USA > Indiana > Decatur County > A Genealogical and biographical record of Decatur County, Indiana : compendium of national biography > Part 51
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A. S. MOOR.
Indiana is justly proud of her old citizens who have been in turn pioneers, farmers. soldiers and retired gentlemen and whose declining years are being passed in the enjoyment of the rewards of their industry and their patriotism. It is a fact worthy of note that the same qualities of mind and of heart, the same willingness to dare and to do. which made men good pioneers, made them good soldiers when the fruits of their labors were menaced by civil war ; and there is no class of men in the Hoosier state more highly honored than the large class of far- mer soldiers of which the man whose name is above is a worthy representative.
A. S. Moor, of Letts, Decatur county. Indiana, comes of a pioneer family which has long been identified with agricultural interests in this part of the state. He was born in Franklin county, Indiana, January
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16, 1834, a son of Edmund and Elizabeth (Higgs) Moor. His father was a native of the state of New York, born in 1800, a son of Robert Moor, a hero of the Revolution, who started with his household to Ohio and died en route, in Kentucky. The rest of the family went on to their destination and a `year later removed to Ohio and some time afterward from Ohio to Franklin county, Indiana. There they rented land and farmed with more or less success. Edmund Moor grew to manhood in Franklin county and married there. When, in 1843. he came to Decatur county, that part of the state was an almost unbroken wilderness. He took up land in Jackson township and improved it and lived upon it until his death, on Sep- tember 13, 1883. his wife having died four years earlier. He was a plain and honest farmer, a man of integrity and of great charity, was a Whig and later a Republican in politics, and in religious belief was a Pres- byterian. He won the respect of all who knew him, and died regretted by a com- munity to whose betterment he had lived. The children of Edmund and Elizabeth (Higgs) Moor were named as follows in the order of their birth: W. O., who married and died, leaving a family; Sarah (Mrs. W. H. Tyner); R. J., now a retired farmer: G. M., now a resident of Nebraska; A. S .: Mary E. (Mrs. J. R. Swope); Elizabeth A. (Mrs. G. M. Thompson); and E. M., of Howard county, Indiana.
A. S. Moor was reared on his father's farm and educated in the public schools near his home. He was a member of his father's household until he attained his ma- jority. In 1859 he married and began life in a small cabin on a rented farm. After a four years' struggle to get ahead a little
financially he bought a small tract of land. Later he sold this to advantage and bought one hundred and sixty acres of improved land. He has been industrious and honest and has succeeded so well that he has been enabled to increase his holdings to two hun- dred and thirty acres. He gave, his atten- tion profitably to general farming and to raising and feeding stock, and in 1893 he built one of the best houses in this vicinity. He has eleven acres of land at Letts, where he has his home, his farm being in care of a competent man.
Mr. Moor has an enviable record as a sol- dier, having seen arduous service in our civil war. He enlisted in 1862 in Company I, Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the United States service at Indianapolis, for three years or during the war. He was in the Fourteenth Army corps, Army of the Ten- nessee, and served gallantly for a year and a half. when he received an honorable dis- charge, on account of disability, in the form of chronic diarrhoea contracted in the ser- vice. At Mumfordsville he was taken pris- oner with about four thousand five hundred others, but was paroled after having been a prisoner two days and was detailed order- ly sergeant and put in charge of an ammuni- tion train. It was while so detailed that he became disabled. He was sent to the Indianapolis city hospital, Indianapolis. In- diana, and there later received his discharge. Returning home he resumed farming and became influential as a citizen and as a Re- publican, though he never has sought office . and has never been an active political worker.
Mr. Moor married Miss Julia Swope. a daughter of Michael and Sally (Johnson)
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: Swope, her father a native of Virginia, her mother a native of Indiana. Michael Swope was a merchant at Greensburg and was for two terms sheriff of Decatur county. Old citizens say that he was a model officer. As a business man he was original, ener- getic and public-spirited. He was twice married. By Sally Johnson, his first wife, he had children as follows: J. R., a farmer in Jackson township, Decatur county; Julia, who married Mr. Moor; and R. W., a merchant at Fowler, Indiana. By his sec- ond wife, Mrs. Eliza Linch (formerly Miss Clark), he had children as follows: O. L., who lives in the west: and Sharilda, who has never married. Mr. and Mrs. Moor have no children. They live quietly and unos- tentatiously and are good and helpful sup- porters of every cause that promises to ad- vance the interests of the community. Their acquaintance is large and they are honored : by all by whom they are known.
JAMES B. CLARK.
In the annals of Decatur county a very . important part has been played by the Clark family, of which the subject of this article is a worthy representative. His grand- father, Woodson Clark, came to this county from Kentucky at an early day, and settled on land a portion of which is the site of the village of Clarksburg. That place was named in lionor of the worthy pioneer. who also was one of the founders of the town of Enochsburg, Franklin county, Indiana. These now enterprising places he laid out. and in order to induce responsible people to settle in Clarksburg he generously donated building lots to those who desired to be-
come permanent residents, and in many other ways materially aided in the growthi of the town. He was a farmer by occupa- tion, and met with success in his chosen vocation. His wife survived him a number of years, and both are kindly remembered . ' by the old residents of this township who were acquainted with them years ago.
Richard Clark, father of James B. Clark. was born in Kentucky, September 22, 1820. and was a mere child when he accompanied his parents to this county. Here he grew to manhood, and, after his marriage. com- menced cultivating a tract of eighty acres in this township, the property being located southeast of Clarksburg. Later, when his wife's father had become well advanced in years and desired him, with her brothers. to assume the management of his homestead. the younger man consented to the arrange- ment. In the course of time, however, he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, situated on sections 12 and 24, Fugit township, and there continued to make his home until the death of his wife, in 1892. She was a most estimable woman, admired and loved by all who knew her. Her maid- en name was Margaret Throp, and her father. Thomas Throp, was one of the pioneers of this county. To the union of Richard and Margaret Clark three children were born. The only daughter, Ellen, mar- ried John Freeman. who was accidentally killed at the raising of a barn, in Richland township, Rush county. Subsequently, Mrs. Freeman became the wife of Isaac Weir of Laurel, Indiana. Thomas Woodson Clark, the elder son of Richard Clark and wife, was born in 1848, and resides on his father's old homestead, in this township. He chose Carrie Rudolph for his wife, and finds in
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her an able and willing helpmate. The father makes his home with his children since the death of his wife.
James B. Clark, whose name appears at the beginning of this sketch, was born at the old family home in this township, March 17, 1860, and received his education in the common schools. Since boyhood he has been engaged in agriculture, and has made a success of most of his undertakings. He possesses a practical, systematic method of doing things, and richly deserves the pros- perity which crowns his endeavors. Like his father and grandfather before him, he enjoys an enviable reputation as a citizen and business man, and the confidence of all who know him is the reward of a well spent life. He uses his franchise in behalf of the Republican party.
The marriage of James B. Clark and Miss Una Johnson, a daughter of Dr. Thomas Johnson, an early settler of this locality, was celebrated July 13, 1881. Two sons, Rol- land and Prosser, manly, promising lads, bless the home of our subject and wife. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church and contribute liberally to its main- tenance.
HARRY JOHNSON, M. D.
Holding prominent rank among the rep- resentatives of the medical profession of De- catur county is Dr. Harry Johnson, of New Point, Salt Creek township. He is very well known throughout this section of the state and he is often called into consulta- tion with physicians of neighboring towns. His career as a physician, in Franklin, Rip- ley and Decatur counties, covers a period of about thirty-five years, and he has reason
to be proud of the success which he has attained.
The birth of the Doctor occurred in Co- lumbia township, Fayette county, Indiana. sixty years ago. His father, Isaac Johnson. was a native of Schoharie county, New York, whence. in 1838, he emigrated to Indiana. settling on a farm in 'Columbia township, and there he spent the rest of his days, death releasing him from the burdens of life in 1873. His beloved wife, whose name in girlhood had been Sarah Betson. survived him less than a year. They were the parents of three sons and four daugh- ters, of whom only the Doctor and two of . his sisters remain. Albert, the eldest of the brothers, was one of the brave boys in blue who fought for the preservation of the Union in the dark days of the civil war. He was a member of the Sixty-eighth Indi- ana Infantry and was severely wounded at the siege of Vicksburg. Another brother. Nesbit Johnson, was a private in the One Hundred and .Twenty-third Indiana and was wounded at Atlanta. The surviving sister's are Mary, wife of John Steffy, of Laurel, Indiana, and Permelia, wife of John Seal, of Ohio.
The boyhood of the Doctor was quietly spent upon his father's farm near Laurel. and his elementary education was gained in the public schools of the vicinity. Later he attended an academy at Connersville. and at twenty years, of age he became a student in the office of Drs. Gifford and Kitchen, of Laurel. In 1862 he was grad- uated in the Louisville Medical College with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and subsequent to the death of Dr. Kitchen he engaged in practice with his old preceptor. Dr. Gifford, at Laurel, for some six years.
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Then removing to Enochsburg, Ray town- ship, he established an office and carried on a flourishing practice there for eighteen years. Since the expiration of that time he has resided in New Point, where he en- joys an extensive patronage. He endeavors to keep abreast of modern discovery in the line of medical science, and is progressive and in full sympathy with the spirit of the age. Both as a physician and as a citizen he is held in high regard by every one. The lady who bears his name and aids him in all his labors as far as possible formerly was Miss Emma Barnett. She is a native of this county and is a lady of excellent men- tal and social attainments.
GEORGE P. GARDNER.
George P. Gardner was an early settler in Decatur county, Indiana, and was long a representative farmer of Sand Creek town- ship. He is now living at Letts Corner. retired from active pursuits and in the en- joyment of the fruits of a life well spent. Mr. Gardner has had an interesting career, , some account . of which, and of his antece- dents, based chiefly on family tradition and his own vivid recollections, it will be attempted to give in the succeeding para- ยท graphs.
Mr. Gardner is a son of Alexander and Eliza (Powers) Gardner and is a native of Hamilton county, Ohio, born July 15, 1832. His father was of Pennsylvania-Dutch blood. his mother of Irish extraction. When Alexander Gardner was ten years old his father removed with his family to Cincin- nati, Ohio. Mr. Gardner states that at that time Cincinnati was "a small village of cab- 1
ins" and that when his father was twelve years old he "worked in a brick yard there and helped make the brick out of which the first brick house ever erected at Cincinnati. or near there, was built." This descrip- tion of the Ohio metropolis would indicate that it had made rapid strides since that time and seems to give Alexander Gardner a place among its industrial pioneers of which he might have been justly proud. There he grew up and married. Not long after his. marriage he went to Franklin county, Indiana, where he improved a good farm, building on it a brick house and a large barn. Later he disposed of this prop- erty and secured a farm in Hamilton county. Ohio. On this place he lived for many years and finally gave it to his children. After that he removed to Greensburg. In- diana. and was a member of the family of one of his daughters for about seven years. There he and his good wife died. the latter passing away two years before her hus- band. They were leading members of the Christian church, and Mr. Gardner left a good record as an honorable man of the highest character and most beneficent influ- ence. He was a Whig politically, but was not an office-seeker or an active politician. This worthy couple had children as follows: Sarah (Mrs. Gilliard). David (deceased). Naomi (living in Ohio), Robert, Eliza. . \da- line and George P.
George P. Gardner was brought up on the farm and educated in subscription schools. He was a member of his father's family until he was twenty-four years old .. In June. 1857. he married and removed to Decatur county, Indiana. Here he bought an improved farm on which was a good house and somewhat extensive clearings.
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He erected good barns and outbuildings and now has two hundred and forty acres of land, ditched, tiled and under advanced cultivation. His wife was Miss Mollie Druce, who was born in England and was brought to America, at eight years of age. by her parents, George and Ann Druce, who settled in Hamilton county, Ohio. Her mother died soon afterward and her father died of typhus fever four years after his arrival, leaving the following named chil- dren, some of whom were old enough to keep the family together: Maria (Mrs. J. C. Anten), Elizabeth (Mrs. William Guth- ers), Mary (Mrs. Gardner), Arthur (de- ceased), Martha (Mrs. S. Seward). John (died at the age of twenty-one), Timothy (living in Oklahoma), and Eunice (Mrs. D. Poorman). George P. and Mary (Druce) Gardner have children named as follows, in the order of their birth: Alexander A., who is working his father's old homestead farm; Robert J., a farmer in Ohio: Levi. a farmer in Sand Creek township: Adalaide (Mrs. A. Alexander), and George, hotel and livery proprietor, Letts Corner.
Mr. Gardner's life has been a busy and useful one, and its usefulness has been rewarded by the results of well-doing, not the least valuable of which is the respect of all familiar with the scenes among which his years have been passed and with the sturdy characteristics which were the foun- dation of his worldly success.
JOHN H. JACKSON.
From the early days of Decatur county. the Jackson family, which is worthily rep- resented in Marion township by the sub-
ject of this narrative, has been closely asso- ciated with its history. John H. Jackson. who had both German and Irish ancestors. comes from a race noted for extraordinary longevity. His maternal grandparents. who died on the farm now owned and car- ried on by him. passed the century mark. the grandfather attaining the age of one hundred and six, and the grandmother one hundred and four years. Both are sleep- ing their last sleep in Sand Creek cemetery. The paternal grandfather, William Jackson. a native of Virginia, lived to the extreme age of one hundred and sixteen years. his death occurring in Kentucky in 1867. About a year previous to his demise, our subject visited the venerable man at his old home in the Blue Grass state. and heard from his own lips strange stories of his pioneer experiences on what had been the western frontier at the time of his settle- ment there. Being born and reared in the south, he quite naturally was a Democrat. and owned a large number of slaves.
More than a century ago, in March. 1797. the father of John H. Jackson was born in Kentucky, and was christened Burrell. He grew to manhood near the place of his nativity, and married Margaret Becraft. Together they came to the wilds of Decatur county, Indiana. in 1821. in company with the family of Mrs. Jackson's parents, and all of them concluded to make a permanent settlement in. Washington township. Bur- rell Jackson was very enterprising and in- dustrious, and in the course of a few years had made material improvements on the . tract of land which he had selected for his home. Later he entered and bought land on section 35. township 10. range 9. and continued to devote his energies to the cul-
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tivation of that property until his death, in 1.869. His faithful wife, who had cheerfully shared his pioneer labors, survived him sev- eral years. They were loyal members of the Baptist church, and the place which they filled in this community for about half a century was one of honor. They were the . parents of four daughters and two sons, of whom, William. the eldest. is deceased, and those living are Elizabeth, Mary, Nancy, John H., and Martha Ann.
John H. Jackson was born on the old homestead which he now owns. the date of that event being March 4. 1841, ninety years subsequent to the birth of his paternal grandfather. Even when a mere child he commenced assisting his father in the arduous work of the farm, and from . that time until the present he has given his chief attention to agriculture. For thirty-four years, during the season. he operated a - threshing machine, and in this manner each year made a good income. He has been faithful to his every duty as a citizen, and enjoys the good will and respect of all with whom business or social duties have brought him into contact. Politically he favors the Democratic party platform. In 1894 he was chosen to serve in the respon- sible position of trustee of Marion town- ship, and is still serving in that capacity. He is a trustworthy official. having the wel- - fare of the people deeply at heart.
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The marriage of Mr. Jackson and Aman- da Bryan was celebrated December 20. 1863. She was born in Virginia, a daughter of Levi Bryan, who came to this county with his family when Mrs. Jackson was a child. Four sons and four daughters were born to our subject and wife. namely: Franklin J., Virginia Ellen, Margaret Jane.
James B .. Cora Lee. May. Charles, and Grover J. The older children render in- valuable assistance to their parents in vari- ous ways, and the younger ones are attend- ing school.
NIMROD KERRICK.
Nimrod Kerrick. a worthy representative of one of the sterling pioneer families of Fugit township. Decatur county, was born on the old homestead which he now owns and carries on, and has passed his entire life in this immediate locality.
The paternal great-grandfather of the above mentioned citizen was Thomas Ker- rick. a native of Ireland. He emigrated to America in colonial days and during the war of the Revolution shouldered a musket and assisted in gaining our independence. His son Thomas. the next in the direct line of descent to our subject, was made of the same patriotic fiber as was his father, and performed his share towards the progress of the United States by defending her riglits in the second war with England, as a soldier in the ranks. He was a native of Loudoun county. Virginia, from which state he emigrated with his family to Franklin county. Indiana, about 1825. Here. on the frontier. he reared his children and cleared and improved a farm. Of his eight children -Nimrod, James. Walter. Armstead. Stephen. Hugh. Anna and Mary-only the youngest. Mrs. Mary Throp. survives. though all married and left descendants save Stephen, who died at the age of about thirty years. and Anna, who died at eigli- teen. Without exception, they were highly esteemed citizens, and two of the number,
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Armstead and Nimrod. were ministers of the Methodist church, the former being a local preacher, and the latter a typical cir- cuit-rider.
In 1832 Thomas and James Kerrick en- tered two hundred and forty acres of land in Fugit township, and this property became. under their earnest efforts, the fine home- stead which is now owned by our subject. Thomas Kerrick resided here until his death, in October, 1857, and was survived by his wife nine years. Considering how limited were his opportunities for gaining an education. he was well read and informed for his day, and both before and after his coming to Indiana he taught school. with marked success. He left to his descendants an honorable name and an unsullied record.
James Kerrick was born in Loudoun county. Virginia. September 21, 1811, and his wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Sloan, was born on the 25th of February of the same year. She was a native of Cam- den, New Jersey, whence she came to the west with her parents, Benjamin and Mary (Dubois) Sloan, who located at first in Cin- cinnati, and subsequently settled in Har- mony township. Union county, Indiana. Mrs. Kerrick's parents were members of the Society of Friends, and she exemplified throughout her life the noble principles which had been inculcated during her child- hood. She was summoned to her eternal reward November 7. 1866, but her husband survived her until March 5. 1884. Both were loved and revered by all who knew them, and the part which they took in the early history of this county redounds greatly to their credit. They had but two children, one of whom died at the age of eleven months, in Union county.
As previously stated, Nimrod Kerrick has always made his home on the old estate in Fugit township, his birth having occurred here August 10, 1843. From boyhood he has been a practical farmer, and everything about his homestead gives plain evidence of the watchful care which he bestows upon it.
In all of his undertakings for more than a quarter of a century Mr. Kerrick has been aided by his devoted wife, formerly Miss Sarah A. Humphrey. She is a daughter of Robert Humphrey and was born in Frank- lin county. Indiana, April 30, 1848. The only daughter of our subject and wife is Luna B., wife of William F. Johnson, and
their only son. Leonidas, is a resident of Clinton township, Decatur county. Politi- cally, Nimrod Kerrick is a stanch Repub- lican, having been affiliated with that party ever since casting his first presidential vote, for Lincoln, in 1864.,
ROBERT S. MONTGOMERY.
To be a descendant of pioneers in any lo- cality which has advanced to a happy condi- tion of civilization is an honor of itself. To have been practically a pioneer by having lived in the pioneer period and participated in pioneer experiences is an added honor. To this double honor Robert S. Montgom- ery is entitled. His father was a pioneer and his own birth was early enough to insure its date a place in the earliest history of De- catur county, of whose development he has . been a lifelong witness.
Robert S. Montgomery was born in De- catur county, May 8, 1831. a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bingham) Montgomery.
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Thomas Montgomery, in the paternal linie, descended from Irish ancestry. His father, Hugh Montgomery, came to America be- fore the Revolutionary war and fought for the independence of the colonies. Some of the fighting blood in his veins was be- queathed to his children, and his sons Thomas, Michael and William served in the last war with England, in which conflict the last mentioned lost his life. Eva Hartman, a Pennsylvania woman, became the wife of Hugh Montgomery. Thomas was an early settler in Ohio, whence he removed to In- diana in 1824. In this state he entered large tracts of land and was one of the most prom- inent farmers in his vicinity. He cleared and improved a farm and lived on it until his death, which occurred in 1846. His life was that of a Christian, full of good deeds. and' in all its aspects afforded an example worthy of emulation. His children, born in the order indicated. were named as follows: Thomas (father of the immediate subject of this sketch), Henry. Hugh, George. Micha- el, Robert, Mary (Mrs. Alexander Grant). Elizabeth (Mrs. Thompson). Sarah (Mrs. J. Martin), Nancy (Mrs. Hineman), and Mar- garet (Mrs. Crutchwell).
Thomas Montgomery, father of Robert, . married Miss Lizzie Bingham, daughter of John Bingham, who died in Pennsylvania, leaving her without parents or brothers and sisters and, indeed. without any near rela- tive .. She became a member of a small col- ony which was destined for the then far west, and which made its way down the Ohio by flat-boat and settled in Butler county, Ohio. From there some of them came to Decatur county, Indiana, and Miss Bingham was one of the party. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery set-
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