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 42
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Mr. Frakes was married, August 18, 1872, to Mary J. McDonald, born November 15, 1848, in Curry township, Sullivan county, Indiana, a daughter of Preston and Elizabeth (Douglas) McDonald. Her father was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, February 21, 1827, and died De- cember 20, 1898. He was of Scotch-Irish lineage and served in the Seventy-first Indiana regiment three years during the Civil war, holding the rank of sergeant. Politically he was a Republican, and his occupa- tion was that of a farmer. He died in Kansas. His wife was descended from both Scotch and Dutch ancestry ; she was born in Lawrence county, Indiana, but came to Sullivan county early in life, and now resides in Kansas. The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. William R. Frakes were as follows: Lillie, born August 19, 1873, died October 22, 1878; Ivy. born April 8, 1875, is the wife of Sampson E. Walters, residing in Had- don township; May, born February 14, 1877, is unmarried and at home ; Roy, born December 12, 1879, married Clara Deckard and lives in Hamil- ton township ; and Josephine, born January 8, 1888, is unmarried and at home. The family are members of the Christian church. The children are well educated and have finished the full public course. Mr. and Mrs. Frakes have in their possession one of the old parchment deeds executed under the hand and seal of President Martin Van Buren, and which bears the date of October 1, 1840, this the tenth deed found.
ALEXANDER W. C. DICKERSON, one of the older men who are engaged in farming in that goodly portion of Sullivan county known as Fairbanks township, was born near Louisville, Kentucky, June 30, 1835, a son of John S. and Mary (Bostwick) Dickerson, of Kentucky, in which state Vol. II-22
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the grandparents also resided. About 1840 the parents, John S. Dicker- son and wife, went to Orange county, Indiana, where they died in the autumn of 1854. Alexander W. C., of this sketch, was the eldest of four sons and four daughters in his parents' family. When sixteen years of age he was bound out by his father to serve until he was nine- teen years of age. On March 31, 1854, he went to Hamilton township, Sullivan county, where he lived until 1865, and then sold his property there. He had previously purchased land at Fairbanks, to which place he removed. He was a machinist and engineer, and also a sawyer and worked in the mill at Sullivan from 1854 to 1861, when with his partner, Mr. Badger, he moved a saw mill to Vigo county and operated it two years. His next location was in Fairbanks township, where he now owns one hundred and twenty acres of land situated in sections 25, 26, 34 and 35. There he built all the buildings and improved his place. From 1854 to 1868 his business was exclusively milling, but since 1868 he has conducted his farm and occasionally operated a saw mill. Mr. Dickerson received a common school education in Kentucky and in Orange county, Indiana. In politics he is a Republican, while in religious faith he is of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is an honored member of the Masonic order, belonging. to Fairbanks lodge No. 373.
He was united in marriage in the month of May, 1858, to Lucy J. Park, born a half mile east of Sullivan, a daughter of Joshua L. and Rachel E. (Walls) Park, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. The children by this union were: Oscar L., of Springfield, Ohio; Oce D., who died aged seven years: Nancy J., Mrs. John Kelley, of Turman township ; Edna May, Mrs. William Gaston, of Fairbanks township ; and Hattie Jane, who became Mrs. Thomas Redifer and died in November, 1907. For his second wife Mr. Dickerson married Mary F. Lawson, born in Turman township, Sullivan county, November 19, 1853, a daughter of John J. and Harriet (Wisner) Lawson, natives of Ohio. By this marriage the issue was: Warren K., of Fairbanks township; Clara Mondella, now Mrs. Chalmer Moore, of Hamilton township; Ada Aurelia, who died aged eleven years on February 13, 1894; Celia C., now Mrs. Claud Byers, of Bloomington, Indiana; and Walter Guy, at home.
JOHN WILLIAM BOWEN, an agriculturist of Fairbanks township, was born in Ballard county, Kentucky, September 27, 1872, and attended the public schools of Prairie Creek township, Vigo county, Indiana. He is the son of James A. and Charity (Davidson ) Bowen, the father a native of Ohio and the mother of Tennessee. The grandfather was John Bowen, of Ohio, and a pioneer of Kosciusko county, Indiana. James A. and Charity (Davidson) Bowen were united in marriage in 1864 in Tennessee, and three years later moved to Kentucky, where they resided until the spring of 1878, when they moved to Vigo county, Indiana. They con- tinued to live there until 1901, when they moved to Brazil, remained there two years and then located in Fairbanks township. The children
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in this family consisted of two sons and four daughters, of which family the subject, John William Bowen, was the third child. He spent his youthful days with his parents, and when nineteen years of age com- menced farming on his own account in Vigo county, within Prairie township. After one year at that point he moved to Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, where he rented land and resided on property owned by his wife. In 1895 he moved to the village of Fairbanks, where he was employed with C. M. Welsh until August, 1903, and then traded town lots he owned for more land in Fairbanks township suitable for farming. purposes-twenty acres in section 8 and fifty acres in section 7. In the spring of 1904 he erected a house and barn and is now fully prepared to conduct successful farming. He raises hogs and deals some in cattle.
Politically Mr. Bowen is a Democrat, and he was elected in the fall of 1904 to the office of township trustee of Fairbanks township. He is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Fairbanks lodge No. 763 and also of the Rebekah lodge No. 650. Concerning his domestic relations let it be said that he was united in marriage, February 21, 1892, to Sindora De Camp, born in Fairbanks township July 5, 1874, a daughter of Moses and Margaret (Hutchison) De Camp. The father was born in Ohio and the mother was born in Kentucky. The grandparents were William and Mary A. (Reynolds) Hutchison, of Kentucky. The issue of the union of Mr. Bowen and wife is as follows: Florence Myrtle, born March 3, 1893; Opal, born March 23, 1806, and died October 14, 1900 : Geneva Ellen, born November 14, 1900 ; and Jerome Otho, born September 8, 1903.
JAMES G. POUND, of Fairbanks, Indiana, was born in Vigo county, this state, March 28, 1837, a son of Elijah and Lydia (Drake) Pound, natives of Butler county, Ohio. The paternal grandparents, Thomas and Sarah (Kester) Pound, were natives of Virginia, and the maternal grand- parents, James and Sarah (Paddock) Drake, were also from that state. The grandfather Pound went to Vigo county in the month of October, 1816. settling in the wilderness, and he entered land there which had to be cleared, as it was a dense forest country at that date. He remained there until his death in 1848, and his wife died the same day on which his death occurred. The grandfather Drake came to Fairbanks township in 1817, settling about two miles southwest of the village of Fairbanks. He also entered timber land, and besides this land entered more in Parke county, Indiana. He improved his possessions of many acres. He was twice married and the father of sixteen children, ten by the first wife. He was an associate judge of Sullivan county several years, and also held other public positions. He died aged eighty-seven years, on June 14, 1864.
Elijah Pound, the father of James G., was born October 18, 1801, and went with his parents to Vigo county, where he continued to reside until his marriage. His wife, born in 1802, came to Fairbanks township
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with her parents, and after marriage they settled in Linton township, Vigo county, and resided there until 1862. He was a trustee of Linton township for many years. In 1862 he moved to Fairbanks township, where he owned land and where he died about 1878. His wife resided with her daughter Sarah Johnson until death in about 1888. Ten chil- dren were born to Elijah and Lydia (Drake) Pound, as follows: Cynthia A., born January 25, 1823, married Ephraim LaForge and resides in Vigo county ; Melissa, who died in 1896, in Nebraska, married Thompson Watson; Sarah, born January 25, 1826, is the widow of B. Johnson and a resident of Fairbanks; Louisa, born August 31, 1827, married Levi Johnson, of Fairbanks ; William H., of Terre Haute; Thomas, who died in 1871; Elizabeth, Mrs. James Boyles, died about 1878; James G., of this sketch; Elijah, who died about 1885; and Ellen, Mrs. Preston Beauchamp, of Linton township, Vigo county.
James G. Pound remained with his parents until his marriage, August 30, 1859, to Sarah Miller, born in Linton township, Vigo county, April 15, 1838, a daughter of David and Rebecca (McGrew) Miller, natives of Kentucky. After the marriage of Mr. Pound he moved to a farm in Vigo county, where he farmed in Linton township until March II, 1872, when he sold his place and purchased land in Fairbanks town- ship, Sullivan county, adjoining the town plat of Fairbanks. There were one hundred and twenty acres in the tract, and to this he added and sold in town lots. Up to about 1896 he conducted his farm, but since that date he has lived retired, and his youngest son now conducts the farm. In his political belief Mr. Pound is a firm and ever loyal Democrat, and he held the office of county commissioner from 1892 to 1898. He is a member of the Primitive Baptist church, of which he has been moderator since 1894. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to lodge No. 373 of Fairbanks.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Pound are as follows: Ida B., Mrs. William Pogue, a widow since 1896, and residing at Fairbanks ; William H., of Turman township; Charles D., a general merchant at Fairbanks and a farmer ; Hattie, widow of Willis Pittman, and a resident of Fairbanks township; and Lyman, on the homestead farm. Mr. and Mrs. Pound have thirteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
NICHOLAS YEAGER, numbered among the successful agriculturists of Fairbanks township. Sullivan county, who has since 1903 been leading a retired life, has performed his full share in the development of the excellent farming section in which he has lived so many years. Mr. Yeager is a native of Prairie Creek township, Vigo county, Indiana, born December 17, 1830, a son of Vincent and Sarah (Piety) Yeager, the father being a native of Tennessee and the mother of Kentucky. The paternal grandparents were Nicholas and Henrietta . ( Bailey ) Yeager. The former was born in Pennsylvania, of German descent. The maternal grandparents were Austin and Mary (Miller) Piety, of North Carolina
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and Kentucky, respectively. Vincent Yeager, the father of Nicholas, went to Terre Haute with his parents just after the war of 1812, before Terre Haute was laid out. They purchased many acres of land on the county line, in the southern part of Vigo county, the same being within the heavy timber. The grandfather lived there until 1837, and then sold out and moved to Louisiana, where he died. Vincent Yeager resided in Middletown until 1837, when he sold, intending to move to Texas, but after getting as far south as New Orleans he was induced on account of the border troubles connected with the Mexican war to locate in another section of the country. He remembering his old home in the north retraced his steps to Fairbanks township, Indiana, where he entered a quarter section of timber land in section 12. This tract he improved, and there resided about fifteen years, when he removed to Middletown, where he died in November, 1874. His good wife died in 1876. There were four sons and four daughters born to Vincent Yeager and wife, Nicholas being the eldest of his parents' children, and he has one brother living, Frank, of Middletown, and a sister, Mary J. (Mrs. Lewis B. Hale), of Fairbanks township.
Nicholas Yeager spent his youth at home, and was married May 12, 1853, to Isabell Dilley, a native of Fairbanks township, and a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Johnson) Dilley, natives of Pennsylvania. After his marriage Nicholas Yeager moved to a sixty-acre tract of land in section 2 of Fairbanks township, which had been given him by his father, and of which fifteen acres were already in cultivation. Here he erected a log house sixteen by eighteen feet. As he was prospered he added to his land from time to time until he owned three hundred and forty acres, but he has generously given his children land until he now has but one hundred and seventy acres, which is situated in sections 2 and I-one hundred and six in the former section and the remainder in section I. Forty acres of this land is in pasture and the remainder under a good state of cultivation.
Mr. Yeager obtained his education in the old fashioned log school house, in which was held the "subscription" school which obtained prior to the present free school system. He is an exemplary member of the Christian church, and in his political views affiliates with the Republican party. He served as a justice of the peace for four years, and was the census enumerator in 1880 for his home township. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Earnest lodge No. 598 and Jerusalem Chapter of Sullivan, No. 81. He was made a Mason at Fairbanks, and served seventeen years as the lodge secretary and one term as senior warden. He also belongs to the Farmers' Grange of Vigo county.
Mr. Yeager has been twice married, first to Isabell Dilley, on May 12, 1853, and she died March 28, 1879, the mother of the following chil- dren : James F., of Middletown, Indiana ; John F., of Fairbanks town- ship; Sarah A., who died November 1, 1886; Nancy Jane, who died December 13, 1882; Francis V., of Spokane, Washington ; William C., of the last named city; Theodosia, at home ; Vienna, who died February 22, 1894; Joseph, of San Francisco; Nora, who died November 8, 1900;
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Ida, Mrs. Charles Shattuck, of Prairie Creek township, Vigo county, Indiana ; and Alberta, Mrs. Archie Vangilder, of Linton township, Vigo county, Indiana. For his second wife Mr. Yeager married, December 6, 1888, Chloe Willis, born in Haddon township, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (South) Willis. The father was born in Kentucky and the mother in Sullivan county. The grandparents were Richard and Sarah (Alsman) Willis, of Sullivan county, and Henry and Chloe South, natives of Kentucky. By Mr. Yeager's second marriage one child was born-Willis N., who was born March 24, 1891, and died in infancy.
JOHN FREMONT YEAGER is a thoroughgoing farmer whose excel- lent place is situated in Fairbanks township, Sullivan county. He is a native of the township where he now resides, born October 4, 1855, a son of Nicholas and Isabell (Dilley) Yeager, natives of Sullivan county, Indiana. The paternal grandparents were Vincent and Sarah Yeager, natives of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, respectively, and the maternal grandparents were Joseph and Nancy (Johnson) Dilley, the former born in Scotland and the latter in Kentucky. The father, Nicholas Yeager, is still living in Fairbanks township, aged seventy-eight years.
John Fremont Yeager's parents had five sons and seven daughters, he being the next to the eldest child in the family. He remained at home until twenty-three years of age, when his father gave him thirty acres of land, which he cultivated and added to until he now owns one hundred and fifty-seven acres, all in section I. This includes about fifteen acres of good timber land. Upon this farm. Mr. Yeager carries on general farming and stock-raising in a successful manner, thus making him one of the independent men of the county. In his youth he had the advan- tages of the common schools, which fitted him for the occupation which he has always followed, that of agriculture. Since 1875 he has been a member of the Christian church, in which he has served as an overseer since 1888. Politically he is a staunch defender of Republican party principles.
Concerning his domestic life it may be said that he married, Octo- ber 13, 1878, Ida Piety, born in Fairbanks township, a daughter of Will- iam H. and Jane (Perry) Piety. The father was born in Vigo county and the mother in Fairbanks township. Mr. and Mrs. Yeager are the parents of the following children: Everett, of California; Isabell, who died in infancy ; May, a school teacher, at home; Addie, of the Normal School at Terre Haute; Lewis, now a resident of the state of Washing- ton ; Morris, at home; Belle, of Fairbanks township; Glenn, at home ; Carrie, at home ; Ralph, who died at the age of four years ; and Floyd, at home.
JOSEPH VAN KIRK MERRILL, one of the industrious agriculturists whose excellent farm home is situated within the limits of Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, is a native of Marion county, West Virginia,
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born February 20, 1853, a son of Harrison and Elizabeth ( Prickett) Merrill, natives of the same county. The father, who was a farmer, died in his native state on May 3, 1875, while his wife died in 1862. Joseph Van Kirk was the next to the oldest of five sons in the family. There were two half-brothers by the father's second marriage.
Mr. Merrill lived with his father until his death, when he came to Fairbanks township and worked at farming up to the date of his mar- riage. in April, 1886, to Sarah A. Dix, born in Fairbanks township, a daughter of Eli and Mariam ( Bundy) Dix. The father was born in Gilford county, North Carolina, and the mother was born in Randolph county, of the same state, in 1813. The grandparents, William and Elizabeth Pittman (widow of Mr. Bundy), were natives of North Caro- lina, and Moses and Ann (Jessup) Dix, of the same state. Mrs. Mer- rill's father came to Fairbanks township in 1819 and entered a large tract of land-timber and prairie land-and saw many Indians and wild animals, including deer. He raised ten children, eight of whom now sur- vive. The eldest. Joshua E., is now a resident of Sedalia, Pettis county, Missouri, where he owns property. He resided in . Fairbanks township until 1886, moving for his wife's health.
After his marriage, Joseph Van Kirk Merrill took up his residence on the farm owned by his wife's father in section 35. His wife owned two hundred and four acres of the old homestead, and Mr. Merrill pur- chased one hundred acres adjoining it, and has carried on general farming there. The place contains one of the best brick residences within the township, the same having been erected in 1858, and it stands on a beau- tiful building, site and is surrounded by fine shade and ornamental trees. Politically, Mr. Merrill is a Democrat. He belongs to the Odd Fellows order, and is progressive and public-spirited.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Merrill are as follows: Clair E .. born May 25. 1887, and Claude D., born July 12, 1901. Clair E. Merrill 110w cultivates a portion of the home farm. He married Mabel Drake.
ALVA DE BAUN, a farmer of Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, who resides on the rural free delivery route No. I out from Shelburn, is a native of the township in which he now resides, born August 6, 1862, a son of Samuel and Angeline (Harris) De Baun, natives of Fairbanks township. The paternal grandparents were Abram and Nellie (Lyster) De Baun, who came from Kentucky. The maternal grandparents were Benjamin and Mary ( Siner) Harris, of Butler county, Ohio.
Samuel De Baun, the father, married and settled in Fairbanks town- ship and remained until 1868. He then went to Vigo county, Indiana. and in 1871 to Parke county, same state, where he purchased land, to which he has since added until he now owns over six hundred acres. His occupation has always been that of farmer and stock-raiser. His wife died May 19, 1880. Their children were seven sons and six daugh- ters. Of these thirteen children, eleven still survive, and Alva is the fourth born of the seven sons.
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Mr. De Baun made his home with his parents until his marriage, April 28, 1887, to Emma Frakes, born in Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, Indiana, May 4, 1867, a daughter of Peter and Ella (Biggs) Frakes. Her father was born in Fairbanks township and the mother in Fountain county, Indiana. The grandparents were Daniel and Agnes (Harris) Frakes, of Butler county, Ohio, and Uriah and Jane (Boggs) Biggs, of Fountain county, Indiana.
After his marriage Mr. De Baun took up his residence in Penn town- ship, Parke county, upon unimproved land, which he brought under a good state of cultivation. To his original land he added forty-eight acres of improved land. Here he carried on farming and stock-raising in a most successful manner until October, 1906, when he sold his farm and moved back to his old home township and bought two hundred and two and a half acres of land, about sixty acres of which is timber, the remain- der being tillable land and pasture. He still raises large numbers of sheep, cattle and hogs, also some fine horses.
He was educated at the public schools of Sullivan, Vigo and Parke counties. Politically he is of the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. De Baun are the parents of the following children: Murray, born October 26, 1888 ; Maurice, born June 2, 1890; and Maud, born February 24, 1896.
HENRY JOHNSON, one of the retired agriculturists of Fairbanks town- ship, Sullivan county, was up to 1895 one of the energetic farmers, whose activities extended over many long years of toil and anxiety in the accom- plishment of what he in his young manhood set out to attain in the way of becoming a successful agriculturist. He is a native of Fairbanks town- ship, born July 30, 1824, a son of James and Jane (Vandine) Johnson, both of whom were natives of Virginia. The grandparents were Daniel and Abigail Johnson. Upon the marriage of Mr. Johnson's parents they took their wedding tour to Fairbanks in 1818, then entering timber land belonging to the government. So wild was the country at that date that panthers, wolves and other wild animals infested the wilds of the then dense forest land, which had not up to their coming been molested by the pioneer ax and breaking-plow. They reared a family of five sons, the subject of this memoir being the third child. He was reared to the hard- est kind of labor-that of clearing out trees and brush. He had no edu- cational advantages, his father dying, when he was but four years of age, and the mother married Henry Wyman, after which they removed to Marion county, Indiana. After six years at the last named locality they returned to Fairbanks township, where they lived until their death. Henry made his home at his mother's place until twenty years of age, always working faithfully for his step-father. He was united in marriage in the month of September, 1845, to Elizabeth Armstrong, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Abel and Ann Armstrong. The following children were born of this union: Preston A., deceased; Malinda J., Mrs. James W. Milligan, of Fairbanks, Indiana; Nancy A., Mrs. Addison Drake, of
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North Dakota; Sarah E., who died in infancy; Margaret I., Mrs. Jeff Johnson, of Fairbanks township; Mary E., Mrs. Hiram Drake, of Fair- banks township.
Mrs. Johnson died July 9, 1884, and he married secondly, September 23, 1886, Sarah A. (Anderson) Pittman, born in Sullivan county, Indiana, a daughter of Robert and Cynthia (Drake) Anderson, of Kentucky. She was the widow of John Milligan, by whom she had two children: James W. and William R. After the death of her first husband she married Allen Pittman, and they had two children-Martha Louisa and Sarah Emeline. The former died in infancy and the latter married Albert Hauger, of Curry township.
After the subject's first marriage he bought eighty acres of land in Fairbanks township, where they lived in a log. house for twenty years, and then made an addition to the same. They commenced housekeeping with about two and a half dollars in money. He kept adding to his acres until he now owns eleven hundred and nineteen acres, all within Fair- banks township except eighty-five acres in Curry township, and he gave each of his children a large farm besides the large land-holding men- tioned. He resided on his first farm for over fifty years. Since March 26, 1895, he has lived in Fairbanks. For one of his years, Mr. Johnson is very active, and is thoroughly competent to look after his own large business interests. His wife was born June II, 1828, and is still vigor- ous and possessed of a wonderful memory. Mr. Johnson attended the subscription schools in a log house. Both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church, and in politics he is a Democrat.
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