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 21
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
Mr. Lammey married, October 3, 1854, Mary Graham, who was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, where her parents, Andrew and Jane (McMains) Graham, both of Scotch ancestry, spent their lives. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Lammey has been blessed by the birth of eight children, namely: Jane, William, John, Martha, Robert A., Charles, Lewis C. and Margaret E. Jane, wife of Frank Shivers, has six chil- dren, Wilmer, Minnie, James, Frank, Lizzie and John. William married Rachel McBride, and they have three children, John, Frank and Ruth. John married Susan Magill, and has four children, Myrtle, Mary, Earl and Ray. Martha, wife of William Exline, has six children, Jane, Jose- phine, Nora, John, Willie and Vinetta. Robert A. married Mary E. Lambright. Charles married Susan Doherty, and they have three chil- dren, Culmer, Opher and Cecil. Lewis C. married Clara Walters, and they have two children, Ethel and Hazel. Margaret E., wife of William Fry, has two children, Leroy and Willie. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Lammey are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Polit- ically Mr. Lammey is a strong Republican. While in the army he cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and soon afterwards was granted his naturalization papers.
ELI CLAYTON .- An enterprising and well-to-do agriculturist, Eli Clayton is prosperously engaged in his free and independent vocation on one of the pleasantest and most desirable homesteads in Cass township. It has a fine location in section sixteen, and with its fertile land and comfortable and convenient set of buildings invariably attracts the atten- tion of the passer-by, and indicates to what good purpose the proprietor has employed his time and means. Coming from pioneer stock, he was born August 31, 1866, in Cass township, a son of William Clayton.
Francis Clayton, grandfather of Eli, was born in Bradford, York-
165
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
shire, England. Acquiring a practical education in the public schools, he in company with his brother George subsequently embarked in the coal business, and for several years operated a number of mines. Visit- ing America in 1842, he looked about for a favorable business location, and spent a short time in Sullivan county. Going back to his native land in 1843, he remained there a year, and in 1844 returned to this country with his wife and five children, being eight weeks and three days in sail- ing across the ocean to New Orleans. From that city he came by steamer up the river to Evansville, Indiana, from there journeying with two four- horse teams to Greene county, bringing with him his household goods and provisions enough to last his family a year. At first he found shelter with friends, but ere long he bought a tract of land in Jefferson township. Several acres of the tract had been cleared, an orchard had been set out, and a two-roomed frame house and a log house had been erected. He soon built a mill, which he operated by horse power, and there ground both wheat and corn, the bolt being operated by hand. Selling that place in 1851, he purchased land on Burrow creek, in the north part of Cass township, and having improved the water power, built a grist mill in the place now known as Caledonia. There he lived as a farmer and miller until his death in December, 1853. He was twice married. His first wife, the grandmother of Eli Clayton, was a lifelong resident of England, and at her death she left three children: William (father of Eli), Eli and Jeremiah. By his second marriage he had two children: Frances, now Mrs. Snow, and John. All of his children were born in England.
Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, William Clayton attended school when young, and afterwards assisted his father in the mines. Soon after coming with the family to Indiana, he married Ann Lunn, who was born in England, and came to Greene county, Indiana, with her parents, Thomas and Christiana (Dolby) Lunn, who there improved a farm on which they spent their remaining years. He then settled on land that is now included in the home property of his son Eli, who was born in the cabin made of round logs that he then built. Laboring with unceas- ing toil, he cleared a large part of the wild land, placed it under cultiva- tion, and later erected a set of frame buildings, and here resided until his death. To him and his wife eleven children were born, namely: Mary, Sarah, Christiana, Thomas, Francis, Rachel, Martha, Fanny, Emma, Eli and William.
Reared on the home farm, Eli Clayton gleaned his early education during the short terms of the district school, and as soon as practicable was initiated into the mysteries of farming. At the time of his marriage he bought forty acres of land in Jefferson township, but a few years later sold out and purchased the parental homestead, where he has since been busily employed in general farming, his labors being substantially rewarded by the abundant crops that he raises each season.
Mr. Clayton married, April 23, 1890, Mabel Shepherd. She was born July 30, 1870, in Haddon township, Sullivan county, which was also the birthplace of her father, Francis M. Shepherd, and the place in which her grandfather, William Shepherd, settled as a pioneer. Receiv-
166
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
ing excellent educational advantages, Francis M. Shepherd taught school when a young man, and afterwards turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, for a number of years being one of the leading farmers of Jef- ferson township, where his death occurred November 14, 1889. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Willis. She was born in Haddon township, a daughter of John A. Willis, who was born in 1800 in Vir- ginia, but was reared and married in Kentucky. Coming from there to Indiana about 1830, he entered one hundred and sixty acres of govern- ment land in Haddon township, and from the wilderness hewed out a farm. He built first a cabin of hickory logs, riving the boards to cover the roof, and putting in a stick and clay chimney. He had no stove for many years, his wife cooking by the open fireplace. He raised sheep and flax, and his wife, carded, spun and wove the cloth used in making gar- ments for the family. In 1859, having succeeded well in improving his land, Mr. Willis built a substantial house from oak logs, with a good brick chimney and a porch. He subsequently bought the brick school house which had been erected on his land, and converted it into a good dwelling house, in which he resided until his death, at the age of eighty- six years. He was twice married. His second wife, Mrs. Clayton's maternal grandmother, was Sarah Boatman. She was born in 1812, in Jessamine county, Kentucky, and died aged eighty-three years. By this marriage Mr. Willis reared ten children : Ann E., Mary, William, Sarah, Marion F., Tilghman H., Margaret, James A., Ruah L. and Laura. By his first marriage he had two children: John and Richard. He joined the Methodist church after coming to Indiana, and became a licensed exhorter, and his wife and all of his children belonged to the same church. Mrs. Sarah (Willis) Shepherd is still a resident of Jefferson township. Mr. and Mrs. Clayton are the parents of three children, namely: Iva, Hazel and William Russell. Politically, Mr. Clayton is a loyal supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and religiously both he and his wife are adherents of the Christian church, and the wife is a devout member of that denomination.
LEVI GAMBILL .- Holding a good position among the successful farmers of Cass township, Sullivan county, is Levi Gambill, who is emphatically a self-made man, as he started in life with no other capital than brains, a willingness to labor and the necessary muscle, and by his industry and excellent judgment and management has acquired a fair share of this world's goods. A son of Morgan Gambill, he was born in this township January 2, 1839, and is an excellent representative of the native-born citizens of this part of the state. His grandfather, Martin Gambill, came from Tennessee to Indiana at an early day, making the journey on horseback, and bringing with him his family and all of his household effects. On the farm which he improved in Wright township, Greene county, he spent his remaining days.
Born in Tennessee, Morgan Gambill was but a child when he came
167
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
with the family to Greene county, Indiana. An apt scholar in his youth- ful days, he was well educated for his times, and in early manhood began his career as a teacher, having charge of the first school established in Cass township. The round-log cabin in which he taught was rudely con- structed and equipped, having a stick and clay chimney, a roof made of boards rived and held in place by poles, while the seats were made of slabs and the floor of puncheon. A strip of greased paper covering the narrow opening made by leaving out a round log admitted light to the room, which was heated by a fire in the fireplace. This part of Indiana was then a wilderness, and the comparatively few inhabitants lived in a very primi- tive manner, the farmers raising flax and sheep, and their hard-working wives carding, spinning and weaving the cloth in which she dressed her entire family. During his boyhood all grain was cut with a sickle, and the plows were made with wooden moldboards, on which were narrow points of iron. The wagons were home-made, the wheels being sawed from a log, and no iron at all iised in their construction. Wild game, deer, wolves and bears were plentiful, and oftentimes damaged the growing crops unless they were carefully watched and guarded.
When a young man, Morgan Gambill entered government land in section one, Cass township, and having cleared a space erected from round logs the cabin in which his son Levi was born. With character- istic energy and enterprise he began the improvement of a homestead, and a few years later erected a commodious hewed log house, which was then considered a fine residence, and subsequently built on his place the first frame barn erected in the township, a barn that is still in use. Clear- ing the greater part of his land, he resided there until his death in 1852, when but forty-one years old. He married Ellen McGrew, who was born near Salem, Daviess county, Indiana, a daughter of John McGrew, a pioneer of Daviess and Greene counties, who improved a farm near Linton. She survived him, marrying subsequently for her second husband William Cone, and now, a bright and hearty woman of ninety-five years, is living with one of her sons. By her first marriage she reared seven children : John, Hannah, Lucinda, Levi, Wiley, Morgan and Mary Ann. By her second marriage she had two children : Eleanor and William.
Having received his early education in the district schools, Levi Gambill obtained on the home farm a practical experience in the art and science of agriculture, remaining with his mother until eighteen years old. Beginning life for himself then even with the world, he secured work on a neighboring farm, receiving nine dollars a month wages, which was then considered a good compensation. Prudent and economical, he accumulated enough money before many years to buy forty acres of the land that is now included in his present homestead. He built a hewed log house for his first home, and there began housekeeping with his bride. Enlisting in his country's defense in March, 1865, Mr. Gambill became a member of Company A, Fifty-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry, joined his regiment at Indianapolis, and with it went by way of Ohio, Pennsyl- vania and New Jersey to New York City, from there going by steamer to Wilmington, North Carolina, and after a short stop at that port return-
I68
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
ing by boat as far north as Alexandria, Virginia. A few weeks later he marched with his comrades to Washington, where he took part in the Grand Review. Going from there to Pennsylvania, and thence to Ken- tucky, he was there honorably discharged from the service in the fall of 1865. Returning home, Mr. Gambill resumed the care of his land, and has since enlarged his farm by purchase of adjoining land, having now eighty-five acres in his homestead. He has placed his land in a fine state of cultivation, erected a substantial set of frame buildings, and set out fruit and shade trees, each year adding to the beauty and value of the property.
On February 7, 1860, Mr. Gambill married Elizabeth Moore. She was born in Cass township, a daughter of James Moore, and grand- daughter of Robert Moore. Her grandfather, an early settler of Sullivan county, improved a farm in the west half of the northeast quarter of sec- tion fourteen, Cass township, and in addition to being a successful farmer was one of the noted hunters of his day. James Moore cleared and improved a homestead in section fourteen, Cass township, and was there employed in tilling the soil until his death, at the age of forty-four years. His widow, whose maiden name was Sarah Graves, married for her second husband Joseph Linn, and died at the age of seventy-two years. She reared four children by her first marriage: William, Elias, Elizabeth (now Mrs. Gambill) and John. Her father, Elias Graves, was also a pio- neer of Cass township, and from the wilderness redeemed in the south half of section one a farm of one hundred and sixty acres.
Mr. and Mrs. Gambill have three children, namely: John S., Sarah E. and William M. John married Amanda Gabard, and they have five children : Homer, Cornie, Osal, Bessie and Kittie. Sarah E., wife of John Marshall Buck, has six children: Chloe, Dessie, Alma, Dora, Pearl and Estie. William M. married Elizabeth Kelley, and they have two children: Nona and Everett. Chloe Buck married Otis Pitcher, and they have two children : Louis and Pansy. Dessie Buck married Albert Boyd, and has one child, Theresa. Bessie Gambill, wife of Ira Sisk, has two children : Esther and Iva. Politically, Mr. Gambill votes for the best men and measures, regardless of party restrictions, and religiously, both Mr. and Mrs. Gambill are members of the Christian church. Fraternally, he is a Mason of Sullivan.
DANIEL H. HALBERSTADT was born on the 7th of January, 1850, about three-fourths of a mile north of where he now resides, and is a son of one of the most honored pioneer families of Sullivan county, Harrison and Elizabeth (Manwarring) Halberstadt. They were born in Franklin county, Indiana, and came to Jackson township in Sullivan county as early as 1837, and here they both spent the remainder of their lives and died. Mr. Halberstadt, the father, was quite a prominent stock raiser, and owned over two hundred acres of good land. The Republican party received his stanch support and co-operation, and both he and his wife were earnest members of the Methodist church. They reared five
169
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
children to years of maturity, namely: George M., whose home is in Jackson township; Charlotte, deceased; Thomas J. and Elijah T., who also reside in Jackson township; and Daniel H., who is mentioned more at length below.
Daniel H. Halberstadt remained at home and assisted his father in clearing and improving his land until his marriage, which occurred on the 27th of November, 1873, to Samantha Ridgeway, who was born in Jackson township, September 26, 1852, a daughter of Jacob W. and Julia A. Ridgeway, both of whom were born in Kentucky, but they were married in Sullivan county, Indiana. Mr. Ridgeway was a lifelong tiller of the soil, and he owned an estate of four hundred and eighty acres. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Halberstadt, three are deceased, two dying in infancy, and Bettie Lillian at the age of nineteen years. The two living are Nellie G. and Goldie May. The elder is the wife of John A. Harding, of Jackson township, and the younger is at home with her parents.
After his marriage Mr. Halberstadt erected a pleasant home on his farm, and here the family have ever since lived, the homestead farm con- sisting of eighty acres. He is a carpenter as well as a farmer, and has been very successful in his business operations. His politics are Repub- lican, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church.
KATHERINE (GRANT) WALLACE, a member of one of the most prominent families of Sullivan county, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, September 14, 1836, a daughter of Peter and Anna (Neff) Grant. The father was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but was only a boy of nine- teen when he came to this country, and he spent three months in crossing the ocean. He taught school both before and after coming to the United States, and was one of the highly educated men of his day, being able to speak five different languages, and his professional career covered the long period of fifty or sixty years. During that time he taught in Balti- more and in many of the higher educational institutions of learning, but finally he came to Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1855, and spent the remain- der of his life here, his later years having been passed on his farm in Jackson township. From the Whigs he transferred his political allegiance to the Democracy, and both he and his wife were members of the Presby- terian church, in which he served as an elder for many years. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Grant, namely: Katherine Wallace ; Mary Forester, deceased; Elizabeth Squire, also deceased; Anna Wal- lace, whose home is in Curry township; William and Charles, who have both passed away; Caroline Baker, whose husband is a minister at Lyons ; and Morgan, who died in infancy.
The daughter Katherine received her educational training in the public schools and under the able instructions of her father, and she also taught school during about four years before her marriage. This occurred on the 7th of August, 1859, when she wedded Henry R. Wallace, Sr.,
170
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
who was born February 7, 1824, in Pennsylvania, and was a lad of sixteen when he came with his parents to Indiana. Immediately following their marriage the young couple moved to the farm where the widow yet resides and which had been entered from the government by his father. Mr. Wallace cleared and improved this place, and made it his home until his death on the 7th of August, 1887, and he was buried in Littleflock ceme- tery, near Shelburn. At his death he left a valuable estate of four hun- dred acres, and during his lifetime he had been prominently engaged in the raising of grain and stock. His politics were Democratic, and he was prominently before the people for many years as a squire, as a trustee and as a county commissioner. He was at the same time an earnest Christian gentleman, a member of the Presbyterian denomination, and for many years he served his church as a deacon.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace was blessed by the birth of five children, namely: Elizabeth Giles, of Jackson township ; Frank, who mar- ried Joanna Giles, by whom he has two children, Katharine and Henry, and the family home is in Curry township; Edward P., at home with his mother ; Harry S., who has been twice married, first to Leona Wagner, deceased, and secondly to Sarah Ross, and he is now practicing law in Terre Haute; and Peter J., who died at the age of seven years. Mrs. Wallace and her son reside on her estate of eighty acres in Jackson township, and she is a prominent member and an earnest worker in the Presbyterian church.
JACOB CUMSON, whose home for many years has been on a farm in Jackson township, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, June 20, 1848, a son of James and Nancy (Early) Cumson, natives respectively of Greene county, Pennsylvania, and of Scotland. When twenty years of age, in 1807, James Cumson went to Ohio and became a farmer and cabinet- maker there, and his life's labors were ended in death in about 1878, surviving his wife for about ten years, and they both lie buried in Ohio.
Jacob Cumson attended school in Harrison county, Ohio, during his boyhood days, and he has practically cared for himself since the early age of sixteen years. At this time, about 1864, he obtained a government position in the quartermaster's department, where he remained for about eighteen months, and he then worked for others until 1867, after which he farmed on rented land in Guernsey county for one year. At the close of that period he bought a little twenty acre farm in Ohio, and lived and labored there until he sold the land and came to Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1883, here buying forty acres, where he now lives. He has sold the coal which underlies this tract, and he also owns eighty acres of land about half a mile northeast and thirty-six acres in Cass township, renting about twenty-five acres of these tracts, while on the remainder he is engaged in general farming and stock raising. He is a Republican in politics, and is now serving as a justice of the peace, and to his honor it may be said that he was elected to this office without his knowledge.
On the 13th of October, 1868, Mr. Cumson married Sarah E. Lam-
I7I
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
bright, who was born in Harrison county, Ohio, a daughter of Henry and Mary Jane (Shivers) Lambright, natives respectively of Germany and of Ohio. They came to Sullivan county in 1882 and bought a farm in Cass township, where the father died in 1904 and the mother about fourteen years previously. Mrs. Cumson has also passed away, dying on the 30th of April, 1907, after becoming the mother of three children, but only Mary Elizabeth, the youngest, is now living, the two others having died in infancy. Mr. Cumson is a member of the Methodist church.
ROBERT J. DENTON, one of the thrifty agriculturists of Jackson township, Sullivan county, is a native of Vigo county, Indiana, born April 23, 1839, son of Joseph W. and Anna (Miller) Denton, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Tennessee. The father came to Terre Haute, Indiana, when it was yet a small place. He located on lands near Terre Haute, where he resided with his parents, and they both died near Lewis, Indiana. Mr. Denton remained at home until twenty-one years of age, when he married and moved to a farm in Honey Creek township, where he followed farm life until 1862. He then removed to Lancaster, Owen county, where he stayed one year, then went to the old home place. During this term of years by frugal and industrious habits he had suc- ceeded in accumulating over one thousand acres of land in Vigo, Clay and Owen counties. At the time of his death he resided near Lewis, having sold the old place and purchased another farm about three miles from the old one. He died about 1878, his father having survived until 1880. Mr. Denton's mother died in 1860, and his grandmother in 1877.
Robert J. Denton remained under the paternal roof until twenty years of age, when his father gave him eighty acres of land. He then located on his own farm in Pierson township. On October 10, 1864, he enlisted in the Twenty-first Heavy Artillery, in which service he was faithful to every known duty for twelve months. He was a member of Company C. Upon his return home he engaged in farming on the place where he now lives, which land he had purchased prior to going into the army. At one time this place contained four hundred and forty acres, but has been sold off until he now has but seventy acres. He bought and sold stock for about twenty years and carried on general farming in connection with his extensive stock business. Of late years he has lived more of a retired life and enjoys the fruits of his long and strenuous life.
Mr. Denton is a member of the Masonic fraternity at Hymera. The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Denton is a member. Politically he is a believer in the principles of the Republican party, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln for president.
He was married, October 4, 1860, to Martha Lovett, born in Ohio June 10, 1857, daughter of Jonas Lovett. Martha Lovett came to Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1859, her sister having resided here some years before. She taught school in Indiana from the time she was sixteen years of age
172
HISTORY OF SULLIVAN COUNTY
until her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Denton have been born six children, as follows: Charles A., married and resides on a farm near his father ; Joseph Ellsworth, married and lives near the father ; Mary Etta, deceased ; Arthur, deceased; William, married and lives in Oklahoma City; and Rhoda, wife of Charles Liston.
CAROLINE (MAHAN) BRANSON .- Mrs. Caroline Mahan Branson was born in Kentucky January 13, 1832, a daughter of Jeremiah and Jemima (Browning) Mahan, both of whom were also born in Kentucky. Coming to Jackson township in Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1834, they entered land here at that early day, and the father was both a cooper and farmer, having operated a shop both before and after coming to this county. During the years of his residence in Sullivan county he also cleared his farm of two hundred acres and operated a saw and grist mill, becoming one of the best known men throughout the entire county, loved and honored for his many sterling characteristics, and he was known as "Uncle Jerry" by his many friends and acquaintances. His politics were Democratic, and he held to the Methodist belief. His parents, John and Sarah Mahan, were both natives of Kentucky, but they also came to Indiana and entered land near Hymera, where they became prominent agriculturists.
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.