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 19

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 19
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 19
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 19

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Hiram Allen Bradshaw was reared to agri- cultural pursuits and spent his youth and early manhood on a farm near Elizaville, to which part of the county he was taken when nine years of age. Later, he went to Arkansas, in which state he resided until 1877, in the spring of which year he returned to Indiana and ac- cepted a position in the goods business with L. P. Hopkins of Elizaville, in whose employ he continued until 1883, at which time he be- came clerk in the grocery house of R. M. Richey & Co., continuing in the latter capac- ity for a period of about six and a half years. In June, 1889, he effected a co-partnership in the mercantile business at Elizaville with F. T. Carr, with whom he is still associated, and the firm thus constituted does a large and prosperous business, being one of the best- known establishments of the kind in the

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county. Mr. Bradshaw is an energetic man and progressive in all the term implies. As a financier he has displayed ability of a high order, and his judgment on matters of busi- ness policy is frequently consulted and seldom found to be in error. Like many of the suc- cessful self-made men of the time, Mr. Brad- shaw's early life was beset with numerous diffi- culties, not the least of which was the respon- sibility thrown upon him while a mere youth, owing to a serious accident which rendered his father a cripple. His life has been one of great activity, and in many respects he has solved the problem of success and is entitled to mention in these pages as one of Boone county's most intelligent and enterprising busi- ness men. Politically he wields an influence for the republican party, and while not a par- tisan in the sense of seeking official prefer- ment, he has been complimented with positions of honor and trust at different times by his fellow-citizens.

On the second day of May, 1880, at Eliza- ville, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Brad- shaw and Louisa J. Beard-the latter a native of Boone county, where her birth occurred on the 5th day of May, 1855. This union has been blessed by the birth of the following children, namely-Adrian E., born August 29, 1881, died March 4, 1882; Addison S., born January 4, 1882; Nora A., born September 28, 1883; Grace B., born January 28, 1886; Noble, born January 10, 1889; Ralph, born March 16, 1892, and Alfie, born April 6. 1894. William A. Beard, father of Mrs. Bradshaw, was born in Boone county, Ind., February 22, 1830, and for a number of years was engaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber. He married Margaret Payton, whose birth oc- curred November 16, 1841, emigrated to Mis- souri prior to the late Civil war, in which strug- gle he bore a part in defense of the national Union, and subsequently returned to Indiana,

where the remaining years of his life were passed, dying at Elizaville in 1874.

APT. JAMES BRAGG .- The Ameri- can citizen, following the ordinary pursuits of daily life, is occupied principally with his own affairs and is a quiet and peaceable man, with no thought of military glory, and possessing no intimation that he has within him the instincts of a sol- dier. Let the liberties of the country become endangered and this every-day business man is the first to spring to arms, and, often rising rapidly from the ranks, will be found able to fill almost any office. Capt. James Bragg. the subject of this sketch, at the breaking out of the Civil war, was a prominent business man of Lebanon, engaged in contracting and build- ing. Being naturally patriotic and believing that the country demanded the services of every able-bodied man who could be spared from home, to defend the Union, he promptly enlisted, and by gallant and meritorious service rose from the ranks to be a captain. He is a descendant of an old colonial Virginia family of English stock, his great-grandfather having been a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Moore Bragg, the grandfather of the captain, was a Virginian who married Mary York. the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier, so that the captain descended in two distinct lines from Revolutionary ancestors. Moore Bragg and wife were the parents of five children- Wilson, Nancy, Henderson, William and Mary. Mr. Bragg was a farmer and a typical American pioneer. His wife lived to the great age of eighty-five years. William Bragg, the father of James, was born near Richmond, Ky., became a farmer, and when young went to Fayette county, Ind., where he married Frances Cook, daughter of a Scotchman who was killed in the war of 1812,

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and they were the parents of three children- John M., James and Henderson.

About 1839, Mr. Bragg, the father of the captain moved to Boone county, where he settled on Eagle creek and there passed nearly the remainder of his life. He was a substan- tial farmer and honorable citizen. In political opinions he was an old-line whig and one of the original republicans of Boone county, and a strong Union man during the war, in which he had two sons-John and James. Mr. and Mrs. Bragg were ardent supporters of the Methodist church, of which they were mem- bers, and he contributed liberally toward build- ing the first frame Methodist church in Boone county, which was on his farm and known as Sugar Grove church, and in which he held the offices of class leader and steward. His home was the home of the itinerant Methodist preacher of those early times.

Capt. Bragg was born in Fayette county, Ind., February 10, 1830, and was about nine years of age when he came with his parents to Boone county, Ind., in 1839. He can well remember the scenes attending the popular demonstrations of the great political rally of 1840, which was held on the famous battle field of Tippecanoe, and the processions pass- ing his father's house. He received a limited pioneer education in an old log cabin school- house and attended the Lebanon seminary in 1849. He learned the brick-maker's business and became a contractor. The marriage of Capt. Bragg took place April 24, 1851, to Margaret J., who was born April 27, 1832, and is a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Witt) Ker- nodle. Jacob Kernodle was a prominent pio- neer of Boone county, having settled in Center township, one and one-fourth miles east of Lebanon. He became wealthy and owned a large tract of land in Boone county. He built the first brick house in the county for his resi- dence, which is still standing. He was a

model farmer and successful in his undertak- ings. He was very liberal in his opinions, and a Universalist in religion. Politically he voted the old whig ticket. Mr. Kernodle reared a family of ten children-Elizabeth, Annie, George, John, Harriet, David, Sarah, Sophro- nia, Jacob and Margaret J.

After marriage, Capt. and Mrs. Bragg lo- cated at Noblesville, Ind., and then returned to Lebanon. Their union was blessed with one son, Joseph G., November 11, 1855-now of Petoskey, Mich., where he located in 1888, and has prospered since. Up to the war, Capt. Bragg was a contractor and builder in Leba- non and the surrounding country, and erected many of the older buildings. He was one of the contractors who built the present court house at Lebanon, in 1856-7. He also built several business houses, still standing. He was prospering in business when the Civil war engaged his attention, and he enlisted at Leb- anon, September 15, 1861, and was elected and commissioned second lieutenant, October 8, 1861, in company F, Fortieth regiment, Indi- ana volunteer infantry. He was commissioned first lieutenant April 1, 1862. He was in the battle of Shiloh, Tenn., April 6 and 7, 1862, siege of Corinth April and May, 1862, which occupied nearly two months, and in which the Fortieth was almost continually under fire.

He was in Buell's campaign against Bragg, in which there were many skirmishes and much hard marching, and, supplies being cut off, much suffering. He was in the battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862, when Capt. Bragg's com- pany attacked the rebel column, leaving their regiment on the double-quick. He was also in skirmishes at Crab Orchard, Ky., and Sil- ver Springs near Nashville, Tenn., and took part in the bloody battle of Stone River and a campaign against Tullahoma and Chattanooga. He participated in the battle of Mission Ridge, was in Sherman's Atlanta campaign, and was

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engaged in the battles of Dalton, New Hope Church, Rocky Faced Ridge, Resaca, Ring- gold, Dallas, Pine Mountain, Calhoun, Burnt Hickory, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro, and was present at the sur- render of Atlanta, Ga. After the Atlanta campaign the Fortieth returned with "Pap Thomas" to Chattanooga, thence to Athens, Ala., and Columbus, Tenn. They fell back with Thomas to Spring Hill, where a hard bat- tle was fought. They were then in the battle of Franklin, Tenn., November 30, 1864, and the battle of Nashville, Tenn., December 15- 16, 1864. They then crossed the Gulf of Mexico in July, 1865, and were mustered out at Texarkana, Texas, December 21, 1865, and honorably discharged at Indianapolis January 23, 1866.

Capt. Bragg served from September 15, 1861, to January 23, 1866, nearly four and one-half years. Beside the above battles he was in many skirmishes, that earlier in the war would be called battles notably, and was severly injured at the battle of Resaca, Ga., by the concussion of a shell May 14, 1864. He was slightly injured in his right arm, the sash supporting his overcoat being cut in two by a bullet at the battle of Franklin. Capt. Bragg was an active, gallant and efficient offi- cer, and was always prompt, fearless and cheerful in the discharge of his duty. He has a hospital record of but thirteen days, which occurred after the battle of Atlanta. He was never a prisoner and was in all the battles of his regiment. When he was first lieutenant, he was frequently in command of his company in the absence of his superior officer. The first sword carried by him in the war was presented to him by his brother-in-law, Judge Beach, now of Providence, R. I., and who married Sarah Kernodle, his wife's sister. His company presented him with another sword at Nashville, Tenn., which he still retains as a

precious relic of the war. When the captain enlisted he was of slender build and he has been obliged to greatly lengthen his sword belt in order to wear it at the reunions of his regiment, and other military occasions. The captain has been a powerful man throughout his life, possessing an iron constitution and being fully capable of enduring the hardships of army life. After the war he returned to Lebanon and attempted to. engage in his usual business, but his constitution had been greatly shattered by the exposure of army life, his nervous system being severely impaired by the effects of the shell concussion, and he has, while engaged in various kinds of business, not been very active and is now retired. Capt. Bragg is in prosperous circumstances and owns valuable real estate in Lebanon, on whose streets his dignified form is frequently seen. Fraternally he was one of the original Odd Fellows of Lebanon, but is now non- affiliating, also a charter member of the Rich Mountain post, G. A. R. He was a Douglas or war democrat, and has never deviated from the principles promulgated by Andrew Jack- son.

HARLES A. BRATTON is one of the Boone county veterans of the Civil war and a respected farmer of Jefferson township. He decends from an old colonial Virginia family. His grand- father, Lewis Bratton, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution and died in Virginia. John Bratton, a son of Lewis Bratton and father of our subject, was born in Bath county, Virginia, and married there Polly Berry, and a large family of eleven children resulted from this union, all of whom are now living except two They are as follows-James, Becky E., John, Margaret, Robert, Nancy J., Mary, Adaline, William, Charles A. and Samuel, all

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born in Virginia except Samuel, who was born in Indiana, Montgomery county, where the family moved in the fall of 1839, when our subject was but an infant of six months. Here Mr. Bratton cleared up a good farm and passed all the remainder of his days, reaching the age of seventy-two years, and died in February, 1866. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, and an old-time whig in politics until the formation of the republican party, after which he was an adherent to that party. He was a substantial farmer, respected by all. He had two sons in the Civil war- Charles and Samuel-both in the same com- pany and regiment. Samuel was in Missouri and forced to join the Confederate army, but deserted at the battle of Pea Ridge and joined the Union troops, serving until the close of the war, and was in several battles.

Charles A. Bratton, our subject, was born in Bath county, Virginia, February 4, 1839, and was brought to Indiana when six months of age. He received a common education and was reared a farmer. At the age of twenty- one he enlisted, September 1, 1861, at Lafay- ette, Ind., in company B, Tenth regiment Indiana volunteer infantry, for three years or during the war, and was honorably discharged at Evansville, Ind., in July, 1862. He was in the battle of Mill Spring and was struck by a spent ball but not injured. He was on several hard marches to get to the battle of Shiloh, his company and regiment marching three days and nights without rest, and arrived one-half day too late for the battle. Mr. Bratton suf- fered greatly from exposure and fatigue and was taken sick with rheumatism and chronic diarrhea in March, 1862. He was taken to a hospital at Evansville, but was found to be in such a bad condition that he was immediately sent home. He had previously been sick in camp four weeks. He did not recover suffi- ciently to work for two years. His wife,

Dorothy A., to whom he was married in 1864, is the daughter of Thomas and Ann (Hill) Burris. Mr. Burris was an old settler and pio- neer of Boone county. He made a good home and reared eight children: Albert, Catherine, Mary, Alice and Dorothy, John, Robert and Wesley. Mr. Burris lived to be about seven- ty-five years of age. In political. opinions he was a republican and had three sons in the Civil war -- John, Robert and Wesley-all in an Indiana regiment. Robert and Wesley were in several battles. Mr. Burris was a re- spected member of the Presbyterian church.

After marriage Mr. Bratton and wife set- tled down to farm life in Boone county and bought his present farm of forty acres of good land, and their family fireside was made com- plete by the birth of six children-Martin S., Nora M., Alonzo, Glen, Homer and Ella. Mr. Bratton is as steadfast in his political principles now, as when, in his youth, he offered himself to his country in her time of need and cheer- fully and bravely faced rebel bullets, and un- complainingly endured the hardships and ex- posure of army life, and votes the straight re- publican ticket. Mr. Bratton receives a pen- sion of seventeen dollars per month. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bratton's constitution was badly shat- tered by exposure, especially in the hard march to the field of Shiloh, and since the war has been much enfeebled. He stands deservedly high among his neighbors and friends as a good citizen and an honest man.

J OHN M. BREEDLOVE .- Among the representative citizens of Eagle'town- ship who have successfully overcome opposing circumstances and acquired for themselves a financial standing in the com- munity, the gentleman whose name introduces this biography is deserving of special mention.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

John M. Breedlove's ancestors came originally from Scotland, and his parents, David and Maria (McKinzie) Breedlove, natives respect- ively of Virginia and Ohio, were married in the latter state, where they resided for a num- ber of years, Mrs. Breedlove dying about the year 1830. Subsequently David Breedlove married Amanda Strain, by whom he had eight children, and by his first wife he had a family consisting of the same number-sixteen in all.

John M. Breedlove was born in Ross county, Ohio, January 20, 1820, received his educational training in the old log school- house, in which he acquired a fair knowledge of the English bra' ches, and was reared to agricultural pursuits on his father's farm. He has always been a farmer, and began life upon his own responsibility in his native county and state, where, in the year 1848, he was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Anderson, daughter of Samuel Anderson, Esq., a union which was terminated by the death of Mrs. Breedlove about the year 1865. This marriage was with- out issue, and subsequently Mr. Breedlove married his present wife, Mary Cox, who has borne him two children-David C. and John C. Mr. Breedlove remained in Ross county, Ohio, until about 1868, at which time, for the purpose of bettering his condition financially, he disposed of his interests there and emigrated to Boone county, Ind., locating in Eagle town- ship, where he purchased real estate, upon which he has since resided. In the accumula- tion of lands Mr. Breedlove has been espec- ially fortunate, his holdings at the present time representing 800 acres in Boone county and over 246 acres in Ross county, Ohio, both of which tracts are highly improved and very valuable. Mr. Breedlove is a self-made man, and his judgment in business affairs, particu- larly in those pertaining to real estate, is fre- quently consulted and seldom found to be at fault. He has met with success such as few

agriculturists attain, and no one in the com- munity where he resides is more highly honored by the general public. Although having passed the allotted three-score and ten years, he still possesses in a marked degree his faculties, both physical and mental, and bids fair to live many years longer to a serene and happy old age. In matters political he takes a lively interest, and for a number of years has been a supporter of the republican party, though never a partisan in the sense of seeking official .position.

a APT. JOHN ALLISON BROWN, one of the honored citizens of Boone county, Ind., is of that stanch race of men called Scotch Presbyterian Cove- nanters. Archibald Brown, the grandfather of our subject, was born in county Connaught, and there married Jane Farris, and directly after marriage they came to America with his two brothers. Mr. Brown settled in York district, S. C., one of the brothers settling in the same district, and the other in Tennessee. A son of the latter was a member of congress before the war. Archibald Brown moved to Bourbon county, Ky., in 1805, and took up government land, and after about fifteen years he sold out and moved to Nicholas county, Ky., where he became the owner of a good farm of 160 acres. During the war he was loyal to the government, and several of his grandsons fought for the Union. He and wife were the parents of the following children- William, deceased, aged thirty; Milton, de- ceased, aged eighty-two; Lanville, deceased, aged eighty-three; John, deceased, aged twenty- one; Charles, deceased, aged seventeen years.

Mr. Brown lived to be ninety-six years of age and died on his farm about the close of the war. Lanville Alexander Brown, his son

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and father of our subject, was born in York district, South Carolina, November 2, 1800. He was reared a farmer and received the com- mon education of his day. He was taken by his parents to Kentucky in 1806 and to Bourbon county, Ky., when about twenty-two years of age. He had previously married in Montgomery county, Ky., Margaret, daughter of John and Ruth (Ralston) Allison, in 1822. John Allison was a Virginian, a soldier in the war of the Revolution and in the battle of King's Mountain. He was of English descent and was a prominent farmer of Montgomery county. He afterward moved to Nicholas county, Ky., and bought a farm on which stood a brick house-one of the first in that part of the state-of David Caldwell, a rela- tive of the venerable pioneer-David A. Caldwell of this county. Mr. Allison died aged seventy-seven years. He was a devout Presbyterian, a man of excellent character and highly respected. He had but one wife, who was the mother of James, John, Andrew, Anna, Margaret, Mariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Nancy and Eleanor. After marriage, Mr. Brown settled in Nicholas county, Ky., on land and became a substantial farmer. In 1846 he moved to Bath county, where he gained wealth, owning about 400 acres of land. Like his father, he was opposed to slavery, being a "Henry Clay Emancipa- tionist." In his later life he placed his money at interest, having loaned $40, 000 at one time. His first wife died in Nicholas county, Ky., about 1725. She was the mother of two children-John A. and Nancy J. Mr. Brown re-married in Nickolas county, Ky., about June 15, 1830, Elizabeth Hudelson. To Mr. Brown and his second wife were born nine children-Margaret, Almira, William, Archi- bald, James, Charles, Mary, Harriet and Angy. Mr. Brown lived to be eighty-three years of age and died in Bath county, Ky.,

June 25. 1883, at Sharpsburg. He had accumulated. by his own efforts, about $90,000 and left his children a handsome estate of about $8.coo each. He was uncompromising in his loyalty to the Union and had three sons in the Civil war-Capt. John A., our subject, William H., who was in a Kentucky infantry regiment. James, who served in a Kentucky cavalry regiment, and was in many battles.

John Allison Brown, our subject, was born January 15, 1823, in Nicholas county, Ky., received a common English education and was brought up a farmer. He married in Bath county. Ky., September 1, 1846, Mary Jane, daughter of James and Nancy (Ratliff) Moffett; the latter born March 10, 1791, died February 22, 1864. James Moffett was born October I, 1787. He was born in Kentucky, to which state his father came from Virginia, and was here known as a pioneer. Mr. Moffett was a substantial farmer; also followed school teach- ing in his early days. He accumulated during his life a handsome property, but, like the Browns, was faithful to the Union cause. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church for fifty years and was noted for his religious char- acter. To Mr. and Mrs. Moffett were born the following children: William, Caroline, Henry, Harriet, Philadelphia, James, Coleman and Thomas.

John A. Brown, our subject, settled after marriage in Bath county, Ky., on a farm where he remained some sixteen years. In 1861 Mr. Brown was sent to Frankfort by his Union neighbors for troops to protect them. Acting Governor Robinson told him that he had no soldiers. but that if he would raise a company of soldiers he would furnish one hundred mus- kets and ammunition and they could protect themselves. The muskets were forwarded and Capt. Brown and others raised about one hun- dred men in his county for home guard service, and shouldered his musket himself in his com-

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

pany, which kept the peace for a long time in this vicinity. In the summer of 1862, Capt. Brown raised a company in Bath and Morgan counties, Ky., and commanded his company from May to September, 1862. They were in battle at Cythiana, Ky., in August, 1862, with the rebel Gen. John Morgan, and the whole command was captured. Morgan put 400 prisoners, among them Capt. Brown, in a court house at Cythiana, and they were so crowded they were obliged to stand all night, and, as the heat was very intense, great suffer- ing was endured. In the morning they were marched six miles into the country and com- manded to disperse to their homes. Capt. Brown, from this exposure, was stricken with pneumonia and lay sick at an hotel at Fal- mouth, Ky., two weeks, narrowly escaping death. He returned home and has never seen a well day since. He never received a dollar for his services, and lost two good horses in this campaign.

Being disabled from acting longer as a sol- dier, and his Union sentiments being well known, he was forced to leave Kentucky, and in March, 1863, he went to Putnam county, Ind., where he settled on a farm of 220 acres, about twelve miles north of Greencastle, on the New Albany road, where Mr. Brown has been very successful in his farming and ac- cumulated a goodly property. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of ten children: James C .; Lanville, deceased, aged two and one-half years; Henry; Alice C .; Cordelia F .; Nancy M .; Lanville A. and Elizabeth (twins), Eliza- beth died young; Mary L. and Harriet L., all born in Bath county, Ky., except Harriet L., who was born in Putnam county, Ind

Mr. Brown came to Boone county, Ind .. Oct. 6, 1881, and settled in Lebanon, and is now retired from active life. Both he and wife are devout members of the Presbyterian church, in which he has been a deacon for

many years. Mr. Brown lived in the days when the difference between a democrat and a republican was as wide as the poles, and he saw enough during the Civil war to make him a life-long republican. He owned a few slaves in Kentucky, but when it came to the issue whether he should give up his slaves or his government, he promptly decided in favor of his country. Mr. Brown is a very respected citizen of Lebanon and was one of the city councilmen. Fraternally he is a Mason, a member of Boone lodge, M. G., of Lebanon. Throughout his life he has adhered to the principles of his ancestors and is noted for his integrity of character. His sons are among the most successful business men of Lebanon and his entire family above reproach. The family is noted and always has been for love of temperance, and no member of this family was ever known to be an intemperate man.

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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