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 45
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Mr. and Mrs. Bough are the parents of the following children: A child who died in infancy; Mary Clarissa, unmarried and at home, and Teressa, wife of Dr. E. E. Padgett, of Indianapolis.
DR. BENJAMIN F. SHEPHERD, D. D. S., of Pleasantville, Sullivan county, who is the well known and highly competent dental surgeon of the village, was born at Jacobsburg, Belmont county, Ohio, January 5, 1845. He is the son of W. M. and Anna C. (Calvert) Shepherd. His father was a native of Belmont county, Ohio, born March 10, 1810. The mother was born October 10, 1806, in the same county in which her hus- band was born, and both families were native to eastern Maryland. W. M. Shepherd and family in 1865 moved to Iowa, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. Some years later he, with his son, he of whom this notice is written, purchased a farm jointly. Again the father engaged in business at Des Moines, in which city he died in 1880, while the mother survived until 1894 and died in Oklahoma.
B. F. Shepherd attended the public schools and an academy in Ohio
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three terms and remained at home until seventeen years of age. He then enlisted in the Eighty-seventh Ohio Regiment at the time of the Civil war, serving three months. He was engaged at Harper's Ferry and was taken prisoner at that point and paroled. He enlisted again in May, 1863, in the Fourth Independent Battalion of Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and par- ticipated in several engagements. In May, 1864, he re-enlisted for three years in the Thirteenth Ohio Cavalry Regiment, he being tendered a major's command, which he declined. At Petersburg, Virginia, he was wounded, and throughout his army life he saw much exposure and hardship, though possibly not as severe as many others. After returning from the war he bought a farm in Marion county, Iowa, but only resided there a short time. He attended school at Knoxville, Iowa, one term and then began teaching school, which vocation he followed twenty years-in lowa from 1867 to 1873 ; in Ohio he taught one term in Ross county, and then going to Indiana, he taught the remainder of the twenty-year period. In 1887 he began the practice of dentistry and has continued to the present time. He never attended a regular dental school, but by careful study easily passed the state board examination. In his political views Mr. Shepherd is an independent voter, favoring the Prohibition party. Like his parents, he is a Methodist in church faith, and is an ordained minister, having been ordained as an elder in 1896. He preaches upon an average of fifty ser- mons a year. At this time (1908) he is a class-leader, and was elected as delegate to the conference at Los Angeles, California, in 1904. In fra- ternal connection he is a member of the Masonic lodge, No. 560, of Castle Hall Lodge No. 358, Knights of Pythias, and of Odd Fellows order, Lodge No. 408, as well as of their auxiliaries-the Rathburns and Rebekahs.
Of his domestic relations it should be written that he was married November 26, 1864, to Miss Rebecca C. Powell, born in Lee county, Virginia, October 25, 1845, a daughter of Daniel F. and Ann (Rankin) Powell. Her parents came to Indiana in March, 1869, locating on a small farm in Greene county, and there remained until the spring of 1874, when Dr. Shepherd's father bought their farm. The father died at Mr. Shep- herd's place in the village of Pleasantville ; he was born in 1818 and died in 1882. The mother continued to reside with her daughter, Mrs. Shep- herd, some ten years, when her death occurred.
Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd are the parents of the following named chil- dren : Ella, wife of John C. Smith, a farmer living near Frelandville ; William F., a graduate of the Indianapolis Dental College, who is mar- ried and practices his profession at Bicknell, Knox county ; Estella V., wife of Frank Howard, a farmer near Pleasantville ; Ralph C., a graduate of the same dental school as before named, and who married Miss Elsie Dunkerly : Bertha F., wife of J. Elliott Douthit, a farmer of Sullivan county, living near Pleasantville ; George E., of Pleasantville, married Miss Maude Booker and is a barber by trade ; David D., unmarried and now attending the business college at Indianapolis; and Jesse E. S., unmarried and a mail carrier. Two other children are deceased, the first- born and another, who died young.
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WILLIAM R. HASH, the owner and cultivator of a large grain and stock farm within the bounds of Jefferson township, Sullivan county, very naturally finds a place on the pages of this work, which aims to give some- thing of the family history and general movements of the representative men and women of the county. Mr. Hash was born in Center township. Greene county, Indiana, July 20, 1851, and is the son of John C. and Catherine (Edwards) Hash. The father was born in Kentucky in 1813 and died in Greene county, Indiana, in 1878. The mother was born in 1818, in Lawrence county, Indiana, and died in the month of November, 1906, in Knox county. This worthy couple were united in marriage in Lawrence county, and moved to Greene county in about 1840, purchasing land in that section of the state. At one time he owned one hundred and sixty acres. He was an industrious, enterprising and withal an excellent Christian gentleman, of whom the world has none too many. Politically he was a firm believer in the cardinal principles of the Republican party, which organization he ever cheerfully supported. He served his township as constable for a number of years. Both he and his wife were consistent members of the Baptist church. Their family consisted of twelve chil- dren, born in the following order: Andrew, deceased; David, deceased ; Mary, deceased ; Stephen, deceased ; Hugh, now residing in Knox county, Indiana, married Elizabeth McDaniel: Ahart, deceased ; Allen, deceased ; Serena, deceased : William Riley, of this sketch ; Adeline, now residing in Knox county, Indiana, married Harvey McDaniel ; Mahala, deceased ; and Elizabeth, deceased. Catherine (Edwards) Hash, the mother of the above family, was the daughter of Edward Edwards, a native of North Carolina who followed farming for his occupation.
William R. Hash received his education in the district schools, and was early taught the need of industrious and frugal habits, which have served him a good purpose as he advanced into the actual battle of life. At the age of eighteen years he went forth for the accomplishment of his own purposes. He leased a farm in Greene county, remaining there until 1903. when he purchased a one hundred acre farm situated two miles from Pleasantville in a southern direction. Here he continues to do a general farming business, raising both grain and stock. Besides his own land he rents two hundred and sixty-nine acres, which, in all, pro- vides a large acreage from which to reap the products of the soil he so carefully cultivates and handles for stock purposes. Politically, Mr. Hash contributes his share towards the support of the Republican party locally and within the state of Indiana. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, the popular benevolent organization, and holds membership in Camp No. 4929 at Pleasantville.
He was united in marriage, October 18. 1871, to Mary A. McDaniel, born August 29, 1854, in Greene county, Indiana, a daughter of John and Susanna (Folk) McDaniel. Her parents are both deceased. The ' children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hash, eight in number, are as follows : Emma, born October 9, 1874, resides in Knox county, Indiana, married to Jeff Jerrell, and they have two children, Roy and W. Riley; Arminda. born August 13. 1877, resides in Davis county, Indiana, wife of Edward
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Smith, and they have one little son, Edwin Rush ; Leeary, born July 19, 1881, and a resident in Daviess county, Indiana, married Daisy Risley and they have two children, Mary Frances and an infant ; Nora, born Septem- ber 21, 1883, resides at home ; Oscar, born September 5, 1886, is at home ; Albert, born May 5, 1889, is still at home ; Ecless, born October 22, 1891, died April 17, 1908; and Goldie May, born September 18, 1899. These sons and daughters have all had the advantages of the most excellent public schools of their native county. Oscar, the fifth child in the family, is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, as well as of the Knights of Pythias, lodge No. 208, at Sanborn, Indiana, of which he is an officer.
JAMES T. OSBURN, who is a large land-owner in Fairbanks township, Sullivan county, will form the subject of this biographical notice. He was born March 19, 1854, in Hamilton township, Sullivan county, Indiana, a son of William and Martha Jane (Hill) Osburn, natives of Kentucky, the mother being born at Hardy Hill, that state. He is a grandson on the maternal side of Hardy Hill, who was captured by the Indians when a boy and was made to run the gauntlet, but finally made his escape. His father served in the War of 1812, and was granted three hundred and twenty acres of land now included in the city of Vincennes. William Osburn accompanied his parents to this county when aged fourteen years, in 1826, when this country was a real wilderness. The grandfather Hill came at the same time. While entering the country he had a narrow escape from death by an encounter with a female bear who had two cubs. The man and bear rolled down the hill, and upon reaching the bottom the bear was on top, but the pioneer secured his hunting-knife and killed the animal and captured the cubs, which he kept six years. The subject's father lived with his parents until his marriage, March 19, 1835, and as he had entered an eighty acre tract of land in Hamilton township, he went there. The wild animals were on every hand, including the deadly panther and wolves almost innumerable. From time to time the father purchased and entered many tracts of land, owning seven hundred and thirty-two acres in what he called his home place, and at the date of his death he owned fifteen hundred acres of land. He died April 13, 1889, and his good wife died about 1896. They were the parents of sixteen children, eight of whom reached the age of maturity.
James T. Osburn, of this notice, was the sixth of the children who survived to manhood and womanhood. He made his home with his par- ents until his marriage, November 9, 1876, to Sarah Wilson, born in Turman township, Sullivan county, Indiana, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (McKinley) Wilson. After his marriage Mr. Osburn settled down on an eighty-seven and one-half acre tract of land in Turman township. To this he kept adding, until he possessed one hundred and forty-seven acres. He improved and worked this land until the winter of 1889-90, when he sold it, intending to move west, his wife having died on Novem- ber 28, 1884. He, however, changed his mind and relocated in Sullivan
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county, by the purchase of two hundred and ninety-six acres of land in sections 25 and 26. There are about one hundred and ninety acres under cultivation. In the winter of 1907-8 he cleared up thirty-five acres of timber, which is now in splendid farming condition. Here Mr. Osburn raises grain, horses, mules, cattle and hogs.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a Republican in politics, and a member of the Odd Fellows order, belonging to Lodge No. 762, of Fairbanks. The children born to Mr. Osburn and wife are as follows: Martha, Mrs. Joseph Malone, of Fort Morgan, Colorado ; Will- iam M., of Colorado ; Allen G., of Rocky Ford, Colorado ; and Manford, at home. By the second marriage, June 18, 1885, to Nancy Jane Malone, born in Hamilton township, Sullivan county, a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Armstrong) Malone, the issue is: Bertha, born March 13. 1887, died October 27, 1893; Lillian, born April 7, 1889, died March 8, 1896; James, born June 29, 1894, died on the 14th of November, 1908: Claud A., born April 18, 1896, died in infancy ; Gerret, born August 30, 1898; and Mary E., born February 4, 1902.
GEORGE F. BOTTS, of the firm of E. R. Leach & Company, dealers in flour and feed at Sullivan, was born September 10, 1864, in Hamilton township, Sullivan county, Indiana, a son of Leander R. Botts and wife, whose family history appears elsewhere in this work. He was reared and educated in his native township, attending the high school at Sullivan, after which he taught one year and then entered the college at Valparaiso, Indiana, in 1885. He again took up teaching, following that vocation for twenty years, his last term of school ending in 1904. The greater part of his time was spent in the Hamilton township schools. and during the summer season he farmed land within the same township. He moved to Sullivan in the autumn of 1904, and then embarked in the real estate busi- ness with A. E. Hazelrigg, which continued until September, 1907, when he formed a partnership with E. R. Leach under the firm name of E. R. Leach & Company, in the flour and feed business, handling in both a retail and wholesale way flour, feed, hay, salt, etc. Mr. Botts still holds his farm in Hamilton township. Politically he is a Democrat, and fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America, having passed all the chairs in Odd Fellowship, and has been to the Grand Lodge.
Mr. Botts was married, March 30, 1887, to Retta Rich, a native of Hamilton township, born June 20, 1868, daughter of Jackson and Sarah (Henderson) Rich, both parents being, natives of Lawrence county, Indiana, and now both deceased, the mother dying in 1888, aged sixty- four years, while the father was born in 1825 and died in 1898. They were married in Lawrence county, and came to Sullivan county in the early fifties, locating in Hamilton township. They raised a family of ten children, all obtaining a good education within Sullivan county. Mr. and Mrs. Botts are the parents of three children, viz .: Goldie, born March 25.
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1889, unmarried and at home, and a graduate of the Sullivan high school ; Bertha, born January 18, 1892, also at home ; and Hubert, born August 8, 1894. Mr. Botts is a member of the Church of Christ, and his wife and daughter are members of the Baptist church.
ANDREW SIN CLAIR, one of the sturdy, enterprising farmers who have helped to make Sullivan county what it is in an agricultural way, was born June 2, 1837, in Gill township, this county, a son of Parker and Nancy (McCammon) Sin Clair, he being one of the thirteen children of this worthy couple. The subject's father was born July 16, 1789, in Virginia, and died February 16, 1875. The mother was born in 1799, in Virginia, and died July 25, 1874. They both became residents of Sullivan county, Indiana, prior to their marriage, and were among the early set- tlers of the county. Parker Sin Clair was a school teacher, as well as a progressive farmer. At one time he taught in Carlisle. He entered a quarter section of land in Gill township, and was an extensive stock raiser for the times in which he lived. He also kept many stands of bees. At one time in his life he owned slaves, and was a supporter of the Democratic party, but upon the election of President Lincoln, he supported the Repub- lican party. In his religious faith he was a Methodist, as was also his wife.
Andrew Sin Clair, the subject proper of this sketch, was one of the thirteen children of his parents' family, only four of whom still survive, and they are as follows: Maria and Bethena, both deceased ; George de- ceased ; John, deceased ; Samuel, deceased ; Mathew, deceased ; Patsey, deceased ; Elizabeth, who resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Jane (Wil- lis), who resides in Sullivan ; Austin, who resides in Sullivan ; Andrew, the subject : Joseph, deceased, and one who died in infancy-the youngest of the family.
Andrew remained at home and assisted his father until he was twenty- five years of age, when he married. He owned forty acres when he set out in life for himself, but now has seventy-five acres of well improved land on which he resides. It is situated two miles from Sullivan in a southerly direction. He has been a successful tiller of the soil and raised considerable stock and bought and sold live stock also. He helped to con- struct the E. & T. H. railroad, when that line was put through. In his political choice Mr. Sin Clair is a Democrat, and he served as a supervisor three terms. He is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, lodge No. 147, at Sullivan. Both he and his wife are acceptable members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On November 16, 1862, he was married to Marticia Rogers, who was born in Kentucky and died in Indiana about 1875, leaving one child- Nancy Elizabeth, now residing in Sullivan. For his second wife Mr. Sin Clair married, December 16, 1883, Laura Orndow, a widow. By this union Mr. Sin Clair has two children, Ruby and Ruth (twins), born November 9, 1893, and now attending the public schools.
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MESHA HAMILTON, a farmer residing in Hamilton township, Sullivan county, and a soldier of the Civil war, is justly entitled to a place in the annals of his county and state. He was born December 16, 1847, in the township in which he now resides, a son of Nathaniel and Harriette (Catlin) Hamilton. His father was born in 1801, in Kentucky, and died November 20, 1881. He came to Sullivan county, Indiana, in 1814, with his father, James Hamilton, who settled in this township, and for whom it was named. Upon coming here he entered land at the government price. Nathaniel Hamilton followed flat-boating, making forty trips to New Or- leans, and on three occasions walked back from that far-off city. One trip was usually made each year. After quitting the river he farmed and worked at the carpenter's trade. He was the owner of eighty acres of good land in Sullivan county. Politically he stood for old-fashioned Democracy, but never held public office except that of marshal of Sullivan, he being the first one chosen. He was a professor of religion and a mem- ber of the Christian church. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Hamilton were as follows: Nancy, deceased ; John, residing in Missouri, and who served in Company E, Forty-third Indiana Infantry, at first as a private and then as second lieutenant, continuing in the service for more than four years and escaping without injury ; Sarah A., deceased ; William, who served in the Eighth Indiana Battery and was killed at the battle of Stone river in 1862: James, now residing in Missouri ; Mesha, our subject ; Samuel, living in Missouri; Katherine, deceased, and Marion, deceased.
Mesha Hamilton remained at home until he enlisted, January 30, 1865, in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Indiana Infantry, as a private. He served until October 5, 1865. He is a member of Neff Post No. 307. Grand Army of the Republic, and draws a pension of seventeen dollars a month. After his discharge from the Union army he returned to his father's place in Sullivan county, Indiana, and there remained until his marriage in 1873. He soon rented the farm upon which he now lives, situated three miles south of Sullivan, and continued as a renter until 1890. when he bought the place he had been renting. This place, an excellent one, Mr. Hamilton has finely improved, and having lived on it for so long a time he is thoroughly posted as to its every need.
He is a firm believer in the general principles of the national Republi- can party and casts his vote with it. Of his domestic relations it may be said that he was married August 13, 1873, to Fannie Rogers, born in Hardin county, Kentucky, the daughter of Shacklet Rogers and wife. By this union three children were born: Effie, who married Henry A. Grif- fith ; Elsie, single and at home, and a teacher, and James A., deceased.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON BOLES, a representative farmer of Hamil- ton township, Sullivan county, Indiana, was born June 25, 1837, in Haddon township, a son of Pleasant and Julia Ann (Franklin) Boles. His father was born at old Fort Harrison, near Vincennes, Knox county, Indiana, in
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1
1811, on the 13th day of February, and died August 28, 1888. He was of Scotch-Irish ancestry and possessed many of the sterling qualities of that people. The subject's mother was born in Mercer county, Ken- tucky, December 7, 1810, and died April 28, 1890. They were married in Kentucky about 1830, and immediately went to Knox county, and from there to Sullivan county. The subject's paternal grandfather, Edward Boles, was a veterinary surgeon and a farmer, born in Ireland, and served in the war of 1812. Pleasant Boles, the father, ran flatboats on the Wabash river to Natchez and New Orleans, making two trips each spring, while during the remainder of the year he followed farming. In the winter months some years he did whip-sawing. He was the father of twelve children, six of whom are still living and are as follows: Edward F., who resides in Sullivan ; Vardimon, residing in Sullivan ; Hamilton G., residing in Kansas ; W. H. H., the subject ; Tobatha, residing in Farmers- burg : and Vandalia, residing in Missouri.
W. H. H. Boles was only about four years of age when the family moved back to Hamilton township, and he remained at home until he was seventeen years old, and then learned the carpenter's trade, which he fol- lowed at intervals for about twenty-five years. He carried on farming usually during the summers. About 1870 he purchased his present farm, which contains sixty-four acres and upon which he has resided ever since. Mr. Boles has the honor of being numbered among the brave defenders of the Union, having enlisted September 31, 1861, in Company D of the Thirty-first Indiana Volunteer Regiment of Infantry, and served as a private soldier and corporal for two years, when he was discharged at Nashville, Tennessee. He took part in the battle of Fort Donelson, Feb- ruary 15, 1862, and was also at the siege of Corinth, Mississippi. He was in the retreat from the Cumberland mountains to Louisville, Ken- tucky. Politically Mr. Boles is a Republican, and ever ready to do his full share in the role of a good citizen.
Mr. Boles has been thrice married, first on December 28, 1865, to Elizabeth M. Conner, born in Sullivan county, March 2, 1844, a daughter of John and Mary (Riggs) Conner. Her father was a native of New York state and was married in Ohio, becoming an early settler there. Elizabeth (Conner) Boles died June 29, 1878, the mother of three chil- dren: Earl A., born February 2, 1867, now resides on his father's farm ; Estella Kansas, born November 13, 1868, died August 29, 1869, and Florence J., born October 30, 1874, is now the wife of John Metcalf, residing in Hamilton township. For his second wife Mr. Boles married Sarah E. Dodd, born in Curry township, Sullivan county, Indiana, Jan- uary 1, 1841, and died March 14, 1886. There was no issue by this union. Mr. Boles married his present wife, Celia Katherine Dickerson, Octo- ber 13, 1886. She had been twice married. She was born in Orange county, Indiana, in 1847, and her parents both died when she was an infant.
Mr. and Mrs. Boles are members of the Church of Christ in Turman township and do faithfully and well their part in church work.
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JAMES N. NICHOLSON .- To James N. Nicholson belongs the distinc- tion of conducting the only jewelry and furniture store in Hymera. The jewelry department of the business was established in the fall of 1893, and several years afterward, in the spring of 1898, he bought the furniture stock of Charles Barnhart. About this time he also erected the splendid brick block in Hymera which has ever since remained an ornament and a credit to the city, and removed his stock of jewelry thereto as well as his furniture, combining the two departments in the same building, and he now has the distinction of owning and conducting the only exclusive lines of furniture and jewelry in the city. He carries an exceptionally fine line of furniture and carpets, and during a year and a half also conducted an undertaking establishment, but sold that department of the business in 1907. He is a conservative and at the same time a progressive business man, and is meeting with a large and well merited degree of success.
Hymera is the birthplace of Mr. Nicholson as well as his future field of success. He was born on the 24th of September, 1870, to Samuel H. and Tillie (Hinkle) Nicholson, the father a native of Jackson township, Sullivan county. When he had reached the age of eighteen years James N., their son, began learning the jewelry business with Scott Pauley in Sullivan, and later the two gentlemen went to Alexander, Indiana, and conducted a store there for two years, while during the following year Mr. Nicholson was associated with L. L. Norton at Indianapolis, from whence he returned to the Pauley Brothers at Bloomington, Indiana, and remained with them for one year longer. Returning then to his home town of Hymera, he opened a jewelry store in the fall of 1893 and has since been numbered among the town's leading business men. He is a Republican politically, and is identified with the fraternal life of the city through his membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and its encampment, and the Knights of Pythias order at Hymera.
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