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 44

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 44
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 44
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 44

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

W., Joseph F., William P .. John T., James R., Jesse D., Mary M., and George H. Samuel Ronk left his native state about 1830 and immigrated to Indiana. settling in Putnam county, where he purchased a tract of govern- ment land. He sold his original purchase and bought other real estate, to which he made additions from time to time until, eventually, he became one of the leading farmers of the section where he lived. He disposed of his interest in Putnam county in 1850 and purchased a valuable landed estate in the county of Montgomery, where his death afterward occurred. He became one of the wealthy farmers of the above county and was able to give to each of his children a good farm, besides otherwise aiding them to start in life. He was a leading member of the German Baptist church, a whig in his political belief, later a republican, and is remembered as a man of a high sense of honor and amost excel- lent citizen. He died at the age of eighty-one, and his wife departed this life at the age of fifty-five. By a second marriage, which was solemnized with Hannah Odell, he had two children-Ellen and Nellie Ronk.

Daniel W. Ronk, whose name introduces this sketch, was born March 7, 1830, in Vir- ginia, and was but six months old when his par- ents moved to Indiana. His early life was comparatively uneventful. having been passed in farm labor, and his educational training, by no means elaborate, was acquired in the old- fashioned country schools, which he attended in all but six terms. On the twelfth day of August, 1852, was solemnized his marriage with Nancy, daughter of Patrick and Martha ( Vories) Logan, after which he settled in Clark town- ship, Montgomery county. and engaged in ag- ricultural pursuits. A few years later he pur- chased his present farm in Jackson township, Boone county, where he has since resided. He transformed his place from a wilderness

state to its present fertile condition, and now is one of the most successful farmers of his community, owning 176 acres of valuable land well drained and supplied with comfortable and substantial buildings and other improvements in keeping. Politically Mr. Ronk is a populist and takes an active interest in the welfare of his party; in religion he belongs to the Second Advent church, with which denomination his wife is also identified. The following are the names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Ronk: Thomas F., Sarah E., Logan, and Samuel Ronk, all living; of these Logan and Samuel attended the Ladoga normal college, and the latter is a teacher in the schools of Boone county.

The following is a brief outline of the family history of Mrs. Ronk. Her grand- father, John Logan, was a native of Ohio and later moved to Rush county, Ind., where he accumulated a large share of this world's goods and became one of the leading farmers of said county. He was a valuable member of the Christian church and a man of much infinence in the community. His son, Patrick Logan, father of Mrs. Ronk, was a native of Logan county. Ohio, and by occupation a farmer. He married in Rush county, Ind., Martha Vories, a daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth (Downing) Vories, and at once began farming. Subsequently he moved to Marshall county, where he accumulated a valuable prop- erty and became a leading citizen, filling, at one time, the office of sheriff, to which he was elected as a democrat, having been a disciple of that political school from his twenty-first year. He later became a resident of the county of Montgomery, where his death occurred January 26, 1862. The following are the names of his children: John, deceased; Eliza- beth, deceased; Catherine, deceased; Sarah, deceased; Nancy, and Martha. Abraham Vories, father of Mrs. Martha Logan, was a

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

minister of the old Christian church and a noted preacher of his day.

ADISON H. ROSE, M. D., one of the most experienced practitioners of Thorntown, Boone county, Ind., was born in Mercer county, Ky., December 2, 1832. His parents were Charles R. and Barthena (Perkins) Rose, the former of whom was also born in the same county, a son of Lewis and Mary Rose, native Kentuc- kians and parents of the following children: Lewis, Charles R., Jane, Betsy, Mary, Cath- erine, and Rebecca, all now deceased. Lewis Rose was a man of strong convictions and acted on them, as is instanced from the fact that, when convinced that he had been doing wrong, he freed his slaves and destroyed his barrel of whisky, and thereafter became a strong advocate of temperance. To Charles R. and Barthena Rose were born the follow- ing children: Elizabeth A .. Madison H., Mary R., Montgomery, Dwight and Leslie. The mother of this family died in 1888 and the father in 1890. The latter was a republican in politics and had served as commissioner of Hendricks county, Ind., for several years, and died an elder in the Presbyterian church, of which his wife was also a member-his death taking place in Danville, Hendricks county, Ind., to which place he had removed in 1856.

Madison H. Rose, the subject proper of this biographical notice, was reared on the home farm and educated in the parochial school under the preceptorship of the Rev. R. Conover, in Latin, Greek and the classics, and then for two years in the academy at Waverly, Ind. ; he next passed a year in the sophomore and junior classes at South Hanover, and then began the study of medicine, teaching school to defray his expenses, and borrowing books- first from Dr. H. Labaree, of Ladoga. He

`attended his first course of lectures at Ann Arbor School of Medicine in the winter of 1859-60 and graduated in the medical depart- ment of the university of Buffalo, N. Y., in the spring of 1861. In the meantime, how- ever, he was fired with the patriotic zeal that filled the northern heart and answered the first call for three months' men to defend the national flag.

. In March, 1861, he entered company A, Seventh Indiana volunteer infantry, served the full time, and then, February 2, 1862, entered company A, Fifty-third Indiana volunteer in- fantry, and was made hospital steward; May 15, 1862, he was commissioned assistant sur- geon of his regiment, then, May 15, 1863. commissioned surgeon. April, 1865, he took a contract as acting staff surgeon, with the same pay as regimental surgeon, and thus con- tinued until the grand review at Washington. May 23-24, 1865. He then returned to Dan- ville and practiced until the fall of 1865, when he went to Bellevue Hospital Medical college. at New York, as intimated above, and took a course of lectures and received the ad eundem degree, in the spring of 1866. He continued his practice at Danville until 1869, when he set- tled in Thorntown and entered into partner- ship with Dr. J. M. Boyd, with whom he practiced six years, and then with Dr. Men- denhall for eighteen months, and with Dr. Dunnington four years: since then he has been in practice alone, securing a patronage to which his experience and ability had long since entitled him.

Dr. Rose was united in marriage at St. Cloud, Minn., in October, 1865, to Mary B. Strong, a native of Logansport, Ind., but lost his bride in the spring of 1866. In 1868, on November 27, he took for his second wife Miss J. V. Hilts, who was born near Springdale, Ohio. This union has been blessed by the birth of the following children: Edward P.,

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

Lawrence, a student of medicine in Philadel- phia, Dwight, Eugenia V., Idelette, deceased, and C. W. The doctor and his wife are con- sistent members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow and a member of the G. A. R., and politically a republican. Socially, he mingles with the best society of Boone county, in which, also, his amiable lady holds a very high position. He owns 200 acres of fine land in Washington township, and valuable real estate.in the town, and, independently of his reputation as a professional man, is re- garded as one of the most substantial citizens of Thorntown.

PILLIAM M. ROSS, a well known citizen of Center township, Boone county, Ind., was born in Rush county, in the same state, October 7, 1832, and at the age of seven, in 1839, was brought to Boone county by his father, and here educated and brought up on a farm. In 1856, at the age of twenty-four years, he went to Kansas and located on land he entered near Hiawatha, in Brown county, his brother James accompanying him. In 1860 he and his brother crossed the plains to Denver, and thence went to the mining region of Pike's Peak; here they engaged in trade until the fall of the same year, when they returned eastward to Illinois, where William M. taught school for a time and then came to Boone county, Ind .; August 17, 1861, he enlisted at Lebanon in company A, Tenth regiment, Indiana volun- teer infantry, and saw his first action at Mill Spring or Logan Cross Roads; he was next marched to Louisville, Ky., and thence taken by boat to Nashville, and from there marched to the battle field of Shiloh; he next took part in the siege of Corinth, where he did valiant service, but was taken sick from exposure and

fatigue, and want of shelter, and was sent to Tuscumbia, Ala., where he was discharged on account of disability. Thence he went to Illinois and engaged in stock raising, and was married in Vermillion county, that state, to Martha Dale, daughter of John J. Dale and his wife, Elizabeth (Davidson) Dale.

W. M. Ross is of Scotch descent. His grandfather, Johnson Ross, was born in Vir- ginia and moved to Kentucky while young, settled near Cynthiana, Morrison county, and was one of the first representatives of the family in America to whom any direct trace leads. He was a farmer and a Methodist minister, was married to Mrs. Jennie Dike, and to this union were born the following children: James H., Nancy, W. M., John M., Charles, Catherine, N. M. and James Harvey. He moved to Warren county, Ohio, in 1818, and continued to reside there until he expired in the year 1836. James H. Ross, son of above and the father of W. M., was born in Ken- tucky in 1798, was reared on a farm, became a Methodist minister and belonged to the Ken- tucky conference; he moved to Warren county, Ind., in 1822. From there he moved to Rush county, Ind., in 1824, and remained until the year 1839, when he moved to Rosston, Boone county, Ind., and here ended his days in 1876, sincerely mourned by a wide circle of devoted friends, and leaving a wife and a family of seven children, viz: Thomas M., Jane M., Mary H., James J., W. M., Sarah and Charley A. Three of the sons were in the late war. Thomas M. was a member of the home guards, J. J. was a member of the Twelfth Indiana volunteer infantry, and was in several skir- mishes, and William M. of the Tenth Indiana has had his war record already mentioned.

To the marriage of William M. Ross and Martha Dale have been born four children in the following order : Katie D., March 6, 1866, married to Ira Hodgen, a farmer and

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

stock grower of Hamilton county, Ind. ; Jennie, born November 14, 1867, died December 6, 1889; Mary E., born April 12, 1869, died February 19, 1872, and James W., born December 14, 1871, died May 22, 1893. John J. Dale, the father of Mrs. Martha Ross, was born in Maryland, and paternally is of En- glish, and maternally of Scotch descent. At the age of fourteen John J. Dale left his native | state and went to Philadelphia, where he learned the tailor's trade; he then went to Clarke county, Ohio, where he carried on a clothing store for many years and was there married, the result being the birth of ten children, viz : Sarah, Jacob, Martha, Daniel, John, Isaac, Mary E., Margaret A., Emma and Ernestine. Mr. Dale later became a farmer. In 1855 or 1856, he moved to War- ren county, Ind., and in 1859 to Vermillion county, Ill., where he bought a tract of land of 400 acres and was a very successful and systematic farmer. In politics he was a re- bers of the Methodist church, in which Mr. Dale was a class leader, steward and trustee. He had two sons in the late war, viz : Daniel, who was a member of the Twenty-fifth Illi- nois volunteer regiment, and was killed at the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and John W., of the same regiment, who lost an arm at the battle of Chickamauga.

W. M. Ross resided in Rossville, Vermill- ion county, Ill., twelve years and was engaged in milling and dealing in grain. In 1882 he returned to Rosston, Ind., and remained about six years, and then returned to his farm. Martha D. Ross is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. Ross is a republican, and fratern- ally is a member of the Masonic lodge, No. 527, at Rosston. He is a gentleman in every respect, has had much experience in life, and has now the respect of all with whom he has come in contact, in Boone county or elsewhere.

S OLOMON RUNION, one of the old- est settlers now living in Boone county, is a native of West Virginia, and was born in Rockingham county, June 7, 1812. His father was one of ten chil- dren born to John Runion, who settled in West Virginia in a very early day, and served his country in the Revolutionary war. Daniel Runion, the father of Solomon Runion, was born and reared in West Virginia, where he remained for a number of years, and thence removed to Montgomery county, Ohio, where he afterward resided until death. He was twice married, and was the father of eighteen children. Solomon Runion was reared in Rockingham county, and in 1831 drove a team to Dayton, Ohio, which trip took him twenty- six days and nights to make. He remained in Ohio some time, and chopped cord-wood for twenty-five cents a cord, also worked part of the time for fifty cents per day. In about 1834 he drove a team, consisting of three publican. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dale were mem- | horses and two oxen, with goods for Mr. Lind-

sey McConnell, to Thorntown, Ind. Having ing saved up $100, he entered eighty acres of land in Washington township, Boone county. He then returned to Ohio, and was married in Montgomery county to Mary A. Yonkey, and about 1836 returned to Boone county, Ind., and settled on his land, his present home, where he has resided since. He and wife are members of the Christian church, and are re- vered not only as neighbors but as pioneers who have witnessed the many changes that have taken place in the township the last sixty years. He is a republican. He now owns 240 acres of valuable land, well improved. In 1832 he was mustered in, in Montgomery county, Ohio, to go to Northern Indiana, near Elkhart to quell the Indians, who had been killing the whites, and his company marched there, but did no fighting, the Indians having already been dispersed.

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

R OBERT W. SANFORD, a promi- nent farmer of Boone county, Ind., and a man of state reputation as a breeder of Poland China hogs, is a native of Indiana, born March 3, 1856, in the county of Montgomery. He is descended from an old Virginia family, his grandfather, W. R. Sanford, having been a native of the Old Dominion, who moved thence to Henry county, Ky., when a young man. In that state he married Lizzie Threlkeld, and shortly there- after came to Indiana and settled in Boone county, when the country was an almost un- broken wilderness. Mr. Sanford was a true type of the pioneer of sixty years ago, a man skilled. in woodcraft, and he became known among the sparse settlements as a skillful hunter and unerring marksman. He was a democrat, and among the pioneers became quite popular as a speaker in their meetings, both religious and political. He and wife were both devout members of the regular Bap- tist church, and they each died at the remark- able age of ninety years. Eleven children were born to them, namely: Nancy E., Patty, George, John, Thomas, Hiram, Samuel, Jane, Sallie, Henry, and one that died un- named. George Sanford, son of W. R., and father of the subject of this mention, was born in Henry county, Ky., and when a small child was brought to Boone county, Ind., where his youthful years and early manhood were passed. He married Martha M., daugh- ter of Solomon and J.izzie (Peeler) Beck, old settlers of Boone, and became the father of seven children, whose names are as follows: Mary E., Sarah J., Martha E., Robert W., Eliza M., Nancy E., and William J. Mr. Sanford has spent the greater part of his life within the limits of Boone county, but is now living in retirement in the county of Mont- gomery, where he is engaged to some extent in loaning money, buying and selling notes,

etc. He has always borne the reputation of an honorable, straightforward business man and citizen, and exemplifies in his daily life the teachings of the church with which he has long been identified, the Christian church. In politics he is a democrat, and although seventy- two years old, bears his .age remarkably well, still possessing unimpaired the greater part of his former vitality.

Robert W. Sanford was reared on his father's tarm, received a good common educa- tion, and has since acquired an extensive and practical knowledge by wide reading of good books, being well informed on general topics, particularly agriculture, which he has made a special study. He is a clear, lucid writer, and frequently contributes articles to the leading agricultural papers, and some of his contribu- tions have brought him into favorable notice in several states of the Union. His history of swine breeding has been largely reported and widely read, and his article on potato culture in The Practical Farmer of Philadelphia, a scientific and very exhaustive treatise well classified and divided into topics, was awarded the first prize among hundreds of competitive papers. Mr. Sanford has been selected to at- tend the farmers' institute meetings throughout the state, the appointments being made by Prof. C. W. Latta, of Purdue university. He is an authority on all matters pertaining to potato culture, and the large seedsmen of sev- eral states rely upon him for their supply of that valuable tuber. As stated in the begin- ning of this sketch, Mr. Sanford gives much attention to the breeding of fine Poland China hogs and has received a number of prizes in Indiana and elsewhere. having, with his part- ner, L. Sears, bred hogs that took prizes at the World's fair in Chicago. Under his aus- pices have been held for six years the annual sale of Poland China hogs at Lebanon, Ind., and to him as much as to any other man is

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due the credit of introducing a superior class of livestock among the farmers of Boone coun- ty. Religiously he is a member of the Chris- tian church, and also belongs to Lebanon lodge, No. 45, K. of P. In politics he is a democrat, and as such entertains decided opin- ions upon leading questions of the day, which he is not at all backward in expressing. Mr. Sanford was tendered the office of sheriff of Boone county by his party but refused. Though still a young man, he has already at- tained a high standard for integrity, and has before him a future of still greater promise. Mr. Sanford and Mary E., daughter of Abra- ham and Sarah J. Creque, were united in mar- riage November 27, 1884, and their union has been blessed with three children-Mary J., Noble G., and Lorenzo S. In the fall of 1893 Mr. Sanford was present at the opening of the Cherokee strip and rode from Orlando on the Oklahomo line, making the first six miles in almost as many minutes, riding a Texas cow horse, which went through without feed or water. He saw the City of Perry settled with seventy-five thousand people within three hours after the signal gun sounded for the ad- vance, and was an eye witness of the many stirring incidents of that exciting race for homes.

J AMES A. SANDY, one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of Jackson township, son of William H. and Lu- cinda Sandy, was born September I, 1836, in Montgomery county, Ind. He re- ceived his educational training in the pioneer log school-house so common in Indiana during the early history of the state, and passed his youthful years amid the routine of farm labor. In 1852, in company with his parents, he re- moved to Morgan county, and on the eighteenth day of August, 1861, was united in marriage

to Mary J. Mosier of that county, daughter of Tobias and Eliza (Sechrist) Mosier. Tobias Mosier was an influential citizen of Morgan county and a man of large means, owning at one time over 500 acres of valuable land. His death occurred January, 1874; Mrs. Mosier is still living on the old homestead. After his marriage Mr. Sandy settled on a farm of 100 acres in Morgan county, where he remained two years and then became a resident of the county of Boone, locating upon his present place, consisting originally of 340 acres in Jackson township. At that time the land was in a primitive state, a large portion consisting of quagmire, and no improvements of any kind had been attempted before his arrival. Through his efforts the place has undergone an almost magical change, being, at this time, one of the model farms of Boone county, and containing over 3,000 rods of tiling. two large barns, an elegant residence, and other improvements, while all the modern appliances of farming are to be found. The handsome competence which Mr. Sandy has accumulated is the result of his thrift and successful management, and he is entitled to much credit for the manner in which he has succeeded in overcoming the many obstacles by which his life was formerly beset. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sandy are devout members of the Christian church, to which he has contributed liberally of his means, and in which he holds an official position. He has been superintendent and teacher in the Sunday school and never fails to encourage any and all movements having for their object the moral well-being of the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Sandy have been born two children- John and Allen-both married and enterprising citizens of Jackson township. John attended the Ladoga Normal college for a period of three years, when by reason of declining health he was compelled to abandon his studies before completing the prescribed course; Allen was

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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

for two years a student at Danville, where he took a high grade in his studies.

The great-grandfather of Mr. Sandy was Jared Sandy, who emigrated from England a great many years ago and settled in North Carolina, where he became a planter of large means. He became a man of prominence in that state, and at the breaking out of the Revolutionary war entered the American army and did yeoman service in freeing the country from the bonds of British oppression. He participated in a number of the battles of that struggle, in one of which he was captured by the Indians and sold into slavery; he was after- ward released and returned to the United States but was never again reunited to his family. In the war of 1812 he again fought for his adopted country and died a number of years ago in Washington county, Ind. Jeremiah Sandy, son of the above and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in North Carolina, married Catherine Beck and reared the following children: Carrie, Jeremiah, Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth, Lucy, Katherine and William H .- the last named the father of James A.

William H. Sandy emigrated to Tennessee in 1809, later entered a large tract of land upon which he resided for a period of fifteen years, and then came to Indiana, settling in Washington county, thence, later, moved to the county of Owen, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits; still later he became a resident of Montgomery county, where he resided for the succeeding twenty-one years. He became a large landed proprietor, held the office of trustee, and was a man of local promi- nence. About the year 1852 he again changed his residence, moving to Morgan county, where he purchased a large tract of real estate, consisting of over 700 acres, which was highly improved, and where for a number of years he held the office of justice of the peace. He was

a man of strong, vigorous intellect, a fine mathematician, and proved a vabuable addi- tion to the community on account of his legal knowledge, which was freely given for the benefit of his neighbors and fellow-citizens. He married Lucinda Thompson, daughter of James and Ann (Curry) Thompson, and de- parted this life in January, 1874. Mrs. Lucina Sandy still survives him. James Thompson, father of Mrs. Sandy, was a large land owner and a leading farmer of Owen county, Ind., of which part of the state he was one of the early pioneers. He was a native of Kentucky, a devout member of the Mission- ary Baptist church and died at the advanced age of ninety years. To William H. and Lucinda Sandy, parents of our subject, there were born the following children, viz: Louisa, Sarah, Susan, James A., Keller, Jane, Rebecca, John, Newton, America and Virginia, deceased. James A. Sandy is a democrat, and has given each of his sons farms of 893 and 92 acres each. Mrs. Sandy has one of the finest collections of flowers and flowering shrubs in the county and her chief delight is in showing them.

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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