USA > Indiana > Sullivan County > A history of Sullivan County, Indiana, closing of the first century's history of the county, and showing the growth of its people, institutions, industries and wealth, Volume II > Part 12
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52
On the 24th of December, 1879, Mr. Boles was married to Josephine Brown, a daughter of Perry and Caroline Brown, who are now living in Turman township. Five children have been born of this union, namely : Arthur, who married Minnie Rook, by whom he has one child, Aurilla Josephine, and the family reside in Harrisburg; Edgar and Ernest, at home; Oscar, who is attending school; and Maud, a stenographer in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Boles are members of the Christian church.
ELIAS G. DENNEY, who is farming one of the valuable homestead farms of Curry township, is a son of John W. S. and Sarah (Gaskins) Denney, and was born in Curry township June 14, 1853. John W. S. Denney was born December 9, 1809, in Kentucky, and in his early man- hood he went from that state to Monroe county, Indiana, with his father, William Denney, who lived the remainder of his life in that county. The son was there married, and about 1850, with his young wife, he came to Curry township and entered eighty acres of land two miles west of Farmersburg, but, selling that tract, went to Vigo county, this state, in 1867, and bought eighty acres, which he sold in 1881, and returning to Curry township, bought the old Spencer farm of one hundred and thirty- four acres, two and a half miles northwest of Shelburn. After disposing of that farm he retired from an active business life and lived among his children until his death in January of 1889. He was a Republican, and
91
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. She was born in Washington county, Indiana, April 6, 1816, and died on the 3d of March, 1896, in Fairbanks township. There were eleven children in their family, namely : William, who is residing in Sullivan; Mary Cowen, deceased; Margaret Mitchell, of Middletown; Elizabeth Pogue, also of Middletown; John, whose home is in Farmersburg; America B. Mitchell, deceased ; Rose Dilley, of Fairbanks; Elias G., who is mentioned later ; Emeline Watson, deceased ; Samuel, of Chicago, Illinois;' and E. Clay, a resident of Springfield, Illinois.
Passing from the common schools to the seminary at Farmersburg, Elias G. Denney received a good educational training and for five years was a school teacher. After his marriage he bought eighty-five acres of the farm where he now lives, two and a half miles north of Shelburn, and later added thirty-five acres to his original purchase, thus increasing the boundaries of his farm to one hundred and twenty acres, one of the best improved estates in the township, and he is engaged in both grain and stock farming.
On the 9th of February, 1878, Mr. Denney was married to Mary Dilley, who was born in Fairbanks township of Sullivan county October 31, 1856, a daughter of Jonathan R. and Adeline (Henry) Dilley, both of whom were born in Kentucky, and both are now deceased. The father was a life-long farmer, and during the Civil war he served for three years in Company I, Seventy-first Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving under Grant. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Denney, namely : Grace, who was born in Curry township, May 26, 1879, married William Bennett ; James G., born March 21, 1881, is the cashier at the interurban station in Terre Haute; Baxter, born August 29, 1883, is teaching school; Wade, born March 4, 1889, is at home; Gertrude, born January 15, 1894, is attending school; and one, the fourth born, died in infancy. Mr. Denney votes with the Republican party. He is an earnest and faithful member of the Church of Christ, as is also his wife, and he has preached the gospel during the past twenty years. His path has been ever upward through life, and he is numbered among the truest and best citizens of Curry township.
CORA A. CASE is a native daughter of Sullivan county, born on the 14th of October, 1868, and she is a member of one of its best known and most honored families. She is a daughter of William F. and Jane C. ( Boone) Case and a granddaughter of James and Elizabeth Case, both of whom were born in Kentucky. Coming to Sullivan county, Indiana, they located in Curry township about the year 1820, and entered land from the government, becoming in time prominent farming people of the county. There were ten children in their family who grew to years of maturity, seven sons and three daughters, namely: Hiram, Daniel, John, George, Fannie A., James, Sarah, Alfred, Cynthia J. and William, all now deceased. The father and all of his sons with the exception of John
92
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
served in the Civil war, and James, Sr., George and Hiram were members of the Eighty-fifth Regiment.
William Case served with the Thirty-first Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded once during his army career. After the war he came to Sullivan and worked at the saddlery trade until about 1870, when he bought a farm of seventy-seven acres in Jackson township, and lived there until his retirement and removal to Terre Haute in 1900, which was his home until his death in 1902, on the 20th of June. He was born on the 19th of December, 1834, in Hamilton township, and his life of use- fulness and honor covered many years in Sullivan county. Mrs. Case was born in Gill township on the 26th of July, 1835, and their union was blessed by the birth of the following children: Henry, who was born May 17, 1858, and is living in Wellington, Kansas; Lana B., born December 3, 1859, resides in Jackson township; Mary, born November 8, 1861, died December 4, 1864; William M., born October 28, 1864, resides in Jackson township; Sarah J., born October 26, 1866, is a resi- dent of Terre Haute; Cora A., who is mentioned below; Mary M., born July 30, 1871, died September 17, 1872: Daniel, born February 3, 1873, resides in Terre Haute; and Fred, born November 1, 1875, is a resident of Vigo county, Indiana.
Cora A. Case passed from the district schools and those of Sullivan to the state normal at Terre Haute, and after completing her studies there she taught for fifteen years. In 1892 she bought forty acres of land in this county, to which she later added a tract of thirty-seven acres, but in 1903 she sold that farm and bought the place where she now resides, three miles west of Shelburn in Curry township. Her farm contains one hun- dred and sixteen acres of rich and fertile land, and she oversees the work of the entire tract and raises a great deal of stock. She is a lady whom to know is to honor and respect.
JAMES H. STUCK, a prominent farmer in Curry township, was born in this township May 23, 1858, and on the paternal side is a descendant of an old southern family from Kentucky and a grandson of William and Polly (Smock) Stuck. The grandfather came from his native state of Kentucky to Sullivan county, Indiana, during an early epoch in its history, and he was a millwright and farmer.
Henry Stuck, a son of William and Polly Stuck, was born after the removal of his parents to Sullivan county, and when the Civil war was inaugurated he became a member of the Thirty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but his death occurred shortly after his enlistment. In his early manhood he had married Sarah E. Vest, a daughter of John and Polly (Johns) Vest. John Vest, who followed both carpentering and house moving, lived for a time in Boone county, Indiana, from whence he later came to Sullivan county and finally became a resident of Terre Haute. From there he went to Kansas, to the home of one of his daugh-
93
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
ters, and died there at the age of ninety-five years. Mrs. Stuck still survives her husband and is living in Terre Haute.
James H. Stuck, the only one living of the four children born to Henry and Sarah Stuck, supplemented his common school training by a course in the seminary at Farmersburg, and when the time came to select a life's occupation he chose that of farming. After his marriage he pur- chased and moved to a farm in Jackson township of sixty acres, but in 1894 he sold that tract and bought forty-eight acres in Curry township. There he lived and farmed until after the death of Mrs. Stuck's mother, and from that time until 1905 he lived on the Hill farm. In that year he purchased fifteen acres of his present homestead, but he has since added to this little farm from time to time until he now owns eighty-three acres, located one mile west of Shelburn.
He married, July 22, 1880, Mallie Hill, who was born in Curry town- ship November 27, 1860, a daughter of Paschal and Lettie Hill. They have two children, Effie E. and Zula M., born respectively June 10, 1887, and April 10, 1897. The younger daughter is now attending the public schools. Mr. Stuck is a stanch Republican politically, and fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Shelburn Lodge, No. 420, and the Encampment, and of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 3744, at Farmersburg. He is a member of the Baptist church.
PERLEY M. HAYWORTH, a farmer and stockraiser in Curry township, Sullivan county, is a native of Vigo county, Indiana, born October 22, 1863, a son of Albert and Julia (Rowe) Hayworth, both of whom were natives of Vigo county. Albert was the son of Sanford and Elizabeth (Smith) Hayworth, and they were natives of South Carolina. Sanford Hayworth was a Methodist minister and also followed farm life. He came to Vigo county immediately after his marriage, in about 1838, enter- ing a tract of government land, and started to till the soil. Later he entered the ministry. Albert was the only son who remained at home with his father until his marriage, after which event he went onto one of his father's farms in Vigo county and lived there until his death, in August, 1887. He was a very extensive stock raiser and highly successful as a farmer, owning two hundred and fifty acres of choice land, all within Vigo county. Perley M. is one of the two children born to his parents, who are now living. His sister, Mary L., was born August 28, 1873, and now resides in Terre Haute, the wife of W. J. Smith.
Perley M. Hayworth obtained a common school education by attend- ing school winters and farming summers. He was united in marriage December 4, 1884, to Media Hess, born October 16, 1861, in Vigo county, the daughter of Washington and Malinda ( Killian) Hess, now deceased. Mr. Hayworth stayed at his father's home after his marriage until the death of his father. He then purchased thirty-five acres near his father's, and there began housekeeping in a log house, in which he lived until 1899, then moved to Terre Haute and resided there until 1900. At the last
94
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
named time he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Curry township, Sullivan county. Here he erected in 1905 a fine modern farm- house, with all needful outbuildings, making the entire premises one of the most up-to-date within the township. Besides his general farming he raises and sells much stock, especially hogs. In addition to the revenue derived from his farm, Mr. Hayworth is a stockholder in the Citizens' State Bank at Farmersburg.
In stature Mr. Hayworth is the largest man within Sullivan county, his weight being three hundred and sixty-five pounds, while his height is six feet and two inches, yet he is an active, energetic man, possessed of a robust constitution. In his political views he is a Republican. He was elected trustee of Curry township in 1904, being the first man in this political party to be elected to office within the township on a strict party vote. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, belonging at Farmersburg, and also belongs to the Elks and Eagles at Sullivan. Of the strict secret societies he is a member of the Masonic and Knights of Pythias orders. In church relations he is in sympathy with, though not a member of, the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member in full connection.
Mr. Hayworth was married, as above referred to, in 1884, and their children are: Dudley B., born February 8, 1891 ; Albert W., born July 8, 1892; Audrey G., born February 26, 1899, all born in Vigo county, Indiana, and all at home at this time.
SAMPSON WALTERS .- Prominent among the thriving and progressive agriculturists of Sullivan county is Sampson Walters, who displays much judgment and skill in his calling, his farm being one of the most valuable and attractive of any in Haddon township, everything about the premises indicating the care and supervision of an excellent manager, and a thorough-going farmer. A son of Sampson Walter, Sr., he was born February 21, 1862, in Cass township. His grandfather, Frank Walters, came from his Kentucky home to Indiana in 1837, and spent the remainder of his life in Sullivan county.
A native of Kentucky, Sampson Walters, Sr., was born January 22, 1827, near Lexington, where he lived until ten years old. Coming with his parents to Sullivan county, Indiana, he assisted his father in clearing and improving a homestead from the forest. Becoming then a farmer from choice, he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, in Cass township, March 28, 1890. He married Elizabeth Simpson, who was born January 20, 1825, in Sullivan county, Indiana, of English ancestry. She survived him, and is now residing in Greene county. She is a member of the Church of Christ, to which her husband also belonged. Six children were born of their union, namely: Courtney, deceased ; John, a resident of Sullivan county ; Elizabeth, wife of James Decard, of Greene county : Francis E., deceased ; Mary Ann, wife of Louis Saucer- man, of Sullivan county ; and Sampson, of this sketch.
95
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
Growing to manhood on the home farm, Sampson Walters was educated in the district schools, and until twenty-two years of age assisted his father, under whose instruction he became well drilled in the various branches of agriculture. Beginning the battle of life, then, on his own account, Mr. Walters purchased the farm on which he now lives, in Haddon township, and in its management has had excellent success, having now in his possession five hundred acres of choice land, admirably adapted to general farming and stock raising. He deals quite extensively in stock, making a specialty of hogs, cattle and sheep, an industry which he finds profitable. He has in his possession one of the oldest deeds in Sullivan county. It is dated June 6, 1827, and was executed by President John Quincy Adams. Mr. Walters is a man of good business capacity, alive to the interests of the rural community, and is one of the stockholders in the Carlisle Telephone Company, which he helped to organize. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party.
.
Mr. Walters married April 14, 1886, Permelia A. Land, who was born in Haddon township, Sullivan county, February 22, 1864, a daughter of James R. and Sarah A. (McKinley) Land, neither of whom are now living. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Walters, namely : Edward E., born February 3, 1887, was graduated from the Carlisle high school in 1906, and is now attending the Indiana University at Bloomington ; Jesse N., born May 17, 1888, is a student in the Carlisle high school, being a member of the class of 1909; and Maude, born June 6, 1892, attends the Carlisle high school, belonging to the class of 19II ; she has received both a vocal and instrumental musical education. Mr. and Mrs. Walters are highly respected throughout the community in which they reside, and are worthy and valued members of the Church of Christ, of Paxton, Indiana.
U. ELLERY HAYDEN .- Sullivan county was the birthplace of U. Ellery Hayden, on the Ist of May, 1863, in Turman township, and it has been the scene of his subsequent business career. He is a son of Daniel J. and Sarah (Gray) Hayden, the former of whom was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, and the latter where the east portion of Sullivan has since been built. Daniel J. Hayden came to Indiana before the inaugura- tion of the. Civil war, and he worked at the blacksmith's trade in Sullivan and finally, about 1851, he began farming in connection with his trade, continuing both occupations there until about 1862, when he moved to Turman township and continued his residence there until his death in about 1892. The wife and mother is still living and resides with her son William, north of Sullivan, having reached the age of seventy-five years. In the Hayden family were seven children, namely: Mary E., deceased ; John J., who resides on the old home farm in Turman township; William T., who has never married, and lives with his mother at the old home- stead; U. Ellery, the subject of this review; Julia E. Patton, whose home is in Turman township; Ural, near the old home farm in Turman township ; and one who died in infancy.
Vol. II-7
96
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
U. Ellery Hayden continued to reside with his parents until he had attained his twenty-ninth year, and he then married and started in life for himself by renting a farm, but after one year as a renter in Turman township he bought the farm where he now lives in Curry township. Although he carries on general farming pursuits, he makes a specialty of the raising of Chester White hogs and has been very successful in this line of business. His land is divided, his homestead consisting of seventy- five acres in Curry township, and he also owns seventy-seven acres in Turman township, forty acres in Hamilton township, and forty acres in Jackson township, but he farms all his land himself, and is a prominent and progressive agriculturist.
On the Ist of March, 1891, Mr. Hayden was united in marriage to Lillian B. Dodd, who was born in Illinois, July 28, 1868, and her father became one of the early settlers of Sullivan county. The children born of this union are Forest A. and Fannie O., the elder born December 22, 1892, and is at home, but the younger, born April 17, 1895, died April 7, 1896. The wife and mother is also deceased, dying September 7, 1896, and on the 29th of December, 1897, Mr. Hayden wedded Josie Shepherd, who was born in Jackson township, and her people were of Irish descent and among the oldest residents of that township. Her mother still lives on the old homestead near Hymera, but the father is deceased. The second union has been without issue. Mr. Hayden is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 584, at Graysville, and he has served in all the offices of that lodge and has twice served as a delegate to the Grand Lodge. He was a delegate to the famous convention at Chicago which secured four hundred and fifty dollars of prize money. He is a member of the Baptist church and is a stanch and active Prohibitionist.
WILLIAM A. NELSON .- The name of William A. Nelson has been long and prominently associated with the agricultural interests of Sullivan county. He was born in Honey Creek township, Vigo county, Indiana, April 7, 1833, a son of John J. and Emilia (Cruse) Nelson, both of whom were born in Kentucky. Coming to Vigo county in 1823, they lived there until their removal to Curry township in Sullivan county in 1838, enroll- ing their names among the county's earliest pioneers. Mr. Nelson became prominently known as a farmer and hunter, farming the tract of one hundred and twenty acres which he entered from the government and the subsequent additions of eighty and forty acres each, thus making him the owner of two hundred and forty acres. Six children were born to John J. and Emilia Nelson, as follows: Mary A., James and Susan, deceased; William A., the subject of this review ; Eliza J., deceased ; and Margaret E. Williams, whose home is in Kansas.
After his marriage William A. Nelson was given forty acres of land by his father, and he farmed that little tract for two years, in that time also conducting a huckster wagon. In the spring of 1864 he laid aside his business duties to become a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting on the 10th
97
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
of October, in Company C, First Indiana Heavy Artillery, and he was discharged on the Ioth of October, 1865, after participating in the one battle of Fort Spanish. Returning after the close of the conflict to his little farm in Sullivan county, he again began running his huckster wagon and finally purchased a threshing machine and continued its operation until his retirement in 1891. He is now the owner of a farm of forty-seven acres of rich and fertile land.
On the 30th of October, 1856, Mr. Nelson was married to Armilda A. Shoemaker, who was born on the farm on which she now resides, November 27, 1842, and to their union has been born five children: John T., deceased; Hattie Frakes, of Shelburn; William A., Jr., who married Alice Harris and resides in Curry township; Lucetta Frakes, of Fairbanks township; and Ozro, at home with his parents. Mr. Nelson is a member of Gaskin Post, G. A. R., at Farmersburg, and in compensa- tion for his army services he now receives a pension from the government of twenty dollars a month. He is a stanch Republican in his political affiliations, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church.
EARL PATTEN, one of the best known and most prominent of the younger residents of Shelburn, was born in the city where he now resides, April II, 1870, a son of Isaac and Jane (Pugh) Patten. The father was born in Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, in 1829, and is now living near Graysville, in this state, while the mother was born in Fairbanks township in 1833 and died in Shelburn on the 31st of August, 1884. She now lies buried in the Littleflock cemetery. Her parents, John and Mahala (Harris) Pugh, came to this county from Kentucky and located on the farm which they entered from the government in Fairbanks town- ship. The father was a flatboatman as well as farmer, sailing down the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, his death occurring at Evansville, Indiana, on one of his return trips, and he was buried there. Of the eleven children born to Isaac and Jane (Pugh) Patten, five are now living: Isaac, Jr., whose home is in Shelburn; John W. and Ira, who are also residing in Shelburn; William G., of Missouri; and Earl.
Earl Patten started out to battle for himself when but eleven years of age, working for a brother in the grocery business, and for two years following this was in the employ of Robert Linn, a general merchant. Returning then to the store of his brother John, he worked for him until his enlistment in the United States army as a musician of the Fifteenth Infantry, in 1892. He served two years and was honorably discharged on the 4th of June, 1894, and during his service in the army he was qualified as a sharpshooter, in 1893. After the close of his military career he again entered the employ of his brother John and continued with him until he embarked in the clothing business with Harry Banister in 1904, the firm of Patten & Banister continuing for a year, when Mr. Patten sold his interest to his partner, and during the following years was in the grocery and meat market business. On the 25th of July, 1905, he entered the
98
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
employ of the Kettle Creek Mining Company in the capacity of a book- keeper, and served in that capacity until October, 1908, when he was promoted to superintendent of the mines. Mr. Patten was obliged to leave school when a little lad of eleven years, but despite this disadvan- tage he continued his studies and never missed a day of school while in the army. He has thus been the architect of his own fortunes from early youth, and is rapidly winning for himself a name and place in the front ranks of the business men of Sullivan county. His politics are Demo- cratic, a stanch supporter of the principles, and as the representative of this party he was made the clerk and treasurer of Shelburn, taking charge of those offices on the Ist of January, 1900, and his term of office will continue until the Ist of January, 1910.
On the Ist of January, 1900, Mr. Patten was married to Mayme Banister, born January 22, 1877, to George and Mary (Dix) Banister, and the one child of this union is Georgia Carmen, born on the 13th of October, 1901. Mr. Patten has fraternal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Prairie Lodge, No. 420, at Shelburn, and he is identified with all its branches and twice served as a delegate to the Grand Lodge. Mrs. Patten also served as a delegate to its auxiliary, the Rebekahs, in 1901. Mr. Patten is a member of the Utah Tribe of Red Men at Sherman. Religiously, they are attendants of the Christian church, and Mrs. Patten is a member of that denomination.
CHARLES E. BREWER has been for many years prominent in the pub- lic and business life of Sullivan county, and is now one of the leading undertakers of Shelburn, as well as the coroner of the county, having been elected to that office over a year ago. He entered upon his success- ful business career when a boy of thirteen years, as an apprentice in a carriage and wagon shop, working in the shop nights and mornings and during vacations, while during the remainder of the time he was in school. He continued thus engaged until he was twenty-two, when he went to Monument, Colorado, and engaged in the furniture and under- taking business with his brother-in-law. During his residence there he learned the undertaking business in all its departments, and returning home after an absence of six years he went to Indianapolis and opened and conducted a carriage shop of his own for four years. Returning thence to Hymera in this county, he was the proprietor of a carriage and repair shop here for eight years, and at the close of that period, in 1902, he came to Shelburn and opened a furniture and undertaking business, but at the present time gives attention exclusively to the latter department.
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.