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 34
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"Next, a copy of these resolutions be furnished the family of the deceased, and published in each of the county papers and spread on the records of the lodge."
The funeral of the deceased, which was largely attended, was con- ducted by Sullivan Lodge, and the remains were interred at Center Ridge Cemetery. The Doctor was also an Odd Fellow in good standing.
In 1852 Dr. Coffman was united in marriage to Miss Philena S. Rod- man, and the following children were born of this union: William, who died in infancy ; Ida ; Mamie, wife of George T. Johnson ; Ella, now Mrs. T. P. Townes and superintendent of the business interests of the Coffman estate in Sullivan; and Clarence Edward, of this sketch. The surviving widow resides in Sullivan as a revered pioneer of the county and a devoted member of the Baptist church, her birth having occurred in Washington county, Indiana, on the 12th of September, 1832.
RICHARD ADAMS, one of the enterprising agriculturists of Turman township, Sullivan county, was born March 31, 1845, in Devonshire, England, a son of William G. and Mary Ann (Tucker) Adams, both born in England. Six children were born to these parents in England and one in Illinois, namely: John, now deceased; William, residing in Turman township; Thomas, deceased; Richard, subject; Samuel, de- ceased ; George, deceased ; Henry, born in this country and now deceased. The parents came to America when Richard was yet a small boy. The family located in Clark county, Illinois, and remained there about five years, when they moved to Turman township, Sullivan county, Indiana, where the father and mother both died. The father was always a farmer, and in his political views a Democrat. Both he and the good wife were members of the Baptist church.
Richard Adams, of this memoir, had but little opportunity to obtain an education. He attended school taught in a log: building, the floor and seats of which were made of puncheon, the latter resting on natural sticks for legs. There were no desks in front of the seats, but a board against the wall served for the scholars to write on. There being no windows, the light was admitted through greased paper covering an aperture in the wall. He remained at home until he was of age. He enlisted in the Seventy-first Indiana Volunteer Regiment, being a member of Company
Richard Adams
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I, the date of his enlistment being August, 1863. He was wounded in the left arm at Richmond, Kentucky, and was honorably discharged on account of disability. After the close of the rebellion he resumed farming with his father and continued until the latter's death, when he inherited a part of the old homestead. He now owns a farm of five hundred and one acres, upon which he resides and carries on a general farming business in which he is highly successful, and he has a nice set of buildings, recently erected. Politically he is a supporter of Democratic principles. He is a member of the Blue lodge of the Masonic order at Graysville.
Mr. Adams has been married five times. His first wife was Mary Wells, born in Ohio. One daughter was the fruit of this union, Martha, now deceased. His second wife was Rebecca J. Chandler, born in Casey, Illinois ; now deceased. One daughter was born of this marriage, Lula, who died aged six years. For the third wife Mr. Adams married Louisa Ash, born in Greene county, Indiana, and she is also deceased. Two children were born of this union-Rebecca, deceased ; and Minnie, wife of John Osborn, residing in Turman township, and have two children, Mabel C. and Hazel. For the fourth companion Mr. Adams married Martha Burnett Adams, a widow of the subject's brother Thomas. She is also deceased, and three of her children were reared-Madge, unmar- ried and at home ; Gertrude, wife of William Lottery and mother of two children, Harold and Martha E. ; and Bertha, who married George Burton and has two sons, Forest A. and Hubbard. His present wife's maiden name was Lulu Rogers, who with her husband are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church.
VACHEL D. CUMMINS, a retired farmer and one of the veterans of the civil war, residing at Sullivan, Indiana, was born May 30, 1842, at Terre Haute, a son of John A. and Mary (Crist) Cummins, the former a native of Kentucky, born in 1813, and the latter of Clark county, Indiana. The father came to Indiana in 1819 with his parents. The grandfather, named Robert Cummins, located in Curry township and remained until his death. The great-grandfather was born in Scotland, and with his four brothers emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania. Our subject's father and mother were married in Clay county, living for a time on a farm there on land now included within the city of Terre Haute. Subsequently they removed to Lewis, Vigo county, and still later to Curry township, Sullivan county, where Vachel D. was reared and where the parents spent the remainder of their days. The mother died in the six- ties and the father in the eighties. He followed farming for a livelihood, and by trade was a carpenter. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The children born to this worthy couple were as fol- lows: David, deceased; Sareptia, deceased; Vachel D .; Joseph; Eliza Jane : Nancy, deceased ; and John A., Jr.
Vachel D. Cummins was educated in Curry township and remained at home until twenty years of age, and then engaging in farm pursuits on his own account, continued until the autumn of 1891, when he removed to
Vol. II-18
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Sullivan. He was elected to the office of county recorder in the fall of 1890, on the Democratic ticket, taking the office in the fall of that year, and served until 1898, holding two terms. In 1900 he engaged in the marble business with M. E. Drake, continuing. until 1906. He served eight years as township trustee of Jackson township. That Mr. Cummins was patriotic is shown by the fact that at the time of the Civil war he served from October 13, 1864, to October 13, 1865, as a member of Com- pany B, Thirtieth Indiana Infantry. He participated in the battles of Franklin and Nashville, Tennessee, and at Spring Hill and other engage- ments.
He was united in marriage, March 10, 1863, to Minerva Watts, born in Anderson county, Kentucky, December 31, 1842, a daughter of Wood- ford and Lacy (Steele) Watts. They came to Indiana in the fifties, locat- ing near Fairbanks, in Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, but later removed to Jackson township, where they lived until their death. They were farmers and reared a family of ten children, five of whom are still living. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Cummins are as follows : Francis Verdie, residing in Jackson township, married Lucinda Price and has four children, named Gladys, William D., Francis R. and Esther. Vachel Dean resides at Hymera, Indiana, engaged in the hardware busi- ness. He married Maude Asbury and has three children, named Floyd, Ralph and Ruth. Lura Etna, now deceased, married Daniel Berline and left three children, named Lola, Arval and Etna. Wint resides at Hymera, Indiana, engaged in the drug trade. He married Margaret Boston and has two children, Max and Bernice. John died in infancy. Charles lives at Terre Haute, where he works at the harness trade. He married Zona Luzador, who died leaving two children, Hazel and Ruel. Mary resides in South Dakota, the wife of Dr. James Gregg. Kerthbert (lied in infancy. William M. resides in Chicago, unmarried, and is a druggist. Delbert M. resides at Hymera, Indiana, and is a clothier. He married Lottie Cummins, and has one child, Mildred. James, un- married, is in California, a stone mason by trade. Jesse, unmarried, resides with his brother in California.
Mr. and Mrs. Cummins are members of the United Brethren church, and he is connected with the Odd Fellows order and the Grand Army of the Republic post at Sullivan, Indiana. The father, John A. Cummins, was a prominent character in Sullivan county during his lifetime. In politics he was a firm believer in the fundamental principles of the Democratic party and served nine years as a county commissioner. Our subject's maternal grandfather. Nicholas Crist, was a pioneer in Clark county and later in Lewis township of Clay county, where he spent his last years.
PETER B. MAY, one of the representatives of the legal profession in Sullivan, Indiana, and for many years a preacher in the Church of Christ, is a native of Orange county, Indiana, born May 1, 1864, a son of John Wesley and- Susan Carr May. The father was born in Monroe
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county, Indiana, December 25, 1824, and died at Bedford, Indiana, in November, 1904. He was of German descent and had always followed agricultural pursuits, both in Monroe and Orange counties. Politically he was a Democrat, and in his lodge connections was a Mason. He retired at Bedford, Indiana. Peter B. May's mother was born in Orange county June 7, 1840, and now resides with her son Peter B. Both she and her husband were members of the Christian church. Their children were as follows: Mary C., now the wife of Winepark Fields, residing at Cale, Indiana ; Peter B., of this sketch; and Belle M., now the wife of Thomas Roach, of Cale, Indiana.
Peter B. May was reared on a farm and obtained his early educa- tion at the district school and later attended the Normal College at Mitchell, Indiana. After completing his course at that institution, he attended the Elliottsville Training School, where he took a literary course, He then entered the Bible College at Lexington, Kentucky. Having a taste for the study of law, he pursued the study of this science at the Indianapolis Law College, but was admitted to the bar before he left the Law College, which was in 1901. Upon leaving Law College he was admitted to both the Federal and Supreme court bars of Indiana. He commenced the practice of law at Bedford in 1902 and practiced there until 1906, and then moved to Sullivan, where he has practiced since. He was state's attorney for Indiana in the case of Indiana against Ulysses G. Sutherlan for the murder of his wife at New Albany, Indiana, in the spring of 1906. This trial lasted for one month lacking three days.
Politically Mr. May is a firm supporter of the Democratic party, and in 1908 he was a candidate for prosecuting attorney. He is a thoroughly self-made man, having to push his own way through the earlier years of his manhood unaided by influential friends. He followed the ministry for seventeen years, preaching at points in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Indian Territory and Texas, but he claimed Bedford as his home. He also preached much in Sullivan county, Indiana, and does yet when occasion seems to demand it. The church of his choice is that of the Church of Christ. He is a member of the Tribe of Ben Hur at Sullivan, being a "beneficial" member of this organization.
Mr. May was married, December 30, 1896, to Estella Gertrude Neal, born at Bicknell, Knox county, Indiana, December 6, 1875. She was educated in her native county and was reared on a farm and taught to perform well the duties of such an independent life, which has ever been of excellent practical service to her. By this union two children have been born: Joy Dexter and Mary Belle.
IRA AUGUSTUS NESBIT, proprietor of the flouring mills at Sullivan, is a native of Hamilton township, Sullivan county, Indiana, born Sep- tember 24, 1855, a son of William O. and Nancy Jane ( Eaton) Nesbit. The father was born in Kentucky December 26, 1825. and died June 22. 1896, in Nebraska. The Nesbits are of Welsh descent. Mr. Nesbit's
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mother was a life-long resident of Hamilton township, and she died in 1876. After the death of his first wife William O. Nesbit married Louise A. McKinley, a native of Sullivan county, who now resides in Fairbury, Nebraska. He followed farming for his occupation, coming to Sullivan county when but six years of age with his parents, Thomas and Betsey (Morgan) Nesbit, who entered some of the first land from the government taken up in this section of the state. They both died in Sullivan county. William O. Nesbit served in the Eighty-fifth Indiana infantry regiment, being a member of Company H, under Captain W. T. Crawford, for three years during the Civil war period. Politically he was an advocate of the principles of the Republican party. In the latter part of the seventies he moved to Fairbury, Nebraska, and there in a new but fertile section purchased a farm of eighty acres, upon which he died. Both he and his wife were members of the Christian church, in which body he served as an elder for a number of years. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. William O. Nesbit are as follows: John, of Sullivan county : Euphratus H .. of Hamilton township; Ira A., of this memoir : Sarah E., wife of Albert K. Boyle, of Sullivan county : William R., of Sullivan, whose sketch will appear in this work; and Anna Elizabeth, wife of Hardy Reins, residing in Hamilton township.
Ira A. Nesbit was reared on the farm, surrounded by the scenes of genuine rural life, and he remained at home until about twenty years of age, when he commenced to farm on his own account, continuing for a quarter of a century. He then sold his place and moved to Sullivan in 1898. Here he purchased a grist mill which belonged to J. T. Reid, which he has since been successfully operating as a custom mill, also buying and selling grain. In his political choice he favors the platforms of the Republican party. He has prudently become a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, which provides him with a safe life insur- ance, as well as giving him other fraternal benefits throughout his life. Mr. Nesbit and family are exemplary members of the Christian church. One of the important events in this man's career was his marriage, in 1883. to Myrtle J. Johnson, born in Turman township March 31, 1865. She was educated in the schools of her native township. Her parents, who were natives of Sullivan county, Indiana, and both now deceased, were Cyrus and Catherine (McClanahan) Johnson. Two chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Nesbit to cheer and brighten their home circle : Glennalda, born December 7, 1884, is now attending De Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana. She has already taught three terms of school in the country districts in Sullivan county. Grace Lois, born August 16, 1886, now teaching in Sullivan county.
ABRAHAM THOMAS HAZELRIGG, known by the people of Sullivan county by reason of his fifteen years' service as a school teacher, as well as having been the deputy county treasurer a number of years, will form the subject of this memoir. He was born September 17, 1867,
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in Curry township, Sullivan county, Indiana, a son of William and Mary (Douglas) Hazelrigg. William Hazelrigg was the son of John W. Hazelrigg, who was a native of Kentucky, born 1817, and died at Farm- ersburg, Indiana, in 1884. The grandmother of Abraham T. Hazelrigg was Elizabeth Lloyd, born in Kentucky in 1817, and died in 1887, at Farmersburg, Indiana. This worthy couple were of Scotch-Irish descent. Samuel Douglas, the maternal grandfather, was a native of Virginia, born in 1802, and died in Curry township, Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1875. Sarah, his wife, was born in Kentucky in 1807, and died in 1891, in Curry township, this county, and they were of Irish lineage. The great-grandfather, William Hazelrigg, was born in 1794, and his wife Elizabeth, in 1795. The grandfather, John W. Hazelrigg, came to Sullivan county and entered what was known as canal land in Fairbanks township. He finally retired from the toils and cares of his farm and died at Farmersburg, Indiana. The maternal grandfather, Samuel Doug- as, of Virginia, came to Indiana at about the same time as did the Hazelriggs, He married Sarah Jewell, a native of Kentucky. Mr. Douglas took up land in Curry township and died there in 1875.
Our subject's father and mother were married in Curry township in the early sixties. Both the father and grandfather always followed farm life. In his political choice the father was a Democrat and he belonged to the Odd Fellows order and the Christian church, as did also his wife in her lifetime. Mrs. Mary (Douglas) Hazelrigg, the mother of Abra- ham T., was born in 1840 and died in 1875. After her death Mr. Hazelrigg married for a second wife Rebecca Peak, born in Sullivan county, Indiana, and she still survives. To the first union there were born seven children, as follows: Lethia, wife of George A. McCord; Oliver, deceased; John S., of Curry township; Abraham T .; Albert E., of Sullivan ; Rebecca A., wife of D. C. Mckinney ; and one who died in infancy. By the second marriage there is no issue. William Hazelrigg was for many years a successful agriculturist and paid much attention to stock raising. He was public spirited and ever took an active part in the work of the church of his choice-the Christian. He died March 17, 1908.
Abraham T. Hazelrigg, a son of William and Mary (Douglas) Hazelrigg, lived on the old homestead with his father and attended the district schools of his neighborhood and later the Sullivan Normal for several terms. Having acquired a good education, he taught school for fifteen years in Sullivan county. Before teaching, however, he had attended the State Normal at Terre Haute, and subsequently the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, graduating in the teachers' course with the class of 1894. From January 1, 1902, to January 1, 1908, he served as deputy county treasurer of Sullivan county having been elected on the Democratic ticket. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank at Shelburn, and helped to organize the bank in 1905. He is a member of the Odd Fellows order, including the Encampment and Rebekah degrees. He is a member of the Christian church at Sullivan, Indiana.
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Mr. Hazelrigg was married on June 29, 1898, to Genevra Dix, born in Curry township, Sullivan county, February 13, 1879. She was edu- cated in the public schools, and remained at home until her marriage. She is the daughter of William T. and Parintha B. (Pierson) Dix, both residing in Hamilton township and both born and reared in Indiana, he in Sullivan and she in Vigo county. He is a farmer and stock raiser.
WILLIAM M. DRAPER, who is numbered among the important busi- ness factors of the enterprising inland city of Sullivan, Indiana, and who is engaged in the bottling industry, is a native of Sullivan county, Indiana, born February 8, 1861, in Curry township, a son of Solomon and Amy Ann (Oakes) Draper. Of his parentage it may be said that the father was a native of Ohio, born near Baden on the 8th of April, 1831, and he died in Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1904. The mother, Amy Ann (Oakes) Draper, was born in Indiana and is still living. They were united in marriage in Sullivan county, and the father of William M. was an industrious agriculturist in Curry township and followed that for his livelihood until the son was about seven years of age, when the family moved to Sullivan, where the father worked at the blacksmith's trade until he retired from actual hard service. Politically he was a staunch Democrat, and in church relations was connected with the Christian denomination, the wife being of the same faith. The four children born to Solomon Draper and wife were as follows: Isaac S., a resident of Bloomington, Indiana ; Theodosia, deceased ; Laura, wife of William Timmons, residing in Sullivan ; and William M., of this sketch, who has two half-sisters-Caroline and Elizabeth, unmarried.
William M. Draper was reared and educated within Sullivan county, Indiana, and at the age of fifteen years began as a messenger boy for the Western Union Telegraph Company under F. E. Basler at Sullivan, with whom he worked five years-the first year as messenger boy and the remaining four years at handling freight and baggage. He was then on the Evansville & Terre Haute Railway, at various points along their system as agent, for six months, after which he took the agency of the
road at Summerville, Indiana, which position he filled two years, and then served at Hazelton, Indiana, two years. He next moved back to Sullivan, and was agent for the Adams Express Company nine years. He relinquished this position in February, 1896, and engaged in the bot- tling: business at Sullivan. He now possesses a fine, modern planned plant. The building is made of cement blocks and is located near the Evansville & Terre Haute railway depot. Besides bottling all sorts of soft drinks he acts as the local agent for the Terre Haute Brewing Company.
In his political understanding he agrees with the principles of the Democratic party. Among the local offices he has held may be men- tioned that of member of the town board. He is associated with the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and is also a member of the Eagles order.
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Concerning his domestic relations let it be said that in 1880 he was married to Isabelle Plunkett, born in Sullivan county, Indiana, March 2. 1861, and died August 30, 1901. One son was born of this union, Alexander E., born August 8, 1881, and is now a married man and associated with his father in the bottling business, the firm name being styled The Sullivan Steam Bottling Works and City Artificial Ice De- livery. This concern is the only one in Sullivan handling ice. For his second wife Mr. Draper married Viola R. Sligar, born in Sullivan county in 1880. Both wives were members of the Christian church.
WILLIAM WILLIS, of Sullivan and well known throughout the county. was born on a farm in Lamott township, Crawford county, Illinois, on the 14th of August, 1851. His father, Richard Willis, was formerly from Kentucky, and was a farmer by occupation. He died in 1857. The maiden name of the mother of our subject was Tempy Ann Webb. She died 1855, leaving three small children: Emeline, the oldest, married Amos Miseinhelder, of Palestine, Illinois, and is now deceased. Isabelle. the youngest, married Joseph B. Pearson, of Sullivan, and is also de- ceased. Upon the death of their parents the children found homes among strangers.
Our subject lived with a farmer in Crawford county until eleven years of age, and then ran away and spent a winter with an uncle in the same county. He then went to live with Seymour Siler, and remained with him until fifteen years old, and then with an uncle who had returned from California visited his sisters, from whom he had been separated since their father's death. He then found a home with George W. French .a farmer living south of Merom. During this time he had attended school but little, but after becoming a member of Mr. French's family he attended school more regularly, and a part of each year during five years attended Merom College. In the fall of 1873 he commenced teaching at Merom Station. He taught a part of each year for three years and was employed at farming during the summer seasons. In 1880 he was elected township trustee of Gill township, and served for four years, and in the fall of 1886 was elected county auditor and served two terms of four years each. He then engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business in Sullivan, and has continued in that business until the present time.
He first married Sarah L .. Ward on the 23d of July, 1875. She was the daughter of Samuel and Sarah Ward, and was a graduate of Merom College and became a teacher. She died in 1877. His second marriage, on the 9th of April, 1879, was to Mary E. Sibley. She was born in Hamilton township, a daughter of William T. and Cecelia Sibley. The following children have blessed this union: Carl M., Flossie. Cecelia. William E., Ralph R., and Burchard. Carl M. was educated in the public schools of Sullivan and assisted his father until his death, which occurred December 12, 1902, aged twenty-two years. Flossie C. married Herbert C. Steele, of Robinson, Illinois. William E. married
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Rhoda Boyle and had one child, Mary Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Willis are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and have reared their family in that faith. Mr. Willis cast his first vote for Horace Greeley and has been a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party since. He is a member of Sullivan lodge, F. & A. M., Sullivan chapter, the Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows of Sullivan, and the orders of the Eastern Star and the Rebekahs, and Sullivan lodge, K. of P.
JOHN B. MULLANE, a dealer in hardware, implements and buggies at Sullivan, will form the subject of this biography. Mr. Mullane is a native of New York City, born November 29, 1854, a son of James and Julia (Sullivan) Mullane. The father was a native of Ireland and died in Libby Prison, Virginia, where he was held a prisoner of war during the rebellion. The mother was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died in New York City in 1861. By trade the father was a cooper, having learned the same in Cincinnati, to which city he went when a boy, and where he was married. Politically he was a staunch Democrat, and both he and his wife were devoted members of the Roman Catholic church. They were parents to the following five children: Catherine, deceased ; Daniel, residing in Boston, Massachusetts, where he is a trav- eling salesman; John B., of this notice ; Dr. Joseph, deceased ; and Ella, deceased.
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