A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2), Part 25

Author: William Travis
Publication date: 1909
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 631

USA > Indiana > Clay County > A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2) > Part 25

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Digitized by Google

170

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

but in 1886 left the ranks of that party and endorsed the principles of the Prohibition party. He often casts an independent ballot, however, and does not consider that he is bound by party ties. While living in Posey township he served for a short time as justice of the peace but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. In July, 1875, he was made a Master Mason in Staunton Lodge, A. F. & A. M. and in Feb- ruary of the same year became a member of Staunton Lodge, No. 415, I. O. O. F. He has filled all of the offices in the latter organization, was noble grand and has been a delegate to the grand lodge of Indiana. For thirty-three years he has been a member of this lodge and has never asked nor received any benefit funds. In February, 1880, he united with the Christian church and his life has been in harmony with his profes- sions. Men who know him trust him because he has proven himself worthy of their confidence. His life in all of its phases has been actuated by honorable principles and manly conduct and wherever known William D Stewart is respected and esteemed.

MONTERVILL V. HUFF .- Among the prominent and well known agriculturists of Perry township is numbered Montervill V. Huff, whose valuable and well improved homestead is located in section 27, Perry township. He was born in section 28 of the same township No- vember 22, 1849, a son of William and Matilda (Likens) Huff, born respectively in Clark county, Virginia, and in Mercer county, that state, and the mother was a daughter of Jonas Likens, also from the Old Dominion state. In an early day William and Matilda Huff made the journey from Virginia to Ohio on horseback, and a few years later came to Clay county, Indiana, where they entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in Perry township, a part prairie and the remainder timber land. The father at once began the task of clearing and improving his land and placing it under cultivation, and about forty acres of the farm is yet covered with its valuable growth of timber. He died on his homestead here June 1, 1894, when ninety years of age, and his wife died in May of 1889, aged seventy-nine years.

Montervill V. Huff, the third born of their eight sons and three daughters, spent his boyhood days on the homestead farm, attending the district schools of Perry township, and after his marriage he resided for eighteen months with his parents. He then spent seven years on another part of the home farm, farming forty acres, and then returning to his parents' home he cared for them until their deaths. He then inherited two hundred acres of the farmstead, and since then he has greatly im- proved the old place, replacing the old home which was burned by a sub- stantial dwelling, and he is engaged in general farming and stock raising.

On the 23d of January, 1873, Mr. Huff was married to Andora Godfrey, who was born in Washington township, Clay county, November 29, 1854, a daughter of Abraham and Nancy (Philips) Godfrey, who were born in Kentucky but were among the early residents of Clay county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Huff are: Howard, who resides on a part of the old Huff farm; Della, who became the wife of Worth Coble, and died in 1903, aged twenty-five years, after becoming the mother of a son and daughter, Charles M. and Eva B .; Elsie, the wife of George Summers, of Perry township; and William C., at home. Mr. Huff is a Democrat. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist

Digitized by Google.

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

Digitized by

Google

JOHN H. DAUGHERTY

Digitized by

Google

171

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

Episcopal church at Cory, Indiana. Fraternally they are members of the I. O. O. F., Cory Lodge No. 449, and the Rebekahs No. 155, and Mr. Huff is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 390, at Riley, Indiana. Their estate is known as "Sunny Lawn Farm."

GEORGE WASHINGTON PRATHER .- On the list of Clay county's hon- ored dead appears the name of George Washington Prather, who for a considerable period was connected with agricultural interests in this part of the state. He was born in Brown county, Ohio, November 9, 1825, and passed away in Harmony, Indiana, in June, 1884. His parents were Thomas and Eliza Prather, both natives of Maryland. Removing to Brown county, Indiana, the father there engaged in farming and was also prominent in community affairs, serving for some time there as a constable. His family numbered five children.

George W. Prather was reared and educated in the county of his nativity, pursuing his studies in the public schools, while upon the home farm he was trained to habits of industry, diligence and integrity. Hav- ing arrived at years of maturity, he was married to Miss Lillian Lucas, on the 22d of January, 1852. Mrs. Prather was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1827, and was a daughter of George W. and Rachel (Jewell) Lucas. Her father was born in Bedford county, Penn- sylvania, and became a minister of the Christian church, preaching for some time in Virginia. He died in Kentucky at the age of seventy-two years and thus was ended a life of great usefulness and honor. He was an earnest, faithful follower of the church and did all in his power to promote its cause. His wife, who was a native of Mercer county, Penn- sylvania, died in Brown county, Ohio, in 1849, at the age of fifty-three years. They were the parents of three children, a son and two daugh- ters, but all have passed away with the exception of Mrs. Prather, who was the youngest.

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Prather located upon a farm in Brown county, Ohio, where they lived for a number of years and then removed to Clay county, Indiana, where they arrived on the 3d of No- vember, 1866. Mr. Prather accepted the position of superintendent for the Watsons, having charge of their agricultural interests and led a busy, useful and active life until called to his final rest. He died at the com- paratively early age of fifty-six years and his death was deeply regretted by many friends as well as his immediate family. He was a member of the United Brethren church and enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Prather were born five children, but one has passed away ; John E., who was traveling salesman for the John V. Far- well Company of Chicago, died February 26, 1908. Those still living are : Aggie, now the wife of William Adamson, a resident of Harmony ; Louise, the wife of Daniel Davis, of Indianapolis; William, who is living in Carbondale, Illinois; and Sara, who is now teaching in the Pinkley school in Brazil and is doing excellent work in educational lines.

JOHN HENRY DAUGHERTY, who for many years was well known in Brazil as a successful liveryman, was born in Ohio, May 24, 1849, and died on the Ist of March, 1906, at the age of fifty-seven years. His parents were Campbell and Amelia (Eller) Daugherty. The father, a native of Ohio, died upon his farm in Illinois at the age of sixty-five

Digitized by Google

172

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

years. He was a blacksmith by trade and in the year 1867 he left Ohio and came to Indiana, where he carried on blacksmithing for a time. Later he engaged in the livery business in Brazil and when he disposed of this interest to his son, John H., he removed to Illinois, where he purchased a farm, giving his time and attention to its development and improvement until his life's labors ended in death when he had reached the age of sixty-five. His political allegiance was given to the Democ- racy, but he was never a politician in the sense of office seeking. His loyalty in citizenship was manifest at the time of the Civil war, when he offered his services to the government, enlisting in an Ohio regiment and becoming captain of his company. His wife died in Ohio at the age of sixty-two years. Their family numbered three children: John H., Julius and Amos.

John H. Daugherty spent the first eighteen years of his life in the state of his nativity and then came with his parents to Indiana. He had acquired a good public-school education and after the removal to this state he was associated with his father in business until 1884. They conducted a successful livery, and in the year mentioned Mr. Daugherty purchased his father's interest and carried on the business alone. In 1889 he built the finest brick livery barn in Brazil, and he always had a large number of good horses and many fine vehicles of various descrip- tions. His straightforward business dealings, his earnest desire to please his customers and his marked energy brought to him an extensive patron- age, making his business very profitable. In connection with his father he also engaged in dealing in stock, buying and selling many horses and mules.

On the 24th of September, 1874, Mr. Daugherty was married to Miss Elizabeth Donnelley, whose birth occurred in London, England, February 22, 1852. Her parents were John and Julia (Hogan) Don- nelley, both of whom were natives of Ireland but were reared in London, England, where they were married. In the year 1853 they came to this country with their family, settling in Marion, Ohio, where they lived for some time. They removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, and afterward be- came residents of Brazil, where the death of Mr. Donnelley occurred when he was thirty-eight years of age. His widow survived him for some time and died at the age of fifty-nine years. Both were com- municants of the Roman Catholic church. Their family numbered five children, of whom three are living, namely: Mrs. Daugherty ; William; and Sarah, who married Michael Classick, now deceased, and she resides in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty became parents of six children, but only three now survive, namely: Julia, the wife of Charles Bolin, by whom she has one son, Roger ; John, who married Miss Beulah Neece and has one son, John Herman; and Gertrude, who is attending St. Mary Acad- emy near Terre Haute in Vigo county, Indiana. The son John is asso- ciated with his mother in the ownership of the livery business, which he is managing and which is conducted under the firm style of Daugherty & Company. This business was established by his grandfather and con- tinued by his father, and in the business circles of the city the name of Daugherty has ever been a synonym for straightforward dealing.

Mr. Daugherty belonged to the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks, Brazil Lodge No. 762, and to the A. O. U. W. His political alle- giance was given to the Democracy, and he was also a member of the

Digitized by Google

173

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

Roman Catholic church. He died when in the prime of life and his death was deeply regretted by many friends as well as his immediate family. He was genial in disposition, of social manner and kindly spirit, and his good qualities won him favorable regard wherever he was known. The family are prominent socially here, and John Daugherty is a member of the Elks Lodge and also of the Knights of Columbus.

JAMES ARTHUR BELK .- Prominent among the energetic and enter- prising young men of Van Buren township who have become farmers from choice is James Arthur Belk, who is actively engaged in tilling the soil on section thirty-six. A native of this township, he was born June 15, 1883, a son of Benjamin F. and Maria Elizabeth (Finley) Belk. In connection with the sketch of Morton Belk, which appears elsewhere in this volume, may be found an extended account of the Belk family.

Maria Elizabeth (Finley) Belk was born in Washington township, Putnam county, Indiana, in 1843, a daughter of James Milton Finley, and granddaughter of George Finley. George Finley was, it is thought, a lifelong resident of North Carolina, where he was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits until his death, in 1832. He married Mary Ann Bishop, a native of Maryland, a daughter of Robert Bishop, who moved from Maryland to North Carolina, thence to Preble county, Ohio, where he spent his remaining years. In 1833, a year after her husband's death, she moved to Ohio, and in 1840 came to Indiana, locating in Washington township, where she lived to the advanced age of eighty-eight years.

James Milton Finley was twelve years old when his mother migrated with her family to Ohio, making the entire journey with teams, and cooking and camping by the way. Coming to this state in 1840, he took up a tract of government land in Washington township, cleared an open- ing and erected the log cabin in which when he married he began house- keeping and in which his daughter Maria Elizabeth was born. The land hereabout was then covered with a heavy growth of timber, and the set- tlements were few and far between, Lafayette being the nearest market. After living in Putnam county three or four years, he came over into Van Buren township, secured a tract of timbered land, and on it built another log cabin. Deer, wild turkey and game of all kinds were plenti- ful and furnished food for the early pioneers. Clearing a part of the land, he sowed wheat, and when he harvested his first crop took it to Lafayette, where he sold it for fifty cents a bushel, at the same time pay- ing three dollars for a barrel of salt. Succeeding well in his undertak- ings, Mr. Finley improved a good farm, erected a substantial set of frame buildings, and was there actively employed in his free and inde- pendent calling until 1905, when he rented his farm. He is now living with his daughter, Mrs. Belk, a hale and hearty man of eighty-eight years. Mr. Finley was a typical frontiersman, very tall, athletic and fearless. Hard work and the burden of his years have racked his frame, but his mental vigor is unimpaired, and he talks in a most interesting manner of pioneer life and of the wonderful transformations which have taken place in the face of the country.

Mr. Finley has been twice married. He married first, in 1842, Izrelda Gordon, who died in April, 1845. She was born in Union county, Indiana, a daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Gard) Gordon. Her maternal grandparents, Levi and Sophie Gard, each lived to nearly one hundred years old, dying in Preble county, Ohio. Mr. Finley mar-

Digitized by Google

174

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

ried second, November 7, 1846, Sarah Ann Belk, who was born in Russell county, Kentucky, February 10, 1824, a daughter of William and Elizabeth ( Bolin) Belk, and granddaughter of John and Anna (Tarckett ) Belk. She is still living, a smart and active woman of four score and four years.

James Milton Finley was born August 29, 1820, and died December 29, 1907. Izrelda, his first wife, died when twenty-two years old. A member of the Hauery Creek Church in Union county, Indiana, she was a devout Christian. Hauery Creek (Indiana) and Concord (Ohio) are the home churches of the families.

A daughter of James Milton and Izrelda (Gordon) Finley, Mrs. Belk was but twenty-two months old when her mother died. She then went to live with her grandmother, and staid with her as long as she lived. She subsequently married Benjamin F. Belk, who was born in Washington township, Putnam county, a son of William and Elizabeth (Bolin) Belk, and died in Van Buren township April 7, 1896. By this marriage, she had two children, Mary Lillis and James Arthur, who, with her, occupy the old homestead on section thirty-six.

DR. T. ROY Cook, a most worthy and the sole representative of. the medical profession in Washington township, has been located at Bowling Green since November, 1907. He was born at Solsberry, Greene county, Indiana, where for nearly a quarter of a century his father was a successful practitioner and is now holding the office of county auditor. The younger man was educated in the district and County Normal schools prior to assuming his professional studies, which he pursued at the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons, Indian- apolis, graduating therefrom with the class of 1903. He then served for one year as an interne in the Indianapolis City Hospital, and in 1904 lo- cated for practice in his native town of Solsberry. He remained there until November, 1907, when he opened an office at Bowling Green, where, from the present prospects, he will make his permanent home.

On August 23, 1903, Dr. Cook was united in marriage with Miss Fern Woods, daughter of Rev. C. W. and Hannah (Fleming) Woods, of Solsberry, Indiana. They have two sons :- Rilus Eastman Cook, born September 14, 1905, and Rawls Myers Cook, born January 19, 1907. The Doctor's practice in both medicine and surgery is steadily increas- ing, he is a member of the board of health of Bowling Green, and is decidedly progressive both in his profession and the public affairs of his locality. He is also actively identified with the fraternities, being a Master Mason of Bowling Green lodge No. 85; Royal Arch Mason of Bloomfield, Eastern Star lodge; a member of Rebecca lodge of Bowling Green, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Bowling Green lodge No. 513; and a member of the order of Elks, lodge No. 446, Bloomington, Indiana. In national affairs the Doctor is a Republican, basing his support of local candidates solely on their individual fitness for the duties which they aspire to assume.

The paternal grandparents were Thomas R. and Harriet (Gibbons) Cook, natives of Ohio, who located in Solsberry, Indiana, in the early days of Greene county. James and Polly ( Bryant) Gaston, the maternal grandparents, were natives of Kentucky, but also pioneers of Greene county, whose first school was taught by the grandfather. Dr. P. M. Cook, the father, graduated from Miami Medical College of Cincinnati

Digitized by Google

175

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

with the class of 1883, and in the same year opened an office at Solsberry. There he continued in active practice until January, 1907, when he was elected to the office of county auditor, which he still holds. Three chil- dren have been born to him. Maude, the eldest, is the wife of H. S. Bullock, of Solsberry, a well known merchant of that place; Dr. T. Roy is the second in birth, and the youngest, Eva, is the wife of C. O. Yoho, clerk of the Greene county circuit court and a resident of Bloomfield.

REV. CHARLES W. WOODS, for thirty-five years zealous and useful in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, a member of the In- diana conference, and since the fall of 1904 on the superannuated list, is now an honored resident of Bowling Green, Washington township, Clay county. He is a son of Samuel and Cynthia ( Hooper) Woods, the father having been born in Virginia and the mother in Tennessee. William Hooper, the maternal grandfather, was of English parentage, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a Tennessee pioneer. The parents of Charles W. were married in Claiborne county, that state, where the father was a farmer for several years before coming to Clark county, Indiana, in 1833. He there acquired some prominence in public affairs, and for two years had charge of the county farm. He then removed to Memphis, Tennessee, was overseer of a negro plantation for some years, and still later removed to New Albany, Indiana. In 1865 he migrated to Illinois, and subsequently was engaged in the truck business at Kansas City, Missouri, after which he returned to the home of his son, Charles W. Woods, in Jeffersonville, Indiana, where he died in 1895.

Charles W. Woods is the youngest of four sons and was born in Floyd county, Indiana, on the 9th of August, 1844. After receiving a few months schooling and before he had attained his seventeenth year (on July 10, 1861) he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being assigned to the Seventeenth Army Corps under Generals Lew Wallace and McPherson in General Division. Although he was neither wounded nor taken prisoner he endured with fortitude all the hardships which are the lot of the soldier in the ranks, and after three years of this wearing life returned to Crawford county, Indiana, rented a farm and resided upon it until the date of his marriage to Hannah C. Flemming, on the 18th of June, 1865. His wife is the daughter of Thomas A. and Mary (Gillet) Flemming, natives of Vir- ginia. Her grandparents on both sides of the house were Thomas and Gillet Flemming, of Irish descent, and John and Eve Gillet, both natives of Virginia. After his marriage Mr. Woods went to Coles county, Illi- nois, and farmed there until 1868 when he returned to Crawford county and in the following year permanently entered the ministry of the M. E. church. His first charge was at Riglesville, Davis county, Indiana, and he remained on the supply list until 1875, when he went into conference and has since had a number of regular charges. He continued in active work until the fall of 1904, when he was placed on the superannuated list and became a resident of Bowling Green. The children born to Rev. and Mrs. Charles W. Woods are as follows: Charles W., who resides at home; Miles D., who died in 1868; Emma G., now Mrs. Oscar Gresham, of Bucklin, Kansas ; Alonzo, of Theodore, Alabama ; Lottie M., a twin of Alonzo, who became Mrs. Thomas Erton and died in 1895; Russell B., of Martinsville, Indiana; Maud, Mrs. William Hale, of Au- gusta, Georgia ; Pearl, Mrs. Samuel Bridwell, of Bowling Green; Reece,

Vol. II-12

Digitized by Google

176

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

of French Lick, Indiana; and Fern, who married Dr. T. Roy Cook, of Bowling Green. Mr. Woods is a member both of the Masonic fra- ternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and is also an en- thusisiatic G. A. R. man. His identification with the last named is with Bowling Green post No. 375, in Masonry with the local lodge No. 85, and in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows with No. 513, also of Bowling Green.

DAVID B. PILANT .- A worthy representative of the agricultural in- terests of Clay county, David B. Pilant owns and occupies a good home- stead in Van Buren township, where he has a substantial frame residence and all the necessary out-buildings for the storing of hay and grain and the care and shelter of his stock. A native of Indiana, he was born in Henry county March 18, 1838, a son of James Pilant.

Born and brought up in North Carolina, James Pilant, determining to take advantage of all offered opportunities for securing the comforts of life, came as a young man to Indiana, then a frontier state, locating first in Henry county. Investing his money in a tract of land of which a few acres were cleared and on which a log cabin had been built he began the improvement of a homestead. Not quite satisfied with the results of his labors he disposed of that property in 1857, came to Clay county, and in section one, Van Buren township, bought a tract of heavily timbered land. Clearing a goodly portion of the land, he was here em- ployed in tilling the soil until his death, about fifteen years later, at the allotted age of seventy years. He married Elizabeth Tweedy, who was born in North Carolina, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Tweedy. James. Tweedy, a native of England, was, it is supposed, the orfly mem- ber of his family to cross the Atlantic. He followed the sea for a few years after his emigration, and then located in North Carolina. From there he migrated to Indiana, becoming a pioneer of Van Buren town- ship, Henry county, where on the farm that he improved from govern- ment land he spent his remaining days. Mr. and Mrs. James Pilant had nine children, as follows: Joshua, David, Elizabeth, Maria, Whitman, Millie, James, Jonathan and Joanna.

Born in the little log cabin in which his father's family first lived on coming to this state, David B. Pilant remembers well the trials and hard- ships incidental to pioneer life. When he was a boy railroads were con- spicuous by their absence, and the surplus produce of the farms had to be taken by teams to Cambridge City, the nearest market and depot for supplies, and also to Cincinnati. The family lived principally on wild game and the productions of their land, and in common with others dressed in homespun garments woven and made by the mother. Com- ing with his parents to Clay county, Mr. Pilant remained with them until his marriage, when he rented land and began work for himself as a farmer. He subsequently bought forty acres of land on section one, and lived there for awhile. Selling out, he purchased his present home- stead of one hundred and twenty acres in section fifteen, and at once began cutting off the dense timber which covered it from one end to the other. Toiling with well-directed energy and wisdom, he has evolved a good farm from the forest, erected excellent frame buildings, and made other improvements of value, everything about the place bespeaking the thrift and good management of the owner.

Digitized by Google

177

HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY

In November, 1858, Mr. Pilant married Jane Poff, who was born in Van Buren township, Clay county, where her parents, Samuel and Sarah Poff, settled as pioneers, coming here from Virginia, their native state. Eight children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Pilant, six of whom are living, namely: Octavia, Mary Sophronia, Peter J., David Milton, John F. and Elizabeth Catherine. Azbarine died at the age of one year, and seven months, and Sarah Amanda, who married Joseph Bultz, died at the age of twenty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Pilant are held in high respect throughout the community in which they reside, and are valued and consistent members of the Christian church.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2), Part 25

Author: William Travis Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Number of Pages: 631

Author: William Travis
Publication date: 1909
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 631