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 13
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Mr. Brewer was born in Johnson county, Indiana, May 18, 1861, a son of John C. and Anna (Cummingoer) Brewer, and a grandson of Abram Brewer, who was born in 1790 and died on the 12th of March, 1873. On coming to Indiana he entered land in Johnson county, and became the proprietor of a hotel on the Madison and Indianapolis road, spending the remainder of his life there. His son, John C., born in
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Mercer county, Kentucky, January 8, 1820, opened a hotel in Greenwood in 1869, and continued the hotel in connection with his farm until his death, January 23, 1874, passing away in the faith of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Brewer was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, March 29, 1825, and she died in 1896. In their family were eight children, namely : Arena, deceased, born March 26, 1846; Lizzie, born August 29, 1849, resides in Colorado; Laura J., deceased, was born February 3, 1851 ; Marcella, born January 17, 1854, resides in Greenwood, Indiana; Eldora, born January II, 1856, is deceased ; Laura M., born December 29, 1857, resides in Indianapolis ; Charles E., the subject of this review; and Edward, born July 3, 1864, resides near Greenwood.
On the 8th of March, 1882, Mr. Brewer was united in marriage to Lillian Miller, who was born December 18, 1864, a daughter of Dr. Abram Miller, of Whiteland, Indiana. She died on the 17th of March, 1891, at Hymera, leaving four children, as follows: Ruby P., the wife of W. B. Bonham, of Hymera; Freeda, born in October, 1885, is now traveling for the J. C. Curtis & Company undertaking supply house ; John C., born June 9, 1887, is at home and is working for his father; and Anna May, born December 22, 1895, is a student in the St. Joseph Academy at Terre Haute. On the 17th of April, 1904, Mr. Brewer wedded Luna L. Conover, who was born in February of 1858. Mr. Brewer is an active political worker, voting with the Democracy, and he is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 603, at Hymera ; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 911, at Sulli- van; and the Knights and Ladies of Security, in Terre Haute. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and he is serving as one of the directors of his church.
WILLIAM A. FORDYCE, the present postmaster of Shelburn, has been identified with the interests of Sullivan county throughout his entire life, for he was born within its borders, in Fairbanks township, and here he has since lived and labored. After completing his education in the dis- trict schools and in those of Shelburn, he began the study of telegraphy in this city and continued in that occupation until 1892. During the fol- lowing four years he was at home on account of ill health, and at the close of that period he was appointed the postmaster of Shelburn, and has ever since continued in that official capacity. He is a stanch Repub- lican politically.
Mr. Fordyce is a representative of a family who have long resided in Sullivan county, and it was founded here by his paternal grandparents, Lewis and Elizabeth (Case) Fordyce. Lewis Fordyce was a farmer, and after coming to Sullivan county he was elected a justice of the peace and became prominent in the public life of his community. His political affiliations were with the Democracy. Lewis Fordyce was born in Wash- ington county, Indiana, May 17, 1816, was married in that county, to Elizabeth Case, May 20, 1838, and after living for some years in Orange
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county, where he held minor offices, he moved to Fairbanks, this county, and in 1869 took up his residence at the county seat. He died February 28, 1874, after a long illness.
Among the children of Lewis and Elizabeth Fordyce was William A., Sr., who was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, but came to Fair- banks township in Sullivan county about 1860 and spent the remainder of his life here, dying in 1865, when his son and namesake was but a year old. He was a farmer and cabinetmaker, and was working at his trade at the time of his death. In his early manhood he had married Francis J. Griffin, who was born about 1844, in Honey Creek township, Vigo county, Indiana, a daughter of William and Amelia (Hanna) Griffin. William H. Griffin owned and operated a tanyard near the old Budd place in Honey Creek township for many years, but later on moved to Fairbanks township in Sullivan county, and opened and conducted a harness shop. In 1866 he was elected the treasurer of Sullivan county and moved to the city of Sullivan, continuing in that office for two terms, but he maintained his residence in Sullivan until his life's labors were ended in death. During a number of years previous to his death he was engaged in the poultry and produce business in Princeton, Indiana.
After the death of Mr. Fordyce his widow married Dr. James A. Harper, and her death occurred on the Ist of September, 1900. Dr. Harper is now living in Shelburn, and his home is also the home of William A. Fordyce, who is the younger of his mother's two children by her first marriage, but his brother Elmer died when seven years of age. Three children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Harper, namely: Gertrude Froment and Georgia Bardsley, both living in Shelburn, and Grace, who is at home with her father.
Mr. Fordyce has membership relations with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, Council No. 69, in the lodge at Shelburn, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 911, of Sulli- van, Indiana; with Eutaw Tribe, I. O. R. M., No. 213, at Shelburn, and also the Junior Order at Sullivan. He holds to the belief of the Church of Christ. He holds high rank in the political and business circles of Sullivan county, and is one of the property owners of Shelburn, where he owns about six and a half acres in lots.
RICHARD B. DOUGLAS, M. D., is a member of one of the first families to establish their home in Sullivan county, and from the early days until the present the name of Douglas has been inseparably associated with its history. His father, Samuel Douglas, was born in Curry township, and the scene of his birth has been the field of his subsequent operations and his present residence, three miles west of Shelburn. Samuel is a son of Benson and Eliza (Dawson) Douglas, natives respectively of Curry township and of Vigo county, Indiana. Benson was a son of Samuel, who was also a native son of Curry township, and he served through the Civil war as a private. The earlier generations of the family followed agricultural pursuits for a livelihood.
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Samuel Douglas, Jr., is now living retired from an active business life, owning a fine estate of one hundred acres. His wife, Nancy M. (Smith) Douglas, was born in Sullivan county, and died in May of 1905, after becoming the mother of two children, both of whom have embraced a professional life, and the younger, Perry, is practicing law in Terre Haute. He married Sarah Wolf. Samuel Douglas, the father, is a stanch Democrat in his political affiliations, and is a member of the Masonic lodge at Shelburn, No. 369, and of the Methodist church.
Richard B. Douglas was born in Curry township, Sullivan county, Indiana, February 17, 1876, and after receiving a common school educa- tion taught school for five years. In 1898 he became a student in the Eclectic Medical College, where he studied for three years, and during one year was a student in the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis. Returning to Shelburn after the completion of his medical training, he opened an office here and has ever since been engaged in practice, enjoying a large and representative clientele. His politics are Democratic, and he was nominated and elected by the party for the office of trustee, while from 1900 for four years he served as the assessor of Curry township. He is the medical examiner for the Modern Amer- ican Lodge, and is a member of the Indiana Eclectic Medical Association, the Sullivan and Vigo Counties Medical Association, and is an honorary member of the Illinois Eclectic Medical Association. His fraternal rela- tions are with the Masonic order, Lodge No. 369, at Shelburn; with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 420, also of this city, and with the Eagles, at Sullivan. His religious views are in harmony with the teachings of the Christian church.
Dr. Douglas is married and has two children: Harry, born April 25, 1899, now attending school, and Blanche, born June 22, 1903.
PHILIP T. LLOYD, the proprietor of the Shelburn Lumber Company, was born in Curry township, Sullivan county, Indiana, December 12, 1854, a son of John G. and Elizabeth (Chowning) Lloyd. John G. Lloyd was born in Kentucky in 1832, and was a farmer throughout his entire business career, but is now living retired. He was but three years of age when he came with his parents, Philip and Anna Lloyd, from Kentucky to Indiana, and since then he has been living principally on a farm in Curry township. He served twelve months in the Civil war with the Twenty-first Indiana Heavy Artillery, and participated in the memorable siege of Mobile for ten days and nights, and in compensation for his services in the war he now draws a pension of eighteen dollars a month. His wife bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Chowning, a native of Kentucky, and she died in February, 1893, in Curry township.
Philip T. Lloyd, their son, started out on his business career as a farm hand, thus continuing until his marriage on the 3d of February, 1881, to Alice Shields, who was born in Hamilton township of Sullivan county, May 6, 1859, a daughter of Henry and Mary A. Shields. She
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died on the 3d of May, 1892, leaving her husband and three children : Clevy H., born July 28, 1882, who resides in Shelburn with his father ; Anna O., born October 12, 1883, married Harry E. Allen, who is in the employ of his father-in-law and lives in Shelburn, and they have one child, Mary Lucile, born December 5, 1907; and Albert G., born Feb- ruary 28, 1885, is attending school at a Bible Reading in Peace Creek, Kansas, near Sylvia. He is a member of the Church of Christ, On the 19th of March, 1893, Mr. Lloyd wedded Mary E. Mckenzie, born in Curry township in 1859, a daughter of Edward McKenzie. There are no living children by this union.
After his first marriage Mr. Lloyd rented and moved to a farm of eighty acres, and here he has lived for twenty-four years, the property being now in West Shelburn. In 1903 he opened a lumber yard in Shel- burn, and two years later, in 1905, bought the property of one of his competitors, A. T. Hill, while in 1907 he became the owner of the Shel- burn Lumber Company, one of the well-known business institutions of Sullivan county. He is also the president of the Central Mutual Tele- phone Company, and his political affiliations are with the Republican party. Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd and his children are members of the Church of Christ, and he is one of the elders of old Liberty Congregation.
JOHN C. ANNIS is a representative of two of the most prominent of the early families of Sullivan county, and he has won for himself a place among the leading business men of Shelburn. He entered upon his business career as an engineer, but later became a bookkeeper for his father, this being in 1876, when the elder Mr. Annis first came to Shelburn, and at the time of his removal to Terre Haute the son accompanied him and they were in business together for one year. Returning thence to Shelburn he was in the employ of Stephen Brace- well, a general merchant, until 1886, from that time until 1890 was connected with the coal industry, and in the latter year took charge of the Curryville store and conducted it until the latter part of 1892. At the expiration of that period he began work as top foreman for the Curryville mine, in 1900 became connected with the Star City mine in the capacity of a carpenter, and during the years of 1902, 1903 and 1904 he was the bookkeeper for the Keystone Coal Company at Shelburn. Since 1904 Mr. Annis has been the proprietor of a feed store in this city, buying in that year the business of N. O. Robbins, and in connection with this he also does a large transfer business. A stanch Democrat politically, he has served for five or six terms as a member of the town board and during eight years was the clerk and treasurer of Shelburn.
Mr. Annis was born in Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, April 27, 1854, a son of Abraham and Armilda (Hopewell) Annis, both of whom were born in Kentucky, the father in 1832, and his death occurred in 1884, while the mother was born in 1830 and died in 1896, both passing away in Terre Haute. They were but two years of age when
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they came north with their parents, and the parents of Abraham, John and Mary (Potts) Annis, located in Fairbanks township in 1834. Armilda Hopewell Annis was a daughter of Henry and Mary (All) Hopewell, who came to Fairbanks township at about the same time as the Annis family, and they located near together on land which they entered from the government, the land being at that time wild and unimproved. Henry Hopewell died in 1871. Both he and John Annis became successful farmers, the former being also a cooper.
Abraham Annis, a son of John Annis, followed farming until 1875, when he came to Shelburn and purchased a warehouse, in which he installed a custom mill, and continued as a miller until 1882, while from that time until his death in 1884 he was a resident of Terre Haute, engaged in the grocery business. During his residence in Shelburn he served as a member of the town board. Seven children were born to Abraham and Armilda Annis, namely: Earl and Samuel M., deceased, while the third born died in infancy ; John C., the subject of this review ; Mary L. Stalker, of Terre Haute; Isabelle Snider, also of that city, and Julia, who has never married and resides in Terre Haute.
Four children have been born to John C. Annis, namely : Louren, who died in infancy ; Ethel R., born March 4, 1886, is the wife of Roy Hair, of Shelburn; Orval, who died at the age of two years; and Hosie Sutcliffe, who was born February 14, 1897, and is attending school. Mr. Annis is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Lodge No. 420, at Shelburn, in which he has filled all of the offices, and is also a charter member of the United Workmen, which lodge was abandoned in 1880, and a member of the International Order of the Team Owners' Union.
JAMES P. SINER .- The name of James P. Siner was for many years associated with the business life of Shelburn, where he conducted a general mercantile establishment until his retirement in 1905. In the early years of his life he was a cooper, having learned that trade when only seventeen years of age in Carlisle, Indiana, and he worked at that occupation for six years. In 1859 he joined the westward emigration across the plains, making the journey with ox teams, and leaving here on the 13th of April, 1859, he reached Placerville, California, on the 12th of September, following. During the following six and a half years he sojourned over California, Oregon and Idaho, and then returning to Shelburn was one of the leading general merchants of the city until his retirement in 1905.
Mr. Siner was born in Hamilton township of Sullivan county, February 1, 1837, a son of Nelson and Dessie (Shelburn) Siner. Nelson Siner was a son of Benjamin, a native of Virginia, and he was a grandson of Benjamin, Sr., who served as a colonel in the Revolutionary war. Nelson Siner was born in Breckenridge county, Kentucky, in 1810, but came from that state to Sullivan county, Indiana, with his mother, in 1821, where in his younger days he worked at the wagon maker's trade,
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but finally abandoned that occupation for farming, and later, in i859, opened a general mercantile store in Shelburn and was also the postmaster of the town from 1860 to 1866. He was a stanch Republican and in the earlier days a Whig, and his death occurred in 1869, in Shelburn. His wife survived him but a few years, dying in 1872. She was born about 1809 in Kentucky. Of their eight children five are now living : John L., of Shelburn; Mary Nesbit, a widow residing in Hamilton town- ship, and Parthena McClanahan and Lorena Singer, twins, both widows residing in Farmersburg.
James P. Siner, the youngest of the living children, married, on the 13th of April, 1866, Martha A. Hodges, who was born in Vigo county, Indiana, in 1845, a daughter of Harden and Phoebe (Lovelace) Hodges. This union has been blessed by the birth of seven children, but only the following four are living at the present time: Julia Harden, of Shelburn ; Fred, who married Emma Buckley, and is the proprietor of a shoe store in Shelburn; Walter and Clarence, who are at home with their parents. Mr. Siner follows in the political footsteps of his father and gives a stanch support to the Republican party. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 369, in Shelburn, in which he has filled all the offices, occupying the master's chair for twelve years, and at the present time he is serving in the capacity of treasurer. He has the distinction of being the oldest Mason in Shelburn. Both he and his wife are earnest and efficient members of the Baptist church.
LEANDER WENCE .- During a number of years Leander Wence was numbered among the best agriculturists and business men of Sullivan county, but he is now living quietly retired at his pleasant home in Farmersburg. He was born on the 3d of November, 1861, in Jackson township, Sullivan county, a son of Abraham and Mary E. (Zink) Wence. The father was born in Ohio, but when but four years of age he was brought by his parents to Jackson township. He is a son of Abraham, Sr., and Sarah Jane Wence, who were farming people and entered land from the government in Jackson township north of Hymera, which con- tinued as their home during the remainder of their lives. Mr. Wence was a squire and constable here for many years.
Abraham Wence, Jr., spent the early years of his life on his parents' farm, and during five years of his business career he was engaged in the mercantile business in Terre Haute and Lyons. From 1861 until 1865 he was a Civil war soldier, but twelve months of that time was spent in Andersonville prison, where he endured all the hardships and privations of that noted prison pen. He is now the owner of a fine estate of one hundred and twenty acres five miles southeast of Hymera, where he and his wife are spending the remainder of their lives. He is a stanch Democrat politically, a member of the Odd Fellows' order at Lyons, and of the Methodist church. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. WVence were four children, of whom Leander is the eldest; Elizabeth
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Jenny died at the age of nineteen years; James E. resides in Curry township ; and Charles E. is a resident of Evansville.
Just after his marriage Leander Wence began farming for himself, renting a farm in Curry township, and he continued as a renter until purchasing twenty acres in 1886. From time to time he added to his original purchase until he became the owner of one hundred and forty- three acres in his homestead farm, and also eighty acres in another tract, but he has since sold his land and invested his money in notes and town property. He continued his agricultural labors until in March of 1907, when he sold his farm and is now living retired in Farmersburg.
On the 8th of October, 1882, Mr. Wence was united in marriage to Susana Everly, who was born in Owen county, Indiana, September 9, 1860, and died June 4, 1896, after becoming the mother of five children : Nora A., born November 16, 1885, died November 25, 1904; Hershal E., born October 30, 1887, married Sadie Crow August 24, 1907, and resides in Shelburn; Otto W., born November 18, 1889, has been in the regular army for two years; the fourth child died in infancy ; and Ona M., born January 7, 1896, is attending school and lives with her grandparents. On the 8th of November, 1899, Mr. Wence married Sophia F. Wells, who was born in Grant county, Indiana, April 1. 1869, and died January II, 1905, after becoming the mother of two children, Noma C., born March 13, 1903, and a son, the younger, who died in infancy. On the 24th of April, 1907, Mr. Wence wedded Daisy Beck, who was born January 3, 1882, in Jefferson township, Sullivan county, a daughter of Josiah F. and Rosanna (Hume) Beck, both of whom were also born in this county, and they are now living in Carlisle. Mr. Wence has one child by his last wife, a daughter, Dortha Lee. He has membership relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Shelburn, Lodge No. 420. He is the only one of the Wence name to affiliate with the Republican party. He is a member of the Methodist church, but Mrs. Wence is of the Baptist faith.
ELZA W. JENNINGS, who is among the successful and enterprising business factors of Curry township, Sullivan county, and besides other business interests, is engaged in the hardware and implement trade, is a native of this township, born January 15, 1868, a son of Abel J. and Fannie M. (Willsey) Jennings, the former born March 28, 1812, in Massachusetts, at some point within Hamden county, and died January IO, 1877, in Sullivan county, Indiana. The latter was born October 19, 1824, in Albany county, New York, and died June 28, 1890, in Curry township. Sullivan county, Indiana. Abel was the son of Aceph and Mary (Abby) Jennings, the former born in Massachusetts and the latter in Scotland. Aceph was born in 1782, and died in 1844. He was a gunsmith, and worked eight years in the Springfield Armory Works, but abandoned his trade there upon his marriage and went to farming, which occupation he continued to follow the remainder of his life. Abel,
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at the age of twenty years, started as a sailor on Lake Erie, and within fourteen months was made second mate, soon afterward first mate and then captain of the boat. This position he filled for five years and up to the date of his marriage. He purchased a farm in Ashtabula county, Ohio, where he farmed two years, and in 1842 went to Missouri, in which new state he purchased a farm. In 1844 he removed to Marion county, Indiana. Upon a trip back to Ohio he was taken ill upon reaching Marion county, and there remained until 1867, when he went to Curry township, this county, about three miles west of Farmersburg, where the subject of this narrative was born. He owned a hundred-acre farm, upon which he resided until his death.
The father was twice married, first to a Miss Benjamin, by whom seven children were born, but only two lived to reach mature years. For his second wife he married Fannie M. Willsey, by whom were born sixteen children, as follows : Emaline, born in 1841, died young ; Marshall, born March 22, 1843, resides at Farmersburg; Harriet, born in Sep- tember, 1844, resides in Weldon, Illinois; Julia, deceased; Mary J., resides in Oklahoma; Millie, also living in Oklahoma; Lydia, deceased ; Sylvester, residing in Curry township, this county; Oswell, deceased ; Emory and Emma (twins), both living in Curry township ; Rufus, living in Kingfisher county, Oklahoma ; Mattie, living in Vigo county, Indiana ; Katie, living in Curry township; Walker, living in Curry township, and Elza W., of this notice.
Mr. Jennings remained at home with his parents until their death, and on November 18, 1890, soon after their death, he married Mary A. Harris, born March 2, 1870, in Shelby county, Illinois, a daughter of John Harris. Mr. Jennings began operating a saw mill and thresher at the age of seventeen years, continuing until 1902. In 1899, however, he purchased a one-fourth interest in Jennings Brothers and Lloyd's hardware store, and in 1902 bought a two-thirds interest in Jennings & Taylor's hardware and implement house. Since then he has paid special attention to this business. The firm with which he is associated owns some real estate in town.
Politically Mr. Jennings is a Democrat. He was elected president of the Farmersburg Town Board in 1906, his term expiring in 1910. He is president of the Merchants' Association, president of the Torry Electric Light plant and is a stockholder and director of the Citizens State Bank. He is a member of the Blue Lodge, No. 494, A. F. & A. M., at Farmersburg.
WILLIAM BENEFIELD, formerly extensively engaged in Turman township, this county, as a general farmer and stock raiser, is now a resident agriculturist of the Panhandle country of Texas. He is a native of Hamilton township, Sullivan county, a son of George Wash- ington and Elizabeth (McGrew) Benefield. The father was a native of Lawrence county, Indiana, and, in 1904, died at Terre Haute, Indiana, the mother being still a resident of that city. George W. Benefield
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always followed the life of a farmer, with the exception of a few years which he spent in California, during the early days of the gold excite- ment. Starting from Sullivan with an ox team, March 4, 1852, he crossed the Wabash river at Merom, on the old ferry boat, and reached San Francisco in August. He remained on the coast until 1856, returning hy steamer, via Cape Horn, and stopping in Cuba for a few days. Thence he resumed his voyage to New York City, and from that city reached his home by rail. His trip was successful, financially, and like most of the California pioneers, the experiences of both his overland and sea trips were always considered the most interesting chapter of his life. After his return from California Mr. Benefield farmed in Hamilton township until 1893, when he and his faithful wife moved to Terre Haute. Politically the elder Mr. Benefield was a Democrat, and in church rela- tions his wife was a Baptist. They were the parents of the following children: Chauncy, now residing at Dallas, Texas; Leona, wife of Ezra Coble, of Terre Haute, Indiana ; Felix G., also of that city; George, who is an insurance man of Dallas; William, of this sketch; Robert, also in the insurance business at Dallas; and Anna, wife of Herbert Osborn, of that city.
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