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 65

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 65
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 65
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 65

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).

641

OF CLINTON COUNTY.

very discouraging surroundings and to over- come obstacles that to the majority of men would have appeared practically insurmount- able. Financially, as well as professionally, the doctor's success has been assured, and he now owns valuable property and does an an- nual business of over $40,000.

' ILLIAM DAVIS, a prominent farmer and well-known old settler of Perry township, Clinton county, Ind., is a native of Ohio, born in Ross county, on the twelfth day of September, 1824. His ancestors were Germans, and came to America a great many years ago, settling in Virginia, in which state his grandfather, William Davis, was born and reared. John Davis, son of William and father of the subject, was a na- tive of Albemarle county, Va., where he re- sided until his twenty-second year, and then moved to Ohio, settling in Ross county. He married Katharine Stucky, daughter of Abra- ham and Eva (Bush) Stucky, and about two years thereafter emigrated to Tippecanoe county, Ind., and settled not far from La Fayette, where he purchased eighty acres of government land. He shortly thereafter dis- posed of his interest in Tippecanoe, and moved to Clinton county, locating where his son now resides, and became the possessor of a large tract of land, including in all over 600 acres. He was one of the early pioneers of Clinton county, and at the time of his settlement the present flourishing city of Frankfort was a mere backwoods hamlet of five or six cabins. The following are the names of the children born to John and Katherine Davis: William, Joel, Lorena, Abram, Oza, Avelina G., Isaac, John J .. Elam and Mary. Mr. Davis took great interest in religious matters, having for a number of years been an elder in the Christian church. Politically, he was a democrat of the 31

orthodox type, and is remembered as a man of many excellent qualities.

The immediate subject of this sketch, Will- iam Davis, came to Clinton county, Ind., when quite young and passed the years of his youth and early manhood amid the stirring scenes of pioneer times, acquiring, thereby, a vigorous constitution which served him well in the work of assisting his father in clearing the farm. He has witnessed the many marvelous changes through which Clinton county has passed during the last half century and more, and recalls the time when the farmers were compelled to go to La Fayette for their family supplies, while the best market place, at that time, for the sale of their grain was the far-off town of Chicago, Ill. To make a tirp to the latter place required several days, and the loads, owing to the almost impassable condi- tion of the roads during certain seasons of the year, were of necessity very small. Mr. Davis early learned the lessons of industry, and his youth was without any striking incidents of note except as would naturally be met with at a time when everything, in a new country, would be of a somewhat exciting character. Mr. Davis attended, during certain seasons, when he could be spared from home, the old- fashioned country school, taught in an insig- nificant cabin constructed of logs, supplied with furniture of the simplest description, consist- ing of rough long-legged benches and a simple writing desk made of a single board resting upon long pins fastened in the wall; the floor of the building was made of split puncheons, and the apartment was heated by a large old- fashioned fire-place from ten to twelve feet wide, and the light was allowed to enter the room through an opening in the wall made by the removal of a log, into which oiled paper was fitted instead of glass.

Mr. Davis was married June 1, 1846, to Elizabeth Thrope, daughther of James Thrope,

642

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

after which he settled on his present farm in Perry township, which now embraces an area of 205 acres, which, under his successful man- agement, has been highly improved. Mr. Davis is a successful farmer, an intelligent and upright citizen, and has borne his full share toward the development of the community in which he has for so many years resided. Since his twenty-first year he has voted the democratic ticket, and while not identified with any church organization is a believer in and liberal supporter of all moral and religious movements. The father of Mrs. Davis was a native of Ohio and an early resident of Tipton county, Ind .; her mother was born in North Carolina. The following are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Davis :. Sarah, William, Joseph, Elsie, Zase, Polly and Mahalia.

.ORTON PERRY DAVIS, ex-county auditor, and a representative citizen of Clinton county, Ind., of which he is a native, is a son of Hueston and Jane (Linch) Davis. Hueston Davis was born in Lehigh county, Pa., September 14, 1823, and married in Clinton county, Ind .; April 10, 1845, to which part of the state he came when a boy with his mother, and who settled in Warren township. He became a large land owner and successful farmer in the township of Johnson, where at one time he had an es-' tate of over 800 acres. By his marriage with Jane Linch, he had a family of seven children, whose names are as follows: John A., de- ceased; Morton P .; Allen, deceased; Samuel M., an enterprising citizen of Clinton county, killed by a vicious horse a few days after his nomination for auditor; W. H., trustee of Johnson township, Martha E., wife of L. Friend, and George E., of Kokomo, Ind. After the death of his first wife, Hueston Davis married Mary Cowdry, a union blessed by the

birth of four children, of whom two are now living: Laura B., wife of W. Dunn, and Orris C. Hueston Davis was a democrat in politics, a member of the Masonic fraternity and an active worker in the Methodist church. His death occurred February 2, 1879, and his wife was called from the scene of her earthly labors on the eleventh day of May, 1894.

Morton Perry Davis was born January 16, 1849, and upon the farm where his youth was passed he learned the lessons of industry which have characterized his later years and laid the foundation of the success which has crowned his subsequent life. In the common schools of the country he received a practical English education, and, having selected agriculture as his vocation, engaged in the same npon his own resposibility when twenty years of age, locating on a farm of ninety acres, given him by his father, to which he has since made ad- ditions until his possessions at this time com- prise 389 acres of as fine land as is to be found within the limits of Clinton county. Mr. Davis has always had a proper conception of the true dignity of agriculture, and it is praise, honorably due, when he is classed with the most intelligent, enterprising, and progressive farmers of Clinton. Immediately after his re- tirement from office he resumed his residence on his fine estate in Forest township. By judicious management and the employment of correct business methods, he has succeeded in accumulating a competency, and a list of the county's representative men would be incom- plete without a mention of his name.

Mr. Davis's first marriage was solemnized December 24, 1869, with Sarah Middleton. of Illinois, a union blessed with the birth of one child-Frances M. Mrs. Davis departed this life in April, 1874, and subsequently Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Anna Rathfon, who was born April 14, 1850, in Adams county, Pa. Mrs. Davis is the daughter of John and

Mrt Ms M.T. Savir

-- -

645

OF CLINTON COUNTY.

Lydia (Spangler) Rathfon, and she has borne her husband the following children-Orrin, Earl, Cleveland, Clyde, Cohee, and two that died in infancy unnamed.

Samuel M. Davis, brother of the subject, was the nominee for county auditor in 1890, and his death, which resulted fourteen days after his nomination, left that place upon the ticket vacant. At the earnest solicitation of the central committee, Morton P. Davis was induced to accept the nomination, and in the ensuing election he was triumphantly elected to the office, the duties of which he discharged in an able and satisfactory manner, being one of the most popular officials the county has ever had. He looked after the interests of the office, in which he was ably assisted by his deputies, Pierce Gaskill and L. A. Trambarger, and he also gave personal attention to his farming interests, dividing his time between the country and city. Since 1869 Mr. Davis has been extensively engaged in handling live stock, principally cattle and hogs, which he ships to the Indianapolis and Buffalo markets, and for thirteen years he has operated a thresh- ing machine in Clinton and adjoining counties. Mr. Davis is one of the leading democrats of the county, and as such has contributed much to the success of his party. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., subordinate lodge and encampment, is a Knight Templar in the Ma- sonic fraternity, and belongs to the Methodist church, as does also his wife.

S AMUEL N. DAVISON, an enterpris- ing merchant of Jefferson, Clinton county, Ind., post-master, and a gallant ex-soldier, was born in Deca- tur county, Ind., October 28, 1839, the son of William and Clarissa (Cythens) Davison, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of New Jersey, and of Irish and

English lineage respectively. William Davi- son, grandfather of our subject, was born in Dublin, Ireland, married there and reared two children before emigrating to America. On reaching the United States, William Davi- son settled in Pennsylvania, thence, a num- ber of years later, moved to Butler county, Ohio, where his death occurred. The fol- lowing are the names of his six children: Samuel, Mary, Esther, Jane, Betsy and Wil- liam- the last named the father of the sub- ject of this sketch. William Davison, Jr., was ten years old when his father settled in Butler county, Ohio. He learned the cooper's trade in Butler county, worked at the same there and in various places in Indiana, and for a couple of years followed farming in the state of Arkansas. Later he was a resident of Madison county, Ind., thence returned to Ohio and in 1852 came back to Indiana, locating on a farm in Clinton county. In 1857 he moved to the town of Jefferson and resumed his trade, and, a few years later, embarked in the hotel business, which he followed with fair success until about 1871, when he retired from active life. His death occurred July 22, 1893; his wife died on the second of January preceding. They were the parents of twelve children: Elizabeth, wife of William Baker; Jane, Josiah, William, DeWitt C., Samuel, Clarissa, Marga- ret, wife of William Campbell; Charles G., Henry, John, and Esther, wife of Frank Doty.

Samuel N. Davison, the subject, remained with his parents until attaining his majority, and when a young man learned the cooper's trade with his father, purchasing the shop at Jefferson when the latter engaged in the hotel business. He worked at the trade until the breaking out of the war, when, learning of the disastrous defeat at Bull Run, he decided at once to tender his services to his country and so notified his wife. He enlisted Septem- ber 11, 1862, in company A, Twentieth Indi-

646

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ana Volunteer infantry, and was with that noted regiment in all its varied experiences in the campaigns and bloody battles of Virginia. At the second battle of Bull Run, he with others was detailed to bury the dead; then went to Arlington Heights, near Washington, where the force was increased, after which, with his company, he took part in a forced march through Virginia to Poolsville and other places. To narrate in detail the various inci- dents of Mr. Davison's army experience or to follow him through the many battles in which he participated would far transcend the limits of a sketch of this character, therefore suffice it to say that during the entire period of his enlistment, and when placed in situations most trying and dangerous, his conduct was that of a brave and gallant soldier, whose sole aim was to perform his whole duty to his country. Among the battles of which to took part were Gum Springs, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, in the last of which he was wounded and fell into the hands of the enemy. A few days later he was retaken and sent to Baltimore, thence to Annapolis, Md., where he remained in the hospital for some time. He also received a severe wound at Chancellors- ville, which resulted in the loss of one of his eyes. Mr. Davison was discharged May 11, 1864, and immediately thereafter returned home and took up his old trade in the town of Jefferson, continuing the same until 1869, at which time he purchased the hotel formerly owned by his father. He was proprietor of this house, which he remodeled, until 1872, when he disposed of it and embarked in the mercantile business, which he carried on for some time quite successfully, and then began buying and selling staves and other cooperage material. After following the latter business about five years, Mr. Davison again engaged in merchandising at the town of Jefferson, where he has since continued. He carries a

general stock, does a thriving business, and is one of the prosperous men of the township of Washington. He was married August 11. 1860, to Lucinda Dillman, daughter of Daniel Dillman, and. has a family of seven children. whose names are as follows: William H., born August 19, 1861; Dillman, born October 17, 1871; Flora E, born January 1, 1874; Lucia B., Etta and Russell, the last three de- ceased. . Russell accidently shot himself Janu- ary 1, 1894, the wound resulting in his death. In politics Mr. Davison is a republican, and he has been postmaster at Jefferson for twelve years. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., Frank- fort lodge, No. 108, and both he and wife are faithful members of the Methodist church at Jefferson.

PILLIAM H. DEAL, general store- keeper of the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City railroad at Frankfort, and chief clerk of the mechanical department, is descended from excellent an- cestors that settled many years ago in the state of Pennsylvania. His grandfather, David Deal, a Pennsylvanian by birth and of German lineage, was a soldier in the war of 1812, and an early settler of Som- erset, Perry county, Ohio. David Deal was born near the city of Lancaster in 1793, and departed this life in the year 1882 at Fremont, Ohio. Paul Deal, the subject's father, was born in Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, in the year ISIS, and died at South Toledo in 1880. He married Lucinda Chap- man, who was born at Putnam, Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1819, and who died while visiting a daughter at Birmingham, Ala., in 1892. Her father, Samuel Chapman, of En- glish descent, was born at Hartford, Conn., and became a pioneer of the county of Mus- kingum, Ohio. The maiden name of her

647

OF CLINTON COUNTY.

mother was Letta Organ. To the marriage of Paul and Lucinda Deal were born the follow- ing children: Endora, deceased; Caroline, de- ceased; William H., Addie L .; Agnes A., de- ceased; Alice S., and Edwin B., deceased. The home of the family was at Fremont and Zanesville. Ohio. In September, 1861, Paul Deal enlisted as a private in company D, Third Ohio cavalry, and served as a brave and gallant soldier throughout the entire war. He became captain of his company by reason of meritorious conduct in battle, and received an honorable discharge at the close of the conflict.

William H. Deal was born at Fremont, Ohio, April 7. 1847, and in the public schools of that town and Zanesville received his edu- cational training. He began life for himself as a grocer's clerk in Fremont, was similarly employed for some time at Lima, Ohio, and then learned the painter's trade. He worked at his chosen calling in the city of Toledo un- til 1871, at which time, on "account of failing health, he again secured a clerkship, in which capacity he continued until 1875, studying bookkeeping in the meantime in a night school and becoming quite proficient in the same. In 1875 Mr. Deal accepted the position of assist- ant bookkeeper for the Union Manufacturing company, of Toledo, with which he remained four years, resigning at the end of that time for the purpose of embarking in the grocery trade at the town of Norwalk, where he sold goods two years. He then returned to Toledo and became bookkeeper for a wood and coal dealing firm of that city, and he began his career as a railroader in 1883 as storekeeper for the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City rail- road company at Delphos, Ohio. In October, 1892, Mr. Deal was transferred to Frankfort and assigned his present position, the duties of which he has since discharged in a manner highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to the company by which he is employed. Mr.

Deal appears to have inherited the martial spirit of his ancestors, and was one of the brave boys who responded to the country's call for volunteers in the dark days of the rebellion. He enlisted June, 1863, in the Twenty-second Ohio battery light artillery, with which he served till the close of the war, being discharged upon the thirteenth day of July, 1865. In 1875, Mr Deal was married to Miss Minnie B. Lischy, of Seneca county, Ohio, a union blessed with the birth of one child, a daughter-Irene. Mr. and Mrs. Deal are members of the Pres- byterian church; he is a knight templar Mason and a member of the G. A. R.

APT. JOHN S. DETRICK, of Ross township, is one of those old soldiers whose actual record of battles and services to his country is excelled by no man in Clinton county. He springs from an old colonial Maryland family, of German origin. Peter Detrick, great-grandfather of the captain, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. He settled in Virginia, living in both Rockingham and Augusta counties. He was the father of the following children: John, Phillip, Jacob, Peter, Henry, Abraham, Fred- rick, Susan and Sarah. Peter Detrick was a prosperous farmer. He came to Harrison county, Ind., in IS18, with seven families, sons and sons-in-law. He was a member of the United Brethern in Christ, and died at the age of eighty-seven years. Peter, son of the above, and grandfather of the captain, was born in Maryland and married Mary Beard; to them were born ten children: Peter, Jacob, John, David, Elizabeth, Margaret, Catherine, Martha A., Polly and Sallie. He was a sol- dier in the war of 1812, and in 1818 he moved to Indiana, settled in Harrison county with other members of the family, and cleared his farm from the virgin forest. He was a mem-

648

BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY

ber of the United Brethern in Christ and a straightforward, honest citizen, and died on his farm, aged eighty-one years. Jacob, son

of above and father of Capt. Detrick, was born July 3, 1805, in Augusta county, Va., received a common school education for his day and was ten years old when he came with his father to Indiana. He became a farmer and married, in Harrison county, Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Jane (Steward) Applegate. Joseph Applegate was of English stock, an old settler of Harrison county, Ind., and a substantial farmer. He was the father of seven children: Stacy, James, John, David, Joseph, Elizabeth and Ellen. Mr. Applegate lived to be an old man and died on his farm in Harrison county. Mr. Detrick settled in Harrison county and bought and cleared up 160 acres of land. In

1868 he moved to Pulaski county, Ind., and bought 100 acres, but sold out in 1873 and retired from active business. Mrs. Detrick died in March, 1857, in Harrison county, Ind., and Mr. Detrick has never re-married. Mrs. Detrick was a member of the United Brethern in Christ, of which church he is also a valued member. He is a republican and a strong union man, and had three sons in the civil war: Joseph, in the Forty-ninth Indiana in- fantry, served one year as private and was in several battles; Levi, in company F, Eighty- first Indiana infantry, served three years as private, he was in many battles, among which were, Perryville, Richmond, Ky., Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Rocky Faced Ridge; was also in the Atlanta campaign; he was wounded at Vyning Station, and on recovery was at the battles of Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. Jacob Detrick, father of our subject, has throughout been a consci- encious and honorable man, and has now reached the patriarchal age of ninety years.

Capt. John S. Detrick was born in Harri- son county, Ind., February 26, 1838. He re-

ceived a common education, learned farming. and when sixteen years of age went to New Albany to learn the ship carpenter's trade, at

which he worked for five months. He then ran on steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers four years. When the war broke out in 1861, he was running a wood-yard about thirty miles above Memphis, Tenn., and came home with considerable difficulty, concealed on board a steamboat. He was offered $200 in gold to enlist in the rebel army. On April 16, 1861, he enlisted in company A, Twelfth Indiana in- fantry, for the three months' service, at New Albany, Ind., under Capt. Thomas J. Morri- son, and Col. William Wallace. The state quota being filled, his regiment was mustered into the twelve months' service, and did guard duty in the southern part of this state. In July, 1861, the regiment was was assigned to the United States service for the remainder of their term; and arrived at Harper's Ferry the day after the battle of Bull Run. He was in the battles of Dam No. 4. Va., Winchester and several skirmishes; while in this service, his term expiring, he was honorably discharged May 19, 1862, at Washington city, and re- turned home. He then received a recruiting commission as first lieutenant from Gov. Mor- ton under the state adjutant general, and re- cruited 400 men in Harrison, Floyd, Craw- ford, Orange, DuBois and Clark counties, Ind. He joined the Eighty-first Indiana infantry with 109 men as first lieutenant, and was in the battle of Richmond, his regiment arriving at the latter part of the engagement, having double-quicked the distance of fourteen miles from Bear Grass Camp, Ky., many men falling out of ranks exhausted on the way, and only 1 1 2 of the regiment reaching the field. He was also in the battle of Perryville, Bowling Green. Ky .. Edgefield. Tenn., Stone River, Tullahoma, Tenn., in a severe skirmish at Winchester; was at Chickamauga, and was under fire while

Samuel He. Loyal

651

OF CLINTON COUNTY.

· supporting Hooker's corps at Lookout Moun- tain; he was at Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, Rocky-faced Mount; in the Atlanta campaign, Pumpkin Vine Creek, Hoover's Gap, Resaca, Burnt Hickory, Kenesaw Mountain, Vining Station, Marietta, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, and in pursuit of Hood; at Atlanta Pass, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville, and was shot by a minie ball passing through his lelt hip and splintering off part of the bone - just below the joint. He was in the Cumber- land hospital at Nashville about sixty-five days. and obtained leave of absence for ten days, which was extended ten days longer. After this visit home he reported to Gen. Palmer, Louisville, Ky., and was assigned to the charge of exchange barracks, No. 15, at Louisville, as not being able to march. He remained in this charge until the war closed, and he was honorably discharged at Indianapolis, June 9, 1865.

Mr. Detrick was promoted at Kingston, Ga., to a captaincy in 1864. He had previ- ously commanded his company from the battle of Stone River for the reason that the captain was detached for other services. Capt. De- trick was in all the battles, skirmishes, marches and campaigns in which his regiment took part, until disabled by his wounds, there being only two small battles after this in which his regiment was engaged. He was a gallant and efficient officer and did his duty cheerfully. He remembers the forced marches as the hardest duty in which he was engaged, notably the 125-mile march from Louisville to Nashville in October, the troops enduring much suffering on account of heat, dust and scarcity of water, and many soldiers dropping out of the ranks from exhaustion, one-half of Capt. Detrick's company being disabled in this way.

After the war Capt. Detrick married and settled in New Albany. His wife was Caro-

line, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Smith) Lutz. Mr. Lutz was an old settler in Harri- son county. Ind., of German descent, and at one time a prosperous farmer, who sold out and moved into New Albany and engaged in the commission business. He died in Tipton county, Ind., aged sixty-eight years. He was the father of four children : Mary J., Caro- line, John C., and David H. Capt. Detrick left New Albany in 1868, lived a short time in Evansville and Louisville, and located in Tip- ton county, Ind., in 1871, on a farm residing there twelve years. In 1882 he settled at Rossville and bought property, and in 1887 built a substantial and tasteful residence. He was one of the early members of the G. A. R . becoming a member of the post at New Albany, Ind., in 1866. At present he is an honored member of Oliver Short post, No. 390, at Rossville and has filled all the princi- pal offices, including commander. In politics he is a republican, and is a respected citizen.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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