USA > Indiana > Clay County > A History of Clay County Indiana (Volume 2) > Part 48
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In 1859, in England, Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Welch, who was born December 12, 1838. She was a native of county Sligo, Ireland, and a daughter of Martin and Mary Welch, both of whom were born in county Sligo and spent their entire lives there. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have been born twelve children, but six of the num- ber are now deceased. Those still living are: Thomas ; Michael; Martin ; Mary ; Joseph ; and Sarah, the wife of Francis Turner.
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Mr. Murphy votes with the Democracy but has never sought nor desired public office for himself. He belongs to the Roman Catholic church and is loyal to its teachings. His life record has covered the scriptural span of three score years and ten and in the evening of his days he is now enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly mer- its. He was for many years active in business, manifesting unabating energy and strong purpose in carrying on his individual interests and at the same time being just in all of his dealings with his fellowmen. He never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in America, for here he has found the opportunities he sought, which, by the way, are always open to ambitious, energetic men. As the years went by he pros- pered in his undertakings and is now living retired in Brazil, respected and esteemed by all who know him.
MICHAEL J. MURPHY, who in January, 1907, was appointed receiver and general manager of the Progressive Coal & Mining Company at Brazil, was born in Bradford, England, September 16, 1866. His parents were John and Mary Ann ( Welch) Murphy. As the name indicates, the ancestry of the family is Irish. The grandparents of our subject were John and Mary (Gallagher) Murphy, who were natives of county Mayo, Ireland, where they spent their entire lives, John Murphy, Sr., there fol- lowing the occupation of farming until his death, which occurred when he was fifty-two years of age. His wife survived him and died at the age of sixty-nine years. He was a son of Patrick Murphy, also a farmer of Ireland, and the family through successive generations have been com- municants of the Roman Catholic church.
John Murphy, father of our subject, was born in county Mayo, Ireland, June 12, 1838, and was the eldest of a family of four children. In early life he was an apprentice in a loom factory. In England he wedded Mary A. Welch in the year 1859. He had left Ireland ten years before and had taken up his abode in England at that time. On the 3d of February, 1870, he sailed from the old world to the new, landing at New York city on the 16th of the month. He made his way to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in mining coal, but later in the year came to Brazil, Indiana, where he worked at mining until the early '80s. He then established a grocery business at Benwood, Clay county, Indiana, where he continued until 1890. In the meantime, in 1888, he was elected sheriff and was re-elected in 1890. After removing to Brazil he established a harness business, which he conducted for about a year and then again became proprietor of a grocery store, which he conducted for three or four years, when he turned the business over to his sons. He was then engaged in the coal trade for about two years and since the 5th of August, 1905, has lived retired. He is a Democrat in politics and he and his wife are members of the Roman Catholic church. Twelve children were born unto them, of whom six are now living: Thomas, Michael, Martin, Mary, Joseph and Sarah, the last named being the wife of Francis L. Turner, Brazil.
In his early boyhood days Michael J. Murphy of this review worked in his father's grocery store and also became identified with mining inter- ests. His education was acquired through the medium of the public schools and in 1893, when about twenty-six years of age, he became his father's patner in the ownership and conduct of a grocery store. They were thus associated for about ten years, when his father withdrew from
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the business and his brother, Martin C. Murphy, was admitted to a partnership. The brothers then carried on the business alone for about three years, when they sold out.
Mr. Murphy of this review has filled several local offices. He was appointed deputy sheriff of Clay county by his father and in 1900 was elected clerk of the circuit court, which position he filled for four years. In 1904 he took up the real estate and insurance business and secured a good clientage, successfully conducting the business until January, 1907, when he withdrew, having been appointed receiver and general manager for the Progressive Coal & Mining Company. This is his present busi- ness connection save that he is also secretary and treasurer of the Inde- pendent Telephone Company, of which he was one of the organizers, since which time he has served as its secretary.
The lady who now bears the name of Mrs. Michael Murphy was in her maidenhood Miss Anna Burke and their marriage was celebrated November 17, 1890. Mrs. Murphy was born in Vigo county, Indiana, in 1869 and is a daughter of Patrick and Bridget Burke, the former a native of America and the latter of Ireland. They were married in Pennsylvania, where Mr. Burke engaged in mining coal until his removal westward to Vigo county, Indiana, in the '6os. There he carried on mining and farming up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was fifty-three years of age. He was a member of the Roman Catholic church and in politics was a Democrat. In his family were five chil- dren, four sons and one daughter, all of whom reached years of maturity. namely: William E., who is train master for the Vandalia Railroad Company: Martin, residing at Logansport, Indiana; John, who has charge of the government supplies in the Philippine Islands; Mrs. Murphy ; and Mary, wife of James McNulty, of Brazil.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have been born seven children : Edward L., Michael, Jr., John, Agnes, Frances, Gertrude and Macrenia. Mr. Murphy is an inflexible adherent of the Democratic party. He belongs to the Roman Catholic church and to Brazil Lodge, No. 762, B. P. (). E., and the Knights of Columbus. The greater part of his life has been passed in Clay county and his official and business record is characterized by much that is commendable, so that throughout the entire period of his life he has made steady progress.
REECE JEFFRES .- Noteworthy among the veteran agriculturists of Clay county is Reece Jeffres of Perry township, who has spent the greater part of his life in this vicinity, and is a true type of the energetic, hardy and enterprising men who have actively assisted in the development of this fertile and productive agricultural region. A native of Ohio, he was born, January 1, 1834, in Clermont county, a son of James Jeffres. His grandfather, William Jeffres, moved from Pennsylvania, which it is supposed was his native state, to Ohio, where he spent the declining years of his life.
James Jeffres was born, reared and married in the Keystone state, from there migrating to Clermont county, Ohio, where he resided until 1835. In the fall of that year he came, with his wife and nine children, to Clay county, Indiana, making the entire journey with teams. Locating in Perry township. he bought a tract of land from Abel Donham, a part of it being prairie and the remainder heavily timbered. The family moved into the small cabin made of round logs which stood upon the
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place, and occupied it for some time. He afterwards built a hewed log house and then the brick house, and continued his residence there until his death, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, being a successful tiller of the soil. His wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Reece, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of John Reece, who was born in the same state, of Welsh ancestry. While living in Pennsylvania Mr. Reece followed the trades of a wagon maker and cabinet maker, and after his removal to Clermont county, Ohio, purchased a tract of timbered land on the Ohio river, near Richmond, and there cleared a farm, which he sold, in 1833, for twelve dollars an acre. Coming to Clay county about 1840, he located in Perry township, where several of his children were then living, and here spent his remaining days. His wife, whose maiden name was Susan Mordock, died in Ohio. Nine children were born of this union, and all grew to years of maturity, married, and reared families. Mrs. Margaret ( Reece) Jeffres lived to the venerable age of eighty-four years. She reared nine children, as follows: Andrew; Lucinda ; John and William, twins; Susan; Elmoth; Marion; Tilda; and Reece.
The youngest child of the parental household, Reece Jeffres, was but little more than a year old when he was brought to Clay county, so has really no recollection of any other home than Perry township. Growing up amid pioneer scenes, he has seen Clay county develop from a wilder- ness to a thickly populated and wealthy country. During his boyhood there were neither railways nor canals, Terre Haute, then a small hamlet, being the nearest market and depot for supplies. Deer, wild turkeys and other kinds of game were abundant, and he early became an expert hunter and trapper, and in these occupations or sports, as they are now called, he made money. From the sale of deer pelts, venison, wild turkeys, and coon and mink skins he bought, when he was twenty years old, forty acres of canal land in section 17, Perry township. The land was at the time covered with brush and timber, but he soon cleared a small space, and in it built a hewed log house, in which he and his bride set up house- keeping, and in which his children were born, the family occupying it for a number of years. Prosperity smiled upon his undertakings, and he continued the improvements on his place, each year adding to the value of his property, and after a time bought four acres of land adjoining his original purchase. On this tract Mr. Jeffres erected a fine set of frame buildings, and here he and his family have since lived, honored and respected members of the community.
On October 3, 1853, Mr. Jeffres married Amanda Fagan. She was born, June 13, 1834, in Clermont county, Ohio, a daughter of Stephen Fagan. Her grandfather, George Fagan, was a pioneer settler of Ham- ilton county, Ohio, where he improved a homestead, on which he spent the remainder of his life, both he and his wife, whose maiden name was Maria Woodruff, living to good old ages. Born in Hamilton county, Ohio, Stephen Fagan was reared to agricultural pursuits. Coming to Clay county, Indiana, with his family in 1850, he bought a tract of prairie land in section 17, Perry township, and there improved a homestead. Success crowned his efforts, and from time to time he made other wise invest- ments in land until he became owner of three hundred acres. He died October 17, 1881, aged seventy-six years. His wife, Eliza Donham, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, a daughter of Robert and Ruth Donham, and died in Perry township, Indiana, October 13, 1878. She reared eleven
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children, as follows : Aaron, Amanda, Jackson, Van Buren, Ruth, Cerelda, Maria, Ann Eliza, Nancy, Caroline and Robert.
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffres became the parents of eleven children, namely : Leander, William, Emma, Laura, Jackson, Eliza, Sherman, Mary Isabelle, Hattie, Luella and Charlie. Leander married Sarah Kester, and they have fourteen children, Annie, Arthur. Reece, Leotis, Ora, Emma, Edgar, May, Orel, Jennie, Jackson, Laura, William Mc. and Theodore Roose- velt. William married Rebecca Gunmire, and they have ten children, Edith, Ethel, Evert, Fred, Norma, John, Herschel. Carl, Joe and Ervie. Emma, widow of Elzie Bright, has one son, James. Laura J. died at the age of fourteen years. Jackson married Sarah Dusenbury, and they have seven children, Amanda, Burt, Marion, Charles and three others. Eliza, wife of Charlie Patterson, has four children, Myrtle, Clyde, Frederick and Grace. Sherman married Rosa Rechroad, and they have two children, Mabel and Glen. Mary I. married John Miller. Luella is the wife of Leon Westfall. Charles married for his second wife Mamie Hammond. By his first marriage he has one daughter, Mabel.
Three of the grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffres are married. Arthur Jeffers married Jennie Lawson, and they have three children, Charlie, Manford and Sylvia. Myrtle Patterson married Herbert Don- ham, and has three children, Blanche, Russell and one other. Edith Jef- fres is the wife of Joe Siemor, and has one child, Julia Esther.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Jeffres are not as strong physically as when young their mental faculties are still vigorous, and they enjoy life to its fullest extent. Five years ago, on October 3, 1903, they celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage in a most pleasant manner, receiv- ing the hearty congratulations of a host of relatives and friends, and being the recipients of many beautiful and valuable presents. Mr. Jeffres is a stalwart Republican and he has cast his votes for Fremont, Lincoln, Blaine, Garfield, Mckinley and Roosevelt.
WILLIAM HENRY PARR .- Occupying an assured position among the active and progressive agriculturists of Van Buren township is William H. Parr, who shows marked ability in the management of his interests and is meeting with well merited success in his undertakings. 'A son of the late Daniel Parr, he was born June 7, 1856, in the township where he now lives, coming from substantial German stock.
Joseph E. Parr, grandfather of William H. Parr, was born in Ger- many, and so far as known was the only member of his family to leave the Fatherland. After coming to this country he lived for a time in North Carolina, and then with his family followed the trail of the emigrant to this state, coming with one horse and a cart and bringing all of his goods. One of the first settlers of Van Buren township, he secured from the government a tract of land that was heavily wooded, and having cleared a small space erected a log cabin as the family home. The country hereabout was then but sparsely populated; neither railways, telegraph or telephone lines spanned these broad acres; and the dense wilderness was inhabited by deer, wolves and other wild beasts of the forest. After many years of incessant toil he improved a good farm, and here spent the remainder of his long life, passing away at the age of four score and four years.
But a boy when he came with his parents to Van Buren township, Daniel Parr assisted in the pioneer labor of clearing a homestead, and
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subsequently succeeded to its ownership, after his marriage commencing housekeeping in the log house in which his children were born. Con- tinuing the improvements already begun, he carried on general farming to a considerable extent, and while he was thus actively employed his good wife was equally busy with household affairs. With her own hands she carded, spun and wove the homespun goods from which she made the garments that clothed the family, and also the bed linen, he, in the mean- time making the shoes. The log house was a primitive affair, having a puncheon floor, while the roof was covered with boards rived by hand and held in place by weight poles. In this dwelling he resided until his death in 1872. His wife. whose maiden name was Catherine Roberts, was born in North Carolina and died several years before he did, on the home farm. Four of their children grew to mature life, namely: Charles Wes- ley, deceased ; James Madison, living in Kansas ; William H., the subject of this brief sketch ; and Mary, wife of John Fisher, of Brazil.
During the days of his boyhood William H. Parr attended the dis- trict schools and assisted his father on the farm. About sixteen years old when his father died, he immediately began the struggle of life for him- self as a farm laborer. Marrying soon after attaining his majority, he commenced his career as an independent farmer on rented land. Meeting with encouraging success in his operations, Mr. Parr purchased in 1903 his present farm in Van. Buren township, on section three. This farm of eighty-five acres is well cultivated and well improved, being furnished with an excellent set of frame buildings and plenty of machinery of the most approved kinds to carry on his work of general farming and stock raising successfully.
On April 18, 1878, Mr. Parr married Lizzie Monroe, who was born in Madison county, Indiana. Her parents, Samuel and Maria H. (Moore) Monroe, were early settlers of that county, but are now living at Lena, Parke county. Mr. and Mrs. Parr are the parents of four children, namely : Charles Wesley, Ernest, Della May and Samuel. Charles W. married Carrie Bauman, and they have three children, Emerson, Harold and Florence. Della M. is the wife of Oscar White and has one child, Ella May. Ernest married Olie Gerton, and they have one son, Seibert. Fraternally Mr. Parr is a member of Clay Lodge No. 368, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Religiously the family are Methodists.
HENRY PRICE .- A highly respected resident of Van Buren town- ship, Clay county, Henry Price is intimately associated with the indus- trial interests of this part of Indiana, being engaged in both mining and agricultural pursuits. A man of sterling integrity and excellent business ability, he enjoys to a marked degree the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and ranks among the valued citizens of his community. A son of James Price, he was born in Hawesville, Kentucky, May 8, 1858.
James Price was born in Manchester, England, and in that great manufacturing city was reared and educated. Soon after his marriage he came to America, whither three of his brothers, John, William and Henry, had previously located. He settled first in Kentucky, then in Maryland, and later in Illinois, in all of these states being engaged in mining. From Illinois he returned to Maryland, and there met his untimely death in a railway accident. He left his young widow, then in Illinois, with four children, namely: James; Henry, the special subject of this sketch; Ellen, now Mrs. Fisher ; and Elizabeth, now Mrs. Whit-
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marsh. His widow, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Whipp, subse- quently married for her second husband the late John L. Morgan. She is a woman of strong personality, possessing excellent business qualifica- tions and judgment, and for the past twenty years has operated a gen- eral store at Cardonia, this county, and has met with genuine success. Now, at the age of seventy-four years, she still attends to all the details of the business, being more active and alert than many persons of half her age.
About ten years old when he came with his mother to Clay county, Henry Price here continued his studies, making the best of every oppor- tunity to increase his knowledge. At the age of twelve he began working in the mines, his wages at first being very meagre. Industrious and pru- dent, he saved his earnings, eventually having enough to buy him a home in Cardonia. Still continuing his work at the mines, he accumulated more wealth and in 1899 bought his present farm of seventy-six acres on section seventeen. Here Mr. Price has erected a substantial set of frame buildings, and has otherwise improved the property, rendering it one of the best in its appointments of any in the vicinity. Although he is still engaged to some extent in mining, he superintends the work of the farm, managing it successfully.
Mr. Price married, in 1882, Dora Morgan, who was born in Coving- ton, Kentucky, a daughter of John and Ann Morgan, natives of Wales. Nine children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Price, namely : Margaret, John, Elizabeth, William, Mary, Stanley, Arthuretta, Harry and Thomas. Margaret, now the wife of William Moore, has two chil- dren, Anna Minerva and Agnes Virginia. In their religious affiliations Mr. and Mrs. Price are connected with the "New and Latter House of Israel."
GEORGE MILTON PELL, M. D .- Prominent among the active and suc- cessful physicians of Carbon is George M. Pell, M. D., who by careful study, intelligent observation and wide experience has acquired a prac- tical knowledge of his profession and won an assured position in the medical circles of Clay county. A native of Van Buren township, he was born August 7, 1851, two and a half miles southeast of the present site of Carbon and one-quarter of a mile west of the old log church and school house known as "Ebenezer." He is a son of William F. and Nancy ( McMillin) Pell, in whose sketch, which appears elsewhere in this volume, may be found a brief history of his parents and immediate ancestors.
In the old church schoolhouse, above mentioned, Dr. Pell laid the foundation for his future education, learning his letters from a leaf taken from McGuffey's Speller and pasted on a shingle. As he grew to man- hood on the home farm, which was then almost literally in the woods, he had but limited opportunities for acquiring knowledge, but eagerly availed himself of every chance for borrowing or buying books. Coal-oil lamps were even then unknown and, as candles were too expensive to be used long at a time, he was in the habit of going into the neighboring woods, peeling an armful of hickory bark, carrying it home, throwing it in the fireplace and by its light pursuing his studies far into the night. So, although his school terms were short, by persistent application he obtained a practical knowledge of the "three r's" and in 1873-4 completed his studies to such advantage that in the spring of the latter year he received
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a teacher's license. He followed that vocation for the ensuing three winters, commencing his medical studies in 1876 and in September, 1878, entering the Medical College of Indiana, from which he was graduated February 27, 1880.
In March, 1880, a few days after his graduation, Dr. Pell began the practice of his profession in Carbon, where he has since remained, his ability as a physician and his honor as a man winning for him an extensive and lucrative patronage. On November 19, 1882, Dr. Pell married Miss Catherine Elizabeth Smedley, of Bardstown Junction, Kentucky, and the following children have been born of this union : Hila Velnette, August 24, 1883 : Claud Oliver, March 23, 1886; James William, October 20, 1887; Nanie Irene, April 6, 1890; and Lena Alice, July 22, 1892. Claud O., the eldest son, died January 24, 1887, and James W., the other son, passed away January 27, 1896, dying of hemorrhage of the lungs. During the spring of 1895 Mrs. Pell's health began to fail, evidences of tuberculosis becoming apparent, and during the following winter, while assisting in the care of her idolized son James, she contracted pneumonia, which complication added to the poignant grief over the death of her son, resulted in her own death July 17, 1897. On February 12, 1899, Dr. Pell married as his second wife Miss Lizzie May West, who had been a teacher in the Carbon schools for fourteen years and a warm friend of his first wife. Mrs. Lizzie Pell was born in Rockville, Indiana, June 9, 1864, and at the age of three years was taken by her parents to San Francisco, California, where she lived for ten years. Returning then with the family to her native home, she there completed her early education, in 1884 graduating from the Rockville High School as valedictorian of her class.
GEORGE WASHINGTON JACKSON .- Beginning life for himself when a young boy, George W. Jackson has labored to good purpose, and through his own well directed efforts has won an excellent position among the capable and thriving agriculturists of Van Buren township. He was born March 25, 1842, in North Carolina, where his father, David Jackson, spent the greater part of his life, having there been born, brought up and twice married.
In 1842, hoping in a frontier state to found a permanent home for himself and family, David Jackson came across the country to Indiana, making the trip with one horse and a cart and bringing with him his sec- ond wife, two children and all of his worldly possessions. A large part of the way he followed the trail by means of blazed trees, camping and cooking oftentimes in the solitude of the vast forests through which he passed. Arriving in Henry county after a tedious journey of several weeks he remained there four years, in the meantime being employed in farming on rented land. Settling then in Van Buren township, he pur- chased a tract of forty acres, on which a small clearing and a cabin made of round logs constituted the sole improvements. He at once began to clear a homestead, but had made scant progress in that direction when about a year later his death occurred. By his first marriage he had two sons, William and Samuel, and by his second marriage he had three chil- dren, George W., Mary and Frances. This wife survived him, dying when upwards of seventy years of age.
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