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 31
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Return Jonathan Turman lived the life of a farmer boy and attended the district schools at Big Springs. He assisted his father until the lat- ter's death, then continued with his mother until he was twenty-seven years of age, after which he commenced farming independently on the place he still occupies, which contains one hundred and twenty acres of the original Turman homestead, the title having always been in the Turman family name. Politically Mr. Turman is a Democrat and in his religious relations is a member of the Christian church.
On April 3, 1864, Mr. Turman was united in marriage to Paulena Wible, born in Turman township, in 1846, and she was a sister of William W. Wible, mentioned elsewhere in this work. She died in 1889. The children born of this union were: John Edward, of Sullivan ; William F., a teacher in the State Normal at Terre Haute; Ira L., a practicing physician of Cynthiana, Indiana ; Walter R., practicing den- tistry in Marshall, Illinois; Flora, wife of Rev. William Harney, a Ken- tucky clergyman ; Dove M., wife of William Riggs, of Sullivan ; Avarilla, wife of Leonard Bostwick; Hattie A., Mrs. Guy Cushman; Ross J., a farmer ; and Hallie, who is keeping house for her father.
DR. CLARENCE T. HOWARD, D. V. S., a veterinary surgeon of Sulli- van, Indiana, was born May 26, 1878, on a farm in Jefferson township, a son of William W. and Rose (Shake) Howard, both born in Jefferson township, where they still reside on the old homestead. (See sketch of
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James D. Howard.) The father has always followed farming for his livelihood. He was elected on the Democratic ticket and served as county treasurer of Sullivan county from 1900 to 1902. He has also been a trustee of Jefferson township. In his religious belief he is of the Baptist faith. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. William Howard are as follows: Elmer, who resides in Florida; Ora, deceased; Dr. Clarence T., of this notice; Hudson, at home; Grover, at home; and Claude, at home.
Dr. Clarence T. Howard received his education at the district schools and in the high schools at Sullivan. In the fall of 1904 he entered the Indiana Veterinary College, graduating with the class of 1907, and immediately commenced the practice of his profession at Sullivan, where he has been ever since, and now enjoys a lucrative business. His office at this date is at Knott & Park's livery barn.
Like most true American citizens the Doctor takes an interest in the political welfare of his country, and his party choice is that of the Democratic party. In his fraternal affiliations he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the Encampment degree. In his religious faith he is a believer in that taught by the creed of the Baptist church.
OTHO THOMAS COLLIER .- A widely known teacher as well as a farmer and man of affairs, is Otho T. Collier, of Turman township, Sullivan county, Indiana, who was born April 20, 1869, in this township, his father being Thomas H. Collier, a native of Rochester, New York. He was born April 4, 1836, and his parents, Thomas and Sophia (Cauble) Collier, were, so far as is now known, life-long residents of the Empire state. About 1855 Thomas H. Collier removed to Ohio, where he lived until 1860, when he came to Turman township, Sullivan county, to set up a sawmill for an Ohio firm. On April 8, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company I, Seventy-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and went south with his regiment. The following September he was captured by Morgan's raiders, but was soon paroled and then exchanged. In February, 1863, he was transferred to the Eighteenth Regiment, U. S. Infantry, and one year later was assigned to Company B, Second Bat- talion, U. S. Infantry. He was quartermaster sergeant of this regiment and was promoted to sergeant of Company B, being also acting quarter- master sergeant of the brigade. He was with General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign until the battle of Jonesboro. In October, 1865, Mr. Collier was detailed as clerk at General Palmer's headquarters, Jefferson barracks, St. Louis, and served with such until honorably discharged in February, 1866.
Mr. Collier then returned to Turman township and for some time was engaged in the manufacture of lumber and shingles. Turning his attention then to farming and stockraising, he continued in this until his death in 1903. He married Martha M. Turman, who was born in Turman
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township, a daughter of Thomas and Susanna Lavina ( White) Turman, and a granddaughter of Benjamin Turman, the first settler of the town- ship. Mrs. Collier still occupies the old homestead which is pleasantly situated on an elevation overlooking the Wabash valley. She is a member of the Christian church, as was her husband. He was a Democrat and served as township trustee for four years. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Collier: Otho Thomas, of this sketch ; Theron L., residing in Indianapolis; and a child who died in infancy.
Otho T. Collier obtained his education at the Big Springs district schools and also attended the Union Christian College at Merom. Having thus properly fitted himself for the duties of a teacher he began teaching, and continued thus for fourteen years. He generally taught during the winter months and put in the summers at farm work. He now owns an excellent farm consisting of a quarter section of land in one of the choice portions of Turman township, Sullivan county. This place he superintends and has it devoted to grain and stockraising.
Mr. Collier has been very prominent in public affairs. He was one of the members of the Island Levee Association and was elected clerk of this organization, serving continuously since. He is also a member of the board of directors. He was associated with Dr. J. L. Durham and William A. Pound in organizing the Turman Township Telephone Com- pany, and was secretary of the same. Mr. Collier has served several years as trustee of Turman township. At the time he was elected the district system prevailed. During the time he was trustee the present admirable system of graded schools was inaugurated. There was a com- modious building erected at Graysville, where eight schools are united under one roof, the scholars being carried to and from their homes, and Mr. Collier caused to be placed in the Graysville school the department of domestic science and manual training. The transportation is paid for by the township, and the schools of Turman township now vie with the best in the state.
Politically Mr. Collier is a supporter of the Democratic party and was elected township trustee of Turman township in 1904, taking his seat January 1, 1905. He is connected with the Masonic, Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America fraternities, all of Graysville, Indiana. He belongs to the Blue lodge of the A. F. and A. M., at Graysville, of which he was a charter member; the subordinate lodge of Odd Fellows and Encampment at Sullivan, having filled all the chairs in the subordi- nate lodge and been a delegate to the grand lodge. In the Woodmen he is a charter member of the Graysville camp.
Mr. Collier was married September 30, 1896, to Estella Phillips, born in Turman township November 28, 1873, and educated in her native township. She is a daughter of Leander and Louisa (Herndon) Phillips. The father was born in Ohio and the mother in Indiana, and both now reside at Big Springs, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Collier are the parents of one son, Ralph T., born April 1, 1898. Mrs. Collier is an exemplary member of the Christian church.
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JOSEPH GRAY, who with his wife is joint owner of a fine three hundred and forty acre farm in Turman township, this county, is one of the successful agriculturists who has helped to develop this section of the state, and by marriage is connected with a family which not only was among the pioneers of the territory of Indiana, but gave its name to the township in which he now resides. Mr. Gray is a native of Sullivan, born October 19, 1852, and is a son of Joseph Gray (born in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1803) and a grandson of Thomas Gray, who was an early settler of Kentucky and a pioneer of Turman township, where he settled in 1818. For several years the grandfather operated a saw and grist mill on Turman creek, two and one-half miles northwest of the present town of Graysville, and in that locality he spent the last years of his life. In his earlier years the father of our subject assisted in the conduct of this enterprise, but later engaged in various other industrial and agricul- tural occupations at various points in Sullivan county. At one time he was a manufacturer of woolen goods at Sullivan and later engaged in farming in Curry township, where at one time he owned a full section of land. He was also a contractor in the building of the Evansville and Terre Haute railroad and achieved such a decided success in this capacity that the company awarded him the prize offered for the contractor who completed his section first, Mr. Gray thereby securing a quarter section of land in Sullivan, which he platted into lots. Joseph Gray, Sr., platted the town of Graysville, which was named in his honor, and then estab- lished the woolen mill which he operated for a time, and then returned to Turman creek, where he conducted a similar establishment for a number of years, after which he lived in retirement until his death, August 4, 1875. He was a strong Democrat and an influential man of public affairs, serving one term as county treasurer. The wife of the deceased was formerly Miss Nancy Sherman, a native of Virginia. She died in January, 1877, the mother of the following children: Simon, William, Benjamin, Martha, Leanah, James, Mary (widow of Dr. A. Cushman), Thomas and Joseph. Leanah, Mary and Joseph are the only ones now living.
Joseph Gray, of this sketch, received his earlier education in the dis- trict schools of his home locality and pursued advanced courses at the Union Christian College at Merom. He lived with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, after which for several years he was em- ployed by neighboring farmers and then associated himself in a mer- cantile venture witli his brother-in-law, Frank Turman. This association continued for some time, after which Mr. Gray conducted the business independently for about two years, when he resumed farming and stock raising. Mr. Gray has always been an active Democrat and deeply con- cerned in the public affairs of the county. For five years he served as assessor of Turman township, and has since been a member of the advisory board.
In September, 1874, Mr. Gray wedded Miss Cornelia M. Turman, a native of the township which is honored with her family name, born January 1. 1857. Her father, William Harvey Turman, was born in
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that township May 4, 1819. The maternal grandfather, Hon. Thomas Turman, was a native of Virginia, born in Bedford county, August 18, 1796. Benjamin Turman, the great-grandfather, was also a son of the Old Dominion, where the American branch of the family was first estab- lished. Great-grandfather Turman migrated from his Virginia home to Champaign county, Ohio, and after living in that locality a short time went to Kentucky. In 1810 he made another move westward, this time locating in the territory of Indiana and becoming the first settler of what is now Turman township. He there secured a tract of government land in section 25, and the log cabin which he there built often became the refuge of the early settlers from Indian attacks. It was here that both he and his wife, Sarah Flowers, resided and passed the last years of their lives. The son of this sturdy pioneer couple was the Hon. Thomas Turman, the grandfather of Mrs. Gray, who not only assisted his father in farming but became an enterprising. transportation agent of these early times, owning and operating flat boats by which he conveyed hogs, lumber and other products of the country down the Wabash, Ohio and Missis- sippi rivers to New Orleans. He also built and operated the first flour mill in the neighborhood, and in addition to these many enterprises he was an extensive raiser of live stock, at his death being quite wealthy and the owner of a large estate. Like other men of mark he served in both the Black Hawk and Mexican wars, and his standing was such in every way that he was sent to the state legislature as a representative of his district, where among other important affairs that he championed was that providing for the establishment of free schools in the state of Indiana. In politics he was a Democrat and fraternally a Mason.' He died in his sixty-sixth year universally respected for his stalwart character and broad and useful works.
The wife of Thomas Turman, Susannah Lavinia White, was born in North Carolina November 1, 1801, daughter of William White, a native of Washington county, Virginia, born March 27, 1776, while the great-great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Gray, William White, was an Eng- lishman born in London, who came to America during the colonial times and settled in Virginia, where he spent the remainder of his days. His son, William White, great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Gray, married Miss Mary Johnson, resided for a time near Abingdon, southwest Virginia, and during the Revolutionary war period migrated to Tennessee and settled in Greene county. William White, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Gray, was but an infant when his parents moved to Tennessee. After his marriage he settled in Rowan county, North Carolina, where he remained until 1815, which marks the year of his coming to Turman township, Sullivan county. In 1823 he made another change in location, settling in Fountain county, and several years thereafter permanently located in Vermilion county, where he died at the advanced age of ninety-six years and eleven months. The deceased was married three times, the maiden name of his first wife, great-grandmother of Mrs. Gray, being Ann Wilkes Balch. She was a native of Greenville, Tennessee, born February 17, 1776, so that both Mr. White and his wife were born in the year of
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American independence. Mrs. White was the daughter of Rev. Hezekiah Balch, son of James and Ann (Bloomer) Balch, natives respectively of England and Wales, who came to America in the colonial period, residing for a time in Virginia, whence they removed to Tennessee and became pioneer settlers of that state. The above genealogy is from a work com- piled by Rev. A. F. White, LL. D.
Continuing the sketch of William Harvey Turman, the father of Mrs. Gray, it may be added that throughout life he was an industrious and successful farmer, and at the time of his death, May 3, 1900, owned one thousand acres of land, the greater portion of which was highly improved. The deceased was a firm and active Democrat, and served as trustee of his township. He was twice married, first to Sally Ann Taylor, and secondly to Nancy Ann Bridwell, mother of Mrs. Gray. She died in May, 1880.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Gray are as follows : . Nancy, now deceased; William H., born in 1878, who married Bertha Moore of Turman township and is the father of two children-Joseph and Marjorie; Frank, who is now a traveling salesman for Havens and Geltin, an Indianapolis house; Arbaces, a merchant of New Lebanon ; and Nellie, who is living at home with her parents. Mrs. Gray and her daughter are active members of the Christian church at Big Springs.
JOHN L. DURHAM, M. D., was well known as a practitioner in this section of the state until 1887, when he also engaged in the business of farming and stock raising, since which time he has not only continued his medical practice but become well known throughout a wide extent of country by reason of his well-bred stock, which is raised and fed upon the farm of which he has the superintendence. Doctor Durham is a native of Boyle county, Kentucky, born October 26, 1844, and is a son of Jesse Y. and Martha (Tarkington) Durham. Concerning his ancestry, it should be stated that his grandfather, John Durham, was born in Virginia, coming to Kentucky with his parents when a boy. In that state he married Celia Bugg, a Kentucky woman, and passed the re- mainder of his life in farming. The grandfather mentioned participated in the famous Clark expedition up the Wabash river at a very early date in the country's history. There were seven children in his family.
Jesse Y. Durham, the father, was born in November, 1820, in Mercer (now Boyle) county, Kentucky, was a farmer and in the spring. of 1850 moved to Montgomery county, Indiana, remaining on his farm therein until his death, August 26, 1907. Politically he was an old-time Democrat and was elected to the Indiana legislature in 1873, serving one session. In the Masonic fraternity he belonged to the Blue lodge. In August, 1843, he was married, in Kentucky, to Martha Tarkington, born in Giles county, Tennessee, April 29, 1820. His wife, who was a faithful Methodist, died January 2, 1892. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Y. Durham were as follows: John L., of this sketch ; George,
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who resides on a farm in Montgomery county, Indiana ; Crittenden, living in the state of Washington ; Julia, deceased ; Laura, widow of William Rue, who passed his life in Danville, Kentucky, Mrs. Rue now residing in Indianapolis ; Joseph P., a resident of Indianapolis, identified as book- keeper with the Stewart Drug Company ; Joshua B., who forms the sub- ject of another sketch on other pages of this work; William Y., living in Waveland, Montgomery county, and with his brother, Dr. Durham, owning the old homestead ; and Cornelius, who died in infancy.
Dr. John L. Durham was reared on the Indiana farm and obtained his earlier education at the district schools of Montgomery county and then attended for a short time the Waveland Academy, of that county. He began the study of medicine with Dr. A. T. Steele, at Waveland, and continued it four years under his instruction. In the autumn of 1877 he entered the medical department of the Louisville ( Kentucky) Univer- sity, graduating from the same in 1880, and then practicing at Waveland for a short time. In 1879 he went to Merom, practiced there for a short time, attended lectures at Louisville, and in January, 1881, located at Graysville. There he continued in active professional work until the fall of 1887. when he moved to the James B. Mann homestead, about two miles west of Graysville, which he successfully operates as a stock farm and also maintains a large professional practice in his neighborhood. Originally the Doctor owned about thirteen hundred acres of land, but after giving some to his children and selling other tracts; he now owns about one thousand acres. He superintends this extensive place, which is devoted to grain and stock-raising purposes, his specialty in live stock being the breeding of high-grade Polled Durham cattle and thoroughbred Berkshire swine, selling of the latter about one hundred and fifty head a year. He also raises mules on an extensive scale. Early in the eighties Dr. Durham entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, Thomas J. Mann ( who lived with the Doctor before his marriage), and they carried on farming and stock and poultry raising, the latter including wild geese and Pekin ducks. At one time he owned over twenty-three hundred acres of land.
Dr. Durham was the president of the Merom Bluff Chautauqua Asso- ciation for three years, and is a member of the American Medical Associa- tion, Indiana Medical Society, County Medical Society, and the Æscula- pian Association. In his religious relations the Doctor and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Politically he is a Democrat, and during the administration of the late President Cleveland served on the United States pension board. On February 18, 1908, he was nominated for representative on the Democratic ticket and was elected representative of Sullivan county, November 3, 1908. In his fraternal relations he is associated with the A. F. and A. M.
Dr. Durham was united in marriage October 5, 1881, to Mrs. Mary (Mann) Davis, who was born in Turman township, this county, October 20, 1850, on the farm upon which she now resides. She is the daughter of James B. and Fidelia (Turman) Mann, sketches of whom appear in other pages. Three children have been born to Dr. Durham and his wife :
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Thomas Mann, the eldest, was born September 29, 1884, and attended the Union Christian College, at Merom, and Purdue University, at which institution he took the agricultural course. He married Lora Ridgeway, born in Fairbanks township, and they reside with the Doctor. James Jesse, the second child, was born April 10, 1886, pursued a course at the Union Christian College, and is now in his third year at the Wabash College, where he is taking a scientific course, a member of the class of 1910. Martha Fidelia, the only daughter, who was born March 25, 1888, attended college at Merom, and is now a student at the Western College, of Oxford, Ohio.
Concerning Mrs. Durham's great-grandfather, Benjamin Turman, it may be stated that early in the nineteenth century he built a fort on his land which was known as Fort Turman. The first white man to be buried in the cemetery on the knoll opposite Dr. Durham's residence was shot in that locality while going for a pail of water to the creek which still runs past the family home.
JAMES MILLIGAN MOORE, of Turman township, who is one of the en- terprising farmers of Sullivan county and one of the veterans of the Civil war, is a native of Jay county, Indiana, born April 9, 1845, a son of William and Caroline (Vail) Moore. His father was born in Perry county, Ohio, June 27, 1819, and died in Jay county, January 16, 1892, being of Irish descent and a lifelong and successful farmer. The mother, of Welsh extraction, was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1823, and died in Jay county in 1855. This worthy couple were united in marriage in Jay county, where they both passed the remainder of their lives. In his political belief William Moore was a firm Republican, and both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a class leader. They were the parents of the following six children : Isaac Marshall, deceased ; Lydia Ann, now the wife of Zadock Lanham and a resident of Christian county, Illinois ; James M., of this memoir ; Rebecca and Emma, deceased ; and Alwilda, wife of Ira Oborn, who lives in California.
James M. Moore was reared on the farm, attended the district schools and two terms at Liber (Indiana) College. On September 19, 1863, he enlisted as a member of Company B, Eleventh Indiana Cavalry Regiment, and served in the war of the rebellion until September 19, 1865, when he was mustered out of the service at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, being honorably discharged at Indianapolis, Indiana. Among others he partici- pated in the battles of Springhill, Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee, and was fortunate in that he never received a wound in the two years of his service. In common with other comrades-at-arms, he is now receiving a pension for his military services.
For two years following the war Mr. Moore farmed in Jay county, Indiana ; then went to Sullivan county, first locating at Merom, and soon afterward in Turman township, there engaging in agricultural pursuits. These have occupied his busy and useful life ever since, with the excep-
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tion of three years (1878-1881) which he spent in Jay county. Mr. Moore's farm comprises ninety acres of excellent land, all within Turman township, and besides his agricultural interests he is a stockholder in the Terre Haute & Merom Traction Railway Company and the Turman Township Telephone Company. Politically he believes in the cardinal principles of the Republican party, and naturally and fittingly enjoys membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to the Sulli- van Post.
Referring to Mr. Moore's domestic life, it may be said that he was married on March 15, 1871, to Sarah Jane Burton, who is a native of the township in which she now resides, born March 1, 1850, and a daugh- ter of Sherrod and Eletha (Burks) Burton. Her parents were both natives of Kentucky, and in the thirties, when young, were brought by their parents to Sullivan county, Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Moore were born three children: Amy Theressa, born January 10, 1872, who attended the Union Christian College (Merom), and is still living at home; William Sherrod, born October 18, 1875, who married Dora Phillips (also born in Turman township) and is the father of Mina, Earl and James ; and Grace Gertrude, born March 23, 1881, who was also educated at Union Christian College, is unmarried and engaged in the millinery business at Farmersburg, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Moore and their family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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