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 49
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by his election as assessor of Sullivan county, his induction into office being in January, 1907. Mr. Hiatt is also a leading Odd Fellow, identified with Sullivan Lodge No. 147, through all of whose chairs he has passed. He is quite widely associated with the local labor organizations. On March 1, 1892, Mr. Hiatt wedded Miss Vandilla Purcell, a native of this county, born September 24, 1873, daughter of Simpson Purcell, deceased. To this union have been born Gladys, Dora and Geneva Hiatt, the mother of the family being an ardent member of the Church of Christ.
GILBERT W. GAMBILL .- Among the enterprising attorneys-at-law practicing at Sullivan, Indiana, is Gilbert W. Gambill, a native of Cass township, this county, born September 28, 1881. He is the son of Marion F. and Rosa (Powell) Gambill. The father was also born in Cass town- ship in October, 1861, and the mother was born in 1862 in the same town- ship. Gilbert W.'s grandparents, Josiah B. and wife, Julia ( Bledso) Gambill, were also both natives of Cass township. The Gambills are an old family of Irish descent and were among the earliest to settle in Sulli- van county, Indiana. Marion F. Gambill and wife still live in Jackson township, this county. Their farm is near Hymera, and there they carry on general farming and stock-raising. In his political belief the father is a Democrat, and both he and his wife are members of the Christian church. Two children were born to this worthy couple: Gilbert W., of this notice, and Florence Etta. She was born January 2, 1883, is unmar- ried and a graduate of Brown's Business College at Terre Haute. She also attended the State Normal College of the same city and taught school two years in the district schools and one year in the schools of Hymera. At this time she is employed in Sullivan.
Gilbert W. Gambill attended the district schools, after which he entered the Normal College at Danville, Indiana, graduating with the class of 1906. He then taught in the high school at Hymera, teaching Latin and mathematics. While at the Normal he took a course in teach- ing, the scientific course and the law. He was admitted to the bar and to the supreme court in 1906. In April, 1907, he began the practice of law with C. D. Hunt, with whom he formed a partnership in January, 1908. Politically, he is a Democrat.
PAYTON RITCIIIE .- Worthy of especial mention in this volume is Payton Ritchie, a well known and highly respected resident of the village of Cass, and a veteran of the Civil war. A son of Enoch Ritchie, he was born December 20, 1843, in Hamilton township, Sullivan county, and in that part of the state was brought up and educated. Enoch Ritchie was one of the earlier settlers of Greene county, living there but a short time, however. He afterwards lived for awhile in Hamilton township, Sullivan county, from there removing to Gill township, where he improved a farm.
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About 1860 he settled in Illinois, and the following year enlisted in the Thirty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served as a soldier until the close of the Civil war. Returning then to Indiana, he spent the remain- ing years of his life in the town of Sullivan. He married Martha Nichols, and they became the parents of eight children.
Offering his services to his country during the period of the Civil war, Payton Ritchie enlisted, in 1863, in Company F, One Hundred and Fifteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for a period of six months. He went with his command to East Tennessee, and was there on duty until the expiration of his term of enlistment, when he received his honorable discharge. In the spring of 1865, Mr. Ritchie again took up arms in defense of his country, enlisting in Company D, One Hundred and Fifty- sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. With his regiment he went first to Alexandria, Virginia, thence to the Shenandoah valley, remaining with his command until discharged from the service, in August, 1865. Return- ing then to Sullivan county, Mr. Ritchie resumed his work as a brick maker, and subsequently learned the trade of a brick mason, and for many years was busily employed as a brick and plaster mason. Coming to the village of Cass in 1886, he has since been a resident of this place, and as a trustworthy citizen has won the esteem and respect of his fellow-men.
On September 10, 1865, Mr. Ritchie married Irena Hedley, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of John and Nancy (Dial) Hedley. Two chil- dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ritchie, namely: Maggie and Nannie. Maggie, who married Edward Moss, is deceased. Nannie, the wife of Henry N. Usrey, has three children-Clyde, Dewey and Orville.
JAMES M. BALDWIN, one of the truly representative men of Jefferson township, Sullivan county, began life in Kentucky, where he was born July 5, 1867, a son of William and Malissa (Green) Baldwin. His parents were both natives of Alabama, but went to Kentucky, purchased a farm and there spent the balance of their years, the father dying at the age of sixty-three years, and the mother when about fifty-seven years. They were the parents of the following named children: Robert A., deceased ; William P., a resident of Kentucky, married Mathena Fields ; George W., residing in Kentucky, married Marilda Hunter; T. P., a resident of Linton, Indiana, married Bettie Calloway ; James M., of this notice ; D. P., a resident of Linton, married Mary Calloway.
The fifth in his father's family, James M. Baldwin possesses only the education which he gleaned himself by a close application and keen observation of transpiring events. He went forth into an untried world at the tender age of fifteen years, when he went into the mines to dig coal. He proved a successful miner and has followed that occupation ever since. In 1900 he came from Kentucky to Linton, Indiana, remained two years, then went to White Rabbit and in December, 1903, purchased the eighty acre farm on which he now resides, the same being situated one mile
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from Pleasantville. While he attends to the general work of his farm, his time is largely spent within the coal mines near by.
In his political affiliations it may be said that up to within about five years he has voted the Republican ticket, but now is an independent voter. Both he and his estimable wife are devoted members of the Baptist church and he is a member of Lodge No. 408 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Pleasantville. December 26, 1888, he was united in marriage to Mary E. Doss, born January 17, 1867, the daughter of William and Adeline (Miller) Doss, both of whom are deceased. There is no issue by this union.
HON. CHARLES T. AKIN, vice president of a bank and general mer- chandise dealer at Carlisle, Indiana, was born October 27, 1848, in Carlisle, Indiana, son of Ransom W. and Sarah R. (Sedgwick) Akin. Mr. Akin's father was a native of Indiana, born October 18, 1806, in Clark county, and he died June 18, 1880, at Carlisle. His wife was born in Maryland, September 19, 1817, and died January 3, 1903, at Carlisle. The father came to Sullivan county in 1838, locating at Carlisle, where he ever after- ward resided with the exception of ten years which he spent in Bloom- ington, Indiana, always retaining his business interests at Carlisle, how- ever. He was reared on a farm and began merchandising when eighteen years of age, at New Albany, Indiana. From there he went to Bowling Green, Clay county, where he remained for a short time and then moved back to New Albany and from there moved to Carlisle in 1838. He was a very successful dealer in general merchandising goods. Being a recog- nized financier, he was made a member of the banking board, under the old law, also a director of the state prison. He served capably as a mem- ber of the house and senate of Indiana, and was treasurer of the State University at Bloomington. Politically, he was a stanch defender of Democratic principles. He was of Scotch and English extraction, his father, Josiah Akin, coming from the east to Kentucky and from there to Clark county, Indiana, and dying in New Albany in 1858. His occupation was farming.
Ransom W. and Sarah R. (Sedgwick) Akin were the parents of twelve children, born in the following order: William M., a resident of Evansville ; Evelyn, living in Evansville ; Frank M., deceased; Mary S., deceased; J. S., residing at Carlisle; Maggie E., deceased; Sarah W., widow of Mr. Cloud and residing in Boston ; Louise, wife of George Price, living in Sullivan : Ransom W., Jr., deceased ; Charles T .; Edgar W., Sr., residing at Carlisle, engaged in banking; Josiah T., living in Sullivan. The parents were both members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Charles T. Akin, the tenth child in the family of Ransom and Sarah Akin, received his education at the common schools of his native county and clerked in the store owned by his father, from the age of fifteen years, until he was twenty-four years old, when he was taken in as a partner with his father and brother, Edgar W. Akin, under the firm name of R. W. Akin & Sons, which relation existed until the death of the father
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in 1880, when the brother Josiah took over his father's interest, the style of the firm being changed to R. W. Akin's Sons. In 1902 the brother Josiah retired and Charles T. absorbed the business, which has grown to be one of the most extensive in Sullivan county. Mr. Akin is rated as being the largest shipper of poultry in Indiana, handling immense quan- tities of both eggs and poultry. During the summer time he runs four large wagons through the rural districts loaded with supplies for the farmers, selling on the same terms and giving as good a quality of mer- chandise as though sold direct from his large store. This feature of his business has been carried on for more than ten years. Besides his mer- cantile interests Mr. Akin operates two large farms within the township in which he resides.
Mr. Akin is a supporter of the Democratic party and has been chosen to fill several important public positions, beginning with that of member of the school board, leading up to member of the state house of repre- sentatives for the sessions of 1881-83. In 1891-93 he was state senator. He was a member of the special committee which created the first salary bill for the payment of county officers. He was also on the finance com- mittee for the state tax-bill, making corporations pay their full share of taxes, and in many other ways aided in furthering needful legislation. Fraternally he is connected with both the Masonic and Ben Hur lodges, at Carlisle.
Mr. Akin was united in marriage, December 19, 1890, to Sophia Benedict, a native of Spencer county, Indiana, born May 5, 1860, daughter of Jacob Benedict and wife. Mr. Benedict is now deceased and his widow resides at Gentryville, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Akin have four children : Beulah, born September 19, 1891, single and now attending college at Ferry Hall, Lake Forest, Illinois ; Helen ; Charles T., Jr .; and Sedgwick R.
OLIVER J. CARTWRIGHT .- Numbered among the active and capable business men of Carlisle is Oliver J. Cartwright, who is associated with the International Harvester Machine Company as salesman, his territory covering Sullivan, Greene, Knox and Vigo counties. A son of Samuel A. Cartwright, he was born, April 5, 1865, in Haddon township, about one and one-fourth miles west of the village of Carlisle. His Grandfather Cartwright migrated from North Carolina, his native state, to Indiana, in pioneer days, and took up land in Haddon township, being one of the early settlers of this part of the county.
Born in Haddon township in 1838, Samuel A. Cartwright followed the free and independent occupation to which he was reared, living near the parental homestead until within a few years. Selling out then, he bought a farm in Hamilton township, where he has since been profitably employed in agricultural pursuits. A man of sterling integrity, he is a valued citizen of the township in which he resides, and an earnest sup- porter of the principles of the Republican party. He married Nancy Lemen, whose birth occurred in Gill township, in September, 1840. Both
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she and her husband are valued members of the Christian church. Three children blessed their union, namely: Isabelle, born in February, 1863, is the wife of Frank Starner, of Carlisle; Oliver J., of this sketch; and William L., of Sullivan, who married Catherine Bell, a native of Hamilton township.
Receiving a practical education in the public schools of Carlisle, Oliver J. Cartwright was well drilled in the science of agriculture while young, and remained with his parents until about twenty-five years old. Embarking then in farming on his own account, he continued for about twenty years, from 1895 until 1906 being located about one and one-half miles south of Carlisle. Selling his farm in the latter-named year, Mr. Cartwright moved to Carlisle, where he has since resided. While on the farm he operated a threshing machine for nearly twenty-four years, being kept busily employed in the vicinity of Carlisle during the harvest season. Since coming to Carlisle, Mr. Cartwright has been variously engaged, at the present time travelling in the interests of the International Harvester Machine Company, as previously stated.
On January 28, 1892, Mr. Cartwright married Isabelle Starner, who was born in Knox county, Indiana, in October, 1864, a daughter of Jacob and Nancy (Jerel) Starner, who spent their entire lives in that county. Her father was a farmer, and also a brick mason by trade. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, namely: Opal, born No- vember 8, 1894; and Okie, born February 13, 1896. Politically Mr. Cartwright is a Republican, and fraternally he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, belonging to both the lodge and encamp- ment, and to the Modern Woodmen of America. He is especially active in the former, having filled all of the offices in both the lodge and encamp- ment, and having served as a delegate to the Grand Lodge, of which he is one of the trustees. Religiously Mrs. Cartwright is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
ANDERSON WARD DRIVER, a grain and stock farmer of Jefferson town- ship, Sullivan county, whose farm home is four and a half miles south from Pleasantville, was reared and educated in Sullivan county. He was born August 8, 1867, in Jefferson township, son of James E. and Lovina (Osborn) Driver. The father, a son of Edwin Driver, was born May 21, 1832, in Decatur county, Indiana, and the mother in Jefferson township, Sullivan county, January 19, 1834 ; both now reside at the town of Sulli- van. James E. came to Jefferson township about 1850, settling at the north end of the township, where he entered land, at one time owning two hundred and seventy acres, and he carried on general farming and stock- raising. He is a Democrat and for many years an elder in the Christian church, of which his wife is also a member. They are the parents of the following children: Elizabeth, residing in Sullivan, wife of Anthony . Robbins, now deceased; John C., of Jefferson township, married Hattie Herndon; Mary Frances, living in Canton, Mississippi, married John
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Maxwell; James S., who occupies the old homestead in Jefferson township, married Inez Buck ; Daniel, of Jefferson township, married Laura Smith ; Anderson Ward, of this notice ; Mazie May, married Lafayette Pigg and is now deceased. Two other children died in their infancy. Lovina (Osborn) Driver, the mother, was the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Moser) Osborn. They came to Indiana from Tennessee and were among the early settlers.
Anderson W. Driver, the sixth child in the family, attended the public , schools in his own neighborhood at such times as he could and at other times at Sullivan. He remained dutiful at home and materially assisted his father until his marriage, after which event he rented land in Jefferson township two or three years and in 1892 went to the vicinity of Sedalia, Missouri, and there farmed on rented land two seasons. He had not seen a better location than Sullivan county, Indiana, his native place, hence returned and purchased forty-six acres in the north end of Jefferson township. This tract he soon sold and rented land of his brother-in-law, near Paxton. In 1904 Mr. Driver had so well prospered that he was enabled to purchase one hundred and twenty acres, four and a half miles south of Pleasantville, where he now carries on a well ordered grain and stock farm.
As every good citizen in this free form of government has, or should have, his preference in political party platforms, Mr. Driver has chosen that of the Democratic as his standard. Being an exemplary Christian, he, together with his wife, have their church home with the Christian church. Believing in the correctness of life insurance, as a means of protection for his family, he is a member of that most excel- lent order-the Modern Woodmen of America. His lodge, No. 4929, is at Pleasantville, Indiana. Mr. Driver was married November 24, 1888, to Anna L. Robbins, born August 17, 1869, in Haddon township, Sulli- van county. She is the daughter of Washington and Anna (Arnett ) Robbins, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Driver are the parents of the following children: Orland E., born November 18, 1891, now in his second high school year at Sanborn; Lee O., born October 24, 1893, also attending school; James H., born June 16, 1895, in school ; Pansy Marie, born September 18, 1898.
A. E. A. SLOOP .- A practical and successful farmer of Haddon township, Sullivan county, Abraham E. A. Sloop has resided in this section of Indiana for nearly a quarter of a century and has lived in the state for some forty years. Although then but a young man, he had served in the Confederate army from North Carolina, under the renowned General Johnston, but after coming to Indiana remained within the borders of the state, with the exception of two years, engaged in various agricultural and artisan pursuits. So that both from the standpoint of patriotism and practical usefulness Mr. Sloop is an ideal American citi- zen. Born in Rowan county, North Carolina, on the 8th of March, 1847,
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he is a son of Henry and Rosanna (Seckler) Sloop, both parents being natives of that county. In 1884 they joined their sons in Greene county, Indiana (in which he located ten years before), and there the father died in 1895 and the mother in 1902.
A. E. A. Sloop was reared on the home plantation in Rowan county, his youth covering the Civil war period. He was not able to enlist until April, 1864, when he joined the Second North Carolina Junior Reserves. Although he saw active service in the desperate engagements of the final struggle under General Joseph E. Johnston, participating in the battle of Bentonsville, he escaped without a wound or other injury. At the con- clusion of the war he returned to his home in North Carolina, but in March, 1869, adopted the Hoosier state by becoming a resident of Law- rence county. In the autumn of that year he located at Paxton, where he learned the blacksmith's trade under his brother (Henry O. Sloop), following that vocation for about four years. He next resumed farm- ing, locating on a tract of land near Linton, Greene county, in the spring of 1874, and in that locality conducting agricultural operations (in con- nection with blacksmithing) for over three years. Mr. Sloop tried Texas as an experiment, for two years from the autumn of 1877; returning to Greene county he resided there for the succeeding two years, and lived in Knox county for a like period, and in the fall of 1883 re-located in Greene county, settling in Haddon township, Sullivan county, in the spring of 1885. There he purchased a farm of eighty acres, sixty acres of which he retains and profitably cultivates. In his politics he is a Republican, and a citizen of sterling and useful character.
On January 5, 1871, Mr. Sloop married Miss Laura E. Linn, a native of North Carolina, who died in 1883, the mother of three children-one of whom died an infant, prior to Mrs. Sloop's decease. Charles, who was born in 1876, married Estelle Dailey, a native of Haddon township, and both reside in Greene county. Cora P., the second child of this marriage to reach maturity, was born June 16, 1879; is a native of Texas, and is the wife of Robert Robertson, residing in Jefferson town- ship, Sullivan county. On March 8, 1891, Mr Sloop wedded for his second wife, Miss Rebecca A. (Creager) Bedwell, born in Hamilton township, November 20, 1842, daughter of Lewis and Sarah J. ( Brodie) Creager. The father was a native of Maryland and, with his wife, was among the pioneers of Haddon township. The grandparents of Mrs. Rebecca A. Sloop at one time lived in the famous fort at Vincennes, Indiana, where so many of the pioneers took refuge from the Indians. While living in the fort two children belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Wethers- camp were stolen by the savages-the boy being given to one tribe and the girl to another. The former played with the Indian boys as if he were really one of them, and one of their customs was to drive the ponies of the tribe across a small river (to keep the animals out of the corn), the lads afterwards swimming back. Upon one of these occasions it occurred to the white boy that he had better say farewell to his dusky comrades and start for the Vincennes fort-which he did, galloping off on a good pony. The boy rode all that night and the next day until evening,
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and safely reached home, after an absence of two years. After he had been a member of the home circle for about a year his mother begged him to endeavor to recover his sister. Fortunately, the youth had gen- eral knowledge of her whereabouts and her habits, and finally reached the locality near which her captors had their camp. In the vicinity was a swamp containing a number of springs, from which the Indians drew their water supply, and tethering his pony he took his station on a mound, knowing it was his sister's custom to come to one of the springs. Keeping close watch until the following evening, he was finally rewarded by the appearance of his sister and, as she was dipping water from the spring, he seized her, placed a handkerchief in her mouth to prevent her screaming, got her on his pony in front of him and dashed off. Soon quieting her with his explanations (made largely in sign language), the brave boy rode all that night and until noon the next day, when he stopped to feed the exhausted animal, as well as his sister and himself. They did not stop again until they reached Vincennes and the overjoyed parents.
Before her marriage Mrs. Sloop was the widow of William Bed- well, who was born in Jefferson township and died September 19, 1888. By her first marriage Mrs. Sloop became the mother of three children, as follows: Mary L., now the wife of David Bedwell, of Hamilton township; Cornie B., deceased, who married Cora Creager, the widow now residing near Sullivan ; and Alma V .. who became the wife of Fred Orr. Mr. and Mrs. Sloop are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Paxton, of which body the husband is a trustee and a steward.
JOHN T. RIGGLE, one of the thrifty and painstaking farmers whose fine rural home is situated within the limits of Gill township, Sullivan county, is a native of Wayne county, Indiana, born July 10, 1836, hence has passed his four score year mark, but notwithstanding his multiplied years and the amount of hard labor performed, he is still a well preserved and rugged man, for one of his years. He is the son of John and Katharine (Swartz) Riggle. His parents were both natives of Penn- sylvania, the father was born in 1803 and the mother in 1814. The father moved to Ohio with his parents, who were pioneers and farmers. It is related of them that they were compelled to keep their dogs within the house at night time in order to protect themselves from the wolves. Mr. Riggle's mother also went to the Buckeye state with her parents, who were farmers there until 1848, when they came to Indiana, locating in Warren county, on a farm, where the mother died about 1851. The father resided in that county about twenty-five years, then sold and removed to Vermilion county, where he purchased a forty acre farm and died there, May 29, 1872. He was a cooper by trade and followed that during the winter months, but always attended to his farm in the farming season.
John T. Riggle is one of a family of six children, he being the third Vol. II-26
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in order of birth. He obtained his schooling in Ohio, excepting one winter term in Indiana. Up to the time he was twenty-two years of age he remained at home, then rented a farm in Illinois one season, and con- tinued renting land for farming purposes until 1886, when he bought seventy-eight acres, upon which he now resides, a portion of which he rents out and the balance he farms himself. In 1864 he enlisted in Com- pany B, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry, as a private soldier, serving five months and twelve days as one who offered his services in defense of his country's flag. After his return from the war he followed carpentering for about four years. Politically Mr. Riggle is a firm supporter of the general principles of the platform of the Repub- lican party, but has never aspired to public office. In church faith he is a Christian.
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