A portrait and biographical record of Boone, Clinton and Hendricks Counties, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana, Part 104

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1080

USA > Indiana > Boone County > A portrait and biographical record of Boone, Clinton and Hendricks Counties, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 104
USA > Indiana > Clinton County > A portrait and biographical record of Boone, Clinton and Hendricks Counties, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 104
USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > A portrait and biographical record of Boone, Clinton and Hendricks Counties, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana > Part 104

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Normal at Terre Haute, and is now a teacher in Vigo county. Mr. Reitzel is a member of the G. A. R., Reuben Masten post, No. 431, and has held the office of senior and junior vice commander. He is a republican and is a member of the I. O. O. F., Clayton lodge, No. 205. Mr. Reitzel descends from pioneer ancestry, and Mrs. Reitzell's brother, William H Richardson, was a soldier in the Civil war in the First Indiana heavy artillery, company E. as a private, and served through the war. Mr. Reitzel is a man of fine character, a prac- tical farmer and valued citizen.

J OHN MCCOLLUM, of Clay township, Hendricks county, Ind., is a native of the state, born in Morgan county, Adams township, on his father's farm, April 23, 1847, the son of John and Polly (Wilkerson) McCollum. John McCollum was a pioneer farmer and settler of Wayne county, Ind., of Scotch descent. John, his son and our subject, received a common education, learned farming and enlisted at Indianapolis February 22, 1864, in company B, First In- diana regiment, heavy artillery, for three years, or during the war, and was honorably discharged January 10, 1866, on account of the close, making a service of nearly twenty- three months. He was in the siege and battle at Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines and Fort Spanish, and was promoted to corporal on .ac- count of meritorious services. He was in- jured at Stark's Landing, being thrown by a mule, which fell on him. Mr. McCollum was always an active soldier with no hospital rec- ord. served actively with his company and regiment and did his duty faithfully and promptly. He was a long time on guard duty with his regiment, mostly on the Mississippi river, about New Orleans, and at Mobile, until his discharge. After the war Mr. McCol-

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OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.

lum returned to Morgan county and engaged in farming. He married, October 13, 1868, Lydia Ratcliff, daughter of Isaac and Leathe (Vass) Ratcliff, and to Mr. and Mrs. McCollum were born three children, John E., Leta, and Ella T. In 1876, Mr. McCollum moved to Hendricks county and settled one and one- half miles north of Amo, but moved into Amo, in August, 1893, and is now a resident of this town. He is a member of Reuben Masten post, G. A. R , of Amo, was the first quarter- master and has been commander. Politically he is a strong republican. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Collum are both members of the Friends' church and fraternally he is a Mason of the Coatsville lodge. He has always been an in- dustrious and respected citizen. He was a member of one of the best artillery regiments of the war and has a good record as a soldier.

A LLEN WHICKER is one of the prominent farmers and a native of Hendricks county, descending from an old American colonial family of North Carolina. James Whicker, grandfather of Allen, born February 16, 1765, was a North Carolinian and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. He married Mary Dean, born July 25, 1770; he was a farmer of Stokes county, where he reared a family: Benjamin, Sarah, William, Eli, James, Berry, and Frederick. Mr. Whicker lived to be an old man and died in North Carolina. Frederick, his son and father of our subject, was born in North Carolina, April 3, 1794, became a farmer and married Elizabeth, daughter of John and Abigail Cos- ner. Mr. and Mrs. Whicker settled on land in Stokes county, N. C., and lived there some years; then moved to Indiana in 1832 and settled in Franklin township, Hendricks coun- ty, entering eighty acres, and eighty acres more in Clay township. He cleared up his

land in Franklin township and remained here until his death, which occurred in 1855, at the age of fifty-nine years. Mrs. Whicker was a member of the Missionary Baptist church, and died September 22, 1875. Their children were: Dorinda, Eliza, John, Lewis, James, Abigail, Mary, Loretta, Frederick, Allen and Sarah, the first eight in North Carolina and the remainder in Hendricks county, Ind.

Allen Whicker was born March 20, 1837, in" Franklin township Hendricks county, on his father's farm, early learned to work and received but little education in the old log pioneer school-house. He married, at the age of twenty-four years, October 30, 1861, Amanda (born October 20, 1848), daughter of Abraham and Sina (Hadley) West. Abraham West was born in Chatham county, N. C., was a farmer, married there, and came to Hendricks county as a pioneer, and settled in Clay township. He reared a family of nine children: William, Washington, Columbus, Deigo M., Narcissus, Malissa, Amanda, Ellen, and Scipio. Mr. West was a prominent far- mer and owned about 480 acres, and assisted all his children to homes. He and wife were members of the Methodist church, while he was an early F. & A. M. of Hendricks county, being a member of Belleville lodge and its treasurer. He died at the age of fifty-six years, was an industrious pioneer citizen and thought well of by the people.

After marriage Mr. Whicker settled in Franklin township on 120 acres, and lived here until 1882, when he moved to his pres- ent homestead, consisting of 456 acres, which he has accumulated by thrift and industry. His wife inherited a start from her father. Mr. Whicker built a substantial and tasteful brick residence in 1885, and has other good farm buildings, and his farm is well improved and well drained, having several thousand rods of tile. Both Mr. and Mrs. Whicker

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

are members of the Missionary Baptist church and he is one of the church trustees and has been treasurer about fifteen years. He is a republican and is a practical farmer and well known in the county as a reliable man of in- tegrity of character. To Mr. and Mrs. Whicker have been born nine children: Mary; George, deceased; Sina; Nora; Simon; Dennis; Effie, deceased; Permon, deceased; and Otto. Mary married John Bundy, a farmer of Frank- lin township, and has two children. Sina married Lewis Beasley, a school teacher and farmer of Boone county. Mr. Whicker is a progressive man and has given all his children a good education; he is public spirited, in favor of good roads, drainage, etc., and has throughout his life been a man who has labored hard to make a good home. His family is one of the most respected in Hendricks county. He well remembers the good old days of the early settlers, when the pioneers made every- thing they used, by hand; even the plow lines and bed cords were home made of flax which was first broken, then scotched out, then hackeled, spun and made into ropes and clo- thing. All the clothing and nearly all the tools were home made. Plows were made with wooden mold boards, and the old set- tlers cut their wheat with reaping-hooks and trampled it out on a hard ground floor and cleaned it with a sheet. Mr. Whicker has lived from pioneer times through all the modern improvements and yet is a man of only fifty-seven years of age. Nearly all the improvements have been made in the last half a century. In his boyhood's days, there were no matches, and the farmers used flint and steel for lighting fires. The log cabin had doors hung on wooden hinges with wooden latches, and it was the boast of the old set- tlers that the latch-string was always out. He began married life in a log cabin, with a stick chimney which he made with his own hands.

S YLVANUS MABE, of Clay township, Hendricks county, Ind., one of the old soldiers of the Civil war, a sub- stantial citizen and head of a respected family, was born in Brown county, Ind., May 31, 1844, a son of James M. and Annie (Knoblett) Mabe. James M. Mabe was of Irish descent, was born in North Carolina and married in Brown county, Ind., where he had come when but ten years of age with his father, Hiram, settling there about 1839. To James M. Mabe and wife were born eight children: Sylvanus, Hiram, Vandever Ray, Williamson, Mary J., Maggie, William and David. Cyrus, Levi and James are dead, and two died in infancy. Mr. Mabe, who was a farmer in Brown county, enlisted in the fall of 1862, in company H, Eighty-second Indiana infantry, and was promoted to sergeant. He was in many battles, among them Chickamauga. He served three years and was attacked by rheumatism. He had two sons in the war also; Vandever R., who was in the Forty- third Indiana infantry as a private and served one year, and Sylvanus, for whose record see below. Mr. Mabe lived in Brown county until four years since, when, in 1890, he moved to Hendricks county, Clay township. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mabe are members of the Chris- tian church. Politically he is a democrat, and he is a member of the G. A. R. He is an honorable, straightforward man, who did his full share toward putting down the rebellion, and gave two sons to his country's need.

Sylvanus Mabe, our subject, received only the pioneer education in the log school-house of Brown county, and was reared a farmer. He enlisted at the early age of eighteen years in company B, then exchanged to company C, Sixth Indiana infantry, in Brown county, August 30, 1861, and served until honorably discharged, September 22, 1864. at Indiana- polis, by reason of expiration of term of service.

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OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.

He was at the battle of Shiloh, and siege of Corinth, and from this battle field marched to Louisville, Ky., and on the way was in several skirmishes with Bragg. He was on the reserve with Buell at Perryville and his regiment as- sisted to bury the dead in shallow trenches in great haste. He was next in a skirmish at Crab Orchard and Hoover's Gap. His next severe battle was Chickamaga, then at Chat- tanooga, Brown's Ferry and Missionary Ridge, and here Mr. Mabe was shot by a piece of shell in the knee and severely wounded, and was in the hospital until July. He then re- joined his regiment and was on the Atlanta campaign, and was at the battle of Atlanta, where Gen. McPherson was killed. Here his term of service expired and he was sent with his regiment to Indianapolis and mustered out. Mr. Mabe was an active and efficient soldier, and except when in hospital with his wounds was in all the battles, skirmishes and marches of his regiment and always prompt to do his duty.

After the war, Mr. Mabe returned to Brown county and resumed farming. He married Harriet C., daughter of Eli and Memory A. Bar- tholomew. Mr. Bartholomew was the father of eight children: Ira, Cyrus, John, Augustus, Parmelia, Harriet C., Polly and one that died in infancy. Hedied in Hendricks county at the house of our subject, aged over eighty years, and a member of the Methodist church. After marriage Mr. Mabe remained in Brown county until 1873, when he moved to Dawson county, Neb., and took up a homestead and remained there two and one-half years and then returned to Indiana and settled, in the fall of 1876, in Clay township, Hendricks county, and bought his present farm in the spring of 1886; this farm consisted of 160 acres, upon which Mr. Mabe has erected tasteful and substantial buildings. To Mr. and Mrs. Mabe have been born two sons, Lorenzo F. and Eli B., farm-

ers on the home farm. Mr. Mabe is a mem- ber of the Reuben Masten post, G. A. R., and has held the office of sergeant. Politically he is independent. Mr. Mabe has always been a hard-working and is a self-made man, who has accumulated his property by his own unaided efforts. He was greatly disabled by his serv- ices in the war and his days have been consid- erably shortened.

PILLIAM PHILLIPS, of Clay town- ship, Hendricks county, Ind., and one of the old soldiers of the Civil war who was completely disabled with rheumatism by his services to his country, descends from an old American family of North Carolina. His grandfather was Samuel Phillips, who married Sarah Sides, and they were the parents of nine children, John, Levi, Eli, Samuel, Katie, Susan, Phœbe, Anne and Sallie. After marriage and the birth of all his children, Mr. Phillips settled in Wayne coun- ty, Ind., and died there soon after. Eli Phil- lips, his son and father of our subject, was born in Guilford county, N. C., and there married Peggie Cosner, daughter of John and Abigail (Pike) Cosner, and to Mr. and Mrs. Eli Phillips were born nine children : Will- iam, Eli, Israel, Parmelia, Phœbe, Abigail, Peggie, Jane and Arcadia, all born in Hen- dricks county, Ind., where Mr. Phillips moved directly from North Carolina in 1834, and settled in Clay township, three-fourths of a mile southeast of where are subject now lives. He bought 160 acres in the woods and cleared up a good farm. He is a hard working, pros- perous citizen, and he and wife were meinbers of the Friends' church. He was a republican and a strong Union man, and had three sons in the Civil war : William, Eli and Israel. Eli was in the Fifty-first Indiana infantry, served nearly three years, was in several bat-

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

tles, was wounded at the battle of Nashville, and died in the hospital at that place from his wounds. Israel was in the sixty-day service. Eli Phillips lived to be seventy-five years old, was a respected pioneer citizen and brought up an excellent family.

William Phillips, our subject, was born the second day of the first month, 1837, on his father's farm, was reared among the pioneers of Hendricks county, and received the limited education of the old log .school-house. He was brought up a farmer, and enlisted at the age of twenty-eight years, February 7, 1865, at Indianapolis, in company B, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Indiana infantry, for twelve months, or during the war. He served seven months, and was honorably discharged at Nashville, Tenn., September 5, 1865, on ac- count of the closing of the war. He served in Tennessee, at Nashville, and Pulaski, and did guard duty at other points. He contracted rheumatism from exposure in sleeping on the cold, wet ground, at Camp Connington, Indi- anapolis, and while at the front, as no over- coats were issued for some time. Mr. Phil- lips has suffered severely from this rheuma- tism, and for the past twelve years has walked with crutches, and is now entirely disabled. After the war he married, in Clinton county, Ind., March 17, 1867, Sarah F. Henderson, daughter of William and Mourning (Ballard) Henderson. William Henderson was born in Posey county, Ind., where he died, aged forty- five years. Mrs. Henderson moved to Ohio, and then returned to Indiana and settled at Springtown, Hendricks county. She owned a farm in Posey county, and she had three chil- dren: Henry H. (died an infant), James W., and Sarah F. Mrs. Henderson died in this county, aged seventy-eight years, in 1892. She was a member of the Friends' church, and a woman of fine character and many virtues, and was a widow forty-two years.

After marriage Mr. Phillips settled on the old homestead, and the next year moved to his present farm, consisting of eighty acres. He was always an active man until disabled. He now receives a pension of thirty dollars per month for disability caused by rheumatism contracted in the defense of his country.

To Mr. and Mrs. Phillips eight children were born: Israel A., Ella M. (died aged twenty-five years). Maggie F., Emma E., Ber- tha . P., James W., Eber E., and Wayne. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are members of the Pro- gressive Friends' church, and they are both overseers in their meeting. He is a member of the G. A. R., Reuben Masten post, No. 431, at Amo, Ind., and in politics he is a re- publican. Mr. Phillips is one of the honor- able citizens of Hendricks county, who, as- sisted by his faithful wife, has brought up a respected family of children.

0 ELANO L. HODGES, one of the old soldiers of the Civil war, a native of Hendricks county, Ind., and now a resident of Marion township, is a son of William and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Hodges. William Hodges was the son of William Hodg- es, Jr. came to Hendricks county, Ind., in 1831, and settled on a farm which he entered, adjoining that on which his son, Delano L., now lives, and which is still in the hands of his descendants, and is the only farm in the neigh- borhood still remaining in the family of the original pioneer who entered it. Mr. Hodges was a married man and had four children when he came, viz: Amanda, Emma, John and Eliza- beth. Eleven more children were born on the homestead in Hendricks county, viz: Edna, Delano L., Matilda, Catherine H., Sarah E., Rachael, Lemmon D., Robert A., and three that died young. William Hodges cleared up his farm and made a good home. He lived to

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OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.

be seventy-seven years of age and died on this farm. Politically he was first a democrat, but on the formation of the republican party voted for John C. Fremont. He was a hard-work- ing pioneer citizen, much respected, and brought up a respected family of children, some of whom are among our best citizens. . He had two sons in the Civil war, Delano and Lem- mon D., the latter of whom was in the army nearly two years in three different regiments, first for one hundred days in the One Hundred and Seventeeth Indiana infantry, next, for six months, in the One Hundred and Thirty- second Indiana infantry, and next, for three years, or during the war, in the Forty-third Indiana infantry.

Delano L. Hodges, our subject, was born on the old Hodges homestead in Hendricks county, May 18, 1834, received the common education of the pioneer, and has improved his time since, acquiring a fair education. He married, February 26, 1861, Elizabeth H., daughter of John and Christina (Caywood) Cord, and to this union three children were born, Susan M., Sarah G., and John W. After marriage, our subject settled on land adjoining his father's, and February 7, 1865, he enlisted at Indianapolis, in company B, One Hundred and Forty-eighth Indiana infan- try, for twelve months, or during the war, and was honorably discharged May 17, 1865, at Indianapolis, being mustered out under general order on account of the close of the war. He saw no active service, however, but he remain- ed in Indianapolis on guard duty and in hospital. He was taken sick with typhoid fever and chronic diarrhoea and came near death, and was finally sent home on furlough. He still is disabled from the effects of army life. After the war he settled for six months in Warren county, Ills., then moved to Peoria county in the same State, where he lived on one farm until 1888. He returned to Hen-

dricks county, .Ind., and settled on eighty acres, which he had bought in 1886 and he now owns over 126 acres of good land, Politically he is a republican and is an adherent of the Mission- ary Baptist church, and has always been a hard-working man and a good reliable citizen. His daughter, Sarah G., married Edmond Holmes, of Peoria, Ill., and Susan M. mar- ried Albert Hazlett, of same city, John W., remains with his father on the home farm and the family is one of the most respected in the township and county.

A BRAHAM WILLIAMSON, of Clay township, Hendricks county, Ind., was born in Somerset county, N. J., August 24, 1827, a son of Cornelius and Mahala (Bishop) Williamson. The Wil- liamsons were an old colonial American family. The grandfather of our subject, Peter William- son, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Cornelius Williamson moved to Ohio, in 1839, and settled in Columbiana county, bringing his family, consisting of his wife and six children, Charity, Rachel A., Henrietta, Abraham, Amy E. and Sarah J. Mr. Williamson later moved to Iowa and settled in Cedar county. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and died, aged sixty years, in Iowa.

Abraham Williamson, our subject, learned farming, and came to Hendricks county when he was twenty-four years old, in 1851. He married November 29, 1854, Mary, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Hudson) Kersey, and to Mr. and Mrs. Williamson five children were born-Rachael, Eva, Luella, Lillian and Claude. After marriage Mr. Williamson set- tled on forty acres of land given his wife by her father, and he still remains on this land, which he cleared up and improved, Mr. Wil- liamson enlisted and was enrolled February II, 1865, at Indianapolis, as a private in company

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

C, Eleventh regiment, Indiana infantry, to serve one year, or during the war, and served in Maryland until honorably discharged, on ac- count of the closing of the war, July 26, 1865, at Fort McHenry, Baltimore, Md. He was always on duty, except six weeks when sick with mumps. After the war he returned home and resumed farming. His wife died in 1879, fourth month and twenty-ninth day, aged forty-three years, four months and three days. She was a devout member of the Society of Friends, and a woman of many virtues; Mr. Williamson is also a member of the Friends' church, and has held the office of overseer. In politics he is a republican and prohibitionist, and has been road supervisor of his district. He is a straightforward, industrious, honora- ble citizen. Rachael, his daughter, married Oliver Chambers, a farmer of Indian territory. and four children blessed this union. Luella married John W. Morgan, of Sumner county, Kans .; he is a farmer and the happy father of one son. The remainder of the children are at home, with the exception of Lillian, who married Marion Newman, and died, the mother of one son.

ARRISON KELSO, of Clay town- ship, Hendricks county, Ind., is one of the old soldiers of the county, is the present township assessor, and is an honored citizen. His father, William Kelso, was born in Scotland, settled in Penn- sylvania, and had three brothers in the war of 1812-Andrew, George and Robert. William Kelso was a farmer, and married Susan Wy- more, whose parents came from Germany, and to Mr. and Mrs. Kelso were born Garrison, Joseph, Margaret A., David, John (died in 1861). The three brothers, Garrison, Joseph and David were in the Civil war in an Indiana regiment. Joseph and David both served three

years, and were in many battles. Garrison ·Kelso, our subject, was born February 5, 1834, in Montgomery county, Ky., and was seven years of age when he came to Indiana with his parents in 1841. He received a common education, learned the carpenter's trade, and in October, 1862, enlisted in company F, Fifty-fourth Indiana infantry, for one year, and faithfully served his time. He was in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, "and in many skirmishes. He was wounded at the battles of Chickasaw Bayou by a piece of spent bombshell striking him on the right side of his head, rendering him deaf in his right ear. He was also wounded in the right shoul- der and sustained a slight wound in the back of the neck at the same battle, but he was not, however, confined in hospital on account of this, and was always an active soldier during the limited period of his service, and in all the battles throughout his term. He was, nevertheless, taken prisoner at Dougal Bluff, while on a foraging expedition, was paroled, and honorably discharged, October 13, 1863, near New Orleans, La. He at once returned to Hendricks county, Ind., and lived at North Salem for awhile, then located in Coatsville in 1870; here he has since followed the carpen- ter's trade. . Mr. Kelso was married, in 1858, to Lucinda, daughter of John and Nancy (Myers) Zimmerman. and their union was blessed by the birth of seven children -- Susan, . Nathan B., Rose, Mary, Sallie, Lettie and Nora J. This family, unfortunately, was be- reaved by the death of their loving mother, who was called away in 1888, a consistent member of the Baptist church, to which faith Mr. Kelso also adheres. He is likewise a member of the G. A. R., John Layton post, of Coatsville. The daughter, Susan, married Lemuel Pierson, a farmer, and is the mother of two children-Edgar and Inez. Mrs. Pier- son is now keeping house for her father. Mary

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OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.

Kelso married Mat Masten, a farmer and car- penter of Coatsville, and has one child. Mr. Kelso has always been an honorable and in- dustrious citizen, and has acquired some real estate in Coatsville, and is highly respected.

L I RA GOODRICH, a native of Indiana and one of the old soldiers and honored citizens of Clay township, Hendricks county, springs from English Puritan stock. His remote ancestors were settlers of the Connecticut colony, but early moved to western New York, near Oswego. Justin Goodrich, the grandfather of our subject, was a major in the war of 1812, was in the battle of Tippecanoe and was taken prisoner at one time by the Indians, but escaped. He settled in Putnam county, Ind., about 1815 or 1820, and cleared up a good farm. He married Hannah Ogden, of New York state, and to them were born eight children. Mr. Good- rich lived to be eighty-seven years old and was a typical pioneer. He had one son in the war of 1812, Jacob, who was in the regiment with his father. Elija Goodrich, father of our sub- ject, was born in New York, and came with his family to Putnam county, Ind., when a young man. He married Keziah, daughter of John C. and Polly (Scott) Frazier. The great- grandfather of Miss Frazier was in the Revo- lutionary war, and her grandfather Scott was a captain in the same service and afterward was was a captain in the war of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich were the parents of the follow- ing children: Ira, Mary (died at sixteen years), Zilphia, John, Chauncy, Perry (died in the war), James, Sarah (died at six years). Mr. . Goodrich was a farmer in Putnam county, Ind., until 1856, when he moved to Christian coun- ty, Ill., where he died at sixty-five years of age. Both Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich were mem- bers of the Christian church. They had four

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Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Bowen & Co. Number of Pages: 1080

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Bowen & Co.
Number of Pages: 1080