Telephone Company, a position which he has filled since the establishment of the important enterprise. He also served as postmaster of Brookville, having assumed charge of the office April 15, 1898, and under his direction its affairs were most ably admini- stered. He recently resigned his position as postmaster, by reason of failing health. He holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, and is ever deeply interested in the movements which tend to advance the material, educational and moral welfare of the community. As a citizen he is loyal and progresssive, as a business man reliable, and as a friend true and trust- worthy.
BENJAMIN F. MASON.
The old country-place of the Mason family, in Jefferson township, Wayne county, not far from Hagerstown, is one of the historic homesteads of this section. Here the birth of Benjamin F. Mason, the subject of this article, a prominent attorney and counselor at law, and president of the
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