A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2), Part 45

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

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JOHN HENRY HORTON .- Holding a noteworthy position among the enterprising and prosperous agriculturists of Harrison township is John Henry Horton, who has been a tiller of the soil the greater part of his life, and still finds therein his greatest pleasure. The old idea that the farmer requires little beyond his muscle to battle successfully with the elements of the soil has passed away, the fact being everywhere recog- nized by intelligent people that education and experience go hand in hand in achieving the best results in agriculture as well as in other employ- ments of life. A son of the late Rensselaer Horton, he was born June 26, 1849, in Harrison township, Clay county, of New England ancestry.

A native of Connecticut, Rensselaer Horton was taken by his parents to Kentucky when a small child. His father and mother dying soon after their removal, he was brought up by strangers. In early manhood he came to Indiana, purchased a tract of timbered land in section eighteen, Harrison township, and in the midst of the woods built a cabin

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of round logs. The country was then in its primitive wildness, deer, turkeys and wild game of all kinds being abundant. There were no rail- ways in this part of the country for many years thereafter, and he used to take his produce on a flat boat down the Eel, White, Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Natchez or New Orleans. He also made several trips with a team to Chicago, carrying in loads of earthenware made at the pottery which stood upon the present site of Clay City. Clearing the greater part of his land, he replaced the original small log cabin with a two-story hewed log house, in which his son John Henry was born, and there lived a number of years. He subsequently removed to Middlebury, and spent his last days at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Amanda Sutton, who resided near the old homestead. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah E. Dalton, was born in Orange county, Indiana, where her father, William Dalton, was a pioneer settler. She reared ten children, namely : Elizabeth, William, Sarah, Thompson, Amanda, James, Rachel, John H., Francis Perry and Lydia. William and Thompson served in the Union army during the Civil war, and both died in service. James died soon after the breaking out of that war.

After the death of his brothers, John Henry Horton became the mainstay of his parents, although he was but a young boy. He was edu- cated in the typical pioneer log schoolhouse, the benches being made of split logs which were fastened together with wooden pins, while as a substitute for desks a board was placed along the sides of the cabin for the pupils to write upon. Leaving home on attaining his majority, he went to Illinois in search of work, and found employment on a farm in Douglas county, where he remained a short time. Being then seized with a great desire to become a landholder, he went to Nebraska, and on the extreme frontier, one hundred and ten miles northwest of Grand Island, bought three hundred and twenty acres of land. Breaking fifteen acres, Mr. Horton planted corn, and in July, just as the corn had begun to tassel, and the prospects for a good crop were encouraging, the grass- hoppers came, and in the short space of two hours completely stripped the field, coming in such numbers that when in the air they obscured the sun. Returning to Clay county in the fall of that very year, Mr. Horton subsequently traded his Nebraska land for the farm where he now resides. Here he has one hundred and eighty acres of well improved land, and a substantial set of frame buildings, and in addition he owns a farm of one hundred and fifteen acres in Lewis township, in the Eel river valley, and that has valuable improvements, including excellent farm buildings. As a successful and progressive agriculturist he stands well in the community, and as a man and a citizen is highly esteemed.

Mr. Horton married, in 1877, Sarah E. Fulk, a daughter of Henry Fulk, a pioneer of Marion township, Owen county. She died leaving six children, namely: Harley E., who married Jessie Kress, has two chil- dren, Claude and Lucille; Leroy; Charles; Cansada, wife of John Brothers, has two children, Arthur and Mary; Iva is the wife of Oscar Reagan; and John Wesley. Mr. Horton married for his second wife Mrs. Mary (Notter) Burns, daughter of David Notter and widow of John Burns, who left her with one son, Carl Burns. Mr. and Mrs. Horton are members of the Missionary Baptist church. Mr. Horton is an ardent supporter of the Populist party and is a man who stands firm on his own principles.

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WILLIAM T. SLACK was born in Jackson township, Clay county, Indiana, and is now numbered among the general merchants of Ashboro. He is a son of Ira and Ruthanna Priscilla ( Wheeler) Slack, also natives of Clay county, Indiana, and a grandson of William and Mary (Louder- milk) Slack, who were from North Carolina and were of English parentage. He is also a grandson of Thomas Wheeler, and both Thomas Wheeler and William Slack were among those who assisted in the early development of Clay county. They were farmers. Ira and Ruthanna Priscilla (Wheeler) Slack were married in Jackson township, this county, but a few years after left their farm and moved to Ashboro, where the husband enlisted in Company I, Eighty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, early in 1861 for the Civil war, and was wounded in the battle of Resaca. He died on the following day, and was buried on the battle ground. His widow married, some nine years later, Samuel France, and after a two years' residence in Prairie City, this county, she died and was buried in Zenor cemetery. She was the mother of two sons and a daughter by her first marriage, namely: Margie F., who became the wife of William Diel and died near Ashboro April 14, 1906; William T .; and James, who died about the year of 1862. By her second marriage she became the mother of Joseph A., of Staunton, Illinois, and Cynthia J., now Mrs. Francis, of Clark county, Illinois.

After his mother's death William T. Slack lived with his paternal grandfather in Jackson township for three years, was one year with Thompson Booth, and he then lived with the widow Anninias Loudermilk until his marriage. With his young bride he located on a rented farm in Sugar Ridge township, continuing as a renter for about four years, and from that time until 1904 he was engaged in mining coal. On the 11th of August, 1905, he started his general store in Ashboro, and he has since bought a business building twenty-two by sixty feet, twelve feet high, and carries a complete line of groceries and general merchandise. He and his wife also own fifty-seven acres of land in sections 18 and 19, Sugar Ridge township, nine lots in Ashboro and their pleasant and com- modious residence with one acre of ground.

They were married on the 3d of August, 1880, and Mrs. Slack bore the maiden name of Ida M. Moss, and was a daughter of George M. and Martha E. (Adams) Moss. Their children are: Lola M., born December 22, 1883, the wife of James G. Hicks, of Ashboro; Olive M., born September 6, 1885, at home; and Carrie Frances, born October 6, 1887, is engaged in teaching school. Mr. Slack is both a Democrat and an Odd Fellow, affiliating with Ashboro Lodge, No. 251, in which he has served in all of the offices and has been a representative to the grand lodge at Indianapolis, Indiana.

HENRY F. MEYER, a progressive farmer and stock raiser of Wash- ington township, Clay county, was born within the limits of that town- ship on the 6th of March, 1865. He is a son of John F. and Maria (Sendmeyer) Meyer, natives of Germany, and obtained his education in the district school of Knob Creek. He is the eldest in a family of two boys and two girls, and spent his years upon the home farm until his marriage, May 1, 1890. His wife was Louisa C. Schopmeyer, daughter of Harmon and Mary (Fledderjohn) Schopmeyer, who were also born in Germany.

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Mr. Meyer assisted his father and resided in one of his houses for five years after his marriage, after which he removed to a farm of his own in Washington township, consisting of one hundred and seventy-five acres, to which he later added a tract of twenty-five acres and another of seventy-seven acres, making a total of two hundred and seventy-seven acres. He has since prospered in general farming and in the raising of cattle and hogs, being accounted one of the leading agriculturists of the township. He is a member of the German Reformed church, and in his political associations is a Democrat. His living children are Oscar F., Walter Harman, Mary Christina and Harry Franklin Meyer. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer suffered the misfortune and grief of having twins stillborn.

WILLIAM WHITE BARBER .- Occupying a foremost position among the worthy and respected citizens of Perry township is William W. Bar- ber, who is conspicuously identified with the agricultural and horticultural interests of this part of Clay county, being extensively engaged in general farming and fruit growing. A son of Aaron Gleason Barber, he was born February 27, 1835, in Miami county, Ohio, of Dutch ancestry, his grand- father, Aaron Barber, having been born in Holland.

Coming to America in colonial times, Aaron Barber settled in New York state, and at the time of the Revolution remained neutral, taking sides with neither the crown nor the colonists. Subsequently removing to Rutland, Vermont, he spent the remainder of his short life in that state, meeting an accidental death from freezing while lost on the Green Mountains. He married a Miss Boutwell, a member of the prominent New England family of Boutwells, and they became the parents of four children, Aaron Gleason, Roswell, Fanny and Electa. After his death his young widow with other Dutch colonists who had moved to Vermont when he did started westward in search of a home. For a time this little band lived where the city of Syracuse, New York, now stands, afterwards being located on Cayuga Lake. Going still farther towards the frontier line, the little band sailed down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers to the pres- ent site of Cincinnati, at that time a mere trading post, with no special attractions for the travelers. Continuing their way to the interior as far as the present site of Dayton, Ohio, some of the colony concluded to remain there. Mrs. Barber, with her four children, located in what is now Miami county, and there took up one hundred and sixty acres of gov- ernment land, it being heavily covered with timber. She subsequently married for her second husband Colonel Dugan, an officer in one of the Indian wars, and there resided until her death, at the age of sixty years.

Aaron Gleason Barber was born May 9, 1802, in Rutland, Vermont, and was but a boy when he went with his widowed mother to Ohio, where he was brought up and educated. A natural mechanic, he learned the cooper's trade when young, and was equally as skilled as a plasterer or a blacksmith. Leaving Ohio in 1851, he came with teams to Clay county, Indiana, locating in Perry township, and here bought of David Christy eighty acres of land, about twenty of which had been cleared, the re- mainder being covered with its virgin timber. Devoting his time to the improvement of his place, he remained there until 1875, when, having acquired a competency, he removed to Saline City and there lived retired until his death, in July, 1883, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. The maiden name of his first wife, mother of William W. Barber, was Mary Murphy. She was born in New Jersey, a daughter of John and

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Sarah Murphy, and died of cholera in 1849. She bore her husband seven children, namely : Maria Frances, Cordelia, Mary Ann, Catherine, Will- iam White, Aaron Conery and Henry. The latter served during the Civil war in the Forty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was killed in bat- tle at Marks Mills, Arkansas.

Beginning his education in the pioneer schools of Ohio, William W. Barber subsequently attended the subscription schools of Clay county, there being no free schools in Perry township when he came here with his father. The log schoolhouse which he attended was rudely constructed and furnished, having slab benches for seats, with neither backs nor desks, a board placed along one side of the cabin serving for a place upon which the pupils could write, while light was admitted through a piece of glass inserted in place of one log. Deer, wild turkeys, and other kinds of game were then abundant in the forests, and with the productions of the land formed the food of the people. When out of school William assisted his father in his pioneer labors, and at the age of twenty years, while working for wages on the reservoir, had the misfortune to break one of his legs. While awaiting recovery from the accident Mr. Barber studied medicine, but on deciding his life work he chose farming and horticulture rather than a professional career. For two years thereafter he rented land, after which he purchased land in Lewis township, where he remained five years. Selling out at the end of that time he bought forty acres of his father's farm in Perry township, and two years later sold that at an advantage. Mr. Barber then purchased the farm which he now owns and occupies, and has since been here profitably engaged in general farming, stock-rais- ing and horticulture. He has exercised good judgment and sound sense in the management of his interests, and has made many and valuable improvements on his estate. He has erected a substantial set of frame buildings, and has set out many shade, ornamental and fruit trees, having more than a thousand apple trees in his orchard, besides which he has peach, pear, plum, apricot, mulberry and other fruit trees, and a various collection of small fruits.

Mr. Barber married, November 19, 1857, Sarah Gilbert, who was born May 31, 1841, on section eight, Posey township, Indiana, a daughter of Jedediah Gilbert. Her grandfather, Ebenezer Gilbert, moved from New York, his native state, to Clermont county, Ohio, in the early period of its settlement, and from there came, about 1828, to Clay county, Indiana. He located in Perry township before ever the wild beasts of the forest had fled from the advancing steps of civilization, but, with the dusky savage, habited the vast wilderness. Taking up government land in section nine, he improved a homestead and on it remained until his death, at a venerable age. The maiden name of his wife was Mehitable Seeley. Jedediah Gilbert was born May 23, 1805, in Clermont county, Ohio, where he lived until after his marriage. A man of versatile talents and possessing much mechanical skill and ability, he never learned any special trade, but could turn his hand to almost any employment, and as a bricklayer built many of the first chimneys in this part of Indiana, where he settled about 1835. Taking up government land in Posey town- ship, in section eight, he also bought another tract, which had previously been entered. Building first a log cabin, he moved into it before there was either a chimney or door, hanging a quilt over the opening to keep out the wolves, which were inclined to be altogether too free and friendly. Coming from there to Perry township in 1844, he entered forty acres of

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land in section twenty-three, and bought one hundred and sixty acres in section twenty-two. A few acres of his purchase had been cleared and a log cabin had been built. Here he was actively and successfully employed as a tiller of the soil until his death, December 26, 1860. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Lindsey, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, February 27, 1807, a daughter of Hezekiah and Elizabeth ( Laycock ) Lindsey. She survived him, passing away December 3, 1893. She reared four children of her own, namely: Nancy, Mehitable, Sarah and Nelson. She and her husband also brought up several orphan chil- dren, one of whom, a girl, was kidnaped when two years old in Cleve- land, Ohio, and after her marriage, found, by advertising, her mother.

Mr. and Mrs. Barber are the parents of nine children, namely : Mary Aletha, Aaron Gleason, Laura Ella, Hervey Briley, Cordelia Mehitable, Willard S., Roberla Olive, Grace Victor and Edith Catherine. Mary E., wife of John Coble, has nine children, Maude, Harland, Edward, Her- vey, Desta, Walter, Berlin, Lester and Ernest. Aaron G. married first Carrie Corbin, who at her death left one child, Daisy Dove ; and married second Laura Logston. Laura M., wife of William S. Gard, has two children, Ernest and Ethel. Cordelia, wife of Norris Swearengen, has three children, Rachel, Bessie and Hope. Roberla O. married Nathan Ely. Grace V., wife of Edgar Scherb, has one son, Von. Edith C. is the wife of Harvey Nees. On November 19, 1907, Mr. and Mrs. Barber celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage on the old farm on which their union was solemnized, they having succeeded to the owner- ship of the Gilbert homestead. It was an occasion long to be remem- bered, the many friends and relatives there congregated having a most enjoyable time, bringing, also, joy and comfort to the host and hostess, and leaving with them substantial tokens of their love, regard and esteem. Mr. Barber's homestead is known as "Pine Ridge Farm."

ROBERT A. MACBETH, who passed away in Brazil, January 17, 1907, at the age of sixty-five years, belonged to that public spirited, useful and helpful type of men whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which flow the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number. It is true that his chief life work was that of a successful foundryman, yet the range of his activities and the scope of his influence reached far beyond this special field. He belonged to that class of men who wield a power which is all the more potent from the fact that it is moral rather than political and is exercised for the public weal rather than for personal ends.

Mr. Macbeth was born in Wellsville, Ohio, January 3, 1842. His parents, Alexander and Mary (Henderson) Macbeth, were both natives of Scotland, but coming to the United States at an early day, located in Wellsville, Ohio. The father was a stonemason by trade and thus pro- vided for his family until his early death in Wellsville, when he was but thirty-seven years of age. He was a devoted and faithful member of the Presbyterian church, in which he served as an elder. To his widow was left the care of their family of five children, two of whom were born in Scotland. The birth of Mrs. Macbeth occurred in Stirling, Scotland, and in early womanhood she accompanied her husband to the new world. Few mothers have more faithfully and nobly performed their part in rear- ing their families. She was brought up in the faith of the old Scotch Seceders, with which sect her parents were connected, but later united

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with the Presbyterian church and throughout her life her faith in the Christian religion was unshaken. In her last days she repeated from beginning to end psalm after psalm which she had committed to memory in her childhood. She had no fear of death and in her last illness arranged all her worldly affairs and spoke many words of consolation and encour- agement to her children and friends around her, passing away at the old home in Wellsville, Ohio, in the sixty-eighth year of her age. Only two of the five children of the family are now living: Katherine, who is a missionary at Lapwai, Idaho; and Mary, the wife of Daniel Crawford, living in East Liverpool, Ohio. The oldest daughter, Susan, was a mis- sionary in the west among the Indians for many years and did remarkable work among the Nez Perces of Idaho in connection with her sister Katherine. Of Scottish ancestry and training, Miss Macbeth early showed the sturdy qualities and the energetic and intelligent piety which so often come from this source. Her familiarity with the Scriptures was remarkable, and her comprehension of religious truth, its philosophy, and its application to the problems of life, was a constant surprise to her friends. In the little Ohio town where she lived she became the terror of careless and unprincipled skeptics, who were unable to bear up under her assaults and arguments. She both understood God's word and had the ability to so present the truth as to make it plain and pungent. She was always of fragile and delicate constitution, but her prodigious energy enabled her to accomplish an enormous amount of work. One who knew her from childhood said: "From the first she was engaged in God's work. Her parents were poor and she and her sister learned millinery in order to support and educate themselves. She was a great student, but the Bible was her chief text-book; next to this, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress was her almost constant companion. But though so studious, her' active temperament prevailed and she always longed to be a missionary. When the Civil war broke out she went into the hospitals and there did a won- derful work. After that she labored for a time among the Indians of the southwest, and was so successful that she was presently transferred to the Nez Perces tribe in Idaho, where she has been for years." In the latter state she and her sister did equally effective work for the Christianization and civilization of the Nez Perces. A number of the Indians converted to belief in Christianity became teachers and preachers among their own people and thus passed the years in which Miss Macbeth gave her life to spreading the seeds of truth and culture among her brothers of the red race-seeds that have already borne rich harvests but which will grow and multiply for untold ages to come.

Robert A. Macbeth was reared in his native city of Wellsville, where he acquired his education and learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed in Ohio. for some time before coming to Brazil. He served his country as a soldier in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company D, One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Septem- ber 6, 1864. at Alliance, Ohio. He was then a young man of twenty-two years and he continued at the front until honorably discharged at the close of the war at Nashville, Tennessee, 1865.

The war over, Mr. Macbeth returned to Wellsville, where he remained until his removal to Brazil in 1869. It was on the 2d of Sep- tember of that year that he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jane Gilmore, the wedding being celebrated near West Point, Ohio. Mrs. Macbeth was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, March 25, 1847, and

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was a daughter of William and Catherine Ann (Lewis) Gilmore. Her father was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and was a farmer throughout his entire life, much of which was spent in Ohio. He advocated Demo- cratic principles and was a faithful and devoted member of the Presby- terian church, dying in that faith in 1892 at the age of seventy-six years. His wife, who was a native of Ohio, died March 27, 1865, at the age of forty-nine years. They were married in the Buckeye state and became the parents of nine children, but only two are now living: William, of Ohio, who wedded Mary Arbuckle; and Mrs. Macbeth, who was the seventh in order of birth. Noah, who wedded Margaret Crawford and resided in Ohio, died April 13, 1908.

Soon after their marriage in 1869, Mr. Macbeth and his bride came to Brazil, Indiana, where he established the business that is now conducted under the name of the Crawford & McCrimmon foundry and machine shop. He had previously learned and followed the blacksmith's trade and manifested much ability in mechanical lines. By reason of his quali- · fications he developed a good business as a machinist and foundryman and was connected with the enterprise for many years. After selling out his interest in the machine shop he turned his attention to the coal trade, having sunk the Black Diamond shaft. He also bought a farm and like- wise purchased the Maston furnace, becoming owner of the entire plant. He was engaged in the sawmill business for eight or ten years and like- wise dealt in real estate. In 1897 he retired from active business, how- ever, and from that time until his death gave his attention only to the supervision of his investments, which were largely in realty. His activi- ties, wide in scope and varied in interest, proved an element in the indus- trial progress and business development of Brazil and he was regarded as one of the prominent and leading residents of the city.

Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth had a family of six children, of whom three sons and two daughters are yet living, namely: Robert William; Grace Chadwick, the wife of C. B. Munson, by whom she has one son, Robert Cevert ; Edgar R., Franklin A. and Mary Catherine, all yet at home.

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A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2), Part 45

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

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