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 21

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 21
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 21
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 21

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

lic schools in 1870, which completed his career as a teacher, after the long service of nearly twenty years. He was county surveyor from 1860 to 1876, and either attended to his duties' personally or employed a deputy. As sur- veyor of Boone county for this long period he surveyed and laid out many important ditches and roads, and was especially active in his work in the gravel roads. He has done the work of civil engineer for the city of Lebanon since its organization, except upon the different occa- sions when, for a short time, this office was held by others, but in each case the work soon devolved upon Mr. Burns. He is at present city engineer, and is assisted by his son-in-law, Thomas W. Huckstep, who has been con- nected with him since 1875. Mrs. Burns died November 12th, 1881, and Mr. Burns married Margaret J., daughter of John and Sarah (Peck) Richey. Mr. Richey was born in New York, reared in Pittsburg, Pa., and was one of the early pioneers of Boone county, coming from Ohio and locating in Tippecanoe county in 1828; and in 1835 he came to Boone county, where he entered his land in Washing- ton township. He became an honored citizen, township trustee and a substantial farmer. He had one son in the Civil war-James. Mr. Richey lived to be seventy-eight years old, and died August 12th, 1883, on his farm.

Mr. Burns is one of the most prominent Masons in Boone county. He is a member of Boone lodge, No. 9, and held the offices of senior deacon, junior warden, and master at different times from 1876 for about eight years. He is also a member of the chapter-a royal- arch mason-and is high priest, an office which he has filled, with the exception of one year, since 1875. He is also a member of the royal and select masters, and is illustrious master, having held this office since 1876. He is also a Knight Templar, Frankfort commandery. Mr. Burns is also a member of the Scottish

rite, Indiana consistory of Indianapolis, which includes the thirty-second degree. Mr. Burns is grand chaplain of the grand chapter of the state of Indiana, and has held this office nearly all the time since 1887. He was also chaplain of the grand council of royal and select masters from 1888 to 1893. He is chaplain of the order of high priests of the state of Indiana. Both Mr. and Mrs. Burns are members of the Eastern Star, a Masonic body, and Mr. Burns worthy patron for four years. He and wife are members of the Pres- byterian church, in which he has been elder for the long period of twenty-seven years. Mr. Burns is a member of the G. A. R., Rich Mountain post, No. 42, Lebanon, and has been post commander. By perseverance and good management Mr. Burns has succeeded financially, and is in prosperous circumstances, and is highly respected in Boone county as an honest citizen. His best roll of honor are the names of his former pupils, many of whom are now prominent citizens and whom he assisted to become more efficient men and women.

J AMES E. BURRIS .- Among the vet- eran soldiers of Center township is found the name of James E. Burris, who served his country faithfully in the Civil war and is now a substantial farmer. Like many Americans his ancestors inter- married with different nationalities, but we find the Irish race to be predominant. His father, Robert Mc. Burris, was born in Flem- ing county, Ky. He was a farmer and iniller, and married Elizabeth Moore, who was born within one mile of Flemingsburg. Ky. In 1854 Mr. Burris moved to Boone county, Ind., and settled in Jefferson township. He also lived for some time in Hamilton and Tipton counties, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Burris were mem- bers of the Christian church. They were the

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

parents of nine children, who lived to be men and women: John W., Thomas F., James E., Henry O., Mary E. Annie A., Jacob G., Robert W., and Catherine C. Mr. Burris had two sons in the Civil war- James E. and Thomas F. -- both in the same regiment and company. He was an old-line whig in politics and lived to the age of about seventy-three. years. He was a man of good character and reared a respected family of children.

James E. Buriis was born in Fleming county, Ky., June 12, 1844. He received the limited common school education of his day and was ten years of age when he came with his parents to Boone county, Ind. He early began to work on the farm, and at the age of eighteen years he enlisted at Tipton, Tipton county. Ind., July 28, 1862, in company B. Seventy-fifth regiment, I. V. 1 .- Capt. Isaac H. Montgomery-for three years or during the war, and served until honorably discharged July 8, 1865, at Washington, D. C. He was in the battle of Heartsville, and all the battles from Hoover's Gap to Chickamagua and from Missionary Ridge to Atlanta, Ga. Here he was injured by a shell concussion. He was resting his back against his gun when a piece of shell struck it and he received a stunning blow, was knocked senseless and was sent home on a twenty-five day furlough. He rejoined his regi- ment at Chattanooga and was in the battle at Nashville, and afterward on railroad duty, and after this was at the battle of Smithfield. He was in the grand review at Washington and returned home. In 1870 he bought his present farm, which then consisted of forty acres, to which he has added, by good man- agement, until he now owns about 160 acres of fertile land.

Mr. and Mrs Burris are the parents of two children, Mary M. and Ettie M. He was mar- ried November 19 1869, to Sarah I. Ware, nee Sutton, daughter of William and Mary

(Shally) Sutton. Mr. Sutton was a Kentuck- ian of English stock, and the Shallys were of German descent. Mr. Sutton was a farmer of Fleming county, Ky., and moved to Putnam county, Ind., where he married the widow Roberts, nee Shally. Mr. Sutton became a substancial farmer and moved to Parke county, where he died aged fifty years. He had two wives; the first was a Miss Mikels, and they were the parents of four children-Margaret, Lydia, Mary A., Susan; by his second mar- riage there were five children-Sarah I., Mel- vina, Levina C., Nancy C. (deceased) and Hannah A. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton were mem- bers of the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Burris, the wife of our subject, was first married to Geo. W. Ware-second lieutenant company H. One-Hundred and Twenty-sixth regiment, Eleventh Indiana volunteer cavalry. He was in many battles, and at the battle of Franklin he over-exerted himself and died three days later. He left one child-Charles E. Both Mr. Burris and wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Burris was a faithful soldier, doing his duty cheerfully for three years during the great Civil war. He is now a respected citizen and an industrious man, and having invested his means in land is now in prosperous circumstances. His res- idence and grounds present an attractive ap- pearance, which indicate, taste and refine- ment.

EORGE W. BUSBY is a native of Boone county, an old soldier, and the leading contractor of Lebanon. He is a son of John and Rebecca (Campbell) Busby. John Busby was born in Kentucky, and married there. He was of Scotch-Irish origin. William Campbell, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was of the same nationality. He was a soldier of the

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BIOGRAPHICAL .HISTORY

war of 1812 and was killed by the Indians. To John Busby and wife were born six chil- dren: Nancy J., Francis M., Amezette, George W., Mary E., and one who died in infancy, all born in Bourbon county, Ky., except the two youngest, who were born in Lebanon, to which place Mr. Busby moved in 1837, and entered eighty acres of land in the south part of the corporation, being one of the first set- tlers of the town. He was a carpenter by trade, also a farmer. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and in politics an old- line whig, afterward a republican. He lived to be fifty-six years old and died in Lebanon in August, 1864. He was a strong Union man and an honest, hard-working citizen. Mr. Busby erected many of the early buildings in Lebanon, among them the old brick seminary and a brick house for Mr. Zion. The glass for both these buildings was hauled through by wagon from Madison, Ind. The inside of these walls was laid up with mud; the founda- tion for the old seminary was made of nigger heads or small bowlders picked up from the fields.

George W. Busby was born in Lebanon, May 14, 1842, and had good opportunities for an education. He attended the old seminary until sixteen years of age, next attended the Presbyterian academy until nineteen years of age, and then his parents sent him to the country to keep him from enlisting in the war. He worked at farm work for one season, but was determined to become a soldier, and in June, 1862, enlisted at Lebanon, for ninety days, in company G, Fifty-fifth regiment Indi- ana volunteer infantry, under Capt. Henry Hamilton and Col. Mahan of Terre Haute. He was in the battle of Richmond, Ky., and was taken prisoner, but was paroled after two weeks, and was obliged to go to Columbus, Ohio, to be exchanged. He served out his time as an active soldier and did good service,

and was in several skirmishes with John Mor- gan. He was mustered out and honorably discharged at Indianapolis in 1862, when he returned to Lebanon. Before enlistment he had partly learned the carpenter's trade, which work he resumed and soon became a fine work- man. When at school he hada taste for mathematics, and this science became very useful to him in business. On December 12, 1865, he was united in marriage to Mary, daughter of J. C. Daily. After her death, Mr. Busby married Cannie, daughter of William and Jane (McIntosh) Williams. Mr. Williams is a reliable farmer of Fleming county, Ky. He is a Union man, was a soldier in a Ken- tucky regiment, served three years, and was in several battles. It is greatly to his credit that, surrounded by Confederates, he fought for the Union. Mr. Busby has erected many of the most important buildings in Lebanon-the DuVal block, the Neal block, Brown's Grand opera house, the fine residences of Mr. Cragun, Charles C. King and Mr. Becktell and many others, besides many other business buildings. He is now building a new brick block of three stories for J. C. Brown. Both Mr. and Mrs. Busby are members of the Methodist church. He is a member of Boone lodge, No. 9, F. & A. M., also a member of the Red Men and Rich Mountain post. G. A. R. He has erected for himself and wife a very tasteful residence. He has a practical knowledge of architecture and excellent taste and skill in this line. He is noted for his reliability and integrity of character.

AVID A. CALDWELL .- This aged gentleman is, with the exception of Levi Lane, the oldest resident of Boone county, Ind., and the oldest man in Boone county, with the exception of Nathan Cory. He springs from the old colo-

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

nial American stock. His paternal grandfather was William Caldwell, and, as his father mar- ried a full cousin, his grandfather on his ma- ternal side was Alexander Caldwell. They were both of Scotch-Irish descent and both moved to Kentucky in 1784 and settled at Maysville, Mason county, at the mouth of Limestone creek, on the Ohio river. William Caldwell built the second cabin in the place. He had a family in Pennsylvania. His wife was Mary McClellan, and his children were: Robert, William, David, Thomas, Polly, Sally, Mattie, Susan, Margaret, and Elizabeth. The wife of Alexander Caldwell was Betsy Ste- phenson, who was the mother of Sarah, Betsy, Martha, Patsy, Polly, David, Robert and Alex- ander All of them were born in Pennsylva- nia, and most of them were married and had families when they settled in Kentucky. Rob- ert Caldwell, son of William, was a soldier in the Revolution. The family had a great deal of trouble in the early day in Pennsylvania, and were both early settlers of Westmoreland county, that state, and both were contempo- raneous with Daniel Boone in Kentucky, and fought in the old Indian wars. Thomas Cald- well, father of our subject, was born in West- moreland county, Pa , in 1778, and was six years of age when brought to Kentucky with his father's family, the journey being made by boat down the Ohio river. He grew up a farmer and learned to read and write, and mar- ried his cousin, Sarah Caldwell, and to them were born cight children, who lived to matu- rity-David, Nathan, William, Alexander, Elizabeth, Mary, Martha and Sarah. Our sub- ject alone survives, and has reached a greater age than any of his ancestors. The father of Thomas moved to Bourbon county, Ky., about one year after the settlement at Maysville, and shortly after settled in Nicholas county, Ky., and entered land. Here Thomas Caldwell settled after marriage, and in 1834 moved to

. Montgomery county, Ind., all of his family, except David A., coming with him. David A., being married, remained in Nicholas county, Ky., nine years. Thomas Caldwell became a substantial farmer of Montgomery county, owning 200 acres of land at the time of his death, at the age of seventy-three years. He was a deacon in the Presbyterian church, of which his wife was also a member. In politics he was an old-time whig, afterward a repub- lican. He was an industrious, hard-working, honorable pioneer citizen.

David A. Caldwell was born in 1804, March 21st, in Nicholas county, Ky., learned to read, write a good hand, and figure well, and by reading at home gained a good common education Possessing an intelligent mind, he was a good mathematician, and when a young man of twenty-two years, made a copy of the arithmetical examples that he studied in Guthrie's arithmetic, in a neat old-fashioned hand, which is an excellent example of pen- manship. This record, presented by Mr. Cald- well, begins with simple fractions, then the rule of three and the universal rule of propor- tion and many examples of practice. This record would do credit to the modern school- teacher, and the editor doubts if many of the school-teachers of Boone county could make a neater record. Mr. Caldwell was brought up a pioneer farmer and married in Nicholas coun- ty, Ky., at the age of twenty-five, March 19, 1829, Martha, daughter of Edward and Mary (Stephenson) Cresswell, and they were the par- ents of four children, all born in Kentucky, as follows : Elmira A., who married Samuel Bee- man and bore nine children; Edward T., mar- ried Elizabeth Padget, six children; Mary, married William Powell, no children; Martha, married William Partner, three children. After marriage, Mr. Caldwell settled on a farm in Nicholas county, and resided there fourteen years, and in 1843 moved to Indiana

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and settled in Boone county, where he had entered 480 acres of land, November 2, 1833, and where his present farm is located, and most of which is now occupied by his descend- ants. Mr. Caldwell paid $1.25 per acre for this land, and about fifteen years since he sold a black walnut tree which paid for forty acres of land. At one time he owned 720 acres, and after dividing about 500 acres among his grandchildren, he still retains 100 acres as the home farm. Mr. Caldwell cleared up his farm from the heavy timber covering it by hard work and great industry, making a fine farm, which he improved, and on which he built a substantial. commodious residence and other farm buildings, and prosperity attended his efforts. In political opinions, Mr. Cald- well is a republican. and in religious belief a Presbyterian; in which church he was a deacon for several years. Mrs. Caldwell was also a member of the same church. Mr. Caldwell has now about sixteen grandchildren, thirty great-grandchildren, and one great-great- grand child. He held a family reunion at his residence on Wednesday, March 21, 1894, and many of his descendants attended on this enjoyable occasion.

John A. Caldwell, grandson of above, is a practical and progressive farmer of Center township, and son of Edward T. He was born June 18, 1860, on the farm adjoining the corporation of Lebanon, and part of the old homestead. He received a common school education in the public schools of Lebanon, and married Cornelia Waugh, September 19, 1 882, daughter of Daniel and Emily (Beasley) Waugh. To Mr. Caldwell and wife one child, Clyde D., was born August 4, 1886. Mr. Cald- well owns 98 55-100 acres of fertile farming land adjoining Lebanon, on which he has made fine improvements. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cald- well are members of the Presbyterian church. Politically he is a republican; fraternally, a K.

of P., Lebanon lodge, No. 45, and has filled the chair of vice-chancellor. He is also a member of the A O. U. W., Lebanon lodge, No. III. His father, Edward T., was a sub- stantial farmer and member of the Presbyterian church. He is recently deceased, leaving six children-John A., Albert M., Annie M., Martha J., David A., Jr., and Eddie M. Samuel Waugh, the father of Mrs. Caldwell, is a ma- chinist now in the Brightwood shops, Ind. He 'is a man of excellent character, and was at one time justice of the peace. John A. Cald- well is an extensive breeder of fine Poland China hogs, and is widely known in this busi- ness in Boone county. He is a practical and straightforward man.

...

J OHN W. CALDWELL, a leading farmer, and also an old soldier of Har- rison township, Boone county, Ind., is of Irish-French descent, but traces his antecedents in America anterior to the Revo- lutionary war. His great-grandfather on the paternal side was a settler in the Old Dominion long prior to that struggle, and his maternal grandfather (Samuel Scott) took actual part in several battles during the heroic and sanguin- ary conflict. His paternal grandfather, John Caldwell, was born in Virginia, was reared to agriculture, and married Miss Claybourne, and to their union were born the following children: Thomas, Henry, Seth, John, Sarah E. and Levicia. The first named of these, Thomas, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Virginia in October, 1799, and came to Indiana in 1834, settling three miles north of Jamestown, Jackson township, in Boone county. He married Rachel Scott, daughter of Samuel and Alice (Muncie) Scott, a bio- graghical notice of whom is given in the sketch of George W. Scott, to be found on another page, to which the attention of the reader is

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

respectfully called. The children born to Thomas and Rachel .Caldwell were named Nancy, Mary, Nathaniel S., Ruth, John W., Reuben, Jane, Elizabeth and Alice. Thomas Caldwell owned a well-improved farm of III acres, and was a solid and respected citizen. He and wife were worthy members of the Methodist church, in which he was for many years a class-leader, and they died in 1875 and 1877, respectively.

John W. Caldwell was born in Boone county, Ind., March 23. 1835, on the home farm. He received a very good common En- glish education and learned the carpenter's trade, at which he became an expert, and fol- lowed it as a vocation for four years, when he married, March 2, 1856, Miss Martha J. Moore, daughter of Robert and Margaret (Jen- kins) Moore. Robert Moore was a farmer and accumulated a handsome property; in politics he was first an old-line whig, but later became a republican. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moore were devout Presbyterians. To Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell have been born the following chil- dren, in the order named: Ira, James, Oliver, Charles, Rachel, Thomas F., Mattie, Eliza- beth and Robert L. From 1862 to 1865 Mr. Caldwell was a member of the Home guard and was twice called out-once to drive out John Morgan's raiders, and once to suppress a riot it: Jackson township, in which six men were captured and taken to Indianapolis. He enlisted in defense of the Union at Indiana- polis, March 1, 1865, in company G, Eleventh Indiana volunteer infantry. Two months were passed in Fort Marshall in drilling and doing camp and guard duty, and the next four months at Fort McHenry in similar exercises and discipline. At the latter fort, however, he was confined to the hospital by sickness for a month, having first had a severe sunstroke; which was followed by an attack of remittent fever. He was still at the hospital, suffering

from the last-named illness, when, peace hav- ing been declared in the interval, his regiment returned home and left him there to be nursed back to health. He eventually recovered and was sent home; he was allowed a pension of $4 per month, which has never been increased. In 1866, Mr. Caldwell bought eighty acres of his present farm, and by judicious management and properly applied industry soon transformed the wilderness and Irog pond into blooming and fertile fields and the log cabins into hand- some farm buildings. He has added to his original tract of eighty acres, until he now owns 125 acres, all well drained and tilled. Politically, Mr. Caldwell is a republican, and fraternally is a member of Rich Mountain post, No. 42, G. A. R., at Lebanon, Ind. He and wife are members of the Methodist church, which they support liberally by their influence and generally aid with their means, and both stand deservedly high with their neighbors as descendants of old American families, valuable citizens and christian people.

S. CALDWELL, the efficient trust- ee of Jackson township, is a native of Lee county, Va., where his birth occurred on the third day of April, 1832. His grandfather, William Caldwell, also a native of the Old Dominion, emigrated to Kentucky a number of years ago and died there at a ripe old age. Thomas Caldwell, father of N. S., was born in Giles county, Va., October 12, 1799, emigrated westward in 1834, and settled in Boone county, Ind., lo- cating in Jackson township, where he pur- chased land and engaged in farming. Later he disposed of his original purchase and bought other lands, which he improved, and at the time of his death, July 13, 1873, was the owner of III acres, the greater part under

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cultivation. Rachel Scott, wife of Thomas Caldwell, was born J'une 22, 1799, in Virginia, and was the daughter of Samuel and Alice (Muncie) Scott, natives of the same state, where the ancestors of the family settled at a a period antedating the war of Independence, in which struggle Samuel Scott bore a con- spicuous part. To Thomas and Rachel Cald- well were born the following children in the order named: Nancy, Mary A., Nathaniel S., Ruth, John W., Reuben, Jane, Elizabeth, and Alice .- In an early day the home of Thomas Caldwell was a favorite stopping place for all itinerant Methodist preachers of central Indiana, and it was at his house that some of the first religious meetings ever held in Jackson township were conducted. Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell were devoted christians, and in the original organization of the old Ebenezer M. E. church their names appear as charter members. They were both very pop- ular among the neighbors, and few citizens of Jackson township were held in as high esteem by the general public as they. Mrs. Caldwell was called from the scene of her earthly labors in the month of November, 1875.

Nathaniel S. Caldwell was brought to Boone county when quite young. His early educational advantages were such as the in- different country schools at that time afforded, but such was his diligence and application that within a few years he had made sufficient progress to enable him to teach, which calling he followed for some time in Jackson town- ship, where he earned the reputation of a very careful and painstaking instructor. Actuated by a laudable desire to increase his scholastic knowledge, Mr. Caldwell subsequently pursued his studies for a limited period in Wabash col- lege, Crawfordsville, Ind., and afterward, about the year 1859, was appointed a member of the board of examiners, whose duty it was to license teachers for the schools of Boone

county, the duties of which position he dis- charged very satisfactorily until 1861. In matters educational Mr. Caldwell has always manifested great interest, and to him, as much as to any other man, are the schools of Boone county indebted for much of the efficiency for which they have been noted in past years. In addition to the official position mentioned, Mr. Caldwell at different times has been called to fill other places of trust, among which were those of justice of the peace and trustee, being the present incumbent of the latter office. As a public servant he has always been noted for fideilty, and against his official record no breath of suspicion was ever known to have been uttered. Mr. Caldwell is a self- made man in all the term implies, and the beautiful farm he now owns, supplied with all modern improvements and the latest agricul- tural appliances, represents the fruits of his unaided industry and well-directed business thrift. He began life for himself with little or no financial assistance, working as a common laborer for the insignificant sum of fifty cents a day, yet from this scanty remuneration he laid by sufficient to enable him to acquire a good education, beside laying the corner- stone of his present position as a leading farmer and successful man of affairs. His farm, a model in many respects, consists of 120 acres of very valuable and highly im- proved land; he believes in maintaining the dignity of his calling, and it is with pleasure that his name is presented to the readers of this volume as one of the representative men of the county of Boone. He is a democrat in politics, and as such wields a potent influence for his party, for the success of which he has labored earnestly in many campaigns, both local and national. Mr. Caldwell was mar- ried in February, 1857, to Miss Frances Canada, daughter of David and Martha (Ring) Canada, to which union the following

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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