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 30

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 30
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 30
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 30

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Benjamin M. Gregory was but three years old when brought by his parents to Boone county and has now been a resident of the same for a period of over sixty-two years, dur- ing which time he has devoted the best ener- gies of his life to its development and pros- perity. Like the majority of boys reared on the farm, his youthful years were unmarked by any event of much moment and he followed the peaceful pursuit of agriculture until after attaining his majority. In 1854 he entered the mercantile business, purchasing a general stock at Eagle village, and after a short time

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moved the same to. Zionsville, where he carried on a very successful trade until the breaking out of the great rebellion. Imbued with the true spirit of patriotism Mr. Gregory, in 1861, disposed of his mercantile interests and went southward to do battle for his coun- try's flag, enlisting, August 22 of that year, in the Tenth Indiana infantry, company F, of which he was commissioned captain. In this capacity he served with distinction until April, 1862, at which time he was commissioned major of the regiment by reason of gallantry displayed at Mill Springs, Ky., where he cap- tured a rebel banner. In the following August, on account of sickness, Mr. Gregory was com- pelled to resign his commission and leave the service, after which he returned to his home in Boone county, but did not long remain in- active, for the next year he organized a regi- ment known as the One Hundred and Second Indiana volunteers for home service. When the state was threatened by the Morgan raid, this regiment was the first to report for serv- ice at Indianapolis, and Major Gregory took part in the pursuit of the rebel commander until the latter was driven beyond the con- fines of the state. In the meantime he was commissioned colonel of the One Hundred and Second regiment, which position he held until his resignation in 1864. In August of the same year he again entered the service in com- pany F. One Hundred and Thirty-fifth In- diana volunteer infantry, and upon the organ- ization of the regiment was again commission- ed major, in which capacity he continued to serve with credit to himself and satisfaction to his superior officers until honorably discharged in the fall of 1864. On severing his connec- tion with the army Mr. Gregory returned to Boone county and engaged in the hardware trade at Zionsville, opening the first store of the kind in the place and operating the same very successfully until 1891. In 1890 he went

to Mexico, where for some time he was en- gaged in gold-mining, making two trips to that far-off country. At the present time, although not actively engaged in business, he is promi- nently identified with a large hardware firm, which he originally founded and which, through his successful management, has be- come one of the leading establishments of the kind in Boone county. He owns the old homestead where the family originally settled, beside real estate in the city, and financially is considered one of the substantial men of Zions- ville. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order, with which he has been identified since 1852, and is also a member of the G. A. R. post of Zionsville, in the organization of which he was an important factor. Mr. Gregory was first married, October 3, 1852, to Nancy A. Larimore, who was born in Eagle village, Boone county, Ind., a daughter of Daniel and Mary Larimore. and by which marriage there were born five sons: Frank M., Albert, Ben- jamin E., Charles, and William R. deceased. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Gregory and Miss Myra A., daughter of James Hurst, were united in marriage on the seventh day of October, 1880, and their union has been blessed with the birth of one child : Clifford Gregory.

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EORGE W. GROVES, a substantial farmer of Jackson township, Boone county, Ind., was born in Scott county, Va., April 28, 1859, and is remotely of German descent. His grand- father, Jacob Groves, was also a native of the Old Dominion, having been born in Shen- andoah county. He was considered to be quite a learned man for his day and was a very suc- cessful minister in the Baptist church. In pol- itics he was a Jacksonian democrat. John Groves, son of Jacob and father of George W.,

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

was born in Scott county, Va., May 7. 1833. was reared a farmer, and farming was always his occupation. He also was a Jacksonian democrat and served in the Confederate army during the late war. He had married Sarah Fleenor, widow of Mike Andes, and daughter of Abraham and Mary (Minnick) Fleenor, and to this union were born the following children: Jacob, Susan, George W., Abraham, John and Martin. The father of this family died Sep- tember 12, 1867. One child, Mike D., was the result of the first marriage, and the widow Groves now makes her home with her son George W.

George W. Groves received a fair educa- tion and was reared on the home farm-farm- ing being still his vocation. He married January 3, 1886, Malinda J. Myers, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Isley) Myers. Henry Myers having died October 15, 1889, his widow married Milton Young, with whom she is now living happily. To the marriage of George WV. and Malinda Groves have been born two children-Denver A. deceased, and Harvey C., the idol of his parents. George W. Groves came to Boone county from Virginia before he had reached his majority, and engaged in farm labor-working for one employer six consecu- tive years, but he was industrious and econom- ical, and is now the owner of a modern and well-improved farm of 115 acres, with a fine residence and a substantial barn. In his politics he affiliates with the populists, and has been honored by that party with the nomination as its candidate for justice of the peace for his township. Both Mr. and Mrs. Groves are members of the New Light church, and frater- nally Mr. Groves is a member of Hazelrigg lodge, No. 200, F. and A. M., at Jamestown. The residents of Jackson township hold Mr. and Mr. Groves in the highest esteem, and look upon Mr. Groves as one of the most pro- gressive farmers of his age in this vicinity.

ENJAMIN M. GUMERY, one of the self-made men of Marion township, Boone county, Ind., was born Janu- ary 28, 1850, in Clay county, Ind. His father, Benjamin Gumery, a carpenter and farmer, was born in the year 1825 in the county of Clay, where he married Amanda Cromwell, daughter of Oliver Cromwell, the latter a de- scendant of Oliver Cromwell, England's great protector. After Benjamin Gumery's death, · which occurred at the town of Lockport, Ind., in the year 1852, Mrs. Gumery married Jacob Parr, by whom she had the following children: Jane, Josephine, Jacob, Sarah, Cordelia, Etta, Nelson, Ida M., and Margaret.

Benjamin M. Gumery attended the com- mon schools, in which he acquired a fair Eng- lish education, but was early obliged to con- tribute his full share toward the support of the family. He began life upon his own responsi- bility by working by the day, and afterward farmed, and, being economical, succeeded in a few years in saving sufficient means to enable him to purchase real estate of his own. His first purchase consisted of eighty acres, valued at $2,000, of which sum he was able to pay but $500 cash, going in debt for the balance. It is sufficient to say that this indebtedness was in due time entirely canceled, and he is now the fortunate possessor of a valuable farm, well drained and supplied with comfortable and substantial buildings, and everything upon the premises denotes the presence of a wide-awake, energetic man, who thoroughly understands his business and believes in the true dignity of the agriculturist's vocation. Politically, Mr. Gum- ery is a democrat of the orthodox stamp, but has never been an aspirant for the honors of office. He is a stockholder in the Waugh Natural Gas company, and in all matters per- taining to the benefit of the public he is pro- gressive and enterprising. His wife, to whom he was married September 13, 1871, was Eu-

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phemia A. Clark, who was born in Marion township, Boone county, August 13, 1852. Her father, Henry Clark, a soldier of the Mex- ican war and a veteran of the late rebellion, was a native of Ohio, and died December 6, 1862, while in the service of his country. Mrs. Gumery's mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Jane Clifton, was born in Butler county, Ohio, and departed this life December 31, 1890. . The names of the children of Henry and Sarah Jane Clark are as follows: Mary E., Elizabeth, Euphemia A., Rachael, J., Martha F , and William T., all living, with the exception of the last named, who died when one year old. To Mr. and Mrs. Gumery has been born one child, Charles E., whose birth occur- red on the twenty-fourth of February, 1883.

ILTON HADLEY, a well-known farmer and dairyman of Sugar Creek township, Boone county, Ind., was born near Danville, Ind., March 14, 1839, a son of Zeno and Rebecca (Stanley) Hadley, who were both born in North Carolina in 1809 and 1811 respectively, but came to Indiana in an early day and were married, in 1833, in Hendricks county. They located on a farm near Danville, where they lived until death called Rebecca Hadley away in August, 1851, and Zeno Hadley in February, 1881. They were the parents of eight children, viz: Matilda; Ann, deceased; Milton, whose name heads this sketch; Jane, wife of E. Doan, of Plainfield; Mary, deceased; Joshua, of Hen- dricks county; Phebe, deceased; and an infant, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hadley were mem- bers of Friends' church and in politics he was a republican. He was a well-educated man, having attended a boarding school in North Carolina; was a fine penman with a goosequill; was very firm in his purposes. He was quite successful financially, and was interested in

the bank at Danville, of which he was for some time an officer, and at his death owned 337 acres of land in Hendricks county.

Milton Hadley was reared on the home farm until twenty-one years of age, having been educated in the meantime in the home schools and three years at Bloomingdale. La- Fayette and Moorsville; in 1859 he engaged in teaching, and in all taught five terms, after which he turned his attention to farming. In October. 1865. he married, in Sugar Creek township, Boone county, Miss Sarah J. Moffitt, who was here born in November. 1832, a daughter of Jeremiah and Cynthia Ann (Cook) Moffitt, whose biography will be found at the close of this sketch, under the head of Cyn- thia Ann Woody. This happy union has been blessed with four children, viz: Elma R., for- merly a teacher in the graded schools of Kan- sas, now wife of O. E. Dixon; Olive C. sales- lady, during the World's Fair, at the Old Convent building, after having acted as an as- sistant of James Riley in arranging the Indiana Agricultural exhibit at that great exposition; at the close of the fair she went to New York and elsewhere with the Old Convent building exhibit; M. Bertha is the third child in this family, and is a graduate of Earlham college, and the fourth, J. Marcus, is attending Earl- ham college.

Mr. and Mrs. Hadley are members of the Friends' church, and politically he is a republi- can. Mr. Hadley has a dairy of thirty-seven cows, most of which are Jerseys, and graded; he ships his product to an Indianapolis ice cream house, and considers the Jersey cows, also, the best for butter, and his product of this article is an evidence that his conclusions are correctly drawn and that he is a good judge of cattle. Mr. Hadley considers the silo to be a great success, and was the first person to build one in Boone county, and now has two-the first of which was erected in 1889-and both have

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been in constant use ever since construction. Mr. Hadley and his family are greatly re- spected in the community in which they live, and he is recognized as being a most useful citizen.

Cynthia Ann (Cook-Moffitt) Woody was born in Wayne county, Ind., December 4, 1814, a daughter of Zimri and Lydia P. (Pegg) Cook. Mr. Cook was born in Guilford county, N. C., February 13, 1789, and was a son of Thomas and Mary (Wilkes) Cook. Zimri died February 23, 1805, and in 1806 Lydia married Valentine Pegg. She died January 16, 1820, and he died in April, 1828, both Friends. Zimri and Lydia Cook were parents of seven children, as follows: Cynthia Ann; Cyrus, born Sep- tember 4, 1818, died July 8, 1873; Clarkson T., born May 17, 1821; Jessie, born August 24, 1824, died July 7, 1863; Cyrena, born July 26, 1826, died January 9, 1857; Joseph, born October 13, 1828, now in Idaho, and Calvin, born August 5, 1832, now a physician of Hamilton county, Ind. Cynthia Ann was married at Whitewater, Wayne county, Ind., January 4, 1832, to Jeremiah Moffitt, who was born in Randolph county, N. C., August 16, 1808, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Cox) Moffitt, natives, also, of North Carolina and members of Friends' church. They were the parents of twelve children, named Hugh, Jeremiah, Tacy, Eunice, Hannah, John, Nathan, Ruth, Elizabeth, Abijah, Anna, Mary and an infant deceased. Jeremiah Moffitt was reared a farmer and received a common school education. He located in Wayne county, Ind., when a young man, and remained there until 1832, when he came to Boone county, which was then a wilderness, filled with- wild game, and entered 160 acres of land, which he improved, and on which Cynthia Ann Woody now lives, and on which he passed away August 10, 1852. He was a whig in his politics and a successful nurseryman and general farmer. He

and wife were parents of two children-Sarah J. (see biography of Mr. Hadley), and Robert, deceased. May 9, 1855, Mrs. Cynthia Moffitt was married to James Woody, who was born in Alamance county, N. C., and was a farmer, blacksmith and wagonmaker; was a republican, and a good humored, prosperous, steady-going citizen, but he, too, was called to his last rest December 2, 1884.

ILBERT H. HAMILTON, editor and proprietor of the Thorntown Argus, one of the leading republican news- papers of central Indiana, is a native of the Hoosier state, born on the ninth day of February, 1860, in the county of Montgomery, son of John and Matilda (Kendall) Hamilton. The Hamiltons are of German-English lineage and the family name is traceable to the East- ern states, where it is still common and where the remote ancestors settled at a very early period in the country's history. John Hamil- ton, the subject's father, whose birth occurred in Ohio in the year 1823, was a son of Henry Hamilton, a native of that state, and a farmer by occupation. Henry Hamilton was twice married, reared a family of five children, and is remembered as a man of most exemplary character, an old line whig in politics, and a strict Methodist in his religious belief and affiliations. John Hamilton was reared on the home farm until his majority and began the battle of life upon his own responsibility as a tiller of the soil in the vicinity of Thorn- town, Boone county, to which part of the state bis parents removed when he was a mere child. In early life he manifested un- usual aptitude as a successful argiculturist and manager, became the possessor of a valu- able estate, and earned the reputation of a first-class business man and valuable citizen, having always been highly esteemed in the

G. H. HAMILTON.

MRS. G. H. HAMILTON.

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

communities where he resided for his many estimable qualities, not the least of which was the inviolability with which he ever kept his word. He was reared in the religious faith of the Methodist church. He was a republi- can in politics and wielded an influence for his party throughout the community where he lived. Mr. Hamilton was married three times, his last union being solemnized, in 1857, with Matilda Kendall, who bore him ten children, namely: Elizabeth, deceased; Gilbert H , whose name heads this mention; Edward E., Mrs. Mattie J. Allen, Mrs. Kittie Sidenstick, Charles H . Mrs. Tinnie Little, Josephine, Sylvia and John, the last three residing with their widowed mother at their home in the county of Mont- gomery. Mr. Hamilton passed the greater part of his married life in Montgomery county on a beautiful and well cultivated farm of 160 acres, where on the sixth day of January, 1892, his death occurred-an event deeply lamented by all who had the good fortime of his personal acquaintance.

Gilbert H. Hamilton received his early parental training on the home farm, and while still young was given the advantages of the best schools the county at that time afforded, his advancement being such that, at the age of seventeen, he was sufficiently qualified to teach, which profession he followed with the most gratifying success until attaining his ma- jority, pursuing his duties assiduously under the direction of competent instructors at inter- vals. On reaching his twenty-first year, Mr. Hamilton yielded to a strong inclination to enter the field of journalism, and made his first venture in the profession by purchasing. without personal inspection, the Colfax Chron- icle, in the office of which, without any pre- vious knowledge in the line of newspaper work, he began his career as editor and manager. The young editor at first was harassed by many embarrassments, but a determined will

enabled him to triumph over every obstacle, and he soon had the satisfaction of seeing the enterprise placed upon a substantial and re- munerative basis, and himself launched upon the sea of successful journalism. After con- tinning the Chronicle at Colfax from 1882 to 1885, Mr. Hamilton, thinking that the growing city of Frankfort afforded a better field for the enterprise, moved the office to the latter place, where, in partnership with G. Y. Fowler, Esq., he established the Frankfort Times, which, although beset with numerous obstacles at the beginning, under his successful management as the executive head and editor, in the space of a little over two years arose to a circulation of nearly 3,000 subscribers and enjoyed a very liberal advertising patronage, becoming, in- deed, one of the most successful local papers ever published in the county of Clinton. After living to see the enterprise, so inauspiciously begun in Frankfort, develop into one of the first printing establishments in central Indiana, Mr. Hamilton disposed of his interest in the office, and during the two succeeding years was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, where for some time he gave his attention to the advertising and handling of specialties. After a brief business career in the latter city, Mr. Hamilton again embarked in the newspaper business in January, 1890, pur- chasing the Thorntown Argus, at that time a five- column folio, with a limited circulation, which he enlarged in 1891 to a six-column quarto, and again, in June, 1892, increased its size to a seven-column quarto, and the following year moved the office to the present commodious building, which, with all its fixtures, he now owns. The office of the Argus is thoroughly equipped with the latest improved machinery, including a fine power-press, job presses and other modern appliances, found in first-class printing establishments, and in its mechanical execution the paper is a model of neatness,

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comparing favorably in every respect with the best local papers of the state. In its make-up the Argus, while republican in politics, is de- signed to vibrate with the public pulse and be a reflex of the current thought of the age, and its columns have ever been a medium through which discussion of the leading questions of the day are give publicity. It has a large and constantly increasing circulation, a good ad- vertising patronage, enjoys a large measure of popularity, and is a credit to the energy and successful management of its editor, who has in this, as in similar ventures, proved himself to be one of the wide-awake newspaper men of the state.

Of Mr. Hamilton personally, it is only neccessary to say that he is a typical young man of the times, a characteristic American, enterprising in all the term implies; and in all the attributes of honorable citizenship, honesty of purpose, and uprightness of character, he stands prominent in his community. Political- ly he is a republican, and as such has been a potent factor in his party's success, both as a trenchant writer and a worker in the ranks. In 1890 he became a member of the Northern Indiana Republican Editorial association, by which body he has been chosen each year as a representative to the National Editoral asso- ciation held in the years 1891-92-93-94-95, in St. Paul, Minn., California, Chicago, Asbury Park, N. J. and Florida, respectively. Fra- ternally he is an active member of the Masonic order, in which he has risen to the Thirty- second degree Ancient Accepted Scottish rite. He is also a Noble of the Ancient Arabic Or- der, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Ham- ilton was married November 24, 1881, in Col- fax, Ind., to Florence E. Graves, who was born July 24, 1862, in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., the daughter of Robert Graves, an officer in the United States naval service. Unto Mr. and Mrs, Hamilton were born two daughters,

one dying in babyhood and the other in early infancy. They are each active working mem- bers of the Presbyterian church, with which denomination they have affiliated from their youth up.

A BEL HARMOM is one of the oldest residents of Worth township, Boone county, Ind., and a representative of a well known pioneer family that came to Indiana at a very early period in the history of the state. His father, John B. Har- mon, a Virginian, was born March 3, 1795, of English parentage, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Findley, descended from Irish ancestry and was born February 7, 1798, in the state of Pennsylvania. John B. Harmon and wife moved with their respective parents to Indiana about the time of the or- ganization of the state, and were married December 23. 1818, in Jackson county. They resided in the county of Jackson until about 1820, in which year they removed to Marion county, thence, in 1837, to the county of Boone, where they resided until their respec- tive deaths-the father departing this life on the twelfth day of June, 1860, and the mother in 1878. They reared eleven children, name- ly-William F., Hiram M., Rebecca A., John L., Abel, George D., Isaac B., Emaline, Jane, Mary A. and one that died in infancy unnamed.

Abel Harmon is a native Indianian, born in Marion county, December 6, 1828, and since his tenth year has lived within the present limits of the county of Boone. Reared amid the scenes of farm life, his early years were marked by great activity; and industry, which he learned in the rugged school of experience, has ever since been one of his cardinal virtues. He early determined to devote his life to agri- cultural pursuits, and how well he has succeed- ed is attested by the comfortable home which

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he now owns in Worth township. Mr. Har- mon was married in Boone county, July 19, 1849, to Martha Jones, after which he located on a farm in Eagle township and there resided until his removal, in 1859, to the township of Worth, where he now lives. Mr. Harmon be- gan life for himself with but little if any finan- cial aid, and his present beautiful place, con- sisting of 119 acres of well cultivated land and substantial improvements, represents the fruit of his own industry. He is a man highly re- garded in the community where he resides, and his life has been characterized by honor- able dealings with his fellows, and it is praise worthily bestowed to ascribe to him a popular- ity such as few citizens of Worth township en- joy. For a number of years, he and his faith- ful wife have been active members of the Methodist church, the pure teachings of which they exemplify in their daily lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Harmon have been born eleven chil- dren, names and dates of births as follows- John E., August 20, 1850; Mary, September 6, 1852; James H., January 18, 1855; Alice A., December 9, 1856; Abel, October 3, 1858; William L., September 9, 1860; Charles E., April 5, 1862; Elmer G., Septem- ber 26, 1864; Martha J., September 28, 1866; Matilda E., November 11, 1869, and Armina L., April 2, 1871. Mrs. Harmon is the daugh- ter of Evan and Matilda (Dome) Jones, early pioneers of Boone county, and was born on the twenty-third day of May, 1828, in Harri- son county, Kentucky.

W. HARRISON, who has been a resident of Lebanon for thirty-three years, and been actively engaged in the practice of the law for more than thirty-five years, descends from an old English family that came to this country over a hun- dred years before the Revolutionary war, sev-

eral members of which settled in Maryland. Robert H. Harrison, General Washington's private secretary in the war of the Revolution, and later one of the associate judges of the supreme court of the United States, was of the same family. That the Virginia and Mary- land Harrisons are related is supported only by tradition. Certain christian names among the men common to each seem to indicate that they were of the same origin.

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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