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 47

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 47
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 47
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 47

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James Shera, the principal figure in this biography, was born in Decatur county, Ind .. July 16, 1844, on his father's farm. He mar- ried in November, 1868, Sophia Small. a daughter of John Small, and of English de- scent. The children born to this union were named Charles E., who died in fancy, and Effie I., who died when twenty years old. In 186; Mr. Shera came to Boone county, and settled on a forest farm, and here he lost his wife August, 1870. She was a member of the Baptist church, and was mourned by a large circle of sincere friends. The second marriage of Mr. Shera was to Margaret C. Heath,

About August 12, 1862, James Shera enlist- ed in Decatur county, in company I, Sixty-eighth Indiana volunteer infantry, was mustered in August 19, equipped with Springfield rifles and sent to the front; September 15, the regiment went to Mumfordsville, where it surrendered on the seventeenth, and was exchanged December 26; January 8, 1863, he assisted in guarding a fleet from Louisville down the Ohio river and up the Cumberland river to Nashville; two steamers were burnt by the rebel cavalry below Nashville; April 2d, his regiment joined the main army under Rosecrans at Murfreesboro, and was assigned to the Second brigade, Fourth division, Fourteenth army corps, under General Thomas; April 17th, the regiment and a force of 6,000 infantry and cavalry went on a reconnaissance and destroyed the railroad between Manchester and McMinnville, captured a large quantity of supplies, with 200 prisoners, horses, mules, etc .; June 24, the regiment started on the campaign for Chattanooga, was engaged at Hoover's Gap, where it lost one man killed, and six wounded, and was then continually on the march until July 29, when it went into camp at University Heights; August 17, broke camp, and September 11 crossed Lookout Mountain; September 19 and 20 they were in the battle of Chickamauga, in which battle Mr. Shera's company went in with thirty-four

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men and came our with twelve-the balance. being killed, wounded or missing-the regiment losing one-third of its members; October II, the regiment was assigned to the Fourth army corps; while camped at Chattanooga, rations ran very low, and the men were glad to get a fat dog or mule . to eat; November 23, they moved on Missionary Ridge; on the night of the twenty-fourth they witnessed the : fight above the clouds with Hooker on Lookout Mountain, five miles distant; November 25, they engaged in assault on Missionary Ridge, losing five officers and seventy-seven men, killed and wounded; on the same night the corps was ordered on a forced march to Knox- ville, one hundred miles distant, to take part in the pursuit of Longstreet-marching day and night, getting such rest and sleep as they could by the roadside; they remained near Knoxville until April, 1864, when they return- ed to Chattanooga and did post duty the sum- mer of that year; August 14, they were ordered to Dalton, Ga., where the rebel Gen. Wheeler's cavalry had driven the Union garrison into the fortifications and taken the town; August 15. at daylight, under Gen. Steedman, they charged the rebels, driving them through the place on the double-quick; from that time on, the regiment was on similar raids almost every week during the remainder of the summer; they were at Decatur, Ala., during Hood's at- tack on that city, and on the 15th and 16th of December were engaged at Nashville, where Hood's army was so disastrously defeated. On the twentieth of June, 1865, with his regi- ment, Mr. Shera was honorably discharged and returned home. It was not, however, until 1893, that he was allowed a pension, and that was for only twelve dollars per month. On his return, Mr. Shera settled down to farming and has one of the finest places in Jackson township, adorned with a large brick dwelling and farm buildings-of all descriptions.

His farm is well ditched and under a state of high cultivation, and ranks favorably with any in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Shera are leading members of the Methodist church, of which he is a trustee, steward and recording steward. He is also a member of Advance post, No. 524, G. A. R., and in politics is a stanch republican. Socially the family stand very high, and Mr. Shera is regarded as one of the most reliable and useful citi zens of Jackson township and is justly honored for his war record.

3 AMES SHIRLEY, of Perry township, Boone county, Ind., was born in Scott county, Ky., February 25, 1819, a son of Ezekiel and Della (Shirley) Shirley, both parents having been born in North Caro- lina, where they were married; thence they migrated to Scott county, Ky., where Ezekiel engaged in farming until 1831, when he brought his family to Hendricks county, Ind., and rented land until 1838; then moved to Perry township, Boone county, where his son James, our subject, had entered land, on which he resided until his death in 1864, his wife surviv- ing him .until the next year. They were the parents of six children, viz. : Dickerson, Elias, Benjamin, Maria, Amelia and James, all de- ceased with the exception of our subject. The remains of Mr. and Mrs. Shirley were interred in Mount Tabor cemetery, both having died in the Baptist faith.

James Shirley worked on the home farm in Hendricks county, Ind., from 1831 until 1838, when he launched out on his own account, worked hard and earned the money to buy the forty acres in Perry township on which his parents ended their days. He later sold this farm and bought the eighty acres on which he now lives. The first marriage of Mr. Shirley took place in Boone county, Ind., in 1839, to

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Elizabeth Poiner, a native of Putnam county. Ind., and daughter of Joseph Poiner, of North Carolina. Three children were born to this union, viz .: Henry and Parmelia, deceased, and Edward. Mrs. Shirley died in 1866, and the second marriage of Mr. Shirley took place March 25. 1867, to Mrs. Leaner Smith, who was born in Owen county, Ky., January 9, 1830, a daughter of John and Betsey (Roberts) Smith, natives of North Carolina, who both died when Leaner was a child. The first mar- riage of Leaner was with Daniel Smith, to whom she bore nine children: Louisa (de- ceased), Albert, Henrietta, Hugh, Willis, George, Charles, Mary and Alice. Daniel Smith died in 1865, and by her marriage with Mr. Shirley she is the mother of one child, Peter, who was born August 17, 1868, and was mar- ried in Perry township, December 29, 1890, to Miss Lydia Stanfield, who was born in Jackson county, Ind., and is a daughter of Samuel and Janie (Smith) Stanfield; one child, Pearly, blesses this union.

J AMES W. SHIRLEY .- Change is con- stant and general. Generations rise and pass unmarked away, and it is a duty to posterity, as well as a present gratification, to place upon the printed page a true record of the lives of those sterling men who have done so much toward establishing and making permanent the present advanced state of civilization enjoyed by the great com- monwealth of Indiana. The name of Shirley has been pre-eminently identified with the his- tory of Boone county for years, and it is with much satisfaction that the leading facts in the life of one of the most worthy members of the family are herewith presented to the readers of this volume.

James W. Shirley is descended, paternally, from English ancestry, and traces his ancestry

back to his great-great-grandfather, James Shirley, who came to the United States in ante-revolutionary times, and settled in Vir- ginia, where he reared a family and became a planter of large means and a man of much more than local prominence. He died in the state of his adoption, and subsequently his son Ezekiel, great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, with other members of the family emigrated to Scott county, Ky., locating not far from Georgetown. Ezekiel Shirley, at the early age of seventeen years, married Dulcina Shirley, a distant relative of about the same age, and reared a family of seven children, nearly all of whom lived to the age of maturity and became the heads of families; but all of whom, excepting James, have long since passed from the scenes of their earthly labors.

A son of the foregoing, Dickinson Shirley, married Elizabeth Hamrick and reared a fam- ily of children, among whom was Caleb Shir- ley, father of the immediate subject of this mention, whose birth occurred in Scott county, Ky., on the seventeenth day of July, 1817. Caleb, when a lad, moved with his parents to Hendricks county, Ind., where he grew to manhood; subsequently he moved to Boone county, Ind., married Mary (Dale) McRey- nolds July 17, 1837, and located in Perry township, where he resided until his removal, in 1840, to the township of Harrison. Like his ancestors before him, Caleb Shirley was a tiller of the soil, and on coming to Indiana purchased land in Harrison township, making a fine farm, consisting of 160 acres, where he passed the remaining years of his life, dying on the twenty-second day of March, 1876. His wife, who had been a faithful companion and true helpmate for a number or years, preceded her husband to the silent land, having departed this life March 13. 1859. To Caleb and Mary Shirley were born ten children, whose names are as follows: James W., whose name intro-

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

duces this sketch; Matthew E., Henry S., Jar- rett S., Emily E., wife of W. F. Proctor, now deceased; Eliza and Malinda, twins, the latter deceased; William S., deceased; Jessie B., and Mary, wife of B. T. Bell. For genera- tions the Shirleys were Baptists, and of that church Caleb and his good wife were devout members. Mr. Shirley was a man of exem- plary habits, a model eitizen, and in every walk of life endeavored to adorn his christian pro- fession by living up to the pure teachings of his church. Mrs. Mary Shirley was a native of Tennessee and danghter of Squire and Eliz- abeth Dale, who were born in the same state, the desendants of old and eminently respected pioneer families. When eighteen years of age, Mary was united in marriage to Samuel McRey- nolds, a farmer of Putnam county, Ind., by whom she had two children: Marion, deceased. and Samuel, who resides at this time in the state of Kansas. Her marriage to Caleb Shir- ley was solemnized on the sixteenth day of July, 1837. Squire Dale was one of twelve children that grew to years of maturity, and he served, with distinction, in the last war with Great Britain. He was a man of many noble traits of character, and died at the age of fifty- five, leaving, as a precious heritage to his chil- dren, a name singularly free from the slightest taint of anything questionable or dishonorable. His wife, a most excellent woman, bright and intelligent beyond the ordinary. remained true to her husband's memory, and died after a widowhood of over thirty years.

J. W. Shirley, whose name opens this biography. is a native son of Boone county, and dates his birth from the eighteenth day of April, 1838. His educational training, like.that of the majority of country lads, was obtained in the old-fashioned log school-house common to the pioneer period of Indiana; and until his eighteenth year he assisted his father on the farm, thereby learning lessons of industry that

proved so valuable to him in subsequent life. Having selected agriculture as his vocation, he began the same upon his own responsbility, at an early age, on the home farin, and in 1855 took unto himself a helpmate in the person of Sarah Bright, to whom he was united in mar- riage on March 25, of that year. In the mean time, he left the family homestead and bought a part of the place he now owns, in Harrison township, his first purchase consisting of forty acres, to which additions were made at inter- vals, until eventually he became the possessor 120 acres, a fine farm upon which he now re- sides. Mrs. Shirley was born March 22, 1830, the daughter of William R. and Annis (Hen- derson) Bright, and has borne her husband the following children : Jasper N., William H. (deceased). Rosella (deceased). Caleb E., John L. (deceased), James M., Theodosia E. and an infant son (deceased).

Mr. Shirley has ever been noted as a warm-hearted, broad-minded man, upright in all his dealings, and a true lover of humanity, to the interests of which the best energies of his life have been nobly devoted. Reared a Baptist, he has never departed from the faith, and his religious experience dates from his fourteenth year, at which time he was convert- ed and became a member of the old Mt. Tabor church. Later he took membership with the Mt. Union church, with which he has been identified since 1862, and in 1864 yielded to an inclination of long standing, by entering upon the active work of the ministry. He was formally ordained to the sacred calling in that year, and at once became pastor of the Mt. Union church. the duties of which rela- tion, with the exception of one year, he nobly discharged until 1893; his pastorate covering a period of twenty-eight years of active service. He still preaches for neighboring churches, and with a spirit of true consecration, expects to devote the remaining years of his life to the

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noble work, which in bis hands has been so greatly blessed in leading many to abandon the ways of sin, and seek the true way leading to peace and happiness here and pointing to a more blessed inheritance hereafter. He has also preached in the states of Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Ohio. He has (he believes) traveled more miles and preached more ser- mons, than any minister in Boone county, living or dead. His politics, like his religious belief, Mr. Shirley has never changed, and in the former he has been and remains a life-long democrat. At one time he held the office of justice of the peace of his township, aside from which he has never been called to fill official positon.

Thus, briefly, is epitomized the life work of one of Boone county's most reputable citi- zens, and it is the wish of his many friends that many years may yet be spared him in which to accomplish still more good in the cause to which his life has been consecrated.

J ARRETT S. SHIRLEY .- Among the substantial farmers of Boone county is the subject of this sketch, his farm being pleasantly situated within two miles of the court house. He was born on his father's farm in Harrison town- ship. Boone county, June 21, 1845, and de- scends from the pioneer Baptist family of that name. (See sketch of Rev. James W. Shirley.) Jarrett S. Shirley received a com- mon education, became a farmer, and married, at the age of twenty-three years, March 21, 1866, Harriet J., daughter of David and Ka- turah (Proctor) Hedge. Katurah Hedge was the daughter of James B. and Elizabeth Proc- tor, and was born near Lexington, Ky. Mr. Hedge was from an old Virginia family of Irish descent, and came with his parents to Hendricks county, Ind., when a boy, settling

near North Salem. He finally became a sub- stantial farmer, and, passing most of his life in Hendricks county, he came to Boone county about 1865, and settled on the farm now occu- pied by our subject. He cleared up this farm from the virgin forest, it being covered origi- nally with very heavy timber.

To Mr. and Mrs. Hedge were born thirteen children-George W., James H., Harriet J., Paulina F., John H., Sarah F., William G., Samuel C., David A., Oliver P., Charles E., Leroy F. (deceased young) and Cora E. (de- ceased young). . Eight of these children are now living. They were all born in Hendricks county, except the youngest two, who were born in Boone county. Four of the sons be- came school-teachers-John H., Oliver P., Charles E. and George W. Mr. Hadge lived to be sixty-eight years of age, and died in 1879. In his younger days he was a tanner. but followed the pursuit of agriculture for many ycars, in which he was successful. He was a man of great industry, and possessed those virtues which are esteemed among our best citizens. In political opinions he affili- ated with the democratic party. After mar- riage Jarrett S. Shirley settled in Hendricks county on a farm, remained there one year, and since that time has been a resident of Boone county. In 1870 he bought a farm in Center township, this county, on which he lived for ten years. He then bought seventy- two acres of land in Harrison townsnip, in 1880, on which he lived until 1886, when he sold this property and bought the Hedge homestead, on which he now resides. This fine farm consists of 110 acres of fertile land. which is in a high state of cultivation and is well drained and improved. Mr. and Mrs. Shirley are the parents of three children- Ettie V. (deceased an infant), Lora T. (de- ceased) and Claude V. The death of Lora T. Shirley was as sad as it was tragic: he had

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

been fishing off the coast of Oregon, on the Pacific Ocean, about six miles south of Nas- tucca bay, in company with his uncle, C. E. Hedge, on the seventh of August, 1894, and while driving homeward they were overtaken by the incoming tide, and so Lora T. lost his young life. The corpse was embalmed and brought to Lebanon, where it was interred in the "Old Union" cemetery, Wednesday, Aug- ust 22. He left a wife, Etta, daughter of Amos Huston, and a child, Mortimer J., six months old. He was a cousin of Ora E. Randall, who was drowned while bathing in the Wabash river. at Terre Haute, about two years ago. Ora was a promising young man, who had taught two terms of school and was attending his second term in the state Normal. Lora T. attended the high school at Lebanon, and the normal school at Valparaiso, Ind., from which he graduated in 1891, and later taught school in this county, and afterwards became a mer- chant in Oregon. The Shirley family are noted for industry, for their excellent moral habits and strong religious principles. Jarrett S., our subject, is no exception to the rule. He is a self-made man, and, assisted by his faith- ful wife, has accumulated a competency. He and wife are members of the Christian church, and in politics he is a democrat.

J OEL SHOE, of Marion township, Boone county, Ind., is a native of North Car- olina and is descended from sturdy German-Irish ancestry. His grand- father, John Shoe, was born in North Carolina, as was also his father, John William Shoe, whose birth occurred in the month of March, 1813. John William Shoe married, in his native state, Miss Leah Ingold, who bore the following children: Rebecca, wife of William Shapley; Sarah, deceased; Catherine, deceased; Joel, Mrs. Mary Woodsworth, and Barbara,

wife of William Omen. Mr. Shoe was by occupation a distiller, which business he car- ried on the state of his nativity for some years. His death, at the early age of thirty-nine, threw his widow and children upon their own resour- ces. and Mrs. Shoe came to Indiana in 1854, locating on a farm in Marion county, where, with the assistance of her children, she man- aged to rear her family respectably and place them in situations to make their own way in life. She is still living at the ripe old age of eighty years and makes her home with her son, Joel.

Joel Shoe was born January 2, 1844. and was but six years of age when his father died, in consequence of which he was early obliged to contribute his full share toward the support of his mother and sisters. In consequence of being compelled to rely upon his own resources at such a tender age, he was deprived of the privileges of obtaining an education, and his schooling included but a few months' attend- ance, each year, in the indifferent log school- houses, at that time so common in various parts of Indiana. Possessing a naturally bright mind, he was not altogether disheartened by unfavorable surroundings, but devoted every spare moment to his books, and in time became the possessor of a valuable fund of knowledge. When only ten years of age he began working away from home for the sum of $6 per month, but at the age of nineteen took charge of a stationary engine. which he operated for some time at fairly remunerative wages. On the twenty-second of February, 1867, he entered into the marriage relation with Julia A. Kling- ensmith, who was born January 9, 1847- daughter of Samuel and Priscilla Klingensmith, natives of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors came to the United States from Holland at an early period in the history of the country.

After his marriage, Mr. Shoe began farm- ing on 220 acres of land for a part of the pro-

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ceeds, and was thus engaged for four years, when he purchased a place of his own consist- ing of eighty acres in Marion township, Boone county, the land at that time being covered with a dense forest growth, and on which no improvements of any kind had been made. With an energy born of determination to suc- ceed, Mr. Shoe at once went to work removing the forest, and, in due time, succeeded in put- ting a goodly portion of his land in cultivation. As the years went by the area of his farm con- stantly increased, and with the assistance of his good wife, who never knew what it was to eat the bread of idleness, he finally had a home of which any one might well feel proud. The original buildings having served their pur- pose were, in due season, replaced by more comfortable and substantial structures of modern pattern, and his improvements in this line now compare favorably with any in the township, his residence costing the sum of $1, - 800. In March, 1892, his barn was totally destroyed by fire, entailing upon him a heavy loss, but he has since replaced it by another building of larger dimensions and more con- venient in its appointments.

On the first day of May, 1892, Mr. Shoe's faithful wife, who had been his devoted com- panion through many years of trial and suc- cess, was called from the scene of her earthly labor, after which time his home was looked after by his son. Marion, and wife, who did all in their power to render his years comfortable until his second marriage. Mr. Shoe is a member of the F. & A. M., in which fraternity he has filled important official positions, in- cluding that of representive to the grand lodge of the state; he is also identified with the I. O. R. M., and politically exercises the elective franchise for the democratic party. He is pro- gressive, public spirited, and his life has been characterized by strict adherence to the prin- ciples of probity, which have made him a most

valuable factor in the community. The beau- tiful home where he lives, together with other property which he owns elsewhere, represents the fruit of his industry; and his life, measured by the usual standard, has been a most gratify- ing success. The following are the names of his children-John William, Samuel Harvey, James Marion, and Rebecca Alice, wife of James Abbot.

Mr. Shoe was again married August 30, 1894, selecting, for his second wife, Mrs. Wil- liam Jones, néc Ella Fitzsimmons, daughter of William and Sarah (McManey) Fitzsimmons, born June 16, 1861.

EVI P. SHOEMAKER, one of the most prosperous farmers of Union township, Boone county, was born in Union county, Ind., August 18, 1835, the son of George and Martha M. (Harvey) Shoemaker-the father a native of Guilford county, N. C., of German descent, and the mother a native of Union county, Ind., of Irish extraction. George Shoemaker came to Indi- ana in 1832, and for three years worked in a distillery in Union county, then came to Boone county and entered eighty acres in Center township, which land he afterward sold, and entered another farm of eighty acres in Union township, where he died in 1888. He was twice married, and by his first wife, Martha .M. Harvey, he was the father of seven chil- dren, viz .: Levi P., Betsey, Isaac M., Michael H., Malinda J., Eliza E., and Mary M. Mrs. Martha Shoemaker died December 24, 1848, and the second marriage was to Elizabeth Allen, daughter of John Allen. To this union were born the following children: John C .; Frances H., wife of Samuel N. Good; James B .; and Laura B., the wife of Francis Hutton. Mrs. Elizabeth Shoemaker still survives.

Levi P. Shoemaker was reared to the life

Felix Shrmate both , God 10the dud Nols ,

DIED DECEMBER 8th, ISO4

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OF BOONE COUNTY.

of a farmer and was educated in the subscrip- tion schools. On starting in life for himself, at the age of twenty-one, he bought a farm of eighty acres in Union township, Boone county, which he afterward increased to 270 acres, the greater part of which he has himself improved. He has also rendered efficient aid in the build- ing of the gravel roads of Boone county, and is universally recognized as one of the most enterprising and industrious men of his part of the country. His farm is considered to be one of the finest in Union township, and his resi- dence is unexcelled for comfort and convenience. Mr. Shoemaker was married October 16, 1856, to Mary A. Dulin, who was born in Boone county, January 31, 1838. Her parents, John and Priscilla (Boswell) Dulin, were born in Virginia and Kentucky respectively, came to Boone county, Ind , in an early day, and were the parents of ten children, of whom seven are still living. To the union. of Levi P. and Mary A. Shoemaker have been born six children, viz .: Erasmus T., of Union township; Carval- lace W., a druggist of Whitestown; Clarinda R., who died May 30, 1864; Elizabeth E., who died May 26, 1877; Rhoda M., wife of Arme- nious E. Hine; and Willard P., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker are consistent members of the Baptist church and they and their fam- ily are looked upon as being among the most respectable residents of the township. In poli- tics Mr. Shoemaker is a democrat, and has been entrusted by his fellow-townsmen with the responsible position of township trustee.

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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